HYDERABAD  MONDAY  JANUARY 25, 2021  `7.00  PAGES 28  LATE CITY EDITION NINTH ROUND OF TALKS OVER LAC STAND-OFF UNDERWAY The Corps Commander-level talks to address the situation in Eastern Ladakh began at Moldo on Chinese side on Sunday INDIA FIRM ON DEMANDING STATUS QUO ANTE TIES IN ‘DIFFICULT PHASE’ DUE TO CHINA While India is demanding that China pull back its troops from all stand-off points and restore status quo ante along the Line of Actual Control, the latter wants India to first withdraw its soldiers deployed on strategic heights on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso lake. Indian jawans continue to hold their positions despite the merciless Himalayan winter ■ ■ On December 9 last, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said ‘five differing explanations’ by China for its deployment on the LAC had pushed bilateral ties into its most difficult phase It’s not a problem of lack of communication. The fact is there are ample pacts but the other side is not following them, he said Round 8 OF BILATERAL TALKS HAD TAKEN PLACE ON NOVEMBER 6 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 Bar on fuel sale to block tractor rally lifted N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow A RUN TO REMEMBER People run a marathon, the first ever to be held on the iconic Durgam Cheruvu cable bridge, in Hyderabad on Sunday | RVK RAO Woman dies 5 days after Covid jab U M A H E S H @ Warangal A 48-year-old widowed Anganwadi worker from Warangal city who was administered the , Covid-19 vaccination on January 19, was found dead at her home early Sunday morning. G Vanitha’s family, who has alleged that she died due to the vaccination, filed a police complaint, based on which a case has been registered. A resident of Deen Dayal Colony Vanitha , used to work at the Anganwadi in Shayampet. She was known to have high blood pressure and diabetes. Around noon on January 19, she was administered the vaccine at the New Shayampet Urban Primary Health Centre. Vanitha, who lived with her two children, complained to them of chest pain and discomfort on Saturday night. Assuming that it was acidity she self, medicated and went to bed. But her children found her dead on Sunday morning. “The district AEFI (adverse event following immunisation) committee is examining the matter and will submit its report to the State AEFI committee. The State AEFI committee will, in turn, furnish a report to the Central AEFI committee,” the office of the Director of Department of Public Health and Family Welfare stated in a CONTINUED ON P4 release. A circular issued by the Gazipur police in eastern Uttar Pradesh advising fuel outlets not to tank up tractors ahead of the proposed farmers’ parade in New Delhi was withdrawn after it drew flak on social media on Sunday . Ghazipur SP Om Prakash Singh sought to play down the circular, claiming it was issued by a station officer two days ago. “It has been withdrawn,” he added. The circular issued by station officer of Sohawal in Ghazipur refers to the ‘high alert’ ahead of the farmers’ rally, and tells fuel outlet owners to sell diesel to tractors. “Far mers have announced to take out a tractor march. Therefore, you are advised not sell diesel to any tractor or in a can...” it read. The UP police on Sunday mounted vigil in districts bordering Delhi, besides putting 100-odd farmer leaders under house arrest. The top brass met on Sunday to chalk out a strategy to tackle the rally, a day after an attempt by farmers to besiege P7 Raj Bhawan. Shah plays infiltration Will die than give card against Cong-AIUDF up land, say ryots NIMZ ROW EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Guwahati P K R I S H N A @ Sangareddy LISTING out the achievements of the BJP-led government in Assam, Home Minister Amit Shah pitched for another term to ‘safeguard’ the state’s interests. Shah on Sunday said the Cong ress-AIUDF combine would open ‘all gates’ to infiltrators if voted to power. Addressing his first political rally in the poll-bound state, Shah took a swipe at the Congress for calling the BJP communal by questioning its alliance with Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF, which draws support mainly from Muslims.At the Vijay Sankalp Samaroh, Shah asserted that an era of peace and development has been ushered in Assam by the BJP. Appealing to the people to vote for BJP, Shah said Assam has become ‘bullet-free and agitationfree’ and the next BJP dispensation will make it ‘flood-free’, calling floods its biggest problem. Shah projected his party as the only alternative capable of safeguarding and promoting the regional culture. He also took a dig at the Assam Jatiya Parishad, a party floated by former AASU leader Lurinjyoti THE major problem with the location of the National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) in erstwhile Medak district will be land acquisition. The farmers of the area, who cultivate three crops a year, have refused to part with their land, come what may They do not want to give up their only . means of livelihood and begin life afresh, with no skills in whatever avocation they take up. For NIMZ, the Telangana government has so far acquired only 2,900 acres as against the total 12,635 acres in the last 10 years on account of protests by farmers and litigation in courts. Acquisition of the remaining 9,000 acres is a daunting task for officials, who do not know how to meet the target. A revenue officer said: “If the government offers a market price, the farmers might come forward to sell their land. Or else, it will be a difficult task to convince them.” The land to be acquired is spread across 17 villages in Nyalkal and Jharasangam mandals of the Zaheerabad Assembly constituency Most of those who live in these vil. lages are small farmers and tribals. At a recent public hearing called by officials for obtaining environmental clearances for setting up NIMZ, some farmers made their stand crystal clear. CONTINUED ON P4 Amit Shah addressing a political rally at Nalbari in Assam on Sunday | PTI Gogoi, which is tipped to ally with Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal, without naming them, saying they are in the poll arena to help the Congress by trying to cut into votes of the BJP . These two parties are stridently opposed to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and have alleged the CAA is a ‘threat’ to Assam’s culture and identity. The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), which has led mass agitations over the issue of regional identity in the past, has backed Assam Jatiya Parishad. Hitting out at the Congress, the Home Minister said the party had adopted the British Empire’s policy of ‘divide and rule’ by pitting different groups against one another, leading to bloodshed and loss of lives of thousands of youth. WITH THIS ISSUE THE ESSENTIAL CAMPUS DIGEST YOUR LIFE COACH 28 PAGES, INCLUDING 16 OF edex (TABLOID) GREEN CARPET Chepauk pitch to have ‘English’ look V E N K ATA K R I S H N A B @ Chennai V RAMESH KUMAR has an MBA in international business. Growing up in Tiruppur – India’s textile hubs — he wanted to be an athlete. He even represented Tamil Nadu in 100m hurdles in open nationals. An entrepreneur who runs a garment and dying factory which employs around 700 people, these days he is camped in Chennai for some other reason. Ramesh, 43, a certified BCCI curator, will oversee the pitch preparation for India’s upcoming two Tests against England fro m Feb r ua r y 5 at MA Chidambaram Stadium. He might be young for a curator but, in TN cricket, he already has a reputation for making sportive wickets. Ramesh was the one who laid turf wickets at Salem, Tiruppur and Coimbatore: all BCCI approved venues to host first-class cricket. It was this trait that ma de TNCA give him this huge responsibility The Che. pauk pitch over the couple of seasons has come under criticism, including from MS Dhoni for its slow nature. The last time Chennai hosted a Test match in 2016, it provided a flat strip and a repeat of it would also affect India’s chances of making to the Word Test Championship final. “I was sur- prised when I got the call. I have done few age-group tournaments and have assisted other curators for IPL. But this is the first time I’m making a pitch from scratch. I didn’t expect it alone this soon” Ramesh said. After getting the outfield ready, Ramesh’s eyes are now on the square, which has four pitches. “It is a challenging task because we are hosting back-toback Tests with three days gap. It is unprecedented in India. It is hectic because preparations for both the pitches are happening simultaneously for the past one week.” For equal contest Chepauk pitch always assisted spinners. “A pitch with an English look is being made. I always believe there should be an equal contest between bat and ball. There will be grass cover as it needs to last 5 days,” Ramesh said Worry over proposal to tie forest to WPI index Formula suggested in a draft note to committee on revising Net Present Value of forest land used for non-forest purposes R I C H A S H A R M A @ New Delhi IN what is being seen as a severe threat to the country’s green cover, the Union environment ministry has proposed that forests be treated as tradable commodity having value as per the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), to cut down the cost of diversion of pristine forests for infrastructure projects. In a draft note on the revision of the Net Present Value (NPV) of forest land diverted for non-forest purposes sent to a Committee of Secretaries (CoS), the ministry on January 22 suggested the interim arrangement of aligning the rates with the WPI till the information sought for revision in NPV rates as proposed by experts of the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, are compiled. “Keeping in view that more than three years had elapsed since the NPV came into force, the MoEF&CC proposed to revise the NPV based on the Why concern over high NPV rates The note says high NPV rates could lead to a surge in the Centre’s import bills and render smaller projects unviable. It pointed out that the ministries of steel, coal and power as also the NITI Aayog had flagged reservations about the proposed abrupt jump in rates WPI,” said the ministry in the draft note, a copy of which is with this newspaper. The sticking point was articulated in clause 1.30 of the note. It said the IIFM had proposed scaling up NPV rates by as much as four times the existing figures, and warned that the higher tariff could impact ongoing power and other infrastructure sector projects. To soften the blow, the ministry is seeking to align the rates with the WPI, as the escalation that way would not be as steep. However, experts expressed concern over the proposed new system because high NPV rates are meant to be a deterrent, but WPI is a facilitator. Kanchi Kohli, Legal Research Director at CPR-Namati Environment Justice Program, said: “This new proposal further embeds forests as a commodity to be traded through instruments such as the ‘Wholesale Price Index’. It is not focused at protecting forests or forest rights. Ironically the success of this exercise is only dependent on more forests being lost.” If it was only timber and/or minor forest produce, it is acceptable but dense forest as commodity is the most inappropriate index. NPV is to dissuade people to look for forest land; but WPI will encourage them — Manoj Misra, former Indian Forest Service officer