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Shimla: The death toll in the
Kinnaur landslide rose to 14
with the recovery of four
more bodies as the rescue
operation resumed early on
Thursday, officials said.
Sixteen people are still miss-
ing, Himachal Pradesh CM Jai
Ram Thakur told the state
Assembly after returning
from the landslide site near
Chaura village on the
National Highway 5 in the
Nigulsari of Nichar tehsil. So
far, 13 people have been res-
cued. They were admitted to
a Bhawanagar hospital.
■ More on Page 4
Boxer Lovlina Borgohain shows
her Olympic 2020 bronze medal
to supporters on her arrival at
the Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi
International Airport, Borjar,
Guwahati, on Thursday. — PTI
Plava: Dakshinayana
Tithi: Shravana Shuddha
Panchami till 1.41 pm
Star: Hasta till 7.58 am
Varjyam: 3.37 pm to 5.09 pm
Durmuhurtam: 8.34 am to
9.24 am; 12.46 pm to 1.37 pm
Rahukalam: 110.30 am to 12
noon
SUNSET TODAY 7.02 PM
SUNRISE TOMORROW 5.49 AM
MOONRISE TOMORROW 11.20 PM
MOONSET TODAY 10.16 AM
HP landslide death
toll mounts to 14,
16 remain missing
Srinagar: Two civilians and
one security forces person
were injured in a gunfight in
Malpora area of south
Kashmir’s Kulgam district on
Thursday. The encounter
broke out soon after the
militants opened fire on a
BSF convoy and were sur-
rounded by the forces.
■ More on Page 3
Jawan & 2 civilians
hurt in J&K firefight
New Delhi: Expressing the
government’s commitment
to continue with reforms,
finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman on Thursday
assured India Inc that it is
ready to do everything
required to revive and sup-
port economic growth hit
by the Covid-19 pandemic.
■ More on Page 7
Govt to go all out to
revive economy: FM
COUNTERPOINT
c m y k c m y k
TABLOID| 16
SPORT| 8
Arjun Kapoor ropes in world
kickboxing champion Drew
Neal to guide him on fitness
Vijayvargiya reassures
Shivraj through songs,
signals his chair is safe
NATION| 3
K.L. Rahul scores century
in Lord’s to lead India to
276/3 on Day 1 of 2nd Test
THE ASIAN AGE
www.asianage.com RNI No. 57290/94, Regd No: DL-SW-05/4189/15-17 Vol. 28 No. 178 | 16 PAGES | `5.00
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
Alleging that the Congress
and its allies, along with
other parties, had pre-
decided not to allow
Parliament to function, the
government on Thursday
demanded the Opposition
should “apologise to the
nation” for what had hap-
pened in the just-ended
Monsoon Session of
Parliament. A day after the
session was curtailed two
days early due to the
Opposition’s continual
protests and sloganeering
over the Pegasus snooping
case and the three contro-
versial farm laws, that also
led to ugly scenes and
unruly behaviour from
some Opposition mem-
bers, the presiding officers
of both Houses -- Speaker
Om Birla and vice-presi-
dent M. Venkaiah Naidu --
held a meeting where they
expressed “deep concern”
over the disruptive behav-
iour of some parliamentar-
ians and “strongly felt that
such unruly behaviour
should not be tolerated and
appropriate action should
be taken”. Earlier on
■ Turn to Page 4
■GovtrefutesPawar’sclaimthat‘outsiders’manhandledMPs
8 ministers target Opp, ask it
to ‘apologise’ for Parl ruckus
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with other
Opposition leaders at a protest march against the
curtailment of the Monsoon Session of Parliament in
New Delhi on Thursday. — PTI
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG, 12
Opposition leaders on
Thursday took out a
protest march against the
government on several
issues, including Pegasus
and alleged manhandling
of their MPs in Rajya
Sabha. Speaking with
reporters at Vijay Chowk,
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi said that the voice
of people was “crushed” in
the House, and added that
the voice of 60 per cent of
Indians was silenced as the
Opposition was not
allowed to speak and
termed it as a murder of
democracy.
“As far as 60 per cent of
the country is concerned,
there has been no
Parliament session. The
voice of 60 per cent of this
country has been crushed,
humiliated and yesterday
in the Rajya Sabha, physi-
cally beaten. This is mur-
der of democracy.” He also
added that this is the first
time that MPs were beaten
up in the House and out-
siders were dressed as
marshals. “We wanted the
government to debate
Pegasus but the govern-
ment refused. So we are
raising all the issues out-
side,” he added.
Top leaders of several
Opposition parties met in
the chamber of Leader of
Opposition in the Rajya
Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge
and then walked in protest
from Parliament House to
■ Turn to Page 4
Opp. protests
‘manhandling’
of MPs in Parl,
holds march
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
After the stormy monsoon
session came to an end,
Congress president Sonia
Gandhi has taken a lead
to strengthen the
Opposition unity. A virtu-
al meeting is being con-
vened on August 20 by
Mrs Gandhi of Opposition
leaders including chief
ministers.
Maharashtra’s ruling
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay
Raut on Thursday said
Congress chief Sonia
Gandhi has convened a
virtual meeting of
Opposition leaders and
chief ministers of non-
Bharatiya Janata Party
ruled states on August 20.
“Maharashtra chief min-
ister Uddhav Thackeray
too will participate in it,”
he said.
Besides the chief minis-
ters of West Bengal and
Maharashtra, NCP chief
Sharad Pawar, Tamil
Nadu chief minister M.K.
Stalin and Jharkhand
chief minister Hemant
Soren have also been
invited to the virtual
meeting. The online inter-
action will likely set the
stage for another lunch or
dinner meet the Congress
is planning in Delhi.
The recently concluded
monsoon session wit-
nessed Opposition unity.
Several floor coordina-
tion meetings were held
in Parliament, also a
breakfast meeting fol-
lowed by a Cycle March to
Parliament. The parties
were united in raising the
issues of the Pegasus spy-
ware scandal, repealing of
farm laws, rise in fuel
■ Turn to Page 4
Sonia takes the lead, invites
Oppto‘virtual’meetAug.20
The Taliban delegation arrives for the Afghan peace talks in Doha, Qatar, on
Thursday. India also participated in Thursday’s peace talks besides representatives
from the UK, China, European Union, the UN, US, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. They all
met to assess the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and to make efforts to revive
the stalled Afghan peace process. — AP
FC BUREAU
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
With a continuing low
base effect, India’s facto-
ry output saw a 13.6 per
cent growth year-on-
year in June, against a
28.6 per cent rise in
May, while retail infla-
tion marginally eased to
5.59 per cent in July, on
the back of softening
food prices. It was 6.2
per cent in June, accord-
ing to two separate sets
of government data
released on Thursday.
For industrial output,
the data showed that it
had been contracting till
February this year but
jumped sharply since
then due to a continuing
low base effect. The
industrial output also
saw a massive 134 per
cent jump in April, but
compared with the May
2019 figure, the IIP
showed a fall of 13.4 per
cent. “Major sectors like
mining, manufacturing
and electricity grew at
23.1 per cent, 13 per cent
and 8.3 per cent respec-
tively,” the data
showed.
It has been seen the
abrupt halt to all indus-
trial activity a year ago
due to the Covid-induced
nationwide lockdown
mostly impacted manu-
facturing activities.
■ More on Page 7
Inflation eases slightly to
5.59% as food prices fall
BHASKAR HARI
SHARMA
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
India logged 41,195 new
Covid-19 infections, tak-
ing its total caseload to
3,20,77,706, while active
cases rose to 3,87,987,
according to the Union
health ministry’s data
updated Thursday. The
death toll climbed to
4,29,669 with 490 fresh
fatalities, the data updat-
ed at 8 am showed.
Over 54.04 crore Covid
vaccine doses have been
provided to states and
UTs so far, and
1,09,83,510 more doses
are in the pipeline. Of
this, the total consump-
tion, including wastage,
is 52,00,96,418 doses.
The active cases
increased after seeing a
fall for five consecutive
days. They now com-
prise 1.21 per cent of
total infections, the min-
istry said, adding the
nationwide Covid-19
recovery rate stands at
97.45 per cent.
An increase of 1,636
cases was recorded in
the active Covid case-
load in a span of 24
hours.
As many as 21,24,953
tests were conducted
Wednesday, taking the
total cumulative tests
done so far for the
detection of Covid-19 in
the country to
48,73,70,196. The daily
positivity rate was 1.94
per cent. It has been
below three per cent for
the last 17 days.
■ More on Page 4
Active cases go
up after 5 days:
41K infections,
490 die 24 hrs
PARMOD KUMAR
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
The Chief Justice of India,
Justice N.V. Ramana, said
Thursday judges make a
lot of sacrifices, like finan-
cial loss, restricted social
engagements and working
long hours, as he sought to
dispel the “misconception”
that judges enjoy a com-
fortable life and work only
from 10 am to 4 pm.
“There exists a miscon-
ception in the minds of
people that judges stay in
big bungalows, work only
from 10 to 4 and enjoy their
holidays,” Chief Justice
Ramana said.
Pointing out that such a
“narrative is untrue”,
Chief Justice Ramana
went on to add: “It is not
easy to prepare for more
than 100 cases every week,
listen to novel arguments,
do independent research,
and author judgments,
while also dealing with the
various administrative
duties of a judge, particu-
larly of a senior judge.”
Underling that judges
work even during court
holidays, do research and
author pending judg-
ments, CJI Ramana
lamented: “Therefore,
when false narratives are
created about the supposed
easy life led by judges, it is
difficult to swallow.”
The CJI was speaking at
a farewell hosted by the
Supreme Court Bar
Association for Justice
Rohinton Fali Nariman,
who retired on Thursday.
Saying Justice Nariman
was a “lion who guarded
the judicial institution”,
Chief Justice Ramana
hailed him for his “erudi-
tion, clarity of thought and
scholarly approach”.
“With Brother
Nariman’s retirement, I
feel I am losing one of the
lions that guarded the judi-
cial institution; one of the
strong pillars of the con-
temporary judicial system.
He is a man of principles
and committed to what is
right”, the CJI said in his
reference from the ceremo-
nial bench to bid farewell
to Justice Nariman.
The CJI, saying judges
can’t defend themselves,
urged the legal fraternity
to counter such “miscon-
ceptions” and “false narra-
tives”, adding that for
becoming a judge the most
obvious sacrifice is mone-
tary, particularly for those
who had a roaring practice
like Justice Nariman
before he became a judge.
“One must be moved by a
■ Turn to Page 4
Dispel‘misconceptions’aboutjudges:CJI
SalutesretiringJusticeNarimanas‘alionwhoguardedthejudicialinstitution’
Kabul/Doha, Aug. 12:
Afghan government nego-
tiators in Qatar are
reported to have offered
the Taliban a power-shar-
ing deal in return for an
end to fighting in the
country, a government
negotiating source said
on Thursday.
“Yes, the Abdul Ghani
government has submit-
ted a proposal to Qatar as
the mediator. The propos-
al allows the Taliban to
share power in return for
a halt in the violence in
the country,” the source
told AFP in Doha.
The Taliban, mean-
while, captured a strate-
gic provincial capital
near Kabul and broke
through defensive lines in
Afghanistan’s third-
largest city on Thursday,
further squeezing the
country’s embattled gov-
ernment just weeks
before the end of the
American military mis-
sion. Seizing Ghazni cuts
off a crucial highway link-
ing the Afghan capital
with the country’s south-
ern provinces, which sim-
ilarly find themselves
under assault as part of
an insurgent push some
20 years after American
and Nato troops invaded
and ousted the Taliban
government.
The assault on the city
of Herat, still raging
Thursday night, could put
nearly all of western
Afghanistan under
Taliban control just a day
after the militants com-
pleted their capture of the
country’s northeast.
While Kabul itself isn’t
directly under threat yet,
the loss of Ghazni and the
battles elsewhere further
tighten the grip of a resur-
gent Taliban which are
now believed to hold
around two-thirds of the
nation. — Agencies
■ More on Page 6
KabuloffersTalibanpower-share
dealasrebelscapturemorecities
◗
◗ US TROOPS going
into Afghanistan to help
evacuate some personnel
from its embassy in
Kabul. — AP
Union home minister Amit Shah offers prayers at the Mallikarjuna Swamy temple at
Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday. — PTI
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NELLORE (ANDHRA
PRADESH), AUG. 12
It was third time unlucky
for the advanced earth
observation satellite EOS-
03, when an Isro rocket,
India’s largest launch vehi-
cle, failed to place it in the
designated orbit in space.
The third stage of the
G S L V - F 1 0
(Geosynchronous Satellite
Launch Vehicle), carrying
a cryogenic engine fuelled
by liquid hydrogen and liq-
uid oxygen, failed to ignite
after a perfect launch early
Thursday. The third stage
and the satellite are now
lost in space.
The EOS-03, earlier
named GISAT-1, and its
first launch was scrubbed
just before liftoff due to a
technical glitch on March
5, 2020. The next launch
attempt in March 2021 did
not take place because of
some issues with the bat-
tery of the satellite.
On Thursday, the 57.1-
metre GSLV rocket, weigh-
ing 416 tonnes, lifted off
from the second launch pad
of Sriharikota’s Satish
Dhawan Space Centre at
5.43 am, on time. The 26-
hour countdown apparent-
lydidn’tthrowupanyprob-
lem. The first two stages
performed normally.
“The mission couldn’t be
accomplished as intended
■ Turn to Page 4
GSLVlaunchbid
fails,mayimpact
Isro’sGaganyaan
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
In a first,
t h e
N a r e n d r a
Modi gov-
ernment on
T h u r s d a y
granted a
o n e - y e a r
extension to
Union home
secretary Ajay Bhalla
whose tenure was to fin-
ish next week. The home
secretary has a fixed two-
year tenure irrespective
of his date of retirement.
However, Mr Bhalla’s
one-year extension will
be in addition to his two-
year fixed tenure.
Mr Bhalla is a senior
IAS officer of the 1984-
batch of the Assam-
Meghalaya cadre. He was
appointed Union home
secretary in August 2019
and his present tenure
was due to come to an
end on August 22. Mr
Bhalla had succeeded the
present Cabinet
Secretary, Rajiv Gauba.
■ Turn to Page 4
Govt grants
rare 1-year
extension to
home secy
Ajay Bhalla
Rahul:Voiceof60%
crushed,humiliated
◗ Cong claims its
Twitter account
locked, shares
pic on Instagram
PAGE 3
Rohinton Fali Nariman
Sonia Gandhi
UrgeRSChair
totake‘strong
action’against
‘unruly’MPs
Rocket3rdstage,satellitelostinspace
Isro’s earth observation
satellite EOS-03 on-board
GSLV-F10 blasts off from
Sriharikota on Thursday.
— PTI
NEW DELHI FRIDAY 13 AUGUST 2021

2. CITY pg 2
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 13 AUGUST 2021 | NEW DELHI
SHORT TAKES
New Delhi: Two wanted
criminals were killed in a
police encounter in Khajuri
Khas area, police said on
Thursday. On the intervening
night of Wednesday and
Thursday, the SHO of Khajuri
Khas police station received
information about the pres-
ence of wanted criminals in
Shri Ram Colony in Khajuri
Khas area. The two men —
Amir Khan and Ramjan —
were hiding inside a room on
the second floor of a build-
ing in Shri Ram Colony,
which is a densely populated
area, DCP (northeast Delhi)
Sanjay Kumar Sain said. “A
joint operation was conduct-
ed by teams of Khajuri Khas
and Begumpur police sta-
tions. When our teams
reached the spot, they asked
the men to open the door
but instead they threatened
them,” he said. Sain said the
police asked them to surren-
der but they did not pay
heed to their repeated
requests and opened fire on
the policemen.
Noida: A 19-year-old man has
been arrested in connection
with a murder case in Uttar
Pradesh’s Greater Noida,
police said on Thursday. A
23-year-old man, Rashid
Mohammed, from Dattawali
village in Dadri area of
Greater Noida was bludg-
eoned to death and his body
was recovered near a crema-
torium on July 27. Following
this, an FIR was lodged in
the case, the police said.
“Harsh Bhati, a resident of
Bodaki village under Dadri
police station area, was an
accused in the case. He has
been arrested from his
home,” a police spokesper-
son said. The FIR was
lodged, the official said,
adding further proceedings
are underway.
19-yr-old held for
murder in Noida
New Delhi: No death due to
Covid was recorded in Delhi
on Thursday, the second con-
secutive day when the daily
fatality count was nil, while 49
fresh cases were reported
with a positivity rate of 0.07
per cent, according to data
shared by the city health
department. This is the eighth
time since the start of the
second wave of the pandemic
that zero fatality has been
logged in a day.The national
capital's stock of anti-coron-
avirus vaccine will only last
for eight days, according to a
vaccination bulletin issued by
the government on Thursday.
As of Thursday morning, the
balance stock of the vaccines
— Covaxin and Covishield —
were 3,37,670 and 5,76,490
doses, respectively.On July 18,
July 24, July 29, August 2,
August 4, August 8 and
August 11, too, no death due
to Covid was recorded,
according to official data.
Delhi sees zero Covid
death, 49 new cases
New Delhi: Pectin, an ingredi-
ent found in fruits when used
as an edible coating, can
increase the shelf life of moz-
zarella cheese. A little amount
of data is available subjecting
to fresh cheese. Banana peels
are a pectin-rich material
depending on the type and
variety of bananas. 40%
weight of fresh banana is its
peel. Pectin is found in the
cell wall and middle lamellae
of all plants and is a high
molecular weight carbohy-
drate polymer. It is an amor-
phous and colloidal polysac-
charide, which is the
backbone of a galac-
turonic acid. Pectin
can form a gel under a
certain temperature,
its gelling properties
mostly depend on the
“Degree of methyla-
tion”. An edible coat-
ing is gaining populari-
ty and value. The idea
of edible coating is revolu-
tionary as it helps to provide
a semi-permeable barrier to
gases and water vapour and it
aids in controlling water loss
from the products. The
cheese industry being
evolved as a global business
requires proper research
focusing upon few points
such as increasing shelf life of
cheese, product safety, and
quality. There has been no
study done on Pectin being
used as an edible coating
over mozzarella cheese. The
shelf life of Mozzarella cheese
is approximately 5 to 7 days
and consistent efforts are
being made in direction of
increasing its shelf life.
‘PECTIN ENHANCES
SHELF LIFE OF
MOZZARELLA’
2 wanted criminals
killed in encounter
Teen kills minor friend for
making ‘indecent remarks’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
A 17-year-old boy was
apprehended for strangu-
lating his minor friend to
death for allegedly mak-
ing indecent remarks
against his family mem-
bers, the Delhi police
informed on Thursday.
The victim went miss-
ing from his house on
August 1 and his mother
lodged a police complaint
on August 3, the police
said. “We interrogated all
his friends but could not
get any leads on the vic-
tim. On August 8, a highly
decomposed, maggot-
infested body of the vic-
tim was found near a
drain in Geeta Colony
area, a senior police offi-
cer said.
The victim’s mother
identified the body as that
of her son with the help of
his shoes and clothes. The
autopsy report stated the
cause of death was stran-
gulation, he said.
Deputy commissioner of
police (Shahdara) R.
Sathiyasundaram said,
“While examining the
CCTV camera footage, we
spotted the victim going
towards Pushta Road at
around 10.15 am on
August 1 with two people.
Upon interrogation, one
of them disclosed that the
duo was in an inebriated
state when a quarrel
broke out between them
after the victim allegedly
made indecent remarks
against his family. In a fit
of rage, the accused
strangulated the victim
with a belt.”
The accused juvenile
was apprehended, police
said, adding further
investigation is under-
way.
BJPattacksKejrioverframing
ofchargesagainst2AAPMLAs
New Delhi, Aug. 12: The
BJP on Thursday said a
Delhi court’s decision to
frame charges against
two AAP MLAs in a case
of alleged assault on the
chief secretary has
belied the claims of the
Arvind Kejriwal govern-
ment that no such inci-
dent had taken place and
attacked the party for
not taking any action
against the accused leg-
islators.
BJP spokesperson
Shazia Ilmi hit out at
chief minister Kejriwal
and his deputy Manish
Sisodia for claiming vic-
tory following the
court’s decision to dis-
charge them of the
assault charge, saying
the fact remains that
there is an allegation of
the then chief secretary
being assaulted in their
presence at the chief
minister’s residence.
“You keep saying that
nothing of this sort had
happened. The court has
framed charges, prima
facie finding merit in the
case. Mr Kejriwal’s
claim has been proved
wrong,” she told
reporters, adding that it
was for the first time
that a chief secretary
was attacked by ruling
party MLAs in the pres-
ence of the chief minis-
ter at his residence.
Mr Kejriwal should
write a book titled “my
experiments with jhooth
(lies)”, Ms Ilmi said, tak-
ing a swipe at her former
party colleague.
Ms Ilmi was one of the
founders of AAP and
later switched over to
the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) following
differences with
Kejriwal. — PTI
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
A 19-year-old youth
was died after he
was assaulted over
an issue of payment
in northwest Delhi’s
Adarsh Nagar area,
police said on
Thursday. The
deceased has been
identified as Dilip.
According to
police, the deceased
used to work in a
dhaba. An e-rick-
shaw driver came to
dhaba on
Wednesday to have
his meal. When the
driver was going
after having food,
Dilip asked him for
money
.
The driver told
him that he has
already paid for it,
but Dilip kept ask-
ing for the amount.
Meanwhile, the
friends of the e-rick-
shaw driver came
there and an argu-
ment ensued, police
said. Dilip was hit
by a punch, follow-
ing which he fell on
ground and died. A
case was registered
under section 304
(punishment for cul-
pable homicide not
amounting to mur-
der) and accused
Rahul, a resident of
Lal Bagh, has been
arrested, a senior
police officer said.
Deceased’s uncle
told police that Dilip
was a little bit men-
tally unstable. He
was also not physi-
cally strong and had
a lean body struc-
ture.
Man accused in Delhi riots
case framed by neighbour
Cops:AlviconfessedheplantedbombsonKhan’srooftopoveroldenmity
BHASKAR HARI SHARMA
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
A 46-year-old man, accused
of preparing and supply-
ing bombs during the
Northeast Delhi riots, was
allegedly framed by his
neighbour at Loni in
Ghaziabad over an old
enmity
, the police said on
Thursday
. It said that pipe
bombs, which were planted
by his neighbour, were
recovered from the terrace
of the man.
According to the police,
when the special cell unit
of the Delhi police was
investigating a case regard-
ing conspiracy of riots that
took place in February
2020, it received a source
based tip-off that one
Ansar Khan, a resident of
Kardampuri in Northeast
Delhi, was indulged in the
riots in February 2020.
The informer said that
Khan and his son Imran
were active participants in
the Delhi riots and had pre-
pared bombs during the
riots and are still prepar-
ing more for disturbing
communal harmony
.
After flaring up the riots
in Kardampuri, they fled
from the area in June 2020
as questioning and appre-
hension of local miscre-
ants and rioters of
Kardampuri area gained
momentum in May and
June 2020. He was staying
somewhere at Loni in
Ghaziabad, UP
, the police
said.
Thereafter, Khan was
apprehended from Nithora
Road on July 31. He was
examined for the verifica-
tion of secret information.
Khan did not cooperate in
the investigation. He was
found suspicious, but did
not disclose anything.
For further enquiry and
to check the facts of the
information, Khan was
taken to his house in Vijay
Nagar Colony for search of
the premises, a senior
police officer said.
During the search, the
police recovered five IEDs
(pipe bombs) from the
rooftop. Khan denied hav-
ing knowledge of the
bombs and it was observed
that some of the facts were
not in sync with the flow of
information.
During further examina-
tion, it was found that one
Mujammil Alvi (36), a resi-
dent of Vijay Nagar Colony
in Loni, had some enmity
with Khan in the past and
there was some family feud
going on between them, the
police said.
In light of new facts, Alvi
was examined at his home.
During examination, he
admitted that he had plant-
ed those bombs on the
rooftop of Khan to avenge
disgrace to his family
.
A complaint was made to
the SHO Kotwali Loni for
necessary appropriate
action to be taken against
Alvi. A case under Sections
286 (negligent conduct with
respect to explosive sub-
stance) and 336 (act endan-
gering life or personal safe-
ty of others) of the Indian
Penal Code and Explosives
Act has been registered at
the Loni police station, offi-
cials said. The violence in
Northeast Delhi in
February 2020 claimed 53
lives and left over 200
injured. The riots were
triggered by clashes
between those protesting
the Citizenship
Amendment Act and those
supporting it.
19-yr-olddies
afterbeing
assaulted
bycustomer
Court dismisses
plea seeking
NIA probe into
origin of Covid
New Delhi, Aug. 12: A
Delhi court has dis-
missed a plea by former
Director General of
Health and Services
seeking a probe into the
alleged origin of the
Covid virus from China
and its spread thereafter.
Additional sessions
judge Parveen Singh
rejected the application
filed by Dr Jagdish
Prasad saying that a
bare reading of the com-
plaint reflected that the
plea was based upon
media reports, opinions,
conjectures, surmises,
probabilities and possi-
bilities.
There are no categori-
cal facts which have
been alleged and only
the possibilities that
SARS-CoV-2 might have
been genetically modi-
fied at Wuhan
Laboratories have been
raised and that too not
on the basis of facts but
on the basis of view of
experts, the judge said.
— PTI
HC,districtcourtstostart
restrictedphysicalhearings
New Delhi, Aug. 12: Delhi
High Court and district
courts here will start
physical hearings in a
restricted manner from
September 6 and August
31, respectively, said the
high court registry on
Thursday.
The high court, through
two separate office
orders, announced that
resumption of physical
hearing is subject to the
scale and magnitude of
the Covid remaining
under control.
The orders clarified that
the high court as well as
the district courts shall
permit hybrid/video con-
ferencing hearing when a
request to such effect is
made by any of the par-
ties.
“The Hon’ble Full Court
has further been pleased
to resolve that physical
hearings in this Court be
resumed in a restricted
manner w.e.f. 06.09.2021,
provided the scale and
magnitude of the Covid
pandemic in the NCT of
Delhi remains well under
control, the order issued
by Registrar general
manoj Jain in relation to
the high court reads.
It added that the num-
ber of benches that would
hold the court physically
shall be constituted as
per the directions of the
chief justice and the
remaining benches shall
continue to take up the
matters through video-
conferencing.
The order in relation to
the district courts said
The Hon’ble full court has
further been pleased to
resolve that physical
hearings in the district
courts in Delhi be
resumed in a restricted
manner w.e.f. 31.08.2021,
provided the scale and
magnitude of the Covid
pandemic in the NCT of
Delhi remains well under
control.
The principal district &
sessions judges and prin-
cipal judge, family court
(HQs) have been directed
by the high court to pre-
pare the roster of judicial
officers in such a manner
that every judicial officer
holds physical court once
a week while the others
continue to hold courts
through video-conferenc-
ing as per the existing
system.
Cases listed before the
high court between
August 16 to September 3
have been adjourned en-
bloc to dates in October.
On July 22, the high
court had said that it
might resume physical
functioning on experi-
mental basis from August
16. On April 18, the high
court had said that from
April 19 onwards it would
only take up “extremely
urgent matters” filed this
year. Similar orders were
issued on April 23 and
May 15. — PTI
Docs deliver baby girl grown inside
abdominal cavity instead of uterus
New Delhi, Aug. 12: In a
rare occurrence, doctors
at a private facility here
delivered a baby girl who
had grown inside abdomi-
nal cavity instead of
uterus. In most pregnan-
cies, a fertilised egg grows
inside the uterus with the
placenta, which provides
nutrients and oxygen to
the growing baby,
attached to the uterus
wall, but in this case it
was attached to the bowel.
“In cases where the fer-
tilised egg grows inside
the abdominal cavity, it
does not survive beyond
four or five months, but in
this case, it was a full-
term pregnancy and the
baby was delivered
through a caesarean sur-
gery performed on
Monday morning. The
baby’s weight was 2.65
kg,” Anjali Chaudhary,
obstetrics and gynaecolo-
gy
, Aarogya Hospital said.
What made the situation
complex was that the con-
dition was not detected
during the six ultra-
sounds the woman under-
went during her pregnan-
cy
.
“The woman came to us
during her seventh month
of pregnancy and the ear-
lier ultrasounds that she
had undergone in her
hometown did not detect
the issue. The baby was
on the right side and was
putting pressure on her
right ureter. She was pass-
ing pus in the urine due to
that condition and we had
to put a stent in her ureter
to manage the condition,”
Ms Chaudhary said.
The doctors had carried
out a full ultrasound of
the stomach at the time of
putting the stent, but were
not able to detect the con-
dition. However, the scans
revealed that the baby
was lying bottom first
instead of in the usual
head first position, the
doctor said.
“The decision was taken
to deliver the baby
through a C-section.
When we did the incision,
we found that the baby
was in the abdominal cav-
ity and we knew it was
going to be a serious sur-
gery
,” she said. — PTI
Man stabbed to death by 2 brothers
after scuffle over using open gym
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
A 21-year-old man was
stabbed to death allegedly by
two brothers after a scuffle
broke out between them over
using an open gym at a park
here in Outer Delhi’s
Sultanpuri area, the police
said on Thursday
.
The deceased, Sanjay
, a res-
ident of Sultanpuri, was
unemployed, it said.
Accused Gullu alias Sahil
(18) has been arrested in the
case while efforts are being
made to nab his brother who
is absconding in the case, the
police said. On Wednesday
,
the police was informed by
SGM Hospital about the
admission of Sanjay
, who was
declared brought dead at the
facility
. A stab injury was
found on the right thigh of the
victim, according to the police.
On the statement of an eye
witness, a case of murder was
registered at the Sultanpuri
police station, it said.
DCP (Outer) Parvinder
Singh said, “During investi-
gation, it surfaced that on
Tuesday
, at about 10.30 pm,
Sanjay and few others from
his locality including Babu
Khan, Ashu, and Gaurav
were exercising at an open
gym in the park when two
brothers, Gullu and Akash,
who reside in a nearby area,
arrived there and engaged in
a quarrel with Sanjay
.”
“During the scuffle, Gullu
and his brother caught hold
of Sanjay and pulled him
towards the corner of the
park. While Gullu held him,
Akash took out a knife and
stabbed him. Sanjay man-
aged to run away from the
spot but fell down later,” he
said.
I-Day:Parkingrestrictionsat
metrostationsonAug.14,15
New Delhi, Aug. 12: As
part of the security
measures in view of
Independence Day cele-
brations, parking facili-
ties at the metro stations
in the national capital
will not be available from
Saturday morning till 2
pm on August 15, offi-
cials said on Thursday.
However, the metro
train services will con-
tinue to run, a senior
Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation (DMRC)
official said.
“Parking facilities will
not be available at the
Delhi Metro stations
from 6 am on Saturday
i.e, August 14, 2021 till 2
pm on Sunday i.e, August
15, 2021 in view of the
security measures adopt-
ed on the occasion of
Independence Day,” the
DMRC said in a state-
ment.
Delhi Metro, through
its various corridors,
connects some of the
remotest parts of the
city to central Delhi and
also links the national
capital seamlessly to the
neighbouring areas.
The DMRC network
span is about 390 km
with 285 stations, includ-
ing the Noida Greater
Noida Metro Corridor
and Rapid Metro,
Gurgaon. — PTI
◗
◗ IN MOST pregnancies,
a fertilised egg grows
inside the uterus with
the placenta, which pro-
vides nutrients and oxy-
gen to the growing baby,
attached to the uterus
wall, but in this case it
was attached to the
bowel
◗
◗ WHILE EXAMINING the
CCTV camera footage,
police spotted the victim
going towards Pushta
Road at around 10.15 am
on August 1 with two peo-
ple. Upon interrogation,
one of them disclosed that
the duo was in an inebri-
ated state when a quarrel
broke out between them
after the victim allegedly
made indecent remarks
against his family. In a fit
of rage, the accused
strangulated the victim
with a belt.
Man who pointed gun at cop seeks
bail in attempt to murder case
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
Communal riot case 2020
accused Shahrukh
Pathan, who allegedly
pointed a gun at a Delhi
police head constable dur-
ing the riots, sought bail
in an attempt to murder
case on Thursday, con-
tending that he has been
incarcerated for 495 days
based on conjectures and
surmises.
Pathan is an accused in
two cases — pointing a
gun at head constable
Deepak Dahiya and
attempt to murder of one
Rohit Shukla during the
violence in Northeast
Delhi. He is currently
lodged in Tihar Jail.
The accused, through
advocate Khalid Akhtar,
told additional sessions
judge Amitabh Rawat that
there are discrepancies in
Mr Shukla’s statement,
delay in the probe, and no
evidence in relation to his
presence at the site of the
alleged incident.
Pathan’s advocate
apprised the court that
Shukla, who received a
gunshot injury in his leg,
did not identify the
accused in his first state-
ment to the police and was
only recognised later,
which he said shows dis-
crepancy
.
CHIEF SECY ASSAULT
◗
◗ THE HIGH court,
through two separate
office orders, announced
that resumption of physi-
cal hearing is subject to
the scale and magnitude
of the Covid remaining
under control
Sunita
Mishra

3. NATION pg 3
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 13 AUGUST 2021 | NEW DELHI
SHORT TAKES
Srinagar: Three persons,
including a security person-
nel, were injured in an
encounter that broke out
between militants and secu-
rity forces on Thursday after
the militants fired upon a
BSF convoy in Jammu and
Kashmir’s Kulgam district,
officials said. “Terrorists
opened fire on a BSF convoy
on the Jammu-Srinagar
national highway at Malpora
in the Qazigund area of
Kulgam,” they said. The offi-
cials said the convoy was on
its way to Srinagar from
Jammu. A police spokesper-
son said there were no
injuries in the initial attack
but the assailants were
trapped as a cordon was laid
around the area. “Terrorists
fired upon BSF convoy at
NHW #Kulgam. No injury
reported. However, terrorists
trapped,” the police quoted
IGP, Kashmir Vijay Kumar as
saying. The spokesperson
said reinforcements were
called in as senior officers of
the police, the CRPF and the
Army were also present on
the spot. — PTI
Jajpur, Odisha: In a bizarre
case of human revenge, a
45-year-old tribal man
reportedly bit a snake to
death after the latter bit him
in a remote village in
Odisha’s Jajpur district.
Kishore Badra of
Gambharipatia village under
Salijanga panchayat under
Danagadi block was return-
ing home after working in
his paddy field on
Wednesday night, when
when a snake bit him on his
leg. Mr Badra managed to
capture the viper and bit it
to death in a bid to take
revenge. Something bit on
my leg while I was returning
home on foot last night. I
switched on my torch and
found it to be a poisonous
krait snake. In order to take
revenge, I took the snake in
my hands and bit it repeat-
edly, killing the viper on the
spot, said Mr Badra. — PTI
45-yr-old man bites
snake, kills serpent
Jawan & 2 civilians
hurt in J&K firefight
AKSHAYA KUMAR SAHOO
BHUBANESWAR, AUG. 12
Though Odisha takes pride
as the largest producer of
steel, about 40 per cent of
its installed steelmaking
capacity remained unutilised
in 2020-21 due to the short-
age of iron ore in the state.
Not just steel, Odisha-based
iron ore pellet plants and
sponge iron ore plants also
could not produce as per
their installed capacities.
Sources in the Odisha gov-
ernment’s steel and mines
department, out of the total
installed capacity of steel of
33 MTPA, Odisha based steel
plants produced 20.5 MT
steel in In FY 2021-21.
Similarly, out of 31.69 MTPA
installed capacity, Odisha
based pellet plants pro-
duced 22.76 MT pellet and
out of 15 MTPA installed
capacity, Odisha based
sponge iron plants produced
only 7.82 MT, in 2020-21.
Odisha government is esti-
mated to lose out revenue of
over `7,770 crore because of
the underutilisation of the
installed capacity of steel,
pellet and sponge iron
plants in the state. Besides,
there is additional loss of
employment of over lakhs of
local people who would have
otherwise been employed
for inward and outward
movement of materials and
operations of the plants, as
per industry estimate.
IRON ORE PLANTS
PRODUCED LESS
THAN CAPACITIES
New Delhi, Aug. 12:
Faulting previous
governments for not
taking adequate mea-
sures to economically
empower women in
the country, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Thursday
said his government
was constantly creat-
ing an environment
in which women self-
help groups (SHGs)
can connect villages
with prosperity as he
released `1,625 crore
as capitalisation sup-
port fund to over four
lakh such groups.
In a virtual interac-
tion with the women
self-help groups und-
er the “Aatmanirbhar
Narishakti se
Samvad” (dialogue
with self-reliant
women) initiative, Mr
Modi said in a chang-
ing India, opportuni-
ties are increasing for
women to move for-
ward. The movement
of woman SHGs has
intensified in the last
6-7 years with over 70
lakh of them working
across the country, a
figure over three
times more than earli-
er, he said, adding
over eight crore
women are connected
with these groups.
In addition, Mr
Modi also released
`25 crore as seed
money for 7,500 SHG
members under the
PMFME (PM Formal-
isation of Micro Food
Processing Enterpr-
ises) scheme of the
ministry of food pro-
cessing industries
and `4.13 crore as
funds to 75 FPOs
(farmer producer
organisations) being
promoted under the
mission.
These SHGs are pro-
moted under the
Deendayal Antyodaya
Yojana-National Rural
Livelihoods Mission
(DAY-NRLM) via
video-conferencing.
In his remarks, the
Prime Minister said
the government is
working with “full
sensitivity towards
the education, health,
nutrition, vaccina-
tion and other needs
of our sisters and
daughters”. — PTI
■ Modi releases over `1,600cr as capitalisation support fund
PM hails work by women self-help groups
BHAGWAN PARAB
MUMBAI, AUG. 12
Maharashtra chief min-
ister Uddhav Thackeray
is likely to attend the
meeting of CMs of
Congress-ruled states
called by party chief
Sonia Gandhi on August
20 at New Delhi.
“The Opposition is unit-
ed. On August 20, Cong-
ress chief Sonia Gandhi
will speak to CM’s of
Congress-ruled states. Mr
Thackeray will also take
part in this meeting,”
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay
Raut said on Thursday
.
The meeting has been
organised at the end of
the Monsoon Session, in
which the Opposition
continuously protested
and forced adjournments
for their demands,
including a probe into
allegations of surveil-
lance through Pegasus
spyware and the repeal
of the three farm laws.
Mr Raut slammed the
BJP-led central govern-
ment for the ruckus in
the Parliament.
“The security marshals
were called in during the
passage of the insurance
amendment bill to priva-
tise general insurance
companies in the Rajya
Sabha,” he said.
He also alleged that the
Opposition didn’t get a
chance to present their
views in Parliament.
“The Opposition didn’t
get a chance to present
their views in
Parliament. The incident
against women MPs was
against democracy
. It felt
like we were standing at
the Pakistan border,” Mr
Raut said. He added that
women MP’s were
attacked by the marshals.
“This was not a
Parliament session, we
all have saw murder of
democracy. It seemed
there was a martial law
in the house. It looked as
if we were standing at
the Pakistan border,” Mr
Raut said.
Earlier also, he lashed
out at the Centre by post-
ing a photo from the
chaos and wrote –
“Marshall law in Temple
of Democracy”.
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
The Congress on Thurs-
day took to Instagram and
posted that the official
Twitter handle of the
party has been locked.
Along with the post, there
was a screenshot of the
Congress’ account and a
message from Twitter that
said it had been locked
because it “violated
Twitter rules”.
“The official Twitter
account of the Congress
party has been locked by
Twitter India. Modiji, just
how afraid are you?
Reminder: The Congress
party fought for our
nation’s independence,
equipped only with truth,
non-violence & the will of
the people. We won then,
we’ll win again,” the cap-
tion underneath the
screenshot read.
The Congress claims that
almost thirty accounts of
its leaders and state units
have been blocked by
Twitter. Twitter claims the
National Commission for
Protection of Child Rights
(NCPCR) alerted it about
the specific content on the
platform that allegedly
revealed the identity of an
alleged sexual assault vic-
tim and her parents.
It added the matter was
reviewed in line with
Twitter rules as well as the
concerns expressed as per
Indian law. Accounts of
other leaders Randeep
Surjewala, Ajay Maken,
Sushmita Dev and
Manickam Tagore have
been temporarily locked
because they violated
Twitter’s rules. The action
came just days after for-
mer Congress chief Rahul
Gandhi's account was
locked after he posted a
photo with the family of a
nine-year-old girl allegedly
raped and killed in Delhi.
The Congress has come
out in support of its
leader Rahul Gandhi
whose Twitter account
was allegedly “locked” by
the social media giant last
week. Leading the support
Congress general secre-
tary Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra changed her profile
photo and replaced it with
a photo of Rahul Gandhi.
ConghitsoutatCentreas
Twitterblocksitsaccount
Social media giant justifies move, says ‘rules violated’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
India on Thursday par-
ticipated in a meeting of
various stakeholders
and nations hosted by
Qatar to discuss the cur-
rent situation in
Afghanistan following
an invitation extended
last week by the Gulf
nation, the ministry of
external affairs (MEA)
said at its weekly brief-
ing. New Delhi was rep-
resented at the meeting
in Qatar’s capital Doha
by the MEA’s joint sec-
retary (PAI — Pakistan,
Afghanistan & Iran) J.P.
Singh. The meeting was
held even as the Pakis-
tan-backed Taliban has
been making stunning
military advances
against the Afghan
security forces. India
has said it is in favour of
a comprehensive cease-
fire in the strife-torn
nation.
At the MEA briefing,
India also said it hoped
that the various infra-
structure developed in
Afghanistan with
Indian assistance would
not be damaged in the
fighting in the strife-
torn nation, emphasis-
ing that they should not
be seen as Indian proj-
ects and that while they
were completed with
Indian assistance, they
belonged to the govern-
ment and people of
Afghanistan to whom
the infrastructure had
been handed over after
completion.
Asked whether New
Delhi had opened com-
munication channels
with the Taliban, the
MEA did not give a
direct reply but reiterat-
ed that India has been
in touch with various
stakeholders in
Afghanistan.
IndiainDoha:Want
ceasefireinAfghan
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
In a strong message
aimed at China, the US
on Thursday said a
meeting of senior offi-
cials of Quad countries
(India, Japan, the US
and Australia) discussed
“the importance of
peace and security in the
Taiwan Strait, the ongo-
ing crisis in Burma, and
reaffirmed the Quad’s
strong support for Asean
centrality and the Asean
Outlook on the Indo-
Pacific”besides “suppor-
ting countries vulnera-
ble to coercive actions in
the Indo-Pacific region”.
New Delhi, however,
issued a statement that
omitted any reference to
the Taiwan Straits or
Myanmar but said the
officials from the four
countries had “reviewed
the progress of the Quad
vaccine initiative.
Quad discusses
Asean, Covid-19
vaccine initiative
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
BHOPAL, AUG. 12
BJP general secretary
Kailash Vijayvargiya has
sent a message to chief
minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan’s camp that the
latter’s chair was safe by
singing along with him a
famous number from the
epic Bollywood movie
Sholay.
Both the leaders sang the
popular number of Sholay
— “Ye dosti hum nahi
todenge” (We will never
end our friendship) — at a
dinner party thrown by
Mr Vijayvargiya in Bho-
pal on Wednesday night.
Much to the amazement of
senior BJP leaders, a host
of state ministers and
media people, gathered on
the occasion.
Mr Vijayvargiya later
told reporters that “Mr
Chouhan is the chief min-
ister and will remain as
the chief minister”.
Interestingly, he had
caused discomfort in the
chief minister’s camp dur-
ing his last visit to the
state capital a couple of
months ago by saying that
“Mr Chouhan is the chief
minister. But, I cannot
predict what will happen
in future”.
Mr Vijayvargiya, who
enjoys a “sweet as well as
bitter” relation with Mr
Chouhan, on Wednesday
afternoon dropped in
houses of prominent BJP
leaders here during his
two-day-stay in Bhopal
that ended on Thursday,
causing unease in the
chief minister’s camp.
His had triggered a polit-
ical storm by holding
closed-door meetings with
dissident leaders such as
state home minister
Narottam Mishra and
state public works devel-
opment minister Gopal
Bhargav during his visit
to Bhopal two months ago.
The development had
then threatened to create
instability in the Shivraj
government.
Mr Vijayvargiya and Mr
Mishra had later issued a
joint statement that there
was no threat to Mr
Chouhan’s position, tha-
nks to the intervention by
the Rashtriya Swayamse-
vak Sangh (RSS) leader-
ship.
Both the leaders, once
considered Mr Chouhan’s
trouble shooters, were
known to have fallen out
with him now.
Mr Vijayvargiya, who
was literally away from
state politics for almost a
year due to his preoccupa-
tion with West Bengal
affairs as party in-charge
of the state, has now
flexed his political muscle
with his visits to promi-
nent party leaders, there-
by sending a message to
the state party leadership
that he is a force to reckon
with in state politics .
Mr Vijayvargiya also
paid a “courtesy” visit to
the chief minister on
Wednesday to ensure that
his visit to the state capi-
tal this time did not stir
controversy
.
■ BJP leader’s last visit had caused discomfort in CM’s camp
‘Yeh dosti hum...’: Vijayvargiya
reassures Shivraj his chair safe
Raut:Uddhavwillattend
Opp.meetcalledbySonia
The Opp. didn’t get a chance to
present their views in
Parliament. The incident
against women MPs was against
democracy. It felt like we were
standing at the Pakistan border.
— SANJAY RAUT, Sena leader
BJP general secretary and MP chief minister Kailash
Vijayvargiya sing a song from the hit movie Sholay.
PM Narendra Modi with Telangana governor and
lieutenant-governor of Puducherry Tamilisai
Soundararajan in New Delhi on Thursday. — PTI
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi duringa a protest over
the issue of rising heinous atrocities against the
Scheduled Castes in New Delhi on Thursday. — PTI

4. NATION pg 4
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 13 AUGUST 2021 | NEW DELHI
SHORT TAKES
New Delhi: Chandrayaan-2,
Isro’s second lunar mission,
has detected the presence of
water molecules on the
moon, data obtained from
the mission has revealed. In
a paper co-authored by A.S.
Kirankumar, former Indian
Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) chair-
man, said imaging infrared
spectrometre (IIRS) is one of
the payloads on-board
Chandrayaan-2, which is
placed in a 100 km polar
orbit to acquire global scien-
tific data. The initial data
analysis from IIRS, clearly
demonstrates the presence
of widespread lunar hydra-
tion and unambiguous
detection of OH and H2O
signatures on the Moon
between 29 N and 62 N lat.,
after incorporating physics-
based thermal correction to
reflectance data, the paper
which was published in
Current Science journal said.
Plagioclase-rich rocks have
been found to have higher
OH (hydroxyl) or possibly
H2O (water) molecules when
compared to the mare
regions, which were found to
have more dominance of OH
at higher surface tempera-
ture, it said. The develop-
ment also assumes signifi-
cance considering that
Chandrayaan-2 did not yield
desired results. Planned to
land on the South Pole of
the moon, Chandrayaan-2
was launched on July 22.
However, lander Vikram
hard-landed on September 7.
— PTI
CHANDRAYAAN-2
DISCOVERS
WATER ON MOON
■ Continued from Page 1
because of a technical anom-
aly observed in the cryogenic
stage,” said Dr K. Sivan, chair-
man of the Indian Space
Research Organisation (Isro),
after it was declared that the
mission objectives had not
been achieved.
This was the 14th flight of
the GSLV
, and the eighth of the
Mark 2 version that has an
upper stage of an indigenous
cryogenic engine. The first
Mark 2 rocket failed in 2010
because of a failure of the
upper stage engine. The later
launches were successful,
until Thursday
.
Apart from the loss of the
mission costing hundreds of
crores, Isro will lose huge rev-
enues in the 10-year mission
life of the 2,268-kg satellite.
Isro sources said they would
probe into the reasons for the
failure.
Minister of state for space
Jitendra Singh tweeted:
“Spoke to chairman #ISRO, Dr
K Sivan and discussed in
detail. The first two stages
went off fine, only after that,
there was a difficulty in the
cryogenic upper stage igni-
tion. The mission can be re-
scheduled some time again,”
he said.
GSLV launch
bid fails
Ahmedabad, Aug. 12: The
Indian Air Force has
sacked one of its person-
nel from service for refus-
ing to get vaccinated
against Covid-19, which
has been made a service
condition, the central gov-
ernment has told the
Gujarat high court.
Additional solicitor-gen-
eral Devang Vyas, in his
submission on Wednesday
in the HC on a plea moved
by IAF corporal Yogendra
Kumar at Jamnagar in
Gujarat, told a division
bench of Justices A.J.
Desai and A.P. Thaker
that across India, nine
personnel had refused to
get vaccinated and they
were given show-cause
notices.
One of them, who did
not respond to the notice,
was terminated from serv-
ice, Mr Vyas told the high
court. He, however, did
not give the name or any
other details of the staffer
against whom the action
was taken.
Across India, only nine
personnel have refused to
take the vaccine. All of
them were given show
cause notice...one did not
respond, so in view of the
lack of response, his serv-
ice is already terminated,
Mr Vyas told the court.
He said as far as the vac-
cine in general is con-
cerned, it is optional, but
so far as the Air Force is
concerned, it is now made
a service condition, which
is in continuation of the
oath taken at the time of
enrollment in the service.
Also, it is imperative to
see to it that the Force is
not put in a vulnerable
state, and it is required for
personnel to mandatorily
get vaccinated, he told the
court.
Mr Vyas also said since
corporal Yogendra Kumar
has responded to the show
cause notice, he can either
appear before a proper
authority or the Armed
Forces Tribunal, under
provisions of the Armed
Forces Tribunal Act.
On the plea of Mr
Kumar, challenging the
notice after his unwilling-
ness to get vaccinated
against Covid-19, the HC
on Wednesday directed
the IAF to consider his
case afresh.
The court disposed of
his plea after ordering
that the interim relief
granted to the petitioner
unwilling to get vaccinat-
ed shall continue until his
case is decided by the IAF,
and the same shall not be
implemented for a period
of two weeks from the date
of service of the order to
the petitioner. — PTI
Shimla, Aug. 12: The
death toll in the Kinnaur
landslide rose to 14 with
the recovery of four more
bodies as the rescue oper-
ation resumed early on
Thursday, officials said.
Sixteen people are still
missing, Himachal
Pradesh CM Jai Ram
Thakur told the state
Assembly after returning
from the landslide site
near Chaura village on
the National Highway 5 in
the Nigulsari of Nichar
tehsil.
So far, 13 people have
been rescued. They were
admitted to a Bhawanagar
community health centre
(CHC) for treatment on
Wednesday
.
The rescue work being
carried out jointly by the
National Disaster
Response Force (NDRF),
ITBP, police and home
guards, resumed at 6 am
on Thursday, state disas-
ter management director
Sudesh Kumar Mokhta
said. The state authorities
had suspended the rescue
operation around 10 pm
on Wednesday
.
A Himachal Road
Transport Corporation
(HRTC) bus, which along
with other vehicles, was
buried under the debris,
has been found badly dam-
aged. A Bolero car feared
buried under the rubble
could not be traced, Mr
Mokhta said, adding that
it might be possible that it
rolled down with the
debris.
The HRTC bus was on its
way from Reckong Peo to
Hardwar via Shimla when
it was hit by boulders
after the landslide around
Wednesday noon.
The CM said the HRTC
bus driver had stopped
there, seeing falling
stones. Several vehicles
had stopped behind it. As
boulders started falling at
the site where the vehicles
were stationed, the driver,
conductor and two other
passengers who alighted
from the bus saved them-
selves by taking shelter
under a rock. They were
later rescued.
The CM said the state
government will provide
`4 lakh each to the next of
kin of the dead and
`50,000 to those seriously
injured. `1 lakh will be
given to the kin of the
dead bus passengers by
the transport department,
he said, adding that free
treatment will be provid-
ed to the injured. — PTI
HP landslide death toll
rises to 14, 16 missing
Stateannounces`4L,HRTCtogive`1Ltokinofdeceased
New Delhi, Aug. 12: Union
health minister Mansukh
Mandaviya on Thursday
met WHO chief scientist
Dr Soumya Swaminathan
and held discussions over
the global health body’s
approval for Bharat
Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine
Covaxin.
Held a meeting with Dr
Soumya Swaminathan,
Chief Scientist of @WHO.
We had a productive dis-
cussion on WHO’s
approval of
@BharatBiotech’s COV-
AXIN. @DoctorSoumya
also appreciated India’s
efforts for the contain-
ment of #COVID19, Mr
Mandaviya tweeted.
All documents required
for emergency use listing
(EUL) have been submit-
ted by Bharat Biotech for
Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin
to the World Health
Organisation (WHO) as of
July 9 and the review
process by the global
health body has com-
menced, the Rajya Sabha
was told last month.
Responding to question
on whether it has come to
the notice of the govern-
ment that Covaxin used in
India as Covid vaccine is
not recognised by many
countries, minister of
state for health Bharati
Pravin Pawar in a written
reply said, the
Government of India is
aware that Covaxin at
present is not part of WHO
emergency use listing.
Elaborating on efforts
that have been made by
the government to resolve
this issue, Pawar said, “All
documents required for
Emergency Use Listing
(EUL) have been submit-
ted by Bharat Biotech
International Ltd. to WHO
as of 9th July 2021. The
review process by WHO
has commenced. WHO
usually takes up to six
weeks to decide on EUL
submissions.”
Developed by Bharat
Biotech in partnership
with National Institute of
Virology and the Indian
Council of Medical
Research, Covaxin was
approved for emergency
use on January 3. Trial
results later showed the
vaccine has an efficacy of
78 per cent. — PTI
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, AUG. 12
India logged 41,195 new
coronavirus infections
taking the total tally of
Covid-19 cases to
3,20,77,706, while the
active cases increased to
3,87,987, according to the
Union health ministry
data updated on
Thursday
.
The death toll climbed
to 4,29,669 with 490 fresh
fatalities, the data updat-
ed at 8 am showed.
Meanwhile, more than
54.04 crore Covid vaccine
doses have been provid-
ed to states and UTs so
far, and 1,09,83,510 addi-
tional doses are in the
pipeline. Of this, the
total consumption,
including the wastage, is
52,00,96,418 doses.
The active cases
increased after register-
ing a decrease for five
consecutive days. They
now comprise 1.21 per
cent of the total infec-
tions, the ministry said,
adding the national
Covid-19 recovery rate
stands at 97.45 per cent.
An increase of 1,636
cases has been recorded
in the active COVID-19
caseload in a span of 24
hours. Total 21,24,953
tests were conducted on
Wednesday taking the
total cumulative tests
conducted so far for
detection of Covid-19 in
the country to
48,73,70,196.
The daily positivity
rate was recorded at 1.94
per cent. It has been less
than three per cent for
the last 17 days, the min-
istry said, adding the
weekly positivity rate
was recorded at 2.23 per
cent. The number of
people who have recu-
perated from the disease
surged to 3,12, 60,050,
while the case fatality
rate stands at 1.34 per
cent, the data stated.
Lucknow, Aug. 12: Over
five lakh people in 1,243
villages of Uttar Pradesh
have been affected by
floods, and relief and res-
cue teams have been
deployed to assist the peo-
ple, officials said here on
Wednesday
.
In the past 24 hours, an
average of 13.1 mm rain-
fall was recorded in the
state which is 154 per cent
more than normal.
“Eleven districts includ-
ing Prayagraj, Chitrakoot,
Kaushambi, Pratapgarh,
Basti, Gonda, Sultanpur,
Shrawasti, Lucknow,
Raebareli and Fatehpur
received rainfall of over
25 mm or more in the past
24 hours”, they said.
A report from the relief
commissioner office said a
“population of 5,46,049 in
1,243 villages in 23 districts
is affected by floods”.
According to the reports of
the irrigation department,
the Ganga river is flowing
above the danger mark in
Budaun, Prayagraj,
Mirzapur, Varanasi,
Ghazipur and Ballia while
Yamuna river is above the
red mark in Auraiya,
Jalaun, Hamirpur, Banda
and Prayagraj.
Similarly, River Betwa is
above the danger mark in
Hamipur and Sharda
river in Pallia Kalan
(Kheri) and Quano river
in Chandradeep ghat
(Gonda), it said.
Relief works have been
initiated and 20,768 rations
kits and 167213 lunch pack-
ets have been distributed
among the flood affected
people. — PTI
Over1,200UPvillagesinhit
byfloods,rescueeffortson
IAF sacks its staffer for
refusing to get Covid jab
■ Minister discusses health body’s approval for Covaxin
MandaviyameetsWHOchiefscientist
India logs
41,195 new
Covid cases,
490 deaths
Jagannath Temple
in Puri reopens
Bhubaneswar: The
Shree Jagannath temple
in Puri, famously known
as Jagannath temple,
reopened on Thursday
for the family members
of the servitors. The
temple has been closed
since April 24 due to
the second wave of
Covid-19 pandemic. The
residents of Puri munici-
pality area will be
allowed for darshan of
the deities from August
16 to August 20. All
devotees will be
allowed for darshan
from August 23.
Dehradun, Aug. 12: A
woman died and five peo-
ple were injured when a
house collapsed in
Almora district, while a
man drowned in the
Shakti canal here amid
incessant rainfall in vari-
ous parts of Uttarakhand.
The building collapsed
following heavy rains in
Golna Almora district’s
Sutoli village Wednesday
night. The injured were
taken to a hospital and
discharged after first-aid,
police officials said.
The 18-year-old man,
Amjad, who was swept
away by the swollen
Shakti canal in the
Vikasnagar area of
Dehradun district, was a
resident of Saharanpur
district in Uttar Pradesh.
His body was recovered
from the canal on
Thursday by SDRF per-
sonnel. The continuous
rainfall has triggered
landslides at a number of
places, blocking traffic
movement, officials said.
— PTI
2deadinrain-related
incidentsinU’khand
Tamil Nadu Women Commando Force contingent during a rehearsal for the 75th
Independence Day celebrations in Chennai on Thursday. — PTI
Mansukh
Mandaviya
Soumya
Swaminathan
Flood-affected people use a makeshift bamboo bridge
to get to their houses in the flooded Salori area of
Prayagraj on Thursday. — PTI
Army personnel during a rescue operation after a land-
slide on Wednesday in Kinnaur district. — PTI
■ Continued from Page 1
Thursday, parliamentary affairs
minister Pralhad Joshi, Leader of
the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal and
his deputy Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
had met Mr Naidu at his official
residence.
Condemning the behaviour of the
Opposition parties, a group of
Union ministers later held a joint
press conference to rebut allega-
tions levelled by the Opposition par-
ties and alleged that “anarchy from
the streets to Parliament” was the
Opposition’s only agenda in the
Monsoon Session. Ministers
Prahlad Joshi, Piyush Goyal,
Anurag Thakur, Dharmendra
Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi,
Bhupender Yadav, V.
Muraleedharan and Arjun
Meghwal addressed the press con-
ference.
The government also rebutted the
allegations by NCP supremo
Sharad Pawar that “outsiders” had
been called in to “manhandle”
Opposition members, including
women MPs, with Leader of the
Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal assert-
ing that the NCP chief was proba-
bly “wrongly informed” and asked
him to introspect on the behaviour
of his “colleagues in the
Opposition”.
Blaming the Opposition for the
unruly scenes seen during the
Monsoon Session, the group of min-
isters also asked the Rajya Sabha
Chairman to take the “strongest
possible action against those who
broke the rules”. Condemning the
Opposition’s approach of “my
way… or the highway”, Mr Goyal
said the ministers had met the
Chairman and deputy chairman of
the Rajya Sabha and made an
earnest appeal that the strongest
action should be taken against the
Opposition MPs for their
“deplorable behaviour and man-
handling of the marshals”.
He said the Opposition was unable
to digest the fact that the country
had given up on them and their
behaviour in the Rajya Sabha on
Wednesday was a “new low of the
parliamentary democracy”.
I&B minister Anurag Thakur said
the Rajya Sabha secretary-general’s
table was not meant for dancing and
protesting, referring to an incident
when an Opposition leader was
seen above a table inside the Upper
House, and alleged that “anarchy
from streets to Parliament” was the
Opposition’s only agenda during
the Monsoon Session.
Reacting to the allegations by the
NCP chief, Mr Goyal said the mar-
shals belong to neither the ruling
side nor the Opposition, and alleged
it was a woman marshal who was in
fact manhandled by the protesting
members in the Upper House. “In 55
years of my parliamentary career, I
have never seen this kind of behav-
iour towards women MPs in the
august House. More than 40 men
and women were brought into the
House from outside. It is painful. It
is an attack on democracy,” Mr
Pawar had alleged.
To this, Mr Goyal said all those
were parliamentary security serv-
ice marshals. Twelve of them were
women marshals and 18 male per-
sonnel. “Let me clarify, Pawar was
wrongly informed, may be by some-
body
. Their figures are wrong, and
their allegations are also wrong
that they were outsiders who came
in… I would like to urge Sharad
Pawarji to introspect on the behav-
iour of the Opposition throughout
the entire Parliament session.
Whether the parties with which he
is standing today is what he has
seen in 55 years of his parliamen-
tary career? Has he ever seen this
type of thing? I think Pawarji
should introspect and tell the
nation whether he condones their
behaviour,” Mr Goyal said.
8ministerstargetOpp
■ Continued from Page 1
prices and inflation. The
announcement of the
meeting comes two days
after several Opposition
leaders turned up at a
dinner hosted by
Congress leader Kapil
Sibal, one from the Group
of 23 who have been seek-
ing sweeping changes in
the party
. The dinner was
seen in the Congress as a
signal that the G-23
change seekers are still
active and the turmoil in
the party is far from over.
Interestingly, at the
Monday dinner, several
Opposition leaders
agreed that the Congress
needs to play the role of
an anchor in the
Opposition unity but
also pointed out that it
also needs to set house in
order first. In the dinner
party chiefs of several
regional parties like the
NCP, RJD and SP turned
up, causing a flutter in
the Congress ranks. The
emphasis on Opposition
unity by the Congress
high command is also a
message to the allies that
in spite of being an inter-
im president, Mrs Sonia
Gandhi is incharge of
the party and ready to
lead the Opposition.
It has now been two
years since Mrs Gandhi
took over as the interim
chief. The change seek-
ers have not yet been
pacified. If the Congress
wants to lead the charge
of the Opposition, it will
have to set its house in
order first.
SoniacallsmeetAug.20
■ Continued from Page 1
Vijay Chowk. Those who
attended the meeting
included Rahul Gandhi,
Sharad Pawar, Sanjay
Raut and Manoj Jha.
The protest comes a
day after the passage of
bills in Rajya Sabha
amid charges of man-
handling of Opposition
leaders.
The protesting MPs
carried placards and
banners against the gov-
ernment that read, “Stop
murder of democracy”
and “We demand repeal
of anti-farmers laws”.
Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena
MP in Rajya Sabha, said
that the Opposition did-
n’t get a chance to pres-
ent their views in
Parliament. “Yesterday’s
incident against women
MPs was against democ-
racy
. It felt like we were
standing at the Pakistan
border,” he said.
The Opposition leaders
met Rajya Sabha chair-
man M Venkaiah Naidu
to apprise him of the
happenings in the house
on Wednesday. Mr
Sharad Pawar was also
part of the Opposition
delegation.
“A delegation of
Opposition parties met
Honorable Vice
President Shri M.
Venkaiah Naidu today to
raise concerns over yes-
terday’s ruckus in the
Rajya Sabha. The delega-
tion unanimously con-
demned the Union gov-
ernment’s undemocratic
behaviour during this
meeting,” he tweeted.
The joint statement
issued by the Opposition
said, “Without any
provocation... outsiders,
who were not part of
Parliament security,
were brought in to man-
handle Opposition lead-
ers and members, includ-
ing women MPs who
were only protesting the
government’s conduct,
highhandedness and
muzzling of their voice.”
The statement slammed
the government for its
“authoritarian attitude
and undemocratic
actions”, and accused it
of “deliberately derail-
ing” the monsoon ses-
sion despite the
Opposition having
“unanimously conveyed
(the need) to discuss
important national
issues”.
On Wednesday there
were unruly scenes in
the Rajya Sabha, as the
government passed an
amendment relating to
insurance bill. Several
women MPs alleged they
were physically bullied
by male marshals as they
were protesting in the
Well of the House.
Opp. protests MPs’ ‘manhandling’
■ Continued from Page 1
spirit of public duty to
take such a decision,”
the CJI said. “We can’t
defend ourselves. It is
the duty of the Bar to
refute these false narra-
tives and to educate the
public about the work
put in by judges with
the limited resources
given to them”, the CJI
urged the lawyers.
Referring to the tradi-
tion under which a
judge distances himself
from all social engage-
ments and restricts
social interactions, CJI
Ramana said he himself
believes judges must
not completely seclude
themselves, as “I think
it is important to stay in
touch with society and
the profession even as a
judge”.
At the SCBA farewell,
the CJI said: “It is rare
to find those who stand
by their principles.
Brother Nariman is one
of them. Our loss will
be a huge gain else-
where. I am sure… that
gain will continue to be
for the larger public
good. I wish him all the
best for all his future
endeavours.”
Referring to his father
— eminent jurist Fali
Nariman — CJI
Ramana said: “It is
often said no other plant
can flourish under a
banyan tree. However,
this was not the case
when it came to Brother
Nariman. He has always
charted his own path
and excelled in his cho-
sen field, becoming a
mighty banyan tree in
his own right.”
Justice Nariman,
meanwhile, said he was
in favour of the induc-
tion of Supreme Court
judges directly from the
Bar. “I believe nobody
has a ‘legitimate expec-
tation’ to come to this
court. The ‘legitimate
expectation’ is of the
people of India to get a
certain quality of jus-
tice in the final court.
Merit must predomi-
nate, always come first,
however, subject to
other factors.”
Describing attorney-
general K.K. Venugopal
as his “lifelong guru”
under whom he had
started his career as a
junior, Justice Nariman
said: “God bless the
Supreme Court, now and
always.” Mr Venugopal
said Justice Nariman
was ordained as a Parsi
priest at the age of 12
and talked of his great-
ness as a scholar and as a
jurist — referring to his
desire to remain a life-
time student irrespec-
tive of his stature.
‘Dispelmisconceptionsaboutjudges’
■ Continued from Page 1
The order issued on
Thursday by the depart-
ment of personnel and
training (DoPT) states:
“The Appointments
Committee of the
Cabinet has approved
extension in service to
Mr Bhalla as home sec-
retary, ministry of
home affairs, for a peri-
od of one year beyond
the present tenure i.e.
22.08.2021.”
Initially, Mr Bhalla
was due to retire in
November last year fol-
lowing completion of 60
years of superannua-
tion. But since the
Union home secretary
has a fixed two-year
tenure, it was supposed
to finish on August 22.
But following
Thursday’s extension it
will now come to an end
in August 2022.
Sources said one of
the key reasons for giv-
ing an extension to the
home secretary was
that he has been
involved in a number of
crucial issues ranging
from the abrogation of
Article 370 to Covid-19
pandemic management
to the construction of
the Ram temple in
Ayodhya.
Mr Bhalla has also
been involved in some
very crucial decisions of
the Modi government,
which include the
C i t i z e n s h i p
Amendment Act, setting
up of the Ram Mandir
Trust and the National
Population Register, in
addition to develop-
ments in Kashmir.
Homesecygetsrareextension

5. EDIT pg 5
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 13 AUGUST 2021 | NEW DELHI
T
he disruption of Parliament with nearly the whole Monsoon Session ham-
strung by Opposition demonstrativeness and government obduracy in not
relenting to a free debate on issues of the day and its adjournment sine die
before schedule are illustrative of how India’s parliamentary democracy is
evolving. There is scant regard for the legislature once elections are over even
though Bills are passed to show business has been conducted. It was surprising
then that such a disorderly session should settle down briefly to pass the 127th
Constitution Amendment. Far from paving the way for any agreement to restore
the primacy of debate and discussion as a prelude to making laws, this only
showed that when it comes to serving self-interest even confrontational political
parties can come together in a common cause.
The amendment to the Constitution allows states to determine which of the OBC
groups are eligible to get the benefits of reservation. A Supreme Court verdict had
come in the way of the states by ruling that only the Centre could wield this power
of elevating OBC groups to the quota. Since their percentage of the population is
thought to be nearer 45 per cent as determined by schools admission data in the
absence of caste-based census, there is never a
dearth of clamour for quota eligibility inclusion by
caste-based groups. Thanks to a consensus among all
political parties that the right to choose who will ben-
efit should devolve to the states, the role of the Centre
is being willingly surrendered in this push for shar-
ing of the power to decide who will get reservations
in education and government jobs.
In today’s arguments over reservations, including
in voices heard more volubly now that the 50 per
cent ceiling that the Supreme Court insisted upon in
the Indra Sawhney case of 1992 should go, the slant is
entirely political. What has been lost sight of is when
affirmative action was introduced, its basic tenet
was advancement of historically disadvantaged sections of society. Politicians are
coming together today to share this power of playing the benefactor in a selfish
way rather than attempting any reform of the basic reservations policy. However,
the cause of the OBCs is not to be denied as they form a chunk of society with a
claim to reservations as a privilege enjoyed by many, but which has become an
entitlement thanks to politicians pandering to groups as a vote-catching exercise
and letting the concept of affirmative action descend to downright populism.
It is another matter that governments have less to offer these days as there is a
greater premium on seats to quality higher education as much as there has been a
shrinkage in government jobs, which means even fewer jobs in those that are
reserved in quotas by caste or in the economically weak EWS category. As these
stable jobs come from one of the largest employers in the country, government
employment is in great demand, which again only enhances the power of politi-
cians to determine who will get them. The amendment then is owed to the politi-
cians' club distributing the right to play benefactor, which means this game will be
played in perpetuity regardless of whether reservations confers benefits in the
way they were originally intended.
13 AUGUST 2021
Expediency behind unity of
govt & Opp. on OBC quotas
It is another matter
that governments
have less to offer
these days as there
is a greater
premium on seats
to quality higher
education as much
as there has been a
shrinkage in jobs...
A
long with the wild-
fires, torrential
rains and floods
affecting different
parts of the globe, we get
another bit of apocalyptic
news: the earth is heating
up much faster than previ-
ously estimated and global
temperatures could breach
the 1.5 degrees Celsius
warming mark as early as
in the 2030s.
This calamitous warning
comes from the latest
report released earlier this
week by the Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate
Change. The 234 scientists
who prepared this report of
over 3,000 pages have point-
ed out that climatic
changes today have accel-
erated, triggering multiple
climate disasters such as
those experienced recently
in the western United
States where wildfires,
drought and heatwaves
struck simultaneously.
Events such as these
could become more com-
mon as global warming
caused by human activity
is making sea levels rise
faster and faster, polar ice
cover recede and extremes
of heatwaves, droughts,
floods and storms become
more frequent.
The report said the kind
of heatwaves that used to
happen only once every 50
years now happens once a
decade, and if the world
warms another degree
Celsius, this will happen
twice every seven years.
“Climate change is here
and now. No one is safe.
Despite warnings from so
many years, the world did
not listen. We need to act
now”, lamented Inger
Anderson, executive direc-
tor of the United Nations
Environment Programme
(UNEP).
Experts across the globe
are united in sounding dire
warnings. Alok Sharma,
the British minister who is
president of the next UN
climate conference (COP
26), to be held in Glasgow in
November, says the latest
report shows the “lights
are flashing red on the cli-
mate dashboard… The sci-
ence is clear, the impacts of
the climate crisis can be
seen around the world and
if we don’t act now, we will
continue to see the worst
effects impact lives, liveli-
hoods and natural habi-
tats”.
One of the implications of
climate change that has not
received much attention is
its impact on civilisations.
Climate change is unlikely
to affect all parts of the
globe or all nations uni-
formly. Some regions and
nations are more vulnera-
ble, and not just the low-
lying ones which could be
considerably, if not com-
pletely, inundated with ris-
ing sea levels. The IPCC
observes that since 1950,
total global rainfall has
increased, but unevenly --
some regions have become
wetter, others have become
drier. In other words, some
countries are going to be
hit more than others. This
will translate into very sig-
nificant shifts in the global
geopolitical order.
The rise in the unpre-
dictability of weather con-
ditions has a strong corre-
lation with the state of
civilisations. Scientists
today know that the rise of
human civilisation over
the past 11,000 years is
directly correlated with
stable and predictable
weather conditions. As
weather conditions
became more certain,
humans could plan ahead
and develop agriculture
that was reliable over the
medium and long terms,
and capable of supporting
large groups of people.
Dramatic shifts in weath-
er caused many civilisa-
tions to decline and fade
over time, although the
downturn was rarely ab-
rupt or spectacular. The
once thriving Mayans of
Central America started
abandoning their cities
around 900 AD, that coin-
cided with the start of mas-
sive persistent droughts;
and even though millions
of Mayans survive to this
day there is no trace of
their once powerful king-
doms that had survived for
almost 3,000 years.
Similar was the case of
the civilisation centred
around Angkor Wat in
modern-day Cambodia: a
period of severe drought in
1400 AD caused its gradual
disintegration.
This story has parallels
in ancient Egypt,
Mesopotamia, Mohenjo
Daro and other parts of the
world.
It’s not as if human soci-
eties don’t try to cope with
climate change; it is just
that often their efforts are
not good enough. In many
cases the massive effort
required to alter the effects
of permanent weather
changes just isn’t forth-
coming. Even today, nat-
ions are not cooperating
fully to deal with climate
change for various rea-
sons. UNEP’s Inger And-
erson also pointed out that
only 110 countries of the
191 parties to the United
Nations Framework Con-
vention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) have submitted
new or updated nationally
determined contributions
(NDCs) ahead of the Glas-
gow climate conference.
“We cannot undo the mis-
takes of the past, but this
generation of political and
business leaders and con-
scious citizens can make
things right”, she added.
Dr Jason Ur, a Harvard
University archaeologist
who has been using Nasa
imagery to discover lost
civilisations in the Middle
East, observed: “When we
excavate the remains of
past civilisations, we
rarely find any evidence
that they made any
attempts to adapt in the
face of a changing climate.
I view this inflexibility as
the real reason for col-
lapse.”
There is indeed an
inevitability about the
direction of historical
processes. Mankind as a
whole is immensely resis-
tant to change and divert-
ing the collective momen-
tum of several billion
humans is an extremely
difficult if not impossible
task. Humans are prone to
keep acting within their
comfort zone, carrying on
the way they always do.
Even the horrific Covid-
19 pandemic that has
mowed down millions
across the globe has failed
to bring about any funda-
mental change in human
behaviour. Climate change
is more abstruse and not of
any immediate conse-
quence. It excites only the
educated and the environ-
mentally conscious. The
average citizen remains
unconcerned, except when
events begin to hit home,
like the wildfires, intense
summers, floods and
unprecedented rains expe-
rienced this year.
For the first time, many
people who couldn’t care
less about climate change
are perking up their ears.
The authors of the Inter-
governmental Panel on
Climate Change point out
that if nations come togeth-
er the impending calamity
can be averted. But will the
world change? Will people
consume less, conserve
more and live closer in
tune with nature? It’s pos-
sible, but highly unlikely.
Nobody will agree to live
more simply: the idea of
progress is increased opu-
lence, meaning more to eat,
drink, travel, wear and
splurge. Mankind will go
on burning vast amounts
of energy to feed its
appetite for animal pro-
tein, travel, comfort and
consumption. No politician
is going to tell voters to
tighten their belts and
embark on a less voracious
lifestyle. That would be
political suicide. Instead,
every leader as those
before them will pledge to
maintain their nation’s
way of life and fulfil the
materialistic aspirations of
their people.
Thus, the world is des-
tined to get warmer, weath-
er conditions more ext-
reme and large parts of the
land mass submerged. In
the near future, the world
will be more crowded, cer-
tainly hotter and possibly
more violent. Welcome to
the “new normal”!
The writer is an indepen-
dent commentator on glob-
al political and security
issues
KABUL WILL FALL
The Afghan government
has offered the Taliban a
power-sharing deal in
return for an end to fight-
ing in the country.
However, Kabul's fall is
inevitable and this is just
a postponement of that
outcome. The US went
into Afghanistan in rage
after the 9/11 attack to
now abruptly leave the
nation in a total mess.It
was the same story in
Iraq or Libya. All this,
after it was hounded out
of Vietnam in guerilla
warfare, as it never
understood the cultural
and political factors of
other nations and people.
The Taliban was hand-
reared by it and has now
emerged to overwhelm
its parent.
R. Narayanan
Navi Mumbai
No politician is
going to tell voters
to tighten their
belts and embark
on a less voracious
lifestyle. That
would be political
suicide. Every
leader will pledge
to maintain their
nation’s way of life.
THE ASIAN AGE
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR
Editor Printer & Publisher
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Ahotter,wetterplanetto
triggernewworldorder?
T
he anguish the Supreme Court has expressed over the delay the Union gov-
ernment makes in the appointments to the high courts must be shared by the
whole nation. The court made rather sharp observations on the practice and
cited it as the prime reason why justice is often served with delay in this country.
The apex court cannot be more candid when it said “if there is some element of loss
being caused by the inability of the judicial institution to take up matters, this is a
direct a direct consequence of there being inadequate number of judges”.
The apex court cannot be blamed for its expressions of exasperation, for almost
all high courts function with a large number of unfilled vacancies of judges; in
some, the vacancies are close to half of the total sanctioned strength.
It is not the high courts that suffer from the shortage of judges; with the retire-
ment of Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman on Thursday and with that of Justice
Navin Sinha next week, the Supreme Court with a sanctioned strength of 34 will
have 10 vacancies.
It is true the Supreme Court had struck down the National Judicial
Appointments Commission Act, 2014, which sought to replace the collegium sys-
tem which lacked constitutional mandate. But the court has put in place a timeline
in which the process of appointments must be taken up. As per the court’s adviso-
ry, an appointment of a judge should be made in six months from the date of rec-
ommendation of the high court collegium concerned. However, this is followed
more in its breach than adherence, as the court put it: recommendations take
months and years to reach the Supreme Court collegium and, thereafter, months
and years as no decisions are taken.
The constitutional courts are the citizen’s defence against state power, and their
effective functioning is a prerequisite for constitutional governance to survive.
The government must appreciate the spirit of the apex court’s anguish, and act.
BOOST TRUST
PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi’s
call to India Inc. to strengthen its
partnership with the government to
build “Brand India” is timely. Mr
Modi, addressing the annual session
of the Confederation of Indian
Industry, asked the industry to
enhance risk appetite and step up
investments while assuring all sup-
port. The PM said abolishing the ret-
rospective taxation provision on
indirect transfers would strengthen
trust between the government and
industry. Will India Inc. step up to
the plate?
N.J. Ravi Chander
Bengaluru
Speed up judges’ appointments
NURTURE SPORT
IT IS THE PRACTICE of corporates,
large businesshouses and govern-
ments to bestow on sportspersons
accolades, cash awards and other ben-
efits after they win. In so doing, they
appear to be more reactive than
proactive. But there is also the reality
of sportspersons struggling to find a
sponsor, training equipment, and
even funds to buy the basics such as a
pair of shoes or a hockey stick. There
are tales of personal suffering and sac-
rifice. Sports enthusiast corporates
and philanthropists need to identify
talent and help such sportspersons
blossom. It also takes political will.
Tharcius S. Fernando
Chennai
P
olish filmmaker Krzysztof
Kieslowski’s masterpiece
Dekalog, a 10-part series,
explores ethical issues raised by
the Ten Commandments. In the eighth
episode, Thou Shall Not Bear False
Witness, 40-year-old New Yorker
Elizibieta, who earlier translated the
works of Sofia, a Polish ethics professor
at Warsaw University, visits the uni-
versity to attend the lectures of a
teacher she obviously admires. In pass-
ing, the camera focuses on the cross
she’s wearing, establishing her Roman
Catholic Polish background. Trust my
Uttar Pradesh obsession, the film
directed my mind unexpectedly
towards avatars of Brahminism I saw
in Kanpur.
Elizibieta raises an issue in Sofia’s
class which she continues even at
Sofia’s apartment. It turns out that in
1943, when anti-Semitism had taken a
murderous turn, a six-year-old Jewish
girl had been left in Sofia’s apartment
for protection. This child was Elizi-
bieta. Sofia and her husband, practis-
ing Catholics, flinched at the last mo-
ment: baptising Elizibieta was the only
disguise that would guarantee protec-
tion from the Gestapo. This despite the
fact that Sofia and her husband were
progressives in the Resistance.
Kieslowski’s portrayal of a bruising
reality reminded me astonishingly of
the December 1992 Kanpur riots after
the Babri Masjid’s demolition.
Cameraman Kabir Khan and I were
directed to a two-room house where a
certain “Panditain” (widow of a Pandit
or Brahmin) saved a Muslim woman
from a rampaging mob that entered her
quarters. “Where is Aisha Bi?” they
demanded in deafening decibels, flour-
ishing weapons. “I don’t know”, she
said. “Can you swear by Lord Ram that
you have not hidden Aisha Bi?”
Not only did she willingly swear but
enhanced her credibility by touching a
plaster head of Lord Ram above her
bed. “I swear by that statue I have not
hidden Aisha Bi in my house.” The
mob, that had done its homework on
Aisha Bi’s whereabouts, found itself
unable to challenge the Panditain once
she had sworn by Ram. Once they had
begun to slink away, the Panditain hur-
riedly removed mattresses, quilts,
blankets, washed clothes from the top
of a large window-size wooden trunk.
She lifted the cover. The portly half-
conscious figure of Aisha Bi, drenched
in sweat, was lifted out.
Revert to Warsaw 1943. Sofia faced a
dilemma. She made a choice, the conse-
quence of which could well have been
tragic. Elizibieta may well have ended
in Auschwitz had other Catholics and
Jews not collaborated. The Panditain of
Kanpur faced no dilemma. She fell back
on tact, distinct from a lie. The invoca-
tion of Ram’s name was an act of mercy
here. Parallels between the two
episodes in Warsaw and Kanpur have
risks. The debate will inevitably slide
towards comparative religions, rituals.
The times aren’t ripe for such debate.
How would the Urdu poet steeped in
Sufism respond? “Karein hum kiski
pooja aur charhaen kispe chandan
hum?/Sanam hum, daer hum,
butkhana hum, but hum, barahman
hum” (Where do I turn for prayers?
Where do I make my offering of sandal-
wood?/ I am His image, am the room
for bowing to Him, the keeper of His
idols,/ Indeed, I am the idol, the
Brahman).
Waris Shah, the high priest of Dewa
shrine outside Lucknow, was more suc-
cinct. Asked, “Why do you not say your
namaz regularly?”, Waris Shah replied:
“Where is the space to go down in sup-
plication?” The implication is: “He is in
me” — the essence of “Advait”, or non-
duality.
The Kanpur riots yielded more socio-
logical narratives of a different kind. A
mob carrying trishuls, rods, axes and
swords were blocked by a solitary man
from entering a gated garden, where
scores of Muslim families had taken
shelter. The man’s name was Tripathi.
In another area, an elderly lady,
described by neighbours as Mishrain,
threatened the rioters with construc-
tion bricks piled on her terrace. The
mob retreated.
A certain Pandeji stretched his arms
across a narrow lane to thwart an
armed mob trying to enter a row of
houses occupied by Muslims. Like
many stories, the Kanpur story would
have been canned and possibly forgot-
ten. Since we were leaving for London
in the next few days to film a feature on
an Irish school teaching Vedic mathe-
matics, Kabir’s edited copy of Kanpur
also found its way into our baggage.
Gopal Gandhi, who was then in charge
of London’s Nehru Centre, selected the
Kanpur feature for screening before a
packed hall.
That Hindus helped Muslims during
the riots was an obvious attraction, a
sort of relief for an audience fed exces-
sively on communal brutalities after
the Babri demolition. But the edited
episode on Kanpur shed light on anoth-
er piece of sociology. Wherever armed
gangs baying for blood were stopped
from advancing towards Muslims, the
individuals were a Panditain, Tripathi,
Mishraen or Pandey — all Brahmins,
something not fashionable to mention
in the caste convulsions boosted sky
high by the Mandal Commission
report. The point of emphasis is not
that Brahmins alone are filled with the
milk of human kindness to check
bloodthirsty mobs. A different group
wouldn’t simply have the self-confi-
dence to confront a mob baying for
blood. I write from my experience in
Awadh and districts around Kannauj,
where political opposition to Brahmins
contradicts their social standing.
The writer is a senior journalist and
commentator based in New Delhi
Saeed Naqvi
From Warsaw
to Kanpur: A
tale of 2 cities
Subhani
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Indranil
Banerjie
Wide Angle