Professional Documents
Culture Documents
www.thehindu.in Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. TNENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 6 No. 34 CITY EDITION 22 Pages Rs. 8.00
Printed at Chennai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Madurai, Noida, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada, Mangaluru, Tiruchirapalli, Kolkata, Hubballi, Mohali, Allahabad, Malappuram and Mumbai
Govinda offers Rs 5
lakh as compensation
after slapping a fan
Rijijus helicopter
makes emergency
landing near Delhi
Page 9
Page 14
Page 14
Page 12
DINAKAR PERI
Major work
assigned to him
was recce
of Taj Hotel
CM
YK
EXCLUSIVE
The same phone was used to film
key targets when Headley again
visited India in March 2009, barely
three months after the attacks. The
Maintain Constitutions
sanctity, says Pranab
AAP Minister in
the soup over
bribe charge
DAMINI NATH
NATIONAL BUREAU
NEW DELHI: Inaugurating a two-
BRIEFLY
NET NEUTRALITY
TRAI firm on
open source
NEW DELHI: A day after it took a
SONAM SAIGAL
MUMBAI: The Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley, deposing for the second day on
Tuesday, told the special court
here that he was not given any
money either by Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
or by the terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Headley, currently lodged in
a U.S. prison, has been deposing
as an approver through a video
link in the November 2008 terror attacks case. He told the
court that he completed five or
six leadership courses ofered
by the LeT, at which Jamaat-udDawa chief and Mumbai attacks
mastermind Hafiz Saeed and
Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi were
also present.
He told special Judge G.A. Sanap about his meetings with his
handlers Muzammil, Sajid Mir
(Headleys key contact in the
LeT) and Abu Khafa to plan the
26/11 attacks. The first meeting
took place in the spring of 2006
to choose among Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore to launch the
attack. He was then sent to
Mumbai to set up an oice and
take videos and photographs of
the city. The major work assigned to him was reconnaissance of Taj Hotel, especially
the convention centre on the
second floor. A meeting of Indi-
NEWS | PAGE 13
NEW STANDARDS
Indian fonts to become
mandatory for phones
NEW DELHI: Indian fonts may be
EMPOWER
Page 7
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CITY
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
Like sacked predecessor Asim Ahmed Khan, charges of corruption now levelled against Imran Hussain on Tuesday
STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI: The Aam Admi Party
and were demanding money for allowing the construction to start again.
The way things are now,
I may need police protection. But, I am ready to fight
this case till its logical conclusion. I refused to pay
even a rupee, said Mr. Qasim.
CITY
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
|3
D E L H I
RISE 07 04 SET 18 07
RISE 07 04 SET 18 08
RISE 07 03 SET 18 09
RISE 08 06 SET 20 07
RISE 08 50 SET 21 12
RISE 09 33 SET 22 16
Corporation-run school in
Kapashera after he fell into
NEW DELHI: Underlining the se- an open septic tank on Januriousness of recent inci- ary 27, while six-year-old Didents of death of two chil- vyansh lost his life after falldren after they fell into ing in a tank in Ryan School
tanks on their school cam- in Vasant Kunj on January
pus, the Delhi High Court 30. A Division Bench comon Tuesday asked the Police prising Chief Justice G. RoCommissioner to submit a hini and Justice Jayant Nath,
detailed status report of in- which had earlier issued novestigation in the cases as tices in the matter on a pubwell as the post-mortem re- lic interest litigation, said
ports of the deceased stu- the matter should be treated
seriously and steps taken to
dents before February 25.
Five-year-old Ankit died prevent such incidents in
in a South Delhi Municipal the future.
STAFF REPORTER
MOHAMMED IQBAL
SHIV SUNNY
NEW DELHI: The love for his pet
rashtra and Jammu and Kashmir respectively were allegedly on a mission to carry out
terror attacks in India and some
other countries.
Earlier, the NIA produced
the accused persons before the
court on expiry of their police
remand. Seeking extension of
their police remand, counsel
for NIA submitted that they
were required to be subjected
to sustained interrogation to
unearth a larger conspiracy of
the Jihadi group in India and
abroad.
Family wants
CBI probe
STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI: The sudden death of a 30year-old labourer under mysterious circumstances in North Delhis Sarai Rohila on Tuesday led to
a police probe.
Even though prima facie medical report has confirmed that Manish, an alcoholic, died due to liver
psychosis, the initial call made by
his sister reported the incident as
of one of murder. She accused
STAFF REPORTER
DELHI TODAY
Exhibition: Quest - Inner Self - a
solo art show by Ella Prakash at Visual Arts Gallery, IHC, 11 am-7 pm
Exhibition: Glimpses - paintings
by Srividya G.S. at All India Fine Arts
& Craft Society, 11 am-6 pm
Exhibition: Satish Gujrals own private collection of artworks and photographs at Twin Art Gallery, Indira
Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
(IGNCA), 1, Central Vista (CV) Mess,
Janpath, 10 am-5:30 pm
Music: Duo recital by Anirudh Varma (Digital piano) and Ritesh Prasanna (Flute) at IHC, 7:30 pm
Discussion: Discussion on Vasudeva Sharan Agrawala: A Selection
compiled and edited by Kapila Vatsyayan. Discussants: M.N.P. Tiwari,
B.M. Pande, Harish Trivedi and Shashiprabha Kumar at Conference Hall,
Sahitya Akademi, 4 pm
Talk: Save Energy, Save Money panel discussion as part of Smart
Consumer Series. Panelists: H
Wadhwa, Technical Adviser, Voice
Society, Akanksha Rai Sharma, student, Maharaja Surajmal Institute of
Technology, GGSIPU, Dr. Roopa Vajpeyi, Academic & Consumer Activist,
Dr. Jayashree Gupta, President, Consumers India at IHC, 7 pm
(Mail your listings for this column
at
cityeditordelhi@
thehindu.co.in)
Published by N. Ram at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., Chennai-600002. National Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).
CM
YK
ND-ND
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CITY
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
Battleground ACB
The newly sworn-in Chief
Minister's first directives
consisted of resurrecting
1031 the anti-corruption
helpline which was admittedly his pet project from his 49day stint in power, brainstorming aimed at adding
more teeth to the internal vigilance mechanism at government departments and eforts
to procure manpower for a
separate wing of the bureaucracy to be dedicated to
cracking down on graft.
It was in line with this that
one of the first communications bearing his signature as
Chief Minister would aim at
seeking the transfer of recent
Magsaysay awardee and Indian Forest Service (IFS) oicial Sanjeev Chaturvedi as an
Oicer on Special Duty
(OSD) for the Delhi government's Directorate of Vigilance (DoV).
Necessary clearances from
the BJP-led Centre are yet to
be procured close to a year
later.
The following month, the
The Aam Aadmi Party has its origins in the India Against Corruption movement organised by Anna Hazare. Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and other social activists had been involved
with Team Anna, a strand of the anti-corruption movement for a Jan Lokpal Bill. FILE PHOTO
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Give me eight months and I can rout out corruption from the Delhi govt
CITY/STATE
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
STAFF REPORTER
STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI: This winter, February is incredibly turning out to be foggier than December, usually the peak time of the fog
season.
The Capital witnessed five and a half
hours of dense fog on Tuesday morning,
with one of the main runways of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA)
getting badly afected. Flight operations,
however, were not much afected as another runway remained operational.
This winter is already the third worst in
the last 20 years when it comes to total fog
hours witnessed.
Dense fog was observed today morning during 4 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. with visibility hovering between zero to 100
metres when runway 29 had CAT-IIIA/
CAT-IIIB operations while runway 28 had
some improved fog of CAT-I/II with runway visual range of 400-600 metres, said
Dr. R.K. Jenamani, Director-in-Charge,
IGIA met unit.
While flight operations werent much
afected on Tuesday, at least 14 Delhibound trains were delayed and seven
trains were cancelled due to dense fog.
NEW DELHI: A cultural programme at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to mark the
death anniversary of Parliament convict Afzal Guru was on Tuesday disallowed by the
university authorities.
Afzal Guru was hanged on February 9,
2013, inside Tihar jail, where he was lodged
in the Parliament attack case. A group of students had organised a cultural protest to
mark his death anniversary but the BJP
backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad
opposed the event. The matter was brought
to the knowledge of the Vice-Chancellor,
through a written communication. We
heard there was some cultural programme
but later came to know its not a programme
but a protest. We came to know about it
through posters and no permission was
sought by anyone. Thus, to keep calm and
maintain peace in the campus, we cancelled
it, JNU Vice-Chancellor Prof Jagadesh Kumar said. The V-C, however, did not confirm
who wrote to him. The programme called A
country without a post oice against the
judicial killing of Afzal Guru and Maqbool
Bhatt, was supposed to showcase the protest through poetry, art and music.
CM
YK
|5
SITUATIONS
VACANT
TENDERS
MARKETING
DEATH
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC NOTICES
T20 application
The DDCA on Tuesday
withdrew its application from
Delhi High Court seeking directions to the South Delhi
Municipal Corporation to issue it occupancy certificate
for the upcoming T20 World
Cup at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium here, after the municipal
body spelt out its conditions.
Following the court's order
passed on Monday, the SDMC
informed a Division Bench
that it had passed a resolution
asking the DDCA to pay Rs.50
lakh as security amount and
comply with all the norms
within 20 days for getting a
provisional certificate.
Log on to
www.thehinduads.com
For Placing Advertisements Online
ND-ND
6|
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
EDUCATIONAL
EDUCATIONAL
EDUCATIONAL
EDUCATIONAL
SITUATIONS
VACANT
GENERAL
EDUCATIONAL
PUBLIC NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICE
PACKERS
PUBLIC NOTICES
CM
YK
ND-ND
|7
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
CM
YK
ND-ND
8|
NATION
Student beaten to
death by school
oicials in Bengal
STAFF REPORTER
KOLKATA: A 12-year-old student
of a private boarding school
in West Bengals Murshidabad district was allegedly
beaten to death by a headmaster and a warden of the
school. The two accused
were arrested on Tuesday,
police said.
The incident allegedly
took place on Monday at the
Al-Islamia Mission under
Ratanpur Police Station limits. Shamin Malik (12) was assaulted by headmaster Hanif
Seikh and warden Liton
Seikh after the student reportedly met his parents outside the school without permission from the authorities.
He was rushed to a local hospital, where he later died.
Hanif Seikh and Liton
Seikh have been arrested and
are being interrogated, Superintendent of Police, Murshidabad, C. Sudhakar said.
The headmaster
and warden of the
private boarding
institution
have been arrested
The family members of the
student have accused the
school authorities of trying
to hush up the incident.
They alleged that initially the
school authorities informed
them that Shamin Malik had
fallen ill.
The teachers informed
me that my son was hospitalised only after his condition
deteriorated, said Jullhas
Malik, father of the student.
The incident sparked public outrage as locals staged
protests and blocked roads,
demanding punishment for
the accused. Hanif Seikh and
Liton Seikh were produced
before a local court and remanded in police custody.
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
SOLAR SCAM
the
Maggi storm, the Uttar Pradesh
food safety department has
found samples of some other
instant noodle brands substandard with ash content in
the tastemaker exceeding the
prescribed limits.
The samples of Knorr Soupy Noodles, Horlicks Foodles
Noodles and Chings Hot Garlic
Instant Noodles were picked up
from a mall in the city in May
last year for testing and its report was received about a fortnight ago, the Food Safety Oicer of Barabanki district, Sanjay
Singh, said.
The samples were sent to the
government Food Analysis Lab
in Lucknow where it was found
that total ash of the tastemaker
exceeds the maximum prescribed limits ... hence the samples are sub-standard, Mr.
Singh said.
Against the prescribed limit
of 1 per cent, ash content was
found to be 1.83 per cent in
Chings noodles, while in Foodles it was 2.37 per cent and in
Soupy noodles it was 1.89 per
cent, he claimed. PTI
BARABANKI
CM
YK
Real development is
only possible with
womens economic
empowerment,
notes Bench
women like her.
As India promotes Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Education
for girls) scheme, empowerment of women is the need of
the hour, the Supreme Court
said. Women in this world,
and particularly in India,
faced various kinds of constraints and discrimination.
litical participation.
Poverty and lack of opportunity had bred inequality between men and women, the
apex court said. It called for
further policy action for
women empowerment in order to stimulate economic
development.
Policy action is still necessary to achieve equality between genders. Such policy
action would be unambiguously justified if empowerment of women also stimulates further development,
starting a virtual cycle, the
court said.
ND-ND
Willing to
apologise to
youth: Govinda
Expediting the
probe into the money-laundering case against Punebased race horse owner Hasan Ali Khan, the Enforcement
Directorate
on
Tuesday conducted searches
on the premises of the accused and his accomplices in
six cities.
NEW DELHI:
CM
YK
U.P. Minister
passes away
OMAR RASHID
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Pan-
|9
NATION
NOIDA/DELHI
ND-ND
10 |
EDITORIAL
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
Adhering to basics
and freedom
he Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI) has to be commended for batting unambiguously for net neutrality, the principle of
non-discrimination that is vital for the Internet
to remain an open platform. Its decision was made clear
on Monday when it prohibited telecom providers from
charging diferential rates for data services. The regulators stance is commendable for two other reasons as well.
One, it had to face enormous pressures to tinker with the
way the Internet is governed. And, two, net neutrality,
with its numerous interpretations, is a complex concept.
The latest ruling could no doubt set the tone for regulators across the globe, especially those of countries that
have socio-economic features akin to Indias. More important, it would ensure that generations of Indians are
not forced to be satisfied with services that pretend to be
the Internet itself, robbing them of the real benefits of the
medium. TRAIs decision would bring relief and cheer to
the millions of Indians as also some voluntary groups that
admirably campaigned for months together for this result, worried as they were that the regulator would give
up on net neutrality. The danger had seemed that real. In
the last year or so, there have been more than a few attempts by the big players to ofer Internet services that intrinsically seemed to violate this principle. The public debate on net neutrality began during late 2014 when Indias
top telecom carrier Bharti Airtel decided to charge users
extra for the use of applications with which they can make
free calls over the Internet.
But the most prominent and persistent among the companies has to be Facebook, which spent a lot of time in
pitching its Free Basics initiative as an altruistic efort that
would help millions of Indias Internet have-nots. Its
founder, Mark Zuckerberg, took a personal interest in the
campaign. Facebooks global rebranding of its internet.org initiative as a platform open for all but adhering to
Facebooks standards, which ofered free and basic services, was arguably the consequence of the debate over
net neutrality in the country. The point about providing at
least some access to millions of new users for free, who
otherwise cannot aford it, must have been diicult for
TRAI to ignore. And that is why it is important to recognise that a no to Free Basics does not imply a failure on
the part of TRAI to recognise the importance of catering
to the Internet have-nots. In fact, the regulator has noted
that it is not against the provision of limited free data that
allows a user to explore the Internet. Simply put, it finds
this route palatable because the choice is with the user.
This is also a route that Free Basics could explore in the
immediate future in order to stay alive in India. The regulators problem with a price-based diferentiation has
more to do with the fact that in a market such as India it
would distort consumer choice and have consequences
that wouldnt be understood easily. The ruling also suggests that while TRAI recognises the need for India to
bridge the digital divide, it realises that compromising the
basic ideals of the Internet is not the way to do it.
CM
YK
CARTOONSCAPE
monopolies that are much bigger than the telcos. Not surprisingly, these companies now
see the virtues of monopoly. They would like
to combine with telcos to create monopolies
for their platforms, ensuring that they control
the future of the Internet and freeze their
competition out.
Today, we have nearly a billion websites on
the Internet and 3.5 billion users. This means
that nearly one out of three users is both a
content provider as well as content consumer. What the Internet monopolies want is that
we should be passive consumers of their content, or at best generate captive content only
for their platforms. This is why they have
joined hands with telcos to ofer various
forms of zero-rating services.
Future-proofing policies
The two most common forms of zero rating
used by telcos are (a) no data charges for a select set of sites, e.g. Facebooks Free Basics,
and (b) a few content providers such as Netflix not being subjected to data caps by telcos.
The TRAI order bars both these forms.
The other issue that TRAI dealt with is
whether regulatory policies should be crafted
to prevent harm (ex ante) or be applied only
after harm has been established. The argument of the telcos has been, prove there has
been harm, otherwise we should be allowed
to do as we please. TRAI has again correctly
pointed out that not crafting the right policies
for the Internet would distort the basic character of the Internet itself. It would then help
the well heeled, who would be able to take advantage of a lack of policy. The TRAI order also points out that without the right policies,
each tarif proposal would have to be analysed on a case-by-case basis, imposing high
regulatory overheads.
The last issue we need to examine is how a
powerful monopoly can bend policy by virtue of its control over its users. Facebook not
only launched a media blitz but also ran a
completely misleading campaign on Free Basics to its 130 million Indian subscribers.
Through its various pop-ups and user interface, it pressured its users to send TRAI a boilerplate statement of support for Free Basics.
It even painted this as providing basic Internet to the poor, without informing its users
that Facebook was the sole arbiter of what
constitutes a basic Internet.
The question is, can a platform monopoly
of the type Facebook, Google are use this
monopoly to run a campaign on a countrys
policy? Facebook is a foreign entity and has
argued before Indian courts that it is not accountable to Indian laws. Should such entities have such power over our peoples lives?
A media company is supposed to diferentiate between advertisements and news.
Facebook did not identify its plug for its Free
Basics platform on Facebook as opinion but
presented it as truth. How should online
media conduct itself in the future on such
issues?
TRAI had rebuked Facebook on its attempt to
convert TRAIs consultation on diferential
pricing to a numbers game. TRAI wanted
clear answers to the questions they had
posed, not boilerplate emails saying how people loved Free Basics. But it still leaves unanswered the question of what are the rights
and duties of such platform monopolies towards their users. With Google and Facebook
emerging bigger than many nation states, this
is the key question for the Internet in the
future.
(Prabir Purkayastha is Chairperson,
Knowledge Commons, and Vice-President,
Free Software Movement of India.)
Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
acknowledging
these
factors,
politicians of all hues are now crying
foul. We must also learn to respect a
considered court verdict.
M. Meenakshisundaram,
Tiruchi
Preserving roots
History and heritage lovers should
be delighted that the Kerala
government has planned to take up
restoration work of agraharams in
Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad
(Centuries-old agraharams in
Kerala to get a facelift, Feb.9). The
traditional Brahmin settlements
have fallen prey to urbanisation and
modern architectural trends,
jeopardising
the
values
of
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
POST-PATHANKOT
PERSPECTIVE
| 11
Its yet another moment of potential cooperation between India and Pakistan that might not last. Post-Pathankot, the two
countries have shown some maturity in keeping the rhetoric
down. Some hope has been rekindled, with Islamabad promising an investigation into any Pakistani links the attackers of
the Indian airbase may have had, and New Delhi keeping its
cool.
A little over a month has passed since the terrorists, said to belong to the
Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), attacked the Indian airbase, coming across the International Border unhindered.
Though Pakistan has not registered a first information report in the Pathankot attack, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has promised to investigate the
leads provided by the Indian establishment. The proof of the investigation
will, needless to say, lie in the arrest and prosecution of the militant hand in
Pakistan that is likely to have guided the Pathankot attackers.
After the Mumbai attacks too, there was a similar moment of cooperation
where it appeared that none other than the chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate would travel to India, but the initiative was stillborn.
Arrests were made by Pakistan soon after the 26/11 terror strike, but the
failure to prosecute Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, believed to be the operational
commander of the Mumbai attacks, and Hafiz Saeed, big boss of the Lashkare-Taiba (LeT), stand out as major negatives.
The recent deposition by LeT operative David Coleman Headley has reopened the wounds of Mumbai. If the
two countries are not careful, these The real difference
wounds plus Pathankot can hit the nasbetween 2008 and
cent process of cooperation hard.
The National
Democratic Alliance (NDA)
came to power
in 2014 with a
slim popular
mandate that produced a parliamentary
majority. Its manifesto posited: Power is
currently concentrated in Delhi and the
State capitals. We believe this power
should be genuinely decentralised. BJP
has stood for greater decentralisation
through devolving of powers to the
States. This decentralisation push has
been enthusiastically portrayed as a commitment to cooperative federalism by
the government, its media champions and
opinion-makers.
The claim that this government practises a new cooperative federalism runs up
against mounting evidence of the persistence of an older, more venal political
strain in Centre-State relations: partisan
federalism. Political parties mobilise their
power in the Central government to disable and decapitate State governments of
opposition parties. Can new cooperative
federalism exist even if this older partisan
federalism persists? Unless the Supreme
Court completes its unfinished agenda of
limiting the scope for partisan federalism
through the strong enforcement of neutral constitutional rules on the appointment of Governors and the exercise of
their powers, there is little possibility that
cooperative federalism can define Centre-State relations in India.
with dispassion and within the constitutional framework, had facilitated the political battle to move in a certain direction
in the tussle for power, and that this reflected the non-neutral role of the constitutional head which was undermining
the democratic process.
Grounds beneath the feat
Despite the High Courts admonition,
Mr. Rajkhowa dispatched a report under
Article 356 of the Constitution recommending Presidents rule. While the report has not been made public, three substantive grounds have been discussed in
media reports: the inability of the ruling
government to hold a Legislative Assembly session within the constitutionally
mandated six months; the governments
lack of support in the House; and the
breakdown of law and order. All three
grounds appear to be misconceived.
The Governors decision to advance the
Assembly session precipitated a court order that constrains the liberty of the
House to conduct its proceedings. Second, at least since S.R. Bommai v. Union
of India (1994), as confirmed in Rameshwar Prasad v. Union of India (2005), the
floor test is the only constitutionally valid
manner of determining the whether a government enjoys majority support. A floor
test to determine support for the government can only be conducted in a valid Assembly session which is yet to take place.
Hence, no finding of a loss of support
based on the subjective assessment of the
Governor is constitutionally tenable.
Third, the court has clarified that the
breakdown of law and order must not be
BARADWAJ RANGAN
The majority of movies that end up being considered for the Oscars have
mainstream actors. File photo shows Elizabeth Taylor in Rome on the set of
Cleopatra. PHOTO: AP
NEWS
12 |
Pachauris promotion: former
TERI employee disappointed
STAFF REPORTER
NEW DELHI: Anguished and dis-
It is in gross violation of
law, says legal expert
VIDYA VENKAT
CHENNAI: After The Energy and
Resources Institute (TERI)
announced on Monday that
R.K. Pachauri, under
investigation in a sexual
harassment case, has been
appointed its Executive ViceChairman, legal experts termed
the move illegal, expressing
concerns about the precedent
this sets for safety of women at
the workplace.
Mr. Pachauri, who is out on
bail, was appointed to this
position, which was created to
accommodate him.
Eminent lawyer Vrinda
Grover said this appointment
was in gross violation of the
spirit of the Sexual Harassment
of Women at Workplace
(Prevention, Prohibition and
Redressal) Act, 2013 that builds
on the foundation laid down by
the Vishakha judgment of the
Supreme Court in 1997. As per
NATIONAL BUREAU
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
DAY 2 OF DEPOSITION
U.S. offers
help to India
Rijijus chopper
makes emergency
landing
NEWS
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
SIACHEN RESCUE
NATIONAL BUREAU
NEW DELHI: Science doesnt
usually like the word miracle, but few other words can
describe the recovery of
Lance Naik Hanumanthappa
Koppads
still-breathing
body after being buried in an
avalanche in the Siachen
Glacier. Were one to be
trapped in an avalanche and
rescued within the first 15
minutes, there is a 92 per
cent chance of survival.
However, just 15 minutes
more, and those odds drop to
35 per cent and to 1 per cent
in 130 minutes, according to
a study of ski-accident survivors by biostatistician Markus Falk of the University of
Innsbruck, Austria, and his
colleagues.
Koppad, were he to recover at the hospital, would
have beaten those odds
many times over. What
makes his survival more astounding is that most of
these calculations are on
people buried no more than
10 feet, and Koppad was reportedly buried 25 feet below. Though the sub-zero
Researchers say
that body loses
30 degrees C per
hour when trapped,
which is alarming
He came in
my dream,
says mother
N. DINESH NAYAK &
GIRISH PATTANASHETTI
HUBBALLI: Mahadevi
(Jayashri), wife of Lance
Naik Hanumanthappa
Koppad, termed his
survival a rebirth. If he
has survived miraculously,
it is mainly because of his
mothers prayers, she said.
Hanumanthappas
mother Basavva said she
had always been confident
that he would survive. He
came to me in my dream,
stood beside me and told
me that he will return. I
prayed to my family deity,
took a vow and she [the
goddess] has saved my
son, she said in a choked
voice.
Arrangements were
made for Jayashri, her child
Netravati, Basavva and a
few others to travel by road
to Goa and board a flight to
New Delhi. We were
unable to reach Goa by 4
p.m. So we got the tickets
cancelled and booked for
the 7 p.m. flight, a relative
who accompanied them to
Goa told The Hindu.
CM
YK
| 13
Siachen.
Army Chief General Dalbir Singh spoke of the soldiers indomitable mental
robustness and his refusal to
give in to the harsh elements.
The appreciation of the
fighting spirit shown by Hanamanthappa came even as
several military sources criticised the way the entire top
brass rushed in to condole
the death of all those who
were hit by the avalanche.
NATIONAL BUREAU
NEW DELHI: A day after it took a
ND-ND
WORLD
14 |
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
ATUL ANEJA
Overnight violent
clashes between a group of
protesters and the police in
Hong Kong have injured
scores, raising questions
about underlying tensions in
the glitzy financial hub.
Late on Monday, in the
neighbourhood of Mong Kok
a shopping district, which
was one of the epicentres of
student protests in 2014
clashes broke out after police
ordered illegal street food
hawkers to disperse.
The quarrel apparently
triggered a wave of violent
clashes after around 100
protesters melded into the
fracas which continued to
smoulder, even in the early
hours on Tuesday.
BEIJING:
Not spontaneous
The police said the rioting was not spontaneous. It
began on the first day of the
Chinese Lunar New Year a
symbolically important date.
Besides, the protesters, apparently equipped with
home-made shields, goggles,
helmets and gloves, were well
prepared for a long-haul
clash.
The Hong Kong daily,
South China Morning Post, is
reporting that a localist
group, known by the trade-
A rioter tries to throw bricks at police in Mong Kok district of Hong Kong on Tuesday. Mong Kok
was an epicentre of student protests in 2014. PHOTO: AP
toring public-order.
Any big city facing a similar nature of events would
classify it as a riot, not just for
the government but society as
a whole, Mr. Leung observed.
Though the police managed to contain the violence
after six hours, the embers of
the intense clashes were still
aglow after daybreak.
On Tuesday morning, rubbish and debris were seen
strewn on the streets, while
the acrid smoke that hung in
the air was a reminder of the
intensity of the overnight
violence.
For the authorities, the danger lies in a fusion of the remnants of the 2014 protesters
and the HKI, which could lead
to a protracted political tugof-war that could be easily internationalised.
Yet, the Hong Kong government appeared confident. Despite the clashes, the authorities
announced
the
traditional New Year fireworks display, which is likely
to attract crowds of several
thousand on Tuesday night,
would go ahead. Mr. Leung
warned protesters to stay
away from the event.
Two
commuter trains crashed
head-on in southern Germany on Tuesday, killing at least
10 people and injuring more
than 100, in one of the countrys deadliest rail accidents
in years.
Hundreds of rescuers were
scouring for more passengers
trapped in the mangled
wreckage in a wooded area
near Bad Aibling, a spa town
about 60 km southeast of
Munich.
At least two carriages from
one train were overturned,
while the front of the other
was crushed. Blue, yellow and
silver metal debris was
strewn around the crash site
next to a river in the southern
state of Bavaria.
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel expressed shock at the
news.
I am dismayed and saddened by the serious train ac-
High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein on Tuesday urged the Sri
Lankan military to accelerate
the return of land to rightful
owners and reduce its size in
the Northern and Eastern
provinces.
Mr. Hussein told a press
conference at the end of his
four-day visit that while some
land has been returned in the
Jafna and Trincomalee areas,
there are still large tracts
which can and should be swiftly given back. According to
the Sri Lankan government,
about 3,000 acres have been
returned since January 2015
and 2,329 families resettled.
The size of the military in
the two Provinces could be reduced to a level that is less intrusive and intimidating, he
added.
Acknowledging that Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes recent statement that
all the disappeared persons
were probably dead had created great distress among
their families, Mr. Hussein
said rapid action should be
taken to identify precisely
who is still alive and who has
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein with Sri Lankas main
opposition leader R. Sampanthan in Colombo on Tuesday. PHOTO: AFP
Should India get involved in Sri Lankas reform process? Koirala was a valued
friend of India: Modi
T. RAMAKRISHNAN
When
Mr.
Ahluwalia
showed up to board Flight 408
to New York City, attendants
told him he needed to step
aside.
Following a security check,
he said he was asked to take of
his turban. I responded...that I
wont be taking of my turban,
KALLOL BHATTACHERJEE
Nepals former
Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, who died on Tuesday
morning, will be accorded a
state funeral on Wednesday.
Dignitaries, including External Afairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj, paid last respects to
him in Kathmandu on
Tuesday.
Sitaram Yechury of CPI
(M), Sharad Yadav of JD(U),
Anand Sharma of the Congress party and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval
were also part of Ms. Swarajs
delegation. Dr. Shekhar Koirala, one of the leading members of the Koirala dynasty
and the Nepali Congress, acknowledged the warm gesture shown by Ms. Swaraj.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi said India lost a valued
friend. In Sushil Koirala ji,
NC has lost a big leader who
served Nepal for decades &
India lost a valued friend.
Pained by his demise. RIP, he
tweeted. However, despite his
warm ties with the political
class of India, Koiralas tenure
also witnessed tensions in India-Nepal ties. A blockade
called by the Madhesi protesters against the new Constitution, which Mr. Koirala had
helped in promulgating, froze
Nepals economy and hurt bilateral ties. The blockade was
lifted barely hours before his
death.
Mr. Koirala, afectionately
addressed as Sushilda by his
followers, led Nepal at a tur-
Obama launches
cyber-security
action plan
NEW DELHI:
SENSEX
09-02-16 24,021
08-02-16 24,287
266
POINTS
Airports, including
defence airports used
for civilian purposes,
will have their maps
ready by end of 2016
Ministry of Civil Aviation has also
commissioned improved version
of online NOCAS (No Objection
Certificate Application System) to
help applicants calculate permissible heights in airport zones.
Similarly, the Ministry of Culture
in collaboration with ISRO is developing colour-coded maps for 281
monuments that fall in construction
zones.
Ministry of Culture has launched
a mobile app that enables online approvals for construction around
monuments in just 72 hours. Our
goal is to give momentum to the urban growth, said Mr.Rao.
NATIONAL BUREAU
NEW DELHI: Indian fonts may be
mandatory for mobile phones
sold in the country according
to new standards for handsets
being finalised by the government, Ram Sewak Sharma,
chairman at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
Exchange Rates
Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit
except yen at 4 p.m on February 09
TT
TT
Currencies
Buying Selling
U.S. Dollar
67.70 68.02
Euro
75.95 76.33
Pound Sterling
97.65
98.12
Jap Yen (100 Units) 58.88
59.16
Chinese Yuan
10.28 10.36
Swiss Franc
69.07 69.40
Singapore Dollar
48.25 48.50
Australian Dollar
47.61 47.84
Canadian Dollar
48.76 48.99
Swedish Kroner
8.00
8.04
Danish Kroner
10.18
10.23
New Zealand Dollar 44.70 44.92
Hongkong Dollar
8.69
8.73
Malaysian Ringitt
16.22
16.36
Kuwaiti Dinar
225.40 227.22
UAE Dirham
18.43
18.52
Bahraini Dinar
178.27 181.67
Qatari Riyal
18.63
18.67
Saudi Riyal
18.08
18.13
Omani Riyal
175.25 177.31
Source: Indian Bank
Bullion Rates
February 09 rates in rupees with
previous rates in brackets
37,545
40.2
28,530
2,668
(36,720)
(39.3)
(28,145)
(2,632)
37,230
28,585
22,900
(36,050)
(27,875)
(22,700)
CM
YK
GOLD
09-02-16
08-02-16
28,585
27,875
Safety ranking
The Wicks Group had assisted the DGCA and the FAA
had in April last year restored
India's safety ranking to Category-I, implying the country
is meeting the international
standards in terms of civil
aviation safety oversight.
The move comes close on
the heels of a pending audit
report from the International
Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO) which had conducted
a comprehensive air safety
audit in December last year.
Although an ICAO downgrade will not have a direct
impact on airline operations it
may raise alarm bells among
other aviation authorities. For
instance, the ICAO audit in
2012 had prompted FAA to
conduct its own audit which
led to a downgrade in Indias
air safety ranking.
710
/10gm
RUPEE
09-02-16 67.90
08-02-16 67.94
0.04
/$
BRENT OIL
09-02-16 32.13
08-02-16 33.53
1.40
$/bbl
Mobile phones sold in India may have local fonts by end of April
BRIEFLY
Chennai
Bar Silver (1 kg)
Retail (1 g)
24 ct gold (10 g)
22 ct gold (1 g)
Delhi
Silver
Standard gold
Sovereign
| 15
BUSINESS
NOIDA/DELHI
KOLKATA: Bandhan Bank has introduced NRI banking services to tap overseas remittance
business, Chandra Shekhar
Ghosh, Managing Director
and Chief Executive Oicer
said.
The bank has also started
ofering international debit
cards in a tie up with VISA International Debit Cards.
There is a demand for these
cards from customers based
in West Bengal, Kerala and
Andhra Pradesh and remittances are flowing in from
London, the U.S. West Asia
and Europe, Mr. Ghosh said.
The remittance business is
currently pegged at $ 70
billion.
Talks were on to finance vehicles to be operated by taxi
aggregators like Ola and Uber,
he said. The bank had started
talks with the chief of Ola.
However, these are very preliminary level talks.
Talks are on to
finance vehicles
to be operated by
taxi aggregators like
Ola and Uber.
Chandra Shekhar Ghosh,
Managing Director and CEO,
Bandhan Bank.
The bank, which commenced operations in August
2015, is hoping to have a total
of one million new customers
by year end.
It now has 82 lakh accounts,
including eight lakh new accounts.
It is targeting a 35 per cent
growth in business next fiscal.
It has so far mobilised
Rs.7,500 crore deposits with a
loan book of Rs. 13,500 crore.
We expect this to touch Rs.
14,500 core by next monthend, he said. The Kolkata-
traic in the country, the government has decided to increase the length of national
highways from 96,000 km, at
present, to two lakh km,
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari
said on Tuesday.
At present, we have 96,000
km national highways or 52
lakh km road length in the
country. As much as 40 per
cent of the traic moves on
these 2 per cent national highways and as a result five lakh
accidents take place, Mr.
Gadkari, Minister for Road
Transport and Highways and
Shipping, told reporters.
Three lakh people get injured and 1.5 lakh are killed in
these accidents.
The main reason is traic
Call to websites
The TRAI chairman also
called for more applications
and websites to develop mul-
The TRAI chairman welcomed the move by some ecommerce websites to ofer
their services in Hindi,
Tamil and other languages as
well.
Government websites have
gone bilingual and ofer Hindi
as well as English versions for
now, Mr. Shama said.
the state and will be completed in the next two years, Mr.
Singh said.The railways can
change the fortune of a state.
Along with providing connectivity, it will lead to growth
and development in the mineral-rich state.
Railways Minister Suresh
Prabhu said expansion of rail
network was necessary to
help the state transport its
natural resources.
Chhattisgarh has a lot of
potential and the exploration
and evacuation of its natural
resources to other parts will
help the country.
For this purpose, railway
infrastructure needs to be developed which will not only
help the state in availing better transport facility but also
bring huge freight revenue to
the Railways, said Mr.
Prabhu.
Some important
suggestions to
govt. include
implementation of
GST
such as capital goods and
heavy equipment showed
the percentage of companies,
which in 2015 said that their
margins were expected to increase in the next 12 months,
was down to 36 per cent from
47 per cent.
The number of respondents, who said the margins in
the manufacturing sector had
increased in the past six
months, were down to 33 per
cent in 2015 from 37 per cent
in the previous year.
There were similar sentiments about the overall economic prospects as well.Those who said they were
'very optimistic' about the
prospects were down to 24
per cent from 26 per cent the
year before.
The respondents who said
they were 'somewhat optimistic' of the prospects of the
economy were down to 58 per
cent in 2015 as against 68 per
cent in the previous year.
Most of the respondents (58
per cent) said the growth will
be moderate while those expecting 'significant growth'
this year were only 11 per cent.
Most
respondents
said
growth would be around 7-8
per cent.
ND-ND
16 |
BUSINESS
Weak profitability
Swiss-based commodities trader Gunvor Group said last week it
had started to dismantle its Singapore-based metals business, citing
weak profitability and increased
risk, including counterparty
behaviour.
Payment times for
metals are already
rising from China and
LOSING
India, industry sourcSTRENGTH es said, as overcapacity in commodities
like steel and aluminmetals
ium deepens a fouryear old price slump
that has left a majority of metals producers under water.
Oil and gas may have hit the
headlines across the world, but we
think metals will be the key sector
that will cause underwriters more
sleepless nights, said Michael
Lum, an underwriter for specialist
insurer Beazley at Lloyds.
A lot of these (Chinese) smelters that were economically viable
when commodity prices were
high are high cost producers and
when the prices do drop some will
have nowhere to go.
Stressed assets
New non-performing loans
held by Chinese banks more than
doubled in 2015 from the previous
year, while Indias banking sector,
dominated by two-dozen staterun lenders, is sufering from its
highest stressed-assets ratio in 13
years.
Trade insurers provide certain-
Oil and gas may have hit the headlines across the world, but we think
metals will be the key sector that will cause underwriters more
sleepless nights, says Michael Lum, an underwriter for specialist insurer
Beazley at Lloyds.
Unpaid debt
A rising tide of unpaid debt is
expected to spill into Singapore,
the brunt of which will be borne
by small and medium sized
traders.
Most of the larger trading
houses would have the ability to
sell (debt) of to a bank, and therefore get liquidity. The expectation
is that some of the smaller trading
houses may find it diicult to find
that level of financing, Mr. Lum
said. Trade insurers were also
viewing paper transactions between traders as less attractive
than business that was clearly part
of the supply chain, Euler Hermes
Cessford said. Reuters
COIMBATORE: Coimbatore-based
THE HINDU
Gold climbs to
one-year high
M. SOUNDARIYA PREETHA
NOIDA/DELHI
G. BALACHANDAR
CHENNAI: Ramco Systems, an
The company is
also looking to
set up aviation
solutions
operations in China
companies, and courier firms
among others.
The company had some
competitive advantages over
large players like Oracle or
SAP. Revenues of the most of
the logistics firms are below
$1 billion.
So, it may be an expensive
proposition for them to go for
the solutions of those big
companies. We ofer very
flexible pricing, he said.
The companys aviation
vertical was facing some challenges due to slowdown in
helicopter chartering,hit by
low oil prices.
We need to change the
perception of a small company. Though a couple of domestic airlines use our solutions, we are working on
boosting our business, . he
said.
Kamarajar Port to
invest Rs. 8,100 crore
N. ANAND
CHENNAI: Kamarajar Port Limited (KPL) will be commissioning five projects, including its
maiden container terminal
and multi-purpose cargo
berths, within the next three
years at a cost of Rs.8,100
crore, according to a top
oicial.
The project will increase
the ports cargo handling capacity by 44 million tonnes to
80 million tonnes per annum.
Talking to The Hindu, M.A.
Bhaskarachar, KPL chairmancum-managing director, said:
A sum of Rs.8,100 crore is being invested in new projects
to keep pace with competition from neighbouring ports
such as L&T Kattupalli Port,
Karaikal, Tuticorin, Chennai
and Krishnapatnam Ports.
Dr.Reddys Labs to
focus on risk mitigation
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD: Indian pharmaceutical major Dr. Reddys Laboratories is focused on remediation and risk mitigation
measures after it received a
warning letter pertaining to
three of its facilities from U.S.
Food and Drug Administration.
There is high focus on remediation and risk mitigation
measures, Dr.Reddys CFO
Saumen Chakraborty declared, while COO Abhijit
Mukherjee highlighted the
eagerness to comply notwithstanding the costs involved.
The warning letter, Mr.Mukherjee added, is bound to have
a reasonable impact though
the company in interaction
with customers did not find
them expressing large apprehensions. Subsequent to giving its response to the letter,
Dr.Reddys had also provided
an update to the FDA in
January.
Requisitioning a third-party consultant and undertaking statistical analysis of the
distributed products are
among steps the company has
initiated since the regulators
It got a warning
letter pertaining to
three of its facilities
from U.S. Food and
Drug Administration
November letter pointed to
deviations from current Good
Manufacturing Practices at
its API manufacturing facilities in Srikakulam, Andhra
Pradesh and Miryalguda in
Telangana as well as violation
at the oncology formulation
manufacturing facility at
Duvvada (AP).
The senior executives were
addressing the press here on
Tuesday about third quarter
results of Dr.Reddys which
was impacted by the challenges in the emerging marketsand issues concerning repatriation from Venezuela in the
backdrop of fall in oil prices.
During the quarter ended
December 31, Dr.Reddys
posted consolidated net profit of Rs.579.20 crore compared
to the Rs.574.50 crore in the
year ago period. Revenue rose
by a little over three per cent
to Rs.3,967.9 crore (Rs.3,843.1
crore).
SPORT
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
| 17
Telecast schedule
British tennis star Andy Murray has become a father for the first time after his
wife Kim Sears gave birth to a girl on Sunday, the BBC reported on Tuesday. The
Lawn Tennis Association, the sports governing body in Britain, tweeted
Congratulations to @andy_murray & Kim Sears on the birth of their baby girl!
Joe Roots
century boosts
England
CENTURION: Joe Root hit an as-
2-0-11-0.
Sri Lanka: Niroshan Dickwella c
Dhawan b Nehra 4 (3b, 1x4), Danushka Gunathilaka c Dhawan b Nehra 9
(18b), Dinesh Chandimal lbw b Raina
35 (35b, 1x4, 2x6), Chamara Kapugedara lbw b Ashwin 25 (26b, 4x4), Milinda Siriwardena (not out) 21 (14b, 2x4,
1x6), Dasun Shanaka c Raina b Ashwin
3 (8b), Seekuge Prasanna (not out) 3
(4b); Extras (lb-3, w-2): 5; Total (for
five wkts. in 18 overs): 105.
Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Dickwella), 223 (Gunathilake), 3-62 (Kapugedara),
4-84 (Chandimal), 5-91 (Shanaka).
India bowling: Ashish Nehra 3-021-2, Jasprit Bumrah 4-1-19-0, Ravindra Jadeja 3-0-18-0, Hardik Pandya 30-18-0, Ashwin 3-0-13-2, Suresh Raina
2-0-13-1.
Toss: Sri Lanka.
Man-of-the-match: Rajitha.
Sri Lanka won by five wickets with 12 balls remaining.
JUBILANT: Sri Lankan bowler Dushmantha Chameera celebrates the dismissal of Yuvraj Singh.
PHOTO: PTI
UNDER-19
WORLD CUP
India, put in on an overcast
morning, was under pressure
right away with its opening pair
of Rishabh Pant and captain Ishan Kishan falling cheaply to
leave the team two down for 27
in the 10th over.
race for the semifinals barring also meant there was little room
some exceptional performance to manoeuvre for the players.
and favourable permutations After a barren first quarter, Steven Edwards made the most of
from other teams.
Given the way its defence col- goalmouth melee to put Delhi
lapsed in the last 10 minutes on ahead in the 22nd minute.
Rupinder Pal Singh convertTuesday, however, that appears
ed the teams
unlikely.
second penalty
That was, in
HIL
corner to infact, the only period of any excitement in the crease the lead in the 39th minmatch. For a major part, the ute. But there was no concerted
game was confined to the mid- attempt from either side to add
field with few scoring opportu- momentum to the game that apnities and fewer attempts at peared to be meandering away
to a tame end before Danish
breaking the deadlock.
Close marking by the teams Mujtaba perked up the proceed-
SCOREBOARD
England: J. Roy run out 20, A.
Hales c Morkel b Rabada 65, J. Root
run out 125, J. Buttler c Duminy b Rabada 0, E. Morgan c Amla b Wiese 8,
B. Stokes c Behardien b Abbott 53, M.
Ali c Amla b Morkel 3, C. Jordan c Duminy b Abbott 3, D. Willey (not out) 13,
A. Rashid (not out) 13; Extras (b-4,
lb-3, w-8): 15; Total (for 8 wickets, in
50 overs): 318.
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-161, 3-162,
4-187, 5-269, 6-284, 7-291, 8-291.
South Africa bowling: Abbott 100-50-2, Rabada 10-0-65-2, Morkel 100-63-1, Wiese 10-0-64-1, Imran Tahir
8-0-56-0, Behardien 2-0-13-0.
Toss: England.
CM
YK
MARAUDER: Manpreet Singh slots in one of his four goals in Dabang Mumbai's thumping win over
Is T20 at a crossroads?
Check in 16 weeks
SURESH MENON
SCOREBOARD
India: Rohit Sharma c Chameera b
Rajitha 0 (2b), Shikhar Dhawan c Gunathilaka b Rajitha 9 (13b, 1x6), Ajinkya Rahane c Chandimal b Rajitha 4
(4b, 1x4), Suresh Raina b Shanaka 20
(20b, 1x4, 1x6), Yuvraj c & b Chameera
10 (14b, 1x6), M.S. Dhoni c Dickwella b
Shanaka 2 (2b), Hardik Pandya lbw b
Shanaka 2 (6b), Ravindra Jadeja lbw b
Senanayake 6 (9b), R. Ashwin (not
out) 31 (24b, 5x4), Ashish Nehra c Siriwardena b Chameera 6 (19b), Jasprit
Bumrah run out 0 (0b); Extras (b-2,
lb-1, w-8): 11; Total (in 18.5 overs): 101.
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Rohit), 2-5
(Rahane), 3-32 (Dhawan), 4-49 (Raina), 5-51 (Dhoni), 6-53 (Yuvraj), 7-58
(Pandya),8-72
(Jadeja),
9-100
(Nehra).
Sri Lanka bowling: Kasun Rajitha
4-0-29-3, Thisara Perera 3-1-10-0, Sachithra Senanayake 3-0-18-1, Dushmantha Chameera 3.5-0-14-2, Dasun
Shanaka 3-0-16-3, Seekuge Prasanna
BETWEEN WICKETS
Sociedad blanks
Espanyol
MADRID: Real Sociedad stormed
Pirates defeat
Warriors
KOLKATA: Patna Pirates edged
Martins scores
hat-trick
KOLKATA: Ranti Martins scored a
Fond wish
Perhaps and this is the fondest wish the real innovation
will come from the bowlers who have sufered the most in T20.
Spinners have made themselves more relevant over the years,
but the weapons of the fast bowler, the slower ball and the
yorker are becoming less efective. The batsmans game becomes more of a batsmans game and even more of a batsmans
game as the format gets shorter and shorter.
Maybe it is time to have a set of rules specifically for T20 that
is diferent from the laws of the game. Some possibilities: the
batsmen may be leg before to deliveries pitched outside the leg
stump. The benefit of the doubt goes to the bowler, or, the
fielder, in a close run out or caught situation. Fielders may be
allowed to take a legal catch on the boundary line, and the ball
shall be deemed not to have crossed the line if it does not
actually do so. That will eliminate the endless replays, and save
time if nothing else.
T20 cricket may be at the crossroads, and the millions that the
players make out of it might have helped camouflage the fact.
Unlike Test cricket, and even one-day cricket, there is an otherness about T20 that may be partially due to the huge sums
involved. It is not always inclusive. A Chris Gayle hitting sixes at
the Chinnaswamy Stadium thrills the Bangalore crowds, but he
is not a darling of the spectators in the old-fashioned sense. Club
cricket has a long way to go before it can match club football in
passion and involvement.
In Jaipur at the launch of Wisden India Almanack, football
icon Baichung Bhutia made this point forcefully. He was amazed
at the crowd reaction at an IPL game he attended, he said. After a
while, many stopped cheering even the sixes. Suddenly I heard
a huge roar when nothing was happening on the field, and I was
confused. Then I realised that Shah Rukh Khan had appeared on
the screen.
But what shocked him, said Bhutia, was the lack of involvement of the fans. No one was upset when his team lost. In
Kolkata, he said, football fans went about weeping and screaming and burning buses when their club lost. I dont recommend
burning buses, but I would have liked to see more involvement,
he said.
He had put his finger on the problem. The concept of my
team has not percolated into the club fans consciousness in
cricket.
The next 16 weeks will see some of these issues in sharper
focus.
18 |
SPORT
Basketball event
scrapped
A. VINOD
GUWAHATI: The basketball
competitions of the 12th
South Asian Games,
scheduled to be held
between February 10 and 15,
have been scrapped.
The conduct of the event
had become untenable in
the wake of the instructions
issued by the International
Basketball Federation
(FIBA) on February 2 taking
cognisance of the Indian
Olympic Associations
interference in matters of
the Basketball Federation of
India and the selection of
the Indian teams for the
Games.
A final call was taken on
Tuesday at a meeting of the
top brass of the IOA and the
organising committee.
THE HINDU
A. VINOD
opening day of the athletics
events in the 12th South Asian
Games was on expected lines as
the Sri Lankans dashed of with
the sprint gold medals and the
Indians dominated elsewhere at
the Indira Gandhi Stadium, Sarasujai, here on Tuesday.
Of the nine events which
were decided on the opening
day, India was served well by
long jumper Mayookha Johny
and throwers Manpreet Kaur
Sr. and Neeraj Kumar, not to
leave out long distance runners
Man Singh and L. Surya, as the
home team
finished with
a total of five
gold medals.
Besides
the
sprint
double, Sri
Lanka also
won the womens 800m and
mens high jump, W.P. Manjulakumara edging the latter on
count-back after being tied on
2.17m with Indian rival Tejaswini Shankar.
The day, as it turned, remained hazy all through and offered the best of conditions to
the sprinters. And this was realised by Himasha Eashan, who
made light of the opposition in
style en route to a season best of
10.28s and a new meet mark in
the mens 100m.
The Sri Lankan was quick of
the blocks, reacting sharply to
the gun, and his dominance was
never in doubt as he sped away
from the rest of the field with
his powerful strides. It did seem
as if it would be a 1-2 for Sri Lanka as Mohammed Ashrafu was
just behind Eashan early. But
this was not to be as Saaid Hassan (Maldives) split the duo, accelerating
nicely
midway
through.
Neeraj Kumar, likewise,
emerged a comfortable winner
NOIDA/DELHI
WEIGHTLIFTING
piled a winning total of 360kg,
gaining a 15kg-lead over Gurdeep
in snatch with a successful attempt of 160kg and in clean and
jerk wherein he finished with
200kg. Gurdeep was second with
345kg, comfortably ahead of Sri
Lankan Saman Abeywickrama
(275kg). Commenting on the performances of the home lifters, N.
POWERHOUSE: Manpreet Kaur Sr. demolished the field in the shot put, setting a new Games record with a throw of
17.96m. PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR
Indian men
overcome Lanka
K. KEERTHIVASAN
SHILLONG: In their complete
domination of the 12th South
Asian Games here, the Indian
recurve archers who won all
the 10 gold medals, of which
five came on Tuesday might
have unwittingly found a place
to train for the Rio Olympics.
Archers Deepika Kumari
and Jayanta Talukdar were of
the view that the weather conditions and the shifting winds
at the venue here could prove
to be an ideal training ground
to prepare for battles abroad.
In the womens singles final,
Deepika had to fight hard to
beat Bombayla Devi 6-4 while
Tarundeep Rai, making a
comeback after a dip in form,
defeated Gurucharan Besra 6-2
in the mens final.
It feels good to win, but this
is just the beginning. I need to
do well in the remaining selection trials to hope for a place in
the Indian team, said Rai.
Earlier, the Indian mens,
womens and mixed recurve
teams bagged the three gold
medals, thereby making it an
all-India show.
Qureshi. Ankita Raina beat Pakistans Sara Mansoor 6-1, 6-1 to progress to the womens final
where she meets Prerna Bhambri, who outclassed Pakistans No.1 Ushna Suhail 6-1, 6-2.
The results: Men: Quarterfinals: Saketh Myneni bt
Dipu Lal (Ban) 6-0, 6-1; Shamal Dissanayake (SL) bt Mohammed Faris (Mdv) 6-1, 6-0; Aisam Qureshi (Pak) bt Harshanna Godamanna (SL) 6-4, 7-6(1); Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Aqeel Khan (Pak) 6-3, 6-3. Doubles: Semifinals:
Ramkumar & Vijay Sundar Prasanth bt D. Thengarajan &
TENNIS
Yasitha de Silva (SL) 6-3, 6-1; Divij Sharan & Sanam Singh
bt H. Godamanna & S. Dassanayake (SL) 6-3, 6-1.
Women: Semifinals: Ankita Raina bt Sara Mansoor
(Pak) 6-1, 6-1; Prerna Bhambri bt Ushana Suhail (Pak) 6-1,
6-2. Doubles: Quarterfinals: Prarthana Thombre & Sharmada Balu bt Sarah Mansoor & Aiman Qureshi (Pak) 6-0,
6-2; Rishika Sunkara & Natasha Palha bt Ushna Suhail & Sarah Mehboob (Pak) 6-1, 6-2,
Mixed doubles: Semifinals: Sanam Singh & Prarthana
Thombre bt H. Godamanna & A. Muttiah (Sri) 6-3, 6-1; Divij
Sharan & Ankita Raina bt Aisam Qureshi & Ushna Suhail
(Pak) 6-1, 6-4.
SWIMMING
the field almost all through and
touched the wall in 4:30.08 for a
new Games record in the eightlap race. Shivani Kataria finished second at 4:38.42, pushing
Nepals Gaurika Singh to the
third spot.
Overall, compared to the last
three days, it was a great day for
the host country which took
seven gold medals of the eight
decided this evening.
And holding centre-stage yet
again was Sajan Prakash, who
though beaten to the second
place by compatriot Saurabh
Sangvekar in the mens 400m
freestyle, showed tremendous
character to pocket the 200m
butterfly, with a new Games record to boot.
The contest between the two
Indians in the freestyle race
was decided in favour of Sangvekar as he took the lead midway through and sealed a brilliant win at 3:58.84.
In the butterfly, Sajan Prakash powerfully stroked his
way to lead from start to finish,
stopping the clock at 2:03.02, a
good eight seconds and more
clear of second-placed Cherthana de Silva (Sri Lanka).
The only thorn in the Indian
flesh turned out be Sri Lankan
Kimiko Raheem who sped her
VARIETY
THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11621
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Exa
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Across
mentored us (10)
11 Withdrawing books after
agreement's stamped
(12)
13 Jewel associated with the
French and Parish official
(6)
15 Passionate, fanatical
friend won't
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FAITH
SU | DO | KU
Bliss of contentment
The Upanishads speak of renunciation as the only path to
salvation. Once this is reached, there is no turning back.
Every soul is already in this journey. Some strive consciously
to travel in this path; some others are not sure and some are
not aware of it at all.
The experience of Tiruppanazhwar makes this abstract
philosophical statement a tangible one, pointed out Sri
Dushyanth Sridhar in a discourse. Though extremely devout,
this Azhwar is not able to enter the temple at Srirangam
because of his low birth. But the omniscient Lord devises a
plan to bring Him to His presence. He makes the temple
priest Loka Saranga, who had erred against this Azhwar,
carry him on his shoulders and bring him to His presence.
The Lord makes it clear that any afront to His devotee
would not be tolerated and the contrite priest carries out the
Lords order. The Azhwar savours the greatness of the Lords
form from His divine feet to His efulgent face. As a finale to
this song of eulogy, the Azhwar states that his eyes that have
seen this form do not have any further desire to see anything
else.
The epithet Vennai Unda Vayan captures child Krishnas
penchant for butter. He would steal it from the households in
Ayarpadi and make no secret of it at all. Interpreters see
butter as symbolic of the atma that has lost its moorings and
stays in the cycle of birth. Out of compassion, the Lord
chooses to steal the atma to enable the jivatma to come out of
this whirlpool. He has His own ways to steal the hearts of His
devotees as He has shown in the case of this Azhwar. Azhwar
is overwhelmed by the bliss of contentment that is conferred
on him by the compassionate Lord.
SPORT
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
Madhya Pradesh
takes title
CHENNAI: Madhya Pradesh beat
Llorente
slots eight
NEW DELHI: Manuel Llorente
scored all the goals to power
Garcha Hotels to an 8-4 victory
over ASC/Navy in a pool-A
league match of the SS Empress
Sawai Man Singh Gold Vase polo tournament at the Army
Equestrian Centre, Delhi Cantonment, on Tuesday.
The results (league): Garcha Hotels 8 (Manuel Llorente 8) bt ASC/Navy 4 (Akhil Sirohi 2, AP Singh, Prithvi
Rathore).
61st Cavalry 4 (Vishal Chauhan 2,
Ravi Rathore, Iliyas Ali) bt Jindal Panther 3-1/2 (Simran shergill 2, Miguel
Saravia, handicap 1/2).
Jaipur 7 (Abhimanyu Pathak 4, Daniel Otamendi 2, Lokendra Singh) bt
Bharat Polo 4 (Samir Suhag 3, Siddhant Sharma).
Craig in NZ squad
for first Test
WELLINGTON: New Zealand of-
Y.B. SARANGI
NEW DELHI: Rio Ferdinand, one
Impact of ISL
On the impact of the Indian
Super League (ISL), Ferdinand said the ISL was yet to
make the best use of its top
foreign recruits. It is good to
bring the guys over here but if
you just give someone money
to come and play here it does
not solve the problem. If I focus on someone to come and
help me do something, I want
him to leave a lasting legacy. If
he just comes, picks the money, plays a couple of games
and goes home, then it is not
adding to the league of your
country, your culture, your
ideology of football. I think
Paramveer upsets
top seed Parikshit
NEW DELHI: Paramveer Singh
Bajwa upset top seed Parikshit Somani 6-3, 6-0 in the boys
pre-quarterfinals
of
the
Rendezvous Roland Garros
junior wild card tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex
here on Tuesday.
The brand-new red claycourt, imported from Europe
and playing classically slow,
did make a huge diference to
the fortunes of the players
who have largely trained on
hard-courts.
The surface demanded
good technique, punchy
strokes and smart mobility,
not to forget a fair understanding of the construction
of points, and tons of patience. Not everyone could
muster all these qualities, and
it was no surprise that some
Steve Smith.
We think now is the right
time for Steve to lead Australia
in all three forms of the game as
it ofers us important continuity, not only ahead of the World
T20, but beyond that tournament as well.
The World T20 gets underway on March 8 with Australia,
which has never won the tournament, opening its campaign
on March 18 against New Zealand in Dharamshala.
CRICKET
TENNIS
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
| 19
Banthia.
Rishi will challenge second
seed Alex Solanki who subdued the fighting Muthu Adhitiya Senthilkumar.
The results (pre-quarterfinals):
Boys: Paramveer Singh Bajwa bt
Parikshit Somani 6-3, 6-0; Adil Kalyanpur bt Sivadeep Kosaraju 6-3, 6-2;
Dhruv Sunish bt Shrey Gupta 6-4, 7-5;
Abhimanyu Vannem Reddy bt Anurag
Nenwani 6-2, 6-2; Sanil Jagtiani bt Yugal Bansal 6-2, 7-5; Manish Sureshkumar bt Ishaque Eqbal 6-0, 6-2; Rishi
Reddy bt Siddhant Banthia 5-7, 6-2,
6-2; Alex Solanki bt Muthu Adhitiya
Senthilkumar 7-5, 6-2.
Girls: Rishika Ravindran bt Nida
Shahid Kamal 7-5, 6-2; Akanksha Bhan
bt Angella Raman 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4; Abinikka Renganathan bt Smriti Singh
6-0, 6-0.
day over the mob rule dismissal in the final ODI against New
Zealand but said the fallout would not spill over to upcoming
Tests.
Smith said that while Mitchell Marsh was legitimately caught
and bowled he should not have been given out because the umpires were reacting to crowd pressure.
There were heated exchanges on the field between the New
Zealanders and Australians after Marsh was bizarrely dismissed
when the ball ricocheted from his bat to his foot then back to the
bowler Matt Henry.
It ignited a batting collapse that saw Australia lose its last five
wickets for 27 runs to lose the match and allow New Zealand to
take the series 2-1.
When Henry caught the ball he made a half-hearted appeal before walking back to prepare for his next delivery. The umpires
only took action when the crowd reacted vociferously to a replay
on the big screen which showed the ball had not hit the ground.
The Australian media dubbed it a dismissal by mob rule and
Smith said he believed the system was wrong. My thoughts are
still the same as last night, the whole process of it needs to improve, the Australia captain said when reviewing the match on
Tuesday.
I don't think there should be a replay on the screen before the
next ball's bowled. I don't think that's how a decision should be
made. AFP
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