http :www.hindustantimes.

com/

New Delhi/METRO n Vol. XCV No. 220 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2019

CHARLIE COLE, PHOTOGRAPHER BEHIND TIANANMEN

SQUARE ‘TANK MAN’ PICTURE, DIES >htworld p17

IAF seeks ₹40,000 cr to

acquire new equipment
Rahul Singh
rahul.singh@hindustantimes.com
BIG LEAP FOR TEJAS
n

NEW DELHI: Grappling with a

spending crunch that could hit its
modernisation efforts, the Indian
Air Force (IAF) has sought addi-
tional money from the govern-
ment to buy new equipment and
also pay for weapons and systems
it has already contracted to pur-
chase, two senior IAF officials
said on condition of anonymity.
The capital expenditure of ■ TheLCA Tejas successfully carried out an ‘arrested landing’,
~39,300 crore earmarked for IAF
demonstrating ability to land on board an aircraft carrier. IAF
in this year’s budget is not
enough to upgrade capabilities
and more money needs to be
SHORTAGE OF FUNDS ALREADY
BILLED FOR
pumped in to avoid a funding cri-
sis, said one of the officials cited ₨39,300 cr ₨40,000 cr 36 Rafale jets
above. IAF requires at least Earmarked for IAF’s What IAF requires
~40,000 crore more to pursue its capital expenditure above and over the 5 S-400 Triumf air
modernisation, he added. in this yr’s budget allocated amount defence missile
“There’s a worrying mismatch systems
ON IAF’S WISH LIST
between our requirements and 22 Apache
the money allocated for it. We 114 new medium-weight fighter planes AH-64E attack
have asked the government to 83 light combat aircraft helicopters
provide more funds. We have 33 more MiG-29s and Sukhoi-30s CH-47F
been told that IAF’s demand will
6 aerial refuelling planes Chinook
be looked into at the revised esti-
56 new medium transport aircraft heavy-lift
mate stage in December,” the offi-
helicopters
cial said. 70 basic trainer aircraft
Big-ticket critical purchases
on IAF’s wish list, running into
billions of dollars, include 114
new medium-weight fighter
planes, 83 light combat aircraft, a
Curbs lifted in most
mix of 33 more MiG-29s and
Sukhoi-30s, six aerial refueling
planes, 56 new medium transport
aircraft and 70 basic trainer air-
areas of J&K: Govt
craft. SRINAGAR: Barring a few parts of to wear a deserted look as people
“Apart from buying new plat- Old City of Srinagar, restrictions preferred to remain indoors, and
forms, we also have to make pay- were eased in the rest of the Kash- traffic was very thin on the roads.
ments for those that were con- mir Valley though prayers were On Thursday, the government
tracted for earlier and are in the not allowed in Srinagar’s Jamia spokesperson had said that there
process of being inducted. The Masjid on the sixth consecutive were no restrictions in any part of
IAF has a committed liability of Friday since the Centre revoked the Kashmir Valley. However a
~48,000 crore,” the second official Jammu and Kashmir’s special day later, security forces put bar-
said. status on August 5. ricades on roads leading to Jamia
CONTINUED ON P 7 The city, however, continued Masjid, which was closed. ››P8

mustread
NO TRACTION FOR
PAK AT UNHRC
With Pakistan getting no traction
for its efforts to raise the Kashmir
issue at least four times at the UN
Human Rights Council (UNHRC),
Islamabad is at its wit’s end about
forcing an urgent debate or
introducing a resolution at the
session in Geneva. ››P8
CHINMAYANAND
QUIZZED BY SIT
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader
and former Union minister Swami
Chinmayanand was interrogated by
the SIT, formed to probe a law
student’s rape allegations against the
former MP, for around seven hours in
connection with the case, his counsel
said on Friday. ››P13
DUSU POLLS: ABVP
WINS 3 POSTS
The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya
Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP)
continued to dominate the Delhi
University Students’ Union polls
two years in a row by winning
three out of four posts on the
panel while the Congress-backed
NSUI bagged one. ››P5
 www.facebook.com/hindustantimes
New Delhi/METRO n Vol. XCV No. 220 n Price ₹ 5.00/with Hindustan ₹ 9.00 (₹ 7.50 in Faridabad)/with Mint ₹ 14.50 n 28 Pages + 16 pages of HT City. Area specific pages extra.
NAOMI OSAKA SACKS HER SECOND COACH
IN SEVEN MONTHS
Capital’s odd-even plan
will return in November
ROAD RATIONING Scheme to be in effect from Nov 4 to 15, says CM Kejriwal
theairwe
breathe
HT Correspondent
n htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) government will
enforce the odd-even road
rationing scheme between
November 4 and 15 to tackle air
pollution exacerbated by stub-
ble burning in neighbouring
northern states during the win-
ter, chief minister Arvind Kejri-
wal said on Friday.
The move is part of a seven-
point Parali Pradushan (stubble
burning) action plan aimed at
combating high levels of air pol-
lution, Kejriwal said. The plan
will include measures such as
extensive tree plantation, mech-
anised sweeping of roads and
sprinkling of water, mass distri-
bution of anti-pollution masks
and improving the air quality at
12 hotspots.
“The first measure of our
action plan is the odd-even road
rationing scheme, which will
start right after Diwali,which is
on October 27. It will start from
November 4, a Monday, and con-
tinue till November 15. The
studies that have been done on
odd-even suggest that the drive
results in 10-13% reduction in
pollution levels,” Kejriwal,
India’s economic
growth weaker
than expected: IMF
WASHINGTON: India’s economic
growth is “much weaker” than
expected, the International Mon-
etary Fund (IMF) said on Thurs-
day, attributing the reasons to
corporate and environmental
regulatory uncertainty and lin-
gering weaknesses in some non-
bank financial companies.
The IMF in July projected a
slower growth rate for India in
2019 and 2020, a downward revi-
sion of 0.3% for both the years,
saying its gross domestic product
(GDP) will now grow respectively
at the rate of 7 and 7.2% reflecting
a weaker-than-expected outlook
for domestic demand. ››P19
11 dead as boats
capsize during
idol immersion
BHOPAL : Police on Friday
arrested two boatsmen after 11
people drowned when the two
boats carrying them capsized
during Ganesh idol immersion
at Lower Lake in Bhopal.
At least 18 people from
Piplani area in Bhopal were
travelling on two boats at Khat-
lapura ghat to immerse the idols
with the help of a crane when
the incident took place, a senior
Bhopal police official said.
“When one of the boat capsized,
the people jumped on to the sec-
ond boat which also capsized,”
the official said. ››P9
Ex-Kolkata top cop
loses protection
from arrest
KOLKATA: The Calcutta high court
on Friday set aside its earlier
order that granted former Kolk-
ata police commissioner Rajeev
Kumar interim protection from
arrest in the multi-crore Sar-
adha chit fund case.
Soon after the court order, two
officers of the CBI, which is prob-
ing the case, went to his resi-
dence on Park Street to serve
him a notice. Kumar’s lawyer
Milon Mukherjee refused to
comment on whether he would
appear before the agency or
appeal in a higher court against
Friday’s verdict. ››P11
www.twitter.com/htTweets
>htsport p26
BATTLING AIR POLLUTION
During the 12 days when the scheme will be in force, vehicles will ply alternately on odd
and even dates as per their registration numbers
n Delhi government also announced a seven-point
action plan to tackle pollution.
whose party faces assembly
elections early next year, told
journalists.
Private vehicles with licence
plates ending in odd and even
numbers will be allowed on
alternate days on the streets of
the capital, whose air quality
has been ranked by global sur-
veys as among the world’s dirti-
est, when the campaign is
underway. Vehicular emissions
are one of the chief contributors
to pollution, which worsens in
the winters because of stubble
burning in northern states such
as Punjab and Haryana.
During the 12-day road
STUDENTS DIE IN EXPRESSWAY ACCIDENT
n Five college students were on their way to Noida from Agra when their car crashed into a bus on
the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida on Friday evening. >>P3
CAR CRASHES INTO BUS
Two students of Amity University
were killed and three of their
friends were injured after their
car crashed into a bus on the
Yamuna Expressway while they
were returning to Noida from
Agra on Friday evening.
Blacklist of Sikhs reduced to 2
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Indian govern-
ment’s blacklist of Sikh foreign
nationals who were denied visas
for their alleged links to the Kha-
listan movement has been
reduced from 314 to just two fol-
lowing a review, senior officials
who didn’t want to be named said.
The 312 nationals taken off the
Adverse List, as the blacklist is
We’ve lost faith in govt: HC on illegal hoardings
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
CHENNAI: The Madras high
court on Friday slammed the
Tamil Nadu government
over illegal hoardings put up
in the state capital, a day
after a 23-year-old woman
software engineer came
under the wheels of a water
tanker and was killed when
she was struck by a bill-
board that collapsed.
The high court asked if
WHEN: November 4 (Monday) till
November 15 (Sunday)
Previous iterations of scheme in 2016
April 15 to April 30; January 1 to January 15
WHO IT WILL 3,340,086
AFFECT Four-wheelers
EXEMPT IN THE PAST
₨2,000 n CNG-powered
Fine on the vehicles
violators of n Women
the rule in the n Two-wheelers
past
There is no word yet over exemptions under
HT FILE the scheme this time
rationing, vehicles with regis-
tration numbers ending in an
odd digit (1,3,5,7,9) will be
allowed on the five odd days.
Those with licence plates end-
ing in an even digit (0,2,4,6,8)
will be permitted to ply on the
five even days. During the week-
end (November 9-10), all vehi-
cles will be allowed on the city’s
roads.
In the previous two experi-
ments in January and April in
2016, a fine of ~2,000 was speci-
fied for violators of the rule.
Kejriwal said details such as
exemptions and fines on viola-
tors are yet to be decided. “We
FIRST RESPONSE
The students were rushed to a nearby
hospital, where two of them were
declared brought dead while the
others are undergoing treatment.
Police said the car, a Hyundai i20, had
to be sawed open to rescue the
students who were trapped inside.
officially known, will be eligible
to get visas to visit their kin in
India and obtain the Overseas
Citizen of India (OCI) cards, and
all Indian missions have been
informed about the change, the
officials said.
The decision to whittle down
the list was taken after a review of
the threat posed by these people
to India.
“This review is a continuous
and dynamic process and is a part
YO U N G L I F E L O S T
the state government, led by
the All India Anna Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam
(AIADMK), would take a
firm stand against unautho-
rised billboards. It also
ordered the government to
pay interim compensation of
~5 lakh to the family of the
victim, identified as R Sub-
hasri.
The amount should be
recovered from officials
responsible for the presence
CONTINUED ON P 6
n DOWNLOAD OUR iPAD APP
TRADE DEFICIT
NARROWS TO
$13.45 BILLION
BORIS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ON BREXIT DEAL
BRITISH PM IS DUE TO MEET TOP EU OFFICIALS ON MONDAY >htworld p17
business p19
7,311,731
Two-wheelers
n Emergency
vehicles
n Vehicles of
ministers and
legal dignitaries
will take into consideration all
findings from the previous odd-
even experience,” he said. Gov-
ernment officials said that over
the next few weeks, stakehold-
ers such as experts, traffic
police and transport depart-
ment will be consulted to decide
on the exemptions.
Exemptions under earlier
odd-even stints had generated
controversy, with VIPs, woman
drivers, vehicles running on
compressed natural gas and the
disabled kept out of the ambit of
the road rationing exercise.
Two-wheelers, which number
CONTINUED ON P 6
HT PHOTO
PRIMA FACIE CAUSE
The police said that prima facie, it
appears that the speeding car
crashed into the divider on the
expressway, crossed over the
median and rammed a bus, which
was on its way to Agra. None of
the bus passengers were injured.
of a regular exercise. Such a
review will afford an opportunity
to such Sikh foreign nationals to
visit India, meet their family
members and reconnect to their
roots,” an official said.
During the 1980s, when the
militant movement for Khalistan
or a separate Sikh homeland was
at its peak, “many Sikh Indian
nationals and foreign nationals
belonging to the Sikh community
CONTINUED ON P 7
n The billboard that fell on 23-year-old techie
R Subhasri (inset) on Thursday.
www.hindustantimes.com/iPad
SC ASKS IF LAW
BEING MADE ON
AADHAAR-SOCIAL
MEDIA LINKAGE
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI: The Centre said on Fri-
day that it wasn’t opposed to the
transfer to the Supreme Court
cases pending in the high courts
over the linking of social media
accounts with the Aadhaar
unique identity number, taking a
stand that’s at variance with the
Tamil Nadu government’s.
“We are not opposed to the
transfer of the petitions to
Supreme Court, but the court
must also take into account that
high courts have spent substan-
tial time hearing the cases,” solic-
itor general of India Tushar
Mehta, appearing for the Centre,
said.
The central government
spelled out its stand in the top
court during the hearing of a peti-
tion by Facebook Inc, seeking the
transfer of petitions from various
high courts to the Supreme
Court. The petitioners want
social media accounts linked to
the 12-digit Aadhaar number for
authentication.
The Facebook petition says
CONTINUED ON P 7
mustread
3-JUDGE BENCH
TO REVIEW SC/ST
ACT ORDER
The Supreme Court on Friday
referred its March 2018 verdict
banning automatic arrests in
cases involving crimes against
underprivileged classes to a
three-judge bench. ››P11
Delhi court rejects
Chidambaram’s
plea to surrender
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI: A Delhi court on Friday
dismissed former finance minis-
ter P Chidambaram’s request to
let him surrender before the
Enforcement Directorate (ED)
and face questioning in the INX
Media money laundering case,
sending him back to judicial cus-
tody in Tihar jail in another set-
back to the Congress leader.
Special judge Ajay Kumar
Kuhar turned down the plea by
the former Union minister, who
made his first attempt to force ED,
which investigates cases of
money laundering and foreign
exchange rule violations, to
arrest him on September 5, hours
after the Supreme Court declined
to offer him protection against
arrest by the agency.
ED opposed Chidambaram’s
anticipatory bail application in
the top court earlier this week,
insisting that it needed to arrest
him. It hasn’t made its move yet,
saying it would do so at an appro-
priate time. Kuhar said Chidam-
baram cannot be remanded to
ED’s custody because he has not
been arrested. ››P11
mustread
RED CORNER
NOTICE AGAINST
NEHAL MODI
On Enforcement Directorate’s
request, the Interpol has
issued a red notice against the
stepbrother of Nirav Modi,
accused of cheating PNB of
over ~13,500 crore. ››P9
HT
n OUR EDITION ON KINDLE
Delhi Declaration calls
for land-based solutions
Jayashree Nandi
n jayashree.nandi@htlive.com
GREATER NOIDA: Land-based solu-
tions should be used for climate
action and biodiversity conserva-
tion, the New Delhi Declaration
adopted by 197 parties to the
United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
on Friday has proposed,
acknowledging recent research,
including one titled Climate
Change and Land by the Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate
Change that stress on land-based
measures such as afforestation,
enhancing soil carbon and chang-
ing diets.
The implementation of the
three Rio Conventions on Cli-
mate, Biodiversity and Desertifi-
cation should be implemented in
a “mutually supportive” manner,
the declaration has said.
The three conventions were
formed following the Earth Sum-
mit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. “The
New Delhi Declaration: Investing
in Land and Unlocking Opportu-
nities” was adopted on Friday at
the closing of the 14th Conference
of Parties to the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertifi-
cation (UNCCD) hosted by India
at Greater Noida.
India driving Muslims Cong leaders cry
to extremism: Imran foul as new House
Imtiaz Ahmad
n letters@hindustantimes.com
ISLAMABAD: The situation in Kash-
mir will drive more of the
world’s Muslims towards
extremism and people “will rise
against India”, Prime Minister
Imran Khan said during a speech
in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
(PoK) on Friday.
Khan made the remarks while
addressing a rally of several
thousand people in PoK capital
Muzaffarabad, which was orga-
nised as part of the Pakistan gov-
ernment’s protests every Friday
against India’s August 5 decision
to revoke Jammu & Kashmir’s
special status.
“People will rise against India,
and it is not just about Indian
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http://read.ht/JS4
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2019
TOWARDS SAVING LAND
The Delhi Declaration was adopted by over 190 countries
n It says the world needs to n The parties invited develop-
consider land-based solutions ment partners, international
for climate action and financial mechanisms, private
biodiversity to achieve the sector and other stakeholders to
long-term goals of the Paris boost investments for the
Agreement convention’s implementation
UN Convention to Combat Desertification executive
secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said the takeaway was that:
n Land restoration is the n Drought preparedness and
cheapest solution to climate response are critical in the face
change and biodiversity loss of climate change
n Land restoration makes sense n To put people first means to
if regulations and incentives to ensure gender balance, engage
reward investment are in place youth, secure land rights
“We are now not only planning and documenting, but also
improving biodiversity, and believe in all three conventions –
biodiversity, climate change and land degradation”
PRAKASH JAVADEKAR, Environment minister
The parties also took decisions ument, which is an expression of
on around 35 issues related to intent by the parties on how they
land degradation, including land would act on ensuring land deg-
tenure, sand and dust storms and radation neutrality by 2030 (as
drought. While the proposals in specified in the goal 15.3 of the
the Delhi Declaration are volun- sustainable development goals)
tary, the 35 decisions taken at the acknowledged that restoring
COP are legally binding on par- degraded land and achieving the
ties. land degradation neutrality tar-
The two-page declaration doc- CONTINUED ON P 7
When atrocities get to
committees set up
› their peak, people
would prefer that death
is better than this
NEW DELHI: Congress leaders pro-
tested on Friday as the party
appeared to lose the chairman-
ship of the Lok Sabha’s external
affairs committee that it previ-
ously held, as Parliament recon-
insulting life
IMRAN KHAN,
Pakistan PM
stituted its standing committees.
While Bharatiya Janata Party
lawmaker PP Chaudhury will
lead the committee on external
affairs, the finance panel will be
Muslims, there are 1.25 billion
Muslims around the world. They
all are watching this,” Khan said
headed by former minister Jay-
ant Sinha, an official statement
said on Friday. Trinamool Con-
in the televised speech. gress’s Derek O’Brien was not
Khan said he would defend the retained as the chairman of the
cause of the Kashmiris when he travel, tourism and culture com-
attends the UN General Assem- mittee. The Congress’s floor
bly in New York next week. leader, Adhir Ranjan Chow-
There was no immediate reac- dhury, and MP Shashi Tharoor
tion from Indian officials. ››P8 criticised the move. ››P10
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• 3-year bachelor’s degree or equivalent with minimum 50%
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November 22, 2019
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0120-4083306/3380 admissions@imt.edu
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02 hindustantimes
htmetro
Govt to consult stakeholders to list exemptions
ODD-EVEN 3.0 Experts warn that too many
› Doubts linger over
exemptions may dilute the purpose of scheme
theairwe
breathe
HT Correspondent
n htreporters@hindustantmes.com
NEW DELHI: While the Delhi gov-
ernment Friday said it would, in
a first, consult stakeholders to
decide on “exemptions” for the
third edition of the odd-even
scheme, experts opined that
keeping a high number of exemp-
tions would dilute the purpose of
the scheme meant to fight air pol-
lution in the city.
Delhi chief minister Arvind
Kejriwal Friday announced that
the odd-even vehicle rationing
scheme will be implemented
between November 4 and 15, after
a gap of more than three years.
When the scheme was imple-
mented in January and April
2016, the government had
exempted women drivers; two-
wheelers; emergency vehicles;
and vehicles of chief ministers,
Union ministers, political and
legal dignitaries.
Jasmine Shah, vice-chairper-
son of the Dialogue and Develop-
ment Commission for Delhi, a
planning and advisory body asso-
ciated with the Delhi govern-
ment, said the decision on
“exemptions” is likely to be taken
in the next 15 days.
“The government will engage
with stakeholders and take a call
on drafting a list of exemptions.
We have to make sure that every
section can avail of adequate
alternatives for transport,” Shah
said.
Experts, however, pushed for
minimum exemptions. Ravinder
Kumar, principal scientist, trans-
portation and planning division
of Central Road Research Insti-
tute (CRRI), said in previous edi-
tions of the odd-even scheme, the
initiative was not very successful
owing to the exemptions in place,
especially for two-wheelers,
which amounts to about 7.3 mil-
impact of vehicle
lion of the approximately 11 mil-
lion registered vehicles in Delhi.
“If your aim is to reduce vehic-
ular emissions, then exempting
two-wheelers is going to defeat
that purpose. Two-wheelers
make up nearly half the city’s
vehicular volume and their
engines release more pollutants.
The government kept them out
mindful of “popularity or vote
bank”. Whatever the reasoning
was, it resulted in the plan not
working out,” Kumar said.
In December 2017, the AAP
government had attempted to roll
out the scheme for a third time,
but it failed to do so after the
National Green Tribunal (NGT)
refused to give any exemption to
two-wheelers, saying such a
relaxation would defeat the pur-
pose of the scheme.
“There are over 60 lakh two-
wheelers in Delhi. The number
also consists of two- wheelers
which are quite old and their
emissions are beyond prescribed
limits,” an NGT bench had then
said. But the Supreme Court later
stayed the tribunal’s order.
During the last two drives,
experts recalled that scores of
women had voluntarily
embraced the odd-even rule.
Anumita Roychowdhury,
executive director of Centre for
Science and Environment, said in
Delhi, the number of women who
use public transport and cabs is
far more than those who drive.
“There is no reason why women
should get such a privilege when
even the numbers don’t support
such an exemption. Most women
in Delhi either use public trans-
port or cabs and a large section
prefer to walk to their workplaces
or for doing errands,” she said.
Residents associations too
raised concerns about possible
exemptions. “The scheme helps
in reduction of traffic on key
roads, which may slightly reduce
pollution. After Diwali, the air is
not breathable, especially for the
during this phase, it must be
embraced, but without exemp-
tions,” BS Vohra, president, fed-
eration of East Delhi RWAs, said.
Vehicle rationing scheme 3.0
The odd-even scheme was implemented in January, April 2016
Odd-even 1.0
January 1-15
n There are over 60 lakh two-wheelers in Delhi.
11,094,474 Total registered vehicles in Delhi
3,340,086
Registered four-wheelers
Buses
4,564 5,454
2016 2018
Odd-even only if pollution spikes: EPCA chief
HT Correspondent
htreporters@htlive.com
n
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court-
appointed Environment Pollu-
tion (Prevention and Control)
Authority (EPCA) chief Bhure
Lal Friday said emergency meas-
ures such as an odd-even vehicle
rationing scheme are warranted
only when the air quality has
deteriorated to “severe plus” cat-
egory.
The comments came hours
after Delhi chief minister Arvind
Kejriwal announced that the
scheme will be in force in the capi-
tal during the first half of Novem-
ber.
“The measure should be taken
only after consultation with
EPCA, which is the enforcing
authority for the graded response
action plan (GRAP). If the air
quality is not in the “severe”
Odd-even 2.0 Odd-even 3.0
April 15-30 November 4–15
7,311,731 442,657
Registered two-wheelers
Delhi Metro network (length in km)
2016 212.44 kms
2019 373 kms
EXPLAINING THE TIMING
OF THE SCHEME,
KEJRIWAL SAID IN THE
FIRST HALF OF
NOVEMBER, POLLUTION
IN DELHI SPIKES DUE
TO SMOKE FROM
STUBBLE BURNING
zone, it the odd-even scheme is
not required,” Lal said.
Explaining the timing of the
scheme, Kejriwal said in the first
half of November, pollution in
Delhi spikes due to smoke from
stubble burning in neighbouring
states and the aftermath of Diwali
celebrations. “Odd-even is
always an emergency measure.
As smoke from stubble burning
peaks during this time, we will be
Who were
exempted from
earlier scheme?
 Women
 Two-wheeler riders
 Emergency vehicles
 CNG powered vehicles
 Vehicles of chief ministers,
union ministers and legal
dignitaries
Seven-Point
Action Plan
 Odd even scheme
 Distribution of N-95 grade
pollution masks
 Mega laser show on Diwali,
HT FILE 

anti-firecracker awareness
campaign
Deployment of marshals to
check waste burning
Developing sub-action plan
for 12 pollution hotspots
 Measures to control dust
Others
pollution
 The Delhi Tree Challenge –
an initiative under which
residents can avail free
home delivery of saplings
implementing the road rationing
drive as an emergency measure,”
Kejriwal said Friday.
The GRAP was notified in Jan-
uary 2017 to combat various lev-
els of pollution in the national
capital. Emergency measures
such as odd-even are rolled out
only when the air quality is in
severe plus (when PM2.5 and
PM10 levels breach the value of
300 and 500ug/m3) category for 48
hours or more.
O P Agarwal, CEO, WRI-India,
said odd-even could be a good
short-term emergency measure.
“It could work as an emergency
measure to reduce the number of
vehicles during peak pollution
days.”
Others believe the city is not
prepared for such a measure.
“With the existing public
transport, odd-even scheme
might not bring the kind of relief
Buses still not
enough to handle
passenger rush
NEW DELHI: Adding more public
buses to its fleet and prepared-
ness of the Delhi Metro will be key
to the success of the odd-even
vehicle rationing scheme.
The biggest hurdle that the
AAP government is likely to face
in the implementation of the
scheme is the limited number of
public buses available in the city.
After the recent introduction
of the first lot of 25 buses, out of
the promised 4,000, the number of
public buses in the national capi-
tal stands at 5,454. Delhi govern-
ment’s transport department is
on its way to procure 4,000 buses,
all of which will be added in
batches by 2020.
This means that by November
— when the agencies will be fac-
ing the task of keeping half the
city’s private cars from plying on
the roads — Delhi will just have a
little over 5,400 buses to cater to
the additional rush.
In January 2016, when the first
phase of odd-even was introduced
in the city, there were just over
4,500 buses in the DTC fleet. How-
ever, what worked in the govern-
ment’s favour then was a vaca-
tion in city schools, which
allowed agencies to pull school
buses to ferry the increased num-
ber of passengers. Out of the total
4,564 public buses, nearly 600
were buses enrolled with schools
for ferrying children, which were
roped in for the first phase. In
April that year, after schools
reopened, the 600 buses were put
on school duty for four hours.
Amit Bhatt, director of inte-
grated transport at the non-profit
World Resources Institute (WRI)
India, said that the number of
public buses required still might
not be enough but at least the gov-
ernment has begun the process of
bus procurement.
“Last time the government had
exempted women, two wheelers
and a section of clean fuel users.
This means that you have to
accommodate only 10% popula-
tion of car users. This is not diffi-
cult. All one needs with the exist-
ing infrastructure is use the Delhi
Metro more efficiently and pro-
mote car sharing,” Bhatt said.
DMRC on Friday said they will
prepare a comprehensive plan to
accommodate the increase in pas-
senger volume. Since 2016, the
Delhi Metro has added over 100
kilometres to its network.
In 2016, the Delhi Metro net-
work was 212.44 kms in length.
Now the network length has
reached 373 km. HTC
There is no reason
why women should
get such a privilege when
even the numbers don’t
support such exemption.
Most women in Delhi either
use public transport or
cabs and a large section
prefer to walk to their
workplaces.
ANUMITA ROYCHOWDHURY,
Centre for Science and Environment
The govt will engage
› with stakeholders and
take a call on drafting a list
of exemptions.We have to
make sure that every
section can avail adequate
transport alternatives
JASMINE SHAH, Dialogue and
Development Commission for Delhi
that the government is expecting.
If you are taking people off roads,
where will you accommodate
them?” Subhash Chand, head of
traffic engineering and safety
division, Central Road Research
Institute (CRRI), said.
Sewa Ram, transport planning
expert at the School of Planning
and Architecture (SPA), who had
reviewed the previous two edi-
tions of the scheme, said the pro-
posed timing of the third round of
odd-even may not work.
“We had conducted a review
after both phases of odd-even in
2016. In the first phase, what
worked was that schools had
vacations, which resulted in less
traffic. This time, the hypothesis
is that the results might not be as
promising. The dates are right
after Diwali, when people will be
back on the road after vacation,”
Sewa Ram said.
Pollution is now politically
salient in national capital
BY INVITATION
SHIBANI GHOSH AND
SANTOSH HARISH
NEW DELHI: The Arvind Kejriwal
government has announced a
seven-point agenda - the Parali
Pradushan Action plan - in antici-
pation of pollution peaking again
in Delhi during the winter. One of
the key features of the plan is a
proposal to reintroduce the odd-
even scheme that rations the use
of vehicles, from 4 to 15 Novem-
ber. In addition, the plan includes
the distribution of face masks,
measures to be implemented in 12
critical hotspots, a campaign
against firecrackers and commu-
nity laser shows during Diwali,
and measures for dust control.
While the exact parameters of the
scheme are not yet known, the
announcement is no doubt a bold
political move. Air pollution
impairs human health across
India year-round, and yet the
political class has been mostly
unmoved by the scale of the prob-
lem.
The action plan suggests three
significant shifts in the policy dis-
course on air quality governance.
First, air pollution has gained
political salience - at least in
Delhi. Over the past few years,
public demands for action
against air pollution have grown
louder. The Delhi government
seems to have responded to this
demand. The response perhaps is
still not proportionate to the scale
of the problem, and cleverly high-
lights one non-Delhi based pollu-
tion source -- crop burning -- but
at least the needle has moved
towards proactive policy meas-
ures.
Second, policy measures to
mitigate air pollution in India
have typically been reactive and
ad hoc, often (grudgingly)
responding to judicial directions.
Kejriwal’s agenda, coming sev-
eral weeks before the peak pollu-
tion season in the National Capi-
tal Region, appears to be a
planned move – identifying,
based on information and experi-
ence from past years, the crucial
period when crop burning and
the festival season, along with
meteorological conditions, play
havoc with air quality. A for-
ward-looking policy process that
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
SAT URDAY, SE PTE MB E R 14, 2 01 9
ABVP BAGS THREE POSTS IN DUSU POLLS
rationing scheme
HT Correspondent
n htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI:Chief minister Arvind
Kejriwal, while proposing to roll
out the odd-even vehicle ration-
ing scheme between November 4
and 15, said that such measures
had helped bring down pollution
level by 14%-16% in 2016.
He was referring to the find-
ings of a joint study undertaken
by the University of Chicago and
Harvard University, which was
presented to him on Thursday.
Studies by Indian researchers
to ascertain the impact of the odd-
even on pollution levels, when it
was first introduced in January
2016, however, have shown mixed
results. While some revealed that
the scheme didn’t have the
desired impact, others showed
that pollution level decreased
when the measure was rolled out.
The vehicle rationing scheme
could reduce pollution level by
just around 2-3%, a study done by
a team of scientists from Indian
Institutes of Technology (IIT) in
Delhi, Kanpur, Indian Institute of
Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in
Pune, Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) and
the The Energy and Resources
Institute (TERI), had concluded.
Only three pockets of the city —
Najafgarh, Shalimar Bagh and
Greater Kailash — registered
8-10% reduction in pollution.
A similar study by researchers
of the environmental sciences
and biomedical metrology divi-
sion at the National Physical Lab-
oratory and Jawaharlal Nehru
University corroborated the find-
ings of the IIT-IITM study.
“While on one hand, several
vehicles will manage to pass
through the gaps even on odd-
even days, it is expected that the
government will give a lot of
exemptions. As a result, these
short-term interventions are
n The odd-even scheme was
implemented as two 15-day
initiatives in 2016.
is not caught unawares by a fairly
predictable turn of events is a
welcome change.
Third, the government is will-
ing to put its heft behind pollution
control measures with uncertain
political payoffs. A mere months
before state asssembly elections,
the government is taking the risk
of announcing measures whose
“costs” (inconvenience to com-
muters using private vehicles for
example) will be evident, but the
“benefits” (improved air quality)
difficult to perceive in real time,
and possibly challenging to quan-
tify conclusively even later.
In its previous iteration, the
odd-even programme was imple-
mented as two 15-day pilots in
2016. Compliance levels were gen-
erally high in both rounds, with
the January round perhaps wit-
nessing more enthusiastic partic-
ipation than in April. In terms of
air quality impact, the evidence
seems mixed. Analysis by
researchers of the Energy Policy
Institute at University of Chic-
ago, who included one of us at the
time, used government monitor-
ing data and found that there was
a significant reduction in PM2.5
levels by 14-16% in January, but
no significant dip in April (possi-
bly due to warmer conditions and
lower pollution levels). The
results suggested that odd-even
could be effective as an emer-
gency measure during peak pol-
lution episodes.
However, some other studies,
using different methods, have
disagreed about the impact of
odd-even on air quality. During
the implementation itself, there
was criticism, given that pollu-
tion levels remained elevated.
These reflect the inherent diffi-
culty in judging the success of
> P05
unlikely to produce desired
effect,” said SN Tripathi, head of
the civil engineering and earth
sciences at IIT, Kanpur.
Findings from a few other
studies, however, backed the
scheme. Experts from Centre for
Science and Environment sug-
gested that as an “emergency
measure”, the scheme prevented
air pollution levels from getting
worse. “Odd-even is a measure
that is rolled out when adverse
meteorological conditions trap
the local pollutants and air qual-
ity deteriorates. When such a sit-
uation arises, there is a clamp-
down on all sources, including
industries and construction sites,
but vehicles were kept out of the
net. We must also tackle this
source,” said Anumita Roy
Chowdhury, executive director
(research and advocacy), CSE.
Although questions loom over
the efficacy of the vehicle ration-
ing scheme in bringing down pol-
lution in the national capital,
experts from TERI, in their
assessment of the scheme during
the first phase at four monitoring
stations — Mandir Marg, Punjabi
Bagh, Anand Vihar and R K
Puram — had stated that the plan
did help decongest Delhi roads.
Experts said that the efficacy of
the scheme would depend on the
availability of public transport. If
public transport is robust, the
government would be in a posi-
tion to include all vehicles in the
scheme, including more than 60
lakh two-wheelers that contrib-
ute heavily to the city’s pollution.
“Transport sector contributes
to 25-28% of Delhi’s total pollu-
tion. If we can control this, we
would be able to improve air .
This is a welcome move, but it
needs to be implemented without
exemptions. For that, you need a
robust public transport system,”
said D Saha, former head of the
CPCB’s air quality laboratory.
odd-even, and likely the other
emergency measures. Despite
these measures, pollution levels
will almost certainly be very
high; just not as high as they
would otherwise have been. It is
important for the government to
specify clear benchmarks in
advance for what success will
look like, and set reasonable
expectations. Equally, it should
be cautious while declaring suc-
cess later, and be able to justify
any claims on air quality
improvement transparently.
The action plan is an impor-
tant effort towards creating
buy-in from the public in the
process of reducing air pollution.
It places an onus on people - ask-
ing them to take some ownership
of their contribution to the prob-
lem. Although the odd-even
scheme is only a short-term
emergency measure, it could aid
modal shifts from private to pub-
lic transport in the long term. At
the individual level, it forces peo-
ple to adopt a short-term behav-
ioural change, while simultane-
ously exposing them to alterna-
tive lifestyle choices they could
potentially make.
At the macro level, experience
from these short durations of
high usage of public transport
could give crucial insights on
how transit policy needs to be
redesigned.
To tackle the challenge of air
pollution in India, a virtuous
cycle needs to play out success-
fully with political leadership
playing a critical role. First, an
informed public has to make
focussed and forceful demands.
Second, as the political class sees
air pollution becoming vital to its
voters, it champions policies
addressing structural and collec-
tive action problems. Third, polit-
ical backing strengthens enforce-
ment resulting in a few early
wins. These early wins further
invigorate public demand, mak-
ing more difficult policy decisions
and reform efforts politically
attractive, slowly making way
towards better environment gov-
ernance.
The Delhi government’s move
is a good example of the first two
steps of this cycle. Whether it is
successful in delivering wins
depends in part on the public
being responsive, and responsi-
ble.
Shibani Ghosh and Santosh Harish
are Fellows at Centre for Policy
Research, New Delhi
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
SAT URDAY, SE PT E MB E R 14, 2 01 9
Seven-point plan to fight
air pollution in capital
FOR BETTER AIR Implementation will begin in phases and is likely to start in October this yr
HT Correspondent
n htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister
Arvind Kejriwal on Friday
announced a seven-point action
plan to fight air pollution in the
national Capital during the com-
ing winter months. the action
plan , Kejriwal said, will be imple-
mented in phases and is likely to
be started in October when crop
burning begins in neighbouring
states and pollution levels esca-
late in the city.
Kejriwal said the government
is working on setting up a “war
room” – which will operate like a
central control room – for moni-
toring and ensuring effective
implementation of the plan,
which the CM categorised as an
“emergency measure”.
Within the ambit of the plan,
the Delhi government has sched-
uled a 12-day window, between
November 4 and 15, for imple-
mentation of the odd-even num-
ber-plate-based road rationing
scheme, irrespective of what
actual pollution levels in the city
stand out to be at that time.
A day before he made the
announcement, the chief minis-
ter met with experts associated
with the Energy Policy Institute
of University of Chicago, who pre-
sented a study on which they had
collaborated with researchers
from the Harvard University.
The study was on the first odd-
even experiment in Delhi in Jan-
uary 2016. The findings suggested
that the intensity of PM 2.5 in
Delhi’s air had reduced by
around 14%-16% during that
K EJ R I WA L O N M O T O R V E H I C L E S ACT A M E N D M E N T
‘Happy with it but can reduce fines if people face issues’
NEW DELHI: Delhi CM Arvind Kej-
riwal on Tuesday praised the
amended Motor Vehicles Act
notified by the Central govern-
ment last month, under which
traffic penalties have increased
manifold.
The chief minister said the
new law has improved traffic
situation on Delhi roads.
“There has been an improve-
ment in Delhi’s traffic ever since
C E N T R A L
Centre will have to
amend MPD-2021,
say urban planners
Risha Chitlangia
n risha.chitlangia@htlive.com
NEW DELHI: The central govern-
ment will have to amend the
Master Plan of Delhi-2021 to
make way for its plan to revamp
the central vista or Rajpath if it
proposes major changes in the
redevelopment of Parliament
House and other government
buildings in the vicinity, said
urban planners.
KT Ravindran, urban
designer and former chairman of
Delhi Urban Art Commission
(DUAC), said, “To allow any
development or redevelopment
in the area, the master plan of
Delhi and the zonal plan have to
be amended. There is a reason
why we have strict development
control norms for Lutyens Bun-
galow Zones.”
The MPD-2021 describes the
central vista as “one of the finest
examples of urban design and
monumentality in planning in
the world”. Ravindran said,
“The central vista is not just a
piece of land; it is the image of the
nation. It is important to respect
the historic aspect. There are
strict planning laws for the area.
Any decision to make any
change in the central vista and
the area around it should be
taken after serious considera-
tion.”
The government has cited
“shortage of working space,
parking and amenities” as the
reasons to push for redevelop-
ment of the historic area spread
over four square km between
Rashtrapati Bhavan and India
Gate.
Housing and urban affairs
minister Hardeep Singh Puri on
Friday said that the existing
buildings are old and the space is
insufficient. Speaking on the
sidelines of an event organised
by the Delhi Development
Authority (DDA), Puri said that
the government is paying ₹1,000
crore as rent annually to house
its offices in various parts of the
city.
The government aims to bring
all its ministries and depart-
ments, which are spread over
different locations in the city, at
one location as the present set up
n Kejriwal said the govt is also working on setting up a control room for monitoring the plan .
time, the government said in a
statement.
Other measures under the
action plan include a scheme of
free distribution of N-95 grade
pollution masks, a mega laser
show on Diwali and anti-fire-
cracker campaigns to be orga-
nised be the Delhi government,
deployment of “environment
marshals” in residential areas to
keep check on waste burning,
ensuring control of dust pollution
by investing in water sprinklers,
mechanised sweepers, and
launching an initiative in which
residents will be encouraged to
plant saplings at their homes.
The plan also includes drafting
the new Motor Vehicles Act has
been implemented,” Kejriwal
said.
“If there is any clause due to
which people face problems and
we have the power to reduce the
fine, then we will certainly do
it,” the Delhi chief minister
added.
Kejriwal’s statement comes
at a time when the implementa-
tion of the amended Motor Vehi-
V I S T A
For allowing any
› development or
redevelopment in the area,
the master plan of Delhi
and the zonal plan have to
be amended. There is a
reason why we have strict
development control
norms for Lutyens
Bungalow Zones.
KT RAVINDRAN, urban designer
and former chairman, DUAC
leads to “inefficiencies and diffi-
culty in coordination”.
But urban planners disagree
with the government and say
that it is against the basic plan-
ning concept of Delhi. “From
traffic point of view, disbursal of
offices, including government, is
desirable to avoid traffic jam.
The National Capital Region
Planning Board (NCRPB) was
set up to ensure decongestion of
Delhi by creating employment
opportunities by setting up
industries and government offi-
ces in the satellite towns for bal-
anced development of the
region,” said AK Jain, former
commissioner (planning), DDA.
Architect and urban designer
Abhimanyu Dalal says that the
requirement for space will
increase with time and instead of
redeveloping the existing build-
ings and the area, the govern-
ment should set up new offices in
the outskirts. “This will help
meet the requirement for space
and revitalize new areas and cre-
ate employment opportunities.
Reinventing urban areas after
every few years is not a good
idea, as there will be no continu-
ity left,” said Dalal.
With the government likely to
finalise the consultant for the
project by next month, experts
say that the government should
have a clear strategic vision for
the area. “It should look at the
existing office complexes and
identify those which can be
shifted in the peripheral areas,”
said Jain.
a strategy to keep in check air
quality levels in 12 pollution hot-
spots in the city, including Anand
Vihar ISBT, R K Puram, Mundka,
Okhla Phase 2, Rohini, Dwarka
and Bawana.
At this stage, the Delhi govern-
ment is working on the “imple-
mentation modalities” of all
measures under the announced
action plan, Kejriwal said, add-
ing: “for that we are regularly
engaging with experts, resident
welfare associations and people
who contributed through email
on an email ID the government
had launched last week to seek
solutions from residents of the
city.”
cles Act is facing resistance
from several states.
Several states including Pun-
jab, Madhya Pradesh, West Ben-
gal, Telangana and Gujarat
have so far not enforced the pen-
alties of the amended Motor
Vehicles Act.
The Parliament passed Motor
Vehicles (Amendment) Bill,
2019 in July after which the Cen-
tre notified the amendments on
R E V A M P
n The Centre announced Thursday its decision to revamp large parts
of Lutyens’ Delhi, including the central vista.
‘Revamp won’t affect
Delhi’s bid for World
Heritage City tag’
HT Correspondent
n htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: At a time when the
Delhi government is preparing to
nominate the capital for the
UNESCO World Heritage City
tag, stakeholders say the central
government’s plan to revamp the
central vista or Rajpath, which
runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan
through Vijay Chowk and India
Gate, will not affect the proposal
if all regulations are followed.
The Centre announced Thurs-
day its decision to revamp large
parts of Lutyens’ Delhi, which
includes revamping or building a
new Parliament House by 2022
“The dossier for the World
Heritage City tag was prepared in
2014. We have to update it with
changes that have taken place in
Lutyens’ Delhi since then and
also accommodate the plans to
revamp the central vista. How-
ever, we are confident that none
of these changes has done any
harm to the basic character of
Lutyens’ Delhi,” said an official
from the Delhi tourism dept.
The 17th century imperial
Walled City of Shahjahana-
bad,built by Mughal emperor
Shah Jahan, and the British
imperial city of New Delhi,
designed by Edwin Lutyens in the
early 20th century, are two pre-
cincts being considered for the
tag.
The proposal was last made in
2014 and the Centre had with-
drawn it a year later.
Since 2015, Lutyens’ Delhi has
undergone several changes and
with the recent decision to
revamp the central vista, more
AMAL KS/HT
“If we remove the points on
odd-even and plans for Diwali, we
get a five-point action plan. And
that will be Delhi’s winter action
plan for fighting pollution. The
five-point plan will be applicable
till the end of winters,” he said.
Kejriwal added that the gov-
ernment is also working on a
long-term plan to combat pollu-
tion. The long-term plan would
include investing in buses,
rationalising of existing bus
routes in the city, investing on
last-mile connectivity, edge-to-
edge green paving of all major
roads under the Public Works
Departments and making poli-
cies for implementing e-vehicles.
August 28.
Under this amended Act,
around 63 clauses, mostly
higher penalties for traffic
offences, were to be imple-
mented across the country from
September 1.
In Delhi and in several other
states, no spot-fines are being
charged and only court challans
are being issued for all traffic
offences as the Delhi govern-
P L A N
AMAL KS/HT FILE
are expected to come in the next
couple of years.
“War Memorial and the
National Police Memorial have
also come up in the same area, but
these changes have only resulted
in beautifying the place further,”
the official said.
“In the dossier, we have identi-
fied the urban morphology of
both cities to be unique. Also,
there are monuments and histor-
ical buildings which have been
identified as heritage sites and
have legislation protecting them.
The urban morphology of the city
has not changed. Developments
have taken place, as are expected,
and we will accommodate these
when we update the dossier,”
Annabel Lopez, project consult-
ant at the Indian National Trust
for Art and Cultural Heritage
(INTACH), said.
The INTACH is the knowledge
partner of the Delhi government
and has been tasked with prepar-
ing the dossier for the World Heri-
tage City tag.
“The crux of the proposal is
that they are imperial capital cit-
ies in one location. The history of
Delhi is unique because every
dynasty that came to India
decided to make this city their
capital,” Lopez said.
Speaking about changes
expected in Lutyens’ Delhi, con-
servationist AGK Menon said
“new buildings have come up and
changes have been made in heri-
tage cities globally.
“By conservation, we don’t
mean we freeze the city. How-
ever, we have to ensure the basic
character doesn’t change,” he
said.
Soon, saplings will
be delivered at
your doorstep for
free, says Kejriwal
NEWDELHI: Residents of Delhi will
soon be able to get saplings deliv-
ered to their doorstep for free by
calling a helpline number, which
is soon to be launched by the state
government, chief minister Arv-
ind Kejriwal said Friday.
“We will soon launch a help-
line in which any person, who
intends to plant a sapling in their
garden or residence, can call and
they will be able to avail home
delivery of it. They only have to
give an assurance that they will
take care of the plant or tree by
ensuring proper water and expo-
sure to sunlight, etc. The govern-
ment will ensure home delivery
without any charge,” said Kejri-
wal. This initiative, titled “Delhi
Tree Challenge”, was part of the
CM’s seven-point action plan to
fight air pollution during the
coming winter months.
“We hope each household in
Delhi takes at least one sapling
under the initiative. We are aim-
ing a total of 40 lakh saplings to be
planted under the campaign in
the next six months,” he said.
Kejriwal called this initiative
the only long-term measure in the
seven-point list of emergency
steps announced Friday. HTC
Residents only have to
› give an assurance that
they will take care of the
plant by ensuring proper
watering, etc. The
government will bear
the delivery charge.
ARVIND KEJRIWAL, Delhi CM
ment is yet to notify the com-
pounding fees.
On September 7, Delhi trans-
port minister Kailash Gahlot
had said since heavy penalties
have been prescribed under the
amended Motor Vehicles Act
after many years, the com-
pounding notification would be
issued with wider consultation
with the traffic police and stake
holders.
Help who sedated, robbed her
employers of cash, jewels held
HT Correspondent
n htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI: A 30-year-old domestic
help, who had allegedly mixed
sedatives in her employers’ food
at a house in Sarita Vihar and
then robbed them of valuables
and cash with the help of two
male associates, earlier this
month, was arrested Thursday.
Police said the woman had
started working as help in the
household just two days before
the incident. She called over the
two men, claiming they were her
brothers who were coming to
deliver her medicine. The woman
is a Nepalese citizen.
Deputy commissioner of police
(crime) G Ram Gopal Naik said on
September 3, a 44-year-old Sarita
Vihar resident reported that on
August 31, she had hired a help,
hindustantimes
n Mangled remains of the i20 in which victims were returning from
Agra to Noida. All occupants were students of Amity University.
2 students killed, 3
injured in accident
on Yamuna e-way
Tanmayee Tyagi
n tanmayee.tyagi@htlive.com
NOIDA: Two students of a private
university in Noida were killed,
while three of their friends were
severely injured in an accident
on Yamuna Expressway on Fri-
day evening, while they were
returning to Noida from Agra.
The deceased were identified
as Shivani Yadav (20) and Ovaisi
Chaudhary (20), both residents
of Ghaziabad.
The injured were identified
as Aditi Saxena, a resident of
Sector 53 in Noida, Sai Sharma,
a resident of Sahibabad in Ghaz-
iabad, and Shourya Gupta, a
resident of Delhi.
All five were students of
Amity university, Noida, police
said.
According to police, the
Hyundai i20 car they were trav-
elling in was hired from a rental
company and had a Punjab
licence plate.
“The accident took place
around 6.30pm, almost 2km
from Zero Point of the Yamuna
Expressway. Prima facie, it
appears that the car was speed-
ing and crashed into the divider,
jumped over the median and
then crashed into an oncoming
roadways bus, which was on its
way to Agra. The car was com-
pletely mangled,” Kumar Rann-
vijay Singh, superintendent of
police (rural), said.
Police said they were alerted
by bus passengers and a team
was rushed to the spot. The vic-
tims were retrieved and taken to
nearby Yatharth hospital,
Bhuvneshwari, from a placement
agency.
“The next day, a man came to
hand over her some medicines
and she introduced him to the
house owner as her brother. The
house owner said a day later, on
September 2, around 1.30pm, she
and her 80-year-old mother had
lunch and went to sleep. Around
2.30pm, she heard some noise and
saw Bhuvneshwari standing
along with two men, one of them
was the man who had visited her
the previous day. She alleged that
the three of them tied up her and
her mother and asked for cash
and jewellery kept in the house.
They then ransacked the house
and fled with cash, jewellery and
other items,” Naik said.
The woman also told police
that she and her mother started
feeling drowsy, but somehow,
metro
HT
where two were declared
brought dead, while the others
are undergoing treatment. The
mangled car had to be cut open
to rescue the victims, police
said.
“Two of the victims were
brought dead to the hospital.
Shourya and Sai have sustained
multiple injuries and are on
ventilator support. Aditi is sta-
ble for now,” a hospital spokes-
person said.
“Their families have been
informed and they are on their
way to the hospital. It seems that
Shourya and Aditi were in the
front seats while the others
were seated behind, but we still
don’t know who was driving the
car. Those in the front were
cushioned from the impact by
air bags,” Sujeet Upadhyay, sta-
tion house officer, Beta 2 police
station, said.
Police said they are still wait-
ing to take the statements of the
injured students. None in the
bus was injured.
A spokesperson of Amity Uni-
versity said, “Five students of
Amity met with a serious car
accident on Yamuna Express-
way in which Shivani Yadav , a
Mass Communication student,
and Ovaisi Chaudhury, a sec-
ond-year BTech (Computer Sci-
ence Engineering) student,
died. We deeply condole their
death. Parents are being con-
tacted and we have extended
them our full help. Sai Sharma,
a BSc Forensic Science student,
along with students Aditi Sax-
ena and Shaurya Gupta are
undergoing treatment.”
they freed themselves and called
the police. In the evening, both
were admitted to the hospital and
it was confirmed that the help had
mixed sedatives in their lunch.
The DCP said information
from the placement agency was
gathered about the woman and
CCTV footage from near the
house was also checked. “Techni-
cal surveillance led to an input
that the help would meet some-
one early morning on Friday at
the ISBT. A trap was laid and the
woman was arrested,” he said.
The officer said based on the
woman’s disclosures, they man-
aged to recover the stolen cash,
jewellery and other valuables.
“She said the men gave her SIM
cards bought using fake IDs
which she used to call the agency.
Efforts to arrest the two men are
underway,” Naik said.
03
Shorttakes
PROPERTIES
ATTACHED FOR
POWER THEFT
NEW DELHI: A special court has
attached 21 properties of people
sentenced for power theft in
various parts of East Delhi, a BSES
spokesperson said on Friday. The
properties were sealed between
August 21 and September 9, after
the people convicted for power
theft failed to pay fines, he said.
“In far-reaching separate orders,
the Special Court of Electricity,
Karkardooma, attached proper-
ties in Karawal Nagar, Harsh Vihar,
New Usmanpur, Gokalpur,
Bhajanpura, Welcome Colony,
Seelampur, Khajoori Khas, GTB
Enclave and other areas, in cases
of power theft,” BSES said.
The “power thieves” were
cumulatively stealing around 550
KW of electricity and penalties of
around Rs 6.2 crore were levied as
per guidelines, he said, adding
that in 16 cases, electricity was
being stolen by way of direct
theft and in remaining five cases,
through metre tampering. HTC
7 HELD FOR
FIRING IN AIR
DURING PARTY
NEW DELHI: Around a
dozen members of a gang
on Wednesday night
assembled at a house in
west Delhi’s Mohan
Garden and fired bullets
in the air during a party
allegedly held to cele-
brate the release of two
members from jail. Soon,
the police gatecrashed
the party and caught
seven of them, including
one for whom the party
was allegedly organised.
Five managed to flee. Two
countrymade pistols, 3
cartridges, 2 knives, and 2
SUVs were seized. DCP
(Dwarka) Anto Alphonse
said around 11.30pm, the
police got to know that
the gang had gathered at
a house and are firing in
air. “Just as police reached
there, two SUVs zoomed
past. Cops chased and
cornered them,” he said.
The 7 were booked for act
endangering life and
safety of others under IPC
sections and sections 25
and 27 of Arms Act. HTC
FIRING AT MOBILE
PHONE STORE IN
NAND NAGRI
NEW DELHI: Four persons had a
narrow escape on Thursday when
two unidentified bike-borne men
allegedly opened fire at a mobile
phone store in northeast Delhi’s
Nand Nagri, less than half an hour
after the shop owner had report-
edly received an extortion call for
₹50 lakh. Police said the caller had
demanded the money on behalf
of gangster, Anil Dujana, who is
lodged in Maharajganj jail. Police
said at least half a dozen bullets
were fired at the store. Nobody
was injured in the firing as the
bullets were aimed at the glass
display counters. The incident
was captured by CCTV cameras.
DCP (northeast) Ved Prakash
Surya said a case has been
registered in the matter and the
suspects have been identified.
“We are close to cracking the case
and nabbing suspects,” Surya said.
Police said that around 9pm, the
shop owner received a call and
the caller demanded₹50 lakh in
Dujana’s name. The caller asked
the businessman to arrange the
money by Friday morning or else
his family members would be
killed. Within half an hour, two
men arrived on a motorcycle and
the pillion rider opened fire. HTC
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
SAT URDAY, SE PT E MB E R 14, 2 01 9
ABVP bags three
posts in DU polls
DUSU ABVP’s Akshit Dahiya beat NSUI’s Chetna Tyagi by
19,039 votes, highest margin in decade, to become president
Fareeha Iftikhar and Kainat
Sarfaraz
n htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The RSS-affiliated
Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Pari-
shad (ABVP) continued to domi-
nate the Delhi University Stu-
dents’ Union (DUSU) elections
two years in a row by winning
three out of four posts on the
panel on Friday.
ABVP bagged the posts of the
president, vice-president and
joint secretary while repeating
2018’s performance, the Con-
gress-backed National Students’
Union of India (NSUI) settled for
the secretary’s post.
ABVP’s presidential candidate
Akshit Dahiya defeated NSUI’s
Chetna Tyagi by a margin of 19,
039 votes—highest margin at
least in a decade.
The ABVP termed its victory
on the top post as “historic”. “The
last time any ABVP’s candidate
won by such a huge margin was
Ashutosh Mathur. In 2014, he had
won the post of joint secretary by
a margin of 11,068 votes. Before
that, late Arun Jaitely had won by
a margin of over 10,000 votes in
1974. It’s a historic mandate,”
ABVP’s national media convenor
Monika Chaudhary said.
ABVP also claimed that
Dahiya, aged 20, is the youngest
DUSU president ever.
On Thursday, the DUSU elec-
tions witnessed a 40% turnout, 4.5
percentage points lower than last
year. Despite a low turnout,
NOTA (None of The Above)
remained strong on all the four
posts receiving as many as 27,576
votes.
The new panel comprises
ABVP’s Dahiya, Pradeep Tanwar
and Shivangi Karwal as presi-
dent and vice-president and joint
secretary, respectively, and the
NSUI’s Ashish Lamba as the sec-
retary.
As soon as the results were
announced, supporters of both
the ABVP and the NSUI cele-
brated with much pomp. They
were seen carrying the winning
candidates on their shoulders
While NSUI settled for secretary’s post, ABVP bagged the posts of
n
the president, vice-president and joint secretary, SANCHIT KHANNA/HT
amid sloganeering, drum-beating
and showers of flower petals.
Despite warnings, the support-
ers were seen littering the entire
Chhatra Marg in the university’s
north campus with pamphlets.
The three winning candidates
of the ABVP visited the DU’s arts
faculty in the north campus to
pay tribute to the statue of Swami
Vivekananda. Addressing the
supporters, Dahiya promised to
give a “students’ friendly DUSU”
this year. “I am overwhelmed by
the huge margin with which I
have won. I promise that we will
start working from the first day
and fulfil all the promises made in
our manifesto,” he said.
Congratulating the ABVP,
union home minister Amit Shah
tweeted, “This victory doesn’t
only signify the fervour of nation-
alism among the youth but also
shows the immense dedication
for the rebuilding of the nation
among them.”
The winning margins for Tan-
war and Karwal were 8,574 and
2914, respectively.
NSUI’s Lamba managed to
defeat ABVP’s candidate by a
margin of 2,053 votes. Lamba, an
international hockey player,
promised to get better sports
facilities at the campus.
While the overall vote share of
the ABVP has significantly
increased this year, the NSUI’s
vote share decreased with its
presidential candidate getting
over 8,000 votes fewer than last
year.
NSUI’s president (state)
Akshay Lakra said his party was
thankful for winning the secre-
tary’s post amid “Modi wave”.
“It shows that students still
believe in issue-based politics in
DU. We will work hard to get the
same fee structure for same
courses across all DU colleges,”
he said.
Though the left-affiliated All
India Students’ Association
(AISA) —the third party in the
fray— failed to win any post, it
managed to increase its vote
share. AISA’s candidate who
fought for the joint secretary post
received more than 10,000 votes.
AISA president (Delhi) Kawal-
preet Kaur said, “Even with over-
all polling percentage going
down, AISA increased its vote
share on all the four posts. We
believe if anti-ABVP forces would
have come together, we would
have defeated ABVP on all the
posts.”
GANESH IDOL IMMERSION
Four DU students drown in Yamuna
HT Correspondent
htreporters@hindustantimes.com
n
NEW DELHI : Four persons
drowned in the Yamuna in outer
Delhi’s Alipur during Ganesh
idol immersion Thursday even-
ing. All four were residents of
Delhi’s Nihal Vihar and were
students of Delhi University
(DU).
Police said the incident took
place around 9pm when a total
of eight persons had entered the
Yamuna to bathe, despite being
told not to go into the river
owing to lack of light and depth
of water. While four of them
came out, four did not. A rescue
operation was initiated by
teams of fire department, civil
defence, disaster management
services and local divers, the
police said.
While two bodies were
Man held for posing Kejriwal taking undue
as 89-yr-old to obtain credit, says Gambhir
Hong Kong residency
HT Correspondent
n htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police has
arrested a 68-year-old man from
the Delhi airport for forging his
passport in order to get Hong
Kong permanent resident ID,
after repeated attempts to
acquire one failed. The man used
to dress up as an elderly Sikh man
with a turban while travelling to
Hong Kong.
He was caught during immi-
gration clearance on Thursday
while returning from Hong Kong,
when an immigration officer
realised that he looked much
younger than the age shown in
the passport. Police have arrested
him for forgery.
Police identified the man as
Gurdip Singh, a resident of Moga
in Punjab. The forgery came to
light on Thursday when he
landed at the Delhi airport’s T3
and proceeded for immigration
clearance.
Deputy commissioner of police
(IGI airport) Sanjay Bhatia said
the suspect introduced himself as
Karnail Singh from Moga, Pun-
jab. In his passport, his age was
given as 89 years. When the immi-
retrieved late in the night, two
bodies were recovered from the
nearby Palla Bakhtawarpur vil-
lage Friday morning. Police
identified the four as Umesh
Yadav (20), Priyanka (20), Pinki
Shah (21) and Nikit (21).
Deputy commissioner of
police (outer north) Gaurav
Sharma said the police control
room received a call around
9pm that four persons had
drowned in the Yamuna near in
Alipur. A man who saw them
drowning also alerted the fire
control room.
Police said they have
informed the family members of
the four.
During the enquiry, it was
learnt that a group of 30 devo-
tees from Nihal Vihar had come
to Yamuna Ghat near thokar
number 17 in Alipur to immerse
the idols, a police officer said.
The campaign CM
gration officer looked at Singh, he
realised that the man looked
much younger. He then asked
Singh to join him for questioning
and he was taken to a separate
area of the airport.”
During questioning, the man
revealed that his real name was
Gurdip Singh and that in his pass-
port, his age is 21 years more than
his actual age. “He said he went to
Hong Kong for the first time on
his original passport in 1995 and
thereafter, made regular visits.
He said despite his best efforts, he
couldn’t obtain a permanent resi-
dent ID of Hong Kong. In 2006, he
contacted an agent in Chandi-
garh who arranged a fake pass-
port for him in the name of Kar-
nail Singh. Singh said since 2008,
he has been visiting Hong Kong
on the fraudulently obtained
passport and that he even suc-
ceeded in obtaining a permanent
ID of Hong Kong,” the DCP said.
The immigration staff then
called up the Delhi Police and the
man was handed over to them for
legal action. Bhatia said Singh
was charged for forgery and
efforts to trace his contact who
helped him in getting the fake
passport are underway.
hindustantimes
Since idol immersion is banned
in that part of the river, the
police turned away the proces-
sion to an artificial pond dug up
some distance away for immers-
ing the idols.
The officer said while other
devotees proceeded towards the
pond, eight of them stayed back
and insisted on taking a bath in
the river.
“They were stopped at Shani
Mandir and Bakhtawarpur, and
advised by civil defence and
police staff to avoid bathing in
the river,” DCP Sharma said,
adding that the group initially
agreed but eventually eight of
them entered the river.
Police said they were
informed that the eight who
were bathing on the banks of the
Yamuna had ventured into
deeper waters. Four of them
managed to swim to safety, real-
ANTI-DENGUE DRIVE
HT Correspondent
n htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata
Party MP Gautam Gambhir on
Friday criticised chief minister
Arvind Kejriwal, for taking credit
for reduced cases vector-borne
diseases in the city.
“He is doing politics by taking
credit for reduced dengue,
malaria and chikungunya cases
this season in Delhi. The cam-
paign he initiated on September 1,
asking people to check for mos-
quito breeding in their premises,
is done by the three municipal
corporations all year round,” the
east Delhi MP said.
“Their domestic breeding
checkers (DBCs) and sanitation
staff work hard to inspect each
house and drain for breeding. It is
unfair to take away the credit
from these people,” Gambhir said
at an East Delhi Municipal Corpo-
ration (EDMC) function in
Krishna Nagar.
Gambhir was referring to the
CM’s ‘10 Hafte, 10 Baje, 10 Minute’
campaign for mosquito control.
Chairman of the Standing
Committee of EDMC, Sandeep
Kapoor said since July the corpo-
ration has checked 53.5 lakh
houses, of which mosquito larvae
metro
ising that the river water was
dirty and its bed was filled with
sludge. They called out to the
other four but there was no
response. The four panicked
and alerted a passerby, who saw
the four persons drowning and
called the police and fire control
room.
The family members of Pinky
Shah said she was going to cele-
brate her birthday today and
was excited about it. Her father,
Sanjay, works with a private
company. He told the police that
she had gone for immersing the
idol with friends after informing
her mother.
Priyanka’s family told the
police that they had told her not
to enter the river while she was
going to join the procession.
The bodies of the four were
handed over to their families
after autopsy on Friday.
› initiated, asking
people to check for
mosquito breeding in their
homes, is done by the three
municipal corporations
all year round.
GAUTAM GAMBHIR, MP
were found in about 31.5 lakh
houses and about 32,000 notices
have been issued and 2,804 chal-
lans were served. “These figures
show that serious and continuous
efforts have been made by us to
control the mosquito menace,”
Kapoor said.
Till September 7, 202 cases of
malaria, 122 cases of dengue and
40 cases of chikungunya have
been registered in the city.
“We are ready to give credit to
BJP for all good things . One day
Vijender Gupta says dengue
cases have increased, and next
week Gambhir agrees it has
reduced. We are thankful that
they at least agreed dengue cases
reduced in Delhi,” AAP spokes-
person Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
05
DELHI’S 13 MAIN
ENTRY POINTS
GO CASHLESS
FROM SATURDAY
HT Correspondent
n htreporters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) system,
installed at Delhi’s 13 main entry
points for commercial vehicles,
have gone cashless from Satur-
day (midnight).
That means owners of vehi-
cles like trucks, tempos, buses,
taxis and Ola/Uber cabs will
have to pay the toll and environ-
ment compensation charge
(ECC) only by recharging their
RFID tags online.
Failure to do so would invite a
penalty, which will be double the
toll amount.
The RFID system aims to turn
the entire toll tax collection pro-
cedure automatic, and thereby
reduce long queues of trucks at
toll points, which results in a
spike in pollution. It will also aid
the police and other investigat-
ing agencies by maintaining an
electronic database of vehicle
movement in and out of the
national capital.
The RFID infrastructure was
activated at Delhi’s 13 main bor-
der toll points on August 24.
These toll points are: Kundli,
Rajokri, Tikri, Aya Nagar,
Kalindi Kunj, Kapashera, Shah-
dara (Main), Shahdara (Fly-
over), Ghazipur (Main), Ghazi-
pur (Old), DND Flyway, Badar-
pur-Faridabad (Main) and
Badarpur-Faridabad (Flyover).
These 13 toll plazas receive
85% of the incoming traffic to
Delhi.
“So far, over 3.6 lakh commer-
cial vehicles have purchased
RFID tags and nearly 10,055 of
them have recharged the tags
online. We are sticking to the
deadline of September 13 night to
get all commercial vehicles to
switch to the cashless system,”
Yashpal Dahiya, senior engineer
with the South Delhi Municipal
Corporation (SDMC), said.
The SDMC is implementing
the system, under the guidance
of the Supreme Court-appointed
Environment Pollution Control
Authority (EPCA), for all the
civic bodies in Delhi.
The RFID tags can be
recharged through SDMC’s
mobile application ‘MCD TOLL’
or through its website
‘ecctagsdmc.com.’
06 metro
CATS employees call off
ambulance strike after 75 days
HT Correspondent
n htreporter@gmail.com
NEW DELHI: The 75 days old strike
by around 1,300 contractual
employees of the government
run ambulance service —Cen-
tralised Accident and Trauma
Services (CATS) – was called off
on Friday.
The ambulance services had
been severely affected with only
about 90 of the 265 ambulances
on the road. The employees on
strike included ambulance driv-
ers and para-medical staff.
“The services were being
managed by some new workers
who had been hired by the new
contractor,”said a Delhi govern-
ment official, on condition of
anonymity.
The employees went on a
strike after a new contractor
was hired by the government.
They demanded they be
inducted into government servi-
hindustantimes
ces, be given proper benefits,
and paid all the dues.
The strike was called off after
receiving the minutes of the
meeting with the Delhi health
minister and labour minister on
Wednesday.
“The meeting with the gov-
ernment was very fruitful. The
health minister said that the sal-
aries of two months and ten days
owed to us by the previous con-
tractor will be released within
10 days. The government will
also ensure that we get medical
and casual leave and weekly
off,” Narendra Singh Lakra,
president of the CATS contrac-
tual employees association,
said.
Regarding the employees in
the government services, the
ministers have given a verbal
assurance to them. “The minis-
ters said that it was not possible
to immediately take us into gov-
ernment service, but it will
eventually, get done as per the
recommendations of the Delhi
contractual labour advisory
board that had suggested that
CATS and Delhi Jal Board
employees be inducted as per-
manent staff,” said Lakra.
The government has also
agreed to take in all of the strik-
ing employees will be absorbed
by the new contractor.
“Apart from that, the minutes
of the meeting clearly state that
the 430 employees who were
employees by CATS directly
and were asked to join services
under new contractor. They will
continue to be CATS employ-
ees,” he said.
The government has also con-
stituted a committee of officers
from the labour department,
officers of CATS, and represent-
atives of CATS staff union that
will meet every three months to
ensure all the benefits promised
are actually being received.
Response sought on using
Hindi for noting statements
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court
Friday sought response of
Union ministry of home affairs
and Delhi government on a plea
seeking directions to authori-
ties to declare Hindi as the lan-
guage for recording of state-
ments by criminal courts in the
city, including Protection of
Children from Sexual Offences
(POCSO) courts and Juvenile
Justice Boards (JJBs).
A bench of Chief Justice DN
Correction
The headline of a front-page report published in the Sep-
tember 13 edition erroneously read: “Retail inflation rises,
factory output slows.” Measured by the Index of Industrial
Production, factory output growth quickened to 4.3% in
July from 1.17% in June. The error is regretted.
frompageone
Odd-even
over 7.3 million of the 11.09 mil-
lion registered vehicles in Delhi,
were also exempted from the
last two drives.
The number of registered
four-wheelers in the city stands
at around 3.3 million.
Explaining the rationale
behind the timing of the scheme,
the chief minister said the odd-
even drive is always an “emer-
gency measure”.
“Because the smoke from
stubble burning peaks during
this time (November), we will be
implementing the road ration-
ing drive as an emergency meas-
ure,” he said.
The odd-even drive is a meas-
Patel and Justice C Hari
Shankar issued notices to
authorities on a plea by an NGO,
which had also sought direc-
tions to amend Delhi District
Courts Establishment (Appoint-
ment & Conditions of Service)
Rules, 2012, and include Hindi
typewriting skills as eligibility
criteria for recruitment.
The matter would be now
heard on December 4.
RICHA BANKA
ure prescribed under the
Supreme Court-mandated
Graded Response Action Plan
(GRAP) when the air quality
index of Delhi enters the
severe+ zone for 48 hours or
more. The severe+ category is
when PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels
breach the value of 300 and
500ug/m3.
PM 10 and 2.5 are solid and
liquid pollutants of less than 10
and 2.5 microns in size respec-
tively and are suspended in air.
These particles can enter the
respiratory system and cause
health complications.
“The action plan, comprising
of experts from meteorological
department and others, is noti-
fied by the central government
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
SAT URDAY, SE PTE MB E R 14, 2 01 9
htsudoku
for all NCR {National Capital
Region} states,” Bhure Lal,
which has only 5,454 buses
against a requirement of 10,000
chairman of the Supreme Court- buses .
appointed Environment Pollu- “Also, during odd-even, it’s
tion (Prevention and Control) important to take diesel vehi-
Authority (EPCA), which is the cles, which are most polluting,
enforcing authority for GRAP, off the roads. But even after SC
said, {Supreme Court} directions, the
“Emergency measures under Delhi government has not
it have to be rolled out after con- implemented the sticker
sultation from these experts, as scheme for identifying diesel,
meteorological conditions play petrol and other vehicles,” Lal
an important role in the pollu- said.
tion levels during the winter. If Studies on the last two road
the situation doesn’t warrant it, rationing schemes that were
there will be no need to imple- rolled out in a span of three
ment odd-even scheme,” said months in 2016 have differed on
Lal.
He also questioned the Delhi
the impact of the exercise. The
government said that according
government on the poor state of to a study done by the Univer-
public transport in the city, sity of Chicago and Harvard
University, Delhi’s air pollution
had reduced by around 14%-16%
during the first odd-even experi-
ment in January 2016.
But studies done by Indian
scientists revealed that the road
rationing scheme didn’t deliver
the desired results. One study
done by a team of scientists from
the Indian Institute of Technol-
ogy (IIT)-Delhi, IIT-Kanpur,
IITM-Pune, Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research, and
the Energy and Resources Insti-
tute found that pollution
dropped by 2% – 3%. Experts
from the Centre for Science and
Environment said that it actu-
ally helped lower pollution lev-
els and should be implemented
as a short-term measure.
Union road transport minis-
ter Nitin Gadkari questioned
the need for the scheme. “It is up
to the Delhi government to
implement the scheme. But I
don’t think it is necessary. We
have made a new Ring Road, and
with that Delhi’s pollution has
come down a lot. And in my esti-
mate in two years... ~50,000
crore has been provided by my
department, and the Yamuna
Clean Water and Clean Air
Scheme are going on, and with
that in two years, Delhi will be
pollution-free,” he said.
However, he later added that
the Delhi government has the
right to take its decision on com-
bating pollution. “The Delhi
government has the right to
take its decisions. We have no
problem,” he said.
The Delhi Congress said it
was a “ploy” to divert the atten-
tion of the people from the “real
issues” plaguing the national
capital and the local unit of the
Mrs. Sheela Prakash
14 September, 2018
A gracious persona of strength
and sacrifice. You live in our
hearts and minds and light
the path upon which we tread.
May the Supreme Solace
ever anoint your benign brow.
Love. Eternal. Your Family
16th Loving Memory of
SH. BANSI LAL
God smiles upon souls like you.
You were no less than an angel.
Your memories are still a fresh
and kept very dearly inside our
hearts. Shakuntla (Wife),
Aarav & Athrv (Grand Sons)
160, Palika Bazar New Delhi-110001, M: 9711550079
In loving memory of
Er. Subhash Tikoo
Last 14 Sept'18. You changed
our world. Your sweet mem-
ories precious than diamond
worth can never be told. A rare
example of selfless vision. You
were 1 in a million, Always feel
your presence with warmth in your reading room, void u
left no one can heal.Jayaji, Nalini, Vansh, Ruby, Bhans.
Fill in all the squares in
the grid so that each
row, column and each of
the 9x9 squares
contains all the digits
from 1 to 9.
DIFFICULTY
DIFFICULTY LEVE LEVEL
SUDOKU>>SCAN THIS
SUDOKU UNIT FOR
THE SOLUTION AND
MANY MORE PUZZLES
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
termed it a “populist measure”
and a “political stunt”.
Delhi unit president of the
BJP, Manoj Tiwari, said Kejri-
wal comes up with such
schemes every now and then as
an election stunt. “This is a
political stunt. If he knows that
in November the remains of
crops are burnt, then why didn’t
he implement the odd-even
scheme every year in the month
of November. Why is he doing
this on the verge of 2020 when
the elections are due,” he asked.
Madras HC
of the billboard that crashed on
Subhasri when she was driving
a scooter, causing her to lose her
balance and come under the
wheels of the water tanker, the
judges said.
Pointing out that the Madras
high court had passed orders
limiting the number of public
banners and hoardings in the
past, social activist KR Ramas-
wamy, known as Traffic Ramas-
wamy, moved a contempt peti-
tion against the Tamil Nadu
chief secretary on Friday, alleg-
ing that the software engineer
had died because of the negli-
gence of government officials.
A case has been registered
against former AIADMK coun-
cillor C Jayagopalan under sec-
tions 336 (endangering life or
personal safety of others) and
304-A (causing death by negli-
gence) of the Indian Penal Code
for allegedly installing the
hoarding without permission, a
senior police official with St
Thomas Mount Traffic Investi-
gation Wing said on the condi-
tion of anonymity.
“How many more litres of
blood does the state government
need to paint the roads with,” a
division bench of justices M
Sathyanarayanan and N
Seshasayee said after hearing
the plea.
The court asked whether
chief minister Edappadi K Pal-
aniswami would be willing to
issue a statement against unau-
thorised banners.
“There is zero respect for
lives in this country,” the court
said, pointing to “sheer bureau-
cratic apathy.”
“We have lost faith in this
government,” the court
observed.
The bench then directed the
Chennai city police commis-
sioner to arrest those who may
have been responsible for the
accident.
The bench also said that
despite a December 2018 court
order directing the removal of
illegal hoardings, political par-
ties continued to put up flex ban-
ners without requisite permis-
sions.
“Not even a single political
party leader has released a state-
ment urging their party workers
not to erect banners. The court
cannot run the secretariat. Is
this county not safe for its citi-
zen? We have lost our faith in the
TN government,” the judges
said.
The court has also advised
Tamil Nadu advocate general
Vijay Narayan to ask chief min-
ister Palaniswami to issue a
statement against the flex
boards.
The next hearing is scheduled
for September 19.
Political parties, including
the AIADMK, opposition Drav-
ida Munnetra Kazhagam
(DMK), Amma Makkal Mun-
netra Kazhagam (AMMK) and
Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK),
urged their party workers not to
erect flex boards.
“Both in party and govern-
ment, we will take measures to
contain the culture of erecting
flex boards,” AIADMK leader
and Tamil official language min-
ister Mafoi K Pandiarajan said.
DMK president MK Stalin has
also asked his party workers not
to erect illegal hoardings.
“I will not take part in the
party functions if banners are
erected illegally or put up in a
way that disturbs public. One or
two flex [boards] could be
erected after getting proper per-
mission. That should be just
enough to advertise the party
events,” Stalin said in a state-
ment.
(PTI contributed to this story)
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
SAT URDAY, SE PT E MB E R 14, 2 01 9
movie review
SECTION 375
Direction: Ajay Bahl
Actors: Akshaye Khanna,
Richa Chadha, Rahul
Bhat, Meera Chopra
A subtle, nuanced drama
Monika Rawal Kukreja
T
he courtroom
drama is a favour-
ite Bollywood for-
mat. It opens the
door to power-
packed punchlines, behind-
the-scenes intrigue, the
chance to stretch the sus-
pense over a verdict — and to
decree for the audience
where the line lies between
right and wrong.
Section 375 of Indian Penal
Code deals with rape. The
film deals with a rape full of
question marks. Is he lying,
is she? What do the lawyers
know that they aren’t say-
ing?
Akshaye Khanna and
Richa Chadha, as the defence
and prosecution respec-
tively, are superb. And right
till the end, you’re kept
guessing as the narrative
switches from one point of
view to the other.
Akshaye represents a film
director, Rohan Khurana
(Rahul Bhat), accused of rap-
ing a junior on his crew,
Anjali Dangle (Meera
Chopra). Khurana has been
DELHI METRO’S PHASE IV PROJECT
Rithala-Narela corridor may get approval soon
HT Correspondent
n htreporter@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Union housing and
urban development minister
Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday
said that the Rithala-Bawana-
Narela corridor, one of the six
corridors in Delhi Metro’s Phase
IV project, is likely to get
approval soon.
Speaking at an event orga-
nised by Delhi Development
Authority (DDA), Puri acknowl-
edged that connectivity was a
concern in peripheral areas of
the city, where the land pooling
policy is to be implemented.
“The Narela (corridor) should
‘MY FATHER THREW
ME OUT OF THE HOUSE’
Check out today’s HT City
n Akshaye Khanna and Richa Chadha play defence and
prosecution lawyer in the courtroom drama.
found guilty and sentenced
to 10 years’ rigorous impris-
onment, and appeals in the
high court. Desperate to
clear his name, he hires the
best in the business to repre-
sent him.
The prosecutor, mean-
while, is fighting her first big
case, facing off in court
against a man who used to be
her boss.
The courtroom scenes are
packed with dramatic real-
world data, and none of the
over-the-top shrieking and
melodrama of most court-
room films. The thoughtful
screenplay forms the soul of
get approval in the next few
months,” said Puri. The Metro
corridor will help Narela, which
has earned the sobriquet of a
ghost town as a majority of flats
constructed by the DDA there
are lying unoccupied. One of the
major concerns of people who
purchased DDA flats in Narela’s
G-2 and G-8 sectors was lack of
public transport, Puri said.
In March this year, the Centre
had approved three corridors —
Maujpur to Majlis Park
(Mukundpur), Janakpuri West
to RK Ashram and Aerocity to
Tughlaqabad — of Metro Phase
IV as priority corridors.
The other three corridors
the film and writer Manish
Gupta deserves special men-
tion. It’s even funny in the
right places.
Khanna impresses with
his intensity and grit.
Chadha — nuanced yet strik-
ing, playing overwhelmed
with subtlety — proves yet
again that she is one of the
finest actors in Bollywood.
Director Ajay Bahl makes
excellent use of the support-
ing cast of Kishore Kadam
and Krutika Desai (who play
judges) as well as Shriswara
and Sandhya Mridul, who
play the wives of the accused
and his lawyer.
In giving you no clear
hints on whom to root for,
Bahl underlines beautifully
the grey areas in a battle
between a man who won’t
back down, and a woman
who must once again live
through in public a night-
mare she seems to be strug-
gling to move on from.
If he’s lying, you think,
he deserves a lot more
than 10 years. But how
many years does he deserve,
if there’s just no way to
be sure?
The Narela (corridor)
› should get approval in
the next few months.
HARDEEP SINGH PURI, housing and
urban development minister
which were put on hold were:
Rithala to Narela, Inderlok to
Indraprastha and Lajpat Nagar
to Saket G Block.
But with close to 40,000 hous-
ing projects by the DDA in vari-
ous stages of construction and
maximum land being pooled in
Bawana (Zone N), a senior gov-
ernment official said that the
Ayushmann
delivers, yet again
DREAM GIRL
Direction: Raaj Shandiliya
Actors: Ayushmann
Khurrana, Nushrat
Barucha, Annu Kapoor,
Vijay Raaz
ream Girl is funny
D and clever and a bet-
ter comedy than
we’ve seen out of Bol-
lywood in a long time. Raaj
Shaandilyaa, making his
directorial debut, uses Ayush-
mann Khurrana and Nushrat
Bharucha to great effect in an
effort that is endearingly
quirky.
The story starts with Kar-
amveer Singh as a child,
unwillingly agreeing to play
the role of Sita in his town’s
production of Ramlila. He
grows to his mid-20s (now
played by Ayushmann Khur-
rana) and is still at it.
He’s unemployed, and has
acquired the nicknames
‘Ramlila ki Sita’ and ‘Krishan-
lila ki Radha’. When he finally
does land a job, it’s at an adult
hotline, where he poses as a
woman. It pays handsomely,
and he has by now, of course,
perfected his female persona.
On the phone, his name is
Pooja, and he’s so good, he’s
turning out to be tough com-
petition for the sari-clad mid-
dle-aged women working the
rest of the lines.
He soon has an enviable
roster of regular callers —
there’s an alcoholic middle-
aged cop (Vijay Raaz) who
calls so he can unleash his
inner poet; a young Harya-
navi (Raj Bhansali) with
bleached blonde hair that he
is unreasonably proud of; a
woman journalist (Nidhi
Bisht) who says she’s been
dumped three times and has
had it with men; and the two
that cause the real problems
— his fiancee’s brother
(Abhishek Banerjee) and his
own dad (Annu Kapoor).
Each of these characters
falls in love with Pooja and
wants to be with her. A har-
ministry is considering approv-
ing the Rithala to Narela corri-
dor.
The corridor is 20.73km long
and passes through Rohini Sec-
tor 24, Rohini Sector 26, Rohini
Sector 3, Rohini Sector 32, Rohini
Sector 36, Rohini Sector 37, Bar-
wala, Puth Khurd, Bawana
Industrial Area – I, Bawana
Industrial Area – II, Bawana,
Bawana JJ Colony, Narela.
The DDA, which has invested
close to Rs 3,000 crore in Narela,
has not been getting the desired
response to its housing projects.
In DDA’s housing schemes of
2014 and 2017, a majority of flats
were returned by the allottees.
n Ayushmann Khurrana in a
still from the movie.
ried Ayushmann at one point
compares his plight with that
of Draupadi from the Maha-
bharata.
In his delicate yet hilarious
portrayal of a fractured per-
sonality, Khurrana is master-
ful. He proves once again why
he is one of the industry’s
most bankable talents, and
just how much he deserved
the National Award he got
this year for Andhadhun.
His female impersonator
sounds and talks like a
woman, not a man’s idea of a
caricature of a woman. For
Bollywood, this is several stri-
des forward; coming from
Khurrana, it’s really no sur-
prise.
Dream Girl gives him the
kind of vast canvas he
deserves. It is Karam / Pooja
who leads the narrative and
weaves the plot together bit by
bit. Bharucha steps convin-
cingly into the shoes of his
demure yet ‘modern’ love
interest, Mahi. Their love
story, though, is underdone at
best.
Annu Kapoor, as usual,
entertains, amuses and wins
your heart. Abhishek Baner-
jee and Vijay Raaz hold on to
their characters so well you
miss them when they’re not
on screen.
The second half, where
Ayushmann tries to extricate
himself from the façade he has
built, drags a bit but is none-
theless entertaining. Expect a
slightly preachy climax, but
all in all, Dream Girl is a win-
ner.
MONIKA RAWAL KUKREJA
Earlier this year, the DDA had
put on sale close to 18,000 flats in
Narela and Vasant Kunj. Of the
18,000, around 16,900 flats were
in Narela.
According to a senior DDA
official, “A majority of the flats
located in Narela have been
returned. Lack of public trans-
port and connectivity with the
rest of the city is one of the main
reasons for the poor response.”
After receiving a low-key
response to its housing projects
in Narela, the Delhi Develop-
ment Authority is in the process
of hiring a consultant to help
redevelop and repackage the
urban extension.
hindustantimes
frompageone
Blacklist
fell to anti-India propaganda”,
the official said.
Some Indian nationals fled the
country to escape authorities,
became foreign nationals and
took asylum in other countries.
They were placed in the Adverse
List till 2016, making them ineligi-
ble for visas to visit India, the offi-
cials explained.
The blacklist also led to diffi-
culties in providing consular
access to those in the list and to
their families. Indian missions
abroad also maintained local
blacklists but this practice has
been discontinued, the officials
said.
The missions have been
advised to grant visas to the Sikhs
whose names do not figure in the
Union government’s Adverse
List. Those who become eligible
for long-term Indian visas can
also apply for OCI cards after
they have held normal visas for
two years, the officials said.
The review of the blacklist was
part of measures initiated by the
government as part of an out-
reach to Sikh groups abroad,
especially in the UK and Canada,
following a meeting between Sikh
representatives and Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi in Novem-
ber 2015.
At the time, Modi assured the
Sikh delegation that he would
ensure the blacklist was done
away with. Sikh leaders
described the 2015 meeting as a
turning point in the relationship
between overseas Sikhs and the
Indian government.
Facebook
that cases have been filed in the
Madras, Bombay and Madhya
Pradesh high courts, noting that
they have a common objective.
The petitions should be clubbed
and heard by the top court, the
company has prayed before the
court, seeking to forestall poten-
tial conflicting verdicts.
Facebook is also aggrieved by
the fact that the Madras high
court has expanded the scope of
the petition to consider such
issues as online abuse and fake
news being circulated on social
media, and is looking to define the
liabilities of the intermediaries.
“Transfer would serve the
interests of justice by avoiding
the possibility of conflicting deci-
sions from the four common
cases. Indeed, avoiding conflict-
ing decisions is particularly nec-
essary here to ensure that users
are afforded equal privacy pro-
tections across India, and to pre-
vent the infeasible situation
where the petitioner, which oper-
ates a uniform platform through-
out India, is ordered to link Aad-
haar information only for users
in certain Indian states but not
others,” read Facebook’s peti-
tion.
A bench of justices Deepak
Gupta and Aniruddha Bose
remarked that “these matters
must be decided as early as possi-
ble”, and asked the Centre if “it is
contemplating anything (in
terms of a law on linking of social
media accounts to Aadhaar) in
near future”. The court also
observed that it will focus just on
the transfer issue and will not go
into the merits of the case.
The court has given a week to
the Centre to respond to its query
and listed the matter for further
hearing on September 20.
The Tamil Nadu government
is opposing Facebook’s plea seek-
metro
ing to transfer a case pending in
the Madras high court on the
traceability of online crimes to
the top court.
In its application, the Tamil
Nadu government has said the
case wasn’t about the linking of
Aadhaar to social media
accounts, as Facebook had pre-
sented in the apex court, but
about the traceability of online
crimes and fake messages.
The state alleged that Face-
book misrepresented the high
court proceedings before the
Supreme Court.
“The Transfer petition filed
before this Hon’ble Court is
replete with false and misleading
averments, in a blatant attempt to
misguide this Hon’ble Court for
oblique motives. While the
Transfer Petition proceeds on the
sole premise that the cases in the
Madras high court relate to man-
datory linking of social media
accounts with Aadhaar, it was a
matter of record that the Court
was only proceeding to ensure
effective compliance with the
Information Technology Act,
2000, and the Rules framed there
under, and also for the perception
and detection of crimes.”
Last month, the Supreme
Court issued notice to the Tamil
Nadu government and Centre on
Facebook’s transfer petition, ask-
ing the top court to call for the
case from the Madras high court
and also other courts where simi-
lar issues have been raised.
Delhi Declaration
get will have long term benefits of
health, well-being, socio-eco-
nomic development and also pro-
tect livelihoods of the poor. The
operative part of the declaration
states that parties will boost pri-
vate sector investment in land,
create green jobs and establish
sustainable value chains for
products sourced from the land;
parties will develop gender
responsive land restoration pro-
grammes at local, national and
regional levels, they will also take
a proactive approach to drought
through implementation of
drought preparedness plans.
UNCCD executive secretary,
Ibrahim Thiaw, said the Delhi
Declaration is a “powerful docu-
ment”.
“My first takeaway is the close
link between land, climate and
biodiversity. The participants
will take the message back to the
UN in New York so that the possi-
bility of using land for climate
change mitigation can be
unlocked. Carbon belongs to
soil,” he said. Other takeaways,
according to him, is that there is a
business case for land restora-
tion, parties have woken up to the
severity of drought and decision
on that is being taken and that
land restoration will not be suc-
cessful “unless we put people
first”, Thiaw added.
COP14 president and environ-
ment minister, Prakash Java-
dekar, said the COP14 was “flaw-
less” with no controversies.
When asked about millions of for-
est dwellers waiting for their land
rights to be recognised under the
Forest Rights Act as the Supreme
Court is hearing an application
challenging the Act, Javadekar
said: “Government believes and
is committed to give titles to all
legitimate forest dwellers.”
The reason COP14 is being
seen as a milestone in the history
of desertification COPs is because
a lot of contentious issues related
to land were opened for discus-
07
sion here and will continue to be
negotiated on in future. “Until
now the focus was mostly on the
biophysical aspect of land degra-
dation. But now we are looking at
the entire landscape and focusing
on land tenure. From a fertiliser-
dominated approach we are look-
ing at putting the biology back
into the soil. Policies will have to
be developed by parties,” said
Barron Joseph Orr, lead scien-
tist, UNCCD.
The decision on land tenure,
for example, invites parties to
legally recognise equal use and
ownership rights of land for
women.
The COP14 will be followed by
a high profile UN Climate Action
Summit on September 23 when
world leaders are expected to
raise ambition to meet the Paris
Agreement target.
IAF acquisition
The already ordered multi-bil-
lion dollar weaponry and sys-
tems that the air force has to pay
for include 36 Rafale fighter
planes from France, five S-400
Triumf air defence missile sys-
tems from Russia and 22 Apache
AH-64E attack helicopters and
CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift heli-
copters from the United States.
Military affairs experts said
IAF’s demand for additional
funds (a 100% increase in alloca-
tion) for modernisation was not
unreasonable and shoring up
force levels is critical to deal with
the threat of two-front war with
Pakistan and China.
“The money is never enough.
Committed liabilities consume a
large percentage of the capital
budget, leaving little money for
new schemes. Getting force levels
in order are critical,” said Air
Marshal KK Nohwar (retd),
director general, Centre for Air
Power Studies.
The experts said lack of funds
could hinder IAF’s modernisa-
tion and its ability to effectively
defend the eastern and western
fronts. “There’s a massive back-
log of modernisation and commit-
ted liabilities are also consuming
resources. There’s no doubt that
the IAF needs more money to
power its much-needed moderni-
sation,” said military affairs
expert Air Marshal Anil Chopra
(retd).
In March 2016, Air Chief Mar-
shal BS Dhanoa (then vice chief)
admitted that IAF did not have a
sufficient number of warplanes
to fight a two-front war with
China and Pakistan, drawing
attention to the sharp drawdown
of India’s fighter fleet.
The experts said IAF had
bought new equipment over the
last three years but critical capa-
bility gaps still needed to be filled.
Over several years, the count of
IAF’s fighter squadrons has
shrunk to 31 compared to a desir-
able strength of 42, a capability
gap the air force is struggling to
fill. Parliamentary panels have
time and again raised questions
about India’s ability to fight the
two adversaries at the same time,
a worrying scenario that IAF
describes as ‘Contingency-III.’
India defence budget for
2019-20 stands at ~3.18 lakh crore,
including a capital outlay of just
~1.04 lakh crore.
India’s defence spending cur-
rently stands at around 1.5% of
gross domestic product (GDP),
the lowest in decades. Experts
have argued that India should
spend 3% of its GDP to build mili-
tary capabilities.
08 hindustantimes
htnation
Curbs eased but Kashmir Muslims will rise against India: Imran
markets remain shuttered
DESERTED STREETS Jamia Masjid closed for Friday prayers for sixth consecutive week
Ashiq Hussain
n letters@hindustantimes.com
SRINAGAR: Barring a few parts of
Old City of Srinagar, restrictions
were eased in the rest of the Kash-
mir Valley though prayers were
not allowed in Srinagar’s Jamia
Masjid on the sixth consecutive
Friday since the Centre revoked
Jammu and Kashmir’s special
status on August 5.
The city, however, continued
to wear a deserted look as people
preferred to remain indoors, and
the traffic was very thin on the
roads. On Thursday, government
spokesman Rohit Kansal had said
that there were no restrictions in
any part of the Kashmir Valley.
However a day later, security
forces put barricades and concer-
tina wires on the roads leading to
Jamia Masjid in Nawhatta, which
was closed owing to the restric-
tions. This is for the sixth consec-
utive Friday that prayers were
not held in the grand mosque
where separatist leader Mirwaiz
Umar Farooq is the chief priest.
“Since we were on a scooter,
we managed to avoid the road
blocks and reached Jamia Masjid
through interior link roads
where there was a large number
of police and CRPF. The gate of
the mosque was also locked,” said
Shafiq Ahmad, a resident.
From the Nallah Mar side, the
security forces laid concertina
wires near Mirwaiz Manzil, the
heart of Old City, where the forces
were asking residents to show
identity cards.
However, some residents said
they did not face any such issue.
“There were a large number of
security forces deployed on the
roads but they did not stop me
while I travelled through Hawal
and then main Downtown before
reaching Dalgate,” Amin said.
Superintendent of police,
North Srinagar (Old City), Sajad
Shah said there were “no restric-
tions in any part of the Old City
except Jamia Masjid area”. “The
situation remained normal.
Except Jamia Masjid, Friday
prayers were offered in all other
mosques,” Shah said.
A resident, however, said the
restrictions were also enforced in
areas surrounding Nawhatta. “I
was stopped at Eidgah,” said
Irfan Ahmad, a resident of Old
City.
Kashmir was put under a lock-
down and landline as well as
mobile internet services were
snapped on August 5 when the
Centre revoked the special status
Valleynotes
3 JEM MILITANTS
SENT TO 7-DAY
CUSTODY IN J&K
JAMMU: Three Jaish-e-Moham-
med (JeM) militants, who were
arrested in Jammu and Kashmir’s
Kathua district on Thursday, were
sent to seven-day police custody
on Friday, officials said. Police are
interrogating the three to get more
details, Kathua SSP Sridhar Patel
told PTI. “We have got seven-day
remand of the 3 JeM terrorists
today,” he said. During checking, a
truck loaded with cardboard
material was intercepted at 8.00
am Thursday on Jammu-Pathankot
Highway and the three were
arrested with arms and ammuni-
tion, Jammu Inspector General of
Police Makesh Singh told PTI.
To create jobs, 3 skill development
institutes on anvil in J&K, Ladakh
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi
government is planning to open
three skill development insti-
tutes in Jammu and Kashmir
and Ladakh to tap the “technical,
traditional and international”
potential in the newly-bifurcated
Union territories, a senior offi-
cial in the ministry of skill devel-
opment and entrepreneurship
said on the condition of anonym-
ity.
The proposal is one among the
several development projects
announced by the central gov-
ernment since August 5 when
the special status granted to
Jammu and Kashmir under
Article 370 of the Constitution
was nullified and the region was
bifurcated into two Union terri-
tories — Jammu and Kashmir
and Ladakh.
“A National Skill Training
Institute will be opened in Srina-
gar and its extension centre will
come up in Leh,” the official
n General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lt General Ranbir Singh visits north
Kashmir to review the prevailing security situation in the region on Friday. The Army Commander
visited the formations and units in north Kashmir deployed along the Line of Control and hinterland.
The situation
› remained normal.
Except Jamia Masjid,
Friday prayers were
offered in all the
other mosques.
SAJAD SHAH, Superintendent of
police, North Srinagar (Old City)
to Jammu and Kashmir and the
split it into two union territories.
Although restrictions have
been mostly relaxed and some
44,000 landlines restored since,
mobiles [with around 60 lakh sub-
scribers] and internet services
continue to be blocked.
Government spokesperson
Rohit Kansal announced Thurs-
day there were no restrictions
anywhere across Kashmir and all
landlines were functioning.
“Restrictions lifted from all
areas, traffic movement has
increased manifold. Landlines
fully functional, mobile phones
considerably working in Kup-
wara and Handwara,” he said.
However, he said provocations
from across line of control (LoC)
were hampering the efforts to
bring normalcy to the Valley.
“There are tremendous provoca-
tions from across LoC which are
hampering the restoration of
communication services,” Kan-
sal said at a press conference on
Thursday. “But this too shall
pass,” he added.
INDIA-PAK MUST
FIND LASTING
SOLUTION: UK PM
LONDON : British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson has said that it is for
India and Pakistan to find a lasting
solution to the Kashmir issue in
accordance with the wishes of the
Kashmiri people. Reiterating his
government’s stand on Kashmir,
Johnson described both India and
Pakistan as “important partners to
the UK” in a letter dated Septem-
ber 6 in response to a letter written
last month by Conservative Party
MP Bob Blackman, who supported
India’s decision to revoke Article
370. It is for India and Pakistan to
find a lasting political solution to
the situation in Kashmir, the
letter noted.
A National Skill
› Training Institute will
be opened in Srinagar and
its extension centre will
come up in Leh.
SENIOR OFFICIAL, Ministry of skill
development and entrepreneurship
quoted above said, adding that
the move aims at imparting tech-
nical education to local residents
and creating a skilled workforce.
A team, headed by the secre-
tary of the ministry, recently
toured the Union territories to
get a first-hand account of the sit-
uation and opportunities availa-
ble in the state, the official added.
“A Heritage Skill Develop-
ment Institute is also being pro-
posed to provide training to arti-
sans engaged in traditional
jobs,” this official said. “This
institute will be fully funded by
the central government.”
“The Centre has also called for
Pak battles to push for UN debate Pak a hub of terror,
Curfew imposed in on Kashmir amid lack of support spreading deceitful
Jammu’s Kishtwar
Ravi Krishnan Khajuria
n ravi.khajuria@htlive.com
JAMMU: A curfew was imposed
and a massive search operation
was launched in Kishtwar town
in Jammu region on Friday
morning after suspected mili-
tants snatched the weapon from
the personal security officer
(PSO) of a People’s Democratic
Party (PDP) leader.
The incident comes a day after
three suspected Jaish-e-Moham-
med militants were arrested and
police recovered arms, including
assault rifles, from a truck in
Kathua’s Lakhanpur area, the
first such plot security forces
claim to have foiled since the spe-
cial status to J&K was nullified on
August 5. “We have imposed a
curfew in Kishtwar town after the
gun snatching incident. Around
three to four suspected militants
snatched the official weapon,
probably an AK-47, from the PSO
of PDP district president, Sheikh
Nasir, around 10.45 am,” Kish-
twar district magistrate, Angrez
Singh Rana, said.
He added that checkposts have
been put up in and around Kish-
twar town and a massive search
operation has been launched.
Talking to the media, Nasir’s
brother Dr Sheikh Nazeer said:
SENATORS WRITE
TO TRUMP TO HELP
END PHONE CURBS
WASHINGTON: Expressing concern
over the human rights situation in
Kashmir, a group of influential US
lawmakers has urged President
Donald Trump to press India to lift
the communication blackout in the
Valley and release the people
detained after the abrogation of
Article 370. In a letter addressed to
Trump, Senators Chris Van Hollen,
Todd Young, Ben Cardin and
Lindsay Graham said the situation
for the people of Kashmir is
becoming “increasingly difficult”.
“Therefore, we ask that you call
upon Prime Minister (Narendra)
Modi to fully restore telecommu-
nications and internet services...”
proposals from the Union terri-
tories to set up an India Interna-
tional Skill Centre, which can
meet the demands of skilled
workforce in international mar-
ket,” a second official from the
ministry said, requesting ano-
nymity.
During its visit, the govern-
ment team identified handi-
crafts, construction, informa-
tion technology, tourism and
hospitality, textiles, food proc-
essing and healthcare as sectors
that required skilled workforce
and had the potential to create
jobs.
“We have decided to prepare a
district-wise plan on the lines of
aspirational districts in Jammu
and Kashmir,” the second offi-
cial said. “As part of its skill
training programme, the gov-
ernment will also provide coun-
seling facilities to people in the
age groups of 14-25.”
A regional skill development
directorate is also scheduled to
be set up in Srinagar, the official
said.
ANI
“Last night (Thursday) around 11
pm, three militants stormed into
our house and held the entire
family hostage. One of them had
an AK-47 rifle while two had pis-
tols. They told my brother (Nasir)
that they have got instructions to
eliminate him and his PSO. They
held us hostage throughout the
night. My brother and I were kept
in separate rooms, while the
women and children were locked
in another room. They took away
our mobile phones.”
“This morning, they asked my
brother to call his PSO and asked
him to come home. When the PSO
entered the house, the militants
snatched his weapon, locked him
in a room and fled with my car.
The car, a WagonR, was parked
outside the house from where
they fled at around 9 am.”
A senior police official said on
the condition of anonymity that
the militants had fled in a grey
WagonR bearing the registration
number: JK02AB/6517. He added
that upper reaches of the district
that have dense forests, snow
capped hills and natural caves,
are “safe havens” for militants.
Though Kishtwar was
declared a “terrorism-free” dis-
trict over a decade ago, of late,
there has been a sudden surge in
militant activities in the area.
NRC key issue in B’desh PM’s October visit
Rezaul H Laskar
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Bangladesh Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to
visit India during October 3-6 for
talks with her Indian counter-
part Narendra Modi, with
Dhaka’s concerns about people
excluded from the National Reg-
ister of Citizens (NRC) expected
to figure on the agenda.
This will be the first meeting
between Modi and Hasina in the
current terms. Hasina secured a
third consecutive term with a
landslide victory in December
2018 while Modi began his sec-
ond term in June. India-Bangla-
desh relations have been
strengthened under the two
leaders, who have jointly
lunched several projects, espe-
cially in connectivity.
Besides, Hasina is also set to
address the India Economic
Summit of the World Economic
Forum on October 4.
J&K Guv orders probe
into ‘land-grab’ cases
Press Trust of India
n letters@hindustantimes.com
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir
governor Satya Pal Malik has
ordered a probe by the Anti-Cor-
ruption Bureau (ACB) into
alleged instances of cornering
high-value prime land in Jammu
and Srinagar cities by misusing
a now-repealed law.
Governor Malik ordered the
probe on a spate of complaints of
cornering prime pieces of land
by irregular or fraudulent imple-
mentation of the now repealed
law, which had been enacted to
tackle encroachments by giving
land rights to its occupants on
payment of market price.
Malik ordered that all matters
relating to the irregular or fraud-
ulent implementation of the
Jammu and Kashmir State
Lands (Vesting of Ownership to
A T P O K R A L LY
Imtiaz Ahmad
n letters@hindustantimes.com
ISLAMABAD:The situation in Kash-
mir will drive more of the world’s
Muslims towards extremism and
people “will rise against India”,
Prime Minister Imran Khan said
during a speech in Pakistan-occu-
pied Kashmir on Friday.
Khan made the remarks while
addressing a rally of several thou-
sand people in PoK capital Muzaf-
farabad, which was organised as
part of the Pakistan govern-
ment’s protests every Friday
against India’s August 5 decision
to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s
special status.
“When atrocities get to their
peak, people would prefer that
death is better than this insulting
life,” Khan said in the televised
speech. “I want to tell India that
by detaining thousands of people,
you are pushing people into
extremism.
“People will rise against India,
and it is not just about Indian
Muslims, there are 1.25 billion
Muslims around the world. They
all are watching this.”
Shishir Gupta
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI:With Pakistan getting
no traction for its efforts to raise
the Kashmir issue at least four
times at the UN Human Rights
Council (UNHRC), Islamabad is
at its wit’s end about forcing an
urgent debate or introducing a
resolution at the session in
Geneva.
Diplomats based in Geneva
and New York said, barring
China, other countries in the
47-member UNHRC haven’t
expressed a demand for a debate
on Kashmir while European
nations have maintained radio
silence on the issue.
Pakistan, as a coordinator of
the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC), issued a joint
statement that claimed all 58
members were supporting
Islamabad and standing against
New Delhi for revoking Jammu
and Kashmir’s special status.
While OIC members haven’t cas-
tigated the coordinator for issu-
ing a statement on their behalf or
challenged the document, an
influential section of the group-
ing has made it privately known
to Indian counterparts that it has
little to do with the statement.
To date, Pakistan has not
named the 58 countries, apart
n Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Bangladeshi counterpart
Sheikh Hasina, during the latter's visit to India in 2018. PTI FILE
During the talks, the Bangla-
deshi side is expected to bring up
its concerns that those excluded
from the NRC in Assam could be
deported, people familiar with
developments said.
These concerns have been
triggered by public comments by
politicians in Assam, such as
Occupants) Act, 2001, also
known as Roshni Act, be investi-
gated in detail by the ACB.
The law was enacted by the
Farooq Abdullah-led govern-
ment and aimed at cutting down
the encroachment of state land
by selling it to the occupants at
market rate, it added. The law
envisaged enriching the public
exchequer by ~25,000 crore by
transferring 20 lakh ‘kanals’ of
land to its occupants. One ‘kanal’
is around 506 square metre.
The complaints alleged that
several pieces of high-value plots
in Jammu and Srinagar were
procured illegally or fraudu-
lently by individuals, not enti-
tled to any benefit under the law.
In the wake of such reports,
Malik repealed the Act in 2018,
stopping all further proceedings
under it to ensure that no further
fraud takes place.
n Pakistani Prime Minister Imran
Khan in Muzaffarabad, in
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,
on Friday. AFP
Khan said he would defend the
cause of the Kashmiris when he
attends the UN General Assem-
bly in New York next week. He
urged the international commu-
nity to pressure India to give
PAK, AS A COORDINATOR
OF THE ORGANISATION OF
ISLAMIC COOPERATION,
ISSUED A JOINT
STATEMENT CLAIMING
THAT ALL 58 MEMBERS
WERE SUPPORTING IT
AGAINST NEW DELHI’S
JAMMU & KASHMIR MOVE
from China and other Arab non-
members, who are backing the
statement on the changes in
Kashmir and alleged human
rights violations.
“The fact that Pakistan,
despite raking up the issue four
or five times in Geneva, has got
no overt support in the UNHRC
shows that the council has no
appetite to discuss Kashmir,”
said a top UN diplomat.
“I would say a debate over the
issue without any outcome is
possible as European nations are
silent on the issue and feel there
is no harm in debating Kashmir.
However, the possibility of Paki-
stan forcing a resolution in
Geneva is very unlikely,” the
diplomat added.
Apart from Pakistan foreign
minister Shah Mahmood Qure-
shi and former foreign secretary
finance minister Himanta Biswa
Sharma, who has said India will
have to convince Bangladesh to
“accept its citizens who had set-
tled in India illegally”.
However, external affairs
minister S Jaishankar, during
his first visit to Bangladesh in
August, told his Bangladeshi
Modi to deliver keynote address at
global business forum in New York
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI:Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi will deliver the keynote
address at the Bloomberg Global
Business Forum (GBF) in New
York on September 25 during his
visit to the US to attend the UN
General Assembly.
The GBF, a day-long event
that attracts scores of CEOs and
heads of state and government,
will open with Modi’s address,
which will be followed by a con-
versation between the prime
minister and businessman and
philanthropist Michael Bloom-
berg that will focus on strength-
ening global economic stability,
tackling climate change and
advancing technologies that can
improve society.
The GBF will also feature New
Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
SAT URDAY, SE PTE MB E R 14, 2 01 9
Kashmiris the right of self-deter-
mination.
“The reason for me becoming
an ambassador of the Kashmiri
people is that I am a Pakistani, a
Muslim and a human,” he said.
There was no immediate reac-
tion to Khan’s remarks from
Indian officials.
Khan also urged people in PoK
not to approach the Line of Con-
trol (LoC) but to wait for his call
and allow him to take up the
Kashmir issue in New York. His
comments came days after
youths marched toward the LoC
to protest the lockdown in
Jammu and Kashmir, triggering
clashes with police.
Addressing Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Khan told the
rally that only a coward could
commit cruelty toward human
beings and alleged Indian sol-
diers were committing atrocities
against the Kashmiris.
“A brave man can never do
this. No matter how much injus-
tice you commit, you will never
succeed because the people of
Kashmir, be it women, children
or the elderly, are not scared of
Tehmina Janjua’s statements,
Islamabad has made two “right
of reply” interventions on the
Kashmir issue since the coun-
cil’s session began on September
9.
Before the UNHRC session,
Pakistan suffered a huge defeat
at the UN Security Council on
August 16, with only China and
UK (only in an initial round) sup-
porting its case on Kashmir. It is
understood Pakistan had got
support on the Kashmir issue
from a 22-member Arab group,
though only a couple of them are
members of the UNHRC.
Pakistan has so far not moved
the UNHRC for an urgent debate
and Indian diplomats are keep-
ing their powder dry to scuttle
any such move. Ajay Bisaria,
who was till recent India’s envoy
to Islamabad and was sent to
Geneva to help counter Paki-
stan’s efforts, will stay on till the
UNHRC session ends on Septem-
ber 27, people familiar with
developments said.
“If the statements by Pakistan
on alleged human rights viola-
tions in Kashmir have no sup-
port from UNHRC members, it
will be very difficult for Pakistan
to muster the numbers to force a
debate, what to talk of a resolu-
tion in Geneva,” said a senior
diplomat.
counterpart AK Abdul Momen
that the process of identifying
illegal migrants in Assam is
India’s “internal matter”.
The external affairs ministry
also said on Thursday the proc-
ess of deciding the fate of 1.9 mil-
lion people left out of the NRC in
Assam is expected to be “fairly
long” and they have the right to
appeal to Foreigners Tribunals
and higher courts.
The people cited above also
said the Bangladeshi side is
expected to seek India’s support
for facilitating the repatriation
of hundreds of thousands of
Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.
The two sides are also
expected to review progress in
the implementation of develop-
ment projects funded by India
and the sharing of river waters,
the people said. The two sides
have strengthened anti-terror
cooperation, especially the radi-
calisation of youngsters by ter-
ror groups, they added.
DURING THE SEPT 21-27
VISIT, PM NARENDRA
MODI WILL ALSO VISIT
HOUSTON TO JOIN A
ROUNDTABLE OF ENERGY
COMPANY CEOS
Ardern, former US presidents
George W Bush and Bill Clinton
and Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Modi’s visit to the US during
September 21-27 will also take
him to Houston, where he will
address an Indian community
event and join a roundtable of
energy company CEOs.
He is expected to address the
UN General Assembly on Sep-
tember 27, the same day as his
Pakistani counterpart Imran
Khan. According to the list of
speakers for the general debate
death anymore,” he said.
He added, “We all should know
that Modi has been a member of
the RSS since he was a child. It is
a Hindu extremist group and they
hate Muslims, Christians and all
minorities.”
India has described the
changes in Kashmir as an inter-
nal matter and said Pakistan has
no locus standi on the issue. With
Pakistan’s leadership claiming
that the situation in Kashmir
could trigger a war, New Delhi
has accused Islamabad of using
the issue to support jehad and
cross-border terrorism.
Khan said his government had
succeeded in internationalising
the Kashmir issue. The UN Secu-
rity Council had held a meeting
on Kashmir for the first time in 50
years and the European Union
had said the issue should be
resolved according to UN resolu-
tions, he said.
“More than 40 MPs in Britain
raised the Kashmir issue. I am
happy that US senators wrote a
letter to President Donald Trump
and urged him to intervene in the
matter,” he added.
narratives about
J&K at UN: India
Press Trust of India
letters@hindustantimes.com
n
UNITED NATIONS: Describing Paki-
stan as the “hub of terrorism”,
India has strongly hit back at the
country for raking up the Kash-
mir issue at the Security Council,
saying Islamabad misused the
UN forum to spread “baseless and
deceitful” narratives about it.
Pakistan’s envoy to the UN
Maleeha Lodhi raised the Kash-
mir issue during a General
Assembly session on Report of
the Security Council for 2018 on
Friday, and referred to India’s
August 5 decision to abrogate
Article 370 of the Constitution
which ended the special status of
Jammu and Kashmir.
Lodhi said India’s action to
revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s
special status was “in flagrant
violation of multiple Security
Council resolutions”. She said
the Security Council must press
India to lift the curfew, end the
communication blackout and
release the detainees.
“There has been yet another
attempt by one delegation to mis-
use this forum to spread baseless
and deceitful narratives about
my country. Such attempts have
not succeeded earlier and will not
succeed now,” First Secretary in
the Permanent Mission of India to
the UN Sandeep Kumar Bayyapu
said Thursday.
“The truth is that the delega-
tion represents a geographical
space that is now widely known
as the hub of terrorism that has
jeopardised innocent lives in our
region and beyond. We do not
wish to dignify such baseless dia-
tribes with a response,” he said.
On the report of the Security
Council, Bayyapu said: “The
Council neither reflects nor rep-
resents the aspirations and views
of the larger membership. Like
most others, we remain con-
vinced that the only remedy is a
comprehensive reform of the
Security Council, involving
expansion in its permanent and
non-permanent categories.”
PAK UN ENVOY RAISES
KASHMIR ISSUE DURING
A GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SESSION ON REPORT OF
THE SECURITY COUNCIL
FOR 2018 ON FRIDAY
at the session, Khan is expected
to speak after Modi. This will be
Modi’s first address to the world
body during his second term.
Modi is also expected to hold
several bilateral and multilat-
eral meetings on the margins of
the General Assembly, including
one with US President Donald
Trump though no dates have
been formally announced by the
two sides.
As part of the celebrations
marking the 150th birth anniver-
sary of Mahatma Gandhi, Modi
will host a special event with the
theme “Leadership matters: Rel-
evance of Gandhi in the contem-
porary world” at the UN head-
quarters on September 24. He
will also inaugurate the Gandhi
Peace Garden, an open site
within the campus of the State
University of New York at Old
Westbury.
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
SAT URDAY, SE PT E MB E R 14, 2 01 9
11 drown as 2 boats capsize Red corner notice against Nehal Modi
during idol immersion in MP
ACCIDENT CM Kamal Nath orders magisterial inquiry; BJP calls it ‘criminal negligence’
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
BHOPAL: Eleven people drowned
when two boats carrying them
capsized during Ganesh idol
immersion at Lower Lake in Bho-
pal early on Friday morning, a
police official said.
At least 18 people from Piplani
area in Bhopal were travelling on
two boats for the immersion at
Khatlapura ghat with the help of
a crane when the incident took
place at around 5 am, police offi-
cials said.
“When one of the boats cap-
sized, the people jumped on the
second boat which also capsized,”
police officials said.
Deputy inspector general of
police, Bhopal Irashad Wali said,
an FIR was lodged by Jehangira-
bad police station against two
boatmen Akash Batham and
Changu Batham under Section
304-A (Causing death by negli-
gence) of the Indian Penal Code) .
State Disaster Emergency
Response Force (SDERF) carried
out rescue operation for 10 hours.
Additional director general of
police, SDERF DC Sagar said,
“Witnesses said there were 19
people on the boats. Bodies of 11
fished out and seven were res-
School pulled up over ‘religious segregation’
Sreyasi Pal
n letters@hindustantimes.com
BERHAMPORE: An incident of seg-
regation of Hindu and Muslim
students before being served the
mid-day meal cooked in separate
utensils in West Bengal’s Mur-
shidabad district prompted the
block development officer to ask
the school to end this practice.
Rabindranath Bairagya, block
development officer of Suti,
under which the Ramdoba Mad-
hyamik Shiksha Kendra falls,
said, “After I came to know about
the incident, I sent my team to the
school on Friday. I have directed
that food should be cooked for all
the students together and there
should not be any segregation.
n Family members of a deceased grieve after a boat capsized in the
Lower Lake in Bhopal on Friday.
cued. We were looking for
remaining one person, but the
search was called off after no one
filed a missing complaint. There
must be confusion regarding the
number as rescued people are not
aware of exact number of people
on the boat when it capsized.”
One of the survivors, Rahul
Rana, 22, said, “We asked the
boatmen to not allow more per-
sons on the boat but they didn’t
pay any attention. Not a single
police personnel or municipal
corporation personnel was
I have directed that
› food should be
cooked for all the students
together and there should
not be any segregation
RABINDRANATH BAIRAGYA, block
development officer
The administration will not toler-
ate any such practice on the basis
of religion.”
According to teachers, the
school has 329 students of whom
195 are Hindus and 124 are Mus-
lims, who belong to Basantapur
and Ramdoba villages. While
Muslims comprise a majority in
ANI
present at the ghat.”
Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal
Nath has ordered a magisterial
inquiry into the incident. He said
that those found guilty will be
punished and announced a com-
pensation of ₹11 lakh each for the
next of kin of the deceased.
Public relations minister PC
Sharma said it needed to be
inquired as to how so many peo-
ple were allowed to carry the idol
in the boats.
“Now, no idols will be allowed
to immerse between 12 midnight
Ramdoba, most of the residents of
Basantapur village are Hindus.
“Trouble began in 2010 for the
first time when guardians of stu-
dents from Basantapur village
refused to allow their children to
eat mid-day meal with the stu-
dents from the Muslim commu-
nity.
“They would not budge from
their position despite our efforts
several times not to insist on seg-
regation,” said Ashim Kumar
Das, a science teacher of the
school.
Another teacher Deepak
Kumar Das said: “We tried to put
a stop to it several times...but the
guardians and cooks resisted us.”
According to the two teachers,
the school has separate ovens and
and 6 AM,” he said.
Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur
said, “It was criminal negligence
on part of the authorities con-
cerned and an FIR should be reg-
istered against them with police.”
Former CM Shivraj Singh
Chouhan also accused Bhopal
district administration, police
and Bhopal Municipal Corpora-
tion for negligence. “I heard that
₹4 lakh compensation will be
given to the families of the vic-
tims. In my view, four lakh is not
enough... The officials on duty
should have stopped the over-
crowded boat from entering the
lake,” news agency ANI quoted
him as saying.
Bhopal Municipal Corpora-
tion commissioner B Vijaya
Dutta, however, said, “All the
safety arrangements were made
at the ghat. Two divers had been
appointed and the lifesaving jack-
ets and tubes were also available
at the ghats but the persons, who
died, didn’t wear it.”
The commissioner suspended
revenue inspector Anil Gwahne
and an assistant sub-inspector of
police Shivachan Yadav for dere-
liction of duties, civil engineer RK
Saxena and fire station officer
Sajid Khan.
(With Agency inputs)
utensils to cook meals for the
Hindu and Muslim students.
They also said the students are
segregated on religious lines
before serving the mid-day meal.
School headmaster Pashupati
Ghosh did not respond to phone
calls.
“The school is closed during
the weekend and it would be
known only on Monday whether
the instructions are followed or
not. School teachers said all will
depend on the reaction of parents
and cooks,” said the BDO.
Trinamool Congress legislator
and minister Jakir Hossain, said:
“I came to know about the segre-
gation on Thursday. I shall visit
the school and ensure that such
practices do not continue.”
PNB CASE
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI: The Interpol has issued
a red corner notice or a global
arrest warrant against Nehal
Modi, stepbrother of Nirav Modi,
the billionaire jeweller who alleg-
edly cheated Punjab National
Bank (PNB) of over ₹13,500 crore
along with his uncle Mehul
Choksi before fleeing the coun-
try, the Enforcement Directorate
said in a statement on Friday.
The red corner notice was
issued against Nehal Modi on
charges of money laundering
being probed by the ED.
Nehal, 40, a Belgian national, is
the fourth member of the Nirav
Modi family to have been
declared “wanted” internation-
ally through an Interpol red cor-
ner notice, which empowers 194
member countries to locate and
provisionally arrest a person fac-
ing criminal charges. Besides
Nirav Modi, the other two family
members who are absconding are
Seven-year-old raped,
Shivakumar’s custody
murdered in Assam extended till Sept 17
It appears that both
Sadiq Naqvi
n syed.sadiq@htlive.com
GUWAHATI: A seven-year-old was
murdered after she was alleg-
edly raped in Assam’ Sonitpur
district, police said on Friday.
Assam Police on Friday appre-
hended two persons including a
14-year-old who they claim to be
the prime suspect.
Kumar Sanjit Krishna, super-
intendent of Police, Sonitpur
said, “The body with injury
marks on the neck and the pri-
vate parts was found on Thurs-
day evening.”
According to preliminary
investigations, on Wednesday
night two persons, including the
14-year-old and 25-year-old
Alfred Soren, both her neigh-
bours from the same village
called the victim and took her to
a paddy field . “We suspect she
was raped and then murdered,”
said Numal Mahatta, the addi-
tional superintendent of Police,
Sonitpur. Mahatta said the vic-
tim was hit with a sharp weapon.
“It appears that both the accused
were under the influence of alco-
hindustantimes
NEHAL IS THE FOURTH
MEMBER OF THE
NIRAV MODI FAMILY TO
HAVE BEEN
DECLARED ‘WANTED’
INTERNATIONALLY
his brother Neeshal and sister
Purvi Mehta.
A senior ED official said on the
condition of anonymity, Nehal is
currently hiding somewhere in
the United States.
Nirav Modi is currently in a
UK jail and Indian agencies are
pursuing his extradition while
Mehul Choksi is based in Antigua
and Barbuda.
The ED had registered two sep-
arate money laundering cases in
PNB case against Nirav Modi,
Mehul Choksi and others under
the provisions of Prevention of
Money Laundering Act on the
basis of first information reports
(FIRs) registered by the CBI.
› the accused were
under the influence of
alcohol. The 14-year-old is
the prime suspect.
NUMAL MAHATTA, ASP, Sonitpur
hol. The 14-year-old is the prime
suspect. The victim had com-
plained to her father about him
on an earlier occasion as well,”
he said.
The seven-year-old was alone
at home with her sibling when
the accused took her away. “Her
father is an alcoholic who comes
home late while the mother lives
with her parents,” Mahatta said.
The victim’s father is a daily
wager and the mother has some
mental health issues.
Soren and the 14-year-old
were apprehended on Friday
after police registered a case of
rape and murder.
Police said more details will be
known once the post mortem
report is out.
nation
The ED said on Friday that two
non-bailable warrants were
issued against Nehal Modi after
he didn’t appear before the agen-
cies. The agency has alleged that
Nehal Modi helped Nirav in
destroying the evidence after the
PNB scandal broke out in Janu-
ary 2018 and launder money on
his behalf. Nehal, according to
the ED statement, was looking
after the affairs of two companies
—Twin Fields Investments Lim-
ited ,Bailey Bank and Biddle for
Nirav Modi.
“Both these companies had
received around USD 50 million
from dummy companies of Nirav
Modi which in turn received this
fund from the fraud committed
on PNB. For Nirav Modi, he
became the protector and invest-
ment advisor of ‘The Ithaca
Trust’. This trust got the tainted
funds to the tune of $30 million
after extensive layering and two
immovable properties have been
purchased in USA from these
tainted funds,” said the ED state-
MONEY LAUNDERING CASE
Press Trust of India
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI : A Delhi court on Fri-
day extended the custodial inter-
rogation of Karnataka Congress
leader DK Shivakumar by the
Enforcement Directorate (ED) by
four days till September 17 in a
money laundering case.
Special Judge Ajay Kumar
Kuhar extended Congress
leader’s custodial interrogation
after the ED sought five more
days to quiz him.
The judge told the ED that it
should take care of Shivakumar’s
medical requirements and ask
him questions.
“Before the examination of the
accused, his medical check-up
must be done. In view of his medi-
cal record, we cannot take his
health for granted. Therefore, the
investigating officer shall ensure
that all due care is taken of his
health and, whenever required,
he is taken to hospital for
check-up and treatment,” the
judge said, adding that the first
priority is Shivakumar’s health.
09
ment.
After the CBI and ED started
scanning their offices abroad
with the help of international
agencies, Nehal Modi had dealt
with the proceeds of crime and
had taken away diamonds having
value of $6 million and 150 boxes
of pearls from Hong Kong and
cash of 3.5 million dirham and 50
Kg gold from Dubai, said the ED
statement. Nehal also arranged
the escape of Nirav’s trusted man
– Mihir Bhansali from Dubai and
booked tickets of several dummy
directors for Cairo so that Indian
agencies do not catch them. A red
notice was issued against Bhan-
sali as well, the ED said. He was
also involved in destroying the
digital evidence like mobile
phones and the server pertaining
to Nirav Modi’s companies in
Dubai, the agency claimed. Nehal
is also accused of helping Choksi
in laundering money.
Nirav Modi’s lawyer Vijay
Aggarwal could not be reached
for comment.
n D K Shivakumar
The court said although police
custody cannot be claimed and
granted mechanically, but it is
also true that the investigating
agency has to be given a chance to
conduct a free, fair and full probe.
“The pace of interrogation can-
not be truncated when some
material document and record
remains to be put to the accused.
Therefore, the remand of the
accused to ED custody is
extended till September 17,” the
court said in its four-page order.
Opposing ED’s plea, Congress
leader’s counsel senior advocates
A M Singhvi and Dayan Krishnan
said Shivakumar has been in cus-
tody since September 3 and that
he must be given active medical
assistance.
10 nation hindustantimes HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
SAT URDAY, SE PTE MB E R 14, 2 01 9

Cong protests as govt sets up new House committees Bhagwat to meet 70 int’l journalists
Saubhadra Chatterji
n saubhadra.chatterji@hindustantimes.com
The Trinamool Congress’s
Derek O’Brien was not retained
mittees in the previous Lok
Sabha, when it had 44 members in
Chowdhury said that in the
best interest of parliamentary
Tharoor, who headed the foreign
affairs panel in the last Lok
to explain the functioning of RSS
as the chairman of the travel, the Lower House, and two in the democracy, the Congress must be Sabha, hit out at the BJP, calling Kumar Uttam perhaps the first time that he is edly presented the Sangh parivar
NEW DELHI: Congress leaders pro- tourism and culture committee. Rajya Sabha. Its leaders now given its due. “I also reminded the decision “one more blow to n kumar.uttam@hindustantimes.com meeting foreign journalists. affiliates in a poor light. However,
tested on Friday as the party The role of the standing com- head three panels in total. him that when we had 44 MPs, we our soft power, image and inter- “The western media presents what served as the immediate
appeared to lose the chairman- mittees is to review the function- The Congress’ floor leader, headed two panels and now we national reputation as a mature NEWDELHI: Rashtriya Swayamse- the RSS as a Hindu militia organi- trigger for this outreach was the
ship of the Lok Sabha’s external ing of their respective ministries Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said: are a 52-member team but you democracy”. Tharoor said this is vak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat sation which it is not. We wanted controversy surrounding the
affairs committee that it previ- and submit reports on relevant “We have been informed that we want to give us just one panel to the first time the foreign ministry will meet about 70 journalists to reach out to them to explain the recent meeting between the RSS
ously held, with Parliament issues or bills after scrutinising will get the chairmanship of just head. This is injustice,” said panel was not given to the main working for foreign publication purpose for which the RSS came chief and German Ambassador
reconstituting its standing com- them. one panel… I had shot a protest Chowdhury. Opposition party. on September 24 to “set the into existence and how it works,” Walter J Linder at the RSS head-
mittees. With the latest move, the Con- letter to parliamentary affairs According to an official who Congress leaders Anand records straight” about the func- the person cited above said. quarters in Nagpur in July.
While Bharatiya Janata Party gress, which has 52 lawmakers in minister Pralhad Joshi. I told him did not wish to be named, govern- Sharma and Jairam Ramesh will tioning and objectives of the An RSS leader said that the “A section of foreign publica-
MP PP Chaudhury will lead the the current Lok Sabha, will be left that functioning of Parliament ment managers have told Chow- head two Rajya Sabha panels: Sangh parivar, people familiar idea for such an interaction was tions presented the RSS as a ‘Nazi
committee on external affairs, with just one panel to lead in the means there should be some dhury that the ruling BJP too has home affairs, and science and with the matter said. being discussed within the orga- outfit’. It was decided that the RSS
the finance panel will be headed Lower House — the panel on checks and balance. It is also the grown in numbers and the panels technology. Congress MP Rahul Bhagwat often holds such nisation since the April- May par- will meet foreign journalists to
by former minister Jayant Sinha, information technology. The right of the parties to head the need to be adjusted accordingly. Gandhi will be a member of the interactions with the journalists liamentary elections when a sec- counter this narrative...,” the
an official statement said. Congress had chaired two com- panels.” Congress lawmaker Shashi defence panel, the statement said. in Delhi and in states, but this is tion of the foreign media report- RSS leader quoted earlier said.

SdþÀMÑe ÀFa Oe. E»F.-33002/99 REGISTERED No. D.L.-33002/99 REVENUE DEPARTMENT

·FFSX°F ÀFSXIYFSX [OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT MAGISTRATE (SOUTH EAST)]
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION
Delhi, the 2nd September, 2019
F.No. ADM/SE/LAC/2016/506. — In the exercise of the power conferred by sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Right to Fair Compensation and
Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 read with Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs Notification
No. S.O. 2740 (e) dated 21st October, 2014, read with S.O. 2014(E) dated 21.07.2015, it appears to Lieutenant Governor of National Capital
Territory of Delhi, being the appropriate Government that in total 34526 Sq. Mtr. (3.4526 hectares) land is required in the Nagli Rajapur Village of
Sub-Division Defence Colony in District South East for public purpose for the 3rd phase of the project, for construction of Elevated Road over the
Barapullaha Nallah starting from Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar, New Delhi. Social Impact Assessment Study was carried out by SIA Unit, School
of Human Ecology, Ambedkar University, Delhi and SIA report was submitted on 14th March, 2018. Preliminary investigation was conducted by
a team constituted by Collector as laid down under rule 4 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation
and Resettlement (Social Impact Assessment and Consent) Rules, 2014. The summary of the Social Impact Assessment Report/preliminary
investigation is as follows (copy of SIA report is enclosed herewith as Annexure ‘A’).
The total number of 8 families are likely to be displaced due to the proposed acquisition of land. The reason necessitating such displacement is given
in the Social Impact Assessment study report in para 8.2.1 at page No. 97 of SIA report.
The Additional District Magistrate, South East Revenue District, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi is appointed as administrator for

AÀFF²FFS¯F
purpose of rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected families. Therefore it is notified that for the above said project in the Nagli Rajpur Village
of Sub-Division Defence Colony in District South-East, a the piece of land under acquisition measuring 34526 Sq. Mtr (3.4526 hectares) whose
detailed description is as following:
EXTRAORDINARY Details of Land under acquisition

´FiFd²FIYFS ÀFZ ´FiIYFdVF°F S. Survey Type of Type of land Area under

No. No./ title acquisition
Name of
owners
Name & Address
of persons
Boundaries Trees Structures

PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY Khasra (in interested N S E W Variety Number Type Plinth

No. hectare) area

ÀFa. 229] dQ»»Fe, ¶FÈWXÀ´Fd°F½FFSX, dÀF°F¸¶FSX 5, 2019/·FFýi 14, 1941 [SXF.SXF.SXF.Ãû.dQ. ÀFa. 197 1. 6 min Private Agriculture 0.1202.05 Joint Ravinder s/o DDA Other DDA Other part Small 2 Hut 2
No. 229] DELHI, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2019/BHADRA 14, 1941 [N.C.T.D. No. 197 (Shelab- River ownership Santoshi Prasad, part of of Kh.
band) (All share Manju Chauhan Kh. No. No. 6.

·FF¦F-IV holders) w/o Sh. Satish

Chouhan both r/o
6.

PART-IV H.No. 40, Nagli

____________________ Razapur.
2. 6 min Private Agriculture 0.2950 Joint Anil Kumar s/o Big 1 Hut 3
SXFáÑXe¹F SXFªF²FF³Fe ÃûÂF dQ»»Fe ÀFSXIYFSX (Shelab- River ownership Late Zile Singh Borewell 1
band) (All share r/o H.No. 40,
GOVERNMENT OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL TERRITORY OF DELHI
____________________ holders) Nagli Razapur

SXFªFÀ½F d½F·FF¦F 3 6 min Private Agriculture

(Shelab- River
0.0875 Joint
ownership
Bhopal Singh
s/o Late Tej Ram
DDA Other
part of
DDA Other part
of Kh.
Small 5 Hut 4
Borewell 1
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holders) Razapur 6.
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dQ»»Fe, 2 dÀF°F¸¶FSX, 2019 (Shelab- River ownership Rajeev both Late
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SXFáÑXe¹F SXFªF²FF³Fe ÃûÂF IZY CX´FSXFª¹F´FF»F IYû ´Fi°Fe°F WXû°FF W`X, C´FX¹Fb¢°F ÀFSXIYFSX WXû³FZ IZY ³FF°FZ ÀFSXF¹F IYF»FZ £FFa ÀFZ ¸F¹FcSX d½FWXFSX, ³FBÊX dQ»»Fe °FIY VFbøY WXû³FZ ½FF»Fe ¶FFSXF´Fb»»FF ³FF»FF IZY DY´FSX Ed»F½FZMZXOX SXûOX IZY d³F¸FFʯF WZX°Fb Razapur, Sanjeev
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Nagli Razapur
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& Hari Singh
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ÀFa. (Shelab- River ownership Sumant, Nishant part part of part of of Kh. Borewell 1
1 6 d³FªFe IÈYd¿F 0.1202.05 ÀFa¹Fb¢°F SdU³ýi ÀFb´FbÂF ÀFa°FFZ¿Fe ´FiÀFFQ, ¸Faþb dQ.dU.´FiF. JÀFSF ³Fa. dQ.dU.´FiF. JÀFSF ³Fa. LXûMXF 2 ÓFû´FOÞXe 2 band) (All share Rana s/o of Kh. Kh. No. Kh. 40 8 & old
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d³FUFÀFe ¸FIYF³F ³Fa. Me-58 ³F¦F»Fe Razapur.
SþF´FbS AF`S WdS dÀFaW ÀFb´FbÂF ¸FWe´FF»F 7. 13 min Private Agriculture 0.0010.5 Joint Anit Chauhan, Hut 1
d³FUFÀFe ¸FIYF³F ³Fa. 41 ³F¦F»Fe SþF´FbS (Shelab- River ownership Punit Chauhan, Borewell 1
5. 8 d³FªFe IÈYd¿F 0.1150 ÀFa¹Fb¢°F IbY»FU³°F, ÀFb¸F³°F, d³FVFF³°F SF¯FF JÀFSF JÀFSF ÀFa. JÀFSF JÀFSF ¶FOÞXF 2 ÓFû´FOÞXe 2 band) (All share Ajay Chauhan s/o
d¸F³F× (ÀF`»FF¶F-³FQe ÀUFd¸F°U ÀFb´FbÂF þÀFU³°F SF¯FF ÀF·Fe d³FUFÀFe ÀFa. 6 13 IYF ÀFa. 40 ÀFa× 8 IYF ¶FûSX½FZ»F 1 holders) Hukam Singh r/o
°FM) (ÀF·Fe ¸FIYF³F ³Fa. 46 ³F¦F»Fe SþF´FbS dUSZX³ýi IYF A³¹F A³¹F ·FF¦F IYF A³¹F A³¹F ·FF¦F H No. 48A, Nagli
dWÀÀFZQFS) IbY¸FFS ÀFb´FbÂF QmUIYS¯F d³FUFÀFe ·FF¦F ·FF¦F EUa ´FbSF³FF Razapur
¸FIYF³F ³Fa. 39 ³F¦F»Fe SþF´FbS ´F³Mc³F ´Fb»F 8. 40 min Private Agriculture 0.1760 Joint Jagdish s/o Other Other Other Other part Big 3 Hut 2
SXFZO (Shelab- River ownership Devraj, Anit part part of part of of Kh. Borewell 1
6. 13 d³FªFe IÈYd¿F 0.3154 ÀFa¹Fb¢°F QeUF³F dÀFaW, dS°Fb´Fi³F ÀFc¹FÊ´FiIYFVF ÀFb´FbÂF JÀFSF JÀFSF ÀFa. JÀFSF JÀFSF ÀFa. ¶FOÞXF 4 ÓFû´FOÞXe 1 band) (All share Chauhan, Punit of Kh. Kh. No. Kh. No. No. 8
d¸F³F× (ÀF`»FF¶F-³FQe ÀUFd¸F°U ³FSXFZ°°F¸F dÀFaW AF`S ¸FbIZYVF ¨FF`WF³F ÀFa. 8 13 IYF ÀFa. 13 12 E½Fa ¶FûSX½FZ»F 1 holders) Chauhan, Ajay No. 6 13 40
°FM) (ÀF·Fe ÀFb´FbÂF ÀU. ßFe ¶FF»FdIYVF³F ÀF·Fe IYF A³¹F A³¹F ·FF¦F IYF A³¹F 13 IYF Chauhan s/o & 40
dWÀÀFZQFS) d³FUFÀFe ¸FIYF³F ³Fa. 38 ³F¦F»Fe SþF´FbS ·FF¦F ·FF¦F A³¹F ·FF¦F Hukham Singh
7. 13 d³FªFe IÈYd¿F 0.0010.5 ÀFa¹Fb¢°F Ad³F°F ¨FF`WF³F, ´Fb³Fe°F ¨FF`WF³F, Aþ¹F ÓFû´FOÞXe 1 r/o H. No. 48,
d¸F³F× (ÀF`»FF¶F-³FQe ÀUFd¸F°U ¨FF`WF³F ÀFb´FbÂF WbXIbY¸F dÀFaW d³FUFÀFe ¶FûSX½FZ»F 1 9. 40 min Private Agriculture 0.0600 Joint Nagli Razapur Big 2 Hut 1
°FM) (ÀF·Fe ¸FIYF³F ³Fa. 48-E ³F¦F»Fe SþF´FbS (Shelab- River ownership
dWÀÀFZQFS) Borewell 1
band) (All share
8. 40 d³FªFe IÈYd¿F 0.1760 ÀFa¹Fb¢°F ªF¦FQeVF ÀFb´FbÂF QZUSFþ, Ad³F°F JÀFSF JÀFSF ÀFa. JÀFSF JÀFSF ¶FOÞXF 3 ÓFû´FOÞXe 2 holders)
d¸F³F× (ÀF`»FF¶F-³FQe ÀUFd¸F°U ¨FF`WF³F, ´Fb³Fe°F ¨FF`WF³F, Aþ¹F ¨FF`WF³F ÀFa. 6 13 IYF ÀFa. 40 ÀFa. 8 IYF ¶FûSX½FZ»F 1
°FM) (ÀF·Fe ÀFb´FbÂF WbXIbY¸F dÀFaW d³FUFÀFe ¸FIYF³F ³Fa. E½Fa 40 A³¹F ·FF¦F IYF A³¹F A³¹F ·FF¦F 10. 156 Private River Yamuna 0.9401 Joint River Yamuna Kh. Seam of River River - - - -
dWÀÀFZQFS) 48-E ³F¦F»Fe SþF´FbS IYF A³¹F ·FF¦F min ownership (All share No. 1, Belolpur Yamuna Yamuna
·FF¦F (All share Holders) r/o 13 &
9. 40 d³FªFe IÈYd¿F 0.0600 ÀFa¹Fb¢°F ¶FOÞXF 2 ÓFû´FOÞXe 1
holders) Nagli Razapur 14
d¸F³F× (ÀF`»FF¶F-³FQe ÀUFd¸F°U ¶FûSX½FZ»F 1
°FM) (ÀF·Fe 11. 221 Private Agriculture 0.7050 Joint Nirbhay Singh DDA DDA Other Other Part Big/small 23 Pucca 1 (15
dWÀÀFZQFS) min (Shelab- River ownership s/o Late Sh. Part of of 221 room sq.
Mango/ 1/2
10. 156 d³FªFe IÈYd¿F 0.9401 ÀFa¹Fb¢°F ³FQe ¹F¸Fb³FF (ÀF·Fe VFZ¹FS²FFSIY) JÀFSF d¶F»Fû»F´FbSX ¹F¸Fb³FF ³FQe ¹F¸Fb³FF ³FQe - - - - band) (All share Tek Ram r/o H. 221,
Ashok Tin Shet/ mtr)
d¸F³F× (ÀF`»FF¶F-³FQe ÀUFd¸F°U d³FUFÀFe ³F¦F»Fe SþF´FbS ÀFa. 1 E½Fa IYe ÀFe¸F holders) No.119, Sarai & old Hut 1/6
°FM) (ÀF·Fe 13 E½Fa Kale Khan Pantoon Borewell 1
dWÀÀFZQFS) 14 Pul
12. 221 Private Agriculture 0.0390 Joint Rajan Sethi s/o Big/small 10 Hut 1
11. 221 d³FªFe IÈYd¿F 0.7050 ÀFa¹Fb¢°F d³F·FʹF dÀFaW ÀFb´FbÂF ÀU. ßFe dQ.dU.´FiF. dQ.dU.´FiF. 221 IYF 221 IYF ¶FOÞXF/ 23 ´F¢IYF 1 (15 min (Shelab- River ownership Madan Lal Sethi
Road
d¸F³F× (ÀF`»FF¶F-³FQe ÀUFd¸F°U MZIYSF¸F d³FUFÀFe ¸FIYF³Fe ³Fa. 119 A³¹F ·FF¦F A³¹F ·FF¦F LXFZMXF 1/2 IY¸FSXF ½F¦FÊ band) (All share r/o H. No. N/6,
°FM) (ÀF·Fe ÀFSF¹F IYF»FZ JFa E½Fa ´FbSXF³FF AF¸F/ dMX³F VFeMX/ ¸FeMXSX) holders) West Patel Nagar
dWÀÀFZQFS) ´FaMcX³F ´Fb»F AVFûIY 1 ÓFû´FOÞXe 1/6 & M.L. Gupta
SXûOX ¶FûSX½FZ»F s/o Durga Dass
12. 221 d³FªFe IÈYd¿F 0.0390 ÀFa¹Fb¢°F SFþ³F ÀFZNXe, ÀFb´FbÂF ¸FQ³F »FF»F ÀFZNXe ¶FOÞXF/ 10 ÓFû´FOÞXe 1 Gupta r/o H. No.
d¸F³F× (ÀF`»FF¶F-³FQe ÀUFd¸F°U d³FUFÀFe ¸FIYF³F ³Fa. E³F/6, U`ÀM LXFZMXF 243, Sukhdev
°FM) (ÀF·Fe ´FMZ»F ³F¦FS AF`S E¸F×E»F. ¦Fb´°FF ÀFb´FbÂF Vihar Kothi
dWÀÀFZQFS) Qb¦FFÊQFÀF ¦Fb´°FF d³FUFÀFe ¸FIYF³F ³Fa.
243, ÀFbJQZU dUWFS IYFZNXe This notification is made under the provisions of section 11(1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation
and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013) to all whom it may concern.
¹FWX Ad²FÀFc¨F³FF ÀF·Fe ÀF¸¶Fd³²F°F IZY d»FE CXd¨F°F ¸FbAF½FªFF AüSX ·Fcd¸F Ad²F¦FiWX¯F ¸FZÔ ´FFSXQdVFÊ°FF, ´Fb³F½FFÊÀF AüSX ´Fb³F:À±FF´F³F Ad²FIYFSX Ad²Fd³F¹F¸F, 2013 IZY Aa°F¦FÊ°F ¶F³FFBÊX ¦FBÊX W`XÜ
The land Plan and other details of the land to be acquired can be inspected by the interested person in the office of the District Collector District
Ad²F¦FidWX°F IYe ªFF³FZ ½FF»Fe ·Fcd¸F ¹FûªF³FF °F±FF A³¹F d½F½FSX¯F dWX°F²FFdSX¹FûÔ ½¹Fd¢°F¹FûÔ õXFSXF IYF¹FFÊ»F¹F, dªF»FF IY»FZ¢MXSX dªF»FF (QdÃF¯F ´Fc½FÊ) SXFªFÀ½F d½F·FF¦F, SXFáÑXe¹F SXFªF²FF³Fe ÃûÂF dQ»»Fe ÀFSXIYFSX AüSX ¸Fb£¹F ´FdSX¹FûªF³FF (South East) Revenue Department, Government of NCT of Delhi and Chief Project Manager (Flyover) Public Works Department, Delhi on any
´Fi¶F³²FIY (µ»FFBÊXAû½FSX) »FûIY d³F¸FFʯF d½F·FF¦F, dQ»»Fe ¸FZÔ IYF¹FÊ ÀF¸F¹F IZY QüSXF³F dIYÀFe ·Fe IYF¹FÊ dQ½FÀF ¸FZÔ d³FSXeÃF¯F dIY¹FF ªFF ÀFIY°FF W`XÜ working day during the working hours.
Ad²Fd³F¹F¸F IYe ²FFSXF 11(4) IZY A²Fe³F IYûBÊX ·Fe ½¹Fd¢°F IY»FZ¢MXSX IZY ´Fc½FÊ A³Fb¸FûQ³F IZY d¶F³FF EZÀFe Ad²FÀFc¨F³FF IZY ´FiIYFVF³F IYe d°Fd±F ÀFZ EZÀFe dIYÀFe ·Fe ·Fcd¸F IYF IYûBÊX »FZ³F QZ³F ³FWXeÔ IYSmX¦FF ¹FF »FZ³F QZ³F IYF IYFSX¯F Under section 11 (4) of the Act, no person shall make any transaction or cause any transaction of land i.e. sale/purchase etc, or create any
³FWXeÔ ¶F³FZ¦FF A±FFÊ°F d¶FIiYe/£FSXeQ BX°¹FFdQ ¹FF EZÀFe ·Fcd¸F ´FSX IYûBÊX Ad°FIiY¸F¯F ³FWXeÔ IYSmX¦FFÜ encumbrances on such land from the date of publication of such notification without prior approval of the collector.
Ad²F¦FiWX¯F IYe AF´FdØF ¹FdQ IYûBÊX WXû °Fû dWX°F²FFSXe ½¹Fd¢°F IY»FZ¢MXSX IZY ÀF¸FÃF Ad²Fd³F¹F¸F IYe ²FFSXF 15 IZY A²Fe³F ¹F±FF-CX´F¶Fd³²F°F BXÀF Ad²FÀFc¨F³FF IZY ´FiIYFVF³F IYe d°Fd±F ÀFZ 60 dQ³FûÔ IZY ·Fe°FSX AF´FdØF QF¹FSX IYSX ÀFIY°FF W`XÜ Objection to the acquisition, if any may be filed by the person interested within 60 (Sixty) days from the date of publication of this notification as
provided under section15 of the Act before the Collector.
SXFáÑXe¹F SXFªF²FF³Fe ÃûÂF dQ»»Fe ÀFSXIYFSX IZY CX´FSXFª¹F´FF»F By Order and in the Name of Lt. Governor,
IZY AFQZVF ÀFZ °F±FF CX³FIZY ³FF¸F ´FSX, National Capital Territory of Delhi
DIP/Shabdarth/0667/19-20 WXSX»Fe³F IYüSX, IY»FZ¢MXSX (dªF»FF QdÃF¯F ´Fc½FÊ) HARLEEN KAUR, Collector (District South East)
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
SAT URDAY, SE PT E MB E R 14, 2 01 9
shortstories
HC DECLINES
RELIEF TO
NAVLAKHA
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court
on Friday refused to quash the
case lodged against civil liberties
activist Gautam Navlakha in the
Koregaon-Bhima violence and for
having alleged Maoist links,
noting that there was prima facie
substance in the case. “Consider-
ing the magnitude of the case, we
feel a thorough investigation is
required,” a division bench of
Justices Ranjit More and Bharati
Dangre said. The case is not
without basis and absence of
material,” it added. The bench
dismissed the petition filed by
Navlakha seeking to quash the
FIR lodged against him by the
Pune police in January 2018 after
the Elgar Parishad held on
December 31, 2017 that had
allegedly triggered violence at
Koregaon Bhima in Pune district
the next day. Meanwhile, special
Judge Ravindra M Pande, on
Friday, rejected the plea of nine
accused arrested in connection
with the case and alleged Maoist
links, challenging the special
court’s jurisdiction to take direct
cognisance of the offence and to
deny them bail.
VADRA GETS
NOD FOR
FOREIGN TRIP
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court
on Friday allowed Robert
Vadra, son-in-law of
Congress chief Sonia
Gandhi, to travel abroad
on business, saying the
Enforcement Director-
ate’s apprehension that
he might tamper with
evidence was without
any basis. Special judge
Arvind Kumar granted
permission to Vadra to
travel to Spain from
September 21 to October
8. Vadra is facing allega-
tions of money launder-
ing related to purchase of
a property in London
worth 1.9 million pounds.
A 3D MAP OF
INDIA LIKELY IN
TWO YEARS
Anonna Dutt
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Survey of India is
working on digitally mapping the
country over the next two years.
The high-resolution digital maps
will be three-dimensional and
available for free.
“Currently, we do not have
high-resolution digital maps of
India. These maps will be far
more accurate so governments
will be able to plan better. The
maps will be available for free to
all government departments, and
any commercial projects devel-
oped using these maps will have
to pay a percentage of profits to
the Survey of India,” said depart-
ment of science and technology
(DST) secretary Professor Ashut-
osh Sharma.
Unlike the earlier maps, which
were prepared with the help of
satellite images, these would be
created with the help of drones
flying at a height of 200-300
metres. “The previous maps were
prepared with the help of satellite
images taken from the height of a
few hundred kilometres above
the earth. Compared to that, the
level of detailing in drone images
is immense,” said DST director
and project coordinator SK
Sinha.
The project has already taken
off in Maharashtra, Karnataka,
and Haryana. “The resolution of
the map is 5 cm. Which means
that one pixel will represent 5 cm
on the ground. For accuracy, we
need at least two pixels, meaning
the accuracy of the map will be 10
cm. This is the requirement of the
Revenue Department under the
Digital India Land Records Mod-
ernisation Programme,” said
surveyor general of India Lt Gen
Girish Kumar. However, sensi-
tive areas, such as defence bases,
will be omitted from the open
maps.
The maps can be used for
urban planning and other ground
utility projects. The Survey of
India will also create maps for
government programmes.
UNLIKE EARLIER MAPS
MADE WITH SATELLITE
IMAGES, THE NEW MAPS
WOULD BE CREATED
WITH THE HELP OF
DRONES FLYING AT A
HEIGHT OF 200-300M
Ex-Kolkata top cop loses
protection from arrest
SARADHA CASE CBI officials reach Kumar’s residence to serve notice hours after court order
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
KOLKATA:The Calcutta high court
on Friday set aside its earlier
order that granted former Kolk-
ata police commissioner Rajeev
Kumar interim protection from
arrest in the multi-crore Saradha
chit funds case.
Soon after the court order, two
officers of Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI), which is
probing the case, went to his resi-
dence on Park Street to serve him
a notice. Kumar has been sum-
moned for questioning on Satur-
day, officials said.
Kumar’s lawyer Milon Muk-
herjee refused to comment on
whether he would appear before
the agency or appeal in a higher
court against Friday’s court ver-
dict. “I won’t comment on the
matter at all,” he said.
Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS offi-
cer, was in charge of West Bengal
Police’s special investigation
team (SIT) that probed the alleged
scam before the CBI took over the
case in 2014. He is accused of
tampering with the evidence.
He is now serving as additional
director general in charge of the
CID. According to CID officers,
Rajeev Kumar has gone on
leave for 10 days beginning Sep-
No effort to frame UCC
despite orders, rues SC SC refers Centre’s
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
n
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court
on Friday rued the fact that
despite its orders, “there has
been no attempt (by the govern-
ment) to frame a Uniform Civil
Code applicable to all citizens of
the country”.
A bench of justices Deepak
Gupta and Aniruddha Bose
made this remark in their judg-
ment on a civil suit, ruling that
the Portuguese Civil Code, 1867
shall govern the rights of suc-
cession and inheritance even in
respect of properties of a Goan
domicile situated outside Goa,
or anywhere in India.
Praising the state of Goa and
the Portugese Civil Code that
governs the laws of succession
in the state, the bench said, “Goa
is a shining example of an
Indian state which has a uni-
form civil code applicable to all,
regardless of religion.”
The court also said that
“whereas the founders of the
Constitution in Article 44 in
Part IV dealing with the Direct-
ive Principles of State Policy
had hoped and expected that the
State shall endeavour to secure
for the citizens a Uniform Civil
Code throughout the territories
of India, till date no action has
been taken in this regard.
Though Hindu laws were codi-
fied in the year 1956, there has
been no attempt to frame a Uni-
form Civil Code applicable to all
citizens of the country despite
exhortations of this Court.”
PDS case accused
points finger at
BJP’s Raman Singh
RAIPUR: A former manager of the
Chhattisgarh civil supplies
department alleged on Friday
that former chief minister Raman
Singh and his minister Punnulal
Mohale were involved in the pub-
lic distribution system (PDS) case
that led to a huge loss to the state
exchequer.
The manager, Shiv Shankar
Bhatt, an accused in the PDS case,
gave the statement under oath to
the court alleging that he was
privy to supply of ~5 crore to the
Bharatiya Janata Party office
during 2013 state assembly elec-
tions. Bhatt, posted in the civil
supplies department in Raipur in
2001, was arrested in 2015 and is
currently on bail.
Denying the allegations,
Raman Singh said, “Congress is
doing vendetta politics and noth-
ing else. They are misusing pow-
ers of government. The main
accused of PDS scam Bhatt is try-
ing to malign the image of the BJP
and its senior leaders. As far as
allegation made regarding sup-
plying money to BJP office, the
party only takes money through
cheque and audit has been done
every year.”
The PDS scam was unearthed
in 2014 and after a year, a PIL was
filed by Sudeep Shrivasatva, an
advocate, in the Chhattisgarh
high court demanding an SIT
investigation into the case. Shriv-
astava alleged the Anti-Corrup-
tion Bureau (ACB) saved a few
officers involved in the scam.
RITESH MISHRA
n Former Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar with West
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on February 4, 2019. ARIJIT SEN/HT ARCHIVE
tember 10.
The high court on Friday
observed that if an investigating
agency functions within the
ambit of law, a court cannot inter-
fere in its work and that as a
responsible officer, Kumar
should cooperate in the probe.
The court said that the agency
could summon him whenever it
felt necessary for questioning.
The lawyer representing the
CBI, Anirban Mitra, said that the
court rejected Rajeev Kumar’s
petition alleging that the investi-
gating agency was out to harass
him. Mitra confirmed that the
court removed the reprieve from
arrest that Kumar was enjoying.
THE COURT OBSERVED
THERE IS A CONFLICT
BETWEEN THE INDIAN
SUCCESSION ACT, THE
HINDU SUCCESSION ACT,
THE MUSLIM PERSONAL
LAW APPLICATION ACT,
1937, AND PORTUGUESE
CIVIL CODE
Lauding the features of the
Portuguese Civil Code, the court
said that under this code, a mar-
ried couple jointly holds the
ownership of all the assets
owned before marriage or
acquired after marriage by
either spouse.
“Therefore, in case of
divorce, each spouse is entitled
to half a share of the assets. The
law, however, permits pre-nup-
tial agreements which may have
a different system of division of
assets,” the judgment reads.
The court also said that under
the code, “Muslim men whose
marriages are registered in Goa
cannot practise polygamy. Fur-
ther, even for followers of Islam
there is no provision for verbal
divorce.”
The court observed that there
is a conflict between the Indian
Succession Act, the Hindu Suc-
cession Act, the Muslim Per-
sonal Law (Shariat) Application
Act, 1937, etc. and the Portu-
guese Civil Code with regard to
the laws of inheritance “but this
conflict has to be resolved”.
The interim relief was set to end
on Friday.
When asked whether Rajeev
Kumar can appeal against Fri-
day’s single-bench verdict before
a division bench of Calcutta high
court, the lawyer said, “Against
criminal revision, no appeal lies
before the honourable high court,
apart from the Supreme Court.”
On May 30, a HC vacation
bench gave Kumar temporary
reprieve from arrest but said he
has to appear whenever he is
summoned.While leaders of the
ruling Trinamool Congress
refused to comment, the opposi-
tion has welcomed it.
“If CBI wants, it can arrest
SC/ST ACT REVIEW
plea to larger bench
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI:The Supreme Court on
Friday referred its March 2018
verdict banning automatic
arrests in cases involving crimes
against underprivileged classes
to a three-judge bench.
The top court’s ruling came on
a review petition filed by the Cen-
tre last year.
The apex court had last year
banned automatic arrests and
registration of cases under the
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled
Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act, 1989, triggering protests in
many parts of the country against
dilution of the law that was
designed to protect marginalised
communities from abuse and dis-
crimination.
The March 2018 ruling of the
court required approval of the
superintendent of police to arrest
those accused of an offence under
this law. Besides, it required a
deputy SP to conduct a prelimi-
nary inquiry to find out if prima
facie, a case can be made under
the law.
The Centre first filed a review
petition in the Supreme Court
arguing that the change intro-
duced by the top court had “seri-
ously affected their (SCs/STs)
morale and confidence”. The two
judges who had delivered the
judgment that turned controver-
sial said the court ruling had been
“wrongly understood”.
“The SC/ST community has
Rajeev Kumar. [Chief minister]
Mamata Banerjee was desperate
to save him and even rushed to
his residence and held a demon-
stration. The court has done the
right thing. They are now free to
do whatever they want,” said
Bharatiya Janata Party state
president Dilip Ghosh.
Reacting to the court order,
leader of the Left Legislature
Party Sujan Chakraborty said,
“Rajeev Kumar is an efficient offi-
cer, but he dug his own grave by
constantly bowing down to the
demands of chief minister
Mamata Banerjee.”
Congress president Somen
Mitra said Kumar “should have
been arrested earlier”.
The agency had earlier ques-
tioned Kumar about a pen drive
and a “red diary” that the SIT con-
stituted by the Mamata Banerjee
government in 2013, allegedly got
hold of. The device and diary
allegedly seized from the Saradha
Group’s Midland Park office in
Salt Lake, are believed to contain
information on pay-offs to influ-
ential persons.
Several politicians including
TMC Rajya Sabha MPs Srinjay
Bose and Kunal Ghosh along with
West Bengal minister Madan
Mitra were earlier arrested in
connection with the case.
THE CENTRE FIRST FILED
A REVIEW PETITION IN
ARGUING THAT THE
CHANGE IN THE ACT
HAD AFFECTED THEIR
[SCS/STS] MORALE
AND CONFIDENCE
full protection of this court,” the
two-judge bench comprising
Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice
Uday Umesh Lalit had remarked.
When the court didn’t immedi-
ately stay its verdict, the govern-
ment moved Parliament to
restore the power of police to
carry out immediate arrests in
cases of atrocities and denial of
anticipatory bail by the way of the
Scheduled Castes and the Sched-
uled Tribes (Prevention of Atroci-
ties) Amendment Act, 2018 to
neutralize the effects of the judg-
ment.
On 30 January this year, the
apex court had refused to stay
amendments to the SC/ST Act
that restored the no-anticipatory
bail provision.
The implementation of the
1989 SC/ST Act has, at best, been
patchy. For instance, only 16% of
people charged under the 1989
law were convicted in 2016. But
the law has been associated with
the notion of power and dignity
for the marginalised sections,
who could file a case against
members of the powerful upper
caste.
hindustantimes
Court dismisses surrender
plea filed by Chidambaram
Richa Banka
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI:A Delhi court on Friday
dismissed former finance minis-
ter P Chidambaram’s request to
let him surrender before the
Enforcement Directorate (ED)
and face questioning in the INX
Media money laundering case,
sending him back to judicial cus-
tody in Tihar jail in another set-
back to the Congress leader.
Special judge Ajay Kumar
Kuhar turned down the plea by
the former Union minister, who
made his first attempt to force the
ED, to arrest him on September 5,
hours after the Supreme Court
declined to offer him protection
against arrest by the agency.
ED opposed Chidambaram’s
anticipatory bail application in
the Supreme Court earlier this
week, insisting that it needed to
arrest him. It hasn’t made its
move yet, saying it would do so at
an appropriate time.
Kuhar said the Rajya Sabha
member cannot be remanded to
ED’s custody because he has not
been arrested and the court has
not taken cognizance of any com-
plaint or offence. “When the
investigating officer is not willing
to arrest the applicant at this
SC seeks Centre’s reply on fresh
plea challenging triple talaq law
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on
Friday admitted a petition chal-
lenging the Muslim Women (Pro-
tection of Rights on Marriage)
Act, 2019, which makes the prac-
tice of instant triple talaq a pun-
ishable offence entailing impris-
onment of up to three years, and
sought response from the Centre.
A bench, headed by Justice NV
Ramana, also tagged the fresh
petition by Muslim Advocates
nation
stage, his application for surren-
der in the court cannot be enter-
tained,” the judge said.
On September 5, Chidam-
baram was sent to Tihar on a plea
by the Central Bureau of Investi-
gation (CBI), which had him in its
custody for 14 days for interroga-
tion in connection with corrup-
tion allegations in the same INX
Media case.
The INX Media case relates to
allegations of irregularities in the
grant of Foreign Investment Pro-
motion Board (FIPB) clearance to
the broadcaster for receiving for-
eign investment to the tune of
₹305 crore in 2007, when Chidam-
baram was finance minister in
the Congress-led United Progres-
sive Alliance (UPA) government.
CBI registered an FIR in the case
on May 15, 2017, followed by ED.
Chidambaram’s legal team is
concerned that the ED is waiting
for the 73-year-old Congress
leader to be released in the CBI
case before placing him under
arrest. The consecutive arrests
by the CBI and ED, it believes, are
designed to keep the politician
behind the bars for a longer dura-
tion than necessary.
Appearing for the former min-
ister, senior advocate Kapil Sibal
contended that the ED wants to
Association with other pleas
challenging the law.
The top court had on August
22, 2017 rendered instant triple
talaq unconstitutional in the Sha-
yara Bano case. The government
has based the criminal law
against talaq-e-biddat on this
judgment. Last month, the court
issued notice in three petitions
challenging the constitutional
validity of the triple talaq law,
filed by the Samastha Kerala
Jamiathul Ulema, Sayyed Farooq
and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind.
11
make his client suffer and harass
him (once he is released on bail in
the CBI case) . He said the ED also
wanted to prolong his incarcera-
tion one way or the other.
“If the agency was willing to
arrest me on August 20, then
what has changed since then?
This is completely malafide and
intended to humiliate and harass
me,” Sibal argued for Chidam-
baram.
Opposing this contention,
solicitor general Tushar Mehta
said that nothing had changed
and the reasons for arrest still
exist. He said the agency would
take him in custody when it is
well prepared so that it can effi-
ciently interrogate him.
In a reply filed in the court,
Mehta said the ED was in the
process of completing the investi-
gation with respect to certain
aspects of money laundering
which have to be placed before
Chidambaram. It said that the
agency had interrogated six peo-
ple from September 6 to 12 and the
investigation was still underway.
“This is also necessary to effec-
tively and meaningfully unearth
the trail of money laundering
which has reached beyond the
boundaries of this country,” the
affidavit read.
Jamiat-Ulema-I-Hind, one of
the leading organisations of
Islamic scholars, in its petition,
has called the central legislation
not only disproportionate, but
also extremely excessive and
stringent. “There are graver
offences under the Indian Penal
Code (IPC) for which lesser pun-
ishment is prescribed,” the peti-
tion stated. It also argued that sec-
tion 4 of the Act punishes a guilty
Muslim man with three years of
imprisonment and shall also be
liable to pay fine.
12 hindustantimes
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BUSINESS OFFER
CHANGE OF NAME
I, BHARTI Chandel d/o Ramswarup
Chandel r/o 284/9 Amritpuri-B,
Garhi, East of Kailash, New Delhi-
110065 have changed my name to
Bharti for all purposes.
I, DEEPA D/O Vilochan Singh R/O
Near Gyan Ganga Public School,
1415/3, Surya Colony, Sehatpur, P.O.
Tipat, Amarnagar, S.O. Faridabad,
HR-121003, have changed my name
to Deepa Negi for all purposes.
I, PAWAN Kumar Suchdeva S/o
Kalu Ram Sachdeva R/o Flat No.B2
F/F Plot No.32 KH No.-17/1, Front
Side Sukhi Ram Park Near Mandir
Uttam Nagar New Delhi-59 have
changed my name from Pawan
Kumar Suchdeva to Pawan Kumar
Sachdeva for all future purposes.
I PRATEEK Kumar Sharma S/o
Mahavir Prasad Sharma R/o B-202,
Lohia Nagar, GZB have changed my
name from Prateek Kumar to
Prateek Kumar Sharma for all future
purposes.
I, SURJEET Singh R/o 3/137,
Lalita Park, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-
110092 have changed name of my
minor daughter Simon Kaur (DOB
03-09-2005) to Simone Kaur.
I, SNEH Sharma W/o Sh. Hemant
Sharma R/o RZ-9A/2, Street No-8A,
Sadh Nagar, Palam Colony, ND-45
have changed my name to Sneh
Lata to Sneh Sharma for all future
purposes.
I, NANDAN Kumar S/O Uday
Narayan shukla R/0 A- 67, palam
vihar ph-2 Gurgaon Haryana have
changed my name to Nandan kumar
shukla for all purposes.
I, ASHWANI Wadhwa S/o Late
Hakumat Rai R/o B-147, Sec-52,
Noida, Distt-Gautam Budh Nagar,
UP-201301, have changed my name
to Ashwani Kumar Wadhwa for all
future purposes.
I POONAM Rani W/o Sanjeev Tyagi
R/o House No-839, Sector-11,
Vasundhara Ghaziabad, U.P-201012,
have change my name to Poonam
Tyagi.
I, SURENDER Sahni S/o Johar
Sahni R/o B/310, Lal Bagh, Azad
Pur, Delhi declare that my father
name is Johar Sahni instead of
Darshan Singh.
I HEMANT Sharma S/o. Sh. Chander
Shekhar Sharma R/o.RZ-9A/2,Street
no.8A, Sadh Nagar, Palam Colony,
ND-45 have changed my name to
Hemant Kumar Sharma to Hemant
Sharma for all future purposes.
I ACHAL Gupta @ Achal Kumar
Gupta S/o Lalit Kumaria @ Lalit
Kumar Kumaria R/o H-68, Naraina
Vihar, New Delhi-110028, have
changed my name to Achal Kumaria
for all future purposes.
I HITHERTO known as Aditya
Suryavanshi S/o Shri Virender
Gaur Alias Harinder Singh S/o
Shri Virender Singh R/o H.No-
10/1, VPO- Chhainsa, Ballabgarh,
Faridabad, HR-121004 have changed
my name and shall hereafter be
known as Aaditya Suryavanshi.
I LALIT Sharma S/o Sunder Dass R/o
B-19, Second Floor, New Gupta Col-
ony, Near Kalyan Vihar, Street. No.-
18, Delhi-110009 declare that name
of mine and my father has been
wrongly written as Lalit Kumar
Sharma and Sunder Lal Sharma in
my educational Documents. The
actual name of mine and my father
are Lalit Sharma and Sunder Dass.
I, PRAVEEN Bala W/o Harendra
Kumar Tyagi D/o Girdhari Lal R/o
H.No.D-10 2nd Floor, Gali No.-9,
West Jyoti Nagar, Delhi-110094 have
changed my name to Veena Tyagi
for all purposes.
I MANAS S/o Sh.Vijay Malhotra R/o
B 42,Double Story Quarters, Motia
Khan, Paharganj, New Delhi 110055,
have changed my name to Manas
Malhotra for all future purposes.
I, PUNEET Gupta S/o Atul Kumar
Gupta R/o P-87, South Extension-II,
Andrewsganj, South Delhi, Delhi-
110049 have changed my name to
Eiakagra Gupta for all purposes.
I, ANJALI Spouse of Pardeep Kumar
R/o 355, Sec-21, Gurugram-122016
have changed my name from Anjali
to Anjali Bugga vide affidavit dated
10.09.2019 befour Gurugram Court
CHANGE OF NAME
I, RUBI Kaur W/o Sh.Harpreet Singh
R/o H.No. 1845, Nai Basti, Rewari
(HR) have changed my name & DOB
from Rubi Sabberwal (DOB-
21.06.1986) to Rubi Kaur (DOB-
21.06.1985) for all future purposes.
I, ABID Mohiuddin S/o Ghulam
Mohiuddin R/o Mohalla Hathishah
Sopore, district Baramulla, J&K
bearing Indian passport number H
8829675, issued on 03-12-2009 and
expiring on 02-12-2019 have changed
my name from Abid Mohiuddin to
Abid Mohiuddin Shah in my passport.
This will be correct for all future
purposes.
I, DINESH Kumar S/o Shri Ramanand
R/o H.No-243 Gali No-4 Valmiki
Moholla Patpar Ganj Village Delhi-
110091,have changed my minor son's
name from Yash Parcha to Udayveer
Parcha to all future purposes.
I, SMT Suman Devi W/o Shri Ramesh
Kumar R/o H.No. 150, Mohan Ram
Patti, VPO Ujwa, New Delhi- 110073
have changed my name from Suman
to Suman Devi vide Affidavit dated
04/09/19 at New Delhi.
I, ANIL S/o JP Govil R/o 63 Shanti
Vihar Delhi-110092 have changed
my name to Anil Kumar Govil
For All Purposes.
I, NITIN Kant R/o 130-D, Pocket-6,
MIG Kondli, Gharoli, Mayur Vihar,
Phase-III, Delhi-96 have changed
name of my minor son Shresth
Kant Mishra (DOB 05-10-2005) to
Shresth Kant.
I, LAL Dev Kumar Nath Shah Deo
S/o Sh. Lal B N Shah Deo R/o Flat
No. 391, Pink Apartment, Sector-
18B, Dwarka, New Delhi-110078
have changed my name from Lal
Dev Kumar Nath Shah Deo to
Dev Kumar Shah Deo for all future
purposes Vide Affidavit No.
IN-DL09873691276359R
dated 26-06-2019
I, RAHUL S/o Horil Ray R/o
H.No. 182 Near N S G Gate Samalka
South West New Delhi-110037 have
changed my name to Rahul Kumar
for all purposes.
I, SANGEETA W/o Anil Kumar
Govil R/o 63 Shanti Vihar Delhi-
110092 have changed my name to
Sangeeta Govil For All Purposes.
LOST & FOUND
IT IS notified for the information that
my original marks statement of main
secondary school examination Of
year 2004 and roll no. 3114500
issued by CBSE has been actually lost.
Name of candidate: Praveen Kumar
Address: B-57, Gulmohar park, New
Delhi. Phone:9999566785
IT IS notified for the information that
my Original All India Senior School
Certificate Examination 1980 of year
1980 and Roll No. 207575 issued by
CBSE has been lost. Name of the
candidate MINAKSHI SINGH Full
Address: Birla Vidya Niketan, Pushp
Vihar, Sector – IV, New Delhi –
110017, Mob No. 9560721363.
LOST/ MISPLACED Society Share
Certificate No. 21267 of membership
No. 190 with other related
documents of Flat No. A-24 (Block A,
Flat No.24) of Welcome Co-operative
Group Housing Society Limited,
New Delhi - 110085. Finder please
contact: Pradeep Kalra 9811064334
I HAVE Seema Bhasin daughter Shri
Goverdhan Das Sethi Address-E 104
Windsor Park Indirapuram GZB.
My Original Registry (44A/L Model
Town Karnal Haryana, Book No.
01 Page No. 469, (8571, Page No.
82.84,) 29/04/2005. In fact.
Lost somewhere # 9891329701
I, KRISHNA Chandra Mittal S/o
C.P. Mittal have lost my documents
of property for Flat No. A 20 A,
Ground Floor, Pocket A, Block G,
Mayur Vihar Phase III (earlier known
as Kondli Gharoli) LR No. : 1536844/
2019 dtd 11-9-2019. Finder
Contact : 98104-12195
I, KAMLESH Agrawal W/o GD
Agrawal, have lost original share
certificate of Flat No. 462, Sapna
Ghar CGHS, Sector-11, Dwarka,
N.D.-75. In the name of Kamlesh
Agarwal & GD Agrawal. Finder
Please Contact: 9811498280
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
SAT URDAY, SE PTE MB E R 14, 2 01 9
E-TENDER NOTICE FOR ERECTION OF GERMAN HANGER FOR HOLDING EXHIBITION ON THE EVE OF 550TH PRAKASH
PURAB CELEBRATIONS OF SRI GURU NANAK DEV JI AT SULTANPUR LODHI, DISTT. KAPURTHALA, PUNJAB FROM
NOVEMBER 01, 2019 TO NOVEMBER 14, 2019
On behalf of the Managing Director, PSIEC, Executive Engineer-IV, PSIEC, Chandigarh invites online bids for Holding exhibition in german hanger at new
Dana Mandi, Sultanpur Lodhi, Distt. Kapurthala, Punjab on the eve of celebration of 550th Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Devi Ji from November
01, 2019 to November 14, 2019.
Conditions:
1. Eligible/Interested bidders shall have to deposit online EMD of Rs. 2,00,000/- (Rs. Two Lakhs Only) and tender fee Rs. 5000/- (Rs. Five Thousand
only). Earnest Money of the unsuccessful bidders shall be released after finalization/allotment of bid.
2. Pre-bid meeting shall be held on 18.09.2019 at 12:00 Noon in the office of Chief Engineer, PSIEC, Udyog Bhawan, Sector-17A, Chandigarh. Agencies
may submit their queries at e-mail i.e. xen.ivpsiec2019@gmail.com.
Availability of Tender on-line for bidding Last Date & Time for on-line Date & Time of opening of tender
Submission of Bids Technical Bid Financial Bid
13.09.2019
30.09.2019 up to 11.00 AM 30.09.2019 at 01.00 PM To be intimated later on
• For detailed terms and conditions of the notice inviting bids refer to web site http://www.eproc.punjab.gov.in
• The eligible bidders who do not possess DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) may get the same issued from approved agencies and for any other query
may contact helpline No. 0181-2602888 (PSIEC) and No. 0172-2791226 (NIC).
• Note:- Corrigendum, if any, will be uploaded on website i.e. http://www.eproc.punjab.gov.in only.
C-7094 Executive Engineer-IV
Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation Ltd.
(A STATE GOVT. UNDERTAKING)
18, HIMALAYA MARG, UDYOG BHAWAN, SECTOR 17-A, CHANDIGARH-160017, PHONE: 2702301-305. FAX: 2702039. Email: psiec@yahoo.co.in
Office of
Superintending Engineer 1st Circle,
Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department, Mandi-175001
Ph. 01905-224129, Fax: 01905-221576, E-mail: hp-man1@nic.in
“Notice Inviting Tender - CORRIGENDUM thereof”
The Superintending Engineer, 1st Circle, HP.PWD., Mandi on behalf of Governer of H.P. the item rate bids were invited in 1st call vide letter No. PW-
SE-I-Tender-107-PMGSY-NCK-KSG-MDII-B-II-18-19-1st Call/Publication/19-9581-9630 dated 25.07.2019 and No. PW-SE-I-Tender-107-PMGSY-
MDII-MDI-B-II-18-19-2nd Call/Publication/19- 12501-549 dated 23.08.2019 and technical bids were opened online on 19.08.2019 & 11.09.2019
but bid not received for this work and the committee decided to re-invite/recall the tender. Now the item rate bids for this work are re-invited in 2nd
call and may be read as under:-
1.
Sr. District Package Name of the work Estimated Cost (Rs. Lakh) Total Period of Bid Eligible
No. No. Construction Maintenance Cost Completion Security Class of
(Rs. (in Days) (Rs. Lakh) Contractor/
Lakh) (2% of Firm
Total Cost)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)
1. Mandi HP-08- Up-gradation of Gharaun 251.91 30.96 282.87 547 5.66 Class-A
506 Taryasal Dawahan road KM 0/0
to 6/0 under PMGSY/RRP-II
Batch-II for the year 2018-19
(SH:- Metalling and Tarring,
ROFD for improvement of
narrow curves, missing R/wall,
B/wall, V-shape drain, Parapet
and Logo Board and routine
maintenance of five year) HP-
08-506.
Note:- All duties, taxes, royalties and other levies payable by the Contractor under the Contract, or for any other cause, but excluding
GST shall be included in the rates, prices, and total Bid price submitted by the Bidder and GST at prevalent rates will be added to the
value offered by the bidder separately.
2. Date of release of Invitation for Bids through e-procurement: 16.09.2019
3. Cost of Bid Form: Rs. 5000/- (non-refundable) only in form of demand draft in favour of Executive Engineer, Mandi Division No. II,
HP.PWD., Mandi .
4. Availability of Bid Document and mode of submission: The bid document is available online and bid should be submitted online on
website www.pmgsytenders.gov.in. The bidder would be required to register in the web-site which is free of cost. For submission of bids,
the bidder is required to have Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) from one of the authorized Certifying Authorities (CA). “Aspiring bidders
who have not obtained the user ID and password for participating in e-tendering in PMGSY may obtain the same from the website: www.
pmgsytenders.gov.in
Digital signature is mandatory to participate in the e-tendering. Bidders already possessing the digital signature issued from authorized
CAs can use the same in this tender.
5. Submission of Original Documents: The bidders are required to submit (a) original demand draft towards the cost of bid document and
(b) original bid security in approved form and (c) original affidavit regarding correctness of information furnished with bid document as per
provisions of Clause 4.4 B (ii) of ITB with of Executive Engineer, Mandi Division No.II, HP.PWD., Mandi up to or before the time and date
of submission of bids. No physical documents will be accepted after the closing date and time of submission of bids, either by registered
post or by hand, failing which the bids will be declared non-responsive.
6. Last Date/Time for receipt of bids through e-tendering: 30.09.2019 upto 1030 Hours
7. The site for the work is available.
8. Only online submission of bids is permitted, therefore; bids must be submitted online on website www.pmgsytenders.gov.in. The
technical qualification part of the bids will be opened online at 1100 Hours on 30.09.2019, by the authorized officers. If the office happens
to be closed on the date of opening of the bids as specified, the bids will be opened on the next working day at the same time and venue.
9. The bids for the work shall remain valid for acceptance for a period not less than ninety days after the deadline date for bid submission.
10. Bidders may bid for any one or more of the works mentioned in the Table above. To qualify for a package of contracts made up of this
and other contracts for which bids are invited in the same IFB, the bidder must demonstrate having experience and resources sufficient
to meet the aggregate of the qualifying criteria for the individual contracts.
11. Other details can be seen in the bidding documents. The Employer shall not be held liable for any delays due to system failure beyond its
control. Even though the system will attempt to notify the bidders of any bid updates, the Employer shall not be liable for any information
not received by the bidder. It is the bidders’ responsibility to verify the website for the latest information related to the tender.
12. If there is hike in bitumen prices during the execution of work the hike will be borne by the State Govt. If there is decrease in prices of
bitumen during the execution of work, Government shall be entitled to deduct from dues of the contractors. The bidders are requested to
see the attached file with the tender document as standard form of Part B Agreement.
The undersigned has right to extend or cancel the bids without declaring any reasons thereof.
Superintending Engineer
1st Circle, HP.PWD., Mandi
Telephone No. 01905-224129
For Chief Engineer (MZ)
1992 HP.PWD., Mandi
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
SAT URDAY, SE PT E MB E R 14, 2 01 9
HTSPOTLIGHT
India’s taxation policies
and scope for reforms
STEP Balancing between powers of state and citizen’s moral obligation is the need of the hour
Saumil Shah and Shruti Lohia
n letters@hindustantimes.com
A SERVED BY A BROAD
n old US Supreme
Court decision set
forth the dictum: “The
power to tax involves
the power to destroy…” This is,
unfortunately, a perception that
has been amplified by a recent
series of events defining and
shaping the Indian tax land-
scape. The term tax terrorism
was coined in 2014 to describe
the adversarial approach
adopted by tax authorities. The
phrase has since gained trac-
tion, is perceived to be the rule
rather than an exception, and is
now commonly discussed
across forums..
Retrospective amendments
to the law, fishing inquiries con-
ducted by tax departments, the
imposition of unrealistic tax
targets on field officers leading
to high assessments, aggressive
collection measures such as
provisional attachment of
assets (even before completion
of the final assessment), and
prolonged litigation have
fuelled the perception of tax ter-
rorism. One could perhaps tone
the phrase down to tax aggres-
sion.
In the wake of recent events,
the corporate world has united,
sharing stories of the continued
harassment they have faced at
the hands of tax authorities. Of
course, one could and should be
wary of these reports because of
inevitable exaggerations and a
reluctance on the part of sec-
tions of the corporate world to
pay their fair share of taxes.
At its root, there does lie an
element of tax aggression. The
government’s proactive
response to these reports has
been to suspend senior tax offi-
cers, relieve them of their duties
and hold out assurance that
fishing expeditions will not be
conducted.
Global trade and tax wars are
having an impact on the Indian
economy, and growth has
ENSURE CADRE
INVOLVEMENT
IN GOVERNANCE,
SONIA TELLS CMS
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Congress president
Sonia Gandhi asked the party
chief ministers on Friday to
ensure greater involvement of
workers in governance and
called for better coordination
between the organisation and the
government.
Chairing a meeting of chief
ministers of Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Pun-
jab, and Puducherry, Gandhi told
them that they should not take
their positions for granted and
should focus on workers who had
toiled hard for the party’s victory
in these states.
The Congress president asked
them to assign duties to ministers
on roster basis to sit in party offi-
ces to address public grievances.
She stressed the need to put in
place an effective system for mon-
itoring and implementation of the
key manifesto commitments that
the Congress had made in the
run-up to the assembly elections.
The party chiefs, those in
charge of these states, former
prime minister Manmohan
Singh, and senior leaders Ahmed
Patel and AK Antony also
attended the meeting.
“It was felt that in the prevail-
ing dire socio-economic and polit-
ical crisis in the country, perpe-
trated single-handedly by the
BJP governments at the Centre
and in various states, the states
ruled by the Congress are the
strongest bulwark against the
BJP,” a party statement said.
The Congress president the
former PM also met the party
leaders from North East to dis-
cuss various issues confronting
the region. It was decided at the
meeting that the party’s North-
East Congress Coordination
Committee (NECCC) will have a
permanent office in Guwahati to
discuss the NRC and other issues.
CONGRESS PRESIDENT
SONIA GANDHI ASKED
CMS TO ASSIGN
DUTIES TO MINISTERS
ON ROSTER BASIS TO
SIT IN PARTY OFFICES
TO ADDRESS PUBLIC
GRIEVANCES
THE GOVERNMENT
WOULD BE BEST
TAX BASE, EQUITABLE
AND FAIR TAXES, AND AN
ADMINISTRATION WHERE
NO PERSONAL BIAS AND
INEFFICIENCIES EXIST
slumped to a more than six-year
low. In order to alleviate the sit-
uation, the finance minister, in
her recent interactions, has
highlighted 32 action points
which the government is pursu-
ing to improve the ease with
which people conduct business.
Some of these action points are
also aimed at curbing in stances
of tax aggression such as the
withdrawal of an angel tax for
registered startups, implemen-
tation of a new centralized com-
puter system for issuing
income-tax orders, notices and
summons with a unique docu-
ment identification number
(DIN) effective from October 1,
clearance of Goods and Services
Tax (GST) refunds within 30-60
days, and faceless or e-assess-
ments.
Are these measures going to
be sufficient? For this, let us
start at the root cause of the
problem. A successful tax policy
is based on four canons of taxa-
tion -- equality, certainty, con-
venience and economy.
Among the four canons, the
Indian tax law is perhaps weak-
est when it comes to the canon of
certainty.
India has a complex tax rate
system -- different tax rates for
manufacturing companies and
companies with turnover
thresholds (which vary from
year to year); short-term and
long-term capital gains rates
vary for different capital assets;,
tax on dividend income and dif-
ferent rates for non-residents,
the list goes on.
These circumstances are fur-
SIT quizzes Chinmayanand for
8 hrs, seals his room at ashram
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
LUCKNOW: The special investiga-
tion team (SIT) formed to probe a
law student’s rape allegations
against Swami Chinmayanand
has grilled the former Bharatiya
Janata Party MP for eight hours
at the Shahjahanpur police lines
in Uttar Pradesh.
Beginning at 6 pm on Thurs-
day, the interrogation went on till
Friday morning following which,
the officials sealed Chinmaya-
nand’s bedroom at his Shahja-
hanpur ashram. The ashram is
located close to the law college
where the complainant was a stu-
dent. Amid tight security on Fri-
day, the SIT, accompanied by the
woman complainant and a foren-
sics team, went to inspect the
BJP leader’s bedroom that had
been sealed just hours ago.
A police officer, requesting
anonymity, said the room had to
be inspected in the presence of the
woman to verify her allegations.
“No one is allowed to enter or exit
Chinmayanand’s house till the
F I N A L D AY O F G A N E S H O T S A V
Mumbai records highest noise level in 4 yrs
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
MUMBAI: Noise levels from proces-
sions on ‘Anant Chaturdashi’, the
eleventh and final day of Gane-
shotsav, were the highest in the
past four years in Mumbai, an
anti-noise campaigner said on
Friday.
Awaaz Foundation that
recorded noise levels on Thurs-
day night said the highest noise
level, 121.3 decibels (dB) - as loud
as a jet plane during takeoff (120
dB), was recorded near Royal
Opera House junction on Charni
Road just before midnight.
The second highest noise level
was at 8.45 pm in SV Road, Santa-
cruz West at 120.2 dB. This is the
route to Juhu beach.
According to the Noise Pollu-
tion (Regulation and Control)
Rules, 2000, residential areas
should have a maximum noise
level of 55 decibel (dB) in the day
and 45dB at night.
“In spite of the higher read-
ings, there has been a huge
increase in awareness about
noise during this festival,” said
Sumaira Abdulali, convener,
Awaaz Foundation.
EASE OF DOING BUSINESS 3/4
ther aggravated by the complex-
ity of varying surcharge rates
for corporate and non-corporate
entities, and for different
streams of income. The govern-
ment could consider providing
a simplified tax rate system
which provides more certainty
and is easier to comply with.
Additionally, in India, the
distinction between policymak-
ing and legislative drafting has
become blurred. The country is
in dire need of a modern and
sophisticated tax law, which
will require expert draftsmen to
codify policy decisions taken by
the government.
Rigorous and expert legisla-
tive drafting will also help in
improving policymaking by
identifying gaps in the proposed
laws and enabling policymakers
to address them in a timely man-
ner. One hopes that the pro-
posed Direct Taxes Code (in its
new guise) will live up to these
expectations.
Another aspect that emerges
from the recent surcharge
increase on the super-rich is the
need for a larger public debate
before proposals are enacted.
For instance, it appears that the
increased surcharge was not
intended to apply to Foreign
Portfolio Investors set up as
trusts; yet this could not be
addressed given the exigencies
and time constraints of the legis-
lative process.
While the need for confiden-
tiality and speed may occasion-
ally be warranted, in most
cases, a wider and more far-
reaching public debate prior to
the passage of Bills by Parlia-
ment will help address unin-
tended anomalies and assist in
the framing of better laws.
Some other measures which
could be explored for develop-
ing a robust taxation framework
could be building accountability
on the part of the tax adminis-
tration through the introduc-
tion of a Tax Ombudsman.
This will not only facilitate
redressal of taxpayer grievan-
THE SIT, ACCOMPANIED
BY THE COMPLAINANT
AND A FORENSICS TEAM,
INSPECTED THE FORMER
BJP MP’S BEDROOM
probe team is inside. The foren-
sics team will inspect the
(bed)room that was sealed last
night (Thursday),” he said. “The
SIT arrived at Swami ji’s resi-
dence to inspect the bedroom and
then sealed it. It is a part of the
investigation process. They (SIT)
sealed it on Thursday night and
will open it after the probe is
over,” said Chinmayanand’s law-
yer Om Singh.
Meanwhile, the law college,
where the complainant was a stu-
dent, remained shut on Friday.
College administration said the
institution was shut after the SIT
cited security concerns.
Earlier, on Tuesday, the SIT
had visited the sealed hostel room
of the 23-year-old complainant. A
day before, she had claimed that
Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik
Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti
(BSGSS), the umbrella body of
Ganesh mandals, said specific
guidelines to control noise among
all other directions were issued
almost a month back.
“The mandals across Mumbai
ensured not to use DJ systems,
which is a first for the city. Even
the Mumbai police commissioner
conveyed his regards to us for a
well organised eleventh day of
Ganeshotsav,” said Naresh
Dahibhavkar, BSGSS president.
“The technique to record noise
by Awaaz Foundation is incor-
rect as they place the decibel
metre right in front of the speak-
ers. We will go by final readings
taken by Mumbai police.”
Abdulali said there were no
specific rules on how noise read-
ings were to be taken.
Mumbai police spokesperson
Pranaya Ashok said: “Action will
be taken wherever there have
been violations.”
Last year, the city recorded its
quietest Ganeshotsav in six years
with maximum noise levels at
113.9 dB. The noisiest last day of
the annual festival was recorded
in 2015 at 123.7 dB.
ces but also help in the timely
identification of and reporting
on systemic problems faced by
taxpayers after consultation
with taxpayers and industry
representatives.
A system should also be
developed in which the taxpayer
and the assessing officer can
jointly refer questions of law
and interpretation to a specified
senior officer in the Central
Board of Direct Taxes/Central
Board of Indirect Taxes and
Customs , tasked with ensuring
the consistent application of tax
laws, rules and circulars
throughout India. In cases of
existing litigation, a scheme for
enabling an out-of-court settle-
ment mechanism could also be
explored, and other measures
such as improving the efficacy
of the Authority of Advance Rul-
ings would go a long way in pro-
viding tax certainty for foreign
investors.
A process could also be
defined whereby the perform-
ances of the senior tax officials
are measured on the basis of
annual increase in the number
of taxpayers under their juris-
diction, rather than tax collec-
tions alone.
The government would be
best served by a broad tax base,
equitable and fair taxes, and an
administration where no per-
sonal bias and inefficiencies
exist.
At the same time, developing
a tax-compliant nation is
equally important for tax policy.
This can only be realistically
achieved when taxpayers view
taxes as reasonable and just,
and in accordance with the gov-
ernment’s obligation to ade-
quately deliver public goods and
services. Creating a balance
between the powers of the state
and the citizen’s moral obliga-
tion is therefore the need of the
hour.
Saumil Shah is partner and Shruti
Lohia principal at Dhruva Advisors LLP.
The views expressed are personal.
evidence of her allegations
against Chinmayanand were
kept there. “The room was
opened in the presence of the
woman and her father,” said a
police officer.
The hostel room was sealed on
the SC’s directions after allega-
tions against the former union
minister first surfaced in August.
Meanwhile, the law student’s
father, also the complainant in
the kidnapping case against
Chinmayanand after she went
missing, said it appeared that
someone had searched the hostel
room before it was sealed. “Some
of the items that my daughter had
kept there as evidence were not
there anymore,” he alleged.
The SIT has questioned the
woman, her father and brother
for over 11 hours. Statements of
the principal of SS Law College,
Sanjay Kumar Baranwal, and
secretary Avanish Misra were
also recorded by the probe team.
The SIT, headed by inspector
general of police Naveen Arora,
was formed on September 3 on the
directions of the Supreme Court.
Devotees in a procession to immerse idols of Ganesha in the
n
Arabian Sea in Mumbai on Thursday.
Why Modi govt 2.0 might have to
change its political economy script
NUMBERTHEORY
Roshan Kishore
n roshan.k@htlive.com
T
he current government
completed its first 100
days in office on Septem-
ber 6. On the economic
front, how different has this
period been from the first 100
days of the Narendra Modi’s first
stint in government, which
started in May 2014?
Economic indicators do not
lend themselves easily to such
high-frequency analysis. Gross
domestic product (GDP) data for
the current fiscal year is availa-
ble only for the first quarter,
which ended in June. The new
government had spent only a
month in office by then. Even
other high-frequency statistics
such as inflation, index of indus-
trial production and rural wage
data are not available beyond
July. What is also true, however,
is that indicators such as GDP sta-
tistics normally do not show dras-
tic movements within a span of
three months. Also, any evalua-
tion of economic performance
has to be mindful of the historical
context in which both govern-
ments took over.
Let us now look at GDP statis-
tics for the first and second Modi
government. In the quarter end-
ing March 2014, the last full quar-
ter under the second United Pro-
gressive Alliance (UPA) govern-
ment, GDP growth was 5.3%. GDP
growth numbers had also been
fluctuating wildly towards the
end of the of UPA II government.
They had fallen by two percent-
age points between September
2013 and March 2014 after having
risen by more than three percent-
age points between March 2013
and September 2013. In the first
two quarters after the new gov-
ernment took over in May, GDP
growth increased by 3.4 percent-
age points again. GDP growth
was on an upward trajectory
until June 2016.
To be sure, the GDP numbers
which have been cited here were
not available until January 2015,
when the Central Statistics Office
(CSO) released GDP figures with
2011-12 as the base. The old series
put the new government’s initial
economic performance in poorer
light, with GDP growth figures
PwC gets ~230-cr UP ministers to now pay taxes from
penalty notice for own pockets as state amends law
‘FEMA violations’
NEWDELHI: The ED has slapped an
over ~230-crore FEMA violation
show cause penalty notice
against multi-national account-
ing firm PricewaterhouseCoop-
ers (PwC) and others, officials
said on Friday. They said the
notice was issued under the For-
eign Exchange Management Act
(FEMA) after completion of probe
by the adjudicating authority
which is the Special Director
(Eastern Region) of the Enforce-
ment Directorate. The penalty, to
the firm and six others, totals to
~2,30,40,70,000, the order accessed
by PTI said. Officials said the
company, along with other noti-
ces, received investments from
PwC BV by “falsely” showing
them as ‘grants’ so as to avoid
attracting provisions of FEMA,
which require approval of the
government or the Reserve Bank
of India. The ED had taken over
the probe against the firm on
direction of the Supreme Court
which asked it to look into the
affairs of the company from the
point of view of FEMA. PTI
ANSHUMAN POYREKAR/HT PHOTO
hindustantimes
2014 & 2019 are different
on the economic front
CHART 1 GDP growth was unstable in
2014, it is declining today
2004-05 Series
10
9
8
7
6
5 4.87
4 4
3 of low oil prices and drop in
Jun-12
CHART 2 Both food and non-food
inflation are much lower in 2019
Non-Food Inflation
15
12
10.5
9
6
5.4
3 took over in 2014. This precludes
0 the possibilities of any windfall
-3
-6
Jan-12
for quarter ending March 2014,
June 2014 and September 2014
being 6.1%, 5.8% and 6% respec-
tively. They were 5.3%, 8% and
8.7% according to the new series.
The short point is that the first
Modi government inherited an
economy which was already in a
recovery phase, but still very vol-
atile. To its credit, the new gov-
ernment stabilised the recovery.
(See Chart 1)
It got lucky on one important
front while trying to do this.
India’s crude oil basket (COB)
had been above $100 per barrel
for more than three years before
May 2014. Food inflation had been
growing at double digits for more
than a year until December 2013.
Even non-food inflation was way
higher than what it is today. Infla-
tion started falling sharply after
oil prices crashed in the second
half of 2014-15. The Consumer
Price Index’s annual growth was
7.2% in July 2014. It came down to
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh minis-
ters will pay income taxes on
their salaries and perks from
their own pockets, responding to
a directive by chief minister Yogi
Adityanath and in a departure
from a 38-year-old practice in
which the state treasury was
footing the bill.
“The state treasury will no
longer pay the income tax of min-
isters and the provision in the
Uttar Pradesh Ministers (Sala-
ries, Allowances and Miscellane-
ous Provisions) Act, 1981, requir-
ing the government to pay the
income tax of the chief minister
and the ministers, will be nulli-
fied,” state minister for parlia-
mentary affairs and finance
Suresh Khanna said in a state-
ment on Friday.
The Act was passed when VP
Singh, then in Congress, was the
UP chief minister and there
existed a perception that most
ministers came from poor back-
Govt issues notice to TV channel
over ‘distortion of facts’ in show
HT Correspondent and PTI
letters@hindustantimes.com
n
NEW DELHI: The ministry of
information and broadcast-
ing issued a show cause
notice to television channel
Colors for alleged distortion
of facts in their television
serial, Ram Siya Ke Luv
Kush. The channel has been
given 15 days to reply.
As per the notice, the
channel has been asked to
give an explanation on the
presentation of Maharishi
Valmiki, which was raised
by the members of the Val-
miki community, which took
to the streets to protest.
The ministry, in a letter
dated September 11, said that
the serial appears to be caus-
ing hurt to religious senti-
ments. This is causing
resentment in the commu-
nity which has also warned
that if the telecast of the said
serial showing “distorted
history, deliberately insult-
ing ‘Maharishi Valmiki’“ is
nation
2011-12 Series (Figures in %)
8.7
5.01
6 stabilised the ongoing
Sep-14 Jun-19
Food Inflation (Figures in %)
MODI IN POWER
3.7
3.4
May-14 Jul-19
SOURCE: CMIE
3.3% by November 2014. COB
price came down from $102/bar-
rel in August 2014 to $55/barrel by
March 2015. The government also
made a fiscal windfall from low
oil prices in terms of higher taxes
because it did not pass on the
entire benefits to consumers.
Windfall gains leading to low
inflation and an improved fiscal
capacity were key contributors to
high economic growth. (See
Chart 2)
Let us fast-forward to the sec-
ond Modi government now.
India’s GDP growth has been
declining for five consecutive
quarters. Contrary to there being
a GDP series revision which gave
a positive shock to statistics,
questions are being raised
whether the current series over-
estimates GDP. Those making
this critique include the chief eco-
nomic advisor of the first Modi
government. Inflation and oil pri-
ces are much lower than what
grounds and needed their
income tax liabilities to be
underwritten by the govern-
ment. That perception has
changed over the years.
“Yes, I will speak to chief min-
ister Yogi Adityanath and get
this provision nullified through
an amendment. Why should the
government pay tax for minis-
ters when all the citizens pay
their income tax themselves,”
Khanna said earlier on Friday.
Amendments to the Act have
been made to increase salaries
over 40 times in the past 38 years,
but no changes have been made
to sub section 3 of the Act that
reads “The salary referred to in
sub sections (1) and (2) shall be
exclusive of the tax payable in
respect of such salary (including
perquisites) under any law relat-
ing to income tax for the time
being in force, and such tax shall
be borne by the state govern-
ment.”
In 1981, sub section 1 of the Act
provided for ~1,000 per month of
salary for the chief minister,
I & B C R AC K S T H E W H I P
I&B MINISTRY SAID
SERIAL ‘RAM SIYA KE LUV
KUSH’ HAS BEEN
SPREADING DISTORTED
RELIGIOUS INFORMATION
AND HARMING THE
IMAGE OF VALMIKI
not stopped then they will
hold countrywide demon-
strations, the letter said.
“Whereas the dialogues
and the utterances as used in
the serial appears to offend
good taste and decency. The
words used to describe
‘Maharishi Valmiki’ of the
particular sect appear to
show him in poor and
demeaning light with a view
to maligning him,” the letter
said. The words used in the
serial appear to be contemp-
tuous of the religious group,
the ministry said.
“It has been observed that
the serial Ram Siya ke Luv
Kush is spreading distorted
13
KEY TAKEAWAYS
n The economic situation
facing the first and second
Narendra Modi government
when it assumed office is
very different.
n In 2014, inflation was at
very high levels, and while
economic growth was
recovering, it was still very
volatile. Also, the GDP
series, which was released
in January 2015 made GDP
growth much better than
what the old series showed.
n The new government
economic recovery. It was
aided by a windfall in terms
inflation in this effort.
n The second Modi govt has
inherited an economy
where growth has been
going down for five
consecutive quarters now.
Inflation and oil prices are
at much lower levels than
what they were in 2014.
they were when Modi became
gains which could give a boost to
growth.
If the September-quarter GDP
numbers do not show a signifi-
cant recovery, or even worse,
demonstrate that the slowdown
is continuing, the clamour for fis-
cal stimulus will only increase.
Any significant stimulus will
entail the risk of a rise in infla-
tion. To be sure, there is nothing
undesirable about some rise in
inflation if it is a by-product of
policies which stimulate aggre-
gate demand. Unless demand
picks up, investment growth will
remain tepid. Investment-led
high growth has been officially
laid down as the path to India
becoming a $5 trillion economy
by 2024.
This economic shift, if it hap-
pens, might drastically change
the government’s economic nar-
rative, though. Low inflation was
perhaps the biggest economy-re-
lated pitch of the first Modi gov-
ernment. It’ll be interesting to see
whether changed economic reali-
ties in the second term lead to a
change in this script. Retail food
inflation in August has already
reached 7 % in urban areas.
ministers and ministers of state
while sub section 2 provided for
~650 per month salary for a dep-
uty minister.
These sub sections, amended
in 2016, now provide for a salary
of ~40,000 per month for the chief
minister, ministers and minis-
ters of state and ~35,000 per
month for a deputy minister. The
Adityanath government has no
deputy minister.
The state government has
been paying income tax on the
salaries and perks of successive
chief ministers and their council
of ministers since the enactment
of the Act in 1981. It paid ~86 lakh
as income tax for members of
Adityanath’s council of minis-
ters recently. “As an IAS officer
I too used to get a low salary. Law
of the land should be followed by
all and such a provision should
be immediately withdrawn,”
said VS Pandey, a retired Indian
Administrative Service officer
who had contested the Lok
Sabha election on the Lok Gath-
bandhan Party ticket.
religious information and
also harming the image of
Mahrishi Valmiki, causing
hurt to their religious senti-
ments,” the letter said.
“Colors channel is hereby
called to showcause within
15 days from the receipt of
this communication as to
why action as per the provi-
sions of Uplinking/Down-
linking guidelines, the terms
and conditions of the permis-
sion granted and the provi-
sions of Section 20 of the
Cable Act should not be
taken against it,” it said.
If no reply is received
within the stipulated period,
it will be presumed that Col-
ors TV channel has nothing
to say in the matter and fur-
ther action will be taken
against it ex-parte, the letter
said. Punjab Chief Minister
Amarinder Singh had ear-
lier directed an immediate
ban on the telecast of the
serial following widespread
protests by members of the
Valmiki community.
14 hindustantimes
E STA B L I S H E D I N 1 9 24
60 years of lunar The interplay between Kashmir
exploration
With every mission, we learn a
and India’s democratic project
little more about the universe
O
n this day in 1959, at the height of the space race
between the Soviet Union and the United States, the
Russian spacecraft Luna 2 crashed (intentionally) on
the surface of the moon. It became the first human-
made object to ever reach another celestial body,
opening up that final frontier for exploration. In the 60 years since
Luna 2 (officially called the Second Soviet Cosmic Rocket),
humans have sent many missions to the moon — the latest of
which is India’s Chandrayaan-2. Even as
attempts are being made to regain com-
ourtake
munication with the Vikram lander, at least we know it has many
objects for company in that desolate landscape.
The Luna 2 mission, which was the Soviet Union’s sixth
attempt to impact the moon, carried five different types of instru-
ments to conduct measurements and tests on its way to the satel-
lite. It even carried pennants of the Soviet Union with emblems
and dates on them. Luna 2 was the latest in a series of Soviet
achievements in the space race at the time. Within two years of
Sputnik 1 becoming the first satellite ever launched, and Sputnik
2 carrying the dog Laika (1957), the first living creature to travel
to space, the Russian Space Agency (after the partial success of
Luna 1) became the first to reach a celestial object outside the
earth with Luna 2. Much to the consternation of their American
rivals, this mission had been one to firmly establish the Soviets in
the lead in the space race. In the middle of the Cold War, the Rus-
sians would put a man, Yuri Gagarin (in 1961), and a woman, Val-
entina Tereshkova (in 1963), in space. In the past six decades,
more than 80 missions to the moon have left behind human-made
objects on it, including remains of spacecraft, many scientific
instruments, cameras and accessories, magazines, flags, and
even 96 bags of human waste. All in all, humans have left about 1.8
lakh kg of things on the moon. Perhaps now, missions to clean it
up should be considered. NASA may be considering bringing
back the human waste at least, to study what happens to microbes
in the moon’s atmosphere over long periods of time.
As Luna 2’s moon mission turns 60, the wonder of humans
reaching the moon has not diminished. Each rover, lander, and
probe, teaches us more about our cosmic neighbours and the uni-
verse that we live in. In the near future, if humans are able to visit
other planets, these milestones on the path of knowledge will
always be the lights that guide our path to the future.
editor’spick
HT’s editors will offer a book recommendation every Saturday,
which provides history, context, and helps understand recent news events.
GETTING TO KNOW OUR COSMIC NEIGHBOURS
O
n September 7, India came very close to a successful
Moon landing, with Chandrayaan-2 losing commu-
nication with the Vikram lander minutes before the
landing. An incredible feat such as this makes one wonder
how much we know about the universe we inhabit.
This week, we recommend Pulitzer Prize winner and
astronomer Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. One would go as far to
call it a sweeping “everything” book. Written as a com-
panion to his equally famous TV series, the book is an
easy read, explaining everything from cosmology and
chemistry to history and astronomy. Cosmos takes one
from the story of how Eratosthenes of ancient Alexandria
discovered the curvature of the earth to why in a remote
future, humans might build great balloon cities perma-
nently floating in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
Peppering the narrative are charming little anecdotes
such as how, when as a child, Sagan asked a librarian for
a book on stars, she gave him a picture book with portraits
of “men and women with names like Clark Gable and
Jean Harlow”. The book fills you with wonder.
pitstop
YASHWANT RAJ
Don’t talk about Pakistan
at the upcoming UNGA
W
hat if Narendra Modi did not address at the UNGA only once in the last 10
mention Pakistan at all in his years, in 2011, and it was Prime Minister
upcoming speech at the 74th Manmohan Singh at the podium. But do not
United Nations General read too much into it; he had mentioned Pak-
Assembly (UNGA) debates? Deliberately. istan 10 times in his UN speech the year
It will be a big deal, no doubt. before, in 2010, and five times when he
Slamming Pakistan at the UNGA is an addressed the world body next, in 2013.
annual ritual for Indian leaders, either the The Modi government picked up the
prime minister or in his, or her, absence, the baton in 2014, with the PM referencing Paki-
foreign minister. It has enjoyed the support stan five times in his debut UNGA speech,
of all parties in power, the Bharatiya Janata and external affairs minister Sushma Swa-
Party now, and the Congress before it. raj kept it up with three, six, 15 and 12 men-
Pakistan did not figure in an Indian tions over the next four years.
R. N. I. No. 503/1957 ● Postal Reg. No. DL(ND)-11/6058/2018-19-20 ‘Licensed to post without prepayment’ LICENCE No. U(C)-113/2006-08, Air surcharge: Raipur and beyond by Rail or Road - Re 5/-, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Chennai, Cochin, Goa, Hyderabad, Khajuraho, Mumbai, Trivandrum, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and beyond by Rail or Road - Rs. 10/-;
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§
The decision-making process reflects both
centralisation of power and unilateralism
NEELANJAN
SIRCAR
I
ndia’s democracy is not well. If the cen-
tralisation of political power envi-
sioned in the presidential orders on
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), endorsed
by Parliament, withstand legal challen-
ges, the extent of power arrayed to the
central leadership will severely impair the
democratic functioning of India. This central-
isation of power will allow the government to
weaken or completely stifle much of its politi-
cal opposition.
Understanding the relationship between
the decision on J&K and India’s democracy is
not straightforward. While many concerns
have been raised — from weakening of feder-
alism to human rights abuses — none of these
issues, in and of themselves, constitute a
breakdown of democracy. Federalism is not a
core component of democracy, as many
democracies like France and United Kingdom
do not practice federalism. Furthermore, civil
and human rights standards have changed
over the years, and many early democracies
do not have a great record on this count.
The litmus test for a democracy is not
whether policy decisions have popular sup-
port.It is whether the policy decisions them-
selves are made through democratic proce-
dure.
Robert Dahl, the great democracy theorist
of the past century, laid down a simple set of
processes to characterise genuine democracy,
chief among them inclusiveness and public
contestation. Inclusiveness means that every
citizen should have full access to all informa-
tion, freedom of expression, and equal voting
rights. Public contestation means that all
political organisations and parties should be
able to compete in elections and express their
opinions on equal footing.
The Congress has to be
redone stitch by stitch
Its failure to learn from mistakes, manage party affairs,
and read the public pulse lies at the roots of the crisis
VINOD
SHARMA
T
he Congress was dismantled bit by bit
before its big 2014 defeat when its tally
was reduced to the lowest-ever in the
Lok Sabha. Unable to recover from
the debilitating decline, it tripped from one
crisis to another in the intervening five years,
barring a mix of emphatic and pyrrhic victo-
ries in Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pra-
desh and Rajasthan.
The party had given up without a fight —
amid mounting charges of graft — when Nar-
endra Modi first became prime minister. In
the next big test in 2019, it got the political nar-
rative wrong. The incoherent, unconvincing
campaign it ran was a throwback to the 1999
polls in the aftermath of the Kargil war.
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) hyper-
bole during the first-ever televised war then
drowned out the Congress’ ripostes. Not only
was the party out of sync with popular senti-
Book: Cosmos
ment, its failure to form a government after
Author: Carl Sagan toppling AB Vajpayee robbed it of the attrib-
Year:1980 utes of a better alternative. The Congress
gifted Vajpayee the 1999 victory, despite the
So, skipping it altogether will be a big
deal, indeed. It may actually seem unthinka-
ble this year, given how much has happened
starting with the Pulwama terrorist attack
by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad,
Balakot airstrike, an aerial dogfight in
which an Indian MiG-21 went down after
getting the better of a fancier Pakistani F-16,
President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate,
and the change in the constitutional status
of Jammu and Kashmir.
Giving Pakistan a pass at the UNGA this
year would be egregious, especially when
Pakistan will be out there raising Kashmir
and India at every meeting, as it has done
every year and as it will again do this time. It
will, in fact, be baiting India to respond. It
can also be contended that now is not the
time to ease up the pressure when Pakistan
could be just days from being blacklisted by
the Financial Action Task Force.
Besides, Pakistan-bashing is good for pol-
itics, and gets voters queueing up. And
makes great headlines — remember the
killer line, Pakistan being called the “Ivy
League of terrorism”. So, why not do more of
the same? A few thoughts.
Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Ltd., Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur-303903 (Rajasthan).
Board: (011)23361234 ● Editorial: (011)66561234 Extn. 1254, 1268 ● Circulation: (011)66561111 ● Advertising: (011)66561389 ● Fax: (011)66561270.
Managing Editor: SOUMYA BHATTACHARYA
comment
In Dahl’s conception, the proximate threat
to a democracy was the centralisation of polit-
ical power in a single party or a few individu-
als. A political leader with strong central pow-
ers could subvert political opposition by using
government resources to intimidate oppo-
nents and frame laws for personal advantage.
Alfred Stepan and his co-authors have argued
that the persistence of Indian democracy
stems from its federal structure, which
respects and allows compromise between
multiple ethnic and religious identities. This
prevents the centralisation of power that con-
stitutes democratic breakdown.
Naturally, this democratic procedure of
generating agreement among various stake-
holders and competing interests can be frus-
tratingly slow and requires painful compro-
mises. Indeed, Samuel Huntington presci-
ently understood that, after the end of the Cold
War, economic or ideological conflict would
eventually give way to “cultural” conflict
across the world — that a single, national
identity would come into conflict with ideas of
“multiculturalism.”
His arguments find resonance in the rise of
Hindi-speaking Hindu nationalism in India.
It is exactly this cultural axis of conflict that
explains jibes at “minority appeasement” or
a deracinated “Khan Market liberal.” In
India, this cultural conflict has the taken the
form of defining a Hindi-speaking Hindu
nationalist identity at the expense of other
regional, linguistic, or religious identities
within its own borders. This obliges those sup-
porting this form of nationalism to centralise
power in a leader or the military which can
effectively stifle opposition from these com-
peting identities.
Using the World Values Survey, charts 1
and 2 show the support for rule by the army
and a strong leader, respectively, in India,
Spain and the United States since the 1990s.
Preferences for these forms of political rule
are straightforwardly related to centralisa-
tion of political power and democratic break-
down.
As the figures show, India has by far the
massive security failure on his watch that had
Pakistan intruding deep into Indian territory.
One reason why the Congress did so badly
in 2014 was the self-inflicted Andhra Pradesh
fiasco that annihilated its base in the state
from where it got the maximum numbers to
set up regimes in Delhi in 2004 and 2009. The
state’s reorganisation shortly before the polls
led to its decimation in residuary Andhra with
no matching gains in Telangana.
The Congress’s lordly handling of the late
YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s ambitious son Jagan
Mohan, was a flashback of sorts to 1982. At the
time, Rajiv Gandhi, a freshly-minted party
general secretary, had publicly rebuked then
chief minister T Anjaiah. The insult left the
Dalit leader in tears, providing the fledgling
Telugu Desam Party of NT Ramarao an open-
ing to capture power on the plank of Telugu
atmagaurawam (pride).
In Jagan’s case, the proverbial last straw
was the leadership’s diktat, asking him to
abandon his cross-Andhra march to set up
YSR’s statues. He refused and walked out of
the party, taking en bloc its cadres. This was a
repeat of Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal
template, which made the breakaway faction
the main party and the remnant Congress a
rump group.
The YSR-Congress leader’s experience had
his camp-followers compare his erstwhile
party with a deity that used its many arms to
Over the same period, since Pulwama,
India shot down a satellite — one of its own
— becoming only the fourth country in the
world with that capability, and, most signifi-
cantly, tried to land a rover on the Moon’s
South Pole chasing evidence of water and
possible signs of life, in some form.
K Sivan, the Isro chief, breaking down on
live TV was heartbreaking to watch. Even
NASA, the premium US space agency,
which has handled many such heartbreaks
— including the hair-raising message from
space, “Houston, we have a problem” — was
moved enough to commiserate with the
Indians in a tweet “space is hard”.
Which is a better story, even if far less
exciting, to tell then? There will be plenty of
other more uplifting stories to talk about —
how about PV Sindhu’s World Champion-
ship cup? Don’t forget, India’s national secu-
rity agencies — the ministry of external
affairs, the military and the intelligence ser-
vices — have the Pakistan problem under
control, or should, if they don’t already.
Can India do without Pakistan, truly
de-hyphenated?
n yashwant.raj@hindustantimes.com
Supports Rule by
Army
CHART 1
India Spain
(Figures in %)
60
50
40
27
30 25
14
20
10
0 0
1994-1998 1999-2004 2005-2009
highest level of support for a strong central
leader — increasing in the most recent survey
to 56%. The results for military rule are more
worrying. Support for military rule in India
has spiked to 38% (almost 2 out of every 5
respondents) in the most recent survey in
2015, again the highest among the countries
and the highest ever observed in India. Does
that mean Indians are increasingly displaying
anti-democratic preferences?
The decisions on J&K exhibit two highly
centralising features. It used the governor, a
central appointee, to express the will of the
people in a state without paying heed to
regional political actors. And it has unilater-
ally demoted an existing state to a Union Ter-
ritory, with a promise to restore statehood if
it “behaved properly.” (This is to say nothing
of the explicitly anti-democratic detention of
all key political leaders and snapping of all
modes of communication in Kashmir.)
These are anti-democratic moves not
because they have subverted federal struc-
ture — but because the central leadership has
arrayed to itself the power to intimidate and
stifle regional opposition.
The fact that the majority of Indians likely
support these is of little consequence.If the
n The Congress must script a counter-
narrative to the BJP by focusing on life-
issues, including gainful employment
at once placate, caress and throttle. Or else,
what does one make of Jagan’s Telugu-speak-
ing mother who cannot converse in Hindi or
English being ushered into a one-on-one meet-
ing with a top Congress leader unfamiliar
with Telugu.
There are countless examples of such mis-
management smacking of intra-party attri-
tion. Take, for instance, the case of a leader
desirous of an organisational role receiving a
late night call in the lead-up to the 2019 polls.
On the line was an influential party official
with the query whether he’d fight elections
from a key Uttar Pradesh (UP) constituency
scheduled for polling a month later. The
leader bluntly refused, saying he stood no
chance of winning.
But victory and defeat are part of political
life, the official told the leader who, in his
youth, had contested against Charan Singh.
Yes indeed, the leader replied, pointing out
that defeats were an investment at the advent
and not in the twilight of a politician’s career.
With every rejection, ask yourself,
‘What did I learn from this?’
innervoice
Poonam Chowdhary
Rejection is a scary thing since it stops peo-
ple from wanting to trying again. But there
are those who bounce back stronger after
every rejection. In the journey of life, one
is bound to face rejection in different cir-
cumstances, but mentally strong people
heal fast and become stronger. What mat-
ters most is the manner in which you han-
dle rejection and move on.
Rather than feeling defeated, neglected
or, worse, living in denial, recognise why
you feel the way that you do. It is with self-
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
SAT URDAY, SE PTE MB E R 14, 2 01 9
Supports Rule by
Strong Leader
CHART 2
USA India Spain USA
(Figures in %)
60 56
50 45
44 43
38 40
30
20
10
2010-2014 1994-1998 1999-2004 2005-2009 2010-2014
SOURCE: WORLD VALUES SURVEY
majority can dispossess a minority of the right
to politically express themselves in the future
against the ideals of inclusiveness and public
contestation, the outcome of this process can-
not be said to uphold democracy. (In fact, this
was Dahl’s very response to the majoritarian
claim.)
Some will say that such draconian meas-
ures were necessary in Kashmir, and that the
government will show restraint in other
cases. But that isn’t a certainty. The current
dispensation has consistently followed the
philosophy of the ends justifying the means,
be it in taking over the legislatures of Goa and
Karnataka, or doing away with Article 370. If
its current moves on Kashmir withstand legal
challenges, there’s nothing to say that the
same thing will not be applied in Odisha,
Tamil Nadu, or West Bengal.
When populations start exhibiting anti-
democratic preferences, and when courts
abdicate their constitutional responsibilities
to block centralisation, democracies break
down.
Neelanjan Sircar is an assistant professor,
Ashoka University, and visiting
senior fellow, Centre for Policy Research
The views expressed are personal
The conversation ended with the leader
agreeing to meet Priyanka Gandhi Vadra the
next morning. When he turned up at the
appointed hour, he had waiting for him the
previous night’s caller and another party offi-
cial. Priyanka’s perhaps was the name they
used to get him to come.
A similar lack of seriousness was evident in
the half-hearted attempts to rope in allies for
the assembly polls in Rajasthan. Prominent
Jat leaders such as Hanuman Beniwal and Col
Sona Ram couldn’t be won over for want of the
“assurances” they sought from the Congress
interlocutors.
What took the cake was the Congress’s
post-Balakot narrative. Its questions on the
efficacy of the Indian air-strikes on a terrorist
base in Pakistan broke the barriers of
restraint prescribed by top foreign policy and
military experts it had co-opted for advice.
PTI The result: As had happened post-Kargil,
the BJP twisted the discourse to show the Con-
gress as being on the same page as Pakistan.
Its hyper-nationalistic line also helped it fire-
wall and turn to its advantage the Opposi-
tion’s charges of graft in the Rafale deal.
Undone bit by bit, the Congress has to be
redone stitch by stitch. Sonia Gandhi is back
at the helm with her consensus-building
skills. She has pulled, or so it seems, the party
out of the morass it was in Haryana. Next on
her agenda should be the other, equally fac-
tion-ridden states of Rajasthan and Madhya
Pradesh.But immediate-term measures will
be of little use without long-term revival plans
in these and other key Hindi heartland states.
Priyanka’s approach to build the party from
the grassroots in UP is worth a try in Bihar. In
both states, the party requires social alliances
held together by life-issue themes: Employ-
ment, sustenance, justice, security and
equity. These leitmotifs can script a forceful
counter-narrative to the BJP’s diversionary
emotive pitch.
n vinodsharma@hindustantimes.com
assurance that you can handle the prob-
lem head-on, and come out a winner.
Strong-willed people do not sweep
rejection under the rug. They stare it in the
face with courage. They know that rejec-
tion, in no way, defines their abilities.
Have faith in your self-worth and set out
again towards your goal with confidence.
One person’s opinion of you should not
make you question your own belief in
what you are capable of.
It’s important to ask yourself “What did
I learn from this?”. This turns rejection
into an opportunity for growth. Grow
stronger, be better and embrace the world.
It is full of opportunities just waiting to be
grabbed.
Inner Voice comprises contributions
from our readers
The views expressed are personal
n innervoice@hindustantimes.com
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
SAT URDAY, SE PT E MB E R 14, 2 01 9
read
1. Raavan: Enemy of
HT-NIELSEN Aryavarta...
Amish Tripathi
BOOKSCAN WESTLAND
TOP 10
1. Life’s Amazing
Secrets: How to find...
Gaur Gopal Das
PENGUIN
Udham Singh’s
amazing story
BIOGRAPHY Anita Anand’s book, on the man who assassinated General Michael
O’Dwyer to avenge the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, vividly describes imperialist
impulses and the nationalist movement in Punjab
Saudamini Jain
n letters@htlive.com
I
n 1940, an Indian man, despite
being on the radar of British intelli-
gence agencies, walked into a pub-
lic meeting in Westminster, the
high-security government area of
London, and assassinated a former lieu-
tenant governor of Punjab, in a room full
of important officers and military men.
This was retribution for the massacre at
Jallianwala Bagh.
It is widely believed, Udham Singh
had sworn revenge two decades before at
the blood-soaked garden in Amritsar in
1919. The massacre, which killed about
1,000 men, women and children, accord-
ing to Indian estimates, had occurred
largely due to Michael O’Dwyer’s poli-
cies and attitude towards Indians during
his incumbency in Punjab. Singh’s other
target, Reginald Dyer, the general who
had ordered his men to open fire at the
gathering of 15-20,000 people in the pub-
lic garden, had long died of illness—
Dyer’s family believed he died of a bro-
ken heart.
Singh was executed as “the most
hated man in Britain” but despite
attempts to contain them, the British
could not hide his motivations for mur-
der. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was
once again in public memory. Nazis used
it as anti-British propaganda, Joseph
Goebbels called Singh an avenger and
encouraged a revolt in India. And
festivaldiary
n Neil MacGregor in conversation with with Pramod Kumar KG
HT
PICKS
2. The Girl in Room 3. Adulting 4. The Alchemist
105
Chetan Bhagat Neharika Gupta Paulo Coelho
WESTLAND HARPERCOLLINS HARPERCOLLINS
2. The 5AM Club 3. Attitude is Every- 4. The Subtle Art of not
thing: Change your... Giving a F*ck
Robin Sharma Jeff Keller Mark Manson
JAICO HARPERCOLLINS HARPERCOLLINS
although the Congress lead- carried survivor’s guilt for
ership condemned his the rest of his life. She was
actions, to the Indian public, brought up fearing the
Singh became a shaheed, names of Dyer and O’Dwyer,
one of the great martyrs. and could only write objec-
The real Udham Singh, as tively when she thought of
it turns out in Anita Anand’s them by their first names.
gripping biography The She writes about their lives
Patient Assassin: A True and motivations in great
Tale of Massacre, Revenge detail: Dyer, who grew up in
and the Raj, is perhaps Pun- Kasauli, and carried a genu-
jabi nationalism’s greatest ine love for India, which had
antihero. It’s a rags-to- been his family’s home for
riches story of a flamboyant three generations;
man who moved around the The Patient Assassin O’Dwyer’s contempt for agi-
world juggling multiple Anita Anand tators in general and Indians
identities, dodging police 384pp, ~599 in particular. After the mas-
and intelligence agencies Simon & Schuster sacre, he unleashed military
everywhere. It evokes the terror in Punjab. He is less
quiet suspense of a masterful spy novel. known perhaps because Dyer and
Its film rights were sold before it was O’Dwyer’s similar sounding names
published. merged them into a single composite
Anand, a journalist with the BBC in villain.
London, pieced together Singh’s myste- Udham Singh comes to the
rious life using research and records fore only a third into the
from around the world, including top-se- book. He was raised in an
cret British government documents. She orphanage, served in Mes-
tells this story through an assortment of opotamia during the
characters, quickly sketching out even First World War, went to
minor actors in the narrative, giving Africa practically as
readers glimpses into multiple points of bonded labour to work in
view. the construction of the
The first section of the book is a biog- Ugandan railways,
raphy of Jallianwala Bagh and its vil- during which
lains. Anand is particularly vested in it some 2,500 men
because her grandfather was at the
grounds on the day of the massacre and n Anita Anand
Magic in the mountains
Manjula Narayan
n manjula.narayan@htlive.com
K
elly Dorji dressed in the tradi-
tional gho looks as dashing as
ever, the people of Bhutan are
as polite, hospitable and cheer-
ful as ever, and the 10th edition of the
Mountain Echoes Festival of Arts, Liter-
ature and Culture held from 22 to 25
August this year was as interesting as
ever. Some things never change.
You’ve attended the event thrice,
drawn each time by the lure of the nation
and by the chance to listen to worthies
from across the world talk about every-
thing: Padmalakshmi on cooking and
endometriosis, a monk on The Divine
Madman, Lam Drukpa Kunley, one of
Bhutan’s most fascinating religious fig-
ures, Pico Iyer on, what else, cultivating
silence, and Witi Ihimaera on Maori cul-
ture and writing in New Zealand. In
between all that you imbibed quantities
of K5 whisky, gaped at the magnificent
MOUNTAIN ECHOES Buddha Dordenma statue, and rode to
Antigod’s Own Country
AV Sakthidharan; Navayana
PP166, ₹299
A history of the brahmanical
colonisation of Kerala
5. Nothing Ventured 6. The Immortals of
Jeffrey Archer
Meluha
Amish Tripathi
PAN MACMILLAN WESTLAND
5. Sapiens: A Brief 6. Inner Engineering: A
History of Humankind Yogi’s Guide to Joy
Yuval Noah Harari Sadhguru
PENGUIN PENGUIN
Citizens garland the statue of Udham
n
Singh in Amritsar on July 30, 2009 AFP
died. But Singh disappeared mid-con-
tract possibly after coming in contact
with the militant nationalist Ghadar
Party which, crushed in Punjab, had
resurfaced in East Africa.
And so began Singh’s globetrotting
adventures.
He returned to India with new papers,
a lot of money and ideas of the revolution
to spread in rural Punjab where he
talked about being an important man
“destined for much bigger things.”
Nobody believed him.
He accompanied a prospective engi-
neering student, a perfect cover for a
barely literate man to go to London
where, through the gurdwara network,
he learnt about entering America via
Mexico. In California, Singh smuggled
other Indians across the border for the
Ghadars. He married a Mexican Ameri-
can woman, they moved often, eventu-
ally ending up in New York. He returned
to Amritsar using a Puerto Rican iden-
tity, and was imprisoned when his con-
traband was discovered at the local
brothel. After serving his sentence, he
went to London where he rented several
accommodations, had a bike and a car,
and showed up to Sikh got-togethers
with goodies and white girlfriends.
He went to Europe often. His trips to
Russia could mean he was an Indian Bol-
shevik soldier. Or maybe he worked with
German agents in Berlin. He got caught
several times, but somehow managed to
get away—until he shot O’Dwyer in the
heart. And that too, was followed by
drama.
This is a gripping and engaging book.
It vividly describes the nationalist move-
ment in Punjab as well as imperialist
impulses. It’s a testimony to the
dangers of unchecked power and
what it does to people. And it is
thrilling because even to those
familiar with the story, the
narrative will be unex-
pected and suspenseful.
The thrill is in trying to
ascertain if Udham Singh
was an excellent spy trying to
be inconspicuous by his
exuberance—or just
manic.
Saudamini Jain is an
independent journalist.
Punakha to be blessed with a giant
wooden phallus by a little monk at the
Chimmi Lakhang temple. You’ve devel-
oped a taste for ema datshi, and you even
have a local bike-hire guy, the cheerful
Tashi Tenzing, whose Enfields are per-
fect for cruising down the country’s
smooth roads. Riding in Bhutan in thera-
peutic – the land is beautiful, people fol-
low traffic rules and the chances of being
mowed down by a drunk truck driver
after dark are as rare as sharing a table
with a talking takin in one of the cafes off
Thimphu’s Clocktower Square.
Bhutan’s national animal, which
looks like a cross between a goat and a
cow, and whose origin is credited to the
Divine Madman, had a session devoted
to it at the festival. Historian Sudipta Sen
and economist Sanjeev Sanyal came to a
discussion on the Ganga from different
political spaces, Tony Joseph, author of
Early Indians...spoke of the many
genetic layers that make up the Indian
population today, and poet Arundhati
Subramaniam and Pavan Varma,
hindustantimes 15
Prelude to a Riot Tales from the Tail End
Annie Zaidi; Aleph
PP184, ₹499; A novel about how
Ananya Mukherjee; Speaking
Tiger
religious intolerance comes to
haunt a small community
PP101, ₹399 A cancer diary that
is full of hope and courage
7. Sita: Warrior of 8. Life is What you 9. Scion of 10. The Secret of the
Mithila...
Amish Tripathi
Make It
Preeti Shenoy
Ikshvaku: Ram...
Amish Tripathi
Nagas...
Amish Tripathi
WESTLAND SRISHTI WESTLAND WESTLAND
7. Ikigai: The Japanese 8. The Theory of 9. Everything is 10. The 7 Habits of
Secret to a Long... Everything... F*cked: A Book... Highly Effective People
H Garcia, F Miralles Stephen Hawking Mark Manson Stephen R Covey
PENGUIN JAICO HARPERCOLLINS Simon & Schuster
An examination of a
flawed justice system
Lamat R Hasan
n letters@htlive.com
T
wo siblings experience the
trauma of losing their best
friends. The brother loses his
best friend while still in school,
the sister, when she goes to college. The
Patchwork Family stitches together
their stories, the circumstances that led
to the deaths, the siblings’ responses to
the tragedies and how the twin deaths
shaped their identities. In doing so, the
book becomes an exhaustive commen-
tary on our deeply flawed judicial and
educational systems.
At the core of the story is Janaki, a
young and idealistic lawyer, and Ajoba,
her grandfather Sridhar’s best friend
and her support and confidant since
childhood. They are unrelated by blood
or any other ties that society endorses,
yet on 29-year-old Janaki’s bidding
Ajoba (grandfather in Marathi), now 85,
agrees to move in with her and the two
form a patchwork family.
Sridhar, a doctor, and Ajoba, a dentist,
are childhood friends from middle class,
upper caste Pune families and their life- n Skewed justice: A scene from Insaaf ka Taraazu
long friendship continues into their sun-
set years, with the two becoming even of her best friend to book even though the
closer after the deaths of their spouses. unending legal ordeal spanning several
It’s an ideal family from societal per- years, without much ado, is beginning to
spectives, with Janaki and her brother impact her immediate family.
Rahul, five years her junior, keeping Sathe is empathetic to Janaki caught
everyone entertained with their childish at the crossroads that she is, for no fault
banter at family dinners and high teas, at of hers, and beautifully bares the com-
which Ajoba and his wife are a constant plexities that lie beyond the apparent
presence. urgent need for justice. Without judging
Rahul is an extrovert and makes the protagonist she captures her trauma
friends easily, unlike his sister Janaki. – her fight with self, her guilt, her self-ab-
His world falls apart when his school- sorption and her nightmares. Why did
mate, Akshay, a studious boy who had she not put her life in danger to save her
his back, becomes a subject of ridicule. best friend? Why couldn’t she muster the
Akshay is taunted by teachers for his courage to seek help from people at a
falling grades and when a “note” is sent nearby shop? Why didn’t she attack the
to his parents he commits suicide. Rahul rapists? Why did she fear being raped
becomes aggressive and wants to seek and killed herself?
revenge for his friend’s death. It takes Unlike Janaki, Ajoba, who has seen a
tremendous effort on his family’s part lifetime of pain, has now
to not let him take the matter stopped “feeling pain” and
into his own hands. resigned to fate. “I live
Tragedy revisits the fam- because my life is not my
ily a few years later, when choice. My birth was not
Janaki, now a law student, is my choice and neither will
witness to the gangrape and
brutal murder of her best
be my death. I don’t forcibly
try to give my life any
friend, a stark reminder of meaning. I don’t try to
the December 16 gangrape make my life my choice. I
case. What follows is the await the verdict of those
examination of our deeply whose choice it is. Fate.”
flawed justice system and Janaki has a long argu-
how it takes a toll on Janaki ment with Rahul over the
and her family. glaring flaws in the justice
The author, Mukta Sathe, Patchwork Family system and what consti-
raises pertinent questions, Mukta Sathe tutes “justice”. She admits
offering a critique of truth – 224pp, ~299 to shortcomings in the sys-
the reality of truth and the Speaking Tiger tem insisting on a reforma-
truth of reality – and how its tion from within, without
individual and collective perception, col- seconding her brother in abolishing it.
oured by a socio-cultural lens, can affect “The reason I testified even after
judgements and alter lives. being insulted and threatened was not
She examines the futility of idealism primarily because I wanted justice for
as witnesses grapple with guilt and her. It was because I wanted to be able to
shame and stand up to intimidation in live with myself,” Janaki tells herself not
our rather skewed justice system, espe- willing to accept the reality of elusive
cially when disposing of gender-related justice – it’s been eight years since her
cases. best friend was killed - or willing to
Sathe is at her best when she describes accept the justice system in which an
the stern cross-examination of Janaki by “honourable judge” gives justice to one
the defence counsel as the “honourable and denies to another.
judge” sits back rather amused. Janaki’s family, too, tries to dissuade
“You were in a suburb of Pune at her from pursuing the case any further,
eleven in the night. The forensic reports but she is unstoppable. Her only solace is
state that your friend was wearing jeans. Ajoba, who stands by her every decision,
No decent woman would do that. Your even though their worldviews differ con-
friend approached my clients and siderably.
seduced them and induced them to have A Patchwork Family is a debut novel
illicit intercourse with her…How much of unusual wisdom and maturity. An
money did you think you would make by insightful read for anyone who wants to
trapping my clients?...” understand what crime and punishment
Janaki is shocked at the vagaries of entail in our legal system. Sathe, a young
the justice system, of which she is herself lawyer, has put her best foot forward
a part, even though Ajoba finds the pro- with this impressive debut. Her writing
fession despicable. But the idealism in is stark and confident, and it deserves
her, the relentless pursuit of truth and more readers.
justice, is inextinguishable. Lamat R Hasan is an independent journalist.
She is determined to bring the killers She lives in Delhi.
author of Adi Shankaracharya... spoke fied. An African drum mislabelled for
about the man from Kalady who re-ener- decades as a native American one and
gised Hinduism in the 8th century CE. At the history of slavery that it reveals, the
a session entitled Novelist in the News- Aztec double-headed snake in the Brit-
room, Raj Kamal Jha, chief editor of the ish Museum and what it tells us of the
Indian Express and author of The City Incas, colonialism and its aftermath, the
and the Sea spoke about using magic many claimants of the Kohinoor, and the
realism to explore the events of Decem- ethics of exhibiting objects plundered in
ber 16 2012. There were sessions on the the colonial era in First World museums
folk music of Bhutan, on Yashodhara, were all part of a wide-ranging conversa-
Buddha’s wife, and on AI. A delicious tion on the significance of objects.
one on food featured Marryam H Reshii, Literature festivals are to a Books Edi-
author of The Flavour of Spice, and an tor what sales conferences are to mar-
informative one on the history of Indian keting professionals. You attend them,
magic had John Zubrzycki, author of despite the danger of being stabbed by
Jadoowallahs, Jugglers and Jinns, in that author, who will never forget the
conversation with the young high-en- bad review you wrote in 1999, because it
ergy mentalist Karan Singh. No Litera- is part of your job. Sometimes these jam-
ture festival on the subcontinent is com- borees are torture. Mountain Echoes is
plete without a film celebrity and Richa different. It is difficult to be unhappy in
Chadha ably represented Bollywood in Bhutan. This time, your perennially cur-
Bhutan. Even if the festival had featured mudgeon self was further softened by the
only a talk by Neil MacGregor, former discovery of superb Bhutanese rice beer.
director of the British Museum and Really, you have no reservations in
author of A History of the World in 100 pronouncing the 10th edition of Moun-
Objects, you would still have been satis- tain Echoes a grand success.
16 hindustantimes HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
SAT URDAY, SE PTE MB E R 14, 2 01 9

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT BOARD

(Statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology)
Wing - A, Ground Floor, Vishwakarma Bhawan
Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg, New Delhi - 110016
NOTICE
EMPANELMENT OF ADVOCATES TO REPRESENT TDB BEFORE
VARIOUS COURTS IN DELHI AND BEFORE ARBITRATORS
Technology Development Board (TDB) invites applications from
Advocates within the meaning Advocates Act, 1961 enrolled with
the respective State Bar Council, having requisite qualification and
experience in Banking laws, Insolvency Laws, N.I Act, Arbitration
Proceedings, Recovery Suits, Corporate Laws & Service matters before
different courts & forums including High Court, DRT, DRAT, NCLT,
NCCAT etc. with minimum 5 years of court experience.
The proforma of the application is available on the TDB website: www.
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE tdb.gov.in. The fee structure would be in compliance with the GoI Rules.
Eligible applicants may send their applications to the Under Secretary,
INDIAN AIR FORCE TDB, Wing ‘A’, Ground Floor, Vishwakarma Bhawan, Shaheed
Jeet Singh Marg, New Delhi-110016. The last date of submission of
AIR HEADQUARTERS application is 4th October, 2019.
Applications received after the closing date and not submitted according
to proforma will not be considered.
E-TENDER NOTICE
davp 36106/11/0004/1920 Under Secretary, TDB
On behalf of the President of India, ONLINE BIDS on prescribed tender
form UNDER SINGLE BID SYSTEM are invited from firms who are
registered with ANY CENTRAL GOVERNMENT ORGANISATION on
Defence procurement portal using their personal digital signature
and developed sources for supply/work of the following item. Details
are as under:
Description and INSTALLATION OF IAF PUBLICITY
specification HOARDINGS
Specification as per RFP
Tender ID 2019_IAF_280870_1

Period and terms of As per RFP terms and conditions

delivery
PRE-BID Meeting 13 SEP 2019 at 1100 Hrs.
Online Bid submission 21 SEP 2019 at 0900 Hrs.
start date and time
Online Bid submission 28 Sep 2019 at 1000 Hrs.
end date and time
Address of the website www.defeproc.gov.in *
for bidding
Time and date for 01 OCT 2019 at 1100 Hrs.
opening of Online bids
davp 10802/11/0029/1920

Office of CHIEF ENGINEER/PP&R

D-3, Shakti Vihar, PSPCL, PATIALA -147001
TEL. NO. 0175- 2300534, FAX NO. 0175-2308698/2200872
e-mail: ce-ppr@pspcl.in
Notice for Tender Enquiry for Banking of power by Punjab State Power
Corporation Ltd. for the period from 1st Nov. 2019 to 31st March 2021
on firm basis
TENDER SPECIFICATION NO. PPR-09/2019
E-tendering page: https://pspcl.abcprocure.com
PSPCL invites tender for banking of power from interstate utilities/traders, Traders having valid Inter
State Trading License issued by CERC for interstate trading of energy, State Electricity Boards, State
Electricity Utilities, States, as per table given below:

1 Last date and time of downloading of Specification 30.09.2019 up to 10.00 AM

from the website https://pspcl.abcprocure.com
2 Last date and time of submission of bid 30.09.2019 up to 11.00 AM
3 Date and time of opening of Tender enquiry 01.10.2019 at 15.00 PM
(initial offer)
4 Earnest money Deposit (in the form of demand EMD of Rs. 1,50,00,000/-
draft/BG in Favour of PSPCL, Patiala, to be (Rs. One Crore fifty Lac only),
submitted at the office of Dy CE/PR .T1 thermal in the form of crossed Demand
design Complex Patiala or through RTGS) Draft/Bank Guarantee
Arrangement-1
To supply power by PSPCL in advance on RTC basis during 1st Nov 2019 to 31st March 2020 on
firm basis and then receive such banked power from 10th June 2020 to 30th Sep 2020 on RTC basis.
Arrangement-2
To supply power by PSPCL in advance in Night Hours during 1st Nov 2019 to 31st March 2020 on
firm basis and then receive such banked power from 10th June 2020 to 30th Sep 2020 on RTC basis.
Arrangement-3
To receive power by PSPCL in advance from 10th June 2020 to 30th Sep 2020 on firm basis and then
supply back such banked power on RTC basis in the months of 1st Nov 2020 to 31st March 2021.
The minimum quantum offered by any bidder should not be less than 50 MW (and for minimum of 15
days) on RTC basis, otherwise their offer shall be rejected.
PSPCL reserves the right to reject any or all tenders or to accept any tender in full or part as may be
considered advantageous to PSPCL, without assigning any reason whatsoever, Tender specifications
can be downloaded from web site https://pspcl.abcprocure.com
Note:- It is informed that in case tender process is not completed due to any reason, no corrigendum
will be published in newspaper. Details regarding corrigendum may be seen on https://pspcl.
abcprocure.com.

C 363/19 Dy.C.E/PR
C-7116 PSPCL, Patiala

GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA
Public Works Division, ahmednagar
Phone No. 0214/2325334 & 0241/2325086
E-TENDER NOTICE NO. 42 FOR 2018-2019 (Online)

Online E-Tender in B-1 Form for the following works invited by Executive Engineer Public Works Division,
Ahmednagar (Phone No. 0241-2325334/2325086) From the Competant and Interested contractors (Not Necessary
Registered with P.W.D.) If Global Company having its Branch /Sub Company in Indian they can Participate in Tender.
Superintenting Engineer, Public Works Circle, Ahmednagar who reserves the right to reject any or all tenders without
assigning any reason therefore.

Sr. No. Name of Work Estimated Tender Document sale

Amount start & End Date

1 Repair of Bhalwani Goregaon Kinhi Kanhur Rs. 317.50 Lakh Sale Date - 13/09/2019 to
Wadgaon Darya Darodi Randhe Alkuti Chombhut 23/09/2019.
Road MDR-50 Km. 20/300 to 41/400. Tal. Parner. Bid opening Dt. 25/09/2019
Dist. Ahmednagar Pre bid Meeting Dt.
17/09/2019. At noon 12.00
2 Repairs to NH-222 to Vasunde Vankute Road Rs.. 345.50 Lakh Place of Prebid Meeting -
MDR-55 Km. 0/00 to 23/200 Tal. Parner. Office of The Chief Engineer
Dist. Ahmednagar. Public Works Region Nashik

Note- Please Submit Hard Copy of All Tender on or before Dt. 24/09/2019. 17.00 PM.

The details of works are provided on the webisites as below.

1. www.mahapwd.com
2. https://mahatenders.gov.in
Sd/-
Executive Engineer,
Public Work Division
Ahmednagar

D.G.I.P.R. 2019/2020/2913

GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA
Office of the Executive Engineer,
Public Works Division, Nagar Road Beed-431122
Email: beed.ee@mahapwd.com Phone : 02442-222474
NOTICE FOR REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
E-Tender Notice No. 12/ For 2019-2020
Notice for Appointment of Independent Engineer For Hybrid Annuity Project
The Principal Secretary, Public Works Department, Government of Maharashtra, Through the Executive Engineer, Public Works Division, Osmanabad invites Proposal
for engaging an Independent Engineer (IE) on the basis of International Competitive Bidding for the following contract packages in the state of Maharashtra under the
Maharashtra Road Improvement Programme (MRIP) under Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) Project, Invitation of Request for Proposals (RFP) to appoint a consultant to
act as INDEPENDENT ENGINEER for Implementation of improvement to roads for Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) Packages as referred to AU-168 Dist. Beed in the state
of Maharashtra. Bids are invited by the Public Works Department, Government of Maharashtra (The "Authority") for following package under requests for proposals (RFP)
for Independent Engineer Services in the state of Maharashtra under the Mahrashtra Road Improvement Programme on Hybrid Annuity Mode and bidders may submit
bids under request for proposaI under the Maharashtra Road Improvement Programme, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the requests for proposal as
issued. The evaluation of bids would be carried out by the evaluation Committee constituted for the purpose as issued by the Chief Engineer Public Work Region,
Aurangabad Brief particulars of the Project are as follows
Sr. Packages Name of Work Project Total Assignment Cost of
No. length Project Period Online
in km Cost (Rs (Months) Tender
in Crore) Fee Rs.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 AU-168 Improved to Shegaon Umapur Georai Talwada Majalgaon Road SH-50 Km. 245/600 37.50 147.52 24 Months 11,800/-
to 318/00 Tq. Georai Dist. Beed (Km. 268/400 to 305/900) (Total Length 37.500 Km) Kms
Period of download of bidding document :- As per online Tender schedule
E-Tender Opening :- As per online Tender schedule
All information about E-tender is available on the following Portal
1. http://mahapwd.com 2. http://mahatenders.gov.in
(Changes if any will be intimated over above portal)
Sd/-
Executive Engineer,
Public Works Division
DGIRP/2019-2020/2927 Beed
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
SAT URDAY, SE PT E MB E R 14, 2 01 9
world
shortstories
STUDY: RATS
LOVE TO ‘HIDE
AND SQUEAK’
WASHINGTON: The next time you
come across a rat darting furtively
for cover, consider this: It might
just want to have a playful game
of hide-and-seek. A group of
neuroscientists in Germany spent
several weeks hanging out with
rodents in a small room filled with
boxes, finding the animals were
surprisingly adept at the cross-
cultural childhood game - even
though they weren’t given food
treats as a reward. Instead, the
rats appeared to genuinely enjoy
both finding their sneaky human
companions and being caught by
them, as shown by their joyful
leaps (what the Germans called
“freudensprung”) and ultrasonic
giggles that previous work has
found is a sign of happiness. The
researchers’ paper was published
in the influential journal Science
on Thursday, and beyond the
cuteness factor (or creepiness,
depending on one’s perspective),
it offers new insight into play
behavior, an important evolution-
ary trait among mammals. “When
you work a lot with rats over the
years, you see how intelligent
these animals are and how social,”
co-author Konstantin Hartmann
from the Humboldt University of
Berlin, where the other members
of the team are also based, said.
“But it was still very surprising to
us to see how well they did.” AFP
RIO HOSPITAL
BLAZE KILLS
AT LEAST 11
RIO DE JANEIRO: A fire
erupted in a hospital in
the Brazilian city of Rio de
Janeiro, leaving at least 11
people dead and forcing
medical staff and desper-
ate relatives to rescue
patients from the
smoke-filled wards. The
blaze on Thursday
evening was thought to
have been caused by a
short circuit in a genera-
tor, though the city
mayor said sabotage
could not be ruled out.
The fire started at dusk at
the Badim hospital in the
north of Rio. AGENCIES
TRUMP ADMIN SET
TO GIVE ARCTIC OIL
DRILLING RIGHTS
WASHINGTON: The Trump
administration on Thursday took
a major step toward auctioning
oil drilling rights across every acre
of the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge’s coastal plain, hours after
the House of Representatives
voted to outlaw the activity. In an
environmental impact statement,
the Interior Department ac-
knowledged oil development in
the refuge’s 1.56 million-acre
coastal plain could affect polar
bear and caribou that roam
through the region. Nevertheless,
the document released Thursday
sets the stage for an auction later
this year; it is a required legal step
before the Interior Department
can take bids. BLOOMBERG
CREW WAS ASLEEP
WHEN US BOAT
FIRE STARTED
LOS ANGELES: A California scuba
dive boat was operating in
violation of Coast Guard regula-
tions when crew members were
sleeping and a pre-dawn fire
killed 34 people, leaving grieving
families wondering if a required
night watchman could have
saved their loved ones. Thursday
brought a disclosure from the
National Transportation Safety
Board that all six crew members
were asleep aboard the Concep-
tion on September 2. AP
Corpses ‘move around’ significantly for a year after death
n Not yet resting in peace: A cemetery in the US.
n (From L) Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris participate in the third Democratic debate in Houston, Texas.
Biden maintains firm
grip on 2020 race
THE CONTENDERS Former US vice-president emerges as survivor after debate
Yashwant Raj
n yashwant.raj@hindustantimes.com
WASHINGTON: Former vice presi-
dent Joe Biden was still the main
target of contenders, but he
defended himself better than ear-
lier on issues such as health care
and immigration at the Demo-
cratic primaries debate on Thurs-
day, marked by personal attacks
about age and character.
Biden’s chief appeal and
defence was the eight years he
served with President Barack
Obama. “The senator says she’s
Funny science wins at Ig Nobel
The cheeky prizes celebrating the silly side of science were handed out at Harvard
University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
TOP HONOURS
n For a finding that training
surgeons is as easy as
training dolphins or dogs
n For concluding which
nation has yuckiest money
n For a study of how pizza
made and eaten in Italy
wards off cancer
n For invention of a diaper-
changing machine
ZIMAMBWEAN $10
TRILLION
Winners received $10tn in
worthless, inflation-ravaged
Zimbabwean money. They were
allotted 60 seconds to make a
speech. When they overran, they
were cut off by an eight-year-old
girl repeating, "Please stop, I'm
bored"
IRAN JOINS THE PARTY
Iman Farahbakhsh of Iran won the
engineering award for his
machine that changes babies'
diapers, which was patented in
the US last year
TRIBUTE
This year's shenanigans included a tribute to Nobel Prize-winning physicist Roy Glauber, known
for his humility and sense of humour, who for years attended the Ig Nobel ceremony and always
helped sweep up afterwards. He died in December at age 93
N E W S F R O M S PAC E
ISS astronauts mix cement for first time
Agencies
n letters@hindustantimes.com
WASHINGTON: Astronauts
onboard the International Space
Station (ISS) have for the first
time mixed cement in micro-
gravity, an advance that may
help protect humans in space
from radiation and extreme tem-
peratures in the future, NASA
said. The researchers examined
cement solidification to under-
stand how the chemistry and
S K I N - C RAW L I N G D I S C OV E RY
AFP
for Bernie,” Biden said focusing
on his chief rivals Elizabeth War-
ren and Bernie Sanders. “Well,
I’m for Barack, I think the Obam-
acare worked.” He was referring
to Warren’s support for Sanders’s
“Medicare for All” plan.
Healthcare was the top issue
for the candidates, with Biden
advocating incremental
improvement in Obama’s Afford-
able Care Act, as did Senator Amy
Klobuchar and others such as
Warren and Sanders going for a
complete overhaul. Still others
such as Senator Kamala Harris
REAL LAUREATES
The awards at the 29th annual ceremony at Harvard University were
handed out by real Nobel laureates
n Silvano
Gallus (left) won for research on pizzas while Shigeru
Watanabe was honoured for studying saliva of kids
THE BIG HIGHLIGHT
Andreas Voss and his colleagues found that germophobes might
want to avoid Romanian bank notes. Their study concluded that
three types of drug-resistant bacteria clung the longest to
Romanian money when compared to several other international
currencies, including the euro, US and Canadian dollars and
Indian rupees. Romanians shouldn't take offence at having the
dirtiest money, though
microscopic structures involved
in the process changed under
microgravity.
In the experiment which
NASA called Microgravity
Investigation of Cement Solidifi-
cation (MICS) project, research-
ers mixed tricalcium silicate
(C3S) - popular ingredient of
cement- and water outside of
Earth’s gravity for the first time.
In the MICS project, astro-
nauts aboard the ISS explored
whether solidifying cement in
Agence France-Presse
n letters@hindustantimes.com
CAIRNS:An Australian scientist
has proved that human bodies
move around significantly for
more than a year after death, in
findings that could have impli-
cations for detectives and
pathologists around the world.
After studying and photo-
graphing the movements of a
corpse over 17-months, Alyson
Wilson told AFP on Friday that
she found humans don’t
exactly rest in peace. In one
case study, arms that began
held close to the body ended up
and Mayor Pete Buttigieg backed
the “Medicare for All” plan with
a few tweaks of their own.
It was healthcare, again, that
led to the debate’s testiest
exchange, involving Biden and
Julian Castro, a former Obama
cabinet official who is more than
30 years younger. As he repeat-
edly queried Biden on an element
of his healthcare plan, he aggres-
sively accused the vice-president
of not remembering what he had
said just moments before. “Are
you forgetting already what you
said just two minutes ago?”
AGENCIES
SOURCE: AGENCIES
microgravity created novel
microstructures.
NEW COMET MAY BE AN
INTERSTELLAR VISITOR
A newly discovered comet hur-
tling toward the orbit of Mars
has scientists scurrying to con-
firm whether it came from out-
side the solar system, a likely
prospect that would make it the
second such interstellar object
observed in our planetary neigh-
bourhood.
flung out to the side. “We think
the movements relate to the
process of decomposition, as
the body mummifies and the
ligaments dry out,” she said.
To carry out her unusual form
of people watching, Wilson
took the three-hour flight from
Cairns to Sydney every month
to check on the progress of a
cadaver.
Her subject was one of sev-
enty bodies stored at the
Southern Hemisphere’s only
“body farm”, which sits at a
secret bushland location on
the outskirts of Australia’s
largest city.
AFP
Castro has been defending
himself since against accusations
that was a mean-spirited attack
intended to raise questions about
Biden’s qualification for the job at
age 76. Sanders at 78 is older, but
he has not faced the sort of ques-
tions Biden has. Castro also
attacked Biden, at one point, for
disowning deportation of illegal
immigrants ordered by President
Obama, while he embraced other
element the former president’s
legacy. “I mean, he wants to take
credit for Obama’s work, but not
have to answer to any questions.”
KENYA ROLLS
OUT MALARIA
VACCINE
KAMPALA: Health authorities in
Kenya on Friday started adminis-
tering doses of the world’s only
licensed malaria vaccine to
young children in rural areas fac-
ing high transmission rates.
Kenya became the third Afri-
can country to introduce the vac-
cine, after Malawi and Ghana.
The aim is to reach about 360,000
children per year across the three
countries. The health ministry
described the milestone on Twit-
ter as “a historic day” for the East
African country as the health
minister launched vaccinations
in remote Homa Bay county.
Malaria is a top killer in many
African countries. According to
the World Health Organization,
the region accounted for 92% of
the cases and 93% of malaria
deaths in 2017. The parasitic dis-
ease kills about 435,000 people
every year, most of them children
under 5 in Africa. It took GlaxoS-
mithKline and partners more
than 30 years to develop the vac-
cine, at a cost of around $1 billion.
GSK is donating up to 10 million
vaccine doses in the current vac-
cination initiatives. Although the
malaria vaccine only protects
about one-third of children who
are immunized, those who get the
shots are likely to have less
severe cases of malaria. AP
The trajectory of the comet,
first detected by Crimean astron-
omer Gennady Borisov, follows
a highly curved path barreling in
the sun’s direction at unusually
high speeds, evidence that it
originated beyond the solar sys-
tem.
The comet is expected to make
its closest approach to the sun on
December 8, putting it 300 mil-
lion km from Earth, on a route
believed unique to such objects
of interstellar origin.
Officially known as the Aus-
tralian Facility for Tapho-
nomic Experimental Research
(AFTER), the farm is carrying
out pioneering research into
post-mortem movement.
Wilson and her colleagues
were trying to improve a com-
monly used system for esti-
mating the time of death using
time-lapse cameras and in the
process found that human bod-
ies actually move around sig-
nificantly.
Her findings were recently
published in the journal
“Forensic Science Interna-
tional: Synergy”.
hindustantimes
PAKISTAN SHOULD HAVE BEEN NEUTRAL BECAUSE JOINING
THESE GROUPS TURNED AGAINST US.
> IMRAN KHAN, Pakistan PM, ruing Islamabad’s pro-US role in the Afghan war
US slaps sanctions
on North Korean
hacking groups
WASHINGTON: The US treasury on
Friday announced sanctions on
three North Korean hacking
groups it said were involved in
the “WannaCry” ransomware
attacks and hacking of interna-
tional banks and customer
accounts.
It named the groups as Laz-
arus Group, Bluenoroff, and
Andariel and said they were con-
trolled by the RGB, North
Korea’s primary intelligence
bureau, which is already subject
to US and United Nations sanc-
tions. The action blocks any
US-related assets of the groups
and prohibits dealings with them.
The Treasury statement said any
foreign financial institution that
knowingly facilitated significant
transactions or services for them
could also be subject to sanctions.
“Treasury is taking action
against North Korean hacking
groups that have been perpetrat-
ing cyber attacks to support illicit
weapon and missile programs,”
said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury
under secretary for Terrorism
and Financial Intelligence. “We
will continue to enforce existing
US and UN sanctions against
North Korea and work with the
international community to
improve cybersecurity of finan-
cial networks.” The US has been
attempting to restart talks with
North Korea, aimed at pressing
the country to give up its nuclear
weapons. The talks have been
stalled over North Korean
demands for concessions, includ-
ing sanctions relief. Earlier this
month, North Korea denied UN
allegations it had obtained $2 bil-
lion through cyberattacks on
banks and cryptocurrency
exchanges. REUTERS
Obey law, speaker to PM,
as he heads to EU talks
Prasun Sonwalkar
n prasun.sonwalkar@hindustantimes.com
LONDON:The outgoing speaker of
the House of Commons John Ber-
cow opened a new front against
Boris Johnson, saying he would
resort to creative ways to ensure
that any form of Brexit can hap-
pen only if parliament agrees to it,
and warned the British prime
minister to obey the law.
Johnson insists on leaving the
EU with or without an agree-
ment. He is set to meet Jean
Claude-Juncker, president of the
European Commission, in Lux-
embourg on Monday. “There is
the rough shape of the deal to be
done,” Johnson said on Friday. “I
would say I’m cautiously optimis-
tic” that a new agreement can be
forged, he said, even as officials
warned against expecting any
sudden breakthrough.
EYE ON CHINA
Photographer of iconic
Tank Man passes away
n In this photo was taken by Charlie Cole, a man defiantly stands to block a line of tanks heading east on
Beijing's Changan Boulevard near Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989.
Agencies
n letters@hindustantimes.com
JAKARTA/HANOI: Charlie Cole, one
of the photographers who cap-
tured the famous ‘Tank Man’ on
film during the Tiananmen
Square protests in 1989, has died.
He was 64.
He died last week in Bali, Indo-
nesia, where he had been resid-
ing, the BBC reported on Friday.
Cole was one of four photogra-
phers who captured the image on
June 5, 1989, of a man standing in
the way of a column of tanks, a
day after many people died.
Cole won the 1990 World Press
Photo award for his picture
which became a defining image of
the 1989 pro-democracy protests.
Climate protests
hit UK, Greta goes
to White House
n Swedish environment activist Greta Thunberg (centre), 16, takes
part in a climate protest outside the White House on Friday.
WASHINGTON/LONDON: Swedish
teenager Greta Thunberg took
her mission to President Donald
Trump’s doorstep on Friday with
a climate protest outside the
White House. Hundreds of
mostly young people gathered
across the street from the White
House to meet her, carrying signs
reading “People or Profit?” and
“Warming!”, chanting “This is a
crisis, act like it!” and “Business
as usual is not enough.”
In Britain, police arrested two
people inside the perimeter of
London’s Heathrow airport on
Friday ahead of a planned cli-
mate-change protest. Activists
who hoped to bring Europe’s big-
gest airport to a standstill found
instead that it was their drones
that struggled to get off the
ground. Flight operations were
not affected, said the airport.
Climate activists glued them-
selves to a door and poured out a
“bleeding” red carpet at the open-
ing of London Fashion Week on
Friday, seeking to draw attention
Bercow said the law, as passed
by parliament this week, is that
the Johnson government must
seek an extension to the Brexit
date beyond October 31 if no
agreement is reached by October
19. Bercow, who will step down as
speaker on October 31, delivered
a stinging message to Johnson.
“The only form of Brexit which
we will have...will be a Brexit that
the House of Commons has
explicitly endorsed”.
“Surely, in 2019, in modern
Britain, in a parliamentary
democracy, we - parliamentari-
ans, legislators - cannot in all con-
science be conducting a debate as
to whether adherence to the law
is or isn’t required.”
He said he would indulge in
‘additional procedural creativity’
in the House to prevent any
prospect of misdemeanour on the
part of the executive on Brexit.
He took his picture for News-
week with a telephoto lens from
the balcony of a hotel, framing it
so the man was only just in the
bottom left corner.
Cole later described how he
had expected the man would be
killed, and felt it was his responsi-
bility to record what was happen-
ing. But the unidentified pro-
tester was pulled away from the
scene by two men. What hap-
pened to him remains unknown.
VIETNAM ASKS CHINESE
SHIPS TO LEAVE
The government of Vietnam on
Friday demanded the immediate
withdrawal of a Chinese oil explo-
ration vessel and its escorts from
an area that Hanoi claims as its
17
AFP
to the apparel industry’s impact
on the environment. Protesters
from the Extinction Rebellion
group have vowed to disrupt the
five-day event, where Burberry,
Victoria Beckham, Erdem and
other luxury brands are present-
ing their spring 2020 women-
swear collections.
In Washington DC, many pro-
testers laid down and kept still for
11 minutes for a “die in” repre-
senting 11 years they said that sci-
entists believe the world has to
make changes needed to stave off
dangerous climate change.
The demonstration marked
the first high-profile event of
Thunberg’s six-day visit to Wash-
ington, intended to pressure the
Trump administration ahead of a
United Nations climate summit,
where world leaders will be asked
to ramp up their carbon-cutting
ambitions to fend off global
warming. Trump is among a
minority of global leaders who
openly questioned the science of
climate change. AGENCIES
n A man who heckled Boris
Johnson in North England
being removed by security. AFP
COLE CHARLIE/ SIPA
territory and is disputed by Bei-
jing.
“Vietnam demands China to
immediately stop its serious vio-
lations and withdraw all of the
vessels from Vietnamese
waters,” foreign ministry spokes-
person Le Thi Thu Hang tweeted.
“The ship (Haiyang Dizhi 8)
continues to infringe Vietnam’s
sovereignty, sovereign rights,
EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone)
and continental shelf,” she added,
having already expressed
Hanoi’s opposition to the passage
of Chinese ships on Thursday.
China claims sovereignty over
the South China Sea region, a sig-
nificant maritime area situated
on a trade route and has vast
reserves of natural resources.
18 hindustantimes HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
SAT URDAY, SE PTE MB E R 14, 2 01 9

DIVISION OF FLORICULTURE AND LANDSCAPING

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HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
SAT URDAY, SE PT E MB E R 14, 2 01 9
shortstories
LSE SPURNS
HONG KONG
EXCHANGE BID
SHANGHAI: China will exempt
some agricultural products from
additional tariffs on US goods,
China’s official Xinhua News
Agency said on Friday, in the
latest sign of easing Sino-US
tensions before a new rounds of
talks aimed at curbing a bruising
trade war. The US and China have
both made conciliatory gestures,
with China renewing purchases of
US farm goods and US President
Donald Trump delaying a tariff
increase on certain Chinese goods.
“China supports relevant enter-
prises buying certain amounts of
soybeans, pork and other agricul-
tural products from today in
accordance with market principles
and WTO rules,” Xinhua said,
adding that the Customs Tariff
Commission of China’s State
Council would exclude additional
tariffs on those items. President
Donald Trump said on Thursday
he preferred a comprehensive
trade deal with China but did not
rule out the possibility of an
interim pact.
LSE REJECTS
HONG KONG
EXCHANGE’S
TAKEOVER BID
LONDON: The London
Stock Exchange (LSE)
rejected the Hong Kong
bourse’s $39 billion
takeover offer on Friday,
opting to stick with its
planned purchase of data
and analytics group
Refinitiv. The Hong Kong
exchange will now likely
have to go hostile and
present a better offer
directly to LSE sharehold-
ers if it wants to keep alive
its hopes of becoming a
more global player to rival
US giants ICE and CME. The
LSE told HKEX in a letter
that it had fundamental
concerns about key aspects
of the proposal which it
said had no strategic
merit.
Fresh steps to boost economy
likely to be announced today
Gireesh Chandra Prasad
n gireesh.p@livemint.com
NEW DELHI: The Centre is likely to
announce more measures on
Saturday to arrest the economic
slowdown that has plagued the
Narendra Modi administration’s
second term.
Finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman is tentatively sched-
uled to address a news confer-
ence to outline fresh measures
for growth, said a government
official privy to the plans,
requesting anonymity. Sithara-
man will also share the feedback
she has received on the meas-
ures taken in recent weeks to lift
business confidence and liquid-
ity, the official added.
While the government on Fri-
day made no announcement on
the press conference, the news
agency ANI, having broken the
news, later tweeted that it was
cancelled. A government offi-
cial, however, told Mint that the
presser was tentatively sched-
uled for Saturday.
Sitharaman is expected to
announce sector-specific solu-
tions and targets, said the offi-
cial. The Centre has been work-
ing on measures to boost growth
in the housing and real estate
sector, a major job creating
industry, which has been grap-
pling with record unsold inven-
tory and poor sales.
The Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) has cut interest rates four
times since January to 5.4% by
August, to help boost loan
growth.
A slowing domestic economy,
Google to promote original
reporting with algorithm changes
Agence France-Presses
n feedback@livemint.com
SAN FRANCISCO: Original
reporting will be highlighted
in Google’s search results,
the company said as it
announced changes to its
algorithm. The world’s larg-
est search engine has come
under increasing criticism
from media outlets, mainly
because of its algorithms—a
set of instructions followed
by computers—that newspa-
pers have often blamed for
plummeting online traffic
and the industry’s decline.
Explaining some of the
Exports contract 6% in
Aug amid trade tensions
CRUDE COMFORT Trade deficit narrows as imports too contract on lower oil bill
Asit Ranjan Mishra
n asit.m@livemint.com
NEW DELHI: India’s merchandise
exports contracted for the sec-
ond time in August in the cur-
rent fiscal year, while imports
shrank for the third consecutive
month, signalling that rising
protectionism and trade ten-
sions between the US and China
are impacting India’s trade
prospects as well.
Data released by the com-
merce ministry on Friday
showed that India’s merchan-
dise exports declined 6.05% in
August, while merchandise
imports dropped 13.45%, leading
to a trade deficit of $13.45 billion.
The trade deficit stood at
$17.92 billion in August 2018.
China’s exports in August fell
1%, while imports shrank 5.6%,
as the trade war intensified with
the US.
Aditi Nayar, principal econo-
mist, ICRA Ltd, said sharp con-
traction in gold and non-oil,
non-gold merchandise imports
led to the considerable fall in
merchandise trade deficit.
“Available trends suggest that
the current account deficit
(CAD) is likely to decline sub-
stantially to $10-11 billion in the
September quarter of fiscal year
2019-20, on the back of moderate
crude oil prices, weak appetite
for gold imports at current pri-
ces, as well as subdued domestic
demand,” she said.
Sharad Kumar Saraf, presi-
dent, Federation of Indian
Export Organizations, said such
contraction in exports reflects
the global uncertainties, includ-
ing sluggish demand and rising
tariff war.
“Domestic issues, including
access to credit, cost of credit,
n Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
THE FINANCE MINISTER
IS EXPECTED TO
ANNOUNCE
SECTOR-SPECIFIC
SOLUTIONS AND
TARGETS IN BID TO
REVIVE GROWTH
amid adverse external head-
winds such as the US-China
trade war and fears of a global
recession, has made it that much
more difficult for the govern-
ment to buck the trend.
In recent weeks, the Centre
has announced a slew of meas-
ures, including front-loading of
public expenditure, a massive
₹100-trillion investment into
infrastructure, improved access
S E A R C H R E S U LT S
changes in a blog post, Goo-
gle’s vice president of news
Richard Gingras said stories
that were critically impor-
tant and labour intensive—
requiring experienced inves-
tigative skills, for example
—would be promoted.
Articles that demonstrated
“original, in-depth and inves-
tigative reporting”, would be
given the highest possible
rating by reviewers, he
wrote. These reviewers—
roughly 10,000 people whose
feedback contributes to Goo-
gle’s algorithm—will also
determine the publisher’s
overall reputation for origi-
Mind the gap
India’s merchandise exports contracted 6.05% in
August—the second time in the current fiscal.
Merchandise imports, meanwhile, shrank 13.45%.
Exports Imports
30
25
20
15
10 5.17
5 n
0 4.6
-5
-10
-15
Trade deficit ($bn)
20
13.72
15
10
5 products.
0
Apr
2018
Source: Commerce ministry
SHIPMENTS OF GEMS
AND JEWELLERY,
ENGINEERING GOODS,
AND PETROLEUM
PRODUCTS CONTRACTED
BY 3.5%, 9.35% AND
10.73%, RESPECTIVELY
especially for merchant export-
ers, interest equalization sup-
port to all agri exports, benefits
on sales to foreign tourists and
quick refund of goods and servi-
ces tax (GST), especially input
tax credit refund, should be seri-
ously looked into. Further,
MINT FILE
to credit for businesses, liberal
foreign ownership norms and
more capital for state-run banks.
The economic downturn has
become a sticky political issue
ahead of assembly elections in
Maharashtra, Haryana and
Jharkhand. Former prime min-
ister and senior Congress leader
Manmohan Singh has criticised
the National Democratic Alli-
ance (NDA) government for
what he called the “man-made
blunders of demonetization and
a hastily implemented GST”.
India’s economy reported its
weakest growth in more than six
years at 5% in the June quarter.
The Reserve Bank of India has
projected gross domestic prod-
uct to expand 6.9% in 2019-20,
while most analysts and finan-
cial institutions have estimated
6.5-7% growth.
nal reporting, promoting out-
lets that have been awarded
Pulitzer Prizes, for example.
It remains to be seen how
such changes will affect news
outlets, especially smaller
online sites and local newspa-
pers, who have borne the
brunt of the changing media
landscape. And as noted by
the technology website Tech-
Crunch, it is hard to define
exactly what original report-
ing is: many online outlets
build on “scoops” or exclu-
sives with their own original
information, a complexity an
algorithm may have a hard
time picking through.
(Year-on-year in %)
-6.05
-13.45
13.45
Aug
2019
World Trade Organisation
(WTO)-complaint schemes,
addressing cost disabilities of
our economy, should be imme-
diately deliberated upon and
drafted, to replace some export
promotion instruments, to give
the much needed boost to the
exports sector,” he added.
In March, the WTO had pro-
jected trade growth to fall from
3.9% in 2018 to 3.7% in 2019. It
had cautioned that these esti-
mates could be revised down-
ward if trade conditions con-
tinue to deteriorate.
The World Bank (WB), in its
Global Economic Prospects
released in June, had projected
IMF says India’s
economic growth
is ‘much weaker’
than expected
Press Trust of India
n feedback@livemint.com
WASHINGTON: India’s economic
growth is “much weaker” than
expected, according to the Inter-
national Monetary Fund (IMF),
which attributed it to the corpo-
rate and environmental regula-
tory uncertainty and lingering
weaknesses in some non-bank
financial companies. India’s
gross domestic product (GDP)
growth rate slipped to 5% in the
first quarter of 2019-20, the lowest
in over six years, according to lat-
est official data.
The International Monetary
Fund (IMF) in July projected a
slower growth rate for India in
2019 and 2020, a downward revi-
sion of 0.3% for both the years,
saying its GDP will now grow,
respectively, at the rate of 7% and
7.2%, reflecting a weaker-than-
expected outlook for domestic
demand.
However, India will still be the
fastest growing major economy of
the world and much ahead of
China, the global financial insti-
tution had said.
“We will have a fresh set of
numbers coming up but the
recent economic growth in India
is much weaker than expected,
mainly due to corporate and envi-
ronmental regulatory uncer-
tainty and lingering weakness in
some non-bank financial compa-
nies,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice
told reporters at a news confer-
ence here on Thursday.
The risks to the outlook are
tilted to the downside, he said.
Responding to a question on the
recent GDP figures of India, Rice
said the IMF will monitor the eco-
nomic situation in the country.
Sharp deceleration in manufac-
turing output and subdued farm
sector activity pulled down
India’s GDP growth to over six-
year low of 5% in the April-June
quarter of 2019-20, according to
official data released last month.
The previous low in GDP
growth was recorded at 4.3% in
January-March quarter of
2012-13. India’s economic growth
stood at 8% in the same quarter of
2018-19.
“The GDP at Constant (2011-12)
Prices in Q1 of 2019-20 is esti-
mated at ₹35.85 lakh crore, as
against ₹34.14 lakh crore in Q1 of
2018-19, showing a growth rate of
5 per cent,” the National Statisti-
cal Office (NSO) said in a state-
ment. “We will update that
assessment in the upcoming
world economic outlook,” IMF
spokesman said.
weakening of global trade in
2019. Global trade is projected to
grow at 2.6% this year—a full
percentage point below WB’s
earlier forecast.
The International Monetary
Fund also cut global growth
forecast for 2019 by 20 basis
points to 3.3%, the lowest since
the 2008 financial crisis, blam-
ing the US-China trade tensions,
loss of momentum in Europe
and the uncertainty surround-
ing Brexit.
Out of 30 key sectors, as many
as 22 showed negative growth in
August. Shipments of gems and
jewellery, engineering goods,
and petroleum products con-
tracted by 3.5%, 9.35% and
10.73%, respectively.
The sectors which recorded
positive growth in the last
month include iron ore, elec-
tronic goods, spices, and marine
The country’s outbound ship-
ments have remained subdued
so far this year. It will have
implications on the overall eco-
nomic growth, which has
reported over six-year low
growth of 5% in the first quarter
of the current fiscal.
India’s industrial production
growth too slowed to 4.3% in
July, dragged mainly by manu-
facturing sector’s poor show,
according to a government data.
Commerce minister Piyush
Goyal on Thursday said India
will have to achieve $1 trillion
exports in the next five years,
and for this there is a need to
increase domestic production
and improve competitiveness.
In August, oil imports
declined by 8.9% to $10.88 bil-
lion, and non-oil imports fell by
15% to $28.71 billion.
PTI contributed to this story..
DGCA plans own checks for 737 MAX
Rhik Kundu
n rhik.k@livemint.com
NEW DELHI : India’s civil aviation
regulator will conduct its own
due diligence before allowing the
grounded Boeing 737 MAX planes
to fly in Indian skies, even if the
US Federal Aviation Administra-
tion (FAA) recertifies the air-
craft, one person with direct
knowledge of the matter said,
requesting anonymity.
The Directorate General of
Civil Aviation (DGCA) is also
likely to make it mandatory for
pilots operating Boeing 737 MAX
planes to undergo simulator
training before allowing them to
fly the aircraft, the person added.
The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft,
considered to be more fuel-effi-
cient than its predecessors, was
grounded by the DGCA on March
13, after aviation regulators
We will be very interested in
India post politics: Trump Jr
Bidya Sapam
n bidya.s@livemint.com
MUMBAI: The Trump Organiza-
tion, which controls the Trump
brand of luxury properties across
the globe, will look at new brand-
ing and licencing deals in India—
possibly even hotels—once US
President Donald Trump demits
office, his son has said.
“India is a market that we
would be very interested post pol-
itics,” Donald Trump Jr, the eld-
est son of the President, told Mint.
“We have voluntarily given up
the ability to do new deals inter-
nationally while my father is in
office. After politics, we would
certainly look at India and other
markets. But that (India) would
be a big focus of mine. Frankly, it
would be easier for me to get going
in India because of the relation-
ships we have built up in the last
decade,” Trump Jr, who has been
at the helm of Trump Organiza-
tion since his father took office in
2017, said in a telephone inter-
view.
This week, Trump Organiza-
tion’s Indian partner, Tribeca,
flew around 100 Indian homebuy-
ers to New York.
The initiative was a follow-up
to a campaign conducted by
Tribeca in February 2018, offer-
ing potential homebuyers of the
new Trump Tower at Gurugram,
near New Delhi, a chance to
“have dinner” with Trump Jr, 41.
Apartments at the upcoming
47-storey luxury tower cost
between ₹5 crore and ₹10 crore.
New York-based Trump Orga-
hindustantimes
n FFC chairman NK Singh (2nd from right) during an advisory council meeting in Delhi.
States staring at resource
crunch as growth falters
Asit Ranjan Mishra
asit.m@livemint.com
NEWDELHI:State governments may
be staring at a serious resource
crunch in the five years begin-
ning 2020-21, as the current eco-
nomic downturn may force the
15th Finance Commission (FFC)
to assume low nominal gross
domestic product (GDP) growth,
which would mean a smaller
share of tax revenues for states.
However, since the Centre has
the power to impose cess, it may
have more legroom to deal with
the situation than the states.
Nominal GDP is real GDP cal-
culated at market prices, taking
inflation into account. Since
inflation has been within the
Reserve Bank of India’s comfort
level of 3-4%, lower real GDP
growth will bring down the over-
all nominal GDP number.
India’s nominal GDP growth in
the June quarter stood at a mea-
gre 8%—the lowest in the current
GDP series—while the budget for
the current fiscal assumes nomi-
nal GDP growth at 11.5%.
After meeting the FFC’s advi-
sory council comprising leading
economists, ahead of submitting
his report to the government on
30 November, FFC chairman NK
Singh said post-budget, evidence
has emerged suggesting that
n The DGCA is also likely to make it mandatory for pilots operating
Boeing 737 MAX planes to undergo simulator training.
worldwide took similar steps fol-
lowing the crash of an Ethiopian
Airlines’ 737 MAX near Addis
Ababa, killing 157 people, includ-
ing four Indians.
Last October, a Boeing 737
MAX of Lion Air had crashed,
killing 180 people in Indonesia.
“Nobody is sure about when
the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will
n Donald Trump Jr., EVP, The Trump Organization.
nization has not signed any fresh
deals in overseas markets,
including India, in the last two
years.
However, it has continued to
promote its ongoing projects
across the world.
“While the (Indian real estate)
market has suffered, we have
done disproportionately well rel-
ative to other high-end projects.
We have carved a unique niche
for ourselves. Our sales continue
to be strong. We continue to domi-
nate despite a general slow-
down,” Trump Jr said.
India is among one of the larg-
est markets for the Trump Orga-
nization outside the US. The com-
pany, which entered India in 2013,
works with local developers
through brand licensing agree-
ments, but does not make any
equity investments.
So far, it has signed partner-
ships with five realty companies
POWERED BY
nominal GDP may be lower than
assumed.
“Nominal GDP growth looks
problematic. The commission is
not obliged to accept the numbers
of nominal GDP as submitted to
the commission by the central
government memorandum, or as
contained in the medium-term
fiscal policy statement. The com-
mission is duty-bound under the
constitution to arrive at its own
judgement. How we exercise that
is entirely up to us,” he added.
NR Bhanumurthy, professor
at the National Institute of Public
Finance and Policy, said unless
the commission reviews the fiscal
deficit and debt-to-GDP ratios for
the Centre and states, both of
them may not have enough
resources to meet their commit-
ted expenditures. “In such a case,
they have to squeeze their
expenditure, which may not be
ideal at a time the economy is
slowing,” he added.
India’s economy is currently
undergoing its worst phase in
more than six years, and many
economists believe it is a struc-
tural slowdown. While real GDP
in Q1 grew by 5%, manufacturing
output almost came to a stand-
still, growing at just 0.6%. India’s
automobile sector contracted for
the 10th consecutive month in
August, signalling a deeper prob-
BLOOMBERG
take to the air again. It will have to
be first recertified by FAA, fol-
lowing which DGCA will also
independently conduct due dili-
gence before allowing the aircraft
to fly in Indian skies,” the person
said.
Since the grounding of the 737
MAX fleet, Boeing Co. has con-
ducted more than 800 hours of test
MINT FILE
—Lodha Developers Pvt. Ltd in
Mumbai, Pune-based Panchshil
Realty, M3M and Ireo in Guru-
gram, and Unimark Group in
Kolkata.
It currently has three under-
construction Trump Tower pro-
jects—one each in Gurugram,
Kolkata and Mumbai. While the
Mumbai and Kolkata projects are
set to be delivered next year, the
Gurugram complex will be com-
pleted by 2022.
Trump Jr said there was no
dearth of potential deals in India
and the Trump brand has not suf-
fered from an ongoing US investi-
gation into the company over
potential tax evasion and fraud in
its home country.
“If I want to do deals in India
and, if we hadn’t given up, we
could do 20 deals this month itself.
But we chose not to do that
because that would be the right
thing to do,” he added.
19
RAMESH PATHANIA/MINT
lem in demand conditions.
When asked about his assess-
ment of the current macroeco-
nomic situation, Singh said: “The
government is acting with alac-
rity which is appropriate to
address the situation. There is no
lack of either intent or determina-
tion in implementing measures.”
On whether the government
can announce a fiscal stimulus
package, Singh said: “Where is
the fiscal space?” Asked whether
the government can invoke the
so-called “escape clause” availa-
ble in the Fiscal Responsibility
and Budget Management Act, as
originally recommended by a
committee headed by him, Singh
said the Centre will have to take a
call.
The escape clause allows the
government deviation of up to 0.5
percentage points of GDP, based
on triggers that include far-
reaching structural reforms in
the economy having unantici-
pated fiscal implications, acts of
war, and farm distress.
The FFC has to submit its
report by end-November. How-
ever, Singh said it is yet to receive
the reference from the President
on the change in the status of J&K
after its bifurcation last month.
J&K and Ladakh will become two
separate Union territories from
31 October.
flight. The American aviation
major is expected to approach US
civil aviation regulator for recer-
tification of the planes in October.
“The earliest time frame for
the reinduction of Boeing 737
MAX fleet is likely to be early next
year. However, we can’t be too
sure about it,” he said, adding
that the DGCA’s due diligence fol-
lowing the FAA’s recertification
of the aircraft will be a thorough
process. “DGCA will not allow
the aircraft (Boeing 737 MAX) to
fly unless the agency is assured
that it is absolutely safe to fly
these planes,” he added.
SpiceJet Ltd, one of the world’s
biggest customers for the 737
MAX 8, has orders for 155 Boeing
aircraft, with purchase rights for
50 additional 737 MAX 8 and wide-
body planes. The airline has
taken delivery of 12 Boeing 737
MAX 8 planes so far.
GOVT NOTIFIES
ITS AMBITIOUS
FACELESS TAX
SCRUTINY POLICY
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The government has
notified its ambitious e-assess-
ment project that provides for
faceless scrutiny of income-tax
assesses, a step announced by
finance minister Nirmala Sithar-
aman on August 23 to build confi-
dence in tax payers as part of the
measures to boost the economy.
The new system will work
through a National e-assessment
Centre, regional e-assessment
centres, assessment units, verifi-
cation units, technical units and
review units that will be set up by
the Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT), said a notification issued
on Thursday.
The order said the entire proc-
ess of tax assessment would be
impersonal. “A person shall not
be required to appear either per-
sonally or through authorised
representative in connection
with any proceedings under this
scheme before the income-tax
authority at the National e-as-
sessment Centre or Regional e-as-
sessment Centre or any unit set
up under this scheme,” the notifi-
cation said.
The new system also provides
for personal hearings if assesses
or their authorized representa-
tives want to present their cases
before the income tax authority.
A personal hearing is possible at
any unit exclusively through
video links, it said.
20 | PROPERTY
NORTH DELHI
PRIYADARSHANI APARTMENT
Drawing + 3 Bed + 2 Toilet + 2 Side +
Parking, 20 Lac, Sec-31, Rohini.
Bisht Properties Pvt. Ltd.
9650045100, 9999784468
ROHINI SEC-09, for Sale 3BHK, GF,
100sq. mt., 3Side open, East Facing
,MCD water, within 500mtrs. Metro,
Distt. park,Outer Ring Road, Society
Flat. Call : 9717801958, 7892684125
REQUIRED OFFICE Space for Self
Use / Purchase of about 550 Sqft.
(Super Area) in NSP Pitampura or
Nearby with easy approach. Sellers
Pls Call 9811151734.
ROHINI 1981 Allotment Scheme.
Zeqon Buildtech (P) Ltd. Best Deals
for your Plots/ Expert Liasioning
(Mutation /Possession/ Lease /
F'Hold) 9718888224 / 9891272828
RANA PRATAP Bagh 325 sq yard
House all Floors available with
separate parking. Maam
9810593539 Kuldeep Singh
Mahla 9313081066
NORTH DELHI
1000 YDS Value for Money & 200-
4000yd Villa all Civil Lines. 520yd
3rd Floor + Terrace+ Lift BD Estate.
Deals family settlement Deals.
Neelam M.Sc.B.Ed 9873255806
BUY/SELL /COLLABORATE
200-2400 yds Floor / Kothies Model
Town. 250yds NE corner with Lift/
parking Floor Kothi Tagore Park.
Neelam M.Sc. B.Ed 9873255806
BUNGALOW ROAD 650yds & Pre-
Rented Guest House 800yds with
Rent 13 Lacs. 160yds Ideal for PG.
Buy/Sell & collaborate all over Delhi.
Neelam M.Sc.B.Ed 9873255806
BHALSWA DAIRY, A- Block, Main
Chowk, 120 Sq yards, 4000 Sq.ft.
3+half floor constructed, wide front
& road, L corner, commercial prime
location@2.25cr. Owner9899895929
ALLOTTEE SELLING 90 sqm DDA
plot. Pocket 8, sector 21, Rohini.
Facing North to Park. 2.35 crores
(negotiable). Contact: 09338817913
EAST DELHI
CHEAP LAND for sale near Jewar
Airport entry from highway best for
investment suitable for any activity.
Cont : 0120-4380118, 8882080798
WEST DELHI
VIKASPURI POORTI Apartment
2 BHK, Ground Floor, Park Facing,
Free Hold Ample Parking, ready
to move,only genuine buyers
Contact 9910050185.
FOR SALE East facing shop 8' x 8'
DDA shopping Center, Mayapuri,
corner loc on 60' RD, 2 side open +
L shape 10' wide concrete shed
original Bldg ad joining car prkg +
common washroom. Very Suitable
for ATM, fast food. Restaurant,
Transport etc. Contact: 9810026217
WEST DELHI
E-BLK, IST flr,New Multan Ngr(Pac-
him Vhr)206Sqyd,3 side corner, new
tastefully built lift,prkng,park & N/E
face,wide rd, peaceful, elite, greenry
location.Owner9899895929@2.65cr
KIRTI NAGAR 3BHK 170 yds Delux
Floors: First Floor 1.80cr/ Upper
G.Floor 1.90cr (Fully Furnished) /
3rd Floor with Roof 1.90cr. Ample
Parking / Lift. Call 9810053533
RAJOURI GARDEN flrs n kothi lift
prkg 160y cnr 1st,2nd 1.80c each 285
2nd 4bhk 2.70,525y 3years old 3rd
wid ter 5.75c 550y 3rd ter 4.25 kothi
200y7.5 300,400@13c 7999998789
NEW / OLD Rajendra Nagar Wanted/
Avail. Freehold Plots/Floors. Ready /
Booking. Pusa Road Wanted/ Avail
Plots & Floors. # Grand Prop. 31/16
Old Rajender Ngr. 9582000500
DWARKA
DDA 2BHK @70-1cr,soc 2BHK@ 1.05
1.15cr, 3BHK DDA @1.15-1.35cr, Soc
3BHK@1.35-1.65cr, 4BHK @1.80-2.10
cr, 4BHK+SR@2.5-3.10 cr. Renting
Available Vital Interior 9911047500.
CENTRAL DELHI
FOR SALE/ Rent 20000 Sqft
(Basement, Ground Floor, 1st
Floor, 2nd Floor) fully furnished
main Ansari Road, Darya Ganj.
Cont: 9354291344, 9711186196
1450 SQ.FT. 2 BHK front facing
apartment having a large balcony
on Hailey Road with one covered Car
Park suitable for office/residence.
Call: 9810319447, 9958100876.
SOUTH DELHI
GREATER KAILASH 1,
500 Yards Ground And Basement
Vastu Perfect 4BHK Separate
Driveway. Ashish Sharma
9811996939
DEFENCE COLONY 400 sq.yds
park facing/north facing/corner,
best location, Ground Floor on
booking. Call: Brijesh 9810695717
SOUTH DELHI
GULMOHAR PARK 500yd GF &
Bsmt Park Fac, Defence Col 325 yd B
+GF park Fac, Panchsheel Park 800/
1200yd Mayfair Gdn 800yd park fac.
all Flrs # 9811059797, 9810360339
DEFENCE COLONY 400 Yds
corner 3rd Floor+Terrace & Mummty
Room, 4 Specious Beds, D/D,
Lounge, Top Construction. S. Kumar-
98110-31558, Desraj-98110-72035
SAROJINI NAGAR Market Shop
for Sale. Double Storey Independent
Freehold with GF Commercial
approved. 2-Side open. All dues
paid. Millennium 9810112870
MALCHA MARG 800 Yds FF, Park
facing, Golf links 775 yds FF, Jor
Bagh 575/375yds Third Floor, Niti
Bagh 800 yds Bsmt+ GF. Dharamvir
9811059797, Rajiv 9810360339
VASANT VHR 840y 3rd Flr Lift, En-
tire Terrace Garden@11, Safdarjung
Enclave Deer Park Facing 500y Bmt
@ 1.70,GF+Bmt@8.50. Kailash Col
500y @4.75. Gurudutt 9810060323
SOUTH DELHI
PAMPOSH ENCLAVE 300
yds Entire flr 4 beds d/d lounge
qtr. 2 excl. pkg. lift corner wide
rd. N/E fcng reputed builder Pav-
neet 9811036030, 9999926224
800 MALCHA Mg, 600/800/1200
Shanti Nik,200/300 Nizam E/W, 800
/500Mh'rani Bg,375/600Jor Bg,600
Mayfair, 9Acr Chattarpur, Suit Marri
age/Hotel Girish Jain 9811044967.
GULMOHAR PRK 500 sq.yd 3rd
Flr with entire terrace Brand new
Park fac vastu perfect huge 4BHK,
D/D, powder room, fmly lounge, SQ,
A/C,PBU, 2car prkg. Call 9810113868
SHIVALIK A-BLOCK Independent
House 192 Yds, Corner 3 Sides Open,
Peaceful location. Crystal clear Title,
Cheque preferred. Suits Actual/ End
users. Jagdish Nawani 9811114642
GAUTAM APARTMENTS, Gul-
mohar Park,SFS Freehold, GF, 3BHK,
3 Bath, U/G water tank, all redone,
marble floor. Reserved parking,
park facing. Rakeshji 9810078614.
KOTHI : Shanti Nktn 1000y Cnr P/F;
Anand Nktn 600y;P'Shil Prk 800y N-
Blk;HzKhas Enc 500 cnr;GK-2,1000y;
Anand Lok 800y; Def.Col 325y; V.Vhr
400/280y. SR 999-999-6725
RARE OPPORTUNITY Commer-
cial Office Space Area 500 Sq.ft.
2nd Floor, Near Savitri Cinema Main
Road Greater kailash- 2. Contact
Gopal 7982227986
JANGPURA EXTN. Park Facing,
3 BHK, 2nd Floor, 160 Sq Yds
for sale @2.15CR, with renovation &
Provision for Lift. Apt for Young
Couple, Contact: 98999-99-158
READY NEW Floor: Niti Bagh 800y
TF+Tr 18cr; Jor Bagh 575y Park fac
TF+Tr; Panchsheel Park 800/1200y;
Westend 800/1200y; GK-I 500y Park
fac B+GF 11cr last. SR 999-999-6796
MALVIYA NAGAR, free hold, 90/
3B, 100 syds, 2BHK wth stilt prkng,
G FL & T FL with terrace, Completely
newly renovated, Reasonably
Priced, immi sale. Onr 9811010285
VASANT KUNJ New Allotment.
Wanted / Available LIG(@75 Lacs),
MIG(@1.25 Cr.), HIG(@1.80 Cr.).
# 7428311111, 9810664669
ANAND NIKETAN, 240 sq.yards,
Builder Flat, Second Floor 3
Bedrooms D/D with Terrace without
lift @ 4.25 cr. Immediate Sale.
Salwan: 9810063891, 9810062871
BUNGALOW 700 s.y Vastu
Perfect Sultanpur Farm House
Farm House 2.5 acre Radhemohan
Drive & 2acre Bungalow Tuglak
Road. Contact # 9899369782
VIKRAM VIHAR (128) GF with C/C
3beds-Cnr/new & Commercial (160)
Bas+GF+Mez+FF+SF (rented) Comm.
Centre F'hold - S'jung Enclave-
100% clear title-9818-888-333
VASANT KUNJ Book your flat bra-
nd New Allotment DDA F'hold 1BHK
70 lac 2 BHK 1.05 cr 3 BHK 1.80 + lift
car prkng nr Airport Exc. Loc.. Sunny
Makkad 9891124400, 9310224500
AHH THIS 2200 Sq Ft (611Sq Yds)
Brand New Bsmt Space, Centrally
Aircon in Mayfair Garden,Hauz Khas.
Not to miss Price, Place, Opportun-
ity & Profits. Complimentary Furni-
shings 9811937864, 9810070190.
ANAND NIKETAN, 263 sq.yards in
booking Builder Flat, Third Floor 3
Bedrooms D/D with exclusive Terra-
ce, Stilt Parking. Brokers Welcome.
Salwan: 9810063891, 9810062871
VASANT VIHAR 400 yards,
second with terrace, large 4 beds
D/D kitchen lobby etc, corner,
park facing. Reasonable price.
Anish Malhotra 98112-00272
MALCHA MARG 750 sq yard
Independent Floors For Sale with
separate car parking. Rishab Bajaj
9810526380, 9810526339
chequeproperty.com
PANCHSHEL ENC 265 Yds, TF+Tr;
SDA 300 Yds, SF, 4 BHK, Gulmohar
270 Yds, SF 3BHK, Corner/Park fac;
Jungpura Pura Extn 200 Yds, TF+Tr
Park fac. Vintek Realtor 9871417999
VASANTKUNJ C1 FF, C1- SF,
Corner, B10- SF Extended, C1- GRD,
C2- GF, A/BC - GRD,FF C9 -SF
For Sale . Cont Apar Estate
# 9891091457.
VASANT KUNJ Gr. Floor, Sec-B
4BHK, 4 Toilets, Corner, Sun facing,
Excel. Interiors, Mod. Kitchen. R’ble
Price. Geniune Buyers Cont: Capt
Grover 9811554445, 9899867736
INDEPENDENT KOTHI for sale
in C-Block Defence Colony D-Block
Liveable Kothi. Call: Brijesh
9810695717
BUNGALOW'S FOR Sale: Jor Bagh
375 sq.yards facing park, Vasant
Vihar 400 sq.yards also Shanti Nike-
tan 400 sq.yards. Confirmed Deal.
Salwan 9810063891, 9810062871
VASANT KUNJ: Fully Fur. Very
spacious Flat 4 BHK,3rd floor
including entire terrace. Pocket-D
3&4, Full cheque, M.K #9810778950,
8587878745
PANCHSHEEL PARK
500 Yards 4BHK First Floor
Luxurious Flat Separate
Driveway. Ashish Sharma
9811996939
BUNGALOWS : GK 1000y Park Fac
Shanti Nktn 1000y Crnr/Park Facing
Kautilya Marg 1250yd N/East Facing
Sunder Ngr 867y N/East/Park facing
Ambica Properties(Rgd) 9810120612
F-77, KALKAJI, 200 yds. FF, 3 Bed,
3 Bath, DD, Lobby, N/East Park
face, 2 car Park, Also Floors, South
Delhi 200-1000 yds. Triplex,
Harendra 9910179904
NEHRU APT GF 3BRs cornr p/f 2.25
kothi Jngpura ext 200y best loc 11.75
CRPrk 160yGF,FF,SF,3br stilt lift 1.90
Shop CRPrk GF 165 ft.+indp toilet 1cr
9810017982, 9810364472, Bahlsons
THIRD FLOOR with Terrace, 3 Bed-
rooms with attached Bathrooms,
D/D, stilt car parking, lift, 7 yrs old,
near Deer park, Green Park Main.
# 9811151288, 9711923000
VASANTKUNJ SECTOR-C,
Pkt-2 Second Floor 2B/R converted
into 3 B/R, Corner, sun / park
facing for sale. Cont Sana Prop
Consultant # 9811162329
VASANT VIHAR 400 sqyds, FF
4BHK, 4 Baths, Park Facing, Brand
New Top Class construction. Best
Builder of South Delhi. Many more
Options. # R V Prop 9711996652
VASANT KUNJ Wanted /Available
C-8 B-2 B-5 B-8 GF, C-1 D-1 B-8
D-7 FF 3 bed S-A C-2 D-2 SF 2 bed
all f.hold Contact: Bhardwaj Asso.
# 9818223623, 9818223048
FLOORS: HAUZ Khas Enclave
600yards FF @7.50Cr. Panchsheel
Park FF 500yd @7.50Cr. Safdarjung
Enclave Facing Deer Park FF 500yd
@6.50Cr. Sanjay Malik 9810039071
SOUTH DELHI
VASANT VIHAR 800 Yds Ground & P'SHIL PRK 850y cnr ff 11cr;grn prk
Bsmt. ,600 yds FF Also 1000 &1200
Yd Floors. Westend /Shanti Niketan
800 & 1200 Yd Floors Dharamvir
9811059797, Rajiv 9810360339
DEFENCE COLONY: 217 & 325 Yds
Park Facing, N/E Facing Houses for
sale. Ready & In Booking Aptts. for
sale in 217 & 325 Yds, Park Facing,
N/e Facing. We Have More Options.
MUNIRKA DDA Flat, GF, F'hold,
3BHK, D/D, 2Bath, 2Kitchen, 1Study,
1Store, Near Metro & Munirka DDA
Crnr Shop 288sft, F'hold, Ideal Retail
/Rest./ATM. Owner 9811345676
FIRST FLOOR Top of Line Const.
200- 250 yds D/D, 3Beds, Stilt
Parking, Lift, SQ. SDA, Safd. Encl,
Sarvodaya, Sarvapriya. Grover &
Asso 9810173911,26961118, 26511118
EXCL FLOOR 3rd+Terrace : Def Col
325y Park fac; Jungpura 300y corner
P/f; Nizummdin (E) 200y P/f; Vasant
Vhr 425y Wide Rd; Safdarjung Encl
300y. Vintek Realtor 98714-17999
GULMOHAR PARK 500 Yds
Ready Possession, 1st Floor, 4 Beds,
D/D, Stilts Parkings, SQ, Exclusive
Fittings. Desraj- 98110-72035,
S. Kumar - 9811031558
4 STORIED 1000yds Kothi GK-I.
App 600yd Ist Flr. North Delhi Guest
House 800yd Rent 13 Lac. Deals
family settlement deals & Collabor-
ation.Neelam M.Sc.B.Ed 9873255806
CR PARK J-Blk adj GK2, 400y,corner
S.Flr 4 BR, 5 Bath,4 Balconies, S.Qtr,
Stilt 2 Car Park, Lift, FH, CC, North,
Front/Rear Park, 5.60 Chq Flexible.
Uppal 9650485053, 9910712365
SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE,
B-5/179, 240 Sq. Yd. North facing,
Vastu perfect, 1st floor 2 car parking
with Completion Certificate.
Hemender Sharma 9811078311
GREEN PARK / Safdarjung Enclave
500 - 300 - 200 Sq Yds, Newly
Built/Booking, All Floors with rich
specifications. Attractive Price.
Rajat Seth 9810877429
HINDUSTA N TIMES, NEW DELHI
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 , 2019
SOUTH DELHI
Ext 465y SF+TF@ 7.5/8.25; Hz Khas
Encl 600y G+B@8.5 & 500y Crnr all
Flrs; Mayfair Gdn 600y B+G+FF; SJE
285y P/F all Flrs. SR 999-999-6725
SDA BHIMNAGRI DDA-MIG Flat
for Sale, Freehold, Corner F.Flr 3
BHK, Natural Light & Ventilation,
Gated Security, Green Surroundings,
Ample Parking. Owner 9810040681
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
KOTHI DLF-2, 300sq.yd N.face. 5yr
old, Dlf-3 500sq.yd,new South City-1,
360sq.yd new, DLF-4, plot 500sq.yd.
mix pmnt,also avail all size plots flrs
Dlf 1,2,3,4 & S.city-1, # 8287939207
BUILDER FLOORS # 9810531753
Builder Floors in DLF-1,2,4. Builder
Floors in S. Lok- 1,2,3. Builder Floors
in South City-1,2. Builder Floors in
Greenwood City.
REPUTED BLDR floors lift, stilt
prkng, DLF/S.Lok, S.C-I 215y@1.30cr,
250y@1.5cr, 270y@1.75cr, 300y@
1.90cr, 500y@2.6cr Sabharwal
9810099173, 8750006668
CONFIRMED PLOTS in DLF PH
3:163y, 316y,400y & 500y .South
City-1:180y, 240y,360y,500y. Other
areas also available. Sabharwal
Asso. 8750006668, 9206050400
DLF SALE appts belaire,crest,summ
it,pinnacle,park place,Icon,hamilton,
Richmond, W'end,Trinity,MGF Vilas,
Heritage City, Mahindra Luminare,
M3M,Palm Springs, 98999 88 016
DLF-4 ORCHID Crescent Street
(5500 Series), 360 Syd., East Facing,
Excellent location @ reasonable
price. Star Shine 9910985500
UDYOG VHR 450 Mtr New Bldg,
Dharuhera 19 Acre on highway, Info
/Pace City, Sec 32/44. Also many
rented options. Urban: 9810010681,
8588860930, 9891080001
500 SQ yd plot,L-3 block, DLF Phase
II, perfect location for self use and
builder floors. R.P.1, DLF Phase-IV,
2 bedroom apartment, Higher floor.
# Vikas Sehgal-9811106006
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
NEW FLOORS 500 sq.yds DLF at
3.50. / 300 sq.yds DLF 2@2.70.
215 yds sl 1 @1.50 DLF 1 Plot
402 yard at 1.35 L per yard.
Jumbo Realty 9873760911.
PRE LEASED for sell Eros city
square 850,3500sqt Main road retail
shops Cyber park 3500sqt Axix
bank 953sqt Cont -9958878123
DLF CITY Ph-II, Bungalows -
4 BR Duplex (316) Facing Park,
3 Floors (200) 3 BR each For Sale.
Grace Consultant 8527933177
WANTED / Able 400/ 500 syd
plots/kothis in W-blk & Moulasri
Avanue/Rd DLF Ph-3. Also more
options in DLF-Ph-3. Sumindra
Prop 9810165528, 9810165532
FOR SALE South City-I area
502 Sq yd East Facing F Block
12 mtr Wide Road @ 7 Cr. Broker
excuse. Cont: 9999769990,
9999756083
1.20 CR only 215yds 2nd flr with terr.
Dlf Ph-2, 300yds 2nd flr with roof dlf
ph-2 brand new @1.65cr, New floor
300yds flr 4bhk E fac. B-Block SL-1@
Reasonable price # 9667169203
RENTED INVESTMENT to
Axis, HDFC, SBI, RBL, ICICI, Minda,
LG, Google, Samsung-Investment
1.5Cr-9Cr Bharat Kalra 9990344406
DLF GARDEN City Sector 90
E-Block Plot 270 Sq.Yds Also
DLF New Town Heights 2727 Sq.ft.
3 BHK N- Tower Sale. Sunil (GK-1)
9810040488 Ph 41041438
DISTRESS DLF 1 Sale 150 & 109yd
200Yd park fcng plot & 300Yd DLF 1
Villa Golf Crse Rd Direct access &
500Yd NE Crnr plt. Broker excuse
Chirag Estate 9871733233
DLF-IV 270Y north@ 125k, 360y
north/ corner@135k . 316 east
garden Villa, 500y north/gated .
Sabharwal9810099171, 9810303098
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
SAT URDAY, SE PT E MB E R 14, 2 01 9
How realty funds burnt a hole in investors’ pockets
VARIETY Apart from physically buying a flat or land, you can invest in
the real estate asset through instruments like NCDs, AIFs or REITs
Neil Borate
n neil.b@htlive.com
It all begins with a smooth pitch
delivered either at your home or
in an expensive café. You are
reminded about the high returns
that real estate has given over
the years, then you are told that
you can invest in the asset
through funds, which will give
you the advantage of accessing a
diversified basket of properties
and the fund manager expertise.
Finally, the deal is clinched by
dangling returns, usually
around 12-15% annualized and
sometimes higher. However, in
most cases, the investors ended
up with a loss.
REAL ESTATE FUNDS
The Aditya Birla Real Estate
Fund I, which was launched in
2010, raised ₹1,055 crore in 2010
and returned a total of ₹969 crore
over its lifetime, which ended on
31 August 2019. This translates to
a loss of 8%. However, the money
was raised in stages from 2010 to
2015 and it also paid back in sta-
ges with the first payments start-
ing in 2010 itself; as a result, its
internal rate of return comes to
about -2.5%.The ticket size for
investors at the time of launch
was ₹25 lakh. The Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Sebi)
has since raised the minimum
ticket size for alternative invest-
ment funds (AIFs), another
instrument that allows you to
invest in real estate, to ₹1 crore
Blackstone’s realty investments are Mumbai’s
residential location in primary market
poised to cross $6 bn this year
Madhurima Nandy
n madhurima.n@htlive.com
BENGALURU: Blackstone Group
Lp’s property investments in the
country are set to cross the
$6-billion mark this year, even as
the global private equity firm
plans to diversify into the logis-
tics sector.
Last week, Blackstone and
developer partner Salarpuria
Sattva bought the 100-acre
Global Village Technology Park
in Bengaluru for ₹2,800 crore
(around $390 million) from Cof-
fee Day Enterprises Ltd. Of this,
Blackstone’s share of invest-
ment is around $275 million.
As of March, Blackstone had
committed around $5.4 billion in
real estate assets in India, of
which $4 billion is in office assets
alone. Since then, it has bought
the ‘One BKC’ office building in
Mumbai for ₹2,500 crore, and is
working on a couple of large pur-
chases including an office tower
in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Com-
plex for ₹1,900 crore from Adani
Realty and the remaining 51%
stake in Indiabulls Real Estate
Ltd’s (IBREL) for ₹4,800 crore.
More stress for NBFCs due
to loan repayment deadline
Shayan Ghosh
n shayan.g@htlive.com
MUMBAI: The commercial real
estate loan portfolio of non-
banking financial companies
(NBFCs) could see stress build-
ing up from January, with
around ₹70,000 crore of these
loans coming up for staggered
repayment, according to credit
rating agency India Ratings and
Research.
As of now, only the interest
component of these loans is
being serviced, and the principal
will start coming up for repay-
ment only from quarter four of
fiscal year 2020.
According to an analysis by
India Ratings, close to 70% of
builder loans on the books of
NBFCs are under principal mor-
atorium. Pankaj Naik, associate
director of financial institutions
at India Ratings, said the out-
standing commercial real estate
loans by banks, NBFCs and
housing finance companies
(HFCs) stood at ₹6 trillion in
FY19, of which ₹1 trillion was
from NBFCs. He estimated that
70% of this ₹1 trillion will come
up for staggered repayment from
Q4 FY20.
“Lot of these NBFC loans to
real estate developers carry a
(principal) moratorium of 18-24
months. Technically, a large
part this lending has happened
in FY18 and in the first half of
FY19. If the same kind of refi-
nancing pressure is there, which
is prevalent in the market, then
but this is no guarantee that such
a performance will not be
repeated. Wealthier investors
are not necessarily adept at eval-
uating complex investment pro-
posals. “I was approached by
Aditya Birla Money in 2010. I’m
not sure how they got my contact
details. They pitched me this
product saying I would get
access to real estate at a low
ticket size. I wanted to invest to
buy a house and I thought I
would get ₹50 lakh (from a ₹25
lakh investment) after the six-
year term of the fund,” said
Dinesh Sharma, 40, a shipping
industry executive who invested
in the fund. “However, the fund
managers kept changing and
they kept extending the life of the
fund. Now, I will be thankful if I
get back anything at all,” he
added.
Something similar happened
with Unitech CIG Realty Fund II,
a fund managed by Unitech
Advisors (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Launched in 2007, its original
tenure was seven years. How-
ever, it extended its tenure to
nine years and then to 12 years as
it became difficult for it to exit
projects it had invested in. As the
extended deadline approached,
it set out an almost desperate let-
ter to investors on 16 July 2019
with two options. The first was
that investors could opt for
immediate liquidation which
would be a distress sale. The sec-
ond was to opt for “in-specie” dis-
tribution of assets which would
Tardeo is India’s costliest
n 2019 has been a significant year for Blackstone in India
With these transactions, it is
poised to well cross the $6 billion
mark this year.
2019 has been a significant
year for the New York-based
investor in India with multiple
deals, including the country’s
first real estate investment trust
(REIT). It is also planning its sec-
ond REIT with developer part-
ner K Raheja Corp. as a minority
partner.
“Blackstone had taken early
bets in office assets and enjoyed
there could be serious asset qual-
ity challenges which can come
for lot of these lenders,” said
Naik, adding there may be more
of asset sales to meet this repay-
ment schedule.
The credit rating agency on
Monday cut its growth forecast
for NBFCs from 15% to 10-12% in
FY20, besides revising its sector
outlook from stable to negative.
It cited funding challenges and
slowdown in economic activity,
which is evident from the fall in
auto sales, slowdown in rural
infra activity and the challenges
faced by small and medium
enterprises (SME). India Ratings
said it has also maintained its
negative outlook on large-ticket
HFCs.
India Ratings expects overall
profitability to moderate across
the industry, as the rise in fund-
ing costs and falling lending
opportunities would lead to
increased margin pressure. The
ability to partially pass on the
increase in funding cost to retail
borrowers also remains con-
strained due to subdued demand,
it added.
“Most NBFCs have been fac-
ing funding challenges post the
credit crisis in September 2018,
and though the funding costs
have softened, they remain
higher than the costs prevailing
a year ago. With the funding
tightness being accompanied by
possible asset-side headwinds in
light of slowing demand, NBFCs
have been grappling with a dou-
ble whammy,” it added.
be the equity and debt of private
limited or closely held compa-
nies involved in projects. In
effect, investors could either
take on the loss from the sale of
projects the fund had invested in
or be straddled with debt and
equity investments in compa-
nies of the projects, with no visi-
bility on returns. This would
give investors a minuscule stake
in non-listed entities with no
board seats or special rights, the
letter pointed out.
Similarly, Piramal Indiareit
V, which was launched in 2013
and was set to expire in 2019,
extended its term to 31 August
2020.
A letter from the fund to inves-
tors announced that it was una-
ble to exit six out of the 10 pro-
jects it had invested in. The letter
cited reasons ranging from delay
in government approvals and
land acquisition, to drop in land
prices and slowdown in the sec-
tor (read).
“My bank’s relationship man-
ager sold me this scheme in 2013,
saying I would get 13% returns. I
had to invest ₹25 lakh. The fund
had a six-year term which could
be extended by two years. So far
they’ve returned 55% of my
money,” said an investor, who is
a retired individual and declined
to be named.
Yet another fund, IDFC Real
Estate Yield Fund, is unable to
exit two out of the eight projects
it invested in and has extended
its term to 2021.
BLOOMBERG
the first-mover advantage and a
long run. It has adopted the part-
nership route in India, collabo-
rating with regional developers.
The challenge in the partnership
model is, however, managing
partner aspirations and expecta-
tions as investment portfolios
expand over time,” said Sha-
shank Jain, partner, transaction
services, PwC India. Blackstone
signed its first real estate trans-
action in India in 2008, but
started buying office assets only
Hiranandani plans ₹2,000 cr Altico misses interest payment,
investment in warehousing biz underlining stress in realty market
Madhurima Nandy
madhurima.n@htlive.com
n n
BENGALURU: Hiranandani Group
plans to invest around ₹2,000
crore in its warehousing vertical
“GreenBase” over the next year
to scale up the business, said top
company executives.
The Mumbai-based group
may eventually list the income
generating assets through an
investment trust, the executives
said.
Hiranandani said on Thurs-
day that it will build a wind tur-
bine park and warehousing facil-
ity for wind turbine maker Ves-
tas India at Oragadam, Chennai.
The 500,000 square feet (sq. ft)
facility will be built on 23 acres
and would be the first under the
new vertical. This facility would
be part of a 115-acre industrial
and logistics park, housed in the
mixed-use integrated township
Hiranandani Parks in Ora-
gadam.
GreenBase’s operating model
is to develop built-to-suit indus-
trial facilities and warehouses,
and cold storage facilities on a
long-term leasehold contract for
customers and large third-party
logistics, or 3PL, firms.
“The objective is to create a
new platform and profit centre,
and close the first few transac-
tions with companies, and start
building the facilities,” Niranjan
Hiranandani, co-founder and
managing director, Hiranandani
Group, said in an interview.
n AIFs are more diversified but they have a minimum ticket size of ₹1 crore
HT-Mint reached out to each
of the real estate funds men-
tioned above on email but got no
response from three of them. The
fourth, Investcorp issued the fol-
lowing statement through their
spokesperson,”In a tough mar-
ket environment, we have
already exited most of the portfo-
lio and distributed around 1x
back to the investors. For the two
remaining investments as well,
we are in the process of closing
transactions with incoming
developers to take over those
projects. On account of market
conditions and to ensure value
maximization for investors, we
decided to extend the fund life till
May 2021. As always, protecting
in 2011.
A Blackstone spokesperson
declined to comment.
Close on the heels of Black-
stone is Canada’s Brookfield
Asset Management Inc., which
in less than five years, has assets
under management (AUM) of $4
billion in India, and a commer-
cial office portfolio of nearly 30
million sq. ft.
There is also Singapore gov-
ernment’s GIC Pte Ltd, which
has committed nearly $4-5 bil-
lion in real estate here. While
Brookfield believes in a 100%
owned platform and functions as
an investor-developer, GIC is a
typical patient, growth capital
provider.
Having invested in office, resi-
dential and shopping malls in the
country, Blackstone is now plan-
ning to look at logistics and
warehousing opportunities, said
a person familiar with the plans,
who didn’t wish to be named.
In June, Blackstone said it is
buying industrial warehouse
properties from Singapore’s
GLP Pte for $18.7 billion adding
logistics is currently its highest
conviction global investment
INDUSTRIAL REAL
ESTATE IS FAST
EMERGING AS THE GO-TO
CLASS FOR DEVELOPERS
AND INVESTORS IN INDIA,
“Apart from these locations
where we already own land and
are building the infrastructure,
we are also looking for other
locations like Bhiwandi, Ahmed-
abad, Hoskote (in Bengaluru)
and NCR (national capital
region). Availability of land is
not an issue but we are looking
for strategic parcels which can
generate bigger opportunities
for the business.”
Besides Oragadam, Hiranan-
dani has around 250 acres in Tal-
egaon, near Pune, and another 77
acres in Nashik.
Industrial real estate is fast
emerging as the go-to class for
developers and investors in
India, driven by the e-commerce
and consumption sectors and
aided by the government’s
“Make in India” initiative and
the roll out of the goods and ser-
vices tax (GST).
Logistics leasing grew 31% on
a yearly basis, crossing 13 mil-
lion sq. ft, according to an August
report titled India Industrial and
Logistics Market View, H1 2019
by property advisory CBRE
South Asia Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai,
Chennai and Bengaluru com-
prised more than 60% of leasing
the interests of our investors is
paramount.” While we have
picked out four real estate funds
that are in trouble, there may be
others that may be facing similar
problems.
These funds seem to have
selected poor projects and
underestimated the impact of
factors such as delay in govern-
ment approvals, lack of trans-
parency and poor accountability
of developers.
Evaluating these factors was
the expertise that the investors
were expecting fund managers
to bring to the table. This was
compounded by the slowdown in
the real estate sector as it dealt
with the effects of demonetiza-
theme.
“...Given the competition for
core office assets from global
sovereign and pension funds, it’s
only a matter of time before
investors like Blackstone start
betting heavily on newer asset
classes like industrial and data
centres. Also, given the excess
liquidity situation in Asia
Pacific, many core investors will
change their return expectations
and move up the risk curve.
However, in the short run, we see
the Indian market lacking the
depth to absorb the global vol-
ume of capital chasing core
assets,” said Ramesh Nair, CEO
and country head, JLL India.
Blackstone has also evolved
its investment strategy.
After deploying capital
mainly in core or operational
assets, it is also eyeing brown-
field deals with development
potential. The Global Village
acquisition is one such deal,
where there is an operational IT
park but the land also has 5 mil-
lion sq. ft of development scope,
which will be executed by its
partner Salarpuria Sattva
Group.
activity.
“...As technology permeates
the sector, demand for quality
space is increasing and corpo-
rates across segments are opting
for large, modern warehouses.
Advances in technology, partic-
ularly automation, will continue
to enhance the specifications
and operations of logistics
assets, thereby pushing older,
inferior-grade properties down
the demand pyramid,” the CBRE
report said.
Embassy Office Parks, which
launched India’s first real estate
investment trust or REIT earlier
this year, has performed well
while the response to infrastruc-
ture investment trusts (InvIT)
has been a mixed bag so far.
“...We are targeting close to 12
million sq. ft over the next five to
seven years. This portfolio is a
good yield asset class, which
most probably will be available
for retail participation through a
REIT/InvIT platform,” said N.
Shridhar, group director and
chief executive, infrastructure
(industrial and logistics), at Hir-
anandani Group.
Over the years, the group has
diversified from being just a real
estate developer, into newer
businesses. The company said in
July that it will invest ₹1,000
crore to develop its first data cen-
tre building as part of an inte-
grated township that the com-
pany is currently developing at
Panvel in the outskirts of Mum-
bai
MINT/FILE
tion and liquidity conditions and
the disruption caused by regula-
tory reforms such as the Real
Estate (Regulation and Develop-
ment) Act, 2016 and the goods
and services tax (GST).
Sajeev Chandiramani,
national director - capital mar-
kets at Knight Frank India, a real
estate consultant firm, said the
real estate funds in distress
invested in the years before
RERA Act was passed, at a time
when there were challenges per-
taining to transparency, govern-
ance and financial discipline
among developers.
HOW ELSE TO INVEST
Apart from physically buying a
Press Trust of India
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: South Mumbai’s Tar-
deo is India’s costliest residen-
tial location, commanding a
staggering ₹56,000 per sq ft aver-
age rate for homes available in
the primary real estate market,
according to property consult-
ant Anarock.
Worli and Mahalaxmi in
Mumbai Metropolitan Region
(MMR) are placed at the second
and third positions with average
housing prices of ₹41,500 and
₹40,000 per sq ft, respectively.
Anarock has compiled a list of
the top 10 most expensive resi-
dential locations in India in the
primary market that consists of
new properties launched by
builders and excludes resale
ones.
“South Mumbai’s Tardeo is
India’s most expensive residen-
tial location in the primary resi-
dential real estate market. Prop-
erty here comes with an astro-
nomical price tag of INR 56,200
per sq ft,” Anarock chairman
Anuj Puri said.
Tardeo, also known as Tardeo
Road, is a very prominent resi-
dential and commercial location
in South Mumbai.
It enjoys excellent connectiv-
ity and is largely self-sufficient
Swaraj Singh Dhanjal
swaraj.d@htlive.com
MUMBAI: Altico Capital India Ltd,
a lender to real estate companies,
said it has defaulted on interest
payments worth ₹19.9 crore due
to Mashreq Bank of Dubai, high-
lighting the rising stress in
India’s cash-starved property
market.
The interest payment default
occurred on a principal of ₹340
crore, Altico said in a stock
exchange filing on Thursday.
This, the company added, may
lead to further defaults down the
line. The company has a total out-
standing debt of ₹4,361.55 crore.
“Our failure to repay the
amounts set out above may result
in an acceleration of interest
repayment/redemption obliga-
tions in respect of non-converti-
ble debt securities issued by us
and may trigger a default in their
timely repayments. We are evalu-
ating options for resolving the
liquidity crisis and will be engag-
ing in discussions with various
stakeholders for the same,” the
lender said. Interestingly, one of
Altico’s lenders includes cele-
brated e-commerce entrepreneur
Sachin Bansal.
The Flipkart co-founder
invested ₹250 crore in non-con-
vertible debentures issued by
Altico in February.
The default by Altico follows a
rating downgrade and the resig-
nation of its chairperson and
independent director Naina Lal
hindustantimes
www.facebook.com/htestates
flat or land which comes with its
own problems, you can invest in
the asset through non-converti-
ble debentures (NCDs), AIFs or
real estate investment trusts
(REITs).
NCDs: They provide very low-
ticket sizes at high interest rates,
but are extremely risky and
undiversified.
AIFs: They are more diversi-
fied but they have a minimum
ticket size of ₹1 crore and can dif-
fer widely based on the quality of
the fund manager. “Sebi has stip-
ulated a minimum ticket size of
₹1 crore in AIFs but has not put
in sufficient regulations on
diversification and transpar-
ency,” said Amol Joshi, founder,
Plan Rupee Financial Services.
“People with large incomes and
the ability to invest aren’t neces-
sarily financially savvy. There is
nothing to stop such debacles
from occurring again,” he added.
However, some wealth man-
agers continue to be bullish on
AIFs. “The rental yields in some
real estate segments like com-
mercial and co-living are quite
attractive,” said Prateek Pant,
co-founder and head products at
Sanctum Wealth Management.
“We recommend REITS and
AIFs after looking at the yield
and pedigree of the asset man-
ager—the ability of the institu-
tion to manage the fund well. A
tenor of five to seven years for
such a fund is suitable,” he said.
Sajeev Chandiramani identi-
fied co-living and student hous-
ing projects as attractive areas
for investment. “A high net-
worth investor (HNI) looking at
such a real estate fund should
with high-grade educational and
healthcare institutions as well as
hotels and fine dining restau-
rants easily available, the report
said.
Chennai’s Nungambakkam
ranks fourth with an average
price of ₹18,000 per sq ft, while
Egmore ranks fifth with ₹15,100
per sq ft rate.
Anna Nagar is at the seventh
place with price of ₹13,000 per sq
ft.
Delhi’s Karol Bagh is at the
sixth position with average price
of ₹13,500 per sq ft, while the Golf
Course Road in Gurugram, Har-
yana is ranked ninth carrying an
average price tag of ₹12,500 per sq
ft.
These two localities in the
national capital region (Delhi-
NCR) recorded an aggregate sup-
ply of 5,630 units since 2013 till
date.
Pune’s Koregaon Park ranks
eighth on the list, while Alipore
in Kolkata comes in at the tenth
spot.
The average prices for luxury
homes in these two micro-mar-
kets are ₹12,500 and ₹11,800 per sq
ft, respectively.
Limited land supply and mod-
erate construction pipelines
drive prices high in these loca-
tions.
Anarock added that no locali-
n Altico chairperson Naina L Kidwai stepped down this month MINT/FILE
Kidwai, former head of HSBC
India, earlier this month.
On 3 September, India Ratings
and Research downgraded Altico
Capital’s long-term issuer rating
to “IND A+” from “IND AA-” and
short-term issuer rating to “IND
A1” from “IND A1+”, with a nega-
tive outlook.
“The operating environment
for real estate players has become
extremely challenging, with the
tepid sales velocity of residential
units, especially in the mid- and
higher ticket segments, and the
funding crunch faced by the sec-
tor, given the heightened risk
aversion of lenders. Dampening
of sales has been higher for Tier II
and Tier III developers (exclud-
ing the top 15 developers in the
industry), who are the target cus-
tomers for NBFCs,” the rating
agency noted.
The tightened liquidity has
also resulted in shrinkage of bor-
rowing options for the develop-
ers, leading to lower portfolio
churn, and hence, increased chal-
21
look at the background and spon-
sor of the fund, corporate gov-
ernance, diversification
between residential and com-
mercial real estate and delivery.
He should also look at the overall
financial health of the developer,
rather than just the project being
funded. Greenfield projects
should be avoided for now,” he
said.
REITs: These are the most reg-
ulated of the three options. They
have to invest at least 80% of
their assets in completed com-
mercial properties and are man-
dated to distribute 90% of their
cash flows. In April, Sebi low-
ered the minimum ticket size for
investing in them from ₹2 lakh to
₹50,000.
However, they suffer a tax dis-
advantage. Since they are pass-
through vehicles, the rent and
interest rate earned by them is
taxed in the hands of the inves-
tors. Only one REIT has listed so
far giving you very little choice
in terms of products. You should
ideally wait for more REITs to be
listed and the industry to
mature. That said, if you really
wish to invest in real estate, a
REIT is the least risky option
among the alternatives you
have.
Regardless of the product you
are shown, ask a few basic ques-
tions: What type of projects or
properties will the fund be
investing in? Is it taking any
measures to reduce risk? What is
the fee or commission the dis-
tributor and the fund manager
will earn? Above all, remember
that a return figure mentioned
orally has no value.
ties in Bengaluru or Hyderabad
figured in the top 10 list.
“Even as India’s middle-class
grapples with the prospect of an
uncertain future in their careers
and financial ability - the main
drivers of housing demand - the
rise of India’s super-rich contin-
ues unabated,” Puri said.
Quoting a Credit Suisse
report, the consultant said there
were an estimated 3.42 lakh dol-
lar-millionaires in India as on
mid-2018 who collectively held
around USD 6 trillion.
It is forecast that 5.26 lakh
Indian dollar millionaires’
wealth will be around USD 8.8
trillion by 2023.
“Market fluctuations make
very little difference to the per-
sonal net worth of these individ-
uals,” Puri said.
In India, as in the rest of the
world, super-luxury housing
remains largely insulated from
median real estate and economic
dynamics, he added.
“Buyers in this housing cate-
gory, coming from both ‘old’ and
‘new’ money, remain personally
wealthy despite ups and downs
in their businesses or the econ-
omy at large. The country’s most
aspirational and expensive loca-
tions are their exclusive play-
grounds,” explained Puri about
posh neighbourhoods.
lenges on asset quality, it added.
“Altico’s loan book ( ₹6,900
crore in June 2019) has exposure
to real estate developers, many of
whom have weak and stretched
credit profiles,” said India Rat-
ings.
Some of Altico’s real estate
exposures include a ₹570 crore
investment in Assetz Property
Group and a plotted development
project of Century Real Estate
Holdings, a ₹120 crore investment
in an affordable housing project
being developed by the Century
group, and ₹650 crore debt financ-
ing to Mumbai-based warehouse
and industrial park Renaissance
Industrial Smart City, according
to the lender’s website.
Altico Capital chief executive
Sanjay Grewal said in an 8
August interview that the NBFC
plans to expand into housing
finance and that it is in talks to
acquire a retail lending portfolio
from housing finance companies
including Reliance Home
Finance Ltd.
22 | PROPERTY/TO-LET
PROPERTY
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FOR SALE DLF-1, 300 sq.yds. Newly
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RENTED PROP. Sale in Weldone
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CONFIRM_DEALS 125Y /S.Lok-2
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Sell All Sizes (Vacant /pre Leased).
Grace Consultant 98-715-33177
SALE DLF-I Area 502 sq yd East
Facing A block @ 6.50 Cr only
genuine buyers, brokers excuse.
Cont: 9873068888, 8743068888
PRE-RENTED MNC / Shops /
Bank Golf Crs. /Ext. / MG /Sohna Rd.
R.O.I. - 6% to 9% Budget - 50L to 10
Cr Details @ 98117-06261
CENTRAL PARK-2 and Suncity
Golf Course 1870, 2540, 2660
and 3931 Sq.Ft. For Sale.
Visit: gurgaonassets.com
Call: 99115 77892, 97185 90000.
BAANI SQUARE, Sector-50,
2 Adjoining Shops For Rent or
Sale. Contact owner -9810007353
DLF ALAMEDA Plots Avlble at Best PLOTS FOR sale DLF Ph-1 & 2 L-blk
Location-250/538/700 sqyrd St.-A1,
A5,A8,B2,B3,B4,C2,C3,D2,D4, D1,D8
North/East&Park.57k P.S.ydonwards
Sabharwal 9811196453/9811196843
LUXURY 1ST Floor L-4/5 , DLF-2,
300 yds. East facing, 3BHK , Lift,
Italian Marble, Split AC, Car Park
and SQ on Stilt. Peaceful Location.
Owner 9871345678
PLOT FOR sale : Ansal Esencia
Sec-67 of 300 syd, E blk, East
facing & Vipul World, Sohna Rd
571 syd, corner of 12M X 18 M,
north facing. Owner: 9318335031
OFFICE @ gurugr.am Nirvana
Courtyard, 1241 Sq ft, Nirvana
Country, Low Maintenance Build-
ing, for sale. 98110 30365.
FOR SALE Plots, Villas & Floors
SL-3, 500yd 30mtr for Guest House,
418yd 30mtr, 500yd 18mtr, 300yd
North Facing. Legend Villa 1000 &
430yds #9810010295, 9971794295.
DESPERATE FLR 316yds Top Flr
Sale 4Br with roof Dlf Ph-2@1.50cr,
400 yds flr Brand New K-Blk@best
price, 500yds brand new Flr J-Block
luxury Very high end #9810405585
DLF-2, 5 BHK beautifully well
maintained livable Kothi Excellent
location 300/ 400 yds attractive
price, also Luxury Floors options.
Contact 9810456475
DLF PH2 300sqyds brand new flr wi-
se kothi best price, 300yds house Dlf
Ph-2 E-facing M-Block@4.75, 215yds
Plot Dlf-2 crnr E-facing gated Block
best loc@Plot rate # 8800784380
SUSHANT LOK-I, DLF Luxurious
Builder Flrs: 215 yd@1.35Cr+( with
terrace/ 300yd@1.80Cr+/ 418yd
@2.40Cr+, Stilts, Lift, near metro,
North & East facing. 9911441118
682yd single & pair East facing, C,
G&H blk 500yd corner north park &
many more options of 250,300 yd.
Call Pearl Estate 9873434057
GOLF COURSE Rd. Aptts For
Sale- Aralias (5800) Best Interiors /
Views, La Lagune (4/5BR Aptts. &
Penthouse.), DLF Crest (3100/3500).
Grace Consultant 98-715-33177
PLOT 300YDS K-10 lane Gated Rd
Dlf Ph-2,300sqyds plot M-blk Dlf Ph-
2@1.55/sq.yds 500sq.yds plot Dlf Ph
1@1.25/sq.yds 270yds Dlf Ph-4 ga-
ted lane Rare option # 9717626999
ESENCIA / Versalia(500fmly living)
182yd@52,750/-96L,270yd@45 000
1.21cr,300yd@70,000/-2.10 cr502yd
@55,000/-2.65cr,1112yd@38,000/-
4.23cr Rajesh kakkar 9811283184
HOTEL PLOTS Wanted /
Available on Main Sector Road.
Sector - 45 / 46 / 51 / 52 / 47.
Cont. Deep Prop 9810444293,
9582824041, 9810040553
KOTHIS DUPLEX /Floorwise
DLF-I/II/IV Sushant Lok-I, South
City-I 215yd@3cr, 300yd@4cr,
360yd@5.25cr, 500yd@6.25cr,
1000yd@14cr, Kakkar 9811541211
DLF-2 500YD villa @1.65k
per yd plot rate, owner occupied,
modern ready to occupy. call
owner: 9599943934,
9810842075
EMPIRE FLOORS for Sale at S.L-3,
Ultra Luxury D-55/300 sq.yd/ 2100
sq.ft/ 3BHK+SRK/ Complete Italian
marble/ Modular kitchen/ 3 Parking
each floor fully AC. Cont: 9911197111
PLOTS SLOK-1 813/502 yd park
facing gated peacefull location Nr
MG rod & Metro Station, 418/300
west facing gated B-Blk Sabharwal
Asso. 9958492130, 9810303098
FARIDABAD
FOR SALE in pinnacle tower Suraj
Kund Taj Vivanta Faridabad Area for
lease- 3000 to 10,000 Sq.Ft. Decent
Brokerage will be Paid Ajay Arora -
9810075973
SALE RUNNING PG Income Upto 2
lacs PM@3.50 Core/N.E. crnr 570sq.
yds.Plot in Sec-46 Fbd.,B'ment , GF/
FF/SF, 24 Rooms, Bath attached,
# 9810996360, 9810960 360
ASHOKA ENCLAVE, Sector-37
Plots & New Floors size 200/250/
350/450 syd with Stilt Pkng/Lift/
Bank Loan. Buy/Sell in BPTP # Vijay
Const. Co 9891188853, 9810030711.
FARIDABAD HUDA Sectors, 14,
15, 16, 17, 19, 28, 29, 30, 31, 21A, 21B,
21C 21D, 45, 46 Plots, Kothies, Floors
Sunil Properties 199/ 21C # 98100-
18730, 9810483108, 0129-4041874
GHAZIABAD
FOR RENT on company lease Pref
mnc couple First Floor one room flat
at Shalimar Garden. PNG, simply
furnished, AC. Cont 9818560981
GURUGRAM
FOR SALE 600/900 Sqyds plots on
NH-8, Sec-15 part-2,Chandan Nagar
Near JMD Pacific Square & MVL
Towers most suitable for Builder
Floors & PG Hostels. # 9958206239.
MAPLE HEIGHT, C-Block, Sushant
Lok Phase-1, Gurugram, Available
2 Bedrooms attach bath, D/D,
1 Car Parking space. Immediate
Sale. # 9810034566, 9810062871
PRE RENTED Prop, Infinity E
services at Spaze Boulevard soh-
na Rd. Ggn. Fresh Lease, 5 yr lock
In, Rent 71000 per month, Price
1.13 Cr. Vikas Batra 9650666431
AVAILABLE FOR Sale: Espace 240
duplex, East facing, Park facing.
Aspen Greens 240 duplex, Espace
360 sq yd plot, North facing.
Woodstock floor, Nirvana Country:
plot size: 600 sq yds, First Floor, 4
bedroom +sq, beautifully furnished,
2550 sq ft, North facing, corner.
Contact: Vikas Sehgal 9811106006
RENTED COMMERCIAL
Property Available at Main
M.G. Road, Contact Owner :
9910054918 / 9899802303
GURGAON 31 Sec Huda Plot for
sale 263sqyd,Nrth face exc.Loc. bro-
ker ex. proposal for sale/exchg agst
200-250sqyd flr with pkg, lift Sunder
Vhr, Paschim Vhr N.Del 9013444397
SALE JOINTLY or Individually 2
Adjoining Shops at Galleria Mkt. DLF
PH-IV, 607 & 528 sft. Suitable for
Corporate Buyers Cont. Deepak
9811071565, Ashutosh 9811115891.
RAJASTHAN
NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA
UPSIDC SITE-V, Greater noida
Sale/ Purchase 450, 600, 800 mtr.
Industrial functional shed.
Contact: Unique Propmart
Pvt.Ltd. , 9811227960
INDUSTRIAL PLOT for sale in
Noida size 8000 -15,000 Mtr. Broker
excuse. Contact: 08800115194
1200 SQMT institutional/Part com-
mercial Plot in Alfa 2, Gr. Noida, 2
side open, 14000 sqft construction.
Good for Banks, ATM, Primary
School etc. Contact: 9873441279.
JAYPEE WISHTOWN Buy /Sell
Plots/Flats Golf & KP-1 & KP-2 153,
209, 239, 299, 358, 418, 538 Sq
yards. Kalypso, Imperial, Pavilion
Court at good price 9810627458
PEARL GATEWAY Towers Sec-44,
Noida, 3165 Sq.Ft., 4 BHK+S.Qtr,
Centrally AC, Modular Kitchen, 6th
Flr, Jacuzzi, Swimming Pool, Gym.
Owner Miglani 9891189090
OWNER SALE 4000 industrial plot
in Sec-63 Co. Trs & 450 N/E on 24
Mtr Road Residential plots in high-
way Sec-92 & 300mtr in Sec-44,
Noida # 9811701783 & 9810170178.
SALE INDUSTRIAL plots / factory
800/1000/1800 to 5000sqm sec 63/
64 800/1000/2000 sec 83/ Housery
2100/4000 sec 138/140 &4000 sqm
sec 90 #Venus prop 999-999-2929
FLAT 3115SQFT ATS One Hamlet
4BR DD Lounge SQ lower flr,
Prateek Ediffice 3BR DD 2070sqft
& with ext balcony 7th flr. call:
9999643654, 9811342575
FOR SALE Plot measuring 375 sq.
mtr Park facing in Noida Sector-56,
located in fully developed gated
colony. Contact: 9811065103,
9999256408, 011- 24626365
GURUGRAM
NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA
SECTOR-122, FOR sale Plot
Size - 112 mtr and 300 mtr.
Completion. Reasonable price.
Contact ASA Services - 9871800565
FOR SALE 4000 Mtr. Industrial
Plot buildup area 62,000 sqft. in
Sector-8, Noida. Good location.
Also kothis/plots avail.
# 9810080184, 9958797390
SALE IT corporate plots 1000/
2000/4000/5000 & 5 acre to
10 acre sec 125/127/132/136
& 142 on main expressway.
Cont Venus prop 999-999-2929
SECTOR-105, FOR sale Plot
Size - 112 mtr and 200 mtr.
Completion. Reasonable price.
Contact ASA Services - 9871800565
GR. NOIDA, YEA Buy/Sell, Chi-Phi ,
Alpha,Beta,Gama,Delta,Eta S. Nagri,
P3, Sigma, Omicron, MU, XU,
Sec-2,3,36,37& Deals in all Industrial
# 9891008515
DEHRADUN
SCHOOL FOR sale in heart of
DEHRADUN city. CBSE Affiliated
running school for sale with more
than 700 students and all facilities.
Cont-9897552677
NAINITAL
PLOTS IN Nainital (Nr.-Mukteshwar)
with Himalaya view front, 240 sq.
yds freehold Plots only@5 Lac, Reg-
istry & Possession, Call-8586867070
www.plotsinnainital.com
GOA
PORTUGUESE ANTIQUE villa
for immediate sale near Mapusa,
Goa. Clear Title, for details Call :
7350517616 / 9881781578
TOLET
EAST DELHI
TOLET
WEST DELHI
FOR RENT/ Lease Vikaspuri C-Block
2nd Floor, 2 BR, 2 Baths, 2 Balcony,
D/D, Kitchen. Service Class &
Small Family Only. # 9899759030,
9891098481, 011-28546772.
MAYAPURI ENCLAVE, Exclnt loctn
2 Bed, D/D, 2 bath with Roof right 3rd
Floor sufficient parking Close to Mrkt,
Well Secured, Reasonable Rent. Cont
Owner 9810304964 / 9810707212
NEWLY BUILT Bldg. @ Udyog
Nagar Indl area (Peeragarhi chowk)
50,000 sq.ft with Car / Goods lift
& Passenger Lift for Office / Ware-
housing / Factory. #9810167894
PUSA ROAD Commercial Space
GF 5000+B’ment 5000 sqft Carpet
Area. Brand New Modern Building,
Ample Parking, Suits Banks, Retail
Showroom, Jewelers, Restaurants,
MNC’s etc. Donna Est 9811103839
CENTRAL DELHI
SOUTH DELHI
GK-1 M block Market 900 sqft
Basement for Rent suitable retail
showroom/ office/beauty salon,
Contact- 9811156496, 9911156496
R-187 GREATER Kailash-1, 208yds
Fully Furnished 2 Beds att. Baths D/D
Third Floor + Lift & Terrace. vacated
by Diplomats Suits Diplomats,
Foreigner # 9811016504, 26484445
EAST KAILASH Office Space,
1500, beautifully Design, Reception,
Conference, M.D. Room, Pantry, 12
work station, power back up, metro
station 50 mtr., Kamal Kishore :
8700479680, 9650657766.
COMMERCIAL DEF. Colony Main
Road, 325Yd, 3 Side Crnr, Lift, Power
Back up, GF/FF/SF, Excellent Loc.,
Huge Signage. Suits Showroom,
Bank. Purri Realtors 9811015635
OKHLA PH-1, Indpt New Building,
35000 sft @ Rs 40/- Wide Rd, Ample
car pkg, Suits IT, Logi, Med Lab, Corp
Auto / Electronics Service Centre etc
Sanjeev 8368757652 Brokers excuse
D 185 Okhla Ph-I,Main Rd,3 Side
corner, B'ment / G.F 6500 each
Fully Frnsd., AC, Power BackUp.
100 Work Stations,Cabins, Ready
to Move in.Owner # 9899005636.
N 18A 1st Flr Green Park Extn 4BR+
3 attch baths,1 D/D ktchn, 1 store 24
hr scurty Good for fmly, foreigner,
students & 1 rm separate flat also
avbl for lease #9999125567
MALVIYA NAGAR, Excellent
location One Bed Attached Bath, Fully
Furnished, Ground Floor, Facing park
close to MKT, Bus Stand, Metro with
Scooter parking Contact 9810304964
H INDUSTA N TIMES , NEW DEL H I
S ATURDAY, S EPTEMBER 14, 2019
SOUTH DELHI DLF − SUSHANT LOK
FULLY FURNISHED Service AVAIL / wantd flat on sale/rent
Apartments in South Delhi 2BHK Ireo Skyon, Raisina Residency,
/3BHK will daily house-keeping. Time Residency, Conscient Heri-
Short /Long Lease Contact Owner tage one, Pioneer Park/ Araya.
9810038171 Call 8368800700, 9873488489
PRIME COMMERCIAL South
Extn-1 Mkt, G-23, Showroom, 1st &
2nd flr, 1800 sft each with roof, wide GURUGRAM
Frontage, Ring Road View, Front
Entry, Back Exit & Lift # 9312507673
MG ROAD Fully Furnished
A-8 PAMPOSH, Paras Savitri Rd 4,800 sft. Brand new office Space
G.F. 3400 sft. Mixed Land Use with with 55 Work stations, 2 Cabins,
1 Hall, 5Rooms, ACs, Pwr B.up, Prkg 2 Meeting room, Pantry. Owner:
Sep. Entry/Toilet for Ladies/Gents. 9958444918, 9599089652
Suitable for Office # 9717495000.
KOTLA MUBARAKPUR Single TO-LET 3 floors of 6500 Sqft each For
Doctors , Clinics, Offices For Art,
Rooms with Bath for Working Boys / Insurance, Bank Records Storage
Students Rent 9000/-PM Sharing URUSVATI Centre , Shikhopur Road
Allowed NDSE Metro 500 Yds. Away Sector 78 , Gurugram, 9717396039
Owner 9810008917, 9717471875.
EXCELLENT LOCATED, Gurgram
SOUTH DELHI Prime Location, Sector-92, 4th floor with lift , 4 beds
Running Hotel having 60 Rooms attach bath, Covered fixed parking,
with All Facilities Available on Drawing, Dining. Servant Qtr, Club,
lease on Attractive Terms. pool, gated. Cont- Owner 9810118300
Cont: 9811225618, 9210327669
LEASE/ RENT comm. prop in global
D-103, OKHLA-I, (1000yds. Bldng) flyover golf course Rd, Guragon 1114&
Mn Rd 3 Side, Corner w Prkg. GF: 1416 sq.ft prime location, Rare
8000 sft @ 50, Bsmt: 8000 sft @ 25, opportunity to rent a double Ceiling15
3rd flr 8000 sft @15 # 011-26918212, Seater. Mr Bharat Call : 9810433319
9999363949, 9953684561
APPROVED OFFICE space, GOLF COURSE Ext. Rd-Fully
furn. 20,000sft. brand new office+
Prop No. 68 Adchini, main MG Road, 500 work stns, 15 cabins, 2 confer-
Landmark building, SF & TF, 550 ft
ence, 10 meeting rooms, cafeteria
each. Rent SF 33000/-, TF 30000/- owner: 9958444918,9599089652
(fully furnished) Owner 9891483481
GK-II, SPACIOUS Immaculate 30 ROOMS Fully Furnished
Condition on Ist floor 3 BR att. Property on 1100 Sq.Yd Plot on
Baths, DD, kitchen balconies at rear Main 30m Wide Road in Sector-I,
& front, 1 car parking. Cont- Owner IMT, Manesar on lease. Contact-
Verma- 9810279987, 9871811511 9811313289/9811023496.
MOHAN CO-OP Ind. Estate Space
avail. for rent Approx. 6000 Sqft. at FARIDABAD
G.Flr. & Approx 6000 Sqft. at Base-
ment Suitable for industry, office & AREA FOR rent in pinnacle tower
storage # 9811097822 , 7011402340 Suraj Kund Taj Vivanta Faridabad
for lease Area for lease- 3000 to
MUNIRKA MAIN Road Next To 10,000 Sq.Ft. Decent Brokerage will
Metro Station, Newly Constructed be Paid. Ajay Arora - 9810075973
Space Available for Rent: First Floor
2700 Sq.Ft & Third Floor 2700 Sq.Ft #
98100 15267, 98182 86767. NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA
GROUND FLOOR 1650 sqft, For
Office, Semi Finish (Okhla Ind. Area,
Phase-2, New Delhi-20), Near(Okhla-
Harkesh Nagar,Metro Station)
Contact: 9999340888, 9312287207
PAMPOSH ENCL. GK-I, Brand New
north facing Beautiful Flat, 2nd & 3rd
floor, with terrace, 3 Beds, D/D, att.
Bath, Each floor, Servant Quarter,
Stilt Car Parking. Cont: 7982519998
VASANT KUNJ 3 Bedroom Flat for
Rent, B-Block, Pocket-9, 1st Floor,
Excellent Location, Green Area, with
Balconies overlooking JNU Back,
Parking lot. Company lease only.
genmail1010@yahoo.com or Call:
098145-11045.
OFFICE SPACE in Bhikaji Cama
Place 300 Sq ft Fully Furnished,
SF-8 Bhikaji Cama Bhawan (DDA)
Contact Owner Manish Maingi
9810087187 / 9810167117
OFFICE RENT-B1 Arjun Nagar
Main Road, Opp.Green Park,
150 Yds, 3rd Flr & Lift Rent-1.10
Lac(Raw), 1.30 Lac (Furnished)
Call:- Mr. Gupta 09810518365
GULMOHAR PARK 500sqm,3 side
Corner Bungalow, DD, 3 Big BR’s,
Study, Wd Flooring, 7 All Weather
AC, Bullet Prf Windows, Full Terr.,
S.Q, Emb./MNC’s. # 9560777800.
COMMERCIAL SPACE 1840 Sq.ft.
Available at 1st Floor at Delhi Cantt
110010 Suitable for Bank MNC.
Phone: 9811224405, 9871364733
KALKAJI EXTN. Himgiri Appt.
3 B/R, D/D, F/F, 2 Baths, Balcony,
Park Facing, Prime Location. Near FOR LEASE 20,000 Sqft Indepen-
dent fully furn. bldg, Plot 1000
Crown Plaza Okhla. Company Lease
Preferred. Contact: 9810042106. S.mtr. in Sec- 63, Noida. Latest
Interiors, 250 Seats/ Cabins/Recep
for MNC/IT. M- 9810082150
GK-1 PAMPOSH 450 yd crnr; 2
floors to-let each 3 BR, child BR 4 SHOPS NOIDA Extn Ground Floor,
baths large D/D fully AC 24 hrs pwr &
water backup SQ Lift Foreigner/MNC High Street Mkt, Main Road facing,
only Contact WhatsApp 8800180641 Ready Possession, Thickly Populated
Area, Sizes 381/ 454/ 762/908 Sq Ft.
Owner 7678429693, 9654951077
DEFENCE COLONY 217 Yds Top
Floor with Terrace & Lift 3 Bedrooms GREATER NOIDA UPSIDC Industr-
D/D, Stilt Car Parking, Brand New ,
ial shed lease/business proposal/
Park View, Brokers welcome Contact manufacturing suitable warehouse,
9810537700
garage, s'room located main 45 Mtr
rd,450mtr Plot,3000sft. 9810771258
OFFICE SPACE for Rent 800 sq. ft.
furnished, A/c, at A-285, Defence
Colony, Independent entry, toilet,
electricity, balcony. M: 9810159225
AVAILABLE ON Rent 20 sq.metre
shop on main Greater Kailash 2
Road. Just Opposite DT Savitri
Cinema New Delhi. Contact
Navneet 9810459310
FARM HOUSE 1 Acre Brand
New in DLF Chattarpur Builtup
area 10000 sq.ft. & Indep. Full
Building Main Road Chattarpur.
Contact: 9899369782
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
FACTORY INDEPENDENT For
Rent, B-21,Sec-57 Noida, 16000sft.
INDUSTRIAL UNIT 55000 Furn/Unfurnished, Glass Elevation
for IT/Call Centre/Offices/All Type
sft. in Manesar(without Bsmt)
having 22000ft. each at Ground Industr. #9810685670,9899447400
Flr/1st&11000ft.02nd Flr w Goods
Lift/Fire NOC/175KW#9811811880
UTTAR PRADESH
AVAILABLE FOR lease: Vipul
Square, 4625 sq ft., fully furnished 2100SQFT. & 1700Sqft.
office space, exclusive top flr plate Two commercial Hall at B.N. Road,
with terrace, 3 reserved car parks. Lalbagh Lucknow available for rent.
Contact: Vikas Sehgal - 9811106006 Contact : immediately – 9415467568
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
SAT URDAY, SE PT E MB E R 14, 2 01 9
Tender Reference No. MACM/PO/RC/RABI/2019-20/3
Markfed invites e-Tenders on the prescribed Tender form available on the e-portal
https://eproc.punjab.gov.in for the Purchase of following Agro Chemicals for
Rabi 2019-20:-
Sr.No. Items
1 Toll Manufacturing Closing Date & Time: 03.10.19 till 1855 Hrs.
Clodinafop Propargyl 15 WP, Metribuzin 70% WP.
Earnest money & Form Fee:- To be paid through Online mode as per Tender
Terms & Conditions. No other mode of payment will be accepted.
Place of Opening: Markfed House, Plot No. 4, 35-B Chandigarh.
1. For Participating in E-Tendering Process the tenderer must be registered with
E-Tendering portal https://eproc.punjab.gov.in and have user ID &
Password and Class-3 digital signatures. For any difficulty please contact on
0172-2970263, 0172-2970864, 0120-4200462, 0120-6277787
2. For details (Quantity, specifications etc.) please visit e-portal
https://eproc.punjab.gov.in and our website www.markfedpunjab.com
3. Corrigendum/Addendum if any will be posted on E-Portal and on Markfed
website only.
FAX: 0172-2273247, 2609471 MANAGING DIRECTOR
C-7114
F. No. 9(2)/2014-GIM (Part-II)
Government of India
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Green India Mission
Subject: - Advertisement for the engagement of
Consultants (03 Nos.) on Contractual
basis in Directorate of Green India
Mission, Ministry of Environment, Forest
& Climate Change.
Application are invited for 03 Consultants in Directorate
of Green India Mission, Ministry of Environment, Forest
& Climate Change. Full details of the vacancy circular
are available on Ministry of Environment, Forest &
Climate Change website www.moef.nic.in
The last date of receipt of application is 21 days from the
date of publication of this advertisement in newspaper.
davp 13101/11/0018/1920
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STATE COUNCIL OF EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH & TRAINING
(An Autonomous Organization of Govt. of NCT of Delhi)
VARUN MARG, DEFENCE COLONY
NEW DELHI-110024
Offline applications are hereby invited for filling
up 19 posts of Consultant (Section Officer) and
25 posts of Consultant (Assistant Section officer)
on contractual basis in SCERT and DIETs
of Delhi, for the financial year 2019-20 (upto
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advised to apply offline only from 16.09.2019 up
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qualifications, selection criteria and application
form etc. please refer to website www.scertdelhi.
nic.in under link “Recruitment in SCERT” and
sub-link “Engagement of retired persons as
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(Assistant Section officer) in SCERT/DIETs on
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DIP/Shabdarth/0635/19-20 Director, SCERT
F. No. 2-6/2019-NRAA
Government of India
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare
(National Rainfed Area Authority)
2nd Floor, A Block, NASC Complex, DPS Marg
Pusa, New Delhi-110012
Dated: 5th September, 2019
Filling up of three posts of Director (Technical Discipline)
in the Pay Matrix Level 13-A, on deputation (including short
term contract) basis in National Rainfed Area Authority.
Reference is invited to National Rainfed Area Authority’s
vacancy circular of even number dated 21.05.2019 published
in the Employment News issue of 22nd - 28th June, 2019,
seeking applications from willing and eligible officers working
under Central Government or State Governments or UTs or
Universities or Recognized Research Institutions or Public
Sector Undertakings or Semi-Government or Statutory or
Autonomous Organizations, for filling up three posts of Director
(Technical Discipline) one each (i) Water Management (ii)
Forestry and (iii) Watershed Development or Social Science
or Economics in the Pay Matrix of Level 13-A, Rs. 1,31,100-
2,16,600/- on deputation (including short-term contract) basis.
The last date for receipt of applications is extended upto 29th
October, 2019.
2. Other contents of the earlier advertisement shall remain
same. (Website: www.nraa.gov.in/agricoop.nic.in)
Sd/-
(Renu Singh)
Under Secretary to the Govt. of India
Ph: 011-25842838
davp 01145/11/0009/1920 E-mail: nraapc2007@gmail.com
hindustantimes 23
National Power Training Institute (N.R)
(Ministry of Power, Govt. of India)
BTPS, Complex, Badarpur, New Delhi-110044
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D-6534 Department of Civil Aviation
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF DEVELOPMENT OF N.E. REGION
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(Horticulture), North Eastern Council Secretariat, Government
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(Ram Muivah, IAS)
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davp 11104/11/0012/1920 Chairman, NERCRMS
24 hindustantimes
World T20 audition begins now
LOOKING AHEAD India’s pace prospects to be tested as Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini hit the ground
Abhishek Paul
n abhishek.paul@htlive.com
DHARAMSALA: A statistical coinci-
dence underlined Khaleel
Ahmed’s debut for India at last
year’s Asia Cup. His first returns
in international cricket, 3/48
against Hong Kong, was the same
as that of another debutant left-
arm seamer from 15 years ago
–Zaheer Khan against Kenya.
Like with Zaheer, Khaleel’s
emergence was met with cheers,
especially after opportunities to
other left-arm pacers in Jaydev
Unadkat and Barinder Sran did
not yield satisfactory results.
Unlike with Zaheer, however,
Khaleel hasn’t yet found himself
in a spot of obvious reckoning
across all formats yet.
The reason behind this is the
changing landscape of Indian
cricket.
When Zaheer first appeared on
the scene, India desperately
needed an express fast bowler,
one who could clock above
140kph, in a team that had the
likes of Venkatesh Prasad and
Ajit Agarkar. The talented Zah-
eer not only fitted the bill but
exceeded expectations with a par-
ticularly long run. Now, India’s
top three fast bowlers Jasprit
Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and
Bhuvneshwar Kumar not only
clock the 145kph mark regularly
but are, more importantly, con-
sistent with their striking ability.
Khaleel is not the only young
fast bowler in this T20I squad who
is waiting to seal a permanent
berth in the playing eleven. Nav-
deep Saini and Deepak Chahar
are the other two. While Saini is
one of few Indian bowlers to regu-
larly clock 150kph (his fastest
being a 152.85 kph delivery at the
2019 IPL), medium pacer Deepak
Chahar is a handy death over spe-
cialist with the ability to really
swing the ball.
All three youngsters will be in
action in the three T20Is against
South Africa, in a series that is
already earmarked as an early
audition for next year’s World
T20 in Australia. Coach Ravi
Shastri addressed this in an inter-
view with bcci.tv, soon after he
was reappointed last month.
“The goal for the next two years is
to see a smooth transition hap-
pening. You will get a lot of
youngsters coming in, especially
in the white-ball set up,” Shastri
had said.
All three—Khaleel, Saini and
Chahar—were part of last
month’s T20 series against West
Indies, but that team had Bhuv-
neshwar Kumar as the fourth spe-
cialist fast bowler. This time the
kids are pretty much on their
own, with a largely inexperienced
spin line-up too in Krunal Pan-
dya, Rahul Chahar and Washing-
ton Sundar. Hardik Pandya and
Ravindra Jadeja are the only
bowlers from the senior bunch.
Between them, Khaleel, Saini
and Chahar have a combined
shortstories
STRAUSS NEW
ECB CRICKET
PANEL CHIEF
LONDON: Former England captain
Andrew Strauss is back in the
England and Wales Cricket Board
(ECB) as cricket committee
chairman and will drive the
development of the game at all
levels as part of his new role. The
42-year-old, who was knighted on
Tuesday, stepped down as ECB’s
director of cricket last year to
support his late wife Ruth’s cancer
battle and was replaced by former
England spinner Ashley Giles.
MP, Chhattisgarh,
Karnataka come on board
NEW DELHI: Chhattisgarh, Karna-
taka and Madhya Pradesh on
Friday decided to comply with the
Committee of Administrators’
(COA) directive on constitutional
amendments, leaving only four
associations non-compliant ahead
of the state elections on Septem-
ber 28. The Supreme Court-ap-
pointed COA, which last week
extended the deadline of holding
state elections by two weeks, had
issued an ultimatum to state
bodies to put their house in order
by September 12.
Windies’ Russell cleared of
injury after head blow
KINGSTON: West Indies all-
rounder Andre Russell has been
cleared of serious injury after
being hit on the helmet and carted
off the ground during a Caribbean
Premier League (CPL) match on
Thursday, organisers said. The
Jamaica Tallawahs player was
struck near the right ear when
attempting to pull a short ball by
St Lucia Zouks paceman Hardus
Viljoen and ended up leaving the
field on a stretcher in a neck brace.
Organisers said Russell, 31, had
been cleared by scans at hospital.
n Khaleel Ahmed (from left), Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini are part of the team management’s transition plans keeping in mind the two World T20 events in successive years.
experience of just 15 T20Is, with
Khaleel alone playing 11 T20Is.
This of course pales in comparison
to South Africa’s pace resources in
Kagiso Rabada and Andile Pheh-
lukwayo for the upcoming series.
RECENT SHOW
They may be inexperienced on
the international stage but their
potential is obvious for anyone
who has seen them perform in
franchise cricket. To see what
these have to offer, one must
revisit the bygone IPL season.
While Chahar finished with 22
wickets in the 2019 Indian Pre-
mier League to be the most suc-
cessful Indian bowler, Khaleel’s
tally of 19 wickets was equal to
Archer’s six puts England in charge
Agence France-Presse
n sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
LONDON: Jofra Archer took six
wickets as England bowled Aus-
tralia out for 225 to gain the upper
hand on the second day of the fifth
Ashes Test on Friday despite
another Steve Smith masterclass.
In the second innings, England
were 9/0, leading by 78 runs at
close of play on Day 2.
Joe Root’s team are desperate
to level the series at 2-2 to end
their historic World Cup-winning
season on a high but have been
consistently dogged by the peer-
less Smith. The former Australia
skipper has now amassed 751
runs in just six innings—more
than double the tally of the next
highest run-scorer on either side.
But he was forced to settle for
his lowest score of the
series—80—when Chris Woakes
trapped him lbw in the evening
session, leaving the Oval crowd
dumbfounded.
Despite a late flurry of runs,
Australia had to settle for a first-
innings deficit of 69, with pace-
man Archer finishing with fig-
ures of 6/62.
Smith came to the crease with
Australia in trouble at 14/2 in
reply to England’s first innings
total of 294 after Archer had
removed openers David Warner
and Marcus Harris. Smith, who
only returned to Test cricket last
month following a year-long ban
for his role in a ball-tampering
scandal, was watchful at the start
of his innings. But he soon found
his touch, bringing up his 10th
consecutive Ashes fifty with a six
over midwicket off left-arm spin-
ner Jack Leach.
Smith appeared to be playing a
completely different game from
that of Jasprit Bumrah’s. And
Saini (11 wickets) was the lone
bright spot in an otherwise for-
gettable campaign for Royal
Challengers Bangalore.
But taking wickets is not the
only criteria; the variety they
provide as a group is what really
makes them a promising lot. This
very reason was also perhaps
why these three pacers—along
with Avesh Khan— travelled to
the World Cup in England as
India’s official net bowlers.
Khaleel has a smooth run-up
and hits the deck hard, which
allows him to extract bounce
even from dead pitches. And with
his left-arm pace, Khaleel can cre-
ate an awkward angle for the
n England pacer Jofra Archer (R) took six wickets for the second time in his career.
all the other batsmen but had a
lucky escape after tea when, on
66, he edged a Sam Curran deliv-
ery to Root in the slips, only for
the England skipper to shell the
chance.
Earlier, Warner, who was also
banned over the ball-tampering
scandal, was again dismissed for
single figures, caught behind by
wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow. It
was the eighth time that Warner
had been dismissed in single fig-
ures in the series.
Archer then struck again with
a 90mph thunderbolt, with Ben
Stokes holding onto a sharp
chance from Harris at second
slip. That dismissal brought
batsman too. During his U-19
days, he had a jerk while releas-
ing the ball but that has smooth-
ened out over time, making him
even more lethal.
Imtiaz Ali, Khaleel’s first coach
at the Tonk Cricket Academy,
believes that his ward must tweak
a few aspects of his game if he is to
indeed become India’s frontline
bowler. “His head sometimes falls
over while releasing the ball. A
bowler should always keep his
sights on the batsman. He has to
improve on that aspect of the
game, especially because the com-
petition for a spot is very intense
these days,” Ali said while speak-
ing with Hindustan Times.
Saini, on the other hand, is the
Smith to the crease and he was
immediately greeted with a sharp
bouncer, much to the delight of
the packed crowd.
Smith and Marcus Labuscha-
gne repaired the early damage,
putting on 69 for the third wicket
before Archer struck again, trap-
ping Labuschagne lbw for 48.
Matthew Wade was lbw to Sam
Curran for 19 as Australia slipped
to 118/4 but the unruffled Smith
eased to his half-century.
Wickets tumbled after tea,
with Archer removing Mitchell
Marsh and Curran dismissing
Australia captain Tim Paine and
Pat Cummins in successive balls.
Smith’s dismissal left Austra-
one who can generate great pace
with his slingy right arm – above
150kph quite consistently. Like
Khaleel, Saini started with tennis
ball. From the streets of Karnal,
he graduated to the leather-ball
cricket during a local T20 league,
where he came to the notice of the
Delhi Ranji team. Thereon, it has
been a journey of rapid growth all
the way to the Indian side. And he
realises that a good showing in
the T20 series couldn’t hurt with
his chances of playing for India in
the other formats as well.
“Our bowling unit in the Test
format is very strong. When I was
with the team (in West Indies) I
realised that I’ll have to work
harder to get into the side,” Saini
REUTERS
lia 187/8 but Peter Siddle and Nat-
han Lyon played enterprisingly
to add 37 for the ninth wicket,
with Lyon smashing Woakes for
a six over square leg. Archer
bowled Lyon while Rory Burns
took a sensational catch to end
Siddle’s knock.
At the start of the day England
added just 23 runs to their over-
night score with Jos Buttler out
for 70. Marsh took five wickets on
his return to Tests while Cum-
mins took three.
Australia won at Old Trafford
last week to take a 2-1 lead in the
series, meaning they will retain
the Ashes urn regardless of the
result at the Oval.
WITH A PHENOMENAL TALENT LIKE THAT, ONE
ALWAYS TENDS TO GET A BIT AHEAD OF HIMSELF.
told the press a day before the
team left for Dharamsala. “When
I speak to bowlers like Shami,
Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar in the
nets, I get a lot of help from them.
At the international level, the
margin for error is very small so
I learn how to work around it in
practice.”
Unlike Saini and Khaleel, Cha-
har doesn’t have the pace. But his
forte is his line, length and con-
sistency. Those three aspects of
his game gave him his India debut
at the Asia Cup (along with Kha-
leel) and it also made him MS
Dhoni’s go-to death-overs bowler
during IPL 2019. Time and again
Chahar proved that he could hit
his yorkers in pressure situa-
scorecard
England (1st innings)
n
(overnight 271/8)
J Buttler b Cummins
J Leach b Marsh
S Broad not out
n Extras (b 3, lb 7, nb 2, w 5) 17
n Total (all out; 87.1 overs) 294
n FoW: 9-294
n Bowling: P Cummins
25.5-6-84-3, J Hazlewood
21-7-76-2, P Siddle 17-1-61-0, M
Marsh 18.2-4-46-5, N Lyon
4-0-12-0, M Labuschagne
1-0-5-0
n Australia (1st innings)
D Warner c Bairstow b Archer 5
M Harris c Stokes b Archer
M Labuschagne lbw Archer 48
S Smith lbw Woakes
M Wade lbw Curran
M Marsh c Leach b Archer
T Paine c Bairstow b Curran 1
P Cummins lbw Curran
P Siddle c Burns b Archer
N Lyon b Archer
J Hazlewood not out
n Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 5)
n Total (all out; 68.5 overs) 225
n FoW: 1-5, 2-14, 3-83, 4-118,
5-160, 6-166, 7-166, 8-187, 9-224
n Bowling: S Broad 12-3-45-0, J
Archer 23.5-9-62-6, S Curran
17-6-46-3, C Woakes 10-2-51-1, J
Leach 6-1-18-0
n England (2nd innings)
R Burns batting 4 two years.
J Denly batting 1 “The team have worked
n Extras (lb 4) 4
n Total (0 wickets; 4 overs) 9
n Bowling: P Cummins 2-2-0-0,
J Hazlewood 2-1-5-0
Scoreboard at Day 2 stumps
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
SAT URDAY, SE PTE MB E R 14, 2 01 9
> LANCE KLUSENER, on Rishabh Pant’s inconsistency with the bat
AFP/AP
tions, as well as mix the block-
hole-ball up with a slower
bouncer. It was a different Cha-
har on show from the previous
IPL, where he was still seen as a
new ball specialist.
“I may be a better bowler from
last year, but I am still trying to
perfect the slower balls, the
slower bouncers,” Chahar had
said earlier. “At this level you
need a lot of confidence. And play-
ing for India really helped me.”
That confidence, then, will only
grow if he is given a go during the
upcoming series, where Chahar
and his young pace colleagues
will look to move from the fringes
of first-team selection to its fore-
front.
N E W K I D O N T H E B LO C K
USA begin 2023
World Cup bid with
first ODI on home soil
70
21
Reuters
0
sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
n
NEW DELHI: The first One-Day
International in the United
States begins on Friday in
Florida between the USA
and Papua New Guinea, 175
years after USA played
cricket’s first recognised
international against
Canada at Manhattan.
The match at Lauder-
hill’s Central Broward
3 Regional Park is part of a
tri-series with Namibia,
80 and also a seven-team com-
19
petition which will reward
17
the top three sides with
0 berths in the final round of
qualifiers for the 2023
18
25 World Cup in India.
1 USA have played three
8 ODIs, including two at the
2004 Champions Trophy,
and lost all of them.
USA, who played Canada
at Manhattan’s St George’s
Cricket Club in what is con-
sidered the first ever inter-
national cricket match in
1844, were granted ODI sta-
tus in April and will play
nine tri-series over the next
really hard after our chal-
lenging journey through
ICC World Cricket League
Division 3 and Division 2,”
USA captain Saurabh Net-
ravalka told the ICC.
ENGLAND TOUR
REASON FOR
LETHALITY IN
SWING: BUMRAH
Bihan Sengupta
n sportm@hindustantimes.com
MUMBAI: For anyone who recalls
the delivery that Jasprit Bumrah
bowled to dismiss Keaton Jen-
nings in the Southampton Test
last year, the recently concluded
West Indies series may have been
just a case of taking a walk down
memory lane.
Bumrah picked 13 wickets in
two Tests—including a hat-trick
in the second Test. But more than
helping India win quickly, it were
the wickets that spoke how he’d
successfully added another
weapon in his armoury—the out
swinger. Quite like Jennings,
who was trapped in front, Win-
dies batsmen were left clueless
with this lethal variation.
Jennings wasn’t shouldering
arms; he simply did not have a
shot to offer despite the ball land-
ing in the corridor. It was a simi-
lar case for John Campbell and
Darren Bravo—the latter the first
victim of his hat-trick at Kings-
ton. They simply didn’t expect the
delivery to move the way it did. It
wasn’t Bumrah-esque. Both were
dismissed off in-swingers in the
first Test and fell to out-swingers
in the second. “I always used to
have the out-swingers. I have not
used it a lot but playing in
England gave me a lot of confi-
dence. The Dukes swing for a
longer period of time. Because I
got more confident as I played the
Tests, I could execute it well,” he
said. “In white ball cricket, the
ball doesn’t swing for a long
period so you have to assess what
kind of delivery works every
time. I was working on it (the out-
swinger) for a long period. I used
it in England as well when we
were playing against county
teams. You can’t use everything
in one match. You just try to
assess the conditions on the given
day and see what could work.”
Having picked five or more
wickets in seven of the 12 Tests he
has played so far also helped
Bumrah become the fastest
Indian pacer to pick 50 wickets.
He’s yet to play a Test in India
though, but Bumrah isn’t both-
ered ahead of the three-match
series at home against South
Africa.
“I’ve played Ranji Trophy all
my life in India. So it’s not like
that this is an alien condition for
me. It’s just another challenge
that I am looking forward to,” he
said. “Playing Tests will be a dif-
ferent experience. The learning
that I have gotten from the tours
to Australia, South Africa,
England, West Indies will hope-
fully get me more results. The
preparations have already
started. As soon as I join we will
discuss with the team manage-
ment and the senior players, who
have played a lot of cricket over
here as to what works, what
doesn’t work, so will take every-
thing into consideration and see
how it goes.”
USA PLAYED CANADA
IN MANHATTAN’S ST
GEORGE’S CLUB IN
WHAT IS CONSIDERED
THE FIRST EVER
INTERNATIONAL
CRICKET MATCH IN
1844.
“We are all really looking
forward to giving it our best
shot at our first ever home
ODI series and the first ODI
ever to be played in the
USA.
“To be part of this is quite
something...We hope our
efforts will inspire the con-
tinued growth and develop-
ment of cricket in the
United States. And to start
our journey in our aim to
qualify for the ICC men’s
Cricket World Cup 2023.”
In recent times, Lauder-
hill has hosted West Indies’
Twenty20 series against
teams such as New Zealand,
Bangladesh and India.
Former Australia spin-
ner Shane Warne and India
batting great Sachin Ten-
dulkar captained rival
teams in a series of three
Twenty20 All Star matches
in the US in 2015 as part of
an attempt to raise cricket’s
profile around the globe.
HIN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
SAT URDAY, SE PT E MB E R 14, 2 01 9
First chance to grab Tokyo berths
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat lead India’s charge as first of three opportunities come knocking at Nur-Sultan
n World No 1 Bajrang Punia is not only expected to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics but also favourite to win gold.
Avishek Roy
avishek.roy@htlive.com
n
NEW DELHI: After the disappoint-
ment of the 2016 Rio Olympics
where wrestling came back
with only one bronze, the
World Championships—start-
ing on Saturday in Nur-Sultan,
Kazakhstan—will be a chance
to set up India’s challenge.
This is the first of three oppor-
tunities for Indian wrestlers to
book berths for the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics.
SUSHIL KUMAR (74kg)
The double Olympic medallist
would be looking to qualify for
his fourth Olympics at 36.
Sushil exited in the first round
at the Asian Games. He has
been training in Georgia and
Dagestan, Russia, with a per-
sonal entourage that includes
new coach Malikov Kamal. He
has played only one tourna-
ment before the world champi-
onships, besides the selection
trials at home where he faced a
stiff opposition from Jitender
Kumar.
MEN’S FREESTYLE
RAVI DAHIYA (57kg)
He won silver in the U-23 World
Championships last year. At
the selection trials, Dahiya
came through the most com-
petitive field that included the
experienced Sandeep Tomar,
who represented India at the
Rio Olympics, Utkarsh Kale
and Worlds junior silver med-
allist Naveen Sihag. This is
Dahiya’s senior meet debut.
DEEPAK PUNIA (86kg) MAUSAM KHATRI (97kg) SUMIT MALIK (125kg)
He recently won gold at the
Junior World Championships
in Talinn, Estonia, becoming
the first Indian junior world
champion in 18 years. He won
the Cadet world championship
in 2016 and a silver at the junior
worlds in 2018. He also won a
bronze at the Asian Champion-
ships this year. Seeded fourth,
Deepak had injured his left leg
while training just before the
world championships. Though
he has recovered, he needs to
prove he can give it everything.
BAJRANG PUNIA (65kg)
The world No. 1 and top seed
here, Punia is not only expected
to qualify for the Tokyo Olym-
pics but also favourite to win
gold. He needs to erase memo-
ries of the defeat to defending
champion Japanese Takuto
Otoguro in a thrilling fast-paced
final (16-9) last time. Punia fin-
ished with silver in Budapest,
his second medal at the worlds.
The 29-year-old has been hold-
ing on to the weight class
unchallenged for a long time
now. He returned after a two-
year doping ban in 2014. Khatri
had an inspiring start to his
career, making his interna-
tional debut at the 2006 Asian
Cadets Championship, where
he won a silver. Last year he
won silver at the Common-
wealth Games. In the national
championships and the selec-
tion trials he defeated Satya-
wart Kadian.
AP
Last year he won gold at the
Asian Games, Commonwealth
Games and rose to become
world No. 1. He has worked on
his leg defence, an area that was
repeatedly attacked by Oto-
guro. This year Punia has been
on a roll too, winning gold med-
als at Dan Kolov, Asian Cham-
pionship, Ali Aliev and Yasar
Dogu meets.
If he is able to put up a perform-
ance like the previous edition
in Budapest, where he lost the
bronze medal bout to world No.
3 Nick Gwiazdowski of USA but
finished in top six, Sumit
should be able to book an
Olympics quota. Ranked 7th,
he has won gold at the 2018
Commonwealth Games and
bronze at the Asian Champion-
ships last year. In 2017, Sumit
won silver at both the Asian
Championships and the Com-
monwealth Championship.
WOMEN’S FREESTYLE
SEEMA BISLA (50kg)
The 26-year-old is suddenly
being talked up as the one to
watch out for after winning
her first gold in 50kg at the
Yasar Dogu ranking series in
July and a silver at the Grand
Prix of Spain. It has propelled
her to No.3 in the world rank-
ings. She is seeded number
two in the tournament, the
only Indian women to get a
seeding.
VINESH PHOGAT (53kg)
She will be favourite to qualify
for the Tokyo Olympics and
also win her maiden medal at
the World Championships.
She had to pull out of the pre-
vious edition with an elbow
injury. However, it will not be
a cakewalk as Vinesh is com-
peting in higher 53kg cate-
gory. She has won three gold
medals in the 53kg this sea-
son—Yasar Dogu, Grand Prix
of Spain and Poland Open.
SARITA MOR (57kg)
She surprised at the selection
trials, beating the fancied
Pooja Dhanda, the current
world No. 6 who had won
bronze at the previous World
Championships. Sarita has
competed in three World
Championships before but
has not made any impact.
SAKSHI MALIK (62kg)
The 27-year old from Rohtak
is expected to stay focused on
earning a place among the top
six to win Olympic quota in
her first attempt at the World
Championships. With per-
sonal coach Fanel Carp on
her side, the Rio Olympic
bronze medallist hasn’t
shown the form she enjoyed
in 2016, and missed bronze
medal at the Jakarta Asian
Games. She however won
bronze at the Asian Champi-
onship in April through repe-
chage where she defeated
North Korean Hyon Gyong
Mun 9-6.
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hindustantimes sport 25
Uncertainty over
Hima’s inclusion in
4x400m relay
team continues
HT Correspondent
n sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: A big question mark
hangs on whether sprinter Hima
Das will be a part of the women’s
4x400m relay quartet at the World
Championships in Doha (Sept
27-Oct 3), as the Athletics Federa-
tion of India (AFI) is yet to take a
call on the four runners. There is
even speculation that Das might
skip the event or the chief
national coach Galina Bukharina
might drop her from the race.
Six members of the women’s
relay team—MR Poovamma,
Revathi Veeramani, Subha Ven-
kateson, VK Vismaya, Ramraj
Vithya and Hima Das — are cur-
rently in Klando, near Prague,
and will compete in a local compe-
tition on Sept 19, following which
the AFI chief coach Bukharina
will recommend the final names
to the federation.
A seventh member, Jisna
Mathew is training at the PT
n Vinesh Phogat had to pull out from the previous edition with injury Usha academy in Kerala.
but she is a favourite to win a medal and qualify. HT PHOTO If she competes, all eyes will be
on Das — who is nursing a back
injury since November last year
KIRAN (76kg) DIVYA KAKRAN (68kg)
The wrestler from Hisar, The 21-year old from Delhi is
— on whether she is able to clinch
a berth in the relay team after she
Haryana defeated Gurshar- one of the rising stars, having failed to meet the qualifying time
anpreet Kaur 6-4 in the selec- won back to back Asian Games of 51.80 sec in 400m during her
tion trials to seal her place in bronze medals. She continued four-month training-cum-com-
the team. Having come out of her good run at the continental petition stint in Europe, where
a career-threatenening knee level by winning bronze at the she won a few low-key events.
injury, she won Common- 2019 Asian Championship in Following the 2018 Asian
wealth Championships gold China. Her consistent Games in Jakarta, where she
in 2017 and a bronze medal at performance has given rise to clocked a personal best 50.79 sec
the 2018 Commonwealth hopes of a good result in this to clinch silver in 400m, Das has
Games. category. not come close to her personal
best. In fact, during the European
stint, despite competing in half-a-
dozen races, her best has been
52.09, clocked in July.
GRECO ROMAN AFI president Adille Sumari-
Among the six Indi- walla said that though Das has
ans in Greco been named as a member of the
Roman, Gurpreet 4x400m relay squad for the World
Singh (77kg) and Championships, a final call (on
Sunil Kumar her inclusion) will be taken closer
(87kg), who won sil- to competition. “The chief coach
ver at the Asian (Bukharina) will take a final deci-
Wrestling Champi- sion on her,” he added.
onships in Xi’an, The AFI also said that the final
China, will be the entries will be sent to the Interna-
ones to watch out tional Association of Athletics
for. Others are Federations (IAAF) by Septem-
Manish Kundu ber 16. “We will send the names of
(70kg), Manish 26 athletes to the IAAF. If Hima
(67kg), Ravi (97kg) does well in Prague, she will run
n Sakshi Malik had missed bronze at the and Naveen (130kg) in the Worlds, otherwise not,”
2018 Asian Games. SANCHIT KHANNA/HT said an AFI officials.
THOSE WHO FALL,
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26 sport
Osaka splits with coach, again
RESHUFFLE Months after parting ways with Sascha Bajin, Japanese star says Jermaine Jenkins is no longer her coach
n Naomi Osaka has been battling patchy form since winning the 2019 Australian Open title in January.
Fake Tokyo snow
turns to ice shards
Agence France-Presse
n sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
TOKYO: Tokyo 2020 organisers
blasted volunteers with fake
snow on Friday as they trial
ever more extreme ways to beat
the heat ahead of the Games.
But instead of light fluffy
snowflakes, the crowd, consist-
ing mainly of Tokyo 2020 staff,
was pelted with fairly coarse
shards of shaved ice at the
canoeing test event.
And ironically, after several
weeks of almost unbroken heat
and humidity, Friday saw tem-
peratures in the Japanese capi-
tal drop sharply—no doubt a
relief to millions of Tokyo com-
muters and players training for
the forthcoming Rugby World
Cup.
“We are trying everything
possible to ease heat risks,” said
Taka Okamura, from the 2020
organising committee.
“This is not meant to cool the
entire atmosphere but have
spectators feel refreshed when
the flakes of ice touch them,”
added Okamura, who acknowl-
edged that the system needed
some refinement.
One problem became imme-
diately apparent after the vol-
unteers were doused in 300 kilo-
grams (650 pounds) of snow in a
matter of minutes: the “specta-
tors” were quickly soaked
through and the floor became
slippery—resulting in one jour-
nalist taking a tumble.
Okamura played down any
n Artificial snow falls onto journalists seated in a stand during a test
event ahead of the 2020 Olympics, in Tokyo on Friday.
hindustantimes
environmental risks from the
system—such as CO2 emissions
from the machine—and
declined to reveal its cost.
Tokyo 2020 officials have admit-
ted in the past that anti-heat
measures will swell the budget
for the Games.
WELL PREPARED?
Tokyo 2020 organisers have
largely won praise for their
preparations for the Games.
With the construction work on
track, IOC President Thomas
Bach has said Tokyo is the best-
prepared host ever with less
than a year to go until the open-
ing ceremony.
But the sweltering Tokyo
heat has already proved a head-
ache and there are fears for ath-
letes, volunteers and spectators
if conditions in recent summers
are repeated at the time of the
Games.
Test events in August did lit-
tle to allay those fears, with a
French triathlete taken to hos-
pital with suspected heatstroke,
complaints about the water tem-
perature for marathon swim-
ming, and people taken ill at a
rowing trial.
One member of the French
parathletics team attending Fri-
day’s event pointed to another
potential problem of the fake
snow hose.
“When the wind is blowing in
the wrong direction pushing the
snow out of the stands, I’m not
sure it is going to be that effi-
cient,” he said.
AFP
AFP
Liverpool leave title rivals breathless
Agence France-Presse
n sportdesk@hindustantimes.com
LONDON: Liverpool’s sizzling start
to the Premier League season has
left their title rivals breathless
and the red-hot leaders are
expected to maintain their per-
fect record against Newcastle on
Saturday. Jurgen Klopp’s side
have seized the early initiative in
the Premier League with four
successive wins to open up a two-
point lead over second placed
Manchester City.
The European champions’
relentless tempo has over-
whelmed Norwich, Southamp-
ton, Arsenal and Burnley, send-
ing a message that they are deter-
mined to make amends for
narrowly failing to pip City to the
trophy last season.
Arsenal’s Dani Ceballos is new
to English football after joining
on loan from Real Madrid and the
Spain midfielder admitted to
being gob-smacked at the inten-
sity Liverpool displayed in their
3-1 victory against the Gunners in
August. “I had never seen any-
thing like it. I’ve not seen up until
now a team that plays better, that
presses better. That game had
quite an impact on me,” Ceballos
told the Daily Mail.
“They suck the air out of you.
You spend so much time defend-
Duryodhan advances Barca eye revival sans Messi
at boxing Worlds
Press Trust of India
n sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
EKATERINBURG (RUSSIA): National
champion Duryodhan Singh
Negi (69kg) claimed a 4-1 win
over Armenia’s Koryun Astoyan
in his opening bout to enter the
second round of the World Men’s
Boxing Championships here on
Friday.
The Indian will face Jordan’s
sixth seed Zeyad Eashash in the
Round of 32 on Monday. Eashash
got a bye in the opening round.
Astoyan began to run out of
steam in the second round and
Negi took advantage to land a
few lusty combination blows.
Astoyan’s defence was partic-
ularly weak and he tried to make
up for it by constantly being on
the move. The strategy was tir-
ing for both but Negi endured it
much better. The final three
minutes were a lopsided affair in
which Astoyan was mostly left
scurrying for cover even though
Agencies
n sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
TOKYO: Japanese tennis superstar
Naomi Osaka announced on Fri-
day she was splitting with her
coach, her second break-up this
year as she battles for form and
slips down the world rankings.
On the eve of the Pan Pacific
Open tournament in Osaka, west-
ern Japan, the 21-year-old
announced she would no longer
be working with Jermaine Jen-
kins, who joined her team after
her triumph at the Australian
Open in January.
“Writing this to let you guys
know that me and Jay won’t be
working together anymore,”
Osaka tweeted.
“I’m super grateful for the time
we spent together and the things
I learned on and off the court but
I feel like now is a (sic) appropri-
ate time for a change... Thank you
for everything, it was a blast,”
added Osaka.
Osaka had already caught the
tennis world by surprise when
she announced she was parting
ways with coach Sascha Bajin,
who had overseen her stunning
rise to win two grand slams—the
OSAKA’S UPS AND DOWNS
Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has had a tough go of it lately, losing in the first round at
Wimbledon and failing to retain her US Open title. Her various injuries this season haven’t
helped either. She dropped out of the top three this week for the first time since January, and if
she doesn’t defend her Australian Open title next year, her ranking will drop even further.
RANKING
1 faces. It’s a rare quality, which
3
5 designed course to trail the leader
Sep. 10, 2018
7 After her US
Open win, her
ranking rose
9 to 7th
11
19th
13
Aug. 27, 2018
Osaka was 19th
in the rankings
15
before her 2018
US Open win
17
19
SEP’18 OCT NOV
n Liverpool are seeking to end a domestic league title drought that stretches as far back as 1990.
ing and when you want to catch
your breath and get on the ball for
a bit, they’ve taken it from you
again. I think Jurgen Klopp now
has the team he first had in mind
when he started four years ago.”
That glowing testimony
underlines the size of the task fac-
ing City as they try to stop Liver-
pool winning their first English
crown since 1990.
City may have won the last two
Premier League titles in scintil-
one judge favoured him over the
Indian. Commonwealth Games
silver-medallist Manish
Kaushik (63kg) and Brijesh
Yadav (81kg) had earlier won
their opening bouts to enter the
second round. On the other
hand, Asian champion Amit
Panghal (52kg), and the Asian
silver-winning duo of Kavinder
Singh Bisht (57kg) and Ashish
Kumar (75kg) got first-round
byes.
The World Championship was
meant to be an Olympic qualifier
and features the revised eight
weight categories (52kg, 57kg,
63kg, 69kg, 75kg, 81kg, 91kg,
+91kg) earmarked for 2020
Tokyo Olympics, instead of the
traditional 10 divisions.
However, the event was
stripped of that status after the
International Olympic Commit-
tee (IOC) lost patience with the
long-standing administrative
mess in the International Boxing
Association (AIBA).
US Open in 2018 and the Austra-
lian Open title in January.
But her results since Melb-
ourne have been patchy. She lost
in the third round of the French
Open to Katerina Siniakova from
the Czech Republic, ranked 41
places below her in the world
rankings. She then suffered a
humiliating first-round exit at
Wimbledon to Yulia Putintseva
from Kazakhstan before crashing
out of this month’s US Open in the
pre-quarterfinals to Swiss player
Belinda Bencic.
Her form outside the slams has
hardly been better, losing two
quarter-finals during the US
hard-court season that has seen
her slip from the number one
position in the world rankings to
number four in the latest list.
The split with Jenkins came as
Osaka returned home for the Pan
Pacific Open where she reached
the final last year. Her main chal-
lengers in the event will be fellow
top-10 players Kiki Bertens and
US sensation Sloane Stephens.
Angelique Kerber, who beat
her in the first round in 2017, is
also in the draw for the competi-
tion that runs between Septem-
ber 16 and 22.
Jan. 26, 2019 Feb. 12, 2019
Reaches No. 1 Ends
after winning 13-month
the 2019 Aus. partnership
Open with coach
Bajin. Two
weeks later,
hires Jermaine
Jenkins as her
new coach
DEC JAN’19 FEB MAR APR
lating fashion, but Liverpool look
better than ever this term and
Newcastle are unlikely to halt
their progress at Anfield this
weekend. With City playing Nor-
wich in Saturday’s late game, the
champions could be five points
behind Liverpool by the time they
kick off at Carrow Road.
Pep Guardiola’s team are
unbeaten and have already
thrashed West Ham and Brigh-
ton, but their lone slip—a draw
Reuters
n sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
BARCELONA:With Lionel Messi still
injured, faltering La Liga cham-
pions Barcelona host Valencia on
Saturday needing to prove they
can produce big performances
without their talisman.
Messi has not played a minute
of football this season due to a calf
injury and without him Barca
have made their worst start to a
campaign since 2008, taking four
points from three games.
While they thrashed Real Betis
5-2 in their previous home game,
they stumbled to a 2-2 draw at pro-
moted Osasuna in their last out-
ing, failing to have a shot on goal
in the first half in a performance
coach Ernesto Valverde
described as “awful”. Messi, who
confirmed he will not be back to
face Valencia and still does not
know when he will return, urged
his team mates to take a step up
after their haphazard start.
“It has been a strange start
because we have had a lot more
ANDREESCU AMONG
TRIO TO PULL OUT
OSAKA:US Open champion Bianca
Andreescu has withdrawn from
next week’s Pan Pacific Open in
Osaka with a right leg injury, the
19-year-old Canadian said on Fri-
day. World number five
Andreescu was joined in pulling
out of the tournament by French
Open finalist Marketa Vondrous-
ova, who is battling a left wrist
injury, and Flushing Meadows
semi-finalist Belinda Bencic, who
has a left foot problem. “I’m sorry
to have to miss the Toray Pan
Pacific Open this year,”
Andreescu told the WTA website.
ORGANISERS POSTPONE
HONG KONG EVENT
HONGKONG:Hong Kong’s premier
women’s tennis event scheduled
for October has been postponed
due to the pro-democracy pro-
tests, organisers announced on
Friday. The city is witnessing a
fourth month of sometimes vio-
lent protests sparked by a bill that
would have drawn the former
British colony closer to the Chi-
nese legal system. The bill was
withdrawn last week, but the pro-
tests are continuing.
Apr. 27, 2019 Aug. 16, 2019
Withdraws from Retires with leg
Stuttgart Open injury during
semi-final with Cincinatti
abdominal injury. Masters
Three weeks quarter-final
later, withdraws Sep. 2, 2019
from the Italian Loses in 4th
Open
round at 2019
quarter-final
US Open
with a right-hand
injury Sep. 13, 2019
Splits with
coach Jenkins.
Also drops
down to 4th
in rankings
MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP
GETTY
against Tottenham—allowed
Liverpool to seize pole position
and they can’t afford another
against second bottom Norwich.
POGBA RULED OUT
Manchester United are facing an
injury crisis on their return to
Premier League action, with Paul
Pogba, Anthony Martial and
Luke Shaw set to miss Saturday’s
clash against Leicester City.
Pogba sustained an ankle
n Lionel Messi. REUTERS
injuries than normal,” Messi told
newspaper Sport.
“I’m not worried although we
are all aware that we cannot
afford to make a bad start like this
and after the international break
we need to make things click,
strengthen as a team and start
winning matches.”
Messi’s fellow forwards Ous-
mane Dembele and Luis Suarez
also remain injured ahead of the
visit of Valencia, who Barca
failed to beat in three games last
season, including losing 2-1 to
them in the Copa del Rey final.
Valencia are in a turmoil of
their own, however, after coach
HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
SAT URDAY, SE PTE MB E R 14, 2 01 9
n Aman Raj is two strokes behind leader Rory Hie after two rounds.
Lone wolf Aman
eyes another
breakthrough
Robin Bose
n robin.bose@htlive.com
MEWAT (HARYANA) : Aman Raj, 24,
has played the Patna Golf Club
since he was three; and from the
beginning it was about adjusting
on a course that is anything but a
quality practice facility. The way
to beat the odds was to visualise
and strategise as if he was playing
a signature course. It was easier
said than done as the 103-year-old
venue, short in length and low on
maintenance, was a test of
patience.
Aman owes it to his father
Shashi Raj Sinha, a top amateur
of his time, that he taught Aman
in a way that the son has had little
trouble adapting to superior sur-
has come with years of practice,
and there was satisfaction as he
shot a consecutive five-under 67
on Friday at this Jack Nicklaus-
by two shots at the Classic Golf &
Country Club International
Championship. Such has been his
training that one look is enough
to “tell me if the grass is crap and
the way to go about tackling the
golf course”. While Aman hopes
to keep getting better at this art,
there were other battles to be
fought as he was growing up.
While members of the club,
which shares its boundary with
Aman’s school on Bailey Road,
got used to seeing the lone boy
turn up for practice without fail;
for Aman, the challenge was to
turn solitude into an advantage.
“The way I looked at it was being
injury during United’s 1-1 draw
before the international break,
while Martial and Shaw have not
featured since United’s 2-1 league
defeat by Crystal Palace on Aug.
24. “The treatment room been
busy and still is... I don’t really
know who will be available,”
United manager Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer told reporters on Fri-
day.
Diogo Dalot, who is nursing a
hip injury, and Eric Bailly (knee)
are also ruled out but Solskjaer is
hoping that Aaron Wan-Bissaka
and Jesse Lingard could be
involved this weekend after late
fitness tests.
Mauricio Pochettino must
hope the closure of the European
transfer window lifts the mood at
Tottenham, who host fourth
placed Crystal Palace looking to
secure only their second win.
Pochettino was concerned that
speculation over the futures of
several Tottenham players,
including Christian Eriksen, had
unsettled his squad.
But Eriksen remains with Tot-
tenham in the final year of his
contract and Pochettino said: “He
was always happy. He never said
he wasn’t happy here.
“Everyone of course has aims,
goals, challenges. His qualities
are there and important for the
team.”
Marcelino, who transformed
them from fallen giants to fiercely
competitive top-four contenders,
was sacked due to a reported fall
out with owner Peter Lim over
transfer policy. The inexperi-
enced Albert Celades, the former
coach of Spain’s under-21 side,
has been given the job amid wide-
spread criticism. “Marcelino ful-
filled every objective he was
hired for, sacking him is an out-
rage,” said former Valencia goal-
keeper Santiago Canizares.
“Celades has only coached
youth players and has no creden-
tials to work in the top flight. He
has no idea what he has gotten
himself in for and what the dress-
ing room is like. He will have his
work cut out from the start.”
Elsewhere on Saturday, lead-
ers Atletico Madrid visit Real
Sociedad in the first game at the
revamped Anoeta stadium look-
ing to make it four wins out of
four. Real Madrid host Levante
missing a total of nine players,
with Luka Modric the latest to
suffer an injury.
HT
the only junior around was some-
thing to be proud of and the mem-
bers acknowledged that.” His
school, Kendriya Vidyalaya, was
appreciative as well.
The principal once posted a
giant banner after Aman had rep-
resented the country at a junior
event in Malaysia. Till date, recol-
lecting that moment of seeing his
photograph and write-up on the
school gate gives goose-bumps
and perhaps equals his break-
through win on the Professional
Golf Tour of India a year back in
Jaipur. Hailing from a family that
found it tough to support his pas-
sion, even though the parents
never made it apparent, Aman
had to face another test to be
where he is. After turning profes-
sional in 2016, Aman travelled to
Thailand for Asian Tour’s quali-
fying school but had to come back
after fracturing his jaw following
a fall in the bathroom.
The surgeon took four hours to
set the face right and he was out of
action for two months, weak in
body and spirit with the teeth tied
up and surviving on liquid diet.
But the phase held life lessons. “I
got better at judging people and
left me even more determined to
succeed.” Should he win on the
Asian Tour on Sunday, it will be
another breakthrough moment
and a vindication of belief.
LEADERBOARD
132: Rory Hie (64, 68)
133: Abhijit Chadha (68, 65)
134: Aman Raj (67, 67); Kosuke
Hamamoto (69, 65); Rashid Khan (68,
66). (Cut applied at one-under 143)
ROUNDUP
Davis Cup tie vs
Pakistan subject
to security review
Agencies
n sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The rescheduled
Davis Cup tie between India and
Pakistan will be tentatively held
on November 29 or 30 in Islama-
bad subject to another security
review, the All India Tennis
Association (AITA) said on Fri-
day. The tie was earlier sched-
uled to be held in Islamabad on
September 14-15 but was post-
poned to November after an
in-depth security review by the
International Tennis Federation
last month.
“The India vs Pakistan Davis
Cup tie will take place at Islama-
bad either on 29 and 30th Novem-
ber or 30th November/1st
December,” the AITA said.
“However, the security situa-
tion will be reviewed on 4th
November whether the tie can be
held in Islamabad or to be shifted
to a neutral venue.”
SAURABH WINS TRIAL
Saurabh Chaudhary dished out
an impressive performance as
he shot a score of 245.4 to win the
T6 men’s air pistol final at the
national shooting trials here on
Friday. Statemate Shravan
Kumar finished second with a
score of 243.9.
SRIKANTH WITHDRAWS
Top Indian men’s singles shut-
tler Kidambi Srikanth pulled out
next year’s $1 million China
Open citing a recurring knee
injury on Friday. The former
world No 1 also withdrew from
the Korea Open in the subse-
quent week. “Tough times. Will
not be playing in the upcoming
#ChinaOpen and #KoreaOpen
due to knee injury. Hope to
recover quick and get back in
action soon!” Srikanth tweeted.