24
Wednesday
October
2018
`3.00 Ÿ Pages 14
AHMEDABAD
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CBI infighting:
Asthana saved
from arrest
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: The infighting in
the Central Bureau of Inves-
tigation reached the courts on
Tuesday, when the Delhi High
Court ordered to maintain
status quo on the proceedings
initiated against the agency’s
Special Director Rakesh
Asthana, who was booked in
a bribery case lodged by CBI
Director Alok Kumar Verma.
Hearing the case, Justice
Najmi Waziri said, “Don’t dis-
turb the equilibrium.” Jus-
tice Najmi also took an under-
taking from Asthana that he
would preserve all electronic
evidence including mobile
phones and messages in his
possession till the next hear-
ing on October 29.
Meanwhile, a special CBI
court sent the agency’s Depu-
ty Superintendent of Police
Devender Kumar to seven-
day custody in
the same case.
He was seen
being humili-
ated by CBI of-
ficials in the
court.
Cattle turn burden as Guj farmers
face shortage of water and fodder
Keyur Dhandeo
keyur.dhandeo@dnaindia.net
Ahmedabad: “I had 125 cattle
till about a month ago. Now I
have around 75. I had to give
them to a local voluntary or-
ganization as I do not have
enough fodder or money to
feed them,” says Noormoham-
mad Harunbhai, a resident of
Dador village, Nakhatrana ta-
luka in Kutch district. The are
is facing severe crisis of water
and fodder.
“Fodder is scarce and no
one is ready to buy cattle, so
we have to leave them at safe
places,” he said. Kutch re-
WONDER BOY 6-yr-old beats 78-yr-old from Kolkata in Goa Open tournament
Battle of the Ages on the chequered board
Rutvick Mehta
rutvick.mehta@dnaindia.net
Mumbai: If there were ever
to be an Indian version of
Battle of the Ages – the fa-
mous American television
game show that pitted chil-
dren against adults – this
could well be among the top
contenders for it.
Nivaan Khandhadia, a six-
year-old from Pune, took on a
78-year-old gentleman from
Kolkata, Nirmal Bose, on the
chess board at the Goa Inter-
national Open Grandmaster
Chess Tournament last week.
After almost two-and-a-
half hours of intense moves
and mind games, Nivaan,
who became the youngest
rated chess player in India
earlier this year, was de-
clared the winner. He was
Q. Do you support
Supreme Court’s ban on
firecrackers?
Yes No Can’t say
Go to our Twitter handle
@dna, look for #DNAPoll
BSE Sensex 33,847.23
Abraham Thomas
No cracker of a diwali
abraham.thomas@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: Bursting crack-
ers could land you in trouble
this Diwali. On Tuesday, the
Supreme Court directed a
ban on manufacture, sale,
and use of high sound and
light emitting crackers in-
cluding series crackers (la-
ris) across the country.
Those crackers free from
the ban need to be burst at
designated fields/areas be-
tween 8 pm and 10 pm in the
capital and adjoining NCR
(National Capital Region)
area only. Other states have
been urged to designate simi-
lar community areas.
To ensure compliance of
its orders, the Court desig-
nated Station House Officer
(SHO) of each police station
as the nodal officer to receive
complaints and book those
found violating the order.
This is the first time in the
two years that the Court has
been exploring means to re-
duce pollution during Diwali,
that it has radically cut down
on chemicals used in fire-
crackers. By imposing restric-
tions on time and place, Jus-
tices AK Sikri and Ashok
Bhushan ensured a curb on
noisy, noxious celebrations. 
But the question is wheth-
er this will be implemented
on ground. Curbs were im-
posed by the top court in the
past too. In 2015, three tod-
dlers filed a PIL seeking a to-
tal ban on crackers. Turn to P4
inside
All festivals to go green
Many farmers are leaving their
cows at shelter houses run by NGOs
ceived just 111 mm of rain dur-
ing the monsoon this year – 26
per cent of its average of 416
mm rains.
Noormohammad is just
one of many cattle rearers in
Nirmal Bose played against Nivaan Khandhadia in Goa last week
also awarded the maximum
one point due to a positional
advantage in a B category
game played in the classical
format.
It did not bother the boy
that the age difference be-
Snap POLL
YESTERDAY’S POLL RESULT:
Are the Uber and Ola drivers
justified in demanding fare
revisions?
Yes  41%
No 46%
and vote.
Can’t say 13%
287.15
Supreme Court ruling dampens garlands, sparklers, pencils and flowerpots
all celebration, no pollution
supreme court bans manufacture, sale of high sound and light emitting firecrackers
Silenced
n Those with
arsenic, lead, lithium,
antimony, mercury,
strontium chromate
n Joined or series
crackers such as laris
n Crackers based
on barium salt which
emit green light
n High sound and
light emitting crackers
n Crackers using ash
as dessicant or filler
material
n Crackers with
charcoal beyond limits
specified by PESO FILE PHOTO: A shopkeeper waits for customers in New Delhi—REUTERS
PM2.5 on
Sparking
Diwali in Delhi
ill-health
n Highly toxic heavy
metals such as
copper, cadmium,
lead, manganese,
976
zinc, sodium and
potassium make up
crackers.
n In air, these can
trigger asthma
attacks, cause severe
headache, respiratory
problems, and
Nov
contribute to chronic 11,
cough 2015
P5
the district who are leaving
their cows at shelter houses
run by voluntary organiza-
tions and do not care to be
compensated for it, as the live-
stock is more of a liability.
Raja Nagdabhai Novar of
Ran village in Devbhumi
Dwarka district has around
six animals, mostly buffaloes.
He has been using the by-prod-
uct of his groundnut crop to
feed them, but is unsure how
long the stock will last.
Selling them is the worst
case scenario. “Lack of fodder
means either the cattle cannot
be sold or sold at a very low
price,” says Novar.  Turn to P4
tween him and his opponent
“uncle” was 72 years, nor was
he flustered by the difference
in rankings between them —
Nivaan’s current Elo rating is
1019 in the FIDE (World Chess
Federation) rating list, while
NSE nifty 10,146.80
What SC said
n All crackers emitting over
50dB noise, smoke, and
1,676
white sparkle are banned.
1,479
n Low emission ‘green’
firecrackers permitted
n Fireworks allowed
between 8 pm to 10 pm
at designated community
spots Delhi-NCR
n Clamp on e-commerce
websites on sale of
illegal firecrackers
n Station House
Officers to
monitor
Oct Oct
30, 19, celebrations in
2016 2017 their area
Sensex falls to
sub-34K level
after 6 months
Mumbai: Benchmark indices
Sensex and Nifty fell for the
fourth session in a row to hit
their over six-month low lev-
els. The BSE index closed
287.15 points lower at 33,847.23,
its weakest since April 10 last.
The NSE Nifty dropped 98.45
points to end at 10,146.80, reg-
istering its lowest closing
since April 4. However, short-
covering by speculators to-
wards the fag-end helped both
the key indices to trim losses.
Meanwhile, the rupee depre-
ciated to 73.82 (intra-day)
against the US dollar, which
too had a negative influence.
 Full report in DNA Money
Pocket rocket
Nivaan was introduced to
chess when he was four-and-
a-half years old and instantly
took a liking to the sport.
He got on to the FIDE rating
list in May 2017 as the
country’s youngest rated
chess player
Was the youngest Indian can-
didate at the World School
Chess Championship held in
Albania this year
Bose’s rating stands at 1284.
The child doesn’t remem-
ber details of any of his other
victories from the tourna-
ment, but he instantly recol-
lects the one against Bose
that was held on October 14.
98.45
Breathtaking
festival
WHO listed 14 Indian cities,
including Delhi, in its list of
world’s Top 15 cities with
dirtiest air.
On Oct 9, 2017: SC suspended
licences of all cracker sellers
in Delhi for a month. However,
many purchased crackers
illegally or brought out old
stocks.
AQI on Tuesday in Delhi
measured at 253, more
than six times the WHO safe
maximum
Past fizzle
n In 2005, SC said fireworks must be evaluated on
the basis of chemical composition, not just noise.
n PESO set guidelines but covered only 4 of 40
notified categories of explosives.
n Took three years to come up with guidelines for
four categories
One decision This should
Greenspeak
to allow sale, have come
use of firecrackers, earlier because
while half of our manufacturers are
country turns into a ready with all kinds
gas chamber, will kill of firecrackers and it
toddlers, children and will be very hard to
elderly stop them
— Vimlendu Jha, — Sunil Dahiya,
Environmentalist Greenpeace
‘Right to pray no licence to desecrate’
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
Mumbai: Union minister
Smriti Irani on Tuesday said
the right to pray did not mean
the right to desecrate as she
spoke on the Sabarimala row.
“I am nobody to speak
against the Supreme Court
verdict as I am a serving cab-
inet minister. But just plain
common sense is that would
you carry a napkin seeped I have the right to pray, but no
with menstrual blood and right to desecrate. That is the
walk into a friend’s house. difference that we need to rec-
You would not,” the minister ognise and respect.” Her com-
said at an event in Mumbai. ments were seen against the
“And would you think it is backdrop of reports that an
respectful to do the same activist trying to reach Saba-
when you walk into the house rimala last week had carried
of God? That is the difference. used sanitary napkins.
Congress plans strategy to target a
‘not-so-confident’ Vasundhara Raje
Yuvraj Shrimal
“I wanted to win that day, be- yuvraj.shrimal@dnaindia.net
cause it was my papa’s birth-
day,” he says. Jaipur: Buoyed by reports on
His father, Rathin Khand- its chances of wresting power
hadia, described it as the best and the seemingly widening
birthday gift he has ever re- difference between BJP’s na-
ceived, adding that Nivaan’s tional and state leadership, the
talent and temperament Congress in Rajasthan has de-
caught the veteran off guard. cided to target Chief Minister
“He (Bose) was shocked,” Vasundhara Raje. The strate-
Rathin says, “He is a very gy comes amid talks of Raje
good player, so for him, it was contesting from two seats for
a big upset. He later told me the December 7 polls.
Nivaan has great potential.” On Wednesday, Congress
Taking on an opponent president Rahul Gandhi will
like Bose, who has much start his two-day campaign in
more experience and rating Kota and Jhalawar districts
points, did not intimidate where Raje and her MP son
Nivaan. On the contrary, he Dushyant Singh wield consid-
relished it. erable influence. Just a fort-
“I always want to win night ago, Gandhi had toured
against players who are Dausa, Bharatpur and Dhol-
ranked above me, so that I pur along with state Congress
keep earning points,” says chief Sachin Pilot.
Nivaan. “The Dholpur tour was a
R.N.I. No. : GUJENG/2007/22424
Activists hail ruling,
but doubt its efficacy
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
tives. “The orders may be land-
mark but it is dubious whether
they will be executed in the
New Delhi: Even before its true spirit. In a city that has
implementation, environ- population of around 1.5 crore
ment experts have cast shad- people, bringing such rules
ow of doubt over the efficacy into force is not an easy task.
of the Supreme Court verdict The court should have fixed
regarding firecrackers. The responsibility and held au-
apex court has issued strin- thorities accountable if there
gent guidelines over bursting is no improvement,” says Pa-
crackers, their sale and com- romita Chakravarty, an envi-
position among others for Di- ronmentalist. Subir Dey, an-
wali which is fortnight away other expert referred to last
to curtail rising pollution lev- year’s numbers when SC had
els in the city that spike phe- banned sale of crackers, to rea-
nomenally post Diwali. son the bare minimum impact
The biggest contention en- it will have on the capital’s
vironmentalists have is about rapidly rising pollution levels.
the implementation of direc-  Full report: www.dnaindia.com
Banning barium equal to
ban on 90% firecrackers
Mumbai: Associations repre- It’s used in 90 per cent of
senting manufacturers of fire- crackers,” said K Mariappan,
crackers said that banning use general secretary of Tamil
of barium salt or barium ni- Nadu Fireworks Amorces
trate, and permitting only the Manufacturers Association
use of crackers that emit (Tanfama) Sivakasi, Tamil
green light is akin to banning Nadu. As for the limit on noise
crackers completely. “Barium level, most crackers are with-
salt or barium nitrate, in com- in permissible limits, said
bination with aluminium, is Mariappan. “Green crackers
what produces the ‘white is only a concept as of now. It
light’. Sparklers, flowerpot/ is an objective of the govern-
fountain (anar) and handpen- ment and industry to produce
cils cannot be made without it. it,” Mariappan said. Report, P5
Just plain
common sense
Her remarks drew sharp
reactions on Twitter. “Tum
bolne se pehle sochte nahi ho
is that would na... #kuchbhi,” wrote a user.
you carry a napkin Irani responded: “Fake news
...... calling you out on it. Will
seeped with menstrual post my video soon.”
blood and walk into a She posted a series of
friend’s house tweets later in her defence. She
said she was being used as a
Smriti Irani, Union minister bait to launch a propaganda.
“But what fascinates me
though does not surprise me is
On her experience with that as a woman I am not free
religious practices, Irani said to have my own point of view.
she is a Hindu married to a As long as I conform to the ‘lib-
Zoroastrian. “When I took eral’ point of view I’m accept-
my newborn son [to fire tem- able. How Liberal is that??”
ple], I would give him at the
[temple] entrance to my hus- inside
band and wait outside, be- Review plea hearing on Nov 13 P14
cause I was shooed away.”
a ‘weak link’
Congress leaders say there is a
rift between Raje and BJP’s top
brass and it’s widening
Raje might also contest from
Dholpur’s Rajakheda constituency.
Rahul Gandhi will tour Dholpur on
Wednesday
Vasundhara Raje
Raje may also contest from Dholpur’s Rajakheda
assembly constituency to contest the polls this time
A senior Congress leader
strategic intervention. There Jhalawar that has Raje’s as-
is a chance that Raje may sembly seat. Raje has already
switch to Dholpur’s Rajakheda won thrice from Jhalrapatan
assembly constituency to con- and this will be her fourth at-
test the polls this time,” a Con- tempt from there. Sources said
gress leader said. Raje is the she could fight from two seats
erstwhile queen of Dholpur this time to be on the safe side.
where her palace is located. However, BJP’s Rajasthan
Rahul will now return to in-charge Prakash Javadekar
campaign for the party in rejected the Congress theory.

daily news & analysis I Ahmedabad I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018
in brief
CBSE raises
internal choice
of 33% in all
sections
The Central Board of
Secondary Education
(CBSE) has incresed in-
ternal choice weightage
in upcoming board ex-
ams. The board on Tues-
day uploaded sample
question papers and
marking scheme for
board examination to be
held in March 2019. The
board officials said, “As
per the feedback received
from various stakehold-
ers, members of Commit-
tee of Courses and the
subject experts, there is
an increase in internal
choice in the question pa-
pers in some subjects
both for classes X and
XII. There is an increase
in internal choice of ap-
proximately 33%.”
Want to reduce NPA
to 15%: Dena Bank
Gross NPA of Dena Bank
will come down to 15 per
cent of total lending by
March 2019, Dena Bank
MD and CEO, Karnam
Sekar told media in the
city on Monday. He said
entire energy of the bank
is focused on recovery of
bad loans. With close to
Rs 6,000 crore worth of
bad loans likely to settled
by March, which will
drastically bring down
NPAs. He also informed
that the amalgamation of
Bank of Baroda, Dena
Bank and Vijaya Bank is
going on smoothly and
things will be clearer in
next three weeks, he said.
Columbia prof
Cept chief guest
A Columbia university
professor will be the
chief guest at the 13th
convocation of CEPT uni-
versity to be held on Jan-
uary 19. Professor Ruth
DeFries, Professor of
Ecology and Sustainable
Development at Colum-
bia University,
02
Scarcity-hit tag for Groundout
says steps taken to curb irregularities
more areas: MLAs
A day after 51 more talukas were declared scarcity
affected, pressure builds in government to expand list
DNA correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
The Gujarat government
has been facing pressure
from legislators to declare
talukas in their territory as
scarcity-affected. The gov-
ernment, on Monday, de-
clared 35 more talukas scar-
city-affected, taking the total
number of such talukas in
the state to 51. Almost 100
BJP leaders, including
MLAs who visited the secre-
tariat on Tuesday, made rep-
resentations before various
ministers.
Tuesday is the day for
MLAs in the Gujarat govern-
ment to meet ministers and
officials with their represen-
tations on different issues.
The ministers are believed
to have taken note of the rep-
resentations and told the
legislators that they would
do the needful in the matter.
A senior leader and rul-
ing party MLA said, on con-
dition of anonymity, “The
government is going by
strange rules for declaration
of scarcity-hit areas, and de-
clared only 51 talukas in the
state scarcity-affected. But
the real picture is more wor-
rying. There are many vil-
lages in Saurashtra region
where drinking water is
hardly available.”
The legislator said they
have asked the ministers to
include more talukas in the
scarcity-affected category.
“If they do not declare, party
may have to face conse-
quences in Lok Sabha polls.
We would also take this is-
sue to the party high com-
mand, otherwise we would
stay away from campaign in
our territory,” the BJP lead-
er added.
Revenue Minister Kau-
shik Patel said: “We have to
ah edabad
buying from Nov 15, govt
Image for representation
taking note
„„Tuesday has become
the day for MLAs in the
Gujarat government
to meet ministers and
officials with their
representations on
different issues
The talukas which have been declared as
scarcity-hit at this stage will get relief from the
state’s fund and that cannot last long due to
limitations
Kaushik Patel, Revenue Minister
go by the manual for SRDF
while declaring any area un-
der scarcity. The representa-
tions we are receiving are
for talukas where some vil-
lages are in bad shape but we
cannot declare particular
villages or patches in a ta-
luka as scarcity hit.”
“Generally the state an-
nounces scarcity in state af-
ter mid-February. Here, our
government has adopted a
generous approach as the
condition in many areas
were not good due to scanty
rainfall. The talukas which
have been declared as scarci-
ty-hit at this stage will get
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
The state government will
commence procurement of
groundnut at Minimum Sup-
port Price (MSP) from Novem-
ber 15, a senior official an-
nounced on Tuesday. The de-
velopment comes a few
months after large-scale ir-
regularities were found in
groundnut procurement in
some of the centres.
The groundnut crop in the
state is estimated at 26.95 lakh
tonne. The procurement would
be carried out at 122 centres at
APMCs across the state.
Food and civil supplies
minister Jayesh Radadiya said
that the Food and Civil Sup-
plies Corporation would pro-
cure the groundnut from farm-
ers as the nodal agency along
with National Agricultural
Cooperative Marketing Feder-
ation of India (NAFED).
„„The ministers “The procurement will be
are believed to have
taken note of the
representations and told
the legislators that they
would do the needful in
cleaning up
the matter
relief from the state’s fund
and that cannot last long due
to limitations,” Patel added.
Former Union Minister
and MP from Rajkot, Mohan
Kundariya, wrote a letter to
the CM on Tuesday saying
the government should re-
lease water for irrigation in
Morbi district to save crops.
Two Congress MLAs also
wrote to the state govern-
ment to declare talukas in
their area under scarcity.
The Congress MLAs who
wrote letters to the CM in-
clude Chotila MLA Dr Rutvij
Makwana and Viramgam
MLA Lakha Bharvad.
District collector Vikrant Pandey undertakes cleaning on the banks of
Sabarmati river as a part of ONGC’s Corporate Social Responsibility of
cleaning the river —Pravin Indrekar/DNA
Worrying trend! Conviction rate
in atrocity cases a lowly 3.78%
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
More than 1,100 cases of atroc-
ity against SC and ST commu-
nity members were registered
in the state in the past one year,
while the rate of conviction in
the past two years remained at
just 3.78%. The revelation was
made during a meeting of vigi-
lance and monitoring commit-
tee of social justice and em-
powerment and tribal develop-
ment department held on Tues-
day.
The meeting was held in the
presence of CM Vijay Rupani,
Deputy CM Nitin Patel, leader
of opposition Paresh Dhanani
and ministers Ganpatsinh
Vasava, Ishwar Parmar and
Pradipsinh Jadeja.
Speaking about the agendas
discussed in the meeting, So-
cial Justice and Empowerment
Minister Ishwar Parmar said,
“There were some 1,100 cases
of atrocity registered in the
state last year and the convic-
tion rate was just 3.78%. The
long way to go Study says their income still lower than men
Women steal limelight in agriculture
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
A state level convention of
women farmers organised by
several organisation working
with women said that there
was a need to make agri poli-
cies at the centre and state
level more gender friendly.
A study by Itishree
Pattnaik, assistant professor,
Gujarat Institute of Develop-
ment Research (GIDR) that fo-
cused on feminized agricul-
ture found that in Gujarat 65
per cent of women are working
in agriculture as compared to
just 44 per cent men.
“While the share of women
in agriculture is more than
men it has not meant a rise in
income for the former. In fact
their income is on the decline
compared to men,” said
Pattnaik. She said this is be-
cause historically it is accept-
www.dnaindia.com I twitter.com/dna I epaper.dnaindia.com I facebook.com/dnaindia
Image for representation
undertaken at Rs 5,000 per
quintal. The central govern-
ment has declared groundnut
MSP at Rs 4,890 per quintal, but
the state government has de-
clared a bonus of Rs 110 per
quintal,” Radadiya said.
The farmers would be re-
quired to register, for which
online registrations would be
undertaken from November 1
to 30.
Image for representation
chief minister showed con-
cerns on the same and directed
to take up the conviction rate
with fair process ensuring jus-
tice to the deprived classes of
society.”
During the discussion, the
chief minister said, “The gov-
ernment machinery should act
strictly and seriously in cases
of atrocity. The society should
have a generous approach for
the people from deprived com-
munities and an atmosphere
of equality should be created
with support from all.”
“I also put stress on actions
Image for representation
ed that agriculture does not
pay as much as other sectors.
“So men are moving out of ag-
riculture thus ensuring better
income while women continue
to be in a sector where income
is on the decline,” said
Pattnaik.
She said that if that wasn’t
enough, the gender disparity
The state government has
also put in place several meas-
ures to prevent irregularities
that took place in groundnut
procurement the last time
round.
“CCTV cameras will be set
up at the procurement centres,
and its footage will be stored.
The procurement process will
also be video recorded. Squads
led by deputy collector level of-
‘Works on Parasnath hill
will not hurt sentiments’
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
The Jain community on Tues-
day said it has got assurance in
writing from the Jharkhand
government that the latter will
not develop the Sammed Shi-
kharji Parvat on the Parasnath
hill in a way that may hurt the
religious sentiments of the
community.
Sunil Singhi, member of
the National Commission for
Minorities said that the gov-
ernment has assured them that
tourism will not be developed
on the hill. To a question as to
whether religious tourism will
still be developed, he said that
the government has assured
that the religious sentiments
of the community will be tak-
en into consideration.
“Already a rule that nonveg-
etarian food and alcohol will
not be allowed on the hill is in
place,” said Singhi. He said the
community members had also
met Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and had got assurance
regarding the same.
He said they were forced to
I also put stress on
actions by district
collectors in case
any case related to atrocity
is reported through social
media. They should rush
to the spot and take
immediate action
Vijay Rupani,
Chief Minister
by district collectors in case of
any case related to atrocity is
reported through social media
also. They should rush to the
spot and take immediate ac-
tion. There should be meetings
on this issue among all stake-
holders at the taluka level also
so that the efforts put in this
directions fructify,” Rupani
added.
Other issues such as com-
pensation to victims and court
trial in atrocity cases were also
discussed on Tuesday. 
 Full report: www.dnaindia.com
in wages being paid to male
and female agriculture work-
ers also play a role in widening
the income gap between men
and women. It also found that
for every 1000 male, there were
1111 females who worked in
agriculture in a principal sta-
tus (as main workers).
Shilpa Vasavada convnener
a muddy past
Massive irregularities were
detected in groundnut
procurement a few months
ago as the groundnut
stock was found to be
mixed with large quantity
of stones and mud
ficials have been constituted
for surveillance and regular
checks at the procurement cen-
tres,” an official release said.
According to officials,
groundnut sowing has been
undertaken in 14.68 lakh hec-
tare, and the total output is
estimated at 26.95 lakh tonne.
Massive irregularities were
detected in groundnut pro-
curement a few months ago as
the groundnut stock was found
to be mixed with large quanti-
ty of stones and mud. The Con-
gress had alleged that the scam
had links with top BJP leaders.
Full report: www:dnaindia.com
Parasnath Hill
meet with the chief minister
and the Prime Minister after
the news that the hill will be
developed for tourism started
doing the rounds. “It is a naxal
affected area and the govern-
ment had built a helipad for the
paramilitary near the hill.
This gave rise to speculation
that it was being done to de-
velop tourism and that the hill
will be affected,” said Singhi.
He said the hill is consid-
ered as one of the most pious
pilgrimage places for the com-
munity and any such develop-
ment would have hurt the sen-
timents of the people. He also
clarified that the community
was not against tourism or de-
velopment in the area.
ACB books PSI,
RTO official for
taking bribe
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
A sub-inspector of Krishna
nagar police station is on the
run after a person was caught
accepting bribe of Rs 30,000
on his behalf.
According to Anti-Corrup-
tion Bureau (ACB) sleuths,
they caught a person red-
handed while accepting Rs
30,000 in cash from a com-
plainant. The person told the
police during questioning
that he was accepting the
money on behalf of PSI NP
Maru of Krishna nagar po-
lice station.
The complainant had told
ACB that Maru had demand-
ed the bribe for not beating
up an accused person while
in custody. The middleman
was sent to collect the bribe
amount, and was caught. Of-
ficials said that ACB regis-
tered a case under Preven-
tion of Corruption Act
against Maru, and initiated a
search for him.
of Working Group for Women
and Land Ownership (WGLO)
said there is a need for special
and separate budgetary provi-
sion in agriculture and design-
ing of agricultural schemes
from women farmers’ perspec-
tive to ensure gender equity
and enhance higher yield in
agriculture.
Explaining how the lack of
gender sensitive policies that
do not take into consideration
women’s contribution in agri-
culture affects them, Sejal
Dand of Mahila Kisan Adhikar
Manch said 51 talukas in state
have been declared drought hit
recently. “But when it comes to
compensating the farmers for
the loss suffered due to drought
, it is often the men who get he
compensation because the
land is in their name while it is
the woman who toils on the
land,” said Dand.
 Full report: www.dnaindia.com
 ah edabad
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03
Ahmedabad I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018 I daily news & analysis

Free parking, fee cap challenged

in brief
Pravin Indrekar/DNA

Inorbit Malls Private Ltd approaches HC division bench against single judge bench order
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
Even before the Gujarat High
(L-R) Bhavina Patel, Parul Court’s order for an hour’s
Parmar, and Sonal Patel, who free parking in malls and
won medals at the recently other commercial establish-
held Para Asian Games in ments is implemented, a peti-
Indonesia, at their felicitation tion has been filed by Inorbit
on Tuesday Malls Private Limited chal-
lenging the verdict of the sin-
HC quashes FIR gle judge bench of justice Bela
Trivedi pronounced on Octo-
against doctor ber 17.
Notably, justice Trivedi in
accused of rape her judgment had not just or-
dered the commercial estab-
The Gujarat high court lishments to provide free
on Monday quashed the parking for an hour to visi-
rape FIR against Surat- tors, but had also capped the
based infertility special-
ist Dr Praful Doshi. The
maximum parking charges in
a day to Rs 10 for two-wheelers
FIR was registered after and Rs 30 for four-wheelers.
a woman accused the The court had also directed
doctor of raping her in the state government to frame
his clinic last month. a parking policy if it wishes
Doshi had filed a peti- to control the parking charges
tion with the high court levied by commercial estab-
seeking an end to the
proceedings since a
compromise was
reached between him
and the complainant.
For hurling CDs that hurt child Builder accused of
Image for representation
lishments.
The verdict came following
the petitions filed by malls
and multiplexes
Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and
from
Surat, challenging the diktat
of their respective city police
administration imposing a
ban on them from collecting
parking fee from visitors.
Now, Inorbit Malls through
its counsel Salil Thakore has
challenged the order before a
division bench contending
that in the absence of any
rules, the court cannot direct
commercial establishments to
provide free parking. The pe-
titioner has also contended
that the court cannot cap the
maximum parking fee and di-
rect the state government to
what hc said
„„Justice Bela
Trivedi had ordered
the commercial
establishments to provide
free parking for an hour
„„She had also
ordered capping the
parking fee for two-
wheelers at Rs 10 and
Rs 30 for four-wheelers
„„Court had asked the
state to control parking
charges levied by the
establishments
frame a parking policy.
The petition is likely to be
heared by the high court’s di-
vision bench of chief justice
R Subhash Reddy and justice
VM Pancholi on Wednesday.
Interestingly, these com-
mercial establishments had
submitted before the single
judge bench that the police
authorities have no power to
restrain them from collecting
parking charges from visi-
tors. It was also contended
that the municipal corpora-
tions are already collecting
parking charges and there-
fore, the commercial estab-
lishments cannot be restrict-
ed from doing so because the
parking lot is their property.
Meanwhile, the state had
supported the actions of the
respective city police admin-
istrations clarifying that the
responsibility of providing
adequate parking facility lies
with the commercial estab-
lishments. The police com-
missioners of the three cities
Night temp drops to 18 degrees Celsius
in their replies submitted to DNA Correspondent
the court had stated that levy- correspondent@dnaindia.net
ing parking fee amounts to an
offence under Section 339 of The drop in night-time temperatures means that winter is
the Indian Penal Code for gradually making its way into the city. However, daytime tem-
wrongful restraint. peratures continue to remain high. The weather department
said the night temperature will continue to remain lower for
the next five days. According to the IMD forecast, Ahmedabad
city reported the lowest temperature of 18.6 degree Celsius.

at garba venue, four RJs arrested molestation, theft

Justice AY Kogje
quashed the FIR observ-
ing that carrying out in-
vestigation further
would not serve any DNA Correspondent We are very DNA Correspondent
purpose since the com- correspondent@dnaindia.net what went down correspondent@dnaindia.net
plainant did not have disappointed that
any grievance. The Ahmedabad police on A four-year-old child was the child was A 24-year-old woman has ac-
hurt in the eye when
Seven lakh people
Tuesday arrested four radio
CDs hurled from the hurt. The police is cused a builder of molesting
jockeys, who were booked af- her in his car and stealing Rs
join Ekta Yatra ter a CD that they hurled at a stage by the RJs hit him. investigating whether it 10,000 and a mobile phone
Close to 7 lakh people garba venue injured a child. The incident had taken was the CD that injured from her purse. The money
place during Navratri
have so far taken part in However, they were shortly
celebrations at a garba the child. was meant to pay the EMI of
the Ekta Yatra, which is released on bail. her house. The woman who Image for representation
being organised across A four-year-old child was venue on Sindhu Bhavan RJ Devaki, is a resident of Meghanina-
Road on October 12
the state ahead of inau- hurt in the eye when CDs One of the accused gar told the Navrangpura get them a house in his new
guration of the Statue hurled from the stage by the police that she came in touch scheme and even a loan for
of Unity on October 31. RJs hit him. The incident had later. However, Dhrumil pre- with the builder while work- the same. While the woman
As many as 3 raths have taken place during Navratri sented evidence before the jured. “We are very disap- ing at her father’s teal stall in and her father declined the
visited 2,275 villages celebrations at a garba venue police that he was out of town pointed that the child was Ranasan. offer, they inquired about a
and 37 wards in the on Sindhu Bhavan Road on on the day, and was not pre- hurt,” she said. The woman, had been personal loan which the
state so far. Chief Min- October 12. sent at the garba venue at the Devaki claimed that there helping her father run his tea builder promised to get them
ister Vijay Rupani had The Vastrapur police had time of the incident. were 20 people on the stage stall near Ranasan in front of through a friend of his.
said earlier that the named RJs Devaki, Nishita, “We have been given evi- who were distributing the one Maruti Heights building, Later the man informed
Yatra would cover 10,000 Harsh, Ayush, and Dhrumil dence that he was not pre- CDs, and there are no RJs in an under construction the woman that his friend
villages in October and as accused following a com- sent. We are looking into it,” videos of the incident that scheme. A man identifying would help her and that she
November and spread plaint by the child’s father. a Vastrapur police official are being circulated. “The himself as the owner of Pa- needed to come to Shahiba-
the message of Sardar Police said that Devaki, said. Earlier, talking with police is investigating wheth- tel builders would often come ugh with the necessary docu-
Vallabhbhai Patel Nishita, Harsh and Ayush Zee 24 Kalak, Devaki ex- er it was the CD that injured to the tea stall. The woman ments to go to the bank to get
among people. were arrested this morning pressed regret at the incident the child,” she added. and her father got acquaint- the personal loan. 
before being released on bail in which the child was in- ed with him and he offered to  Full report: www.dnaindia.com

HC asks ISRO to clarify Special exams:

NSUI says GTU
its recruitment rules minting money
DNA Correspondent
DNA Correspondent correspondent@dnaindia.net
corrrespondent@dnaindia.net
The National Students Union
The Gujarat High Court on of India (NSUI) on Tuesday al-
Tuesday asked the Indian leged that the Gujarat Techno-
Space Research Organisation logical University (GTU) is
(ISRO) to clarify the rules minting money by arranging
and the attributes, based on special exams for those who
which the marks in the oral had backlogs for over ten years.
interview — for the position The GTU, in a recent notifica-
of catering supervisor in its tion, announced that students
Ahmedabad unit — was dis- who have backlogs will be given
tributed. two more chances to appear for
The direction came in re- winter and summer special ex-
sponse to a 2017 judgment of ams. However, the university
the Central Administrative stated that to appear for the ex-
Tribunal (CAT). The tribunal ams and special extension, stu-
had directed ISRO to appoint Image for representation dents will have to pay Rs 5,000.
one Sudhir Kumar for the po- Objecting to this decision,
sition, who was one of the fi- fore the court. ISRO, in its However, Kumar had al- NSUI members staged a protest
nal three candidates selected appeal against the CAT judg- leged that there was no clar- and gave a memorandum to
for the post. Notably, ISRO ment, had contended before ity on how the selection was GTU vice-chancellor Navin
had challenged the CAT judg- the court that the same pro- done and he was the highest Sheth. The memorandum stat-
ment before the high court on cess has been followed by it scorer if the written exam ed, “It is a good decision that
which the hearing was held across the country. and oral interview marks are the university is arranging spe-
on Tuesday. As per the case details, the taken into consideration. The cial exams and allowing exten-
The court, during the selection procedure for the candidate originally selected sion of a year to 24000 students
hearing, remarked that just position was held around the for the position, unfortunate- who will be benefitted by the
because ISRO works on the year 2012-13. Three candi- ly died in an accident and decision. However, Rs 5,000 as
subject of space does not dates were selected for the Kumar moved CAT which amount for the same is not
mean that its rules are also oral interview after the writ- ruled in his favour, which has right. The decision should be
from space. It said that ISRO ten exam. One among them been challenged before the revoked within two days.” 
must produce the same be- was selected for the position. high court by ISRO.  Full report: www.dnaindia.com

food for soul Sattvik festival will host workshop by grandmoms

Two millet dishes mandatory at food fest

Tanushree Bhatia grandmothers. Professor
Tanushree.bhatia@dnaindia.net Anil Gupta, who has been
spearheading the festival,
City’s most awaited food festi- said, “Our aim is to reach out
val, Sattvik, has mandated two to elderly women, grand-
dishes of millets to be sold at mothers, who have never con-
every stall. The organisers this sumed any medicine, only
year aim to convey and encour- because they ate well. These
age the use of millets, which women will be sharing their
are a rich source of fibre and food habits and lifestyle
minerals. Furthermore, like which has led them to live a
last year, the organisers have healthy life.” SRISTI is tar-
banned street food, Gujarati getting nearly 50 such women
traditional food, and food to conduct the workshop.
items that are easily available.
Interestingly, the 16th Satt- Changed venue
vik food festival organised by An image of the Sattvik Food Festival from last year The venue of the food festival
the Society for Research and this year has been changed as
Initiatives for Sustainable that are packed with nutrition There will be a total of 150 the AES ground behind
Technologies and Institutions and contain high fibre. While stalls. SRISTI is helping the Doordarshan is not being
(SRISTI) — that celebrates tra- there used to be an instruction participants with recipes, to rented for any event. Con-
ditional food — will not be held every year for stalls to use ensure they are comfortable firming the same, Patel said,
at the same venue as last year. more millets, they somehow using millets. The three-day “We have moved to two lands,
Speaking on the new man- were not using the same. festival will be held from De- owned by AES itself, towards
date, Ramesh Patel, secretary, Hence, we have mandated us- cember 22 to 25. Vastrapur lake, a few metres
SRISTI, said, “We want more ing millets this year. The festi- away from the previous
and more uniqueness as a fla- val will also have posters on Workshop on what our grand- menu. Keeping parking noti-
vour of the festival. Also, we nutrients and millets across moms ate for healthy living fication in mind, we have
want people to use more mil- the venue, to spread aware- For the first time, the festival hired one land for parking
lets like ragi, jowar, and such ness.” will host a workshop by and other for the event.”
 04
daily news & analysis I Ahmedabad I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018
Shivpal floats new party,
to contest all seats in UP
Says newly christened Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia will be a ‘big force’
Lucknow: Weeks after launch-
ing the Samajwadi Secular
Morcha, Shivpal Singh Yadav
on Tuesday announced his
new political party, registered
with the Election Commission
as Pragatisheel Samajwadi
Party Lohia.
Earlier, Shivpal had said his
front will contest all 80 Lok
Sabha seats in the 2019 elec-
tions. “Our new party has been
registered. Its name is Pragat-
isheel Samajwadi Party Lo-
hia,” Yadav said at an event in
Lucknow to enrol members for
the morcha.
His aide and former minis-
ter Sharda Pratap Shukla said
the new party will become a
big force in the state.
Yadav launched the SSM on
August 29 after falling out with
nephew and Samajwadi Party
president Akhilesh Yadav. He
had complained that he felt ne-
glected in the party, which was
founded by his elder brother
Mulayam Singh Yadav, after
his nephew took charge.
Shivpal Yadav, however, is
still a legislator of the party
from Jaswant Nagar in Etawah
district.
At Tuesday’s event, Shivpal
Yadav said he had always want-
ed “unity” in the party but nei-
ther he nor Mulayam Singh
Yadav got the due respect un-
der Akhilesh Yadav.
I was pushed out, he said. “I
ask you all not to get involved
in sycophancy. You will be free
to point out if there is some-

I was pushed out (of Samajwadi Party). I ask
you all to not get involved in sycophancy. You
will be free to point out if something is wrong
from now on. I will allow freedom in my party.
Shivpal Yadav, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia
thing wrong going on. I will
allow this freedom in my par-
ty,” he said.
Claiming extensive support
for his political front, “There is
an anti-people government at
both the Centre and the state.
Due to their wrong policies
and decisions people are upset
with them. Demonetisation
and GST (Goods and Services
Tax) have broken the backbone
of traders and the economy,”
he said.
He said the promises made
by the BJP had not met. Re-
cently, Mulayam Singh Yadav’s
daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav
had shared the stage with Shiv-
pal Yadav, expressing support.
Mulayam Singh too has
been on the same stage with
Shivpal Yadav after the new
morcha was formed.
But the SP patriarch has
File
also appeared at a public
meeting with his son Akh-
ilesh Yadav.
Shivpal had last week said
he would be open to forming
alliances with Opposition par-
ties in Uttar Pradesh as long as
they managed to keep the BJP
out. He also said he tried to re-
main united with Akhilesh
Yadav. “I tried my level best to
remain united. You (media)
ask him (Akhilesh Yadav) why
he allowed people to leave. Ex-
cept on Mainpuri seat, where
Mulayam Singh Yadav is likely
to contest, we will contest elec-
tions on all Lok Sabha seats (in
UP) in 2019.”
Asked whether he will field
his son Ankur Yadav in the
Lok Sabha election, he said it
will be “decided by the mor-
cha”. — PTI
BJP honours Shekhawat, tries
to broker peace with Rajputs
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
Jaipur: Rajput community
continues to be upset with BJP
and the ruling party in Ra-
jasthan is sparing no opportu-
nity to woo them back. Former
Vice president Bhairon Singh
Shekhawat’s birth anniversary
on Tuesday provided an ideal
opportunity for BJP to display
its respect and regard for the
stalwart leader belonging to
Rajput community.
Top leadership of BJP - from
the state and centre were pre-
sent at the prayer meet organ-
ised at his memorial. Present
on he occasion were chief min-
ister Vasundhara Raje, Rajya
Sabha MPs Om Mathur and
Kirodi Lal Meena, state BJP
president madan Lal Saini, na-
tional general secretary V Sat-
ish, state organisation secre-
tary Chandrashekhar, state
incharge Avinash Rai Khanna
and minister Rajendra
Cattle turn burden as Guj farmers face...
From P1
“Milch buffaloes, which
would fetch over around Rs
60,000-70,000, now sell at Rs
50,000. Poor quality of fodder
has affected quality and
quantity of milk output too.
Earlier, we used to get Rs 50
per litre of milk, we now get
about Rs 40 per litre.” People
are still holding on milch cat-
tle.
Mohan Parmar of Ran vil-
lage says he has no intention
of leaving his three buffa-
loes. “There is a scarcity of
fodder, but you won’t get such
good cattle. We have to take
care of them,” he says. He
gets Rs 35-37 per litre for the
milk from a local dairy, when
usually it would draw about
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Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje
with the Karni Sena. — DNA
Rathore. A poster with his pic-
ture was also prominently dis-
played at the centre.
The Rajputs are for several
reasons upset with Raje gov-
ernment. Prominent being
Chatar Singh and Anandpal
Singh encounters. Going back
in history they also recall Jas-
want Singh being slighted and
more recently Raje’s opposi-
tion to Gajendra Singh Shekha-
wat being made state party
Rs 50 per litre.
Gujarat is home to the
‘White Revolution’ in the
country. However, co-opera-
tive dairies are concentrated
more in central and northern
Gujarat.
“This year, rains have been
scarce in interior parts of Sau-
rashtra and Kutch. The co-
operative dairy framework is
also weaker. So things have
aggravated for cattle-rearers,”
explains Sagar Rabari, secre-
tary of Gujarat Khedut Samaj.
Traditional cattle rearers,
the Maldharis, are migrating
to areas that have better avail-
ability of water and fodder.
Parbat Patel runs three
shelter houses for cattle in
Kutch. Even he has reduced
indi
president. Their ire is being
seen as the major reason for the
party’s resounding defeat in
the bypolls.
The situation was further
aggravated when Jaswant Sin-
gh’s son, BJP MLA from Sheo
Manvendra Singh, left BJP to
join Congress.
In these circumstances the
prayer meet came as an oppor-
tune occasion for BJP to display
its connect with the communi-
ty. Shekhawat’s son-in-law Nar-
pat Singh Rajvi; the BJP MLA
from Jhotwara and chief min-
ister Vasundhara raje have not
shared cordial relations. How-
ever, Tuesday saw the two shar-
ing common platform to pay
respects to Shekhawat.
As appeasement Raje had an-
nounced Bhairon Singh Shek-
hawat Antyoday Swarozgar
Yojna and unveiled a statue of
Shekhawat at Chittorgarh some
time back. But there is a ques-
tion lingering in BJP circles; - Is
it too little, too late.
his livestock from about 12,000
to 6,000. “Cattle-rearers are
trying to get rid of animals,
even giving them away for
free. They can’t see their cattle
dying in front of them. We
hear of deaths due to starva-
tion every day,” says Patel.
Gujarat Cooperative Milk
Marketing Federation (GCM-
MF), which procures milk
from district milk unions, also
faces a drop in milk procure-
ment from Saurashtra and
Kutch. “Procurement has
dropped by 10-15 per cent in a
month-and-a-half. We are
closely monitoring the situa-
tion and trying to find ways to
protect the cattle,” says R S
Sodhi, MD of GCMMF.
The Amul model has
tenders & Notices
No cracker
of a Diwali
From P1
On November 11, 2016, the
Court suspended all licenses
permitting a wholesale or re-
tail sale of fireworks within
Delhi-NCR after noting PM2.5
levels crossing 700 µg/m3.
Central Pollution Control
Board (CPCB) was directed to
study the harmful effects of
chemicals used in fireworks.
The order impacted 821 fire-
work manufacturing indus-
tries in and around Sivakasi.
On July 31, 2017, the Court
prohibited the use of five
chemicals and their com-
pounds in the manufacture of
fireworks. These were anti-
mony, lithium, mercury, arse-
nic and lead. By September
the same year, the Court add-
ed strontium chromate to the
list after information from
CPCB that it caused lung can-
cer and skin problems.
No crackers could be burst
within 100 metres of silence
zones and number of tempo-
rary firework licenses in
Delhi-NCR was capped at 500.
Read full report on dnaindia.com
shielded local farmers from
exploitation by private dair-
ies. Sodhi claims that farmers
in Gujarat get about Rs 27-28
per litre of cow milk com-
pared to about Rs 21-22 per li-
tre in other states. Similarly,
buffalo milk fetches about Rs
38 per litre in Gujarat com-
pared to Rs 31-32 in other
states.
B K Kikani, former vice
chancellor of Junagadh Agri-
culture University said that
the state government should
immediately release water
from dams to save crops and
protect cattle. “We anticipate
a crisis of drinking water,” he
says. “People can no longer af-
ford to rear cattle. But there
are no buyers either.”
 indi 
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Not just Diwali, all religious fests to go green
Apart from types of firecrackers that can be used, Supreme Court also detailed when and where to burst them; order made applicable pan-India
Abraham Thomas
correspondent@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: Going green this
Diwali, the Supreme Court
on Tuesday introduced green
and improved crackers as a
necessary alternative to the
smoky, light emitting pollut-
ing ones that had a horrible
impact on public health and
made Delhi’s air heavy laden
with noxious gases and
harmful chemicals.
Not stopping at just the type
of crackers to be used, the
bench of Justices AK Sikri and
Ashok Bhushan even advised
the entire country when and
where to burst crackers. The
Court directed that henceforth,
not just on Diwali day, but on all
religious festivals, crackers
shall be burst from 8 to 10 pm at
designated fields or areas
meant for community fire-
works. An exception was made
for Christmas and New Year
when crackers shall be permit-
ted for 35 minutes from 11.55
pm to 12.30 am. This order was
made applicable pan-India.
As regards community
firework, the Court directed
Delhi and state governments
of NCR to identify fields/are-
as for bursting crackers and
publicise the same a week be-
fore Diwali. This part of the
order was made optional for
other states. The designated
areas will serve good for
bursting of crackers during
other religious festivals. This
order was extended to mar-
riages where only eco-friend-
ly crackers will be allowed.
Earlier, in July 2005, the SC
had refused to impose time
and space restrictions on the
bursting of firecrackers. The
rule was that crackers could
not be burst during night
hours from 10 pm to 6 am. As
regards places, the Court had
then directed that except for
silence zones, crackers could
be burst. Hence, Tuesday’s
order was unprecedented.
After the Centre assured
the Court that it was in the
process of developing eco-
friendly or green crackers,
the bench ordered that any
‘Foreign origin
spouse of
Indian eligible
for OCI card’
New Delhi: Foreign-origin
spouse of an Indian national
or an Overseas Citizen of In-
dia (OCI) cardholder will now
be eligible for obtaining the
privileged OCI card which
grants multiple entries, mul-
ti-purpose, life-long visa for
visiting the country, the Home
Ministry said Tuesday.
The home ministry has
also simplified the process of
renunciation of Indian citi-
zenship, providing relief to
Indians who have applied for
foreign passports.
In a notification, the minis-
try said a person, who is a
foreign-origin spouse of a
citizen of India or of an OCI
cardholder, and who fulfil the
laid down conditions shall be
eligible to apply for registra-
tion as OCI cardholder.
So far, they were not al-
lowed to apply for this facility.
A registered OCI is granted
multiple entry, multi purpose,
life-long visa for visiting In-
dia. He or she is exempted
from registration with For-
eign Regional Registration
Officer or Foreign Registra-
tion Officer for any length of
stay in India, an official said.
The OCI card scheme was
launched during the Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas, 2006. —PTI
holy thought Decision comes in wake of negative response
J&K withdraws order on ‘Hindu texts’
Ishfaq-ul-Hassan
h_ishfaq@dnaindia.net
Srinagar: Giving in to the
pressure, Jammu and Kash-
mir government has with-
drawn the order asking Edu-
cation department to consider
purchasing a sufficient num-
ber of copies of Urdu version
of Shrimad Bhagwad Gita
and Koshur Ramayan (Kash-
miri translation of Ramaya-
na) for schools, colleges and
public libraries in the state.
“The communication is-
sued by the School Education
Department to the Director
School Education Kashmir/
Jammu has been withdrawn
ab-initio on the directions of
the Chief Secretary, BVR
Crackers shall be burst from 8 to 10 pm at designated fields or areas meant for community fireworks. —FILE
cracker that failed to fit this
standard cannot be produced
or sold across the country. The
first category of crackers that
went off the shelf was series
crackers or the popular laris
which created huge air and
noise pollution besides add-
ing to the solid waste manage-
ment. The next to fall off were
the green sparking fireworks
made out of barium salts,
crackers containing ash as
filling material and charcoal
beyond standards set by Pe-
troleum and Explosive Safety
Organisation (PESO).
In addition, Court directed
PESO to study the harmful im-
pact of aluminium, another
compound present in fire-
works, and report in two
weeks. Crackers approved by
PESO only can be sold by li-
censed traders and no e-com-
merce website including Flip-
kart, Amazon, etc will be al-
lowed to sell crackers online.
Violation of this order will at-
tract fine from Court besides
contempt of court proceed-
ings. Court further entrusted
PESO to dispose of stock of
crackers not conforming to the
standards prescribed by it.
While states and Centre were
asked to carry out a massive
awareness campaign on harm-
ful effects of crackers, pollu-
tion control boards were di-
rected to conduct short-term
monitoring on air quality.
BSF’s camel unit personnel display acrobat skills during the Marwar Festival 2018, in Jodhpur on Tuesday —PTI
Rly police for fencing tracks Green lung set to lose a
New Delhi: In the aftermath
of the Amritsar tragedy in
which 59 people were mowed
down by a train, the Govern-
ment Railway Police Tuesday
pitched for fencing tracks
along crowded areas to avoid
such incidents, an official said.
The proposal was made
during a meeting of the heads
of Government Railway Po-
lice (GRP), which is a state
police force responsible for
maintaining law and order in
Image for representation
Subrahmanyam,” said a Jam-
mu and Kashmir government
spokesman.
The order was rescinded
24 hours after some political
leaders including former
J&K chief minister Omar
can’t obey time limits, says bjp mp
Our religion tradi-
tions and festivals
are followed by
Hindu calendar. I will
burst crackers only when
I finish puja, we can’t set
time limits on festivals.
Chintamani Malviya, BJP MP
Green crackers: How apex court deciphers it
Zee Media Bureau
Mumbai: After the Supreme
Court in its judgment said
only green firecrackers -- less
polluting and eco-friendly --
will be sold in the markets,
the question doing the rounds
is what exactly are green
crackers.
The top court specifies
firecrackers which do not
contain harmful chemicals
and thereby not causing air
pollution are termed as
‘Green Crackers’.
It quoted an order passed
on August 14 where sugges-
tions were given to deal with
the negative impact of the
crackers.
SC said reduced-emission
camel stunts
For representation
the railways, from 21 states.
Fifty-nine people were
mowed down by a train on Oc-
Abdullah questioned the gov-
ernment’s move to buy these
books.
“Why just the Gita &
Ramayana? If religious texts
are to be placed in schools,
colleges & government li-
„„BJP MP Chintamani
Malviya has challenged
SC verdict saying he’ll
burst crackers after puja as
no time limits can be set.
„„Terming the order
‘unacceptable’, he said:
“Such curbs were not
even in Mughal times.
It’s unacceptable.”
Only licensed traders would be allowed to sell ‘safe’ firecrackers
firecrackers (improved
crackers) avoid the use of ash
as desiccant or filler materi-
als in crackers for the reduc-
tion in particulate matter by
tober 19 when they were
standing on the tracks to
watch Dussehra celebrations
near Amritsar.
“In view of the Amritsar
incident, we have decided to
write to the Railway Ministry
to build fences along the tracks
where the area is crowded. Ar-
eas where there are chances of
people spilling on to the tracks
have to be fenced,” said the
senior official, who attended
the meeting. —PTI
braries (and I’m not con-
vinced that they need/should
be) then why is it being done
selectively? Why are other
religions being ignored?”
tweeted Omar.
On Monday, the school ed-
ucation department had is-
sued orders referring to the
meeting chaired by gover-
nor’s advisor on October 4
with Rajinder Premi, noted
Kashmiri Pandit and son of
Sarwanand Premi, who has
authored the books.
The government’s move to
withdraw the order within 24
hours, however, has evoked a
sharp reaction from author
Sarwanand Premi’s son Ra-
jinder Premi who termed it
“shameful and disgusting”.
TN’s fireworks industry to file
review plea in SC after Diwali
G Jagannath & Ashutosh M Shukla
correspondent@dnaindia.net
Chennai: The firecrackers
manufacturers in Tamil Na-
du’s Sivakasi, the hub of fire-
works industry in the country,
are contemplating to file a re-
view petition in the Supreme
Court over its order to pro-
duce and sell only green crack-
er and ban on using barium
salts in the crackers.
“We will file a review peti-
tion in the Supreme Court
after the Diwali against its
order banning usage of bari-
um salts. About 75 per cent of
the cracker products contain
barium salts which is indis-
pensable,” Tamil Nadu Fire-
works and Amorces Manu-
facturers’ Association secre-
tary K Mariappan told DNA.
Aluminium powder is used
along with other chemicals in
the sound-making crackers,
while barium nitrate (green)
15-20 per cent. The apex court
said these can be implement-
ed subject to approval by Pe-
troleum & Explosives Safety
The top court said PESO will
Bandh disrupts life across Assam
Guwahati: Protestors Tues-
day tried to put up blockades
on railway tracks and dis-
rupt train services across
Assam as part of the 12-hour
state-wide bandh called by
46 organisations against the
Citizenship Bill.
Police officials said here
that the demonstrators, who
were trying to prevent train
movement by squatting on
tracks, were being evicted.
Demonstrators also burnt
tyres on roads in various plac-
es of the state.
Police escorts were being
provided to public transport
vehicles to ensure transport
services functioned normally
during the bandh.
The Krishak Mukti San-
gram Samiti (KMSS), Asom
Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra
Parishad (AJYCP) and 44 or-
chunk to highway plan
Nikhil M Ghanekar
nikhil.ghanekar@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: A 380-acre green
lung that was built from
scratch with the efforts of
citizens and is home to 400
tree species and 182 species
of birds will be left frag-
mented by the first phase of
the proposed Gurgaon-
Manesar Expressway. The
jungle is also home to jackals
and reptiles.
I am Gurgaon, a citizen
group, had collaborated with
the Municipal Corporation of
Gurgaon to create the Ara-
valli Biodiversity Park in
stone quarries with funds
raised through corporates
Ahmedabad I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018 I daily news & analysis
A shopkeeper selling firecrackers
and strontium nitrate (red)
used in the light emitting
crackers, said AP Selvarajan,
director of Sri Kaliswari Fire-
works Pvt Ltd. Aluminium
powder is used in sparklers, he
added. Barium salt or nitrate
would produce green light and
is widely used in crackers like
sparkles, ground-wheel, hand
pencil and flower pots, he said.
Fireworks manufacturers
said even though the SC did not
ban production of the fire-
PESO will ensure
suspension of the
licenses of
manufacturers of such
fireworks items and
appropriate disposal of
such stock.
Supreme Court,
in its verdict
ensure fireworks with per-
mitted chemicals are pur-
chased/possessed/sold/used
during Diwali and ensure the
test and check for the pres-
ence of banned chemicals
like lithium/arsenic/anti-
mony/lead/mercury.
A protest by Assom Gana Parishad; (R) Cops keep vigil in Guwahati —PTI
ganisations had called the 12-
hour bandh to protest against
the Centre’s bid to pass the
Citizenship (Amendment)
Bill, 2016, in the Winter Ses-
sion of Parliament.
Political parties, including
the Congress and the AIUDF,
and other sections of the soci-
ety. But it is under threat from
the carriageway project.
Authorities will require
nearly 25 acres of the park for
the road project meant to de-
congest parts of National
Highway-8. The alignment of
the road has been finalised,
said reliable sources from the
National Highway Authority
of India, the implementing
authority.
The park is considered a
deemed forest but is yet to be
officially declared as a ‘for-
est’. As per a Supreme Court
order of 1996, a forest is to be
understood in the dictionary
sense irrespective of its own-
ership status.
05
crackers, its order to manufac-
ture only green crackers which
are only on paper seems to be
an indirect ban on crackers
manufacturing. “Green crack-
ers is only a concept as of now.
It is an objective of the Centre
and the industry as well to pro-
duce green crackers,” Mari-
appan said, blaming the Coun-
cil of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) of misleading
the court on green crackers as
if all the formula of chemical
composition are ready.
Attempts to contact the of-
ficials of the Fireworks Re-
search and Development Cen-
tre at Sivakasi proved futile.
Selvarajan said the green
crackers would take time to
finalise the chemical formula
and get the statutory approv-
al. “It will also push up the
retail selling price of crack-
ers by manifolds and would
in turn lead to less demand
and job cuts,” he said.
4 die in cracker
explosion in TN
Kancheepuram (TN):
Four people, including a
22-year old man allegedly
running an unlicenceed
crackers outlet, were
killed here Tuesday when
fire-crackers and some
raw materials exploded
accidentally at his prem-
ises, police said. Retailer
Mushtaq, and three oth-
ers, including two wom-
en, were killed in the mis-
hap which occured at his
residence while arrang-
ing the fire-crackers.—PTI
extended their support to the
bandh in the interest of As-
sam and indigenous people.
All district magistrates
and superintendents of police
had been instructed by the
BJP government in the state
to take measures to maintain
Twitter goes
abuzz over
SC order on
burst timings
G Jagannath
g.jagannath@dnaindia.net
Chennai: The Supreme Court
order on Tuesday allowing
bursting of firecrackers for
two hours between 8 pm and 10
pm on Diwali has evoked
strong criticism in the social
media with many calling it as
an imposition of North Indian
culture on others.
Tamil Nadu Fireworks and
Amorces Manufacturers’ As-
sociation secretary K Mari-
appan wondered how apex
court could come out with
such a time limit for bursting
firecrackers as customs differ
from state to state.
“In Tamil Nadu, Diwali is
celebrated in the morning.
People get up early, have oil
bath, wear new clothes, eat
sweet and ‘legiam’ (or herbal
jam) and then start bursting
firecrackers,” Mariappan said.
He said in North, Diwali is
celebrated in the evening.
Political commentator Su-
manth Raman echoed similar
views. “In many parts of India,
it is a tradition to burst crack-
ers early morning. So should
people just give this up? And on
what scientific basis was 8 to 10
pm decided?” he asked.
MR Ventakesan, a chartered
accountant tweeted: “Diwali is
celebrated early morning in
South.... so should we wait till 8
pm to burst crackers?”
mixed reactions
While some social media
users were disappointed
only time curbs have
been imposed and
not a blanket ban on
crackers, many took it
as yet another attack on
religious sentiments.
public utility services in view
of the bandh call.
A government commu-
nique in this regard had said
that necessary pre-emptive
and preventive measures to
thwart the bandh call must be
taken in view of the judge-
ment of the Gauhati High
Court. The deputy commis-
sioners of respective districts
had issued orders that all gov-
ernment officials should at-
tend to their duties.
It also said shops, business
establishments, educational
institutions should remain
open and transport facilities
should function normally.
State Finance and Health
Minister Himanta Biswa Sar-
ma had said on Monday that
the Gauhati High Court had
ruled that calling a bandh was
an illegal act.—PTI
 06 
daily news & analysis I Ahmedabad I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018
opini n
www.dnaindia.com I twitter.com/dna I epaper.dnaindia.com I facebook.com/dnaindia

Imran Khan’s moment of truth

Pakistan’s era of jihadi terrorism will come to a close sooner than its India-obsessed Army imagines
daily news & analysis
Minaz Merchant

T
Warts and all he wheels are falling off Paki-
stan’s economy. Foreign exchange
reserves are down to $8 billion,
The CBI stands to lose the most in the current battle barely enough to cover two
months of imports. Prime Minis-

A
faction-ridden Central Bureau of Investigation’s reputa- ter Imran Khan is beginning to
realise that he has been asked to drink
tion has taken a steep fall what with dirty linen being from a poisoned chalice prepared by his
washed in public. What is supposed to be a premier in- mentor, the Pakistani military. During
vestigating agency is now a fertile ground for one-upman- his election campaign, Imran had prom-
ship with vendettas and grudges motivating the recent un- ised large investments in healthcare and
ravelling. While the juicy details of the case have led to infrastructure. The reality is that Paki-
speculations in the corridors of power, the problem under- stan is drowning in debt. While a bailout
from the International Monetary Fund
lining the current feud is fundamental and has its roots in (IMF) seems inevitable, Pakistan is hav-
the system. The political stranglehold over institutions like ing second thoughts.
the CBI, Chief Vigilance Commission, and the Comptroller An IMF bailout comes with tough con-
and Auditor General has critically undermined their inde- ditions. Two in particular have unnerved
pendence. Over the years, the government at the Centre have Imran Khan. First, the IMF said it would
appointed people at the top posts who will be pliable enough impose strict spending limits on new
projects, including Khan’s pre-election
to the ruling parties. They became the shoulder from which pledge to invest heavily in healthcare
the government fired at its opponents. The Supreme Court and infrastructure. Second, the IMF
called the CBI a caged parrot but the premier investigating would examine with a forensic micro-
agency is now caged within its own inadequacies. The cur- scope Pakistan’s various agreements in
rent chief of CBI Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Astha- the China Pakistan Economic Corridor
na have been appointed by the government. Department of (CPEC). These have so far been a tightly
kept secret.
Personnel and Training (DoPT) didn’t realise the snowball- He initially agreed to disclose CPEC
ing of an internal feud unprecedented in the history of CBI. details to the IMF, but later said Pakistan
As the trading of charges gains momentum, one needs to might not approach it for a bailout after
take a dispassionate look at the very system that has led to all if Saudi Arabia (where Khan is cur-
this crisis. Verma and Asthana hold very important posts rently attending a controversial invest-
that give them power over very powerful criminal lords. The ment conference) pitches in. The CPEC Prime Minister Imran Khan is beginning to realise that he has been asked to drink from a poisoned chalise by his mentor, the Pakistani military
agreements, if disclosed, will reveal in-
power play is now visible to the public at large. When the flated costs, high-interest debt and kick- less, Pakistan’s window of opportunity Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lost, re-
system gives individuals power over the country’s rich and backs. to negotiate a settlement on Kashmir ducing the coalition government’s ma-
powerful, it creates potential challenge. The Delhi High CPEC projects are a honey pot for the will shut. The power differential would jority in the National Assembly and
Court on Tuesday said no coercive action can be taken Pakistani military, which skims the by then be unbreachable. Yusuf says Pa- pointing to an early end to Khan’s elec-
against Asthana till October 29, when it will resume hearing cream off every business deal. The Chi- kistan must therefore shift its focus from toral honeymoon.
the special director’s plea to quash the agency’s FIR against nese are alarmed that corrupt CPEC deals geo-politics to geo-economics. Translat- India must now be resolute in reject-
will show them as complicit, an embar- ed, this means abandoning the jihadi ing a structured dialogue with Pakistan
him in a bribery case. The court instructed law enforcement rassment for a country where President factories aimed at India and focusing on till its proxy terror attacks cease com-
agencies to preserve all electronic records of the accused, Xi Jinping has built his leadership the economy. pletely. Pakistan’s regional isolation is
including mobile phones and laptops. However, a cloud of around an anti-corruption drive, jailing The complication of course is the Pa- complete. SAARC has effectively been
suspicion hangs over Asthana; the important cases he has thousands of officials on charges of graft. kistani military. It has a vested interest replaced with BIMSTEC. Afghanistan
been handling — Vijay Mallya and AgustaWestland — will Even as Pakistan stares at an econom- in continuing a low-intensity, low-cost, and Bangladesh have toxic relations
also be viewed with suspicion. If Asthana steps down during ic black hole, more bad tidings await it. low-casualty conflict with India to justify inexorably in favour of India, terror at- with Pakistan. The Maldives is back in
In an article in Dawn, Pakistan’s leading one of the world’s largest defence budg- tacks will spike in intensity and frequen- India’s camp after the recent elections.
the investigations, then the fate of the cases, or at least their daily, political scientist Moeed Yusuf ets measured as a ratio of GDP. But even cy, driven by the Pakistani military’s Clashes on the Iran-Pakistan border
early closures, becomes uncertain. On the other hand, if the wrote of a far-reaching change likely to the Pakistani army can see the writing realisation that time is running out. have roiled relations between Tehran
charges against him prove to be unsubstantiated, then the take place in the India-Pakistan dynam- on the wall. It lost a gushing pipeline of The military-jihad-mullah complex is and Islamabad. Tension flared up last
CBI will end up suffering the most. A weakened institution ic. He said that the growing economic funds from Saudi Arabia after it declined so entrenched in Pakistan that Imran week when Iranian security guards were
will ultimately weaken the foundations of a democratic so- and military differential between the to send Pakistani troops to fight the Sau- Khan will be utterly unable to dismantle abducted by terrorists in Sistin-Balo-
ciety. A top agency’s fall from grace will also entail a crisis two countries was growing so rapidly di-led war on Yemen. It is now beginning it — a pre-requisite for transforming Pa- chistan bordering Pakistan. Iran has
that India no longer considered it neces- to lose confidence in China’s ability to kistan’s economy. Besides, he can scarce- long blamed Pakistan-based terrorists
in public confidence about the rule of law. If a probe is com- sary to “appease” Pakistan by accepting replace the United States as an all-weath- ly cut his umbilical cord with the army for similar abductions in the past.
promised, then to get to the bottom of a case becomes impos- its offer of talks. er benefactor. China has been reluctant that delivered him to power. With China and Saudi Arabia no long-
sible. How then can one expect justice to be done. Whatever Yusuf quoted Pakistani analysts as to lend significant funds to debt-laden Imran though has already failed on er reliable friends, Pakistan’s era of ji-
be the facts of the case, an institution is more important than saying: “There are regular references to Pakistan. several fronts. He was forced to evict hadi terrorism will come to a close soon-
the individual. It takes very long to build up a reputation and the growing economic and military dif- Pakistan’s predicament affords India from his council of advisors a respected er than its India-obsessed army imagi-
very little time to lose it. ferential between India and Pakistan an opportunity to get to grips with a Princeton University-based economist nes. Pakistan’s search for false equiva-
and to comparisons with Nepal and country that has tried to bleed it for 70 Atif Mian because he is an Ahmadi, a lence with India too will then meet a
Bangladesh when Pakistan is refer- years. Proxy terror attacks will not cease sect reviled in Pakistan. Dozens of Ah- quiet burial.

Numbers game
enced. The mindset doesn’t reflect an
India that feels a need to compromise
with Pakistan anymore.”
The conclusion: Within a decade or
Chidambaram’s statement on Rahul is significant
till Pakistan’s 10-year window of oppor- madis, regarded as apostates, are killed The writer is author of The New
tunity of make-believe parity finally in Pakistan every year. Imran suffered Clash of Civilizations: How The Con-
shuts in its face. Indeed, as the economic another setback in last week’s bypolls test Between America, China, India
and military power differential shifts where several candidates of his party and Islam Will Shape Our Century.

P
olitics is a game of thrust and parry, of feigns and dodges. QUOTE HANGER slowburn
Veteran Congressman P Chidambaram’s statement on Mon-
day saying that the Congress never projected Rahul Gandhi
as the PM face in 2019, is open to selective interpretation. What Kristalina Georgieva Smriti Z Irani No escape from plastic for humans
@KGeorgieva @smritiirani
A
is certain is that in May this year, Rahul, when asked if he could n international study has discovered tria. Each person kept a food diary for a
be PM in 2019, had shot back ‘why not’. So who is speaking the A cross-country analysis Since many people are tiny particles of plastic in every human week before having their stools samples.
truth? While the answer to this question lies in the womb of the subjected to testing. In every sample of The diaries showed that every participant
of over 125 countries finds that talking about my comments — let me human faeces investigated, scientists was exposed to plastic by consuming plas-
future, both the ruling party and the opposition are celebrating.
The BJP has already pronounced it as a sign of defeat, that in
women are a positive force in the comment on my comment. As a found evidence of microscopic plastic par- tic-wrapped food or drinking from plastic
ticles swallowed in food. Tiny particles of bottles.
the Narendra Modi vs Rahul Gandhi contest, it is the Congress fight against #corruption. practising Hindu married to a practising up to nine different types of plastic were
scion who has blinked first. To be sure, confusion in the opposi- Zoroastrian I am not allowed to enter a discovered during the tests. Plastic in the
tion ranks is going to be the Prime Minister’s leitmotif as he
goes for the Congress and opposition jugular in the weeks and
Arvind Virmani fire temple to pray. gut could suppress the immune system
and aid transmission of toxins and harm-
Bigger role for women
months ahead, leading up to the general election in mid next
@dravirmani ful bugs or viruses, experts believe. Lead at the Catholic Church
year. He has already made light of the so-called mahagathband- Can #PakMil dupe the researcher Dr Philipp Schwabl, from the
India has a massive
A
Medical University of Vienna in Austria, petition demanding that women have
han or the grand alliance of opposition parties. Now with Chi- Chinese Communists like they said: “Of particular concern is what this the right to vote at synods has col-
dambaram’s candid confession, it gives grist to Modi’s mill. But duped the American for 50yrs? network of 903 universities and means to us, and especially patients with lected 9,000 signatures since it
hold your horses. It may not be that one-sided. Many others see gastrointestinal diseases. While the high- opened online at the start of a month-
it as a grand Congress manoeuvre, which noticing the distinct 39,050 colleges. But est plastic concentrations in animal stud- long meeting in the Vatican city. It is
lack of comfort of potential allies with the idea of a Rahul Laila Lalami there are gaps in ies have been found in the gut, the smallest
microplastic particles are capable of en-
sponsored by 10 Catholic lay groups
seeking change in the Church, including
Gandhi-led front, has left the space open for any of the other
regional allies to step in. Democracy, after all, is a game of num-
@LailaLalami quality and in tering the blood stream, lymphatic system greater rights for women and gays and

bers. In the total fluidity of the political situation, it makes

Turkey has more attaining world-
and may even reach the liver. “Now that a bigger role for the laity. The role of
we have first evidence for microplastics women in the Church has been a recur-
journalists in jail than any other
sense not to make grandiose announcements about leadership, class excellence. inside humans, we need further research ring theme at the month-long meeting,
particularly when there are so many contenders. But what Chi- country in the world, but it has to understand what this means for human which brings together some 300 bishops,
dambaram’s statement has done is to mark a milestone in Ra- — Ram Nath health.” The pilot study recruited eight priests, nuns and lay participants. The
seized on the murder of Jamal participants from the UK, Finland, Italy, subject has come up in speeches on the
hul’s future campaign, where it may become difficult for him Kovind,
to stake prime ministerial claim without someone reminding
Khashoggi to present itself as a President of the Netherlands, Poland, Russia and Aus- floor and at news conferences.w

about the senior party leader’s statement. defender of journalistic freedom. India
send your feedback to editor@dnaindia.net

Challenge moves to change the demography of Ladakh

Indresh Kumar sending one son to become a lama be temporary. Between 1992 and 2000, 24 many Buddhists as possible to Islam so region stands seriously imperilled.

T
here are all-out efforts by anti-na-
tional elements to change the de-
mography of Ladakh in Jammu
and Kashmir. It would be instruc-
tive to first get a background on
the region’s topography. The ter-
rain is sandy, lacks oxygen and is gener-
ally inhospitable.
Ladakh is divided into two districts,
Leh and Kargil. While Leh is Buddhist-
dominated, Shia Muslims are the largest
population in Kargil. The area is not
overly populated, given the rough ter-
rain. There are roughly 1.15 lakh Shias
and about 1.35 lakh Buddhists in this
area. Hindus, Sikhs and others constitute
about 10,000 of the population. Women
outnumber men when it comes to num-
bers. The Shias in the region are follow-
ers of Imam Ayatollah Khomeini. There
are a number of foreign Islamic NGOs
who are active in the area and there is
regular and substantial funding of local
Shias.
In the Buddhist areas, the tradition of
(monk) continues. In some families, girls
are also sent for baptism.
The history of Islam reaching Ladakh
goes back roughly to 1000-1100 AD. But
the religion started to make its presence
felt in the 16th century, when the King of
Ladakh Raja Namgyal got stuck in Skar-
du, faced with blinding snowfall. Waiting
for the snow to melt, he became a guest
of the local Nawab of Skardu for a few
months.
Such a long stay obviously meant mat-
rimonial alliances. The Raja returned
with the daughter of the Nawab as his
wife and a few women slaves as dowry.
For the first time, a mosque came up on
the banks of the Sindhu river and anoth-
er at the central Leh market.
Since then, Islam has grown by leaps
and bounds in the region. Today, there
are all-out attempts to convert Buddhists
to Islam using vast amounts of foreign
funding. Except for a couple of towns,
there is dire poverty in the region, mak-
ing it a fertile ground for conversion
through allurement.
Ladakh has a substantial Buddhist population
Post-Independence, awareness levels
among the Buddhists has gone up. In
1989, they launched an agitation against
Kashmiri Muslims which went on for
two years, but given the close ties be-
tween the two communities, the stir pe-
tered out.
In 1992, Shia Muslims and Buddhists
reached an accord that Muslim boys
would not marry or run away with Bud-
dhist girls. But this agreement proved to
girls were abducted in Leh district and
till 1995, 45 Buddhist girls had been ab-
ducted in Kargil. These are all figures
provided by the police.
Thanks to the state government, there
is also a surreptitious attempt to take
over jobs and land in the region, in addi-
tion to seats in engineering and medical
courses. In Ladakh, Muslims are much
better placed than Buddhists and occupy
virtually all important positions in the
region. Its impact was most evident dur-
ing the Kargil War when Pakistani in-
truders were provided shelter and Indian
Army deliberately misguided, leading to
unnecessary casualties on the Indian
side.
Things have reached such a pass that
these high officials turn a blind eye to
any cases of conversion, voluntary or en-
forced, of Buddhists to Islam. But when
it is the other way round, meaning if a
Buddhist man marries a Muslim girl, he
is subjected to all sorts of harassment by
the state machinery. In other words,
there is a clear mandate to convert as
as to change the demographic character
of the region.
In Kargil, there are reports of 50-plus
conversions of this kind in recent times,
leading to an agreement between the
Buddhist Sangh and the Ladakh Islamic
Sangh not to bless any more inter-reli-
gion marriages. Sadly, the latter have not
stuck to their bargain.
The modus operandi to effect such
conversions is quite simple. The police
administration goes out of its way to pro-
vide protection to the Muslim boy who
has married a Buddhist girl, harass the
girl’s family and prepare marriage docu-
ments in such a way that if the case
reaches a court of law, the girl has no op-
tion but to admit that the marriage is le-
gal. This way, the whole process of al-
lurement and marriage is foolproof.
The Buddhists are absolutely right in
demanding that the state government in-
troduce anti-conversion laws as they ex-
ist in Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal
Pradesh. Unless stern steps are taken,
the Buddhist population in the Ladakh
It is also instructive to remind readers
that while Kargil is dominated by the
Shias, there is a smattering of Sunni
Muslims there as well and there is no
love lost between the two groups.
But the fanatics are reassured that the
rest of India is not too concerned about
what is happening in a remote part of
the country. If the Buddhist population is
coming down, be it so. The Ladakh Bud-
dhist Sangh has published a list of 45
conversions, all of which have long nar-
ratives and sordid backgrounds.
There is also immediate need for the
police to identify and curb activities of
extremist Muslim organisations who
have made converting Buddhists their
main agenda. The record of the police,
mostly dominated by local Shia Muslims,
has thus far been to look the other way
when a conversion case is registered. Un-
less the government pays heed to this
troubling and recurring feature in this
sensitive border state, the consequences
in the long run could be terrible.
The writer is an RSS leader

Vol 11 n Issue No. 353 RNI: GUJENG/2007/22424. Printed and Published by Deepak Rajani on behalf of Diligent Media Corporation ltd. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, Survey No.148 P, Nagdevta Mandir, Changodar, Bavla Highway, Sanand, Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Published at Diligent Media Corporation
Limited, Venus Atlantis Building, Unit No. 201 to 208, 2nd Floor, 100 Feet Road, Prahladnagar, Satellite, Ahmedabad 380015. Phone: 079 4060 2000. Editor: Yatish Rajawat Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act.
 w rld
www.dnaindia.com I twitter.com/dna I epaper.dnaindia.com I facebook.com/dnaindia
07
Ahmedabad I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018 I daily news & analysis

Riyadh must punish Khashoggi’s

in brief
Taiwan court:
Excessive speed

savage killers, says Turkey Prez

caused deadly
train derailment
Taipei: Excessive speed

Erdogan claims investigators have evidence that shows journalist’s murder was planned days ahead
was the main cause of the
derailment of a train in
Taiwan that killed 18 peo-
ple and injured scores of
others, a district court
said Tuesday. The train
Ankara: Turkish President
Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday
dismissed attempts by Riyadh
Investment
entered a curve in eastern
Taiwan on Sunday after-
to blame Jamal Khashoggi’s
“savage” killing on rogue op-
forum opens
noon at 140 kmph, almost
twice the speed limit for
eratives, saying the person
who ordered the death of the under haze of Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director of HRW with a copy of the report

scribe’s death
that section of track, the prominent Saudi journalist in Ramallah on Tuesday —AP
Yilan County district must “be brought to account”.

HRW report says

court said in a statement.
The train’s driver has
been placed under investi-
gation on suspicion of
negligence leading to
death. The driver, Yu
Cheng-chung, had disa-
bled the automatic train
protection system after
sensing “abnormal move-
ments” in acceleration.
Bolton holds talks
with Russian
defence minister
Moscow: US National Se-
curity Advisor John Bol-
ton met Russian Defence
Minister Sergei Shoigu
Tuesday during a visit to
Moscow, after President
Donald Trump an-
nounced plans to with-
draw from a nuclear arms
treaty. “Today, there are a
large number of problems
in the world that we could
solve through joint ef-
forts,” Shoigu said in
comments carried by the
RIA Novosti agency.
Seoul citizens told
not to smoke pot
in Canada
Seoul: South Korea
warned its citizens
against smoking marijua-
na in Canada, telling
them that even though
the country legalised
weed last week, using it
there was still an offence
under Seoul’s own laws.
Consumption, possession
or sale of illegal sub-
stances are criminal of-
fences under South Ko-
rea’s drugs legislation.
In a speech to parliament
about a case that has sparked
outrage around the globe, Er-
dogan did not mention Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Sal-
man, who some US lawmakers
suspect ordered the killing.
But he said Turkey would
not complete its investigation
into Khashoggi’s death until
all questions were answered
and Turkey was told the iden-
tity of a local collaborator Ri-
yadh says disposed of the body.
“Intelligence and security
institutions have evidence
showing the murder was
planned.... Pinning such a case
on some security and intelli-
gence members will not satisfy
us or the international com-
munity,” he said.
“The Saudi administration
has taken an important step by
admitting to the murder. From
now on, we expect them to un-
cover all those responsible for
this matter from top to bottom
and make them face the neces-
sary punishments,” he said.
“From the person who gave
the order, to the person who
carried it out, they must all be
brought to account.” Erdogan
said the whereabouts of
Khashoggi’s body were still
unknown and he demanded
Saudi Arabia reveal the iden-
tity of a “local cooperator”
who purportedly took the body.
Erdogan said three opera-
tives arrived in Istanbul the
day before Khashoggi’s killing
on an apparent reconnaissance
mission. The next day 15 peo-
ple came to the consulate, in-
cluding security, intelligence
and forensic experts. Consu-
late personnel were given the
day off.
Riyadh: A high-profile eco-
nomic forum in Saudi Arabia
began on Tuesday in Riyadh,
the kingdom’s first major
event on the world stage since
the killing of writer Khashog- Palestinians crush
dissent with torture
gi at the Saudi Consulate in
Istanbul earlier this month.
Khashoggi’s death loomed
large over the start of the
event, known as the Future Ramallah: Security forces of damning claims
Investment Initiative. the rival Palestinian govern-
Prince Mohammed, who ments routinely use torture „„Mohammed Khatib, a
did not attend the start of the and arbitrary arrests, among 20-year-old law student
conference, has come under other tactics, to quash dissent and activist with Hamas’
Still images from two different CCTV videos claim to show Jamal Khashoggi as he arrives at Saudi Arabia’s mounting pressure, with crit- by peaceful activists and po- student branch in the
Consulate and another man allegedly wearing his clothes while walking in Istanbul —Reuters ics suspecting he ordered the litical rivals, Human Rights West Bank, said he was
high-profile operation or at Watch said Tuesday. arrested last month and
least knew about it. The charges came in a new held for 19 days at an
Will hold to account all those Trump sends CIA director to At the opening of the con-
ference, meanwhile, Saudi
report released by the New
York-based watchdog, follow-
intelligence centre in
Ramallah
behind killing: Saudi Arabia Turkey to review the case Energy Minister Khalid al- ing a two-year investigation
„„He said he was
Falih described the journal- that included interviews with
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s cabinet on Tues- Washington: President Donald Trump ist’s killing as “abhorrent.” nearly 150 people, many of forced to stand for hours
day said it would hold accountable all dispatched the director of the CIA to Tur- Some of the forum’s keynote them ex-detainees. It accused at a time and hung by
those behind the murder of journalist key in a quest to get more information speakers and numerous both the Western-backed Pales- his handcuffed hands to
Jamal Khashoggi “no matter who they about Khashoggi’s death and weigh a pos- Western executives and offi- tinian Authority in the West a door for 15 minutes, a
may be”. The cabinet will “hold account- sible US response. Trump said Monday cials had cancelled plans to Bank and the Islamic militant stress position meant to
able all those who have failed in their du- he’s not satisfied with the explanations. attend over Khashoggi’s slay- Hamas in Gaza of using “ma- cause pain but leave no
ties no mat- On Monday, Trump told reporters at the ing. chineries of repression” to sign of injury
ter who they White House: “We’re going to get to the Despite the absence of key stifle criticism.
may be”, bottom of it. We have people over in Saudi executives and speakers from Human Rights Watch also they have developed parallel
read a state- Arabia now. We have top intelligence peo- the United States and other said the systematic use of tor- police states,” said Tom Porte-
ment pub- ple in Turkey.” Trump, in an interview to Western partners, some $50 ture could amount to a crime ous, deputy program director
lished by the USA Today, characterised Khashoggi’s billion in deals were signed against humanity under the at Human Rights Watch.
state-run incident as a “plot gone awry” and that he Tuesday at the forum, with United Nations’ Convention According to HRW, the Pal-
SPA news didn’t think the writer was deliberately Russian and Asian business- against Torture, and called on estinian leaderships in the
agency. —AFP lured into the consulate to be killed. —AP es and officials eager to do countries that provide funding West Bank and Gaza engage in
business with the kingdom. to Palestinian law enforcement similar tactics, in most cases
“Those partners who are to suspend their assistance. without holding anyone to ac-
“Why did these 15 people King, crown prince Khashoggi’s son Salah and here with us today to contin- Palestinian President count. Among the alleged abus-
meet in Istanbul on the day of meet Khashoggi family brother Sahel at the royal pal- ue that journey with us are Mahmoud Abbas’ government es: whipping people’s feet, forc-
the murder? We are seeking Saudi Arabia’s King Salman ace, state-run news agency certainly going to look back joined the convention after Pal- ing detainees into painful
answers to this. Who are and Crown Prince Moham- SPA reported. and find out ... how commit- estine was accepted as a non- stress positions, hoisting up
these people receiving orders med bin Salman met with King Salman and Prince ted the kingdom is to its part- member state at the UN. “Pal- people’s arms behind their
from?” Erdogan said. He add- family members of Khashog- Mohammed offered their ners that stay the course,” estinian authorities have backs with rope and coercing
ed he wanted Saudi Arabia to gi in Riyadh on Tuesday, state condolences to the family of al-Falih said, just moments gained only limited power in suspects into granting access
send the suspects to Turkey media said. the Saudi journalist. before several deals were the West Bank and Gaza, but to their mobile phones and so-
for trial. The Saudi rulers met with  —Agencies inked on stage. —AP yet, where they have autonomy, cial media accounts.—AP

beijing’s new mega bridge New Vietnam prez sworn in after 99.8% vote
The world’s longest sea bridge was officially inaugurated on Tuesday by China’s President Xi Jinping Hanoi: Vietnam lawmakers
with supporters hailing it as an engineering triumph and detractors calling it a white elephant on Tuesday elected as presi-
dent Communist Party chief
Nguyen Phu Trong, the only
candidate on the ballot, mak-
ing him the most powerful
man in the country where
consensus leadership has tra-
ditionally kept strongman
rule in check.
Trong was ushered into
his new role as head-of-state
with 99.8 percent of the vote
from Vietnam’s rubber stamp
parliament members a month
after the former president
died from a prolonged illness.
Nguyen Phu Trong takes oath as
Vietnam’s president —AFP
Though the president’s
role is seen as largely ceremo-
nial, 74-year-old Trong will
maintain his position as par-
ty head -- the first person to
no opposition
His appointment is not
likely to shake up politics
in the one-party state,
though observers say it
will eliminate potential
opposition to an anti-
corruption campaign he
has spearheaded
hold both roles since revolu-
tionary leader Ho Chi Minh
in the late 1960s.
His new position was ce-
mented in a tightly orches-
trated swearing-in ceremony
on Tuesday after an over-
whelming vote from 477 law-
makers, with only one vote
against, according to the gov-
ernment’s website.
“I, president of Vietnam,
vow to be completely loyal to
the nation, people and consti-
tution,” Trong said at the cer-
emony, speaking beneath a
large bust of Ho Chi Minh.
“This is a very huge hon-
our, while at the same time, a
very heavy responsibility for
me,” he added, acknowledg-
ing his advanced age. —AFP

340 UN slams French burqa Hurricane Willa

55
Total length
km 120 years
Time for which it is meant to last
kmph
Typhoon windspeed that it can withstand ban for violating rights descends on Mexico
Geneva: The UN Human that the ban was necessary
A behemoth build: In terms of sheer size, it is a record breaker -- the You shall not pass: This Dolphins, dead workers, dodgy Rights Committee on Tues- for security and social rea-
longest ocean bridge and tunnel system in the world. The total length is not a bridge anyone can tests: The bridge has been far from day criticised France’s so- sons.
runs a 55 km, further than any other rival bridge and tunnel combination. just drive on. Only the wealthy controversy-free. Since construction called burqa ban, saying the The two French women
Chinese state media said 4,20,000 tonnes of steel were used in its con- or politically connected will began in 2009, the project was beset law “violated” the rights of were convicted in 2012 for
struction -- enough for 60 Eiffel Towers -- alongside 1.08 million cubic be able to take their private by construction delays, legal challenges two women who were fined wearing the niqab, a veil
metres of concrete. It is built to last at least 120 years and can withstand cars across. For Hong Kong- and budget overruns. Since 2011, 9 for wearing full-face veils in with an opening for the eyes.
typhoon winds of up to 340 kilometres an hour. mainland dual-plate private deaths have been recorded, while 3 public. “The ban, rather than
cars 10,000 licences will lab technicians were jailed for rigging The committee called for protecting fully veiled wom-
be granted, while the quota tests on concrete used in the bridge. the women to be compen- en, could have the opposite
Above and below the water: The Travel time: Until now for Macau is 300. Those Environmentalists also warned the sated and for a review of the effect of confining them to
bridge’s unusual undulating structure is residents of Zhuhai, Macau eligible to apply have to meet bridge would have a devastating impact 2010 law that forbids people their homes, impeding their
designed to keep open vital navigation and Hong Kong have used various criteria such as being on a remarkable and already critically from publicly wearing cloth- People board up windows of a store as Hurricane Willa approaches the
access to public services and
channels in the Pearl River Delta. On its ferries to zip between the 3 members of certain Chinese endangered species of pink dolphin in ing that conceals their face. Pacific beach resort of Mazatlan in Mexico —Reuters
marginalising them,” the
western flank, the bridge leaves Zhuhai cities -- something detrac- government organs, paid the Pearl River estuary. “The French law dispro- committee said.
and connects with Macau before heading tors said illustrated why the recent taxes on the mainland portionately harmed the pe- Mazatlan: Thousands of
The UN Human Rights
for 29.6 km. Three cable-stayed bridges bridge was unnecessary. But or donated 5 million yuan titioners’ right to manifest Committee, made up of inde- people were evacuated, build- category 4 storm
raise the road high enough for large engineers say the structure in southern China. Those Big brother is watching: Special their religious beliefs,” the ings boarded up and classes
pendent experts, ensures „„Willa, which was
ships to pass underneath. Then the road will significantly cut down without a licence will have to cameras will monitor bus drivers and committee said in a state- canceled on Mexico’s Pacific
countries stick to their hu- a Category 4 on the
plunges below the sea, entering a 6.7-km- travel time, from 4 hours take public transport to the alert authorities if they yawn too many ment. coast as Hurricane Willa
man rights commitments five-step Saffir-Simpson
long tunnel before rising back above the between Hong Kong and bridge, then change to cross times as they drive across. Their blood It added that it was not threatened to batter tourist
but it does not have enforce- scale, was blowing
waves and continuing onto Hong Kong. Zhuhai to just 45 minutes. on private shuttle buses. pressure will also be monitored. convinced by France’s claim ment powers. —AFP resorts with high winds and maximum sustained
heavy rains on Tuesday. winds of near 215 kph on
Residents on Monday Monday night with higher
night sealed off windows and gusts
glaring error players left stony-faced after pyongyang’s national tune blared out doors with large wooden
planks on hotels facing the

Not singing any more: North’s anthem played for S Korea

Jakarta: South Korean foot-
ballers were left dumbfounded
at an international tourna-
ment in Indonesia when organ-
isers played the North’s an-
them instead.
Ahead of an AFC under-19
Championship qualifier
against Jordan at the Patriot
Candrabhaga Stadium on the
outskirts of Jakarta, the
South’s team lined up with
their hands on their hearts.
But instead of Seoul’s
hymn-like anthem “Aegukga”,
North Korea’s national tune
blared out, leaving them stony-
sound operator blamed
“During the rehearsal, the
South Korean anthem was
played. But somehow the
operator later picked the
wrong song file,” Gatot
faced and silent. The South’s
coaching staff told officials of
the mistake, and while the cor-
rect song was then played, they
protested after the game on
Monday evening.
Seoul’s football authorities
said Tuesday they will file a
Widagdo, media coordinator
for the AFF U-19 Youth
Championship, said. “The
operator has (since) been
replaced.”
formal complaint with the
Asian Football Confederation
(AFC). “This is the first time
that the North Korean anthem
was played instead of Aegukga
at any official international
match for any level of the na-
tional football team,” the Ko-
rea Football Association said
in a statement. The tourna-
ment’s local organising com-
mittee blamed the error on the
audio operator in charge of
playing the anthem.
The North’s anthem was
“stopped immediately”, the
AFC said. “An investigation
into the mistake has been
held,” it said in a statement.
The AFC apologises to the Ko-
rea Republic team and the Ko-
rea Football Association and
the AFC will take the appro-
priate steps to ensure this er-
ror cannot be repeated.”—AFP
historic downtown board-
walk of Mazatlan, a popular
coastal city in the state of
Sinaloa, as tourists strolled
nearby and palm trees
swayed in a light breeze.
Forecast to be one of the
most powerful hurricanes to
enter Mexico from the Pacific
in recent years, Willa is ex-
pected to strike a few miles
south of Mazatlan as soon as
Tuesday afternoon.
At a gas station on the
city’s outskirts, a steady line
of cars queued up to refuel
and shop at the neighboring
convenience store.
Station attendant Zulema
Pardo said residents had
been streaming through for
South Korean footballers on the field as North Korea’s anthem was played hours to stock up on basic
items, buying enormous jugs
of water and gasoline, and
leaving the bread shelf com-
pletely empty.
“People are really scared,”
she said. “People are crazy
and worked up.”
Late on Monday the storm
was advancing about 280 km
south-southwest of Mazat-
lan, Mexico, according to the
Miami-based National Hur-
ricane Center (NHC).
Several other tourist geta-
ways in Nayarit, as well as
the beach resort of Puerto
Vallarta in Jalisco state, also
lie near the path of the storm,
which is forecast to bring a
“life-threatening storm
surge, wind and rainfall,” the
NHC said. —Reuters
24
Wednesday
October
2018
ahmedabad
www.dnaindia.com
Sensex
33847.23 287.15 q
Gold 10 gram 31925.00
US $ 73.57 0.01 p
news in numbers
moneyedit Motown hopes for bright Diwali amid NBFC fund crunch
India hopes
to cast a
wider tax net
T
he number of crorepati
tax payers has gone up to
81,344 over the last four
years, a growth of 68%,
while the number of total
taxpayers (including cor-
porate houses and HUFs)
declaring income of more
than Rs 1 crore for the year
2016-17 stood at 1.4 lakh, a
rise of over 60% from 2013-
14. In the same period,
there has been an 80% rise
in the number of returns
filed at 6.85 crore in 2017-18,
up from 3.31 crore in 2013-
14.
But think before you
raise a toast. Digging deep-
er into the figures, you
would find that more than
two crore of these new fil-
ers don’t pay any tax at all.
Indirect tax payers’ base
has expanded over 50%
since the inception of GST,
as per the Economic Sur-
vey. In absolute numbers,
the addition was just 34
lakh of registered tax pay-
ers. For a country like In-
dia, the number should
have been much bigger.
While a salaried tax
payer diligently collects
GST bills against goods
and services bought, doc-
tors and even some hospi-
tals collect payments in
cash without issuing any
receipt. Payments against
services in several unor-
ganised sectors, such as
plumbers and electricians,
are clearly outside the pur-
view of the tax system.
Confectioneries and food
stalls in cities are blatantly
flaunting the rules with
‘Only cash’ boards.
It’s a long way for the
country to plug the holes
and cast a wider tax net.
ST smart
‘NBFC crisis to
benefit realty’
While the industry is
jittered by the crisis in
non-banking finance
companies (NBFC),
Oberoi Realty views the
same as opportunity for
the realty sector, partic-
ularly for branded and
established developers.
“We will now have less-
er competition to buy
land parcels,” said Vi-
kas Oberoi, chairman
and managing director
of Oberoi Realty. They
had seen the crisis com-
ing for a long time,
claims Oberoi. However,
the financial downturn
has hit the market late.
“This was waiting to
happen. The developers
went on buying land
parcels. As a result, fly-
by-night builders are in
a fix. However, unfortu-
nate as it may sound, we
are going to benefit.
These are the times to
get good land parcels at
a good price and even to
face lesser resistance or
competition in going
out for the land pur-
chase,” added Oberoi
during an earnings call.
Sebi tightens AIF
investment norms
Insider trading regula-
tion will be applicable
in case of investment by
employees of alterna-
tive investment funds
(AIFs) or asset manage-
ment companies
(AMCs) in units of AIF
schemes, which invest
in listed as well as un-
listed securities, Sebi
has said. The clarifica-
tion has been given as
part of an informal
guidance sought by SBI
Funds Management re-
garding investment by
its employees in AIF
schemes. Under AIF
regulations, both listed
and unlisted securities
are amenable for insid-
er trading.
Nifty
10146.80 98.45 q
EURO 84.45 0.15 q
Shahkar Abidi
a_shahakar@dnaindia.net
Mumbai: Vehicle makers
are hoping for a bright Di-
wali after NBFC crisis, fuel
prices and confusion over
insurance premiums hit
sales during Dussehra.
They are pinning hopes
on new launches and up-
grades to drive sales during
Diwali, which accounts for
around 75% of total festive
sales annually.
Confusion over new in-
surance policy premiums,
tightening of financing to
Hind Unilever, Nestle to
face tax evasion probe
The two companies were found allegedly profiteering from GST rate cuts
`500cr
Profiteering by HUL,
found by DGAP
What investigators allege
The two compa- One product with
nies are charging same HSN code
different tax rates should have one rate,
for the same but is taxed at two
product different rates
Relative showing
Nestle India HUL
Jan 1, 18
Nestle India is a responsible, responsive and fully
compliant corporate citizen. We operate with strict
adherence to all applicable rules and regulations”
HCL Tech Q2 net profit up 16% on software services
New Delhi: Software ser-
vices exporter HCL Tech-
nologies Ltd posted a 14.8%
rise in second-quarter net
profit, beating analysts’ esti-
mates, helped by higher rev-
enue from its software ser-
vices business.
The IT services major
Tuesday said its consolidat-
ed net profit for the Septem-
ber quarter grew 16.1% to Rs
2,540 crore and exuded confi-
dence about meeting its rev-
enue forecast for the fiscal on
the back of strong growth
momentum.
The Noida-based compa-
Festival shopping rings in record 44 million smartphone sales
S
martphone sales in
the country during
the July-Septem-
ber quarter (Q3)
grew 5% on-year
and 24% sequentially, driven
by strong shipments ahead of
the festive season according
to Counterpoint Research.
For the second time, India’s
shipments surpassed those
of the US during the third
quarter. Four of the top five
brands recorded their high-
est ever shipments in a single
quarter.
Xiaomi, which was the top
seller, saw strong sales on the
back of the new Redmi 6 se-
ries and expansion in offline
275.00p Silver kg 38610.00 265.00 p
British pound 95.85 0.15 p
12 million --new jobs the internet services sector will create by 2022, according to Internet and Mobile Association
the end-consumers by non-
banking financial institu-
tions (NBFCs) in backdrop
of crisis at IL&FS and high
fuel prices are some of the
reasons that led to drop in
bookings.
A sales executive at one of
Mahindra & Mahindra’s
(M&M) showrooms in subur-
ban Mumbai told DNA Mon-
ey that though enquiries
were higher this year over the
last year, the sales were down.
The executive said his
showroom delivered just 38
cars while it counted around
50 units last year during Du-
The tax
conundrum
`100cr `175cr
The profiteering the two firms have
figure for Nestle voluntarily depos-
ited to Consumer
Welfare Fund
In some cases, the
firms have claimed
wrong ITC and taken
the credit despite
being ineligible
145
130
115
100
Oct 23 85
Nestle spokesperson
ny had registered a net
profit of Rs 2,188 crore in
the year-ago period. Its rev-
enue grew 19.5% to Rs
14,861 crore in the quarter
under review from Rs 12,434
crore in the September 2017
quarter.
HCL Technologies said it
expects its revenues in FY’19
to grow between 9.5-11.5% in
constant currency that
translates into a dollar reve-
nue growth of 8.2-10.2%
(based on September 30, 2018
forex rates).
“We continue to deliver
strong and consistent quar-
channels. J series drove the
shipments for Samsung,
which ranked second.
Interestingly, homegrown
player Micromax re-entered
the top-five club for the first
time in two years. Micro-
max, along with Reliance
Jio, had won an order from
the Chhattisgarh govern-
ment under which it will be
the sole supplier of five mil-
lion smartphones.
So Micromax’s shipments
are likely to decline
following completion of the
order. But fall in rupee is
impacting supply chains and
product planning for the
brands.
FTSE 100
7042.80 7.00 q
Brent Crude
shera. Importantly, around
65-70% of the total deliveries
were newly launched Maraz-
zo. “Some of the deals could
not get completed due to fi-
Anjul Tomar
anjul.tomar@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: After an anti-
profiteering investigation,
Fast Moving Consumer
Goods (FMCG) majors Hin-
dustan Unilever Ltd (HUL)
and Nestle will be facing a
tax evasion probe, govern-
ment sources said.
“It has been seen that the
two companies are charging
different tax rates for the
same product. For example,
one product with the same
Hormonised System of No-
menclature (HSN) code (used
to classify products) should
have one rate while the same
has been taxed at two
separate rates of 8% and
10%. Similarly, in some
cases, the firms have
claimed wrong Input
Tax Credit (ITC) on basis of
incorrect tax rates and taken
the credit despite being ineli-
gible,” as per sources.
The ‘tax evasion’ came to
light while the two were be-
ing investigated for profiteer-
ing.
The Directorate General
of Anti-Profiteering (DGAP)
found HUL and Nestle profi-
teering about Rs 500 crore
and Rs 100 crore, respectively
from Goods and Services Tax
(GST) rate cuts announced
by the government to give
relief to consumers.
The companies have to
submit all the details of their
sales to the investigators.
The DGAP has referred
HCL TECHNOLOGIES
Share price on BSE in `
952.75
881.00
Jan 1, 18 Oct 23
ter-on-quarter revenue and
margin growth perfor-
mance... We continue to
maintain strong deal win
momentum. We signed 17
This festive season is not only crucial for brands to target new customers but
also navigate the external headwinds —Counterpoint Research
India Smartphone Market Share %
33
Q3,
8 23
2017
6 8
The fall in rupee is impacting supply chains and product planning for the brands and any inventory
accumulation after the festive season will put brands under pressure as they may need to pass on the
resulting price rises to consumers, said a Counterpoint Research analyst
Nikkei 225
22010.78 604.04 q
$/barrel 79.52 0.60 q
UAE dirham 20.02 0.01 p
Festival drive
„„Vehicle makers are
pinning hopes on new
launches and upgrades
during Diwali
„„Confusion over
insurance premiums,
tightening of financing
hit sales in Dussehra
nancing issues. However, we
still hope the sales to pick up
during Diwali,” said the ex-
ecutive. M&M said that
Marazzo has managed to gar-
the instances of tax evasion
to the concerned tax au-
thorities.
“The cases have been re-
ferred to the GST authority
of the concerned jurisdic-
tion depending upon where
the supply offices are regis-
tered. They will examine
and take further action after
proper verfication,” said a
source, adding that the cases
have been referred to over 30
offices of the GST authority
in various states where the
assessee is registered.
Nestle, another big brand
in the FMCG segment,
makes popular Maggi noo-
dles, Nescafe coffee and Kit
Kat chocolates.
Responding to a query
by DNA Money, Nestle
India spokesperson said,
“Nestle India is a respon-
sible, responsive and fully
compliant corporate citizen.
We operate with strict adher-
ence to all applicable rules
and regulations.”
HUL said it had no com-
ments to offer when contact-
ed. Meanwhile, Anti-Profi-
teering Authority, (NAA)
functioning under the fi-
nance ministry, may an-
nounce next week its deci-
sion in the profiteering case
against Hindustan Unilever
after the DG submitted the
investigation report in the
matter.
On the other hand, final
order in the Nestle case may
come after two-and-a-half
months.
transformational deals
across verticals and geogra-
1125
phies,” HCL Technologies
1070 president and CEO C Vijaya-
kumar said.
1015 He added that the deals
signed were a mix of Mode 1
960 and Mode 2 services led by
905
areas like digital and analyt-
ics, cloud, Internet of
850 Things, cybersecurity, along
with infrastructure services,
engineering and R&D ser-
vices, and business services.
Vijayakumar said the com-
pany’s revenue from Mode 3
(IP-led businesses) achieved a
milestone of $1 billion on an-
22 Xiaomi 23
Samsung
Vivo
8 23
Micromax
Oppo
Others
9 10
ner over 10,000 bookings since
its launch in September.
Market leader Maruti Su-
zuki, which sells one in eve-
ry two cars sold in India, saw
the demand for its vehicles
like Brezza, Vitara and S-
Cross continue to generate
interest from the consumers
during the ongoing festival
season.
An executive of a Mum-
bai-based showroom of luxu-
ry car maker BMW said this
festive season 6 series GT and
X 1 cars are much in demand
though some of the older
models are still getting a sec-
Jet seeks moratorium on
existing loans, fresh funds
P R Sanjai
Mumbai: Jet Airways India
Ltd has approached banks
for a moratorium on loans
and asked for fresh funds to
ease a cash crunch, accord-
ing to people with direct
knowledge of the
matter, adding to signs the
carrier is sliding deeper into
trouble.
The airline has already
grounded about a dozen
planes as part of a review of
its network aimed at reduc-
ing unprofitable domestic
routes, said one of the peo-
ple, who asked not to be iden-
tified because the plans
aren’t public.
The Mumbai-based carri-
er is also studying laying off
more employees in non-core
RBI to hold
`12K cr OMOs
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) will infuse li-
quidity into the market by pur-
chasing government bonds of
around Rs 12,000 crore in an
auction on Thursday.
“Based on an assessment
of prevailing liquidity condi-
tions and also of the durable
liquidity needs going for-
ward, the RBI has decided to
conduct the purchase of the
government securities un-
der Open Market Operations
for an aggregate amount of
Rs 120 billion on October 25,
2018,” RBI said.
The purchase will happen
through multi-security auc-
tion using the multiple price
method, it said. —PTI
nual run rate basis.
In dollar terms, the net
profit rose 5.1% to $356.7
million for July-Septem-
ber quarter, while revenue
was higher by 8.9% at $2.09
billion.
“Given the deal bookings
and the momentum that we
are seeing, we will continue
to see incrementally better
growth in the rest of the
year. That is something we
are very confident of...9.5-
11.5% (revenue guidance),
we are likely to be in the mid-
point of this guidance
range,” he said. —Agencies
27
Q3,
2018
ond look. The showroom
could manage to book just
around half of sales as com-
pared to last year’s 34 units.
“We have already started
getting enquiries for Diwali
discounts” the executive said.
The situation was similar
in the two-wheeler segment.
K N Radhakrishnan, CEO
at TVS Motor who has been
appointed as whole-time di-
rector on Tuesday said that
the confusion over new in-
surance rules and increasing
fuel prices impacted the
sales, especially in the entry-
level segment. The impact
JET AIRWAYS (INDIA)
Share price on BSE in `
900
842.75
740
580
420
260
212.65 100
Jan 1, 18 Oct 23
areas, the person said.
The moves show India’s
biggest full-service carrier
-- unprofitable in nine of the
past 11 years -- is struggling
for survival as two-cent fares
in one of the world’s most
expensive places to buy jet
fuel negate the gains from a
surge in domestic passenger
Amarchand withdraws
clean chit to Kochhar
New Delhi: Law firm Cyril
Amarchand Mangaldas has
withdrawn its 2016 report
that had given a clean chit to
former ICICI Bank chief ex-
ecutive Chanda Kochhar
with regard to nepotism al-
legations against her, sourc-
es said.
ICICI Bank in a regulato-
ry filing Tuesday said the
clean chit given to Kochhar
in March this year was based
on the inquiry report of the
law firm which is now saying
that the same should no long-
er be treated as valid.
Following the allegations
of nepotism and conflict of
interest against Kochhar, the
then chairman M K Sharma
in March had expressed full
confidence in her and ruled
out any quid pro quo as al-
leged with regard to certain
loans given to the Videocon
group.
ICICI Bank in a filing said
the bank had expressed con-
fidence in Kochhar on the
basis of the inquiry report
of the law firm which was
engaged in 2016 to probe the
allegations of nepotism and
conflict of interest against
her.
The inquiry was conduct-
ed by law firm Cyril Amarch-
and Mangaldas, according to
sources.
“The law firm submitted
its report in December 2016
stating that it had found no
Share of
smartphones
in total
handset
market
(88 million)
50%
has been more significant in
the rural and semi-urban ar-
eas. Radhakrishnan said
that issues related to insur-
ance are well settled now,
and demand will pick up for
the rest of the festival sea-
son. “Major part of the fes-
tive season is yet to come,”
said Radhakrishnan on a
conference call.
However, Sridhar V, part-
ner, Grant Thornton India
LLP, said it’s a “wait-and-a-
watch situation” for the in-
dustry and it is too early to
say how the sales will turn
out during Diwali.
numbers.
Indian banks, having suf-
fered setbacks from lending
previously to failed King-
fisher Airlines, had earlier
rebuffed Jet Airways with
their reluctance to extend
additional loans to the com-
pany.
The carrier is continu-
ously evaluating commercial
viability of its operations
and will make announce-
ments on specific measures,
spokesman for the company
said in an emailed state-
ment. “The board approved
turnaround strategy is un-
der implementation,” the
company said.
The strategy encompass-
es cost-reduction and reve-
nue enhancement initia-
tives, the company said.
More
trouble?
`3,250 cr
loan to Videocon Group in 2012
sparked the probe
evidence of nepotism and
conflict of interest on the
part of Kochhar and accord-
ingly the matter was treated
as closed,” ICICI Bank said.
When fresh allegations
surfaced in March 2018 on
the same matter, the board
of the bank on the basis of
inquiry report of the law
firm issued a statement ex-
pressing confidence in then
CEO and managing director
Kochhar.
Subsequent to the addi-
tional whistle-blower allega-
tions and further information
made available to the bank,
the board of directors of the
bank announced a fresh in-
quiry, which was announced
on May 30, 2018. —PTI
77%
Share of
top-five
brands in
smartphones
1/3rd
Of the volume was seen
in mid-tier ($150-250)
segment as consumers
migrate toward higher
price points
 c mpanies
www.dnaindia.com I twitter.com/dna I epaper.dnaindia.com I facebook.com/dnaindia
Adani Ports net
profit down 38%
Report
card on fall in rupee
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited
(APSEZ), the logistics arm of Adani Group,
reported a 38.10% decline in consolidated net profit
to Rs 614.23 crore for the quarter ending September.
The company said its financials were hit by fall in
the rupee which resulted in a market loss of Rs 953
crore in the first half of 2018-19 on its foreign
currency loans. The company had clocked a net
profit of Rs 992.37 crore in the corresponding
period of the last fiscal, it said in a BSE filing.
“Indian Rupee depreciated by 5% in Q1FY19 and by
6% in Q2FY19. Thus, we have provided mark to
market loss of Rs 953 crore in H1FY19 compared to
a mark to market loss of Rs 47 crore in H1FY18 on
our foreign currency loans. This has resulted in
reporting lower PBT and PAT,” the company said.
Total income dipped marginally to Rs 2,922.32 crore
as against Rs 2,962.12 crore a year ago.
HDFC Life net up
20% at `287cr
HDFC Standard Life
Insurance Company
reported a 20.3% rise in
net profit at Rs 286.98
crore for the quarter
ended September 30,
2018. The gross
premium income,
inclusive of the first
year, renewal premium
and single premium,
rose to Rs 6,840.5 crore
during the reported
quarter. It was Rs
5,636.6 crore in the
second quarter of 2017-
18. The net premium
income increased to Rs
6,777.55 crore as against
Rs 5,389.43 crore earlier.
On July 20, the Board
of Directors approved a
proposal to change the
corporate name of the
company to ‘HDFC Life
Insurance Company’,
subject to the approval
of shareholders and
regulators, it said.
ICICI Pru Life
profit slips 29%
ICICI Prudential Life
Insurance Company
reported a decline of
28.5% in its standalone
net profit to Rs 301
crore for second
quarter ended
September this fiscal
due to new business
strain. Profit after tax
or the net profit
decreased primarily on
account of higher new
business stress, it said.
New business strain
arises when the
premium paid at the
commencement of a
contract is not
sufficient to cover the
initial expenses.
In brief
Laurus to expand
in US, China
Laurus Labs said it sold
the US Food and Drug
Administration-
approved tenofovir
disoproxil fumarate
(TDF), used to treat
hepatitis B virus, to
CASI Pharmaceuticals
Inc, USA. Discussions
were on to allow Laurus
to continue to
manufacture and
market the TDF in the
US and to potentially
supply abbreviated new
drug application
(ANDA) to China, a
press release said.
Sun launches
drug in US
Sun Pharmaceutical
Industries said it has
launched its plaque
psoriasis treatment
drug Ilumya
(tildrakizumab-asmn) in
the US market. “The
availability of Ilumya is
an important milestone
for Sun Pharma as we
expand our specialty
medicine portfolio in
the US,” Sun Pharma
North America CEO
Abhay Gandhi said.
Cipla’s arm
acquires Mirren
Cipla said its South
African subsidiary has
completed the
acquisition of pharma
firm Mirren (Pty) Ltd.
Cipla Medpro South
Africa (Pty) Ltd has
completed the
acquisition of 100%
stake in South African
firm Mirren on October
22, 2018, Cipla said.
Cipla Medpro is a
wholly-owned
subsidiary of Mumbai-
based Cipla Ltd.
RBL Bank
Share price on BSE in `
508.95
464.90
Jan 1, 18 Oct 23
RBL net up 36%
on advances
Private sector lender
RBL Bank reported a
36% growth in the
September quarter net
at Rs 204.54 crore,
driven by a healthy rise
in interest income as
its loan book swelled
37% on robust demand
and higher margins.
The bank improved its
net interest margin to
4.08% from 3.74%
boosting its core net
interest income. The
net interest income
rose 41% to Rs 592.97
crore, while the non-
interest income was up
38% to Rs 333.11 crore.
Bajaj Finance
net jumps 54%
Non-banking financial
company Bajaj Finance
reported a 54% jump in
its consolidated net
profit at Rs 923 crore in
the quarter ended
September, helped by
higher growth in assets
under management.
“We saw a strong
growth in the quarter.
Our asset under
management (AUM)
grew by 38%,” the
company’s managing
director, Rajeev Jain,
said. It’s consolidated
AUM stood at Rs
1,00,217 crore.
ClearTax to open new IRB InvIT eyes road assets
offices, add employees
Ashish K Tiwari
t_ashish@dnaindia.net
Mumbai: Tax e-filing and
investment platform
ClearTax, which has just
raised $50 million in Series B
funding led by Composite
Capital, is building its pres-
ence in the country.
The Bengaluru-headquar-
tered start-up with offices in
Mumbai and Delhi will be
opening two new offices
while also doubling the exist-
ing employee base of 300 in
the coming months.
In an earlier interaction
with DNA Money, Archit
painted red
E-comm cosmetics sales under lens rating revisions as costs spiral
New Delhi: Country’s drug
regulator DCGI has issued
notices to Amazon and some
other e-commerce websites
for allegedly selling “spuri-
ous, adulterated and unap-
proved” cosmetics, includ-
ing imported brands, and
has warned them of penal
actions.
The notice from the Drug
Controller General of India
(DCGI) follows raids by drug
inspectors at various loca-
tions across the country on
October 5-6, during which
they found that some indige-
nously manufactured cos-
metics without valid manu-
facturing licence and having
ingredients imported with-
out necessary registration
certificates were being sold
on the e-commerce platforms.
The law provides for pe-
nal actions ranging from
monetary fine to imprison-
ment for such lapses.
When contacted, an Ama-
Santro returns in new avatar
Hyundai expects to sell up to 9,000 units a month, garner 30% pie in mid-compact segment sales
Mansi Taneja
mansi.taneja@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: The blockbuster
product from the stables of
Hyundai Motor is back. The
South Korean carmaker
drove in the new Santro on
Tuesday amid much fanfare
in the presence of Bollywood
actor Shahrukh Khan.
The vehicle, first
launched in the Indian mar-
ket 20 years ago as a family
car, had proven to be a runa-
way success for Hyundai
and changed its fortunes in
India. The company expects
the product to be a big hit
again, which will enable it to
close the gap with market
leader Maruti Suzuki and
655 increase its market share, Y
K Koo, managing director
610
and CEO of Hyundai Motor
565 India told DNA Money.
520 Hyundai has invested
475 over Rs 700 crore on the de-
velopment of the new model
430
in the last three years. Sant-
ro was phased out in 2014 and
was the first entry product
for the company in India.
According to data from
Society of Indian Automo-
bile Manufacturers (SIAM),
Maruti Suzuki held 52.10 %
market share in the April-
September 2018 period, fol-
lowed by Hyundai with
15.72%. The company had
opened online bookings for
new Santro earlier this
month without revealing the
Welspun sees margin hit on ` fall Dena Bank aims to
Ashish K Tiwari
t_ashish@dnaindia.net
Mumbai: Home textile mak-
er Welspun India, which re-
ported 18.7% on-year growth
in profit after tax at Rs 114.8
crore for the July-September
quarter of this fiscal, saw its
margins getting impacted
owing to depreciating rupee
against the dollar.
A part of the $2.3 billion
Welspun Group, the textile
firm has taken a hit of around
Rs 37 crore due to currency
fluctuation in the second
quarter. In fact, the top man-
agement expects the margins
will continue to shrink by
almost similar figure over the
next few quarters.
Responding to analysts’
concerns about the sharp re-
duction in the earnings be-
fore interest, tax, deprecia-
tion and amortisation (Ebit-
da) margin, Rajesh Man-
dawewala, managing direc-
Gupta, founder and chief
executive officer, ClearTax,
said, “Our next focus will be
on expanding to Hyderabad
and Chennai. We see tax
saving mutual funds as the
big growth drivers, along
with our goods and services
tax (GST) matching service
which will be launched
soon.
“We are on an intensive
hiring mode and looking to
add more engineers and
chartered accountants
(CAs). We will be adding 300
people in the next four to five
months so our team size will
grow to 600,” said Gupta.
IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Air face
Drug regulator sends notices to firms including Amazon
zon India spokesperson said
the company takes strict ac-
tion against sellers of “ille-
gal or fake products” as and
when such incidents are re-
ported to it.
“Amazon.in is a third-par-
ty marketplace which ena-
bles sellers to list their prod-
ucts for sale to Indian cus-
tomers. Sellers on Amazon.
in own their respective prod-
ucts and are responsible for
product compliances, as may
Bollywood actor and Hyundai brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan at the launch in New Delhi on Tuesday
1.86mn
Units the earlier version of
back in
Santro had sold, including
the race
exports
prices. Till now, the compa-
ny has received 23,500 book-
ings and expects 50,000 by
this month-end, Koo said.
The new Santro is pow-
ered by a four-cylinder 1.1-li-
tre petrol engine, comes with
automated manual trans-
mission (AMT) and factory-
fitted CNG fuel options. The
manual versions of the Sant-
ro start at Rs 3,89,900 for non-
more pain
„„The firm has another
$170–$180 mn of hedge
at about Rs 67–68 for the
balance part of the year
„„It has also
earmarked a capex
of Rs 900 core for the
current fiscal
tor, Welspun India, said the
company’s hedging policy
has been holding in good
stead for the past four to five
years. “Unfortunately, this is
the time when payback time
has come, so about 2.5% to
2.8% of margin was lost ac-
tually on account of our
hedging rate. If we were not
in our hedge position, we
would have realised Rs 70.2
as against the Rs 68.25 that
we are currently at. This
translates to about 2.8%,”
said Mandawewala during
Mumbai: IRB InvIT Fund is
looking to acquire third-
party road assets for ex-
panding its portfolio even as
it continues to take over
operational projects from
its sponsor IRB Infrastruc-
ture Developers.
The trust, which current-
ly has seven projects in its
portfolio, may look at acquir-
ing the sponsor’s Solapur-
Yedeshi Tollway project,
which will be eligible from
the end of FY19.
“We will continue to add
projects in our portfolio and
we are not just looking at
those of the sponsor’s, but
we may also consider third-
party assets for acquisition
adverse effect
DCGI has
issued notices
to e-commerce
websites for allegedly
selling “spurious,
adulterated and
unapproved”
cosmetics, including
imported brands, and
has warned them of
penal actions
be applicable.
“Amazon.in has a very
high bar of customer experi-
ence and does take strict ac-
tion against sellers who are
selling illegal or fake prod-
ucts us, in accordance with
the due process of law, as and
when such incidents are re-
ported to us,” the spokesper-
son said.
According to a copy of the
notice, the cosmetics being
sold by these websites includ-
Ambuja Q3 net
up 12.73% on
growth
New Delhi: Ambuja Cement
`3,89,900
The starting price of the new
Santro
ac variant; ac variants go up
to Rs 5,45,900. While the two
models automatic version
would cost Rs 5,18,900 and Rs
5,46,900. The CNG fitted two
versions will come at a price
of Rs 5,23,900 and 5,64,900.
These are introductory pric-
es for first 50,000 customers.
The new Santro will com-
pete with Maruti Suzuki’s
WagonR and Celerio and
the earnings call.
In fact, all the hedges be-
tween FY15 to FY18 had
helped the company main-
tain a decent level of margin
in the past. “Consequently,
this year we are down by
2.5% to 3% in this quarter on
account of the weak rupee.
So the impact of hedging is
about Rs 37 - 38 crore on a net
basis. In fact, our profit and
loss (P&L) could have looked
better by that sum in the ab-
sence of hedging gains,” said
Altaf Jiwani, global chief
IRB InvIT Fund
Share price on BSE in `
88.40
90
86
82
78
74
73.00 70
Jan 1, 18 Oct 23
if they are giving good valu-
ations,” IRB InvIT fund chief
financial officer Tushar
Kawedia said.
He further said the com-
pany would look at acquiring
third-party assets only after
ed imported brands without
valid documents and contain-
ing ingredients in the “nega-
tive list” of the BIS (Bureau
of Indian Standards).
Asking the companies to
reply to its notice within 10
days, the DGCI has warned
them of penal action for “of-
fering for sale, sale and dis-
tribution of spurious, adul-
terated cosmetics and cos-
metics manufactured with-
out valid licence in contra-
vention of the Drugs and
Cosmetics Act, 1940.” “In
case, you fail to submit the
reply within the stipulated
period, it will be presumed
that you have no reply to of-
fer and appropriate action as
deemed fit will be initiated
against you,” DCGI S Eswara
Reddy said in the notice.
Under the Drug and Cos-
metics Act, it is mandatory
to get a registration certifi-
cate for the import of cos-
metics into India. —PTI
Ahmedabad I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018 I daily news & analysis
15-20K
Units it expects to
export per annum
initially
Tata Motors’s Tiago. The
mid-compact car segment is
around 30,000 units per
month, where Maruti Suzu-
ki’s WagonR is the leader.
The company admits that
it lost a substantial market
share after phasing out of
Santro in the compact car
segment. Now, it expects to
sell 8,000-9,000 units per
month, which can translate
financial officer, Welspun
India, during the call.
He added that the (hedg-
ing) pain is likely to continue
for the next two quarters as
the company’s hedges were
less than Rs 66 and there was
a point when the currency
came down to Rs 63. “We sell
our exchange every week. In
fact, there was a long period
when the currency was lan-
guishing at about Rs 63 and
with a 4% kind of a premi-
um, we were selling ex-
change at Rs 65 - Rs 66. Unfor-
tunately, this is the period
when it is hitting us the
most,” said Jiwani.
While the exchange rate
has had its impact, the com-
pany had various other one-
off expenses that added pres-
sure on the business, compa-
ny executives said. “Besides,
there are a few one-off ex-
penses including about Rs 3
crore provision on invest-
ment of Rs 10 crore in IL&FS.”
evaluating whether the pro-
jects give higher returns to
the unitholders, if there is
an improvement in the
yields and the debt risk as-
sociated with the assets.
When asked how the com-
pany was planning to fund
these acquisitions, Kawedia
said, it will be done through
debt funding.
“As the trust is eligible to
raise debt at 1:1 ratio, the to-
tal debt that can be borrowed
is close to Rs 4,500 crore. We
can borrow the debt in the
range of 8.50-8.75% rate of
interest. Hence, new acquisi-
tions would be through debt,
as it is the most viable op-
tion,” he added. —PTI
New Delhi: Listed carriers
-- IndiGo, SpiceJet and Jet
Airways -- have seen this
month downgrading of cred-
it rating assigned to some of
their loan facilities as they
grapple with rising expenses
and limited room to hike
fares amid intense competi-
tion.
Despite being one of the
fastest growing domestic
aviation markets in the
world, local carriers have
been facing tough business
conditions, especially with
surging oil prices and depre-
ciation of the rupee. As play-
ers look to woo more passen-
gers with cheap fares, air-
lines have not been fully able
to increase ticket prices.
Against this backdrop,
rating firms Icra and Crisil
have downgraded various
loan facilities of the three
airlines.
On October 17, Icra cut the
09
to a market share of 30%.
The company is also looking
to export Santro from next
year to markets including
South Africa, Vietnam and
Latin America. Initially, the
plan is to start exporting
15,000-20,000 units per an-
num, Koo said.
The earlier version had
sold 1.86 million units, in-
cluding exports.
The new Santro has been
designed at the research and
development centre in Na-
myang, South Korea, and is
being produced at the Chen-
nai plant with a localisation
level of about 90%. “The new
Santro users will be for first-
time buyers from rural areas
and people who want to re-
place their existing compact
cars,” he said.
The company is also look-
ing to expand its production
facility in Chennai by 50,000
units by next year.
To engage customers, the
company had sought online
suggestions for new Santro,
earlier codenamed AH2. It re-
ceived as many as 500,000 en-
tries and about two-thirds peo-
ple opted for the name Santro.
The Santro has retained
its tall boy look, which means
high headroom. It is built on
K1 platform and has many
firsts in the compact segment
such as rear AC vents, rear
parking camera, touchscreen
multi-media system with
voice recognition.
bring down GNPAs
to 15% by March
Ahmedabad: Dena Bank on
Tuesday said it expects to
bring down gross non-per-
forming assets (NPAs) to
15% by March 2019, from ex-
isting 22-23%, which will
help it reduce losses.
Its managing director and
chief executive officer Kar-
nam Sekar said that the reso-
lution of NPAs of several
corporate customers is in
advanced stages at the Na-
tional Company Law Tribu-
nal (NCLT), or towards asset
restructuring and one-time
settlement.
“We hope that we will set-
tle most of the cases by
March 2019. Huge accounts
are in advanced stages of
resolution. By March 2019,
our gross NPAs, which is
currently between 22% and
23%, will surely come down.
Practically, it will come
down to 15% (from Rs 16,000
crore to Rs 10,000 crore),”
said Sekar, who joined the
bank last month as its MD
and CEO.
He said that the bank has
not added any NPAs in the
last two quarters, and in the
September quarter, it re-
duced slightly.
“We have been loss-mak-
ing in the last three years,
and we need to come out of
that. Huge NPAs are reasons
for the loss. Fortunately,
most corporate customer
cases are either in the ad-
vanced stages in NCLT, ARC
(asset reconstruction compa-
nies), or bilateral OTS (one-
time settlement),” Sekar
said.
He also added that Dena
long-term rating on out-
standing Rs 8,000 crore
worth bank facilities of In-
terGlobe Aviation Ltd even
as it re-affirmed the short-
term rating.
“The rating action takes
into consideration expected
adverse impact of the sig-
nificant increase in operat-
ing costs of airlines, includ-
ing IndiGo, and their limited
flexibility to effect price
hikes to offset cost pressures.
“Over the last nine
months, the Indian rupee
on Tuesday reported a
12.73% increase in consoli-
dated net profit to Rs 396.01
crore for the quarter ended
September 2018, helped by
growth in sales volume.
Part of the Swiss cement
giant LafargeHolcim, the
company had clocked a net
profit of Rs 351.29 crore in
July-September 2017.
Its total income during
the period under review rose
11.84% to Rs 6,097.53 crore.
Total expenses were up
11.81% at Rs 5,540.26 crore.
The company follows Jan-
uary-December financial
year.
Ambuja Cement MD and
CEO Ajay Kapur said, “Our
continued focus on grow-
ing the topline with our
well-defined marketing and
commercial strategies fo-
cusing on the retail con-
sumers, value-added port-
folio products and service
and selling more in our
core markets helped deliv-
er a good net sales growth
of 10.4%.”
During the quarter, sales
volume rose to 5.46 million
tonne as against 5.02 million
tonne in July-September 2017.
“Cement volume grew by
9% in Q3/2018 backed by a
favourable demand trend,”
Ambuja Cement said. On the
outlook, the firm said GDP
growth in the last quarter was
encouraging backed by a good
monsoon. —PTI
We have 40-41%
CASA ratio.
With more focus,
we are trying to take it to
at least 44-45%. So both
NPA reduction and
CASA improvement will
improve profitability
Karnam Sekar,
MD & CEO
Bank is working to improve
its CASA (current accounts
and savings accounts) ratio,
which will positively affect
its profitability.
“We have 40-41% CASA
ratio. With more focus, we
are trying to take it to at least
44-45%. So, both NPA reduc-
tion and CASA improvement
will improve the profitabili-
ty of the bank,” he said, hop-
ing to “turn the corner” by
2019-20.
Last month, the govern-
ment had announced the
merger of state-owned Bank
of Baroda (BoB), Vijaya
Bank and Dena Bank, to cre-
ate the country’s second-
largest lender, after the State
Bank of India. —PTI
has witnessed significant de-
preciation against the USD,
which coupled with sharp
rise in global crude oil prices
has led to 34% year-on-year
increase in domestic avia-
tion turbine fuel (ATF) pric-
es and other operating costs
of airline companies during
H1 FY 2019,” Icra said in a
report.
ATF accounts for around
40% of an airline’s opera-
tional costs.
Crisil has downgraded the
ratings on the bank facilities
of SpiceJet citing that the
carrier’s operating perfor-
mance would remain under
pressure in the near to me-
dium term. This is driven by
“significant increase in the
operating cost and limited
ability to pass on the in-
creased cost to customers
due to intense competition”,
the rating firm said in a re-
port dated October 9. —PTI
 24
Wednesday
October
2018
Ahmedabad
www.dnaindia.com
HOCKEY
BALL GAME
Pakistan face
Australia in T20I
Pakistan captain Sarfraz
Ahmed is confident his
team can defend their
world number one ranking
in a stern challenge from
Australia in a three-match
Twenty20 series starting
in Abu Dhabi on Wednes-
day. Pakistan will be with-
out senior batsman Shoaib
Malik who was with his
tennis star wife Sania Mir-
za in India for the birth of
their first child.
SL crush England
for consolation win
Sri Lanka beat England
by 219 runs via the
Duckworth-Lewis meth-
od to claim a consolation
win in the rain-hit fifth
one day international in
Colombo on Tuesday.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 366/6 in
50 overs (N Dickwella 95, S Sa-
marawickrama 54, D Chandimal
80, K Mendis 56) beat England
132/9 in 26.1 overs (B Stokes 67;
P Chameera 3/20) by 219 runs
via Duckworth Lewis method
on the tube
(all Live)
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16:30 ATP 500 Erste
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21:30 Pakistan vs Aus-
tralia, 1st T20I
Star Sports 1
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Star Sports 2
08:50 Deodhar Trophy
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no fuss juventus star says he’s happy and confident of his innocence
Truth will prevail: Ronaldo on rape allegations
Manchester: Speaking pub-
licly for the first time since
being accused of rape, Cris-
tiano Ronaldo defended him-
self against the allegation
and said that he is confident
the truth will come out in the
case.
The football superstar has
been accused of rape in the
United States. Kathryn May-
orga filed a civil lawsuit last
month in Nevada claiming
Ronaldo raped her in his Las
Vegas hotel room in 2009. Po-
lice also reopened an investi-
gation into the allegation at
her request.
Ronaldo’s attorney, Peter S
Christiansen, issued a state-
ment on October 10 denying
wrongdoing by his client.
“I’m not going to lie in this
situation,” Ronaldo said at a
news conference ahead of a
Champions League match
between his Italian team, Ju-
ventus, and former club Man-
chester United at Old Traf-
ford.
CHESS GM R Praggnanandhaa beats Pav-
el Eljanov of Ukraine but Viswanathan Anand
is held to a draw by Rasmus Svane in the third
round of Isle of Man International
India will host one of men’s FIH Hockey Series Finals, a tournament from where 2 teams will make cut for Olympics qualifiers
Middle-order’s test remains
With top-order proving its prowess, India’s middle-order will hope to get game time as hosts look to extend lead against West Indies
West Indies
in India
2nd odi
Visakhapatnam: Equipped
with a top-order that is riding
an unprecedented run of rich
form, India are favoured to
extend their dominance while
West Indies face insurmount-
able odds to draw parity, in
the second One-day Interna-
tional here Wednesday.
It has been a mismatch of
gigantic proportions so far
and it looks highly unlikely
that West Indies would have
much of a chance against the
well-oiled machine that India
seem to be at home.
If captain Virat Kohli adds
another 81 runs to his awe-
inspiring tally, he will become
the fastest man to 10,000 runs
in this format, surpassing the
iconic Sachin Tendulkar.
The possibility of this re-
cord being broken has added
to the excitement of the port
city’s frenzied fans.
Tendulkar took 259 in-
nings to get there and Kohli
has so far batted 204 times.
Notwithstanding the Indi-
an bowlers’ profligate display,
albeit on a belter, the home
team made easy work of what
looked like a stiff 323-run tar-
get in the series opener, tak-
ing a 1-0 lead in the five-match
rubber.
In Guwahati, India un-
leashed their batting might as
Kohli and opener Rohit Shar-
ma, arguably the two best
batsmen in the 50-over game
at the moment, smashed big
hundreds in quick time.
Finishing the game with
eight overs to spare was a
statement of sorts, and an-
other blow to the West Indies’
morale.
However, despite the con-
vincing margin of victory,
India will be better off with a
bit of frugality from their
bowlers at the Dr. YS Ra-
jasekhara Reddy ACA VDCA
Cricket Stadium.
Besides, India are unlikely
to get enough opportunities
to test their middle-order
against this West Indies at-
tack, what with the home
team’s top three batsmen in
the mood to plunder runs.
But the lack of enough
‘I play domestic cricket with same intensity’ Indian cricket works
New Delhi: Standing at the
crossroads in his interna-
tional career, Ajinkya Ra-
hane won’t let intensity drop
when he comes back to
bump and grind of domestic
cricket.
The Test vice-captain, who
has not played an ODI since
February, needs something
special to draw attention of
the selectors as he leads India
C in the Deodhar Trophy.
Time is is running out fast
with India left with just 17
ODI matches before it plays
its first World Cup match in
Different shades of Ron: Juventus’ Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo gestures during a press conference in in Manchester on Monday —Reuters/AFP
“I’m very happy. My law-
yers, they are confident and
of course I am, too. The most
important, is I enjoy the foot-
ball, I enjoy my life. The rest,
I have people who take care
of my life.
“Of course, the truth is
always coming in the first po-
sition.”
Christiansen declined
comment. Attorneys Leslie
Mark Stovall and Larissa
India’s MS Dhoni picks up his gear before a nets session on eve of the second ODI against West Indies in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday —AP
Batting in middle-order
not new for me: Rayudu
Visakhapatnam: Anointed
as India’s number four in the
ODI format with the World
Cup in mind, Ambati Ray-
udu on Tuesday said the re-
sponsibility does not pres-
surise him at all.
“Not really,” Rayudu
said when asked if
he is feeling any
pressure three days
after skipper Virat
Kohli backed
him for the po-
sition.
game-time for their middle-
order may not hold India in
good stead in the run-up to
the World Cup.
As far as the upcoming
match is concerned, Kohli
Ajinkya Rahane
England.
“After coming from inter-
national cricket, you’ve got to
have the same attitude and
I know I am an example. I know, 100 per cent.
On the pitch and outside the pitch
Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese footballer
Drohobyczer, representing
Mayorga, did not immedi-
ately respond to messages.
Ronaldo previously had
confronted the allegations in
an Instagram video posted
October 3, hours after the suit
tennis Caroline Wozniacki revives
her WTA Finals title defence with a third set
masterclass against Petra Kvitova. She wins
7-5 3-6 6-2 in two hours and 19 minutes
The Hyderabad batsman
added, “To be very honest, I
am just focused on this series
at the moment and not really
thinking too far ahead.
“I don’t think it
is new for me as
I have been bat-
ting in the mid-
dle order for
long. There is
nothing new
that they have
asked me to do,”
Rayudu said. —PTI
knows his team is thin in the
bowling department, and
West Indies made full use of
the weakness, though the
visiting team’s attack too,
was taken to the task under
the same intensity when you
go on to the field,” Rahane
told reporters after a training
session, ahead of clash
against India ‘B’.
Rahane, who has repre-
sented India in 52 Tests, still
considers himself a student
of the game. “I always believe
that you are always a student.
When you step on to the field,
you learn something or the
other each and every day. The
attitude which I bring in in-
ternational cricket, I want to
continue with that and help
my team always because
was filed.
“Fake. Fake news,” the
five-time world player of the
year said at that time.
Asked about his status as
a football role model, the
33-year-old Ronaldo said: “I
n zone
81
No of runs Virat Kohli
needs to become the
fastest man to reach
10,000 runs, surpassing Sachin
Tendulkar.
did you know?
Wednesday’s match will be
India and West Indies’ third
encounter at Dr Y.S. Ra-
jasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA
Cricket Stadium, with one
win each. India won the first
meeting on December 2,
2011, by five wickets while
Windies won the second by
two wickets
lights.
For West Indies, pace
spearhead Kemar Roach is
back after missing the Test
series due to bereavement in
the family, but he could not
when you help your team you
automatically do well.”
Attitude is key when a
player comes a notch down in
terms of quality of competi-
tion, he said.
“I am not thinking about
individual performances or
outcomes, it’s all about play-
ing with a good attitude in
domestic cricket and sending
a good message.”
While players in three
teams are vying for national
recognition, Rahane’s advise
to contenders is to control
just the controllable. —PTI
know I am an example. I
know, 100 per cent. On the
pitch and outside the pitch.
So I am always smiling, I am
happy man. I’m blessed that I
play in a fantastic club, I have
a fantastic family, I have four
kids, I am healthy. I have eve-
rything.
“So the rest, it doesn’t in-
terfere on me,” he added, be-
fore saying with a smile: “I’m
very, very well.” —AP
Squads
India: Virat Kohli (Captain),
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dha-
wan, Ambati Rayudu, Manish
Pandey, MS Dhoni, Rishabh
Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzv-
endra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav,
Mohammed Shami, Khaleel
Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, KL
Rahul
West Indies: Jason Holder
(Captain), Fabian Allen, Sunil
Ambris, Devendra Bishoo,
Chanderpaul Hemraj, Shimron
Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri
Joseph, Ashley Nurse, Keemo
Paul, Rovman Powell, Kemar
Roach, Marlon Samuels,
Oshane Thomas
inspire the team first up.
Roach will get another op-
portunity on Wednesday, and
so will the likes of Devendra
Bishoo, and skipper Jason
Holder himself. —PTI
on perceptions: Ash
New Delhi: Ravichandran
Ashwin would not get into the
debate if the wrist spinners
are more effective than the
finger spinners, saying the
theories floated in Indian
cricket are based on “percep-
tions”.
Ashwin is currently not in
India’s ODI scheme of things
with Yuzvendra Chahal and
Kuldeep Yadav being regular
feature for past 1 year.
Ask him about this wrist vs
finger spinner debate, Ash-
win’s answer was laced with
sarcasm. “Like they say, world
spins and everything will spin
around. It’s only matter of
time as more often than not
Indian cricket is built mostly
on perceptions,” Ashwin said
on on Tuesday.
India’s fourth highest wick-
et-taker in Test cricket, the
eloquent Ashwin made it
clear that he doesn’t have time
for critics, who have dissected
his bowling over the years.
Questioned if he agrees
that in Test a spinner’s suc-
cess depends on stock ball, he
replied:”If you are successful,
people will say it’s right. If
you are not successful, people
will have an opinion.
“For the better part of my
150 wickets, experts kept on
saying that I was trying varia-
tions....when I knew I wasn’t
doing it. These are opinion
created by people for which I
have to give answer to. I don’t
Like they say, world spins and everything will
spin around. It’s only matter of
time as more often than not
Indian cricket is built mostly on
perceptions
R Ashwin, India off-spinner
INDIA VS West Indies
2nd ODI, Dr YSR Reddy Cricket Stadium, Vizag
Live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports Hindi 1, 01.20pm
india likely to go in with same xi
team news
India: After the previous win
in Guwahati, the Indian captain
Virat Kohli will be in no mood to
come up with any changes in the
XI. However, this time Kohli has
chosen not to name the 12 like the
previous instances
Key contest
Virat Kohli vs Devendra Bishoo
After a century in previous game, Virat Kohli
would look to cash on another oportunity, where
he needs just 81 runs to reach 10,000. West Indies leggie Devendra
Bishoo will look to get his scalp once again.
HEAD TO HEAD: Played: 122, India: 57, West Indies: 61, NR: 3, Tie: 1
Pitch report: The wickets in
ODIs have been flat.
It won’t be anything
different.
Weather report: It’s going to
be partly cloudy in the
afternoon with 69 per
cent humidity.
Looked up to Lara,
reveals Hetmyer
Visakhapatnam: West Indi-
an swashbuckler Shimron
Hetmyer on Tuesday said he
looked up to the great Brian
Lara and thanked his
country’s legends for
backing youngsters
like him to “keep trying”
despite the fact that the
islands’ plummeting
graph in cricket has
refused to head north.
The 21-year-old
Hetmyer bludg-
eoned his way to a
78-ball 106 in the
first ODI against
India in Guwahati,
redeeming himself
after a disastrous
Test series, in
which he
managed just
50 runs across
have time for that anymore as
I want to enjoy my game,” he
said.
Has he buried the ghosts of
his away series record? “It’s
for you guys to say as I don’t
care anymore.” But one could
sense a bit of anger when he
said about how he has battled
his own benchmarks.
“I am always battling
benchmarks that I have cre-
ated for myself. Unfortunately
people don’t take that into ac-
count and I don’t expect them
to do it. That’s never been an
Indian way and I am not wor-
ried about it.
“I am still taking 5-6 wick-
ets per Test and way more
matured than what I was 25-27
months back.” He then gave
an example.
“During a Test match in
Sydney (2014), experts said a
spinner should go for wickets
and when I went for wickets,
they said I should be bowling
tight and give break to fast
bowlers. Now this is the wall
I hit all the time. So the battle
is within me as I can’t keep
looking outside.”
He praised Kuldeep Yadav
but had a word of caution.
“Kuldeep has leg break, goog-
ly and ability to deceive bats-
men. But challenge starts as
batsmen will start reading
him better. That’s when he
will need to adapt but we have
good support system in
place.” —PTI
10
West Indies: The West Indies
batting line-up put up a strong
performance in Guwahati, but their
bowlers floundered. Jason Holder
may choose to continue with the
same XI. At the most he could
bring in a new bowler.
Watchability quo-
7 tient: (1-3: Forget it;
4-7: If there is nothing
else to watch; 8 and
above: try not to miss it)
Punter Point: India
1.10, West Indies 7.00
four innings at 12.50.
“I did look up to Brian
Lara when I used to
watch cricket, but most
of it (shots) comes natu-
rally to me. I am a natu-
ral stroke-player and try
to play each ball on
merit,” Hetmyer said
during a chat after a
training session.
“I have spoken to
a few legends in the
past, they are quite
fun actually, easy
going — Lance
Gibbs, Sir Viv Rich-
ards and Brian
Lara, Some of the
other stars, too. Know-
ing that they are back-
ing you makes me feel
good,” he said.
—PTI
Vihari, Nadeem
fashion India
‘B’s victory
New Delhi: Hanuma Vihari
and left-arm spinner Shahbaz
Nadeem produced match-
winning efforts to guide India
B to a 43-run win in their De-
odhar Trophy opener, spoil-
ing a fighting 99 from India A
captain Dinesh Karthik here
on Tuesday.
Vihari made an unbeaten
87 off 95 balls and shared a 99-
run stand for the fourth wick-
et with Manoj Tiwary (52 off
58) to guide India B to 261 for
eight after opting to bat.
Later, Nadeem, who
opened the bowling, picked
up three crucial wickets in-
cluding that of Karthik (99
off 114) to tilt the game in his
team’s favour, following a 123-
run sixth wicket stand be-
tween the wicketkeeper bats-
man and R Ashwin (54 off 76)
kept India A in the game at
least till the 44th over.
Nadeem ended with fig-
ures of three for 32 in 10 overs
and got good support from
leg-spinner Mayank Mar-
kande (4/48) and lead pacer
Varun Aaron (2/45).
Chasing 262 in the good
batting conditions, India A
were dealt a double blow with
Nadeem trapping Prithvi
Shaw and Karun Nair off con-
secutive balls in the third
over.
While Nair’s LBW was a
straight forward call, Shaw
was unfortunate as it ap-
peared that the the teenage
sensation had edged the ball
before it struck his pads. —PTI
Brief scores: India B 261/8 in 50
overs (M Agarwal 46, S Iyer 41, H Vi-
hari 87*, M Tiwary 52) beat India A 218
all out in 46.4 overs (D Karthik 99, R
Ashwin 54; M Markande 4/48, S Na-
deem 3/32) by 43 runs
 sP rt
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11
Ahmedabad I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018 I daily news & analysis

Messi-less Barca seek

hot on heels
U Mumba thrash
Telugu Titans
Siddharth Desai pro-
duced a terrific raiding
performance to guide U
Mumba to a comfortable
41-20 win over Telugu Ti-
tans in the Inter Zone
Challenge Week of Pro
Kabaddi League in Pune.
Rahul Chaudhari created
history by becoming the
first man to score 700
raid points in Pro Kabad-
di but couldn’t save his
team from a defeat. Desai
scored 17 points and
made life difficult for the
Titans’ defence through-
out the match.
ISL, I-League
merger soon?
Restructuring of the
country’s domestic foot-
ball is on the cards next
year with Mohun Bagan
and East Bengal likely to
play in the Indian Super
League from the 2019-20
season, according to offi-
cials. Asked why Church-
ill Brothers were not rel-
egated from the I-League
last season, AIFF vice-
president Subratta Dutta
said, “Now that the re-
support cast to step up
Barcelona: Ernesto Val-
verde has challenged Barce-
lona to miss the injured Li-
onel Messi while they are
winning without him.
Barca face Inter Milan on
Wednesday without their
star striker, who is expected
to be out for three weeks after
fracturing his arm against
Sevilla on Saturday.
Messi’s absence comes at
a bad time, given his team
face Inter in the Champions Barcelona players train during the eve of the game —Reuters
League before the first ‘Cla-
sico’ of the season against Playing today
Real Madrid on Sunday. Club Brugge vs Monaco (Sony Ten 1, 10.25pm), Liverpool vs Red
“It is clear it will affect us Star Belgrade (Sony Ten 1, 12.30am), PSV vs Tottenham (Sony Ten 2,
a lot,” Barcelona coach Val- 10.25pm), Barcelona vs Inter Milan (Sony Ten 2, 12.30am), Dortmund
verde said on Tuesday. “But vs Atletico Madrid (Sony ESPN, 12.30am), PSG vs Napoli (Sony Ten 3,
at the same time it is a chance 12.30am)
to prove our-
selves with- FORM GUIDE Head-to-head
out him.
“We have
important
Barcelona 3
Barcelona
W D W D L
6
matches and a
lot of motiva-
tion going into
them. It is a period for us with- Inter Milan Played
While Bajrang Punia has worked hard on physical aspect of his game, his leg defence is cause of concern; (below) Punia with his silver medal —AP
out Messi and we want to miss
him while we’re winning.” WWWWW 2
Draws
1
Inter Milan

Major chink in Bajrang’s

structuring is going to Barca have been accused
happen, we thought of ‘Messidependencia’, an
there was no harm in re- over-reliance on the Argen-
taining Churchill Broth- tinian, who inspired them to
n zone
did you know?

8
ers (for this upcoming a 4-2 victory over Tottenham No. of goals Barcelona have Philippe Coutinho had played
season) as relegating in their last Champions scored in their 2 Champions for Inter Milan between 2010

them would see no repre-
sentation from the whole
of West India.”
India women take
on Pakistan
The Indian under-19
women’s football team
will be up against Paki-
stan in its opening match
of the AFC Champion-
ship Qualifier in Chon-
buri, Thailand, on
Wednesday. Although
both the teams played in
the SAFF U-18 champion-
ships, they did not face
each other in Bhutan
earlier this month. While
India topped their group
ever-growing armour
Despite new-found strength at Worlds, Indian’s leg defence remains weak
Chander Shekhar Luthra
shekhar.luthra@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: An unprecedent-
ed 2018 for Bajrang Punia
came to an end with a silver
in the 65kg freestyle division
at the 2018 World Wrestling
Championships in Budapest
in his kitty.
He needs to work on that leg defence. attacks to Punia’s right leg
and managed to get points on
He has improved upon his strength. seven accounts.
But once the opponent grabs your “He needs to work on that
leg, it’s very difficult to defend leg defence,” Punia’s long-
time coach Yogeshwar Dutt
Yogeshwar Dutt, Punia’s long-time coach said. “He has improved upon
his strength. But once the op-
ponent grabs your leg, it’s
ture of the traditional Indian the chinks in his ever-grow- very difficult to defend. He
League outing.
“I don’t really give any
thought to ‘Messidepenen-
cia’,” Valverde said. “If Mes-
si plays, it is obvious he will
influence the style of the
team. We depend on Messi,
like we do other players, but
Messi is the best.”
With Messi out, Valverde
could bring in Ousmane
Dembele at the Camp Nou,
the 21-year-old who enjoyed a
bright start to the season but
has lost his place in recent
weeks. “Anyone can lose the
ball, the problem is the reac-
tion you have afterwards,”
Valverde said. —AFP
League games so far in
this season
Klopp looks up to Kop for inspiration
Liverpool: Liverpool man-
ager Juergen Klopp has
called on the Anfield crowd
to make the difference dur-
ing his side’s Champions
League clash at home to
Red Star Belgrade on
Wednesday. Klopp said the
atmosphere at Anfield —
where the fans in the Kop
stand are famous for get-
ting behind the team —
and 2013
could be Liverpool’s secret
weapon. “We need to be
ready for a really hard
fight,” he told reporters.
“We need to be ready to
fight for every little square
of space with all we have
and we need the crowd. We
learned last year that the
atmosphere can make the
difference and we have to
make sure of that again.”

Aubameyang, Ozil strike as

and went on to clinch the
bronze medal, Pakistan
finished at the bottom.
Prajnesh makes
The 24-year-old has en- style, which he has inherited ing armoury. needs to work hard now dur-
joyed a great run over the last from his coach and former To start with, Punia was ing this upcoming off sea-
12 months, winning the Com- Olympic medallist Yogesh- slow to react to his 19-year- son,” the London Olympics
monwealth Games (CWG) as war Dutt, and the power- old opponent. The initial 5-0 silver medallist added.

Arsenal extend winning run

well as the Asian Games gold
winning start before losing the Worlds title
Prajnesh Gunneswaran bout to a technically superior
made a winning start at Japanese wrestler Takuto
the Liuzhou Challenger Otoguro 9-16.
in China but it was cur- Many would argue that
packed Russian mix of
strength and technique that
is usually found in Georgian
as well as Iranian wrestlers.
The Haryana grappler has
worked hard on the physical
lead taken by the Japanesem
who was a perfect blend of
power and technique, proved
too much for Punia.
Punia was quick to re-
spond but the Japanese, a
With the 2020 Tokyo Olym-
pics in sight, Punia will need
to overcome the deficiency.
“Bajrang is experienced
now. He just needs to work on London: Arsenal substitute n zone
Pierre-Emerick Aubamey-

10
his fitness and ensure that he
No. of matches Arsenal
tains for Ramkumar Ra- such a scoreline was a huge aspect of his game under former cadet world champi- stays injury-free till 2020 ang scored twice in three
are now unbeaten in
manathan and Sumit Na- setback for the Indian grap- Bentinidis, something that on, had read him too well. Olympics. Bajrang has every- minutes and captain Mesut
across all competitions
gal, who yet again fell at pler. However, there was a big was evident during his bouts In a nutshell, the Japa- thing to win a medal there,” Ozil played a starring role as
the first hurdle. Prajnesh, positive to take away. during the Worlds. nese was more throughout in added Dutt. they extended their winning
who ended runners-up at The way Punia narrowly Although it seemed his approach that kept in Punia needs to be aware run with a 3-1 victory over After falling behind to a
the Ningbo Challenger won his quarterfinals like the Japanese had check the Indian’s physical that unlike at the Worlds, the Leicester City in the Premier Hector Bellerin own goal past
last week, downed bout against Mongolia’s managed to sort Pu- style of grappling. Olympics will have fewer di- League on Monday. the half-hour mark, Arsenal
Frenchman Johan Tatlot Tulga Tumur Ochir 5-3 or nia out even before One could well see coach visions and categories. Thus, Substitute Aubameyang grew into the game and Ozil
6-4 7-5 in his opening clinched the semifinal the fight by not al- Bentinidis yelling “attack, at- many champion names would was in the right place to tap stroked in an equaliser off
round of the USD 50,000 against Cuba’s Alejandro lowing the Indian to tack” from the corner. But either increase or decrease into an empty net in the 63rd Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil celebrates the post just before halftime.
hard court event. Enrique Valdes Tobier use his power- Punia looked a bit confused their weights to get into the minute to give Arsenal after scoring his goal —AFP Ozil, who was skipper for
4-3 was a result of packed tac- in his mind on whether to at- 65kg category in Japan. And the lead and was on the night, hit a left-footed
Indian girls falter his new-found tics, this tack or defend against his that would certainly make hand to finish a team tions to 10 games and first-time shot past goalkeep-
at Asian event strength under setback much agile opponent. Punia’s job a lot tougher in move in the 66th that rose to fourth with 21 er Kaspar Schmeichel after
Indian girls had a poor his new person- will only The 19-year-old Otoguro Tokyo than in Budapest. was orchestrated by points from nine surging from the halfway line
day and eight of them al coach, Shako make Pu- was constantly unsettling But the good thing is that at Ozil, who had scored games, two points be- and exchanging passes with
went down without Bentinidis nia more Punia by attacking his legs, a 24, he has age on his side, the their first goal to put hind Manchester City Bellerin. —Reuters
much of a fight in the from Georgia. deter- vulnerability of the Indian. experience of two Worlds med- them level. and Liverpool and level Stopwatch: Arsenal 3 (Ozil 45,
2nd Asian B1 Junior Ten- Punia is mined to Throughout the bout, als and the expertise of two Arsenal stretched their with third-placed Chelsea and Aubameyang 63, 66) bt Leicester
nis Championship. now a fine mix- rectify Otoguro made over a dozen quality coaches behind him. winning streak in all competi- Tottenham Hotspur in fifth. 1 (Bellerin 31-og)
Eighth seed Mai Napatt
Nirundorn of Thailand
knocked out national
junior champion and
wild card entrant
Ritu, Navjot lose but Delhi goalie stands tall to deny Chennai Sindhu avenges
loss to Zhang,
medal hopes alive
Sharannya Gaware 6-1
DNA Correspondent
enters Round 2
6-0. Japanese Saki Imam- looked to be in the mood to
ura ousted India No. 3 sports@dnaindia.net score as the trickster surged
Salsa Aher 6-4 6-3. up the field from midfield be-
Budapest: Ritu Phogat and year, began with a close 5-4 Mumbai: Goalkeeper Fran- fore taking aim from 40 yards.
Indian Navy Navjot Kaur managed to win win against Ukraine’s Ilona cisco Dorronsoro delivered a His piledriver lacked enough
crowned champs just one bout each but their Prokopevniuk but lost the quality show as Delhi Dyna- force to trouble Dorronsoro.
Local outfit Indian Navy hopes of making the medal quarterfinal 2-6 to Finland’s mos and Chennaiyin FC The Delhi goalkeeper was
rallied in the second half round at the World Champion- Petra Maarit Olli. played out a goalless draw in called into action again five
to overcome Central Sec- ship were still alive as both of With Petra making the gold a Indian Super League match minutes from half-time. A
retariat of Delhi 2-1 and them progressed to the repe- medal match, Ritu progressed in New Delhi on defence-splitting through-
lift the India Guru Tegh chage round here on Tuesday. to the repechage round. Tuesday. ball by Augusto released Car-
Bahadur hockey tourna- If Ritu has to emulate her In the 68kg, Navjot Kaur Chennaiyin los Salom behind the back-
ment on Tuesday. Navy elders sisters Geeta and Bab- has to clear two repechage FC had the line. The striker squared the
converted two penalty ita in wining a bronze at the rounds to make it to the better chanc- Delhi goalkeeper Francisco Dorronsoro makes a save on Tuesday ball to an unmarked Thoi
corners through Suman Worlds, she needs to first beat bronze medal match. First up es but could Singh who took a touch be- PV Sindhu
Kindo in the 37th minute Bulgaria’s Sofiya Hristova is Eunsil Jang and if she not beat the Andrea Orlandi could the highest to head a corner fore sending a powerful
and Jugraj Singh (55th Georgieva and then Japan’s manages to beat the Korean Spanish goalkeeper have opened the scoring for kick from Isaac V but Dor- strike that was kept out. Paris: India’s ace shuttler PV
minute) to turn the ta- Ayana Gempei. then she will have to fight it who refused to concede with Chennaiyin FC as early as ronsoro got down low to pull Playing today (Live on Star Sindhu breezed into the sec-
bles on the Delhi side. Ritu, who won an Asian out with Canada’s Olivia brilliant saves throughout the the second minute of the off a stunning reflex save. Sports 1 & 3): Goa FC vs Mum- ond round of the women’s
Championship bronze last Grace Di Bacco. —PTI match. match. The midfielder rose Raphael Augusto then bai City FC (7.30pm) singles event at French Open
after crushing Beiwen Zhang
in straight games for a re-
Battling on reigns, whose real name is joe, says he has been living with ailment for 11 years venge win here on Tuesday.
1 Sindhu, seeded third, dis-
posed off unseeded Zhang 21-

WWE star steps away from ring to fight leukemia

2 sports@dnaindia.net
3 step away from the ring to
Send in your answers to
sportsdna@gmail.com. Names of the
first 10 winners will be published tomorrow
DNA Correspondent
Mumbai: Roman Reigns,
one of WWE’s biggest stars,
has announced that he will
fight his real-life battle with
leukemia.
Reigns, whose real name is
Joe Anoa’i, made the shock-
ing revealation during Mon-
day’s episode of WWE Raw,
which ended in tears.
The 33-year-old American
also relinquished his WWE
Universal Championship title.
Reigns said he was origi-
nally diagnosed with the ail-
ment back in 2008, and al-
though he has been into re-
mission since, he said he can
Roman Reigns will give up his WWE Universal Championship title
no longer “be that fighting
champion”.
“... the reality is my name
is Joe and I’ve been living
with leukemia for 11 years
and unfortunately it’s back,”
17 21-8 in just 34 minutes to
avenge her loss at the hands
of the same opponent in the
opening round of the Den-
I want to make one thing clear: By no means is
tles and being on top, it’s
about a purpose.
mark Open last week.
By virtue of this win,
this a retirement speech because after “I’m coming back because Sindhu has managed to break
I’m done whipping leukemia’s a**, I am I want to show you all at her hat-trick of losses against
coming back home home and my family and my the American and equalled
children and my wife that the head-to-head record at 3-3.
 —Roman Reigns, American WWE star when life throws a curveball
at me, I will choke up and I
Sindhu started slowly as
Zhang took a marginal lead.
will swing for the fences But the Indian rode on her ag-
Reigns said during episode. faith,” he added. every single time. I will beat gressive approach to roar
“Because the leukemia is Roman, who is also a for- this and I will be back so you back to a 7-4.
back, I can’t fulfill my role. I mer American football play- will see me very, very soon,” It was neck-and-neck
can’t be that fighting cham- er, added that the announce- he added. thereafter till 16 points before
pion and I’m going to have to ment was by no means a “re- WWE issued a statement Sindhu seized the initiative
relinquish the Universal tirement speech”. saying that Reigns would be to pocket the first game 21-17.
Championship. “I want to make one thing “taking a leave of absence The second game too was
“I’m not going to lie, I’ll clear: By no means is this a from WWE” and that he is a close affair before world no.
take every prayer you can retirement speech because “taking his battle with leuke- 3 Sindhu upped her game to
send my way but I’m not after I’m done whipping leu- mia public in an effort to take a 11-6 lead. Zhang man-
looking for sympathy, I’m kemia’s a**, I’m coming raise awareness and funds for aged to garner two more
not looking for you to feel back home. And when I do, research in order to advance points before Sindhu sealed
bad for me because I have it’s not going to be about ti- cures for the disease”. the affair. —PTI
24
Wednesday
October
2018
Ahmedabad
www.dnaindia.com
Arjun likes
Malaika’s picture
Aamir besotted with
Katrina in Suraiyya
Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif in the song
Suraiyya from Thugs Of Hindostan
K
atrina Kaif
(Suraiyya) will cast
her spell on Aamir
Khan (Firangi) with
her hot dance moves in
Thugs Of Hindostan’s new
song Suraiyya. She is
shown as the most
beautiful girl in British
India, who has many men,
including Aamir, going
weak-kneed.
Choreographer
Prabhudheva has worked
tirelessly to design this
track that combines
Janhvi-Varun in an
What makes Sonam’s better half
B-Town’s coolest dresser? espionage thriller
Disclaimer: Note to reader: Some of the content/coverage that appear in our special ‘feature’ page/s may be paid for by the concerned brands. Such page/s will be appropriately declared as ‘features pages’ (e.g. reader engagement feature, etc.)
After walking hand-in-hand and dancing together on a TV show, Arjun Kapoor and
Malaika Arora, who are rumoured to be in a relationship, seem to be unstoppable.
The actress recently posted her picture against a graffiti wall with Love written on
it. She posted, “We found love in a hopeless place. He looks at me like nobody
does (sic)” And guess who liked it? Arjun. Now, we aren’t surprised.
traditional Indian dance
forms with intricate The song has
contemporary moves.
It will see Aamir, dressed been composed
by Ajay-Atul
as a British captain,
having the guts to woo
Katrina in a room filled
with English officers. The
while Shreya
peppy, humorous song, Ghoshal and
which shows off their
chemistry, has been Vishal Dadlani
composed by Ajay-Atul
have lent their
while Amitabh Bhattacha-
rya has penned its lyrics.
voices to it
Shreya Ghoshal and
Vishal Dadlani have lent
Manish D Mishra
S
tanding next to his
tall and statuesque
fashionista wife
Sonam K Ahuja,
businessman Anand S
Ahuja always manages to
hold his own with a
winsome confidence.
Forever flashing a friendly
smile at the shutterbugs, the
well-travelled fashion
entrepreneur is a far cry
from your typical Delhi boy.
His sneaker game is always
on point and his sunglasses
are spiffy. Relaxed-fit
T-shirts, comfy track
pants, sporty jumpers and
monochrome basics have
been his go-to closet
companions. Perhaps that
ease, wearable appeal
and comfort-driven
approach also reflect in
his premium high-street
label. If Sonam has shown
the ability to nail haute
couture like a pro, he off-
sets her with well-cut suits
— a case in point being the
couple’s appearance at the
Armani show at the Milan
Fashion Week last month.
Anand’s friends maintain
that he’s down-to-earth and
approachable, which also
mirror his personal style.
Stylist Divyak D’Souza
says, “He comes across as
someone who’s curious to
learn. Bhane is a basic
minimal fashion label,
which is an extension of his
personal style — tone-on-
tone pairing, an assembly of
tailored separates and clean
and minimal with an athlei-
sure spin. He wore a grey
tailored Chinese collar shirt
with trousers and looked
cool. I don’t think any
Bollywood actor can pull
it off.”
For the full story, log on to
www.dnaindia.com
R
their voices to this
number, which is likely
to be a chartbuster.
Vijay Krishna Acharya,
director of Thugs Of
Hindostan, said, “Suraiyya
gives a sneak peek into the
flirtatious relationship
between Firangi and
Suraiyya. While she is
Hindostan’s most famous
performer, he is an equally
cunning man whom she
doesn’t trust. They are
an odd pair but share
a fun chemistry.”
(Left to right) Anand S Ahuja goes tone on tone,
seen in an Indie look and spotted with
wife Sonam K Ahuja at the Armani show in Milan
After
Ranveer to take
3 weeks off?
The actor is likely to go on leave for his impending nuptials
Nayandeep Rakshit
anveer Singh and
Deepika Padukone,
who have been seeing
each other for the last
six years, will tie the knot
on November 14-15 at Lake
Como, Italy, with only family
members and close friends
in attendance.
Deepika, who hasn’t
signed a single movie after
Padmaavat, has kept her
schedule free. Her next film
directed by Meghna Gulzar
begins early next year. But
Ranveer has two releases in
quick succession — Rohit
Shetty’s Simmba, which hits
the marquee on December
28 and Zoya Akhtar’s Gully
Boy that opens in cinemas
on February 14, 2019.
However, the Padmaavat
star has reportedly managed
to take three weeks off from
his busy working schedule
for his impending nuptials.
Our source reveals, “He
had informed Rohit about
his marriage plans much
earlier. The filmmaker had
worked out the shooting and
film promotion schedules
accordingly. The actor will
be on leave from November
10 and fly to Italy for the
wedding. Then, he and DP
will come back for two
grand receptions — one will
A
Hear,
Hear
Apparently,
the actor will
be on leave from
November 10 and fly
to Italy for the
wedding. Then, he
and DP will come
back for two grand
receptions — one in
Bengaluru for their
family and the other
in Mumbai for their
industry friends
A source
be a family affair in
Bengaluru while the other
will be in Mumbai for their
industry friends.”
After the two big bashes,
the couple will take off for
their honeymoon to an
undisclosed location. The
source adds, “Following
this, Ranveer will kick-start
promotions for Simmba
from the first week of
December. After its release,
the two might fly off for
another holiday to ring in
Deepika’s birthday, which is
on January 5 and will
Ranveer Singh
return to complete their
other work commitments.”
Straying actor grounded by wife
young actor pair, who played onscreen lovers in their movie, also got carried away with each
other in real life. All the world likes a lover and many around them are encouraging their
escapades. However, there is one glitch. The boy is married and when his wife learnt that he
was serenading his heroine in real life too, she threw a massive fit. Her family also stepped in and
told the boy to keep his hands in his pocket every time he sees his heroine in flesh and blood. As
of now, things have quietened down a bit. But who knows when passion takes over!
Janhvi Kapoor Varun Dhawan
Nayandeep Rakshit Shashank. While Varun Janhvi, who played the
A
has collaborated with him girl-next-door in Dhadak
fter Hrs was the for the Dulhania franchise, earlier this year, will be
first to tell you that Janhvi made her debut this seen in a different avatar.
Shashank Khaitan year with Dhadak, under Our source adds, “She will
had put his his direction. When we undergo rigorous training
ambitious project contacted the young film- and perform some heavy-
Rannbhoomi on hold and maker, he told us, “I’m still duty stunts.”
would direct an espionage writing the script and will
thriller instead with be sure about the Filming begins next
Varun Dhawan in casting once it’s year
the lead. completed. But Varun will start shooting
Now, we have Varun is for Remo D’souza’s dance
learnt that definitely on.”  flick early next year.
Janhvi Kapoor Previously, he had commit-
has been A different ted dates to Shashank for
zeroed in for role for Rannbhoomi, right after
the heroine’s Shashank Khaitan Janhvi Remo’s film. Now, in that
role. A source will direct the film The actor essays span, he will shoot for this
says, “Shashank the role of a spy in actioner. Janhvi has KJo’s
and Karan Johar the film, which is period drama, Takht, lined
(who is backing the project) being modelled on the high- up next. Our source tells
wanted a new jodi for the ly-acclaimed Bourne series. us, “Takht goes on floors
film. They felt Janhvi Several international around August 2019, so
would be a perfect fit.” stunt experts will be roped Janhvi is likely to shoot
Interestingly, both the in to design the action for this Varun-starrer in
actors have worked with sequences. April-May next year.”
 After
Etc daily news & analysis
Ahmedabad I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018
13
Ajay, Tabu and Rakul The grand launch of GoCeleb
groove to a recreated
Punjabi number
R
ecently, After Hrs had told you about Ajay Devgn, Tabu and Ra-
kul Preet Singh shooting a promotional dance track for their
upcoming film De De Pyaar De. While the song won’t be part of
the romcom, it will be added to the end credits. Now,
we can tell you that the number that the three actors have
shot is a recreated version of Garry Sandhu’s Yeah
Baby, which is also titled Tera Lakh Na Maroda Kha
Jave in Punjabi. “It’s an upbeat dance number and
the lead cast will be seen grooving on it,” adds our
source.

Celebrity guests and the team of the portal

T
he GoCeleb portal that went live recently,
held a media brief at Surat. The conference
was attended by a number of TV and Film
celebrities — Rimi Sen, Pooja Chopra,
Manjari Fadnnis, Rajesh Kumar, Nitish Bharti to
name a few. The website was also the celebrity
partner of a grand Navratri celebration in India
at Sarsana, Surat. Manish Nair, CEO, added that
the portal was coming up with web series,
channels, casting, equipment hire and location
scouting support system in near future.
GoCeleb has also introduced a multi-city
membership, which will include exclusive
experience of movies, dramas, concerts, New
Year’s dos and many other events. Group CEO,
Vinod Dhakre, said the portal is going to help the
market grow. The portal is conceptualised by
Chirag Shah, who has worked in showbiz for 20 Rimi Sen, Manjari Fadnnis and Pooja Chopra
Ajay Devgn Tabu Rakul Preet Singh years.

pick your brain crossword hidato Baby Blues

Down 18 In front (5)
1 Six-line stanza 19 Attempt (3)
(6) 20 Bond creator
2 Characterised by Fleming (3)
nuclear fission 21 Winnie-the-
(6) Pooh’s creator
3 Acquires or (1,1,5)
procures (4) 22 Cloth fragment
4 Posy (7) (3)
5 Alternative if 23 Have different
things don’t opinions (6)
work out (5) 24 Eye part (4)
6 Farewell (5) 25 Famous temple
8 Sci-fi author site (6)
Frederik (4) 26 Correspond (5) The Pajama Dairies
9 Posed (3) 27 Each day (5)
12 Muslim festival 28 Little old lady,
(3) acronym ? (3)
13 Sporting sides 30 Not (4)
(5)
15 Direction indica-
tor (5)

Across 14 Strike or reach (3) 28 Actress Tyler (3)

1 Leapt (6) 16 Scoffs (5) 29 Slowly (6)
17 Silvery-white mineral (4) 30 Have __ ____ : Be totally The goal of Hidato is to fill the grid
7 Registered (8) with consecutive numbers that
8 Station (4) 19 Group of three (5) unafraid (2,4)
connect horizontally, vertically, or
10 Inventor ____ Alva Edison 21 Imposing arrangement (5) 31 Car manufacturer __ Romeo
diagonally from first to the last
(6) 22 Artificial fibre (5) (4)
number in the grid. The first and last
23 Partial darkness (4) 32 List of dates (8)
11 Handled (4,2)
26 Lady’s title (5) 33 Hamlet jester (6)
numbers of a puzzle and some other Tina’s Grove
numbers are already filled in.

spellathon How good is your vocabulary? Spell out sudoku

as many words of four or more letters
as you can from the letters in today’s To solve a Sudoku
diagram. In making a word, each letter puzzle, every digit
must be used only once and each word must appear once
must contain the letter in the centre. in: Each of the
There should be at least one nine-letter vertical columns;
word! Plurals, foreign words, and Each of the
proper nouns do not qualify. horizontal rows;
Rate yourself Each of the boxes.
18 Average; 20 Good; 23 Wow!

Tinkersons
crossword

mail, mall, mica

solutions

sudoku

lilac, lima, loam, loamy, local, loyal,

hidato

COMICALLY, lacy,
clay, coal, coca, coma, comical,
calmly, claim, clam,
alloy, ally, amyl, calico, call, calm,
spellathon

Marjorie Orr
Your year ahead will be a time of adjustment in close relationship, with more freedom being demanded on both sides. You won’t want to be tied down.
IF IT’S YOUR Money will be easier though you are likely to see your spending shoot up as well. Your everyday schedule at work and elsewhere will be challenging so
BIRTHDAY TODAY you will need to redouble your efforts to get your views across. Be persevering and remember to keep your sense of humour handy.

ARIES TAURUS GEMINI CANCER LEO VIRGO

Mar 21 - Apr 20
You feel rebellious today
because you don’t want to put
up with compromises
anymore. All the things you’ve
been gritting your teeth about and secretly
resenting. Relationships with those close
may not be very demonstrative, but their
loyalty is not in any doubt at all. The right
people will be there for you. When the
frivolous, fair weather friends disappear in
a puff of smoke, you know you still have
steadfast support.
Apr 21 - May 20
There may be fireworks in the
air in terms of everyone’s
mood. Today can be sparkling
and entertaining or it can be
disruptive and slightly risky. It just depends
how you handle the influences. Don’t try to
suppress what you want to say, but don’t
let it all out in too dramatic a way either.
You won’t be making unrealistic demands
of other people and neither are they of you,
so it’s a good time to discuss any
problems that come up.
May 21 - June 21
It’s important to let the restless
spirit within you come out.
Don’t feel obliged to be stuck
with anyone else’s agenda.
Stand up for what you want as an
individual. Popularity is not everything.
There’s a lovely balance around later which
means whichever direction you usually
lean evens up a little. You’re not getting
carried away by whims or taking risks.
You’re double-checking things, so you’re
not likely to get in a muddle.
June 22 - July 23
You have to be willing to open
up to some risk and grasp
new opportunities which come
along. Write down inspired
ideas when you have them. The highly
practical influences around today will
mean you tackle work projects in a fashion
that brings positive results. They’re good
for creative tasks as well, because you can
turn your dreams into reality make your
artistic talents and your imagination work
for you.
July 24 - August 23
There will be surprises in
relationships, which you will
cope with better if you treat
whatever happens as a
challenge and not a threat. If you cling on
too possessively, there’s a restless kind of
energy that’s going to break free one way
or another. Try to sit down with loved ones
to work out the rules of the relationship.
There needs to be a way of sorting things
out so that misunderstandings do not
occur again in the future.
Aug 24 - Sep 23
You want to throw everything
up in the air and create a stir.
But you may later think, “Ooh, I
wish I hadn’t said that,” or “I
wish I hadn’t done that,” because you’ll
want life to settle down to its normal pace
again. So make sure you don’t ruffle too
many feathers. But this is one of those
days when ought takes precedence over
want. Your love life may be more restrained
but it will bounce back to warmer climes
quickly.

LIBRA SCORPIO SAGITTARIUS CAPRICORN AQUARIUS PISCES

Write to Sept 24 - October 22
Marjorie Where close relationships are
Orr concerned, it’s not a time to
hang on to security at all costs
with your
and insist on keeping life the
queries at way it was. Open up to new experiences,
afterhrs@ don’t be stuck in a rut. If you do dig your
dnaindia. heels in too much then you may find
net someone makes a break for freedom.
www. Whereas if you hang loose you could find
star4cast. everyone brightens up. Maybe you feel
com you are unappreciated, but you have no
intention of letting it show.
Oct 23 - November 22
You feel restless and can’t be
bothered settling down to do
what anyone else wants. You
don’t want to put up with
others telling you to do this or that. They
may call you unco-operative, but you see
it as standing up for your rights. However,
you won’t mind pushing aside frivolities
and indulgences to get on with the things
that are really important. By the day’s end
you should be able to polish your halo and
feel very virtuous.
Nov 23 - Dec 22
Equipment may break down
with Uranus around today.
Fuses fly and tempers get
frayed. Just take everything
cautiously. Clearly there is not much you
can do to prevent it. Your love relationships
you could feel a bit separated, but not in
any very strong sense. There is just a
slight coolness in the air, perhaps because
duty is coming before pleasure. But you
will be happy to do whatever your
immediate situation demands.
Dec 23 - Jan 20
There may be arguments and
disagreements around today,
but you need to try to regard
them as useful. They will bring
hidden tensions out into the open and then
you can clear them out of the way. You’re
not going to be bouncing in and giving
everyone lots of hugs at the moment. This is
a time to deal with other people with dignity
and restraint. Older people especially will
appreciate your straightforward kindness
and concern for their practical needs.
Jan 21 - Feb 19
Early on in the day, you may be
rushing in where angels fear to
tread and then later wish you
hadn’t been so hasty about
things. Try to watch how you go. Don’t go
flying into action in too impulsive a way.
Pause for thought, count up to 25 and then
proceed steadily. Luckily, your coolly
sophisticated approach to life will reassert
itself later, so then you’ll get more work
done. You will be very diplomatic around
situations that require self-discipline.
Feb20 - March 20
Give yourself more elbow room
today. If you are around other
people you could feel too
crowded. You’ll suddenly leap
to conclusions and do something
impulsive, then later wonder why you did. It
is important to make up your mind what is
going to be good for you in the long term.
Planning is the name of the game. So you
will be avoiding any kind of distraction or
temptation. Today will be good for all the
things you usually find dreary.
 Why are we having Rs 2,000 and Rs 500
(notes)? If all your money (can be accessed) second
front
through an app, why should you pay (using
cash)? Abolish 500 and 2,000 (currency
notes). Then corruption will go.
—Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra Pradesh CM
page
14 www.dnaindia.com I twitter.com/dna I epaper.dnaindia.com I facebook.com/dnaindia Ahmedabad I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018 I daily news & analysis

‘Learn 22 languages in 22 days’ Bhagwat prays

snapshot
‘Congress was

for ‘Ramrajya’
always against
Ram Temple’ HRD’s language-a-day initiative in Kendriya Vidyalayas will celebrate Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net

New Delhi: An interesting 22

Yogi Adityanath, UP CM
People have their
1 own emotions and
sentiments on Ram
Janmabhoomi. I have always
maintained that public senti-
ments on the issue should
be respected. The fight for
Ayodhya is not from today
but the mammoth ‘Hindu
Samaj’ has been fighting for
the cause from 450 years.
I want to say that the
2 Congress has always
opposed (building the
temple at) Ram Janmabhoo-
mi. It never wanted the dis-
pute to be resolved because
the party has not done any
development and believed in
dividing the country.
Due to wrong polices
3 of the Congress the
country had to face
riots and flourishing insur-
gency. They have indulged
in appeasement politics, and
in the process destroyed the
social fabric.
Pandit Jawaharlal
4 Nehru once remarked
that he is an ‘ac-
cidental Hindu’. However,
we should consider now that
the his fourth generation has
proved him wrong.
Such people don’t
5
like the dream of Ek
Bharat and Shrestha
Bharat. These are the people
who talk about freedom of
Kashmir when they visit J&K
whereas when they come to
Chhattisgarh they look for
temples. —PTI
kick off on oct 31
„„Mandates students
be taught to speak the 22
sional headquarters while
the National School of Dra-
ma will organise a special
play on Sardar Patel.
at Pune temple
days await students in around Meanwhile, University
constitutionally-recognised
the 2,000 government-run Grants Commission (UGC)
Indian languages
Kendriya Vidyalayas across has asked Higher Education
the nation. As part of its ini- „„Aim is to empower Institutes, where NCC units
tiative to celebrate the Rash- students to be able to exist, to invite Army Officers/
triya Ekta Diwas on October speak simple sentences, Ex-Army Officers to give a talk
31 — the birth anniversary of help them connect to on national unity, integrity,
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel —
the HRD ministry has man-
far-off remote regions security and other related top-
ics. Alongside, the pledge — to
dated that students be taught „„Alongside, the pledge be taken on the day — has been
to speak the 22 constitutional- — to be taken on the day forwarded to the schools and
ly-recognised Indian languag- — has been forwarded higher education institutes
es, one every day. to the schools and higher and reads: “I solemnly pledge
The aim is to empower stu- education institutes that I dedicate myself to pre-
dents to be able to speak sim- Students of KVs will be taught the 22 constitutionally-recognised languages serve the unity, integrity and
ple sentences and help them security of the nation and also Video grab of Bhagwat performing the Abhishek prayer on Tuesday
connect to other far off re- Additionally, various gov- liament Street will be flagged taking in all Indian Missions strive hard to spread this mes-
mote regions in the country ernment departments and of by Home Minister Rajnath along with essay/quiz compe- sage among my fellow coun- Anurag Bende The visit was long
so that a student in Tamil PSUs are making arrange- Singh, along the way paying titions, debates, short films, trymen. I take this pledge in anurag.bende@dnaindia.net
Nadu can converse in simple
Kashmiri, while a student in
ments to mark the day with
full gaiety and colour. In Del-
floral tributes to the statue of
Sardar Patel. The Ministry of
photo exhibition, etc.
The Ministry of Railways
the spirit of unification of my
country which was made pos- Pune: In what could be seen
overdue. Today,
it was the right
Punjab can hold his own when hi, a run from Major External Affairs (MEA) is also is also organising a March sible by the vision and actions as his follow up to the Dusseh- time to visit the temple
spoken to in Malayalam. Dhynachand Stadium to Par- planning to organise a pledge- Past at its Zonal and Divi- of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.” ra speech where he raked up
the Ram Temple issue, Rash-
and I performed full-
triya Swayamsevak Sangh fledged prayers.
At UN, sarod maestro to floating ties (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat
on Tuesday offered special
prayers at Pune’s famous
Mohan Bhagwat,
RSS chief
pay homage to Gandhi Shreemant Dagdusheth Hal-
wai Ganpati. The prayers was
for the construction of Ram
temple as early as possible.
Rahurkar, he admitted that
some chants were for the Ram
United Nations: Soulful mu- at the General Assembly hall at Bhagwat was in Pune to at- Temple and Ramrajya. He
sic from the strings of the the world body’s headquarters. tend the half-hour Abhishek said, “It was Abhishek for the
sarod will reverberate in the The concert’s theme this or special prayers at the fa- lord Ganpati and through this
iconic General Assembly hall year is ‘Traditions of Peace mous Ganpati temple. Speak- prayer, Bhagwat sought his
on Wednesday as maes- and Non-violence.’ Ex- ing later, Bhagwat did not re- blessings for the betterment
tro Amjad Ali Khan
pays homage to Ma-
pressing his gratitude to
the Permanent Mission
veal details of the reason for
the prayers and cryptically
of the universe and to achieve
peace in the entire society.”
hatma Gandhi at an of India to the UN for said, “The visit was long over- However, in a bid to steer
annual concert, with sponsoring this year’s due. Today, it was the right clear of controversy, he clari-
the UN chief Antonio UN Day Concert, Gu- time to visit the temple and I fied that Bhagwat had not
Guterres underscoring terres said in his mes- performed full-fledged asked him to perform prayers
that the message of sage that this year’s prayers.” for any particular reason.
“can Amjad Ali Khan concert theme of Tradi-
non-violence Soon after, a video went Previously, there was con-
change history.” tions of Peace and Non- viral where Bhagwat was troversy over Bhagwat’s
The Permanent Mission of violence is one that holds spe- seen following the verses Dussehra speech in Nagpur
India to the UN is hosting the cial meaning to him, particu- chanted by the priest. Bhag- on October 19, where he had
UN Day Concert 2018, which will larly after his visit to India wat could also be heard men- said that the government
feature performance by the sa- earlier this month. The UN tioning ‘Ramrajya’ and Ram should not test the patience
rod maestro and his sons Amaan Chief said Gandhi would have INS Rana, a destroyer prepares to dock at Manila’s South Harbor for a four-day port call at sunset on Tuesday in temple while performing the of the society and pass a law
Ali and Ayaan Ali along with the been “heartened” to see that Manila, Philippines. The Indian multi-role guided missile destroyer, with a crew of more than 300 and commanded prayer. to authorise the construction
Refugee Orchestra Project con- India is sponsoring a night of by Capt. Atul Deswal, is here on a routine port call aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries. —AP When DNA contacted the of Ram temple in Ayodhya at
ducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya peace at the UN. —PTI priest, identified as Milind the earliest possible.

India summons Pak official to Top court to hear Sabarimala review pleas
protest loss of soldiers’ lives on Nov 13, just 4 days before it reopens
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: India on Tuesday
lodged a strong protest with a
Pakistan High Commission of-
ficial who was summoned to
the MEA and a démarche was
delivered over repeated cease-
fire violations and well as ongo-
ing infiltration by Pakistani
forces along the LoC that re-
cently claimed the lives of three
soldiers. They died while fight-
ing to prevent an infiltration
bid by Pakistani terrorists in
the Sunderbani sector of Jam-
mu and Kashmir two days ago.
The Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA), in a statement,
said it also condemned in the
strongest terms such a pro-
vocative action by Pakistan,
which revealed the neighbour-
ing country’s complicity in
aiding and abetting terrorism
and exposed the hollowness of
its deceitful claims of promot-
ing a constructive engagement
with India. “It was informed
that two Pakistani armed in-
truders have been killed by the
Indian security forces during
the ensuing firefight and the
government of Pakistan
should take custody of the
dead bodies of its nationals,”
the MEA said. “Despite repeat-
ed calls for restraint and ad-
A soldier stands guard in Srinagar
Despite repeated
calls for restraint,
Pakistan forces
have carried out 1,591
incidents of unprovoked
ceasefire violations along
the LoC and IB in 2018.
Ministry of External Affairs
herence to the ceasefire under-
standing of 2003, Pakistan
forces have carried out 1,591
incidents of unprovoked cease-
fire violations along the LoC
and IB in 2018 so far,” the MEA
said. Pakistan was also asked
to abide by its bilateral com-
mitment not to allow any terri-
tory under its control to be
used for supporting terrorism
against India in any manner, it
added.
I will extend
friendship post
’19 polls: Khan
Riyadh/Islamabad: Prime
Minister Imran Khan on
Tuesday said that he would
once again extend a hand of
friendship to India after the
2019 Lok Sabha elections as
he believed New Delhi re-
buffed his offer of talks be-
cause Pakistan is an issue in
the elections in the neigh-
bouring country.
Speaking at the high-pro-
file Future Investment Initia-
tive forum in Riyadh, Khan
said Pakistan wants “peace
with all our neighbours par-
ticularly India and Afghani-
stan for regional peace and
stability.” “Peace with India
would help the two countries
to divert their resources to-
wards human development
instead of indulging in arms
race,” Khan was quoted
as saying by state-run Radio
Pakistan.
“He (Khan) attributed this
(cancellation) to anti-Paki-
stan rhetoric raking in votes
in India,” the Express Trib-
une newspaper reported, cit-
ing the prime minister. —PTI
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: Barely days be-
fore the recently-shuttered
Sabarimala Temple opens its
doors again for devotees on
November 17, the Supreme
Court will hear the 19 review
petitions on its verdict — on
November 13.
The decision was an-
nounced on Tuesday by the
apex bench of Chief Justice
Ranjan Gogoi and Justice SK
Kaul when the lawyer appear-
ing for one of the review peti-
tioner, Mathews J Nedumpa-
ra, enquired from the Court
whether it had fixed a date to
hear the case. The bench re-
plied, “Sabarimala cases will
be taken up on November 13
at 3 pm. The order has been
passed,” the CJI said.
It was on September 28
that a five-judge bench by a
4:1 majority decided in favour
of allowing women of men-
struating age to enter the Sa-
barimala shrine. Previous to
this order, there was a restric-
tion on women aged between
10 and 50 years from entering
the temple.
When Nedumpara en-
Lord Ayappa and the
myth surrounding him
n Lord Ayyappa is
the presiding deity at
Sabarimala in an eternal
celibate state
n According to legend,
he was born out of the
union of Lord Shiva and
Lord Vishnu, when the
latter was in Mohini form
n He is believed to have
set a woman held in a
demon’s form free
quired whether the hearing
will be in open court, the
bench hinted that review peti-
tions are always heard behind
“closed doors”. Four out of
the five judges are present
and will be part of the review
petition hearing. They are
n The woman is
believed to be still
waiting for him to marry
him and in honour of
her, he doesn’t receive
menstruating women
n Others believe he
took a vow to answer
every prayer and to
live up to the task, has
shunned all worldly
desires, including
contact with women
Justices RF Nariman, AM
Khanwilkar, DY Chandra-
chud and Indu Malhotra. CJI
Gogoi will have to appoint a
judge to replace the position
left vacant by former CJI Di-
pak Misra, who was part of
the majority view.
Kerala CM says
‘conspiracy’
Thiruvananthapu-
ram: Hitting out at the
BJP and RSS for the
agitation at Sabarima-
la, Kerala Chief Minis-
ter Pinarayi Vijayan on
Tuesday said the pro-
tests were a “planned”
and “deliberate” at-
tempt to create an at-
mosphere of tension in
the state and asserted
that no force will be al-
lowed to turn the shrine
complex into a centre
for trouble-makers.
He alleged that the
Sangh Parivar was at-
tempting to “insult”
and “mislead” believ-
ers, adding that there
was a “hidden conspir-
acy” to destroy peace at
Sabarimala. While
maintaining that faith
of believers would be
respected, Vijayan
made it clear that the
government had the re-
sponsibility to imple-
ment the SC order. —PTI
SC refers PIL on
EC selections to
5-judge bench
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Tuesday decided to
refer a PIL questioning the
manner of selection of Elec-
tion Commissioners (EC) in
the country to a Constitution
bench.
A bench of Chief Justice
of India Ranjan Gogoi and
Justice SK Kaul felt that
since the issue relates to hav-
ing a “foolproof and better
system of appointment” of
members of Election Com-
mission, the matter required
a close look by a Constitution
Bench of five judges on the
interpretation of Article
324(2) dealing with appoint-
ment of ECs.
The PIL by Anoop Baran-
wal was argued by advocate
Prashant Bhushan, who sub-
mitted that the post of ECs is
crucial to conduct of free and
fair elections.
Presently, the ECs are se-
lected by the Central govern-

Metro becomes 1st accio learning! elective course will use examples to apply legal principles ment and hence it is difficult
to expect these officers to re-
main neutral. The PIL de-

multiplex to go solar Kolkata varsity lightens law with Potterverse

Harshada Rege
harshada.rege@dnaindia.net
Mumbai: Metro Inox —
Mumbai’s iconic heritage
cinema — recently launched
two screens, which are 100
per cent solar powered, thus
becoming the first multiplex
in India to join the solar revo-
lution. The landmark SoBo
theatre has eight screens to-
tal, of which two will now use
the solar technology. Mitigat-
ing 282 tons of CO2 during its
operational life, the solar
project will significantly con-
tribute to protecting the envi-
ronment. With this, the mul-
tiplex’s carbon footprint will
be equivalent to planting
4,526 teak trees.
Siddharth Jain, Director,
INOX Group said, “This is
one of our many firsts in the
Cinema Exhibition Industry.
We are happy to be a part of
the solar revolution and what
better than to start it with
our heritage property.”
The system is expected to
annually generate a total of
1,33,000 electric units. In its
operational life of 25 years,
the project will have gener-
ated about 33,00,000 units of
clean and green energy. A
statement released on the be-
half of Gupta family of the
Metro Realty group says,
“This is our commitment to
the solar revolution in India.
As for Mumbai, we believe
this will act as an inspiration
and precedent for other areas
of the city to go solar.”
New Delhi: Potterheads take
note! A law university in Kol-
kata is offering a new course
on Harry Potter which will
encourage students to ex-
plore legal aspects of JK
Rowling’s fictional world and
its many real life lessons. The
course titled “An interface
between Fantasy Fiction Lit-
erature and Law: Special fo-
cus on Rowling’s Potterverse”
will be offered as an elective
to 4th and 5th year students
of the BA LLB (Hons) pro-
gramme at the National Uni-
versity of Juridical Sciences
(NUJS) in Kolkata.
The course, designed for
the winter semester by Assis-
tant Professor Shouvik Ku-
mar Guha, attempts to serve
as a breather from the ortho-
dox law school curriculum.
“This course is meant to be
more of an experiment. It will
take both me and the students
out of our comfort zones,” said
Guha, adding, “In law schools,
people get a very specific set of
subjects. The curriculum re-
volves around the hard letter
of the law, case laws etc. Given
the fact that this course lasts
about five years, students also
get bored.”
I could have
designed the
course based on
our real political
situation but it is not
necessary that all my
students will share my
political leanings.
Shouvik Kumar Guha,
Assistant Professor, NUJS
Students will learn to apply
legal principles in a complete-
ly new scenario, and under-
stand how things will work
through insights into a wiz-
arding world constantly under
government surveillance.
“I could have designed the
course based on our real po-
litical situation but it is not
necessary that all my students
will share my political lean-
ings,” he said. Guha decided
instead to turn to a fictional
universe.
According to a statement
by NUJS, the Harry Potter se-
ries vividly exposes the limi-
tations of laws and institu-
tions. In Potterverse for exam-
ple, The Ministry of Magic
uses its representatives to
torture children for daring to
tell the truth, and imprisons
or even executes its citizens
without the benefit of due
process of law. Classes for the
course are due to start this
December. —PTI
manded a collegium headed
by Prime Minister and com-
prising of Leader of Opposi-
tion to nominate the name of
ECs to ensure fairness and
probity in selection.
Attorney General KK
Venugopal objected, pointing
out that similar to nomina-
tion of ECs, the Centre ap-
points Governors, CAG, Ad-
ministrators of UTs, L-G,
members of UPSC, etc.
past records
Attorney General
KK Venugopal has
contended that in the
past, the existing system
generated some of the
best officers as ECs who
went on to become Chief
Election Commissioners
as well without being
controversial.