AP HYDERABAD  SUNDAY  JANUARY 03, 2021  `8.00  PAGES 24  LATE CITY EDITION MASTERMIND OF ’08 MUMBAI ATTACK LAKHVI HELD IN PAK Lashkar-e-Toiba operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was arrested in Pakistan on terror financing charges FUNDING TERRORISM THROUGH DISPENSARY ACTING UNDER GLOBAL PRESSURE A UN proscribed terrorist, Lakhvi was arrested from Lahore by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab province on Saturday. Lakhvi (61) is accused of running a dispensary to fund terrorism activities. He was on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai attack case. His trial will be held before the Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore, official sources said ■ ■ The arrest follows Paris-based terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force’s pressure on Pakistan to take action against terrorists using its territory to carry out attacks in India Lakhvi was designated as a global terrorist by the United Nations in December 2008 for being associated with LeT and al-Qaeda 1.5 Lakh PAK RUPEES PAID MONTHLY TO LAKHVI TOWARDS ‘PERSONAL EXPENSES’ 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 Bharat Biotech’s homegrown vaccine gets expert panel nod Apex drug regulator’s committee recommends restricted emergency use of Covaxin SUMI SUKANYA DUTTA @ New Delhi A government appointed panel of the apex drug regulator on Saturday recommended emergency use authorisation for Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, India’s first homegrown vaccine against Covid-19, a day after it approved a vaccine against coronavirus by AstraZenecaOxford University . The committee said the recommendation for the vaccine’s restricted use in emergency situations was in the “public interest as an abundant precaution, in clinical trial mode, especially in the context of infection by mutant strains.” Bharat Biotech, in collaboration with the ICMR, has developed Covaxin from inactivated SARS CoV 2, isolated at the National Institute of Virology, Pune. Although the vaccine has demonstrated good safety and immunogenicity in phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, it is still undergoing phase 3 trials and, therefore, its efficacy remains to be established. The Centre also issued a statement that the subject expert committee of the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation, following its meetings on Friday and Saturday recommended the vaccines , for consideration and final decision of the Drugs Controller General of India. The back-to-back permission granted to the vaccines could mean they will be rolled out simultaneously in about a week. Sources said the unscheduled meeting of the SEC on Saturday to reconsider Bharat Biotech’s application was called under government pressure after the panel had refused permission a day earlier citing insufficient data. CONTINUED ON P7 Health workers perform the vaccine rollout dry run at the Nampally Area Hospital, in Hyderabad on Saturday | VINAY MADAPU TS vaccine dry run at 7 health centres successful EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad TELANGANA’S dry run for Covid-19 vaccine rollout was carried out at seven health care facilities — four in Hyderabad and three in Mahbubnagar — on Saturday. While around 175 healthcare workers received the jab, over 50 staffers orchestrated the mock vaccination drive. The State put to test the training they had received over the past one month during the mock drill. In Hyderabad, the dry runs were conducted at the Nampally Area Hospital, Tilak Nagar Urban Primary Health Centre, Gandhi Hospital, and Yashoda Hospital. Trial runs in Mahbubnagar were arranged at the Government General Hospital, Neha Shine Hospital and Janampet Primary Health Centre. Authorities of the concerned hospitals, Public Health Department officials and the respective District Collectors oversaw the dry run. Vaccination of 25 beneficiaries was completed within two hours at each of the seven dry-run centres. Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan visited the Tilak Nagar PHC in Hyderabad to take stock of the CONTINUED ON P5 process. IND-AUS CRICKET 5 players isolated; Covid-19 protocol breach probe on Chennai: Five members of the Indian cricket team — Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubhman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini — have been isolated from the rest of the contingent after a fan posted a video of them dining at an indoor restaurant. The five will be allowed to train during the period, but under strict protocols, and will not be allowed to mix with the rest of the squad, the Cricket Australia said. As per Cricket Australia’s Covid-19 protocol, players are allowed to dine outside their hotel but only outdoors. “The BCCI and Cricket Australia are investigating the matter and seeking to determine whether the outing constitutes a breach of bio-security protocols,” said a Cricket Australia statement | P11 TALK OF THE TOWN IS THE SON GOING TO RISE POST UGADI IN TELANGANA? VV BALAKRISHNA @Hyderabad A S a new year begins, the buzz in political circles is that the Telangana government is not just preparing itself for the Covid vaccine rollout but a change of guard as well. Is a “son rise” in the offing? A resounding “yes” is the answer from several TRS leaders. Talk is that TRS working president and Municipal and IT Minister KT Rama Rao will be made Chief Minister this year. Though, both Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and son Rama Rao have repeatedly dismissed such a possibility on several occasions in the past, most TRS MLAs are now stating that Rama Rao will be CM sooner than later. Grapevine has it that there are no good muhurtams till Ugadi, the Telugu New Year, and KTR may take over reins only afterwards. Leaders say the renovated Yadadri temple will be reopened in February when Rao will conduct a Sudarshana Yagam on its premises. While Rao has organised other yagams in the past, tongues are whirring that this one is particularly significant. After the Sudarshana Yagam, it is expected that Rama Rao will be made Chief Minister. Over the last year, the “KTR as CM” chatter has gained momentum among TRS cadre. However, the pandemic stalled these plans. But around Christmas, TRS Dornakal MLA DS Redya Naik stated at a meeting said that Rama Rao would be made CM after Ugadi. An enthusiastic Naik opined that a majority of leaders and voters alike wanted to see KTR as the next CM. The IT and MAUD Min- @ Hyderabad EVEN as the Telangana police is investigating several cases of citiz ens being scammed and harassed by instant loan app companies involving Chinese nationals, the Statewide fraud has claimed the life of yet another person. The deceased, 36year-old G Chandra Mohan from Kamareddy district, was found hanging from the ceiling fan at his home in Gundla Pochampally on Saturday He was rushed to a hos. pital by his family, but was declared brought dead by doc- tors. Inspector of Petbashe e r ab a d p o l i c e s t at i o n , S Ramesh, said that a case of abetment of suicide has been re gistered against the fraudsters. It may be mentioned here that this is the fifth such suicide in the last one month in the State, where victims were harassed by executives of instant loan app firms, demanding repayment. Chandra Mohan’s family said that he had availed loans to the tune of `80,000 through more than 10 instant loan apps. He worked at a warehouse in Gundla Pochampally . CONTINUED ON P3 SOURAV SUFFERS MILD HEART ATTACK Indian cricket board president and former India skipper Sourav Ganguly suffered a ‘mild’ heart attack on Saturday when he was in the gym and had to be admitted to a private hospital where doctors found multiple blockages in his coronary arteries. Ganguly underwent angioplasty and a stent was placed in one of the arteries. Doctors treating him said his condition is stable. P11 Ganguly was rushed to the hospital in the afternoon following complaint of chest pain. Sourav’s brother Snehasish Ganguly said in the afternoon that he was stable. Cricket fraternity, led by Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar, wished Sourav a speedy recovery. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and governor Jagdeep Dhankhar visited him in the hospital. ister’s “service record” spoke for itself, he said. Giving strength to these discussions, Le gislative Council Chairman Gutha Sukhender Reddy on Saturday said that Rama Rao was eligible for the CM’s post by all means. Gutha said KTR was “good in administration” as well. While there is no official word yet, some developments on January 1 appear to give definite hints. While the Chief Minister was in his farmhouse on New Year day , several All India Service Officers including Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP M Mahender Reddy and State Intelligence chief T Prabhakar Rao extended New Year greetings to Rama Rao at Pragathi Bhavan, the official residence of the CM, and of course KTR’s too. At party office Telangana Bhavan, Ministers, MLAs and other leaders extended greetings to Rama Rao. This is the first time that KCR has not been available to officials and party leaders on New Year day after he assumed the office of CM. It was interesting to see Rama Rao also interact with seniors who were part of the Telangana Statehood movement. A n o t h e r r e m a rk a b l e change among TRS leaders is seen in the advertisements they are issuing to the media, where due importance is being given to Rama Rao. Earlier, the advertisements used to carry large photos of KCR. Of much smaller size would be the photographs of KTR, T Harish Rao, K Kavitha. This time round, KTR’s photograph has increased in size and is second only to that of KCR’s. This indicates his growing popularity among TRS leaders. CONTINUED ON P3 A majority of leaders and voters alike want to see IT and MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao as the next Chief Minister of Telangana. KTR’s service record speaks for itself DS Redya Naik, TRS Dornakal MLA 2,500 workers to build new TS Sectt in a year Another suicide at the hands of loan app firms EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Though, both KCR and son KTR have repeatedly dismissed the possibility of the latter being CM, most TRS MLAs are now stating that he will be CM sooner rather than later EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad Labourers are as busy as bees at the construction site of the new Secretariat building in Hyderabad AS many as 2,500 workers will be engaged in the construction of the new Secretariat building of Telangana. Minister for Roads and Buildings Vemula Prasanth Reddy held a review meeting with the officials and contracting agency concerned to take stock of the progress of the construction work in Hyderabad on Saturday . The Minister said that all the basic amenities for workers, including shelter, would be provided at the construction site. He said that 300 cubic metres of concrete mixture would be prepared every day, using around 2,500 bags of cement. Vemula Prashant Reddy further said that around 200 pillars (footings) would be erected on the new Secretariat building premises. He said that so far, construction of one pillar was completed using 300 cement bags, i.e., 40 cubic metres of concrete, in addition to four tonnes of steel. He said that as per the directions of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, the construction of the new building would be completed within 12 months. STALEMATE CONTINUES EXPRESS READ Farmers issue R-Day tractor rally ultimatum Flight service to UK resumes on Jan 6 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chandigarh A day after the farmers threatened to step up their agitation, the protesters on Saturday issued an ultimatum to the government and said they would take out a tractor rally to Delhi on January 26 if their demand for the repeal of the farm laws and legalising of MSP was not met. Announcing the decision of the seven-member coordination committee of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, chief of BKU (Rajewal group) Balbir Singh Rajewal and president of Krantikari Kisan Union Punjab Darshan Pal said: “We have given a call for a tractor-trolley parade to Delhi on January 26. The parade with the national flag will be called the ‘farmers republic parade’ and will take place after the official parade.” “We intend to be peaceful. We told the Central government long ago that it has only two options, either repeal the three farm acts or use force to evict us,” the farm leaders said. Rajewal and Pal said the time had come for decisive action. They had chosen January 26 for the rally for two reasons: Republic Day represented the supremacy of the people while the day will also mark two months of their protest. The tractor rally on January 26 will go ahead if there is no resolution during the talks on Monday. Lohri/makar sankranti on January 13 will be observed as Kisan Sankalp Diwas by burning the copies of the three laws. January 18 will be celebrated as Mahila Kisan Di- was to underline the role of women farmers, and January 23, the birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose, will be observed as Azad Hind Kisan Diwas. Protests will be held outside Raj Bhavan in all state capitals. The leaders said although the government had agreed to “minor demands” on air pollution and Electricity Amendment Bill, it was yet to give them legal shape. CONTINUED ON P7 We intend to be peaceful. We told the Central government long ago that it has only two options, either repeal the three farm acts or use force to evict us — Farm leaders New Delhi: With the India-UK air services resuming on January 6, Air India said those who had booked their flight on Dec 23 will be accommodated in the first flight out | P7 WITH THIS ISSUE FORCES OF NATURE PLUS 12 PAGES