CHENNAI � MONDAY � NOVEMBER 28, 2022 � `9.

00 � PAGES 16 � LATE CITY EDITION

PROSTATE GLAND ENLARGEMENT

CASES SHOOTING UP: LANCET
The surge is more pronounced in low and middle-income
countries of Latin America, south and east Asia
91% SURGE IN CASES IN INDIA, 70% GLOBALLY
Between 2000 and 2019, there was a 90.9% surge in number of benign
prostatic hyperplasia cases in India, as per the study. In contrast, the
worldwide average was 70%. Qatar saw the highest surge of 500%
during the period. An enlarged prostate gland can lead to a variety of
symptoms, including difficulty in urinating | P7
1.82 crore
NUMBER OF CASES TO RISE FURTHER
■ Latin America saw the sharpest region-wise rise in number of
cases (98%), followed by east (97%) and South Asia (91%)
■ As life expectancy increases, cases of benign prostatic
hyperplasia are expected to rise further, the study warned NUMBER OF BENIGN PROSTATIC
■ The condition is typically found in men over the age of 65 HYPERPLASIA CASES IN INDIA AS OF 2019

CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI

Thousdands of demonstrators, including university students, rally

against Beijing’s stringent zero-Covid policy, shout anti-Xi slogans
SHOWDOWN
Oct 13: A rare protest
held against Chinese
President Xi Jinping in
Beijing over strict anti-
Covid measures
Oct 14: A protest
banner on a bridge in
Beijing calls for Xi’s
removal
Oct 17: Xi reaffirms
China’s adherence
to zero-Covid policy
in Communist Party
Modi, Kharge, Kejri turn on Guj heat
D I L I P S I N G H KS H AT R I YA
@ Ahmedabad
CAMPAIGNING for the Gujarat
elections hit a crescendo on
Sunday with several national
leaders of the BJP, Congress
and AAP descending on
the coastal state.
Speaking at a public
meeting in Gujarat’s
Kheda district, Prime
M i n i s t e r N a re n d r a
Modi sharpened his at-
People show blank papers as a way to protest in Shanghai on Sunday | AFP tack on the Congress. “Gu-
terrorism but they targeted me
instead. Terrorism was at peak
in the country,” he said.
Modi added that the spectre
of terrorism will haunt the
country until vote bank politics
is eradicated. “We caught ter-
rorists in Gujarat but the
then Congress govern-
ment in Delhi was saving
terrorists for vote bank
politics,” he said. “Dur-
ing the Batla House en-
counter, Congress leaders
cried in support of terrorists,”
ask what Congress did in the
last 70 years. If the Congress
had not worked in the last 70
years, we would not have seen a
democracy today,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress leader
and Rajasthan Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot took a swipe at
Modi questioning his repeated
visits to Gujarat. This, he said,
shows the BJP is “scared” of the
results of Gujarat polls.
Aam Aadmi Party leader and
2 jawans on poll duty
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal at-
killed by colleague
tacked both the BJP Congress at Two jawans of the Indian

Anti-lockdown stir
Conrgess amid rising jarat had for a long time been a he added. his Surat rally, and claimed Gu- Reserve Battalion, on election
public discontent target of terrorism. People of Addressing a rally at Dedia- jaratis want change this time. duty in Gujarat, were killed
Oct 18: Small protests Gujarat were killed in explo- pada, Congress president Mal- Gujarat elections will be held and two others were injured
spread to other cities sions in Surat and Ahmedabad. likarjun Kharge said India is a in two phases – on December 1 after their colleague opened
The Congress was ruling in Del- democratic country thanks to and 5 – and the results will be fire over a dispute in a village

flares across China

Oct 28: Bigger protests
hi then. We asked them to target the Congress. “Modi and Shah declared on December 8. near Porbandar on Saturday
erupt in Tibet against
Beijing’s zero-Covid

Chennai-Tiruchy NH turns death trap,

policy
EXPRESS READ
Nov 4: Despite zero-

2,076 killed in accidents in four years

Covid policy, China
reports 4,420 new
locally transmitted
Covid-19 infections, the
highest in six months
Nov 8: Seven people
arrested in northeastern
China following a clash
between residents and
authorities enforcing
Covid-19 restrictions
Nov 10: Authorities
promise to improve
quarantine and other
anti-virus policies
Nov 14: Residents of
Guangzhou city break
lockdown rules and
clash with police
Nov 23: Employees
at the world’s biggest
Apple iPhone factory at
Zhengzhou beaten and
detained amid protests
over anti-virus controls
Nov 25: A fire in an
apartment building
in Xinjiang kills 10
people amid stringent
lockdowns. Public anger
at Xi mounts in the
wake of the incident
E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E
ISOLATED protests in China against
stringent Covid curbs are gaining
traction and spreading to more cit-
ies as thousands of people, includ-
ing college students, hit the streets
and campuses on Sunday in Shang-
hai, Beijing, Wuhan and Nanjing,
confronting police and even publicly
calling for the resignation of Presi-
dent Xi Jinping.
In Shanghai, a large group of peo-
ple gathered at Wulumuqi street and
chanted “Xi Jinping step down, CCP
step down”, news agency AFP re-
ported citing a verified video circu-
lated on Chinese social media.
Such public display of defiance is
rare in China, where the ruling
Communist Party is known for
crushing all kinds expressions of
dissent. However, the pandemic
seems to have changed all that with
people being pushed to the brink by
the government’s insensitive back-
to-back lockdowns, mass Covid tests
and strict quarantine protocols. Ex-
perts say China’s zero-Covid policy
is stirring a rare public anger with
people growing weary of the mind-
less restrictions.
According to reports, protests
were also held at Beijing’s elite Ts- Aftab to undergo fourth
inghua University, Peking Univer-
sity and Communication University
polygraph session today
of China at Nanjing. Videos circu- New Delhi: Aaftab Amin
lated online showed protesters hold- Poonawala, who is accused of B A N B U S E LVA N @ Chennai ACCIDENT DATA FOR CHENNAI-TIRUCHY NH Tindivanam to Ulundurpet
ing up blank sheets of paper, a tactic brutally killing his live-in partner (January 2018 to June 2022) black spot elimination work
used to evade censorship or arrest. Shraddha Walkar, will undergo AT least 2,076 people died and Police Districts Accidents Deaths Injuries
The protests, which began in the the remaining two sessions of more than 7,000 were injured in � Vehicular underpasses
Tambaram 311 115 193
morning, intensified with the par- polygraph test on Monday and road accidents in about four being built at Ellis Chathiram,
Chengalpattu 1,958 684 2,181 Arasur crossing, Kootteripattu
ticipation of hundreds of people by Tuesday, sources said on Sunday. years (January 2018 to June Villupuram 2240 508 3,114
mid-afternoon, the BBC reported. 2022) on the 334-km-long Chen- junction and Padhur bus stop
The narco test is likely to be held Kallakuruchi 536 143 453
The developments come as China on December 5, they said. nai-Tiruchy National Highway- � Service road being
reported a record 39,506 domestic 45, show police records. Sourc- Perambalur 278 317 959 laid for Thirumathur
Poonawala has already
Covid cases on Sunday. undergone three sessions of the es said it could be due to lack of Tiruchi city (North)* 225 75 141
Tiruchi 583 234 692 � VUP’s have been proposed
The protests seem to have esca- polygraph test, the last being held enough service roads and pos- at five places --- Jakkampet
lated after several people died in last on Friday for three hours sible design faults. Total 6,131 2,076 7,733 bus stop, Mundiyambakkam,
week’s blaze in a high-rise building The four-lane highway, which Annamalai Hotel,
*Additional accident details of Tiruchy North police district
in remote north-west city of Urum- became operational in 2000, is have not been included Pappanapattu bus stop and
qi in the Xinjiang region, allegedly G20 presidency a big the only gateway to southern Source: Data obtained through RTI from DGP office, Chennai Vikkiravandi road junction
because rescue efforts were ham- opportunity, says Modi districts of Tamil Nadu. The
pered due to lockdowns. Xinjiang is road, originally designed to
one of the worst-affected regions New Delhi: Narendra Modi in his handle 35,000 passenger car that stretch, show data obtained “The villages and panchayats
where lockdown has been in force monthly Maan Ki Baath speech units (PCUs), now handles by TNIE from police depart- b e t we e n Ta m b a r a m a n d
for more than 100 days. on Sunday said G20 presidency more than 1.4 lakh PCUs on an ment through RTI. Tiruchy have not been provid-
While Chinese authorities refuted brings a huge opportunity to India average every day. The National Highways Au- ed with service and approach
the notion that Covid restrictions and the country must focus on With no proper approach thority of India (NHAI) and the roads. Until 2014, the Ulundur-
caused the deaths in Urumqi, local furthering global good. “What a road or vehicular underpass state’s efforts to mark accident- pet junction recorded one fatal
administration did issue an apology great opportunity has come for for light vehicles, the 121-km prone locations as black spots accident every 10 days. Now
and offered to phase out the curbs. India!” he said. “Whether it is section of the road from Tam- have failed to bring down the bridges have been built at a few
If the protests spread any further, peace or unity, sensitivity towards baram to Ulundurpet has be- accident rate as the road was places. More than 20,000 people
it could pose a major challenge for the environment, or sustainable come a death trap for motorists designed without considering were affected because of the ac-
Xi, who is just over a month into his development, India has solutions with more than 50% fatalities traffic movement from villages cidents,” said S Rathinavelu, a
third term in power. to challenges” | P7 and injuries being recorded on abutting the road, say locals. resident of Vikkiravandi. P5

COMETH A MOMENT TO REMEMBER

THE HOUR,
Argentina, needing a win to avoid
early exit, were held goalless after
over an hour’s play against Mexico
DISABLED LIVE MARINA DREAM, 70% schools in state lack
COMETH
late on Saturday. Their talisman
striker Lionel Messi had struggled
NEW RAMP TAKES THEM TO SEA disabled-friendly toilets
MESSI
to penetrate a heavily crowded
defence. It was now or never.
Messi needed just one chance. N I R U PA M A V I SWA N AT H A N @ Chennai B I N I TA JA I SWA L @ Chennai school, say experts. What is
Receiving a cross just over 20 yards even more worrying for disa-
from goal, he hit a fierce low drive FOR 53-year-old Meera Balaji on wheelchair the wish DESPITE years of effort, bility activists is that the per-
LITTLE MAGICIAN with his magical left foot to find
SCORES VITAL GOAL to click a selfie with her husband at the beach with Tamil Nadu schools have still centage of schools with toilets
the back of net sending packed
TO SET UP ARGENTINA stadium into a delirium waves washing at her feet has been part of her bucket not become fully accessible accessible for students with
WIN IN ONGOING list since their marriage in 1993. The dream came true for children with special disabilities is down 3% from
WORLD CUP after 30 years as a permanent ramp was thrown open needs (CWSN) as nearly 70% 32% in 2021 to 29% in 2022 in
IN QATAR... Later, Messi turned the for public use at the Marina Beach on Sunday. The per- of them don’t have disabled- the state.
provider, laying a pass manent ramp, a six-year dream and struggle of disabil- friendly toilets. One notable aspect is that
Today’s matches to substitute Enzo ity activists including the Disability Rights Alliance According to the Unified government schools have
Group G: Serbia vs Fernandez whose
sublime finish — a curling right foot strike (DRA) and the city corporation, is said to be the first District Information better infrastructure for
Cameroon, 3.30 PM; permanent (Coastal Regulation Zone) CRZ-compliant System for Education CWSN compared to
Brazil vs Switzerland, — found the top far corner net
ramp in the country for persons with disabilities. Plus (UDISE+) report private ones in the
9.30 PM
THE EQUATION “I’ve been residing in Chennai since my birth, but for 2021-22, released s t at e. T h e re p o r t
Group H: this is the first time I’m going near the sea,” said Meera recently by the Union shows that at least
South Korea A win against Poland in their last with child-like exuberance. For others like P Sara- ministry of education, 36.2% gover nment
vs Ghana group tie will ensure last 16 vanan, the possibility offered by the ramp to visit the A permanent ramp was thrown open for use at of the 58,801 schools (in- schools have CWSN-
6.30 PM; Portugal spot for Argentina, who were beach on their own without depending on friends gave the Marina Beach on Sunday | ASHWIN PRASATH cluding government, aided, friendly toilets while the fig-
vs Uruguay, shocked 1-2 by Saudi Arabia a sense of new-found liberty. “I’ve come to the beach and private) in Tamil Nadu, ure is just 24.4% for private
12.30 AM in their opening match.
However, if they are held by before but it was always with a group of friends who only 17,579 schools have toi- schools. “Such dismal per-
(Tuesday) RESULTS
would carry me. I’m happy that the ramp has been built
Permanent ramp costs `1.14cr lets for children with special formance is not expected from
BELGIUM Poland, their qualification
SHOCKED will depend on the other but I hope it will be maintained in a usable condition,” The 263-metre facility is constructed with needs (CWSN) complete with a progressive state like Tamil
Morocco stun Belgium result between Saudi Arabia Saravanan said. After the ramp design was finalised, babool, red meranti and Brazilian wood at facilities like ramps, handrail Nadu. Our administrators
2-0 in a Group F game on and Mexico. A defeat will corporation officials were struggling for funds to turn a cost of `1.14 crore. It has handrail for and wheelchair access. still don’t understand the
Saturday certainly send them the dream into a reality. They were looking for CSR or support and viewpoint is 10 metres from Because of lack of facili- conce pt of inclusive
Japan 0-1 Costa Rica home early | P11 philanthropic support before the scheme was taken up the sea. MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin ties, several CWSN, particu- education,”said TMN Deepak,
under Singara Chennai 2.0. P5 inaugurated it on Sunday. larly girls, hesitate to go to a disability-rights activist. P5

Unopposed, P T Usha set FOOD ANIMAL TAG

Himalayan yak milk, meat may soon hit the stores near you to become IOA president
P R A SA N TA M A Z U M DA R @ Guwahati
YAK farmers of Himalayan
highlands have a reason to
cheer as the scientific panel of
Food Safety and Standard Au-
thority of India has approved
the recommendation of the De-
partment of Animal Husband-
ry & Dairying to declare Hima-
layan yak as a food animal.
The ‘food animal’ tag will be-
come official once it is notified
in the gazette after approval by
competent authority.
“The reason why the yak pop-
ulation is decreasing is yak
farming is less remunerative.
The animal’s milk and meat are
not part of the conventional
meat and dairy industry and
consumed only locally. Also,
there is no big market,” Mihir
Sarkar, director of ICAR-Na-
tional Research Centre on Yak,
Department of Agricultural
Research and Education, Min-
istry of Agriculture, told this
newspaper. He said if yak is de-
clared a food animal, the eco-
nomic benefits it could bring
may encourage more people to
take up yak farming.
Yak milk is highly nutritious.
It is rich in fat and protein and
contains many essential miner-
als. It is also deemed to have
medicinal value. As per the nu-
tritional analysis, yak milk
contains 78-82% water, 7.5-8.5%
fat, 4.9-5.3% protein, 4.5-5.0%
lactose and 12.3-13.4% fat and
solids-not-fat. Traditional yak
milk products are central to the
cuisine of the highlanders.
Yak meat is considered lean
and better than beef. India has
around 58,000 yaks, found on
the heights of Arunachal, Sik-
kim, Himachal and Ladakh.
In Arunachal, their popula-
tion is estimated at 24,000,
found in Tawang, West Kameng
and Shi Yomi districts.Though
the animal has intense socio-
cultural significance to the pas-
toral rearing communities, the
past few decades witnessed a
decline in its population.
The decline is partly blamed
on a lack of interest on the par-
ty of today’s youngsters to en-
gage in yak rearing as it is a
demanding job that offers very
less in return.
E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Chennai her and as reported by this
newspaper earlier, the Athletes’
IT’S final. Olympian and multi- Commission and the Sportsper-
ple Asian Games gold medallist sons of Merit (SOMs) and sev-
P T Usha is the lone candidate eral other federations have
for Indian Olympic Association backed her.
president’s post. She is unop- Usha, who has been nominat-
posed and set to be the next ed by BJP to the Rajya Sabha,
president of the IOA. The did not find any opposition
elections are scheduled from any of the members
on December 10. Even who were part of IOA for
on Sunday, the last day years. Her panel of senior
of the nominations, no vice-president and treasur-
other candidate came er, too, is unopposed.
forward to challenge MORE ON: P12
 ALMANAC TODAY MIN MAX Sunrise 06:18 am
Monday: 28/11/2022 Year: Shubhakrut. Karthigai: Valar Pirai
Margashirsh: Shukla Paksha. Tithi: Panchami till 13-36 hrs.
190C 310C Sunset 05:45 pm
Moonrise 10:41 pm
Nakshatra (Star): U. Shadha till 10-30 hrs. Moon in Makar. Today is Subramanya Shashthi. FORECAST
Rahukaalam: 12:00-13:30 Yamagantam: 07:30-09:00 Gulikakalam: 10:30-12:00 WEATHER Partly sunny & nice Moonset 10:22 am

02 CHENNAI MONDAY 28 11 2022 � �

Tiruchy city gets ‘farm to CASES DIPPING

home’, rest of state next Continue masking up in Cold-shoulder to Sangamam

divided between Anna Nagar
N A C C H I N A R K K I N I YA N M @ Tiruchy
uzhavar sandhai and KK Na-
TIRUCHY residents who find it gar uzhavar sandhai for col-
difficult to visit uzhavar sand- lecting fresh vegetables and
public spaces, says Ma Su The UGC had earlier directed all colleges and universities across the
country to live-telecast the inauguration ceremony of the Kashi
Tamil Sangamam, kicked off on November 16 in Varanasi. The
ceremony for the a 30-day event was attended by Prime Minister
hai, where fresh fruits and veg- fruits for distribution to differ- Random testing of 2% international travellers at airports withdrawn Narendra Modi. Not a single institution in Chennai followed the UGC
etables can be bought directly ent wards in the city.” circular, as the state government expressed its displeasure over the
from farmers, can now by them Consumers can buy vegeta- event. Heads of institutions were so fearful that they even hesitated
at their doorsteps through bles at rates displayed on the EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE to hold discussions about it. “Though the event is a celebration of
‘farm to home’ scheme to be vehicles without bargaining. @ Chennai Tamil culture and legacy, it is organised by the Centre. We don’t
launched soon. Agriculture Use of digital weighing ma- want to invite unnecessary trouble and face the state government’s
marketing department sources chines in the vehicles is under IN Tamil Nadu, like other ire,” is what a head of Chennai institution told TNIE.
said they expect the scheme to consideration, sources said. States, guidelines for manda-
be launched before the second Discussions are on to finalise tory face masks have not been
week of December
this year across Tamil
whether an exclusive
app could be used or a
withdrawn and continue to be
in practice in public spaces,
Taunting Tanglish
Nadu in city dedicated mobile said Health Minister Ma Subra- Film director Thankar Bachan —
corporations. number could be allot- manian. This comes as the Un- known for his out-of-the-box
Sources said pre- During the ted for the purpose. ion Gover nment has with- thinking — would often express
paratory work is also lockdown, sale of Possibility of includ- drawn guidelines in Indian his views on culture, issues that

ILLUSTRATION: SOURAV ROY

on in Chengalpattu, fresh vegetables ing other agro prod- airports a week ago. Mean- often might pass the notice of
Coimbatore and to consumers at ucts is also under con- while, Covid-19 cases have others. On Friday, he frowned at
Tiruppur districts and their doorsteps by sideration, a senior dipped with TN reporting only the frequent use of the English
vehicles was taken word ‘model’ while
the scheme will be ex- official said. 25 cases in the past 24 hours.
up. The initiative communicating in Tamil, in an
tended to all corpora- received accolades Agriculture minis- Speaking to the media on
tions in the state in ter MRK Panneersel- Sunday, the minister noted that apparent taunt at the ruling
from both
due course. consumers and vam in his speech in some people wear masks in Residents attending a free medical camp in Chennai on Sunday | R SATISH BABU DMK which has been flaunting
On an average, prod- farmers the assembly while crowded public spaces while the Dravidian model of
ucts in uzhavar sand- presenting agricul- others do not. “When TN re- tional passengers at airports procedures, and pregnant wom- governance. Of late, Tamil
Agriculture minister Nadu’s rural development department is putting up flex boards for
hai are 20% cheaper ture budget for 2021- ported H1N1 cases, the health was withdrawn. “All sympto- en hospitalised for labour.
MRK Panneerselvam its new scheme ‘Namma Ooru Superu’ (Our place is super!). Noting
compared to market 2022 had said, “During department insisted that chil- matic patients should be tested “Even in community settings,
rate, sources said. the Covid-19 pandemic dren don face masks to prevent and isolated from other passen- only symtomatic persons that the advertisement uses the transliteration of the English word
“Six young farmers with lockdown in May 2021, sale of the spread of infection. It is ad- gers. Thermal screening should should be tested and no need ‘super,’ Bachan took a jibe at it that after `model’, even the word
suitable vehicles have been se- fresh vegetables to consumers vised that the affected people be done at the entry point for for tests for patients who had `super’ is Tamil. “Are they doing these things consciously?” He ends
lected in Tiruchy city. A subsi- at their doorsteps by vehicles continue to wear masks, and passengers. All travellers been discharged from Covid-19 it with a bang: “Don’t destroy Tamil anymore!” Many observers
dy of `2 lakh will be provided was taken up. The initiative re- the unaffected choose to do so,” should be fully-vaccinated and facilities,” the guidelines said. have however dismissed his overzealous reaction saying that it is
for remodelling the vehicle as ceived accolades from both con- he added. self-monitor their health. If Meanwhile, the health minis- nothing unusual for ads to use colloquial way of communications to
per requirements under the sumers and farmers.” they are symptomatic post trav- ter noted, that while other enhance their reach. Watch this space for more on this.
scheme,” sources said. According to the minister, we
New norms issued el, they are to report to the countries are reporting nearly
Agriculture marketing de- propose to continue the scheme.
partment deputy director G “On a pilot basis, 30 mobile
The Directorate of Public
Health on Sunday issued new
nearest health facility,” it said.
The DPH added, there is no
zero cases, China is witnessing
a spike in the infection rate. “In Money matters
Saravanan said, “Two vehicles shops will be operated in the Covid-19 testing guidelines for need to test asymptomatic per- European countries, the order
Transfers at Tamil Nadu’s electricity distribution utility Tangedco are
are ready to go and work is on five corporations of Chennai, international passengers and sons even in hospital settings. for mandatory face masks was
mired in controversy. As per seniority, the staff get transfer orders
to fix the other four vehicles. Tiruchy, Coimbatore, Salem others. As per new guidelines, This includes those undergoing withdrawn and they stopped
mostly through requests made in January and July every year.
The vehicles would be equally and Tiruppur,” he said. random testing for 2% interna- surgical, non-surgical invasive RT-PCR tests,” he added.
However, this year, while they got orders in January, TNIE learned
that steps are yet to be taken for those who applied in July. Some

Soon, bridge ‘Raze illegal micro-compost yard in Thoothukudi’

employees accused senior staff of demanding bribes to facilitate
transfers, and urged the state government to intervene in the matter.

courses for S V K R I S H N A C H A I TA N YA @ Chennai waste a day, at Kayalpattinam there was no proposal to dump
Knocking at High Command
Class 4, 5 kids THE southern bench of the Na-
south village. The NGT bench
comprising of justice Pushpa
any solid waste but the yard
was to dispose of waste. The
Following the TNCC in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao’s intervention and
his stay on the suspension of the treasurer and Nanguneri MLA Ruby
tional Green Tribunal (NGT) Sathyanarayana and expert Thoothukudi district collector R Manoharan, the in-fighting in the grand old party has taken a
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE recently ordered the demoli- member Satyagopal Korlapati said the micro-compost yard curious turn. The conflict is now between TNCC president KS Alagiri
@ Chennai tion of a micro-compost yard said, “The micro-compost yard was located in the unsurveyed and Congress Assembly floor leader K Selvaperunthagai. Sources tell
built by Kayalpattinam munici- is located within the CRZ area poramoboke land. TNIE that Alagiri strongly believed that the MLA’s suspension was
THE School Education Depart- pality in the intertidal zone, in which is impermissible under The TNCZMA requested the stayed only because of the support of the floor leader. A team of 11
ment is set to conduct bridge violation of Coastal Regulation the CRZ Notification, 2011 and tribunal to give direction to the MLAs, out of the party’s 18 MLAs, met Mallikarjun Kharge and urged
courses, with basic numeracy Zone (CRZ) rules. The 2019. The same has to be re- Thoothukudi collector to de- him to sack Selvaperunthagai. The intense in-fighting has kept some
and literacy, for students in Thoothukudi collector was giv- moved forthwith.” ZMA) in 2020, highlighting the molish the illegal construction. of its top leaders busy during last week.
Classes 4 and 5 who are lacking en a month to comply with the Mohamed Salihu, Secretary violation. While the authority The collector, also the chair-
in the basic concepts. The order, and report compliance. of the mass empowerment and directed the collector and man of the District Coastal
courses will begin from the sec-
ond term for government and
As per the norms, dumping
waste in the intertidal zone is a
guidance association,
Thoothukudi, submitted a peti-
TNPCB to take action, no steps
were taken, the illegal struc-
Management Authority, was di-
rected to demolish the micro-
Grievances redressal giving grief?
government-aided schools. prohibited activity. The munic- tion to the NGT. This comes af- ture blocked the natural drain- compost yard, remove the de- It was time for redressal of grievances at the Madurai Collectorate on
This comes after a SCERT as- ipality has constructed the yard ter he had sent a representation age outlet into the sea. bris and restore the area to its Monday. Before receiving the petitions from the general public,
sessment that found few stu- in 2020 within the intertidal to Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone In their replies, the munici- previous state. The NGT posted Special Deputy Collector for Social Security Scheme (SSS) R
dents of Classes 4 and 5 were in zone to treat 500 kg of solid Management Authority (TNC- pality commissioner claimed the case to January 6, 2023. Soundarya reviewed the pleas and ordered officials to maintain a
the learning stage of Class 1 preference register for redressing them. She randomly picked up
replies given by various departments and found several of them

COUPLE DONATES 1K SQ FT FOR PHC IN TIRUPATTUR

children. “Due to the lockdown,
there is a learning gap among irrelevant. One petitioner applied for a house site patta from Grama
students. Some in classes 4 and Natham area for an already-constructed house. On behalf of the
5 struggle to read and do basic Peraiyur tahsildar, a reply had been issued that the petition was
calculations,” said a communi- E X P R E S S S E R V I C E @ Tirupattur long-standing demand for a Rajkumar (51), a yoga teacher, forwarded to the survey department. In some other petitions, the
que by the elementary educa- healthcare facility. came to their rescue. Rajkumar reply was to file their petition online. The deputy collector has
tion director to the district and IN a post-pandemic world, own- Forced to travel four to five explained, “Initially, we thought ordered officials to crosscheck responses, do inspection and send
elementary education officers. ing land continues to be an elu- km to reach the Uthendram of constructing a spiritual cen- appropriate reply.
All elementary and middle sive dream for middle-income GH, the locals urged the state to tre on our land then decided on
school staff must be instructed and lower income groups. set up a PHC in Uthendram mu- a PHC.” (Contributed by Binita Jaiswal, T Muruganandham, S Guruvanmikanathan, S
to conduct the daily courses for Sometimes, as in the case of nicipality. A resolution was Alankayam medical officer S Kumaresan, Jeyalakshmi Ramanujam. Compiled by Archita Raghu)
30 minutes to 1 hour, said, offi- Mettupalayam, even land for a passed on behalf of the munici- Pasupathi said, the couple’s
cials. About 10 to 15% of chil- Primary Healthcare Centre is pal council for the same and the cause will help many people in
dren were identified, at present. hard to locate. However, Met- government allocated a fund of the future. “Now, over 1,000
Classes will be held with help tupalayam finally received land `30 lakh. However, the project families will get access to medi-
COVID-19 CASES IN TN

New cases Death Tests TPR Active

from the SCERT which pre- to build PHC on Wednesday, hit a roadblock as months later, cal benefits,” he added. The dis- 25 0 6,602 0.3% 268
pared study material. A couple from Tiruvannamalai donating thanks to a Tiruvannamalai- officials cited the non-availabil- trict Deputy Director of Health
Total deaths Discharged total Tests Total
Read full story on www. land for a healthcare facility in based couple who donated 1,305 ity of government land. Department met and appreci- 38,049 35,55,770 6,99,88,077
newindianexpress.com Tirupattur | EXPRESS sq ft to the meet the residents’ M Annapoorani (45) and M ated the families of the couple.

ARIES
(Mar 21 - Apr. 20)
It’s time for
P E T E R V I DA L second chances,
especially if you’re
28TH November : Mercury, the planet of wit regretting any mistakes.
and wisdom, is soon to be aligned with Don’t expect anything too
wonderful today, but, as the
eccentric Uranus, which explains why it’s week passes, you may begin
possible to think one thing one minute to deal with old memories
and another, the next. The conclusion and lay certain ghosts to
seems to be that there is no single truth, rest. The answers to your
questions may be found
just many points of view - and a great where you least expect
deal of random emotion in the air! them.
TAURUS GEMINI CANCER LEO VIRGO LIBRA SCORPIO SAGITTARIUS CAPRICORN AQUARIUS PISCES
(Apr. 21 - May 21) (May 22 - June 21) (June 22 - July 23) (July 24 - Aug. 23) (Aug. 24 - Sept. 23) (Sept. 24 - Oct. 23) (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) (Nov. 23 - Dec. 22) (Dec. 23 - Jan. 20) (Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) (Feb. 20 - Mar 20)
Today’s lunar The same set of A little hard Mercury, the Along with many Something Enough has been The Moon will Keep yourself If you imagined Social contacts
alignments lunar challenges work never did celestial other people, rather said about your encourage you to yourself if that one are taking you
are not to your sign anyone any trickster, is you are about to strange is professional to imagine that you wish. particular social back to the
exactly restful, partly happens once a month, harm. The only trouble playing a new role in your find that your opinions and about to happen. The hopes, and also about any the world lies at your feet. After all, nobody has any liaison had disappeared for past, and quite right, too!
because your traditional, regular as clockwork, with your solar chart is that solar chart, rewarding all attitudes are going to have theme for the week is involvement in a partner’s There’s a certain magic automatic right to pry ever, think again. There is Even if you’re taking time
comfortable habits will though the dates vary. whenever the Moon of you who never gave up to change. Any Virgoan bringing hidden things ambitions. However, at the in the air, which lends into your private affairs. everything to be gained from off, spare a little thought
be challenged, but also When this happens, as it favours a businesslike hope, even when there survival course over the into the open, revealing risk of sounding like a you the courage and The best way to use your reopening old contacts, even for professional plans or
because you might have does today, other people routine, as it does now, you seemed no chance of next month must take into secrets and uncovering cracked record, I must remind confidence necessary to planetary energies is those which involve a fair for another of your
to shell out a little more are mysteriously motivated are psychologically inclined success. Over the next account the need for the truth. You might be you that from now until succeed. As soon as you first to have as much degree of pain or regret. You favourite ambitions. You
money than usual. Yet to challenge your feelings to irresponsibility! But, two or three weeks, you sincere ideals and spiritual rather surprised by another three months have decide that something rest as you need, and might soon discover that don’t like time- wasters
extravagance is and decisions. Listen then, as people who are will have an opportunity, growth. Only the highest what you find, and you passed, a number of old should be done, other then to involve yourself somebody who you thought and you won’t be happy
sometimes a cosmic carefully to their good familiar with you know, you a slight one admittedly, standards will do, but then may decide to alter emotional issues will return people will have to fall in activities with a never cared for you is really if you are forced to
necessity! advice, though. are a complicated person! to right a wrong. you know that already. your plans as a result. to the top of the agenda. into line. charitable slant. rather well-disposed. squander your energy.

CROSS WORD JUMBLE UNSCRAMBLE THESE JUMBLES, ONE LETTER TO

EACH SQUARE, TO FORM FOUR ORDINARY WORDS.
BY DAVID L. HOYT
ACROSS DOWN AND JEFF KNUREK
1 Working is a matter of 2 Cut the ends o� fruit (5)
choice - about time! (11) 3 Sally is right to help (4)
9 Use evil trickery to become 4 Engaged - or already
hard to find (7) married? (4,2)
10 Stayed and spoke at 5 Love of the past (3,5)
length on a subject (5) 6 Broken treadle had a
11 Observed part of the warning notice (7)
Solutions to Saturday’s puzzle

act we hear (4) 7 It records world-

12 Loaded statement? (8) shattering events (11)
14 Do have a setback with 8 Seem at risk of failure -
debts admitted to be bad (6) so do talents make a
16 It’s mad to be found in di�erence? (5,2,4)
the thick of things (6) 13 How to serve toast say
18 Response concerning in bed (8)
the deed (8) 15 Have something in mind (7)
19 Gem in a ring given to 17 Dull courtroom (6)
a friend (4) 20 Stalk or stem has a
22 Previously found in order (5) number (5)
SU DO KU EASY 23 Work girls came out in lumps (7) 21 Aspersion on the
24 The part of the conductor? (7,4) sta� perhaps (4)
TEST YOUR NUMBER
CRUNCHING SKILL WITH OUR SATURDAY’S SOLUTIONS
UNIQUE PUZZLE Across: 1 Tom-tom, 4 Accredit, 9 Wind up, Down: 1 Towpaths, 2 Mentally, 3 Opus,
10 Compound, 12 Adam, 13 Links, 14 Slot, 5 Clock-watcher, 6 Rapt, 7 Double,
� Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner 17 Helping hands, 20 Stretched out, 23 Even, 8 To date, 11 Single-minded, 15 Bitts,
that every row, every column and every 3X3 box Saturday’s
24 Miles, 25 Idea, 28 Absconds, 29 Sprang, 16 Idled, 18 Hold back, 19 Stranger,
accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any. 30 Landlady, 31 Stoker. 21 Detail, 22 Lesson, 26 Cowl, 27 Spit.

03 CHENNAI
Perambur Barracks
Road caves in after
20-ft pipeline bursts
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Chennai
A part of the Perambur Bar-
racks road near Astabujam
road junction caved in on Sat-
urday night due to the break-
age of an underground metro
water pipeline. Traffic has been
affected in the busy stretch
since the cave-in.
According to corporation of-
ficials, a burst in a 20-feet (1,000
mm diameter) metro water
pipeline underground led to
the cave-in and both the civic
body and metro water officials
have been working to fix the is-
sue since Saturday night.
Prank bid ends
in tragedy for
19-year-old
college student
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Chennai
IN a tragic incident, a 19-year-
old youth accidentally killed
himself while attempting to
prank his girlfriend.
According to sources, on
Thursday, the boy identified as
Mohan, a BCom student at a
private college, tied a noose
around his neck to fake his
death and attempted to click a
photograph to scare his 19-year-
old girlfriend, who’s birthday
was on Friday. He allegedly lost
balance and strangled himself,
said Nolambur police. The po-
lice said they often sent each
other such messages.
According to Mohan’s moth-
er, he wanted to prank his girl-
friend on her birthday. On
Thursday, when Mohan was
alone in the house, he sent a
prank message to his girlfriend
and attempted the stunt.
When his mother returned
home, she found Mohan mo-
tionless. He was then rushed to
a nearby hospital, where he
was declared dead on arrival.
On information, Nolambur po-
lice sent the body to for
postmortem.
An investigation is on.
(Assistance for those having
suicidal thoughts is available
on Tamil Nadu’s health helpline
104 and Sneha’s suicide preven-
tion helpline 044-24640050)
MONDAY
“Once the metro water offi-
cials resolve the issue, we will
lay the road. It will be complet-
ed within the next two days,”
said a corporation official.
In the meantime, the city
traffic police have announced
traffic diversions in the stretch
until further notice.
Accordingly, heavy vehicles
and MTC buses will not be al-
lowed towards Perambur Bar-
racks Road. Heavy Vehicles and
buses coming from Purasaw-
alkam and Vepery, will be di-
verted at Doveton towards
Hunters Road and Choolai High
Road.
Motorbikes and light motor
Toxic foam triggered by sewage outflow welcomed beach-goers in Marina on Sunday | ASHWIN PRASATH
‘Pharmacists deserve more
recognition for their work’
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Chennai
PHARMACISTS make a signifi-
cant contribution in saving
lives but their work is not rec-
ognised, said P V Vijayalaksh-
mi, Director of Drugs Control,
Tamil Nadu. The Indian Phar-
macy Graduates’ Association,
Tamil Nadu Branch celebrated
61st National Pharmacy Week
on Saturday at the Madras Med-
ical College old campus. Speak-
ing at the event, Vijayalakshmi
28 11 2022
� �
Heavy vehicles and buses from Purasawalkam and Vepery will be diverted at
Doveton towards Hunters Road and Choolai High Road | R SATISH BABU
vehicles coming from Doveton
junction and intending to go to
Otteri junction, are to take a
left turn at Astabujam Road
junction via Venkatesa Bak-
than Street.
Motorbikes and light motor
TOXIC FROTH
said, during the pandemic, the
pharmacists ensured drugs and
medical oxygen were available.
The Indian Pharmacy Gradu-
ates’ Association also honoured
the best pharmacists. R Kalai-
selvi, Drugs Inspector, Zone-1
was honoured with the Best
Drugs Regulatory Officer. M P
Muralikrishnan, Secretary, In-
dian Pharmacy Graduates’ As-
sociation-Tamil Nadu said, the
association also distributed
awareness pamphlets on the
safe use of drugs.
vehicles from Doveton junction
intending to go to Pulianthope
will take a right turn at Astapu-
jam road junction via Astabu-
jam Road and Angallamman
Koil Street and reach their
destination.
EXPRESS READ
Fog disrupts flight
services in Chennai
Chennai: Flight services were
disrupted at the Chennai
International Airport on Sunday
morning due to fog. Many flights
expected to arrive in Chennai
were diverted to other cities. A
flight from Muscat carrying more
than 200 passengers that was
expected to land at 6:30 am was
unable to land due to poor
visibility. It was diverted to
Bengaluru. Nearly eight flights
bound for Mumbai, Hyderabad,
Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry
and Madurai were delayed by
nearly 30 minutes. ENS
362 µg|m3
WOMAN COP SUSPENDED FOR
TIPPING OFF FRAUDSTER
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Chennai
A woman police constable at-
tached to the harbour police
station has been placed under
suspension on orders of the
city police commissioner
Shankar Jiwal for allegedly tip-
ping off a fraudster about po-
lice movement.
According to sources, the
constable identified as
Ajimol of Kanniyaku-
mari got in touch with
the accused, BM Reddy
alias Muthukrishnan
alias Muthu alias Lion
Muthuvel (44), nearly a
year ago when she was
posted at Ayanavaram court,
after which they were in a
relationship.
Later, she used to tip him off
whenever there was a lookout
for him. It came to light during
an investigation.
The police said Reddy was ar-
rested under the Goondas Act
with two others in July for al-
legedly duping Muhammad
Jaleel (77), a Madurai-based
businessman, on the pretext of
helping him secure a loan of
`200 crore to develop his col-
lege. They charged `5.46 crore
as commission, but never got
him the loan.
The police said Reddy was
previously arrested under the
Goondas Act in 2019 for cheat-
ing several people, to the tune
of `15 crore.
‘Blue economy policy out in 2 months’
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Chennai
THE preparation of the Blue
Economy policy is in its final
stages and will be released
within two months, said M Rav-
ichandran, Secretary, Ministry
of Earth Sciences (MoES).
Speaking at the 12th convoca-
tion of BS Abdur Rahman Cres-
cent Institute of Science and
Technology, Ravichandran
said, the Blue Economy policy
envisages the optimal utilisa-
tion of all sectors of the mari-
time domains - living, non-liv-
ing resources, tourism, ocean
energy etc., for sustainable de-
velopment of coastal areas. As
the ministry will focus on the
development of appropriate
technology for exploring deep
oceans, it will partner with ed-
ucational institutions, he
added.
Speaking to the media on the
sidelines, he said rains in the
The PM 2.5 level recorded at Alandur NEWS UPDATE FROM TN
on Sunday. Nitrogen dioxide level
was at 126 µg/m3 against the
prescribed standard of 80 µg/m3
Twitter @ xpresstn
‘TNIE Tamilnadu’ @ xpresstn
newindianexpress com
CRIME FILE
Man held after wife ends
life over dowry harassment
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE 20, Ashwini allegedly died by
@ Chennai suicide. Police sent the body to
Rajiv Gandhi Government Gen-
A 27-year-old man was arrested eral Hospital for postmortem.
on Sunday in connection with A case was registered.
the death of his wife. Probe re- During investigation, Ash-
vealed that the woman wini’s parents told the police
died by suicide as she last week Vijay, along with his
was allegedly harassed mother and aunt, allegedly har-
by her husband for assed Ashwini for dowry. The
dowry. girl’s parents alleged this could
According to Raja- have led Ashwini to take the ex-
mangalam police, the treme step. An inquiry is on.
suspect, Vijay, is a con- (Assistance for those having
struction businessman. He got suicidal thoughts is available
married to Ashwini (22) two on TN’s health helpline 104 and
years ago. They have a one- Sneha’s suicide prevention hel-
year-old child. On November pline 044-24640050)
Traffic cop slaps biker near Puzhal, video goes viral
Chennai: A traffic police constable
attached to Madhavaram traffic
enforcement wing allegedly
slapped a biker on Sunday. The
video went viral on social media.
The constable Paulraj was on duty
at Kathirvedu, near Puzhal when
the incident took place. Paulraj
was accidentally struck by a
motorcycle when the biker crossed the signal after another car blocked
his path. Paulraj slapped the rider and ordered him to leave the area as
the biker was trying to apologise. The biker pulled over to the side of
the road, and approached the constable. An argument broke out.
Others, too, questioned Paulraj for his actions. After a traffic inspector
expressed regret for the constable’s behaviour, the biker left the area. A
source said Paulraj has many memos pending against him. ENS
A student receives her degree from V-C Dr A Peer Mohammed, Pro-Chancellor Abdul
Qadir A Rahman Buhari and MoES Secretary M Ravichandran | EXPRESS
southern parts of the country students were awarded gold
show an increasing trend over medals. “We are planning to
the past decade and it is expect- start a women’s college next
ed to continue. “While the aver- year. The placements have been
age rainfall remains near nor- good and we will try to make it
mal, the number of days over better,” said A Peer Mohamed,
which the rains are spread is Vice Chancellor of the univer-
decreasing causing concerns sity. Chancellor BSA Arif Bu-
like flooding and drought. The hary Rahman, Pro-Chancellor
centre has allocated `4,070 Abdul Qadir A Rahman Bu-
crore for deep sea missions,” he hari, Vice Chancellor A Peer
added. Mohamed, Registrar N Raja
The university on Sunday Hussain and members of the
conferred degrees on 2,340 UG, board were present on the
PG and doctorate students; 51 occasion.
04 CHENNAI
‘Son’shine in focus at Udhaya’s b’day bash QR code for waste
Widespread celebrations of DMK scion’s life bring back memories of Karunanidhi’s birthdays, say DMK old-timers
S K U M A R E S A N @ Chennai
THE grand manner in which
the DMK celebrated the birth-
day of its youth wing secretary
Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday
reminded party old-timers of
the fervour with which the late
DMK patriarch M Karunani-
dhi’s birthdays were celebrat-
ed. From boat races to social
media campaigns, the party left
no opportunity to make an im-
pression, sending a clear mes-
sage to cadre and the public.
DMK leaders, including min-
isters, were busy organising
and participating in the cele-
brations. On behalf of Chen-
nai’s west district unit of the
party, a fibre boat race between
about 100 boats was held at Ma-
rina Beach.
Across the state, party cadre
org anised blood-donation
camps, medical camps, eye
check-up camps, and diabetes
and BP identification camps.
OPS’ chapter in
AIADMK is
closed, asserts
Jayakumar
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai
EMPHASISING that former AI-
ADMK coordinator O Panneer-
selvam’s fate has been sealed,
the party’s organising secre-
tary D Jayakumar on Sunday
remarked that Panneersel-
vam’s “chapter was closed” by
the AIADMK general council.
On Sunday, Jayakumar sub-
mitted a petition at the Greater
Chennai Police Commission-
er’s office, seeking permission
to pay tribute to former chief
minister J Jayalalithaa and
take a pledge at her memorial
on her sixth death anniversary
on December 5. Speaking to re-
porters later, he expressed hope
that the police would permit
the AIADMK event.
To a question on whether the
two factions of the AIADMK
could unite, the former minis-
ter said, “Party cadre won’t ac-
cept Panneerselvam. His chap-
ter was closed and the AIADMK
general council decided to re-
move him from the party.”
He further charged that Pan-
neerselvam didn’t support AI-
ADMK candidates in his native
district of Theni in the 2021 As-
sembly elections.
Auto firm staff demand Sunday
weekly off, skip work for a day
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Krishnagiri
OVER 1,000 workers of an auto-
mobile manufacturing unit in
Hosur boycotted work on Sun-
day, following an announce-
ment by the company that the
employees should work this
Sunday and take their weekly
off on Thursday.
A Dennis, vice president of
the employees union of the
company told TNIE, “Accord-
ing to the law, workers should
get a weekly off after 48 hours
on duty (that is after six days).
The management informed us
on Wednesday that Sunday will
be a working day and the week-
ly off will be postponed to
Thursday due to business exi-
gencies. The union accepted
Malayalam writer’s request for Tamil Sahitya
Akademi will be taken up with CM: Minister
Akademi. Owing to this, writers
E X P R ESS N E WS S E RV I C E @ Tirunelveli
like Sundar Ramasamy and Van-
MALAYALAM writer Kalpatta nathasan have not been properly
Narayanan requested
the State government
on Saturday to form its
own Tamil Sahitya
Akademi. He was ad-
dressing a two-day event
‘Porunai Ilakkiya
Thiruvizhaa’ in the dis-
trict. “This is the moth-
er land of my mother Kalpatta
tongue. Tamil is a clas- Narayanan
sical language and the
state had many poets during the
Sangam era. It has everything the thiruvizhaa, MP Kanimozhi
except for a Tamil Sahitya said people of Tamil Nadu are
MONDAY
They also offered meals to old-
age homes, temples, orphanag-
es, and gave items such as books
to the needy. At Royapuram and
LOSS-HIT TIRUPPUR & KOVAI TEXTILE
UNITS TO STOP WORK FOR TWO WEEKS
S A R A V A N A N M P @ Tiruppur
UNSTABLE yarn prices, poor
procurement, and the high
power tariff have affected tex-
tile and grey fabric manufac-
turers from Tiruppur and
Coimbatore districts. Hence,
they have decided to stall
manufacturing for 14 days
from November 28, due to
which thousands of power
loom units will be closed.
Tamil Nadu Textile Entre-
preneurs Association’s coor-
dinator K Sakthivel told
TNIE, “Unstable cotton yarn
prices have severely affected
grey fabrics and textiles, due
to which we are facing issues.
Adding to this is the poor pro-
curement, mainly from North
and Western India, and the
high power tariff, implement-
ed by Tangedco in September,
which has affected produc-
tion cost.”
“After getting fabrics from
the power loom units, we
found that the loss came to
around `3-4 per metre. We ex-
pected orders for Deepavali
and accumulated stock, but
the demand was very poor.
However, we decided not to go
on a strike as it would directly
affect the workers as well as
the company’s rule of working
on Sunday, but said that it
should be considered as over-
time, but it was not accepted by
the management.”
“Over 1,000 employees and
over 4,000 outsourced workers
boycotted production work in
Unit 1 and 2 and we will go to
work on Thursday, when the
leave was announce.”
An official from the company
said that they will continue
with Thursday as the weekly
off. “Weekly offs can be given in
two situations: if they work for
six consecutive days, and sec-
ondly, if necessary, the compa-
ny can give weekly offs to work-
ers after 10 consecutive days of
work. As we chose the second
criteria in this case, it is not a
violation of law.”
recognised,” he added.
Ministers Anbil Mahesh
and Rajakannappan,
district collector V Vish-
nu and corporation com-
missioner Sivakrishna-
murthy took part. The
minister for school edu-
cation assured that the
matter will be raised
with Chief Minister MK
Stalin.
Addressing another event in
28 11 2022
� �
DMK youth wing
secretary Udhayanidhi
Stalin with his parents
CM MK Stalin and
Durga Stalin | EXPRESS
Madhavaram in Chennai, DMK
youth wing cadre offered sweat-
ers, raincoats, and blankets to
the needy.
File photo of cotton yarn manufacturing in Coimbatore | EXPRESS
The unstable cotton yarn
price is due to the
reduction in arrival of fresh
cotton in the market. This
reflects in procurements
and orders
Official, Textile Department
our business and reduce pro-
duction by up to 40% for the
next few weeks. But now, we
have to close our facilities for
the next 14 days. We will not
procure cotton yarn from the
mill on these days. Over 300
WILL YOU ‘MOO’ ON ALREADY?
As a man tries to use his Sunday afternoon to laze around, cattle use the chance to graze around, at Besant Nagar | MARTIN LOUIS
not celebrating their writers.
“The public in Kerala give more
importance to the writers. They
call them to speak even for tem-
ple festivals. The literary festi-
vals and book fairs being con-
ducted in all districts will help
the people understand literacy
and the writers,” she said. As
part of the thiruvizhaa, differ-
ent events such as Painthamizh
Ilakkiyam, Naattaar Ilakki-
yam, Karisal Ilakkiyam, Nellai
Vattaara Ilakkiyam, Neithal Il-
akkiyam, Naanchil Ilakkiyam,
Siruvar Ilakkiyam, Kavithai
Mazhai, Siruvar Cinema, and
Ulaga Cinema were held.
On behalf of the Chennai
east district unit youth wing,
uniforms were provided to 300
auto drivers. Royapuram MLA
I Dream R Murthy offered 180
rice bags to DMK functionar-
ies. Various units of the party
offered gold rings to newborn
babies in government hospitals
in their respective areas.
On condition of anonymity, a
senior DMK functionary from
Alandur said, “Udhayanidhi’s
birthday has been celebrated
across Chennai on a par with
how Karunanidhi’s birthdays
used to be celebrated. Whether
good or bad, this has made the
cadre enthusiastic and helped
the poor.”
Speaking at an event organ-
ised by the Chennai east dis-
trict youth wing, School Educa-
tion Minister Anbil Mahesh
Poyyamozhi said, “Next year,
Udhayanidhi will celebrate his
birthday as a minister.”
Earlier, Udhayanidhi re-
large textile manufacturers
and weaving units will re-
main closed. We will also hold
a general meeting for the next
plan of action after reopen-
ing,” he added.
Palladam Powerloom Weav-
ing Units Owners’ Associa-
tion president P Velusamy
said, “This year has been bad
for power loom units. Firstly,
we demanded a change in
weaving charges in January
and February this year, fol-
lowing which companies de-
Online rummy: Woman loses `70K, dies by suicide
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Tenkasi
WITH the Tamil Nadu govern-
ment’s Bill banning online
gambling pending with Gover-
nor RN Ravi set to lapse on
Monday, a woman labourer
from Odisha died by suicide
near Sankarankovil on Satur-
day after losing money to on-
line rummy.
Sankarankovil Deputy Su-
perintendent of Police (DSP) M
Sudheer said that the mobile
phone of the deceased person
will be sent for forensic
analysis.
The Valamvanthanallur po-
lice, who registered a case un-
der Section 174 (3) of the Indian
ceived wishes from his parents
Chief Minister MK Stalin and
Durga Stalin. Later, he paid re-
spect at the memorial of former
chief ministers Karunanidhi
and CN Annadurai, and attend-
ed various programmes and
gave away aid to the needy.
All ministers, as well as
MLAs, MPs and functionaries
of the party wished him on so-
cial media.
DMK sources said celebra-
tions were held in thousands of
places across the state. In the
last three days alone, party
mouthpiece Murasoli published
hundreds of news items about
events planned to celebrate Ud-
hayanidhi’s birthday, and all
district units and wings of the
party resolved to celebrate the
birthday in a grand manner.
On Sunday, Murasoli had 71
pages of advertisements to
wish Udhayanidhi. All the ad-
vertisements hailed him as a
future face of the party.
cided to of fer dif ferent
amounts of money for vari-
ous qualities of fabrics. Then
came the issue of yarn price
and power tariff, and now the
manufacturers have decided
to stop supplying warp yarn
(paavu nool) for weaving tex-
tile goods. Since it is a key in-
gredient for weaving clothes,
we will be forced to stop our
machines.”
CITU-Powerloom Weaving
Unit Workers’ Association
(Tiruppur) secretary R Muth-
usamy said, “We are confused
over the decision of the tex-
tile companies closing their
businesses for two weeks and
are worried about the future
of workers. Many are poor
with a daily salary of `500-
700. Many people, mostly
youth, may leave the industry
if their income is hit.”
An official from the textile
department told TNIE, “The
unstable cotton yarn price is
due to the reduction in arrival
of fresh cotton in the market.
This reflects in the procure-
ments and orders. Besides, we
have already received propos-
als from weaving units and
textile companies about the
power tariff and we have for-
warded them to Tangedco.”
Penal Code (IPC), said that an
inquiry will be carried out
by the revenue division-
al officer since the
woman, Maji, died
within three years of
her marriage with a
person identified as
Ajaykumar.
“The couple, working in a
PMK urges Governor to approve TN Bill that bans online gambling
Chennai: Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president Dr Anbumani Ramadoss urged Governor RN Ravi
to assent to the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games
Bill, which bans online gambling, since the ordinance on the matter will lapse on Sunday
midnight. In a tweet, Anbumani noted that the ordinance was promulgated on October 1. The
PMK president added that online gambling will resume once the ban on it expires. He also
noted that 32 people had died by suicide in the last 15 months after losing money to online
gambling across Tamil Nadu
‘TECH SAVVY’ WASTE DISPOSAL
collection could be
launched pan-state
J O S E K J O S E P H @ Tiruchy
IF everything goes well, the QR
code model, introduced by the
Tiruchy corporation in August
for waste collection and segra-
gation, will be launched pan
state by the government.
Each house and building in
the corporation has been pro-
vided with a QR code and sani-
tation workers have been asked
to scan the code using a mobile
application and enter the de-
tails including the segregation
of waste. The corporation had
tried the system in 2018 and de-
cided to use it again consider-
ing its potential. Currently, it is
only being used in Ward 61. A
senior corporation official said
the civic body is conducting a
detailed study about the model.
“It is likely to be used across
the state and the municipal ad-
ministration department is
keenly monitoring the corpora-
tion study,” they said.
“Currently, we are able to
know how many houses from
Ward 61 are segregating waste
and how many are handing
over the waste. If a house is not
giving waste over a period of
time, the sanitation worker has
to address the reason behind it.
If the residents are not out of
station, it means they are
dumping waste at a public
place. This means the system is
effective in preventing public
littering,” he said.
The official pointed out when
they presented the project, that
the municipal administration
department asked them to con-
tinue the study in one ward for
a few more months. “If this is
successful, the system would be
EXPRESS READ
Governor RN Ravi and his wife Laxmi Ravi at a dinner
hosted by Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali at
Amir Mahal in Chennai on Sunday | ASHWIN PRASATH
‘Restore scholarship for minorities’
Chennai: The CPI condemned the union
government for scrapping educational
scholarships for minorities from Classes 1 to 8,
and urged it to restore the same. In a statement
issued on Sunday, CPI state secretary K
Balakrishnan said the centre restricted
minorities’ school education scholarships to
Classes 9 and 10 and this could be an attempt to
scrap the scholarship scheme altogether. ENS
Wife pours boiling water
on man’s private parts
Ramanathapuram: A woman
allegedly poured boiling water on
her husband’s private parts
during an argument in Devipat-
tinam on Saturday evening.
Police said the woman verbally
abused her husband and poured
boiling water on him, causing
burns from his stomach to his
thighs. He has been hospitalised
and the woman booked. ENS
private spinning company near
Velayuthapuram, used to
play online rummy.
Recently, Maji was
seen upset as she had
lost `70,000 while play-
ing the game. Her body
was sent to the govern-
ment hospital in Sankara-
nkovil for a postmortem. Her
Corporation garbage-collecting QR code
on a building in Tiruchy | MK ASHOK KUMAR
implemented across the state,”
he added.
Sources said the residents
would soon be able to get more
information including the loca-
tion of garbage collection
vehicles.
“We had already decided to
install GPS devices in all our
garbage collection vehicles.
This would help us monitor the
movement of vehicles and
whether they are regularly vis-
iting each ward. We are consid-
ering allowing residents to
know the location of garbage
collection vehicles through the
mobile application. This would
help them know when the gar-
bage collection vehicles will
come to their area,” they said.
Sources added that depend-
ing on the success, the corpora-
tion will distribute QR codes to
all houses and commercial
buildings before March 2023.
‘Will deposit
4,000 kg of
temple gold’
Chennai: HR&CE
Minister PK
Sekarbabu said
steps are being
taken to deposit
4,000 kg of gold
from various
temples in the
bank and spend
the interest on
the development
of temples. He
inaugurated the
renovated
Lakshmi Amman
Thirukkoil in
Perambur on
Sunday. In
response to a
question from the
media regarding
the opposition to
melting temple
gold, Sekarbabu
said that the step
is inevitable. ENS
VHP opposes medical
facility inside temple
Madurai: Opposing the HR&CE
department’s decision to
establish a health centre at the
Meenakshi Sundaraswarar
Temple, VHP district president
Pandian has urged the
government to build the facility
on Chithirai Streets instead. “If a
health centre is built on temple
premises, it might lead to bad
omens,” he said. ENS
parents in Odisha have been in-
formed about her death,” sourc-
es said.
(Assistance for those having
suicidal thoughts is available
on the Tamil Nadu health
department’s helpline 104 and
Sneha suicide prevention
helpline 044-24640050)
 KARTHIGAI The flag hoisting ceremony for the
10-day annual Karthigai Deepam festival
DEEPAM was held at the Sri Arunachaleswarar
Temple in Tiruvannamalai on Sunday

05 CHENNAI MONDAY 28 11 2022

� �

‘Bros assaulted Vizhinjam stir: KL hardens stance against Latin Church

at station but
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE The government had earlier to hold any talks with the pro- ernment of lying. bishop was unheard of. “I want to
@ T’Puram refused the demands of Vizhin- tests after the previous talks Transport minister and one of know if the police register a case
jam International Seaport Lim- failed to reach any consensus. the members of the cabinet sub- against the chief minister and
THE state government has hard- ited to extract the loss due to pro- Though the government claimed committee involved with talks party secretary when CPM mem-

cops didn’t do it’

Police commissioner’s report on Kerala
armyman assault case cites lack of witness
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Kollam
IN a new twist to the alleged cus-
todial torture of a soldier and
his brother inside the Kilikollur
police station, Kollam city police
commissioner Merin Joseph
has given a clean chit to the sta-
tion’s officials citing absence of
eyewitnesses.
Soldier M Vishnu and his
brother M Vignesh were alleg-
edly assaulted by the police of-
ficers on August 25. While
Joseph’s report submitted to the
Kerala State Human Rights
Commission (KSHRC) on No-
vember 9 confirmed that the
brothers were assaulted inside
the station, it said there were
no eyewitnesses to prove
the officers did it.
Swathi in preventing the issue.
KSHRC had sought a report on
the incident after Vignesh ap-
proached it with a complaint.
Responding to the report, Vig-
nesh told reporters that top po-
lice officials were attempting to
protect the officers. “We have no
hope of getting justice from the
police. We will proceed legally,”
he said.
BJP state president K Suren-
dran too termed the report
“strange”. “It says the assault
occurred inside the police sta-
tion, but there is no information
about the assailants. Such a re-
port indicates police can do any-
thing here. The entire world saw
the visuals of the soldier being
brutally beaten by the po-
lice,” said Surendran.
ened its stand against coastal
protestors opposing the Vizhin-
jam seaport project, a day after
the protest turned violent. The
cases registered against the Lat-
in priests including the metro-
politan archbishop Thomas J
Netto are seen as a firm step tak-
en by the government which has
restrained itself from any overt
action for more than 100 days.
test from the Latin Church as it
would further foment violence.
But it is learnt the government is
considering charging the penalty
from the protestors and inform
the HC of the decision. The Latin
Church has also decided to file an
appeal against the HC order al-
lowing port works, on Monday.
The new developments came
after the government decided not
that it took steps to address the
six out of seven demands made
by the Church, it accused the gov-
There has been no other
protest where the
government and police kept
their self-restraint to this
far. It should not be seen as
frailty
Antony Raju, Transport Minister
with the protestors, Antony Raju,
warned the protestors against
trying to break the peace and
harmony of the land. “There has
been no other protest where the
government and police kept their
self-restraint to this far. It should
not be seen as frailty,” said the
minister.The Opposition Leader,
VD Satheesan, said the govern-
ment action against the arch-
Pits and potholes on the toll
road continue to pose threat
C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1
THOUGH a toll is being collect-
ed to use the stretch, bypasses
have not been planned in tan-
dem with the growing vehicu-
lar traffic.
As per NHAI data, there are
51 black spots between Perun-
galathur bus stop and TDM Ar-
yas Junction near Salavathy
(Villupuram district).
Though negligence of driv-
bers protest. The government is
acting like a slave to the Adani
(the concessionaire of the port
project) to suppress the protest
of fishermen. CPM- BJP unholy
nexus was formed to protect the
interest of Adani,” said
Satheesan.
The Latin church also reacted
sharply to the government
move.
the NHAI has refused to cut the
toll fee by 60% in accordance
with the NH Fee Rules of 2008.
In February 2018, union road
transport minister Nitin Gad-
kari announced construction
of a six-lane elevated corridor
from Tambaram to Chengalpat-
tu and eight-laning of the Chen-
galpattu to Tindivanam stretch.
But the work is yet to commence
even after four years.

FOR GREENER PASTURES

CCTV visuals from He said it was clear ers, drunken driving, riding
the station that had that the state govern- without helmets and other hu- A lookback
gone viral on social me- ment was behind the An eledrly woman taking goats for grazing via a canal near Bahugram in Cuttack district in Orissa | DEBADATTA MALLICK man errors contribute to the ac- It may be recalled that in a
dia showed a scuffle be- police report to protect cidents, pits and potholes on the letter to DMK MP P Wilson,
tween policeman and one the criminals. toll road continue to pose threat Gadkari had said user fee for

Dreams of many have come

of the brothers. The sib- Vishnu and Vignesh had to motorists. toll plazas set up on
lings had claimed they were on November 12 moved the Ker- “Lack of signage boards and highways using public funds
then taken to a torture room in- ala High Court, seeking to quash potholes show the shoddy main- will be slashed by 60%
side and beaten brutally. It is for the criminal case registered tenance of the NH. Two-wheel-

true, my heart is full: ‘Bro’ CM

this assault that the police re- against them. They told the ers often skid due to soil accu-
port claimed there are no court that the police beat them mulated on service lanes. The NHAI sources said as part of
eyewitnesses. up mercilessly and concocted menace of cattle roaming on elimination of more than 30
Interestingly, the report does the story that they attacked the the carriageway continues una- black spots between Tambaram
not mention the names of CI police in an MDMA seizure case. bated,” said R Siddharth, a reg- and Chengalpattu, a 28-km ele-
Vinod and SI Anish, who were The brothers said Vishnu’s wed- ular commuter. vated cor ridor has been
accused of assaulting the sib- ding was called off by the bride C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 are needed to improve the expe- near the ramp and we will also As per official documents, the planned. “The DPR is ready.
lings, lending credence to allega- and her family following the in- rience for persons with disabili- deploy additional personnel for 98-km Tambaram-Tindivanam Work will commence next year,”
tions that top police officials had cident, while Vignesh failed to THE 263-metre facility is con- ties, said activists. According to assistance. We have set up a section of the NH was devel- an official said.
been trying to protect the ac- appear for the physical test for structed with babool, red mer- Smitha, an assistance booth or temporary toilet now but we oped using public funds. Similarly, a feasibility study
cused policemen from the start. the police constable post owing anti and Brazilian wood at a help desk, a beach wheelchair have plans to construct a per- Though the toll plazas located is being conducted for an
Meanwhile, the report de- to the injuries he suffered in the cost of around Rs.1.14 crore. It storage container, trained life manent one and create other at Athur and Paranur have col- expressway between Tambar-
bunked the Kilikollur officials’ torture. also has a handrail for those guards, Mobi mats (non-slip facilities in the future,” said lected twice the amount they am and Tiruchy, added the
claim that the complainants had The August 25 incident came who may need support and the pathways) near the view point, corporation commissioner Ga- had spent for road construction, official.
been attacked outside the sta- to light after the brothers sub- viewpoint is 10 metres from the accessible drinking water and gandeep Singh Bedi.
tion. It said the lone lapse by the mitted a complaint before senior sea. Chepauk- Thiruvallikeni permanent toilets should be put As for maintenance, he said
police was the failure of civil po- police officials following their MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin inau- in place. that conservancy staff will take
lice officer Dileep and woman SI release from judicial custody. gurated it along with mayor R On Sunday, a few users also care of cleaning the pathway
ONLY 74% SCHOOLS HAVE RAMPS, SAYS REPORT
Priya on Sunday. raised concern over a small por- and the contractors are bound Continued from page 1: “WE have been talking a lot
“This is a dream-come-true tion of the ramp sinking under to carry out any repairs if about the rights of the disabled, but at the
for us after working for the last the sand, raising the risk of necessary. grassroots level we are not able to provide basic
Modi to inaugurate Shivamogga airport six years. We have coordinated people skidding on the ramp. The city corporation is also amenities like CWSN-friendly toilets to our kids,”
Shivamogga: Former CM BS Yediyurappa said the construction of with several stakeholders to “We have kept 20 wheelchairs awaiting CRZ clearance for a Deepak said. According to the report, 100% schools
Shivamogga airport has almost been completed. It will be create this ramp. This will go similar ramp at Besant Nagar in Delhi have CWSN-friendly toilet. Creating CWSN
inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi in the last week of January or towards improving the mental We have kept 20 beach. facilities in schools is a need of the hour as 1,55,552
the first week of February, and the date will be finalised after health and well-being of many wheelchairs near the ramp Chief Minister MK Stalin disabled students have enrolled in Classes 1 to 12 in academic year
meeting the PM. Yediyurappa and MP BY Raghavendra inspected people and the fact that this is and we will also deploy said in a tweet, “ Yes, the dreams 2021-22 in TN schools. The report also shows that only 74% schools
the construction works here on Saturday and Yediyurappa told going to be permanent facility additional personnel for of many have come true. As have ramps and only 41.1% schools have ramps with handrail facility.
reporters that the construction of the runway are in the final makes me happy,” said Smitha assistance. We have set up a promised, we have created a According to teachers, one of the main reasons for drop in CWSN facility
temporary toilet and have
stages. The measurement of the runway is 3,110 metres long and Sadasivan of the DRA. permanent ramp for persons in schools is lack of maintenance. “If a handrail is damaged, it is never
plans for a permanent one
45 metres wide, which is the second longest runway in state. ENS Though the main infrastruc- with disabilities. As your broth- repaired. The number thus keeps declining,” said a government
ture is in place, allied facilities Gagandeep Singh Bedi er, my heart is full.” schoolteacher in Chennai.

EXPRESS READ C-1538, THE KATPADI CO-OPERATIVE

Docs brawl at PHC in Chennai , 1 hurt Search at house of Mubeen’s friend TOWNSHIP SOCIETY LIMITED
Gandhi Nagar, Vellore-632006, Vellore District,
Chennai: A doctor of a PHC in Minjur in Thiruvallur Coimbatore: Coimbatore city police searched the house Phone No. 0416-2243075, Mobile No. 9894814619
was injured after a brawl with another doctor. of H Mohammed Hazan (29), a close friend of Jamesha
According to the police, a complaint was filed by Dr D Mubeen, who died in the car blast on October 23. TENDER REFERENCE No: KAT/1/TS/2022
Nijanthan, a medical officer at Minjur PHC. He said on However, the police didn’t find any incriminating Online Tenders are Invited by The Katpadi Co-Operative
Saturday, he had asked a fellow doctor to fill in at the documents the house located in KG Layout in South
PHC in Athipet. However, the doctor did not do so Ukkadam. Sources said Hazan is working in a cloth Township Society Limited for the Sale of Residential
after which Dr Nijanthan questioned him, to which he shop near Town Hall and used to go to a mosque in Plot Via Tender Portal https://tntenders.gov.in
allegedly told him that another doctor, Dr Davis Kuniyamuthur where he met Mubeen. Mubeen Last Date For E-Tender : 27.12.2022
Senthilkumar, had advised him not to do so. When Dr befriended two more men, Abbas and Amanullah from
Nijanthan took up the issue with Dr Davis, an Kuniyamuthur. “The police found out the details about Time: 4.00 PM
argument ensued, which escalated into a brawl. In the three a few days ago and are trying on the lookout Secretary President
the fight, Dr Nijanthan was injured. Minjur police have for the other two,” they said. Meanwhile, a police team
registered a case. The health department will also visited Hazan’s residence at 9 am and searched his
initiate a probe, said sources. ENS resident, which lasted for two hours. ENS INTEGRAL COACH FACTORY
CHENNAI - 38.
Tender Notice No.ICF/PCMM/EOT/47/2022 Dated: 25.11.2022
The following e-tenders are published in IREPS website. Firms are requested to login
to www.ireps.gov.in and quote against these tenders. Manual quotations will not be
entertained for these tenders. Closing and Openig time for all tenders are 14.15 hrs.
Hindi version of tender notice is available on website www.icf.indianrailways.gov.in
SL. Due Date /
Tender No Tender Title Quantity
No. Time
1 08221867 S&I CABLE TRAYS,CONDUITS DETC/US 43 SET 12/12/2022
SUPPLY OF ONE COACH SET OF 180
2 07222318A 1 SET 12/12/2022
DEGREE REVOLVING SEATS
3 02220339 ROOF SHEET 51 SET 12/12/2022
CABLE DRUM MOUNTING BRACKET
4 07220340 31 NOS 12/12/2022
ARRANGEMENT
S&I OF INTERIOR PANELLING, PARTITION
5 07222438 FRAME AND FRP MODULAR TOILET FOR 12 SET 12/12/2022
MAHA METRO
6 02221559A END PART 78 SET 13/12/2022
7 07222310 S & I of RAKE SET OF FLR SKIRT PROFL 65 SET 13/12/2022
S & I OF INTERIOR FURNISHING OF
8 07222456 400 SET 13/12/2022
LWACCNE COACHES
Heavy duty racking for 2500 SQ.M shed
9 01225565 1 SET 13/12/2022
western end and RBF4 section
10 02220341 STAINLESS STEEL “U” STIFFENER 117 SET 14/12/2022
CABLE JACKET ITEM 5, DIA 10MM 151576
11 06222030 15/12/2022
EDTS138 MTR
14734
12 06222094 SEALING ADHESIVES 16/12/2022
SET
1694
13 03220139 CONTROL ARM SET FOR LHB BOGIES 19/12/2022
SET
RESIN BONDED FIBRE GLASS WOOL 1643
14 06222026 19/12/2022
INSULATION SET
EMU AXLE BOX HOUSING FULLY 11122
15 03221832 19/12/2022
MACHINED NOS
NOSE SUSPENSION BRACKET TO DRG. 128
16 03221797A 19/12/2022
NO.DMU/DPC5-0-3-503/COL-I ALT”g” NOS
ONE COACH SET OF VINYL COATED 561
17 07222261 21/12/2022
UPHOLSTERY FABRIC SET
S & I of VESDA PANEL ASSY AC3T 266
18 07222447 02/01/2023
ECONOMY NOS
47555
19 06222078 END FITTING STRAIGHT 03/01/2023
NOS
CORRIGENDUM NO.25
Corrigendum has been issued to the following tender. Please check IREPS website for further details.
SL.NO. TENDER NUMBER EXISITING MODIFIED
01 02/22/1596 29/11/2022 16/12/2022

06 CHENNAI MONDAY 28 11 2022
� �
T
he themes that will occupy our
national discourse as we ap-
INDIAN EXPRESS IS NOT AN proach elections to the Lok Sab-
INDUSTRY. IT IS A MISSION. ha in 2024 make for a disturbing
— Ramnath Goenka trend. The play-out is already be-
ing choreographed.
The first is the clamour for a Uni-
form Civil Code. This is gaining momen-
IMRAN’S TACTICAL
tum in most of the BJP-ruled states. The
chief minister of Uttarakhand has already
pledged to introduce it in the state assembly.
It was also in the election manifesto of the
TURN AS PAKISTAN BJP in the recently concluded Himachal
Pradesh assembly election. Now, it is again
GETS NEW ARMY CHIEF an electoral promise in the run-up to the
Gujarat assembly election. Any discourse
F
on this topic has both an emotive and divi-
ormer Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan made a virtue sive element. This gives it a communal col-
of necessity when he announced the truncation of his our, which in turn has political consequenc-
es as we get closer to 2024.
party’s long march to Islamabad, saying he wanted to pre-
The second is the expression of outrage
vent chaos, anarchy and political instability in the country.
when a boy from a particular minority com-
The march was essentially meant to poke the establish- munity is in a relationship with or marries
ment (read Army) that had opened the door for a new govern- a Hindu girl. Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma,
ment after withdrawing support to him over seven months ago chief minister of Assam, while recently
when their hybrid governance experiment failed. With Prime campaigning in Gujarat, stated that the hei-
Minister Shehbaz Sharif announcing Lt Gen Asim Munir as nous manner in which Shraddha Walkar
the new Army chief to replace incumbent Gen Bajwa, the latter was killed is an example of ‘Love Jihad’
and, if Modi is not re-elected in 2024, perpe-
was no longer the point of friction, and Imran had no reason to trators of ‘Love Jihad’ would rise in every
continue his agitation. It also confirmed the back-channel talks city of the country.
Imran had before Gen Munir’s appointment was finalised. Im- This statement is an indication of how a
ran first clamoured for selection on merit to lobby for his favour- particular community is sought to be tar-
ite Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, but when he realised he was getting geted for garnering the Hindu vote by using
nowhere, he changed tack and hammered away on seniority as a horrific incident of murder and associat-
ing it with the mindset of a particular com-
the yardstick. The government jumped at the latter idea as Gen
munity. To my mind, this reflects the poison
Munir was the senior most in the pecking order. The wily Shar- that is sought to be spread in the body poli-
if—the exiled Nawaz that is—won that round. Shehbaz had gone tic of our country, only to deepen the schism
all the way to London to seek brother Nawaz’s counsel. Imran that already seems to have established deep
then got his rubber stamp President Arif Alvi to fly to Lahore roots in a society which is essentially inclu-
from Islamabad, to publicly establish that he was being con- sive. The media, in turn, seeks to increase
its TRPs by giving such conversations free
sulted before the head of the state signed off on the file.
play, allowing for prejudice to dominate
The former cricketer’s second announcement that lawmakers national conversations.
of his party in all provincial assemblies would quit en masse to A recent statement by our home minister
force snap polls was another jumla. Yet, it could end up giving while campaigning in Gujarat is a precur-
the Sharifs a window of opportunity to take back control of sor to things that are to come. Referring to
their Punjab turf wrested by Imran’s hybrid government. the tragedy at Godhra, he proclaimed that
From India’s perspective, a seasoned Sharif government is the rioters had been taught a lesson, that
communal riots took place because the
any day better than Imran at the helm. As for Gen Munir, he is Congress let it become a habit, that such a
known as a gutsy officer whose dossier on the corrupt practices lesson was taught in 2002 and there have
of Imran’s wife, Bushra, led to his abrupt transfer when he was been no communal riots in Gujarat since
ISI chief. While analysts claim he would not disturb the cease- then. In a way, the home minister endorsed
fire along the Line of Control and possibly pursue Gen Bajwa’s the violence that took place. Those targeted
geo-economic policy, India would have a wary eye on his next included women, children and others who
had no hand in the alleged tragedy that be-
steps, as he was heading Pakistan’s deep state when the Pul-
fell the Sabarmati Express at Godhra sta-
wama attack happened. Gen Munir would arguably be the most tion. Spouting venom against a minority
watched person in the subcontinent when he takes charge this community comprising about 200 million
week and starts building his legacy. may well consolidate the Hindu vote but its
CHALLENGES IN CASTING
THE TAX NET WIDER THE AVADHUTA’S ADVICE
W
idening India’s tax base has been a big challenge for
the government, present and past alike. Ahead of eve- AND THE ROLLING SEA
ry budget, this becomes a key deliberation as finance
F
ministry officials sit down and decide on the budget
or the last few weeks, I found my-
proposals. Most experts would suggest the usual meas-
self watching YouTube videos on
ures like lowering tax rates, removing all exemptions, technol- deep sea fishing. One showed up
ogy-enabled monitoring, etc., to expand the tax base. However,
randomly on my feed and since it
in the long term, these measures have limited utility. The prob- was about the South coast and I
lem lies in India’s low per capita income that keeps a large part missed the sea, I watched it. This
of India’s population out of the income tax net. led to watching more. It was quite
India’s total tax (including those collected by states) to GDP hypnotic at first to look at the vast expanse
of waves and the steady movements of the
ratio has been around 17% for over a decade compared to the fishermen, culminating in the excitement
average tax-to-GDP ratio of 33% in OECD countries. The contri- of the catch. They threw in over 250 lines of
bution of direct taxes (individual and corporate income taxes) bait and hauled in the ‘fruit of the sea’. The
in total tax collected in the country is just about 33%, which fish were simply enormous. They were
means two-thirds of the total taxes are collected through taxes beautiful in colour, gold, silver and multi-
on consumption. Now, consider the number of taxpayers in In- hued; trevally, kingfish, queenfish, grouper,
sailfish, horse mackerel.
dia. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in March this
Fishing has been one of man’s respecta-
year had informed Parliament that there were 8.22 crore taxpay- ble occupations since ancient times so
ers in the country in the assessment year 2020–21. Those 8.22 obviously I don’t consider it otherwise.
crore also include those who might have only filed returns but But after watching a few videos I started
not paid any taxes. noticing a couple of things or three in the
close-ups.
That is a minuscule number of taxpayers in a country with a
One, the bleeding mouths of the caught
population of 1.4 billion. This issue gets debated over and over
fish. Two, the futile desperation of their
on various platforms, with many alluding to massive tax eva- dying flops. Three, the fishermen used live
sions as the reason for such a low number of taxpayers in the bait like prawns, sardines and scadfish,
country. While there could be some evasions, the demographic which the big fish were tempted by and
realities of India might paint a different picture. In a country got hooked.
with over 900 million people in the working age category, The last was a clear demonstration of the
the labour force participation is just around 500 million or concept of ‘Matsya Nyaya’, the brutal ‘Law
of Fish’ by which big fish eat little fish.
even lower. Recent studies have shown that only 10% of those Chanakya, the ancient philosopher and po-
working earn more than `25,000 a month. With the income litical strategist, being a hardcore realist,
threshold raised to `5 lakh per annum for paying taxes, it is very saw man as innately depraved. In his view,
likely that the majority of the labour force would be out of the a strong, secure and tightly administered
tax net. While the government has successfully used tools like government was absolutely necessary to
TDS (tax deducted at source) and non-filers monitoring system prevent society from lapsing into the state
of Matsya Nyaya, wherein the strong de-
to cast the tax net wider, these tools have a limited utility unless
voured the weak and big people oppressed
the government devises ways to increase India’s per capita in- little people unchecked by law.
come, which is a paltry $2,200 (India ranks below 140 countries A moral thought intruded next, from the
in per capita income). Srimad Bhagavatam. It took me back to our
old friend the ‘Avadhuta’ or self-realised
sanyasi who told King Yadu the story of
Q U I C K TA K E Pingala (Faithline, Pingala of Videha and
her stark reality check, October 3, 2022). The
PREPARE FOR NEXT VIRUS HIT Avadhuta told King Yadu that he learnt 24
lessons from as many sources.
W
hat after Covid-19? India is updating its research infra- Sri Krishna relates the whole story to his
structure to study pathogens that could cause future out- good friend and follower Uddhava. This
devotee has been by Krishna’s side ever
breaks. The WHO is updating the list of active viruses to since Krishna came to Mathura and killed
guide global research. The government will set up laboratories Kamsa. Now he senses the doom of the
at district levels to support real-time probes of outbreaks. With Vrishnis and, unbearably, the departure of
a long history of infectious diseases, India has accumulated Krishna from Earth.
vast knowledge and experience to tackle pandemics. But lessons He pleads fervently with Krishna to nev-
from the Covid-19 experience suggest that apart from sustained er leave him for he cannot imagine a life
without Krishna. But Krishna, who has
resources, the government must urgently invest in a virus re-
lived out a hundred and twenty five years,
pository with genome data, indigenous diagnostics, linked tells Uddhava that he must go, while Ud-
data systems and integration of private and public sectors dhava must stay for his allotted span to in-
for surveillance. struct mankind on how to cope with life. He
THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
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India has changed. It is no longer the inclusive country we
were born in. The dialogues of today are worrisome. If we
do not stand up to this, our tomorrow will be in danger
ISSUES THAT
SEEK A NATIONAL
MANDATE IN 2024
KAPIL
SIBAL
impact on our democratic polity may ulti-
mately be a matter of regret.
The third thematic trend is to silence all
forms of dissent. Academics who oppose
atrocities committed against Dalits are re-
ferred to as urban naxals. Any fact-finding
exercise to get at the truth about alleged
acts of violence by the mighty State is seen
RENUKA NARAYANAN
FAITHLINE
imparts to him the observations of the
Avadhuta, which seem so contemporary
and relevant even today.
Among the Avadhuta’s lessons are keen
observations about the five senses which
exist and operate in a living being. Consider
the person who is driven by bodily needs, he
says. He or she needs tasty food, clean drink-
ing water, and perhaps a few other liquids.
He wants someone to hold and be held by,
good music to please his ears and sweet
scents for his nose to enjoy. His eyes want
beautiful things to look at.
FILE PIC
They threw in over 250 lines of bait
and hauled in the ‘fruit of the sea’.
The fish were simply enormous.
They were beautiful in colour, gold,
silver and multi-hued; trevally,
kingfish, queenfish, grouper,
sailfish, horse mackerel
A human being is impelled to satisfy all
these cravings. The Bhagavatam compares
this condition to that of a man with many
wives and concubines, who must please
them all.
Indeed, as we all know, consumer culture,
and the goods and service sectors, are
driven by the demand to cater to the five
senses. In today’s terms, if you’re an MBA,
for instance, you have to spend the next
thirty or forty years of your life selling
tyres, tea, shirts or chocolates. You may get
to play golf, join a wine club and go hot-air
ballooning in Cappadocia if that’s what
floats your boat but you also burn yourself
up like camphor to survive and make it in
Whoever would overthrow the
liberty of a nation must begin by
subduing the freeness of speech
Senior lawyer and
member of Rajya Sabha
SOUMYADIP SINHA
as an anti-national exercise. The version of
the State must be believed. Those who
attempt to question it are seen to be ene-
mies of the State. Such persons are prose-
cuted under the Unlawful Activities (Pre-
vention) Act, 1967. Stringent provisions
of UAPA make it difficult for such individu-
als to be enlarged on bail. The result is that
a brutally competitive world, as is the case
with other professions.
Just look at the lessons contained in the
natural world, says the Avadhuta. The fish
is tempted by its sense of taste and is caught
and killed when it takes the bait. The moth
is betrayed by its sense of sight. It cannot
resist a bright light, which kills it. When
just a single sense leads to doom, what can
one say about the plight of a human being
who is beset with the demands of all five
senses and cannot satisfy all of them easily?
Nor can he resist them unless his mind is
the boss, not his body.
The cure, says our culture, is to cultivate
some inner detachment, a ‘me space’ that
tries not to take it too hard if met with
disappointment.
Here we must marvel at the sophistica-
tion of Indian thought. Kama, artha and
moksha, that is, love, livelihood and libera-
tion from more births, when driven by
dharma or a moral code, are proper aspira-
tions in our culture.
The family has great value as a social
unit. But the very same culture also up-
holds detachment and ‘alone time’ as worth-
while paths to soul satisfaction. Are we to
pursue the soul path only after 60 when our
aspirations are more or less fulfilled? No,
says our culture.
We must manage both at the same time
right through: do our duty, lead the life, but
be aware and protect our heart; don’t give
in to bitterness and anger because we didn’t
get everything we wanted because, in the
end, it doesn’t matter.
But how is this fine balance achieved?
This is where the big guns boom. The
Bhagavad Gita—Krishnam vande jagadgu-
rum (Hail Lord Krishna, the world’s
Teacher)—says that the secret is nishkama
karma or desireless action. Let’s do what
we have to do but not let a disappointing
result crush us. We are more than that.
Seen that way, the videos on deep sea
fishing seem to resonate with this teaching.
The fishermen go out to sea every day and
keep on at it, braving the elements. A bad
catch doesn’t deter them from sailing
out anyway.
We could probably add them to the Avad-
huta’s list, couldn’t we?
(shebaba09@gmail.com)
Benjamin
Franklin
others will be reluctant to question execu-
tive excesses and the writ of the State will
run unchecked. The courts too are wary
in giving relief to those prosecuted under
such laws.
The fourth thematic trend seems to be
playing out in courts. A public interest law-
yer, known to be proximate to the ideology
espoused by the BJP, seeks to raise divisive
issues in court and has the unstinted
support of the government. This often re-
sults in judicial orders allowing for the be-
ginning of yet another conversation which
helps the ideological cause of the ruling
establishment.
One recent example of this is the sudden
obsession of the current dispensation with
‘freebies’, resulting in the Election Commis-
sion entering the fray. The Commission,
which in an affidavit swore that it was not
the appropriate authority to deal with is-
sues of ‘freebies’, ironically in a somersault
took upon itself the responsibility of taking
action in the matter. At the same time, the
Supreme Court decided to judicially exam-
ine the issue. The reason perhaps behind
this sudden obsession is that a particular
party seems to have gained political mile-
age by making promises, which others
alleged are hurting the economy and mak-
ing the power sector unsustainable. While
the economic argument may well be par-
tially valid, one cannot miss the political
intent behind it.
Added to the above are fringe elements
who speak of the imminent threat to the
dominance of the majority community un-
less the increase in population of a particu-
lar minority is arrested. This, coupled with
hate speeches at various public forums and
the so-called frequent Dharam Sansads, al-
lows for communal vitriol to take root. The
uninformed are likely to buy into this.
The insouciance with which the State
machinery deals with such hate speeches
only leads one to believe either of two
things: that the state police itself believes
in such a divisive dialogue or that their si-
lence represents state complicity. The fact
that prominent functionaries of the estab-
lishment get away with hate speeches
indicates that raising the communal pitch
is acceptable and may well be part of a
broad national strategy of a particular
political party.
Without doubt, India has changed. It is no
longer the inclusive India we were born in.
The dialogues of today are worrisome. If
we do not stand up to this trend, our tomor-
row will be in danger. Today, it is they who
are targeted. Tomorrow, it may be us.
(Tweets @KapilSibal)
Family holds keys
Apropos of Gandhis need contrarians, not
conformists (Nov 27). The Congress party
became the family business of the Nehru
family. No one who challenges the dynasty
can survive in the party. Manmohan Singh
may have been the prime minister from
2004 to 2014 but who was holding the power
button? Of course, Sonia Gandhi. The business
may now be running in losses but it is still the
family business.
Shreeram Paranjpe, email
Tharoor’s streak
Prabhu Chawla has aptly analysed the
unchanging attitude of the Congress. Tharoor
decided to enhance the party’s credibility by
contesting. The dynasty could not stomach
his independent streak and tried to sideline
him. But this crafty leader from Kerala
appears determined to fight the injustice and
has started making moves. What the future
holds is worth looking forward to.
Hemanth Bhide, Mangaluru
Setting an example
I strongly agree with PM Modi that citizens
should do their duty first. But whether the
elected representatives are doing their
duties efficiently after availing all the
luxury facilities on taxpayers’ money is a big
question mark. If they did, there wouldn’t
be poverty, poor facilities at hospitals, etc.
Leaders must set a good example for citizens.
T Kailash Ditya, Hyderabad
Vizhinjam clash
Apropos of Protesters, local people clash at
Vizhinjam port site (Nov 27). The protesters’
behaviour is not tolerable. Harming local
people is much more than lighting the fire.
We understand the problem of the fishermen
but committing such activities is not correct.
The local residents are being affected. The
government has to take action.
T Anthu S J, Thiruvananthapuram
Usha for president
Apropos of Usha to contest for IOA president’s
post (Nov 27). She’s the most suitable
candidate due to her impeccable record.
Moreover, she’s also a Rajya Sabha MP
nominated by the BJP and appears to be a
favourite of several sports bodies. She should
be elected without opposition.
K Nehru Patnaik, Visakhapatnam
Murder as a product
Apropos of Marketing murder: On the surreal
‘serial’ killers (Nov 27). It is true that cinema
and serials do influence society. Portrayal of
serial killing, sadistic crimes and sexual abuse
are lapped up by society. But there’s nothing
like law proving to be an effective deterrent
by dealing with criminals most stringently.
Dr George Jacob, Kochi
 Tejashwi Yadav @yadavtejashwi Mahua Moitra @MahuaMoitra Mayawati @Mayawati
TWEETS
OF THE We are strengthening the medical infrastructure in BJP’s vitriolic Guj campaign reduces state to lowest The result of BJP’s negativity towards Muslims is
each district hospital so that the big hospitals of common denominator - all Hindus must vote BJP. that even in their govt they are almost as backward
DAY Patna are not overburdened. Else be branded atankvadi, deshdrohi & mahapapi. and distressed as they were in Congress rule.

07 CHENNAI MONDAY 28 11 2022

� �

T’gana weaver designed G20 logo, says PM POWER

SHAHID FARIDI

The writer is Associate Editor and

Chief of Bureau at TNIE, New Delhi.
Y Hariprasad Garu from Ranjana Sircilla district sent a letter to PM with hand-woven logo that was later selected GAMES Email: shahid@newindianexpress.com

‘Library man’
RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR ment to ‘Vasudhaiva Kutum-
@ New Delhi bakam’ (world is one family).
“The G20 has a partnership Flying High
PRIME Minister Narendra Modi
in his monthly radio programme
comprising two-thirds of the
world’s population, three- of J’khand RELIANCE TO PROVIDE AEROSPACE SOLUTIONS WITH DRDO

gets PM’s pat

Mann Ki Baat revealed on Sun-
day that the G-20 logo was cho-
sen through a public contest and
that a weaver named Yeldhi
Hariprasad Garu from Ranja-
na Sircilla district of Telangana
has designed it.
The PM said: “He sent me this
G-20 logo woven with his own
hands. I was surprised to see
this wonderful gift. He is such
an expert in his art that he at-
tracts everyone’s attention.”
The PM added that Garu has
inherited wonderful talent of
weaving from his father and
now he is doing it with full pas-
sion. The PM said that he was
pleasingly surprised when he
received the gift from Garu as it
showed that a person living a re-
mote place in India was so aware
of international happenings
like the G20 summit.
“When I received this gift
from Hariprasad Garu, another
thought came to my mind. I was
very happy to see how connect-
ed even a person sitting in a re-
mote district of Telangana
could feel with a summit like
G-20,” he said.
“The Indian logo of G20 can
fourths of world trade, and 85
per cent of world GDP. You can
imagine ‘ India is going to pre-
side over such a big group, such
a powerful group, from Decem-
ber 1,” he said.
“What a great opportunity
has come for India, for every In-
dian! This becomes even more
special because India was
awarded this responsibility dur-
ing ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal (75th
year of India’s Independence’),”
the PM said.
be sewed, printed, in a stylish lenges related to peace, unity, The presidency of the G-20
way on clothes. I would urge environment and sustainable has arrived as a big opportunity
schools, colleges and universi- development. for India and it has to make full
ties to create opportunities for India will officially assume use of this opportunity and fo-
discussion, debates and compe- the G20 presidency from the cur- cus on global good and welfare
titions related to G-20,” the PM rent chair Indonesia on Decem- of the world. “Whether it is
said. Talking about India getting ber 1. Noting that assuming G20 peace or unity, sensitivity to-
ready to assume the presidency presidency is a “big opportuni- wards the environment, or sus-
of the G20, the PM said the coun- ty” for India, Modi said the tainable development, India has
try should focus on global good theme that India has given is solutions to challenges related
during its term and asserted ‘One Earth, One Family, One Fu- to these,” he said.
that it has solutions to the chal- ture’ which shows its commit- The G20 comprises Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chi-
na, France, Germany, India, In-
The G20 has a partnership comprising two-thirds of the world’s donesia, Italy, Japan, the Repub-
population, three-fourths of world trade, and 85 per cent of world
GDP. You can imagine ‘ India is going to preside over such a big
lic of Korea, Mexico, Russia,
group, such a powerful group, from December 1 Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tur-
key, the UK, the US and the Eu-
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister ropean Union.
M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi in his Mann Ki Baat
also talked about Sanjay
Kachhap, also known as the
‘Library Man’ of Jharkhand,
who is on a mission to ex-
tend academic support to the
underprivileged children.
Kacchap has set up 24 librar-
ies on his own at as many lo-
cations in Kolhan Division
of Jharkhand. State Finance
Minister Rameshwar Oraon
conferred him with the title
of ‘Library Man’.
A story about Kacchap –
‘Meet Sanjay Kachhap, the
‘Library Man’ for underpriv-
ileged in Jharkhand’s hin-
terland’ was published in
The Sunday Standard first
on September 19, 2021.
Kachhap struggled to be a
graduate, but it only gaded
him to ensure that poor don’t
have suffer from lack of ac-
cess to books.
Mukesh Ambani’s technology company Jio Platforms has quietly
entered into teaming agreements with several aerospace laboratories
of the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation,
and also joined hands with the public sector Bharat Electronics Ltd
and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for offering indigenously-developed
software tools for designing, operating and maintaining aerospace
and defence products. Jio Platforms will be India’s first company which
will be offering such indigenous software tools. This market in India
has so far been dominated by French and US defence companies.
Sources said Jio Platforms plans to establish a dedicated aerospace
engineering centre in Bengaluru in the next two years and recruit over
one thousand aerospace engineers for research activities. Jio
Platforms’ parent company Reliance Industries Ltd had earlier
acquired an 83 per cent stake in Bangalore-based software simulation
tools company SankhyaSutra Labs with an investment of $30.85
million. SankhyaSutra Labs has developed Computational Fluid
Dynamics-based simulation software for the indigenous
manufacturing of various hardware components for aerospace
systems. This technology will help Indian companies to develop
components, and sub-assembly of western and Russian weapons and
platforms. With its new tieups, Jio Platforms will now provide design
solutions for fighters, stealth drones, aero-jet engines, etc.

Direct Action
900-metre tunnel to Sleeper class model of Vande RAHUL PLANS BHARAT JODO-2 FROM GUJ TO ARUNACHAL
Gandhi’s political guru Gopal Krishna Gokhale gave him a piece of

shorten travel to
critical advice when the Mahatma returned from South Africa to take a

Bharat may run before ’24 poll

plunge into India’s freedom movement. He asked Gandhi to travel
across India, meet the common people and listen to them to
understand the country. Gandhi followed the advice and the rest is

Chardham by 3 hrs
history. Rahul Gandhi seems to have taken this leaf out of the
Mahatma’s playbook. Sources say he plans to follow up the first leg of
RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra with another one from
@ New Delhi Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh — a Porbandar to Parshuram Kund yatra.
The unexpected success of the yatra with an overwhelming response
N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun ey as well as strengthen the se- IN a sequel to the chair-car across the south and central India has removed whatever doubts and
curity system of the pilgrims”, version of Vande Bharat (VB) dilemmas he had over the direct contact plan, according to sources.
BUOYED by the record rush of Maharaj added. trains, the Railway Ministry is Rahul has repeatedly complained that the mainstream media was not
devotees this year in the recent- According to the Public working to rollout the latest raising issues concerning common people and ignoring the voice of
ly concluded Chardham Yatra, Works Department National sleeper class version by Janu- opposition. Sources say the first leg of the yatra has convinced him that
the state gover nment has Highway, a deadline has been ary 2024, prior to the announce- direct contact with the people by walking through the villages, towns
stepped up preparations for set to complete the work within ment of parliamentary elec- and cities was more effective than reaching out to them through the
next year’s yatra. It has already two and a half years. Prepara- tions, a senior official of the media. He feels that the vast swathes of the country comprising
launched an action tions have been in- railway ministry said. A de- Gujarat, UP, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal,
plan towards further Work to finish tensified to connect sign of this train has already Assam, all the way to Arunachal need to be covered too. Sources say
augmenting infra- Kedarnath Highway been prepared and will soon there is no doubt over Bharat Jodo-2, only the dates are to be finalised.
within 2 and
structure and en- with Badrinath High- get approvals for test and It can start anytime after the first leg ends in February next year.
1/2 years
hancing connectivity way through bypass subsequent serial production,
in Chardham. A deadline has tunnel to free Rudr- he added.
Work on a 900-me-
tre-long tunnel con-
been set to
complete the
aprayag city from the
load of exter nal
The Vande Bharat trains are
expected to be a big upgrade
Vande Bharat trains have covered a cumulative distance of more than 18 lakh
route kms since it started in 2019 till date
Delhi Liquor Scam
necting Badrinath work within two vehicles. from the premium Rajdhani CBI CHARGESHEETS SMALL FISH, SPARES POLICYMAKERS
and Kedarnath will and a half years. With the approval Express service. The sleeper si and New Delhi-Katra in
begin next month. Preparations from the Ministry of class-version of these trains J&K routes. After hundreds of raids and months of investigation and interrogation
New VB trains to cover into the Delhi excise policy which was allegedly framed to favour a
Once operational, the have been Forest and Environ- will be run on the routes to cov- overnight rail journey The first VB train was
tunnel will reduce intensified to ment, the contract er overnight rail journey like flagged on the New Delhi-Vara- few, the CBI has failed to chargesheet any of the policymakers. The
the travel distance connect Kedarnath between the Ministry New Delhi-Patna, New Delhi- The Vande Bharat trains are nasi route and the second one chargesheet filed by the agency names two junior officers of the Delhi
for devotees by three Highway with of Road Transport, Lucknow and others. expected to be a big upgrade was on New Dehi-Katra route government. They were involved only in the implementation of the
hours. Minister of Badrinath Highway Government of India India’s first and the second from the premium Rajdhani to provide fast rail transporta- policy after it was notified. They had no role in the drafting of the
Tourism and Culture, through bypass and the Public Works semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express service. The sleeper tion to these pilgrim cities. policy. The new excise policy was drafted by an empowered group of
Satpal Maharaj said, tunnel Department NH is trains have covered a cumula- class version of these trains The railway ministry is also ministers comprising Excise Minister Manish Sisodia and his Cabinet
“The jour ney be- also in the final stag- tive distance of more than 18 will be run on the routes that working towards exporting colleagues, Satyendra Jain and Kailash Gehlot. The AAP government
tween Kedarnath and es. An amount of lakh route kms since it started cover overnight rail journey these trains by 2026 to cover was accused of bringing in a policy to favour a handful of friendly
B a d r i n a t h w i l l b e c o m e `1.56 billion has also been ap- in 2019 till date. The total dis- like New Delhi-Patna, New the international markets of businessmen. The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi had raised questions
even easier in the coming proved by the Government of tance- covered by these two VB Delhi-Lucknow and other South Africa and European about the process of formulating the policy and its content. The BJP
days. Pilgrims will not have to India for this entire project. trains, is almost equivalent to similar routes. countries and rolling out and its ministers in the Union government flagged lacunae in the
go through long hill winding Under this plan, the work of orbiting the earth 42 times! In more than 100 VB trains and policy. But the CBI’s chargesheet indicates that it has focussed only
paths to go from one dham the first phase was completed next few years, these trains running them for at least one on the implementation side of the policy and not on the process of its
to another.” by the BRO, in which the Jawa- will be able to cover the dis- first and the second Vande lakh route kms. formulation, which was in the eye of the storm. Sources said that the
“Keeping in mind the facili- di bypass and bridge were con- tances worth orbiting the Bharat trains as electric mul- Sources also said that the an- case made out against the junior officers in the chargesheet is weak,
ties of pilgrims from India and structed on the Mandakini Riv- Earth and the Moon together tiple units at semi-high speed, nouncement for rolling out the to say the least, and it would collapse like a house of cards in the first
abroad coming to visit the er, now in the second phase, a at least 100 times. were flagged off by Prime second lot of 350-400 new Vande hearing itself as they have merely implemented a policy notified by
Chardham, the construction of tunnel of about 900 meters long After four years of intensive Minister Narendra Modi in Bharat is expected to be part of the government. The CBI chargesheet does not provide answers to
this tunnel will save time, mon- will be built. work and planning, country’s 2019 on the New Delhi-Varana- the next Union Budget 2023-24. many questions; it has instead raised more questions.

Unesco honours Qutb Shahi era baolis’ restoration Alarming rise in global population of
PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi
Byculla stn men with enlarged prostate: Lancet
wins laurels
UNESCO has recognised the
conservation of six baolis (step K A V I TA B A J E L I - D AT T @ New Delhi in tropical Latin America (an
wells) located inside the Qutb ‘Conditions jumped increase of 98.4 per cent) fol-

Shahi Heritage Park at Golcon-
da with an Award of Distinc-
tion. ‘Heroic restoration’ of
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum
in Mumbai, which is part the
Victorian Gothic and Art Deco
Ensembles of Mumbai World
Heritage property, has also
been accorded Award of Excel-
lence in this year’s Unesco
Asia-Pacific Awards for Cul-
tural Heritage Conservation.
The announcements were
made on Saturday.
Lauding the restoration ef-
forts, the Unseco citation stated
that restoration of the stepwells
of Golconda had realised an
ambitious, long-term vision for
renewing the extensive com-
plex of architectural and social
spaces within the sixteenth-
century Qutb Shahi necropolis.
“In recovering the stepwells
and associated aqueducts from
a state of neglect and partial ru-
ins, the project has revived the
function of the historic water-
works of irrigating the sur-
rounding orchards and forests,
thus enabling the holistic resto-
ration of the historic land-
scape,” it read.
The Aga Khan Trust for Cul-
ture (AKTC) has been working
on conservation of tombs and
other edifices in the complex
for years with Tata Trusts.
The baolis, which have been
fully restored, are Badi,
Hamam, Bagh, Western, Idgah
and Eastern.
Elated by the development,
Ratish Nanda, chief executive
officer (CEO), AKTC said, “The
stepwells in the Qutb Shahi ne-
cropolis of Golconda were in a
state of collapse with some hav-
ing been filled-in. Reconstruc-
tion of collapsed portions was
necessary to ensure that the sig-
nificance and grandeur of these
monuments was restored. Con-
servation of these is part of a
wider conservation effort on
100 or more monuments within
the necropolis. It’s a delight that
Unesco has recognised the
project for this honour.”
Highlighting restoration of
the museum building in Mum-
bai, Unesco jury noted that ex-
ecuted to the highest level of
technical excellence, the project
sets a standard for the conser-
vation of World Heritage monu-
ments in India and beyond.
for heritage
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ New Delhi
THE Indian Railway’s near-
ly 169-year-old Byculla rail-
way station in Mumbai has
got a distinct global Unesco
recognition. It has been ac-
corded and acknowledged
with the Unesco Asia-Pacific
“Award of Merit- 2022” for
preserving the culture herit-
ages for more than one and
half century.
Sharing this on Sunday,
Railway minister Ashwini
Vaishnaw tweeted that
the 169 year-old Byculla rail-
way station gas got Unesco
recognition for conserving
heritages and restoration of
its original heritage
architecture.
The Byculla railway sta-
tion was opened in 1853 and
rebuilt in 1857.
THERE has been an alarming
hike in benign prostatic hyper-
plasia cases worldwide, espe-
cially in the low and middle-in-
come groups in the last ten
years, according to the latest
findings of a study published in
the Lancet.
The study found that within
South Asia, the increase in be-
nign prostatic hyperplasia
(BPH) — also called prostate
gland enlargement — a common
condition as men get older, has
been maximum in Bangladesh
(129 per cent) followed by India
(90.9 per cent).
According to the Global Bur-
den of Diseases, Injuries and
Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019,
funded by the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, the cases of
people with such conditions
jumped to 94 million in 2019
from 51.1 million in 2000, a hike
of around 70 per cent.
Prostate gland enlargement
can cause several urinary prob-
lems in men, such as blocking
the flow of urine out of the blad-
to 94 million in 2019’
According to the Global
Burden of Diseases, Injuries
and Risk Factors Study
(GBD) 2019, funded by the
Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, the cases of
people with such conditions
jumped to 94 million in 2019
from 51.1 million in 2000, a
hike of around 70 per cent.
der. It can also cause bladder,
urinary tract or kidney prob-
lems. The study spans 21 regions
and 204 countries and territo-
ries from 2000 to 2019. “As more
people are living longer world-
wide, the absolute burden of be-
nign prostatic hyperplasia is
expected to continue to rise in
the coming years, highlighting
the importance of monitoring
and planning for future health
system strain,” said the study.
When the numbers are bro-
ken down into regions, the high-
est growth has been witnessed
lowed by east (97.5 per cent) and
South Asia (91.4 per cent).
Explaining the findings and
the methodology followed, the
report said that GBD is the larg-
est and most comprehensive sci-
entific effort to produce esti-
mates of health loss due to 369
diseases and injuries.
“Benign prostatic hyperpla-
sia is a common urological dis-
ease among older men. The age-
specific prevalence of benign
hyperplasia has been estimated
from autopsy studies to be 8% in
the fourth decade of life, 50% in
the sixth decade of life, and 80%
in the ninth decade of life,” said
the study.
The study also found that
while the number of cases has
increased, age standardisation
has remained static.
“Our study suggests a close
and nuanced link between the
benign prostatic hyperplasia
burden and national sociodemo-
graphic status and the potential
for intervention to make an im-
pact,” said the study
 INDIA Max Min Max Min

30L
Ahmedabad 31 16 Mumbai 33 23
C H E ETA H S S H I F T E D Bhopal 31 14 Panaji 34 25
Two cheetahs in Kuno National were moved from Jaipur 32 12 Patna 28 14
Amritsar 32 10 Lucknow 31 16
the quarantine zone to the larger acclimatisation Chennai 29 24 Port Blair 29 24
enclosure on Sunday, which took the total number TO GET ` 3,500 DROUGHT Kolkata 28 16 Imphal 31 14
of big cats in the latter area to five, an official said FARMERS RELIEF EACH: J’KHAND CM Srinagar 21 03 Chandigarh 32 14

08 CHENNAI MONDAY 28 11 2022

� �

How scrapped project can hurt BJP AAP’s freebie promise

Par-Tapi Narmada Link project upsets tribals, may affect party’s prospects on many seats
D I L I P S I N G H KS H AT R I YA
@ Navsari (S. Gujarat)
A centre of tribal politics in
Gujarat, Vansda is about 340
km from Ahmedabad. Gujarat
Bharatiya Janata Party chief
CR Patil has ‘adopted’ the Van-
sda assembly; little doubt, then,
the BJP is trying its best to cap-
ture the seat.
Pradeep Garasia, president
of the Samast Adivasi Samaj
Sansthan,’ is fighting for the
If you look at Vansda, Tapi, Navasari,
Dang, and the entire tribal belt of
south Gujarat, you will understand
what is wrong with the government
approach. First, the government took
up the project of displacing the
people of 69 villages in the name of
Par-Tapi river link. When tribal
opposition grew against it, the
government decided to drop it
Pradeep Garasia,
president of the Samast Adivasi
comes under locals’
The project that failed to take off scrutiny in Gujarat polls
The Par-Tapi Narmada river link project proposed to transfer water from surplus AMIT MUKHERJEE youth in private sector jobs, Rs MUMBAI
regions of Western Ghats to Saurashtra and Kutch. Tribal leaders say the project @ Rajkot/Ahmedabad/Surat 40 per day for the upkeep of
each cow and revert to the old
DIARY
will displace people from 61 villages.
WITH AAP looking to cater to pension scheme.
THE PROJECT SCRAPPED the South Gujarat demography “Gujaratis have never run SUDHIR SURYAWANSHI
To link 3 rivers – the Par The anti-project movement is backed by Samast
of diamond and embroidery after freebies, everything comes Our correspondent
originates from Nashik in Adivasi Samaj, Adivasi Samanvay Manch, Adivasi Ekta merchants, it has been subject from the tax we pay,” said Bhar- in Maharashtra
Maharashtra and flows through Parishad and Congress MLA Navsari, Anant Patel. to sharp criticism from locals gav Sohagia, a resident of Var- suryawanshi.sudhir@gmail.com
Valsad March 3, 2022 as well. Looking to replicate achha and an entrepreneur in
The Tapi is from Satpura, Party leaders meet Punjab and Delhi model in the the hospitality sector. Refusing
G UJ A R AT state, the party has an- to comment on who has an ad- Patole walks with
which flows through Narmada River CM Bhupendra

rights of tribal community for
years. “Not only Vansda, look
at the condition of tribals
across Gujarat and India.
In the name of development,
just any project is announced
for the area without asking
the tribal communities,”
says Garasia.
“If you look at Vansda, Tapi,
Navasari, Dang, and the entire
tribal belt of south Gujarat,
you will understand what is
wrong with the government
approach. First, the govern-
ment took up the project of dis-
placing the people of 69 villag-
es in the name of Par-Tapi
river link. When tribal opposi-
tion grew against it, the gov-
ernment decided to drop it,”
says Garasia.
Eventually, Chief Minister
Bhupendra Patel announced in
May that the project was being
scrapped, but how much dam-
age the entire decision-making
has caused would be clear only
after the Assembly results.
“The project would
Samaj Sansthan
have damaged our land, rivers
and the environment. What
kind of development was it?”
asks Garasia.
Anant Patel, a Congress lead-
er, has stood up for the tribals
regardless of whether his par-
ty opposes the project or not.
Patel, 45, is an MLA from Van-
sda constituency and has been
at the forefront of protests
in Navsari and Valsad districts
against land acquisition for
h i g h w ay p r o j e c t s. P a t e l
heads the Gujarat Congress’
Adivasi (tribal) Cell.
Nikunj Patel, a social worker
and computer engineer, says
the protest against the river
linking project was against the
entire tribal community. “I
want to ask the government
that if development is to go on,
then why do you choose tribal
land?” he says.
This time BJP has given the
Maharashtra and Surat in
Gujarat
Narmada originates from MP
and flows through Maharashtra
and Bharuch and
Narmada districts of Gujarat.
ticket to Piyush Patel, a
former government officer.
“During his stint, he never lis-
tened to us. So, what will he do
if he becomes MLA?”
asks Nikunj.
There are 141 villages in the
Vansda assembly constituency,
which is considered a strong-
hold of the Congress. Over 90%
of the population in Vansda
taluka is tribal. Political ob-
servers say the river-linking
project is going to cost heavily
for BJP, not only in Vansda or
Dang but in many tribal belt
which stretches from Ambaji
in the north to Umergam in the
Valsad district, which has 27
reserved seats.
In 2017, Congress won 15 of
them while BJP won eight.
MP
Narmada Patel. Govt says nounced 300 units of va n t a g e b e t we e n A l p e s h Rahul, earns ‘A+ grade’
Bharuch
will make free electricity every Kathiriya, the AAP candidate
Par River Maharashtra Congress president
representations to month, Rs 3,000 for the and Kishorbhai Kanani of
Tapi River
the Centre. unemployed and Rs BJP, he said, “It’s about who Nana Patole was on a sticky wicket
1,000 for every adult L
is able to gain the after change in guard of national
May 20: Gujarat CM announces scrapping of Par- 2019
woman per month, 80 trust of the public – I Congress president, but Patole
Tapi-Narmada river-link project
per cent quota for local am sure diamond strengthened his position by
merchants recognise walking with Rahul Gandhi in
their jewels well.” While there Bharat Jodo Yatra. Patole is the
ADR: BJP gets max corporate is a perception of AAP’s grow-
ing popularity in the state,
only senior Congress leader who
walked with Rahul Gandhi for more
donations in Guj between ’17-’21 many Gujaratis are concerned
about the possible slowing
than 370 kilometres in
Maharashtra. Though the 59-year-
The BJP has got a maximum of corporate donations from Gujarat down of progress and infra- old Patole could not match Rahul’s
between 2017 and 2021. According to Association for Democratic structure amidst AAP’s plan to speed, but he left an impression on
Reform (ADR), it is 16 times higher than Congress corporate give away freebies in a bid to Rahul for his work for the Yatra.
donations.On Sunday, ADR released the data saying, “During the achieve their political goals. Rahul Gandhi was so impressed
five years, maximum corporate donations worth Rs 163.544 cr “Gujarat residents have al- with his planning and arrangement
were declared by BJP from 1,519 donors. The BJP received highest ways been ahead of the curve. for Bharat Jodo Yatra in
donations in FY 2018-19 of Rs 46.222 cr from 524 donations, Better ports, world class infra- Maharashtra, he gave A+ mark to
whereas Congress got 10.46 crore during the period between 2017 structure and services that Maharashtra Congress leaders.
and 2021. Four political parties - BJP, Congress, AAP and SKM - boosts businesses and jobs,”
received corporate donations worth Rs 174.06 crore from 1,571 said Anamoy Mitra, partner in
donors from Gujarat between FY 2016-17 and 2020-21. The report an aviation and logistic firm.
said between FY 2016-17 and 2020-21, six Gujarat-based Bhavesh Patel who is in weav-
companies donated to political parties via Prudent Electoral ing business added, “In fact, we
Trust, Torrent Power Limited, Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Torrent do not rely on the government
Pharma Limited, Cadila Healthcare Limited, Essar Bulk Terminal sometimes and are even
Paradip Limited, and Act Infraport Ltd. Dilip Singh Kshatriya ready to pay for facilities that
boost business.”

What China’s PLA couldn’t TMC man attacked days

BORDER ROW Guests upset as Raut
refuses to foot bill
Assam lifts
after killing of another
do, DeMo, GST did: Rahul
For Bharat Jodo Yatra, all former

travel curbs
ministers and senior leaders of
Congress have been given specific

leader in Bengal district

E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Bhopal
MARCHING through the heat
and dust of tribal-dominated
Malwa-Nimar region of Mad-
hya Pradesh for four days, Ra-
hul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra
arrived in the country’s clean-
est city Indore on Sunday.
In a scathing attack on the
Narendra Modi government, he
accused the BJP government of
ruining the backbone of em-
ployment generation, the
MSME, and agricultural sector,
through demonetization and
flawed GST.
“What the Chinese Army
couldn’t do to India has been
done by demonetization and
flawed GST. The disastrous poli-
cies have put an end to cash
flow of small and medium trad-
ers/enterprises and farmers,
who were actually the biggest
employment generators in the
country. This resulted in the
end of jobs. Unless the MSME,
small and medium traders and
farmers aren’t revived, India’s
youth won’t get jobs,” said the
former Congress chief.
Addressing a gathering in In-
dore’s historic Rajwada Palace
on Sunday evening, Rahul took
on the Modi government over
on Meghalaya
E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Guwahati
AS Shillong limps back to
normalcy, Assam on Sunday
lifted its travel advisory
to Meghalaya.
The popular tourists’ destina-
tion had been on the boil for
three days after the incident of
firing on the interstate border
on Tuesday left six persons, in-
cluding five Meghalaya villag-
ers, dead. During the protests in
Shillong, the miscreants had
torched an Assam-registered
SUV, partially damaged some
others by pelting stones and at-
tacked the police, including
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with author Harsh Mander during the Bharat Jodo women personnel. An inspector
Yatra in Indore on Sunday | PTI of Customs and Central Excise,
who was in the hill station for
soaring prices of essentials. “This is what happened when training, was also attacked.
“Where is this money of rising the government elected by you After observing that Shillong
prices going, it’s going into the in MP (in 2018) was pulled down. did not witness any untoward
pockets of not three, but just If that wasn’t corruption, then incident since Friday, the As-
two big billionaires, through what is corruption?” he asked. sam police on Sunday allowed
the mechanism called money Congratulating the people of all modes of vehicles to travel
transfer.” Indore for getting the tag of the to Shillong and other areas of
He alleged that the money cleanest city, he said once his Meghalaya much to the relief
from the poor person’s pockets party government returned to of people stranded in both
was rapidly changing pockets power in MP, Indore would have states. Police escorts were pro-
and reaching the BJP coffers, India’s biggest airport. “Our vided wherever it was needed.
which is then put into the pock- government will make Indore There was no restriction on
ets of greedy MLAs to pull down for India, what Chicago is for the movement of vehicles
elected governments in states. the US.” in Meghalaya.
P R A N A B M A N DA L @ Kolkata
THREE days after a Trinamool
Congress leader was gunned
down at Naoda, Murshidabad,
another leader of the ruling
party, former vice-chairman of
Domkol municipality in the
same district, and his son were
attacked with rods and pistols
on Sunday. Pradip Chaki and
his son Shiladitya, who were
admitted to a state-run
hospital with serious in-
juries, were attacked
two hours after a group
of 90 odd local resi-
dents, beneficiaries of
gover nment schemes,
staged demonstrations
against him for taking cut-mon-
ey from them.
The attack was said to be a
fall out of the party’s internal
conflict as Chaki, a week ago,
had accused Domkol MLA
Jafikul Islam of his own party
of hatching conspiracy against
him. Islam, however, refuted
the allegation.
“According to a statement giv-
en by Chaki, a group of 20 men
armed with iron rods and pis-
tols attacked him. He received
injuries on his head and chest.
However, no bullet was fired in
the attack,’’ said a police officer.
“Chaki identified some of the
attackers and a case of attempt
to murder has been registered
with Domkol police station,’’ he
added. Police, however, are yet
to ascertain whether the demon-
strations by local residents had
any role behind the attack.
Cut-money issue started em-
barrassing the ruling party
after the 2019 Lok Sabha
elections, in which the
BJP made deep in-
roads in the state by
bagging 18 Lok Sabha
seats out of 42. In sev-
eral districts across the
state beneficiaries demon-
strated in front of the satraps
of the ruling party accusing
them of collecting commission
or cut-money in exchange of
enrolling themselves in the list
of beneficiaries of the govern-
ment’s schemes. At many plac-
es, TMC leaders had to refund
the money they had collected.
“Intra-party feud ahead
of the panchayat polls sched-
uled to be held next year has
caused massive embarrass-
ment in the organisation,” said
a TMC leader.
responsibilities. When the Yatra
entered in Wasim -Vidarbha, former
energy minister Nitin Raut had to
book hotel rooms for Congress
dignitaries and guests walking with
Rahul Gandhi. Interestingly, in
Akola, Raut categorically told the
hotel that he will not bear the costs
of food and beverage of guests and
asked to charge them directly.
Many guests were surprised with
the half-hearted arrangement and
said when Congress was in power,
Raut enjoyed all the services but
when it came to party service he
has shown his true nature.
CM worried over BJP
leaders’ move
BJP’s decision of entrusting senior
union ministers to Lok Sabha
constituencies held by Shinde camp
has raised some eyebrows. In
Kalyan Dombivali, Eknath Shinde’s
son Dr Shrikant Shinde is elected
minister but the union ministers
have started campaigning in his
constituency for BJP for 2024 Lok
Sabha elections. Same with
Kolhapur, where union minister
Jyotirdtya Scindia came for a two-
day tour. Shinde has expressed his
concerns about BJP’s secret plan
whether they want to wrestle these
constituencies from Shinde camp
or poach the sitting members only.
multiple plans.

Pandit staff stir
in J&K enters
200th day
FAYA Z WA N I @ Srinagar
THE protest by Kashmiri Pan-
dit employees recruited under
PM’s job package entered 200th
day on Sunday with the strik-
ing employees demanding relo-
cation to Jammu citing securi-
ty concerns in the Valley in
view of continued targeted kill-
ings by militants.
Rubon Saproo president All
Migrant Displaced Employees
Association Kashmir said that
the employees would continue
their stir till their one point de-
mand ie., relocation to Jammu
is not agreed upon by the gov-
ernment. He said in view of the
continued targeted attacks by
militants on Pandits and other
minority community members
in the Valley, there is fear among
the Pandit employees and they
don’t want to serve in the Valley
by risking their lives.
About 5,000 Pandit employ-
ees recruited under PM’s job
package since 2010 and posted
in Valley have been on strike
and not attending their official
duties since May 12.
INDIA’S 1ST NIGHT SKY SANCTUARY
TO COME UP IN LADAKH SOON
RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi
INDIA’S first-ever Night Sky
Sanctuary, being set up by
CSIR under Union Ministry
of Science & Technology, in
Ladakh’s Hanle will be com-
pleted in over a month’s time.
In a unique and first-of-its-
kind initiative, the Night Sky
Sanctuary is being set up as
part of a well-formulated pol-
icy to boost to astro-tourism
(travel to remote locations for
unpolluted views of the cos-
mos) in the region.
“It is being developed to at-
tract tourists from across the
world over the picturesque
Ladakh”, said Union minister
for Science and Technology
Dr Jitendra Singh after meet-
ing with Lieutenant governor
of Ladakh R K Mathur.
The minister said that
Hanle has been chosen for the
project as it located in Lada-
kh’s cold desert region; it is
away from any form of hu-
man disturbance and has
clear sky and dry weather
conditions that exist through-
out the year.
According to an official
source, the Dark Sky Reserve
is coming up as a part of
Changthang Wildlife Sanctu-
ary, one of the world’s high-
est-located sites for an optical,
infra-red and gamma-ray tel-
escopes. “This is being set up
at a height of 4,500 meters
and will help in studying
stars, galaxies”, said an offi-
cial. This would be the world’s
15th certified Night Sky Sanc-
tuary after Kalahari Heritage
Park in South Africa, Great
Barrier Island in New Zea-
land, the Black Gap Wildlife
in the US Black Gap Wildlife
Management Area in the US,
Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Wilder ness (US), Cosmic
Campground (US), Devils
Shinde faction hits back at Uddhav,
threatens to reveal ‘khokhe in fridge’
S U D H I R S U RYAWA N S H I @ Mumbai
RESPONDING to ‘khokhe
sarkar’ remark, Maharashtra’s
Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena
faction has threatened Uddhav
Thackeray with revealing all de-
tails about ‘khokhe’ in the fridge
box and where it has gone.
REPRESENTATIVE PIC Opposition, particularly Ud-
dhav Thackeray factions have
River State Natural Area-Del cornered the Shinde camp over
Norte Unit and Katahdin Khokhe Sarkar’s jibe. Khokhe
Woods and Waters National means immoral money. It was
Monument (US). alleged that BJP paid `50 crore
The Night Sky Sanctuary is to each of Eknath Shinde’s 41
a public or private land that MLAs who overthrew Uddhav
has an exceptional; or distin- Thackeray’s government. This
guished quality of location operation lotus has been re-
for starry nights and a noc- ferred to as ‘khokhe, and the in-
turnal environment that is cumbent Shinde-Fadnavis gov-
protected for its scientific, ernment as a ‘khokhe sarkar.’
natural or educational value, Uddhav Thackeray, address-
its cultural heritage and pub- ing the public rally in Vidar-
lic enjoyment. bha, said that the Shinde-Fad-
A tripartite MoU has been navis government is infamous
signed recently among the as “khokhe sarkar.” He said,
UT Ladakh Autonomous Hill “Even Bachchu Kadu , an inde-
Development Council, the In- pendent MLA, said that at wed-
dian Institute of Astrophys- dings and social gatherings,
ics and UT Administration people talk about the khokhe
for setting up the Night Sky joke, and that this is inappro-
Sanctuary. priate, humiliating, and dam-
aging to the image he has
carved over the last several
years. Maharashtra Chief Min-
ister Eknath Shinde said there
is a limit to ridiculing anyone.
He asserted that they will no
longer tolerate such low level
and damaging remarks against
their government.
“We will also probe where
the khokhe went through the
fridge box? We will reveal all
the details about it. Has the
boxes from the container gone
through the fridge boxes? The
entire state of Maharashtra
knows who can take these box-
es and is capable of doing so.
One day, all things will come
into the limelight,” Shinde
war ned. The Shinde camp
claimed that Uddhav Thack-
eray used to take and transport
money (Kokhe) through refrig-
erator boxes at secure loca-
tions. Shinde camp MLA Deep-
ak Kesarkar alleged that one
day they will also reveal who
has taken money through the
fridge box. “There is a limit to
lying about Khokhe? We have
not taken a single penny from
anyone. Uddhav Thackeray has
lost his government due to his
own fault; therefore, he has
been making such baseless al-
legations against us,” Kesarkar
said. Earlier, the Shinde camp
also alleged that if anyone calls
them khokhe sarkar, then they
may file defamation cases
against them.

09 CHENNAI
UKRAINE CRIPPLES UNDER PERSISTENT
SNOWFALL & HEAVY STRIKES BY RUSSIA
Kyiv hopes the shellings and attacks will dwindle with harsh weather forecast in the coming days
KHERSON
SHELLING by Russian forces struck
several areas in eastern and south-
ern Ukraine overnight as utility
crews continued a scramble to re-
store power, water and heating fol-
lowing widespread strikes in recent
weeks, officials said on Sunday.
With persistent snowfall blanket-
ing the capital Kyiv on Sunday, ana-
lysts predicted that wintry weather—
bringing with it frozen terrain and
grueling fighting conditions—could
have an increasing impact on the di-
rection of the conflict that has raged
since Russian forces invaded Ukraine
more than nine months ago.
But for the moment, both sides
were bogged down by heavy rain
and muddy battlefield conditions in
some areas, experts said.
Breakthrough in Venezuela
talks spurs US to ease embargo
The government of Nicolas Maduro
and the Venezuelan opposition
broke a political stalemate with
a broad social accord, and the US
government responded by allowing
a major US oil company to resume
operations in Venezuela
PAT H T O P R OJ E C T S
It paves the way for the UN to
oversee a trust fund of frozen
assets of the Maduro
government to be used for a
variety of social projects in the
South American country,
including programmes related
to education, health, food
security, flood response and
electricity
The agreement ended 15
months of stalemate between
the two sides, potentially
easing a massive flow of
refugees from Venezuela
throughout the region and
even impacting world oil
markets
WORLD'S LARGEST OIL RESERVES
The licence will remain in effect for six months while the Biden
administration assesses whether the Maduro government meets
commitments made in the accord, Treasury said
Chevron, US energy firm said it
would “continue supporting
social investment programmes
aimed at providing
humanitarian relief”
and “decision brings...
transparency to the
Venezuelan oil
sector”
Pak govt calls
Imran’s choice
as acceptance
of his failure
ISLAMABAD
TOP leaders of Pakistan’s ruling
coalition on Sunday termed ex-PM
Imran Khan’s decision to resign
from the provincial assemblies as
acceptance of his failure to force
the government to announce early
elections.
The reaction came after Imran
on Saturday announced to resign
from provincial assemblies as he
withdrew a threat to march on cap-
ital Islamabad by saying that it
would result in destruction.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaul-
lah said that the announcement
showed the frustration of Khan.
“The decision to leave the assem-
blies has been taken as a face-sav-
ing to avoid defeat,” he said. “It is
possible that he (Imran) will not
follow the decision; it is also pos-
sible that he will come to the par-
liament,” he added.
Meanwhile, Punjab CM Pervaiz
Elahi, said he would support Im-
ran’s decision to dissolve the as-
sembly. “I will dissolve the Punjab
Assembly within a minute on Im-
ran Khan’s call,” he said. PTI
MONDAY 28 11 2022
� �
After a blistering barrage of Rus-
sian artillery strikes on at least two
occasions over the past two weeks,
infrastructure teams in Ukraine
were fanning out in around-the-
clock deployments to restore key ba-
sic services as many Ukrainians
dealt with only a few hours of elec-
tricity per day—if any.
Ukrenergo, the state power grid
operator, said on Sunday that elec-
tricity producers are now supplying
about 80% of demand. That’s an im-
provement from Saturday’s 75%, the
company says.
The Institute for the Study of War
(ISW), a think tank that has been
closely monitoring developments in
Ukraine, said reporting from both
sides indicated that heavy rain and
mud have had an impact—but wider
freezing expected along the front
HAILING THE DEAL
� Maduro praised the deal
on Twitter, saying it
“opens the way for a new
chapter for Venezuela, to
keep advancing towards
the peace and well-being
that all Venezuelans
yearn for”
� And UN deputy
spokesman Farhan Haq
said that Secretary-
General Antonio Guterres
was committed to
supporting the parties,
calling the breakthrough
“an important milestone
that has the potential to
deliver broader benefits
for the people of
Venezuela”
� The US Treasury
Department said the
accord marks “important
steps in the right
direction to restore
democracy” in Venezuela
The relaxation of curbs on
Chevron’s operations in
Venezuela, which has the
world’s largest oil reserves,
would allow the nation to
move toward re-entering
global oil markets
A Ukrainian serviceman take a rest on the
frontline at an undisclosed location in the
Donetsk region in Ukraine | AP
Kim’s ‘precious child’ appears
again at missile test-launch
SEOUL
NORTH Korean leader Kim
Jong Un’s daughter made a
public appearance again, this
time with more honorific titles
as her father’s ‘most beloved’ or
‘precious’ child. She’s only
about 10, but her photos are
deepening the debate over
whether she’s being primed as
a successor.
On Sunday, the North’s offi-
cial KCNA mentioned her for
the second time, saying she and
Kim took group photos with
scientists, officials in the test-
launch of Hwasong-17 ICBM.
KCNA described her as Kim’s
‘most beloved’ or ‘precious’
child, a more honorific title
than her previous description
of ‘(Kim’s) beloved’ child on its
November 19 dispatch. State
media-released photos showed
the daughter in a long, black
coat holding her father’s arm
as the two posed for a photo.
Some photos showed Kim’s
daughter clapping her hands,
exchanging handshakes with a
soldier.
“This is certainly striking.
The photograph of Kim Ju Ae
standing alongside her father
while being celebrated by tech-
nicians...would support the
idea that this is the start of her
being positioned as a succes-
sor,” said Ankit Panda, an ex-
pert with the Carnegie Endow-
ment for International Peace.
Speculation that his eldest
child is a son has led some ex-
perts to question how a daugh-
ter can be Kim’s successor .
Analyst Cheong Seong-Chang
at the Sejong Institute in South
Korea said that Kim Jong Un
cannot make his son his succes-
sor if he thinks he lacks leader-
ship. AP
SIX
Beijing 13 -6 TDS Los Angeles 17 9 LC
Colombo 31 23 LC Melbourne 18 10 HR
Dhaka 30 19 TDS Moscow -4 -8 HR
GLOBAL Dubai 32 21 SNY New York 12 2 LC
WEATHER Houston 23 16 SNY Singapore 31 25 TDS
women killed, eight injured after a jeep plunges into LR: Light Rain HR: Heavy Rain SW: Snow Istanbul 14 11 LC Toronto 4 0 LC
nullah in Neelum Valley in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir TDS: Thundershower LC: Light Cloud SNY: Sunny London 11 5 LC Washington 12 1 LC
Body of girl found in the landslide;
govt releases $2 million for rescue
MILAN
SEARCH teams pulled the body of a
ing in the port town of Casamicciola,
feared buried under mud and debris.
The Italian government declared a
young girl from her family home on state of emergency for the island dur-
Sunday as they dug through mud for a ing an urgent Cabinet meeting on Sun-
lines in coming days could play a second day in the search for people still day, earmarking nearly $2.1 million for
role. missing after an enormous landslide the rescue and to restore public
“It is unclear if either side is ac- on the island of Ischia. The Naples pre- services.
tively planning or preparing to fect confirmed that the death toll in the The Naples prefect, Claudio Palom-
resume major offensive or counter- tragedy had risen to two. ba, said that 15 homes had been over-
offensive operations at that time, A further 10 people remained miss- whelmed by the stream of mud. AFP
but the meteorological factors that
have been hindering such opera-
tions will begin lifting,” it said.
ISW said Russian forces were dig-
ging in further east of Kherson,
from which they were expelled by
Ukrainian forces more than two
weeks ago, and continued “routine
artillery fire” across the Dnipro
River.
In Donetsk, five people were killed
in shelling over the past day, as per
governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. Over-
night shelling was reported by re-
gional leaders in Zaporizhzhia and
Dnipropetrovsk areas. AP
Kim Jong Un and his daughter with soldiers during the launch of
Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile in North Korea | AP
North Korea vows to
have world’s most
powerful nuclear force
SEOUL
NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his coun-
try aimed to have the world’s most powerful nu-
clear force as he celebrated the launch of its newest
intercontinental ballistic missile at a ceremony.
Kim also handed promotions to more than 100
officials and scientists for their work on the Hwa-
song-17—dubbed the ‘monster missile’ by analysts
and believed to be capable of reaching the US
mainland.
Hailing the new ICBM as “the world’s strongest
strategic weapon”, Kim said North Korean scien-
tists had made a “wonderful leap forward in the
development of the technology of mounting nu-
clear warheads on ballistic missiles”, KCNA
reported.
Building the nuclear force to protect the dignity
and sovereignty of the state and the people “is the
greatest and most important revolutionary cause,
and its ultimate goal is to possess the world’s most
powerful strategic force, the absolute force unprec-
edented in the century”, Kim was quoted as saying
in his order promoting officials. AFP
 fall in gold imports ($24

17.38%
billion) during April-October
due to fall in demand, as
per commerce ministry data

10 CHENNAI MONDAY 28 11 2022

� � newindianexpress com

What can change in capital gains tax rules in Budget

Government is reportedly looking at simplifying tax structure by bringing uniformity in holding periods to decide the nature of capital gains as short or long

D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi capital gains (LTCG) or short- , without indexation, etc. de- listed debt securities and zero-
HOW COMPLEX CAPITAL GAINS TAX STRUCTURE IS
term capital gain (STCG). pending upon long term or coupon bonds (listed or unlist-
THE capital gains tax rules For example, any gains made Asset Holding period LTCG tax rate STCG tax rate short-term capital gain.” This ed) and for investment through
could be changed in the next from equities holding them for (for LTCG) creates lots of confusion for debt mutual funds should be
budget if the buzz around it less than one year is considered 10% if LTCG is taxpayers, therefore, the gov- harmonised and made uni-
Equity 12 months 15%
comes true. It has been report- short-term capital gains, and is more than 1 lakh ernment should consider sim- form,” it said in its budget pro-
ed by media that the finance taxed at 15%. But if the capital Listed g-secs, bonds 20% after Taxed according plifying this by bringing parity posal. AMFI has also sought
ministry is looking at changing gain is made from holding in an 12 months between different tax rates and parity in tax treatment with re-
and zero coupon bonds indexation to tax slab
some of the anomalies in the equity share for more than one holding periods, says Bohra. spect to capital gains on with-
capital gains tax rules. year, it is considered long term Debt Mutual funds and 20% after Taxed according The Association of Mutual drawal of investments in ULIPs
36 months
The ministry has given capital gains, and is taxed unlisted debts indexation to tax slab Funds in India (AMFI) in its of life insurance companies
hints in the past that it is at 10%. For any other as- gains). 20% after Taxed according budget proposal has pointed and redemption of mutual
Gold 36 months
not happy with a com- sets – debt, gold or prop- If media reports are to be be- indexation to tax slab out that the minimum holding funds units, so as to bring about
plicated capital gains TAX erties – the holding pe- lieved, the government is look- 20% after Taxed according period for units of debt-orient- a level-playing field between
tax structure and that it UPDATE riod has to be over three ing at simplifying the tax struc- Real estate 24 months
indexation to tax slab ed mutual funds (listed or un- ULIPs and MF schemes.
needs to be re-looked at. years for the capital ture by bringing uniformity in listed) to qualify as Long-Term Though the revenue secre-
Note: LTCG: Long-term capital gains; STCG: Short-term capital Gains
Revenue Secretary Tarun gains to be qualified as holding periods to decide the Capital Asset is 36 months. tary has in the past stressed on
Bajaj has said in public that long term. nature of capital gains as short However, it says direct invest- the need for having higher tax
there is no logic for having dif- While short-ter m capital or long. of taxation at 10%. The govern- holding periods for a particular ments in listed securities like on LTCG from equities, it is un-
ferent time frames and tax rates gains from equities is taxed at It can do so by increasing the ment might also do away with asset to qualify as long-term bonds/debentures, government likely that the government may
for different assets. 15%, the same from debt, gold holding period to three years a lower short-term capital gains capital asset (for example 1 securities, derivatives, etc. list- go for a hike in rate given it
or any other asset is taxed at for equities (like it is in case of tax of 15% in equities and bring year for listed securities, two ed on a recognised exchange in could dent the equity market
Complicated tax structure income slab rates. Long-term other assets) for the capital it at par with other assets. years for immovable properties India and zero-coupon bonds sentiments in the country. But
Capital gains tax rates vary de- capital gains from non-equity gains to be considered as long- and three years for other as- (listed or unlisted) the holding investors should be ready for
pending upon type of asset and assets are taxed at 20% after in- term. If that happens, you may
Need for simplification sets) and similarly different period to qualify as long-term some changes in capital gains
period of holding. Period of dexation. (Indexation is adjust- have to hold your equities and Gopal Bohra, partner, direct rates are there for listed securi- capital asset is only 12 months. tax rule and be prepared for the
holding decides whether the ing the cost price for inflation equity mutual funds for a long- tax, N.A Shah Associates, says ties, unlisted securities, other “The holding period for likely repercussions on their
gains are taxable as long-term before arriving at the capital er period to avail a lower rate : “Currently there are different capital assets, with indexation, LTCG for direct investment in investment decisions.

MONEY MATTERS MONEY-WISE

WHAT DOES SMALL CAN BE BIG, BUT

2022 SAY TREAD CAUTIOUSLY
ABOUT YOUR
of small-cap companies. As for this fund has been around
per SEBI’s definition, small- 49.5% while its one year re-
cap schemes need to invest at turn has been around 2.9%.

MONEY?
least 65 per cent of their total
assets in small-cap
companies.
It is important for inves-
tors to be cognizant of the
This fund invests in stocks
across sectors like consumer
s t a p l e s, m a t e r i a l s a n d
services.
Sundaram Small Cap Fund

The inflationary trend is

strange too
For the first time in history, we
may have a full calendar year
Interest rates, inflation
dominate conversations
FINANCIAL ADVICE
ASHOK KUMAR
Head of LKW-India. He can be
SOURAV ROY reached at ceolotus@hotmail.com
share prices rally from the lows
fact that small-cap funds car-
ry a higher level of risk than
many of the SEBI defined cat-
egories. Even the slightest
volatility in the market can
have a huge impact on the
has an AUM of `2,080 crore
and was launched in Febru-
ary 2005. Its three year CAGR
is around 26.9% while its one
year return is around minus
1.6%. This fund has higher al-

A
where consumer price inflation of the pandemic. However, share prices of small-cap locations in stocks across sec-
in America is higher than in most of that action could be T a seminar where I companies. Hence, one must tors such as financial, capital
For the first time in history, we
India. It was a year when inter- termed a ‘catch-up’. was a speaker some tread with caution. Let us goods and services.
may have a full calendar year
FINANCIAL ADVICE est rates and inflation dominat-
ed conversations across finan-
where consumer price inflation in
At the start of 2022, there was
a lot of excitement about Bit-
years ago, I remem-
ber meeting a retired
now turn the spotlight on
some of the small cap funds
Tata Small Cap Fund has
an AUM of `2,664 crore and
America is higher than in India. It
RAJAS KELKAR cial markets. The strangeness coins and other cryptocurren- Professor who with relatively smaller was launched in November
was a year when interest rates
(The author is editor-in-chief at does not end here. The US dol- cies. It was touted to be the wished to know if AUMs. 2018. Its three-year CAGR is
and inflation dominated
www.moneyminute.in) lar gained strength against ma- most disruptive development. she should invest Canara Robeco Small Cap around 30.7% while its one
conversations across financial
jor currencies in the worst year Governments and regulators one-third of her retirement Fund was launched in Febru- year return is around 6.4%.
markets
for consumer inflation since across nations stalled their corpus in small-cap funds as ary 2019 and has an AUM of This fund has higher alloca-

Y
OUR money is influ-
enced primarily by two
‘I’s. One is inflation,
and another is interest
rates. The two are
linked to each other
and move in tandem.
As inflation goes up, interest
rates rise too. Your quest is to
attempt to beat inflation every
year with your investments. As
most Indians continue to hold-
money in the bank and fixed
deposits, the year 2022 would be
tough to beat inflation. When-
ever we have had a surge in in-
flation, gold prices have
soared.
However, in 2022, gold prices
have not moved anywhere.
They have barely moved in over
the past decade compared to
the usual trend.
Rising commodity prices and
supply shocks drove the stub-
bornly high consumer price in-
flation. The war in Ukraine and
COVID-19 restrictions in China
have slowed global supply
chains.
1981. The Indian rupee fell
nearly 10% this year against
the US dollar. However, it
gained strength against the
British pound, the Japanese
Yen and the Euro.
Foreign portfolio investors
are significant drivers of valu-
ation across global financial
markets. They pulled out mon-
ey from everything that looked
risky in light of rising interest
rates. India was no exception.
However, Indian equities
showed resilience despite that.
Retail investors continue to
pour money into equity assets
through systematic investing.
That is providing a cushion
against a sharp slide witnessed
in other markets.
If you look at benchmark in-
dices for their 2022 perform-
ance across segments, there
seems to be an uneasy calm.
The NSE Nifty, Nifty Midcap
and the Nifty Next 50 have just
about hung to levels where they
were at the start of the year.
That does not mean things have
remained calm in the wonder-
land of investing.
The year saw the usual per-
formers underperform. The
Nasdaq 100 shed a third of its
value so far in 2022. The Nifty
IT index in India is down by a
fifth. The new-age tech compa-
nies, including consumer and
fintech, have had a rough ride
in 2022. Most companies riding
on India’s domestic consump-
tion boom for food delivery, fi-
nancial services on smart-
phones, e-commerce and
logistics have witnessed a loss
of investor confidence.
There have been pockets of
outperformance. Public sector
bank shares have improved on
interest income and profit mar-
gins due to lower non-perform-
ing assets.
The credit growth in the
economy surged in 2022 to a
level higher than the deposit
growth witnessed for a couple
of years to 2022. Telecom and
capital goods companies saw
march. They saw it as a direct
challenge to their authority to
issue currency. Many countries
decided to launch their ver-
sions of digital currency. In-
dia’s Reserve Bank of India
continued to oppose an acces-
sible way for cryptocurrencies.
The Indian government decid-
ed to tax transactions in the
crypto assets or currencies
heavily. The value of crypto-
currencies at the start of the
year was over USD 2.3 trillion.
It is now less than $900 bn, a
free fall of two-thirds of the
value. The collapse of FTX, a
trading platform, exacerbated
the slide recently.
The year taught us the im-
portance of diversification.
The idea of making fast money
by investing in seemingly at-
tractive assets is fraught with
too many risks. It is an excel-
lent idea to spread your invest-
ment across asset classes. This
column can only recommend
getting a professional financial
advisor like every year.
they seemed to be yielding Rs. 4,063 crore. Its 3-year tions in stocks across sectors
maximum returns at that CAGR has been around 37.5% such as services, financial
point in time. As a policy I re- while its one year return has and capital goods.
spond to all queries on public been around 7.7%. This fund Clearly, there are returns to
forums at only a macro level invests largely in stocks from be made in small cap funds,
to minimise any scope of the services, financial and but one must be discerning in
misinterpretation that could capital goods segment. its selection and even more
lead to an unwanted loss for Quant Small Cap Fund was importantly, an assessment
any investor. launched in November 1996 of the suitability of a small
Hence, I told her that re- and has an assets under man- cap fund based on life cycle
turns must be reviewed over agement (AUM) of `2,355 stage must be undertaken be-
longer time frames and not crore. The three year CAGR fore investing.
just the last 12 months and
also suggested that in terms
of Life-Cycle investing, Small
Cap funds might be more
suited for her daughter who
had accompanied her.
The Securities and Ex-
change Board of India (SEBI)
defines small-cap companies
as those which are ranked be-
low the 250th rank in terms
of market capitalisation. In
the Mutual Fund space,
Small-Cap Funds, as the name
suggests, are those invest a
major portion of their in-
vestible corpus into equity or
equity-related instruments

RBI, UAE central bank in talks for EXPRESS READ

trade settlement in local currency
M O N I K A YA D A V @ New Delhi
THE Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) has prepared a concept pa-
per for trade settlement in In-
dian rupee with the country's
third-largest trading partner
the UAE, according to Sunjay
Sudhir, India's Ambassador to
the Middile-East country.
He said the UAE's central
bank is looking at the matter
and discussing it with the RBI
officials to operationalise the
mechanism. “We had done a
meeting in September. We have
shared RBI’s concept paper with
the UAE, which has already des-
ignated a nodal person for this.
Both countries’ central banks
are in talks with each other to
operationalise trading in local
currencies. Main objective of
this is to reduce cost of transac-
tion,” Sudhir said.
India and the UAE signed free
trade agreement (FTA) earlier
this year. The FTA got opera-
tional from May and as per Sri-
kar Reddy, Joint Secretary at
the Department of Commerce,
trade between both countries
has taken off very well despite
global slowdown and inflation-
ary pressure. As per commerce
ministry data, in June-October
period, India’s non-oil exports
to the UAE rose 8% to $9.69 bil-
lion, while the global non-oil ex-
ports fell by 2% during the pe-
riod. As per Reddy, May data
wasn't included as many people
were not aware of implementa-
tion of the FTA and due to fes-
tivities in the UAE. Electrical
machinery, gems and jewellery,
cereals, inorganic chemicals,
and automobiles were the big-
gest beneficiaries from the FTA
during June-October, the minis-
try analysis showed. The min-
istry is trying to create aware-
ness about this FTA via
involvement of Export Promo-
tion Councils and organising
road shows in the UAE, a gov-
ernment official said.
The UAE is also part of GCC
(gulf cooperation council) coun-
tries and India will begin nego-
tiations with them in the first
quarter of FY23. "We see a grow-
ing interest in both countries....
From an investment perspec-
tive, we see the UAE as a won-
derful platform for investment.
Investment would be a positive
spinoff under this FTA," Sudhir
added.
‘RBI should moderate
pace of policy tightening’
NEW DELHI: Industry body
Confederation of Indian Industries
(CII) has asked the RBI to
moderate pace of rate hikes as it
feels India is not immune to
global polycrisis. “Given the
headwinds to domestic growth
emanating from global
uncertainties, RBI should consider
moderating pace of its monetary
tightening from the earlier 50
basis points,” said the CII. ENS
Recovery rate under IBC
falls to 30% in Sept qtr
MUMBAI: Cumulative recovery
under the insolvency resolution
processes of debt-ridden firms fell
to 30.18% at the end of
September quarter, indicating
that lenders took more haircut on
their exposure. Of `7,90,626.2
crore claims from creditors
admitted by NCLT, only
`2,43,452.5 crore have been
recovered till the end of Q2 FY23,
a Care Ratings study says. PTI
GDP, auto sales data, global cues
to guide stock market this week
A R S H A D K H A N @ New Delhi
INDIA’S equity market resumed
uptrend after taking a breather
for a week.
Supported by the US Federal
Reserve’s dovish view on future
interest rate hikes, strong buy-
ing by foreign institutional in-
vestors (FII) and a drop in crude
oil prices, benchmark indices
NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex
gained about 1% each last week.
Sensex rallied 630.16 points or
1% last week settling at 62,293.64
-- its record closing high. The
NSE Nifty too ended at a closing
high of 18,512.75.
As per market analysts, mac-
roeconomic data, monthly auto
sales and global trends will
most likely guide local market
this week. Some analysts also
feel that benchmarks will con-
tinue their rally in coming
wees, with Nifty testing the
19,000 mark. Ajit Mishra, VP -
Technical Research, Religare
Broking, said, “In the coming
week, participants will be fo-
cusing on key macroeconomic
data viz. GDP numbers, core
sectors data, manufacturing
and services PMI for cues.
Apart from domestic data set,
the performance of the global
indices especially the US will
remain on the radar.”
“We expect the prevailing
trend to continue and expect
Nifty to scale 18,700 first and
then to a new milestone of
19,000. On the downside, the
18,100 zone would provide the
much needed support in case
of any dip,” added Mishra.
GDP data for the second quar-
ter is scheduled to be announced
on Wednesday, while Purchas-
ing Managers’ Index (PMI) data
for manufacturing sector will
be out on Thursday. The growth
data will be keenly followed giv-
en several rating agencies and
banks have lowered India’s
FY23 gross domestic product
(GDP) growth forecast, as they
feel higher interest rates and
slowing global trade are major
headwinds. As per Vinod Nair,
Head of Research at Geojit Fi-
nancial services, however, the
tight COVID lockdown in China
has negatively impacted the
global growth forecast and m
the lack of strong fundamental
triggers will limit the upside,
keeping the market volatile in
the short term.
 CHENNAI
MONDAY 11
28�11�2022

Kramaric fires Croatia to victory

DOHA: Croatia, the 2018 finalists, posted an important 4-1 win against
Canada at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Sunday to
boost their chances of making it to the last 16 stage. Andrej Kramaric
scored a double (36’, 70’) while Marko Livaja (44’) and Lovro Majer
(90+4’) scored a goal each. Alphonso Davies’ second-minute opener
was all in vain. Croatia are now top of Group F ahead of second-placed
Morocco. Belgium are third.
Costa Rica’s Keysher Fuller rejoices after scoring against Japan on Sunday | AFP
URU

Costa Rica ‘still alive’

GUA

It’s time for Africa! Belgium stunned

Y
22
23
3

after narrow win

A F P @ Doha
LUIS Fernando Suarez said
his Costa Rica team were “still
very much alive” at the World
Cup after a 1-0 win over Japan
on Sunday blew Group E wide
open. Japan, who shocked
four-time champions Germa-
ny 2-1 in their opener in Qatar,
would have taken a giant
stride towards the last 16 with
a win.
Instead they laboured in the
first half against a Costa Rica
side who were hammered 7-0
by Spain, then defender Key-
sher Fuller scored in the 81st
minute with a deflected strike
on the counterattack.
It was Costa Rica’s first shot
on target at this World Cup
5 11
Suare z made
just two changes to
the team thumped by
Spain, Gerson Torres and
34-year-old centre-back Ken-
dall Waston taking their plac-
es in an ageing XI which fea-
tured four players from the
2014 World Cup quarter-finals.
But Japan’s early promise
melted in the Doha sun and
the first shot at goal — a tame
effort which sailed high and
wide — did not come until 10
minutes from half-time
through Costa Rica’s Joel
Campbell.
A dreary first half came to
a close with “Los Ticos” hav-
ing had more of the ball but
neither side mustering a shot
on target.
8 15
2
6
25 9 16
A F P @ Doha near post, before Aboukhlal
11 5 S grabbed a second in stoppage
UP
13
18
E-
7 MOROCCO jeopardised Bel- time. The tens of thousands of
N
22 9 LI gium’s World Cup hopes as Ab- Morocco supporters respond-
4 8 E
A BL delhamid Sabiri and Zakaria ed by cheering their team
B Aboukhlal’s late goals secured home at a raucous Al Thu-
20 O
PR a surprise 2-0 triumph in Doha mama Stadium.
on Sunday. Morocco replace Belgium at
PO Belgium, third in Russia the top of Goup F and know
RT
UG four years ago, could have they will qualify for the knock-
AL qualified for the last 16 with out phase for the first time
victory but instead produced since 1986 if they can avoid de-
another insipid display after f e at a g a i n s t C a n a d a o n
their fortunate opening win Thursday.
Uruguay: Rochet (23); Caceres over Canada. Belgium, the world’s second-
(22), Godin (3), Gimenez (2), Substitute Sabiri was the ranked side, will have to beat
Olivera (16); Valverde (15), hero thanks to a 73rd-minute 2018 runners-up Croatia to be
Bentancur (6), Vecino (5); Pellistri free-kick which Thibaut Cour- sure of going through.
(8), Suarez (9), Darwin (11). Morocco’s Zakaria Aboukhlal (C) celebrates after scoring the second goal | AFP tois allowed to bounce in at his Result: Belgium 0-2 Morocco.
Portugal: Costa (22); Cancelo
(20), Dias (4), Pereira (13),
Guerreiro (5), Bruno (8),
Neves(18), Otavio (25); Silva (9), S T E V E D O U G L A S @ Doha
Ronaldo (7), Felix (11).

and left them, leaders Spain
and Japan all on three points.
Spain were due to take on
Germany later on Sunday in a
group widely seen as the
toughest at the tournament.
“These players did amazing
things today. I will not talk
about technique or tactics. To-
day I need to value and appre-
ciate what they have done to
get this win,” said Suarez,
whose side meets Germany
on Thursday.
“We weren’t dead yesterday
and now we are still very
much alive. Nobody can forget
about us yet so we can still
dream.
“People thought we were al-
ready out but we are in this
together.”
Japan made five changes to
the team which stunned Ger-
many as coach Hajime Mori-
A
Moriyasu had seen enough S Lionel Messi strug-
and made a double change at MATCH POINT gled to hold back his
the break, one of them the in- tears, Pablo Aimar let
troduction of Bundesliga- Portugal can confirm qualification them flow on the
based striker Takuma Asano, with a win while Uruguay will bench.
who scored the winner against look to involve their forwards. A Covering his hands
the Germans. look at the match between two of with his face, Argen-
football's great aristocrats... tina’s assistant coach, the
Chinese TV cuts former player who Messi idol-
maskless WC scenes SAFETY FIRST APPROACH ized as a child, was almost hy-
BEIJING: China’s state Both sides are notorious for perventilating with emotion
broadcaster is cutting close-up keeping it locked at the back after the goal that kept alive the
shots of maskless fans at the
before worrying about creating Albiceleste’s World Cup jour-
chances. Chances are there could ney. A sobbing Aimar even had
Qatar World Cup, after early be a similar strategy, at least in
coverage sparked anger at home to be calmed down by Argenti-
the first half. na coach Lionel Scaloni as the
where street protests have
erupted over harsh Covid-19 final minutes were being played
LEAO IN?
restrictions. During a live in the team’s 2-0 win over Mex- Lionel Messi
Portugal have a great new ico on Saturday. This is how GROUP C
broadcast of Sunday’s group scored one and
generation of attackers coming much it means to Argentina — set up another Team M W D L Pts
game between Japan and Costa
through including one of the the nation, the fans, the coach- goal to help Poland 2 1 1 0 4
Rica, state broadcaster CCTV goalscorers, Rafael Leao. But will
Sports replaced close-up shots of ing staff and the players. Argentina beat Argentina 2 1 0 1 3
they be brave enough to drop And, for Scaloni, it’s a real
maskless fans waving flags with Cristiano Ronaldo? Mexico | AP Saudi Arabi 2 1 0 1 3
images of players, officials or the concern. Mexico 2 0 1 1 1
“We should have a little more

MESSI-STIC TOUCH
football stadium, AFP observed. BATTLE IN MIDFIELD
yasu made full use of his 26- common sense, and think that
man squad. Uruguay’s midfield is forward it is just a football game,” Scalo-

65
In temperatures of 32 de- Goal ticker looking who like to have the ball. ni said. “The truth is, I don’t
grees Celsius (90 degrees Portugal’s too want to have the share the feeling that you are
Fahrenheit) at Ahmad Bin Ali Top scorers: Valencia, ball. It could come down to which playing something more than a
Mbappe: 3 of the two sets of midfield are
Stadium, Japan immediately
GOALS more proactive.
game. And that’s what the play- Argentina forward steps up in crucial tie to help team stay afloat
went on the attack and won a * after 27 games
ers feel when they go out on the
corner within 30 seconds. AGEING URUGUAY BACKLINE pitch. “We have to correct it braced each other in the stands (America) final and we had to
and we will try to continue on at Lusail Stadium. Argentine think about what came next. Highest attendance
Two of Uruguay’s back four are 35 the path of them feeling that it journalists did the same. The joy doesn’t last long.”

Q U I C K PASS ES (Martin Caceres) and 37 LUSAIL: Lionel Messi played in

(Diego Godin). While they were
okay against South Korea, the
nimble-footed Portuguese
Iran fury over Klinsmann’s criticism attackers could take turns in
running at them.
DOHA: Iran and coach Carlos Queiroz called on Jurgen
Klinsmann to resign from a FIFA experts panel on Sunday after Live Action
the former Germany striker accused the Iranians of Group G: Serbia vs Cameroon, 3.30 PM,
gamesmanship in their win over Wales. Klinsmann, a member Brazil vs Switzerland, 9.30 PM
of FIFA’s seven-member technical study group that is
Group H: South Korea vs Ghana 6.30 PM,
analysing the World Cup in Qatar, took aim at Iran’s antics
Portugal vs Uruguay, 12.30 AM (Tuesday)
following their 2-0 Group B win against Wales on Friday. “This
is not by coincidence. This is all purposely. This is part of their
culture, that’s how they play it,” Klinsmann said while working
as a studio analyst for the BBC. “They work the referee — you
saw the bench always jumping off and working the linesman GROUP D
and the fourth referee on the sideline.” Team M W D L
France 2 2 0 0
Australia 2 1 0 1
Denmark 2 0 1 1
Tunisia 2 0 1 1
is a football game. Otherwise,
every time you have to play for
a match, for the knockout phase
.... it will always be like that.”
Unfortunately for Scaloni, it
seems as if this is one message
which is unlikely to get through
at this World Cup. One of his
favorite sayings over the past
week in Qatar and going back
further is: “Win or lose, the sun
will rise tomorrow.”
For Argentines, however, this
journey to a third World Cup
title has the feeling of life or
death. They’ve gone from the
Pts unexpected low of losing to
Saudi Arabia in one of the
6
World Cup’s biggest upsets to
3 the high of beating Mexico to
1 ignite their hopes of going all
1 the way. Teary-eyed fans em-
And the players were getting
carried away in the locker room
after the final whistle, singing
songs — one chorus says that
Diego Maradona and his moth-
er are cheering on Messi from
heaven— while jumping up and
down on their seats and bang-
ing their fists against the walls.
Argentina goalkeeper Emi
Martinez stood on a table in the
middle of the room, swinging a
towel above his head.
So much for the need to
“maintain balance,” as Scaloni
suggested after the game. “Peo-
ple will think I’m crazy but fine,
we won, we’re celebrating, it
happens,” Scaloni said.
“But tomorrow we have to
prepare the (next) game. It’s
like when we won the Copa
Calm heads may be needed,
though that doesn’t seem the
Argentina way. Indeed, Messi
thought that was his team’s
problem as Argentina strug-
gled to find a way through Mex-
ico’s obdurate defense in the
first hour of the match. Messi
could be seen imploring his
teammates to relax.
“We knew we were going too
fast at times and therefore we
made mistakes,” he said.
Messi said Argentina was
anxious in the game against
Saudi Arabia, also played in
front of tens of thousands of
Albiceleste fans in a Lusail Sta-
dium that can hold nearly
89,000. The attendance of 88,966
spectators for the Mexico match
was the largest at a World Cup
front of 88,966 spectators on
Saturday, the largest attendance
at a World Cup match in 28
years. The Lusail Stadium north
of Doha, which will stage the
final on Dec. 18, hosted the most
people at the World Cup since the
1994 final in the United States,
according to FIFA. There were
91,194 people at the Rose Bowl
in Pasadena, California, to see
Brazil beat Italy in that penalty
shootout after a 0-0 draw.
match since 1994.
There will be around half
that number in the stadium
for the game against Poland.
That may prove be a blessing
for Argentina. AP
RESULT: Argentina 2-0 Mexico.

After latest milestone, Ronaldo eyes Cup glory Saudi viewers

angry over ban
‘Sorry, mom’
A P @ Doha Erik ten Hag and the club’s
owners. A win against Uru- Saudi Arabia coach Hervé Re- on WC streaming
ANOTHER game, another per- guay on Monday would secure nard felt he disappointed his
sonal milestone. For all the Portugal’s qualification from mother when Poland beat his DOHA: World Cup viewers in
turmoil that has surrounded Group H to the knockout stag- team on Saturday. The French Saudi Arabia say the govern-
Japan fans cheer before the match against Costa Rica on Sunday | AFP Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of es with a game to spare after coach said before the match ment has blocked a Qatari-
what is likely to be his final its opening 3-2 win against that it was going to be very owned streaming service that
World Cup, the Portugal great Ghana. special for her because her was supposed to broadcast
continues to make his mark. “This is just the beginning,” parents were Polish, “but she matches in the kingdom. The
Uruguay relishing underdog status On Thursday he became the
first man to score in five World
Ronaldo said in an Instagram
post, adding that “there are no
will wear her Saudi national
shirt. Don’t worry.”
suspension has stunned and
outraged customers of TOD
DOHA: Midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur said on Sunday that twice Cups. impossibilities.” But if soc- Cristiano Ronaldo | AP It’s the first Cup that Re- TV, which holds the rights to
former winners Uruguay are relishing their status as underdogs Earlier this season he regis- cer’s ultimate numbers man is nard’s mother has attended show the World Cup in Saudi
ahead of facing Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal at the World Cup tered the 700th club goal of his to achieve his ambition of lift- Felix is the likeliest heir to and she was at Lusail Stadium Arabia. TOD TV is owned by
in Qatar. It was a similar scenario four years ago when an career. Not bad for a 37-year- ing the one major trophy that Ronaldo’s throne as Portugal’s to see one of the biggest upsets Qatar’s beIN Sports Media
Edinson Cavani brace helped the South Americans stun the old, who doesn’t know where eludes him, he cannot do it by inspiration-in-chief – and has when his team defeated Argen- Group. Saudi-based subscrib-
then-European champions 2-1 in the last 16. “We respect he will be playing beyond Qa- himself. That much was clear even been linked with a poten- tina. “I think every week she’s ers who weren’t able to watch
everyone, but the less you know about Uruguay the better it tar after having his Manches- against Ghana, when Portugal tial move to United. If Qatar is watching maybe two, three World Cup matches have flood-
turns out for us,” said Tottenham player Bentancur. “It’s better ter United contract terminated also needed goals from Joao Ronaldo’s last World Cup games,” Renard said. “She ed TOD TV’s Twitter account
not to attract attention, to be humble, respect our opponents, in the wake of his incendiary Felix and Rafael Leao to hold dance, the moves are not quite loves football, so of course, she this week with refund requests
and play all the same. “At the last World Cup we did it really interview criticizing manager on for victory. as fluid as they once were. was very happy.” and screenshots of the serv-
well, starting from behind.” ice’s website saying “Sorry, the
requested page is violating the
TODAY’S MATCHES
re gulations of the Media
‘Expect different Son vs Ghana’ CAMEROON vs SOUTH KOREA BRAZIL vs
Ministry.”
In a message shared by sub-
DOHA: South Korea coach Paulo Bento said the team would see SERBIA vs GHANA SWITZERLAND scribers, TOD TV apologized to
a “different” Son Heung-min against Ghana on Monday after the viewers “for the temporary loss
SET-UP TO PLAY ON THE COUNTER MARRYING INDUSTRY WITH PRECISION A NEYMAR-LESS SELECAO of service.” “This is due to rea-
forward got used to his face mask during their opening World
Cup match. Portuguese boss Bento said he was not worried Cameroon showed some good signs against Switzerland before The Koreans had some industry against Uruguay but cut- With the talismanic Neymar out, Brazil will make at least sons beyond our control,” it
about his team’s lack of a cutting edge in the first match ahead going down and they will likely set up in the same manner. ting edge had deserted them (seven shots on goal, zero on one attacking change. However, they should be fine, they said. “We value our viewers
of their second game in Qatar. “It’s completely normal to face
With slightly better finishing, especially from Maxim Choupo target). Son Heung-min is the obvious reference but he will don’t rely on him as much these days like they showed having a premium user experi-
Moting and Karl Toko Ekambi, they can trouble the Serbs. need a a good supporting cast. against Serbia. ence and are working on re-
some challenges during the first game,” he said on Sunday. “As
far as Son is concerned, he was recently injured and he was also suming normal services as
TIME FOR TWO UP FRONT BEING MORE PROACTIVE COMPACT AND RESILIENT soon as possible.”
adapting, trying to feel comfortable with the face mask. First he
needed to feel at ease with his teammates and afterwards with After posing a creditable challenge for 45 minutes, it melted in It’s almost like Ghana were waiting for Portugal to score the The Swiss are devoid of star power but they are the prover- TOD TV, the Saudi Media
the opponents. The second game will be different.” the face of sustained Brazil pressure in the second-half. They opening goal before being more adventurous. They were bial greater than sum of their parts. They will stay compact, Ministry and Foreign ministry
need a result now and could be forced to pair Dusan Vlahovic good once they decided to threaten the opposition goal. defend in numbers and ensure they maintain a threat. did not immediately respond to
and Aleksandar Mitrovic. Can they do it for the whole match, now? They drew Brazil in 2018, they will hope to do it again. requests for comment. AP

12 CHENNAI
NUGGETS &
TRIVIA
Italy’s Alessandro Nesta is
the fastest player to be
substituted in a World Cup.
Within four minutes of a
match against Austria, he
was replaced by Italian
player Giuseppe Bergomi
Northern Ireland’s
Norman Whiteside is
the youngest player to
ever participate in a
FIFA World Cup. He
played against
Yugoslavia in 1982 when
he was 17 years old.
South Korea’s Hong Duk-
Yung has conceded the
most goals in a WC. In
1954, Hong Duk-Yung
conceded 16 goals.
Brazil confident of Neymar comeback to lead World Cup bid
Brazil forward Raphinha (L) with his teammates during a training session | EXPRESS
FACT OF
THE MATTER
Iraq dam threatens
to evict thousands
ENVIRONMENT
T ens of thousands of Iraqis
are threatened by the
Makhoul dam, which the
gover nment hopes will be
operational on the mighty
Tigris in five years. In a country
highly vulnerable to climate
change—and buffeted by three
years of drought—authorities
have defended the project,
which will boost water stores
and help prevent shortages.
However, activists decry the
impact on more than 30 villages
and the threats to biodiversity
and archaeological sites.
Railway workers
in Austria to strike
PROTEST
R ailway workers in Austria
are set to hold a one-day
strike on Monday after a failed
r o u n d o f t a l k s i n p ay
ne gotiations. The Austria
Press Agency reported on
Sunday that both sides said the
fifth round of talks on pay for
some 50,000 employees of about
65 railway operators, including
the main national operator
OeBB, had failed. That means
that there will be no regional,
long-distance or night trains on
Monday.
MONDAY 28 11 2022
USHA TO LEAD NEW-LOOK IOA
Olympian & multiple Asiad medallist had been nominated to Rajya Sabha by BJP in July
I N D R A N E E L D A S @ Chennai
NEW faces and more athletes
will be part of the Indian Olym-
pic Association. There are hard-
ly a few names from the previ-
ous regime, and going by
nominations, it seems the new
set of administrators would
have sporting background. At
the same time, some of the
members who could be elected
are from the ruling party. Olym-
pian and multiple Asian Games
gold medallist PT Usha, who is
set to be the president, was
nominated to Rajya Sabha by
the ruling dispensation.
The senior vice president, an
important position in the IOA,
will be taken by National Rifle
Association of India vice presi-
dent Ajay Patel as a sole nomi-
nation. For treasurer, Indian
Weightlifting Federation presi-
dent Sahdev Yadav is the lone
contestant.
As reported by this daily,
more athletes are to be part of
FILE
ENERGY
Sober or bright? Europe faces
holidays during energy crunch
Early season merrymakers shopped for holiday decorations packed the
Verona Christmas market for its inaugural weekend. But the Italian city still
has not decked out its granite-clad pedestrian streets with twinkling holiday
lights as officials debate how to brighten up a town amid energy crisis
WRESTLING WITH
A TOUGH CHOICE
In cities across
Europe, officials
are wrestling with
a choice as energy
prices have gone
up because of
Russia’s war in
Ukraine: Dim
Christmas lighting
to send a message
of energy
conservation
PROTECTING
PUBLIC COFFERS
Diming the
Christmas lights
will also
showcases
solidarity with
citizens squeezed
by higher utility
bills and inflation,
while protecting
public coffers
SHIFTING TO A DIFFERENT SOURCE OF LIGHTING
From Paris to London, city
officials are limiting hours of
holiday illumination, and
many have switched to more
energy-efficient LED lights or
renewable energy sources
CYCLING TO LIGHT UP A TOWN
In the Italian mountain town of Borno, in Lombardy,
cyclists on stationary bikes will provide power to the
town’s Christmas tree by fuelling batteries with
kinetic energy. Anyone can hop on, and the faster
they pedal, the brighter the lights
Spectators gather to attend the Champs Elysee Avenue illumination
ceremony for the Christmas season, in Paris on Sunday | AP
� �
FACTFILE
Represented India
4
at the Moscow
Olympics in 1980
Asiad gold & 7
4
Fourth in silver medals
400m Hurdles
13
at 1984 LA
Olympics
gold medals at
5
the ATF meets,
Five gold & a held between
bronze in 1983-89
1985 Asian
Athletics Arjuna
C’ships — a Award in 1983
record that is
Padma Shri
yet to be
in 1985
broken.
the administration. London
Olympic medallist Gagan
Narang is set to be vice pres-
ident as he is the lone male
candidate of the three. The
other nominations for
the lone female post
are Rajlaxmi Singh
A N D Y S C O T T @ Doha
BRAZIL are confident that Ney-
mar will return to lead their bid
to win a sixth World Cup de-
spite the world’s most expen-
sive player suffering an ankle
injury in their opening match
in Qatar.
The Brazil captain came off
late on in Thursday’s 2-0 win
over Serbia with what was later
diagnosed as a sprained ankle
and has since been ruled out of
their second Group G outing
against Switzerland on Monday.
Doubts have even been raised
in some quarters that he might
struggle to feature again at the
tournament, which finishes
with the final in Doha on De-
cember 18. But defender Mar-
10%
SEEKING TO REDUCE ENERGY
CONSUMPTION BY 10%
Fewer lights are sparkling from the
centerpiece tree at the famed Strasbourg
Christmas market, which attracts 2
million people every year, as the French
city seeks to reduce public energy
consumption by 10% this year
SPARKING INNOVATION
The crisis, largely spurred by Russia
cutting off most natural gas to Europe, is
sparking innovation.
London’s Oxford Street
shopping district hopes to cut
energy consumption by two-
thirds by limiting the
illumination of its lights to 3-11
pm and installing LED bulbs
India vs NZ 2nd ODI
abandoned due to rain
Best Athlete in Asia
Award in 1984,1985,
1986,1987 & 1989.
Golden Shoe Award in
1986 Seoul Asian Games.
Team gold at 1998
Asian Athletics C’ships (4
x 100m relay) with
Valdivel Jayalakshmi,
Rachita Mistry, and EB
Shyla to set the current
national record of 44.43s.
Nominated for Rajya
Sabha in July 2022.
Deo of Rowing Fed-
eration of India
and Alaknanda
Ashok of Badmin-
ton Association
of India.
Similarly,
for joint
quinhos, who is also a team-
mate of the forward at Paris
Saint-Germain, said Neymar
has since been spending his
days undergoing intensive
physiotherapy in an attempt to
recover full fitness as soon pos-
sible. “At the time it was diffi-
cult for him and after the game
he was sad which I think is nor-
mal given how much he has
dreamt of this,” centre-back
Marquinhos said at a press con-
ference in the Qatari capital on
Sunday. “Now, after the tests
and the treatment, he is doing
physiotherapy 24 hours a day
which shows how much he
wants to be back with us. We
don’t know when, but we hope
it’s as soon as possible.”
Brazil coach Tite insisted in
XPLORE
Ending capital punishment in France
LAW
PARIS: On a biting cold morn-
ing on November 28, 1972, a
Frenchman was guillotined for
a murder he did not commit, in
a case that so traumatised his
lawyer he would spend the rest
of his life campaigning to end
the death penalty.
Roger Bontems, 36, was be-
headed for being an accessory
to the brutal murder of a nurse
and a guard during a break-out
attempt at a prison in eastern
France. Seven minutes after
his death in the courtyard of
La Sante prison in Paris, his co-
conspirator Claude Buffet—a
39-year-old man convicted of a
double murder that had sent
shockwaves through France
—met a similar end.
Among the witnesses of the
executions was Robert Badint-
er, a crusading young lawyer
who was haunted by his failure
to save the life of his client
Bontems.
Mexican refugees set
their sights on Canada
MIGRANTS
MONTREAL: Pedro Meraz says
living in Colima, Mexico, was
like living in a war zone, with
shootings, burning cars and
dismembered bodies being left
outside of schools.
When his wife Rocio Gonzal-
ez, a 28-year-old lawyer who
worked with abused wom-
en, be gan receiving
death threats from a
cartel and the local au-
thorities ignored her
pleas for assistance,
they knew they had to
leave.
“They knew where we lived
and what car we drove,” said
Meraz, 41, who taught at The
University of Colima, near the
Pacific Coast and about 485 kil-
ometres west of Mexico City.
The family is part of a surge in
the number of Mexicans who
have requested asylum in Can-
ada this year. Due to the rela-
secretary, All India Football
Federation chief and BJP lead-
er Kalyan Chaubey is the lone
male candidate while there are
three names for one female
post. There are 12 names for the
four — two male & two female
— posts of executive council. It
needs to be seen if there will be
elections for these posts. Olym-
pic medallist wrestler Yo-
geshwar Dutt, who contested
elections as a BJP candidate
twice, and former World Cup
medallist archer Dola Banerjee
are the two SOMs.
Like a senior member was
pointing, the fight between two
factions former IOA president
Narinder Batra and secretary
general Rajeev Mehta cost them
dear. The two factions never
compromised and played into
the hands of other interested
parties. Even while negotiating
on Sunday, they did not have
much to offer because the num-
bers were skewed in favour of
Usha and her panel.
the immediate aftermath of the
win over Serbia that the 30-year-
old Neymar would definitely
play again at the tournament,
but this time he was rather
more measured when pressed
on the subject of the superstar’s
fitness, as well as that of right-
back Danilo. “I believe that
Neymar and Danilo are going
to play again at this World Cup.
I do. But medically, clinically, I
am in no position to say any-
thing,” he admitted. A Brazil
win against Switzerland at Do-
ha’s Stadium 974 could be
enough for them to secure a
place in the last 16 with one
group game to spare, depending
on the result of the earlier
Group G match between Cam-
eroon and Serbia. AFP
In September 1971, Buffet,
convinces fellow inmate Roger
Bontems, who is serving a 20-
year term for assault and ag-
gravated theft, to join him in a
high-stakes escape attempt.
The pair fake illness and are
taken to the infirmary where,
armed with knives carved out
of spoons, they take a nurse
and a guard hostage.
This precipitates a standoff
with the authorities that keeps
the French glued to their TV
tive ease of obtaining asylum
in Canada compared to the US,
visa-free travel between Mexico
and Canada, and the threat of
violence back home, more than
8,000 Mexican nationals have
sought refugee status in 2022.
That’s almost five times as
many as last year and more
than twice as many as in 2019,
the last year before the
pandemic and the travel
restrictions that ac-
companied it.
In the first nine
months of 2022, the Im-
migration and Refugee
Board of Canada, an inde-
pendent tribunal that investi-
gates and decides asylum cases,
finalised more than 2,700 claims
by Mexican asylum seekers. Of
those, 1,032 were accepted, 1,256
were rejected; and the remain-
ing 400-plus were either aban-
doned, withdrawn, or had other
outcomes, said Christian Tess-
ier, an IRB spokesperson.
The second One-day International between India and New Zealand
was abandoned due to persistent rain in Hamilton on Sunday. India
lost Shikhar Dhawan (3) before Shubman Gill (45) and Suryakumar
Yadav (34) added 66 runs for the second wicket. Rain stopped play
when India were 89/1 in 12.5 overs. Kiwis lead the series 1-0.
newindianexpress com
Youth World Boxing:
Ravina strikes gold
A G E N C I E S @ New Delhi opponent. The fiercely con-
tested bout finished in favour
REIGNING Asian champion of the 2022 Asian Youth gold
Ravina displayed splendid te- medallist Indian who won 4-3
nacity to punch her way to by split decision after the bout
gold in the 63kg category final was reviewed. In the other
as India ended the Youth final, Kirti (81+ kg) lost 0-5
Men’s and Women’s to 2022 European youth
World Boxing Champi- champion Cliona Eliz-
onships with 11 med- abeth D’Arcy of Ire-
als in La Nucia, land to settle for a sil-
Spain. ve r. I n d i a w a s a
R av i n a w a s u p dominant force at the
against Megan deCler event as the 25-member
of Netherlands in her final team bagged 11 medals —
bout. In spite of not getting four gold, three silver and four
off to the best of starts, the In- bronze. India won the highest
dian pugilist utilised her tech- number of medals — eight —
nical ability and quick move- in the women’s section, fol-
ment to mount an impressive lowed by Kazakhstan (5) and
comeback against her Dutch Uzbekistan (4).
EXPRESS READ
Canada win first Davis Cup title
MALAGA: Canada won its first Davis Cup title on Sunday, beating
Australia behind victories from Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-
Aliassime. Auger-Aliassime secured the winning point when he
downed Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 after Shapovalov opened the day by
rolling past Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-2, 6-4.
Gandas seal 4-shot
win at Vooty Masters
Oz thrash India 7-4 in
2nd hockey Test
VIKARABAD: Manu Gandas of ADELAIDE: India could play
Gurugram sealed a thumping well only in patches as Blake
four-shot win after a nerveless Govers slammed a brilliant
final round display of six-under hat-trick to guide Australia to
66 at the inaugural Vooty a dominating 7-4 win in the
Masters, here Sunday. high-scoring second hockey
Gandas (63-68-67-66) Test here on Sunday. India
totalled 24-under 264 for the endured its 12th straight loss
week to register his fifth win of to the world number one side
2022 and thus matched the and now need to win the next
PGTI record for most wins two games to keep the five-
in a season. match series alive.
Soumya, Hurley shine for India U19 women
MUMBAI: Local star Hurley Gala set the tone for India U19 women
against New Zealand development squad with a three-fer as the
host registered a comfortable seven-wicket win in the first youth
T20 on Sunday. Chasing 86, Soumya Tiwari hit an unbeaten 33-ball
52 to take them home. Brief scores: NZDS 85/9 in 20 ovs (Hurley
3/19) lost to India U19 89/3 in 11.3 ovs (Soumya 52 n.o).
screens until police storm the tems and Buffet are killed in
prison at dawn and find both the courtyard of La Sante pris-
hostages dead. on, under a giant black canopy
The grisly murder of the erected to prevent the media
nurse, a mother of two, and the snapping pictures from a
prison warden, father of a one- helicopter.
year-old girl, sparks an impas- “I swore to myself on leaving
sioned debate about the death the courtyard of la Sante pris-
penalty. Buffet, who is por- on that morning at dawn, that I
trayed in the media as a heart-
less monster, admits to killing
would spend the rest of my life
combatting the death penalty,”
the guard and the nurse, and
defies the court to sentence
Badinter told AFP in 2021.
When he was appointed jus-
him to death. tice minister in President Fran-
Bontems is found guilty of cois Mitterrand’s first Socialist
merely being an accessory. But government in June 1981, he
he is also given the death pen- made ending the death penalty
alty, amid intense pressure an immediate priority.
from prison wardens’ groups Its abolition was finally
seeking revenge for their col- adopted by parliament on Sep-
league’s death.
Badinter appeals to the high-
tember 30, 1981, after a land-
mark address by Badinter to
est court in the land not to ap-
ply the law of “an eye for an
MPs.
Decrying a “killer” justice
eye”. His pleas fall on deaf ears system, he said: “Tomorrow,
in the face of a poll showing thanks to you, there will no
63 % of the French favour capi- longer be the stealthy execu-
tal punishment. tions at dawn, under a black
On November 28, 1971, Bon- canopy, that shame us all.”
GOLDEN LINING
The castle of the city of Kronberg is surrounded by fog in Germany | AP
Sale of lobster comes to an end
ENVIRONMENT
PORTLAND: Environmental groups are once again at odds
with politicians and fishermen in the wake of a decision by
high-end retail giant Whole Foods to stop selling Maine lobster.
Whole Foods said that it will stop selling lobster from the Gulf
of Maine at hundreds of its stores
The company cited decisions by a pair of sustainability or-
ganizations to take away their endorsements of the US lobster
fishing industry. The organizations, cited concerns about risks
to North Atlantic right whales from fishing gear.
MONDAY 28 � 11 � 2022 4
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