t RETURN OF
DICTATORS?
Opinion P20
48 PAGES
IN BRIEF
One-language
Osama son
killing pitch by Shah
confirmed
revives storm
OUR SPECIAL
CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi: Home minister
Amit Shah has test-fired a
“one-language” mission, pro-
jecting Hindi as the singular
choice that can unite the coun-
try.
The early-morning articu-
lation on Hindi Divas touched
a raw nerve in several non-
■ WASHINGTON: Hamza bin Hindi-speaking states, rekin-
Laden (in AFP picture), dling fears that the Centre was
a son of slain al Qaida forced to address just three
leader Osama bin Laden months ago.
and himself a notable fig- Unwittingly or otherwise,
ure in the militant group, Shah’s choice of words — “one
was killed in a US count- language” — also appeared to
er-terrorism operation, echo the phraseology “one-
the White House said on people, one nation, one leader”
Saturday. A White House that was in vogue in Europe in
s:
statement said the opera- the 1930s. The cult of the
tion took place in the leader, the underlying theme
Afghanistan-Pakistan of that phraseology, is back in
tp
region. Reuters fashion now in several parts of
FOREIGN P3 the world, including India.
Just before 8am on Satur-
day, Shah tweeted: “India is a
ht
METRO SPECIAL country of many different lan-
guages and every language
has its own significance. But it
is extremely necessary to have
one language for the whole
country that will be India's
identity in the world. Today, if
any one language can do the
job of holding the country to-
gether with the thread of
unity, it is indeed the most
10 Questions widely spoken Hindi.”
SEE PAGE 8 Several leaders from
Mail: ttghynews@abpmail.com southern India reacted with
alarm. M.K. Stalin, DMK
leader from Tamil Nadu, de-
5 cops arrested manded the home minister re-
tract his statement. (See Page
■ GUWAHATI: Three Assam 4)
police personnel and two Within 10 minutes of
home guards were arrest- Shah’s tweet, Bengal chief
ed for allegedly looting minister Mamata Banerjee
two persons of Rs 3.89
NRC status of 3.3cr published online
lakh near Dharamtul in
Morigaon district on Fri-
day night.
METRO
Nigerians held ABINASH KALITA
■ SHILLONG: Meghalaya Guwahati: The National Reg-
police have arrested six ister of Citizens (NRC) author-
Nigerian nationals in ities have published online the
East Jaiñtia Hills on Sat- individual status of 3.3 crore
urday, taking the total of people who had applied for in-
foreign nationals arrest- clusion in the updated regis-
ed to nine in two days. ter.
METRO The online status, pub-
lished on Saturday, shows the
QUOTE results of all persons who had
applied for inclusion in NRC
upto August 31, 2015, as either
This is India, rejected or accepted.
not Hindia The 1951 NRC is being up-
dated in Assam to prepare a
MK STALIN
register of Indian citizens
under the supervision of the
SERIOUS ISSUES ARE NOT ADDRESSED PROPERLY AT TIMES: SHARMA
Congress flags concern over judiciary
SANJAY K. JHA a news conference.
“We have expected
New Delhi: The Congress throughout that the
on Saturday expressed con- judiciary of this country,
cern about the judiciary, being the custodian of
saying institutions tasked the statute, shall protect
to protect democracy and its foundational values
the basic rights of citizens and citizens’ rights,” he
have at times failed to re- said.
spond adequately and Sharma continued:
timely. “There are concerns that
“There has been institu- timely intervention and de-
tional subversion and the liverance is not taking
institutions which are place. It is on multiple
tasked with upholding con- counts. What is happening
stitutional democracy and in Jammu & Kashmir is of
delivery of justice, to pro- utmost importance. Citi-
tect the basic rights of the zens feel dismayed. Consti-
citizens, have been weak- tution bench has been
ened,” Congress spokesper- formed but hearing has not
son Anand Sharma said at started. The delay raises
TUG-OF-WAR GO-TO MAN
tweeted: “Best wishes to all on
#HindiDiwas. We should re-
spect all languages and cul-
tures equally. We may learn
many languages but we
should never forget our moth-
er-language.”
Soon after Shah’s state-
ment, hashtags like
#StopHindiImperialism and
#StopHindiImposition began
trending on Twitter.
me
A little over three months
ago in early June, the Naren-
dra Modi government had
found itself in the middle of a
t.
language storm. The draft ed-
ucation policy created a per-
ception that Hindi was being
//
made a compulsory language
in all non-Hindi speaking
states.
Such was the intensity of
the backlash that the Modi
government, fresh from a
spectacular election victory,
was forced to tweak the draft
to allay the fears.
The issue has been particu-
larly fraught with risk for the
BJP since it is largely seen as a
Hindi belt party in spite of
making rapid strides into the
Northeast and breaking into
Karnataka.
In Bengal, too, regardless
of the recent impressive gains,
controversies over the vandal-
ism of the bust of Ishwarchan-
dra Vidyasagar and the “Jai
Shri Ram” chant have rein-
forced the perception that the
BJP is a north Indian party.
Shah seems to have re-
alised the sensitivity of the
topic he had waded into and
sought to fire from the shoul-
ders of Mahatma Gandhi and
Vallabhbhai Patel.
In another morning tweet,
Shah said: “Today, on the oc-
Supreme Court.
This complete list has been
uploaded on the official NRC
site after 14 days of the publi-
cation of the final NRC on Au-
gust 31.
It also allows individuals to
check the status of their family
members.
The response to the com-
plete list has been lukewarm,
unlike the release of the first
draft, the complete draft, the
final NRC, which generated
extreme reactions. However,
there were complaints of
spelling errors.
Altogether 19,06,657 appli-
cants had not made it to the up-
questions. Issues that
should be taken seriously,
at times are not dealt with
properly.”
Choosing his words
carefully to avoid direct
criticism of the Supreme
Court, Sharma said:
“There is an atmosphere of
fear. Citizens rely on
institutions to protect
democracy. It is not about
individuals and parties. If
people’s faith in institu-
tions is shaken, it will
cause a huge damage to
India’s democracy. Institu-
tions have to act without
fear or favour. Delivery of
justice and administration
should be done without
DURGA PUJA
GUWAHATI SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019 Rs 6.00
ds
ar
ow
/t
Amit Shah during a cleanliness drive at AIIMS in New Delhi on Saturday. The BJP has
launched a programme called ‘Seva saptah (week of service)’ to celebrate Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's birthday on September 17. (PTI)
casion of Hindi Divas, I appeal
to all the citizens of the coun-
try to increase the use of their
respective mother tongues
and also use Hindi as the one
language of the country to re-
alise the dreams of revered
Bapu and Iron Man Sardar
Patel.”
The Constitution does not
declare any language as the
national language. Hindi is
dated NRC published on Au-
gust 31. In all, 3,11,21,004 had
been included, out of
3,30,27,661 applicants.
To view one’s status, an
applicant has to key in the
unique application receipt
number (ARN) generated
after application for the NRC
updating exercise.
The cut-off date for inclu-
sion in the list was March 24,
1971. The final NRC came out
in two parts — supplementary
list of inclusion containing
names of applicants who were
declared ineligible for inclu-
sion through last year’s com-
plete draft NRC but later
fear of favour.”
The Congress
spokesperson also spoke of
“a targeted vendetta”
against leaders of the Oppo-
sition.
“Without going into de-
tails, there can be differ-
ences of views, ideologies,
but in a democracy, the
rights of all citizens are
guaranteed under the
Constitution. These con-
cerns are bona fide con-
cerns. There is a targeted
vendetta unleashed by
this government that is
directed at Opposition
parties.
“Many eminent citizens
are in jail; Congress leaders
BOLLYWOOD’S
Graphic P17
ow
rr
mo
to
one of the 22 scheduled lan-
guages in the country, and one
of its two official languages at
the national level, the other
being English.
Hindi Divas is observed
every year on September 14,
marking the day in 1949 when
the Constituent Assembly
adopted Hindi in the Devana-
gari script as the country’s of-
ficial language while allowing
found eligible, and the exclu-
sion list, with people found in-
eligible for inclusion.
In an announcement on
September 10, state coordina-
tor NRC Assam Prateek Ha-
jela mentioned, “Whereas the
final NRC publication on Au-
gust 31, 2019, consisted only of
supplementary lists, queries
were received about publica-
tion of results of all members
of a family irrespective of their
involvement in the claims and
objections process. The results
for the complete family will be
available only for display on-
line.
“Queries were also re-
have been singled out – be it
former finance minister P
Chidambaram or Karnara-
ka minister D.K. Shivaku-
mar. There are other exam-
ples.
“We have a question to
ask. Are there two sets of
rules and two sets of laws
in India — one which gov-
erns the Opposition and
one which benefits the rul-
ing party leaders?”
He then pointed to
BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh
and said cases are “immedi-
ately registered” whenever
a statement is made
critical of the government
or when journalists say
something.
In t2 on Sunday
English to continue to be used
as an official language too.
In the afternoon, Shah
posted tweets describing
India’s plurality of languages
as its biggest strength. But he
added that to prevent foreign
languages becoming domi-
nant,the framers of the Consti-
tution had unanimously given
Hindi the status of “rajb-
hasha” (official language).
ceived from the public about
the issue of certified copies of
rejection from final NRC. The
process of collection of the or-
ders passed by the NRC offi-
cers is being carried out to en-
able early availability of the
same to the public to file ap-
peals. The time-frame for this
process will be announced
shortly,” he added.
The NRC update is a result
of the six-year-long Assam Ag-
itation from 1979 to drive out
illegal foreigners from Assam
after the indigenous people felt
an identity crisis following
largescale infiltration from
neighbouring Bangladesh.
“Criticism of the gov-
ernment and legitimate
criticism or asking ques-
tions is integral to democ-
racy and to have a situation
when asking questions of
the government and criti-
cising is treated as an anti-
national act, it is the
biggest threat to Indian
democracy.”
Asked if he was ques-
tioning the credibility of
judiciary and saying it is
not doing its job, Sharma
said: “These are not my
words, I am only saying
the judiciary and other
institutions have a huge
responsibility of protecting
constitutional democracy.”
XXGL
Nirmala announces steps
valued at Rs 70000cr
Housing,
export
package
OUR SPECIAL
CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi: Finance minis-
ter Nirmala Sitharaman on
Saturday unveiled a Rs
70,000-crore package of
measures designed to
crank up exports and pro-
vide relief to the stress-rid-
den real estate sector.
But as usual it was thin on
specifics, leaving industry
struggling to figure out how
effective it would be in
achieving the larger objective
of steering the economy out of
a rut after growth in the first
quarter (April-June) stum-
bled to a six-year low of 5 per
cent.
The big announcement
was the decision to set up a
special fund that will provide
last-mile funding to affordable
and middle-income housing
projects that have been stalled
due to a liquidity crunch.
Funds will be paid out of
the Rs 20,000-crore corpus to
housing projects that are not
in the bankruptcy court,
Sitharaman told a media con-
ference while announcing the
third set of measures to ad-
dress stress in specific sectors
and boost the economy.
The fund will be run by ex-
ternal professionals. The gov-
ernment will contribute Rs
10,000 crore to the fund while
other investors will put in
roughly the same amount,
Sitharaman said.
Housing finance compa-
nies have been allowed to bor-
row funds abroad with the re-
laxation in the rules govern-
ing external commercial bor-
rowing (ECB).
The interest rate on hous-
ing building advance has been
lowered and linked to the yield
on the 10-year government se-
curity, benefiting government
servants who make up for a
major component of demand
for houses.
The stressed asset fund wi-
ll benefit around 3.5 lakh ho-
mebuyers, Sitharaman said,
adding that buyers stuck in
bankruptcy-bound projects
will get relief through the na-
tional company law tribunal.
Relief for exports
Exporters, who have been
clamouring for measures to
fight an alarming drop in rev-
enues in a tough environment
FOR HOUSING
WHAT’S IN IT?
● Special window to
provide last-mile funding ● Govt will forgo Rs 50,000
for housing projects that crore revenues under this
are stuck but not enmeshed scheme
in bankruptcy proceedings
● A Rs 1700-crore
● Centre will provide half provision to enable ECGC
of the Rs 20,000-crore to offer higher insurance
corpus which will be cover to banks providing
managed by experts working capital loans for
● External commercial
exports
borrowing guidelines to
be relaxed to facilitate
financing of home buyers
● Interest rate on house
building advance to be
lowered, linked to
10-year gilt yield
FOR EXPORTS
● New duty remission
www.telegraphindia.com
clouded by a raging global
trade war between the US and
China, have been offered a
new duty remission scheme.
The scheme, which is
called the Remission of Duties
or Taxes on Export Product
(RoDTEP), will come into ef-
fect from January 2020.
The new scheme “will
more than adequately incen-
tivise exporters than existing
schemes put together,”
Sitharaman said.
The government will forgo
Rs 50,000 crore in revenues as
a result of this scheme. The
Centre is already providing Rs
40,000-45,000 crore refunds
under existing schemes.
Besides, a Rs 1,700-crore
annual dole will allow Export
Credit Guarantee Corporation
(ECGC) to offer higher insur-
ance cover to banks that pro-
vide working capital for ex-
ports, she said. This will en-
able reduction in the overall
cost of export credit including
interest rate, especially for
small and medium companies,
she added.
The government an-
nounced a revised priority sec-
tor lending (PSL) norms for ex-
porters which will release an
additional funding of Rs 36,000
crore to Rs 68,000 crore.
The Reserve Bank of India
will frame the guidelines for
the export credit scheme.
Dubai-like fair
Sitharaman announced plans
for a mega-shopping festival
modelled on the world-famous
Dubai Shopping Festival. It
will be conducted at four
places in India in March 2020
on themes of gems and jew-
ellery, handicraft, yoga,
tourism, textiles and leather.
The finance minister said
the measures, together with
the ones announced on the
previous two occasions, will
help lift the economy and
growth rate will improve in
the second quarter.
She said there were clear
signs that the economy was on
the road to recovery and
the government had managed
to put the lid on inflation
which was pegged far below
the desirable threshold of 4 per
cent.
The finance minister
said the efforts made to im-
prove credit outflow from
banks had started to pay off.
scheme for exporters
from January 1
● Priority sector lending
rules to be recast; will
release additional
Rs 36,000 crore to
Rs 68,000 crore as export
credit
● Annual mega shopping
festival to be organised
in four places in March 2020
modelled on the Dubai Fair
2 FOREIGN
Singapore
air quality
worsens
Singapore: Singapore’s air
quality deteriorated to “un-
healthy” levels on Saturday
for the first time in three
years, data from the National
Environment Agency (NEA)
showed, threatening to deepen
a regional dispute over forest
fires.
Every dry season, smoke
from fires to clear land for
palm oil and pulp and paper
plantations in Indonesia
clouds the skies over much of
the region, raising concerns
about public health and wor-
rying tourist operators.
The 24-hour Pollution
Standards Index, which Singa-
pore’s NEA uses as a bench-
mark, was in a range of 87-106
in the afternoon. A reading
above 100 is considered un-
healthy. This is the first time
the benchmark has breached
100 since August 2016. Reuters
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A1, Mini Industrial Estate Cycle Factory, Kalapahar, Guwahati by Pradipta Biswas on behalf of ABP Pvt. Ltd . Editor: R Rajagopal.
Riyadh says fires under control without specifying whether production was affected
Houthi drone raids hit Saudi oil plants
Riyadh: Yemen’s Iran-aligned
Houthi group on Saturday at-
tacked two Saudi Aramco
plants, including the world's
biggest oil processing facility,
sparking fires in the latest
flare up of violence in the Gulf.
Saudi Arabia said it had
brought the blazes under con-
trol, without specifying
whether oil production or ex-
ports were affected. State tele-
vision said exports were con-
tinuing.
The drone strikes on the
world’s biggest oil exporter
come as state oil giant Saudi
Aramco has accelerated plans
for an initial public offering to
as early as this year, and fol-
low earlier cross-border at-
tacks on Saudi oil installations
and on oil tankers in Gulf wa-
ters.
Saudi Arabia, leading a
Huffman
sentenced
to 14 days
in prison
Boston: Actress Felicity Huff-
man, the first parent sen-
tenced in a wide-ranging US
college admissions cheating
scandal, was given a 14-day
prison term on Friday and
made a somber apology in
federal court for paying to
rig her daughter’s entrance
exam.
US district judge Indira
Talwani also ordered Huff-
man, the former star of the
popular television series Des-
perate Housewives and one-
time Academy Award nomi-
nee, to pay a $30,000 fine, un-
s:
dergo a year of supervised re-
lease and complete 250 hours
of community service. Huff-
tp
man, 56, pleaded guilty in May.
“My first apology is to
ht
Sunni military coalition that
intervened in Yemen in 2015
against the Houthis, has
blamed regional rival Shia
Iran for previous attacks,
which Tehran denies. Riyadh
accuses Iran of arming the
Houthis, a charge denied by
the group and Tehran.
The extent of damage from
the drone strikes in Abqaiq
and Khurais provinces re-
mains unclear. Aramco has
yet to issue a statement on the
pre-dawn attacks. No casual-
ties were reported.
Abqaiq is located 60km
southwest of Aramco’s
Dhahran headquarters. The
oil processing plant handles
crude from the giant Ghawar
field and for export to termi-
nals Ras Tanura — the world’s
biggest offshore oil loading fa-
cility — and Juaymah. It also
Actress Felicity Huffman
leaves the federal courthouse
in Boston with her husband
William H. Macy after being
sentenced over a nationwide
/t
college admissions cheating
scheme. (Reuters)
me
you,” Huffman, wearing a
black dress, told the judge im-
mediately before being sen-
tenced.
t.
“I realise now as a mother
that love and truth must go
hand in hand, and love at the
//
expense of truth is not real
love,” the actress said. “I will
deserve whatever punishment
you give me.”
Huffman was released
from court after the judge or-
dered her to report to prison
on October 25. Reuters
Smoke rises from a fire at an Aramco factory in Abqaiq,
Saudi Arabia, on Saturday after the drone attack. (Reuters)
pumps westwards across the
kingdom to Red Sea export ter-
minals.
Khurais, 190km further
southwest, contains the coun-
Cameron condemns Patel
to
ds
AMIT ROY
London: Priti Patel is the
ar
woman David Cameron was
photographed with at Howrah
Station in November 2013
when she was the former
ow
Prime Minister’s “diaspora
champion” for India but now
he does not think very much of
the current home secretary.
It is fascinating what
Cameron has to say about
India in his coming memoir,
For the Record, whose publica-
tion in London on September
19 is being promoted as the
publishing event of the year,
at least, so far as political
books are concerned.
The reality is that all books
by politicians have a very brief
shelf life before being offered
in second hand shops for a
couple of pounds.
Cameron has been paid
£800,000 for his book, which
isn’t bad but nowhere near the
ow
try’s second largest oilfield.
Many western employees
rr
of Aramco live in Abqaiq. The
US embassy in Riyadh said it
was unaware of any injuries to
mo
Priti Patel with David Cameron (centre in blue suit) at
Howrah Station in November 2013
£4.6 million Tony Blair man-
aged to get for his.
It is worth remembering
that out of all British Prime
Ministers to date, Cameron
was by far the most pro-Indi-
an. He visited the country
three times as Prime Minister
and once as Opposition leader
after he took over the Tory
party in 2006 and said he want-
ed special ties with India.
Americans from the attacks.
The Saudi-led coalition
launched air strikes on
Yemen’s northern Saada
province, a Houthi stronghold,
on Saturday, a Reuters wit-
ness said. Houthi-run al
Masirah TV said the war-
planes targeted a military
camp north of Saada city.
Hours after the Houthi
strike in Abqaiq, a Reuters
witness nearby said fire and
smoke were still visible. Earli-
er video footage verified by
Reuters showed bright flames
and thick plumes of smoke ris-
ing towards the dark pre-dawn
sky. An emergency vehicle is
seen rushing towards the site.
The Saudi interior min-
istry spokesman said Aramco
industrial security teams
fighting the fires since 0100
GMT had managed to control
Cameron wanted to use
Britain’s 2.5 million Indian
population to strengthen
India-UK relations and picked
out Patel, then a new MP, as
his “diaspora champion”. He
took her to India with him and
made sure she was pho-
tographed coming down the
aircraft steps with him when
his plane landed in Mumbai.
But Patel, a hardline Brexi-
THE TELEGRAPH SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
them and stop their spread. He
did not identify the source of
the drones but said an investi-
gation was underway.
The Houthis’ military
spokesman, without provid-
ing evidence, said the attacks
hit refineries at both sites,
which are over 1,000km from
the Yemeni capital Sanaa, and
pledged a widening of assaults
on Saudi Arabia.
The chief of Iran’s elite
Quds Force, Qassem
Soleimani, in a rare reaction to
such attacks on Saudi Arabia,
praised the Houthis for their
resistance in a Twitter post
that included the hashtag
Aramco. Tensions in the re-
gion have escalated in recent
months after the US quit an in-
ternational nuclear deal and
extended economic sanctions
on Iran. Reuters
teer, turned against him and
joined Boris Johnson and
Michael Gove in the Leave
campaign during the EU refer-
endum.
In an interview with The
Times ahead of the publication
of his £25 book by William
Collins, Cameron described
the behaviour of Messrs
Johnson and Gove as “ap-
palling”.
Cameron thinks Priti
crossed the line of decency: “I
remember her attack that
wealthy people didn’t under-
stand the problems of immi-
gration.
“It felt very like she was
put on point to do some attack-
ing of the government and its
record. I suppose some people
would say all is fair in love and
war and political campaigns. I
thought there were places
Conservatives wouldn’t go
against each other. And they
did.”
REGISTERED KOL RMS/232/2019-21, RNI No. 41028/82
XXGE
IN BRIEF
2 Malay
parties form
alliance
■ KUALA LUMPUR:
Malaysia’s two oldest po-
litical parties signed a
charter of formal cooper-
ation on Saturday, pre-
senting arguably the
largest political platform
for the majority Malay-
Muslims. Southeast
Asia’s third-largest
economy has seen a
string of racial flare-ups
over the past year and a
half. The union between
former ruling party
UMNO, which was oust-
ed by Mahathir’s coali-
tion in a general election
last year, and Islamist
party PAS, promises
that political power will
return to the ethnic
Malay-Muslims should
they win in the next polls
due in 3 years. “The con-
fusion within the gov-
ernment now is because
of the absence of brave
and worthy Malay lead-
ers,” UMNO president
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
said at the signing of the
charter. Reuters
US shooting
■ ALBUQUERQUE: Author-
ities in New Mexico’s
largest city scrambled
on Friday to piece to-
gether what sparked
separate shootings that
killed five people and
wounded six others. AP
Pak soldiers killed
■ PESHAWAR: At least two
Pakistani soldiers were
killed and as many in-
jured in cross-border fir-
ing from the Afghan side
in northwest Pakistan’s
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
state on Saturday. PTI
THE TELEGRAPH 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
XXGE
FOREIGN 3
Group of men hit younger victims with punches & kicks, reveal videos

HK rivals trade blows in malls

Hong Kong: Fights erupted in the men were filmed tearing new slogans and messages.
Hong Kong on Saturday with down post-it notes and posters “It makes me so angry,” a
political rivals trading blows on a nearby “Lennon Wall”, 37-year-old local pro-democra-
in a mall and Beijing support- pro-democracy billboards cy protester, who gave her
ers using Chinese flags to as- which have sprung up across first name as Ed, said. “These
sault opponents on a street, the city. walls are a form of emotional
deepening the city’s polarisa- Within hours, the wall was support, it shows the move-
tion after months of pro- back up as crowds put up ment is still alive.” AFP
democracy protests.
The once-stable interna-
tional hub has been convulsed
by weeks of huge, sometimes
violent rallies calling for
greater democratic freedoms
and police accountability.
The movement is the A pro-China supporter (left) fights with an anti-government
biggest challenge to China’s protester (centre) in a shopping mall in the Kowloon Bay
rule since the city was handed district of Hong Kong on Saturday. (AFP)
back by Britain in 1997 and

ow
shows no sign of ending, with In the district of Fortress kicks — as terrified onlookers
city leaders and Beijing taking Hill on Saturday, a group of ran away. Hong Kong police
a hard line. men, many waving Chinese did not respond to a request

rr
Fights broke out with in- flags and wearing blue t-shirts for comment on the incident.
creased frequency after pro- declaring “I love HK police”, Fortress Hill is next to
democracy supporters began attacked people perceived to North Point, an area of the city

holding impromptu singa-
longs of a popular protest an-
them — and as pro-Beijing
supporters have held rival
be pro-democracy protesters.
Multiple videos posted on-
line showed the group of men
assaulting largely younger
mo
where similar mob attacks by
government supporters have
occurred this summer and
which has long been a bastion

to
gatherings to sing China’s na- victims with large flags on of pro-Beijing sentiment.
tional anthem. poles — and with punches and Shortly before the assaults,

ds
ar
ow
/t

Hamza bin Laden. (AFP Photo /

Federation for Defence of
me

Democracies)

White House
t.

confirms
//

Osama son
killed
s:
tp

Washington: Hamza bin

Laden, a son of slain al Qaida
leader Osama bin Laden and
himself a notable figure in the
ht

militant group, was killed in a

US counter-terrorism opera-
tion, the White House said on
Saturday.
A White House statement
said the operation took place
in the Afghanistan-Pakistan
region.
“The loss of Hamza bin
Ladin not only deprives al
Qaida of important leadership
skills and the symbolic con-
nection to his father, but un-
dermines important opera-
tional activities of the group,”
the statement said.
A US official told Reuters
Hamza had been killed
months ago near the border
between Afghanistan and Pak-
istan. Trump was briefed at
the time on the operation.
The US government as-
sessed that Hamza, believed to
be about 30 years old, had suc-
ceeded his father as the head of
what remains of al Qaida, the
official said.
Hamza was at his fathers
side in Afghanistan before the
September 11, 2001, attacks on
the US. He also spent time with
his father in Pakistan after the
US-led invasion of
Afghanistan pushed much of
al Qaida’s senior leadership
there, according to the Brook-
ings Institution.
The US state department
designated Hamza a global ter-
rorist in 2017 after he called for
acts of terrorism in western
capitals and threatened to take
revenge against the US for
killing his father.
Reuters reported on July
31 that Hamza had been killed,
citing a US official with knowl-
edge of the matter. But Satur-
day’s statement represents the
first time the US government
has confirmed the operation.
It was unclear why the
White House decided to publi-
cize information about
Hamza’s death on Saturday
months after the operation.
The state department and
Office of the Director of Na-
tional Intelligence did not im-
mediately respond to a request
for comment.
Hamza’s last known public
statement was released by
al Qaida’s media arm in 2018.
In that message he had threat-
ened Saudi Arabia and called
on the people of the Arabian
peninsula to revolt. Saudi Ara-
bia stripped him of his citizen-
ship in March this year.
The state department said
the items seized from the elder
bin Laden’s hiding place in Ab-
bottabad during the raid had
indicated that he was groom-
ing Hamza to replace him as al
Qaida’s leader. Hamza mar-
ried the daughter of a senior al
Qaida leader. Reuters, PTI
4 NATION
IN BRIEF
Sahara
Developers
found guilty
■ NEW DELHI: The National
Consumer Disputes Re-
dressal Commission
(NCDRC) has directed Sa-
hara Developers to pay
Rs 2 lakh as compensa-
tion for “mental agony”
and “financial loss” suf-
fered by a homebuyer,
along with refund of
Rs 4.06 lakh, for a delay
of more than 10 years in
handing over possession.
Holding Sahara Develop-
ers guilty for “deficiency
of service”, the NCDRC
also directed it to pay int-
erest at the rate of 10 per
cent on the total amount
of Rs 4.06 lakh paid by
Alwar resident Tapasya
Palawat. PTI
Naxalites killed
■ RAIPUR: Two Naxals, car-
rying cash rewards on
their heads, were gunned
down in an encounter
with security forces in
Chhattisgarh’s Dantewa-
da district, police said on
Saturday. The gunbattle
broke out at around 11.30
pm on Friday in a forest
near Kutrem village
when a joint team of Dis-
trict Reserve Guard and
local police was out on an
anti-Naxal operation,
Dantewada SP Abhishek
Pallava told PTI. PTI
GLAMOROUS
Priyanka Chopra and
Farhan Akhtar at the
Toronto International
Film Festival
in Toronto. (AP/PTI)
Car crash kills 5
■ TIRUPATI: Five people of a
family, including two chil-
dren, were charred to de-
ath and another critically
injured when their car ca-
ught fire after ramming
into a roadside safety bar-
rier in Chittoor district on
Saturday, police said. The
mishap occurred when
the family was on its way
to Bengaluru from Tiru-
pati on Saturday morning.
The injured man was
rushed to a hospital in
Vellore, police said. PTI
Bomb scare
■ MUMBAI: A bag lying out-
side a private school at
Sion in central Mumbai
caused a bomb scare on
Saturday morning, po-
lice said. A passer-by
spotted the bag and alert-
ed police. A bomb dispos-
al team arrived, but
found only old clothes in
the bag. PTI
ART WORK
An artist prepares idols
of Goddess Durga for
the coming Durga Puja
festival in Chennai
on Saturday. (PTI)
Govt schools
■ NEW DELHI: The Rajkiya
Pratibha Vikas Vidya-
laya at Dwarka in New
Delhi has ranked the top
government day school in
the country. Kendriya
Vidyalaya, IIT Madras,
Chennai, and GVHSS for
Girls, Nadakkavu,
Kozhikode, are a joint
second. Kendriya
Vidyalaya, IIT Bombay,
Powai, stood third. The
schools were ranked by
the Education World por-
tal. The schools are
ranked on 10 parameters,
including academic repu-
tation, co-curricular ac-
tivities and infrastruc-
ture. PTI
Govt using numbers to duck scrutiny: Cong
SANJAY K. JHA
New Delhi: The Congress on
Saturday described as “nu-
merical authoritarianism” the
denial of the chairpersonship
of any among three key parlia-
mentary standing committees
— on finance, external affairs
and defence — that it had
headed in recent Houses.
The three committees are
crucial to the parliamentary
oversight of major govern-
ment decisions.
Congress MPs headed the
committees on finance and ex-
ternal affairs in the previous
House despite the party hav-
ing just 40-odd Lok Sabha
members. Congress members
headed the committee on de-
Waterfront eviction test for Kerala
K.M. RAKESH
Bangalore: Politicians of all
hues are making a beeline to a
clutch of plush waterfront
apartments in Kerala as the
clock ticks on a demolition
deadline set by the Supreme
Court.
The issue has raised wider
questions: whether a state
government that insisted on
enforcing in letter and spirit a
court order that lifted a ban on
the entry of women into
Sabarimala temple can take a
different stand now and
whether affluent flat-owners
should be given the leeway
that was denied to the poor.
Around 350 families have
refused to vacate the apart-
ments constructed in violation
of Coastal Regulatory Zone
rules. The families say they
had been misled by local au-
thorities who had approved
the real estate project.
The residents have to va-
s:
cate the buildings by Sunday
evening for the municipality
to implement the apex court
tp
order to demolish the cluster
of buildings by September 20.
The matter heard by the
apex court involves nearly 400
ht
flats in five buildings, con-
structed by four different de-
velopers.
The then Maradu panchay-
at, which later became a mu-
nicipality, had granted per-
mission in 2005 to construct
the buildings in violation of
the CRZ regulations that made
it mandatory to maintain cer-
tain distance from the water-
ways.
Since the matter came up
before the authorities, the flat
owners had put their foot
down and refused to vacate,
saying they had no place to go.
The Supreme Court had on
May 8 ordered the state to de-
molish the buildings in 30
days. But the residents got
some relief, after which the
court, on September 6, set the
September 20 deadline.
The ruling Left Front,
which has now thrown its
weight behind the residents in
an outburst of competitive
populism, is facing questions
on why it is not showing the
zeal it displayed in enforcing
the Supreme Court on the
Sabarimala temple.
The principled stand of the
Pinarayi Vijayan government
on the temple entry was
Package
‘cosmetic’
OUR SPECIAL
CORRESPONDENTAND PTI
New Delhi: The Congress on
Saturday pleaded with the
government not to harm
India’s image on the global
platform, saying the “finance
minister is clueless and sever-
al ministers are making aston-
ishing statements”.
Referring to the export and
real estate package annou-
nced by finance minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman, the Congr-
ess said: “Her announcements
today were purely cosmetic;
won’t help at all. Nothing on
investments, job creation, in-
fusion of capital, generate de-
mands, boost production.
“Saying that inflation is
under control is meaningless
today. Too much time has al-
ready been lost. We request
the government to come up
with a comprehensive pack-
age instead of making silly
statements and offering piece-
meal sectoral incentives.”
Congress spokesperson
Anand Sharma said: “I can
fence between 2004 and 2014.
The chairpersonship of the
committee on external affairs
has always been given to the
Opposition, ensuring biparti-
san consensus on foreign poli-
cy overriding the political dif-
ferences on domestic issues.
For the past two decades,
the committee on finance has
been headed by an Opposition
MP while the committee on de-
fence has traditionally been
chaired by a treasury bench
member.
“This (denial of chairper-
sonship) is a conspiracy to
weaken parliamentary
democracy. We strongly op-
pose this decision,” the Con-
gress leader in the Lok Sabha,
Adhir Chowdhury, told The
me
t.
//
A view of Jain Coral Cove, one of the five apartment complexes awaiting demolition in Maradu municipality in Ernakulam
blamed when the Left fared
miserably in the Lok Sabha
polls.
Among the flat owners are
several film personalities such
as popular actor Saubin
Shahir and actor-director
Major Ravi.
“I bought this flat with my
hard-earned money. Now I am
faced with the eviction no-
tice,” Shahir told reporters.
Shamsudheen Karunaga-
pally, a senior lawyer and
chairman of the Maradu Bha-
vana Samrakshana Samiti —
a collective of all the affected
flat owners — insisted no one
would vacate.
“None of us will vacate our
flats,” he told The Telegraph
on Saturday amid a series of
meetings as the D-Day
knocked on their doors.
“The government can do
only say that the finance min-
ister is clueless as to how to
deal with the gravity of the cri-
sis.
After the earlier announce-
ments of stimulus package,
the situation deteriorated and
the latest steps are not going to
help, Sharma asserted.
“The finance minister of
India is lacking in macroeco-
nomic understanding. A com-
prehensive package for eco-
nomic revival was expected,”
he said.
Sharma said what was re-
quired to revive the economy
was infusion of capital and not
merely “small interest sub-
ventions” which have been an-
nounced.
The government is unable
to do so because it does not
have money, the Congress
leader claimed.
Sharma hit out at Sithara-
man’s earlier statement blam-
ing millennials’ preference for
ride-hailing services such as
Uber and Ola over owning
cars, and not high taxes, for
slumping vehicle sales.
Telegraph.
“This is an attempt to es-
cape genuine scrutiny. They
have broken the neck of the
monitoring system. I have
written to parliamentary af-
fairs minister Pralhad Joshi to
review the decision and offer
chairmanship of either (at
least one) of the three — fi-
nance, external affairs or de-
fence — to the Congress.”
Adhir added: “Joshi told
me the BJP’s numbers had in-
creased and hence it will head
more Lok Sabha-related
standing committees. Our
numbers have also in-
creased.”
He went on: “It’s not about
numbers; it’s about the demo-
cratic spirit. The oversight
ds
ar
ow
/t
whatever it wants to evict us,
but none of us will move an
inch. If it comes to force, we
are ready to face anything,”
said the lawyer, who like other
residents, were waiting for the
apex court to consider their
curative petition.
He said the owners would
file a writ petition against the
eviction notice issued by
Maradu municipality in Ker-
ala High Court on Monday.
Former Union environ-
ment minister Jairam Ramesh
tweeted his support to the flat
owners and noted that, “in a
similar case of violation it (SC)
imposed on DLF (in Kochi) &
regularised. It had stayed the
demolition of Adarsh housing
complex in Mumbai. Why
such differential treatment?”
With just a day to go for the
eviction deadline set by the
A rag-picker collects bottles at a deserted fruit mandi in Srinagar on Saturday,
the 41st day of restrictions. (PTI)
committee cannot act as a gov-
ernment agency. The tradition
of appointing an Opposition
leader as the chairman is
aimed at ensuring objectivity.
That’s why the most impor-
tant public accounts commit-
tee is customarily headed by
an Opposition leader. By
flaunting numbers, the BJP is
practising numerical authori-
tarianism.”
Shashi Tharoor, who head-
ed the committee on external
affairs in the previous House,
tweeted: “It’s official: The gov-
ernment has decided to end
the tradition of the leading Op-
position party chairing the ex-
ternal affairs committee. Ap-
parently a BJP MP will now
hold the BJP government ac-
ow
rr
mo
to
Maradu municipality, politi-
cal leaders visited apartments
on Saturday and assured the
flat owners of all possible help.
CPM state secretary
Kodiyeri Balakrishnan as-
sured that the residents would
not have to vacate “today or to-
morrow”.
“The state government
will help in every legally possi-
ble way because the flat own-
ers have not committed any
crime. It is the builders and of-
ficials who are responsible for
the violations. But they es-
caped, leaving all the responsi-
bility on the flat owners,” Bal-
akrishnan told reporters after
meeting the aggrieved resi-
dents.
Congress leader Ramesh
Chennithala also visited the
residents to express solidarity.
“This is an extraordinary
countable instead. One more
blow to our soft power, image
& international reputation as
a mature democracy.”
Adhir was blunt, saying:
“The government snatched
important committees from us
because last time we discussed
Doklam and Rafale.”
While only the three sub-
jects of agriculture, environ-
ment and forests were covered
when the system of parliamen-
tary committees was intro-
duced in 1989, the number was
increased to 17 in 1993 and 24
in 2004.
Parliamentary work is
complex and requires serious
examination. It was felt after
decades of experience that
doing so entirely inside the
situation. Yet, the chief minis-
ter has not uttered a word. He
should speak out on this issue
that affects hundreds of fami-
lies,” said Chennithala. But
there have been voices against
allowing any concession.
Actor Shammy Thilakan
came up with a contrarian
view in his Facebook post on
Friday. “Should the wealthy
flat owners in Maradu get the
compassion that was denied to
the poor of Moolampilly?” he
asked citing how poor families
were evicted in 2008 in a near-
by island.
Ten families were forcibly
evicted from their homes in
Moolampilly to make way for
road and rail connectivity for
the Vallarpadam Internation-
al Container Transshipment
Terminal in Kochi 11 years
ago.
THE TELEGRAPH SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
Houses, under public glare
and partisan brinkmanship,
was impossible. So, the com-
mittee system was adopted.
These committees can con-
sider demands for grants,
study bills referred to them,
examine policies, call for docu-
ments and then prepare re-
ports for Parliament to consid-
er. These committees do not
oversee the day-to-day admin-
istration of the ministries;
they are a mechanism for par-
liamentary surveillance and
guidance to the executive.
The Congress has now
been given the chairperson-
ship of three committees:
home; information technolo-
gy; and science, environment
and forests. While Rajya
Don’t stir
language pot:
Congress
OUR BUREAUAND PTI
New Delhi/Chennai/Ban-
galore: The Congress on Sat-
urday cautioned the Narendra
Modi government not to trig-
ger another sectarian contro-
versy, this time over language,
and said there was no need to
tinker with Jawaharlal
Nehru’s three-language for-
mula.
The comments came after
home minister Amit Shah
pushed a one-nation-one-lan-
guage line in a Hindi Divas
tweet.
“We should not stir up con-
troversies on an emotive and
sensitive issue which has been
settled by the maturity of
India’s Constitution-makers
and the Prime Minister after
Independence. I am referring
to Jawaharlal Nehru,” Con-
gress spokesperson Anand
Sharma said.
“The three-language for-
mula (English, Hindi and the
local language) must not be
tinkered with and no indica-
tion should be given about a
rethink that will create strife
and unrest in the country.”
Sharma stressed that the
Constitution had declared
Hindi an official language long
ago and that it recognised 22
Indian languages in a nod to
the country’s diversity.
Bengal chief minister Ma-
mata Banerjee too was quick
to react, demanding respect
for all languages.
“My best wishes to all on
#HindiDiwas. We should re-
spect all languages and cul-
tures equally. We may learn
many languages but we
should never forget our moth-
er-language,” she tweeted, un-
usually early for her, at
8.06am, 10 minutes after
Shah’s controversial tweet.
Opposition politicians
from the southern states were
more direct in condemning
Shah’s remark.
“Language cannot be pro-
moted through falsehood,”
protested former Karnataka
chief minister and Congress
Gandhi bust
at commune
Villeneuve: President Ram
Nath Kovind on Saturday un-
veiled the bust of Mahatma
Gandhi, marking the 150th an-
niversary of the Father of the
Nation and hoped that his
legacy will inspire the
mankind to tackle climate
change and conserve ecology.
Kovind, in a special event
organised here, thanked the
commune of Villeneuve for
celebrating Gandhi’s legacy
and naming a square after
him.
“He built his first her-
mitage in India on the banks of
River Sabarmati. Today, we
have brought him to the banks
of Lake Geneva. You have
given him a special place, close
to nature and close to your
hearts.
“It is a fitting tribute to a
man who loved nature and
cared so much for it,” he said.
Noting that his teachings
remain relevant even today,
Kovind said: “His legacy shall
inspire us as we work together
to tackle climate change and to
conserve our ecology.”
XXGL
Sabha member Anand Shar-
ma will head the committee on
home, Tharoor will chair the
IT committee and Jairam
Ramesh the science, environ-
ment and forests committee.
Other Opposition parties
have been given chairperson-
ships of the committees on
health; food and consumer af-
fairs; labour; and chemicals
and fertilisers.
While BJP Lok Sabha
member Jayant Sinha will
chair the committee on fi-
nance, party colleagues Jual
Oram and P.P. Chaudhary will
head the panels on defence
and external affairs, respec-
tively. Rahul Gandhi will be a
member on the committee on
defence.
leader P.C. Siddaramaiah, ac-
cusing the Centre of falsely
claiming that Hindi was the
national language.
“Like Kannada, Hindi too
is one of the 22 official lan-
guages (actually scheduled
languages),” he said. Several
pro-Kannada organisations
took to the streets.
Hyderabad MP and Majlis-
e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader
Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted:
“Hindi isn’t every Indian’s
‘mother tongue’. Could you try
appreciating the diversity &
beauty of the many mother
tongues that dot this land? Ar-
ticle 29 gives every Indian the
right to a distinct language,
script & culture. India’s much
bigger than Hindi, Hindu, Hin-
dutva.”
DMK leader M.K. Stalin
said: “We have been protest-
ing the imposition of Hindi.
Today’s remarks by Amit
Shah gave us a jolt and will af-
fect the unity of the country.
We demand he takes the state-
ment back.”
He asked Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to clarify his
position. “There is an attempt
to impose Hindi by dividing
the spirit of our country, unity
in diversity. The DMK is ready
to defend the integrity of the
country,” he said.
AIADMK politician and
Tamil Nadu culture minister
K. Pandiarajan said: “If the
Centre imposes Hindi unilat-
erally, there will only be (ad-
verse) reaction and no sup-
port, not only in Tamil Nadu
but also in states like Bengal,
Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh.”
Vaiko of the MDMK and S.
Ramadoss of the PMK too op-
posed Shah’s remark, as did
state CPI secretary R. Mutha-
rasan, who slammed the Cen-
tre’s “linguistic chauvinism”.
In Bangalore, Janata Dal
Secular leader H.D. Ku-
maraswamy sought to know
from Modi when the Centre
would celebrate “Kannada
Diwas” like it is marking
Hindi Divas.
The President highlighted
the “special connection”
Gandhi had with Villeneuve
as he visited the town in 1931 at
the invitation of Noble laure-
ate Romain Rolland.
“In Villeneuve, Romain
Rolland played Beethoven for
him. They had long conversa-
tions on the Great War that
had ravaged Europe and how
peace could be secured for fu-
ture generations,” he said.
“As two democracies with
deep respect for diversity, Ma-
hatma Gandhi shall continue
to guide us in our shared jour-
ney to bring peace and joy for
one and all,” he said.
Drawing a parallel be-
tween the commune system in
Switzerland and the Indian
village republics, Kovind said:
“Gandhian thought has yet
another connection with you.
The communes have a dis-
tinct social and political role in
Swiss democratic polity. It is
very much similar to the way
Mahatma Gandhi laid down
his concept of Gram Swaraj or
Village Republics.” PTI
THE TELEGRAPH 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
XXGL
‘43 clips’ against rape-accused
PIYUSH SRIVASTAVA
Lucknow: The law student
who has accused BJP leader
Chinmayanand of raping her
for over a year said on Satur-
day she had submitted “43 au-
thentic video clips” that would
prove her allegations against
the former Union minister of
state for home affairs.
The woman, who had been
doing her master’s in law in an
Uttar Pradesh college owned
by Chinmayanand, said the
former MP secretly filmed her
while she was taking a bath in
her hostel room and then
blackmailed her by threaten-
ing that he would post the clip
on social media sites.
“He used to sexually as-
sault me by blackmailing me,”
SP trust evicted
PIYUSH SRIVASTAVA
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh
government on Saturday
evicted the Mulayam Singh
Yadav-headed Ram Manohar
Lohia Trust, a political wing of
the Samajwadi Party, from an
official bungalow in Lucknow
on the basis of a Supreme
Court order.
A huge force guarded the
area to prevent any resistance
from Samajwadi workers as
the state property department
took documents and other be-
longings of the party out of the
government building and
dumped them on the roadside.
In June this year, the
Supreme Court had ruled that
private trusts cannot function
from government buildings
and asked the state govern-
ment to take possession of the
bungalow.
Founded by Mulayam two
NATION
she told reporters in Shahja-
hanpur on Saturday.
The Supreme Court has set
up a special investigation
team (SIT) to probe the allega-
tions against Chinmayanand,
a three-time former MP and
minister in the Atal Bihari Va-
jpayee government.
Lawyers for the BJP lea-
der, known to be close to chief
minister Yogi Adityanath,
have claimed it is a “conspira-
cy” to blackmail Chinma-
yanand.
The woman claimed she
had collected more proof
against Chinmayanand and
kept it in her hostel room but
the evidence had either been
stolen or destroyed when she
disappeared from Uttar
Pradesh last month to protect
Mulayam Singh Yadav
decades ago, the trust carries
out political tasks such as poll
management for the Samajwa-
di Party. It used to operate
from the Samajwadi office be-
fore then chief minister
Akhilesh Yadav, in January
2017, allotted it a government
bungalow in the upscale
Vikramaditya Marg.
Since then, the govern-
ment was paying for the of-
fice’s running costs, such as its
electricity and water bills. Mu-
layam is the trust’s president
s:
tp
ht
5
Responding to an appeal by The woman, however, did
some lawyers, the Supreme not elaborate on the 43 clips
Court had later taken note of she said she had submitted to
her plight and set up the SIT the SIT.
and directed it to submit its re- Her father said the police
port to Allahabad High Court should book Chinmayanand
by September 23. for destroying evidence.
The SIT had grilled Chin- “Besides the cases of rape
mayanand at his Mumuksha and intimidation, a case for de-
Ashram in Shahjahanpur on stroying evidence should also
Thursday night and later be registered against the ac-
sealed his room. On Friday, cused. Being very close to the
Chinmayanand the probe team took the ruling dispensation, he is in a
woman to the ashram and her position to do anything if ac-
herself. Police later traced her hostel room. tion was delayed against him.”
to Rajasthan. Her comments on Satur- Uttar Pradesh police have
The woman had posted an day came when some repor- yet to register an FIR against
appeal on social media sites ters asked her about Friday. the BJP leader.
seeking protection from law
enforcement agencies and also
said she was on the run as
Chinmayanand had threat-
ow
ened to kill her.
rr
mo
and his younger brother Shiv-
pal Singh Yadav its general
to
secretary.
A state government rule at
the time allowed official bun-
ds
galows to be allotted to private
trusts for five years but
Akhilesh had approved a 10-
ar
year allotment. This prompted
S.N. Shukla, a retired IAS offi-
cer from the Uttar Pradesh
cadre, to challenge the allot-
ow
ment in the Supreme Court.
While saying private trusts
cannot function from govern-
/t
ment buildings, the apex court
declared the five-year-allot-
ment rule illegal.
me
“The trust had sought time
from the government to look
for a new office. We then
served it with a notice to pay
t.
Rs 70,000 a month as rent at the
market rate till they vacated
it,” a source in the state prop-
//
erty department said. “But the
trust didn’t respond.”
6 EAST
Lofty plans to improve RIMS, says Vardhan
ROBERT SAPAM
Imphal: Union health and
family welfare minister Harsh
Vardhan on Saturday said the
central government plans to
take the Regional Institute of
Medical Sciences (RIMS) here
to greater heights and make
facilities available on a par
with the country’s renowned
hospitals.
Vardhan said this while at-
tending the 48th foundation
day celebrations and gradua-
tion ceremony of RIMS here
on Saturday.
He said the Northeast has
witnessed phenomenal devel-
opment under Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. The mark of a
good doctor, he said, is deter-
mined by his behaviour to-
wards patients, adding that
doctors should work with
great precision and render
service with sincerity.
Vardhan said RIMS has
been ranked 28th in this year’s
all-India rankings in the med-
ical category and this would
not have been possible with-
out the dedicated work of the
professors, students, doctors
and medical, para-medical
and non-medical staff of the in-
stitute.
The Union minister also
s:
tp
ht
vowed to take forward the pro-
posal put up by chief minister
N. Biren Singh and MP R. K.
Ranjan Singh for enhance-
ment of medical facilities in
the state.
Vardhan also handed out
medals and certificates to the
MBBS graduates of the 2014
batch and released Remedy,
the annual magazine of the
RIMS Students’ Union.
Chief minister N. Biren
Singh, who graced the event as
functional president, sought
Vardhan’s intervention in the
early commencement of air
ambulance services in the
state with RIMS as one of
me
t.
//
the centres.
He said the state being lo-
cated in a topographically dif-
ficult region requires the serv-
ice at the earliest.
He said the Doner ministry
has sanctioned Rs 25 crore to
start the service.
He also urged the Union
minister to upgrade RIMS to
the status of an All India Insti-
tute of Medical Sciences.
The chief minister also
sought the central govern-
ment’s assistance in setting up
another state-run medical col-
lege, a neurosurgery unit and
a stroke-care centre at Jawa-
harlal Nehru Institute of Med-
Truck owner fined over Rs 6 lakh
SUBHASHISH MOHANTY
Bhubaneswar: Odisha trans-
port officials have imposed a
fine of an astounding
Rs 6,53,100 penalties on a truck
owner on various road safety
norms and not paying road
taxes for five years.
The fine is being dubbed as
ds
the highest ever charge by the
authorities under Motor Vehi-
cle Act. However, the trans-
ar
porter has decided to chal-
lenge the fine stating that his
Stage set for AOA elections
ow
/t
OUR SPECIAL
CORRESPONDENT
Guwahati: The ad hoc com-
mittee of the Assam Olympic
Association (AOA), constitut-
ed by the Indian Olympic As-
sociation (IOA), has an-
nounced the electoral college
to elect a new AOA executive
committee tentatively by mid-
October.
The committee, headed by
IOA joint secretary Surinder
Mohan Bali, met at the AOA
office here on Friday to exam-
ine the validity of affiliation of
the various sports organisa-
tions of the state and finalised
a list of 30 state sports associa-
tions and 25 district sports as-
ical Sciences in Imphal.
He also requested Vardhan
to extend help in setting up a
cancer hospital in the state as
well.
Biren Singh also highlight-
ed the state government’s
achievements regarding the
Chief Minister-gi Hakshelgi
Tengbang — a health insur-
ance scheme and the Pradhan
Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana at
RIMS.
Union health secretary
Preeti Sudan, RIMS director
A. Santa Singh and RIMS med-
ical superintendent Ch.
Arunkumar also graced the
occasion.
ow
rr
driver was subjected to unnec-
essary harassment for which
he had incurred a loss to the
mo
tune of few lakhs.
The incident took place at
Sambalpur in western Odisha
about 300km from here, on Au-
to
gust 10 prior to the implemen-
tation of the new amended
motor vehicle. The new MV
Act has come into force from
September 1.
Sambalpur Road Trans-
port Officer Lalit Behera told
The Telegraph, “During a
sociations eligible to vote in
the AOA elections.
In a statement issued by
Bali, the 30 state associations
have been finalised on the
basis of their valid affiliation
with their parent national fed-
erations recognised by the
IOA. The registration with
registrar of societies of all the
25 district associations affiliat-
ed to the AOA were found
valid.
Three state associations
who were affiliated to the AOA
but failed to make it to the elec-
toral college include those of
taekwondo, karate and
archery. While the archery
and karate associations have
internal issues, All Assam
Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh and Union minister
Harsh Vardhan visit a cancer patient at RIMS in Imphal on
Saturday. Picture by Robert Sapam
routine check, the truck bear-
ing a Nagaland registration
number was intercepted and
we found the truck violating
various norms. Its owner had
defaulted paying taxes for five
years from July 21, 2014, till
date. We have issued a challan
of Rs 6,40,500 on this account
only.”
Behera said “When a truck
goes to another state, it has to
pay road taxes to that state. As
it has regularly been coming
to Odisha and has not paid the
Taekwondo Association secre-
tary Hiranya Saikia was sur-
prised when informed about
the absence of his organisa-
tion in the list of eligible asso-
ciations. “We have submitted
all necessary documents to the
AOA,” he said.
Assam Carrom Associa-
tion, which was also affiliated
to the AOA, has been left out of
the list owing to lack of gov-
ernment recognition because
of presence of two parallel bod-
ies in Assam.
Meanwhile, the inclusion
of the Assam Modern Pen-
tathlon Association among the
30 associations has raised eye-
brows. “This particular asso-
ciation was never affiliated to
THE TELEGRAPH SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
tax amount, we have imposed
the penalty. The driver failed
to show the documents regard-
ing payment of taxes to any au-
thorities either in Odisha or
Nagaland. ”
The officer said, “As the
driver of the vehicle failed to
pay the fine, we have seized
the truck. The owner of the
truck, Shailesh Shankar Lal
Gupta from Phek in Nagaland
has been served the vehicle
check report for the realisa-
tion of the amount.”
the AOA because of lack of ac-
tivity on its part. I am not sure
on what basis the associations
are being awarded voting
rights by the ad hoc commit-
tee,” an outgoing office-bearer
of the AOA said.
The ad hoc committee has,
however, given a five-day time
period to file objections and
clarifications with Bali. It said
no plea for clarification or ob-
jection will be entertained
after this period.
Meanwhile, lobbying con-
tinued across Assam as ballots
appeared to be on the cards in
the AOA elections. Several as-
pirants have been vying for
the posts of secretary, joint
and assistant secretaries.
XXGL
Email,
not Rajeev,
keeps CBI
date
OUR SPECIAL
CORRESPONDENT
Calcutta: Former Calcutta
police commissioner Rajeev
Kumar did not appear at the
CBI office on Saturday morn-
ing, choosing to sent an email
seeking one month to appear
before the agency, sources
said.
Kumar had been summon-
ed by the CBI in connection
with investigations into depo-
sit default cases involving Sa-
radha and Rose Valley after
Calcutta High Court refused to
give him protection against ar-
rest.
On Friday, by email, the
CBI had asked Kumar to turn
up at its Salt Lake office on Sat-
urday morning.
“He did not turn up. He
sent a mail seeking a one-
month timeframe,” said a CBI
source.
Till Saturday evening, the
CBI had not sent a reply to
Kumar. CBI officials consult-
ed lawyers, but did not make
any announcement on their
course of action.
CBI joint director Pankaj
Srivastava declined to com-
ment on the email sent by
Kumar, who is currently post-
ed as additional director-gen-
eral of police, CID.
“We are looking into it.
Nothing can be said now,” he
said.
Another joint director of
the CBI posted in Delhi, Sahi
Manohar, reached Calcutta on
Saturday -- on the very day
Kumar was supposed to ap-
pear before the CBI.
As Kumar failed to appear
at the CGO complex office, a
team of officers went to their
Nizam Palace office to meet
joint director Srivastava be-
fore all of them called on CBI
counsel Y.J. Dastoor.
A large contingent of police
was posted outside 34 Park
Street — the compound that
houses the office of deputy
commissioner (south) along
with the IPS quarters, one of
which has been allotted to
Kumar.
 IN BRIEF
PFC raises
globalbond
issuesize
■ NEW DELHI: State-owned
Power Finance Corpora-
tion on Saturday said it
has increased the amount
of funds to be raised via
bonds to $5 billion from $3
billion under its global
medium term note pro-
gramme. The company
also launched issuances
of $3 million worth bonds
at 3.25 per cent due in 2024
and $450 million at 3.90
per cent due in 2029 under
the $5 billion global medi-
um term note pro-
gramme, according to
the filing. PTI
Forex reserves
■ MUMBAI: The country's
foreign exchange re-
serves increased $1 bil-
lion to $429.61 billion in
the week to September 6,
helped by a rise in foreign
currency assets. In the
previous week, the re-
serves had fallen $446 mil-
lion to $428.60 billion. . PTI
Unitech loss
■ NEW DELHI: Realty firm
Unitech Ltd on Saturday
reported widening of its
consolidated net loss to
Rs 112.17 crore for June
quarter. The company’s
loss stood at Rs 92.14 crore
in the same period last
year. Its total revenue in
the June quarter this fis-
cal increased to Rs 288.38
crore from Rs 218.65 crore
year ago, a BSE statement
said. PTI
BOTTOM LINERS
“Despite your MBA, you
still seem to have a good
head for business.”
T
BUSINESS
Switch to new export scheme in Jan
OUR BUREAU
Calcutta: The January date for the
new scheme announced by the gov-
ernment to replace the existing Mer-
chandise Export Incentive Scheme
(MEIS) will help exporters gradually
move to the new system.
The existing incentives under
MEIS as well as the old ROSL will
continue till December 31, 2019.
Textiles and all other sectors,
which currently enjoy incentives up
to 2 per cent over MEIS, will transit
into the new scheme — Remission of
Duties or Taxes on Export Product
(RoDTEP) — from January 1, 2020.
In effect, RODTEP will more than
adequately incentivise exporters than
the existing schemes put together. The
government anticipates foregoing a
revenue amount of Rs 50,000 crore.
The MEIS scheme that offers in-
centives of 2-5 per cent has come
Bank trio to retain SLBC role
ASTAFF REPORTER
Calcutta: The merged entity of Punjab
National Bank, Oriental Bank of Com-
merce and United Bank of India will re-
tain the role of the State Level Bankers’
Committee in five states and one union
territory, including Bengal.
At present United Bank of India is the
SLBC convenor of Bengal and Tripura.
Oriental Bank of Commerce is the con-
venor in Delhi, while Punjab National
Bank plays the role in Punjab, Haryana
and Chandigarh.
“The amalgamated entity will contin-
ue to remain the SLBC convenor in all
s:
(current) locations,” said Ashok Kumar
Pradhan, managing director and CEO of
United Bank of India. SLBC plays a key
tp
role in forming the annual credit plan for
the state.
The board of Oriental Bank of Com-
merce and United Bank of India are set to
ht
meet on September 18 to approve the
merger, while the board of Punjab Na-
“
We take our banking
services into the
remotest parts
of the country
SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar
after opening a branch
in Diskit town of Ladakh
SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019 XXGL
Infy sets
up Arizona
centre
under scrutiny as it is not WTO-com- also been enhanced, providing com- pose, an FTA Utilisation Mission,
pliant. The US has already filed a fort to banks in giving loans to ex- headed by a senior officer in the de-
complaint with the WTO against porters, especially the MSMEs. partment of commerce, will be set up. New Delhi: IT services major
MEIS and similar export promotion The government also said there Moreover, an online “origin man- Infosys has set up a technolo-
schemes offered by India. would be effective monitoring of ex- agement system” will be launched gy and innovation centre in
The WTO does not allow any port financing by the commerce de- over the next few weeks by the DGFT Arizona, USA, and plans to
country, which has attained a per partment and a fully automated elec- to enable exporters to obtain certifi- hire 1,000 American workers
capita gross national product (GNP) tronic refund route will be set up for cates of origin. in the state by 2023.
of more than $1,000 for three consecu- input tax credit in GST to help ex- The commerce department will The company, which had
tive years, to give export sops. India porters. The refund module is expect- set up a working group on standards, in 2017 announced its commit-
had breached the threshold in 2015. ed to be implemented by the end of which will work with industry to lay ment to hire 10,000 American
ow
While the exporters await more this month. down a roadmap for timebound adop- workers in two years, said it
clarity on the rates under the new Sitharaman said technology will tion of all technical standards. had surpassed that target.
Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi
scheme, they have welcomed the de- be further leveraged by timely com- “We had a long standing demand Arizona Technology and
rr
on Saturday. Picture by Prem Singh
cision to introduce a globally-compli- pletion of ongoing initiatives to fur- for input tax credits to be available Innovation Centre has a spe-
ant scheme that also covers embed- so that the exporters can freeze their ther reduce the “time to export” online because it was all manual. The cial focus on autonomous
ded costs such as duty on electricity business strategy,” said Sanjay Bud- through seamless process digitisa- standardisation of international technologies, Internet of
mo
and petroleum. hia, chairman of CII’s national com- tion of all export clearances (at the product will help and we will work Things (IoT), full-stack engi-
“The announcements will boost mittee on exports and imports. port, airport and by the Customs). very closely with the government,” neering, data science and cy-
the morale of exporters. The rates of Exports have declined 6 per cent The government also announced EEPC chairman Ravi Sehgal said. bersecurity, Infosys said in a
the scheme should be commensurate to $26.13 billion in August over the a measure for exporters to exploit The government also plans to statement.
to
and compensate various cost disad- year-ago month. duty benefits under the free trade help the handicrafts industry log into Infosys’s investment in
vantages and unrebated taxes and The insurance cover under the agreements (FTAs) India has inked e-commerce portals for seamless ex- Arizona will develop local tal-
should be announced at the earliest Export Credit Insurance Scheme has with different countries. For the pur- ports. ent alongside the best global
ds
professionals, it added.
Hiring is currently in
Amphora
progress and the centre will
ar
move to its permanent loca-
India plans
tion — a 60,000-square-foot
facility in the ASU Novus In-
novation Corridor by 2020 —
ow
start functioning from April 1, 2020. In and will accommodate up to
STATUS QUO the interim period, the individual banks Stockholm: London-based in- 500 employees, the statement
will continue to operate independently,” vestment company Amphora said.
/t
„ Merged entity of PNB, OBC and said Pradhan. has brought in Cecilia Oldne, “Infosys plans to hire 1,000
UBI to remain SLBC convenor in The merged unit is likely to have a an investor in Sula wine firm, American workers in the state
five states and one union territory, new name with a total business volume to oversee its business in India. NEW ROLE: Oldne by 2023,” it added.
me
including Bengal of Rs 18 lakh crore, which is around 1.5 Sweden-based Oldne has The inauguration of Infos-
times that of PNB. been associated with Indian ness of Amphora in India,” ys’s Arizona Technology and
„ UBI in Bengal and Tripura, OBC in The three banks held a customer wine company Sula since 2007, Oldne said. Innovation Centre is an im-
Delhi and PNB in Punjab, Haryana
meet here, which was attended by Chan- and also represents the Swe- The appointment took portant milestone in the
t.
and Chandigarh will retain status der Khurana, general manager of PNB, den-India Business Council in place during the STHLM Tech company’s efforts to help
and Binay Kumar Gupta, general man- India. Fest here. She said India at American enterprises acceler-
tional Bank has already cleared it. ager of Oriental Bank of Commerce. The “Amphora builds, man- present does not make fine ate their digital transforma-
//
After the board approval the merger lenders said there will be no retrench- ages and stores bespoke fine wine because of a lack of tions, Infosys CEO Salil
will need legal and regulatory compli- ment of staff in the merged entity. wine portfolios for collectors, awareness in the market and Parekh said.
ances that are expected to come in by Pradhan later told reporters that the investors and enthusiasts in tax issues. “We are excited to have
March 2020 with the amalgamated bank combined staff strength after the amal- London. They have investors “People in Russia and completed our commitment to
coming into operations from April 1, 2020. gamation will be 1 lakh and the entity from India who invest in fine many in China have started hire 10,000 American workers
The process of appointing merchant will have 11,400 branches. wine which is stored in Lon- buying fine wine but produc- and we look forward to
bankers for determining parameters such “The merged entity will be adequate- don for many years. With my tion is less compared with de- leveraging and empowering
as valuation and swap ratio will soon be ly capitalised and comply with Basel re- appointment, Amphora will mand. Investment in fine wine this specialised workforce
done, according to officials of all three quirements,” Pradhan said. The aver- have direct engagement in at present gives an annual re- to bridge the technology skills
banks. age net NPA of the three banks is 6.61 India. As managing director of turn of around 15 per cent so gap in the market and acceler-
“The amalgamation process will per cent, which is expected to fall below South East Asia, I have re- money can be doubled in about ate the digital agenda of
take some time and the new entity will 6 per cent after the amalgamation. sponsibility to manage busi- six years,” Oldne said. PTI our clients,” Parekh added. PTI
3
CHECK GATES
IN DIMAPUR
GET GUARDS
TO PREVENT
EXTORTION
FURORE OVER TRANSFER OF DIBRUGARH POLICE OFFICIAL P9 ● TRAFFIC AWARENESS DRIVE IN TINSUKIA P10
GOOD
morning
EVENTS
■ Hashtag Sunday featur-
ing DJ Prem at Club XS
Guwahati, Anil Plaza,
ABC, from 7pm.
■ Basic cake-baking and
decoration class at P’s
Creamy Creations, Math-
gharia, Noonmati, from
10am.
■ Workshop on smart-
phone filmmaking at Asian
Institute of Management
and Technology, RG Baru-
ah Road, Bhaskar Nagar,
from 10am.
■ Sunday Social featuring
DJ Kyle at Madiza Ultra
Lounge, GS Road, Dona
Planet, from 8pm.
■ Unplugged Musical
Night featuring DJ Parwaz
at The Socialite, Tirupati
Tower, Christian Basti, GS
Road, from 8pm.
WEATHER
GUWAHATI
Maximum:
32.7°C (+1.3)
Minimum:
25.2°C (+0.8)
RAINFALL: 1.9mm;
SUNSET: 5.28pm
SUNRISE: 5.08am
THE FORECAST
Rain/thundershowers is
likely to occur over
Assam, Meghalaya, Na-
galand, Manipur, Mizo-
ram, Tripura and
Arunachal Pradesh.
Temperature
(Max, min in degrees Celsius)
Agartala 35 26
Dhubri 31.5 26.3
Dibrugarh 31 23.4
Imphal 29.6 21.5
Jorhat 33.4 24.9
Kohima 23.8 18
Shillong 23.9 16.5
Silchar 33.3 25.4
10
QUESTIONS
Debeswar Malakar
Commissioner, Guwahati
Municipal Corporation
1 Where does Guwahati
rank in Swacch
Survekshan (survey)?
Guwahati ranks 303 among
600 cities in the country.
2 How much waste is
generated in the city
daily?
Around 500 tonnes of waste
is generated daily.
3 What steps are being
taken by the GMC for
improving the Swachh
rank?
We want a visible change in
the health and hygiene of
denizens. We aim to be in the
top-20 list of cities by next
year, for which we have
taken up a number of initia-
tives. These steps will help
the city achieve a good rank
in the cleanliness survey.
4 What is the GMC
doing to keep the city
clean and green?
The GMC alone cannot
achieve this. To make the city
garbage-free, households and
business establishments also
have a huge responsibility.
The dream of a clean and
green city will be achieved
when denizens and the corpo-
STAR-STUDDED: Actors Nishita Goswami and Jatin Bora along with Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary at an event
NRL-IIT tie-up on new
biodegradable plastic
OUR SPECIAL
CORRESPONDENT
s:
Guwahati: Numaligarh Re-
finery Limited (NRL) has
joined hands with Indian Insti-
tp
tute of Technology, Guwahati
(IIT-G) to develop biodegrad-
able plastics from oil and bio-
refinery streams.
ht
A Rs 4crore research and
development project has been
identified as the first one to be
taken up at the NRL Centre of
Excellence on Sustainable Ma-
terials, to be set up in IIT-G. An
MoU was signed between NRL
and IIT-G on Saturday for es-
tablishing the centre. The
MoU was signed between NRL
senior chief general manager
(corporate affairs) Nikunja
Borthakur and IIT-G director
T.G. Sitharam in the presence
of IIT-G dean (R&D) Gopal
Das. The MoU shall be applica-
ble for five years.
On Swachh path
The GMC boss explains the steps being taken to
move Guwahati into the top-20 list of clean cities
(Top) GMC officials inspect an eatery during a drive to check
vector-borne diseases and (above) workers sweep a street
ration work in tandem.
5 Can you explain the
cash award initiative
launched as part of the
cleanliness drive?
The GMC is giving an award
of Rs 500 to those who send
pictures of people littering
the streets. We want to in-
volve the residents in keeping
the city clean. WhatsApp
numbers 881007000,
7399003001, 7399003002,
T GUWAHATI
METRO
in Guwahati on Saturday. Picture by UB Photos
me
t.
//
The pact being signed
The NRL centre will facili-
tate further research activities
in development of sustainable
materials from oil and bio-re-
finery streams, which is in
sync with the company’s envi-
ronment management policy.
Specific research and de-
velopment projects will be
sponsored by NRL under this
MoU for which project-specif-
ic memorandums of agree-
ment will be signed separate-
ly. NRL employees will be en-
gaged in the R&D projects
under the excellence centre.
The refinery said this col-
7399003003, 7399003004 and
e-mail: gmcpgo@gmail.com
can be used to send pictures
of people littering the roads.
The awards are given every
month. The move has evoked
a good response. We received
54 photographs in July, of
which four were selected for
the award.
6 Residents frequently
complain about irregu-
larities in door-to-door
SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
ds
ar
ow
/t
laboration is expected to boost
industry-academia interac-
tion for enhancing engineer-
ing and technological compe-
tence through R&D activities
and would address challenges
faced by industries like NRL.
“It will help resolve the
problems related to the havoc
of non-biodegradable plas-
tics,” an NRL official said.
NRL will also set up a bio-
refinery project — the first of
its kind in the country — with
bamboo biomass as feedstock
with technology from
Chempolis Oy, Finland. The
project, which will be the
biggest of 12 such refineries
being set up in the country, is
being implemented in Numali-
garh through joint venture
Assam Bio-Refinery Pvt. Ltd,
with equity holding of 50 per
cent by NRL, 28 per cent For-
tum and 22 per cent Chempolis
— both Finnish companies.
garbage collection by
NGOs. What steps is the
GMC taking?
The GMC has a toll-free
number for lodging
complaint against non-collec-
tion or delay in collection of
garbage. Moreover, flying
squads are now reviewing the
performance of the NGOs
and they are being paid based
on the reports.
7 What is a flying squad?
A flying squad, used for
the first time by any munici-
pal corporation in the coun-
try, has been formed to ad-
dress issues like garbage and
cleaning of drains. Twelve
flying squads are active in six
divisions of the city. Each fly-
ing squad has seven members
— six labourers and a super-
visor, all GMC employees.
8 Why are additional
flying squads being
deployed?
To improve waste manage-
ment. On July 9, we had
launched six flying squads.
Later, we deployed another
six squads for efficient waste
management. The earlier
squads are deployed
from 6am to 1pm and the
additional squads are on
duty from 1pm to 8pm.
9 How many NGOs are
engaged in door-to-door
garbage collection?
The GMC has engaged 58
NGOs for door-to-door
garbage collection.
10 Is the number of
NGOs enough?
No. Earlier, we had 31 NGOs,
one for each ward. It was in-
creased to 58 in 2017, as a sin-
gle NGO is not enough to
cover all the areas in a ward.
We will increase the number
to 90 from September to im-
prove door-to-door garbage
collection.
As told toAbinash Kalita
ow
rr
mo
to
Nigerians
held in
Meghalaya
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Shillong: Meghalaya police
have arrested six Nigerian na-
tionals in East Jaiñtia Hills on
Saturday, taking the total of
foreign nationals arrested to
nine in a span of two days.
East Jaiñtia Hills superin-
tendent of police Vivekanand
Singh said on Saturday that
six Nigerian nationals, travel-
ling by night super bus from
Silchar to Guwahati, were de-
tected and detained for inter-
rogation.
“They admitted that they
had travelled from Africa to
Bangladesh on visas issued by
competent authorities, but
had illegally entered India
near Agartala on Friday,”
Singh said.
From Agartala, they trav-
elled by car to Silchar, and
were assisted by residents of
both Bangladesh as well as
India, he added.
A case was registered at
Lumshnong police station
under the Foreigner’s Act.
The Nigerian nationals
have been identified as Thom-
son Chizoram Nwafama, 29,
Chijioke Agustus Obiacha 28,
Desmond Chiemela Uzochk-
wu 25, Okoliegbe Henry
Onyedika, 33, Okeke Ugochuk-
wu Justin, 32, and Chukwun-
yere Chinaza Christian, 30.
On Friday, three foreign
nationals were detained and
arrested in the same district
and also booked under the
Foreigner’s Act.
The modus operandi
adopted by the three — one
from Ivory Coast and two from
Nigeria — to enter India was
the same as the one adopted by
the six Nigerians.
Quality stress on tea yield
OUR SPECIAL
CORRESPONDENT
Guwahati: The Federation of
All India Tea Traders Associa-
tion (FAITTA) has asked tea
producers in Assam to lay
stress on quality teas and take
all measures to produce leaves
that are Food Safety and Stan-
dards Authority of India com-
pliant.
FAITTA chairman Viren
Shah said this at a meeting be-
tween the Joint Forum of
Assam Tea Planters’ Associa-
tion, North Eastern Tea Asso-
ciation (Neta), Bharatiya Cha
Parishad and the FAITTA at
Tocklai Tea Research Insti-
tute (TTRI), Jorhat, on Friday.
A statement, issued by the
joint forum on Saturday, said
the interaction between the
tea buyers/traders and pro-
ducers was the first-of-its-
kind. The FAITTA was repre-
sented by Shah and senior ad-
visor Monojit Dasgupta. Also
present on behalf of buyers
were representatives of Wagh
Bakri and others. Besides, sev-
eral producers took part in the
NRC not satisfactory: Silchar BJP leader
MP seeks third
party re-check
SWAPNANEEL
BHATTACHARJEE
Silchar: Silchar MP Ra-
jdeep Roy on Saturday
sought third party re-veri-
fication of the 27 per cent
of National Register of Cit-
izens (NRC) documents
that NRC state co-ordina-
tor Prateek Hajela had told
the Supreme Court had
been verified during the
update process.
Names of over 19 lakh citi-
zens were left out of the final
NRC published on August 31.
Those excluded can submit
claims to validate their citizen-
ship within a period of 120
days from the date of receiving
the exclusion notice.
At a news conference here
on Saturday, Roy sang the
tune of the BJP-ruled Assam
government.
He said the updated NRC
has “caused dissatisfaction
among the masses and it
should be verified by a third
Barak tribes
no to tribunal
HIRANYABARMAN
Guwahati: The Assam In-
digenous People Protection
Committee (AIPPC) a Barak
Valley- based indigenous peo-
ple’s organization stated that
many people belonging to in-
digenous communities in the
area have been left out of the
final NRC published on Au-
gust 31.
The committee further
stated that those people would
not approach the foreigner’s
tribunals under any circum-
stances.
“Under no condition will
these people approach the tri-
bunal to include their names.
They are indigenous and they
have every right to be in the
list. Moreover, no such docu-
ment can take away the right
to be indigenous. People be-
longing to many of the indige-
nous communities are forest
dwellers and illiterate. We
wonder how they will make
rounds of the tribunals. Most
of the illegal migrants are also
included in the final NRC. We
demand re-verification in
Barak Valley,” general secre-
tary of AIPPC Seram Herajit
Singh said on Saturday.
“We have come to know
the judges of the foreigners tri-
bunals are not from the indige-
nous communities of Assam.
meet, which was moderated
by Neta adviser Bidyananda
Barkakoty.
The Tea Board gets sam-
ples that are not up to the
mark and have to be destroyed
or the factory showcaused.
The Board has time and again
told the producers to grow teas
that are FSSAI-compliant or
else action would be taken.
Shah agreed that no one
should misuse the Assam tea
logo provided by the Board for
use in packet teas.
Chairperson of the Assam
Tea Planters’ Association
Nazrana Ahmed asked the tea
packeteers to mention the per-
centage of teas used for blend-
ing from different regions.
Many packet teas containing
only a small percentage of
Assam products are sold as
“Assam tea”.
Chairman of the North
Eastern Tea Association
Nepul Saikia said the industry
is struggling to survive at the
price fetched by tea producers
and many producers are com-
pelled to sell below the cost of
production. TTRI director
Rajdeep Roy in Silchar
on Saturday. Picture by
Swapnaneel Bhattacharjee
party, without the involve-
ment of state NRC co-ordina-
tor Prateek Hajela”.
Asked what he meant by
“third party”, Roy said: “It can
be anyone/people, an external
agency can be
appointed/managed by the
government, without Hajela's
involvement.”
Coming down heavily on
Hajela, Roy alleged that the
NRC state coordinator, who
was appointed by the Supreme
Court for the NRC update
There is every chance of dis-
crimination against the in-
digenous people. We demand
that 15 MLA seats and two MP
seats be reserved for people
belonging to the indigenous
communities of Barak Val-
ley,” Singh added.
According to him, nearly
1.5 lakh people belonging to
the indigenous communities
in Barak valley were left out of
the final NRC.
Dimasa, Koch Rajbongshi,
Manipuri, Manipuri-Muslim,
Bishnupriya, Cachari-Mus-
lim, tea tribes, Rongmei Naga,
Kuki, Khasi, Gorkha, Hmar,
Das Pattni, Nath Jogi and Na-
masudra, among others, are
the indigenous communities
of Barak Valley. “All the in-
digenous people of Barak Val-
ley support the government’s
stand to implement Clause 6 of
the Assam Accord which is the
need of the hour,” Singh said.
The government had con-
stituted a high-level commit-
tee under the chairmanship of
retired Gauhati High Court
judge Biplab Kumar Sarma to
implement Clause 6. The
clause seeks to “provide con-
stitutional, legislative and ad-
ministrative safeguards to
protect preserve and promote
the cultural, social and lin-
guistic identity and heritage of
the Assamese people”.
Officials at the meet in
Tocklai
A.K. Barooah spoke on maxi-
mum residue limits and the
FSSAI-compliant teas. The
meet was followed by a tea-
tasting session.
Plucking deadline
The Tea Board of India has de-
layed the last date of plucking
in the gardens of the Northeast
by four days this year.
The Board last year had
given such an order for the
first time to ensure that sub-
standard teas are not pro-
duced which could create a
“bad image for Assam in the
world”. Last year, the last date
of plucking was December 10
and this time, it has been ex-
tended to December 14.
The Board, last year, had
issued the order on October 31,
XXGL
process, did not follow the
modalities in connection with
the mega exercise.
“Rs 1,800 crore was spent
on the project. The end result
should have been an error-
free NRC,” he said.
The exclusion rate of peo-
ple in border areas was
around six per cent, whereas
that in non-border areas was
around 16 per cent.
“This is absolutely unac-
ceptable,” Roy said. Necessary
measures should be taken so
that a completely flawless citi-
zen’s register is published, he
added.
Asked what the govern-
ment is doing regarding the
two non-functional paper
mills in Assam, the BJP MP
said efforts are on to resolve
the issue.
He added that he would try
reaching out to Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi soon about
this and urge him so that the
mills are revived and the
workers’ salaries remitted.
GU teacher
not in NRC
final list
ROKIBUZ ZAMAN
Guwahati: Chandan Kumar
Goswami, 45, an assistant pro-
fessor of Gauhati University,
on Saturday said his name did-
n’t figure in the final National
Register of Citizens (NRC) list
published on August 31 even
after being assured by the seva
kendra officials.
Goswami, who hails from
Baranghati village, Kamrup,
is a full-time professor of the
university’s department of
communication and journal-
ism since 2006.
Goswami said, “I had ap-
plied online. When I visited a
seva kendra here as my name
didn’t figure in the final draft, I
was told that my name would
be included in the final list.
But it hasn’t been included.”
The names of Goswami’s
mother, wife and daughter
have also been excluded.
Goswami alleged that the
NRC authority made an error
while dealing with his applica-
tion. “Soon after my name was
excluded from the final draft, I
visited the seva kendra here
but the officials told me that
they have not received my ap-
plication and I was sent to an-
other seva kendra. Still my ap-
plication remained untraced
though I was told that my
name would be included in the
final list.”
while this year’s order has
come out on Saturday.
A Tea Board official here
said an advance notice has
been issued so that the garden
authorities get enough time to
plan their operations. The
plucking dates are given after
due consultation with experts
and scientists.
The last date of processing
green leaf at the factory is De-
cember 16, the last date of inti-
mation/declaration to the
Board by all tea-manufactur-
ing units regarding closure of
their manufacturing is De-
cember 17 and the deadline for
completion of sorting, packing
and moving the packed teas to
notified storage area with in-
voice marking is December 27
for CTC tea manufacturers
and December 31 for the pro-
ducers of orthodox/green teas.
The order issued by execu-
tive director of the Tea Board
of India (northeastern zonal
office) Sanjio Kumar said in
case of any issues arising in
compliance of the timeline, the
manufacturer may inform the
registered authority.
THE TELEGRAPH SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
XXGL
METRO 9
5 cops
arrested Furore over ‘honest’ SP transfer Headmen meet
over Kulsi dam
for looting AVIK CHAKRABORTY tenure in the district.
The Assam government’s
In a Facebook post, resi-
dent Vishal Bhardwaj wrote,
mafia and cattle smugglers,
which led to several KULENDU KALITA which, according to official

two men Dibrugarh: Citizens of Dibru-

MOHSIN KHAIYAM
Guwahati: Three Assam po-
lice personnel and two home-
guards have been arrested for
allegedly looting two persons
of Rs 3.89 lakh near Dharamtul
in Morigaon district on Friday
night.
Morigaon superintendent
of police Swapnaneel Deka
said, “The police personnel
have been identified as district
executive force officers Dulal
Pator, Debjit Bhuyan and Rit-
uraj Saikia of 10th Assam po-
lice battalion and homeguards
garh have taken to social
media to express their unhap-
piness over the sudden trans-
fer of Dibrugarh superinten-
dent of police Subashini
Sankaran to 10th Assam
Police Battalion in Guwahati,
days after the incident
of vandalism on September
10.
Sankaran, who has be-
come popular as an honest and
upright IPS officer, had led a
war against the drugs and tim-
ber mafia and cattle smugglers
during her eight-month
home department, through a
notification, dated September
13, 2019, transferred and post-
ed Sankaran as the comman-
dant of the 10th APBN, Kahili-
para.
Through the same order,
Gautam Borah, commandant
of the 10th APBN, was trans-
ferred and posted as the
new superintendent of police
of Dibrugarh district.
Borah has served as Dibru-
garh superintendent of police
earlier too.
As the news spread, people
took to social media to express
Subashini Sankaran
their dissatisfaction against
the government’s order to
transfer her.
“Extremely disappointed, a
hard working Lady officer is
transferred just to appease
and satisfy the Eco system of
all illegal activities...Now
Happy days are back for all il-
legal activities in Dibrugarh.
(sic).”
Another resident, Pankaj
Mordani, wrote, “Is this jus-
tice done to SP mam hard and
bravery wrks done by her n
what result finally transfer or-
ders... Really disappointed
(sic).”
Sources said Sankaran’s
bold steps against the drug
arrests, had angered vested
interests.
A resident, on the condi-
tion of anonymity, said, “It is a
conspiracy to transfer
Sankaran. She is an efficient
and good officer. She started a
crackdown against many anti-
social activities.”
He alleged, “Some student
organisations and politicians
were unhappy with her
actions as they used to
get commissions from these
illegal activities. So
everyone conspired to get rid
of her.”
Boko: More than 30 headmen
from both Assam and Megha-
laya villages met at Ukium
weekly market in lower
Assam’s Kamrup district on
Saturday to discuss how to
peacefully oppose the Kulsi
dam on the border of Assam’s
Kamrup district and Megha-
laya’s West Khasi Hills and Ri
Bhoi districts.
The meeting was organ-
ised by the Ukiam-Kyrshayi
(Assam-Meghalaya) Joint
Public Security Committee.
The Kulsi dam project,
records, is the only national
project in Assam under
Eleventh Five Year Plan,
envisages construction of a
62m high dam over the Kulsi
river, connecting Ri Bhoi and
Kamrup districts, to harness
its potential for power genera-
tion. The project cost, accord-
ing to an estimate of June 2017,
will be Rs 1,454.95 crore.
An RTI application recent-
ly revealed that if the Kulsi
dam is constructed, an area of
15.55 square km in Assam and
5.75 square km in Meghalaya
will affected.

Himanta donates

ow
Kamal Deka Raja and Biswajit
Das. They were on a routine
patrol on Friday night when

blood at GMCH

rr
they came across two men
Kalim Uddin of Hojai and
Altab Hussain of Karimganj.”

mo
ABINASH KALITA Seva Saptah (service week),
which was launched on Satur-
Guwahati: “Books and blood day as a part of the celebra-

to
should be donated generously. tions for Prime Minister
One powers knowledge, other Narendra Modi’s birthday on
life,” Assam finance minister September 17.

Himanta Biswa Sarma said
after donating blood at the
Gauhati Medical College and
Hospital (GMCH) on Satur-
day.
“Blood donation is a great
service to society,” he said, set-
ds
The BJP is organising a
plethora of programmes here
along with rest of the country
ar
from Saturday to observe
Modi’s birthday.
Assam BJP president Ran- Himanta Biswa Sarma at Gauhati Medical College and
jeet Kumar Dass also donated- Hospital on Saturday. Picture by UB Photos
ow

ting an example for the youth blood. “The blood require- This demand is going to in- many people do not think
to donate blood. ment in Guwahati is around crease about 10 per cent every about it until the need is criti-
Three of the accused cops. Laying stress on raising 8,000 units every month. We year,” a source in a blood bank cal. If political figures and
/t

Picture by Mohsin Khaiyam awareness about the impor- collect around 7,000 units. in the city said. known personalities come for-
Deka said, “The two men tance of blood donation, About 10 per cent gap remains Blood donation is said to ward to set an example for
were in Morigaon to buy a Sarma asked the young gener- between demand and supply. reduce high blood pressure blood donation, it will play a
me

used vehicle but since the
owner was not reachable upon
reaching the spot and it was al-
ready very late, the duo decid-
ation to take the lead. We need to motivate our and high blood sugar. crucial role in creating aware-
The blood donation pro- young generation to donate “Blood donation is an es- ness about blood donation,” a
gramme is being held during blood at least once in a year. sential component of life but source in the GMCH said.
t.

Barsha is face of trade fair

ed to stay back in Morigaon.
While they were on their way
to look for a place to stay, the
//

police asked them to stop.

However, the duo did not stop
and a chase ensued for around
s:

5km. Once they were inter- ALI FAUZ HASSAN from Afghanistan, things to the visitors,” ITFAA
cepted, the police personnel al- Bangladesh and parts of India. secretary Rajib Das said.
legedly threatened them and Guwahati: The Industries There will also be a cooking Das said large corporate
tp

took away Rs 3.89 lakh from
them, leaving behind Rs
2,000.”
On receiving information
and Trade Fair Association of
Assam (ITFAA) has included
Assamese actress Barsha Rani
Bishaya as its brand ambassa-
ht
contest and mega fashion and business houses are ex-
show with models from Mum- pected to participate.
bai, apart from stall partici- “I feel honoured and am
pants from countries like glad to be associated with the

about the incident, senior offi-
cials reached the spot and ap-
prehended the personnel.
The superintendent of po-
lice said all the officials were
arrested. Pator, Bhuyan and
Saikia were immediately sus-
pended and might soon be ter-
minated. Deka Raja and Das
have been dismissed from
their services.
They have been charged
under Sections 395 and 397 of
the IPC. At present, they are in
police custody and are being
interrogated.
dor for the 26th International
Guwahati Trade Fair, to be
held from September 27 to Oc-
tober 14.
An added attraction will be
cash prizes worth Rs 1.75 lakh
for a lottery draw on the entry
tickets to the fair on the con-
cluding day. The concept has
been borrowed from the Shil-
long leg of the trade fair by
ITFAA, where it is hugely pop-
ular.
Other attractive features of
the upcoming trade fair in-
clude a food festival with chefs
Egypt, Afghanistan, Phillip-
ines and others.
A total of 20 participants
from Thailand will set up
stalls offering different items.
Visitors to the international
trade fair in the past have al-
ways been attracted by differ-
ent goods and curios from
countries like Iran, Turkey,
Thailand and others.
“For the first time, a trade
expo has appointed a film per-
sonality as its brand ambassa-
dor. This is a humble gesture
from our organisation to ex-
ITFAA secretary Rajib Das
and actress Barsha Rani
Bishaya address the news
conference in Guwahati on
Saturday. Picture by UB Photos
press our solidarity with the
Assamese film industry. We
are lucky to be associated with
an actress like Bishaya, who
has delivered innumerable hit
films, apart from acting in mo-
bile theatre and popular TV
serials. Our organisation has
always believed in innovation
and creativity while trying
our level best to offer new
international trade fair. I have
always been fascinated by the
trade fair ever since my teens,
when I accompanied my moth-
er to the fair that was then held
at Judges Field and later at
Chandmari ground. It has be-
come a festival where we can
have an international shop-
ping experience,” Bishaya
said.
She explained that the
posters showing her with cur-
rency notes in her hand re-
ferred to the lottery offering
cash prizes.

Charge
on Ranji
skipper
OUR SPECIAL
CORRESPONDENT

Guwahati: The Assam ac-

countant general’s (audit) of-
fice has filed a police com-
plaint against its employee
and Assam Ranji cricket cap-
tain Gokul Sharma for secur-
ing the job by submitting
forged degree certification
from a Rajasthan University.
In the complaint filed with
Basistha police station here on
Friday evening, the account-
ant general’s office has alleged
that on verification, the certifi-
cate submitted by Sharma was
found to be forged as the uni-
versity concerned has categor-
ically stated that he has not
been a student with them.
Sharma, who has been
named in the state senior team
for the Vijay Hazare Trophy
tournament to be held later
this month, has been working
in the accountant general’s of-
fice here as a senior auditor
since March 31, 2015.
In response to the employ-
er’s verification letter dated
August 30, Rajasthan’s Pilani-
based Shridhar University
had on August 31 said, “Gokul
Sharma (enrolment number
J11BAGEN00032577) is not our
student. The attached docu-
ments are not genuine.”
Efforts to contact Sharma
proved futile as his mobile
phone remained switched off
on Saturday.
An all-rounder, Sharma
has been a mainstay in the
Assam Ranji team over the
past half a decade and he has
contributed immensely to the
team’s performance by being
one of the leading scorers from
the state. He has captained
Assam in the Ranji Trophy for
three years.
10
IN BRIEF
Cyclist
killed in
mishap
■ BOKO: A cyclist died and
a biker and his pillion
rider were injured in an
accident on National
Highway 17 at Singra re-
serve forest under Boko
police station on Satur-
day.
Assam Rifles fair
Schoolchildren at the
fair in Agartala on
Saturday. Picture by
Tanmoy Chakraborty
■ AGARTALA: The Assam
Rifles organised Know
Your Armed Forces
Mela at Blue Mount Eng-
lish Medium School,
Sabual, in North district.
Awards night
■ GUWAHATI: The first edi-
tion of Byatikram
Women of the Year 2019
will be hosted by the By-
atikram Group here on
September 22 to recog-
nise and celebrate the
achievements of the
most outstanding
women from all over the
region. The event will be
graced by actress Hi-
mani Bhatt Shivpuri as
chief guest.
Ethnic hub
■ GUWAHATI: An ethnic
hub and tea tavern, Ve-
tasha, constructed most-
ly out of bamboo on a
floating barge on the
Brahmaputra, will open
on Sunday. It aims to
promote river, tea and
ethnic tourism.
Meeting
■ GUWAHATI: The annual
general meeting of the
Assam Handball Associ-
ation will be held at
Assam Olympic Associa-
tion office premises here
on September 28.
SCIENCE SHOW
Students take part in
the National Science
Congress in Assam’s
Biswanath district on
Saturday. Picture
by UB Photos
Snow park
■ GUWAHATI: The North-
east’s first snow-themed
park, Frozen Planet, will
be launched by actress
Nishita Goswami at
Lokhra here on Sunday.
Football tourney
■ GUWAHATI: Bampather
Bengenabari Higher
Secondary School,
Charai-deo, went down to
Hope-well Elias Higher
Secondary School,
Shillong, by a solitary
goal in the Subroto Cup
U-17 Boys’ Football
Tournament quarter-fi-
nals in New Delhi on
Saturday.
AGP membership
■ GUWAHATI: The Asom
Gana Parishad started its
general membership
drive across the state on
Saturday. The drive will
continue till October 14
for all its 126 Assembly
constituencies.
ABVP wins
■ HOJAI: The ABVP won the
Lumding College Stu-
dents’ Union elections de-
feating the NSUI in all
posts, the results of which
were declared on Satur-
day.
Awareness drive on new traffic rules
MANOJ KUMAR OJHA
Doomdooma: Tinsukia police
are conducting an awareness
drive, especially for college
students, to promote compli-
ance with road safety norms
under the amended Motor Ve-
hicles Act, 2019.
The awareness pro-
gramme has already been con-
ducted for students of Tin-
sukia Commerce College,
Makum College and SM Ju-
nior College while some oth-
ers, like Doomdooma College,
are in the pipeline.
The awareness campaign
on road safety and new traffic
rules started at the beginning
of this month and will contin-
ue till the end. It will focus on
educating the public rather
than penalising violators.
Deputy superintendent of
CLEANLINESS DRIVE: Ri Bhoi deputy commissioner R.M. Kurbah takes part in a cleaning drive organised by the
Meghalaya Green and Clean, on Umiam bridge near Shillong on Saturday. Picture by UB Photos
Move to check extortion
s:
tp
BHADRAGOGOI
Dimapur: The Public Action
ht
Committee of Naga Council
Dimapur on Saturday said it
would deploy volunteers on
three checkgates here border-
ing Karbi Anglong district of
Assam to halt extortion from
trucks by various elements.
The committee has also
written to Dimapur police, re-
questing deployment of police
force and providing escorts for
safe passage of trucks at the
three checkgates, New Field,
Burma Camp and Dillai.
In a letter to Dimapur com-
missioner of police, the com-
mittee’s convener Vekhosayi
Nyekha and co-convenor
Gokheto K. Chophy urged the
police to strictly implement
the entry time of trucks into
Vow to fight
JE in Assam
MANOJ KUMAR OJHA
Doomdooma: Samir Sinha,
principal secretary, health
and family welfare depart-
ment, Assam, on Saturday
said the health department
has vowed to combat Japanese
encephalitis in the state and
plans to start an intensive
adult vaccination campaign
from November 15.
It will conclude by March
15 next year.
“We plan to cover 33 dis-
tricts in this campaign. The
Centre has agreed to provide
around 57 lakh vaccines. We
will procure the rest on our
own, if needed. We will do it in
a phased manner. Awareness
programmes will be conduct-
ed first. Some people fear that
the vaccine causes fever and
has side-effects. Any rumours
or superstitions regarding this
will be cleared by our person-
nel. Later, the vaccine will be
administered,” Sinha told The
Telegraph.
“We have come to know
that Japanese encephalitis
cases have reduced this year
in those areas where the vac-
cine was administered. Hence
we have chalked out the
plan. We seek the support and
cooperation of the people.
Doctors and staff were assault-
ed in lower Assam the
last time they had gone to
administer vaccines. I hope
this will not be repeated,” he
said.
Sinha said, “The last 10
deaths are all old cases. In Sep-
tember, only four fresh cases
police Bitul Chetia told The
Telegraph, “As a part of the
campaign, we are spreading
awareness about the harmful
impact of using mobile phones
on road, over-speeding, driv-
ing without helmets and in-
creased penalties under the
act which will be enforced in
the district after conducting
sufficient number of aware-
ness programmes. We hope to
motive people not to violate
rules. Traffic violators will
also be given a one-time warn-
ing.”
Eminent personalities and
thousands of college students,
who have taken part in the
campaign, may volunteer to
assist the police in educating
violators about the new rules
during traffic checks.
Chetia said many people
are aware of the new rules but
me
t.
//
Dimapur from 5am to 7am and
from 7pm to 10pm.
The committee had earlier
submitted separate represen-
tations to Nagaland governor
R.N. Ravi and chief minister
Neiphiu Rio.
In its representation to the
governor on September 9, it
highlighted the complexity of
dealing with the matter of ex-
tortion in Dimapur.
The representation high-
lighted how the ceasefire be-
tween the government of India
and the Naga political groups
had allegedly become a licence
for illegal collection of money,
especially in Dimapur.
It alleged that illegal collec-
tion of money by vested inter-
ests in the state government
machinery/machineries and
the Naga political groups had
have been recorded in the
state. Unlike previous years,
when the disease was mostly
confined to Upper Assam, the
entire state was affected this
time.”
He said an analysis showed
that adults constituted almost
80 per cent of the casualties.
“Vaccinations of persons
in the age group of 15 to 65 is
the way to combat this,” he
said.
While the entire state has
been covered under the vacci-
nation campaign for children,
only 14 have been covered
under the adult vaccination
campaign in a phased manner.
Officials pointed out that
the coverage was not satisfac-
tory for a multiple reasons, in-
cluding rumours about the ef-
fects of the vaccine.
A total of 154 people died of
Japanese encephalitis in the
state in 2019.
The number is the highest
in the last five years, officials
said, even as they claimed that
the outbreak has been min-
imised.
The Assam government
has cancelled all leaves of doc-
tors, paramedic staff and sur-
veillance workers in order to
deal with the outbreak of
Japanese encephalitis.
The National Health Mis-
sion office said altogether 630
people have been affected by
Japanese encephalitis till Sep-
tember 12 this year.
Of these, 154 people have
died (13 from Goalpara and
11 from Kamrup rural dis-
tricts).
METRO
DSP Bitul Chetia interacts with the students of S.M. Junior
College in Tinsukia. Picture by Manoj Kumar Ojha
the police, through the drive,
aim to make every vehicle
owner aware of it for greater
safety of all. “The process will
continue over the month so
that the people get adequate
ds
ar
ow
/t
New Field checkgate in
Dimapur. (Bhadra Gogoi)
increased manifold during the
ceasefire period.
On Thursday, the commit-
tee, through a representation,
urged chief minister Neiphiu
Rio to enact “stringent crimi-
nal law” in the state to address
the issue of extortion.
It stressed the need to
enact a law similar to the Ma-
harashtra Control of Orga-
nized Crime Act, 1999, and the
Laddus to
help build
immunity
SATANANDA
BHATTACHARJEE
Hailakandi: As part of the
Centre’s Poshan Abhiyaan,
Hailakandi administration
has started an initiative to pro-
duce small laddus made of
amla (gooseberry) and jag-
gery, laced with salt, which
will be distributed to pregnant
women and children in the
Anganwadi centres and inte-
grated child development
services projects in the dis-
trict, in an effort to boost their
immune system and keep dis-
eases at bay, including
anaemia.
The administration has
converged two ongoing pro-
grammes for this initiative —
the Rashtriya Poshan Maah
and the Swachh Survekshan
Grameen.
Officials at the programme
on Saturday. Picture by
Satananda Bhattacharjee
One such event was held at
SK Roy civil hospital here on
Saturday to spread awareness
about the initiative. Health
functionaries urged everyone
to download the Swachh
Survekshan Grameen app and
vote for Hailakandi in the
campaign. The administration
gave laddus as gifts to those
who downloaded the app.
time to update documents re-
lated to their vehicles.”
Sources said the state
ow
transport department has di-
rected the enforcement agen-
cies not to go on an overdrive
rr
mo
to
Bihar Control of Crime Act,
1981, by the Nagaland Assem-
bly to deter criminals from
committing crimes and to en-
courage police personnel to
execute their duties.
Three held
Police apprehended three per-
sons who were extorting
money from sand-laden vehi-
cles in the New Field check-
gate area here on Saturday.
Dimapur police public re-
lations officer T. Relo Aye said
the trio were extorting money
on behalf of the All Nagaland
Good Movers Union, NSCN
(Isak-Muivah) and the NSCN
(Unification). Altogether Rs
14,630 in cash was seized from
them. A case has been regis-
tered with West police station,
Dimapur.
STEEP FINES FOR RULE FLOUT
Joint call to end
plastic menace
OUR BUREAU
The Udalguri Municipal
Board launched a mission
against single-use polythene
and plastic bags in the town
on Saturday.
“The drive is a part of
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s clarion call to make
India a plastic-free nation.
The drive will continue till
October 2,” said board chair-
man Ripen Daimari.
Udalguri Girls’ Higher
Secondary School and Ram-
swaroop Agarwalla Memorial
English School declared their
institutions plastic and poly-
thene-free zones.
The Udalguri chapter of
Aranya Suraksha Samiti, an
NGO, appealed to producers
of plastic and polythene bags
to manufacture paper and
cloth bags instead. “Unem-
ployed youths can invest in
the paper-bag industry to gen-
erate a good turnover,” Sap-
kota said.
The Hojai Municipal
Board is conducting a mission
against single-use plastic
bags, cups and water bottles,
officials said on Saturday.
On Thursday and Friday,
a team of the civic body, along
with assistant circle officer
Nabajyoti Das, raided some
shops in the town, seized the
banned plastics and imposed
fines on the shopkeepers.
The civic body is also rais-
to implement the act but to
counsel the public first.
The Assam government
has asked the department to
implement the act after con-
ducting massive awareness
programmes so that the people
adhere to the rules for their
own safety and do not blame
the enforcement agencies
when fined for traffic viola-
tions.
Chief minister Sarbananda
Sonowal has urged motorists
to obey traffic rules and desist
from dangerous driving for
their own safety.
Transport commissioner
Virendra Mittal said the state
government is considering the
amended Motor Vehicles Act,
2019 and they are likely to get
the enforcement order within
a week. Meanwhile, district
transport officers and enforce-
Deb push for
drug-free NE
TANMOY CHAKRABORTY
Agartala: Tripura chief min-
ister Biplab Kumar Deb, refer-
ring to a statement of Union
home minister Amit Shah, on
Saturday said the Northeast
will be made a drug-free re-
gion by 2020 and Tripura will
begin the initiative.
Inaugurating the court
building of West Tripura judi-
cial district here, Deb said
Shah had recently announced
in a North Eastern Council
(NEC) meeting that the North-
east would be made a drug-
free region by next year.
“Drug dealers from neigh-
bouring states like Assam,
Manipur and Meghalaya are
responsible for bringing con-
trabands into Tripura. I had
informed all the chief minis-
ters of the northeastern states
but nothing was done. But fol-
lowing Shah’s appeal, we all
have come together to make
the region free of drugs and il-
legal arms,” he said.
He claimed that Tripura
was the first state in the region
that started working towards
the goal. “Soon after we as-
sumed office, we became the
first state in the Northeast to
declare a war against drug
abuse,” Deb said, adding that
drug menace hindered the re-
gion’s development.
“We have to prevent smug-
gling of contraband in the re-
gion. Once this is done, indus-
try, tourism and everything
else will flourish,” he said.
Deb requested all judges of
Tripura High Court to take
strict action against drug ped-
dlers, land mafia and those in-
People of Udalguri take out a rally on Saturday.
Picture by Shajid Khan
ing awareness about the ill-ef-
fects of plastic products and
the fine being imposed by the
municipal board over use of
banned plastic items.
Vice-chairman of Hojai
Municipal Board Samir
Sarkar said, “Shopkeepers
and buyers have to take the
issue seriously to save the en-
vironment. The civic body
will follow strict action
against those who flout
rules.”
The official said the mu-
nicipal board had, in a public
notice released on Thursday,
informed that single-use plas-
tics were banned in Hojai
under the Plastic Waste Man-
agement Rules 2016.
Sarkar said a fine of Rs
5,000 would be imposed on
wholesalers of plastic, Rs 2,000
on retailers and Rs 500 on con-
THE TELEGRAPH SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
ment staff are conducting
awareness camps.
While clashes over collec-
tion of hefty penalties under
the new act have been report-
ed from several parts of the
country, no such incident has
been reported from Assam.
The Motor Vehicles Act,
2019, amended by Parliament
on July 31, provides stricter
and heavier penalties to im-
prove road safety. The bill got
the President’s assent on Au-
gust 9 and came into force
from September 1.
It provides for a fine of Rs
2,000 for disobedience of or-
ders of authorities and refusal
to give information, Rs 5,000
for driving without licence, Rs
1,000 for not wearing helmets,
Rs 5,000 for speeding/racing
and Rs 1,000 for not wearing a
seatbelt.
Biplab Kumar Deb
volved in crimes against
women. “Owing to shortage of
time, I cannot meet all the peo-
ple of my state who approach
me for help but I try to respond
to those who contact me
through my Facebook page.
Soon I will start the Janatar
Darbar programme in every
district,” Deb added.
Man sent to custody
A local court in Tripura sent
an accused to 18-day judicial
custody on Friday for a 41-
year-old theft case.
Bodhjung Nagar police sta-
tion officer-in-charge Sukanta
Sen Choudhury said on Satur-
day, “Bachu Kaul was arrest-
ed for his involvement in a
case of theft in 1978.” Bachu
was 15 when he allegedly stole
a goat along with his father,
Mohan Kaul, from a house
nead Nandan Nagar here in
1978. A case was registered
against them at East Agartala
police station here. Later, it
was transferred to Bodhjung
Nagar police station. “We ar-
rested him after receiving an
arrest warrant. He was pro-
duced in the court which has
sent him to 18-day judicial re-
mand,” he said. Mohan died 29
years back.” The price of the
goat was Rs 45 1978.
sumers not abiding by the
rules set by the civic body.
Environmentalist Pradip
Kumar Sahoo said, “Single-
use plastic is durable and not
renewable. It is a threat to ani-
mals, plants and human be-
ings. I support the Centre’s
initiative to prevent the use of
such plastic products.”
The Nagaland Armed Po-
lice Training Centre conduct-
ed a plastic-eradication drive
at Chumukedima police com-
plex on Saturday. It also con-
ducted an essay-writing com-
petition on Initiative For Mak-
ing Nagaland Plastic-Free and
a drawing competition on
Plastic-Free Initiative For An
Environmental Friendly Soci-
ety for the centre’s children.
Additional reporting by Shajid Khan in
Udalguri, Nikhil Kr Mundra in Hojai and
Bhadra Gogoi in Dimapur
XXGL
Experts
focus on
palliative
care
ALI FAUZ HASSAN
Guwahati: Understanding
the pain of serious and chroni-
cally ill patients and amelio-
rating it through palliative
care was the prime focus of ex-
perts from across the country
speaking at a workshop at
State Cancer Institute here on
Saturday.
Development of palliative
care assumes importance as
the Northeast has the highest
incidence of cancer and mor-
tality rate in the country.
In the Northeast, Aizawl
district in Mizoram has the
highest incidence of cancer
and mortality rate followed by
Assam’s Kamrup urban dis-
trict, says a study published in
2018. According to the study,
the cancer mortality rate in
Kamrup urban district is 70
men and 41.2 women in 1 lakh.
Despite such a scenario,
less than one per cent of pa-
tients in Assam receive pallia-
tive care while the figure is
three per cent in India, accord-
ing to a source at the institute.
Resource persons from the
Indian Association of Pallia-
tive Care, including Dr Mary
Ann Muckaden from Tata
Memorial Centre, Mumbai,
Dr Radhakrishnan Menon
from Cochin, Kerala, Ganapa-
thy K.V. from Mumbai, The
chief executive officer of Com-
munity Oncology Center at
Gujarat Cancer Society, Dr
Geeta Joshi, Dr Sumitra Mo-
hanty from Odisha and K.M.
Noordeen from Kerala, among
others, addressed the more
than 70 audience. The session
was inaugurated by institute
director B.C. Goswami.
Dr Muckaden said pallia-
tive care education can bring
about quality improvement in
the lives of patients. Dr Rad-
hakrishnan said, “We have
seen how the involvement of
general people in Kerala has
changed the palliative care
scenario and Assam could be
no different with growing lit-
eracy and social awareness”.
Maintaining that palliative
care is integrated and holistic,
Dr Joshi said there is a huge
need for the speciality in
Assam. “Nearly 80 per cent of
cancer patients, 50 per cent of
those suffering from AIDS and
10 to 15 per cent of other chron-
ic problems like renal failure
require palliative care but
only one out of 10 patients re-
ceive it,” she said. Joshi called
for homecare service, a sepa-
rate OPD, availability of mor-
phine, training, proper policy
and networking for a better fu-
ture of palliative care.
Dr Mohanty said not only
cancer patients but those suf-
fering from chronic diseases
like diabetes, neurological
problems and old age ailments
also needed palliative care.
Social activist Ganapathy
underlined the importance of
social media in changing the
outlook towards those suffer-
ing without a voice.
Organising chairperson Dr
Dinesh Ch. Goswami, who
runs the Guwahati pain and
palliative care centre, stressed
upon the importance of pallia-
tive care in the region while its
secretary Dr Arun Deka invit-
ed all stakeholders to attend
IAPCON 2020 at the GMCH au-
ditorium in February.
Engineer
sentenced
ABINASH KALITA
Guwahati: The court of spe-
cial judge, Guwahati, has sen-
tenced a junior engineer to
four years’ imprisonment for
accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000
to sign a bill of a construction
work under the Pradhan
Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in
Hojai’s Dhalpur development
block in 2016.
Special judge Gautam
Baruah convicted Jayanta
Goswami under Sections 7,
13(1)(d) and 13(2) of the Pre-
vention of Corruption Act,
1988. The court also imposed a
Rs 40,000 fine on him.
“A complaint was lodged
by Birendra Prasad Mallah, a
member of anchalik panchay-
at (Dholpukhuri block) from
Nandanpur gaon panchayat in
Hojai district regarding the de-
mand for Rs 10,000 bribe to
sign a bill for a construction
work. Based on the complaint,
a case was registered and he
was arrested red-handed
while accepting the bribe from
the complainant on the office
premises,” a police source
said.
 THE TELEGRAPH GUWAHATI SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019 11

ow
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to
ds
ar
ow
/t
me
t.
//
s:
tp
ht
 THE TELEGRAPH GUWAHATI SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019 12

ow
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mo
to
ds
ar
ow
/t
me
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//
s:
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ht
 ACCOLADE
IN BRIEF
Sourabh
advances
to final
■ HO CHI MINH CITY:
India’s Sourabh Verma
outwitted Japan’s Mi-
noru Koga in straight
games to progress to the
men’s singles final of the
Vietnam Open BWF
Tour Super 100 here
on Saturday. Sourabh
overcame Minoru 22-20,
21-15 in a 51-minute semi-
final clash. PTI
Lakshya on target
■ LEUVEN: Rising Indian
shuttler Lakshya Sen
stormed into the men’s
singles finals of the Bel-
gian International Chal-
lenge with a straight
game win over Den-
mark’s Kim Bruun here.
The 18-year-old from
Almora notched up a
comfortable 21-18, 21-11
win over Bruun on Fri-
day night. PTI
Chancellor Kapil
■ CHANDIGARH: Cricket
legend Kapil Dev will be
the first chancellor of the
Haryana Sports Univer-
sity at Rai in Sonipat dis-
trict. The Sports Univer-
sity of Haryana will be
the third sports universi-
ty established by a state
government in the coun-
try after Swarnim Gu-
jarat Sports University
(Gandhinagar) and
Tamil Nadu Physical Ed-
ucation and Sports Uni-
versity (Chennai). PTI
ATP Cup
■ SYDNEY: Novak Djoko-
vic, Rafael Nadal and
Roger Federer are
among the global top 10
who will play for their
countries at the new ATP
Cup in Australia in Jan-
uary, the organisers said
on Saturday. Andy Mur-
ray, returning from hip
surgery, will also com-
pete, with his protected
world ranking of two giv-
ing Britain entry to the
tournament even though
they are outside of the
24-team qualifying cut-
out. Agencies
Rashid’s 6-under
■ GURGAON: India’s
Rashid Khan carded a
second straight six-
under-66 in round three
of the inaugural Classic
Golf & Country Club In-
ternational Champi-
onship to raise hopes of
ending his five-year long
dry spell on the Asian
Tour here on Saturday.
Rashid, who won both
his Asian Tour titles in
2014, trailed the leader
Rory Hie of Indonesia
by one shot. PTI
Nagal in form
■ BANJA LUKA: India’s
Sumit Nagal sailed into
the final of the Banja
Luka Challenger with a
7-6 (1), 6-2 win over Slo-
vakia’s Filip Horansky in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
on Saturday. PTI
THIS DAY
THAT YEAR
1961: Jack Nicklaus,
aged 21, wins the
61st US Golf Amateur
Championship.
1978: Muhammad Ali
beats Leon Spinks in 15
rounds for the heavyweight
boxing title in New Orleans.
1982: Roy Dias registers
Sri Lanka’s first ODI
century. His 102 came
against India at the Kotla.
BENZEMA
SCORES A
BRACE
P 14
Kohli: Experience matters,
Dhoni remains valuable
OUR BUREAU
Calcutta: Mahendra Singh
Dhoni may not have been phy-
sically present in Dharamsala
but he is always on the minds
of the Indian cricketers, espe-
cially Virat Kohli. The former
India captain is enjoying a
‘break’ but he remained the
focus before the start of India’s
international season at home.
Perhaps because the sea-
son begins with a T20I as part
of India’s preparations for the
T20 World Cup in Australia
next year.
Dhoni has always put the
interest of Indian cricket ahe-
ad of personal goals and is “on
same page” with the team ma-
nagement as far as his interna-
tional future is concerned, Ko-
hli said at a media conference
in Dharamsala on Saturday.
s:
tp
ht
Kohli’s tweet that set off Dhoni-quit rumours on Thursday
On the eve of the T20I se-
ries against South Africa,
Kohli maintained that the 38-
year-old Dhoni will “remain
valuable” as long as he contin-
ues playing the game.
“One great thing about him
(Dhoni) is that, he thinks for
Indian cricket. And whatever
we (team management) think,
he is on the same page. The
alignment is there. The kind of
Steve Smith stretches at The Oval on Saturday. (Reuters)
Super Chhetri on Bangladesh mind
ANGSHUMAN ROY
Calcutta: Sunil Chhetri.
That’s the name working
overtime on the minds of
Bangladesh national team
coach Jamie Day and his assis-
tant Mohammad Masud
Parvez Kaisar. Bangladesh
play India in a World Cup
qualifier on October 15 at the
Salt Lake Stadium.
“We know Chhetri will be a
threat,” Day told The Tele-
graph from Kent.
He is on a short vacation to
Britain to be with his family
before returning to Dhaka for
the national camp, which be-
gins on September 25.
“We have to mark him clo-
sely. Having said that, every-
one in the Indian team will be a
threat to us,” Day added.
KICK OFF WITH T
SPORT
SADIO & SALAH MAINTAIN LIVERPOOL’S 100% START THIS SEASON P14
mindset he has had about
grooming youngsters and giv-
ing them opportunities… and
he is still the same person,”
Kohli said when asked if
Dhoni is in his scheme of
things for the T20 World Cup.
“Look, experience is al-
ways going to matter whether
you like it or not. I mean there
are a numerous number of
times people have given up on
sportsmen and they have
proved people wrong and he
(Dhoni) has done that many
times in his career as well. As
long as he is available and con-
tinues to play, he is going to be
very valuable,” Kohli said.
“When you decide to stop
playing is an absolutely indi-
vidual thing, and no one else
should have an opinion on it,
that’s what I think,” he added.
Only Thursday, Kohli
me
t.
//
tweeted about Dhoni out of the
blue and learnt “his lesson”
the hard way. An innocuous
tweet sparked rumours and al-
most forced Dhoni into inter-
national retirement.
Within no time, the tweet
went viral and was somehow
linked to Dhoni’s future for In-
dia. It took Dhoni’s wife Sakshi
to put an end to such talk. “Its
called rumours,” she tweeted.
Kaisar, a close friend of for-
mer India international Syed
Rahim Nabi, said Chhetri is
the man who has the ability to
bring out something out of
nothing. “He is a class player.
We in Bangladesh hold him in
high esteem.
“You know, Bangladesh
will be very lucky if we get a
player of Chhetri’s calibre. We
had a very good striker in
Alfaz Ahmed. But after he re-
tired, we are still searching for
one,” Kaisar said from Dhaka.
According to Day, who
played for Arsenal briefly, the
match against India would ob-
viously be very tough for
Bangladesh.
“It will be a very tough
game for us. India are 79
places above us in the Fifa
rankings and have progressed
SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
Asked what was going on
his mind, Kohli replied: “Mere
zehen mein kuch naahi tha
yaar (I had nothing in my
mind). I was sitting at
home and I normally put out a
photograph and it became a
news item.”
Kohli once again got a bit-
ter taste of the harmful effects
of social media.
“I think it was a lesson for
me, that the way I think, the
whole world does not think
ds
that way. There was nothing
in farthest stretch of my imagi-
nation (that it could be taken
ar
as retirement tribute) while
putting that picture out on so-
cial media,” the Team India
captain said.
ow
For him, the T20I against
Australia was one match he
has not really talked about
/t
much in the last three years
unlike his other knocks.
“Like what did I write. I re-
member that game even now,
every now and then. I never
spoke about that game and so I
thought I put up a post. Now
people interpreted it in a dif-
ferent manner in which there
was not even an iota of truth.”
Kohli also justified Kulde-
ep Yadav and Yuzvendra Cha-
hal’s omission from the T20
squad as their weakness with
the willow has prompted them
to try out some other options.
“That was one of the rea-
sons also to give opportunities
to the guys who have done well
in the domestic format and the
T20 format and in the IPL also.
So I think it’s about finding the
best balance that we can as a
side and not necessarily stick
to one kind of combination. If
all teams across the world are
batting till No. 9, 10, why can’t
we,” the captain explained.
The India skipper recalled
how the team management
was criticised when Chahal
and Kuldeep were inducted in
the white ball set-up replacing
a more fancied Ravichandran
Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
“So, you need to take those
calls at one stage. Bringing
those guys (Chahal and
Kuldeep) at one stage was also
not taken well by people,”
Kohli said.
Talks don’t bother Smith
London: Steve Smith refused
to blame his inconsistent
teammates for their batting
failures in this Ashes series
after he again shouldered the
run-scoring burden for Aus-
tralia, here at The Oval.
The former skipper scored
80 in the ongoing fifth and final
Test — his lowest total so far in
the series — as the visitors
were bowled out for 225, falling
69 runs short of England’s
first-innings total of 294.
Asked for reasons for
Australia’s batting failures,
Smith said conditions had not
been kind throughout the se-
ries, but that players would
learn from performing in un-
familiar conditions.
“We haven’t seen any huge
really well in the last few
years,” Day said.
According to Day, India’s
goalless match against Asian
champions Qatar proved any-
thing is possible in football.
“They did extremely well
against Qatar. We will have to
play very well to get a positive
result. As India showed in
Doha, anything is possible in
football.”
Bangaldesh host Qatar on
October 10 before travelling to
Calcutta. “The Qatar match
will be a big test for us,” Kaisar
said.
Bangaldesh lost their qual-
ifier against Afghanistan 0-1 in
Dushanbe, the capital of Tajik-
istan. The 39-year-old Briton,
though, took a lot of positives
from that match.
“We played very well and
ow
rr
mo
to
Team India captain Virat Kohli in Dharamsala on Saturday. (PTI)
totals really throughout the
series, so it’s not been easy,”
he said. “There’s always been
something there (for the
bowlers), I felt. If you bowl in
good areas for long enough,
then I think we’ve seen you’ll
get rewards.
“Playing in England is
completely different from
playing back home and you’ve
got to find ways to play away
from home,” he said.
“Sometimes you need to
change certain little things
that can help you play in cer-
tain conditions and adapt ac-
cordingly, but I think it will be
a good learning curve for all of
our batsmen.”
Smith said he was able to
shut out pressures and focus
were unlucky not to get some-
thing from the match. We
were organised and main-
tained a good shape through-
out. What we need is to be bet-
ter on the ball against teams
who are stronger than us.
“Overall, we are in a posi-
tive mood,” he said.
Kaisar, meanwhile, said
Indian football has improved
by leaps and bounds in the last
five years. “Look, there was a
time when Bangladesh was on
a par with India if not better.
But slowly, we started lagging
behind.
“India’s age-group teams
started playing abroad against
stronger teams and when they
graduated to the senior team,
they were already mentally
strong. The ISL also played a
big role in making Indian play-
on the job in hand despite the
weight of expectation on his
shoulders. “I just sort of do my
thing and what people say
doesn’t really bother me. It’s
just each time I go out to the
middle I love batting and I just
want to bat and score runs and
help out the team,” he said.
“People can say whatever
they like — nice things, bad
things, whatever... It really
doesn’t bother me.”
The 30-year-old, trapped
leg-before to Chris Woakes,
was disappointed not to reach
his fourth century of what has
been a stellar series for him,
but said he had struggled with
“flu” during his knock.
England pacer Jofra Arch-
er took six wickets to put his
ers technically strong.
“Agreed, most of the well-
known foreign players who
played in the ISL are past their
prime, but interacting with
them helped the Indians to
grow,” he said.
“The Indians defend very
well and when they lose the
ball, they give their all to win it
back. These are the things I
have noticed amongst most of
the present-day Indian foot-
ballers. It’s something which
we didn’t see, say five years
back,” Kaisar added.
Both Day and Kaisar re-
fused to believe there’s no fu-
ture for football in
Bangladesh. “It’s wrong. Foot-
ball is (still) very popular in
Bangladesh.
“Only thing they need now
is big investment in the na-
side in the driving seat and
Smith was asked whether a
great rivalry could develop be-
tween the pair. But the Aus-
tralian said it was too soon to
tell. “Who knows? When’s the
next Ashes series? I don’t even
know,” he said. “Will I still be
playing? I’m not sure. Who
knows the answer to that?
We’ll see.
“He (Jofra) is a quality per-
former. He has got two five-
fors in four Test matches and
you don’t get guys bowling 90
miles an hour growing on
trees and with the skill set he
has got.
“He’s a terrific bowler and
there’s no doubt that he’ll gain
a lot of confidence from his
first Test series.” Agencies
tional league and youth devel-
opment. But it’s true we are
playing catch up with India,”
Day, who is in charge of the na-
tional and the under-23 teams
since May 2018, said.
“Football has a future in
the country. The problem is, it
has become too Dhaka
centric. So, we are not being
able to tap enough talent from
the districts where there is
still a huge following. Our na-
tional association (Banglade-
sh Football Federation) is try-
ing it best to revive football,”
he said.
Abahani Limited Dhaka is
in the semi-finals of the AFC
Cup and Kaisar believes it’s a
huge boost for Bangladesh
football. “It’s a big plus. People
are discussing in the streets
about Abahani,” he said.
XXGE
Exciting
times
for SA:
Miller
Dharamsala: Quinton de
Kock possesses an “incredible
cricket brain”, feels senior ba-
tsman David Miller, who is re-
ady to perform “any role” that
the new South Africa white-
ball captain wants him to.
Miller, along with De Kock
and Kagiso Rabada, form the
core of a new-look South Afri-
can limited-overs set-up wh-
ich is going through a transi-
tion phase with first stop being
the ongoing tour of India.
“He (Quinton) has been
around for many years and got
an incredible cricket brain.
Like I said, it’s exciting times
— new skipper, new players
and a lot of young, fresh
faces,” said the 30-year-old
Miller, who has played 126
ODIs and 70 T20 Internation-
als for his country, on the eve
of the first T20I.
Miller is happy with the
way De Kock is progressing as
a leader and wants to lend all
the support that he needs at
the start of his new journey.
“It’s been really good so far
and we’ll see as it progresses
how we go along. It’s really
nice to be alongside him and
supporting him in whatever
role he wants me to. So yeah,
it’s been great so far and hope-
fully, it continues,” the left-
handed batsman said.
It’s a new-look South Afric-
an side and Miller knows
he will have to take the
responsibility of guiding the
younger crop of players. “I feel
playing while for the country
that there is always responsi-
bility, regardless of whether
you are less experienced or
more experienced.
“I mean I have been play-
ing for many years and that re-
sponsibility has been with
me for a couple of years
now, and it’s really exciting,”
Miller said.
“Like I said, it’s a young
side and we’ve got a lot of ener-
gy amongst the squad. There
are actually a lot of guys who
have played a lot of cricket, in
the A side and domestically.
“So, all of us are really, re-
ally experienced in each de-
partment and it’s just a great
stepping stone.”
South Africa will play
three-T20Is and as many Tests
against India before coming
back later for three ODIs.
They have been training here
in Dharamsala for a week
ahead of the first T20I.
“We have been here for a
week, and the strip has been
really good. And I think we
are going to get the same in
the middle. It’s generally a
good wicket down here,”
Miller added.
The Proteas had a forget-
table World Cup, but Miller
wants to look ahead. “Yeah, I
think what happened in the
World Cup is something to
learn from. “We did a few
things wrong and the results
never came out the way we
wanted. So, we are lucky that
it’s a new phase in South Afr-
ican cricket at the moment,”
said Miller. PTI
Bangladesh coach Jamie
Day. Picture courtesy Bangladesh
Football Federation
14
IN BRIEF
Pliskova’s
5th final of
the year
■ BEIJING: World No.2
Karolina Pliskova
surged into her fifth final
of the year as she
thrashed Ajla Toml-
janovic 6-3, 6-2 on Satur-
day at the WTA
Zhengzhou Open. She
will face Croatia’s Petra
Martic, the seventh seed,
who beat France’s un-
seeded Kristina Mladen-
ovic 6-0, 6-3. Agencies
Ministry letter
■ NEW DELHI: The sports
ministry has written a
letter to International
Gymnastics Federation
(FIG) to allow the com-
mittee headed by Indian
Olympic Association
(IOA) to select the coun-
try’s team for next
month’s World Champi-
onship in Artistic Gym-
nastics. Olympic quotas
will be up for grabs at the
World Championship
which is scheduled to be
held in Stuttgart, Ger-
many from October 4 to
13. PTI
India ready
■ NEW DELHI: The trio of G.
Sathiyan, Sharath
Kamal and Manika
Batra will spearhead
India’s challenge at the
Asian Table Tennis
Championships starting
from Sunday in Yo-
gyakarta, Indonesia. The
Asian Championships is
qualifying event for the
2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 10-member squad,
comprising five men and
as many women pad-
dlers, reached the In-
donesian city on Satur-
day following a 10-day
preparatory camp at
Chengdu, China. PTI
DoJ probe
■ LOS ANGELES: The US
Department of Justice
has launched an investi-
gation into sexual abuse
in US Olympic sports, be-
coming the latest federal
agency to probe failures
in the country’s Olympic
organizations, the Wall
Street Journal reported.
The investigations,
which focus mainly on
USA gymnastics, stems
from the Larry Nassar
scandal. Agencies
Subroto Cup
■ NEW DELHI: Bangladesh
Krira Shiksha Pro-
tishthan (BKSP), 11
Gorkha Rifles Regimen-
tal Centre, Bokaro’s BSL
+2 High School and Shil-
long’s Hopewell Elias
Higher Secondary
School entered the semi-
finals of the U-17 boys’
Subroto Cup Interna-
tional Football tourna-
ment here on Saturday.
PTI
Lyon held
■ PARIS: Olympique Lyon-
nais’s stuttering start to
the Ligue 1 season con-
tinued when they con-
ceded a last-gasp equalis-
er in a 2-2 draw at
Amiens on Friday ahead
of their Champions
League debut, while Lille
enjoyed a 2-1 home win
over Angers. Reuters
FANFARE
A fan before the Premier
League match between
Sheffield United and
Southampton FC on
Saturday. (Getty Images)
Reds stroll to 5th straight win
PREMIER LEAGUE
LIVERPOOL 3
NEWCASTLE
London: Liverpool came from
1 pool defender Robertson said.
behind to earn a 3-1 home win
over Newcastle United thanks
to Sadio Mane’s first-half dou-
ble and a late goal from Mo
Salah on Saturday, maintain-
ing their 100 per cent start to
the season and winning their
14th consecutive Premier
League match.
Anfield was stunned into
silence in glorious sunshine
on Merseyside as Newcastle’s
Jetro Willems sent a thunder-
ous strike into the top corner
— the Dutchman’s first goal in
English football — to give the
visitors a shock seventh-
minute lead.
The crowd were getting
anxious as league leaders Liv-
erpool were wasteful in pos-
session, but the pressure
never relented as Andy
Robertson set up Mane, who
equalised with a superb curled
finish into the top corner in the
28th minute.
Liverpool had won each of
their previous four home
leagues games in which they
conceded first and 12 minutes
later they had turned another
match on its head as Roberto
Firmino’s trickery set up
Mane to give the hosts the lead
at the second attempt.
Mane’s second strike
meant Liverpool had scored
two or more goals in 14 consec-
utive league games —
equalling the Premier League
record set by Manchester City
in 2011 — with Egyptian for-
ward Salah adding the third in
the second half.
There was no coming back
for Steve Bruce’s Newcastle as
Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool
strolled to their fifth straight
win this term to move five
points clear of second-placed
Manchester City, who visit
promoted Norwich City later
s:
on Saturday.
tp
ht
Newcastle United’s Jetro Willems (left) celebrates with
teammate Fabian Schar. (Reuters)
Asia Cup
title for
India U-19
Colombo: Left-arm spinner
Atharva Ankolekar returned
with a five-wicket haul to help
India clinch the U-19 Asia Cup
title with a thrilling five-run
win over Bangladesh in a low-
scoring final here on Satur-
day.
Defending a paltry total of
106, India dismissed
Bangladesh for 101 in 33 overs,
courtesy 18-year-old
Ankolekar, who emerged as
the star of the Indian team
with figures of five for 28 from
8 overs.
While Ankolekar spun a
web of spin to derail
Bangladesh’s chase, he was
supported well by pacer
Akash Singh, who accounted
for three wickets.
V. Patil (1/25) and SS
Mishra (1/27) also chipped in
with one wicket each at the R.
Premadasa Stadium here.
Chasing a paltry target of
107, skipper Akbar Ali (23) and
Mrittunjoy Chowdhury (21)
kept Bangladesh in the hunt.
After they were back to the
pavilion, Tanzim Hasan Sakib
(12) and Rakibul Hasan (11)
raised hopes of a Bangladesh
win before India fought back
to bundle them out.
Earlier, skipper Dhruv
Jurel (33) and lower-order
batsman Karan Lal (37) came
up with useful contributions
to help India cross the 100-run
mark.
India’s decision to bat first
after winning the toss back-
fired big time as left-arm pacer
Mrittunjoy (3/18) and off-spin-
ner Shamim Hossain (3/8)
wreaked havoc on the Indian
batsmen.
Opener Arjun Azad was
the first to go as he was caught
behind by Akbar Ali off Tanz-
im Hasan Sakib’s bowling in
the third over.
Brief scores: India U-19 106 in
32.4 ovs (Karan Lal 37).
Bangladesh U-19 101 in 33 ovs.
India U-19 won by 5 runs. PTI
“We didn’t start the game
the way we wanted,” Liver-
“That gave us the wake-up call
we needed and afterwards I
think we kicked into gear and
were too good for them.”
Liverpool freshened up
their forward line with Bel-
gian Divock Origi coming in
for Firmino after the Brazilian
had played for his country in
Los Angeles in midweek, but it
was Newcastle’s attack which
struck first.
Christian Atsu lofted a
cross-field pass into Willems,
who cut onto his weaker right
foot before firing an unstop-
pable effort past Adrian in the
home goal.
Liverpool had trailed for
only 28 minutes at home in the
Premier League last season,
but Newcastle goalkeeper
Martin Dubravka remained
untested until Mane inter-
vened, slotting a perfect strike
into the net.
With the home fans in full
voice, Firmino came off the
bench to replace the injured
Origi and cleverly threaded
the ball through for Mane.
Dubravka was unable to make
the block, and the Senegalese
forward tapped in the loose
ball. After the break, Liverpool
were caught on the counter but
Newcastle’s Emil Krafth
blazed over at the back post.
Liverpool regained the ini-
tiative but missed a host of
chances midway through the
half to make it three.
Dubravka could not hold
out forever, though, as Salah
got in on the act, finishing well
me
after another superb Firmino
pass to wrap up a victory that
means Liverpool are the
fourth team in history to win
t.
14 consecutive English top-
flight matches.
“Liverpool are as good as
//
you get,” Bruce said. “Pace,
creativity and at the top of the
pitch they can hurt you.”
Reuters
India enjoy edge
OUR BUREAU
Calcutta: The T20 World Cup
is just over a year away. And
Virat Kohli and his men will
be beginning with their prepa-
rations for the mega event
from Sunday itself when India
face South Africa in the first of
the three T20Is, in Dharam-
sala.
On the road to the seventh
edition of the T20 World Cup,
India would obviously want to
win most of their T20 matches.
If the series sweep in the
shortest format last month in
the tour of the Caribbean was
a trailer, Virat and his men
would certainly start as the
favourites once again.
But while the win versus
the West Indies was more like a
balm to soothe the scars of the
semi-final exit from ODI World
Cup, the assignment against
the Proteas would help India to
assess themselves better.
The West Indies had sur-
rendered tamely in all the
three matches. South Africa
are expected to offer tougher
resistance. But South Africa,
at present, are a new-look side
with not enough experience to
Tiger’s ‘signature’ move
Los Angeles: Speculation
swirled that superstar Tiger
Woods will choose himself to
play in the Presidents Cup as
captain of the US team thanks
to an enigmatic sign-off on a
blog post.
In the US captain’s blog
posted on the US PGA Tour
website, Woods says the eight
US players already selected
are “fired up” for the match
play showdown between
America and the International
team, which will be held at
Royal Melbourne in Decem-
ber.
“As a captain, I couldn’t
have asked for a more engaged
SPORT
ds
Sadio Mane scores Liverpool’s second goal against Newcastle United at the Anfield on Saturday. (Reuters)
ar
Thriller on Hazard debut
ow
LALIGA
/t
REAL MADRID 3
LEVANTE 2
ATHLETIC BILBAO 0 hour, allowing Eden Hazard to
REAL MALLORCA 0 finally make his Real debut
Madrid: Real Madrid clung on
to record a nervy but vital 3-2
win at home to Levante in La
Liga on Saturday following a
shoddy second-half perform-
ance after taking a three-goal
lead with a Karim Benzema
double and Casemiro strike.
Benzema headed Real in
front after 25 minutes when he
met a cross from Dani Carva-
jal and the France forward
struck again a few minutes
later with a well-taken finish
after latching on to a pass from
James Rodriguez.
Brazil midfielder Casemiro
stretched Real’s advantage
right before halftime with a
gut-busting run to meet a
cross from compatriot Vini-
cius, but Levante hit back
shortly after the interval
through former Madrid for-
ward Borja Mayoral.
Perhaps with Wednesday’s
Champions League opener at
David Miller on Saturday
bank on. The last time the two
sides met at the picturesque
Dharamsala Stadium in a
T20I, four years ago, South
Africa had emerged winners.
But the players who helped
South Africa chase down a
competitive total then are no
longer in the team. Advantage
India, in other words.
But assumption or predic-
tion doesn’t gel well with T20s.
A fine spell from Kagiso Raba-
da or whirlwind knocks by
captain Quinton de Kock or
the experienced David Miller
could well make matters
mighty tough for the Indians.
Besides, someone like An-
rich Nortje, if selected in the
XI, could turn out to be that
unknown element to catch the
and excited group of guys,”
Woods says in a lengthy post
which he signed: US Team
Captain (crossed out) Playing
Captain.
It’s not the first time one of
these blogs has been signed
that way, and it remains un-
clear if Woods will name him-
self to play when he makes his
four captain’s picks for the
team on November 4.
Since winning his 15th
major title at the Masters in
April Woods has made only six
starts, missing two cuts and
withdrawing from one event.
Woods revealed in late Au-
gust that he had undergone
ow
rr
mo
to
Paris St Germain in mind,
manager Zinedine Zidane
brought off captain Sergio
Ramos and Casemiro on the
after recovering from injury.
Madrid’s $110.73 million
signing looked off the pace in
his first competitive game
though and, as the home side’s
intensity dropped off, Levante
Real Madrid’s Casemiro (second from left) celebrates with
teammates at the Bernabeu on Saturday. (AP)
Kohlis and Rohit Sharmas off
guard.
Captain Kohli and head
coach Ravi Shastri will be get-
ting around 20 matches or so to
build a near perfect combina-
tion for the T20 World Cup.
There are quite a few aspects
that the team management
will have to work on in the
next 13 months.
Save Kohli, Rohit, all-
rounder Hardik Pandya,
who’s set to make a comeback,
and premier pacer Jasprit
Bumrah (rested for this se-
ries), at least seven slots in the
playing XI and four more in
the 15-member squad are up
for grabs. It needs to be seen if
the team management takes a
bold approach.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s
retirement is a call that will be
taken by the former skipper
himself. But Kohli’s India will
need to prove that they an al-
ternative ready.
Given his talent and ability,
Rishabh Pant is considered an
ideal substitute for Dhoni. But
his inconsistency with the bat
and shortcomings behind the
stumps make his case difficult.
● Match starts: 7pm
Tiger Woods
keyhole surgery to repair car-
tilage in his left knee, but he
still expects to tee it up at the
PGA Tour’s inaugural Zozo
championship in Japan in Oc-
tober. Woods has indicated
throughout the year that he
wouldn’t shy away from se-
became emboldened.
The visitors reduced the
deficit to one goal with 15 min-
utes to go thanks to a near-post
header from Gonzalo Melero
and twice came close to level-
ling in stoppage time.
Real goalkeeper Thibaut
Courtois was forced to turn
away a header from Ruben
Vezo, while Levante’s talis-
man Jose Luis Morales tried to
Klusener
upbeat
Dharamsala: South Africa
would like to put pressure on
India’s young pace trio of
Navdeep Saini, Khaleel
Ahmed and Deepak Chahar
during the three-match T20I
series, the visiting side’s assis-
tant batting coach Lance
Klusener said on Sunday.
The trio together played 16
T20Is among them and the for-
mer South African all-rounder
sensed it as an opportunity for
the Proteas as their new look
team tries to settle into a
groove. “Looking at the Indian
team, that inexperienced
bowling attack is an area we
are going to take advantage of
just like I suppose, you look at
opposing teams and at areas,
which you can take advantage
of,” Klusener said during a
media interaction.
“However, he made it clear
that by no means he underesti-
mates the Indian attack.
“They are great cricketers and
we are not taking anything
away from that, and our focus
will be on ourselves and the lit-
tle areas where we can take
advantage and maybe that’s
one of them,” he said. PTI
lecting himself to play if he
thinks he can benefit the team.
This week he said the selec-
tions would “ultimately be my
call” but added he would “lean
heavily” on the opinions of
captain’s assistants Steve
Stricker, Zach Johnson and
Fred Couples as well as the
eight players who qualified for
the team.
The last playing captain at
the Presidents Cup was Hale
Irwin at the inaugural edition
in 1994.
Arnold Palmer was the
most recent playing captain in
the Ryder Cup, in 1963.
Agencies
THE TELEGRAPH SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
catch out the Belgian mo-
ments later by shooting in-
stead of crossing but narrowly
missed the near post.
Zidane’s side had drawn
their last two games against
Real Valladolid and Villarreal
and were grateful to scrape a
victory, which took them to
eight points after four games.
ourtois criticised his side
for switching off after the
break following their rampant
start.
“If we had continued to
play in the same way as in the
first half we would have won 5-
0 or 6-0,” he told reporters.
“We played the best 45 min-
utes of the season but that’s
football, Levante changed
their system and at times we
were sloppy with our pass-
ing.”
Meanwhile on Friday, Ath-
letic Bilbao squandered an op-
portunity to go top of La Liga
in a dramatic 0-0 draw at Real
Mallorca. Aritz Aduriz saw his
96th-minute penalty saved by
Manolo Reina, after Abdon
Prats had dragged a spot-kick
wide for the hosts.
Agencies
Ben Stokes in action on Saturday. (AFP)
England in
control
London: England’s Joe Denly
and Ben Stokes calmly led the
hosts to 193 for two as they ex-
tended their lead over Aus-
tralia to 262 runs at tea on the
third day of the final Ashes
Test on Saturday.
Denly moved on to 82 not
out with Stokes unbeaten on
57 in bright sunshine at The
Oval to put England in a
strong position to level the se-
ries at 2-2.
Australia ensured they
will retain the Ashes by win-
ning the fourth Test in Man-
chester and are bidding to se-
cure their first Test series vic-
tory in England since 2001.
After resuming at 9/0,
Rory Burns drove Peter Siddle
sweetly through mid-off to
bring up the first half-century
opening stand of the series but
he departed for 20 after a wild
slash at a wide ball from spin-
ner Nathan Lyon which he
edged to wicketkeeper Tim
Paine.
England captain Joe Root,
bidding to register his first
Test century of the summer,
made 21 before he pushed for-
ward tentatively at Lyon and
nicked a simple catch to Steve
Smith at slip to leave the home
side on 88 for two at lunch.
Stokes, dropped at slip off
Lyon on seven, started slowly
before unfurling some trade-
mark attacking shots to enter-
tain a packed crowd.
XXGE
Kouassi
seals
it for
Md. Sp.
CFL
MD. SP. 1
BSS SPORTING 0
ASTAFF REPORTER
Calcutta: Mohammedan
Sporting rode Arthur Kouas-
si’s strike to beat BSS Sporting
Club by a solitary goal in a
CFL Premier Division A game
at their home ground on Sat-
urday.
Two minutes into injury
time, substitute Kouassi slot-
ted home Satyam Sharma’s ac-
curate cross that helped Mo-
hammedan Sporting snatch
an unlikely and much-needed
win to the delight of the home
crowd.
Courtesy this win, Mo-
hammedan Sporting moved
up to the fourth place with 13
points from eight matches.
They face Mohun Bagan next
at the Salt Lake Stadium on
Thursday.
Going into the game, Mo-
hammedan Sporting coach Sa-
heed Ramon made three
changes to the side from the
previous game, giving starts to
John Chidi, Amir Hussain and
Sujit Sadhu in place of Kouas-
si, Usman Ashik and Kamran
Farroque.
Fans had little to cheer
about in the first half, which
was mostly about scrappy
showing by the two teams.
Mohammedan Sporting
looked the most likely to open
the scoring with Chidi threat-
ening in the strike zone, and
well supported by Vanlalbiaa
Chhangte and Amir.
Despite some good build-
up play and probing runs, Mo-
hammedan Sporting couldn’t
get behind the well-organised
BSS defence and the particu-
larly impressive Daniel Addo
at the centre of it.
Following a barren first
half that failed to produce a
clear goal-scoring opportuni-
ty, the hosts showed far more
urgency, coming agonizingly
close to taking the lead in the
55th minute when Vanlalbiaa
controlled the ball neatly to
create some space for himself
before smashing a powerful
drive wide of the target.
To their credit, the BSS de-
fence didn’t panic and looked
to have weathered storm that
had more or less secured them
a point until a dramatic late
twist helped Mohammedan
Sporting heave a sigh of relief.
Denly clipped Josh Hazle-
wood through mid-wicket for
his seventh four to reach fifty
for the third time in the series
and the 33-year-old right-han-
der struck a few sweetly-timed
strokes in his highest Test
score.
Stokes, who made a bril-
liant century to lead England
to a dramatic victory in the
third Test at Headingley,
moved smoothly to his fifty
and England will look to push
on in the final session before
setting Australia a daunting
target.
On Monday, Jofra Archer
took six wickets as England’s
bowlers gave their side a
handy lead. Archer took his
tally for the series to 22
wickets.
ENGLAND
1st Innings 294
AUSTRALIA
1st Innings 225
ENGLAND
2nd Innings (overnight 9/0)
R. Burns c Paine b Lyon 20
J. Denly batting 82
J. Root c Smith b Lyon 21
B. Stokes batting 57
Extras (b-2, lb-10, nb-1) 13
Total (2 wickets; 60 overs) 193
Fall of wickets: 1/54, 2/87
Bowling: Cummins 13-4-27-0, Hazlewood
15-5-40-0, Lyon 14-2-46-2, Siddle 6-1-22-
0, Marsh 6-1-20-0, Labuschagne 6-0-26-0
(At Tea, Day III)
Agencies
SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
Wrestlers
stumble
Nur-Sultan: In a dismal start
for India, all four Greco-
Roman wrestlers in action on
Saturday exited the World
Championships without win-
ning a single round here.
Competing in non-Olympic
categories, Asian Champi-
onship silver medallist
Harpeet Singh (82kg), Sagar
(63kg), and Manjeet (55kg)
could not even score a single
point in their respective bouts.
Only Yogesh (72kg) resis-
ted his American rival Ray-
mond Anthony Bunker III be-
fore suffering a narrow 5-6 de-
feat. “Patience ... patience. I
was not patient enough,” Yo-
gesh was telling foreign coach
Temo Kazarashvili after he
lost the close bout.
“I have only myself to
blame. I was close. If you look
at the draw, I could have
reached the semi-finals if I had
won this bout,” said Yogesh.
The standard of Greco-
Roman is “very poor” in India,
said former world champion
Kazarashvili. “It will take a lot
of time to bring improve-
ments. The system needs to
change. The process has
begun and you have to wait for
2-3 years to see the results,” he
said.
“Greco Roman is not very
popular in India. India needs
to find more wrestlers in this
style. You have to have chil-
dren picking up this style,
right from the school level.”
In his pre-quarter final
bout, Yogesh, who had fin-
ished fourth at the Asian
Championship, lost a point
due to passivity and two more
to trail 0-3.
Towards the end of the first
period, the American pushed
Yogesh out to take a healthy 4-
0 lead. Just before the end of
the first minute in the second
period, Yogesh earned a point
and added four more with
back-to-back gut-wrenches to
lead 5-4.
However, he lost the lead
on the counter-attack by
Bunker, who made it 5-5 be-
fore settling the bout in his
favour by pushing the Indian
out.
In 82kg, Harpreet Singh
was expected to put up at least
a good fight but was outplayed
by Petr Novak from Czech Re-
public.
PTI
SPORT
‘Mistake’ tag on Iran girl
Tehran: An Iranian football
fan who set herself ablaze and
died after being arrested for
trying to enter a stadium had
“confessed her mistake” when
she was questioned, the judici-
ary said on Saturday.
Sahar Khodayari, dubbed
“blue girl” because of the
colours of the team she sup-
ported, Esteghlal FC, was re-
portedly detained when she
tried to enter a stadium
dressed as a man to watch
them last year. She died of her
injuries in hospital after set-
Panghal moves
to Round of 16
Amit Panghal
OUR BUREAU
Calcutta: Amit Panghal
(52kg) put up a dazzling dis-
play to advance to the Round
of 16 of the AIBA Men’s World
Championships in Yekaterin-
burg, on Saturday.
Second-seeded Panghal,
who got a first-round bye, was
immaculate in his first bout of
the tournament and demol-
ished Chinese Taipei’s Tu Po-
Wei 5-0 to set up a pre-quarter
final showdown with Turkey’s
s:
Batuhan Citfci.
In the first round, Panghal
took time to settle into the bout
before landing punches on his
tp
opponent. While both pugilists
remained on their guard for
much of the opening round,
ht
they came up with a more pro-
active and aggressive ap-
proach in second round.
Amit evaded his opponent
well before delivering his com-
bination blows to that affected
XXGE
15
ting herself on fire outside a
court last week. Her death
women and family affairs Ma-
soumeh Ebtekar asked the ju-
did not give further details.
Esmaili, who was quoted
sparked outrage online, with diciary to probe her death. The by the judiciary’s Mizan On-
celebrities and activists using judiciary said, without naming line website, said no sentence
the hashtag #blue_girl to urge anyone, that a young woman had been issued against her
the sport’s world governing had been arrested when trying since there had been no trial to
body Fifa to ban Iran from to enter a stadium and faced begin with. The spokesman
competitions and fans to boy- charges of offending “public also dismissed reports she had
cott matches. chastity and insulting” law en- been told she would be jailed
Iranian women spectators forcement officers. for six months as “fabricated
have been barred from foot- On Saturday, judiciary rumours and hearsay”.
ball and other stadiums in the spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said such reports
Islamic republic since 1981, de- Esmaili said Khodayari “had “stirred public opinion” and
spite international pressure to clearly confessed her mistake provided material for “for-
let them attend. during questioning, accepted eigners and enemies” of Iran.
Iran’s vice-president for it and expressed regret”. He Agencies
ow
the Taipei pugilist’s confi-
rr
dence. The Asian Champi-
onships gold medallist en-
sured he never relented in the
mo
final round, not allowing Tu a
way back into the bout in a
master class performance,
which secured him victory.
to
“Today’s bout was good
and the opponent was a tough
one. I have played him in the
ds
Asian Championships before
where I had defeated him 3-2.
“This time, my strategy
ar
was to score more and I was
more aggressive right from
the beginning,” said India’s
No. 1 male boxer.
ow
“My next opponent is from
Turkey and he is a tall boxer.
We will watch video-clippings
/t
of his matches and plan ac-
cordingly,” Panghal was quot-
ed as saying in a release.
me
With this victory, Indian
pugilists continued their un-
beaten run in the champi-
onships this year.Duryodhan
t.
Singh Negi (69kg), Manish
Kaushik (63kg) and Brijesh
Yadav (81kg) have all made a
//
winning start to their respec-
tive campaigns.
Negi had to work hard to
achieve a 4-1 victory over Ar-
menia’s Koryun Astoyan,
whereas Kaushik notched up
a convincing 5-0 win over Kyr-
gyzstan’s Argen Ullu Kadyr-
bek. Brijesh dominated
Poland’s Maleusz Goinski 5-0.
On Sunday, Kavinder
Singh Bisht (57kg) and
Makran Cup silver medallist
Sanjeet (91kg) will begin their
campaign after receiving byes
in the opening round.
 THE TELEGRAPH GUWAHATI SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019 16

ow
rr
mo
to
ds
ar
ow
/t
me
t.
//
s:
tp
ht

Assam’s
Miya Poets:
‘How much
blood should
I lose to get
my rights?’
P18
LAZY EYE
SANKARSHAN THAKUR
What we
Knew,
We also
Forgot
T
here is what we know, and there is what
we don’t know, and there is what we are
yet to know. But there is more than
that, and that is not the end of it. There
is also what we knew or know and have forgotten
or chosen to. The sound of grass growing, for in-
stance. Or the emerging rhythms of water before
they decided to deign to gravity and descend and
make of us what water has made of us.
There are among the things that we know, or
are about to know, things that we knew and no
longer care to. Like we once knew, or were told,
that Truth alone wins, Satyamev Jayate! And
look what’s winning. Like we used to say all men,
and women, are equal and that sort of thing.
Which thought we have thoroughly revised now
and moved on brusquely; no, nothing is equal,
might is right, jiski lathi type of very convinced
and confident thing. Jo hai, so hai. Or like we
used to say Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, all the
world is a family.
And now we have moved on to forgetting and
believe that was the sort of nonsense that de-
serves to have been binned and shot away from
vision a long time ago. Vasudha? Kutumb? What?
Our own are not our own, or do not deserve to be
our own. They need to be taught lessons in how
to be our own. Hard lessons, lessons they will re-
member a long, long time and forget hard. There
is no Vasudha. No Kutumb. Understand? There
tp
are things we may have known. We no longer
know them. It does not suit us anymore. You
know what suits us.
ht
Sometimes I look at earth and the thought
comes along what we might have been without
earth. Not Earth, as in the planet we inhabit, but
earth, with an “e” in lower case. There is, truth
be told, nothing as noble as soil. But, truth be told
again, we do not make it that. We begin to imag-
ine we own nobility. We begin to imagine we own
soil. Such are we; so suicidally deluded are we.
We begin to assert ownership over the soil that
we are going to eventually be consumed by — in
a cask, in a pot, as embers and as ash. Hello, I am
Soil, and who are you?
We make it my soil. We make it your soil.
Which is the soil of the earth. Not with the capital
E, but with the “e” with a lower case. It could be,
you know, the earth on which Vetaal rests, and
Vetaal is not on Earth’s earth, he, or it, is on
Moon’s earth. Believe me, Vetaal has landed. On
earth. On soil. But what soil? What earth? Whose
soil? Whose earth? The only soil we have. We
come from the soil, the soil it is that receives our
ends. There is no greater truth than the soil. Not
for us. We are mortals. We are of the soil. We
come from it, we go back to it. As ash. As flesh.
As all that happens between the acquisition of
mobile flesh and flesh immobile. Soil. Dharti.
Maa. It’s what begets us. It’s what accepts our re-
mains. It’s why we worship it such: Maa. Every-
one has a mother, everyone. And are we to begin
to argue here that one Maa is greater than the
other Maa, or lesser than the other Maa? Maa!
Please do not allow me to become such a person.
Please do not allow me to become a person who
claims that you, Maa, is greater or lesser than an-
other Maa, because that would mean me judging
the very idea and reality of Maa, and I do not
ever, forgive me, wish myself to be sitting on that
sort of judgement, Maa.
Aye watan, aye watan
Everybody, sing that song
Beat your drum, swing your baton
And let’s see where we belong.
gIC
T
GUWAHATI SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
DEVI DIVIDED
This year no less than the Mother Goddess is caught in the crosshairs of the Trinamul-BJP
rivalry. Moumita Chaudhuri keeps score
L
ong before khunti puja — the
ritual that marks the begin-
ning of Durga Puja — and
months before the artisans in
north Calcutta’s Kumartuli
had started to craft the bam-
boo and straw frames of Dur-
ga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh, the issue lay
foregrounded. And thereafter it ticked away
not like a countdown to a socio-cultural event,
but like some kind of a political atom bomb.
Beginning July, there were reports in the
media about Puja committees and local clubs
across Bengal approaching the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) to be a part of the autum-
ow
nal celebrations. There was a buzz that BJP
heavyweights from Delhi would be inaugu-
rating a Puja pandal here and there. And then
/t
it was as if someone stepped on the accelera-
tor. Sanghashree, a Puja committee in south
Calcutta, approached BJP state general secre-
tary Sayantan Bose to be their president.
me
Sanghashree happens to be in the same locali-
ty as Bengal chief minister and Trinamul
boss Mamata Banerjee’s family home.
t.
The implication was unmissable to
say the least. Till last year, the
club president had been
//
Kartik Banerjee, the
s:
chief minister’s
brother. After a con-
tentious month, the local
club appointed a local busi-
nessman and announced that it
would not be allowing any BJP leader
to be a part of their Puja activities.
T
o those who have little or no idea of
Durga Puja in Bengal, the festivi-
ties surrounding the actual puja
are many-layered, each ac-
quired over centuries and civilisational
twists and turns. The evolution of Durga
Puja is well charted in the paper “Spaces of
Recognition: Puja and Power in Contempo-
rary Calcutta” by Anjan Ghosh. What started
as a harvest ritual organised by landlords in
rural Bengal became the Puja as we know it
now only in the late 18th century. Baroari or
public puja had a committee that looked into
the worship aspect as well as the public enter-
tainment — swang (critical mimicry), pup-
petry display, jatra (folk theatre) and half
akhrai (a form of bawdy singing) — that came
to typify the celebrations. There was some-
thing in the celebrations for everyone in the
family. It must be remembered that in the con-
text of Bengal, the goddess herself is imagined
as a family person or Ma Dugga and not just as
a warrior figure like Sherawali.
In the second decade of the 20th century,
the transition to sarbajanin, or community,
puja happened. With the transition came the
scaling up. “Durga Puja now represented the
cohesion and distinctiveness of the para (lo-
cality or neighbourhood). The greater the fan-
fare, decoration and designer lighting for the
pandals became, the higher the esteem of the
neighbourhood,” writes Ghosh. The escala-
tion in the cost of sarbajanin Durga Pujas hap-
pened in the 1990s. Ghosh notes how corpo-
rate mega-Pujas started to obtain sponsor-
ships from companies through advertise-
ments attached to Puja souvenirs and large-
scale advertisements were obtained by politi-
cians who were known to patronise particular
community Pujas.
A systematic appropriation of Durga Puja
by political parties, however, did not happen
until even later. “This is a culture that was
started by the Trinamul when it came to pow-
er in 2012,” says Sujan Chakraborty, a veteran
Left politician and spokesperson of the state
INSIGHT
ow
rr
CPI(M). “The BJP is following in their foot-
steps,” he adds. He goes on to explain that
mo
when the Trinamul assumed power, their sin-
gle-point agenda was to take control of every-
thing. “The first thing they did was to take
to
control of the para clubs. Then they took con-
trol of the students’ unions, the auto unions,
the labour unions… Now when the BJP has
ds
got 18 out of 42 seats in Bengal, they too think
this is the way to capture power,” he says.
His statement echoes what president of the
Bengal BJP, Dilip Ghosh, has said about the
ar
politicisation of the biggest annual event of
There is a scramble among the political forces
to entrench themselves deeper into the Durga
Puja festivities, and it is not to worship you
better, Ma Durga
the state. On the day of The Telegraph inter-
view at the BJP party office in central Calcut-
ta, there are trade unions from the transport
sector and some factories who have come to
join the party. Ghosh says, “I myself am not
involved in any Durga Puja. But it is likely I
will be asked to inaugurate a few. Basically,
the local clubs have realised that the BJP is
gaining power and that is why they want to be
associated with the winning candidates.”
S
ays Chakraborty, “We do not remem-
ber when Bidhan Chandra Roy inau-
gurated a Durga Puja or for that mat-
ter Siddhartha Shankar Ray or even
Jyoti Basu (all three former chief ministers of
the state). Nor were the Pujas named after po-
litical leaders. It was the Trinamul leaders
who took control of the clubs; the Pujas start-
ed to be named after them. So the New Alipore
Puja is called Arup Biswas’s Puja, the one at
Chetla is said to be Bobby Hakim’s, Bhowani-
pore is Madan Mitra’s, Behala is Sovan Deb’s,
Naktala is Partha Chatterjee’s.”
Unlike Ghosh, who is staying away for
now, Bose is involved in the Pujas. “At least 50
Puja committees, big and small, have got in
touch with me,” he says and then hurriedly
adds, “I cannot name any of them. The chief
minister’s family is involved in many. It is for
them that Sanghashree had to back off. An-
other Puja in Rashbehari in south Calcutta is
also facing problems.” No Puja committee will
want to talk to anyone about specifics of who
is inviting whom or reveal the names of politi-
cal invitees till Panchami, he says.
The Telegraph got in touch with Durga
Puja committees across the city — Moham-
mad Ali Park, College Square, Kumartuli,
Manohar Pukur, Deshapriya Park, Babu
Bagan, Naktala — but the common response
was denial of shifting allegiances or any tug-
of-war. A source in Kumartuli, however, said
a lot of small para Pujas were in touch with
the BJP leaders for funding and a status up-
grade by mere association.
In the middle of all this, Mamata Banerjee
announced sometime end-August that she
was going to raise the donation amount to all
clubs from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 and give an
additional 25 per cent discount on electricity
bills of big and small Pujas alike. Last year,
the state government had funded 28,000 Puja
XXGE
pandals across Bengal; Rs 28 crore was spent
from the state government funds for this. That
year state government employees did not get
their dearness allowance, neither did school
and college teachers.
Chakraborty says, “During the Left Front
rule, the party would never get involved in
any way with Durga Puja, let alone with
funds. The clubs or the paras would organise
the pujas; they would raise chanda from locals
and seek help from the business fraternity.
The government did not play a direct role.
Now we have carnivals. I do not know how it is
relevant. Who goes to see them?”
Red and saffron are closer to each other in
any spectrum. Says BJP leader Uma Shankar
Ghosh Dastidar, who has been involved in
Durga Puja celebrations in Calcutta for over a
decade, “Carnival is not our culture.” He is re-
ferring to the cultural extravaganza on Red
Road after the four-day celebrations have
been wrapped up. In 2016, the Trinamul gov-
ernment organised the first Durga Puja carni-
val with 39 participating pandals, exhibitions
and dance performances.
Ghosh Dastidar says, “It is a reli-
gious festival where the goddess re-
turns to her in-laws after spend-
ing a few days in her mater-
nal home. After the
designat-
IMAGING: SABYASACHI KUNDU
ed immersion
day, we cannot
keep the idols in the pan-
dals. That is not how it is
done.”
Ghosh
Dastidar, who is
closely associated
with the Puja in BJ
Block in Salt Lake, is
nostalgic for the times when
there were no big Pujas. He says, “It
was on request of our children that
we started the puja here. Now FD
Block and BJ Block host the two
big Pujas here. There are cultur-
al events, a community lunch.
We hardly ever have big-tick-
et artistes coming down to per-
form... Everyone comes together —
the CPI(M), the Trinamul, the BJP. There
is no segregation. That is the flavour of
Durga Puja in Calcutta.”
T
he septuagenarian is not happy with
how the BJP has fared so far in the
Durga Puja tug-of-war. He says,
“The entire situation is the result of
a misunderstanding. Modiji had told all the
leaders in the state to get involved with the
Puja and create a connection with the aam
janta. Even within the party, people misread
this statement. It is not about wrenching con-
trol of one Puja or another; it is about min-
gling with the people and Durga Puja is possi-
bly the best platform.”
Dip Sarkar, who is the vice-president of the
South Calcutta unit of the Right-wing group,
Bajrang Dal, proffers a purist view. He says,
“We will not be part of any Puja committee
like the BJP, but we are Hindus and we cannot
allow anyone to play with our gods and god-
desses and our rituals. Even Mamata Baner-
jee inaugurated one Puja on Mahalaya last
year — that is not permissible. How the BJP
chooses to exercise control over Durga Puja is
their concern, we will control it from the cul-
tural aspect. That is for sure.”
Dilip Ghosh is neither nostalgic like Ghosh
Dastidar, nor is he pretending to play cultural
vigilante. He says, “Bengal-e sab kichui niyei
politics hoy, eta niyeo hochchhe... Everything
gets politicised in Bengal and the same is hap-
pening with Durga Puja.”
And that’s the moot point. There is a
scramble among the political forces to en-
trench themselves deeper into the Durga
Puja festivities, and it is not to worship you
better, Ma Durga.
18 gIC THE TELEGRAPH GUWAHATI SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019
XXGE

SETTINGS

Taal tales Rage of the Miya

At the Assam’s final NRC list has strengthened the resolve of the state’s Bengali Muslim poets to keep
writing about their situation. Not everybody is applauding, though. Gaurav Das has the story

Highs of
Monsoon
Our fritters, unlike
revenge, make a dish
best served piping hot

ow
T
he monsoon may have come late
to Calcutta but when it did hit, it
made up for lost time with a veng-

rr
eance. Especially around the Jan-
mashtami weekend; it was raining just like
it was supposed to have done when Krishna

mo
was born. All through the night to the ac-
companiment of thunder and lightning.
It continued to drizzle in the morning,

to
raising ripples on the temporary streams
running down the street. I’d have to wade
through knee-deep water on my way to the

ds
Metro station but even that could not ruin
my mood. (The only way I could step into it
was if I didn’t think about what it might
contain.) And all this because there was
ar
taaler bora for breakfast; deep fried balls of
orange gorgeousness flavoured with grated
coconut. A taaler bora tastes like sunshine
ow

on a rainy day.
Out of the ceremonial 56 dishes, or
chhappan bhog, that is offered to the copper
/t

sulphate god on Janmashtami, the taaler

bora is a must, at least in Bengal. The taal
AP PHOTO/ANUPAM NATH

or palmyra fruit, after all, is found in abun-

dance during the monsoon months.
me

A friend of mine went the whole hog —

she’d be busy from days before, planning
and prepping for 108 dishes. Yes, you read
t.

right. Her concept of chhappan bhog was its

near double or as many dishes as she could WHERE’S HE? Halimon Nessa, wife of Rahim Ali who committed suicide a day before his children were to appear before an NRC tribunal. He was afraid they would be excluded and taken away
cook up. Koftas and curries, dals and puris,
//

kheer and sweetmeats, a dozen different

fritters and whole kadhais of taal fritters. Shake your chains to earth like dew is the sunburnt back of the working-class miya, nence after Ahmed’s poem Write down I am entire discourse smacks of the handiwork of
Making taal fritters or any other dish Which in sleep had fallen on you mistaken for an illegal immigrant who has Miya was posted on Facebook in 2016. Ahmed “outside” elements. Says Borah, “Most of the
s:

from taal, for that Ye are many — they are few crossed the barbed wires of the border. Says wrote: “My serial number in the NRC is 200543. poets are young and are based outside Assam.

T
matter, is a rather Shalim, “There are Miya poets who, despite I have two children. Another is coming next They don’t know the facts. They claim they are
laborious process. he Masque of Anarchy composed having the requisite documentation, have been summer. Will you hate him as you hate me?” Assamese but, at the same time, they want to
While peeling the by P.B. Shelley in 1819 was in excluded from the supplementary list.” The poem was inspired by Palestinian poet assert their Miya identity. They do not repre-
tp

fruit is not diffi- protest against the Peterloo Mas- On July 10, Pranabjit Doloi, a former jour- Mahmoud Darwish’s 1964 composition, Identi- sent Assam’s Muslim community.”
cult, extracting the sacre in England wherein many nalist with a local television channel, filed a po- ty Card. (Darwish’s poem was punctuated by Another detractor, Gauhati High Court ad-
CALCUTTA pulp is a whole dif- were killed while demanding re- lice complaint against some of these poets — the famous line: “Write down: I am an Arab.”) vocate Shantanu Borthakur, says, “I oppose the
ht

ferent story. Shot form of parliamentary represen- Shalim Hussain, Rehna Sultana, Ashraful Hus- Ahmed’s poem found a place in the 2017 content of the poems but not the poetry. The
through with bit- tation. In time, the poet was lauded for advocat- sain, Abdur Rahim, Kazi Sharowar Hussain, book, India Dissents: 3,000 Years of Difference, content relays that they want to assert Miya
ter tasting fibre, ing non-violence as a means of resistance. Hafiz Ahmed — and others, who he said sup- Doubt and Argument, compiled by Sahitya identity. Anything against the greater Assa-
the pulp surrounds the — usually three — Two hundred years on, a group of poets in ported them on social media platforms by host- Akademi awardee Ashok Vajpeyi. Inspired by mese identity cannot be accepted.” Former
hard seeds. The pulp is either rubbed Assam is expressing angst against the dogged ing videos of their readings. the poem, many Assamese Muslims began to Sahitya Akademi awardee Hiren Gohain also
through a coarse sieve or smooshed into persecution of Muslims of Bengali origin in share their personal experiences of being vic- criticised these poets.

D
water and then hung up to thicken. Once the northeastern state against the backdrop oloi blamed the “accused” — including tims of prejudice and persecution in their own In August, Rehna Sultana was hounded for a
this tedious and time-consuming process is of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) Karwan-e-Mo- home state. two-year-old social media post wherein she had
out of the way, the pulp can be turned into churn. Unlike Shelley, however, the apprecia- habbat, a peace- “Miya poetry also fo- commented on a matter completely unrelated
bora or fritters, kheer, roti or puri.
The fritters are made with a batter of
tion will take a while coming. For now, they are
left battling the “anti-Assamese” tag for their
building initiative by ac-
tivists and journalists —
A dominant image cuses on various social
problems such as illitera-
to the NRC — Virat Kohli’s exit in a cricket
match against Pakistan. On August 16, Assam
pulp, sugar, grated coconut, rice flour and,
sometimes, ripe bananas. The kheer is
literary attempts.
The Miya poets are so named after the pejo-
of circulating “radical”
Miya poetry. He said, “In
of Miya poetry is cy, poverty, population
explosion prevailing in
police registered a case against her. She was
also charged under Section 153A of the IPC (pro-
made with milk and sugar, of course. My
mother always added grated coconut to it,
rative “miya”, commonly used in Assam to de-
scribe Muslims of Bengali origin in the geogra-
Assam, there is no such
community called Miya.
the sunburnt back the Char Chapori (an
area of the Brahmaputra
moting enmity) and Section 67 of the IT Act
(publishing a defamatory post).
following her mother’s recipe, but many phy. “Mother, you detest me for who I am/ There is no Miya dialect. of the working- basin),” clarifies Ahmed,

people do not. The dough for taal roti or
taal puri is made with the pulp and flour.
As a child, I preferred taal kheer — mel-
low orange, custardy and luscious. I loved
having it mixed with muri or puffed rice, a
dish that was a delicious balance of creamy
and crunchy.
Eventually, taaler bora displaced it from
my heart because the fritters were equally
good hot or cold (hot taal kheer has a bitter
aftertaste) but more importantly, it would
keep for a couple of days and could be sent
to moping students in hostels for a taste of
home. In fact, my mother had the uncanny
ability of figuring out who would be travel-
ling to Delhi at the right time so she could
send me my annual taste of taal.
But palmyra fritters, unlike revenge, is
not a dish best served cold. They taste heav-
enly piping hot, just off the kadhai, espe-
cially on a rainy day. So one overcast Sun-
day morning, some years ago, I started the
long process of making the fritters, eager to
share the taste of one of my favourite fruits
with the children. Especially my son, who
refuses to eat fruits. (Once, when he was
Dropped into your lap as a cursed Miya,” writes
one. Yet another writes: “How much blood
should I lose to get my rights?” And another:
“The land that makes my father alien, riddles
my brother with bullets, gang-rapes my sister.”
The compositions are in Assamese. Many also
write in English and Hindi. All of them agree
that the chosen language of expression is not
important, the content is.
The final list of the NRC was released on Au-
gust 31. The number of people excluded equals
19 lakh and this includes a large number of
Bengali Hindus. Post the publication of the list,
Shalim M. Hussain, a Delhi-based researcher,
writer and Miya poet, said that Miya poetry had
been validated by the exclusion count. He tells
The Telegraph, “It has shown that the Miyas
have been stigmatised as outsiders and foreign-
ers for no reason.”
One of the dominant images of Miya poetry
D
I am not against Miya po- who is the president of espite roadblocks and allegations,
etry, but against the sub- class miya, the Char Chapori Sahi- Miya poetry continues to roll down
ject that the poets chose. tya Parishad. He contin- like water and indignation like an
In one of the poems, a mistaken for an ues, “The question of citi- ever-flowing stream. Abdul Kalam Azad, a re-
poet has written about zenship is a burning pro- searcher and one of the 10 accused in Doloi’s
brothers being shot and illegal immigrant blem for the people of this FIR, says, “Decades were spent speculating
sisters being gang-raped. community. Since Inde- how many ‘Bangladeshis’ are taking shelter in
Will an Assamese man pendence, the communi- Assam. The number ranged from 50 lakh to
commit gang rape? Their ty has been harassed in even a crore-and-a-half. The supplementary list
intentions are to demean the Assamese com- the name of citizenship. They have been sus- itself has busted those myths.”
munity globally.” pected to be Pakistanis, and then Bangladeshis. Activist and poet Ashraful Hussain says,
Two days after Doloi’s FIR, multiple FIRs When the NRC process began, I was not worried “We stand vindicated, nevertheless, 1.9 million
were filed against Miya poets by the general about myself or my family but about the poor is a big number.” His new poem reads thus:
secretary of the Assam BJP’s minority cell and illiterate who are unaware of the process.” “When our poems strike their hearts/They
(Changsari unit), the Goriya Moriya Deshi The literary body is currently trying to help as scream so loudly it’s as if/Their pain is greater
Parishad (Bongaigaon unit) and the Uzani many people as possible through writings, than ours/ Should we remain silent then/ Or let
Asom Muslim Kalyan Parishad, a self-pro- workshops, meetings and other gatherings. their high voltage drama/ Stifle the fires in our
claimed representative of Assamese Muslims The entire Miya poetry discourse remains a heart?/ Should we let go of the thread that
based in upper Assam. worrisome factor for some. Dilip Borah, a sen- binds/ Our century-old heritage?” He has titled
The genre of Miya poetry gained promi- ior professor at Gauhati University, claims the it In the Name of my Dead Mother.
CELEBRITY CIRCUS
BHARATHI S. PRADHAN

T
three, as his aunt cajoled him to eat an
apple, he had said, “Of course. As soon as here’s a new business had made an announcement on

Move aside celeb stories

you cook it.”) in town called Life-
The taal had been picked up a couple of line. The flavour of
days ago and left to ripen in a warm place, a the day is real cinema,
new bamboo basket bought to grate the especially films that
fruit on and detailed instructions given by recreate an authentic flesh-and-
my mother. Peel. Grate. Mix. What is not in blood story. Earlier, one got the
the instructions is that it is not as easy as it occasional biopic on Milkha Singh
sounds. I have small hands and the fruit (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, 2013) or
keeps slipping out of them as I try to grate Mary Kom (2014) or Mahendra
it. There is a distinctive aroma, a kind of Singh Dhoni (MS Dhoni – The
floral sweet; not overwhelming at all. It’s Untold Story, 2016) while Bhagat
the grating that takes the longest time. The Singh was always a favourite
mixing, unlike the cakes I am used to bak- theme. But the accent has gone
ing, has to be intuitive, with no clear meas- from celebrities to silent gutsy
urements for reference. The frying is like men and women who must be
any other fritter. By the time the taaler applauded. From Hansal Mehta’s
bora is plated I have a newfound apprecia- Aligarh (2016), which brought
tion for my mother. forth the plight of Professor Siras
The results of my day-long labour were who was hounded for his sexuali-
polished off in a record 15 minutes. ty, to Akshay Kumar’s Gold that
My brush with taal in the kitchen rem- revisited the feat of hockey coach
ained a one-time thing. I missed the taal Tapan Das and Meghna Gulzar’s
fritters but not enough to make them. And Raazi last year which retold the
then we moved to a new neighbourhood story of Sehmat, the Indian spy,
where the children — and by extension I — there has been a spike in the num-
made a lot of friends. One of these friends ber of films that tell the story of a
has a big fat Janmashtami celebration, real person.
complete with a luchi-chholar dal dinner And so Lifeline has become a
for friends and packets of taaler bora to business. Which is buying the
carry home. That is where the palmyra frit- rights to a good human story
ters for my breakfast had come from. The that’s non-fictional and sitting on
rain was a welcome accompaniment. it until you can either make a film
on it or you can sell the rights to
Paromita Sen someone who can and who will
The Ellen DeGeneres Show that
she’ll be playing the role of Ma
Anand Sheela. The grapevine has
it that the director from Dharma
wasn’t too happy having PC stomp
pay you a king’s ransom for it. seem like a pittance for signing his personal secretary too. Net- into his territory, so there’s a tus-
It’s lucrative business and since your life story away, it contri- flix’s Wild Wild Country, which was sle out there over the rights.
there is an incident of true grit in buted to Laxmi buying herself a wildly successful, had spotlighted Outside Dharma, another di-
every streetcorner, the chances of house in Delhi. And Chhapaak, the her and many of the dubious sto- rector got permission to film
snapping up the rights of a film- film Meghna has ries around her. Kiran Bedi’s story and went to
worthy story are really high. made on Laxmi’s The smart one Kangana Ranaut with it. Last
There’s an entire industry that’s story, has the ad- who signed her up heard, Kangana wanted to take
currently thriving on picking up ditional star and got all the over practically half the creative
rights and selling them. power of Deepika rights to her story departments of the film and that
After the success of Talvar Padukone — who of power, money put a temporary brake on the
(2015) in which, Rashomon-like, is its producer- and godmen is Kiran Bedi Lifeline.
the Aarushi murder was present- heroine — which from Karan Even as we sign off for the
ed from two different perspec- will ensure that Johar’s stable. It’s week, there’s news from Modi
tives, Meghna Gulzar developed a the acid attack heard that direc- land. Do Google Diya Patel, the
taste for the real. And she, who survivor gets a tor Shakun Batra, pretty little girl from Ahmedabad
would know a good story when great deal of at- who made Kapoor who won a gold medal in the Sub-
she hears one, picked up the tention and the & Sons, has the Junior National Championship
rights to the life of Laxmi Agar- many benefits rights to Ma for taekwondo at the tender age of
wal, the acid attack survivor. that come with it. Rs 11 lakh may seem Anand Sheela’s nine. She stars in the Gujarati
While most of the film indus- Another huge like a pittance for life story, which film, Diya – The Wonder Child,
try generously came forward to Lifeline deal supposedly in- based on her own life. One hears
help Laxmi financially, the whis- that’s turning out signing your life cludes platforms the schoolgirl, who’s now 11 years
per is that Meghna got the rights to be lucrative is story away, but it across the board old, is poised for an international
to her story for Rs 11 lakh. It is be- the story of Ma like Netflix and honour which will turn her from
lieved that Laxmi has been neatly Anand Sheela, the contributed to Laxmi other digital tele- the Pride of Gujarat into a Nation-
tied up in a contract which forbids controversial buying herself a cast outlets. al Pride. What a kick.
anybody else from exploiting her spokesperson of Here comes the
story in any way. A little bird tells the Rajneesh house in Delhi twist. A while ago, Bharathi S. Pradhan is
me that while Rs 11 lakh may now ashram and once Priyanka Chopra a senior journalist and author
 THE TELEGRAPH GUWAHATI SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019 19

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 XXGE

Is the world headed towards authoritarianism?

T
SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2019 VOL. XXXVIII NO. 70 The Great Dictators
T
his summer, Matteo There were others, of course.

ANAPPLE ONANOTHER’S HEAD

Salvini, the hard-right
Italian former deputy
DAVIDAARONOVITCH Some are in the book; some, like Fran-
cisco Franco, Saddam Hussein, Hafez
prime minister, had al-Assad, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez

T
taken to the beaches. Not and Mobutu Sese Seko, don’t make
he cynicism for political utter- ty, which helped explain Newton’s dis-
as a holidaymaker but as a campaign- the cut. Some people would even
ances is understandable. Prom- covery further, could not have been er. His wide smile and naked torso question whether, say, Castro was a
ises made by politicians are, conceivable without the assistance of have been pictured among sun- dictator at all.
after all, seldom honoured around the mathematics, a discipline which, pre- bathers from Liguria to Sicily. For example, on Wikipedia, it says
world. Thankfully, the architects of sumably, does not rank too high in Mr Salvini is not the first bare- that “because Castro chose not to cre-
New India seem to be an honourable Mr Goyal’s opinion. After all, ‘struc- chested Italian populist to be caught ate a cult of personality, inside Cuba
on film. In Sabaudia near Rome, he there are no streets, buildings, insti-
exception to this rule. That could be be- tured’ formulae, the minister thu- found himself addressing a rally next tutions or localities named for him”. I
cause their boss, Narendra Modi, belie- ndered, are anathema to innovation. to a large monument to a former had to laugh when I read this. If ever
ves in making promises and in keeping Mr Goyal’s monumental ignorance leader. Part of the inscription, which there was a cult of the personality
them. The prime minister claimed in a is not the only matter of concern here Mr Salvini read out to the crowd, then Fidelismo was it, right down to

ow
recent speech that he and his govern- even though the responsibility of re- went, “Benito Mussolini, head of the him personally decreeing that streets,
government... I won’t say any more, buildings, institutions or localities
ment had accomplished ‘abhutpurva shaping an entire nation surely per-
they’ll arrest me,” quipped Salvini, should not be named after him.
kam’ — phenomenal work — during mits an occasional lapse from august adding: “It's historical testimony.”

rr
T
the first 100 days in his second stint in leaders. What, however, would worry Just after I read this account, a he question the book raises is
power. There is no rea- Newton, Einstein as new book arrived in the post. How to an obvious one: are we heading
son for even cynical In- well as the ordinary, Be a Dictator is a comparative history in the direction of dictator-

mo
dians to doubt the sanc- Piyush Goyal’s gaffe knowledgeable Indian is of eight 20th-century leaders who ships again — and would we recog-
ruled using what Nikita Khrushchev nize the warning signs if we were? A
tity of Mr Modi’s as- about the discoverer Mr Goyal’s scant resp- in 1956 called “the cult of the personal- recent poll suggesting that a majority

surance. After all, no
other government in the
history of Independent
to
of gravity can be ect for empirical know-
ledge. Thus the demoni-
ity”. The author, Frank Dikötter, is a
China specialist who has written sev-
of people would welcome a ‘strong
leader who does not have to bother
condoned. Not so zation of maths, the van- eral major studies of the Mao dictator- with parliament’ would be catnip to

India has managed to, in
a manner of speaking,
make the entire sky —
not a solitary apple — scientific temper in ers, facts, evidence —
fall on Isaac Newton’s
head.
ds
ship and its effects on China. anyone who will be reading How to be
the orchestrated guard of verification a Dictator as a self-help guide.
and, in a way, of political
assault on the
D
ikötter’s first dictator is Ben- Dikötter himself warns against too
accountability. Numb- ito Mussolini. Starting off as facile a read across. Just because a
ar
a socialist and then in 1922 politician in a democratic state might
the plinths that support
New India the edifice of truth —
becoming the first ruling fascist, Mus-
solini, the author shows, was never
have a “narcissistic or repulsive per-
sonality”, he argues, that doesn’t
ow

Mr Modi’s colleague, cannot be accorded the- really a great one for ideology. He was mean we’re on the primrose path to
an actor manqué (acting would have despotism. Viktor Orban of Hungary
Piyush Goyal — he is in charge of com- ir place of honour in an India which, been his preferred alternative profes- might be an eroder of liberal democ-
merce and industry — recently said, under the Bharatiya Janata Party’s
/t

sion to dictating) for whom adulation racy, Donald Trump a divisive egotist
with the necessary ministerial gravi- watch, is being forced to nourish itself was almost everything. It has been es- or Matteo Salvini a scapegoater of mi-
tas, that Albert Einstein had discov- on myths and toxic superstition. timated that he spent half of his time grants, but it’s still a long haul to get-
curating his own image as what might ting Parliament prorogued, opposi-
me

ered gravity without the help of mathe- The dismantling of the scientific
be called a superman of the people — stitute the joy of all free peoples”. One At first, this was relatively liberal, tion media muzzled and hearing the
matics, causing Newton, the man who temper in India should rank as one of
vigorous, powerful, available. He was year later, he was on radio proclaim- but after a visit to China and North knock on the door at dawn.
discovered the invisible pull and pres- the indisputable, abhutpurva legacies pictured, writes Dikötter, “racing ing: “I am the New Haiti. Those who Korea Ceausescu abruptly decided
t.

Y
sure of gravitational force, to turn in of the BJP. This unravelling is being cars, toying with lion cubs, threshing seek to destroy me seek to destroy that a form of command-Maoism was et almost in the same sentence
his grave. It is also unlikely that Ein- executed with ruthless precision. Cur- wheat or playing the violin. He ap- Haiti itself.” the future. He and his wife, Elena, in- Dikötter, who is a professor at
stein would be pleased as punch with riculum is being distorted in academic peared as fencer, yachtsman, swim- Naturally, when his term expired, stituted their ‘systematization’ of the the University of Hong Kong
//

the slip, which Mr Goyal admitted to institutions to push an unscientific ag- mer and pilot.” he got the Constitution changed so he country, which involved bulldozing a and probably sitting uncomfortably
Readers may have seen the latest could stay on in power, and if anyone great deal of it and trying to become close to events unfolding on the
later, adding, with the help of a quote enda, political leaders are being encou- pictures of Vladimir Putin posing in challenged him they could expect a entirely self-sufficient in goods and streets there, notes that in China,
from the German physicist, that a per- raged to make absurd, illogical claims,
s:

tight black leathers with a Crimean
son who has not erred has not tried and, when the need arises, guardians bike gang called the Night Wolves.
anything new. What is ‘novel’ here — of reason — those at the helm of ratio- Save for the silly tasselled fez, there is
very little that Mussolini did in image
tp
visit from members of his feared mili- agriculture. The Ceausescus’ involve- under the core leader and president
tia, the Tontons Macoutes. Before he ment in the cultural minutiae of na- for life, Xi Jinping, “the regime has
died, he was declared Grand Master tional life was such that Elena person- been turning back to dictatorship”.
of Haitian Thought. ally decided which of each week’s soc- And he rates President Erdogan of

Mr Goyal’s dismissal of the impor- nalist movements — silenced. In the

terms that the Russian president has Mussolini was a fascist. Duvalier cer matches should be televised. Turkey as an example of someone
tance of maths — would have miffed light of these developments, Mr Go- not also done. was almost completely without ideolo- These three and the others on who 10 years ago appeared to be a de-
Einstein. His general theory of relativi- yal’s slip acquires a sinister edge. Mussolini was the most theatrical gy. Another of the book’s subjects, Ni- Dikötter’s list are not characterized mocrat and has gradually allowed his
ht

and the most gregarious dictator. An-
other on Dikötter’s list, Papa Doc Du-
SCRIPSI valier of Haiti, who ruled his
Caribbean country from 1957 until his
If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the death in 1971, was “mild mannered,
acutest men are often under an illusion about women: they do not read them in a true light; shy and bookish”. A doctor who be-
came minister of health, on winning
they misapprehend them, both for good and evil: their good woman is a queer thing, half his first presidential election he
doll, half angel; their bad woman almost always a fiend. promised to “scrupulously protect
CHARLOTTE BRONTË the honour and civil rights which con-
colae Ceausescu, was a communist. A
dullish apparatchik who rose without
trace in the Romanian Communist
Party after it took power in 1947 with
the help of the Soviet Union, Ceauses-
cu became leader nearly 20 years
later. But in 1968, the new man struck
out and away from strict conformity
with Moscow and set a course for a
separate Romanian communism.
by their adherence to an ideology, but
to the idea of strong leadership — by
them. If they tend to nationalism,
that’s because support for the idea of
the nation is easier to mobilize. All of
them, whether styled ‘Conducator’,
‘Generalissimo’, ‘Duce’, ‘Führer’, ‘Co-
mandante’ or ‘Chairman’, elided their
personalities with the people or the
nation.
own personality cult to flourish.
Dikötter is right to set his bar high.
And right to add that “vigilance is not
the same as gloom”. But everything
starts somewhere and what worries
me is that the farther we travel from
the century of Mao and Mussolini, the
less we worry about how it happened.
THE TIMES, LONDON

DELHI DIARIES
BJP, are unwilling to speak up on
the matter. Except, evidently, in
muted tones.
Space for oneself is not unique. The
phrase, “aath jon boshe”, is
often heard on the Calcutta
to child trafficking as per the
National Crime Records Bu-
reau (“Look deeper”, Sept

Fond memories Parliament

is history
crunch metro. People will insist carv-
ing out a thin sliver of space
to sit down, even at the cost of
10). It is especially strange
since the state has a plethora
of welfare measures, especia-
■ At the memorial meeting of Arun Jaitley, leaders cutting across party lines ■ Sir — A picture of a passen- personal comfort. As popula- lly for girl children. The figu-
were unanimous in their assessment of the former finance minister being a ■ The talk of building a new Parlia- ger lying underneath airpla- tion increases and resources res can thus be chalked up to
‘good friend’ to many people. Even the Union home minister, Amit Shah, who ment complex has rattled a large ne seats has gone viral on so- keep running out, the space lax policing, low conviction
is hardly known to be friendly towards his political opponents, said Jaitley number of politicians but few muster cial media. The thought of crunch will only get worse. rates and lackadaisical inves-
crossed the ‘party line’ to strike friendships with people across the political the courage to oppose the plan. While cramped aircraft seats is The first victim of this space tigation of crimes. These in-
divide. Shah went on to acknowledge his gratitude towards “elder brother” most leaders admit that there is an enough for one to sympathize crunch will be civic sense. still confidence in criminals.
Jaitley in the course of his tribute. Making an indirect reference to the time urgent need for a serious project to with this passenger. But in Integrated Child Develop-
when a court had externed him from Gujarat in the Sohrabuddin fake en- repair and upgrade the existing Par- crowded India, an obsession Roshni Sen, ment Services workers and
counter case, Shah recalled how Jaitley stood beside him like a “rock” when liament building, they are aghast at to eke out some extra space Calcutta village panchayat members
he decided to take shelter in Delhi. Jaitley not only helped him in his legal the possibility of a new building. should be given additional
case but also provided him with moral support at times when he felt de-
pressed and was on the verge of breaking down. “It’s a personal loss for me,”
They feel that the Modi government’s
priorities are completely misplaced
Clean up ■ Sir — Cockroaches and In-
dian railway coaches go back
responsibility to educate the
poor masses about child traf-
said Shah, who is being hailed as the new Iron Man of India after the and that the focus should now be on ■ Sir — The railways author- a long way. Although the ficking and asked to be extra
abrogation of Article 370. Shah’s frank acknowledgement of his indebted- the economy and job creation. ities alone cannot be blamed scale of the problem is not aware about children going
ness to Jaitley pleased a number of those present. Some, however, were Sharad Yadav has taken the lead for the cockroach infestation usually as bad as the level of missing.
left wondering why this kind of effusive praise had not been showered on in voicing his opposition. He tweeted: on the Shatabdi Express infestation reported in the
Jaitley when he was alive. A friend in need “Having served 11 terms as Member bound for New Jalpaiguri New Jalpaiguri-bound Subhankar Mukherjee,
of Parliament, I feel it my duty to say (“Welcome aboard cock- Shatabdi Express. It is un- Calcutta
spiracy to harm small traders and that I am not in favour of proposal to roach coach”, Sept 11). Cock- doubtedly the duty of the
King ary leaders. This BJP leader was im-
pressed with Ramesh because he was
poor shopkeepers who heavily rely
on plastic for packaging. The fruit-
build a new Parliament House Build-
ing. Yes it can be renovated or
roaches have become resist-
ant to most varieties of insec-
railway authorities to ensure
the cleanliness of coaches.
■ Sir — The editorial, “Look
deeper”, painted a dismal pic-
of jokes the only politician who had mus- vegetable vendor will suffer while strengthened. These buildings are ticides available in the mar- But it must be mentioned ture; the revelation that less
tered the courage to oppose Modi’s big corporates will easily shift to oth- beauty of Lutyens Delhi & part of In- ket. Moreover, cockroaches here that the upkeep of a sys- than one per cent of the ac-
■ Remembering his association with “crazy idea” of banning single-use er packaging material.” The Cong- dian heritage & history.” But then, survive on morsels of food tem as vast the the Indian cused in the trafficking cases
Arun Jaitley, the gen-sec of the Com- plastic. He said, “Has this govern- ress has remained silent, but Ram- the BJP looks at history rather differ- and litter and passengers are have been convicted in the
munist Party of India, D Raja, re- ment conducted any scientific and esh had tweeted the following mes- ently Mr Yadav. infamous for making a mess past decade in West Bengal
called how the senior BJP leader economic assessment of the fallouts sage: “As Environment Minister I re- in the compartments that and Andhra Pradesh, is al-
would try to pull his leg, playing on of plastic ban? This is another con- sisted blanket ban on use of single- they occupy. Nevertheless, arming. Such things cannot
his name ‘Raja’. “How come you are a
communist leader with an imperial-
use plastics. Plastics industry empl-
oys lakhs & the real problem is how
Conspiracy urgent measures need to be
taken if the railways does not
take place without either the
complicity or ineffectivity of
ist name Raja?” quipped the CPI we dispose & recycle waste. The ban theory want to lose passengers. the State machinery. The
leader, quoting Jaitley. “I used to will only grab headlines, home & pace of judicial proceeding in
promptly quote the Tamil poet, Sub- abroad, and mask the Modi regime’s ■ A number of reasons have been Sukhamay Biswas, India adds to the problem.
ramanya Bharathi, and say that ‘We true environmental record.” cited for the failure of India’s moon Calcutta The low rate of convictions
are all kings of this nation.’” The Modi government has de- mission but HD Kumaraswamy has has emboldened traffickers
This was a time when Raja had clared a ban on plastic bags, cups, his own take on the matter. The for- ■ Sir — The news of cockroa- to become repeat offenders.
not yet become the top leader of the plates, small bottles, straws and cer- mer CM of Karnataka blamed ches overrunning a Shatabdi Poverty, lack of education,
communist party. Becoming the gen- tain types of sachets from October 2. Narendra Modi for being a ‘bad Express reminded me of a Crunch time immigration policy, environ-
sec of the CPI could, however, be seen The order will affect 10,000 industri- omen’. He said that Modi had arrived similar experience that I had ment, fractured family and
as a rather kingly achievement. al units, rendering over four lakh at the mission control centre to ‘gain while travelling to Puri re- above all the lack of good job
people jobless. Some fear that in the publicity’ even though the project cently. I was awake all night railways needs funds. The opportunities are the leading
time of a slowdown, the challenge to had been cleared by the former and had to keep the reading government’s repeated bow- causes behind trafficking
Mum’s the plastics industry, which is worth
over three lakh crore rupees, would
Congress government headed by
Manmohan Singh.
lights on in order to keep an
eye out for pests. The menace
ing to populist demands to
not hike fares is not helping
ring flourishing. Yet, the
amended bill introduced in
the word indisputably deepen the gloom. But Rationality seems to elude netas of roaches and rats in train the cause of the railways. Parliament to check these
politicians, within or outside the across political lines. compartments is getting out Along with rising fuel and problems has lapsed. This ex-
■ Jairam Ramesh had of hand. Often, inaction by other costs, the price of tick- poses the lack of political will
raised eyebrows with his the travelling ticket examin- ets, too, should be increased. to combat the menace.
views on the strategy to
confront Narendra Modi. A
Footnote ers on the pretence of ‘lack of
authority’ adds to the woes of Rini Singh, Jahar Saha,
few days ago, it was the turn ■ Once a Lingayat strongman who believed he was passengers. This indicates a Calcutta Calcutta
of a senior leader of the above his own party as he had single-handedly led complete lack of concern to-
Bharatiya Janata Party to the BJP to power in Karnataka, the fortunes of BS wards ensuring minimal co- ▼
shower praises on Ramesh, a
former Union minister, argu-
Yediyurappa have taken a turn for the worse. Yediyu-
rappa has been reduced to taking orders from the
mforts to passengers on the
part of the Indian railways.
Watch out Letters should be sent to:
T
ing that the Modi govern- party ‘high command.’ Seeing him rush to Delhi for ■ Sir — It is unfortunate that 6 Prafulla Sarkar Street,
ment suffered from talent everything, from permission to take oath to forming Rajib Bhattacharyya, West Bengal is among the Calcutta 700001
deficit while the Congress his cabinet, many of his die-hard supporters have Durgapur leading states when it comes ttedit@abpmail.com
was still flooded with vision- started muttering ‘how are the mighty fallen’.