visakhapatnam l friday l december 18, 2020 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Now, you can win medals in yogasana at national level After granting it recognition last month, sports ministry has formally categorised yogasana as a competitive sport Groundwork over, competitions next The initiative taken by sports and AYUSH ministries seeks to encourage yoga, spread awareness about its benefits and help improve physical and mental wellbeing of the people. A National Yogasana Sport Federation of India has been established for preservation and development of yoga as a competitive sport. An automated scoring system has been developed. ■ 2021 Classification of medal events ■ To be included in Khelo India Games. A total of 51 medals have been proposed in four events and seven categories at nationals Events proposed include traditional yogasana, artistic yogasana (single and pair), rhythmic yogasana (pair, free flow/group yogasana), individual championship and team championship First national championship proposed for the sport CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ‘BCs are backbone classes of society’ Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of chairpersons of 56 BC corporations, CM Jagan said, “I strongly believe BCs are not Backward Classes, but backbone classes of society. Our government in the last 18 months, has spent `38,519 crore for BCs. We spent `59,317 crore to benefit 4.45 crore people in the State and of them BCs are 2.88 crore.” CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy addresses BC Sankranti at IGMC Stadium in Vijayawada on Thursday I Express Naidu more worried about Amaravati land prices: CM E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Taking a dig at Janabheri meet organised on Thursday by the Amaravati Joint Action Committee to mark the completion of one year of its agitation for Amaravati as the only capital of the State, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said Opposition Leader N Chandrababu Naidu is more concerned about his self interests and decline in the prices of lands he and his benamis purchased in the capital region. Addressing BC Sankranti, a programme organised for the swearing-in of the chairpersons of 56 BC corporations and 672 directors, Jagan described Amaravati Janabheri as a meeting organised by a dethroned leader with his deteriorated mind to divert the attention of people from the State government’s initiative of empowerment of BCs. Jagan alleged that Janabheri was organised by Naidu and his benamis, who bought land from the farmers of capital region at low prices through insider trading, to Fearing that the value of the lands bought by Naidu and his benamis, will slump, the TDP chief started a movement, only to protect his own interests and not out of concern for Amaravati people YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister safeguard their vested interests. “Naidu’s men were aware of the fact that Amaravati would be made the State capital before it was announced and purchased lands secretly Fearing that the val. ue of those lands will slump, the TDP chief started a movement, only to protect his own interests and not out of concern for the people of Amaravati,” Jagan said. Reiterating his commitment to empowerment of BCs, the Chief Minister said as promised his government is striving to make Backward Classes in the State the backbone of the society The new. ly appointed chairpersons and directors of BC corporations have a bounden duty towards their BC brethren to ensure that they too get benefited from the plethora of schemes being implemented by the government for them. “You all have to ensure that no eligible person is left out of the welfare schemes. Hereafter, all BC Corporation chairpersons will be ex-officio members of ZP and your voice will represent the voiceP5 less people,” he said. BJP backs ryots’ cause @Vijayawada TDP chief and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, whose brainchild was Amaravati, dared Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to go for a referendum on the three-capital plan announced by the latter’s government, and vowed to quit politics for good if the people of Andhra Pradesh endorsed the plan. He rhetorically said the Jag- @ Vijayawada Two youths met a watery grave, while five others were feared drowned in River Penna on Thursday The victims, . who hail from Tirupati, visited Siddavatam to attend ‘Divasam’ (a ritual observed on the 11th month of the death of a person) of their relative. At least 10 youths from Korlagunta in Tirupati attended the ritual and later went to Mattirajula Kota for a swim. Farmers protesting at the Singhu border in Delhi on Thursday | Shekhar Yadav Put farm laws on ice, suggests SC Motivated campaign, says BJP, readies to fight it out K a n u S a r d a @ New Delhi Asking the Centre whether it could put in abeyance its three farm sector reform laws till negotiations with the agitators are on, the Supreme Court on Thursday said farmers have a constitutional right to continue their protest as long as their dissent does not lead to any kind of violence. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde asked Attorney General K K Venugopal whether the government could give an assurance to keep the implementation of the farm laws on hold. While Venugopal said he will have to seek instructions as he was not sure if this was a viable solution, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that it was not possible to put the implementation of the laws on hold. Refusing to order the eviction of farmers from Delhi’s borders, the court said: “A protest is constitutional as long as it does not cause violence or destroy life. It can continue while the committee we propose can hold deliberations. We are likely to propose names like P Sainath for the committee.” CJI Bobde added, “We are also Indian, we are familiar with the plight of farmers and are sympathetic to their cause. You (farmers) have to only alter the way the protest is going.” T h e P u n j ab g ove r n m e n t , re p re s e n t e d by P Chidambaram, supported the proposal to form a committee. The bench gave liberty to all parties to approach P7 the court during winter vacations.  Unions to consult four top lawyers Farmer unions said they will first consult four top Supreme Court lawyers — Prashant Bhushan, Colin Gonsalves, Dushyant Dave and H S Phoolka — before taking a call on the SC impleading them in the case and forming of an impartial committee to resolve the matter E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi With the government staying firm on the farm laws, Union ministers Amit Shah, Narendra Singh Tomar and Piyush Goyal went into a huddle with the BJP national general secretaries at the party headquarters, with indications emerging that it is gearing up for the political challenge thrown up by the farmers protesting at the Capital’s doorstep. Minutes after the meeting concluded, Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, released a hard-hitting letter addressed to the farmers, singling out “conspirators for fuelling anarchy”. The meeting also came in the midst of the outreach by BJP leaders across the country to explain their position on the contentious farm sector reform laws and the steps taken by the government for the benefits of the farmers. “There is clarity that certain elements who have consistently been at loggerheads with the Narendra Modi government are fanning the farmers’ protests for vested interests. The BJP will effectively respond to the motivated campaign,” said a senior BJP functionary . 2nd Japan industrial township in AP E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada ISRO Industries Minister Mekapati Goutam Reddy rolled out a red carpet for Japanese firms to invest in the State. The State will offer special fiscal incentive packages to Japanese companies setting up manufacturing facilities in Japan Industrial Township, especially for companies shifting bases from China along with their suppliers, he said. “We have set up a dedicated Japan Desk to handhold and facilitate Japanese businesses into AP he said, revealing ,” that another Japan Industrial Township will be established in the State. Similarly a Jap, anese Enclave will be constructed in 10 lakh square feet in Visakhapatnam. Observing that the Covid-19 pandemic has opened a rare window of opportunity for In- dia to take the manufacturing bus and reach the so-called “Lewis Turning Point’’, as companies are increasingly pursuing ‘China+1 strategy’ to hedge security and trade related risks, the Industries Minister felt the time is right for India to seize the opportunity and create largescale manufacturing and integrate with global value chains, utilising the demoP4 graphic dividend.  page 5 express read TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu offers prayers at the foundation stone of capital Amaravati at Uddandarayunipalem on Thursday I Express an Mohan Reddy government failed miserably to prove the allegations of insider trading by TDP even after 19 months of being in power, and claimed that he had evidence of insider trading allegedly done by the ruling YSRC leaders in Visakhapatnam. Speaking at Janabheri organised by the Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi Joint Action Committee to mark the completion of its one year agitation against relocation Two youths drown, five missing in River Penna E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Bharatiya Kisan Union national president Naresh Tikait said, “We are ready for dialogue. If the government takes two steps back, the farmers will follow suit. We respect everything that the Supreme Court has stated. Whatever panel is formed, sensible people should be on it” PSLV-C50 lifted off from the Second Launch Pad of SDSC-SHAR at 3.41 pm on Thursday and injected the CMS-01 satellite into its intended orbit Seek referendum on 3-capital plan: Naidu E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Ready for talks: Tikait The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farmers unions, decided to form a fourmember internal committee to deal with all issues arising from the Supreme Court’s intervention in the protest under the leadership of Balbir Singh Rajewal, president of BKU (Rajewal) launches CMS-01 satellite BJP State treasurer Vamaraju Satya Murthy said his party would support the agitation of Amaravati farmers who gave their lands for the capital, until justice is done to all of them Withdraw the plan of three capitals and announce that the capital will be in Amaravati itself. Else, let us go for referendum. If people endorse your plan, I will quit politics for good. Are you ready? — N Chandrababu Naidu, TDP chief Four-member committee “The youngsters were not aware of the flow and depth of the river. Seven of them went deep into the water and were washed away in the flow,’’ Siddavatam SI Ramesh Babu said. Three others somehow swam to safety and informed the matter to locals. Immediately, expert swimmers were pressed into service and they fished out the bodies of Ramachandra (20) and Rajesh (19). Search is on to trace the remaining five youths, the SI said. of the capital, the Opposition Leader demanded an apology to public and an announcement on continuation of Amaravati as the State capital. “Withdraw the plan of three capitals unconditionally and announce that the capital will be in Amaravati itself. Else, let us go for referendum as you claim people are behind you. If people endorse your plan, I will quit politics for good. Are you ready?” he P5 challenged. 10-day Vaikunta Dwara darshan Tirupati: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Executive Officer KS Jawahar Reddy said that elaborate arrangements are being made for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara darshan beginning December 25. He said Vaikunta Dwara darshan will be provided to devotees strictly following Covid-19 guidelines. Resubmit RLIS DPR: CWC to AP govt Vijayawada: The CWC has asked the State government to resubmit the DPR of Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS) as the report sent by it lacked the “most basic and fundamental” details. It asked the Water Resources Department to submit a “proper DPR” for speedy appraisal of the irrigation project. P4 back to work Migrant women from Rajasthan work in the Smart City Project works in Tirupati on Thursday I Madhav K papi hills tourism 4,000 boat operators and workers struggle for survival K V S a i l en d r a @ Rajamahendravaram The ban on boating on River Godavari to Papikondalu has affected the lives of over 4,000 people, who are directly and indirectly dependant on the activity. The boating points to Papikondalu from Rajamahendravaram, Polavaram, Purushottapatnam, Gandipochamma gudi, Singanapalli, Peramtallapalli and Pochavaram, which once used to witness hectic activity, wear a deserted look now. The boat tragedy at Katcha- luru in Devipatnam mandal on September 15 last year in which around 50 tourists along with crew had drowned, has brought the boating activity to a grinding halt. “This is the peak time for tourists to arrive and the best season for us,” lamented Kareem Shah, a boat owner from Polavaram. Boat owners said they have invested `5 lakh per boat to meet the new safety norms. There are 80 boats and vessels, including AC and non-AC, in the twin Godavari districts. Kareem said the boat opera- tors and the crew have lost their livelihood for the past 15 months. “We want the State government to allow us (boating) to get back into business. We are ready to comply with whatever safety norms the officials prescribe,’’ he said. Sources in the Irrigation Department at Dowleswaram said they have to conduct bathymetric survey in River Godavari to study its depth. At least `2 crore is required to take up the survey. We lack funds to conduct it,” the sources said. After the State government changed the rules to make boat rides more safe, around 40 persons have undergone Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) course from institutes recognised by the Director General of Shipping. After conducting the stability proof test, the Kakinada Port Chief Surveyor has to recommend for licence. A boat owner V Rangareddy said 4,000 families are now bereft of employment. “The tribals of Polavaram, Tammileru, Kindeludi, Kollur, Gondur and Perantallapalli are facing a financial crisis. Even if we are permitted after Sankranti, it will not be of much use since the water flow in Godavari will come down,’’ he said.