August 2019

4 August 2019
ASIA
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
MAMATA condoles
Siddhartha's death, flays
harassment by Centre
WI series: Team India begins
preparation for World T20
Jakarta : At least one person was killed,
four others injured and 1,000 people were displaced
when a 6.9 earthquake struck the strait
between the Indonesian islands of Java and
Sumatra, officials said on Saturday. The quake
that occurred on Friday night, caused structural
damage in over 100 buildings, including 58
houses and a
mosque in the
municipality of
Pandeglang, located
closest to the
epicenter and the
worst affected, the
National Disaster
Management
Agency said in a
statement. The
tremor was also felt
in the capital city of Jakarta, located around
250 km northwest, and damaged buildings in
West Java's Bandung, over 300 km from the
epicenter, reports Efe news. The authorities
initially issued a tsunami alert that led people
in several parts of the coast of Java and
New Delhi : Back on the field after their
World Cup debacle, Team India will start their
preparations for next year's World T20 in the
first T20I of the three-match series against the
West Indies at the Central Broward Regional
Park Stadium on Saturday.
Before leaving for the West Indies tour,
skipper Virat Kohli had said the line-up of
such trophies - World T20s in 2020 and 2021
-- ensured "players always had something to
play for, look forward to". And thus, the threematch
rubber will provide him with the chance
of giving youngsters an opportunity to showcase
their talent in the shortest format of the
game.
The series will serve as a great opportunity
for the likes of Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer
and Khaleel Ahmed, who missed out on a
chance to play in the 50-over World Cup in the
UK.
All these three players performed well for
the India "A" side in the Caribbean Islands
and would want to continue with their form
and impress the captain as well as the selectors
for future. The series could also see Rahul
Chahar and Navdeep Saini make their international
debuts as many senior bowlers have
been rested. The only experienced campaigner
in the pace bowling line-up is Bhuvneshwar
Kumar.
In the batting department, Rohit Sharma is
almost certain to be joined by his regular partner
Shikhar Dhawan who got injured in
England. K.L. Rahul will most likely be batting
after Kohli if the team management
doesn''t wish to give Iyer a go. This should be
followed by promising wicketkeeper Rishabh
Pant. The Men in Blue will go into the series
as favourites even though West Indies are
counted amongst the most dangerous sides in
this format of the game.
The hosts, led by Carlos Brathwaite, have
the likes of Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine
and they are more than capable of turning the
game in a flash. In bowling department too,
they boast of having the likes of Sheldon
Cottrell and Oshane Thomas who are matchwinners
in T20 format. Andre Russell being
ruled out due to fitness woes is a big blow, but
fans can be rest assured of some fireworks in
the three-match T20I series.
Squads India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit
Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul,
Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant
(WK), Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja,
Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar,
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed,
Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini.
West Indies: John Campbell, Evin Lewis,
Shimron Hetmyer, Nicolas Pooran, Kieron
Pollard, Rovman Powell, Carlos Brathwaite
(c), Keemo Paul, Sunil Narine, Sheldon
Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Anthony Bramble,
Khary Pierre, Jason Mohammed.
1 killed, 1,000 displaced
in 6.9 Indonesia quake
Sumatra, Indonesia's most populated regions,
to move to higher areas. But the warning was
deactivated two hours later. The US
Geological Survey, which records seismic
activity around the world and had initially
estimated the earthquake's magnitude to be
6.8, put the epicenter around 90 km southwest
of Pandeglang and
its hypocenter at a
depth of 42 km.
Indonesia sits
on the Pacific
Ring of Fire, an
area of massive
seismic and volcanic
activities
with 127 active
volcanoes. It
experiences about
7,000, mostly-moderate, quakes a year.
Last September, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake
struck the island of Sulawesi and triggered
a tsunami, causing over 2,000 deaths
and leaving 200,000 displaced from Palu and
Donggala.
Kolkata : Condoling the death
of Cafe Coffee Day Enterprises'
founding Chairman V.G.
Siddhartha, West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee on
Wednesday said the central government
must ensure that political
vendetta and agencies did not
demoralise industrialists and
hamper nation's progress.
"I am deeply shocked by the
incident relating to V.G.
Siddhartha, Cafe Coffee Day
founder. It is indeed very sad and
very unfortunate. From what he
has expressed, it appears he was
greatly depressed due to harassment
and pressure from different
agencies for which he could not
run his business in a peaceful
manner. This he could not resist,"
Banerjee wrote on Facebook. The
CM said she had heard that the
captains of industries were under
pressure; some of them had left
the country and some were contemplating
to move out. Banerjee
wrote: "My appeal to the government
is that when you have been
elected, you have to work in a
peaceful manner so that people
are confident and that political
vendetta and agencies don't
destroy the future of the country".
She expressed her deep condolence
to the family members of
V.G.Siddhartha.
Punjab man commits suicide
after killing family members
Chandigarh : A 27-year-old man committed suicide after he
shot dead five members of his family in a village in Punjab, police
said on Saturday. The incident took place at Nathuwal village near
Moga on Friday night, a police official said.
Sandeep Singh allegedly shot dead his grandmother, father,
mother, sister and her three-year-old daughter and later shot himself,
the official said. His grandfather received bullet injuries.
The reason for the shooting is yet to be ascertained.