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deccanchronicle.com, facebook.com/deccannews, twitter.com/deccanchronicle Vol. 87 No. 44 Established 1938 | 20 PAGES | `6.00

India, UAE strike

Kaleshwaram V&E report, White Paper to be tabled

Revanth slams KCR, says govt 8 bilateral deals

ASTROGUIDE
Shobhakrut; Uttarayana
Tithi: Magha Shukla Panchami
till 12.13 pm
Star: Revathi till 10.46 am, then
Ashwini
Varjyam: From 5.41 am
Durmuhurtam: 12.08 pm to
12.53 pm
Rahukalam: 12 noon to 1.30 pm
HIJRI CALENDAR
Shaban 3,1445 H
PRAYERS (MACCA MASJID)
Fajar: 5.42 am
Zohar: 12.40 pm
Asar: 4.41 pm
Maghrib: 6.23 pm
Isha: 7.31 pm
SUNRISE TOMORROW 6.43 AM
SUNSET TODAY 6.17 PM
MOONRISE 9.56 AM
MOONSET 10.50 PM
COUNTER POINT
will recover loot through law Modi welcomed by ‘brother’ Abu Dhabi Prez
BALU PULIPAKA I DC
MEDIGADDA, FEB. 13
Chief Minister A. Revanth
Reddy declared that the
government would not
hesitate to invoke the
Revenue Recovery Act to
recover money that was
siphoned off in the guise of
construction of the
Kaleshwaram lift irriga-
tion scheme, even as he
ripped into BRS president
K. Chandrashekar Rao for
dismissing the sinking of
the Medigadda barrage as
a “minor problem,” and
for “running away” to
Nalgonda to hold a meet-
ing to divert attention.
The Act empowers the
government to recover
dues from individuals or
other entities under cer-
tain conditions.
Speaking with reporters
at Medigadda, Revanth
Reddy said there was evi-
dence with respect to mas-
sive corruption in the exe-
cution of the project as
seen in the reports by the
CAG and the Vigilance &
Enforcement (V&E).
For every irrigation pro-
ject, the BRS government
first issued tenders for
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, along with irrigation
minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and other Congress lead-
ers, inspects the Medigadda barrage on Tuesday. — DC
smaller amounts and then
revised project costs. This
was also the case with
Medigadda whose original
said the government
would table the V&E
report and a White Paper
in the Assembly and have
a debate on corruption in
irrigation projects during
the ongoing Budget
Session.
Bitterly attacking Rao,
Revanth Reddy said, "KCR
said the problem at
Medigadda is just some
broken pillars and asks
what will go wrong
because of this. If this is
his reasoning, then why
did he go to the hospital
when he broke his leg?"
Chandrashekar Rao, he
said, was being dishonest
and knew how the
Kaleshwaram project was
built. “Since he has no
defence, he and his party
leaders skipped this offi-
cial visit to Medigadda
today,” Revanth Reddy
said.
He took on the BJP for
staying away from the
visit, saying, “The BJP
asks for a CBI probe. Is
this because then the BJP
and BRS can sit together
estimates of `1,849 crore and hammer out a deal?”
were increased to `4,650
crore.
The Chief Minister also
■ Page 2: BRS-BJP collusion
will be exposed: Revanth
SRIDHAR
KUMARASWAMI I DC
NEW DELHI, FEB. 13
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Tuesday held
talks in Abu Dhabi with
UAE President Sheikh
Mohamed bin Zayed Al
Nahyan, after which the
two countries signed eight
agreements, including a
bilateral investment trea-
ty, an intergovernmental
framework agreement on
the India-Middle East eco-
nomic corridor, interlink-
ing of the instant payment
platforms UPI (India) and
AANI (UAE) and of domes-
tic debit/credit cards
RuPay (India) with JAY-
WAN (UAE), besides one
on strengthening of ener-
gy security.
The two leaders held
one-on-one and delegation- Prime Minister Narendra Modi being received by UAE
level talks and reviewed President Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan upon his
the bilateral partnership arrival in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Tuesday. — PTI
and discussed new areas
of cooperation. They also INDIA SIGNS 8 AGREEMENTS WITH UAE
welcomed deepening of
the comprehensive strate- ● Bilateral investment treaty.
gic partnership across sec- ● Intergovern-mental framework agreement on
tors, including trade and the India-Middle East economic corridor
investment, digital infra- (IMEC), that links India with Europe via the
structure, fintech, energy,
infrastructure, culture
Gulf.
and people to people ties, a ● Interlinking of the instant payment platforms
statement said adding, UPI (India) and AANI (UAE).

In U-turn, KCR says use 7 FROM STATE HIT

PERFECT SCORE
“India is entering long
term0contracts for LNG.”
Discussions also covered
regional and global issues,
● Interlinking of domestic debit/credit cards
RuPay (India) with JAYWAN (UAE).
● Strengthening of energy security and collab-

Medigadda, pump water

N. VAMSI SRINIVAS I DC ernment to hand over
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13 common projects on
Krishna river to the
Former chief minister K. Krishna River
Chandrashekar Rao on Management Board.
Tuesday sprang a surprise The BRS supremo’s
by demanding that the
state government impo-
und and lift Godavari
waters using the Kalesh-
demand to lift Godavari
water through KLIS came
a few months after BRS
government emptied the
SHORT TAKE
waram lift irrigation barrage, fearing that part
scheme (KLIS) including of it that sank might get
HOME GUARD the damaged Medigadda
barrage, part of which
washed away.
Water was also released
IN JEE MAIN P-1
SANJAY SAMUEL
PAUL I DC
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
Seven students from
Telangana state scored a
perfect 100 in the Joint
Entrance Examination
(JEE) Main Session 1, the
results of which were
announced on Tuesday.
The seven were among
23 from across country —
including three each
from AP, Rajasthan and
possibly including the
Israel-Hamas conflict and
the humanitarian situa-
tion in Gaza. In a reflec-
tion of the extremely close
ties between the two
nations and strong rap-
port between the two lead-
YSRC presses for
Hyd till AP builds
oration.
ers, Modi, on his arrival,
was greeted by the UAE
President at the airport in
addressed UAE President
as his “brother” in his
opening remarks.
a “special and warm ges-
ture” and accorded a cere- ■ Page 7: PM thanks Zayed
monial welcome. He for granting land for BAPS
AAP WANTS TO
CONTEST SIX
SEATS IN DELHI
BHASKAR HARI

DIES, HIT BY CAR,

sank in October last year. from the other two bar- Maharashtra, two each SHARMA I DC

CANTT MLA’s SUV

Rao, who had claimed
credit for designing and
executing a world engi-
neering marvel in the
Former chief minister K.
Chandrashekar Rao
addresses a party public
meeting at Nalgonda on
rages — Annaram and
Sundilla — as engineers
found cracks in their
structure and because the
from Haryana and Delhi,
and one each from
Gujarat, Karnataka and
TN, among others — to
Vizag as capital NEW DELHI, FEB. 13

In what could be another

DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, FEB. 13
Home Guard K. Kishore of
the Narketpally police sta-
tion died after being hit by
a speeding car at
Marrigadda junction and
run over by Cantonment
MLA G. Lasya Nanditha's
car, when clearing traffic
for former chief minister
K. Chandrashekar Rao's
convoy on Tuesday.
A white car, with the
drunk driver at the wheel,
hit Kishore, who fell to the
ground. Within moments,
a black car belonging to
Cantonment MLA G.
Lasya Nanditha ran over
Kishore. The drunk driver
tried to escape but ram-
med into the MLA's car.
Police seized both cars
and are verifying CCTV
footage to assess which car
caused Kishore’s death.
scheme, broke his silence
for the first time on the
mishap while speaking at
a public meet in Nalgonda.
The meeting, seen as a bid
to stage a comeback after
Cong. keeps suspense on RS tickets
L. VENKAT RAM
REDDY I DC
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
The Congress continued to
maintain suspense over its
candidates for the Rajya
Sabha election, the last
date of filing nomination
for which is February 15.
In the elections that are
scheduled for February 27,
the Congress is sure to win
two of the three seats,
given its House strength of
64 MLAs, while the Bharat
Rashtra Samithi (BRS) can
Tuesday. — DC
BRS defeat in the recent
Assembly polls, was held
in protest against the
alleged move of state gov-
win the third seat with its
39-MLA strength.
If the Congress names
two candidates and the
Bharat Rashtra Samithi
one, they will be elected
unopposed, but an election
will be necessitated if the
Congress names a third
candidate.
Congress sources said
that the party high com-
mand is expected to
release the names of candi-
dates on Wednesday, but it
was unclear whether the
party will field two candi-
soil condition and design get perfect score.
were the same for all the All of them are male
three barrages. candidates, the National
Testing Agency said.
■ Page 3: KCR expresses
concern over Godavari water ■ Full report on Page 5
dates or three. Sabha seat from
There is heavy competi- Telangana.
tion in Congress to secure Former Union minister
Rajya Sabha tickets, with and All India Congress
senior leaders V. Committee (AICC) trea-
Hanumantha Rao, K. Jana surer Ajay Maken and for-
Reddy, J. Geetha Reddy, mer Union minister T.
Addanki Dayakar, Renuka Subbarami Reddy are
Chowdhary, Balram Naik reportedly in the race to
and G. Chinna Reddy bag the Rajya Sabha seat
among those in the race. from Telangana state.
Sources said that there In the second scenario,
was also a possibility of only one Rajya Sabha seat
the party high command will be available for the
nominating a leader from dozen-odd Telangana lead-
another state under the ers in the fray, if the party
AICC quota for a Rajya does not pitch of a third.
DC CORRESPONDENTS
VISAKHAPATNAM,
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
YSRC senior leader Y.V.
Subba Reddy attempted to
stoke a controversy by
announcing that his party
would press for extending
the common capital status
to Hyderabad for a few
more years. The 10-year
period announced in the
AP Reorganisation Act,
2014 in June this year.
The demand was joined
in by AP minister Ambati
Rambabu and Pedireddy
Ramachandra Reddy.
Speaking to mediaper-
sons on Tuesday, Subba
Reddy said the YSRC
would raise the demand
in Lok Sabha after the
elections. Though his
rationale was unclear,
Subba Reddy said the
Centre should consider
the demand at least till
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan
Mohan Reddy succeeded
in shifting the AP capital
to Visakhapatnam.
Subba Reddy said for-
mer chief minister N.
Chandrababu Naidu had
wasted time in the name
of setting up a temporary
capital.
He said Jagan Mohan
Reddy had categorically
announced his refusal to
build a grandiose capital
and preferred to use the
funds for the welfare for
the poor, but his decision
to shift the capital to
Vizag was also opposed.
Though he maintained
that several AP employees
still resided in Hyde-
rabad, Subba Reddy did
not say YSRC would pre-
fer to rule from Hyder-
abad.
■ Page 5: Demand for Hyd
joint capital irrelevant :Etala
setback for the I.N.D.I.A
bloc, the AAP said that it
planned to contest six
Lok Sabha seats out of
seven in Delhi in the Lok
Sabha general elections
and offer just one to the
Congress.
The Congress said that
seat-sharing “cannot be
decided at press confer-
ences”. The BJP waded
into the tussle, claiming
to win all seven seats
with huge margins.
After its political
affairs committee meet-
ing, the AAP asserted
that, on merit, the
Congress “does not
deserve” even one seat in
Delhi and its offer is
based on respect for the
“alliance dharma.” AAP
general secretary
Sandeep Pathak said that
the party had been wait-
ing for more than a
month for the seat-shar-
ing talks.

BIG FIGHT | FOR MSP Protesters hurl stones, cops fire in air, lob tear gas shells, drop some from drones, to disperse crowds

Farmers reject talks, gear up for long battle to reach Delhi

DC CORRESPONDENT
with agency inputs
NEW DELHI,
CHANDIGARH, FEB. 13
The Shambhu and Jind bor-
ders between Haryana and
Punjab looked like battle-
fields as farmers from
Punjab tried to break past
the barricades set up by the
Haryana police to stop them
from heading to the nation-
al capital as part of their
“Delhi Chalo” call.
The protesting farmers
hurled stones and the police
resorted to firing in the air
and lobbing tear gas shells,
some dropped through
drones, to disperse the
crowd. As a large group
pressed ahead to Delhi,
some farmers were
detained at the Singhu bor-
der between Delhi and
Haryana.
Besides, a heavy deploy-
ment of security personnel
and multi-layered barri-
cades are in place to seal the
national capital borders at
Singhu, Tikri and
Ghazipur. The roadblocks
and stringent checking as
part of security arrange-
ments in view of the farm-
ers' protest led to a harrow-
ing time for regular com-
muters. Elsewhere, Union
agriculture minister Arjun
Munda said consensus was
reached on most issues. He
said the government has
accepted most of the
demands of the farmers' and
proposed to form a panel to
look into certain issues.
The law on minimum sup-
port price (MSP) cannot be
brought in a hurry and
wider consultations with
stakeholders are needed, he
said. The farmers rejected
the offer. The farmers could
be seen carrying dry
rations, waterproof sheets
and mattresses, making it
clear they were ready for
the long haul.
■ Page 7: Munda holds 2
rounds of talks with farmers
Farmers try to remove barricades to cross the
Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border during their Delhi
Chalo march, near Patiala, on Tuesday.
WHAT FARMERS WANT
● Legal guarantee for MSP.
● Implementation of Swaminathan
● Commission recom-
mendations.
● Pensions, crop debt
waivers.
● Withdrawal of police
cases, compensation
for those who died in the protest
against farm laws.
● "Justice" for victims of the
Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
● Reinstatement of Land
Acquisition Act, 2013
— PTI
LEGAL GUARANTEE TO MSP, IF I.N.D.I.A.
BLOC FORMS GOVT AT CENTRE: RAHUL
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY I DC
RAIPUR, FEB. 13
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi on Tuesday pledged
to provide legal guarantee
for the minimum support
price (MSP) of farm pro-
duce if his party-led
I.N.D.I.A. bloc was voted to
power at Centre.
“The pledge will be
included in our election
manifesto,” Gandhi said
while addressing a public
meeting in district head-
quarters of Ambikapur in
Chhattisgarh on the side-
lines of his Bharat Jodo
Nyay Yatra.
The Congress leader said
the government would com-
pensate farmers if their
produce got less than the
minimum support price
(MSP) in market by relea-
sing the difference amount
to them.
■ Page 7: Rahul slams
Centre for police action
 POLITICS
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 14 FEBRUARY 2024
SHORT
CM: DECISION ON
TAKE
BARRAGES ONLY
ON NDSA ADVICE
DC CORRESPONDENT
MEDIGADDA, FEB. 13
The state government will not
initiate any action on its own
with respect to storage of
water at the three barrages of
the Kaleshwaram lift irriga-
tion scheme (KLIS), Chief
Minister A. Revanth Reddy
said on Tuesday.
“While Medigadda barrage
could collapse any second, the
Annaram and Sundilla bar-
rages are tottering and this,
without them holding any
water. It is risky if water is
stored and the barrages could
collapse. Our government will
seek advise from experts and
will soon write to the National
Dam Safety Authority to study
all three barrages,” Revanth
Reddy said.
Responding to a question
from reporters on whether the
government plans to store
water at the barrages this
monsoon, Revanth Reddy said
“at this stage, the way forward
will be to follow NDSA advice.
We will also fully cooperate
with the NDSA to get to the
bottom of the reasons why
Medigadda collapsed.”
● CM Revanth says Medigadda
barrage can collapse, adding
that the Annaram and Sundilla
barrages are tottering without
them holding any water. The
govt will ask the NDSA to
study all three.
Uttam: L&T must
repair Medigadda,
`400 cr withheld
DC CORRESPONDENT
MEDIGADDA, FEB. 13
Irrigation minister N.
Uttam Kumar Reddy on
Tuesday made it clear
that the government had
told Larsen & Toubro
(L&T) that it was its
responsibility to conduct
all the required studies to
ascertain the reasons for
the sinking of the
Medigadda barrage piers,
and also take up repairs
at the company’s cost.
“As part of action taken
so far, the government
has held back `400 crore
payment due to the com-
pany,” Uttam Kumar
Reddy said.
He said that L&T had
produced evidence that
there were design defects,
and that the company was
not responsible for them.
“Our demand is that L&T
take up repair and revival
of the barrage,” he said.
Uttam Kumar Reddy
was answering questions
from reporters during a
visit to the Medigadda
barrage along with Chief
Minister A. Revanth
Reddy, some of his
Cabinet colleagues, and
several Congress legisla-
tors and a few MIM legis-
lators. The Chief
Minister reviewed the
Redesigning water projects
was guise to loot: Revanth
Says `1 lakh crore spent on KLIS, but till date no DPR prepared
L. VENKAT RAM
REDDY I DC
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
Chief Minister A. Revanth
Reddy explained how the
BRS government had
resorted to corruption
under the guise of
N. Uttam Kumar Reddy redesigning irrigation
projects during its tenure
● The government has that lasted ten years and
held back `400 crore emptied the state’s coffers.
payment due to L&T, The previous Congress
even though the company government had launched
has maintained it was the Pranahitha-Chevella
responsible for defects. project at `38,500 crore in
2008 but BRS president
status of Medigadda, and and then Chief Minister
Annaram and Sundilla K. Chandrashekar Rao
barrages, part of the redesigned it as
Kaleshwaram lift irriga- Kaleshwaram and escalat-
tion scheme, after ed the project cost to
inspecting the sunken `1,45,000 crore, Revanth
portion of the Medigadda Reddy told the Assembly
barrage. on Tuesday, before setting
Earlier, Vigilance &
Enforcement (V&E) direc-
out for a site inspection.
The Congress plan had
tor General Rajiv Ratan, one barrage at Tummi-
who made a presentation dihatti against the three
on the findings at the built according to Rao’s
review, said, “L&T is not plan at Medigadda,
responding to us. We are Annaram and Sundilla.
holding L&T and irriga- The BRS government
tion department responsi- had spent over `1 lakh
ble for deviations from crore on Kaleshwaram
plans, for not following project but even after
the specified sequence of spending such a huge
laying the raft and secant amount the barrages had
piles.” developed cracks and the
pillars were sinking due to
faulty design and poor
quality of works, Revanth
Reddy added.
“Till now, even the DPR
(detailed project report) of
the Kaleshwaram project
is not available with the
government. They spent
over `1 lakh crore on a
project which does not
have even a DPR. Such
was the utter negligence of
the BRS government,” he
stated.
Explaining the reasons
for the state government
organising a site visit to
Medigadda for MLAs and
MLCs from all parties,
Revanth Reddy said that
after barrage piers sank in
October last year, the BRS
government had deployed
a large police force at the
site if it was the India-
Pakistan Wagah border, to
prevent anyone from visit-
ing the project and seeing
the condition of the struc-
ture for themselves.
“No one knows what
actually happened to the
Medigadda barrage. To
clear the doubts, our gov-
ernment decided to
arrange the site visit. We
also invited media person-
nel to visit the barrage
and know the facts. But
BRS and BJP MLAs decid-
ed to boycott the visit,
which is unfortunate.”
The purpose of barrage
visit was to apprise every-
one of the actual condi-
tion of Medigadda bar-
rage so that the issue
could be discussed mean-
Air of gloom hangs over Medigadda
BALU PULIPAKA I DC
MEDIGADDA, FEB. 13
The hot afternoon sun
reflecting waves of heat
from the carriageway of
the Medigadda barrage on
Tuesday, and the equally
hot sand banks of the
Godavari river bed, in
some ways mirrored the
intensity of the problem at
the barrage, the lynchpin
of the Kaleshwaram lift
irrigation scheme (KLIS).
Even as officials made
elaborate arrangements
for Chief Minister A
Revanth Reddy’s visit and
his holding a review on
the scheme in general and
Medigadda barrage in par-
ticular, barely a 100 metres
from where he spoke was
the now abandoned ‘homa-
gundam’ where then Chief
Minister K. Chandra-
shekar Rao had prayed
before he inaugurated the
barrage, and KLIS, on
June 21, 2023.
Also nearby is an under-
construction guest house
where work has been
CM: BRS-BJP
COLLUSION WILL
COME TO FORE
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy speaks to the media after inspecting the Lakshmi
Barrage in Medigadda on Tuesday. Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy can
also be seen.
DETAILS OF MEDIGADDA BARRAGE
BOTTLENECKS – The distress conditions developed in Block 7 of the barrage
on October 21, 2023 required geo-physical sensitivity survey, and an electro-
resistivity test. These are completed for Block 7 and have to be taken up for
Block 6 and Block 8 to find out the root cause of the distress.
PHYSICAL PROGRESS:
99.70%
work completed
EXPENDITURE INCURRED:
`3,625.82cr
REQUIRED FOR WORK BILL:
`695.62 cr
REQUIRED FOR LAND ACQUISITION:
`88.33 cr
Cracks seen at several
portions of the barrage on
Tuesday. — DC
ingfully in the Assembly
when the House took the
debate on irrigation proj-
ects. The CM even offered
Above: Makeshift arrange-
ments at the site of the
Laksmi Barrage,
Medigadda, for the CM A.
Revanth Reddy's visit,
along with ministers on
Tuesday. Right: Little to no
water was seen at the bar-
rage gates in Medigadda
on Tuesday.
— BY ARRANGEMENT
stopped. On Tuesday, cops
parked their cars in its
shade to save themselves
pg 2
FROM PAGE 1
Revanth said BJP and BRS
collusion will come to the
fore in the Lok Sabha elec-
tions. Earlier in the day in
the Assembly, Revanth
Reddy said that the state
government would table
the Vigilance &
Enforcement (V&E)
report on the Medigadda
barrage and a White
Paper on irrigation proj-
ects in the ongoing
Assembly Budget Session.
— BY ARRANGEMENT Speaking before setting
out for Medigadda,
Revanth Reddy said that
the House would debate
the corruption and irregu-
larities in execution of
irrigation projects during
the BRS regime which
caused a huge loss to state
exchequer and pushed
Telangana state into a
debt trap.
The Chief Minister was
speaking after he chaired
a review on KLIS at
Medigadda. The gather-
ing, that included several
ministers including N.
Uttam Kumar Reddy, and
D. Sridhar Babu, Congress
legislators and three
AIMIM legislators who
were joined by the CPI
MLA K Sambasiva Rao.
Revanth Reddy said,
The Lakshmi Barrage on Tuesday. — DC “KCR’s Nalgonda meeting
was to seek sympathy for
MEDIGADDA IN NUMBERS the coming Lok Sabha
polls. That is why he was
Average river bed level : + 88 mts
Crest Level
Full reservoir level
: +89 m
: +100
on a wheel chair. There he
spoke as if he is the Satya
Harischandra as if people
doubt his honesty.”
metres above mean sea level “For ten years, he looted
Top bund Level : + 105.70 m and plagued the state. If
Capacity : 16.17 tmc ft he is truthful, he should
Gates: Barrage : 68 (15 m x 12.3 m) have come to the
Under sluice : 17 (15 m x 13.30 m) Assembly, suggested
changes to the resolution
Max discharge : 28,25,200 cusecs on KRMB. If he has noth-
ing to hide, then he should
The previous Congress government had clarify if the letter written
launched the Pranahitha-Chevella proj- by Smitha Sabharwal (a
ect at `38,500 crore in 2008 but BRS former CMO official)
president and then CM K. Chandrashekar Rao about projects hand over
redesigned it as Kaleshwaram and escalated was of her own accord, or
the project cost to `1,45,000 crore. if it was under instruc-
tions from KCR.”
— A. REVANTH REDDY, Revanth Reddy said the
CHIEF MINISTER Medigadda visit is an offi-
cial programme. “There
L&T is not responding to us. We are are many doubts, so I said
holding L&T and irrigation department lets all go to Medigadda,
responsible for deviations from plans, see for ourselves and have
for not following the specified sequence of lay- officials brief us. But KCR
ing the raft and secant piles. chose not to come. “He did
— RAJIV RATAN, not come to Assembly.
DIRECTOR GENERAL, VIGILANCE & Which is nearer for him,
Assembly or Nalgonda?
ENFORCEMENT
His Nalgonda visit is just
a ploy to try take the heat
to arrange a helicopter for ient on health grounds for off himself over the
Chandrashekar Rao to him to travel by bus along Kaleshwaram project
visit Medigadda if he felt with him and Members of debacle,” Revanth Reddy
that it would be inconven- the Legislative Assembly. said.
● IRRIGATION OFFICIALS
made elaborate
arrangements for Chief
Minister A Revanth
Reddy’s visit.
● WATER WAS being
pumped out between piers
19 and 22 for the Chief
Minister and his Cabinet
colleagues to have a close
look at the cracks, and the
subsidence of Block 7.
rage and the water was
being let out as it flowed.
Before disaster struck and
part of the barrage gave
away on October 21, 2023,
the BRS government had
used the barrage like a
dam, impounding huge
quantities of water that
ultimately did the struc-
ture in.
Water was being pumped
out between piers 19 and
22 for the Chief Minister
and his Cabinet colleagues
and accompanying MLAs
from the heat of the day. were a few vigorous to have a closer look at the
Equally forlorn was the streams of the Godavari cracks, and the subsidence
river itself though there were rushing to the bar- of Block 7 of the barrage.
 POLITICS
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 14 FEBRUARY 2024
pg 3

ACB to grill benamis Deputy mayor to join Cong.

SHORT TAKE HARISH: DENIED
TO SPEAK IN DC CORRESPONDENT Hills on Tuesday and is Srilatha Reddy’s

of Balakrishna today
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13 likely to join the meeting comes days
ASSEMBLY GHMC deputy mayor
Congress soon.
The BRS had denied
after the defection of
BRS Borabanda corpo-
DC CORRESPONDENT Mothe Srilatha Reddy, Sobhan Reddy the rator Baba Fasiuddin,
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13 the BRS Tarnaka cor- Assembly poll ticket former deputy GHMC
porator, and her hus- from Malkajgiri. Sril- mayor, and the meet-
Collector asked to freeze Balakrishna’s properties BRS leader T. Harish
Rao claimed that the Co-
band, BRS trade union
leader Sobhan Reddy
atha skipped the cor-
porators meeting held
ing of senior BRS
leader and GHMC for-
PRATHYUSH also issued with passbooks, ngress government was met Chief Minister A. on February 10 by BRS mer mayor Bonthu
NALLELLA I DC the investigation revealed. denying him an opportu- Revanth Reddy at his leader K.T. Rama Rammohan with
G. Kishan Reddy
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13 Around eight acres were nity to rebut the argu- residence in Jubilee Rao. Revanth Reddy.

KISHAN: CENTRE TO
registered to S. Hariprasad ments of ministers in
The Anti-Corruption Bureau under survey numbers 96, 98 the Assembly. This did

STRENGTHEN BASTI
MEDICAL CENTRES
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
TS BJP president and Union
minister G. Kishan Reddy on
Tuesday said the Centre had
decided to strengthen the
‘basti’ medical centres, which
it finances. He was speaking to
the media while touring
Adikmet, Ramnagar and
Kavadiguda divisions in the
Musheerabad Assembly con-
stituency.
Kishan Reddy said construc-
tion of sheds had been com-
pleted in 33 hospitals to house
patients’ attenders, ASHA and
Anganwadi workers. To meet
the drinking water require-
ments of government school
students and some areas,
borewells had been dug. He
said Anganwadi centres were
being established in all
colonies.
(ACB) will on Wednesday
start interrogating the
alleged benamis — Bharath,
Satyanarayana and Bharani
— of former senior HMDA
and RERA official Shiva
Balakrishna in an asset
case.
The trio received orders to
appear for questioning, even
as the ACB directed the
Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri collec-
tor to freeze properties and
papers registered in the
name of Balakrishna and his
family members.
Meanwhile, Balakrishna’s
brother Naveen Kumar, who
is under judicial remand in
the same case, could move for
a bail petition in the ACB
court soon.
Simultaneously, the ACB is
also working on building a
case against an IAS officer,
who was named by
Balakrishna, with appropri-
ate government permissions.
Following ACB’s directions
to the Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri
collector to put a hold on
“any and all financial
Shiva Balakrishna
accords on Shiva Bal-
akrishna’s and his family’s
properties in the district”,
the collector ordered the tah-
sildar and the sub-registrar
to freeze all property regis-
trations, Dharani mutations
and issuance of property
passbooks related to the
accused and his family.
In the preliminary investi-
gation, the ACB estimated
Balakrishna’s land owner-
ship in the village to around
eight acres of agricultural
farmland.
However, further investiga-
tion revealed he allegedly
owned 57 acres, registered in
his family members’ names,
valued at around `35 crore.
Some of the properties were
and 99 in Valigonda mandal’s
Narsapuram village, while
another 11.3 acres were regis-
tered to S. Raghu Devi name
in 100 and 101 survey by-num-
bers, and 3.31 acres of prop-
erty were identified under
the title of S. Padmavati in
Chittapur village with sur-
vey number 32.
In Chinna Ravupalli village
of Bibinagar mandal, a half-
acre property is listed under
Shiva Aruna’s name at
44E1/2 survey number, while
26.08 acres are registered to
Shiva Naveen Kumar in
Mothkur mandal’s Palagudu
village under survey num-
bers 31, 32 and 33.
In Shiva Kumar’s name, 8.84
acres were identified in
Valigonda mandal’s
Redlarepaka village under
survey numbers 500, 503, 504,
505, 506 and 527.
While the properties in
Redlarepaka were registered
in 2009, the rest of the
properties were all regist
ered in the 2021-2023
period.
not bode well for democ-
racy, he said while
speaking at the Asse-
mbly on Tuesday.
Speaking on the
Medigadda barrage
issue, he claimed: “The
sinking of one or two
pillars is being blown
out of proportion.” He
said the Kaleshwaram
lift irrigation scheme
involved three barrages,
15 reservoirs, 19 substa-
tions, 21 pump houses,
203 km of tunnels, 1,531
km of gravity canals, 98
km pressure mains and
141 tmc ft storage capaci-
ty involving lifting of
water to 530 feet.
On why the BRS gov-
ernment did not build
the Pranahita-Chevella
project, Harish Rao said
problems would arise in
constructing it in was
routed through the wil-
dlife area. The BRS shift-
ed the project to a place
with more availability of
water.

Former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao

along with other BRS leaders holds pulic
meeting on Krishna water in Nalgonda on
Tuesday. — BY ARRANGEMENT

Form all-party
group to tackle
Krishna row: KCR
L. VENKAT RAM allow any injustice at
REDDY I DC any cost.
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13 The Rao claimed
that the Congress
BRS president and government had
former chief minis- agreed to hand over
ter K. Chandras- the projects initially
hekar Rao demanded but retracted after
that the Congress the BRS raised its
government take an voice. Reacting for
all-party delegation the first time to the
to Delhi pressure the party’s defeat, he
Centre to withdraw said the BRS govern-
its proposal to hand ment did its best. “I
over Nagarjunasagar don’t know what
and Srisailam dams kind of anger people
to the Krishna River felt against the BRS
Management Board or what deception
(KRMB). you were put through
Addressing his first by others, but, you
public meeting after sold a cow delivering
his party’s defeat in milk and bought a
Assembly polls in bull,” in an indirect
Nalgonda on Tu- reference to people
esday against the pr- electing the Congress
oposed handing over to power. Rao said
of projects, Rao ca- that the people were
lled upon the people feeling the pinch of
to wage a battle to ac- the Congress rule as
hieve the rightful they are facing
share of state in Kri- power cuts and did
shna and Godavari not receive Rythu
waters. He vowed to Bandhu. “I gave 24-
fight until his last hour power to all sec-
breath and ensure an tors. Where did the
equal share of the power go within two
Krishna waters to months? Why are
Telangana, adding there power cuts?”
that he would not Rao said.

KCR expresses
concern over
Godavari waters
FROM PAGE 1 cofferdam built
recently to prevent
Chief Minister A. water flow into the
Revanth Reddy, who damaged section
visited Medigadda would be sufficient to
with multi-party del- divert the river, and
egation of legisla- rest of the system
tors, hit back at his could be put to effec-
predecessor, stating tive use. The former
that the project chief minister also
would get washed sought to maintain
away if water was that Medigadda was
impounded in the just one component
three barrages. of the KLIS project
Speaking at the which has numerous
public meeting, Rao storage, pumping
expressed concern and distribution
over the Godavari facilities.”After all,
waters going down- one or two piers
stream without being sank,” he said adding
put to use. “Even that the Congress
now we are receiving government had
four to five thousand been doing a great
cusecs of water in injustice to farmers
the Godavari. How by depriving them of
can they leave water from the
Medigadda defunct,” scheme to settle
he asked. political scores with
Further, he said the him.
 CRIME/LEGAL
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 14 FEBRUARY 2024
IN
Miscreant snatches
BRIEF
2-tola mangalsutra
Hyderabad: An unidentified
two-wheeler rider snatched a
two-tola gold mangalsutra from
a woman at about 9.40 pm on
Monday, Meerpet police said.
The victim, Sandhya Rani, 44,
was walking to her home in
Teachers Colony from the
Gurramguda bus stop when the
incident occurred. Police who
responded to a complaint
began checking CCTV camera
footage of the area and track-
ing the vehicle through the two-
wheeler’s registration number
provided by onlookers.
858 COPS GET
TRAINING AS
CYBER WARRIOR
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, FEB 13.
The TS Cybercrime State
Bureau (TSCSB) has trained
858 constables and head con-
stables from all police stations
in the state handle cybercrime
complaints, said bureau direc-
tor Shikha Goel. They will
offer assistance to the investi-
gating officers. They were
trained on how take com-
plaints on the phone 1930,
report a crime on National
Cybercrime Reporting Portal
(NCRP), analyse suspect iden-
tifiers as well as to investigate
social media and online finan-
cial fraud.
DRUNK AUTO
TROLLEY DRIVER
ASSAULTS COP
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, FEB 13.
A drunken auto trolley driver,
G. Rohit, 25, grabbed police
constable Nagaraju by the
throat and abused him in
Veeranagar of Amberpet, late
on Monday night. The row
broke out when the police
stopped Rohit from entering a
one-way street towards
Malakpet from the wrong end.
He was stopped from assault-
ing Nagaraju by another traf-
fic constable B. Chandra
Mohan and locals but escaped
from the spot, Amberpet traf-
fic inspector N. Lenin Babu
said. Based on a complaint by
Nagaraju, Amberpet police
booked a case of assaulting an
on-duty government officer
against Rohit and is trying to
track him.
HC UPHOLDS
ED ATTACHING
KARVY PROPERTY
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
The Telangana High Court on
Tuesday upheld
Enforcement Directorate pro-
the
visionally attaching the prop-
erties of the Karvy Stock
Broking Ltd group companies,
and its approval by the ED’s
Adjudicating Authority (ED-
AA).
A bench of Chief Justice
Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil
Kumar Jukanti set aside the
single judge orders which had
quashed the ED-AA’s orders
confirming the attachment.
The single judge had ruled on
the technical ground that the
ED-AA which consisted of a
single member, who was not a
judicial member, cannot pass
an order of attachment.
On the ED’s appeal, the
bench said that it was a settled
rule that powers under Section
6 of the Prevention of Money
Laundering Act can be exer-
cised by an adjudicating
authority comprising a single
member.
Top cop: Start early,
reach home safely
Kothakota urges drivers to be disciplined on roads
PRATHYUSH
NALLELLA
WITH BUREAU INPUTS
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
The Hyderabad police
c o m m i s s i o n e r,
Kothakota Sreenivasa
Reddy, on Tuesday
urged the public to fol-
low the mantra of
“start early, reach safe-
ly”, in his address at
the Hyderabad traffic
police road
awareness programme.
safety
“Everyone in the city
has an urgency, and
everybody cannot trav-
el at high speeds to
their destinations.
Start early and reach
your destination safe-
ly,” Sreenivasa Reddy
said at the event, which
saw the participation of
additional traffic police
commissioner P.
Vishwa Prasad and
actor Siddu
Jonnalagadda.
Urging drivers, espe-
cially of autorickshaws
and taxis, to be disci-
plined on the road, he
said: “People who don’t
follow rules and are
negligent create prob-
lems not just for them-
selves, but for others
too. One mistake can
cost lives.”
Sreenivasa
advised the traffic
Reddy
police to improve the
traffic controls in the
city. “It is the responsi-
bility of our police to
control the city’s traf-
fic, but it can be done
only with the support
of drivers and riders,”
he said.
Vishwa Prasad urged
drivers to follow rules
at all times to avoid
dangerous situations.
He also spoke about
how the rise in popula-
tion and haphazard
parking on streets were
resulting in traffic mis-
management.
In a related event, as
part of the Road Safety
Month 2024 from
January 15 to February
14, Cyberabad DCP
(traffic) Srinivas Rao
and other traffic police
Harassed by stalker, doc ends life
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
A paediatrician, Dr
Geeta Rani Mishra, 32,
died by suicide at her
house in the Masab
Tank area on the inter-
vening night of Sunday
and Monday, following
harassment by one
Naveen Reddy, whom
she had met over social
media last year.
HC admits petition on law
courses admission delays
L. RAVICHANDER
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
The Telangana High
Court issued notices to
Osmania University,
the Bar Council of
India and others in a
PIL challenging the
delayed commence-
ment of law courses.
The PIL bench compris-
ing Chief Justice Alok
Aradhe and Justice J.
Anil Kumar was deal-
ing with a petition filed
by A. Bhaskar Reddy,
an advocate, who com-
plained that the author-
ities had failed to
ensure that the aca-
demic calendar was fol-
lowed. The delay was
causing untold hard-
ships and uncertainty
leading to mental
harassment to aspi-
rants. He said admis-
sion to the national law
universities was done
on the basis of the
Common Law
Admission Test (CLAT)
which was held in
June, whereas there
was an inordinate
delay in admission into
state universities
through Lawcet.
CONTEMPT NOTICE TO
M’NAGAR COLLECTOR
Justice S. Nanda of the
Telangana High Court
sought a reply from the
principal secretary,
panchayat raj,
pg 4
Shamirpet tahsildar
Thodeti Satyanarayana and
his driver P. Bhadri in the
ACB custody. — DC
REVENUE OFFICIAL,
DRIVER HELD FOR
TAKING BRIBE
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
The Anti Corruption
Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday
trapped Shamirpet tahsil-
dar Thodeti
Satyanarayana and his
driver P. Bhadri for
demanding and accepting
a bribe from a com-
plainant who wanted a
report in his favour to be
Hyderabad police commissioner Kothakota Sreenivasa Reddy, additional com- forwarded to the collector
missioner of police (traffic) P. Vishwa Prasad and actor Siddhu Jonnalagadda, to acquire a pattadar pass-
releasing pre-recorded audio message on road safety. — R. Pavan book.
The ACB’s city investiga-
Cops turn to smart
tion unit caught the two at
about 1 pm at the tahsildar
office when they were
receiving the money from
the complainant, Mova
app to curb mishaps Ramaseshagiri Rao.
Bhadri received the
amount, officials said.
When he caught red-hand-
GEETA specifications include to five trained person- ed, he said he had acted on
VALABOJU I DC real-time data entry, nel to collect and input the instructions of
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13 standardised reporting accident data into the Satyanarayana. The duo
formats, and data shar- system. G. Guruvaiah, was produced before an
The Cyberabad traffic ing mechanisms to traffic police inspector, ACB court and remanded
police are turning to a improve road safety said the iRAD app has to judicial custody.
smartphone app to measures. mobile accessibility,
analyse traffic data and Cyberabad DCP (traf- allowing field person-
expect to reduce the
number of accidents by
fic) D.V. Srinivas Rao
said: “The iRAD app
nel to input data from
the accident sites. “The
MAN MURDERS The righteous will be in everlasting
remembrance. Ps. 112:6
half, by using real-time
data to sort out mat-
will play a crucial role
in providing accurate
accident rate went
down in Tamil Nadu by
WOMAN, SON
ters. The app, iRAD,
developed by the IIT-
and timely data,
enabling us to devise
35 per cent last year. We
aim to achieve a 50 per OVER BLACK MAGIC
Madras and the targeted strategies to cent reduction in acci-
National Informatics prevent accidents.” dents,” the inspector Warangal: A man killed
Centre under the Union “Additionally, the app said. Alakuntla Sammakka, 55,
road transport min-
istry, collects, manages
facilitates collabora-
tion among stakehold-
“We have started to
analyse data from acci-
and her son Sammaiah, 35,
in broad daylight after
and analyse data on
road accidents.
ers involved in road
safety, including the
dent-prone areas and
are working to widen
accusing them of perform-
ing black magic against BODA SRINIVAS RAO
It includes stakehold- police, transport roads,” Guruvaiah his family, at Bollapalli in Retd. OS SCR
DOB: 09-06-1948 DOD: 14-02-2023
ers such as law enforce- authorities, health said, adding that Guduru mandal of PETSY RAMOLA
ment agencies, emer- services and legal Cyberabad had estab- Mahabubabad district on Retd. OS SCR
gency medical services, authorities,” the DCP lished 11 alternative Tuesday. Police said the DOB: 15-08-1950 DOD: 16-02-2017
We love you and cherish your memories.
hospitals, and trans- said. Every police sta- roads to take pressure accused, S. Kumaraswamy, Inserted by: Sons, Daughters-in-law
port authorities. Its tion had teams of three off the main roads. 40, of the same family had and Grand Children
been quarrelling with the Ph: 8978357226, 9030047916
victims over the issue. (S/2324/D01106)
officers held a meeting drop-off and pick-up with signage, to
with managements of points to streamline improve the situation.
malls and pubs. traffic, arranging ade- The police said that
The meeting centred quate parking, deploy- those violating rules
on reducing congestion ing traffic marshals will be penalised on the
in front of their estab- and ensuring clear spot and acted upon
lishments, designating entry and exit points, stringently.
Building security The guards informed intrude on her official
guards informed the Dr Geeta’s husband Raj meetings and threaten
police that they had Rishi Mishra, a soft- her against talking to
seen the two of them ware professional, who other men. He had also
quarrel on the ground was away in taken to threatening
floor of the apartment Jharkhand, his native her male colleagues for
on Monday.
The duo continued
state. He rushed back
home.
talking to her.
The victim’s elder
their arguments on the
fourth floor. When the
The couple had mar-
ried in 2018 and had no
brother Udakanth
Mishra informed the
guards went to inquire,
the found Geeta dead
children.
Police said Naveen
police that Dr Geeta
had informed him of
and Naveen Reddy Reddy was harassing Naveen Reddy’s harass-
standing in the balcony. Dr Geeta and would ment.
Nanda had then closed scribed the benchmark
the earlier contempt disability as 40 per
case by directing the cent, the state could not
government to act upon prescribe a higher dis-
the orders of the divi- ability.
sion bench. In the pres-
ent contempt case, the CONTEMPT CHARGE
petitioners alleged that ON CIVIC BODY
LEGAL STORIES the authorities had vio-
lated the court’s order. Justice N.V. Shravan
Mahbubnagar district The government Kumar ordered notice
collector and others for pleader said there were to be served on the
their alleged violation no vacancies and posts Tumkunta municipali-
of court orders. The would be provided ty commissioner and
judge was dealing with based on availability.? others in a contempt
a contempt case filed by case filed by Nomula
Nune Srinivasulu and PHYSICAL DISABILITY Madhusudhan Reddy.
another, mandal rev- YARDSTICK QUASHED He said that in June
enue coordinators 2023, the commissioner
(MRCs). The govern- The Telangana High had addressed a letter
ment issued an order Court set aside a gov- to the Shamirpet tahsil-
prescribing graduation ernment order pre- dar to conduct a survey
as the minimum quali- scribing a higher per- and fix the full tank
fication for the post. centage of disability of level (FTL) boundary of
This was challenged 70 per cent and above a lake physically. The
before the court. It was instead of 40 per cent commissioner also
contended that the pro- for consideration under directed the tahsildar
posal was sent to the the preferential catego- to take action on the
government for recon- ry in the transfer and persons who are taking
sideration. The judge promotion of teachers. up the construction
while disposing of the The bench comprising unauthorisedly in the
petition had said that Justice Abhinand FTL area. The petition-
the employment of the Kumar Shavili and er had alleged that tah-
petitioners should con- Justice Namavarapu sildar had taken no
tinue in the meantime. Rajeshwar Rao dis- action. The court had
Later the order came posed of a writ petition directed the tahsildar
under scrutiny of the filed by Jakkarthi to act upon the letter
division bench which Ramakrishna and two and file a report and
dismissed the appeal others challenging required commissioner
and directed the appel- Guideline 7(a) of GO to see that no further
lants to consider the Ms No. 5 issued in construction was made
case of respondents by January 2023. The peti- on the land. The peti-
giving them preference tioner said the GO was tioner in the contempt
as they had worked as contrary to the Rights case alleged that the
MRCs, and consider of the Persons with commissioner had dis-
their case for appoint- Disabilities Act, 2016. obeyed the order.
ment in the Swachh The bench ruled that Full report in
Bharat Mission. Justice when the Act pre- deccanchronicle.com
 POLITICS
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 14 FEBRUARY 2024
pg 5

IN

20 tonnes PDS
BRIEF
TSRTC gets first Etala: Joint capital Plea against Ooru Peru
demand irrelevant Bhairavakona filed
wheat seized
Hyderabad: Balanagar police
raided a godown and seized 20
tonnes of PDS wheat, valued at
`7 lakh at Allapur. Civil supplies
female jt director FROM PAGE 1

The senior YSR Congress

enforcement officers took cus-
tody of the wheat.
Inspector S. Anjaneyulu said
investigations were underway to
find out who had stored the
wheat.
leader was ridiculed by
● FORMER MINISTER
Vemula Prashanth Reddy
said the demand was
VUJJINI VAMSHIDHAR I DC
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
● PETITIONER BATTULA
Satyanarayana claimed the
film’s producers had violated
A petition has been filed their agreement in relation to
ridiculous and said it was
Apoorva served as SP of three districts Telugu Desam as well as
Telangana state leaders against the bifurcation
before the Telangana High film rights.
Court requesting a direction
DC CORRESPONDENT with a commitment to cutting across political Act. to the Central Board of Film Anand, is slated for release
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13 develop the organisa- affiliations. Certification (CBFC) to not on February 16. Satyanar-
tion. “After the three capitals, Prashanth Reddy said the issue the clearance certifi- ayana told the court that he
K. Apoorva Rao became On the occasion, does Jagan want a fourth demand was ridiculous cate for the movie ‘Ooru had paid a consideration but

Jagtial: No-trust
the state’s first woman Apoorva Rao thanked capital for Andhra Prad- and said it was against the Peru Bhairavakona.” The the agreement was violated.
IPS officer to be posted the government for esh,” said senior BRS le- bifurcation Act. petitioner, Battula He said that he had appr-
as the TSRTC joint appointing her as a joint ader and former MP B. “Why did not these lead- Satyanarayana, owner of oached the CBFC but there
motion withdrawn director,
appointment
with her
coming
director.
She said that the Maha
Vinod Kumar. He did not
find rationale behind con-
ers talk on these lines
when KCR was CM,” he
Gayatri Films, claimed the
film’s producers had violat-
was no response. The court
was not inclined to issue the
Hyderabad: Jagtial BRS council- against the backdrop of Lakshmi free bus facili- tinuation of the joint capi- said. Former Gajuwaka ed their agreement in rela- direction and without hear-
lors decided to abstain from the government’s Maha ty scheme for women tal as all the offices allot- MLA and TD parliamen- tion to film rights. ing the other side and issued
Wednesday's no-confidence Lakshmi scheme aimed “ambitiously intro- ted to AP were vacated and tary constituency presi- The film, starring Sundeep notices to the producers and
motion that they had moved at empowering women K. Apoorva Rao duced by the Telangana more importantly the dent Palla Srinivasa Rao Kishan and Varsha Bollam- the CBFC, directing them
against the civic body vice- by giving them free bus government” is being High Court was bifurcat- said it would be a sense- ma and directed by V. reply before February 29.
chairman after talks with BRS rides. Hyderabad, has worked implemented success- ed. less decision to move to
MLC K. Kavitha in Hyderabad on Apoorva assumed as the SP of fully and she will do her Telangana BJP leaders Hyderabad. “Amaravati,
Tuesday. The meeting was held office and took to her Wanaparthy, Gadwal best to implement the saw a conspiracy jointly Vizag and three capitals
in the presence of local MLA chambers at the and Nalgonda districts. scheme more effectively. hatched by BRS chief K. gone and now the YSRC
Sanjay Kumar and MLC L. Hyderabad Bus Bhavan TSRTC’s managing She said that she Chandrashekar Rao and leadership want to move
Ramana. Asking them to rescind on Tuesday, after the director V.C. Sajjanar would support the Jagan Mohan Reddy to to Hyderabad and for
their decision, Kavitha promised government decided to congratulated Apoorva growth of TSRTC, stoke regional sentiments. what?” he said
that the BRS would give oppor- appoint her from her Rao after she assumed which is making its BJP leader Etala Rajendar Blaming both
tunities to all and sought their current role of SP. responsibility as the mark in the country's said, “The issue of Chandrababu Naidu and
support to fight the ruling party. Apoorva, a 2014 batch joint director of TSRTC. public transport sys- Hyderabad as joint capital Jagan Mohan Reddy for
IPS officer from She was advised to work tem. was never implemented in the fiasco, former floor
practice in the last 10 leader and AP BJP vice-
years. Raising the demand president P. Vishnu
CITY BRIEFS now is meant to trigger
sentiments of the people
Kumar Raju said it was
mistake on part of Naidu
to benefit KCR. Those who to shift the capital from
have lost base among the Hyderabad without build-
people are trying to make ing a full-fledged capital in
themselves relevant by Andhra Pradesh.
giving statements like Secondly, when the
this. There is no feeling Reorganisation Act facili-
that Hyderabad is a joint tated a joint capital for 10
capital among the people. years, the government
The demand is irrele- should have used the
vant.” time to build a new
Former minister Vemula capital.

Pregnant woman
Family members and friends of former prime minister
beaten up, baby dies
P.V. Narasimha Rao, including actor Tanikella Bharani, DC CORRESPONDENT after the attack and start-
take out a rally at P.V. Narasimha Rao Marg expressing HYDERABAD, FEB. 13 ed bleeding.
gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Her mother rushed her
announcing Bharat Ratna to P.V. Narasimha Rao. — DC A drunk punched his to Niloufer Hospital, said
eight-month pregnant wife Mangalhat inspector
resulting in the death of Anapa Ravi Kumar.
Students of Gove- their foetus at his in-laws Doctors said the foetus
rnment Degree house at Jinsi Chouraha had died in the
College from Swami Bodhamayanda of Hyderabad’s Ramakrishna on Ferbruary 9. womb.
Khairatabad sell Mutt, along with monks from different states, felicitates Mangalhat police arrested The couple was married
different types of a 90-per cent disabled person, Chandrakant Sagar, who the accused, Vijay Singh, in 2022 and disputes broke
paper-made on Monday. out over Vijay Singh’s
drew inspiration from Swami Vivekananda and set
His wife Pooja Singh addiction to alcohol and
handmade gifts on up an industry of making eco-friendly jute bags by complaint of stomach pain ganja.
the occasion of giving employment to several disabled persons. The
Valentine's Day, at programme was organised to commemorate Swami
Tank Bund on Vivekananda’s first public meeting at Mahbubia College
Tuesday. in Secunderabad on the same date in 1893, before going
— S. SURENDER to the United States where he made the historic speech
REDDY in Chicago. — P. SURENDRA

SEMINAR ON MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING PROCESSES HELD AT MGIT

DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
Mahatma Gandhi Institute of
Technology (MGIT), University of
Hyderabad (UOH) and IIT
Hyderabad jointly organised a
one-day seminar on recent
advances in materials and manu-
facturing processes, at the MGIT
campus in Gandipet on Tuesday.
The conference saw the presence
of teachers, researchers, scien-
tists and engineers from educa-
tional institutions and organisa-
tions delivering talks on the
developments in the field of mate-
rials engineering and recent
advances in the stream of manu-
facturing technologies. The event
was attended by IIT Hyderabad
director Prof. B.S. Murthy,
Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited
director Dr Thulasiraman
Muthukumar, Nuclear Fuel
Complex CEO Dr Komal Kapoor
and MGIT principal Prof. G. Experts delivering lecture at one-day
Chandramohan Reddy. seminar at MGIT Gandipet on Tuesday.

GOOD | SHOW 23 from across the country score perfect 100 in test

Seven from TS secure perfect

score in JEE Main Session 1
SANJAY SAMUEL
PAUL I DC
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
Seven students from
Telangana state scored a
perfect 100 in the Joint
Entrance Examination
(JEE) Main Session 1, the
results of which were
announced on Tuesday.
The seven were among 23
from across the country —
including three each from
Andhra Pradesh, Rajast-
han and Maharashtra, two
each from Haryana and
Delhi, and one each from
Gujarat, Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu, among others
— to get the perfect
score.
All of them are male can-
didates. Among the candi-
dates to secure an NTA
(National Testing Agency)
score, or normalised score
ranked from 100 to 0 based
on a curve of aspirants’
performances, two were
from Haryana, two were
from Delhi and one each
from Gujarat, Karnataka
and Tamil Nadu.
Over 11.7 lakh candidates
appeared for Session 1,
with Session 2 of JEE Main
scheduled for later this
year. The best of the two
scores will be considered
for the JEE-Advanced and
subsequent admission to
IITs.
Swati Soma, an entrepre-
JEE MAIN EXAM The
examination
NTA SCORES are normalised
was held in
scores across multi-session
Assamese, Bengali,
papers and are based on the
English, Gujarati, Hindi,
relative performance of all
Kannada, Malayalam,
those who appeared for the
Marathi, Odia, Punjabi,
examination in one session, a
Tamil, Telugu, and
senior official explained.
Urdu.
THE EXAM was also conducted WHILE THE first edition of the
outside India in Manama, Doha, Dubai, exam was conducted in
Kathmandu, Muscat, Riyadh, Sharjah, Singapore, January-February, the second
Kuwait City, Kuala Lumpur, Lagos/Abuja, edition is scheduled for April.
Colombo, Jakarta, Moscow, Ottawa, Port Louis, Based on the results of JEE-Main
Bangkok, and Washington DC and, for the first Paper 1 and Paper 2, candidates
time, in Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, and Oslo. will be shortlisted to appear for the
JEE-Advanced, which is a
one-stop exam for
After both sessions of JEE Main-2024, the ranks admissions to the 23
of the candidates will be released taking into premier Indian Institutes of
consideration the best of the two NTA scores. Technology (IITs).
neur, was thrilled with her Telangana were named Ri- scored 100 percentile in
son Soma Sree Ved for shi Shekher Shukla, Rohan physics, said “I am very
securing the 100 percentile Sai Pabba, Muthavarapu happy as I focused more on
in physics. Anoop, Hundekar Vidith, physics. My suggestion to
Ved told Deccan Chronicle Venkata Sai Teja Madineni, aspirants would be to refer
that he put in 11 hours of Sriyashas Mohan Kalluri to class notes repeatedly
preparation each day, with- and Tavva Dinesh Reddy. thoroughly. For short and
out fail even on holidays By securing 100 percentile quick revision, YouTube is
and festivals, for the exam. each, Telangana ranked top a good source.”
Thanking his teachers, he for the maximum number Purnachandra Rao, direc-
said: “My teachers encour- of such students. tor of a coaching school
aged me at each and every As many as 12.21 lakh stu- that produced four of the
point.” dents registered and over seven students, said:
Soma said: “His passion 11.7 lakh appeared for the “Telangana state stands
towards studies, right focus JEE Main Session 1 exam amongst the top three rank-
and right guidance helped from January 27 to ing states. Our students
him secure this success.” February 1. excelled among students of
The six others from V. Sri Raga Charan, who all institutes.”
 EDIT
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 14 FEBRUARY 2024
pg 6

Subhani

14 FEBRUARY 2024

TN Governor’s actions
a travesty of democracy
G
iven the quintessential behaviour of Governors appointed in the
southern states not ruled by the BJP, what R.N. Ravi did in the
Assembly Hall inside the historic Fort St George in Chennai on
Monday was not at all surprising. Ahead of Ravi, his counterpart
in Kerala had also done the same thing — refused to read out the custom-
ary Governors’ address prepared by the state government.
Ravi added a sprinkling of spice to his recalcitrance by stating that his
reading out the speech would be a constitutional travesty and by com-
plaining that the national anthem was not played at the start of the House
proceedings despite his repeated entreaties.
From the beginning of his tenure at the Raj Bhavan, another building of
historic significance in Chennai, Ravi had been expressing displeasure
over a plethora of traditions followed in Tamil Nadu. In fact, he even
picked holes in the nomenclature itself by saying that it should be
Tamilagan and not Tamil Nadu, a name bestowed on the erstwhile Madras
state by the DMK government soon after it romped home in the 1967
Assembly elections. The Governor raised a hue and cry over the transla-
tion of the Tamil poetic treatise, Thirukural, into English by G.U. Pope
without bothering about the fact that transla-
He added a tions of the classic were available in 42 lan-
sprinkling of spice guages and in English alone there were 57 ren-
to his recalcitrance derings.
Ravi even wanted to expel a state minister who
by stating that his was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate
reading out the but had to rescind the move after he was
Limits to BJP’s domination? LETTERS
NO NOOSE, GOOD NEWS
The joy in family members
speech would be a reminded that he was not empowered to execute
constitutional it by the Constitution. It was in continuation of
this trend of violation of norms, Constitutional
travesty and by provisions and democratic traditions that he
complaining that the has decided to not read out the speech prepared
national anthem was by the government and tried to impose his own
Bharat Ratna and Polls 2024 of eight Indian former Navy
personnel who were freed
in Qatar would be over-
whelming (Win for India,
The Lalu Prasad Janata Dal (Secular) of for-
Qatar frees ex-Navy men,
not played... idea of a Governor’s address on the elected state mer Prime Minister H.D.
Yadav/Tejashwsi
government.
Having been here for over two years, Ravi should have known that in
Parsa Yadav and RJD
Deve Gowda in Karnataka,
the Telugu Desam Party
Feb. 13). Thanks to Emir of
Tamil Nadu the singing of the Tamil anthem, ‘Tamil Thai Vazhthu’, Venkateshwar formation remains (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh,
Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad Al Thani for his
a solid Opposition the RLD in Uttar Pradesh,
Rao Jr
marked the beginning of any event and the national anthem was played
only at the end. Yet if he wanted the national anthem to be played first, it the breakaway factions of mercy and Prime Minister
was just to cock a snook at a tradition.
bloc in the state, the Shiv Sena and the
It was absurd for Ravi to vent his ire over the address prepared for him and conferring the Nationalist Congress Party Narendra Modi for the
being not to his liking because the elected government would only try to Bharat Ratna on (NCP) in Maharashtra, the diplomatic win.
blow its own trumpet when an opportunity arose to reach out to the Karpoori Thakur is Shiromani Akali Dal in Venkat Rudra

T
people. Ravi’s professed respect for the national anthem is itself a highly he announce-
questionable proposition since it was not only at the inaugural of the 2024 ment in quick
session of the legislature on Monday that he breezed out of the hallowed succession of
precincts without waiting for the playing of the national anthem. He had
done it at the first Assembly meeting of 2023, too. On both occasions he did
four
Ratna
Bharat
awards
not show any patience but left in a huff, adding some drama to his walk- conferred posthumously
outs and giving rise to the suspicion that he was trying to draw the public's on Karpoori Thakur, P.V.
attention. Narasimha Rao, Charan
But then the utterances of Assembly Speaker M. Appavu, which ironi- Singh and M.S.
cally had to be expunged by the presiding officer himself as they were in Swaminathan made it evi-
gross violation of constitutional provisions, only gave a tragic twist to the dent that it was done with
dark comedy that unfolded in the House. It appears that transgressing the the coming Lok Sabha elec-
Constitution has become the new normal. tions in mind. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
has not been a stickler for
ing “thank you” to Jayant
Choudhury and the
Rashtriya Lok Dal because
they are all set to rejoin the
BJP-led National Demo-
cratic Alliance (NDA).
The award for P.V.
Narasimha Rao is primari-
ly to snub the Congress
Party and Sonia
Gandhi/Rahul Gandhi. It
is an inexplicable animus
that the BJP/RSS leaders
nurse against the Nehru-
Gandhis at a time when
not going to change
that
itics will find it hard to pen-
etrate the land of Pallavas
and Cholas, or the tradi-
tions of Tirukkural and the
devotional outpourings of
the Shaivita and
Vaishnavite Tamil saint-
poets. The religiosity of the
Tamil country is a far cry
from the politics of religion
Punjab and the JD(U) in
Bihar. There is a precedent
for this coalition-building
when the CPI(M) under the
leadership of Jyoti Basu
kept the Left Front, com-
prising the CPI, the
Revolutionary Socialist
Party and the Forward
Bloc going despite the over-
whelming dominance of
the CPI(M). There is also
the difference. The CPI(M)
did not ever try to weaken
its smaller allies the way
Hyderabad
FARMERS’ STIR
The way barricades are being set
up in Delhi to restrict the entry of
farmers is shocking (Multi-layered
blocks to stop farmers stir today,
Feb. 13). Is this what Prime
Minister Narendra Modi means
when he repeatedly says “Sabka
saath sabka vikas”?
Khaizar Hussain
Hyderabad

It’s party-hopping season political etiquette. These

awards could have been
announced any time
they are marginalised in
the politics of the country,
and there does not seem to
of the BJP and RSS.
Modi is, however, persis-
tent and persevering in
BJP does with all its allies
except the Akali Dal.
Political scientist Rajni AGE BAR RAISED
Kothari had described the

A
s polls draw near, it’s party-hopping season. While also a season for between 2015 and 2024, and
some sportsmen, as in popular leagues like IPL, to change their he could have deflected
teams, where the remuneration would have been fixed with variable criticism about the politi-
pay and perks, here, however, the move is riskier. You could end up being cal motives behind the
a Member of Parliament and even a minister if lucky. Or you could end up announcement. The Prime
a loser, left by the wayside, ignored by new friends and old alike. Minister, however, takes
It takes exceptional political acumen to gauge the public mood and pride in the fact that he
decide when to switch sides. Babu Jagjivan Ram, for instance, was a mas- breaks all liberal protocols
ter of this art — as senior Congress leader and minister in Indira Gandhi’s
cabinet, he jumped ship along with H.N. Bahuguna barely months before
without compunction —
and he is not bothered
the 1977 Lok Sabha polls called by his own party and coasted to a massive about the ulterior political
win in the anti-Emergency Janata wave. motive behind the deci-
Decades later, the DMK, which was till then a part of the NDA, quit it and sion. Even those political
joined the UPA in 2004, and was back in power at the Centre again for 10 observers in the media
years. The RJD of Lalu Prasad Yadav, however, miscalculated. It quit the who are supportive of
UPA in 2009 before the results went in favour of the Congress. Narendra Modi felt com-
The 2024 season has started with the JD(U) of Nitish Kumar flip-flopping, pelled to take note of the
along with a change of guard in that state. The momentum is clearly in politics behind the move.
favour of the NDA, and its latest catch is the Congress leader and former The question that needs
Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan. It is not quite clear yet if to be asked is: what are the
another former chief minister will set sails for the saffron coast, dumping electoral benefits the BJP
the Congress. and the Prime Minister
The coming days will raise the curtains on the plans of many. But it is the hope to gain out of this. The
people who will take the final call. award for Karpoori
Thakur may not pay off
because present-day voters
DECCAN CHRONICLE
KAUSHIK MITTER
Editor
K. SUDHAKAR
Printer & Publisher
in Bihar know only Lalu
Prasad Yadav and Nitish
Kumar. The BJP has
gained more than a
DECCAN CHRONICLE offices are located at: foothold in the company of
Nitish Kumar over the last
Hyderabad: 36, Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad - 500 003, Ph: 040-27803930-4; Fax : 040-27805256
20 years, and it is set in a
Vijayawada: No.C-3 & 4 Patamata, Industrial Estate, Auto Nagar, Vijayawada (A.P.), Ph: 0866-2555284.
way to overshadow the
Visakhapatnam: Survey No.1/3A Beach Road, Near Kailasagiri Ropeway, Sector-9 MVP Colony,
Visakhapatnam - 530 017 (A.P), Ph: 0891-2552333/2552334; Fax: 0891-2755285 Nitish Kumar/Janata Dal
Rajahmundry: Vemagiri, Dhawaleswaram Rd, Rajahmundry, Ph: 0883-2417618/2417208; Telefax: 0883- (United) constituency. The
2417208 Lalu Prasad
Anantapur: Thapovan colony, Bangalore By-Pass Road, Anantapur - 515004, Ph: 08554-276903; Fax: Yadav/Tejashwsi Yadav
08554-276904 and Rashtriya Janata Dal
Karimnagar: H. No. 1-21-12/1, Cheralabhutkur Road, Mugudhumpur Village, Karimnagar-505186, PH. (RJD) formation remains a
NO. 9121181123.
solid Opposition bloc in the
Nellore: Survey No.527/2, Burranpur Village, Venkatachalam (M), Chemmudugunta Panchayat, Nellore, Ph:
state, and conferring the
0861-2348581/82; Telefax: 0861-2348580
Chennai: SP-3 Developed Plot, Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032, Ph: 044-22254747/ 48/50/51; Bharat Ratna on Karpoori
Advt Fax: 22254765/22254766/42305325 Thakur is not going to
Coimbatore: Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, No. 2/22 Sengalipalayam Road, N.G.G.O Colony Post, change that. The award for
Kurudampalayam village - 641 022 Charan Singh is like say-
be any hint of a comeback
by the family to power.
Modi believes in beating
down a political rival and
ideological enemy as com-
pletely as possible, which is
what politics of the kind
practised by Modi and the
BJP demands. Narasimha
Rao had no political reso-
nance in Telangana state
when he was alive and
none after his death.
The BJP is unlikely to
increase its vote share in
Telangana state because
Modi had awarded the
Bharat Ratna to Rao.
The award to M.S.
Swaminathan only shows
that the BJP has no clue
about the politics of Tamil
Nadu. The fictional symbol
of the “Sengol” that has
been placed in the new
Parliament building, acti-
vating the Tamil connec-
tion with Varanasi, and
now the Bharat Ratna for
Swaminathan will have lit-
tle, if any, political impact
in the state.
The BJP cannot hope to
make inroads into the state
by making these vague ges-
tures of goodwill in the
name of India/Hindu cul-
tural glory. Tamil cultural
consciousness is rooted in
a sub-soil of a deeply rooted
regional identity. The
attempt to homogenise
Indian/Hindu culture runs
counter to the Tamil spirit.
The Hindi-heartland
Hindutva brand of BJP pol-
hoping to convert the
whole country to the
Hindutva creed under the
guise of nationalism. He
may not succeed because
he is violating the basic
constitutional principle of
the modern Indian polity,
federalism, which respects
the space of regional pow-
ers and regional voices.
One of the hallmarks of the
Modi style of politics has
been talking incessantly
about India’s civilisational
glory and imposing politi-
cal authority emanating
from the BJP’s political
base in the Hindi-speaking
states. The imperiousness
that marked the Congress
in the 1950s and 1960s is
perpetuated by the BJP
under Modi over the past
decade. While the
Congress’ imperiousness
was mainly political, that
of the BJP is of insidious
cultural domination. The
gestures of goodwill for
Tamil without sharing
political power will remain
futile.
The BJP is able to gain a
comfortable parliamentary
majority without being
dominant in the southern
and eastern parts of the
country. But Modi is not
satisfied with being in
power at the Centre. He
wants to see the BJP in
power across the country.
That is why he has adopted
the strategy of reaching out
to allies, whether it is the
Congress as an umbrella
party where competing
groups hung together. The
BJP cannot become an
umbrella party because of
its inflexible ideological
moorings. The party, how-
ever, has no option but to
look for partnerships and
allies in the political field
and beyond. Modi has been
relentlessly working at
building bridges to differ-
ent factions across the
country. The hubris that
destroyed the Congress’
dominance was its belief
that India had no alterna-
tive to the Congress. The
BJP too is reaching its
hubris levels due to its
desire to impose Hindutva
across the country under
the pretext of uniting the
country. Modi’s latest gam-
bit of using the Bharat
Ratna award to reach out to
different groups and
regions in the country is a
weak one because he is not
able to hide his party’s
desire to rule the country
as the Congress did in the
first two decades after
Independence. The desire
of a political party to domi-
nate is quite natural, but
there are limits to domina-
tion. The BJP under Modi
is moving towards the
point of limitation.
The writer is a Delhi-
based commentator and
analyst
Unemployed youth especially those
in the reserved category should
take exams and try to get into state
service (Cong. raises age bar for
TSPSC by 2 years, Feb. 13).
N.R. Raghuram
Hyderabad
ISSUE JOB ORDERS
The government must issue
appointment orders to the 15,750
students who had cleared the selec-
tion as per previous notification
(Revanth reviews GO 46 on police
recruitment, Feb, 13). Students are
suffering a lot due to cancellation of
TSPSC examinations.
N.R. Ramachandran
Hyderabad
Email your letters to
info@deccanmail.com,
editor@deccanmail.com.
50 YEARS AGO IN
Pai suggests compulsory
national service
NEW DELHI, Feb. 13.
Heavy Industry Minister T. A.
Pai feels that the time has come
when the country should think of
a compulsory national service for
every Indian who has had the
benefit of education. ‘An educated
Indian should be made to give
something back to the country
before he gets employed’, he says
in an interview.—UNI.

I
n a unique phenomenon, the Maldives period-
ically chooses between two of the largest con-
testants on earth in a national election. The
individual candidates may go by any other
Probal name, but the influencer emerges from among the
behemoths: India or China. In successive polls,
DasGupta power has changed hands with such metronomic
fidelity that the losing candidate bides his time to
turn the tables next time.
As President Mohamed Muizzu won power in
Male, shocking Ibrahim Solih, it was known he
would lean towards China. In Muizzu’s early days,
with Beijing promising increased infrastructure
The rivalry in the region between India and
China has turned into a surrogate one. The scrim-
mage in the Himalayas is likely to be of contained
tactical importance, since neither can make head-
way in the mountains. However, when dimen-
sions of conflict expand to include the oceans and
the nations that dot them, it gives rise to the real
risk of a Chinese “string of pearls” around India
through satellite states and naval bases. That is
where emotional outbursts on every issue can
become self-goals for India.
The Chinese positions have stayed the course.
Beijing’s thinking on the Maldives began even
senior diplomat was heard on television sermon-
ising our neighbours not to cross “red lines”. “The
strength of diplomacy is to deal with inimical gov-
ernments,” counters Lt Gen. Sharma. In support,
he notes recent examples of India’s dealings with
the Taliban and earlier with Pakistani govern-
ments where back channels were deftly used.
There is an impression in India that any hostile
issue can be whipped up into a public interest phe-
nomenon by crowding out unfavourable views
using sheer numbers on social media. But those
jumping on this bandwagon have little or no un-
derstanding of how international affairs and
However, by the end of 2023, the surge of Chinese
tourists catapulted it to the third spot. Given the
rapid change in tourist demographics, Muizzu’s
plea to China for tourists will increase the Chinese
footprint in the islands and could challenge
India’s influence in future.
In the Covid-19 pandemic, the Maldives was the
only nation accessible to Indians without a visa.
Previously, Sri Lanka went through a cycle of pro-
China and pro-India periods. India’s relations
with Nepal hit a roller-coaster. After his China
visit, Muizzu spat out: “We may be small, but that
doesn’t give you the licence to bully us.”

From Maldives investments, there was an eagerness to cosy up.

This wasn’t unusual as past governments had
sided with either of the two powers. But this time,
before the rise of Xi Jinping. Until 2002, there was
no worthwhile trade, but in the next decade, trade
increased from $3 million to over $60 million. In
strategic choices work. The theatrics of tour and
travel operators and celebrities falling over them-
selves by cancelling tours to prove loyalty, when
Muizzu knows his cards well, having scrapped
the India-Maldives hydrography agreement. This
makes way for a Chinese research ship to dock in

& beyond: Why a fine balance was sacrificed in favour of brazen-

ness and antipathy towards an old friend. A trio of
deputy ministers threw the gauntlet by ridiculing
India’s Prime Minister, rousing anti-India senti-
the next decade, trade volumes crossed $500 mil-
lion. China has been working hard in these coun-
tries to build infrastructure it can later leverage.
The extent of China’s footprint in the country
the government had refrained from indulging in
mudslinging, was a case of unsought genuflection
by those whose decisions were skewed by an out-
burst of emotions.
Male in February, despite India’s concerns over
Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean. India man-
aged to turn things around in Sri Lanka earlier.
Given its location, size and lack of democracy,

India needs the ments. The improper comments upset Indians,

whose anger virtually scorched the digital space.
The Maldives government acted in time and sus-
can be gauged by the fact that China’s Exim Bank
funded the construction of the Sinamale bridge
connection to Male and modernisation of Velana
Take the case of a tourism outfit promising to
transform Lakshadweep into the Maldives. Any
comparison of infrastructure and potential
Maldives is a more vulnerable state. Lt Gen.
Sharma believes India needs to work with its
neighbours if it aspires to leadership of the Global

neighbourhood pended the deputy ministers, but the damage was

done. That junior ministers could actually whip
up a frenzy and had the agency to drive a wedge in
the India-Maldives equation was worrisome.
Conversely, it also meant any traveling lowball
could catch India’s heels.
Does a collective national outburst over any
comments, even excessive ones, make India too
predictable? Does it hurt India’s journey to becom-
ing a bigger force in the region?
International Airport in Male alongside invest-
ments in agriculture.
Lt Gen. Rakesh Sharma of the Vivekananda
International Foundation believes that, unlike
China’s deep pockets for investment, India is
known to build relationships through people and
essential services like medical tourism and educa-
tion. Though he asserts the initial anguish against
the remarks of the Maldivian ministers was nor-
mal, he cautions about going on an overdrive. A
between the Maldives and Lakshadweep is unten-
able. To claim that Lakshadweep, with its vulner-
able ecosystem and just 36 islands, can be trans-
formed into a tourist paradise, outstripping the
Maldives with over 1,100 islands (of which 187 are
inhabited) is outrageous and fanciful.
According to Maldives’ tourism ministry, the
Chinese didn’t comprise the top 10 list of tourists
in January 2023 while Indian tourists were the sec-
ond highest contributor.
South. Given Beijing’s malevolent machinations,
a powerful India that treats its neighbours as
equals stands to gain much greater acceptability.
Like accountability in a war stops at the general’s
door, the buck in political tussles must stop at the
gates of diplomacy.
The writer is the author of Watershed 1967 and
Camouflaged: Forgotten Stories from Battlefields.
He tweets at @iProbal.
 NATION
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 14 FEBRUARY 2024
SHORT
IAF JET TRAINER
TAKES
CRASHES IN WB,
PILOTS SAFE
RAJIB CHOWDHURI I DC
KOLKATA, FEB. 13
A Hawk advanced jet trainer
(AJT) of the Indian Air Force
crashed at Kharagpur in West
Midnapore of West Bengal on
Tuesday after it took off from
the Kalaikunda Airbase in the
district for a routine training
sortie.
There was no casualty as
both the pilots of the aircraft
had ejected safely before the
crash that occurred apparent-
ly due to a snag mid-air at
around 3.30 pm at a paddy field
in Murkunia village. Hearing a
deafening sound, the villagers
rushed to the spot and found
the aircraft lying damaged in
the muddy field. The IAF and
district police officers later
visited the spot.
The IAF later stated, “One
Hawk trainer aircraft of the
Indian Air Force met with an
accident at Kalaikunda, West
Bengal today during a training
sortie. Both the pilots ejected
safely. A Court of Inquiry has
been constituted to find out the
cause of the accident. No loss
of life or damage to civilian
property.”
AFTER BIHAR,
MOHAN VISITS U.P.
TO WOO YADAVAS
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY I DC
BHOPAL, FEB. 13
After wooing Yadav communi-
ty in Bihar to target vote bank
of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD),
Madhya Pradesh chief minis-
ter Mohan Yadav on Tuesday
visited Azamgarh, considered
the bastion of Samajwadi
Party (SP), in Uttar Pradesh to
court the community in the
Yadav-dominated region ahead
of the general elections, due in
April-May this year.
Yadav held three meetings of
the party's local OBC wing at
different places in Azamgarh
cluster, created by BJP by tak-
ing five Lok Sabha constituen-
cies to mobilise grass root
level workers of the party
ahead of the ensuing Lok
Sabha polls.
Addressing the party work-
ers and leaders on the occa-
sion, Yadav said that BJP has
launched a campaign to
increase its polling percentage
across the Lok Sabha con-
stituencies in the country in
the upcoming elections.
ASSAM, MIZORAM
AGREE: NO BORDER
VIOLENCE
Aizawl, Feb. 13: Mizoram
Chief Minister Lalduhoma on
Tuesday said that he and his
Assam counterpart Himanta
Biswa Sarma have agreed not
to allow any more violence
along the disputed inter-state
border.
Lalduhoma also said that
Assam Border
Development Minister Atul
Area
Bora will visit Mizoram next
month.
Addressing a press confer-
ence in Aizawl, the chief min-
ister said that he recently met
Sarma in Guwahati and both
discussed the border issue.
He said that the two neigh-
bouring states agreed to main-
tain peace along the border
and resolve the long-standing
dispute.
“We agreed that no more vio-
lence will be allowed along the
border. We have been making
efforts to resolve the dispute,”
Lalduhoma said.
NATIONAL SC
PANEL TO VISIT
SANDESHKHALI
Kolkata, Feb. 13: A delega-
tion of the National
Commission for Scheduled
Castes (NCSC) led by its chair-
man Arun Haldar will visit the
restive Sandeshkhali block of
West Bengal's North 24
Parganas district on February
15. According to a government
communication, Haldar and
his team will reach
Sandeshkhali around 11 am on
Thursday.
The members of the commis-
sion will meet the family mem-
bers of the women victims of
alleged sexual harassment and
hold a meeting with the dis-
trict magistrate and superin-
tendent of police.
The commission members
will later hold a press confer-
ence.
Protests continued in
Sandeshkhali for the sixth con-
secutive day, with a significant
number of women taking to
the streets, demanding the
arrest of TMC leader Sheikh
Shajahan and his alleged
“gang.” The accusations
include forcefully capturing
land and sexually harassing
women.
Talks continue, farmers
firm on their demands
Security in Delhi intensified with multi-layer barricades
FROM PAGE 1
While farmers from
Punjab struggled to make
their move towards Delhi,
farmers from Haryana
joined the protest, starting
from their respective
areas, after talks between
the Centre and farmers
failed on Monday night.
Besides a legal guaran-
tee for MSP, the farmers
are demanding the imple-
mentation of the
S w a m i n a t h a n
Commission's recommen-
dations, pensions for
farmers and farm labour-
ers, farm debt waivers,
withdrawal of police cases
and justice for victims of
the Lakhimpur Kheri vio-
lence. Among other
demands, the farmers also
want the government to
reinstate the
Acquisition Act 2013,
withdraw from the World
Trade Organisation and
Land
give compensation to the
families of farmers who
died during the previous
agitation.
Minister Arjun Munda
urged the protesting
farmer groups to have a
structured discussion
with the government on
the issue and cautioned
them to be “aware and
alert” about some ele-
ments that could defame
their protest for political
benefits.
Munda and commerce
minister Piyush Goyal
have held two rounds of
discussion with the farm-
ers' groups, including
Samyuka Kisan Morcha
(non-political) and Kisan
Mazdoor Morcha in
Chandigarh, which are
spearheading the ‘Delhi
Chalo’ agitation, to
resolve their concerns.
The Kirti Kisan Union
said in a statement, “The
BJP governments are cre-
ating an atmosphere of
terror to scare people. The
BJP government is treat-
ing the protesters as ene-
mies of the country.”
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(BKU) president Naresh
Tikait said the Centre
should hold talks with the
farmers and alleged that
its “stubborn approach” is
proving to be dangerous.
The BKU chief wondered
whether the farmers will
always be in agitation
mode, block roads.
SC rejects petition to stay
new law on EC selection
DC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, FEB 13
The Supreme Court on
Tuesday refused to grant a
stay against the new law
that provides for selection
of the Chief Election
Commissioner and
Election Commissioners
by a panel minus the Chief
Justice of India.
However, a bench of
Justices Sanjiv Khanna
and Dipankar Datta
issued notice to the Centre
on a plea filed by an NGO,
Association for
Democratic Reforms, and
listed the matter along
with other pending peti-
tions on the issue for hear-
ing in April.
The petition challenged
the constitutional validity
of the Chief Election
Commissioner and
other Election
C o m m i s s i o n e r s
(Appointment, Conditions
of Service and Term of
Office) Act, 2023.
Assam plans law to
curb evangelism
MANOJ ANAND I DC
GUWAHATI, FEB. 13
Assam Chief Minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma
said that his government
wants to bring a robust
legislation to curb evan-
gelism in the state apart
from banning polygamy
besides a law following
the pattern of
Uttarakhand’s Uniform
Civil Code.
Referring to the Assam
Healing (Prevention of
Evil) Practices Bill, 2024,
approved by the state cab-
inet on February 10 to
address the issue of
Farmers gathered at the Punjab-Haryana border during
their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march near Patiala on Tuesday. — PTI
METRO GATES SHUT
The Delhi Metro
regulated passen-
ger entry and exit
at nine stations on
Tuesday by shutting some
gates in view of the farm-
ers' proposed march to
the national capital. The
commuters were allowed
to enter or exit these sta-
tions through other
gates.
Rahul Gandhi condemns
Centre for police action
FROM PAGE 1
The I.N.D.I.A. bloc would
implement recommenda-
tions of the Dr M.S.
Swaminathan report on
farmer issues.
He said the BJP govern-
ment had conferred the
Bharat Ratna upon Prof.
Swaminathan, but had
failed to implement his
recommendations who
had recommended legal
guarantees for MSP.
The Congress leader also
slammed the Centre for
the police action against
the farmers who were
marching to Delhi from
Punjab and Haryana to
press for their various
demands including legal
guarantee to MSP.
Earlier, AICC president
Mallikarjun Kharge said
that the Congress was
strong enough to protect
democracy and the
Constitution, and the
party is working for this.
He said that the
REAL NCP ISSUE: SHARAD PAWAR
CHALLENGES EC ORDER IN SC
RAKESH K. SINGH I DC
NEW DELHI, FEB. 13
Veteran politician Sharad
Pawar has moved the
Supreme Court challeng-
ing an Election
Commission order recog-
nising the faction led by
Maharashtra Deputy
Chief Minister Ajit Pawar
as the real Nationalist
Congress Party.
Sharad Pawar, who
founded the NCP with for-
mer Lok Sabha speaker
PA Sangma and Tariq
Anwar in 1999 after their
expulsion from the
Congress, filed the peti-
tion through lawyer
Abhishek Jebaraj late on
Monday.
Earlier, the Ajit Pawar
faction had filed a caveat
through advocate
Abhikalp Pratap Singh to
fraudulent magical heal-
ing practices in the name
of treatment, Sarma told
reporters, “Magical heal-
ing is a dicey subject used
to convert tribal people.
We are going to pilot this
Bill because we believe
the religious status quo is
very important for a prop-
er balance.”
He asserted, “Whoever
is Muslim, should remain
Muslim, whoever is
Christian, should remain
Christian and whoever is
Hindu, let them remain
Hindu so that a proper
balance can be achieved
in our state”.
RAJASTHAN STEPS UP
SECURITY AT BORDER
Security has been
heightened along
Rajasthan’s borders
with Haryana and Punjab
and mobile internet sus-
pended in 3 districts in
view of the farmers’ stir.
IG, Bikaner, Om Prakash,
visited the Ratanpura bor-
der and reviewed the
arrangements.
Rahul Gandhi with
Mallikarjun Kharge
Constitution would be in
danger if democracy is
threatened in the country.
He alleged that Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
was seeking votes in the
name of OBC, religion
and God. Kharge accused
Modi of working with a
vindictive attitude and
targeting the Gandhi fam-
ily. Gandhi along with
Kharge flew to Delhi from
Ambikapur in a special
flight by suspending the
yatra which was sched-
uled to reach Balrampur
in Chhattisgarh on
Wednesday before enter-
ensure that no ex-parte
order is passed in favour
of the Sharad Pawar
group.
In a setback to the senior
Pawar, the Election
Commission announced
on February 6 that the
Ajit Pawar faction is the
real NCP. The poll panel
also allotted the NCP's
election symbol 'clock' to
the group led by his
estranged nephew Ajit
Pawar. The EC considers
the support enjoyed by
each claimant in the
party's organisational and
legislative wings in case
of a split. It also examines
its constitution and the
list of office-bearers that
was submitted to it when
the party was united
before allotting the elec-
tion symbol while decid-
ing such pleas.
GROWTH | BOUND
New norms for community radio stns
Chennai, Feb. 13: To
ensure the growth of the
community radio sector,
the government on
Tuesday increased the
advertising time for com-
munity radio stations as
well as the price rate for
advertisements.
It also increased the peri-
od for the grant of permis-
sion agreement from the
existing five years to 10
years, according to the
revised policy guidelines
for the sector, which was
released by Information
and Broadcasting
Minister Anurag Thakur
at the Regional
OPPOSITION REACTS
Why is the
government,
which wants
to garner
votes in the
name of farmers and
has given Bharat Ratna
to (MS) Swaminathan
and farmers’ leader
Chaudhary Charan
Singh, not giving MSP
to the farmers?”
— Akhilesh Yadav,
SP president
The Modi
government
has not been
fulfilling its
assurance
given to farmers, which
reflects its intention.
The Congress is
standing with the
farmers and supports
them”
— Jairam Ramesh,
Senior Congress leader
ing Jharkhand. Party
sources said that he air-
dashed to Delhi due to
some emergency develop-
ments, which could
include farmers’ stir in
the national capital.
Samajwadi Party chief
and former UP chief min-
ister Akhilesh Yadav on
Tuesday attacked the
Centre, alleging that the
government is in cahoots
with profiteers and that it
does not want to give MSP
to the farmers.
West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata
Banerjee on Tuesday con-
demned the firing of tear
gas shells at protesting
farmers in Haryana, dub-
bing it “the BJP’s brutal
assault” on cultivators.
“How can our country
progress when the farm-
ers are attacked with tear
gas shells for fighting for
their basic rights? I
strongly condemn the bru-
tal assault on our farmers
by the BJP,” she said.
Former Maharashtra CM and Congress leader Ashok
Chavan joins the BJP in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Chavan to fight RS
seat on BJP ticket
PRASAD PATIL I DC
MUMBAI, FEB. 13
Former Maharashtra
chief minister Ashok
Chavan is likely to file a
Rajya Sabha nomination
on Wednesday as a
Bharatiya Janata Party
candidate. A day after
quitting the Congress,
Chavan joined the BJP in
the presence of deputy
chief minister Devendra
Advertising time for community radio stations increased
Community Radio
Sammelan (South) here.
Under the revised policy,
the government has per-
mitted any eligible organi-
sation functional in multi-
ple districts to set up a
maximum of six commu-
nity radio stations in dif-
ferent districts.
The advertising time for
community radio stations
has been increased from
seven minutes per hour to
12 minutes per hour, while
the rate of advertisement
has been hiked from `52 to
`74 per 10 second, the
guidelines stated.
The policy also fixed the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed by members of the Indian community
upon his arrival at a hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Tuesday.
Modi: India third largest
economy in my 3rd term
SRIDHAR
PM thanks Zayed
KUMARASWAMI I DC
NEW DELHI, FEB. 13
In his first-ever declara-
for granting land
tion on foreign soil on the
outcome of the forthcom-
ing general elections in
India, Prime Minister
Narendra
Tuesday
Modi
announced
on
before a cheering Indian
community in Abu Dhabi
that in his “third term”,
India would become the
third-largest global econo-
my from the current fifth
position.
Referring to himself in
the third person and in a
sign of confidence, he
added that this is “Modi’s
Guarantee” which he
termed as a “guarantee
that a guarantee would be
fulfilled”. Modi is current-
ly campaigning for a third
term in office.
Addressing the “Ahlan
(welcome in Arabic)
Modi” event organised at
the Zayed City Stadium in
UAE’s capital city, Modi
listed the achievements of
his government and wel-
fare schemes launched by
his government for the
poor in India but did not
forget to heap lavish
praise on UAE’s President
Sheikh Mohamed bin
Zayed Al Nahyan and the
royal family for the excel-
lent state of India-UAE
relations.
In his speech, attended
by thousands of enthusi-
astic Indians, Modi
revealed that when it had
come to approvals for the
land for the grand BAPS
— PTI
Fadnavis. The Congress
is expected to easily win
one of the six Rajya Seats
from Maharashtra. The
BJP is expected to win
three seats while the Shiv
Sena and NCP will win a
seat each. However, if the
BJP decides to field the
fourth candidate, the
Congress candidate could
come in trouble in light of
Mr. Chavan’s exit from
the party.
Anurag Thakur
validity of the letter of
intent issued to an organi-
sation to one year, with a
buffer of three months to
the applicant for any
unforeseen circum-
stances.
FROM PAGE 1
Addressing the UAE
President as his “brother”
in his opening remarks
ahead of the talks, Modi
thanked Sheikh
Mohamed bin Zayed “for
his personal support and
for his graciousness in
granting the land for the
construction of the BAPS
Temple in Abu Dhabi”
that will be inaugurated
on Wednesday and the
speed with which the deci-
sion on approvals for the
temple construction was
taken after Modi made the
request earlier.
“Both sides noted that
the BAPS Temple is a cele-
bration of UAE-India
friendship, deep-rooted
cultural bonds and an
(Hindu) Temple to be
inaugurated in Abu Dhabi
on Wednesday, the UAE
President had promised
him (earlier) that wherev-
er he (Modi) draws a line
on the ground, that land
would be allocated for the
temple.
Describing the UAE as
India’s third-biggest part-
ner and seventh biggest
investor in India, Modi
said the two nations are
scripting a bright future
together where their
Sidda attacks PM
on job creation
M.B. GIRISH I DC
NEW DELHI, FEB. 13
Drawing a comparison
between the Congress led
United Progressive
Alliance at the Centre
from 2004-2014 with the
incumbent Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) led
National Democratic
Alliance, Chief Minister
Siddaramaiah
Tuesday questioned PM
on
Narendra Modi over his
assurance to generate
about 2 crore jobs a year
and referring to a report
of Centre for Monitoring
Indian Economy stated
that the unemployment
rate which was about 5.44
per cent in 2014 now
stands at 10.05 percent till
October 2023. In a release
here, Siddaramaiah ques-
tioned Modi “Where are 2
crore jobs?,” and stated
that under UPA rule,
employment generation
was 75 lakh a year while it
has come down to 29 lakh
● INDIA’S FIRST commu-
nity radio station was
inaugurated on the cam-
pus of the Anna University
in 2004.
The revised policy guide-
lines are expected to fuel
growth of the community
radio sector. The guide-
lines stated that the licens-
ee will set up an advisory
and content committee
comprising members of
the local community, with
50 per cent representation
for women.
India's first community
radio station (CRS) was
inaugurated on the cam-
pg 7
— PTI
embodiment of the UAE’s
global commitment to
harmony, tolerance and
peaceful coexistence,”
New Delhi said in a state-
ment. Modi said he felt at
home and among his fam-
ily whenever he visited
the UAE and thanked his
host. He also referred to
“important decisions”
between the two nations
on Tuesday, including on
the investment treaty and
the IMEC. Modi also
referred to the affection
and support of the UAE
President that has made
the ties between the two
nations so unique and
thanked the UAE
President for his visit to
India last month to attend
the Vibrant Gujarat
Summit.
financial systems too
would be integrated.
He spoke about how
India had seen construc-
tion of new airports, rail-
way stations, expressways
as well as the country’s
achievements both in the
manufacturing and agrar-
ian sectors such as milk-
production as well as hi-
tech sectors such as space.
He spoke about how
India had made great
strides in fintech and digi-
tal systems.
jobs generation under the
BJP rule over the country.
According to National
Crime Record Bureau, he
said two unemployed per-
sons resort to suicides
and in Karnataka, as
many as 1,129 unem-
ployed persons took dras-
tic steps to end their lives
in 2021. Pointing at
Central Government’s
Periodical Labour Force
Survey from 2019 to 2022,
Siddaramaiah said unem-
ployment rose to 22.9 per-
cent during the three
years. Among the various
age groups, he said, the
unemployment rate stood
at 43. 65 per cent in the
age group of 20-40 years,
14.33 percent in the age
group of 25-29 years and
unemployment rate in the
age group of 30-34 was
2.49 per cent. Even the
World Bank in its report
of 2022 on unemployment
in different countries said
India’s unemployment
rate was 23.22 per cent.
pus of the Anna
University in 2004.
Currently, there are 481
CRSs in India. More than
133 CRSs became opera-
tional in the last two
years. CRSs are low-power
radio stations, which are
meant to be set up and
operated by local commu-
nities. “Community radio
stations offer a platform
where content is dissemi-
nated in localised dialects
and regional languages.
Local, context specific
issues are raised and dis-
cussed in these stations in
local idioms,” Thakur
said. — PTI
cmyk cmyk

DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 14 FEBRUARY 2024 pg 8

 WORLD
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 14 FEBRUARY 2024
pg 9

Indo-American
is asst in USAID
Truce talks in Cairo; Bilawal’s withdrawal
Washington, Feb. 13:
shelling rocks Rafah boosts Nawaz PM bid
Sonali Korde, an In- Cairo, Jerusalem,
dian-American expert Feb. 13: Officials
in legislative affairs from the United AUSTRALIA SET TO BAN DOXXING
and budgeting, has
been sworn in as assis-
States, Egypt, Israel
and Qatar were meet- AFTER INFO OF JEWS PUBLISHED Bhutto: PPP to support ex-premier but not be part of govt
tant to USAID admin- ing in Cairo on Islamabad, Feb. 13: In a
istrator Samantha Tuesday to try to Melbourne, Feb. yet to be drafted, major boost to former Pa- ‘SHAM POLL WIN’ CASES DISMISSED
Power for the Bureau agree a truce in Gaza 13: The Australian would involve issui- kistan prime minister Na-
for Humanitarian as international calls government said on ng take-down notic- waz Sharif ’s bid to secure A PAKISTANI COURT
Assistance. “I view grew for Israel to hold Tuesday it will out- es to social media a record fourth term, on Tuesday dismissed more
Sonali, and I think this back on its planned law doxxing — the platforms and imp- Pakistan Peoples Party than 30 petitions filed by
packed house speaks assault on the Pales- malicious release osing fines for the chairman Bilawal Bhutto- jailed former premier Imran
to this for so many Sonali Korde tinian enclave’s sou- online of personal intimidation tactic. Zardari on Tuesday with- Khan’s party backed inde-
here, but Sonali is real- thern city of Rafah. or identifying infor- The government drew from the race, saying
ly a gift to us all. And New Jersey, home. France on Tuesday mation without the was responding to his party would support
pendent candidates who
because we get to see a “They took frequent said it was imposing subject’s permiss- news reports that the ex-premier without challenged the “sham victo-
lot of her, in time, and trips back to India wh- sanctions against 28 ion — after pro-Pa- pro-Palestinian ac- being part of the govern- ry” of top PML-N lead-
a lot of her many qual- ere Sonali saw a tale of “extremist Israeli set- lestinian activists tivists had publish- ment. ers, including for-
ities, which I will dwell two countries, such tlers” who it accuses published personal ed the names, imag- Despite independent ca- mer PM Nawaz
on,” Power said during incredible dynamism of committing hum- details of hundreds es, professions and ndidates backed by jailed Sharif and his
the swearing-in cere- and burgeoning intel- an rights abuses of Jewish people in social media accou- former prime minister Im- daughter Maryam. Jamiat Ulma Islam JUI-F workers take part in a
mony on Monday. lect, culture but also against Palestinian Australia. nts of Jewish peop- ran Khan’s Pakistan Tehr- protest in Quetta on Tuesday, amid claims of
She said Korde’s such extreme poverty civilians in the occu- Attorney-General le working in acade- eek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party vote-rigging in Pakistan’s elections. — AFP
parents, who migrated that persists in many pied West Bank. Mark Dreyfus said mia and the creative springing a surprise by
JAILED EX-PM Imran Khan’s
from India, gave her parts of the country — The 28 individuals the proposed laws, industries. — AP winning the most seats in party on Tuesday an-
an incredible upbring- even with all of the are now banned from Parliament, questions nounced that it will use the A PAKISTAN POLITICIAN declared the winner of
ing that endowed her success lifting so many entering French ter- loom over what the next platform of two rightwing a provincial assembly seat in last week’s election
with a deep apprecia-
tion for a world out-
hundreds of millions
of people out of pov-
ritory, the foreign
ministry said.
AL JAZEERA ASSAILS ISRAEL government of Pakistan
will look like five days
religious parties to form go-
vernment in the Centre, Pu-
says he will cede to a rival because he believes
the result was rigged. Hafiz Naeemur Rehman,
side of their Cranford, erty.” — PTI More than one milli-
on displaced civilians
TARGETING ITS JOURNALISTS after the general elections.
None of the three major
njab and KP. “PTI has deci-
ded to join Majlis Wahdat-e-
the head of Jamaat-e-Islami inKarachi, won after
he got 26,296 votes, compared to 20,608 for the
are crammed into Gaza Strip, Feb. risk and camera- parties, the PML-N, the Muslimeen to form the gov- runner-up. But Rehman believes the real
Rafah, many living in 13: Qatar-based Al man Ahmad Matar PPP, or the PTI have won winner was an independent candidate
camps and makeshift Jazeera on Tuesday was severely the necessary seats in the ernment in the Centre and
shelters, having fled condemned Israel wounded when the February 8 general elec- Punjab and Jamaati-e-Islami linked to Khan’s PTI party, who was
to there from Israeli for wounding two of pair were hit in tions to secure a majority in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.” listed as fourth with 11,357 votes.
bombardments in ot- its journalists. Gaza’s southern in the National Assembly
her areas of Gaza du- Reporter Ismail city of Rafah. and, therefore, will be un-
ring more than four
months of warfare.
Israel says it wants
to flush out Hamas
Abu Omar’s life is at

not allow a refugee are

— AFP

spreading.
able to form government
on their own, leading to a
hung Parliament.
Addressing a press conf-
PM Shehbaz Sharif reaffi-
rmed that Pakistan Musl-
im League-Nawaz (PML-
N) supremo Nawaz Sharif,
New PM: Alvi may
militants from hide-
outs in Rafah and free
Israeli hostages being
exodus over the bor-
der. Gaza health offi-
cials announced 133
Around half of Ga-
za’s 2.3 million people
are now packed into
erence here after the meet-
ing of the PPP’s high-pow-
ered Central Executive
74, will become the prime
minister for a record
fourth time.
not administer oath
held there, and is ma- new Palestinian dea- Rafah, many of Committee (CEC), held “I had said that Nawaz Islamabad, Feb. 13: Paki- session, while a similar
king plans to evacu- ths in the past 24 whom who fled other under his leadership, Bila- Sharif would become PM stan President Arif Alvi exercise would be condu-
ate trapped Palestini- hours, bringing the areas under fire. wal has said the reality is for the fourth time. And I may not be administering cted the following day.
an civilians. But no total to 28,473 killed “Since Israel said that his party does not maintain today that he is the oath to the new prime The members would no
plan has been forthc- and 68,146 wounded they are invading have a mandate to form a going to be the PM for the minister as his successor longer be members of the
oming and aid agen- since Oct. 7. Rafah soon...we read federal government. fourth time,” he said. will be elected before the provincial assembly if
cies say the displaced Many other people our last prayers every “Due to this, I will not be Bilawal noted that Imran next federal government they take oath in the nati-
have nowhere else to are believed to be night. Every night we putting myself forward Khan’s PTI refused to is formed, a media report onal legislature. Well-plac-
go in the shattered buried under rubble say farewell to one for the candidacy of the form a coalition with the said on Tuesday. ed parliamentary sources
territory. Israeli tan- of destroyed buildi- another and to rela- prime minister of Pakist- PPP which left the PML-N The News International told the newspaper that
ks shelled the eastern ngs across the dense- tives outside Rafah,” an,” the 35-year-old former as the only party to invite reported that the oath of the election of the Senat-
sector of Rafah over- ly populated enclave, said 30-year-old Aya, foreign minister said, add- the PPP to join the govern- the members of the newly- e’s 53 members, chairm-
night, causing waves much of which is in who is living in a tent ing that PML-N and the ment. Khan on Tuesday elected National Assemb- an/deputy chairman, and
of panic, residents ruins. Supplies of with her mother, independents have greater dismissed the idea of for- ly could be held on Feb. 26, consequently election of
said. Rafah neighbou- food, water and other grandmother and five numbers in the Centre. ming a coalition governm- three days before the dead- the president of the coun-
rs Egypt but Cairo essentials are run- siblings. Bilawal’s announcement ent with any of the main line for summoning the try has to be held before
has made clear it will ning out and diseases — Agencies came hours after former political parties. — PTI House for its inaugural March 8. — PTI

Farmers protest steep price rise US Senate passes $95 bn Kyiv

aid bill, but road ahead unclear
Washington, Feb. 13:
The Democratic-led US
Senate on Tuesday passed
a $95.34 billion aid pack-
age for Ukraine, Israel
and Taiwan, although it
faced an uncertain path
ahead in the Republican-
controlled House of
Representatives.
The lawmakers approv-
ed the measure in a 70-29
vote that comfortably ex-
ceeded the chamber’s 60-
vote threshold for passage
and sent the legislation on
to the House.
Demonstrators cook on a barbecue as farmers gather during a protest Twenty-two Republicans
over heavy regulation and cheaper imports, at the entrance of the joined most Democrats to
Mercabarna wholesale market in Barcelona, on Tuesday. Angry farmers support the bill.
have been protesting across Europe over rising costs, high fuel prices, “It’s certainly been yea-
bureaucracy and the environmental requirements in the EUs Common rs, perhaps decades, since
Agricultural Policy and its forthcoming “Green Deal”. — AFP the Senate has passed a
bill that so greatly impac-
ts not just our national
security, not just the secu-
ESTONIA PM ON RUSSIA’S WANTED LIST
RUSSIAN POLICE have put Estonian PM Kaja Kallas,
Lithuania’s culture minister and members of the
previous Latvian parliament on a wanted list.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Kallas was
wanted for the “desecration of historical memory”.
Russian state agency TASS said the Baltic officials PUT OFF ELECTION
were accused of “destroying monuments to Soviet
soldiers”, acts that are punishable by a five-year INTRUSION TRIAL,
prison term under the Russian criminal code.
POLAND’S AGRICULTURE A RUSSIAN military
TRUMP ASKS SC
minister Czeslaw appeal court on Washington, Feb. 13:
Former president Dona-
Siekierski apologised for Tuesday toughened a ld Trump is asking the
an incident at the sentence for a left- Supreme Court to exte-
Ukrainian border which wing academic, Boris nd the delay in his elec-
saw protesting Polish Kagarlitsky, who criti- tion interference trial,
farmers spill grain from cised Moscow’s saying he is immune
Ukrainian trucks onto Ukraine offensive, from prosecution on ch-
roads, stoking tensions from a fine to five arges he plotted to over-
between the neighbours. years in prison. turn his 2020 poll loss.
His lawyers filed an
emergency appeal with

Lanka to amend Online rity of our allies, but the

security of Western demo-
cracy,”
Senate Majority Leader
ing issued a statement
before the Senate vote
faulting it for lacking con-
servative provisions to
KREMLIN, MUSK
DENY RUSSIA
the court on Monday,
just four days after the
justices heard Trump’s
separate appeal to rema-

Safety Act after backlash Chuck Schumer said in

the Senate shortly after
the predawn vote.
Schumer told a news
stem a record flow of mig-
rants across the United
States-Mexico border.
Ukraine leadership sees
USING STARLINK
in on the presidential
ballot despite attempts
to kick him off because
of his efforts following
Colombo, Feb. 13: ment, it was not stat- to make punitive rul- conference later on Tues- the funding as crucial as it Kyiv, Feb. 13: The Kre- his election loss in 2020.
The Sri Lankan Cabi- ed which clauses of ings on offences. A day he was confident the continues to repel Russ- mlin on Monday rejected “Without immunity
net has decided to the Act would be am- false statement onli- bill would pass the House ian attacks and tries to Ukraine’s claims that Ru- from criminal prosecuti-
amend the Online Sa- ended, according to a ne would be liable, if with support from both keep its battered economy ssian troops fighting on on, the Presidency as we
fety Act, the govern- Cabinet note released convicted, to a jail parties if Republican Sp- going as the war nears its the frontline were using know it will cease to ex-
ment said on Tuesday, on Tuesday after Mo- term not exceeding eaker Mike Johnson wou- third year. Starlink internet termi- ist,” Trump’s lawyers
after it came under nday’s meeting. five years or to a fine ld allow a vote. US President Joe Biden nals. Kyiv’s GUR military wrote, repeating argum-
attack for stifling dis- The legislation, acc- not exceeding five “I call on Speaker John- has been pushing intelligence agency said it ents that have so far
sent and harming the epted in January, wo- hundred thousand son to rise to the occasion, Congress to pass more aid had proof the terminals failed in federal courts.
the country’s digital uld have led to the Sri Lankan rupees. to do the right thing: for Ukraine for months, were being used on a “sys- The filing keeps on
economy growth. establishment of the It would be enacted Bring this bill to the floor but has faced opposition tematic” basis by Russian hold what would be a
However, when it Online Safety Comm- with representations quickly,” Schumer said. from Republican hardlin- troops, accusing Moscow landmark criminal trial
was decided yesterd- ission, which would received from the It was not clear that ers, particularly in the of “smuggling” them into of a former president
ay to go for an amend- have been empowered industry. — PTI Johnson would do so, hav- House. — Reuters the country. — AFP while the nation’s high-
est court decides what to
do. It met a deadline to
LURKING | DANGER Altman reiterates his call for a body like atomic agency to oversee AI ask the justices to inter-
vene that the federal ap-
peals court in Washing-

Societal misalignments can harm AI: CEO
Dubai, Feb. 13: The
CEO of ChatGPT-maker
OpenAI said on Tuesday
that the dangers that
keep him awake at night
regarding artificial
intelligence are the very
subtle societal misalign-
ments that could make
the systems wreak
havoc.
Sam Altman, speaking
at the World
Governments Summit
in Dubai via a video call,
reiterated his call for a
body like the Intern-
ational Atomic Energy
Agency to oversee artifi-
cal intelligence (AI)
that’s likely advancing
faster than the world
expects.
ton set when it rejected
Trump’s immunity clai-
ms and ruled the trial
could proceed.
The Supreme Court’s
“There’s some things and healthy, but at some bots. decision on what to do,
in there that are easy to We’re still in the stage of a lot point in the next few OpenAI’s success has and how quickly it acts,
imagine where things of discussion. So there’s you years, I think we have to made Altman the public could determine wheth-
really go wrong. And know, everybody in the world is move towards an action face for generative AIs er the Republican presi-
I’m not that interested having a conference. Everyone’s plan with real buy-in rapid commercialisa- dential primary frontr-
in the killer robots walk- got an idea, a policy paper, and around the world.” tion and the fears over unner stands trial in the
ing on the street direc- that’s OK. I think we’re still at a OpenAI, a San what may come from the case before Nov. There is
tion of things going time where debate is needed and Francisco-based artifi- new technology. no timetable for the cou-
wrong. I’m much more Sam Altman at a cial intelligence startup, The UAE, an autocrat- rt to act, but special cou-
interested in the very healthy, but at some point in the is one of the leaders in ic federation of seven nsel Jack Smith’s team
next few years, I think we have to video chat dur-
subtle societal misalign- the field. Microsoft has hereditarily ruled has pushed for the trial
move towards an action plan with ing the World
ments where we just invested some $1 billion sheikhdoms, has signs to take place this year.
real buy-in around the world. Government in OpenAI. of that risk. Speech Trump, meanwhile,
have these systems out
in society and through Summit in Dubai, The Associated Press remains tightly con- has repeatedly sought to
— SAM ALTMAN on Tuesday.
no particular ill inten- has signed a deal with trolled. Those restric- delay the case. If Trump
tion, things just go hor- CEO, ChatGPT — AP OpenAI for it to access tions affect the flow of were to defeat President
ribly wrong.” its news archive. accurate information — Joe Biden, he could pot-
However, he stressed industry. ence. Everyone’s got an Meanwhile, The New the same details AI pro- entially try to use his po-
that the AI industry, like “We’re still in the idea, a policy paper, and York Times has sued grammes like ChatGPT sition as head of the ex-
OpenAI, shouldn’t be in stage of a lot of discus- that’s OK,” Altman said OpenAI and Microsoft rely on as machine- ecutive branch to order
the driver’s seat when it sion. So there’s you and added, “I think over the use of its sto- learning systems to pro- a new attorney general
comes to making regula- know, everybody in the we’re still at a time ries without permission vide their answers for to dismiss the federal
tions governing the world is having a confer- where debate is needed to train OpenAI’s chat- users. — AP cases he faces. . — AP
 HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 14 FEBRUARY 2024
quick Walmart’s India
sourcing to be
BITES $10 bn annually
INDICATORS % New Delhi, Feb. 13:
Walmart has sourced
Sensex 71,555.19 0.68 goods worth over $30 bil-
Nifty 50 21,743.30 0.59 lion from the Indian mar-
ket in the last two decades
S&P 500* 5,021.84 -0.09
for its global operations, a
Dollar (`) 82.99 -0.02 company official said on
Pound Sterling (`) 105.04 -0.27 Tuesday.
Now the Bentonville-
Euro (`) 89.39 -0.01 headquartered firm has a
Gold (10gm)* (`) 62,291▲213 0.34 goal to triple its sourcing
of goods from India up to
Brent crude ($/bbl)* 82.55 0.67 worth $10 billionn per
IN 10-Yr bond yield 7.099 0.001 year by 2027, Walmart Inc
US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 4.166 -0.004 executive vice president,
Sourcing Andrea
* As of 8:30 PM IST Albright, said.
Walmart is encouraging
micro, small and medium
Tata Motors cuts enterprises (MSMEs) and
entrepreneurs with prop-
er training and believes
prices of Nexon, that there is a tremendous
opportunity to continue to
Tiago EVs contribute to India’s gro-
wing economy, she said.
The company has been
Tata Motors on Tuesday said its doing business in India
electric vehicle arm has reduc- for the last 25 years,
ed prices of the two models, Albright said.
Nexon.ev and Tiago.ev, by up “We have already sourc-
● INVESTING IN high
growth markets like
India helps strengthen
relationships with
established suppliers,
and also develop rela-
tionships with new
ones to build long-term
global supply.
the company has trained
50,000 people so far,
Albright added.
“Our focus is to recruit
and train new suppliers to
fulfil our purchase orders
ICRA: PMSY TO
HASTEN PACE OF
SOLAR ROOFTOP
INSTALLATIONS
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, FEB. 13
Solar rooftop capacity
has touched 11 GW in
the past five years. The
new solar rooftop sche-
me can double the cur-
rent capacity to over 20
GW.
The rooftop solar
capacity in the past five
years increased to 11.1
GW as of December
2023 from 1.8 GW as of
March 2019. The growth
was driven mainly by
commercial and indus-
trial customers.
However, the capacity
fell short of the 40-GW
target set by the central
government.
The pace of installa-
tions in the rooftop
solar segment has been
constrained by various
implementation chal-
lenges including delays
in providing approvals
by the state distribution
utilities, lack of ade-
quate financing aven-
New models, higher inventory and SUV push boost auto sales
Jan. automobile sales
rise 13% to 3.9L units
MICHAEL GONSALVES
PUNE, FEB. 13
The Indian automakers’
passenger vehicle (PV)
retail sales jumped 13.3
per cent in Jan. 2024 to
3.93 lakh units, an all-time
high retail sales, due to
robust demand for the
sports utility vehicles
(SUVs), the federation of
automobile dealers associ-
ations (FADA) said on
Tuesday.
The carmakers had
retailed a total of 3.47 lakh
units in January 2023.
“The SUVs demand
along with the introduc-
tion of new models, grea-
ter availability, effective
marketing, consumer sch-
emes and the auspicious
wedding season under-
pinned this strong per-
formance,” said FADA
president Manish Raj
Singhania.
However, he maintained
that despite record sales,
serious concerns remain
regarding PV inventory
level, which is now in the
50-55 day range.
“This calls for immedi-
ate recalibration of pro-
duction from OEMs to bet-
ter align with actual mar-
ket demand and avoid
future oversupply issues,”
Singhania noted.
● THREE-W WHEELER
retail sales witnessed
an increase of 37% to
97,675 units from
71,325 units in Jan.
2023. Tractors sales
rose 21% year on year
to 88,671 units in
January.
The carmakers had
reported record whole-
sales in January as they
looked to build up invento-
ry of new and refreshed
models this calendar year.
“OEMs must balance
innovation with strategic
production planning to
ensure sustained success
and overall market stabili-
ty,” Singhania explained.
Meanwhile, two-wheeler
sales increased 15 per cent
pg 10
year on year to 14.58 lakh
units in Jan. as compared
to the sales during the
same period last year.
Singhania said improved
vehicle availability, the
introduction of new mod-
els and a shift towards
premium options have
contributed to increased
demand for two-wheelers.
The commercial vehicle
sales witnessed flat sales
growth last month at
89,208 units. However,
three-wheeler retail sales
witnessed an increase of
37 per cent to 97,675 units
from 71,325 units in
January 2023.
Tractors sales rose 21
per cent year on year to
88,671 units in January.
The total automobile
retail sales last month
stood at 21.27 lakh units,
up 15 per cent from 18.49
lakh units in Jan. 2023.

Kalyani Steel plans `26,000-crore spend

to `1.2 lakh on account of
reduction in battery cost. The
auto major has cut the price of
Nexon.ev by up to `1.2 lakh and
now the model price starts at
`14.49 lakh. Similarly, the com-
pany has reduced the prices of
Tiago.ev by up to `70,000 with
the base model now starting at
`7.99 lakh, Tata Motors said.
Printed & Published by
K. Sudhakar on behalf of Deccan
Chronicle Holdings Limited, Printed at
Deccan Chronicle Press at Deccan
Chronicle Holdings Ltd. #563/9/D&9/E,
Behind Andhra Bank Pet Basheerbagh,
Kompally, Ranga Reddy Dist. Editor:
Kaushik Mitter, RNI Reg
No.APENG/2008/24282. © All rights
reserved. Reproduction in whole or in
part without written permission of The
Editor, Financial Chronicle ® is
prohibited.
ed more than $30 bn in
products from India,” she
said speaking at the
Walmart Growth Summit.
The company is building
an ecosystem and taking a
people-led approach to
connect its work across
the country.
“Investing in high
growth markets like India
helps us strengthen our
relationships with estab-
lished suppliers, but also
developing relationships
with new ones to build
long-term surety and
diversity and global sup-
ply,” she added.
Under its Walmart
Vriddhi initiative, which
is designed to support
MSMEs in modernising,
expanding, and reaching
their domestic ambitions,
around the world. These
orders often lead to the
creation of new jobs. It
also allows our suppliers
to invest back in their
local communities,”
Albright said.
Walmart chief executive
officer Doug McMillon
and Walmart Internat-
ional president and chief
executive officer Kathryn
McLay in their joint video
address to the forum said
India is a country with
tremendous potential. It is
ready to help the Indian
MSMEs, which have a
good entrepreneurial spir-
it, to achieve their goals.
The growth summit will
help Walmart in provid-
ing the global market
access to the Indian man-
ufacturers. — PTI
ues and lack of aware-
ness among consumers.
The new scheme is
expected to address
these implementation
challenges. The consis-
tency in net metering
regulations across the
key states remains
important, finds Icra.
The ‘Pradhan Mantri
Suryodaya Yojana’ tar-
gets installing rooftop
solar projects in one
crore houses, enabling
these households to
generate up to 300 units
per month and achieve
savings in electricity
cost. REC Limited, has
been appointed as a
nodal agency for imple-
menting this scheme
across the country.
Bhubaneswar, Feb. 13:
Kalyani Steel Limited has
proposed to invest `26,000
crore to set up a titanium
metal and aerospace com-
ponents manufacturing
and integrated advanced
specialty steel and auto-
motive components manu-
facturing complex at
Gajamara in Odisha’s
Dhenkanal district, an
official said on Tuesday.
The state cabinet on
Monday evening approved
a special incentive for the
unit as it is going to be the
first aerospace and
defence manufacturing
complex in Odisha, chief
secretary P K Jena said
while briefing media per-
sons here.
He said the Odisha govt
is committed to foster a
conducive environment
for growth and innova-
tion, particularly in the
high-potential sectors of
aerospace, defence and
automotive manufactur-
ing.
The projects, with a com-
bined investment of over
`26,000 crore and employ-
ment potential of over
12,000, are set to usher in a
new era of industrial
growth and job creation in
the state, Jena said.
● ODISHA GOVT is
committed to foster a
conducive environment
for growth and innova-
tion, particularly in the
high-potential sectors
of aerospace, defence
and automotive manu-
facturing.
Further vendor develop-
ment will lead to signifi-
cant employment opportu-
nities in the subsequent
years. The jobs will prima-
rily be in the high-end
high-skill sector and will
open up new avenues for
the youth of Odisha, he
added.
The chief secretary said
the requirement of high
end-high skill jobs will be
achieved in collaboration
with local ITIs and poly-
technics, adding, that
these tie-ups for up-
skilling in the auto-com-
ponents, specialty steel
and alloys manufacturing
sector will boost Odisha’s
skilling landscape.
The project will bring in
vendors in the areas of
manufacturing and serv-
ice sectors that will pro-
vide a boost to the local
MSMEs and start-ups, he
asserted. — PTI

GAMES CITY CLIPS

SHORT TAKES
India’s oldest Test
player Dattaji dies
New Delhi: An accidental Indian
captain who matched the peer-
less Vijay Hazare stroke for
stroke with a cover drive to die
for, Dattajirao Gaekwad should
have played more than 11 Tests,
given the talent this remarkable
player from Baroda possessed.
On Tuesday, Gaekwad died in his
hometown Baroda at the age of
95. Statistically, he was the old-
est living Indian Test cricketer
since the death of Deepak
Shodhan in 2016.
A nightmare for the Bombay
(Mumbai) teams of the 1950s,
those cover drives, unfortunate-
ly, never really came off when he
played at the highest level from
1952 to 1961. His son
Aunshuman, who played 40
Tests from the 1970s to the 80s,
was more successful with a tight
defensive technique compared
to his father. But in those first
two and half decades post inde-
pendence, not every cricketer
could always be judged by the
Sreenidi host TRAU in I-League
Hyderabad, Feb. 13: Sreenidi
Deccan Football Club are back in
I-League action as they take on
Tiddim Road Athletic Union
(TRAU) Football Club of Manipur
here at the Deccan Arena stadi-
um on Wednesday. The Deccan
Warriors currently lie fourth on
the points table but a victory
could take them up to second
place while TRAU are languish-
ing at the bottom.
Head coach Carlos Vaz Pinto
and new signing Brandon
Vanlalremdika addressed the
media ahead of the clash.
Sreenidi Deccan left it very late to
snatch a winner against
Churchill Brothers last time and
Vaz Pinto acknowledged the
importance of such a morale
boost.
“It showed me that the players
were ready to fight until the final
whistle and also keeping their
focus to stick to the gameplan,
keeping possession and winning
second balls,” he said.
Sreenidi Deccan found them-
selves seven points adrift of I-
League leaders Mohammedan SC
at the mid-season break but a win
here could see them close the gap
to two points. “We can only focus
on what is in our control and that
is our own gameplan. The league
is a marathon where all matches
are difficult so it is important to
be consistent and keep picking up
points,” said Vaz Pinto.
Sreenidi Deccan trounced
TRAU 5-0 in the corresponding
fixture earlier this season but Vaz
Pinto is not taking anything for
granted. “They have a very good
coach who deserved to win the
Best Coach award last season for
what he achieved with the
resources at his disposal. They
have not had the best of seasons
but they have the ability to turn it
around and we need to prepared
for that,” he said.
Midfielder Brandon, signed
from Punjab FC on the January Students of the Global Indian International School
transfer window deadline day pose with their medals from the 3rd Wako India
who is a two-time I-League cham- International Kickboxing Championship held at the K.
pion, is looking forward to mak- D. Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi recently. M.
ing his debut for Sreenidi Deccan. Vaishnavi won two golds, one silver and a bronze,
“I am excited to be here. Sree Pragnya Gayathri secured two golds and two
Everyone is very friendly and giv- bronzes while M. H. Greeshmika Rao won one gold
ing their best to be successful. We and two bronze medals at the event.
Sreenidi Deccan’s Emboklang Nongkhlaw (in orange) and Brandon must treat every game like a final
Vanlalremdika train during a practice session in Hyderabad. if we are to win,” he said.
Resounding wins for Arooba, Nikunj
A rooba and Nikunj Khurana registered dominating

State boys sail into Army school

prism of statistics. A Test aver-
age of less than 20 spread
across nine years came at a time
when the national team was los-
ing more than winning. — PTI
Chelsea push
Palace into crisis
London: Conor Gallagher struck
twice to condemn his former
club Crystal Palace to a damag-
ing 3-1 defeat on Monday and
keep Chelsea in the hunt for
European football next season.
The injury-ravaged Eagles were
on course for a huge win in their
battle to remain in the Premier
League when Jefferson Lerma’s
long-range strike opened the
scoring.
But Palace have won just three
times in 19 games and were
undone late on after Gallagher
equalised within two minutes of
the second half.
Gallagher fired home his second
of the night and Enzo Fernandez
added the third in stoppage time
to lift Chelsea up to 10th and
within two points of seventh.
Defeat leaves Palace still just five
points above the relegation zone
in 15th. The home side were dec-
imated by key injuries with all
three of their star players
Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and
Marc Guehi ruled out. Hodgson
and the club’s board are under
attack from the fans and banners
held up before kick-off took aim
at a “weak club culture” and
“weak transfer policy.” — AFP
Hyderabad, Feb. 13:
Banny Bongur (13) born
to Ratanraj and Lakshmi
Bongur, a poor farmer
family
Kanjamalapur
in Bongur
in
Zaheerabad, Telangana ,
and Akshay Kumar, a dri-
ver’s son have altered the
fate of their families by
rising to the top of the
Sub Junior Fleet and
being tentatively selected
to the Army Boy Sports
Sailing School at Mysore.
Both boys are sponsored
by the The Yacht Club of
Hyderabad and are study-
ing at the
Ahmedabad Alumni sup-
IIM
ported Udbhav School at
Rasoolpura
Secunderabad.
in
Bannys’ father has a
small three acre holding
at Kanjamalpur, a hamlet
with a population of just
400, grows sorghum and
owns a few a few buf-
faloes while his wife
Lakshmi is a housewife.
Banny lives with his
uncle and erstwhile
sailor Yourrulu Prasad at
Rasoolpura.
Ratanraj and Lakshmi
are proud parents now
that their son is not just
ranked No. 2 in India
under the tutelage of The
Banny Bongur
Yacht Club’s charitable
programs but that if he
finally make it to the
Army when he turns 18
under the sports quota he
will be the highest bread
earner in the family and
the first Armyman in the
village.
Akshay Kumar (13) was
born in Hyderabad to
Narayana Murali and
Nagamani. Narayana is a
driver and Nagamani a
housewife. The family
also stays in the bylanes
of Rasoolpura in
Secunderabad.
A quiet and unassuming
boy Akshay is ranked
15th in India. Akshay was
selected because of a
well-earned athletic build
and good fitness apart
from sailing well during
the selection process. He
follows in the footsteps of
Akshay Kumar
Gowtham Kankatla and
Durga Prasad who also
studied at Udbhav and
lived in Rasoolpura and
are now officers in the
Navy.
Living close to
Hussainsagar has proved
to be lucky for so many
sailors.
This is the final selec-
tion process but now
begins the agonising wait
for the actual call letter
from the Army Selection
Committee at Delhi post
approval by the Sports
Authority of India.
“The preliminary selec-
tion of these two sailors
caps the induction of 21
boys before them from
the Yacht Club who are
mostly still studying at
the Army and Navy
Sailing Schools of which
three have already been
inducted into the Navy
and one into the Army
with solid sailing and real
careers with the forces
ahead of them,” said
Suheim Sheikh their
coach and president of
the Yacht Club of
Hyderabad.
“This truly vindicates
our tagline ‘Dignity
Through Sports’ as the
idea of setting up a sail-
ing facility for the poor
was to enable margin-
alised youth to exhibit
talent and make lucrative
careers to help lift a gen-
eration out of poverty,”
he added.
After they receive the
call letter, Banny and
Akshay will move to
Bangalore and study at
the Kendriya Vidyalaya
while being trained to
sail by Army coaches
from the MEG centre and
Trishna Sailing Club at
Mysore. Thereafter, they
will hopefully turn in per-
formances at the national
and international level
and sail to fame like Vijay
Sabavath their predeces-
sor from YCH who got two
international medals at
the Asian level and is now
inducted into the Army
in Mumbai.
HYDERABAD U-23
IMPRESS WITH AN
INNINGS VICTORY
DC CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD, FEB. 13
Hyderabad Under 23 reg-
istered an innings and 130
runs win over
Pondicherry in a sixth
round match of the
BCCI’s Col. C. K. Nayudu
Trophy tournament.
Neyan Kangayan scored
a century (112) but follow-
ing-on, Pondicherry were
all out for 187 in their sec-
ond innings — they were
bowled out for 198 in the
first, in reply to
Hyderabad’s 515 for 9
declared at the SLIMS
Cricket Ground in
Puducherry.
Hyderabad collected a
bonus point (6+1) for win-
ning the match by an
innings.
BRIEF SCORES
Hyderabad 515/9 declared
in 125 overs bt Pondicherry
198 in 76.2 overs (Adil 33,
Ilyaan Sathani 3/17) & 187 in
56.5 overs Neyan
(N
Kangayan 112 — 150b, 20x4,
1x6, Nitin Sai Yadav 3/34,
M. Pratyush 3/33). Points:
Hyderabad 6+1,
Pondicherry 0.
wins in the second round of the Sripathi Venkat
Rao Memorial All-India Tennis Tournament at Lake
View Tennis Academy in Hyderabad. While Arooba
blanked Kyra Mankar 6-0, 6-0 in the girls Under 12 cat-
egory, Nikunj beat Bhuvan Katra with a similar score-
line in the Boys Under 14 section.
THE RESULTS (second round)
■ Boys Under 12: Aheel Mohammed bt Manvik 6-4, 6-1;
Shlok bt Goutham 6-3, 5-7, 6-1; Bhuvan Dhiraj bt Jayshu 6-
1, 6-0; Dwarakanath Verma bt Arinjay Bang 6-1, 6-1.
■ Girls Under 12: Arooba bt Kyra Mankar 6-0, 6-0; Kaira bt
Rhea Jodhbavi 6-2, 6-3; Gargi Oak bt Kashika Karanam 6-
3, 6-4; Lekhya Sri bt Raima Chawan 6-2, 6-1.
■ Boys Under 14: Nikunj Khurana bt Bhuvan Katra 6-0, 6-
0; Ishayu bt Uday Yasaswi 6-3, 6-3; Ishir Mehta bt Somal
Siddharth 6-4, 6-1; Naman Gupta bt Goutham 6-0, 6-1.
■ Girls Under 14: Sanvi Vundyala bt Bhavishya 6-1, 6-0;
Akanksha Siddhi bt Janaki Reddy 6-1, 6-1; Aanya
Thamineni bt Lekhya Sri 6-4, 6-2; Vindhyavasini bt Gowri
Shankar 7-5, 6-1.
Donald brace in Sporting’s victory
O K Sporting defeated Reeds FC 4-0 in a Telangana
Football Association’s ‘C’ Division football match
at the Gymkhana ground in Secunderabad. Alexander
(18th minute), Donald Murmu (27th, 41st) and Nipun
(49th) were the goal-scorers for the winners. In anoth-
er match at Reeds Football Ground in Bowenpally,
Young Dynamos drew with CCOB Junior goalless.
Hyderabad athletes for district meet
F ollowing athletes will represent the Hyderabad dis-
trict at the 19th National Inter-District Junior
Athletics Meet to be held at Ahmedabad in Gujarat
from February 16 to 18.
■ Girls: Anjali Kumari, Dhanyasri T. S, Janaksha Sanju S, Sai
Suhani N, Bandari Indira Paul, Shaik Suhani.
■ Boys: Abhinav Tirumani, L. Ramu, Shaik Nihar Warrior,
Shyam Sunder D, Syed Tazeem, Tanay Satyan and B.
Nishar. Coach: B. Bharath Kumar. Manager: J. Ravali.
 GAMES
DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 14 FEBRUARY 2024
pg 11

SHORT TAKES
Smriti becomes
world No. 4 batter
Dubai: India opener Smriti
Mandhana has jumped two
spots to grab the fourth posi-
tion in the latest ICC Women’s
ODI Player Rankings for batters.
The 27-year-old from Mumbai
surpassed South Africa’s Laura
Wolvaardt, who slumped to
fifth place after a lacklustre
show in the ODI series against
Australia.
England’s Nat Sciver Brunt, Sri
Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu
and Australia’s Beth Mooney
occupy the top 3 positions in
the batting chart, which also
has India skipper Harmanpreet
Kaur static at the 10th place.
Mandhana, who is set to repre-
sent the Royal Challengers
Bangalore in the Women’s
Premier League, last played
ODIs in the bilateral series
against Australia.
She had made 63 runs at an
average of 31.50.
In the bowling chart, which is
headed by England’s Sophie
Ecclestone, spinner Deepti
Sharma slipped a place to num-
ber four. The Indian, however,
moved a place to the fifth spot
in ODI allrounder list. — PTI
Allrounders lead
Proteas fightback
Hamilton, New Zealand:
Allrounders Ruan de Swardt
and Shaun von Berg used “hard
graft” to lead a South African
rearguard on Tuesday as they
reached 220/6 after New
Zealand had dominated the
start of the second Test.
De Swardt reached his maiden
half-century and was 55 not out
at stumps on day one. The 37-
year-old Von Berg was 34 on
his Test debut, with the pair
having put on an unbroken 70
off 27 overs in Hamilton.
South Africa won the toss but
were 64/3 at lunch and totter-
ing at 150/6 early in the final
session after David Bedingham
was dismissed in freakish fash-
ion. After losing in Mount
Maunganui by 281 runs, an
understrength South Africa
must win to avoid becoming
the first team from their coun-
try to lose a Test series to New
Zealand. De Swardt, who had
been one of six Proteas debu-
tants in the first Test, showed
the specialist batsmen how to
survive in a gritty knock. — AFP
Brief scores: South Africa 220/6 in
89 overs (Ruan de Swardt 55 bat-
ting, David Bedingham 39, Rachin
Ravindra 3/33) vs New Zealand.
PSL hit by pullouts
of foreign players
Karachi: Several high-profile
international cricketers have
pulled out of the Pakistan
Super League (PSL) due to the
overlapping of dates with other
franchise-based tournaments
and many cricket boards deny-
ing permission to their players
to compete in domestic T20
competitions.
The PSL begins in Lahore on
February 17 and all the six fran-
chises have been hit hard with
several players opting for the
Bangladesh Premier League,
ILT20 and SA20 leagues.
PSL side Multan Sultans have
lost several players they had
initially signed up for the
upcoming season, with England
pace bowler Reece Topley
being the latest to pull out due
to an injury. The England and
Wales Cricket Board also said it
had not issued a no-objection
certificate to Topley to play in
the PSL. — PTI
Hammer thrower
GEN Z TOUCH
Jurel, Sarfaraz in line for debuts; Gill skips optional training
Rajkot, Feb. 13: An will go into the Test Sarfaraz at first slip did
injury-hit India could match with a collective attract attention when
well go into the third Test experience of solitary the training session got
against England with game. Patidar made his underway, it was also the
two debutants in domes- debut in Visakhapatnam. sight of a lean and bub-
tic run-machine Sarfaraz With a transition phase bly young keeper Jurel
Khan and hard-hitting looming large, a glimpse taking some sharp catch-
keeper-batter Dhruv into the future of India’s es which sparked a lot of
Chand Jurel on a track Test side became appar- interest.
that will be quite similar ent here on Tuesday Accompanying them at
to the first two Test when the team hit the the second slip was the
matches. ground running to pre- dashing opener Yashasvi
Last match’s centurion pare for the third Test. Jaiswal, who at times cel-
Shubman Gill however Usually spoilt for choic- ebrated taking catches as
did not attend the option- es when it comes to selec- if he was playing a game,
al training on Tuesday. It tion and perennially throwing the ball high in
must be noted that Gill dominant at home, India the air in jubilation.
had hurt his right index have had to make do with Having had a look at the
finger while fielding in a mix of experienced and pitch upon arrival, Rohit
the second Test in rookie players against Sharma and coach Rahul
Visakhapatnam. He did- England in the first two Dravid watched the pro-
n’t field during the India captain Rohit Sharma during practice ahead of Tests of the five-match ceedings from a distance
England second innings the third Test against England at Saurashtra Cricket series in absence of the for a while before the
and also said that the Association Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday. — PTI regular stars. Patidar Indian skipper decided to
injury isn’t too serious. and Sarfaraz were both join the catching session
With Shreyas Iyer Trophy. In case of Jurel, successive Tests. part of a new-look slip for a brief period of time.
being dropped and K. L. it is his superior batting With Rajat Patidar, cordon when India began Rohit then headed into
Rahul yet to recover, quality that could get Sarfaraz and Jurel bat- their training here at the the nets where he was
doors have opened for him the nod ahead of ting between Nos 4 to 7, Saurashtra Cricket joined by Patidar and
Sarfaraz, who has been Kona Bharat, who has three of the four middle Association Stadium. Sarfaraz, who both had
one of the most prolific
performers in Ranji
failed to score a single
half-century in seven
order players (other
being Ravindra Jadeja)
While Patidar, posi-
tioned at gully and
extended sessions facing
local bowlers. — PTI
Miffed BCCI may make
playing in Ranji, a must
Mumbai, Feb. 13:
Jharkhand keeper-bat- IPL | PARTICIPATION
ter Ishan Kishan’s
reluctance to play first- ● It has been learnt that BCCI brass has
class cricket and focus already instructed Ishan Kishan to play
only on the IPL could Jharkhand’s last group game against
prompt the BCCI to Rajasthan in Jamshedpur, starting February
make a minimum num- 16. The manner in which Kishan had skipped
ber of Ranji Trophy match after match after returning midway
games mandatory for from South Africa tour citing “travel fatigue”
players in order to be
eligible for the cash- hasn’t exactly gone down well with men who
rich league’s lucrative matter in the Indian cricket establishment.
auction pool.
It has been learnt that consensus that a strict appear in IPL auction if
BCCI brass has already policy need to be released by their fran-
instructed Kishan to adhered to so that a chise. The state units
play Jharkhand’s last group of young players feel unless the diktat
group league game don’t make “playing comes from top of
against Rajasthan in IPL to IPL” a habit. BCCI, some of the
Jamshedpur, starting “The decision makers young stars will treat
February 16. in BCCI are well aware Ranji Trophy with dis-
The manner in which that some players don’t dain,” he added.
Kishan had skipped want to play any red It is understood that
match after match after ball cricket. If they are even Indian team’s
returning midway from out of Indian team, think-tank are pissed
South Africa tour cit- they would at best play off with a certain sec-
ing “travel fatigue” has- a few Mushtaq Ali T20 tion of players, who are
n’t exactly gone down games and then not always reluctant to play
well with men who mat- report for state team
duty during red ball
Ranji Trophy even
when they are fit. “We
ter in the Indian cricket
establishment. More so
after it was found that
season,” a senior BCCI
official said.
can understand Hardik
Pandya’s case as his
he is training in Baroda “To rein in such play- body can’t take the
with his new MI skip- ers, board in all likeli- rigours of red ball
per Hardik Pandya hood will make it cricket. He can’t with-
while his state team is mandatory to play 3-4 stand the workload of
languishing near bot- Ranji Trophy games, Test cricket and India
tom of group A table. failing which, they needs him fit for ICC
There is a general can’t play IPL or even events,” he said. — PTI
RECORD-SETTING WINDIES BEAT OZ
Perth (Australia), Feb. 13: Andre Russell (71 off 29 balls) and
Russell and Sherfane Rutherford Rutherford (unbeaten 67 off 40) led
put on the biggest sixth-wicket the fightback, with both posting
partnership in a Twenty20 interna- their highest T20 scores in a 139-
tional to steer the West Indies past run sixth-wicket partnership that
Australia by 37 runs in their third set a new standard.
and final clash on Tuesday. Australia started well with
Both men crunched quickfire Warner and captain Mitchell
half-centuries to propel the visitors Marsh reaching 61 without loss
to 220 for 6 in Perth with Australia after the six-over powerplay.
managing just 183 for 5 in reply, Warner clocked his 3,000th run as
David Warner top-scoring on 81 in he brought up a 26th half-century
his last appearance for Australia at off 25 balls before Marsh departed
home. The hosts won the first for 17, skying a catch to Jason
match in Hobart by 11 runs and Holder off Akeal Hosein. — AFP
sealed the series with a 34-run vic-
tory at Adelaide.
The West Indies made a horror
Brief Scores: West Indies 220/6 in 20 overs
(Andre Russell 71, Sherfane Rutherford 67

Rachna banned start after winning the toss and opt-

New Delhi: Indian hammer
thrower Rachna Kumari was on
Tuesday handed a 12-year ban
for failing multiple dope tests
by the international federation's
Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
The 30-year-old Kumari’s dope
sample, taken out-of-competi-
tion, was found to contain
steroids Stanozolol,
Metandienone,
Dehydrochloromethyltestostero
ne (DHCMT) and Clenbuterol.
“The AIU has banned Kumari
(K.M.) Rachna (India) for 12
years from 24 November, 2023
for the Presence/Use of a
Prohibited Substance
(Stanozolol, Metandienone,
DHCMT, Clenbuterol). DQ
results from 24 September
2023,” the AIU posted on X.
The athlete’s results have been
disqualified since September
24, 2023. This includes losing
any titles, awards, medals,
points, prizes, and appearance
money. — PTI
Regd. No. HQ/SD/509/2024-26
Printed and Published by
K. Sudhakar on behalf of
Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited.
Printed at Deccan Chronicle Press
situated at Plot No. 9 Alwal Village,
Vallabh Nagar Taluk, Medchal
Malkajgiri Dist. Telangana and
Published at 36, S.D. Road,
Secunderabad-3.
RNI Registration No. 3081/1957.
Editor: Kaushik Mitter
ing to bat, losing three wickets in
the opening three overs. But
Wrestling World body
lifts WFI’s suspension
New Delhi, Feb. 13:
Wrestling’s world gov-
erning body on
Tuesday lifted the pro-
visional suspension on
India but directed the
national federation to
provide written guar-
antees that there would
be no discriminatory
action against the
protesting trio of
Bajrang Punia, Vinesh
Phogat and Sakshi
Malik.
The suspension was
imposed by United
World Wrestling
(UWW) on August 23
last year after the
national federation
failed to hold elections
in time. “The UWW
Bureau met on
February 9 to review
the suspension among
other topics and consid-
not out, Xavier Bartlett 2/37) beat
Australia 183/5 in 20 overs (David Warner
81, Tim David 41 not out, Roston Chase
2/19, Romario Shepherd 2/31).
● The suspension major national and
was imposed by international events.
“This non-discrimina-
United World tion includes the three
Wrestling on August athletes who protested
23 last year after the against alleged wrong-
national federation doings by the former
failed to hold President (Brij
elections in time. Bhushan Sharan
Singh),” it asserted.
The suspension had fol-
ering all the elements lowed days of protest
and information, it against the then WFI
decided to lift the sus- President for alleged
pension,” the world acts of sexual harass-
body stated. ment and corruption.
“The WFI has to The trio of Punia,
immediately provide Malik and Phogat had
UWW with written taken to the streets to
guarantees that all lodge their protest and
wrestlers will be con- were often seen break-
sidered for participa- ing down while plead-
tion without any dis- ing for action against
crimination in all WFI Singh. The legal pro-
events, in particular ceedings against Singh
trials for the Olympic are ongoing at this
point.
Games and any other — PTI
cmyk cmyk

DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | 14 FEBRUARY 2024 pg 12