vijayawada l tuesday l january 19, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Chinese economy grows 2.3% in 2020, bucks global trend China, the 1st to be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the earliest to recover too, registered 6.5% growth in the 4th quarter of 2020 Size of GDP swells to $15.42 trillion GDP of the world’s second-largest economy grew to $15.42 trillion in 2020, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The growth, though the lowest in 45 years, is a remarkable achievement considering the country’s economy had suffered a 6.8% slump in the first quarter in 2020 after it went into lockdown following the Wuhan virus outbreak 8.2% Only major economy to grow last year ■ ■ ■ Chinese economy staged a steady recovery on the back of radical virus containment measures and emergency relief for businesses China is the only major global economy to have grown last year China’s job market also grew at 5.6%, creating 11.86 million new urban jobs in 2020, completing 131.8% of the whole-year target Projected growth of China’s economy in 2021 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 Amid row over Bombay HC finds media trial in Rajput death case temple attacks, CM to meet Shah E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Mumbai Jagan likely to inform Union Home Minister about steps taken to protect temples in AP The Bombay High Court on Monday held the media trial by Republic TV and Times Now against Mumbai Police in the case pertaining to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput was prima facie contemptuous. “Criticism of city police by TV media was unfair, in view of the material placed on record. The city police was at the very basic stage of probe,” the court said. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice G S Kulkarni observed that the media ought to avoid discussions and debates relating to criminal investigations and said they should confine themselves to informative reports in such matters in public interest. Investigator, prosecutor and judge “If you become the investigator, prosecutor and the judge, what are we here for?” the bench had asked the advocates representing Republic TV vandalised temple to be rebuilt at a cost of `3 crore Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy holds a review meeting on education at his camp office in Tadepalli on Monday | Express ly to brief the Home Minister on the alleged political links to some of the attacks and the arChief Minister YS Jagan Mo- rest of 21 suspects - 17 belonghan Reddy will leave for Delhi ing to TDP and four to BJP - in on Tuesday to meet Union nine cases. He may inform Home Minister Amit Shah. Amit Shah about the steps takThe meeting assumes signifi- en by his government such as cance in the wake of attacks constitution of a Special Inveson temples in the State and the tigation Team (SIT) to probe heat being turned up on the the attacks and formation of State government by the BJP communal harmony commitand the RSS, besides the oppo- tees for peace. sition TDP . According to sourcIn fact, RSS chief es, Jagan may explain Probe into Mohan Bhagwat had chariot fire to Amit Shah his govexpressed concer n ernment’s view that over the attacks on The CM is likely the attacks are orto press the temples in Andhra chestrated with a Pradesh during his Home Minister to clear ulterior motive recent meeting with nudge the CBI to to tarnish his image. Sri Vishwaprasanna probe the chariot It is pertinent to Theertha, Pontiff of fire at Antarvedi note that the State Sri Pejavar Mutt, temple. The AP BJP has been going U d u p i . Fo l l ow i n g government had hammer and tongs at their meeting, the lat- already written the YSRC government ter had dashed off a to the Centre for and took strong exletter to Amit Shah, a CBI probe into ception to the police the incident urging the Centre to accusing the party’s intervene in the matcadre in a few cases. ter. The RSS is said to be plan- From February 4, the BJP is ning a protest in Vizag in the set to take out a Rath Yatra first week of February against from Ramatheer tham in attacks on temples in the Vizianagaram district to KaState. pila Theertham in Tirupati, However, officials are tight- which is going to byelection in lipped over the agenda of Jag- the coming months, to protest an’s visit. Speculation is rife against the series of attacks on that the Chief Minister is like- temples in the State. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Classes for all students to begin on February 1 The AP Education Department is all set to start regular classes for students of 1 to 12 standards from February 1. Offline classes have already been started for students of 6 and 8 to 10 | P3 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The temple of Lord Rama at Ramatheertham in Vizianagaram district will be reconstructed at a cost of `3 crore, said Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao. Holding a review meeting with Endowments Secretary Girija Shankar, Special Commissioner P Arjun Rao, SE A Srinivasa Rao, Regional Joint Commissioner Brahmaramba and other officials on Monday he said the an, cient temple will be reconstructed as per the advice of Vedic scholars and Agama pandits. The construction of the temple in accordance with Vaikhanasa Agama will be completed within one year. The idol of presiding deity sculpted by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) will be installed in the temple in place of the vandalised one. Besides repairing the existing staircase to the temple located on a hillock at a height of 700 foot, another staircase will be constructed and the path leading to TEMPLE the temple will be illumiCHARIOT nated. The temple renovaA new chariot for tion plan includes cleaning Sri Lakshmi of the existing temple tank Narasimha and erection of a fence, deSwamy temple velopment of a permanent at Antarvedi has water source and construcbeen constructed tion of Homa Shala and in place of the Nivedana Shala and a comburnt one, said pound wall, he said. Endowments Mentioning the AntarveMinister di incident, Vellampalli Vellampalli said a new chariot for Sri Srinivasa Rao Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple has been constructed in place of the burnt one. The new chariot will be used for Kalyanotsavam of the Lord. The Minister has been invited by Deputy Endowments Commissioner Vijaya Raju, Assistant Commissioner Bhadraji and Antarvedi temple chief priest Srinivasa Kiran and Sthanacharya Rangacharyulu for Samprokshanam of the new chariot, which will be held for three days from February 11. Sankalpam and Adivasam will be performed P4 on the first and second days.  five-star Speechless Siraj rises above tears and jeers SWAROOP SWAMI N ATHA N @ Chennai Being in hard quarantine in a foreign land while grieving the loss of a family member can be soul crushing. The easier option is to go back, to comfort as well as be comforted. Being racially abused is dispiriting. It can leave one feeling worthless. Leading the bowling attack in just the third Test can be equally daunting, in a different way . It’s fair to say Mohammed Siraj aced that latest challenge, becoming just the fifth Indian bowler to grab a five-for at The Gabba. Even though India may not chase down 328 (if weather relents) on the final day to win the series, Siraj held his end of the bargain on the fourth day of the final Test against Australia. And how. His latest act in what has been an emotional series left the Hyderabadi speechless. He visibly struggled to hold back the tears while returning with the match ball. The tears, though, also told a wider story of his struggles. His father died days after India landed in Sydney in November. The son of an autorickshaw driver, the 26-year-old driver hadn’t even bowled with a proper cricket ball till seveneight years. He spent his time playing tennis ball cricket, admitting that concepts like seam and swing were alien to him. But, thanks to a common trait running through this Indian team — ability to fight and create your own destiny — he has fought his way through the system. Through tennis ball tournaments. Through Ranji Trophy Through India A tours. . Through the IPL. Through a tragedy Through racial abuse. . At the Gabba, he went to fight for his father’s dreams and his dreams. He emerged with a smile on his face and happy tears down his eyes. “My dad had wished that his son would play and the entire world would watch him,” he said after the day’s play “I hope he could have . been there to watch this day Be. cause of his blessings I have got a five-wicket haul. I am speechless. I got strength after talking to mom and my focus was on realising my dad’s dreams.” During the hearing of the matter over last six months, the high court had expressed concerns over media trial. It asked the media not to cross boundaries, and indicated that it will lay down guidelines. The court said trial by media interferes with the criminal investigation and runs counter to the code framed under the Ca- India chase 328 on Day 5 India were set a challenging target to chase on the final day of Brisbane Test. If India manage to draw against hosts, they will retain the BorderGavaskar trophy | P11 13 wkts No of wickets for Siraj in this series, the highest by an Indian  91 small temples As many as 91 small temples are located in and around Tirumala, including some on the pathways Police are planning to install CCTV cameras at all the temples with Panchaloha idols and valuable ornaments The pathways and all visiting places on Tirumala hill shrine will also be covered to ensure safety of pilgrims, said the DSP ble TV Act. It directed that the Press Council of India’s guidelines on crime reporting be made applicable to electronic media as well till the electronic media for mulates its own norms. The bench said the media should observe restraint in discussions about ongoing investigations so as not to prejudice the rights of the accused and witness. It said publishing an alleged confession by an ac- cused as if it is admissible evidence without letting the public know about its inadmissibility should be avoided. Calling for sensitivity in suicide reportage, the bench advised against character assassination of the victim. Also, reconstructing of crime scenes, interviews with potential witnesses and leaking of sensitive and confidential infor mation should be avoided. All Tirumala temples to FIR filed Tandav cast, come under surveillance crew forced to E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Tirumala To protect the temples around Tirumala and on the trekking paths leading to the hill shrine and for the safety of pedestrian pilgrims, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) and Tirupati police have decided to bring the entire area under the surveillance of CCTV cameras. As many as 91 small temples are located in and around Tirumala, including some on both the pathways and visiting places on the hill shrine. Henceforth, all these temples will come under the CCTV camera surveillance. Speaking to TNIE, DSP Prabhakar said they are planning to install CCTV cameras at all the temples with Panchaloha idols and valuable ornaments and puja material. This move comes in the wake of a complaint lodged by a group of pilgrims from Hyderabad stating that some miscreants tried to snatch their valuables while they were trekking to Tirumala via Alipiri path. A similar complaint was also lodged by another group of pilgrims. Soon after receiving the complaints, the police rushed to the spot and conducted an inquiry . “All the pilgrims who complained, are wearing gold ornaments,’’ the DSP said, adding that they have questioned bus and jeep drivers if any suspicious persons boarded their vehicles during that time as part of the probe. e x p r e ss r e a d Didi’s googly to upset Suvendu’s plans immunisation As many as 14,606 healthcare staff get vaccinated against Covid-19 in Andhra Pradesh on Monday | Prasant Madugula Kolkata: Upping her game in the upcoming West Bengal elections, Trinamool Congress supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she would contest from Nandigram against her once trusted lieutenant Suvendu Adhikari, who joined the BJP. It was Nandigram, the epicentre of farmers’ movement, that propelled her to power 10 years ago. “It is my lucky place. I will contest from here,” she said, while addressing a rally in Nandigram, adding that she would also contest from her own Bhowanipore constituency. issue apology E x p r e s s N e w Se r v i c e @ Lucknow/Patna/New Delhi At least three criminal complaints were filed in various parts of the country against Saif Ali Khan starrer web series Tandav, forcing its cast and crew to issue an apology on Monday evening. While an FIR was filed in Lucknow, two complaints were lodged with the courts in New Delhi and Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus and promoting discord among communities. The series, released on Jan 15 and aired on Amazon Prime, is said to be a commentary on the prevailing political situation. Other than Khan, the other actors are Dimple Kapadia, Gauhar Khan, Sunil Grover and Zeeshan Ayub. A statement from the cast and crew said Tandav is a work of fiction and they did not have any intention to offend any individual, caste, community, race, religion or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party or person, living or dead. “The cast and crew of Tandav take cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologize if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments,” said the statement. Amazon Prime refused to comment on the controversy .  Continued on P7