CHENNAI  MONDAY  JANUARY 11, 2021  `7.00  PAGES 32  LATE CITY EDITION U.S. LIFTS BAR ON INTERACTION WITH TAIWANESE OFFICIALS The US has lifted the ‘self-imposed restrictions’ on contacts between American and Taiwanese diplomats and officials NO NEED TO APPEASE CHINA, SAYS POMPEO The restrictions were introduced decades ago to appease the Chinese government, which lays claim to the island, the US state department said. “The US-Taiwan relationship need not, and should not, be shackled by self-imposed restrictions of our permanent bureaucracy,” Pompeo said. China termed it an attempt to sabotage the next administration | P9 ■ 10 2ND IMPEACHMENT MOVE TO START TODAY ■ The Democrats plan to introduce an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Monday, in a bid to stop him from running for president again in 2024 On Sunday, Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey became the second GOP senator to demand that Trump “resign and go away” NUMBER OF DAYS LEFT FOR DONALD TRUMP TO REMAIN U.S. PRESIDENT 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 Chhattisgarh first state to block Covaxin State health minister says he is not confident of asking people to take the jab as it is yet to finish phase 3 trial EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Raipur/New Delhi Agitating farmers ransacking the venue of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s Kisan Mahapanchayat, at Kaimla village in Karnal district on Sunday | PTI Farmers ransack venue of Haryana CM’s meet where Khattar’s helicopter was to land. While most of them HARYANA Chief Minister squatted on it, some others Manohar Lal Khattar was on damaged the helipad, forcing Sunday forced to cancel a Kisan Khattar to call off the trip. Mahapanchayat that aimed to The farmers held black flags drum up support for the three and shouted slogans against contentious Central agricul- the BJP-led government as they ture laws, as protesting farm- pushed towards the venue. Karers ransacked the event venue nal’s Superintendent of Police at Kaimla village in Gang a Ram Punia Karnal district. 20 booked tried to pacify the The administration for stoning farmers but to no avail. had anticipated trouThe protestors initialThe police ble as farmers belongly staged a sit-in near registered an ing to the Bharatiya the second barricade attempt to Kisan Union (Charubefore breaking it. murder case ni) had on Wednesday The police claimed it against 20 last said they would had made elaborate sefarmers who not allow the event to curity arrangements, allegedly stoned but the situation went take place. the vehicle of Yet, the intensity of out of control as farmthe protest as the farm- Deputy Speaker ers were adamant on Ranbir Singh ers broke through two not allowing Khattar levels of barricades on Gangwa during to address the event. his visit to a the road leading to the L a t e r, K h a t t a r village in Hisar village and kept movblamed the Congress ing ahead despite the and the communists police firing tear gas shells and for the vandalism. “These peousing water cannons, left the ple have defamed the farmers. I administration overwhelmed. am an elected representative. Upon reaching the venue, the We have never stopped anybody farmers vandalised the stage from expressing their views. and broke chairs, tables and But violation of constitutional flower pots, while the police provisions is not right,’’ he was a mere spectator. said, adding the Centre will not The protesters also took con- repeal the laws but was open to trol of a makeshift helipad introducing amendments. H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh Woman raped in Tambaram train yard EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai IN a horrifying incident, a 40year-old woman was allegedly raped by two men in a suburban train parked at the Tambaram railway yard during the wee hours of Saturday. Police arrested two persons in connection with the crime. A Government Railway Police (GRP) officer said the woman, who sells fruits and vegetables on the trains, stated in her complaint that she had boarded the Chennai Beach-Chengalpattu EMU from Pallavaram railway station around 11.30 pm on Friday . She told the police that she was drunk on the night, as a result of which, missed her destination and fell asleep on the floor of the train. The train, which completed its trip, reached the yard at around 1am. She said she woke up when two men were attempting to rape her, police said, adding that the crime was allegedly committed despite her attempts to stop them. The woman also claimed that the two men threatened to brand her as a thief and get her arrested if she reported the incident to anyone, the P3 police source added. WITH THIS ISSUE THE ESSENTIAL CAMPUS DIGEST 32 PAGES, INCLUDING 16 OF edex (TABLOID), 4 OF CITY EXPRESS YOUR LIFE COACH CHHATTISGARH’S Congress government on Sunday said it was not inclined to use Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin unless the vaccine successfully completes the recommended testing process, thus becoming the first state to indicate it may refuse the jab ahead of the national rollout of the vaccination programme on January 16. Whether or not other opposition states would adopt a similar approach was not immediately known. “The vaccine has been approved for emergency use (by the Drug Controller General of India). But its use should be avoided until its complete results are out,” Chhatisagarh health minister T S Singh Deo said. “In my opinion, it should not be allowed in the state. As of now, I am not confident of asking people to accept this vaccine,” he added. “We mustn’t rush headlong into starting its widespread use but wait for completion of phase 3 trials and its apprais- Please ensure there are no proxies at all; the beneficiaries need to be uniquely and undeniably identified Ram Sewak Sharma, head of tech and data management group on Covid-19 Health dept sore over pvt clinics’ poor CoWIN upload record, sets deadline S I N D U J A J A N E @ Chennai WITH less than a week left for the Covid-19 vaccination drive that kicks off on January 16, many private clinics, specially ‘single doctor clinics’ across the State, have not yet updated the particulars of their healthcare workers in the CoWIN (COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network) portal. This has prompted the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMRHS) to send no- tices to such individual private establishments on Saturday requesting them to submit , the relevant details within 48 hours. “Failure to provide data in time will attract further action as per the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishments Act,” the notice warned. The data accessed by Express showed that in Chennai, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Madurai, Tiruchy, and Tirunelveli districts, less than 40 per cent of private healthcare facilities submitted the particulars of their workers for Covid vaccination. This, despite the health department officials repeatedly requesting private clinics, mostly single doctor establishments, to register in the portal. The notice, issued by DMRHS, has asked the healthcare units to motivate their employees and facilitate the vacP2 cination drive. The national Pulse Polio Immunisation drive scheduled from January 17 has been postponed by the Union Health Ministry, according to a communication sent to States on Saturday. The decision to postpone the drive comes in the wake of the Union government announcing that the Covid-19 vaccination programme will be P2 conducted from January 16. COVID-19 INDICATORS POINT IN TN’S FAVOUR The State has brought major indices like test positivity rate, case curve, doubling time and death rate curve under its control @ Chennai HOTWHEELS A Rekla racer cheerfully rides his cart in a competition organised by Sri Shakthi Institute Of Engineering and Technology, at Chinniyampalayam, in Coimbatore on Sunday | U RAKESH KUMAR ‘Nasty’ Sydney at it again, six offenders evicted THE Sydney crowd, it seems, has always been hostile. Hurling abuses at players can reach a different level. If Saturday was nasty with allegations of racist abuses against two India players, Sunday turned out to be extremely sour as Mohammad Siraj, who was allegedly racially abused on Saturday as well, had to face the brunt again. He and standin skipper Ajinkya Rahane approached the on-field umpires POLIO IMMUNISATION DRIVE POSTPONED EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE FOUND IN JAVA SEA S W A R O O P S W A M I N AT H A N @ Chennai axin without seeing its phase 3 efficacy data. In Delhi, the Union health ministry held a video conference with officials from states and Union Territories to get feedback on the Co-WIN software that was trialled during the dry runs. Ram Sewak Sharma, the chairman of Empowered Group on Technology and Data Management to combat Covid-19, asked the states to urge the beneficiaries to seed their current mobile number with Aadhaar for registration on Co-WIN. P2 College students to get free data card: CM BLACK BOX Indonesian divers on Sunday found the black boxes of a Boeing 737-500 that crashed into sea with 62 people on board shortly after taking off from Jakarta on Saturday | P9 al. Else, it would set a precedent for other companies seeking copycat approvals before completing trials,” Singh Deo said, adding there was no point in risking human lives. India recently g ranted emergency use authorisation to two vaccines, Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield manufactured by Serum Institute in India and Covaxin. Both vaccines achieved parameters set for safety and immunogenicity, the regulator said. However, experts severely criticised the regulator for clearing Cov- to complain about the behaviour of a section of the crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground. At least six people were evicted over allegations of racism that is threatening to overshadow the keenly-contested third Test between India and Australia. Just before the hosts declared at tea on the fourth day, Siraj was targeted by the crowd. The security officials, who had instructed the India team to bring such incidents to their notice as and when it happens after Saturday involved the stadium , officials who interviewed the fans before ejecting the offenders. As per protocol, New South Wales police, as well as Cricket Australia opened an investigation into the matter. After the day’s play, India spinner R Ashwin said the team was happy with the action taken. However, he also revealed that the crowd in Sydney has always been like this — hostile and nasty “This . has been a continuous thing at Sydney,” he said. “I have experienced it as well. They do tend to get nasty. I don’t know why and for what reason.” Ashwin, who visited Australia on three previous tours, said, “If I take myself back to the first tour in 2011-12, I had no clue what racial abuse was or how you can be made to feel small in front of so many people.” In the end, Ashwin’s words aptly sums it up: “disappointing is actually a very very mild , P11 word, I must say .” IN a move that could give a renewed push to online college education in the State, the Tamil Nadu government on Sunday announced free data cards for students. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said students would get free card fuelled with 2 GB data per day from January to April. The initiative is aimed at facilitating online classes, which have become the order of the day after the pandemic denied access to classrooms. Palaniswami said that the cards would be issued to about 9.69 lakh students studying in government and aided arts and science colleges, polytechnic colleges, engineering colleges, and students receiving scholarships in private colleges. It will be issued by the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (ELCOT), a State government undertaking. As much a step in the right direction, the decision is also expected to attract young student voters, who may vote for the first time in 2021 Assembly elections.The decision assumes significance, as, despite the government’s permission to allow in-person classes for final-year students, only a few prefer to attend colleges physically Many prefer online class. es. The low footfall has been due to the recent cluster outbreak at IIT-Madras, after which, both students and parents became paranoid about in-person classes. Continuing online classes have also been possible as the government said in December that in-person attendance cannot be made mandatory. Colleges can, at any point, accommodate only half their total strength and must make provisions for students to study online. 9.69 LAKH COLLEGE STUDENTS TO BENEFIT The data cards will be given to about 9.69 lakh students studying in government and aided arts and science colleges, polytechnic colleges, engineering colleges and those receiving scholarship in private colleges MAKING A SPLASH Boat to canoe, MP fisherman’s daughter living her Olympic dream A N U R A A G S I N G H @ Bhopal IT is another rags-to-riches tale. In 2016, she was ferrying boats to help her father and four elder sisters for fishing in the backwaters of Indira Sagar Dam on Narmada in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. Her only motive was to repay her family’s debt. Five years down the line, the script has taken a dramatic turn. From boat to canoe, dam to the vast expanse of the Bhopal Lake, the journey has taken her to the India national camp that would select a team for Asian Olympic qualifier in Pattaya, Thailand (March 14-17). She is tipped to emerge as India’s top woman canoer and make her international canoeing debut two months later. We are talking about Kaveri Dhimar, all of 17 years, who has Kaveri Dhimar (centre) already won 12 gold medals at national canoeing events. “I’m fifth among the seven sisters and two little brothers. We didn’t have any land and being from the fishermen community our parents only relied , on fishing in rivers to run the family Kaveri told TNIE. ,” Memories of helping her elder sisters fish in the backwaters of Indira Sagar Dam on river Narmada in 2016 to repay her father’s loan of `40,000 are still fresh in her mind. “We finally succeeded,” she said. I n t h e s a m e ye a r, t h e Khandwa district sports officer Joseph Baxla spotted Kaveri’s talent in swimming and took her to the MP Water Sports Academy in Bhopal. “We still don’t have our own land and my parents fish in the river Narmada. My dream is to make it big in the international arena one day and buy land for my family said Kaveri. ,” Madhya Pradesh Water Sports Academy coach Pijush Baroi, under whom Kaveri trains has encouraging words for the youngster. “Kaveri has emerged as the country’s top female canoer within just four years. In a sport where height is considered advantageous, Kaveri with her short stature has emerged as country’s top female canoer on the basis of her never say die approach and ability to grasp,” he said.