KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Karachi President Khurram Sher Zaman on Saturday claimed that the Sindh government is exaggerating the number of COVID-19 cases to keep the markets shut down. The ...

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The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Karachi president and MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman on Saturday said that one of his Friday statements had been misrepresented and therefore he tendered his apologies if it had hurt anyone’s sentiments.Zaman came under severe criticism by a section of activists on...

Four more COVID-19 patients in Sindh lost their lives on Saturday, raising the novel coronavirus death toll in the province to 180, which is around 1.7 per cent of the total number of cases of the virus.Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said in a video message released by the CM House that 8,571...

2. In the reply filed on behalf of the respondent in January 2014, two main defenses were raised against the claim. Firstly, the respondent pleaded that the channels of the respondent were not placed regularly and due to such irregularity, the respondent suffered loss of revenue and loss in viewership. Secondly, it on claimed that payment had been made regularly as per the agreed terms. In other words, the second defense was that all the lawful outstanding dues have been paid by the respondent and, therefore, the demand is on account of errors in accounts etc.

3. Through a rejoinder filed in February 2014, the petitioner denied the defense of the respondent and some other allegations and pointed out that at no point of time any grievance or notice was communicated to the petitioner about the alleged irregularity in placement. Through the rejoinder an updated statement of accounts in respect of both the channels was brought on record as annexure to show payment made after the filing of the petitioner and also updated claim of interest. On the basis of statement of accounts the rejoinder disclosed that the claimed amount stood reduced and the respondent was liable till 17.01.2014 only for Rs.2,34,11,352/-.

os Nobody has appeared on behalf of the respondent even after service of notice and as a result the petition has been heard ex parte. The respondent has not appeared at any stage and has filed neither reply nor any affidavit of evidence

2. The petitioner company carries on the business of receiving signals from broadcasters of various television channels and of redistributing the same through franchisee cable network. The respondent company carries on business as a broadcaster/eontent provider. Both the parties are service providers and as such amenable to the jurisdiction of this Tribunal.

3. Through this petition, the petitioner is seeking recovery of Bs.13,41,756/- said to be the outstanding dues inclusive of interest as on 15.03.2016 along with interest @ 18% til the date of realization from the respondent. The dues are towards carriage fee for the services availed by the respondent from the petitioner for carriage of its television channels.

2. Yhe petitioner company carries on the business of receiving signals from Pt gh ei ae broadcasters of various television channels and of redistributing the same thr franchisee cable network. The respondent company carries on business as a broadeaster/content provider. Both the purlies are service providers and as such amenable to the jurisdiction of this Tebunal,

3. Through this petition, the petitioner is seek dng recovery of Re.4d0 98 000/.

aid to be the oufstand) me dues inelusive of interest as on 1s 03 2016 along with os interest @ 18% till the date of realization from the re Spondent. The dues are a towards carriage fee for the services availed by the respondent trom the petitioner for carnage of its television channels.

2. The petitioner company carries on the business of receiving signals from broadcasters of various television channels and of redistributing the same through franchisee cable network. The respondent company carries on business as a broadcaster/content provider. Both the parties are service providers and as such amenable to the jurisdiction of this Tribunal.

3. Through this petition, the petitioner is seeking recovery of Rs.1,44,84,050/- (Rupees One Crore Forty Four lakhs Eighty Four Thousand Fifty Only) said to be the outstanding dues inclusive of interest as on 09.02.2016 along with interest @ 18% till the date of realization from the respondent. The dues are towards carriage fee for the services availed by the respondent from the petitioner for carriage of its television channel "Mi Marathi".

2. The petitioner company carries on the business of receiving signals from broadcasters of various television channels and of redistributing the same through franchisee cable network. The respondent company carries on business as a broadcaster/content provider. Both the parties are service providers and as such amenable to the jurisdiction of this Tribunal.

3. Through this petition, the petitioner is seeking recovery of Rs.1,51,88,898.26p(Rupees One Crore Fifty One lakhs Eighty Eight Thousand Ninety Eight and Paise Twenty Six Only) said to be the outstanding dues inclusive of interest as on 09.02.2016 along with interest @ 18% till the date of realization from the respondent. The dues are towards carriage fee for the services availed by 3 the respondent from the petitioner for carriage of its television channel "Live India".

Now, those registered on Seva Sindhu portal can hire Karnataka STU buses to southern states

In conversation with ETCIO, Biswabrata Chakravorty, CIO, IndusInd bank shares how innovative and cutting-edge modes of banking such as video, gesture, and Whatsapp are all adding to customer experience.

Stocks in news: Airtel, Indusind, HPCL and Titan

Sensex jumps 1,080 points, Nifty tops 9,300; IndusInd jumps up to 8%

Sensex surges 550 points, Nifty reclaims 9,350; IndusInd Bank, HUL jump 4% each

Gerade Anlegern bietet die epochale Pandemie einmalige Chancen: Sie können sich neu am Markt positionieren. Dafür müssen Sie nicht mal einzelne Aktien kaufen. ETFs spielen die Rendite von allein ein. Diese neun Indexfonds bieten die besten Chancen.

Allein auf großer Fahrt – darauf freuen sich bundesweit Millionen Schüler und Azubis. Zu Jahresbeginn registrierten Kinder- und Jugendreiseveranstalter Buchungszuwächse – und trotz Corona-Krise gibt es kaum Stornierungen.

Die vermehrten Meldungen schwer kranker Kinder, die auf der Intensivstation betreut werden müssen, beunruhigt Ärzte in ganz Europa. Unklar ist, ob es einen Zusammenhang mit dem neuartigen Coronavirus gibt.

Dies sind harte Zeiten für alle Menschen. Wer aber ohnehin psychisch angeschlagen ist, für den sind sie noch schwerer. Psychiater Mazda Adli erklärt, was psychisch kranken Menschen jetzt hilft – und allen anderen auch.

Vorerkrankungen können zu einem schweren Verlauf von Covid-19 führen. Jetzt liegen eindeutige Belege vor, dass vor allem Übergewicht sich problematisch bei einer Infektion auswirkt. Besonders Männer haben eine Schwachstelle.

Die Biotech-Branche steht derzeit wie nie zuvor in der Öffentlichkeit. Sie soll den Impfstoff gegen das Coronavirus erfinden. Doch auch schon bisher wurden in den Unternehmen hohe Gehälter gezahlt. In den Spitzenpositionen sind die Unterschiede jedoch extrem.

Vor kurzem stellte Apple die vierte Generation seiner Apple Watches vor. Wer auch gerne in die Welt der Smartwatches einsteigen will, aber lieber auf den Kosmos des kalifornischen Technikriesen verzichten möchte, hat eine ganze Reihe von Alternativen.

Wer auf das Design von Apple verzichten kann und stattdessen vorrangig für technische Qualität zahlen möchte, kann statt teurer AirPods alternativ In-Ear-Kopfhörer-Modelle wählen. Viele Produkte leisten ebenso viel wie die angesagten weißen Earbuds und sehen dabei sogar genauso gut aus.

Nicht nur bei Erwachsenen ist das Fliegen mit Drohnen in den letzten Jahren ein populäres Hobby geworden. Auch Drohnen für Kinder erfreuen sich großer Beliebtheit. Dabei gilt es beim Kauf von Quadrocoptern für Ihren Nachwuchs einiges zu beachten.

Sie brauchen eine neue Couch? Möbel kann man auch im Internet kaufen. Doch dabei gibt es einige rechtliche Tücken. Bei Lieferung, Rückgabe und Gewährleistung lohnt es sich, genauer hinzuschauen.

Viele Anleger setzen auf Aktien, die plötzlich billig zu haben sind. In der Krise offenbart sich aber, dass viel für einen anderen Ansatz spricht: nämlich Papiere zu kaufen, die jetzt stark sind – und danach erst so richtig steigen. WELT hat eine Liste zusammengestellt.

Während deutschlandweit Corona-Beschränkungen gelockert werden, müssen drei Landkreise auf die Notbremse treten. Besonders hoch sind die Infektionszahlen in einer Fleischfabrik - die Kritik an den dortigen Arbeitsbedingungen wird lauter.

Früher gab es pro Dorf ein paar einsame Sonderlinge. Heute sind sie dank sozialer Medien vernetzt. Sie reden von „querdenken“. In Wahrheit suchen sie einfache Antworten auf komplexe Fragen – und sind schnell dabei, für alles einen Schuldigen zu finden.

Fast täglich gibt es neue Erkenntnisse zum Coronavirus. Wie sinnvoll ist die 50er-Obergrenze der Lockerungsmaßnahmen? Wie funktionieren Antikörpertests? Wann kommt die Tracing-App? Ein Überblick von Dominik Lauck.

(United States Fifth Circuit) - Affirmed a default judgment entered against an individual residing in India who was being sued by his former employer for allegedly stealing computer source code and using it to create a competing business, in a case where the individual contested personal jurisdiction but failed to follow certain local rules.

1. Werkloosheid VS op hoogste peil sinds Tweede Wereldoorlog  De Tijd
2. Meer dan 20 miljoen Amerikaanse jobs verloren in april, werkloosheid schiet omhoog naar hoogste niveau in ruim 80 jaar  Het Laatste Nieuws
3. 'Cijfers uit de Grote Depressie'  De Standaard
4. Werkloosheid VS op hoogste niveau sinds Grote Depressie van jaren dertig  NU.nl
5. Werkloosheid VS naar hoogste niveau sinds de Grote Depressie  RTL Z
6. Hele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

A 3.5 year mission from which they'll never return, a 2.5 million lightyear journey to another galaxy, 1.5 crew members comprising a solitary captain and a half-baked AI... Captain Sideris is a loner and knows LETO ships like nobody else, having risen to command the Lunar-Earth construction fleet, as they build ships to mine asteroids and colonize Mars. Suddenly he finds the colonization effort is for another planet, in another galaxy, and he's the sole human guinea pig being gated through a wormhole with an AI playing Noah to LETO SS Casindra's ark. Everything goes well as he starts to survey four planets they plan to exploit, as he gets to know emergent AI 'Al', as he discovers he's building a special relationship with empathic cat 'Simba'. Problem is message drones gated home are not being returned per protocol, with little explanation, no supplies, and some cryptic and disturbing messages. This full length novel is set in the multi-author multi-genre Paradisi universe. Casindra Lost opens the Lost Mission Series to explain what happened to some of the early missions that underlie the various colonization and post-colonization stories.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the daily work routine for tailors and apprentices looks a bit different than usual: for several weeks, they have been producing hand-crafted masks for use of...

If the Coronavirus goes on to postpone the Tokyo Olympics scheduled in July this year, it will hit yet another prominent sporting event after it delayed the Indian Premier League to April 15 from the scheduled March 29 start.

Coronavirus in India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the COVID-19 situation with elite sportspersons of the country.

The lender’s gross NPAs stood at 2.45% of gross advances as on March 31, 2020, up from 2.18% on December 31, 2019, while the net NPA ratio stood at 0.91% of net advances as on March 31, 2020, down from 1.05% on December 31, 2019.

Since our FM mentioned the Sindhu-Saraswati civilisation or the Harappan culture, it is prudent that we start our journey from there.

visit News18 Urdu for latest news, breaking news, news headlines and updates from Sindudurg on politics, sports, entertainment, cricket, crime and more.

visit News18 Urdu for latest news, breaking news, news headlines and updates from Sindi on politics, sports, entertainment, cricket, crime and more.

SUKKUR: The DG NAB has decided to file corruption references against some government officials allegedly involved in corruption, including Anees-ur-Rehman Mahar the-then deputy director food Sukkur,...

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KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah declared that the Sindh government will work alongside the Centre to implement the new lockdown measures for the mitigation of the coronavirus outbreak."We will implement the federal government's lockdown decisions to the extent of 99pc if not...

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah declared that the Sindh government will work alongside the Centre to implement the new lockdown measures for the mitigation of the coronavirus outbreak. “We will implement the federal government’s lockdown decisions to the extent of...

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah declared that the Sindh government will work alongside the Centre to implement the new lockdown measures for the mitigation of the coronavirus outbreak. "We will implement the federal government's lockdown decisions to the extent of 99pc if...

There is a growing perception among the people of Karachi that they are being intentionally deprived of their fundamental rights by both the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf -led federal government and the Pakistan Peoples Party -led Sindh government.Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal said...

The Sindh High Court on Friday issued notices to the federal and provincial law ministries on a petition of the Sindh Bar Council seeking direction to the federal and Sindh governments for the provision of an annual grant in aid to the lawyers’ top provincial regulatory body and at least...

With more five people falling victim to the novel coronavirus in a day, the death toll rose to 176 in Sindh on Friday. Four out of the deceased diagnosed with the COVID-9 belonged to Karachi. The new coronavirus cases which emerged in the province on Friday were 598.“Today is another...

KARACHI: The number of coronavirus-infected policemen has gone up to 115, a police spokesperson said on Friday.

“So far, 115 policemen and officers have been infected with the contagion.” Out of them, five new cases emerged on Friday. The majority of the policemen belonged to Karachi.

As many as 97 police personnel were under treatment at different hospitals while 15 policemen have been discharged after treatment. The condition of one sub-inspector was stated to be critical.

“Covid-19 infected policemen were being looked after properly and steps were being taken to this effect on daily basis,” added the spokesperson.

The police on Friday also issued a video message, highlighting ordeals of the families of the policemen and commitment of the law enforcers to serve humanity in these testing times.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

World Champion PV Sindhu was on Wednesday unveiled as one of the ambassadors for Badminton World Federation (BWF)'s 'i am badminton' awareness campaign. The campaign provides a platform for players to express their love and respect for badminton by advocating and committing to clean and honest play. Sindhu, an Olympic silver medallist, said playing clean and honest is very important in any sport. "This message starts with one voice. If we as ambassadors can highlight this, then I think this will spread to more players," said the 24-year-old Indian.

"You are playing the sport for yourself. You need to be happy about it. You have to play it very clean and that is very important to me." It has been five years since BWF's Integrity Unit was formed and this time the campaign has been at the forefront of the governing body's efforts to communicate its approach towards integrity. Besides Sindhu, other ambassadors include Canada's Michelle Li, Chinese duo of Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong, England's Jack Shephard, Germany's Valeska Knoblauch, Hong Kong's Chan Ho Yuen and Germany's Marc Zwiebler, who is Athletes' Commission Chair. "It's hoped such a concerted effort will not only raise awareness across the entire badminton landscape but encourage players to be active participants in shaping the integrity of the sport," the BWF said in a release.

Former elite players who have fronted the campaign since 2016 include BWF President Poul-Erik Høyer, BWF Para Badminton Athletes' Commission Chair Richard Perot, and superstars such as Saina Nehwal, Viktor Axelsen, Hendra Setiawan, Christinna Pedersen, Chen Long, Misaki Matsutomo and Akaya Takahashi. "Every player has the right to compete in clean and fair sport. Match fixing, match manipulation and doping are contrary to the spirit of sport. As an ambassador, we all play an important role in safeguarding the future of badminton," Høyer said. "Our youth and Para badminton players are perceived to be at greater risk of match manipulation and doping due to their lack of exposure on the international circuit. "The idea of the 'i am badminton' campaign is for us as role models to share our experiences with these target groups so they have a heightened level of awareness on the importance of anti-match manipulation and anti-doping."

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World champion shuttler P V Sindhu believes foreign coaches would be difficult to hire in a post COVID-19 world, presenting former India internationals the opportunity to step forward and fill in the void. "If the global pandemic continues, bringing coaches from abroad might become difficult, there are a lot of good players in our country who have played at international level, and we can use them in a coaching capacity," Sindhu said on Monday while speaking during an webinar.

The Olympic silver-medallist was addressing the newly-appointed Assistant Directors of the Sports Authority of India through an online session. Sindhu stressed on the importance of parents, coaches, administrators working as a team to build up a champion. "The administrators must know the journey of every sportsperson. The future of Indian sports lies in the hands of young sports administrators like all of you," she said.

"You must visit all the SAI regional centres and be aware of the performances from the players and be in touch with their parents. The parent's involvement is a lot and you need to take feedback from them. This feedback needs to be monitored." The 24-year-old from Hyderabad also said "players must be continuously tracked to avoid age fraud." "You must also understand how the SAI coaching system works and if athletes are receiving the right diet and supplements at the various centres," she added.

Sindhu also stressed on the need to acknowledge the contributions made by parents in the success of athletes. "Before the Rio Olympics we shifted to the academy. My mother gave up her job to care for me. My father took two years leave from his job," she said. "The challenge was recovering from the injury I suffered in 2015. I used to sit and play in the academy. I had to play 23 tournaments in a year to even qualify for the Olympics.

"My father taking leave from his service really helped me. He used to take me to the Railways ground." Sindhu complimented the government for schemes such as Khelo India for propping up various sports from the grassroot level and urged other organisations to do the same. She also urged budding players to not ignore their studies for a career in badminton.

"While you don't need to go to school every day, you must not skip it altogether," she said.

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(From left) Kamal Sidhu, Purab Kohli, Dino Morea, Maria Goretti, Cyrus Sahukar, Mini Mathur, Cyrus Broacha, Luke Kenny. Location Courtesy/The Bombay Canteen; Pics/Rane Ashish

When video killed the radio star in the 1990s, we were not complaining. Our eyes were glued to the TV as cable television made its debut. We had heard our rock and pop idols on FM, and now, we had them, in our living rooms. MTV had landed, followed by Channel V. Along with them came a glam and chatty species called VJs. On them we pinned our hope for a favourite song, crushed on them, and sought fashion wisdom during our fumbling teenage years. Suddenly, we had new pin-up stars.

At a reunion of India's first set of VJs at Lower Parel's The Bombay Canteen, we saw model-VJ from MTV and Channel V Kamal Sidhu; the brain behind Channel V Luke Kenny; mad-hatter MTV VJ Cyrus Broacha; crush-worthy Channel V VJ Purab Kohli; model-actor with dear dimples Dino Morea; MTV's effervescent Mini Mathur; MTV's Mr Comical Cyrus Sahukar and MTV VJ-turned-food TV host Maria Goretti.

Madness ensued, with a whole lot of laughter and wisecracks. There were blows below the belt but not a brow was raised. For us, the '90s kids, they were the epitome of cool. It's true that we saw them in a different light — some of them are now parents — but they are just as charming.

Launching with the '90S
Kamal: I think I speak for everyone when I say, without the '90s, we wouldn't have had a career.

Mini: I was doing TV much before music television arrived. At that time, all of it was based out of Delhi, and only fiction came out of Bombay. But the music channels made it all cool.

Cyrus S: There were a handful of these networks in operation. It was a great time to be in and we got away with murder.

Luke: One of the things that happened was that the 18 to 24 demographic was created. That's the demographic for youth programming even today. Once 2000 rolled in, the concept of the TV anchor was born, but the VJ had died.

Kamal Sidhu makes a point as Purab Kohli listens in

Kamal: While the role of the VJ was fairly new to India, around the world there were VJs we were exposed to. In Canada, we had a local music channel, which didn't allow MTV to enter the country. There was Downtown Julie Brown (who hosted Club MTV from 1987 to 1992). On the show, the light switch went on, with the camera going up her legs and under her skirt, while she went, 'Waba Waba Waba Downtown Julie Brown'. She was among the real pioneers. When MTV launched in Asia, we beamed shows from Hong Kong. And, then, we launched in India with a party at the Taj Mahal Hotel [in 1992] in Mumbai. It was called The Bombay Blast Weekend. It received a lot of backlash, I remember, because the riots (Babri Masjid) had just happened.

Where i want to be: Vjing
Maria: I used to watch Kamal and Danny [McGill] VJ, and, suddenly, I was one of them. I didn't know what I was getting into until I did. The thing about VJing in the '90s was that it let you be who you wanted to be. I was lucky to be part of something I loved. Today, everyone wants to be something more, so, a lot of people get nudged out of television. MTV put Indian VJs on air and that changed something. It was now damn cool to be Indian; there was no need to have an accent. I didn't realise I was cool but apparently, I was.

Purab: I joined Channel V as a host for a travel show, and, gradually, when other slots opened, I started VJing too. There was a serious naiveté back then and VJing wasn't thought of as a stepping-stone to other things.

Cyrus Sahukar tells a story to Luke Kenny

Cyrus S: We were all there with the knowledge that this where we want to be.

Behind the scenes
Purab: There were times when we shot close to five episodes a day. It was intense. Sophiya [Haque], Laila [Rouass] and Meghna [Reddy] would do their own make up, write their own shows and select their own music. There was a transition, when I came in 1999 to Channel V. There was one show where we were asked to write and select songs. We would run it by Luke.

Cyrus B: Luke? Was everything right?

Purab: Yes!

Cyrus B: Luke himself didn't know what his designation was.

Purab: He would approve songs and that was our process.

Maria: Producers hated it when VJs would get together because that meant no one would be working. Once a year, we did a show together for Christmas or New Year and that would be a blast. I miss all of us working together — miss the travelling, the early morning flights, sleeping at airports because we had missed our plane. When I look back I realise that what I did was part of history.

Music then, music now
Luke: What do I think of the indie music scene? It's very niche, and some of the musicians have a chip on their shoulder. But, that aside, what business are they doing? Few manage to get paying gigs, and whoever turns up to support, comes, has a drink, pays R300 and then doesn't buy the album. How does it help the artist? I have been consulting with Channel V recently, and we are trying to go back to the model where the music channel only plays music, and supports indie acts by giving their originals air time.

Cyrus Broacha monkeys around as Dino Morea greets Kamal Sidhu

Kamal: I remember they would send us pop music videos at the Hong Kong office. And most of them were bad. We had to consciously decide to help some artists with their videos. And then Rahman and acts like Indus Creed came in, and the videos changed.

Luke: Kids today love their pop as they did back in the '90s.

Kamal: It was more authentic back then.

Luke: That's because the labels saw a market and invested in it. No one sees a market in today's indie scene.

Cyrus S: They were competing with an international kind of space and knew that spending money on videos was requisite. Everybody was trying to match international standards.
Kamal: And then everything got homogenised into one game plan — the Bollywood game plan.

The '90S role model
Dino: I landed in Bombay in December 1997, looking for opportunities and I remember sharing a room, not even a flat, with a girl who wanted to be a model too. Back in Bangalore, I remember seeing Kamal. I was in college and had to go meet a photographer. There she was, shooting for some perfume or cosmetics ad, and I was like, "Whoa!" Models were these superstars then. I did stare at her.

Kamal: Did I stare back at you?

Dino: (Laughing) I don't think you noticed me.

Sinking into reality
Kamal: A big change from the '90s, well, is that reality television came about, for better or worse.

Luke: One of the earliest reality shows to come was Channel V's Popstars, from which [girl band] Viva emerged. History rewrote itself in that decade with reality television.

Cyrus B: There was also MTV Bakra, which started towards the end of 1999.

Kids with an edge
Kamal: I think it was the time of the Asian liberation. Everything was booming. Also, it was a time for adjustment. Parents of '90s kids looked at people like us and questioned our place as role models. They said, we need to control the remote control.

Luke: No, there was no parental control at all.

Purab: I think it was because those kids were the first movers into the globalisation space.

Cyrus S: Even I used to come home and watch TV. It was a time when I had a VCP, not even a VCR.

Luke: Do you know why those kids had an edge over today's? Because they didn't have these. (Points to a mobile phone).

Maria: I think it was because there was a more organic interaction between people. The communication was real, which I don't see today. These days, it's about the phone. My kids just asked me why they don't have the blue tick on Instagram. Everyone is looking into their phones. We have become tech-savvy but have lost a bit of the soul. (Snapping her fingers). It's now all about reaching a place and changing the game.

Your fav music video of the '90S was?
Luke: Pretty Child by Indus Creed
Cyrus Sahukar: Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice
Dino: Can't Touch This by MC Hammer
Kamal: Anything by AR Rahman
Maria: Freedom by George Michael
Mini: All Sukhbir and Lucky Ali videos

Pune: Weeks after getting Indian citizenship, around 25 Sindhis, who migrated from Pakistan years ago and made Pimpri-Chinchwad their home, had another reason to celebrate when they got an opportunity Monday to cast their votes for the first time. One of them, Rajendra Thakur, migrated to India from Pakistan 37 years ago.

Today, Thakur looked a happy man after voting for the first time in India. The 52-year-old is among nearly around 25 Sindhis from the Pimpri-Chinchwad area, that falls under the Maval Lok Sabha constituency, who voted for the first time. Those who exercised their franchise for the first are among the 45 Sindhis from the city who got permanent citizenship of India early last month.

"It has been over 37 years that I have been living in Pimpri-Chinchwad. All those years, except discussing politics, I could not take part in any democratic process such as election and could not cast my vote. "But today, for the first time, I voted," said an elated Thakur, who is into the business of supplying electrical items. He said several Sindhis have migrated to India from Pakistan over the years for a better future and all of them, including himself, had been living on long-term visas (LTVs) till they became Indian citizens after a prolonged wait.

These visas needed to be renewed after every two years and the process was very lengthy and tedious, he said. Thakur thanked Balasaheb Runwal of 'Mere Apne' Foundation and Pune district collector Naval Kishore Ram for helping in getting citizenship.

"It was Balasaheb Runwal of Mere Apne Foundation, who all those years fought for our cause. Credit also goes to Pune collector Naval Kishore Ram who expedited the process to issue citizenship certificates in March," said Thakur.

"I came to India in 1982 along with my sister when I was 15 as the situation back in Karachi was not good. "When we got the Indian citizenship certificates in March, we felt like winning a long-fought war and I can not express my happiness in words after casting my vote," he added.

Dr Vijay Bulani has a similar story to tell as he, too, was among the voters. "I am very happy that we got a chance to participate in the democratic process of our country," he said. Talking to PTI, district collector Ram said the applications of all these people were pending before him.

"I decided to look into the long-pending issue and expedited the entire process of issuing permanent citizenship certificates by bringing all authorities concerned together. "And in one go, all these people were issued their citizenship certificates," the bureaucrat said. He said while issuing the certificates, the district administration also got them to fill their voter registration forms and it is good that out of 45, 25 people could vote.

Runwal said these people had faced many hardships as they used to run from pillar to post to get their LTVs renewed. "So I decided to take up the issue through my organisation and followed it up with several authorities, including the Union home ministry. In all this process, BJP's Pune MP Anil Shirole helped me," he said.

Runwal said the district collector expedited the entire process to issue the certificates. "Now after these 45 people, there are more 200 applications from the city are in the pipeline and we are sure that all these people will get their permanent citizenship certificates soon," he added.

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