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MUMBAI

In Brief CITY

Noise levels recorded during visarjan processions on Sunday were marginally lesser compared to those recorded on the same day in the past two years. It, however, remained way above the limit set by the government (around 50 dB). >> P2

NATION

J&K police have achieved a major breakthrough after they identified 24 terrorists involved in the abduction and killing of three policemen in south Kashmir on Friday morning. >> P3

OPINION

75 YEARS ON: Remembering Bengal Famine, writes Martand Jha >> P4

WORLD

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani vowed a “crushing response” after gunmen shot dead at least 29 people including women and children Saturday in an attack on an Iranian military parade. >> P5

SPORTS

Beleaguered former World No.1 returns to winning ways ending 5-year wait to lift PGA Tour Championship title and it can only be good news for golf >> P6

Sensex slumps 537 pts despite FM assurance Ahana Chatterjee ahana.chatterjee@thevigilplanet.com

their third-biggest fall of the year on Monday as the benchmark BSE Sensex tanked 537 points despite finance minister Arun Jaitley’s assurance that the government would take all measures to ensure adequate liquidity for non-banking financial companies and mutual funds.

Falling for the fifth consecutive session, the Sensex tanked 536.58 points, or 1.46 per cent, to end at a two-month low of 36305.02, logging its biggest single-day loss since February 6, when it had shed 561.22 points. The broader NSE Nifty slipped the 11000-mark and closed at 10967.40, plunging 175.70 points, or 1.58 per cent.

The sentiment was also dampened by a jump in Brent crude prices, which hit a four-year high before trading at $80.07 a barrel, while the rupee fell 43 paise to close at 72.63 per dollar.

The broader market, too, continued to bleed with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices losing 2.40per cent and 2.72 per cent, respectively.

27°C 33°C

AQI 120

BSE SENSEX 36,841.60 279.62

New Delhi: THE controversy regarding the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award is almost a yearly phenomenon, and this time, it is the turn of wrestler Bajrang Punia to raise fingers at the way sports awards are handed out in India.

Miffed at being denied the country’s highest sporting honour at the expense of cricket captain Virat Kohli and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, Punia has cited his maximum score in the points system introduced by the Sports ministry a few years ago.

Punia’s grouse is an ageold issue that has been challenging the flawed points system adopted by successive governments.

In this case, the 24-yearold wrestler who won gold at Commonwealth Games and Asian Games this year, is comparing his highest score of 80 points under the criteria to that of the

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NSE NIFTY 11,143.10 91.25

158 years on, adultery is no longer a criminal affair But It Can Be A Ground For Divorce: SC

Abraham Thomas abraham.thomas@thevigilplanet.com DESCRIBING the law criminalising adultery as arbitrary, which treats the wife as chattel and deprives women of her sexual autonomy and dignity, the Supreme Court Thursday struck down as “unconstitutional” Indian Penal Code Section 497, which makes adultery a punishable offence only for men. Adultery will, however, continue to be a ground for any civil wrong, including a ground for divorce.

In four separate but concurring judgments, a five-judge Constitution Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra said the colonial-era provision violated Articles 14 (right to equality); 15(1) (prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth); and, 21 (protection of life and personal liberty).

The bench also held as unconstitutional Section 198 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) which provides for prosecution for offences against marriage. The bench was deciding a petition filed by Joseph Shine, a businessman from Kerala who lives in Italy. He was represented by Kochi-based advocates Kaleeswaram Raj and his daughter Thulasi K Raj and Delhi-based advocate Suvidutt Sundaram.

According to IPC section 497, “Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, is

13 killed after SUV veers off road in Shimla

Kaleeswaram Raj and daughter Thulasi K Raj, counsel for the adultery case petitioner, outside Supreme Court. -PTI guilty of the offence of adultery, and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both. In such case, the wife shall not be punishable as an abettor.”

Writing for self and Justice Khanwilkar, CJI Misra said, “(It) is demonstrable that women are treated as subordinate to men inasmuch as it lays down that when there is connivance or consent of the man, there is no offence.

This treats the woman as a chattel. It treats her as the property of man and totally subservient to the will of the master.” The bench pointed out that Section 497 does not bring within its purview an extramarital relationship with an unmarried woman or a widow, nor does it confer any right on the wife of an adulterous

husband to proceed against him.

By treating only the man as the aggrieved person, “it confers a licence on the husband to deal with the wife as he likes, which is extremely excessive and disproportionate,” the CJI said.

Section 497, he wrote, curtails the dignity of women “by creating invidious distinctions based on gender stereotypes.” and “the emphasis on the element of connivance or consent of the husband tantamounts to subordination of women”. To attach criminality to it, he said, “would tantamount to the State entering into a real private realm”.

Rejecting arguments that the IPC section was intended to protect marriages, the CJI said adultery may not always be the cause but may also be the result of unhappy marriages — and making it

The four-month-old cub was spotted struggling at the bottom of a well in Kelwa village, Rajasthan

under veterinary observation. “We are hoping that her mother comes looking for her so that they can be reunited,” says Singh. “In past, we have seen mothers reject such cubs. If we do find her, we will track them for a few days to ensure everything goes well.”

Kartikey Dev Singh kartikey.singh@thevigilplanet.com Jaipur: It took 15 officers from the

Rajsamand Forest Department just two hours to pull out a four-month-old leopard stuck at the bottom of a sludgy, 70-foot deep well. But it’s not a happy ending yet. The task now is to identify and reunite the cub with her mother.

At around 10:15 am on Tuesday, the Rajsamand Forest Department received a call saying a leopard cub was spotted struggling at the bottom of a well in Kelwa village. “The well was in a field situated on the Kelwa-Kala Magra road, and a rescue team was dispatched,” says Fateh Singh, District Forest Officer of Rajsamand district.

It took the team nearly one hour to reach the spot, by when a crowd of villagers had gathered around the well.

“We had to cordon off the area to execute a rescue plan without hindrance,” Singh says.

Seeing that it was a young cub, the team decided to use a net. “A tranquilliser would put her life at risk,” says a forest officer. The team lowered the net into the well and spread it in one part at the bottom. “Most of our time was spent luring her into the net,” Singh explained. “She kept ducking behind a stone that was jutting out of the well. After a few attempts, we were able to pull her out.”

The cub did not sustain any injuries and looks healthy; she is now

Coastal Road cost doubles in a year THE VIGIL PLANET NETWORK

Mumbai: THE cost of the ambitious Coastal Road has nearly doubled in a year.

A revised proposal, revealed to the BMC’s Standing Committee in a meeting on Friday, states that the cost of three stages of the Coastal Road has increased to Rs. 8,429 crore from Rs. 4,816 crore estimated in August 2017.

After including taxes and environment related measures, the cost goes up to Rs. 12,721 crore. The figure is for just the 10-km stretch (from Princess Street Flyover to south end of Bandra Worli Sea Link) that the BMC will be financing of the 29-km corridor. The proposal may be taken up for discussion at the next meeting.

The CR that would run parallel to the western coastline from Nariman Point to Kandivali was envisaged in 2012 at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000 crore. The

zero points of Kohli, by far the most famous Indian sportsperson at the moment, and Mirabai’s 44 points.

However, what Punia has ignored is that cricketers — or, for that matter, athletes of many other sports like kabaddi, kho kho and the like — do not participate in competitions like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, and thus can’t be judged on the points system.

To put it simply, cricketers will always have zero points against their names because there is no system in place where performances in the cricket World Cup can be compared with that of the Olympics, or Asia Cup with that of Asian Games and so on.

The fact remains that Kohli is the No. 1 ranked batsman in the world in two out of three formats at the moment, and Mirabai is the only Indian who is currently a world champion in an Olympic sport. The focal point, thus, is that controversies erupt re-

punishable was unlikely to bring commitment back between partners.

Justice Chandrachud, in his concurring judgment, overruled a previous decision of a three-judge bench headed by his late father, former Chief Justice Y V Chandrachud in the 1985 case Sowmithri Vishnu vs Union of India & Another in which Section 497 was challenged as violative of Article 14 by denying women the rights available to men.

“The history of Section 497 reveals that the law on adultery was for the benefit of the husband, for him to secure ownership over the sexuality of his wife… It was aimed at preventing the woman from exercising her sexual agency… In fact, the provision is steeped in stereotypes about women and their subordinate role in marriage,” he wrote.

Cub rescued from well awaits reunion with mom

Shimla: Thirteen people, including

three couples, died after a vehicle veered off a road and fell into a deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla district on Saturday, a police official said.

The accident happened at Sanail, three kilometres from Kuddu on Tiyuni Road in Rohru tehsil. The ill-fated Trax vehicle (bearing registration number HP 02 0695) was on its way to Tiyuni from Swara.

All the 13 occupants were killed in the accident, Shimla Superintendent of Police Omapati Jamwal said.

While 10 of them died on the spot, three succumbed to injuries at Rohru hospital, Jamwal said. The deceased included eight members of three families.

They have been identified as Matvar Singh (48), his wife Basanti Devi (44), their son Munish (24), Prem Singh (38), his wife Poonam (30), their daughter Ridhima (6), Attar Singh (44), his wife Munna Devi (40), Bittu (42), Bandi Devi (48), Ner Singh (35), Manoj (35) and Anil (28).

Most of the victims were residents of different areas falling under Rohru tehsil of Shimla.

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₹12.7k Cr for 10km After taxes and environment, cost goes up to ₹12,721 crore.

This is for just the 10-km stretch (from Princess Street Flyover to south end of Bandra Worli Sea Link) that the BMC will fund.

project that went through several approval phases, is being executed by various agencies.

While the BMC will be constructing the portion from Princess Street Flyover to south end of the Bandra Worli Sea Link, MSRDC will be engaged for the portion from north end of the Bandra Worli Sea Link to Versova. MSRDC’s cost for the sea link alone is expected to be nearly Rs 7,000 crore. After acquisition, the total cost for MSRDC will be nearly Rs 11,500

crore.

The administration has listed several reasons for cost escalation and they include water tax, sewerage tax, supervision cost on project cost. The civic body has also cited that Rs.10 crore will be spent on Butterfly Garden as suggested by Environment and Forest Ministry, Rs.175 Crore for preservation of marine life and coastal vegetation and Rs. 124 crore to transfer service utilities duct.

>> Continued on Page 2

garding the Khel Ratna award due to its inefficient methodology.

Unless cricket becomes part of the Olympics along with other non-Olympic sports, there cannot possibly be a standard points system in place. Making cricketers and other non-Olympic athletes ineligible for these awards would also be unfair. If that was the case, legends like Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid or MS Dhoni would not have got coveted government awards.

Despite bringing in changes in the format, eligibility rules and basic structure of these awards, the Khel Ratna award, which was instituted in 199192, has always been a topic of debate.

In 2001, when legendary runner Milkha Singh created an uproar after being chosen for the Arjuna Award years after his retire-

ment along with lesser achievers compared to what he did in his time, the Sports ministry decided to change the composition of the awards panel by bringing more sportspersons into it.

But there are still loopholes.

Performances over four years are taken into consideration for picking a Khel Ratna and yet, popular choices in an Olympic, Commonwealth or Asian Games year often get the nod at the expense of consistent performers over the four years.

For example, how could one justify PV Sindhu’s bronze medal at the 2013 World Badminton Championships, an annual event, being worth only five points while a bronze-medallist at the Asian Games, which comes only once in four years, being handed out 20 points?

Thus, the only solution to end these controversies year after year can be by completely overhauling the points system, and getting a more logical mechanism in place.

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Saturday September 2018 VOL XVI 202

Traders protest e-comm tie-ups, call for bandh Allege back-door entry for Walmart, Amazon in India

Keyur Dhandeo keyur.dhandeo@thevigilplanet.com

Why Khel Ratna selection needs an overhaul Chander Shekar Luthra shekhar.luthra@thevigilplanet.com

THE VIGIL PLANET

-PTI

Mumbai: THE stock markets logged

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Mumbai/Delhi/Jaipur/Ahemdabad: RETAILERS and traders from across the country are up in arms against the Flipkart-Walmart deal and the one between Amazon and More. Already reeling under financial stress, traders fear these mega deals will hurt their interests further. The Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal has organised a protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi today, while the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has called for a Bharat Bandh on September 28.

Traders claim the deal will give back-door entries to multi-national giants like Walmart and Amazon. Organisations representing small traders have lined up protests to scrap such deals. The Federation claimed that FDI in retail sector has posed a threat against livelihood of traditional neighbourhood shops. “The present rules do not allow Walmart to operate in India, but after buying controlling stake in Flipkart, it can gain backdoor entry. Similarly, Amazon will enter into organised retail after buying out More,” said Jayendra Tanna, national executive president of the Federation.

THEIR CART OF GRIPES SEPT 25

Federeation of All India Vyapar Mandal to protest at Jantar Mantar

SEPT 28

CAIT has called for a Bharat Bandh

8.5 Lakh Conventional medical stores across India will be deprived of livelihood due to onine drugstores, claims Maharashtra State Chemists and Druggists Association

VK Bansal, national general secretary of FAIVM said that over 1,000 traders from across the country and about halfa-dozen private businesses will stage the protest. “The dharna is against FDI in retail in Indian market. Companies like Walmart break rules with impunity, which is affecting the business of small traders. Metro Cash-and-Carry has permission only to sell in wholesale market,” he said.

Miffed with the onslaught of online drugstores offering nearly 60% discounts, Maharashtra State Chemists & Druggists Association is also participating in the bandh on September 28. The Association fears that nearly 8.5 lakh conventional pharmacies across the country will be deprived of their livelihood. They want restriction on number of prescriptions to be handled by online pharmacies. Besides,

Business of smalltime traders hit due to discounts offered by onine giants

digital prescription be allowed and not the scanned copy. Each state must have complaint redressal cells. The Association fears that nearly 8.5 lakh conventional pharmacies across the country will be deprived of their livelihood.

The CAIT has also started a threemonth long Rathyatra to create awareness about the threats posed by such deals. A chariot will criss-crossing about 20,000 km through various states. At present it is travelling in Madhya Pradesh. Mahendra Shah, national chairman of CAIT said that its time traders united. “MNC giants resort to predatory pricing, a turf where small retailers can’t compete. Once small traders are eliminated and monopoly established, they will increase the prices of goods and exploit the customers,” Shah said. >>Turn to P3

Activists bat for eco-friendly clay idols and artificial lakes THE VIGIL PLANET NETWORK MORE than 33,000 Ganesh idols were immersed in artificial lakes this year.

While the numbers have improved in comparison to last year, it accounts for only 16 per cent of the total idols. Environmentalist believe we have a long way to go yet, and called for more environment-friendly options such as Shaodu idols and immersions at home.

Former Mayor Dr Shuba Raul had started eco-friendly Ganeshotsav and initiated the drive to create artificial lakes for immersion in 2008. While the idea gained popularity, BMC seemed reluctant to increase the number of lakes drastically. From 25 lakes in 2008, the number of artificial lakes increased to a mere 31 in in 10 years. According to the civic body,

a total of 2,01,556 idols were immersed in the past 10 days, of which 12,497 were Sarvjanik and 1,89,059 were household. Out of the 2 lakh idols, only 33,632 were immersed in artificial lakes across the city.

“While artificial lakes are a great alternative to polluting natural water bodies, it has become an imperative to device newer ways to protect the environment. The government should promote shadu idols that dissolve easily and people can start immersing idols at home,” said Dr Vijay Sangole, who started experimenting with artificial wells in Pestan Sagar Society, Chembur.

“People usually immerse plaster of paris idols in the artificial lakes, which take years to dissolve. Artificial lakes do

not particularly help in protecting the environment; they save natural lakes from getting polluted and also reduces traffic woes,” he added.

Number of idols immersion in artificial lakes:Out of 2 lakh idols, only 16%, i.e., 33,000 were immersed in artificial lakes this year.

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MUMBAI

MUMBAI |

SATURDAY | 22 SEPTEMBER, 2018

2,01,556 Idols immersed this year

33,632

Idols immersed in artificial lakes

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People injured in Charkop after Ganpati idol falls on them during visarjan

The immersion process of Lalbaugcha Raja -Hemant Padalkar/TVP

No DJs, but ‘sound of silence’ still a dream Although most large Ganpati mandals headed to Girgaum for immersion, highest noise level was recorded in Santacruz area at nearly 114 decibel Aseem Gujar aseem.gujar@thevigilplanet.com NOISE levels recorded during visarjan processions on Sunday were marginally lesser compared to those recorded on the same day in the past two years. It, however, remained way above the limit set by the government (around 50 dB).

Maximum noise level was recorded in Santacruz at 113.9 decibel. The highest recorded in 2017 was 119.8 dB and 116.4 dB in 2016. The marginal dip was attributed to the absence of DJs and massive loudspeakers.

The sound of drums and banjos amplified by loudspeakers resulted in the high noise levels, noted Sanjay Salunke of the Avaaz Foundation, an NGO campaigning for a noise-free city.

The vicinity of Juhu saw high noise levels with 107.7 dB being recorded opposite SNDT University and 100.5 dB at Manglewadi. The Sion-Matunga belt was equally noisy with 108.2 dB recorded at Sion Circle, 107 dB at Sion Koliwada, and 110 dB near Matunga’s Shobha Hotel.

In Worli, 109.6 dB was recorded near Atria Mall and 107 dB at the Love Grove Junction. Surprisingly, noise levels near Girgaum Chowpatty, where most large mandals immersed their idols,

recorded lower noise levels (close to 94 dB).

Two days prior to visarjan processions, the High Court had refused to grant interim relief to DJs and dolby sound systems, which helped keeping the noise levels down on Sunday. In the lanes of Girgaum, no mandal was found using DJs and most resorted to employing dhol-tasha pathaks, banjo bands and kachhi baja in the processions.

“This year, the noise level was considerably low, and even my building’s Ganpati procession took place without DJs for the first time in many years. I usually suffer from migraine attacks from the noise, which was not so bad this year,” said Yogita Kamerkar, a resident of Khetwadi in Girgaum.

Meanwhile, activists remained skeptical, as the police weren’t found taking action against defaulters. Though the mandals didn’t use large sound systems, water stalls set up by political parties along the procession route resorted used loudspeakers, and police remained mute spectators just measuring the noise on their devices. After midnight, even dhols weren’t allowed and most mandals complied, barring those affiliated with political parties.

“We have a long way to go. Until noise amplification of any kind is banned

there won’t be much change. However, awareness about the ill-effects of noise from loudspeakers is increasing,” said Sumaira Abdulali, Founder, Avaaz Foundation.

Highest noise level recorded in the neighbouring Thane city was lower than Santa Cruz, at 100 dB near Gokhale Road and Ram Maruti Road. Though the number of DJs fell by 40 per cent in the area, the number of orchestra, banjo bands and dhol-tasha pathaks rose considerably, noted Dr Mahesh Bedekar, a Thane-based anti-noise petitioner.

Aadesh Choudhari/TVP

MMRDA was to buy 15 trains from Scomi Engineering on screens between the tracks, inside the trains and also audio advertisements that are played along with the announcements inside the train. Surely, the monorail can implement some of these revenue augmenting measures from the metro’s playbook.

The metro has also gone ahead with installing solar panels atop stations and its depot to power non-train needs, and generates 2.29 MW of power that takes care of 30 per cent of stations’ requirements.

The options laid out in front of the MMRDA are aplenty. If Mumbai wants more people to take the monorail, it needs

the system to be more approachable, with common ticketing systems, better connectivity in terms of feeder buses, and replace the look of a desolate, abandoned house by inviting private players to lease space and conduct business.

Due to lack of trains, MMRDA has not been able to make the complete route between Chembur and Jacob Circle operational. Currently, only the first phase – Chembur to Wadala – is functional, enlisting four trains. At least seven trains are required to run the entire route. MMRDA aims to have all 15 trains by March 2019.

RTO impounds licence of woman who ran over kid Mihir Tanksale & Girish Shelke The Vigil Planet Network A team from Borivli RTO on Thursday impounded the driving licence of a 42-yearold woman accused of running over an eightyear-old boy on Monday. The boy had a miraculous escape while playing in Sadguru complex in Goregaon (East). A CCTV clip of the incident (pic) went viral on Wednesday, prompting police to register an FIR. She was arrested and released on bail.

On Thursday morning, a team from Borivli RTO went to her house and took away her licence. “We found she did not have a licence from Mumbai RTO. It was issued by the Chhattisgarh RTO in March 2001. While one can drive anywhere in the country with a licence, we were unable to suspend/cancel the licence as it was not issued in Maharashtra,” said Ravi Gaikwad, head of Borivli RTO.

He added they served a showcause notice for ‘gross negligence’ which led to the mishap. “We have asked her to be present at the RTO office on Friday morning to give her explanation. She has to give her version on why no action — such as cancellation of licence — should be taken against her,” he said.

The RTO officials, after recording her statement, are likely to write to Chhattisgarh RTO, asking for the licence to be cancelled since the case is of “serious nature”. “We will not allow her to drive in Mumbai till the RTO procedures are completed. Eventually, the Chhattisgarh RTO will have to take the final call on cancelling the licence,” said Gaikwad, adding that they will send the video clip as evidence.

Fuel hike: Many cabs stay Bollywood divided over #MeToo movement off highways in peak hrs Prices Surge As Drivers Avoid Snarls, Bad Rds Somit Sen somit.sen@thevigilpanet.com OFFICE-GOERS travelling from the far western suburbs and Thane to the island city have been witnessing a shortage of aggregator cabs during peak hours, and as a result high surge prices, as many drivers seem to be keeping off the Western and Eastern Express highways during that time.

“A pool/share ride would cost maximum ₹300 earlier, now this costs up to ₹700 per passenger during peak hours,” said a Thane resident who works in south Mumbai. The full cab fare for the same journey (Thane to CSMT) is more than ₹1,000 during peak hour on most days now, she added. “If there are fewer cabs on roads and the demand is high, then the fare goes up to cater to the demand. It is a dynamic price which keeps fluctuating and can also fall in half an hour,” said an official from an aggregator firm.

A driver partner said that most sedans ply on diesel and the drivers don’t want to get stuck in traffic snarls as it leads

A TVP Correspondent

to huge wastage of fuel and rise in operational costs besides exhaustion. “Also, plying through roads such as Eastern ExpressMulund toll naka during morning peak time involves negotiating potholes, and going through bad roads which increases maintenance costs of the vehicle.” he said.

Another stretch, he pointed out, was the Western Express Highway, mainly during the evening peak hours. There have been a few instances of drivers calling up the customer requesting to cancel the ride to avoid traffic.

COMMUTERS HIT Driver tactics

> Many switch off apps in peak hours (when in suburbs in mornings) > Some drivers request customers to cancel rides

Why?

> Crawling in snarls leads to more fuel use > It also leads to rise in maintenance cost > Also causes exhaustion

ACTOR Nana Patekar’s lawyer Rajendra Shirodkar on Friday said he would send a legal notice to actor Tanushree Dutta over allegations that Patekar had molested her during a film shoot in 2008.

Earlier, Dutta called out director Vivek Agnihotri for making indecent remarks during the shooting of his film ‘Chocolate’ in 2005. She said it was her co-stars Irrfan and Suniel Shetty who had stepped in to defend her after Agnihotri asked her to “strip and dance” to give Irrfan his cue.

As the debate surrounding India’s own #MeToo movement began to grow, veterans of the Hindi film industry, including Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan chose to reserve comment. Both were questioned during a publicity interview for an upcoming film. Bachchan said, “Neither is my name Tanushree Dutta nor is my name Nana Patekar.

How can I answer this question?” Khan said, “Without knowing the veracity of something or the details of something, I don’t think I can comment. But whenever something like this does happen, it’s really sad. Now if it has happened or not is for people to investigate.”

However, actors Farhan Akhtar, Priyanka Chopra, Sonam Kapoor, Richa Chadha, Swara Bhasker, Parineeti Chopra, Twinkle Khanna, Siddharth and di-

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Coordinator appointed for rebuilding Hancock Bridge A TVP Correspondent Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appointed a coordinator for reconstruction of Hancock Bridge in Mazgoan upon instructions from the railways.

The 137-year-old Hancock Bridge was demolished in January 2016 after it was declared unsafe by Central Railway. Reconstruction was then stalled for almost two years, as the contractor appointed by the BMC was blacklisted. In May 2016, the civic body awarded the contract to J Kumar firm, which was then blacklisted by the BMC for a road scam. Fresh tenders were then floated and the project was awarded to Sai Projects in February this year.

The total cost of reconstruction will be Rs 51.70 crore. Work was supposed to begin immediately and was expected to be completed within a

The Hancock Bridge being demolished in January 2016 year. But it stopped since the Railways wasn’t ready to give permission without a coordinator. It suggested two coordinators: Ms Rites Ltd and Ms Ircon Ltd, of whom the former was appointed by the BMC. It will be paid Rs 1.80 crore for services rendered.

The Railways wasn’t ready to give clearance until the coordinator was appointed who would supervise work within Railway premises. Now that one has been appointed, the civic body expects work to resume.

Court allows Anti-Corruption Bereau to search BMC premises Pranali Lotlikar pranali.lotlikar@thevigilplanet.com THE Special Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) court presided by judge S J Biyani has accepted the application filed by the ACB to search the BMC premises due to failure of the officers to extend help to investigate the 50-crore scam committed by the sewerage department of BMC.

The case dates back to the year 2011, when the scam came to the fore. As per the prosecution’s complaint, eight contractors in connivance with BMC officials duped the corporation allegedly of Rs 50 crore by producing bogus bills for work on sewerage lines and manholes. The fraud took place in the year

Vinamrata.Borwankar vinamrata@thevigilplanet.com

Mehul R. Thakkar mehul.thakkar@thevigilplanet.com

sure.”

Since 2017, the MMRDA has floated bids for a new Monorail operator four times. Only two bidders – namely IL&FS and Reliance Infrastructure – responded, quoting above MMRDA’s estimations of Rs 1,000 crore to operate the Monorail for 10 years.

Further, MMOPL has advertisement packages of every kind imaginable on a metro rail. There are full body ads on the outside of coaches, inside them, on grab handles in the train, on digital screens across the platform and concourse level at stations,

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Coastal Road cost doubles in a year Continued from Page 1 “Costs have gone up thanks to taxes and certain norms suggested for preservation of environment, even though the actual cost of the project entrusted to BMC is Rs 8000 crores,” said Sanjay Mukherjee, Additional Municipal Commissioner and in charge of project.

He added, “It’s a unique project and we put all the things in public domain-from pre qualification criteria to design to bidding. We estimated cost without any fixed methodology or technology, so that even international bidders could participate and we get the best bids.”

It is also almost certain now that the Larsen and Toubro Ltd will get to construct two stages of the project – from Priyadarshini Park to Baroda Palace and from Baroda Palace to south end of the Bandra Worli Sea Link while the joint venture of HCC and Hyundai Development Corporation will build the third stage between Princess Street flyover to Priyadarshini Park. Chinese bidders were disallowed by the Centre on security grounds.

MSRDC has been awarded a contract to build stretch of 9.90 km between Bandra -Versova Sea link and Versova. A contract for the stage between Versova and Kandivali is yet to be awarded.

2007-08, when the contractors were assigned work for repair of sewer lines and manholes across the city. In the year 2010, the BMC sewerage department forwarded a proposal to the additional municipal commissioner, demanding a payment of Rs 50 crore for their revised estimate.

BMC officials could not produce required bills and thus the scam was busted.

SEWERAGE SCAM The ACB was allowed to search BMC premises by the ACB court due to failure of the officers to extend help to investigate the 50-Crore scam committed by them.

No. of HSC revaluations drops as 90% club swells

Salman Ansari/TVP The immersion process of Lalbaugcha Raja -Hemant Padalkar/TVP

MMRDA: No more ‘Made in Malaysia’ for Mumbai Monorail AFTER running into several problems with the existing monorail trains, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to not buy the remaining five from Scomi Engineering. Instead, it will float a tender inviting other international firms for trains with updated technology and features for the monorail project.

Ever since operations began in February 2014, the Monorail has been in the news over constant breakdowns. In November 2017, an empty coach caught fire and services were suspended till August 2018. It has also come under the scanner of Comptroller Auditor and General of India (CAG) over irregularities.

As per the contract between MMRDA and Larsen & Toubro and Scomi Engineering (LTSE), the Malaysian manufacturer was supposed to provide 15 trains (with four coaches each). Each rake costs around Rs 10 crore.

“We are going to float a global tender for the remaining trains,” a senior MMRDA official said requesting anonymity, “Scomi can always participate in the fresh bidding.” He added that the firm’s shaky financial condition hinders it from manufacturing and supplying new trains. “And, we’ve waited long enough,” he said, adding, “All legal aspects will be evaluated, considering we are also in arbitration with LTSE over the project. We also plan to appoint a new operator by next year. All contractual obligations will be sorted at the time of clo-

THE VIGIL PLANET

rector Anurag Kashyap came out to support Dutta.

Akhtar replied to a Twitter thread by journalist Janice Sequeira, who said she was an eyewitness to the incident involving Patekar. He wrote, “This thread is very telling. @janiceseq85 was there at the time of the incident being debated today. Even when #Tanushree-Dutta had career concerns to keep quiet 10 years ago she did not & her story hasn’t changed now. Her courage should be admired, not her intention questioned.” Chopra replied, “Agreed.. the world needs to #BelieveSurvivors.”

Sequeira had related how goons began banging the door of the vanity van where Tanushree was. Police arrived afterwards. Patekar said, “Meri beti jaisi hai”, which had made no sense to the journalist then.

Kapoor tweeted, “Many of my co-workers, female and male, have been harassed and bullied, but it’s their story to tell. If we don’t encourage their voices and instead vilify and question them, how will victims ever become survivors?

Let them speak up! Stand up with them!”

IN the HSC 2018 examination, the Mumbai division which consists of Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Palghar registered a success rate of 85.34%, marginally higher than 2017. However, the 90% club soared from 3,819 to 5,486 as compared to the previous year.

Soon after the results are announced in June, several students complain that they have not scored according to their expectation and queue up to apply for photocopies. The first step is to either request for photocopy of answersheets or apply for recounting of marks. Students can apply for re-evaluation within five days of receiving the photocopies. Marksheets and results are changed only if the change in marks is over 5%.

But over the years the number of students applying for the process has gone down. In 2013, the requests for photocopies were 14,817 with 861 applications for re-evaluation. This year, marks were changed for 583 applications while results were changed for 67 HSC students.

Officials said increased transparency in evaluation too has helped. “We have made the process much easier by moving online. We still have a lot of students who

THE PROCESS

2016

2017

2018

Students can apply for photocopy for answersheets and verification of marks. Once, they receive the photocopies, they can decide whether or not to opt for re-evaluation REQUEST FOR ANSWERSHEET PHOTOCOPIES

REQUEST FOR RE-EVALUATION

6,972

620

REQUEST FOR VERIFFICATION OF MARKS

1,696 556

5,034 454

4,984

apply for photocopies but once they see their answersheets, very few come back for re-evaluation as they understand the mistakes they made. As we provide photocopies of answersheets, examiners too are accountable and hence, they ensure there are no mistakes. This has created a sense of trust in the assessment” said Subhash Borse, divisional secretary of Mumbai division.

While the board officials ensure that photocopies of answersheets are ready in eight to 10 days, some students never come to collect them. “We try to finish

1,019 1,660

the re-evaluation process by August 15 so that students can use their changed marks for admissions but a lot of them don’t come to even pick up the papers. We send the remaining papers through post,” he said.

But some teachers feel students don’t pursue it because the effort is not worth it. “The students need their teachers to write an opinion on why an answer needs to be given more marks. By the time the revision comes, most admissions are over,” said a teacher and former member of the state board.

It’s a far-off journey for AC locals in city

Rail authorities doubt the future of AC local services as existing rake is not used to its full capacity daily Shashank Rao shashank.rao@thevigilplanet.com THE future of AC locals thriving in Mumbai depends on Mumbaikars. The rail authorities in city are struggling to convince the Railway Board for approving air conditioned locals to be procured under Mumbai Urban Transport Project 3. This is because the existing AC local is not used to its capacity --- 1,300 commuters use it in a single service as against 4,000 people on a regular train’s single service. The status comes in at a time when Western Railway is expected to get their second AC local in January.

The new set of 47 AC rakes is expected to be procured under MUTP 3 for which meetings are being held in Delhi. Similarly 210 AC rakes are being procured under MUTP 3A.

Both these projects are being implemented by Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation. “We hope that more people travel in AC local. Only then we can convince the Railway Board to approve AC locals,” said an official from MRVC.

At present, 22 lakh plus commuters use the AC local. The second air-conditioned (AC) local train is expected to arrive in Mumbai by January 2019.

On September 21 the Western Railway general manager A.K. Gupta announced that the chances of increasing AC services will be high, as the WR would have two AC rakes. There are chances that AC services may be extended on the weekend, provided there is demand for this.

AK Gupta, General Manager, Western Railway said, “We are expecting the new AC rake in the next four to five months. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is supplying some equipment for the rake. The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) is manufacturing the coach. We are hopeful that the second new AC rake will come by January 2019.”

At present, the WR runs 12 AC services from Monday to Friday. There have been complaints about door closure and AC in the current rake as far as maintenance is concerned. Every rake takes two days for maintenance. The WR authorities have also decided to give halt at more stations.

The project of procuring more AC locals is being implemented by Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation

STATE OF AFFAIRS

The existing AC local is not used by commuters to its capacity — 1,300 commuters use it in a single service as against 4,000 people on a regular train’s single service. The status comes in at a time when WR is expected to get their second AC local in January, 2019 The new set of 47 AC rakes is expected to be procured under MUTP 3 for which meetings are being held in Delhi.

Similarly, 210 AC rakes are being procured under MUTP 3A

At present, WR runs 12 AC services from Monday to Friday.

There have been a few complaints. The WR authorities have also decided to have more halts for AC local trains

The rail authorities in city are struggling to convince the Railway Board for approving air conditioned local trains to be procured under Mumbai Urban Transport Project 3 as soon as possible

We are having continuous meetings with the Railway Board over the same issue. However, they are questioning if the existing AC local is a success and if people are using it.

Senior Official, Western Railway

The air-conditioned local may soon be available to more people as Western Railway (WR) has proposed to increase the number of halts.

The local currently halts at Churchgate, Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra, Andheri, Borivali, Bhayander, Vasai and Virar. If the proposal is deemed feasible, it will come into effect on November 1.

The proposed halts have been planned along the lines of the existing Virar fast locals, at Marine Lines, Charni Road, Grant Road, Dahisar, Mira Road, Naigaon and Nalasopara.

The existing AC local is not used

by commuters to its capacity — 1,300 commuters use it in a single service as against 4,000 people on a regular train’s single service. The status comes in at a time when WR is expected to get their second AC local in January, 2019

The new set of 47 AC rakes is expected to be procured under MUTP 3 for which meetings are being held in Delhi. Similarly, 210 AC rakes are being procured under MUTP 3A

At present, WR runs 12 AC services from Monday to Friday. There have been a few complaints. The WR authorities have also decided to have more halts for AC local trains

THE VIGIL PLANET

MUMBAI |

J&K names 24 for cops’ killing BREAKTHROUGH IN 24 HOURS: Hizbul chief among those identified behind Shopian horror Ishfaq-ul-Hassan h_ishfaq@thevigilplanet.com Srinagar: JAMMU and Kashmir police have achieved a major breakthrough after they identified 24 terrorists involved in the abduction and killing of three policemen in south Kashmir on Friday morning.

Police have named 24 terrorists in the First Information Report (FIR).

Hizbul Mujahideen chief operations commander Riyaz Naikoo has been named as the mastermind of the abductions and killing of three cops at Kapran and Batagund villages of Shopian districts.

“Police Station Shopian received information through reliable sources that at the behest of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo, some active terrorists, armed with illegal arms and ammunition, entered houses of four cops in Kapran and Batagund. They kidnapped three cops and a relative of another with an intention to kill them. While the civilian was released after a while, three cops were shot dead by the terrorists,” said the FIR accessed by DNA.

On Friday morning terrorists, in a rerun to Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz case, raided the residences of policemen and abducted three of them before shooting them down in Shopian district. Firdous Ahmad Kuchey, Kulwant Singh and Nisar Ahmad Dhobi were taken to Lamni-Wangam village adjacent to Kapran where they were shot dead.

Police said the act was aimed at

Rashtriya Bajrangdal protest over cops’ killing in Jammu on Saturday -PTI

Notification Issued For Phase-3 Polls Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Jammu and Kashmir Shaleen Kabra on Saturday issued notification for the conduct of third phase of Municipal polls in the state.

bodies across the state which are slated to go to the polls in the third phase on October 13.

The last date for filing nominations is September 29. Last date for withdrawal of candidature is The notification has October 3 and the countbeen issued for various ing of votes will be done wards of the municipal on October 20. intimidating the police and their family members so as to keep them away from their duties.

Security forces on Saturday launched a massive cordon and search operation in more than eight villages of Pulwama district to look for the terror-

ists, who are on the run.

Additional Director General of Police, Security, Law and Order, Munir Ahmad Khan said they are working on the case (of cop killing). “Even 24 hours have not passed. But we are working on the case”, he told DNA.

India cancels dialogue with Pak over SPOs’ killings, stamps A TVP Correspondent

New Delhi: INDIA has decided not to have any dialogue with Pakistan in wake of the recent killings of Special Police Officers (SPOs) in Kashmir by Pakistan-supported terrorists and mutilation of a Border Security Force (BSF) soldier. In addition to that, the release of postal stamps by Pakistan, glorifying terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, has been cited as one of the reasons not to resume any talks with Pakistan.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday that the decision to go ahead with the meeting between foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and her counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York was cancelled.

Stating that the proposal for talks as a fresh beginning by Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan was an “evil agenda” that stands exposed, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that any conversation with Pakistan in such an environment would be meaningless.

“The latest brutal killings of our security personnel by Pakistan-based entities and the recent release of a series of twenty postage stamps by Pakistan, glorifying a terrorist and terrorism, confirm that Pakistan will not mend its ways,” he said.

While India had accepted the proposal for the meeting, it was also clear that this would not lead to a resumption of dialogue till Pakistan stopped cross-border terrorism.

The MEA said that the decision to agree to Pakistan’s proposal for a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in New York later this month was in response to the spirit reflected in the letters from the new prime minister and foreign minister of

SATURDAY | 22 SEPTEMBER, 2018

The new postal stamps released by Pakistan glorify terrorists and terrorism in J&K. MEA has cited these as one of the reasons for calling off talks Pakistan.

New Delhi had earlier expressed anger over the savage killing of BSF soldier Narendra Singh in Jammu’s Samba sector, whose bullet-ridden body was found in a mutilated state, with his throat slit.

Previously, India had snapped a high-level dialogue with Pakistan after an attack by Pakistan-based terrorists on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016.

Diplomatic ties between the two nations have slumped as terror strikes in Kashmir continue. New Delhi has always maintained that talks cannot take place till Pakistan stops sponsoring terror, targeted towards India.

The Indian Army had also carried out surgical strikes destroying terror launchpads across the Line of Control in 2016.

While the causes of India’s rethink on the meeting are clear – the abduction and killing of J&K policemen; the issue of stamps featuring

slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani

by Pakistan; and growing public anger over the mutilation and killing of a BSF soldier earlier this week – what isn’t clear is why India said yes to the meeting initially. Maybe it was to ensure peace during the forthcoming Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

The use of media by Pakistan’s deep state in furtherance of its latest move shows that it is all optics without any groundwork. The UNGA meeting was supposed to be a photo-op followed by a press conference with both sides presenting their views and scoring points domestically. The only way for productive bilateral dialogue, though, involves putting any perceived disputes in the freezer and pushing for bilateral trade and development, and increased people to people contacts. And the only real breakthrough will come when Pakistan’s approach to Kashmir changes.

India publicly came to terms with Pakistan when then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee paid homage at Minar-e-Pakistan in 1999. Pakistan is yet to come to terms with India, especially where Kashmir is involved.

New Delhi: THE post-election Maldives may be more attuned to India’s security concerns, but China will have a big presence in the island nation. In an exclusive chat with TOI, Dunya Maumoon, former foreign minister and a possible minister in Ibu Solih’s government, said Maldives was looking to “balance” India and China.

“India remains a close friend and will continue to be so. But India has to learn to respect a small country like Maldives. We may be tiny, but we don’t care for bullying tactics. We understand India’s security concerns as China has moved much closer here, and we will be sensitive to it.”

“Our relations with China are very important. But we have concerns, we would like to review our borrowings from China, whether we will be able to repay the loans, whether we might be slipping into a debt “bondage”. But we need external finance and expertise for infrastructure and development, and the Chinese currently have it. Our decisions with the external world will be determined keeping Maldives’ national interest in mind. We are looking for a more balanced relationship.”

Dunya’s father, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has been in prison for over six months, as is her brother Faris.

The coalition of opposition parties who came together to put up a unified candidate, now have an even bigger challenge — to stay together and get above their personal differences.

Questioned about whether the coaltion would hold, Dunya said, “we have seen in earlier instances, coalitions fall apart quickly. But this time we have come together against a common enemy. To that extent, all the opposition parties — MDP, Jumhoori, Adhaalath and part of the PPM — have come together on a common platform. My father and President Nasheed are on opposite sides of the political debate, and have been for years. But they buried their differences in the common interest of the country’s future. Of course people are sceptical about whether the coalition will hold.

But I am optimistic that this time everybody is committed to make it work.”

Why did the vote go the way it did? Until a few days ago Yameen looked like he would sail through, particularly since his challenger, the quiet, unassuming Ibu Solih was an unknown quantity. Reflecting on the results, Dunya said, “Maldivians were facing the issue of justice. Many of our coun-

THE VIGIL PLANET NETWORK Continued from Pg 1 ALLOWING companies like Walmart to operate from India will result in the return of the ‘East India Company’, said a top leader of a national traders’ body. Shopkeepers from across the country are opposing government nods to such deals, claiming these can pose a serious challenge to their livelihood.

“Walmart-Flipkart deal is nothing but the return of East India Company in the country,” said Praveen Khandelwal, national president and general secretary of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which has given a call for nation-wide bandh of shopkeepers on September 28. He claimed more than 40,000 trade associations and federations will participate in the bandh and seven crore small businesses will down their shutters.

Foreign multinationals are misusing provisions to allow FDI in cash-and-carry, and that it has presented its case before the government, claimed Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal, which is organising a dharna at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday. Tarachand Kasat, national chairman of Textile Committee of the Federation said Surat is a hub for wholesale trade and will be seriously hurt if traditional retailers will lose in the new game.

Walmart and Flipkart merged in August this year

Traders from all over India source textile products like dress material and sarees from Surat. If they will lose the fight, business in Surat will come to a grinding halt. We are participating in dharna to express our solidarity with them.

Doug McMillon and Kalyan Krishnamurthy

Tarachand Kasat

Chairman, Textile Committee

After being hit by surgical strike, PoK terror camp active again 8 New Launch Pads Came Up While Imran Made Peace Overtures

Rohan Dua rohan.dua@thevigilpanet.com Srinagar: WHILE Pakistan PM Imran Khan was making peace overtures to New Delhi, terror groups backed by his country’s army were setting up eight new launch pads along the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Approximately 250 terrorists are waiting to infiltrate into J&K from 27 launch pads in PoK, intelligence sources said. Among the new launch pads are those in Lipa Valley, one of the two strategic locations destroyed by Indian Army’s surgical strike in September 2016.

Kashmir has been wracked by violence since the killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani by Indian security forces in an encounter in July 2016. Though stone-pelting and mob violence in Kashmir have been controlled considerably in the last one year, the rise in threats by Pakistan-sponsored terror groups and targeted killings of J&K policemen have coincided with the increase in infiltration attempts and ceasefire violations along LoC and IB. Before Wani was killed, there were only 14 functional launch pads in PoK with just

‘BJP indulging in baseless witchhunt against me’ Gauree.Malkarnekar gauree.m@thevigilplanet.com New Delhi: CONGRESS leader Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra on Wednesday accused BJP of using his name to divert focus from allegations against its leadership, saying the Centre had been indulging in a “baseless political witch-hunt” against him for four years.

“Having all the agencies under their beck and call... no one knows better than the present government and the BJP that they have indulged in a baseless political witch-hunt against me for the last four years. Instead, they should man up with their 56-inch chests and tell the nation the truth about the Rafale deal, rather than hiding behind a bunch of lies that the people are fed up of hearing them repeat,” Vadra said in a statement on Facebook. The statement came in response to BJP dragging Vadra into the Rafale controversy.

Vadra said it had become a “wholesale farce” that BJP raked up his name every time it was cornered on issues ranging from falling rupee to soaring oil prices to Rafale on which it was “totally exposed”.

Dunya Maumoon is a former foreign minister and a possible minister in Ibu Solih’s govt trymen have faced unfair persecution in recent months. Yameen was a strong leader, taking a decisive stand on the economy and infrastructure projects that is important for the country. But our people were chafing under the fact that freedoms were being increasingly curtailed. They wanted that freedom back, that’s why the vote went the way it did.”

Who is Ibu Solih, and what kind of a leader will he be? “He is from MDP as you know, President Nasheed

www.thevigilplanet.com

‘Walmart-Flipkart deal will bring back East India Co.’

Maldives will look to balance interests of India and China: Ex-prez’s daughter INDRANI BAGCHI indrani.bachi@thevigilplanet.com

INDIA 03

has been his mentor. His dominant qualities is that he is quiet and accommodating. But he also realises the wealth of experience that my father has. Ibu Solih has a close line to my father and with our family. Please do not underestimate the contribution of Mr Qasim Ibrahim (who was sentenced in 2017 to 38 months in jail). He is a benevolent man and a kingmaker. Whoever he supports wins the election. With him on our side, we are confident,” Dunya said.

160 terrorists camping there. But soon after Wani’s elimination, an immediate rise in terror training activity was noted across the LoC.From just 160 terrorists, their number went up to around 190 to 230 terrorists with an addition of five more terror camps, making it 19, sources said. Eight more have been added since Imran’s election as PM. Of the 27 terror launch pads which are operational, Lashkar-e-Taiba is concentrated in Lipa, Chakothi, Bararkot, Shardi, Jura and Bararkot areas while Hizb’s camps are set up in PoK’s Forward Kahuta area.

Pakistan, sources said, has also re-established the launch pad at Lipa Valley, one of the two strategic locations where India had conducted a surgical strike in September 2016. However, the launch pad opposite the other surgical strike location, Bimbhar Gali, has not resurfaced. “The strength at Hajipur and Forward Kahuta is now negligible,” said a senior intelligence officer.

The number of Lashkar-e-Taiba members who are preparing to enter India at Lipa, Chananian, Mandaukali and Naukot now stands at 25-30, according to details accessed by TOI. “The geographical importance of these infiltration points is the

breathing time needed by these militants and the support from over ground workers in Handwara and Hafrooda forest cover.

From there, their intent is to move to South Kashmir,” said an intelligence officer. Intelligence sleuths said that the recent surge in terror activities in Gurez, Jajarkotli, Sopore, and Bandipora in Kashmir is meant to destabilise the state ahead of panchayat elections and may escalate the tension between the two countries.

India postpones Pak team’s visit to J&K projects Islamabad: India has postponed the scheduled inspection of its two hydropower projects on the Chenab river by Pakistani experts following the fresh tension in bilateral ties and cancellation of foreign ministers’ meeting in New York, according to a media report here on Wednesday. The Indian authorities postponed the inspection

by Pakistani experts and said that it would not be possible due to the local-body elections in J&K, Dawn news quoted a source as saying.

epaper.thevigilplanet.com

NT Rama Rao’s son Harikrishna dies in Telangana car accident U.SudhakarReddy sudhakar.u@thevigilplanet.com Telangana: TELUGU actor and former Rajya Sabha member Nandamuri Harikrishna was killed in a road accident near Telangana’s Nalgonda district on Wednesday early morning. He was 61.

He was the fourth son of the late veteran actor N. T. Rama Rao (NTR), the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and founder of the Telugu Desam Party.

Mr. Harikrishna suffered a severe head injury after he was thrown out of his car after it rammed into a divider, toppled and collided with an oncoming SUV.

He was declared “brought dead” by doctors at the Kamineni Hospital, 15 km away from accident site. Two of the three occupants of the car sustained minor injuries.

Police said the vehicle was going towards Andhra Pradesh, on the Narketpally-Addanki State highway.

The accident occurred at 5.45 a.m. near 12th Battalion Reserve Police, Anneparthy Mr. Harikrishna’s brother, actor and MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna; sister and Member of Parliament Daggubaati Purandeshwari; his sons Junior NTR and Kalyan Ram were present at the hospital. Special permission was obtained to conduct post mortem at the hospital, replacing the procedure at the District Government Hospital, Nalgonda.

Stint in Telugu cinema Born in 1956, Mr. Harikrishna entered films as a child artiste in Krishnavataram in 1964. This was followed by guest roles in films like Ram Rahim and Daana Veera Sura Karna, the NTR-starrer in the 1970s. Mr. Harikrishna took a break from films and subsequently accompanied his father driving the ‘’Chaitanya

Actor Harikrishna suffered a severe head injury after he was thrown out of his car after it rammed into a divider, toppled and collided with an oncoming SUV.

Ratham’’ in the nine-month campaign during the inception of the TDP. He returned to films in 1998 with a guest role in Mohan Babu-starrer Sriramulayya.

His movies like Sitayya in which he played a full length role were received well by the audience.

Body to be taken to Mehdipatnam Mr. Harikrishna’s body was taken by the Nandamuri family in a convoy from the hospital in Narketpally. His fans and others raised ‘’Harikrishna Amar Hai’’ slogans as the ambulance with the body left the hospital premises. Fan frenzy gave a tough time for the police officials to move VIP vehicles out of the hospital.

The post mortem of his body was conducted at the hospital and doctors said the death was caused due to head injury. Telanagana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has instructed officials to conduct Mr. Harikrishna’s last rites with official honours. The Chief Minister told Chief Secretary S. K. Joshi to discuss with the family members of Mr. Harikrishna and make necessary arrangements.

Sources said the body would be brought to his residence in Mehdipatnam. The family has decided to perform the last rites at his farm house in Moinabad on Thursday afternoon.

French prez Macron says Rafale was a govt-to-govt deal A TVP Correspondent New Delhi: SIDE-STEPPING questions on the Rs 59,000 crore contract for 36 Rafale fighter jets, French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said he was not in charge when the deal was inked in September 2016. “...but I know that we have very clear rules and this is a government-to-government discussion (deal). This contract is part of a broader framework, which is a military and defence coalition between India and France,” he said.

This was in response to questions about his predecessor François Hollande’s statement last week that the Indian government had “proposed” that Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence be taken as the main offsets partner of Rafale-manufacturer Dassault Aviation.

“I just want to refer to what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a few days ago,” said Macron, on the sidelines of UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

Though he did not elaborate, he was probably referring to the NDA government’s statement that it had “no role in the selection of Reliance Defence as the offsets partner” of Dassault Aviation. The French government has also stressed that it was “in no manner involved” in the choice of Indian industrial partners. The Indian defence ministry has raised questions about Hollande’s statement by pointing to reports about “issues of conflict of interest involving persons close to him”, alluding to Reliance Entertainment’s deal to partly finance a film with his partner and actor Julie Gayet.

04

OPINION

MUMBAI |

SATURDAY | 22 SEPTEMBER, 2018

Thought of the day Money is numbers and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end.

Bob Marley

T

hose are the best years of your life, they say about school.

Prove them wrong. Your schooling should be the springboard to grander adventures. Polynomials, rote learning, uniforms, strum this not that, stay in your seat, don’t run in the corridors, life should be bigger than all this. Instead of only reading Romeo and Juliet maybe you will live it – and rewrite the ending. In place of bowing low to it perhaps you will grow to command authority. Outgrow even your teachers. Stride longer than their shadow. Your music guru needs a ladder to climb the high notes, you could be the next Adele. The economics teacher is excellent but he’s all talk, you could breed a spectacular startup.

The language and literature instructor is full of advice on how to write well without having done it herself, you could land a Booker. And of course every astronaut up there has bested his high school physics mentor by many miles.

It does seem as though all those who can, do while those who can’t, teach.

Teachers, principals, PT coaches, on campus they appear almighty. But if they do their job somewhat right their students will be more than them, more ambitious, successful, imaginative, innovative. Likely they won’t become teachers themselves. Back to school they won’t come. Little nine-year-old Harper Nielsen has created a ruckus not only in her school in Australia but across the country by refusing to stand up for the national anthem, drawing attention to how it favours white folk over indigenous Australians. This is how all society grows, by young people challenging received wisdom, causing creative disruptions. Being not teacher’s pet but competitor.

Sickness & Health Ayushman Bharat is a game-changer

T

he launch of Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY)-Ayushman Bharat- has given a major fillip to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for inclusive development, Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. For one, it will not discriminate against people on the basis of religion, caste and creed.

Secondly, it comes as a huge blessing for 10.74 crore impoverished Indians who cannot afford to undergo treatment in hospitals, given the exorbitant healthcare costs. If implemented effectively, this can be the mother of all welfare schemes in India, if not the world, because it covers 1,300 ailments, including heart diseases, kidney ailments and diabetes.

Sample this: Data of the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) revealed that around 86 per cent of the rural population and 82 per cent of the urban population were not covered under any scheme of health expenditure support. The same survey had also revealed that rural families primarily depended on their ‘household income/savings’ (68 per cent) and on ‘borrowings’ (25 per cent), while the urban households relied much more on their ‘income/saving’ (75 per cent) for financing expenditure on hospitalisation, than on ‘borrowings’ (only 18 per cent). If medical treatment consumes such huge proportions of a family’s earnings and savings, and also forces it to borrow, it shows why the poor will think thrice before going to a doctor. The reality is healthcare expenditure has reduced lakhs of families to penury.

According to a study published in the British Medical Journal, in 2011-12, out of pocket expenditure for medicines pushed about 3.8 crore persons into poverty, of the 5.5 crore that were impoverished due to total health costs, including lab tests, diagnostics, doctor and surgeon fees. It is in this context that PMJAY assumes significance. According to the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data, 8.03 crore families in rural and 2.33 crore in urban areas will be entitled to be covered under this scheme, which means around 50 crore people will be entitled to the benefits. A lifeline for such a huge number of people is virtually unheard of and each family gets a benefit cover of Rs 5 lakh for secondary and tertiary care treatment involving hospitalisation.

However, the government has an extremely tough challenge at hand: to revamp India’s public healthcare system. A study by Lancet revealed that some 2.4 million Indians die of treatable conditions every year. This shows that access to healthcare is as important as the quality of healthcare. Without ensuring a minimum level of quality, the scheme runs the risk of falling flat.

Before the rolling out of the scheme, India was spending about one per cent of its GDP on healthcare, which is grossly inadequate.

Systemic inadequacies have been plaguing public healthcare for years.

With primary healthcare in shambles, most hospitals already overburdened with secondary and tertiary treatment are forced to bear additional responsibilities. One can expect only half-hearted participation from private players who are primarily guided by profit-driven motives. The Modi government has taken on a gargantuan responsibility. And, it can transform India at one stroke if Ayushman Bharat becomes a genuine success.

Sex offenders, beware A registry is an effective weapon

W

hile crime against women has shot up, the rate of conviction has gone down, giving rise to the apprehension that stricter provisions in the law have failed to make a difference. Call it faulty investigations or the failure of the criminal justice delivery system, the National Crime Records Bureau’s figures for 2016 show a remarkable jump in rate of crime against women – crimes per 1,00,000 female population – with 55.2 in 2016, up from 41.7 in 2012. Against this backdrop, the National Registry of Sexual Offenders, which features the names, photographs, residential address, fingerprints, DNA samples, and PAN and Aadhaar numbers, of convicted sexual offenders, will make the job of the police and other investigating agencies a lot easier.

Since the details of the entries in such a registry will be made available only to law enforcement agencies, it should be incumbent upon them to update the list. A database of this sort will be particularly helpful in cases of repeat offenders though the names of first-time offenders too will be included. In the UK, such a list had failed to become effective because of the government’s failure to convince the Supreme Court about the importance of maintaining the registry. In 2012, the SC had declared that, “with no right of review, requiring sex offenders to register their address with police and inform them of travel plans was disproportionate and incompatible with the right to privacy”. Since then the UK police had to let go of hundreds of convicted sex offenders, despite much hue and cry. In India, where public safety is often accorded little priority, such a registry is vital in fighting gender crime and crimes against children.

FIRST CUT

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New threats to forces in J&K The psychological warfare unleashed by separatists and terrorists need to be taken seriously SYED ATA HASNAIN

I Not Back To School

Students should outdo teachers, instead of humbly walking in their footsteps

THE VIGIL PLANET

n any irregular warfare situation, when terrorists are on the run due to security forces’ pressure, they will resort to unconventional ways of diluting the forces’ effectiveness. In 1999, at the height of Kargil operations, terror groups chose to execute ‘Fidayeen’ attacks or suicide missions. These forced out of proportion defensive security measures to be taken by the armed forces, thus reducing the ongoing pressure from offensive counter-terror operations.

The advent of stone throwing and street turbulence in 2008 was a ploy employed when terrorist numbers plummeted after the LoC fence came into being in 2004 and enabled far more effective counter infiltration.

This created another domain sometimes referred as “agitational terrorism”. The army had raised the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) to fight terrorism and it proved to be one of the most successful military experiments. Remaining one of the most effective arms of the security forces has been the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Its continuity in operations, wealth of experience of its personnel, affinity with the local populace and steadfastness under threat, from time to time, has all through ensured a force multiplication effect. Alongside them are the personnel of the JAK Light Infantry’s Territorial Army Home & Hearth units, as also regular soldiers from the JAK LI Regiment whose presence while on leave (2,0003,000 personnel at any given time) in villages and cities has had a stabilising effect on the environment.

Through the height of the militancy, these personnel were never targeted by terrorists, presumably on the premise that it would attract the ire of the army and the JKP. The foreign terrorists (FTs), then in majority, always suspected that much more intense operations would follow if local SF personnel and their families became targets.

The steadfastness of the local soldiers and policemen under trying circumstances within Kashmir’s social milieu was one of the hallmarks of our efforts towards countering Pakistani and separatist efforts. It was particularly borne out during the 2008-10 agitation. In 2016, in the wake of Burhan Wani’s killing, it was the local militancy which took the upper hand. The first noticeable change was the initiation of the targeting of policemen’s homes and forced admission by their families of allegiance to the terrorist cause. From then on, as the local hold over the violent element of the separatist movement was enhanced, the threat to local soldiers on leave and policemen has multiplied manifold. The paraly-

sis and embarrassment of the administration through targeting of local functionaries was earlier witnessed with the killing of 16 sarpanchs and injuring of 30 other elected grassroots leaders over the last few years.

In the interim, in August 2018, the establishment reportedly attempted an intimidation and targeting of the families of a few terrorists leading to a quid pro quo action by terrorists against policemen’s families. The standoff eased once both sides stood down but it probably emboldened the local terrorists to renew their threats and execute these with a higher level of intimidation. That translated on September 18 2018, when Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) issued a warning through an uploaded video recording. It threatened to kill every Kashmiri working for JKP and Indian Army if they didn’t resign within four days; failure to resign would lead to the killing of families, as per the threat. The video went viral on social media bringing yet another facet into the ongoing information war which the terrorists are clearly dominating thus far.

Not taking the threat too lightly, the authorities have displayed sensitivity to the sentiments that will be created within ranks of soldiers serving away from the Valley, the TA-H&H and personnel of the JKP who remain the most visible and vulnerable.

The Hizbul Mujahideen has given an indication of its intent to do on ground what it has threatened, when it killed three SPOs in Shopian on 21 September 2018.

It is obvious that securing all Kashmiri armed forces personnel and families will pose a bigger challenge for the establishment and take away much of the offensive content from the anti-terrorism operations.

A major domain which will be affected will be intelligence, for which the army’s dependence is largely on the JKP. In the see-saw battle for domination of the security space in the Valley, the SF have been clearly dominant once the negative situation arising from the trigger effect of the killing of Burhan Wani on 8 July 2016 was stabilised. That domination is now under challenge and answers are not easy. This will have an adverse effect also on the intended strategy of the government to take the proxy war campaign beyond just security related operations. Outreach operations, restoration of political activity at the grassroots and most importantly the successful conduct of the local bodies’ polls due over the next two months, will all be adversely affected.

The government needs to act quickly to re-

In Shopian in the Kashmir Valley, there is a dearth of troops, which is affording space and freedom of movement to the terrorists

In the battle of wits, the government can accept being on the back foot only temporarily. In the long run, it can remain defensive only at a very negative cost.

ing to surround all army camps in the Valley. It was an ill-advised move, against which the army made its intent extremely clear; that it would brook no attempts at intimidation and would unhesitatingly resort to counter violence to defeat such attempts. The separatists then stood down.

However, times have changed. The separatists and terrorists, backed by the deep State across the LoC, have been emboldened many a time in recent years to cross the limits of tolerance and bear consequences in the vain hope that it would create far greater alienation and force the hand of the establishment. If they are targeting the local bodies’ polls for cancellation, then the government needs to be even more committed towards their conduct once the announcement has been made.

This is not a juncture when the establishment can display any squeamishness or be forced on the back foot. It is only hoped that better sense will prevail in the thinking of HM who may find that in the store confidence. It is not panic station yet, but clear- battle of wits, the government can accept being on ly there is a dearth of troops in Shopian, in particular, the back foot only temporarily. In the long run, it can that is affording space and freedom of movement to remain defensive only at a very negative cost. the terrorists. The only answer is through a strong focused response against the terrorists and their lead- The author commanded the 15 Corps in J&K and is ership by greater density of troops presence. Once now the Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir.

Views expressed are personal. earlier, in 2010, the separatists attempted to cross the limit of tolerance of the establishment by threaten-

75 YEARS ON: REMEMBERING BENGAL FAMINE

‘Manufactured Genocide’ resulted in 3 million deaths and ends the notion of the British being benevolent rulers MARTAND JHA

T

his year marks the 75th anniversary of the Bengal famine which took the lives of over three million people. Coming in the backdrop of World War II, the famine will be remembered throughout history by Indians for exposing the cruelty of the world revered statesman Winston Churchill.

“Why hasn’t Gandhi died yet,” was Churchill’s response to a telegram from the government in Delhi informing London about the famine. For Churchill Indians lives didn’t matter as they didn’t vote and were “breeding like rabbits,” anyway.

This attitude of British cruelty and apathy could be seen that when even when the famine was at its peak and people was starving to death, the British administration exported thousands of tonnes of rice to war zones where the British and its allied armies were fighting, as well as to Britain. As per archival data, India exported more than 70,000 tonnes of rice between January and July 1943 which would have kept nearly four lakh people alive for a full year.

This was the last biggest famine before India’s independence in 1947 and due to vast scale of deaths and destruction it caused, it left a deep scar in the psyche of the leaders of the Indian Freedom movement and among the masses in general. Although, famines were not new to Bengal as the first

peaked and children started dying due to starvation, women and young girls in particular were forced to enter prostitution in order to get money for food. It may even surprise many to note that the lives lost in this famine were much more than the lives lost during the Partition in 1947.

Despite these truths, colonial apologists blame the famine entirely on the poor harvests due to stagnant agricultural productivity in Bengal. It’s partly true that this was one of the reasons behind famine but the real reason was a result of the poor agrarian policies of British rule. Also, it is a myth to think that the famine was only throughout 1943. If looked at holistically it actually lasted for two years, starting in 1942 and ended in 1944.

The Bengal famine ends the myth that that the British were benevolent rulers. Coming in the days when the British Raj was standing on its last legs this “manufactured genocide” was a desperate attempt by the colonisers who wanted to rule the Indian sub-conAt the time of the Bengal famine, when millions were starving, India exported over 70, 000 tonnes of rice tinent at any cost. This cost was paid for by millions Great Bengal Famine of 1770 wiped out more than Apart from the widespread loss of life the of the native Bengali-speaking population.

10 million people. There too the major reason was famine led to abject mass poverty. There are reports the exploitative economic policy of Britishers who that some people were forced to eat grass as well as The author is a junior research fellow at the School of International Studies, JNU. were just settling in to become the masters of the In- human flesh to survive. Children and women were Views are personal. dian sub-continent. severely affected. While the infant mortality rate

INDIA-PAK RELATION IS REPLETE WITH TWISTS

India needs to have a coherent Pakistan strategy in place because one can challenge allies, but never neighbours SHAH ALAM KHAN

O

utsiders are usually puzzled about why India and Pakistan cannot be friends.

From their perspective the two nations are not just vaguely similar but alike. That is to say, not different like Spain and Portugal or Germany and France, where there is a long history of separation and a distinct culture and a separate language. India and Pakistan have no such division in history before 1947, because there is no natural barrier between them. And though one can argue that Pakistanis have a very different culture from Indians, this is not noticeable, at least immediately, to the outsider.

The food tastes the same — heavily flavoured with masala and with a base of rice or roti. The way the people look is quite similar — it is not easy to tell the Lahori woman apart from the Delhiwalli or the Karachi man from the one in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar. The south and the east of India are different, but then those differences exist inside India as well. The music is, of course, also quite similar. To outsiders, the distinction of some specific ingredients and meat used (actually most of the food that Pakistanis eat is like ours, right from meat to dal, vegetables and grain) is not that significant. And that puzzles them as to over why such hostility exists.

When news flashed on September 20 that the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan would meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, there were mixed reactions across the board. This was just days after Imran Khan had sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi where he expressed his desire to reach out to India and start a bilateral dialogue through constructive re-engagement.

Many scholars and experts on Indo-Pak

relations raised concerns regarding this proposed meet in view of the continued tension and crossborder firings. India’s move to accept this invitation for dialogue was surprising, as many were hoping that UNGA 2018 would prove to be yet another platform for an Indo-Pak diplomatic showdown.

The very next day, however, India made a complete U-turn by pulling out of this dialogue citing two reasons. First, brutal killings of three Indian soldiers by Pakistan-based entities, and the recent release of a series of 20 postage stamps

by Pakistan glorifying Burhan Wani, a militant

eliminated by Indian armed forces in July 2016.

Imran Khan’s response to this added fuel to the fire after he tweeted that he was disappointed by India’s “arrogant response”, and remarked, “All my life, I have come across small men occupying big offices who do not have the vision to see the larger picture.”

India has officially made it clear that terrorism and talks can’t go together. The twists and turns of this episode have raised more questions on India’s State response to Pakistan. Firstly, while accepting the invitation for a meeting on the sidelines of UNGA, was India trying to set

aside the question of cross-border terrorism by Pakistan? If yes, then why this sudden U-turn, since Pakistan has proven itself to be a repeat offender historically?

India is more than aware of brutal cross-border killings by Pakistan as well as the latter’s stand on Burhan Wani, whom it celebrates as a martyr. Therefore, to first accept the invitation for a bilateral dialogue and then make a U-turn the next day shows India’s confusion about its Pakistan policy. If the Government of India indeed wanted to have a dialogue despite knowing these facts, then the dialogue should not have been put off. In this case, a talk would have been better than no talk, especially when the new regime in Pakistan has officially stated that it wanted to talk on terrorism and wished to improve trade ties.

This kind of behaviour by India casts aspersions on whether these sudden changes in critical decision-making are because of an internal pressure of domestic politics imposed by the media and other pressure groups, who were questioning India’s decision to go ahead with the talks. It seems that the Indian government doesn’t want to be perceived as going ‘soft’ on Pakistan, especially at a time when four Assembly elections and general elections are lined up over the next few months. To conclude, India needs to have a more coherent approach while dealing with Pakistan because in international relations, one can change ‘allies’ but not ‘neighbours’.

The author is a junior research fellow at the School of International Studies, JNU. Views are personal

THE VIGIL PLANET

MUMBAI |

SATURDAY | 22 SEPTEMBER, 2018

PLANET 05

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Maldives’ prez concedes Dozens of Facebook employees unite to challenge its ‘intolerant’ liberal culture loss to oppn candidate Kate Conger & Sheera Frenke

Nation rejoices as outgoing president was expected to rig and win the poll

Male: MALDIVES strongman President Yameen Abdul Gayoom conceded that he lost Sunday’s election to his challenger, longtime lawmaker Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, in a speech on Monday. Speaking in the Maldives’ native language, Dhivehi, Yameen congratulated Solih and said, “I know I have to step down now.”

The concession and the results were a surprise to Maldives’ opposition, who had feared Yameen would rig the vote in his favour.

India’s foreign ministry issued a statement Monday saying it looked forward to working with Solih’s new government “in further deepening our relationship.”

Speaking in the Maldives’ native language, Dhivehi, Gayoom congratulated Solih and said, “I know I have to step down now.” The concession and the results were a surprise to Maldives’ opposition, who had feared Yameen would rig the vote in his favour. Since getting elected in 2013, Yameen had cracked down on political dissent, jailing rivals — including his half brother and the Maldives’ first democratically elected president — and Supreme Court justices.

The election commission released provisional results showing Solih won the multiparty presidential poll with 58.3 per cent of the vote. The commission said voter turnout in the country of 4,00,000 people was 89.2 per cent.

Mass tourism threatens ‘Game of Thrones’ town

On a typical day there are about 8 ships visiting this town of 2,500 people Dubrovnik: Marc van Bloemen has lived in the old town of Dubrovnik, a Croatian citadel widely praised as the jewel of the Adriatic, for decades, since he was a child.

He says it used to be a privilege. Now it’s a nightmare.

Crowds of tourists clog the entrances to the ancient walled city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as huge cruise ships unload thousands more daily. People bump into each other on the famous limestone-paved Stradun, the pedestrian street lined with medieval churches and palaces, as fans of the popular TV series “Game of Thrones” search for the locations where it was filmed.

Dubrovnik is a prime example of the effects of mass tourism, a global phenomenon in which the increase in people travelling means standout sites — particularly small ones — get overwhelmed by crowds. As the numbers of visitors keeps rising, local authorities are looking for ways to keep the throngs from killing off the town’s charm.

“It’s beyond belief, it’s like living in the middle of Disneyland,” says van Bloemen from his house overlooking the bustling Old Harbor in the shadows of the stone city walls. “We feel sorry for ourselves, but also for them because they can’t feel the town anymore because they are knocking into other tourists,” he said.

“It’s chaos, the whole thing is chaos.”

The problem is hurting Dubrovnik’s reputation. UNESCO warned last year that the city’s world heritage title was at risk because of the surge in tourist numbers.

The popular Discoverer travel blog recently wrote that a visit to the historic town “is a highlight of any Croatian vacation, but the crowds that pack its narrow streets and passageways don’t make for a quality visitor experience.”

-AP

China denies setting up military base in Afghanistan Beijing: China on Wednesday dismissed

reports that it is setting up a military base in Afghanistan in a narrow corridor connecting the two countries near Xinjiang to prevent infiltration of Uygur militants into the volatile province.

According to a report in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, China has started building a training camp for Afghan troops in Wakhan corridor — a project Beijing is fully funding. Once the camp is completed, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is likely to send hundreds of military personnel — at least one battalion strong — to Afghanistan’s isolated Wakhan, the Post report said.

When asked about the report, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, “After checking with relevant departments, it has been found that this report is not true.” Asked whether China is funding Afghanistan to setup the base, Hua said “if setting up military base is not true what comes next is also not true”. The Chinese military had denied a similar report in January this year.

The Wakhan corridor is a narrow strip of inhospitable and barely accessible land extending about 350km from the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan to China’s Muslim region of Xinjiang, where Chinese authorities have carried out sweeping crackdowns on the Uygur ethnic minority group in recent months. Uygurs are agitating against largescale settlements of majority Han from other parts of China. China is battling militants of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement , a separatist outfit that reportedly used the corridor to infiltrate in Xinjiang.

China which looks to spread its influence far and wide has already set up a base at Djibouti in the Horn of Africa in the Indian Ocean. China is also developing a strategic port at Gwadar in Pakistan which will provide it access to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.

-PTI

Maldives’ opposition presidential candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (second left) and his running mate Faisal Naseem (third left) celebrate their victory in Male, Maldives -AP

After Solih claimed victory after midnight on Monday, his supporters flooded the streets, hugging one another, waving the Maldivian flag, cheering and honking horns in celebration. Solih, 56, was a democracy activist during decades of autocratic rule and a former Parliament majority leader. He became the Maldivian Democratic Party’s presidential candidate after its other top figures were jailed or exiled by Yameen’s government.

Party leader and former President Mohamed Nasheed, in exile in Sri Lanka, had hoped to run again but was

disqualified because of an outstanding prison sentence in the Maldives.

India and China, jostling for influence in the Indian Ocean, had been watching the election closely. The Maldives’ economy, historically tied to its luxury tourism sector, grew under Yameen, in part due to aid and investment from China.

Solih campaigned door to door, speaking at rallies about human rights and the rule of law, a message that resonated with voters who saw signs the Maldives was slipping back to autocratic

Former President Yameen Abdool Gayoom rule, just a decade after achieving democracy.

Ahamed Fiasal, a 39-yearold IT business owner who voted for Solih, said the result was surprising because “no one thought that Yameen would lose like this.”

In his victory speech, Solih called the election results “a moment of happiness, hope and history,” but said he did not think the election process had been transparent.

-AP

Indonesian teen rescued after 49 days adrift at sea

Jakarta: AN Indonesian teenager survived seven weeks adrift at sea after his fishing trap lost its moorings and ended up 2,500 km away in waters near the Pacific island of Guam, his family said Monday.

Aldi Novel Adilang’s harrowing tale began in mid-July when the 18-year-old was working solo on a fishing hut anchored about 125 km off Indonesia’s Sulawesi island. His job was to keep the vessel’s lamps lit to attract fish. Its owner would reportedly come by weekly to drop off food, clean water, fuel and other supplies.

The floating fishing trap, known as a rompong, had no engine and was anchored to the seabed with a long rope, but heavy winds knocked it off its moorings and sent Adilang out to sea, local media said. Rompongs are a traditional form of trapping fish in Indonesia, but are often unmanned, secured by buoys and ropes.

The owner of Adilang’s rompong had 50 moored in the surrounding waters “His boss told my husband that he went missing,” Adilang’s mother Net Kahiking said. “So we just surrendered to God and kept praying hard.”

The teen, who only had enough food to last several days, survived by catching fish, Mirza Nurhidayat, the Indonesian consul general in Osaka, who oversaw his eventual return, told the Jakarta Post. “After he

Aldi Novel Adilang (18) seen on a wooden fish trap floating in the waters near the island of Guam -AP ran out of the cooking gas, he burned the rompong’s wooden fences to make a fire for cooking,” he was quoted as saying.

“He drank by sipping water from his clothes that had been wetted by sea water.”

About ten ships passed the malnourished teen before a Panamanian-flagged vessel rescued him on August 31 near Guam and brought him to Japan, its original destination.

“I was shocked when his boss told us he had been rescued,” Nurhidayat said. “I was so happy.”

-AFP

IN GOOD HEALTH Adilang is the youngest of four siblings and arrived back home on September 8, in good health despite his ordeal. “He is now back at home and he will be 19 on September 30 -- we’re going to celebrate.,” his mother Net Kahiking said.

India lifting millions out of poverty: Trump tells UN

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday lauded India’s efforts to lift millions of its citizens out of poverty as he addressed world leaders at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly. “There is India, a free society (of) over a billion people, successfully lifting countless millions out of poverty and into the middle class,” Trump said in his second address to the General Debate of the UN General Assembly that opened here Tuesday.

In his about 35-minute address, he said over the years, history has transpired in the halls of the UN General Assembly.

“We think of the many before us who have come here to address the challenges of their nations and of their times and our thoughts turn to the same question that ran through all their speeches, resolutions and

through every word and every hope.”

“It is the question of what kind of world will we leave for our children and what kind of nations they will inherit,” Trump said.

He said the dreams that fill the UNGA hall today are as diverse as the people who have stood at this podium and as varied as the countries represented in the United Nations.

“It really is something. It really is great great history.” Trump also cited Saudi Arabia’s bold new reforms and Israel “proudly celebrating” its 70th anniversary as a thriving democracy in the Holy Land

Over a 10-year period between 2005-06 and 2015-16, as many as 271 million people were lifted out of poverty, with the country’s poverty rate nearly halving falling from 55 per cent to 28 per cent.

Trump also praised Saudi

US President Donald Trump Arabia for its “bold new reforms”.

“Many countries are pursuing their own unique visions, building their own hopeful futures, and chasing their own wonderful dreams of destiny, of legacy, and of a home. The whole world is richer,” Trump said.

-Agencies

EU takes Poland to its top court over judicial reform

Brussels: THE European Union said Monday it has decided to take Poland to the bloc’s top court over the overhaul of the country’s judicial system and also ask the European Court of Justice to suspend a recent law on Supreme Court judges.

The EU’s executive Commission has been increasingly critical of Poland’s judicial reform under a right-wing government and has alleged some laws are a violation of Western democratic standards. The body said in a statement that “the Polish law on the Supreme Court is incompatible with EU law as it undermines the principle of judicial independence.”

Poland’s law on the retirement of judges at the Supreme Court put 27 of 72 judges at risk of being forced to retire, the Commission said, with no clear criteria on who can stay.

The Commission gave Warsaw a first warning in July, when the law took effect, and followed it up with another step in August before taking Monday’s decision.

Poland’s government says it is removing judges who were linked to the former communist authorities and that the changes should benefit the justice system and ordinary Poles.

It insists the structure is in line with other EU member states, but the Commission is not sharing that view.

-AP

UK given 2 months to pay 2.7 bn euro fine over fraud

Brussels: THE EU on Monday gave Britain two months to recover 2.7 billion euros in lost customs duties or risk referral to the EU’s top court after London allegedly ignored a scam by Chinese importers.

The demand, part of a socalled infringement action launched by Brussels, threatens to further inflame tensions amid fraught Brexit negotiations just days after an EU summit in Austria ended in acrimony.

“The United Kingdom now has two months to act; otherwise the Commission may refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU,” said a statement by the commission, the European Union’s executive arm.

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s senior ministerial team remains fully behind her Brexit proposals, her spokesman said on Monday, after her

plans were savaged by European Union leaders at a summit last week. “The cabinet gave its full support to the white paper (her proposals), and that continues to be the case,” the spokesman said on Monday before a cabinet of top ministers met on Monday to discuss the ongoing negotiations with the bloc on Monday.

The case follows an investigation last year by the EU fraud watchdog that found Britain turned a blind eye to the rampant use of fake invoices and customs claims by Chinese importers for textiles and footwear.

-AFP

San Francisco: THE post went up

quietly on Facebook’s internal message board last week. Titled “We Have a Problem With Political Diversity”, it quickly took off inside the social network. “We are a political monoculture that’s intolerant of different views,” Brian Amerige, a senior Facebook engineer, wrote in the post. “We claim to welcome all perspectives, but are quick to attack — often in mobs — anyone who presents a view that appears to be in opposition to left-leaning ideology.”

Since the post went up, more than 100 FB employees have joined Amerige to form an online group called FB’ers for Political Diversity, according to two people who viewed the group’s page and who were not authorised to speak publicly. The aim of the initiative, according to Amerige’s memo, is to create a space for ideological diversity within the company.

The new group has upset other Facebook employees, who said its online posts were offensive to minorities. One engineer, who declined to be identified for fear of retaliation, said several people had lodged complaints with their managers about FB’ers for Political Diversity and were told that it had not broken any

A group seeking political diversity is a rare sign of organised dissent within Facebook over the company’s largely liberal workplace culture company rules. Another employee said the group appeared to be constructive and inclusive of different political views.

Amerige did not respond to requests for comment.

The activity is a rare sign of organised dissent within Facebook over the company’s largely liberal workplace culture. While the new group is just a sliver of Facebook’s work force of more than 25,000, the company’s workers have in the past appeared less inclined than their

peers at other tech companies to challenge leadership, and most have been loyalists to its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg.

The new group has upset other Facebook employees, who said its online posts were offensive to minorities. One engineer, who declined to be identified for fear of retaliation, said several people had lodged complaints with their managers about FB’ers for Political Diversity and were told that it had not broken any

company rules. Another employee said the group appeared to be constructive and inclusive of different political views.

Amerige did not respond to requests for comment.

But over the past two years, Facebook has undergone a series of crises, including the spread of misinformation by Russians on its platform and the mishandling of users’ data. Facebook has also been accused of stifling conservative speech by President Trump and Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, among others. This month, the social network barred the far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, a move that critics seized on as further evidence that the company harbours an anti-conservative bias.

On Tuesday, Trump again brought up the issue of bias by tech companies with tweets attacking Google. In remarks later in the day, he widened his focus to include Twitter and Facebook.

Those companies “better be careful because you can’t do that to people,” he said. “I think that Google, and Twitter and Facebook, they are really treading on very, very troubled territory and they have to be careful. It is not fair to large portions of the population.”

-NYT NEWS SERVICE

US may revoke work Pakistan urges China to ease permits of H4 holders restrictions on Uighur Muslims Washington: THE Trump administration Saturday told a federal court that its decision to revoke work permits to H-4 visas holders, who are primarily spouses of H-1B foreign guest workers, is expected within the next three months.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in its latest court filing Saturday told the US District Court in District of Columbia that it was “making a solid and swift progress in proposing to remove from its regulations certain H-4 spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants as a class of aliens eligible for employment authorisation”.

The DHS said the new rule would be submitted to the Office of Management of Budget (OMB), White House, within three months.

Till then, the department urged the court, to keep in abeyance its decision on a lawsuit filed by Save Jobs USA, representing a group of US workers who claim that their jobs have been hit by such a policy of the government that was promulgated during the previous Obama administration.

The Trump administration has publicly said and also in its court filing that it wants to revoke work permits to H4 visa holders, a significant majority of whom are Indian-Americans and women.

This is for the third time that the Department of Homeland has informed the court about the delay in issue of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).

The DHS has filed three status reports -- on February 28, May 22, and August 20. The next status report is due on November 19.

Explaining the reasons for delay, the US attorney said since the filing of the most recent status report, the DHS’s senior leadership reviewed the proposed rule and returned it to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) this month for revisions.

“Senior leadership review and the request for revisions is standard practice within the DHS. When the nec-

WHAT ARE H4 VISAS H4 visas are issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCIS) to immediate family members of holders of H1B visas, the most sought-after category. essary revisions are incorporated, the USCIS will return the proposed rule to the DHS for final clearance and submission to OMB,” he said.

However, Save Jobs USA has sought an early decision from the court, arguing that the longer the case remains in abeyance, the greater the possible harm to US workers.

As of December 25, 2017, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services had approved 1,26,853 applications for employment authorisation for H-4 visa holders. These count all approvals since May 2015 when the rule was implemented. This number includes 90,946 initial approvals, 35,219 renewals, and 688 replacements for lost cards.

“Ninety-three per cent of approved applications for H-4 employment authorisation were issued to individuals born in India, and five per cent were issued to individuals born in China.

Individuals born in all other countries combined make up the remaining two per cent of approved applications,” the Congressional Research Service said in its recent report, based on information obtained from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

-PTI

Islamabad: IN a rare move, Pakistan has urged China to ease restrictions on Uighur Muslims amid reports of up to a million of the minority community members being detained in the country’s far-west Xinjiang region, according to a media report Friday.

The issue of the restrictions on the Uighurs figured in a meeting, held here this week, between Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri and Chinese Ambassador Yao Xing, Dawn newspaper reported.

Breaking the past tradition of keeping silent on the issues related to Chinese Muslims, Qadri spoke about those Muslims facing numerous restrictions in China’s Xinjiang province and demanded to ease the restrictions, the report said.

Around one million minority Uighurs Muslims have reportedly been sent into detention and indoctrination centres in Xinjing region during a surveillance and security campaign run by the Chinese government.

Qadri told the Chinese envoy that “the placement of restrictions increases the chances of an extremist viewpoint growing in reaction.” The two also discussed talks between religious scholars belonging to Xinjiang and Pakistan.

The Chinese envoy said that there were 20 million Muslims living in China who enjoyed complete freedom to practice their faith.

“The Chinese government is the bearer of Sufi and moderate thought and resolves to sort the differences between various religious groups,” said the ambassador.

The Chinese ambassador also provided assurances to facilitate the visit of a Pakistani religious delegation to the Xinjiang province.

“Exchange of viewpoints between religious scholars of both countries is vital for better interfaith relations,” Yao said.

“Pakistan is an important representative of the Muslim world and we want to further strengthen Pakistan-China relations on an Islamic level,” he said, adding that they will take the Muslim community living

Picture for representation in China into confidence for achieving the same.

He expressed China’s interest in working with Pakistan to develop an educational curriculum for the Muslim community. He also invited Qadri for a visit to China which the Minister accepted.

Meanwhile, according to a report in The Nation newspaper, a UN panel has recently put an estimate that China has detained as many as one million Uighurs in internment camps and re-education programmes.

The Chinese Muslim community has resisted coercive “re-education” efforts by the authorities, which have progressively restricted religious minorities from observing the basic articles of their faith. This includes programmes that focus on psychological indoctrination. There have been reports of water boarding and other forms of torture as well. The detained also include over 50 wives of Pakistanis, the report said.

Early this year, the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Legislative Assembly through a unanimous resolution urged the federal government to take urgent steps for the release of over 50 Chinese wives of Pakistani men detained in the Xinjiang province.

The Pakistanis, most of them doing import and export businesses between Pakistan and China, are married to Chinese Muslim women. The Chinese police had arrested them last year and earlier.

-PTI

29 dead in attack on Iran military parade President Rouhani vows a crushing response to the assault, while officials blame ‘foreign regime’, their American masters Tehran: IRAN’S President Hassan

Rouhani vowed a “crushing response” after gunmen shot dead at least 29 people including women and children Saturday in an attack on an Iranian military parade.

The Islamic State (IS) jihadist group claimed to have carried out the rare assault in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, while Iranian officials accused “a foreign regime” backed by the United States of being behind it. “The response of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the smallest threat will be crushing”, Rouhani said on his official website, after earlier addressing a similar military parade in Tehran to mark the start of the 1980-1988 war with Iraq. “Those who give intelligence and propaganda support to these terrorists must answer for it,” he said.

President Donald Trump will fail in his confrontation with Iran, just like Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday, referring to the 1980s war between the two Middle Eastern powers, and vowing that Tehran will not abandon its missiles despite US pressure.

“The same will happen to Trump. America will suffer the same fate as Saddam Hussein,” Rouhani said in a speech carried live by state television that marked the start of the 1980-88 IranIraq war.

Electoral authorities rejected the request last week, allowing Hitler to appear on voting cards for the Oct. 7 elections. In Peru and elsewhere in Latin America, parents often choose foreign and exotic-sounding first names for their children despite negative associations abroad.

“Iran will not abandon its defensive weapons ... including its missiles that make America so angry,” Rouhani

Soldiers and Shite cleric (R) sit close to the ground seeking cover at the scene of the attack -AFP said. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the attack near the Iraqi border was carried out by “terrorists recruited, trained, armed & paid by a foreign regime”. “Iran holds regional terror sponsors and their US masters accountable for such attacks,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

The city lies in Khuzestan, a province bordering Iraq that has a ethnic Arab community and has seen separatist violence that Iran has blamed on its regional rivals. IS jihadists said via their propaganda mouthpiece Amaq that IS fighters attacked a gathering of Iranian forces in Ahvaz.

-AFP

Peru: Hitler runs for mayor despite threat from Lennin Lima: IN Peru, Hitler hopes to return to power in a small town in the Andes, despite a threat from a detractor named Lennin.

Campaign slogans reading “Hitler returns” and “Hitler with the people” have appeared around the highland town of Yungar, where local politician Hitler Alba is seeking a new term as mayor.

“I’m the good Hitler,” Alba said on local broadcaster RPP. Stressing that he rejects what Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler stood for, Alba said he wants to oversee a

fair and transparent government in Yungar, a farming town in Peru’s central Andes.

But Alba’s campaign this year came under attack by Lennin Vladimir Rodriguez Valverde, a resident of a neighboring district who tried to block Alba’s inscription as a candidate.

Alba said his father was unaware of who Adolf Hitler was when he named him. After learning the history behind it, Alba said he considered changing his name but eventually accepted it.

-Reuters

06

SPORTS

MUMBAI |

SATURDAY | 22 SEPTEMBER, 2018

THE VIGIL PLANET

www.thevigilplanet.com

Tiger out of woods

Skilful bowling pool behind India’s success, says Yuzvendra Chahal

Beleaguered former World No.1 returns to winning ways ending 5-year wait to lift PGA Tour Championship title and it can only be good news for golf

USA’s Tiger Woods celebrates making a par on the 18th green to win the Tour Championship in Atlanta on Sunday -AFP

Atlanta: THEY had waited more than dor-style clubhouse, the roar carrying all five years for this moment.

No way were those frail little ropes, strung up on flimsy poles, going to hold them back.

No way were they listening to those red-shirted marshals, a bit of terror in their eyes as they pleaded futilely for everyone to come to their senses.

They had to feel it, touch it, see it with their own eyes.

Maybe that was the only way to persuade themselves that this most remarkable of comebacks had actually happened.

Tiger Woods. A winner again.

The staid ol’ Tour Championship became a boisterous street party late Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, the fans storming down the middle of the 18th fairway like a bunch of crazed college kids laying siege to a football field after a last-second victory.

“Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!” they chanted over and over, looking very much like they may storm the Tu-

the way to Peachtree.

It was thrilling, exhilarating, even a bit frightening for those caught in the middle of the mob.

Then again, it was not an unexpected reaction given what Woods has meant to the game of golf to the entire sporting world, really.

“From one goat (greatest of all time) to another I can only imagine what @TigerWoods is feeling today,” tweeted Michael Phelps, the winningest athlete in Olympic history. “Pumped to be watching this today!! Have fun out there today my man!!!”

Despite an influx of talented young players in recent years, golf just hasn’t been the same since Woods went away, his brilliant career derailed by debilitating injuries and personal demons.

As NBC analyst Roger Maltbie put it, “He doesn’t just move the needle,

I realised all of a sudden I was going to win the tournament. My eyes started tearing up a little bit. I just can’t believe I pulled this off after I’ve gone through.

It’s been tough.

Tiger Woods, American Golfer

he is the needle.”

But that needle looked broken beyond repair as days without a win grew to months, the months without a win grew to years. It had been 1,876 days since his last victory, and even Woods had moved on from the idea of ever winning another golf tournament.

He was more concerned about his quality of life.

“The low point was not knowing if I’d ever be able to live pain-free again,” Woods said.

“Am I going to be able to sit, stand, walk, lay down without feeling the pain that I was in. I just didn’t want to live that way. Is this how the rest of my life is going to be? (If so), it’s going to be a tough rest of my life. So, I was beyond playing. I couldn’t sit. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t lay down without feeling the pain in my back and my leg.”

On April 19, 2017, he underwent surgery for the fourth time, this time to fuse his lower back. About six weeks later, he was arrested on suspicion of DUI after being found asleep behind the wheel of his car with the motor running.

Woods blamed it on a bad combination of pain medications. Everyone figured he’s gotten hooked on drugs as a way of coping with a body that never stopped hurting. The idea of ever playing competitive golf again much less winning seemed downright ludicrous.

Then, miraculously, the dark cloud lifted.

Woods got himself cleaned up.

The pain went away. Just four months after reporting he couldn’t hit the ball more than 60 yards, Woods rejoined the PGA Tour and made the cut in his first event at Torrey Pines.

By the time the summer rolled around, he was in the mix at the Major championships.

He earned a spot on the US Ryder Cup team. He played his way into the finale of the FedEx Cup playoff. Finally, on a blistering fall day in Atlanta, he made it official.

The comeback was complete.

“I just didn’t know whether or when this would ever happen again,” he said. “I just didn’t know if I could ever piece together a golf swing.”

Woods wasn’t fully aware of all the commotion going on behind him as he strolled down the 18th fairway, chatting and smiling with playing partner Rory McIlroy in the final group.

When he got up to the green, Woods could finally survey the remarkable scene. It reminded him a bit of Jack Nicklaus winning the US Open at Baltusrol in 1980, the crowds invading the course as the Golden Bear wrapped up a victory that defied those skeptics who thought he was all washed up at age 40.

“Jack Is Back,” the scoreboard

COMEBACK MAN

‘I don’t have to prove anything’

INDIA’S RAVINDRA JADEJA SAYS HE IS FOCUSED ON CHALLENGING HIMSELF MORE THAN OTHERS Dubai: RAVINDRA Jadeja kept a Day International team for the first time count of the number of days he was out of India’s One-day squad and once in, he made it count with four wickets and stated ‘I don’t have’ to prove anything to anyone.

The left-arm spinner, who is also a handy bat, returned, in his own words, after around 480 days, with very impressive figures of 4/29 and bagged the Man-of-the-Match Award in India’s seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. ‘I will always remember this comeback because I returned to the team after a gap of around 480 days. The earlier gaps have not been this long,’ Jadeja told reporters at the post-match press conference

Making a statement of sorts, he said, ‘I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. What my ability is, I need to sharpen it. I don’t have to show anyone what I can do. I need to challenge myself.’

With less than a year left for the 2019 World Cup, Jadeja might have sent a timely reminder to the selectors about his prowess, but he said he was not thinking that far ahead.

‘The World Cup is still some time away, we’re going to play a lot of matches before that, and I can’t comment on that yet. My ambition is to perform the way I did today whenever I get the opportunity. ‘Can’t think about it now.

My focus is to perform in this series.’

Jadeja, back in the Indian One-

since July 2017, foxed the Bangladesh batting line-up with his smart bowling.

‘Even in Test cricket, because the last few series have been overseas, I haven’t been getting chances consistently. So I was determined that whenever I get the chance I will perform, that’s all that I can control. I was only focused about my own game and how I can improve further,’ he said. The Saurashtra cricketer is known for his ability to bowl his spinning deliveries quickly.

‘On a slow wicket, you have to bowl with more of your own effort. On a normal wicket, the ball goes through quickly after bouncing so it doesn’t give the batsman as much time. But on a slow wicket you have to bowl with more effort,’ said Jadeja.

Regarding the last-minute developments prior to his latest limited overs comeback, he said, ‘I didn’t know that I got a call for a one-day team because I was playing for Vijay Hazare. I didn’t know what is going on here. The day before I got a call from the selector, he said I might have to go to Dubai, so be ready.

‘I was playing Test cricket. Last few series were away so I didn’t play in it. I was concentrating on what is in my control, how to improve my game in away conditions. When I got a chance in England, I did well. Here, unfortunately, Axar (Patel) got injured and I got my opportunity and did well.’

I will always remember this comeback because I returned to the team after 480 days. The earlier gaps have not been this long.

Ravindra Jadeja, Indian all-rounder

-PTI

Puducherry faces more heat from other state bodies The controversy regarding Puducherry’s decision to include ineligible outstation players in its team for the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy is getting bigger with each passing day.

Chandra Shekhar Luthra shekhar.luthra@thevigilpanet.com

New Delhi: The controversy regard-

ing Puducherry’s decision to include ineligible outstation players in its team for the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy is getting bigger with each passing day.

A day after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) withdrew its ‘special status’ to the Union Territory and cancelled the registration of eight ineligible players, the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) demanded that Puducherry’s first match be awarded to Manipur as the former won the match by fielding the ineligible players.

TVP has learnt that SCA has written to BCCI’s general manager of cricket operations, Saba Karim, citing the selection criteria that has now snowballed into a big controversy.

“If Puducherry team does not

have enough local players, they should not participate in the tournaments. We feel that the matches where Puducherry team participated with outstation players more than permitted should be treated as null and void,” the letter stated.

In fact, according to BCCI insiders, more state associations are asking further questions in this regard.

As per BCCI regulations, players picked for a tournament should be

registered at least 24 to 48 hours prior, as proofs have to be verified independently.

The state associations are wondering how Cricket Association of Pondicherry (CAP) was allowed to name seven players only on Thursday noon, with two of them even taking the field on Friday in their match against Uttarakhand.

It has also been brought to light that another player featured against Uttarakhand despite being registered with the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) first division team Globe Trotters.

This case is similar to that of Puducherry captain D Rohit, who is also registered with TNCA and has yet to receive a no-objection certificate.

Sources in CAP told TVP that “it received an official word from the BCCI with regards to relaxing the rules”.

Meanwhile, Cricket Associa-

tion of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma has written to the Committee of Administrators (CoA) asking for action to be taken against affiliated Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) for not adopting the new constitution of the BCCI.

With September 20 being the last date to comply with the Supreme Court orders to adopt the new constitution, BCA’s inability to do so has made Verma demand an ad-hoc committee for Bihar.

Saba Karim, BCCI General Manager

epaper.thevigilplanet.com

‘Tigermania’ to roar in Ryder Cup Fans of Golf legend Tiger Woods are emerging back in huge numbers ‘Tigermania’ is back after crowds mobbed Tiger Woods like a rock star to see him snap a five-year win drought, and it’s about to hit France in a major way at the 42nd Ryder Cup.

Like the Beatles in America in 1964 or Michael Jordan and the US basketball team at the 1992 Barcelona famously proclaimed.

“I just didn’t have the tight pants and the hair,” Woods quipped. “But it was all good.”

There was no message on the East Lake leaderboard.

This time, the most telling moment came after Woods teed off at the 14th hole, which dissects the walk to the tee for No. 17.

His closest challenger, Billy Horschel, was heading that way. He saw Woods coming. He stopped to let him pass. It only seemed right.

Tiger Woods is back.

And golf is better for it.

-AP

Olympics, Woods will be the star attraction this week at Le Golf National.

The 14-time Major champion, back on top form after spinal fusion surgery, leads holders the United States against Europe starting on Friday, the Americans seeking their first victory on European soil in 25 years.

MOST PGA TOUR WINS Sam Snead

Tiger Woods

Jack Nicklaus

Ben Hogan Arnold Palmer

82 80 73 64 62

N ZONE

1,876

No. of days Tiger Woods took to win a tournament, in Atlanta on Sunday, after last winning the 2013 Bridgestone invitational

Dubai: Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has attributed India’s consistent show with the ball across formats to a skilful pool of bowlers and confidence shown by the team management.

“Our bowling pool has swelled to 10-15 and earlier it wasn’t so. Now one who is replacing you is also as skilful,” Chahal told reporters after India notched up a comfortable nine-wicket win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup.

“Even in England, the way our bowlers have dominated, it shows the regular flow of spinners and medium pacers in the team. Also the confidence showed by the management, that is important for a youngster. There is no negativity, you can concentrate on your bowling.” India have been invincible in the six-nation tournament as they defeated Pakistan twice, besides notching up wins against Hong Kong and Bangladesh.

“We were positive from the start, because the first match against Hong Kong was tough. Next we were playing Pakistan after a long time, the atmosphere was good. We haven’t lost a match in this tournament, especially winning two matches against Pakistan will give us a boost ahead of the final,” Chahal said.

It was Chahal’s first match against Pakistan. Asked about his experience, he said: “Generally cricketers have a bucket list, where you hope to play Pakistan one day but when we played them, it didn’t feel that we were playing Pakistan, it seemed its our own team only.

“When you go to the ground, it doesn’t matter if you are playing Pakistan or England. It is all about being mentally strong and how much pressure you can deal with.” India have dominated Pakistan both with the bat and the ball but Chahal said it was just a case of a team having a bad day in office for their arch-rivals.

“Our batsmen put their bowlers under pressure from the start. They are playing the new ball well, they are tak-

India’s bowlers have been on the top in the tournament -AFP ing their time and partnership are getting longer. In this wicket, you have to vary line and length. But they got mentally down as the match was slipping away, so the situation was different. I have bowled a lot in the Powerplay overs in T20 matches in IPL and for India. So it is not a new thing, I vary my pace and length according to the wicket,” he said.

Asked about his interactions with Ravindra Jadeja, who made a comeback to ODI with a four-wicket haul against Bangladesh, Chahal said: “I am playing with Jaddu bhai (Jadeja) for the first time.

He is a senior and experienced player. He reads the wicket well,” he said.

Talking about Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, Chahal said: “I haven’t met Rashid a lot. But I watch him whenever I get a chance. He is one of my favourites.

“He is one bowler who hasn’t gone for much runs in the matches that he has played. So bowlers have to think when they face him. I follow his attitude, whenever I get a chance, we speak about leg-spin.”

-PTI

INDIA VS AFGHANISTAN Match 5, Super Four, Dubai Intl Stadium, Dubai

Live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports Hindi, 5.00pm KEY CONTEST MS Dhoni

Rashid Khan

Dhoni vs Rashid was a riveting rivalry in the IPL, and it’s time to relive that again. Dhoni ian’t always particularly comfortable against leg spin, and Rashid will be licking his lips at the prospect of removing MSD early.

HEAD TO HEAD: Played: 1, India 1, Afghanistan: 0 Pitch Report: The pitch for the last game played here was a bit flatter. A total of 270275 should be par.

Watchability Quotient: (1-3: Forget it; 4-7: If there is nothing else to watch; 8-10: Try not to miss it.)

Weather Report: The weather will remain hot, but the Indian players will be fresher after a rest day.

Punter Point: India: 1/5, Afghanistan: 7/2