The NEWS you like - Feb 2017

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PAGES: 68 VOL.5 | ISSUE: 1 | FEBRUARY 2017

EDITORIAL

The News You Like | February, 2017

Nothing to cheer about!

VOL:5 I SSUE:1 I FEBRUARY, 2017 `30

Editor SUDHAKAR

Special Correspondent D Bal Reddy

Senior Correspondent Mallesh Babu

Reporters M.Praveen Kumar, P Vishnuvardhan Reddy

Photographers M Vijay S Sridhar, Shair Ali Baig

Cover & Layout T. Srinivasa Rao

General Manager Mohd Nizamuddin

Chief Executive (Marketing) Venkata K Ganjam (GK) Aravind K Balan (OSD, Delhi)

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

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he much-awaited Union Budget 2017 was introduced in Parliament. For the ruling BJP it was an opportunity to assuage the wounded Indian soul following the ‘drastic’ and ‘unscientific’ step to ‘bring back black money’ by the Narendra Modi government. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was elegant, well-dressed and self-effacing. A picture perfect Budget announcement elated the ruling party and the corporate houses.

But for the millions of common people, though they do not understand the number game, there is nothing to cheer about.

Only two categories of Indians - farmers and the really wealthy - would perhaps be thankful to Jaitley. Farmers, for sure, yet again escaped the tax net all together as farm income remains free of taxation. And, the wealthy have been saved from an inheritance tax or a wealth tax - though an additional surcharge on incomes between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore could be troubling them somewhat right now.

As for the middle class, the rampart of India’s economic growth, there is little to cheer in the tax proposals. The widely anticipated income tax relief, a change in basic exemption – all of these remained a pipe dream for the middle class. Now the income tax slabs are 5 percent for income up to Rs 5 lakh and then a straight 20 percent for income between Rs 5-10 lakh!

Senior citizens and the salaried get virtually no relief from Jaitley’s proposals, though only a fraction of India’s population carries the taxation burden for a vast majority of others who happily evade the tax net. And the salaried form a substantial chunk of the harried, conscientious Indians who pay their taxes.

All in all, the dreams many of us had harboured, of having a significantly lighter tax burden in the new financial year commencing this April, have been shattered. And remember, there’s the sword of the GST hanging on our heads too, which will make services more expensive by the middle of the new fiscal.

(Sudhakar)

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INDEX

The News You Like | February, 2017

HirakHand Horror: is isi on killing spree?

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A maze of clues suggests clear signs of sabotage in the recent train accidents in dierent parts of the country that left hundreds dead and several more injured. Is the Pakistan intelligence agency behind the killing spree? The News investigates

Finally, tn legalises JallikattU

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Tamil Nadu passed a law legalising Jallikattu, the bull taming sport, hours after a police crackdown on young protesters at the Marina beach here triggered widespread violence

green crUsader gets padma sHri UndergroUnd garbage 33 bins to keep Hyd clean

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INDEX

The News You Like | February, 2017

cinema Has power to recreate any scenario: rana 57

Cinema has the power to recreate any real-life scenario, says actor Rana Daggubati as he gears up for the release of Telugu-Hindi bilingual ‘Ghazi’, India’s first submarine warfare film based on the mysterious sinking of PNS Ghazi, a Pakistani submarine, during the 1971 IndiaPakistan war.

demonetisation: Farm to loom, textiles totter

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Bhiwandi - once called the Manchester of Asia holding more than a sixth of India’s 6.5 million power looms, was thrown behind five years, all thanks to the ill-advised demonetisation move by Prime Minister Modi

rUral india wakes Up to vaccination 38

aFter akHilesH, dimple yadav now 18 second-in-command?

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POLITICS

The News You Like | February, 2017

ts, ap all set to bury ha F

THE NEWS NETWORK

or the first time since bifurcation, a three-member committee from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, met at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad on February

1, in a bid to resolve issues that have cropped up between the two Telugu States.

The meeting occurred in the presence of Governor ESL Narasimhan, and comes after a lot of political statements and accusa-

tions between the two parties that rule the two States.

Telangana and Andhra have now agreed to resolve their issues amicably by holding frequent talks on the same lines.

The Telangana delegation will

POLITICS

The News You Like | February, 2017

atchet be led by Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao along with Power Minister Jagadishwar Reddy. Advisor to the State, G Vivekananda will also be part of the discussions.

For Andhra, the delegation will be led by Finance Minister Yana-

mala Ramakrishnudu, Youth Affairs and Labour Minister K Atchannaidu and Chief Whip Kalva Srinivasulu.

There are several contentious issues between the two states that need to be resolved.

This include division of assets listed in Schedule IX and Schedule X of the AP Reorganisation Act, including government owned companies in the two states, research institutes, co-operative unions, welfare boards etc.

For a long time, Telangana has staked claim on the basis of geographical location of Schedule X institutions (Hyderabad) as per Section 75, while AP quotes Section 47 of the Act, and says that the assets have to be divided on the basis of population ratio, which is 58:42, in favour of Andhra.

The division of High Court employees was also discussed, as the Hyderabad HC still serves as the common court for both states.

The issue of Andhra Pradesh

handing over the Secretariat buildings it had emptied in Hyderabad, before moving to its temporary secretariat in Velagapudi, was also discussed.

However, issues like the Krishna River Water sharing dispute did not come up and will reportedly come up in the next meeting scheduled on February 9.

“A lot of issues are pending. TS has some issues and AP has some.

Both the States have decided to resolve them amicably. Instead of approaching the courts and depending on officers, both the states have decided to settle the pending issues in a friendly atmosphere. The first two meetings would be held in Hyderabad and the next two in Amaravati. We did not discuss any particular issue today,” Ramakrishnudu was quoted as saying.

Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao stated, “The first meeting was quite cordial. All pending issues would be prioritised and sent to the Governor’s office in two or three days for the February 9 meet. We will try our best to settle all issues in an amicable and give-and-take manner while protecting the interests of the State and those of the employees.”

After the meeting on February 9, Andhra has proposed that the Governor to hold two meetings in their State capital Amaravati.

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GROUND REALITY

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VENKATACHARI JAGANNATHAN

amil Nadu passed a law legalising Jallikattu, the bull taming sport, hours after a police crackdown on young protesters at the Marina beach here triggered widespread violence.

The law replaces the Prevention of cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 that was promulgated to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The ordinance had the sanction of President Pranab Mukherjee.

Chief Minister O Panneerselavam introduced the Bill in the Assembly. It was passed quickly and unanimously. The law seeks to protect Jallikattu from legal challenges.

This happened on a day when the dragging protest at the Marina, the country’s longest beach, turned violent after police began their

The News You Like | February, 2017

Finally, TN legalises Jallikattu crackdown following the people's refusal to disperse.

Thousands of police personnel were deployed across Chennai, a majority invading the beach and dragging away young men who had been camping there demanding legalization of Jallikattu.

There was bedlam as others tried to pull back those being taken away. Hundreds of youths, both male and female, formed a chain.

Many ran towards the sea to dig in.

There was a lot of slogan shouting too.

Many of the protesters, after being ousted from the beach, took over neighbouring streets and hurled bricks and stones at police.

A large group torched several vehicles parked at the Ice House police station, sending thick clouds of black smoke rising in the sky.

As fire tenders battled the flames, police used tear gas and

batons to battle the mobs. This only triggered more violence.

The trouble was intense in Triplicane area near the beach.

Nearly 60 people, including policemen, were injured in the violence. Around 40 people were arrested for indulging in violence.

All routes leading to the Marina were quickly cordoned off, leading to massive traffic jams in parts of Chennai.

Amid vocal criticism from opposition parties and film personalities, including noted actor Kamal Haasan, that police should not have forcibly broken a peaceful protest, many protesters crawled back to the beach.

Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, himself a Tamil, appealed for calm and urged Tamils not to be swayed by anti-social elements.

Amid the violence, many schools closed down earlier than

GROUND REALITY

The News You Like | February, 2017

scheduled, giving anxious moments to parents. While many are upset with the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for opposing Jallikattu, in most protest venues across Tamil Nadu, slogans were raised against both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Panneerselvam.

Some placards were vulgar and there were random calls too demanding an independent Tamil state.

The crowds finally started to disperse in the event after a retired Madras High Court judge, Hari Parandhaman, explained the finer points of the new law including safety measures to be taken during

Jallikattu.

In Jallikattu, a bull vaulter is expected to latch on to the animal's hump and stay put for a brief period. The bull often attack the vaulters, leading to their death -- as it happened with two youths last week.

The Southern Railway axed 16 trains. “Around 40,000 passengers are affected daily due to disruption in train services, a railway official told The News.

In Madurai too, youths who have been staging protests demanding the lifting of the 2014 Supreme Court ban on Jallikattu fought with police on the streets.

In Coimbatore, the police

pounced on a protester who threatened to self-immolate. They snatched the inflammable liquid he had.

The pro-Jallikattu camp wants the Central government to take out bulls from the list of performing animals.

P Rajasekhar, President of the Jallikattu Pathukaapu Peravai, earlier urged people to call off their agitation.

Meanwhile, DMK leader M K Stalin and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss condemned the police action. The police should have dealt with women in a decent manner, Ramadoss said.

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CLEAN & GREEN

The News You Like | February, 2017

Hyderabad gets first-ever eToilets H

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yderabad got its first-ever electronic toilets (eToilets).

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) launched two she-toilets (eToilets tailor-made for women) in Charminar in the last week of January.

GHMC Commissioner Dr Janardhan Reddy, Mayor Bontu Rammohan and MLA Pasha Khadri were present during the inauguration.

A total of five units have been installed of which two were inaugurated on January 27. The corporation is planning to set up about 26 eToilets at several historical places including Golconda during phase I. Electronic toilets – manufactured by Trivandrum-based Eram Scientific Solutions – are modular, pre-fabricated public toilets integrated with user-friendly interfaces to ensure cleanliness and hygiene.

She-toilets are additionally equipped with napkin vending machines and incinerators to dispose the used napkins.

The eToilets are incorporated with a full-cycle approach in sustainable sanitation by integrating electrical, mechanical and webmobile technologies which control the entry, usage, cleaning with

remote monitoring capabilities.

The unmanned and automated eToilets feature self-cleaning mechanism, which do away with the need for any manual supervision or regular upkeep. The eToilets feature automatic pre-flush and after-flush, automatic platform cleaning, and LED indications and have GPRS-enabled remote monitoring capabilities for online tracking of entry and usage of every user. They are programmed to turn on the lights and fan when a user enters, flush 1.5 litres of water after the first three minutes and 4.5 litres after a little longer and clean the floor after every ten users.

The eToilets have been sponsored by State Bank of Hyderabad, Indian Oil Corporation, Telangana Apex Co-operative Bank, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences and several other corporate companies under CSR. “The corporation will install as many as 26 e-toilets during phase in historical places which will be beneficial for the visiting tourists.

The eToilets will be power-efficient as they will consume less water. They have coin-operated entry, and onsite waste treatment using anaerobic bio-degradation.

The eToilets are not only smart but are well suited at a time traditional

toilet infrastructures are in such terrible conditions. Such intelligent and smart solutions can solve the sanitation challenges in a major way. Also, the corporation will generate revenue through advertisements from the eToilets,” said GHMC commissioner B Janardhan Reddy.

“We are pleased to make our entry into Hyderabad with the launch of the eToilets in front of the historic Charminar. We hope that these eToilets exclusively for women would provide a sustainable sanitation facility for the women in the city. These eToilets are equipped with napkin vending machine and napkin incinerator for the benefit of women. We are thankful to the GHMC authorities for providing us all the support for carrying out the fastest installation.

We also look forward to working with other municipal corporations in future to give a leg-up to the ambitious Swachh Bharat campaign,” said Dr Siddeek Ahmed, Chairman & Managing Director of Eram Group.

Electronic toilets – manufactured by Trivandrum-based Eram Scientific Solutions – are modular, pre-fabricated public toilets integrated with user-friendly interfaces to ensure cleanliness and hygiene

FOCUS

The News You Like | February, 2017

numbers by the employers, or by the staff of branch offices/dispensaries of ESI Corporation, or directly by the insured persons through IP Portal link available on website www.esic.in.

All the insured persons whose Aadhar Number are linked to the IP Numbers at the time of registration or subsequently will be issued ePehchan Card by the employers, which can be used as Permanent Identity Card for availing medical benefits till the eligibility for medical benefit exists.

In case the Aadhar Number are not linked to the IP Numbers at the time of registration or subsequently, Insured Persons and their family members will have to get enrolled for Biometric Pehchan Card by visiting any Pehchan Camp within 30 days from the registration otherwise medical benefit will be stopped.

Those insured persons, whose Aadhar Numbers are not linked to their IP numbers will have to carry any Govt. issued photo identity card along with e-Pehchan Card for getting treatment facilities in ESI Hospitals and Dispensaries.

Venugopal said total units covered under SPREE in Telangana were 609 and the number of employees covered was 1,06,672 in the week ending January 31.

esic to provide social secUrity to employees

ESIC’s new scheme –SPREE – to cover the entire workforce

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SIC is autonomus body under control of ministry of Labour and Employement Government of India. Providing social security to organiser sector where ever ten or more employers working in his factory or establishment. The scheme covered almost entire country.

Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has come up with a new scheme – Scheme to Promote Registration of Employers/Employees (SPREE) to encourage registration of all establishments, factories and employees coverable under the ESI Act, 1948. The SPREE is open from December 20, 2016 to March 31, 2017.

The one-time drive intents to extend the coverage to the entire workforce, encourage the employers to register themselves, encourage the employer to register employees, if any, who have been left out of coverage including contractual, casual, temporary etc.

The proposed scheme shall have following features: 1. The employers registering during the period will be

treated as covered from the date of registration or as declared by them. 2. The newly registered employees shall be treated as covered from the date of their registration. 3. This will not have any bearing on actions taken/required under ESI Act, if any, prior to December 20. iv. The Chairman, ESIC may be authorized to remove difficulties, if any, in implementing the Scheme. 2.

Regional Director-Incharge of ESIC Hyderabad A Venugopal said since last two-three years, the ESI Corporation had achieved a lot towards bringing more and more workers under the Social Security Coverage of ESI Scheme, bringing health reform agenda under ‘ESIC 2.0’.

He said ESIC had been paying the cash benefits to its beneficiaries through in their bank accounts.

He said further ESIC has been linked up the Aadhar Numbers of insured persons with their insurance numbers for their easy identification and flow of medical benefits etc.

Aadhar Numbers of self and family can be linked online to the IP

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Hirakhand horror: Is ISI on killing spree?

A maze of clues suggests clear signs of sabotage in the recent train accidents in different parts of the country that left hundreds dead and several more injured. Is the Pakistan intelligence agency behind the killing spree?

The News investigates

F

SIDDHARTHA K NAMBIAR

our major train accidents in three months that left over 200 people dead and several hundreds injured. Two mysterious murders in Nepal last year, recovery of an unexploded Improvised Explosive Device (IED) from a rail track in East Champaran last October, and an alleged confession of possible involvement of Pakistan’s ISI. Intelligence agencies are wracking their brain over a maze of clues that suggests clear signs of sabotage in the recent train accidents in different parts of the country.

Yes, a convoluted underworld web which had a cell in New Delhi that ran a travel agency, a man in Nepal and one in Karachi are in the radar of National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

A powerful unexploded IED from rail tracks in Chmaparan last October fell through the cracks was recovered, and three suspected un-

COVER STORY

derworld operatives — Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Yadav and Mukesh Yadav — were arrested by the Bihar Police. They told the investigating officers that the IndorePatna Express that was derailed on November 21, 2016, leaving 148 people dead, had been sabotaged.

The planning was done in Nepal.

They also reportedly confessed to have received money to blow up train tracks from a one Brij Kishore Giri, based in Nepal. Security agencies rushed to Nepal.

“Arun and Deepak Ram — both

resident of Raxaul — took money but failed plant the IED. As punishment they were called to Nepal and their throats were slit. The two bodies were found dumped in a car,” a top INA officer handling counter-terrorism told The News.

On 1 January, fish plates and elastic clips were found to be removed on a railway track near Kanpur, on the Farrukhabad Kanpur section. Gangmen detected the fish plates and clips and averted a potential accident. Alert gangmen averted a possible tragedy. The CBI

was promptly asked to probe a potential sabotage angle.

Close to 50 percent (approximately 45 percent) of the accidents on Indian Railways, since this decade began, are due to derailments. The other category that comes close (to around 40 percent) to this is that of level crossing accidents – unmanned rail road crossings. The two together account for over 85 percent of the categories of the accidents in Indian Railways.

Sabotage seems to be the cause of 2 percent of accidents in the past by the face of it. However, about 45 percent of the accidents were supposed to have taken place due to some form of human failure. In the case of most derailments, rail fractures or cracks, other than missing fish plates or rail clips, are supposed to be the most common form of accidents.

While there has been a lot of hue and cry over the slow replacement of most ICF coaches with LHB coaches, all the LHB coaches do is to reduce the risk of accidents by being safer at higher speeds greater than 90 kmph. Also, they do not capsize into each other because of strong anti-climbing features, that does not mean that they are not going to be accidents, it only means there will be lesser casualties.

The fundamental issues remain the lack of sufficient safety audits, the manpower (gangmen) required to carry out the same, and also enough safeguarding of the tracks to prevent sabotage.

In the case of the recent accident of Hirakhand Express, it is reported that the driver heard a loud cracker like sound just before the accident which means that this could have in all probability been a cracked rail, which means a patrol party of gangmen could have covered this as a part of their audit. Extreme tem-

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COVER STORY

perature variations often accentuate existing cracks. In terms of best practices even a monitoring of the track conditions with respect to temperate would help. Speed restrictions could be placed in sensitive zones. All these need to be a part of best practices.

If sabotage is indeed turning out to be potential cause of accidents, then modernisation is perhaps the only way out. If fencing is required to speed up trains and prevent accidents with bovine creatures, it is all the more necessary to prevent miscreants from making their way to the railway tracks and removing fish plates and elastic clips that may cause derailments, which are about 45 percent of our accidents. But it comes with a cost, it could be as high as 0.4Cr per km or lower. Similarly, unmanned level crossings need to be then replaced with grade separators to minimize a human track interface.

Union Railways Minster Suresh Prabhu has turned out to be the most social media-savvy minister we have ever had. However, the current spate of accidents calls for a far deeper remedy than just getting the books in the black. It goes far beyond nuances of ac-

The News You Like | February, 2017

counting to touching the core of operations. Issues pertaining to safety and modernisation are now completely intertwined. A comprehensive roadmap for both will bring about the long term solution to the current spate of accidents. And IR’s modernised railway stations need to start churning money fast to pump in such a comprehensive plan.

While investigators are looking into the possible role of Pakistan spy agency ISI in Kanpur derailment last year, Indian Railways is suspecting sabotage in Hirakhand Express derailment in Andhra Pradesh and there is a possibility that the Centre may ask National Investigation Agency (NIA) to look into the accident.

NIA is also investigating the matter after reports of arrested trio in confessing to having ISI links.

“The Home Ministry may ask the NIA to investigate the Hirakhand Express derailment,” official sources told The News.

Railway authorities said the Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh where Hirakhand Express got derailed was Naxal prone and there was a possibility of sabotage ahead of Republic Day. Suresh Prabhu who visited the

• The safety and reliability of the rail operation depend on three factors:

1. Basic Hygiene: Do we have enough manpower (Gangmen, Keymen, mates etc) to take care of the Rail lines?

2. Best Practices: Regular safety audits, speed restrictions in sensitive zones

3. Barriers to Breaches: Elimination of unmanned crossings and fencing of tracks

accident site, along with senior railway ministry official, said that all possible causes of the accident would be probed and stringent action would be taken against the culprits.

The Ministry said that prima facie, it looked that derailment was caused by rail fracture but that had to be ascertained that whether it was caused by poor maintenance or someone did it intentionally.

The News You Like | February, 2017

COVER STORY

“There are indications of foul play as a goods train passed the same track just two hours before the mishap. The inspection by the patrol team also found the track was fine on Saturday night. The driver applied emergency brake after feeling a big jerk and heard a loud sound,” said Railway spokesperson Anil Kumar Saxena.

The NIA visited the Hirakhand Express accident site in Kuneru to probe possibility of sabotage.

A team of four officers has reached the accident site.

At least 42 people were killed and 69 injured when engine and nine coaches of Jagdalpur Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express jumped the tracks in Vizianagaram district, with the railways suspecting sabotage behind the derailment, the third in as many months.

The engine and nine coaches of the Bhubaneswar-bound train went off the track near Kuneru station around 11 pm on the star-crossed night. Two AC coaches, four sleeper coaches, two general compartments and the guard-cum-passenger coach besides the locomotive of the train were affected and four of these coaches

“There was disbelief regarding ISI hand behind the derailment as claimed by Moti Paswan, but when we began checking the claims, the conspiracy began to unravel,” he said, adding that they also checked on the possibility of Naxalites’ role, but a clearer picture emerged after sustained interrogation of the arrested.

Sources said that on the instructions of his ISI handler, Shamshul Hoda hired Arun and Deepak, two Hindu criminals tasked to derail the train. “However, the duo developed cold feet. The powerful IED was later discovered and the ISI plan failed. Both Arun and Deepak were recalled to Nepal where they were eliminated by the ISI. Their bodies were found in a car,” the intelligence official said.

“This is the ISI’s new game plan, luring local criminals for terror activities. We suspect Sheikh Shafi to have links with some such groups,” he added. Intelligence officials point out that this is not the first time ISI is using a ‘Hindu smokescreen’. Ten LeT terrorists were made to wear sacred red threads, bought for Rs 20 each by David Coleman Headley from Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple in the infamous 2008 Mumbai attack.

All the 10 terrorists carried fake identity cards of Arunodaya College of Hyderabad.

This time, the ISI has taken one step further. “They are now hiring real Hindus with criminal backgrounds. These criminals are promised a huge sum to carry out such dastardly attacks,” said an official.

Notably, there have been five train derailments since November 20 last year. On Saturday, 10 coaches of Ranikhet Express jumped the tracks in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, though no casualty was reported.

In a related development, the

had overturned.

Intelligence agencies claim to have joined the dots connecting train tragedies at Ghorasahan in East Champaran, Bihar and Pukhrayan, near Kanpur in UP, with handlers of Pakistani spy agency ISI in Nepal.

Sources associated with the investigation said that under a new strategy, ISI has been targeting local ‘Hindu’ criminals for use in terror activities by luring them with proportional moneybags.

Railway officials, however, appear to be on a different page.

Top Railway Ministry officials, requesting anonymity, said that in their preliminary inquiry, no trace of sabotage was found in the derailment near Kanpur that claimed 150 lives in November last year. One official even ruled out any explosion near the tracks that could have resulted in the mishap.

“An inquiry is on, but the theory of a terror attack or sabotage does not stand. The nature of accident and evidences collected from the site do not indicate foul play. There was no trace of burn, explosion or any chemical on the spot,” a senior Railway Board official said.

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COVER STORY

Odisha police too have ruled out foul play in the Hirakhand Express derailment in which 42 people were killed and 69 injured. “There is no indication of Maoist hand behind the derailment,” Odisha DGP K B Singh said.

“Kuneru is not a Naxal-hit area.

There is no movement of red rebels near the site for five years,” an intelligence officer said.

Hitting out at the Narendra Modi-led Central government over repeated incidents of train accidents, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the Railways, which was the lifeline of the nation, was being neglected.

Condoling the death of 42 passengers in Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express accident, Mamata said, “Crores of people commute by railways every day. It is the lifeline of the nation. We are proud of our Indian Railways employees. However, now Railways is being neglected and given less priority.” The Trinamool Congress supremo, who has herself been the Railway Minister in the past, alleged that the Modi regime had ‘curtailed’ the budget for the Rail-

The News You Like | February, 2017

ways thereby compromising the safety and security of millions of passengers.

“We don’t blame the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu; he is earnest in his efforts. But, the government needs to address issues urgently,” she wrote on Twitter.

The Centre has ordered a high level probe, to be conducted under the supervision of the Commissioner of Railway Safety.

Suresh Prabhu has announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has also announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for accident victims from his State.

Expressing grief over the deaths, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik spoke to Naidu assuring all possible help. Patnaik said that senior State government officials, including Odisha Chief Secretary and Director General of Police had been instructed to reach the accident site near Rayagada to oversee the relief operation.

The National Investigation Agency and Crime Investigation

Department (CID) visited the train derailment site in Vizianagaram to study if there was sabotage or foreign involvement in the accident that left 42 dead. The tragedy occurred near Kuneru station, 24 km from Rayagada in Odisha. The train was on its way to Bhubaneswar from Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh.

NIA is already probing the alleged role of Pakistan’s Inter Services Agency (ISI) behind the Indore-Patna Express derailment near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh that claimed 150 lives. Officials have also not ruled out the involvement of Maoists as the Andhra-Odisha border area is considered a Maoist stronghold.

On 17 January, Bihar Police revealed that the two train accidents in Kanpur were planned and executed by ISI. The police unraveled ISI’s conspiracy following the arrest of three criminals Umashankar Patel, Motilal Paswan and Mukesh Yadav - from Motihari district on the Indo-Nepal border.

The three criminals were in contact with an ISI agent, a Dubai-based Nepali citizen, and were taking orders from him.

POLITICS

The News You Like | February, 2017

Akhilesh Yadav’s Telangana brain

Not many may know, but a Hyderabad-based bureaucrat is UP Chief Minister’s trusted lieutenant

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THE NEWS NETWORK

khilesh Yadav, the amiable crown prince, has emerged from his father’s shadow and has signalled to his subjects that he is ready to become the king.

Every day when Akhilesh returns after a joust with political adversaries to his Camelot, which is Lucknow’s 5, Kalidas Marg, it is time to hold court with advisors and loyalists.

A motley lot, they include his trusted bureaucrats, father Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Socialist associates, an uncle, cousins and the knights from his Samajwadi

‘Youth Brigade’.

But among the key figures, there is a lesser known face in Akhilesh's Round Table.

He is Venkat Changavalli, has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, and a B Tech (Chemical) from NIT, Warangal.

He was the one who conceptualised and implemented the ‘Dial 108’ free ambulance service when he was Chief Executive Officer at Hyderabad’s Emergency Management and Research Institute, founded by Ramalinga Raju, the former Satyam chairman.

After the gangrape of a mother

and her daughter on a highway off Bulandshahr in west UP in August 2016, Akhilesh marshalled Changavalli’s advice and help. He helped start the ‘Dial 100’ facility to seek instant police help even in remote parts.

Changavalli, who lives in Hyderabad, said he came in touch with the Chief Minister through Amod Kumar, a UP bureaucrat, in 2014 when the latter heard him out at the Indian School of Business.

“I was impressed by the CM’s youthful energy because until then I was used to dealing with leaders past their prime like (M) Karunanindhi and (B S) Yeddyurappa. He seemed to me as someone who was accessible, approachable, determined but flexible,” recalled Changavalli.

The EMRI idea was hired by 12 State governments after it launched the free ambulance service idea in Hyderabad in 2005.

When Changavalli meets Akhilesh in Lucknow, usually twice a week, the CM receives him at the door and sees him off, a gesture his peers never observed.

Akhilesh, he says, was so taken by the ‘Dial’ concept that in 2016 he extended Changavalli's services by two years.

Sources in the Lucknow bureaucracy described Changavalli as one of Akhilesh’s ‘key resource’ persons in governance, valued for an ability to marry social concerns with economic exigencies.

It was Changavalli who reportedly told the Chief Minister to treat the market as an important link between the city and the village, and to appreciate the benefits to be had by promoting the corporate sector to market farmers' produce, instead of leaving growers to the vagaries of informal financial transactions.

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After Akhilesh, Dimple Yadav now second-in-command?

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THE NEWS NETWORK

p until the rift in the Yadav clan, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and wife Dimple Yadav were just another power couple.

She showed up at state events, standing next to him or behind him.

Recently, when Akhilesh released the party manifesto for the upcoming legislative Assembly elections, along with his wife, Akhilesh was sporting the party’s signature red caps and flashing the manifesto in the absence of the Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav. Voices around her are still echoing a range of opinions on the SP-Congress alliance. Internal sources say that Dimple has been a voice of reason at a politically volatile time. In fact, Priyanka Gandhi’s outreach and Dimple’s mediation has led to the much-needed agreement on 105 seats. Certain political analysts suspect that if the newly fostered women-led alliance campaigns together in the region, it can thwart the Modi wave. In the wake of evolving dynasty dynamics and the parting of political scions in her family, the 39-year-old seems ready to take up the baton.

Those who are known to the family often refer to Dimple as its ‘feviquick’, sealing cracks big and small and keeping the political family glued through thick and

thin. After initial hesitation, the family approved of her courtship with Akhilesh and welcomed her as their daughter-in-law in 1999. In the 2009 by-elections, Dimple lost to Raj Babbar in Ferozabad. Then in 2012, Akhilesh vacated his political seat in Kannauj and Dimple was elected unopposed from the region. She has a modest, austere and rule-abiding vibe about her, which reinstates the Yadav family’s political and cultural ideals. “She is a warm and simple person. Ever since her marriage to Akhilesh, she has maintained cordial ties with everybody,” says Ajant Singh Yadav, Mulayam’s brother-in-law.

Political analyst Harshvardhan Tripathi is in awe of her. “Dimple’s image is that of a progressive woman of the house and the youth identifies easily with this refreshing

mix of tradition and modernity. She represents empowerment,” he points out. He goes on to add that Akhilesh derives much-needed moral strength from his partner. She brings a beautiful kind of stability to their union, which is always in the public eye. Surprisingly, she isn’t the first woman from the family to step into politics. Shivpal Yadav’s wife Sarla Yadav, Ramgopal Yadav’s wife Phoolan Devi, Dharmendra Yadav’s wife Neelam Yadav, Mulayam’s younger brother Rajpal Yadav’s wife Premlata and Mulayam’s second wife Sadhna Gupta and his sister Sheela Yadav have also tried to spin the political roulette. None however have had the fortune to become the party’s public face quite the way Dimple has. One of the reasons for this is that unlike other women who have

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The News You Like | February, 2017

sat around and waited for instructions, Dimple has boldly come forward and played a key role in positively influencing Akhilesh’s personal and his political mannerism.

Akhilesh’s cousin Abhishek Yadav says, “We have grown up receiving affection from her. She has an aura of friendliness that makes us forget that she comes from a different caste.” Ask him the secret of the power couple’s chemistry and he grins. “Only the two of them know the secret to that but I can safely say that they haven’t changed a bit after coming to power. They remain the same humble people. I am sure they are proud of each other, just the way we are proud of them” he says with a broad smile. On the issue of the newly developed crack in the foundation of the Yadav household, he reveals that everything is as is. The family still sits down for meals together. Tina and Arjun (the couple’s twins) still spend time with their grandfather and we feel the problems too will subside soon. On the question of her growing political role, Abhishek admits that as the

wife of the chief minister, it is expected of Dimple to his energy and increase his connect with the masses. Will she be seen campaigning alongside Priyanka, another woman backed by political dynasty? “You will have to wait and watch,” he says.

A close associate of the Yadavs, Kamal Faruqui (who was also ExChairman Delhi Minorities Commission) explains that from some kind of a self-created backdoor, Dimple is managing operations in the political family. “She gives great emphasis to maintaining healthy relationships and that is what defines her strength of character,” he says. Harshvardhan reminds us that whenever Mulayam lashes out at his son for being close to ‘Non-Yadavs’, he is not only hinting at Abhishek Misra, Udayveer Singh, Sanjay Lathar, but also at Dimple Yadav, who was born into the more prosperous Rawat caste and shares a good tuning with Akhilesh’s friend circle.

“In a way, she represents the nonYadav among the Yadavs,” he says.

Veterans, who have watched her closely, believe that she is well-

versed in political causes and consequences. Be it her address at a FICCI event in 2013 or a speech on women parliamentarians delivered in 2014, her effortless clarity has attracted attention. It should be known that she handles Akhilesh’s social media page and plays a key role in shaping women and children centric policy in the state. It is no coincidence that a month after a video on the battle between her husband and father-in-law came out in the media, she released another video titled ‘Apne toh apne hotey hain (Blood is thicker than water)’ that refreshed tender moments from their relationship in public memory. Despite being outspoken and clear, she seems cautious of sharing the stage with Aparna Yadav and Sadhna Gupta.

Aside from one odd family function, she is never seen with them. It is thus assumed that Dimple is quite clear about her likes and dislikes.

Faruqui professes that Dimple will emerge as a strong leader and take her family from strength to strength in the political battlefield that is Uttar Pradesh.

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The News You Like | February, 2017

Huge support for Priyanka to play larger role

But, the party high command doesn’t seem to realise Priyanka Gandhi’s striking semblance to her grandmother, which could change the existing political equations drastically and put the grand old party back to its unparalleled position

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THE NEWS NETWORK

aving played a key role in sealing a deal with Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will play a significant role in campaigning during the Assembly elections in the State, hinting at a larger role for herself in the party. The Congress said party workers want Priyanka Gandhi

Vadra to play a ‘larger role’ in politics. Several senior Congress leaders acknowledged her role in striking an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress will contest 105 seats and the Samajwadi Party 298 seats.

According to sources, there will be joint campaigns in Uttar Pradesh with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister

Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will share the stage on few occasions.

“There will be star campaigners from both parties. The programme and schedule of the campaigns will be finalised soon. There could be few symbolic appearances of both Rahul and Akhilesh together,” said a party source.

“Priyanka Gandhi will also campaign beyond Amethi and Rae Bareilly,” the source added.

The source also said the campaign schedule for the Congress will be finalised by month end.

“Congress workers are desirous of her playing a larger role in the party. There is a huge amount of support for her which is obvious.

When her role is decided, you'll be informed,” said Congress spokesperson Ajoy Kumar.

Kumar said Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi requested her and the Congress general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh to get involved in sewing the alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

“Priyanka Gandhi has been active in the two Lok Sabha seats Amethi and Rae Bareilly out of choice and we respect her privacy.

As far as Uttar Pradesh elections were concerned, Rahul Gandhi requested Ghulam Nabi Azad and Priyanka Gandhi to sew an alliance with a like-minded party.”

He (Rahul Gandhi) took a decision in the best interest of the party.

It has been followed, executed and a wonderful alliance is in place, he added.

POLITICS

The News You Like | February, 2017

Kalvakuntla Chandhrasekhar Rao

Messiah of masses

Telangana Chief Minister reiterates his commitment to uplift the poor and the minorities, come what may

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D BAL REDDY

elangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is a man who knows his job. Even as Opposition parties are crying foul over his disregard for minorities in the State, the Chief Minister, in his own inimitable style, has instructed the officials concerned to spend more funds over and above the funds allocated, based on the population figures of SCs and STs for their development. Since the State government has declared a war on poverty, it has given top priority to the welfare schemes.

Chandrashekar Rao is a man of his words. And everyone knows it pretty well. It has become further evident when he said the officers concerned should concentrate more on the SCs and STs who are economically backward. It is not enough to spend more funds other than allocated to these sections, but implementation should be so transparent that the SC and ST sections should have confidence that the government is standing by them.

Unless they are informed about the funds allocated and how they were spent, these sections would get a feeling that the government was neglecting them, the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister held a review meeting on SC/STs Sub

Plan, Welfare and Development at Pragathi Bhavan here recently.

Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari, SC Development Minister Jagadeeshwar Reddy, MP Balka Suman, Chief Secretary SP Singh, senior officials S Narsing Rao, Somesh Kumar, Ramakrishna Rao, Sandeep Sultania, Karunakar, Praveen Kumar, Bhoopal Reddy and others participated.

“The SC and ST Sub Plan is brought in to allocate and spend funds based on the population figures of these communities. Our government has commitment and dedication to implement the Sub Plan in a more effective way. Officials should review the implementation of the Sub Plan on a monthly basis. Ministers should conduct the meetings every three months. I will review it once in six months. The Telangana government is spending

more funds than those allocated under the Sub Plan and this trend will continue. SC and STs are in the lower strata of the society and they should be given all help. Our government has started residential schools for the SCs and STs in big way without bothering about the amount of money is being spent.

By imparting quality and high standard education that the future of the SCs and STs younger generation will change for the better,” he said and referred to overseas scholarships, economic support schemes for these sections, distribution of land to Dalits and implementation of the Kalyanalaxmi schemes. He also said, “The situation in the hostels should change. We need better facilities, toilets and rooms.

There should be an increase in the mess bills and cosmetic charges paid to the students.”

“Overseas scholarships should be given to everyone, there is no need to have any limit,” he said.

“SCs and STs have land assigned in the past. Some of them have their own land and the government is distributing 3 acres of land to each family. All these lands should be brought into cultivation and they need support. If the land is brought under cultivation, it becomes a major source of income,” Chandrashekar Rao observed.

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The News You Like | February, 2017

Tender hands that tend for themselves…

B LINGASWAMY

Hyderabad: While the authorities are making tall claims of Hyderabad being a world-class city, on the other side of the Musi river, in the dingy bylines of the old city, hundreds of children from various States are toiling day in and day out to make bangles of different sizes, shapes and patterns that bedazzle thronging visitors and tourists in the bangles shops that dot the periphery of historic Charminar.

In fact, the old city of Hyderabad seems to have become a centre for child labourers with hundreds of them being employed in factories making bangles for years. These units located at Kattedan, Talabkatta, Chandrayangutta and Babanagar areas employ children aged below 14 years, making them toil as bonded labourers and subject them to various types of harassment and torture. Poor families are offering their children to brokers for taking up hard jobs for their sustenance, notwithstanding the deplorable conditions under which several hundreds of them from Bihar and UP are made to work in utter exploitation of their poverty.

Brokers encourage these families to send their children by promising higher wages. But only Rs 1,500 is paid to them for virtually working throughout the day. According to an investigation by the Hyderabad police, the brokers pocket a major part of the wages of children brought from other States.

It is alleged that hundreds of these

despite several efforts by the administration and the police, the bangle factories in the old city of Hyderabad continue to employee underage children, making mockery of the system

boys are forced to work one room without food.

The hard labour put in by the children while working in a bangle factory, which uses dangerous chemicals, was exposed during the cordon and search drive taken up by the police on January 27, 2015. As many as 220 kids were liberated following the operation and Pahelwans Younus and Imran were arrested for forcing them to work as bonded labourers. Even after this police operation, children continue to work in some companies.

With more boy labourers getting caught, the police are continuing their searches in the old city as part of their ‘Operation Smile’ and ‘Operation Musqan’. They have so far this year liberated 106 children from bonding, after arresting 64 persons and registering 45 cases.

The police, with Swathi Lakra as DCP (Crimes) have issued a stern warning that stringent action would be taken against those who were forcing children to work as bonded labour. They are acting tough against those employing young boys even while requesting that they be sent to schools, without being forced to work in subhuman conditions. The police are dispatching the freed child labourers by trains from Secunderabad station to their native States. Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Zone, Satyanarayana has warned that the Preventive Detention Act would be invoked against the employers if they are found engaging children.

He told The News that more cordon and search operations would be conducted to detect and check child labour.

The News You Like | February, 2017

GROUND REALITY

Glorious culture lay neglected in a classic example of official apathy, scores of ancient sculptures are lying in a neglected condition as if they are some unwanted objects with no value, in medak and sangareddy districts of telangana

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THE NEWS NETWORK

he sorrowful tale of ancient sculptures lying in a neglected condition as if they are some unwanted objects with no value continues, with neither the district administration, nor the Department of Archaeology taking steps to preserve them.

Ancient sculptures which look like a male and female tribal warriors holding weapons can be seen lying underneath a tree right in front of the Medak Tehsildar office (right beside the office of Information and Public Relations). The stone sculptures are probably many centuries old and more needs to be studied about when they were carved and during whose rule.

On similar lines, construction of Social Welfare Gurukul School in Narayankhed town has unearthed age-old stone sculptures from a period unknown, recovered while removing an ancient open well on its premises. The stone sculpture and two pillars have now been thrown by the side of the road right in front of the MRO office in Narayankhed. The pillars appear to have been from the period of Kakatiyas, looking at the designs and architecture. The sculpture was recovered from inside the now destroyed well.

Thousands of such ancient sculptures and scriptures are lying everywhere in Medak and Sangareddy districts and despite news reports pointing-out the issue, nothing is being done to preserve the great history of Bangaru Telangana.

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The News You Like | February, 2017

Demonetisation: Farm to loom, textiles totter bhiwandi - once called the manchester of asia - holding more than a sixth of india’s 6.5 million power looms, was thrown behind five years, all thanks to the ill-advised demonetisation move by prime minister modi

M

ABHISHEK WAGHMARE

umbai, Bhiwandi & Ahmedabad: Since the turn of the century, Bhiwandi - once called the Manchester of Asia - has wilted against competition from Bangladesh and Vietnam. Bhiwandi holds more than a sixth of India's 6.5 million power looms --

machines that manufacture fabric from yarn.

A congested city of about 1.5 million, 30 km north of Mumbai, it was once a key link in India's cotton economy, which employs 25 million workers alone, the secondlargest employer after agriculture.

The Indian textile industry is already challenged by falling

exports, low productivity and rising prices. Bhiwandi has now been further crippled by the aftermath of the November 8, 2016, scrapping of 86 per cent of bank notes, by value.

“Notebandi ne humko paanch saal peeche fek diya (demonetisation threw us five years behind),” said Asad Farooqi, 65, who has

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The News You Like | February, 2017

been running more than 100 power looms for about 30 years.

In this industry where son tends to follow father, Asad's son, Aftab, 34, remembered how they lived in prosperity in his childhood, and that earning Rs 20,000 for a consignment was very normal.

“Last month, we earned Rs 17,000 from all our looms business,” Aftab said, with a wry smile.

The Rs 20,000 of 1996-97 would translate to about Rs 70,000 today, after factoring in an average inflation of 6.5.

The textile industry, of which decentralised power looms and knitting are the largest components, contributes 2 per cent to India's gross domestic product. Maharashtra, with more than 1.1 million power looms, is one of India's largest power loom hubs, providing

direct employment to a million people in Bhiwandi, Malegaon, Dhule, Sangli and Sholapur.

“Only 20 per cent of these (Bhiwandi's looms) are running today,” said Mannan Siddiqui, President, Bhiwandi Textile Mills Association, who has spearheaded the attempt to revive Bhiwandi's looms over more than 20 years.

Malegaon, 270 km to Mumbai's northeast, is similarly struggling to keep looms running.

Bhiwandi is one of the key links in India's textile supply chain -from farm to loom. Although there are no consolidated data, we found production cuts, job losses and revenue declines in an already struggling sector.

Cash rules critical parts of this supply chain: from farmer to yarn factory to yarn trader to power

loom cloth manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Dyers, zip-and-button fixers and daily workers who lift bales are some of the poorest in this chain and they appear to be the worst hit.

Textiles were the largest creator of Indian formal-sector jobs, with 499,000 added over the last three years. There is strong international evidence that exports help create additional jobs and push up wage and income growth.

In Mangaldas market, the biggest textile market in Mumbai - a city once known for its textile mills and labour unions, both now relics of history - N. Chandrakant said business was 20 per cent less than normal for the winter-andwedding-shopping season, which runs from November to February.

There was no business in the first

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GROUND REALITY week of notebandi.

“Customers are buying simple, plain shirt material, and demand for luxury items has reduced,” said Chandrakant. “People are being economical.”

Kripesh Bhayani, a cloth-andapparel retailer in the same market, is also a garment maker who runs 17 imported fabric-weaving machines in a Mumbai suburb. He said manufacturing was unaffected, but finishing of garments -- such as fixing buttons and zips -- had suffered. Bhayani outsources these jobs to household industries, which work on cash.

While the demand for garments has dropped 30 per cent, wholesale demand has dropped 50 per cent, merchants told us.

“Our market remains crowded the entire day during the November-to-February season," said Bharat Thakkar, Secretary, Mangaldas Market Cloth Merchants Association. "Sellers struggle to attend to the flurry of customers.

The relatively empty shops today tell you everything.”

At Ahmedabad's New Cloth Market, trade had fallen by 80 per cent, according Rajesh Agarwal, Secretary of the market association.

He explained why 60 of his 80 embroidery workers had returned to their villages after notebandi: When sales dropped, his cash dried up, so he could not pay salaries.

Workers, said Agarwal, preferred to go temporarily jobless than endure the hassle of opening accounts in already stressed banks.

“Slowing consumer spending has resulted in a slowdown in domestic demand for apparel and other end-products of textile industry in the immediate term as a fallout of demonetisation,” The Financial Express reported onDecember 3.

The News You Like | February, 2017

As a result, retailers cancelled their cloth orders from wholesale traders.

Wholesaler Sudhir Parekh explained how a boom at the start of November -- when Diwali shopping season gives way to the winter-and-wedding-shopping season -- collapsed afterNovember 8.

“A lot of inventory that would have been sold by now is stockpiled at my shop,” said Parekh, who works from Mumbai's Mulji Jetha wholesale cloth market. “My cloth, which is my working capital, is lying here, and there is no way I can purchase more from the textile mills. I am stuck.”

This part of the textile supply chain is all cash: Consumers pay cash to retailers, who pay cash to wholesalers because it is convenient. Wholesalers, who place large orders with textile mills and pay through cheques or bank transfers, are not currently doing that because of the shortage of cash, driven by the drying up of retail spending.

Parekh said he was ready to go cashless, but his ability to do so depended on retailers and customers to do so.

Cashless transactions, however, dominate the large-volume purchases of cloth that traders make from textile mills in Bhiwandi, Surat, Ahmedabad, Tirupur and Coimbatore.

In Bhiwandi, Suleiman Rahil and Syed Nasar Ali, both in their 40s, were doing nothing when we met them. Both are loom workers who run five to six power looms, in whichever factory needs them.

Both are from Pratapgarh district in Uttar Pradesh, and have five children each.

Rahil and Ali each earned Rs 15,000 a month beforenotebandi, they said. Their incomes are down by a third to about Rs 5,000 each, there is no work most days, and they spend their day looking for odd jobs, including in farms and other markets.

“How can a family with six children sustain itself on Rs 5,000

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The News You Like | February, 2017

a month?” Ali asked.

Bhiwandi labour contractor Ashok Ahuja -- who also owns about 60 struggling power looms - explained how half his workers, from various rural districts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, left for their villages when work dried up.

Some have started returning.

Ahuja restarted his looms in Bhiwandi on January 2, two months after he shut them down, right after wholesalers cancelled orders after demonetisation.

In Bhiwandi, Siddiqui argued that China, Pakistan and Bangladesh's policies have benefited their textile industry, while India's have enfeebled power loom owners like him, who must deal with not just low demand but daily price variations of yarn -- the chief raw material for power looms -over the last four years.

The cost of yarn -- which he

buys from Mumbai -- varies intraday, "like the stock market", said Siddiqui, as yarn traders increase or reduce the price according to daily demand.

On December 20, the yarn was selling at Rs 156 per kg. On January 4 the rate had shot up to Rs 178. When Siddiqui finally bought his yarn, it was Rs 200 per kg.

"About 10 kg of yarn is enough to produce 100 metres of gray fabric, which typically sells at Rs 30 per metre," said Siddiqui.

A 100-metre swathe of cloth fetched him Rs 3,000, of which Rs 2,000 went into buying yarn the day we visited. With the Rs 1,000 left, Siddiqui had to pay for workers, electricity and machine maintenance.

While the manufacture of yarn, the chief raw material in making cotton fabric, has largely been unaffected, the same cannot be said of ginning facilities in the same mills,

where cleaned, seed-free cotton is obtained from raw, impure cotton.

The slowdown between November and January was because cotton farmers were not accepting cashless payments.

“About 30 vehicles with cotton come to our mill every day,” said Mukesh Patel, who runs the ginning facility at Pashupati Mills.

“On January 6, we had only five vehicles coming to sell cotton. The highest number we have seen after demonetisation is 15.”

“Farmers accept only cash as they have to pay their farm labour in cash,” said Patel. “Cashless does not work there.”

(In arrangement with IndiaSpend.org, a data-driven, nonprofit, public interest journalism platform, with whom Abhishek Waghmare is an analyst. The views expressed are those of IndiaSpend. Feedback at respond@ indiaspend.org)

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Fate renders 4 girls forlorn GROUND REALITY

The News You Like | February, 2017

in a cruel vagary of nature, four sisters, all aged below 10, have become orphans as their mother deserted them and father killed in a road accident

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NARENDER CHARY

agarkurnool: In a disheartening incident, four sisters, all below the age of 10, of Atchampet town have been rendered orphans upon desertion of the family by mother and death of the father in a road accident.

People have been taking pity on them but none is coming forward to provide them shelter.

Their paternal uncle, Moulali, has been providing shelter to them in his hut for time being, but he is also too poor to take them under his wings.

Moreover, his wife is expecting a baby soon. The daily-wage earner is also pinched to feed so many mouths with his meager earnings.

According to reports, Devanand and Yellamma of Atchampet got married 14 years ago. The couple has five children — all of them girls. They quarreled frequently over the children. Some months ago, Yellamma, upon a quarrel with the husband, left the place to somewhere.

Devanand used to take care of the children stepping into the shoes of their mother. He was everything for them. Finding to feed so many mouths difficult, he gave away the youngest daughter to others in adoption.

Till his death in a fatal road accident, he took good care of his daughters Venkatamma (10), Divya (7), Lavanya (5) and Sailaja (3). He used to eke out a living by weaving

tape for the cots going from village to village. The children never felt the absence of their mother under the care of their father.

But the fate willed otherwise.

Two months ago, it took away their father in a road accident turning the girls into orphans.

Barring Venkatamma, the other children did not know the truth about their mother and father.

When the father was alive, Venkatamma used to take good care of the sisters by feeding them even by begging and made them feel good by indulging in playful activities.

She fed them first before she had eaten anything. Their father used to earn daily wage and somehow managed to make the both ends meet. Following his death, the children were forced to

take shelter in the house of Moulali.

The locals, pained at the condition of the girls, say that they are not aware of which vehicle ran over their father even to claim for compensation. The locals strongly feel that the philanthropic public should come forward to rescue them and to get them admitted to a residential school.

When ‘The News’ asked the eldest of the girls, Venkatamma, whether they would like to get enrolled in a residential school, the girl appealed to the media to ensure that they all live at one place and not separated from one another.

What is the need of the hour is not pity but support for their education. They need to be infused with confidence so that they grow up in life.

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The News You Like | February, 2017

dream of a job aspirant shattered...

dubai law enforcement detained 25 year-old Habeeb mohammed from Hyderabad for bringing some illegal medicine that were banned in the city THE NEWS NETWORK

25 year-old Habeeb Mohammed was very happy that finally he was successful in getting an assistant clerk job with a transport firm in Dubai. But, all his dreams shattered when he was arrested at Dubai airport on charges of carrying drugs. According to officials, Dubai law enforcement detained Habeeb for bringing the illegal medicine that were banned in the city, reported local newspapers.

Habeeb’s family has refuted the allegation and insist that he is not at fault . Last October, Habeeb, a resident of of Chandrayangutta, was flying to Dubai for the first time through an Emirates flight.

Habeeb’s brother, Abdul Qadeer

said that the parcel containing illegal drugs actually belongs to their neighbour, who is now absconding. And the person who was supposed to pick up the parcel from Dubai airport is also missing.

“He simply took the medicines given by our neighbour because he, and us, trusted them. But nobody is coming forward to save my brother,” Qadeer said.

“The airport authorities who detained him say that the medicines which he was carrying with him were illegal medicines and those specific drugs had been banned in their country. But my brother was unaware of the medicines or that particular rule. We also filed a police complaint but we are not getting proper response from the

authorities over at Dubai,” he said.

Chandrayangutta Police Inspector Prakash Reddy said they received the complaint but was not able to contact the investigating agencies in Dubai.

“The agencies in Dubai should pronounce Habeeb as an innocent and release him. But we will try our best to support the family in whatever ways we can.”

Police should conduct an investigation into the matter seriously so as to establish the truth and catch hold of the real culprit.

“They convey the details of the arrest to Dubai authorities. Only then will Habeeb’s innocence be established. He will be then released by the Emirates’ police,” an official said.

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The News You Like | February, 2017

in search of lost traditional varieties

syed ghani khan is the revolutionary farmer who is behind the living agricultural museum that is home to over 850 varieties of rice!

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ADITI PATWARDHAN

yed Ghani Khan is a museum curator who resides in a small village in Mandya district in neighbouring Karnataka. His initiative is a unique one — a living museum where over 850 varieties of rice and about 115 varieties of mangoes are being conserved and cultivated. The farmer hopes to reintroduce the lost traditional varieties and bring back the lost wisdom of our ancestors to this generation of farmers.

A farmer’s son, Syed Ghani Khan’s had always dreamt of be-

coming a museum curator.

He studied archaeology and museology, dreaming of opening his own museum where he could host curious visitors and impart knowledge about several ancient traditions.

When he was 22, Syed’s father had a brain haemorrhage, which left him in charge of the family and the farm as the eldest of the siblings. Syed took up farming and made up his mind to say goodbye to his dream forever.

He started using hybrid farming methods to grow rice like many other farmers in his district.

One day, while spraying his crop with pesticides, he had a dizzy spell and fainted. That was the day when realisation hit him.

“People call us farmers ‘anna daata’ (provider of food). But that day I realised that I am not anna daata; I have become visha daata (someone who feeds poison).

With all these fertilisers and pesticides, I am growing nothing other than poisonous food. That was when I decided to change my ways,” says Syed.

He began using organic compost, but after a few months, he saw no visible effect on his

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The News You Like | February, 2017

crop. When he looked into the matter, he realised that the crop grown from hybrid rice seeds wasn’t affected by the natural fertilisers at all. He then decided to switch to the more nutritious local traditional rice varieties that would suit the traditional cultivation methods.

When he tried to find the traditional varieties, however, he realised that many of the drought-resistant rice varieties of the once dry region, like raja bhog batha, kadi batha and doddi batha, were lost. After the introduction of hybrid seeds that offered much higher yield than the traditional seeds but could not reproduce, farmers had abandoned the traditional varieties, which would provide comparatively low yield, but whose seeds could be used for generations after. Syed struggled to find these traditional seeds that were also naturally resistant to pests.

His collection started with a rice variety that no one was able to recognise. A scientist helped him identify it as a native variety of rice that used to grow a long time ago in Mandya but had since been lost.

“I felt concerned, you see! I had heard of so many different varieties while growing up in a farmer family, and now when I wanted to cultivate these varieties, I was finding out that they no longer exist? Something needed to be done about this,” says Syed.

He started tracing these lost varieties of rice, collecting, conserving and even cultivating them.

That was when the thought of realising his dream of becoming a museum curator occurred to him, by creating a unique living Rice

Museum.

He found a handful of rice varieties in the nearby villages of Mandya district but didn’t stop at that. He travelled to the neighbouring districts and states in search of the rice varieties. Within a span of 4 years, he had collected, grown and conserved over 140 unique rice varieties, retaining the unique taste, aroma, colour, size and shape of each variety.

The traditional varieties have many advantages over the hybrid ones.They require

less water.

Some even have medicinal properties.

“The naturally grown rice varieties have adapted to different climatic conditions and therefore can withstand disasters like floods and droughts that usually destroy the hybrid crop varieties. I select the best of seeds and every year I plant, grow and multiply these seeds to share those with farmers.

I am trying to educate the farmers about the importance of these traditional varieties. I don’t give my seeds to big seed companies even

when they offer a lot of money,” he says.

After years of perseverance, Syed is now well known among the farmers, who actively seek his advice.

Located in the Kirugavulu village of Mandya district, Syed’s Rice Museum as well as the ‘Bada Bagh’, an orchard renowned for growing over 116 varieties of mangoes, have become must-visit spots for farmers as well as agricultural researchers. His rice museum boasts of more than 850

indigenous rice varieties from all parts of the country.While most of the varieties of rice originate from India, the museum is also home to varieties from Myanmar, Thailand, Pakistan and several other parts of the world. Syed has transformed the farm into a bio-diverse ecosystem, which is host to over 60 species of birds. Maintaining this living museum and perpetuating the lost knowledge to the future generations is his only passion.

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32

GROUND REALITY

The News You Like | February, 2017

A 10-year-old girl’s battle with the ‘tree man illness’

• Develops ‘roots” on her cheeks, chin and ears • The girl, known only as Shahana, suffers from epidermodysplasia verruciformis

• She first showed signs of the rare condition when she was just six-months-old • Despite just having growths on her body, they quickly spread to affect her face

T

THE NEWS NETWORK

hese pictures show a 10-yearold girl slowly being transformed into a tree as a result of a rare condition. The girl, known only as Shahana, suffers from epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) - also known as the ‘tree man illness’.

She first showed signs of being plagued by the rare condition when she was just six-months-old.

Growths broke out on her body, but these quickly spread to affect her nose, cheeks, chin and earlobes.

Her family, from a remote village in the northern part of Bangladesh, are believed to currently be seeking treatment for her at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. But despite her appearance, she said that her classmates don't

judge her and are welcoming towards her, it is reported.

“I get itching in face and knees in the morning and night,” she told a local news agency. EV is a rare and inherited skin disorder which creates wart-like lesions anywhere on the body.

The condition is caused by infection with HPV and can create

• Her family, from Bangladesh, are believed to be seeking treatment for her widespread skin eruptions, including wart-like lesions and reddishbrown pigmented plaques.

Notable cases include a Romanian man named Ion Toader who was diagnosed with the condition in March 2007, and the Dede Koswara, from Indonesia.

Shahana's story comes just two weeks after a Bangladeshi man suffering from the same condition was treated.

Abul Bajandar has had at least 16 operations to remove 11lbs of growths from his hands and feet since his condition came to doctors' attention a year ago.

Doctors believe he could become the first person to be cured of the disease, provided the warts do not grow back.

GROUND REALITY

The News You Like | February, 2017

GHMC has already identified 40 vulnerable garbage points and will install the bins in a week’s time

Underground garbage bins to keep Hyd clean

H

P. VISHNUVARDHAN REDDY

yderabad: In order improve city sanitation, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has identified as many as 40 locations to install sophisticated underground garbage bins by next week.

The corporation officials have decided to use garbage bins with sensors at vulnerable garbage points which have made a comeback after their elimination some time ago. Once the underground garbage bins are launched on full scale, open dumping on streets and over flowing of garbage bins would be a thing of the past, according to Hyderabad Mayor B Ramamohan.

The corporation has eliminated as many as 1,116 vulnerable

garbage points during its 100-day action plan last year. Due to lack of proper monitoring by sanitary supervisors, sanitary field assistants and other ground level sanitary staff, they have somehow made a comeback. The GHMC officials, after conducting a comprehensive survey, learnt that the prime reason for open dumping was delay in door-to-door garbage collection by the Swachh auto drivers. The officials said in order overcome the open dumping problem, the corporation had decided to install highly sophisticated underground garbage bins at several critical areas in the city.

The Mayor said the corporation had indentified 40 critical locations across the city to install underground garbage bins. He said each

of these bins would cost about Rs 5.5 lakh and they would be sponsored by private firms under Corporate Social Responsibility. He said three corporate companies had already contributed about Rs 5 crore and another two companies were ready to contribute.

Rammohan said the underground garbage bins would have sensors which would indicate once the bins had been filled. He said the bins would not open till they were full.

He also said the bins had been prepared in such way that there would be a provision to dump dry and wet garbage separately. He said the corporation would first install the underground bins near hospitals in order to ensure cleanliness and health of denizens.

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34

GREEN CRUSADER

The News You Like | February, 2017

Green crusader gets Padma Shri residents of reddypalli village, little over 5 kms from khammam city, who once called daripalli ramaiah a ‘mad man’ for his obsession with trees, are an elated lot on wednesday when the news spread that the centre has bestowed on him the padma shri

I

ADEPU MAHENDER

t was yet another day for the lone crusader of green Daripalli Ramaiah, popularly known as Vanajeevi, when some youth of his village scurried to his two-room tin shed to greet him with the news that the Central government had announced Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, to him for social work. Indeed, he was painting ‘Vruksho Rakshati Rakshitaha’, the only slogan the septuagenarian believed throughout his life till date, on plastic boards to be placed on plants, when the youth went to him.

Since the Padma awards were instituted in 1954, Ramaiah is the only person from Khammam to get this coveted award. Residents of Reddypalli village, little over 5 kms from Khammam city, who once called Ramaiah a ‘mad man’ for his obsession with trees, are an elated lot on Wednesday when the news

spread that the Centre has bestowed on him the Padma Shri award.

‘Trees give oxygen, shade and fruit’ is what he had learnt in school

and years later, he took plantation as a campaign when his daughter complained of headache due to lack of oxygen. Since then, he took plan-

GREEN CRUSADER

The News You Like | February, 2017

Ramaiah and his wife planting saplings

tation drive on a mission mode.

Initially, he pedalled his way around Khammam district planting saplings and after age slowed him down, he started to use a moped to continue with his obsession.

Always clad in white dhoti and shirt, Ramaiah is estimated to have planted more than 1.30 crore saplings, predominantly neem and ganuga (pongamia). His better half Janamma, his three sons and the only daughter knew how their finances disappeared without a trace as his campaign moved ahead unabated.

He is certainly a character as every item in his house from utensils to walls all depicting Save Trees – Save Environment. He gifts trees to newly-wed couples even the wedding cards of his children were printed with a green message.

Speaking to The News, Ramaiah said, “Both the Centre and State governments need to focus

Ramaiah with late YS Rajasekhar Reddy

more on green drive. The Centre should design currency notes printed with a message of spreading green drive.” With the age is catching up with him, Ramaiah now has developed partial hearing loss besides other geriatric problems.

He got immense satisfaction, said Ramaiah, who had received

several awards but no substantial financial assistance.

Meanwhile, Minister for Roads and Buildings Tummala Nageswara Rao, in a statement said, “Ramaiah has not only made Khammam feel proud but also the State through his selfless contribution to the Planet Earth.”

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CIVILIAN HONOUR

The News You Like | February, 2017

Padmas blossom on unsung heroes T

he focus of this year's Padma awards was on recognising talent of unknown and unsung heroes of the country, including Telugus.

Chintakindi Mallesham from Telangana, who invented Laxmi ASU machine to reduce the time and menial labour required to weave Pochampalli silk sarees, has been chosed for Padma Shri.

His invention impacted 60 per cent of looms engaged in weaving Pochampalli. A school dropout, 44-year-old Mallesham had created the machine to relieve his mother's pain.

Daripalli Ramaiah, 68, knows as Chetla Ramaiah or "The Tree Man" from Telangana has also been selected for Padma Shri.

Ramaiah is a common man who has dedicated his life to make India green by planting over one crore trees. He takes out seeds from his pocket and plants them wherever he sees a barren spot.

Nonogenarian Bhakti Yadav, popularly known as "Doctor Dadi", is the first woman from Indore to hold an MBBS degree.

She has been treating patients free of cost for the past 68 years and has helped deliver thousands of

babies. Captain of Indian cricket team of blind Shekhar Naik had led the India's cricket team of blind to victory in the first T20 World Cup in 2012 and ODI World Cup in 2014. The 30-yearold player comes from a poor background and faced extreme hardship as he lost his parents at the age of 12. Mariyappan Thangavelu, who won gold in Rio Paralympics 2016, is a born fighter. He had suffered permanent disability in the right leg when he was run over by drunk bus driver. His father had abandoned the family and he was raised by his mother who used to work as a labourer.

Dipa Karmakar, who finished fourth in artistic gymnastics at Rio Olympics last year, known as "Produnova Princess" from Tripura, practised on an apparatus made from second-hand parts of a discarded scooter. The 23-year-old is only the fifth woman in the gymnastic history to land a Produnova vault. Karnataka's Sukri Bommagowda, known as "Nightingale of Halakki", has been named for Padma Shri for performing tribal folk music for 58 years. School dropout Jitendra

Haripal, popular as "Rangabati ki Awaz", has been selected for Padma Shri for his contribution to Odhisa's most popular recorded song "Rangabati" and being a top exponent of Kosli-Sambalpuri music. Ela Ahmad, 81, from Assam has been selected for Padma Shri for running the only magazine for women in the northeast since 1970.

"Granny with a sword", 76year-old Meenaakshi Amma from Kerala, who began her martial art classes at the age of seven, has also been chosen for Padma Shri.

She is the country's oldest woman Kalaripayattu exponent and has been practising and teaching martial arts for more than 68 years. Kalaripayattu originated from south-west Kerala and is believed to be the root of Chinese martial arts. Volunteer fire fighter Bipin Ganatra from West Bengal has will be decorated with Padma Shri. He is the only person apart from fire brigade officials who has been to almost every fire accident site in Kolkata in the last 40 years.

The 59-year-old decided to devote his life to helping people caught in fire after losing his brother to an inferno. Dr Suniti Solomon, who

CIVILIAN HONOUR

The News You Like | February, 2017

diagnosed the first AIDS case in India in 1985, has figured in the Padma Shri list posthumously.

"Highway Messiah" Dr Subroto Das has also been named for Padma Shri. He is one of the pioneers in bringing medical relief to accident victims on national highways. Das, 51, hails from Gujarat.

He started the Lifeline Foundation after he met with an accident.

Today, he provides emergency medical services on the highway network spanning 4,000 kilometres in Maharashtra, Kerala, Rajasthan and West Bengal.

Girish Bharadwaj, 66-year-old social worker from Karnataka, also known as "Sethu (bridge) Bandhu", has to his credit building of more than 100 low-cost and eco-friendly suspension bridges connecting remote villages across India. He

has also been selected for Padma Shri. The Padma Shri award list has Anuradha Koirala, a 67-year Nepalese woman, who has been instrumental in rescuing and rehabilitating 12,000 sex trafficking victims and prevented 45,000 from being trafficked.

Karimul Haque (52), a tea garden worker affectionately called "Ambulance Dada", hails from West Bengal's Jalpaiguri, will be decorated with the award for converting his bike into an ambulance offering a 24x7 service. He innovated the bike ambulance after he could not save his mother due to the lack of such an emergency vehicle.

Another person in the Padma Shri list is "Swacchhta Doot" from Pune's Dehu village, Dr Mapuskar (88), who dedicated his life to

make his village open defecation free beginning as early as in the 1960s. Balbir Singh Seechewal, 51, from Punjab will be honoured with the award for rendering social service and resurrecting 160-kmlong river Kali Bein in the state by mobilising local youths and volunteers in the mission. He goes by many names like "Rastewale Baba" (one who makes path), "Sadakanwale Baba" (one who lays roads) and "Eco Baba" (one who works for environment).

Gujarat's Genabhai Dargabhai Patel (52) is a "divyang" farmer and has taken huge efforts to make his drought-hit village in Banaskantha district become the largest producer of pomegranate in the country. Also known as "Anar Dada", he will be conferred Padma Shri.

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38

PUBLIC HEALTH

G

GARIMA TYAGI

The News You Like | February, 2017

to immunise pregnant women and children. anga Das, 19 and Namita Pal, 25, pregnant for the who came with her first time, was deterone-and-a-half-yearmined enough to get old son for vaccinaher immunisation tion, said she also has done at a Public Heath a six-year-old who Centre (PHC) at Juri has been protected village of this block in from diseases thanks Jharkhand’s East to regular vaccinaSinghbhum district. tion.

Married at the age “After the birth of of 17, Ganga’s determy first son, I took mination was a result him to the centre for of an equally deterimmunisation. Momined effort by bilisers make us unUnicef and the ‘moderstand the benefits bilisers’ sent out by of immunisation and, the State Health Deultimately, our own partment to spread benefit. It protected awareness about my elder son; so I routine immunisation bring my younger kid (RI) and how it helps here too. To keep kids protect unborn chilimmune from disdren, creating their eases they have to get first wall of defence vaccines regularly,” against diseases.

Namita said.

Jovial and optiAuxiliary Nurses mistic, Ganga said and Midwives that seeing other preg(ANMs) and Angannant women came to wadi workers mothe centre also enbilise villagers to couraged her to do so. bring children or “The RI propregnant women to enthusiasm is palpable in rural women after gramme is a boon for the immunisation they became aware of the need of immunisation us. I have seen it here. camps. and how it helps protect unborn children, I ask other pregnant Regular immuniwomen in the village sation is one of the creating their first wall of defence against to go for immunisakey interventions for diseases tion,” said Ganga, protecting children who is also pursuing from avoidable sickher class 12 studies. ness, disability and life-threatening conditions that are “If I get vaccines, I am not just protecting myself - preventable.

I am giving my baby some early protection too,” Rajini Kumari, an ANM of Potka block, said she, Ganga said at the PHC that was packed with women along with Anganwadi workers, mobilised villagers, and toddlers who had come for their RIs. telling them about the benefits of immunisation, about The enthusiasm is a result of the continuous aware- hygiene, the diet kids should have, and ask them to ness drives by Unicef and Jharkhand’s Health Depart- drink boiled water. ment, especially its team of dedicated ‘mobilisers’ who “We maintain records of pregnant women and chiltravel to far-flung villages to encourage communities dren about their immunisation. RI happens on Thurs-

Rural India wakes up to vaccination

The News You Like | February, 2017

PUBLIC HEALTH

day and Saturday of every week,” she said, while vaccinating children in a room painted with informative pictorials on the benefits of immunisation and the Dos and Don’ts during and after pregnancy.

A regular immunisation cycle sees a child receiving BCG (primarily against tuberculosis) and polio vaccine at the time of birth.

nisation process. We help people understand about government facilities and urge them to become a part of it to save their children,” Paul said.

East Singhbhum Civil Surgeon S K Jha said: “We try for maximum immunisation coverage in the area.

If there is proper infrastructure like hospitals, doctors, roads and electricity, health care will not be a problem in the country.”

District Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) officer Maheshwar Prasad, who is responsible for the complete immunisation process, said it could be improved by making people aware at the grassroot level.

Village heads must play a proactive role to make people aware about benefits of vaccines. The community should be involved.

Still, there is some gap and so we all have to work together for the cause,” Maheshwar Prasad said.

This is followed by pentavalent vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza when the newborn is 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 months old, respectively, along with doses of the polio vaccine, said Sahil Paul, Medical Officer of Potka block.

“We monitor the entire immu-

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40

ART & CULTURE

The News You Like | February, 2017

Sattriya dancer’s journey breathing life into other art forms too born in assam but settled in mumbai for more than a decade now, prateesha suresh is a trained classical dancer whose repertoire includes bharatanatyam and sattriya

D

AZERA PARVEEN RAHMAN

ance, as an art form, has many components. There is the music, the costumes, the jewellery... so when a dance form is promoted, it gives an impetus to a whole range of artistes. So, each time dance exponent Prateesha

Suresh takes to the stage for a performance to promote the classical Sattriya, a 550-year-old religious dance form, she knows it is a journey that is breathing life into many other art forms as well.

Born in Assam but settled in Mumbai for more than a decade now, Suresh is a trained classical dancer whose repertoire includes Bharatanatyam and Sattriya. Her N G O , Pratishruti Foundation, seeks to

promote classical dance forms, with a focus on Sattriya.

“My endeavour is how I, as an artiste, can take Sattriya from the Sattras to the stage in its purest form. There is a general lack of awareness on the traditional com-

ponents of Sattriya, like the costume - there is a disconnect between the traditional costume and the onstage dress we often see these days - which I am trying to bridge,” Suresh, who set up her foundation in 2008, said.

The Sattriya dance was born in the Sattras-religious institutions set up by Vaishnavite saint Shrimanta Shankardeva to preserve and promote tradition, culture and religion. As Suresh says, Sattriya is the ‘soul of Assam’ and it is her aim to promote the State’s rich heritage through promotion of this art form.

“The traditional dance costumes designed by Shankardeva had a lot of beautiful work. It’s difficult to find craftsmen who can replicate that today. But we have to analyse and recreate that. Sometimes, in performances depicting Raas - the celebrations of Krishna

ART & CULTURE

The News You Like | February, 2017

Shankardeva’s work, using bamboo to make the masks, was pathbreaking; it was technically amazing.

But in today’s time, we can adapt - without compromising on the essence of which character the mask is representing - so that the masks become more accessible for people to appreciate

and the Gopis - the main dancer’s costume looks more like that of the Gopis. Such fine details which are of significance have to be taken care of,” the dancer said.

Sattriya dance also involves the use of masks. These traditional masks, made only by expert craftsmen of the Majuli river island, are unique and life-like in size as well.

“Shankardeva’s work, using bamboo to make the masks, was path-breaking; it was technically amazing. But in today’s time, we can adapt - without compromising on the essence of which character the mask is representing - so that the masks become more accessible for people to appreciate,” Suresh said.

As an example, she says that in 2013, at a function hosted by the Indian Council for Cultural Rela-

used in Sattriya dances.”

The dance exponent who does not limit her efforts to performances alone but also organises lecture-demonstrations, cultural festivals and dance festivals, however is particular about the fame that she seeks for Sattriya.

tions (ICCR), the masks could not be transported all the way from Majuli to Delhi for the Sattriya performance because “it was very cumbersome”. Thereafter, Suresh says, she has been in touch with the mask makers in planning strategies by which their craft could be given the exposure outside their place of origin.

“Funding is a big problem when you talk of adopting technology to make a craft accessible to all. But we are working on that, and I am in touch with the mask makers. There is a particular family which specialises in that,” she said.

When it comes to music, Suresh says that she has used Ojapali music - a treasure-house in Sattriya - in her performances, such as ‘Ravanaloi Sita’r Obhisaap’ and ‘Usha Parinay’. “This music was hardly

“Popularity can be of two kinds - as an art form in its element, or commercial popularity. I want Sattriya dance to be appreciated for what it is in its purest form, outside its State of origin,” Suresh stressed.

“I believe this can be done by creating awareness about the dance form. When you talk of any dance, to be attracted to the glamour part is ok - you like the jewellery and the costume - but you also must have in-depth knowledge about the form.” Understanding the language in which you dance is one aspect Suresh said that she learnt Tamil to understand the essence of Bharatanatyam.

Although it is true that Sattriya has few takers even in Assam, it is also true that the art form has many takers outside India - many foreigners have taken it up and teach it in countries like Mexico and Japan.

“It’s a very positive sign. Let more children, more people understand Sattriya. Only when you understand will you be able to appreciate anything,” Suresh signed off.

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42 CRIME & PUNISHMENT

The News You Like | February, 2017

con woman clad in saffron S

THE NEWS NETWORK

adhvi Jayshree Giri, arrested in a cheating case, is the prime accused in the 2008 murder of her spiritual guru and head of Mukteshwar Mahadev Math Sanjaygiri Maharaj in Banaskantha district, according to the police.

She was arrested after the police raided a house in Palanpur and recovered 1.25 crore in cash and 2.4 kg of gold. “During our raid in Palanpur, we have recovered 1.25 crore in cash, which

was in 2,000 notes, and 24 gold bars, each of 100 grams. Sadhvi was also present at her house during the raid. We have arrested her in a case of cheating and seized the cash and 2.4 kg gold,” the SP said.

According to the police, Sadhvi might have duped several persons.

She was arrested in connection with a cheating complaint lodged against her by a local jeweller Pritesh Shah who alleged that she had taken 5 crore from him by promising to give him gold at a

cheaper rate. During the raid, the police also recovered several bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and beer.

“Apart from cheating, we have also booked her under various sections of Prohibition Act for possession of liquor,” said Banaskantha, SP, Niraj Badgujar.

Sadhvi was remanded in threeday police custody by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Palanpur district court P T Jadeja.

A senior officer said a complaint was lodged against Sadhvi at Vadgam police station in October 2008 in connection with Sanjaygiri’s murder and that trial is underway in a local court.

“As per our information, she is the key accused in the murder case lodged against her in Vadgam taluka. She secured anticipatory bail in that case, which is still running in a local court,” the officer said.

Sanjaygiri was killed and his body was burnt at the Math on the night of Diwali in October 2008.

The complaint was lodged by a devotee identified as Jayanti Prajapati.

“As per the FIR, Sadhvi and some of her close aides killed her guru Sanjaygiri to take control of the Math. After my complaint, she went underground for almost 2.5 years and then acquired anticipatory bail from court. She still lives in Math. The trial in that case is still on,” said Prajapati.

Meanwhile, Rajendrasinh Barad, a co-accused in the murder case, alleged Sadhvi had duped many others in the past.

“I am a co-accused in Sanjaygiri Maharaj murder case. I also went underground and acquired bail later. I then detached myself from Sadhvi who is no less than a mafia,” claimed Barad.

The News You Like | February, 2017

CRIME & PUNISHMENT 43

Slain RTI activist gets justice after six years

S

THE NEWS NETWORK

ix years after RTI activist Shehla Masood was shot dead, a special court sentenced four people, including primary accused Zahida Parvez, to life imprisonment. Parvez, an interior designer, and her friend Saba Farooqui, will be serving the life term along with two shooters they had hired.

Saquib alias Danger, who was hired to kill Shehla, and his crony Tabish, were also sentenced for life. The were sentenced by a special court in Indore.

Shehla Masood, 38, a prominent RTI activist and anti-corruption crusader in Bhopal, was shot dead in front of her house in the posh Koh-e-Fiza locality on 16 August, 2011.

The Bhopal police had failed to crack the murder case and it was finally handed over to the CBI. The main accused Zahida Parvez schemed to kill Shehla, as she was bothered by her growing friendship with former BJP MLA Dhruv Narayan Singh. Singh is also the son of former Madhya Pradesh CM Govind Narayan Singh. Zahida was known to be close to Dhruv and said to be extremely suspicious and resentful of any woman he interacted with.

So she hired Saquib, a history-sheeter, to arrange for a shooter and ‘eliminate’ Shehla. The activist was shot dead when she was leaving her house at around 11.38 am on 16 August, six years ago.

The CBI finally arrested the accused but couldn’t find evidence of Dhruv Narayan Singh’s involvement

Parvez, an interior designer, and her friend Saba Farooqui, will be serving the life term along with two shooters they had hired

in the crime. Hence, he was given clean-chit. The trial began in the CBI court in Indore.

Defence lawyer Sanjay Sharma said that he would appeal against the order in High Court.

Speaking after the judgment, Zahida Parvez said that she was convicted though there was no witness or evidence against her. She alleged that CBI had framed her under pressure from influential people.

Shehla Masood’s kin expressed satisfaction at the verdict.

44 CRIME & PUNISHMENT

K

The News You Like | February, 2017

more of mallya’s mega fraud comes to light

THE NEWS NETWORK

ingfisher Airlines allegedly diverted Rs 263 crore (Rs 2.63 billion) from Rs 900 crore (Rs 9 billion) IDBI loan for ‘personal use’, Central Bureau of Investigation said in its charge sheet filed in a special court in Mumbai.

The agency has named former liquor baron Vijay Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines and nine others, including the then IDBI chairman Yogesh Aggarwal, who were arrested in connection with the 2015 loan default case, in the charge sheet.

It slapped IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, cheating and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act on the accused.

CBI sources said the agency has kept its probe open in the issue of suspected quid pro quo by Mallya and executives of Kingfisher Airlines to expedite the loan process.

They said that in this probe, it has come to light that about Rs 263 crore from Rs 900 crore loan was diverted for ‘personal’ use against norms and regulations.

Nine persons, including former executives of Kingfisher Airlines and IDBI officials, were arrested ‘as the agency fears they might have influenced the witnesses’, the sources said.

The CBI has not sought the custody of the nine and the arrest is only aimed at thwarting any attempt to compromise evidence and witnesses, they said.

Former CFO of Kingfisher Airlines A Raghunathan was among

those arrested. They have been sent to judicial custody by the special court in Mumbai.

The charge sheet has now paved way for the CBI to approach authorities in the UK for deportation of Mallya who is believed to be in London, the sources said.

They said the agency has got a non-bailable warrant issued against Mallya and might also get a Red Corner Notice against him.

The CBI, in an FIR registered against Mallya, his defunct Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, Raghunathan and unknown officials of IDBI Bank, had alleged that Rs 900 crore (Rs 9 billion) loan was sanctioned in violation of norms regarding credit limits.

It had changed the nature of a lookout notice issued against

Mallya within one month of issuance - from seeking his detention while leaving the country to that of merely providing information about his travel plans.

In the lookout circular issued on October 16, 2015, CBI had said if ‘Mallya tries to leave the country, he should be detained at the exit point’.

In a revised circular in November, the agency had asked the Bureau of Immigration to inform it about his departure and travel plans.

Mallya travelled abroad in October and returned in November.

He made two trips in the first and the last week of December and another in January 2016, besides the recent trip reportedly to London on March 2.

CRIME & PUNISHMENT 45

The News You Like | February, 2017

psycho sets girl ablaze in classroom, self

I

THE NEWS NETWORK

n a shocking incident, a girl was burnt alive in a classroom in the southern State of Kerala on February1. In the incident that sent shock waves throughout Kerala, a young man set a girl on fire, that too in a classroom. The incident happened inside a classroom of Kottayam School of Medical Education (SME) in the star-crossed afternoon.

The man, in an apparent act of depravity, doused himself with petrol and targeted a young woman who had rejected his advances.

With more than 80% burns, both of them succumbed to their injuries later in the day, at the Government Medical College Hospital (GMC), Kottayam.

Adarsh Suneendran (26), was a former student of Physiotherapy at Gandhinagar center of the Kottayam SME college, while the girl was identified as Reshmi (21), who was a final year student at the same college.

Adarsh had come to college to write his supplementary examinations as he had failed in some subjects. However, that was not all, as he brought a can of petrol with him.

As Adarsh entered the classroom with a bag and said ‘Hello Reshmi’, none of the classmates felt suspicious. In a matter of minutes, he doused her face and body with petrol. Before the few students in the classroom could understand

what was happening around them, a terrified Reshmi ran out screaming, Adarsh behind her.

Reshmi ran into the college library. Two students who were in the library later told the police that they were taken aback as a screaming Reshmi whose clothes were wet entered the library. "She came running and then he came and hugged her. Suddenly, there was fire," one of the students said.

Adarsh collapsed in the library, but Reshmi ran out. In her panic, she seemed to have lost her way and ran into a narrow corridor which was largely empty. A few staff members and students found her lying on the floor, her entire body on fire. Though they doused the fire with water, Reshmi had already suffered severe burns.

Adarsh died in the hospital first, and then Reshmi.

Reports say that Adarsh had proposed to Reshmi and she had re-

jected it, but he had been insistent to get into a relationship. Reshmi’s father had also filed a police complaint against him earlier.

In a dying declaration at the hospital, Adarsh told doctors that he poured petrol over himself and forcibly poured it on Reshmi after entering the classroom.

“He told doctors that he hugged her while she tried to run away and lit the fire. He also said they were earlier in a relationship and later she betrayed him,” Dr R P Renjin, RMO of GMC, Kottayam told the media. Other students who tried to save Reshmi also suffered a few burn injuries.

"We all brought water from toilets and sprayed it on her, but by the time, it was too late, as half of her body was burnt,” Reshmi’s classmate Ashwin told the media.

Adarsh was a native of Kollam district and Reshmi was from Alappuzha district.

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SPICE IT UP

The News You Like | February, 2017

a leggy lass’ tHoUgHts on desi boys “Dekho dekho Albert Pinto ki girlfriend ki legs dekho,” screamed my idiot new boyfriend as we zoomed down the causeway on his 100cc motorcycle.

I was sitting pillion but because I was only just 20, a massive badass and in possession of a short corduroy skirt and pair of Doc Martens, I was astride the pillion, not seated demurely, to one side with my knees knocking. This was also a great position to lean forward and ask my boyfriend who the hell Albert Pinto was. He said he’d give me the cinema reference later. It was quite underwhelming.

But it was my first lesson in What Indians think about legs.

And that is… not much.

Not much until they see them that is.

The obsession with mammaries I’ve seen every manner of bosom on big and small screens.

They heave, they sag, they stand to

attention, they make two massive points when you can’t find one in the story of the film, they leak, they keep time with the heroine’s open mouth as she dances for the bad guys, they move pendulously behind the “chastity jazz hands run” that the old timers used to do, they’re covered, they’re uncovered, a pallu falls and an inch of cleavage exposed causes a stir in the village…

I get it. The Americans find breasts sexy. The British find them hilarious. Indians are just messsmammarised!

We do not know what to do with legs.

The old vamps dancing on screen did all these complicated moves with their upper bodies, but their legs, even when they peeped out from strategic slits in their skirts, were always splayed, ungracefully apart, no pointing of toes, no definition of calf, cankles

and knobbly knees.

Where I come from, we don’t think much about legs. But that’s because they’re on display all the time. It’s well part of our culture.

In Bombay, our Koli fisherwomen with their kashtis rolled up, show their curve of their bottoms and bare legs. (Our Koli uncles show even more.) In my neighbourhood of Bandra, our aunties all go to the bazaar in their short shorts – middle age cellulite, varicose veins, sexy smooth tanned pins, all equally and unabashedly on display. Heavens, even our boys and men wear shorts all the time.

We walk, we run, we play sport.

We have great legs. So great, you don’t even notice them.

Legs and health So when you take the girl out of her leg-displaying community, she stands out.

In Bangalore, pregnant with my first, I knew not to wear shorts on

SPICE IT UP

The News You Like | February, 2017

the road but at home, it was regulation T-shirt and shorts. I didn’t plan to cause any stirs until one day, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the house-help Viji standing next to me, waiting for me to pay attention to her. I turned…

“See madam,” she said in broken Hindi, lifting her sari up to her thighs showing me the most hideous pair of hairy pins I have ever seen, “even I could expose like you.” I understood so much about Bangalore that day.

Are you leg-men or boob-men, desi boys?

Apart from the men you’ve met over the years, with a cursory look at this Quora – you could surmise that the legman is a little more aesthetic and evolved, while the boob-man is still a bit of a baby. Don’t start clapping yet ladies, there’s more.

Legs tell you a lot about a person. In her book, Evolution and Gender: Why It Matters for Contemporary Life, Rosemary L. Hopcroft said: “Long straight legs indicate good genes and good

health and nutrition over a long period of time.”

A British study indicated that

stronger leg muscles meant quicker minds. Big boobs age quickly but women who are out and about all day, on their feet in jobs, commuting, doing errands in public, all develop great calf muscles and have a strong, youthful gait.

I’m going to hazard that if the sight of a woman’s legs offends some, maybe a part of their subconscious is clocking that she’s been nurtured well (against the patriarchal norm that favours the boy child), is probably intelligent, independent and confident.

There were news of Chandigarh’s ban on the mini-skirt in discos and a young woman getting roughed up for wearing a “half-

pant” in Calcutta. You can see where we’re heading. Put on your shorts and mini-skirts ladies. We need to let these infantile little ninnies watch our beautiful, strong, leg muscles as we walk away.

And Albert Pinto, you’re the one for me.

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HEALTH & FITNESS

The News You Like | February, 2017

potent compounds to treat pain & inflammation W

MICHELLE SCHOFFRO COOK

hat’s the first thing you think of when I mention the herb ‘sage’? Perhaps it’s Thanksgiving dinner or stuffing, or maybe even roasted potatoes. Chances are that most people don’t think of potent natural medicine for pain and inflammation, but perhaps recent research will change all that.

That’s because, according to research published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, the herbs sage and rosemary contain potent anti-pain and anti-inflammatory compounds. Known as carnosol and carnosic acid, the scientists made a novel discovery that these compounds are potent anti-inflammatories that can help reduce pain.

The researchers concluded that

‘our research paves the way for a rational use of (sage)… in the continuous expanding context of nutraceuticals.’

While sage has traditionally been used for pain, it is better known for its memory- and brainboosting properties, which research has also proven.

In one study published in the medical journal Current Medicinal

HEALTH & FITNESS

The News You Like | February, 2017

Chemistry, researchers found that sage’s ability to prevent the breakdown of a critical brain messenger hormone may make the herb helpful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Sage has been found to be so powerful in its ability to treat Alzheimer’s disease that the German Ministry of Health is currently considering adding sage as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease to its Commission E Monographs—a compilation of the safety and effectiveness of herbs.

While there are various species of sage, the one most commonly found to be beneficial for Alzheimer’s disease is Salvia lavandulifolia.

You might be tempted to think that reducing pain and inflammation as well as boosting memory and helping in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease was sufficient enough reason to love this herb, but there is more: hormone balancing.

The herb may also help menstruating women who are suffering from excessive bleeding, nursing women who experience excessive lactation, as well as menopausal women who are suffering from hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms.

Sage, particularly in its essential oil form known as clary sage, has a lengthy history of use in the balancing of hormones. For hormone balancing, diffuse a few drops in an aromatherapy diffuser or add a few drops to a handkerchief and breathe in the aroma periodically throughout the day.

Continue to do this daily for at least a month or two for best results.

Sage is also available in tea form, dried or fresh herb, tincture, capsules or essential oils for those looking to take advantage of its anti-pain, anti-inflammatory and brain-boosting effects. Follow the package instructions for the product you choose. In addition to taking the herb internally (as directed) you may also wish to dilute a few drops of sage essential oil in a teaspoon of carrier oil like sweet almond, apricot kernel, or olive oil and rub onto painful areas of your body a few times daily. Always do a skin test to ensure you are not allergic to sage oil prior to use. Apply it diluted in the same ratio as mentioned above, to the inside of your wrist and wait for 48 hours.

Remember that sage is potent medicine and should be treated with respect. If you are taking any medication consult your doctor or pharmacist to ensure that the drugs do not interact with sage.

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BUSINESS

The News You Like | February, 2017

AP to have two coastal economic zones the commerce ministry is planning 14 coastal economic zones in the country as part of the ambitious sagarmala project, which will create direct employment for 40 lakh people and indirect employment for 60 lakh

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wo coastal economic zones will be created at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore as part of the Sagarmala project in Andhra Pradesh, according to Union Minister for Road

Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari.

Addressing the Partnership Summit, he said both the zones -one covering Srikakulam to Vijayawada and the other from Vijayawada to Nellore -- will come

under Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor.

He said the Commerce Ministry was planning 14 coastal economic zones in the country as part of the ambitious Sagarmala project, which will create direct employment for

BUSINESS

The News You Like | February, 2017

40 lakh people and indirect employment for 60 lakh. “This is an ambitious project in which Rs15 lakh crore investment is expected. Out of this, Rs 4 lakh crore will be in port modernisation, mechanisation and port road and port rail connectivity,� he said.

He pointed out that providing highway and rail connectivity to these zones would be the responsibility of his Ministry while the State government would have to provide land, power and other infrastructure.

A Port Rail Connectivity Corporation has already been formed and work has started. The Ministry plans to start railway work worth over Rs 1 lakh crore before the end of the five-year term of the government.

Stating that port-led development is important for double digit growth, he said priority was being given to the sector.

The Minister said the govern-

ment had also decided to give the highest priority to waterways to bring down the cost of transportation. The project will cover 111 rivers in the country.

National Waterway 4 or Buckingham Canal (1,095-km long) will be developed in Andhra Pradesh and will connect Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. He announced that work on Buckingham canal in Andhra Pradesh will begin after the assembly elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

The cost of this joint venture project between the State and Central governments is Rs 2,000 crore. A subsidiary company will be created which will be merged with Visakhapatnam Port as the idea is to use the profits of this port for Buckingham Canal.

He said last year all major ports and flagship organisations -Cochin Shipyard, Shipping Corporation of India and Dredging Corporation of India -- made a profit of

Rs 6,000 crore and this year the profit was expected to be Rs 7,000 crore.

Gadkari said Rs 7,000 crore was being invested in Visakhapatnam port, which is the second largest port in the country.

According to the Minister, a Rs 1,665 crore project was already completed while work is on for a Rs 2,702 crore project. Within three months, the Ministry will award a Rs 1,200 crore project.

The Minister announced that work on the Amaravati-Anantapur highway will start as soon as possible.

He also promised to start work on the Raipur-Visakhapatnam highway suggested by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

This 750 km long highway will cost Rs 5,000 crore and it is expected to connect Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

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SPORTS

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The News You Like | February, 2017

o season was the best time for cricket reforms

VETURI SRIVATSA

f the Supreme Court is interested in running cricket, it should have come up with not only with a roadmap well before international season began in India three months ago and insisted on its implementation during the so-called off season.

The apex court allowed the New Zealand tour to go through despite the grandstanding by the board that was hanging by a thread.

Then the Englishmen went through the four-Test series and three OneDay Internationals and will complete the long tour after playing two more Twenty20 matches.

The Australians are packing their bags for a long tour of India, and they, too, may not face any problems playing their four Tests, three of these at brand new venues -- Dharamsala, Pune and Ranchi.

The stadia there came up thanks mainly due to the drive of sacked board president and secretary Anurag Thakur and Ajay Shirke and joint-secretary Amitabh Choudhary, an IITian from Kharagpur who quit as senior police officer in Jharkhand with over seven years service left in 2013 and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the next year.

Shirke was at Pune to oversee the One-Day International against England earlier this month. He, Thakur and Choudhry have a hold on the board and only the last named has somehow escaped the wrath of the guidelines. Choudhry, along with treasurer Aniurudh

Chaudhry, son of former board secretary and president Ranbir Singh, are the only only two senior officials who are carrying forward the powerful legacy.

The board raised the bogey of domestic cricket getting affected with the Rajendra Mal Lodha Committee holding the keys to the huge money chest. The court released the money for everything, leaving it to the CEO to make sure the system is not disturbed. It also tried the Indian Premier League card, asking the court to suggest ways to float contracts for the various rights -- and the issue is still hanging fire.

How long can the board function without a president and secretary, the two men who have to carry on the not only business at home but also internationally? The board wants the court to allow it to nom-

inate some powerful men who have been disqualified on tenure restrictions to at least represent it at the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The most vocal of the former cricketers could not hang in for long as they could not carry with them the club and district representatives in the state associations as they felt it was below their dignity to be seen in the company of noncricketing office-bearers.

Most international cricketers and top first-class players chose the next best option, to cling on to the coat tails of the powerful careerist administrators. As long as they were able to milk the board and the state associations they had no problems but once they had to make way for fresh blood, they couldn't stomach it.

The News You Like | February, 2017

SPORTS

Test cricketers Brijesh Patel and Shivlal Yadav viving political equations in the board. The same perbecame exceptions to the rule because they have ac- mutations and combinations prevented former captains quired the ruthlessness in handling the affairs of Ajit Wadekar and Dilip Vengsarkar from their units. making much headway as cricket adminThe only former Test cricketer who istrators in Mumbai cricket. worked as CEO quitting a publicFormer India captain Ghulam The two sector undertaking and did well to Ahmed is a model cricket adminadministrators doing promote cricket and create infraistrator. A gentleman player the job now are Prof structure in his home state of became a gentleman administraRatnakar Shetty, General Andhra Pradesh is Mannava Sri tor. He was a national selector, Manager, Game Kanth Prasad, now chairman of manager and board secretary. It Development, and Dr Maturi the national selection commitis unfortunate the board could Venkata Sridhar, the tee. The two administrators not honour itself by making him General Manager, doing the job now are Prof Ratthe president.

He himself thought Cricket Operations nakar Shetty, General Manager, he wouldn't fit into the new breed Game Development, and Dr Maturi of highly ambitious administrators Venkata Sridhar, the General Manager, who have taken over the board just as he Cricket Operations. was on his way out.

Only Sridhar, a qualified medical doctor who Come to think of it, all cricket administrators branched off into the software industry to become the worked under the shadow of big-time politicians. Now global head of a multinational company, has played that the Lodha Committee banished ministers and bufirst-class cricket for over 10 years and captained Hy- reaucrats from holding positions in the board, the day derabad. is not too far when cricket administrators might as well Ratnakar Shetty, a chemistry professor, rose from be opting for board work than to be a Minister, civil the ranks of collegiate sport to his present position sur- servant or a police officer!

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EAST TO WEST

The News You Like | February, 2017

Florida turns to Tamil tribesmen to catch pythons masi sadaiyan and vaidivel gopal, both in their 50s, from the irula tribe of tamil nadu, are successful python hunters in india, and were brought in, along with two translators, to work with detection dogs earlier this month to track down and capture the giant snakes

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THE NEWS NETWORK

wo Indian snake hunters have been hired by Florida wildlife officials to get rid of Burmese pythons, which are wiping out small mammal populations driving some nearly to extinction in a tropical wetland in the US State.

Masi Sadaiyan and Vaidivel Gopal, both in their 50s, from the Irula tribe of Tamil Nadu, are successful python hunters in India, and were brought in, along with two translators, to work with detection dogs earlier this month to track down and capture the giant snakes.

In just eight days, they have surprised officials of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) by bagging as many as 13 pythons, including a 16-foot-long female.

A joint endeavour of FWC and University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFS), officials have described it as a ‘unique project’.

“Since the Irula have been so

successful in their homeland at removing pythons, we are hoping they can teach people in Florida some of these skills,” said Kristen Sommers, section leader of the FWC’s Wildlife Impact Management Section.

“We are working with our partners to improve our ability to find and capture pythons in the wild.

These projects are two of several new efforts focused on the removal of these snakes,” Sommers said.

“In their first eight days on the job, the Irula tribesmen, worldrenowned snake catchers from India removed 13 pythons, including four on their first visit to Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge on North Key Largo in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Traditionally, the main occupation of the Irula tribe has been catching snakes,” a media release said.

Officials said they were currently working with the Irula tribesmen to identify additional programmes to remove more non-

native pythons from Florida.

The FWC and UF/IFAS have been collaborating with public land managers to identify environmentally sensitive areas that would benefit most from targeted python removal.

Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge is one such area because of the federally-endangered Key Largo woodrat and many protected bird species that reside there.

UF/IFAS wildlife biologist, Frank Mazzotti, and his team are working with the Irula tribe in South Florida, media release said.

On January 17, Irula tribesmen, UF/IFAS, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and US Geological Survey cooperators removed four Burmese pythons from the Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

The commission says it paid USD 68,888 to hire the Irula men and their translators and flew them to South Florida from their home in southern India. They’ll stay in Florida through February.

HANKY-PANKY

The News You Like | February, 2017

A modern Draupadi-loving two men with their consent I SAHELI MITRA

n the Mahabharata I always loved Draupadi. The dimensions of her varied equations with her husbands inspired me.

Had it been legal I would have married more than one man. Being a die-hard romantic, I could never say no to love, even though I am a married Indian woman, supposed to maintain the high moral code of conduct our society asks us to follow in marriage. But I don’t believe a woman can love the same man all her life. That’s a Mills & Boone myth. It’s absolutely impossible for the same man to be handsome, caring, loving, rich,

understanding, have a loving extended family, etc, all at once.

Indian society accepts men having relationships outside marriage, including some quite kinky ones, yet if a woman decides to have a parallel relationship she is considered to be a fallen woman.

I could have hidden my relations with another man from my husband, but I did not wish to cheat on him. When I told him, he was very upset, feeling I was exploring other relations because he was not good enough. He even asked me if I would accept him having an affair.

He became a stranger, aloof, hardly spoke to me, and kept to our son. At one point he even checked my

emails, for which he had the passwords, because I am so open, I believe my husband has a right to know what is going on in my life's journey. He even went to my mother with the email print outs, mostly poetry written to the ‘other man’. (My mother was pretty impressed by my mails and their poetic artistry.)

I knew my husband was feeling betrayed, though he realised my connect to another man came from a deep mental void that he had never tried to fill.

I had often discussed that void with him and would have loved if he could have healed it. But his work or his parents and siblings

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HANKY-PANKY

The News You Like | February, 2017

always kept him busy, and the "us" time that we spent was all about going to movies, eating out, discussing career moves, or property matters. So when someone touched that vulnerable chord in my romantic soul, I reached out. I never felt I was doing anything wrong, even though the "other man" had a family, even though his job forced him to stay away from them. He was the epitome of what I call a man—handsome, suave, caring, a loving dad, and most importantly, he respected my family and my time and me.

I understood what he felt, for we

so physical contact was rare, but by my husband!

So, I decided they must meet— and why not, for both of them loved the same woman. I never dreamed the two would like each other so much! My husband was so relieved, and so happy after talking to the "other man". He also evolved gradually, coming to realise love can indeed be multi directional. For me it was a spontaneous response that could be shared. My two men are the best of friends now and have a deep mutual respect and sense of belonging, more than probably I have for either of them.

ous enough to allow me to love another! Some even asked if I was in an open relationship. And many men pursued me, thinking I was available.

I do not support Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna-style goodbyes, or mixing sex and love like most modern affairs. Upon reflection, I realise that society runs more on the need for sex, not love. I am lucky to be loved both by my husband and the other man. They really love me and have always thought what would be best for me. So both the relationships have survived. But what if, like the Rani Mukerji-Shah

had grown up together from our school days. It was natural that he should interpret my void as a lack of regular sex, instead of understanding the true reasons: the lack of connect thanks to our hectic lives, and that I was different, unsatisfied by sex, money, jewellery, position and property. I needed a place to vent my emotions, none of which I could share with my husband.

My sex life suddenly was set aflame— not by the "other man", for he did not stay in the same state,

Many of my female friends thought I was interested in open sex, and male friends believed I was available.

Whenever the topic of love or marriage has been discussed during addas, I have never hidden the fact that my husband is not the only one I love. I have given my heart to at least one other man, and if need be I shall love another. I knew some of my friends had affairs that they hid from their spouses, yet no one was ready to admit it. Either I was eccentric, or my husband was gener-

Rukh Khan starrer, I wished to leave my son and my husband, and run away with the "other man?" I believe that is not necessary. One can remain within a relationship and yet love another, provided that it is love and not a need.

(Saheli Mitra is a mother of a 13-year-old boy, married to her childhood friend for more than 15 years. She is a gold medallist from Calcutta University in Zoology and did her MPhil In Environmental Biology. She loves travelling and writing verses)

The News You Like | February, 2017

Cinema has power to recreate any scenario: Rana cinema has the power to recreate any real-life scenario, says actor rana daggubati as he gears up for the release of telugu-Hindi bilingual ‘ghazi’, india’s first submarine warfare film based on the mysterious sinking of pns ghazi, a pakistani submarine, during the 1971 india-pakistan war.

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HARICHARAN PUDIPEDDI

or Rana, ‘Ghazi’ was an important tale to tell.

Explaining why he decided to do the film in between the two parts of Rajamouli's ‘Baahubali’, Rana said, “Post ‘Baahubali’, everybody would have expected me to do a commercial film. But I chose ‘Ghazi’ because it has an interesting story to tell. Although made as a bilingual and also dubbed in Tamil, this is a national film.”

“The story is about India and Pakistan. It’s set in Visakhapatnam, making it a Telugu film. We’ve also

GLAM SHAM

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GLAM SHAM

dubbed it in Tamil. The Hindi theatrical rights have been bagged by Karan Johar and Anil Thadani, who will release it across the country.”

Rana is fast becoming the go-to person for larger-than-life stories. With ‘Ghazi’ and his upcoming Tamil warbased film ‘Madai Thiranthu’, he says he enjoys being a part of such projects because they are ‘rare’ in Indian cinema.

“As a movie lover, these are the kind of films I have

The News You Like | February, 2017

watched and enjoyed growing up. The story of ‘Ghazi’ is very historic and one that’s not known to all. It’s a story that deserves to be told, but such stories are rarely made,” he said.

“If not for cinema, these stories will remain history.

The whole sinking of PNS Ghazi could be recreated only because we decided to make it as a film. Cinema has that power to bring such stories to life. It can recreate any scenario,” he added.

From playing King Bhallaladeva in ‘Baahubali’ to a navy officer in Ghazi, Rana admits the transition was very challenging.

“Bhallaladeva as a character is very tough to come out of, because it’s so overpowering and larger-than-life. The challenge in ‘Ghazi’ was to get my look right. When you watch both the films, you realise I don't look like the same person. I could only achieve it due to rigorous cardio training and then I had to do a lot of underwater training because the film features underwater sequences,” he said.

Talking about playing a navy officer and shooting inside a submarine, he said the experience was ‘claustrophobic’ at times.

“It was not an easy film to shoot. Initially, the idea felt so exciting. But until we started shooting, we didn’t realise how challenging it was. You are inside a submarine for the longest time and you don’t know the difference between day and night,” he said.

“After a month of shooting, I knew a lot of actors started to feel very claustrophobic.

There were occasions when we didn't see sunlight for days together. This is when we decided to take a break and shoot other portions which happen on land,” he added.

Directed by Sankalp Reddy, the film also stars Taapsee Pannu, Atul Kulkarni, Kay Kay Menon and Om Puri. Produced by PVP Cinema, it is slated for release on February 17.

NET PROFIT

The News You Like | February, 2017

Facebook defies estimates, registers growth

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efying all the estimates by analysts, Facebook made $1.41 profit per share instead of the $1.31 that Wall Street was expecting and registered a strong growth in its mobile advertising business with total revenue reaching $8.8 billion from $5.84 billion last year. The quarterly profit was $3.57 billion -- more than double ($1.56 billion) the company reported last year.

For the full year, Facebook's revenue climbed by $10 billion or 54 per cent to just over $27.5

billion compared with $17.9 billion in 2015 and the company's net income for the year more than doubled to $10 billion, Fortune reported on Thursday.

Mired in controversies like "fake news" and inaccurate advertising, Facebook itself expected a slowdown in the growth rate of its advertising revenue.

The report said that one way by which the Menlo Park company registered the growth was by adding more than 265 million new monthly active users in 2016 -almost as many users as Twitter has in total. Facebook now has more

than 1.8 billion users who log on every month and more than 1.2 billion users who do so every day.

Another major growth engine for the social media giant was mobile.

Over 1 billion of Facebook's daily users access the site primarily on their phones or tablets and that number grew by 23 per cent in the latest quarter. Mobile ad revenue made up about 84 per cent of the company's total ad revenue.

Facebook also said it earned $12.4 billion in income from operations last year, nearly double the total from 2015 ($6.2 billion).

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GLAM SHAM

India’s jinx at Miss Universe continues Mittenaere has kept herself busy the last five years by pursuing her degree in dental surgery. She has also been always fond of extreme sports, travelling the world and cooking French dishes.

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THE NEWS NETWORK

ndia’s Roshmitha Harimurthy failed to make it to the top 13 contestants at the Miss Universe 2016 contest, continuing the nation’s dry run at the pageant.

France’s Iris Mittenaere was crowned at the gala, which featured Indian beauty Sushmita Sen as a judge and interestingly, saw questions being posed on US President Donald Trump.

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach crowned the 23-year-old Mittenaere, who was born in the northern French town of Lille, at a glittering ceremony at Mall of Asia Arena on January 30.

Mittenaere has kept herself busy the last five years by pursuing her degree in dental surgery. She has also been always fond of extreme sports, travelling the world and cooking French dishes.

Miss Haiti Raquel Pelissier was announced the first runner-up while

The News You Like | February, 2017

GLAM SHAM

The News You Like | February, 2017

“

this is the moment where a miss Universe is created. she gives an answer that connects larger consciousness, so a well-spoken miss Universe is the idea and tonight i can see six of them right there

Miss Columbia Andrea Tovar was named the second runner-up at the ceremony, which had former Miss Universe and Bollywood actress Sushmita as one of the judges.

Among other judges were Cynthia Bailey, Mickey Boardman, Leila Lopes, Dayanara Torres and Francine LeFrak.

Happy and emotional to be back at the place where she won her crown in 1994, Sushmita said of her idea about a Miss Universe: “This is the moment where a Miss Universe is created. She gives an answer that connects larger consciousness, so a well-spoken Miss Universe is the idea and tonight I can see six of them right there.”

After Sushmita’s victory, it was just Lara Dutta from India who clinched the title in 2000. While

Lara had high hopes from Roshmitha, the 22-year-old Bengaluru girl couldn’t make it to the top 13.

The 65th edition of the pageant also raised global issues that need attention, including Donald Trump’s presidency and the ban on refugees. These were part of questions that TV host and comedian Steve Harvey asked the final six contestants.

Harvey asked the contestant from Kenya what she was most excited about and what most concerned her when it came to the Trump presidency. His next question was for Miss Thailand. “Given today's worldwide refugee crisis, do countries have an obligation to accept refugees or do they have the right to close their border?” he said.

There was also some entertainment in store when Boyz II Men and rapper Flo Rida performed at the pageant, which was aired live on Zee Cafe.

On a lighter note, the pageant started with Harvey making fun of his embarrassing mistake of announcing the wrong winner in the previous edition.

Prior to the crowning moment, he introduced Wurtzbach who said: “Steve, thank you for making me the most popular Miss Universe.”

Harvey replied with his funny one-liner: “Thank you for making me the most popular host.”

Harvey made headlines after he mistakenly gave the Miss Universe crown to Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez-Arevalo while Wurtzbach was the actual winner, last year.

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The News You Like | February, 2017

On 250 birthday, SOI wants to shed its cloak of secrecy th

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PALLAVA BAGLA

ndia’s oldest scientific organisation, the Survey of India (SOI), was set up in 1767, 10 years before the world’s oldest democracy the US was even born! Americans were still fighting a bloody civil war when India’s official map maker started gathering geographical wisdom of the sub-continent.

Working silently, hidden away from public discourse for so long, the agency now wants to be heard, become transparent and even seeks to climb the Mount Everest to assert its new found independence.

The Survey of India now headquartered in Dehradun has done great silent service in the last 250

years by being the official map maker for India and keeping records of the exact international borders of the country. On its 250th birthday, Swarna Subba Rao, the Surveyor General of India, proclaimed last week at the Geospatial World Forum here, “For 250 years, the Survey of India has been silent.

Now we should speak openly to the people.”

Encouraging words from an agency that most line departments usually despise since in these last 250 years the SOI has kept quality geographical information hidden away from Indian citizens, hiding most maps behind firewalls thanks to military restrictions, sometimes for the right reasons but the advent

of the Internet and products like Google Maps and ISRO’s Bhuwan have made some of these restrictions totally anachronistic.

This year for the first time, national mapping agency of India is embracing the Internet in a big way and very soon all the 4,800 quality maps called ‘topographical sheets’ of the open series domain will be made available for free download using the Aadhaar number. Rao says, “This will encourage citizens’ participation through crowd sourcing in enhancing the value of its products.” Till now a cumbersome paper trail was the only way to procure these maps and most of the data especially pertaining to the border regions and coastal zones

WUTHERING HAIGHTS

The News You Like | February, 2017

was all out of bounds. This newfound trust in digital India and transparency was initiated by Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan when he visited SOI on July 13, 2016. It may come as a surprise to most of us that the true height of the Mount Everest was actually accurately estimated by the SOI way back in 1855 and since then the height 8,848 metres has remained the gold standard for what was then called Peak XV. It was our SOI which got it officially recognised it as Mount Everest in 1865 to honour its worthy officer George Everest.

But it was an Indian Radhanath Sikdar who found the true height of the highest peak of the world in

1855, no wonder this illustrious surveyor's official designation was ‘chief computer’. Ahem, so can we also credit the Survey of India for coining the phrase ‘computer’? No doubt, Sikdar was a human computer who achieved the impossible feat of measuring the exact height of the Mount Everest with visual and mechanical devices. Incidentally the first electronic computer made it into the civilisation only in 1936. To complete the history the first humans ascended Mount Everest only in 1953, almost a century after Sikdar the ‘human computer’ gave its true height. For the last 162 years, the world has believed that the height of the Mount Everest is 8,848 metres above mean sea level. But now there are rumblings in the scientific community that height of Mount Everest may have changed for two reasons every year as the Himalayas rise by 5 mm every year. This means the mountain would have risen by about one metre in the last 162 years, as a consequence of a geological quirk which makes the Indian plate go under the Asian plate and which keeps the Himalayas growing every year. In addition Rao says many people have raised doubts that the massive 7.8 magnitude 2015 earthquake that struck Nepal may have caused some widespread upheavals in the region. So on SOI's 250th

birthday, Rao seeks to send an IndoNepali mountaineering expedition to re-calibrate the exact height of the Mount Everest. A 30-member team of mountaineers will be equipped with the most modern surveying equipment including digital global positioning system devices to come up with the correct estimate of the height of the Mount Everest. A sum of Rs 5 crore has been allocated and hopefully within this year the expedition will reach the summit. Rao says one of the reasons of re-visiting the Mount Everest on SOI's birthday is to try and figure out the exact difference between heights estimated through satellites and through actual ground truthing. Satellites tend to give erroneous figures asserts Rao. The SOI, Mount Everest expedition will also make assessments of the changes in gravity one encounters as one ascends the mountain and simultaneously visual measurements will be made from several far off locations. Rao says after 250 years, India's official map maker is opening its doors to understand a new India where maps and smart phones have today converged to make citizens more empowered and in this race to embrace a digital India, the map maker wants to reassert its supremacy by becoming less secretive and give up its image of being a dinosaur.

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INTERNATIONAL

The News You Like | February, 2017

Twitter girl’s poser to Trump Mr Trump, have you ever had no food for 24 hours?

THE NEWS NETWORK

“Mr. Trump, have you ever had no food for 24 hours?”

This is the question a sevenyear-old Syrian girl Bana Alabed - who has garnered worldwide attention by tweeting about her life in Aleppoin Syria -- asked the US President Donald Trump in a fresh video.

“Have you ever had no food, no water for 24 hours? Just think of refugees and the children of Syria,” asked Alabed on Twitter.

Alabed had earlier responded to a tweet of Trump wherein he had argued that the intention of his immigration ban was “about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country!”

Alabed responded by asking: “Am I a terrorist?”

Trump recently signed an executive order that bans the entry of immigrants from seven Muslimmajority nations, including Syria, into the US that evoked widespread panic among travellers.

Soon after the ban, Alabed

tweeted: “Dear Trump, banning refugees is very bad. Ok, if it's good, I have an idea for you. Make other countries peaceful.”

Alabed has been posting, with her mother Fatemah’s help, heartrending and emotionally strong tweets about life in the wartorn Syrian city of Aleppo.

Alabed and her mother have garnered more than 366,000 followers since September 2016 as they tweet regularly about war in Aleppo, including the story of her house being destroyed.

DRINK & DRIVE

The News You Like | February, 2017

tipplers behind wheels...

T

THE NEWS NETWORK

he police are hell-bent to put an end to drunk driving.

They take several measures to stop the evil. Yet, drunk driving still remains one of the biggest problems in Hyderabad.

In January alone, the first 20 days have already seen a total of 627 cases being registered under drunken driving. “Every week, we book more than 200 cases. Even after all the measures, this problem has not come down,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Jitender.

According to the ACP, the main

In January alone, the first 20 days have already seen a total of 627 cases being registered under drunken driving in Hyderabad reason for the large number of cases is the attitude of people towards their own safety and the safety of others.

During New Year celebrations in the city, the traffic police booked 957 drunk drivers in a special drive, which is reportedly the highest number of cases recorded on a single day.

“We have taken up several measures but the only thing missing is people’s cooperation.

We need active cooperation from the citizens to overcome this issue,” Jitender said.

According to him, in 2016, more than 17,000 cases were booked against drunk drivers and nearly 7,000 people were sent to jail over drunk driving offences.

“Previously, I have seen maximum offenders (about 60%) were people driving four-wheelers.

But last year, 80% of the people caught in drunk driving cases were driving two-wheelers. And that is even more dangerous. They are

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putting others as well as their own lives in danger. However, there is a decrease in fatal accidents,” he said.

To control drunk driving, the traffic police have held several awareness programmes and meetings with bar and pub owners asking them not to serve liquor to people Under 21 and to ensure that the person who will drive the vehicle remains sober.

In addition to that, they have recently started calling the spouses and parents of people caught for drunk driving in order to give counselling.

similar is tHe case witH cyberabad.

On New Year’s Eve, traffic officials of Cyberabad Police Commissionerate booked nearly 400 people for drunk driving.

In 2016, more than 1200 cases were registered.

Cyberabad Police with Amrita Foundation - an NGO associated with substance abuse rehabilitation - has started a project called “coun-

The News You Like | February, 2017

selling for drunk and drive” last year on August, for all offenders held for driving under the influence of alcohol, so as to bring down the number of such cases in the city.

“We give counselling to more than 100 drunk and drive offenders every week. Most of them are from economically and socially weak backgrounds like vegetable vendors and auto drivers. However, this is the first time that 18 firsttime offenders have been jailed for one to six days. Making the law strict will help in controlling this issue,” said Dr Devika Rani K, psychiatrist and director of Amrita Foundation.

She said that in January alone, we have registered 202 cases under drunken driving, out of which five were students and four were repeat offenders.

January 17 to 23 was observed as ‘Road Safety Week’ by the Road Safety Authority of the city while January 31 will be marked as an `accident-free day’.

“We have conducted several programs during the road safety

week to generate awareness about this issue. Also, experts gave detailed lectures about how alcohol affects one’s health, however, to eradicate these kind of cases, we need more people’s support too.

For several years, I have been writing letters to school authorities, so that we can conduct an educational session on drunken driving.

So far, hardly four schools have come forward,” she added.

She also blamed the illegal liquor outlets mushrooming in the city, for the rise of ‘drunk and drive’ cases.

“There are more than 200 illegal liquor shops and people have started consuming more liquor. I have been counselling a cab driver during our programme.

He was a repeat offender who said that the easy availability of wine shops encouraged him to drink after work hours. Another aspect is the attitude of young people towards society. They feel drinking makes them ‘cool’ and speeding while driving is fun, which leads to fatal accidents,” she said.

The News You Like February, 2017

RNI No: APENG/2013/48048 P.R. No. LII/RNP/HD/1187/2017-19 (DOP: 1st of Every Month DOP : 8/9-02-2017)