CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIMFP User: uddhav.
Edition: 1 Page: TOIMFP
Hygiene ratings
on hotel doors
R estaurants will soon ha-
ve to display hygiene rat-
ings on their doors and hire a
supervisor to ensure food qu-
ality and safety. Also, norms
have been introduced to che-
ck re-use of cooking oil. P 7
HC fines serial
litigant `5 lakh
T he Bombay HC has im-
posed Rs 5 lakh cost on a
serial litigant for misusing
the court's orders to genera-
te funds on a crowd funding
site to “fight corruption” in
ICSE schools. P 3
Swimming coach
booked for rape
G oa cops have booked mu-
ltiple medallist at Asian
level Surajit Ganguly for alle-
gedly raping and molesting a
15-year-old swimmer. Gangu-
ly, fired as Goa’s swimming
coach, is on the run. P 18
2 AI pilots skip
alcohol test
T he licences of two Air In-
dia captains operating a
Haj charter from Ahmed-
abad to Medina have been su-
spended for skipping the pre-
flight breathanalyser test. P7
IL&FS case: ED
quizzes Raj aide
T he ED on Thursday ques-
tioned ex-MLA and Raj
Thackeray aide Nitin Sarde-
sai in the IL&FS scam. It has
already quizzed the MNS bo-
ss and ex-CM Manohar Josh-
i’s son Unmesh in the case. P 3
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GADKARI BACKS LOWER GST ON
BS6 & HYBRID VEHICLES, HINTS
AT EXPORT SOPS FOR AUTO COS 15
PC loses bid to avoid Tihar,
to be kept there till Sept 19
Will Be Housed In
Jail 7, Can Take
Meds, Spectacles
Aamir.Khan2@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: In a setback to fo-
rmer finance minister P Chi-
dambaram, a special CBI cou-
rt on Thursday sent him to Ti-
har Jail in judicial custody ti-
ll September 19 in the INX Me-
dia corruption case.
FULL COVERAGE: P 11
“The allegations against
the accused were found serio-
us. Therefore, he was reman-
ded in police custody. The inv-
estigation is still in progress.
The CBI has apprehension th-
at because of his status and
Noted writer
Kiran Nagarkar
dies aged 77
C elebrated bilingual wri-
ter Kiran Nagarkar pas-
sed away in a south Mumbai
hospital on Th-
ursday. He was
77 and had suf-
fered a brain
haemorrhage
earlier this we-
ek. His debut novel, Saat Sak-
kam Trechaalis, in Marathi,
was hailed as a genre brea-
ker. His English epics Cuck-
old and the Ravan and Eddie
trilogy marked him out as
one of India’s finest writers
in English. Last year, he was
named in the #MeToo mov-
ement, a charge he vehe-
mently denied. P 2
00:03 Color: C
Former FM P Chidambaram being taken to Tihar jail. The court
accepted his request for a separate cell with a western-style toilet
position, the investigation
may be hampered by the accu-
sed. It is not a case where the
accused can be ‘released’ at
the stage of considering his
extension of remand,” speci-
al CBI judge Ajay Kumar Ku-
MSRTC to get 49-floor
HQ in Mumbai Central
Somit.Sen@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: In another grandio-
se plan before the state assem-
bly elections, Shiv Sena chief
Uddhav Thackeray on Thurs-
day performed the bhoomipu-
jan for a swanky 49-storey to-
wer that will house the MSRTC
headquarters. The building is
planned on prime land spread
over 1.8 hectare—at the existi-
ng state road transport corpo-
ration HQ and bus depot, next
to Mumbai Central railway
station. The construction cost
is estimated at Rs 468 crore.
Officials said that the cur-
rent MSRTC HQ building,
constructed in 1964-65, is in a
very bad shape and needs ur-
AAP GOVT REFUSES NOD
TO PROSECUTE KANHAIYA
IN SEDITION CASE 8
har said.
The judge allowed Chida-
mbaram to carry his glasses
and medicines to Jail 7, whe-
re he will be kept.
Continued on P 11
gent redevelopment. “We have
decided to revamp the premis-
es, with a modernised bus dep-
ot, workshop and a new buildi-
ng with 49 floors—the first eig-
ht will be for bus and car par-
king,” a senior official said.
The project is the brain-
child of transport minister Di-
wakar Raote. Speaking to the
media, he said: “I am confident
that several government de-
partments will also shift to the
building once it comes up. The
area is close to a proposed Met-
ro station, a Mono station and
a railway station. It will be ea-
sy for public to commute in or-
der to come here in the future.”
‘Airport-like facilities’, P 4
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019 | PAGES 34
Anticipatory bail
hampers probe: SC
T he SC said white-collar
crimes were committed
with minute planning and
deliberate design and in such
cases, custodial interrogation
was needed and granting bail to
an accused before arrest would
hamper the probe. P 11
SC disapproves of HC
judge quoting note
T he SC disapproved of a Delhi
HC judge’s verbatim quoting
of the sealed envelope note
handed over by the CBI/ED in
his order. PC had alleged that
the judge did a copy-paste job
by relying blindly on the
“unsubstantiated” note. P 11
4 dead in Wed
downpour; light
rain forecast
F our people, including
two BMC labourers man-
ning a flooded area, died and
one boy went missing in a ri-
ver during Wednesday’s he-
avy rain that brought Mum-
bai to its knees. In a relief
the day after, Mumbai recor-
ded light showers on Thurs-
day. The Met department
has forecast only light to
moderate rains from Friday
to Sunday. BMC and police
said two of the persons died
due to heart attack in floo-
ded areas. About the mis-
sing boy, an official said he
and his friends had jumped
into an overflowing Vakola
river to swim. P 2
K
Y
M
INDIA’S LARGEST ENGLISH NEWSPAPER
100m above Moon,
Vikram to take final
call on landing spot
Chethan.Kumar
@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: Forty-seven days
after it left Earth, India’s
Chandrayaan-2 lander Vik-
ram will take a final decision
on the exact landing spot on
Moon when it would be 100m
above the lunar surface some-
time between 1.30am and
2.30am on Saturday. If everyt-
hing goes well, it will touch
down 78 seconds later.
Isro had chosen a primary
landing site and a secondary
one, now Vikram will appro-
ach the primary landing site,
which in turn has two landing
zones. “Vikram will be selec-
ting one of these landing zo-
nes at the primary site after
analysing data at that mo-
ment,” said an Isro scientist.
AP’s 74-yr-old is world’s
oldest ever to give birth
Samdani.MN@timesgroup.com
Guntur: A 74-year-old wom-
an from a village in East Go-
davari district of Andhra Pr-
adesh has become perhaps
the oldest mother ever. Mang-
ayamma gave birth to twin
girls via in vitro fertilisation
(IVF) at a private hospital in
Guntur on Thursday, 57 years
after she married her farmer
husband. A team of four doc-
tors performed a caesarean
section on her.
Mangayamma says not be-
aring a child had been a huge
burden that she carried. “Peo-
ple looked at me as if I had co-
mmitted a sin,” she told TOI.
“Neighbours would call me
LATE-NIGHT SHOW
A successful soft-landing
will make India the fourth
country after the US, Russia
and China to do so. Only 37%
of all Moon landing attempts
have been successful
The preferred landing site
is between two craters, Manzi-
nus and Simpelius, about
350km north of the south pole.
At a height of 100m, Vikram
will hover for a few seconds
before the final descent. “Wit-
hin each landing site, two lan-
ding zones are identified of si-
ze 500m x 500m which are sep-
arated by about 1.6km,” reads
an Isro planning document.
Rover after 4 hrs, P 10
Mangayamma was
taunted as barren
for years; (above) her twin girls
‘godralu’ (childless woman).
But my husband stood by me
like a rock.” she said. “We are
the happiest couple on earth.
We have our own children,”
new dad Y S Rajarao said.
Success in 1st cycle, P 10
Modi raises
Naik extradition
with Mahathir
P M Narendra Modi raised
the issue of radical prea-
cher Zakir Naik during a
meeting with his Malaysian
counterpart Mahathir Moh-
amad on the sidelines of the
Eastern Economic Forum in
Russia’s Vladivostok on Thu-
rsday. Calling it a key issue,
foreign secretary Vijay Gok-
hale said officials from the
two sides will stay in contact
on Naik’s extradition. P 7
PM gives $1bn
line of credit to
Russia Far East
P M Modi on Thursday an-
nounced an “unprecede-
nted” $1billion line of credit
for Russia’s resource-rich
Far East. Describing it as an
“unique case”, he said it “is
our launching pad” in the re-
gion. Meanwhile, the UAE’s
foreign minister, who is visi-
ting Pakistan, on Thursday
said Kashmir was not an iss-
ue that concerned the Musl-
im community. P 9 & 10
Mehbooba’s
daughter can
meet her: SC
T he Supreme Court has
permitted former J&K
CM Mehbooba Mufti’s dau-
ghter Iltija to travel to Srin-
agar to meet her mother, un-
der house arrest since Aug-
ust 5 after Article 370 was
defanged. The SC also said
Iltija, who is in Chennai, co-
uld move around Srinagar
provided she had the requi-
site permission from the di-
strict authorities. P 9
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Y
M

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BMC plans holding ponds to drain Mithi Wet Wednesday claims

Scouts For
Open Land To
four lives, one missing
RESTORATION OF MANGROVES A MUST: PANEL
Bamandaya Pada
15 m,
At origin

Vijay V Singh & V Narayan TNN

Curb Flooding MITHI RIVER

Clara.Lewis@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: The Brihanmum-
bai Municipal Corporation
(BMC) is scouting for open
land along the Mithi river to
create holding ponds.
Holding ponds were part of
the recommendations of the
Madhav Chitale Committee
that looked into the reasons
for the 2005 floods and sugges-
ted mitigation measures.
This monsoon, the over-
flow of the Mithi river has
wreaked havoc three times
over the last three months,
bringing the city to its knees.
The overflowing river led to
flooding in various parts of
the city on Wednesday and, co-
upled with high tide, brought
the harbour line, CR main line
as well as the WR to a halt. The
river led to the evacuation of
500 residents of Kranti Nagar
in Kurla and 900 other locals
from Bamandaya Pada near
Marol in Andheri (East) by fi-
re brigade and NDRF person-
nel.
“We have submitted a pro-
posal for the construction of
holding ponds along the river
so that when it overflows, the-
se ponds serve as reservoirs
into which the excess water
can flow and thereby prevent
flooding,” said a civic engine-
er. The choice of location wo-
uld depend on the slope so that
water flows easily into the
ponds and whether it will be
temporary or permanent. “If
permanent, then the BMC will
need to ensure that it owns the
land,” the official said.
Professor Kapil Gupta of
the department of civil engi-
neering, Indian Institute of
Technology, Bombay, who was
part of the BMC committee for
implementation of mitigation
measures, said that post the
2005 floods, a pond had been
developed along the Jogesh-
wari-Vikhroli Link Road.
Mumbai: Four people, in-
Kranti cluding two BMC labourers,
Nagar died on Wednesday and one
went missing in a river. BMC
and police officers said that
200 m, two of the persons died due to
100 m, At mouth
At BKC heart attack in a flooded area.
(Mahim Bay) The first death was of Mo-
hammed Shaikh (24), a resi-
RIVER’S DEPTH dent of Bandra (east). He was
WIDTH 20-30 m
walking towards Kurla along
with two friends when,
EVACUATIONS around 3.45pm, he suddenly
Thrice this monsoon, removed his shirt and jump-
residents of Kranti Nagar ed into an overflowing Mithi
in Bandra had to be river. Around 4.30pm, the
evacuated because of BKC police received a call Heavy downpour for six hours paralysed the city on Wednesday
Mithi being in spate from the control room about
the incident. “Shaikh’s moth-
Recommendations
hRestore degraded ecosystem and hUpgrade sewage and Dates | July 2, Aug 3, Sept 3
er, citing a superstitious rea- IMD withdraws CR local services
rivers and river banks rejuvenate coastal zones sewage treatment plants Twice, residents of
of Madhav Chitale to initiate recovery of hImprove municipal Protect and improve Bamandaya Pada in Andheri
son, said he had started act-
ing in a strange manner
‘orange’ alert resume after 16hrs
Committee, set up urban ecosystem solid waste Sanjay Gandhi National were evacuated
after 2005 floods hRestore mangrove management Park Dates | July 2, Sept 3
about 15 days ago,” said a po-
lice officer. Shaikh’s body
was fished out soon after the
A day after the city was
brought to its knees with
242.2mm of rain recorded in 24
A fter at least 16 hours of
being suspended, local
train services on Central
police and rescuers reached hours, there was some relief for Railway resumed early on
State awaits SC verdict before working on river the site.
One of Shaikh’s friends,
who was with him at the time
Mumbaikars on Thursday. The
‘orange’ alert issued by the IMD
of ‘heavy to very heavy rain at a
Thursday morning. The
services were delayed by more
than an hour on the Harbour
Clara.Lewis@timesgroup.com nal order,” said an MMRDA official. section, including industrial galas, the of the incident, told the po- few places’, was also line and more than 30 minutes
After the 2005 flood, the state appoint- river has not being widened for 200 lice, “We thought Shaikh withdrawn. Mumbai recorded on the Main line. The first train
Mumbai: The state government is await- ed Mithi River Development and Protec- metres near Kranti Nagar. Here, the knew swimming, but then we light showers all through on Harbour line pulled out
ing the verdict of the Supreme Court for tion Authority with the CM as chairper- width is around 50 metres. At Kismat Na- saw him drowning. Arshad Thursday. What may come as around 6 am and the first on the
improving the Mithi river system. The son. The committee's task was to prepare gar, BMC is yet to take a decision on the (the second friend) and I further relief to citizens, is that Main line started around 4 am.
river, which begins on account of over- a master plan, which it did, and submit- rehabilitation of 700-odd slum house- jumped into the water, but we there is no heavy rain warning At morning peak hour on
flow from Vihar and Powai lakes, winds ted it to the empowered committee head- holds. Here, the river is 60 metres wide for were unable to save Shaikh,” for the weekend — IMD has Thursday, services were
down 18 km before it reaches the Arabian ed by the state chief secretary for execu- a 200-metre stretch. But each time the wa- said Khan, the first friend. forecast light to moderate rains running late for about 30
Sea at Mahim Bay. Each monsoon, when tion. Following the master plan, work be- ter level in the river rises, it floods these In another incident, near from Friday to Sunday. While minutes. Outstation train
it rains heavily, the river overflows and gan on widening and deepening the river. areas. During the ongoing monsoon, Kalanagar, four boys jumped the required rain for services also resumed, said a
disrupts the city's road and rail transport The upstream was given to BMC while Kranti Nagar has been evacuated three into an overflowing Vakola September is 327mm, the IMD spokesperson. On Western
network. the downstream, flowing through BKC, times. river to swim. Three came observatory at Santacruz Railway, four trains were
“A panel appointed by SC, comprising was handed over to MMRDA for improve- Downstream, the river is yet to be dee- out, while one is still missing. recorded a total of over 500mm cancelled on Thursday and one
IIT-B, National Environmental Engi- ment. The stretch along the airport was pened near the mouth at Mahim Bay. “We Rescuers from the fire bri- of rain till Thursday. TNN for Friday. TNN
neering Research Institute and the state AAI’s responsibility. had proposed to use controlled blasting gade and the navy searched
environment department as convener, to While most sections of the river have as we had done in other places to remove for the missing youth till unconscious by others on the Ashok Mayekar (69), was
study the river has completed its study been widened and deepened, there are rocks and deepen the riverbed. This was Thursday evening, in vain. waterlogged road and taken found unconscious in a street
and submitted a report to the apex court. two sections in the upstream area—near objected to and the matter went before Finally, they informed the lo- to different hospitals, where near Hindmata at Dadar
The court had asked for views from the Kranti Nagar and Kismat Nagar in Kur- the National Green Tribunal. From there cal police and called off the they were declared dead on around midnight. Passersby
government, which too have been sub- la—where the river is yet to be widened. it went to SC, which ordered the entire search operation. arrival. BMC officials said rushed him to hospital,
mitted. The matter is now reserved for fi- Because of authorised structures in one river stretch to be studied,” said officials. In the third incident, two one of them died due to heart where he was declared dead.
BMC workers died while attack. BMC had deplored Bhoiwada police registered
The pond, he said, is part of ta had insisted that it be main- reduced its carrying capacity. they had not received any in- manning a flooded area in Go- 32,200 workers and officials an accidental death report
the 3 hectares that was given to tained as a natural pond. “A It needs to be cleared,” he said. formation from the BMC abo- regaon on Wednesday eve- across the city on Wednesday and denied foul play. The po-
the Mumbai Metro Rail Cor- part of the pond is being used BMC officials said that it ut a holding pond on the plot. ning. Vijayendra Bagdi (36) as a precautionary measure. lice said Mayekar had come to
poration Ltd (MMRCL) for its to store construction material was such a long time ago that A civic official said that a and Jagdish Parmar (54) were In the fourth incident, as meet a relative at Chinchpok-
casting yard. of the casting yard. While the they are unaware of any hol- decision on creating holding deployed to remove garbage train services stopped be- li. It is believed that he was on
At the time the BMC had pond has not been filled up, the ding pond along the Mithi ri- ponds will be taken by next blocking water-flow at differ- cause of heavy rain and roads his way to his relative’s place
proposed concretising it, Gup- construction material in it has ver. MMRCL officials too said month. ent points. They were found got flooded, a Thane resident, at the time of his death.

BMC, cops to
get tough on
illegal parking
Mumbai: The BMC and traffic
police will intensify action near
14 public parking lots that are not
being fully utilized by motorists,
and will focus on Borivli, Vikh-
roli and South Mumbai.
The decision was taken at a
meeting called by BMC chief
Praveen Pardeshi with BEST
and traffic police officials on
Thursday. It was also decided to
start a mini-bus from Kohinoor
parking lot in Dadar to Siddhivi-
nayak temple. BEST will also en-
courage school buses to park at
its depots after revising its rates.
Officials said the meeting was to
discuss ways to free up more ro-
ad space after stopping illegal
parking, which will help mini-
mize traffic congestion.
BMC had made areas, aro-
und 500m from its public par-
king lots, no-parking zones and
imposed hefty fines on violators.
It also made stretches on five ar-
terial roads no-parking zones. In
many areas, BMC is struggling
to get results due to lack of inter-
est among its staff and traffic po-
lice. At its 14 public parking lots,
there was not even 50% occupan-
cy, with people parking on roads.
BMC also has pay-and-park faci-
lities at various places and street
parking is permitted only where
roads are wide. —Vijay V Singh
Monorail doesn’t derail during After state’s school mess-up, principals
rain, gets its moment of glory say declaring holiday best left to them
Chittaranjan.Tembhekar
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: Mired in controver-
sies for years, the 20km mono-
rail, which runs from Jacob
Circle near Mahalaxmi to
Chembur, finally came to the
rescue of Mumbaikars on
Wednesday. While the main
modes of transport ground to
a halt because of heavy rain,
monorail services continued
to operate because of the
route’s elevation, but with a ri-
der—overcrowding, like in a
suburban train, is to be strict-
ly avoided.
While commuters else-
where struggled, monorail
riders had a happy and com-
fortable experience. Overall,
almost 15,000 people used the
service on Wednesday, a mani-
fold increase from the trans-
port mode’s average daily ri-
dership. Revenue also zoomed:
MMRDA collected Rs 3.58 lakh
through ticket sale on Wednes-
day. “Monorail stood by us,”
said Sairaj Kadam, a Chem-
bur resident who works with a
real estate firm at Mahalaxmi.
But commuters also found
monorail’s limitation: it can-
not carry more than 560 pas-
sengers per rake, or 140 in each
of its four coaches, and thus
cannot be overcrowded like a
suburban train. If it’s over-
loaded, monorail stops.
Hiren Joshi and Prashun
Diwan, who boarded monorail
at Jacob Circle and Wadala, re-
spectively, to go to Chembur,
said they experienced panic
and noise among commuters
when their rake got stuck on
sharp turns towards Mysore
Colony, Bhakti Park and Wa-
dala. Diwan said that when the
motorman announced that
commuters shouldn’t panic
and make the rake maintain
its balance by not crowding to-
wards the door on one side,
More Metro services
help save the day
L ike the Monorail, the
Versova-Ghatkopar Metro
line was the only other mode of
public transport commuters
could avail of on a day of heavy
rain, thanks to its elevated
position. The Metro advanced
peak hour services to cater to
the rush of commuters
stranded in heavy rain. A
source said Metro ran peak-
hour services at a frequency of
3.5 minutes. TNN
commuters took time to settle
and calm down.
According to technical ex-
perts, monorail stalls in case
of overloading as through a
mechanism, power supply to
the rake is automatically cut.
Following that, the motorman
is supposed to issue a request
to passengers to reorganise
themselves in the coaches so
that their load is uniformly
balanced across the rake.
Once this formation is
achieved, power is restored
and the rake goes to the near-
est station, after which it is
sent for an inspection, as per
protocol.
Vinamrata.Borwankar
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: Principals in the
city feel the authority to de-
clare a day off for students
on a heavy rain day must
rest with them as they are
closest to ground realities.
On Wednesday, after the
education department an-
nounced schools to leave
children early, a lot of stu-
dents were stranded on
flooded roads for hours and
Thursday's holiday damp-
ened Teachers’ Day celebra-
tions for many.
As per the RTE Act,
classes I to V must have a
minimum of 200 working
days, or 800 hours, and class-
es VI to VIII 220 days, or 1,000
hours. The state’s second-
ary school code says that the
number of holidays cannot
exceed 76. Hence, schools of-
ten wait for the education
department’s instruction to
declare a day off. Recently,
school education minister
Ashish Shelar entrusted
district collectors with the
authority to ensure timely
communication with
schools.
Shelar tweeted around
Chaos and panic ensued on Wednesday after the school education
minister’s 10am tweet asking schools to send children home
10am on Wednesday, asking
schools to send children
home. However, what fol-
lowed was chaos and panic
as students in several
schools were stuck on flood-
ed roads in buses, and reac-
hed home hours later. “Even
before we could receive any
official communication,
parents had started asking
us when we would release
the children since they had
seen the tweet. We had no op-
tion but to send students
home in buses,” said the
principal of a south Mum-
bai school. “We could have
saved a lot of trouble and
panic if they had just stayed
in school until parents could
pick them up. We have ar-
rangements to host students
in school for at least a few
hours.”
Parents agree with the
principals. “I was stuck at
my workplace in south
Mumbai when I received a
message from my daugh-
ter’s school that the bus
would take her home. Reac-
hing Vile Parle was impossi-
ble for me, and my daughter
took nearly 1.5 hours for a
5km ride in the bus. It would
have been safer had my
child’s school announced a
day off earlier or kept her
back in school until we reac-
hed,” said Rajshri Guru, a
parent.
As a precaution, the edu-
cation department also an-
nounced a holiday on Thurs-
day, but it did not rain much.
This was a dampener for
Teachers’ Day celebrations,
though not at all schools.
“Students had practiced all
week for a cultural celebra-
tion and we didn’t want that
to be cancelled. So, we told
the students we would de-
cide in the morning. Since it
wasn’t raining much, we
went ahead with the plan
and students were in full at-
tendance,” said the princi-
pal of an ICSE school. “All of
us are connected on What-
sApp and can communicate
with parents within min-
utes in case we feel the need
to do so. We must be given
the authority to declare a ho-
liday instead of waiting for
instructions from the edu-
cation department,” he
said. The school, as a princi-
ple, doesn’t send students
home early, and did not do so
on Wednesday either, spar-
ing students a lot of inconve-
nience and perhaps risk.

Mumbaikar who redefined modernist writing, from the epic to the miniature
Vaibhav.Purandare
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: Eminent writer Kiran
Nagarkar, whose epic novel Cuck-
old and riotously funny Ravan
and Eddie trilogy count among
the most celebrated works of fic-
tion by an Indian writer in Eng-
lish, passed away late on Thurs-
day evening. Nagarkar (77) had
suffered a massive brain hae-
morrhage earlier this week, col-
lapsing at a friend’s place where
he had gone for Ganpati festiviti-
es, and had been admitted to Bom-
bay Hospital, his family told TOI.
A man deeply affected by alle-
gations of misdemeanour made
against him during the MeToo
movement in October-November
last year, Nagarkar told this corre-
spondent during my final conver-
sation with him last Saturday that
he had been labelled a “serial sex-
ual offender,” something that had
caused him intense personal dis-
tress. He had strenuously denied
all the allegations.
Born in 1942, Nagarkar was bi-
lingual: he wrote in English and
his mother tongue, Marathi. His
first novel, Saat Sakkam Trechaa-
lis or Seven Sixes Are Forty-
Three, published in 1974 just as In-
dira Gandhi was turning increa-
singly authoritarian as prime mi-
nister, is considered one of the
major landmarks of modern Ma-
rathi literature.
The book’s innovative idiom
and compellingly explosive style
astonished the pundits of Marat-
hi literature and marked him out
as a writer to look out for. He next
wrote in 1978 the play Bedtime Sto-
ry, a reinterpretation of the Ma-
habharata which explored the to-
pics of the Emergency (that had
just ended), the Cuban war and
the Vietnam crisis. But the state
theatre censor board ordered 78
RAVAN & EDDIE LOSE THEIR CREATOR
BOOKS WRITTEN
Saat Sakkam Trechaalis
(Marathi, 1974)
Ravan and Eddie (1994)
Cuckold (1997)
God’s Little Soldier (2006)
The Extras (Part 2 of Ravan
and Eddie trilogy) (2012)
Rest in Peace (Part 3 of trilogy)
(2015)
Jasoda (2018)
The Arsonist (2019)
cuts and fringe groups enforced
an illegal ban, ensuring the play
was finally staged for the first ti-
me only in 1995.
The 1994 novel Ravan and Ed-
hed his position as one of India’s
finest English writers, winning
accolades for the story-telling and
PLAYS for his brilliant portrayal of the ci-
ty of Mumbai. The subsequent
Bedtime Story two books in the Ravan and Eddie
(1978) trilogy, published in the new cen-
Kabirachey Kai tury (2012 and 2015), carried rea-
Karaichey (What do ders further along with the two bo-
we do with Kabir?) ys on their rollercoaster ride,
(Written after the throwing light at the same time on
Mumbai communal the craziness, contradictions, tra-
gedies and – for all that – the unen-
riots of 1992-1993)
ding charm of Mumbai, which he
SCREENPLAYS preferred to call “Bombay.”
Black Tulip Nagarkar’s masterpiece, ho-
(published wever, was Cuckold, the fictional
story of the husband of Mirabai,
2015-
which won him the Sahitya Aka-
2016) demi award for best novel for the
year 2000. Commenting on it, Dr
die, which tells the story of a Hin- Susan Daruvala of the University
du and a Christian boy whose fa- of Cambridge wrote that “No re-
milies live next door to each other cent book has the strength and
“but might as well have been inha- complexity of Cuckold” and that
biting separate worlds,” establis- Nagarkar had fashioned “a dazz-
ling narrative infused with multi-
ple layers of philosophical, histo-
rical and spiritual meaning,” all
in a “vivid, racy narrative voice.”
The novel won much praise also
from American writer and public
intellectual Gore Vidal, among
others.
In God’s Little Soldier (2006),
Nagarkar turned to the theme of
religious extremism, with the ra-
dical-minded protagonist ranged
against his ever-questioning brot-
her. This book, along with his ear-
lier ones, was acclaimed in Ger-
many after it was translated into
German, and Nagarkar’s popula-
rity in that country resulted in
him getting the Order of Merit,
Germany’s highest civilian hono-
ur, in 2012. His 2018 novel Jasoda,
which has a woman protagonist,
portrayed the struggle of the poor
in drought-hit, twenty-first centu-
ry India.
Nagarkar’s last book was ba-
sed on the questioning brother of
God’s Little Soldier, aptly named
Kabir, but Penguin Random Hou-
se cancelled its contract with the
writer in the wake of the MeToo
allegations, after which the book
was published by Juggernaut Bo-
oks in July this year. Asked by a
Twitter user why it had stepped in
to publish the book, Juggernaut
Books had replied, “Nagarkar is
one of our greatest writers and his
new novel speaks urgently to the
political and social climate in In-
dia today.”
Nagarkar’s seriousness and
serious irreverence, and his pen-
chant for constantly engaging
with political and social issues, of-
ten made him a target of criticism
for ideological hardliners, whet-
her on the left or the right.
He carried on undaunted ne-
vertheless, but the MeToo allega-
tions in 2018 had clearly had a ma-
jor impact.
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS
THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
Main accused
caught in `150cr
int’l calls racket
Mumbai: The Maharashtra
Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS),
probing an illegal telephone
exchange racket that involved
international calls and cau-
sed the Centre to lose crores,
arrested the main accused in
this case from Hyderabad.
With the arrest, the ATS has
estimated the loss to Rs 150
crore from the initial estimate
of Rs 37 crore.
ATS had arrested a gang of
seven on August 9, for running
the racket. It had been opera-
tional for six months and most
of the calls received were
from the Middle East. SIM
cards, phones, and other equ-
ipment worth Rs 38.4 lakh was
seized. The police learnt that
main accused, Rafique Bads-
hah, had fled the city. He was
then traced to Hyderabad. TNN
PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity
HC tells serial litigant to pay CISCE `5L
Board Asked To
File Extortion
FIR Against Him
Rosy.Sequeira@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: The Bombay high
court on Thursday imposed a
cost of Rs 5 lakh on a serial liti-
gant for misusing the court’s
orders to raise money on a
crowd-funding site to “fight
corruption” in schools affilia-
ted to the Council of Indian
School Certificate Examina-
tions board (CISCE).
A bench of Chief Justice
Pradeep Nandrajog and Justi-
ce Bharati Dangre also direc-
ted the board to file an FIR for
extortion against Dombivli re-
sident Sapan Shrivastava. Be-
ngaluru-based crowd funding
Edition: 1 Page: TOIMMUM1 User: sandeep.soni Time: 09-05-2019
h Sapan
EARLIER
BRUSHES
Shrivastava of
Dombivli
WITH claims to be
an RTI activist
LAW h Files PILs
against railways,
RBI, Sebi, hotels,
developers, others
h Out on bail after a
south Mumbai chemist
filed an FIR in 2017
for extortion
Aug 2017 | HC says he’s in the
‘habit of filing PILs one after other’
platform Milaap Social Ventu-
res India Private Limited has
been directed to block the page
put up by him seeking funds.
The order came on Shriv-
astava’s PIL to direct filing of
a criminal case against the bo-
TIMES CITY
July 4, 2019 | Plea to join
school under RTE nixed,
HC says he’s got enough
money to file PILs
July 19 | Ordered to do
public service after a PIL
on uniform for motormen
July 22 | Told to pay
`25,000 for ‘abusing the
process of law’
On Aug 1 | Asked to pay
`25,000 to Sebi for PIL
seeking unregulated
access to Sebi HQ where
a gate-pass is required
ard for cheating and conspira-
cy. He contended CISCE, whic-
h operates 2,200 schools across
India and 200 schools in Maha-
rashtra, hid the fact that it’s
not recognised by the HRD mi-
nistry “since last 50 years”. He
claimed he learnt through RTI
the Centre recognises only
CBSE and NIOS boards.
The judges pointed out th-
at though the RTI reply states
that since education falls und-
er the Concurrent List, boards
are also set up by states, he mo-
ved against CISCE without
checking with the states.
Senior advocate Raju Sub-
ramaniam explained that CI-
SCE is recognised by almost all
states and said Shrivastava had
“threatened” some schools. He
added that Shrivastava has be-
en crowd-funding by presen-
ting himself as “championing
the cause of education” and
putting up the court’s orders.
Shrivastava said “crowdfun-
ding was for a social cause”.
The judges saw it as “yet
another case of frivolous PIL
misusing the process of this
court” and decided “strict act-
23:41 Color: C
K
Y
M
ion is required to be taken aga-
inst the petitioner”. Dismiss-
ing the PIL, the judges direc-
ted Shrivastava to compensa-
te CISCE within four weeks
and asked the board to file an
FIR of extortion against him.
They also directed the high co-
urt registry not to entertain
any petition from him until he
files proof of the cost paid.
When Subramaniam said CI-
SCE would not like to accept
the amount, the judges said it
could donate it to a student
fund. Noting that Shrivasta-
va’s webpage is on Milaap,
they directed it to block it sin-
ce he is using it to generate
funds by misusing the orders
of this court. Milaap co-foun-
der Anoj Vishwanath said a
user had pointed out a discre-
pancy in Shrivastava’s peti-
tion in July, and it has been
blocked since then.
MNS leader quizzed
by ED in IL&FS case
VijayV.Singh@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: The Enforcement
Directorate (ED) questioned
MNS leader and former MLA
Nitin Sardesai for over six ho-
urs on Thursday in the In-
frastructure Leasing & Fi-
nancial Services
(IL&FS) money laun-
dering case. He is one
of the founding mem-
bers of the MNS and
a close confidante of
party chief Raj
Thackeray.
The ED is probing IL&FS
loans and investments in Ko-
hinoor CTNL, the company
constructing Dadar’s Kohino-
or Square towers.
Unmesh Joshi, son of for-
mer chief minister Manohar
Joshi, along with Matoshree
3
Realtors and another compa-
ny had formed a consortium --
Kohinoor Projects Pvt Ltd
(KPPL) -- through which they
had 51% stake in Kohinoor
CTNL, while the remaining
49% was with IL&FS.
Raj Thackeray, his busi-
ness partner Rajan Shi-
rodkar and Nitin Sarde-
sai were partners in Ma-
toshree Realtors along
with five others. The
company surrendered
its right in Kohinoor
CTNL in 2008 and got Rs 80
crore profit out of the deal.
The same year, IL&FS also ex-
ited Kohinoor CTNL, but ma-
de a loss. Raj held a 25% stake
in Matoshree Realtors and got
Rs 20 crore, while the rest was
divided among the remaining
partners.
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIMCL User: meeta.trivedi Time: 09-06-2019 00:11 Color: C
K
Y
M

4 TIMES CITY THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

Auto toots into Palghar station, driver held

Sandhya.Nair@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: In the second such case in a
month, an auto driver drove his three-
wheeler onto the platform at Palghar
railway station to help a senior citizen
who complained of uneasiness on Wed-
nesday. The driver, Pintu Srivastava
(34), was arrested and released on bail
on Thursday.
Last month, autorickshaw driver,
Sagar Gawad (34), was arrested for dri-
ving his vehicle onto the platform at Vi-
rar to help a pregnant woman get to ho-
spital. He, too, was arrested and relea-
sed on bail. On Wednesday afternoon,
Srivastava, who was waiting outside
Driver Pintu Srivastava rushed to help an
85-year-old passenger who was unwell
the station, drove onto platform No. 1af-
ter a vendor informed him about an 85-
year-old man complaining of uneasi-
ness on the platform.
Srivastava drove onto the platform,
picked up the senior citizen and drove
to a nearby hospital where he was ad-
mitted.
The elderly passenger, a resident of
Mumbai, was returning home after vi-
siting his ancestral home in Mastan for
the Ganesh festival.
As train services were hit due to he-
avy rains, the passenger who had been
standing on the platform for a few ho-
urs began feeling unwell. His family
members made him lie down on a
bench. The vendor reached out to Sri-
vastava and asked him to help the pas-
senger. Srivastava, who was first in the
queue waiting to ply passengers, drove
straight onto the platform. Station su-
perintendent, Milind Kirtikar, who le-
NEW GOVERNOR SWORN IN MIDC to pay
`8 crore today
arnt about the passenger, called a nurse
from the Emergency Medical Room
after NGT order
and the passenger was taken to the Navi Mumbai: National Gre-
Palghar rural hospital in the auto. en Tribunal’s order of stopping
While Palghar station does not have salaries of senior MIDC and
closed circuit television, passengers to- MPCB officers if compliance
ok photographs of the auto on the plat- wasn’t met by September 30 for
form. Based on the photos, the Palghar prolonged pollution by indu-
Railway Protection Force (RPF) regis- stries in Taloja and common ef-
tered a case under section 154 of the Ra- fluent treatment plant (CETP)
ilway Act for endangering the safety of resulted in prompt action.
persons travelling by Railway by rash MIDC will pay the deposit
or negligent act and under section 159 on Friday as ordered by NGT
for disobedience of drivers or conduc- on Tuesday for causing pollu-
tors to directions of a Railway servant. tion after MIDC took over Talo-
He was released on bail on Thursday. ja CETP’s operations on No-
vember 1, 2018. MIDC CEO P
Anbalagan told TOI, “We will

Airport-style facilities for Delay in travel pay the deposit tomorrow and
ensure discharge is as per gre-
en norms.” Around Rs 8 crore
reimbursement has to be paid, which includes
F ormer chief minister of Uttarakhand, Bhagat Singh Koshyari,
the fresh liability of MIDC of

bus passengers at new HQ

was sworn in as the governor of Maharashtra on Thursday. He
holds up probe replaced Vidyasagar Rao, whose five-year tenure ended on August
31. Chief Justice of the Bombay high court Pradeep Nandrajog
Rs 5 crore, along with Rs 3 crore
outstanding, out of the Rs 10

in flashing case administered the oath of office to Koshyari at a brief ceremony at

Somit.Sen@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: A Rs 468-crore pro-
ject to build a plush commer-
cial tower at the MSRTC’s pre-
sent HQ at Mumbai Central
was launched on Thursday.
State transport minister Di-
wakar Raote, the man behind
the move, spoke to the media
after the bhoomipujan.
His proposal calls for the
first eight floors of the new
building, which will cover a
carpet area of 1.23 lakh sq m,
to be used for parking and flo-
Raj Bhavan in the presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and
crore environmental fund to be
collected and deposited by Ta-
loja industries for causing da-
his cabinet colleagues. Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta read out the
V.Narayan@timesgroup.com mage due to discharge of toxic
SOME FEATURES OF THE warrant of appointment of Koshyari issued by the President of India.
effluents from the chemical
MSRTC’S SOBO TOWER PROPOSED BUILDING Mumbai: A 31-year-old actor-
Koshyari took the oath in Marathi. An RSS veteran, 77-year-old
Koshyari was general secretary of the Almora College student’s
hub. —Sanjay Banerjee
TO COST `468CR hA canteen on the
ground floor
social activist who had filed a
police complaint against an
union between 1961 and 1962. He was a lecturer at Raja Kamalakar
Inter College and also founder-managing editor of Parvat Purush, a
The existing building
at the Mumbai
hParking facilities
for MSRTC non-AC and
unidentified person for placing
video calls and flashing her, has
reportedly been told by the po-
weekly published from Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand since 1975. TNN
EC: Toll-free,
Central bus depot, AC buses, and cars on the
WhatsApp nos
Turkish duo held
near the Mumbai lice the probe is being delayed
first eight floors
Central station, will because it takes two years for
hMSRTC headquarters the money spent by officers on
be demolished to
make way for the
on floors 9-14 travel to be reimbursed. soon for polls
in city for 60 ATM
new one hFloors 15-49 will The actress approached the
be leased out to Versova police and lodged a Mumbai: Election Commis-
accommodate other state complaint on August 4. She sion of India on Thursday took
This is an
artist’s departments, as a revenue- said the accused continued to stock of Maharashtra’s prepa-

frauds in Assam
ors 9 to 14 to be earmarked for impression
earning opportunity for harass her despite the FIR. Se- redness for elections in a
of the new nior inspector Raghvendra month. Deputy election com-
MSRTC offices and a headqu- the MSRTC
building
arters for the bus corpora- Thakur said a team had been missioner Umesh Sinha held a
tion. Floors 15 to 49 will be gi- hThe plot will include a bus formed and the case will be meeting with the state election
ven on lease to various go- depot, a modernised solved soon. Ahmed.Ali@timesgroup.com office to review the situation
vernment departments. AC bus stop and The actress posted about and ensure the code of conduct
At present, MSRTC buses other amenities her ordeal on social media on Mumbai: Colaba police on is followed once is it announ-
do not have adequate space for passengers September 3. Talking to TOI, wednesday arrested two key ced. Officials said Sinha told
she said, “It’s been more than a members of a Turkish gang the office to co-ordinate with
We will fund all month and the police are just which installed skimming departments like excise and in-

Inter-city AC electric bus to hit

expenses, and plan sitting on it. He just video machines in ATM kiosks come-tax to report and stop acti-
to recover the `468 crore in called me again! And couple of and cloned debit and credit vities that violate the code.
my friends too. I went to the po- cards to steal money. Toll-free and WhatsApp
29 months, with Rs 16 crore
lice station on August 4 at 2am, While Colaba police are numbers should be rolled out
every month in rent by

state highways, first for nation

leasing out the higher floors
of the new building to other
state departments
An MSRTC spokesperson
for parking, so the planned
eight parking levels will be a
great advantage. A senior
MSRTC official said that whi-
le the architectural plan for
the new building was ready,
the developer/builder was yet
to be finalised.
An MSRTC spokesperson
said the project will be execu-
ted with funds from the state
transport corporation. “We
will fund all expenses, and in
the long run plan to recover
the Rs 468 crore in 29 months,”
he said, adding that the corpo-
ration hopes to earn Rs 16 cro-
re every month by leasing out
offices on higher floors.
Sources said that MSRTC
plans to transform its pas-
senger facilities to be at par
with those at T2 airport. “We
want to give passengers a sta-
te-of-the-art facility, so they
can have good experiences be-
fore boarding our buses,” an
official said.
Somit.Sen@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: The country’s first
inter-city electric air-conditio-
ned bus was launched at the
Mumbai Central ST bus depot
on Thursday. Shiv Sena chief
Uddhav Thackeray launched
the bus, days before the code of
conduct for the impending as-
sembly polls kicks in. The a 43-
seater buses, called ‘Shivai’,
will be operated by the state
transport body, MSRTC.
The state will procure 150
such e-buses that will link va-
rious cities in the state. Tho-
ugh the list of routes has not
been released, some of the bu-
ses will be deployed on the
Mumbai-Pune and Mumbai-
Nashik routes, said sources.
The fare for these buses is
lesser than that of the Shivne-
ri which charges around Rs 16,
said state transport minister
Diwakar Raote.
An official said the fare,
which is being fixed, will be
around Rs 14 for a kilometre.
The base fare is likely to be about Rs 14 per km
Set to run on lithium-ion
battery, the buses can run up
to 300 km with a single charge.
So, a bus can run on a single
charge from Mumbai to Pune,
for instance. The onus of ensu-
ring charging points along
highways will be that of the
contractor.
“These noiseless, environ-
ment friendly buses, the first
such inter-city buses for the
Sanjay Hadkar
country, are a big leap for
MSRTC which has been ply-
ing mainly diesel buses...,”
Thackeray said at the launch.
Each bus costs between Rs
1.5 crore and Rs 2 crore, said an
official, adding that the buses
were on “wet lease”. It means
the buses are owned and main-
tained by a third party, but will
be operated by MSRTC at no
capital cost.
spent 2 hours trying to file a
complaint, and to what end?I’m
on it, not just for my own safety,
but also of others who he may
be harassing.” She added that
she felt bad when the police offi-
cer told her that he has to pay
for his travel to Agra to trace ac-
cused from his own pocket.
She said that before, she had
tried to file an e-complaint on
the city police’s online portal.
“After trying for four hours, the
website failed to send me an
identity confirmation email. I
called 100, and was told that offi-
cials would come home to take
my complaint,” she said, add-
ing that she had to eventually
go to the police station.
Psychologist Nirali Bhatia
said flashing is an act of exhibi-
tionism — a non-violent form
of sexual assault. She added,
“These men could be carrying
hurt and anger towards wom-
en, so they find power in humil-
iating them, or, they could even
be sadists who find terrorising
arousing. Behind the screen,
anonymity makes them more
experimental, and allows them
to feel powerful as they believe
they can get away with it.”
trying to ascertain if the
Turkish duo, identified as
Abdul Halik Yurgan (42) and
Eurah Igdi (33), are involved
in any city cases, the Assam
cyber police say the arrested
accused are involved in over
60 such crimes in Assam and
Guwahati region.
Sources said the Assam
cyber police on Tuesday
contacted city police to alert
them about the presence of
the Turkish nationals in
Mumbai. “The Assam poli-
ce informed us their investi-
gation suggested the two
had taken shelter in Colaba,
but their mobile phones we-
re switched off. We studied
the suspects’ call records
and zeroed in on them,” said
inspector S Mohite.
Based on the photog-
raphs provided by the As-
sam police, the Colaba poli-
ce arrested the two from a
hotel in the area. During in-
terrogation, the two admit-
ted to being part of a larger
gang.
Police said the modus
operandi of the gang was to
enter unguarded ATM
Abdul Halik (left) & Eurah Igdi
kiosks and install skim-
ming machines along with a
secret camera. When unsu-
specting customers went to
withdraw money, the mag-
netic code would be copied
onto the skimming machine
and the camera would cap-
ture the passwords. The ac-
cused would use the data to
clone the debit/credit cards
and siphon off money.
Assam cyber police led
by inspector Rajib Borah on
Thursday arrived and took
transit remand of the duo
who will be produced in an
Assam court.
Assam police, who were
already on their trail, got
their first lead when the duo
struck at an ATM kiosk in
south Delhi and withdrew
Rs 11,000. After the customer
filed a complaint, CCTV
images were examined and
Assam police realized they
were the same suspects who
were on their radar. Howe-
ver, the duo fled to Mumbai.
for citizens to report such acti-
vity, the commission said. It di-
rected that a close watch be kept
on illegal sale of liquor, distri-
bution of cash and ferrying of
large amounts of money.
Meanwhile, retired IAS offi-
cer U P S Madan, who took char-
ge as state election commissio-
ner, replaced J S Saharia, who
completed his term. TNN
2 van drivers get
10 years’ RI for
raping KG student
Mumbai: A special court sen-
tenced two school van drivers to
10 years’ RI after convicting
them for raping a four-year-old
kindergarten student in 2016.
The duo was held guilty for sexu-
ally assualting a minor under
the Pocso Act. The conviction
and sentence were pronounced
by special Pocso Judge Madhuri
More last month, after holding
that prosecutor Jyoti Sawant
had produced adequate and co-
gent evidence to nail them. The
drivers are aged 61and 32. TNN

frat boy jokes, all of which may not be palatable.

High on Friendship
CINEMA OF THE WEEK
Chhichhore (Drama/Comedy) ★★★1/2
Cast: Shraddha Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput,
Varun Sharma, Tahir Raj Bhasin,
Naveen Polishetty, Prateik Babbar
Direction: Nitesh Tiwari
Duration: 2 hours 25 minutes
Language: Hindi (U/A)
■ Raghav, son of high-achieving parents, succumbs
to the pressure that comes with cut-throat entrance
exams. As he battles for life in a hospital, his parents
regroup with their friends after decades. Together,
this older generation goes on a nostalgia trip
reminiscing their college days, hoping their
bittersweet memories will help save a teenager, who
has lost all will to live.
called Anni by his college buddies, and Maya
(Shraddha Kapoor), a divorced couple, find
themselves in a desperate situation when their
teenaged son, Raghav attempts suicide. The
doctors indicate that he is critical, not just
However, there is no doubt that in its flashback mode
— packed with romance, comedy, a sporting READERS’ VERDICT
championship and some hard realities of hostel life
— Chhichhore soars. And when it zips back to the
present day, where the group has an unlikely
reunion, it is heartwarming to witness that their SAAHO classical music and hard rock at the
friendship has survived the test of time and distance. same time. The director took his
The arc of the screenplay, though, is mostly READERS’ RATING 2.5 audience for granted. I SANJAY
predictable and has a 3 Idiots hangover. And with a CRITIC’S RATING ★★1/2 Prabhas disappoints after Baahubali
lengthy runtime of almost two and a half hours, the
pace lags in the second half. It’s the emotional Saaho is an exhausting watch! z Not as expected, post-Baahubali
drama, fun quotient and a surprise element in the expectations were too high from
climax that keeps one invested. Shraddha Kapoor It lacks a good story
Prabhas. He and the overall story was
packs in a solid performance both as the younger
z The movie is full of action, but the disappointing. I ASHISH
and older Maya. Sushant Singh Rajput shines as the
young Anni (watch out for the scene where he goes story is quite predictable.
z Prabhas’s acting is a bit
tongue-tied in front of Maya!), however, as the older Even with lots of twists and
disappointing, maybe the
Annirudh, he seems a little uncomfortable. In fact, turns, it does not keep you
expectations were too high
as the young lot — the performances are consistent hooked. I MAHABALI YADAV
after his pervious
— Varun Sharma steals the show in many of the
z Trailer looked promising performances. This film is
scenes with his comic timing. Tahir Raj Bhasin is
but the actual movie is not. just a one-timer.
impressive as the intense Derek. Naveen Polishetty,
The main ingredient for I MITHUN CHANDRASEKAR
Prateik Babbar, Tushar Pandey and Saharsh Singh
also enhance the film with their likeable every movie is its story. If a
story doesn’t have that grip, A must-watch for action
performances. Together, as a group of friends, they
lovers

S
tress and overwhelming anxiety are a reality
for many young students in India. More so,
for those who appear for highly competitive
engineering and medical entrance exams. And
sometimes, the ones who do not make it through
the criteria find themselves in a whirlpool of
doubt and depression. Unable to take the failure
in the face of family and peer pressure, they often
resort to actions that can cause irreparable
damage to themselves and their families.
While this bleak reality is at the center of
Chhichhore’s narrative, its heart and soul are
purely reserved for the carefree college and hostel
days that shape lifelong bonds and life lessons.
Annirudh (Sushant Singh Rajput), lovingly
physically but mentally too. Annirudh believes
the only way to bring him out of this darkness
is to take Raghav down his own memory lane
(back to his hostel days from engineering
college). A place where he not just fell in love
with Maya but also forged friendships with ‘Sexa’
(Varun Sharma), ‘Acid’ (Naveen Polishetty),
Derek (Tahir Raj Bhasin), ‘Bevda’ (Saharsh
Kumar Shukla) and ‘Mummy’ (Tushar Pandey).
As the film’s narrative walks us down the hostel
corridors, director Nitesh Tiwari creates an
authentic world that is evidently filled with nuggets
of nostalgia and a breezy, vibrant energy. There are
some genuinely very funny moments that click, but
also be prepared for a generous helping of low-brow,
have an easy camaraderie that’s relatable.
Chhichhore has a relevant message on the
inherent attitude towards academic success and
failure that will connect with many youngsters
and parents of today. It tells you that the journey
is far more important than the destination and
that losing is as critical a life lesson as winning.
The film scores high on many accounts and is
certainly worth watching.
— Sreeparna Sengupta
To review any movie and check show timings
visit etimes.in
then the battle is lost midway.
The same is true for Saaho.
I NIKUNJ PARIKH
z The film is full of superbly
choreographed action sequences, but in
the absence of a credible story,
everything just falls apart. Overall,
Saaho fails to satisfy. I SUMEET
z Completely confusing and boring due
to poor direction. Parallel act of
romance and action was like listening to
z Action-packed but the
screenplay and cinematography could
have been better. A must-watch for
action lovers though. I HAPPY
z Saaho delivers well as an action
extravaganza with a climax that
compensates for its many flaws. The
film’s second half picks up the pace but
is marred by a weak narrative that
requires constant suspension of
disbelief. I SANDY

defeat the evil force with multiple avatars – the and the present, but for those who haven’t caught down your spine. His scenes with the children
It Chapter Two (Horror) ★★★1/2 dreaded dancing clown? the original, connecting the dots might be difficult. are the most terrifying. The film constantly
Cast: : Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, That said, the flashback scenes featuring the throws up jump-scares, some of them predictable
Bill Hader

Direction: Andy Muschietti
Duration: 2 hours 49 minutes
Language: English (A)
■ Twenty seven years on, it’s time for the deadly
clown Pennywise to resurface in this sequel to
the 2017 blockbuster ‘It’ (both based on Stephen
King’s bestseller). This reluctantly reunites the
seven members of the Losers Club (all grown up
now) for one final showdown. But can they
individually face their fears and collectively
I
t Chapter Two opens with a chilling crime young cast are undoubtedly the best. These scenes yet scary. A bulk of the screenplay has a horror-
scene in the sleepy American suburb of successfully merge terror and humour, such that house like feel, with remarkable special effects.
Derry that sets the stage for an action-packed you’re left wanting for more. This is mainly due However, some of the conflicts come off as
confrontation. Director Andy Muschietti and to the top-notch performances by the young actors, repetitive as the film often tries to give the
writer Gary Dauberman show us glimpses of each with distinct character sketches. Among the message of confronting the demons within, and
the present-day situation of the members of older lot, Jessica Chastain as Bev and James overcoming our own fears. It does so with a highly
the Losers Club. Except Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), McAvoy as Bill are most impressive. The rest of graphic imagery that builds tension and terror
who stayed back in Derry as the town librarian, the cast performs well, but in comparison with at regular intervals. To sum It up, there’s a lot
all others have moved on to life in the city. They their childhood counterparts, their chemistry going on in this sequel that manages to engage
have struggled to put the past behind them until feels severely lacking. you despite a complex narrative and an
a phone call from Mike brings them back to Meanwhile, the film’s antagonist, Bill exhausting runtime of little less than three hours.
where it all started. Skarsgard as the clown and its many forms, is at
The film travels seamlessly between the past his devilish best and never fails to send a chill — Ronak Kotecha

RATING SCALE TRASH ★ | BELOW AVERAGE ★★ | AVERAGE ★★ | ABOVE AVERAGE ★★★ | GOOD ★★★ | VERY GOOD ★★★★ | OUTSTANDING ★★★★ | MASTERPIECE ★★★★★
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIMMUM3 User: sandeep.soni Time: 09-05-2019 23:57 Color: C
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THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019 TIMES CITY 5

'I COULDN'T CAPTURE PHOTOS BIKES ON PAVEMENT Cancer patient

OF THE GARBAGE HEAPS BECAUSE jumps to death
THE SMELL WAS UNBEARABLE' from hosp room
Mumbai: A 47-year-old man
who had cancer jumped to de-
ath from the 13th floor of Jaslok
Hospital on Monday morning.
His wife and brother-in-law we-
re in the hospital room when he
jumped, police sources said.
Gamdevi police senior in-
spector Rajendra Mohite said
he was in the last stage of can-
cer. Police said his relatives
alerted hospital staff and the
victim’s body was later taken
for post-mortem.
Gamdevi police have regis-
tered a case of accidental de-
ath. TNN

Sena harps on economy State favours

SC tag for
VIRAR
WORLI
ILL(LEGAL)? Just a few metres away from the traffic police head
office at Worli is this sight of bikes parked on the footpath and
amid seat-sharing talks washermen
Sujit.Mahamulkar
Sujit.Mahamulkar Wednesday at revenue mini- @timesgroup.com
AND, THIS IS NEAR THE VIRAR DAM: The Virar Phoolpada locality is filled cars on the road right next to a traffic signal opposite the Podar @timesgroup.com ster Chandrakant Patil’s
with dustbins, scrap cars and trucks with children from nearby slums Hospital. The police charge Rs 10,000 for a parking offence. What bungalow, which was atten- Mumbai: After providing quo-
playing around in the garbage —Anuj Rane do they have to say about this? —Tarun Malhotra Mumbai: Amid seat-sha- ded by BJP minister Girish ta to Marathas and Dhangars,
ring talks by Shiv Sena and Mahajan and Sena leader the BJP-led state government
DEBRIS REMOVED FROM LAMINGTON ROAD TURNING BJP's second-in-commands
for the Maharashtra elec-
Subhash Desai. Desai was
not available for comment
is now trying to woo washer-
men by ‘reminding’ the Centre
AFTER BEFORE tions, the former’s party mo- despite repeated attempts. about considering the proposal
This debris uthpiece, Saamna, has be- Speaking to media later, of the dhobi community in the
pile had Since the landslide victory
gun questioning its senior Sena MP Sanjay Raut sought list of Scheduled Caste (SC) ca-
been lying ally’s handling of the econo- in the general elections, the to scotch all speculation re- tegory. Currently, the dhobi
here for mic slowdown, a ploy some BJP has acquired the upper garding the 160-110 demand community, which has an aro-
weeks. The say is aimed at extracting hand and is keen to contest put forth by BJP. “Who spoke und 35 lakh population in Ma-
BMC removed concessions by raising the up to 160 of the 288 seats in of this? The 50-50% formula harashtra, falls under the
BE A SMART TOI the dump on spectre of anti-incumbency. has been announced by the other backward classes (OBC)
CITIZEN REPORTER September 4,
the state assembly
The Sena, say analysts, is chief minister,” he said. category.
Keep mobile phone’s the day keen on enforcing an infor- the alliance came to power A BJP functionary, on the On Wednesday, Shyam Ta-
GPS on while clicking Citizen Reporter mal pact the two parties ap- for the first time in the state. other hand, said a 50-50% gade, principal secretary of the
and sending pictures Harsh Vyas's parently arrived at ahead of Sena had then won 73 seats plan did exist, but different state social justice depart-
complaint Lok Sabha polls, which wo- while BJP held 65. The ar- from the one touted by the Se- ment, wrote to the Union secre-
Describe exactly
appeared in
T uld allow them to contest rangement broke down in na. “It’s true, there is a 50- tary reminding him about the
I M PA C
where and when
this column equal seats. The formula en- 2014 when the two parties 50% formula. But it leaves pending proposal about the
picture was taken, LAMINGTON ROAD
giving street names visaged 135 each for the BJP contested separately. out seats currently held by dhobi community. The letter al-
and Sena and the remaining “It is obvious that Sena is the two parties. So BJP keeps so mentioned that the Centre
and other locators
18 for smaller allies. Howe- pushing for more seats du- 122 seats, Sena gets 63 consti- should consider the recom-
More photos, videos ver, since the landslide victo- ring talks,” said the BJP lea- tuencies where it has sitting mendations as per the Bhande
on timesofindia.com ry in the general elections, der. The manner in which Sa- MLAs and independent committee report submitted in
the BJP has acquired the amna frames the issue of the MLAs 6. Apart from this, 18 March 2002. Set up in 2001-02,
upper hand and is keen to slowdown and unemploy- will be for smaller allies and the panel under former MLA
contest up to 160 of the 288 se- ment and goes on to urge the all the rest will be divided 50- Dashrath Bhande had submit-
ats in the assembly; it is now Centre to heed former PM 50 between BJP and Sena.” ted a report favouring SC quota
weighing an arrangement Manmohan Singh’s advice Smaller parties like RPI for the community, while in
which would give Sena about while emphasising alleged (A), Rashtriya Samaj Paksh, 1996, the state-run Babasaheb
110 seats and leave the remai- failures such as demonetisa- Shiv Sangram and Rayat Research and Training Institu-
ning 18 for other allies. tion and GST is being read as Kranti Sanghtna are part of te had suggested that though
A BJP functionary, on an attempt by the Sena to sig- the BJP-Sena alliance. Sour- the community is economical-
condition of anonymity, said nal that the BJP may no long- ces from BJP said a meeting ly and educationally back-
STOPPED: This open the Sena is resisting a secon- er enjoy the advantages it did may be held next week bet- ward, its members aren’t sub-
ANDHERI dary role after playing the with voters in the Lok Sabha ween BJP national working jected to untouchability in pub-
manhole is at the
343 bus stop at dominant partner in the sta- polls in May. The BJP lea- president JP Nadda, Uddhav lic places.
FREE RIDE FOR BEST PASSENGERS: Every morning, hundreds of
Goregaon (east) bus te for so long. In the 1990 as- dership, for its part, has sta- Thackeray and CM Devend- Anil Shinde, state-level
passengers take a free ride on BEST bus routes 242, 266 etc which
station —Sitaram M GOREGAON sembly polls, Shiv Sena con- ted that recent decisions like ra Fadnavis to iron out the fi- working president of Maha-
start from Andheri (west) bus depot. They get down at the
tested 183 seats whereas BJP revoking J&K's special sta- nal pact. Sena chief Uddhav rashtra Rajya Parit-Dhobi Sar-
earliest stop, before a conductor approaches them —M Sethna
105, of which Sena won 52 tus would now emerge as key Thackeray plans to tour the va Bhashik Mahasangh, said:
and BJP 42. The same formu- issues in the state polls. flood-affected Kolhapur dis- “We are happy that state has re-

5-ft cobra slips 5 of 12 puppies killed Automan gets la was retained for 1995 when A meeting was held on trict on Friday. commended positively.”

into bungalow 2 years’ RI for

toilet, rescued
had skull fractures, molestation
Alex.Fernandes
@timesgroup.com
says autopsy findings
TIMES NEWS NETWORK dog house. Elders in the lo-
Nishikant.Karlikar
@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: A 5-foot spectacled
cobra was rescued from a toi-
let of a bungalow in Chembur
on Tuesday evening.
The venomous snake had
crawled beneath the door, said
Priyaj Kamat, a resident of
Golf View Society in Diamond
Garden. After it slid into the
toilet, a family member tuck-
ed a wet blanket into the ope-
SENT BACK INTO THE WILD
ning between the toilet floor
and the door, said Kamat who
alerted a snake rescue team.
Prathamesh Panchal, a vo-
lunteer with Resqink Associa-
tion for Wildlife Welfare, said:
“It was quite an active cobra...
It lunged at me a couple of ti-
mes, but once I got a hold on it,
I tucked it into my cloth bag.”
Spotting snakes is routine,
said Kamat. “We didn’t panic.
We’re kind of used to seeing
them around our garden.”
Mumbai: Nearly five of a
dozen pups found killed in
Goregaon (west) recently
had died of skull fractures
as per their autopsy, indica-
ting the possibility that the
pups had been flung. A case
has been registered against
unidentified persons at Go-
regaon police station.
Vijay Mohanani, foun-
der of welfare group, Bom-
bay Animal Rights, told
TOI that 14 pups had been
assaulted at Jawahar Na-
gar locality early on August
29, of which two survived.
Residents of the area had
built a makeshift house of
plastic on a footpath for the
14 pups littered by three ca-
nines. Over the past two
months, residents had been
feeding the pups.
The pups, some of them
newborns, who hadn’t even
opened their eyes, never
ventured out of the shelter.
Early on August 29,
schoolchildren discovered
that the dog house had been
broken and carcasses of 10
pups were found in a badly
mutilated state. Two more
pups were found dead un-
der a car parked across the
cality were alerted and the
dead pups were buried. La-
ter, one of the residents in-
formed Bombay Animal
Rights and the NGO then
lodged a criminal offence.
The carcasses were ex-
humed for an autopsy after
a panchnama. But only 10 of
the 12 carcasses could be re-
covered. They were sent to
BSPCA Hospital at Parel
where an autopsy was per-
formed on August 30.
CRUELTY CASE
IN GOREGAON
A veterinarian involved
in the autopsy told TOI that
at least five pups had susta-
ined skull fractures, indi-
cating the possibility of so-
meone having put them in a
bag and flung them against
a hard surface.
The police said footage
from two cameras has cap-
tured four men moving aro-
und suspiciously in the ear-
ly hours. “We’ve announ-
ced a reward of Rs 25,000 if
someone helps get the su-
spects arrested,” said Mo-
hanani, adding that the two
pups who survived are up
for adoption.
Thane: Two years after an au-
torickshaw driver was nabbed
for molesting a passenger, the
district sessions court senten-
ced him to two years’ rigorous
imprisonment and a fine.
District judge H M Pat-
wardhan convicted Santosh
Lokhande (38), from Sidd-
heshwar lake area, after the
victim and four others testifi-
ed. Lahu Ghogre (38), who sha-
red a seat with him, was acqu-
itted due to “insufficient char-
ges” to prove in court.
The prosecutor told court
that on June 7, 2017, around
9.30pm, the complainant, then
23, and a management gradua-
te with a fitness firm, took a
share auto at Teen Hath naka,
to go home.
Lokhande touched her in-
appropriately in the auto and
when she raised an alarm, he
headed towards Pokhran Ro-
ad 2, where the duo allegedly
beat her up, pushed her out of
the vehicle at an isolated spot
on Pokhran Road, and fled.
She suffered injuries.
The Naupada police had
arrested the duo under sec-
tions of the Indian Penal Co-
de, including attempt to mur-
der, kidnapping, molestation
and assault.

Ganesha to help raise funds for a cause

Mohammed.Wajihuddin
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: A lively, charming and affec-
tionate Ganesha will soon be part of an
exhibition of paintings by over 100 ar-
tists from across the country to help
fight cancer. The painting of the popular
deity along with several paintings of
Buddha and art works on many other
themes will help raise funds.
‘Colours of Life’, the annual art exhi-
bition by Cancer Patients Aid Associa-
tion (CPAA), is being held at Cymroza
Art Gallery, Bhulabhai Desai Marg, bet-
ween September 20 and 30. Entry is free.
“This Ganesha painting by Hydera-
bad-based artist Pramod Reddy is in a vi-
brant blue. Blue is a very unusual colour
for a Ganesha painting. The popular dei-
ty’s affectionate, lively expression is
what we liked the most about this pain-
ting,” said Shubha Mudgal, CPAA’s an-
nual art exhibition’s co-curator.
An arts graduate from M S Universi-
ty in Vadodara, Reddy said that he has
Hyderabad-based artist Pramod Reddy’s
Ganesha painting that will be on display at
Cymroza Art Gallery between Sept 20 and 30
studied Hindu mythology for the past
two decades. “Since I have studied Hindu
mythology, I have a fair knowledge of dif-
ferent moods of the deities. Since Ganes-
ha is a popular deity and this is the sea-
son of the festival dedicated to Ganesha,
I sent in a few paintings of the deity I had
done on canvas,” said Reddy.
This is the 50th year of CPAA and the
15th year of ‘Colours of Life’, its annual
art exhibition where artists contribute
their works to help raise funds to fight
the dreaded disease.
Apart from Reddy, the works of many
other noted artists such as Ajay De, An-
jolie Ela Menon, Bina Aziz, Brinda Chu-
dasama Miller, Charan Sharma, Gur-
charan Singh, H R Das, Jaideep Mehrot-
ra, Jaishree Burman, Kahini Arte Mer-
chant, Nayanaa Kanodia, Paresh Maity,
Samir Mondal, Sanatan Dinda, Satish
Gujral, Shipra Bhattacharya, Suhas Ba-
hulkar, T Vaikuntam, Vrindavan Solan-
ki, Yashwant Shirwadkar among others,
will be on display.
Mudgal said the works of over 100 ar-
tists from across the country are in diffe-
rent mediums, sizes and shapes. From
charcoal to acrylic and abstract, the pa-
intings are available in different hues
and will appeal to art connoisseurs, he
added.
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIMCLA1 User: shaileyi.singhania Time: 09-05-2019 23:44 Color: C
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6 TIMES CITY THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

21years after
bride’s suicide,
No Net in 1 state, Modi has done justice to Ambedkar’s METRO DIGEST
Teachers wear black

HC holds man
guilty of cruelty
Swati.Deshpande
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: Holding that there
is a difference between offen-
ces of dowry death and cruel-
ty to wife, Bombay high court
(HC) overturned the acquittal
of a husband in a 21-year-old
case where a young woman,
married for barely six
months, ended her life due to
harassment. The HC upheld
conviction of the woman’s
mother-in-law for abetment to
suicide and cruelty and the
sentence of three years’ rigo-
how will RBI note fight against Art 370, says Fadnavis
app work, asks HC
Rosy.Sequeira
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: The Bombay high
court on Thursday indirectly
referred to the communicati-
ons clampdown in Kashmir
wondering if the Reserve Ba-
nk of India’s proposed app to
identify currency notes will
work there. “We have one sta-
te where there is no internet.
Phones are not working. Wh-
at will happen then?” asked a
bench of Chief Justice Prade-
lenged use one sensory organ.
Why can’t we be sympathetic
to them?” asked the CJ.
Dhond said the new notes
have ID marks called tactile
features. “Each note has a par-
ticular pattern. They are ble-
ed lines.” But NAB’s advocate
Uday Warunjikar said the tac-
tile features fade away within
a few days. Dhond responded
that the ‘fading’ phenomenon
is seen in currency of wide
circulation and of denomina-
tions below Rs 100.
Bhavika.Jain1@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: By defanging Article 370, PM
Narendra Modi has finally done justice
to the fight put up by Babasaheb Am-
bedkar against the law on J&K, said CM
Devendra Fadnavis at a rally he addres-
sed alongside RPI(A) leader Ramdas
Athawale in Worli on Thursday.
Ambedkar had firmly opposed
Nehru’s decision to introduce the clau-
se on the grounds that it could further
alienate the locals. “Ambedkar had
even walked out of the meeting called
by Nehru to discuss the issue. The deci-
sion taken by Modiji has given justice
to Ambedkar’s opposition,” he said.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray,
invited for the rally, gave the event a
miss.
Plumping for the Sena-BJP allian-
ce, Athwale said it will win 240 seats
with the support of smaller allies like
his. “We have demanded 10 seats and we
will win five of them,” said Athawale.
Without going into specifics, Fad-
navis said this time, there will be MLAs
from RPI(A) in the Vidhan Bhavan. So-
urces said BJP is keen that RPI candi-
dates contest on its symbol and a deci-
sion will be announced soon. RPI has
previously contested on the Congress
symbol in local elections.
Taking a dig at the opposition, Fad-
navis said with the elections nearing,
some people will try to spread lies about
the Modi government trying to change
the Constitution and taking away reser-
vations given to SC/STs. “Babasaheb
has given us a robust Constitution
which no one can change. For Modi, the
Constitution is his Gita, Bible and Qu-
ran. We can never do anything to oppo-
se the Constitution,” he said.
His government will complete the
Ambedkar memorial at Indu Mills in
Dadar by 2020, added the CM. “The is-
sue of land was kept pending by Cong-
ress-NCP for years. When we took the
issue to Modiji, he allotted the land in
three days.”
bands to protest 20% aid
T eachers from unaided
schools on Thursday, on
Teachers’ Day, protested at
Azad Maidan against the state
government’s decision to
provide 20% aid and wore black
bands. Last week, the cabinet
had approved a Rs 304 crore
grant for teachers which had
entitled 20% aid for 7,030
teachers starting April 2019.
Labourer ends life
A 24-year-old labourer, Soma
Mali, committed suicide in a
godown in Manish Market on
Thursday evening. He had
recently got married, said the
MRA Marg police.

Pay hike likely: Ambani international school

rous imprisonment for her. It
said that the Pune Sessions co-
urt had erroneously acquitted
the husband, Dinesh Kalbhor.
“The husband, the only
son to whom (the victim) was
married played a positive role
in the harassment which dro-
ve her to commit suicide and
this wilful conduct has esca-
ped the attention of sessions
Judge...,” said the bench of
bench of Chief Justice Prade-
ep Nandrajog and Justice
Bharati Dangre.
She was pregnant at the ti-
me when she ended her life.
The HC however said it will
hear the husband before deci-
ding on the quantum of sen-
tence. It has issued him a noti-
ce and posted the matter to be
heard where his counsel San-
jeev Kadam can also argue on
the quantum.
ep Nandrajog and Justice Bh-
arati Dangre, after it was told
the app will be launched in
November.
The court was hearing a
PIL by the National Associati-
on for the Blind to make coins
and notes friendly for the vis-
ually challenged. Previously,
the court had lambasted RBI
for not informing why it ke-
eps changing the size of notes.
Senior advocate Venkatesh
Dhond, for RBI, detailed how
the dimensions of notes had
changed thrice since 1967. “Old
notes are phased out gradual-
ly,” he added. The judges asked
whether the RBI would stick to
one size so that it would not af-
fect the way the visually chal-
lenged use touch to identify no-
tes. “Nature has its own com-
pensatory ways. Somewhere
people who are visually chal-
Dhond added the notes we-
re changed to suit internatio-
nal standards, and like the do-
llar, had to be made wallet-fri-
endly. “It is the size which
implied the logic,” he added.
To this, the CJ remarked:
“It took you so many years to
understand the logic?... Now,
we would request you to be sen-
sitive. Differently-abled people
are being brought into the mai-
nstream. Make things simpler
for them.” Dhond assured that
in future, there will be no more
changes in the size of notes.
He said if a note is placed
in front of the app, it can dete-
ct its denomination, prompti-
ng the judges to ask what hap-
pens if there’s no internet.
“Even in Mumbai, in high de-
nsity areas, there is no mobile
connectivity...” said the CJ, be-
fore making the J&K remark.
Sena BEST union
Mumbai: BEST Kamgar Se-
na, that signed an MoU with
the management on Thurs-
day, said BEST employees are
likely to get Rs 5,000-12,000
hike in their September wag-
es. Suhas Samant of the group
said, “They are also likely to
get a Diwali bonus this time.”
Samant was confident th-
at most of their demands were
met, but rival BEST Workers’
Union is yet to discuss the is-
sue with the management be-
fore deciding on a strike.
Union leader Shashank Rao
had deferred the strike call till
Gauri Ganpati, and will meet
workers this weekend to de-
cide on the action. TNN
ranked 10th on global IB list
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: Dhirubhai Am-
bani International School
secured 10th position on the
Global Top 50 IB Schools
2019 list. Rankings by UK’s
Education Advisers are on
the basis of average scores
of the passing out IB batch.
The other school from
India that made it to the list
was International School of
Bangalore, ranked 41. Anglo
Chinese School, Singapore,
topped the table.
“This recognition ex-
emplifies our school’s cultu-
CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE
re of excellence and is truly
a testament to our students’
talent and hard work, and
our teachers’ steadfast com-
mitment. We are humbled
that in a short span of 16 ye-
ars our young school has
emerged as one of the top-
performing schools in the
world, alongside schools
which were established mo-
re than hundred years ago,”
said school founder and
chairperson Nita Ambani.
Les Webb, managing di-
rector of Education Advi-
sers, publisher of the ran-
kings, said, “In recent ye-
ars, this IB table has been
dominated by famous priva-
te UK schools, but now a
number of Asian schools,
particularly from Singapo-
re and Hong Kong have been
overtaking UK schools in
the top 10.”
Mild tremors in Palghar
T wo mild tremors were
recorded at Jawhar town in
Palghar on Thursday, at 7.45am
and 7.56am. They measured
around 2.7 on the Richter Scale.
No damage was reported.
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Colaba Santacruz
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Sunrise: Saturday: 0624 hrs
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temperatures likely to be around 29°C
and 25°C respectively.
Relative humidity: Colaba 93%,
Santacruz 90%
Season’s total: Colaba 2162.2 mm,
Santacruz 3078.2 mm.

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 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS
‘Steep traffic fines will instil fear of law’ Mahabaleshwar wettest spot
Gadkari Says Govt
Will Not Succumb
To Any Pressure
For A Rollback
Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Indicating clearly
that his ministry won’t come
under pressure of a section of
people criticising the high traf-
fic fines, Union transport min-
ister Nitin Gadkari said on
Tuesday the government does
not want to impose huge fine,
but there should be respect and
fear for law.
He also asked who would be
responsible, if a driver without
licence or in a drunken state
causes an accident.
Speaking to reporters on
the sidelines of two events relat-
ing to the automobile sector and
MSME industries, Gadkari
said, “The government does not
desire to raise the limits of the
fine. The issue is that a time
should come that no one gets pe-
nalised and everyone follows
the rules. Around five lakh acci-
dents occur in the country ev-
ery year and 65% of the persons
killed are in the age group of 18
to 35. Shouldn’t people’s lives be
saved? There should be respect
and fear for the law. I feel the
high penalty will show good re-
sults in the next few months.”
The minister also shot
back at a reference to the hefty
fine imposed on an autorick-
shaw driver in Odisha asking,
“If an accident would have
happened, who would have
been responsible?” The driver
was accused of drunk driving
and he also did not have his li-
Two AI pilots on Haj Restaurants will soon have to
flight from Ahd skip display hygiene ratings on doors
booze test, suspended
Saurabh.Sinha
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The licences of
two Air India captains operat-
ing a Haj charter (AI 5731) from
Ahmedabad to Medina have
been suspended for skipping
the pre-flight breath analyser
test. Skipping the breath ana-
lyser test is construed as fail-
ing the same. This implies the
pilots are tipsy and liable to be
punished accordingly. The test
is conducted to ensure that on-
ly a ‘perfectly sober crew’ is op-
erating the flight.
“(Two pilots, both cap-
tains) belonging to Air India
missed pre-flight BA examin-
ation on September 2 at Ahme-
dabad and operated flight AI
5731 (Ahmedabad-Medina)
which is (against rules)…
hereby suspend the licences
held by (both) for a period of
three months from Wednesday
(Sept 4),” says the DGCA order
issued on Thursday.
As many as 30 pilots and 93
cabin crew members have
failed the BA test in the first six
months of this year, a senior
DGCA official said.
Incidentally, alcohol is
banned in both the origin and
the destination — Ahmedabad
in Gujarat and Saudi Arabia —
of the flight. Airlines are not
even allowed to serve liquor in
Saudi airspace.
In a bid to enhance safety,
DGCA chief Arun Kumar is
considering if air traffic con-
trollers and all personnel for
PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity
ON TEACHERS’ DAY, RAHUL GANDHI THANKS ALL
FROM WHOM HE LEARNT, INCLUDING THE TROLLS
A pillion rider being fined for not
wearing a helmet in Chandigarh
cence and papers.
Experts who support high
penalties have, however, raised
concerns over the singular ap-
plication of the amended law on
traffic offenders with little ac-
countability assigned to road
owning agencies and law en-
forcing authorities. There has
been criticism of how issues to
do with road conditions, faulty
signages, and poor mainte-
nance of traffic signals are yet
to be fully addressed. The only
provision against road owning
agencies is a Rs 1 lakh fine if
faulty designs lead to fatal acci-
dents. “This provision of fine
should be extended to all road
owning agencies... We expect
the government will include
such provisions in the new Mo-
tor Vehicles Rules, which will
be prepared for enforcement of
the entire law,” said Piyush Ti-
wari of Save Life Foundation.
A study by road safety ex-
pert Rohit Baluja in 2017 had
highlighted how 75% of road
signages in Delhi are confusing
for commuters. He maintains
that until everything in the law
is explained clearly, there will
be subjective enforcement.
In fact, drivers claim it is al-
most impossible to keep look-
ing out for signages mentioning
Pic for representation
Alcohol is banned in both the
origin and the destination —
Ahmedabad in Gujarat and
Saudi Arabia — of the flight
IndiGo pilots fly on
with tail support,
get suspended
A viation regulator DGCA on
Thursday suspended two
IndiGo pilots for two months for
flying a Hyderabad-Vijaywada
flight on July 24 with the tail
support attached even though
they were informed about it by
the Air Traffic Control (ATC)
immediately after take-off, an
official said. The period of
suspension will be from July
24. During loading or unloading
of any kind of cargo in an
aircraft, the tail support or ‘tail
prop’ is used to prevent the
plane from tipping over
backwards. AGENCIES
aircraft maintenance and
ground operations should also
be required to take the BA test
to ensure they are sober. At
present, only pilots and cabin
crew have to mandatorily un-
dergo these checks.
Edition: 1 Page: TOIMIND
TIMES NATION
After challans, jokes on overdrive on earth, receives record rain
Anam.Ajmal@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The Internet ex-
ploded with memes and jokes
to the Motor Vehicles
(Amendment) Act, 2019. Neti-
zens have flooded social
media platforms with their
take on the sharp hikes in
fines since the new law took
effect on Sunday.
Twitter wit Ramesh Sriv-
ats @rameshsrivats wrote:
“These new traffic fines seem
be taking our GDP growth
comfortably over 15%.”
“People are enjoying the
#NewTrafficRules. Salary 8k
ki or #traffic chalan 15k ka
(their salary is Rs 8000, while
the fine amounts to Rs
15,000),” posted one user
Sandy Sinha from his handle
@imsandysinha.
MobiKwik, a company
that provides mobile-based
payment system, also jump-
ed in on Wednesday. The com-
pany that provides loan
amounts to its customers dig-
ital wallets, shared a picture
depicting a traffic police offi-
cer. “When traffic police
catches you, get instant boost
loan up to Rs 1 lakh,” it said
on the verified official handle
@MobiKwik.
The deluge of jokes start-
ed after the Gurgaon police
issued a traffic challan of Rs
23,3000 to a motorcyclist for
flouting rules, like driving
speed limits and this problem is
worse in cities where speed lim-
its change every few kilo-
metres. “Speed limits have been
set without any study and sign-
Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Restaurants and
hotels will soon have to display
hygiene ratings on their doors.
The food regulator is set to
make such ratings mandatory
for all restaurants along with
presence of a food supervisor to
monitor compliance of food
regulation and ensure safety of
food served.
The idea is to raise the stan-
dard of dining out, while also
ensuring the food served is safe
and of good quality. The Food
Safety and Standards Authority
of India has already started a pi-
lot for rating among online play-
ers. It has also trained over 1.7
lakh food supervisors to ensure
compliance, chief executive Pa-
wan Agarwal said.
The regulator is in the proc-
Mob beats up mentally ill
woman: A mentally ill woman in
her thirties was assaulted by a mob
in Dariapur area of Ahmedabad on
Tuesday, on suspicion of being a
‘child lifter’. TNN
User: pinkle.naik Time: 09-06-2019
THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
without a licence and helmet,
violating air pollution rules,
among others.
Twitterati also had a field
day, making and sharing
memes and jokes which
showcased before and after
situations of people who
were fined for offences. Some
memes centred around Ami-
tab Bachchan’s popular real-
ity show, Kaun Banega Cro-
repati. One of them had
Bachchan asking a contes-
tant what he would do with
such a huge amount of price
money, and him responding
that he will use it to pay traf-
fic fines.
Politicians too took to
Twitter to point out the hike.
posts mentioning the limits
have been put across cities ran-
domly. The Centre should make
it mandatory for complying
with the codes notified by the
The move is part of a series of
measures taken by FSSAI to support
its ‘Eat Right India’ campaign
ess of forming guidelines to im-
plement the rating system.
Once, it is in place, the regulator
will keep a check for compli-
ance and will also serve notice
in case restaurants are found vi-
olating the norms.
The move is part of a series
00:17 Color: C
GURDASPUR MP SUNNY DEOL SKIPS SON’S LAUNCH EVENT,
MEETS THOSE INJURED IN CRACKER FACTORY BLAST
Congress leader Kapil Sibal
wrote, “Milestones in 21st
century India: 1) Bike worth
Rs 15,000, rider fined Rs
23,000. 2) FIR against Print
journalist Pawan Jaiswal:
Cannot circulate videos of
children being fed roti with
salt. 3) JNU asks Romila Tha-
par for her CV. 4) Muscular
India collapsing economy.”
Several users dug up old
photos of union minister Ni-
tin Gadkari, where he is seen
riding a scooter without
wearing a helmet. One user
even started a change.org
petition, asking the Mumbai
police to fine Gadkari.
The petition had nearly
900 signatures.
Indian Roads Congress and in
case of non-compliance there
should be penal provision,”
said Amit Agrawal, a resident
of Delhi.
of regulatory measures taken
by FSSAI to support its ‘Eat
Right India’ campaign focused
at preventive healthcare mea-
sure to trigger social and beha-
vioural change through a judi-
cious mix of regulatory mea-
sures, combined with soft inter-
ventions for ensuring
awareness and capacity build-
ing of food businesses.
“India is passing through an
epidemiological shift from com-
municable to non-communica-
ble diseases, and the burden of
diet-related diseases such as
diabetes, hypertension, and
obesity is rising. The new ‘food
systems approach’ judiciously
combines regulatory and ca-
pacity building measures with
consumer empowerment ini-
tiatives,” health minister Harsh
Vardhan said.
K
Y
M
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Pune: Mahabaleshwar has
been wetter than Mawsyn-
ram, the wettest place on
Earth, this monsoon, rain da-
ta from June 1 to September 4
shows. The hill station in
Maharashtra has received
7,175.4mm rain as against
Mawsynram’s 6,218.4mm in
this duration, India Meteoro-
logical Department (IMD)
statistics indicated. Cherra-
punji has received around
6,082.7mm rainfall.
Tourists to Mahabalesh-
war said they witnessed
blinding rain. From June 1 to
September 5, this year, Maha-
baleshwar received 7,369.4
mm rainfall. It received
194mm rainfall in a 24-hour
period from September 4 to 5
and extra rainfall of over
2,000mm this monsoon.
Mawsynram, in the East
Khasi hills of Meghalaya, has
only seen double digit or less-
er rainfall in the last few days.
Though its June to August
normal rainfall is over
8,233.5mm, during this mon-
Modi raises Zakir’s
extradition issue
with Malaysian PM
TNN & AGENCIES
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Thurs-
day raised the issue of extra-
dition of controversial Is-
lamic preacher Zakir Naik,
who is facing terrorism and
money laundering charges,
with his Malaysian counter-
part Mahathir Mohamad.
Modi also explained to
Mahathir the rationale be-
hind the reorganisation of
Jammu and Kashmir, in
terms of both giving effec-
tive governance and deliver-
ing socio-economic justice.
“And in that context, the two
leaders discussed the focus
was on terrorism, on how to
combat the growing threat
of terrorism,” foreign secre-
tary Vijay Gokhale said.
Modi met the Malaysian
PM on the sidelines of the
fifth meeting of the Eastern
Economic Forum (EEF) in
Vladivostok Russia.
“Had a great meeting
with Tun Mahathir Moha-
mad, Prime Minister of
Malaysia. We talked about
bilateral ties between our
nations and ways to further
diversify cooperation,”
Tourists who visited Mahaba-
leshwar this monsoon, said they
witnessed blinding rain
soon from June to August, it
received 6,167 mm, much be-
low its normal.
Pulak Guhathakurta,
head of the climate applica-
tion and user interface, Cli-
mate Research and Services,
IMD Pune, told TOI that in
this monsoon, especially
since June-end, all of Konkan
and most of Madhya Maha-
rashtra received much high-
er rainfall than the normal.
“Mahabaleshwar is the
only station in Madhya Mah-
arashtra that normally re-
ceives very high rain during
the monsoon because of its
PM Modi with his Malaysian
counterpart Mahathir Mohamad
in Vladivostok on Thursday
Modi tweeted.
Briefing reporters on
the meeting, Gokhale said
Modi raised the issue of
Naik’s extradition from Ma-
laysia during his meeting
with Mahathir. “Both the
parties have decided that
our officials will stay in con-
tact regarding the matter
and it is an important issue
for us,” he added.
Naik, a 53-year-old radi-
cal television preacher, left
India in 2016 and subse-
quently moved to the largely
Muslim Malaysia, where he
was granted permanent res-
idency. He is wanted by Indi-
an authorities since 2016 for
alleged money laundering
and inciting extremism
through hate speeches.
orography. It has a unique ge-
ographical location in the
rain-battered region of the
Western Ghats,” he said.
The ghats receive heavy
rainfall during monsoon.
“Though this happens every
year, this time, the westerly
winds from the Arabian Sea
were strong. The moisture
content in the winds was also
huge due to several weather
conditions, including the
monsoon lows, unique posi-
tion of the upper air cyclonic
circulation and the offshore
trough. Hence, there was
heavy rain in the windward
side of the Western Ghats and
the ghat regions,” Guhatha-
kurta said.
Torrential rains in Maw-
synram and Cherrapunji are
common. Both are located in
a funnel-shaped region
formed by the Khasi, Garo
and Jaintia hills. The two lo-
cations, 81km apart, receive
rain from the Bay of Bengal
branch. The clouds travel
over the plains of Bangladesh
for hundreds of km and col-
lide with the Khasi hills.
SIT on Pehlu
lynching probe
files its report
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Jaipur: The special investigation
team, formed on August 16 this
year to reinvestigate the Pehlu
Khan lynching case after a trial
court acquitted all six accused in
the matter, submitted its report
on Thursday.
The 80-page report, with addi-
tional1,000 pages of documents, is
likely to put the Rajasthan police
in a tight spot for its shoddy inves-
tigation of the case of lynching
that took the nation by storm after
avideo showing the incident went
viral on social media. A top offi-
cial informed TOI on condition of
anonymity that “several lacunas”
have been identified at all levels of
the investigation, including at the
level of CID-CB’s probe. The re-
port has been submitted to DGP
Bhupendra Singh and Additional
DGP (Crime) BL Soni.
CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIMCLA2 User: pinkle.naik Time: 09-06-2019 00:25 Color: C
8 TIMES NATION
Sengar conspired to have me
killed: Unnao rape survivor
Says She Also
Received Death
Threats From An
Aide Of The MLA
Yusra.Husain@timesgroup.com
I
t was Kuldeep Singh Seng-
ar who conspired to have
me killed in the car-truck
crash on the Rae Bareli high-
way. There’s little doubt abo-
ut this,” the Unnao rape sur-
vivor told TOI on phone from
her AIIMS hospital bed on
Thursday. It was her first in-
teraction with anyone from
the media since the July 28
accident that killed two of
her aunts and left her and a
lawyer critically injured.
She said she had received
death threats from an aide of
the rape-accused MLA while
visiting the Unnao court for
SC rejects plea
seeking law
against torture
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Thursday rejected
Congress leader and former law
minister Ashwani Kumar’s
plea seeking direction to Parlia-
ment to enact a legislation
based on the UN Convention
against Torture, and said pass-
ing such a direction would be
against the principle of separa-
tion of power and would
amount to interference with an-
other organ of the state.
A bench of Chief Justice
Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Di-
nesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv
Khanna said the three branches
of the state — legislature, exec-
utive and judiciary — had to re-
spect the constitutional divi-
sion and not disturb the alloca-
tion of functions between the
triad. It said the court could not
interfere in the domain of the
legislature by directing it to
pass a law.
The former minister ap-
proached the court for framing
a law to implement the ‘Conven-
tion against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment’
adopted by the UNGA. India
had signed the UN convention
on October 14, 1997. However, it
has not ratified the convention.
Muslim parties: Hindus have
prayed at Chabutra since 1885
Dhananjay.Mahapatra
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Muslim parties to
15th Death Anniversary the Ayodhya dispute admitted
before the Supreme Court on
MAVIS Thursday that Hindus have
been offering prayers at Ram
Chabutra within the Babri
Remembering you Masjid precincts since 1885,
Today & everyday when a civil court had granted
Your loved ones the community right to wor-
Tony & Kevin ship while denying them title
Mascarenhas over the Ram Janmabhoomi-
Babri Masjid structure.
Countering the Hindu par-
6th Death Anniversary ties’ claim that the communi-
LAXMAN M. AJWANI ty has been offering prayers
at Ram Janmasthan since
06/07/1934 - 06/09/2013 time immemorial, Muslim
parties through senior advo-
In our Hearts you will cate Rajeev Dhavan told a
always Live. bench of CJI Ranjan Gogoi
Fondly Remembered by:
and Justices S A Bobde, D Y
Vishnu,Late Roopkumar
Maya & Devi Chandrachud, Ashok Bhush-
Harish/Preeti, Bharat/Sangeeta, Seema/ an and S A Nazeer, “The
Manit, Harsh,Viren,Vedant,Naisha & Viraj claims about worshipping
there since time immemorial
have not been substantiated
through evidence.
“I accept that they (Hin-
dus) worshipped there from
1885. I cannot deny the docu-
ments which establish this
Ask students to
curb plastic use,
PM tells teachers
New Delhi: Prime Minister Na-
rendra Modi reached out to tea-
chers on Teacher’s Day seeking
their help in curbing the use of
single use plastic on Thursday.
Donning the hat of a teacher
himself, Modi emphasised the
need to convince students to
curb use of plastic. “This Tea-
chers’ Day, I have a request for
my fellow teachers. As you are
aware, India has taken up a mass
movement to eliminate single
use plastic. I seek the active sup-
port and participation of the tea-
ching community in this move-
ment. If teachers explain to stu-
dents the harm caused to our en-
vironment by single-use plastic
and advise them to shun it, stu-
dents will feel motivated.” TNN
K
Y
M
I saw the truck
coming straight
(at us) and ramming
into our car. Sengar
engineered the accident
to kill me. He can go
to any extent, even
from prison
—Unnao rape survivor
TOI EXCLUSIVE
hearings prior to the crash.
The mother of the person
who allegedly made the thre-
ats is a co-accused in the rape
case. “The son of Sengar’s
associate would approach
me whenever my guards nee-
ded to stand outside the cour-
troom. He would ask me to
withdraw the case against
his mother or he would get
me killed,” she said.
The rape survivor said
HC upholds right
to disagree with
existence of god
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai: Followers of so-
cial reformer Periyar E V
Ramaswamy and members
of the Dravidar Kazhagam
(DK) have a fundamental
right to disagree with the ex-
istence of God and religion,
just as others’ right to ex-
press their views on these is-
sues, the Madras high court
ruled on Thursday.
Declining to order
the removal of Peri-
yar’s atheist views en-
graved on the pedestal
of his statue in Trichy,
which said those who
believe in God were fools and
barbarians, a division bench
said: “If the petitioner has a
constitutional right under
Article 19 of the Constitu-
tion to express his views on
religion and existence of
God, in the light of the deci-
sion of Supreme Court in
Lalai Singh Yadav’s case, we
are of the view that DK and
the members of the party or
followers of Thanthai Peri-
yar, in exercise of the rights
‘NO EVIDENCE’
fact. Between 1885 and 1934,
when communal riots dam-
aged the mosque, they were
praying at Ram Chabutra tem-
ple that was in the precincts of
Babri Masjid but outside the
structure. This is acceptable
but not claims about offering
prayers there since time im-
memorial, or for 2,000 years or
700 years.”
The Muslim parties had
on Wednesday agreed to co-ex-
ist with Hindus offering
prayers at Ram Chabutra in
the outer courtyard of the
mosque, which was demol-
ished by kar sevaks on Decem-
ber 6, 1992. However, they
had insisted on ownership of
the 2.77 acre disputed land
as a condition for them to ex-
IIT-M, DU among 5 varsities to
get Institutions of Eminence tags
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: The ministry of
human resource develop-
ment (MHRD) on Thursday is-
sued orders to five public uni-
versities conveying their de-
claration as Institutions of
Eminence (IoE). Moreover,
letter of intent (LoI) has also
been sent to five private uni-
versities for the IoE status.
The government has issued
the orders based on the advice
of the UGC and the empowe-
red expert committee (EEC)
which recommended gran-
ting eminence status to these
institutions on August 2, 2019.
Earlier, in the first round
in 2018 six institutions were
she had written several let-
ters to police and govern-
ment authorities about rece-
iving threats to her life from
Sengar and his aides. The
survivor said she gave the
CBI exactly the same details
when the agency recorded
her statement at AIIMS a few
days ago.
The rape survivor, her
two relatives and the lawyer
were on their way to Rae Ba-
reli jail from Unnao on July
28 when a truck owned by a
relative of a former SP lea-
der crashed into their car on
NH-31. “I saw the truck co-
ming straight (at us) and
ramming into our car. Seng-
ar engineered the accident
to kill me. He can go to any
extent, even from prison,”
she said.
Her lawyer, who was at
the wheel of the car, had stop-
ped and tried to reverse in an
attempt to get out of the way,
under Article 19, have a right
to disagree with the same.”
The bench comprising
Justice S Manikumar and
Justice Subramonium Pra-
sad rejected the contention
of the petitioner, M Deiva-
nayagam, that Periyar never
called believers barbarians
and that those words were
engraved after his lifetime
by DK. “We are of the view
that it is an undis-
puted fact that Than-
thai Periyar, in all
his speeches, publi-
cations from 1928
had declared that
there is no God; God
doesn’t exist; one who has
created is a fool.”
The statue was unveiled
on September 17, 1967, when
Periyar was alive, in the
presence of former CM K
Kamaraj. The phrase in-
scribed on its pedestal says:
“There is no God, God
doesn’t exists, one who cre-
ated God is a fool, one who
has propagated God is a
scoundrel and one who wor-
ships God is barbarian.”
tend the courtesy of allowing
Hindus to offer prayers at
Ram Chabutra.
Dhavan carried out a de-
tailed exercise to point out
contradictions in the state-
ments of witnesses who had
supported ‘sevait’ (priestly)
rights of Nirmohi Akhara.
The Allahabad HC on Septem-
ber 30, 2010, had divided
the land into three equal
parts with one each to
Ram Lalla, Akhara and Sunni
Waqf Board.
Justice Chandrachud
asked Dhavan, “If you are
questioning the veracity of
statements by witnesses in
support of ‘sevait’ (priestly)
rights of Nirmohi Akhara,
then how can you support the
Akhara’s sevait rights? Either
the statement of the witnesses
stand or they go because of the
contradictions you are point-
ing out.” Dhavan replied, “We
want to clarify that Akhara
had sevait rights only at Ram
Chabutra. I am only separat-
ing the incredible claims from
credible part of the state-
ments of witnesses in the suit
filed by the Akhara in 1959.”
granted the status of IoE.
The new additions to the
IoE lists are IIT-Madras, Ba-
naras Hindu University, IIT-
Kharagpur, University of Del-
hi and University of Hydera-
bad. In addition, LoIs were is-
sued to five private universiti-
NEW ADDITIONS
es for accepting and sending
their preparedness for being
declared as IoE.
In respect of two more uni-
versities – Shiv Nadar Univer-
sity, UP and O P Jindal Univer-
sity, Haryana – letters were is-
sued to the state governments
to pass legislation in the state
assembly to cease the status of
THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
she said. The truck crashed
into the car before he could
steer the vehicle to safety.
“I am still in pain and
unable to walk,” the girl said.
Her mother, who has be-
en by her bedside since the
crash that left her battling
for life, told TOI that CBI offi-
cers visited her twice in the
hospital. “First, they took
notes and then they recorded
the same statement on video.
They kept asking her about
the accident and how it hap-
pened,” she said.
The survivor’s mother
had been taken to court a few
days ago to have her state-
ment recorded in the rape ca-
se. “Sengar and other accu-
sed were produced before me
in court and I was asked to
identify them. I did so. My
statement was recorded over
two days,” she said. Sengar,
who has been expelled by
BJP, is in CBI custody.
AAP govt
refuses nod
to prosecute
Kanhaiya
Atul.Mathur@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi
Party government has decided
to not give its approval to Delhi
Police to prose-
cute former Ja-
waharlal Nehru
University Stu-
dents’ Union
(JNUSU) presi-
dent Kanhaiya
Kumar and nine others in a se-
dition case for allegedly raising
anti-India slogans during an
event on the university campus
in February 2016.
According to sources, Delhi
home minister Satyendar Jain
has given his opinion that no
case of sedition is made out
against Kanhaiya and others on
the evidence placed on record by
the police. The AAP govern-
ment’s view will be placed be-
fore the court, which is hearing
the case, and will also be shared
with the lieutenant governor
and Delhi Police.
The Criminal Procedure
Code lays down that for offences
against the state the court can-
not take cognisance of the po-
lice’s chargesheet without sanc-
tion from the home department
of the state concerned. However,
the final decision lies with the
court. In this case, police have in-
voked section 124A of IPC relat-
ing to the charge of sedition
against Kanhaiya Kumar and
other JNU students.
Alleging that the former
JNUSU president was leading a
procession and supported anti-
India slogans during an event in
February 2016 to commemorate
the hanging of Parliament-at-
tack mastermind Afzal Guru,
Delhi Police had filed a charg-
esheet for sedition and other of-
fences against Kumar, Umar
Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya
and others in a court in January
this year.
these universities as private
universities so as to enable
them to be considered as IoE
Deemed Universities. Two
state universities – Jadavpur
University, West Bengal and
Anna University, Tamil Nadu
– were also selected by the
EEC and the state govern-
ments have been asked to indi-
cate their commitment to-
wards their contribution un-
der the IoE scheme.
The benefits of the IoE sta-
tus for government institu-
tions include additional fun-
ding up to Rs 1,000 crore. The
IoE tag also ensures complete
academic and administrative
autonomy and complete fi-
nancial autonomy.
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THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
ED notice to
Amnesty for
alleged FEMA
violations
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: The Enforcement
Directorate recently issued a
show cause notice to Amnesty
International India Pvt Ltd, the
Indian arm of the Amnesty In-
ternational, UK, for Rs 52 crore
remittances it had received from
its parent body in UK in viola-
tion of the Foreign Excha- nge
Management Act (FEMA).
Sources said, the order is-
sued by the special director of
ED on July 25 this year was for al-
leged violation of FEMA under
“Borrowing and Lending Regu-
lations” to the tune of Rs 51.72
crore for “rendering civil socie-
ties activities in India by getting
remittances from parent body
Amnesty International, UK in
the garb of export of services”.
The Indian chapter of the
rights body has been under scru-
tiny of the investigative agen-
cies for some time. In October
last year, the ED had conducted
searches at its Bengaluru office
in connection with its probe in
the alleged violation of FDI gui-
delines and remittances it had
received from the parent body. Its
director Akar Patel’s residences
were among premises searched
by the agency then.
The agency was probing if
the Amnesty adopted the FDI
route to evade FCRA as the gov-
ernment had tightened laws un-
der FCRA and had cancelled reg-
istrations of hundreds of NGOs
for their “anti-India” activities.
Centre: 80% of Valley
landlines functional
Gives SC Details
Of Kashmir
Returning
To Normalcy
Dhananjay.Mahapatra
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The Centre on
Thursday gave a detailed ac-
count of “normalcy” return-
ing to Kashmir after its Au-
gust 5 decision to scrap special
status to J&K under Article
370 and informed the court
that 80% of landline phones
were operational in the Valley.
As a bench of Chief Jus-
tice Ranjan Gogoi and Justic-
es S A Bobde and S Abdul Na-
zeer decided to give a detailed
hearing to a petition by jour-
nalist Anuradha Bhasin
against the “clampdown”
within the Valley, attorney
general K K Venugopal and so-
licitor general Tushar Mehta
said steps had been taken to
make the situation normal.
The status report filed by
the Centre said, “Landline
phones have been made
operational in 76 out of 95
exchanges in Kashmir
Valley covering 26,000 lan-
dlines (80%). Instructions are
also being issued today for
making remaining 19 ex-
changes operational. Thus,
all landline phones in Kash-
TIMES NATION | Politics & Policy 9
‘Inclusion of people with fake
identity in NRC is worrisome’
The main problem with the NRC process is not
about genuine people being left out as there will
Census will be in a concrete list
of genuine citizens. There will
be photo identify card and Aad-
be adequate opportunity for corrections but haar, which will help in check-
ing infiltration in future.
fake citizens included in the register, Assam
finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tells ■ Do you think the experi-
Akhilesh Singh & Bharti Jain. Excerpts ence in Assam will affect im-
plementation of BJP’s mani-
festo promise to extend NRC
■ Which are the districts now when it has rejected the to other parts of the country?
where you think the National same request earlier? Sarma said India will somehow There is no criticism of the
Register of Citizens (NRC) A large number of indigenous have to convince Bangladesh NRC decision but about the
may not have been accurate people, including Hindus and to take back its citizens process. The entire exercise is a
CONNECTED AGAIN: A woman talks on the phone in Srinagar on and why? Muslims, who came before 1947, learning opportunity. We have
Thursday after authorities in J&K restored 19 more exchanges The border districts of Karim- have complained that they have sam, we shall go for NRC at the legacy data, software support
ganj, Hailakandi, Dhubri and been excluded as their refugee national level. But I agree there through which a foolproof proc-
South Salmara are areas where certificate was not accepted. We are Hindus, Buddhists and ess can be evolved for the rest of
Kashmir doesn’t concern ummah: UAE we suspect maximum irregu- are hopeful that SC will take Muslims who have been exclud- the country.
I n yet another setback to Islamabad, UAE foreign minister Sheikh
Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan — who is visiting
Pakistan — on Thursday said Kashmir is not an issue concerning
larities took place. It is surpris-
ing that exclusion rate in bor-
dering districts is 6% and exclu-
cognisance of our concerns and
we are hopeful of getting an op-
portunity to appeal immediate-
ed because of genuine mis-
takes. For their relief, we have
set up 200 additional tribunals
■ Is work permit a practical
way to tackle those eventual-
Muslim ummah (community) but a dispute between Islamabad sion in fully autonomous dis- ly. The final exclusion list of the in addition to the existing 160. ly declared as foreigners?
and New Delhi. Foreign ministers of UAE and Saudi Arabia reached tricts is 16%. The Union and NRC will be submitted to the SC See, our problem is not with No, not at all. A person declared
Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss the Kashmir issue on state governments have re- on September 7, hearing in the those excluded as genuine citi- foreigner will have some rights
Pakistan’s insistence. According to The News Interna- tional, some quested 20% re-verification in case will happen only after that. zens can’t be left out. However, but certainly can’t enjoy all
Pakistani officials sought UAE minister’s support but he averred border districts and 10% in oth- inclusion of people with fake rights of a citizen. After the fi-
that Islamabad should not make the Kashmir issue a matter er parts of the state. Police in- ■ What legislation do you identity is more worrisome. nal verdict, we should start dis-
regarding Muslim community. He also urged that Pakistan and vestigations found organised envisage to protect genuine cussing with Bangladesh to ac-
India should resolve the matter through talks. AGENCIES fake certificate rackets were citizens left out of the ■ Do you favour including cept its citizens who had settled
functional in border districts. NRC? Will it bring relief to Assam in the National Pop- in India illegally. Bangladesh
in Jammu division and La- “ Supply of drinking wa- There are some districts where Bengali Hindus? ulation Register exercise in and India are friendly nations.
dakh division (100%).” ter and electricity has been en- 6% was identified as illegal set- Reports attributed to me that Census 2021, as that may lead There have been regular occa-
It admitted that mobile sured since the beginning and tlers but only 2% was excluded. the state is contemplating legis- to further updation of NRC? sions when 100, 150 people were
phone services remained sus- round the clock maintenance Border districts have over 20% lation are not true. In fact, there Census is an entirely a different sent back to Bangladesh but
pended in most parts of Kash- services are provided. Three illegal settlers. Therefore, we was some confusion about what exercise. Under this process, post-NRC numbers will be far
mir. Responding to allega- months’ stock of essential are going to urge the Supreme I had said. During the election you count each and every indi- higher. Somehow, government
tions that residents of Kash- commodities have been en- Court for re-verification. campaign, we had promised vidual, which is not the case of India will have to convince
mir were denied access to sured. Vegetable and meat that we shall enact Citizenship with NRC. But I agree that after Bangladesh to take back its citi-
healthcare, the Centre said, supply have been ensured.” ■ How early do you plan to Bill for citizenship of Hindus NRC and Census, there will be zens. If it doesn’t accept them,
“Nearly seven lakh patients Trashing Bhasin’s claim that approach the SC for re-verifi- and Buddhists who migrated no scope for further intrusion. we will have to evolve a way out.
attended outdoor patient de- an unprecedented “clamp- cation and why do you think from neighbouring countries People included in the NRC and But I reiterate that no detainee
partments in Kashmir during down” prevented her from you can convince the court and also promised that after As- further confirmed through the camps will be set up.
August. About 46,449 patients publishing her newspaper,

SC treats doc’s mir Valley will become oper- have availed indoor patient the Centre said, “A large num-

FIRs against Hajela NRC made many people foreigners

ational. All landline tele- department facilities in vari- ber of newspapers have been
phone exchanges have al- ous government-run health- publishing news from J&K.”
email to CJI on ready been made operational care institutions.” Full report on www.toi.in
in their own country, says Tharoor
lynching as PIL
New Delhi: The Supreme Court
SC lets daughter meet Mufti; & three ‘foreigners’ New Delhi: Senior Congress lea-
der and Lok Sabha MP Shashi
Tharoor said here on Wednesday
but India, who have lived here, in
many cases since 1971. Many peo-
ple have lives, families, career,

shifts CPM leader to AIIMS who made it to NRC

on Thursday lodged a petition
based on an email sent by an
Agra-based paediatrician, who
cited a TOI news report and
highlighted the recent lynching
of a 75-year-old doctor in an As-
sam tea estate. He sought urgent
remedial measures to stop at-
tacks on doctors.
Sanjay Kulshreshtha, a pae-
diatric surgeon sent a link of the
video showing lynching of the
doctor and wrote to CJI Ranjan
ASSAM KILLING
Gogoi that unless immediate
steps were taken against such at-
tacks, “no doctor will choose to
go to villages or small towns
even if there happens to be a glut
of doctors because of more
number of medical colleges”.
Citing the TOI report head-
lined ‘Assam tea garden workers
beat doc to death’, Kulshreshtha
said, “The community he served
did not hesitate for once in beat-
ing him to death. Decades of
service were washed away as
he was thrashed by a moment
of alleged questionable serv-
ice inadequacy.” TNN
Dhananjay.Mahapatra
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court allowed former -J&K
CM Mehbooba Mufti’s
daughter, Iltija, to travel from
Chennai to Srinagar to meet
her mother, kept under house
arrest since August 5 and to
move in Srinagar subject to
requisite permission.
A bench of CJI Ranjan Go-
goi and Justices S A Bobde
and S Abdul
Nazeer also
ordered im-
mediate shift-
ing of former
MLA Yusuf
Tarigami
from Srinagar to Delhi for
treatment. The SC took the de-
cision after taking cognisance
of health concerns raised by
CPM chief Sitaram Yechury.
“Iltija wants access to her
mother,” said advocate Nitya
Pak moves 2,000
soldiers to LoC
A mid tension over Kashmir,
Pakistan has moved almost
abrigade-size force — over
2,000 soldiers — in the Bagh and
Kotli Sector close to the Line of
Control (LoC) in POK. The troops
that have been moved are from
apeace location and for now
stationed around 30 km from
the LoC, Army sources said in
New Delhi. “The Army is closely
watching their movements,” a
source said. AGENCIES
Ramakrishnan, giving an im-
pression that Iltija had been
prevented from meeting her
mother. However, solicitor
general Tushar Mehta said
that the petition had been filed
to cater to elements outside
who were hostile to India and
stressed that Iltiza had so far
not sought permission to visit
Pak seeks another
meet on Kartarpur
F ollowing breakdown of the
third round of talks at Attari
on Wednesday and failure to
finalise the draft agreement on
Kartarpur corridor, Pakistan
has asked India for another
round of bilateral talks. Pakis-
tan has proposed to India that
next meeting should preferably
be held in the coming week in
view of the impending deadline
of the 550th celebrations of
Baba Guru Nanak. TNN
her mother.
The bench asked Iltija
whether she was free to travel
to Srinagar. When her counsel
answered in the affirmative,
the bench asked whether
there was any difficulty in her
entering her own house. Ra-
makrishnan again said there
were none.
Prabin.Kalita@timesgroup.com
Guwahati: As resentment
against the National Register
of Citizens continued to
spread across Assam, at least
1,000 people organised a pro-
test rally against NRC coordi-
nator Prateek Hajela in New
Delhi on Thursday.
The protesters, who assem-
bled at Jantar Mantar, an-
nounced that at least 12 lakh of
the 19 lakh people excluded
from the NRC are “Bengali-
speaking Hindus and genuine
Indians” who will not ap-
proach foreigners’ tribunals to
seek entry into the NRC.
Shouting “Hajela, tumi kuthai
jabe (Where will you go, Haje-
la),” they said they want the
names of Bengali-speaking
Hindus and genuine Indians to
be considered on the basis of
whatever documents they
have submitted.
State coordinator Prateek
Hajela, who steered the work
that National Register of Citi- property, and everything in our
zens (NRC) has made “many peo- country and now they are sud-
ple who have families, careers, denly told they are foreigners and
properties in India suddenly a fo- must be shunted to concentra-
reigner” in their own country.
Speaking at an event here,
tion camps.”
The final NRC was published
Tharoor said: “You have taken on Saturday with around 19 lakh
people who know no other home people not included in it. AGENCIES
FACING FURY: Prateek Hajela
under the supervision of the
Supreme Court, is facing a
multi-pronged attack from
those whose names were ex-
cluded. In Guwahati, an NGO
lodged an FIR against three
people who have found a place
in the NRC even after being de-
clared foreigners and against
the NRC authorities.
The All Assam Goriya-Mo-
riya Yuva Chatra Parishad, an
organisation of indigenous
Muslim students, filed an FIR
against Hajela . In Dibrugarh,
Chandan Mazumdar, who fai-
led to make it to the NRC, also
lodged an FIR against Hajela.

Kol Metro work: Bengal Newspaper

min forced to vacate flat
Tamaghna.Banerjee@timesgroup.com
Kolkata: Till Wednesday afternoon,
Bowbazar resident and West Bengal
cabinet minister Tapas Roy was busy
managing the relocation and rehabil-
itation of people rendered homeless af-
ter a series of house collapses in cen-
tral Kolkata, allegedly caused by the
boring work for the 16.6 km East-West
flank of the city’s Metro Rail. But on
Thursday, he himself was served a no-
tice to vacate his flat, two blocks away
from one of the crash sites. He hurried-
ly left his home with his family and
“only essential belongings”.
Roy, the state planning, sta-
tistics and parliamentary af-
fairs minister who lived in a
2,700 square feet 4BHK apart-
ment on 105 BB Ganguly Street
moved to a 2BHK minister’s
quarter at Syed Amir Ali Ave-
nue in Park Circus, where he would be
staying till further orders.
“I have spent my entire childhood,
youth and even my political journey
from this area itself. Prior to moving in-
to this flat on BB Ganguly Street, we
used to stay at our ancestral home at
Prem Chand Baral Street and when
this apartment came up in 2006, we
moved in here. It is painful, to leave the
para (locality) that has been a part of
me and shift elsewhere,” said Roy.
Roy stayed at the flat with his wife
Subhra and daughter Sohini. His elder
son, Somtirtha works at Barclays Labs
in San Francisco, US.
“For few days, I have been seeing
houses of neighbours come crumbling
down. Every day, I had been just check-
ing if there is any crack on our walls or
if the building is safe. It still looks safe
and I was hopeful, that we not be asked
to leave. But on Wednesday night, we
were told to vacate the house
with immediate effect,” said
Subhra Roy, wiping tears.
Sohini (27), a school teacher,
said she was hoping that they
would be allowed to stay but
when the news came, she was
the one who took the initiative to start
packing. “A test was conducted at our
building on Wednesday and then it was
decided that since our building is the
tallest structure in the area, it is not
safe. We have to abide by the instruc-
tions,”she said.
hawker hacked
to death in Raj
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Jaipur: A 50-year-old newspa-
per hawker was hacked to de-
ath by a customer with an axe
in Kho Nagroiyan area here
early Thursday morning.
The murder triggered hu-
ge protests bordering on com-
munal lines and the Jaipur po-
lice had to resort to a
lathi charge in which two for-
mer MLAs, a photojournalist
and the kin of the deceased
were injured.
For several days Munna
Lal Vaishnav had been urging
one Rafique Khan, to whom he
used to deliver newspapers, to
clear long-pending dues. At
around 6.30 am on Thursday,
when Vaishanv had delivered
the last newspaper in Kho Na-
goriyan locality, he again as-
ked Rafique to pay his dues.
Rafique responded by attack-
ing Vaishanv with an axe and
killed him, eyewitnesses said.
Vaishnav and Rafique’s hou-
ses are half-a-km apart but in
different colonies.

4 die, 9 injured in
Guj house collapse
Ahmedabad:Four persons died and nine we-
re injured when a house collapsed on them in a
chawl in Amraiwadi on Thursday. The house
was 80 years old and primary inquiry suggests
that it collapsed due to heavy rains.
The deceased include three from the same
family — Baldev Suri, 85, and his wife, Vimla
Suri, 75, and Pappu Suri, 55. They had been li-
ving in the three-storey house since 1950. Bal-
dev’s son Rajendra, 50, is missing and feared to
be trapped under the debris, said police. A wo-
man, Asha Patel, 36, also died in the collapse.
Residents of the chawl called up cops and
fire rescue services after which teams of Am-
raiwadi, Nikol and Odhav police stations,
along with 150 personnel of Ahmedabad
Fire and Emergency Services (AFES)
reached there. TNN
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10 TIMES NATION THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

On Odisha’s coast, a losing India gives $1 bn line of credit for

battle to keep the sea at bay Russia’s resource-rich Far East Vladivostok: India on Thurs-
day announced an “unprece-
vostok,” the PM said.
“I am confident that this
EEF-2019, according to the PM.
Modi also said the sanctions
Thousands Have Been Uprooted As The State Lost dented” $1billion line of credit step will give new impetus to imposed by the US on Russia
for Russia’s resource-rich Far the development of economic have no effect on India bolste-
More Than A Quarter Of Its Coastline In Two Decades East with Prime Minister Na- diplomacy and growth of ties ring cooperation with Moscow
rendra Modi vowing to sup- between the regions of our fri- in the strategic sectors like
Ashis Senapati | TNN washed away her home. But her family is port President Vladimir endly states. We will remain energy and defence.
reluctant to move. Prafulla, Janaki’s hus- Putin’s “stupendous efforts” active partners in our priority Modi, who arrived in Rus-
Kendrapada: Wading through mulchy band, who owns 20 buffaloes and earns to develop the extremely cooperation,” he said. sia on a two-day visit on Wed-
sand in Barahapur village in Odisha, his living by delivering milk, said the harsh region. The climate in the Far East nesday, is the first Indian PM
Jagannath Behera comes to an abrupt rehabilitation site in Bagapatia has no Addressing the plenary is extremely harsh. The win- to visit to its Far East region.
halt and points to ruins of abandoned fields where his cattle can graze. “I make session of the 5th Eastern Eco- BOLSTERING TIES ter lasts nearly nine months, Modi and Putin chaired the
and partially submerged houses. “That’s Rs 10,000 every month selling buffalo nomic Forum here, Modi, who snow covers the ground al- 20th India-Russia annual sum-
where my land used to be. Thirty years milk to the government-run milk federa- was the chief guest, said it was ged East Asia as part of its ‘Act most all year round. Accor- mit on Wednesday and the two
ago, the sea was far away. But every year, tion. If there are no grazing pastures for a “unique case” of India provi- East’ policy,” PM Modi said at ding to official figures, the re- sides signed 15 agreements
it is getting closer,” the 60-year-old said, my animals, I can’t move.” ding such special credit line to the meeting. gion, which is spread across an and MoUs to bolster bilateral
adding that rising sea levels started to A dangerous mix of rising sea levels a region in another country, “India’s connection to Rus- area of 6,952,555 sq km, has a ties in areas like defence, spa-
sink their hamlet in the 1990s and, before due to climate change, felling of man- adding it was “our launching sia’s Far East goes back a long population of just 8.1million. ce, trade, oil and gas, nuclear
long, had swallowed several pad” in the region. “My go- way. India was the first count- India concluded around 50 energy and maritime connec-
homes and farmlands. vernment has actively enga- ry to open a consulate in Vladi- agreements worth $5 billion at tivity. AGENCIES
Barahapur is not an
Temple,

India, Japan to hold Delhi and Jakarta

exception. Sea erosion is
destroying many coastal new
towns in Odisha. In Satab- location
Temple,
haya gram panchayat alone, earlier

first 2+2 meeting call for global

where Barahapur village is
site
located, 3,000 people have
been evacuated to safer are-
as in the past two decades. A HA BAY OF
IS

in coming weeks anti-terror fight

quick look at Google Maps OD Satabhaya BENGAL
shows a part of Satabhaya
gram panchayat in the sea.
What it doesn’t show is that
there are still several people TIMES NEWS NETWORK Jakarta: India and Indonesia The two leaders discussed
living a precarious life on on Thursday “unequivocally” the entire gamut of bilateral
the edge of the coast. New Delhi: The first 2+2 meet- condemned terrorism and the ties and held talks on a number
Odisha’s coast — home ing between India and Japan “selective approaches” in deal- of regional, global, economic,
to the largest-known nest- will happen in the coming ing with the global menace as political and security issues.
ing site of the Olive Ridley weeks in the run-up to the an- External Affairs Minister “They (discussions) were
sea turtle and also Asia’s nual Modi-Abe summit sched- S Jaishankar held talks with very frank, they were very free,
largest brackish water la- uled to be held in India in De- his Indonesian counterpart they were very comfortable
cember. The format involves Retno Marsudi here. and we exchanged views on va-
goon — is losing several DISAPPEARING COASTLINE: Search for Satabhaya on Google Maps and a part of the gram panchayat is shown
high-level discussions between Jaishankar is on a riety of steps that we
metres of coastline every lying inside the Bay of Bengal. Marked on the map are the old and new locations of Maa Panchaburahi temple
foreign and defence ministers September 4-6 visit to need to move our rela-
year. Between 1990 and 2016, (picture top) that had to be relocated as the sea moved in while a guest house (picture above) at Siali in
on strategic and defence issues. Indonesia, his first to a tionship to even further,”
Odisha lost 28% of its 550- Jagatsinghpur district that once stood 2km from the coast now has the sea virtually at its doorstep
India has 2+2 talks with all PM Modi with Japanese PM South East Asian he said. Acknowledging
km coastline, according to
quad members—US, Australia Shinzo Abe in Vladivostok country. During the that the two countries are
a 2018 study by the National Centre for grove forests for construction and in- (sedimentation) along the coast. The east
and now Japan. talks, the two coun- close maritime neigh-
Coastal Research, Chennai. Two of the frastructure-building too close to the sea coast, over time, was shaped by a balance
Prime Minister Narendra al relations between our na- tries also affirmed bours, Jaishankar said
six coastal districts of the state bore the is leading to erosion. Kakani Nageswar of accretion and erosion. However, large- Modi and his counterpart Shin- tions. Our countries are also their shared interests in the that India values Indonesia as a
brunt — Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur, Rao, emeritus professor in the depart- scale construction of dams in the 1960s zo Abe met in Vladivostok on working together on various territorial integrity and unity. key partner under our Act East
respectively, lost 31 km and 14.5 km of ment of geo-engineering at Andhra Uni- decreased the amount of silt being car- the margins of the Eastern Eco- global forums to create a better “As democracies, who both and Indo-Pacific policy. “Im-
their coastline during the study period, versity said that until the 1960s, the area ried by these rivers to the river mouth. nomic Forum on Thursday. In- planet,” Modi tweeted. confront the menace of terror- proving connectivity between
resulting in thousands being displaced. of the Satabhaya gram panchayat was With a decrease in sedimentation, the dia and Japan agreed to further Briefing the media about ism, in our meeting today, we India and Indonesia, especially
Among these environmental refugees covered with dense mangrove forests. rates of erosion went up. Cyclones also deepen cooperation in the stra- the PM’s meeting, Gokhale said unequivocally reiterated our between Andaman and Nico-
is a local deity — Maa Panchaburahi — “To build the port at Paradip, the govern- played a part, eating into the landmass tegic Indo-Pacific region as well the two leaders had a discus- strongest condemnation of ter- bar Islands and Aceh Province
who was shifted to a new temple in Baga- ment cleared acres of mangrove forests. faster and many believe the Super Cy- as broaden joint projects in sion on the Indo-Pacific region. rorism in all forms and mani- of Indonesia is, therefore, a key
patia, 10 km away, along with 571 resi- Then to protect the port from the on- clone in 1999 spelt the end of Satabhaya. Africa, according to foreign sec- “PM Abe spoke of a free and festations,” Jaishankar said in strategic priority for both
dents of Satabhaya gram panchayat who slaught of the sea, the government built Authorities in Odisha said they have retary Vijay Gokhale. open Indo-Pacific and the im- a press statement. countries,” he said.
were rehabilitated by the government be- a sea wall. As a result, the waters moved taken various measures to counter the The two Prime Ministers portance of a bilateral coopera- “We expressed our stron- India and Indonesia last
tween 2008 and 2017. About 120 families towards Satabhaya,” explained Rao. threat. A 600m-long geo-synthetic sea met for the third time this year tion in that regard, both on eco- gest opposition to any selective year agreed to set up a special
still remain in the panchayat area, fight- A number of mighty rivers enter the wall was built in Kendrapada’s Pentha after the G-20 meeting in Osaka nomic side and in terms of peo- approaches in dealing with task force to enhance connec-
ing a losing battle against the sea. Bay of Bengal on the east coast, bringing village three years ago to minimise sea and G-7 summit in Biarritz, ple-to-people relations to build a this global menace,” he said. tivity between the strategic
Drinking water is fast becoming with them silt and leading to accretion erosion due to high tides. Plans are afoot France. Gokhale said they re- secure and prosperous Indo-Pa- India, during the meeting, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
scarce as the sea has come dangerously to quickly rehabilitate the remaining viewed the US-India-Japan tri- cific region,” he said. called upon all countries “to and provinces in Sumatra Is-
close to two tube wells in Satabhaya. Between 1990 and 2016, Odisha families in Satabhaya, said Kendrapada lateral meeting in Osaka – this “A lot of discussion was on stop providing state sponsor- land to promote trade, tourism.
One of the tube wells that initially collector Samarth Verma. is the core relationship that bilateral relationship with par- ship to terrorism and to pre- “We expect the Task Force to
stood one metre above the ground now lost 28% of its 550-km coastline. Kanhu Charan Dhir, additional dis- powers the Indo-Pacific policies ticular emphasis on the forth- vent their territories from be- meet in November,” he said.
towers at six metres as the land around Two of its six coastal districts — trict magistrate of Jagatsinghpur’s of all three countries. coming visit of Japanese PM to ing used for establishing ter- He expressed happiness
has eroded. Locals have to use a rope to Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur Paradip municipal town, said a wall is “Delighted to meet PM India for the Annual Summit rorist safe havens.” over Indonesia’s invitation to
draw water from it. planned in Siali village in the district Shinzo Abe in Vladivostok. We that would take placein Decem- “We also affirmed our India for joining the Indonesia,
— bore the brunt, losing 31 km had in-depth discussions on a ber. Dates will be negotiated shared interests in the territo- Malaysia, Thailand-Growth
“The other tube well was lost to sand where a government guest house built
two months ago,” said Janaki Lenka. and 14.5 km of their coastline, 2km from the sea over a decade ago is wide range of subjects, particu- and announced in due course,” rial integrity and unity of the Triangle as the Dialogue Part-
Around the same time, a tidal surge respectively, during that period now touching the waters. larly bettering trade and cultur- Gokhale said. two countries,” he added. ner. AGENCIES

Blast in Punjab
field kills 2, NIA
‘India open to using Andhra woman conceived in Pragyan will move out
probe likely force for self-defence’ 1st cycle of IVF procedure 4 hours after landing
Yudhvir.Rana@timesgroup.com TNN & AGENCIES
dress at the ‘Seoul Defence  From P 1 Vikram’s final descent from
Tarn Taran: Two persons were New Delhi: In the backdrop of Dialogue’, Singh underlined  From P 1 The delivery has ensure she remained mental- the lunar orbit would’ve started

I
killed and another sustained inju- heightened tensions between the flux in world politics triggered a debate ly strong throughout the pro- sro considered that both the from an altitude of 35km. As per

ries in a mysterious blast that to-
ok place in agricultural fields at
Kaler village in Tarn Taran dis-
trict on Wednesday. As the spot is
located close to the international
border and the district was the hot
bed of terrorists during the days
of militancy in Punjab, National
Investigation Agency (NIA) team
visited the spot on Thursday.
Harpreet Singh of Bachhare
village and Vikramjit Singh of
Kadgill village — died on the spot,
Gurjant Singh sustained serious
injuries and was hospitalized.
India and Pakistan, defence
minister Rajnath Singh said
on Thursday that India would
not balk at using its strength
to defend itself.
“India has never
been an aggressor in
its history nor will it
ever be. But that does
not mean that India
would balk at using its
strength to defend it-
self,” Singh said at a
defence dialogue in Seoul in
the presence of South Korea’s
top military brass.
Calling for collective inter-
national action to counter ter-
rorism and against those who
provide sanctuary to terror-
ists, Singh said “of the numer-
ous security challenges that
the world is facing, the gravest
is that of terrorism.”
Delivering the keynote ad-
which has aggravated chal-
lenges to international peace
and security. “No country in
the world is safe from terror-
ism and India has been active-
ly pursuing counter
terrorism cooperation
bilaterally, regionally
and globally thro- ugh
UN and other fora.”
He said measures
are required against
those who support, fi-
nance terrorism and provide
sanctuaries to terrorists.
China has been expanding
its military presence in the In-
do-Pacific, triggering con-
cerns in various countries of
the region In the address, he
termed as “spectacular” the
progress made by South Ko-
rea over the past few decades,
saying it has been a source of
inspiration for India.
R
ajarao expressed confi-
dence that he and Mang-
ayamma will be able to
bring up the twin girls well.
Rajarao, a farmer from Nela-
parthipudi village, said Mang-
ayamma was unable to concei-
ve despite the couple consul-
ting several doctors and visi-
ting temples.
The couple had given up
all hopes of having a child un-
til they consulted IVF expert
Dr Sanakkayala Umasankar
in Guntur about a year ago.
Keeping Mangayamma’s age
in mind, Dr Umasankar co-
nstituted a medical board of
cardiologists, gynaecologists
and paediatricians before de-
ciding on treatment. Mangay-
amma conceived in the very
first cycle of IVF procedure.
The doctors convinced the
couple to take the IVF route
in the medical
fraternity on
whether it is wise
to make a woman
undergo IVF at 74
since Mangayamma had cros-
sed the menopausal stage. Ho-
wever, Dr Umasankar refused
to divulge the details. “Kee-
ping in view the confidentiali-
ty clause in the agreement, we
can’t disclose certain details.
But we followed all rules,” he
told TOI.
Mangayamma was admit-
ted to the hospital in January
and stayed under the observa-
tion of the medical team. The
74-year-old’s sound physical
health also made the job of the
doctors easier. Also, she un-
derwent several rounds of
psychological counselling to
cedure. “Both the mother and
the babies are doing fine. Ten
doctors worked for nine mo-
nths to keep a close watch on
her health. This is a medical
miracle,” Dr Umasankar told
reporters after the operation.
“It’s due to the grace of
God and doctors that I have
now become a proud father of
two baby girls,” said a jubilant
Rajarao, distributing sweets
at the hospital. “I am very hap-
py. After 54 years, God has ans-
wered our prayers,” Mangay-
amma said.
Meanwhile, the delivery
has triggered a debate in the
medical fraternity on whet-
her it is wise to make a
woman undergo IVF at 74. Ma-
ny gynaecologists in Guntur
and Vijayawada said they we-
re against it.
Full report on www.toi.in
primary and backup site sho-
uld have Sun’s elevation at
more than six degrees on the
landing day to ensure enough il-
lumination for the lunar craft to
capture images. The lander has
been taking pictures of the pre-
ferred landing sites since Tues-
day. “The prime target will be
the first zone,” reads an Isro
planning document.
CHANDRAYAAN—2
“If it can land on the first zo-
ne, Vikram will, in 65 seconds,
reach a height of 10m directly. In
case it has to pick the second lan-
ding site, it will use 40 seconds to
first descend to a height of 60m,
then, drop to 10m in the next 25
seconds,” the scientist explai-
ned. Once Vikram reaches 10m,
it takes about 13 seconds for
the touchdown.
Isro’s plan, about 10 minutes af-
ter the descent is initiated, Vik-
ram would have dropped to a he-
ight of 7.4km from the lunar sur-
face. In the next 38 seconds, it
will reach a height of 5km and
another 89 seconds later Vik-
ram's altitude will be 400m. He-
re, Vikram will hover for a few
seconds to collect data before
plunging to 100m in 66 seconds.
Isro had performed a series
of manoeuvres around Earth
between July 22 and August 13
before sending Chandraya-
an—2 to Moon through a trans-
lunar insertion on August 14.
On August 20, it entered
Moon’s orbit, and between Au-
gust 21 and September 1, it un-
derwent a series of lunar-bound
manoeuvres. Four hours after
Vikram’s landing, Pragyan
will move out to roam the
lunar surface.

Cocaine worth `100cr seized in

Capital, US national arrested
I
n one of the biggest recoveries of drugs in Delhi
recently, a US national was on Thursday
arrested from a South Delhi hotel for possessing
4.2kg of Colombian cocaine worth around Rs 100
crore in the international market, Narcotics Control
Bureau officials said. Richard Walter had come to
Delhi on a KLM flight from Ecuador via Amsterdam.
An African-origin receiver of the consignment was
also nabbed later. TNN
Natco challenges Novartis over its
right to manufacture diabetes drug
Rupali.Mukherjee@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: In a fresh case of confron-
tation between generic pharma in-
dustry and global majors, domestic
firm Natco has filed a case in a Hyde-
rabad court, claiming its right to ma-
nufacture generic Vildagliptin, a
major diabetes drug. The company
has sought legal opinion on whether
it can manufacture the drug on the
basis of an expired patent covering
Vildagliptin, in a move being percei-
ved as an indirect challenge to pa-
tent holder Novartis.
Natco launched the drug in Au-
gust, claiming rights based on first
patent of Vildagliptin which expi-
red in 2017, sources told TOI. Vildag-
liptin is a relatively newer but im-
portant anti-diabetic drug marketed
as Galvus by Novartis, while the se-
condary patent covering it is expi-
ring in December this year.
Interestingly, Novartis is under-
stood to have filed 73 injunctions
against companies since 2013, rest-
raining them from marketing gene-
ric versions in the growing Rs13,000-
Vildagliptin is a relatively
newer anti-diabetic drug
marketed as Galvus by
Novartis, while the secondary
patent covering it is expiring
in December this year
crore diabetes therapy.
In a related development, Natco
has given an undertaking to the Del-
hi high court that it will not manu-
facture or market the drug, till expi-
ry of the patent in December.
This was in the court hearing where
Novartis sought an injunction to
prevent the domestic company
from marketing the drug. Accor-
ding to the Delhi high court order, a
copy of which is available with TOI,
Natco launched some medicine bat-
ches on August 14.
In the Hyderabad suit, Natco has
filed a case against Novartis seeking
declaratory relief under Section 34
of The Specific Relief Act, 1963 befo-
re City Civil Court (in Hyderabad)
on August 20. “The Hyderabad suit
is in relation to clearance of right
to manufacture Vildagliptin which
is publici juris due to expiry of Indi-
an Patent 209534 which not only dis-
closes but also claims Vildagliptin,”
sources say.
The company feels this a case of
ever-greening by the innovator, with
the patent being “obvious and frivo-
lous”. ‘Evergreening’, restricts the
patentability of a host of secondary
patents, ie, new forms of known sub-
stances, new property or new use of
known substances, use of known
processes without showing any en-
hanced therapeutic efficacy, and ad-
mixtures without synergistic effect.
The patent expiry of Vildaglip-
tin is being closely watched as it’s
the first among gliptins, a relatively
new class of oral diabetes drugs, to
get off the block, and also the first
(diabetes) medicine whose end of
patent life will be witnessed by in-
dustry. At least 18 companies were
restrained by Novartis last year, in
Gujarat alone, from launching the
drug before patent expiry—an indi-
cation of the number of companies
planning to make a foray.
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS
THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
Mini-trial for pre-arrest bail not possible: SC
‘Agencies
Should Get
Free Hand
For Probes’
AmitAnand.Choudhary
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court’s decision on Thurs-
day to reject former finance
minister P Chidambaram’s
anticipatory bail plea in a
money laundering case
lodged by the ED forced him
to withdraw his appeal
against being sent to CBI cus-
tody in the INX Media graft
case and paved the way for
the trial court to send him to
Tihar Jail in judicial custody.
Chidambaram’s year-long
legal battle to avert arrest in
the money laundering case
ended with a bench of Justic-
es R Banumathi and A S Bo-
panna rejecting his pre-arrest
bail plea, saying custodial in-
terrogation was required to
find out the truth in such
cases and that the former
minister needed to be con-
fronted with evidence collect-
ed by investigating agencies.
The Congress leader was
first granted protection from
arrest in both the ED and CBI
cases on July 25 last year and
this continued till August 20
when his plea was dismissed
by the Delhi HC. He was ar-
rested by CBI a day after. Soon,
Bail in economic offences SC disapproves of
will hamper probe: SC HC’s copy-paste job T
AmitAnand.Choudhary
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Making a dis-
tinction between economic
offences and other crimes,
the Supreme Court on
Thursday said white collar
crimes were committed with
minute planning and delib-
erate design and in such
cases, custodial interroga-
tion was needed to extract in-
formation from an accused.
While rejecting former fi-
nance minister P Chidamba-
ram’s anticipatory bail plea, a
bench of Justices R Banu-
mathi and A S Bopanna said
economic offences constituted
aclass apart and courts should
deal with such cases with a dif-
ferent approach while decid-
ing the bail plea of an accused.
“Power under Section 438
CrPC (direction for anticipa-
tory bail) being an extraor-
dinary remedy has to be ex-
ercised sparingly; more so,
in cases of economic offenc-
Why ED believes its custody of PC is crucial
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: The custodial in-
terrogation of former fi-
nance minister P Chidamd-
baram by the Enforcement
Directorate is crucial as re-
cording of statements under
Section 50 of the Prevention
of Money Laundering Act
(PMLA) is an admissible evi-
dence in court unlike a state-
ment recorded by the CBI un-
der section 161 of the CrPC
which, on its own, lacks evi-
dentiary value and cannot be
held against an accused dur-
ing prosecution.
The director of ED has the
same powers as of a civil court.
On Thursday, Chidamba-
ram’s lawyer Kapil Sibal said
that the former finance min-
ister was ready to be remand-
ed to ED’s custody . However,
sources in ED indicated that
they are in no hurry to take
the former finance minister
JKCA former treasurer Congress is with you, don’t ED quizzes Ahmed Patel’s son
sent on transit remand lose heart: Sonia tells DKS again in Sterling Biotech case
Neha.Sharma5@timesgroup.com
Chandigarh: A day after Ehsan
Ahmad Mirza, former treasur-
er of Jammu and Kashmir
Cricket Association (JKCA),
was arrested by the ED, he was
sent on transit remand to Srina-
gar on Thursday.
Mirza was arrested in case of
alleged misappropriation and
embezzlement of Rs 43-crore
funds given by BCCI to JKCA,
which is being probed by CBI.
The ED is investigating
money laundering aspect of the
case. Mirza was produced in
Chandigarh district court on
Thursday from where he was
sent on transit remand to Srina-
gar. In July this year, the ED had
summoned former J&K chief
minister and National Confer-
PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity
his appeal was taken up by the
SC which granted him inter-
im protection in the ED case.
The bench said agencies
should be given a free hand to
conduct a probe and the court
could not hold a mini-trial to
scrutinise evidence to decide
pre-arrest bail plea of an ac-
cused. The apex court agreed
with the ED’s submission that
it could not reveal information
about Chidambaram’s foreign
bank accounts and assets to
the leader without taking him
into custody as the accused
may try to tamper with evi-
dence or influence witnesses.
The SC also turned down
the former minister’s plea
The SC said white collar crimes
are committed with minute
planning and deliberate design
es. Economic offences stand
as a different class as they af-
fect the economic fabric of
society,” the bench said.
As crucial evidence in eco-
nomic offences were docu-
mentary and involved the
money trail, the court said
granting bail to an accused be-
fore arrest would hamper the
probe and the accused would
avoid responding to queries of
the probing agency if he was
given protection from arrest.
“In a case of money laun-
dering, where it involves
many stages of placement,
layering i.e. funds moved to
in their custody and might
prefer to wait before making
him go through custodial in-
terrogation.
Also, Chidambaram’s
new-found willingness to
submit himself to custodial
interrogation notwithstand-
ing, not many accused wish to
be remanded to the custody of
the anti-money laundering
agency. Once in the custody of
ED, an accused is questioned
all day at its office and then
sent to lock-up in a nearby po-
lice station to spend the night
before being brought in for a
fresh round of questioning
the next morning.
In Chidambaram’s case,
he, while in ED’s custody,
could be sent to either the
Tughlaq Road police station
or the one at Tilak Marg.
While being a Z-category pro-
tectee, Chidambaram is un-
likely to be put up in a regular
lock-up along with others, po-
ence president Farooq Abdul-
lah for investigation in the case.
The scam had come to fore in
2012 after the complaint of then
JKCA treasurer Manzoor Wazir
to the Srinagar police station re-
garding misappropriation of
JKCA funds. The J&K HC had
handed over the probe to CBI in
2015. As per CBI, BCCI had given
Rs 112 crore to JKCA between
2002 and 2011 for promotion of
cricket. It is alleged that out of Rs
112 crore, Rs 43.69 crore were
misappropriated by the accused
through bogus bank accounts.
The CBI had filed the
chargesheetagainst Abdullah,
former JKCA general secretary
Mohammad Saleem Khan,
Ahsan Ahmed Mirza and an ex-
ecutive of J&K Bank Bashir
Ahmed Misgar.
Edition: 1 Page: TOIM11 User: pinkle.naik Time: 09-06-2019
TIMES NATION | Politics & Policy
that the court should go
through the transcript of his
questioning on three dates be-
fore accepting the ED’s sub-
mission that he was evasive.
“Interrogation of the ac-
cused and answers elicited
from the accused and opinion
whether the answers given by
the accused are satisfactory
or evasive, is purely within
the domain of the investigat-
ing agency and the court can-
not substitute its views by
conducting mini-trial at vari-
ous stages of the investiga-
tion,” the bench said and al-
lowed the ED to seek custody
as per procedure.
Upholding Delhi HC’s or-
other institutions to conceal
origin and interrogation, it
requires systematic and ana-
lysed investigation which
would be of great advantage.
As held in Anil Sharma case,
success in such interrogation
would elude if the accused
knows that he is protected by
a pre-arrest bail order. Sec-
tion 438 CrPC is to be invoked
only in exceptional cases
where the case alleged is fri-
volous or groundless,” it said.
“In the case in hand, there
are allegations of laundering
the proceeds of crime. The ED
claims to have certain specific
inputs from various sources,
including overseas banks. Let-
ter rogatory is also said to have
been issued and some re-
sponse has been received by
the department. Having re-
gard to the nature of allega-
tions and the stage of the in-
vestigation, in our view, the in-
vestigating agency has to be
given sufficient freedom in the
process of probe,” the SC said.
The ED’s probe
into financial
transactions is
more intense,
based on evidences
gathered from
within the country
and from foreign
jurisdictions
lice locksups, including in
the” modern” police stations
of the capital are a far cry
from the room Chidambaram
stayed in while in CBI custody.
The room inside CBI
headquarters was more like
a guest house than a lock-up.
At the police lock-up, an
ED official is also posted dur-
ing the night to keep addi-
tional watch.
The ED’s probe into finan-
cial transactions is more in-
tense, based on evidences
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Bengaluru: All-India Cong-
ress Committee (AICC) presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi is said to
have told D K Shivakumar
and his family on Thursday
“not to lose heart”.
The former Karnata-
ka minister is cur-
rently in Enforce-
ment Directorate
(ED) custody. Sonia’s
message came three
days after Shivakumar was
arrested on charges of laun-
dering money.
The AICC president spoke
to Shivakumar’s MP brother,
D K Suresh, on the phone for
about three minutes. She is sa-
id to have assured Shivaku-
der rejecting Chidambaram’s
bail plea, the bench said courts
should refrain from interfer-
ing in the investigation proc-
ess, particularly in economic
offences. “Grant of anticipato-
ry bail to some extent inter-
feres in the sphere of investi-
gation of an offence and hence,
the court must be circumspect
while exercising such power
for grant of anticipatory bail.
Anticipatory bail is not to be
granted as a matter of rule and
it has to be granted only when
the court is convinced that ex-
ceptional circumstances exist
to resort to that extraordinary
remedy,” it said.
The bench also ruled that
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: Responding to
P Chidambaram’s allegation
that the high court judge did a
copy-paste job by relying
blindly on an “unsubstantiat-
ed” note handed over by CBI/
ED after the hearing had con-
cluded, the Supreme Court on
Thursday disapproved verba-
tim quoting of the sealed en-
velope note in the judgment.
A bench of Justices R Ba-
numathi and A S Bopanna
said there was nothing
wrong on the part of the
judge to go through the
sealed envelope report to sat-
isfy himself on the need for
custodial interrogation of
the former minister but
said, “We do not endorse the
approach of the single judge
in extracting the note pro-
duced by the Enforcement
Directorate.
“Of course, while consid-
ering the request for antici-
patory bail and while perus-
ing the material/note pro-
gathered from within the
country and from foreign ju-
risdictions. In Chidamba-
ram’s INX Media money laun-
dering case, the agency at-
tached assets worth over Rs 54
crore within the country and
abroad, including bank de-
posits and properties in Spain
and UK allegedly belonging to
his son, Congress MP Karti.
These attachments have
been confirmed by the adju-
dicating authority of PMLA-
—something which is cited
by ED sources to claim that
their actions have been
found to be prima facie cor-
rect by judicial and other au-
thorities in other countries.
In the INX Media money
laundering case, the ED has ac-
cused the former FM of alleg-
edly granting “illegal foreign
investment promotion board
approvals” to several compa-
nies to bring in foreign direct
investments. In exchange, the
mar of legal help, while accu-
sing BJP of indulging in poli-
tical vendetta by targeting op-
position leaders. “The entire
party is with you. Don’t lose
heart,” she is said to have
told Suresh.
ED sleuths continu-
ed to grill Shivakumar
for a sixth day on Thurs-
day. He is lodged at the
Tughlak Road police sta-
tion where he is likely to
be kept for the entire
duration of his custody —
awarded by a CBI court till
September 13.
Shivakumar was brought
to ED headquarters at around
8.30 am on Thursday for inter-
rogation and kept there till 9
pm. As per the court’s direc-
00:26 Color: C
Chidambarams
granted bail in
Aircel-Maxis case
A special CBI court on
Thursday granted
anticipatory bail to former
finance minister and Congress
veteran P Chidambaram and
his son Karti in Aircel-Maxis
cases filed against them by the
CBI and ED. Special CBI judge O
P Saini found it a “fit case” to
grant bail. “P Chidambaram is a
member of Rajya Sabha, while
Karti P Chidambaram is an MP.
P Chidambram is also a former
finance minister and home
minister of the country.
Considering these factors,
there is no apparent
possibility of the accused
fleeing from justice,” the
court said. Aamir Khan | TNN
there was nothing wrong in
the court perusing the case di-
ary placed in sealed envelope
while rejecting the former
minister’s plea that the court
should not consider “unau-
thenticated” documents. The
ED had strongly urged the
bench to go through the docu-
ments which contained infor-
mation pertaining to his for-
eign bank accounts, assets
and also money trail.
Though the bench said that
case diary could be relied upon
to get a sense of the gravity of
the offence, it, however, re-
frained from going through
the sealed report and passed
order without relying on it.
duced by ED/CBI, the single
judge could have satisfied his
conscience to hold that it is
not a fit case for grant of an-
ticipatory bail. On the other
hand, the single judge has
verbatim quoted from the
note produced by ED. The sin-
gle judge was not right in ex-
tracting the note produced by
ED/CBI which in our view, is
not a correct approach for
consideration of grant/re-
fusal of anticipatory bail.”
The bench further said,
“But such incorrect ap-
proach of the single judge, in
our view, does not affect the
correctness of the conclu-
sion in refusing to grant an-
ticipatory bail to the appel-
lant in view of all other as-
pects considered herein.
Though we do not endorse
the approach of the single
judge in extracting the note
produced by the Enforce-
ment Directorate, we do not
find any ground warranting
interference with the im-
pugned order.”
finance minister, ED has al-
leged, received Rs 300 crore as
kickbacks in shell companies
operated by Karti.
According to ED, the de-
posits in these shell compa-
nies have been used for meet-
ing personal expenditure of
Chidambarams and in open-
ing and depositing in more
than two dozen foreign bank
accounts besides purchasing
several properties in Malay-
sia, UK and Spain.
“The shell company of
Karti Chidambaram has re-
ceived huge payments from a
company located in British
Virgin Islands (BVI),” a
source alleged adding that
the BVI company has also fig-
ured in the agency’s probe in
the Panama papers in which
a lot of Indian corporates
have been under the scanner
for operating shell compa-
nies and siphoning off tax
evaded income.
tion, ED officials allowed fri-
ends and relatives to meehim
after 6 pm when Suresh and
Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath
met the Kanakapura MLA.
Members of Shivaku-
mar’s family — his mother
and wife, in particular — who
were also planning to meet
him on Friday, cancelled their
visit to Delhi at the last minu-
te. Sources said that Shivku-
mar is mulling moving a hig-
her court to seek bail but is un-
sure. Suresh consulted senior
advocate and Congress leader
Abhishek Manu Singhvi on
Thursday in this regard.
Condemning his arrest,
Congress workers and Shiva-
kumar’s supporters continu-
ed protests on Thursday.
K
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TN cops on Tihar security
will not guard PC’s cell
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: Former finance
minister P Chidambaram ate
dal and rice for dinner on
Thursday, his first night in Ti-
har jail. He skipped the mixed
vegetables and rotis on Thurs-
day’s jail menu, sources said.
He has been lodged in a
separate cell in jail number 7
at Tihar. He has been placed
under round-the-clock securi-
ty and CCTV camera surveil-
lance for security reasons.
This will be apart from the Z-
category security assigned to
him by the home ministry.
A source said the Tamil
Nadu police — which carries
out security duty at Tihar —
will not guard his cell. These
personnel are deployed to cre-
ate a language barrier for Ti-
har inmates, a majority of
whom are north Indians.
As per the court’s order,
Chidambaram has been given
a cell with a Western-style toi-
let and is allowed to keep his
spectacles and the medicines
prescribed to him. He was giv-
en a blanket and a pillow as
Order turning
him into Jail 7
inmate second
reverse of day
 Continued from P 1
he CBI has accused Chi-
dambaram of misusing
his position as then fi-
nance minister to grant foreign
investment clearances to pri-
vate TV channel INX Media in
lieu of bribes which were paid
to companies controlled, direct-
ly or indirectly, by his son, Con-
gress MP Karti Chidambaram.
Soon afterwards, Chidam-
baram, one of the seniormost
Congress leaders who held
important portfolios of fi-
nance, home and commerce in
different dispensations at the
Centre, was taken to Tihar
Jail in the capital.
The order turning the Con-
gress politician into an inmate
of Jail 7 of Tihar was the second
reverse Chidambaram suffered
on Thursday. Earlier in the day,
the Supreme Court had rejected
his anticipatory bail plea in a
money laundering case lodged
by the ED, forcing the senior pol-
itician to withdraw his appeal
against being sent to CBI custo-
dy in the INX Media case and
clearing the way for the trial
court to send him to Tihar.
The SC order came after a
hearing that stretched for four
days — an unusual occur-
rence in a matter concerning
anticipatory bail.
However, matters were com-
pounded further after a few
hours when special judge Ku-
har upheld the plea made by so-
licitor general Tushar Mehta
on the CBI’s behalf that Chi-
dambaram be sent to judicial
custody. Significantly, Mehta
referred to the SC’s rejection of
Chidambaram’s plea for inter-
im bail by saying that in the
money laundering case, the
apex court had recognised the
possibility of tampering with
evidence. He also showed the
court a statement of one of the
witnesses in the case, pointing
out that the witness could be
“easily influenced”. According
to the CBI, Chidambaram could
influence banks, which were
easily amenable.
Chidambaram’s imprison-
ment marks a turning point in
the cases investigating agen-
cies have been pursuing
against leaders of Congress
and its allies.
Full report on www.toi.in
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: Faisal Patel, son of
senior Congress leader Ahmed
Patel, was questioned by the
Enforcement Directorate at its
New Delhi headquarters again
on Thursday in its ongoing
money laundering probe in the
Rs 15,000 crore Sterling Biotech
money laundering case.
Faisal has made multiple
appearances before the ED in
the Sterling case. On Thursday,
he was asked about his family’s
association with the Sandesa-
ra brothers, Chetan and Nitin,
the accused who have fled to
Nigeria and bought several oil
rigs, oil fields, ships and air-
craft allegedly by laundering
loans taken from government
11
PTI
For his first Tihar dinner, Chidambaram opted for rice and dal
Next birthday in custody?
I n all likelihood, P Chidambaram will be in Enforcement
Directorate custody or in Tihar Jail on his birthday on September
16. The ED has not yet moved for his custodial interrogation after
his lawyer filed a surrender application for the ED on Thursday in
the INX Media money laundering case. The court has fixed the
next date of hearing on September 12 on Chidambaram’s
application for ED custody. The CBI special court on Thursday
remanded him to judicial custody till September 19 on completion
of his CBI custody. Chidambaram was born on September 16, 1945,
in Kanadukathan in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. TNN
part of his bedding allocation walk in the corridors and in
and a wooden plank was also the open, as per the manual,
provided to him to sleep on. and will be allowed to watch
He will be allowed to take a TV and read a newspaper.
Cong faces test of
credibility with big
leaders in the dock
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: With two promi-
nent Congress faces in CBI
and ED nets, and the noose
possibly tightening around
a few others, the party is
grappling with a crisis that
has been growing since its
electoral drubbing in May
and the leadership suspense. DK Shivakumar
There was a sense of dis-
belief in Congress as former
finance minister P Chidam- Congress backs
baram was sent to Tihar Jail
and Karnataka firefighter D
PC, says truth
K Shivakumar arrested by
the Enforcement Directorate
will prevail
a day before. Though the par-
ty maintained the actions
were politically motivated, it
C ongress remained resolute
in its defence of senior
party leader P Chidambaram
seems clear that Congress on Thursday and said those
faces a test of credibility. with the “power of truth” had
While Madhya Pradesh the strength to fight any
CM Kamal Nath’s nephew “injustice”, reiterating that
Ratul Puri was arrested by the case against the former
the ED over his alleged role finance minister was
in the AgustaWestland chop- politically motivated.
per scam, the agency also Speaking to TOI, Congress
questioned Congress leader spokesperson Manish Tewari
Ahmed Patel’s son Faisal for said the government was free
alleged involvement in the to jail party leaders but
Sterling Biotech money ultimately the cases had to hold
laundering case. up in court. “There is a
Congress put up a brave difference between
face and said it would not be persecution and prosecution.
cowed down or silenced by In the case of Chidambaram,
the attempted “persecution” ultimately truth will prevail and
but the developments ap- his innocence will be
pear to have thrown the par- established ... ” he said, adding
ty into disarray ahead of that these actions would
crucial assembly polls in prove to be the “nemesis of the
Jharkhand, Maharashtra, BJP government”.
Haryana as BJP drives home Chidambaram’s son Karti
the corruption issue against said, “I don't see any merit in
it. Coming on the heels of a the judicial custody,
division of opinion over its particularly for events which
opposition to revocation of happened 11years ago. They
Article 370, the graft arrests are still nowhere close even to
do not augur well with state filing a chargesheet.” TNN
level leaders leaving the par-
ty in poll-bound states. stalwarts has helped the rul-
The arrests and action by ing party put the focus back
investigating agencies have on “dynasty” and the “cor-
also taken the sheen off Con- rupt power centres” that flow
gress’s repeated attacks on from it. Some Congress lead-
the Modi government’s hand- ers have indicated that the test
ling of the economy. The slow- may not be limited to dealing
down gives Congress a reason with just an electoral reverse
to attack the government, but but pose a more fundamental
the arrests raise the question question on the direction and
as to who is best equipped to leadership of the party. The
handle the economy, with BJP drift has seen feuding in-
pointing to its rival’s scams. crease in states like Madhya
The action of enforcement Pradesh, one of the few big
agencies against Congress states the party is in office.
Ratul Puri sent to 6-day ED custody
A Delhi court on Thursday sent Ratul Puri, nephew of Madhya
Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, to six-day ED custody in a
money laundering case related to the
AgustaWestland chopper scam. Special judge
Arvind Kumar remanded Puri to ED’s custody
till September 11, noting that the probe
agency has sought his custodial interrogation
to “unearth the source and end use of tainted
money”. The court also noted that the ED
sought Puri’s custody to confront him with
“voluminous documents collected” by it and
to find out the roles of the co-accused. The judge also noted that
the agency sought Puri’s custody to find out the money trail. PTI
banks in India and their over- Recently, the ED had ques-
seas branches. tioned Sunil Yadav, an em-
The agency had earlier re- ployee of the Sterling Biotech
corded the statements of group, about transactions be-
Ahhmed Patel’s son-in-law Ir- tween Faisal Patel and Che-
fan Siddiqui in the same case. tan Sandesara.
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIMEDIT User: rohit.bundelkhandi Time: 09-05-2019 23:15 Color: C
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12 COMFORTING THE AFFLICTED AFFLICTING THE COMFORTABLE

THE TIMES OF INDIA
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

A thought for today

A city is not gauged by its length and width, but by the
broadness of its vision and the height of its dream
HERB CAEN, US journalist
One Year After Freedom
How are LGBTs faring today, since Section 377 was struck down by the Supreme Court?

Liveability Sliding Arundhati Katju

This day last year – not

at the stroke of the
government and business, to academia,
media and the judiciary.
But social change needs to be
backed by legal and legislative change.
Urgently called for reforms also include municipal midnight hour, but
somewhere around
Until we participate in the electoral
process – as voters and as candidates –
governance. Only cities can drive growth 11.30am – LGBT Indians legislative change will be slow to come.
“awoke to life and Numbers matter. In the Johar case, the

D
elhi’s and Mumbai’s slide down the liveability index to the freedom”. Passing its judgment in
118th and 119th spot among 140 world cities reveals India’s Navtej Singh Johar vs Union of India,
unpardonable failure to create at least two showpiece metro the Supreme Court of India struck
down Section 377, India’s colonial-era
cities befitting the two decades of fast-paced economic growth the sodomy law. For LGBT Indians, this
country was earlier witness to. Delhi and Mumbai have added infra- was the moment of moving from a
structure like roads, public transport and housing but the idea of a colonial legal regime to the Indian
liveable city encompasses a lot more than just ceaseless (sometimes Constitution’s promises of equality,
pointless) construction activity. Take Mumbai where heavy rainfall dignity and fraternity.
on Wednesday has drowned and shut down the city. Widely billed as To quote the Johar judgment, there
Asia’s richest municipal body, Mumbai’s BMC is heavily politicised was an “unbridgeable divide between
the moral values on which [Section
and incapable of meeting public pressure to reform. 377] is based and the values of the
Delhi’s drop by six places in the liveability index has been attributed Constitution.” The Constitution’s
to drop in its environment, culture and safety scores. Even while offering promises have now been made true
a global perspective, this fall starkly captures Delhi’s local lived reality. for LGBT Indians. One year is a good
Petty crimes are mushrooming again time for introspection. The moment of
and Delhi police have squarely failed freedom has been savoured, the shift
to tackle the biker gangs committing begun from a mentality of fear to the
confidence to assert citizenship rights,
roadside robberies. A shocking case though the trauma of criminalisation
this week typifies the antiquated may last a lifetime.
methods still in vogue. A senior citizen It is also a good time to reflect on the
was murdered by his domestic help work that remains. The past year has
with the much vaunted police verifi- seen dramatic changes. Dutee Chand –
cation of domestic workers restricted India’s fastest woman! – came out. When
her partner asked her what name they
to the thana level, failing to catch the
crimes committed by the help at two
would give their relationship, she
responded by telling the world about
nearby police stations. her sexual orientation. Hats off to her.
Policing of large metropolitan Bollywood is seeing changes, too.
cities cannot afford to be so myopic. India needs to approach urban Film has the power to create a moral
local government differently. State governments have centralised too narrative that reaches all corners of
the country. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh
much authority and devolve too little power and funds to municipal
corporations. Consequently, civic bodies and town planners lack Aisa Laga hit the right note – especially
in depicting the bullying and depression
the capacity to handle rapid urbanisation. The spurt of slums and that many young gay people face. It was
landfills, encroachment on public land, non-existent drainage, also special in showing a father moving
groundwater exploitation, and clogged roads can all be traced to weak from bewilderment to supporting his
municipal corporations. lesbian daughter.
Mumbai and Delhi are the two Indian cities measured by World Bank Amritsar and Jalandhar held their
for its influential ease of doing business index. Foreign investors tend to first Pride parade. Same-sex couples
have been approaching courts all over
be chary about cities showing regression in a key area like liveability.
the country asking for protection. The
When government finally gets going on the next generation of economic courts have responded by directing the
reforms, it must also untangle municipal governance which holds back police – who a year ago would have been
Indian cities from realising their potential. State governments must
cooperate. For example, Maharashtra politicians do little to reform
BMC. Photographs of hapless residents wading through neck-deep
waters ruin Mumbai’s global image as a gateway to India. ‘Economic opportunities are always in big cities;
Fight For Freedom first you have to provide good public transport’
The National Capital Region (NCR), a
planning region located around Delhi, is
Despite enormous odds, Hong Kong India’s fastest growing urban agglome-
scores a win for liberal values ration. To provide a public transport
solution to this economic region, the
enforcing 377 – to protect them.
But these changes in the public
domain only happen because of changes
within us – as we learn to let go of
fear and hesitation and embrace our
ambitions and aspirations for a full life.
The clamour is for civil and
political rights. The right to adoption,
to something as simple as buying
medical insurance for your partner,
to visit your partner in a hospital and
make medical decisions – relationship
recognition that opposite-sex couples
take for granted. But same-sex couples
remain strangers in law.
The other big step is anti-discrimina-
tion in the workplace. In the past year,
companies have directed advertising at
sexual minorities. Now is the time to put
your money where your mouth is: offer
same-sex couples the same employee
benefits as opposite-sex couples. Corpo-
rate India also needs to make it clear
that they will not discriminate in
matters of hiring and promotion.
operable. This change was done in the
last two-and-half years; it gives a lot of
value. Our focus is the commuter. If you
see things from the commuter’s angle, it
makes his journey very simple. They
The Surrogacy Bill is a blow to
the LGBT community. It allows
only married couples – by
implication, only opposite-sex
couples – to have a child via
surrogacy. Only married women
who have a child can act as
surrogates. This is a blatant
violation of the right to equality
These steps require social change.
The question that i am asked most
frequently is: “The law has changed –
but will society change?” My answer
is – society changes because LGBT
people are changing and gaining the
confidence to live the lives they dreamt
of. I look forward, in the coming years,
to seeing LGBT people from every walk
of life in positions of leadership – from
In the next corridor (Delhi-Alwar)
33 km will be underground. The third
corridor is to Panipat.
■ What will be the profile of your
average commuter?
Supreme Court estimated that India’s
LGBT population was 7%-8% of the
general population. This makes LGBT
people one of India’s largest minorities.
LGBT Indians need to ask their elected
representatives what they are doing
for them.
If anything, we are moving
backwards on the legislative front. The
Surrogacy Bill – awaiting assent from
the president – is a blow to the LGBT
community. The bill does not ban only
commercial surrogacy. It allows only
married couples – by implication, only
opposite-sex couples – to have a child
via surrogacy. Only married women
who have a child can act as surrogates.
What does this mean for same-sex
couples? Or a single woman who wants to
have a child, but can’t carry one herself ?
This is a blatant violation of the right
to equality, telling single women and
same-sex couples that they are unequal
to married women and opposite-sex
couples. But it also indicates that we
have a long fight ahead, to challenge
the idea underlying this bill – that the
only families worth protecting are
traditional, opposite sex families.
At the end of the day, this ignores
the reality of young Indians – who
want to live in India, but also to fulfil
their aspirations for life and love. The
prime minister noted in a recent
speech that young Indians are marked
not by their surnames or where they
come from but by their aspiration.
This is true for young LGBT people as
well. Faced with a tanking economy
and no civil rights, those who can are
asking themselves whether they
should migrate to enjoy a better life.
We owe them more than this.
The writer is a lawyer. She represented
the lead petitioners in Navtej Singh Johar vs
Union of India
will be from Duhai to Sahibabad,
outside Delhi. Then every six months we
keep adding 20 km. By March 2025, the
whole section will be commissioned.
■ What is the cost of this line?

I
na significant victory for protesters in Hong Kong, its chief executive central government and four states can travel seamlessly between two The cross-section is wide. The USP of The base cost is Rs 260 crore per km.
Carrie Lam finally announced the formal withdrawal of the contro- formed a joint venture to develop a high corridors. The time penalty is gone. the system is speed. Therefore, even a The total project cost is about Rs 30,000
versial extradition bill that made millions hit the streets since June. speed rail system. Vinay Kumar Now, there is no terminal. A person using a private car will prefer crore. This is after we have reduced the
Singh, managing director of train coming from Meerut will this system. The speed is approximately cost, including by providing facilities
The bill would have allowed Hong Kong to extradite fugitives to
National Capital Region Transport not stop (terminate) anywhere. 100 km/hour, including stoppages. The to run the metro services in Meerut on
mainland China, undermining the city’s special status under the ‘One Corporation (NCRTC) which is So, we have reduced the capital average speed for a car should be about our system. Rather than having another
Country, Two Systems’ mechanism. After relentless demonstrations by building the regional transit cost by a few thousand crore. We 40 km/hour (Delhi-Meerut). There is a line, there will be 13 stations which
young Hongkongers, the city administration agreed to their main system, speaks to Sanjiv Shankaran on have reduced the number of clear advantage in terms of time and will be metro stations. Separate metro
demand. However, protesters want their other demands – including the way things are shaping up: depots by just doing this. If safety. This is controlled by a high trains, which we will be operating on
an independent inquiry into police brutality and direct democratic you have separate corri- technology command system. the same system, will be running in
elections – to be fulfilled as well. ■ Was NCR chosen for India’s first dors your rolling stock Other than car owners, people Meerut. We are saving Rs 6,300 crore
rapid transport project because of its cannot move from one using public transport will prefer for metro.
At the heart of the Hong Kong unrest lies
population? corridor to another, this system because we are trying We are getting all the passengers of
a clash of ideas. Hongkongers still adhere to There are two reasons. One, is that unlike cars. If the same to integrate various modes of metro on to our system. From the
democratic, liberal values they inherited from it’s the national capital and many rolling stock has to travel. We want to reduce chaos commuter angle, from the same platform
the British. When Hong Kong was handed things start from here. Two, is the move everywhere, it at stations. they can switchover from metro to
over to China in 1997, it was far more pros- population. In the last census (2011), it has to be standardised ■ What will be your benchmark RRTS (Regional Rapid Transit System).
perous than any other region of China and was 46 million for the entire NCR. In the for all three corridors. when tickets are priced? ■ Which country would you cite as
accrued several economic advantages to next census it is expected to be around Today we have sanctio- What we have proposed is Rs 2 an ideal example of a large scale
64 million. ned only one corridor, per km. Benchmarking is multimodal transport system?
Beijing. However, China’s meteoric growth
■ Currently, there are three separate Delhi-Meerut. But with other modes of Many countries have done it. The
over the last two decades has meant that those lines planned? our standards of transport. best example is Paris. Paris has
advantages have decreased over time – although they still exist – and Originally, there were eight corridors. each line are ■ When will the regional trains, high speed regional
Hong Kong is no longer seen as special by Beijing. The latter has since There was a task force in 2006 which fixed. Delhi-Meerut trains and they have a metro. It’s very
proceeded to slowly erode Hong Kong’s separate political mechanism. decided we should first go in for three ■ Will part of portion be successful. At the time of the growth of
The protests today are a pushback against those designs. which are the heaviest ones in terms of the journey be commissioned? the city, they introduced these trains.
What happens in Hong Kong is of special interest in India. It is traffic. These are capital intensive under- The first Economic opportunities are always in
projects; before investing you have to ground? portion will be big cities. Here too.
something of a mystery, for example, why China consistently sides First, you have to provide good public
think twice. Earlier there were three In the first commissioned
with Pakistan against India in any dispute, and attempts otherwise to separate lines planned (Delhi-Meerut; corridor about by March 2023. transport. Then you can push people to
block India’s rise, when India offers far more commercial opportunities Delhi-Alwar; Delhi-Panipat). But today 14 km are It won’t be the move towards it. Good public transport
to China than Pakistan does. The most plausible answer to this it’s a network and all three are inter- underground. full route. It needs multimodal integration.
conundrum is that India is a functioning democracy, and China fears
its ‘contagion’ effect. Something similar could be said of Hong Kong
as well. The Hong Kong unrest signifies a resurgence of liberal
dilbert Sacredspace
values, against the global onslaught of authoritarian nationalism, Why We Wander
whose effects can be felt in India too.
Man was meant to be a pilgrim,
but has become a wanderer,
Ghar wapsi entangled in the snare of the
senses. Attached to objects, the
wanderer’s search will not
The exercise to identify foreigners who should cease, until he has learnt to run
be deported could have far-reaching results away from the world of “objects”
Jug Suraiya to the realm of the spirit.
Some years ago, being ‘foreign returned’ was a status symbol, Sadhu TL Vaswani
denoting the privileged few who had travelled abroad.
Today, in the context of the National Register of Citizens
compiled in Assam, being ‘foreign unreturned’ is a stigma,
denoting illegal immigrants who have to be sent back to where
they came from.
Almost two million people have been identified as ‘foreigners’ who are
Beyond The Cloying Kind Of Spirituality
illegally living in Assam and who should be deported to their country of origin, Sumit Paul ambassador to India Octavio Paz. Turkish poet Seyid Imadeddin Nesi- They mean Self-actualisation. In the
which by and large is Bangladesh. Hafiz Shirazi believed that one mi said, ‘Aitlaaf miz khut meezawar ust’ words of Allama Iqbal: ‘I have finally

I
A similar exercise is being called for in other parts of India, including the n these times of extreme religious lifetime isn’t enough to comprehend – I’ve gone beyond god. It’s worthwhile found myself/ I don’t want anything
National Capital Region (NCR) where Bunny and i live. intolerance, misunderstandings and oneself. When one cannot even get to the to note that in early Turkish till the 9th else/beyond.’
Would Bunny and i make the grade of being asli Indians, or, because of our parochialism, when i delve into the roots of his own self, how can he talk century, the word ‘Khut’ meant Self-actualisation closes all doors to
antecedents, would we be deemed to be illegal ‘foreigners’ and sent packing to bowels of the metaphysical aspects of something that belongs to an external self-esteem. Philologists and etymolo- further exploration because that’s the
our place of origin? all religions despite being a non-believer, world and alien to his senses? Catherine gists believe that this word engendered ultimate and the eventual fate of an
My family is originally from Kutch, most of which is in Pakistan. Does this i wonder if today’s self-appointed ‘inter- of Siena says Self-exploration leads to ‘khudi’ (of Fariduddin Attar) and individual. Look at the rather
make me a de jure, if not a de facto, Pakistani who, in a variation of ‘ghar wapsi’, preters’ can ever fathom the profundity god-exploration but the latter is not ultimately became ‘khuda’. So, khuda blasphemous, but beautiful thought
should be returned forthwith to Pakistan? Ought i to of spirituality, the essence of a religion, the objective but a natural outcome; is one’s own Self in a completely from Nizami’s ‘Mizwatul’ (self-evident
start packing my bags in expectation of imminent that talks of Self-enlightenment – and a by-product. It’s like “stumbling unadulterated sense and essence. truth): Find your own Self, which’s the
jugularvein repatriation to India’s western neighbour? not of any god or creator? upon diamonds while Amir Khusro advises in a rare biggest riddle because it’s uncreated:
Bunny’s case is similar to mine. Her parents grew up I’ve analysed how mystics of not just removing rocks”. Pahalavi couplet: ‘Shez gard 'Taakheed miztab meen ya muamma
in pre-Partition Lahore, where they both went to college. Her father subsequently Sufi Islam, but of all faiths reached the The Upanishadic urdam, mee khud khudam’ – ast.' Another contemporary Merkavah
became a bank manager in Quetta, where Bunny would have been born if her highest level of Self-enlightenment Self-search appealed to all Just dust yourself off and see Mystic of Judaism says in Hebrew:
parents hadn’t become Partition refugees who had to flee to India. without the help of esoteric belief Persian, Arab and Christian yourself become god. In Since you created god, you’ll find it
Does her family background make Bunny a crypto Paki, like me? A moot point. systems or faith in a supreme being. mystics and they incor- sublime mysticism, god is sooner or later but the Self is uncreated;
However, what makes the point even mooter is that before 1947, Pakistan Barring Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi and porated this idea – as a kind but a reference point. It’s a so extremely difficult to find.
was very much part and parcel of undivided India. By virtue of this fact, all Jami, all other Persian mystics like of spiritual leitmotif or tangible (yes, tangible, not In ancient Judaism, god had no
those living in what calls itself Pakistan are of Indian origin. Fariduddin Attar, Hakim Sanai, Khaqani, mystical beacon – into their ‘intangible’) destination, gender. It was only a century before
By the logic of ‘ghar wapsi’, of returning to one’s origins, the whole of Anwari, Bedil and Urfi were insouciant thought processes. In fact, whenever ‘Ift-maqsood en-manzil’ – To be achieved Christianity, that god got a (masculine)
Pakistan should come back to India. to the very idea of god (Beniyaaz- they used the word ‘god’, they used it for by those who’re constantly in search gender. It’s high time, we all went
In the best tradition of Indian hospitality, i’m ready to say ‘Swagat’ to the first e-khuda). They never condemned, want of a better word. To quote Ahmad of their own selves. The ecstatic beyond the narrow precincts of theism,
returnee. Welcome home, so nice to have you back where you belong, Imran-bhai … nor eulogised a supreme being. They Nadeem Qasmi, ‘Kuch nahin mila toh proclamations like ‘An-Al-Haq’, and beliefs and cloying spirituality that’s
jug.suraiya@timesgroup.com were Upanishadic Self-searchers, to khuda naam de diya’ – When they found ‘Aham-Brahmasmi’ – I am Brahmn – in uncomfortably god-centric and find our
blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi quote Nobel laureate and Mexican nothing, the name god was given. Upanishads don’t mean god-realisation. own selves back in a pristine form.
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIMOPED User: kanakkottu.narayanan Time: 09-05-2019 23:35 Color: C
K
Y
M

THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019 TIMES TRENDS 13

Long commutes are holding women backGetty Images/iStockphoto

They Are More Likely To Take Lower Paying Jobs To Save Travel Time
London: Women are more likely
than men to take a lower paid job
to avoid a lengthy commute to
work which is fuelling the gen-
der pay gap, according to re-
search released by Britain’s sta-
tisticians on Wednesday.
In its first analysis on the link
between commuting times and
the gender pay gap, the Office for
National Statistics (ONS) found
longer commutes were associat-
mute compared to 23.9% of men.
Women on average spent
about 20% less time travelling to
get to work than men.
The ONS data showed the
gender gap in commuting times
and pay started to widen as peo-
ple reached their mid to late 20s,
implying a link to having chil-
dren as the average age of a first-
time mother was 28.8 years.
“These statistics show how
relatives and their home,” said
Britain’s minister of women and
equalities Amber Rudd.
“Women across the country
struggle to find a balance between
being a parent and their job.”
Government data shows that
men in Britain earned on aver-
age 17.9% more than women last
year and companies and char-
ities with more than 250 employ-
ees are now required to report
dress the differences which could
no longer be explained by educa-
tional levels or discrimination.
In a related study, when asked
which initiatives would have the
most positive impact on work-
place gender equality, 38% called
for greater support for paternity
leave, with 34% stating that grea-
ter support needed to come from
the government. However it
didn’t quite make the top spot in

What kept T-rex

ed with higher pay for both sexes. women are likely sacrificing a their gender pay gap every year. improvement initiatives, as over
WORK-LIFE IMBALANCE: Women are likely sacrificing But women who had an hour- larger pay packet, and career The ONS said understanding half of women (55%) stated the
a larger pay packet, and career growth, because they are long commute were 29.1% more growth, because they are doing the causes of the gender pay gap creation of more flexible roles
doing the bulk of childcare and unpaid work like taking likely to leave their current job the bulk of childcare and unpaid was crucial to provide adequate would have one of the most posi-
care of elderly kin and their home, a study has found

SHORT CUTS
than if they had a 10 minute com-

GORILLA TAKES THE CAKE

work like taking care of elderly policy recommendations to ad- tive impacts. AGENCIES

cool? A giant AC
560m-yr-old worm was one
Loch Ness monster could be
AP

of the first animals to move inside its head Getty Images/iStockphoto

just a giant eel, says study

M
ore than half a billion years ago, a worm-like
creature wriggled its last, creating a groove
I s the Loch Ness monster a shark? A giant
catfish? A sturgeon? No, it’s a giant eel! Or at
least it could be, according to a study. “There is
preserved as a fossil that offers new insights
into some of the earliest animal movement.
The origins of movement in animal species re-
a very significant amount of eel DNA,” Neil
mains fairly murky, though there is evidence of
Gemmell, a geneticist at the University of Otago
“directional movement” as early as 560 million
in New Zealand said after a year-long study of
years ago. But records of such early movement are
the lake. Tale of a giant creature lurking beneath
very rare, which makes a series of fossils that pro-
the murky waves of Loch Ness in Scotland have
vide evidence of life, and death, of the worm-like
been around for over 1,500 years — fueled by
Yilingia spiciformis a key find.
occasional sightings of “Nessie”. But Gemmell
Collected between 2013-2018 in southern China,
said his study had found no evidence of a mon-
the fossils show a segmented creature something
ster-like Jurassic-era reptile in what is Britain’s
like a millipede that lived 550 million years ago, long
largest body of fresh water. But he said eel DNA
before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. And they in- COOL-HEADED CARNIVORE
had been found “at pretty much every location
clude something even rarer: a fossilised “death
samples. Our data doesn’t reveal their size, but
march” or “mortichnium” — the trail produced by a Washington: The dreaded depends on its environ-
the sheer quantity of the material says that we
Yilingia just before it died. The fossils provide the Tyrannosaurus rex — one of ment,” said Kent Vliet of the
can’t discount the possibility that there may be
first “direct supporting evidence” of early move- the largest meat-eating dino- University of Florida, US.
giant eels in Loch Ness,” he said, calling the
ment by a segmented animal, Shuhai Xiao of Virgin- saurs on the planet — had an “Therefore, we noticed
theory “plausible”. Gemmell said researchers in
ia Tech universitysaid. “Yilingia spiciformis is thus air conditioner in its head, when it was cooler and the
1933 had also proposed that a giant eel could be
far the oldest known segmented animal that was de- according to a study. alligators are trying to
the explanation of the sightings. APE-Y BIRTHDAY: Western lowland gorilla Honi feasts on a cake during daughter Amani’s
monstrably capable of directional movement.” AFP Scientists previously be- warm up, our thermal imag-
third birthday celebrations at the Philadelphia Zoo in United States on Thursday
lieved that two large holes in ing showed big hot spots in
the roof of a T-rex’s skull — these holes in the roof of

Heartbroken pet owner helps China make its 1st cloned cat
called the dorsotemporal their skull, indicating a rise
fenestra — were filled with in temperature,” Vliet said.
muscles that assist with jaw “Later in the day when it’s
AFP
movements, according to the warmer, the holes appear
Sui-Lee Wee China’s news media declared to be about $53,000 each, some as pets endangered animals, including study published in ‘The Ana- dark, like they were turned off
the country’s first cloned cat. and others for medical research. pandas and the South China tiger. tomical Record’ journal. to keep cool. This is consistent

G
arlic was dead, and there
was nothing Huang Yu
could do. But he recalled an
article he had read on dog clon-
ing in China. What if someday he
could bring Garlic back to life?
“In my heart, Garlic is irre-
placeable,” said Huang, who dug
up his British shorthair and put
the cat in his refrigerator in prep-
aration for cloning him.
That thought led him to Sino-
gene, a pet-cloning company.
Roughly $35,000 and seven months
ALIVE AGAIN: Garlic, China’s first cloned kitten later, Sinogene produced what
Duplicating dogs and cats has
not really taken off in the US and
elsewhere, experts say. Pet-ob-
sessed China might be different.
The size of China’s domestic pet
market is expected to reach $28.2
billion this year, according to a
pet consultancy in Beijing.
Pet cloning is not confined to
China and people have been clon-
ing cats for years. Mi Jidong, Si-
nogene’s chief executive, said the
company has cloned more than 40
dogs, including Schnauzers, Pom-
eranians and Malteses, at a cost of
Ever since Chinese scientists
cloned a female goat in 2000, they
have succeeded in producing the
world’s first primate clones, edit-
ing the embryos of monkeys to
insert genes associated with au-
tism and mental illness, and cre-
ating superstrong dogs by tinker-
ing with their genes. Last year,
the country announced that it
had created the world’s first ge-
netically edited babies.
But Sinogene has bigger am-
bitions. It is cloning a horse, and
Mi said his next goal was to clone
To clone Garlic, scientists im-
planted skin cells from Huang’s
original cat into eggs harvested
from other cats. After an electric
or chemical shock, 40 cloned em-
bryos were implanted into four
surrogate mother cats. That pro-
duced three pregnancies, two of
which were miscarriages. “The
harm is very small,” said Mi.
Scientists outside China have
not yet inspected Garlic, who was
born on July 21. But thecloning re-
search has been published in jour-
nals ‘Nature’ and ‘Science’. NYT
“It’s weird for a muscle to
come up from the jaw, make a
90-degree turn, and go along
the roof of the skull,” said
Casey Holliday of the Uni-
versity of Missouri, US.
Using thermal imaging,
researchers examined alli-
gators at the St Augustine Al-
ligator Farm Zoological Park
in Florida, US. They believe
their evidence offers a new
theory and insight into the
anatomy of a T-rex’s head.
“An alligator’s body heat
with prior evidence that alli-
gators have a cross-current
circulatory system — or an in-
ternal thermostat,” he said.
Holliday took thermal
imaging data and examined
fossilised remains of dino-
saurs and crocodiles.
“We know that, similarly
to the T-rex, alligators have
holes on the roof of their
skulls, and they are filled
with blood vessels,” said
Larry Witmer, a professor at
Ohio University, US. PTI
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS
OSCAR-WINNER REESE WITHERSPOON SAYS SHE ONCE
CRIED FOR 3 DAYS AFTER BEING REJECTED FOR A ROLE
Vaping-linked
disease kills
another in US
A
second person has died
from a severe lung ill-
ness after vaping. The le-
ad investigator of the case in
Oregon said that the person
had apparently become sick
after vaping tetrahydrocanna-
binol (THC) from a product
purchased from a recreational
marijuana shop in the state.
Ann Thomas, a pediatrici-
an and public health physici-
an, said the person died in July
after being hospitalised and
put on a ventilator. So far, one
other patient is known to have
died, an adult in Illinois, and
this second death underscores
a serious surge in vaping- rela-
ted illnesses. NYT NEWS SERVICE
One of Taiwan’s
last few allies set
to side with China
Sydney: The Solomon Islands
intends to sever diplomatic ti-
es with Taiwan and align it-
self with Beijing, the leader of
a high-level government team
representing the South Paci-
fic archipelago has said.
Solomons lawmaker Peter
Shanel Agovaka told a parlia-
mentary panel that after four
decades of independence and a
long-term alliance with Tai-
wan, it was time to make a
change. “We cannot sit for the
next 40 years with our friends
Taiwan. It is time that we make
new friends,” Agovaka said ,
according to a recording of the
meeting. “Our new relations-
hip will deal with a One China
policy,” he added. REUTERS
Twitter halts
tweets via text
after CEO hack
T
witter has halted the ser-
vice that enabled users to
post tweets via text mes-
sages, just a few days after CEO
Jack Dorsey’s account was
hacked by a method called sim
jacking. Sim jacking or sim sw-
apping is a form of identity th-
eft that can lead to people not
just losing access to social me-
dia accounts, but also compro-
mise a person’s bank accounts
and other sensitive informa-
tion. “We’re temporarily tur-
ning off the ability to Tweet
via SMS, or text message, to
protect people’s accounts,”
the microblogging site anno-
unced on Thursday. TNN
40 crore FB users’
phone numbers
exposed online
Washington: Phone numbers
linked to more than 400 million
Facebook accounts were listed
online in the latest privacy lapse
. An exposed server stored 419
million records on users across
several databases — including
133 million US accounts, 50 mil-
lion in Vietnam, and 18 million
in UK, according to site Tech-
Cruch. Facebook confirmed pa-
rts of the report but downplayed
the extent of the exposure,say-
ing the number of accounts so
far confirmed was around half
of the reported 419 million. AFP
US woman held
at Manila airport
with baby in bag
Manila: A US woman who tried
to carry a 6-day-old baby out of
the Philippines hidden inside a
sling bag has been arrested at
Manila airport and charged
with human trafficking, offici-
als said on Thursday. Jennifer
Talbot was able to pass through
the immigration counter wit-
hout declaring the boy but was
intercepted at the boarding gate
by airline personnel. AP
Rooster wins French court battle over right to make noise
Rochefort (France): The ow-
ner of famed French rooster
Maurice emerged victorious
on Thursday from a legal batt-
le with her neighbours over
his early-morning crowing,
with a court upholding the
bird’s right to sing in the day.
The judge found that the ro-
oster, being a rooster, had a ri-
ght to crow in his rural habitat.
The case brought by the
neighbours of Maurice’s ow-
ner Corinne Fesseau has ma-
de headlines around the
world, seen as symptomatic
of the tensions in the count-
PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity
A political blast & a car bomb rock US-Taliban deal
Pompeo Refuses To Sign Risky ‘Peace Pact’, Says Report, Even As Second Explosion In A Week Hits Afghanistan’s Capital
Chidanand.Rajghatta
@timesgroup.com
Washington: The Trump ad-
ministration’s “peace deal”
with Taliban is coming apart
even before it has been signed.
US is preparing to cut and run
from Afghanistan amid the so-
und of bomb blasts and gunfire
announcing the victory of ex-
tremism over a patchy 18-year
American effort to ensure the-
re is never another 9/11.
A Taliban car bombing on
Thursday at a Kabul check-
post that killed 10 civilians and
two Nato troops — a US and a
Romanian service member —
underscored a political explo-
sion in Washington when it
emerged that secretary of sta-
te Mike Pompeo has declined
to sign an agreement stitched
together by Zalmay Khalilzad,
President Trump’s special re-
presentative for Afghanistan.
Pompeo, a CIA ex-director,
is apparently paying heed to a
legion of ex-diplomats and offi-
Johnson’s brother quits govt
as PM gets into poll mode
Fresh Vote On
Snap Election
On Sept 9
Wakefield: British PM Bo-
ris Johnson’s plan to kick off
what is in effect an election
campaign casting parlia-
ment as the enemy of Brexit
was overshadowed on Thur-
sday when his younger bro-
ther quit the government,
citing the national interest.
As UK spins towards an
election, Brexit remains up
in the air more than three ye-
ars after Britons voted to lea-
ve the bloc in a 2016 referend-
um. Options range from a tur-
bulent ‘no-deal’ exit to aband-
oning the whole endeavour.
Ahead of a speech in Wa-
kefield, northern England,
where Johnson effectively
began an informal poll cam-
paign, his own brother, Jo, re-
signed as a junior business
minister and said he was
stepping down as a lawmaker
for their Conservative Party.
“In recent weeks I’ve been
torn between family loyalty
and the national interest —
it’s an unresolvable tension
& time for others to take on
my roles,” Jo tweeted.The 47-
year-old, who campaigned
for Britain to remain a
member of the EU while his
older brother was the face of
ScarJo backs Woody: ‘I believe
him, ready to work with him’
New York: ScarJo says
she’s standing by Woody Al-
len because, “I believe him.”
Much of Hollywood has
distanced itself from the
filmmaker since the MeToo
movement prompted a re-ex-
amination of child sexual
abuse allegations from his
now-grown daughter, Dylan.
Michael Caine, Timothee
Chalamet and Greta Gerwig
are among the actors who ha-
ve publicly expressed regret
over working with him.
“I love Woody,” Scarlett
Johansson told Hollywood
Reporter in an interview rele-
ased on Wednesday. “I believe
him, and I would work with
him anytime.” Allen helped
boost Johansson to the A-list.
He directed her in ‘Match Po-
int’, ‘Scoop’ and ‘Vicky Cristi-
na Barcelona’. She said she
has spoken to Allen about the
COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO! : Corinne Fesseau, the owner of the rooster
Maurice, reacted to the ruling on Thursday with a victorious shout of
‘Cocorico’ (French for cock-a-doodle-doo) outside a court in Rochefort
Edition: 1 Page: TOIMINT
TIMES GLOBAL
A foreign soldier with a Nato-led mission inspects the site of a suicide attack that killed 10 in Kabul on Thursday
cials who’re saying the deal
amounts to surrendering to Ta-
liban and will eventually enab-
le the return to power of Pakis-
tan-backed forces that hosted
the terrorists behind 9/11.
Fighting back tears, Churchill’s
grandson retires, slams UK PM
R ising to speak before a half-empty House of Commons on
Wednesday, Nicholas Soames, the grandson of
Winston Churchill, choked up, fighting back tears. Soames,
71, has served in parliament for 37 years. But he now was ann-
ouncing his decision to retire from politics, a
day after PM Boris Johnson had expelled him
from the Conservative Party. He had joined a
group of 21 Tory rebels who defied Johnson
on Tuesday night by voting against
legislation that would pave the way toward
blocking a no-deal Brexit. “I’m truly very sad
that it should end in this way,” Soames said.
The expulsion and resignation of Soames is especially
searing given that Johnson, who cast him aside, considers
Churchill one of his greatest heroes, and has written a
biography of UK’s wartime leader. Soames said that the
purge was part of a plan by Johnson to wage an election
as the candidate for the pro-Brexit crowd. “This has in my
view all been planned”. NYT NEWS SERVICE
Vote Leave, has been in par-
liament since 2010, serving
in several ministerial roles.
The move comes in a fre-
netic week for the premier.
After wresting control of the
lower house of parliament on
Wednesday, an alliance of op-
position parties and rebels
expelled from the Conserva-
tive Party voted to force him
to seek a three-month delay
to Brexit rather than leaving
without a deal on October 31,
the date now set in law.
Since taking office in Ju-
ly, Johnson has tried to corral
the Conservative Party be-
Johansson’s rise to the A-list
was helped by films like ‘Scoop’
& ‘Match Point’ directed by
Woody Allen, who has long been
accused of child sex abuse
accusations and he mainta-
ins his innocence. He has ne-
ver been criminally charged.
“It’s hard because it’s a
AFP
User: rohit.bundelkhandi
THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
According to Time magazi-
ne, which first reported on the
fissures in the Trump admini-
stration, Taliban asked for
Pompeo to sign an agreement
with Islamic Emirate of Afg-
hind his strategy of leaving
European Union on October
31 with or without a deal. On
Tuesday, he expelled 21 Con-
servative lawmakers from
the party for failing to back
his strategy, including Winst-
on Churchill’s grandson.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, who
manages government busi-
ness in the House of Com-
mons, said parliament would
be asked again on Monday, af-
ter the blocking bill becomes
law, to approve a snap poll.
On Wednesday, lawmakers
rejected Johnson’s appeal for
an October 15 poll. REUTERS
time where people are very
fired up, and understandab-
ly,” she said. “Things nee-
ded to be stirred up, and so
people have a lot of passion
and a lot of strong feelings
and are angry, and rightful-
ly so. It’s an intense time.”
Johansson said she has
had numerous conversa-
tions with Allen about his
past. “I have been very direct
with him, and he’s very di-
rect with me,” she said. Jo-
hansson is active in women’s
issues and was among early
supporters of Time’s Up.
Allen has yet to find a US
distributor for his films since
Amazon pulled his deal last
year. He has filed a $68 mil-
lion lawsuit against Amazon.
A spokesman for Jo-
hansson did not immediate-
ly respond to an email seek-
ing additional comment. AP
ryside between rural folk and
holiday homeowners. “Mau-
rice won and the plaintiffs
must pay his owner 1,000 eu-
ros in damages,” Fesseau’s la-
wyer Julien Papineau said.
Fesseau had told the court
in Rochefort, western France,
that nobody on the pictures-
que Atlantic island of Oleron
had ever complained about
Maurice before a couple of
pensioners bought a holiday
home next door. Jean-Louis Bi-
ron, himself a retired farmer,
and his wife Joelle, from the
Haute-Vienne region of cen-
Time: 09-06-2019
STILL-STUNNING JENNIFER ANISTON TURNS 50, SAYS HER
BIGGEST FEAR IS HER HONEY-BLONDE HAIR TURNING GREY
Reuters
hanistan, the official name of
the government founded by
Taliban in Afghanistan in 1996,
because that would amount to
its de facto recognition as a le-
gitimate political entity. But he
Indian mission
complains to UK
foreign office
over violence
Naomi Canton
London: The Indian high com-
mission lodged a formal comp-
laint on Thursday with the UK
foreign office over its London
mission building being trashed
by 10,000 anti-India protesters.
About 10,000 Kashmiris,
British Pakistanis and pro-
Khalistan Sikhs smashed wind-
ows and pelted stones, eggs and
bottles at the building on Tues-
day, damaging the exterior
when protesting about the st-
ripping of Jammu & Kashmir’s
special status. Protesters were
allowed to gather in large num-
bers just a few feet away from
the front door of the building.
Indian high commissioner
Ruchi Ghanashyam met fore-
ign office director-general
(political) Richard Moore on
Wednesday to put across In-
dia’s “concerns”.
A diplomat at the Indian
high commission told TOI:
“The foreign office was not
happy about the situation. If
and when these protests hap-
pen again, they are saying
they will take stricter mea-
sures and make security
arrangements better.”
A Foreign & Commonwe-
alth office spokesperson, ho-
wever, called the protest “lar-
gely peaceful” and that the po-
lice ensured a safe perimeters.
Full report on www.toi.in
Pitt underwent
18-month rehab
after Jolie split
T
hey had the most public
split of the decade, and
Brad Pitt has admitted
that he tur-
ned to drink
after brea-
king up with
Angelina Jo-
lie. The Fight
Club actor, 55,
Brad Pitt
has revealed
that he spent
18 months in
Alcoholics Anonymous after
the relationship ended.
The couple got married in
2014 and announced their split
in 2016, before their divorce
was finalised earlier this year.
Speaking to the New York
Times, Pitt expressed his ad-
miration for the men with
whom he attended the mee-
tings and their willingness to
speak openly about their ex-
periences. DAILY MIRROR
tral France, claimed that they
were being roused at 4 am by
Maurice’s shrill wake-up call.
Reacting to the ruling
Thursday, she shouted a victo-
rious “Cocorico” (French for
cock-a-doodle-doo) outside
the courtroom and said she
was “speechless”. “It’s a victo-
ry for everyone in the same si-
tuation as me. I hope it will set
a precedent for them.”
What began as a dispute
between neighbours balloo-
ned into a national cause cele-
bre, with 140,000 people sig-
ning a “Save Maurice”. AFP
00:05 Color: C
K
Y
M
declined to do so, conveying
that “when there is an agree-
ment approved by all parties,
including the President, and if
the secretary is the appropria-
te signatory”, he will sign it.
Pompeo’s bailout enraged
Trump’s rightwing suppor-
ters, who want the president to
keep to his promise to bring
US troops back home from
Afghanistan before the 2020
election, and who see the se-
cretary of state’s bailing out as
a betrayal, although Trump
himself has not commented
on it. “Pompeo, who hated
Trump before he wormed his
way into the administration,
is undermining his peace plan
in Afghanistan… (he is) appa-
rently willing to abuse his po-
wer to obstruct the President’s
peace achievement,” the blog
Big League Politics wrote.
Trump has tried to walk a
vague, if delicate, middle
path, making it appear to his
supporters as if he is pulling
out all US troops while convey-
Want US citizenship? Your
social media IDs, please
Lubna.Kably
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: The US departm-
ent of homeland security has
taken the process of obtaining
social media identification
(user name or handle) a step
forward. It proposes to expand
its coverage to various forms
to be filled in by those already
in the US, such as those apply-
ing for a green card or citizens-
hip. A notice was published in
the Federal Register on Sep-
tember 4 and public comments
invited over the next 60 days.
As reported by TOI in its
edition of June 2, E-forms
D-160 and D-260, which are
used at the local US consulates
and filled by applicants such
as tourists, students and those
heading to US for work from
India, were revised to include
adrop-down menu. It required
applicants to list their user na-
me or handle against the soci-
al media platforms used by th-
em during the past five years.
“The newly introduced
proposal, in the context of
applicability to the Indian di-
aspora in the US, will cover ci-
tizenship applications, appli-
cations for adjustment of sta-
tus filed by those in the USA
seeking to obtain green cards
(such as H-1B workers, or tho-
se on intra-company trans-
fers holding an L-1 visa). It
will also apply to green card
holders seeking re-entry per-
AROUND THE WORLD
FALSE ALARM: US President Donald Trump showed a map of Hurricane Dorian’s projected path on
Wednesday that appeared to have been altered with a pen to include the state of Alabama, which was never
in harm’s way. In a White House video released on Wednesday, Trump points to an official weather chart
dated August 29 showing the states that could be hit. The map appeared to have a hand-drawn half-circle
that extended the cone of uncertainty over Alabama. Trump drew a fact-check from the National Weather
Service on Sunday when he tweeted that Alabama ‘will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated’
Passenger steps in
to fly plane after
pilot skips work
A father keen to go on his
holiday to Spain stepped in
and flew an easyJet flight to Ali-
cante when it transpired the se-
rvice was a pilot down. Michael
Bradley, who happened to be an
easyJet pilot himself, offered to
fly the plane to avoid a delay of
several hours. An announce-
ment he made over the tannoy
before the flight took off from
Manchester airport was filmed
and shared on social media by
one of the passengers. “I pho-
ned up easyJet and said ‘Hiya,
I’m standing in the terminal
doing nothing. I have got my
licence with me... and I’d very
much like to go on holiday. And
EDUCATION IS WHAT
REMAINS AFTER ONE HAS
FORGOTTEN WHAT ONE HAS
LEARNED IN SCHOOL
— ALBERT EINSTEIN
ing to those who are sceptical
of the deal that upwards of
8,000 US military personnel
will stay back to ensure Tali-
ban sticks to the pact.
Already, the Taliban is star-
ting to celebrate US’ defeat and
exit, with two blasts this week
even as Khalilzad is canvass-
ing support for his deal in Was-
hington. The developments ha-
ve left the pro-US (and pro-In-
dia) Ashraf Ghani govern-
ment, which has largely been
kept out of the loop, in disar-
ray. “No one speaks with certa-
inty. None,” an Afghan official
taking part in briefings on the
deal with Khalilzad told Time.
“It is all based on hope. There is
no trust. There is no history of
trust. There is no evidence of
honesty and sincerity from the
Taliban,” and intercepted
communications “show that
they think they have fooled the
US while the US believes that
should the Taliban cheat, they
will pay a hefty price.”
Celebrating Taliban’s re-
mits (who wish to stay away
from the US for two years),”
explains Arlington-based Ra-
jiv Khanna, a managing attor-
ney at Immigration.com
The proposal for seeking
social media identifiers of tho-
se already in the US is a crucial
development for the Indian di-
aspora, who in increasing
numbers are opting for green
cards and citizenship. While
60,000-odd Indians obtained
green cards during the fiscal
ended September 30, 2017, ne-
arly 50,000 obtained US citi-
zenship during this period.
“While the proposal states
that collection of social me-
dia user identification is man-
datory to complete the DHS
forms, it adds that USCIS
(which is a unit of DHS) will
continue to process a form
where social media informa-
if you need a favour I’m standing
here ready to go.” Bradley said
the airline phoned him back 38
seconds later, saying, “Please,
please, pretty please with a big
cherry on top, can you fly the
aeroplane to Alicante?” Minus
his uniform, Bradley finished by
saying: “So if you’re alright for
one of your pilots to look like
this today, we’ll go to Alicante.”
2,000 people vie to prove
German city doesn't exist
Around 2,000 people are vying
to win 1 million euros ($1.1
million) offered by a German
city to anyone who can deliver
solid proof it doesn't exist.
Officials in Bielefeld announced
the contest last month, saying
that there are “no limits to crea-
tivity” but only incontrovertible
evidence will be rewarded. The
idea that the city doesn't exist
turn will be Pakistan, which
birthed and nurtured these ex-
tremists in its madrassas to ta-
ke over Afghanistan, which it
regards as a “strategic depth”
against India. Although Talib-
an hosted the terrorists who
carried out 9/11, there was a
prelude to it that will be of con-
cern to New Delhi. Taliban al-
so welcomed the dogs of war
Pakistan used in Jammu & Ka-
shmir, notably Maulana Maso-
od Azhar, Omar Saeed Sheikh
and Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar.
Only a few US commenta-
tors recall the role Pakistan pl-
ayed in the rise of Taliban and
terror across the world. “Kha-
lilzad’s agreement also makes
no mention of Pakistani sanc-
tuaries which Taliban now en-
joy.... That Pakistan also provi-
ded safe haven to Osama Bin
Laden as the al-Qaida leader
plotted attacks globally appe-
ars forgotten,” wrote Michael
Rubin, an ex-Pentagon official
and a resident scholar at Ame-
rican Enterprise Institute.
USCIS revising
citizenship test
U SCIS is revising and upda-
ting the Naturalisation
Test, which all applicants
seeking US citizenship must
clear. The Immigration and
Nationality Act requires an
understanding of English and
knowledge and understand-
ing of US history and civics.
Post pilot testing, in Decemb-
er 2020 or early 2021, the new
Naturalisation Test will be
rolled out for applicants. TNN
tion is not answered, but failu-
re to provide the request data
may delay the process. This le-
eway stems from the First
Amendment, which applies
to anyone within the US. It re-
mains to be seen how the
forms will be designed to ac-
commodate those who do not
provide social media identifi-
cation,” adds Khanna.
In another recent move,
US immigration officials are
now permitted to create ‘fic-
titious accounts or identiti-
es’ to access social media ac-
counts of people applying
for green cards, citizenship,
work visas, etc. Reports in
the US media indicate that
Facebook has stated that it
does not permit creation of
fake profiles and will not ma-
ke any exception to its rules.
Full report on www.toi.in
Reuters
was first floated by computer
expert Achim Held, who posted
the satirical claim online in 1994
to poke fun at internet conspira-
cy theories. The city’s marketing
agency said it received more
than 2,000 emails by Wednesday
night’s deadline, around 300
from abroad. It will announce a
result September 17.
Copies of Handmaid’s Tale
sequel out early by error
Copies of Margaret Atwood’s
long-awaited sequel to The
Handmaid’s Tale, The Testa-
ments, were mistakenly sent to
readers early, the publisher said
on Wednesday, sending fans of
the author into a frenzy. “A very
small number of copies had
been distributed early due to a
retailer error which has now
been rectified,” publisher
Penguin Random House said.
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS
Traders Expect More
Rate Cuts In 12 Months
Gadkari backs lower GST
on BS6, hybrid vehicles
Hints At Export Sops For Auto Cos, Promises Talks With FM
Pankaj.Doval
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Transport mini-
ster Nitin Gadkari on Thurs-
day supported the auto indust-
ry’s demand for lower goods
and services tax on hybrid
cars and those running fitted
with BS6 engines and promi-
sed to raise it with finance mi-
nister Nirmala Sitharaman.
“It is the industry’s demand
 ‘Structural shifts in auto due
to behavioural changes’, P 16
that there should be reduction
in tax on petrol and diesel vehi-
cles. Your suggestions are go-
od. I will take your message to
the finance minister,” he said at
the annual conference organi-
sed by auto manufacturers’ lob-
by group Siam, adding that
even a temporary reduction
would be beneficial.
“I will follow it up with the
FM. The sector needs help
TechM bags
$1bn-plus
contract
from AT&T
Shilpa.Phadnis@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: Tech Mahindra
has bagged an over $1-billion
deal from AT&T Communica-
tions, its largest ever. It’s big-
ger than that with British Te-
lecom, with which it has had a
long relationship. At one po-
int, the BT deal was about $1
billion, but is now lower.
So this marks Tech Ma-
hindra’s re-entry into the bil-
lion-dollar league. TCS, Info-
sys and Wipro have won some
billion-dollar-plus deals. The
AT&T contract involves re-
badging 300-350 employees, so-
urces told TOI.
AT&T recently also signed
a contract with IBM, under
which the latter will moderni-
se its internal software appli-
cations and migrate them to
the IBM Cloud. In July, it sig-
ned a deal with Microsoft for
its non-network applications.
RE-ENTRY INTO
TOP LEAGUE
Tech Mahindra said the-
re’s an expansion of its
strategic collaboration with
AT&T to accelerate the lat-
ter’s IT network application,
shared systems modernisa-
tion and movement to the
cloud. “Tech Mahindra will
assume management of
many of the applications
which support AT&T’s net-
work and shared systems,” it
said in a statement.
Tech Mahindra declined to
comment on the value of the
contract. However, its spoke-
sperson said the company is
supporting AT&T in its trans-
formation journey. AT&T
contributes nearly 10% to the
company’s revenue.
AT&T and Tech Mahindra
will integrate several world-
class technologies and plat-
forms in areas like artificial
intelligence, DevOps, data
analytics and 5G.
CBDT’s norms for manual ITR scrutiny
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: Taxmen have trai-
ned their lens on charitable
trusts (including several scho-
ols and hospitals) that have be-
en denied registration for tax
exemption or where registra-
tions have been withdrawn, but
the entities are continuing to av-
ail of income tax (I-T) benefits.
I-T returns (ITRs) filed by
such entities will be manually
selected and will be subject to a
complete scrutiny, states an in-
struction note for the current
financial year 2019-20, issued
by the Central Board of Direct
Taxes (CBDT) on Thursday.
Manual selection and comp-
lete scrutiny will also cover ca-
ses of taxpayers (both individu-
al and corporate) where I-T offi-
cials have, in the course of an
earlier assessment, made addi-
tions in excess of Rs 10 lakh to
PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity
TIMES BUSINESS
Central banks have
delivered 32 interest-
rate cuts globally this
year as a worsening
US-China trade war
drags down global
economic growth.
Swap markets
suggest this is not
even at the halfway
mark for cuts yet Sept 2019
BID TO RESTORE FAST PACE
There will
be no ban
on petrol
and diesel
vehicles
—NITIN GADKARI,
TRANSPORT
MINISTER
right now to increase vehicle
sales,” the minister said, amid
repeated demands by the auto
industry to lower taxes in the
wake of falling sales. While
cars are in the 28% slab, the
smaller ones face 1% cess, whi-
le sedans and SUVs attract
15% cess, pushing up the ove-
rall liability to 43%.
He also advised automobi-
le companies to set up in-house
PPF, NSC rates may be
lowered after RBI move
Sidhartha@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The government
may be forced to lower interest
rate on small savings schemes
such as Public Provident Fund
and NSC when it reviews them
at the end of the month as they
are not in sync with the mar-
ket, and is forcing banks to co-
ugh up more on deposits.
With the RBI on Wednes-
 SBI plans to review repo-
linked home loan, P 16
day ordering banks to price re-
tail and MSME loans in line
with external benchmarks
such as repo or treasury bills,
net interest margins are going
to come under pressure in the
coming quarters as banks will
not be able to significantly cut
rates on deposits, while ma-
king new loans cheaper. While
some banks such as SBI had
linked their savings bank depo-
NCLT clears JSW’s `20k-cr
offer for Bhushan Power
Reeba.Zachariah
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: The New Delhi
bench of the National Compa-
ny Law Tribunal (NCLT) on
Thursday approved JSW Ste-
el’s Rs 19,700-crore offer for
Bhushan Power & Steel.
But the tribunal declined
to give the acquirer immunity
from future litigations aga-
inst the target firm for any
illegal activity by the foun-
ders. The tribunal said that
it doesn’t have the jurisdic-
tion to give such a waiver and
that JSW should approach
appropriate authorities for
the same.
The metal producer had so-
ught relief from the tribunal af-
SELECTION PROCEDURE
Manual selection and
scrutiny is a regular feature,
and carried out in those cases
that meet the instruction
parameters set up
by the CBDT
The scrutiny is
in-depth, covering
all details disclosed
in the I-T return,
to ascertain whether the
taxpayer has declared
the correct income
the income declared by a taxpa-
yer for a ‘recurring issue of law
or fact’. For the four metros and
Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyde-
rabad and Pune, this threshold
is higher at Rs 25 lakh. For
transfer pricing cases, the
threshold is addition of Rs 10
crore in earlier assessment.
These cases will be picked
Edition: 1 Page: TOIMBTFP
Nov Dec
➤ Government will
kickstart a series of
infrastructure projects that
will help add some vigour
to the industry, especially
for commercial vehicles
makers, he adds
➤ Road transport ministry
will give out 68 road projects
worth up to Rs 5 lakh crore
over the next three months.
“These would help indirectly
the auto industry”
finance arms that could help
generate sales.
The government has so far
refrained from any tax reduc-
tion and has instead offered
other incentives such as acce-
lerated depreciation that will
benefit fleet owners and com-
mercial buyers. It believes that
the auto industry has always
pocketed the gains that were
meant for consumers, altho-
HEADED
SOUTHWARDS?
EPF Rate (%)
8.65*
Senior Citizen Saving Scheme
8.6
Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme
8.4
PPF
7.9
NSC
7.9
SBI
6.7^
^ For FD of 1 year to less than 2 years;
* Proposed for FY 2018-19
For others rate for July-Sept quarter
Source: TN Postal Circle
sits to the repo rate, the change
was only temporary. Others
like IDBI Bank have linked cer-
tain bulk deposits to repo rate.
“It is not feasible to link
deposits to repo rate in a fal-
ter Punjab National Bank
(PNB) and Allahabad Bank fi-
led fraud cases against Bhus-
han Power. PNB and Allaha-
bad Bank (which will be mer-
ged with Indian Bank) have re-
ported a Rs 3,800-crore and a Rs
NO RELIEF ON
LIABILITIES
1,774-crore fraud by Bhushan
Power, which was earlier ow-
ned by Sanjay Singal. A senior
JSW official said that the ma-
nagement is going through the
judgment and will take a call
based on legal inputs.
“Various reliefs sought
from the statutory authoritie-
s…are disposed of. We do not fe-
el persuaded to accept the pray-
Manual selection is different
from the computer-aided
scrutiny selection (CASS)
where I-T returns are picked
up at random for scrutiny
However, not all the
CASS-selected cases are
subject to a complete
scrutiny. A majority of
them are subject to limited
scrutiny, where details only
in respect of certain expenses
or income are sought
up for scrutiny where the addi-
tion to income in an earlier ye-
ar’s assessment has become fi-
nal or where the addition was
confirmed at any stage of the
appellate process and the taxpa-
yer has not gone in for further
appeal. However, if the addition
made was confirmed in favour
of the tax authorities at the first
User: aseem.gujar Time: 09-06-2019
THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
Expected Rate Cuts By Central Banks
New Zealand
Jan 2020 Feb Mar Apr
ugh the Centre and states can
invoke the ani-profiteering
clause in case companies do
not pass on a reduction in GST.
But the Centre alone cannot
push for a reduction in GST sin-
ce it needs to be cleared by the
GST Council where states are
almost an equal stakeholder. Of-
ficials at the Centre have, howe-
ver, suggested that there is little
fiscal space for a tax cut at the
moment. But, a reduction on hy-
brids and BS6-compliant vehi-
cles is unlikely to cause much
strain on finances, given their
low volumes at present.
The minister’s statement
came amid a demand for succo-
ur from almost every auto com-
pany CEO. Gadkari said he wo-
uld discuss possible export in-
centives for automakers in his
meeting with the finance mini-
ster, in line with what has been
given to the sugar industry,
which has received fresh dol-
lops of subsidies to tide over
surplus production.
ling rate situation. Plus, we
will lose deposits to small sa-
vings schemes,” said a public
sector bank chief. SBI MD P K
Gupta said the bank will soon
take a call on the issue.
Asenior government offici-
al acknowledged the concern
and suggested that there was a
need to lower small savings ra-
te, which is a political call and
would be a difficult decision at
a time when the Narendra Mo-
di administration is already
under attack from the opposi-
tion for the current economic
situation. At the same time, the
official said, banks can partly
address the concern by impro-
ving their efficiency.
Although the finance mi-
nistry had agreed to move to a
market-linked regime for
small savings schemes, it it-
self is guilty of holding back
transmission of rates on PPF
or Kisan Vikas Patras, fearing
adverse public opinion.
er made in the resolution plan.
Yet, the applicant may file app-
lications before the competent
authorities because it would
not be competent for the tribu-
nal to enter into any such area
for granting relaxation or wai-
ver,” the order said.
The tribunal, however, said
that criminal proceedings aga-
inst the erstwhile promoter of
Bhushan Power for siphoning
off funds will not affect JSW’s
offer or the implementation of
it. “We leave it open to the (cre-
ditors of Bhushan Power) to fi-
le applications if criminal pro-
ceedings result in recovery of
money, which has been sipho-
ned of or on account of tainted
transactions as contemplated
under laws,” the order said.
appellate level then, even if an
appeal filed by the taxpayer is
pending, the ITR will be picked
up for scrutiny.
While the I-T Act does not
define what is ‘recurring ques-
tion of law or fact’, illustra-
tions include additions to inco-
me owing to denial of certain
recurring expenses or exemp-
tion claims. Other cases that
will fall within the ambit of
manual selection and complete
scrutiny are those where an I-T
survey, search or seizure was
carried out. If any government
department or authority provi-
des specific and verifiable infor-
mation on tax evasion, such ca-
ses will also be picked up. To pre-
vent any unintended harass-
ment to the taxpayer, prior
permission will be taken from
the relevant senior tax official
(level of principal chief com-
missioner and above).
00:14 Color: C
England
European Central Bank
Australia
May Jun Jul Aug
PhonePe
behind surge
in Walmart’s
share price
Digbijay.Mishra
@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: PhonePe is being
valued at $7 billion and it has
emerged as a significant factor
for a handsome uptick in Wal-
mart’s share prices going for-
ward, the latest Morgan Stan-
ley report said. In a bull case,
PhonePe could be worth as
much as $20 billion, said the re-
port from the Wall Street major.
Due to the growing potenti-
al of PhonePe beyond just pay-
ments, Walmart’s share prices
could go up to $125 in the base
case and $165 in bull case, the re-
port added. This comes at a ti-
me when Walmart shares hit
an all-time high of almost $118
in the US on Thursday.
This is the first time Phone-
Pe’s valuation is being put out
formally amid talks of its fund-
raise. At the time that Walmart
acquired a 77% stake in Flipkart
last year, PhonePe was being va-
lued at around $1.5 billion.
VALUED AT $7BN
As reported in August, Pho-
nePe is in talks to close a $1-bil-
lion fund-raise from a marquee
set of investors, including Ti-
ger Global, Tencent and DST
Global. While the company has
been in talks with investors for
months, the valuation at which
it agrees to raise money has be-
en the core issue of debate.
Morgan Stanley said Phone-
Pe could have a stronger revenue
stream of about $1.4 billion (base
case) from its foray into financi-
al services. As of now, PhonePe
sells only mutual funds but it has
broader plans for the segment.
“We model bull case revenu-
es of $70 million from payments,
$690 million from the distribu-
tion of financial services, and
$2.5 billion from consumer len-
ding,” it added. The revenue esti-
mates are for 2029.
K
Y
M
Japan
-2
-4
-6
Sept Oct Source: Bloomberg
KKR buys 90%
of EuroKids
in `1,475cr deal
To Fuel Inorganic Expansion
Of Preschool, K-12 Chain
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: Buyout major
KKR has acquired majority
stake in education company
EuroKids International for
Rs 1,475 crore. The deal will
value the company, which
operates across pre-schools
to K-12, at close to Rs 1,600
crore. KKR is acquiring an
over 90% stake held by the
firm’s existing private equi-
ty owners Gaja Capital and
Partners Group besides one
of the promoters in one of
the largest transactions in
the education market.
EuroKids co-founder
and CEO Prajodh Rajan and
the existing management
team will continue to run
the company. Another co-fo-
under, Vikas Phadnis, is sel-
ling his stake and exiting the
company as part of the deal.
Gaja Capital and Part-
ners Group had acquired a
50% stake in EuroKids, later
increasing their sharehol-
ding to 75% as the company
acquired Kangaroo Kids
and Billabong High franchi-
ses in 2017 to expand its busi-
ness. For KKR, this will be a
bet on India’s economic
growth and it will look at le-
veraging its global invest-
ment experience in the spa-
ce, like UK’s private school
chain Cognita and US day-
care chain Kindercare.
“The desire for quality
educational services is at an
all-time high in India. The
country has over 125 million
children in the 2-6 age range,
as well as the largest K-12 po-
Policy makers have reduced rates by a
cumulative 13.9%, according to data from
the Bank of International Settlements
that track 38 central banks.
Argentina was excluded from
BOJ the calculation due to how it
manages money supply.
BOE
Traders are expecting much
ECB more. Over the next 12 months,
RBA interest-rate swap markets have priced in
RBNZ around 58 more rate cuts, assuming central
banks maintain their current trajectories in
FOMC
easing. Those cuts could total another
16% in global reductions
Relief for
NDTV as HC
sets aside
Sebi orders
Swati.Deshpande
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: In a respite to New
Delhi Television (NDTV) in its
battle with the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Se-
pulation in the world at 320 bi), the Bombay high court on
million people,” said KKR Thursday held that the news
director Ajay Candade. channel had furnished “suffi-
The company owns cient grounds” for condona-
brands like EuroKids, Euro- tion of delay in filing settle-
Kids DayCare, Kangaroo ment pleas with the market re-
Kids, EuroSchool and Billa- gulator. The pleas were over
bong International, serving the show-cause notice for alle-
more than 1,20,000 students. ged non-disclosure of a tax de-
mand of Rs 450 crore in 2014.
HOT SECTOR The HC bench of Justices
The pre-school market is Akil Kureshi and S J Katha-
expected to grow 20% to walla set aside two orders of
Rs 22,500 crore by FY20 Sebi, which in 2017 had rejec-
The share of ted two separate applications
branded schools filed by NDTV to pardon the de-
will go over 30%, lay in filing settlement applica-
according to a
tions, and directed the regula-
CARE Ratings study
tor to decide them on merit
K-12 market is expected grow now. In 2015, the markets regu-
13% annually to Rs 2.4L cr by
lator had begun adjudication
FY20, according to the study
proceedings against NDTV, al-
It has a network of 1,115 leging violation of clause 36 of
pre-schools and 35 K-12 scho- the listing agreement.
ols in India and the Middle
East. In future, the company ‘SERIOUS ERROR’
will expand its network, go- After hearing NDTV coun-
ing deeper into markets like sel Fereshte Sethna and Sebi
Delhi-NCR where it doesn’t counsel Shiraz Rustomjee, the
have a big presence.
EuroKids, which compe-
HC delved into the law to hold
that the “power for condona-
tes with players like Shem-
rock and TreeHouse, had re-
venues of over Rs 400 crore
tion of delay… has to be const-
rued liberally”.
On June 4, 2015, Sebi held
in FY19 and is expected to
cross Rs 500 crore in FY20,
NDTV liable for violation and
imposed a Rs 25-lakh penalty.
growing at 20-25% annually.
The profit-after-tax margin
NDTV filed an appeal against
the penalty before the Securi-
of the company is 10-15%. ties Appellate Tribunal (SAT),
EuroKids will also look Mumbai. When it challenged
at expanding into new areas the rejection of condonation,
like after-school training, the SAT appeal was pending.
sports ancillary, content cre- The HC found that the Sebi or-
ation and adaptive learning. der rejecting the NDTV plea
Additionally, KKR plans to was devoid of reasoning, ad-
work with the EuroKids ma- ding that it found “Sebi com-
nagement team to pursue mitted a serious error in rejec-
inorganic opportunities. ting both the applications”.
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIMST User: william.dsouza Time: 09-06-2019 00:22 Color: C
K
Y
M

16 TIMES BUSINESS THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

White goods cos hope eco PNB, OBC,

boosters push festive sales
Season Generates Up To 25% Of Industry’s Annual Revenue
Aseem.Gujar@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: The consumer go-
ods industry is pinning its ho-
pes on recent government mea-
sures and attractive offers to
push up sales in the festive sea-
son, which accounts for aro-
und 25% of the annual reve-
nue. An extended summer led
to a windfall of double-digit
growth in consumer goods this
year, especially in the cooling
category. However, slowdown
in the last two months has been
a damper despite good monso-
on. Retailers, however, don’t
think the slowdown has affec-
ted the industry and are opti-
mistic about the festive season.
Customers are expected to
gain with lucrative pricing as
brands and retailers aim for a
larger share of the pie. This
year, the festivities in the Indi-
an calendar are slated to last
for only about 45 days due to
an earlier Diwali, compared
to over 60 days in 2018. This
further reduces the sales win-
dow for the industry.
“In the last two months, the
sentiment of slowdown, which
is impacting other industries,
has also started affecting ours.
We are not seeing growth,” said
Kamal Nandi, business head &
Advent to
LOOKING TO REVIVE GROWTH
Onam, which marks the start
of the festive season, has not
boosted consumption yet
Share of annual sales
in the festive period may
drop to 21-22% from the
usual 25-26%
Scorching summer had
resulted in 20% growth in
ACs, 12% growth in refrigerators
However, sales of washing
machines and microwave ovens
EVP, Godrej Appliances, and
president of Consumer Elec-
tronics and Appliances Manu-
facturers Association (CEA-
MA). The industry body has
made representations for boos-
ting the sector. According to
him, if government measures
are not able to drive positive
sentiment and spends, then it
will be a subdued season and
that would be a big challenge
for the Rs 70,000-crore industry.
“We are hopeful that the li-
quidity crunch will get addres-
sed because of the measures
that have come in. We are also
hopeful that the RBI transfer-
ring Rs 1.76 lakh crore will help.
Additionally, interest rates
Muthoot Finance to shut
have been below par
Retailers are still optimistic,
and are gearing up for the
festive season by taking
on more inventory
Customers can expect
new launches across
brands and lucrative
deals from sellers
Amazon too has added over
1,000 large appliances in time
for its annual festival sale
may go down, as directed by the
government. If that happens,
then there will be some dispo-
sable income with the consu-
mer,” said Nandi. He added that
the share of annual sales in the
festive period may drop to 21-
22% from the usual 25-26%.
Onam, which marks the be-
ginning of festivities, has also
not shown signs of boosting
consumption yet. “In the back-
drop of last year’s Onam being
a washout as there were floods
in Kerala, we were expecting
this year to be good. However,
the initial response has not be-
en favourable,” said Nandi.
Retailers, however, are opti-
mistic about growth in sales in
the festive season. “There is not
much impact of the slowdown
on this industry. We are seeing
5-7% growth currently, and ex-
pect it to rise to double-digits
during the festivals. There is
4-5 weeks’ inventory, which is
under control, and we will be
taking more stock for the sea-
son,” said Vijay Sales mana-
ging partner Nilesh Gupta, ad-
ding that the television catego-
ry is seeing a revival.
E-commerce players,
which still hold a small share in
the market, have geared up for
the festive season too. Amazon
India started selling large app-
liances on its platform three ye-
ars ago, and it’s one of the fas-
test growing categories for it,
with 1.5 times y-o-y growth this
year. “We have added over 1,000
models in this segment in time
for the festive season. Diwali is
big-buying season, and our sa-
les during the festival in 2018
grew 2.5 times compared to the
previous year,” said Amazon
India director (large applian-
ces & furniture) Suchit Sub-
has. He added that the e-com-
merce makes up for less than
3% of total retail consumption
in the country. Hence, it’s too
small to be affected by condi-
tions like a slowdown.
United Bank
eye merger
by April
Sidhartha@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The board of Pun-
jab National Bank (PNB),
which cleared a plan for the
merger of Oriental Bank of
Commerce (OBC) and United
Bank of India on Thursday, is
looking at an April deadline for
completing the process to crea-
te the country’s second largest
bank, while trying to minimise
hardships to customers.
The board of OBC, which
will merge with PNB, is expec-
ted to meet around October 18
to give an in-principle approval
to the marriage arranged by
the government, a senior bank
executive told TOI.
WILL BE 2ND
LARGEST BANK
Cheque books and account
numbers and some of the other
details for customers will
change post-merger, along with
a new name and logo for the
merged entity, sources said.
PNB is likely to provide a six
month grace period for custo-
mers to revalidate their stan-
ding instructions and also issue
new post-dated cheques in case
the need arises. Even the branch
codes will change in the coming
months although branch ratio-
nalisation is something that has
not been looked at yet.
The managing directors of
the three banks are expected to
SBI plans to review
repo-linked home loan
Will Try To Connect Deposits To Benchmark
Mayur.Shetty@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: SBI will review its
existing repo rate-linked ho-
me loan following the RBI di-
rective that all retail loans
should be linked to an exter-
nal benchmark. The bank
will also try to link interest
rates on deposits to floating
rate benchmarks.
Even after it was launched
in July, most of the bank’s bor-
rowers were choosing the
marginal cost of lending rate
(MCLR) over the repo rate as
the bank had put in safegu-
ards to ensure that only custo-
mers who can deal with vola-
tility avail such loans. This re-
sulted in more MCLR-linked
loans being availed than tho-
se with repo-linked rates.
Under the repo-linked ho-
me loan, the bank was offe-
ring loans to only those with
a monthly income of Rs
50,000. Also, there is a condi-
tion that the borrower has to
repay at least 3% of the prin-
cipal as part of the loan. Bor-
rowers were also told that
the instalments would not be
equal and would shrink over
the tenure of the loan. Since
JioFiber monthly
the repayments were front- small savings should be lin-
ended, the borrower would ked to the repo rate. The in-
require a higher income eli- terest rate on small savings,
gibility as compared to the which is fixed by the govern-
conventional MCLR loan. ment, often serves as a floor
SBI MD P K Gupta said, for bank deposits.
“When we introduced this, In addition to managing li-
we were not sure how people abilities, banks face a chal-
will be able to manage frequ- lenge in educating customers.
According to SBI deputy MD P K Gupta,
the lender was not sure how people will
be able to manage frequent changes in
interest rate, which is why there was a
slightly higher eligibility criterion
ent changes in interest rate, According to retaillending-
which is why we had a slight- .com founder & director Suka-
ly higher eligibility crite- nya Kumar, the fact that there
rion. Now if there is going to is going to be only repo-linked
be only one product, we will lending rate is a positive deve-
have to normalise eligibility lopment as both customers
for home loans.” and in many cases those dis-
“Unless we have some lia- tributing the loans were not
bilities that move in tandem aware of the features of the re-
with the benchmark, we will po-linked rate, resulting in
have issues in maintaining many going for loans linked to
our margins. We will have to the MCLR. Kumar said the vo-
look at the entire structure of latility in rates should not be
liabilities and take a call,” an issue as borrowers always
said Gupta. Bankers are say- have the option to get their lo-
ing that not only bank depo- ans refinanced if rates are not
sits but also interest rate on in line with market.
Cognizant
to cut sales

buy `1,100cr
jointly address employees and
customers in the coming weeks
to allay any fears, they added. A
plans start at `699 execs’ fixed
banker said that the details of New Delhi: Reliance Jio on vice across 1,600 cities.

of ABCL’s 300 branches in Kerala the merger exercise will be wor-

ked out by a joint team of execu-
tives in the coming days and
Thursday launched broad-
band services, offering mi-
nimum speed of 100mbps,
“Currently, the average
fixed-line broadband speed
in India is 25mbps. Even in
pay portion
`2,100cr QIP Rachel.Chitra
@timesgroup.com
“It is only sentiment that
is still keeping the finance
company’s operations
work in a peaceful manner.
No one has the right to ob-
struct the workers,” the
consultants will be roped in to
provide for a smooth HR and IT
integration. On Wednesday, the
with plans starting at Rs 699
per month. The company
will also provide HD set-top
the US, which is the most
developed economy, it is
around 90mbps. JioFiber,
Shilpa.Phadnis@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: Cognizant’s new

Mumbai: Global private equi-
ty major Advent International
along with existing investor
Premji Invest have committed
to pump Rs 1,100 crore into Adi-
tya Birla Capital (ABCL),
which is raising Rs 2,100 crore
through a preferential issue.
Of the committed fund, Ad-
vent will pick up 4.15% stake for
a consideration of Rs 1,000 cro-
re, while Azim Premji’s PE arm
Premji Invest will pump in Rs
100 crore. The company’s board
on Thursday approved the pro-
posal to mop up Rs 2,100 crore in
equity capital through a prefe-
rential allotment to marquee
investors, and to the promo-
ters, and promoter group enti-
ties. The money raised will be
used for future growth as well
as to repay outstanding debt.
The company has entered
into a definitive share subscrip-
tion agreement with Jomei In-
vestments, an affiliate of Ad-
vent, for Rs 1,000 crore funding,
it said, adding it has also signed
asimilar agreement with PI Op-
portunities Fund, an affiliate of
Premji Invest for the Rs 100-cro-
re commitment. AGENCIES
Bengaluru: Kochi-head-
quartered Muthoot Finance
on Thursday said it will be
shutting down half (300) of
its 600 branches in
Kerala in a stag-
gered manner.
Sources said clo-
sure of 35 more
branches will be announced
on Friday. This follows the
Wednesday announcement
of closing 15 branches in Ker-
ala — bringing the total num-
ber of closed branches this
week to 50.
An email sent to Muthoot
Finance did not elicit a re-
sponse. The Muthoot Fi-
nance management alleged
that it has become unprofit-
able to run operations in the
state, following strikes by em-
ployees demanding higher
wages. While the manage-
ment alleges non-profitabili-
ty, employees say it is just a
pressure tactic, as the compa-
ny, which has more than 5,000
branches across India, re-
corded a profit of Rs 530 crore
in FY19 — up 8% from Rs 492
crore in FY18.
running in Kerala,” Muth-
oot Finance MD George
Alexander Muthoot said
on Wednesday.
The Kerala high court on
Thursday directed the state
police to provide adequate
‘It is only
sentiment that
is still keeping
the operations
running in Kerala’
protection to employees will-
ing to work in the offices of
the company, which is facing
a protest from a section of
workers demanding a re-
vised salary structure and
other benefits.
A bench comprising Jus-
tices Vinod Chandaran and
Arun V G issued notice to the
state government and the po-
lice after another section of
employees of the Kerala-
based firm approached the
court in the wake of the on-
going stir by a group of em-
ployees. “The willing em-
ployees shall be permitted to
court said in an interim or-
der on a petition filed by the
employees. Various offices
of the nationwide network of
the NBFC are witnessing
protests since August 20 by a
section of employees, alleg-
edly backed by the Centre of
Indian Trade Unions. The
employees on strike had ear-
lier said the protest was
against the company’s al-
leged anti-labour stance.
George Alexander Muth-
oot had recently staged a
“sit-in”, alleging that out-
siders were creating trouble
in his company “without
any reason”. Sources at
Muthoot Finance said that
“no fresh gold loans will be
granted from the closed or
intending to be closed
branches. And that they are
making arrangements for
closing the loans and releas-
ing gold ornaments to the
customers.” Muthoot Fi-
nance earlier on Wednesday
said that customers would be
given three months to close
their loan account and get
back their gold ornaments.
government had organised a
workshop for senior executives
where SBI and Bank of Baroda
shared their experience.
US sues Novelis
to prevent it from
buying rival Aleris
Washington: The US Depart-
ment of Justice on Wednesday
said it has filed a lawsuit aga-
inst Novelis, a major alumini-
um company fully owned by
India’s Aditya Birla Group, se-
eking to stop it from acquiring
rival player Aleris over con-
cern that the acquisition wo-
uld create a monopoly in alu-
minium industry.
A defiant Novelis asserted
that it will challenge the law-
suit and is going ahead with its
proposed acquisition of Ale-
ris Corporation. Atlanta-he-
adquarters Novelis is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Hindalco
Industries of the Aditya Birla
Group. Aleris is based in Cle-
veland, Ohio. AGENCIES
box, router, free voice cal-
ling in India, TV-based vi-
deo calling and conferen-
cing service, zero-latency
gaming and device
security of up to five
devices in all the
plans ranging betwe-
en Rs 699 and Rs 8,499.
Jio is offering
complementary TV
sets to annual subscribers
of broadband plans in the
range of Rs 1,299 to Rs 8,499.
“The launch of JioFiber,
with its revolutionary ser-
vices is just the beginning
of a new and exciting jour-
ney. As always, we will con-
tinue working hard to bring
more such amazing servi-
ces to your home and take
JioFiber to the next level. I
want to specially thank our
five lakh JioFiber preview
users, who have contribu-
ted significantly in perfec-
ting our product and servi-
ce experience,” Akash Am-
bani, director, Reliance Jio
Infocomm, said.
The company has anno-
unced the launch of the ser-
India’s first 100% all-fibre
broadband service, will
start from 100mbps and go
all the way up to 1gbps. This
will propel India to
top five broadband
nations globally,”
the statement said.
JioFiber custo-
mers subscribing to
Rs 699 plan will get
three-month complimenta-
ry access Jio Cinema and
Jio Saavn, while those op-
ting for Rs 849 plan will get
three-month access to vi-
deo entertainment apps.
Subscriber of higher plans
will get access to annual
subscription of leading vi-
deo entertainment apps
bundled in their plans, ac-
cording to the statement.
“For gaming, device se-
curity, home networking,
VR experience, video con-
tent services, provided by
RCITPL (a platform service
company) and TV video cal-
ling and conferencing, sub-
scribers need to purchase
compatible devices,” the
statement said. AGENCIES
CEO Brian Humphries is
changing the sales team’s com-
pensation structure, with the
focus on significantly increa-
sing the variable component.
He believes the
structure cur-
rently is out of tu-
ne with industry
practice.
“Normally I
imagine companies that you
speak to tend to have a sales
force that is somewhat levera-
ged. And when I say leverage,
if you’re earning $100,000 a ye-
ar, perhaps $50,000 is fixed and
$50,000 is variable or 60-40, so-
metimes 70-30. I would say
Cognizant has historically
operated with 85-15 or 90-10 ty-
pe plans, so very little levera-
ge. You’re not going to get the
best breed of sales people in
the world to come to your com-
pany if you have a 90% fixed
on target earnings,” Humph-
ries said at an investor confe-
rence organised by Citibank
on Wednesday.
The company has in the
past two months laid off hund-
reds of employees.

Structural shifts in auto due

to behavioural changes: Kotak
Says Son Not Ready To Buy Car, Prefers To Take Cab
Pankaj.Doval@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: At the opening session
of auto industry body Siam’s annu-
al convention, Mumbai-based top
banker and billionaire Uday Ko-
tak, while pointing out that “beha-
vioural changes are leading
to structural changes” in the
auto industry, said that his
son is not ready to buy a new
car, but prefers to hire an Ola
or Uber for his commute.
Perhaps confirming Ko-
tak’s hypothesis were many
auto industry officials who attended
the Siam meeting, but chose to come
in a taxi to avoid the congestion.
“There is no stigma attached to hi-
ring a cab today. It’s rather seen as hip
and new-age to hire one, apart from
the convenience and money that you
save,” a top industry consultant, who
till some months back was CEO of a
major Japanese car company, said.
Y S Guleria, head (sales and mar-
keting), Honda Motorcycle and Scoo-
ter India, said that many in the popu-
lation that migrates for work across
cities are not buying new two-whee-
lers, but rather prefer to opt for sha-
red mobility to move around.
And it’s not just the convenience
of shared mobility, or the slump in
economic parameters, that are de-
pressing car sales. Rising conges-
tion across cities and gradual co-
ming of age of public infrastructure
— such as growing network
of metro rail — are also kee-
ping many buyers away from
new purchases. “Who wants
to get stuck in traffic for ho-
urs when you can cover the
same distance quickly by the
metro,” Anurag Srivastava, a
commuter who travels daily betwe-
en Delhi to Gurgaon, says.
Kotak, one of the most seasoned
bankers in India, said the behaviou-
ral changes that are leading to struc-
tural shifts need to be captured by the
auto industry, as they are having an
impact on demand. “Highways have
become more efficient, and Octroi
has gone away. That has increased ef-
ficiency of trucks and vehicles and
we have better capacity utilisation.
Also, the trucks have been allowed to
have additional freight capacity per
vehicle. These do have an impact on
short-term demand for trucks.”
Shashank Srivastava, head (sa-
les and marketing), Maruti, said
that it is yet not clear whether the
structural changes are behind the
slowdown that the industry is pas-
sing through. “Jury is still out on
this… we cannot say conclusively.”
Maruti has carried out a study to un-
derstand behavioural changes
across cities, Srivastava said, adding
that “status symbol” is still attached
to new car purchase.
Mahindra & Mahindra has de-
ferred its planned capex of around
Rs 1,000 crore by a year, which, if not
reversed within this fiscal, would le-
ad to more job losses in the sector, the
company’s MD Pawan Goenka said.
He said the impact of shared mobili-
ty is currently not very significant.
However, many in the industry still
held the economic slowdown solely
responsible for the crisis. “The Indi-
an automotive growth story is about
to collapse. The reasons have been
highlighted. Low economic activity
leading to subdued demand, trigge-
red by the liquidity crisis and the in-
crease of the axle load regulations
for commercial vehicles,” said Tata
Motors MD Guenter Butschek.

Auto stocks gain on Gadkari assurance

New Delhi: Automobile stocks
jumped up to 7.8% on Thursday af-
ter Union transport minister Ni-
tin Gadkari assured the crisis-hit
industry of all possible support.
Shares of Tata Motors zoomed
7.8%, Exide Industries 2.8%, Bha-
rat Forge 2.8%, Motherson Sumi
Systems 2.6%, Maruti Suzuki In-
dia 2.4%, on the BSE.
Likewise, Mahindra & Ma-
hindra rose 2.2%, Bajaj Auto 1.6%,
Hero MotoCorp 1.5%, TVS Motor
Company 1.5%, Bosch 1%, Ashok
Leyland 0.8% and Eicher Motors
0.7%. Led by gains in these scrips,
the BSE Auto Index went up 2.1%
to close at 15,564.
Equities gave up early gains to
settle lower on Thursday due to
sell-offs mainly in banking stocks
JUMP UP TO 8%
after the RBI directed banks to
link interest rates on all new loans
with external benchmarks.
Losses on the indices, however,
were restricted by emergence of
buying in stocks of somewhat reli-
eved auto sector after Union trans-
port minister Nitin Gadkari assu-
red the crisis-hit industry of all
possible support.
After rising over 174 points in
early session, the 30-share sensex
failed to sustain the momentum
and gave up all gains to end 80
points, or 0.2%, lower at 36,644. It
hit an intraday high of 36,899 and
low of 36,542.
The broader Nifty, on the other
hand, ended 3 points, or 0.03%, hig-
her at 10,848. The rupee apprecia-
ted by 27 paise to trade at 71.85 aga-
inst the dollar. AGENCIES
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIMSPFP User: ehtesham.hasan Time: 09-06-2019 00:03 Color: C
K
Y
M

TIMES SPORT THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

AS COACH I WOULDN’T HAVE WANTED NEYMAR WRESTLER BAJRANG GETS TOP BILLING AT
BACK IN LA LIGA, SAYS DEL BOSQUE | 19 THIS MONTH’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | 19

EAT, SLEEP, SCORE TONS... REPEAT

Fourth Test: Smith (211)
AFP

4
Number of times Smith has scored 500 4-183, 5-224, 6-369, 7-387, 8-438.
SCOREBOARD
runs or more in a Test series — his Bowling: Broad 25-2-97-3; Archer 27-
Australia, 1st innings (overnight 170
Slams Third Double Ton best-ever series being 769 (ave
128.16), including four hundreds and
for 3): M Harris lbw Broad 13, D
Warner c Bairstow b Broad 0, M
3-97-0 (1nb); Stokes 10.5-0-66-0
(2nb); Leach 26.1-3-83-2 (1nb);
Overton 28-3-85-2 (3w); Denly 3-1-8-
two fifties vs India in Australia in 2014-15.
As Oz Declare At 497-8 The other three instances are against
England in successive series — in 2015,
Labuschagne b Overton 67, S Smith
c Denly b Root 211, T Head lbw
Broad 19, M Wade c Root b Leach
0; Root 6-0-39-1.)
England, 1st innings: R Burns
batting 15, J Denly c Wade b
Manchester: Australia star Steve Smith 2017-18 and in 2019. He is the first batsman 16, T Paine c Bairstow b Overton 58, Cummins 4, Craig Overton batting 3.
marked his return to international cricket with to accomplish the great feat in three P Cummins c Stokes b Leach 4, M Extras (nb1) 1; Total (For 1 wicket,
a third hundred of this Ashes series on Thurs- successive Ashes series. Starc not out 54, N Lyon not out 26. 10 overs) 23.
day. Smith was eventually dismissed for 211 Extras (b8, lb14, w3, nb4) 29. Fall-of-wicket: 1-10
Total (8 wkts dec, 126 overs) 497. Bowling: M Starc 2-2-0-0, J
reverse sweeping England skipper Joe Root as
Did not bat: J Hazlewood. Hazlewood 4-1-3-0 (1nb), P
the Australians were trying to add some quick Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-28, 3-144,
runs before declaring their innings at 497 for Cummins 3-0-10-1, N Lyon 1-0-10-0
8. Smith, who missed England’s dramatic one-
wicket win in the third Test at Headingley with
concussion, top-scored while Mitchell Starc hit
a blistering 54 not out in his first match.
The hosts had to negotiate a tricky hour Steve Smith’s
Shah’s historic ton
before stumps and ended up losing the wicket
of Joe Denly caught by Mathew Wade at short
leg off the bowling of Cummins. They were 23
last 12 innings vs England
(*arranged in ascending order)
boosts Afghanistan
for 1 at close of play. Chittagong: Batsman Rah- reporters after the opening
Smith, the world’s top-ranked Test batsman,
has now scored 589 runs in four innings this
239 mat Shah became the first
Afghanistan cricketer to
day’s play.
“I had the dream to be-
series — his first since completing a 12-month 211 score a Test century on come the first centurion for
ball-tampering ban — including three hun- Thursday, helping the min- Afghanistan. So naturally I
dreds, at a colossal average of 147.25. nows start strongly against was very upset when I got out
Victory in Manchester would see holders
144 Bangladesh on the opening scoring 98 against Ireland.
Australia retain the Ashes at 2-1 up with one day of the one-off match. Today I got the chance and
to play in a five-match series.
143 Shah made 102 and put on scored the century,” he said.
Smith led a charmed life. He was dropped a crucial 120-run fourth- Taijul Islam and Nayeem
by Jofra Archer in the first session when he
142 wicket stand with Asghar Hasan took two wickets each
was on 65. Afghan, batting on 88, to to hurt Afghanistan after the
He was the beneficiary of more largesse,
141* counter the Bangladesh spin tourists elected to bat first in
when on 118, he edged left-arm-spinner Jack attack at the Zahur Ahmed just their third five-day
Leach to Ben Stokes at slip only for replays to
102* Chowdhury Stadium in Chit- game.
reveal the bowler had over-stepped for a no-ball tagong. Afghanistan were 271 The war-torn nation had
—a careless error for a slow bowler. This was
92 for five at stumps with Af- a bruising introduction to
Smith’s third hundred of a series where he ghan and Afsar Zazai, on 35, Test cricket after India out-
made 144 and 142 in Australia’s 251-run win in 83 putting together a 74-run played them inside two days
partnership in the final ses- in 2018 at the Chinnaswamy
76 sion of play. Stadium in Bangalore. Af-
Oz fans abuse Archer, But it was Shah and Af- ghanistan registered their
thrown out of Old Trafford 40 Steve Smith has scored 1419 ghan who ensured that Af- first Test victory against Ire-
runs at an average of 156.55 in ghanistan fought their way land early this year with
Manchester: Two Australian fans were
thrown out of Old Trafford after hurling
6 his last 12 innings vs England back in to the contest after Shah scoring two fifties in
abuse at England fast bowler Jofra Archer, being in trouble at 77 for the game including a 98 in
according to a report in Sydney Morning three at lunch. the first innings.AFP
Herald. The pair was reportedly the opener at Edgbaston — his first Test since Least innings taken for 26 Test tons Most hundreds against an opponent in Tests “It is a proud moment for Brief Scores: Afghanistan 272
seated near the boundary completing a 12-month ball-tampering ban. Batsman For Inns Batsman For 100s Inns Opponent
me. I am the first person who for 5 in 96 overs (Rahmat Shah
where Archer was fielding. His lowest score of the current campaign has the first half century (in 102, Asghar Afghan batting 88;
was the 92 he posted at Lord’s after being felled Don Bradman Australia 69 D Bradman Australia 19 63 England a Test) for the country and Taijul 2-73, Nayeem 2-43) vs
“Jofra, show us your
passport” was chief by Archer. S Gavaskar India 13 48 West Indies now the century,” Shah told Bangladesh
Steven Smith Australia 121
amongst the abuses Australia resumed on 170-3 after Wednes-
J Hobbs England 12 71 Australia
thrown at Archer, refer- day’s rain-marred first day in Manchester. Sachin Tendulkar India 136
ring to his Barbados her- Smith was 60 not out— his eighth successive Steven Smith Australia 11 45 England
itage, albeit in poor Test 50 against England extending the 30-year- Sunil Gavaskar India 144 Sachin Tendulkar India 11 74 Australia
taste. The support- old’s Ashes record.
Australia had been in trouble at 28-2 but Matthew Hayden Australia 145 Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka 10 45 Pakistan
ers who were sit-
ting close to the Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, whose 67 was Garry Sobers West Indies 10 61 England
Garry Sobers WI 155
England dressing his fourth successive Test 50 since replacing
Steve Waugh Australia 10 73 England
room were Smith as a concussion substitute, put on 116 Ricky Ponting Australia 163
evicted. for the third wicket. AGENCIES Rajesh Kumar

‘Had to perform double of others to be recognised’

Vihari Talks Hanuma’s efforts in
West Indies
You were a part of the
victorious U-19 World Cup-
to my cricketing skills. It is a
huge boost for me when Virat
Rahmat Shah (right) and Asghar Afghan rescued Afghanistan
with a 102-run stand for the fourth wicket vs Bangladesh
winning team in 2012 but said that the dressing room is
To TOI About In the Test series against
didn’t get a game in that
tournament. Your journey has
calm when I am batting in the
middle.
NUMBERS GAME I was
dreaming
the Windies, Hanuma
Coming Of not been as flamboyant as

scored 289 runs in four in-
nings at an average of
Age As A Test 96.33 with one century and
two fifties.
Batsman... He was the highest run-get-
ter.
In three unofficial Tests
Arani.Basu@timesgroup.com
vs West Indies A, Hanuma,
who was leading India A,
20y 350d
to become the
some of your teammates in You also switched states in
that campaign... 2016. How did you plan your first century-
I made my first-class debut at move from Hyderabad to
17. I had already got a taste of Andhra? maker for
senior grade cricket. After the
U-19 World Cup, I knew that
I was scoring consistently for
Hyderabad but was not getting
Afghanistan’s
Rashid Khan’s age.
He is the youngest
Afghanistan.
When I got out for
first-class cricket is my only picked for the next level of
chance to make it big. Ranji cricket. Moving to Andhra captain in Test 98 against Ireland,
Trophy became the most im- was the best decision. annals, surpassing
Zimbabwe’s I was really upset.

H
anuma Vihari is a prod-
uct of Indian cricket’s
rigorous domestic sys-
tem. He has built his reputa-
tion by scoring runs by the
truckload across all levels of
from Jamaica. Excerpts from
runs but managed to make an
scored 224 runs with two
fifties and a hundred in
five innings.
states in terms of cricket. Hy-
portant thing for me. I realized
I needed to score around 1000
runs year after year. I told my-
self, ‘Never drop your guard.’
I had to work very hard on my
fitness. Eventually, when I be-
Your father passed away when Tatenda Taibu’s Today I got the
you were just 12. That must previous record of becoming Test
captain at 20 years and 358 days vs chance to score
have been difficult to come to
terms with... Sri Lanka at Harare in May 2004. the hundred. It is a
It was a difficult phase. We proud moment for

cricket to force his way into
the Indian Test team. Having
scored one century, two half-
centuries and averaged 96.33
in the two-Test series in the
West Indies, Vihari has shown
he can add solidity and resolve
to India’s middle order. He
spoke to TOI moments before
boarding the flight back home
an interview…
It’s been exactly one year
since you made your debut…
I feel there has been some
transformation in me. The
conditions I have played in
have been difficult. The Aus-
tralia tour was difficult. It was
a big tour. I didn’t get many
impression. That was very
important. I won’t lie. I was
very nervous.
You have gone through the full
grind of India’s domestic
cricket, right from U-19 to
zonal teams to India ‘A’…
It’s a different equation for
players coming from smaller
derabad and Andhra are such
states. You have to perform
double of others coming from
stronger states to be recog-
nised. But over a period of
time, you get habituated (to
this). Each season and match
becomes important. That
helps you to become mentally
stronger.
12
came prolific, I got to play Test moved to Hyderabad after my Rahmat Shah has
cricket. father passed away. It was a become the first me. I also got the
difficult period financially, Afghanistan batsman to first Test fifty for
How much have things adjusting to a bigger city. The post a
changed since those Under-19 academy (St. Johns) I went to, Test century. Now, Afghanistan and
days? they offered me full support. all Test-playing now I am the first
(Smiles) Well I have changed They never took fees for my countries have
a bit. (Pauses) I mean I try not coaching. It was tough to bal- recorded individual century-maker
to change as a person but I’ve ance my studies and cricket. centuries. Rahmat Shah
changed a lot when it comes My mother backed me. Rajesh Kumar AFGHAN BATSMAN

Rahul’s perpetual struggle India ‘A’ batters

commit hara-kiri
Dhawan shifts focus to T20 WC Rakesh Nair

leaves Jaffer ‘disappointed’ Santosh Bane

Narayanan.S@timesgroup.com

Thiruvananthapuram: Going into the

Narayanan.S@timesgroup.com

Thiruvananthapuram: It was Au-

TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: If there has been one
eyesore in India’s dominating
performance in the West Indies,
it’s been the ordinary perform-
ance of India opener KL Rahul,
who managed to score just 101
runs in the two-Tests series,
which India won 2-0, at an aver-
age of 25.25.
Like many, the otherwise tal-
ented Rahul’s struggle has left
former India opener Wasim
Jaffer baffled. Jaffer feels that
the Karnataka batsman seems
to be unable to solve a “jigsaw
puzzle” in his batting. Accord-
ing to Jaffer, who played 31Tests
and two ODIs for India, there is
no issue with Rahul’s tech-
nique.
As a Test opener, Rahul aver-
ages 36.82 in 33 Tests, which has
left many critics to question the
team management’s decision to
give a long rope to the 27-year-
old. Rahul n the opening slot. “I
feel a little bit disappointed with
K L Rahul because he has got so
Wasim Jaffer (R) at the inaugural
ceremony of the Adams Wylie
Physio Rehab Center
much ability, he is one of the
guys (players) who has got 100 in
all three formats (of the game),”
Jaffer told reporters in Mum-
bai. “And his mode of dismiss-
als make me a bit disappointed
because he gets out very softly at
times. He has got a lot of ability
and that is why he is getting so
many chances, because people
believe that he is going to come
good. The way he gets out and
the way he does not get that
many runs, that surprises me...I
feel somewhere he is missing
those puzzles (sic) in his jigsaw,”
he said.
The 41-year-old, Jaffer who
still plays in domestic cricket for
Vidarbha, on Wednesday inau-
gurated the ‘Adams Wylie Phy-
sio Rehab Center’ instituted by
the Indian Red Cross Society in
Mumbai Central. Quizzed on
whether Rahul could also be
finding it tough to deal with
mental issues, especially after
repeated failures, Jaffer said,
“Definitely it could be one of
those things.”
He felt Rahul was currently
holding back from “expressing”
himself in international crick-
et. “I feel he just holds himself
back and doesn’t express him-
self the way he expresses proba-
bly in first-class cricket, but the
moment he goes into interna-
tional cricket, I feel that he holds
himself a little bit,” he added.
Jaffer felt that he couldn’t
find any problems with Rahul’s
technique.
final five overs, India ‘A’ needed just 32
runs with seven wickets in hand. A bat-
ting collapse inspired by the impressive
Anrich Nortje, however, saw the visitors
South Africa ‘A’ pulling off a four-run win
in the fourth one-dayer, their first win of
the tour, at the Sports Hub here on Thurs-
day. Chasing a DLS-adjusted target of 193
off 25 overs in a match that went into the
reserve day, India ‘A’, who had already
won the series, finished at 188/9. The se-
ries stands at 3-1in favour of the hosts go-
ing into the final game on Friday.
INDIA ‘A’ VS SA ‘A’
Pacers Nortje, Marco Jansen and
Lutho Sipamla starred with the ball for
South Africa ‘A’. India ‘A’, who resumed
the chase on the reserve day at 57 for one
in 7.4 overs, looked on course when Shik-
har Dhawan raced to a half-century (52
off 43 balls; 4x8) supported by Prashant
Chopra (26) and skipper Shreyas Iyer
(26).
Brief scores: South Africa ‘A’ 137/1 in 25 overs
(Reeza Hendricks 60 ) bt India ‘A’ 188-9 in 25
overs (Shikhar Dhawan 52, Shivam Dube 31;
Marco Jansen 3/25, Anrich Nortje 3/36, Lutho
Sipamla 3/55) by 4 runs (DLS method).
gust 2013. India ‘A’ were playing South
Africa ‘A’ in a one-day tri-series also
involving Australia ‘A’. Shikhar Dha-
wan, who had already made spectacu-
lar entry into the Indian team with a
century against Australia in Mohali,
the fastest on Test debut by any play-
er, and a Man-of-the-Series perform-
ance in the Champions Trophy, fur-
ther showcased his destructive abili-
ty at the top order with 248 runs off 150
balls in Pretoria.
Six years on, Dhawan is now one
half of the most consistent opening
pair in ODIs for India, along with Ro-
hit Sharma. But after a World Cup
campaign cruelly cut short by a
thumb injury he sustained during a
match-winning ton against Australia
and a below-par West Indies tour in
which he could muster only 65 runs
from five innings across ODIs and
T20Is, Dhawan was desperate for
some runs. So he decided to don the
blues for India ‘A’ again, incidentally
against another South Africa ‘A’
team.
Coming into the India ‘A’ team in
place of the injured Vijay Shankar,
the southpaw scored brisk 52 off 43
balls with eight fours in the fourth
Shikhar Dhawan on the sidelines of India
A vs South Africa A at Sports hub in
Thiurvananthapuram on Thursday
one-dayer here and at one stage
looked like he would take his team to
victory in a stiff chase of 193 runs off
25 overs in a rain-affected game. "I en-
joyed it. I was hitting the ball very
nicely. Good that I scored a half-centu-
ry as well coming back into the India
‘A’ team after a long time. Unfortu-
nately, we couldn't win the game,"
Dhawan said after the game. The in-
nings was so typical of Dhawan.
Anything full and wide he drove
through the covers languidly. When
the bowlers tried to adjust the line, he
whipped them off his pads. Only the
good length balls in the fourth-stump
line troubled him occasionally as he
played and missed a few before edg-
ing one behind, trying to manufac-
ture a cut off left-arm pacer Marco
Jansen.
Dhawan’s Test career had been a
start-stop affair but after the England
tour of 2018, the Indian selectors
seemed to have moved on from him in
the longest format. Dhawan too
seems to realize that and tries to chan-
nel his energy for the limited-overs.
“I’m not in the Test side. So I get
enough breaks. There’s nothing like
playing a game and being on the
ground. The more matches you play,
the better you get. After seeing my
workload and everything, I felt I had
enough off days and thought I could
play these two matches. This is good
preparation for me before a series,"
said Dhawan who will be looking for-
ward to the three-match T20I series
against South Africa beginning on
September 15.
Dhawan now eyes the T20 World
Cup in Australia as his next major
crack at glory. “I’m looking forward to
the T20 World Cup, to scoring a lot of
runs for the Indian team and keep
performing consistently,” said Dha-
wan. Dhawan has enjoyed playing
with the junior cricketers in the India
‘A’ team. “These boys have been doing
very well,” he said.
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS
18
SNAPSHOTS
Was prepared to play
WC, says Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu said that his decision to
retire from all forms of cricket was “hasty”
and conversations with “good people”
convinced him to reverse that decision.
Rayudu had announced his decision to hang
up his boots in July after Mayank Agarwal
was chosen in the Indian 2019 World Cup
squad ahead of him after an injury to Vijay
Shankar. However, he soon reversed that
decision following the conclusion of the
tournament. “Good people have spoken to
me and said that maybe it's not the right
time,” said Rayudu.
Shafali, 15, named in Indian team
Rookie batter Shafali Verma, all of 15, on
Thursday became one of the youngest to be
picked in the Indian women’s cricket team,
her arrival coinciding with the departure of
the long-serving Mithali Raj from the T20
scene. Verma, whose ability with the bat has
impressed many, including Mithali, has been
selected in the Indian team for the first
three games of the upcoming five-match
T20 International series against South
Africa.
Thailand qualify for T20 World Cup
Thailand on Thursday qualified for the
Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time
when they beat Papua New Guinea by eight
wickets in the second semifinal of the T20
World Cup Qualifier tournament. Having
been set 68 to win by their opponents,
Thailand coasted home with 15 balls to
spare in Dundee to set up a final with Ban-
gladesh, who beat Ireland earlier in
the day.
Prajnesh advances to quarterfinals
Top seed Prajnesh Gunneswaran booked a
singles quarterfinal berth at the Jinan Open
with a hard-fought win over Chinese Taipei’s
Tung-Lin Wu on Thursday. The Indian left-
hander had to toil hard before prevailing 6-4
7-6(3) in the third round of the USD 162,480
hard court tournament. Prajnesh had plenty
of breakpoints but could convert only two of
the eight and dropped his serve once in the
one-hour-34-minute clash.
ACTION TODAY
INTERNATIONAL
CRICKET: The Ashes: 4th Test: Day 3, 3.30 pm
(Sony Six); One-off Test, Day 2: Bangladesh
vs Afghanistan 9.30 am (Star Sports Select
1); India ‘A’ vs South Africa ‘A’, 9 am (Star
Sports network)
FOOTBALL: Euro qualifiers: Armenia vs
Italy, 9.30 pm ; Romania vs Spain, 12.15 am
Saturday (Sony ESPN)
GOLF: European Open, Day 2, 2.30 pm (Live
on DSport)
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(Star Sports network, Hotstar)
NATIONAL
KABADDI: PKL: Patna Pirates vs UP Yoddha;
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PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIM18 User: ehtesham.hasan Time: 09-05-2019
Easwaran puts Red on top
Opener Rediscovers
Touch With 102*
Manuja.Veerappa@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: After his mammoth 233 for In-
dia ‘A’ against Sri Lanka ‘A’ in May, opener Ab-
himanyu Easwaran suffered a slump in
form, scoring a mere 163 in 11innings, includ-
ing four ducks. But on Thursday, the right-
handed Bengal batsman ended his lean
patch with a classy unbeaten century (102*,
173b, 11x2, 2x6).
In the Duleep Trophy final here, riding on
Easwaran’s performance on Day 2, which
was again affected by rain and bad light, In-
dia Red were comfortably placed at 175 for
two in 52 overs in response to India Green’s
231. Although Easwaran has struggled with
starts in recent times, he showed no nerves
DULEEP TROPHY
during his 235-minute stay on a batting-
friendly pitch at the M Chinnaswamy stadi-
um. After India Green’s Mayank Markande’s
(76*, 121, 7x4) defying knock to bail his team
out, the India Red side got off to a steady
start. Priyank Panchal (33, 78b, 5x4) played a
supporting role to an assured Easwaran be-
fore he edged an Ankit Rajpoot delivery to
Akshay Wadkar.
The in-form Karun Nair (20, 24b, 3x4) too
failed to convert his start as he attempted a
pull a tad early and saw a Markande delivery
crash into his stumps. Easwaran, who came
into the season on the back of 861 runs in 11
Ranji Trophy matches, continued to enjoy,
making the most of the erring India Green
bowlers. Rajesh Mohanty, in particular, not
only sprayed the ball all around, but guilty of
over-stepping frequently.
Easwaran’s two sixes, dispatched to the
SA pacer Rabada counting
on past experience in India
Pretoria: South Africa pacer Kagiso Ra-
bada says his team will look
to use the past experience of
playing in the sub-continent
when they take on India in
the upcoming tour begin-
ning September 15. The Pro-
teas are scheduled to play
three T20s and as many Tests against India.
“You need to figure out what you need to
do to give the team a better chance to win —
that is what I try to focus on. When you have
played there before‚ you will have an idea of
what to do in certain tough situations,” he
said at South Africa’s training camp here on
Wednesday. South Africa had won the T20
and ODI series but lost the Tests during
their last tour of India.
“The previous tour we were successful
because we won the T20 and ODI series but
TIMES SPORT
Abhimanyu Easwaran of India Red on his way to an unbeaten innings of 110 against India Green in
the final of Duleep Trophy at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore, on Thursday
long off and long on boundaries, came off
spinners Markande and Dharmendrasinh
Jadeja. There was a 64-minute rain interrup-
tion when Easwaran (83) was inching closer
to his century, but he didn’t allow that to af-
fect his rhythm. Instead, he spent time play-
ing ludo with his teammates. A little after his
century, a steady shower and bad light forced
an early closure to the proceedings.
Speaking about rediscovering his form,
the newly-appointed Bengal skipper said: “I
don’t look back at the past. I was just trying to
stay in the present and play one game at a
time. I knew I was batting well. It was a mat-
the Test series was a bit of a shambles be-
cause those wickets were just terrible‚” Ra-
bada said. “If I could give an example‚ the
first Test match it was 200 v 200 in first in-
nings. If we batted first‚ it was going to be a
different ball game because we ended up
having to chase the game. We lost 3-0 and we
SOUTH AFRICA SERIES
were truly hammered.”
Asked how they will approach spin bowl-
ing during the tour, Rabada said: “On our re-
cent tour to Sri Lanka‚ it was tricky condi-
tions. There is a whole lot of talk about how
to approach spin but we will see how it goes.
“What helps is that there are guys who
have played there in the past and I guess
what you can do is to use what worked and
what did not work during the Sri Lanka tour
to have a base.” PTI
23:09 Color: C
K
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Syed Asif
ter of one knock and it happened today in the
final.”
Earlier, India Green had Markande to
thank for the numbers on the board. Apart
from returning his career-best score, the
spinner shared a crucial 60-run stand for the
ninth wicket with Tanveer ul-Haq (18) and a
59-run partnership with Ankit Rajpoot (30)
for the last wicket.
Brief scores: India Green: 231all out in 72.1overs
(Mayank Markande 76 n.o., Ankit Rajpoot 30; Jay-
dev Unadkat 4-83, Sandeep Warrier 2-39, Avesh
Khan 2-56) vs India Red: 175/2 in 52 overs (Priyank
Panchal 33, Abhimanyu Easwaran 102 n.o.).
Linde replaces
Smuts in T20 team
Johannesburg: Uncapped left-arm
spinner George Linde was on Thurs-
day named as replacement for all-
rounder Jon-Jon Trevor Smuts in
South Africa's squad for the three-
match T20 International series
against India, starting September 15.
Linde, who is currently playing in
India in the unofficial ODI series
against India A, was drafted in after
Smuts was pulled out of the squad for
“failing to meet the required fitness
standards”, a Cricket South Africa
(CSA) release said.
South Africa T20I Squad: Quinton de
Kock (c), Rassie van der Dussen (vc), Temba
Bavuma, Junior Dala, Bjorn
Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hen-
dricks, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Andile
Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso
Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, George
Linde. PTI
Goa swimming coach
charged with rape
Marcus.Mergulhao@timesgroup.com
Panaji: Police have booked Goa’s
swimming coach Surajit Ganguly
on Thursday for rape and molesta-
tion of a 15-year-old swimmer, a
gold medallist at the national
school games, after she accused
him of sexual harassment for past
six months.
Police said a case under IPC sec-
tions 376 (rape), 354 (molestation)
and 506 (criminal intimidation), as
well as under the Protection of
Children from Sexual Offences Act
(POCSO) and Goa Children's Act
was registered against Ganguly.
Police said Ganguly, who was
coaching the state team at the Se-
nior National Aquatic Champion-
ship in Bhopal and who was hon-
oured by the Goa assembly in 2017
for bringing “pride and glory to
swimming in the state”, was ab-
sconding.
“We have tried to locate him, but
he is untraceable. We will get him
soon,” said a police officer.
Goa police registered the case
against Ganguly after the swim-
mer lodged a complaint at Rishra
police station in Hooghly on Thurs-
day and her father sent an email
complaint to the Mapusa police sta-
tion, under whose jurisdiction the
offence is alleged to have taken
place.
On Wednesday, the swimmer
had posted her ordeal at the hands
of her coach on social media and
Goa Swimming Association had
terminated his services “with im-
mediate effect”.
“I had a very bad experience
during the six months that I spent
in Goa. The coach would harass me,
touch me inappropriately and
threaten me not to tell anyone
about this. He has even come home
and misbehaved,” the minor girl,
speaking in Bengali, said in an on-
line post.
Arpinder, Dutee fail to book Doha tickets
Tridib.Baparnash@timesgroup.com
Patiala: Asian Games gold med-
allist triple jumper Arpinder
Singh’s rusty run continued as
his attempt of 16.35m during the
Indian Grand Prix–VI on Thurs-
day failed to secure the World
Championship qualifying stan-
dard of 16.95m.
Kerala’s Karthik Unnikrish-
nan produced a surprise victory
over the Punjab athlete with an
effort of 16.69m on his final at-
tempt.
THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
After the post went viral, Union
sports minister Kiren Rijiju tweet-
ed late Wednesday night that strict
action would be taken against Gan-
guly and urged “police to take strin-
gent penal action against the coach
urgently”.
On Thursday, Rijiju again
tweeted: “I’ve taken a strong view
of the incident. The Goa Swim-
ming Association has terminated
the contract of coach Surajit Gan-
guly. I’m asking the Swimming Fed-
Shocking, deplorable,
says swimming fed
The Swimming federation of
India said the incident of
misconduct by
a swim coach in
Goa has come
to their
attention and
Goa Swimming
Association (a
unit of SFI). Based on a report
filed with the SFI by it’s Goa unit
& corroborated by evidence on
social media the SFI condemns
this heinous behaviour & has
banned this coach from any form
of coaching or other activities
related to the sport across India.
Circular to this effect is issued to
all its 29 state units.
eration of India to ensure that this
coach is not employed anywhere in
India. This applies to all federa-
tions & disciplines.”
Ganguly a former India swim-
mer from West Bengal who has won
multiple medals at the Asian level,
is among the rare state coaches
who has not been employed with
any of the government-run bod-
ies—Sports Authority of India,
Sports Authority of Goa or the Di-
rectorate of Sports and Youth
Affairs.
The 24-year-old went close to
matching his 16.80m effort in the
National Inter-State Athletics
Championships in Lucknow last
week while Arpinder was unable
to go past the 16.35m that he man-
aged on his second attempt on
Thursday.
In women’s 100m dash, Odish-
a’s Dutee Chand managed to
clinch the gold by clocking 11.43
seconds but that wasn’t enough
for her either to qualify for the
September 27-October 6 World
Championships in Doha.
 CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS PubDate: 06-09-2019 Zone: MumbaiCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIMSPO2 User: sudheendra.tripathi Time: 09-05-2019 23:52 Color: C
K
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THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019 TIMES SPORT 19
Bajrang gets top
Mumbai, Pune tie in
Maharashtra derby
Another loss but lot to be proud of PTI
billing at worlds
New Delhi: India’s top grap-
pler Bajrang

TIMES NEWS NETWORK Paltan put up a brave fight

Oman Score Late niyan, who Stimac used as the second
striker, playing in a wider position with
striker-in-chief Sunil Chhetri in the
Punia has been
handed the top

Bengaluru: Puneri Paltan

in the remainder of the half to
close the gap but Mumba held
Goals To Negate middle. His runs from the very begin-
ning of the match kept the Oman de-
billing in the
men’s 65kg
freestyle cate-
and U Mumba played out a 33-
33 tie in the Pro Kabaddi Sea-
son 7 clash at the Sree Kantee-
their nerve to take a 16-12 lead at
the break. Paltan needed a
good start in the second half,
Chhetri’s Strike fenders on the toe and it was one such
run that got India the crucial free-kick
near the edge of the box in the 24th min-
gory at the
World Championships, slated
rava indoor stadium here on but U Mumba ensured the Sudeshna.Ghosh@timesgroup.com ute that eventually led to the hosts’ goal. to begin in Nur-Sultan, Kazakh-
Thursday. break did not affect their With all the Oman players staying stan from September 14.
rhythm, maintaining their ad- Guwahati: It is hard to ignore the re- close to the goalline, Chhetri darted to- World No. 1 Bajrang, who is
PKL 7 vantage and extending it to 17- sult in a match as significant as a World wards the centre of the box and slotted in Russia for training ahead of
13. Minutes later, Paltans Cup qualifier. And the 2-1 scoreline in in a straight ball from Brandon the championships, had
It was U Mumba who took bounced back in style to level favour of Oman will not perturb any through the overcrowded goalmouth bagged a silver in the last edi-
an early 3-1lead in the first half the scores at 20-20, through follower of the game in India. Yet, the and into the net. tion and a bronze in 2013 in the
and stretched it to 5-2 to put Manjeet and an unsuccessful near-capacity crowd which came to Aashique and Jhingan, just like the 60kg category.
pressure on Paltan. But a super raid from U Mumba. cheer India in their qualifying cam- others, were beginning to tire out in “Training abroad with for-
tackle from Paltan helped The match took one final paign opener were still cheering long the second half and Stimac brought in eign athletes has helped me
them reduce it to 5-4. U Mumba turn when a Super 10 raid from after the final whistle had been blown. Manvir Singh to replace Aashique in grow as a wrestler. Sparring
found the momentum soon Abhishek Singh of U Mumba the 78th minute. But by then, Oman with some of the best names in
Georgia, Russia and USA has
enough, extending their lead to made it 32-31. He returned for WORLD CUP QUALIFIER Captain Sunil Chhetri (right) scored a stunning goal to give India the lead in a World were getting back into the match and
made me more aware of my
7-4. They then went 11-5 up to another to earn U Mumba a sol- Cup Qualifying match against Oman at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium in in the 82nd minute, Al Mandhar
take full control of proceedings itary point and ensure the “It’s a new India that has arrived Guwahati on Thursday. Oman, though, went on to win the match 2-1 dinked the ball from a lofted through opponents,” said Bajrang. PTI
and put Paltan on the backfoot. game ended in a tie. and I hope the whole country will be from the deep past a hapless Gurpreet
Syed Asif proud of them” was coach Igor Sti- Athletic Stadium here for more than 70 Jhingan, Adil Khan, Subhasish Bose Singh to level the score. Al Mandhar,
mac’s words at the post-match press
conference. Nothing could be closer to
minutes of the game and had wowed
the spectators at the ground and off it.
and Rahul Bheke were like a fort before
the goal, with Jhingan proving excep-
then scored his and the team’s second
goal in the 90th minute with a wonder- Infosys-PPBA
the truth.
India had stayed ahead of their fan-
They kept holding their formation and
also a major chunk of the possession.
tional.
But the most impressive Indian
ful strike from the edge of the box that
shot into the top corner as Gurpreet agree to 5-year
cied opponents at the Indira Gandhi The backline comprising Sandesh player on the day was Aashique Kuru- looked on.
deal worth `16cr
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
‘As coach I wouldn’t have
wanted Neymar back’ Germany shrug off Sane absence Bengaluru: The Prakash Padu-
kone Badminton Academy
(PPBA) got a huge boost ahead of

Madrid: Former Spain manager
Vicente del Bosque
has said he would
not have brought
Neymar back to La
Liga had he been
coach of Barcelona
Puneri Paltan raider Manjeet is pinned down by U Mumba players
or Real Madrid,
during their PKL match Kabaddi in Bangalore on Thursday
even though he recognises the Bra-
zilian's outstanding qualities as a
REGD. NO. TN/Chief PMG/398/2002 player. Barcelona held several
RNI NO. 1547/57 ISSN 0971-8257 meetings with Paris St Germain to
No. 212 Vol. CLXXXII Air Charge: Raipur & via Re 1.00 , Chennai, Kochi, Coimbatore, Ernakulam, Trivandrum & via Rs.
2.00, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Udaipur, Vizag & via Rs. 4.00, Delhi, Kolkata, Patna & via Rs. 5.00. bring the Brazilian back to the
International Retail Prices (Daily): Oman 350 Baizas, Singapore 4 S$.
Published for the proprietors of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., by R. Krishnamurthy, at The Times of India Building, Dr. D.N. Camp Nou two years after he
Road, Mumbai-400 001, Tel. No (022) 6635 3535. Fax: (022) 2273 1144 and printed by him at (1) The Times of India Subur-
ban Press, Akurli Road, Western Express Highway, Kandivli (E), Mumbai-400 101. Tel No. (022) 2887 2324, 2887 2930 and walked out on them to join the
(2) The Times of India Print City, Plot No. 4, T.T.C. Industrial Area, Thane Belapur Road, Airoli, Navi Mumbai-400 708. Tel.
No. (022) 2760 9999; Fax: (022) 2760 5275. Tel. Nos. Mumbai Response (022) 6635 3636, 2273 3636, Fax: (022) 22731144, French side for a world record fee
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news under PRB Act © All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of Publisher is pro- of 222 million euros (about $245
hibited.
million). AGENCIES
G
ermany face their first test with-
out Manchester City winger
Leroy Sane when they renew
their rivalry with the
Netherlands in Friday’s
Euro 2020 qualifier in
Hamburg. Sane is one of
several German play-
ers missing through in-
jury. But Sane’s team-
mates insisted this week that they would
be able to compensate for his absence.
‘Solskjaer responsible if Man United
do not compete for title’: Manchester
United midfielder Nemanja Matic said
that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
will have to hold himself responsible if
the club are not in the Premier League. The FA are keen to see
running for the Pre- the minimum number of ‘homegrown’
mier League title this players in the 25-man squad Premier
season. “The coach League clubs must register rise from
must opt for the team eight to 12.
that will fight for the ti-
tle and if he does not Metzelder steps down amid child
pornography investigation: Club
EXTRA TIME Former Germany defender Christoph
Metzelder has stepped down as presi-
win, he bears the responsibility,” Matic dent from his boyhood club TuS Haltern
told reporters. am See after he was questioned by police
as part of an investigation into distribu-
FA hoping for Brexit boost for tion of child pornography, the club said
England: The English Football Associ- in a statement. Computer equipment
ation’s (FA) new technical director Les was confiscated during two searches,
Reed believes Brexit could give more En- Hamburg’s state prosecutor’s office
glish players opportunities to play in the said. AGENCIES
its silver jubilee celebration next
month, with the Infosys Founda-
tion announcing a long-term
partnership.
As per the MoU signed by
Foundation chairperson Sudha
Murty and badminton legend
Padukone on Teachers’ Day, the
Foundation will support the ‘In-
fosys Foundation-PPBA Cham-
pions Nurturing Program’
through a grant of `16 crore. The
five-year programme, which
will focus mainly on youth from
rural areas, will commence at
the Infosys Foundation-Padu-
kone Badminton Academy from
next month.
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20 TIMES SPORT THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

Getty Images

IN NY, A TASTE OF ITALY

Berrettini Makes Maiden
Grand Slam Semis, Runs
Into Imperious Nadal

Prajwal.Hegde@timesgroup.com
New York: The only thing brighter than all
that fluorescent fabric on Matteo Berrettini
was his gigawatt smile. It put to shade prime
time under the lights at the Arthur Ashe Sta-
dium. After four hours in the middle, the Ital-
ian, ranked 25 in the world, fell on his back and
lay there spreadeagled. A
smile covered his face.
The 6’5’’ Berrettini, play-
ing only his second US Open
main draw, having never
won a match here in the
tournament proper before
his first-round win over Richard Gasquet last
week, survived a titanic last-eight clash against
the eccentric Gael Monfils. Taking on a boister-
ous crowd and an opponent who just wouldn’t
quit, the 23-year-old became the first man from
his country in over four decades to make the
last four here.
Berrettini edged out the 13th-seeded Monfils
3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) to claim his biggest scalp
on a major stage. He closed out on his fifth
match point to make the semifinals, where he’ll
take on the second seed Rafael Nadal, who bat-
tled to a 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 win over the tireless Argen-
tine Diego Schwartzman.
The Italian, barn-door build and armed
with a bulldozer like ground game, slammed
15 aces and 53 winners, 24 of them came from
the forehand side. “One of the best matches I
ever saw, I was thinking that to myself,” Ber-
rettini said of the 3-hour 57-minute tug of war.
“I was playing, but I was watching also no. I
needed five match points,
but better when you have
the match points than your
opponent has it, even better
when you win…”
It was an electric night on
Ashe, the full house came to the
party early in the contest, back-
ing the eccentric 33-year-
old. Monfils’ girlfriend,
women’s fifth seed Elina Svitolina, was at the
edge of her seat, egging him on.
Monfils, in his fourth US Open quarterfi-
nals, was doubling over for a good part of the
last two sets. Every now and then, especially
after rallies, he’d clutch his hip and lean on his
racket. Bent, but unbowed.
Monfils double-faulted 17 times in the
match. “I don’t think I was short in the end. I
was short for a long time in the match,” he said.
“The key today was I served poorly. I was bat-
tling with that and with my opponent. It was
tough, I competed as much I could.”
The Italian led 5-2 in the fifth set and was
serving for the match in the ninth game when
he double-faulted on match point. The crowd
sniffed a chance and got behind Monfils, who
did well to push the match into tie-break de-
spite his shaky serve.
Berrettini, taking them on, soaking it all in,
showed himself a little love. “I was saying to
myself, what do you expect? You’re 23. Just
playing your first quarterfinals and you ex-
pect that you not get tight?” Berrettini said. “I
was saying to myself, that’s normal. Keep go-
ing. You know you’re going to have more chanc-
es. And I had.”
The Italian stayed positive even when his
nerve shook and serve faltered. “You start to
think about other stuff, you start to complain,
you think negative, then you’re going to lose
the match. That’s the thing that I’m most proud
of,” he said of the rousing show he put on.
Love then was the theme of the night. “I
don’t want to play tennis like it’s a job, I didn’t
choose this sport because it is going to be my
job. This is my passion. I chose that because I
love it. I am loving this sport. I’m trying to en-
joy every practice even if it’s bad.”
Earlier, after his practice session, Bar-
rettini was asked by a 10-year-old how he
had made it this far in the tour nament.
“How you get here, playing
quarterfinals?” he asked me.
“I was like, I can talk for 20
minutes. But for sure you have
to enjoy what you’re doing.”
Fittingly, Berrettini’s celebration sparked
a tournament-victory-like scene. “I had so
many chances in the match. I served for it, had
two match points and then he did an ace. Was
an unbelievable fight,” the Italian said, adding,
“I was tired and I wanted to just leave myself
on the court.”
Berrettini said his earliest memory of Na-
dal, his semifinal opponent, who he has never
met across the net, was of 14 years ago, in 2005
when the 18-time major-winner downed Guill-
ermo Coria in a five-set final of the Rome Mas-
ters. Nadal, then only 19, won the 5-hour,
17-minute clash in a fifth-set tie-break.
“They were showing the match on a free
channel that was for cartoons,” Berrettini said
of Nadal’s triumph. “I was like, come on, I want
to catch my cartoons. I was going to school, and
a lot of my classmates started to follow tennis
more after that. They were like, you’re playing
this sport? I was dreaming about playing these
kind of matches. And now I’m here.”

THEY WERE SHOWING

8 42
Nadal advanced to his
THE MATCH ON A HEAD-TO-HEAD eighth US Open and
FREE CHANNEL THAT Matteo Berrettini (ITA 33rd Grand Slam

VS
WAS FOR CARTOONS. I WAS x24) vs Rafael Nadal semifinal.
YOUNG, THESE GUYS WERE (ESP x2) Berrettini became the
PLAYING FOR SIX HOURS. I WAS

1
First meeting With Djokovic and first Italian man since
LIKE, COME ON, I WANT TO Federer out, only Nadal Corrado Barazzutti 42
CATCH MY CARTOONS. I has seen the final years ago to reach the
REMEMBER THAT.” Sunday of a Grand Slam. US Open semifinals.
—Berrettini, on first
seeing Nadal on TODAY I MAKE A STEP FORWARD, IN MY OPINION. THAT MATCH GIVE
TV in 2005 ME CONFIDENCE. TWO MATCHES IN A ROW AGAINST TWO TOUGH
OPPONENTS. THAT’S A MOMENT TO INCREASE A LITTLE BIT MORE THE
LEVEL, AND I REALLY BELIEVE THAT I CAN DO IT.” —NADAL

VS
78 6
Dimitrov is the
The first word is electric. And second, HEAD-TO-HEAD lowest-ranked
controversy, because what I’ve done is not Daniil Medvedev (RUS x5) vs Grand Slam
good. So many people support me, so Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) semifinalist
many people don’t like me. I can just say, I since No. 94 Rainer Schuettler Medvedev’s
try to be myself guys. I have to say, sorry
1-1 at Wimbledon in 2008 and six ATP finals
2017: Washington Hard R16 Medvedev lowest-ranked US Open appearances are
guys, and thank you!”
6-4, 6-2 semifinalist since Jimmy the most by any
—Medvedev, WHEN ASKED TO DESCRIBE HIS 2017: Queen’s Grass QF Dimitrov 6-3,
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NEW YORK CROWD Connors at No. 174 in 1991. player this season.
3-6, 6-3
Getty Images

DON’T READ TOO MUCH “I started meditating and

Quarterfinals results
Men: 24-Matteo Berrettini (Ita) bt
13-Gael Monfils (Fra) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2,
INTO MY LOSS: FEDERER
New York: It was a rough question, not unlike that US
Bencic loves that VS
visualizing ever since I
was 12 or 13 when my
mom introduced it to
me, and I know it

3-6, 7-6 (7-5); 2-Rafael Nadal (Esp)
bt 20-Diego Schwartzman (Arg) 6-4,
7-5, 6-2.
Women: 13-Belinda Bencic (Sui) bt
23-Donna Vekic (Cro) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3;
15-Bianca Andreescu (Can) bt
25-Elise Mertens (Bel) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
LAVER CALLS FOR
winning feeling
Open quarterfinal. That is if you are Roger Federer or are wasn’t such a big
a part of the fandom. After his five-set loss to Bulgarian thing back then, but
Grigor Dimitrov, the 20-time major winner was asked if now it’s getting more
he felt he’d have more chances to win major popular because I
tournaments given that he is 38 years of age. Swiss Puts Out Vekic, Takes think if you can control
Federer shrugged. “I don’t have the crystal ball. Do your mind, then you can
you?” he shot back. Then he smiled. “We On Andreescu In Semis control a lot of things.”
never know,” he added. “I hope so, of —Bianca Andreescu ON HER MENTAL FOCUS
course. I think it’s been a positive Prajwal.Hegde@timesgroup.com
season. Disappointing now, but I’ll
get back up, I’ll be all right.” New York: It’s what she loves, and

KYRGIOS BAN
Rod Laver has called for Nick Kyrgios
to be suspended from the ATP Tour
over bad behaviour, saying his fellow
Australian appears not to be learning
from his mistakes.
Laver, an 11-time Grand Slam
champion who is considered one of the
Is he yet to get over his
Wimbledon loss to Novak Djokovic?
“If you move on, it’s a thing of the
past,” he said. “I remember playing
good in the semis there. I’m happy
actually how I was able to play the last 15-
20 sets of the tournament. I know people read into it. That
is definitely not the reason why I lost today.”
not who. Belinda Bencic seals her
love with a win and not as Brian
Hyland sang in that 60s chart-top-
per, ‘with a kiss’. “It’s the best feel-
ing in the world,” the 13th-ranked
Swiss said of winning, after she put
out friend and sometimes practice
partner Donna Vekic 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in
“I’m an older young player. I don’t
call myself a veteran. I just call
feature — 28, but appeared to be doing
all the scrambling. The Swiss interest-
ingly won a greater number of points
2009
Andreescu is the first teen in the US
Open’s last four since Dane Caroline
Wozniacki in 2009.

sport’s greatest players, said time
away from tennis could be the answer.
“Whatever they have done hasn’t
worked so far, so maybe a suspension
is the only answer,” he told The Sydney
Morning Herald on Wednesday.
“I’m not sure he’s learned
anything from any of the things that
have gone on.”
“Nick is Nick, unfortunately,” Laver
said. “He could have been, or still could
become, a world champion because of
his serving ability, his game. But his
brain gets in the way. He doesn’t want
to adhere to the conditions or the
umpire.” AFP
COACHING MEDVEDEV
Gilles Cervara resorts to what he calls ‘smart conversations’
when he wants to make a point to Daniil Medvedev. The
Russian, who signed up with the Frenchman five years ago,
when he moved to Caen in France to train at his academy,
turns to his coach for balance. “Daniil is a very different
person. I have to find the small things to give my message
to him,” Cervara said, adding that he steers clear of long
conversations with the 23-year-old. “It’s really tough to
explain how we communicate. Just the energy between us.”
Medvedev, who strikes a flat ball, has a distinctive
style of play. “His game is like his personality,” Cervara
said. “It’s like coaching a genius. Sometimes with a
genius, you don’t understand them.” —Prajwal.Hegde
the US Open quarterfinals.
“Who doesn’t love wins?” asked the
crafty Bencic, who’ll go up against the
teenage power merchant, 15th-seeded
Bianca Andreescu in the semifinals.
The Canadian rallied to put out Bel-
gian Elise Mertens 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the
last eight. “It’s the best feeling in the
world. I think that’s why we tennis
players play. When you lose, it’s the
worst feeling. It’s very bitter. That feel-
ing, right after you do the match point,
is the nicest one.”
Bencic’s play is a combination of
head and heart, art and science, power
and poise. She’s a chess player armed
myself... a player that maybe has
some experience probably, a little
bit more than for my age.”
—Bencic
with a racket, a problem solver. To op-
ponents, she is the puzzle. The 22-year-
old, quick around the court, walks with
the air of one who knows how the job is
done. “What I love most about playing
is definitely the competition,” she said.
On the other hand, Vekic looked
worried, more so as the match started
slipping away. The Croat struck the
bigger ball and had greater number of
winners in the 1 hour and 41 minutes
once the ball was in play, she worked
it away from the 23-year-old, not giving
her pace or rhythm.
“We practised a lot of times togeth-
er. We kind of know each other’s game
well. Nice for us both to be here,” Ben-
cic said. “We are professionals, we
know how to be friends outside the
court, and on the court to focus. Obvi-
ously we don’t want to gift it to the
other player, even if we are friends.”
Bencic, who had two significant
injury breaks early in her career — for
a couple of months in 2016 and then
for five months in 2017 when her left
wrist went under the knife. Her rank-
20
No Swiss woman has
won a Grand Slam
singles title since
Martina Hingis’ 1999
Australian Open, but Bencic hopes
to end that drought
ing dropped to 165 at the end of the
season. She said the taste of some of
her sweetest wins, including one over
Serena Williams achieved as a 17-year-
old, sustained her.
“I was dreaming (even when in-
jured) about this day coming, but you
never know what’s going to happen,”
she said of competing on major stages.
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STEVE SMITH MARKS ASHES RETURN AFTER

KNOCK ON HEAD WITH 211, AUS DECLARES
AT 497-8 ON DAY 2 OF FOURTH TEST 17
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THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

Why India's $5 trillion GDP

goal is drifting further away
In 2017, Morgan Stanley — a multinational investment bank and financial services company — said in a report that
India’s GDP will reach $5 trillion by 2025. The $5-trillion economy echoed in several speeches delivered after that. TOI
analysed growth rate data (current prices, which is higher than the 5% growth rate at constant prices) announced
for 9 quarters starting from Q1 2017-18 to Q1 2019-20 to see how many years it will take from the end of Q1 2019-20 if
Indian GDP grows at the rate announced in the previous 8 quarters. For this calculation, the quarterly growth rates at
current prices are taken as annual growth rate, base GDP is the GDP estimate for 2019-20 and exchange rate is fixed at
the average exchange rate for Q1 2019-20. The analysis shows that we were the closest to $5-trillion economy when the
estimates for Q1 2018-19 were released. Since then, a $5-trillion economy is becoming more distant, writes Atul Thakur

In 5 quarters, we fell two years behind in reaching $5-trillion target

2019-20 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27
$3 tn Q1 2018-19 (12.6% growth)
$5 tn Fastest we would have reached had we
grown at the rate we did in Q1 2018-19
Q2 2018-19 (12.0%)
$5 tn

Q3 2018-19 (11.0%)
$5 tn $
Q4 2018-19 (9.4%) With the latest
$5 tn GDP numbers —
Back in 2017-18 Q1, Morgan Stanley first predicted India would hit $5 tn 5% at constant
Q1 2017-18 (8.3%) in 2025. We kept doing better after that, but have now slipped prices and 8% at
$5 tn current prices —
the $5tn target is
now the furthest
Q1 2019-20 (8.0%) it ever was in
$5 tn a single year

In dollar terms, India’s growth was the But in local currency, India’s GDP growth
slowest among major economies was fastest among large economies
India will have to push its growth rate and also prevent its currency Recently finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that Indian
from falling to maintain steady growth in dollar terms. World Bank economy was growing faster than global average and all other
data shows that in dollar terms, India was among the slowest grow- major economies. At constant price (after discounting inflation),
ing large economies in 2018. If the dollar keeps appreciating against it is true that in 2018 India was the fastest growing among large
the rupee, India will take far more time to become $5tn economy economies
Dollar growth rate (2018) Real growth rate (2018)
China 12.1 India 7.0
Germany 8.2 China 6.6
France 7.4 United States 2.9
United Kingdom 7.1 Spain 2.6
6.5
Russian Federation 2.3
Italy
France 1.7
United States 5.2
Germany 1.4
Russian Federation 5.0
United Kingdom 1.4
Canada 3.8
Brazil 1.1
India 2.8 Japan 0.8
Japan 2.3 World 3.0

Despite slower growth rate, China’s net Why 7% growth rate is not enough for India
addition to its GDP was 20 times India's GDP alone doesn’t give the true picture about a country’s pros-
Despite slower growth rate, China added $1,465 billion to its perity. A better yardstick is GDP per capita. With a per capita
economy — 20 times India’s net addition of $74 billion. Similarly, GDP of $2,036, India ranks 147 out of 192 countries. The 7%
other big economies added far more to their GDP than India growth rate translates into 5.9% growth at the per capita level.
At this rate, India will take 60 years to US's present level
Net addition ($ billion)
1,465 1,009 304 191 187 127 111 79 74 GDP per capita ($) Years India will take to reach at 7% growth
United States 62,606 60
Germany 48,264 55
Canada 46,261 55
France 42,878 53
UK 42,558 53
Japan 39,306 52
Italy 34,260 49
China US Germany France UK Italy Japan Russia India
Russian 11,327 30
138.6 95.5 28.7 18.1 17.7 12.1 10.5 7.5 7.0 China 9,608 27
Rate that India should have grown Brazil 8,968 26

China in its high growth phase took global crises in its stride
The rapid growth phase of Chinese economy started in 1982. Since then, there have been three global crises
— the Gulf War (1990-1991), Asian economic crisis (1997) and the global financial crisis (2007-08). The Gulf
War slowed down China for a bit, but during other events, the Chinese economy grew at more than 8%
30

20

10

0 6.6
Asian Global
-10 Gulf War economic financial
crisis crisis
-20
-27.3
-30
1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2018

Source: MoSPI, IMF, World Bank, Bloomberg

TRAFFIC FINES YOU CAN PAY ON SPOT Offence Amount ( ) fixed in Act
AND ONES THAT NEED COURT VISIT Travelling without pass/
As states buy time to notify the 63 sections of the amended ticket 500 This is a list
Motor Vehicles Act, there is confusion among motorists Allowing unauthorised of 14 of the total
whether they have to go to court to pay fines for all traffic person to drive vehicle 5,000 24 traffic offences
that are compoundable
violations. To bring clarity, Dipak Dash highlights the Disobedience of orders/ under the amended
common offences that can be compounded by paying a fine instructions & refusal to MV Act. Not having a
on the spot to designated officials, and also those that information 2,000 PUC and causing noise
require a visit to the court after a challan is issued. At the pollution are also
Driving without licence 5,000
moment, all violators need to go to court to pay fines as among the 24 such
most states have not notified the norms Driving despite offences
disqualification 10,000
Dangerous driving (only 5,000 for first & 10,000 for
for using handheld phone) subsequent offence

Racing & trial of speed 5,000 for first offence & 10,000
for subsequent offence
Using vehicle without 5,000 for first offence & 10,000
registration for subsequent offence

Using vehicles without 10,000 for first offence &

permit (commercial) 10,000 for subsequent offence
with jail up to1 yr

What is a compoundable offence under new MV Act? Not wearing safety belt 1,000
Section 200 of the Act lays down the offences for which a spot Not wearing helmet
fine is allowed, which means the driver needn’t visit court. (driver & pillion rider) 1,000
The violator can pay the fine to the designated official after
the respective state governments notify such officers. Blocking way of
Moreover, the section provides the timing of compounding of emergency vehicle 10,000
offences — before the institution of prosecution and also
after institution of prosecution. The Act says offences under Using horn in silent zone 1,000 for first offence & 2,000 for
24 categories can be compounded at any stage. For these, the subsequent offence
respective state government can notify its own quantum of
fine and other penalties Driving uninsured vehicle 2,000 for first offence & 4,000 for
subsequent offence
What is not compoundable?
THE LIST OF UNCOMPOUNDABLE OFFENCES
Rest of the offences under the MV Act are non-compoundable,
which means that in all such cases, the violator has to visit court Jumping traffic light, driving against the flow of traffic,
to pay challan. In this case, the state government can’t fix a drunk driving, juvenile driving, etc., which have
penalty that’s less than the minimum amount notified by Centre provisions for high penalty and jail term