tirupati l saturday l january 16, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION Army chief warns China, Pak not to test forces’ patience In a warning to China, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane said on Friday that no one should make the mistake of testing India’s patience Galwan heroes’ Sacrifice won’t go waste The general said India is committed to resolving the eight-month-long military standoff with China through talks. In his address at the Army Day parade in Delhi, Gen Naravane said the sacrifice of the ‘Galwan heroes’ in eastern Ladakh in June last year will not go waste and that the Indian Army will not allow any harm to the country’s sovereignty and security ■ 200 400 pak terrorists waiting at loc ■ Gen Naravane said Pakistan continues to shelter terrorists and 300-400 of them are waiting in training camps on the Pakistani side of the LoC to infiltrate into India For the first time, drone operations featured at the Army Day parade held in Delhi Cantonment on Friday | P7 Militants killed in counter-terror operations and on LoC last year 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 Jagan participates in Gopuja organised at Narasaraopet express read ‘Capitol rioters were ready to kill’ Washington: US Federal prosecutors on Friday offered the most chilling description yet of Capitol rioters, that their intention was “to capture and assassinate elected officials”. The view was included in a memo seeking to keep Jacob Anthony Chansley, who rallied people inside the Capitol using a bullhorn, in detention | P9 Exports, imports grow in Dec 2020 New Delhi: Exports rose marginally to $27.15 bn in December 2020, while imports surged 7.5% to $42.59 billion. Exports were valued at $27.11 billion in December 2019 while imports totalled $39.59 billion. The trade deficit for December 2020 was estimated at $15.44 billion against $12.49 billion in December 2019 | P10 US blacklists Xiaomi, 8 others The US government has blacklisted Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp and China’s thirdlargest national oil company for alleged military links. The Department of Defense added nine companies to its list of Chinese firms with military links, including Commercial Aircraft Corp of China | P10 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy participates in Kamadhenu Puja Mahotsavam at Narasaraopet in Guntur district on Friday | Express Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy participated in Kamadhenu Puja Mahotsavam jointly organised by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) and the Endowments Department at Narasaraopet in Guntur district on Friday to mark Kanuma. Gopuja was organised in 2,679 temples across the State. Clad in the traditional attire of Dhoti, the Chief Minister worshipped the sacred cow. Later, he was blessed by the priests. A large number of people participated in the ritual at the municipal stadium in the town. Bommala Koluvu, Gangireddula Ata, Kolatam and Haridasu Keerthanas were also part of Kamadhenu Puja Mahotsavam. Beautifully decorated oxen and cows were a cynosure of all eyes. TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy , EO KS Jawahar Reddy ministers M , Sucharitha and V Srinivasa Rao, Deputy Assembly Speaker K Raghupathi, MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, MPs, MLAs and other officials were present. Political links in temple attacks revealed 21 persons belonging to TDP and BJP have been identified and 15 of them arrested, discloses DGP E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada In a sensational development, State police chief Gautam Sawang on Friday released details of political links in the desecration of temple idol cases and false propaganda on social media. The involvement of 21 people belonging to TDP and BJP was identified and 15 of them have been arrested so far. Amongst the 21 people involved in nine cases, 17 belong to TDP and four to BJP So far, 13 of . those from TDP and two from BJP have been arrested. The DGP’s disclosure lends some credence to the ruling YSRC’s allegation that the opposition is involved in temple incidents with an intention to tar nish the ima g e of the government. Understandably, the TDP was quick to dismiss the announcement, questioning the impartial- ity of the police. DGP Sawang, speaking at a press conference here, said the investigation into the cases so far has revealed ‘deliberate’ attempts and involvement of vested interest groups and some political par ties behind the incidents, as well as the false publicity regarding the incidents, in an attempt to disturb the communal harmony existing in the State and thereby cause unrest and disruption. “We appeal to all groups and political parties to refrain from such wrongful activities and indulging in false publicity and propaganda and forthwith stop them. Police will take stern action against all such elements and individuals, including those who misuse social media and cyberspace,” he warned. According to the DGP, in the case related to allegation of desecration of idol of Vinayaka under Bommur police station limits in Rajamahendravaram Urban of East Godavari district on September 12, 2020, police during their investigation established that the material splashed on the idol was not impure as alleged by false propaganda and it was established in Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report. Vellapalli Prasad Babu alias Babukhan Choudary, Chitikena Sandeep, both from TDP, Adapa Varaprasad and Karturi Srinivasa Rao, both from BJP, were found involved. V Prasad Babu P5 was arrested.  4.04 cr voters in State, women exceed men E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada We appeal to all groups and political parties to refrain from such wrongful activities and indulging in false propaganda and forthwith stop them Gautam Sawang, DGP DGP Gautam Sawang is acting more like a YSRC official spokesperson rather than a responsible police officer pertaining to probe into temple desecration cases K Atchannaidu TDP State president Move on aspersions With regard to caste, religion and region being attributed to police personnel in connection with desecration cases, the DGP said they are taking legal opinion to proceed further Andhra Pradesh has a total of 4,04,41,378 voters and another 66,844 service voters as per the final electoral rolls released by the Election Commission of India on Friday Female voters (2,04,71,506) are more than male . voters (1,99,66,737). East Godavari has the highest number of 43,12,739 voters, while Vizianagaram has got the lowest number of 19,00,934 voters. Following the instructions from the Election Commission of India, the office of Chief Electoral Officer in Andhra Pradesh took up special summary revision of electoral rolls with January 1, 2021 as the qualifying date. As the upper limit of electors in a polling station being 1,500, the DEOs have taken up the rationalisation process before the publication of draft rolls and created 84 new polling stations and three polling stations were merged with other stations. Now, the total number of polling stations in the State increased to 45,917 from 45,836. The total number of general electors in the draft electoral rolls published on November 16, 2020 was 4,00,79,025. After 4,25,860 inclusions (1.06 per cent) and 63,507 (0.16 per cent) deletions, there was a net increase of 3,62,353 electors that is 0.90 per cent over the draft P4 electoral rolls.  First jab today as mother of all vax drives begins E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi inoculation 4.77 lakh Vaccine doses distributed to 13 districts Bulls let loose Pasuvula Panduga also known as Andhra’s Jallikattu at A Rangampeta on Friday draws a large number of people from various parts of Chittoor district | Madhav K Centre-farmer talks on agriculture reforms fail, next meet on Jan 19 E x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi / Chandigarh The ninth round of talks between farmers’ unions and the Centre on Friday remained inconclusive but both sides agreed to meet again next Tuesday in a bid to break the deadlock over three contentious farm laws. “The gover nment urged farmers to form an informal group among themselves to prepare concrete proposals to be discussed in the next meeting,” Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said. However, the unions rejected the suggestion. Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union, Punjab (Lakhowal group) said the Centre asked the union leaders to discuss their problems with the farm laws clause-wise. The farmers said no. They also turned down the government’s request to meet the panel formed by the Supreme Court. NIA raids figure in talks Farmers raised the issue of NIA raids on transporters supporting the agitation, said Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president, BKU (EktaUgrahan) The apex court had on January 12 stayed implementation of the laws and set up a panel to talk to both the striking farmers and the government. The farm unions have welcomed the stay but refused to meet the panel saying it’s progovernment. The farmers have reiterated they won’t end their protest until the three laws are withdrawn fully . The next round of talks would be significant as the SCappointed committee will be present in the meeting. One of the panel members, Bhupinder Singh Mann, had recused himself from the committee.  P7 20,000 Vaccine doses kept as buffer stock 3,87,983 No. of healthcare workers to be vaccinated 332 100 No. of session sites in Andhra Pradesh No. of beneficiaries to be vaccinated at each site a day 2,324 No. of medical staff deployed for vaccination We hope to start vaccinating those listed in the second phase soon Dr Srihari, State Immunisation Officer India will roll out the world’s biggest vaccination programme on Saturday by inoculating over three lakh healthcare workers against Covid-19, which brought the entire country and the world, , to a halt for much of last year. A total of 3,006 vaccination centres across all states and union territories will be virtually connected as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the drive at 10.30 am, with 100 beneficiaries getting the shots at each site on the first day . PM Modi said the country will enter a “decisive phase” in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic on Saturday. Amid concerns over the efficacy of the indigenously developed Covaxin vaccine by Bharat Biotech, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday reiterated that both Covaxin and Covishield, manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute, have “proven safety and immunogenicity records”. These two vaccines will be the “most important tool” to control the pandemic, he added. “Tomorrow is an important day it ... is the last phase of the battle against coronavirus. This is probably the beginning of the end of Covid,” he said. The minister, however, cautioned that even after vaccination, people should not lower their guard and must follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. The immunisation drive will begin with healthcare workers, both in government and private sectors, getting the shots. While reviewing the preparation of the launch, Vardhan suggested that the CoWIN software be pre-populated with non-prioritised beneficiaries by seeding it with electoral database, in addition to other documents for registration. CoWIN, short for Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network, is an online platform meant to facilitate real-time information of vaccine stocks, storage temperature and individualised tracking of beneficiaries for Covid-19 vaccine. It will also assist programme managers track beneficiary coverage, beneficiary dropouts, sessions planned versus sessions held and vaccine utilisation. The minister also advised the administrative machinery to go all out to counter the misinformation campaign being spread by vested interests. 3.8L healthcare staff to get vaccine in AP E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh has geared up to administer Covishield to healthcare workers under the first phase of nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive beginning Saturday Chief Min. ister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will launch the vaccination drive at the Government General Hospital in the city . While 4.77 lakh doses of Covishield, developed by AstraZeneca and University of Oxford and manufactured by Serum Institute of India, has been distributed to 13 districts of the State, 20,000 doses of Covaxin developed by Bharat All set for Covid vaccination at GGH in Vijayawada | Prasant Madugula Biotech, in collaboration with National Institute of Virology , has been stored at the State Cold Storage Centre at Gannavaram Community Health Centre as buffer stock. Though the Centre has approved both Covishield and Covaxin, the beneficiaries in AP will not have the option to choose between the two vaccines. “We have to administer the vaccine dose of 0.5 ml twice with a gap of 28 days. If a beneficiary is given Covishield as the first dose, the second shot must be the same. To avoid confusion, only Covishield has been distributed across the State and Covaxin is kept as buffer stock. All the 3,87,983 healthcare workers in the State will be given Covishield,” State Immunisation Officer Dr Srihari told TNIE. On the commencement of the second phase, he said they will suggest administering the vaccine to other frontline P5 workers at the earliest.