The NEWS you like-October 2019

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PAGES: 68 VOL.7 | ISSUE: 9, OCTOBER, 2019

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | JULY 2019

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VOL:7 I SSUE:9 I OCTOBER, 2019 `30 Editor A . Rammohan Rao

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

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

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

The News You Like Phone: 9701141377, 9848133363 E-mail: thenewscoordinator@gmail.com Website: thenews.co.in

Address for correspondance: #3-5-890, Flat No. 203, Paras Chambers, Beside Telangana Tourism Bldg, Himayatnagar, Hyderabad-500029. Phone: 98481 33363, 97011 41377. email: 24thenews@gmail.com thenewscoordinator@gmail.com Printed, Published And Owned By Ramya Sree , Printed At S.M.S. Press, H.No.11-38, Pragathi Nagar, P&T Colony, Saroor Nagar, Dist Ranga Reddy – 60, Published At The News Publications, H.No.334, B, Prajay Sai Gardens, Keesara Mandal, Dist - Ranga Reddy, Telangana Editor : A. Rammohan Rao

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

EDITORIAL

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haking September! The events this month have given joy and jolt to the country. At the International level India has marched further as a growing superpower. The largest democracy in the world now in an unprecedented manner speaks with confidence and conviction on a range of issues from climate changes to containing terrorism. Despite doubting Thomases and sworn haters, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and his team are working to put the country on the right lane of progress and stability.

On another front, many states including Telangana have witnessed heavy rains. The unprecedented rains have led to the flooding of many places. Heavy loss to standing crops in villages and inundation of hundreds of residential areas has resulted in warlike destruction. Apart from government machinery, Army pressed into service for shifting people from flood-affected areas. State governments took up relief operations. But the loss of life and property is a big human tragedy.

In Telangana, the capital city Hyderabad people and the government machinery were caught unaware. Floods are reminiscent of the gross negligence and nepotism of successive Governments including the present TRS government, in preventing encroachment of stormwater drains and tank-beds of age-old water tanks in and around Hyderabad. The party which came to power promising ‘Bangaru Telangana’ and developing Hyderabad as a world-class city has become a mute spectator to all the encroachments and destruction. Present Telangana government is yet to ‘actually ’ realize the damage which still continues to this historic city. If the TRS government sincerely wants to realise the dream of developing Hyderabad to international standards it has to accept and face a big hurdle in the form of encroachments and grabbing of nalas, tank bed and Illegal occupations in huge chunk of government lands. The Municipal minister and the Chief Minister should firmly resolve to clear off all these illegal occupations can create some hope for the lovers of the pearl city.

It is well-known to the world that India’s neighbour, Pakistan, is waging a proxy war by using its home bred terrorist groups for almost three decades. With continued infiltration, Pak trained and promoted militants India’s approach towards Pak has changed and the Modi government to some extent is successful in isolating the rogue nation in the international arena. With this brilliant diplomatic strategies NDA government has made it clear that ‘Terrorism will no more be tolerated’.

As September month has come to an end festival mood has set in with a large number of online and offline stores announcing huge discounts on various products from food items to fashion accessories.

After all hurdles and opposition are encountered only to overcome them.

Wishing you, our dear reader, a very happy Vijayadashmi and colourful Deepawali.

Jai Hind!

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

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CONTENT

Godawari boat tragedy 15

Wakeup call for TRS high command 18

controversy on Justice Tahilramani transfer 23

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

CONTENT

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Howdy, Modi!

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Gunjan Saxena

the pioneer 57

Applause for Indian wrestlers 60

The protecting Grama devatas 62

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

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STATES

THE NEWS BUREAU

s sending Tamilisai Soundararajan as new governer to Telangana a smart move BJP to strengthen its footprint in the youngest state? Does it also it signals tough times ahead for the ruling TRS as Tamilisai is considered “a tough leader”? According to party insider answer to these is YES. Though BJP Tamil Nadu chief Tamilisai Soundararajan’s appoint-

that Modi simply said “ I respect all Chief Minister in the country,” and did not show any interest to meet KCR in person. On the other hand BJP leaders from both national and state-level stepping up attack on TRS government and KCR’s policies & working style. With BJP, especially the national president and Union home minister Amit Shah, focusing on Telangana to win the next assembly elections, new governer’s appointment has to be seen with these

Tamilisai in Rajbhavan

Tough times ahead for TRS?

ment as the new governor of Telangana was not a surprise many.

The no-holds-barred, often personal criticism of Telangana Chief Minister K.Chandrashekar Rao has to lead to weakest relations between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi move, According to releabile sources KCR has tried through a Hindu seer who is close to him to patch with Modi. But it could not yield positive relations. It is learnt

developments in the background.

After winning four seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections, BJP has set its sights on the 2023 Assembly elections and hopes to wrest power from the pink party by emerging as a strong challenger BJP brass might have struck a balance by picking Tamilisai for the top post, ESL Narasimhan who was very close to KCR and as many believe the former IPS officer of AP cadre was TRS supremo’s adviser

too. BJP has replaced Narasimhan with another leader from Tamil Nadu. Similarly, it appointed Bandaru Dattatreya as Himachal Pradesh governor, drafting leaders from states of outgoing governors.

Ch Vidayasagar Rao was governor of Maharashtra was not given a second term and was asked to play an active role in state politics. Tamilsai has reportedly good rapport with BJP national secretary Muralidhar Rao and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu.

Known to be a tough leader in Tamil Nadu, where Dravidian politics play a major role, the sources said that might be one of the reasons for the party leadership to consider her for the post though she was relatively young (58) for the post.

Former minister Sushma Swaraj’s name was doing rounds as the possible replacement for Narasimhan, but with her untimely death, the mantle fell on the BJP Tamil Nadu unit chief. Also, being a woman was an added advantage to Tamilisai as in the selection process of governors, BJP tried to balance the gender equation. Interestingly, she is the first woman governor of Telangana, drawing parallels with Kumudben Joshi, who had served as the Congress-appointed governor between 1985 and 1990 when TDP founder NT Rama Rao was the chief minister. Her tenure was marred with controversies with ruling TDP even calling her “a Congress agent”. The then cabinet even went to the extent of adopting a resolution criticising her speech on the Republic Day for undermining the state government‘s achievements and focusing on central schemes. Given the political scenario in the state and the fact, Narasimhan was considered close to TRS by BJP. Tamilisai’s stint can be expected to be interesting.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

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Centre blamed as usual

Downsized TS budget

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THE NEWS BUREAU

elangana state annual budget had shrunk from what was presented earlier during the vote on account. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao presented a bleak picture of not just the state's economy but that of the country as he presented his annual budget proposals. The budget presented by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao(KCR) on September 9 in the Assembly is 19.5% less than the vote on account he presented ahead of polls. The annual budget for 2019-20 of Rs 1,46,492.30 crore of which he stated that Rs 1,11,055.85

crore was allotted for revenue expenditure while Rs 17,274 crore was allotted for capital expenditure. In February, KCR presented the vote on account showing a revenue expenditure of Rs 1,31,629 crore and a capital expenditure of Rs 32,815 crore.

The fiscal deficit of the state has been projected to be Rs 24,081.74 crore and revenue surplus to be Rs 2,044.08 crore. However, in his budget speech this year, KCR said that the state had become financially stable in just five years after it was bifurcated from Andhra Pradesh. Speaking on the floor of the House, KCR said, "In the first

year of formation of the state, the situation was such that the state could spend just Rs 6,247 crore per month, whereas after five years, it has reached a stage where it spends Rs 11,305 crore per month The Chief Minister also said that the State’s Gross Domestic Product (GSDP), which stood at Rs 8,65,688 crore for the financial year 2018-19, had more than doubled since Telangana's formation. “By the financial year 201819, the GSDP growth in Telangana State had increased two and half times and stood at 10.5%,” he said in his speech. Telangana’s GSDP grew at 15% for financial year

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2018-19, up from 14.2% in 201718.

The slashing of the budget could signal towards the slowdown affecting the state of Telangana as well. KCR said that the Finance Department did a lot of brainstorming and discussed the matter with several experts, before preparing the Budget. But he has indicted

state government is helpless. "The central government alone decides the broad fiscal policies in the country. The states have no option but to follow the fiscal policies of the Centre and Telangana is no exception. I regret that I am presenting the State Budget for 2019-20 in the House when both the Centre and state are going through a

severe financial crisis. We have to tread carefully and cautiously during such a testing time," KCR added. He explained to the house that the severe economic slowdown is leading to serious repercussions in the country, which we are witnessing daily. It has adversely impacted all sectors. There is negative growth in many key sectors, which mirror the prevailing economic situation. The official data put out by the institutions connected with these sectors present a gloomy picture.

Not enough money, but schemes continue: The Chief Minister said that the state government's welfare programmes would continue; from the Rythu Bandhu, which was allocated Rs 12,000 crore, to the Aasara Pensions, which saw an allocation of Rs 9,402 crore. "Free power given to the farm sector will also continue. The electricity bills for supplying water from irrigation projects to agriculture lands will also be paid by the government without passing the burden on to farmers," KCR said, adding that Rs 8,000 crore was allotted for the same.

He also took a jibe at the Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme and said that Telangana's 'Aarogyasri' scheme was much better.

"Through Arogyasri, the state government is spending Rs 1,336 crore per year, benefitting 85.34 lakh families in the state. From the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme, it is possible for the state to provide medical benefits only to the extent of Rs 250 crore per year, benefiting only 26 lakh families," KCR said.

"Let me make it clear that the state government will examine thoroughly, all the central government schemes and will implement only

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schemes which are beneficial to the people," he added.

Congress and BJP lashes out Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader M Bhatti Vikramarka, criticized that there is no mention of double bedroom houses, unemployment assistance, jobs that are

going to be created and distribution of three acres of land to poor in the budget speech. The TRS sought to create an impression that it is not able to do what it had planned to do in view of the economic slowdown for which The centre is responsible, he alleged.

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The BJP was quick to attack the TRS on the Budget, with the party's state unit Chief Dr.K.Laxman, demanded that Chief Minister should admit his failure and apologize to the people.

There is no mention of employment generation or any plan for filling vacancies in government, he alleged. Education and health did not get any importance, he claimed.

Without specifying plans to achieve economic progress, Rao, in his budget speech, only sought to make a political speech and to "throw mud at the Centre," Laxman alleged. BJP’s principal Spokesperson K Krishna Saagar Rao said "With lack of fiscal prudence, discipline and a vision, the state's finances today are in a serious mess.

The government has neither funds for welfare nor development. BJP finds this budget a state narrative of white lies, which was delivered by CM KCR," Rao said.

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HC notice to TS on 43,000 Missing GOs

Total loss of transparency?

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THE NEWS BUREAU

new controversy is brewing in Telangana on an unprecedented number of Government Order(GO)s missing from Telangana state government portal. A whopping forty-three thousand GOs issued by Telangana Rashtra Samthy(TRS) beginning from its first tenure. A Public Interest Litigation(PIL) case was filed recently on this glaring discrepancy.

The Telangana high court took a serious view of missing GOs, numbering 43,462. The state’s apex court has issued notices to the state government, chief secretary and principal secretary of revenue to respond to a PIL, which charged them with hiding the GOs from public viewing. A bench of Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy gave four weeks to the authorities to respond. The PIL was filed by social activist Perala

Sekhar Rao. The resident of Hyderabad sought a direction to the state to upload all the missing GOs on the government’s official website.

According to the petitioner, the government and various departments had issued as many as 1.04 lakh GOs between June 2, 2014, and August 15, 2019. “As many as 43,462 GOs are not found on the state portal. They are missing. This veil over the public domain is only to hide the actions of the government that were taken more in political interest rather than for reasons related to governance,” Sekhar charged. Department wise details of these GOs have come out. While 17,061 GOs were issued related to GAD(General Administration) 9053 were missing. For the finance department, 11995 GOs were issued and 5150 are missing. In the case of Home department out of a total 7945 GOs 5371 are missing.

For Panchyathraj department a total of 4071 GOs were issued and

2249 are missing. It is reported that the total amount involved in missing GOs is around 6 lakh crore Rupees.

The petitioner also found fault with officials for not uploading crucial GOs while showing promptness in uploading the notso-important orders such as the GOs for paying cellphone charges and buying water cans for irrigation employees. Elaborating further, Sekhar cited GO No. 15 (dated July 9, 2014) granting Rs 128 for paying cellphone charges of a principal secretary; GO No. 743 for paying Rs 359 towards BSNL bill amount; Water cans for irrigation employees at Rs 720 (GO No. 237); and at Rs 1,360 for the same purpose by the tourism department (GO No. 913) were some of the unimportant GOs that were in the public domain. “But crucial GOs were not there on the state portal, which was hidden from public view,” he said.

COVER STORY 11

Hyderabad Metro Rail

Safety is in question

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BY: D.BAL REDDY

isemen realises the mistakes and corrects on their own.

Laymen will know about their mistakes from others and correct. But stubborn men neither realise nor listen to Wiseman’s advice and walks on the path of self-destruction. The mindset of Hyderabad metro rail management falls exactly in the category. It looks as their trains move above the ground

they need not bother about ground realities. This become clear once again when a young woman died after a chunk of mortar from Ameerpet Metro Station fell on her head on September 22. This has exposed the shoddy construction, maintenance and safety loopholes of the project.

The incident occurred during a 30-minute spell of a very heavy downpour.

An official with the Metro au-

thority said that a piece of concrete fell directly on L. Mounika’s head from a height of 9 metres.“She suffered a fatal head injury,” the official said. Metro Rail officials rushed Mounika, who suffered head injuries and was unconscious, to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead. Several passersby who witnessed the incident Ameerpet metro staged a protest at the spot accusing officials of negligence and demanded action against

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COVER STORY

officials.

The deceased, Mounika(27), a resident of Kukatpally. Metro Rail officials rushed Mounika, who suffered head injuries and was unconscious, to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead. She had got married one-and-a-half years ago.

Her husband Harikanth Reddy said that around 2.50 p.m., he dropped Mounika and Likitha at the Metro station in his car and left for home.

“Within an hour, I got a call from Likitha asking me to come to a hospital after explaining about the unfortunate incident,” he said. He reached Aster Prime Hospital in Ameerpet only to find his wife dead. According to hin Mounika and her cousin came to scout for a hostel for the latter, who recently completed her engineering and had plans to enrol in a coaching institution at Ameerpet.“I shouldn't have asked them to take the metro.”

Harikanth lamented. Meanwhile, Mounika’s cousin D. Raju demanded action against the Metro rail authorities responsible for checking the structure’s stability.

“Hundreds of pedestrians and twowheeler riders take shelter under

Metro stations whenever it rains.

Such accidents should not repeat.

The strength of structures in all stations should be checked,” he said.

L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) and Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMR), have been claiming ‘strict adherence to quality control and safety’ right from the start of construction seven years ago. But this magazine, The News has brought the lacunas in

construction and raised question of safety six years back itself (see the BOX).

Even after Merto rail services have started incidents of material falling on people below injuring them were reported. The necessary vigil seems to be missing on routes already commissioned between L.B. Nagar and Miyapur of Corridor I (27 km) and Nagole to HiTec City of Corridor III (27 km). Even as the frequency of trains was brought down to 4-5 minutes on these routes with up to 3 lakh passengers travelling daily, the chinks are showing.

If sudden jerks during travel or Flexi plastic material falling on electric traction leading to service disruptions were simply blamed on ‘pollution’ and ‘gales’. The lightning arrestor rod falling on the track near the Legislative Assembly metro station on July 27 this year was the clear indication of the system signs of wear and tear in less than two years of running. That rod could have been fatal if the rod fell on the road below. Engineering

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COVER STORY 13

‘The News’ has fore warned: We in our cover story (in June 2013) Reported: Entire city is eagerly waiting to see the changing face of Hyderabad. Despite that traffic snarls that the construction of the coveted railway lines create, everyone seems to be excited at the prospect of having the first of its kind (in many ways) infrastructural marvel in our own city. But … we have big reason to worry. Somewhere in the piled mud and covered trenches, on the pillars and the girdles, tracks and the elevations, there hides the demon of doom, ready to spell some kind of disaster.

Some key points: l A a few weeks ago(in May 2013) one of the pillars on which the rail has to be laid, was reportedly founded damaged. About 45 per cent of the portion of the 7-feet diameter pillar caved in near Begumpet. Fortunately, nobody was present at the site. pillar was completely removed at lightning speed even before anybody noticed it. l In yet another incident, the workers found leakage in drainage line beyond 20

experts make it clear that Metro rail is not a build-and-forget project. It has to be on continuous monitoring and maintenance mode. But this does not appear to be happening.

“Heads would have rolled in Indian Railways for such a lapse,” an insider of metro rail reported having said.

Contrary to Hyderabad Metro Rail in Indian Railways has a wellestablished system. A senior engineer appointed for every 50 km

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meters, again at Begumpet, where a pillar was to be laid.

It would have been disastrous in future if the leak was not discovered by the workers. the site when the pillar caved in. Reliable sources connected with the project told The News strictly on condition of anonymity that asked how come such big news did not get the media attention, sources said, "Our people spend Rs 1 lakh a month on the media persons for friendly relations. We have been able to cover up such things, which takes place often.” OMG! Drainage system laid during Nizam's period has been discovered at a depth of 20 meters at several parts of the city through which the metro rail passes. Over a period, there could be seepage in the earthen layers weakening the pillars thereby leading to disaster, sources said. …officials belonging to the sole owner of the project, Larson & Turbo (L&T) are said to have been ignoring

track with at least 200 gangmen to keep watch on the railway lines.

Oliphanta bridge near Secunderabad Railway station is a landmark engineering feat and it took a lot of effort where about 50,000 high tensile bolts were used. It has to be checked often as there is bound to be wear and tear due to frequent train movement. Indian Railways maintenance teams should be scouting from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. along the viaduct up and down.

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suggestions of the government officials about safety standards on the ground that the private entity was investing money and they were responsible for operating the project for 35 long years and they know their job better than anybody else, sources said. .. it appears the contractors are not doing enough to make the mission statement(of HMR) a complete reality. If something really goes wrong, no government representative will lose his life, nor the construction giant L&T, but it is our own dear ones that are going to perish. Is anybody listening?

In L&TMRH the maintenance staff to the bare minimum. Stations and viaduct inspection need regular checks while Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) is mandated to do annual checks. It is not known if this is being followed.

L&TMRH has been cutting jobs, including those in engineering, citing fund crunch and this is showing in terms of cleanliness at stations.

Minister for IT, Municipal Ad-

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COVER STORY

Hurriedly HMR Refuted: We have carried Response for HMR in the form a press conference very next(July 2013 issue). In a hurriedly convened press meet, the Metro Rail officials disclosed: About 1,000 Indian and expatriate engineers and specialist consultants had been working for the last two years to ensure that the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) designs and drawings were safe and worldclass. …the HMR officials neither answered the questions raised in the report nor contradicted. The report mentioned about a damaged pillar and discovery of Nizam period pipeline 20 meters below the ground while digging for construction of pillars in some places on which the metro rail will have to run.

Instead said that the L&T Metro Rail( Hyderabad) Limited had appointed several expert agencies to ensure the civil structures and all the mechanical, electrical, signalling and other systems were absolutely safe, state-of-the-art and world class.

The civil structures and designs are checked for withstanding the loads and different types of

ministration and Urban Development K.T. Rama Rao has directed HMR MD N.V.S. Reddy to get the incident investigated by ‘independent engineering experts’ and take up remedial measures. The incident has to be taken seriously and it is to be ensured it does not recur and that safety to be a priority at all times, he said.

N.V.S. Reddy, Managing Director of HMR said, “the sharp edge of the concrete piece fell on a young lady’s head from about nine metres’ height and she, unfortunately, succumbed to the head injury, while being taken to a nearby hospital by our staff.”

However, he did not make any comments on the quality of construction and maintenance of the station. Following the incident,

stresses induced by longitudinal and lateral movement of trains, wind forces, seismic forces. The structures are designed for extreme load conditions.

HMR officials started inspecting other stations for cracks as their Managing Director has called for ‘immediate inspection. But unfortunately, this belated step is not going to bring back Mounika to

life. Based on a complaint lodged by her husband, Harikanth Reddy, a software engineer, S.R. Nagar police registered a case of a suspicious death.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

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Greedy owners with shady services

Godawari boat tragedy

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THE NEWS BUREAU

he Telangana government has suspended boat services to Papikondalu. Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh Government too had suspended the services. This was done as a precautionary measure after the boat accident in Godavari River at Kachluru in East Godavari district. The tourist boat carrying passengers capsized in the Godavari river in Devipatnam, Andhra Pradesh on September 15 afternoon. here were 61 people on the boat among which 50 were tourists and 11 were boat staff. They had

gone on a tour to see Papikondalu hills near the Godavari river. About 41 persons from Telangana and 32 from Andhra were on the Royal Vasista boat. More than forty persons lost their lives while 20 passengers survived.

The boat was filled with groups of friends and family, who were looking to have a good time on the picturesque boat ride in the Godavari through the Papikondalu (Papi hills) to Bhadrachalam.

According to the survivors, the boat left from the Gandi Pochamma temple sometime after 11 am. Within a few minutes, they

were instructed by the boat crew to put on their life jackets, as they were approaching a police station.

"They didn't tell us how to wear them, how to tighten the belt properly etc. The police then did a check, took photos and let the boat go ahead," says Jyoti Babu one of the Survivors at the hospital. Most of them soon removed their jackets and placed them under their chairs, unable to bear the humidity, but the crew never took the life jackets seriously. "Even the few people wearing it had just slipped them on loosely," he says.

As passengers moved to the top

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deck, where a performance area and a sun shelter had been set up, the boat shook once even in the beginning of the journey. But the crew kept assuring passengers that the driver would be careful, in spite of overloading. It is reported that the entertainment staff explicitly said that we were approaching waters of dangerous depth, but the driver would be careful. The entertainment staff were singing and dancing to film songs in the performance area, with some passengers joining in, says Prabhakar, a middle-aged railways employee from Warangal, who had been planning the trip with his group of friends for months. When the boat started to tilt to our side the chairs which were not fixed to the deck floor, the chair from the other end started tumbling down. Then the people also began to fall on others.

Slowly, water started to enter through the railing and I realised this was really happening, the boat was capsizing. According to another survivor, everything happened so quickly, there was no time to react. It took less than a minute for the boat to topple. Within the next two minutes, most of the people had drowned.

Two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams each consisting of 30 members each have been sent for rescue operations. Two boats of the tourism department are also part of the rescue operations.Godawari river had been receiving flood water of almost 5 lakh cusecs till 14 September. So tourist services were halted. With floodwater receding, the officials gave permission to the tourist boats on the next day.

Thousands of tourists from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu,

Puducherry and other States visit Papikondalu — more than 1,000 tourists visit the place every day, with the numbers reaching 5,000 during weekends and holidays, according to officials. Tourists used to board the boats at Bhadrachalam, Polavaram, Gandi Pochamma Tudi, Devipatnam, Angaluru and other river bed villages. About 50 boats were run to Papikondalu from the two States, the officials said. The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC)

operate additional buses for the convenience of passengers to Bhadrachalam from Hyderabad during holidays. Additionally, tourists use their own vehicles, private travels and cabs to reach Bhadrachalam.

The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) also offers Papikondalu packages to the tourists. Many private travels and boat operators used to offer packages to Papikondalu from Rajahmundry, Kovvur, Polavaram,

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STATES Pattiseema and other places, the locals said.

With the two States suspending services to Papikondalu, many tourist boats were seen stopping at Godavari river banks at Rajahmundry, Bhadrachalam, Polavaram, Devipatnam and another place, Meanwhile, the port, irrigation, fire and police officials have conducted raids and checking fitness certificates, licenses, engine and condition of vessels after the boat tragedy occurred in Godavari River. “In addition to the documents, we are verifying the owners of the vessels, checking the licenses of sarungs (boat drivers) and crew,” said an official.

The East Godavari police have

arrested two persons, who were allegedly responsible for the boat accident in Godavari river on September 15. The police earlier arrested three persons, including two women, who were the owners of the boat, which capsized in the river. The arrested are Sir Arthur Cotton A.C. Boat Owners’ Association president and The Papikondalu Boat Owners and Agents Welfare Association organizer.

Rampachodavaram Assistant Su-

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perintendent of Police (ASP) Vakul Jindal produced the accused before the media. They were produced in the court and were remanded in judicial custody, the ASP said. The Andhra Pradesh chief minister also announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh. Ministers and officials have been instructed to support the affected families.

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Wakeup call for TRS high command

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Growing voices of dissidence D. BAL REDDY

emocratic voices started rising. Dissidence has begun as a defence to authoritarianism.

Ruling party in Telangana, The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) which begun and took pride, as the party emerged out of agitation, is witnessing tumours when two of its lawmakers, including a senior minister, expressing their disappointment with the pace of development in the state. Leaders close to and part of high-command loosing patience and begun warning as they see this as the first sign of dissent and sense danger to questions supremacy their supreme leader.

This has begun with Telangana Health Minister Etela Rajender spoking out his mind which sounded against the government led by K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). Stating that virtue and not power was permanent, Rajender had said last week, “People, and not individuals, create. I never asked for a ministry under the Backward Class (BC) quota. I got it based on my agitation for a separate state. We are not beggars and did not join the party mid-way. We are the party’s founders and brought it to power.” He also made it clear that all the people including him are Owners of party flag indicating that TRS party does not belong to any single leader.

A week after that TRS legislator Rasamayi Balakishan said not much had changed in the education sector in the state over the last few years. The balladeer turned politi-

cian speaking at a teacher’s day event in Karimnagar said that other than the addition of the new state’s name to the school’s board (referring to the statehood movement), the condition of the educational institutions had not changed much over the last few years, Balakishan, who was a teacher before joining politics, was speaking in the presence of the health minister. Rajender and Balakishan are close associates — while the former is an MLA from Huzurabad, the latter represents the Manakondur constituency. Both segments are part of Karimnagar district. “Rajender and I can speak the truth only. We became a part of the Telangana movement based on facts and

dreamt of a separate state.

However, nothing much has changed since, except the name,” he lamented.

After the statement Rajender, TRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) spoke to him. KTR has urged Rajender to issue a statement. The health minister has refused to that saying that nothing was personal and he believed in his leader, KCR. Even the chief minister’s son speaking could not give expected result leaders close to high command were feeling agitated. But the top leadership did not allow them to condemn Rajender and Balakishan’s statement saying ‘it will unnecessarily get more importance in public eye.’ However

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

STATES KTR begun snubbing dissidence by hitting out at the leaders speaking against the government, he said those enjoying ministries should not forget it was due to the party.

Soon few more TRS leaders started speaking. Pnachayathraj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao who spoke first said, TRS is started and developed by KCR and the party belongs only to him. After that few more leaders who are close to high-command and aspirants of ministerial berths – nominated posts fallowed their working president. But none of these leaders could find a place in the cabinet which was expanded within a week. That did not make them lose hope. These leaders who are unhappy for not able to get any post in the government, facing the opposition of people and cader in their respective constituencies for not fulfilling election promises were looking for an alternative, safe method to convey their dissatisfaction. The Budget secessions offered them an opportunity to voice their feelings. On a single day, fourteen legislators belonging to the ruling party have expressed their minds in the form of grievance and suggestions. In an unprecedented move six leaders were appointed as party whips in the legislature.

The changed situation in the ruling party has naturally given some hope to TRS opponents.

Leaders of opposition parties have launched an attack on the TRS supremo over the latest rumblings in the ruling camp. They were happy to see suppressed and neglected are raising their voices.

Earlier, no one used to speak out against KCR. But now that it is happening they are hopeful to see more such individuals in the future.

“No one dared to raise their voice against KCR in the past. But now, even after so many days, no action was taken against Rajender. He has no courage to take action against Rajender as more voices would raise against him. He also did nothing against Manakonduru MLA Rasamayi Balakishan, who criticised the government’s education policy. All this is an indication that he has lost grip over the party,” claimed Congress senior leader and spokesperson Dr Mallu Ravi.

Senior Congress leader and former President of PCC in united state, V Hanumantha Rao, said Rajender was a Backward Caste leader and a good man. He is being neglected

by TRS leadership. Congress working president and Malkajgiri MP Revanth Reddy said, “Rajender had revealed his pain but had to withdraw his statements out of KCR’s fears.” The BJP, taking advantage of the failure of the party high command to initiate action against dissenting leaders and those

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raising their voices against the party top leadership, intensified its attack on the TRS, using the confusion among the TRS leaders and MLAs to its advantage.

The political observers say that TRS MLAs are caught between the devil and deep blue sea and are unable to decide on their political future, even though they were denied ministerial and state government whip posts on which they pinned a lot of hopes. Now, the dissident MLAs are waiting for their selection for the nominated posts of reputed corporation chairman posts and many senior leaders and MLAs are staying in the party with the hope that they will at least get nominated posts. The party is likely to face a difficult situation in the coming days as far as dissidence is concerned. As a senior TRS leader of one of the north Telangana district said: “Keeping the flock intact is going to be a tough job in the coming days.”

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

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THE NATION

Ram janmabhoomi dispute

Will it end in two months?

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he Supreme Court has set an October 18 deadline for the conclusion of hearings in the century-old Ram JanmabhoomiBabri Masjid land title dispute.

"This will leave us with four weeks to write the judgment," Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who is heading the five-judge Constitution bench hearing the case, said indicating that the judgment could come close to November 17, the day he demits office.

The five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, and Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and

S Abdul Nazeer had last week set October 18 target to complete hearing in the Ram JanmabhoomiBabri Masjid land title case. The CJI had called for a joint effort from all parties. If the hearings do not conclude or leave inadequate time for the judges to write their opinions prior to the pronouncement of judgments and Justice Gogoi retires, then the bench would have to be reconstituted for the commencement of a fresh hearing.

It's about the ownership of over 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya, where the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi disputed structure stood since 1528 till its demolition on December 6, 1992. In October

2010, the Allahabad high court had divided the disputed land equally among three parties — Ram Lalla, Nirmohi Akhara and Sunni Waqf Board. In May 2011, the Supreme Court stayed that verdict. There are 14 appeals and petitions by Hindu and Muslim parties challenging Allahabad high court's verdict which the top court has been hearing on a day-to-day basis starting August 6 (as mediation proceedings initiated to find an amicable resolution had failed).

The mediation a panel comprised former SC judge FMI Kalifulla, spiritual guru and founder of Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar and senior advocate

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

THE NATION Sriram Panchu, a renowned mediator. The panel had conducted negotiations between Hindu and Muslim litigants for over four months to explore the possibility of an out-of-court settlement. The panel was initially given eight weeks to explore the possibility of a settlement, but on May 10, after the panel submitted an interim report to the court, the SC granted it an extension of three months, till August 15.

The bench started holding daily hearings from August to fast-track the case that has been pending for decades after a Supreme Court-appointed mediation committee failed to develop a consensus among the parties for a solution. The mediation proposal was opposed by the Uttar Pradesh government and the Hindu parties, except the Nirmohi

Akhara, one of the main parties to the civil suit. The mediation suggestion was however welcomed by the Muslim side.

More than a dozen appeals were filed against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties— the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

When the Supreme Court took up the case, it said the case will be treated 'only as a land dispute'. Settling the ownership of land is a matter of law. However, the case also is a matter of faith and both Hindus and Muslims view it differently. Will the final adjudication on the title suits by the highest court of the land be able to bury the dispute and bring peace between

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the communities? History has witnessed large-scale rioting and loss of lives because of polarization over the issue in the last three decades Will be a miracle to deliver verdict in 4 weeks: The Supreme Court in September last week once again stressed on the need to complete arguments in the Ayodhya land dispute case by October 18. “If arguments can’t get over by October 18, there won’t be an extra day,” Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi told both sides arguing the case. The CJI said the bench will have only four weeks to write the judgment and it will be a “miracle” if the court delivers the judgment in four weeks. Justice Gogoi retires as the CJI on November 17.

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JUDICIARY

Judge also judged by character A

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judge is judged not only by his quality of judgments but also by the quality and purity of his character”. “Impeccable integrity should be reflected both in public and personal life of a judge.

These were the words of the Supreme Court as it upheld the dismissal of a magistrate who passed favourable orders for the clients of a woman lawyer with whom he had a “proximate relationship”. The September 16 judgment by a bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose noted that “findings of fact” against the Judicial Magistrate concerned from Maharashtra “has been upheld by all courts and even this Court has not interfered with those findings”.

The court said the “first and foremost quality required in a judge is integrity”. “The need for

integrity in the judiciary is much higher than in other institutions.

The judiciary is an institution whose foundations are based on honesty and integrity. It is, therefore, necessary that judicial officers should possess the sterling quality of integrity,” it said. The behaviour of a judge, the bench said, “has to (be) of an exacting standard, both inside and outside the Court”.

“Judges are also public servants. A judge should always remember that he is there to serve the public,” it said. The judgment sought to remind that “one who stands in judgments over others should be incorruptible”. Judges, the court said, “must remember that they are not merely employees but hold high public office”. Judges must decide a case “only on the basis of the facts on record and the law applicable to the case”, the court said, and added that “if a

judge decides a case for any extraneous reasons then he is not performing his duty in accordance with law”. The top court said “gratification” does not only mean monetary gratification. “Gratification”, it said, “can be of various types” like “gratification of money, the gratification of power, the gratification of lust etc”.

In the case in the question, the court said, “the officer decided the cases because of his proximate relationship with a lady lawyer and not because the law required him to do so” and added, “this is also the gratification of a different kind”.

Upholding his removal, the court said he “did not live up to the expectations of integrity, behaviour and probity expected of him” and “his conduct is as such that no leniency can be shown and he cannot be visited with a lesser punishment”.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

CONTROVERSY

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Why Justice Tahilramani

Transferred?

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resident Ramnath Kovid has accepted the resignation of Madras HC Chief Justice Vijaya K Tahilramani.Justice Tahilramani had resigned from her post when her request to the Collegium to get the transfer order changed was not considered favourably.

The Supreme Court Collegium’s controversial decision to transfer Chief Justice of Madras High Court VK Tahilramani, which prompted her resignation and which has been challenged in a

PIL, is reported that it was based on three “considerations” that raised questions of performance and propriety.

On September 6, Justice Tahilramani had resigned from her post when her request to the Collegium to get the transfer order changed was not considered favourably. The President accepted her resignation on September 22 and appointed Justice V Kothari as acting Chief Justice.

The Collegium’s decision has come under considerable scrutiny.

Sources said the Collegium arrived

at its decision after extensive consultation with three judges of the apex court who are from the Madras High Court.

The principal consideration, it is learnt, was her short working hours in the Court. “It is a young High Court and the model set by the Chief Justice matters. There were reports that the Chief Justice did not sit beyond noon on most days and this had a bearing on what other Judges did. In one of the busiest High Courts in the country, this had implications,” sources said.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

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CONTROVERSY

Another consideration, said sources, was the “inexplicable and abrupt dissolving of the bench hearing idol-theft cases” on June 4.

This bench was set up by Justice Indira Banerjee when she was Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. It was this two-Judge bench that quashed a government order transferring all future idol theft cases to the CBI and appointing Pon Manickavel as a special officer of the idol wing, set to take charge immediately after his retirement. It was believed to be “on the verge of wrapping up its work when it was suddenly dissolved”. The notification issued by the Court at the time had said that the “very few” remaining writs and matters pending would be listed in front of “respective division benches and single benches”.

While this decision raised eyebrows, the Collegium also consid-

ered the perceived “proximity with a senior political figure in the ruling party in the state, and the purchase of two apartments in Chennai”.

On September 19, Madras High Court reserved its order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which had called for the President of India, to not put his stamp of approval on the Collegium’s decision to transfer Justice Tahilramani, which was issued without furnishing any reasons for its decision.

Advocate R Prabhakaran, who filed the PIL, said that the lack of transparency in the Collegium’s decision led to his petition. “When the Collegium decides to swap the Madras High Court Chief Justice with the Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice, reasons should be in the public domain. There is a precedent that the judge is being asked for consent before he or she

is transferred. In Justice Tahilramani’s case, not only that she was not consulted but she was not even given the reason for her transfer,” he said.

Prabhakaran also said: “All these alleged charges against Justice Tahilramani is unfounded.

If they are serious for the Collegium, they should send those files to the government…impeach her.”

He added, “It was the same Collegium comprising the current CJI Ranjan Gogoi that had decided to elevate Justice Tahilramani from Mumbai High Court to Madras High Court last year. What is the point of talking about her poor performance now?”

Sources said the Collegium wanted to “not speak of all this publicly and hoped that the transfer to a smaller High Court, with lesser work would enable them to resolve the problem without a fuss.”

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ll citizens in the country may soon have a single card with all utilities like passport, Aadhaar, driving licence and bank accounts. useful many purposes. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has proposed the idea of a multipurpose identity card. “There should be a system that all data should be put together in a single card. This is potential. That is why the digital census is very important,” he said.

Shah was laying the foundation stone of a new building of the Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner in the national capital when he made the remark. The minister also said the Census 2021 data will be collected through a mobile app, a move that will be a big revolution in the country’s census exercise. The senior BJP leader added there should also be a system that when a person dies, the information is updated in the population data automatically.

“India’s total of 130 crore population should be informed about its benefits. How the census data could be used for future planning, development initiatives and welfare schemes. The utilisation of census data is multi-dimensional and will be a significant contribution in nation’s progress,” Shah has said.

He also said that the census will help in demarcating boundaries of municipal wards, assembly as well as Lok Sabha constituencies.

On the basis of the 2011 Census, Home Minister said that the Modi government had planned 22 welfare schemes related to electricity connection to every homes, gas connection, construction of roads, houses for the poor, toilets, bank accounts, the opening of bank branch etc. He referred to the example of the government’s flagship ‘Ujjwala’ scheme of providing free LPG connections

to poor families, saying it has been successful as the scheme was prepared on the basis of the 2011 census data.

“By 2022, there will not be a family which will not have a gas connection,” he said. Shah also said the 2011 census reflected the poor sex ratio of male and female in some states. That’s why the programme of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ was launched, he added. “Under this

THE NATION

25

In the first phase of the Census 2021 test run, over 90 per cent of the enumerators opted to use a smartphone app to collect information, as reported in the media. They will be given an incentive of Rs 5,000 each.

At the end of the house-listing test phase in the beginning of September, mobile phones had synced the figures for 7.7 lakh houses with 26 lakh people to an official web portal, according to official data.

Passport, aadhaar & voter, driving

All in one card

scheme, the Haryana government has done so much work in the last five years that the state’s sex ratio is now among the best in the country,” he said. The data for the National Population Register (NPR), a list of usual residents of the country, will also be collected along with the census exercise. Officials said the NPR could be the basis for a panIndia version of Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Shah also said “2021 the census will be the census’ transformation from a paper census to a digital one,” Shah said, adding the potential for new data analysis and visualisation with census data. “We can take this forward with a scientific approach.”

There will be no biometric authentication in the census. The census cannot share an individual’s information but can share aggregate patterns of the data. This time, three optional mobile applications house listing, population enumeration, National Population Register — as well as the web portal, was developed inhouse by a seven-person team in the Data Processing Unit (DPU) of the Registrar General, which has a 1 PB storage centre. The census test period ended September 30. Census officials are have held a two-day meeting to deliberate on feedback from the test period. The census will be conducted in 16 languages, while the enumerators’ instruction manual has 18 languages.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

26

THE NATION

Uniform civil code

Courts paving the way

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he Supreme Court expressed dismay last recently over the failure of successive governments to enact a uniform civil code despite repeated appeals from the court. It cited the 'shining example' of Goa which has a uniform civil code applicable to all, regardless of religion.

While governments may not have moved in that direction, our courts have been taking India towards a uniform civil code one judgment at a time. For instance, two years ago, the top court had declared instant triple talaq, the oral divorce practise some Muslims follow as unconstitutional. That paved the way for Parliament to pass a law this year making instant triple talaq a punishable act.

In 2015, coming to the rescue of a Christian woman over guardian-

ship of her child, it said that unwed mothers can become the only legal guardian of a child without the biological father's permission. According to an 1890 law, a Christian unwed mother could assume guardianship of her child only after taking the father's permission. Similarly, a J&K high court judgment had in 2002 struck down a provision in the law that said women of the state marrying outsiders would lose their permanent resident status. On July 23, 2003, the apex court had said that Article 44 was based on the premise that there was no necessary connection between religious and personal law in a civilised society.

Indian Muslims luckier: Muslims in India are “much luckier” than those in the Islamic countries as they can worship in any Islamic tradition here, says veteran

journalist Mark Tully. Citing an example, he says that in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area, where he resides, there is the Tablighi Jamaat’s headquarters and they are “very strict and orthodox”. Next to it, there is the Sufi tradition where people pray at the tomb of Nizamuddin Auliya and sing qawwalis, he adds.

According to Tully, India is “unique and is home to all the religions, well almost. India has spirituality. As of now, these religions are varied themselves. Muslims in India are much luckier than Muslims in the Islamic countries because in India they can worship in any Islamic tradition,” he says.

“India’s spirit of tolerance is its strength which makes a harmonious environment for different religions to exist side by side,” Tully is quoted as saying in the latest issue of The Equator Line magazine. The issue is titled “Home and The World”.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

EDU-VOICE 27

PROF. G. NARSIMULU

Highest degrees are for sale

in oldest University of Telangana

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s Per the guidelines of University Grants commissions the functioning of the university is of three dimensions namely Teaching, Research and extension. At the initial days, The committed teaching community who was associated with the growth of Osmania university brought name and fame In several counties in the world.

Every where Osmanians were given good placements. The departments in engineering college Osmania university are getting 90% placements from reputed software and other firms. Many of them went on to join in national and international research institutions.

Those were days of glory of states first and foremost university.

Now the university is in turmoil.

Teaching standards have fallen drastically. Classroom curriculum transactions are no way seen in the campus and constituent colleges.No recruitment of teaching staff for a long period and stopgap arrangements are in vogue for longer period.

During the academic year 2019 -2020 majority of senior professors in all departments retired and now instead of 1200 teaching staff less

than 300-400 regular teachers are on roles. Strong departments like psychology, Chemistry and physics with several research projects carried out by senior faculty was nowhere today. The payment of salary part to the teachers and non-teaching staff every month less than payment part to pensioners ., Every year number of Students admitted to the prestigious Doctoral programme are higher than PG course admissions. For getting PhD admissions several pressure tactics are applied by the seasoned student leaders and caste play a very important role, During the last academic year 2018-19 about 2000 students took admissions in the PhD programme in various departments of Osmania University, The departments like sociology with an intake of 55, political science 43,economics 35,informative 44,Hindi 56,English 60, Telugu 61,Botony 80,chemistry119, zoology 51Maths 43, Environmental science 39 , Education including physical education 46 were took admissions in the academic year 2019. Overall admissions into Doctoral programme over a period of five years is crossing ten thousand.

The students who are admitted into

this course never bothered to attend classes and creating all sorts of problems to the administration. A section of the teaching community encourages students and some time patronage to create tension in the campus and black mail to-get things done for their favour. For example one senior professor to get his daughter admissions into this program at the cost of a merit student who was from scheduled tribe community and cleared the set and Net. She got admissions in two departments with lower qualifications.

Asper UGC norms the classwork to these doctoral students invariably conducted. But in reality, it was conducted only on paper and sincerity found in neither students nor in faculty members. Every year more than 800 students used to submit their thesis for the award of Doctoral degree. As per the UGC guidelines, Osmania university established an antiplagiarism cell in the university library. The university made Mandatory to get approval from this cell before submitting to the examination branch for the evaluation process.

According to the cell coordinator Dr Chakravarthy an Asst. professor

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

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EDU-VOICE

Library science Department “Research-scholars lift content from other Research papers, Blogs, News papers, etc. In majority cases the introduction, review of literature and discussions and part of the thesis is palginised. As per UGC guidelines, up to 10%, minor similarities in thesis is allowed and 10% to 40% students resubmit their draft thesis with necessary modification within a stipulated time period not exceeding six months and 40% to 60% plagiarism found in thesis student is not allowed to submit a draft thesis up to one academic year and if it is found 60% and above student admission is cancelled. During the last year, out of 800 thesis underwent this type of test 200 thesis’s were found plagiarism.

When this matter was brought to the notice of senior faculty the standards are falling majority students admitted to this programme are from Telugu medium and the teachers are overloaded with more numbers than permitted strength of 1-6 students even retired teachers and additionally from government and affiliated teachers also considered as research guides. Some of the student leaders are instrumental for getting their men to-get admis-

sions into doctoral programmes in Osmania, Kakatiya and other universities. Even the support of faculty members is being used to arrange thesis and managed the requirement of conditions for the award of the highest Degree in universities. Recently a newspaper conducted a string operation in Kakatiya university were some of the faculty members were collecting a major share of UGC fellowships of the research scholars under their guidance and particularly in science faculties. Female students were subjected to all sorts of harassment by some of the supervisors.

The caste, money plays a very important role for the award of Doctoral degree and placements in university services. The merit of the students are not important but students who can satisfy the requirements of the Heads of the faculty in universities are given weights in admissions and employment in universities as regular or contract teachers.

It’s the time that the state government under the dynamic leadership of KCR should restore the academic glory of universities by appointing persons with academic and committed leadership qualities

The universities in Telangana state needs to be committed and qualified faculty and nonteaching staff and not temporary and contract staff. The regular staff were appointed forty years back were retired and since no fresh appointments were done in case of nonteaching staff in old universities of Telangana as well as universities established ten years back. The university grants commission New Delhi is very much serious about the award of poor research degrees and at the considerations of money but not quality research and put a deadline to appoint regular qualified faculty in the universities at the end of this academic year 20192020, otherwise it will stop funding and DE Affiliate the universities and colleges.

Keeping In view of this the state the government should look into these aspects and improve the quality of the higher degree Doctorate in Philosophy and be admitted for sincere students who want to pursue the course with an objective to provide the best of their abilities to growth of the people and country.

(The Author is a retired professor Lifelong Education Osmania university Hyderabad.)

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

AGRICULTURE 29

Drought-prone districts

Action plan getting ready T

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he National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) is working on developing a comprehensive drought-proofing action plan for 24 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan this year.

This was revealed by NRAA CEO Ashok Dalwai recently. The NRAA will develop similar action plans for other districts in a list of 151, identified as drought-prone

according to a study by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), based on parameters set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

“For the 24 districts, 12 plans are ready and the work on 12 more is on. We are working on finding how to delineate rain-fed areas, which are not just restricted to dry land areas. Sometimes, despite very heavy rainfall, we continue to have a poor agricultural system.

For this, we have appointed a technical committee to study and tell us what we mean by rain-fed area and define it. This will enable the development of technological packages in consonance with each of these areas,” Dalwai announced.

A panel led by Dalwai submitted the report on doubling farmers income (DFI) to the government last year. The committee is now overseeing implementation of the panel’s recommendations. Speak-

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

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AGRICULTURE

ing at a national conference hosted at Nehru Science Centre during the third week of September, Dalwai pointed out that the overall research system, instead of focusing on professional development, should focus on output and delivery. “The entire research system is oriented towards personal and professional development,” he said. Most researchers are worried about their scorecard, which shows the number of studies published or the probability of promotion but not so much the impact that an individual’s research has had, he added.

“In a country like India where the resources are scarce, every rupee invested in science must have an impact on society. We have one of the best agricultural research systems in the world – 5,500 scientists in ICAR, 4,500 scientists in

Indian Space Research Organization and scientists working in 77 agricultural universities in the country,” Dalwai said. For over the past 10 years, India has stopped being an agricultural economy.

Today, only one-third of the rural economy forms agricultural economy. The manufacturing, service and agriculture sector is roughly in the 1:3 ratio, he said.

The share of agriculture in the economy is declining. However, the number of people dependent on agriculture continues to rise. “From 80 per cent in 1951, it has come down to 48 per cent. However, 48 per cent of 1.3 billion people means two times the population of the United States. Hence, challenges continue to face Indian agriculture,” he said.

“If today Indian farmers are

facing any problem, it’s not because of production but more their ability to monetise the produce. Today, Indian farms produce 1.3 billion tonnes of agricultural produce. We have all kinds of agro-climatic zones in the country. India is vast in terms of its arable land, only next to the United States.” Dalwai added. He further said while agriculture had done well in India, the farmer had not.

“We’re in the situation where we have surpluses exceeding the demand and therefore the market prices are not good. With the global commodity prices further backward, the situation has got compounded. Experts have also pointed to the fact that our food security, based on carbohydrates, is just onesixth part of nutritional security.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

ENVIRONMENT 31

Plastic pollution

Found in fossil records

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lastic pollution is now in the fossil record, according to new research from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego.

For the study, which was published in September 2019, in the journal

Scientific Advances, scientists studied layers of earth in California’s Santa Barbara Basin dating back to 1834. They found that deposits of plastic have increased exponentially since the end of World War II, doubling around every 15 years.

Most of the plastic particles

were fibres from synthetic fabrics used in clothes, said the researchers, suggesting that plastics are flowing into the ocean via wastewater. The increase of plastics in the sediments matches a rise in the rate of plastic production worldwide and a surge in California’s coastal population during the

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

32 ENVIRONMENT

same time period. Jennifer Brandon of Scripps is the study’s lead author. She said in a statement: This study shows that our plastic production is being almost perfectly copied in our sedimentary record. Our love of plastic is actually being left behind in our fossil record.

Brandon also told It is a very clear signature. Plastic was invented and pretty much immediately we can see it appear in the sedimentary record.

Seen under the microscope, varied bits of plastic begin to accumulate in sediment after World War II. The researchers analyzed annual sediment layers, collected

from a core sample, that they dated back to 1834, looking for microplastic – tiny bits of plastic than 5 millimetres long (or about the size of a sesame seed) in the core sample layers. Most plastics were invented in the 1920s, but not used in significant commercial quantities until after World War II. The researchers found plastic in sediment dated to 1945, with the amount later increasing rapidly, so that by 2010 (when the samples collected), people were depositing 10 times as much plastic into the basin as they were before World War II. The researchers said that the postwar period also showed a greater diversity of plastics, including fragments of plastic bag mate-

rials and plastic particles in addition to fibres.

Brandon suggested that the study results support the idea of using plastic accumulation as a defining signifier of the Anthropocene, a proposed new geological epoch marked by humanity’s influence on Earth. Specifically, Brandon said, the rise of plastics beginning in 1945, when the world recovered from war, could serve as a proxy for a time period within the Anthropocene that scientists have labelled the Great Acceleration, a period when humanity’s impact on our planet is increasing significantly. Brandon told.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

POLICING

33

Swift data transfer by ICJS

Fast track justice

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elangana state has achieved the distinction of online data transfer between Police & Courts for the first time in the country. After Successful run of the pilot in Warangal district, it is introduced in Karimnagar. With this Karimnagar becomes the second district where this has been done in the country.

TS High court’s Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan has launched online transmission of data through ICJS in III town Police station, Karimnagar Police

Commissionerate through video conference in the third week of September. The ICJS Chief Justice said that the convergence of information between Police, Courts, Prisons, Forensics and Prosecutions will eventually speed up the process of the Criminal Justice system. The status of each case and monitoring of the same becomes easier for the Police and Judicial Officers. “The electronic transfer of data will deliver justice on fast track basis.” Said Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan, He has announced that Gradually it

will be scaled up and expanded to the whole State. Sri Goswami, Member of E-Committee, Supreme court of India, has said that the seamless exchange of information will have horizontal and vertical coordination between the wings.

The DGP, Telangana State M. Mahendar Reddy has said that the electronic exchange of data will bring transparency and accountability of various functionaries, improve the quality of Investigation and credibility of the system.

He said that faster justice to the common man will be delivered by

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

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POLICING

seamless data sharing and better monitoring by the supervisory officers across the pillars. During the launch, there was demo of Realtime exchange of data between Police and Courts in which details of FIR and charge sheet are transferred electronically and the Court has issued the receipt with the reference number online. The demo is presented by Kamal Hasan Reddy, CP, Karimnagar and Radhika, JFCM, Huzurabad, Karimnagar.

What is ICJS: ICJS is an initiative of MHA, GoI (Inter-operable Criminal Justice System).The five Pillars of ICJS are Police, Courts, Prosecution, Prisons and Forensic Science.

This system that will connect 15,000 police stations, 5,000 supervisory police officers and various prosecuting and legal. With this, it is expected to reduce the redundant data entry (one data, one entry).

Bring Transparency & Accountability in Police, Prosecution and Judicial System. Real-time sharing of data between the five pillars.Faster justice to the common man by seamless data sharing and Accountability & Transparency. Better monitoring by supervisory officers across the pillars Police-Citizen interface will undergo a major shift with the implementation of this project, as several services can be made available through the citizen

portal. As a part of setting up a new milestone in the criminal justice system of India, Telangana is the first state in the country where online data transfer between Police and Courts have been launched through Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS). As part of Integration of eCourts (Case Information System - CIS) with CCTNS, Subedari Police Station of Warangal District was selected as Pilot in Telangana State and the pilot was launched last December by Chairman of eCommittee of Supreme Court of India Hon’ble Justice Madan B. Lokur. After successfully expanding it to all 45 Police Stations of Warangal, the online data exchange between Police and Courts is being launched in Karimnagar Commissionerate. With ICJS it will be possible for the state to have paperless and electronic data transfer to bring Accountability & Transparency.

Faster turnaround time (Cycle time reduction in data sharing). Will save time & Manpower while avoiding redundant data entry in different silo systems. Enormous savings in resources. Faster Justice to the needy people.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

CRIME

35

Stepmother kills minor girl

R

to live with her father

P. VISDHNUVARDHAN REDDY

esidents of Brundavan Colony in Medchal were horrified a few weeks ago to find the disfigured body of a minor girl stuffed in a plastic bag lying in an open plot in the early hours. Later, the investigators were shocked to discover that the victim’s stepmother carried out the gruesome murder.

On the early hours of July 20,

2019, Medchal police received information about an abandoned body lying Brundavan Colony. The crime scene probe revealed that the body belonged to a minor girl aged between 12 to 15 years. The killers peeled off the skin on victim’s face in an apparent attempt to prevent identification of the body. Police also found cuts and scars on the victim’s neck, ribs, and pierce injuries on hand and fingers and

piece of jaw separated from the body.

Except for the clothes on the victim, police could get no clue.

The investigators circulated look out notices through all mediums and began checking with other police stations for missing cases, but to no use. Police also sought tower dump of mobile phones in the place of offence and surrounding areas from the service

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CRIME

providers. While so, one of the special teams probing the case made a breakthrough.

A girl identified the victim based on the clothes found on her person. The girl and her mother informed police that they had given the clothes to victim Jyothika a month before she vanished. With this clue, police began unraveling the mystery behind the gruesome murder.

Investigations revealed that Jyothika along with her two younger brothers lived with her father Subramanyam. In 2016, when the family lived in Suraram village, one Nagamani of the same place, who left her husband and lived with her mother, fell in love with Subramanyam and started living with the family. Subramanyam married Nagamani in 2018.

However, Jyothika had a disliking for Nagamani and she allegedly tried to create differences between her father and stepmother. As a result, Nagamani left the family and lived in a separate room. Subramanyam used to visit Nagamani and request her to come back to him. It was at this point of time, Nagamani thought she could go back to Subramanyam if she eliminates Jyothika.

Accordingly, she went to Subramanyam’s house on July 19 asking for him. As he was not there, Nagamani requested Jyothika to come with her. An unsuspecting Jyothika followed Nagamani to her room. Ones inside, Nagamani began chatting with the girl and finding right time she strangulated the girl to death using a bath towel. Later, she used hacksaw blade to peel off the skin and remove the parts on the girl’s face in an apparent attempt to

prevent identification.

After the gruesome killing, Nagamani stuffed the body in a plastic bag, locked her room and left to her relative’s house afraid of sleeping with the body. She returned home early on the following day and threw the plastic bag stuffed with the girl’s body in the open plot nearby and left to her mother’s house in Suraram.

Meanwhile, Subramanyam left

his two sons at his sister’s house in Alwal and went to his work at welding shop. He informed the shop owner that his daughter went missing since July 19. However, police is probing why he did not file a missing complaint or why he did not bother to search for his missing daughter. For now, police booked Nagamani for murder and atrocities against a dalit girl.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

CYBER SECURITY

37

Countering online extremism

Now a global watchdog

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THE NEWS BUREAU

working group created in 2017 by Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Microsoft has been upgraded as Global Internet Forum to Counter-Terrorism (GIFCT). It is an independent watchdog, with advisors from governments and civil society. This came in response to the attacks in March targeting worshippers in mosques in Christchurch. This is in one of the first concrete steps to emerge since this May's Christchurch Call to Action summit in Paris. The Call to Action, led by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

The GIFCT will become an independent organisation led by an executive director, with an operational board comprising members of tech companies and an advisory committee with members of government and civil society. "Its mission now encompasses violent extremist content online — not just terrorist content," Ardern said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. GIFCT will be supported by dedicated technology, counterterrorism and operations teams, Microsoft said in a statement. It will work closely with a range of governments, particularly under the auspices of the European Union Internet Forum, it added.

GIFCT aims to improve the capacity of technology companies to prevent and respond to online ex-

tremism, enable multi-stakeholder engagement around the same, promote civilly dialogue online, and advance broad understanding of terrorist and violent extremist operations and their evolution.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Ardern, Facebook chief operating officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg said the forum had already shared some 200,000 digital fingerprints "because when terrorists try to use one platform, they try to use all the platforms; so when one of us find them, we can take them down across multiple platforms."

The watchdog is an effort by the tech companies to partner with progressive leaders such as Ardern and to set a global standard to tackle online extremism that nations could follow. A consistent global policy would help tech companies avoid wading through separate policies enforced by individual

nations.

In India, there are calls to implement more stringent and broader rules on online extremism, though it was a party to the Christchurch Call in May. On Tuesday, the Supreme The court remarked that the misuse of social media has taken a "dangerous turn" and asked the government to step in. The Centre has also been pressuring encrypted platforms such as WhatsApp (owned by Facebook) to pro vide backchannel access to authorities for anti-terrorism operations.

Meanwhile, the EU Court of Justice ruled that Google isn’t generally obliged to apply the “right to be forgotten” to versions of its search engine accessed outside the bloc. In 2015, a French body had ruled its “right to be forgotten” order is applicable to all geographical versions of Google, causing concern among tech companies as well as journalists.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

38 INTERNATIONAL

US Gun culture

Mind-boggling cost of mindless violence

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THE NEWS BUREAU

uman lives lost due to gun violence in the US may move some of the Americans, but money lost due to gun violence — and that too running into billions of dollars — will not just move the citizenry but also the economy. Researchers conservatively estimate that gun violence costs the American economy at least $229 billion every year, including $8.6 billion in direct expenses such as for emergency and medical care,” according to the law centre.

The centre is taking a look at the state-by-state cost of gun violence.

For the first time ever, the death rate due to gun violence — the number of deaths per 100,000 people — was higher than the death rate due to road accidents in the US. Against a gun death rate of 12.20, road accident death rate was 11.9 in 2017, ac-

cording to a report recently released by the US Congress Joint Economic Committee. That cost the country $229 billion due to lost income and spending, employer costs, police and criminal justice responses and health care treatment. Also included are indirect costs such as reduced quality of life due to pain and suffering, fewer jobs, lost businesses and lower home values in local economies and communities across the nation.

Which means the US economy lost 1.4% of its GDP in 2017 due to mindless shooting.

California suffered the most in economic terms, with gun violence costing it $18 billion, followed by Texas, which lost close to $17 billion due to gun-related deaths and Florida, where the economic cost of gun violence amounted to $14 billion. In fact, in all these three states, one person died due to a gunshot every 3 hours.

The human cost of gun violence too is huge. Of the 39,773 people who died due to gun-related violence in 2017, nearly 2,500 were schoolage children, the report said. Of these, close to 60% of the deaths — 23,854—were suicides, which means every hour, two to three Americans shoot themselves dead. The number of gun deaths in the US in 2017 was at their highest in the last 40 years — with Americans 25 times more likely to die from a gun than people of other high-income countries. Even within the US, the report found that "a young black male is 20 times more likely to die of firearm-related homicide." However, that's not even the worst part — globally, out of every 10 gun-related deaths that occur in the 15-24 age group, 9 happen in the US. Which means that the US is shooting dead its future and young workforce.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

DEFENCE COLUMN

39

WG CDR TJ REDDY VSM (RETD)

Chief of Defence Staff

Power, Support & Selection are crucial T

he NDA government following its security-related move by revoking Article 370 and 35A in Jammu and Kashmir, made another security-related announcement. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has announced on the 73rd Independence Day from the Red Fort, that the three defence services — the Army, the Navy and the Air Forces — will soon get a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to optimise coordination between them.

The concept of a Chief of Defence Staff was conceived in the 1980s but languished for want of required impetus. Matters military has never been a taboo but has seldom been discussed in the Parliament. In the aftermath of the Kargil shock, a Kargil Review Committee (KRC) was constituted on 29th July 1999 to enquire into the ‘How’ and ‘Why’ of the Kargil episode and to suggest remedial measures to prevent a recurrence.

The review committee had found that during the war, especially in the initial days, there was little coordination between the Army and the Air Force — a shortcoming that threatened to prolong the conflict.

The KRC recommendations were accepted and tabled in the

LokSabha on 28th February 2000.

A Group of Ministers (GoM) was formed to evaluate and act on the KRC recommendations. The group headed by the then deputy prime minister, L K Advani created four task forces on 22nd May 2000, each having a specific mandate.

Arun Singh headed the task force on higher defence organisation and its recommendations were accepted by the GoM on 5th January 2001.

to rank above the Chiefs of Staffs of the Army, Navy and the Air force. However, in the absence of political consensus and resistance from the Indian Air Force (though nothing is available in the public domain, it is believed that fear of Army getting hold of the post due to regular anti-terror operations besides inherent numerical strength and establishing domination relegating IAF to supporting the role

A critical element in the Task Forces recommendation was the creation of the post of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to function as the principal military advisor to the government of India. A principal defence secretary was to be the coequal of the CDS and the two were

was apparently playing in their minds) and the bureaucracy, the proposal did not move ahead.

The Aim: This reform is aimed to bring better integration and synergy between the three services, Army, Navy and the Air Force and opti-

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

40

DEFENCE COLUMN

mise on capability development efforts of the armed forces. Modernisation of military structure and organisation is equally important as modernisation of equipment. The appointment of a CDS by itself will not alter the situation immediately but would be a first and necessary step forward to address the process of change that has become inevitable to keep with changing times.

Challenges to be addressed on priority: The first and the big challenge will be identifying the first person to be appointed as CDS. His involvement from the beginning in formulation of strategies, concepts, and doctrines would greatly help in bringing the desired changes providing him a platform to become fully functional. The other most important challenge is that the government first lays down the role, exact nature of the appointment, authority, jurisdiction, status, financial powers, the new balance

with the bureaucracy and tenure clearly and with appropriate legal frameworks before appointing the first CDS. Another challenge that awaits new CDS is formulation quick time joint plans for all possible contingencies in today’s context, requiring operational readiness to take any threat headon at short notice based on intelligence inputs and in consultation with the three service chiefs.

The Role of CDS: The CDS is expected to play a dynamic role in defence planning, modernisation and force restructuring. In the initial stage, `single point control’ over capability development and `single point coordination’ between the services for formulation of strategies, concepts, and doctrines would need greater emphasis. The suggested role of the CDS should include threat analyses and control of budgetary allocations and procurements to optimise the nation’s military capability. The training and operational control of

the armed forces must continue to remain with the individual chiefs as at present.

The Responsibility: The CDS as the principal military advisor to the PM, RM and the Cabinet Committee on Security, should be replacing the Defence Secretary as the sole advisor hitherto, who is currently and inappropriately charged with the defence of India, instead of RM the highest authority exercising civilian control. This will automatically situate CDS appropriately in the higher defence organization and national security structures. The CDS would require the status and the authority as an equal to coordinate his functions with the NSA. Since late 2018 the NSA chairs the Strategic Policy Group, though Cabinet Secretary coordinates the functioning of the group. Defence Secretary and the CDS would both be heads of respective civilian and military verticals, having

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

direct access and providing independent channels of advice to the RM on respective subjects.

Inter-service preference for the post: All along, as a whole, the approach of the military has been army-centric. There have been many instances that this leads the army to defer and delay requisitioning air support eventually overcoming early reluctance –infamous 1962 war, early days of 1965 operations, 1971 operation, Kargil operations et all. The fact that in today’s context and in the foreseeable future, it is the air forces and navies that win modern wars. This would seem to tilt the balance in the planning and execution of warfare more in favour of Air Force expertise at the very top as compared to other services, certainly in our context. The IAF has come a long way since Kargildays in practically every aspect of warfare. It has fulfilled the expectations in full measure whenever called upon, the recent being Balakot strike.

DEFENCE COLUMN 41

The Selection: The process of selection needs to be put in place without delay.

The problem here is two-fold: an independent thinking officer may be assertive and thus will be seen as a threat by the bureaucracy, while a less assertive one may be less effective defeating the purpose of creating CDS. The present arrangement of the senior-most of the three services being appointed as the chairman of the CoSC with no specific tenure may have managed to incorporate some level of jointness but cannot be said to be anywhere close to the level that the situation demands. A professional screening Committee comprising recently retired former Chiefs of the three services who are themselves not in the reckoning, Scientific Advisor to RM and an independent technocrat of eminence can be considered. At the first thinking rotation from the three services may appear reasonable but that would perhaps restrict the option to choose the right candidate.

The Tenure: The officer once selected should enjoy a minimum tenure of two years and a higher age of retirement than the Service Chiefs, to provide for continuity. If a serving Chief is to be elevated, the age limit of 64 years gives this leverage.

The success of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) will depend on the kind of powers the person appointed to the post enjoys. For the model to succeed, the CDS would require to be fully supported by the RM, NSA, the Service Chiefs and the Defence secretary. In the ultimate analysis, good CDS who has perfected the art of working through tact, consensus-building and mutual respect with his other counterparts in the environment will bring to bear unwritten strength and primacy to the post.

(Author A Wing Commander was a Fighter Controller who actively participated in 1965and 1971 wars. He was awarded VSM(VishishtSeva Medal) by the President of India on January 1976. Views expressed by the author are personal.)

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

42

CROOKED COPS

Black sheep on the rise

Crooked cops in every police station D

THE NEWS BUREAU

espite tall claims of police reforms, friendly policing and transparency, cops remain cruel in the eyes of common people due to the ‘black sheep’ within the police department. The deeds of the ‘black sheep’ have earned the department the infamous title ‘crooked cops’.

Even as the day to remember the sacrifices of police martyrs approaches, it is unfortunate some ‘crooked cops’ are inflicting serious damage to the reputation of Telangana state’s ‘efficient’ police department. The News has been at the forefront in uncovering the crooked cops and we do it again in an attempt to make the higher-ups respond to the situation.

Recently, Hyderabad task force sleuths made an attempt to settle a civil dispute at the behest of an influential builder, though standard operating procedures strictly stipulate the cops not to interfere in civil disputes.

A senior citizen named Vijay Jain from R P Road had purchased a 300 square yards plot at Marredpally over 20 years ago for Rs. 21 lakh. He had paid 70 per cent of the sale consideration and entered into an agreement with the land owners.

However, he could not arrange the remaining 30 percent money within the agreed time and a case is pending in the civil court. In the meantime, the land price jacked up multifold and a builder entered into an agreement with the land owners

with an assurance that he has clout in the police department and he would take care of the dispute.

Accordingly, the builder ap-

Taskforce DCP Radhakishan Rao with inspector Nageshwer Rao

proached inspector Nageshwar Rao in the city task force. On his request, the task force sleuths summoned the land owners and the

Anudeep Bookya, Inspector

senior citizen Vijay to the task force office and threatened the latter with foisting criminal cases if

he refused to withdraw the civil case and vacate the land.

Since his family members were kept in dark, the senior citizen’s kin informed the city police commissioner over Twitter about the illegal detention of the old man. Immediately, the task force sleuths released the old man at 11.30 pm.

However, task force DCP, Radhakishan Rao denies the allegations. He tried to clarify that the old man was called in connection with the SC, ST atrocities case and another complaint filed against him.

But what comes as a surprise for the people is that what is that the task force has got to do even if SC, ST atrocity case is registered against the old man. It is the job of the Assistant Commissioner of Police concerned to call the old man for investigation. Despite this, neither the city police boss nor the state police boss is interested in initiating action against the erring task force sleuths.

After all, this is not the first instance where task force under the leadership of Radhakishan Rao has violated the rules for settling civil disputes and demand protection money from ‘select people’.

The situation is no different in Cyberabad and Rachakonda police commissionerate.

Documents available with The News show that Miyapur police have registered a criminal case against three persons in connection with a financial transaction between them and the complainant, though the transac-

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

tion did not take place in Miyapur police station limits.

In fact, the transaction took place in Khammam district. Even the complainant and one of the accused persons are residents of Khammam district. However, the complainant has clout Miyapur inspector, who directed the complainant to file a court refer case saying the transaction took place in a restaurant in Miyapur and made the restaurant owner as the witness.

The funniest thing in this episode is that the inspector is taking the Cyberabad police commissioner for a ride, who is known for his caliber in intelligence. So, the inspector has proved one thing that higher-ups are mere spectators but those who actually rule the roost are the station house officers.

Coming to Rachakonda, the inspectors and sub-inspectors feel they are more powerful than the bosses. Evidences show that the then additional inspector of Medipally police station, Bhukya Anudeep has made every attempt to threaten a couple Bhukya Venugopal, a railway employee and his wife Praveena.

Praveena, who had completed her engineering, wanted to start a small scale industry, instead of sitting idle at home. So, she started an ice-cream making unit in Chengicherla in partnership with her husband’s friend Vijay and two others. Vijay used to manage the business affairs but differences cropped up due to his suspicious activity. Then Praveena was given charge of business affairs, but Vijay wanted to take over the entire business and threatened Praveena with dire consequences apart from abusing her in the name of caste.

As a result, she filed a case of SC, ST atrocity against Vijay. The

CROOKED COPS 43

latter approached Medipally additional inspector Bhukya Anudeep.

As per the inspector’s advice, Vijay gave a complaint against Praveena and her husband. As if acting on the

Venkatesh Shamala, Inspector

complaint, inspector Anudeep began threatening Venugopal over phone that he will land in trouble since he is a government employee if he did not come to police station and settle the issue.

But Praveena and her husband stood their ground and in the meantime Anudeep was transferred from Medipally. However, the way in-

P. Anjaneyulu Sub - Inspector Uppal

spector Anudeep threatened the couple makes people lose faith in the entire police department.

In yet another instance, Sub-Inspector P. Anjaneyulu of Uppal

police station refused to conduct counseling to a couple in connection with family dispute though the victim T. Pandurangachari approached the police for help.

The SI was so adamant that he did not even bother to obey the instructions from the Assistant Commissioner of Police to counsel the couple and ensure that they lead their marital life happily. Now, the SI has been promoted as circle inspector and posted to Hyderabad city.

Same is the case with some crooked cops in other districts of Telangana. Inspector Yakub Basha of Suryapet subjected a senior citizen and his family to mental torture after the old man’s daughter-in-law lodged a complaint with the police.

Taking advantage of the complaint, Yakub Basha summoned the old man Azeemuddin of Nelakondapally of Khammam district by making repeated phone calls and threatening with dire consequences if they do not come to the police station.

“I pleaded with the inspector to give some time as all my family members are suffering from viral fevers and my son Shaik Mehrajuddin is not even in a position to get up from the bed. I don’t know why my daughter-in-law went to police.

She is pregnant and will deliver a child in about two weeks. We want her to join our family again after the delivery. But the inspector is trying to separate my son and daughter-in-law,” Azeemuddin told The News over phone.

Now comes the classic case of a ‘crooked cop’, who cares least for common people’s life. Sub-Inspector, Matchender Reddy of Tadur police station in Nagarkurnool assembly constituency. He is facing

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

44

CROOKED COPS

Matchender Reddy Sub-Inspector of Police, Tadur PS, Nagarkurnool Dist.

allegations of supporting the ruling the party and subjecting others to physical and mental torture.

In the latest case, the SI subjected the victim Venkataiah of Polmur village in Tadur Mandal to immense mental torture due to which he suffered heart stroke and succumbed. All this happened when Venkataiah tried to protect the agricultural land he has been cultivating for long and which is the only source of his livelihood.

It is alleged that the sarpanch and some ward members of Gram Panchayat tried to take away the land from Venkataiah stating it was poramboke land and the panchayat wishes to take it back for graveyard.

However, Venkataiah opposed this saying the village already has a graveyard and some more waste land is available near

Deceased Venkataiah

the existing graveyard and if his land is taken away, he would lose his livelihood.

But it is said that the ruling party leaders wanted Venkataiah to deprive of his livelihood as he supported Congress party in the elections. Consequently, they lodged a

complaint with the police. The SI, Matchender Reddy, known for supporting the ruling party, repeatedly summoned Venkataiah to the police station and threatened him with dire consequences. Out of worry and fear, Venkataiah suffered heart stroke and fell dead in the agricultural land he cultivated.

His dead caused uproar in the village. The villagers protested in front of the police station along with the body of Venkataiah. It was then higher-ups tried to pacify the villagers offering to give patta to Venkataiah’s family for the land under their cultivation.

Though the villagers alleged that Matchender Reddy was responsible for Venkataiah’s death,, higher ups refused to take action against him.

What is more! Matchender Reddy is accused of inciting faction rivalry in the village by supporting only the ruling party members and some influential sections in connection with disputes related to access to agricultural fields. The SI is allegedly advising farmers supporting other parties and belonging to poor sections to sell their lands to rich and powerful and leave the village instead of approaching officials for access to their agricultural fiends.

Ironically, Matchender Reddy has been able to get back posting and resume his partisan behavior within few months after being suspended for his corrupt and partisan activities while working at Wanaparthy rural police station.

This is only the tip of an iceberg. The ‘black sheep’ and ‘crooked cops’ can be found in every police station in Telangana.

The need of the hour is honesty and political will to bring about a change in the situation.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

THE NATION

45

Howdy, Modi!

What happened & why?

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THE NEWS BUREAU

n Indian Prime Minister, once denied a visa and banned from entering the US, gave it back. What could be a greater irony for those who had lobbied so hard to keep Narendra Modi out, or a greater triumph for a foreign leader?

Modi’s event got unprecedented traction in the US; with every major newspaper, even those that have been Modi-baiters if not Modi-haters, featuring him and

Trump on their front page. A slew of bipartisan Senators and Congressmen greeted Modi and lauded Indo-US ties. No doubt, Trump’s presence added a whole new dimension to ‘Howdy, Modi!’ Trump praised India and Modi; Modi said Trump was a great leader and friend of India. The Indian Prime Minister and the US President did a victory lap of the stadium, hand in hand, Apart from the optics and the sonics, the event was almost pure energy.

This how the event progressed: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump shared the stage for 91 minutes in Houston’s NRG Stadium on Septmber 22, and created a show of bonhomie at the “Howdy Modi: Shared Dreams, Bright Futures” event. Through the hour-and-half when Modi and Trump spoke, the audience — organisers said that it crossed 50,000 people - applauded 112 times.

Modi introduced Trump. As he

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

46

THE NATION

introduced Trump, he called him “warm, friendly, accessible, energetic, and full of wit”. “I admire him for something more: his sense of leadership, a passion for America, a concern for every American, a belief in American future, and a strong resolve to make America great again.”Trump, on stage, stood in attention and smiled through the introduction.

Trump began speaking saying “I am so thrilled to be here in the great state of Texas with one of America’s greatest, most devoted, and most loyal friends: Prime Minister Modi of India. And Prime Minister Modi is doing a truly exceptional job for India and for all of the Indian people. It is my immense privilege to be here with him today at this profoundly historic event. We’re especially grateful to be joined by over 50,000 incredible members of our nation’s

thriving, prospering, flourishing, and hardworking Indian American community.

“Both India and the United States also understand that to keep our communities safe, we must protect our borders. Since taking office, my administration has launched a far-reaching effort to improve screening and vetting of applications for entry. We are working hard to ensure that those who would threaten our security are denied admission into our country. And we are enhancing our vetting efforts like never before.

Not even close. We’re doing it on a daily basis, and we’ll soon be setting records at every one of the aspects of border security. Border security is vital to the United States. Border Security is vital to India. We understand that.

“Illegal immigration is deeply unfair to millions of wonderful,

legal immigrants who work hard, pay their taxes, follow our rules, and obey our laws. Yet, there are those in Washington who would raid your healthcare to fund free benefits. They want to fund free benefits to those who enter our country illegally. We don’t want to do that.”

Greeting the gathering by saying “Howdy, my friends.” PM Modi said he could see a reflection of the Texas spirit right there. “The significance of this huge gathering is not limited to mere numbers, to arithmetic. Today, we are witnessing here the making of a new history and the making of new chemistry, too,” he said. Described the energy of NRG bears as a testimony to the growing synergy of India and the United States of America.

Modi said that the Indians are known for their patience. But now

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

they are impatient. Impatient for the development of our country. Today, the buzzword in India is “development.” The greatest model in India today is collective efforts, inclusive growth. Today, the biggest policy in India is public participation. Today, the strongest sentiment among Indians is the resolve to attain. And today, India’s greatest resolve is the creation of a new India.

Prime Minister said while ease of doing business is important the ease of living is equally important.

And the way to achieve this is by empowering people. It is only when the common man is empowered that social and economic development over the country will take place at a fast pace. “Friends, we are setting ourselves a challenge to do away with cor-

THE NATION 47

WHY TRUMP AT ‘HOWDY, MODI’?

The US President faces the daunting prospect of re-election next year considering that he's not exactly been on chum-chum terms with his domestic political constituency -which also explains his opening act at Modi's rally in front of 50,000 Indians, who, it might be added, have the highest median household income among all races in the US. The American farmers and manufacturers, who have been badly hit by the tariff war between Washington and Beijing, are also a key constituency for Trump, who would certainly be looking to give them access to newer markets -which is why he's looking at smallsized trade deals with countries like India and Japan that do not show him backing down too much but at the same time, do not imperil the livelihoods of Americans. Moreover, big trade deals typically need Congressional approval, which Trump would like to avoid in the penultimate year of his first term - utilising perhaps a relatively obscure provision in the US trade law that gives the President the power to reduce certain tariffs, which are less than 5%, to 0 and halve some other tariffs which are above 5%, that could be "unduly burdening and restricting the foreign trade of the United States."

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

ruption, and we are working towards bidding farewell to it at all levels. In the last two or three years, India has also bid farewell to 350,000 shell companies. We have also bid farewell to over 80 million fake names, which existed just on paper in order to avail and to benefit from government schemes. And friends, can you imagine how much money we have saved by preventing it from falling into the wrong hands? Approximately 1.5 trillion rupees; that is almost 20 billion U.S. dollars.”

“The country was also facing another challenge for the last 70 years — a challenge that India bid farewell to only recently.“Aap samajh gaye, na? (You have understood, haven’t you?) And that is Article 370. Article 370 deprived the people of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh of development and equal rights.

48

THE NATION

The forces funding terrorism and separatism were exploiting the situation. Now, the same rights that were given by the Constitution of India to the rest of Indians have now also been given to the people

of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Taking New Delhi’s ties with the US to new heights, Narendra Modi endorsed US President Donald Trump for a second term saying ‘Abki Baar Trump Sarkar‘

Endorsing Trump poll campaign Congress slams Modi

The Congress on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of violating Indian foreign policy’s “time-honoured convention” of not interfering in domestic elections of another country by “actively campaigning” for US President Donald Trump at the ‘Howdy, Modi’ event in Houston. The opposition party said Modi was in the US as India’s Prime Minister and not as a “star campaigner” in the US elections.

Addressing the media, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said: “Our relationship with the United States have throughout been bipartisan, vis-à-vis Republicans and Democrats. Your actively campaigning for Trump is a breach of both India and America as sovereign nations and democracies. Mr Prime Minister, you have violated the time-honoured principle of Indian foreign policy of not interfering in the domestic elections of another country.“This is a singular disservice to the long-term strategic interests of India.”

Sharma said Modi should have honoured the convention that “we do not take a partisan position in domestic electoral politics” of another country. “It should not be seen that India is taking positions or sides, and the Prime Minister using that platform to exhort and raising that slogan on ‘Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar’ was better avoided,” the Congress leader said.

in front of nearly 50,000 IndianAmericans at the ‘Howdy, Modi’ event in Houston. Further praising Trump for his contributions across the globe, Modi said, “His name is familiar to every person on the planet. His name comes up almost every conversation in the world on global politics.” “From CEO to commander in chief, from boardrooms to oval office, from studio to global stage. It is my honour and privilege to welcome here at this magnificent gathering,” he added.

I would like to reiterate the fact that President Trump is firmly committed to fighting this battle against terrorism.

President Trump’s commitment to fighting terrorism — let us give him a standing ovation for his commitment to fighting terrorism. At this point, everyone stood up and gave a standing ovation, including the US delegation. He ended his speech and came down the stage.

And asked Trump to take a lap of the stadium together. They took the lap and both left the stadium.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

INTERNATIONAL 49

US calls out Pakistan

Have concern for Muslims in China

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xposing the double standards of Pakistan, the United States has asked Pakistan to express the "same level" of concern about detentions of Muslims in Western China as they do for Kashmir. "...I would like to see the same level of concern expressed also about Muslims who are being detained in Western China, literally in concentration-like conditions. And so being concerned about the human rights of Muslims do extend more broadly than Kashmir, and you've seen the administration very involved here during the UN General Assembly and trying to shine a light on the horrific conditions that continue to exist for Muslims throughout China," said Alice Wells, US Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia on Thursday while replying to a question about Pakistan PM's alleged concerns about Kashmir.

Wells' the reaction came as Pakistan has ramped up its rhetoric against India over the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and expressing concern over the situation of Muslims in the region. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan even had called himself an ambassador of the Kashmiri people.

However, when it comes to China's treatment of Muslims, Pakistan has been mum and when asked to comment on it, the Pakistan PM has tried to brush it aside

saying that there is a lot going on in its own country. China has been condemned internationally for cracking down on its minorities.

China has been accused of oppressing the Uighurs by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending the community to undergo some form of forceful re-education or indoctrination.

Pakistan, Indonesia and the whole Islamic world. Pakistan, as well as several other nations including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, recently took up for China as a human rights defender despite the ongoing violations by the nation in the Uighur region, Hong Kong and Tibet. Today, due to the silence of Islamic nations, millions of Uighurs are suffering.

No independent investigation has been allowed yet. Only govern-

ment-led tours have been organised

by China. Recently, China announced that they had freed 90 per cent of Uidhur from the cams, but deserted streets and locked homes say otherwise.

In an exclusive interview to Al Jazeera that was aired on August 14, Imran Khan talked in length about his version of conditions of Kashmiris and how BJP led government is "racist" and "fascist" while shockingly expressing complete ignorance of the issues being faced by Uighur Muslims. During the interview when journalist Mohammed Jamjoom asked Khan whether he had ever got a chance to discuss the issue of Uighur Muslims with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Khan replied that he does not know "much" about the problem and Beijing is Islamabad's "best friend.

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50 ECONOMY

India Inc gets

What in Budget didn't

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n her maiden Budget in July, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had lowered the corporate tax rate for most companies but excluded the biggest. "We shall cover them sooner," she had said.

In the third week of September, in her fourth phase of post-budget economic stimulus measures, Sitharaman cut base corporate tax for existing companies to 22 per cent from the current 30 per cent and for new manufacturing firms, incorporated after October 1, 2019,

and starting operations before March 31, 2023, to 15 per cent from the current 25 per cent. The companies in the respective categories can opt for the lower tax if they don't avail exemptions and incentives.

The sharp cut brings India's corporate tax rate on par with the global average of 23.79 per cent and closer to the Asian average of 21.09 per cent. The move will also help pitch India as a manufacturing destination to companies looking for alternatives to China. During the second week of September

Thailand cut its corporate tax rate to 10 per cent for factories that relocate from China. The 15 per cent tax for new manufacturing firms in India compares favourably with countries like Vietnam (20 Per cent) Five consecutive quarters of slowing growth saw India losing its status as the fastest-growing major economy to China this year. The GDP growth rate slowed down to a six-year low of 5 per cent in the June quarter. India's stock markets were also on course towards the biggest quarterly exodus since at least 1999, with foreign funds

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

ECONOMY having dumped a net $4.9 billion worth of stocks since June.

A lower rate will make big companies more competitive (the combined tax liability of companies in higher tax bracket is likely to reduce by Rs 45,000 crore) compared to their global peers and leave them with more cash to invest and expand their businesses.

This would lead to more job creation and better income growth, which will give a boost to the economy. Lower taxes will also improve the valuation of companies that could drive the sentiment in the stock market. A lower capital gains tax on listed equities (the surcharge imposed in the budget has been withdrawn) will prompt more Indians to invest in the stock market and help counter the foreign fund outflows. Stock markets celebrated the announcement with the biggest rally in 10 years as Sensex rallied 1,921 points, the biggest single-day gain since May 2009.

The Centre will lose an estimated Rs 1.45 lakh crore in revenue due to the tax cuts. That could also mean a bigger hole in the government's finances. Experts say that the government is likely to run a fiscal deficit higher than the 3.3% of GDP it has budgeted for. If the government attempts to counter this through spending cuts, it may hurt the economy. A higher shortfall in government finances could mean the need to borrow more and leave less for the private sector.

However, divestment offers another way of raising money. The government is also expected to recoup some of the revenue loss in the form of higher-than-budgeted dividends likely to be passed on by public sector companies if they show stronger profits.

Unlike the economic package after the global financial crisis (2008-09) that was aimed at increasing spending and boosting consumption, the benefits from this

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one will come to consumers through companies. More profits could allow companies to cut prices of their products to boost sales during the slowdown. Some companies may offer dividends to their investors. However, the speculation in the market is that the government may announce measures on income tax next to boost consumer sentiment and demand. The task force on direct taxes had recommended a reduction in top rates of both corporate and income tax.

The GST Council, meanwhile, decided not to cut rates on automobiles but made hotel stays cheaper.

GST rate on hotels charging above Rs 1,000 a night and up to Rs 7,500 has been cut from 18 per cent to 12 per cent and for those charging above that the rate has come down from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. The only reduction announced for automobiles was a lower cess component for 11- to 13-seater minibuses.

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52 THE NATION

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he government has imposed a complete ban on e-cigarettes.

As per the directions of the Prime Minister’s Office, a Group of Ministers (GoM) recently examined the Prohibition of E-cigarettes Ordinance, 2019 and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the production, manufacturing, import/export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertising related to e-cigarettes are banned.

The Health Ministry’s e-cigarette ordinance proposed a maximum jail term of up to one year along with Rs. 1 lakh penalty against first-time violators. The government mentioned about this ban in its first 100 days agenda as well. It proposed banning alternative smoking devices like e-cigarettes, vape, e-nicotine and flavoured hookahs, etc. Sitharaman said, “E-cigarettes were meant to be a way of weaning away from smoking cigarettes.”

The government had on September 18 decided to ban e-cigarettes for which an ordinance was cleared making the production, import, export, transport, sell or advertisements of such "alternative" smoking devices a cognisable offence attracting jail term and fine.

First-time violators will face a jail term of up to one year and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. For subsequent offences, a jail term of up to three years or a fine of Rs 5 lakh, or both have been prescribed, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who headed a Group of Ministers (GoM) on the issue, had announced. Storage of ecigarettes shall also be punishable with imprisonment up to six months or fine of up to Rs 50,000 or both.

E-cigarettes ban

Legal battle began

Meahchile a Kolkata-based electronic cigarette wholesale company moved the Calcutta HC challenging the Centre's decision to ban such alternative smoking devices, terming it is arbitrary, discriminatory, excessive and drastic.

Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi claimed before Justice Arindam Sinha that the ban violates fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 (Equality before law), 19 (Protection of Rights) and 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution.

He submitted that the government's decision to ban the production, import, export, transport, sell or advertisements of alternative smoking devices were discriminatory since these are less harmful while sale and advertisements of

combustible tobacco products like cigarettes, cheroots and bidis, which are far more harmful to health, continue with certain restrictions. While advertisements of these products are banned, these cannot be sold near schools or to minors.

E-cigarettes have a negligible quantity of carcinogen, whereas combustible tobacco products have a much higher carcinogenic material, he submitted. Singhvi sought an interim order by the court, stopping any ban by the government on the alternative smoking device till disposal of the petition. He claimed that e-cigarettes actually help smokers give up smoking cigarettes, by switching to this less harmful product.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

ECONOMY

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Global economy to grow slowest

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he US Federal Reserve has announced a widely expected interest rate cut "to provide insurance against ongoing risks" including weak global growth and resurgent trade tensions. The Fed also cut rates in July, the first such move since 2008 when the global financial crisis broke.

US President Donald Trump, who had asked for an aggressive reduction in borrowing costs, wasn't happy with the Fed's quarter- percentage-point cut.

Minutes after the policy announcement Trump tweeted that the US central bank and its chair, Jerome Powell, had "No guts, no sense, no vision!" Trump had last week said the Fed's "boneheads'' should reduce rates to zero or lower.

Does it matter? The rate cuts have an impact on the US economy, which is a major export market for India. If the US economy doesn't do well it would import fewer goods from India too.

Good growth in The US also augurs well for global growth.

Lower interest rates in the US are also an incentive for foreign institutional investors to borrow from there and invest in emerging markets like India, which offer higher interest rates. The Fed's action also acts as a cue to central banks across the world on the direction of interest rates.

Global economy to grow slowest since the financial crisis The global economy will see its weakest growth since the 20082009 financial crisis this year, slowing from 3.6 per cent last year to 2.9 per cent this year before a predicted 3.0 per cent in 2020, the OECD said. In its latest Interim Economic Outlook, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) identified trade conflicts as the principal factor undermining the world economy. "While solid consumer demand has supported service sector output to date, persistent weakness in manufacturing sectors

and continuing trade tensions could weaken employment growth, household income and spending," it said.

India will grow at 5.9 per cent in 2019, and 6.3 per cent in 2020 -both downward revision of over 0.6 basis points from the last estimate-the organisation said. China, which is burdened by the trade war with the US, will grow at 6.1 per cent in 2019 and 5.7 per cent in 2020.

OECD had in May estimated the global economy to grow at 3.2 per cent this year and 3.4 per cent in 2020. "What looked like temporary trade tensions are turning into a long-lasting new state of trade relationships," OECD chief economist Laurence Boone said. "The global order that regulated trade is gone and we are in a new era of less certain, more bilateral and sometimes assertive trade relations," she added. The body called for "greater structural reform ambition" in all economies to help offset the impact of the negative supply shocks.

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STATES

Gorakhpur hospital tragedy

Yogi ‘Govt. should apologise’

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ears after an oxygen shortage killed more than 60 children at Gorakhpur's BRD Medical College, a departmental inquiry absolved paediatrician Dr Kafeel Khan of the charges of medical negligence, corruption and dereliction of duty. A state government report submitted to Uttar Pradesh’s medical education department has absolved Khan of the charges.

The 15-page report does not hold Khan guilty of ‘medical negligence’ and says that he had made all efforts to control the situation when the hospital was dealing with oxygen shortage for 54 hours between August 10 and 11, 2017. The investigation report stated that Khan was not the nodal medical officer-in-charge of the Encephalitis Ward at BRD Hospital and that the documents contesting the same provided by the Department were “inadequate and inconsistent.”

Furthermore, it clarifies that Khan had informed his seniors of the oxygen shortage, providing the inquiry officer with call details of the same and also presenting proof of providing seven oxygen cylinders in his personal capacity, on the night of the tragedy.

Reacting over this, Khan posted a video message on Twitter and demanded an apology from Yogi Adityanath-led UP government.

“The tag of murderer, infamous qatil (murderer) Dr Kafeel has been removed. Those parents who lost their infants are still waiting for justice. I demand that the government should apologise and give compensation to the victim families”,

Khan said.

He also blamed the state government for keeping him in the dark about being absolved of the allegations made against him for around five months. “While the government has not been able to pin down the actual culprit yet, I have been made the scapegoat. The report was not sent to me in all these months. Now, the Medical Education Department has asked me to come forth to present my case on the private practice issue, which is not even related to the tragedy,” he said.“The government should tender an apology, provide victims with compensation and get the incident probed by the CBI,” he added.

Gorakhpur BRD tragedy: The death of Gorakhpur children due to oxygen shortage in August 2017 had become a major issue for the Yogi Adityanath government, which had been sworn in barely five months prior to the tragedy. Nearly 60 children, mostly infants, died at the hospital within a week in August 2017. There were allegations that the deaths occurred due to disruption in oxygen supply over unpaid bills to the vendor. The state government

denied that a shortage of oxygen led to the deaths.

On the intervening night of August 11, Dr Kafeel Khan, child specialist and doctor in-charge of the encephalitis ward, received a frantic call from the hospital, informing him that all oxygen would soon dry up.

Well aware that patients of encephalitis wouldn't survive without continuous oxygen supply, Dr Khan rushed to nearby hospitals to borrow cylinders for some critical patients.

However, he was removed as the Nodal Officer for BRD Medical College's Department of Pediatrics.

In its report submitted on August 23, 2017, a committee under the then UP chief secretary Rajive Kumar probing the hospital tragedy had recommended initiating criminal action against the then principal of the BRD Medical College Dr Rajiv Mishra, HoD Anaesthesia Paediatric department Dr Satish Kumar and in-charge of 100-bed AES ward Dr Kafeel Khan and a firm Pushpa Sales.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

CINEMA

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Dadasaheb Phalke Awards (South)

Mahesh Babu ‘Best Actor’

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fter five successful marquee events in Mumbai & Delhi, Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival launched its first-ever Most Prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Awards South to honour and appreciate the creativity & talent of South Film Industry on September 20, 2019, in Hyderabad, Telangana. The ceremony has recognized and feted South Indian actors and films for their achievements. Dadasaheb PhalkeAwards South is a unique initiative intended to honour the entertainment industry and to appreciate the creativity, in the presence of Governor, Ministers, Celebrities, Dignitaries, Industrialistsand Media Personnel. The Jury was headed by Chandrashekhar Pusalkar – Grandson of Dadasaheb Phalke Ji. After witnessing the contribution of South Indian Film Industry

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CINEMA

into the Indian Cinema, team DPIFF makes sure to set a platform in the South where the talent & creativity can be honoured. The DPIFF platform will set a realistic benchmark to motivate, inspire & nurture the talent of South Indian Cinema on National Level. This award is different from the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Awards instituted by the Government of India.

The Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival is organized to honour the lifetime effort of the father of Indian cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke.

The festival will celebrate the brilliance of the Indian film industry, which is making an effort to acknowledge as well as aid nascent projects by bringing them to mainstream audiences.

DPIFF is continuing the legacy of Dadasaheb Phalke – Father of Indian Cinema. The main aim & the motive of DPIFF is "Appreciation to the Creation".

Speaking of the awards night, many stars from Telugu industry, Mahesh Babu and Anushka Shetty took home the top honours. For the unversed, Mahesh Babu received Best

actor award for his role in Bharat AneNenu and wife Namrata Shriodkar was present to receive the award. On the other hand, Anushka Shetty bagged the best award for her movie Bhaagamathie. Speaking of the lifetime achievement award, the same was bestowed upon Mohan Babu.

Sukumar and Devi Sri Prasad received an award for their movie Rangasthalam. The best debut

award in the female category was went to Payal Rajput for her movie RX100. Keerthy Suresh and Yash won an outstanding performers award. The former received for Mahanati while Yash received for KGF. For the unversed, Keerthy Suresh recently won National award while Yash received best leading actor during SIIMA awards (Kanada) this year.

While taking up the award, KGF star was seen saying some of his popular dialogues from the movie and the same received a lot of cheers from the audience.

While JagapathiBabu won best negative role award for AravindhaSametha, cinematographer Rathnavelu won an award for Rangasthalam.

DPIFF founder and MD Anil Mishra, CEO Abhishek Mishra along with their team Yash Jain, Vinay Punamiya, Raju Tiwari, Shweta Mishra, Vinay Singh, Mili Patel, Deepesh Sawant &Sumit Sharma were present at the event. As part of the even Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival was also organised.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

INSPIRATION

Gunjan Saxena

The pioneer in flying into a combat zone

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BY: A.RAMMOHAN RAO

he first look of the Gunjan Saxena biopic, which stars Janhvi Kapoor in the lead, was released by the makers recently. The film titled Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl will see Janhvi portraying a real-life person for the first time in her career. This has natu-

rally created a lot of interest in the country, especially among youngsters to know who is Gunjan Saxena. Flight lieutenant Gunjan Saxena was the first Indian Air Force woman officer who went to war. She made history during the Kargil war in 1999 when, as a flying officer, she flew a Cheetah aircraft into the combat zone and

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A still from Gunjan Saxena biopic

rescued several soldiers.

The Kargil War in 1999 was a legendary victory for India. It showed the World what we were capable of, and more. India witnessed the ultimate grit and dedication of the defence forces as they uprooted the Pakistani infiltrants on the battlefield.

Operation Vijay and Operation

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58 INSPIRATION

Safed Sagar were two major operations that led to India’s victory in this conflict. The Indian Air Force (IAF) was monumental in tipping the scales of the war in India’s favour. The IAF employed airpower at an unprecedented 32,000 feet and the special, short term training undertaken by their pilots and engineers worked really well in identifying and eradicating Pakistani troops from their hidden nooks.

Amongst this grand mayhem and roaring victory, the IAF added another feather to their cap in the name of (then) Flight Officer Gunjan Saxena.

Gunjan Saxena has made history as she flew into a combat zone during the War, a feat which had not been allowed for or achieved by a lady officer in the IAF. For this courageous task, she was later bestowed with the Shaurya Chakra- an Indian military

decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy.

Gunjan Saxena was pursuing an undergraduate course at Hansraj College when she came across the golden opportunity of joining the very first batch of female IAF trainee pilots. A second generation defence officer, she was not out of sync with the challenges and opportunities that came with this life.

Her father and brother were serving in the Indian Army at that time. The opportunity Gunjan was confronted with was an unprecedented one that excited her. The defence forces were not only majorly dominated by male officers, lady officers in the IAF had also not yet been given the chance to fly as equals with their male counterparts.

Gunjan decided that she had to grab this chance. She cleared the entrance exam, the SSB, and the

medical tests and joined the IAF as a pilot. Of course, lady officers weren’t then allowed to fly fighter jets (as they can now) but her batch had created history nonetheless. It was still unsure how they would cope with the mental and physical stress of flying, and of wars. These feisty young women needed just one chance to prove their mettle- a chance which arrived with the Kargil War in 1999.

The Kargil War took a toll on the Indian Forces and their resources. The IAF too was banking on each and every pilot they had.

Hence, the women pilots were called in for duties involving tasks of medical evacuation, the dropping of supplies, and reconnaissance.“I could not wait to be called.” said Gunjan Saxena in an interview. Now came the time for her to fly, quite literally. Gunjan and another courageous pilot, Srividya Rajan, were entrusted with

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

INSPIRATION

crucial duties in the combat zone.

They were to be the first ladies to fly into a combat zone.

As flight Officer Gunjan Saxena flew her chopper to airdrop vital supplies to Indian troops at high points in the Dras and Batalik sectors. In these journeys, she also picked up the wounded/dead bodies from steep and unruly mountain ranges which speak volumes of her skills as a pilot. She meticulously informed her seniors of the enemy positions and status which added to better strategies and ultimately contributed to the overall victory of the force’s operations.

Gunjan Saxena knew that she was flying into volatile areas where her enemies were waiting to pounce on her. She showed great grit and determination as she flew on fearlessly, ready to face death if need be. She would carry a fully loaded INSAS assault rifle and a revolver with her on the chopper in case she would have to battle her way out of the enemy’s areas on land (in case of a crash landing).

Her small Cheetah helicopter would run through extremely

hostile territories in unpredictable and perilous weather conditions. In a terrifying incident during one of her sorties, the Pakistani Army fired a rocket at Gunjan’s helicopter which was ready for take-off at the Kargil airstrip. The chopper just barely managed to escape the attack as the missile missed it and crashed into a hill behind it in a deafening explosion. The brave young officer remained undaunted by this nerve-wracking event and

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did not let it hamper her focus on her duty. Her life was in danger throughout, but she did not back down, just as would be expected from a true soldier.

Gunjan’s work was exemplary, and it shows. However, her tenure with the IAF was a short one which ended a few years after the Kargil War. This was because the concept of the permanent commission was not valid back then. She is delighted with the fact that now women are allowed permanent commission in the IAF: “I think inducting women in the fighter stream is a very, very big and a positive step on part of the Air Force.

Being a pioneer, I would say, it feels great and I would only say that I hope these women who’ve come into the fighter stream now give their 100 per cent and really, really touch the sky with glory.”

A story not often mentioned, Gunjan’s unique tale of valour continues to inspire all those who hear of her. Bollywood which is now after real-life stories is producing a movie on her life. Which is likely to be released in March next year.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

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SPORTS

Winners at world championships

Applause for India's wrestlers

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ndia managed its best-ever run at the Wrestling World Championships. Five wrestlers bagged medals a silver and four bronzes — as well as four Olympic quota places at Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Their victories lead to bettering India's previous best show (in 2013), when the country managed three medals courtesy Amir Dahiya (silver), Bajrang Punia (bronze) and Sandeep Tulsi Yadav (bronze).At the beginning of the month, India's shooters had managed their biggest-ever gold haul at the ISSF World Cup, while the pugilists recorded their bestever finish at the World Boxing Championships.

Punia, in fact, claimed the bronze medal in the 65 kg category this year - the first Indian to win three medals at the World Championships. And while Ravi Kumar also won bronze in the 57 kg category, Vinesh Phogat was the sole Indian woman wrestler to bag a me dal, picking up bronze in the 53 kg category. And then arrived India's

best result at this year's World Championships. Having qualified for the final of the 86 kg category, Deepak Punia was aiming to be the second Indian wrestler, after Sushil Kumar (in 2010) to win a World Championships title. The 20-yearold was also targeting his third successive gold this season after winning the Cadet World Championships and then the Junior World Championships. He was the youngest-ever Indian wrestler and the fifth overall to reach a World Championships final.

But Deepak was forced to miss the title clash against Iranian Hasan Yazdanichara due to injuries and settled for silver. This after picking up an injury on his left leg and eye in his first-round fight versus Kazakhstan's Adilet Davlumbayev. "I suffered an injury during my first bout. My left leg is swollen. I wanted to win a gold medal for my

country but unfortunately, it didn't happen. I thought I will recover in time but failed to recover," said Deepak. On same day evening, came India's fifth medal. Rahul Aware won bronze in the 61kg freestyle category at the World Wrestling Championships when he defeated USA's Tyler Lee Graff 114 in the non-Olympic category.

Overall Indian wrestlers continued to make the country proud on the penultimate day of the World Wrestling Championships 2019.

Indian wrestlers have concluded country’s run at the World Wrestling Championships 2019 in Nur-Sultan with its best-ever haul of 5 medals that included 1 silver and 4 bronze medals. India’s Rahul Aware added the final medal by winning bronze in the 61kg event.

Deepak Punia had to settle for silver after pulling out of his title bout.

THE NEWS YOU LIKE | OCTOBER 2019

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homas Cook, the 178-year-old travel company best known for its packaged holidays has collapsed after a plan to get emergency funding from shareholders and creditors failed. The collapse leaves 21,000 jobs at risk and nearly 150,000 British travellers stranded abroad.

Founded by Thomas Cook (1808-92), a book salesman and a Baptist preacher, in 1841, the company is credited for taking international tourism beyond the gentry, allowing the emerging British middle class of the Industrial Revolution to visit exotic locales — from Egypt to India.

Under the British Raj, the company was also responsible for the Hajj pilgrimage from India to Mecca.

The company survived two World Wars, expanded even as the Empire fell, but ultimately failed to the good old internet — tourist booking tickets online a la carte — ending its journey just before Britain is stepping outside the European Union.

Troubles began in 2007 when Thomas Cook merged with MyTravel, in a bid to create a giant European travel company that would withstand younger, online rivals.

The company had to writedown 1.1 billion pounds on this merger and its debt as of May this year way 1.2 billion pounds. It tried to stay afloat by making Chinese conglomerate Fosun — an investor since 2015 — a majority investor. But the conditions of the deal meant banks had to write-off a large part of their loans, and other shareholders had to give up control. That plan failed over the weekend, and it entered compulsory liquidation.

Having rejected a bailout

BUSINES

Thomas Cook closed

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The end of the journey

package that would have cost 200 million pounds, the British government has now made plans to bring home the 150,000 stranded abroad, in its biggest repatriation efforts in peacetime. Reports say the government of Boris Johnson may also investigate what caused the failure of the firm. The 178-year-old company said in a statement that its board "concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect" after talks on a financial rescue failed. All Thomas Cook bookings have been cancelled, the UK Civil Aviation Authority tweeted.

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. is an integrated travel and travel-related financial services company, with

headquarters in Mumbai, India. ...

In 1881, Thomas Cook established its first office in India and eventually extended to over 233 locations (including 23 airport counters) in 94 cities across India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Thomas Cook India has clarified it is a separate corporate entity from the collapsed Thomas Cook Group Plc, and instead is majority-owned by Fairfax Financial and uses the brand name through a licencing agreement with the British firm.

Yet, that did not stop investors from selling its stock in India. Thomas Cook India also said it is looking to buy the brand name for the Indian market (and Sri Lanka and Mauritius) in view of the collapse of the British firm.

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SHOBHA’S PAT ON MIND

Grama devatas

The protecting power within

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sculptor brought a rock of nine feet and cut a six feet piece from it and pushed the three feet piece aside. The six feet rock piece was installed in the temple as an idol whereas the three feet rock reached a lake. The stinking minds stood before the idol. The stinking clothes reached the rock in the lake.

The priest was chanting holy hymns in the temple which were not understood whereas the sounds of “issu” were coming from the washerman at the lake. “Shata gopam” was touching every head sacredly in the temple, whereas every cloth was hit to the rock for getting purified.

All most all the minds went from the temple with stink as before whereas the clothes went absolutely cleaned from the lake.

The idol in the temple and the rock in the lake.

Which is God and which is rock?

The above is my translation to the veteran film actor, late Ranganath’s piece of poetry in Telugu.

Anybody would answer that the rock in the lake is God in the above context.

Here is an Analogy : Two friends, Mallayya and Ellappa were to travel through a forest at midnight to get a rare herb.

Mallayya’s foreign-returned friend, Venkat had presented him a torch.

He carried the torch to use in the path of darkness. However much he tried, Mallayya couldn’t switch on the torch. Even Ellappa failed.

Finally, Ellappa pulled out a matchbox and was continuously rubbing

BY - DR SHOBHA RAJU

the match sticks to matchbox to light up the path. Somehow they returned unsuccessfully as the torch didn’t work.

Two days later, Venkat came to the village to meet his friend. The friend narrated about their unsuccessful mission. Venkat asked for the torch to see whether it was working or not. It was working!

The switch was to be pressed for a few seconds and pushed forward.

But Mallayya didn’t know that because he couldn’t read the manual.

Now, which is better for travel?

Matchbox or the torch? Everyone ‘s answer would be the torch only in this context.

The problem was with Mallayya, not with the torch. He didn’t know the procedure to operate it nor he could read the manual. In fact, both are useful in different situations. So also the rock in the lake serves a physical purpose. The rock in the temple is consecrated following different and subtle physics for the devotees to connect with the subtle energy whereas the rock in

the lake is serving a different and physical purpose.

Veera Mangamma’s grave is treated like a temple and worshipped in our village. The story in brief goes like this : The then ruler of Punganur was very respectful of our ancestors and used to send the groceries and gifts to us especially in special occasions like marriages. Veera Mangamma was my father’s maternal grand mother’s grandmother.

She was very devoted to her husband and worshipped him like God. She used to worship Venkateswara, installed in a cave by the great Rishi, Janamejaya and was called “Gavi Timmaraya Swami”. It is said that there is a secret tunnel to Tirumala from that cave.

Her husband fell ill and eventually died. She decided to give up her body voluntarily in the same pyre in which her husband was to be cremated. But the ruler of Punganur, Chittoor district objected.

He got her imprisoned on the charge that she was thinking of committing “Sati”. She by her power of chastity came out of the prison. Took her husband’s dead body on her shoulder and came to a place close to our village, Tirumala Reddy vari Palle in Madanapalli. All the surrounded land was my grand mother’s and my father’s. She sent a word to Punganur ruler that she wants seven carts load of sandalwood, Turmeric, Kumkum, flowers etc for which she said she would pay off.

By then the Punganur ruler re-

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alised her divine powers and sent all the things she wanted. She arranged the pyre with the sandalwood.

She wanted to take a bath before getting into fire.

There was no water close by. She hit a big rock with a stick. The rock cracked and from the crack, there came a sprig of water forming into a lake-like well. The amazing thing is, even when there was an acute drought in those areas, the well that formed with her pawer doesn’t get dried. This is one of the miracles we saw decades together. All the people of the village and surrounding villages are evidence for it. But I can say with an understanding of a spiritual theory that works so, that the well will be dried when the selfishness, greed and hypocrisy fill the hearts and worships are done with those kinds of polluted hearts. She took a bath with that water. By then she was pregnant. She got ready with all the auspicious things like Turmeric, Kumkum, flowers, bangles etc like a “Sumangali” (a woman whose husband is alive). Her in-laws tortured her very much. But the maternal side people were very respectful and fond of her. As they were crying over her decision of committing Sati, she told them to come the next day to receive the gifts from her. She lit the pyre and entered it with total devotion. As everyone was watching with awe and devotion she annihilated her body and merged in Eternity. She blessed that the generations of her maternal side will continue with glory and cursed that there will not be progeny in her

Mandapam built over the Samadhi

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Veeramangamma Samadhi

in-laws’ side.

The next day Her maternal side people came to make her “Samadhi” (grave). To their surprise, they found a smiling baby in a plate along with turmeric, Kumkum, flowers and bangles. That baby’s progenies are all of us. She is worshipped by all the generations.

My father narrated so many of her miracles to us. My grandmother was always particular of us doing Puja whenever we visited our village. There will be a special celebration on the third Saturday of Shravana Masam of every year, which was conducted by our father and the family of our aunt (my father’s sister).

There will be “Annadanam” on the occasion.

There is one girl, my cousin’s daughter, by name Geeta. She was coming home with a pot of water carrying on her waist. Suddenly she threw the pot near her house which is opposite to ours in our village. She started expressing that, that year’s worship on the third Saturday wasn’t properly done with devotion. She said,” I am Veera Mangamma speaking. Your families will not flourish if devotion is lost”. All this could be attributed to some psychological effect. But the amazing thing was she quoted Sanskrit Slokas in clear diction. My mother, who was well versed in Sanskrit, was totally flabbergasted at her apt quotes and diction.

She is totally uneducated and speaks village slang in

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SHOBHA’S PAT ON MIND

Telugu. Dozens of men couldn’t lift her from where she fell.

My father & grandmother used to say that Veera Mangamma is special to girls and we must pray to her especially at times of difficulties. Our experience has been that we find a relief whenever we pray to her.

People may think that Sati is so torturous and illegal. True. People shouldn’t resort to Sati however loving a husband could be. Here I have a question. Why Rama obeyed his father who married three women? It’s illegal. Why Rama sent his pregnant wife to forests on hearing the words of a washerman? Those were the norms of value system then. They cannot be judged from the scope of today’s penal code. Veera Mangamma with her single-minded devotion to Gavi Timmaraya and her husband had attained such a spiritual level she could give up her body like a saree to the God of fire.

In Mantralayam, Raghavendra Swami and His descendants went for Jeeva Samadhi. It cannot be

called suicide. They new the mechanics of life and death, deliberately giving up the bodies by controlling the breath. It cannot be taken as an example today as the values are changed. Difficult to find such Gurus. Very rare. As the unworthy also take up such tasks with ignorance, good that it is banned.

Whenever they are called with devotion, they answer. They are also capable of appearing collecting their atoms merged in Eternity.

They leave their thoughts here which are very powerful and connecting cards to us. It’s possible to do so as they willed their operation to be so. These village deities usually tune themselves to the positive belief system of the village.

They guard the village.

Take any Ashtottaram or Saharanamavali of any deity, every deity is ultimately called the Infinite Form. So let us not make slight of them. They reveal the Ultimate ultimately, as an icon on the desktop opens the whole world for us on a computer.

Annaprasadam distribution

“If you pray to cheap stones, you’ll be spoiled”. Some wise men say. Sure, if you think them to be cheap stones and pray. I feel, if you don’t pray, you will, as they wait for our hearty worship to bless.

Worship is the connecting card to receive their blessings.

Try to revive the Grama Devatas, rightly knowing them and worship them rightly. Realizing this, I renovated the Samadhi of Veeramangamma at our village, at my own cost, though can’t afford to. But it has its own grace on my life and efforts. I do send my humble contribution to the Anna Danam there every year.

Inspired by the courage and conviction of Veeramangamma, whose form & energy finally merges in the universal Form of Durga, we recognize her in a woman achiever every year during Dasara and honour her with “Dhairya”, an award instituted by Annamacharya Bhavana Vahini.

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

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SPIRITUALITY

Navarathri festival

65

Srisailam filled with spiritual enigma

T

BY: NAGAMALLESWARA RAO

he Srisailam temple authorities are making elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of nine-day Dasara Mahotsavam, also known as Navaratri fete, at Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Varla Devasthanam from September 29. “It begins with Bhramaraba entering into Yoga shala,” said Executive Officer K.S.Rama Rao. The important events of this utsavam are performing of Chandiyagam, Rudrayagam, Navadurga alankaras to Goddess and Vahana Sevas to God and Goddess besides several special poojas. Goddess Bhramaramba Devi is mainly worshipped in these utsavams. The celebration begins with the Ganapathi pooja followed by the Kalasa Sthapana and ends with Poornahuthi. On every day of celebrations various religious rituals like Srichakrarchana, Navavarana pooja, Anustanams,

Devi Sapthasathi Parayanas, etc., besides Yagams, are performed.

Apart from these Kumari Pooja, Suhasini Pooja is also conducted at evening hours. In the Kumari Pooja girls within the age group of between 2 to 8 years and in Suhasini Pooja Soubhagyavati (a woman whose husband is living) are worshipped as deities. The Dampathi (Couple) Pooja is also taking part on Mahanavami day i.e., on the 9th day in which pooja is offered to five couples. This day closes with the offering of sacrificial rice, breaking of pumpkins, coconuts etc., to the Goddess as Satvikabali.

For the nine-day Mahotsavam, datewise pooja schedule from September 30 to October 7 was announced. “During these nine days( Navarathri festival) there will be no aargita sevas,” announced EO after releasing ‘Festival Invitation’. Sannidhi Suddhi (cleaning of the temple) was also be performed.

The Navadurga Alankaras offered

to utsava Vigraham of Goddess Bhramaramba in these utsavams are Saila Putri (Parvathi), Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmandadurga, Skandamatha, Katyayini, Kalaratri, Mahagouri and Siddhidayini. In the evening hours of every day, special poojas are performed to these Alankaramurthies. On September 7 Pattu vastram from the state government will be presented. The next day, on Maharnavami and Vijayadashmi occasion Teppostvam is being organized. Apart from the above various Vahana Sevas viz., Bhringivahanam, Mayuravahanam, Ravana Vahanam, Kailasa Vahanam, Hamsavahanam, Seshavahanam, Nandivahanam, Gaja Vahanam and Aswavahanam is offered to God and Goddess. The procession of both the Alankaram and Vahanam are arranged in a grand manner every day After completion of nine days, on the day of Dasara festival Poornahuthi of Chandiyagam and

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66 SPIRITUALITY

Rudrayagam are performed in the day time. On that evening Sami Pooja (worship to Prosopia tree) is performed. It is said that by seeing the Sami pooja one can get victory in his activities. It is expected that nearly 10 lakh devotees will come to Srisailam during this Dasara. “Efforts are on to provide annadanam and water supply, electrify ghat road, set up cloakrooms, chappal stands, toilets and temporary dressing rooms for the convenience of devotees.� Said Asst.

Executive Officer Krishan Reddy.

The officials are taking steps to arrange parking lots. They are also planning to erect arches at various places in Srisailam town welcoming the pilgrims; arrange lighting facility at bathing ghats and at Pathala Ganga. Barricades are being

arranged for special queue lines on temple premises told Chief Security Officer Srinivasulu.

Special pujas: l The nine-day Devi Navaratri Mahotsavam will start on September 29with special pujas such as Utsava Sankalpam and Ganapati puja at temple Yaga sala.

l l l l

Chandi Yagam, Purnahuti and Shami puja will be performed Special pujas will be performed every day during the Navaratri festival.

Pattu vastra from AP state government samarpana on October 7.

Teppotsavam, Shamipuja on October 8.

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RNI No: APENG/2013/48048 P.R. No. RNP/HD/1187/2017-19 (DOP: 1st of Every Month; DOP: 8/9-10-2019)

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