Bengaluru

saturday, september 17, 2016

www.thehindu.in RNI No. TNENG/1970/49945 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 47 No. 222 CITY EDITION 28 Pages Rs. 5.00
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Printed at Chennai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Madurai, Noida, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada, Mangaluru, Tiruchirapalli, Kolkata, Hubballi, Mohali, Allahabad, Malappuram and Mumbai

We welcome Indian SC agrees to hear German Chancellor Doping case of wrestler

researchers, says challenge to bail of Angela Merkel says EU Narsingh Yadav
Cambridge VC Mohd. Shahabuddin in a critical situation transferred to CBI
Page 2 Page 12 Page 14 Page 19
• •

Copying books
for teaching is Cong. loses Arunachal
not copyright
violation: HC
AKANKSHA JAIN
as 43 MLAs join BJP ally
RANJU DODUM

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High ITANAGAR: Politics turned a full

BRIEFLY
Pakistan building
new nuclear facility
Pakistan, which is already
suspected to be expanding its
nuclear weapons stockpile
faster than any other nation,
may be rapidly constructing a
new centrifuge for a
reprocessing site within the
Court on Friday held that the
photocopying of course
packs prepared by Delhi Uni-
versity comprising portions
from books published by Ox-
ford University Press, Cam-
bridge University Press and
Taylor & Francis did not
amount to infringement of
copyright.
READY FOR ACTION: Security men guarding the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border at Attibele on Friday, The court dismissed the
when a bandh was observed in Tamil Nadu. — PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K. suit initiated by the publish-
ing majors, which had sued
Cauvery row forces Delhi University
Rameshwari Photocopying
and
circle in Arunachal Pradesh
on Friday when 43 of the 44
Congress MLAs, including
Chief Minister Pema Khandu,
joined the People’s Party of
Arunachal (PPA), a part of the
North-East Democratic Al-
liance (NEDA), a BJP-led
front.
Just two months ago, Mr
Khandu and his group of Con-
gress rebels had deserted the
PPA and returned to the Con-

Services, a kiosk inside Delhi

Khan Research Laboratories
(KRL) in Kahuta.
쐍 WORLD | PAGE 14
3 killed in communal
clash at Bijnore
BIJNORE: Three persons were
killed and 12 injured in a clash
between two communities here
on Friday after a school girl was
allegedly harassed by some
persons, the police said. The
groups hurled stones at each
other. Five of the seriously
injured were taken to Meerut for
treatment.
쐍 NATION | PAGE 9
METROPLUS
4 Pages
PROPERTYPLUS
Pages 17 & 18
students to walk
Living on either side of border, they have to cross over to go to school
VIVEK NARAYANAN
BENGALURU: A group of school
students walked past rows of
armed security forces clad in
blue, green and khaki
uniform at Attibele on the
Tamil Nadu-Karnataka bor-
der on Friday. Security had
been beefed up at the check-
post, as Tamil Nadu was ob-
serving a bandh.
The children were among
the many students from the
border town of Ballur, who
have been leaving their
homes early every day for
the nearly 5-km trek to
school at Attibele after bus
transport was crippled by
the Cauvery conflict.
“We have been walking
nearly 10 km since the
Cauvery row broke out on
Monday. I missed an exam on
Wednesday, as I did not
reach my college on time,”
said M. Yuvaraj, a pre-uni-
versity student.
There are many children
on either side of the border
who have to cross over to the
other side to reach their
schools or colleges.
With bus movement hal-
ted and private vehicular
movement restricted, stu-
dents have no option but to
walk. “We can’t aford to miss
class,” said one boy, stopping
to take a closer look at a gun
being carried by a police-
man. A few feet away, A.
Naveen, a class 10 student of
a private school in Hosur dis-
trict of Tamil Nadu, walked
back into Karnataka. Teach-
ers too face the same prob-
lem.
쐍 MORE REPORTS ON|
PAGES 4, 6 & 8
School of Economics, claim-
ing infringement of copy-
right by engaging in prepar-
ing copies of course packs
with portions culled out of
its books in keeping with the
syllabus prescribed by the
varsity. Justice Rajiv Sahai
Endlaw also lifted the stay on
the kiosk from photocopying
the course packs.
“Copyright, especially in
literary works, is thus not an
inevitable, divine, or natural
right that confers on authors
the absolute ownership of
their creations. It is designed
rather to stimulate activity
and progress in the arts for
the intellectual enrichment
of the public,” said Justice
Endlaw.
쐍 CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
gress to form the government.
Mr Khandu became the Chief
Minister on July 16, replacing
Nabam Tuki, who in turn had
replaced Kalikho Pul after the
Supreme Court reinstated the
Tuki government.
During Mr Pul’s four-and-
a-half month tenure, he and
other MLAs had formed the
PPA and joined the NEDA.
Hours after losing its gov-
ernment in the State, the Con-
gress dubbed the new dis-
Hold ‘inclusive dialogue’, India tells Nepal
KALLOL BHATTACHERJEE
NEW DELHI: Recognising
Nepal’s eforts to build a
democratic polity, India on
Friday expressed the hope
that the government of
Prime Minister Pushpa
pensation an “illegitimate
child of the BJP” and blamed
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and BJP chief Amit
Shah. In Itanagar, Mr Khandu
justified the decision, saying
the State lacked resources
hence they had moved to join
the PPA. “I have already re-
leased Rs 1,200 crore and we
Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”
would hold an “inclusive dia-
logue” while implementing
the Constitution of his coun-
try. India and Nepal held
wide-ranging talks and
sealed three deals as Mr.
Prachanda’s visit to India un-
have more deficit,” Mr
Khandu said, hinting that his
government had not received
support from the Centre. Gov-
ernment spokesperson Pas-
ang D. Sona said the Centre
and the State “need to be in
tandem”.
쐍 CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
folded but diferences over
the Constitution which led to
domestic discord and dis-
turbed ties with Delhi, per-
sisted.
쐍 EVERYONE WILL BE ON
BOARD: PRACHANDA | PAGE 12

CM BG-BG
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2|
Wall to wall
Get ready for a colourful carnival at the country's premier
street art festival in October. MetroPlus Page 1
Cambridge welcomes Indian
researchers, says its VC
Varsity does not favour restrictive immigration policies
STAFF REPORTER
BENGALURU: While Brexit has
made entry of Indian re-
searchers to Britain uncer-
tain, Cambridge University
is keen to encourage collabo-
rations with Indian universi-
ties, said its Vice-Chancellor
Leszek Borysiewicz, who de-
livered a keynote address on
‘Global Collaboration in
Academics’ at the Indian In-
stitute of Science on Friday.
“UK at the moment is per-
ceived as restrictive because
of its immigration policies
and the current political cli-
mate, but as a university, we
have always been critical of
such policies. We want to
welcome overseas students
and hope to continue to at-
tract excellent talent from
India,” said Prof.
Borysiewicz.
He said that in today’s age,
the ideal of a university as an
‘island of excellence’ is no
longer valid as a model for
science. “A single institution
cannot gain expertise in all
fields any more. Even world-
class institutions need to
harness the power of strateg-
ic alliances,” he said. He
Bengaluru airport gets its own app
STAFF REPORTER
BENGALURU: Kempegowda In-
ternational Airport (KIA)
has now got an app of its own
in addition to a Twitter
handle. The ‘BLR Airport’
app enables users to not just
track flight details on their
mobile phones, but also con-
nect to the Wi-Fi in the air-
port at one click. Passengers
can use the navigation facil-
ity, share feedback about
their experience at KIA or be
guided to the ‘must buys’ and
‘must try’ items there.
The Bangalore Interna-
tional Airport Limited (BI-
AL), along with its digital
partner ThoughtWorks,
hopes to ‘revolutionise’ the
travel experience at KIA
through a combination of di-
gital technologies, people,
services and data. Thought-
CM
YK
Sir Leszek Borysiewicz (2nd left), vice-chancellor, University
of Cambridge, spoke on ‘Global collaboration in academics’ at
the IISc. in Bengaluru on Friday. — PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR
called for more collabora-
tions across universities, ad-
ding that Cambridge Univer-
sity had around 280
collaborations with Indian
universities on topics rang-
ing across sciences, arts and
humanities.
“We have been involved in
research in India on anti-mi-
crobial resistance in tuber-
culosis with institutes in
Bengaluru and Chennai,
electoral reform in Rajas-
than, maize farming in Pun-
jab, nanotechnology, drug
Works is said to have under-
taken a detailed study of 14
leading airport apps before
coming up with the features
for ‘BLR Airport’ app. Their
aim was to give travellers an
‘airport in their pocket’ ex-
perience.
“The newly built digital
platform’s innovative poten-
tial will keep adapting to the
Bengaluru airport’s evolving
digital needs. Through these
eforts, BIAL aims to future-
proof its airport operations
and services by making
meaning of the abundant di-
gital data available and
create a more personalised,
just-in-time travel service,” a
release said.
Available on iOS and An-
droid platforms, the app has
made KIA the first Indian
airport to use Google Indoor
Maps.
discovery, and solar technol-
ogy,” he said.
Prof. Borysiewicz assured
support to the Bangalore-
Cambridge Innovation Net-
work, which launched its se-
cretariat at the IISc. this
April. Parameshwar P. Iyer,
Chairman, Oice of Intellec-
tual Property and Technolo-
gy Licensing, IISc., is spear-
heading the network, which
seeks to improve interac-
tions between Cambridge
University and major univer-
sities in Bengaluru, such as
The app will help passengers navigate through the airport.
CITY
‘Pink is the new black’
Actor Angad Singh Bedi talks about his latest movie Pink
and why the colour is the new black. MetroPlus Page 4
the Indian Institute of Man-
agement, IISc., International
Institute of Information
Technology, and National
Centre for Biological Scienc-
es. "While academic to aca-
demic collaborations and in-
dustry to industry
partnerships are happening
between the two cities, we
need to improve academic to
industry and industry to aca-
demic partnerships between
Bengaluru and Cambridge,"
said Dr. Parameshwar.
Science for mankind
Reminiscing his tenure at
Cambridge, which ends in
2017, Prof. Borysiewicz said,
"Every Vice-Chancellor in-
herits a wood panelled oice
filled with mementos from
his or her predecessors.
There is always a choice to
make on what to keep and
what not to." There is one
memento he is keen to hold
on to — a bronze bust of Ma-
hatma Gandhi. "Gandhi was
a strong critic of 'science
without humanity' and his
statue served as a constant
reminder to me that the goal
of science is to serve man-
kind," he explained.
Not everything is a coincidence
Just
(Kannada)
Akasmika
Director: Himayat
Khan
Cast: Vinod Patil, Sanj-
janaa Galrani, Sacheen
Suvarna, Tilak,
Mukhyamantri
Chandru, Ramesh Bhat,
Sudha Belawadi
J ust Akasmika (Just Coin-
cidence) works as a title
for Himayat Khan’s film be-
cause a part of the film, at
least, is about a serial killer
and an actual coincidence.
But the filmmaker gets a bit
carried away with the title as
he tries to use the element of
coincidence even to explain
the lack of a tangible link be-
tween sub-plots and charac-
ters in the film.
For example, Shankar
(Vinod Patil), we are told,
has been living in an orphan-
age for over 18 years. The
film introduces us to him at a
point when his parents sud-
denly come looking for him.
They are guided by a police
oicer who says his ‘sixth
sense’ led him to this partic-
ular orphanage. Is this what
the filmmaker means as co-
incidence?
Then, once Shankar re-
turns to his home, he spends
his time peeping into his
neighbours’ houses using a
pair of binoculars. He spots
Aarohi (Sanjjanaa) and ogles
at her creepily as she steps
out from the bath, hangs out
at her balcony etc. He falls in
love with her too. When she
confronts him, he tells her
that he was only looking at
her because he realised
Aarohi and he used to be
friends years ago. This, he
says, he realised when he
saw her through the binocu-
lars the first time. Sixth
sense, again?
The problem with the film
is that none of this has any-
thing to do with the plot of
BENGALURU
CONNECT
Vinod Patil and Sanjjanaa Galrani in a still from Just Akasmika.
the film which is about a real
coincidence and a string of
murders. Shankar’s peeping
tom behaviour leads him to
suspect a murderer in the
neighbourhood. What
Shankar uncovers as he in-
vestigates further forms the
rest of this plot. But Khan
takes too long to arrive at
this plot.
Khan tries hard to juggle
two objectives - to launch
Vinod as an actor and to try
and tell an actual story, even
if it is a story we have heard
before. The film opens with
the customary elements that
characterise a hero’s arrival -
a fight scene followed
quickly by a song. Then a ro-
mantic track is a must - so we
get a love story and a num-
ber of songs with Aarohi.
Apart from this, there are
THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
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ample dialogues to root
Vinod as Karnataka’s own
actor; he is named Shankar
after Shankar Nag, for in-
stance. All of this takes the
focus away from the crime
thriller that the film aspires
to be.
Unfortunately, even when
the murder plot begins, one
realises that the filmmaker
has nothing new to say. In-
stead, he re-enacts a plot we
have seen before in the 1990s
especially. On top of that,
even though the story is ex-
tremely predictable, its pre-
sentation and narration too
is half-baked with poorly lit
scenes and jerky camera
movements.
Both Vinod and Sanjjanaa
are unconvincing as actors
and can barely carry the film
on their shoulders. Ramesh
Bhat and Sudha Belawadi try
their best but they are stuck
in roles which have a single
shade. Tilak and Sacheen are
melodramatic.
While everything else
may be a coincidence, a con-
fused half-baked film is
definitely not.
ARCHANA NATHAN
BENGALURU
BBMP: Congress
keen to continue
tie-up with JD(S)
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
BENGALURU: To retain power in
the Bruhat Bengaluru Ma-
hanagara Palike (BBMP), the
ruling Congress has decided
to continue its alliance with
the Janata Dal (Secular) in the
mayoral polls to be held on
September 28.
The resolution was passed
at a meeting of the Karnataka
Pradesh Congress Committee
(KPCC) oice-bearers on Fri-
day. Addressing presspersons
after the meeting, KPCC
president G. Parameshwara
said he and Chief Minister
Siddaramaiah would speak to
JD(S) leader H.D. Deve
Gowda to seek the party’s sup-
port.
The mayoral elections are
likely to be seen by the gov-
ernment as a precursor to the
Legislative Assembly elec-
tions scheduled to be held in
2018, preparations for which
have already begun. The Con-
gress aims to retain power in
Bengaluru, and Chief Minister
Siddaramaiah is reported to
have directed legislators to do
everything in their power to
ensure a Congress victory in
the mayoral polls.
JD(S) State president H.D.
Kumaraswamy favours join-
ing hands with the party that
would give them the post of
mayor. In 2015, Congress and
JD(S) entered into alliance
which led to B.N. Manjunath
Reddy of the Congress getting
the post of mayor and Hem-
alatha Gopalaiah of JD(S) of
deputy mayor.
State BJP president B.S.
Yeddyurappa said the party is
yet to take a decision on a tie-
up with JD (S). "The BJP will
not agree to any pre-condition
laid down by the JD(S),” Mr.
Yeddyurappa said.
BG-BG
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BENGALURU

THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

B E N G A L U R U
Sep 17, Sat Sep 18, Sun Sep 19, Mon
RISE 06 09 SET 18 19 RISE 06 09 SET 18 18 RISE 06 09 SET 18 18
RISE 18 56 SET 06 26 RISE 19 46 SET 07 25 RISE 20 37 SET 08 24

Fire in godown; one dead Immersed Ganesh idols

Located in Chikpet, it
was used to store
electrical goods
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
to get fresh lease of life
STAFF REPORTER idols being immersed in its Korah, partner, Rock Crys-
BENGALURU: An unidentified tank of which more than one- tals. The initial idea to sun-
man was burnt alive when a BENGALURU: The large Ganesh third are PoP idols, said N.S. dry the idols, crush them into
fire ripped through a godown idols immersed in the lakes Ramakanth, member, SWM fine sand, and use them for
in a four-storey commercial in the city may perhaps reju- Expert Committee, Bruhat construction has run into
building on B.V.K. Iyengar venate farms. The civic au- Bengaluru Mahanagara some rough weather. Re-
Road at Chikpet on Thursday thority has started the proc- Palike (BBMP), who first cycled gypsum is more ex-
night. The godown was on the ess of retrieving thousands of proposed the concept. pensive than ‘virgin’
third floor and housed elec- Plaster of Paris idols that “Why should the idols end material.
trical goods of a private firm. were immersed over the past up in a quarry? Why can’t “The PoP is also of low-
Residents in the neigh- 10 days, and will, for the first they be recycled and used grade and can be used as
bourhood learnt about the time, attempt to recycle constructively? We have road-building material. But,
fire when they were woken them. identified a recycler and are we thought if we could pack-
up by an ear-shattering explo- Plaster of Paris, after all, is seeing ways of recycling age it as a fertilizer, the senti-
sion, which shattered win- made by heating gypsum — these idols,” he said. mental cycle around the
dows and doors of an adja- commonly used as a con- Around five tonnes of PoP idols will be complete — reli-
cent building. Witnesses said struction material (think, idols have made their way gious idols giving a fresh
that fire and thick smoke en- false ceilings and cubicle from Sankey to Rock Crystals lease of life to degraded
gulfed the narrow lane. partitions) as well as in fertil- in Chikkajala, which land,” said Mr. Korah.
Power supply was disrup- The narrow lanes off B.V.K. Iyengar Road hampered the izers — and oicials hope processes nearly 1,000 Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Com-
ted for several hours. It took movement of fire-fighting vehicles. — PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR that this can be retrieved tonnes a day of construction missioner (Health/SWM)
10 fire tenders five hours to from the idols. In previous waste and debris. said that PoP recycling will
put out the flames. The fire are used as storage space. Ini- several newcomers, the iden- years, these idols were “This is the first time be done in Sankey, Ulsoor,
tenders, including water- tial reports suggest an elec- tity of the deceased is yet to dumped in landfills. something like this has been Yediyur, and Hebbal tanks.
boozers, reached the spot trical short circuit as the be ascertained,” said a police done, and we have set a mod- “A market is there for the
within 20 minutes as it was cause of the fire. The building oicer. The body was shifted Sankey takes lead est target of around 250 recycled gypsum, and we are
early morning and the roads and the electrical wiring are to Victoria Hospital for post- The first idols to be re- tonnes of PoP idols. This is a encouraging it. In smaller
were free of traic, but their both old, said fire oicials. mortem. Forensic Science cycled were sent a few days good start as 25 per cent of all tanks like Sankey and
huge vehicles found it tough “But we will probe all angles Laboratory experts have col- ago from Sankey Tank. The PoP idol immersions can be Hebbal, we have started
to navigate the narrow by- before submitting our re- lected samples from the spot. lake had seen over 1.08 lakh taken care of,” said Rajesh sending the PoP idols.”
lanes. Rescue personnel used port,” he added. Police are probing whether
ladders to reach the third The fire personnel combed the building has obtained an
floor and douse the fire. the building and found a hu- NOC from the Fire
According to the police, man body charred beyond Department.
there is a shop on the ground recognition on the third floor. Power supply was restored
floor while the other floors “As the owner had employed on Friday evening.

7 years’ RI for mobile phone thieves Disclaimer: Readers are requested to verify &
make appropriate enquiries to satisfy
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ployee in Koramangala five themselves about the veracity of an adver-
tisement before responding to any published in
years ago. Shahid Pasha (22) this newspaper. Kasturi & Sons Limited, the
Publisher & Owner of this newspaper, does not
BENGALURU: The City Civil Court and Ashraf K. (20) had accos- vouch for the authenticity of any advertisement
on Thursday sentenced two ted their victim on 80 Ft. Road, or advertiser or for any of the advertiser’s pro-
ducts and/or services. In no event can the
youths to rigorous im- threatened him at knifepoint Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Director/s,
prisonment for seven years for and took his phone and wallet. Employees of this newspaper/company be held
responsible/liable in any manner whatsoever for
snatching a mobile phone and The victim had sustained knife any claims and/or damages for advertisements
in this newspaper.
wallet from a private firm em- wounds on his hands.

Published by N. Ram at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by N. Rajashekar at Plot No. 13-D, Bommasandra-Jigani Link Road, KIADB Industrial Area, Bommasandra, Anekal Taluk, Bengaluru-560099 and at M.N.S. Printers Pvt. Ltd., 345/4 Bhattarahalli, Old Madras Road, Near K. R. Puram RTO, Bengaluru-560049 on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Mukund Padmanabhan (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).

CM BG-BG
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KPN case handed over to CID
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
BENGALURU: The Criminal In-
vestigation Department
(CID) has taken over the
probe into the burning and
destruction of over 30 buses
of KPN Travels India Pvt.
Ltd. at Nayandahalli during
the violence that broke out in
parts of Bengaluru on
September 12.
Though the police have ar-
rested seven people in con-
nection with the case, there
are unconfirmed reports that
a few employees were in-
volved, said a senior oicer.
“It merits a detailed probe,
which will be handled by the
CID,” he added.
On September 12, a mob
barged into the depot and set
fire to parked buses before
assaulting the staf. The po-
Comedian misses date
with city due to ‘unrest’
STAFF REPORTER
BENGALURU: The violence
that erupted in the city
earlier this week over the
Cauvery waters has
caused ripples all the way
into the weekend. A stand-
up comedy show, featur-
ing Irish comedian Jason
Byrne, which was
scheduled for Friday, was
called of by the organisers
two days prior to the show
following disturbances in
the city.
The remaining line-up
Medical aspirants at a disadvantage
STAFF REPORTER
BENGALURU: Aspirants who are
yet to get seats in medical
and dental colleges through
the National Eligibility and
Entrance Test (NEET)
scores have already missed
classes. Even though the
second round of NEET
counselling is yet to begin,
most medical and dental col-
leges have already com-
menced the academic year.
NEET students will have to
play catch-up.
One student, who ob-
tained a seat through NEET,
said he was informed not to
miss many classes as the col-
lege had commenced in the
second week of September.
CM
YK
Over 30 buses of KPN Travels were burnt in Nayandahalli
during the violence that broke out in parts of Bengaluru on
September 12. — FILE PHOTO
lice have picked up seven
suspects who have been
booked under various sec-
tions of the IPC.
Barring one, who is 46-
year-old, all the others are
aged 19 and 27 years. All of
them work in a garment fact-
ory in Peenya and are
of ‘Jason Byrne is Propped
Up’, according to which he
will perform in Mumbai
and New Delhi, stay
unchanged.
An oicial from AGP
World, which is bringing
Mr. Byrne to India, said
Monday’s violence in
Bengaluru had impacted
sales of tickets before the
show.
“We were hoping to
have at least 70 per cent of
the hall. We waited it out,
but the sales were af-
fected,” he added.
NEET
Students have to ensure that
they have at least 80 per cent
attendance to sit for the
exams, and cannot aford to
play truant or miss classes
once they join.
Many are worried about
missing out on study
material, and said they will
have a tough time catching
up on portions as significant
chunks of the syllabus had al-
ready been covered. Some
colleges are contemplating
conducting extra classes, if
the professors oblige.
With NEET being intro-
duced at the last minute, sev-
eral students were put to
hardship and now it has de-
railed the academic calender
for 2016-17. Many govern-
ment medical colleges that
had commenced classes on
August 1, suspended classes
for two weeks in August and
began classes only in
September.
CITY
BENGALURU
THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
residents of Veerabhadra
Nagar and D’Souza Nagar.
The police suspect that
there is more to the case than
meets the eye. Following un-
confirmed reports about
sabotage , the case was
handed over to the CID, a
senior police oicer added.
445 suspects
being questioned
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
BENGALURU: The police are
questioning 445 suspects in
connection with the vandalism
and violence on September 12.
Over 140 cases have been
registered. A senior police officer
said the violence does not appear
to be politically motivated.
Caught unawares the first time,
the police left nothing to chance
in the city on Friday for the Tamil
Nadu bandh.
Section 144 will be in force till
September 25, a senior officer
told The Hindu. To prevent a
repeat of Monday’s unrest, the
police placed over 1,300 persons
into preventive custody since
Thursday night.
The Medical Council of
India in August had also
amended the calendar of
events and said that colleges
could commence on
September 3. “Midway in Au-
gust, we were given a break
and asked to come back only
in September as the MCI had
changed the calendar of
events,” said a first-year
medical student of Mandya
Institute of Medical
Sciences.
M.R. Jayaram, Karnataka
Professional Colleges
Foundation, said the founda-
tion had asked all member
colleges to start classes only
in September-end in the in-
terest of students who would
Attacked oicial re-admitted to hospital
join late. “Most government SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT was severed during an at- uru Zilla Seerayanapalya and Man- in Magadi taluk of Raman-
colleges had started admis- tack by two men on Monday Panchayat junath (28) from Taradak- agara district. Sources said
sions and had suspended col- BENGALURU: H.R. Srinivas, the evening. to coor- uppe, who had mobilised that Manjunath is named in
leges to wait for candidates 50-year-old technical coor- ”Though he was dis- dinate workers for the scheme. a robbery case in Bidadi in
who would obtain a seat dinator for the Mahatma charged on Wednesday, he MNREGA Ramanagara district. Police
through their NEET rank- Gandhi National Rural Em- was in constant pain. When works in Case registered are trying to trace them.
ings. However, majority of ployment Guarantee it became unbearable, we Kunigal A case has been reg- “We are tracking their
the private medical colleges Scheme (NREGS), was re- got him re-admitted,” said a taluk. istered against the duo, in- mobile phones,” said a po-
are starting admissions only admitted to a hospital on family member. Mr. Srinivas He was attacked allegedly cluding for attempt to lice from Kudur police
later this month,” he said. Friday morning. His hand was contracted by Tumak- by Keshava (26) from murder, by the Kudur police station.
BG-BG
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BENGALURU

THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

CM BG-BG
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BENGALURU

THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

Eight days of disrupted transport services WEATHER WATCH

(Maximum temperature in six metros yesterday)

KSRTC buses are plying only till T.N. border; travel plans of many have gone haywire

Get of bus, cross border

on foot, board a bus Delhi | 36.1 ° C

VIVEK NARAYANAN Devi. They have come from

NO ALTERNATIVE: With no inter-State bus services, people from Tamil Nadu walk across the border to enter Karnataka at Attibele
check-post to get transport to reach Bengaluru on Friday. — PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K.
K.V. ADITYA BHARADWAJ
LAIQH A. KHAN
BENGALURU/MYSURU: Travel
plans of many people in
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
have gone haywire with
transport services between
the two States disrupted for
the eighth consecutive day
on Friday. The border at
Hosur and Chamarajanagar
remained sealed on Friday.
On Friday, on account of a
bandh in Tamil Nadu, ser-
vices of road transport cor-
poration buses of both
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
were
Karnataka
disrupted.
State
The
Road
Transport Corporation (KS-
RTC) has not plied any buses
to Tamil Nadu since Septem-
ber 9, the day Karnataka ob-
served a bandh. However,
KSRTC buses are going till
the border, where pas-
sengers alight, walk across
the check-post and board
Tamil Nadu buses to reach
their destinations. But, few
people bound for diferent
destinations in Tamil Nadu
travelled on Friday.
Even private bus operators
did not ply buses to their
usual capacities during the
last week. Only buses that
had permits to run on the
Chittoor route (Andhra Pra-
desh) to destinations in
Tamil Nadu were plying.
Radhakrishna Holla of Ban-
galore Tourist Taxi Owners
Association said that on Fri-
day none of their vehicle
crossed the border as they
had suspended services to
Tamil Nadu. Mr. Holla said
that even before they can-
celled the trips to Tamil
Nadu, those who had booked
were cancelling the trips
themselves.
Sources in the private
transport sector predicted
Cauvery crisis hits vegetable, flower businesses
KARNATAKA BUREAU
BENGALURU/MYSURU/KOLAR: The
Cauvery row and intermit-
tent disruption of life in
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
has hit the inter-dependent
economy of the two States
hard, especially the vegeta-
ble and flowers markets.
The prices of most
vegetables grown here and
sold in Tamil Nadu markets
have crashed by over 50 per
cent over the last week, while
the prices of vegetables sup-
plied from Tamil Nadu to
that disrupted transport ser-
vices would continue till
September 20, when the
Cauvery water issue would
come up for hearing in the
Supreme Court.
Train and flight services
between the two State, how-
ever, have been running
smoothly. B Jagadeesh, a
Bengalurean working in
Chennai, said that returning
to Chennai following the
festival break back home,
was a Herculean task as all
transport services were dis-
rupted. “There was a threat
Prices of most
vegetables grown in
Karnataka and sold in
T.N.markets have
crashed by 50 p.c.
here have shot up by around
40 per cent, said a senior pro-
curement oicial from a re-
tail chain in the city.
Locally grown vegetables
such as capsicum, cabbage,
tomato, and onion have
flooded the markets here and
their prices have crashed.
of rail roko too. Finally, we
had to take a flight from
Bengaluru as there was no
option left,” he said.
However, train and flight
services are not seeing any
rush of commuters. Waiting
list for Chennai-bound trains
suddenly vanished and tick-
ets got confirmed as many
people cancelled their trips.
Flight ticket prices have not
gone up as they usually do
during such crisis. A week-
end flight to Chennai, even if
booked on Friday night, was
available at Rs. 1,500.
Capsicum which was being
sold at Rs. 28 a kg just a week
ago is being sold at Rs. 12.
The price of onion in whole-
sale market has crashed to
Rs. 8 a kg from Rs. 20 to Rs. 22
a kg a week ago.
“Tomato growers are suf-
fering huge losses as we are
not able to travel to Tamil
Nadu markets. We are get-
ting only Rs. 100 to Rs. 150 a
box as against Rs. 300 a week
ago,” M. Nagarajappa, a
farmer of Mallasandra vil-
lage in Kolar, said. Carrots,
beans, okra, and bananas,
Rajasthan. “We had to attend a Kolkata | 33.5 ° C
BENGALURU: Apart from a few function at Shoolagiri in
cars, only bikes were allowed to Krishnagiri district, and are on
cross the border of Karnataka and our way back to Bengaluru. In the Mumbai | 28.3 ° C
Tamil Nadu at Attibele on Friday absence of direct buses, we had Hyderabad | 26.8 ° C
when Tamil Nadu observed a to get down at the border and
bandh. walk more than a kilometre to
“Vehicle movement is barred catch another bus on the Bengaluru | 27.7 ° C Chennai | 35.1 ° C
to avoid a law and order Karnataka side,” said Jet Singh.
problem,” said a Karnataka police
personnel, before leaving to High demand for autos
check a hatchback parked by the Many autorickshaw drivers
side of the road. A group of were seen ferrying passengers till
Image & Data: India Meteorological Department
elderly people got out and the border. “I cannot get into
started walking towards Tamil Tamil Nadu. I charge Rs. 10 per Forecast for Saturday: Heavy to very heavy rain likely at a few places
Nadu, dragging their bags. passenger to drop them from the over Konkan & Goa (including Mumbai),south Gujarat region and madhya
Several IT engineers from toll gate to the border,” said V. Maharashtra, Saurashtra and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Hosur and other places in Tamil Shivanaga, an autorickhsaw Max Min Max Min Max Min
Nadu, who commute to driver. Agartala 34.7 27.1 Hubballi 26.0 21.0 New Delhi 36.1 25.0
Bengaluru, were forced to walk a Ahmedabad 36.2 26.0 Hyderabad 26.8 22.2 Patna 33.4 25.6
few kilometres at Attibele to Motivating them Allahabad 35.7 26.4 Imphal 32.8 22.7 Port Blair 29.9 23.4
catch a bus to their offices on the On Friday afternoon, Inspector Aizawl 29.7 13.5 Jaipur 36.2 24.4 Pune 26.3 22.3
Karnataka side. Muthu from General of Police (Central) Bengaluru 27.7 20.3 Kohima 25.6 19.2 Puducherry 36.6 25.6
Salem, who visits his office in Seemanth Kumar Singh visited Bhopal 33.1 22.8 Kolkata 33.5 27.2 Raipur 32.1 25.4
Mahadevapura once a week, said, Attibele to review security Bhubaneswar 32.2 26.4 Kochi 31.0 24.6 Ranchi 33.0 22.6
“Until a few weeks ago, I used to arrangements. He met and shook Chandigarh 34.0 24.0 Kozhikode 31.4 23.8 Shillong 26.2 15.8
get a direct bus from Salem.” hands with all para military and Chennai 35.1 26.4 Kurnool 27.1 22.8 Shimla 24.5 14.7
A few feet away from the Karnataka police personnel. Coimbatore 33.6 22.8 Lucknow 31.8 24.6 Srinagar 28.0 13.0
Attibele toll gate, drivers of 10 Mr. Singh said that there are Dehradun 31.2 22.6 Madurai 38.1 25.2 Vijayawada 30.4 25.4
KSRTC buses and a few private 16 entry points into Karnataka Gangtok 22.3 17.0 Mangaluru 30.1 23.7 Visakhapatnam 31.5 26.5
buses had parked their vehicles from Tamil Nadu, the biggest at Goa 27.0 24.0 Mumbai 28.3 23.4 Thiruvananthapuram 32.2 24.9
Guwahati 31.8 24.6 Mysuru 28.9 19.8 Tiruchi 38.1 26.2
and helped passengers Attibele.
disembark. The same scene was "We have deployed sufficient
playing out on the Tamil Nadu security. No untoward incident
side of the border. has been reported since morning.
One middle aged man walking
towards Karnataka was Jet Singh
and his 65-year old mother Ganga
Moreover, over the past two
days, several miscreants have
been arrested," he said.
Spend Rs. 40 and zip
across the border
VIVEK NARAYANAN Attibele. “Once the sticker is
changed, the motorist drives
which arrive in Karnataka disruptions. This is largely BENGALURU: Sticker shops on both across the border usually after
markets from Tamil Nadu, because transporters are sides of the Karnataka–Tamil midnight and then removes the
are now pricier by around 40 changing vehicles at the bor- Nadu border saw brisk business sticker.”
per cent, sources in HOP- der, a trader at Devaraja Mar- on Friday. Though the police were
COMS said. Another oicial ket in Mysuru said. To avoid being stopped by the allegedly aware of what was
in a retail chain said the Floriculturists of Kolar police on either side of the happening, they turned a blind
prices of vegetables such as district, however, are badly border, a few intrepid motorists eye to this offence.
bell peppers, zucchini and afected. “Marigold, which halted at sticker shops to mask A group of people who were
mushrooms, which are was fetching Rs. 20 a kg be- the registration plates of their driving to Pune from Tamil Nadu
chiefly supplied from Ooty, fore the trouble broke out, is vehicles. For example, the ‘A’ in alleged that it was the police
have also gone up by over 50 being sold at Rs. 10,” said K. KA could be covered with an ‘L’ to who had advised them to buy
per cent. Srinivasa Gowda who sells make it seem like a Kerala- stickers. “It is to prevent a law
The flower market in the his flowers in Tamil Nadu registered vehicle. and order situation from arising.
Old Mysuru region is also de- markets. Dairy and poultry “Changing one alphabet on There are some people who need
pendent on Tamil Nadu, but sectors are also afected ow- both sides can cost anywhere to get into either Karnataka or
is relatively unafected in ing to the disruption of between Rs. 50 and Rs. 40,” said Bengaluru desperately,” said a
spite of the bandh and other transport services. a man who runs a sticker shop at policeman from Tamil Nadu.

‘State will be left with water only for drinking after Sept. 20’
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
BENGALURU: After releasing
Cauvery waters at the rate of
1.68 lakh cusecs to Tamil Nadu
till September 20, Karnataka
will be left with water sui-
cient only for catering to
drinking water requirements
of Bengaluru city and towns in
the basin area and the State’s
legal team has been told to
bring this to the attention of
the Cauvery Supervisory
Committee and the Supreme
Court when the matter comes
‘State’s legal team told
to provide all info to
the apex court on the
availability of water in
KRS after Sept. 20’
up for hearing next week.
Karnataka Pradesh Con-
gress Committee (KPCC)
president and Home Minister
G. Parameshwara on Friday
chaired a meeting of party of-
fice-bearers and said the
KPCC had endorsed the de-
cision taken by the govern-
ment on releasing water to
Tamil Nadu.
“After releasing water at the
rate of 1.68 lakh cusecs by
September 20, the State’s
reservoirs will be left with wa-
ter suicient only for catering
to the drinking water needs of
Bengaluru city,” Mr. Paramesh-
wara told presspersons.
The State’s legal team
headed by Fali S. Nariman had
been told to provide all in-
formation to the supervisory
committee and the apex court
on the availability of water in
the Krishnaraja Sagar after
September 20.
“We will also urge the Su-
preme Court on the necessity
of evolving a distress formula.”
A mechanism on implementa-
tion of distress formula had to
be evolved to decide allocation
of water during erratic South-
west monsoon, the Home
Minister said.
The supervisory committee
and the Supreme Court would
hear the matter related to
Cauvery water release on
September 19 and 20,
respectively.
The State Congress had
passed the resolution seeking
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s intervention to resolve
the Cauvery and Mahadayi wa-
ter disputes amicably. Mean-
while, BJP State president B.S.
Yeddyurappa said the Con-
gress government’s “repeated
demand for the Prime
Minister’s intervention in this
dispute is politically mo-
tivated.” This, he said, would
not serve any purpose.
‘We will verify role of RSS in violence’
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
BENGALURU: The State gov-
ernment will verify the al-
leged involvement of
Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS) in the vio-
lence that took place in
Bengaluru on September
12.
“We will verify the in- bers suggested at
volvement of the RSS,” the party meeting that
said Home Minister G. RSS workers allegedly
Parameshwara here on triggered violence in
Friday after chairing a some parts
meeting of the Karnataka in Bengaluru.
Pradesh Congress Com-
mittee (KPCC) oice-
bearers.
One of the KPCC mem-
CHANGE OF NAME
I, Surbhi Jain W/O Vinit Agrawal
bo on 13/07/91 residing at #322,8
Cross,28 Main,Sector 1,HSR Layout,
Bangalore−560102, changed my name
to Surbhi Agrawal vide affidavit
dt. 10−09−16 at Bangalore.
I, R.PREETHAM, S/o H.Ramesh, R/a

Food, the uniting factor at border

A group of men from Hosur do their bit to ease the tension
VIVEK NARAYANAN
BENGALURU: “Banni; vaanga
(come),” shout out a group of
people to harried travellers
lugging bags on either side of
border at Attibele. The aroma
of vegetable rice from a
cauldron attracts travellers
walking either into Karnataka
or Tamil Nadu, and their faces
brighten as they are ofered a
plate of hot rice — for free.
A group of 10 men from
from Zuzuwadi in Hosur and
Attibele in Karnataka decided
to do their bit to ease the
tension. “Food is a uniting
factor. Like they say we can
find way into people’s heart
through their stomach,” said
A. Govindaraj from
Karumariamman Koil at
Zuzuwadi.
“This also spreads a
message of unity. While
politicians from both States
are fighting over a river, it is
the innocent people who are
most afected,” said Mr.
Govindaraj.
Hotels closed
C. Muniraju from Attibele
added, “Over the past few
days, hotels on either side of
the border have remained
closed, so we decided to help
out. We have made
arrangements for three big
tanks of water. The expenses
are being shared within the
group,” he said.
CM
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Food being distributed to people crossing Karnataka–Tamil Nadu
border at Attibele on Friday. — PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K.
This service initiative has
found several beneficiaries,
like R. Sukumar, an employee
of a private company. “I left
home in Bengaluru in a hurry
in the morning and couldn’t
have any food. As I reached
the border, I realised that no
hotels would be open across
the border. As I was walking,
a group of people came
forward and asked to have
food,” he said. After having
food and quenching his thirst,
he said that many people like
him were grateful for the
initiative.
No.327, Sri Laxmi Venkateshwara Ni-
laya, 6th Cross, 6th Main Road,
H.M.T.Layout, R.T.Nagar, Bengaluru−
560032 have changed my name to
Thanmy R Gowda vide affidavit dt:
HOME SERVICES 15.09.2016 sworn before Notary
DEATH TENDERS B.Chitra, B’lore.
ANNIVERSARIES Artist Call− Kids room Wall arts
9177755268 I, R.KAVYASHREE, D/o H.Ramesh, R/a
MS/CI, Non Ferrous Scrap, Unused No.327, Sri Laxmi Venkateshwara Ni-
spares, Motors, Transformers, PVC
PACKERS Carbouys, PP Bags at EID Parry(In-
laya, 6th Cross, 6th Main Road,
H.M.T.Layout, R.T.Nagar, Bengaluru−
dia) Ltd., Pugalur Sugar Factory, 560032 have changed my name to
Pugalur−639113, Karur Distrct due Honalu R Gowda vide affidavit dt:
on 21−09−2016 by 11a.m. Inspec- 15.09.2016 sworn before Notary
tion: 20−09−2016 onwards− Murrays, B.Chitra, B’lore.
Chennai−4. Ph:24995208/24995219
Website: www.murrays.in I, JC310865 NB/SUB Anil Kumar C.
have changed my Daughter name from
Anusree to Anusree. A.S. and Son’s
name from Anandhu to Anandhu.A.S
Vide affidavit 14.09.2016 sworn br-
fore Noatry L.Gopalakrisshna Banga-
lore
PUBLIC NOTICES
TENDERS
Another commuter C.K.
Saraswathi, who was walking
towards Attibele where her
son was to pick her up, said
she was surprised when a
group approached her and
said they did not want her to
cross the border without
having food.
‘Should be an inspirtation’ LOST & FOUND
“They kept inviting people
to have food. This initiative I, No15322929X L/Hav S.Senthil Ku-
mar Lost my Identity card in Banga-
should inspire people across lore City Railway Station Banga-
the border to maintain peace lore on 27.08.2016 vide affidavit
at this diicult time,” she dated 07.09.2016 sworn before No-
tary Meer Hassan Bangalore if any-
added. body finds my Identity card Please
contact No 08427809587
BG-BG
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BENGALURU

THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

CM BG-BG
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Tamil Nadu bandh hits life
Day passes off without major untoward incidents
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
CHENNAI: The call for a dawn-
to-dusk shutdown of com-
mercial establishments to
demand Tamil Nadu’s
rightful share of Cauvery
riverwater, given by the
traders’ associations and
backed by the opposition
parties, received an over-
whelming response on Fri-
day. While State transport
corporations including the
Metropolitan Transport
Corporation in Chennai did
not suspend operations,
mobility of people was
limited as a large number of
people avoided long-dis-
tance trips.
The day passed of
without major untoward in-
cidents though there was
tension in parts of Mannar-
gudi in Thanjavur district
following the news of the
death of a Naam Tamizhar
Katchi cadre Vignesh, who
had attempted self-immola-
tion at a rally in Chennai on
Three-year-old dies after bus
catches fire in Bidar village
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
BIDAR: A three-year-old boy
died when a private bus
caught fire near Hudgi vil-
lage in Humnabad taluk of
Bidar district on Friday
morning. Three passengers
were injured.
Vihan Ram Prasad, who
was travelling with his par-
ents from Shirdi to Hydera-
bad, sufered burns and died
on the spot, police said. The
Hyderabad-based family was
returning from a pilgrimage.
The bus owned by Kaveri
travels was scheduled to
reach Hyderabad by 7 a.m.
But it stopped on the Sol-
apur-Machilipattanam Na-
tional Highway after it
caught fire accidentally.
The police, who suspected
that a short-circuit might
have caused it, ruled out
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Thursday. Thousands of
political and agricultural
activists including Leader
of the Opposition and DMK
treasurer M.K. Stalin cour-
ted arrest after attempting
to picket trains or block
roads in various parts of the
State, condemning the re-
cent violence unleashed on
a section of Tamils living in
Karnataka following the Su-
preme Court’s direction to
the neighbouring State to
sabotage. Of the 36 pas-
sengers on the bus, three,
Nagalakshi, Divya
Varakumar, who sufered
and
burns, were shifted to a pri-
vate hospital in Hyderabad.
The police and personnel
from the Fire and Emergency
Services from Humnabad
were rushed to the spot.
They controlled the fire
within minutes, said Police
Inspector Dattatreya Kar-
nad. Timely action by the
driver of the bus saved the
lives of many passengers.
According to eyewitness
accounts, the driver, who no-
ticed fire in the A/C com-
pressor of the bus, stopped it
near a dhaba, hoping to get
help from people there.
Vihan died as he was
sleeping near the front door
and could not be brought out
in time, the police said.
release Cauvery water.
A majority of the com-
mercial establishments in-
cluding hotels, shopping
malls and cinema halls re-
mained shut from 6 am to 6
pm. Movement of cargo ve-
hicles including containers
and sand lorries was sus-
pended during the protest,
and fuel stations, except
those directly operated by
oil companies, did not open
for business. Kollywood
Clearing garbage
AN EYESORE: On the eve of the International Coastal Cleanup Day, rag-pickers hunt for
plastic material in the garbage washed ashore on the Lawsons Bay Beach in
Visakhapatnam on Friday. — PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK
SOUTH
had also suspended shoot-
ing of films. However, Gov-
ernment oices, private
concerns, IT companies
and TASMAC shops func-
tioned as usual. In cities like
Chennai, share auto op-
erators and a section of auto
drivers stayed of roads
leading to introduction of
surge pricing by app-based
cab operators such as Uber
and Ola inconveniencing a
section of oice-goers.
DMK leader Stalin and
Rajya Sabha MPs courted
arrest in Chennai after sta-
ging dharnas on the road as
the police prevented them
from proceeding to picket
trains. VCK leader Thol.
Thirumavalan along with
supporters broke the cor-
don of police and blocked
the Delhi-bound Navajevan
Express near Basin Bridge.
They stood before the en-
gine and shouted slogans
against the Union Govern-
ment before being taken
into preventive custody.
13 persons get
five years for
assassination plot
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
BENGALURU: The National In-
vestigation Agency (NIA)
special court, on Friday, sen-
tenced all 13 members of the
Laksher-E-Toiba (LeT) and
Harkat-ul-Jihad-E-Islami —
who were found guilty of
plotting to kill politicians,
police oicers and jour-
nalists — to five years’ im-
prisonment. A penalty ran-
ging from Rs. 3,000 to Rs.
5,000 has also been levied on
them. The accused, who had
been charged under several
sections of the IPC and the
Unlawful Activities (Preven-
tion) Act, and the Arms Act,
including conspiracy and be-
ing part of a terrorist outfit,
pleaded guilty on Thursday
before the NIA special court.
In 2012, the Central Crime
Branch (CCB) investigators
had received a tip-of that the
men had hatched a conspir-
acy to kill important person-
alities in Bengaluru and
Hubballi to disturb com-
munal harmony.
High-value transactions
come under the scanner
SHARATH S. SRIVATSA
BENGALURU: High-value trans-
actions in 17 district cooper-
ative banks, including six in
Bengaluru, which have not
been reported to the Income
Tax Department, are now
under the scanner as 6,000
notices are being readied to
be issued to individuals and
institutions.
“The department is aware
of a huge amount of money
that is in the form of deposits
in these cooperative banks.
In some cases, deposits
range between Rs. 50 crore
and Rs. 80 crore held by
individuals, which have not
been reported,” sources in
the IT Department said.
“Notices will be issued over
the next two to three days,”
sources said, adding that
there are more than 150 co-
operative banks operating in
the State.
Sources said the huge
deposits have raised “suspi-
cion at this point of time”. On
the reasons for finding this
money lying in these banks,
sources said, “Non-reporting
to the authorities, secrecy
maintained about accounts,
and confidence in those
managing the banks have
promoted such transactions.
Most of these banks are also
Case against R.K. Dutta quashed
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
BENGALURU: In a relief to senior
IPS oicer Rupak Kumar
Dutta, who is presently
serving as Special Director
of Central Bureau of Invest-
igation, the Karnataka High
Court on Friday quashed the
criminal case registered
against him on a complaint
related to malpractices al-
legedly committed by him
and a law college where he
was enrolled for a three-year
LLB course in the city.
Justice Anand Byrareddy
passed the order while al-
lowing the petitions filed by
Mr. Dutta and T.K. Sridevi,
Principal, Arunodaya Insti-
THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
Mega enforcement drive
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
BENGALURU: The Income Tax
Department has warned of
a mega enforcement drive
against those who have
received notices from the
department for not
declaring income, but do
not use the Income
Declaration Scheme,
controlled by closely held
families that do not adhere to
regulations.”
What has also come to the
aid of the department is the
fact that the tax on interest
accrued from deposits in co-
operative banks can now be
deducted at source. “Earlier,
TDS was not applicable on
deposits made by members.”
The trend of underreport-
ing or non-reporting in co-
operative banks has been
seen only in Karnataka and
Maharashtra, and these
banks are mostly connected
to areas that cultivate sug-
arcane, tobacco and other
cash crops, another source
said.
Meanwhile, the depart-
ment has also issued 56,135
notices for 70,000 trans-
tute of legal Studies.
The court held that the al-
legations levelled against Mr.
Dutta did not constitute any
criminal ofence. Also, the
court said it was unnecessary
to continue the proceedings
as Mr. Dutta had not com-
pleted the LLB course to
which he was admitted in the
year 2009.
Meanwhile, the principal
of the college filed an ai-
davit before the court, stat-
ing that the college was con-
ducting classes between 7
a.m. and 9.30 p.m. for the
three-year LLB course, and
Mr. Dutta had requisite at-
tendance, which was accep-
ted by the Karnataka State
BENGALURU
which will end on
September 30.
“Enforcement drive is
under consideration at the
highest level in the
department, which may
even suspend other
activities to concentrate
on prosecution of those
failing to respond to
notices,” sources said.
actions in the State where in-
come tax had not been paid.
This is in addition to the two
lakh notices (of seven lakh
nationally) that it issued
earlier for multiple high-
value transactions without
PAN, including deposits in
banks. Sources conceded
that though there was re-
sponse to the notices sent
earlier, they are expecting a
significant response in the
last fortnight of September.
While instances of people
owning up but seeking time
has been reported, Principal
Chief Commissioner of In-
come Tax Nutan Wodeyar
clarified that “time” cannot
be more than September 30
when the four-month In-
come Declaration Scheme
Window will end.
Law University after verify-
ing the documents.
The case was registered by
Kumbalagodu police after a
city court referred a private
complaint, filed by one G.
Mallesh. It was alleged in the
complaint that Mr. Dutta did
not inform the State about
his admission to the course
initially but informed it only
in 2010. Questioning how Mr.
Dutta could have fulfilled
minimum attendance of 70
per cent when he was work-
ing full time as Additional
Director General of Police
(Lokayukta), the complain-
ant had alleged that the col-
lege had colluded with the
oicer.
BG-BG

BENGALURU
THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
Rajasthan HC reserves
order on petition by
Chief Secretary’s wife
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High
Court has reserved its order
on a criminal revision pet-
ition filed by Chief Secretary
Om Prakash Meena’s es-
tranged wife Geeta Singhdeo
seeking financial support
from her husband for the
education of their daughter,
who is pursuing her post-
graduation in Cardif, United
Kingdom.
The courts of the Metro-
politan Magistrate and the
Additional District Judge
had earlier refused to enter-
tain the plea. The Bench of
Justice Prashant Agrawal
had reserved the order on
Thursday on completion of
hearing, in which Ms.
Singhdeo sought £700 per
month from Mr. Meena for
the education of the couple's
daughter.
Molestation charge
Mr. Meena’s daughter had
recently created a flutter by
accusing her father of mo-
lesting her in her teenage
years. She reportedly sent an
Bail for Goan
model Juvekar
convicted of rape
PRAKASH KAMAT
PANAJI: Goan model Siddesh
Juvekar, who had been sen-
tenced to seven years’ im-
prisonment for rape, was
granted conditional bail on
Friday by Justice C.V. Bha-
dang of the Bombay High
Court at Goa.
Suspending the jail sen-
tence pending the hearing of
his appeal, the court directed
that Juvekar be released on a
bail bond and one or two
sureties of Rs.50,000.
On September 8, South
Goa Additional Sessions
Judge Sherin Paul sentenced
Juvekar to seven years’ im-
prisonment for raping a girl
from Navelim in south Goa
after promising to marry her.
The court sentenced him to
three years’ imprisonment
for cheating the victim, an
orphan, of Rs.5 lakh, while
also directing him to pay her
a compensation of Rs.7 lakh.
The court also imposed a
fine of Rs.10,000 and Rs.5000
for the ofences of rape and
cheating respectively.
Aranmula decks up for snakeboat regatta
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
PATHANAMTHITTA: The count-
down has begun for the Uth-
rittathi Vallamkali (snake-
boat regatta) to be held on
Saturday in the heritage vil-
lage of Aranmula located on
the banks of the Pampa.
The Palliyoda Seva Sang-
hom, organisers of the snake-
boat pageantry, has made
elaborate arrangements for
the smooth conduct of the
annual event.
K.G. Sasidharan Pillai and
P.R. Radhakrishnan, PSS
president and secretary, told
‘The Hindu’ that necessary
arrangements had been
made to ensure the smooth
passage of snakeboats along
the Maramon-Arattupuzha
‘Left extremists
using women
as shields’
STAFF REPORTER
BHUBANESWAR: Left wing ex-
tremists appear to be using
woman cadres as shields
during encounters with se-
curity forces, said Odisha po-
lice on Friday.
A day after an exchange of
fire between security forces
and cadres of the outlawed
CPI (Maoist) in the Kala-
handi district, details of the
encounter were divulged in a
press conference at
Bhawanipatna addressed by
Deputy Inspector General
(South West Range) S. Shyni
and Kalahandi Superintend-
ent of Police (SP) Brijesh Ku-
mar Rai.
“CPI [Maoist] cadres have
sufered seven casualties
since the later part of 2015. Of
the seven, six were found to
be women cadre,” said Ms.
Shyni.
CM
YK
Estranged wife is
seeking support for
education of their
daughter in domestic
violence case
e-mail to the High Court’s
Registry with these
allegations.
‘Forced to bear expenses’
Ms. Singhdeo said in the
court that she was made to
bear all the educational ex-
penses of her daughter,
which were beyond her fin-
ancial capacity. However,
Mr. Meena’s counsel conten-
ded that his daughter had
gone to U.K. without his per-
mission and he had no oblig-
ation to support her studies
for a long duration in a
foreign country.
The case in which Mr.
Meena’s daughter has made
allegations pertains to
cruelty and domestic vio-
lence against his wife. Ms.
Singhdeo has sought orders
for CBI inquiry into her com-
plaint.
Hope in the time of fever
DESPERATE REMEDIES: Patients queue up to buy medicine at a government dispensary in Khyala Village in New Delhi on
Friday as dengue fever and chikungunya cases increased in the national Capital. — PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
PHOTO FINISH: A snakeboat regatta held in Pampa at Aranmula
last September. — FILE PHOTO: LEJU KAMAL
stretch of the river.
The Minor Irrigation wing
attached to the Water Re-
sources Department has re-
moved the mudbanks from
the riverbed to facilitate free
movement of the snakeboats
through the race course.
The Public Works Depart-
Vandalism over cow slaughter
ASHOK KUMAR
ALWAR: Ransacked houses,
broken furniture, animal car-
casses, damaged electrical
appliances, pieces of broken
bottles strewn around and
terror-stricken faces bear
witness to a large-scale van-
dalism carried out in over 40
houses in Rewara Baas in
Raghunathgarh village here
following a raid by the police
in the early hours of
Thursday on complaints of
cow-slaughtering.
The police claim to have
recovered 36 bovine car-
casses and rescued six cows
two days after Bakr Eid on
July 15 in the village acting on
a tip-of. Twelve persons
have also been arrested in
this connection and raids are
on in search of at least ten
more.
The locals, however, claim
that a few hours after the raid
in the village at 4 a.m. on
Thursday, the police re-
SC green light for Metro projects
These projects are meant to reduce pollution, make transport eco-friendly: AG
LEGAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: In a green signal to
the concept of Metro rail ser-
vices revolutionising public
transport in major cities, the
Supreme Court on Friday
stayed a National Green
Tribunal (NGT) order of
May 31, 2016, requiring Met-
ro Rail services to take man-
datory and prior environ-
ment clearances for all its
projects.
A Bench led by Chief
Justice of India and Justice
A.M. Khanwilkar stayed the
order passed by the Principal
Bench of the National Green
Tribunal (NGT) on a plea
that Noida Metro Rail con-
structions fell under
Schedule 8(b) of Environ-
ment Impact Assessment
Notification, 2006, which
relates to buildings, con-
struction and development
projects.
Though the NGT order fo-
cussed on the Noida Metro
Rail, its shadow was cast on
all metro constructions and
expansion projects across
the country. The tribunal had
required the same environ-
ment has constructed a spe-
cial pavilion on the PWD
Sathram premises on the
southern bank of the Pampa
to accommodate VVIPs and
other invited guests. A total
of 50 snakeboats (palliyo-
dams) will take part in the
pageantry and the race to be
OUT OF PLACE: A scene at a house that was allegedly vandalised
by cow vigilante groups in Alwar. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
turned around noon along
with hundreds of right-wing
activists and ransacked the
houses in the entire village.
“The police along with the
right-wing activists beat up
the villagers, butchered their
animals, broke the furniture
and even misbehaved with
the women. It all happened
in the presence of the police.
We were too terrorised to
stop or question them and
fled to the fields. We re-
NATION
TRACK CLEARED: Delhi Metro trains at the Pink Line. The Attorney-General termed the imposition
of the condition of prior clearance for the projects as “ridiculous”. — FILE PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY
ment clearance condition
from the Railways’
Dedicated Freight Corridor
Corporation of India Ltd
(DFCCIL).
Appearing for the PSUs,
Attorney-General Mukul Ro-
hatgi termed the imposition
of a condition of prior clear-
ance on Metro projects in the
cities and the dedicated
freight corridors as
“ridiculous.”
These projects, he submit-
held in ‘A’ and ‘B’ categories.
The customary procession
carrying the sacred flame
from the sanctum sanctorum
of the temple in the temple
vessel, Thiruvonathoni, to
the Sathrakkadavu in the
downstream of Pampa will
begin at 9.30 a.m. on Sat-
urday. District Collector R.
Girija will hoist the cere-
monial flag at the sathram
compound at 10 a.m.
Unlike the Nehru Trophy
boat race in Alappuzha, the
ceremonial procession is
more important for the Uth-
rittathi Vallamkali, which is
held in connection with the
anniversary of the idol in-
stallation at the centuries-
old Sree Parthasarathy
Temple.
turned around noon today
[on Friday] when the media
and the social activists came
to the village,” said Mo-
hammad Akeel.
The team of social ac-
tivists that visited the spot
claimed that more than a
hundred houses in the vil-
lage were vandalised.
The villagers alleged that
the police were harassing the
innocent villagers instead of
arresting the real culprits.
ted, are meant to reduce pol-
lution and make transport
eco-friendly. Mr. Rohatgi
said the Metro and freight
corridors are symbols of sus-
tainable development.
“The Metro’s city projects
are spreading to over a dozen
cities. There are over 50 Met-
ro stations in Delhi and
Mumbai each. Places are be-
ing dug up for expansion. We
are trying to remedy pollu-
tion by inviting people to
New Chief Justices for 5 High Courts
NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of five
High Courts were appointed
on Friday, days after the Su-
preme Court told the gov-
ernment that there should be
no delay in filling up judges’
vacancies.
Separate Law Ministry no-
tifications said senior most
judges of the High Courts of
Calcutta, Sikkim, Tripura,
travel with us... Our main
purpose is development and
sustainable development,”
Mr. Rohatgi said.
He said the NGT should
demand environmental
clearances from polluting in-
dustries and not the Metro.
Mr. Rohatgi referred to some
notifications to point out
that Metro projects do not
require clearances from the
Ministry of Environment
and Forests (MoEF).
Three killed in
communal clash
in Uttar Pradesh
BIJNORE (UP): Three persons
were killed and at least 12
others injured on Friday in a
clash between two com-
munities here after a school
girl was allegedly harassed
by some persons, the police
said.
The incident in Peda vil-
lage took place at around 8.15
a.m., with the groups of the
two communities indulged
in stone-pelting, they said,
adding there was even firing
between the clashing groups.
Three persons, aged be-
tween 27 and 30, were killed
in the clash. Five seriously
injured were taken to Meerut
for treatment.
According to the police,
the girl was on her way to
school when she was al-
legedly harassed by some
youth belonging to another
community. A passerby ob-
jected to this act but he was
beaten up by the accused, the
police said. Soon a clash
broke out, There were re-
ports of arson also. Heavy
police picketing has been
posted in the area. — PTI
Manipur and Kerala have
been elevated as Chief
Justices of the same High
Courts.
The new CJs are Justice
Girish Chandra Gupta of the
Calcutta HC, Justice Satish
Kumar Agnihotri of the
Sikkim HC, Justice Tinli-
anthang Vaiphei of the
Tripura HC. — PTI
Ganapathy’s father
seeks CBI probe
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
BENGALURU: The father and
brother of M.K. Ganapathy,
Deputy Superintendent of
Police who allegedly com-
mitted suicide, on Friday
moved the High Court of
Karnataka seeking a probe
by the Central Bureau of In-
vestigation (CBI) into
Ganapathy’s death.
In their petition, M.K.
Kushalappa and M.K. Ma-
chaiah, Ganapathy’s father
and brother, respectively,
said the case registered
based on a magistrate court’s
direction had to be referred
to the CBI for a free, fair and
impartial investigation as
such a probe cannot be ex-
pected from the Criminal In-
vestigation Department
(CID) as all the accused per-
sons hold high oices in the
State government, which
controls the CID.
Stating that there was no
hope for an impartial probe
by the CID as the former
Minister K.J. George, one of
the accused, had served as
Home Minister under which
the CID too functions. The
petitioners pointed out that
the FIR was registered only
on the intervention of the
magistrate court as the po-
lice had refused to registered
it despite a complaint
against the accused persons.
The petitioners claimed
that the CID was likely to
close the investigation with
a ‘B’ report by exonerating
Mr. George, and two senior
IPS oicers, also accused in
the case, from all the charges
levelled against them.
Pointing out that
Ganapathy, who was dis-
charging his duties honestly,
Ganesh festival comes
to a close without hitch
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
MUMBAI: The final day of
Ganesh festival in Mumbai
went of without any major
law and order problems on
Thursday, with immersions
ending at around on Friday
morning.
The police said that a total
of 10,123 Ganesh idols hosted
by public Ganeshotsav man-
dals were immersed at sea
faces like Girgaum, Juhu,
Mahim and Shivaji Park,
while 52,596 household
Ganesh idols were immersed
at sea faces and artificial
lakes all over the city.
Police sources said one
person was injured at the
Girgaum after a decorative
trident fell from the hands of
|9
was a jovial person engaged
in sports and other activities
and shared a healthy bond-
ing with his family, Mr. Kush-
alappa claimed in the pet-
ition that his son was a
fighter and he could not
have committed suicide.
While suspecting “foul
play” in Ganapathy’s death,
the petitioners pointed out
that two rounds of bullets
were found to have been
fired from his service re-
volver in the hotel room in
Madikeri where the Dy. SP’s
body was found hanging.
Justice A.S. Bopanna, be-
fore whom the petition came
up for hearing, recused him-
self from hearing the case.
The petition will now come
up before an another judge.
No stay
The High Court on Friday
declined to stay for now the
criminal case registered
against M.G. Krishnan,
former Vice-Chancellor of
the Karnataka State Open
University (KSOU),
Mysuru, in connection with
alleged irregularities in mak-
ing payment to a private
firm.
However, Justice Anand
Byrareddy, before whom the
petition came up for hearing,
adjourned further hearing
till September 23, directing
the State to file its objections
by then.
a Ganesh idol on his head
early on Thursday night. He
was taken to the hospital and
treated for his injuries.
Meanwhile, a teenager was
saved from drowning at Juhu
and taken to Cooper Hos-
pital. He has now been dis-
charged, said oicials.
“Immersions went of
without any major problems
being reported in the city,”
Mumbai Police spokesper-
son DCP Ashok Dudhe said.
Meanwhile, Awaaz Found-
ation, an NGO that works
against noise pollution
recorded the highest decibel
levels at 116.4 decibels in Op-
era House in Mumbai and 105
to 110 decibels in the vicinity
of the Thane Municipal Cor-
poration building in Thane.
BG-BG
10 | EDITORIAL
BENGALURU

THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

Summit over substance

Forthcoming summits will reflect India’s status as a key player both regionally and internationally. But unless
we move from an event-oriented to a process-driven diplomacy, this will only be a transient gain
having a formulation along these lines in the to follow through. The event itself then be-
S AT U R D AY , S E P T E M B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 6 BRICS declaration, post the award, would comes the focus and not the process. It is no
SHYAM SARAN be of even greater value to China, which will surprise then that outcomes from such sum-
undoubtedly press for it with Russian sup- mitry are sparse.
port. Indian negotiators will probably resist. BRICS has one practical outcome to its
A break-up Barely six weeks after participating in the
Already after the Moscow meeting there
had been criticism that India was speaking
credit, and that is the New Development
Bank, and an Indian, K.V. Kamath, is its

foretold G-20 summit at Hangzhou, China, and the

East Asia and ASEAN-India summits at Vi-
entiane, Laos, Prime Minister Narendra
with two voices, one when in the company
of Americans and the other when meeting
with the Chinese and Russians. Further-
president. The Bank has been operation-
alised and India has reportedly received
loans totalling about $300 million. But this

S
ometimes the symptom, and not its under-
lying cause, seems like the real problem. If
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Me-
hbooba Mufti has anything to worry about,
it is not the resignation of her party MP, Tariq
Hameed Karra, but the issues he raised while an-
nouncing his decision to quit the Peoples Demo-
cratic Party and the Lok Sabha. Despite his call to
like-minded people to “join” him, Mr. Karra is un-
likely to get critical support within the party to
threaten Ms. Mufti’s standing in the PDP. However,
while drawing attention to the unrest in the Kash-
mir Valley, and the “civilian killings”, he has also
pointed to the irreconcilable diferences between
the PDP and its alliance partner, the Bharatiya
Janata Party. Mr. Karra might have been politically
opportunistic in the timing of his resignation, but
there is no way the PDP can get away from having to
define, to its political constituency, the nature of its
relationship with the BJP. Ideologically, the PDP
has more in common with the National Conference
than with the BJP. But, after a fractured mandate in
the 2014 Assembly election, it chose to ally with the
BJP rather than explore the possibility of an al-
liance with the NC and the Congress. The NC was a
rival, with the support bases of the two parties over-
lapping in many areas of the Valley. The BJP, how-
ever, had its base in Jammu and did not compete
with the PDP. Short-term political calculations in-
evitably led to a PDP-BJP alliance.
To be sure, Ms. Mufti had grappled with the con-
tradictions in the relationship with the BJP before
she was sworn in as Chief Minister following the
death of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, her father. But
the BJP, just as conscious as the PDP of the need to
protect its own vote bank, did not give an inch while
renegotiating the terms of engagement. Not sur-
prisingly, she failed to wrest any major concessions
from the BJP. Whatever the nature of Mr. Karra’s
political ambitions, he has framed the dilemma for
Ms. Mufti. Clearly, she cannot go into an election in
alliance with the BJP. Both the PDP and the NC, at
diferent points, have allied with the Congress. But
the BJP, with its Hindutva plank, is a non-starter as
an electoral ally for any party seeking to represent
the Muslims of Kashmir. The coalition government
of the PDP and the BJP is likely to fall before the As-
sembly election, but it is in the interest of both
parties to remain together in power for the longest
period possible. The break-up seems like an event
foretold; what is uncertain is the nature of the trig-
ger and the timing.
Modi will himself play host to the annual
BRICS summit in Goa on October 15-16,
2016. This will bring together the heads of
state of Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa, and the summit theme put for-
ward by India is “Building Responsive, In-
clusive and Collective Solutions”, which is a
clever play on the letters constituting the
membership of the grouping. India has also
exercised its privilege as host to arrange a
regional outreach.
At the Fortaleza summit in 2014, Brazil
had invited several heads of state/govern-
ment from Latin America, while at Ufa last
year Russia had invited the leaders of the
Eurasian Economic Union and the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation. One would have
expected India to have invited SAARC lead-
ers to the outreach but it has chosen to host
the leaders of the seven-member BIMSTEC
(Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation) in-
stead. BIMSTEC is a potential Bay of Bengal
Economic Community comprising Bhutan,
Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka from
South Asia and Myanmar and Thailand
from ASEAN. The motivation is obvious, to
avoid having to invite Pakistan. BIMSTEC
will also hold its fourth summit in Goa.
Nepal was to have hosted it in 2015 but was
unable to do so mainly on account of the
earthquake and the subsequent political tur-
moil. Not much should be expected from the
BIMSTEC summit. It has been as somnolent
as SAARC has been since its inception.
The China-Russia dynamic
There will be greater focus on the BRICS
summit mainly because of the stature of
those who will be attending, including
President Vladimir Putin of Russia and
President Xi Jinping of China. Both have a
shared image of being tough leaders, of hav-
ing defied the U.S. and the West, and now
edging closer to a closer security partner-
ship, if not an alliance. The largest ever Sino-
Russian joint naval exercises are being held
in the South China Sea of the coast of
Guangdong province. And Russia is the only
CARTOONSCAPE
ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN
At the BRICS meet, it will mostly
be a triangular game among Mr.
Modi, Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi. The
latter two seem to be leaning
closer to each other
country to have explicitly supported Chi-
na’s stand on the South China Sea dispute, of
rejecting the international tribunal award
and proposing bilateral dialogue with
claimant countries, though it has not en-
dorsed its territorial claims.
There will be a Chinese efort to include
in the summit declaration a formulation
similar to what had been agreed upon in the
India-Russia-China trilateral Foreign
Ministers’ meeting in Moscow in April this
year and which appeared to support China’s
stand: “Russia, India and China are commit-
ted to maintaining a legal order for the seas
and oceans based on the principles of inter-
national law, as reflected in the UN Conven-
tion on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS). All re-
lated disputes should be addressed through
negotiations and agreements between the
parties concerned. In this regard the
Ministers called for full respect of all provi-
sions of UNCLOS, as well as the Declaration
on the Conduct of Parties in the South China
Sea (DOC) and the Guidelines for the imple-
mentation of the DOC.”
This was before the tribunal award. Now
more, given Chinese opposition to India’s
membership of the Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG) and its blocking at the UN of
naming the Pakistani Jaish-e-Mohammed
chief Masood Azhar as a terrorist, it is likely
that India may dig in on this point. We shall
wait and see.
A triangular game
The other two leaders, Brazil’s Michel
Temer and South Africa’s Jacob Zuma, are
unlikely to come up with any notable initiat-
ives. Their countries are sufering from both
political and economic turmoil. Mr. Temer
has taken over after a politically polarising
impeachment of the former Brazilian
president, Dilma Roussef. Mr. Zuma is fa-
cing serious charges of corruption, and
there has been unprecedented infighting in
his ruling African National Congress. So it
will be mostly a triangular game among Mr.
Modi, Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi, and the latter
two seem to be leaning closer to each other.
This will be a challenge for the Indian host.
For Mr. Modi, a strong and categorical
statement on counter-terrorism will be a
must even though neither China and now
nor Russia will countenance the naming of
Pakistan or even an oblique reference to it.
Brazil and South Africa do not have much
play in this game. So expect a strong formu-
lation but more general in scope.
BRICS has begun to sufer the aliction
characteristic of several other multi-coun-
try groupings, and that is the exponential ex-
pansion in its committees, working groups
and forums resulting in a extraordinarily
crowded calendar of meetings. There are
now over a hundred such bodies covering a
multiplicity of subjects ranging from trade,
investment and finance, to health, education
and security. India itself has been hosting
several tens of these meetings during the
year in its capacity as incoming chair, but it
is questionable whether such hyper activity
leads to substantive outcomes. The impres-
sion one has is of being stretched too thin
across a steadily expanding space with nei-
ther the human nor the financial resources
institution is overshadowed by the much
better funded Asian Infrastructure Invest-
ment Bank (AIIB) initiated and led by the
Chinese. The Contingent Reserve Arrange-
ment (CRA), another important BRICS ini-
tiative, remains on paper. There is a propos-
al for the setting up of a BRICS Credit Rating
Agency to challenge the monopoly of the
West, and this might be of value if adopted.
On the trade side any hint of a BRICS free
trade agreement comes up against the fears
both India and Russia have of being
swamped by Chinese imports. It will not
have traction even though none of the five
countries are part of any of the emerging
mega trade blocs like the Trans-Pacific Part-
nership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade
and Investment Partnership (TTIP). At a
time when both TPP and TTIP are stalled,
even a hint of a mega trade bloc of the key
emerging economies would be a major de-
velopment. It could even bring the World
Trade Organisation back in play!
The BIMSTEC summit could be an im-
portant occasion for reviving what, on the
face of it, appears to be a grouping with im-
mense potential. Its attraction is that China
is not there to crowd India out, and it fits in
very well with the logic of India’s Act East
policy. The parallel Mekong-Ganga Cooper-
ation (MGC), which is a platform for India’s
exclusive engagement with the countries of
Indo-China (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and
Vietnam) and Myanmar, could also be a ma-
jor component of the Act East strategy. But
neither BIMSTEC nor the MGC have lived
up to their potential, and India’s engage-
ment with them has been mostly episodic
and ad hoc. There are sets of activities under
both but they do not add up to a well-
thought-out and long-term strategy of integ-
rating India more closely with its eastern
neighbourhood. The perception remains
that India continues to be at the margins of
this increasingly contested geopolitical
space, unable to play a significant role in
shaping its emerging economic and security
architecture.
Trailing on connectivity
There is little doubt that connectivity will
have to be the key theme at the BIMSTEC
summit but here, too, is an Indian dilemma.
The connectivity platform also opens the
door to China selling its ambitious One Belt,
One Road initiative among the members of
this grouping. India’s own resources are
limited, but more than that its record of
delivery on commitments continues to be
abysmal. There are occasions when one
finds the same projects reappearing as

Towards a “fresh initiatives” in serial joint statements

over recent years. Our capacities and insti-
tutions continue to lag behind our

national health policy ambitions.

There is no doubt that the forthcoming
summits will be major events and will re-

T
he Supreme Court’s order directing the
Centre to ask States to end the oppressive
practice of sterilising women in large
camps is a timely reminder that the coun-
try must urgently adopt a rights-based health
policy. Many course correction measures have
been ordered by the court in the Devika Biswas
public interest case, and if they are implemented
vigorously, they can greatly improve women’s wel-
fare. Civil society can efectively monitor ster-
ilisation activity, if, as the court has directed, the list
of approved doctors at the State and regional levels
and members of quality assurance committees, and
details of compensation claims are publicised on
the Internet. At the same time, compensation for
losses, including deaths, should be raised substan-
tially. The larger question is that of the fairness of
promoting permanent contraception, often for
young women, who are unable to exercise their re-
productive rights due to social and economic
factors. Last year, the Population Division of the
UN took note of the extraordinary levels of ster-
ilisations resorted to in India — 65 per cent of all
contraceptive methods — and pointed to a poten-
tial mismatch between what is being ofered and
what women would like, which is to delay or space
out births. Unthinking resort to tubectomies for
population control also ignores the evidence from
some developed States in India that women’s em-
powerment through education and employment
brings down fertility, without sacrificing choice.
Ensuring the safety of women who undergo a
tubectomy is of immediate concern, and the Centre
should give rule-based authority to the Supreme
Court’s directions. A significant number of women
have died due to the procedure during the past
three years. Every death due to family planning sur-
gery is one too many, and the State concerned must
be called to account. In the case of Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Kerala, which did not
take the question of mismanagement in ster-
ilisation camps raised in the petition seriously, the
court has acted decisively and called for monitor-
ing and issue of appropriate orders by the respec-
tive High Courts. Such action is wholly welcome,
because it reinforces the idea of the right to health
being inseparable from the right to life. This is the
message that the Centre must take from the judg-
ment, as it works on a national policy for health.
Empowerment of women through full opportunity
in education and employment, and access to all
contraception options, should be central to na-
tional policies. Ofering financial incentives and
subjecting women to permanent contraceptives is
unacceptable.
CM
YK
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
Antibiotic resistance
The findings of the Lancet study are
shocking (“‘Superbugs’ kill babies
as antibiotic resistance rises”, Sept.
16). That nearly 26 per cent of
babies with sepsis died despite
timely medical intervention, and
because of unresponsiveness to
treatment, is worrisome. If in 80 per
cent of infections caused by
Acinetobacter, and in more than 50
per cent of Klebsiella infections, the
first line of treatment fails, it clearly
indicates the rampant misuse of
antibiotics. There is an
indiscriminate use of antibiotics
and analgesic drugs in India.
Unafordable and inaccessible
qualitative health-care services,
easy availability of drugs over the
counter without any prescription,
and inadequate dosage
recommendations by unqualified
medical practitioners are the main
reasons for the ‘superbug’ menace.
It would be a major public health
disaster if the rampant use of drugs
were left unchecked.
D.V.G. Sankararao,
Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh
Alexander Fleming warned of the
dangers of antibiotic resistance in
1945 in his Nobel Prize acceptance
speech. Klebsiella, a common
bacterium, can cause a wide range
of conditions as the report on
‘superbugs’ highlights. It fits into a
wider group of bacteria with an apt
acronym ‘ESKAPE’ owing to their
ability to avoid the efects of the
antibiotics used against them. The
acronym stands for the names of the
bacterial group members. These
infections are increasingly being
acquired in hospitals.
Antibiotic resistance can be
mitigated to some extent with good
hand hygiene, taking antibiotics
prescribed by a doctor, and
completing the full course if one
has to take them. Medical experts
believe this will help reduce the
problem of resistance. Another area
of key concern is to discourage
dispensing antibiotics of the
counter. These may be baby steps,
but they will have an impact and
may even avert a future where
treatable diseases become fatal.
H.N. Ramakrishna,
Bengaluru
A few days ago, the U.S. banned 19
chemicals used in antibacterial
soap. This is a bold move
considering the U.S. has one the
highest regulated antibiotic and
therapeutic markets in the world. In
India, the word antibiotic has
become synonymous with
cleanliness. In reality, however,
antibiotics are a double-edged
sword that can alter our bodies and
environment indefinitely. It is high
time our government heeded these
regulations and promptly banned
consumer antibiotics and regulated
medicines from the ground up to
avoid an epidemic disaster.
Ramaseshu Botu,
Visakhapatnam
An acid test for Nitish
There is no doubt that the granting
of bail to Mohammad Shahabuddin
will test the strength of the RJD-JD
(U) alliance (“The message from
Shahabuddin”, Sept. 16). Though
Nitish Kumar is the Chief Minister
of Bihar, it is the RJD which holds
more seats in the Assembly, and we
know the kind of relationship that
Lalu Prasad and Mr. Kumar have
shared in the past. Yes, Mr. Prasad
has said that the coalition is intact
and that Mr. Kumar is the leader,
but he is known to be a shrewd
politician. There is no doubt that
Mr. Kumar will be feeling
uncomfortable with Shahabuddin’s
release. His party may not challenge
the release considering the
compulsions of coalition politics,
but this episode will have a huge
bearing on the future political
events of the State.
Also, from a broader perspective,
we must think about whether
criminals should be allowed to
enter politics in the first place.
Bal Govind,
Noida
This is a great opportunity for Mr.
Kumar to display his political
courage by facing Shahabuddin
head-on. No doubt, there will be
flect India’s status as a key player in the re-
gion and as a globally significant player. But
that will only be a transient gain unless we
begin to pay attention to the much less
glamorous and more nuts-and-bolts efort
to use events as key markers in a well-con-
ceived and systematic process of expanding
our strategic space, leveraging our strengths
and remedying our vulnerabilities. It is time
to move from an event-oriented to a proc-
ess-driven approach.
Shyam Saran is a former Foreign Secretary. He is currently
Chairman, RIS, and Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy
Research.
tremendous pressure from the RJD Aadmi Party has frittered away a lot
chief and his party to adopt a soft of public goodwill that catapulted it
and lenient attitude towards this to power.
notorious politician. Yielding to The AAP’s failure to settle down in
such tactics of his majority coalition power (it is still behaving like an
partner in the name of political opposition party) largely stems
expediency would mean re- from a deadly mix of incompetence,
emergence of the ‘jungle raj’ in inexperience, and arrogance. After
Bihar and would surely prove its electoral victory in Delhi, it
suicidal for Mr. Kumar. His image of started behaving like a national
an honest politician with good party and cast its leader in the
governing skills has been built over mould of a messiah who has arrived
the decades. It is diicult for any to deliver India from corruption.
Indian politician to earn this Previous governments worked
reputation, especially if he or she within the constraints imposed by
has been in power for a long time. Delhi’s peculiar hybrid status that
If mid-term polls become inevitable make it neither a full-fledged Union
because of his tough stand against territory nor a State.
Shahabuddin, Mr. Kumar and his Unable to give up the street
party will certainly emerge fighter’s mindset despite being in
victorious for taking a tough stand power, the party’s leaders showed
against a gangster. This would also no respect for constitutional limits
enable him to become a successful to Delhi’s statehood, and niceties of
prime ministerial candidate later, a political conduct as is evident from
wish that he has harboured for long. their abrasive confrontations with
M.V. Nagavender Rao, the Lieutenant Governor.
Hyderabad The party’s image has plummeted
in Punjab as its record in Delhi is
nothing inspiring. Its resort to
The AAP’s headache populism in Punjab has only
Nothing tests the competence and betrayed its moral bankruptcy.
vision of politicians than the Bereft of any alternative political
exercise of power (“A party in a vision except empty grandiloquent
hurry”, Sept. 16). With its alibi for rhetoric, the AAP is looking like a
the unsatisfactory performance of sole proprietorship political party
the Delhi government — that has neither the organisational
interference by the Lieutenant reach and base nor the leadership
Governor and non-cooperation material needed to rule any State.
from the Central government — V. N. Mukundarajan,
looking increasingly stale, the Aam Thiruvananthapuram
BG-BG

BENGALURU
THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
The bane of a bumper crop
Farmers in Maharashtra’s onion belt are getting an unprecedented low price for their produce, though they retail at tear-inducing rates after leaving
Asia’s largest wholesale market for it, Lasalgaon. Alok Deshpande details their helplessness
INJUSTICE: “Traders decide the price, farmers accept it without protest.” The Lasalgaon onion market in Maharashtra. PHOTOS: VIVEK BENDRE
Every day, around 3 p.m., hundreds of
lorries loaded with onions queue up at
the new agricultural market complex at
Lasalgaon, around 45 km from Nashik,
waiting for the afternoon auction to
begin.
As a group of traders approach, the
farmers drop their produce at their feet,
as if to tempt them into bidding high.
The traders halt and look over the mer-
chandise. A market committee em-
ployee calls out the reserve price: “400!”
Eyes roll, unspoken words seem to pass
between the traders. Then the bidding
starts: “1!” “11!” “13!” “17!” In less than 30
seconds, the auction is over. The farmer
gets 17 rupees over the reserve price,
Rs.417 per quintal (100 kg). A pittance at
any given time, more so now when com-
pared to prices last year.
A trader-controlled market
No matter how united the farmers
are, no matter how hard they fight for a
better price, they turn into mute spec-
tators in front of the traders when auc-
tion begins. The auction is dictated by
the traders with money and consid-
erable political clout. Traders decide
the price, farmers accept it without
protest.
The market complex has a huge park-
ing space for the lorries. Sometimes
there are up to 1,000 vehicles at a time.
The otherwise deserted place comes
alive twice a day. The first auction of the
day starts at around 10 a.m. and the
second at 3 p.m. Depending on the num-
ber of vehicles, the auction can stretch
from an hour to three hours.
Once the rate is fixed, the group of
traders moves immediately to the next
vehicle. The farmer, left with the price
decided by the group, starts collecting
the onions he has dropped on the
ground. An oicial from the market
committee approaches him with a re-
ceipt, bearing the auction rate, trader’s
name and farmer’s name. With a receipt
in hand and onions in the vehicle, the
farmer then proceeds to the godown
where the weighing process takes place.
As per the rules laid down by the market
committee, the farmer must get the pay-
ment before the end of the day, which is
largely followed.
After the produce is dropped of at a
shed in the complex, the traders take
control of it. Workers start segregating
the onions according to the quality and
the packaging begins. Vehicles are
loaded with the produce to be sent of to
cities or to diferent States. Traders then
get into a huddle to firm up the retail
price of the produce — adding their
profits — with nary a concern for the
farmer and the price demanded by him.
The operation is bloodless and smooth.
Barely breaking even
While onion is one of the major crops
in this belt, farmers also cultivate
grapes, soya bean, sugarcane, and gin-
ger. Speaking out against the cartel of
traders is not easy when the farmer is
dependent largely on the onion crop, as
it may result in traders ganging against
him (or her) by dropping rates for his
produce.
CM
YK
Abundant supply has brought
prices down. But farmers say
traders are conspiring against
them and the government has
done little to help
Oicial data from the Lasalgaon Agri-
cultural Produce Market Committee
(APMC) says that this year’s prices —
between Rs.500-Rs.800/ql., down from
Rs.970-Rs.3,786/ql. — are the lowest in
the last five years. This year, Rs.1,020/ql.
(in June) was the highest rate given to
farmers, compared to Rs.6,326/ql. in
2015-16, and Rs.2,626 in 2014-15.
Growing onions costs between
Rs.50,000 and Rs.80,000 per acre, and a
cultivated acre yields not more than 100
ql. With this year’s average selling price
at Rs.728/ql., an acre’s worth of onions
would get the farmer around Rs.72,800.
This sees some farmers barely break
even; many lose money.
Small wonder that Milind Darade,
who owns 13 acres of land, is furious.
“This is the only industry where produ-
cers have no right to decide the price of
their product,” the onion farmer from
Karanjgaon, Nashik district, says. “Isn’t
it cruel? Shouldn’t we get angry?” The
week before The Hindu caught up with
him at the Saikheda sub-market com-
mittee, Darade was given a humiliating
price for his produce: Rs.5/ql., or 5
paisa/kg. If that was not bad enough,
Maharashtra’s Minister for Co-op-
eration, Subhash Deshmukh, said on a
live television show that his onions
were rotten. “Let me give you some in-
formation,” he says indignantly, “this is
the onion you eat at a restaurant. Just
peel of two layers and you would won-
der whether it was really rotten.”
Darade has preserved the oicial pa-
per from the market committee with the
ofered rate; he has laminated it to en-
sure it doesn’t get dog-eared. He says
that he was so angry that he refused to
sell his onions and brought the load,
some 10-11 ql., back to his farm to use as
fertiliser. But, he says, “When I calmed
down, it dawned upon me that I must
use it to highlight the plight of onion
farmers.”
Supply-demand mismatch
Simplistically put, there was a short-
age last year, and this year has seen rec-
ord onion cultivation. Abundant supply
has brought the prices down. The farm-
ers, though, are used to this kind of fluc-
tuation. They don’t blame the bumper
crop and supply-demand equation; they
say it’s the traders who are conspiring
against them and the government has
done little — or the wrong things — to
help.
To understand the current crisis for
farmers, we need to step back a little.
India has three onion crops a year.
Early kharif (the crop sowed in the mon-
soon) onions come to market between
October and December. Onions from
the rangda, or late kharif, crop arrive
from January to March. The winter or
rabi crop is up for sale from April to
May. Usually, some parts of the rabi crop
GROUND ZERO
are stored for a few months to fill the
gap from May to October. Traditionally,
prices rise from July to October; oicial
data show that wholesale rates rise by as
much as Rs.1,000/ql., even Rs. 1,500, lat-
er reflected in the retail market with an
increase of Rs.5-Rs.10/kg for
consumers.
In 2014-15, the onions took a hit fol-
lowing a hailstorm in North Maha-
rashtra which, in turn, afected their
storage value. With many rotting, the
onions that did make it to market com-
manded high prices.
Then the drought of the summer just
past played a role too; many sugarcane
farmers switched to the less thirsty
onion this year. “The onion cultivation
area in the State has almost doubled in
year 2015-16,” says Nanasaheb Patil, Dir-
ector, National Agricultural Cooperat-
ive Marketing Federation of India Ltd.
(NAFED). “Farmers hoped that they
will get last year’s rate — close to
Rs.3,000-Rs.4,000/ql. — which did not
happen, as production increased in
huge proportions.”
India is the world’s second-largest
onion producer (after China) with 26.79
per cent of the planet’s land under onion
cultivation and 19.90 per cent of its
production. Maharashtra is India’s
largest producer, with a 32.45 per cent
share of total onion production, and in
turn, Nashik district in north Maha-
rashtra accounts for with 41 per cent of
the State’s onion harvest. According to
the Directorate General of Commercial
Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), In-
dia produced 203.33 lakh metric tonnes
(MT, 1,000 kg) of onions in 2015-16, up
from 189.28 lakh MT in 2014-15. Lasal-
gaon, Asia’s biggest onion market, re-
ceived around 32,680 MT in the previ-
ous fiscal year. Five months into this
year, it has received 10,874 MT.
To make matters worse for Maha-
rashtra’s farmers, other States —
notably Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh and Karnataka — have re-
ported higher onion yields.
Holding on for a better day
Aside from the production glut,
another important factor was a 40-
day strike by traders in July and Au-
gust, opposing the State govern-
ment’s decision to free agricultural
market committees from govern-
ment regulations. With no outlet for
their rabi onions, farmers had no op-
tion but to store them and wait for the
strike to end. In addition, thanks to the
low prices, some farmers are choosing
to not bring their onions to the markets,
and instead are storing them away hop-
ing an artificial scarcity later in the year
will pay of for them.
This strategy, however, comes with
its own dangers: that of the crop rotting
or the onions sprouting. Malti Bodke of
Bhuse village points to her rotten
onions with disgust. “How long can we
store them? It’s been almost four
months. Once the onions start sprout-
ing, they lose weight, and it becomes
diicult to get a higher price.”
The farmers also say that the traders
are colluding to cheat them. “It’s a cartel
of traders which decides the rates and
once the market reopened, they ensured
prices didn’t cross Rs.1,000/ql.,” says
Rajaram Fafale, from Maralgoi village.
The strike gets blame for the glut. But
did trade actually stop? Oicials and
traders seem to want consumers to be-
lieve that, but farmers say it never really
stopped. Darade says that opportunistic
traders discreetly approached farmers
and “quoted lowest possible rates.
Farmers, thinking it was better to sell,
even at a low price, rather than keep
them and let them rot, did sell”.
Three years ago, when the farmers
were getting Rs.4,500-
Rs.5,000/ql., retail onion
prices reached Rs.90/kg., which
resulted in protests from the then-
opposition parties, as well as con-
sumer organisations, in Delhi, Mumbai
and other major cities, accusing the
United Progressive Alliance govern-
ment of failing to protect consumers.
The government’s first step was to in-
crease the Minimum Export Price
(MEP) to $1,150/MT. This made it dii-
cult for Indian exporters to compete in
international markets; whatever stock
was available was diverted to the
domestic market, which brought prices
down. By March 2014, when the late
kharif crop got to market, prices had
dropped to less than Rs.1,000/ql. in the
wholesale market, and consumers got
theirs at Rs.20-Rs.25/kg.
This may have played out well for
consumers, but has had other con-
sequences for the industry. “There is ab-
solutely no consistency in our approach
towards onion exports,” says NAFED’s
Patil. A look at MEPs between Decem-
ber 2010 and December 2015 bears him
out: the figure has fluctuated wildly,
dropping to $0 in May 2012, and with a
high of $1,150 in November 2013. “It only
enrages our customers overseas,” says
Patil. “They are left with absolutely no
guarantee of quantity and price of
onions exported from India. These cus-
tomers have instead chosen Pakistan,
China and Iran, and we have lost guar-
anteed markets.”
Patil says that the government’s de-
cision to placate enraged urban custom-
ers has lost it both its farmers’ support
and its overseas markets. The onion, he
says, is no longer an agricultural com-
modity, it has become a political
symbol.
An MSP for onions?
Assuming the government has to bal-
ance the needs of consumers with those
of producers, what else could it have
done to ensure that farmers get some re-
turn on their labour?
The National Horticulture Research
& Development Foundation (NHRDF)
keeps track of potential harvests by col-
lecting information on each district.
This year, despite being aware of the
possibility of a bumper crop, the gov-
ernment appears to have failed to take
any measures to protect farmers. The
NHRDF’s estimates say the rabi onions
should be selling at around Rs.818/ql.,
which is significantly higher than what
farmers are managing to get. If the gov-
ernment chose to use its Price Stabilisa-
tion Fund, it could subsidise the crop,
paying, say, Rs.500/ql.
What the State government has an-
| 11
nounced this week by way of relief —
Rs.100 per quintal, up to a maximum of
200 quintals, or a maximum of
Rs.20,000 — has, to put it mildly, failed
to enthuse farmers. Every farmer The
Hindu spoke to called the measure not
just inadequate but practically a mock-
ery of their plight.
Fafale, who sold 10 ql. at Lasalgaon for
Rs. 220/ql., or Rs 2.2/kg., greeted the
news with scorn. “Now I will get one ru-
pee more. What a relief!” he says sar-
castically. “We aren’t begging in front of
the government. What we are asking is
our right. How does this government
conclude that this much of money is suf-
ficient as financial aid? Who advises
them? Have they bothered to check the
ground reality?”
One of the major demands the farm-
ers have is for the government to intro-
duce a Minimum Support Price (MSP)
for onions, as it has for sugarcane. “Why
don’t the oicers understand that we are
not independent and traders enjoy a
free run here?” says Darade. “Unless an
MSP is announced, we cannot be sure of
a certain minimum profit. Why this
neglect?”
Western Maharashtra, the State’s
sugar belt, has seen, in recent times, sug-
arcane farmers agitating for an in-
creased MSP. It became an electoral is-
sue in 2014 when the Congress and the
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
sufered major defeats in the Assembly
polls in the region considered a bastion
for both.
The Swabhimani Shetkari
Sanghatana (SSS; its name means ‘orga-
nisation for farmers’ self-respect’), led
by Raju Shetti, which was in the thick of
the agitation, is now part of the State
government and Shetti is an MP. While
the SSS has stage limited protests in the
State’s onion belt demanding an MSP, it
has not been able to take the protests to
a wider audience. With the Bharatiya
Janata Party-Shiv Sena regime, as with
the previous Congress-NCP rule, the
MSP for onions issue is far from being
solved.
In the village of Bhuse, Ramdas
Bodke, 65, is philosophical. “I have seen
many seasons and farming has never
been easy. We know how to tackle
nature. What do we do with man-made
problems? We farmers feed the world,
but now we wonder whether we will
have food cooked at home.” He lapses
into silence for a minute, and then his
tone turns bitter: “Did the government
discuss its proposal to hike MLA
salaries for even a day? The government
takes an instant decision to increase the
salary of MLAs, but it takes a long time
to decide about farmers. This is in-
justice. But there is no one to give
justice to farmers.”
As for the urban consumers and their
agitations, farmers mince no words
when the topic comes up for discussion.
Turning towards me, one of them asks,
“You get agitated when prices
skyrocket, but have you ever wondered
what happens when prices hit rock bot-
tom? Why don’t you come out on the
streets demanding a fair price for us?”
I have no answers.
BG-BG
12 |
FROM PAGE ONE
Cong. loses Arunachal
as MLAs join BJP ally
Government spokesper-
son Pasang Sona also said
the decision was fuelled by
regional aspirations of the
people. “We felt that a re-
gional identity is needed
right now to fulfil the aspir-
ations of the people,” he
said.
State BJP chief Tapir Gao
welcomed the decision and
said the decision to join the
BJP at a later stage lies with
Mr Khandu. “The ball is in
his court,” Mr Gao said. He
congratulated Mr Khandu
“for joining the Congress-
mukt Arunachal”.
Mr Khandu however,
said while his party will be
with the BJP in NEDA, he
ruled out the possibility of
the safron party coming to
power in the State.
Friday’s development
came abruptly although
talks of a possible merger
‘Copying books for
teaching not violation’
In a joint statement, the
publishers said, “Whilst the
verdict is not what we had
hoped for, we note the
court’s decision on the mat-
ter. We brought this case to
protect authors, publishers
and students from the po-
tential efects on the Indian
academic and educational
book market caused by the
widespread creation and
distribution of unlicensed
course packs by a copy
shop operating from within
the premises of the Uni-
versity, where a legitimate
and afordable licensing
scheme is already in place.
“It is unfortunate that the
court’s decision today
could undermine the avail-
ability of original content
for the benefit of students
and teachers. We will be
considering the full judg-
ment when it is made avail-
able, and shall decide the
next course of action after
consultation with our legal
teams,” they said in the
statement.
The court was of the
view that with the advance-
ment of technologies, the
students are not expected
to be sitting in the library
and taking notes. “If the fa-
cility of photocopying were
to be not available, they
In setback to Akhilesh,
uncle regains portfolios
OMAR RASHID
LUCKNOW: A day after the in-
ternal crisis in the ruling
Samajwadi Party in Uttar
Pradesh escalated with the
resignation of senior leader
Shivpal Yadav, his brother
and party supremo Mulayam
Singh stepped in to steady
the boat on Friday. By the end
of the day, it appeared Mr
Singh had been successful in
enforcing a truce between
his warring family members,
bringing an end to a long-
drawn power and ego
struggle that threatened to
derail the party’s campaign
ahead of next year’s As-
sembly polls.
Though nothing is on pa-
per yet, Mr Shivpal Yadav
looks set to get back the min-
istries he lost, including the
prestigious PWD depart-
ment, while retaining the
post of State party president.
His resignation letters were
also rejected by Mr Mulayam
Singh and Chief Minister
Akhilesh Yadav.
Mr Akhilesh Yadav, whose
authority appears to have
been diluted in the entire
episode as he was not only
forced to revoke his de-
cisions but also lost the post
of State president, might get
a bigger say in candidate
selection for the 2017 elec-
tions, as a trade of.
SP sources, however, said
the younger Mr Yadav had
emerged unscathed from the
turmoil as he had shown that
he would not take his uncle’s
power play lying down.
Mr Akhilesh Yadav had
virtually sacked his uncle on
Tuesday as the power
struggle intensified in the
party.
Significantly, controver-
sial mining minister Gayatri
Prasad Prajapati, who was
sacked on Monday and en-
joys little media sympathy
CM
YK
were underway. Mr Sona
said “discussions have been
on for quite some time” but
didn’t disclose the exact
timeline.
The 60-member State
Assembly has an efective
strength of 57. The status of
two MLAs, Wanglam Sawin
and Gabriel D Wangsu, is
currently pending with the
Speaker following conten-
tions that they were
wrongly disqualified.
Another seat fell vacant
when Mr Pul allegedly
committed suicide on Au-
gust 9.
After Friday’s de-
velopment, there are cur-
rently 43 PPA MLAs, 11 BJP
MLAs, two independents
and one Congress, with Mr
Tuki being the lone Con-
gress member.
(The writer is a
freelance journalist)
would instead of sitting in
the comforts of their re-
spective homes and read-
ing from the photocopies
would be spending long
hours in the library and
making notes thereof.
When modern technology
is available for comfort, it
would be unfair to say that
the students should not
avail thereof and continue
to study as in ancient era.
No law can be interpreted
so as to result in any regres-
sion of the evolvement of
the human being for the
better,” it said.
“Though I have held Sec-
tion 52(1)(a) (Acts which
does not constitute in-
fringement) to be not
applicable to the action of
the University of making
photocopies of copyrighted
works but the issuance by
the University of the books
purchased by it and kept in
its library to the students
and reproduction thereof
by the students for the pur-
poses of their private or
personal use, whether by
way of photocopying or by
way of copying the same by
way of hand would indeed
make the action a fair deal-
ing therewith and not con-
stitute infringement of
copyright,” said the court.
Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow
on Friday. — PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT
for his record, will also be re-
inducted into the State
cabinet, Mr Mulayam Singh
confirmed during an address
at the party headquarters in
Lucknow in a bid to quell
tension and restore confid-
ence in the party. The de-
cision might yet bring awk-
ward moments for the Chief
Minister, as a controversial
figure, Mr. Prajapati has been
mired in allegations of cor-
ruption, disproportionate as-
sets and illegal mining. A CBI
probe is also underway into
illegal mining.
After days of power
struggle and verbal attacks,
which saw the sacking of the
State’s topmost bureaucrat,
two ministers, and the
downsizing of and later
resignation of Mr Singh’s
brother, Shivpal, an agree-
ment is expected to be an-
nounced on Saturday, even as
opposition parties continued
to call the episode a staged
drama.
‘No rift in party’
Addressing supporters
here amid the escalation of
the factional feud, Mr Singh
on Friday morning said as
long as he was alive, there
“will be no division” in the
SP, a contrasting stand from
last month when he had said
that if his brother quit, the
party would split. This also
showed the supremo step-
ping in to take control as
things began to fall apart.
Repeal Bihar’s prohibition
law, says Raghuvansh Yadav
‘Communal fining and arrests are against the spirit of jurisprudence’
NISTULA HEBBAR
NEW DELHI: Former Union
Minister and senior
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
leader Raghuvansh Prasad
Singh has strongly opposed
the new Prohibition Act im-
posed by the Mahagathband-
han government in Bihar, an
alliance between Janata Dal
(U) led by Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar, the RJD and
the Congress.
Mr. Singh told The Hindu
in an exclusive interview
that the new law levying a
communal fine on villages
and the arrest of entire
households where alcohol
has been found goes against
the “spirit of jurisprudence”.
“This is not the first time
that Bihar is seeing pro-
hibition. It was done in 1977
under the leadership of late
Karpoori Thakur. That gov-
ernment fell soon and the
one that followed repealed
it,” he said. “What Nitish Ku-
mar did till 2015 was the ex-
act opposite of what he is do-
ing now. When he became
Chief Minister, he rapidly ex-
panded the availability of al-
cohol, often boasting that
Everyone will be on board, says Prachanda
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcoming his Nepalese counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal
‘Prachanda’ and his wife Sita Dahal, during a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in
New Delhi on Friday. — PHOTO: V. SUDERSHAN
Gujarat may use GST to woo U.S.
VARGHESE K GEORGE
WASHINGTON: Several U.S. State
Governors and Amazon
founder Jef Bezos are likely
to participate in the 2017 edi-
tion of the Vibrant Gujarat
Summit. A team of oicials
from the State government
and Invest India led by Gu-
jarat Resident Commis-
sioner Bharat Lal met U.S.
business leaders and law-
makers this week in several
cities.
The passage of the Goods
and Services Tax Bill re-
cently has added strength to
all Indian eforts to woo
American investors. The
Modi government had in-
spired a lot of hope among
Wish birthday boy Modi, get personalised thanks
Special feature added on NaMo app to enable people greet the Prime Minister today
NISTULA HEBBAR
NEW DELHI: A 66 birthday
th
may not seem much like a
milestone, but Prime
Minister Narendra Modi,
who turns that age on
Saturday, is determined
that no birthday wish shall
remain unacknowledged. A
special tech feature on the
NaMo app has been added
to enable people to leave
messages wishing the
Prime Minister a happy
birthday, and also upload
personalised birthday
cards, including those
made with pictures of them
with the Prime Minister. In
response, a message
thanking the sender for
his/her wishes will be sent
to them, referring to the
sender by name, and can be
shared across social media
platforms.
This is not the first time
Prime Minister Modi is
NEWS
Raghuvansh Prasad Singh
revenue from alcohol had
jumped from Rs. 200 crores
to Rs. 4,000 crores. He made
alcohol, which was available
in a controlled way in the
State [till then], available in
residential areas, near
schools, colleges etc. The
revenue from this, he said,
was being spent on buying
bicycles for girl students.”
“We in the RJD opposed
this. I raised this matter at
least 12 times in Parliament,
and at one time, 16 MPs asso-
ciated with me on my inter-
vention,” Mr. Singh said.
Blames Nitish
“I had declared that Nitish
Kumar was the ideological
killer of the Mahatma, as the
Post passage
of GST law, India
may become
a more attractive
destination
American businesses ini-
tially but it did not last and
the disappointment was re-
flected even in the State De-
partment report on global in-
vestment climates early this
year. The GST Bill has
turned around the situation,
and investors increasingly
look at India more favour-
ably, consequently.
Addressing a luncheon or-
ganised by the U.S.-Indian
Business Council (USIBC),
CLEAN MESSAGE: A sand sculpture of Narendra Modi in
Mumbai on Friday. The BJP has urged people to celebrate
September 17, the PM’s birthday, as Seva Divas.— PHOTO: AFP
using tech to get personal,
when he won the General
Elections of 2014, his team
sent out direct messages of
thanks to every
congratulatory message
posted on social media site
Twitter. “Diicult to recll
the precise number right
now, but we did send out
2-3 Lakh responses on a
single day,” said a team
‘If a boy is an
alcoholic, is it
fair to arrest the
grandparents and
parents of the boy?’
latter had decried alcohol-
ism. But he was claiming that
he was earning high revenue
and distributing cycles for
the education of the girl
child. In the run-up to the
latest round of elections, he
announced that he would
impose the Prohibition as he
saw that there were hardly
any blocks in the State where
women had not opposed it,”
he added.
“When he announced Pro-
hibition, I praised Nitish Ku-
mar,” Mr. Singh claimed.
“The latest law on pro-
hibition in force in the state,
however, of communal
fining and arrest, is against
the spirit of jurisprudence.
Jurisprudence is the eye of
the law. A 100 guilty men can
be let of but to convict an in-
nocent man is unacceptable.
This law runs counter to that
sense. Say, if a young boy in
the family is a black sheep, an
Mr. Lal pointed out that the
GST law indicated the politi-
cal consensus that has
emerged in India in favour of
reforms.
“Not only that Parliament
passed the law with the co-
operation of all major politi-
cal parties, more than half of
the State legislatures have
approved it in record time,
meeting the threshold for the
Constitution amendment.
This shows that across
parties and across States,
there is larger support for re-
forms,” Mr. Lal said.
“GST has convinced
American companies that
the Modi government is
serious about reforms and is
capable of doing it,” said
member on Mr. Modi’s
tech team.
Several prominent
personalities have posted
their wishes on the app,
including superstar
Amitabh Bacchchan, singer
Lata Mangeshkar, actor
Aamir Khan and industry
titans Cyrus Mistry, and
Anil Ambani, each
recalling with warmth,
alcoholic, is it fair to arrest
the women, grandparents
and parents of the boy?” he
asked. “If a whip had not
been issued, not a single
MLA would have supported
this Bill.” In fact, alcohol
smuggling had gone up, he
said.
Defends Shahabuddin
Mr. Singh also justified the
comments made by the re-
cently released don and
former Lok Sabha MP
Shahabuddin. “He
[Shahabuddin] is toeing his
own party’s line. We are still
a separate party. We haven’t
merged — we are in an al-
liance government. So why
should he acknowledge Nit-
ish Kumar as his leader?” he
asked. “The Janata Dal (U)
needn’t be so sensitive to
Nitish Kumar being called a
‘circumstantial chief
minister’. It is a reference to
his political journey. Forget
chief ministers, we have had
Prime Ministers, from P.V.
Narasimha Rao to Deve
Gowda to Manmohan Singh
who can be termed ‘circum-
stantially created prime
ministers’,” he said.
KALLOL BHATTACHARJEE
NEW DELHI: Foreign Secretary
S. Jaishankar on Friday hin-
ted that India would not give
up on the concerns of the
Madhesis, after India and
Nepal held wide-ranging
talks during the ongoing visit
of Prime Minister Pushpa
Kamal Dahal “Prachanda.”
Mr. Jaishankar said, “In an
open border, our doors are
never closed to our neigh-
bour.”
However, Mr. Prachanda
who came to power in the
first week of August has not
initiated a cross-party dia-
logue for addressing the
Madhesi concerns ostensibly
as he does not have two-
thirds mandate or 397 votes
in the Nepali Parliament
which is necessary for
amendments.
In his oicial address de-
livered at the Hyderabad
House, Mr. Prachanda de-
Mukesh Aghi, President, US-
IBC. USIBC member com-
panies have invested $ 28 bil-
lion in India in the last two
years and investments of $ 45
billion are in the pipeline.
Ahmedabad, new hub
In the second edition of
Vibrant Gujarat after Mr.
Modi became Prime
Minister, the thrust of the
State oicials is not limited
to projecting the State, but
the entire country. Mr. Lal, a
confidant of Mr. Modi,
places the eforts to project
Gujarat within the broader
picture of the country. At the
centre of this efort is show-
casing Ahmedabad as a new
financial centre in Asia.
their past association with
Prime Minister Modi.
Mr. Bachchan recalls
Prime Minister Modi’s
attention to detail and
phenomenal recall. “I am
astounded by how you
manage to remember small
details of past incidents,
like the way you enquired
about the cut I sufered on
my finger during Uttarayan
while flying kites,” he said
in his greetings.
Mr. Anil Ambani’s
wishes include a prophecy
that he recalls was made by
his father, the late
Dhirubhai Ambani when
the Ambani family hosted
Prime Minister Modi for a
meal in Mumbai. “Lambi
race no ghodo che, leader
che, (he is a thoroughbred
for the long run, a leader),
PM banse (he will be
Prime Minister),” Mr.
Ambani quotes his late
father as saying in Gujarati.
THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
Bihar moves SC against
Shahabuddin’s bail
KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL
AMARNATH TEWARY
NEW DELHI/PATNA: The Bihar
government on Friday
moved the Supreme Court
against the bail granted to
Mohd. Shahabuddin. The
move is likely to widen the
cracks in the ruling Ma-
hagathbandhan, or Grand Al-
laince, between Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar’s
Janata Dal (United [JD(U)],
Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD) and the
Congress.
Mr Shahabuddin, a former
RJD member of Parliament,
allegedly has over 50
criminal cases against him
and he has been convicted in
eight. He was released on
bail on September 7.
The Nitish Kumar govern-
ment challenged the Patna
High Court order releasing
Mr Shahabuddin citing a six-
month delay in his trial.
Petitions to be clubbed
The State government’s
petition came a few hours
after the Supreme Court al-
lowed a plea by Siwan-resi-
dent Chandrakeshwar
Prasad, whose three young
sons were allegedly killed by
Mr Shahabuddin’s hench-
men over a decade ago, for an
urgent hearing in his separ-
ate petition challenging the
bail order. A bench led by
scribed the Constitution as a
“historic achievement.” “You
are aware that my govern-
ment has made serious ef-
forts to bring everyone on
board as we enter the phase
of the implementation of the
Nepali Constitution,” he
said.
The new Constitution was
criticised by the Madhesi
Morcha led by leaders from
the plains of Nepal who led
the movement for blockade
of economic supply lines on
the Nepal-India border. The
issue of the Constitution also
featured prominently in
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s formal speech wel-
coming Mr. Prachanda.
“I am confident that under
your wise leadership, Nepal
will successfully implement
the Constitution through in-
clusive dialogue accommod-
ating the aspirations of all
sections of its diverse soci-
ety,” Mr. Modi said, describ-
In PoK, Sharif promises
action on Kashmir
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif on Friday met
Hurriyat leaders from
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
(PoK) and assured them that
he would “emphatically
highlight” the Kashmir issue
at the 71st session of the U.N.
General Assembly next
week.
Mr. Sharif met the leaders
of the All Parties Hurriyat
Conference PoK chapter at
Muzafarabad. PoK
‘President’ Sardar Masood
Khan and ‘Prime Minister’
Raja Farooq Haider were
also present at the meeting.
“Pakistan will continue to
extend moral, diplomatic
Yet another youth dies,
Kashmir toll touches 80
SRINAGAR: Another youth in-
jured in clashes in Kashmir
last week died on Friday, tak-
ing the death toll in the ongo-
ing unrest to 80.
Basit Mukhtar, who was
injured by a teargas shell in
clashes on September 5 in
south Kashmir’s Pulwama,
died at a hospital here. With
this 80 persons, including
two policemen, have died in
the violent clashes that broke
out a day after Hizbul milit-
ant Burhan Wani was gunned
down in an encounter with
security forces in south
Kashmir on July 8.
Curfew reimposed
Curfew was reimposed in
many parts of Kashmir on
Friday, including in summer
capital Srinagar, due to ap-
prehension of violence after
Friday prayers.
“Curfew has been imposed
in Srinagar city and towns of
Baramulla, Pattan, Anant-
nag, Shopian and Pulwama,”
BENGALURU
Mohd. Shahabuddin
Chief Justice of India T.S.
Thakur agreed to list Mr.
Prasad’s case for hearing on
September 19 after his coun-
sel, senior advocate Prashant
Bhushan, made an urgent
mention in court.
It is likely that the Bihar
government’s identical plea
will also find a mention
when Mr. Prasad’s case
comes up for hearing.
The State government
agreed with Mr. Prasad that
Mr Shahabuddin has a
criminal background and
that the High Court ought to
have considered his ante-
cedents before granting him
bail.
“It’s not the release of the
Mohd Shahabuddin which
has annoyed Nitish Kumar
and his partymen but his
statement saying that he was
the CM of circumstances,”
said a senior RJD leader, a
view JD (U) sources con-
curred with.
ing the Nepali leader as a
“catalytic force of peace in
Nepal.”
New line of credit
Prime Minister Prachanda
was earlier welcomed at the
Forecourt of the Rashtrapati
Bhavan by Mr. Modi and the
two held wide-ranging dis-
cussions. The major agree-
ments sealed between the In-
dian and Nepali delegations
included upgrade of road
network in Nepal and two
line of credit agreements be-
tween Nepal and the Exim
Bank.
“We signed also a Line of
Credit for 750 million USD
which was something we had
committed earlier and which
would cover a lot of de-
velopment projects in
Nepal,” said Mr. Jaishankar.
Mr. Prachanda is accom-
panied by his Foreign
Minister Prakash Sharan
Mahat.
and political support to
Kashmiris,” Mr. Sharif said,
alleging that atrocities in
Kashmir had touched
extremes.
‘Truth will prevail’
“Oppression is destined to
end, and truth will prevail,”
he said, referring to the on-
going violence in Kashmir.
He said the Kashmiris’ de-
mand for their right to self-
determination was just,
which had also been acknow-
ledged by the international
community. “Pakistan will
raise its voice for the
resolution of the Kashmir
dispute at all fora.” — PTI
Schools, colleges
and shops shut
as separatists
extend their protests
till September 22
a police oicial said.
The oicial said restric-
tion on assembly of people
continues to remain in force.
Life continued to remain
paralysed in Kashmir for the
70th consecutive day due to
restrictions and separatist-
sponsored strike.
The separatists have ex-
tended the protest pro-
gramme till September 22.
They have not announced
any relaxation in the strike
even in the evening. Shops,
business establishments and
petrol pumps continued to
remain shut while public
transport was of the roads.
Schools, colleges and
other education institutions
also remained closed.
BG-BG
 NEWS | 13
BENGALURU

THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

‘Centre against imposition of Hindi’ Himalayan climate impact:

Promotion of regional languages is the responsibility of the respective States, says Kiren Rijiju
VIJAITA SINGH
NEW DELHI: Minister of State
(Home) Kiren Rijiju said the
government was against im-
posing Hindi on other re-
gional languages like Tamil,
Kannada or Telugu, and the
Centre will continue to pro-
mote Hindi as it was the oi-
cial language as envisaged in
the Constitution. He also
said that promotion of re-
gional languages was the re-
sponsibility of the respective
States.
The BJP-ruled NDA gov-
ernment has come under se-
vere criticism in the past for
its eforts to promote Hindi
and making it compulsory
Soul ofering
FOR THE DEPARTED: People performing ‘Tarpan’ ritual for their ancestors on the first day
of 'Shraad' at the Upper Lake in Bhopal on Friday. — PHOTO: A.M FARUQUI
India, China share concerns
for all Central government
oices to communicate on
social media.
‘Hindi is oicial language’
In an interview to The
Hindu, Mr. Rijiju said that
Hindi and English have be-
come the link languages for
oicial correspondence. The
proposal to include English
along with 37 other regional
languages like Bhojpuri,
Chattisgarhi, Khasi and
Bundelkhandi in the VIII
Schedule of the
Constitution, granting it an
oicial status, has been
pending with the Centre for
12 years now.
“Our policy is very clear
Kiren Rijiju
— we have to promote all in-
digenous Indian languages.
Hindi is an oicial language
as per the provisions of the
Constitution. The situation
remains the same,” said Mr.
Rijiju.
It was on September 14,
1949, that the drafting com-
mittee of the Constitution
had agreed to accept Hindi
as the oicial language of In-
dia and from then on the day
is celebrated as ‘Hindi Divas’
across all Central ministries,
departments and oices.
English for convenience
He said English is an inter-
national language used for
convenience.
“We are here to promote
Hindi to the extent that it is
permissible, especially in the
‘A’ category states. In India,
nobody should force any-
ED eyes info on chopper
deal from Switzerland
DEVESH K. PANDEY
NEW DELHI: A two-member
team led by the Enforcement
Directorate Director Karnal
Singh will visit Switzerland
to hold meetings with the au-
thorities there on the issue of
expeditious execution of ju-
dicial requests seeking in-
formation in certain import-
ant cases, including
AgustaWestland VVIP chop-
per deal case.
The ED team’s visit fo-
cuses on presenting facts of
the cases in question to the
Swiss oicials to highlight
importance of the informa-
tion sought by the agency.
The team is scheduled to
leave on Saturday.
It is learnt that the Indian
delegation will discuss the
AgustaWestland case which
is under investigation since
March 2013. Letters Regotary
(judicial requests) have al-
ready been sent to eight
countries seeking informa-
tion on suspect financial
transactions. While Italy has
shared all necessary docu-
ments, Indian investigating
body to adopt a particular
language. Hindi and English
have become link languages
for the states but, at the same
time, we have important lan-
guages like Tamil, Telugu,
Kannada, Malayalam, Punj-
abi, Gujarati, Odiya and As-
samese,” he said.
He added that there were
38 proposals pending for in-
clusion in the VIII Schedule
of the Constitution with the
ministry.
“We instituted an oicial
group to look into the inclu-
sion of these languages in the
VIII Schedule. The commit-
tee has given its report and
we are examining it,” said
Mr. Rijiju.
It will seek quick
execution of judicial
requests in important
cases, including
AgustaWestland deal
agencies are yet to get com-
plete reports from Switzer-
land, besides the United
Kingdom, the UAE, Singa-
pore, British Virgin Island,
Tunisia and Mauritius.
Details pertaining to in-
vestigations into issues re-
lated to 2G spectrum alloca-
tions’ case had earlier been
sought from Switzerland.
The team is also expected to
hold discussions in this re-
gard, apart from the City
Limousine chit-fund case.
In May last year, the
Switzerland’s oice gazette
had made public the names of
City Limousine case prime
accused Sayed Mohammed
Masood and his wife Chand
Kauser Mohammed Masood,
about which Indian agencies
have made enquiries in con-
nection with a Bahamas-
based company.
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
PANAJI: Stating that the rapid
melting of glaciers in the Hi-
malayan ranges was a major
concern, Union Minister for
Environment and Forests
(Independent Charge) Anil
M. Dave on Friday said India
and China were both “con-
cerned” about the degrada-
tion of the world’s highest
mountain range.
Mr. Dave, briefing the
media on Friday about the
two-day discussions on glob-
al climate change and other
environment issues at a
meeting of the BIRCS
(Brazil, Russia, India, China
and South Africa) Environ-
ment Ministers at Goa, said
there was now a wider un-
derstanding that there is
something wrong because of
a larger issue of climate
change.
He said the Environment
Ministers had agreed on a
Memorandum of Under-
standing and announced the
setting up of a joint working
group institutionalising their
mutual cooperation on di-
verse environment related
issues.
He said India and China
the main two countries on
the either side of Himalayas,
were both concerned about
the degradation.
“We are all concerned, no-
body is blaming each other. It
is not the countries that are
surrounding the mountains
that are responsible, but it is
the efect of the global cli-
mate change. So we are
thinking in details in length
about what to do and what
not to do,” he said.
He said the areas for mu-
tual cooperation were abate-
ment and control of air and
water pollution, eicient
management of liquid and
solid waste, climate change
and conservation of biod-
iversity. Issues related to air,
industrial pollution, agricul-
ture, bio-diversity and the ef-
fect of climate change on it
were primarily discussed at
the two-day meet.
Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Anil
Mahadev Dave with Environment Ministers of other BRICS
nations at Cansaulim, Goa, on Friday. — PHOTO: PTI
BRICS MoU on climate
cooperation signed
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: India signed an
agreement with fellow
BRICS countries to
deepen cooperation in
abatement and control of
air and water pollution,
eicient management of
liquid and solid waste,
climate change and
conservation of
biodiversity.
Two key issues
Minister of State for
Environment and Forests
Anil Dave, said in a
statement that
technology transfer and
finance were two issues
“We have all agreed that
we should work on this and
we have formulated a group
which will exchange views.
We can have bi-lateral eforts
to conserve rivers and ponds
or we can have multi-lateral
eforts or individual coun-
tries can work on that.”
Choices made by BRICS
countries have global signi-
ficance as the member coun-
tries account for 41.6 per cent
that need to be addressed
to limit global warming.
Earlier this week, the
Environment Ministry
announced a
collaborative R&D
programme to develop
next generation,
sustainable refrigerant
technologies as
alternatives to
hydrofluorocarbons.
Key players include
the Council of Scientific
& Industrial Research
and its allied institutions;
Department of Science
and Technology; Centre
for Atmospheric &
Oceanic Sciences and
key industry players.
of global population, 29.31
per cent of total world area
and about 22 per cent of
world’s total Gross Domestic
Product besides rich di-
versity and natural capital.
Later talking to The
Hindu, Mr. Dave admitted
that issues associated with
degradation of the coastal
environmental were serious,
but said this did not figure in
the discussions.

BJP projects itself AIR launches Baloch SC extends

as ‘well-wisher’
of U.P.’s Dalits
OMAR RASHID
LUCKNOW: Chasing Dalit votes
in Uttar Pradesh and
countering senior Sama-
jwadi Party (SP) minister
Azam Khan’s contentious re-
marks linking B.R.
Ambedkar to land grab, the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
on Friday projected itself as
the real “well-wisher” of Dal-
its by advertising all the sup-
portive decisions it had tak-
en and memorials it had built
to honour of Babasaheb over
the years.
Hits out at Rahul
The BJP said its decisions
had made Babasaheb immor-
tal, while leaders of other
parties, like Rahul Gandhi
and Mayawati, did little more
than present themselves as
“messiahs” of Dalits.
mobile application
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: All India Radio on
Friday announced the launch
of a multi-media and mobile
app for Balochi-speaking
people in the Af-Pak region
and other parts of the world.
Prasar Bharati Chairper-
son A. Surya Prakash, who
launched the services said
the move was part of India’s
eforts to reach out to the
neighbourhood for a better
people-to-people contact.
While oicials denied any
connect between Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s
speech on Independence
Day wherein he had raised
the issue of Pakistani atrocit-
ies on the people of Ba-
lochistan, the service, they
clarified was part of ongoing
process to engage with
neighbours.
India had also raised the
issue of atrocities in Ba-
lochistan at the meeting of a
U.N. body earlier this week.
Prasar Bharati oicials said
the mobile app and the
webpage were just “value ad-
dition” as Balochi service of
the AIR has been in exist-
ence since 1974.
“As the world’s largest de-
mocracy, we have the re-
sponsibility to disseminate
news and information across
the world,” he said.
‘Cannot be blocked’
Asked if the services could
face obstruction in Pakistan,
AIR DG F. Shehryar said the
radio service was on the
short-wave which cannot be
blocked. Mr. Shehryar added
that “while AIR does not aim
at countering any kind of
propaganda, it will challenge
falsehoods by presenting the
correct information.”
Subrata Roy’s
parole till Sept. 23
LEGAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The Supreme
Court on Friday extended
the parole granted in May to
Sahara chief Subrata Roy on
humanitarian grounds till
September 23.
Mr. Roy is out on parole
after spending about two
years in Tihar Jail, unable to
garner bail for allegedly dup-
ing his investors.
Chief Justice of India T.S.
Thakur, due to the non-avail-
ability of Justices Anil R.
Dave and A.K. Sikri, heard
the matter in his chambers.
The court had extended
Mr. Roy's parole on August 3
to this day on the condition
that he deposits Rs. 300
crore. The apex court had
granted parole to Roy on
May 6 for four weeks on hu-
manitarian ground.

Your daily cuppa gets a spirited makeover

CSIR develops a version of ‘tea-wine’ that has 7-12 per cent alcohol content
JACOB KOSHY
NEW DELHI: India may finally
have an indigenous answer
to Long Island Iced Tea.
The CSIR-Institute of
Himalayan Bioresource
Technology (CSIR-IHBT)
at Palamapur, Himachal
Pradesh, claims to have a
developed a brand of tea,
called tea-wine, with a 7-12
per cent alcohol content by
volume. That makes it
much boozier than beer
and to be in the same league
as the conventional grape-
derived wine.
Catechins are the key
active ingredient in tea and
said to possess antioxidants
that make body cells more
resilient to degradation.
Freshly picked green leaves
of tea contain almost 30 per
cent catechin. Tea also
contains theanine and
cafeine that provide the
kick most associate with
the drink. Sanjay Kumar,
Director of the CSIR-IHBT,
said at a new conference
that the tea-wine would be
high on catechins and
therefore was a “health
India may soon have its
own version of the Long
Island Iced Tea. — FILE PHOTO
drink.” The alcohol would
be sourced from
fermenting berries local to
the region and four
varieties of tea-wine with
varying sugar content were
to be developed.
The CSIR-IHBT had
signed an agreement with a
Mozambique-based
company and expected
production to begin next
year. A similar agreement
with an Indian company
hadn’t yet seen tea-wine
bottles roll out owing to
“excise problems,” he said.
Mr. Kumar didn’t disclose
the financial terms or the
names of the companies
involved. “I see it as an
export product,” said Mr.
Kumar, “that may be
popular among niche
groups.” India is one of the
biggest exporters of tea and
despite Indians’ growing
appetite for cofee, tea
remains the most
consumed beverage. Four
in five urban Indians
consume tea as opposed to
8 per cent cofee drinkers,
according to a survey by the
National Sample Survey
Organisation.
Himachal Pradesh is
known for a variety of tea
called Kangra Tea that’s
distinct from tea sourced
from the North-east and
South India. “We are
developing the tea-wine
with the Kangra variety,”
said Mr. Kumar, “and there
is also a non-alcoholic
version that’s much
superior to iced tea.”
This isn’t the CSIR’s first
tryst with manufacturing
alcoholic beverages. In
2003, the National
Botanical Research
Institute, a CSIR body,
announced that it had
developed a ‘herbal beer’
with several medicinal
properties and an alcohol
content of 2-3 per cent.
Though the technology was
licensed to a Kanpur-based
company, it’s yet to become
a commercial product.
However, tea-wine was
born out of necessity and
the need to develop
innovative products that
could weather problems in
India’s tea plantations that
are grappling with reduced
manpower. Being a labour-
intensive crop, the IHBT
said in a statement, its
tender apical bud and
subtending two leaves
needed to be picked at the
right stage by trained
pluckers. Owing to labour
shortage in plantations, the
tea leaves weren’t being
plucked at the right time,
and this afected their
quality and resulted in poor
prices at auctions. “To
overcome the problem of
unremunerative low grade
teas, the institute has come
up with value addition of
these teas by processing
them into tea wines.”

CM BG-BG
YK
14 | WORLD
BENGALURU

THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

Pakistan constructing new EU is in a critical situation: Merkel

nuclear reprocessing site European nations, sans Britain, meet informally to devise a ‘road map’ for reform
NARAYAN LAKSHMAN that in addition to being loc- BRATISLAVA (SLOVAKIA): Reeling terest in economic coopera-
ated near to the KRL, a from Britain’s decision to tion to create more jobs,”

P
akistan, which is al-
ready suspected to
be expanding its nu-
clear weapons stock-
pile faster than any other na-
tion, may be rapidly
constructing a new repro-
cessing site within the Khan
Research Laboratories
(KRL) in Kahuta, according
to recent commercial sat-
ellite imagery.
According to IHS Markit,
an analyst of business-intel-
ligence information, the sat-
ellite imagery of a newly
built site at the KRL, taken by
Airbus Defence and Space
on September 28 last year
and then again on April 18
this year, shows the progress
on construction at the pos-
sible new uranium enrich-
ment complex near Kahuta.
IHS Markit noted that the
area of the site is approxim-
ately 1.2 hectares and is loc-
ated within the KRL, in the
southwestern part of the
complex. “Roughly rect-
angular in shape and approx-
imately 140 metres by 80
metres, it is surrounded by
scrub land and trees that
provide an additional
measure of security on the
ground,” the IHS report
noted.
The latest report of covert
The Shaheen-III surface-to-
surface ballistic missile,
launched last year.
nuclear weapons de-
velopment activities in
Pakistan comes in the wake
of a long series of such obser-
vations made in the recent
years, mostly from commer-
cial satellite photography.
Last year, a report by the
Institute for Science and In-
ternational Security (ISIS), a
think-tank in the U.S., said
that Pakistan may be acceler-
ating the weaponisation of
spent nuclear fuel through
its plutonium reprocessing
plant in Chashma in Punjab.
This week’s report said
known centrifuge facility,
the new building shared sim-
ilarities with known cen-
trifuge facility structures
built by the URENCO en-
richment consortium in
Capenhurst (in the U.K.), Al-
melo (in the Netherlands)
and Gronau (in Germany).
“This may be more than co-
incidence as A.Q. Khan, con-
sidered by many to be the
founder of Pakistan’s nuclear
programme, worked at
URENCO before stealing
centrifuge designs and re-
turning to Pakistan to work
on the country’s centrifuge
programme,” said Charlie
Cartwright, an imagery ana-
lyst for IHS Jane’s.
The group also noted that
on September 28 last year,
satellite imagery showed
that work on a large building
had commenced, with a
multi-bay steel-frame struc-
ture visible in commercial
imagery. The site is still un-
der construction, IHS noted,
the construction work to
continue for at least another
12 months while plumbing,
electrics and ducting for air-
conditioning installations
are undertaken. The site is
not likely to be ready for oc-
cupation until at least late
2017 or early 2018.
leave, the European Union
(EU)’s remaining 27 states
met on Friday to inject mo-
mentum into the ailing EU
project even as they acknow-
ledged deep divisions over
the refugee crisis and the
economy.
“The point is not to simply
expect a solution to Europe’s
problems from one summit
— we are in a critical situ-
ation — but rather it is about
showing through actions
that we can be better,” Ger-
man Chancellor Angela
Merkel said.
Years of economic crisis
have pushed up unemploy-
ment in many member
states, while a spate of at-
tacks by Islamist militants
and a record influx of mi-
grants have unsettled voters,
who are turning increasingly
to populist, anti-EU parties.
The “informal” summit —
so-called because any formal
one still has to include Bri-
tain until it leaves the bloc —
is aimed at restoring public
faith in the European Union
(EU), which for decades was
seen as a guarantor of peace
and prosperity but is now, of-
ficials acknowledge, in an
“existential crisis”.
“Everyone is aware of the
situation. Britain has de-
WHITHER INTEGRATION? Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, Austria’s Chancellor Christian Kern
(right) and Hungary’s Prime minister Viktor Orban during the informal EU summit at
Bratislava, Slovakia, on Thursday. — PHOTO: AFP
cided to leave and there are
questions about the future of
Europe,” French President
Francois Hollande said be-
fore the meeting in the
Slovak capital.
Finding common ground
Greek Prime Minister
Alexis Tsipras said: “Europe
should stop sleepwalking in
the wrong direction.”
The aim in Bratislava is to
agree a “road map” for re-
form of the EU that can be fi-
nalised over the next half
year.
More concrete proposals
would be presented at a sum-
mit in March of next year that
coincides with the 60th an-
niversary of the bloc’s found-
ing Treaty of Rome.
But because of divisions
on some of the biggest issues,
leaders are expected to stick
to areas of common ground.
They will pledge closer
defence cooperation and
agree to bolster security
along the EU's external bor-
ders, as well as discussing
new initiatives to generate
growth and jobs.
“All these countries have
an interest in fighting terror-
ism, in a more secure Europe,
in preventing uncontrolled
migration, all have an in-
said Dutch Prime Minister
Mark Rutte.
In private however, oi-
cials admit that major reform
may not be possible until
elections in the Netherlands,
France and Germany are out
of the way by late 2017. Even
after that, it is unclear
whether Germany and
France — for decades the
motor of closer European in-
tegration — can bridge dif-
ferences over economic
policy.
Refugee arrivals
Europe’s dominant leader
in recent years, Ms. Merkel is
now under mounting politi-
cal pressure at home because
of her welcoming stance to-
wards refugees one year ago,
a position which alienated
many of her EU partners.
In a sign of her waning
power, she has failed to con-
vince eastern European
countries Poland, Hungary,
the Czech Republic and sum-
mit host Slovakia to accept
refugee quotas. Known col-
lectively as the Visegrad
Four, they will submit their
own text of proposals at the
summit, Hungarian Prime
Minister Viktor Orban said,
underscoring the divide
within the group. — Reuters

Suicide blast
in northwest
Pakistan kills 20
PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber
killed at least 20 people and
wounded more than 30 oth-
ers as they attended Friday
prayers at a mosque in a
northwestern Pakistani
tribal area, oicials said.
The bombing took place in
the village of Butmaina in the
Mohmand tribal district bor-
dering Afghanistan where
the Army has been fighting
against Taliban militants.
“At least 20 people have
been killed and more than 30
others wounded,” deputy
chief of Mohmand tribal dis-
trict administration Naveed
Akbar told AFP, adding that
the bomber came in as Friday
prayers were in progress and
blew himself up in the main
hall. A curfew was later im-
posed in the area.
Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif later condemned the
bombing, saying the govern-
ment would remain steadfast
in their fight against extrem-
ists. “The cowardly attacks
by terrorists cannot shatter
the government’s resolve to
eliminate terrorism from the
country,” read a statement
from Mr. Sharif’s oice.
There was no immediate
claim of responsibility, but
the Pakistani Taliban
routinely attack soft targets
such as courts and schools.
On September 2, at least 14
people were killed and more
than 50 wounded after a
suicide bomber attacked a
court in Mardan in an as-
saultclaimed by a Taliban
faction. According to data
from the South Asia Terror-
ism Portal, 457 civilians and
182 security forces were
killed in Pakistan from Janu-
ary 1 to September 11, putting
2016 on course for fewer ca-
sualties than 2015. — AFP
Snowden to vote in U.S. polls
ATHENS: Edward Snowden,
currently in exile in Moscow,
said on Friday he intends to
vote in the U.S. presidential
election, but did not say
which candidate he favours.
“I will be voting,” Mr.
Snowden said, speaking at a
conference in Athens by
video link from Moscow.
“But as a privacy advocate
I think it’s important for me
... that there should never be
an obligation for an
individual to discuss their
vote. And I won’t be doing so
with mine.”
Mr. Snowden (33) spoke
Donald Trump concedes that
Obama was born in the U.S.
WASHINGTON: U.S. Republican
presidential nominee Don-
ald Trump, who has long
questioned President Barack
Obama’s U.S. citizenship, on
Friday said he believes the
president was born in the
United States.
“President Barack Obama
was born in the United
States, period,” Mr. Trump
said at a campaign event.
In a newspaper interview
on Thursday, Mr. Trump had
refused to say whether he be-
lieved Mr. Obama was born
in the United States.“I’m go-
ing to have a big announce-
ment on it today,” Mr. Trump
said in an interview with Fox
Business Network.
Birth certificate
His campaign, however,
had released a statement on
Thursday saying the candid-
ate is convinced of the le-
gitimacy of Mr. Obama’s
presidency. “Having suc-
cessfully obtained President
Obama’s birth certificate
when others could not, Mr.
ahead of the opening of the
movie Snowden, starring
Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He
thanked human rights
groups for their campaign to
seek a pardon for him from
President Barack Obama.
On seeking pardon
“I’m not actually asking for
a pardon myself because I
think the whole point of our
system and the foundation of
our democracy is a system of
checks and balances,” he
said.
“But ... I’m incredibly
grateful and fortunate to be
BACK TO BUSINESS: Hillary Clinton returns to campaigning after
a bout of pneumonia in New York on Thursday. — PHOTO: AFP
Trump believes that
President Obama was born
in the United States,” spokes-
man Jason Miller said. Mr.
Trump several years ago led
the so-called birther move-
ment which questions
whether Mr. Obama, who
was born in Hawaii to an
American mother and a
Kenyan father, was actually
born in the United States.
A few years into his
able to experience the sup-
port of the world’s three
leading human rights orga-
nisations.”
A Republican-led bipar-
tisan U.S. House intelligence
committee had on Thursday
released a report calling Mr.
Snowden a “serial exagger-
ator and fabricator” who
doesn’t fit the profile of a
whistle-blower.
The American Civil Lib-
erties Union (ACLU), Hu-
man Rights Watch (HRW)
and Amnesty International
are behind the campaign to
pardon him. — AFP
presidency, Mr. Obama, the
first African American to
win the White House, re-
leased a longer version of his
birth certificate to answer
those who suggested he was
not U.S. born. The birther is-
sue resurfaced in recent days
as Trump surrogates said in
television interviews that he
now believes Mr. Obama was
born in the United States. —
Reuters
Swedish court upholds Assange warrant
STOCKHOLM: A Swedish ap-
peals court decided to up-
hold the arrest warrant for
Wikileaks founder Julian As-
sange on Friday, prolonging
the six-year-long legal stand
of with prosecutors and
clearing the way for the
Wikileaks founder to be
questioned in London next
month. Mr. Assange (45) is
wanted by Swedish authorit-
ies for questioning over al-
legations, which he denies,
that he committed rape in
2010.
“The Court of Appeal
shares the assessment of the
District Court that Julian As-
sange is still suspected on
probable cause of rape,” the
court said.
Mr. Assange avoided pos-
sible extradition to Sweden
by taking refuge in Ecuador’s
London embassy in 2012. He
says he fears further extradi-
tion to the United States,
where a criminal investiga-
tion into the activities of
Wikileaks is ongoing.
The court said the lengthy
deadlock and the previous
passivity of Swedish pros-
ecutors in pursuing the in-
vestigation were arguments
for setting aside the warrant,
but there remained a strong
public interest argument for
it remaining in place.
Ecuador has set an Octo-
ber 17 date for questioning
Mr. Assange at its London
embassy. Swedish pros-
ecutors have said the ques-
tioning will be conducted by
an Ecuadorian prosecutor.
The latest request by Mr.
Assange to have the warrant
for his arrest overturned
came after a UN panel in
February said his stay at the
embassy equalled arbitrary Wikileaks Founder Julian
detention. — Reuters Assange

Fethullah Gulen calls Turkey China frees

crackdown ‘dark page’ in history
RICK GLADSTONE
T he Turkish Muslim
cleric accused by Tur-
key of plotting a failed coup
two months ago denounced
the repression of his sup-
porters on Thursday, calling
the crackdown “dark pages
in world history.”
The cleric, Fethullah Gu-
len, who lives in self-im-
posed exile in the Pocono
Mountains of Pennsylvania,
said the arrests, purges and
dismissals undertaken by
President Recep Tayyip Er-
dogan of Turkey, a former
ally, reflected the behaviour
of a man seeking to “acquire
sovereignty unconditionally
for himself”.
Mr. Gulen accused the
government of subjecting his
followers to “oppression and
tyranny”.
Mr. Erdogan and his sub-
ordinates have blamed Mr.
Gulen for the coup attempt,
which left at least 271 people
CM
YK
Fethullah Gulen
dead. Mr. Gulen (75), who
has repeatedly denied in-
volvement in the coup at-
tempt, made his remarks in
Turkish in a recorded video
address to the World Afairs
Council of Philadelphia,
which streamed the address
and provided a simultaneous
translation.
It was Mr. Gulen’s first
public comment about the
coup attempt and its af-
U.S.-based cleric
spoke for the first
time since the coup
attempt and its
aftermath in Turkey
termath since Turkey, a U.S.
ally, formally requested that
U.S. authorities arrest him
while Turkish prosecutors
seek to have him extradited.
Turkey’s semi-oicial Anad-
olu news agency said on
Tuesday that the Justice
Ministry had demanded his
arrest on charges of “order-
ing and commanding the at-
tempted coup”.
Mr. Gulen did not address
the extradition issue. But his
principal deputy, Y. Alp
Aslandogan, who spoke to
the World Afairs Council
after the video was shown,
said Mr. Gulen had no plans
to leave the United States. —
New York Times News
Service
Canadian charged
with spying
OTTAWA: Kevin Garratt, a
Canadian held in China for
two years and charged with
spying, returned to Canada
on Thursday in what was a
diplomatic triumph for
Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau.
Mr. Trudeau had raised the
during an oicial visit to
China this month when he
both pressed for closer
economic ties and openly
discussed human rights,
which is a sensitive matter in
Beijing. A Canadian govern-
ment oicial said Mr. Garratt
had been formally sentenced
earlier in the week and then
released on bail. He flew into
the Pacific city of Vancouver.
Mr. Garratt and his wife,
Julia, were detained in Au-
gust 2014 near China’s bor-
der with North Korea. He
was charged with spying and
stealing state secrets. A
source said Mr. Garratt was
tried on April 20. — Reuters
BG-BG
 BUSINESS | 15
BENGALURU

THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

Renewable energy capacity can touch 225 GW if SENSEX GOLD RUPEE BRENT OIL
hydroelectricity is added to renewable category 16-09-2016 28,600 16-09-2016 31,000 16-09-2016 66.97 16-09-2016 45.96
Piyush Goyal, Power Minister 187 70 0.05 0.62
15-09-2016 28,413 points 14-09-2016 31,070 ₨/10gms 15-09-2016 67.02 ₨/$ 15-09-2016 46.58 $/bbl

BRIEFLY
Tea prices, production
costs affecting industry
KOLKATA: A persistent gap
between tea prices and the cost
of production is affecting the
viability of the industry, said
Ashok Kumar Bhargava,
Chairman Indian Tea
Association. Tea prices for the
last 10 years have risen by
around six per cent, while input
costs have risen by over 10 per
cent. “Even high-quality teas are
selling at lower prices now” he
told reporters. Mr. Bhargava
advocated adoption of the
‘Trustea’ certification for
improving tea prices. Lower
demand for better teas has also
eroded the margins of
companies in West Bengal and
Assam, Mr. Bhargava said.
— Special Correspondent
Chennai Port installs
container scanner
CHENNAI: To enable seamless
movement of containers of
vessels through radio frequency
identification solution and to
reduce the dwell time of vessels,
the Chennai Port Trust has
installed a fixed container
scanner at its ‘O’ yard. This is
the first port on the east coast
to get such a scanner.The
Rs.20-crore facility was
inaugurated by, Vanaja N. Sarna,
Central Board of Excise and
Customs (CBEC) Special
Secretary and Member. With the
help of advanced technology,
the scanner will classify and
discriminate the materials
depending upon their atomic
numbers either as orange
(organic), green (intermediate)
and blue (inorganic). It can scan
12-15 (twenty or forty foot
containers mounted on truck or
trailer) per hour. — N. Anand
Rupee to see
consolidative trend
NEW DELHI: The rupee which is
currently hovering around 67 per
dollar level is expected to shift
from a depreciation path to a
consolidative trend over the
next 12 months, according to a
DBS report. According to the
global financial services major,
there is neither a need nor a
macroeconomic rationale behind
a deliberate attempt to devalue
the currency. There were reports
that the Commerce Ministry
might propose devaluation of
the domestic currency to give a
fillip to the exports sector. “Such
an attempt would run counter to
recent efforts by the RBI and
government.”— PTI
Axis Bank to buy more
than 13% in ACRE
NEW DELHI: Private sector Axis
Bank will buy 13.67 per cent
stake in Assets Care and
Reconstruction Enterprise
(ACRE) from IFCI Ltd for Rs.22.72
crore. A share purchase
agreement has been completed
between the two companies for
the stake transfer. “The Bank
has signed a share purchase
agreement with IFCI for
acquisition of 73,28,334 equity
shares (13.67 per cent of total
outstanding shares) of face
value of Rs.10 per share in
Assets Care and Reconstruction
Enterprise Limited from IFCI at
Rs.31 per share, resulting in a
total cash consideration of
Rs.22.72 crore,” according to a
release from Axis Bank. — PTI
Steel sector showing signs
of turning around: Jaitley
Centre introduced a minimum import price to protect domestic steel firms
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The steel industry,
one of the top contributors to
the banks’ non-performing
assets, is slowly turning
around and companies are
beginning to pay interest
dues to banks, Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley said on
Friday.
“Provisioning with regard
to NPAs has been increas-
ing,” Mr Jaitley told
reporters following a seen imports decline and demand revive. — FILE PHOTO: REUTERS
quarterly review of public
sector banks on Friday. “The
major contributors continue
to be the steel and infrastruc-
ture sectors. With regard to
the steel companies, balance
sheets have started turning
and they have started paying
interest. However, unless
they pay the entire interest
due, they cannot be
reclassified.”
Minimum price
In the steel sector, the gov-
ernment introduced a
minimum import price to
protect domestic firms from
a flood of cheap imports. In
other sectors, like infrastruc-
ture construction, the gov-
ernment has tried to ensure
at least partial payment to
contractors even in the case
of disputes. In addition to
this, the Reserve Bank of In-
dia has provided banks with
a number of tools to convert
debt in stressed firms into
equity, which can allow them
to bring in new promoters.
“After the government im-
plemented the Minimum
Import Price for steel, im-
ports have come down and
demand has gone up as well,
so it is positive for the in-
dustry,” D.R Dogra, who re-
tired as the MD & CEO of
Reliance, L&T in last leg to
bag $2 billion defence deal
PIYUSH PANDEY
MUMBAI: Reliance Defence
and Engineering Limited
(RDEL) and Larsen and Tou-
bro are in the final stages to
bag a $2 billion contract from
the Defence Ministry next
month for making am-
phibious fighting ships for
the Navy, sources said.
Both have entered the fi-
nal lap after ABG Shipyard
failed to clear the capacity
assessment test of the De-
fence Ministry.
The Ministry of Defence
(MoD) is likely to open bids
in October for awarding four
Landing Platform Dock
(LPDs), each costing about
$1 billion, and the only two
private sector firms which
cleared the financial and
technical capability for this
project are RDEL and L&T,
the source close to the de-
velopment said.
As per the terms of the
deal, two LPDs contract will
POSITIVE SIGNS: Implementation of minimum import price has
Care Ratings had told The
Hindu. “It would be wrong to
say the sector is out of the
woods, but now some com-
panies can at least service a
portion of the interest.”
“The banks also express
optimism regarding the in-
frastructure sector,” Mr. Jait-
ley said. “Highways picking
up and the steps taken by the
government in the construc-
tion sector would add a lot of
liquidity to those accounts,”
he said.
K. Ravichandran, Senior
Vice-President and Co-
Head, Corporate Sector Rat-
ing, ICRA said: “A lot of steps
have been taken in infra-
structure at the regulatory
level, For example, in con-
struction, the move to re-
lease advances to the com-
panies even during
arbitration has helped a lot of
companies.
“Lots of awards are hap-
pening on the roads front. In
power, UDAY is helping the
discoms. Even in ports, there
are awards being given.
Overall, sentiments have im-
proved and this will be re-
flected in the debt servicing
capabilities of these
companies.”
A landing platform dock
be awarded to a private sec-
tor player based upon tech-
nical capabilities and finan-
cial bids and the winning
private sector firm would as-
sist state-owned Hindustan
Shipyard Limited (HSL) to
construct the remaining two.
Warfare ship
LPD, also known as am-
phibious transport dock, is a
warfare ship designed to
transport troops into a war
zone by sea, primarily using
landing craft and has the ca-
pability to operate transport
Mr Jaitley said that while
banks may prefer higher cap-
ital infusions from the gov-
ernment, there were bud-
getary constraints to be
considered, and the banks
themselves needed to take
the initiative in trying to find
buyers for their stressed
assets.
“The banks did admit that
they are finding it challen-
ging to find alternative pro-
moters and buyers to take
over stressed assets,” Mr Jait-
ley said, adding that they
needed to take a “greater ini-
tiative” in finding buyers.
The government had
promised Rs.70,000 crore to
recapitalise banks over a
four-year period up to March
2019. Of this, Rs.25,000 was
injected last year, and anoth-
er Rs.22,900 crore has been
committed this year. A Fitch
report in July said that Indian
banks would require as
much as Rs 6 lakh crore to
meet the Basel III require-
ments, 80 per cent of which
would be needed by the pub-
lic sector banks.
Regarding the MUDRA
scheme, the Finance
Minister said that Rs.86,000
crore has already been dis-
helicopters in addition to
having hangar facilities and a
landing deck.
The $2 billion contract is
the biggest warship con-
struction project for the pri-
vate sector and has the po-
tential to make the winner a
leading player.
The 20,000 ton LPD would
be the largest warship to be
built in an Indian yard after
the aircraft carrier under
construction in Kochi.
A Reliance Defence
spokesperson declined to of-
fer any comments while an
L&T spokesperson said:“We
have already cleared the fin-
ancial and technical capacity
assessment report long time
back.”
“The Defence Acquisition
Council (DAC) in its last
meeting has cleared the ca-
pacity assessment of RDEL,
which is now eligible for all
defence projects particularly
Naval Warships and Submar-
ines,” the source said.
bursed this year in relation to
the target of Rs 1,80,000
crore. “Slow moving banks
have been asked to rectify
this and meet the target,” Mr
Jaitley said.
Mr. Jaitley also said that
though PSBs have been fin-
ancially challenged, espe-
cially due to high NPAs, he
hopes that they would soon
recover to a situation where
they could adequately trans-
mit the interest rate cuts im-
plemented by the central
bank.
The Finance Minister also
said that four PSBs were con-
ducting investigations
whether money in some of
their Jan Dhan accounts had
been deposited by the ac-
count holders or banking au-
thorities so as to reduce the
number of zero-balance
accounts.
“In case of few accounts,
this issue has arisen and
there are names of four
banks,” Mr Jaitley said.
“We have asked them. The
banks are investigat-
ing....after that the banks will
give their report to the De-
partment of Financial
Services.”
Bank mergers
Despite resistance from
the banking unions, Mr Jait-
ley said the government
would go ahead with the
merger of associate banks
and Bharatiya Mahila Bank
with the State Bank of India
since the proposal had been
approved by the Union
Cabinet.
“All procedures will be fol-
lowed. The government has
already taken decision at the
level of the Cabinet to fully
support the proposal for the
merger,” Mr Jaitley said.
Auto industry can create
65 million new jobs by 2026
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The government
expects the automobile in-
dustry to create 65 million
new jobs and clock annual
revenues of $300 billion by
2026, Heavy Industries
Secretary Girish Shankar
said.
“India’s auto industry is
one of the largest and most
competitive in the world,
contributing 7 per cent of the
country’s gross domestic
product or GDP,”Mr.
Shankar said. “We have
worked out an Automotive
Mission Plan 2026 along
with industry, which is aim-
ing for a 12 per cent share in
GDP, third position in the
world’s auto industry and 65
million additional jobs.”
The auto sector is present-
ly facing a lot of challenges in
the country, such as the un-
certainty around diesel en-
Global reinsurers may start
operations by January: IRDAI
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
MUMBAI: Insurance Regu-
latory and Development Au-
thority of India expects glob-
al reinsurers, who have
applied for a licence, to start
operations by early 2017.
“In the Insurance Act, we
have allowed foreign re-in-
surers to open their branches
in the country. Many people
have approached us,” IRDAI
chairman T.S. Vijayan told
reporters at the sidelines of
seminar organised by in-
dustry body Assocham.
“About five-six (compan-
ies) have come and I think by
January 2017, there should be
some players in this market,”
Mr. Vijayan said. “We will be
taking a decision in October
The passenger vehicle
market is expected to double
gines forcing players to hold
back investment plans, Mr.
Shankar said that the pas-
senger vehicle market is still
expected to double to 4 mil-
lion units by 2020 from the
current level of 1.97 million.
R & D initiatives
“Our industry still doesn’t
cover 100% of technology or
components to make the car,
GIC Re, the
state-owned
company, is the only
reinsurer that is fully
operational
in the next meeting, then
they have to bring capital
and start working at it.”
Only state-owned rein-
surer GIC Re is fully oper-
ational within the country.
Some of the global re-in-
surers that have approached
the insurance regulator for a
licence to open their
branches in the country are
Munich Re, Swiss Re, SCOR,
Hanover Re, and XL Catlin,
among others.
After announcing norms
but it does provide around 97
per cent. The government is
ofering high incentives for
research and development
investments by the automot-
ive industry which has led to
many auto makers setting up
research centres or expand-
ing existing ones,” he said.
While India has become a
design hub for global auto
makers, especially for com-
pact cars and two-wheelers,
the industry needs to re-
spond expeditiously to fresh
challenges such as the emer-
gence of driver-less cars, Mr.
Shankar said.
“There will be a greater
demand for newer automot-
ive designs to meet the aspir-
ations of the Indian market,”
he said adding that the in-
dustry must focus more on
tapping the rural market
which currently has only a 13
per cent share of passenger
vehicle sales.
on reinsurance regulations
in November last year, the in-
surance regulator gave its
initial approval, known as R1
in regulatory parlance, to
global players like Munich
Re, Hannover from Ger-
many, Swiss Re from
Switzerland and French ma-
jor SCOR, in March this year.
Listing regulations
On the listing of insurance
companies, Mr Vijayan said:
“In the previous Act itself
there was a provision for list-
ing. This was changed. We
wanted to have a discussion
on this subject, so we
brought out a paper and
companies have expressed
that thing, so let us see how it
goes forward.”

Exchange Rates
Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit
Deal value surges 38% Mahindra forays
into fruits, juices
except yen at 4 p.m on September 16

Currencies
TT TT
Buying Selling
to $3.6 bn in August SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
U.S. Dollar 66.78 67.10 MUMBAI: Deal activity by cor-
Euro 74.95 75.31 porate India in value terms Six deals were in the MUMBAI: Mahindra Agri Solu-
Pound Sterling 87.96 88.39
Jap Yen (100 Units) 65.53 65.87
zoomed nearly 38 per cent to billion dollar club tions Ltd, a 100 per cent
$3.6 billion in August, driven while seven were subsidiary of Mahindra &
Chinese Yuan 10.00 10.06
by eight big-ticket deals Mahindra Ltd, has forayed
Swiss Franc 68.55 68.88
worth over $100 million, ac- more than $500 into fresh fruits and juices re-
Singapore Dollar 48.93 49.17
Australian Dollar 50.08 50.33 cording to a report. million tailing business under the
Canadian Dollar 50.55 50.79 Overall deal value — mer- Saboro brand to tap demand
Swedish Kroner 7.84 7.88 gers and acquisitions (M&A) August 2015, and there has for high quality food items by
Danish Kroner 10.06 10.11 as well as private equity (PE) been an almost three-fold in- the health conscious
New Zealand Dollar 48.75 48.99 transactions — stood at $2.6 crease in value in domestic individuals.
Hongkong Dollar 8.61 8.65 billion, during August 2015, M&A. The company unveiled its
Malaysian Ringgit 16.13 16.21 according to accountancy PE activity, however, de- first Saboro Lounge at
Kuwaiti Dinar 220.75 223.29 and advisory firm Grant clined from $1.7 billion in Au- Churchgate in Mumbai to
UAE Dirham 18.18 18.27 Thornton’s monthly deal- gust 2015 to $1.1 billion in Au- serve fresh food made out of
Bahraini Dinar 177.03 177.98 tracker report. gust 2016 once again this fruits, vegetables and dairy-
Qatari Riyal 18.39 18.40 “August 2016 witnessed month, both in terms of value based products. Addition-
Saudi Riyal 17.85 17.86 transactions worth $3.6 bil- and volume. “The month ally, Saboro fresh fruits will
Omani Riyal 173.31 174.23 lion (134 deals) with a strong witnessed a big-ticket mer- also be available for retail at
Source:Indian Bank
38 per cent y-o-y boost in ger activity with the HDFC the outlet. The outlet serves
value while volumes de- Standard and Max Life insur- cold pressed juices, smooth-
clined by 8 per cent year-on- ance deal, valued at above ies, salads, refreshments, and
Bullion Rates year,” the report said. $777 million. This deal drove desserts. The targeted cus-
September 16 rates in rupees with Individually, M&A the deal activity in this seg- tomers include oice execut-
previous rates in brackets activity contributed $2.5 bil- ment,” the report said. ives, health conscious
Delhi lion to the overall deal value Further, the report found couples and students. The
Silver 45,100 (45,450) in August. that the overall deal activity price range starts from
Standard gold 31,000 (31,070) On the M&A front, cross- in the first five months of the Rs.129 for a regular glass of
Sovereign 24,400 (24,400) border deal value increased current fiscal “has remained juice to Rs.349 for a large
by 45 per cent as compared to steady.” — PTI plate of salad.
CM BG-BG
YK
16 | BUSINESS
BENGALURU

THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

SNIPPETS UCC, PAN must Task force to evolve

Indowind to invest Rs.65 crore for 10 MW plant
CHENNAI: Indowind Energy, an independent power producer, has decided
Container trade grows for transaction on
commodity
steps to boost India’s
four times global pace innovation ecosystem
to set up 10 MW wind energy project in Chitradurga district, Karnataka,
within a year, its Chairman Bala V. Kutti said. The planned investment is
about Rs.65 crore for the project, he told reporters. The company is also
bourses: SEBI
exploring the possibility of entering into solar power to improve its
NEW DELHI: Markets regulator
profitability. It is planning to set up a 25 MW unit either in Tamil Nadu or
SEBI made Unique Client
Karnataka with an investment of Rs.150 crore. “We have done some
preliminary work on that. However, we are going slow as we are seeking
Containerized Code (UCC) and Permanent
Account Number (PAN)
some clarity on policy issues,” he said.—Special Correspondent. foreign trade mandatory for all the per-
grew 11% in H1 sons transacting on com-
HPL’s Rs.361-cr IPO to open on September 22 modity exchanges. “It shall
LALATENDU MISHRA be mandatory for the mem-
MUMBAI: Electric equipment manufacturer HPL Electric and Power will
bers of the commodity deriv-
raise Rs.361 crore through initial public offer (IPO), which will be mainly MUMBAI: A recovery in the atives exchanges to use UCC
used to meet its working capital requirements and retire part of its debt. U.S. economy and various for all clients transacting on
The issue, with a price band of Rs.175-202 per equity share, will be open measures taken by the Cen- the commodity derivatives
from September 22-26. “We plan to utilise the proceeds of the issue to tre helped India register a 11 exchanges,” Securities and
fund working capital requirements and for repayment of loans in this per cent jump in container- Exchange Board of India
fiscal. We will also utilise the proceeds for other general corporate ized foreign trade in the first- (SEBI) said in a circular.
BOX BOOST: Overall global containerized trade grew 2.8 per
purposes,” company’s Joint Managing Director Gautam Seth told half of 2016. The rate of It said PAN would be sole
cent in the first half. — FILE PHOTO:REUTERS RANKING FOCUS: Panel will suggest steps to enhance improve
reporters here.—PTI growth was four times the identification number and India’s innovation index standing. — FILE PHOTO
pace in worldwide contain- Line, told The Hindu. However, exports of guar mandatory for all entities/
Gionee to set up Haryana unit, invest Rs.500 cr erized trade in the period, ac- Maersk Line is the world’s gum halved due to the low persons who are desirous of SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT India ranks second
NEW DELHI: Handset maker Gionee Mobiles has signed an agreement
cording to a report by biggest container shipping production and prices of transacting on the ex- on innovation
with the Haryana Government for setting up a manufacturing unit in the Maersk Group, owner of the company. crude oil. Guar gum is widely changes. NEW DELHI: The Department of
world’s biggest container “This is primarily due to used in oil and gas However, investors resid- Industrial Policy & Promo- quality among
state entailing an initial investment of Rs.500 crore. The unit will be set
up in about 50 acres in Faridabad and provide employment to over shipping company. relatively strong U.S. econo- exploration. ing in Sikkim are exempted tion (DIPP) has decided to middle-income
28,000 people in the next three years, according to Gionee.With an In its first ever trade report my and slight improvement Led by electronics, China from the mandatory require- set up a Task Force on Innov- economies
annual capacity of close to 30 million units, Gionee plans to manufacture on India titled ‘India, a silver in the European market, was the largest source for im- ment of PAN. ation, according to a govern-
around six lakh mobiles per month from this facility, it added. “India is lining in global trade’ the which account for over a ports with a share of 30 per The exchanges should, ment statement.
one of our most important markets and Gionee has been seeing an Maersk Group, which has a third of the containerized cent followed by North however, ensure a system of It will comprise members rights (IPR) Promotion and
exponential growth here,” Chairman Liu Lirong said.—PTI dozen companies operating trade from India,” he added. America. The top supplier proper verification to verify from the industry and the Management and the DIPP
in India, said the 11 per cent During the first half most countries included the U.S., that such investors are government and will assess has invited ideas and sug-
increase was almost double containers went to the U.S., Germany, South Korea and residents of Sikkim. India’s position as an innov- gestions from the public, the
Suzlon bags order from Oil India the 6 per cent growth reg- U.K., Germany, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia. The exchanges would ative country, suggest mea- statement said, adding that
NEW DELHI: Energy solution provider Suzlon Group announced that it has istered during the same Turkey and Kenya. The top imported goods have to ensure that the mem- sures to enhance the innova- the Task Force may hold dis-
won its maiden order from Oil India Ltd(OIL) for 52.50 MW project period last year. Growth in Elaborating on the report, included consumer du- bers upload details of PAN so tion ecosystem and improve cussions with some of the
capacity. The project is capable of providing power to over 28,000 imports into India remained Mr. Dedenis said vegetables rables, scrap paper and collected to the exchanges as the country’s ranking in the contributors.
households and offsetting 0.11 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per strong at 12 per cent, it said. and fruits & nuts were plastic waste imported by part of UCC and verify the Global Innovation Index In the GII 2016, India re-
annum, it said. Suzlon will provide a comprehensive range of services In contrast, overall global among the top exported the cycling industry. Howev- documents. (GII). tained the top rank in In-
and dedicated life cycle asset management services for an initial period containerized trade grew 2.8 commodities. Exports of er metal scrap imports fell. Member would also be re- India’s ranking in GII-2016 formation and Commu-
of 10 years. The projects will be located in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat per cent in the first half. vegetables grew by 56 per On the outlook for ex- quired to furnish the docu- rose 15 places to 66th posi- nication Technology Service
and are scheduled to be completed by June 2017. The order comprises cent, followed by fruits & ports, the report said the ments of their clients to the tion. Recognising India’s po- Export, according to the
Suzlon’s latest product offerings— the S111 90m tubular tower and S97 Right track nuts at 42 per cent. Among growth momentum would commodity exchanges and tential, Commerce & In- statement. India is the top-
120m hybrid tower with a rated capacity of 2.1 MW each, the company “This growth clearly in- fruits, outbound shipments continue with strong de- the same would be updated dustry Minister Nirmala ranked economy in Central
said in a statement.—PTI dicates that the initiatives of grapes surged by 180 per mand for pharmaceuticals on a monthly basis. Sitharaman had sought the and Southern Asia, and
taken by India to boost the cent. from Europe, North America Such information for a setting up of the Task Force. shows particular strengths in
economy are on the right Growth was witnessed in and Africa. Central America specific month should reach The team includes experts tertiary education and re-
Sufficient interconnect points for Jio: BSNL track since containerized the exports of automobiles would continue to be a fast- the exchange within seven from private organisations - search & development
NEW DELHI:BSNL has said it has provided “sufficient points of trade accounts for approxim- and auto parts despite a dip expanding market for auto- working days of the follow- Naushad Forbes (Co- Chair- (R&D), including global
interconnect” to Reliance Jio and can augment it more based on ately 55 per cent of the coun- in demand from Nigeria. “Al- mobiles, yarn and steel coils, ing month. man , Forbes Marshall R&D intensive firms, the
requirement. BSNL CMD Anupam Shrivastava told PTI that there has try’s total EXIM trade geria, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey Maersk said. The exchanges would im- Group; President, CII), Anil quality of its universities and
been no fresh request from Jio for increasing the capacity at points of volumes,” the report’s au- and a few South American “We expect Indian growth pose penalty on the member Wali (MD, FITT, IIT Delhi), scientific publications, it
interconnect, and added “should they make an enquiry, we will augment thors wrote. markets were the major mar- to be driven by the emer- at the rate of 1 per cent of the Gopichand Katragadda added.
the capacity.” “We have provided sufficient points of interconnect to “Though global trade did kets for auto exports,” ac- gence of new destination value of every trade that has (CTO, TATA Sons), Kris Go- India ranks second on in-
Jio...while Jio is providing voice calls free of cost, whenever those calls not start 2016 on a positive cording to the report, which markets, a strong U.S. de- been carried out by the palakrishnan (Executive novation quality amongst
land into BSNL network, we get interconnectivity charge of 14 paise...so note, the Indian market has added that the segment grew mand and a recovery in Eu- member without uploading Vice Chairman, Infosys), middle-income economies.
it makes commercial sense for us,” he said. Interconnection between grown consistently in the by 9 per cent. rope,” Mr. Dedenis said. “We the UCC details of the cli- Nikolai Dobberstein (Part- As per the report, “India is a
telecom networks is crucial as it enables mobile users to make calls to first half and the upswing Demand for Indian gar- can expect Indian trade to ents. The penalty collected ner, A.T. Kearney Limited), good example of how policy
subscribers of other operator. A mobile operator levies interconnection will continue till 2017,” ments remained strong and clock 8 to 9 per cent growth by the exchanges would be Rajeev Srinivasan (Adjunct is improving the innovation
usage charge for each incoming call it gets from a subscriber of another Franck Dedenis, Managing witnessed a volume growth for the full year of 2016, transferred to the Investor Faculty, Innovation IIM-B), environment”. India moved
network. BSNL said it has not experienced any call congestion on its Director India, Sri Lanka & of 13 per cent due to demand which will be four times the protection Fund (IPF). as well as the representative up across all indicators
network with regard to traffic coming from Jio. —PTI Bangladesh Cluster, Maersk from North America. growth of global trade.” —PTI from the Department of within the Knowledge Ab-
Science and Technology. sorption sub-pillar. It has
also recorded a good per-
Public comments
MFIs see higher growth in urban India than rural: Report The Convenor of the Task
Force is Rajiv Aggarwal,
Joint Secretary, DIPP. The
formance in the GII model’s
newly incorporated research
talent in business enterprise,
where it ranks 31st, according
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT In addition, the report there is a growth of 23 per for income-generating pur- come generating activities,” ating loans, the report found Cell for intellectual property to the statement.
finds that these loans are be- cent where amount in- poses, up from 80 per cent in the report said. that the largest propor-
NEW DELHI: Over the last year, ing put to increasingly creased in rural areas by 14 the previous year. “Analysis of the loan port- tion—39 per cent—went to
microfinance institutions productive uses with a per cent and in urban areas folio held by reporting MFIs the animal husbandry sector,
(MFIs) have seen their busi- higher proportion of them by 27 per cent,” the Bharat Income generation for 2014-15 and 2015-16 shows followed by 29 per cent to
ness grow faster in urban In- going towards income gen- Microfinance Report 2016 “In 2011, RBI (Reserve that the proportion of in- the trading & small business
dia than in rural, according eration than before. said. Bank of India) regulation come generation loan to non category.
to an annual report by Sa- “In 2016, total loan amount The report also found that stipulated that a minimum of income generation loan is Agriculture received 15
Dhan, the self-regulatory disbursed increased by 94 per cent of the loans dis- 70 per cent of the MFI loans 94:06.” per cent of the loans, accord-
body for MFIs. Rs.13,433 crore over 2015, bursed in 2015-16 were used are to be deployed for in- Within the income-gener- ing to the report.

CM BG-BG
YK
 ONE STOP PROPERTY SHOP
http://www.thehindu.com/features/homes-and-gardens
Instead of razing structures, BBMP must reconcile revenue records to what is relevant today; and look at alternative
solutions such as increasing buffer zone around lakes, scrutinising under-construction properties, and building support
infrastructure for the existing drainage network. By SHRINIVAS RAO
Demolition, no solution
I
n view of the recent floods in
Bengaluru, the BBMP’s de-
cision to erase buildings and
structures built on storm-wa-
ter drains, salt pans and lake-beds
has taken all by surprise.
Over the past few days, we have
“ While old maps can be
seen images of anguished owners
watch their life’s earnings reduced
to rubble as the municipal officials
recklessly bulldozed their homes.
Many plot owners, registered on
the A-khata, have now realised the
khata is no more than a sale deed
for a financial transaction. Al-
though their property plans and
layouts were sanctioned by the
civic body based on this deed, it is
completely disassociated with the
government’s urban infrastructure
surveys and cannot be used as a
security blanket.
The recent actions of the State
government have drawn severe cri-
ticism as most of these projects
were sanctioned and approved by
the same authorities.
No detailed investigation
Without any probe, detailed in-
vestigation or issue of a demolition
notice, the civic officials have done
little apart from publishing the
1923 storm-water drainage maps
that were created by the then Brit-
ish government.
These maps, constructed at a
time when Bengaluru was regarded
no more than a “pensioner’s
paradise” reveal a drainage net-
work connecting man-made water
reservoirs (lakes or tanks) for irrig-
ation and domestic use.
Some of these lakes/water
bodies have either dried up and/or
are non-existent now.
Does a demolition drive to allow
storm-water drains to empty into
CM
YK
these non-existent lakes solve the
flooding issue that currently
plagues the city?
As the city pushes its boundaries
to accommodate a population of
8.42 million, loopholes in BBMP’s
plans and neglect towards storm-
water drainage issues are coming
BENGALURU
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
Mud houses
A training programme by Gramavidya
on using stabilised mud blocks
S
in construction.
tabilised mud blocks are sturdy enough to help structures
stand for generations, says M.R.Yogananda, propagating
sustainable methodologies in construction. He is one of the
the recent issue of land encroach- founders of Mrinmayee, a stabilised soil-block consultancy firm
used as a useful
reference to support the
ment and left a question mark on
the functionality of the system in
the city.
It is only now that details indic-
ating which areas of east, west,
south Rajarajeshwarinagar,
spearheading the cause of mud in construction.
“Training architects, engineers, masons and semi-skilled
personnel in these alternative methods of construction through
workshops is important,” he says. Yogananda, along with
Gramavidya (an NGO), has been doing this for two decades.
In the wake of Gramavidya conducting its training pro-
Dasarahalli, Yelahanka, Bomman- gramme from September 22 to 24, Mr. Yogananda spoke of the
urban infrastructure, ahalli and Mahadevapura zones fall importance of Soil Stabilised Blocks where mud excavated at
they should not be used under the demolition drive have site is utilised there itself. Soil Stabilised Blocks are a mixture of
come to the fore. mud (72 to 75 per cent) with small portions of cement (7 per
as the whole, sole point Though deemed as a legitimate cent), sand and lime, the mixture getting adjusted according to
of reference move by government officials, this location-specific mud.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII cannot be the only solution to the Soil-based technologies have been in practice for centuries,
issue of overflowing lakes or the says Mr. Yogananda. “The earliest known example in India with
useful reference to support the conservation of shrinking water cement as stabiliser was the construction of 4,000 houses in
urban infrastructure, they should bodies in the city. Karnal, Haryana, in 1948, now called the Model Town, and all of
not be used as the whole, sole point them are still in use. This was followed by the construction of
of reference. Ideal solution 260 houses in Bengaluru in 1949.”
Instead of razing concrete struc- The technology, then limited to some parts of the country,
Crux of the problem tures, the authorities need to was discontinued later. As the need for utilisation of local
The crux of the problem lies in reconcile revenue records, maps materials and alternative technologies gained importance due
the total disregard of civic author- and plans to what is relevant today; to the energy crisis in the 1970s, the R& D institutions started
ities towards the drainage network and look at alternative solutions looking at soil as an alternative. The R & D work at ASTRA, IISc,
in the peripheral villages that have such as increasing buffer zone Bangalore, that Mr. Yogananda was associated with, provided
been subsumed into Bengaluru around lakes, scrutinising under- the technical inputs for the use of stabilised soil and study on
over the last three decades. construction properties and build- stabilisation of different kinds of soils by various institutions.
The lack of transparency, and in- ing support infrastructure for the Gramavidya’s training programme, from September 22-24 is
coherency between survey settle- drainage network. at Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corporation Limited (RGRHCL)
ments and land records has led to – Koushalya Shaale , Survey No.205 (opp. Beedi Workers
Colony), Kommaghatta Road, Bandemath, Kengeri Satellite
Town.
RANJANI GOVIND
Points to ponder
● As the city pushes its ● The incoherency between sur-
boundaries further, loopholes in vey settlements and land
the BBMP’s plans and neglect of records has led to the recent is-
out. The topography of Bengaluru the storm-water drainage stand sue of land encroachment.
has changed dramatically and the out. ● Demolition of buildings can-
BBMP itself has created several ● Civic authorities have disreg- not be the only solution to the
urban plans to address these is- arded the drainage network in issue of overflowing lakes or the
sues. the peripheral villages that have conservation of shrinking water
But should the common man been subsumed into Bengaluru bodies in the city.
suffer the dire consequences? over the last three decades.
While these maps can be used as a
BG-BG
 BENGALURU
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016 쏹
18
Digital architecture
It’s time for architecture students to get used to digital tools, computation techniques and
unconventional form-making exercises. RANJANI GOVIND details what a workshop has on offer.

T
he Indian Institute of Ar-
chitects, Karnataka
Chapter, as part of its cen-
tenary year celebrations, is
conducting a workshop where de-
signers and educators from the U.S.
and Canada are exposing architec-
ture students to digital tools, com-
putation techniques and
unconventional form-making exer-
cises.
“Architectural representation has
come a long way from manual draft-
ing up to the mid-90s, to the use of
computers and its ever progressing
technology. It is useful for us to be
exposed to, learn, and keep pace with
technological advancement. In ar-
chitectural terms, it could open up
the Pandora’s Box and expose us to a Students at the workshop organised by Indian Institute of Architects, Karnataka Chapter
new way of thinking and imagining,”
says Leena Kumar, Chairperson, IIA spective, according to Leena Kumar. create an interactive architectural
Karnataka Chapter. The Indian Institute of Archi- “The IIA, Karnataka Chapter will device, according to Simon Kim.
Alvin Huang, Simon Kim, Jason tects, Karnataka Chapter, is also be hosting the national conven- “With the students here my hope is
Johnson, and Marc Fornes, conducting a three-day work- tion - NATCON 2016 - in Bengaluru that we can explore this same
renowned experimental architects shop (in association with on December 1, 2, and 3 this year on material and give it new life. How I
with their contributions to leading Huddle) where four designers the theme “Imagining the Indian want to do that is to create pockets,
schools of design including Harvard and educators from the U.S. City” where we expect over 2000 objects within objects, and also the
(U.S.), USC (U.S.), UCal (Canada), and Canada are in the process architects. This workshop forms a embedding of sensors to create in-
and AA(London), are taking across of mentoring 30 students to part of the broader theme of the con- teraction,” he says.
the three-day workshop that will expose them to advanced soft- vention to explore how technology Jason Johnson adds that the best
culminate in a conference for 350 ware techniques. The ongoing can assist in “Imagining the Indian way to introduce students to compu-
architects on September 17. The four workshop will culminate with City,” adds Leena Kumar. tational techniques is by allowing
designers will present examples of a conference on September 17, Alvin Huang says, “It’s interesting them to first explore through fairly
their works from a wide body of re- at Hotel Lalit Ashok, 3 p.m. to explore design in the territories of simple processes and then build up
search and built projects. The audi- onwards. digital technologies. Of merging to things that are more complex.
ence will have an opportunity to design technologies, digital fabrica- “That’s what we are doing right
interact with the speakers, and pose tion and material performance. It’s now,” he says.
questions on the relevance of their conversations within the architect exciting to be in Bengaluru as part of
work in the Indian context. community,” says Leena Kumar. As this workshop. I want to expose stu-
The event has been conceived as a Jason Johnson put it, “What excited dents to a way of thinking, of think- Home expo: CREDAI-Bengu-
series of engagements with architec- me about getting an invitation from ing through technology as a way to luru’s Home Expo 2016, at
ture students, young architects and IIA-KC was the possibility of enga- begin thinking of architecture and Hotel Shangri-la on September
established practitioners in the city. ging with students in a completely forms.” 17 and 18, will feature 31
“The intent of the workshop is to different context than what we Interactive device builders and three financial in-
create a platform that exposes stu- would normally do in a university The purpose of being here is to use stitutions. Around 200 proper-
dents to progressive methods in ar- setting.” form and the ever ubiquitous archi- ty will be on display, says Suresh
chitectural education, and foster The workshop gains a wider per- tectural material, concrete, and Hari, Secretary, CREDAI-
Bengaluru. Timings: 10.30. a.m.
to 8 p.m.

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YK

BENGALURU
THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
Telecast schedule
Davis Cup: World Group: Play-off: India vs Spain, DD Sports, 7 p.m.
Semifinals: Neo Sports & Neo Prime, 5.30 p.m.
Formula One: Singapore GP qualifying, STAR Sports 4 & Select HD 2, 6.25 p.m..
TNPL: Second semifinal, STAR Sports 1 & HD 1, 6.30 p.m.
EPL: STAR Sports 4 & Select HD 1, 7.30 p.m. & 9.50 p.m.
Lopez and Ferrer give Spain a 2-0 lead on opening day
Ramkumar takes a set off the World No. 26 playing in Rafael Nadal’s place; Saketh Myneni has his moments but goes down in straight sets
KAMESH SRINIVASAN
NEW DELHI: Rafael Nadal filled
the R.K. Khanna Stadium to
capacity, but had to pull out
from the opening singles rub-
ber of Spain’s Davis Cup
World Group play-of match
against India to protect his in-
jured wrist. Playing in the
World No. 4’s place, Feliciano
Lopez was eicient enough —
though he slipped a bit — in
beating Ramkumar
Ramanathan 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Later, Saketh Myneni was
classy in patches but was not
allowed to stay on court for
long by the fluent David Fer-
rer, who cruised to a 6-1, 6-2,
6-1 victory to put the visitors
2-0 ahead on Friday.
It will be interesting to see if
Spain opts to field the Olympic
gold winning duo of Nadal and
Marc Lopez in the doubles
against Leander Paes and, pos-
sibly, Myneni.
Though he had withdrawn
to rest his wrist, Nadal did
have a training stint, during
the first part of the second
singles rubber.
Twitter was abuzz with
news of Nadal being replaced
for the first rubber, with Spain
changing its nomination an
hour before the first rubber,
but the stadium was packed
CRICKET
Kiwi batsmen have a good hit
RAKESH RAO
NEW DELHI: New Zealand got the
better part of the bargain on
day one of its three-day prac-
tice match following a good
‘hit’ in the middle and then
pushing Mumbai on the de-
fensive with an early wicket.
Asked to bat on a warm Fri-
day, New Zealand briskly
scored 324 for seven in 75
overs and declared the in-
nings. Thereafter, when
Mumbai batted, speedster
Trent Boult sent back Jay
Bista in the first over. At
stumps, Mumbai was 29 for
one. Playing in India for the
first time, Tom Latham hit 10
boundaries in his 55 but
equally significant was the
fact that he spent over two-
and-a-half hours in the
middle.
Unlike his teammates,
Latham displayed patience
and looked very comfortable
against the variety of bowlers
he faced before deciding to re-
tire. Skipper Kane Willamson
was more dominating in his
50, punishing the spinners
An incredible odyssey spanning 84 years
K.C. VIJAYA KUMAR
H istory’s weight will be felt
when Kanpur’s Green
Park Stadium hosts the first
Test between India and New
Zealand from September 22.
The aura of a major mile-
stone will linger as India will
play its 500thTest, a steady
progress from its maiden ven-
ture against England at Lord’s
in 1932 when C.K. Nayudu’s
men showed that they could
compete despite a 158-run
defeat.
After 84 years and 499
Tests, the country’s cricketing
journey has been one of
growth and a gradual bucking
of the stereotype.
The nation, perceived to
lean heavily towards the in-
stant pleasures of the shorter
formats, has also been loyal to
Tests. The current home
season, featuring 13 Tests,
starting with the one against
New Zealand, reiterates that.
Measure of confidence
From being diident trav-
ellers for long, the Indians
have, of late, acquired a
measure of confidence when
the seas have been crossed;
from being confined into the
two boxes of being either high
on aesthetics (wristy bats-
men) or cunning (wily spin-
ners) to now being labelled as
a squad that has a wide range
of players — be it unconven-
tional batsmen or fast bowl-
ers, India has come a long way.
A glance at the results re-
veals a pattern that moves
CM
YK
IN CONTROL: Feliciano Lopez played well within himself, doing just enough to stay ahead and, though he dropped the third set,
came back strongly to clinch the opening rubber. — PHOTO: SANDEEP SAXENA
before the first point was
played this evening.
A true team player, Nadal
stayed glued to his seat on the
sidelines, cheering on his
team-mate, the World No. 26,
right through the battle that
lasted two hours and 26
minutes during the course of
which the crowd even called
more. Ross Taylor fell for 41
after hitting two sixes and four
(out of five) boundaries of
leg-spinner Parikshit
Valsangkar.
In the later part of the in-
nings, the spin trio of Mitchell
Santner, Mark Craig and Ish
Sodhi proved they were no
bunnies with the bat.
All nine Kiwi batsmen on
view reached double figures
and sent the ball across the
ropes at least twice.
The fact that New Zealand
managed to hit nine sixes and
44 boundaries reflected its
positive approach.
The hot conditions prevail-
ing in the Capital did make
things diicult for the visiting
team but every Kiwi batsman
showed the willingness to stay
at the wicket.
Barring the early exit of of-
form Martin Guptill, who hit
the fifth delivery of the match
for a six of Balwinder Sandhu
but later fell to the same
bowler in chasing an away-
swinger, New Zealand had
every reason to be pleased. Of
the nine Mumbai bowlers, on-
STUFF OF LEGEND: One of Indian Test cricket’s memorable
moments was realised when V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid
forged a mammoth partnership to help the team carve out an
improbable win over the mighty Australians at the Eden
Gardens in Kolkata in 2001. — THE HINDU PHOTO ARCHIVE
HISTORIC 500
from a draw-oriented ap-
proach to one that pushes for
victory.
Yet, in the overall
sweepstakes, India’s winning
percentage of 25.85 is better
than only New Zealand,
Bangladesh and Zimbabwe,
while its shot at draws (42.48
per cent) is the highest among
all Test-playing countries.
Since Sachin Tendulkar
made his debut in 1989 and
others like Anil Kumble and
Rahul Dravid, to name a few,
joined him, India has given a
better account of itself both at
home and away. The success-
ive 0-4 losses to England and
Australia in 2011, as twilight
engulfed a few greats, dented
the gloss, though.
The story of Indian cricket
쑺 쑺
out to him in desperation at
times.
Lopez stepped up his game
whenever required and had
the match in control even
though Ramkumar managed
to turn the third set around
with a break of serve in the
eighth game.
Lopez started on low gear,
ly Sandhu made an impres-
sion.
The scores: New Zealand — 1st
innings: Martin Guptill c Tare b
Sandhu 15, Tom Latham retd. out 55,
Kane Williamson c Tare b Sandhu 50,
Ross Taylor lbw b Gohil 41, Henry
Nicholls lbw b Lad 29, B-J. Watling
retd. out 21, Mitchell Santner c Gohil
b Dabholkar 45, Mark Craig (not out)
33, Ish Sodhi (not out) 29; Extras
(b-2, lb-1, nb-3): 6; Total (for seven
wkts. decl. in 75 overs): 324.
Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-115, 3-
151, 4-184, 5-210, 6-235, 7-281.
Mumbai bowling: Balwinder
Sandhu 11-5-21-2, Tushar Deshpande
5-0-29-0, Vishal Dabholkar 14-0-
75-1, Royston Dias 6-2-20-0,
Parikshit Valsangkar 9-1-46-0, Har-
shal Soni 4-0-21-0, Vijay Gohil 13-1-
58-1, Siddhesh Lad 9-1-34-1, Jay Bista
4-0-17-0.
Mumbai — 1st innings: Jay Bista
c Watling b Boult 0, Kaustubh Pawar
(batting) 5, Armaan Jaffer (batting)
24; Total (for one wkt. in 13 overs):
29.
Fall of wicket: 1-0.
New Zealand bowling: Trent
Boult 3-2-5-1, Neil Wagner 4-2-3-0,
Mitchell Santner 4-1-10-0, Bracewell
2-0-11-0. Toss: Mumbai.
has been one of growth. If it
was about drawing succour
from individual performances
in below-par results in the
earlier era, it is about the con-
fidence of delivering, irre-
spective of the opposition, in
the latter part.
Doing a Houdini
Perhaps, the birth of belief
occurred when Sourav Gan-
guly’s men did a Houdini at
Kolkata’s Eden Gardens in
2001 as V.V.S. Laxman and
Dravid, together with Har-
bhajan Singh, conjured up a
victory from the jaws of defeat
against the hitherto invincible
Australia.
An earlier generation, when
the team lost, would have felt
happy to draw strength from
Sunil Gavaskar’s brilliant bat-
ting while countering the
fiercest of fast bowlers or de-
SPORT
Success mantra
Teams that have been successful have had guys who have got big runs
upfront. May be a couple of good sessions is not enough. One has to post big
first innings scores and one has to take that responsibility, if you get in. That
may require a little bit more patience than some of the players will normally
show. — Graeme Hick on how Australian batsmen should play in India.
playing sharp enough to break
serve, in the fifth game of the
first set and the first game of
the second, to stay on course
for an easy win.
Ramkumar, who kept chal-
lenging a lot of the calls but
without much success, played
with a lot more purpose and
conviction in the third set, es-
WELL DONE: Tom Latham showed good application as he racked
up a half-century on the first day of the tour match against
Mumbai. — PHOTO: R. V. MOORTHY
rived joy from the exploits of
the famous spin quartet.
En route to its current posi-
tion, India has busted a few
myths. Cannot produce fast
bowlers? Remember Kapil
Dev striking Sadiq Mo-
hammed’s helmet in Pakistan
in 1978.
Inferior in verbal duels?
How about when Australia’s
Mike Whitney threatened to
knock down Ravi Shastri, the
latter quipped: “If you were so
good, you wouldn’t be the
bloody twelfth man.” Scared
of fast bowling? Recall Mo-
hinder Amarnath coming
back with a bloodied jaw and
hooking the first ball in the
West Indies in 1983.
Be it the sheer miracles that
Tendulkar uncorked in his
prime or the irreverence that
Virender Sehwag reserved for
the best of bowlers, the rous-
ing tales of Indian cricketers
cannot be compressed into a
few words.
The collective self-esteem
that permeates Indian cricket
today and the widening demo-
graphic profile with players
emerging from far and wide —
Ranchi’s M.S. Dhoni being the
most glittering example — are
are among heartening factors.
As skipper, Virat Kohli has
to build on the edifice be-
queathed to him by many
predecessors ranging from
the great M.A.K. Pataudi to the
charismatic Dhoni.
It has been a good ride so far
but the road ahead is long and
a young squad has promises to
keep.
pecially after he took a med-
ical time-out after five games.
He was particularly charged
up in the eighth game as he ral-
lied briskly to force two break-
points. Lopez saved those em-
phatically, but Ramkumar had
a fortuitous point as his slice
clipped the net-cord to set up a
third break-point.
Time at the crease
was important:
Latham
NEW DELHI: Tom Latham came
good in his maiden ap-
pearance in India.
Whether facing pace or
spin, the young opening bats-
man showed tremendous
sense of purpose given the
motive with which New Zeal-
and took the field against
Mumbai in the one-of warm-
up match ahead of the Test
series.
During his impressive
knock of 55, Latham expec-
tedly punished the pace bowl-
ers with some splendid drives.
“The ball wasn’t necessarily
turning that big. Now, using
the feet, coming down the
wicket and to go over, was
good method,” said the
opener, explaining his game-
plan against the turning ball.
He said the New Zealand
batsmen wanted to spend time
in the middle after being asked
to bat. “I think most of the guys
spent enough time at the
crease; so that will put them in
good stead for the next few
days.”
On batting in the morning
session, on a fresh wicket,
Latham said, “There was a
little bit of swing early on and
the odd one nipped back a
little bit.
“We have been here for
three days and probably
haven’t adapted to the heat
quite yet, but another day out
in the park would help to accli-
matise quickly.” — Special
Correspondent
Ramkumar won the break
after a rally on the next point
to bring the crowd alive.
Ramkumar then did excep-
tionally well to close out the
set in the following game.
The home team’s upswing
did not continue, though, as
Lopez — struggling a bit with
the humidity — put his game
together to race away with the
first three games of the fourth
Was it the wrist or was it the tummy?
Uthra Ganesan
NEW DELHI: The R.K. Khanna
Stadium, better known as the Delhi
Lawn Tennis Association Complex
here, that mostly stays empty
barring a few tennis enthusiasts,
was not just packed to capacity at
the Centre Court here on Friday but
had huge snaking lines outside its
gates with people standing in the
aisles and sitting on stairs.
All for one man — Rafael Nadal.
Ever since it was announced that
Nadal would accompany the
Spanish Davis Cup team here for
the tie against India, the buzz had
been all about the former World No.
1.
Since he landed in the City a
week ago, the tie itself had been all
about watching Nadal play.
But the crowds were left
disappointed after Nadal pulled out
of the first singles match of Spain’s
Davis Cup tie against India,
replaced by World No. 26 Feliciano
Lopez for the match against
Ramkumar Ramanathan.
GENERAL
Narsingh case
referred to CBI
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The Narsingh Yadav
saga refuses to die down. After
being handed a ban for four
years by the Court of Arbitra-
tion for Sport (CAS) on appeal,
Narsingh’s case has now been
referred to the CBI for further
enquiry.
Both Narsingh and the
Wrestling Federation of India
(WFI) have insisted that there
is a conspiracy against the
wrestler, which resulted in his
positive test for prohibited
substances. However, while he
was acquitted by the National
Anti-Doping Agency, the CAS
banned him on appeal from the
WADA.
“The WFI president had
sought a CBI enquiry into the
matter at a meeting with the
Prime Minister on his return
BADMINTON
Sourabh Varma advances
LEUVEN (BELGIUM): Indian shut-
tler Sourabh Varma reached
the quarterfinals of the Bel-
gian International Challenge
after eking out a 21-19, 16-21,
21-15 win over France’s Lucas
Claerbout here on Thursday.
However, Rahul Yadav
Chittaboina and Rituparna
Das sufered defeats in the
second round. While Rahul
squandered an opening
A partnership ends
The Ballon d’Or deal between France football and FIFA
has ended, the French publication and world football’s
governing body announced on Friday. The next
recipient will be determined by a vote of journalists.
Players and managers will no longer have a say.
set, dropping two points in all.
That took the sting away
from Ramkumar’s challenge,
and he managed to win only a
token game after that, surviv-
ing a break-point in the fourth
game.
Myneni had his moments
when he made Ferrer scamper
around the court, but could
not sustain those spells for
long; Ferrer was just too good.
The multiple-Grand Slam
champion, who has repeatedly
spoken about respect for the
opposition in the one week he has
been here, finally decided not to
play.
Contrasting versions
The reasons, though, differed
with contrasting versions coming
from the Spanish camp.
There were rumours of Nadal
being down with a stomach bug
but Lopez refuted it.
“He is ok, nothing wrong with
his stomach.
“It is his wrist, it is getting
better but is still painful. I think he
just did not want to take any risk,”
Lopez clarified, claiming that the
team knew through the week that
Nadal was doubtful for the opening
match and even on Thursday night
the team had talked about Lopez
playing instead.
But non-playing captain
Conchita Martinez insisted it was
the stomach that was the problem.
“The wrist issue has been there
from Rio. The matter has now
been referred to the CBI,” the
federation confirmed on
Friday.
Narsingh had already filed a
criminal complaint against a
couple of junior wrestlers for
adulteration of his food before
leaving for Rio, but there had
been little development in the
matter since then.
Narsingh had gone to the Rio
Olympics after getting clear-
ance from the international
wrestling federation but could
not participate after the CAS
order came hours before his
bout.
The CAS order efectively
rules Narsingh out of the
Tokyo Olympics as well, end-
ing his career, unless there is an
appeal against the ruling with
further evidence to back Nars-
ingh’s claims of adulteration.
game advantage and went
down 21-19, 15-21, 15-21 to Sam
Parsons of England, Ritu-
parna lost 20-22, 11-21 to
Malaysia’s Soniia Su Ya
Cheah.
In men’s doubles, it will be
an all-Indian clash in the
quarterfinals with Vighnesh
Devlekar and Rohan Kapoor
taking on M.R. Arjun and
Ramchandran Shlok. — PTI
| 19
It was quality tennis, never
mind the fact that the 14-time
Grand Slam champion did not
take the court, as the home
team did its best to make sure
it was not entirely one-sided.
The result:
India trails Spain 0-2 [Ramkumar
Ramanathan lost to Feliciano Lopez
6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; Saketh Myneni lost
to David Ferrer 6-1, 6-2, 6-1].
for a while now. Today after lunch
he felt a stomach ache and so did
not want to risk playing. Definitely
it was a stomach issue,” she
claimed.
Lopez, in fact, had even claimed
that he was confident of Nadal
playing over the weekend.
For those present at the venue,
however, it was ‘Rafa’ who
mattered, on court or off it. So
much so that, at the beginning of
the first match, there were chants
of “We want Rafa” across the
stands.
That soon gave way for an
overwhelming support for
Ramkumar.
The chair umpire often had to
delay play and request silence,
reminding people to stay quiet
between rallies.
The crowd though did manage to
get its fill of Nadal — the Spaniard
joined his team courtside and
occasionally waved to his fans
across the stadium — and for most
people present, it was worth the
effort.
del Potro outlasts
Murray, puts
Argentina up
GLASGOW: Juan Martin del Po-
tro shocked World No. 2 Andy
Murray in five sets to get Ar-
gentina of to a winning start in
their Davis Cup World Group
semifinal against holders
Great Britain.
The 27-year-old, playing his
first Davis Cup singles rubber
in four years, sealed a 6-4, 5-7,
6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 victory in just
over five hours, following an
epic battle on the hard-court of
the Emirates Arena in
Glasgow.
The resurgent Del Potro had
to produce some of his best
tennis to defeat the Scot, who
missed his paternal grand-
father's funeral to play the rub-
ber, and gain some revenge for
his Olympic final defeat in Rio
de Janeiro last month.
In the other semifinal at Za-
dar, Richard Gasquet put vis-
itors France 1-0 up, beating
Croatia’s Borna Coric 6-2, 7-6
(5), 6-1.
Gasquet, 30, was drafted in
after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and
Gael Monfils pulled out with
knee injuries and the World
No. 17 made the most of the op-
portunity against the 19-year-
old Coric on Zadar’s indoor
hard courts.
The results: Semifinals:
At Glasgow: Great Britain trails
Argentina 0-1 [Andy Murray lost to
Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 5-7, 6-7
(5), 6-3, 6-4].
At Zadar: Croatia trails France 0-1
[Borna Coric lost to Richard Gasquet
6-2, 7-6(5), 6-1]. — Agencies
BG-BG
20 | SPORT
BENGALURU

THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

India’s campaign
ends in last-eight
TEHRAN: India’s run at the FIBA
Asia Challenge came to an end
after a 47-77 defeat to host Iran
in the quarterfinal.
India stayed in contention in
the early stages, with the
higher-ranked Iran side taking
a manageable 38-31 lead at the
end of the first-half.
A horror start after the in-
terval, however, cost the
Indians dearly. Iran outscored
its rival by a whopping 26-2
margin in the third quarter,
and India had no way back.
Captain and in-form centre
Amritpal Singh (6 points) had
a disappointing outing, con-
verting only two of 14 field-
goal attempts. Amjyot Singh (7
points) was not much better,
converting two of 13 field-goal
attempts. The dependable
Vishesh Bhriguvanshi stood
out with 14 points.
Iran captain Hamed Hadadi,
the first player from his coun-
try to play in the NBA,
recorded a game-high 17
points.
In the previous edition, held
at Wuhan (China) in 2014, In-
dia had similarly exited in the
last-eight stage.
The result:
Quarterfinal: Iran 77 (Hamed
Hadadi 17, O. Sahakian 16, Yachkhali
15) bt India 47 (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi
14). — Sports Bureau
Nico Rosberg fastest in second practice
FORMULA ONE / Hamilton and Vettel
have an error-strewn session
S. DIPAK RAGAV
SINGAPORE: Mercedes’s Nico
Rosberg led from Ferrari’s
Kimi Raikkonen followed by
the two Red Bulls of Max Ver-
stappen and Daniel Ricciardo
in the second free practice ses-
sion here on Friday.
However, the outcome of
the qualifying simulations
done by teams was not truly
representative, as both Lewis
Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel
failed to do a good lap on their
respective simulation runs.
Hamilton made quite a few
mistakes on his ultrasoft tyre
runs and did not set a time on
the fastest tyre available this
weekend.
The reigning champion was
only seventh fastest behind
Vettel and the Force India’s
Nico Hulkenberg. Things
looked grim for the reigning
champion as he then had to
stop his run 25 minutes before
the end of the session due to a
hydraulic issue.
McLaren’s Fernando
Alonso was ninth quickest,
sandwiched between the Toro
PRETTIER AT NIGHT: Nico Rosberg drives through the picturesque Marina Bay Street Circuit. — PHOTO: LARS BARON/GETTY IMAGES Rossos of Carlos Sainz in
eighth and Daniil Kvyat in
tenth with the other Force In-
dia of Sergio Perez 11th.
Force India, which is locked
in a close battle with Williams
for the fourth place in the con-
structors championship, will
be pleased to have both its
drivers ahead of the Williams,
which could only post the 14th
and 15th fastest times with Fe-
lipe Massa ahead of Valtteri
Bottas.
Earlier, in the first practice
session held on Friday eve-
ning, Verstappen led team-
mate Red Bull’s Ricciardo.
Vettel was third quickest
ahead of the Mercedes’s
Hamilton and Rosberg with
Raikkonen rounding of the
top six.
The German, towards the
end of the session, hit the bar-
rier at turn 18, breaking his
front wing. While Hamilton’s
time was six-tenths slower
than Verstappen’s, both the
Mercedes’s time were set on
the soft tyres, the hardest
available compound this
weekend while the Red Bulls
and Ferraris set their times on
the quicker ultrasoft tyres.
Australia-A piles
up a big lead
BRISBANE: India-A bowlers
frittered away the initial ad-
vantage as Australia-A’s
middle-order put on a collect-
ive performance to help it
reach a healthy 319 for five at
stumps on the second day of
the second ‘Test’ here on
Friday.
After dismissing India-A at
the overnight score of 169,
Australia-A was reduced to 11
for two within the first five
overs, but Hilton Cartwright
batted responsibly to remain
unbeaten on 99 (14x4, 1x6) as
the home team cruised to a
150-run lead by the end of the
day’s play.
He added 152 runs in 43.2
overs for the fourth wicket
with Beau Webster (79, 9x4).
Nic Maddinson (81, 12x4, 2x6)
also looked good for three-fig-
ure scores before he was dis-
missed. Shardul Thakur has
taken three wickets so far.
The scores: India-A 169 in 66.4
overs (Hardik Pandya 79, Kane
Richardson four for 37) vs. Aus-
tralia-A 319 for five in 91 overs (Hilton
Cartwright 99 batting, Beau Webster
79, Nic Maddinson 81, Shardul
Thakur three for 71). — PTI
Sai Vishesh
in lead
KOLKATA: C. Sai Vishesh of

Behind the voice in the driver’s ear CRICKET Tamil Nadu settled for a draw
with Asian blitz silver med-

Talking shop with Mark Slade, race engineer to the greats
S. DIPAK RAGAV
SINGAPORE: Pit-to-car radios
were introduced in the 1980s,
but it was only after the turn of
the century that the messages
were made available for
broadcast. This gave Formula
One coverage a new edge, with
drivers cribbing, being sar-
castic and at times even dis-
missive of the instructions
given.
Jenson Button’s typically
dry British humour is often on
air, while the radio messages
of Kimi Raikkonen are part of
F1 folklore, like his famous rant
to his race engineer — “Leave
me alone. I know what I am do-
ing” — on route to winning the
Abu Dhabi race in 2012 for Lo-
tus. The team even made t-
shirts out of it.
As much as these conversa-
tions have enlivened broad-
casts, very little is known
about the men/women talking
to the driver. The Hindu sat
down with one of the most ex-
perienced race engineers in
the sport, Mark Slade, to dis-
cover what’s behind the voice
in the earpiece.
Slade has been in F1 25 years
and worked with the best —
Michael Schumacher (at Mer-
cedes), Mika Hakkinen,
Fernando Alonso (at
McLaren), and Raikkonen (at
McLaren and Lotus). He is
currently Chief Engineer at
Renault Sport Formula One
Team.
“The race engineer is ba-
sically the technical liaison be-
tween the factory design de-
partment and the driver and
the other engineers of the op-
erational team that runs the
car,” says Slade.
“The race engineer will pass
driver’s comments and results
of track running to the design
oice who can then adapt as
needed.”
One of the key requirements
of the job is being a jack of all
trades. “It is diicult for the
race engineer at times because
they haven’t driven the car,”
he says, “but at the same time
they have a good understand-
Mark Slade.
ing of the aerodynamic, me-
chanical performance of the
car. The person needs to have
a wide knowledge and a good
overall idea so that the special-
ists can then do their work.”
Race engineers and drivers
often strike up close relation-
ships. Alonso and Andrea
Stella, Felipe Massa and Rob
Smedley — both at Ferrari —
and even Slade and Raikkonen
are instances of successful
tight-knit partnerships. In the
case of the first two pairs, both
engineers even moved teams
with the drivers.
Is the engineer-driver rela-
tionship underpinned by a
strong personal bond? “I think
it varies,” says Slade. “Some
drivers have stronger relation-
ships depending on their
needs. But it is important to
communicate well and relate
to each other. He must under-
stand what the driver wants
but also explain to the driver
what the limitations are in a
constructive way.”
In recent times there has
been a growing cynicism
about the role of the driver and
his capabilities, with criticism
that drivers are coached by
their race engineers. This res-
ulted in a back-and-forth on
what could be said on the radio
until recently when it was de-
cided to free up communi-
cations once again.
No substitute for the driver
Can an engineer actually
coach a driver to victory? “In a
race environment, it is over-
stated,” says Slade.
“We can give info about
tyres and brakes and stuf like
if they are too hot or not. But it
still requires the driver to do
the right things and manage
the situations. So I don’t agree
when people say drivers are
not driving the cars anymore.
“You can’t coach a driver to
become great. We just guide
them.
“But at the end of the day, it
is the driver who has to filter
the information and get the be-
st out of the car.”
The one time race engineers
can make a significant con-
tribution is when guiding
young drivers. Slade says,
“With a young driver, you
have to make up for the lack of
experience.
“It is just a quicker way of
learning for the driver than to
make mistakes and learn from
it.
“For example, we can ex-
plain certain characteristics of
the tyres and how it is diferent
from the diferent types of
racing he has done previously
and why one way of driving
might not work.”
Telling the diference
Having worked with four
world champions, Slade is in-
credibly well-positioned to
analyse what separates the
good from the great.
“Individually, they had dif-
ferent traits,” he says. “For ex-
ample, Michael was very me-
thodical in his whole approach
while Mika had an incredible
talent and a natural flair for
driving the car.
“Kimi in my opinion was
one of the best test drivers I
have worked with in terms of
feedback, which is not what
some people think and
Fernando had incredible
determination.”
“But what set them apart is
the ability to deal with diicult
situations and deliver under
pressure.
“There are many drivers
who can drive quickly but to
maintain that level of perform-
ance through lots of diferent
circumstances and do it con-
sistently for a period is what
makes a great driver.”
‘Biopic doesn’t glorify me but shows my journey’
THROWING LIGHT: M.S. Dhoni at a press conference to promote
his biopic, in New York City on Thursday. — PHOTO: PTI
No ‘live’ telecast of
Ranji Trophy
VIJAY LOKAPALLY have little role to play since the
Board is in-charge of the
NEW DELHI: Once again domestic production. The broadcasters
cricket will take a hit, reairm- would struggle to find space
ing the belief that there are no for the Ranji Trophy, which
takers for the game if it is not does not attract any
of international flavour. sponsorship.
It is learnt that Ranji Trophy With two channels
matches, to be held at far flung dedicated to the home series,
venues, will not be telecast the broadcasters are commit-
‘live’ because the season is ted to promoting other sports
packed with international like hockey, kabaddi and
cricket. football.
India is scheduled to play 13 The broadcaster had faced
Tests at home against New the embarrassment of hiding
Zealand, England and Aus- empty stands at Ranji Trophy
tralia. The hectic itinerary matches until last year and this
leaves little space for domestic year’s decision should come as
cricket to find a slot on a relief to cameramen saddled
television. with the task of not showing
For sometime, one match empty seats.
per round was being shown This move would also hurt
live backed up by live stream- some former players contrac-
ing too. It will be missing from ted for commentary work. But
this season much to the disap- there is some encouraging
pointment of fans. news that the telecast may
The Board has been battling start with the quarterfinals.
to popularise domestic cricket Those connected with the de-
by taking it to neutral venues velopments are keeping their
at small centres. But the Na- fingers crossed.
tional championship will dis- It all depends on the Board
appear from the circuit if the which is presently locked in a
matches can’t be watched by dispute with the Justice Lodha
die-hard cricket fans. Committee on various admin-
The oicial broadcasters istration-related issues.
NEW YORK: He wanted the
biopic on him to show his jour-
ney, the inherent struggles in
“decision making processes”
rather than “glorify him” and
that’s precisely what Ma-
hendra Singh Dhoni told film’s
director Neeraj Pandey during
the conceptual phase of ‘MS
Dhoni — The Untold Story’
“It’s about the journey of a
professional sportsperson and
that’s what it should depict,
and that’s what I told Pandey,”
Dhoni said here during the
film’s promotional event.
Being a person who likes to
live in the present, it was “dii-
cult” for him to go back into his
TENNIS
Sriram & Vishnu win
NO STOPPING THEM: Sriram Balaji and Vishnu Vardhan went
down a break early in the match but came back strongly to
coast to the title. — PHOTO: M. VEDHAN
SPORTS REPORTER
CHENNAI: Sriram Balaji and
Vishnu Vardhan beat Kunal
Anand and Anvit Bendre 6-3,
6-4 to take the doubles title in
the $10,000 Justice P.S.
Kailasam MGC ITF Futures
tournament at the Powerpak
Tennis Academy on Friday.
The pair rallied from an
early break down to take the
first set.
They broke Bendre in the
third game of the second set,
life and narrate his story to
Pandey for the movie.
Dhoni also shared moments
from his cricketing life that
had a huge impact on him.
2007 WC loss, turning point
He said the World Cup loss
of 2007 and the ensuing reac-
tions against him and the team
had a big impact on him and to
some extent that experience
“was a big turning point in my
life.” He said in India when a
team loses a cricket match,
they are perceived as people
who “have committed a crime
or are murderers or terror-
ists.” — PTI
and volleyed well to clinch the
title.
The duo will face each other
in the singles final on Sat-
urday.
Sriram has made it to three
consecutive singles and
doubles finals in three weeks
now.
The results: Final: Sriram Balaji
& Vishnu Vardhan bt Kunal Anand &
Anvit Bendre 6-3, 6-4. Singles semi-
finals: Sriram Balaji bt Sanam Singh
6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4; Vishnu Vardhan bt
Vijay Sundar Prashanth 7-6(3), 6-3.
allist Mitrabha Guha to gather
nine points and maintain his
top position in the boys’ sec-
tion after the 10th and pen-
ultimate round of the 27th Na-
tional under-17 chess
championship here on Friday.
Mitrabha of West Bengal re-
tained his third position with
7.5 points. Venkataraman
Karthik outwitted Subhayan
Kundu to move into second
position with 8.5 points.
In the girls’ section, local fa-
vourite Arpita Mukherjee lost
her sole lead after being held
to a draw by Isha Sharma of
Karnataka.
Reigning National sub-ju-
nior champion Aakansha
Hagawane of Maharashtra de-
feated P. Saye Srreezza to join
Arpita in the joint lead on 8.5.
Sakshi Chitlange is third on
eight points. — Special
Correspondent
Ankita Raina
in doubles final
ZHUHAI (CHINA): Ankita Raina, in
partnership with Emily-Web-
ley Smith, made the doubles fi-
nal of the $50,000 ITF
women’s tennis tournament
here on Friday.
The Indo-British pair beat
Kamonwan Buayam of Thail-
and and Pei-Chi Lee of
Chinese Taipei 6-4, 0-6, 10-6 in
the semifinals. They will play
Chinese wildcards Hanyu Gu
and Xinyu Jiang in the final.
The results: $75,000 Chal-
lenger: Nanchang, China: Semi-
finals: Nicolas Barrientos (Col) &
Ruben Gonzales (Phi) bt Amir Wein-
traub (Isr) & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan
7-5, 2-6, [10-4].
$50,000 ITF women, Zhuhai,
China: Semifinals: Emily-Webley
Smith (GBR) & Ankita Raina bt Ka-
monwan Buayam (Tha) & Pei-Chi Lee
(Tpe) 6-4, 0-6, [10-5].
$10,000 ITF women, Sharm El
Sheikh: Pre-quarterfinals: Riya
Bhatia bt Melissa Morales (Gua) 6-4,
6-4; Giada Clerici (Ita) bt Sri Vaish-
navi Peddi Reddy 6-1, 6-4; Eetee Ma-
heta bt Minami Akiyama (Jpn) 2-6,
6-2, 7-5.
Zeel Desai bt Akshara Iska 6-1, 6-1;
Akilah James (Grn) bt Ramya Natara-
jan 6-3, 6-3. — Sports Bureau

VARIETY
THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11803 Xchequer FAITH SU | DO | KU
1 2 3 4 5 6 18 Bring together world body 8 They turn criminal in
7 8 providing base in Germany
(5)
recovering bonus (6,7)
13 Foundation collapsed, wise
The protector
22 Happened to remain on floor bird ditching rookie partner Koora Narayana Jeer sang 100 verses in praise of the Lord’s
9 10
(6) (9) discus –– Sudarsana. In one of the verses, he says that
Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Narayana entrust to Sudarsana
23 Fortunately delivered by 15 Withdrawing agent in control, their work of protecting the righteous and saving them from
11 12 nurse, very proficiently daughter interfered (8) the evil designs of the wicked.
13 self-possessed (8) 16 Well-known Mafia circles Having thus placed on Sudarsana’s shoulders the task of
24 Usual cap of senior comprising the Italian protection, the Divine couple are joyful, said V.S.
14 15 16
Karunakarachariar in a discourse.
commanders (8) resistance (8) There is a Puranic story which shows how Sudarsana
25 New at pole dancing, lose 19 More or less normal, ahead of fulfils this duty assigned to him by the Lord, so that the Lord
17 18 19
hold (6) schedule (6) and His Consort are without anxiety. During the Krishna
20 21 20 Shining example in tale we avatara, there was a man who pretended to be the Supreme
Down One incarnate. His name was Paundaraka Vasudeva. In order
22 23 joke about (5) to establish that he, and not Krishna, was the Supreme One,
1 Method to manage last of fire 21 Energy release in incident (5) Paundaraka Vasudeva made two hands and attached them to
and quench it (9) himself, trying to appear like a four handed one! He also had
24 25
2 Establishes hospital for female a Garuda made and would sit on this Garuda and be lifted by
dogs (6) Solution to puzzle 11802 his men, trying to give the impression that he too travelled
on Garuda. And yet, his supremacy remained
3 Conflicts from a short A I A P P F unacknowledged. A mind game and a
Across 11 Leading newspaper probed by expression in speech (5) S P UM E D S A L V A G E S
So he challenged Krishna to war. Krishna entrusted the job puzzle that you solve
P P M U U S W
7 Alien caught in severe American tax administration 4 Incites underworld F O R E L I MB G A T H E R of dealing with this impostor to Sudarsana. The discus with reasoning and
(5) characterizing fragile China R N T J U R R lopped of the head of the impostor. logic. Fill in the grid with
deviation (6) E T U D E Z E U G MA But the king of Kasi had been a friend of Paundaraka
12 Burn Master in Chancery (6) (8) digits in such a manner
8 Jack returns, reportedly to I C L M C Vasudeva and so he now sent an ogre to burn Krishna and
N O T A P R E T T Y S I G H T that every row, every
fetch bread (8) 14 Not disheartened, further 5 Reach no conclusion in Dwaraka. Krishna and Rukmini remained unperturbed, for
N R A M A column and every 3x3
9 Expression of gratitude from toilet trained smallest child mandate, refer back for C OMB A T C H I P S they knew that Sudarsana would take care of the ogre. box accommodates the
in family (4,2,3,6) further consideration (8) B H P T P O E Sudarsana chased the ogre, who ran back to the King of Kasi.
excited youth securing an F A R I N A T E A MWO R K The ogre killed the King, who had sent it on an impossible
digits 1 to 9, without
introduction to king (5,3) 17 Importance of mother before 6 School's duty around N V G E T L O mission and Sudarsana in turn burnt the ogre. Thus
repeating any. The
turning ten (6) C A M E L E E R S T E I N S solution to yesterday’s
10 Cheap rum in short (6) examination (5) L S S Y R E Sudarsana always fulfils his role of protector.
puzzle is at left.

CM BG-BG
YK

BENGALURU
THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
Ghosal in Macau
Open semifinal
MACAU: National champion
Saurav Ghosal, seeded second,
defeated compatriot Harinder
Pal Sandhu 11-9, 11-6, 3-11, 11-8
and entered the semifinals of
the Macau Open, a PSA world
tour event, here on Friday.
Ghosal will meet fourth-
seed Daryl Selby of England.
— Sports Bureau
Rich haul for
Indian cyclists
NEW DELHI: Indian cyclists im-
proved on their performances
from the previous edition of
the Track Asia Cup, finishing
second on the leaderboard
with a rich haul of eight
medals on the final day of the
competition at the Indira
Gandhi Complex velodrome
on Friday.
Favourite Deborah Herold
added another gold medal to
her kitty, this time in the Elite
Sprint with a timing of 12.493
against Hong Kong’s Zhoujuan
Meng (12.734). India’s Kezia
Varghese finished fourth. In-
dia finished second with a total
of 16 medals in the competi-
tion including five gold, four
silver and seven bronze. Hong
Kong finished on top with 18,
including 11 gold.
The junior cyclists too
continued to impress, with
Nayana Rajesh taking gold in
the junior women’s sprint.
The results: Women: Elite:
Sprint: Deborah Herold (IND,
12.493), Zhoujuan Meng (HK,
12.734), Farina Shawati (MAL,
12.342); Keirin: Zhoujuan Meng
(HK), Deborah Herold (IND), Kezia
Varghese (IND); Team Pursuit:
Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, India.
Junior: Nayana Rajesh (IND,
12.865), Anu Chutia (IND, 13.178), Hoi
Wah Leung (HK, 13.644).
Men: Elite: Sprint: Feng Shih
Kang (TPE, 11.309), Ali Askari (IRI,
11.412), Shih Hsin Hsiao (TPE,
11.684); Keirin: Shih Feng Kang
(TPE), Mohd. Daneshvar Khorram
(IRI), Ali Askari (IRI); Points race
(30km): Ka Yu Leung (HK), Chun
Wing Leung (HK), Yousif Alhammadi
(UAE).
Junior: Sprint: Chun Long Leung
(HK), Tsz Chun Law (HK), Sanuraj P.
Sanandaraj (IND); Keirin: Tsz Chun
Law (HK), Chun Long Leung (HK),
Emerson (IND); Points race (15km):
Iogan Shtein (KAZ), Dmitriy
Lessechko (KAZ), Semyon Sev-
astyanov (UZB). — Special
Correspondent
CM
YK
ON TARGET: Feyenoord’s Tonny Vilhena (right) punished a disjointed Manchester United in a
Group A Europa League match on Thursday. — PHOTO: AP
Vilhena’s winner spoils
Mourinho’s return
FOOTBALL / Second consecutive defeat for United
ROTTERDAM (NETHERLANDS): Jose
Mourinho’s reluctant return to
the Europa League ended in
embarrassment as Tonny Vil-
hena fired Feyenoord to a 1-0
win over Manchester United
in its Group ‘A’ opener on
Thursday.
For a man with a keen eye
for his position in the football
hierarchy, competing in the
Europa League for the first
time in 13 years was an unap-
petising prospect for Mour-
inho and his players seemed
equally uninspired as a much-
changed United line-up suc-
cumbed to Vilhena’s late strike
at De Kuip.
It was United’s second con-
secutive defeat after Sat-
urday’s painful loss to bitter
rival Manchester City in the
Premier League and Mourinho
will hope his decision to make
eight changes against Fey-
enoord is rewarded with a vic-
tory when it returns to
domestic action at Watford on
Sunday.
With Wayne Rooney rested
and only David de Gea, Paul
Pogba and Eric Bailly retained
from the side beaten by City, it
was little surprise to see
United deliver a disjointed
performance.
The results:
Group A : Feyenoord 1 (Vilhena
79) bt Manchester United 0; Zorya
Luhansk 1 (Grechyshkin 52) drew
with Fenerbahce 1 (Kjaer 90+5).
Group B: BSC Young Boys 0 lost
to Olympiakos 1 (Cambiasso 42);
APOEL 2 (Vinicius 75, de Camargo
87) bt Astana 1 (Maksimovic 45+1).
Group C: FSV Mainz 05 1 (Bungert
57) drew with Saint-Etienne 1 (Beric
88); Anderlecht 3 (Teodorczyk 14,
Rafael 41-og, Capel 77) bt Qabala 1
(Dabo 20).
Group D: AZ Alkmaar 1 (Stijn
Wuytens 61) drew with Dundalk 1
(Kilduff 89); Maccabi Tel-Aviv 3 (Me-
dunjanin 26, 70, Kjartansson 50) lost
to Zenit St. Petersburg 4 (Kokorin 77,
Mauricio 84, Giuliano 86, Djordjevic
90+2).
Group E: Astra Giurgiu 2 (Alibec
18, Sapunaru 74) lost to Austria Vi-
enna 3 (Holzhauser 16-pen, Friesen-
bichler 33, Alexander Gruenwald 58);
Viktoria Plzen 1 (Bakos 11) drew with
Roma 1 (Perotti 4-pen).
SPORT
Group F: Sassuolo 3 (Lirola 60,
Defrel 75, Politano 82) bt Athletic Bil-
bao 0; Rapid Vienna 3 (Schwab 51,
Joelinton 59, Colley 60-og) bt Genk 2
(Bailey 29, 90-pen).
Group G: Panathinaikos 1 (Berg 5)
lost to Ajax 2 (Traore 34, Riedewald
67); Standard Liege 1 (Dossevi 3)
drew with Celta Vigo 1 (Rossi 13).
Group H: Konyaspor 0 lost to
Shakhtar Donetsk 1 (Ferreyra 76);
Sporting Braga 1 (Andre Pinto 24)
drew with Gent 1 (Milicevic 6).
Group I: FC Salzburg 0 lost to FK
Krasnodar 1 (Joaozinho 37); Nice 0
lost to Schalke 1 (Baba Rahman 75).
Group J: Qarabag 2 (Michel 7,
Sadygov 90+4) drew with Liberec 2
(Sykora 1, Baros 68); PAOK 0 drew
with Fiorentina 0.
Group K: Inter Milan 0 lost to
Hapoel Be’er Sheva 2 (Miguel Vitor
54, Buzaglo 69); Southampton 3
(Austin 5-pen, 27, Rodriguez 90+2)
bt Sparta Prague 0.
Group L: Osmanlispor 2 (Diabate
64-pen, Umar 74) bt Steaua
Bucharest 0; Villarreal 2 (Pato 28,
Jonathan dos Santos 45+1) bt FC
Zurich 1 (Sadiku 2). — AFP
Manchester City is the team to beat
LONDON: The Premier League
season is only four games old,
but ahead of Saturday’s home
game with Bournemouth, Pep
Guardiola’s Manchester City
already appears the team to
beat.
Last weekend’s impressive
2-1 derby win at Manchester
United left City with the only
100 per cent record in the divi-
sion and it followed it up with
a classy 4-0 Champions
League victory over Borussia
Moenchengladbach.
Sergio Aguero was City’s
match-winner against Glad-
bach with a hat-trick —his
second in the Champions
League this season —but he is
BENGALURU ROUND-UP
Arbin stars in
Meghalaya’s win
Arbin Singh took four wickets
as Meghalaya defeated
Manipur by four wickets in
the Associates and Ailiate
under-19 tournament here.
The scores:
Nagaland 177 for nine in 50 overs
(Sedezhalie Rupero 61) lost to Bihar
97 for three in 29 overs (Anmol
Bony 37 n.o.) (VJD method).
Manipur 103 in 30.1 overs (Arbin
Singh four for 20) lost to Meghalaya
Teenager Haseeb
in England squad
NOTTINGHAM: Teenage opener
Haseeb Hameed was included
in the England Test squad an-
nounced on Friday for the tour
of Bangladesh.
The 19-year-old Lancashire
star was included ollowing the
decision of current England
opener Alex Hales to rule him-
self out of the tour on security
grounds.
The squads :
Tests : Alastair Cook (Captain),
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Zafar
Ansari, Jonny Bairstow, Gary Bal-
lance, Gareth Batty, Stuart Broad, Jos
Buttler, Ben Duckett, Steven Finn,
Haseeb Hameed, Adil Rashid, Joe
Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes,
Mark Wood. ODIs : Buttler (Captain),
Moeen, Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam
Billings, Liam Dawson, Duckett, Liam
Plunkett, Rashid, Jason Roy, Stokes,
James Vince, David Willey, Woakes,
Wood. — AFP
앫 Sergio Aguero suspended
for Bournemouth game
앫 Bournemouth registered
its first win last weekend
suspended for Bournemouth’s
visit. Kelechi Iheanacho, a
goal-scoring replacement for
Aguero against Gladbach, is
expected to take the Argen-
tine’s place at the tip of the
attack.
David Silva is due to miss
out after sitting out the Glad-
bach game with an unspecified
minor injury.
Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth
registered its first win of the
104 for six in 33.2 overs (B.B.
Dasgupta 48 n.o., Alfred Hmar three
for 21.
On Thursday: Arunachal Pradesh
96 in 42 overs (Sonu Patel three for
six) lost to Bihar 99 for one in 18.1
overs (Tripuari Keshav 31 n.o., Sonu
Kumar Gupta 36).
Meghalaya 203 in 50 overs (B.B.
Dasgupta 29, Rohit Shah 46, Anish
Gharak 34, Lakhan Singh 33, Dinesh
Dhobi three for 33) bt Sikkim 62 in
17 overs (Mukesh seven for 10).
HYSA edges out ASC
HYSA edged out ASC 18-25,
The Launch
KSCA president Ashok Anand (second from left), Robin Uthappa (third from right),
with other players at the unveiling of the Karbonn Karnataka Premier League Trophy
in Hubballi on Friday.
campaign last weekend by
edging West Bromwich Al-
bion 1-0.
Guardiola lost only four
home league games in his
three seasons at Bayern Mu-
nich and while Howe is plot-
ting how to outwit him.
United captain Wayne
Rooney and full-backs Anto-
nio Valencia and Luke Shaw
were left out of the mid-week
trip to the Netherlands with a
view to Sunday’s game at Vic-
arage Road.
Defending champion
Leicester City should have a
spring in its step again when it
welcomes Burnley to the King
Power Stadium on Saturday.
25-18, 25-23, 28-30, 15-12 in a
closely fought State A-
division volleyball
championship here on Friday.
The results: HYSA bt ASC 18-25,
25-18, 25-23, 28-30, 15-12; BSF bt
DYES 25-20, 27-29, 25-21, 29-27;
KSP bt BSF 25-18, 25-16, 27-29,
25-19.
Easy for YMMA
BENGALURU: YMMA easily
defeated Devanga Union 62-15
in the boys' section of the
State sub-junior (under-13)
basketball championship on
| 21
Tottenham Hotspur will not
approach Sunday’s visit of
winless Sunderland in quite
such a sunny mood after its
Champions League opener at
Wembley saw it beaten 2-1 by
Monaco.
But Arsenal, which visits
Hull City on Saturday, will
draw encouragement from
having rescued a 1-1 draw from
its mid-week trip to Paris
Saint-Germain despite being
outplayed for much of the
game.
Everton, third in the table
after Monday’s 3-0 win at Sun-
derland, welcomes Middles-
brough to Goodison Park on
Saturday. —AFP
Friday.
The results: VBC Mandya 43 (Tejas
Gowda 11) bt S.U. Bharath 37
(Karthik 12); YMMA 62 (Shiva 36) bt
Devanga Union 15; BCBC 32 (Yashas
12) bt CJC 8; Viveks SC 32 (Aayush
10) bt Pattabhiram SC 13; MCHS 41
(Vishak 17, Varun 13) bt
Vasanthnagar BC 16; Merchants
Davangere 33 (Amit 10) bt Orions
BC 6.
Girls: Rajmahal BC 17 (Aishwarya
10) bt MCHS 8; Beagles BC 33
(Trisha 13, Diya 12) bt VNSC 13;
Mounts Club 44 (Simran 16, Diya 10)
bt Creative BC 7.
BG-BG
22
| THE HINDU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
Japan to designate manga hotspots
People around the world can vote for the landmarks through a website
TOKYO: Eighty-eight places in
Japan are going to be desig-
nated “animation spots” to
encourage tourism using
train stations, school cam-
puses, rural shrines and
other fairly everyday places
where popular “manga”
characters are depicted.
Such landmarks number
in the tens of thousands, giv-
en the popularity and
volume of “manga” comics
In Japan. But this is being
Cassini to make
final observation
of Saturn
WASHINGTON: After studying
Saturn, its rings and moons
for more than 12 years, NA-
SA’s Cassini spacecraft has
entered the final year of its
epic voyage during which it
will make the closest-ever
observations of the planet.
The conclusion of the his-
toric scientific odyssey is
planned for September next
year.
Beginning November 30,
Cassini’s orbit will send the
spacecraft just past the outer
edge of the main rings. These
orbits, a series of 20, are
called the F-ring orbits.
Cassini will approach to
within 7,800 kilometres of
the centre of the narrow F-
ring, with its peculiar
braided structure, NASA sci-
entists said.
“During the F-ring orbits
we expect to see the rings,
along with the small moons
and other structures embed-
ded in them, as never be-
fore,” said Linda Spilker, Cas-
sini project scientist at
NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in California.
Cassini’s final phase,
called the Grand Finale, be-
gins in earnest in April next
year. A close flyby of Saturn’s
giant moon Titan will re-
shape the spacecraft’s orbit
so that it passes through the
gap between Saturn and the
rings, an unexplored space
only about 2,400 kilometres
wide. — PTI
CM
YK
A poster from the anime
series ‘Lucky Star’. — PHOTO: AP
billed as the oicial list for
any fan’s animation “pilgrim-
age,” as the places are known
as “seichi” or “sacred spots”.
People around the world
Girl sues parents for sharing
embarrassing childhood photos
VIENNA: An 18-year-old Aus-
trian girl has sued her par-
ents for posting pictures, in-
cluding “embarrassing”
images from her childhood,
on Facebook without her
consent.
According to Austrian
news website ‘The Local’, the
teenager said that her par-
ents had made her life mi-
serable as they have posted
500 pictures of her since
2009 on the social network-
ing site. The photos were
shared on Facebook with her
parents’ 700 friends. The
shared images include baby
pictures of her having her
nappy changed and potty-
training pictures.
“They knew no shame and
no limit and didn’t care
whether it was a picture of
me sitting on the toilet or ly-
ing naked in my cot — every
stage was photographed and
can vote on the landmarks
through a website set up in
several languages, including
English and Chinese.
“Japanese pop culture has
grown to rival American
Hollywood,” Tsugihiko
Kadokawa, chairman of
Kadokawa Corp. publisher
and film studio, one of the of-
ficials behind the efort, told
reporters on Friday. “Anima-
tion can change the times.”
The project highlights Ja-
Images include baby
pictures of her having
her nappy changed
and those of
potty-training
then made public,” the girl
was quoted as saying.
Despite her requests, they
have refused to delete the
photos, prompting her to sue
them, she said, adding that
her father believes that since
he had taken the photos he
had the right to publish the
images.
If it can be proven that the
images have violated her
rights to a personal life, then
her parents may lose the
case, noted Michael Rami,
the girl’s lawyer.
This is the first case of its
kind in Austria, but, based on
similar cases abroad, the
LIFE
BENGALURU
pan’s recent push to make
tourism a valuable boon for a
stagnant economy, as dy-
namic as the export of the
long-hailed Toyota cars and
Sony video-game machines.
Tourist numbers have
grown, under a “Cool Japan”
initiative, reaching 20 mil-
lion people last year five
years ahead of the govern-
ment’s goal, prompting oi-
cials to raise its 2020 target to
40 million tourists. — AP
girl’s parents may have to pay
some financial compensa-
tion for her pain and sufer-
ing, and will also be liable for
her legal costs, Mr. Rami
added.
The case will be heard in
November and, if the parents
lose, it could have repercus-
sions for Austrians who post
countless images of their
children on social media
without their consent, the re-
port said. Austrian privacy
laws concerning social
media are not as strict as
some other countries.
In France, anyone con-
victed of publishing and dis-
tributing images of another
person without their consent
can face up to one year in
prison and a fine of up to
45,000 euros.
This would apply to par-
ents publishing images of
their children too. — IANS
BG-BG