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Pioneer Dehradun-english-edition-2021-03-18
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Against the backdrop of a
sudden rise in coronavirus
cases in many States, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on
Wednesday stressed the need
for checking the “emerging
second peak” of the pandemic
in the country and sought
States to create micro-contain-
ment centres and speed up the
vaccination drive.
In the meeting of Chief
Ministers called by him to
decide new Covid-19 strategy,
Modi said, “Test, track and
treat mantra” should be fol-
lowed to combat the “second
peak” of the pandemic.
“Seventy districts of the
country have seen an increase
of more than 150 per cent in
the last few weeks. If we don’t
stop it here, a situation of a
nationwide outbreak can come
up,” he cautioned.
Punjab Chief Minister
Amrinder Singh sought per-
mission for vaccination of one
and all. Karnataka too sup-
ported that people in all age-
group be vaccinated. West
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
was absent and represented by
the State Chief Secretary.
The Prime Minister said
vaccination should be speeded
up and regretted 10 per cent
“wastage” of doses in Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana and
UP.
“Over 10 per cent vaccine
wastage in Telangana and
Andhra Pradesh. Vaccine
wastage in Uttar Pradesh is
almost the same. The State
must review why vaccine
wastage is happening?
Monitoring must be done every
evening and pro-active people
should be contacted so that
there’s no wastage,” he told the
Chief Ministers.
Modi said States should be
creating micro-containment
centres to limit the spread of
the virus and pressed the need
to increase RT-PCR resting
across the country.
C=A067D=0C70Q D108
In a first major reshuffle of top
IPS officers undertaken after
the arrest and suspension of
explosive laden SUV recovery-
linked police officer Sachin
Vaze, the Maharashtra
Government shunted out
Mumbai Police Commissioner
Param Bir Singh and replaced
him with current Director
General of Police (DGP)
Hemant Nagrale.
Announcing the appoint-
ment of Nagrale as Mumbai’s
new Police Commissioner,
Maharashtra Home Minister
Anil Deshmukh said while
senior IPS officer Rajnish Sheth
has been given additional
responsibility of DGP, outgoing
Mumbai CP has been posted as
DGP, Home Guards.
A 1987 batch IPS officer
Nagrale — the then DGP
(Technical and Legal) — was
holding the additional charge
of Maharashtra DGP since
January this year, when he was
given additional responsibility
after incumbent Subodh
Jaiswal was appointed the
Director General of the Central
Industrial Security Force
(CISF).
Singh’s transfer as the
Mumbai Police Commissioner
was very much on the cards
after the embarrassment that
the Maharashtra Government
faced in the wake of the arrest
of Mumbai’s Assistant Police
Inspector Sachin Vaze by the
National Investigation Agency
(NIA) and his suspension in
connection with the recovery of
gelatine sticks’ laden SUV near
industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s
residence in south Mumbai
on February 25 and the subse-
quent murder of Thane busi-
nessman Manshukh Hiren.
Earlier, NCP chief Sharad
Pawar had met Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray and dis-
cussed the situation arising out
of Vaze’s arrest. Pawar had
reportedly advised the CM to
?=BQ =4F34;78
Two Chinese nationals with
forged Aadhaar cards were
nabbed at Bagdogra Airport.
The duo was held at 9.20
am on Tuesday by the CISF
while checking tickets and
identity documents at the
departure gate of the airport
and subjected to intense multi-
agency interrogation.
“During checking of trav-
el documents of both the pas-
sengers Aadhaar cards
appeared to be forged. On
questioning, both the suspect-
ed passengers revealed their
identity as Zhang Jun and
Kaileng who were supposed to
travel from Bagdogra to
Hyderabad by Indigo Airlines
flight and further bound from
Hyderabad to Tirupati by
Indigo Airlines flight,” the CISF
said in a statement here.
Later, both the suspected
passengers, who visited India in
2020, were handed over to the
local police by the CISF for fur-
ther investigation. As per their
passports, they had visited
Pakistan in 2018 and 2019.
They have visited Nepal and
exited the Himalayan country
on January 13 this year.
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34;78
Ram Swaroop Sharma,
the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) MP from
Mandi in Himachal
Pradesh, was found hang-
ing from the ceiling in his
official residence in New
Delhi on Wednesday.
Prima facie, it appears to
be a case of suicide, said
police, adding that how-
ever no suicide note was
found from the spot.
According to a senior
police official, a PCR call
was received around 7.45
am by his aide after the
parliamentarian did not
respond to knocks at his
door.
“A police team reached the
spot and forced open the door
and found Sharma hanging
from a ceiling fan. He was
taken to a hospital where doc-
tors pronounced him dead on
arrival,” said Chinmoy Biswal,
the Public Relation Officer
(PRO) of the Delhi Police.
“An enquiry is underway
and the exact cause of his
death will be ascertained after
a post-mortem examination,”
he said.
The Lok Sabha proceed-
ings were adjourned till 1 pm
after an obituary reference to
Sharma. Meanwhile, the BJP
cancelled its parliamentary
party meeting following
Sharma’s death and also called
off the joining ceremony of an
“eminent” person, who was
not named.
Born at Jalpehar village in
Mandi district on June 10,
1958, Sharma was a two-time
MP.
Presently, Sharma had been
suffering from various ail-
ments. He was elected to the
16th and 17th Lok Sabha from
Mandi Parliamentary con-
stituency in 2014 and 2019
respectively.
Following Sharma’s death,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
expressed grief and tweeted,
“Ram Swaroop Sharma was a
dedicated leader, who was
always committed to solving
people’s problems. He worked
tirelessly for the betterment of
society. Pained by his untime-
ly and unfortunate demise. My
thoughts are with his family
?=BQ =4F34;78
AMIG-21 Bison aircraft
crashed in Gwalior on
Wednesday killing its pilot
Group Captain A Gupta. The
mishap took place around
10.50 am when the aircraft was
taking off for a combat train-
ing mission.
The mandatory court of
inquiry was ordered to ascer-
tain the cause of the accident.
“A MiG-21 Bison aircraft of
IAF was involved in a fatal acci-
dent this morning while taking
off for a combat training mis-
sion at an airbase in central
India,” the IAF said in a tweet.
“The IAF lost Group
Captain A Gupta in the tragic
accident. IAF expresses deep
condolences and stands firm-
ly with the family members. A
Court of Inquiry has been
ordered to determine the cause
of the accident,” it added.
The Soviet-origin MIG-21
Bison is an upgraded version of
the MIG-21 aircraft that the
IAF began inducting in the
1960s. The MIG-21 Bison is
capable of carrying beyond-
visual-range missiles and other
potent weapons.
On February 27, 2019,
Wing Commander
Abhinandan Varthaman flew a
MIG-21 Bison and shot down
an F-16 aircraft of the Pakistan
Air Force, before his aircraft
went down in a dogfight. He
was captured by the Pakistan
Army and released two days
later.The IAF has lost many
MIG-21s and other aircraft in
accidents in the last few years.
In June 2019, the Ministry
of Defence informed
Parliament that 27 IAF aircraft
have crashed since 2016.
In 2016-17, six IAF fight-
er jets, two helicopters, a trans-
port aircraft and a trainer
crashed. In 2017-18, the IAF
lost two fighter jets and a
trainer aircraft in crashes. The
number rose in 2018-19, when
the IAF lost seven fighter jets,
two helicopters and two train-
ers. At present, the IAF has
around six squadrons of Mig-
21 Bisons. A squadron com-
prises around 18 to 20 aircraft.
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Aseries of shootings over
nearly an hour at three
Atlanta-area massage parlours
left eight people dead and
raised fears that the attack was
another hate crime against
Asian Americans.
Police arrested a white 21-
year-old Georgia man and said
the motive for Tuesday night’s
attacks wasn’t known, though
many of the victims were
women of Asian descent.
“We’re in a place where
we've seen an increase in hate
crimes against Asian
Americans since the pandem-
ic started,” said Georgia state
Rep. Bee Nguyen. “It's hard to
think it is not targeted specif-
ically toward our community.”
The attacks began Tuesday
evening, when five people were
shot at Youngs Asian Massage
Parlour near Woodstock, about
30 miles north of Atlanta,
Cherokee County Sheriff ’s
spokesman Jay Baker said.
Two people died at the
scene, and three were taken to
a hospital where two died,
Baker said.
About an hour later, police
responding to a call about a
robbery found three women
dead from apparent gunshot
wounds at Gold Spa near
Atlanta's Buckhead area, where
tattoo parlours and strip clubs
are just blocks away from man-
sions and skyscrapers in one of
the last ungentrified holdouts
in that part of the city.
Officers then learned of a call
reporting shots fired across
the street, at Aromatherapy
Spa, and found another woman
apparently shot dead.
“It appears that they may
be Asian,” Atlanta Police Chief
Rodney Bryant said.
White House press secre-
tary Jen Psaki said President Joe
Biden has been briefed on the
“horrific shootings” and would
receive an update later
Wednesday from Attorney
General Merrick Garland and
FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Little is known about the
suspect, Robert Aaron Long, of
Woodstock, and authorities
haven't specified charges.
:D0A274;;0??0=Q :278
The sensational charge by R
Balasankar, former chief
editor of The Organiser, that
there was a secret deal between
the CPI(M) and the Sangh
Parivar, has caused a political
earthquake in Kerala. The BJP
denied ticket to Balasankar to
contest the April 6 Assembly
election.
Balasankar created a flutter
in the political circle when he
told media persons on
Wednesday that there was a
deal between the Kerala BJP
and the CPI(M) for the
Assembly election so that the
latter could retain power in the
State.
The BJP’s State leadership
and the RSS, which were at log-
gerheads over a range of issues,
buried the hatchet for the time
being and vehemently denied
the charges.
“This statement by him
arose out of discontentment
over the denial of ticket to him,”
said K Surendran, Kerala BJP
chief while speaking to
reporters. “If he had the bless-
ings of the national leadership,
his name should have been in
the list,” Surendran added.
The allegation has upset
the BJP which had exuded
confidence and claimed that it
would emerge as the game-
changer in Kerala politics.
“This time Kerala will see a
third alternative calling the
shots in Government forma-
tion,” Surendran had said while
announcing the names of can-
didates.
The fight for supremacy in
the State has shifted back to the
CPI(M) and the Congress-led
fronts. Chances are that the BJP
may finish the race as “also
ran”, according to Roy Mathew,
a political commentator.
Chief Minister Pinarayi
Vijayan has also repudiated
the charges. But former Chief
Minister Oommen Chandi and
Leader of the Opposition
Ramesh Chennithala said there
was nothing surprising in the
charge as it was a fact.
“We in the Congress were
the first to bring to light the
secret deal between the BJP and
the CPI(M). The Enforcement
Directorate probe against the
CPI(M) leaders have been put
on hold as part of this deal,”
said Chennithala.
Meanwhile, PC Thomas,
leader of the Kerala Congress,
who was a part of the NDA-led
by the BJP till Wednesday
morning, jumped the fence
and appeared in a UDF meet-
ing by noon. He had declared
at Kasaragod that he would
remain only with the BJP.
The BJP national leader-
ship on Wednesday announced
the name of Shobha Surendran
as the candidate from
Kazhakoottam in
Thiruvananthapuram con-
stituency. The uncertainty in
the name of the candidate
from Kazhakootam has come
to an end with this announce-
ment.
The CPI(M) too was not
free from problems in selecting
the candidates. The con-
stituency of Kuttiyadi saw the
Muslim community coming
out in the open demonstrating
against the move to field a
Kerala Congress (Mani) faction
leader. The CPI (M) leadership
was forced to replace him with
local politician Kunhahammed
Kutty. Similarly, the CPI, which
too swears by secularism, had
to withdraw Ajit Koladi, its offi-
cial candidate at Tiroorangadi,
a Muslim dominated area, and
substitute him with Niyaz
Pulikkalakathu.
Siji Karuthedathu, author
and political commentator
based in Malabar, expressed
apprehension over the CPI(M)
and CPI genuflecting before
religious fundamentalism.
“This is further proof of the
Jama-at-Islami and
Popular Front of India swal-
lowing the Congress and
Communist parties slowly but
steadily,” said Siji.
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Living up to its reputation as
the “pharmacy of the
world,” India has played a lead-
ing role in supplying vaccine to
more than 70 nations in the
ongoing fight against the coro-
na pandemic, External Affairs
Minister S Jaishankar said in
the Rajya Sabha on
Wednesday.
Lauding India’s initiative in
practising people-centric diplo-
macy, the Elders urged the
Government to supply the vac-
cine to poor countries.
Addressing this concern, the
Minister said the Indian vac-
cine was the cheapest in the
world.
Making a statement on
“Vaccine Maitri” initiative,
Jaishankar said India’s reputa-
tion as “pharmacy of the world”
stands reinforced the way it
reached out to nations in the
midst of a global crisis and sup-
plied vaccines to 72 nations. It
was appreciated by global lead-
ers and world citizens and
they extended warmth to India
and its citizens.
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London: People aged over 70 years with hearing difficulties expe-
rienced heightened depression, loneliness and memory problems
during the Covid-19 lockdown, according to an online survey
conducted by UK health experts. “The impact of social isolation
has been massive on the elderly population, but our survey shows
that people with hearing impairment have been more substan-
tially affected,” said Professor Annalena Venneri from the
University of Sheffield’s Neuroscience Institute. P8
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take swift action to improve the
eroded image of the Mumbai
Police in the police officer's
alleged involvement in the
planting of explosive-laden SUV
near Ambani's residence and
suspicion about his role in the
circumstances leading to the
death of Hiren. While the NIA
is currently investigating the
SUV recovery case,
Maharashtra's ATS is looking
into the murder of Hiren, whose
body was recovered from the
Reti Bunder creek area.
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Soon after assuming charge of
their respective depart-
ments, many Ministers have
started taking decisions that are
likely to elicit appreciation
from various quarters.
Decisions have been taken by
the Urban Development
department, Sugar Cane
Development and Sugar
Industry department, and
Soldier Welfare department
which are likely to resolve
some of the pending issues of
various sections of society.
The Urban Development
and Housing Minister
Banshidhar Bhagat informed
that a government order had
been issued to suspend the
authority of regional develop-
ment authorities to pass build-
ing maps in areas brought
under their jurisdiction after
2016. Bhagat said that the peo-
ple had for long been facing
problems caused by long dura-
tion and cost incurred in get-
ting maps passed by the
authorities especially in rural
mountainous areas. With this
order issued a few days after it
was approved in the first cab-
inet meeting under the newly
sworn in CM, the building map
approval in the areas con-
cerned will be done as per the
system followed before 2016.
In another decision on the
directions of the State minister
for Sugar Cane Development
and Sugar Industry,
Yatishwaranand, the depart-
ment has directed that the
sugar mills will not issue orders
for the end of the sugar cane
crushing season till all the pro-
duce of the farmers is pur-
chased. In addition to this, the
payment for the sugar cane
should be made on time. This
order was issued after it came
to light that the sugar mills
were contradicting the gov-
ernment policy and shutting
down, and ordering closure of
the crushing season before
purchasing all the sugar cane
cultivated by the farmers. Due
to this, the farmers were facing
unnecessary problems in sell-
ing the remaining produce.
In the third decision, the
order terminating the services
of outsourced employees of
Uttarakhand Purva Sainik
Nigam Limited (UPNL) was
withdrawn on Wednesday. In a
written communication to all
the departments, the deputy
general manager of UPNL,
Manoj Rawat directed the
departments not to terminate
the services of the employees as
decided in the meeting with the
Soldier Welfare minister
Ganesh Joshi.
On this, Kushagra Joshi,
the president of the UPNL
Employees Union which had
been protesting against the
termination orders, said, We
have been protesting for 24
days and though the govern-
ment has annulled the termi-
nation order, we will not return
to our jobs till the government
has a dialogue with us.
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The pine trees are a threat to
the water bodies and the
drinking water department
would enter into a dialogue
with the forest department on
a plan to replace pine trees with
broad leafed plants near the
water bodies. The Minister for
Drinking Water Bishan Singh
Chufal disclosed this during an
interaction with the media
persons at Vidhan Sabha on
Wednesday. He added that
storage capability of the water
bodies in the state has
decreased over the years due to
the landslides, construction of
roads and blasting activities. “
In such a situation we need to
have a long term plan for
longevity and revival of the
water bodies which are a source
of drinking water,’’ he said.
The minister said that he
has asked the department offi-
cials to remain vigilant and
geared up to meet the dry sea-
son ahead. “This year we had
less rainfall due to which there
is less water in the water bod-
ies. Many of them have already
dried up. I have asked the
department to prepare a plan to
provide drinking water in the
villages located within 100
metres of roads by tankers. The
habitations located at a distance
from the roads would be pro-
vided water by mules. Water
would also be pumped from
the rivers to the tanks wherev-
er needed,’’ he said.
Chufal said that the
Detailed Project Reports
(DPRs) of 100 drinking water
projects have been submitted to
the department. “I have asked
the officers to clear the projects
costing more than Rs two crore
within a month and the pro-
jects costing less than Rs two
crore would be cleared by the
district magistrates concerned,’’
he said.
The minister added that
the ambitious Jal Jeevan
Mission with an objective to
provide drinking water tap in
every household is going on
satisfactorily and the mission
would be completed in the year
2022. “I have directed the offi-
cers to complete the mission
before time and make timely
payments to the contractors,’’
he said. On a stern note the
newly sworn in minister said
that the action would be taken
against the officers found
involved in laxity and corrup-
tion.
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Amid fears of a second wave
of Covid-19 in some states
of the country, the state health
department reported 110 new
cases of the disease on
Wednesday. The state now has
a cumulative number of 98,041
patients with the disease.
Incidentally the state reported
more than 100 new cases after
many days on Wednesday.
The authorities discharged
35 patients of the disease from
different hospitals on the day
following their recovery from
the disease. A total of 94250
patients have so far recovered
from the disease in the state.
The recovery percentage from
the disease now stands at 96.13
and the sample positivity rate
is 3.79 percent. Death of no
patient was reported to the
health department on the day.
In the state 1704 patients have
succumbed to the disease.
The health department
reported 40 new patients of the
disease in Dehradun, 34 from
Haridwar, 18 from Udham
Singh Nagar, 13 from Nainital,
two each from Pauri and
Pithoragarh and one from
Almora on Wednesday. No
new patients were reported
from Bageshwar, Chamoli,
Champawat, Rudraprayag,
Tehri and Uttarkashi districts
on the day.
The state now has 672
active patients of Covid-19
with Haridwar at top of the
table with 240 cases. Dehradun
has 169, Nainital 101, Udham
Singh Nagar 50, Pauri 35,
Almora 18, Champawat 16,
Tehri 10, Pithoragarh nine,
Rudraprayag seven, Bageshwar
five and Chamoli three cases of
the disease.
Meanwhile 14179 people
were vaccinated in 315 vaccine
sessions on Wednesday. A total
of 102282 people have so far
fully vaccinated in the state
while 143509 senior citizens
(age 60 and above) have
received the first shot of the
vaccine. In the state 8029 per-
sons of age 45 to 69 years with
co morbidity have got the first
dose of the vaccine. In
Haridwar district 117 vaccine
sessions were held on
Wednesday in which 2533
senior citizens (60 year and
above), 248 persons with co-
morbidity, 59 health care work-
ers and 330 frontline workers
were vaccinated. In Dehradun
1897 senior citizens, 93 persons
with co-morbidity, 188 health
care workers and 283 frontline
workers were vaccinated in 38
vaccine sessions on the day.
?=BQ 347A03D=
In view of the sudden spurt in
the number of patients of
Covid-19 in many states of the
country the Uttarakhand gov-
ernment has come into an
alert mode. For effective con-
trol on the disease the chief
minister Tirath Singh Rawat
has directed the health depart-
ment to undertake the vacci-
nation programme in a mission
mode. After attending a video
conferencing session with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Wednesday, CM Rawat
directed the officials to lay
special emphasis on the aware-
ness campaign to combat the
disease. He said that the num-
ber of vaccination centres
should be increased if the need
arises. The CM said that the
Covid-19 protection protocols
such as maintaining physical
distancing; wearing of masks
and sanitation should be fol-
lowed. He said that special
emphasis on RT-PCR tests
should be done and micro
containment zones should be
set up in the areas with higher
number of Covid-19 cases.
The CM added that the strat-
egy of Test, Track and Treat
should be followed to combat
the disease. The chief secretary
Om Prakash, secretary health
Amit Singh Negi, medical edu-
cation director Yugal Kishore
Pant and others were present
on the occasion.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Former chief minister and
general secretary of All
India Congress Committee
(AICC) Harish Rawat has
accused the Uttarakhand Chief
Minister Tirath Singh Rawat
for taking false claim of with-
drawal of cases relating to vio-
lation of Covid-19 guidelines
during the lockdown. He said
that the Supreme Court (SC)
has directed the state govern-
ments to withdraw cases of vio-
lation of Covid-19 guidelines.
Taking a dig at CM, Harish
Rawat said that it appears that
he is shrewder than his prede-
cessor. In his Facebook page,
Rawat said that the decision of
withdrawal of cases is a judicial
one and not administrative
one. He said that the SC has
already given its decision on the
issue and many states have
already implemented it.
?=BQ 347A03D=
At a time when some states
are witnessing an alarming
rise in the number of Covid-19
cases reported daily, compla-
cency towards basic guidelines
to prevent the spread of Covid
is on the rise especially in pub-
lic places of the provisional state
capital Dehradun. While some
people are still wearing masks
in public, many are either not
wearing them properly or not
carrying them at all.
A pharmacy student,
Suchita Pandey opined, “The
people have even stopped
believing in facts as now they
think the situation is not as
alarming as stated. They think
that hospitals are faking num-
bers to make more money
which is wrong as we are the
ones who are seeing the reali-
ty and know
how dangerous
this situation
can be.”
A shopper
at Paltan
Bazaar, Dinesh
Singh said,
“Now people
are used to
being outside
and feel free. It
is now harder to
convince the
general public
that we still
need to be care-
ful. Many people don’t seem to
care about the Covid guidelines
anymore. Social distancing and
sanitizers are rarely found.
The owner of a shop in
Paltan Bazaar, Rajkumar said,
“We are following the Covid
guidelines we have sanitizers in
our shop, every worker wears
a face mask but yes sometimes
it's hard to maintain social
distancing among customers as
we can’t stop them from com-
ing so, we try to make sure that
they are wearing face masks
and are using hand sanitizer
properly.”
Doon Udyog Vyapar
Mandal member Sunil Masson
said, “We have told shopkeep-
ers to adhere to the Covid
guidelines. We can only guide
them but to penalise those
who are not following the rules
is the work of the govern-
ment. They need to be stricter
towards this as the Covid num-
bers are rising in some regions
and we need to be more alert
as responsible citizens.”
Dehradun city magistrate
Kusum Chauhan said that the
local police are working
towards spreading awareness
among the public and those
who are breaking the rules are
also being penalised. “We are
making sure that the Covid
guidelines are followed prop-
erly and no carelessness will be
accepted,” she stressed.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Women empowerment is
vital to check the rising
substance abuse among chil-
dren. Only healthy and
empowered mothers can make
a child stronger and give them
the right directions to tackle
issues that push children
towards drug addiction.
Former chief minister
Trivendra Singh Rawat said this
while addressing the gathering
on the concluding day of the
national level seminar of the
State Commission for
Protection of Child Rights
(SCPCR) on the issue of
increasing substance abuse
among children. He asserted
that people talk about banning
alcohol to restrict its con-
sumption but despite that, alco-
holism still prevails in states
like Gujarat and Bihar where it
is prohibited. Instilling values
in children to avoid the temp-
tation to indulge in substance
abuse is the most effective way
to handle it, opined Rawat.
MLA Vinod Chamoli said that
the government can work
against the external factors
that facilitate substance abuse
but only parents can infuse val-
ues into children that would
prevent them from falling into
this trap.
A total of 13 state com-
missions for protection of child
rights participated in this
national seminar including the
ones from Arunachal Pradesh,
Delhi, Nagaland, Uttar
Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan
and Tripura along with the
National Commission for
Protection of Child Rights
(NCPCR). According to the
Uttarakhand SCPCR chief
Usha Negi, many important
recommendations were made
by the participating members
in this seminar which would be
sent as a joint proposal to the
Central Government and to the
respective state governments.
“We would suggest issuing a
unique identification number
on the birth of every child in
order to monitor them till they
turn 18 years old. The com-
missions also suggested a week-
ly counselling session for stu-
dents to reduce their stress
level. Using Anganwadi centres
for easy rehabilitation of chil-
dren indulging in substance
abuse and establishing special
juvenile homes are among the
points which we would include
in our proposal to the govern-
ment,” informed Negi. She stat-
ed that she has been inspired by
the initiatives taken by the
commissions of other states in
restricting substance abuse
among children and she would
include them too in her pro-
posal letter to the chief minis-
ter.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Cracking the whip on ineffi-
ciency in departmental
work soon after assuming
charge, chief minister Tirath
Singh Rawat ordered the sus-
pension of two engineers of the
Public Works Department for
inferior quality of work in road
construction. The PWD prin-
cipal secretary has issued orders
for suspension of both the
engineers. Taking serious cog-
nisance of the case spread
through the social media, the
CM had ordered the suspension
of PWD assistant engineer Ajit
Singh and junior engineer Anil
Kumar for inferior work
between kilometres 154-155 of
the Lakshmanjhula-Kandi-
D u g a d d a - R at hu a d h ab -
Dhumakot motor road under
the PWD Dugadda provincial
division. Rawat has also ordered
a probe into this incident. The
CM said that corruption and
negligence in work will not be
tolerated at all. He reiterated
that the state government is
committed to provide a clean,
transparent and honest admin-
istration. Strict action will be
taken at whichever level any
gaps are found, he added.
?=BQ 347A03D=
With an objective of
improving the pre-school
education, the Women empow-
erment and child development
department of Uttarakhand has
entered into a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with a
Delhi based organisation, the
Meraki foundation. The MoU
was signed in presence secre-
tary H C Semwal and Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of
Meraki foundation Seemant
Dadwal. Under the plan, the
capacity building activity of
Anganwadi workers and ICDS
officers would be undertaken.
Similarly efforts would be made
to increase participation of par-
ents in preschool activities
would be made. The foundation
operates a ‘digital parent guide-
line programme’ and so far
more than 15000 families have
benefited from it. The deputy
director of the department S K
Singh, DPO Dehradun
Akhilesh Mishra and Akriti
Bhatt from Meraki foundation
were present on the
occasion.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Uttarakhand Traffic
Directorate is planning
to conduct a one-month
campaign against underage
riders in view of increasing
road accidents. According
to the directorate, the acci-
dent cases of underage rid-
ers have increased consid-
erably in the last few years.
As per the data provided by the
directorate, a total of 158 vehi-
cle users aged below 18 years
had died in road accidents
while 326 underage riders were
injured from the year 2018 to
the year 2020. The director of
the traffic directorate, Kewal
Khurana informed that the
traffic directorate is planning to
conduct a one-month cam-
paign in which the police
would check the two-wheeler
vehicles parked in school park-
ings. In case any rider is found
to be a minor, the police would
seize the vehicle and appropri-
ate action would be taken
against the parents, said
Khurana. According to the
officials, most of the underage
riders violate the traffic rules
that mainly include riding
without a driving license and
proper helmet. They disclosed
that such underage riders face
the risk of accidents also when
they try to get away by riding
rashly during the checks at
checkpoints. A case can also be
filed against the guardian of a
minor under section 199 of the
new Motor Vehicles Act if they
are aware of their wards
indulging in underage riding.
Khurana has appealed to the
parents to not let their under-
age children drive vehicles.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Shri Kedarnath Utthan
Charitable Trust (SKUCT)
signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with
Power Grid Corporation of
India Limited as part of which
the corporation has committed
to contribute Rs 19.3 crore for
the development projects at
Badrinath.
The MoU was signed
between the State’s Tourism
secretary Dilip Jawalkar and
Powergrid chairman and man-
aging director K Sreekant.
As per the MoU, the
amount shall be used for the
construction of a 2.5 kilometre
long and 10.5 metre wide road
for efficient traffic manage-
ment, facade enhancement of
public and Devasthanam Board
buildings, battery-operated
public transport system, instal-
lation of property and wayfind-
ing signages, ambient lighting
and drainage management.
Speaking on the occasion
Jawalkar said, “Badrinath
Dham is one of the most
sought-after destinations of
Uttarakhand and attracts pil-
grims from all over the world.
Uttarakhand government is
working in alignment with the
vision of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and actively
involved in the overall devel-
opment of the city's infra-
structure. We are also ensuring
that all the development pro-
jects are environment friendly
and further aid in boosting the
employment opportunities for
the locals.”
He further informed that
MoU’s worth about Rs 200
crore are signed with various
Public Sector Units (PSUs) to
develop Badrinath as a smart
spiritual hill town under
Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR). The project is estimat-
ed to be completed within the
time duration of three years. It
is also expected that the project
will benefit nearly 15.6 lakh pil-
grims every year visiting
Badrinath from 2025 onwards.
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Aday after achieving the
highest inoculation fig-
ures, the country’s vaccination
number fell by over 11 lakh
with just over 19 lakh benefi-
ciaries turning up for their
immunisation against Covid-
19 on Tuesday, according to the
data available from the Union
Health Ministry. On March 15,
8.34 million COVID-19 vac-
cine doses were administered
worldwide, of which India
alone administered 36 per cent
of doses, he said.
This, even as the average of
Covid-19 vaccine wastage in
India is 6.5 per cent, with
Telangana topping the list at
17.6 per cent wastage followed
by Andhra Pradesh (11.6 per
cent), Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka
and Jammu and Kashmir.
Concerned at this wastage, the
Ministry on Wednesday called
for optimal utilisation of the
jabs.
Addressing a press con-
ference, Health Secretary
Rajesh Bhushan said that 3.51
crore vaccine doses have been
administered till now in the
country, which include 1.38
crore beneficiaries aged 45-60
years with specific co-mor-
bidities and those above 60
years who have been given the
first dose.
Bhushan also expressed
concern at vaccine wastage in
some States and said that
they have been told to opti-
mally utilized the shots.
On the increase in daily
Covid-19 cases from March 1-
15, he said about 70 districts
in 16 states have registered
more than 150 per cent
increase in active cases, while
55 districts in 17 states have
registered 100-150 per cent
rise in cases. Noting that the
high positivity rate is a mat-
ter of concern, he said the tests
numbers are not increasing at
the same rate as the positivi-
ty rate is increasing.
To handle the increasing
cases especially in 12 states,
states have been advised to
ensure strict adherence to
mask wearing, physical dis-
tancing and hand hygiene
along with greater vigilance
and monitoring at the highest
levels for all potential events
where crowds gather.
“We are advising the
states to ensure all close con-
tacts of any positive person are
traced, isolated and tested in
72 hours. They have asked to
identify clusters, focus on sur-
veillance and stringent imple-
mentation of containment
zone approach and under-
take priority vaccination of
identified groups in districts
reporting higher cases,” he
said.
There are a few cases of
three more variants of the
Coronavirus, UK variant,
Brazil variant and South
Africa variant and the
Government is keeping a
watch on them, said Dr VK
Paul, member, Niti Aayog.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Congress MP Manish
Tewari on Wednesday
attacked the Government in
Lok Sabha for “allowing”
China a “clean-chit” in the
worldwide spread of
Coronavirus pandemic that
caused deaths of lakhs of peo-
ple across the globe.
Speaking in the Lower
House while initiating the
debate on Demand for Grants
for the Ministry of Health,
Tewari said China with the
tacit support of the World
Health Organization (WHO)
has completely absolved itself
of the proliferation of
Coronavirus pandemic all over
the world.
He said the WHO, which
has yet not formally put out its
report into the origin of
Coronavirus from China has,
however, said on February 9,
2021, that the “lab leak is
extremely unlikely”.
Lashing out at the
Government, the Congress
MP said: “What surprises me
that Indian Health Minister
chairs WHO and culpability of
China’s absolution is happen-
ing at the hand of India”.
Union Health Minister
Harsh Vardhan was in the
house when the Congress MP
was making his point on China
and the WHO.
“India should not be part
of the culpability to allow
China to go scot-free. As the
chair of the WHO executive
board, India must take the ini-
tiative to order an inquiry so
that China, where the virus had
originated, could be held
responsible for spreading the
disease throughout the world,”
he said.
The Congress leader said
that so far just 3.5 crore peo-
ple in the country have been
vaccinated while 5.74 crore
doses were given to 72 coun-
tries. “It reflects that the
Government is giving more
importance to its vaccine
diplomacy rather than inocu-
lation of its own citizens,” he
alleged.
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Union Health Minister
Harsh Vardhan on
Wednesday underlined that
India is not giving COVID-19
vaccine to the world at the
expense of the need of local
population. Speaking in the
Lok Sabha on Demands for
Grants for the health ministry,
he noted that the Government
has not reduced the expendi-
ture on health as has been
alleged by certain members.
On the criticism that India is
providing coronavirus vaccine
to other countries when it is
needed more at home, the
minister asserted,
“We are not giving (the vac-
cine) at the expense of our own
people”. He said the government
has discussed the matter with
experts and has tried to strike a
balance. “The whole world is a
family... The whole mankind
should benefit from the vac-
cine,” he added. Vardhan added
that the Government is treating
the health sector in a holistic
manner.
Presenting a contrarian per-
spective on COVID-19 vacci-
nation, YSRCP Lok Sabha MP
Sanjeev Kumar Singari asked
the Government not to waste
C35,000 crore on the inoculation
drive and instead use the money
in improving the health infra-
structure in the country. He
argued that vaccination is a
wasteof moneyasuniversal vac-
cination is neither possible nor
warranted. “Now the govern-
ment is proposing to spend
C35,000 on COVID-19 vacci-
nation, this is a waste of money
in my view. COVID-19 vaccine
saves us only for 6-9 months
after that C35,000 crore will be
evaporated,” Singari said.
He also noted that crises
like COVID-19 occur once in
100 years, so the government
should not give much impor-
tance to the coronavirus pan-
demic. Union Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
has provided C35,000 crore
towards COVID-19 vaccina-
tion in 2021-22 fiscal. “I suggest
to the Government to divert
C35,000 crore to primary health-
care which is very essential for
India,” Singari said. Noting that
60 per cent seropositivity is con-
sidered immunity and many
cities like Hyderabad have
already recorded 54 per cent of
seropositivity rate, he said, “I
request the government to not
spend money on COVID-19
vaccination.”
Talking further about
COVID-19 vaccination, the
Health Minister said as many as
3.5 crore people have been
given the jab, adding that India
has so far accounted for 36 per
cent of the total vaccinations
conducted across the globe.
Earlier participating in the dis-
cussion, Congress MP Manish
Tewari said that the COVID-19
vaccination drive is not going on
properly, and alleged that the
Government is giving more
stress on the export of vaccines
rather than inoculation of the
country’s citizens. Tewari point-
ed out that so far just 3.5 crore
people in the country have
been vaccinated, while 5.74
crore doses were given to 72
countries.
Later Lok Sabha passed the
Appropriation Bill 2021-22,
authorising the Government to
draw funds from the
Consolidated Fund of India for
its working as well as imple-
mentation of its programmes
and schemes. The Lok Sabha
earlier discussed demands for
grants of different Ministries,
including Railways, Education.
Speaker Om Birla later applied
the guillotine, after which all the
outstanding demands for grants,
whether discussed or not, were
put to vote at once and passed.
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The Ministry of Law and
Justice on Wednesday
informed the Parliament that a
four-member committee set
up by the Election Commission
of India (ECI) to examine the
expenditure limit of candi-
dates contesting elections is
likely to submit its report by
March 31, 2021 while the EC’s
proposal to link electoral roll
with the Aadhaar ecosystem to
root out multiple enrolments is
under the consideration of the
Government.
In a reply to the Lok Sabha,
Union Law and Justice
Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
said, “Expenditure limit for a
candidate was last revised in
2014 while in respect of
Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana it was revised in
2018. In last 6 years the limit
was not increased despite
increase in electorate from
834 million to 910 million in
2019 to 921 million now.
Further, Cost Inflation Index
during this period has
increased from 220 to 280 in
2019 to 301 now.”
In a written reply to ques-
tion related to link voter iden-
tity cards with the Aadhar, ,the
ministry said the poll panel has
proposed to link electoral roll
with the “Aadhaar ecosystem”
with a “view to curb the men-
ace of multiple enrolment of
the same person at different
places”. He said this would
require amendments to the
electoral laws.
?=BQ =4F34;78
In record seizures from the five
poll-bound States after the
model code of conduct came
into effect, the Election
Commission has confiscated
cash, liquor, narcotic drugs like
heroin, ganja, brown sugar and
valuables worth C331 crore.
This has already surpassed the
seizure figures of 2016, when the
surveillance teams of the poll
body had confiscated C225.77
crore from these five states and
Union Territory.
Interestingly, the EC has
identified 259 Assembly
Constituencies in West Bengal,
Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and
Puducherry where the use of
black money is expected to be
higher.
As per the EC data, a max-
imum of C127.64 crore worth
seizures have been made in
Tamil Nadu, while C112.59
crore worth seizures have been
made from West Bengal; C
63.75 crore from Assam; C21.77
crore from Kerala and C5.72
crore in Puducherry so far.
Cash seizures (C50.86 cr)
and precious metals (value C 61
cr) are highest in Tamil Nadu.
Besides, freebees value C14. 06
crore and liquor C1.32 crore also
confiscated from Tamil Nadu by
flying squads.
The EC data also says West
Bengal leads in seizures of nar-
cotic drugs like ganja, heroine,
brown sugar, charas (value Rs 47
crore), freebies (value C 29.42
crore), cash (C19.11 crore),
liquor (C9.72 crore and precious
metals including gold and silver
worth C 6.96 crore.
The flying squad also seized
drugs worth C27.09 crore, liquor
( value Rs 17.25 crore), cash
(C11.73 crore), freebees (C4.87
crore) and precious metals
(C2.82 crore) from Assam.
The EC is taking help from
the State Excise Department,
Income Tax Department,
Directorate of Revenue
Intelligence, Narcotics Control
Bureau, Flying Squads, Static
Surveillance Teams and other
regulatory agencies to detect
suspicious movement of cash,
liquor, valuables, narcotics and
other items in the poll bound
States. Distributing cash, liquor
and gifts during the electoral
process is not permitted under
the law. This expenditure comes
under the definition of“bribery”
which is an offence both under
section 171B of the Indian
Penal Code and under the
Representation of the People
Act, 1951.
?=BQ =4F34;78
In an effort to give a boost to
the local industry, the armed
forces will completely ban the
import of winter clothing if the
Indian textile industry is able
to come up with top class
products, Chief of Defence
Staff(CDS)General Bipin Rawat
said here on Wednesday.
Soldiers deployed in places
like Siachen glacier, Ladakh
and many such places in
Arunachal Pradesh are pro-
vided with specialised winter
clothing to withstand extreme
cold and vagaries of weather.
Urging the Indian industry
to innovate and manufacture
such clothing, Rawat said “we
are looking at the kind of
clothing that can sustain our
soldiers in the kind of extreme
cold climate (near northern
borders of Ladakh) and in the
hot, dry and humid climate in
the deserts and the north-east-
ern regions where we have the
jungle and semi-mountainous
terrain.”
Making this point at an
event organised by the
Federation of Indian Chamber
of Commerce and
Industry(FICCI), he said as of
now, a large amount of cloth-
ing for the armed forces is
imported. However, in the past
one or two years, there has
been a lot of innovation by the
Indian industry as far as high
altitude clothing is concerned,
the CDS said.
Highlighting some steps,
he said the armed forces have
now started placing orders for
such clothing to the local
industry. “And if we find that
this thing can take off and sup-
port us, we will not hesitate in
putting the entire clothing or
the entire ‘techno clothing’
that we are using in the armed
forces on the positive indi-
genisation list, which we were
earlier calling the negative list
for imports,” Rawat said. “This
means we will completely ban
the import of these items and
make sure that the defence ser-
vices have to depend only on
the Indian industry as part of
our Atmanirbhar Bharat sup-
port that we wish to give to the
industry,” he added.
Techno clothing is special
clothing that is developed by
incorporating new technology
to make it usable in special cir-
cumstances and places such as
extremely cold areas, biomed-
ical equipment and aircraft.
The Government in
August last year announced a
‘negative list for imports’ that
restricted purchase of 101
defence items such as light
combat helicopters, transport
aircraft, conventional sub-
marines and cruise missiles
from foreign entities.
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The Enforcement Directorate
(ED) has provisionally
attached immovable and mov-
able properties in the form of
land, commercial and residen-
tial units in Mumbai, Indore,
DelhiandGurgaonandbalances
in bank account totaling C32
crore of television channels Fakt
Marathi,BoxCinemaandMaha
Movie under money laundering
chargesformanipulatingTRPof
television channels.
Investigation under
Prevention of Money
Laundering Act (PMLA) has
revealed that the ‘Proceeds of
Crime’ for these channels is to
the tune of Rs 46 crore.
The ED had initiated inves-
tigation on the basis of an FIR
registeredbytheMumbaiPolice.
Money laundering investi-
gation revealed that People
Meters / devices also called Bar-
O-Meters are installed at certain
places/households (approxi-
mately 1,800 in Mumbai and
44,000 in India in total) on the
proportionatebasistomimicthe
viewership pattern of 197 mil-
lionhouseholdsinIndiaforcap-
turing viewership of various
channels of different genres and
languages in selected homes to
calculate the TRP.
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After analysing the affi-
davits uploaded on the
Election Commission of India’s
website, the Association for
Democratic Reforms (ADR)
came out with a report on
Wednesday saying that of the
259 candidates in Assam, 41
(16 per cent) candidates have
declared criminal cases against
themselves and 34 (13 per
cent) have declared serious
criminal cases against them-
selves. Besides, there are 101
crorepatis in the fray. Elections
to the 126-member Assam
assembly will be held in three
phases on March 27, April 1
and April 6.
The report, among the
major parties, 10 (23 per cent)
out of 43 candidates analysed
from the Congress, eight (20
per cent) out of 41 candidates
analysed from the Assam Jatiya
Parishad, three (8 per cent) out
of 39 candidates analysed from
the BJP and one candidate each
from the NCP, AGP and the
SUCI(C) have declared crim-
inal cases against themselves in
their affidavits.
“Among the major par-
ties, nine (21 per cent) out of
43 candidates analysed from
the Congress, six (15 per cent)
out of 41 candidates analysed
from the Assam Jatiya
Parishad, three (8 per cent) out
of 39 candidates analysed from
the BJP and one candidate each
from the NCP, AGP and the
SUCI(C) have declared serious
criminal cases against them-
selves in their affidavits,” the
ADR said.
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Aaya Ram Gaya Ram politics which had
been part and parcel of North Indian
politics, especially in States like Haryana,
has taken roots in Kerala.
Electorate in the State were in for some
amusing moments as P C Thomas, leader
of one of the Kerala Congress factions per-
formed a flying trapeze act which made the
State politics watch it in bewilderment.
Thomas, a former Union Minister of
State in the 1999-2004 NDA Government
switched over to the LDF when the BJP
failed to win majority in the 2004 Lok
Sabha election. Since then Thomas was
shuttling between the LDF and the UDF
depending on who the winner was.
During the 2020 Local Body election
in Kerala, Thomas was with the LDF. He
graced the inaugural function of BJP
Kerala chief K Surendran’s Vijaya Yathra at
Kasaragod which was inaugurated by Yogi
Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar
Pradesh.
But Thomas made a perfect landing in
the UDF camp by Wednesday noon as
political commentators in the State stood
watching with awe. His track records
prove that his presence has not helped his
alliance partners much.
Another maverick politician who made
a vault face on Wednesday was C K Janu,
the tribal leader from Wayandu. Janu who
was with the NDA till the 2019 Lok Sabha
election had dumped the Hindutwa party
for its upper caste and Brahminical image
and switched over to the UDF.
But come election time, Janu who was
spitting venom on the BJP labelling it as
Manuvaadi party returned to the Hindutwa
fold and has become a leader of the NDA.
“Many candidates who have been
fielded by the BJP for the 2021 assembly
polls are turncoats and defectors from par-
ties like the CPI(M). There are persons who
switched over to the BJP camp after their
failure to get tickets to contest the assem-
bly election,” said a senior BJP leader in
Kerala. He expressed his doubt about the
credibility and utility of leaders like Janu
and Thushar Vellappilli.
The likes of Thomas and Janu may
defect further in days to come, said
Sudheer Damodaran, Thrissur based polit-
ical commentator who had worked with
Prasanth Kishore in studying the psyche of
Indian voters.
.HUDOD
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Policedisclosedthecaseofkidnappingoftwo-and-
-half-year old children in the Kwarsi area police
stationandsellingthemtoachildlesscouples.Inthis
case, the police has arrested two people who kid-
napped the child. Also, a woman and a male have
beenarrestedfromtwofamiliesbuyingchildren.One
of the people who kidnapped the children is a real
brother-in-law of the child. Victimised families also
work as daily wage worker.
SP City Kuldeep Gunawat said in the audito-
rium on the police line, that two-and-a-half-year-
old Ayan son of Asa Mohammed resident of Gali
No. 5, Maulana Azad Nagar, suddenly disappeared
from the house o on October 5, 2020. A lawsuit was
filed on 6 October. On 11 March 2021, another two
and a half year old Shoaib son of Jalaluddin also dis-
appeared from Maulana Azad Nagar. Jalaluddin is
a Class IV employee at AMU. A case was also reg-
istered in the police station in connection with that.
Inboththesecases,therewassomesuspicionofinci-
dent being the same place, same age and same mode
of incident.
Policequestionedthechildrenofthelocality.The
children of the neighborhood said that Shoaib was
being fed by his brother-in-law, Sher Mohammed,
in the lap 2 days ago.
!RWX[SaT]ZXS]P__TS
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Lt-Gen Devendra Pratap Pandey
Wednesday assumed command of
the Srinagar-based strategic Chinar
Corps on Wednesday.
Lt Gen BS Raju, who is set to take
over the charge of Director General
Military Operations (DGMO) in New
Delhi handed over the baton to him at
a simple ceremony in the 15 Corps
headquarters.
Lt-Gen Pandey is joining the cru-
cial posting at a time when almost all
the security parameters remain under
control and the security forces are
enjoying an upper hand after elimi-
nating top leadership of the different
terror outfits in the recent months.
Soon after taking over the charge
Lt-Gen Pandey paid homage at the
Chinar Corps Memorial at Badami
Bagh in Srinagar. He also conveyed his
best wishes to the people of Kashmir.
In a press statement, Defence
spokesman said, Lt-Gen Pandey
addressed and interacted with troops
of Chinar Corps and exhorted them to
continue to work with unflinching ded-
ication and perseverance ‘in pursuit of
Peace and Stability in Kashmir’. He
asked for all combatants to take extra
steps required to connect with citizens
in order to jointly work towards the
common cause.
He expressed satisfaction at the
improved security parameters in the
Valley and hoped that a ceasefire on
Line of Control would enable an
improvement in the security situation.
He called for civil society to come for-
ward and jointly work with security
forces to address the scourge of ter-
rorism.
General Pandey stated that 2021-
22 is a momentous epoch in the his-
tory of Kashmir, and an era of peace
and stability can be ushered in with the
willing support of all sections of the
society, Defence spokesman added.
Lieutenant General DP Pandey,
an alumni of the National Defence
Academy, Pune, was commissioned in
December 1985 and has had an illus-
trious military career spanning 35
years during which he has held varied
prestigious command, staff and
instructional appointments. The
General Officer has an incisive under-
standing of Jammu Kashmir, having
served here for multiple tenures since
1985, notably as General Officer
Commanding, Counter Insurgency
Force (Kilo) and as Commander 8
Sector Rashtriya Rifles.
;c6T]3??P]SThPbbdTbRWPaVT^U2WX]Pa2^a_bX]BaX]PVPa
Shahjahanpur (Uttar Pradesh): A Class 5
student was allegedly molested by the
principal of her school in Shahjahanpur dis-
trict, police said.
A case has been lodged against the prin-
cipal, Shamim Ahmed, under relevant sec-
tions of the law for child abuse on the basis
of the complaint received from the child's
mother.
The incident took place on Monday but
the complaint was lodged on Tuesday.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjeev
Bajpai said that the girl told her mother that
she was playing outside her house when
Shamim Ahmed took her away and alleged-
ly molested her.
As the girl shouted for help, her fami-
ly members came to the rescue and the man
fled from the spot, the police said.
The principal, however, said that he was
on his way to work on his motorbike when
he saw some children playing. He stopped
there and asked them to come to school.
The girl ran towards her house crying,
he said, adding that later, some villagers
went to the school to allege that she had
been molested by him. IANS
?aX]RX_P[Q^^ZTS
U^a^[TbcX]V2[Pbb
$bcdST]cX]D? ArrayLucknow: A three day reli-
gious meet in Uttar Pradesh's Guru
Dham Mandir near Pratapgarh
has turned into a Covid hotspot
with several devotees coming to
attend the religious meet testing
positive for the deadly virus risk-
ing an outbreak like 'Tablighi Jamat'
in New Delhi last year.
Started on March 13 at
Mangadh, the event was organized
by Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat with
more than 14,000 devotees attend-
ing the meet flouting all Covid
norms despite the strict directives
given by Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath to avoid public gather-
ing with the danger of the state
entering the second wave of coro-
navirus.
As per sources, Covid protocols
like wearing of masks, social dis-
tancing, temperature checking and
using of hand sanitizers were being
blatantly ignored at the Ashram
resulting in thousands of people
getting vulnerable to coronavirus.
Devotees who have been tested
positive for the virus have not been
given any health assistance and
have been asked to leave the tem-
ple premises.
This is when novel coron-
avirus infection is spreading its
wings across the state. So far, more
than six lakh people in Uttar
Pradesh have tested positive for
Covid-19, while 8,750 people los-
ing their lives to the deadly virus.
In Uttar Pradesh, the cases are
also on the rise once again despite
the vaccination drive being con-
ducted on regular basis and more
than 3 lakh individuals have already
been inoculated with vaccine shots.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Wednesday held a meeting
with Chief Ministers over growing
cases of Covid-19 and the ongoing
vaccination drive has come to an
end. While interacting with the
CMs, PM Modi said, We must stop
the rising second peak of Covid at
the earliest. For this, we need to take
quick and decisive steps. He fur-
ther said, If we do not stop this
pandemic, it might create a nation-
al outbreak-like situation. IANS
D?b6dad3WPP]SXacda]b
2^eXSW^cb_^cPUcTaR^]VaTVPcX^]
Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP) president Mayawati has
called for making the coronavirus
vaccine free for the poor.
The BSP president said in a
tweet that if the Corona virus vac-
cination is expedited by the cen-
tral and state governments as a
national policy, it would be better.
The BSP, once again, appeals
to the centre and state govern-
ments to make the vaccine free for
families of the poor, she stated.
Mayawati's tweet came on a
day when Prime minister
Narendra Modi Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said that quick and
decisive steps were needed to
immediately stop the emerging
second wave of Covid-19.
In a meeting with chief min-
isters via video-conference, the
Prime Minister said 70 districts of
the country reported 150 per cent
increase in Covid-19 cases in the
last few weeks.
He asked the states to ramp up
the vaccination drive amid a rise
in infection in some states. IANS
0DDZDWLVHHNV
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YDFFLQHIRUSRRU
?8=44A=4FBB4AE824Q 90D
Attempting to replicate Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's model
of 'Mann ki Baat' Lt-Gov of the
Union Territory of Jammu and
Kashmir Manoj Sinha Wednesday ini-
tiated the project “Awaam Ki Baat” -
a Radio program by launching its
website here at Raj Bhavan.
The main objective behind
launching the program is to give a
determined push to strengthening the
Government-Public relationship, by
inviting suggestions from the public
and seeking their active participation
in Policy formation.
“You Speak, We listen” is the
underlying theme of the project
‘Awaam Ki Baat’. The public can
access the website at
awaamkibaat.jk.gov.in , and also
voice their suggestions through the
interactive toll free numbers -
18005722327 for the Jammu Division,
and 18005722328 for the Kashmir
Division.
The half-an-hour long Radio
program to be aired every third
Sunday of the month (to start from
April), is one of the many sequential
steps of broader program aimed at
disseminating the progressive steps
taken by the gov-
ernment and pro-
viding the public
with a platform to
speak, write and
interact with the
administration,
thereby voicing their suggestions,
ideas and creative proposals.
Speaking on the occasion, the Lt
Governor observed that Awaam Ki
Baat is a leap towards strengthening
the concept of Jan Bhagidari by invit-
ing people’s participation. It will give
voice to the people and a vision to the
administration that is symbolic of the
collective aspirations of the masses, he
added.
Awaam Ki Baat is a novel initia-
tive aimed at seeking the feedback
from the public to make the process
of governance interactive, participa-
tive and people-centric, he added.
According to a spokesman of the
UT administration, there is a dedi-
cated window called “Write to LG” on
the website, which gives a portal for-
mat for submitting one’s suggestions.
The public is also provided with a
dedicated email address ‘welisten-
akb@jk.gov.in’, which too will collect
the useful feedback and channelize it
to the respective departments.
Pertinently, LG’s Mulaqaat- Live
Public Grievance Hearing has brought
reforms in public grievance redressal
mechanism, making it more robust
and responsive with Lt Governor tak-
ing first hand appraisal of people’s
grievances every month.
P]^YBX]WP[Pd]RWTb²0fPP:X1PPc³fTQbXcT
Panaji: Goa is at increasing risk vis a vis a resurgence
in Covid-19 cases in the State, Chief Minister Pramod
Sawant said on Wednesday.
He also said that no decision had been taken on impos-
ing a janata curfew or a ban on entry of tourists to the
state, but stated that testing would be increased in the
coming days to keep the surge of Covid-19 cases in
check.
Speaking to reporters after a virtual
meeting of all Chief Ministers and heads of Union
Territories, Sawant also said that he had instructed the
state administration to restart fining people who do not
wear masks and do not maintain social distancing in
public spaces. We are concerned about the figures yes-
terday, when Goa reported four (Covid-19 related)
deaths and 94 positive cases.
The risk is increasing in Goa. I appeal to Goans and
tourists to wear masks and maintain social distancing
in public places and wear masks, Sawant said. IANS
AXbZ^UbTR^]S2^eXSfPeTX]
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Patna: Former Union Minister Upendra
Kushwaha and two members of the Nitish Kumar
Cabinet were among 12 persons who on
Wednesday got nominated to the Bihar legisla-
tive council. Of the dozen seats, 10 had been lying
vacant since the expiry of term in June last year
while two others were vacated a year earlier by
members who got elected to the Lok Sabha in
general elections.
Nominations to the 12 seats had been hang-
ing fire on account of a tug of war between the
BJP, which now is numerically superior in the
NDA in the assembly, and Chief Minister Nitish
Kumars JD(U). Both parties have, ultimately, set-
tled for six seats each.
The MLCs nominated from the JD(U)
include Kushwaha who merged his Rashtriya Lok
Samata Party into the chief ministers party on
Sunday last and was immediately rewarded with
a top organisational post.
Also on the list are the minister for build-
ing construction Ashok Choudhary, the partys
voluble spokesman Sanjay Singh, the chief min-
isters close aide Sanjay Kumar Singh alias
Gandhiji, Lalan Saraf and Ram Bachan Rai.
Sanjay Singh returns to the Upper House after
a gap of nearly three years.
The terms of Choudhary, Gandhiji, Saraf and
Rai had expired a year ago. From the BJP, the
MLCs nominated include Janak Ram, a former
Gopalganj MP who was recently made the states
minister for mines and geology. Others from the
party include journalist-turned-politician and
state general secretary Devesh Kumar and vice
president Pramod Kumar Chandravanshi,
besides Nivedita Singh, Ghanshyam Thakur and
Rajendra Kumar Gupta. The development
comes a day after the chief minister was autho-
rised by the state cabinet to take the final call on
the names of candidates. PTI
Patna: Caste-based politics has always been a fea-
ture of Bihar's politics and the merger of Upendra
Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP)
with the ruling Janata Dal-United is seen as an
effort of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to strength-
en its support base.
With the merger, Nitish Kumar is looking to
target the Kurmi and Kushwaha voters, and thus,
the development is also likely to pose a big chal-
lenge for the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Soon after the merger, Nitish Kumar reward-
ed Kushwaha with key post of JD-U's
Parliamentary Board President.
With the merger, the caste credentials of the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which
comprised the BJP, the JD-U, Jitan Ram Manjhi's
Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Mukesh
Sahani's Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), seems to
be strengthened in the state.
Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, who
reacts to any small development in the state, is yet
to comment on the merger. It should be noted that
prior to Kushwaha merging his outfit with the JD-
U, a lot of RLSP leaders including its state
President Virendra Kushwaha and General
Secretary Nirmal Kushwaha had joined the RJD.
Kushwaha might have not won a single seat
during the 2020 Assembly elections and 2019 Lok
Sabha elections, but he had won all the three seats
it contested in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress is not perturbed by the merg-
er with state Youth Congress President Lallan
Kumar saying: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and
Upendra Kushwaha are two broken 'filaments', you
can't light a bulb from this. The JD-U has lost its
support and the Assembly polls are example of
this.
After losing prominence in the politics at the
Centre, Kushwaha is trying to regain it by joining
the JD-U. The caste-based politics can't sustain for
long. Both the leaders have come together for their
political benefits. They hardly pose any challenge
for other parties, he added. IANS
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Mu z a f f a r
Hussain Baig,
a founding member
of the Peoples
Democratic Party
and a close aide of
former Chief
Minister Mufti
Mohd Sayeed,
Wednesday joined
the People’s
Conference in the presence of its
Chairman Sajad Gani Lone and
other senior party leaders in
Srinagar.
A political stalwart, Baig who
also served as deputy Chief
Minister under the command of
Ghulam Nabi Azad, was also
credited for scripting PDP's
roadmap on 'Self-rule'.
However, his relations went
sour with the PDP top brass after
the BJP-PDP alliance collapsed in
June 2018.
Speculations were rife in the
political circles for a long time
over the possibility of him join-
ing the Peoples Conference soon.
Announcing the decision on
his twitter timeline Sajad Lone
wrote Wednesday evening,
Visited the residence of Muzaffar
Beigh Sahib. It is sheer pleasure
to converse with him. I was six
years old when I first met Beigh
Sahib. I very humbly requested
him to again be a part ofPeoples
Conference. A party where he
started his career from. Pure
nostalgia.
The official twitter handle of
the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples
Conference posted pictures of the
meeting along with a brief note,
It is with great pleasure we
announce that one of the tower-
ing leaders of the state Mr.
Muzaffar Hussein Baig is now a
part of the party from where he
started his political journey. It is
a nostalgic and a proud moment
for all of us.
Baig’s return to JKPC is seen
by party insiders as a major
political development in Kashmir
valley in recent times. Baig is
expected to propel partys'
prospects by expanding its base
and bringing in new faces to take
on the challenges ahead.
Earlier, JKPC’s senior leader
Imran Reza Ansari had also
stepped down on Monday from
his general secretary’s post.
diPUUPa7dbbPX]1PXVY^X]b?T^_[T´b2^]UTaT]RT
B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :;:0C0
Abooklet that could well give the
communist manifesto a run for
its money Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday
released the Trinamool Congress’
manifesto that critics called a “pro-
ject work on social engineering with
economic blend.”
Should the ruling outfit return to
power it would create five lakh new
jobs yearly, provide door-to-door
ration, ensure basic minimum
income for every household (read
woman of the house), provide guar-
antee-free education credit to stu-
dents, highly subsidised food in
Government run canteens, pucca
houses for millions, OBC reserva-
tions to an overwhelming part of the
population the Chief Minister while
releasing the Trinamool Istahar
(manifestro) 2021 said.
“We will decrease unemploy-
ment as 5 lakh job opportunities will
be generated every year,” Banerjee
said reading out a juicy promise from
the booklet for the women voters.
“For the first time ever, a new
scheme is being launched, wherein
female heads of 1.6 crore households
will benefit from universal monthly
income support,” the Chief Minister
said quoting the manifesto and won-
dering why the rival BJP had hit the
kitchens hard by rising prices of
cooking gas and kerosene oil.
The TMC’s pledge book assures
of Rs 500 monthly income to the
women head of every household
acrosscasteandreligion.Theamount
of dole for the Scheduled Castes and
Tribes would be Rs 1,000 per month.
This, in addition to the old age and
widow pensions. “All the widows
would get pension,” Banerjee
said.
The manifesto apparently bears
the declarations of Banerjee’s 10
commitments(Ongikar)thatsheear-
lier referred to in a tweet. “I humbly
present my 10 ‘Ongikars’ to build a
stronger more prosperous Bengal
so that the wheels of development
keep moving forward in the third
term of our government. The aim is
just one, to sustain Bengal as one of
the leading states in the country,” she
wrote.
In an apparent bid to attract the
students and the youth the Chief
Minister quoting the manifesto said
a low-interest credit of Rs 10 lakh
would be provided to students for
pursuing higher or specialized edu-
cation at minimal 4 percent interest.
“No guarantee would be required for
the loan and credit cards would be
issued for that.”
Besides the manifesto also
promises a yearly assistance of Rs
10,000 to the farmers --- per acre of
their land. This would come under
the Krishak bandhu scheme. Under
the Bangla Awas Yojna 25 lakh
pucca houses would be constructed
for the poorer section of the society.
To top it all, the manifesto also
promises highly subsidized food for
all sections of the society at 2,500
government-run Maa Canteens. The
canteens --- charging Rs 5 per thali
non-veg food with egg curry --- had
already been started on an experi-
mental basis in Kolkata but were shut
down after the of elections were
announced.
The doles apart the manifesto
also announces reservation for
Mahisya (agrarian community) hith-
erto regarded forward castes, Tili and
Sahas (both businessmen classes) -
-- jointly about 50 lakh-strong
group.
The manifesto also promises
free ration to every household that
would be delivered at every doorstep,
the Chief Minister said adding the
highly popular “duarey sarkar”
(Government at the door steps)
scheme which was launched post
December last year would be con-
tinued in the coming years and
“every year Duarye Sarkar would be
organized four times.”
“When TMC came to power our
revenue was about Rs 25,000 crores,
it is now over Rs 75,000 crores,”
Banerjee said in an apparent bid to
pre-empt any question by the oppo-
sition to questioning the source of
funding for the huge amount of doles
her party was promising.
;`SddfSdZUZdVUW``U
Z_R^ReR^R_ZWVde` ?=B Q :;:0C0
After Suvendu Adhikari it could be turn of
his father Sisir Adhikari the veteran MP
and former Union Minister from East
Midnapore to join the BJP.
The senior Adhikari who is currently the
Trinamool Congress’s East Midnapore chair-
man on Wednesday said that he could remain
present in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally
at Contai near Nandigram “if Suvendu asks me
to do so.”
The junior Adhikari later told in a rally that
his father would remain present in the Prime
Minister’s meeting adding “he is well within his-
capacity as a local MP to remain present in the
Prime Minister’s programme.” Considered a
father figure with massive grassroots base inEast
Midnapore senior Adhikari’s formal joining the
BJP could be ashot in the saffron outfit’s arm,
experts feel.
Meanwhile, the TMC on Wednesday wrote
to the Election Commissionseeking cancella-
tion of Adhikari's voter status from
Nandigram,alleging that the BJP candidate was
not a permanent resident of theplace and that
he had given false residence details without stay-
ingthere.
Adhikari “has no resided in Nandanayakbar
village of Nandigram over the past six months
let alone being a permanent resident,”
Trinamool letter signed by senior leader Derek
O'Brien read.
The party also said that only a person who
is an “ordinary resident” can be registered as a
voter of any constituency. Adhikari had filed
false residence details before appealing for a
migration of his name from the electoral lists
of Haldia to Nandigram the letter read.
Adhikari would not comment on the issue.
6XYHQGX¶VIDWKHU
036LVLU$GKLNDUL
WRMRLQ30UDOO
New Delhi: The Election Commission has
transferred 11 police officials including S
Murugan, Inspector General, South Zone in
Tamil Nadu and one in West Bengal. The
Commission has ordered that these police offi-
cials should not be assigned any election-relat-
ed work', ahead of Tamil Nadu elections. The
Commission's order came after special police
observers report.
The officers are:
A Anbarasan, M Velmurugan, H
Krishnamoorthy, P Govindaraja, M S M
Valawan, E Thirunavukkarasu, M
Radhakrishanan, P T Subhash and P
Gopalanchandran.
The Commission has also transfered SP,
Howrah (Rural) Saumya Roy to non-election
related post since his wife has been declared as
Trinamool Congress candidate for Sonarpur
Dakshin assembly constituency. PNS
42caP]bUTab _^[XRT^UUXRTab
X]R[dSX]V86X]C=F1
6. Tatmadaw. But situationally,
the junta will have to gravitate
towards the Chinese as that
remainsitsonly“poweroption”
,
despitelurkingundercurrents.
Similarly, contrary to pub-
lic expectations, Suu Kyi’s
Government had been
extremelyaccommodativeand
welcomingofChineselargesse,
involvement and investments.
The NLD had signed 38 con-
tracts, worth an estimated
$100 billion, towards the
China-Myanmar Economic
Corridor (much bigger than
the China-Pakistan Economic
Corridor). So, to assume a lin-
ear “pro-India” or “pro-China”
position onto either the junta
or the civilian Government is
facile. Situational reality,
realpolitikandstarknecessities
have defined the preferences
of the prevailing regimes
in Naypyidaw.
Now, given the invested
stakes in the Myanmar econo-
my(alsogiventheshakystatus
of the alternative CPEC), the
Chinesecannotaffordtoupset
the junta who have re-seized
power — so, the amoral
Chinese “flexibility” makes it
the rare country to defend the
junta’sreturnatglobalforums.
But,foronce,beyondtheusual
compulsions of the Myanmar
dispensationstoremainingra-
tiated to China owing to their
selfishrequirementsandlackof
viablealternatives,thecommon
Myanmar citizen has seen
through the Chinese “adapt-
ability”withthesituations,and
is increasingly blaming the
invisible“Beijinghand”forco-
optingthejuntabacktopower.
As the largest lender, trad-
er and sovereign investor in
Myanmar, Chinese “invest-
ments” are at risk with the
brewingpublicire.TheChinese
Embassy has emerged as a hot
spotforprotestsandmurmurs
ofBeijingbuilding“firewalls”to
controltheinternetandflowof
informationhavegainedbelief.
The international “re-pariahi-
sation” of Myanmar, which
traditionally drove it into the
willing arms of the Chinese,
may not go so smoothly this
time,giventhepublicpressure.
In an unprecedented
expressionofblamegame,sev-
eral Chinese factories in
Myanmarweretargetedandset
onfirelastweek.TheseChinese-
funded projects in Yangon’s
industrialzonealsohousedsev-
eral expatriates, and the local
ChineseEmbassyissuedsever-
al SOS and warnings to the
authorities and the anti-coup
protesters. The Chinese
Government’s mouthpiece,
GlobalTimes,askedfortheper-
petrators to be booked and
compensation for the destruc-
tion. It warned: “Those who
maliciouslydefameChinaand
instigateattacksagainstChinese
factoriesarecommonenemies
of China and Myanmar.”
But this time, the Chinese
havebeencaughtflat-footedin
trying to be too clever by half
with their shifty allegiances
and known interferences in
the internal strife. Neither the
pro-democracy civilian parties
nor the junta would court
China willingly — but because
it emerges as the only bailout
option in the country, it is
always at the forefront of
defining Myanmar’s narra-
tive. But perhaps the Chinese
havebittenmorethantheycan
chew in sanctifying the junta’s
returnasthecitizenryhascon-
flated the anti-coup senti-
ment with the exploitive and
expansionistanti-Chinesesen-
timent. The international
sanctions may not have much
impact given that the junta is
well versed in such tactics, as
also due to the expected
Chinese largesse, but the
soaked-in-the-blood public
perception and expression of
the anti-China sentiment
offers the almost intractable
and unresolvable threat to
China’s interests. The Chinese
are in a clear conundrum.
(The writer, a military vet-
eran, is a former Lt Governor
of AndamanNicobarIslands
and Puducherry. The views
expressed are personal.)
,
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?=BQ =4F34;78
Against the backdrop of a
sudden rise in coronavirus
cases in many States, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on
Wednesday stressed the need
for checking the “emerging
second peak” of the pandemic
in the country and sought
States to create micro-contain-
ment centres and speed up the
vaccination drive.
In the meeting of Chief
Ministers called by him to
decide new Covid-19 strategy,
Modi said, “Test, track and
treat mantra” should be fol-
lowed to combat the “second
peak” of the pandemic.
“Seventy districts of the
country have seen an increase
of more than 150 per cent in
the last few weeks. If we don’t
stop it here, a situation of a
nationwide outbreak can come
up,” he cautioned.
Punjab Chief Minister
Amrinder Singh sought per-
mission for vaccination of one
and all. Karnataka too sup-
ported that people in all age-
group be vaccinated. West
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
was absent and represented by
the State Chief Secretary.
The Prime Minister said
vaccination should be speeded
up and regretted 10 per cent
“wastage” of doses in Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana and
UP.
“Over 10 per cent vaccine
wastage in Telangana and
Andhra Pradesh. Vaccine
wastage in Uttar Pradesh is
almost the same. The State
must review why vaccine
wastage is happening?
Monitoring must be done every
evening and pro-active people
should be contacted so that
there’s no wastage,” he told the
Chief Ministers.
Modi said States should be
creating micro-containment
centres to limit the spread of
the virus and pressed the need
to increase RT-PCR resting
across the country.
C=A067D=0C70Q D108
In a first major reshuffle of top
IPS officers undertaken after
the arrest and suspension of
explosive laden SUV recovery-
linked police officer Sachin
Vaze, the Maharashtra
Government shunted out
Mumbai Police Commissioner
Param Bir Singh and replaced
him with current Director
General of Police (DGP)
Hemant Nagrale.
Announcing the appoint-
ment of Nagrale as Mumbai’s
new Police Commissioner,
Maharashtra Home Minister
Anil Deshmukh said while
senior IPS officer Rajnish Sheth
has been given additional
responsibility of DGP, outgoing
Mumbai CP has been posted as
DGP, Home Guards.
A 1987 batch IPS officer
Nagrale — the then DGP
(Technical and Legal) — was
holding the additional charge
of Maharashtra DGP since
January this year, when he was
given additional responsibility
after incumbent Subodh
Jaiswal was appointed the
Director General of the Central
Industrial Security Force
(CISF).
Singh’s transfer as the
Mumbai Police Commissioner
was very much on the cards
after the embarrassment that
the Maharashtra Government
faced in the wake of the arrest
of Mumbai’s Assistant Police
Inspector Sachin Vaze by the
National Investigation Agency
(NIA) and his suspension in
connection with the recovery of
gelatine sticks’ laden SUV near
industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s
residence in south Mumbai
on February 25 and the subse-
quent murder of Thane busi-
nessman Manshukh Hiren.
Earlier, NCP chief Sharad
Pawar had met Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray and dis-
cussed the situation arising out
of Vaze’s arrest. Pawar had
reportedly advised the CM to
?=BQ =4F34;78
Two Chinese nationals with
forged Aadhaar cards were
nabbed at Bagdogra Airport.
The duo was held at 9.20
am on Tuesday by the CISF
while checking tickets and
identity documents at the
departure gate of the airport
and subjected to intense multi-
agency interrogation.
“During checking of trav-
el documents of both the pas-
sengers Aadhaar cards
appeared to be forged. On
questioning, both the suspect-
ed passengers revealed their
identity as Zhang Jun and
Kaileng who were supposed to
travel from Bagdogra to
Hyderabad by Indigo Airlines
flight and further bound from
Hyderabad to Tirupati by
Indigo Airlines flight,” the CISF
said in a statement here.
Later, both the suspected
passengers, who visited India in
2020, were handed over to the
local police by the CISF for fur-
ther investigation. As per their
passports, they had visited
Pakistan in 2018 and 2019.
They have visited Nepal and
exited the Himalayan country
on January 13 this year.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F
34;78
Ram Swaroop Sharma,
the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) MP from
Mandi in Himachal
Pradesh, was found hang-
ing from the ceiling in his
official residence in New
Delhi on Wednesday.
Prima facie, it appears to
be a case of suicide, said
police, adding that how-
ever no suicide note was
found from the spot.
According to a senior
police official, a PCR call
was received around 7.45
am by his aide after the
parliamentarian did not
respond to knocks at his
door.
“A police team reached the
spot and forced open the door
and found Sharma hanging
from a ceiling fan. He was
taken to a hospital where doc-
tors pronounced him dead on
arrival,” said Chinmoy Biswal,
the Public Relation Officer
(PRO) of the Delhi Police.
“An enquiry is underway
and the exact cause of his
death will be ascertained after
a post-mortem examination,”
he said.
The Lok Sabha proceed-
ings were adjourned till 1 pm
after an obituary reference to
Sharma. Meanwhile, the BJP
cancelled its parliamentary
party meeting following
Sharma’s death and also called
off the joining ceremony of an
“eminent” person, who was
not named.
Born at Jalpehar village in
Mandi district on June 10,
1958, Sharma was a two-time
MP.
Presently, Sharma had been
suffering from various ail-
ments. He was elected to the
16th and 17th Lok Sabha from
Mandi Parliamentary con-
stituency in 2014 and 2019
respectively.
Following Sharma’s death,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
expressed grief and tweeted,
“Ram Swaroop Sharma was a
dedicated leader, who was
always committed to solving
people’s problems. He worked
tirelessly for the betterment of
society. Pained by his untime-
ly and unfortunate demise. My
thoughts are with his family
?=BQ =4F34;78
AMIG-21 Bison aircraft
crashed in Gwalior on
Wednesday killing its pilot
Group Captain A Gupta. The
mishap took place around
10.50 am when the aircraft was
taking off for a combat train-
ing mission.
The mandatory court of
inquiry was ordered to ascer-
tain the cause of the accident.
“A MiG-21 Bison aircraft of
IAF was involved in a fatal acci-
dent this morning while taking
off for a combat training mis-
sion at an airbase in central
India,” the IAF said in a tweet.
“The IAF lost Group
Captain A Gupta in the tragic
accident. IAF expresses deep
condolences and stands firm-
ly with the family members. A
Court of Inquiry has been
ordered to determine the cause
of the accident,” it added.
The Soviet-origin MIG-21
Bison is an upgraded version of
the MIG-21 aircraft that the
IAF began inducting in the
1960s. The MIG-21 Bison is
capable of carrying beyond-
visual-range missiles and other
potent weapons.
On February 27, 2019,
Wing Commander
Abhinandan Varthaman flew a
MIG-21 Bison and shot down
an F-16 aircraft of the Pakistan
Air Force, before his aircraft
went down in a dogfight. He
was captured by the Pakistan
Army and released two days
later.The IAF has lost many
MIG-21s and other aircraft in
accidents in the last few years.
In June 2019, the Ministry
of Defence informed
Parliament that 27 IAF aircraft
have crashed since 2016.
In 2016-17, six IAF fight-
er jets, two helicopters, a trans-
port aircraft and a trainer
crashed. In 2017-18, the IAF
lost two fighter jets and a
trainer aircraft in crashes. The
number rose in 2018-19, when
the IAF lost seven fighter jets,
two helicopters and two train-
ers. At present, the IAF has
around six squadrons of Mig-
21 Bisons. A squadron com-
prises around 18 to 20 aircraft.
0? Q 0C;0=C0
Aseries of shootings over
nearly an hour at three
Atlanta-area massage parlours
left eight people dead and
raised fears that the attack was
another hate crime against
Asian Americans.
Police arrested a white 21-
year-old Georgia man and said
the motive for Tuesday night’s
attacks wasn’t known, though
many of the victims were
women of Asian descent.
“We’re in a place where
we've seen an increase in hate
crimes against Asian
Americans since the pandem-
ic started,” said Georgia state
Rep. Bee Nguyen. “It's hard to
think it is not targeted specif-
ically toward our community.”
The attacks began Tuesday
evening, when five people were
shot at Youngs Asian Massage
Parlour near Woodstock, about
30 miles north of Atlanta,
Cherokee County Sheriff ’s
spokesman Jay Baker said.
Two people died at the
scene, and three were taken to
a hospital where two died,
Baker said.
About an hour later, police
responding to a call about a
robbery found three women
dead from apparent gunshot
wounds at Gold Spa near
Atlanta's Buckhead area, where
tattoo parlours and strip clubs
are just blocks away from man-
sions and skyscrapers in one of
the last ungentrified holdouts
in that part of the city.
Officers then learned of a call
reporting shots fired across
the street, at Aromatherapy
Spa, and found another woman
apparently shot dead.
“It appears that they may
be Asian,” Atlanta Police Chief
Rodney Bryant said.
White House press secre-
tary Jen Psaki said President Joe
Biden has been briefed on the
“horrific shootings” and would
receive an update later
Wednesday from Attorney
General Merrick Garland and
FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Little is known about the
suspect, Robert Aaron Long, of
Woodstock, and authorities
haven't specified charges.
:D0A274;;0??0=Q :278
The sensational charge by R
Balasankar, former chief
editor of The Organiser, that
there was a secret deal between
the CPI(M) and the Sangh
Parivar, has caused a political
earthquake in Kerala. The BJP
denied ticket to Balasankar to
contest the April 6 Assembly
election.
Balasankar created a flutter
in the political circle when he
told media persons on
Wednesday that there was a
deal between the Kerala BJP
and the CPI(M) for the
Assembly election so that the
latter could retain power in the
State.
The BJP’s State leadership
and the RSS, which were at log-
gerheads over a range of issues,
buried the hatchet for the time
being and vehemently denied
the charges.
“This statement by him
arose out of discontentment
over the denial of ticket to him,”
said K Surendran, Kerala BJP
chief while speaking to
reporters. “If he had the bless-
ings of the national leadership,
his name should have been in
the list,” Surendran added.
The allegation has upset
the BJP which had exuded
confidence and claimed that it
would emerge as the game-
changer in Kerala politics.
“This time Kerala will see a
third alternative calling the
shots in Government forma-
tion,” Surendran had said while
announcing the names of can-
didates.
The fight for supremacy in
the State has shifted back to the
CPI(M) and the Congress-led
fronts. Chances are that the BJP
may finish the race as “also
ran”, according to Roy Mathew,
a political commentator.
Chief Minister Pinarayi
Vijayan has also repudiated
the charges. But former Chief
Minister Oommen Chandi and
Leader of the Opposition
Ramesh Chennithala said there
was nothing surprising in the
charge as it was a fact.
“We in the Congress were
the first to bring to light the
secret deal between the BJP and
the CPI(M). The Enforcement
Directorate probe against the
CPI(M) leaders have been put
on hold as part of this deal,”
said Chennithala.
Meanwhile, PC Thomas,
leader of the Kerala Congress,
who was a part of the NDA-led
by the BJP till Wednesday
morning, jumped the fence
and appeared in a UDF meet-
ing by noon. He had declared
at Kasaragod that he would
remain only with the BJP.
The BJP national leader-
ship on Wednesday announced
the name of Shobha Surendran
as the candidate from
Kazhakoottam in
Thiruvananthapuram con-
stituency. The uncertainty in
the name of the candidate
from Kazhakootam has come
to an end with this announce-
ment.
The CPI(M) too was not
free from problems in selecting
the candidates. The con-
stituency of Kuttiyadi saw the
Muslim community coming
out in the open demonstrating
against the move to field a
Kerala Congress (Mani) faction
leader. The CPI (M) leadership
was forced to replace him with
local politician Kunhahammed
Kutty. Similarly, the CPI, which
too swears by secularism, had
to withdraw Ajit Koladi, its offi-
cial candidate at Tiroorangadi,
a Muslim dominated area, and
substitute him with Niyaz
Pulikkalakathu.
Siji Karuthedathu, author
and political commentator
based in Malabar, expressed
apprehension over the CPI(M)
and CPI genuflecting before
religious fundamentalism.
“This is further proof of the
Jama-at-Islami and
Popular Front of India swal-
lowing the Congress and
Communist parties slowly but
steadily,” said Siji.
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Living up to its reputation as
the “pharmacy of the
world,” India has played a lead-
ing role in supplying vaccine to
more than 70 nations in the
ongoing fight against the coro-
na pandemic, External Affairs
Minister S Jaishankar said in
the Rajya Sabha on
Wednesday.
Lauding India’s initiative in
practising people-centric diplo-
macy, the Elders urged the
Government to supply the vac-
cine to poor countries.
Addressing this concern, the
Minister said the Indian vac-
cine was the cheapest in the
world.
Making a statement on
“Vaccine Maitri” initiative,
Jaishankar said India’s reputa-
tion as “pharmacy of the world”
stands reinforced the way it
reached out to nations in the
midst of a global crisis and sup-
plied vaccines to 72 nations. It
was appreciated by global lead-
ers and world citizens and
they extended warmth to India
and its citizens.
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take swift action to improve the
eroded image of the Mumbai
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alleged involvement in the
planting of explosive-laden SUV
near Ambani's residence and
suspicion about his role in the
circumstances leading to the
death of Hiren. While the NIA
is currently investigating the
SUV recovery case,
Maharashtra's ATS is looking
into the murder of Hiren, whose
body was recovered from the
Reti Bunder creek area.
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With the State is witnessing
a surge in active Covid-
19 cases with daily positivity
rate climbing to more than five
percent, Punjab Chief Minister
Capt Amarinder Singh on
Wednesday urged the Centre to
review its immunization strat-
egy to vaccinate all age groups
in selected areas. At the same
time, the Chief Minister
announced a “stricter policy” to
deal with the problem.
Blaming the surge in cases
on fatigue or laxity in follow-
ing COVID Appropriate
Behaviors, large social and reli-
gious gatherings, and efforts at
normalization such as opening
of schools and colleges, the
Chief Minister said that large
positivity was seen in the State’s
young population.
He said that the trend was
worrying as the State had
reported a total of 1,475 cases
and 38 deaths on Monday,
preceded by 1,843 cases and 43
deaths the day before. “The
state Finance Minister
Manpreet Badal and SAD pres-
ident Sukhbir Badal had also
tested positive for
Coronavirus…We are making
a policy, we will get stricter
from tomorrow,” he declared.
‘IMMUNIZE JUDGES, STU-
DENTS, TEACHERS, ETC
FOR RESUMPTION OF
NORMAL ACTIVITIES’
Capt Amarinder also called for
occupation-based immuniza-
tion for school and college
students and teachers, judges,
bus drivers, and conductors,
panches or sarpanches, mayors
or Municipal Committee pres-
idents or counsellors.
MLAs, MPs, among others, to
pave way for normalization of
crucial activities and check
super-spreaders.
The Chief Minister advocated
early opening of the courts to
end the wait for justice for
citizens, and also of schools and
colleges to bridge the gap
between poor and affluent
families in terms of education.
‘REVIEW IMMUNIZATION
STRATEGY’
During the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s virtual
COVID review meeting with
the Chief Ministers of all states,
Capt Amarinder suggested that
any area, where weekly testing
shows a doubling of positivity
rates, should immediately be
considered for vaccination of
all age groups.
“This would lead to better out-
comes than the periodic cycles
of vaccination targeting a small
section of the population at
each cycle,” he said.
Notably, the daily positivity
rate has climbed to more than
five percent in March from a
low of less than one percent in
January.
So far, a total of 1.99 lakh pos-
itive cases had been reported
from 54 lakh tests and 6,099
people have died of the infec-
tion, he added.
‘STRENGTHEN VIRAL
SEQUENCING’
With the role of virus
mutation still unclear, the Chief
Minister underlined the need
to strengthen viral sequencing
particularly in Punjab, “as over
50 percent positive cases now
are below 40 years of age, and
we need to urgently assess
whether this is due to any
variant”.
The state had sent a large
number of samples for genome
sequencing but very few results
had been received, of which
two indicated presence of vari-
ant, he pointed.
Capt Amarinder again reit-
erated the demand for permis-
sion by the Centre to use the
State Disaster Relief Fund,
already available with the State,
for COVID management. The
Ministry of Home Affairs,
Government of India, may
issue the approval urgently, he
stressed.
INCREASE PACE OF VAC-
CINATION, FORMULATE
SEPARATE STRATEGY FOR
DISTRICTS WITH HIGHER
CASE LOAD: SHAH TO CM
The Union Home
Minister Amit Shah suggest-
ed that the State should
increase the pace of vaccina-
tion and also formulate a sep-
arate strategy for districts
with higher case load.
Talking about the progress
on the vaccination front, he
informed the meeting that
more than 50 per cent health-
care workers (HCWs) and
frontline workers (FLWs) have
got the first dose.
More than 1.10 lakh gen-
eral public, aged 60-plus and
45-plus with co-morbidities,
have taken their first dose of
vaccination.
‘TAKEN STEPS TO BATTLE
SECOND WAVE’
Listing out the measures
taken by Punjab Government
to battle the ongoing second
wave, the Chief Minister
revealed that the State has
imposed restrictions on social
gatherings — maximum of
100 for indoor events and 200
for outdoor events. Nine dis-
tricts have imposed night cur-
few from 11 pm to 5 am, while
other districts have been asked
to assess the situation and take
action accordingly.
The state Excise and
Taxation Department has been
asked to appoint COVID
Monitors at all hotels, restau-
rants and marriage palaces to
ensure COVID Appropriate
Behaviour, he said.
All schools and Anganwadi
Centres have been closed, while
healthcare workers, who have
not got vaccinated, have been
advised to get COVID tested
weekly to ensure their safety
and also the safety of the pub-
lic as well.
‘PUNJAB’S TESTING PER
MILLION HIGHER THAN
NATIONAL AVERAGE’
On the testing front, the
Chief Minister revealed that
more than 30,000 COVID tests
per day were being conducted
by the State, of which more
than 90 percent were through
RT-PCR and less than 10 per-
cent Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).
Punjab’s testing per million
has been maintained at higher
than national average, he
added.
Maintaining that all
arrangements were in place
for taking care of the affected,
the Chief Minister said that the
state has 8,000 oxygen sup-
ported beds.
More than 1,500 ICU
beds, as well as around 800 ven-
tilators for Level-2 and Level-
3 COVID patients. Bed occu-
pancy at present is between 10-
15 percent at Level-2 and Level-
3. Private hospitals managing
Level-2 and Level-3 patients
have been advised to post-
pone elective surgeries by two
weeks with a view to create
more beds for COVID patients,
said the Chief Minister.
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In a major recruitment drive,
Punjab Government has ini-
tiated the process to hire 1,318
engineers in various govern-
ment departments under Chief
Minister Capt Amarinder
Singh’s flagship, “Ghar Ghar
Rozgar and Karobar Mission”.
“The drive will give
employment opportunities to
the unemployed engineering
graduates who are waiting for
the government jobs since 2016
when the State Government
had last recruited 216 engi-
neers,” said the state Chief
Secretary Vini
Mahajan.
Mahajan said that the req-
uisition for engineering posts in
various government depart-
ments has been sent to the
Punjab Public Service
Commission (PPSC), which
has already started the recruit-
ment drive for these posts and
advertisement has been issued
to invite applications for these
posts.Divulging the details, the
Chief Secretary said that the
requisition for a total of 1,318
posts includes 1,075 junior
engineers (civil), 80 junior
engineers (mechanical), 15
junior engineers (electrical), 4
junior engineers (electrical
ormechanical), 94 sub-divi-
sional engineers (civil) and 50
sub-divisional engineers (elec-
trical or mechanical).
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Twenty-six outstanding
sports persons on
Wednesday appointed cops in
Punjab.
The state’s Sports, Youth
Services, and NRIs Affairs
Minister Rana Gurmeet Singh
Sodhi has given appointment
letters to the sportspersons,
offering them jobs in Punjab
Police. “I am glad that we have
fulfilled the promise made by
the earlier SAD-BJP govern-
ment,” said Sodhi.
Out of total 79 left candi-
dates, three sub-inspector and
23 constables, most of them
clinched gold in various games,
have been provided with
appointment letters in the first
phase.
Sodhi lamented that
renowned sportspersons, who
have attained remarkable
achievement at the
International and National lev-
els, were deprived of their right
of jobs for their extraordinary
achievements by the previous
government. “Now, our gov-
ernment has taken this matter
seriously and after the long
pursuit of the Sports
Department, their livelihood
becomes reality,” he said.
“When I presented the file
regarding the appointment of
these players before the Chief
Minister Capt Amarinder
Singh, he cleared the file with-
in a minute,” he said adding
that as there were some glitch-
es on part of medical, over-age,
and documentation, the
process of appointing them
has been delayed.
On the demand of newly-
appointed players, the Sports
Minister categorically said that
their legitimate demands would
be considered in length and
width. He also directed the
Principal Secretary Anurag
Verma and Director DPS
Kharbanda to initiate the
required action in this regard
at the earliest. Out of total 26
outstanding players of different
games disciples, who get job
letters included; three Sub
Inspectors Sarpreet Singh
(Cycling), Gurinder Singh
(Volleyball) and Jagdeep
Kumar (Boxing), while 23 can-
didates have been appointed on
the posts of Constable.
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Witnessing a sudden surge
in Covid-19 cases, the
union territory of Chandigarh
on Wednesday reported 201
fresh positive cases.
Chandigarh, which is a
joint capital of Punjab and
Haryana is in the Centre’s list of
70 districts, which are witness-
ing a spike in COVID-19 cases
in the country.The number of
positive cases has almost dou-
bled in Chandigarh in about
one week.The active cases
crossed 1300-mark and stood at
1330 in the city till the evening.
In a relief, no fresh death was
reported in the last 24 hours
and the death count was at
359.As per the bulletin, the total
case tally reached 23592. 113
males and 88 female residents
were found infected with
COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
A maximum of 13 fresh cases
surfaced in Manimajra. 70
patients have recovered in the
past 24 hours taking the total
number of recoveries to 21903.
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Haryana Chief Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar on
Wednesday said that taking
cognizance of the recent surge
of Covid-19 cases, the State has
ramped up its Covid-19 man-
agement preparations coupled
with aggressive surveillance,
stringent containment, swift
contact tracing, focused clini-
cal management along with
proactive Information
Education and
Communication (IEC) activi-
ties.
So far, 7.50 lakh people
have been vaccinated and last
Monday, under Mega Monday
drive record 1.59 lakh people
were vaccinated in a single day
in Haryana.
The state has planned to launch
such mega drives on every
Monday and Tuesday to ensure
that every beneficiary receives
vaccination doses he
said.
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She asserted that the selec-
tion for these posts would be
done purely on merit basis.
“This major recruitment drive
is taking place after a gap of five
years to hire such a large num-
ber of engineering graduates by
the State Government,” she
said. The last recruitment drive
was conducted in 2016 when
only 216 posts were filled.
Earlier, in the year 2014, only
30 posts were filled and in
2012, only 25 such posts were
filled.
2.84 lakh samples have so
far been tested in the city. A
total of 2171 tests were con-
ducted in the last 24 hours and
the report of 109 was awaited,
the bulletin added. During a
review meeting chaired by
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, Punjab Governor and
UT Administrator VP Singh
Badnore informed that though
the number of Corona cases
had reduced drastically.
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