MONDAY BALOCH FURY AGAINST CHINA’S CPEC REACHES TIPPING POINT 22 Gwadar port, keystone of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, is witnessing protests over worsening economic conditions NOVEMBER, 2021 NO DEVELOPMENT, ONLY MORE POVERTY epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard twitter.com/TheMornStandard DONE & DUSTED INDIA COMPLETE SERIES SWEEP Hosts beat New Zealand in third T20I at Eden Gardens to emerge 3-0 winners A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 11  NEW DELHI   J8.00 PAGES 12 Thousands in Gwadar, a city in Pakistan’s poor Balochistan province, have been protesting for weeks over a dire lack of drinking water, hospitals and schools. In addition, the locals are angry over a wipe-out of livelihoods due to licences issued to Chinese trawlers. They say the government has failed in its promise to bring economic development through Chinese projects ESTIMATED VALUE OF CPEC, THE KEY PART OF CHINA’S ‘BELT AND ROAD’ IMRAN REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO CHINA To protect economic interests, the government’s checkposts & movement restrictions have turned Gwadar into a security state. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has neglected desperate pleas of those the projects were supposed to benefit & instead said that supporting Chinese firms is his priority | P9 Sachin Pilots his way in Gehlot govt PEOPLE WON’T BELIEVE PM’S WORDS: RAHUL New Delhi: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said people who have “suffered false rhetoric” in the past are not ready to believe the words of the prime minister on repealing the farm laws. “People who have suffered false rhetoric are not ready to believe the words of the PM. Farmers’ Satyagraha continues,” Gandhi tweeted. Five of former Deputy CM’s loyalists among 15 who take oath; ministry now more diverse R A J E S H A S N A N I @ Jaipur THE long-pending cabinet reshuffle in the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government went off smoothly on Sunday afternoon, with dissident leader Sachin Pilot claiming it sent a positive message across the state. In all, 11 cabinet ministers and four ministers of state (MoS) were sworn in. The 11 cabinet ministers include three who have been elevated from MoS. As a result, only 12 new ministers were inducted. Three ministers — Govind Singh Dotasra, Harish Chaudhary and Raghu Sharma — who hold key positions in the party have been dropped. All others have been retained. Ashok Gehlot Sachin Pilot MORE JAT & DALIT REPRESENTATION Gehlot’s cabinet now has four Jat faces, as the Jats play a key role in about 50 seats. Three Dalit ministers — Mamta Bhupesh, Bhajanlal Jatav, Tikaram Julie — have been promoted from minister of state to cabinet rank The reshuffle exercise is a bid to pacify the Pilot faction, which had revolted against Gehlot last year and sparked off a major crisis for the Congress. Pilot, a former Rajasthan deputy chief minister, figures nowhere in the Cabinet. Only a respectable position for him will ensure long-ter m peace and harmony in the state party unit. The ministers who took oath as a part of the cabinet include Hemaram Chaudhary, Ramlal Jat, Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Mahesh Joshi, Vishvendra Singh, Ramesh Meena, Mamta Bhupesh, Bhajan Lal Jatav, Tikaram Julie, Govind Ram Meghwal and Shakuntala Rawat. Dalits, women and tribals got good representation in the revamped ministry . Among those sworn in on Sunday, Hemaram Chaudhary, Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena are regarded as integral members of the Pilot camp and took oath as cabinet Ministers. Singh and Meena had to lose their seats in the political crisis that erupted over the Pilot rebellion last year. Brijendra Singh Ola and Murari Lal Meena, who have been made MoS, are also Pilot loyalists. Gehlot also appointed five MLAs as his advisors, three of whom are among the 13 Independents supporting his government. Also, one of the exBSP MLAs who joined the Congress has been included. MODI-YOGI PIC SPARKS TALKS ON IMPORTANCE OF UP POLLS N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow THE significance of next year’s Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh was reflected on Sunday in a photograph showing Narendra Modi taking a stroll with Yogi Adityanath, engrossed in a deep discussion, with his arm around the chief minister’s shoulder in the corridors of Lucknow Raj Bhawan. The photograph created a storm in social media. The Uttar Pradesh CM posted the picture on Twitter with a poetic caption in Hindi which translates into, “We have set out with a pledge, devoting our body and soul, a resolution to make the sun rise, to rise above the sky, to make a new India.” It is pertinent to mention that Adityanath is the chief ministerial face of BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Deviating from its policy of not declaring the CM candidate, the party has already announced that the upcoming Assembly elections in the country’ most populous state would be fought under the stewardship of Yogi Adityanath. The Prime Minister was on a three-day visit to Uttar Pradesh to attend 56th DGP/ IGP conference in Lucknow. He reached Raj Bhawan on November 19 and left for New Delhi on Sunday evening. Modi attended the DG/IG conference from the second day. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Director Generals of Police (DGPs) of all the states and Union Territories, Director Generals (DGs) of Central police organisations and 350 other senior police officers were present at the event. Notably, Uttar Pradesh is the first state where the Prime Minister spent three days. As per political pundits, he does not want to leave any stone unturned as far as the Uttar Pradesh elections are concerned. He is paying repeated visits to the state and more are in store. Last week, Modi was in Sultanpur to inaugurate 341km Purvanchal Expressway followed by his November 19 visit to Bundelkhand’s Jhansi and Mahoba districts to launch the ambitious Defence Corridor project and inaugurate the Arjun Sahayak Irrigation Project. He dedicated welfare projects worth `6,250 crore to the nation during his Bundelkhand visit. On the other hand, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has taken a jibe at the Modi-Yogi picture through a Twitter post. “For the sake of world, sometimes it becomes imperative in politics to walk a few steps together unwillingly he wrote. ,” JAB-O-METER TAKE YOUR SHOT Nov 20 60,25,558 doses Nov 21 32,70,520 doses TOTAL DOSES: 116,89,74,185 NATIONWIDE NOV 20 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths DELHI Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths NOV 21 10,302 10,488 11,787 12,329 267 313 NOV 20 NOV 21 32 32 00 29 45 00 Farmer leaders address the media at Singhu border on Sunday | PTI Pre-planned events on course, farmers put forward 6 demands E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Chennai THE Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Sunday announced it was going ahead with its planned march to Parliament to mark one year of protests. They also wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, listing their demands — MSP based on comprehensive cost of production be made a legal entitlement of all farmers for all agricultural produce, sacking and arrest of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra in connection with Lakhimpur Kheri incident, withdrawal of cases against farmers and building of a memorial for those who lost their lives during the agitation. After a meeting of SKM at Singhu border, farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said, V AT S A L A S H R A N G I @ New Delhi ISSUING fresh directions on the curbs to contain air pollution in the national capital, the Delhi government on Sunday said all schools will continue to remain shut until further orders. Other emergency measures ordered on Sunday night stated that the ban on entry of trucks in Delhi (except those carrying essential commodities) will continue, government offices shall remain closed, while officers will work from home. Private establishments are also advised to follow suit till November 26. The directions issued under section (5) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 stated: “Air pollution levels are still very poor... Air quality early warning system for Delhi predicts that the air quality is likely to remain in poor to mod- Rain and flood situation worsens in Andhra Amaravati: In Andhra Pradesh, hundreds of vehicles and people were stranded, traffic was closed or suspended in arterial highways and over 100 trains cancelled snapping rail-road link between southern and other parts of the country on Sunday as the Penna river caused heavy destruction. Death toll in rain-related incidents in different districts of Andhra Pradesh touched 33 as more bodies were retrieved from the flooded streams and at least 12 people were reported missing. The Chennai-Kolkata National Highway remained cut off. DELHI MODEL APPLICABLE IN PUNJAB AS WELL State head of Aam Aadmi Party says if party wins elections, priority would be revitalising education and health sectors, other than eradicating corruption | P7 RESHAPING LANDSCAPES Seed balls sprout greenery in rocky overburden dumps M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi SEED balls are turning out to be a cheap and effective tool for Bharat Coking Coal Limited to reclaim overburden dumps which otherwise remain unusable and neglected. Under a mine reclamation project, thousands of seed balls — made of a mixture of grass seeds, clay and compost — are used to spread greenery at overburden dumps in Dhanbad. Overburden is the waste or spoil, which lie above coal or minerals in mining areas. According to BCCL officials, seed balls are thrown on the slopes of OB dumps before the monsoon. With the onset of rains, the seeds germinate in due course of time and help in binding the dumps. BCCL officials claimed that this ‘throw and grow method’ is an effective, sustainable and useful conservation tool for establishing vegetation. “As the dump is mostly rocky surface where it is difficult to plant anything, workers ensure the seed balls are of adequate size. Before the onset of monsoon, they are thrown in the OB dumps which later have pools of water enabling the seeds to germinate,” said BCCL Environment Head of the Department (HOD) Kumar Ranjeev. Only shrub and grass seeds are put in the speedballs at the places where mining is to be done in future, he added. “We have procured 1,870 kg of grass seeds from Rajasthan Grass Research Institute (for the purpose).” The objective, according to Kumar, is to increase grass cover which attracts birds and insects further developing the ecological system. “Initially, clay, compost and seeds were mixed in equal quantity but it was found not to be effective. The quantity of compost and clay was increased, limiting the proportion of seed to 10 per cent. It gave good results as the seeds got a chance to germinate in a better way Kumar said. ,” As many as 25 kg of grass seeds are spread in one hectare for three years — 10 kg in first year, 8 kg in the second and 7 kg in the final year, he added. tion on November 19. We noted that after 11 rounds of talks, you chose the path of unilateral declaration rather than a bilateral solution. Nonetheless, we are glad that you have announced the decision to withdraw all three farm laws. We welcome this announcement and hope that your government will fulfill this promise at the earliest and in full.’’ The farmers also said that the Central government has black-listed certain Non Resident Indians who were supporting the agitations and they are not allowed to enter India. They said their names should be removed from the list and they should be allowed to visit India. They added that unless their demands are met, agitations will continue. Schools closed till Nov 26, restrictions extended EXPRESS READ This photograph of Narendra Modi with Yogi Adityanath went viral on social media on Sunday | PTI “Pre-decided programmes will continue. The kisan mahapanchayat will be held in Lucknow on November 22, there will be gatherings at all borders on November 26 and a march to Parliament on November 29. We will decide course of action at a meeting on November 27.’’ Farmer leader Harinder Singh Lakhowal said, “It was decided that terms and conditions of legalising MSP should be made clear to them. Other demands are compensation for families of the 700-plus deceased famers, government job to one of the family and declare them martyrs.’’ The letter to the Prime Minister called his decision to repeal the three farm laws ‘unilateral’. “Crores of farmers heard your address to the na- See balls being placed in a rocky overburden dump near Dhanbad | EXPRESS erate category on November 2223. For subsequent five days also, it is likely to remain in poor to lower end of ‘very poor’ category… It is felt that there is a need for further extension of curbs on the vehicular movement in Delhi.” On Sunday, Delhi’s AQI was in the ‘very poor’ zone. “All heads of departments/ organisations and local bodies, District Magistrates and Dis- trict Deputy Commissioners of Police as well as all authorities shall implement the aforesaid directions in letter and spirit,” said the order signed by principal secretary (environment) Sanjeev Khirwar. Violation of directions may lead to imprisonment up to five years and/or fine of `1 lakh. Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai is likely to hold a high-level meeting with senior officers to decide future steps. TMC youth leader held for attempt to murder in battleground Tripura P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati DAYS ahead of civic polls in Tripura, Bengali actress and Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth leader Saayoni Ghosh was arrested by Tripura Police on Sunday . She was booked under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 120B (criminal conspiracy). The incident comes on the eve of TMC general secretary Abhishek Baner jee’s road show in state capital Agartala. He was scheduled to reach on Sunday night. Several TMC leaders, including Kunal Ghosh and Sushmita Dev, are in the Tripura capital for poll campaign. Police said Saayoni was arrested based on a complaint and claimed that they found preliminary evidence against her after recording statements of witnesses. She will be produced in court on Monday . “The allegation against her is that she is trying to promote enmity between groups of people. We also got preliminary evidence of attempt to murder. It is related to driving (in Agartala), so we arrested her,” said B Jagadeswar Reddy Addition, al Superintendent of Police (Urban) of West Tripura district. He did neither elaborate the criminal conspiracy nor the case of attempt to murder. “There were four other people (including the driver) in the car. We have got their details. We are trying to arrest them.” TMC alleged BJP goons had attacked a police station where Saayoni was interrogated earlier in the day Kunal Ghosh and . other TMC leaders were at the police station. Ghosh said the attack and the arrest were pre-planned to spoil Banerjee’s road show. “The officer-in-charge of the police station had visited the hotel where Saayoni is staying and asked her to report to the police station for questioning. We had asked for the reasons. We said no notice was served on her. The officer could not give any answer,” Ghosh said. “They attacked the Thana again where @sayani06 is under arrest and also attacked our Convenor Shubol Bhowmick’s house,” Sushmita tweeted.