Delhi, friday, april 1, 2016
www.thehindu.in Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. TNENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 6 No. 78 CITY EDITION 28 Pages Rs. 8.00
BRIEFLY
Pakistan, Iran locked
in war of words
NEW DELHI: A war of words
broke out between Pakistan and
Iran after Islamabad asked
Tehran to hand over details of
the arrested former Indian naval
officer accused of sabotage.
The Iranian statement
described the reports
connecting the arrested Indian
with Iran as undignified and
insulting.
NEWS | PAGE 14
SBI home, auto loan
rates to come down
MUMBAI: State Bank of India on
Thursday set lending rates
under new rules. The banks
home and auto loan rates will
come down by 10 basis points.
BUSINESS | PAGE 17
Modi in U.S. to attend
nuclear security meet
WASHINGTON: PM Narendra
Modi arrived here to attend the
Nuclear Security Summit aimed
at coordinating efforts to
prevent terror outfits from
acquiring nuclear weapons.
The summit will have leaders
from more than 50 countries
and four international
organisations.
NEWS | PAGE 14
Call drops within 2%
limit, telcos tell SC
NEW DELHI: Cellular operators on
Thursday questioned the
Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India's (TRAI) move to penalise
them with the new call drops
regulations when they had
never exceeded the two per
cent margin for errors fixed by
the telecom regulator.
Telecom service providers
have never crossed the
threshold limit of two per cent
call drop and TRAI cannot adopt
a policy of zero tolerance of
penalising for every call drop.
NEWS | PAGE 14
Education criteria for
urban bodies polls
CHANDIGARH: Any male person
desiring to contest for Urban
Local Bodies in Haryana will
now have to be matriculate and
should have a functional toilet
at home; a woman and a
Scheduled Caste candidate will
be required to be at least 8th
standard pass. Minimum
educational qualification for SC
women candidates will be 5th
standard pass.
REGION | PAGE 8
FRIDAY REVIEW
4 Pages
CM
YK
Printed at Chennai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Madurai, Noida, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada, Mangaluru, Tiruchirapalli, Kolkata, Hubballi, Mohali, Allahabad, Malappuram and Mumbai
TRAGEDY AT NOON
21 killed as Kolkata flyover collapses
Scores of people
inside vehicles
trapped; Army
called in
KOLKATA BUREAU
& AGENCIES
KOLKATA: At least 21 people
were killed and 88 injured as
two parts of an under-con-
struction 2.2-km-long Vive-
kananda Flyover collapsed in
a congested market area in
BurraBazar, north Kolkata,
on Thursday afternoon. The
Army was called in to help
with the rescue.
A 100-metre (330-ft) sec-
tion of the flyover came
crashing down suddenly on a
crowded street around
lunchtime, crushing pedes-
trians, cars and other vehi-
cles under huge concrete
slabs and metal. The death
toll is likely to increase as
scores of people inside vehi-
cles were trapped under the
collapsed bridge.
An FIR has been lodged
against the local oicials of
the Hyderabad-based
IVRCL, contracted to build
the giant flyover.
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee has said stringent
India opts not to join
global terror database
VIJAITA SINGH
NEW DELHI: The government
has decided not to join a U.S.
maintained global terror da-
tabase in the face of objec-
tions from the intelligence
agencies.
Unhindered access to the
Americans to the database of
terror suspects in India,
which includes their biomet-
ric details, was opposed by
both the Research and Anal-
ysis Wing (R&AW) and the
Intelligence Bureau (IB), a
senior oicial in the security
establishment said. The pro-
posal has been stuck since it
was initially proposed by the
U.S. in 2012.
A model text of the pro-
posal the Homeland Secu-
rity Presidential Directive
(HSPD-6) was to be dis-
cussed at a bilateral home-
land security meet to be held
in June this year. The
HSPD-6 is an agreement for
exchange of terrorist screen-
ing information between the
Terrorist Screening Centre
SC extends ban on high-end diesel cars, SUVs
LEGAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Classifying powerful,
high-end diesel private cars and
Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs)
as vehicles used by the super-
rich who want to show-of, the
Supreme Court on Thursday re-
fused to lift the ban ordered on
their fresh registration in the
National Capital Region (NCR).
Chief Justice of India T.S.
Thakur even snubbed the law-
yers representing the car manu-
facturers, comparing their argu-
ments for lifting the ban to
passionate sales pitch, while
reminding them that this is
their city too and they breathe
the same air as the others.
What class of people are
buying these cars? They are su-
per-rich people, who want to
show of, Chief Justice Thakur,
who presided over a Special
Bench, observed.
The court had banned regis-
tration of diesel-run private
cars of the capacity of 2000 CC
and above and SUVs on Decem-
ber 16, 2015, in a bid to cut down
air pollution in the city. The ban
Rescue work in progress after the under-construction flyover collapsed on Vivekananda Road in Kolkata on Thursday. PHOTO: PTI
action will be taken against
the owners of the company.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi called up Ms. Banerjee
and ofered all Central gov-
ernment assistance to her.
The National Disaster Re-
Intel agencies
concerned over
sharing information
as it is maintained
by the U.S.
(TCS) of the U.S. and a se-
lected Indian security agen-
cy. The TCS has the database
of 11,000 terror suspects.
As reported by The Hindu
last week, the U.S. author-
ities while pitching for the
agreement, told Indian au-
thorities that in the past one
year two dozen people with
terrorist links were arrested
in Canada and Australia with
the help of HSPD-6 as both
countries are signatories to
it.
There have been several
rounds of discussions be-
tween India and the U.S. in
the past one year on the is-
sue. Both sides narrowed
down their diferences on
several key aspects.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
The ban on high-end diesel cars and SUVs has been extended to
cut down air pollution in the city. FILE PHOTO
was to continue till March 31,
2016.
The manufacturers arraigned
a battery of lawyers, including
senior advocates P. Chidamba-
ram, Gopal Subramanium and
Aryama Sundaram, who sub-
mitted that their cars adhered to
prescribed pollution standards
and there was no basis to the ac-
cusation that they pollute more
than petrol vehicles. They
pointed out that some SUVs like
Toyota Innova and Tata Sumo
with over 2000 CC engine ca-
pacity could hardly be de-
sponse Force deployed five
of its teams. Specialist rescue
teams armed with concrete
and metal cutters, drilling
machines, sensors and snifer
dogs arrived around 2 p.m.
But many of those engaged in
scribed as luxury cars.
Putting a check on this strain
of argument, Chief Justice Tha-
kur asked whether there was
any study to prove that diesel
caused less pollution than pet-
rol cars.
The court further mooted the
idea of making bigger car own-
ers pay pollution charges in
case the ban on fresh registra-
tion in the NCR was lifted in the
future. We can modify our or-
der, but buyers (of bigger cars)
will have to pay the cost to help
the environment, the Bench
the rescue appeared to be or-
dinary people, trying to pull
away concrete slabs with
their bare hands. We have
deployed five columns along
with a team of engineers. A
medical team from the Com-
REPORT ON PAGE 19
remarked.
The court, however, extend-
ed till April 30 the deadline for
taxis to switch to CNG. The
court had earlier ordered that
all taxis, including those operat-
ing under aggregators like Ola
and Uber in Delhi, plying under
city permits, shall switch to
CNG not later than March 1,
2016.
Noting that it was sensitive
about the dent the ban has
caused to the economy, the
Bench asked the car companies
to come up with possible alter-
natives to curb the rising air
pollution in the city. The court
agreed to fix the case for a de-
tailed hearing on a Saturday.
The date of the hearing would
be decided later.
When a lawyer complained
that fresh registration ban on
high-powered diesel vehicles is
being extended to trucks, Chief
Justice Thakur shot back say-
ing, Heavens will not fall if
trucks are not registered here.
The city is already choked. We
should be imposing a conges-
tion charge also.
mand Hospital is also at the
spot, Ministry of Defence
spokesperson Wing Com-
mander S. S. Birdi said.
A DESPERATE SEARCH FOR
LOVED ONES | PAGE 11
Third woman speaks out
against Pachauri
BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN
NEW DELHI: Another former em-
ployee of The Energy and Re-
sources Institute (TERI), a for-
eign national, has come out and
alleged sexual harassment by
the institutes executive vice-
chairman R.K. Pachauri when
she was working as his secreta-
ry in 2008.
This is the third complaint of
sexual harassment against Mr.
Pachauri, who is already facing
similar charges from two for-
mer colleagues, one of whom
filed a case against him last year,
and the other who came for-
ward to reveal her ordeal earlier
this year.
I was 0% surprised when I
first read news reports that an
employee of TERI had filed a
criminal complaint against R.K.
Pachauri for sexually harassing
her, said the woman in an email
to her lawyer.
She wrote that she decided to
make public the harassment she
faced after the UK-based news-
paper, The Guardian, published
Congress will challenge ordinance
MEHBOOB JEELANI
NEW DELHI: The Congress will
move court if the Centre pas-
ses an ordinance to negate the
State budget of Uttarakhand
that was passed on March 18
the day when nine Congress
legislators turned rebels and
challenged the authority of the
Harish Rawat government
along with their BJP counter-
parts.
I want to ask the Prime
Minister on what basis and un-
der what laws have you de-
clared through an ordinance
that the Budget has not been
passed in the Assembly. Is
there any decision of the
court? asked senior Congress
leader Kapil Sibal at a press
conference here.
For the Congress, the pas-
sage of the annual Budget in
the Assembly on March 18 is
an important piece of evi-
dence that the Harish Rawat
government is in a majority.
But the Centre has been reject-
ing the claim saying since the
Finance Bill faced a joint re-
CRPF movement
leaked to Maoists
Over 50 kg explosives
used: Director-General
PAVAN DAHAT & VIJAITA SINGH
RAIPUR/NEW DELHI: Maoists could
have got information about
the movement of the seven
CRPF jawans, who were killed
in an explosion in Dantewada
on Wednesday, CRPF Direc-
tor-General K. Durga Prasad
said.
He also said Maoists could
have dug a secret tunnel to
plant over 50 kg of explosives
under the concrete road.
A surprise movement was
under way.I dont know how
the news got leaked [to
Maoists]. The way the inci-
dent happened, it is clear that
someone gave specific inputs
[to Maoists]. We will investi-
gate to find out what went
wrong, he told reporters af-
ter paying homage to the
deceased.
He told The Hindu on the
phone: The blast took place
on a well-connected road, a
school is barely 100 metres
away. It is unlikely that the ex-
plosives were put together in
a hurry. It was a well-planned
and deliberate explosion. We
suspect that a tunnel could
have been dug to plant the ex-
R. K. Pachauri is already facing
similar charges from two
former colleagues
an article headlined Rajendra
Pachauri speaks out over sexual
harassment claims on March
26, 2016.
The woman in her email also
wrote about the absurdity of
his (Mr. Pachauris) claims of
computer hacking and/or anti-
environment conspiracy lie
exposed.
Speaking about the case to
The Hindu, one of her lawyers,
Ratna Appnender, said: In Feb-
ruary 2015, she (the foreign na-
tional) had contacted advocate
Vrinda Grover after coming to
know that an FIR had been reg-
sistance from 27 BJP legisla-
tors and nine rebel Congress
leaders, Mr. Rawat and his
Cabinet ceased to be in power.
In that light, Mr. Sibal said,
the Centre is mulling over to
bring in an ordinance to take
control of the State budget and
also prove the Congress rule in
the State under Mr. Rawats
watch is over.
As the head of the partys le-
gal team, Mr. Sibal said that the
Uttarakhand rebels rule
out return to Congress
KAVITA UPADHYAY
DEHRADUN: Former Chief
Minister Vijay Bahuguna, on his
return from New Delhi, told the
media here on Thursday that
the nine Congress rebels who
stood against former Chief
Minister Harish Rawat on
March 18 were ready for a
battle with him.
Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh
pays homage to the jawans in
Raipur on Thursday. PHOTO: PTI
plosives as it is a populated ar-
ea and the road is a concrete
one.
Mr. Prasad said that a few
months ago, his troops had
discovered a nine-foot-long
tunnel in Bijapur district.
If the tunnel theory is cor-
rect, it will be a new Maoist
modus operandi to plant ex-
plosives on busy roads.
Mr. Prasad, who rushed to
Chhattisgarh after the inci-
dent, said the wire that pre-
sumably connected the trig-
ger to the explosive was 120
metres long.
Dinesh Pratap Upadhyay,
Deputy Inspector-General of
the CRPF, Dantewada Range,
also pointed out that all the
CRPF men had been in plain-
clothes.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
istered against Mr. Pachauri for
sexually harassment. She indi-
cated her willingness to give her
statement to the police last year
itself. However, we havent
heard anything from the police
so far.
Mr. Pachauris lawyer Ashish
Dixit refused to comment and
demanded to see the statement
issued by the woman. You
show me the statement and
then I will comment on this.
The woman in her email
wrote: I can very much relate
to what the other woman wrote
in her statement. When I was 19,
I worked for 4 months (end of
2008) at TERI as Pachauris sec-
retary. Pachauris claim that his
computer was hacked is totally
false. From my point of view,
this is right in line with his char-
acter, and not a case of his com-
puter being hacked. I think it is
important for me to now make
my statement public so that
people know the truth about
Pachauri.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
Union Cabinet cannot de-
cide, allocate or ensure that
the Budget in the Uttrakhand
Assembly is passed through an
Appropriation Bill. We are
going to challenge it once the
Ordinance is passed because it
is completely unconstitution-
al, said Mr. Sibal.
Taking a jibe at Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley, Mr. Sib-
al congratulated him for hav-
ing a lot of firsts to his credit.
We are not standing behind
Harish Rawat, we are arrayed
against him, Mr. Bahuguna
said. The nine rebels voted
against the Appropriation Bill in
the Assembly on March 18,
which finally led to the
dislodging of the Harish Rawat-
led Congress government in the
State.
DETAILS ON PAGE 14
ND-ND
2|
Clean-up by mid-April impossible
Workers engaged in dismantling the gigantic structures put up for the Art Of
Living foundations three-day extravaganza said that clearing the ground
was simply not possible in the NGT-assigned time frame >> Page 4
FILM REVIEW
Playing it safe
Plenty of fun moments in the third instalment of the Kung Fu Panda
franchise which is strangely also the least emotionally involving
SANKHAYAN GHOSH
T
he Kung Fu Panda
films have been de-
signed like the old
myths that we have seen
played out in fiction and mo-
vies time and again. Star
Wars, Harry Potter, you
name it. Its about an unlike-
ly hero, stuck in the daily
grind of life but destined for
greatness.
His journey of self-discov-
ery begins only after he finds
himself at the centre of a sa-
ga of cosmic proportions.
There is the tough mentor
who teaches him the art of
noble fights. But its from the
wise old man, that he learns
the all-pervasive, one simple
truth of the universe.
There is also the villain,
out for revenge, who thinks
he has been wronged. He al-
so happens to be a former
student/aide of the wise old
man.
While the first instalment
of the series, Kung Fu Panda
ticked all the abovemen-
tioned boxes, introducing us
to this wondrous world of
awesomeness, the sequel
deepened Pos self-discov-
ery by delving into his me-
mories of his childhood.
In part III, we finally have
Po reunited with his long-
lost father Li (Bryan Cran-
ston) and returning to his
roots but strangely enough,
it is the least emotional of
the three movies.
Sticking to template
It plays it too safe, sticking
to the template of the pre-
quels. A new antagonist with
supernatural powers is in-
troduced at the beginning of
the film, its central conflict
laid out neatly half an hour
into it. But the mystery of
CM
YK
In part III, we finally have Po reunited with his long-lost father Li and returning to his roots.
either: how for example,
Kung Fu Panda III
Directors: Alessandro
Carloni, Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Voice cast: Jack Black,
Bryan Cranston, Dustin
Hofman, Angelina Jolie, JK
Simmons, Jackie Chan, Seth
Rogen, Lucy Liu, Kate
Hudson, Randal Duk Kim
Runtime: 95 mins
how Po finds answers to
these doesnt unravel the
way it did in the prequels
that felt more than the sum
of its parts.
The narrative flow isnt
wholly logically satisfying
delightfully plays out in set-
does the Tigress land up in
the secret village after es-
caping the attack of Kai (JK
Simmons), is one of them.
Although it raises its stakes
higher with the Five Mas-
ters, Shifu and the secret
Panda paradise in potential
danger, there is emotionally
a lot less at stake here.
Even the big pay-of in the
climactic battle with Kai is
also far less satisfying. The
forgotten healing power of
Pandas and their connection
to the Spirit Realm is some-
thing that left me
underwhelmed.
Yet, the things that work in
part III are also the formu-
laic ones. Pos role-reversal
from a student to a teacher
CITY
O. P. Sharma suspended for two sessions
BJP MLA O.P. Sharma has been suspended from the House for the
next two Assembly sessions for passing derogatory remarks at
AAP MLA Alka Lamba >> Page 5
ernment should also make
pieces that involve a valley of
Pandas training in Kung Fu
while doing that one thing
they love doing; example: a
particular panda disrupts the
enemy by hugging because
thats what he likes doing the
best.
The wit and playfulness of
the series is intact, punctuat-
ing heavy-duty moments.
Even Kais dangerous super-
powers are undercut by his
desperation to be recog-
nised: a yak, he has both the
beastly physicality of a wild
bufalo and the silly grin of a
donkey.
Kung Fu Panda III may
have the least heart-tugging
moments of the series but it
is still good fun.
Govt needs to take child rights
issues seriously: Satyarthi
Says he has written to the PM to introduce stricter punishments to those who employ child labourers
KRITIKA SHARMA SEBASTIAN
NEW DELHI: Nobel laureate Kai-
lash Satyarthi has suggested
that the central government
take child labour issues seri-
ously if it wants Make in India
to become a success and wants
global investors to invest in
the country.
Mr. Satyarthi said he has
written a letter to Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi request-
ing him to take child labour is-
sues seriously and introduce
stricter punishments.
No global venture will in-
vest in India if they know that
the products they are invest-
ing in have been made by chil-
dren. I have written a letter to
Mr. Modi also in this regard,
raising my concerns. But I
have not heard anything from
them, Mr. Satyarthi told The
Hindu during an interaction.
If India wants to make a
good image globally, the gov-
ernment needs to take issues
related to children with seri-
ousness. If the Prime Minister
is investing so much in the
Make in India idea, the gov-
the year 1980. He was awarded
sure that no children are em-
ployed in the industries, which
CINEMA
ENGLISH:
THE DIVERGENT SERIES:
ALLEGIANT: PVR (Priya, Saket,
Prashant Vihar, Citywalk, Mahagun,
Naraina), DT (Saket, Shalimar Bagh,
Vasant Kunj), Movie Time (Raja
Garden, Pitampura), Spice (Noida).
HINDI:
KI & KA: (New Release: Arjun
Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor): Delite,
Golcha, Shiela, Amba, Eros One, M
Cinemas, G3S (Rohini), Batra Reel,
Cinemax, PVR (Plaza, Rivoli, Priya,
Saket, Prashant Vihar, Citywalk,
Mahagun, EDM, Opulent, Naraina),
FUN (Moti Nagar, Pitampura, Laxmi
Nagar, Karkardooma), M2K (Rohini,
The Nobel laureate has been championing for the cause of
child rights for more than 36 years. FILE PHOTO
are being run in the name of
family trade, he added.
Mr. Satyarthi has been
championing for the cause of
child rights for more than 36
years now with his organisa-
tion Bachpan Bachao Andolan
(BBA), which was founded in
fact that the best way to fight
the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014
for his struggle against the
Pitampura), Movie Time (Raja
Garden, Pitampura), DT (Saket,
Shalimar Bagh, Vasant Kunj), Satyam
(Patel Nagar, Janakpuri, Nehru Place),
BIG (Odeon, Vaishali, Kaushambi,
Noida), Wave (Raja Garden, Noida,
Kaushambi), SRS Cinemas, Spice
(Noida), JAM Shipra, M4U, Movie
Palace, Movie Magic, Chaudhary
(Ghaziabad), Movie World and
Silvercity (Ghaziabad), SRS Cinemas,
Galaxie, Star X (Vaishali), Inox and
Silvercity (Faridabad).
KUNG FU PANDA-3: (New Release
Hindi): Delite Diamond.
ROCKY HANDSOME: (John
Abraham, Shruti Haasan): G3S
(Rohini), Batra Reel, Cinemax, PVR
THE HINDU
suppression of children and
young people and for the right
of all children to education.
In the last two years, BBA
has rescued 53,000 children
working in various industries,
including family-run business.
Further stressing upon the
have been making eforts to
child labour is to revise the
amendments in the Child La-
(Plaza, Rivoli, Saket, Citywalk,
Naraina, Vikaspuri, Prashant Vihar,
EDM), M2K (Rohini, Pitampura),
Movie Time (Raja Garden,
Pitampura), FUN (Moti Nagar,
Pitampura, Laxmi Nagar,
Karkardooma), DT (Saket, Shalimar
Bagh, Vasant Kunj), Satyam (Patel
Nagar, Janakpuri, Nehru Place), BIG
(Odeon, Vaishali, Kaushambi, Noida),
Wave (Raja Garden, Noida,
Kaushambi), Spice (Noida), M4U,
JAM Shipra, Galaxie, Star X (Vaishali),
Movie Palace, Movie Magic,
Chaudhary (Ghaziabad), Movie World
and Silvercity (Ghaziabad), Inox and
Silvercity (Faridabad).
KAPOOR & SONS: (Rishi Kapoor,
NOIDA/DELHI
FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016
bour (Prohibition & Regula-
tion) Amendment Bill (CLPA),
he said: The amendments in
CLPA are regressive and need
to be revised. It is ironical that
India has a law against child la-
bour which is obsolete but also
contradictory.
In early 2015, the Union Cab-
inet had given its approval to
move oicial amendments to
the Child Labour (Prohibition
& Regulation) Amendment
Bill, 2012. The proposed
amendments allowed children
below 14 years of age to work
in family enterprises or enter-
tainment industry and the list
of prohibited occupations was
reduced to three from the ear-
lier 83.
The present law prohibits
the entry of children in haz-
ardous occupations but allows
them to work in family-run en-
terprises. Most of the industri-
es like embroidery and gar-
ment are family-run
businesses only and children
are employed in them in the
name of some distant relative,
he added.
Mr. Satyarthi and his team
get the list of prohibited occu-
pations to the earlier 83.
Ratna Pathak, Rajat Kapoor, Sidharth
Malhotra, Fawad Khan, Alia Bhatt):
Delite Diamond, Cinemax, PVR
(Saket, Citywalk, Naraina, Vikaspuri,
Prashant Vihar, EDM), M2K (Rohini,
Pitampura), FUN (Moti Nagar,
Pitampura, Laxmi Nagar,
Karkardooma), Movie Time (Raja
Garden, Pitampura), DT (Saket,
Shalimar Bagh, Vasant Kunj), Satyam
(Patel Nagar, Janakpuri, Nehru Place),
Star X (Vaishali), SRS Cinemas, Spice
(Noida), Galaxie.
(BOOKING ENQUIRIES: PVR
51513391; Spice Gold
012043890000; Satyam
Cinemas 25797385; Delite
23272903; Wave 51832222)
ND-ND

NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016
Apr 01, Fri
RISE 06 11 SET 18 39
RISE 01 22 SET 12 23
Youth escapes from police post, found dead
Was picked up for harassing minor; accused's body recovered from railway tracks in Nangloi on Thursday morning
SHIV SUNNY
A
19-year-old youth picked up by the
police for harassing a minor girl
was found dead on the railway
tracks in Nangloi on Thursday
morning, hours after he allegedly
escaped from the police post.
Even as the deceased Vinod
Singhs family suspected foul play
by the police, senior oicers said
that that the youth seems to have
committed suicide. Vikramjit
Singh, DCP (Outer), dismissed any
allegations of interrogators beating
him up.
However, no attempt was made
by the police to
search for Vinod af-
ter he allegedly es-
caped from the police
CURIOUS post. His family al-
CASE leged that they too
were not informed
about his escape
Probe on until his body was re-
covered from the
railway tracks in
Nangloi on Thursday
morning.
The incident took place in Outer
Delhis Kirari area. The girl alleged
that ever since she distanced her-
self from him, Vinod had been ha-
rassing and molesting her. When I
was returning from tuitions yester-
day (Wednesday) evening, Vinod
intercepted me on the way and be-
gan molesting me. So, I paid a visit
to the local police post with my sis-
ter and requested the police to
warn him, the girl told The Hindu.
Vinod was picked up around 8
p.m. by two policemen from a local
function where he was dancing. Vi-
Plans afoot to eliminate dark spots in the Capital
JATIN ANAND AND
SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR
NEW DELHI: The issue of wom-
ens safety brought together
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal, Lieutenant-Gover-
nor Najeeb Jung and Police
Commissioner Alok Verma
here on Wednesday.
It is expected to be a re-
curring exercise over com-
bined eforts to make the
Capital safer for women.
According to a source
close to Mr. Kejriwal, who
made a mention of the meet-
ing during his address on
the floor of the Delhi Legis-
lative Assembly on Wednes-
day, plans are now afoot to
prepare a detailed plan put-
ting in place a significant
CCTV surveillance infras-
DCW chief
meets Rijiju
STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI: Delhi Commission
for Women chief Swati Ma-
liwal on Thursday met Min-
ister of State for Home Af-
fairs Kiren Rijiju to discuss
growing incidence of child
rape and the issue of wom-
ens safety in the Capital.
Maliwal briefed Rijiju on
the absolute importance of
the thana level committees
for womens safety, and ap-
pealed to him to help ensure
the reconstitution of the
same which have been
scrapped by the L-G of Del-
hi, a DCW statement said.
Maliwal apprised him
about the need to have a
high-level committee to en-
sure close cooperation be-
tween the Central govern-
ment, State government, the
Delhi Police and the Com-
mission, the statement
said.
She stressed on the need
to notify the revised Delhi
Victim Compensation
Scheme 2015. The notifica-
tion of the Scheme has been
pending with the L-G for the
past six months.
Pvt schools warned against
charging for books, uniform
NEW DELHI: The government
has warned private schools
against demanding money
for providing books and
uniforms to students ad-
mitted under the EWS cat-
egory. The warning of
strict action came after
the government received
several complaints in this
regard from parents.
A number of com-
plaints has been received
from parents and stake-
Published by N. Ram at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Mukund Padmanabhan (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).
CM
YK
CITY |3
D E L H I
Apr 02, Sat Apr 03, Sun
RISE 06 10 SET 18 40 RISE 06 09 SET 18 41
RISE 02 10 SET 13 21 RISE 02 58 SET 14 21
Police chief holds
first meeting
STAFF REPORTER
The meeting was
Tale of agony
held a month
NEW DELHI: Delhi Police
SHIV SUNNY Commissioner Alok after he took
Vermas first meeting
NEW DELHI: An apparently hostile with journalists was little over the reins of
attitude of the neighbourhood more than a photo-op the Delhi Police
residents forced the 17-year-old with the police chief
girl and her family to remain sidestepping almost all for everyone to see.
confined within their house on the issues raised by the When the discussion
Thursday. Speaking to The Hindu, scribes about access to moved to topical issues,
she recounted a tale of alleged
him. The meeting was Mr. Verma was asked
mental and physical agony and
blackmail. arranged a month after about incidents such as
he took over the reins of the Vikaspuri dentist
Whenever I would be
returning from tuitions, he would the Delhi Police. murder and the rumours
Mr. Verma reiterated which spread
catch me and molest me.
Sometimes he would chase me that the purpose of subsequently and about
appointing Special his own silence on the
and beat me up, the minor said.
He would threaten to harm Commissioner of Police issue. He replied that his
me if he saw me speaking to (Crime) Taj Hasan as the oicers had provided
another boy. He would blackmail Chief Spokesperson was enough clarity on twitter.
me by threatening to harm to streamline the flow of It is no secret that Mr.
himself, she said. She alleged information and keep the Verma, unlike his
that when she discontinued her media updated on predecessor B.S. Bassi,
friendship with him, Vinod would important issues. likes to keep distance
Vinods (inset) family alleged that they were not informed about his escape until his body was recovered.
slit his arms with blades and The television from the media.
PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
would bang his head against the reporters, in particular, On the sidelines of the
lestation case against Vinod, but The CCTV cameras installed at
wall in her presence. were left disappointed meeting, Mr. Verma was
CCTV cameras at the victim herself said she did not the police post could have thrown
The alleged harassment had when he did not provide asked if the digitisation
the police post been reported to the police
want an FIR against him. some light on what exactly hap- any direct answers as to eforts made by Mr. Bassi
While we were still speaking to pened on Wednesday, but accord-
around two years ago as well. The
could have helped, Vinod, he just walked out of the po- ing to the local police they have not
police said that the two families why he was shy of the would continue. In reply,
cameras and avoided he said it was he who
but they have not lice station and disappeared, said been functional for a week now.
had settled the issue with Vinods
giving sound bytes on should be given the
father giving a written statement
been functional for a senior police oicer. A private security guard first dis-
that he would keep the boy in important issues. credit for most initiatives
The girl, on the other hand, covered it upon which Vinods Even questions on his he had started during his
a week now claimed that she saw Vinod aggres- family and the police were in-
check. I could not take it any
priorities for the force last stint in the Delhi
sively banging his hands on the po- formed. The DCP has said that the
longer and decided to approach
the police so that he could be were ducked with the Police, as the Special CP
nods friend Sunil alleged that one lice post wall and then run out of victim was not in police custody
warned to keep away from me. I response that they were (General Admini-
policeman kept slapping the ac- the building around 11 p.m. Vinods at the time he walked out of the
cused while taking him to the local brother Sandeep, however, sus- police post. He added that the mat-
told the police I do not want a available on the website stration).
Prem Nagar police post on a pected that police beat the de- ter is being investigated, but ruled
formal case against him, the
motorcycle. ceased and said it was unlikely his out any use of physical violence or
class XI girl said.
We were ready to register a mo- brother escaped. foul play by the investigators.
Decomposed body of
woman creates panic
The force currently Minister had taken place but The plan is now to seek
did not disclose what tran- efective implementation of STAFF REPORTER
has access to feeds spired between the two an eicient grid with mini-
A police officer
from a network of sides. mal duplication of efort, NEW DELHI: Panic gripped East said they suspect
close to 1,52,815 He also said that the meet- said an oicial. Delhis New Ashok Nagar af- the body to be at
ing was not a one-on-one In the run-up to its bud- ter the body of a woman in least three to four
CCTV cameras and others were present get, the Public Works De- her mid-twenties was found
there as well. partment (PWD) had re- stufed in a bag on Thursday days old
and the Lieutenant-Gover- The police chief also de- quested an allocation of Rs. morning.
nor. clined to comment on the 600 crore for the installation The victim has not been of murder was registered at
But, Mr. Kejriwal suggest- road ahead as far as the rela- of CCTVs across Delhi. identified yet. the New Ashok Nagar police
ed that the Police Commis- tionship between his force An additional amount of It was early morning that station.
sioner, too, be made part of and the State government Rs. 150 crore was requested passers-by spotted a bag A police oicer said they
its proceedings. which have been strained in for the provision of street floating in the Kondli drain suspect the body to be at
In fact, it was last week the recent past. lights on streets and struc- and informed the police least three to four days old.
that Mr. Verma had asked The Delhi Police has tures falling under its about it. A police team reac- Prima facie it looks as if it is
his Deputy Commissioners been able to put in place a jurisdiction. hed the spot and opened the a case of strangulation, said
in charge of districts to hold significant surveillance grip According to a senior Del- bag in which the badly de- the oicer adding that the
meetings with all the MLAs through the participation of hi Police oicial, the force composed body of a woman woman appears to be around
Womens safety is a growing concern in the city. FILE PHOTO in their respective the general public and the currently has access to feeds was found. 25-year-old.
constituencies. government is in the proc- from a network of close to The body was subsequent- The police also spoke to
tructure and eliminate dark to the source, was initially On Thursday, Mr. Verma ess of creating a similar in- 1,52,815 CCTV cameras un- ly sent for a post-mortem. those living in nearby areas
spots in the Capital. scheduled to take place only confirmed to The Hindu that frastructure by the end of der an operation called The report will establish the to establish the identity but it
The meeting, according between the Chief Minister the meeting with the Chief this financial year. Nigheban. exact cause of death. A case did not lead to any clues.
Burglar held; jewellery DELHI TODAY
worth Rs. 3 lakh recovered Music: Hindustani vocal recitals by
Snehlata Mishra and Nabanita Chowd-
hury. Accompanists: Pt. Jay Shankar
Mishra (Tabla), Kaushik Mitra (Har-
STAFF REPORTER Second arrest in one monium), Ustad Kamal Ahmed (Saran-
gi) at Habitat World, IHC, 7 pm
NEW DELHI: A notorious burglar week in which Music: 69th Shriram Shankarlal Mu-
sic Festival 2016: Kaushiki Chakrabor-
and his accomplice who served burglars used ty (vocal) followed by Pandit M.
as his chaufeur during bur- chauffeur-driven cars Venkatesh Kumar (vocal) at Kamani
glaries have been arrested by Auditorium, at 7 pm
the North-West district police. to avoid suspicion Dance: Bharatanatyam recital by Pa-
vitra Bhat at Habitat World, IHC, 7 pm
This is the second such ar- Art: Chaos, Mischief-Order, Harmo-
rest from Delhi in the last one team to bust the gang that had ny - a solo show of artworks by Jai
week in which burglars used gone about a series of burglar- Zharotia at Shridharani Gallery, Triv-
chaufeur-driven cars to avoid ies in the posh areas of Delhi eni Kala Sangam, 205, 11 am-7 pm
suspicion. and Gurgaon. Exhibition: Scripting the PAST for
the FUTURE - an art show on ancient
The earlier arrest was that of They were tipped of on Indian grid structures by Dimple Bahl
a burglar from East Delhi who Wednesday about some mem- at Exhibition Hall, 11, Indira Gandhi Na-
had broken into more than 500 bers of a gang arriving in Bhals- tional Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), 10
flats, the police said. wa Dairy. A trap was laid and am-5:30 pm
Exhibition: Moving Landscapes -
The latest arrests are that of two suspects held along with art show by Sunanda Khajuria at Art
Prem, 27, and his driver Ravi. the Tata Indica car they were Heritage Gallery (Basement), Triveni
The duo was nabbed while travelling in. The seized jewel- Kala Sangam, 11 am-7 pm
they were out to dispose of lery was also found in the car Screening: Parzor Film Festival:
Screening of Ferrari ki Sawaari - Hin-
some jewellery stolen from a itself. di film with English subtitled at C.D.
residential flat in Gurgaon dur- One of the accused (Prem) Deshmukh Auditorium, India Interna-
ing the early hours of Tuesday, turned out to be the alleged tional Centre (IIC), 6 pm
said Vijay Singh, DCP leader of the gang. Screening: Twinkle - Japanese film
screening with English subtitles at
(North-West). The police said he is in- The Japan Foundation, 6:30 pm
Jewellery worth Rs.3 lakh volved in 37 criminal cases and (Mail your listings for this column at
has been recovered from them. is notorious for breaking most cityeditordelhi@thehindu.co.in)
However, Prem and his associ- locks within seconds.
ates had made away with jew- Prem and his gang primarily
ellery worth Rs.25 lakh, said targeted posh areas and fo-
the police. Eforts are on to re- cused only on cash and jewel-
trieve the remaining jewellery. lery so that the looted goods
The North-West district po- would not be traced back to
lice had recently formed a them.
holders of EWS/DG cate-
gory that many of the pri-
vate unaided recognised
schools are refusing to pro-
vide free books, uniforms Disclaimer: Readers are requested to verify &
and writing materials to make appropriate enquiries to satisfy
the children and demand- themselves about the veracity of an adver-
tisement before responding to any published in
ing money for providing this newspaper. Kasturi & Sons Limited, the
Publisher & Owner of this newspaper, does not
these materials which is vouch for the authenticity of any advertisement
causing great hardship to or advertiser or for any of the advertisers pro-
ducts and/or services. In no event can the
parents, the Directorate Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Director/s,
of Education (DoE) said in Employees of this newspaper/company be held
responsible/liable in any manner whatsoever for
a communication to prin- any claims and/or damages for advertisements
in this newspaper.
cipals. Staf Reporter
ND-ND
4| CITY THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

BJP-led SDMC tells oicers to stop

Clean-up by mid-April impossible attending AAPs district meetings
Workers engaged in dismantling say clearing the ground within NGTs timeframe is not possible DAMINI NATH Councillors say charges, said Farhad Suri,
the Leader of the
NEW DELHI: Confrontation MLAs misbehave Opposition.
BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN between the BJP-led South with officials of The BJP councillor from
Delhi Municipal Janakpuri (North) ward,

W
hen the National Green Tribu-
nal (NGT) allowed the Art Of
Living foundation to hold its
three-day (March 11-13) World
Culture Festival-2016 extrava-
ganza on the ecologically sensi-
tive Yamuna floodplains, it had
directed the group to clean up
the area within a month of the
event.
But a visit to the site revealed
that the group may not be able to
meet this deadline.
Workers engaged in disman-
tling the gigantic
structures put up for
the function said
that clearing the
ART OF ground was simply
CLEANING not possible in the
assigned time
Dirty river frame.
The massive
stage sprawled
over seven acres
covering 3,34,358 square feet, al-
most 100 feet tall and a width of
1,200 feet will easily take till
the end of April to dismantle
and transport out. The target of
clearing it out by mid-April
doesnt seem possible, said a
worker in the area.
While the Art Of Living has
already removed other tempo-
rary constructions which were
put-up to accommodate seating
arrangements for more than 11
Review petition on NGTs decision to allow mega event
BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN
NEW DELHI: Seeking a review of the Na-
tional Green Tribunals (NGT)
March 9 order allowing the cultural
extravaganza by Sri Sri Ravi Shan-
kars Art of Living group on the Ya-
muna floodplains, a fresh plea has
been filed before the court.
The court had allowed the func-
tion citing delay by petitioners, but
slapped a fine of Rs. five crore on the
group for damaging biodiversity
and aquatic life of Yamuna.
The plea, filed by Manoj Misra of
Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, has chal-
lenged the NGT order, which had
dismissed his petition on the
ground of delay by him in ap-
proaching the Tribunal.
Mr.Misras review application
states: question of delay would ap-
ply when an applicant watches the
violation and springs into action af-
The Art Of Living has till April 13 to clean up the site of the mega culture festival, which was held on the
eco-sensitive Yamuna floodplains. PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY
lakh people daily and six tower-
ing floodlight masts, they main-
tained that their volunteers on
the field are working to ensure
compliance with the deadline.
Most of the cleaning is com-
plete. Only area around the
stage is left, which will be done
simultaneously as the stage is
getting dismantled. The dis-
mantling of the stage will be
ter the construction is substantially
completed. That is not the case
here. He added that in this case the
construction by the foundation was
in violation of the Tribunal's judg-
ment dated January 13, 2015 which
was immediately brought to the no-
tice of the Tribunal by the applicant
as a vigilant person.
Mr. Misra added that he had also
written to the L-G of Delhi and the
Delhi Development Authority
pointing out that there was a legal
injunction on any new construction
on the floodplains.
Meanwhile, the plea, filed
through advocate Rahul Choudhary
further said that the question of de-
lay would not apply if the Tribunal
had stayed further development on
February 8, 2016.
Mr. Misra said: We are seeking a
review in the interest of justice and
to prevent miscarriage of justice. Dismantling work in progress on the floodplains on Thursday. PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY
completed by April 13, said
Gautam Vig, spokesperson of
Art Of Living.
Despite massive protests by
environmentalists and months
of litigation, Sri Sri Ravi Shan-
kars Art Of Living was able to
secure an NGT nod for the mega
event on the promise that mini-
mal damage would be done to
the area and that the group
would clean up within a month.
We have engaged help for
housekeeping and cleaning, gar-
bage collection and garbage re-
NEW DELHI: Collection of prop-
moval from the venue, waste man-
agement for dustbin dissemination
etc. Volunteers from are working
on the ground to clean up. The vol-
unteers will also continue partici-
pating in the clean-up work in the
days to come, the group said.
residential areas, but we sent
four times the residential
Corporation (SDMC) and
the corporation at Shyam Sharma, added that
the meetings
the Aam Aadmi Party the MLAs were putting
(AAP) government seems boards with their names on
inevitable after the civic They cannot do this, said it on the lights and
body on Thursday asked its Satender Prakash, a BJP benches.
oicials to stop attending councillor from Khanpur On hearing the
meetings of the district ward. complaints, Standing
development committees Other councillors from Committee chairperson
(DCCs). ruling-BJP and Opposition Radhey Shyam Sharma
The Standing Committee Congress also ordered oicials to stop
of the SDMC heard complained about MLAs attending the meetings of
complaints from carrying out work inside the DDCs and not to
councillors about MLAs, SDMC parks without allow any work by an MLA
who are part of the DDCs, taking no-objection without the nod of the head
allegedly misbehaving with certificated from the of the department.
the corporations oicials. corporation. With the AAP contesting
They [MLAs] call our They are installing by-polls to 13 municipal
oicers to their meetings benches in our parks and wards likely in May
and pull them up in front of rumble strips on our roads the BJP and the Congress
representatives of other without getting NOCs or seem to have united in
departments and agencies. paying road-cutting trying to oppose the MLAs.
SDMC hits property tax target
STAFF REPORTER
erty tax in South Delhi hit a
record high in 2015-16, with
the municipality achieving its
target for the first time ever.
The South Delhi Municipal
Corporation (SDMC) had set
Rs.650 crore as the target for
property tax collection, and
on Thursday it announced
that the goal had been
achieved.
The amount is expected to
go up as the SDMC is still
processing payments in the
last few days of the financial
year.
The growth of 19 per cent in
property tax collection in
2015-16 is the highest ever. In
2008-09, the unified Munici-
pal Corporation of Delhi had
registered a growth of 18 per
cent, which was helped by an
amnesty scheme and waivers.
The Assessor and Collec-
tor, Ram Mohan Singh, said The South Delhi Municipal the Standing Committee, an-
the increase was possible as Corporation issued around nounced Rs.20,000, Rs.15,000,
the SDMC cracked down on two lakh notices, of which Rs.10,000 and Rs. 5,000 for of-
commercial users. about 1.57 lakh were to com- ficials of groups A, B, C, and D
They were paying rates of mercial properties. respectively.
At a meeting of the Stand- In 2016-17, the South Delhi
notices and got them to pay ing Committee on Thursday, Municipal Corporation will
commercial rates, which are it was decided that the Prop- focus on expanding its tax
erty Tax Department would base by conducting door-to-
rates. We managed to in- get an incentive for their per- door surveys to identify de-
crease our taxpayers base by formance. Radhey Shyam faulters and giving unique IDs
30,000, said Mr. Singh. Sharma, the chairperson of to taxpayers.

HASHIMPURA MASSACRE CLEANING THE CAPITAL

High Court asks UP govt.
to submit documents
MOHAMMED IQBAL
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court
on Thursday asked the Uttar
Pradesh government to file
documents relating to the
infamous Hashimpura massacre
of 1987, as sought by the
National Human Rights
Commission, and file replies to
the pending applications in
connection with the case, in
which 16 Provincial Armed
Constabulary (PAC) personnel
were acquitted.
Among the petitioners, BJP
leader Subramanian Swamy has
sought further probe to
ascertain the alleged role of
Congress leader P.
Chidambaram, who was
Minister of State for Home
during the massacre, which had
claimed 42 lives.
A Division Bench comprising
Justice G.S. Sistani and Justice
Sangita Dhingra Sehgal also
sought the replies of all the 16
acquitted policemen on the
appeals moved by Uttar
Pradesh, NHRC and some
individuals, including Zulfiqar
Nasir, a survivor of the
massacre, against a trial court's
order of March 21 last year.
In his appeal challenging the
BJP's Subramanian
Swamy has sought
probe into the role
of Congress leader
P. Chidambaram
trial court's March 8, 2013
decision dismissing his plea to
probe the role of Mr.
Chidambaram in the case, Mr.
Swamy said the investigation
should go into all the aspects.
He also cited some newspaper
reports stating that the UP
government had started
destroying documents relating
to the case.
On Mr. Swamy's plea that
there should be a court-
monitored CBI probe into the
matter, the court said any
additional application at this
stage would unnecessarily
delay the case. The Bench
posted the case for further
hearing on May 19.
Forty-two persons were
killed in Hashimpura village in
Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh
on May 22, 1987, when they
were allegedly shot by the
Provincial Armed Constabulary
personnel and their bodies
were thrown into a canal.
Kejriwal launches Green Delhi initiative
STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Ar-
vind Kejriwal on Thursday
launched the Green Delhi
programme by planting
trees at the Triangular Park
at the ITO Chowk.
The event comes on the
eve of his promise to rid the
Capitals streets of dust a
major contributor to air pol-
lution.
The initiative was
launched in line with a de-
tailed action plan submitted
by the Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) government to the
Supreme Court after it de-
manded information on
steps being taken to im-
prove air quality and reduce
air pollution in the Capital.
Mr. Kejriwal, who had de-
cided that roads under the
PWD would be vacuum
cleaned in a phased manner
beginning April 1, an-
nounced that the central
verges of the 1,260 kms of
road maintained by the
PWD will be bedded with
grass and greenery in order
to clean up the environment
and make it dust free.
refolia (Pila Kaner), Nerium
oleander (Lal Kaner), Cal-
liandrabrevipes (Powder
puf) and Bougainvilleas
and trees such a Ficusinfec-
toria (Pilkhan), Cassia Sia-
mea will be planted.
The Public Works De-
partment (PWD), in a state-
ment, said the greening will
be completed within three
months at an estimated cost
of Rs. 2 crores.
Only treated water, being
made available by the Delhi
Jal Board (DJB), will be util-
ised as part of the initiative.
The next phase of the
programme, which will cov-
er other areas, will begin in
July and shall be completed
by September, 2016.
Apart from restoring
greenery along the road
sides and central verges of
the roads, the cleaning of
roads will be done by vacu-
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal plants a tree during um cleaners, the Chief
inauguration of the Green Delhi initiative near Delhi Minister announced, add-
Secretariat on Thursday. PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY ing that the growing pop-
ulation of the city and in-
The exercise will involve verges and the kutcha por- creasing number of vehicles
the greening of approxi- tion under flyovers. were contributing to the de-
mately 120 acres, which in- Pollution absorbing terioration of the environ-
cludes central verges, side shrubs such as Thevetiane- ment.
Vacuum cleaning of roads
to begin on low gear
JATIN ANAND
NEW DELHI: The vacuum cleaning
of the Capitals streets is going
to take of on a rather humble
note
The Public Works Depart-
ment (PWD), scheduled to be-
gin vacuum cleaning a selected
number of stretches from
Thursday night, will initially
execute the exercise with just
four foreign-manufactured
machines procured from pri-
vate contractors.
We aim to increase the
number of these machines
over the next 10 to 15 days and
are looking at reaching full
strength, pegged at around 25,
over the next two months, said
Sarvagya Srivastava, engineer-
in-chief, PWD, with additional
charge of the Department as
Special Secretary.
Given the meagre number of
machines, procured by the De-
partment on a per kilometre
basis from private service pro-
viders, visible impact of the
cleaning may take a fortnight.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal will preside
PWD has only four
machines to vacuum
its road, says it
will procure more
machines soon
over a stock-taking meeting
with several departments to
chart the way forward on dust-
control measures announced
by his government in Decem-
ber last year. The meeting was
to take place on Friday but will
now be held early next week.
Representatives from the
three Municipal Corporations,
the Delhi Development Au-
thority , the Environment De-
partment and the Delhi Pollu-
tion Control Committee had
been directed to take action
against dust pollution from
construction sites and garbage
burning at public places, said a
senior government oicial.
The oicials have been
asked to submit compliance re-
ports detailing the action tak-
en, which will be reviewed at
the meeting, the oicial
added.

JNU students remember
former union president
STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI: Students of Jawa-
harlal Nehru University
(JNU) organised a protest
on Thursday marking the
death anniversary of their
former Students Union
president Chandrashekhar
Prasad.
Mr. Prasad, popularly
known as comrade Chandu,
was a member of the Left-
backed All India Students
Association (AISA). He was
killed by Bihar leader and
strongman Mohd Shahbud-
dins men in Siwan district
of Bihar on March 31, 1997.
His death was followed
CM
YK
by widespread protests
across the country, mobil-
ised by JNU students and
Left parties.
We will carry forward
Chandus legacy and rise to
resist the attack on our uni-
versities. The fascist attack
has now reached Central
University of Jharkhand
where Dr. Shreya Bhatta-
charji has been suspended
for inviting a JNU professor
for an event, JNUSU vice
president Shehla Rashid
Shora said.
An annual lecture in the
name of Chandu is also or-
ganised every year in the
university.
Apex Court gives breather
to app-based cab services
JATIN ANAND
NEW DELHI: With the Supreme
Court giving them another
month to switch their fleets
to CNG, sources in app-based
cab aggregation services Ola
and Uber said they would
continue with the shift.
The Apex Courts directive
on Thursday comes as a wel-
come development for the
AAP government, which was
apprehensive about the sup-
posed impact of the lesser
availability of vehicles being
operated by these companies
during the second phase of its
odd-even scheme, which will
begin from April 15.
Sources in both companies
said the senior management
was of the view that the shift
to CNG was inevitable and
that their business strategy
would continue to revolve
around it in the Capital de-
spite the grace period.
A Delhi government oi-
cialsaid the two firms have
nearly 50,000 CNG-run vehi-
cles in their fleet.
We have added well over
11,000 CNG cars in the last
five months, Gagan Bhatia,
General Manager of Uber
North, said.
Deep Singh, Business Head
of North at Ola, said: Ola has
helped tens of thousands of
driver partners purchase new
CNG cars.... It submitted that
it operated a fleet of 26,000
CNG cabs in Delhi-NCR.
Green tax cuts commercial traic by half
Over four lakh trucks go around Delhi to avoid environment compensation charge
DAMINI NATH Commercial vehicles cles have been diverted in
this period, as they were not
EPCA member and the di-
rector-general of the Centre
NEW DELHI: Lakhs of commer- were diverted to destined for Delhi, said the for Science and Environ-
cial vehicles have given Del- Haryana or UP as report. ment Sunita Narain said that
hi a miss since an environ- In Uttar Pradesh, there the compliance with the
ment compensation charge
they were not have been fewer diverted ve- ECC and other pollution-
(ECC) was imposed by the destined for Delhi hicles, with 2,831 vehicles control orders of the Su-
Supreme Court in October from January 25 to March 28. preme Court had been good.
last year, cutting the daily diverted to Haryana and UP, The EPCA found that on She added that the impact
traic by half. meaning that they were not average 8,000 vehicles pay on air quality would be
The commercial vehicles destined for Delhi. ECC daily, but the number judged when data from nine
that pay toll tax at 124 border The Supreme Court-ap- had reduced by 60-80 per border crossings where
points in Delhi were asked to pointed Environment Pollu- cent since October. CCTV cameras have been
deposit another Rs.700 or tion Control Authority sub- But this estimate does not installed is studied.
Rs. 1,300, depending on the mitted a compliance report include the number of vehi- As per the EPCA report,
size, as green tax to com- to the court on Thursday. As cles that are entering Delhi there is a visible impact of
pensate for the air pollution per the report, Haryana had but are exempt from paying the ECC on the air quality of
they cause. set up 13 check-posts where ECC. Therefore, the de- the Capital.
Since the ECC started be- about 6,300 diverted vehi- crease in number, in EPCAs However, it cautioned that
ing collected on November cles went through between estimation would be roughly pollution is still not under
6, 2015, over four lakh com- January 21 and March 28. 50-60 per cent, said the control and that further
mercial vehicles have been A total of 4,29,095 vehi- report. steps need to be taken.
ND-ND
NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016 CITY/STATE |5

Income proof must under Prepare realistic budget:

CAG tells Delhi govt.
Ban on drugs
a legislative
action

slum rehabilitation policy

Only those households which have an annual income of up to Rs. 3 lakh will be eligible
MARIA AKRAM

NEW DELHI: The Comptroller

and Auditor General of India
(CAG) has asked the Delhi
MOHAMMED IQBAL

NEW DELHI: The Centres

recent decision to ban
344 fixed dose combina-
tion (FDC) drugs was a
government to prepare real- legislative action, for
SWETA GOSWAMI istic budget estimates to which it did not need to
avoid non-utilisation of seek the advice of the

T
he Delhi government has added an funds and supplementary Drugs Technical Advi-
income clause to its Delhi Slum provisions. sory Board or any other
and JJ Rehabilitation and Reloca- In its audit report for the expert committee, the
tion Policy, 2015. Now, only those year 2014-15, CAG has point- Union government ar-
slum households which have an an- ed out that Rs. 6,093.85 crore gued in the Delhi High
nual income of up to Rs 3 lakh will remained unused. This indi- Court on Thursday.
be eligible for alternative housing cates that the budget was not Submitting the
under the policy. prepared after adequate grounds for issuing the
Earlier, a dweller who could fur- scrutiny of projects and notification on March 10
nish a proof of being the resident of schemes. prohibiting the sale of
a jhuggi or a slum was entitled to re- According to the report, FDC medicines, Addi-
habilitation and relocation. Now, which was tabled in the Del- tional Solicitor General
slum dwellers will have to give an hi Assembly on Thursday, an Sanjay Jain said the deci-
aidavit showing their annual in- expenditure of Rs. 31,024.14 sion was taken after
come while enrolling for the crore was incurred against a considering the factors
scheme, said a government oi- total provision of Rs. 37,117.99 of safety, eicacy and ra-
cial. There are 675 slums and jhug- crore, resulting in savings tionality of these drugs.
gis in the Capital, and over 3 lakh worth Rs. 6,093.85 crore. The initial concern was
dwelling units will be required to Scrutiny of the year 2014- regarding licences
rehabilitate them. 15 showed that provision un- granted to drug manu-
According to the Delhi govern- der various subheads un- facturers, but the focus
ment, this was one of the key com- der the Centrally Sponsored later shifted to the safety
ments put for- Schemes and Scheduled aspect.
ward by the Caste SubPlans (CSS and Mr. Jain contended
Ministry of Urban

ALTERNATIVE (MoUD) while

Development
HOUSING giving its nod for
the policy. We
have incorporated
Exclusive
the suggestions
from the ministry
into the policy.
They wanted the
income cap so that the policy is in
tandem with the Centre's Pradhan
Mantri Awas Yojna which defines
the economically weaker section
(EWS) as those households earn-
ing up to Rs 3 lakh per year, added
the oicial.
However, sources said the gov-
ernment was facing serious chal-
lenges in finalising the cost it
would have to incur in building
each dwelling unit. Initially, the
government had chalked out an ex-
penditure of Rs 1.5 lakh per dwell-
ing unit for its project.
The policy covers slums and JJ
clusters across Delhi, irrespective
of the land they are on. So, if houses
are being built on Delhi govern-
ments plots, that does not shoot
out budget. But the moment we
There are 675 slums and jhuggis in the Capital, and over 3 lakh dwelling
units will be required to rehabilitate them. FILE PHOTO
for commercial revenue generation
The income cap has and the government shall build
been introduced so that EWS houses on the remaining 60
the policy is in tandem per cent of the land.
Another change that has been
with the Pradhan Mantri made based on the comments re-
Awas Yojna
ceived from the MoUD is the cut-
of date for eligibility to alternate
plan a housing project in, say, housing.
DDA's land, the cost of each dwell- The Aam Aadmi Party govern-
ing unit shoots up to Rs 20 lakh. ment had approved the cut-of date
This is because of high circle rates as February 14, 2015 the day AAP
of plots, said another oicial. formed the government in Delhi.
As a solution, the Delhi Urban But now it has been changed to Ja-
Shelter Improvement Board (DU- nuary 1, 2015, as the ministry had
SIB), which is finalising the policy stated that fresh electoral rolls are
document, has proposed to use out by then.
land as a resource where parcels of The policy also states that JJ
it will be sold and the money will clusters which have come up be-
be pumped into building houses for fore January 1, 2006, will not be re-
slum dwellers. For cases where moved without rehabilitation.
land is not under the Delhi govern- Chief Minster Arvind Kejriwal is
ment, 40 per cent of the plot would likely to approve the revised policy
be given to the land owning agency within a week.
SCSP) was made during the
year but an entire provision
of Rs. 265.82 crore remained
unutilised, defeating the
original purpose for which
the budget provision was
passed by the Legislative As-
sembly, the report said.
The main reasons for non-
utilisation of funds were at-
tributed to non-implementa-
tion of schemes, non-receipt
of funds from the Centre, and
release of fewer grants.
The government may
consider taking up the mat-
ter with Public Account
Committee Secretariat for
regularisation of excess ex-
penditure. Devise suitable
mechanisms by the finance
ministry to avoid rush of ex-
penditure in last quarter/
month of the financial year,
the CAG has recommended.
Delhi government oicials
said the report was of 2014-15,
when Delhi was under the
Lieutenant Governors rule.
We have been saying for
long that there is no planning
Dividend pinch
STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI: As per the
Comptroller and Auditor
General (CAG) report on Delhi
state finances for the year
2014-15, the government had
invested Rs. 17,660 crore in 23
companies, mainly statutory
corporations, rural banks, joint
stock companies, and co-
operatives.
But in return it got only Rs.
12.9 crore as dividend, 0.07 per
cent of the total investment,
while it paid interest at an
average rate of 8.59 per cent on
its borrowings during the year,
when Delhi was under the
Lieutenant Governors rule.
Of the 23 companies, only
five gave dividends.
The Delhi government
when projects/schemes are
conceived. Oicials either
keep files pending or dont
release funds on time. But
invested Rs. 74.3 crore in five
companies Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation, Delhi Co-operative
Housing Finance Society,
Indraprastha Medical
Corporation, Delhi State Civil
Supply, Tourism and
Transportation Development
Corporation, and Indraprastha
Gas and in return got Rs. 12.9
crore.
Even the liabilities of the
government increased from Rs.
30,140 crore in 2010-11 to Rs.
32,497 crore in 2014-15. CAG
has recommended that the
Delhi government increase its
capital expenditure to
positively impact economic
growth and take effective
measures to recover
outstanding loans from the
institutions.
the new government is com-
pleting projects on time and
saving money, said an oi- March 10 notification
cial.
before the Bench of Jus-
tice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw
that Section 26-A of the
Drugs and Cosmetics
Act, 1940, gave powers
to the government for
regulating drugs to its
satisfaction. Prohibition
could be imposed if it
came to light that a par-
ticular drug posed risk
to human health and
had no therapeutic justi-
fication. The court,
hearing over 150 writ
petitions moved by sev-
eral pharmaceutical
firms challenging the
notification, asked if the
exercise of setting up a
panel to look into FDCs
was undertaken to deal
with fresh applications
for licences.
The court posted the
matter for further hear-
ing on April 4 and ex-
tended its interim stay
on the operation of the
till then.

MLA O.P. Sharma suspended for two sessions

STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI: BJP MLA O.P. Shar-
ma has been suspended from
the House for the next two As-
sembly sessions for passing
derogatory remarks at AAP
MLA Alka Lamba.
In November last year, the
Ethics Committee of the Del-
hi Assembly had unanimous-
ly recommended stripping
Mr Sharma of his member-
ship for his conduct and him
being unrepentant about it.
The committee, in its report,
had also called Mr Sharma a
habitual ofender.
Participating in the discus-
sion, BJP MLA Vijender Gup-
Mr. Sharma had passed
derogatory remarks at AAP
MLA Alka Lamba. FILE PHOTO
ta accused the ruling party of
harassing BJP legislators, and
said the Ethics Commitee
comprised only AAP MLAs.
They are murdering the de-
mocracy and cannot tolerate
us. We are not allowed to
speak as we are not in majori-
ty, he said.
Chief Minister Arvind Kej-
riwal, however, said that Shar-
ma should be given one more
chance to apologise for his re-
marks. He asked the Opposi-
tion to accept the mandate of
the people and stop playing
the victim card. Stop saying
that we are only three mem-
bers. The people didnt vote
for your party. By expelling
O.P. Sharma we dont want to
disrespect the mandate of the
people of Delhi. We will not
allow a repeat of the Aruna-
chal Pradesh episode in the
Delhi Assembly.
On his part, Sharma said,
My intention was not to hurt
Ms. Lamba as she is like my
sister, but if she felt ofended I
express regret over it. How-
ever, Mr. Sharma accused
Deputy Chief Minister Man-
ish Sisodia of signalling at the
AAP MLAs to charge at him
on November 24 during the
session when he was speaking
on the issue of homeless. Siso-
dia, however, clarified that
the charge is completely base-
less, and proposed that the
BJP legislator be suspended
for two subsequent sessions
as he has not apologised but
only expressed regret.

NGT notice to Railways over groundwater use

STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI: Massive extraction
of groundwater by the Rail-
ways to clean train coaches
and platforms has caught the
attention of the National
Green Tribunal, which on
Thursday asked the national
transporter to respond to a
plea alleging this was being
done indiscriminately and
illegally.
A bench headed by NGT
Chairperson Justice Swatan-
ter Kumar issued notices to
the Ministries of Railways and
Environment and Central
Ground Water Authority
(CGWA) and sought their re-
ply within two weeks after a
plea alleged that the state-
run behemoth was extract-
ing groundwater without per-
mission from concerned
directions to Railways to in-
stall rainwater harvesting sys-
tems in all its 73 divisions
across 16 zones.
The present application
raises the issue of illegal and
indiscriminate withdrawal of
groundwater by the Railways
for commercial and industrial
uses in the notified as well as
the nonnotified areas
(overexploited, critical and
semicritical areas) without
seeking prior permission
from CGWA, the plea said.
Railways has also failed to
The directions came on a plea alleging that the national comply with the directions of
transporter was indiscriminately using groundwater for the CGWA issued under the
cleaning train coaches and platforms. FILE PHOTO Environment Protection Act,
1986, making it mandatory for
authorities. The directions il Raghav seeking directions all industrial establishments
came on a plea filed by NGO to stop indiscriminate with- to adopt rooftop rainwater
Society for Protection of En- drawal of groundwater. harvesting systems on their
vironment and Biodiversity The plea, filed by advocate premises, the plea added.
and Ghaziabad resident Sush- Antima A Bazaz, has sought (With PTI inputs)

Will not allow Presidents

Rule in Delhi: Kejriwal
STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI: In the wake of Pres-
idents Rule being imposed
in Arunachal Pradesh and
Uttarakhand, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal on Thurs-
day said he would never let
such an incident be repeat-
ed in the Capital.
While noting that the Op-
position should be heard by
the ruling party MLAs, Mr.
Kejriwal also asked the Op-
position to respect the man-
date of the people.
Referring to the imposi-
tion of Presidents Rule in
CM
YK
Arunachal Pradesh and Ut-
tarakhand, Mr. Kejriwal said,
Opposition should respect
the mandate of Delhiites. We
will never let the incident of
Arunachal Pradesh and Ut-
tarakhand be repeated in
Delhi.
On Tuesday, Kejriwal had
slammed Prime Minister
Narendra Modi over the im-
position of Presidents Rule
in Uttarakhand.
He had also claimed that
the Centre would try to des-
tabilise the Delhi and Hi-
machal Pradesh govern-
ments.
ND-ND
6| THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

EDUCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL

EDUCATIONAL

PERSONAL
LOST & FOUND

PUBLIC NOTICES

TENDERS

CM ND-ND
YK
 STATE |7
NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Beating pollution
Ministries and institutes join
hands to promote research
According to the MHRD, the initiative is part of the IMPacting Research INnovation and Technology initiative
STAFF REPORTER have been identified under tween Urban Development shall be a Domain Expert laborations in research on
IMPRINT including health- and Rural Development Committee (DEC), chaired environment and climate, in-
NEW DELHI: In an initiative to care, energy, sustainable ministries and IIT Roorkee. by a subject matter expert of volving ministries of Envi-
promote research, 26 gov- habitat, Nano technology The initiative, IMPRINT eminence and with such ronment and Forest and
ernment ministries and de- hardware, water resources aims to create synergy with members as decided by the Earth Sciences and Indian
partments have entered an and river systems, advanced all the major initiatives of National Coordinator. Institute of Science,
agreement to collaborate for materials, information and the Government like Make The Director IIT Kanpur Bangalore.
technology development communication technology, in India, Digital India, Skill has been designated as the Other bodies which are
covering various engineer- manufacturing, security and India, Namami Gange, Un- first National Coordinator part of the large scale exer-
ing disciplines along with in- defence. nat Bharat Abhiyan, Swachh for the programme for a pe- cise include Ministries of
stitutes like the IITs and In the field of healthcare, Bharat Mission and other riod of one year, HRD oi- Textiles, Surface Transport,
NITs. Health Ministry, AYUSH Ministries engaged in re- cials said. Steel, Railways, New and Re-
According to the Ministry and various bodies like search covering these do- Among other collabora- newable Energy, Drinking
of Human Resource Devel- ICMR would participate in mains, an oicial said. For tions envisaged under the Water and Sanitation, oi-
opment (MHRD), the initia- research initiatives and IIT every domain area, there IMPRINT initiative are col- cials said.
tive is part of the IMPacting Kharagpur would be the co-
Research INnovation and ordinating institute, oi-
Technology (IMPRINT), cials at the HRD Ministry
initiative of the NDA gov- said.
ernment which is a multi- For technological devel-
disciplinary, multi-partner opment in defence the MoU
and multi-goal oriented na- envisages involvement of
tional programme aimed at DRDO, Department of
technology development in- Space, Department of Atom-
volving the Indian Institutes ic Energy, while IIT Madras
As pollution increases in the city, a traffic personnel is seen wearing a mask at a of Technology (IITs), Indian and IIT Delhi would be the
busy intersection on Thursday. PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA Institute of Science (IISc), coordinating bodies.
national academies, minis- For Sustainable Habitat
tries etc. and Swachh Bharat, the MoU
Ten technology domains envisages a collaboration be-
Haryanas move to transfer sectors flayed
ASHOK KUMAR Besides opposition from DEATH
The government the RWAs citing poor track re-
GURGAON: More than a month had ordered the cord of the MCG, the corpora-
after the Haryana government transfer of 33 tion also faces acute staf
ordered transfer of 33 Haryana HUDA sectors to crunch of its own, making it
Urban Development Author- ill-equipped to take on the ad- DEATH
ity (HUDA) sectors to the Mu- the MCG ditional duties. HUDA tried to ANNIVERSARIES
nicipal Corporation of Gur- address that by transferring its
gaon (MCG), the move has State as also the transfer of 33 staf engaged in these services
evoked strong opposition such HUDA Sectors to the to MCG but faced a backlash
from several residents' wel- Municipal Corporation Gur- from the employees who went
fare associations (RWAs). gaon (MCG). on a strike.
We are shocked to know The order specifies a three- The government has now
that Haryana government is month window in which HU- set a deadline of April 30 by
transferring our Sector-52 to DA must complete infrastruc- which it wants to complete the
the MCG. But how can you ture work in the sectors. handover.
transfer a sector without any
civic infrastructure? There is
no proper sewage system, no
roads, no water supply and un-
authorised encroachment on
the plots. The MCG staf is
good for nothing as anyone
can see the condition of areas
which are under the MCG.
The government should re-
voke their decision of trans-
ferring our sector to the
MCG, said Ravi Arora, vice-
president, RWA Sector 52
Part-I. Several other RWAs
have similar reservations
about the transfer.
With a view to ensure better
maintenance of all amenities
in and greater satisfaction of
residents of those sectors of
Haryana Urban Development
Authority (HUDA) where
more than five years had
elapsed after completion of
development works, the Ha-
ryana Chief Minister Mano-
har Lal had last month ap-
proved a standard set of terms
and conditions for transfer of
such sectors to the concerned
Municipal Corporations in the

CM ND-ND
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8|
Probe on into scholarship
irregularities, says Nitish
PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nit-
ish Kumar on Thursday said a
vigilance probe was on into ir-
regularities in post-matricula-
tion scholarship to SC/ST stu-
dents of the Stater and
necessary action will be taken
against those involved in it.
Complaints have been re-
ceived and shortcomings found
in post-matriculation scholar-
ship to SC/ST students of Bihar
... Prima facie there appears to
be certain lapses, Mr Kumar
said in the State Assembly while
intervening on a question by the
Leader of Opposition during the
Zero Hour.
He said a vigilance probe was
already on into the irregularities
and action would be taken
against those responsible.
The responsibility will be
fixed after taking into account
both administrative and crimi-
nal aspects in the irregularities,
Mr Kumar said.
Large-scale irregularities
have come into light with pay-
ment of scholarship money to
SC/ST students pursuing tech-
nical education outside the
Stater being delayed and jeopar-
Haryana House to bring Bill Now education criteria for
to increase salary of MLAs fighting urban bodies polls
CHANDIGARH: The Haryana As-
sembly on Thursday unani-
mously passed a resolution
to bring a Bill to hike the sal-
ary and allowances of
MLAs.
Barring Congress, whose
members are not attending
the session, the ruling BJP,
main opposition INLD, the
BSP and Independents
backed the demand for hike
in pay and allowances,
prompting Chief Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar to say,
Today, everyone is beam-
ing with joy, there is clap-
ping and unprecedented
unity is seen (on the issue).
Three days back, a House
Committee was formed
Three cops killed in car-van collision
LUDHIANA: Three policemen
were on Thursday killed and
two students injured in a col-
lision between a car and a
school van near Raine village
on Hambran road, about 25
km from here.
The incident occurred
when the cops -- Assistant
Sub Inspector Kulbir Singh
and constables Heera Singh
CM
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Prima facie there appears to
be certain lapses, said Bihar
Chief Minister
dising their future.
The post-matriculation
scholarship to the SC/ST stu-
dents is given by the SC/ST
Welfare Department.
BJP leader Sushil Kumar Mo-
di made an expose late last year
about irregularities in the schol-
arships given to SC/ST students
to pursue technical or other
higher education in and outside
the State.
He had charged the State gov-
ernment with releasing scholar-
ship amounts to fictitious tech-
which studied the issue
seeking information from
neighbouring States on pay
and allowances of the legis-
lators. The Committee pre-
pared the report favouring
hike.
Resolution
On the last day of the bud-
get session of the Haryana
Assembly, lone BSP member
Tek Chand Sharma moved a
resolution, saying salary and
allowances of the MLAs
should be increased.
In Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Telangana,
Delhi and Jharkhand, there
have been examples of hike
in pay and allowances, re-
and Jagdish Singh -- were on
way to Chandigarh in the car
for appearance in a case in
Punjab and Haryana High
Court, SSP Ludhiana (Rural),
Opinder Singh said.
The driver of the car lost
control over the vehicle and it
hit a motorcycle, a scooter
and then rammed into a
school van coming from the
NORTHERN REGION
nical institutions outside Bihar,
besides delay in money to a
technical institute in Bhuba-
neshwar, Odisha, to fund stud-
ies of 60 students from Bihar.
Group C recruitment
Meanwhile, the Assembly on
Thursday passed the Bihar Po-
lice Sub-ordinate Service Com-
mission Bill, 2016, for regular
and timely recruitment of
Group C posts in various
departments.
The Commission would car-
ry out recruitment of sub-in-
spectors in various depart-
ments of police, forest, wireless,
excise, enforcement etc.
The idea behind setting up a
commission is to fast-track and
regularise the recruitment
process. The governments ob-
jective is to carry out together
the recruitment of all the posts
of same qualification. The
recruitment for these posts re-
quire physical and other tests,
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
said while replying to a debate
on the Bill.
He said that posts with grade
pay of Rs 4,200 would be
cently. A committee which
had been formed three days
back has submitted its re-
port, the BSP member said.
He told the House that while
Congress may have stayed
away from attending the pro-
ceedings to protest its three
MLAs suspension for tear-
ing copies of the Governors
Address, the party legislator
Lalit Nagar had quickly giv-
en his view on the salary hike
and signed the report.
This (resolution) should
be passed today, the BSP
MLA said, even as there was
loud thumping of the bench-
es, both from BJP and main
opposition INLD benches.
- PTI
opposite side, he said.
Two of the cops died on the
spot while the third suc-
cumbed to his injuries in a
nearby hospital where he was
taken in a critical condition,
the police said.
Two school-going children
received injuries but they
were stated to be out of dan-
ger, the police added. -- PTI
recruited through the
Commission.
The recruitment for these
posts were, hitherto, being done
by Bihar State Staf Selection
Commission which is over-bur-
dened with work with increas-
ing number of examinees.
It would be a five-member
Commission, headed by a chair-
man and four members. Out of
the four members, one would
be represented by SC/ST and
another would be represented
by minority community.
The Assembly also passed
the Bihar Tax Disputes Settle-
ment Bill, 2016 which came out
with a One Time Settlement
scheme for settlement of tax
disputes of upto Rs 1 crore till
201112.
OTS will be implemented for
three months and if needed, it
may be extended for further
three months, Minister in-
charge Bijendra Prasad Yadav
said in his reply during a debate
on the Bill.
The Minister informed the
House that tax disputes upto Rs
1 crore would be settled at re-
gional oice level. - PTI
CHANDIGARH: Any male person
desiring to contest for Ur-
ban Local Bodies in Haryana
will now have to be matricu-
late and should have a func-
tional toilet at home; a wom-
an and a Scheduled Caste
candidate will be required
to be at least 8th standard
pass.
Minimum educational
qualification for SC women
candidates will be 5th stan-
dard pass.
The minimum qualifica-
tion and requirement of toi-
let for contesting Urban Lo-
cal Bodies polls, like in the
case of Panchayati Raj insti-
tutions, has been prescribed
in the Haryana Municipal
(Amendment) Bill, 2016,
which was passed by the Ha-
ryana
Wednesday.
Assembly
The Bill amends Section
on
Lower rank post
humiliating,
says Khemka
CHANDIGARH: Senior IAS oicer
Ashok Khemka has said it is
humiliating for him to hold
a lower rank post and he has
been awaiting posting on pro-
motion for the last three
months.
Awaiting posting on pro-
motion for last 3 months.
Holding a lower rank post is
humiliating. Like a Lt Gen
forced to hold post of Briga-
dier (sic), tweeted the senior
IAS oicer, who currently
holds the rank of Principal
Secretary in the Haryana
government.
The 1991 batch oicer was
promoted to the rank of Prin-
cipal Secretary in January by
the BJP-led Haryana
government.
Mr Khemka had shot into
limelight in 2012 when he had
cancelled the mutation of a
land deal between Congress
chief Sonia Gandhis son-in-
law Robert Vadras M/s Sky-
light Hospitality and DLF
Universal Ltd.
The IAS oicer has faced
over 40 transfers during his
career. -- PTI
Western Command launches
think tank Gyan Chakra
JAMMU: A think tank on Defence
and Strategic Afairs has been
formed by the Armys Western
Command, aimed at providing
an outlet to veterans for pursu-
ing research on strategic and
national security issues.
Western Command in a new
path breaking initiative has
launched a Defence and Strate-
gic Afairs Think Tank aptly
named Gyan Chakra. There are
a large number of defence vet-
erans who have settled in the
Tri City, PRO Defence Lt Col
Manish Mehta said on
Thursday.
Lt Col Mehta said that many
of these veterans are prolific
writers and subject matter ex-
perts in their own domain.
Despite having a wealth of
experience these veterans had
Shooting star
Star martial artist and actor Jackie Chan arrives in Jodhpur on Thursday for the
shoot of his movie "Kung Fu Yoga" at the Mehrangarh Fort. PHOTO: PTI
13 A of the Haryana Munici-
pal Act, 1973 and Section 8 of
the Haryana Municipal Cor-
poration Act, 1994.
The amendment aims at
strengthening the Urban Lo-
cal Bodies, the third tier of
the governance and improv-
ing the eiciency, transpar-
ency and accountability by
making education a neces-
sary qualification for the of-
fice-bearers of the Urban
Local Bodies, according to
the government.
The Bill also proposes
candidates contesting the
elections to Urban Local
Bodies have to file a self dec-
laration that they have the
provision of a functional toi-
let at the residence.
Prescribing minimum
standards of education will
not only help in augmenting
performance of the mem-
Amarinder Singh promises
strong Lokpal covering CM
AMRITSAR: Punjab Congress
president Amarinder Singh has
promised that the Congress
government will set up a power-
ful Lokpal which will include
the Chief Minister within its ju-
risdiction. We will clean up the
system from the top, he said.
The former Chief Minister
said there will be zero toler-
ance towards corruption and
that his government will set up
a strong institution of the
Lokpal.
He recalled his tenure as the
Chief Minister during which he
had jailed then corrupt chair-
man of the Punjab Public Ser-
vice Commission besides dis-
missing 32 corrupt oicials
from services.
The PCC president was here
to interact with the oice bear-
ers of the Amritsar rural and ur-
ban district units to take their
feedback for the Assembly elec-
tions due next year.
Responding to party workers
demand to avenge registra-
tion of fabricated cases
against them, Mr Singh said
those will be withdrawn the day
a Congress government was
no outlet for pursuing research
and intellectual activity in an
organized manner.
Gyan Chakra is being
launched to fulfil a long-stand-
ing requirement of defence vet-
erans though not articulated, he
said.
There are a number of Stra-
tegic Afairs Think Tanks like
United Service Institution, In-
stitute for Defence Studies and
Analysis, Centre for Land Wel-
fare Studies, Vivekananda In-
ternational Foundation, Ob-
server Research Foundation etc
active in the National Capital
Region but the remaining por-
tion of Northern India is devoid
of any such institution, he said.
PRO said that the idea behind
conceptualising this think tank
is to attract leading strategic
bers of Urban Local Bodies,
but also reduce chances of
them being misled and en-
sure their accountability,
according to the Bill.
In view of good literacy
rate in the State, election of
educated candidates for Ur-
ban Local Bodies will prove
to be a catalyst for faster and
sustainable development of
cities, it adds.
With regard to toilets, the
Bill says, The appropriate
sanitation arrangements in
the residential areas of ur-
ban population is the main
attention of the time and in
this scenario the provision
of functioning toilets in each
and every house is must.
Therefore, non-provi-
sion of functional toilet at
the place of residence of a
candidate has been made as
disqualification. PTI
Punjab PCC president Amarinder Singh being received by
Punjab Mahila Congress president Kittu Grewal on his arrival in
Jalandhar on Thursday. PHOTO: PTI
formed and those involved will
be subjected to reciprocal jus-
tice. The Punjab Congress chief
said unlike in the past, tickets
will be given only to deserving
candidates based on their
chances of winning the
elections.
The PCC president said when
the Congress forms the govern-
ment, it will work towards im-
plementing the recommenda-
thinkers, defence analysts,
scholars and academicians and
provide them a platform to de-
liberate on strategic and nation-
al security issues.
Gyan Chakra will be an ex-
tension of the Khetarpal Oi-
cers Institute (KOI), Chandi-
mandir and will be colocated.
The think tank will ofer fa-
cilities like, library, internet, re-
search, round table discussions,
lectures and seminars.
The membership will be
open to the veterans of the Tri-
City and serving oicers at
nominal subscription, he said.
Lt Col Mehta said that the
launch of the initiative was an-
nounced by Lieutenant General
K.J. Singh, Army Commander,
Western Command, on March
16 this year. -- PTI
THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016
Jat stir hits production
of under-trials in Delhi
NEW DELHI: The Haryana police
has informed a Delhi court that
undertrials from the State
would not be produced till the
Jat agitation ends, as the cops
were busy maintaining law and
order. A circular issued by the
oice of District and Sessions
Judge (headquarters) in-
formed judges of the Tis Haza-
ri Courts here about the letter
received from the Haryana
Police.
A copy of fax letter has been
received from the Superin-
tendent of Police, District Jhaj-
jar, Haryana with the intim-
ation that due to Jat
reservation agitation in Harya-
na, large number of police
force has been deployed on
various places to maintain law
and order duties during the
agitation.
Therefore, it would be dii-
cult for the police force to pro-
duce the undertrials in the
tions of the Swaminathan
Commission for the welfare of
farmers.
He also attended a protest
meeting of the Jewellers associ-
ation here where he criticised
the insensitivity of the central
government towards the jewell-
ers and supported their demand
for withdrawal of one per cent
excise duty on non-silver jewel-
lery. -- PTI
Air India to start Jammu
morning flight from Delhi
JAMMU: Air India will
commence a morning flight
from New Delhi to Jammu
from April 8 to push
regional connectivity.
Beginning from April 8,
Air India will operate a
flight in the morning from
New Delhi to Jammu and
back, Union Minister of
State in PMO, Jitendra
Singh said on Thursday.
The decision was taken
on Thursday in a meeting
with Union Aviation
Secretary Rajiv Nayan
Choubey after Mr Singh
had proposed additional
flights between Jammu and
Delhi, particularly in the
early morning and evening
hours.
The flight will take of
from New Delhi 7.45 am and
NOIDA/DELHI
Assembly nod for
renaming airport
after Bhagat Singh
CHANDIGARH: The Haryana As-
sembly on Thursday unani-
mously passed a resolution to
name Chandigarh airport after
freedom struggle icon Shaheed
Bhagat Singh.
As soon as the Question Hour
ended, Parliamentary Afairs
Minister Ram Bilas Sharma
moved the resolution.
Later, it was unanimously
passed with ruling BJP and main
opposition Indian National Lok
Dal (INLD) MLAs supporting it.
Opposition Congress MLAs
were not present as they have
not been attending the Assemb-
ly session to protest the six-
month suspension of their three
MLAs for tearing copies of the
Governors address.
On the resolution, Mr Sharma
told the House that the State
government would soon write
to the Union Civil Aviation min-
istry in this regard. Chief Minis-
ter Manohar Lal Khattar had re-
cently said that his government
had no objection to the airport
being named after Bhagat Singh.
With the airports terminal
building falling in Punjabs Mo-
hali town, the Punjab govern-
ment has put up signages of Mo-
hali airport, upsetting the
Haryana government.
-- PTI
court of law in Delhi from
March 17 till the Jat reservation
agitation ends, a circular by
Additional District and Ses-
sions Judge Shail Jain said.
A Bill to provide reservation
to Jats and five other commu-
nities in government jobs and
educational institutions was
unanimously passed on March
29 by the Haryana Assembly
ahead of the April 3 deadline
set by the community which
launched a violent quota agita-
tion last month.
At least 30 people lost their
lives and more than 320 were
injured in the worst ever Jat ag-
itation witnessed in Haryana.
Besides, financial loss to the
tune of hundreds of crores was
incurred by people whose
homes and business establish-
ments were damaged in the ar-
son that followed the agitation
leaving the State paralysed for
nearly two weeks. -- PTI
Centre silent
on welfare of
Dalits: Punia
LUCKNOW: Congress leader P. L.
Punia on Thursday accused the
BJP-led government at the Cen-
tre of maintaining silence
over issues concerning welfare
of Dalits, including reservation
in promotions.
The Modi government is
maintaining continued silence
on bringing a bill on quota in
promotions for which the pre-
vious UPA government had tak-
en decisive steps, said Mr Pun-
ia, who is also the Chairman of
Scheduled Castes Commission.
The demand for quota in pri-
vate sector and judiciary is also
very old but the central govern-
ment is silent on these as well,
he said.
Charging the Samajwadi Par-
ty government in Uttar Pradesh
with being anti-Dalit, Mr Punia
alleged that along with BSP and
BJP, SP has always tried to keep
the Dalits behind in the path of
progress.
Claiming that people are fed
up with BSP, SP and BJP, the
Congress leader hoped that in
the State election next year, his
party will put up a good show.
- PTI
will reach Jammu at 8.45 am.
After 45 minutes of halt, it
will take of from Jammu at
9.30 am and will reach New
Delhi at 10.30 am, Mr Singh
said.
The flight will operate
thrice a day and will be
made daily after observing
the response to it, the
Union Minister said. This is
the first direct flight from
Jammu to Delhi in the
morning time as earlier any
direct flight in this sector is
only around 1 pm.
The Centre is also
working out the evening
flight from Delhi to Jammu
and back as the last flight
from Jammu-Delhi is at 4
pm and the last flight from
Delhi to Jammu is at 2.30
pm. - PTI
ND-ND
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NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

CM ND-ND
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10 | NATION THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Chemistry re-exam
paper also leaked Netaji may have survived the crash As countdown for ban begins,
in Karnataka File says his broadcasts were heard in Dec. 1945 & Jan. and Feb. 1946
NATIONAL BUREAU
liquor sells for a song in Bihar
KARNATAKA BUREAU

BENGALURU: Angry students

NEW DELHI: Even as the re-
cently declassified docu-
Admired Mussolini AMARNATH TEWARY

took to the streets across ments relating to the dis- An account of Germany to Moscow, PATNA: A day before a total ban on
Karnataka after an embar- appearance of Netaji Netajis travel in it says: He ... had the sale and consumption of
rassed government cancelled Subhas Chandra Bose do Europe before his spent a week in a country-made liquor across Bi-
the Pre-University chemistry not take us any closer to death following a comfortable room of a har, vendors and outlets ofered
re-examination following an- finding out whether he in- plane crash in train taking tea, milk, a huge discount to exhaust their
other question paper deed survived the August Interpress vodka and a large stocks while guzzlers were seen
leakage. 18, 1945 air crash, they (International amount of beef. This rushing to the shops to replen-
The re-examination was throw up many unverified Subhas Chandra Bose Biographic Press was a matter of ish their stocks at home.
ordered following an earlier documents that claim he Service), 1949, says he immense mental The Assembly on Wednes-
leakage and the second leak- outlived the crash. governors house picked ate a lot of beef strength for a caste day unanimously passed the
age resulted in an unprece- These often being either up three broadcasts of Ne- while travelling by Hindu ... But nothing new Bihar Excise (Amend-
dented situation causing se- anecdotes or representa- taji ... in December 1945, train in Europe and such was improper to ment) Bill 2016 and the legisla-
vere problems for students. tions without a name and and January and February, admired both the superstition-less tors pledged to stay away from Country liquor stock being destroyed in Patna on Thursday,
The rescheduling of the date all they may do is to 1946. A note on this item Mussolini and Stalin. revolutionist Sri liquor. a day before the ban takes effect. PHOTO: RANJEET KUMAR
exam to April 12 the fourth keep alive, by a slender was put up before Mr. About his travel from Basu. Yes, for the first time weve
schedule so far announced thread, the belief that Ne- Casey, says page-11 of File ofered such a huge discount to bottles I usually buy for Rs. 350 sold through 656 CCTV-fitted
has caused anxiety among taji survived the crash. No 870/11/p/16/92/Pol exhaust our stock as from Fri- are selling at Rs. 200 and Rs. 150 outlets run by the State Bever-
1.74 lakh students, who are al- There is one five-page from the Prime Ministers broadcast, he also refers Reacting to a query from day these bottles will be of no its time to stock up, Rajesh ages Corporation Limited. No
so preparing for several cru- note in a 1992 file that sug- Oice. The broadcasts to himself as a humble son The Hindu whether this use, said Harendra Singh, a li- Kumar, a businessman, told The private units will be allowed to
cial entrance examinations gests Bose may have sur- referred to show Bose say- ... of Bharat Mata. file adds to our knowledge quor vendor of Patna. Hindu. In some slum areas of sell liquor even in urban areas.
starting this weekend. vived the crash. ing his heart was burning The same note also on Netaji's death in the At Mr. Singhs outlet, price Patna, vendors were seen sell- The Patna administration on
Earlier, the chemistry ex- The note has no name or for India and that freedom claims there was no docu- context of media reports tags, much lower than the origi- ing pouches of country-made li- Thursday destroyed over three
am on March 21, which stu- date attached to it and must come within two mentary evidence of a saying so Harvard histo- nal cost, were pasted on difer- quor in a bucket. lakh bottles of country-made li-
dents wrote, was cancelled reads like a representation years though it would not plane crash; the cremation rian and Netaji's biogra- ent bottles with a display board Consumers, mostly poor quor worth Rs. 3 crore in Dana-
following a paper leakage. made to the government. be possible through non- certificate said to be Boses pher and grandnephew Su- declaring a heavy discount- people, were buying in bulk- pur and women took out a fu-
We spent sleepless nights PC Kar, an oicial in the violence. is that of a non-staf mem- gata Bose replied to a text .Consumers could be seen .From Friday, in cities and neral procession of liquor
for the second time prepar- governors house in Bengal The broadcasts also ber of the Japanese armed message with a single rushing to the outlet counter. It towns of the State, only Indian bottles and set them on fire at
ing for the exam. With com- when RG Casey was the show him being respectful forces; the birth date of the word: None. He did not has never been so cheapthe Made Foreign Liquor will be the Kargil chowk of Patna.
petitive exams approaching governor, claimed that the to Mahatma Gandhi. deceased on it is not the respond to a mail sent re-
in April/May, we will be left monitoring service at the In a February 1946 same as that of Netaji, etc. garding this.
with very little time, said an
angry Manaswini V.A., who
came to the departments
premises to protest, which
later turned violent with
stone-pelting incidents in
which many window panes
were damaged. By afternoon,
the State government an-
nounced the date for re-ex-
amination and suspended 40
employees attached to the ex-
amination section of the De-
partment of Pre-University
Education. It set up a three-
member committee to super-
vise the re-examination.
Earlier, students were in
for a shock as the examin-
ation was cancelled after the
CID tipped of the board oi-
cials about the paper leakage
possibly in Tumakuru and
Bengaluru early on Thurs-
day. Sources in the CID ac-
knowledged that they had
found a question paper doing
the rounds on WhatsApp.

CM ND-ND
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NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016
BLAME GAME BEGINS
Flyover project began during Left regime, says Mamata
It is a blacklisted firm. We will not
spare the builders, assures CM
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
KOLKATA: While political par-
ties have committed them-
selves to refrain from politic-
ising the collapse of the
flyover, the blame game has
already begun.
West Bengal Chief Minis-
ter Mamata Banerjee on
Thursday directly blamed
the CPI(M) for giving the
contract of the central Kolka-
ta flyover to the Hyderabad-
based IVCRL.
The project began in 2008
under the CPI(M). But this
mishap has happened in our
time, so we will do what it
takes, Ms. Banerjee said. She
also said she did not want to
make any political com-
ments related to the inci-
dent.
Baseless, says ex-Minister
Reacting to Ms. Banerjees
observation, the former Ur-
ban Development Minister,
Ashok Bhattacharya, said the
allegation was baseless.
The BJP has sought a
probe by the Central Bureau
of Investigation.
Ms. Banerjee said the gov-
ernment would constitute a
team of experts from IIT and
Jadavpur University to inves-
tigate the flyover collapse.
While a First Information
Report had been filed in a
central Kolkata police sta-
tion, Ms. Banerjee said in a
written statement that the
government will not spare
Assets of NCP
MLA attached
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement
Directorate on Thursday pro-
visionally attached assets
worth about Rs.120 crore in
connection with allegations
of funds misappropriation
against an NCP MLA in Mah-
arashtra and others.
The attachment proceed-
ings have been initiated on a
case pursued by the Navi
Mumbai CID. Among those
under scrutiny were Ramesh
Nagnath Kadam, a sitting
MLA from Mohol in Solapur
and the then chairman of the
Annabhau Sathe Develop-
ment Corporation. Mr. Ka-
dam was arrested by the CID
last August.
Mr. Kadam, who was presi-
dent of the Mumbai-based
Sahityaratna Lokshahir An-
nabhau Sathe Development
Corporation Limited, collud-
ed with some oicials of the
Corporation and other sus-
pects to misappropriate the
funds meant for the uplift of
the Matang community.
The ED has attached equity
shares and a land parcel in
Mumbai worth over Rs.100
crore in the name of Mr.
Kadams firm Comral Realty.
British Medical Journal calls
for radical revamp of MCI
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The British Medical
Journal (BMJ) in its latest is-
sue has called for a radical
prescription to reform the
Medical Council of India
(MCI) in order to eliminate
corruption and lack of ethics
in healthcare.
Referring to several obser-
vations in the parliamentary
standing committee report
submitted in the Rajya Sabha
in March, the BMJ says in its
editorial to be released on
Thursday that the parlia-
mentary panel lays bare the
MCIs failure to oversee
quality and integrity in
health services in the
country.
The parliamentary stand-
ing committee in its report
criticised the MCI for being a
biased organisation, acting
against larger public health
goals. It described the
Council as an exclusive
club of medical doctors
from corporate hospitals and
private practice.
Kickbacks & capitation fee
The committee called for
extensive reforms in the MCI
and removal of roadblocks to
the Common Medical En-
trance Test for admission to
MBBS and PG courses. It
stated that admission should
be granted on merit and
CM
YK
the builders. They are a
blacklisted company. We will
take stringent action, Ms.
Banerjee said. She claimed
that the government had ear-
lier sought a complete plan
of action from the builders.
But the plan did not arrive,
she said.
The government an-
nounced an ex gratia of Rs. 5
lakh for the deceased, Rs. 2
lakh for the seriously injured
and Rs. 1 lakh for those with
minor injuries.
Mr. Bhattacharya said the
project was started under the
Jawaharlal Nehru National
Urban Renewal Mission and
the contractor was selected
through competitive bidding
in 2009. The company was
not blacklisted then. At that
time the work did not pro-
gress beyond the construc-
tion of a few pillars due to ob-
jection of locals, Mr.
Bhattacharya told The
Hindu.
Even after the Trinamool
Congress came to power
there was no progress for two
years. The work started re-
cently. The Chief Minister
announced that that the work
has to be finished before the
polls and the State govern-
ment continued with the
same contractor. But these
days, construction works in
the State are being done by
syndicates. I think sub-stan-
dard construction material
was used, Mr. Bhattacharya
said.
It is stopwatch for iconic HMT
MOHIT M. RAO
BENGALURU: Five dogs loiter
at the gates, while
employees gather on a
culvert near the parking lot.
Above the HMT Watch
Factory, a clock ticks on.
Employees point to it,
saying once the electricity
is cut of, this symbol of a
once-proud factory will
also stop.
The Cabinet Committee
on Economic Afairs
approved the closure of the
HMT watch factories in
Bengaluru, Tumkur, and
Uttarakhand in January.
HMT conveyed to its
employees that March 31
would be the last working
day.
Very few employees
have come to the factory on
the final day to see the
countrys timekeeper at
Jalahalli. Barely 14 of them
are present at a discussion
with their union leaders.
Although it is the last day
to collect their relieving
letters, the workers plead
with the management to
extend it to Saturday.
Withdrawing a lump sum
It failed to create a
transparent system
for accrediting
medical colleges,
says editorial
not the ability to pay a capi-
tation fee.
The editorial comes
against the backdrop of a
campaign against corruption
in the health sector, launched
by BMJ in 2014, that sparked
global debate. The journal
published articles on kick-
backs for referrals from doc-
tors, revenue targets at cor-
porate hospitals, and
capitation fees in private
medical colleges in India.
In the latest BMJ editorial,
Dr. Samiran Nundy, Dean of
Sir Ganga Ram Institute for
Postgraduate Medical Edu-
cation and Research states
that the MCI has failed to
create a rigorous transparent
system for accrediting medi-
cal colleges, leading to geo-
graphical mal-distribution
and creation of ghost facul-
ties in private medical
colleges.
The editorial has been co-
authored by Sanjay Nagral,
consultant surgeon at Jaslok
Hospital and Anita Jain,
BMJs research editor.
The authors of the BMJ ed-
An injured person being shifted to a hospital in Kolkata on Thursday. (Right) An anguished relative. PHOTOS: ASHOKE CHAKRABARTY & PTI
A desperate search for loved ones
KOLKATA BUREAU
& AGENCIES
KOLKATA: Relatives of those
who were caught in the flyov-
er collapse in Kolkata on
Thursday were desperate as
the nearby Marwari Relief
Society and Medical College
and Hospital, where the in-
jured and dead were taken
could not provide any infor-
mation about their loved
ones.
A junior doctor said most
of the people came with inju-
ries on their head or upper
Not many workers turned up on Thursday, the last working
day at the HMT factory in Bengaluru. PHOTO : SUDHAKARA JAIN
which is more than Rs.
35 lakh for many after
the start of the new
financial year will see them
get tax benefits, the
employees tell the
management. There is
mistrust and confusion,
much like the processes
that led the iconic factory
to the path of insolvency
over the past two decades.
At the factory itself, there
was no farewell function,
itorial laud the parliamen-
tary committee report stat-
ing that it is a landmark in
identifying factors that have
led to the current scenario
and apportions equal re-
sponsibility to the Health
Ministry for letting things
come to this....
The MCI was established
under the Indian Medical
Council Act 1933 and given
responsibility for maintain-
ing standards of medical
education, providing ethical
oversight, maintaining the
medical register, and,
through amendments in 1993,
sanctioning medical
colleges.
Dr. Nundy said the Centre,
will have to muster strong
political support to act on the
committees recommenda-
tions as this will inevitably
involve hurting well en-
trenched and powerful
interests.
For those of us in the
medical profession in India
who have been despairing of
the state of afairs, this report
is a long awaited panacea,
they write. And for the citi-
zens of India strained by the
dual burden of expensive and
unethical healthcare, the re-
port could be a powerful tool
in their struggle to make the
healthcare system deliver
their needs, the BMJ edito-
rial says.
NATION
parts of the body. Many were
seen desperately looking for
their injured relatives. My
brother-in-law Sujit Debnath
is admitted here, but nobody
can tell me how to locate
him. I have been here for over
one hour and still clueless
about how to meet him, he
said.
Several relatives of those
who died did not know
where the bodies were.
A 24-year-old college stu-
dent and local resident, Amit
Bihani, was sitting in shops
adjacent to the flyover, when
no speeches and no
expression of memories
from the many workers
who spent more than three
decades there.
In some ways, it was all
our fault, says S.
Chandrashekhariah, who
has worked in the factory
for 32 years and is the
general secretary of the
workers union. When the
losses started, the
management didnt care,
it collapsed. He said he heard
a loud noise and the ground
started shaking.
Commotion
When I turned around I
saw that a part of the flyover
had collapsed, he told The
Hindu. When he ran up to the
accident site, Mr. Bihani saw
blood coming out from un-
derneath the massive beams
and those who were still alive
were groaning in pain. It took
a while for Mr. Bihani to re-
cover from the initial shock
but then he joined the rescue
and the government kept
giving loans without any
intention of reviving the
factory. This process
should have been done
some time ago, he says.
M.S. Siddaraju a
worker for more than 34
years believes the
factory will live on in
peoples memory through
its watches. My
grandchildren may not see
the factory. But the
watches will still be in the
market, and the demand for
them will go up, he says.
The last batch
At the start of 2016, there
were 405 workers in
Tumakuru and just 49 in
three units of Bengaluru.
On April 2, 14 workers in
Bengaluru and 264 workers
in Tumakuru are to be
relieved, signalling the end
of HMT Watches.
High-rise apartments in
Jalahalli tower over the
nearly 88 acres of the HMT
Watch factory land. In
about a decade, there will
be no sign of the watch
factory as the entire land is
up for sale.
work. I have seen 10 bodies
being pulled out from the de-
bris, he said. cent of the work without
It was a close shave for 26-
year old Arindam Pramanik
who could not comprehend
the huge commotion and the
dust around him near the Vi-
dyasagar flyover.
I was under another por-
tion of the flyover on my two-
wheeler, when I saw people
running helter-skelter and
dust billowing aroundI saw
that a portion of the flyover
had collapsed, he told The
Hindu.
Kerala jackpot for migrant beggar
STAFF REPORTER
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Five years
ago, he came to Kerala from
Andhra Pradesh following an
accident, to survive as a beg-
gar. On Thursday, he returned
to his hometown Anantpur a
rich man. Thirty-two-year-
old Ponnaiyya won the first
prize of Rs. 65 lakh when lots
were drawn on Wednesday in
the State-run Akshaya lottery.
Ponnaiyya, who used to do
masonry work, lost a leg in a
work-related accident. Un-
Collapse an act of
god, says IVRCL
PRASHANTH CHINTALA &
INDRANI DUTTA
HYDERABAD/KOLKATA: IVRCL
Limited, the Hyderabad-
based company that is
constructing the Kolkata
flyover, a portion of which
collapsed on Thursday, is
yet to ascertain the cause
for the collapse, A.G.K.
Murthy, Director
(Operations), has said.
It is for the first time in
the history of the company
that such an incident has
occurred. We are unable to
comprehend at this stage
what could have happened.
It is beyond our thinking. It
is like an act of god, he told
The Hindu in Hyderabad.
Mr. Murthy said the
standard operating
procedure had been
followed, and the company
had completed 76-78 per
consultant from Kolkata. All
any untoward incident.
Mr. Murthy said IVRCL
Chairman and Managing
Director E. Sudhir Reddy
was travelling and that he
was not aware of his
whereabouts. Seven
employees of the company
were injured in the incident.
The flyover at Burra
Bazar, estimated to cost Rs.
166 crore, was to have been
completed in 18 months.
Work was delayed owing to
able to do anything, he came
to Kerala and took to begging.
He used to sleep at the Mar-
thandam bus stand and regu-
larly send home the money he
collected.
According to the Vellarada
police, Ponnaiyya used to buy
more than one ticket in a se-
ries to improve his chances of
winning the lottery. This time,
he had bought 10 tickets and
hence he also won one of the
small consolation prizes.
The lottery agent on seeing
the winning numbers realised
| 11
Mediapersons throng the
IVRCL headquarters in
Hyderabad after the incident.
lack of clearances because
the area was very
crowded, Mr. Murthy said.
The BSE has sought a
clarification from the
company. In its reply to the
BSE, IVRCL said the
Vivekananda flyover had
been designed by a reputed
clearances and steps to
ensure quality had been
taken, the company said.
However, experts said an
under-construction
structure usually collapses
due to design error or flaws
in welding that leave cracks,
causing the structure to
collapse under the dead
weight of the concrete.
Dead weight is the weight of
the structure without its
programmed load.
that the tickets belonged to
Ponnaiyya. The agent tracked
him down and took him to the
Vellarada police station, con-
sidering his security.
The police escorted him to
the Parassala branch of the
State Bank of India. But it
turned out that only his wife
had an account with a branch
in Anantpur. As the transac-
tions could not be carried out,
he stayed at the police station
on Wednesday night. On
Thursday, his father and
brother took him home.
ND-ND
12 | EDITORIAL THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Lessons from Europes amnesia

March 22 turned out to be the
day of reckoning for Brussels,
Belgiums deeply divided society, its sizeable move freely between West Asia and Europe.
They had also made full use of the easy facil-
and Belgium, with three explo-
sions two at the Brussels
numbers of alienated Muslims, and its constant ity of moving between Belgium and France.
All this suggests that the arc of the ISs growth
friday, april 1, 2016 airport at Zaventem and one in search for political compromise have contributed has reached a stage where it has become a real
M.K. the Maelbeek subway metro
NARAYANAN station, adjoining the head-
in large measure to its image of a weak state, and threat to Europe.

quarters of the European

Union (EU) which left 34
Tata people dead and more than 300 injured. Brus-
sels, the de facto capital of the European
Union (EU) and headquarters of the North
to Corus Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and
which prides itself on its European cosmo-
hen Tata Steel paid out a hefty $13.1 billion politanism and openness, its value system,
hence an easy target for terrorists
lice to locate Salah Abdeslam, one of the key
plotters of the Paris terror attacks, who was
living in the heart of Molenbeek, a stones
throw from the headquarters of the EU. Mus-
lim-majority Molenbeek has the dubious dis-
tinction of being the Salafist capital of Eu-
Attitudes have changed little despite the
fact that during the past year and more the
threat of terror has reached the shores of Eu-
rope, with the IS carrying out a series of high-
profile attacks on the continent. Some of
them are the January 2015 attack on the oices
Behind ISs reach
Consequently, peddling wrong theories as
reasons for such attacks can prove dangerous.
The recent attacks have little to do with the
lack of assimilation of migrant Muslim com-
munities into Europes established societies;
they are seldom acts of revenge against ongo-
ing hostile actions such as the bombings in

W to acquire Corus in 2007, Chairman Ratan

Tata described it as a defining moment for
the company. It is not hard to see why he
thought this may be so. It made Tata Steels capacity grow
three times, put the company on the global map, and
spread the risks of the business of making steel. The in-
vestment was made in a climate when there was a tre-
mendous buzz about outward foreign direct investment
(FDI), a time when a clutch of Indian industrialists were
persuaded to see value in making foreign investments at
extremely heady prices, which were sought to be justi-
fied on the basis of over-optimistic profit projections and
growth forecasts for the world economy. In hindsight, it
is apparent that the acquisition was a bad strategic deci-
sion, but it would have been diicult, if not well nigh im-
possible, to predict such things as the Eurozones slide in-
to recession and the abrupt and unexpected slowdown in
China. The damage was compounded by cheap Chinese
steel flooding western markets.
The move by Ratan Tatas successor Cyrus Mistry to
explore a sale of Tata Steels U.K. steelmaking business is
not going to change the fortunes of the company in a hur-
ry. It remains to be seen whether buyers can be found and
if so what prices they are willing to fork out for plants op-
erating in an industry that seems set for a protracted and
severe winter. But given the circumstances, in which the
Indian companys profitability is eroded by its operations
in Europe, the decision to bolster a still-lucrative core by
paring the companys debt from the Corus acquisition is
probably the best course of action. It remains to be seen
how the U.K. government will react to this decision.
There could be an attempt to nudge the company into ac-
cepting a restructuring proposal. But given that the com-
panys European operations have lost almost $5 billion
since 2010 and the net debt surpassed the cost of the Co-
rus acquisition by the end of last December, it may take a
lot of doing to get the company to change its mind. While
the decision to divest itself of the U.K. business is a bold
one, it could be said that the company took a tad longer
than it should have in arriving at that decision. Arguably,
foreign investments made by some Indian companies
during the extended period of the commodity boom
were influenced too much by the ambition or desire to
scale up for the sake of doing so. For instance, the billions
of dollars invested by some of the countrys industrialists
in sectors such as coal at the peak of the commodity su-
percycle have come to no good. But it may be worth
pointing out that some of the acquisitions have indeed
paid of. When Ratan Tata acquired Jaguar Land Rover,
there were those who wondered about the wisdom of the
purchase. Still the gamble has worked, and the losses
notched up at the domestic businesses of Tata Motors
have been more than ofset by the profits earned by one
of Britains most iconic carmakers.
Rare frogs and
the circle of life
he new insights on the life stages of a species
civil liberties and diversity, is yet to recover
from that days mass casualty attacks. The
bombings were carried out in the same coor-
dinated fashion as the Paris terror strikes in
November last year.
A vulnerable target
The Islamic State (IS)-sponsored attack in
Brussels should have surprised no one,
though the Belgian authorities were appar-
ently caught of guard. Belgiums deeply di-
vided society, sizeable numbers of alienated
Muslims, and its constant search for political
compromise have contributed in large mea-
sure to its image of being a weak state and
hence an easy target for terrorists. Belgium
has a multiplicity of counterterrorist and law
enforcement agencies, but each of them is
more reluctant than the other to share infor-
mation. Belgiums insistence on open borders
further aggravates the problem of adequate
security.
The EU does not possess an intelligence
agency of its own. Nor is there any system in
place for sharing intelligence between its
member countries. Belgium tends to be lack-
adaisical about both intelligence collection
and intelligence sharing, leaving itself open
to attacks like the present one. It is more in-
tent on being seen as protecting the privacy
of individuals and metadata than on ensuring
citizens security. Hence, this was a recipe for
disaster, as the March 22 terror attacks
proved.
If anything was needed to show up the in-
competence of the Belgian authorities it was
the fact that it took several months for the po-
CARTOONSCAPE
rope, if not the entire West, and should have
been a principal target of any counterterror-
ist operation. It was from Molenbeek that the
Paris attacks were planned. Further, in the
case of the 2004 Madrid train bombings and
the attack on the Jewish museum in Brussels
The appeal of the Islamic State is a commitment to the
supremacy of the faith, more so in the context of todays chaotic
social environment. The U.S. and western bombings of IS-occupied
areas have provided the necessary fig leaf of martyrdom....
in 2014, all roads led to Molenbeek. Yet, given
the porosity of Belgiums laws, the weakness
of the authorities and the police as well as
their unwillingness to take adequate counter-
terrorist measures, it was possible for Eu-
ropes most wanted criminal to live there and
evade arrest.
Belgium can lay claim to another unsavou-
ry record as well. Statistics suggest that Belgi-
um is Europes per capita leading supplier of
foreign fighters to the IS. Yet Belgium, even
more than most other European nations, has
remained blind to the threat posed by the IS
including the pernicious role of returning
IS fighters, fresh from the battlefields of Syria
and Iraq. No efort seems to have been made
to understand the primordial pull exerted on
Belgian Muslims following the announce-
ment of the ISs Caliphate, or the impact on
them of the collapsing nation-state system in
West Asia, essentially in Syria and Iraq.
of Charlie Hebdo in Paris (which killed 12),
the February 2015 attack on a Copenhagen
cultural centre (in which two persons were
killed), and the multiple strikes in Paris (kill-
ing 130 and injuring more than 350). Attacks
on European targets have also become no-
fice and cooperation among its followers, has
ticeable. In October last year, the IS was re-
sponsible for planting a bomb on a Russian
commercial flight which disintegrated while
in flight over the Sinai killing 224 passengers.
Europes disturbing nonchalance
Europes collective and cumulative amne-
sia, notwithstanding the evidence on record,
does constitute a threat to democratic socie-
ties elsewhere. Results of investigations into
the Paris terror attacks substantiate such con-
cerns. The probes reveal that the IS has been
steadily building the machinery to mount
sustained terrorist attacks across Europe.
They mention that the attackers were proper-
ly trained, conversant with terror tactics and
in the use of improvised explosive devices as
also suicide vests, and had the capability of
carrying out coordinated bombings. They
used encrypted electronic communications
and had resorted to false documentation to
Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan; nor are they a re-
action to the arrests of well-known terrorists.
Such reasoning only tends to obscure a fun-
damental truth, viz., that the IS today demon-
strates an ability to carry out attacks far be-
yond the boundaries of Syria and Iraq.
This has become possible because of a
combination of causative factors. Central to it
is a blind belief anchored in puritanical re-
ligion which, together with selfless sacri-
made it possible for it to carry out terror kill-
ings on a scale unthinkable to the civilised
world. The appeal of the IS is a commitment
to the supremacy of the faith, more so in the
context of todays chaotic social environ-
ment. The U.S. and western bombings of IS-
occupied areas of Syria and Iraq have provid-
ed the necessary fig leaf of martyrdom
deeply cherished by IS recruits and sympa-
thisers as the weapon of the oppressed. All
this is helping to feed the hunger of restive
Muslim youth to join the battle for redeem-
ing the faith, who are then brainwashed to re-
gard the violence and brutality on display as
an exalted campaign of purification. Atroc-
ities are merely the instruments employed to
achieve the ultimate goal of securing the Cali-
phate an idea redolent with historical and
emotive content, conjuring up visions of the
Eighth Century Abbasid Caliphate.
Purist militant Islam is particularly appeal-
ing in the context of todays Europe, where re-
ligion is a somewhat degraded entity. The IS
is equally at war with decadent pro-West
Arab regimes, which it believes have deviated
from the path of puritanical Islam. Even Saudi
Arabia, despite its encouragement of Wahabi
Islam, remains in the ISs cross hairs.
Looking east
Little acknowledged also is the lingering
impact of the Afghan jihad during the final
years of the 20th Century. After centuries, the
Muslim Mujahideen was able to compel a
mighty western power (the Soviet Union) to
retreat from Afghanistan. This has given a
new impetus and confidence to the forces of
militant Islam to take on and defeat the West,
especially since 21st Century interventions
by the West in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria
have proved less than successful. Building on
the success of al-Qaeda and other terrorist
outfits has added further grist to the ISs
ambitions.
Given this, India cannot remain compla-
cent that it will remain unafected by the IS as
it is heir to a unique civilisational heritage. In
December 2015, the IS issued a manifesto
which claimed India as part of the Islamic Ca-
liphate. It referred to a growing Hindu move-
ment in the country directed against Mus-
lims. The latest manifesto is a sequel to an
earlier one, of June 2015, which had declared
ISs ambition to expand its jihad into India.
This is reason enough for India to avoid the
kind of amnesia that has engulfed Europe.
M.K. Narayanan is a former National Security Adviser
and former Governor of West Bengal.

T of dancing frog in the Western Ghats reported

in the journal PLoS One serve as a reminder, if
any were needed, that key features of the rain-
forests are vital to the survival of less-known species. As
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

Mallyas settlement offer
a biodiversity-rich mountainous realm of plants and ani-
mals, many of which are endemic to the region, the West- With business tycoon Vijay Mallya
ern Ghats are an acknowledged hotspot. What the re- now ofering to pay Rs.4,000 crore
search on the tadpoles of the dancing frog Micrixalus as partial settlement of what he
herrei reveals is that such animals can complete their life owes to a consortium of banks, the
cycle only if critical features of the natural landscape are issue has reached a crucial stage
(Mallya ofers to pay Rs.4,000 cr.
preserved, and human pressure on habitats is conscious-
to banks, March 31). The banks in
ly reduced. Specifically in the case of the Indian dancing question have evidently committed
frog, the availability of shallow streams with sandy de- a series of gross blunders in
pressions enables the laying of eggs and development of extending such huge amounts to his
tadpoles, that then spend some time under the sand. Such businesses. In trying to realise these
invisible phases of the life cycle of species are often not amounts, one is sure that bank
widely known or discussed, and therefore may not find a oicials will have to cross a legion of
place in rapid environment impact assessments when a legal hurdles in the courts of various
countries. It is the peoples money
project is proposed. In fact, the range of such frogs re-
that is at stake now and it has to be
vealed by newer methods such as DNA bar coding has seen how the remainder of the sums
not been suiciently documented, as scientists from the due will be recovered.
University of Delhi, the University of Peradeniya and the M. Somasekhar Prasad,
Gettysburg College in the United States who studied the Badvel, Andhra Pradesh
dancing frog point out. It is therefore vital that the habitat
of amphibians in the Western Ghats, a unique part of the The ofer seems to be a last-ditch
world that has landscapes ranging from scrub to ever- efort by the beleaguered business
baron to bring things under some
green forests, be given utmost protection as scientists
control. The term compromise
document its richness. proposal seems applicable to such
If amphibians are considered indicators of the health an ofer especially when banks in
of ecosystems, their fate around the world is cause for question are beginning to realise
worry. Of about 7,300 known species, a third are threat- that they are in no position to
ened and their populations are declining owing to habitat recover the full amount. If the
destruction, chemical pollution, climate change, disease industrialist has the suicient
wherewithal to clear all his dues, if
and invasive species, among other factors. In the Western
one considers his additional
Ghats the threat level is high for an estimated 40 per cent
Rs.2000 crore ofer, there is no
of amphibian species, even as more are being discovered. reason why banks should settle for a
Deficiency of data for a third of the frogs and related spe- much lesser amount and let him of
cies here highlights the need for continuous and inten- the hook.
sive research. In the case of the ancient purple frog from C.V. Aravind,
the same region, which surprised the world with its un- Bengaluru
usual appearance, colour and small size when it was de-
The discounted ofer is shocking
scribed a dozen years ago, there is a persistent threat in
and widely in contrast to the
the form of excessive hunting of tadpoles by tribals for
assurances of the Finance Minister
food. Fortunately, the eforts of scientists to explain the that every penny due will be
uniqueness of such animals is beginning to yield results, recovered. There should be no
and tribal communities are willing to consider alterna- dangerous precedent set which will
tives to mass capture during the breeding seasons. It is result in far-reaching consequences
this rich diversity that the Western Ghats Ecology Expert for the financial health of the banks
Panel led by Madhav Gadgil recognised, and sought, cor- that are afected.
rectly, to protect from unsustainable human pressures. Kshirasagara Balaji Rao,
Hyderabad
Frogs may not have the charismatic stature of many big-
ger animals, but often they are the keystones that hold to- It is quixotic to see the Kingfisher
gether the arch of life represented by several diverse Airlines chairman setting terms. He
animals. has no right to claim immunity from
CM
YK
the long arm of the law with his
posturing that the atmosphere in
India is too vitiated for him to
return. Has he forgotten the damage
he has caused to the balance sheets
of many a public sector bank with
his reckless borrowing? It is public
money that was lent and the people
have every right to know what is
happening. The media should not
be content with reporting this
particular case alone and must bring
all such cases of the wilful default of
bank loans by corporate entities
into the public domain.
J. Anantha Padmanabhan,
Tiruchi
It is unfortunate that the
businessman can now sit in a
foreign land and dictate terms about
how much to pay back, especially
when small borrowers like farmers
are threatened with dire
consequences when they default on
payments. The way the episode has
progressed shows that our banks
appear to be partial towards the rich
and the famous. When the big
sharks are allowed to evade income
tax in the crores, it is the helpless
salaried class that is being targeted
for the submission of returns. The
media too does not highlight these
glaring disparities.
J. Eden Alexander,
Thanjavur
Being on the right side
Actor-turned-politician M.G.
Ramachandran always felt that
peoples welfare came before
political interests. He believed that
cordial relations with the Centre
irrespective of party ailiation
fetched dividends for the State
(Never fight with Delhi, March
31). Such a broad-minded attitude is
lacking in present-day political
parties which have perfected the art
of criticising the Central
government for all their follies and
failures.
Bhanamma Aravinda Bai,
Hyderabad
The way recent political events
have unfolded undermines the call
for cooperative federalism that
the Prime Minister made. First we
had Governors being replaced
which has then followed by certain
State governments being replaced.
Ironically, this year, we are about to
observe the 125th birth anniversary
of B.R. Ambedkar, who wanted
certain Articles to be a dead letter.
Is it too much to expect our
politicians to abjure from resorting
to unfair means to gain power?
Arvind Singh Chauhan,
Salooni, Himachal Pradesh
We all like yes-men around us.
Dissent for us is dissidence. We are
taught to obey the top as the boss is
always right. To be in his good
books is the wisest way to weather
life. Feudalism is better than
federalism. One only has to look at
the Congress to see how it is my
way or no way has become the
motto and slogan of many a political
party. State Chief Ministers who
meekly toe the high commands line
survive with ease in comparison to
those who stick to vain principles.
Once when the head of the largest
networked bank in India expressed
his dissent over entertaining an
unviable private proposal, the
Minister told him, Look, I may be in
power for only another three years.
But remember I can spoil your
career of over thirty years.
Sivamani Vasudevan,
Chennai
Discretion may be the better part of
valour but the fact is that no self-
respecting Chief Minister will bow
to the diktats and unreasonable
demands of the Centre. Former
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.G.
Ramachandran did not take on the
Centre as he wanted a fairly free run
for his State. His genial nature might
have helped him politically but
independent-minded Chief
Ministers like Jyoti Basu,
Ramakrishna Hegde and N.T. Rama
Rao were certainly not at the beck
and call of the Centre and always
held on to their views and opinions.
The country dearly wants such
Chief Ministers who command
respect.
C.G. Kuriakose,
Kothamangalam, Kerala
MGRs logic of never fight with
Delhi cannot be applicable to every
political party. N.T. Rama Rao,
incidentally a veteran actor just like
MGR, focussed on the self-respect
of the State and fought the Congress
on many an occasion. The Telugu
Desam could well be the only
regional party in the south which
challenged the mighty Centre.
N.S. Praveen,
Vijayawada
Women judges and judiciary
The anguish expressed by former
judge of the Madras High Court
Prabha Sridevan over the
inadequate representation of
women jurists in the Indian
judiciary is understandable
(Judiciary, an old boys club,
March 30). As one who has served
in senior positions in the banking
industry, I can say that most of my
women oicers have proved to be as
highly responsible and diligent, if
not better, as their male
counterparts in executing work
entrusted to them. This was
especially reflected in data and
numbers, the backbone of banking. I
am sure that this approach to work
should also apply to women jurists.
Tharcius S. Fernando,
Chennai
On the margins
While one decries the conditions in
Deonar, I have a few questions for
the writer (On the margins in a city
of dreams, March 31). How does he
justify rural migrants occupying
prime land in Mumbai as squatters
when the urban Mumbaikar in the
same or adjoining areas has to shell
out crores of rupees to buy land
there? Second, given that there is
drought and scarcity in villages, and
migrants are continuously pouring
in looking for work, the city is
bound to turn into a vast, heaving
shanty town. Is this what we want
for the economic capital of our
country? Third, with fast growing
numbers of migrants, can we really
demand that the city administration
provide them health services,
education, piped water, sanitation
and everything else that it is barely
able to provide for the existing
population? It is imperative that we
argue instead for slums in central
areas to go and satellite towns be
created so that the lakhs of people
who keep the city moving can
come into work every day. This is
done efectively in cities like Tokyo.
Malathi Chidambaram,
Bengaluru
Our unsustainable model of
development not only creates
tonnes of garbage that degrade the
environment but also pushes a large
number of people to live in abysmal
conditions. The city-centred
development followed by elite
India since Independence has
ruined more or less sustainable
village economies. The key must be
to revive our villages.
Sukumaran C.V.,
Palakkad
Employment growth
The report that job growth in India
is slowing down should not surprise
anyone as it is the expected fallout
of the policies being pursued by
successive governments since the
1990s in the name of globalisation,
privatisation and liberalisation
(Employment growth slows to six-
year low, March 31). Such policies
and programmes have only
increased the personal wealth of a
privileged few who also wield great
and disproportionate influence in
politics. Growth will sufer a serious
setback in the absence of a solid
domestic market which is
dependent on spending power as
well as employment. Even with
limited legal protection for
organised labour, employers are
still able to have their way.
A.G. Rajmohan,
Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh
ND-ND
 PERSPECTIVE | 13
NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

HOMELAND
Nasty surprises Who will heal our drug industry?
There has been little done by either the influential pharmaceutical industry or the
in the sky
JOSY JOSEPH
government to improve the quality of medicines sold in less-regulated markets like India
DINESH S. THAKUR

Seif Eldin Mustafa, the 59-year-old lovelorn individual who On March 11, the Supreme
hijacked Egypt Air flight MS181 from Alexandria to Cairo Court dismissed two Public
early this week, may have provided a rare comical interlude to Interest Litigations (PILs)
the bloody history of aircraft hijacking, which enjoys dispro- that I had filed praying for an
portionate global attention. urgent reform of Indias drug
Terrorists, political activists, and even pilots themselves regulatory framework. Both
have used acts of air piracy to grab global attention, ensure the release of PILs were part of an efort that I personally
dreaded terrorists and get their other demands met. funded and led for the last two and a half
However, the growing trend in recent years of terrorists crashing the years. The motivation for both PILs came
plane has resulted in a new level of threat that cannot be countered fully directly from my experience as a whistle-
through metal detectors and body scanners alone. The popularity of sui- blower in the Ranbaxy case. The data fab-
cide terrorism among extremist movements has ensured that air travel is rication and duplicity that I discovered at
no longer what it once was. Ranbaxy led me to resign from the compa-
On September 11, 2001 when 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked American ny and report the violation of law to the
Airlines flights 11 and 77, and United Airlines flights 175 and 93, airline hi- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USF-
jacking entered this new deadly era. The hijacking was diferent from the DA). That case ended with penalties of
earlier ones for several reasons. One, the terrorists took control of the $500 million on Ranbaxy and, more im-
flights and flew them, unlike most other incidents in which pilots are forced portantly, led to an increased scrutiny by
to fly according to the hijackers demands. Two, unlike in the past when hi- the USFDA and other foreign regulators.
jackers used passengers as hostages to make demands, the four planes were This also resulted in a heightened focus on
used as flying missiles. Only one missed the target flight 93 that crashed quality-related issues within the Indian
to the ground when passengers and crew resisted the terrorists who prob- pharmaceutical industry.
ably were flying to the While House or the Unfortunately, the entire focus on im-
Capitol Hill. With the death of around 3,000 The air terrorism of proving quality has been targeted at only
people, it was not just the deadliest hijack- those manufacturing facilities that make
ing episode since airplanes took to the skies recent years has
ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN
products for export to lucrative Western
more than a century ago, but also changed thrown up a new markets. There has been little done by ei- What we discovered was alarming be- expert committees beginning in the
the nature of hijacking itself, giving it a ther the industry or the government to im- cause the issue was worse than I had ever The effects of such year 1955 have repeatedly recommend-
deadly twist. level of threat that prove the quality of medicines sold in less- imagined. Successive reports of the substandard drugs include ed that licensing be made centralised. Fur-
Within years of the birth of aviation, sin- cannot be countered regulated markets like India and its Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) a growing antibiotic ther, two legislative eforts in 2007 and
ister minds figured out that the act of hi- poorer neighbours in Asia and in Africa. had found an alarmingly high rate of sub- 2013 to centralise such regulations failed
jacking in the air has great impact, far more fully through metal standard medicines being prescribed in resistance and the birth of because of sabotage by the Indian pharma-
than such acts anywhere else. A couple of Negative health outcomes publicly-funded programmes like the deadly superbugs ceutical industry.
hundred people dying in an air crash will detectors and body As an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), it Central Government Health Scheme The PILs I filed ofered the best chance
grab more media and public attention than scanners alone alarmed me that substandard medicines (CGHS) and places like the Railway Hos- This consistent pattern of the govern- to start with a clean slate. As we see from
same number dying on ground. This could were causing negative health outcomes, pitals and the Armed Forces Medical ment ignoring recommendations by its the arguments being profered by the in-
well be linked to human fascination with air travel. an increasing antibiotic resistance and a Stores Depots (AFMSD). The CAGs audit own experts is mirrored in the enforce- dustry to challenge the ban on the Fixed
Starting in 1931, there have been innumerable hijackings, some of them at- waste of public money. I initially tried ap- report of the AFMSD, which serves our ment of Indias existing, already weak, Dose Combinations in the Delhi High
tributed to purely personal reasons. In one of the biggest mysteries, in 1971 a proaching the government to highlight the Armed Forces Personnel and their fam- drug regulations. We found that investiga- Court, it is a daunting process to reform
hijacker of a Boeing 727 flight collected a ransom of $200,000 and parachut- issues. In 2014, I managed to secure a ilies, showed the percentage of locally pro- tions conduced by drug inspectors in indi- the system. And the matter before the
ed out of the plane, never to be arrested. meeting with the then Health Minister. He cured substandard drugs at a high 32 per vidual States were mostly a sham since court is only a small slice of the bigger
Many of the hijackings were for political reasons. Of all those incidents, appeared to be uninterested. I then spent cent in one year. they lacked the necessary resources to co- problem. There is complicity in the cre-
the memory of one endures in public imagination that of the hijacking of the next two years meeting or trying to A Parliamentary Standing Committee ordinate their activities across diferent ation of this dysfunctional system
an Air France plane flying from Tel Aviv to Paris in 1976. The plane was tak- meet retired and serving bureaucrats in Report in 2012 had discovered that Eu- States. Often, the manufacturer would be amongst all levels of the oicial machinery
en to the Entebbe airport in Uganda, with the hijackers demanding the re- the Ministry of Health to impress upon ropean companies were selling medicines located in Himachal Pradesh or Uttarak- and the current regulatory framework is
lease of a total of 53 pro-Palestinian prisoners. Israel began negotiations but them the urgent need for reform. The uni- in India that had not been approved in hand and the substandard drug would be riddled with holes.
ended it with a daring commando raid. formly consistent answer I received com- their home countries, or, for that matter, in sold in States like Karnataka or Maharash- The efects of substandard medicines
The Israel Defence Force sent 190 commandos and 10 vehicles in four prised an advice to approach the Supreme any developed country. A subsequent re- tra. Only a minority of such cases resulted and poor drug regulations that lead to
transport aircrafts, under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Ne- Court through a PIL. I was told that the port noted that the Ministry of Health had in a prosecution. Even in those cases, judg- their sale are similar to the efects of cli-
tanyahu, a veteran of many commando raids. He became a national hero fol- pharmaceutical industry is politically ve- failed to investigate the oicials who es wilfully ignored the mandatory sen- mate change. They are diicult to quantify
lowing his death in the raid, and ultimately, his heroism helped his brother ry powerful and has used its influence in granted such illegal approvals despite the tencing provisions of at least one year of and sometimes hard to prove but this is
Benjamin, who is now the Israeli Prime Minister, to build a flourishing po- the past to block reforms initiated by the Ministry giving a written commitment to imprisonment, preferring instead a sim- certainly not a mere academic issue. Apart
litical career. government. As a result, I re-focussed my Parliament. ple imprisonment till the rising of the from a failure to cure diseases, the efects
Palestine militants have struck closer home, when they hijacked Pan AM energies on working with a team of law- The story of ignored recommendations court. This allowed the convicted person of such substandard drugs include grow-
flight 73 at Karachi on September 5, 1986. The hijacking ended in the death yers to lay the ground work for the PILs repeated itself in the case of the Expert to walk free as soon as the judge rose for ing antibiotic resistance and the birth of
of 22 people, including Neerja Bhanot. that were heard earlier this month. Committee headed by Dr. V.M. Katoch in the day. Monetary fines were in a lenient deathly superbugs. The long-term efects
South Asia has seen its fair share of hijacking for political reasons. One of This was a diicult, expensive and time- 2012 and another Expert Committee head- five-digit range for products worth lakhs will be devastating to public health, espe-
the most bewildering of them took place on August 20, 1971, when Flight consuming process. There are no academ- ed by Dr. Ranjit Roy Chaudhury in 2013. or crores. After a comprehensive study, it cially to the poor and vulnerable.
Lieutenant Matiur Rahman, attempting to escape Pakistan to join Bangla- ic bodies or think tanks which have re- The latter had recommended making was clear to us that the system was dys- Keeping in mind the catastrophe sub-
deshs Liberation War, hijacked a T-33 trainer aircraft, after knocking down searched the issues with focus on Indias mandatory basic quality testing such as functional at every stage. standard medicines pose to the health of
Pilot Oicer Rashid Minhas, still under training, on the front seat. drug regulatory framework. bioequivalence studies for all generic What made matters worse was that even my family, my friends and my fellow citi-
Rahman flew towards India. Minhas regained conscious soon and fought In the last few months, we embarked on drugs. The Drug Consultative Committee States like Tamil Nadu, where the drug in- zens, I approached both the government
back. The plane crashed very close the Indian border. Minhas was awarded a massive research exercise, which in- (DCC) rejected the recommendation on spectors are of a high calibre, could do lit- and the Supreme Court of India for justice.
Nishan-e-Haider, the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan and re- volved trawling through numerous gov- the grounds that India apparently lacked tle to stop the flooding in of substandard Unfortunately, the Honourable Court de-
mains its only Air Force winner of the honour till date. Rahman was given ernment reports, filing over 125 Right to the infrastructure. In the same breath, it drugs from Himachal Pradesh or Uttarak- clined to hear my plea. Where do I go now
Bir Sreshtha, the highest gallantry award of Bangladesh, and his remains Information (RTI) applications and ex- encouraged such testing for exports be- hand. This is because only the govern- to seek reforms to this dysfunctional
were brought back to Dhaka in 2006 to a heroic welcome. tracting information from diferent state cause countries like the U.S. will not ac- ments in the respective States can cancel system?
Hijackings, however, do not always produce heroes. In 1999, Indian Air- regulators on the manner of enforcement cept any drug formulation which is not the licences of the erring drug manufac- Dinesh S. Thakur is the Executive Chairman of
lines flight IC 814 was hijacked on December 24 and taken to Kandahar, of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. proven bioequivalent. turers located there. We discovered that Medassure Global Compliance Corporation.
where on December 31, India had to release three dreaded militants in ex-
change for the safe release of passengers. No one at that time could have
imagined how long the ghost of that New Years Eve would haunt Indian
politics. Many terror attacks including the one the one on Pathankot air-
base on January 2 have been executed by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM),
a terror group that Maulana Masood Azhar founded after his release. Azhar
was one of the three militants released following the IC 814 hijacking. Of the
The promise of crickets Afghan spring
other two, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh went on to kill journalist Daniel
Pearl and others. Afghanistan played cricket in the World Cup that was at times brilliant. The game cannot
Despite Indias many encounters with hijacking, airlines and airports
here have recorded an impressive track record of late. There has not been a
aford to have Test-playing nations shut the door on them till the next ICC event
single hijacking incident in recent years.
In the wake of the 1999 incident, India has taken a very tough anti-hijack- SHREEDUTTA CHIDANANDA one-day games against Nepal in the World
ing stance, averring that it will not negotiate with hijackers and making pro- Cricket League and one more four-day
vision for the death penalty. When they returned home game against Afghanistan, a crestfallen
However, given the fact that airplanes remain a crucial element of human from the ICC World T20 on captain, Peter Borren, said later. That is
progress and travel, and given the penchant of a new generation of terror- Tuesday, Afghanistans pretty much the schedule for the rest of
ists to give up their lives so easily, it is time to discuss better ways of ensur- cricketers were welcomed the year. Its three more games this year,
ing safer air travel. After all, those who want to make trouble do not even like heroes. In Kabul, large which is Associate cricket in a nutshell.
need to smuggle in weapons onboard. crowds gathered at the air- Preston Mommsen, the Scotland cap-
josy.joseph@thehindu.co.in port and along the citys streets, waving tain, made a similar plea for more expo-
flags, cheering and dancing. The whole sure. Since the 2015 World Cup I have
country has united behind these players, played in one ODI match in 12 months,
says former India all-rounder Manoj he said after defeat to Zimbabwe. So, you
Prabhakar, now Afghanistans bowling tell me how Im going to improve my skills
coach. Everyone has been swept up in and develop as a cricketer.
FROM THE ARCHIVES the excitement.
Commercial considerations
After three narrow losses in the Super
10 stage of the World T20, Afghanistan de- There are commercial considerations
feated the West Indies by six runs in Nag- here, and it is not easy to get the worlds
(dated April 1, 1966) pur on Easter Sunday. It was the nations top sides, groaning under the weight of
first victory in international cricket over a too much cricket already, to squeeze more
businessmen and financiers major team, a Test-playing side other than into their calendars. It is also worthwhile
P.M. calls for liberal Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. to ask how much public interest there
assembled at the Economic Club,
foreign aid the Prime Minister reiterated the would be in a full-fledged series between,
Indias Prime Minister, Mrs. Indian policy of encouraging Number one sport say, Australia and Scotland. Associate
Indira Gandhi, strongly private investment and promised Cricket has been popular for some time teams are expected to dominate competi-
commended to the aid giving to consider measures for in Afghanistan. Its captain Asghar Stanik- tions at their level first as Afghanistan did
countries last night [March 30, rationalisation and simplification zai remarked two weeks ago in Kolkata this last winter, winning 10 of 14 limited-
New York] the policy of giving of procedures for operating that cricket is the number one sport in his FORMIDABLE ASSOCIATE SIDE: Afghanistans players celebrate after the fall of a West Indies overs encounters with Zimbabwe. (The
assistance to India on a scale that controls. The Indian Premier was country. In Second XI: Cricket In Its Out- wicket in Nagpur, en route to a historic victory in the ICC World T20 match. For a failure to qualify for the main draw of the
would promote an early self- repeatedly cheered by the posts, published last year, Tim Wigmore cricket team that played its first international tournament only in 2004, the countrys Asia Cup may be regarded as a blip.) A
generating growth rather than the hardboiled American writes of the celebrations following Af- performance in the series amounts to development at breakneck speed. PHOTO: AFP first step could be for Associate sides to
self-defeating policy of giving too businessmen who were as much ghanistans qualification for the 2015 play reserve teams of major nations on a
little. Addressing over 1,000 top charmed by her as by her World Cup. One of the army command- One of the International Cricket Coun- regular basis (and not occasionally).
American industrialists, answers. ers came to congratulate the team, he More games against the cil (ICC)s 38 associate members, Afghan- But cricket risks stunting its own
quotes Dr. Noor Muhammad, the then ICCs Test teams are istan has done well to get this far, but more growth if an efort is not made to spread
chief executive of the Afghan Cricket needed if cricket has to games against the ICCs 10 Full Member the game wider and deeper. The 2007
Board, as saying. He told me that it was (Test-playing) teams are essential if it has World Cup had 16 teams; 2011 and 2015 had
the first time that both the Taliban side grow in Associate member to grow further. How this will be achieved 14; the next edition is slated to have 10.
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS and our side were shooting, but not at countries like Afghanistan is the big question. It is a question that The World T20, thus far a biennial event,
each other. There was shooting in the air hangs over Associate cricket as a whole. will hereafter be staged once every four
>>Why Chhattisgarh wants this researcher out (March 30, 2016) errone- to celebrate the success of the Afghanis- nikzais half-century against Sri Lanka Since its first limited-overs international years. There is an argument to be made
ously said Bellamlendra village is in Sukma district. It should have been Bija- tan national team. and Mohammad Shahzads unrestrained in April 2009, Afghanistan has played only for restricting an elite competition to the
pur district. But Afghanistans performance at the assault on South Africa but there was a 18 more against the top eight. And only best sides, but in the absence of much bi-
2016 World T20 is more than just a heart- method, a plan to things, even if the field- six of those games have come outside lateral cricket between Associate and top
warming tale of plucky men from a trou- ing was a little shabby. World Cups and World T20s. They Full Member teams, such news is
It is the policy of The Hindu to correct significant errors as soon as bled land; nor is it just about the win over Earlier, they used to play for fun, says havent got that many opportunities to disheartening.
possible. the West Indies, an opponent that may be Prabhakar. They were not answerable for play against big teams, Inzamam said in Last year, Japan produced one of the
Please specify the edition (place of publication), date and page. accused of having taken its foot of the gas their performances. Now they have be- Nagpur. But they have talent, passion greatest upsets in rugby history after
The Readers Editors oice can be contacted by at that stage. Stanikzais side ran Sri Lanka come answerable. Inzy bhai [Inzamam- everything. stunning South Africa at the World Cup.
Telephone: +91-44-28418297/28576300 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to and England close and with a little ul-Haq, the coach] and I wanted to ensure Indeed, the format of the World T20 it- The presence of the Japanese side had an
Friday); more refinement could have beaten both that. self was not kind to Associate teams, who, undeniably uplifting efect on the tourna-
Fax: +91-44-28552963; and delivered South Africa a brief but Late last year, the Afghanistan team after having played six matches in the ment.
E-mail:readerseditor@thehindu.co.in definite scare. For a cricket team that shifted base to Noida after signing a Mem- Qualifier tournament last year, had to Afghanistans players have accom-
Mail: Readers Editor, The Hindu, Kasturi Buildings, played its first international tournament orandum of Understanding (MoU) with compete in the First Round here for the plished something similar here, endear-
859 & 860 Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002, India. only in 2004 (the ACC Trophy in Malay- the Board of Control for Cricket in India two spots in the Super 10. In the case of the ing themselves to Indian crowds with
All communication must carry the full postal address and sia), this is development at breakneck (BCCI). The Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Netherlands, a years hard work was ren- their earnestness and free-spirited na-
telephone number. speed. Sports Complex is the teams home dered meaningless after an eight-run de- ture. Cricket cannot aford to shut the
No personal visits. Last month in India, the Afghans played ground now; Prabhakar believes it is the feat to Bangladesh and the abandonment door on them; it cannot aford to go stale.
The Terms of Reference for the Readers Editor are on www.thehindu.com cricket that was at times brilliant Sta- start of something good. of its second fixture. Weve got two more chidananda.shreedutta@thehindu.co.in
CM ND-ND
YK
14 | NEWS THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

FROM PAGE ONE NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT

CRPF movement leaked to

Maoists: Director-General
A civil vehicle was being
used, not a CRPF vehicle. It
was not a routine movement.
Maybe, the Maoists were
waiting for some other party,
and this particular CRPF par-
ty came early and got hit be-
cause of some confusion,
Mr. Upadhyay said.
Refuting reports of hack-
ing or mutilation of the bod-
ies by Maoists, Mr. Upadhyay
said: I have been to the spot
and saw the bodies. There
was no hacking or mutilation.
The Maoists probably want-
ed to make sure that none of
our men was alive so they
could snatch their weapons.
But there were no weapons
with our men.
Mr. Prasad said one of the
men was carrying an air-
cooler for a CRPF dog which
had fallen ill. It was the first
posting for at least two of
them.
Another senior oicer who
has participated in anti-
Maoist operations in Bastar
said the mistake the jawans
could have made was to have
stopped at a marketplace on
their way to the Bhusaras
camp. He thought the attack
to be the handiwork of the
Katekalyan area committee
of the Maoists.
It was either Maoist com-
mander Deva or Jagdish. Its
their area. Two Maoists were
in uniform and the others
were in plainclothes. Around
15-20 Maoists were present
on the spot. The driver of the
CRPF vehicle was alive even
after the explosion and was
shot dead by the Maoists. We
found AK-47 bullets at the
spot. The CRPF men had no
weapons, so the Maoists
sprayed bullets, he added.
The IED was meant either
for an anti-landmine vehicle
or a big truck, not for the ve-
hicle which was targeted on
Wednesday. The CRPF men
were not specific targets. But
the Maoists tactical counter-
ofensive campaign (TCOC)
is now going on, and they are
desperate to reach their tar-
gets. Whether the security
men were armed or not does
not matter to the ultras. The
TCOC targets are treated as
an inspiration for the lower
Maoist cadre, the oicer
said. He was sceptical of the
surprise and secret move-
ment being compromised
by an intelligence leak. He
said the vehicle could have
been identified by many in
the area and had been fre-
quently visiting CRPF camps.
You cannot keep a vehicle
hidden in this area. The lapse
was definitely a stop at a mar-
ketplace Although they
were in plainclothes and
without any weapons, it is
easy to identify the security
men from their physique,
claimed the oicer.
The Malewara market on
the Dantewada-Sukma road
has not seen any Maoist vio-
lence in the past three years.
Meanwhile, the Union gov-
ernment said Maoist vio-
lence had significantly drop-
ped over the last several
months, and this was their
first big strike in 2016. Based
on oicial figures, oicials
maintained that in 2015,
Maoist violence was the low-
est in six years.
Focus on safeguards framework
To be attended by PM Modi and U.S. President Obama, the meet will finalise five action plans
VARGHESE K. GEORGE Security experts have
Bilateral talks identified at least four types
WASHINGTON: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi arrived in the on the cards of specific threats that terror
outfits pose. These groups
U.S. capital to attend the two- could acquire a nuclear
day Nuclear Security Sum- SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT weapon from the arsenal of a
mit (NSS), an initiative of nuclear state; they could ac-
President Barack Obama to WASHINGTON: Indian officials have quire enough fissile material
coordinate international ef- indicated that Mr. Modi would have a to construct an improvised
forts to prevent terror orga- series of bilateral meetings with other nuclear device this know-
nisations from acquiring nu- world leaders on the sidelines of the how exists outside govern-
clear weapons or material. Nuclear Security Summit, but only one ments too; they could acquire
The summit will have with Prime Minister John Key of radioactive material from ci-
leaders from more than 50 New Zealand has been announced. vilian sources such as hospi-
countries and four interna- Diplomatic sources did not rule out the tals or university laboratories
tional organisations the possibility of a bilateral meeting with that could be mixed with con-
European Union, the Inter- President Obama but no details of ventional explosives to make
national Atomic Energy other meetings that Mr. Modi may a radioactive dispersal device
Agency (IAEA), the Interpol, have on his first day in Washington or dirty bomb. Terror groups
and the U.N. India will circu- were available. Mr Modi will meet could also sabotage a nuclear
late its national progress re- scientists from Laser Interferometer facility leading to large-scale
port on nuclear security Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Indian community Gravitational-wave Observatory also. loss of lives and destruction.
measures at the summit and outside his hotel in Washington on Thursday. PHOTO: PTI
Prime Minister Modi will Russian absence
make an intervention during the next U.S. President to other as a Nuclear Security to a recent report by the The strained relations be-
the plenary on April 1. The convene more summits in the Contact Group. Washington DC-based Nu- tween the U.S. and Russia has
summit begins with a ban- coming years, this years Some experts have pointed clear Threat Initiative, India led to the latter skipping the
quet hosted by Mr Obama on summit will conclude with out that the fragmentation of also has groups that want to summit. U.S. and Russia are
Thursday. the formation of five action eforts going forward may un- acquire nuclear material. two countries that have the
Since the first NSS in 2010, plans on existing internation- do the gains made by these The report that ranked India largest nuclear stockpiles
international measures have al platforms that will contin- summits. But the hope is that low in nuclear security mea- and the best experience in
reduced the risk of nuclear ue with the nuclear security the annual ministerial meet- sures, cited corruption as a dealing with them. Their dis-
theft and made the illicit eforts. ings of the IAEA that started key reason that could com- agreements could limit the
transportation of nuclear The International Atomic last year, will make nuclear promise its nuclear facilities. prospects of the internation-

Fresh allegations against Pachauri
She added that from the be-
ginning she noted a big dif-
ference in the way Pachauri
behaved around me, com-
pared to how other Indian
men behaved with me.
Pachauri would put his
hands on my waist repeated
times, he would hug me long-
er than felt comfortable,
kissed me on the cheek and
inquired about my private
life. I started feeling insecure
about his motives for hiring
me, and felt extremely un-
that Mr. Pachauri used to call
her during non-working
hours and on holidays and
and on arriving (in oice) it
became evident that he had
no specific task for me.
The tipping point came
when he said that I should
join him in his summer house
outside of the city for the
weekend. It would have just
been him and me there, since
he made it very clear that his
wife was out of town. At this
point I felt genuinely scared
firm limit, she wrote.
The woman also said that
when she spoke about her ex-
perience she found out from
many sources that this was
nothing new and Mr. Pachau-
ri had been involved in many
similar situations.
My contract, which was
for a period of 1 year, was
abruptly terminated after a
period of just 4 months. I felt
very relieved that I would not
have to face Pachauris sexual
harassment any longer. I left
material diicult. Energy Agency (IAEA), the security part of its top agen-
Around 3800 kg of vulner- INTERPOL, the U.N., the da.The second IAEA minis-
able fissile material has been Global Partnership Against terial meeting is in December
The government of India
does not take this report seri-
ously, but U.S. oicials re-
al cooperation on the issue.
The U.S. oicials who said
they were disappointed by
secured and 329 sea and air- the Spread of Weapons and 2016. peatedly cite it to make vari- the Russian decision, howev-
ports around the world now Materials of Mass Destruc- ous points. Indias nuclear er, pointed out that coopera-
scan cargo for radioactivity. tion, and the Global Initiative India vulnerable materials security condi- tion between the two coun-
But the spectre of terror- to Combat Nuclear Terror- India is a source of nuclear tions could be improved by tries continues despite the
ism has only grown bigger in ism will coordinate the global material and a potential tar- strengthening laws and regu- tension. They point to the
the meantime as the Islamic cooperation on nuclear secu- get of nuclear terrorism. lations for on-site physical fact that Russia took the re-
State has more resolve and rity. After this years summit, While India takes pride in the protection, control and ac- sponsibility to remove the
resources to seek a nuclear the network of sherpas, or the security of its nuclear instal- counting, and mitigating the highly enriched uranium
weapon than Al-Qaeda ever expert oicials from diferent lations, orphan sources i.e insider threat, and ensuring from Iran recently, is cooper-
had. countries, who have been devices with radioactive ma- protection of materials dur- ating on the New START
helping their leaders prepare terials outside regulatory and ing transport is in line with Treaty and has removed 1,300
Contact group for these summits, will con- security measures could IAEA guidance, the report tons of chemical weapons
While it will be open for tinue to coordinate with each pose serious risks. According said. from Syria in recent years.

Kerry hails Indias role in securing its nuclear material

comfortable being around
him, read the email.
The woman also claimed
India opts not to join terror database
The aim was to sign the
pact in the next Homeland
Security Dialogue to be at-
tended by Home Minister
Rajnath Singh and his U.S.
counterpart Jeh Johnson,
Secretary of Homeland
Security.
However, the proposed
agreement has now been
dropped from the agenda re-
portedly due to the objec-
Call drops within 2% limit, telcos tell SC
LEGAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Cellular operators
on Thursday questioned the
Telecom Regulatory Author-
ity of India's (TRAI) move to
penalise them with the new
call drops regulations when
they had never exceeded the
two per cent margin for errors
fixed by the telecom regulator.
Telecom service providers
have never crossed the thresh-
old limit of two per cent call
drop and TRAI cannot adopt a
policy of zero tolerance of pe-
nalising for every call drop.
The telecom regular cannot
of what his motives for invit-
ing me over were, and I de-
cided to speak out and set a
tions from Indian intelli-
gence agencies. It has been
taken of from the agenda,
said a senior oicer privy to
the development.
On Tuesday, the issue of
the terror database was not
discussed at all during a pre-
paratory meeting for the
Homeland Security Dia-
logue attended by Assistant
Secretary in the U.S. Depart-
levy penalty through regula-
tions, senior advocate Kapil
Sibal appearing for the Cellu-
lar Operators Association of
India (COAI) submitted in the
Supreme Court.
A Bench of Justices Kurian
Joseph and Rohinton Nariman
is hearing a challenge posed
by the COAI to TRAI's contro-
versial Telecom Consumers
Protection (9th Amendment)
Regulations, 2015. The regula-
tions make telcos liable to
compensate consumers for
call drops from January 2016.
Mr. Sibal said the regula-
tions were sheer populism
New Delhi a few weeks after
this and returned to Europe,
she wrote.
ment of Homeland Security
Alan Bersin and Additional
Secretary in the Ministry of
Home Afairs M. Gopal Red-
dy. The U.S. has already fi-
nalised such agreements
with 30 countries.
The database includes
name of the terror suspect,
nationality, date of birth,
photos, finger prints (if any),
and passport number.
on the government's part.
In the maiden hearing of the
case on March 17, the senior
advocate had argued that the
very fact that the TRAI gave
two percent margin for errors
meant it accepted the inevita-
bility of call drops. So now
how can they push us with
these regulations? Mr. Sibal
had asked. Additional Solic-
itor General P.S. Narasimha,
for TRAI, said he would in due
course address the Bench on
TRAIs stand to the court's
query as to whether the tele-
com regulator would consider
amending the regulations.
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON: India has a very
important role to play in securing
nuclear weapons and nuclear
materials, said U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry. India has a long
record of being a leader, of being
responsible, Mr Kerry said, after a
meeting with Indian National
Security Advisor Ajit Doval, at the
Pakistan team wraps
up its probe in India
NATIONAL BUREAU
NEW DELHI: Pakistans Joint In-
vestigation Team (JIT), which
was here to probe the Pathan-
kot terror strike, wrapped up
its investigations on Thurs-
day. The team will leave for
Pakistan on Friday.
On Thursday, the JIT re-
corded statements of 13 wit-
nesses, including former Gur-
daspur SP Salwinder Singh,
whose vehicle was snatched
by the Jaish-e-Mohammad
terrorists to reach the Pathan-
kot Airbase.
The JIT recorded the state-
ments of witnesses through
State Department ahead of the
Nuclear Security Summit. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi is
attending the summit on Thursday
and Friday.
..India has a very important
role to play with respect to
responsible stewardship of nuclear
weapons and nuclear materials.
India has a long record of being a
leader, of being responsible, and it
the National Investigation
Agency (NIA).
They were not allowed to
directly question the witness-
es, as per protocol, said an
NIA oicial.
The JIT had asked NIA to
hand over swabs of four ter-
rorists identified as Nasir
Hussain (Punjab province),
Abu Bakar, (Gujranwala),
Umar Farooq and Abdul Qay-
um (both from Sindh).
However, the Indian anti-
terror probe agency handed
over to the visitors the DNA
report of the terrorists and
asked them to match those
with their family members.
is particularly important right now
at a time when we see in the
region some choices being made
that may accelerate possible arms
construction, which we have
serious questions about Mr
Kerry said.
Weve raised them with various
partners in the region. So our hope
is that this Nuclear Security
Summit will contribute to
Iran-Pak. spar over arrested Indian
KALLOL BHATTACHERJEE
NEW DELHI: A war of words
broke out between Pakistan
and Iran on Thursday after
Islamabad asked Tehran to
hand over details of the ar-
rested former Indian Navy
oicer, accused of sabotage
and terrorism by Pakistan.
Pakistans demands from
Iran follows the March 27
video confession by the
purported Indian citizen
who claimed that he was
based in the Iranian port of
Chabahar and wanted to dis-
rupt the port facilities in Pa-
kistans Balochistan
province.
On Thursday, the Pakista-
ni media reported the Minis-
everybodys understanding about
our global responsibilities and
choices, he said, in an oblique
reference to Pakistans deployment
of battlefield nuclear weapons.
The U.S. has repeatedly said
battlefield deployments make
nuclear weapons vulnerable to
theft and sabotage and has called
upon Pakistan to desist from the
move. Pakistan has turned down
try of Foreign Afairs spo-
kesperson saying that
Iranian Ambassador to Pa-
kistan Mehdi Honardoost
has received a formal re-
quest to share details of the
activities in Chabahar by the
Indian and his alleged ac-
complice, Rakesh alias
Rizwan.
In response, the Iranian
embassy in Islamabad has
put out a strongly-worded
public statement saying,
The Embassy of the Islamic
Republic of Iran believes
spreading of such news
items is the product of
thinking which does not like
further expansion of ties be-
tween the two countries.
The Iranian statement de-
the U.S. request.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif, who was scheduled to
participate in the summit,
cancelled his visit after the Easter
Sunday terror strike in Lahore.
Mr Doval said Mr. Modi was
deeply interested in seeing and
ensuring that the safety and
security of the radioactive material
must be ensured.
scribed the reports connect-
ing the arrested Indian with
Iran as undignified and
insulting.
However, Pakistans spo-
kesperson Nafees Zakaria
announced the plan to carry
out an international cam-
paign with the help of the
video confession and
prove Indian involvement in
terrorist acts being commit-
ted on Pakistani soil.
The issue of the detained
Indian also featured in the
press conference addressed
by Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani in Islamabad last
weekend when he rejected
that the issue was discussed
bilaterally between Pakistan
and Iran during his visit.

ED files first
charge sheet in
Saradha scam
INDRANI DUTTA
KOLKATA: Just when everyone
was wondering whether the
Saradha probe was being soft-
pedalled, the Enforcement
Directorate filed its first
charge sheet, four days before
West Bengal goes to the polls.
The ED filed a criminal
complaint under provisions
of the Prevention of Money
Laundering Act, 2002 against
the former Trinamool Rajya
Sabha MP Srinjoy Bose, a for-
mer Minister Matang Sinh
and his estranged wife and Sa-
radha chief Sudipta Sen, be-
sides six others.
All those accused in the
complaint, have either been
arrested by the ED or the CBI,
according to a press release.
The charge sheet was filed be-
fore a designated PMLA
Court here. Sudipta Sens wife
and son have also been named
in the charge sheet which has
also named 11 companies that
belong to the accused per-
sons. The release said that
properties with a market val-
ue of over Rs. 500 crore have
been attached by the ED.
These are located in West
Bengal, Assam, New Delhi,
U.P. and Maharashtra.
CM
YK
Uttarakhand rebels rule out
return to Congress party
KAVITA UPADHYAY
DEHRADUN: Former Chief Minis-
ter Vijay Bahuguna, on his re-
turn from New Delhi, told the
media here on Thursday that
the nine Congress rebels who
stood against former Chief
Minister Harish Rawat on
March 18 were ready for a bat-
tle with him.
We are not standing behind
Harish Rawat, we are arrayed
against him, Mr. Bahuguna
said. The nine rebels voted
against the Appropriation Bill
in the Assembly on March 18,
which finally led to the dis-
lodging of the Harish Rawat-
led Congress government in
the State.
Mr. Bahuguna and Mr. Ra-
wat were rivals from the time
the former was made Chief
Minister in 2012. Mr. Rawat, af-
ter two years of trying to dis-
lodge Mr. Bahuguna, had final-
ly replaced him as Chief
Minister in February 2013. Cur-
rently, Mr. Bahuguna is among
the nine who revolted against
the Rawat government.
With the current political
and legal issues the Congress
and the BJP are facing, there
was speculation on whether
the nine would wish to return
to the party. Clarifying the
stance of the rebels, Mr. Ba-
Rebel Congress leader Vijay Bahuguna and his colleagues
addressing the media at his residence in Dehradun on Thursday.
PHOTO:PTI
huguna said there were no in-
tentions of return to the Con-
gress. We have come too far,
he said.
The nine MLAs were recent-
ly disqualified by the Uttarak-
hand Speaker Govind Singh
Kunjwal. They have appealed
in the High Court against the
disqualification, which they
called unconstitutional. A
hearing on it is scheduled for
April 1.
Stating that he was aware of
the consequences of their re-
bellion, Mr. Bahuguna said,
We took a political step. Ek
sarkar giraee hai; jaan boojh
ke giraae hai, uske conse-
quences kya hote hain ham
jante hain [We toppled a gov-
ernment intentionally and we
are aware of the consequences
of our actions].
Single-man army
Mr. Bahuguna said Mr. Ra-
wat was a single-man army.
An obsession with power is
bad and Harish Rawat has lost
friends, leaders, party workers
as a result of his obsession.
Stating that the nine MLAs
were still deciding on their fu-
ture course of action, Mr. Ba-
huguna said, We stood for the
betterment of Uttarakhand
and when it is about Uttarak-
hand then relationships or po-
litical parties dont matter.
CPI(M) delegation meets
minorities panel chief
NATIONAL BUREAU
NEW DELHI: A CPI(M) delega-
tion has submitted a memo-
randum to the National Com-
mission for Minorities
chairperson Naseem Ahmad
demanding his intervention in
the recent incident of assault
on three Muslim students in
Ramesh Enclave, Delhi.
They were reportedly
forced to chant Bharat Mata
ki Jai slogans. Mr Ahmed is
believed to have expressed his
concern over the incident and
assured the delegation mem-
bers that appropriate action
Custody of Bhujbal, nephew
extended till April 13
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
MUMBAI: The judicial custody of
former Deputy Chief Minister
and senior NCP leader Chha-
gan Bhujbal and nephew Sa-
meer, arrested in a money
laundering case, has been ex-
tended to April 13 by the Pre-
vention of Money Laundering
Act (PMLA) court on Thurs-
day.
Bhujbal, currently lodged in
Arthur Road jail, deposed via
video conference. He told the
would be taken.
The delegation comprised
CPI (M) Polit Bureau mem-
ber Brinda Karat and two oth-
er CPI (M) leaders. Con-
demning the incident as a
hate crime, the memoran-
dum said a delegation of the
partys Delhi State Committee
had met the three injured stu-
dents.
It alleged that the incident
was motivated by hostility
towards minorities and
blamed leaders of the ruling
BJP party at the Centre for
creating an atmosphere for
such crimes to occur.
court that he sufers from mul-
tiple ailments and should be al-
lowed to meet his advocate,
Amit Desai, inside the jail
without restrictions. Desai fil-
ed an application urging the
court to allow medicines,
home food and a bed for his cli-
ent keeping in mind the status
of his health.
He said Bhujbal has under-
gone angioplasty, has asthma,
arthritis, sleep apnoea and that
his blood and sugar levels have
to be monitored regularly.
Bishops wait for word from
Sushma to discuss abduction
KALLOL BHATTACHERJEE
NEW DELHI: Amidst growing
uncertainties over the fate
of an Indian priest kid-
napped in Yemen, the Ca-
tholic Bishops Conference
of India (CBCI) told The
Hindu on Thursday that
they have been waiting for
five days for a personal
meeting with the External
Afairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj. Sushma Swaraj
However, the CBCI in-
formed that a senior oicial sisting Indians stuck in dii-
from the PMO has assured cult conditions abroad, has
them that the government is faced criticism from Con-
tracking the condition of the gress leader Manish Tewari
priest, Father Tom Uzhun- for what he cited as a de-
nalil, who went missing on layed government response
March 4 following a brutal in the case of Father Uzhun-
attack by the IS on a care nalil. On Wednesday, a
home run by the Missionar- Twitter row broke out be-
ies of Charity. tween the two when Mr. Te-
We are confident that the wari pointed out that the
Minister will grant us an op- MEA has not done all it
portunity to discuss the sta- could do to help Father Uz-
tus of Father Tom Uzhunna- hunnalil.
lil, Joseph Chinnayyan of In response, Ms. Swaraj
CBCI, told The Hindu em- tweeted, Friends - I have
phasising that they were liked some tweets. Please
hopeful that Father Uzhun- judge them yourself and re-
nalil was alive despite ru- ply to @manishtewari.
mours about his death circu- The Ministers response
lating in the Web since Good was regarded by Mr. Tewari
Friday. as an invite to the govern-
Ms. Swaraj, who is known ments online supporters to
to act promptly in case of as- defend her.
ND-ND
NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016 ASSEMBLY POLLS | 15

2016

The campaign speeches of Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJPs prize catch from the Congress in Assam on election eve, are full of references to identity, land and base

Jati, Mati, Bheti, and Sarmas invocations of war glory

ABDUS SALAM sters who have gathered around the advancing Mughal Army on
take selfies with him. Those are the Brahmaputra at Saraighat in

B
eing a perennial number 2 can be
unnerving for many, but not for
the convener of the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Partys election manage-
ment committee for the Assam
elections. Twenty-three years in
the Congress, Assam Chief Min-
ister Tarun Gogois de facto sec-
ond-in-command and the archi-
tect of the partys three
back-to-back victories since
2001, Himanta Biswa Sarma sud-
denly finds himself on
the other side, playing
undercard to Sarba-
nanda Sonowal, the
man the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party has chosen
as its chief ministerial
face as it seeks to win
Assam for the first
time.
Mr. Sarma joined
the BJP in August 2015,
followed by nine Congress
MLAs, and was made the cam-
paign committee convener in
November. Four months down
the line, with Mr. Sonowal hav-
ing to devote part of his energies
to his constituency,
Majuli, which goes to
the polls in the first
CAMPAIGN phase, its Mr. Sarma
that the BJPs central
TRAIL leadership and candi-
dates are turning to
hectic tour for crisis manage-
ment, feedback and
ear-to-the-ground
counsel. He is touring
first-phase constituencies ex-
tensively on a four-seat helicop-
ter exclusively assigned to him,
mostly canvassing in Upper As-
sam but making a few sorties in-
to the Barak Valley as well.
Even before we take of from
the Khanapara Veterinary
Ground, Mr. Sarma is attending a
flurry of calls at his Zoo Road
residence while letting young-
doubtful constituencies, he an-
swers a call from Delhi. On the
road after a short-haul flight, in
hops Rupak Sharma, the candi-
date from the Nagaon constitu-
ency. He wants a grand rally with
BJPs central leaders, including
Smriti Irani, to give his cam-
paign a boost. Grand rallies are
fine, Mr. Sarma tells him, but
they do not fetch you votes;
many turn up merely to see the
star campaigners. Fo-
cus on the booths, hit
the road, connect with
as many voters as you
can, he adds. You
dont need to worry
about Majuli [constit-
uency], Sarba da, he
tells Mr. Sonowal over
the phone after the
Nagaon candidate got
of en route another
chopper ride that will take us to
Dhemaji, the site of Mr. Sarmas
first rally.
Contours of a speech
A modest crowd including
men in dhotis or gamochas,
women in mekhela-chador, and
even schoolgirls in uniform
has gathered in the middle of a
field as the chopper lands in an
adjoining makeshift helipad. Its
a sunny morning, bordering on
hot, but the crowd gets animated
as Mr. Sarma steps out and is es-
corted to the stage.
This election is an election
like no other. There is a man
called Badruddin Ajmal [All In-
dia United Democratic Front
chief] who wants to be CM. In
Lower Assam, there are areas
whose face has changed in the
past 25 years. Borduwa, in Na-
gaon, is the birthplace of [Assa-
mese Vaishnavite saint-reform-
er] Srimanta Sankardeva. There
was a time when an aspiring
Supporters greet BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sharma during an election rally in Jorhat district of Assam. PHOTO: RITU RAJ KONWAR
MLA would go to Batadrava sa-
tra [in Nagaon] to seek blessings
before launching ones cam-
paign. Now, whoever want to be
MLA, they have to ask for dua
[prayers] from Ajmal. This elec-
tion, we have to stop Badruddin
Ajmal. We wont let him enter
Dispur [the States administra-
tive capital, in Guwahati]. It is a
fight for our jati, mati, bheti
[identity, land and base], he
says. He ridicules the State gov-
ernments electoral ploy of dis-
tributing xuta-kombol (thread
for weaving and blankets), say-
ing it only has sops to ofer com-
mon people while the Congress
leaders turn the party into a fief
of families.
Its time for competitive
promises. The BJP would also
ofer the people xuta-kombol, he
says, but of a diferent kind. It
would ofer jobs to the unem-
ployed youth so that they can
buy their parents thread and
blankets. If the Gogoi govern-
ment is ofering rice at Rs. 3 a kg,
the BJP government would bring
rice to the doorstep at Rs. 2 a kg;
if the Congress gives college-go-
ing girls bicycles, the BJP would
take a leaf out of Gujarat and of-
fer them Scootys (motorised,
un-geared two-wheelers); if the
womens self-help groups are
getting Rs. 5,000, they would un-
der BJP rule have a seed capital
of Rs. 5 lakh. The government
would ofer up to Rs. 2 lakh as
medical assistance and Rs. 1.5
lakh towards building pucca
houses, and free education for
the girl child from college
through university.
Invoking Lachit Borphukan,
the Ahom general who defeated
AD 1671, he says this election is
the last battle of Saraighat, with
the BJP, the AGP and the Bodo-
land Peoples Front standing for
jati, mati, bheti on one side and
the forces of Chief Minister Go-
goi, flanked on either side by Mr.
Ajmal and Rockybul Hussain
(the Minister for Agriculture),
on the other.
Customisation
The Dhemaji speech schema
is revisited in subsequent rallies
through the course of the day at
Dhakuakhana in Lakhimpur dis-
trict and Behali, Biswanath
Chariali, Rangapara and Borsola
in Sonitpur district, with on-the-
spot improvisations and local
customisation.
Between rallies, and from one
chopper and car ride to another,
I ask Mr. Sarma about his transi-
tion into the BJP (I havent had
time to think, it was get-go with
the elections from Day One);
about if the Congress knows its
long-time strategists moves in-
side out (The Congress is itself
deviating from its winning strat-
egy, which is that the campaign
must have a positive message);
about how he sees the BJP alli-
ances prospects (This is my
fifth election; I can sense a wave
when I see one and this is);
about the BJPs campaign mess-
age (Identity and aspiration
[for development]); about his
equation with Mr. Sonowal, orig-
inally from the AGP (We go
back a long way, I was general
secretary of the Guwahati chap-
ter when he was AASU [All As-
sam Students Union] presi-
dent); and about why the BJP is
targeting Mr. Ajmal (He repre-
sents a threat to our indigenous
culture with his communal poli-
tics).
abdus.salam@thehindu.co.in

BJP rule in Assam will disrupt peace: Rahul SEAT-SHARING

DIGBOI (ASSAM): Prime Minister

Narendra Modi talked about
bringing back black money
from overseas; then why are
liquor baron Vijay Mallya and
former IPL chief Lalit Modi
still abroad, Congress vice-
president Rahul Gandhi
asked on Thursday.
Addressing an election
meeting here, Mr. Gandhi said
two or three days before his
departure, Mallya met Fi-
nance Minister Arun Jaitley in
Parliament House. What dis-
cussion took place between
them?
He said the BJP govern-
ment had launched kala
dhan ko safed karlo (convert
your black money into white)
scheme while Mr. Modi talked
about fighting black money.
He was referring to the new
amnesty scheme announced
in the Union Budget for black
money holders to come clean.
I have named it the fair
and lovely scheme because
any gangster, militant, crimi-
nal in India could convert
their black money into white
TRIBAL COLOURS: Girls from Assam tribes welcome Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to a
meeting at Moran in Dibrugarh district of the State on Thursday. PHOTO: RITU RAJ KONWAR
by just going to the govern-
ment and paying a minimum
tax on it.
Continuing his attack on
Mr. Modi, the Congress vice-
president said: When Modi
comes here he talks of devel-
opment, but can there be de-
velopment when an Indian is
made to fight another Indian?
On the other hand, we Con-
gress live with love with one
another. This is the difer-
ence.
BJP-AGP leaders will
bring back what prevailed in
the State 15 years ago. There
had only been sad news, of vi-
olence, of people dying till the
Congress came and restored
peace, he said.
Congress brought peace
There was no talk of pro-
gress or development in As-
sam during the Asom Gana
Parishad (AGP) rule, he said
at another election rally in
Moran.
Business people here told
me they are afraid that Assam
will go back to those days
when people were scared to
step out of homes. There were
kidnappings, ransom de-
mands, extortions and fam-
ilies were worried about their
members return, Mr. Gandhi
said. The Congress came and
brought peace back to Assam.
It was no easy job. Without
peace and brotherhood there
can be no development, he
said.
The BJP creates violence
in whichever State it forms
government, he said. PTI
Congress may take a call
on DMKs ofer today
MEHBOOB JEELANI
of the screening commit-
NEW DELHI: The screening
committee of the Congress
is likely to meet on Friday to
decide whether to accept
the Dravida Munnetra Kaz-
hagams ofer of 30 seats to
keep their alliance in Tamil
Nadu going.
The alliance
talks are going
through a delicate
phase as the dead-
lock over the seat-
sharing agreement
became harder
this week.
The Congress
did not respond
immediately to the DMKs
ofer as its president, Sonia figure out whether to ac-
Gandhi, and vice-president,
Rahul Gandhi, were busy
campaigning in Assam. In
their absence, the members
dent EVKS Elangovan has
tee who would determine
the future of this alliance
could not meet. There is
no communication [with
the DMK] since last Satur-
day, said a senior party
leader overseeing the cam-
paigns in Tamil
Nadu and Kerala.
Congress sourc-
es said the party
president and vice-
president were
scheduled to be
back by Thursday
evening and the
committee mem-
bers were likely to
meet on Friday morning to
Congress leader, is willing
cept the DMKs ofer or ne-
gotiate further.
Tamil Nadu Pradesh
Congress Committee presi-
been summoned in Delhi to
brief Mr. Gandhi about
whether the DMKs ofer
would help the party gain
some ground or hurt its fu-
ture prospects in the State.
Though confirming his ar-
rival in Delhi, he told The
Hindu that he would have
a clearer picture by the end
of this week.
So far, the party has been
insisting on 63 seats, the
same number it got in the
2011 Assembly elections
when the two parties joined
hands to fight the
AIADMK.
The DMK, says a senior
to grant only 30 seats be-
cause the party considers
Congress as a spent force.

AASU cut up with BJP,
Congress and AIUDF
TEZPUR: The All Assam Stu-
dents Union (AASU), the
students movement of the
1980s that gave birth to the
Asom Gana Parishad (AGP),
is unhappy with the BJP, but is
more worried about the All
India United Democratic
Front (AIUDF) under Ba-
druddin Ajmal, the face of
Bengali Muslims, which has
been gaining ground in suc-
cessive elections.
The AASU, which had been
in the vanguard of a bloody
movement that ended with
the Assam Accord in 1985, is
mifed with the government
at the Centre, saying nothing
came of its promised deporta-
tion of illegal immigrants
from Bangladesh.
It is equally cut up with the
Congress and is keen that the
AIUDF does not win the com-
ing elections.
The NDA government at
the Centre took all anti-As-
CM
YK
The union does not
directly engage in
politics and has cut
its ties with Asom
Gana Parishad
sam policies in the past 22
months. The BJPs stand is not
satisfactory. Assam did not
get any positive support in the
last two years, AASU general
secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi
said in an interview.
No ties with AGP
The AASU, which is direct-
ly not into politics but has
some clout with young voters
and students, has cut its um-
bilical cord with the AGP.
Mr. Gogoi acknowledged
that the AASU had oicially
asked for a change in the lead-
ership in Delhi during the
2014 Lok Sabha polls but did
not ask people to vote for a
particular party.
However, there was no
change on the ground. The
BJP had promised change in
policies on issues like hand-
over of Assams land to Ban-
gladesh, detection and depor-
tation of all infiltrators and
stopping of construction of
big dams, Mr. Gogoi said.
Asked if the AASU would
advise people to vote for any
particular party or candidate,
Mr. Gogoi said, No. Our ap-
peal to people is that they
should vote keeping in mind
the Bangladeshi problem. In-
filtrators should not gain from
this poll.
Expressing apprehension
over the rise of the AIUDF,
the AASU chief asked all in-
digenous people in Assam to
prevent Ajmal from becom-
ing a political
decision-maker.
He made a strong appeal to
the people to vote. PTI
Tactile trial Ban on exit polls
from April 4
to May 16
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
CHENNAI: The Election Com-
mission of India has im-
posed a ban on conducting
exit polls between April 4
and May 16 in the four
States and one Union Terri-
tory going to the polls dur-
ing the period.
According to the provi-
sions of Section 126 A of the
Representation of the Peo-
ple Act, 1951, exit polls can-
not be conducted and pub-
licised by means of print or
electronic media or dis-
semination in any other
manner starting from 7 a.m.
on April 4 to 6.30 p.m. on
May 16, a press note stated.
Displaying any election
matter in any electronic
media, would be prohibited
during 48 hours ending
Voters participating in a mock-voting exercise organised with the hour fixed for con-
by the Kerala Information and Public Relations clusion of poll in each of the
Department in Kodungallur on Thursday. PHOTO: K.K. NAJEEB phases.
30 candidates in Assam
have criminal record
NEW DELHI: Nearly six per cent
of the candidates contesting
in the first phase of the As-
sam elections have a criminal
record, an analysis by the As-
sociation for Democratic Re-
forms (ADR) says. The ADR
analysed the aidavits of all
539 candidates contesting in
the first phase to be held on
April 4.
Of the 539 candidates, 30,
or six per cent, have declared
criminal cases against them.
Twenty-five of them have se-
rious criminal cases, includ-
ing those related to murder,
attempt to murder, kidnap-
ping and crimes against
women.
Kushal Dowari, BJP candi-
date from the Thowra con-
stituency, and Janardan Ha-
zarika, an Independent
candidate from the Amguri
constituency, have declared
cases related to murder. Do-
wari has declared another
charge related to attempt to
murder. Another Independ-
Twenty-five of
them face serious
criminal cases
related to murder
and other offences
ent candidate, Ibungobi Sing-
ha from the Sonai Assembly
constituency, has declared a
charge related to assault or
criminal force on a woman
with intent to outrage her
modesty, while the Inde-
pendent candidate Abdul
Ahad Choudhury faces a kid-
napping case. Partywise,
eight (12 per cent) of the 65
candidates are from the Con-
gress, three of 54 from the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
and three of 27 from the All
India United Democratic
Front. One each is from the
Communist Party of India
(Marxist) and CPI (Marxist-
Leninist Liberation). Four-
teen Independents have de-
clared cases IANS
ND-ND
16 | WORLD THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Zuma breached Constitution: Court Seizure of arms wont afect

South Africas top court asks President to repay state money spent to upgrade his private home
JOHANNESBURG: South Africas
top court ordered President
Jacob Zuma on Thursday to
pay back some of the $16 mil-
lion of state money spent for
upgrading his private home,
in a stinging rebuke that hits
the scandal-plagued leader fi-
nancially and politically.
The unanimous ruling by
the 11-judge constitutional
court, a central pillar of the
democracy established at the
end of apartheid, also said Mr.
Zuma had failed to uphold,
defend and respect the Con-
stitution by ignoring Public
Protector Thuli Madonselas
findings on his sprawling resi-
dence at Nkandla in rural
KwaZulu-Natal.
In 2014, Ms. Madonsela, a
constitutionally mandated
anti-corruption watchdog,
identified a swimming pool,
cattle enclosure, chicken run,
amphitheatre and visitor cen-
tre as non-security items that
Mr. Zuma must pay for.
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mo-
goeng gave the Treasury 60
days in which to determine
their reasonable cost, after
which Mr. Zuma would have a
further 45 days to pay.
Early estimates of the costs
were 10 million rand
($6,80,000), Ms. Madonsela
said.
Besides hurting Mr. Zuma,
the ruling is a vindication for
the soft-spoken but steely
lawyer described by Justice
Mogoeng as the embod-
iment of the Biblical David
fighting against the Goliath of
state corruption. The oice
of the Public Protector is one
of the true crusaders and
champions of anti-corruption
and clean governance, Jus-
tice Mogoeng said.
Hers are indeed very wide
powers that leave no lever of
government power above
scrutiny.
In a short statement, Mr.
Zumas oice said it respected
the ruling and would deter-
mine the appropriate action
in due course.
Ms. Madonsela said the rul-
ing should help restore the
shaken faith of South Africans
and others, including inves-
tors, in the state of democracy
in the continents most ad-
vanced economy.
The judgment was some-
thing that many of us as law-
yers will cherish for the rest of
our lives, she said.
Profound lesson
The uncompromising na-
ture of his verdict Justice
Mogoeng said it carried a
profound lesson for South
Africa piles more pressure
on Mr. Zuma, whose second
term in oice is due to end in
2019.
Mr. Zuma was also ordered
to pay costs.
Standing outside the court
in downtown Johannesburg,
opposition leader Mmusi
Maimane told reporters Mr.
Zuma should be removed
from oice and said he would
BIG WIN: South African Opposition leader Mmusi Maimane (centre) of the Democratic Alliance
celebrates the courts damning verdict against President Jacob Zuma (bottom), which prompted
immediate calls for his impeachment. PHOTOS: AFP & AP
table a parliamentary motion
to have him impeached.
Mr. Zuma, a 73-year-old po-
lygamous Zulu traditionalist, tainly give President Zuma
has been under intense fire
since December when his
abrupt sacking of Finance
Minister Nhlanhla Nene sent
the rand into a tail-spin.
The rand firmed to a near-
four month high against the
dollar as Justice Mogoeng de-
livered his ruling.
The African National Con-
gress (ANC) said it was
studying the decision in detail
given the serious nature of
its findings. Its majority in
Parliament will almost cer-
political cover against any at-
tempt to impeach him, but the
judicial rebuke may embold-
en anti-Zuma factions within
the ruling party to mount a
challenge.
It's a major decision that is
going to have a significant im-
pact on our political environ-
ment, said Gary van Staden,
political analyst at NKC Afri-
can Economics. Reuters
Malaysian PM spent
millions on luxury goods
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysias belea-
guered Prime Minister Najib
Razak used state funds to buy
luxury goods worth $15 mil-
lion and pay out millions
more to political figures
ahead of the 2013 elections,
according to a media report.
The Wall Street Journal re-
ported that Mr. Najibs broth-
er, CIMB Group chairman
Nazir Razak, confirmed he
had received about $7 million
from Mr. Najib for distribu-
tion to the ruling coalition of
Barisan Nasional politicians.
The report also claimed to
have seen Malaysian investi-
gation documents which al-
legedly indicate that the ma-
jority of the funds in the
accounts of the 62-year-old
Najib originated from state
fund 1 Malaysia Development
Bhd. The entire amount was
paid out in cash to various re-
cipients according to the in-
structions of the ruling party
[Umno] President [Najib]
and the account was closed
with a zero balance, Mr. Na-
zir was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, news portal
Abdeslam to be sent to France
BRUSSELS: Belgian authorities
decided on Thursday to ex-
tradite Paris attacks suspect
explosives and ammunition,
Ruwan Gunasekara, a police
spokesperson.
stock of explosives, including
sweeping defeat for UN
Najib Razak spent $15 million
on holidays, shopping and
jewellery, according to a
report. FILE PHOTO: REUTERS
Malaysiakini said Mr. Najib
spent a total of $15 million on
holidays, shopping and jewel-
lery. The spending was alleg-
edly done at stores in the U.S.,
Malaysia, Italy and elsewhere
between 2011 and 2014.
However, 1 MDB denied
paying any funds into the per-
sonal accounts of Mr. Najib. It
also questioned the timing of
the WSJs report as it came
just days after 1MDB an-
nounced it had successfully
completed the purchase
agreement for Edra Global
Energy Bhd. PTI
by coordinated Islamic State
group bombings.
Abdeslams lawyer earlier
demilitarisation: Colombo
T. RAMAKRISHNAN
COLOMBO: The recent seizure
of a host of arms in Jafna and
Mannar of the Northern
Province will not have any
adverse bearing on the Sri
Lankan governments plan
for demilitarising the North,
according to Defence Secre-
tary Karunasena
Hettiarachchi.
It [demilitarisation] will
go on, Mr. Hettiarachchi told
The Hindu on Thursday.
However, he hastened to
add that demilitarisation is
not the right word. What we
say is right-sizing and right-
deployment of security
forces.
On Wednesday, the police
found at a house in Chava-
kachcheri a suicide kit, four
claymore mines, three par-
cels of C4 (Composition 4)
weighing 12 kg, according to
In a well in Illuppukadawai
of the Mannar district, a
Joint Opposition, a coalition
a Rocket-Propelled Grenade
UN court acquits Serb Turkish army
ultranationalist Seselj denies talk
THE HAGUE (NETHERLANDS): In a
prosecutors, the Yugoslav
war crimes tribunal acquit-
ted Serbian ultranationalist
Vojislav Seselj on Thursday
of all nine counts alleging
that he was responsible for
or incited atrocities by Ser-
bian paramilitaries in the
1990s Balkan wars.
The ruling sparked joy in
Serbia and outrage in Bosnia
and Croatia.
Prosecutors had charged
Seselj, 61, with crimes in-
cluding persecution, mur-
der and torture and had de-
manded a 28-year sentence.
But in a majority decision,
the three-judge panel said
there was insuicient evi-
dence linking the politician
himself to the crimes.
Following this verdict,
Vojislav Seselj is now a free
man, presiding judge Jean-
Claude Antonetti said at a
hearing in The Hague,
which Seselj did not attend.
Judges valued honour
At a Belgrade news con-
ference shortly after his ac-
quittal, Seselj, who defend-
ed himself throughout his
Baghdadis ex-wife wants to move to Europe
STOCKHOLM: An ex-wife of Is-
lamic State group (IS) leader
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, with
whom he had a daughter,
wants to live in Europe in
freedom, she told Swedish
daily Expressen in an inter-
view published on Thursday.
I want to live in a Europe-
an country, not an Arab coun-
Isolated instances
did not constitute
threat to national
security, says
defence secretary
launcher, was spotted. The
cache was apparently used
during the civil war. A 32-
year-old man, said to be the
owner of the Chavakachcheri
house, had been nabbed in
the neighbouring district of
Killinochchi, the spokesper-
son said.
Asked whether the latest
development came as a sur-
prise to him, the Defence
Secretary said: Not at all. On
the contrary, this only shows
the eiciency of the national
security system.
He explained that isolated
instances did not constitute
threat to national security.
The media and the Opposi-
tion are highlighting them,
but we take them on the merit
of the incident.
Already, members of the
implementation of the 13th
of parties and groups owing
Vojislav Seselj
trial and did not call a single
defence witness, said the de-
cision was the only possi-
ble one from the legal as-
pect.
After so many proceed-
ings in which innocent
Serbs were given draconian
punishments, this time two
honest judges showed they
valued honour more than
political pressure, he said.
The courts chief prosecu-
tor, Serge Brammertz, ques-
tioned a number of key find-
ings by two of the three trial
judges.
He almost certainly will
appeal, but on Thursday
said that he first has to study
the100-page ruling and its
dissenting opinions. AP
Saja al-Dulaimi
says the IS leader
is a normal family
man adored
by his children
Im branded a terrorist
but Im far from all that, la-
allegiance to former presi-
dent Mahinda Rajapaksa ar-
gue that the countrys securi-
ty was in danger.
To a query whether there
was any change in the pro-
posed visit of President
Maithripala Sirisena to the
North on Sunday, Mr. Hettia-
rachchi replied in the
negative.
Meanwhile, a study on the
status of occupation of land
by the authorities revealed
that about 12,750 acres in the
Northern Province are still
under the militarys control.
Continued land occupation
by the military and police
fuels suspicion of plans to
use land to efect demo-
graphic change and ultimate-
ly, impact electoral represen-
tation of the area. Such fears
must be addressed if the
GOSL [Government of Sri
Lanka] is genuine in its com-
mitment to reconciliation,
states the study, undertaken
by the Centre for Policy Al-
ternatives.
It recommended complete
constitutional amendment.
of putsch
ANKARA: Turkeys military on
Thursday angrily denied sug-
gestions it was planning a
coup against President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan.
Certain media outlets have
carried reports speculating
over the possibility of a mili-
tary coup in Turkey, with Mr.
Erdogan out of the country for
almost a week on a visit to the
United States.
The Turkish military has
stepped in on three occasions
to oust elected governments
in 1960, 1971 and 1980
and in 1997 also forced out Mr.
Erdogans late mentor Nec-
mettin Erbakan from the
premiership.
Discipline, unconditional
obedience and a unified chain
of command are the basis of
the Turkish armed forces,
the military said in a rare po-
litical statement on its web-
site. There can be no talk
about any illegal action that is
outside the command struc-
ture or which compromises
it, the statement added.
The military said it would
take legal action over the re-
ports, without specifying
which ones. AFP
firmed she was Baghdadis
child. Born into a well-heeled
Iraqi family, Dulaimi said she
had been married to an Iraqi
member of Saddam Hus-
seins personal guard. They
had twins together.
Widowed, she married
again in 2008, on the advice
of her father, to Bagdhadi.

Zaha Hadid, trailblazing Salah Abdeslam to France, as

bomb-damaged Brussels air-
port said it was ready to reo-
pen although flights would
said that his client had agreed
to be transferred to France
under a European arrest war-
rant, clearing the way for a
try, Saja al-Dulaimi said in
the interview filmed in
Lebanon.
mented Dulaimi. I want to
live in freedom, the 28-year-
old said, while praising Is-
lamic Sharia law which she
Dulaimi described Bagh-
dadi, who also had children
from an earlier marriage, as
a normal family man

architect, dies of heart attack not immediately resume.

Abdeslam, the sole surviv-
ing suspect in the November
fast-track extradition.
What Salah Abdeslam
wants to make known is that
A life of freedom
Dulaimi was freed several
months ago from a Lebanese
said provided freedom and
rights for women.
Her seven-year-old daugh-
adored by his children.
Baghdadi was at the time
fighting in the ranks of al-

D
ame Zaha Hadid,
the world-re-
nowned architect
whose designs in-
clude the London Olympic
aquatic centre, has died aged
65.
The British designer, who
was born in Iraq, had a heart
attack on Thursday while in
hospital in Miami, where she
was being treated for
bronchitis.
Ms. Hadids buildings
have been commissioned
around the world and she
was the first woman to re-
ceive the Royal Institute of
British Architects gold med-
al. A lengthy statement re-
leased by her company said:
It is with great sadness that
Zaha Hadid Architects have
confirmed that Dame Zaha
Hadid DBE died suddenly in
Miami in the early hours of
this morning.
She had contracted bron-
chitis earlier this week and
sufered a sudden heart at-
tack while being treated in
hospital. Zaha Hadid was
widely regarded to be the
greatest female architect in
the world today.
The London Mayor, Boris
Johnson, tweeted: So sad to
hear of death of Zaha Hadid,
she was an inspiration and
her legacy lives on in won-
derful buildings in Stratford
and around the world.
Ms. Hadid, born in Bagh-
CM
YK
terror attacks in Paris, was ar- he wants to cooperate with prison, where she had been ter, Hagar, said she wanted to Qaeda in Iraq, from which
rested in Brussels on March the French authorities. These held since 2014 with her chil- go to Europe to study. the Islamic State group was
18. Four days after his arrest, are the words he wants to dren on suspicion of links to A DNA test conducted by born. In 2010, he took over
the Belgian capital was struck make known. AFP extremist organisations. Lebanese authorities con- the reins of IS. AFP
INSPIRATION TO MILLIONS: The Iraqi-British architect became the
first woman to receive the Pritzker Prize, referred to as the
Nobel Prize of architecture, in 2004. FILE PHOTO: AP
dad in 1950, became a revolu- groundbreaking theoretical
tionary force in British archi- works. The first major build
tecture even though for commission that earned her
many years she struggled to international recognition
win commissions in the U.K. was the Vitra Fire Station in
The Iraqi government de- Weil Am Rhein, Germany
scribed her (1993).
death as an ZAHA HADID She became
irreplacea- (1950-2016) the first wom-
ble loss to an recipient of
Iraq and the global the Pritzker Architecture
community. Prize in 2004. She twice won
She studied mathematics the UKs most prestigious ar-
at the American University chitecture award, the RIBA
of Beirut before launching Stirling Prize. She was re-
her architectural career in cently awarded the Royal In-
London at the Architectural stitute of British Architects
Association. By 1979 she had 2016 royal gold medal, the
established her own practice first woman to be awarded
in London Zaha Hadid Ar- the prestigious honour in her
chitects and gained a rep- own right. Guardian
utation across the world for Newspapers Limited, 2016
ND-ND

NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016
LED bulb procurement price has
dropped to Rs.54.90 from Rs.310
just 20 months back
- PIYUSH GOYAL, Minister of State for Power
BRIEFLY
External debt up by
$4.9 bn at $480.2 bn
NEW DELHI: Indias external debt at
the end of December stood at
$480.2 billion, up by $4.9 billion
over its levels at the end of March
2015, the government announced
on Thursday. The rise in external
debt during the period was due to
long-term external debt
particularly commercial
borrowings and NRI deposits.
However, on a sequential basis,
total external debt at end-
December 2015 declined by $ 1.2
billion from the end-September
2015 level, the government
release said. Long-term debt was
$398.6 billion at the end of
December, 2.3 per cent higher
than its level at the end of March
2015. Special Correspondent
Chinese returns part of
Bangladesh funds stolen
by hackers
MANILA: A Chinese casino junket
operator on Thursday returned
$4.63 million of the $81 million
that hackers stole from the
Bangladesh central banks account
in the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank
and laundered in Manilas casinos,
officials said. Kam Sin Wong, a
longtime Manila-based
businessman, surrendered the
money from one of the worlds
largest cyberheists to Philippine
anti-money laundering officials
and the Bangladeshi ambassador.
AP
RBI eases norms for
diamond imports
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of
India on Thursday allowed banks
to approve clean credit facility
given by foreign supplier to Indian
importers of rough, cut and
polished diamonds, even beyond
180 days. To ease the operational
difficulties faced by importers, it
has been decided, in consultation
with the Government of India, to
delegate the powers for
permitting such clean credit for a
period exceeding 180 days from
the date of shipment to the AD
banks, RBI said in notification in
relation to import of rough, cut
and polished diamonds. At present
the banks are permitted to
approve clean credit to Indian
importers for import of rough, cut
and polished diamonds, for a
period not exceeding 180 days.
PTI
Exchange Rates
Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit
except yen at 4 p.m on March 31
TT TT
Currencies Buying Selling
U.S. Dollar 66.05 66.37
Euro 75.22 75.60
Pound Sterling 94.96 95.45
Jap Yen (100 Units) 58.79 59.08
Chinese Yuan 10.21 10.29
Swiss Franc 68.82 69.16
Singapore Dollar 49.13 49.39
Australian Dollar 50.77 51.02
Canadian Dollar 51.05 51.30
Swedish Kroner 8.15 8.19
Danish Kroner 10.10 10.15
New Zealand Dollar 45.80 46.05
Hongkong Dollar 8.52 8.56
Malaysian Ringitt 17.03 17.17
Kuwaiti Dinar 218.45 220.23
UAE Dirham 17.98 18.08
Bahraini Dinar 174.01 177.31
Qatari Riyal 18.18 18.21
Saudi Riyal 17.64 17.69
Omani Riyal 171.06 172.78
Source: Indian Bank
Bullion Rates
March 31 rates in rupees with
previous rates in brackets
Chennai
Bar Silver (1 kg) 36,715 (36,770)
Retail (1 g) 39.20 (39.30)
24 ct gold (10 g) 28,910 (29,100)
22 ct gold (1 g) 2,703 (2,721)
Taxes from disinvestment help
government receipts to balloon
PUJA MEHRA
NEW DELHI:Taxes raised
through disinvestment trans-
actions have helped increase
the governments receipts.
On Wednesday, the govern-
ment raised Rs.4,300 crore by
participating in a share buy-
back ofer of Hindustan
Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The
same day, it garnered Rs.200
crore in a similar ofer from
Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL).
It also raised Rs.980 crore
through the taxes it generat-
ed in these two disinvest-
ment transactions.
In fact, if the tax revenue
raised in the stake sales dur-
ing the year is taken into ac-
count, the government has
raised a total of Rs.25,000
crore in 2015-16, Disinvest-
ment Secretary Neeraj Gupta
told The Hindu.
CM
YK
BUSINESS | 17
SENSEX GOLD MUMBAI RUPEE BRENT OIL
31-03-16 25,342 31-03-16 28,340 31-03-16 66.26 31-03-16 39.83
30-03-16 25,339 3
POINTS 30-03-16 28,370 30
/10gm 30-03-16 66.37 0.11
/$ 30-03-16 39.72 0.11
$/bbl
Japan to lend
State takeover not the answer Rs.14,000 crore
for Indian projects
SBI home, auto loans
to get cheaper
in steel crisis, says British PM SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The Government of
Japan has committed a loan of
MANOJIT SAHA
MUMBAI: State Bank of India
(SBI), the countrys largest
She said auto loans were
also linked to the one-year
benchmark. Under the
MCLR regime, SBI would
The options before the Closure of the steel JPY 242.2 billion (around lender, has announced a ofer auto loans at 9.75 per
government are few, industry will cost Rs.14,251 crore) for various new benchmark for loans. cent as compared to 9.85
Known as marginal cost of per cent now.
40,000 jobs, projects across India , includ-
according to industry including 25,000 ing Jharkhand, Odisha, Mad- funds based lending rate
(MCLR), this will reduce
The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) has directed
hya Pradesh and the North
watchers downstream East. The Oicial Develop- the banks home and auto banks to move to this new
ment Assistance is to be de- loan rates by 10 basis system of loan pricing
PARVATHI MENON ployed for a transmission sys- points (bps). from April 1 in order to
Tatas decision, with opposition
tem strengthening project in SBI has announced make transmission of
lawmakers saying it was asleep at
seven benchmark MCLR monetary policy more
B
ritish Prime Minister David Cam- the wheel when the Indian group Madhya Pradesh, an integrat-
eron ruled out re-nationalisation of ed sanitation improvement rates based on diferent efective.
said it was pulling out after nearly a
steel industry and said his govern- project in Odisha, a dedicated tenures such as overnight, It was argued that the
decade in Britain.
ment was doing everything it can freight corridor project, a one-month, three-month, present base rate system of
The opposition Labour party
to save the sector but said there road network connectivity six-month, one-year, two- loan pricing was less
and Britains media said the hand-
were no guarantees of success. improvement project in the year and three-year. efective as banks had
ling of the crisis had been chaotic
The countrys biggest steel pro- North East, and a micro drip SBIs home and auto brought down their loan
after the government rowed back
ducer Tata Steel announced it was loans are linked to the rates by about 70 bps,
on an initial suggestion from a ju- irrigation project in Jhark-
one-year tenure, which is though the central bank
selling its British operation, a move nior minister that it could national- hand, according to a govern-
that has put 15,000 jobs at risk and ise the plants for a period. ment release on Thursday. 9.2 per cent, its chairman reduced its policy rate by
exposed the government to accusa- Its absolutely extraordinary The Government of Japan Arundhati Bhattacharya 125 bps in the last 14
tions of failing to protect the indus- has committed a total of JPY told The Hindu on months.
that theyve been asleep at the
try from cheap Chinese imports. 390 billion in the current fi- Thursday. Apart from SBI, none of
wheel for this long, Stephen Kin-
Mr. Cameron held talks with senior nancial year which is the There will be a spread the banks has announced
nock, the local member of parlia-
ministers at 10 Downing on Thurs- highest amount committed in added to the one-year the new framework.
ment in south Wales, told Sky
day and said he was not in favour of a year. India and Japan have MCLR rate, which is 25 bps Most customers will
News. Why is it that the prime
recalling the Parliament to discuss had mutually beneficial eco- for home loan. So, the benefit (in terms of lower
minister seems to be reacting to
the crisis. nomic development coopera- home loan rate will be 9.45 interest rate) in this new
David Cameron held talks with this as if he didnt see it coming.
Tata Steel, on its part, has not giv- tion since 1958. In the last few per cent, Ms.Bhattacharya framework. Some may not
senior ministers on the steel crisis Theyre in total disarray.
en the government years, economic cooperation said. At present, SBIs benefit since spreads may
Steelmakers in Britain pay some
any guarantee that it between India and Japan has home loan rate is 9.55 per change, Ms. Bhattacharya
2013 and 2014 was more than Bri- of the highest energy costs and
will keep the business strengthened and grown into cent. said.
tains entire cumulative steel out- green taxes in the world, but the
BRITISH running until a buyer put from 1870 to the present, Sky government maintains that the fun- a strategic partnership.
OPERATION could be found. With
its largest plants at
News reported, citing figures from
the World Steel Association. The
damental problem facing the in-
dustry is the collapse in the price of
tatas Port Talbot, that em-
ploys 15,000 people,
making a loss of one
crisis in the steel industry has been
long in the making and there were
ample warning signs of an impend-
steel, caused by overcapacity in
China.
Mr. Camerons government, ea-
Goyal unveils app to monitor in real
million pounds a day
according to the com-
pany, it would seem unlikely that a
ing emergency, which the govern-
ment ignored, opposition parties
ger to cultivate closer ties with Chi-
na, has opposed measures in Eu- time demand and supply of power
allege. Labour leader Jeremy Cor- rope that could increase the tarifs
buyer would be willing to invest. byn who visited the Talbot plant on paid on Chinese imports of steel, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT The app puts scheme reached the village,
The closure of the steel industry Wednesday called upon the gov- which are a fraction of the levels when it reached, etc, is data
will cost 40,000 jobs, the govern- ernment to intervene now to pro- imposed by the U.S. Nonetheless, NEW DELHI: Power Minister Piy- the onus on state the state governments pro-
ment says, which would include tect the industry and its workforce. anti-EU campaigners said Brussels ush Goyal unveiled an app governments vide. The Central govern-
job losses of 25,000 downstream. If we dont intervene to protect was part of the problem because that provides real-time infor- ment gives financial and mor-
Mr. Cameron cut short his vacation this steel works, and the other steel rules on state aid limited the steps mation on nationwide and
to ensure al support. The state
in the Canary Islands and returned works, we will have no steel indus- Britain could take to save the state-wise prices, demand, veracity of data governments have to physi-
to London. The options before the try in Britain, he said. Meanwhile a industry. and supply of electricity. He cally implement the scheme.
government are few, according to petition calling on the Prime Min- Mr. Cameron, who does not want put the onus on the state gov- electrification programme, The app can be downloaded
industry watchers. It can neither ister to recall parliament to discuss to stoke anti-EU sentiment ahead ernments to ensure the verac- Mr. Goyal said that measures on Android phones and ac-
close down the industry, nor can it the steel crisis has got more than of a referendum on Britains EU ity of the data in such apps. must be taken in this app as cessed online at
find a buyer at short notice. Nation- 100,000 signatures. membership in June, said half of In light of a report by well to ensure that the states www.vidyutpravah.in.
alisation or even a state bailout the countrys steel output went into The Hindu on the inconsis- provide authentic informa- This kind of probity and
could attract European Union Reuters reports: European markets and the prod- tencies in the data uploaded tion. All of this data comes scrutiny is something we
sanctions. Mr. Camerons government has ucts could face European tarifs on the Garv app monitoring from the state governments, should all be subject to,
Chinas steel production in just faced criticism over its response to and taxes if Britain left. the Power Ministrys village Mr Goyal said. Whether the Mr.Goyal said.
Core sectors expand 5.7% in Feb
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT per cent (from fall in output
by 0.4 per cent in February
NEW DELHI: Output from the 2014) and 13.5 per cent (from
eight core infrastructure in- 2.2 per cent), respectively,
dustries grew at the fastest that of electricity rose to a
pace in 15 months, clocking a five-month high of 9.2 per
5.7 per cent growth in Febru- cent.
ary, driven by a robust growth With this, the core sector-
in cement and fertilisers, ac- scoal, crude oil, natural gas,
cording to oicial estimates refinery products, fertilisers,
released on Thursday. steel, cement and electricity-
Analysts said these core saw a growth of 2.3 per cent
sector numbers bode well for in April-February 2015-16,
overall industrial output to re- lower than 5 per cent growth
cover from three successive seen in the same period of the
months of contraction, and last financial year.
register a 3 per cent to 4 per Among all core sector in-
cent growth in February. The dustries, only steel saw a fall
core sectors constitute in output in February, by 0.5
around 38 per cent of the In- per cent, against a decline of
dex of Industrial Production 0.6 per cent in February last
(IIP). year. In January, the output of
The core sector growth crude oil, natural gas and steel
number for February is en- had declined.
couraging at 5.7 per cent with Aditi Nayar, senior econo-
a fairly diversified picture mist at rating agency ICRA
across: steel, electricity, refin- said that the poor perform-
ery products and fertilisers. ance of the steel sector could
This high growth should be attributed to weak demand
hopefully translate into an IIP from end-users as well as
growth rate of 3-4 per cent for availability of cheaper im-
February, Madan Sabnavis, ports. The sole slippage was
Chief Economist at Care Rat- seen in growth of coal output,
ings said. which moderated to 3.9 per
However, the numbers cent in February 2016 from a
dont point to a full-scale re- high 9.1 per cent in January
vival yet as a similar growth ed. While production of fertil- 2016, likely on account of
levels needs to be sustained in isers and cement posted a build-up of inventories, she
the next few months, he add- double-digit growth of 16.3 said.
MTNL to share
network with
private players
The Centre plans to from sale of minority stakes
in PSUs. The remaining SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
participate in more Rs.20,500 crore is to come
share buyback from strategic sales in both NEW DELHI: Loss-making public
profit and loss-making enter- sector telecom firm MTNL
offers of public prises. The government has will tap the virtual network
sector units underlined the importance of operator route to share its
the management of its invest- network with private
Including taxes, the gov- ment in central PSUs. Capital vendors.
ernment raised the highest restructuring and profes- This is part of an attempt to
amount garnered through sional approach to capital monetise its assets to gener-
disinvestment in a single year management in these compa- ate revenue of Rs.1,000 crore
since 1991, he said. In 2014-15, nies have assumed much over the next couple of years.
the Centre had raised larger significance. While MTNL has been sharing its
Rs.24,348.71 crore, the maxi- large-networth and low-lev- telecom towers with BSNL. It
mum in a single year, through erage private sector compa- is now open to sharing them
disinvestment. Mr. Gupta in- nies are able to use surplus along with with private tele-
dicated that in 2016-17, the cash for buying back shares, com competitors, ISPs and
government plans to partici- PSUs do not opt for such cap- cable operators in Mumbai
pate in more share buyback ital restructuring. According and Delhi. Next month, we
ofers of central public sector to an estimate, the top 30 will talk to telecom vendors to
units (PSUs). In the Union PSUs hold more than Rs.1.5 work with them on the new
Budget, a disinvestment tar- lakh crore as cash and bank virtual network operator
get of Rs.56,500 crore has balances. The government is model, MTNL Chairman
been set for the year. Of this, now focusing on leveraging and Managing Director N. K.
Rs.36,000 crore is to be raised theassets of PSUs. Yadav said.
ND-ND
18 |
India-European Union boost strategic
partnership as free trade talks flounder
Progress was made in bilateral cooperation in other fields from foreign policy to counterterrorism and outer space
SRIRAM LAKSHMAN
T
he 13th India-EU Summit con-
cluded in Brussels without a con-
sensus on a bilateral free trade
deal known as the BTIA (Broad-
based Trade and Investment
Agreement) even as progress
was made in bilateral coopera-
tion in other fields -- from foreign
policy to outer space.
The talks, which ended late
Wednesday, were a culmination
of eforts to kick-start a relation-
ship that has been flagging for at
least four years. The very fact
that they occurred made them
significant.
While both the parties failed to
set a date for the next round of
trade talks, Tomasz Kozlowski,
EU Ambassador to India, told
The Hindu that the discussions
on trade involved an expression
of ambitions and de-
grees of flexibility
BILATERAL [The]
from both sides.
EU and India
will continue discus-
PARLEYS sions on a possible
FTA at a high-level,
gains Mr. Kozlowski said.
India has been
pushing for opening
European markets
for its services sector and the
movement of people to deliver
those services while the EU has
been keen on reducing or abol-
ishing tarifs in several sectors,
including in the automobile and
wine and spirits sectors. The
Brussels meetings evidently did
not see the closing of gaps be-
tween the two sides.
Overall, the most important
thing is that the Summit put our
strategic partnership back on
track, Mr. Kozlowski said in re-
sponse to a question on the single
most important achievement.
We really needed a strong politi-
cal push and an expression of
strong political commitment
from both sides to define the
main directions of our relations
and to decide what fields of coop-
eration are most interesting for
both sides and the most
promising.
The fields of cooperation are
CM
YK
The fields of cooperation are many, and defined by the EU-India Agenda for Action-2020. From left:
President of European Investment Bank Werner Hoyer, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and European
Council President Donald Tusk during an EU-India Summit meeting on Wednesday. PHOTO: AFP
many, and defined by the EU-In-
dia Agenda for Action-2020,
which Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and the presidents of the
European Council and European
Commission endorsed. The sec-
tors of partnership range from
foreign policy, counter terrorism
and disarmament to transport
and space. While at least six
agenda documents and declara-
tions were issued by the EU on
their website, the extent to which
they will be acted upon and not
share the current fate of the
BTIA, remains to be seen.
There was some promise of ac-
tion that would be taken in areas
such as water, climate and ener-
gy, with the adoption of joint dec-
larations on the India-EU Water
Partnership and a Clean Energy
and Climate Partnership.
Government-to-government
and business-to-business level
meetings to exchange best prac-
tices in these areas, including
deadlines for setting the work
programmes in some instances,
have been agreed. The cost of
BUSINESS
The Brussels summit
evidently did not
see the closing of
gaps between
the two sides
these programs will be borne by
the parties that incur them. India
is no longer eligible for develop-
ment assistance from the EU.
However, India will still have ac-
cess to concessional loans from
the European Investment Bank
(EIB). India and the EIB signed
the first tranche of a Euro 450-
million-loan at the Summit to-
wards the construction of a met-
ro rail line planned in Lucknow.
The joint declarations and
Agenda for Action suggest that
the EU has specifically courted
Mr. Modi on several of his pet
projects including the Clean In-
dia initiative and the Ganga Re-
juvenation Initiative, where the
EU will help in developing a solu-
tion to clean up the river as well
as developing legal and govern-
ance frameworks for managing
the basin.
The two sides agreed to coop-
erate in countering violent extre-
mism, disrupt recruitment of ter-
rorists and prevent the free
passage of foreign fighters in a
joint declaration on counter ter-
rorism, which also called for the
early adoption of the Compre-
hensive Convention on Interna-
tional Terrorism in the UN. They
have also agreed to explore the
possibility of India and EURO-
POL, the EUs law enforcement
agency, to share intelligence.
The Common Agenda on Mi-
gration and Mobility (CAMM),
which was also adopted, is de-
signed to control and organize
migration a pressing concern
for the EU. Significantly for the
EU, the Agenda for Action in-
cludes items on facilitating the
return of irregular migrants and
the possibility of exploring a
Readmission Agreement re- interaction with India as well. We
turning visa over-stayers to their
home countries.
The Agenda also includes the
prevention of human traicking
and promoting international pro-
tection as priority areas. Points of
special interest to India on the
agenda are likely to be easier visa
procedures for skilled workers,
IT professionals, and business
travellers. For now, the CAMM is
a political declaration and not a
legal agreement.
Regarding sensitive issues
that were to be discussed at the
summit, both parties have oi-
cially expressed their confidence
in the legal processes of the Per-
manent Court of Arbitration,
where the case of the Italian ma-
rines, Massimiliano Latorre and
Salvatore Girone, is currently be-
ing heard. The EU also expressed
a swift solution, through due
process of law in the case of MV
Seaman Guard Ohio, where 14 Es-
tonians and six Britons were ar-
rested in 2013 and sentenced in
India.
India, EU and human rights
One of the ostensible reasons
for stalled talks between the Eu-
ropean Union (EU) and India had
been the EUs concern over hu-
man right violations in India.
Several Members of the Europe-
an Parliament (MEP) have, in the
past, expressed concerns in this
regard, Geofrey van Orden, Tory
MEP from the East of England
told The Hindu.
A recent letter from Human
Rights Watch, an international
NGO, to the EU leadership brings
up issues of NGO harassment
and the overlooking of rights of
marginal groups in development
projects in India in the context of
the India EU Summit. A joint
statement from India and the EU
yesterday reiterates the impor-
tance that both countries oicial-
ly accord human rights and the
rights of women. In response to a
question on where the EU stood
on human rights in India and
holding talks, Mr. Kozlowski said:
Human rights are very high on
the EU agenda and we have such
API grade steel (excluded un-
are not going to teach anybody.
We are going to discuss issues,
consult each other.
THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016
Centre extends safeguard
duty on steel imports
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The government has
extended safeguard duty on
steel imports till March 2018.
The move is aimed at protect-
ing the Indian industry from
cheap China steel.
The 20 per cent safeguard
duty will apply to import of
hot-rolled flat products of
non-alloy and other alloy
steel in coils of a width of 600
mm or more till September
13, 2016.
Thereafter, it will drop in a
staged manner to 18 per cent
between September 14, 2016
and March 13, 2017, 15 per cent
from March 14, 2017 to Sep-
tember 13, 2017, and 10 per
cent between September 14,
2017 and March 13, 2018.
GOI is committed to safe-
guard the interests of all
stakeholders in the steel in-
dustry. Let's all work together
for a stronger India, Steel
ISA cautions against
duty circumvention
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
KOLKATA: While welcoming the
government notification on
safeguard duties on certain
categories of hot rolled flat
products, the Indian Steel As-
sociation has cautioned
against circumvention of
these duties.
In the wake of rising cheap
imports the safeguard duties
will bring significant relief to
Indian steel producers
against very cheap imports
Sanak Mishra secretary gen-
eral of ISA and Executive
Head told The Hindu. Hot
rolled coils are mainly used
for white goods manufacture
but also for making tubes and
various other engineering
goods. Striking a note of cau-
tion, he said that there have
been instances of importing
commercial grade structural
steel (excluded under safe-
guard duty) in the guise of
mated at 12 million tonnes in
der safeguard duty) since the
imposition of provisional
safeguard duty in September
NOIDA/DELHI
The move is aimed
at protecting the
domestic industry
from cheap
Chinese imports
Minister Narendra Singh To-
mar tweeted following the an-
nouncement. China had, in
the face of a domestic eco-
nomic slowdown last year, in-
creased its steel exports,
which attracted duties in sev-
eral markets such as India and
the European Union.
A Central Board of Excise
and Customs (CBEC) notifi-
cation said that the Director
General (Safeguards), had in
September 2015, come to the
conclusion that increased
imports of subject goods
(steel goods) into India had
caused and threatened to
cause serious injury to the do-
mestic industry.
Imports at or
under the direct
minimum import
price also need
monitoring
2015. This has to be prevent-
ed, he said. Imports at or un-
der the direct minimum im-
port price also needed to be
monitored, he said. An ISA
statement said that 80 per
cent of imports into India
came under this category.
It may be mentioned here
that while the Indian steel in-
dustry was getting some duty
relief against cheap imports
on a provisional basis, the
Central Board of Excise and
Customs in its March 29 noti-
fication extended this to 2017
on a tapered basis.
Imports
Total steel imports are esti-
2015-16, which is a 20 per cent
increase over the previous
year.
ND-ND

NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016
Maroon march in Mumbai
India finds itself on the wrong side of the line thrice; Kohlis fine knock in vain
ON THE RAMPAGE: Lendl Simmons played a memorable innings to put paid to India's hopes in the semifinal of the ICC World T20.
PHOTO: VIVEK BENDRE
AMOL KARHADKAR
MUMBAI: It is always said that
there is a thin line between
winning and losing. In a for-
mat as fickle as T20, it invaria-
bly becomes thinner. And
when India found itself on the
wrong side of the line, not
once but thrice, the fact that
Retire? Who me?, Windies women fourth time lucky
asks Dhoni Britney Cooper dazzles with 61 to guide the team into its maiden summit clash
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
MUMBAI: Over the course of
what has been a prolonged ca-
reer as batsman, wicketkeeper
and India captain, Mahendra
Singh Dhoni has developed a
unique way of handling the
team as well as the media.
Though he had lost his cool
while addressing the media af-
ter Indias win against Bangla-
desh earlier in the World
Twenty20, in his typical jovial
style, Dhoni hinted that he had
no intention to retire.
In fact, the limited-over cap-
tain, now retired from Tests,
for the first time indicated his
desire to feature in the 2019
World Cup.
During Dhonis interaction
after Indias semifinal exit from
the World Twenty20, an Aus-
tralian journalist asked Dhoni
the inevitable question of
whether he was keen to contin-
ue playing, Dhoni asked the
journalist to join him on the
dais to have some fun.
It was followed by a brief
interaction.
Dhoni: You want me to
retire?
Aussie: Not that I want.
Thats what I want to ask you.
Dhoni: I was hoping it was
an Indian media guy because I
cant really ask you if you have a
son or a brother who is a wick-
etkeeper. Do you think I am un-
fit, looking at my running?
Aussie: No. Youre very
fast.
Dhoni: Do you think I can
survive till the 2019 World Cup?
Aussie: You should, yes,
sure.
Dhoni: Then you have an-
CM
YK
its quest to lift the World T20
title came to an end was all
but given.
On all three occasions dur-
ing Indias semifinal against
the West Indies, Lendl Sim-
mons was the beneficiary.
And it was fitting that the sea-
soned batsman, playing his
first game in this edition after
coming into the squad two
days ago as Andre Fletchers
replacement, made the most
of the three lives to stay on till
the very end when Andre
Russell hoicked Virat Kohli
into the stands deep into the
on-side with two balls to
spare.
First slice of luck
The first instance of luck
going Simmonss way came in
the seventh over of West In-
dies chase of 193, not an easy
ask even on a flat deck at the
Wankhede Stadium, consid-
ering the magnitude of the oc-
M.S. Dhoni. PHOTO: PTI
swered the question.
As the scribe stepped down
from the dais, Dhoni continued,
I wish it was an Indian media-
person.
Then I would have asked if
he has a son who is a wicket-
keeper and ready to play.
He would have said no, then
I would have said maybe a
brother who is a wicketkeeper
and who is ready to play.
You fired the right ammuni-
tion at the wrong time.
Perhaps the world hasnt yet
seen Dhoni in an India jersey
one last time.
But going by the way Indian
cricket, especially Dhonis
team, functions, we will get the
answer only when India wears
the blue jersey again. Let the
suspense continue till then!
casion. R. Ashwin bowled one
wide of of-stump; Simmons,
then on 18, slashed only to
top-edge it and Jasprit Bum-
rah, who had earlier crashed
through Chris Gayles de-
fence, dived in front to com-
plete the catch.
By three-fourth of his walk
on the way to the dressing
room, however, Simmons was
told to go back by the dug-out
DEREK ABRAHAM
MUMBAI: A jinx has been broken,
and how!
The West Indies women
turned in an utterly profession-
al display to stun New Zealand
by six runs at the Wankhede on
Thursday afternoon.
A compact all-round show
enabled Stafanie Taylors bois-
terous outfit to ward of its infa-
mous ICC World T20 semifinal
curse at the fourth time of ask-
ing. The women in Maroon will
now take on the rampaging
Southern Stars from Australia
in Sundays final at the Eden.
The White Ferns from Kiwi-
land, like their male counter-
parts, won every group game
but perished at the most inop-
portune of times. But, it was the
West Indiess day.
Promoted to No. 3, Britney
Cooper smashed her way to a
dazzling 61 of 48 balls (5x4,
2x6) as the West Indies posted
a healthy 143 for the loss of six
wickets on a dry surface.
Sara McGlashan (38, 39b,
2x4), Amy Satterthwaite (24,
It feels great to be in
a final. We have been
waiting for this.
I think if we are
consistent enough,
we can definitely
pull it off
Stafanie Taylor,
West Indies skipper
SPORT
as TV replays showed Ashwin
had overstepped.
Despite losing Johnson
Charles who shone despite
the fall of Gayle early on in the
chase to the golden arm of
Kohli, Simmons, playing at his
IPL home ground, and Russell
had kept the West Indies in
the game.
With 62 required of 31 balls
in the 15th over, Hardik Pan-
dya, who had been taken to
the cleaners in his 23 balls till
then, chose to change the an-
gle for his last ball and went
around the wicket. It turned
out to be a full-toss but Sim-
mons mistimed it and the ball
lobbed to Ashwin who
pouched it at covers. Wait, the
umpires check for a no-ball
and again, it turned out to be
just that.
Completion of trilogy
As if that was not enough,
the trilogy of the line belong-
OVER THE MOON: The West Indies players are ecstatic after their six-run win over New Zealand in the
semifinals. PHOTO: VIVEK BENDRE
29b, 1x4) and their fourth-wick-
et stand of 59 did worry the
Windies, but the duos depar-
ture of successive deliveries
put paid to New Zealands
hopes.
Cooper came into this game
with just 11 runs from three out-
ings. Naturally, she was desper-
ate to make amends on Thurs-
day. The manner in which the
busy 26-year-old right-hander
from Trinidad took apart the
Kiwi attack was simply awe-
some. Employing minimum
risk, she negotiated both pace
and spin with ease and ensured
that the team had its nose in
front after Morna Nielsen got
rid of Hayley Matthews in the
third over.
In a statement of intent,
Cooper hit consecutive sixes
of-spinner Leigh Kasperek in
the 17th over. When on 48, she
We came here on a
mission, we were
inspired by the U-19
boys earlier this year,
the ladies won earlier
today, now we have
two West Indies
teams in the final.
Darren Sammy
West Indies captain
ing to Simmons was complet-
ed in the 18th over. Ashish
Nehra had been bowled out
and Bumrah was in his last
over.
After the first three dot
balls, Simmons went for a
cross-batted heave of the
fourth; the ball went flying to-
wards the cow-corner; Ravin-
dra Jadeja, running in from
deep square caught it and re-
leased it as he was balancing
over the fence and Kohli
caught it. Still no luck for In-
dia!
The replays showed Jade-
jas foot had touched the
boundary rope, albeit, by a
whisker. But that was enough
for what could have been a
possible dismissal being con-
verted into a six.
India was consistently end-
ing on the wrong side of the
line. But they had only them-
selves to blame for not hand-
ling the key moments well
enough.
The bowlers slip-ups over-
shadowed what was yet an-
other magnificent display of
batsmanship from Kohli. In
fact, for the first time in the
tournament, the Indian bat-
ting clicked as a unit, with all
three pairs that batted putting
on at least 50 runs. Kohli took
danced down the wicket and
whacked the bowler over long-
on. The very next ball, she
smashed the white cherry over
long-of.
Cooper stitched two crucial
partnerships 60 for the sec-
ond wicket with Taylor (25,
26b, 2x4) and 44 for the next
with Deandra Dottin (20, 17b,
2x4).
Kasperek, the leading wick-
et-taker in this edition of the
tournament, went wicketless
but the Kiwis couldnt stop
Sophie Devine from registering
career-best figures of four for
22. Devine would contribute 22
(14b, 4x4) with the bat.
McGlashan and Satterth-
waite rescued New Zealand
from dire straits 49 for three
but Taylor would bring her
team back in the contest with
her unique brand of hopping
Virat Kohli...giving it his all.
PHOTO: AFP
the cake by smashing his sec-
ond-highest individual score
in T20Is.
Finally, all that mattered
nothing as the West Indies
booked a flight to Kolkata for
Sundays summit clash.
of-spin to have both caught in
the deep when the Kiwis need-
ed 37 of four overs with enough
wickets in hand.
New Zealand needed 30 of
the last three, 25 of two and 19
of the final over. Windies
sealed the match with another
run-out to cap of a great day in
the field.
The resulting celebrations
would have put Gayle, Bravo
and the rest to shame. Probably
it was the ladies way of telling
the men, Over to you, now.
The scores: West Indies 143 for six
in 20 overs (Stafanie Taylor 25, Brit-
ney Cooper 61, Deandra Dottin 20,
Sophie Devine four for 22) bt New
Zealand 137 for eight in 20 overs (Sara
McGlashan 38, Stafanie Taylor three
for 26).
Toss: New Zealand.
Player-of-the-match: Britney
Cooper.
| 19
NO BOUNDARIES
Where do sports icons stand
in the hierarchy of genius?
NIRMAL SHEKAR
G enius is one of the most misunderstood words
in the English language. It might perhaps take
a man of Shakespearean genius to figure out what
it actually means.
For we hear of geniuses and geniuses and geni-
uses in every field of activity all the time that it
makes us wonder if half the worlds population of seven billion
deserves such exalted status. But when it comes to abuse of the
word through wilful exaggeration, no area of human activity
can compare to professional sport.
Of course, such public naivete predictably has the support of
the media and the manipulative genius of PR professionals.
This is why we common folk cannot be blamed if the contribu-
tions of Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein to mankind, and
other forms of life too, are less celebrated than that of Sachin
Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kolhi.
The dilution of the word genius is so common and universal
in sports that some of us who think that the word must be used
with great care, and as rarely as possible after serious deliber-
ation, might be dismissed as curmudgeonly cynics. These
thoughts occupied my mind the other day when I was sitting in
a cofee shop and heard my 79-year-old friend argue with his
teenaged grandson about whether Garry Sobers and Viv Ri-
chards were more talented than Virat Kolhi.
While keeping my mouth shut, it struck me that the younger
man knew very little about the games history and his grandfa-
ther was all too willing to discount millennial talent as over-
rated boosterism. The point about genius is, it has no clear
yardstick. After a 48-ball century by Chris Gayle and Kohlis
magnificent unbeaten half century
In sporting against Australia in the world Twenty20
championship you might struggle to re-
context sist the temptation to rank the pair
genius is a alongside Don Bradman and Sobers. But
what we need is sobriety and sense of
Tendulkar perspective to arrive at a fairly accurate
evaluation.
playing an At the best of times, sport wonderfully
exquisite, enriches life; at its worst, it blinds us
almost completely to reality. Quite a lot
jaw- of people believe that perception chang-
es with point of view and you might have
dropping to make minor adjustments to correct
cover drive your own biases to come anywhere near
a common sense view which in many
cases may turn out to be common nonsense. Genius aint
anything more than elegant common sense, said Josh Billings,
the 19th century American humourist and writer. Then again,
E=MC2 was not the product of ordinary common sense but the
discovery of a man who is among a handful of life-altering and
mindboggling geniuses in the ultimate analysis.
But when they disgracefully removed Albert Einsteins brain
on his death for laboratory investigation in the hope of finding
something extraordinary in the great mans grey matter, they
were predictably disappointed. For Einsteins brain weighed
only 1230 grams, less than that of the common mans!
Then again, Einstein himself might not have been surprised.
The diference between stupidity and genius is that genius
knows its limits said 20th centurys most celebrated scientist.
What Einstein had was, to quote Ezra Pound on genius, the
capacity to see 10 things where the ordinary man sees one. But
surely you cannot apply this logic to blithely compare Pounds
words with the capacity of a batsman to play 10 shots with that
of a man who can play just three or four.
If this is a common occurrence, then the sports media is
partly to blame too. The capacity of sporting journalists to wax
lyrical in the face of the exceptional is only matched by the
speed with which they run out of adjectives in doing so, wrote
Derek Malcolm, the English film critic and historian.
In sport, there are geniuses who deserve the tag right through
their long careers. Typical examples are Bradman, Sobers,
Lionel Messi, Sachin Tendulkar and Muhammad Ali, to name
only five.
Then there are some who can be termed genius for a short
phase in their careers (George Best, Jake LaMotta, known as the
raging bull, and quite a number of cricketers too men such as
Vinod Kambli). Finally there are the ones who time and again
flirt with genius without ever embracing it. These are the ones
who seem to have a larger than life status thanks to the hypre-
bole. For they clearly do not deserve that status.
Not the same
In the event, all geniuses are not the same. Some are more
equal than the others. Exceptional creative or intellectual
powers with great artistic abilities. This is one of a handful of
dictionary definitions of genius. But in the field of sport, histor-
ically, the term genius has come to be rather more accommo-
dating, accepting in its hall of fame more than just the creative,
original and inventive types.
The peerless Muhammad Ali used the ropes as skillfully as a
balletic genius uses his arms and legs to outwit the younger and
stronger George Foreman in Zaire (now known as the Republic
of Congo) in 1974. Sport can rarely aspire to match high art
except on the rare occasion when an Ali or a Roger Federer put
on display their magic.
We call Shakespeare a genius; so do we in the case of Fyodor
Dostoevsky or Wolfang Amadeus Mozart; can we include Ali or
Federer or Sachin or Messi in the same exalted group? That
would be a fallacy both aesthetic and cognitive. For, the
broader definition notwithstanding, the consistently success-
ful employment of exceptional talent on the field of play cannot
be equated to genius in the high arts.
For a sportsman to be called a genius, inspired and incan-
descent stuf will have to pour forth from the athlete time and
again. But in a purely sporting context, genius is a Federer
forehand crosscourt winner, literally with his back to the wall,
from way outside the court; it is a Tendulkar playing an ex-
quisite and jaw-droppingly beautiful cover drive against a
Glenn McGrath delivery that the great Australian fast bowler
might have believed was a perfectly good ball.
Genius is the incomparable Ali dancing in the ring, and then
coming up with the legendary rope trick; It is Diego Maradonas
second goal against England in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico
when the enigmatic genius did a fair imitation of a Rudolf
Nureyev at his best, leaving five or six defenders in his trail
before scoring.
But then, at the end of the day, as an everyman, there is one
thing that I can say with absolute certainty on the subject. I will
never, ever know what that exalted quality of genius feels like
to the great performers themselves. On the other hand, I can tell
you quite a lot about what being stupid feels like!
Warne blasts selectors
SYDNEY: Cricket great Shane in tatters.
Warne on Thursday criticised First of all, our selection was
Australias line-ups at the wrong in my opinion, Warne
World T20, saying the wrong told cricket.com.au.
choices were responsible for I dont think we got that
the team crashing out in the right, we messed around with it
group stages.
too much rather than sticking
Steve Smiths team was with whats been a proven for-
knocked out by India, leaving mula and we probably didnt
its hopes of winning its first play well enough, which is the
World T20 trophy once again brutal truth. AFP
ND-ND
20 | SPORT THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

Grand double for

Sachin Singha
A. JOSEPH ANTONY
PERNEM (GOA): It was a grand dou-
ble for Sachin Singha in the first
two races of the Laser Radial
section in the Goa International
Sailing Week that began of
Morgim beach here on Thurs-
day evening.
The high tide hardly made
things easier but the EME Sail-
ing Association (EMESA)
yachtsman got the better of
compatriot Deelip Kumar in
convincing fashion.
I found that a right of the
course approach was favoura-
ble, said the 22-year-old, who
plumbed for such a path around
the six-legged trapezoid for-
mat.
In the first race, the port tack
he took saw him fall behind. He
however regained lost ground
and by the first windward, he
had bypassed arch rival Deelip.
Singha then built up a lead on
the next leg, a reach, followed
by a run on the third. Without
getting bogged down in the
swells, he cashed in on them in-
stead to further his cause and
finish about a dozen boat
lengths ahead.
In the second race, a big wind
shift forced a general recall,
which proved a boon for Sing-
ha, who had a bad start. From
the start line, he, however, en-
sured his place in the top fleet.
Deelip nonetheless completed
the upwind leg first. On the re-
ach, both the front-runners
matched each other in speed
but Singha bridged the gap on
the run.
When circling the second
windward mark, Singha, a
product of the National Sailing
School (NSS), Bhopal, overtook
his teammate. Thereon, the ar-
my Havaldhar now stationed in
Secunderabad remained vigi-
lant to remain ahead. Although
it was a closer race, when com-
pared to the first, the muscular
youth got the gun about five to
eight boat lengths ahead of
Deelip.
Purav Raja in
quarterfinals
NEW DELHI: Purav Raja, along
with Ruan Roelofse of South
Africa, made the doubles quar-
terfinals of the $75,000 mens
Challenger tennis tournament
in Leon, Mexico, beating Ariel
Behar of Uruguay and Alessan-
dro Motti of Italy 6-4, 6-4.
The results: $75,000 Challenger
men, Leon, Mexico: Doubles (pre-
quarterfinals): Ruan Roelofse (RSA)
& Purav Raja bt Ariel Behar (Uru) &
Alessandro Motti (Ita) 6-4, 6-4.
Lajong eyes win
Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei exit
BADMINTON / Saina and Sindhu take contrasting routes to advance
RAKESH RAO
NEW DELHI: Two-time Olympic
champion Lin Dan and his arch-
rival Lee Chong Wei took turns
to show their lack of interest in
playing in the $300,000 India
Open by almost choosing to
make pre-mature exits in
straight games at the Siri Fort
Indoor Stadium here.
The two great players from
the badminton world, and
crowd-pullers without parallel,
were expected to play to their
seeding and clash in the semifi-
nals but that was not to be. It
was clear that Lin Dan and Lee
Chong Wei lost their matches
rather than their lesser-known
rivals winning it.
With a clear view to save
their energies for the more pre-
mier events ahead of the Olym-
pic Games qualifying cut-of
date, fourth-seed Lin Dan sur-
rendered to Koreas Son Won
Ho 13-21, 20-22, before top-seed
Lee Chong Wei followed him,
leaving Hong Kongs Wei Nan
with his greatest victory, the
score reading 21-19, 21-19.
From the Indian perspective,
after the home challenge in the
mens section ended late on
Wednesday night and the
womens duo of G. Jwala and
Ashwini Ponnappa also fell at
the first hurdle, Saina Nehwal
and P.V. Sindhu took contrast-
ing routes to reach the quarter-
finals and kept the countrys in-
terest alive.
Much before Saina kept her
unbeaten run intact against
Nitchaon Jindapol 21-19, 21-14 in
42 minutes, Sindhu fought of a
spell of inconsistency to beat
another Thai girl Busanan Ong-
ATHLETICS
New qualifying standards to
be tested in Federation Cup
K. KEERTHIVASAN
CHENNAI: The Federation Cup se-
nior National athletics meet to
be held in New Delhi from
April 20 to 23 will experiment
for the first time with qualifying
standards for each discipline
and accept direct online entries
from athletes.
But the move hasnt gone
down well with a few southern
States, which apparently
voiced their opposition during
the Athletics Federation of In-
dias (AFI) executive commit-
tee meeting in New Delhi
recently.
bumrungphan 17-21, 21-19, 21-16
in 76 minutes. The victory also
helped Sindhu stay undefeated
against Busanan.
Struggling with her judge-
ments and committing far too
many unforced errors, Sindhu
looked in serious danger when
trailing 14-16 in the second
game.
But she managed to lift her-
self up and eventually managed
to convert her second game-
point to force the decider.
Busanan kept up the pressure
on Sindhu for the better part of
the third game.
But once Sindhu sneaked
ahead at the home-stretch, Bu-
sanan cracked.
The results (pre-quarterfinals):
Mens singles: Wei Nan (Hkg) bt
Lee Chong Wei (Mal) 21-19, 21-19; Vik-
tor Axelsen (Den) bt Sony Dwi Kunco-
ro (Ina) 21-18, 18-21, 21-16; Son Won
Ho (Kor) bt Lin Dan (Chn) 21-13, 22-20;
Tommy Sugiarto (Ina) bt Tanongsak
Saensomboonsuk (Tha) 24-22, 21-19;
Marc Zwiebler (Ger) bt Tian Houwei
(Chn) 18-21, 21-19, 23-21; Xue Son
(Chn) bt Jan O Jorgensen (Den) 21-15,
15-21, 21-16; Hans-Kristian Vittinghus
(Den) bt Chou Tien Chen (Tpe) 21-12,
21-12; Kento Momota (Jpn) bt Ng Ka
Long Angus (Hkg) 21-16, 21-11.
Womens singles: P. V. Sindhu bt
Busanan Ongbumrungphan (Tha) 17-
21, 21-19, 21-16; Bae Yeon Ju (Kor) bt
Yui Hashimoto (Jpn) 21-16, 21-10;
Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Rituparna
Das 21-9, 21-4; Tai Tzu Ying (Tpe) bt
Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) 21-16, 21-19;
Wang Shixian (Chn) bt Sayaka Sato
(Jpn) 19-21, 21-11, 21-14; Li Xuerui
(Chn) bt Porntip Buranaprasertsuk
(Tha) 17-21, 21-13, 23-21; Sung Ji Hyun
(Kor) bt Pai Yu Po (Tpe) 21-16, 21-11;
Saina Nehwal bt Nitchaon Jindapol
(Tha) 21-19, 21-14.
It further says that it is man-
datory that athletes must have
achieved the qualification stan-
dard in AFI-recognised meets
during 2015 or 2016; moreover,
an AFI technical delegate must
have been present at the meet.
(Valson clarified that the per-
formance in the heats in the ju-
nior and senior Nationals be-
tween 2015 and 2016 will also be
considered).
The stipulation that has put
coaches in a quandary pertains
to electronic timings. Our
State championships havent
had electronic timings in the
past, said Tamil Nadu coach
MADE TO SWEAT: P.V. Sindhu was far from being in her element before lifting herself up to scrape
through. PHOTO: SANDEEP SAXENA
jasekar said, the departments /
units which sponsor or recruit
athletes would move away
from the sport.
When athletes run without a
banner, who will come forward
to support them? And how
many States can aford elec-
tronic timings? This will reduce
participation which is not good
for the sport, he said.
Tamil Nadu Athletics Asso-
ciation secretary C. Latha
raised another issue: If an ath-
lete is injured last year but is fit
this year and wants to take part,
how can he or she do it?
TNAA president W.I. Dava-
East Bengal seeks
positive result
NEW DELHI: Shankarlal Chakra-
borty, who is standing in for
suspended coach Sanjoy Sen at
Mohun Bagan, says a positive
result for the team is of para-
mount importance in the up-
coming I-League derby against
East Bengal.
The Mariners play East Ben-
gal in their return match at Sili-
guri on Saturday.
Our strategy is pretty
straight and simple, give your
cent percent and churn out a
positive result. In our quest for
the second consecutive Hero
ILeague trophy, we need a
positive result in Siliguri,
Chakraborty, who has repre-
sented both Mohun Bagan and
East Bengal after having gradu-
ated from Tata Football Acade-
CRICKET
New Zealand media
rues loss to England
WELLINGTON: New Zealand media
has likened Eoin Morgan's En-
gland team to Frankenstein's
monster, saying it turned the
Black Caps' own game plan
against them to win the World
Twenty20 semifinal on
Wednesday.
While acknowledging En-
gland was the better team and
deserved the seven-wicket win
in New Delhi, Kiwi pundits said
the seeds of the result were
sown when the sides met in
Wellington last year at the
Cricket World Cup.
Prompting review
In that match, eventual final-
ist New Zealand
trounced England by
eight wickets, prompt-
ing Morgan's men to
review the style and
emulate the Black
Caps' aggressive
tactics.
There was an element of
Frankenstein to New Zealand's
departure from the Twenty20
World Cup, Fairfax New Zeal-
and's Duncan Johnstone wrote.
This was an England team
that the Black Caps turned into
a monster. And the monster
came back to destroy them.
The New Zealand Herald's
Andrew Alderson said England
also mimicked the Black Caps
by taking the emotion out of
their cricket, delivering a clini-
cal dissection which wouldn't
have looked amiss in an operat-
ing theatre.
If the Black Caps could be
deemed the masters, their ap-
prentices trumped them, he
wrote.
Test cricket in diicult
conditions gives me a kick
S. DINAKAR
CHENNAI: A champion batsman in
Tests, Murali Vijay has had his
moments in the shorter versions
of the game too.
In this interview to The Hindu
on Thursday, Vijay said, Each
has its own demands, but I am
sure I can play for India in all for-
mats. In the last ODI series I
played for India in Zimbabwe
this season, I was the Man of the
Match in one game. I have had
my successes in T20 cricket. I am
confident I can do well for Kings
XI Punjab this IPL season.
On the demands of being a
technically pure batsman and
Murali Vijay. PHOTO: PTI
He added that England have
morphed into a side with swag-
ger and chutzpah, since their
Wellington humiliation, rating
them a good chance of winning
the decider on Sunday.
Limp end
Johnstone said the heavy loss
was a limp end to a campaign
that saw the Black Caps cruise
through the group stages unde-
feated, including wins over
Australia, India and Pakistan.
The New Zealanders have
shown they can advance deep
into limited-overs tournaments
but are yet to reach the next lev-
el and win a 50-over or T20
World Cup.
However, Kane
Williamson proved
himself an able captain
for the post-Brendon
McCullum era and the
promising young spin
duo of Ish Sodhi and
Mitchell Santner excelled.
Exceeding expectations
Former Black caps paceman
Simon Doull said Williamson's
men exceeded expectations, fi-
nally showing they could play
in Indian conditions, and
should not be judged too
harshly.
We've had a good tourna-
ment and adapted to conditions
really well, I don't think this is a
failure, he told Radio Sport.
Today's game will be disap-
pointing, but if you'd told me at
the start of the tournament that
we'll go there and make the
semifinals of the T20 World
Cup on the sub-continent, I'd
have said no way. AFP

over Aizawl
SHILLONG: Shillong Lajong will be
seeking an elusive victory
when take on Aizawl FC in
front of their home fans in the I-
League here on Friday.
Lajong have managed only
two wins in their 11 matches
which has seen them rooted to
the bottom of the I-league table
with 11 points. However, with
four teams including Aizawl
locked at 12 points each, a
win at the Jawaharlal Nehru
Stadium will see the hosts
climb to the fifth position.
Positives are the youngsters
graduating and proving that
they are good enough for the
League. Also the team spirit is
good that will help us fight and
do better in the remaining 5
matches, Lajong coach Thang-
boi Singto said on the the eve of
the match.
The coach also informed that
the team has made full use of
the international break. PTI
Aimed at improving quality
Speaking to The Hindu here
on Wednesday, AFI secretary
C.K. Valson said the decision
was aimed at improving the
quality of competition; it would
also ensure that host associ-
ations spent significantly less
on accommodation of athletes
and oicials.
They (host association) can
use the entry fees to provide
better facilities for the cream of
the athletes in terms of techni-
cal conduct of the event, he
said.
Normally, hosting an event
like the Federation Cup incurs
an expenditure of Rs. 25 to 30
lakh. The experimental move, if
it succeeds, Valson said, could
persuade more cities to come
forward and conduct similar
events.
The AFI advisory tells State
Associations: Only individual
entries will be accepted and no
unit will send entries for the
meet.
Md. Riaz.
Young athletes who have
made the qualification marks in
State meets with manual tim-
ings cant find a place in the
Federation Cup, which is unfor-
tunate.
However, if they have made
the qualification mark in Na-
tional School Games or Nation-
al inter-university meets which
have started using electronic
timings recently, they can take
part.
M.V. Rajasekar, the former
National champion hurdler
who is now a noted coach, said:
It has come as a big shock. The
rules regarding electronic tim-
ings and individual entries
should have been done in a
phased manner, not with undue
haste.
With individual entries, Ra-
The experimental move, if it
succeeds, could persuade
more cities to come forward
and conduct similar events
ram said, however, that the new
regulations were a sign of the
times. It will create problems,
he said, but its okay. It will
take time to adjust.
The qualification standards:
Men: 100m: 11s; 200m: 22.50s;
400m: 49s; 800m: 1:54.00s; 1500m:
3:56.00; 5000m: 15:00.00; 110m
Hurdles: 15.10; 400m Hurdles:
54.50; 3000m steeplechase:
9:20.00.
Long jump: 7m; Triple jump:
14.80; High jump: 2.00m; Pole
vault: 4.30m; Shot put: 16.00m; Dis-
cus throw: 46.00m; Hammer
throw: 56.00; Javelin: 65.00; De-
cathlon: 5500 pts.
Women: 100m: 13s; 200m:
25.80s; 400m: 58.50s; 800m:
2:18.00s; 1500m: 4:56.00; 5000m:
20:00.00s; 10000m: 40:00.00;
100m Hurdles: 15.50s; 400m Hur-
dles: 1:07.00; 3000m steeple-
chase: 12:30.00.
Long jump: 5.60m; Triple jump:
11.50m; High jump: 1.50m; Pole
vault: 3m; Shot put: 12.50m; Discus:
40.00; Hammer throw: 45.00; Jave-
lin throw: 40.00; Heptathlon: 4500
pts.
my, said.
He said the defending cham-
pions strategy will be to not
concede an early goal.
Our first priority always re-
mains not to concede an early
goal. In the early minutes of the
game, we tend to focus on judg-
ing our opponents and then
changing our gears according
to our strengths and their limi-
tations. When the two giants
confront with each other, you
cant expect anything less than
an enthralling humdinger.
Asked how is he preparing
himself before his first derby as
the Mariners coach, Chakra-
borty said, I always believe
that the Derby is the final fron-
tier. Be it player or coach, youll
always be tested on the Derby.
But for us, generally, every-
thing is planned by Sanjoy Da
(Sen).
During the course of the
game, we keep an eye to the
movements and tweak the
strategies according to the need
of the game. PTI
still adapting to diferent for-
mats, Vijay said, You have to
play with diferent mind-sets. I
always wanted to be a very good
Test player. I knew if I could ac-
complish that, I would do well in
the other formats too.
Conquering peaks in Test
cricket gives him immense satis-
faction such as the outstand-
ing century he made on a fresh
Gabba pitch with seam move-
ment and bounce on day one last
year. Vijay said, These are the
conditions that I crave for. It
gives me a kick to play the tough-
est format, particularly when the
conditions are diicult. It chal-
lenges me as a person and teach-
es a lot of things.
Most challenging bowler
Ask him about the most chal-
lenging bowler he has faced and
Vijay responds, Jimmy Ander-
son in England. He was swinging
the ball both ways. As an opener
you have to be really, really sure
of your of-stump.
Vijay excelled both on the
Test tours of England and Aus-
tralia, two demanding cam-
paigns in contrasting conditions.
The opener said, In England, the
ball swings and it also seams of
the wicket and you got to be sure
about your feet movement. In
Australia, there is more pace and
bounce. The English conditions
probe your technique more.
Leaving a lot of deliveries out-
side of-stump was a conscious
decision I made. In Australia,
you play the horizontal bat shots,
the cut and the pull.
Sachin Tendulkar is like God,
because of his balance at the
crease, he said on his idol. Bal-
ance is the ultimate thing. Foot-
work is reaction to the ball but
balance actually starts earlier,
from your stance, your set-up to
seeing the ball; that is, how still
you are before the ball is being
released.
Vijay spoke about his tech-
nique. My backlift enables me to
get my power. The bat has to
come down in line with the ball,
whatever line you are pursuing
with your eye. And my footwork
helps me get into good
positions.
Leaving the ball
On his expertise at leaving
balls outside the of-stump, Vijay
said, It depends on your guard,
your stance, you watch the bow-
lers hand carefully. I take the
leg-stump guard against Mitchell
Starc because he brings the ball
in. I take the middle-and-of
guard against Mitchell Johnson
since he does not bring the ball
in.
Playing spinners was about
reading the length and using the
crease, he said. You pick the tra-
jectory, the flight. You play on
the bowlers mind, step out and
then when he pitches it shorter,
go deep and cut. You open the
field as well, manipulate it ac-
cording to your liking, with foot-
work.
Vijay, however, feels playing
regularly and across formats for
India would enable him stay in
rhythm and evolve further.

VARIETY
THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11665 Incognito FAITH SU | DO | KU
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 artist has sex appeal (8) 18 Mutilated target around
8 9 10 26 Rhythmic area in the central
part of a city (8)
Romania showed execution
device (8) A good human being
28 Exchange an electrical 20 Trees Ali chopped up first (8) In the time of Vallalar there lived a sanyasi, who, when
11 12 component (6) people passed by him on the street, would observe: There
30 She can be found around this 21 My peons, oddly, are persons
goes a snake! Or he would say: There goes a rat! He could
crossword (4) whose names are used to discern that those people had characteristics of the said
13 14 15 16 31 Language spoken by name other places or things animals. One day, he saw Vallalar, who was on his way to the
Lieutenant returning with (7) Tiruvottriyur temple in Chennai, and the ascetic said: Here
French friend (5) 23 Madcap has gent in goes a man! What he meant was that among those he
17 18 19 20
32 Primarily, say, a Red Indian aggressive clasp initially (6) happened to meet, none except Vallalar qualified to be called
21 garb (4) a man. Although we are born as human beings, most of us
25 Railway carries light ash have not shed many traits that animals possess. We are
22 23 24 25 Down compound imprudently (6) aggressive; we are competitive; we do not think before we
1 Party buffet (4) 27 State, State briefly act. But Vallalar was an evolved soul, who was beyond
2 Alien care is organised undesirable qualities like selfishness, said Sarala
26 27 28 29 Input/Output (4)
(including extraterrestrial), Rajagopalan, in a discourse.
29 Accountant's costly vehicle And that is why the sanyasi referred to him as a human
and so on (2,6)
in boggy copse (4) being, a description that he did not use for anyone else.
30 31 32 3 Brave toured around delta Tamil poet Bharati describes all the hidden qualities that we
rapidly, for example (6) Solution to puzzle 11664 have, that make us seem more like animals than humans.
4 John's on the seaside There are those who are cunning like a fox. There are
structure and is more insane P R E T O R I A P O L I S H those who are slothful like a slender loris. There are those A mind game and a
Across 15 Corners of eyes seen in (7) A N N N D C D E
G O D F A T H E R C L I P S who remain in hiding and then launch a surprise attack on puzzle that you solve
8 Stop Indian aircraft Tuscan thingamajigs (6) 5 Hence, RNA may be a booster E E R E A L O I others, like a snake that comes out from its hiding place and with reasoning and
company's truck at first (4) 17 He leaked a secret police (8) S A V O U R G O U RM E T bites its prey. logic. Fill in the grid with
9 Doctor's personal duck (5) agents circular without a 6 Dutch (president) rebuilt a M O OV R LL A NE D J DE T S E AT There are those who are content to accept and consume digits in such a manner
10 Fatigue? Relinquish fag and hint of trickery (7) range (6) I U T E O E what others give them, and remain grateful for this. Such that every row, every
develop case (4) 19 Mates French and Indian 7 Rotate model vessel (4) S T R I P E E N AM E L E D people are like loyal dogs. column and every 3x3
11 Revolutionary direction with objectives (7) 14 As tea may be brewed during PL I P R RE A D RT U OB R DI C There are those whose anger makes them resemble box accommodates the
South European food (6) 22 A person who causes injury a voyage (2,3) ferocious hunting dogs. There are those who keep saying the digits 1 to 9, without
A L S R A S E C
and thus may lead to same things over and over again, like a parrot. Thus there
12 Noisy proposal by man (8) 16 Pilgrim greeting wearing a C R U D E U N N A T U R A L repeating any. The
remain in us many qualities that are typical of animals, and it
13 Bear tale compilation can be rheumatism (6) dinner jacket initially. Quite DE E M N
B A T E
B C E E
B E G R U D G E
U
is only a few like Vallalar who are free of such qualities. solution to yesterdays
appraised (8) 24 Picture left by the contrary (5) puzzle is at left.

CM ND-ND
YK

NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016
Bagan coachs
suspension
reduced
NEW DELHI: The All India Foot-
ball Federation (AIFF) on
Thursday reduced the eight-
match suspension of Sanjoy
Sen to four games after the Mo-
hun Bagan coach tendered an
unconditional apology to the
apex body.
Derogatory statements
Sen was suspended for eight
matches and slapped a fine of
Rs. 10 lakh earlier this month
for making derogatory state-
ments against the national
federation.
He had lashed out at the
AIFF saying it had been sold
out after his request for res-
cheduling an I-League match in
January was ignored by the
AIFF.
In view of the unconditional
apology tendered by Mr. San-
joy Sen, both verbally and in
the form of an aidavit in addi-
tion to his undertaking that
such incidents will not happen
in future, the AIFF Appeals
Committee, which met at Foot-
ball House on March 31, 2106,
unanimously decided to re-
duce the penalty of suspension
from eight matches to four
matches to be served consecu-
tively, the AIFF said in a state-
ment after a meeting of its Ap-
peals Committee.
It added: At the same time,
the amount of fine has been re-
duced to Rs. 5 lakh instead of
Rs. 10 lakh and it is to be depos-
ited within 15 days from the
date of communication.
Furthermore, on the issue of
FC Goas fine of Rs. 50 lakh, the
committee felt that it needed
further clarification on the is-
sue of double jeopardy and ju-
risdiction of ISL over this mat-
ter. PTI
El Clasico fitting
scene for Cruyfs
Barca tribute
BARCELONA: The self-styled big-
gest game in world football takes
on a diferent significance on
Saturday as Barcelona pays hom-
age to legendary former player
and coach Johan Cruyf for the
visit of Real Madrid in El
Clasico.
Over 90,000 fans will take part
in a pre-match display reading
thank you Johan ahead of Bar-
cas first match since the Dutch
great passed away at the age of 68
last week after a short battle with
lung cancer.
Barca hosts Madrid 10 points
clear of its eternal rival in the La
Liga title race and on the verge of
a sixth league title in eight years.
Moreover, it is favourite to be-
come the first side ever to retain
the Champions League a feat
that would deliver a fifth Europe-
an Cup in 11 years.
Barcas little more than a dec-
ade of dominance has been pro-
pelled by the brilliance of Lionel
Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi
Hernandez on the pitch and the
astute coaching of Frank Rij-
kaard, Pep Guardiola and Luis
Enrique from the touchline.
Yet, they are all united by a
style and philosophy implement-
ed by Cruyf over 20 years ago
that continues to serve Barca to-
day. AFP
Vikram wins title
CHENNAI: US-based Indian Vik-
ram Malhotra did himself
proud, winning the title in the
Malaysian Tour 2016 Leg I, a
PSA world tour event in Malaka
on Thursday.
The World No. 125, who was
seeded fifth, needed just 33
minutes to tame eighth seed
Malaysian Eain Yow Ng 13-11,
11-9, 11-5. This is Vikrams sec-
ond PSA title since December
2015, the last being in the Flor-
ida State Open. En route the fi-
nal, Vikram had got past two
higher seeded players.
MOTORSPORTS
Make-or-break season for Arjun Maini
S. DIPAK RAGAV
CHENNAI: He burst on to the scene
as one among the three selected
by Force India in the nation-wide
karting trials for its young driver
academy before he lost in the fi-
nal hurdle. Since then, Arjun
Mainis career has been a roller-
coaster ride, with average results
in karting championships in Eu-
rope to finishing second in the
BRDC F4 championship in the
U.K. in 2014.
Last year was another trough
in this ride, with a tough season
in the FIA European F3 cham-
pionship, an important series in
the single-seater ladder.
Maini will continue for a sec-
ond season in European F3 which
starts this weekend and it is a
make or break season for the
Bengaluru teenager.
Speaking about his 2015 sea-
son, Maini says, I think it was an
eventful first year in Formula 3
and I would describe it as a big
rollercoaster ride with a lot of
ups and downs. I was looking for
experience and to learn, which I
CM
YK
RACING AWAY: Victoria Azarenka raced past Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open. PHOTO: AFP
Djokovic withstands back
spasms to advance
TENNIS / Angelique Kerber downs Madison Keys to move into the semifinals
MIAMI: Top-ranked defending
champion Novak Djokovic
withstood back spasms
throughout the second set to
defeat Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-3
and reach the ATP Miami Open
semifinals on Wednesday.
Djokovic, trying to match
Andre Agassis record of six
Miami titles with his third in a
row, will play Belgian 15th seed
David Goin on Friday for a
berth in Sundays final.
The 28-year-old Serbian won
his 14th consecutive match at
the hardcourt event and his
28th out of 29, but needed a grit-
ty performance after back pain
began early in the second set,
prompting him to have massage
therapy before serving in the
sixth game.
Due to windy conditions on
the court, it was hard to find a
good rhythm to serve, Djokov-
ic said.
I had a little bit of a spasm in
the back but (the trainer) did a
great job and I was able to finish
the match.
Asked if he had any worries
the spasms might become a
long-term issue, Djokovic said:
No concerns. None at all.
Czechs to miss
Kvitova, Safarova
against Switzerland
PRAGUE: Reigning champions
the Czech Republic will miss
out-of-form Petra Kvitova and
Lucie Safarova in the Fed Cup
semi-final in Switzerland in
April, team captain Petr Pala
said Thursday.
We have agreed with Petra
Kvitova and Lucie Safarova
that I won't reckon with them in
the nomination for the Switzer-
land tie in Luzern on April 16-
17, Pala said on the teams Face-
book page.
If, as I firmly believe, we
make it to the final, they are
both ready to play, he said,
adding he would announce the
oicial line-up next week.
World No.7 Kvitova, the
Wimbledon champion in 2011
and 2014, sacked her coach Da-
vid Kotyza in January and has
GEARED UP: Arjun Maini with his T-Sport car ahead of the
European F3 season this weekend.
did, but results-wise I did not
achieve my targets as I was look-
ing towards a top 10 finish.
Racing for Van Amersfoort
Racing, Maini had only four
point finishes and finished 18th
in the championship with 27
points.
While the results dont make
for a great CV, it does not reflect
entirely the underlying pace in
races where grids had record
On the women's side, reign-
ing Australian Open champion
Angelique Kerber, the second
seed from Germany, and two-
time Australian Open cham-
pion Victoria Azarenka of Bela-
rus advanced to a semifinal
showdown.
Both have finals wins over
top-ranked Serena Williams
this year, Kerber at the Austra-
lian Open and Azarenka at Indi-
an Wells.
Berdych loses again
Berdych lost his 10th consec-
utive match to Djokovic, whose
domination of their career ri-
valry reached 23-2. Berdych's
last victory over Djokovic was
in a 2013 Rome quarterfinal.
If you have that many head-
to-head, it can help, but not sub-
stantially, Djokovic said.
Djokovic blasted a crosscourt
forehand winner to break Ber-
dych for a 3-1 lead and held from
there to claim the first set, in
which the Czech had 21 un-
forced errors.
Berdych surrendered a break
to open the second set but Djo-
kovic first reached for his lower
back in the next game but held
been struggling so far this
season.
Safarova, ranked 15th, has
been falling down the rankings
after making the top ten late last
year as she grapples with the
impact of a bacterial infection
from last September.
Led by Kvitova and Safarova,
the Czechs have won four of the
last five Fed Cup editions.
It beat Romania 3-2 in the
first round in February as
World No.14 Karolina Pliskova
won both her singles includ-
ing a win over fifth-ranked Si-
mona Halep and added the
decisive point in the doubles
rubber paired with Barbora
Strycova.
Pliskova and Strycova are al-
so likely to lead the Czech team
in Luzern. AFP
high entries of more than 30 cars.
There were times this season
where things were working for
me and I did not make use of the
situation and there were times
this season where I felt that I was
driving really well but things
were just not working out for me.
The highlights for me, re-
sults-wise, were Pau Grand Prix,
Zandvoort Masters and the Ma-
cau Grand Prix.
SPORT
and broke again to end the
match.
Overall, this is the best
match I've played in the tourna-
ment, Djokovic said. I feel bet-
ter than I did last year at the
same stage. I'm hoping I can
keep the same trajectory.
Djokovic won his 11th Grand
Slam title two months ago at the
Australian Open and also has
crowns this year at Indian Wells
and Doha.
Goin matched his semifinal
run from Indian Wells by down-
ing French 18th seed Gilles Si-
mon 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Feeling great, Goin said.
Confident for the rest of the
week and the season.
But he is 0-3 against Djokovic,
losing in the 2013 French Open
first round and at Cincinnati in
2013 and 2015.
Hes going to be very dan- has won both their previous
gerous but I like my chances,
Djokovic said.
Former World No. 1 Azaren-
ka defeated British 24th seed Jo-
hanna Konta 6-4, 6-2 while Ker-
ber cruised into the semifinals,
downing US 22nd seed Madison
Keys 6-3, 6-2.
The German second seed, the
FORMULA ONE
Alonso to miss Bahrain GP
MANAMA: Fernando Alonso will
not take part in this weekends
Bahrain Grand Prix for medical
reasons following his dramatic
crash at the Australian GP.
Following a decision by the
FIA doctors, Fernando Alonso
will not be participating in this
weekends 2016 Bahrain Grand
Prix, McLaren said in a state-
ment.
Stofel Vandoorne, the reign-
ing GP2 champion, will make his
F1 debut in place of Alonso.
FIA said: following an exam-
ination undertaken this morning
at the Bahrain International Cir-
cuit Medical Centre, it has been
decided that McLaren Honda F1
Team driver Fernando Alonso
should not take part in this week-
ends Bahrain Grand Prix.
Two sets of chest CT scans
were compared and it was decid-
ed that there was insuicient res-
olution of the signs to allow him
to compete on safety grounds,
Speaking about the main chal-
lenge he faced moving from F4 to
F3, Maini says, The main thing
that I struggled with initially was
using the much higher level
downforce available in the F3
car. Power-wise you dont find it
that big a jump but the speed you
can carry through the corners re-
ally does surprise you.
Karun Chandhok, who has
been mentoring Maini for the
last few years, felt one of the
main reasons for the lack of re-
sults was down to the team he
was racing for.
You would often see that at
the start of the weekend they
would be very competitive but as
the weekend progressed, they
slipped backwards as other peo-
ple would improve the car set up
and he didnt.
So before the annual Macau
GP last year, Maini made a last
minute switch to T-Sport and
had a very good weekend, on
what is one of the most demand-
ing and unforgiving tracks, with
a tenth place finish. He will con-
tinue with the side for 2016.
last of the top 12 remaining, is
1-6 lifetime against Azarenka,
but won their most recent meet-
ing in the Australian Open quar-
terfinals on the way to the title.
We have played some really
tough matches, Kerber said. I
know I have to play my best ten-
nis against her. I will be ready.
Eighth-ranked Azarenka,
who won the 2009 and 2011 Mia-
mi titles, will jump to fifth in the
world next week.
Azarenka could become only
the third woman to win back-to-
back in Miami humidity and In-
dian Wells desert heat after
Stei Graf in 1994 and 1996 and
Kim Clijsters in 2005.
Two-time Grand Slam cham-
pion Svetlana Kuznetsova
meets Swiss 19th seed Timea
Bacsinszky in the other semifi-
nal. The 30-year-old Russian
to be critical.
meetings.
The results:
Men: Quarterfinals: David Goffin
bt Gilles Simon 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, Novak
Djokovic bt Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-3.
Women: Quarterfinals: Victoria
Azarenka bt Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-2,
Angelique Kerber bt Madison Keys
6-3, 6-2. AFP
FIA said. A repeat chest scan
has been requested before the
Chinese GP (on April 17) and the
results will be considered before
allowing him to race there.
Alonsos McLaren was sent in-
to a terrifying barrel roll at the
Australian GP after he clipped
Hamilton relishing battles ahead
MANAMA: Three-time drivers
World champion Lewis Hamil-
ton says he relishes the prospect
of another wheel-to-wheel scrap
with Mercedes teammate Nico
Rosberg and the Ferrari team at
this weekend's Bahrain GP.
The 31-year-old Briton, who
finished second behind Rosberg
at the season-opening Australian
GP in Melbourne, has been in-
volved in previous thrilling and
close battles with the German at
the Bahrain International
Circuit.
And, he fought back after a bad
start in Australia to help Mer-
cedes deliver a one-two at the
opening race after a fight to catch
and overhaul the Ferrari drivers
four-time champion Sebastian
Vettel and the Finnish 2007 title-
winner Kimi Raikkonen.
Im excited by the thought
that there will be more races like
Melbourne, said Hamilton. We
know there are going to be week-
ends where we are a few seconds
up the road ahead of the Ferrari
(team), races where it's wheel-
to-wheel and some races where
they might be ahead.
Bahrain has been very enter-
BOXING
Shiva Thapa books ticket to Rio
Y.B. SARANGI
NEW DELHI: World championship
bronze medal-winning ban-
tamweight boxer Shiva Thapa
on Friday defeated Kairat Yera-
liyev of Kazakhstan, a 2013
Worlds bronze medallist, in the
semifinals to reach the Asian-
Oceania qualifying event final
in Quianan, China, and become
the first Indian boxer to book a
spot in the Rio Olympics.
Thapa had bagged a bronze
in the World championship in
Doha but lost in the box-of for
an Olympic quota place in Oc-
tober last year.
Twenty-two-year-old Tha-
pa, a former Asian champion,
put in some hard work to en-
sure his second Olympics ap-
pearance.
It was a long journey until I
qualified this time. Gods bless-
ings and teams hard work has
brought me to this spot and I am
really happy to have booked my
FOOTBALL
Ferguson pleads for patience
LONDON: Former Manchester
United manager Alex Ferguson
has urged everyone connected
to the club to have some pa-
tience as current boss Louis
van Gaal tries to bring the glory
days back to Old Traford.
United has yet to win any sil-
verware since Ferguson retired
in 2013 after guiding the English
giant to 28 trophies in 26-and-a-
half years in charge.
Immediate successor David
Moyes was sacked after less
than a season in charge in May
2014 and this term has seen
Dutch manager van Gaal come
under intense pressure after
United went out of the Cham-
pions League at the group stage
and was knocked out of the Eu-
ropa League by arch-rival Liv-
erpool, having already been
beaten in the League Cup by
second-tier Middlesbrough.
United, however, is now just
a point of the top four and has a
FA Cup semifinal replay to look
forward to, but that hasnt stop-
ped the chorus of criticism over
what many fans see as a lack of
attacking football.
However, Ferguson, in an in-
terview with Sky Sports on
Thursday, said: It is dead easy
seen van Gaal turn to the youth
You have to be realistic
about some things the num-
ber of injuries he (van Gaal) has
had: Phil Jones has played only
seven games this season, Ash-
ley Young, (Antonio) Valencia,
(Luke) Shaw, these are big
losses.
Ferguson, whose career total
Esteban Gutierrezs Haas at
close to 200mph.
The two-time champion, 34,
crawled from the wreckage be-
fore walking away from an acci-
dent FIA president Max Mosley
said would surely have been fatal
in a previous era. AFP
taining for the past two seasons,
so more of the same would be
great for everyone.
Vettel and Raikkonen made
the most of slow starts by the two
Mercedes men in Melbourne to
take control of the race and lead
for more than half the distance
before they were reeled in
partly due to tyre strategy deci-
sions and overhauled.
This weekend, Ferrari expects
to be stronger still and may have
a good early opportunity to
break the Mercedes grip on
early-season victories.
Rosberg said: Ferrari was a
real threat all weekend in Mel-
bourne and it's clear that we've
got a big battle on our hands. I've
had some great battles in Bahrain
in the last two years, with Lewis
and the Ferraris, so I'm expecting
more of the same and looking
forward to that...
Team boss Toto Wolf con-
firmed that Mercedes fears Fer-
rari more than ever this week-
end, but added that he was as
worried about the sport's image
and the likelihood of another
fiasco in qualifying on Saturday.
A new format of progressive
Shiva Thapa. FILE PHOTO
ticket to Rio, Thapa told The
Hindu from Quianan.
I believe in hard work and I
feel very motivated with the
strong and supportive team
that we have. The toughest part
is when we bleed and sweat
during our training and the
of 49 trophies (he won 11 while
in charge of Scottish club Aber-
deen) makes him British foot-
balls most successful manager,
added: It doesnt matter which
team you are, if you have play-
ers missing of that calibre it has
to have an impact on the team.
The other aspect, which is
always easy to forget, is that
there are also five new players
in their first season at United,
and two are young players in
(Anthony) Martial and Mem-
phis (Depay) and their promise
is good, the 74-year-old Scot
explained.
You have to have some pa-
tience being a Manchester
United fan and they have
shown that over the years; in
Matt Busbys time, in my time,
said Ferguson in a reference to
celebrated Scottish predeces-
sor Matt Busby, who brought
success to Old Traford in the
1950s and 1960s.
For 150 years of history it is
worth having a couple of years
on the quiet side of success be-
cause they will always come
back and come back strong.
Sensational Rashford
Uniteds injury crisis has turn Uniteds noisy neigh-
set-up for first-team players,
the manager maintaining a tra-
dition that started with the
Busby Babes.
Teenage striker Marcus
Rashford, a locally-born 18-
year-old, has led the way with
five goals in eight appearances.
You have to give him credit,
GOLF
New rule stretches
Tigers wait for
Hall of Fame
MIAMI: Tiger Woods will have a
longer wait before taking his
place in the World Golf Hall of
Fame after oicials announced
the qualifying age for enshrine-
ment had been raised.
The Hall of Fame said in a
statement that candidates for in-
ductions must be at least 50 at the
start of the year when selections
are made, rather than the prior
age of 40, or have not actively
played for five years.
That means 14-time major
champion Woods, who turned
40 last December, would have
been considered this year under
the old rules but, provided he
keeps playing, must now wait an-
other decade for his chance.
We work very closely with
our Hall of Fame Members to en-
elimination in which a driver
was knocked out every 90 sec-
onds resulted in near-uproar in
Melbourne when the session
ended without a car on the track.
An immediate unanimous de-
cision by the teams to revert to
the former system of qualifying,
in three timed mini-sessions
without individual eliminations,
failed to gain the full support of
the F1 Commission.
As a result, the much-ma-
ligned new format will be used
again in the hot and dry condi-
tions at the Bahrain track at Sak-
hir, 30 kilometres south-west of
the island capital Manama.
The teams were unanimous
in their opinion of it in Mel-
bourne and it wasn't positive,
said Wolf.
We haven't found the right
format with this change and it's
hard to see how it might be more
entertaining for the fans this
weekend in Bahrain.
The sport is under scrutiny
on this matter, so careful thought
is required in order to make co-
ordinated, intelligent steps for-
ward from the position we are
in. AFP 6-0, 6-3.
| 21
sweetest part is when the hand
is raised as the winner, said
Thapa, who will meet Thai box-
er Chatchai Butdee in the final.
L. Devendro Singh (49kg),
who lost to Rogen Ladon of Phi-
lippines in the semifinals, will
fight against Gan-Erdene Gank-
huyag of Mongolia in his quest
for an Olympic quota place.
Three boxers in each weight
will qualify for the Olympics.
Heartbreak for Mary Kom
Meanwhile, London Olym-
pics bronze medallist M.C. Ma-
ry Kom (51kg) lost to old foe
Ren Cancan of China in the
semifinals to miss out on an
Olympic berth. In the womens
section, only the finalists will
make it to Rio. Multiple Asian
champion L. Sarita Devi (60kg)
lost in the second round.
Nevertheless, they will have
another chance to make it to
Rio through a qualifying event
later this year.
For 150 years of
history it is worth
having a couple of
years on the quiet
side of success
because they will
always come back
strong
hes given nine young players
their debut. I think the future is
good, Ferguson said of van
Gaal.
Rashford is an example of
what I think is Manchester
United. They are the one club
in England who will always
identify a Rashford and give a
young kid a chance there is
no better club in England at giv-
ing young kids a chance.
Rashford is a sensation and
one of the best in years.
Meanwhile, Ferguson had a
warning for incoming Man-
chester City manager Pep
Guardiola, who will bid to re-
bours after guiding current
club Bayern Munich and for-
mer side Barcelona to domestic
and European success.
Man City have made a real
coup in getting him but Pep
wont find it easy, English foot-
ball is not easy, he said of the
Spaniards imminent arrival in
the Premier League. AFP
sure all aspects of the induction
criteria are shrewd and judi-
cious, said World Golf Hall of
Fame president Jack Peter.
As players continue to ele-
vate their fitness levels and play
at a high level for a longer period
of time, moving the age require-
ment to 50 ensures that we are
able to celebrate their careers at
the proper time.
Woods was the main figure
who inspired golfs fitness revo-
lution, shattering the Masters re-
cord in winning his first major in
1997, before dominating the
sport for years. Jack Nicklaus,
whose record 18 major wins is
the milestone Woods has chased
his entire career, was named a
co-chairman of the Hall selec-
tion committee. AFP
Shashikant Rajput
in two finals
CHANDIGARH: Shashikant Rajput
and Rishabh Sharda set up a
title clash in the boys under-18
section in the AITA Cham-
pionship series junior tennis
tournament at the CLTA
Complex on Thursday.
In the girls under-18 final,
Alisha Menon will be chal-
lenged by Kavya Sawhney.
The results:
Boys: Under-18: Semifinals:
Shashikant Rajput bt Sagar Bains
6-2, 6-4; Rishabh Sharda bt Neeraj
Yashpaul 6-1, 6-1. Doubles (final):
Calvin Golmei & Rishabh Sharda bt
Abhimanyu Rozra & Neeraj Yashpaul
6-4, 6-0.
Under-16: Semifinals: Shashi-
kant Rajput bt Bhupender Dahiya
6-3, 7-6(1); Neeraj Yashpaul bt Krish-
an Hooda 6-4, 6-4. Doubles (final):
Bhavesh Aggarwal & Yuvraj Kooka bt
Aditya & Udit Kamboj 6-4, 6-2.
Girls: Under-18: Semifinals:
Prinkle Singh bt Ashpreet Kaur Baj-
wa 6-4, 6-4; Trisha Vinod bt Kavya
Sawhney 6-4, 7-6(3).
Under-16: Semifinals: Alisha Me-
non bt Ashpreet Kaur Bajwa 7-5, 6-4;
Kavya Sawhney bt Bela Tamhankar
ND-ND
22 | NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

CM ND-ND
YK
 | 23
NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

CM ND-ND
YK
24 | LIFE THE HINDU
NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

MIXED REALITY

Walk on Mars with Buzz Aldrin

NASA, Microsoft team up to take people on a virtual guided tour of the Red Planet
WASHINGTON: NASA and tech-
nology giant Microsoft have
teamed up to create Destina-
tion: Mars, a guided tour of
Mars using the HoloLens
headset technology that
helped scientists plan the Cu-
riosity rovers activities on
the Red Planet.
The technology will ofer
people a virtual tour of an ar-
ea of Mars with astronaut
Buzz Aldrin in an interactive
exhibit using the Microsoft
HoloLens mixed reality
headset.
Mixed reality means vir-
tual elements are merged
with the users actual envi-
ronment, creating a world in
which real and virtual objects
can interact.
The Destination: Mars ex-
hibit will open at NASAs Ken-
nedy Space Centers visitor
complex in Florida, the U.S.
space agency said in a
statement.
Guests will visit several
sites on Mars, reconstructed
using real images from NA-
SAs Curiosity Mars Rover,
which has been exploring the
Red Planet since August 2012.
A Microsoft engineer wearing a HoloLens demonstrates the
Destination: Mars project. PHOTO: AFP/TED
Aldrin, an Apollo 11 astro-
naut who walked on the moon
in 1969, will serve as the holo-
graphic tour guide on the
journey.
Curiosity Mars rover driver
Erisa Hines of the Jet Propul-
sion Laboratory (JPL) will al-
so appear holographically,
leading participants to places
on Mars where scientists have
made exciting discoveries and
explaining what has been
learnt about the planet.
This experience lets the
public explore Mars in an en-
tirely new way. To walk
through the exact landscape
that Curiosity is roving across
puts its achievements and dis-
coveries into a beautiful con-
text, said Doug Ellison, vi-
sualisation producer at JPL.
Destination: Mars is an ad-
aptation of OnSight, a Mars
rover mission operations tool
co-developed by Microsoft
and JPL.
A pilot group of scientists
uses OnSight in their work
supporting the Curiosity
Mars rovers operations.
While freely exploring the
terrain, participants learn
about processes that have
shaped this alien world, Jef
Norris, project manager for
OnSight and Destination:
Mars said.
Abigail Fraeman, a Curiosi-
ty science team member at
JPL, uses OnSight to make rec-
ommendations on where the
rover should go and which fea-
tures it has to study.
Recently, OnSight helped
her identify the transition
point between two Martian
rock formations that they
would like to study in further
detail.
By utilising the same tech-
nologies and datasets as On-
Sight, Destination: Mars of-
fers participants a glimpse of
Mars as seen by mission scien-
tists. By connecting astro-
nauts to experts on the
ground, mixed reality could be
transformational for scientif-
ic and engineering eforts in
space, Mr. Norris said. NASA
is preparing to send humans to
Mars in the 2030s. IANS

Yoga college in China draws thousands

BEIJING: The China-India Yoga
College has become a huge
success in China, drawing
thousands of followers to its
free lessons on the ancient In-
dian physical and spiritual
practice.
The countrys first yoga
college was opened last No-
vember in Kunming and is
based in the Yunnan Minzu
(Nationalities) University.
Lu Fang, Deputy Director
of the college, said more than
five dozen full-time students PEACE AT THE TOP: Women perform yoga on a glass suspension bridge to attract tourists in the
have completed yoga sessions Henan province of China. PHOTO: REUTERS/CHINA DAILY
and nearly 3,000 people have
participated in free yoga ses- Mr. Lu said a growing num- yoga teacher in the college, Mandiram, has spent five
sions ofered by the college. ber of people wanted to learn said, I only knew about Iyen- months giving yoga lessons.
Several companies and gov- from Indian yoga masters. gar style, but after extensive She said it was not hard to
ernment oices invited our They not only learn yoga po- learning with Indian tutors, I communicate yoga culture
teachers to teach yoga during sitions, but also sutras, philos- have come to a much deeper with Chinese learners.
celebrations such as the Inter- ophy, culture and dining hab- understanding of yoga. The Chinese Taiji (shad-
national Womens Day, Mr. its from the Indian tutors. Velusamy Subbulakshmi, owboxing) has a great deal of
Lu told state-run Xinhua Han Mingxue, who took who went to China from In- similarity with yoga, she ex-
news agency today. lessons and became a Chinese dias Krishnamacharya Yoga plained. PTI

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