tirupati l sunday l february 21, 2021 l `8.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION Osaka rules Aus Open, wins fourth Grand Slam title sunday blockbuster: the men’s final Novak Djokovic will play for his 18th Grand Slam title while his opponent Medvedev will play for his first when they meet in the Australian Open final on Sunday. Djokovic leads Daniil Medvedev 4-3 in head to head. However, Medvedev seems to be in form with a 20-match winning streak since October — Djokovic too had been one of the casualties | P11 The Japanese needed 77 minutes to sweep past Jennifer Brady of the US in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 in women’s final shining star destined for more ■ ■ ■ The 23-year-old becomes only the third player after Monica Seles and Roger Federer to win her first four major finals She had won 2018 US Open, the 2019 Aus Open & 2020 US Open Her win sparked celebration in corona-hit Japan. An astronaut tweeted ‘congratulations’ from international Space Station two Osaka will rise to two in world ranking on Monday 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 Centre, states must together work for development: Modi Toolkit doesn’t sow disaffection, Disha tells HC E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi An online ‘toolkit’ is merely a ‘resource document’, it does not ‘sow disaffection’ and there is no evidence to show the toolkit on farmers’ protest is responsible for the violence on January 26, activist Disha Ravi told a Delhi court on Saturday as she sought bail. “If highlighting the farmers’ protest globally is sedition, I’m better (off) in jail,” Disha said through her lawyer in court, which will give its decision on the bail on Tuesday . The bail plea was strongly opposed by the Delhi Police, which alleged that Disha was preparing the toolkit with those advocating Khalistan and she was part of a global conspiracy to defame India and create unrest in the country in the garb of the farmers’ protest. “This was not just a toolkit. The real plan was to defame India and create unrest here,” the police told additional sessions judge Dharmender Rana. The prosecution also submitted that Disha deleted WhatsApp chats, emails and other evidence and was aware of legal actions she could face. The deletion of chats, the police argued, showed Disha’s ‘guilty mind and sinister design’. These allegations were rejected by Disha’s counsel, who said: “I am 22, from Karnataka. I have no connection with the Khalistan movement. There is no single chat or conversation between me (Disha) and the (banned organisation) Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). And even if I (Disha) meet someone, there is no symbol on him that he is a secessionist.” E X P RESS READ APHERMC fixes fees for courses in pvt colleges Vijayawada: The APHERMC has fixed the fee structure for BPharma, MBA, MCA and BEd courses offered by private and unaided professional colleges for the block period of 2020-21 to 2022-23. The proposed minimum annual fee is `35,000 for BPharma, `27,000 for MBA and MCA, `10,000 to `14,000 for BEd course. `5.89 cr TU-142 aircraft museum coming up Kakinada: The Godavari Urban Development Authority (GUDA) has taken up construction of a museum to house the TU-142 fighter aircraft at the GUDA beach park beside Navy guest house in the city at a cost of `5.89 crore. The project is meant to attract tourists, said GUDA vicechairman A Raveendranath. W ITH THI S I S S UE That Gut Feeling PLUS 12 PAGES Urges setting up of district export promotion councils; purging of redundant laws M A N ISH A N A N D @ New Delhi Steady rise in Covid graph 6,112 New cases in Maharashtra on Saturday Punjab A BMC Covid marshal clicking a pic of a maskless girl at a Mumbai local station on Saturday | PTI Failure to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour is at the heart of the continuing rise of new cases in Maharashtra this week Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Chhattisgarh 10,000 New cases on an average in Maharashtra when the virus was at its peak earlier Saying that the youth cannot wait for development any longer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked the states to embark on the reform journey Speaking at the sixth . governing council meeting of the Niti Aayog, the prime minister exhorted chief ministers to align state budgets with the Union budget, asking them to work on their respective pipeline of infrastructure projects, besides setting up task forces to lessen compliance burdens for the people and businesses. Modi said private enterprises, which have shown much enthusiasm, should be embraced by the states for accelerated development. “The focus should be on ease of doing business for the international audience,” said Modi, while making a mention of the As a government, we liberalisation of geospatial data, adding had also have to it been done a decade earlier “there would honour this have been a Google from India.” enthusiasm, the He suggested the synchronisation of the energy of the Union and state budgets for multiplier effect. private sector Modi dwelt at length on India’s bid to become Narendra Modi, a global manufacturing hub, suggesting Prime Minister states should set up district export promotion councils, while identifying one product each for exporting. “There’s an all round eagerness to push forward with economic development. The youth of the country cannot wait,” Modi said. The Centre, he said, weeded out 1,500 redundant laws and urged all states to do likewise. Niti Aayog ViceChairman Rajiv Kumar later said the CMs gave many actionable inputs on which it would work with the ministries. 44 4 States 75.87% Kerala, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and MP, where upsurge has been worrying of the total cases on Saturday are from Maharashtra and Kerala fresh cases in Vidarbha testing, contact tracing to be revived  Vigilance squads formed for surprise raids at wedding parties and other social gatherings  Aggressive Deaths tied to Covid reported in Maharashtra Kerala  Most 101 Deaths reported from across India 23 Deaths reported from Kerala (15) and Punjab (8) in past 24 hours 10th round of talks begins, India-China special reps to pick up the thread next M aya n k S i n g h & P u s h k a r B a n a k a r @ New Delhi As the 10th round of India-China corps commander-level talks were held on Saturday to disengage troops from other friction points along the line of actual control (LAC), sources indicated that the special representatives of the two countries on the boundary dispute were likely to meet soon. Sources said the two special representatives, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, will meet to iron out the differences in the perception of the LAC. The two special representatives last held a video conference in June last year, setting the ball rolling for the disengagement. They have been in touch ever since, sources said. The 10th round of talks is being held between Lt Gen P G K Menon and Chinese Major General Lin Liu. “The modalities of the disengagement will be dependent on agreements the two sides will reach during the talks,” a senior Army officer said, adding it was important that a politico-military will to act was demonstrated. Sources said both the governments had taken steps to normalise ties. The Indians had made it clear to the Chinese that the use of force would not be tolerated but discussions to ensure a positive result with regard to all outstanding issues of the LAC can be held. “The change in the approach re- E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday reiterated that rapid industrialisation of Andhra Pradesh is possible if only Special Category Status (SCS) is accorded to the State and also urged the Centre to expedite the approval of revised cost estimates of the Polavaram Irrigation Project Military meeting “First a review of the process completed will be taking place and then other sectors where the standoff is taking place will be discussed. The modalities of the disengagement will be dependent on agreements the two sides will reach during the talks,” a senior Army officer said about the Corps Commanders’ meeting for timely completion of the national project. Participating in the sixth Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister said bifurcation resulted in the State deprived of tier-1 city, infrastructure, employment opportunities and financial resources. “Rapid industrialisation of my State is possible if only Special ‘Allow govts to function’ E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday criticised the trend to politicise policy decisions, while his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar made his case for a ‘one nation, one rate’, as he sought rationalisation of electricity cost. They were addressing the sixth Gover ning Council meeting of the Niti Aayog. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy reiterated the demand for special status for his state, while his Rajasthan counterpart Ashok Gehlot sought focused attention on efforts for employment generation and improved health- care infrastructure. Patnaik’s remarks seemed to echo the NDA line that protests are being orchestrated against any decision taken by the Centre. “The kind of atmosphere where every incident or every action of the government is given political angles is a threat to the pace of development and peace in the country Patnaik said. ,” Nitish Kumar is learnt to have sought a special port in Odisha, saying his landlocked state needed facilities to tap the export market. Kumar also called for “one nation one rate”, saying the cost of the electricity provided by the Centre should be uniform. The CMs of Gujarat, Punjab, Bengal and Telangana didn’t participate. The meet’s agenda items were manufacturing, reimagining agriculture, infrastructure, human resources development, improving service delivery, health & nutrition — Rajiv Kumar, Niti Aayog vice chief accord scs to ap for growth: cm Category Status is accorded. This was a commitment made on the floor of Parliament and was a precondition to bifurcation,’’ Jagan said. “For India to become a formidable force in manufacturing, we must conduct a thorough study and analyse the factors that have contributed to the success of countries that have demonstrated good progress in manufacturing P4 sector,” Jagan said.  Centre’s nod to 2 AP road projects worth `1.8K cr E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam sulted after both sides agreed to restore status quo ante at the Pangong Lake,” the sources said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had revealed the details of the disengagement process from the north and south banks of Pangong Tso in Parliament. The PLA and the Indian Army since then have disengaged with armoured vehicles, artillery guns and soldiers moving back. The PLA has moved to the east of Finger 8 on the north bank and Indian Army is back to the Dhan Singh Thapa Post. The structures erected during the stand-off were brought down. Similar actions have taken place in the south bank, which includes the withdrawal of Indian soldiers from the important Kailash Range, which was occupied in August 2020 end. Kailash Range has dominating features that gave an advantage to the Indian Army . ‘steely’ rally YSRC MP V Vijayasai Reddy undertakes ‘Visakhapatnam Steel Plant Parirakshana Yatra’ in Vizag on Saturday | G satyanarayana The works of 465 km NH 130CD, part of Visakhapatnam to Raipur Economic Corridor are set to gain pace with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways approving two six-lane packages of the highway at a cost of more than `1,500 crore. Another project of widening and strengthening National Highway 42 to four-lane in Anantapur town with `311 crore was also approved by the ministry . In a series of tweets announcing the approval of the projects, the office of Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said `824 crore was approved for Sabbavaram to Kantakapalle under Raipur - Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor in the State of Andhra Pradesh. Similarly, another `772 crore was approved for development of six-lane highway between Korlam and Kantakapalle under the corridor. Of the 465 km highway 100 , km will be in Andhra Pradesh and the remaining part of highway is in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. Of the 100 km stretch in AP, 5 km is in Visakhapatnam and 95 km in Vizianagaram, according to NHAI sources. Once the highway is completed, it will reduce the travel time from Vizag to Raipur from 12 to 7 to 8 hours. The distance will also come down from 560 to 465 km. Sources said while the total cost of the Vizag-Raipur Economic Cor ridor was `14,000 crore, the stretch in AP was estimated to cost P4 `2,700 crore.  Wing damage Close shave for 64 passengers as plane hits electric pole E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The Air India Express flight from Doha, which accidentally hit a high mast light pole at Vijayawada International Airport on Saturday | Express At least 64 passengers and crew on board an Air India Express flight from Doha had a close shave after one of its wings hit an electric pole adjacent to the runway at Vijayawada International Airport in Gannavaram on Saturday. None of the passengers suf- fered any injuries. According to airport officials, the incident took place around 5 pm. While the flight from Doha was proceeding from the runway to bay No. 5, the captain followed the leading margin (yellow) instead of the central yellow line. As a result, the flight’s right wing hit the high mast light pole. The pole fell down due to Spl flight arranged for the stranded Of the total 64 passengers in the Air India flight from Doha, 19 disembarked at Gannavaram. A special flight was arranged for the remaining passengers to reach their destinations the impact and the flight came to a halt. Of the 64 passengers, 19 were scheduled to disembark at Gannavaram airport, while the remaining are heading towards Tiruchirapalli. “We just experienced a small jerk and the flight came to a halt even before it reached the terminal. Luckily, no one was injured,” Rama Reddy, a passenger who disembarked at the airport, told the media. Airport officials rushed to the spot and got the passengers disembarked safely from the flight. Repair works are underway . Sources said a special flight was arranged for the remaining passengers to go to their destinations and it left the airport around 9.30 pm.