Mediation panel report lists conditions to withdraw title claim; bench to study it today.

NEW DELHI: In a new twist to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit, a three-member mediation panel claimed to have broken new ground, saying an important section of the litigating parties had agreed on some contentious issues, including giving up rights on the disputed land. 

In its report to the Supreme Court, the panel headed by former Supreme Court judge F M I Kalifullah, which includes senior advocate Sriram Panchu and spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar, said one of the primary Muslim litigants in the title case was willing to drop its claim on the disputed 2.77 acre land if adequate alternative land is given for the construction of a mosque in the vicinity at state expenditure, according to sources.

That apart, the Muslim party demanded renovation of 22 existing mosques in Ayodhya, the sources added. Also, they wanted the government to allow devotees to offer prayers at some historic mosques where no such activity is permitted because the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) has declared them to be protected monuments.

According to sources, bundled into the proposal was another demand by the Muslim party for the implementation of the Religious Places Act, 1991, which mandates maintaining status quo of other religious places as they existed in 1947.

The Hindu parties, including the VHP-backed Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and the Ram Lalla deity, refused to be part the mediation, the sources said.

The mediation process restarted last month on the request of the Sunni Wakf Board after the panel had earlier expressed its inability to resolve the dispute. The panel’s report is expected to be discussed on Thursday by all the five judges of the Constitution bench — Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer — in their chambers. 

While the bench reserved its verdict, it can still go ahead and adjudicate on the issue and mention the details of the report in its judgment. The verdict is likely to be delivered on or before Nov 15, Gogoi’s last working day before he retires on Nov 17.

Taking a jibe at previous TDP govt, Andhra CM hails his party for working on pending irrigation projects in the State

NELLORE:  Reiterating that the welfare of farmers remains his government’s priority, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday said his government will provide nine-hour power supply to agriculture in the morning time across the state by July next year. Already, 60 per cent of villages being provided with nine hours free power, he said and added the government will spend Rs 1,700 crore to cover the remaining feeders. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who had launched YSR Rythu Bharosa – PM Kisan financial assistance scheme to farmers in Nellore, also said unlike previous TDP government which benefitted contractors in the name of irrigation projects, his government will complete all the pending irrigation projects in the State.

Launching the flagship programme on the eve of World Food Day, Jagan Mohan Reddy played the visuals of the YSRC’s plenary way back in July 2017 where he announced the scheme, and said he had stood by his promise by depositing the investment support amount to farmers directly to their bank accounts. 

“In the plenary held on July 8, 2017, I announced that `50,000 would be given to farmers as investment support in the month of May as Rythu Bharosa and during the 3,648 km padayatra and the subsequent brainstorming with Farmers’ Associations and others, it was improvised further and the quantum of the package was increased to `67,500 and is being paid eight months in advance,’’ Jagan said adding that a farmer will get an additional `17,500 benefit with the enhanced assistance and also by implementing it eight months in advance.

The scheme will benefit 54 lakh farmers, including tenant farmers, and the amount to be paid is split into `4,000 ahead of rabi in October, ` 7,500 before Kharif and `2,000 during Sankranti festival. “The survey done during the previous government was faulty and has recorded 43 lakh farmers. We have screened the data and arrived at the figure of 54 lakh farmer families and the number might go further as the process is still counting,’’ Jagan said. Eligible farmers, including tenant farmers, can register and claim the benefit till November 15. 

On the promise to provide nine-hour free power supply to farmers, Jagan said nearly 60 percent of areas the feeders are good while in the remaining 40 percent there is a need for repairs. “Nine hour power supply is being provided in 60 percent villages and `1,700 crores are sanctioned to upgrade the feeders and by July all farmers will be getting nine-hour free power supply,’’ he assured.

Jagan, on the aspect of Jalayagnam, said that his government will complete all the pending irrigation projects at the earliest unlike the previous government which used the construction of projects to mint money from contractors. Besides Rythu Bharosa cheques, the Chief Minister had also given a cheque towards ex gratia for loss of livestock amounting  `8,25,000.  

Agriculture minister K Kanna Babu, Home minister M Sucharitha, Irrigation minister Dr P Anil Kumar Yadav, IT Minister M Goutham Reddy, TTD Board Chairman Y V Subba Reddy, Nellore MP Adala Prabhakar Reddy, District Collector M V Seshagiri Babu and others were also present.  

Optimal treatment and new drugs expected to save more lives

By David Bodapati

Bengaluru, 14 Oct 2019: A diminutive middle-aged woman, Pari Yusuf, woke up in the middle of the night and sat down on her bed. Frightening dreams and illusions are not new to her. “Suddenly, I was sweating and found myself in the middle of a huge raging fire. I was shouting for help and had no where to go. I woke up abruptly, and then everything seemed ok in a few minutes,” she said.

“Long back, I used to get these kind of illusions but the intensity seems to be more with the TB drugs,” she recalled. Pari (name changed) is living with HIV for over 15 years and survived drug-resistant Tuberculosis (TB). Later on due to side effects and other opportunistic infections, she literally recovered from her days on the death bed at the government Victoria hospital in Bengaluru, four years back. “These illusions and dreams are a part of the side effects of the drugs I had to take. I used to get these when I started ART (antiretroviral therapy) a decade ago. But now some of the TB drugs too have such side effects,” she explained. “Some of the injected DR-TB durgs can be brutal and can cause complete hearing loss,” she added.

Now Pari, who hails from a rural district in Karnataka, is an activist fighting for the cause of people living with HIV and TB. She fully supports the `TB Harega, Desh Jeetega’ campaign which was launched on Septemeber 25 by the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who also released the TB India Report 2019 and introduced the all-important, all-oral treatment regimen for Multi-drug resistant TB. But she feels that more needs to be done in terms of providing care after initiation of new drugs and providing access in rural and remote areas.

The Minister announced the roll out of an all-oral MDR regimen across the country based on providing access to one of the two new drugs – Bedaquiline or Delamanid  to replace  the injectable in the treatment regimen. The new all-oral treatment for drug-resistant TB is a welcome development as India. According to WHO’s Global TB Report 2018, the estimated number of DR-TB in India is 135,000, accounting for one-fourth of the global burden.

The all-oral treatment represents hope for people with DR-TB and their caregivers because they offer better cure rates and a fewer side effects. The World Health Organisation’s treatment guidelines prioritise the use of newer drugs as part of all-oral regimens for the treatment of MDR-TB and XDR-TB.

MSF urges more countries to make the switch from older, toxic treatments that need to be injected to all-oral regimens that contain the newer drugs, including bedaquiline and delamanid. “These newer drugs are critical to improving the otherwise abysmal cure rates of 55% and 34% for MDR-TB and XDR-TB, respectively. “Use of the newer TB drugs is also urgently needed for children with MDR-TB in order to improve treatment outcomes and reduce the risks of side effects,” Ms Yusuf says.

Treatment regimens for multidrug-resistant/rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB) and  extremely drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) have long consisted of toxic drugs, including those that cause psychosis and hearing loss. Treatment outcomes for people with MDR-TB and XDR-TB have remained unacceptably low for many years for numerous reasons, including drug toxicity, lack of new effective drugs, long treatment durations, and failure to put people at the centre of their care. Such treatments had a high pill burden, long treatment duration (of up to two years), painful daily injections (for up to eight months), and severe side effects (due to toxic drugs). The treatment success rates were only 55% for people with MDR TB) and 34% for people with XDR-TB.

A group of people affected by DR TB, and from different health organisation and People Living with HIV have made a representation to the Health Ministry last December to minimise injectible drugs and scale up all-oral new drugs for DR TB. They are happy that finally the government announced the switch to all-oral treatment which can save more lives with optimal treatment. But they feel that scaling up only Bedaquiline will not help and call for including access to Delamanid too, particularly for patients who have pre-XDR and XDR TB. In addition they call for adequate Drug Sensitivity Testing (DST) facilities throughout the country.

The new all-oral DR-TB regimens are a strong step in the right direction but they should be followed up to provide people with safer and more tolerable treatment, improve treatment outcomes and prevent unnecessary deaths. Importantly, the new all-oral regimens can also facilitate an evolution to a model of care that empowers people and supports them to complete treatment with less disruption to their lives. The benefits of implementing the new all-oral long regimen is very clear but having launched the switch, now the government must make a political commitment for sufficient financing, adequate healthcare worker training, policy updates and multi-sectoral engagement. The National programme should also keep in mind the access to treatment and drugs in rural and remote regions as well as guard against stock-outs which have become frequent in many states like Jharkhand and even in cities like Mumbai.

Now that the programme makes a shift to the all-oral treatment regimen to progress to the MDG goal by 2025, two things that need urgent attention are issuing a circular for minimising and removal of injectable from the Programmatic Managment of drug-resistant TB (PMDT), and making greater efforts to scale up universal Drug Susceptibility Testing (DST) as lack of quality assured testing facilities is a major barrier for DR-TB patients to access safer, effective and rational DR-TB regimens. As per CTD India Report 2018, only  257 of the 712 districts undertake DST on TB samples (2018).

Dr Vardhan says, “We are on track to achieve our target of a TB-free India by 2025, much ahead of the global target of 2030.” For that to happen our programme implementation should be made more robust without allowing any complacency to creep in. But the need of the hour is to attack DR TB with full force.

Kolkata: The police on Tuesday arrested the main accused in the Murshidabad triple murder case for his alleged involvement in the crime, a senior police officer said.

Utpal Behra, a mason by profession, was arrested from Sagardighi’s Sahapur area of the district on Tuesday morning, Murshidabad Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar said.

Bandhu Prakash Pal, a 35-year-old teacher, his pregnant wife Beauty and 8-year-old son Angan were found dead in their house at Jiaganj in Murshidabad district on October 8, when Durga Puja festivities were on.

According to police, Behra had paid money to Pal for two life insurance policies.

“Although Pal gave money receipt for the first policy, but he did not give him the receipt for the second policy. For the last few weeks, Pal and Behra used to quarrel over this matter. Pal had even insulted him, following which Behra decided to kill him,” police said.

Behra has confessed to the crime, the police claimed.

Mumbai: A 51-year-old man, whose family has a deposit of over Rs 90 lakh with the troubled Punjab and Maharashtra Bank Cooperative (PMC) Bank, died due to a heart attack, sources said on Tuesday.

Sanjay Gulati, a resident of suburban Oshiwara, went to a protest march held outside a city court on Monday morning and had been under stress because of his deposit being stuck, said Manali Narkar, who was among the agitating depositors.

Gulati was there at the protest along with his 80- year-old father, Narkar said. In a video made at the protest site, Gulati’s father claimed that the family has a deposit of over Rs 90 lakh with the bank, she said.

Gulati died due to a heart attack while having dinner on Monday, a senior official at Oshiwara police station said.

Narkar said a few of the depositors will be attending Gulati’s last rites to be held here around noon, and added that they will also be holding a peaceful candle light march in the evening.

According to reports in a section of media, Gulati lost his job after the grounding of Jet Airways and is survived by a specially-abled son, who requires regular medical treatment.

The PMC Bank has been placed under “directions” by the RBI since last month, wherein depositors’ withdrawals have been capped.

The limits were increased to Rs 40,000 by the RBI on Monday, and the central bank said 77 per cent of the customers will be able to fully withdraw their deposits with this move.

The limits were earlier capped at Rs 1,000, and subsequently raised to Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000 as the bank’s liquidity position improved.

Harried depositors of the bank, which has deposits of over Rs 11,000 crore, have been protesting across the city, and also forced Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to meet them last week when she was out to address a pre-election media conference here.

Sitharaman then urged RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das to urgently look into the woes of the depositors, after which the deposit withdrawal limits were hiked to Rs 40,000.

Four people, including promoters of realty firm HDIL to which the bank made the sour loans, and the lender’s former chairman and ex-managing director have so far been arrested in connection with the alleged Rs 4,355 crore scam.

A five-judge Constitution bench directed the UP government to provide security to Farooqui.

NEW DELHI: With just a few days left for the verdict in the decade-old Ayodhya land dispute case, the Supreme Court Monday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide security “forthwith” to the UP Sunni Central Board of Waqf chairperson Zufar Ahmad Farooqui as he apprehended threat to his life. Through mediator Sriram Panchu, Farooqui informed the court about the threat to his life.

A five-judge Constitution bench directed the UP government to provide security to Farooqui. The development comes a day after Section 144 of the CrPC, banning the assembly of four or more people, has been imposed in Ayodhya district and surrounding areas in Uttar Pradesh till December 10, in anticipation of the judgment in the case.

The statement came at a time when the hearing in the case has reached its final leg and is likely to be concluded this week, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan appearing for Muslim parties told the bench that, “Your Lordship didn’t ask question to the other side.

All the questions have been asked to us only. Of course, we are answering them.” Opposing the statement by Dhavan, senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, representing deity Ram Lalla, said, “This is unwarranted.” Dhavan’s remark came when the bench said that the idea behind erecting iron railing at the disputed site was to separate the inner courtyard from the outer courtyard.

He targeted Rahul Gandhi and said when a ship sinks, the captain evacuates everyone safely but Gandhi is a captain who himself left on seeing Congress ship sink.

BHIWANDI (Maharashtra): Ahead of the Maharashtra elections, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed Congress and asked it to stop pretending to be the saviour of Indian Muslims.

“If for more than 70 years, the Muslims have continued living in India it is not because of your (Congress) grace, but due to the Constitution and the one above (God),” Owaisi said addressing an election rally for his party’s candidate from the Bhiwandi West seat on Monday.

In the same rally, Owaisi had also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said when a ship sinks, the captain evacuates everyone safely but Gandhi is a captain who himself left on seeing Congress ship sink.

“When a ship sinks in the middle of a sea, the captain evacuates everyone safely but Gandhi is a captain who himself left after seeing the Congress sinking. Muslims are not alive due to Congress’ mercy on us for 70 years, rather we are alive because of the Constitution and by the grace of God,” said Owaisi.

The AIMIM leader, however, also slammed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the same rally, by stating that India never had been a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ nor will he and AIMIM let it become one.

“India is not a Hindu Rashtra and we will never let it become one, we are strongly against it,” Owaisi said in response to Bhagwat where the RSS chief referred to India as a country of Hindus.

Addressing a meeting of intellectuals in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, Bhagwat had said: “We are a country of Hindus. Hindu is not the name of a language, province or country but a culture, which is the legacy of all people living in India.”

Owaisi did not spare Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the anti-triple talaq law passed by his government too as he went ahead to add, “Our Prime Minister speaks a lot on the issue of Triple Talaq, I am in anguish because of one wife, while the ones who have none, they are happy.”

AIMIM is likely to contest on 44 out of the 288 seats in Maharashtra. The elections in the state will be held on October 21. The counting of votes is scheduled to begin on October 24. 

People in Patna have been protesting against the government’s failure in tackling the waterlogging in the city caused due to heavy rains last month.

PATNA: The dengue menace in Bihar, especially in state capital Patna, continued with official figures, released on Sunday, showing that 1404 positive cases for dengue have been reported so far from January to October 13 this year in the state. 

“Among 1404 dengue patients, 974 are from Patna alone while rest are from other districts included 112 from Bhagalpur and 32 from Vaishali,” said an official release, adding that free medical camps have been set up at various locations with ample quantity of medicines. Bleaching powder has been extensively sprayed across the state with more efforts taken in Patna. 

At different medical check-up camps, more than 35000 people were medically examined in the last few days.

Despite all these being taken, waterlogging has still been reported from localities included Golaroad and others. Various locations in Patna, which were submerged with waist-deep water till recent times after torrential rains from September 27 to 30, are worst-hit with the disease.

On Sunday, people irked with the waterlogging in the city, demonstrated in front of deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi’s residence demanding immediate pumping out of water from their localities.

Also, residents of Rajendra Nagar organised a meeting and vented their ire on the officials’ lethargy in tackling the ‘waterlogging’. They demanded compensation for creating a man-made crisis and have decided to file a PIL soon in Patna HC on the collapsed drainage system. A journalist LK Mishra would be one of the signatories of PIL besides others.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar described the engagement between Modi and Xi on the first day of the Informal summit as ‘highly productive’.

MAMALLAPURAM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a two-and-a-half hour “pleasant conversation” over dinner on Friday, resolving to further energise bilateral development partnership and insulating the overall ties from differences over contentious issues.

The meeting at the magnificent Shore temple complex under a sea-facing colourful tent in this coastal town continued much beyond the schedule time as both leaders, helped by two interpreters, touched upon a range of issues, including complex ones, over sumptuous local Tamil delicacies, sources said.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar described the engagement between Modi and Xi on the first day of the Informal summit as “highly productive”.

“Concluding a highly productive day with a pleasant conversation over a long dinner. PM @narendramodi & Chinese President Xi continued their exchange of views on deepening of the India-China partnership over a breathtaking Kalakshetra cultural performance followed by dinner,” Kumar tweeted.

There was no official confirmation whether Modi and Xi discussed the Kashmir issue which somehow strained ties between the two countries and even overshadowed Xi’s trip to this coastal town.

It is widely speculated that the issue found mention in the conversation between the two leaders over dinner.

In a tweet following the dinner, Modi said he was delighted to spend time with Xi.

“Mamallapuram is one of the most beautiful places in India, full of vibrancy. It is linked to commerce, spirituality and is now a popular tourism centre. I am delighted that President Xi Jinping and I are spending time in this scenic place, which is also a @UNESCO heritage site,” he said.

The sources said both Xi and Modi resolved to further energise bilateral development partnership and insulating the overall ties from differences over contentious issues.

In the late afternoon, Modi and Xi sipped coconut water and engaged in casual interaction in a serene setting in the backdrop of 7th century rock-cut chariots of Pancha Ratha overlooking the Bay of Bengal.

Modi, dressed in a Tamil attire of ‘Veshti’ (dhoti), white shirt and an ‘angavastram’ (shawl), took Xi for a guided tour of the famous world heritage sites of Arjuna’s Penance, Krishna’s Butterball, the Pancha Ratha and Shore temple in this ancient temple town, kicking off the second informal summit between the two leaders.

“The free-flowing nature of the informal summit at the UNESCO world heritage site will continue and deepen contacts at the highest level and guide the future trajectory of India-China relationship,” the MEA Spokesperson tweeted.

Xi’s visit to India comes two days after he held talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in Beijing.

After the talks, a joint statement said China is paying “close attention” to the situation in Kashmir and that the issue should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter.

The comments evoked sharp reaction from New Delhi.

Shortly after Xi’s aircraft touched down in Chennai, government sources said the two leaders are expected to issue some directions at the end of the summit on Saturday as they did after the first edition of new format of engagement in Chinese city of Wuhan last year.

Officials on both sides said the focus of the Modi-Xi summit would be to move forward and chart a new pathway of development notwithstanding sharp differences between the two countries over several contentious issues.

In the footage beamed by public broadcaster Doordarshan of the two leaders visiting the magnificent monuments, Modi was seen warmly explaining to the Chinese leader the historical significance of the monuments with the dazzling setting sun casting a soft glow over the iconic site.

Xi, wearing a white shirt and black trouser, was seen showing keen interest in the famous caves and stone sculptures in the heritage site in this coastal town which had historical links with China’s Fujian province.

Modi and Xi, assisted by one translator from each side, sat down for around 15 minutes at Pancha Ratha complex, an example of monolithic Indian rock-cut architecture, and engaged in casual talks while sipping fresh coconut water – images reflecting warmth in personal chemistry between the two leaders of two emerging economies.

From Pancha Ratha, the two leaders visited the beautifully lit-up Shore temple – a symbol of cultural heritage of the Pallava dynasty.

After spending some time together, Modi and Xi were joined by top delegates of both sides and all them witnessed a cultural programme presented by Kalakshetra society.

After the event, Modi hosted Xi for the private dinner at the Shore temple complex which was beautifully decorated with lights and flowers.

Eight delegates from each side were also invited for the dinner and they sat in tables little away from Xi and Modi’s.

Delicately selected authentic Tamil cuisines including vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes were served.

At the site of Krishna’s butterball, a gigantic granite boulder sitting firmly on the slope of a hillock, Modi held Xi’s hands, reflecting warmth in their personal chemistry.

“Standing together and tall!,” said Kumar in a Twitter post.

Earlier, Xi arrived in Chennai to a red carpet welcome for his second informal summit with Modi amid a realisation a lot is riding on the bilateral ties strained over the hardline approach on the Kashmir issue by both sides.

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister E K Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri welcomed the Chinese leader at the Chennai airport on his nearly 24-hour visit.

“Welcome to India, President Xi Jinping!” Modi tweeted, shortly after the Chinese leader arrived on an Air China Boeing 747 aircraft, accompanied by a 90-member delegation including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Polit Bureau member of Central Committee of Chinese Communist Party Ding Xuexiang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi.

A brief cultural ceremony reflecting Tamil Nadu’s cultural heritage was organised at the airport to welcome the visiting leader.

“President Xi Jinping arrived in Chennai to a warm and colourful welcome for the 2nd Informal Summit with PM

Taking off from the #WuhanSpirit, the #ChennaiSpirit will continue to chart the future course of India-China partnership,” the MEA Spokesperson tweeted after Xi’s arrival.

The two leaders will have around six-hours of one-on-one free-wheeling talks, officials said.

On Saturday morning, Modi and Xi will have a comprehensive one-on-one meeting to be followed by delegation level talks.

Both sides will, then, issue separate statements on outcome of the summit.

“Both sides know that a lot is riding on the relationship and this is reflected in the summit being held on schedule despite speculations of its postponement in recent weeks,” said a senior official on condition of anonymity.

Ahead of the two-day summit, Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Thursday told PTI that a “new set of consensus” including “guiding principles” on giving a new direction to the bilateral ties are expected from engagement.

Officials on both sides said the focus of the Modi-Xi summit would be to insulate the bilateral trade and development cooperation from differences on Kashmir and vexed boundary issue.

They said ways to bolster counter-terror cooperation, trade and enhancing cooperation between militaries of the two countries along the 3,500 KM border will be key focus of the talks.

This is the second edition of the informal summit between Modi and Xi.

The first informal between the two leaders was held in picturesque Chinese lake city of Wuhan in April 2018, months after a 73-day face off between the armies of the two countries in Doklam tri-juction raised fears of a war between the two Asian giants.

Strategic affairs expert Ambassador Ashok Kantha said the focus of the summit on Friday and Saturday would be to move beyond contentious issues and not allow the Kashmir issue to adversely impact overall ties.

Mamallapuram, a town with strong trade linkages with China’s Fujian province, has been spruced up and brought under un unprecedented security cover – in the process inconveniencing local people as well as tourists.

Xi walked past the priests waiting for the rituals at the airport. This created a rumour that he refused to accept the honour.

CHENNAI: The state government on Friday brought five priests including the chief priest from Sri Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore to honour the visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping with ‘Poornakumbham’ – a traditional reception given to dignitaries. 

The priests had been waiting for their moment at the airport. Exactly at 2.15 pm, Jinping stepped out of his flight and walked on the red carpet while witnessing the performance of folk artistes after meeting the governor, chief minister and others.

After a few minutes, he came near the priests waiting for the ‘Poornakumbham’ and just walked away. This had created a rumour that the Chinese President refused to accept the honour as normally, any dignitary would acknowledge the honour and stand till the priests complete the rituals. 

But the video shows that Xi just walked past the priests without making any gestures to indicate that he wanted to refuse the ‘Poornakumbham’. 

Those who witnessed this blamed the officials for failing to inform the President about the cultural importance of ‘Poornakumbham’.