MONDAY www.thestatesman.com 17 JANUARY 2022 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR POST-POLL ALLIANCE POSSIBLE IN GOA: KEJRIWAL NETANYAHU MAY GO FOR PLEA BARGAIN IN CORRUPTION CASE P9 WEATHER PARTLY CLOUDY SKY. SHALLOW TO MODERATE FOG IN THE MORNING. COLD DAY CONDITIONS AT ISOLATED PLACES. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 16 AND 08 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max: 92% P5 More than 2.71 lakh Covid cases added in a day Min: 08.1°C (+1) SUN SETS 17:48 hrs MOON SETS 07:37 hrs SWIMMI SHRIVASTAVA NEW DELHI, 16 JANUARY THUMBNAILS Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday released a commemorative postal stamp on India's achievement in developing an indigenous Covid vaccine (Covaxin) as the nation marked the first anniversary of its Covid vaccine drive which began on 16 January last year. Playing to a plan, Lakshya Sen (in photo) stunned World Champion Loh Kean Yew and doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy shocked three times world champion duo of Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan to claim their first Yonex-Sunrise India Open crowns with convincing wins at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall. It turned out to be a super Sunday for Indian badminton fans as Sen accounted for fancied Loh Kean Yew 24-22, 21-17 in 54 minutes to win his first Super 500 title while Satwik and Chirag displayed better nerves to overpower top seeds Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan 21-16, 24-22. (See Page 12) Channi's brother to contest as Independent candidate: Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's brother Manohar Singh Bassi on Sunday announced that he will be contesting as an Independent candidate from Bassi Pathana assembly seat in the upcoming polls after Congress did not give him a ticket. The chief minister's brother rebellious remarks came after the party fielded MLA Gurpreet Singh GP from the seat. "I will contest the election as an independent candidate. I did the same in 2007 (P4) and won the election," Bassi said. ASSOCIATED PRESS COLLEYVILLE, 16 JANUARY Authorities on Sunday identified a 44-year-old British national as the man who took four people hostage at a Texas synagogue for 10 hours before an FBI SWAT team stormed the building, ending a tense standoff that President Joe Biden called “an act of terror.” Malik Faisal Akram was shot and killed after the last of the hostages got out at around 9 p.m. Saturday at Congregation Beth Israel near Fort Worth. In a statement, the FBI said there was no indication that anyone else was involved, but it didn’t provide a possible motive. Akram could be heard ranting on a Facebook livestream of the services and demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan. The FBI and police declined to answer questions Saturday night about who shot Akram when the standoff ended. TV news video showed people running out a door of the synagogue, and then a man holding a gun opening the same door just seconds later before he turned around and closed it. Moments later, several rounds of gunfire could be heard, followed by the sound of an explosion. Biden said the suspect was able to purchase weapons on the street and may have only been in the country a few weeks. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to questions Sunday about Akram’s immigration status and history. Details on Page 10 P12 BARRED ACCESS More than 92 p.c. of adults have at least a single dose, 68 p.c. both doses Min: 62% Texas hostage crisis over: Captor shot, wanted release of Pak scientist P6 Vaccination drive completes a year TEMPERATURE Max: 17.2°C (-3) SUN RISES 07:15 hrs MOON RISES 17:10 hrs DJOKOVIC LOSES VISA APPEAL, DEPORTED HOUSE OF WINDSOR IN CRISIS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 16 JANUARY I ndia’s Covid-19 vaccination drive, in which more than 156.76 crore vaccine doses have been administered through 1,68,19,744 sessions, completed a year on Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi saluted people associated with the vaccination drive on the occasion. He lauded the role of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers in the vaccination drive while urging people to keep following the Covid protocols. Data released by the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry indicated that more than 92 per cent of the adult population have been administered at least single doses while about 68 per cent people have With 7743 new Omicron Covid-19 cases reported from various parts of the country on Saturday with daily increase of over 28 %, Covid-19 cases continue to rise across the country, registering a daily positivity rate of 16.28% and a daily increase of 2,71,202 new cases during the past 24 hours. According to data furnished by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India's active caseload currently stands at 15,50,377 with 4.18% active cases. Daily recoveries have also increased significantly with more than 1.38 lakh Covid cases recovering on Saturday. The total patients recovered since the start of the pandemic has increased to 3,50,85,721, the ministry said. received both the doses. The drive was rolled out on 16 January last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2. The next phase commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specific comorbid conditions. On April 1, vaccination for all adults was started. In the first week of January, the next phase of the vaccination drive commenced for ado- Though the virus continues to spread exponentially during the third wave, most of the cases remain confined to urban areas and the hospitalization rate is much lower than what was reported during the second wave, according to senior officers of the Health Ministry. Even the death rate is less than during the second wave, the officers said, adding that the death rate is only high among those who have not yet been vaccinated. On 16 December 2021, the total number of active cases was just 87,245, which has increased to 15,50,377 ~ a 17-fold increase in one month. The daily positivity rate has also increased from 0.57 (on December 16) to 16.28 on Saturday~ more than twenty eight times in a month, revealed the data released by the Health Ministry. lescents in the age group of 15 to 18 years. The Union Health Ministry claimed that India’s vaccination programme has been one of the most successful and largest inoculation programmes when compared to many developed western nations with a significantly lower population base to vaccinate “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has saluted each and every individual who is associated with the vaccination drive on completion of one year of vaccine Law for 75 per cent local quota in jobs comes into effect in Haryana INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE CHANDIGARH, 16 JANUARY Fulfilling one of the key poll promise made by Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), a coalition partner of the BJP in Haryana, a law that provides 75 per cent reservation in the private sector to job seekers from the state has come into effect. Elated over the implementation of the legislation, Deputy Chief Minister Chautala on Sunday said: "Today is a historic day for the youth as from now priority for jobs would be given to the youth of Haryana in all private sector companies, institutions, trusts, societies and industries established in the state." The law envisages 75 per cent reservation for local youth in the private sector with an upper limit of gross monthly salary up to Rs 30,000. The rule regarding 75 per cent job reservation came into effect on January 15. "With the implementation of this system, new avenues for employment will open for lakhs of youth in the private sector," an official statement quoting Chautala said. In this regard, a dedicated portal has also been created by the Labour Department along with a helpline number. Companies will now have to reflect their vacancy on the portal which will be continuously monitored by the government. In November last year, the BJP-JJP government had notified the law to implement 75 per cent job reservations for locals in the private sector. It envisages reservation for local youth in the private sector with an upper limit of gross monthly salary up to Rs 30,000. The law will be applicable for 10 years. The state government also relaxed the residency requirement from 15 to five years for a person to get a bona fide resident certificate in the state to provide some flexibility to the private companies in hiring. 3,71,22,164 15,50,377 2,71,202 1,38,331 4,86,066 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. SUNDAY 16 JANUARY 2022 Delhi registered 18,286 fresh cases and 28 deaths on Sunday, with a positivity rate of 27.87 per cent drive," a PMO note said. In response to a tweet by MyGovIndia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a series of tweets said that vaccination had added strength to the fight against Covid19. He said the country has adopted a scientific approach in its fight against Covid-19. He said the government was working to further augment the health infrastructure in the country. He urged people to keep following the Covid protocol. “Today we mark #1YearOfVaccineDrive...I salute each and every individual who is associated with the vaccination drive... Our vaccination programme has added great strength to the fight against COVID-19. It has led to saving lives and thus protecting livelihoods," the PM tweeted. Barbed wire on a main road to close all entry near the Clock Tower in Srinagar during govt-imposed complete weekend lockdown in Kashmir valley N MOHAMMAD AMIN WAR ISI activates terror wings to derail Punjab, UP polls: Intel INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 16 JANUARY With an aim to to derail the electioneering process in the state and to increase the Khalistani footprints in Punjab, the Pakistan's InterServices Intelligence (ISI) has activated its terror outfits to execute more terror activities in the state and also in some parts of Uttar Pradesh, the Intelligence agencies have warned. Sources in the security set up, quoting the intelligence inputs, said that the ISI-sponsored Khalistani terror outfits may target the election rallies and may attempt to hit some important leaders or VVIP during the electioneering process in Punjab, parts of UP and Uttarkhand. Considering Punjab election as an apt opportunity to reactivate the Khalistani movement in the state and also in other poll-bound states where Sikh voters are in large numbers, the ISI Sources in the security set-up, quoting intelligence inputs, said that the ISI-sponsored Khalistani terror outfits may target the election rallies and may attempt to hit some important leaders or VVIP during the electioneering process in Punjab, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarkhand. has activated all small or big terror groups which have been tasked to derail the poll process in the state, the sources further said. The inputs have been shared by the Punjab, UP and Uttarakhand administrations which disclosed that these outfits may try to make inroad among Sikh population in other states too to gain their support for their cause. The ISI has also conveyed to these proscribed Sikh militant organizations that this is a time of 'Now or Never' for Khalistan. Accordingly, the UP and Uttarakhand governments have been asked to keep a vigil on these activities and to keep in touch with the Sikh religious leaders and prominent persons in these states. The ISI has instructed Sikh militant groups which are active abroad to channelize the supply of weapons and explosives in Punjab and organizations like International SikhYouth Federation (ISYF), Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) to arrange the supply of weapons through Pakistani handlers. The sources also said that Sikh militantWadhava Singh Babbar of BKI, Parmjit Singh Panjawar of Khalistan Commando Force and Ranjeet Singh Neeta of Khalistan Zindabad Force are in touch with ISI and executing its instructions. Samuel Rajappa is no more STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 16 JANUARY Veteran journalist Samuel Rajappa, whose association with The Statesman would have extended to six decades in another week, passed away in Canada late last night, according to information received from his family. He was 85, and is survived by his two sons, Sanjiv Samuel, who lives in Canada, and Manu Prabhakaran, who is based in Fiji. In the course of a career that began with the Free Press Journal in 1960, and where, as he would laughingly recall, he sometimes shared his tiffin break with Bal Thackeray, then a cartoonist with the paper, Sam played several key roles ~ as a political cor- respondent, editor, leader writer and mentor to many journalists, including the editor of this newspaper. For his long and distinguished service to the cause of journalism, he was awarded the Raja Ram Mohun Roy award by the Press Council of India in 2017. Born near Kanyakumari in the erstwhile Madras Presidency, Sam joined The Statesman as a Sub-editor on 22 January 1962. A few years later, he was posted as the paper’s Special Representative to Thiruvananthapuram and then moved to Chennai. For many years, he covered the four Southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for the paper, single-handedly and with great distinction. Rajappa took two brief sabbaticals from the paper – to be the Southern bureau chief of India Today in the early 1980s and to be founder-editor of AP Times a decade later. But The Statesman, as he would often say, was his home. Concurrently and for about a decade and a half, he was also the South India corre- spondent of BBC. In 2008, he agreed to relocate from Chennai to Kolkata to become the first Director of The Statesman Print Journalism School and set up the academic protocols that are followed to this day. A few years later, he moved back to Chennai because of his health, but continued to be associated with The Statesman as an Editorial Consultant, contributing editorials and articles, and with the school, where he would return annually to deliver a series of hugely popular lectures. His last piece, written from Canada where he was visiting his elder son, was published on 25 December and his annual sojourn to Kolkata was planned for later this month. Don’t build road via Nepal territory unilaterally: Kathmandu INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE KATHMANDU, 16 JANUARY Nepal on Sunday once again reminded India not to construct any roads in Nepali territory unilaterally. This reaction comes in a response to a recent statement of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30 in Uttarakhand. While addressing an election rally, Prime Minister Modi on December 30 announced that his government had built a road to Lipulekh and that there were more plans to extend it further. Responding the statement of the Indian Prime Minister after it created a huge uproar in Nepal across the political spectrum, Nepal's Minister for Information and Communication Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said on Sun- day that Nepal government has been asking India not to extend and construct road via Nepali territory unilaterally. The Indian government is building a road via Lipulekh to Kailash Mansarovar in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China. After the row in Nepal over Modi's statement, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu on Saturday issued a statement, clarifying that any outstanding boundary issues with Nepal will be settled through established mechanisms and channels. "The Government of India's position on the India-Nepal boundary is well known, consistent and unambiguous," it said in the statement. "It has Amidst an outcry in Nepal against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent statement on the expansion of a road via Lipulekh, a territory Nepal has claimed as its own, New Delhi said that outstanding boundary issues with Nepal will be settled through established mechanisms and channels. been communicated to the Government of Nepal." Almost all political parties in Nepal, including Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's own Nepali Congress, have been demanding that the government speak up on Modi's statement and make its position clear on Lipulekh. When India and China agreed to develop a trade and transit route via Lipulekh during Modi's visit to China in 2015, the Nepal government had objected to the decision and protested with both Indian and Chinese governments through the separate diplomatic notes. While calling Lipulekh an integral part of its territory, Nepal asked both New Delhi and Beijing to scrap the agreement or take prior consent from Nepal if they want to construct anything into the disputed territory. Lipulekh is a trijunction between Nepal, India and China. Earlier in 2020, Nepal again protested India's decision to extend the road via Lipulekh. Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had inaugurated the road in the first week of May 2020, creating quite an uproar in Nepal. The Nepal government then on May 20, 2020 unveiled a new map incorporating Kalapani, Limpiyadhura, and Lipulekh within the Nepali territory. The new map was endorsed by Parliament unanimously through a constitutional amendment. India had taken umbrage at Nepal's move, calling the publication of the new map "cartographic assertions". Nepal-India relations then hit a rock-bottom and came back on track only at the end of last year. But Modi's remarks on Lipulekh once again created a commotion in Nepal. Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Karki who is also the spokesperson of the Nepal government, stated that the Nepal government is clear that Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura are the integral part of Nepal. Besides Lipulekh, Nepal and India also have disputes in Kalapani and Limpiyadhura area. Limpiyadhura is the last border point between Nepal and India which Nepal claims as its own territory. Similarly, near Limpiyadhura, there is another chunk of land called Kalapani where India has been keeping its troops after the 1962 Indo-China war. Nepa has been saying that Kalapani falls inside Nepali territory and India had unilaterally stationed its troops there without prior approval from Nepal. Given the close and historic relations between Nepal and India and its letter and spirit, Nepal wants to resolve the dispute through the historic treaty and agreement, facts, maps and evidence through the diplomatic channel, said Karki.