The NEWS you like-December2019

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PAGES: 68 VOL.7 | ISSUE: 11, DECEMBER, 2019

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JULY 2019

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VOL:7 I SSUE:11 I DECEMBER, 2019 `30 Editor A . Rammohan Rao

Special Correspondent D. Bal Reddy Correspondents Mallesh Babu Mandha Ravi Kumar G.P. Nagaraju

Reporters M.Praveen Kumar, P. Vishnuvardhan Reddy Photographers M Vijay S. Sridhar, Shair Ali Baig Cover & Layout ACK. Venkata Srujan General Manager Mohd. Nizamuddin

Chief Executive (Marketing) Venkata K. Ganjam (GK) Chief - Business & LifeStyle K. Bharath Reddy Marketing Associate M. Akhil Raj Shaker

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Note: Focus/Infocus features are marketing initiatives, any legal disputes comes under the jurisdiction of courts in Hyderabad

EDITORIAL

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aying ‘Corruption is cancer to our society,’ sure sound like a cliché. But it is also an inescapable reality in our country. A common man in our country is a helpless witness to this every day. Corrupt practices in the revenue, registration, police, transport, health departments will impact citizen’s day to day lives immediately. In Telangana and Andhra Pardesh people are unable to get any service from the government department without shelling out hardearned money. The tragedy is some cases notorious corrupt are leaders of the employee's associations. During the last eleven months of this year, The News brought out stories of rampant corruption in various departments. The cover story of the month brings details of the increasing means in Telugu states today.

At last RTC employees strike has ended. The story on this inside brings a few disturbing facts to you. But this longest strike in the history of this public transport organization, RTC has brought one pertinent issue into light: The right to question. One of the major contribution of Telangana movement common people ability question. Question anything illegal – unfair- injustice and anybody if he or she is acting public interest without fear. TRS party came to power because the people of Telangana with such an attitude have voted in large numbers. Leave alone striving for help continue such fearlessness the government lead by TRS president and Chief Minister KCR has refusing to respond to rightful questions asked. Today TRS is power, with enormous power and resources at its command can continue to suppress and silence voices of dissent. But it’s consequences without any doubt will show up days to come. More serious fallout of this will be increasing unrest among people, especially opinion-making urban, educated, unemployed. Turn it may take shape as many afraid of, will not be in the interest of Telangana state’s future development.

Science and technology drives economic and social development. The future of our nation and individuals depends on the right utilization of science and technology. While many self-serving bureaucrats and politicians have become a liability to the country, scientists are silently working to make us all proud. ISRO had successfully launched CARTOSAT-3, India's most complex and advanced earth imaging satellite built so far. It is India's highest resolution civilian satellite, and the most complex and advanced earth obvservation satellite ISRO has ever built. Its other significance is, 13 commercial nano-satellites from the US are being carried as part of commercial arrangement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) of the Department of Space. We join you in congratulating the ISRO and all involved in this historic project and its success.

Jai Hind!

(A Rammohan Rao) THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

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CONTENT

Police case again on

Akbaruddin 8

Speeding killed bystander

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The youngest judge of the country 31

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

CONTENT

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Sabarimala case

to bigger SC bench

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What tribal status can do for Ladakh?

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Blind athlete Janki Goud made India Proud

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

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STATES

Innovative way stop plastic use

Rice for plastic

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THE NEWS BUREAU

he initiative coupled with innovation has attracted nationwide attention. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao(KCR) declared that the state would ban the use of single-use plastic. Though the modalities on how to enforce the ban is yet to be finalized, Mulugu district administration has jumped into action to protect the environment from plastic. The newly formed district in the state has come up with a unique plan to eliminate single-use plastic.

Mulugu District Collector C Narayan Reddy has introduced a scheme, ‘1 kg rice for 1 kg plastic’ which encourages citizens to collect single-use plastics and exchange it for rice. Mulugu has a

total of 174 Gram Panchayats, and the authorities had set up single-use plastic collection points in every Gram Panchayat office.The initiative was started on October 16, and since then authorities are collecting thousands of Kilograms of singleuse plastic “It is very simple, the citizens need to drop the plastic at these collection points and based on how much it weighs, the equal quantity of rice would be given,” District Collector says. According to him, there is overwhelming support from the people for the initiative. “The sponsors for the initiative are the donors, particularly NRIs. Many are donating rice and money for the initiative. The collected plastic would then be sent to cement manufacturing units. Since the rice is of premium quality,

everyone is encouraged to participate in the initiative.

As part of the initiative to combat plastic, the authorities are also distributing free cloth bags, so that the people don't face any inconvenience while making purchases at grocery stores. The authorities have distributed 35,000 cloth bags. By paying an honorarium of Rs 300 for each tailor, district authorities have hired a tailor in every village. The job of the tailor is to stitch bags for free for those who come with old and new clothes.

The District Collector said the idea for the ‘1 kg rice for 1 kg plastic’ came during a school competition. “In Jakaram village, we held a competition for schools. We promised them a cricket kit if they collected 1,000 kgs of plastic and they performed the task. So, we thought that if we give some incentive, people would actively participate in the programme.”Initially, the retailers thought that this was a temporary measure, but we educated them on the harms of singleuse plastic and persuaded them.

Now, they too are using paper bags,” Narayan Reddy claims.

District the collector said that Mulugu will succeed in becoming the first district in Telangana to be declared single-use plastic-free.

The district will ban single-use plastic officially, and the violators will be penalized.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

INDIANS ABROAD

world's largest diaspora

INDIA TOPS

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THE NEWS BUREAU

hile the government claims the country is moving on a fast pace in development. Globally many started saying India is an emerging global economic power.

Indians are on the top in global migrants list. This fact cane out in data released by the United Nation organization. According to The International Migrant Stock 2019, a dataset released by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs on Wednesday, which said the number

of migrants globally reached an estimated 272 million — a rise of 23 per cent over 2010. And India was the leading country of origin of international migrants in 2019 with 17.5 million (that's around 6 per cent of the total).

In fact, the top 10 countries of origin accounted for one-third of all international migrants. Migrants from Mexico constituted the second-largest diaspora (11.8 million), followed by China (10.7 million), Russia (10.5 million), Syria (8.2 million), Bangladesh (7.8 million), Pakistan (6.3

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million), Ukraine (5.9 million), the Philippines (5.4 million) and Afghanistan (5.1 million).

As far as inflows go, India hosted 5.1 million international migrants in 2019, less than the 5.2 million in 2015. Their share in India's total population remained steady at 0.4% from 2010 to 2019 with females comprising 48.8 per cent of the total and the median age being around 47.1 years. The highest numbers arrived from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal.

India also hosted 207,000 refugees, who took up a share of 4 per cent among international migrants.

About half of all international migrants reside in just 10 countries, with the US hosting the largest number of international migrants (51 million), equal to about 19 per cent of the world's total. Germany and Saudi Arabia hosted the second- and third-largest numbers (13 million each), followed by Russia (12 million), the UK (10 million), the UAE (9 million), France, Canada and Australia (around 8 million each) and Italy (6 million).

However, the UN report added that forced displacements across international borders continued to rise. Between 2010 and 2017, the global number of refugees and asylum seekers increased by about 13 million, accounting for close to a quarter of the increase in the number of all international migrants.

The number of international migrants as a percentage of the global population has grown over time.

Currently, international migrants comprise 3.4 per cent of the global population, compared to 2.8 per cent in the year 2000.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

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STATES

Police case again on Akbaruddin

Alleged Hate speech

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THE NEWS BUREAU

ajlis(AIMIM) party legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi again landed in controversy for his alleged hate speech. The younger brother of Majlis party president and Parliament member Asaddudin Owaisi is known for This violent speeches in Muslim minority meetings. It has been reported that the chief magistrate court of Hyderabad has directed the Saidabad Police to register a case against Owaisi for alleged hate speech at a public meeting held at Karimnagar in July 2019.

K. Karunasagar, an advocate who belongs to Hyderabad has filed a petition before the court issued orders, alleging that Akbaruddin Owaisi, who represents Chandrayangutta constituency in Hyderabad city has delivered a hate speech on July 23 at a public meeting ‘Jalsa-e-Yaade Fakhr-eMillat’ held at the N.N. Garden function hall in Karimnagar.

Karunasagar filed a complaint with the Saidabad police on July 26 itself, but the police did not register a case against Owaisi. The complainant has alleged that Akbaruddin intentionally made a hate speech to promote enmity between Hindus and Muslims.

Following the a petition filed by Karunasagar, the 14th Additional chief metropolitan magistrate court had on November 16 ordered the Saidabad police to investigate the private compliant by an advocate

and register a case and report (file a status report) before it on or before December 23. Accordingly, a case has been registered for hate speech at a public meeting in Karimnagar in Telangana in July this year.

This is not the first time that police cases were registered on Akabarudding Owaisi on alleged hate speeches. Two cases were registered earlier against this leader of the Majlis party. Previously cases were registered at two police stations in Adilabad and Nizamabad districts in relation to his alleged hate speeches at Nirmal and Nizamabad on December 8 and 22, 2012. He was booked for promoting enmity between people. The charge sheet was filed in a court in Adilabad district after the state government gave permission for his prosecution. The high court at

that time had ordered police to expedite the process of filing the charge sheet. A division bench comprising acting the than Chief Justice Dilip B Bhosale and Justice SV Bhatt was which has dealt with a PIL seeking direction to police to complete the investigations in the FIRs registered against Akbaruddin. He was arrested on January 7, 2013, after his speeches went viral on social networking sites. After spending 40 days in jail, he walked free after a court granted him bail.

As done at that time, Akbaruddin Owaisi has denied he made any provocative remarks in Karimnagar and claimed that some people were twisting his statements by adding words for political gains."My speech does not constitute any offence. I have not contravened any provision of law," he had said in a statement.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

STATES

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Govt.move to tame TSRTC unions

Employes paid hevey price

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BY: SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

o apparent gain. Lost their collective bargaining power.

Pushed Telangana people’s inherited public bus transport organization into further risk. Finally Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) employees have resumed their duties. After a prolonged deadlock over their 55 days strike workmen turned up at their respective bus depots and started running buses on 29 November.

The employees had kept off work from October 5. They had begun their strike with various demands, including the merger of the corporation with the government and recruitment to various

posts. However, they subsequently announced they were ready to set aside their demand for merger of the Corporation with the government. The government had said the RTC is not in a position to accept the demands of the employees as it has been making losses.

They have called it off on November 25, but the RTC management initially did not allow them to rejoin duty, stating that the labour commissioner would take a decision on the matter prolonging the impasse. The RTC management had also said the strike was illegal.

The government and the RTC management adopted a tough stance on the strike by the employees, saying it had been illegal. Though it held talks with the workmen once, there

was no agreement between the two sides on the agenda for talks.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) on 28 November has invited the RTC staff to return to work from 29 November. Though over 48,000 employees of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation have called off their strike on 25 November After 52 days, RTC management had, said the employees cannot be allowed for work, though they called off the strike, as the labour commissioner would take a call on the strike.

Because of that, they were waiting for a government response.

Chief Minister had previously said that employees were ‘self-dismissed’ because they didn’t adhere

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

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STATES

to his deadline to return to work.

Briefing the media about the Cabinet’s decisions at his official residence of Pragati Bhavan, the CM said: “The unions have misled the employees.” He then warned the staff, saying, “If you resort to any misadventure again, you will lose everything.” He added that as of now, there are no plans to allow private operators on 5,100 routes. Rao said that as per Section 22 (1A) and (1B) of the Labour Act, the strike was illegal.

“If we refer the matter to the labour court, the employees will suffer.”

Hinting that the RTC would be run without unions, he said, “Two employees from each depot will form the workers’ welfare council. A senior minister will be put in charge to address their grievances if any.”

Welcoming the CM’s slew of pro-worker and pro-RTC announcements, TSRTC JAC convenor Ashwathama Reddy stated that they will all resume their duties on Friday and restore the 10,400 bus strong fleet in the State.

“I have to thank the CM for his announcement. At the same time, I have to ask forgiveness to the people of Telangana and to the common man and our passengers.

We were fighting for our rights,” said Ashwathama Reddy.

JAC co-convenor Raji Reddy also welcomed the favourable decisions to RTC. “It would have been a the happy decision if it was done a few days back and there would have been lesser lathis inflicted on us,” noted Raji Reddy, while also apologising to the pop-

ulation for inconveniencing them for 55 days with their strike.

However, differing and taking objection to CM’s sharp views against unions, Ashwathama Reddy said, “Without unions, this issue would have not been resolved. There should be unions to fight for workers issues. Even if the CM dislikes unionisation, it will be impossible to remove them.”

Raji Reddy also echoed the same views and said that even if unions are replaced with workers committee, the unionisation will remain. “We urge the CM to look into those 25 demands of that affect

every worker in the RTC. It is for resolution of these issues that we went on strike. If not there, we hope the labour court will help us resolve those issues.”

The rival union, TSRTC JAC1, however, stated that while they whole-heartedly thank the CM for the decision, they hoped that the employees’ demands will be heard later. “For now we are eager to serve the people. It is a double delight as the TSRTC will not be privatised,” said Hanumanth Mudiraj, co-convenor of TSRTC JAC 1. He, however, criticised the JAC lead by Ashwathama Reddy for not resolving the issue earlier.

Meanwhile, a press statement from the Chief Minister KCR’s office said he would meet with the employees on December 1 to discuss all issues concerning the Corporation and the way forward.

KCR has instructed that five members from each bus depots, including two women should be invited to the meeting on December 1.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

COVER STORY 11

Govt. offices in TS & AP

The Ugly face of corruption T

D.BAL REDDY

elugu states have become centres of rampant corruption.

Corruption in these states is more than what it was in Bihar. They have earned disgraceful distinction last year itself when a survey conducted by Transparency International-India and the Centre for Media Studies in New Delhi has for the first time Centre for Media Studies(CMS). Both Telangana and Andhra Prades states are recognized for leading corruption. As per

this survey 'India Corruption Study' Tamil Nadu holds the worst record of being the Most Corrupt among 13 states in India. Telangana is only next to Tamil Nadu in this category.

Andhra Pradesh is at Fourth Position. Even in latest Telangana emerged to be India’s 5th most corrupt state, while the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh substantially improved it’s postion by stands at 13th position. This has come out in ‘India Corruption Survey-2019.The survey was done in association with Transparency

International India has revealed that 67 per cent of people in the State admitted to paying bribes to get their work done. Rajasthan tops the list in corruption. It was revealed that corruption in the State where congress came to power few months back has gone up in 2019 compared to 2018, The surveyors collected more than 2,000 samples by meeting people directly and collected the details.

In spite of this shameful revelation little has been done to change.

Corruption has either increased or

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

12 COVER STORY

remained the same in the past year.

After the new state of Telangana was formed government employees have announced that they will work an extra hour to sincerely serve people. But today the same offices staffed by them have become centres of corruption. Most of the people are still have to pay a bribe to avail public services ranging from Birth certificate to old-age pensions. They have been paying a bribe for obtaining even Aadhaar and Voter ID Cards. The largest contributors to corruption are eleven Public Services such as Public Distribution System (PDS), Health, School Education, Electricity, Water Supply, Police, Banking Services, Transportation, Land & Housing departments. But people in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states are experiencing uncontrolled corruption in Revenue, Registration, Police, RTA, Local governments (Municipality and Panchayath raj), Electricity and

Health departments. Incidents during the last few months have amply revealed peoples experiences.

The position of Revenue department in corruption wellknown. It’s not just thousands of formers even Telangana state Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao himself spoke about it. The Mandal revenue office is the point of origin of all corrupt and illegal practices in the revenue department. These offices are connected to day to day life of people by issuing caste certificates to pattadar passbooks.

People have to go around the MRO office where, as per the majority of people experiences, nothing runs without price. With real estate boom across the Telangana state, the MRO now commands enormous clout. Turning this into their advantage many of these officials are busy amassing wealth by illegal means. The case of K Lavanya, MRO, Keshampet, who was caught

by ACB five months back(see the Box), speaks volumes of the sorry state of affairs in the state. In some offices, revenue staff are fighting among themselves for sharing the collections.

In many cases, passbooks are issued only for half of the land instead of full. The remaining area, it is often alleged, would be recorded under the name of the third party at the MRO level. In some cases, farmers were denied passbooks despite the fact that they are the legal owners of the land in question. There were instances where the officials committed mistakes in passbooks and farmers, finding it difficult to get them rectified. Some time back, a farmer had to attempt self- immolation to draw official attention to the wrong entries made in his passbook.

When they could not settle the dispute, the officials simply incorporate the land in Class-B, which means land under dispute and wash

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

COVER STORY 13

off their hands.

Clashes between Revenue officials and people are also being reported in newspapers from almost all districts of the state. Many of these clashes in rural areas boil down to land disputes. Sometimes these are turning into violent.

Because of constant harassment by ignoring legitimate rights by officials and their unreasonable demands for bribesfFormers committing suicides. Some others resorting to physical attacks on revenue officials. Take the case of Abdullahpurmet MRO Vijaya Reddy. The women officer fell victim to the combination of evil forces, namely political interference, corruption and cumbersome Land Records Updation Program (LRUP). The young officer was burnt alive by a person with the grievance.

Corruption is an issue which adversely affecting common peoples life and state’s economy, district and local government agencies. Not only has it held the economy back from reaching new heights, but rampant corruption has stunted the state’s development.

Though both the states claim running people-friendly government public servants have very wide discretionary powers offering the opportunity to extort undue payments from companies and ordinary citizens. The awarding of public contracts is notoriously corrupt, especially at the district and Mandal/ village level. Scandals naming high-level politicians have been alleged the payment of kickbacks in irrigation, RTC, healthcare, housing sectors. The deterioration of the overall efficiency of the government, protection of property rights, ethics and corruption as well as undue influence on government and judicial decisions have resulted in a more difficult situation for a business environment.

Officials are alleged to steal state property. In cities and villages throughout the state, groups of municipal and other government officials, elected politicians, real estate developers and law enforcement officials, acquire, develop and sell land in illegal ways. Such officials and politicians are very well protected by the immense power and

influence they possess.

In government hospitals, corruption is associated with nonavailability/duplication of medicines, obtaining admission, consultations with doctors and receiving diagnostic services. Healthcare-related government programmes like Arogyasree has been subject to large scale corruption allegations. This social spending and entitlement programme hoped to improve health care delivery across the state.

Driver licensing procedure was a hugely distorted bureaucratic process and allows drivers to be licensed despite their low driving ability through promoting the usage of agents. Individuals with the willingness to pay to make a significant payment above the official fee and most of these extra payments are made to agents, who act as an intermediary between RTA officials and applicants. The average licensee paid Rs 2500 – 5000 in order to obtain a license.

On average, those who hired agents had a lower driving ability, with agents helping unqualified drivers obtain licenses and bypass the

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14 COVER STORY

legally required driving examination. According to a survey, approximately 60% of the license holders did not even take the licensing exam and 54% of those license holders failed an independent driving test. Agents are the channels of corruption in this bureaucratic driver licensing system, facilitating access to licenses among those who are unqualified to drive. Some of the failures of this licensing system are caused by corrupt officials who collaborate with agents by creating additional barriers within the system against those who did not hire agents.

The media occasionally has published some allegations of corrupt government officials and politicians. As in the country the media in Telugu states also largely controlled by corrupt, greedy in-

dustrialists – contractors - politicians who are playing a major role by misleading the public with incorrect information and use the media for mud-slinging at political and business opponents. With these people who are fighting against corruption are getting little support.

As few individuals who have earlier worked against corruption were drawn into legal battles which have become financial burdens apart from taking too much time With all this there is little effort left to contain corrupt practices in the state.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

COVER STORY 15

Corruption in govt. offices

Good, Bad & Ugley!

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A.RAMMOHAN RAO

hough for being polite, add decency to ugly facts we may say ‘Not everybody in government offices is corrupt.’ But some departments(see survey results in the main story) in Telugu states are notorious for their corrupt practices.

Nothing, not even a legitimate single page moves to serve people without putting ‘something’ on it.

The majority of employees and officials in the department which have a greater interface with people is blatantly corrupt. Only the extortion methods are different among

them. The only hope for common people is in the microscopic minority government servants in those departments. A sample of Good, Bad and Ugly faces are presented here: The silent struggle against corruption: “Nenu Lanham teesukonu (I am uncorrupt)” screams a poster written in bold letters in the chamber of an official in Karimnagar district. Podeti Ashok sprang a surprise and created ripples among the corrupt officials of the electricity department with his decision to say openly that ‘I am not a corrupt

official’. He is working as an Assistant Divisional Engineer (ADE) in the Northern Power Distribution Corporation Limited (NPDCL) office in district headquarters.

Ashok has joined NPDCL in 2005 as Assistant Engineer (AE), worked at various places including Jagtial and Karimnagar towns. In the last three-and-half years, he has been promoted as ADE and was posted to the NPDCL SE office in the month of June this year. Ever since he joined the SE office as ADE, he was being “tormented by the contractors offering him bribes” for the passage of files and other

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16 COVER STORY

bills. He was irked over rampant corruption in the electricity department for doing official favours. He told the contractors and customers that he would not accept bribe nor give bribes to anyone. When the people failed to understand his integrity and started pestering him regularly, he promptly erected a board in his office stating that “I am uncorrupted”. Though the signboard, it gained attention after it went viral in social media.

Ashok said that since childhood he was against corruption.“If I take bribe then I should give it to others also,” he said, alleging that there was large-scale corruption in the electricity department in spite of good salaries. He urged the people not to bribe any official as they are being paid to do their work. “If your work is not done, approach the higher officials or the media, but don’t bribe,” he informed the common man.

Common people and some contractors are happy to see an official with ethics and devotion to work.

But the same is true with many of Ashok’s colleagues. They are alleging him of presenting the department in a bad light. “Now, I am

very much scared and worried as my colleagues are harassing me for putting up such a poster in the office, and saying that I am blaming the entire department as corrupt,” he said with pain in his voice.“However, I will not remove the poster and even If I am transferred to a new place I will erect the same poster and continue till my retirement,” he affirmed. He made it clear that he is not blaming the electricity department. But the truth should prevail, says Ashok Amassing unethical wealth: 93 Lakhs Cash, Jewellery Found At Home Of Telangana Officer Who Won Award Rs. 93.5 lakh in cash and 400 grams gold were found at the home in Hyderabad of V Lavanya, a revenue officer at Ranga Reddy district of The officer was named Telangana's "best tehsildar" two years ago.

Now she was charged with owning wealth disproportionate to her income. Along with huge the cash, 400 grams of gold was found during raids on the residence.

V Lavanya was named the state's ‘best tehsildar’ in 2017. Felicitated on the state in the presence of top officers from the Revenue

department and Cabinet Minister.

On 11 July this year when news of cash and gold worth over a crore being hauled out of her home in raids shocked many.Rs. 93.5 lakh in cash and 400 grams gold were found by Telangana's anti-corruption bureau from the home in Hyderabad of Lavanya, a revenue officer at Ranga Reddy district of Telangana.

The raids were ordered after another officer, Antaiah, a Village Revenue Officer said to be Lavanya's junior, was caught taking Rs. 4 lakh as bribe from a farmer Bhaskar for correcting land records. The farmer was allegedly told to pay Rs. 8 lakh; Rs. 5 lakh was allegedly for Lavanya and Rs. 3 lakh for the junior revenue officer. Bhaskar had earlier paid Antaiah Rs. 30,000 for his passbook. When he was asked to cough up Rs. 8 lakh more for making online corrections, he went to the anti-corruption bureau.

As soon as Antaiah took the Rs. 4 lakh - the transaction arranged and secretly watched by the bureau - he reportedly informed his superior, after which the anti-corruption bureau questioned Lavanya and detained her. Rs. 93.5 lakh in cash was recovered from the home of a revenue officer.

When she insisted that she had nothing to do with the bribe, a team raided her home. Lavanya has been arrested on charges of wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income and sent to jail. Investigators also found nine patted passbooks in her private car and documents linked to some 45 private properties. It is suspected that she may have been holding farmers' land record passbooks and demanding a bribe to return them.

As she stares at corruption

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

charges and a steep fall from grace, a video of Lavanya has gone viral. It shows a farmer falling at her feet and pleading with her. The farmer seen in the video is said to be Narsulu, who was also reportedly pleading for his land records to be corrected. The video was possibly shot with the intent of exposing the ignominy and troubles faced by farmers.

There have been many recent reports of corruption in the Revenue Department. In March, a farmer had posted a video on social media addressed to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao complaining about the harassment he was facing from Revenue Department officials. The chief minister had intervened and ensured that his grievance was addressed. KCR has said he will bring in new legislative and bureaucratic measures to eliminate corruption in the Revenue Department.

Streetfight in Mandal office:

COVER STORY 17

One of the ugliest faces of corruption in government has exposed in Kurnool city recently. Two VROs(Village Revenue officers) fought dual openly in the Mandal office for bribe money. They kicked and beat each other badly over the difference sharing manual (Bribe) collected to do some official work. When one VRO bite the ear of the other the second VRO has a bite on the neck of the first one. All this happened in the presence of Tahasildar of Kurnool Mandal.

Venugopal Reddy VRO of Sunkesula in Kurnool Mandal and Krishnadevraya VRO of Joharapuram were involved in this unprecedented physical fight in a Government office in the state. Alleging that Venugopal Reddy is harassing him for money Krishnadevaraya has bitten the ear of his colleague. In retaliation, Venugopal Reddy has bitten on the neck of him. This has turned similar to cockfight with both accusing each other and other staff, visitors were taken aback. With great difficulty, some of them took initiate and separated them.

This incident has created a sensation in Andhra Pradesh. Apart from widely prevailing rampant corruption in the Revenue department, it has exposed how blatantly the staff are behind the illegal earning and an official who is not different from their subordinates are helpless in controlling open greed of them.

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What happens to Officers caught by ACB? M

P.VISHNUVARDHAN REDDY

any officials have been caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Telangana. Looking at big media coverage and large amounts of money, Gold, a large number of property documents seized at their office – residences one may think they will be punished. Their fate will a lesion for others. But many of them are getting away with little consequence. Trap and disproportionate assets cases booked by ACB and reported to the government for permission to prosecute are diluted. In some cases, they are just closed and in some other cases, proposed for a departmental inquiry. “These departmental inquiries never ends." Said Padmanabha Reddy the Secretary Forum for Good Governance (FGG) in Hyderabad The RTI reply received by the Forum also highlighted state government’s apathy in persuing ACB cases to the logical end.]The reply received by Forum f FGG has also shown shocking realities about how corrupt official caught by ACB is simply not punished or allowed to roam freely. The RTI application sought information about cases where the state government deviated from the ACB's recommendation and refused prosecution, even against senior government officials, who were allegedly found with disproportion-

ate assets.

The forum gave a few examples including that of one Satyanarayana, a Deputy collector at the office of the Hyderabad Collector who was caught in 2010 while allegedly taking a bribe. Despite a detailed inquiry report sent by the ACB that same year requesting permission from the government to prosecute the accused, the state issued a Government Order (192 dated 14-2-2014) and ordered that further action is dropped.

To avoid scrutiny and criticism, the particular case was shown as still under inquiry, the forum alleged.

In another example, Deputy Collector Ramulu Naik was ‘trapped’ by ACB officials in 2011 and his assets were allegedly found to be disproportionate to his

income. The ACB sent its final report to the government in 2014 but the state proposed a departmental inquiry and closed the FIR. "How two serious cases including that of disproportionate assets are converted into a routine departmental inquiry? Revenue Department in Secretariat is acting like a godfather to (shield) corrupt officials," Padmanabha wrote in a letter Chief Secretary "Forum for Good Governance requests the Chief Secretary to order for an inquiry into the closure of departmental action cases by the Revenue Department. During the last five years, in about 50 cases, ACB request for prosecution was denied. Fear of punishment for wrongdoing is not there in government employees," he added.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

COVER STORY 19

Ropes in IIM, launches helpline

AP takes steps to check graft

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he Andhra Pradesh Government has taken initiative to curb corruption in various government departments. During on last week of November YS Jaganmohan Reddy lead YSRCP government has first signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad to help curb corruption in government departments. Immediately after that, it has also launched, a citizen helpline number for people to directly complain about corruption in government departments.

IIM-A Public Systems Group professor Sundaravalli Narayanaswamy and AP Anti-Corruption Bureau Director-General Kumar Vishwajeet exchanged the

agreement in the presence of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The scheme also involved setting up a panel with officials from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to coordinate with the institute. After a detailed study, they will submit a report to the government by the third week of February.

Jagan Reddy detailed the decisions taken by the government in setting upward and village secretariats for proper governance and asked the panel to suggest guidelines to end corruption. The Chief Minister said, “As part of the decentralisation of governance, we have introduced the new system through which the people will get all the benefits extended by the government at their doorstep. The village and ward secretariats will start functioning in a full-fledged

manner from January 1, 2020.

Eradication of corruption in the government departments will bring about a drastic change in the lives of poor and middle-class people.

The initiative will help in effective implementation of welfare schemes and ensure that the benefits reach the genuinely poor.

The Chief Minister said rooting out corruption would ultimately benefit the common people immensely. The new village and ward secretariat system were intended to ensure all benefits reach eligible beneficiaries directly, leaving no room for corruption, he pointed out. The salient features of the agreement are to outline guidelines to curb corruption right from the village level to all the government departments. A detailed study of the functioning of government de-

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

20 COVER STORY

partments and the income and expenditure needed for their governance will also be taken up.

It will also look into the lacunae in the present governance and

suggest corrective measures. A study will also be conducted for effective utilisation of the existing resources and improvement in the quality of governance. The IIMA

will also give suggestions for the effective functioning of the village/ward volunteer and village/ward secretariat system.

Four days after signing the MoU with IIM(A) Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched 14400, a citizen helpline number meant to enable people to complain about graft in government departments.

He made the first call on the occasion to the call centre and enquired about its functioning. He said citizens could directly call the helpline and lodge a complaint against corruption in any government department. He said all complaints would be investigated in 15 to 30 days and required action taken. Jagan, who has been focusing on eliminating graft since he took over the reins in the state, has said the fight against corruption should be taken aggressively. He has also said he would personally monitor the complaints on corruption and also the action is taken on them. The call centre is another step in the government's efforts to curb corruption in administration at all levels.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

CRIME

21

Wolves on TS highways

Woman Vet. doctor assaulted & burnt

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t’s a barbaric incident. A young veterinarian Dr Potula Priyanka Reddy (27) was brutally murdered and her body was set ablaze after allegedly raped on the outskirts of Hyderabad. on Wednesday night.

Four people a truck driver and cleaner along with their friends have been reportedly arrested in connection with the case. A body charred beyond recognition was found under an underpass in Shadnagar on 28 November morning.

The family identified the body as Dr Priyanka's with the help of a Ganesh locket that she was wearing.

According to the reports, the four accused had pre-planned the crime after they had noticed that the victim had parked her two-

wheeler at the Tondupally toll plaza. The accused assumed that the lady would come to pick it up later in the evening. The accused then deflated the tyre.

As Priyanka Reddy was returning home from work a little after 8 pm to pick her vehicle, she noticed a flat tyre. She immediately called her sister, who suggested that she

leave her two-wheeler at the toll plaza and take a cab home. Before she could, two men approached her, who offered to take her vehicle for repair.

According to police, the accused took her body to an underconstruction bridge a few kilometres away and set it on fire. The police stated that the victim’s innerwear, and some other objects including an alcohol bottle found around 100 metres from the spot led them to believe she was sexually assaulted before being killed.

She was working as an assistant veterinary doctor in a hospital at Nawabpet near Kollur and residing in Shamshabad. According to Priyanka's father Sridhar Reddy and her sister Bhavya, the victim left her home in Shamshabad and went to her hospital on Wednesday

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

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CRIME

morning. After completion of her work, she reached home in the evening and again Priyanka left her home at about 6:20 pm on a bike.

Later, she parked her Scooty at the Shamshabad ORR and went to Gachibowli by booking a cab for consulting a dermatologist at a private hospital for a skin problem.

She parked her vehicle at Tondupally toll plaza at Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Shamshabad. From there, she took a shared cab to reach Gachibowli and met the skin specialist at the hospital. Reportedly, the CCTV footage from near the toll plaza showed her walking to her scooter at around 8 pm.

When she reached her vehicle, two persons, who are truck drivers, told her that her tyre was flat. The lady veterinarian was allegedly ambushed and dragged into the bushes by the accused barely 50 metres from Tondupally toll plaza behind a line of trucks that was parked near the road.

Speaking on the phone, Priyanka urged her sister Bhavya to continue talking to her, as the situation was not fine and she was feeling scared. As soon as Priyanka went incommunicado abruptly, her family approached the Shamshabad

police and a missing case was registered. Reportedly, a milk vendor found a body burning underneath an underpass of a flyover on NH44 on Thursday morning. He immediately called village elders, who informed local police. The Cyberabad police arrived and found that it was a murder. When her family reached the spot where the fully charred body was found, they established its identity based on a scarf and a Ganesha locket around the victim’s neck.

The next day in a swift move,

the Cyberabad police on Friday arrested four persons for the rape and murder of a veterinarian. The accused were traced and nabbed based on clues from CCTV footage, eyewitnesses and intelligence inputs, Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said.

They were booked under Sections 376D, 302, and 201 of the IPC and the Criminal Amendment Act, 2013. The case will go to a fasttrack court and efforts will be made to ensure the accused get capital punishment, said Sajjanar. He asserted that the police had prioritised the search for the woman when she was missing and said teams visited the toll plaza and inquired in the surroundings, but did not search the abutting open plot.

Explaining how the gruesome crime was planned and executed, Sajjanar said the accused noticed the victim parking her scooter in the open area near the toll plaza and hatched a plan to trap and rape her.

They discussed this plan while drinking alcohol in their lorry. Jollu Shiva, 20, came up with the idea of deflating a tyre of her scooter so

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

CRIME

she wouldn’t be able to leave. His distant relative Jollu Naveen deflated the tyre and they waited for the victim to return to her scooter.

Family unhappy with the investigation: Family members of the Hyderabad veterinarian, have accused the police of lapses in investigating their complaint. The initial resolve shown by the cops weakened as time passed by, the family said, adding that the situation would have been completely different had they continued in the same spirit. According to reports, Dr.Priyanka Reddy’s sister said that after the vet's mobile was found switched off, she waited for some time and went to the toll plaza. "I was in office when she called me for the last time. My superiors arranged a vehicle for me and a colleague had accompanied me to the toll plaza. We first searched there and also inquired with a few passers-by, but nobody had any clue," she told.

The victim's sister and her colleague returned to the RGI airport police station to lodge a formal written complaint but were told that due to jurisdiction issues, they had to lodge a complaint with the Shamshabad police station, which

is around 800 metres from the RGI airport police station. After they went there and lodged a complaint, a missing case was registered and the investigation formally began. It was learnt later that the police teams which visited the toll plaza did not make any effort to search the open plot located just beside.

The vet's sister further stated that the police also asked if the victim had a boyfriend or was in regular touch with any men. They also asked if she spoke on her mobile phone for long durations.

23

Instead of inquiring into the facts, such questions from police have only hurt the family more, she said.

The victim's mother, a homemaker, demanded that the accused be burnt alive in full public view in the same manner that her daughter was killed. "She was an innocent girl who had come this far with a lot of hard work, but the evil desires of a few drunkards claimed her life. No punishment to the killers can make up for the pain we are going through now," she said.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

24

STATES

Car plunges from flyover T

Speeding killed bystander

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he car flew like in an action film. As in a film scene the driver survived. The innocent bystander got killed. Recently, a car drove off the Biodiversity flyover in Hyderabad and fell onto the street below. A woman was killed instantly, while others including person driving the car suffered injuries.

As per eyewitnesses and CCTV footage of the accident, the speeding car driven by one, Kalvakuntla Krishna Milan Rao unable to manoeuvre a turn on the flyover, rammed the parapet wall and flew over. It landed on the busy road beneath, bounced off, and crashed into a group of bystanders and parked autos. Four vehicles parked outside a nearby car showroom were also damaged.

The newly-inaugurated flyover at the Biodiversity Complex junction near Gachibowli has witnessed many accidents During the last few weeks. On November 10, a techie allegedly crashed into two vehicles on the flyover, and two persons taking selfies there, throwing them off the flyover and killing them.

Since then, the police introduced a few measures to prevent accidents and installed cameras on the flyover.

Though the speed limit on the flyover is 40 kmph, traffic police said the Volkswagen Polo car driven by Krishana Milan Rao was at 104 kmph. Because of that car flew off the flyover and crashed

into the group of bystanders, it killed 40-year-old Pasala Naga Venkata Satyaveni, and injured her daughter, Praneetha, 23, who was standing beside her. An engineering student, K Kubra, who was also waiting to catch an auto to attend a job interview, and an auto driver named M Balu Naik also suffered injuries. Naik got stuck under a tree that got uprooted as the car struck it, and one of the car’s wheels flew off, hitting him hard. A few others received minor injuries. They were waiting to catch an auto on 24 November.

A case has been registered against the car driver, Krishna Milan Rao who has been hospi-

talised with serious injuries, said DCP Madhapur A Venkateswar Rao. The driver’s blood samples will be sent for analysis though primary inquiries revealed that he was not under the influence of alcohol.

The details of the driver caused the accident was kept secret initially. He was admitted into a private hospital immediately keeping away from media attention. Only after three days details regarding the driver who was crossing the flyover at a speed of 104 kmph (the speed limit is 40 kmph) have emerged. Kalvakuntla Krishna Milan Rao, co-founder and CEO of Empower Labs (which calls itself 'India's First Augmented Reality Gaming Company'). He was travelling from his Jubilee Hills residence to his office near Meenakshi Towers. He was saved by the airbags of the car, suffered a fractured clavicle. The police have registered a case of death by negligence against him, and he now faces a possible two years of imprisonment, according to police.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

THE NATION 25

Can India halt its

speeding drivers?

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ndia, as a signatory to the Brasilia declaration, intends to reduce road accidents and traffic fatalities by 50% by 2022. As of now, the country sees close to 5 lakh road accidents in a year resulting in almost 1.5 lakh deaths - 66% of which are caused by speeding, according to Nitin Gadkari, Union road transport minister. There is thus an urgent need to recognize the worsening situation in road deaths and injuries and to take appropriate action. Can India reduce fatalities as per Brasilia declaration?

The Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 seeks to address issues related to road accidents, third party insurance and road safety measures. Majority of accidents (78.4 per cent) are caused due to the driver’s fault. The amendment started giving results. Deaths in road accidents in India have reduced by at least 9 per cent in the first two months after the amended Motor Vehicles Act came into effect on September 1. Between September 1 and October 31, India witnessed 3,375 road accidentrelated deaths, as compared to 3,729 in the same period last year.

But without increased efforts and

new initiatives, the total number of road traffic deaths in India is likely to cross the mark of 250,000 by the year 2025.

We need to find other alternative ways to curb speed driving. It’s interesting to see the novel way Cops in Estonia have started to rein in speed demons on the country's roads. They are offering erring drivers the choice of either paying a fine or stand by the side of the road for forty-five minutes to an hour to 'cool down'. The time for which the errant drivers will have to stand aside depends on how much over the speed limit they were going - those travelling at 20

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

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THE NATION

kmph above the speed limit have to wait for 45 minutes while those breaking the speed limit by 21-40 kmph have to wait for 1 hour The northern European country, with a population of a little of 1.32 million takes the deaths of its citizens in road accidents very seriously. Last year, 67 people were killed in road accidents in Estonia, with another 1,824 injured. The scheme, which has been introduced on the road connecting the country's capital Tallinn and the town of Rapla, is only offered to drivers who have no previous traffic violation - repeat offenders don't get to just cool off. They have to pay the fine Drivers caught speeding. They could pay a fine, as normal, or take a “timeout” instead, waiting for 45 minutes or an hour, depending on how fast they were going when

stopped.

The aim of the experiment is to see how drivers perceive speeding, and whether lost time may be a stronger deterrent than lost money.

The project is a collaboration between Estonia’s Home Office and the police force, and is part of a programme designed to encour-

age innovation in public services.

Government teams propose a problem they would like to solvesuch as traffic accidents caused by irresponsible driving-and work under the guidance of an “innovation unit”. Teams are expected to do all fieldwork and interviews themselves.

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Phone: 97011 41377. email: thenews.sub@gmail.com THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

GUEST COLUMN 27

BY - B. NAGABUSHANAM

Marata Politics

Compromise for power

I

ronically, Indian democracy had sofar seen and many highs and lows of political upheavals during these 70 years of our independence. especially in the backdrops of the Indian constitution having completed seven decades of its successful existence, As the adages go there are no permanent friends or perminent foes in politics At times even crossing all the permissible limits of ideological eths of our irrational heritage.. Paradoxically, The Indian Democracy has started degenerating way back in 1977 after the thirty-year rule of the Congress party due to the unprecedented excess of the emergency. As a result, the Janata Party, a conglomeration of various national parties like the Jana Sangh (now BJP) Janata dal(s) and other secular opposition parties had challenged the congress for a couple of years and then fallen within a short period of two and half years even

though Janata Party had a terrific mandate. Fall was due to the internal fighting and undesirable political ambitions. It has paved way for the congress to stage a comeback to power in 1980 Mrs.Indira Gandhi could become P.M with a bang.

Recently concluded state assembly elections in Maharastra, they taught us bitter new political lessons as the fractured verdict has paved the way to reinvent new methods of manoeuvrability to arrive at the required number to form the stable govt. in the state. As you are aware, BJP Shivsena combines on one side and on the other side NCP congress combine have fought the assembly elections. But BJP has got only 105 seats and Shivsena had got 56 seats while the NCP - Congress have got 54 and 44 seats respectively not to speak of some group of independents.

Unfortunately, after results are announced the Shivsena has come

up with a very unreasonable demand of sharing the power with the BJP for 2 1/2 years of Cheif ministership. BJP says that was not originally discussed before the elections. However, in good faith, BJP has taken the initiative to form the govt in Maharashtra with taken for the granted attitude of Shivsena.

But the Shivsena has adamant to share the power with BJP by Hook or Crook.

Unfortunately Devendra Fadnavis the forme Chief Minster of Maharastra in a tearing hurry to take oath as the new CM. in conveyance with the governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari 's political Largesse that could not be materialised and was proved to be a wild goose chase on the former could not master the support of the shivasena. However, the governor has immediately clamped the presidents rule keeping the assembly in suspended animation.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

28

GUEST COLUMN

HURH HURH MOVES 0F THE BJP:

Dramatically, out of sheer overconfidence and without the proper groundwork. The centre has revoked the president's rule at dead of night so surreptitiously that over the media and the intelligence or other special activist were kept out of the invitees and the governor has unilaterally invited Devendra Fadnavis to take oath as the CM at 8 AM and and Ajit Pawar of the NCP as Dy CM for the second time in quick succession that was also disastrously proved to be more than a Farrago and a political move in futility as NCP the congress have gone to the supreme court challenging the governor’s political actions.

However the three-member bench in the supreme court lead by Justice N.V.Ramana has heard both the parties of BJP and Maha Vikas Agadhi and directed the governor

to go in for a complete floor test of the member 0n 28/11/2019 and to be televised mandatorily without any scope for horse-trading. But before the floor test could happen, the four-day state government of Devendra Fadnavis has ignominiously fallen again and thus paving the smooth the way for the Maha Vikas Agadhi Uddhav Thackeray to be the CM and one from NCP to be the Dy CM and one from the

congress to be the speaker of the assembly.

Uddhav Thackeray of Shivasena has taken the oath as CM on 28 Novemberat Shivaji park in Mumbai. His cabinet is to have 43 members drawn from three parties in. Maha Vikas Agadhi. While Shivsena, NCP get 15 berths each the congress party will be given 13.

With this prolonged exercise, one hopes hope that this Maha Vikas Aghadi govt. lasts long as an ideal state with good governance apart.

However, Marata politics have taken many twists and turn during this crucial one month. The entire credit should go to Sharad Pawar, the chairman of NCP, who has to all interests and the purposes, has remained a real hero and the crisis manager in the long run by bridging a gap between the Shivsena and the Congress parties to cobble up the requisite number to form the

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

GUEST COLUMN government of secular credentials as insisted upon by Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of UPA. More credibly, there is also a less known advantage and fact for this MAHA VIKAS AGHADI, for late Bal Thackeray and Sharad Pawar had excellent personal bonding and bonhomie with the Thackeray family.

More than the political relationships right from 1960's onwards both the families have lived in Tandem at Dadar, close to the historic Shivaji Park in Bombay.

Whatever the MAHA VIKAS AGHADI Govt has come into the existence with the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and six, others taking oath initially with two each

from the Shivsena, NCP and Congress joining the cabinet. Nevertheless, All is well that ends well.

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(The author is former Member of Executive Council Osmania University.)

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

30

THE NATION

Muslim 'infiltrators'

NRC’s main concern

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ome minister Amit Shah recently said that the government will not "force a single refugee to leave the country" but "won't allow even one infiltrator to stay." One key deciding factor in whether you are welcome in India as a refugee or are an infiltrator who shouldn't be here would soon be your religion. "I assure all Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain refugees they won't have to leave the country, they will get Indian citizenship and enjoy all the rights of an Indian national," he said.

Assam's National Register of Citizens that was prepared to identify illegal migrants in the state, does not have names of 1,906,657 people. The government is now talking about a more general NRC for the entire country to "weed out foreigners." The problem is a majority of those missing from Assam's NRC is believed to be non-Muslims. So, there's a back-up

plan to ensure that they do not end up being classified as 'infiltrators'.

The government plans to reintroduce the Citizenship Amendment Bill meant to give Indian citizenship to refugee Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The bill, which was shelved in February after the Lok Sabha passed it, has a better chance of getting passed as by then NDA is likely to get a majority in the Rajya Sabha.

Though BJP's 2019 talks about the citizenship bill in relation to "individuals of religious minority communities from neighbouring countries escaping persecution" that is not entirely the case. Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar, for instance, fit into that category but are not entitled to citizenship. "It has nothing to do with religion but the fact is that we have to provide food and shelter to our own large population first," Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy

said last week referring to Rohingya. But that is true for any refugee. States like UP do not even want to wait for NRC, they have started an 'informal' exercise to identify 'foreigners'.

What's the policy? Apart from the proposed bill, India doesn't have national asylum legislation and government deals with asylum seekers on a case-by-case basis and all foreigners are subject to the Foreigners Act, which does not distinguish between tourists, economic migrants and refugees. India is also not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its 1967 protocol so some refugees like Tibetans or Tamils from Sri Lanka are handled by the government while others by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). With the NRC and linking it with the citizenship bill, India's policy of giving shelter to the oppressed will be inadvertently linked to religion.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

JUDICIARY

31

Meet the youngest judge of the country M

THE NEWS BUREAU

ayank Pratap Singh(21) as created history the youngest judge of India. He by cracking the Rajasthan Judiciary Services Examination has entered into Indian judiciary. Neither did he ever go for any coaching nor has ever used social media. “I have been studying for 6-8 hours regularly however, at times, I have also extended my studies for over 12 hours too,” Mayank said.

Mayank topped the Rajasthan Judiciary Services Examination after completing his five-year law college studies. He took this test after completing his final year of law studies and cracked it as a topper. “I expected that I shall clear the exam but I had never hoped to top it.” Said Mayank with jubilation. However, the young judge was happy that the government reduced the minimum age criteria to take the test to 21 which earlier was 23. “The moment I got the notification of a reduction in age, I applied for this exam.”

He gives the credit for his success to his self-study. “I devoted my personal time and space to my studies which helped me crack the exam and I became a topper.

College studies helped me a lot.”

Singh said that it was a good move as it would help fill vacancies of the posts lying vacant and said it would also help him help more people throughout his career.

Mayank never ever had a Facebook account sofar. In fact, he had deactivated all other social media accounts during my exam time and used the internet only to get legal updates, for getting track of some interesting or important judgement of Supreme Court or High Court.

Mayank says that he was quite focussed on his goal and hence maintained a distance from social gatherings. He has attended only those gatherings which were important for him. “Many of my friends did make a mockery of me for being absent from social media and not using WhatsApp and Facebook. However, with time, they got used to it,” he said. "I could appear in the exam only because the minimum age was reduced. Had it not been so then I would not have

been eligible. I think it will benefit me because now I will get more time to learn and do more work and serve more people in my career because I joined at such a young age," he added.

Answering a query on why he choose judiciary, he said, "I was always drawn towards the judicial services going by the importance and respect reserved for the judges in the society. I took admission in 2014 in the five-year LLB course from the Rajasthan University, which ended this year," Singh told Mayank’s father had been a principal in Rajkumar Singh Government School and his mother too is a teacher in a government school. His father says that he has been working hard since childhood and has always been a topper in school.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

32

THE NATION

Sriram gets his birthplace

Ayodhya dispute resolved

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THE NEWS BUREAU

inally Supreme Court has put an end to the more than a century-old dispute that has torn the social fabric of the nation. In one of the most important and most anticipated judgements in India's history, a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot a 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.

The apex court said the mosque should be constructed at a "prominent site" and a trust should be formed within three months for the

construction of the temple at the site many Hindus believe Lord Ram was born. The site was occupied by the 16th-century Babri mosque which was destroyed by Hindu karsevaks on December 6, 1992.

The bench, also comprising Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer said possession of the disputed 2.77-acre land rights will be handed over to the deity Ram Lalla, who is one of the three litigants in the case. The possession, however, will remain with a central government receiver. The Supreme Court said the Hindus have established their case that they were in posses-

sion of the outer courtyard and the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board has failed to establish its case in the Ayodhya dispute.

Delivering its verdict in the politically-sensitive case of Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in Ayodhya, the apex court directed allotment of alternative land to Muslims to build a new mosque.

The apex court said the extensive nature of Hindus worshipping at outer courtyard at the disputed site has been there, and the evidence suggests the Muslims offered Friday prayers at mosque which indicates that they had not lost possession of the site. It said

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

that despite obstruction caused in offering prayers at Mosque, the evidences suggest that there was no abandonment in offering prayers.

The apex court further said that the underlying structure below the disputed site at Ayodhya was not an Islamic structure, but the ASI has not established whether a temple was demolished to build a mosque.

It said that terming the archaeological evidence as merely an opinion would be a great disservice to the Archaeological Survey of India. The court also said that the Hindus consider the disputed site as the birthplace of Lord Ram and even Muslims say this about that place. The faith of the Hindus that Lord Ram was born at the demolished structure is undisputed, the apex court said.

The bench said the existence of Sita Rasoi, Ram Chabutra and Bhandar grih are the testimony of the religious fact of the place. The apex court said however that the title cannot be established on the ground of faith and belief and they are only indicators for deciding the dispute It took 134 years of court battle: The verdict in the Ayodhya case, after 134 years of court battle, brings to an end a dispute that shaped and twisted the political destiny of India through the decades. Trouble between Hindus and Muslims had been simmering since a large mosque was built-in the mid-16th century by Mughal emperor Babur's commander Mir Baqi, who named it Babri Masjid in honour of his ruler.

However, the first legal petition in this regard was moved by a local Hindu priest, Mahant Raghubir Das, in 1885. Das sought the permission of the Ayodhya Sub Judge to build a temple in the eastern

THE NATION 33

courtyard of the Babri mosque, that was described as the birthplace of Lord Ram and known as Ram Chabutra. Significantly, the mahant did not seek any claim over the land on which the masjid stood.

And the Ram Chabutra land, that had been separated by a wall erected in 1855, belonged to him.

It was only later that Hindus staked claim to the land on which the mosque stood.

The Hindu Sub Judge Pandit Hari Kishan Singh felt that even though there was a clear demarcation between the Ram Chabutra and the mosque, permission could not be granted for the construction of a temple there. He ruled, "If a temple is constructed on the chabutra at such a place then there will be sound of bells of the temple and shankh when both Hindus and Muslims pass from the same way, and if permission is given to Hindus for constructing the temple, then one-day criminal cases will be started and thousands of people will be killed."

Das chose to make an appeal before the District Judge, Faizabad, Col. FEA Chamier, who upheld the

Sub Judge's order in March 1886.

Chamier, however, dismissed Singh's observation, whereby he had confirmed Raghubar Das's ownership of the land. What made it worse was Chamier's remark: It is most unfortunate that a masjid should have been built on land specially held sacred by Hindus, but as that occurred 356 years ago, it is too late to remedy the grievance.

Chamier's pointed observation "The chabutra is said to indicate the birthplace of Ram Chandra"—is what became the basis of Muslim assertion that the plot on which the mosque stood was not Ram's birthplace. Mahant Raghubir Das moved a higher appeal before Judicial Commissioner W Young, who on November 1, 1886, ruled that Hindus wanted to create a "new temple" over the "holy spot" that was said to be "birthplace of Sri Ram Chandra." While dismissing Das's claimed ownership of the chabutra, Young went on to add, "Now this spot is situated within the precinct of the grounds surrounding a mosque erected some 350 years ago owing to the bigotry and tyranny of Emperor Babur,

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THE NATION

who purposely chose this holy spot, according to Hindu legend."

Babri Masjid or the Ram Janmbhoomi was not in the news for the next few decades until 1934, when a riot erupted over cow slaughter in Ayodhya. The British government got repairs undertaken in the mosque building that was damaged. There was another lull for 15 years. However, on the intervening night of December 22-23, 1949 an idol of Lord Ram was secretly inside Babri Masjid. Hindus promptly sought to give it a divine colour. What followed was the convergence of a huge Hindu crowd who started performing kirtan inside the mosque.

Much commotion prevailed but the then district magistrate KKK Nayyar refused to have the idol removed even after he was instructed to do so by the top political masters of the day. Subsequently, Nayyar resigned from the Indian Civil Service and later got elected as MP from there on a Hindu Mahasabha ticket. On December 29, 1949, a local judge declared Babri Masjid a "disputed property" and ordered that status quo be maintained. Muslims were barred from entering the mosque and its main gate was locked. However, Hindu priests were allowed to enter the premises through a side gate for carrying out routine religious rituals and puja. But, even as the place remained out of bounds for ordinary Hindu devotees, the Hindu claim gained currency. In January 1986, the district judge of Faizabad ordered the opening of the locks of Babri Masjid. That marked yet another victory for the Hindus and more particularly for VHP that had launched a movement with the open support of the BJP.

Interestingly, the district judge who issued the order for unlocking the gates to the disputed Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid subsequently got elevated to become the judge of the Allahabad High Court.

A year later, three different suits pending before the Faizabad district judge were transferred to the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court. These included the original suit filed by local resident Gopal Singh Visharad, a second y Paramhans Ramchandra Das, but this one was withdrawn later.

Nirmohi Akhara moved the third suit while Sunni Central Waqf Board became the fourth petitioner in the case.

The year 1989 witnessed a new twist when Ram Lalla or the deity itself became a party in the case.

The petition on behalf of the deity was moved by retired judge Deoki Nandan Agarwal, who described himself as the "friend" of Ram Lalla. The petitioner was named as "Ram Lalla Virajman". Significantly, no one opposed this, and today, that is what has come in handy-as the verdict goes fully in favour of the deity. Eventually, the mosque was razed by violent kar-

sevaks on December 6, 1992. In the years that followed, the case gained pace as a title before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad HC. A long-drawn battle began as parties started presenting their arguments.

Finally, the HC gave its verdict, trifurcating the disputed land into three equal parts—to be shared by the three parties. But that was not acceptable to any of the parties who went into appeal before the highest court of the land which has finally brought the case to a close on 9th of November By and large, it is a verdict that reflects immense balance and pragmatism. And what is even better is that it does not leave room for mischief-mongers to raise other contention issues like Kashi or Mathura, which have been on the agenda of aggressive Hindutva groups.

Voices of dissent were heard from some Muslim quarters immediately after the apex court verdict.

But eventually, those who were not satisfied with the judgment did not disagree that it was the best way forward in the larger interest of the nation and its people.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

THE NATION 35

Conditions apply

CJI's office is open to scrutiny

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he Supreme Court in a landmark ruling has announced that the office of the Chief Justice of India is a public authority under the Right to Information Act. In a majority verdict, the apex court said public interest demands that transparency is maintained. “Transparency does not undermine judicial independence,” Justice Sanjiv Khanna the judge, who is also in the line of succession to be the CJI, stated. The top court, however, said, that no information can be given which violated the right to privacy and compromised the independence of the judiciary The order was passed by a fivejudge Constitution bench headed

by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

Other members of the bench are Justices NV Ramana, DY Chandrachud, Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna. A five-judge constitution bench had on April 4 reserved its verdict on the appeals filed in 2010 by the Supreme Court secretarygeneral and its central public information officer against the high court and the central information commission's (CIC's) orders.

The bench, headed by the chief justice, had wrapped up the hearing, saying nobody wants a "system of opaqueness", but the judiciary cannot be destroyed in the name of transparency."Nobody wants to remain in the state of darkness or keep anybody in the state of darkness," it had said. "The question is drawing a line. In the

name of transparency, you can't destroy the institution." In a landmark verdict on January 10, 2010, the Delhi High Court had held that the office of the chief justice of India comes within the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) law, saying judicial independence was not a judge's privilege, but a responsibility cast upon him.

The move to bring the office of the CJI under the transparency law was initiated by RTI activist SC Agrawal. His lawyer Prashant Bhushan had submitted in the top court that though the apex court should not have been judging its own cause, it is hearing the appeals due to "doctrine of necessity".The lawyer had described the reluctance of the judiciary in parting information under the Right To Information Act as "unfortunate" and "disturbing", asking: "Do judges inhabit different universe?"

He had submitted that the apex court has always stood for transparency in the functioning of other

organs of State, but it develops cold feet when its own issues require attention. Referring to the RTI provisions, Bhushan had said they also deal with exemptions and information that cannot be given to applicants, but the public interest should always "outweigh" personal interests if the person concerned is holding or about to hold a public office.

The bench had said people, of late, were opting out and do not want to become judges because of the fear of negative publicity. On whether the deliberations of the Supreme Court collegium comprising five senior-most judges in the appointment of judges or lawyers should be made public, the top court ruled that it should be decided on a case-to-case basis keeping in mind the larger public interest. The bench said that only the names of judges recommended by the Collegium for an appointment can be disclosed, not the reasons.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

36

THE NATION

Sabarimala temple case

7-judge SC bench to hear T

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he seven-judge bench will reexamine various religious issues, including the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple and mosques and the practice of female genital mutilation in the Dawoodi Bohra community. While the five-judge bench unanimously agreed to refer the religious issues to a larger bench, Supreme court has announced the third week of November. The court gave a 3:2 split decision on petitions seeking a review of the apex court's September 2018 decision allowing women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala.

The judges said restrictions on women in religious places were not restricted to Sabarimala alone and was prevalent in other religions as well. There is no clarity whether women can enter the shrine, which is scheduled to open for worship in November. Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi read the verdict on behalf of himself and Justices AM Khanwilkar and Indu Malhotra; he said the larger bench would decide all such religious issues relating to Sabarimala, the entry of women in mosques and the practice of female genital mutilation in the Dawood Bohra community.

Chief Justice Gogoi said the petitioners' endeavour was to revive the debate on religion and faith.

In September last year, the Supreme Court held that a cen-

turies-old ban on women and girls aged 10 to 50 was illegal and constitutional. It was a 4:1 majority ruling. Protesters thwarted most attempts by women to travel to the Sabarimala temple, located northeast of Pathanamthitta in a tiger reserve. The Supreme Court considered as many as 65 petitions -including 56 review petitions - before delivering the latest verdict.

Soon after the apex court’s September 2018 ruling, when women below 50 years of age tried entering the temple, Kerala saw statewide protests that later turned violent. In January this year, two women, Kanakadurga and Bindu, Has entered into the temple. The temple town was virtually turned

into a fortress with hundreds of police personnel, including armed commandos and women cops above 50, deployed in large numbers. Ahead of the temple's annual pilgrim season, in November, Kerala's police chief Loknath Behra said over 10,000 police personnel will be deployed in phases during the two-month-long season.

Allow Women Till SC Decides Matter: Women's rights activist Trupti Desai said women should be allowed in the temple till the SC verdict comes. "What I understand is that till the SC order comes, entry is open for women and no one should protest. I am going to offer prayers in November she said.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

THE NATION 37

Norms to check misuse by January

Internet strengthen or weaken democracy?

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f you thought the internet and social media strengthened the right to free speech, essential to democracy, this is what the Centre told the Supreme Court: "Internet has emerged as a potent tool to cause unimaginable disruption to the democratic polity."

It assured the Supreme court that it would finalise by Januaryend the changes in due diligence to be observed by intermediaries providing internet services to consumers to regulate it's misuse.

Internet intermediaries are companies which facilitate the use of internet and include internet service providers, search engines, social media platforms.

The central government is going to finalise a new set of regulations by January-end to check misuse of the internet, which has the potential to cause “unimaginable disruption to democratic polity”. Centre said it was working with due diligence to frame guidelines for internet intermediaries, ie companies, including internet service providers, search engines and social media that facilitate the use of internet and social media.

Centre told this to the Supreme Court in an affidavit filed in the apex cour. In its affidavit, the Ministry of Electronics and IT said keeping in view the mischief that could be caused by misuse of the internet, the government “felt that the extant rules (are) to be revised for effective regulation of intermediaries keeping in view the evergrowing threats to individual rights

and the nation’s integrity, sovereignty and security”. The ministry said in the last few years, there had been a massive increase in the use of social media. “With lower internet tariffs, availability of smart devices and last-mile connectivity, more and more people in India are becoming part of internet/social media platforms,” it said.

Rise in hate speech, fake news too: If on one hand, technology has led to economic growth and societal development, on the other hand, there has been an exponential rise in hate speech, fake news, public order, anti-national activities, defamatory postings and other unlawful activities using internet/social media platforms,” the ministry of electronics and IT said. The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Deepak sought the timeline by which the proposed changes in guidelines would be notified. The government informed that it would be finalised by January-end.

The Centre said Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had told Parliament on July 26, 2018 that the govern-

ment would initiate measures, including amendments in the Intermediaries Guideline Rules, 2011, to make intermediaries more liable towards the content that is published and transmitted on their platforms.

The ministry said it had sought public opinion on the draft Information Technology Intermediaries Guidelines (Amendment) Rules, 2018, by posting the proposed changes to 2011 rules on its website. “In response to the draft rules, 171 comments were received by the ministry, which too was published on the website on February 4 to receive counter-comments, it said, adding that the ministry has held several rounds of discussions with stakeholders and other relevant ministries.

After collating and analysing the details as they have emerged from stakeholders’ participation and inter-ministerial consultation, a further period of three months would be required for finalising and notifying the final revised rules, it added.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

38 THE ECONOMY

Slowing Chinese economy means

What is it for the world?

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THE NEWS BUSINESS DESK

hina's GDP growth slows to a 27-year low. The dragon country economy grew an underwhelming 6 per cent in quarter three, its weakest rate in at least 27 years. An ongoing trade war with the US continues to weigh on the world's second-largest economy.

Growth slowed from 6.2 per cent in the second quarter. The 2019 growth rate falls within the government's annual goal of between 6 and 6.5 per cent, but with a marked slowdown compared to previous years. It is the slowest growth the Chinese economy has seen since 1992.

China is battling weakened domes-

tic spending and a prolonged trade war with the US that has hurt Chinese exports.

China's gross domestic product rose by 6 per cent in the July-September period from a year ago, the slowest pace in over 27 years and weaker than the consensus forecast of 6.1 per cent. The growth is also at the bottom end of the government's full-year target of 6-6.5 per cent. The Chinese economy grew at 6.6 per cent in 2018. The country's long-running trade war with the US and slowing domestic demand are the big reasons for the slowdown.

What effect will it have on the world? China is a key driver of global growth and its slowing economy has an impact on other

countries too. Data released a few weeks back showed that a slide in China's exports accelerated in September while imports contracted for a fifth straight month. As China slows, it is buying less from the rest of the world and that is affecting its trade partners.

China has unveiled a series of measures in recent months including major tax cuts and easier lending norms for banks to tackle the slowdown. However, it has struggled to revive demand and business confidence has been low.

The steep tax cuts have hit revenues of local governments and affected investments. China is trying to shift from an export-driven economy to an investment and consumer spending is driven one.

The US imposed tariffs on a record $7.5-billion worth of European Union goods on Friday, despite threats of retaliation, with Airbus, French wine and Scottish whiskies among the high-profile targets. The tariffs came after talks between European officials and US trade representatives failed to win a last-minute reprieve.

Meanwhile, replying to a question whether India's slowdown is cyclical or structural, Nirmala Sitharaman, the finance minister said “It maybe both. It may not be both. It may be partly one or partly the other. I don’t have the luxury of sitting and looking at which way it’s going. I have all the time to know what people want me to do and respond to them accordingly.”

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

INNOVATION 39

Products from IIM-Calcutta alumnus

Waterless bathing

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ndia is facing one of the worst water crises in its history.

Around 600 million of its people face water shortage. Lack of access to clean water is leading to hygiene issues because of which five million people are admitted to ICUs every year.

These were some reasons that forced IIM-Calcutta alumnus Puneet Gupta, 33, to come up with an alternative to deal with such problems. His innovative idea led to, what he claims to be, the world’s first waterless body bath and shampoo in 2018. The company, Clensta International was recognised among the Top 10 winners at Level Nxt Awards organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in February, for this innovation.

And now, the team has come up with a waterless toothpaste. This safe-to-swallow solution is meant for optimum oral hygiene. Gupta, who founded Clensta International in 2016, says, “We are following waterless technology. These products will contribute to saving water.

An average Indian uses 70-80 litres of water for bathing every day, and 20ml of the wash is what we need to replace. And one 100-ml bottle saves 350-litre water.” These alcohol, sodium lauryl sulfate, gluten and paraben-free products are patent protected in 152 coun-

tries.

Clensta has been incubated as a company in IIT-Delhi and benefits from iits funds and infrastructure.

Moreover, the institute is a shareholder in the company and Anurag Rathore, professor, chemical engineering department, IIT Delhi, is the co-founder. The company is working with a complete team now. Gupta says these products are easy to use. “Liquid-based body bath comes in the form of a spray.

You can spray and then massage the area, and this creates froth, which absorbs the dust that can be wiped off. With shampoo, there are dry shampoos in the market and people confuse our shampoo with those shampoos. Dry shampoos

manage oily hair, but our shampoo gives a comprehensive hygiene.

You can put massage liquid on your scalp and clean it with a towel. It makes you feel as fresh as you feel after a hair wash.” No-Rinse Body Wash is perfect for people of all ages, especially infants and elderly.

The patented formula is ready to use and leaves skin clean, moisturized and odor-free!

Catering to sectors of hospitality, railways, hotels, home health care, defence forces, and adventure tourism, Clensta has made the products available on e-commerce portals also. “We are planning an official launch for the toothpaste on World Health Day on April 7 next year,” Gupta announced.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

40

HEALTH

FSSAI survy gives hope

Milk we drink is not all that bad

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dulterated Milk. Artificial Milk. Main These day we are worried about the milk we drink and give to children every day.

Well, nowhere is a piece of good news is that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI) National Milk Safety and Quality Survey 2018 report released in October says that adulteration of milk isn’t as rampant as widely perceived.

It’s just less than 0.2% of the

more than 6,400 samples testing positive for adulteration. But there is bad news too. It’s not adulteration we need to be worried about its contamination.

The survey results demolish the perception of large scale milk adulteration in the country. The survey has shown that 12 out of 6,432 samples of milk were adulterated that render such milk unsafe for human consumption. Six samples were found adulterated with hydrogen peroxide, three with detergents, two with urea and one sample was

found to have neutralizers. No samples were found with boric acid and nitrates, the other two possible adulterants. Out of 12 adulterated samples, nine were in Telangana, two from Madhya Pradesh and one from Kerala. While, there is a concern, but this dispels the widespread perception that liquid milk in the country is largely adulterated.

India may be the world's largest producer of milk but doubts about its purity have existed - and as the FSSAI research shows, not entirely

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

HEALTH

without reason. Aflatoxin M1, a carcinogenic toxin often consumed by cows and buffaloes via their feed, finds its way in the milk secreted by them - according to FSSAI, 368 of the 6,432 samples tested by them showed a higher than the permissible limit in them.

This is the first time that a quantitative analysis of all samples that failed on account of adulterants and contaminants has been done.

It is found that the level of adulterants and contaminants in failed samples is not high, therefore unlikely to pose a serious threat to human health. FSSAI is however committed to zero tolerance for any adulteration and contamination of milk. The survey has helped in the identification of hot spots so that more intensified efforts for surveil-

lance and enforcement could be taken up in such areas.

Surprisingly, it's the processed milk which is more dangerous than raw milk in India with more than twice the proportion of samples of processed milk testing negative for compliance on safety issues compared with samples of raw milk.

If one only considers the parameter of Aflatoxin M1, as against 3.7% of raw milk samples testing positive for its presence, 8.7% of processed milk samples failed the Aflatoxin M1 test. Even on other parameters, such as the presence of antibiotics and adulterants - such as urea, detergent and Hydrogen Peroxide - a higher proportion of processed milk samples failed the test than raw milk samples.

That, however, does not give a

41

clean chit to raw milk - 47% of raw milk samples, as against 37.7% of processed milk samples were noncompliant on quality issues, such as the low content of fats, low content of solids not fat (SNF), presence of Maltodextrin, which is a white powder made from corn, rice, potato starch, or wheat and the presence of sugar.

Overall, 41% of all samples fail to satisfy at least one quality parameter. Maltodextrin and sugar are not unsafe but added to raise the level of fat and SNF. While, these do not represent a threat to human health, but stringent action is required to curb this wrong practice.

On the whole, it implies that that the milk being consumed by us isn't all that unhealthy.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

42 AGRICULTURE

New guaranteed crop prices

Will they help farmers?

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uring the last week of October, the Union cabinet raised the government-mandated prices for winter-sown crops such as wheat and barley. The move to increase the minimum support price (MSP) is in line with the recommendation of the government's farm price advisory body. While wheat is the main rabi crop. It’ sowing will begin next month and the crop will hit the market next April onwards). The increase in wheat MSP would be good news for Punjab and Haryana which together contribute around 70% wheat to the central pool.

The biggest hikes are for pulses and oilseeds. The government has been promoting the cultivation of pulses and oilseeds to reduce the import bill of imported oil, which has swelled to around Rs 80,000 crore.

An average Indian consumes about 20 kg of vegetable oil a year making India one of the largest consumers in the world. But we do not grow enough oilseeds so we are also the biggest importer of edible oil. Over 60% of the demand is met through imports from Malaysia, Indonesia and Argentina. Now, Malaysia, the world's secondbiggest producer and exporter of palm oil is in New Delhi's crosshairs for criticising India's actions in Kashmir prompting the

latter to think about alternatives to Malaysian oil. The focus on oilseeds could be a step in that direction too.

The problem is a hike in MSPs don't really help farmers in the long run. First, state agencies usually buy only limited quantities at MSP because of lack of funds and storage facilities while the majority of small farmers don't have access to their state's procurement mechanism. The market price of these commodities is often lower than the government-guaranteed price.

A mix of high demand for oilseeds and government support for farmers should ideally have led to good prices for farmers and an increase in refining capacity of oil by

now. However, oilseed prices have remained low keeping production stagnant at a time when progressively declining import duty has made imports cheaper. In the early 1990s India used to meet more than 90% of its edible oil requirement through domestic production. What it needs now is to work on the yield and better access to the market to cut its reliance on imported oil.

The Union cabinet also allowed non-oil companies to set up petrol pumps to increase competition and decided to merge loss-making PSUs BSNL and MTNL as part of a revival package that includes raising sovereign bonds, monetising assets and voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for employees.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

AGRICULTURE 43

Is wheat losing farmer’s favour?

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ur country may end up with a lower wheat harvest next year.

The area sown under wheat cultivation has dropped by almost 37 per cent from the same period last year. As against 15.35 lakh hectares (ha) of area sown for wheat cultivation in 2018-19 up to November first week, this year, the area sown is just 9.69 lakh ha.

What’s eating India’s wheat? Cause for worry?

While a certain lag is normal for instance, two years back, wheat sowing was down by 6.23 per cent in December first week earlier in January this year, it was down by 4.75 per cent compared to the corresponding area the year before the area under wheat cultivation by this time of the year has reduced by almost two thirds in the last three years. In 2016-17, the area is sown under wheat crop was 25.72 lakh ha, which itself was a 37.9 per cent rise over the corresponding period the year before, in 2015-16.

Compared to wheat, the area under oilseed cultivation has registered an increase of almost 2 per cent over the corresponding period last year - a pointer perhaps to the Centre's efforts to boost oilseed production in a bid to cut down the Rs 60,000 crore import bill that India incurs annually on account of edible oil import. Moreover, with the huge difference in the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat and oilseeds, it's easy to see why farmers may be cutting down on the acreage for wheat - last year, in Punjab alone, acreage under oilseed cultivation went up 24%, even though it's way below the 3 lakh ha just about 20 years back. In the last 10 seasons, while the MSP for wheat has gone up by barely 72 per cent those of oilseeds like Mustard. Rapeseed and Safflower have either more than doubled or almost tripled. A major reason for the unattractive MSP for wheat is the huge stock lying with the government, at almost 39.32 million tonnes, as of last month, which is

much higher than the buffer of 20.52 million tonnes that's required as per norms before the start of sowing.

Part of the reason for the lower acreage of wheat this season could be the result of the delayed harvesting of Kharif crops due to the late onset of monsoon this year that led to a delay in sowing across states such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Another reason, especially in states like Punjab and Haryana, is the crackdown on stubble burning that led to a delay in preparing the land for sowing Punjab's delayed paddy harvest season is directly related to the ban on sowing of the crop before June since 2009 to conserve the state's falling water table levels. Even wheat ends up consuming a lot of water as it's grown in the winter or the non-monsoon months - according to a study done by NABARD last year, the wheat crop in India ended up consuming 82.7 billion m3 of water.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

44

HEALTH

World's most expensive drug

New Gene therapy for SMA

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ne time treatment with this therapy will cost Rs. Fourteen crore fifty lakh($2.125m). This unprecedented price in the history of modern medicine is for Swiss drugmaker Novartis spinal muscular atrophy gene (SMA) therapy Zolgensma. The US Food and Drug Administration(FDA) on approved Zolgensma for children under the age of two with SMA, including those not yet showing symptoms.

The approval covers babies with the deadliest form of the inherited disease as well as those with types where debilitating symptoms may set in later.

This genetic disease affects a person’s motor nerve cells in the spinal cord, practically tie the individual to a wheelchair all through life. Not only that but the disease restricts the person from performing some of the most basic activities like breathing, sitting for long hours and even writing. For a child to develop SMA, both the parents should be possessing the defective gene which will be later on passed to their child. These parents are known as carriers and don’t show symptoms of SMA. In a case where both the parents are SMA carriers and give birth to a child, there is a 50% chance that the offspring will be a carrier of SMA and 25% chance that the offspring will develop SMA. In India, SMA remains highly under-diagnosed SMA is the leading genetic cause of death in infants. The disease often leads to paralysis, breathing difficulty and death

within months for babies born with the most serious type 1 form. SMA affects about one in every 10,000 live births, with 50 to 70 per cent having type 1. “This is potentially a new standard of care for babies with the most serious form of SMA,” said Dr Emmanuelle Tiongson, a paediatric neurologist who has provided Zolgensma to patients under an expanded access program.

The therapy uses a virus to provide a normal copy of the SMN1 gene to babies born with a defective gene and is delivered by infusion.

A review in April by the independent Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (Icer), said that based on Novartis’s additional clinical data, the broad FDA label and its launch price, it believed the drug fell within the upper bound of its range for cost-effectiveness. Zolgensma will compete with Biogen’s Spinraza, the first approved treatment for SMA. Spinraza, approved in late 2016,

requires infusion into the spinal canal every four months. Its list price of $750,000 for the initial year and $375,000 annually thereafter was also deemed excessive by Icer.

Novartis executives have defended the price, saying a one-time treatment is more valuable than expensive long-term treatments that cost several hundred thousand dollars a year. Novartis said it has so far treated more than 150 patients with Zolgensma. Its chief executive, Vas Narasimhan, described Zolgensma as a near-cure for SMA if delivered soon after birth. But data proving its durability extends to only about five years. Novartis is expecting European and Japanese approval later this year.

Wall Street analysts have forecast Zolgensma sales of $2bn by 2022, according to a Refinitiv survey. Spinraza sales hit $1.7bn last year, and are predicted to rise to $2.2billion in 2022.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

CARE n CURE 45

DR. B. SREEKANT

Silent suering with UTI

Can simply prevented & Cured

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urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection in any part of your urinary system- kidneys, ureters, bladders and urethra. Most infections attack the lower urinary tract, which is the bladder and urethra. UTIs are caused due to microbes such as bacteria which take over the body’s defences in the urinary tract. Hence, they can affect kidneys, the bladder and the tubes that run between them.UTIs are usually given different names depending on the area of the urinary system they occur in.

Women are more likely to develop UTIs than men, due to anatomical reasons. This means that the urethra is shorter in women than in men, it is closer to the anus, which makes the bladder more vulnerable to attracting bacteria. A person of any age or gender can develop UTI. However, there are certain factors which makes some people more prone to UTI than others. These factors include sexual intercourse, poor personal hygiene,

kidney stones, the blocked flow of urine, menopause and pregnancy.

Some common symptoms of UTI are a strong urge to urinate, burning sensation while urinating, passing frequent, small amounts of urine, cloudy urine, a sign of blood in the urine, strong-smelling urine and pelvic pain in women.UTI is a recurring condition, and in order to prevent it from happening, people can drink lots of water, stay away from scented bath products and hygiene sprays and clean their genitals An infection usually occurs when bacteria enter the otherwise sterile urine and begins to grow. It usually develops at the opening of the urethra and then spreads upward to the urinary tract. Close to 90% of these infections are caused by Escherichia coli, or E. coli, a type of bacteria. These bacteria are usually found in the bowel or around the anus. But the bacteria can move from the anus to the opening of the urethra and this can

cause UTI. The various factors involved in the same are: Sex: In women, sexual activity is the cause of up to 90% of bladder infections. The risk also relates to the frequency of sexual intercourse.

Post-menopausal women may experience a higher risk of UTIs due to the loss of protective vaginal flora and decrease in circulating estrogen. In men, UTI is rare as compared to women.

Improper wiping: Using toilet paper from anus to opening of the urethra (back to front) instead of from opening of the urethra to the anus (front to back) can also lead to UTI. Suppressed immune system: A week defence mechanism of the body can increase the risk of UTIs. Urinary catheters: Catheters are medical devices that are inserted into the body for the treatment of various diseases. Urinary catheters can cause UTIs. Improper insertion technique, not maintaining closed drainage of the catheter,

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

46 CARE n CURE

catheterizing when not necessary, are factors that can lead to infections.

Others: Other factors include a family history of urinary infections, diabetes, women who use a diaphragm for birth control or having a large prostate.

Symptoms Symptoms of cystitis (lower urinary tract infection): l The lining of the urethra and bladder become inflamed and irritated l Burning sensation or pain while urinating l More frequent urination and often with only a small amount of urine l A sensation of having to urinate urgently l Cloudy, bad-smelling, or bloody urine l Lower abdominal pain

Mild fever Symptoms of pyelonephritis (upper urinary tract infection): l High fever (mostly more than 101 degrees F) l Nausea and Vomiting l Shaking chills l Pain in the back or one side of the waist Symptoms in children: l The most common sign of a UTI in children is the fever. Infants may not feed properly, vomit, sleep more, or can exhibit signs of jaundice. In older children, loss of bladder control (urinary incontinence) can occur.

Symptoms in the elderly: Symptoms in the elderly can be vague with incontinence or fatigue as the only symptoms. Diagnosis can get difficult as many elderly are already suffering from dementia. In such cases, systemic signs may l

include fever, chills, or an increase in white blood cell count.

Myths and Facts MYTH: If you get a UTI, you have poor hygiene FACT: UTI can occur even when your hygiene habits are squeaky-clean.

MYTH: Only women get UTIs FACT: Unfortunately, UTIs are more common in women but men can also get a UTI, especially after they hit 50.

MYTH: Only sexually active women get UTIs FACT: This is far from the truth because there are many other factors that are involved in getting a UTI besides sexual intercourse.

MYTH: More than one UTI is dangerous to health

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

CARE n CURE 47

FACT:

Getting more than one UTI doesn’t mean it is more serious. The risk emerges only if the infection spreads to your kidneys.

Following precautions can be heeded to avoid a UTI infection: l Urinating immediately after sexual intercourse, l Taking heed of the type of underwear used l Maintaining proper personal hygiene methods after urinating or defecating l If the infection is recurrent, take a short course of antibiotics l In infections related to intercourse, taking antibiotics can prove useful l Drinking cranberry juice can help in decreasing the number of UTIs in those with frequent infections. l Drink a lot of fluids, particularly water.

"UTIs present to us with fever, urinary pain, discomfort, frequency, urgency, leakage and bloody urine. In such cases, detection is straightforward with blood/urine tests, imaging, uroflow

and clinical examination. Treatment involves definite course antibiotics and supportive measures.

Simple preventive measures can obviate and help in the cure of UTIs too. l Have a good amount of fluid intake (approx. 3 litres in healthy adults in India). l Hygiene of the perineal/penoscrotal area is must, avoidance

of constipation, proper toilet training and control of diabetes.

Treatment The first course of treatment for UTI (urinary tract infections) is usually antibiotics. These medications are used to kill the bacteria causing the infection. Your doctor will take a urine sample to determine whether you have UTI or not.

Some of the most common medicines are: 1. Cephalexin 2. Ceftriaxone 3. Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole 4. Fosfomycin 5. Nitrofurantoin The dose of medication given to you depends on the severity of the infection. Apart from antibiotics, analgesics are given to ease the discomfort and pain while urinating.

The symptoms usually clear up within five to seven days.

(Author is a Consultant Nephrologist, FS Endocrine & Diabetes Center.

Mobile: 091601 11125)

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

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HEALTH

AIDS deaths are declining T

THE NEWS BUREAU

he monster is coming under control. Time is ripe now to give it blow so that it can be completely eliminated and its very existence will become part of history.

AIDS-related deaths in 2018 were at their lowest in the last 24 years.

With 770,000 casualties last year, it was the lowest since 1995 when 810,000 people worldwide died of AIDS-related causes. The number of new AIDS cases are also at their lowest in nearly 30 years — with 1.7 million people becoming infected with HIV in 2018, lower than the 1.9 million new cases in 1990. Globally, there are 37.9 million people living with AIDS, as of 2018. This was revealed in the UN report on AIDS, Communities at the Centre, released during the second week of July.

While UNAIDS has set a target of fewer than 5 lakh AIDS-related deaths by the end of next year, 2020 as also the same number of new infections. 37.9 million [32.7 million–44.0 million] people globally were living with HIV. 23.3 million [20.5 million–24.3 million] people were accessing antiretroviral therapy.1.7 million [1.4 million–2.3 million] people became newly infected with HIV.770 000 [570 000–1.1 million] people died from AIDS-related illnesses.74.9 million [58.3 million– 98.1 million] people have become infected with HIV since the start of the epidemic.32.0 million [23.6 million–43.8 million] people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic.

At the same time, the money needed to fight AIDS has declined

and is falling far short of the $26.2 billion target set for 2020. In 2018, there was a decline of $900 million in global AIDS funding, to $19 billion. In fact, since 2010, donor governments — except for the US, which not only increased its funding but was the top donor in 2018 with $5.8 billion — have cut down their HIV funding, with much of the decline being in bilat-

eral support.

In Indi last year, UNAIDS gave a grant of more than $160.25 million with the objective of ending AIDS by 2030 — the country accounted for 31% of new HIV infections and 40% of AIDSrelated deaths in Asia in 2017, as per an earlier report by UNAIDS. In fact, last year's Supreme Court judgement decriminalising gay sex allowed for greater penetration of anti-HIV programmes into a population segment that was hitherto forced to live anonymously and as such, couldn't access proper health-

care and anti-retroviral (ARV) treatments for HIV infections.

Just how large a population will now have access to ARV treatment due to this landmark judgement may be gauged from the fact that before September last year, when the judgement was pronounced, the percentage of population that lives in countries which consider gay sex a crime was 40%— after the judgement, the population percentage came down to 23%. This was the biggest ever decline in a single year since 1997 when China decriminalised same-sex relations.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

HEALTH

49

Number of undernourished declines

INDIANS BECOMING OBESE

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THE NEWS BUREAU

ore Indians are becoming obese while the number of undernourished people in the country has declined, according to a report by the UN that said that globally over 820 million people are suffering from hunger. The report titled the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 was issued Monday by United Nations' Food and AgricultureOrganization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The report said that an estimated 820 million people across the world did not have enough to eat in 2018, up from 811 million in the previous year, which is the third year of increase in a row, underscoring the immense challenge of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.

In India, the number of undernourished people declined from 253.9 million in 2004-06 to 194.4 million in 2016-18. However, the number of adults (18 years and older) who are obese grew from 24.1 million in 2012 to 32.8 million in 2016. The number of children (under 5 years of age) who are overweight stood at 2.9 million in 2018. In percentage terms, the prevalence of undernourishment in the total population in India was

22.2 per cent in 2004-06 and 14.5 per cent in 2016-18. Prevalence of wasting in children (under 5 years of age) was 20.8 per cent in 2018, while the Prevalence of obesity in the adult population was three per cent in 2012, increasing to 3.8 per cent in 2016 The report said that globally, hunger is increasing in many countries where economic growth is lagging, particularly in middleincome countries and those that rely heavily on international primary commodity trade. The annual UN report also found that income inequality is rising in many of the countries where hunger is on the rise, making it even more difficult for the poor, vulnerable or mar-

ginalised to cope with economic slowdowns and downturns.

"We must foster pro-poor and inclusive structural transformation focusing on people and placing communities at the centre to reduce economic vulnerabilities and set ourselves on track to ending hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition," the UN report said. It noted that poverty rates have declined between 3 per cent and 6 per cent per year in El Salvador, Ghana, India, Tunisia and Uganda.

"China and India has enjoyed significant economic growth in recent years. Between 1990 and 2017, the two countries had an average GDP per capita growth rate

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

50

HEALTH

of 8.6 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively. However, the effects of growth within each country have been different," it said.

The report noted that an increase in the GDP per capita in both countries has been accompanied by poverty reduction. China's poverty rate declined from 88 per cent in 1981 to 0.7 in 2015. In comparison, India's poverty reduction "seems relatively more modest� moving from 48.9 per cent in 1987 to 21.2 per cent in 2011, it said. “The unique growth patterns and inequality levels in each country may help explain the differences observed in the countries in terms of poverty and food security and nutrition trends," "The pattern of economic

growth in China, especially in the 1980s, shows that the primary sector, where most of the poor derive their livelihoods, was one of the most dynamic sectors behind the GDP growth. On the other hand, in India the rate of growth has been higher in the industrial and services sectors than in agriculture," it said.

In the Indian Himalayas, economic slowdown coupled with natural resource depletion and climate change negatively impacted on food production and employment opportunities. This resulted in increased threats to food security due to lower purchasing power, it added.

The report also took note of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), introduced by India in 2005, the largest public works programme in the world."Unlike the previous cases, the MGNREGS was not designed to address employment problems arising from an economic downturn or to rebuild infrastructure damaged by a natural disaster. Building on the experience of the state of Maharashtra, the MGNREGS instead guarantees up to 100 days of unskilled manual work on public projects during the lean seasons, at the statutory minimum wage, to all rural households."In this way, the programme helps rural households to stabilise their earnings and to smooth their consumption all along the year," it said.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

HEALTH

51

Red wine can oset the

eects of high-fat diet

G

THE NEWS BUREAU

iving red wine lovers a new reason to celebrate, researchers have found that a compound in this drink could help counteract the negative impact of high fat/high sugar diets. The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology, point to the health benefit of resveratrol, which occurs naturally in blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, grape skins and consequently in red wine.

In previous animal studies, resveratrol has already shown to increase the life span of mice and slow the onset of diabetes. In one study, it mirrored the positive effects of aerobic exercise in mice, which were fed a high fat/high sugar diet.

For the current study, J.P. Hyatt, associate professor at Georgetown University and his team of researchers fed a control group of rhesus monkeys a healthy diet and another group a high fat/high sugar diet, half of which also received a resveratrol supplement and half of which did not. The researchers wanted to know how different parts of the body responded to the benefits of resveratrol - specifically the muscles in the back of the leg.

Three types of muscles were examined: a "slow" muscle, a "fast" muscle and a "mixed" muscle. The study showed that each muscle responded differently to the diet and to the addition of resveratrol. The

soleus muscle, a large muscle spanning from the knee to the heel, is considered a "slow" muscle used extensively in standing and walking.

Of the three lower hind leg muscles analysed for this study, the soleus was the most affected by the high fat/high sugar diet and also most affected by the resveratrol supplements. This may be partially due to the fact that, on a daily basis, it is used much more than the other two muscles.

The plantaris muscle, a 5-10 cm long muscle along the back of the

calf, did not have a negative response to the high fat/high sugar diet, but it did have a positive response to the addition of resveratrol. The third muscle was not affected by the diet or addition of resveratrol.

While these results are encouraging, and there might be a temptation to continue eating a high fat/high sugar diet and simply add a glass of red wine or a cup of fruit to one's daily consumption, the researchers stressed the importance of a healthy diet cannot be overemphasised.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

52

THE NATION

New UT protected

What tribal status can do for Ladakh?

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THE NEWS BUREAU

s the National Commission of Scheduled Tribes (NCST) recommended the grant of tribal area status to Ladakh. Declaring Ladakh a tribal area entitles it to a higher share of Central funds to the states and UTs.But it's not just politics but also economics at play. As per Census 2011, 80 per cent of the population of Leh and Kargil, as also more than 90 per cent of Ladakh's population, is tribal which entitles the UT to the status of a tribal region since more than 50 per cent of the population is tribal. However, since it's centrally administered, Ladakh doesn't have an assembly - which means other benefits, like reservation of assembly seats for tribals, will not accrue to it.

The Normal Central Assistance (NCA) - the main fund for Central assistance to special category states

-is split 30:70, with 30 per cent of NCA going to the 11 special category states while the remaining states split the remaining 70% between them. Moreover, the Centre bears 90 per cent of the state expenditure on all centrally sponsored schemes, with the remaining 10 per cent given as loan at 0 per cent interest.

Even as the NCST finally decided to grant Ladakh tribal status under the Sixth Schedule rather than the Fifth - the latter deals with states other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram and comes under the Tribal Affairs Ministry, while the former concerns specifically with the four northeastern states and comes under the Home Ministry Ladakhis wanted the tribal status to prevent an influx of people from other states into the region that could potentially alter the demographics and also to protect their

land rights since as a UT, laws applicable in the rest of the country will become applicable there also from October 31, as its UT status officially came into effect.

The Sixth Schedule gives tribal communities considerable autonomy, with the role of the Governor and the State subject to significant limitations, with greater powers, devolved locally. The District Council and the Regional Council under the Sixth Schedule have real power to make laws, receiving grants-in-aid from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet the costs of schemes for development, health care, education, roads and regulatory powers. The mandate towards devolution and divestment of power determines the protection of their customs, better economic development and most importantly, ethnic security.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

BUSINESS

53

International expo on plastics T

Future vision

THE NEWS BUSINESS DESK

he 11th edition of the plastic exhibition, PLASTIVISION INDIA is to be held in January. The expo considered as one of the top 5 exhibitions in the world brings different segments of the plastics industry.

PLASTIVISION INDIA 2020 the exhibition, Being organized by The All India Plastics Manufacturers Association will be held between 16 to 20 January 2020 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. According to the organizers, more than 25 countries are going to participate in this five-day exhibition which will also witness new technology and machinery.

From various states in the country and abroad 1500 exhibitors from 35 plus plastic segments are participation. During this period, a number of technical conferences have been organized which will offer new trends and technologies being used by market leaders. Visitors and exhibitors will have the opportunity to witness a huge amount of products and services in 6 specialized pavilions with focused exhibitors in Agriculture, Solar, Automation, Die & Mold, Waste management and 3D Printing.

Recognized by UFI, an international exhibition apex body, and approved by the Government of India, PLASTIVISION INDIA 2020 is also approved by the NSIC

& MSME department to offer a financial subsidy to small and medium entrepreneurs. To be held in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of India and home to several Plastics MNCs and various SMEs & MSMEs 11 focused Theme pavilions on Automation & Robotics, Plastics in Infrastructure, Medical Plastics, Plastics in Agriculture, Solar energy, Die N mould, Green Pavilion etc. India’s per capita plastic consumption is 9 kilos compared to 30-35 kilos global consumption.

Who should visit? Decisionmakers, Managing directors, Board members, Managers, Department Heads, Plant & shop managers, Group Heads, Associations and Trade bodies etc. Huge networking opportunities. Business Conference speakers of international repute.

Over 250,000 business visitors are expected. The organizer has made elaborate arrangements to accommodate a large number of visitors offering all categories of hotels, apartments ranging from Rs.500 to Rs.6,000.

Stalls will be in the sprawling fairground occupying the entire premises consisting of 100,000 sq.mtrs across 7 halls. According to organizers, it is fully booked before 3 months. Team PLASTIVISION INDIA has also rolled out a huge visitor promotion campaign all over India by organizing more than 50 roadshows to attract more than 250,000 business visitors; already held shows at the following cities Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Kolhapur, Goa, Kolkata, Madurai, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Bangalore, Vizag, Vijayawada and Tirupati.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

54

V

CINEMA

THE NEWS BUREAU

ivek Oberoi, who played PM Narendra Modi in his last outing, has decided to produce a movie based on the Balakot airstrikes to salute the valour of Indian armed forces(IAF). Titled ‘Balakot’, the film will be based on the airstrikes as well as the capture and subsequent release of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in the aftermath of the terror attack in Kashmir's Pulwama

most well-planned attacks by the IAF. I have followed everything in the news right from the attack in Pulwama to the airstrikes in Balakot. There was a lot that was speculated and spoken about back then. “This film will put all of that to rest, once and for all. I thank the IAF for trusting us with this story and we hope to do justice to it," he added.

Actor Vivek Oberoi, who last played Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a film, will now produce a

in pivotal roles, including that of Wing Commander Abhinandan, who was later awarded Vir Chakra, and Squadron Leader Minty Agarwal, who guided the IAF's interception mission launched to stop Pakistan's fighter jets. She has become the first woman to receive the Yudh Seva Medal.

"I am delighted to receive the requisite permission from the IAF a day before Independence Day. Hollywood filmmakers applaud their Armed Forces, intelligence

district on February 14.this year.

"As a proud Indian, a patriot, and a member of the film fraternity, it's my duty to highlight what our Armed Forces are truly capable of.

In the form of a trilingual, this film is a powerful tool to underline the achievements of brave officers like Wing Commander Abhinandan, who went behind the enemy lines and did what makes every Indian proud of them," said Vivek. "The Balakot airstrikes were one of the

movie based on the Balakot airstrikes to salute the valour of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Titled "Balakot", the film will be based on the airstrikes as well as the capture and subsequent release of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in the aftermath of the terror attack in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14.

To be shot in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, the film will feature established actors from these industries

agencies, industries and leaders.

Why should Indian filmmakers shy away from doing that for India?

"As a nation, with one of the strongest Armed Forces on the globe, we have achieved a lot, and it's time to start reiterating it to the world at large," said Vivek. The film will go on floors this year and is expected to release in 2020. It will be shot in the backdrop of Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Agra.

Now a movie on Balakot IAF strikes

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

THE NATION 55

Abu Dhabi NRI’s initiative Film city to come up in Kashmir

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THE NEWS BUREAU

ammu and Kashmir is going to have huge film city soon. The film city will cover 12 square kilometers and welcome “curious” visitors. A prominent Gulf NRI BR Shetty has announced plans to open the film city in to boost his home country’s film industry. He said that he had already received land offers from Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh. “Jammu and Kashmir is a very scenic place and I’m going to have a film city there so that people can come and shoot films there,

and for tourism,” BR Shetty, the founder of NMC Healthcare and financial technology start-up Finablr said.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the UAE recently top businessmen pledged to invest in India. Shetty pledged $1 billion to Jammu and Kashmir and an additional $5 million to the New India Development Fund. The visit came weeks after the government revoked Article 370 of the constitution that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. It made it possible for non-permanent resi-

dents to purchase property in Jammu and Kashmir.

Shetty has taken an interest in India’s film industry over the past few years. In 2017, the entrepreneur announced his plans to invest Rs. 1,000 crores in a film called The Mahabharata. A young, indebted and jobless Indian who came to the UAE in the early 1970s with a single t-shirt which he was wearing is today one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world and among the list of Forbes’ billionaires and employs around 40,000 people. Shetty’s NMC was

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

56 THE NATION

also the first company from Abu Dhabi to list on the London Stock Exchange and is now a part of the premium FTSE 100 Index, an elite club of top 100 blue-chip companies by market cap. He also owns the UAE exchange company.

Shetty came to Abu Dhabi with a mission to repay Syndicate Bank loan of Rs. 50,000 occurred for his sister wedding. After a hard struggle, he was able to get a job as an outdoor pharmaceutical salesman in UAE and employed by Al Fahimi Pharmacy group of Dr. Ismail Fahimi in 1973.

“The first thing that I bought

from the commission was a new shirt for Dh10. I still remember the Dh10 beige coloured shirt”, he revealed in one of his interviews. “I had only one shirt, as no other shirt –I washed it every night to wear it the next day,” said Shetty.

Shetty, one of the early functionaries of Jan Sangh (predecessor of ruling BJP) in his hometown and also vice-chairman of Udipi Municipality on behalf of Jan Sangh before coming to UAE. Then, Udupi municipality was the only entity other than New Delhi city corporation to have Jan Sangh at the helm of the local body. Vaj-

payee had come to Udupi to canvass for the party candidates.

Narendra Modi, who was just 16 then, had also visited the town as an astute fan and follower of Vajpayee.

Shetty plans to invest $5 billion in creating and developing highquality healthcare facilities across India. The investment will help establish a chain of healthcare facilities including management of government district and general hospitals all over India in the next five years.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

INDIANS ABROAD 57

She is an Indian-American

Kshama just beat Amazon S

THE NEWS BUREAU

he is a socialist.Former software engineer and a Big Tech critic. Kshama Sawant has won a Seattle city council election that gained unusual attention after Amazon, the tech giant, poured in nearly $1.5 million to campaign against her. Her campaign website starts with the statement "Kshama Sawant is not for sale".

The Seattle City Council last year unanimously passed a "head tax" of $275 per employee on Seattle businesses that make more than $20 million a year, in a bid to solve the rising homelessness in Seattle and force Amazon to "pay its due" — cities with large tech companies cause a spike in rentals and land rates. But after Amazon threatened to move out, Seattle repealed the tax in a 7-2 vote. Sawant was one of the two members who voted in vain to keep the tax.

Despite Amazon muscling its way into the polls, Sawant has won the election, returning to the city council. "It looks like our movement has won and defended our socialist City Council seat for working people against the richest man in the world," Sawant said, referring to Amazon's Jeff Bezos.

Sawant was born to Vasundhara and H. T. Ramanujam in Pune and is an alumnus of the University of Mumbai. Her mother is a retired principal and her father, who was a civil engineer, was killed by a drunk driver when Sawant was 13.

Sawant's observations of poverty in India and her unhappiness with the caste system helped shape her political views before her adoption of socialism. Sawant grew up in Mumbai where she later studied computer science and graduated with a BSc from the University of Mumbai in 1994.

After moving to the United States, Sawant was shocked by the level of poverty and decided to abandon software engineering. She pursued studies in economics because of what she described as her own "questions of economic inequality". She entered the economics program at North Carolina State University where she earned a

PhD. Her dissertation was titled Elderly Labor Supply in a Rural, Less Developed Economy. Sawant moved to Seattle in 2006 and became a Socialist Alternative party member.

After her unsuccessful run for the House, Sawant entered the race for Seattle City Council with a campaign organized by the Socialist Alternative. She won 35% of the vote in the August primary election, and advanced into the general election for the at-large council position 2 against incumbent Richard Conlin and won. Sawant's victory made her the first socialist on the City Council since A. W. Piper, elected in 1877.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

58

SPORTS

2020 Tokyo Olympics

India bags record Shooting quota I

THE NEWS BUREAU

ndia bagged an unprecedented 15 Olympic quotas in shooting after Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Mairaj Ahmad Khan's 1-2 finish in skeet and teenager Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar's bronze at the Asian Championship recently.. This is India's best-ever Olympic quota haul, easily surpassing the 12 at the 2016 Rio Games and 11 in London in 2012. There was a shootoff for the men's skeet gold medal and Bajwa prevailed 6-5 against his compatriot after both were tied on 56 at the Lusail Shooting Complex.

Earlier during championship 18-year-old Tomar secured the country's 13th quota with a bronze in men's 50m rifle 3 positions. Continuing India's impressive performance at the prestigious championship, the duo of Manu Bhaker and Abhishek Verma got the better of compatriots Saurabh Chaudhary and Yashaswini Singh Deswal 16-10 to win the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Bhaker and Verma shot 577 and 387 in the two qualifications, while Chaudhary and Deswal managed 576 and 387.

Before India's exploits in the mixed event, Tomar shot 449.1 in the eight-man final to finish third on the podium, behind gold medallist Kim Jonghyun (459.9) of Korea and Chinese Zhonghao Zhao

(459.1), at the Lusail Shooting Complex. He had sailed through to the finals of the event with an 1168 score in the 120-shot qualifying.

There were three quotas on offer in the event.

India had 11 shooters at the 2012 London Olympics and 12 in Rio de Janeiro in 2016."15 quotas and a very special 1st & 2nd in Skeet. Angad and Mairaj - Bravo boys super proud of you two. Way

to go team India you exceeded my estimate by an additional quota!"

National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Raninder Singh tweeted. In July, teenager Tomar, from Ratanpur village in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone district, had shot down the men's rifle 3 positions junior world record on his way to winning gold, helping the country top the medals tally in the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany.

Tomar is the second Indian, after veteran Sanjeev Rajput, to have got a quota place in the 3 position event. He is a part of the

junior team trained by Suma Shirur.Hailing from an agricultural family, it was during a camp in Bhopal in 2015 when Tomar was first spotted by coaches. This is Tomar's first stint at the senior level, having broken through following a string of strong performances in junior, most notable among them being the junior ISSF World Cup gold with a junior world record to boot. He carried on that form, winning at the junior level in Asia and then beating the likes of Sanjeev Rajput in domestic competitions to stake a claim for selection in the senior team. It was a top-quality final field with a Chinese world number three and a Korean world number nine besides an experienced Yuri Yurkov of Kazakhstan and the in-form Mahyar Sedaghat of Iran.

The final list of Indian Shooter qualified for Olympics: 10m air rifle men: Deepak Kumar, Divyansh Singh Panwar. 50m rifle 3 positions (men): Sanjeev Rajput, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar.

50m rifle 3 positions (women): Tejaswini Sawant. 10m air pistol (men): Saurabh Chaudhary, Abhishek Verma. 10m air rifle (women): Anjum Moudgil, Aprurvi Chandela. 10m air pistol (women): Manu Bhaker, Yashaswini Singh Deswal. 25m pistol (women): Rani Sarnobat, Chinki Yadav. Skeet (men): Angad Bajwa, Mairaj Ahmed.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

SPORTS

59

Blind athlete, international Judo champion

Janki Goud made India Proud

H

BY: SPANSHUMALI, BHOOPAL

er parents are daily wage labourers. She is from a remote village. She is blind. But this girl has made our nation proud numerous times. Her courage and dedication will make one feel need to be as strong as her. Janki Goud (23) a resident of Jabalpur District, Madhya Pradesh could have never imagined giving flight to her dreams and stepping out of her village, let alone the country. At the age of 5, Janki lost her sight after contracting measlesHer parents were scared to let Janki step out of the house, worried about her safety.

It was in 2010 that her life started taking a turn. There has been no looking back for the feisty champion ever since.

For Janki Goud, the threat of rape has long loomed large. In the state of Madhya Pradesh where

Goud lives, rape is among the most common crimes against women.

The region accounted for 4,882 of the 38,947 cases of rape reported nationally in 2016, the most recent year for which statistics are available. In the 2010 Sightsavers along with its NGO partner Tarun Sanskar took Janki under its wings.

Women and girls with disabilities face an increased risk of sexual violence in our country. self-defence means these girls can escape emergency, potentially life-changing situations"We started self-defence and judo because the women living in this area with disabilities expressed so much fear that they could face abuse and attacks if they travelled unaccompanied outside their homes," said Jayashree Kumar, Sightsavers program manager in Madhya Pradesh.

Janki is one of 200 women to benefit from a project providing

judo and self-defence training by international nongovernmental organization Sightsavers since it began in 2014. "I only started judo training for self-defence," she said.

"That was the main aim of the program. I didn't have much knowledge in self-defence of judo when I started. The instructor motivated me and people like me who can't see." "In my village, I did not have any problems because of my blindness," Goud said through an interpreter. "But when I go to the neighbourhood around, my movements are restricted. Then, when nobody is with me and I can't see, some people try to take advantage of that opportunity.".But Goud says judo has transformed her life.

"The specially designed training program organized with the help of the Department of Crime Against Women and Madhya Pradesh police helped us build con-

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60

SPORTS

fidence in the visually impaired girls," said Rakesh Singh of Tarun Sanskar, a local organization that works to empower women with disabilities in collaboration with Sightsavers.

When she was first approached for the program in 2010, her confidence was so low that she barely spoke a word, according to organizers. Today, she is something of a spokeswoman for the project. In her little steps towards victory, Janki became aware of her rights and became independent She has taken younger judoka under her wing and has competed in the sport on the international stage.

She decided to take the sport seriously and trained to participate in National championships. Competing instilled pride in her, and her wider community, when people had previously "thought I couldn't do anything." As she puts it, "my family is feeling good. This has changed my life."Goud became a national champion in blind judo in 2017 and travelled on a plane for the first time last year to win bronze at the International Blind Sports Federation in Uzbekistan. In

2016 and 2017, Janki secured silver and gold medals respectively at the Fourth and Fifth National Judo Championship for Deaf & Blind.

The exemplary performance at the sport made her one of the 14 contestants to represent India at the Judo Asian & Oceania Championship held at Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 22nd to 29th May 2017.

She led the team of 14 participants from five different states of India, defeating Thailand, Korea and

Uzbekistan in women’s group competition and won us a Bronze Medal.

The ride for Janki has not been easy. Her parents who work as daily wage labourers still can’t believe the journey she has undertaken so far. Her father is immensely proud of his daughter, who was congratulated over the phone by Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Sri Shivraj Singh Chouhan. A celebrity in her own right, there is no stopping for Janki.

She has her eyes set to participate in Asian games & World Judo championship for the deaf and blind. The ultimate goal? To participate in 2020 Paralympics Judo competition and win Gold Medal for India.

It's not just self-defence but the life of Janki has been overhauled by learning Judo and becoming an international champion. Her success has inspired and installed confidence in many girls, especially differently-abled. They are joining judo training. The project is growing into other regions, including neighbouring Rajasthan, likely to spread nationally.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | DECEMBER 2019

THE NATION 61

Oil continues to rule Indian auto

Facts, Promises & pitfalls C

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riticising the Union government for the poor air quality in Delhi, Air Quality Index was above 440 in some areas, the Supreme Court of India has recently asked it to submit by December 3 a report on the feasibility of hydrogen-fuel technology in India, with learnings from Japan's adoption. The appeal of hydrogen fuel is clear. Hydrogen is abundant in our planet, and its fuel cells emit nothing but heat and water molecules. The basic principle is: Hydrogen + Oxygen in an electrolyte gives Electricity + Water Vapour. After remaining theory on paper for long, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have, of late, hit the streets.

At the end of 2018, there were 11,200 fuel cell vehicles around the world, according to the International Energy Agency, with 4,000 of them sold in 2018 alone, an 80% rise from 2017. A majority of these

were the Toyota Mirai cars (base price $58,000 or Rs 42 lakh) in California, supported by an incentive and rebates policy, followed by vehicles in Japan, South Korea and Germany. By 2030, China aims to have 1 million fuel cell EVs on road (it is betting on buses), Japan nearly 800,000, South Korea nearly 850,000.

Korean carmaker Hyundai last year launched a hydrogen-run model, the Nexo.

Rolling out hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCV) alone will not suffice; you need refuelling stations. And that is a major roadblock. The cost of building a hydrogen refuelling station could be between $1 million to $2 million, as per the Hydrogen Council. That figure could go up in nations with high import tariffs for the equipment needed. Then there is the fuel cost. In California, hydrogen fuel costs $12.85 to more than $16 per kilogram. Or, over Rs 1,000 a kg.

These reasons put off even EV entrepreneurs. Elon Musk of Tesla is one of the most vocal critics of FCV - he says it is "mind-bogglingly stupid". Tesla, which sold 97,000 cars in the third quarter of 2019, instead run on a more traditional Lithium-ion battery. But auto executives also say, if the infrastructure challenges are met, FCVs can overtake Li-ion cars as they are more efficient and thus run further.

So Japan and China are driving ahead, hoping the cost will come down with higher adaption the theory of economy of scale.

But in India oil ain't going anywhere. Despite fuel demand falling to a 26-month low in September 16.01 million tonnes, the lowest since July 2017 - India's oil demand isn't going on a crash diet anytime soon. Well, not for the next 20 years at least, according to the latest World Energy Outlook 2019 report by the International Energy Agency which predicts that the

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country's oil demand will nearly double by 2040 - from 4.88 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2019, to 9 million bpd.

Not that the IEA's projection is a news flash - three years back, OPEC had made a similar prediction, though its projection was a slightly higher figure of 10 million bpd by 2040. Even so, going by only the IEA's projection figures, India's rise in oil demand will be

the highest in absolute numbers led partly by its transportation sector, partly by the shift to cleaner fuels for cooking and partly due to the consumption by the largest oil refinery operated by RIL in Gujarat.

The near doubling of oil demand may seemingly be at variance with the Modi government's earlier avowed push for an all-electric vehicle (EV) future by 2030, as

stated by Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari in 2017. Of course, given that that Centre's push for EVs has not managed to take off, the government set a realistic expectation earlier this year of having just 15% of all vehicles sold in 2030 as EVs. Part of the reason why EVs may not take off as hoped for by the government is its own policy for promoting EVs, which has been confusing and shortsighted, to say the least. While in February 2018, Gadkari said that there was no need for an EV policy, the power ministry in December last year came out with a policy on setting up charging points for such EVs, which bifurcated the setting up of charging points with the initial focus in the first, three years being on just the 9 megacities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kolkata and Surat.

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AIR TRAVEL

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19 hours of flying What happens to your body?

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he effects of ultra long-haul flying after the longest flight in the world landed in Sydney recently from New York - that was completed in 19 hours 16 minutes across 16,200 km over the Pacific Ocean - will probably be known in some days as medical experts analyse the data from their observations of the passengers and the crew. However, here’s how the flight happened and what effects could it possibly have on the human body and mind.

The Qantas QF 7879 flight had four pilots on rotation, with another two in the cabin - who, between them, had a flying time of 67,000 hours which is equivalent to nonstop flying for 7 years, 7 months and 24 days. It carried 50 passengers and crew, with a maximum fuel load of 101,000 kg - with an expectation that about 6,000 kg will left, enough for 90 minutes of flight time. The maximum take-off weight (MTOW) for a Boeing 7879 is 254,000 kg - the Qantas flight's take-off weight was 233,000 kg, including the weight of the fuel. It was supposed to fly at 85 per cent the speed of sound - at 930 kmph at an initial cruising the altitude of 36,000 feet, rising to 40,000 feet as the aircraft lost weight due to fuel burn.

The aircraft landed in about the same time it had budgeted for, which was 19 hours 30 minutes with fuel enough for 70 minutes of flight time, 20 minutes less than it

bargained for. Passengers were kept awake till the time night fell in eastern Australia, in order to reduce their jetlag - helped in some measure by getting them to set their watch to Sydney time. Onboard tests included monitoring the pilots’ brainwaves as well as "melatonin levels and alertness as well as exercise classes for passengers and analysis of the impact of crossing so many time zones on people's bodies.

While the findings of this flight will become known possibly by the end of the year after they are first shared with Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority, earlier studies on flights of lesser duration but which are longer than 6 hours defined as long haul - reveal that there's significant fluid accumulation in the legs and thighs, of about 250 mL per leg, along with a thickening of the skin by around 1.5 mm which subsided only after three days. It's not just the passengers who face health risks - according to a study in January this year published by the Australian Trans-

portation Safety Board, "60 per cent of long-haul pilots said they felt moderate to severe fatigue at the end of their most recent flight."

Another important aspect - the impact of radiation on passengers on such ultra-long-haul flights. According to the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the longer the flight and the higher the altitude an aircraft flies at, the greater the dose of radiation on the passengers.

The main obstacle to such ultralong-haul flights is the right type of aircraft - the 787-9 is simply not designed for such brutal operations.

For the test flight, it filled its fuel tanks to the brim, sacrificing on both the number of passengers - it can carry 296 in a two-class configuration - and the cargo. With a full payload, the 787-9 will fall short of the New York-Sydney distance by about 2,250 km its maximum range is 13,950 km. Both Airbus and Boeing have pitched A350 and 777X respectively for this flight commercial operations for which are expected to commence only by 2022 or 2023.

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he fertility rate in India reached an all-time low of 2.2 live births per woman in 2017, the latest year for which figures are now available. This rate is just a shade higher than the replacement level fertility rate of 2.1defined by the WHO as the minimum live births necessary to sustain a country's population with no increase or decrease. That is lower than the global average — of 2.426 in 2017. This also marks a decline after being stable at 2.3 for four years from 2013 to 2016. As always, it's advantage urban India where the fertility rate has been below the replacement level since 2006 — against rural India's fertility rate of 2.4, urban India has a TFR (Total Fertility Rate) of 1.7.

The slowing fertility rate may certainly be a cause for celebration, but not if the rate of slow down is itself decelerating. Between 1971 and 1981, TFR fell from 5.2 to 4.5, while from 1981 to 1991, there was a decline of 20% in the TFR — in fact, the steepest decline in TFR came in the decade 2001-2011 when it declined by almost 23%.

Compared to that, since the 2011 Census, the TFR has declined by a little over 8% — and given the pace at which it is declining in the current decade, it seems difficult that India will reach a TFR of below 2.1 by the next census in 2021, as outlined in the Economic Survey.

Another cause of concern is there is a wide disparity between states in the TFR — while states like Delhi have the lowest TFR, at 1.5, others, like UP and Bihar, have the highest TFR, at 3 and 3.2 respectively. In fact, metros like Delhi and Mumbai will need a huge infusion of migrants if they

Despite a slowdown in fertility rate decline

INDIA’S FERTILITY

RATE IS LOW don't want to become bereft of humans in the coming decades — with Mumbai’s TFR lower than that of Delhi, at 1.4.

Given that TFR is already below replacement level in 13 of the 22 major states, there is talk of increasing India's retirement age from 60 to 70 in order to reduce the pressure on pension funding— which will be coupled with a decline in the number of the working-age popula-

tion. The proportion of India's babies, children and teenagers in the total population are expected to come down to 25% by 2041, from a high of 41% in 2011, according to the Economic Survey. While that will lead to increased per capita income initially, over the decades, the advantage will be negated since the ageing population continues to rise while the working population decreases.

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SHOBHA’S PAT ON MIND 65

DR SHOBHA RAJU

COURTESY

Beauty of the soul

W

hen we were kids, I remember once my first younger sister getting sore throat and fever.

They took her to the doctor. I and my youngest sister escorted her.

We were together in thick and thin of life. The doctor advised to admit her into the hospital as she had Diphtheria. I don’t know what prompted my mother. She requested the doctor to check me and the youngest also. The doctor said that we both too needed to get admitted. I said already that we were together in our good and bad situations. So one caught the fever and the other two contacted it because of close proximity. If that was taken care of, the other two could have been saved from the fever.

In Nepal, I had measles. My parents were away. My elder sister was very strict. She didn’t allow my two younger sisters to come into my room. So they were safe.

My parents returned. They brought nice toys. Usually, mothers of yesteryears are not so strict in these situations. We regained our freedom to play together. They came into the room I was kept till then separately. Lo! As soon as I recovered, they fell ill with measles. The virus is so contagious.

I had a concert in Hitex of Hyderabad a few years back. I developed a muscle catch in the neck six days earlier to that. My neck was turned to the right. I was not able to move my neck. It felt as if the mike had to be placed to my right (not in front) to sing. On medical advice, I had been for physiotherapy to straighten my neck, more to avoid the embarrassment of having the mike to my right, than for the relief of the pain.

The therapist was excellent. It was soothing to my soaring neck as she started the treatment. The

comfort was lost within a minute as she started coughing at me. I wasn’t enjoying the treatment any more as fear of catching cough surpassed my comfort of the treatment. Not being able to sing well, on account of the cough would be a greater embarrassment.

I tried to hold my breath. But how long? Frequent and very short breaks I took to quickly inhale a little Oxigen, irritated the therapist.

She said, “When you have allergy issues such as this, you better take a break and continue when you are alright”. God! Isn’t it me who would have said that to her dear readers? Maybe these are the kind of situations they meant when it is said, “Reproach at the beginning is better than reproach at the end”.

Yes. When the reproach is inevitable, had it been in the beginning,- at least I could have avoided the short of breath - hell for one

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hour and more.

That night, i took all the precautions I should, to avoid the onslaught of virus. But the virus attack was aggressive. Leave apart singing, talking was also so hoarse that I had no choice than to cancel my prestigious concert, courting the wrath of organizers.

When a prestigious concert is cancelled, it’s not just that concert getting cancelled, a lot of ill will follows. Unbelievable rumours like “she is not able to sing any more because of some throat disease” will follow the cancellation which would have an adverse effect on the career. Artistes of my kind would have a big dent financially also.

I encountered several such situations in my long career and succumbed to the loss of voice many times consequently cancelling my concerts. What is the basis for this chaos? The therapist coughing at me right? Had she thought over a little, all this could have been avoided? Not being sensitive to other person inconveniences on account of us is discourtesy.

My mother was discharged from the hospital after some procedure done for cancer. A nurse was appointed to do some procedures and give her medicines periodically, at home. I observed the nurse cleaning her nose with a hanky, taking out some tablets and giving to my mother without cleaning her hands. I exercised extra mental strength to come out of the sensitivity, stopped her, and told her that it might affect my mother as she is already less-immune. Imagine a ninety-year-old suffering from cold and cough while putting up with monstrous cancer and Kiemo therapy!

The nurse was upset and chose

not to come home to attend on my mother as I pointed out her mistake. Shouldn’t she at least have the courtesy to understand my concern and be conscious?

The propagation of Annamacharya gave a wide range of experiences to me. We had been to a village for a concert. After the concert, usually one of the families in the villages hosts us for dinner.

We were all served banana leaves.

The host had a baby boy, who had a running nose. The host cleaned the boy’s nose with her hands, rubbed the fingers against the wall of the house and served the curry

with her hands. Trust me, I bluffed that my stomach was upset and didn’t take any food, in spite of much coax. After the concert, usually we are hungry and then I had to travel back to our house at Tirupati which would be the early hours of the next day. Why should I be subjected to this pain? Isn’t it unmindfulness of hygienic practices?

I could go on with any number of instances like this. They may sound very crude. But I chose to write all this to set a thought in motion in this direction.

At home, in the schools, colleges, offices, city buses, film theatres...everyone is sneezing... coughing...wiping the running noses. Even the taxi drivers are coughing freely unmindful of the customers sitting beside them. It's in winter. Colds & coughs are all the more rampant. I observe utter to my dismay, that hardly anyone is conscious about the damage they could cause others by not minding the measures to arrest the spread of the virus. Consequently entire society at large is either coughing or sneezing or suffering from running nose or some pulmonary disease.

Kindly have courtesy to the fellow beings. Do take proper protective care against the virus. Unfortunately, if you catch a virus, hold hand against to your mouth while talking to the other person. It may not be a style. But it’s certainly traditional etiquette. Hold a hanky against to your mouth while coughing or sneezing. Choose to be distant from people. Choose not to give silly reasons such as, “Its allergy not virus infection”, “It’s the effect of excess heat in the body, not viral attack”. Don’t cook food or serve it when you are not well. Take hot water in winter particularly. Saltwater gargles help much in viral attacks. Steam inhalations help in relieving the congestion. Take C vitamin. Take turmeric and pepper tea. You may add Tulasi also. Wear warm clothes in cold weather. Don’t worry that the beautiful border of the saree will not be seen. However beautiful be the saree, effects of the viral attack will engulf it.

(Author is a well-known musician, Devotional singer, writer and composer.)

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RNI No: APENG/2013/48048 P.R. No. RNP/HD/1187/2017-19 (DOP: 1st of Every Month; DOP: 8/9-12-2019)

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