MONDAY www.thestatesman.com 11 JANUARY 2021 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |` 5|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘TRUMP COMMITTED IMPEACHABLE OFFENCES’ US LIFTS CURBS ON CONTACTS WITH TAIWAN P9 WEATHER ALTERED CONTOURS OF MOBILISATION P10 SHAME: PLAYERS SLAM RACIST ABUSE P11 P12 Racist abuse of Indian players mars Test Mainly clear sky. Mist/shallow fog in the morning. The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 17 and 06 degrees Celsius respectively. ICC seeks report on incidents of racist abuse during Day 4 of Third Test against Australia; Cricket Australia issues apology RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY SYDNEY/NEW DELHI, 10 JANUARY Max: 100% I Min: 59% TEMPERATURE Max: 16.2°C (-4) SUN RISES 07:15 hrs MOON RISES 06:23 hrs Min:07.8°C (+1) SUN SETS 17:44 hrs MOON SETS 15:51 hrs THUMBNAILS During the Kolkata International Film Festival (P4) at Nandan in Kolkata on Sunday. SNS Debris found after Indonesia plane crash: Indonesian rescuers pulled out body parts, pieces of clothing and scraps of metal from the Java Sea early Sunday morning, a day after a Boeing 737-500 with 62 people onboard crashed shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, officials said. Officials were hopeful they were honing in on the wreckage of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 after sonar equipment detected a signal from P9 the aircraft. Bird flu scare: Amidst an avian influenza scare in various states, officials in Uttar Pradesh have sounded an alert, with the Kanpur Zoological Park being closed for the public till further orders. Fresh avian deaths were reported from various parts of the country, with the Centre confirming a bird flu outbreak in seven states. P5 SC ruling on Aadhaar scheme review today: The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Monday its verdict on pleas seeking review of a verdict upholding the Centre's flagship Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid but striking down some of its provisions, including its linking with bank accounts, mobile phones and school admissions. PRESS TRUST OF INDIA ndian cricketers, especially pacer Mohammed Siraj, endured racist slurs from the crowd for a second successive day in the third Test against Australia in Sydney, causing a brief halt in the fourth day’s play, expulsion of some spectators from the ground and an all-round condemnation of the incidents. Siraj, still grieving the death of his father a little over a month ago, was called a “Brown Dog” and “Big Monkey” from the SCG stands, BCCI sources said. The 26-year-old, on his maiden tour Down Under, followed the protocol and promptly went up to his skipper Ajinkya Rahane and the on-field umpires, who halted play for about 10 minutes and called in the security, which evicted six people. This was after the bowler and his senior pace partner Jasprit Bumrah were abused by a drunk man on Saturday. The BCCI has already complained about it to ICC match referee David Boon. “As series hosts, we unreservedly apologise to our friends in the Indian cricket team and assure them we will prosecute the matter to its fullest extent,” said Sean Carroll, Cricket Australia’s Head of Integrity and Security, in a Press release affirming zero tolerance to racism. “Once those responsible are identified, CA will take the strongest measures possible under our AntiHarassment Code, including lengthy bans, further sanctions and referral to NSW (New South Wales) Police,” he added. BCCI Secretary Jay Shah offered the first official response from the Indian Board, saying that “racism INTOLERABLE Pacer Mohammed Siraj, endured racist slurs from the crowd for a second successive day in the third Test. He was called a ‘Brown Dog’ and ‘Big Monkey’ from the SCG stands. The 26-year-old promptly went up to his skipper Ajinkya Rahane and the on-field umpires, who halted play for about 10 minutes and called in the security, which evicted six people This was after the bowler and his senior pace partner Jasprit Bumrah were abused by a drunk man on Saturday has no place in our great sport or in any walk of society.” “I’ve spoken to @CricketAus and they have ensured strict action against the 18,444 new Covid cases, 201 deaths STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 10 JANUARY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced free Covid vaccination for all citizens of West Bengal. In an open letter to frontline workers, Miss Banerjee indicated that her government has the vision of providing the vaccine to every citizen of the state. Thanking the frontline workers, Miss Banerjee said Covid warriors including police, home guards, civil defence volunteers, correctional home and disaster management employees, will be administered vaccine on a priority basis. “I am happy to inform that our govern- In an open letter to frontline workers, Miss Banerjee indicated that her government has the vision of providing vaccine to every citizen of the state free of any charge ment is making arrangements for reaching the vaccine to all people of the state free of any charge,” she wrote. Earlier, at a public meeting, Miss Banerjee had said that her government was fully prepared to procure Covid-19 vaccines. The nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive is expect- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA MUMBAI, 10 JANUARY Co-Win foundation of inoculation drive: The Centre on Sunday said Co-WIN, an online platform for monitoring Covid-19 vaccine delivery, shall form the foundation for the anti-coronavirus inoculation drive which shall be citizen-centric so that the vaccine is available anytime and anywhere. India will launch its Covid-19 vaccination drive from 16 January. As part of preparations for the nationwide rollout of Covid-19 vaccine, the Health Ministry on Sunday held a video conference with officials from states and UTs to discuss feedback on the Co-WIN software and its operational use. PTI ed to start from next week. Prime Minister Narendra Modi would chair a meeting via video conferencing with chief ministers of all states on Monday over the vaccination roll-out plan. The Centre has stated that in the Covid vaccine not impact his plans to travel and meet people. However, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh rejected the Opposition BJP’s charge and said the security of political leaders was reviewed as per the prevailing threat perception. As per a government notification issued on 8 January, Fadnavis will now get ‘Y-plus security with escort’, instead of the ‘Z-plus’ cover. The security of his wife Amruta Fadnavis and daughter Divija has been downgraded from ‘Y-plus with escort’ to ‘X’ category. Former Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik will now get ‘Y’ cover instead of ‘Y-plus’. MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s security cover has been downgraded from ‘Z’ to ‘Y plus with escort’. The security covers of BJP leader and former chief minister Narayan Rane, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil and senior party leader Sudhir Mungantiwar have been withdrawn. Rane had ‘Yplus’ security. Besides, the security of state Lokayukta M L Tahiliani has been downgraded from ‘Z’ to ‘Y’. The government, as per the notification, has upgraded the security of two persons, downgraded of 11, withdrawn of 16, while 13 new people have got security cover. Prominent among the new persons to get security are Sunetra Pawar, wife of state Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, and Varun Sardesai, secretary of the Yuva Sena and nephew of CM Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi Thackeray. roll-out, priority will be given to the healthcare workers and the frontline workers who are estimated to be around 3 crores followed by those above 50 years of age and the under50 population groups with co-morbidities, numbering around 27 crore. NEW DELHI, 10 JANUARY The Education Ministry has asked the states to conduct a door-to-door survey to identify out-of-school children and prepare an action plan for their enrolment as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially on migrants, according to officials. The Ministry has also recommended relaxing detention norms to prevent dropouts this year as well as a slew of measures to address learning loss due to the coronavirus-induced shutdown of schools. The move is particularly aimed at identification, admission and continued education of migrant children who have been affected dur- COVID-WORRY The Ministry has recommended relaxing detention norms to prevent drop-outs this year as well as a slew of measures to address learning loss due to the coronavirus-induced shutdown of schools. The move is particularly aimed at admission and education of migrant children who have been affected during the pandemic ing the pandemic, they said. “In order to mitigate the impact of challenges thrown by the Covid-19 pandemic for out of school children, it was felt necessary for every state and UT to devise a proper strategy for preventing increased dropouts, lower enrolments, loss of learning and deterioration in the gains made in providing universal access, quality and equity in the recent years,” a senior ministry official said. “The states and UTs have been advised to carry out proper identification of Outof-School Children (OoSC) for 6 to 18 years age group through a comprehensive door-to-door survey and prepare an action plan for their enrolment,” the official added. The Ministry has also issued guidelines for offering support to students during the closure of schools and when they reopen. “To ensure that schoolgoing children have access to education with quality and equity and to minimize the impact of the pandemic on school education across the country, the Ministry of Education has prepared and issued detailed guidelines on steps to be taken by the States and UTs during school closure and when the schools reopen,” the official said. Exploring the option of classroom-on-wheels and classes in small groups at NEW DELHI, 10 JANUARY India reported 18,444 new cases of Covid-19 while 201 people succumbed to the deadly virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data revealed that a total of 1,04,50,284 people have been affected with the virus so far. While the active cases stand at 2,23,335, a total of 1,00,75,950 have recovered and have been discharged after battling Covid-19. Maharashtra remains the worst affected state with total cases mounting to 19,15,529 while a total of 50,027 people have died so far of which 57 succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours. While the only good news is that in the last 24 hours, there has been no addition in the number of people infected with the new strain of Covid which originated in the UK. The total number of people infected with the new strain stands at 90. Delhi logs 399 cases, 12 deaths: Delhi today recorded 399 Covid cases detected out of 77,600 tests. The city’s coronavirus caseload thus rose to 6,30,200. The positivity rate dipped to 0.51 per cent, according to the Delhi government's latest health bulletin. The national capital logged 12 fresh Covid-linked fatalities, which pushed its toll to 10,678, the health (SEE P2) bulletin said. 1,04,50,284 2,23,335 18,645 19,299 1,50,999 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. SUNDAY 10 JANUARY 2021 Farmers raze CM Khattar’s pro-agri laws rally venue BEATDOWN KARNAL, 10 JANUARY Farmers organise a dangal (wrestling match) during protests against the new agricultural laws DEEPAK at Ghazipur. In the Capital on Sunday. Door-to-door survey to gauge Covid impact on students PRESS TRUST OF INDIA BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, who is recovering after undergoing an angioplasty a few days back. In Dubai, the ICC also tralia,” he said. Australia looked on course for a victory after setting the visitors a target of 407 on Sunday. At stumps, India were two down for 98. The incidents of racial abuse revived memories of the infamous ‘Monkeygate’ episode during the 2007-08 series. Incidentally, that controversy too flared up during the Sydney Test when Andrew Symonds claimed that Harbhajan Singh hurled the racist slur at him multiple times. However, the Indian offspinner, who denied the charge, was cleared after a hearing on the matter. On Saturday, the abuses were directed at Jasprit Bumrah and MohammedSiraj while they were fielding during the Australian second innings. India’s regular skipper Virat Kohli, who is on paternity leave right now, offered his support to the team via social media. Mamata pledges free Covid vaccination Maha govt reduces security cover of rivals The Maharashtra government has reduced the security cover of former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his family, former UP governor Ram Naik and MNS president Raj Thackeray, and withdrawn the security cover of state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil. State BJP spokesman Keshav Upadhye termed the action unfortunate and a “vendetta” of the ruling coalition against his party’s leaders. Fadnavis, who is at present leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, alleged that the government was now giving security “on the basis of politics”, and that this would offenders. @BCCI and Cricket Australia stand together. These acts of discrimination will not be tolerated,” he tweeted, tagging issued a statement, condemning the turn of events and seeking an action taken report from CA. Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin articulated the Indian players’ deep sense of hurt at the end-of-play press conference, saying it wasn’t the first time in Sydney. “Look, I would like to point out something. This is my fourth tour to Australia. Sydney, especially here, we have had a few experiences even in the past,” Ashwin said. “I personally experienced it as well. They do tend to get nasty. I don’t know why or for what reason,” he added and called for an iron fisted response to such diatribes. Australia coach Justin Langer expressed his disgust too. “I mean, I have hated it as a player, I have hated it as a coach, we have seen in different parts of the world, it is really sad to see this happen in Aus- the village level, increasing the access of children to online and digital resources, use of TV and radio to reduce learning losses and ensuring easy and timely access to the provisions of uniforms, textbooks and mid-day meals are among the recommendations made by the ministry for student support during the closure of schools. Similarly, the guidelines for student support when schools reopen after prolonged closure include preparation and running of school readiness modules and bridge course for the initial period so that they can adjust to the school environment. Large-scale remedial programmes and learning enhancement programmes should be held to mitigate learning loss. Rape survivor who was 7-months pregnant dies PRESS TRUST OF INDIA BAREILLY (UP), 10 JANUARY A 15-year-old rape survivor who was seven months pregnant died of pregnancy-related complications at the district hospital here, police said on Sunday. She was admitted to the hospital on Saturday night and passed away on Thursday night, they said. Additional Director and Superintendent In-Charge of the hospital Dr Subodh Sharma said the girl was brought to the hospital in serious condition and her health deteriorated further. Despite best efforts by the doctors, she could not be saved, he added. Senior Superintendent of Police, Bareilly, Rohit Singh Sajwan said, “The post-mortem report says that the death took place due to infection. The father of the girl, who was mentally unsound, said the family came to know about their daughter being six-month pregnant on 6 December. He said she was raped allegedly by a 30-year-old man in a sugarcane field in June last year when she had gone out of the house for some work. The accused had threatened her that he will kill her family members if she revealed the incident to them. The victim’s father filed a complaint at Fatehganj West police station on 4 December, following which a case under POCSO Act and IPC was registered against the accused. The accused was arrested on 6 December. Protesting farmers on Sunday vandalised the venue of a ‘kisan mahapanchayat’ programme at Kaimla village here where Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar was to address people to highlight the benefits of the Centre’s three agriculture laws. The Haryana Police used water cannons and lobbed teargas shells to prevent the farmers from marching towards the village. The farmers, however, reached the venue and damaged the makeshift helipad where Khattar’s chopper was to land despite elaborate security arrangements made by the police. They later took control of the helipad and squatted on it. Some protesters also uprooted the tiles of the helipad. The farmers disrupted the kisan mahapanchayat programme by damaging the stage and breaking chairs, tables and flower pots at the venue. In the melee, stones were also pelted as police personnel ran for cover. Angry farmers, mainly comprising youths, damaged the stage, tent and speakers at the venue. They also tore BJP hoardings and uprooted banners in the presence of policemen. Under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni), farmers, who have been demanding that the laws be repealed, had earlier announced to oppose the ‘kisan mahapanchayat’. DETAILS ON PAGE 5