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?C8Q 370:0
India and Bangladesh must
remain vigilant and united to
counter threats like terrorism as
well as ideas and powers
behind such inhumane acts,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
said on Friday as he hailed
‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman’s leadership and the
contributions of the Indian
Army in Bangladesh’s 1971
Liberation War against
Pakistan.
Addressing the main gold-
en jubilee celebrations of
Bangladesh’s Independence and
the birth centenary of its
founder here in the presence of
his counterpart Sheikh Hasina
and President Abdul Hamid,
Modi said both nations possess
the power of democracy, with
a clear vision to move forward.
“That India and
Bangladesh move forward
together is equally important
for the development of this
entire region,” said Modi, who
is visiting Bangladesh on his
first trip to a foreign country
since the Covid-19 outbreak.
“We must remember that
we’ve similar opportunities in
fields of trade and commerce,
but at the same time, we’ve sim-
ilar threats like terrorism. The
ideas and powers behind such
types of inhumane acts are still
active. We must remain vigilant
and united to counter them,” he
added.
Modi recalled the role
played by the Indian Army in
Bangladesh’s freedom war.
“I salute the brave soldiers
of the Indian Army who stood
with the brothers and sisters of
Bangladesh in Muktijuddo.
Those who gave their blood in
Muktijuddo, sacrificed them-
selves, and played a very big
role in realising the dream of
independent Bangladesh,” said
Modi, who was wearing a
“Mujib Jacket” as tribute to
Bangladesh’s Father of the
Nation, said that Bangabandhu
had a mesmerising personali-
ty and was blessed with an
unwavering commitment to
further human empowerment.
No wonder all sections of
society were inspired by him.
His leadership and bravery
had ensured that no power
could enslave Bangladesh,
Modi said, adding that
Bangabandhu was a ray of
hope for the people of this land
and for Indians.
Under his leadership,
common people of Bangladesh
across the social spectrum
came together and became
‘Muktibahini’, Modi said,
adding Bangladesh’s Liberation
War had support from all cor-
ners of India, from all parties,
every section of the society.
“This is one of the most
memorable days of my life. I
am grateful that Bangladesh
has included me in this event.
I am grateful that Bangladesh
has invited India to take part in
this function. It is a matter of
our pride that we got the
opportunity to honour Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman with Gandhi
Peace Prize,” he said.
The Gandhi Peace Prize
2020 was conferred on
Bangabandhu this week.
Recalling the 1971 war of
independence, Modi said the
pictures of atrocities that the
Pakistan Army inflicted on
the people in then East
Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
used to distract people in India.
“I must have been 20-22
years old when I and my col-
leagues did Satyagraha for
Bangladesh’s freedom,” he said.
The war broke out
after the sudden crackdown at
midnight past on March 25,
1971 in the erstwhile East
Pakistan by the Pakistani
troops and ended on December
16. The same year Pakistan
conceded defeat and uncondi-
tionally surrendered in Dhaka
to the allied forces comprising
the freedom fighters and the
Indian soldiers.
Modi said the efforts of the
then Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi and her important role
in Bangladesh’s freedom war
are well known.
He also named several
Indian Army officials such as
Field Marshal SHFJ
Manekshaw, General Jagjit
Singh Aurora, General JFR
Jacob, Lance Nayak Albert
Ekka, Group Captain Chandan
Singh, Captain Mohan Narayan
Rao Samant and others who
were instrumental in
Bangladesh’s freedom.
Modi said the next 25 years
are crucial for both India and
Bangladesh. “For both our
nations, the journey of the
next 25 years in the 21st cen-
tury is crucial. We have
descended from a shared her-
itage, and we are advancing
towards shared development.
We have shared goals, and
shared challenges,” Modi said.
He also invited 50
Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to
India to get associated with
innovation ecosystem and meet
venture capitalists. Modi also
invoked Bengali poets and writ-
ers Kazi Nazrul Islam and
Rabindranath Tagore in his
speech to highlight the common
heritage of the two countries.
Earlier, the programme
began with the religious lead-
ers from Islam, Hinduism,
Buddhism and Christianity
reciting prayers from their holy
books, projecting a secular
image of Muslim-majority
Bangladesh. Bangladesh was
founded as a secular state, but
Islam was made the state reli-
gion in the 1980s. In 2010, the
High Court held up the secu-
lar principles of the 1972 con-
stitution.
Modi was the guest of hon-
our while President Hamid
was the chief guest at the func-
tion chaired by Prime Minister
Hasina.
Meanwhile, at least four
persons were killed and dozens
injured when some Islamist
organisations protesting Modi’s
visit to Bangladesh clashed
with police on Friday after-
noon.
In Chittagong’s Hathazari
upazila, at least four persons,
including two students, were
killed and dozens injured when
fired tear shells followed by
rubber bullets and shotguns to
disperse crowd, the Dhaka
Tribune reported. In Dhaka, at
least 50 people, including two
journalists, were injured when
clashes broke out between a
group of protesters, mostly
members of Islamist groups,
and police in the Baitul
Mukarram area on Friday.
?=BQ =4F34;78
In the wake of sharp surge in
Covid-19 cases in
Chhattisgarh and Chandigarh,
the Union Health Ministry has
rushed there two high-level
multidisciplinary teams even as
there has been big spurt in
infection in Maharashtra,
Punjab, Karnataka and Gujarat
taking the total daily tally to
above 62,000. At least 257 peo-
ple died on Friday.
Meanwhile, a record 5.5
crore people have been vacci-
nated through 9,01,887 ses-
sions throughout the country
according to a provisional
report till 7 am on Friday.
The Ministry said the team
to Chhattisgarh is headed by Dr
SK Singh, Director, National
Centre for Disease Control
(NCDC). The team also has
experts from the AIIMS, Raipur
and All India Institute of
Hygiene and Public Health.
The team to Chandigarh is led
by Additional Secretary and
Financial Adviser in the Textiles
Ministry Vijoy Kumar Singh
and also has experts drawn
from the RML Hospital and the
Safdarjung Hospital in New
Delhi, it said.
These teams will work with
the respective Governments of
the State and the UT to ascer-
tain the reasons behind the
surge, assist in undertaking
gap analysis and recommend
requisite Covid-19 control, and
containment measures.
“Chhattisgarh has recently
witnessed a significant spurt in
fresh Covid-19 cases as well as
new deaths every day.
Chandigarh has also seen a sig-
nificant surge in new cases.
“The deployed teams shall visit
the most affected
districts/hotspots in the State
and UT to take stock of on-
ground implementation of pub-
lic health interventions. They
will share the key findings,
recommendations and remedi-
al measures to be taken up with
the Chief Secretary/Chief
Administrator,” the Ministry
said in a statement.
According to the Ministry,
Maharashtra, Punjab,
Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Kerala
and Gujarat collectively account
for 80 per cent of the new
Covid-19 cases.
?=BQ =4F34;78
India and Pakistan on Friday
reviewed the ceasefire situa-
tion on the Line of Control
(LoC) in Jammu Kashmir
and agreed to maintain peace
and continue the dialogue
process. This meeting between
the Brigadiers of the two
Armies was the first one since
both the sides on February 24
agreed to uphold ceasefire on
the 750-km long LoC.
The crucial meeting came
after Amy Chief General MM
Naravane on Thursday said not
a single shot was fired since the
agreement last month. He
also said silence prevailed on
the LoC for the first time in the
last five to six years. At the
same time, he cautioned that
the terror infrastructure,
including terrorist launch-pads
on the Pakistani side, remained
intact.
The meeting last month
was held between the Director
Generals of Military
Operations (DGsMO) where-
in both the Armies agreed to
adhere to the 2003 ceasefire
pact on the LoC. The truce was
called in order to avoid casu-
alties of innocent citizens on
both sides of the border.
As regards the Friday
meeting, Army sources said
post the DGsMO, a Brigade
Commander Level Flag
Meeting was held between
Indian and Pakistan Army at
Poonch- Rawalkot crossing
point to discuss implementa-
tion mechanism as per the
understanding reached in the
last month’s discussions.
The two officers took stock
of the present situation and
agreed to maintain peace on
the LoC.
?=BQ =4F34;78
The 12-hour nationwide
Bharat Bandh call given by
farmers to protest against the
three controversial farm laws
received good response in
Punjab and Haryana on Friday.
However, it evoked mixed or
no impact in other parts of the
country.
The Bandh had a minimal
impact in Delhi. Markets at
Connaught Place, Karol Bagh,
Kashmere Gate, Chandni
Chowk and Sadar remained
open. Private vehicles or pub-
lic transport such as auto rick-
shaws, cabs and buses were ply-
ing normally. The Delhi Metro
Rail Corporation (DMRC) had
to briefly close the entry and
exit gates of the Tikri Border,
Bahadurgarh City and
Brigadier Hoshiar Singh sta-
tions, but after a few minutes,
the stations were reopened.
A railway spokesperson
said four Shatabdi trains were
cancelled, 35 other passenger
trains were detained and the
movement of 40 goods trains
was affected by the protests.
Train movement was disrupt-
ed at 44 locations that fall
under the Delhi, Ambala, and
Ferozepur divisions.
However, there was no
report of any untoward inci-
dent from anywhere in the
country. Emergency medical
services were exempted from
the blockade.
Farmers’ leader Darshal
Pal has claimed that Bharat
Bandh was a success in many
States including Punjab,
Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha.
“In more than 20 districts in
Bihar, more than 200 places in
Punjab and also in Haryana,
people made the Bandh a big
success. In Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh as well, the
impact of the Bandh was
impressive,” he said.
The leaders of the farmers
claimed they blocked national
highways and other key roads
at 32 locations across Punjab
and Haryana, and squatted on
railway tracks at several loca-
tions. Since morning, farmers
in the two States gathered at
several highways and roads,
including in Bathinda,
Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala,
Mohali, Rohtak, Ferozepur,
Pathankot, Jhajjar, Jind,
Panchkula, Kaithal,
Yamunanagar and Bhiwani dis-
tricts.
Shops remained closed at
several places in Punjab. At a
few places in Haryana too,
shutters were down in support
of the Bandh. People protested
at Attari, near the Indo-Pak
border, blocking the National
Highway to Wagah.
In view of the ‘Holla
Mohalla’ festival at Sri
Anandpur Sahib, vehicles car-
rying devotees were being
allowed to commute.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Considering the “grim” pan-
demic situation and the
need to prevent the spread of
Covid-19 across the country,
the Road Transport Ministry
has again advised enforcement
authorities to treat as valid all
the vehicle related documents
such as fitness, permit, regis-
tration and driving licence
whose validity expired on
February 1, 2020, or would
expire by June 30, 2021.
The Road Ministry has
said all such vehicle-related
documents may be treated to
be valid till June 30, 2021.
“Enforcement authorities
are advised to treat such doc-
uments valid till June 30, 2021.
This will help out citizens in
availing transport-related ser-
vices, while maintaining social
distancing,” said Road Ministry
advisory.
Earlier, in the backdrop of
Covid-19 in 2020, the MoRTH
had issued advisories on March
30, June 9, August 24, and
December 27 regarding the
extension of validity of docu-
ments related to Motor Vehicles
Act, 1988 and Central Motor
Vehicle Rules, 1989. It was
advised that the validity of
Fitness, Permit (all types),
License, Registration, or any
other concerned document(s)
might be treated to be valid till
March 31, 2021.
The advisories were issued
in view of the long queue in
front of transport offices for the
renewal of such documents.
?C8Q =4F34;78
In a big victory for the Tata
Group, the Supreme Court
on Friday upheld its removal of
Cyrus Mistry as the executive
chairman of the $100 billion
salt-to-software conglomerate,
bringing the curtains down
on a bitter four-year long pub-
lic and legal battle.
Setting aside NCLAT’s
order which had restored
Mistry to the top post, the apex
court in a unanimous 3-0 deci-
sion dismissed a plea of
Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group
seeking separation of owner-
ship interests in Tata Sons Pvt
Ltd (TSPL).
The SP Group owns 18.37
per cent shares in TSPL, and
the next fight could be over its
valuation.
“A person who tries to set
his own house on fire for not
getting what he perceives as
legitimately due to him, does
not deserve to continue as part
of any decision making body
(not just the Board of a com-
pany),” the SC said, in a hard-
hitting observation, question-
ing the conduct of Mistry.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
Two men died after inhaling
toxic gases while cleaning a
septic tank of a banquet hall in
East Delhi’s Ghazipur, police
said on Friday.
Lokesh (35) and Prem
Chand (40), residents of
Trilokpuri, entered the tank to
clean it on Thursday evening
and were found dead inside it,
the police said, adding that the
deceased were not given any
protective gear and were
offered C3,000 for the work.
The bodies have been sent
for post-mortem, they said.
“The housekeeping staff
of the banquet hall called the
two men for cleaning the tank
at 7.30 pm and around 10 pm,
they were found dead,” Deputy
Commissioner of Police (East)
Deepak Yadav said.
Teams from the fire depart-
ment, Delhi Disaster
Management Authority and
MCD visited the spot, he said,
adding that the two men were
taken to hospital, where they
were declared brought dead.
A case under section 304A
(causing death by negligence)
of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
and section 9 of the Prohibition
of Employment as Manual
Scavengers and their
Rehabilitation Act has been
registered, the DCP said.
Further investigation is
underway, the police said.
Mumbai: Nine coronavirus
patients died in a fire at a
Covid-19 hospital in a Mumbai
mall on Friday, officials said.
All nine patients died due
to suffocation as a result of the
fire, the BMC said.
The hospital, however,
claimed that there was no casu-
alty due to the fire.
“All the patients were shift-
ed alive but there were a few
patients on ventilator and were
extremely critical. We believe
the casualties are not due to the
fire, but either in transit or at
other hospitals (where they
were shifted), it said.
?C8Q =4F34;78
The Supreme Court on
Friday dismissed pleas
seeking stay on further sale of
electoral bonds ahead of
Assembly elections, saying the
scheme was in place since
2018, the bonds were released
at periodical intervals without
any impediment and safe-
guards were in place to prevent
their misuse.
A Bench headed by Chief
Justice SA Bobde said it saw no
justification to grant stay at this
stage.
Detailed report on P4
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A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Friday for the first
time boarded the Air India
One aircraft to fly to
Bangladesh. The newly-
inducted custom-made Boeing
777 aircraft has been acquired
to facilitate VVIP movements
within India and on state vis-
its abroad.
The B777 aircraft, which
has registration number VT-
ALW, was delivered by Boeing
to the Indian Government in
October last year. President
Ram Nath Kovind inaugurat-
ed Air India One when he
boarded the B777 aircraft on its
inaugural flight to Chennai in
November 2020.
The aircraft, which has
call sign AI1 or Air India One,
departed from Delhi around 8
am and landed at the Dhaka
airport around 10.30 am on
Friday, officials said.
Another custom-made
B777 aircraft, with registration
number VT-ALV, was also
delivered by the American air-
craft giant to the Indian
Government in October last
year. Both of them will be on
par with the US President’s Air
Force One in terms of securi-
ty measures.
The planes are to fly only
President, Vice President and
Prime Minister. These two
aircraft were part of Air India’s
commercial fleet for a few
months in 2018 before they
were sent back to Boeing for
retrofitting for VVIP travel.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
Various events are being
held at the Food
Corporation of India (FCI)
regional office as part of the
nutrition fortnight being
marked by the corporation in
Uttarakhand from March 16 to
31. Deputy general managers
Manoj Kumar and Kamal
Kishore distributed seeds and
saplings of various fruit/flower
and vegetable plants while also
informing them about the util-
ity of these plants. Informing
about the importance of the
nutrition fortnight, the officials
said that all need more nutri-
tious elements in times of a
pandemic. Considering this,
the nutrition fortnight is being
held to raise awareness among
personnel and the general pub-
lic with various events and
competitions being held
in it.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The protesting outsourced
workers of the Uttarakhand
Purva Sainik Kalyan Nigam
Limited (UPNL) will abstain
from Holi celebrations this
year if the State government
does not approve their pending
demands. The president of the
UPNL employees union,
Kushagra Joshi stated that the
outsourced employees of the
union have been protesting
for over a month now but the
State government has still not
taken any positive decision in
their favour. If the govern-
ment does not take any positive
decision before Holi, they will
not celebrate the festival this
year, asserted Joshi.
?=BQ 347A03D=
That Day It Rained and
Other Stories by Rimli
Bhattacharya is a collec-
tion of stories which
brings the reader in a
direct confrontation with
the vices of the mortal
world. The author takes
the reader into a world
where rape, lust, lies, for-
bidden love, mental illness,
homicide and death are a
hard reality. The book
opens the dark domains of
the human mind which
makes it a compelling read
but also sets it apart from
the seasoned story collec-
tions.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Coaching Federation of
India (CFI) conducted a
seminar chaired by its president
Vaibhav Tiwari and general
secretary Alok Dixit. The sem-
inar was organised to introduce
the CFI team to the public and
new team members were
awarded different positions for
their service in
Uttrakhand.
Dixit said that the CFI is
supporting the families of
teachers and students with its
small initiatives and called on
others to help them in
whichever way possible in these
challenging times.
In addition to prominent
teachers, several other mem-
bers took membership in CFI
and took oath work in the
interest of the teachers, educa-
tion industry and the compre-
hensive growth of the sector in
its entirety with teachers, stu-
dents, parents and others
involved.
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Haryana Government has
decided to introduce a
settlement scheme for clear-
ance of an outstanding dues of
C1500 crore, which will bene-
fit more than 2250 industrial-
ists in the state.
An announcement in this
regard was made by Chief
Minister Manohar Lal during
‘Vivaadon Ka Samadhan’ pro-
gramme for industrialists own-
ing Haryana State Industrial
and Infrastructure
Development Corporation
Limited (HSIIDC) plots.
During the meeting, Deputy
Chief Minister Dushyant
Chautala and Minister of State
for Labour and Employment
Department Anoop Dhanak
were also present.
The Chief Minister also
announced other major reliefs
as a Holi bonanza to the indus-
trialists in the state.
As per the announcement,
if the industrialists pay out-
standing plot cost and
enhanced cost in one go with
waiver of 25 percent on over-
due interest and 100 percent
waiver of penal interest and by
freezing the interest liability up
to March 31, 2021, provided
the entire balance amount is
paid by June 30,
2021.
There is an outstanding
amount of approximately Rs
1500 crore. The benefit that is
likely to be provided is expect-
ed to be Rs 225 crore, the Chief
Minister said.
Khattar also announced
rationalization of extension fee
structure with effect from
April, 1, 2021.
The period for comple-
tion of the project beyond the
initial period of three years
would be deemed extended
for a further period of three
years on payment of ratio-
nalised extension fee, to be
decided by Board of Directors
of HSIIDC, for three cate-
gories of Estates i.e. A, B
and C.
He hinted that for A cate-
gory Estates, the 4th and 5th
year extension fee would be Rs
50 per sq. meter, for B catego-
ry Estates it will be Rs 25 per
sq. meter and for category C, it
will be Rs 10 per sq.
meter.
The Chief Minister said
that presently an amount of
about Rs 636 crore is out-
standing because of extension
fees from approximately 330
allottees. He announced that it
has now been decided that
HSIIDC shall waive 50 percent
of the outstanding amount
because of extension
fee.
Upon clearance of default
because of extension fees as on
March 31, 2021, the allottees
shall be entitled to further
extension on payment of the
applicable fees as per revised
norms.
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?=BQ 270=3860A7
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)
on Friday announced to
resume the series of public
rallies, under the ‘Punjab
Mangda Hisaab’ campaign,
across Punjab which had
been discontinued after the
party president Sukhbir Singh
Badal tested positive for
Covid-19.
The decision to resume
the rallies was taken at a spe-
cial meeting of the Core
Committee of the party
chaired by Sukhbir, who told
the meeting that he had fully
recovered from his ailment
and had been advised to
resume normal work from
March 30.
Sukhbir said that he
would first be going to
Amritsar to offer prayers and
thanksgiving at Sri
Harmandir Sahib.
SAD Core Committee
was of the view that there is
“a tsunami of disappoint-
ment, frustration and anger”
waiting to erupt all across the
State against the Congress
Government.
“From Dalits, farmers to
students and from employees
and the unemployed youth,
every Punjabi was feeling
totally cheated by the
Congress rulers. Capt
Amarinder Singh had sworn
on oath of sacred Gurbani ,
promising to dreams like
total loan waiver to farmers,
jobs or unemployment
stipend to every youth, free
plots and houses to Dalits and
the poorer segments, smart-
phones to youth and totally
free education to all girls
students in the state,” said the
core panel.
It stated that the employ-
ees had been promised Pay
Commission implementa-
tion, interest free loan to
youth to start new enter-
prise, and compensation and
relief of Rs 10 lakhs plus
government job to every sui-
cide-affected farmer family.
“Four years have passed
and this government has not
fulfilled even one of its count-
less promises. On the con-
trary, it has discontinued sev-
eral welfare schemes like
Suvidha centres in most vil-
lages and Rs 1.5 lakh free
treatment to every cancer
patient in the state,” it
added.
?=BQ 270=3860A7
In recognition of exemplary
valour shown by five martyrs
of Galwan valley hailing from
Punjab, Chief Minister Capt
Amarinder Singh on Friday
sanctioned C25 lakh each for
the development of their native
villages.
Reviewing various welfare
measures for ex-servicemen,
the Chief Minister said that it
was a humble effort on the part
of the State Government to
undertake the development of
the villages of Galwan martyrs.
Giving details, an official
spokesperson said that the
Chief Minister had sanctioned
Rs 25 lakh each for the devel-
opment of Seel village in Patiala
district from where Naib Sub
Mandeep Singh of 3 Medium
Regiment belonged; Bhojraj
village in district Gurdaspur of
Naib Sub Satnam Singh of 3
Medium Regiment; Birewal
Dogra village in Mansa of Sep
Gurtej Singh Vir Chakra
awardee of 3 Punjab; Tolewal
village in Sangrur of Sep
Gurbrinder Singh of 3 Punjab;
and Mardanheri village in
Patiala of Lance Naik Saleem
Khan of 58 Engineer Regiment.
Apart from the total Rs
1.25 crore sanctioned for the
development of these five vil-
lages, the Chief Minister also
approved Rs 18 crore for the
Punjab State War Heroes
Memorial and Museum at
Amritsar.
To provide boarding and
lodging facilities to ex-service-
men, war widows, and their
family members, the Chief
Minister also sanctioned Rs
four crore for the construction
of Sainik Rest Houses at Mansa
and Shaheed Bhagat Singh
Nagar.
The CM also approved Rs
39.50 lakh for the construction
of the Victory Tower and ren-
ovation of War Memorial at
Asafwala in Fazilka district.
Pertinently, this memorial was
constructed to commemorate
the gallantry deeds of the sol-
diers, who laid down their
lives during 1971 Indo-Pak
war in Fazilka sector.
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?=BQ 270=3860A7
With major industrial
chambers expressing
concern over the job reserva-
tion policy of Haryana
Government, the Chief
Minister Manohar Lal has
sought suggestions from the
stakeholders for framing rules
under the law mandating 75
per cent job reservation for
local candidates in the state.
The Chief Minister
presided over a meeting with
major industrial associations,
chambers, entrepreneurs and
other stakeholders held here.
He said that the main pur-
pose of the meeting is to seek
suggestions and feedback from
the stakeholders prior to fram-
ing rules for this new policy
mandating 75 per cent job
reservation for people of the
state.
The Chief Minister assured
that no industrial units would
face any problem in Haryana
and for this dedicated efforts
would be made to ensure that
skilled local youth are
employed in the industries as
per its needs and demands.
He said that the State
Government is committed for
providing ample employment
opportunities to the local youth
along with ensuring educa-
tion and skill development of
every youth. Therefore
Haryana has introduced
Haryana Enterprises and
Employment Policy (HEEP)
2020. “Industry plays a pivotal
role in state’s development.
During the meeting many
important and valuable sug-
gestions were shared by the
stakeholders, which would cer-
tainly be incorporated before
framing the policy. If required,
amendments in the policy
would be made so as to ensure
that it becomes industry friend-
ly,” said Khattar.
He said that maintaining a
perfect balance between
progress of the industry, econ-
omy along with creating a
favourable employment envi-
ronment especially for the
youth of the state is the need of
the hour and both the State
Government and industrialists
should jointly work in this
direction.
Notably, the information
technology, auto and export
companies based in Gurugram
had recently said that the
Haryana Government’s deci-
sion to reserve 75 percent jobs
for local job-seekers who have
a state domicile will signal
that the city and the state are no
more business-friendly desti-
nations.
Haryana Governor
Satyadev Narayan Arya had
already given his assent to
Haryana State Employment
of Local Candidates Bill, 2020,
which provides for 75 per
cent reservation in private
sector to job seekers in the
state which have a salary of less
than Rs 50,000 per month in
private companies, societies,
trusts, limited liability part-
nership firms, partnership
firms. The quota will initial-
ly be applicable for 10 years,
after it is notified by the gov-
ernment.
Earlier during the meeting,
the Deputy Chief Minister
Dushyant Chautala said that
the basic idea of inviting the
suggestions is to ensure that
more and more employment is
given to local candidates and
also ensuring maximum indus-
trial investment in Haryana.
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?=BQ 270=3860A7
Haryana on Friday reported eight Covid-19
related fatalities and 1322 fresh positive cases.
“The death toll stood at 3125 while the total infec-
tions have reached 284944 in the state,” accord-
ing to the Haryana Health Department’s evening
bulletin. There were 7795 active cases in the state.
According to the health bulletin, out of 1322
fresh cases reported, a maximum of 269 positive
cases were reported in Gurugram followed by 204
in Karnal and 131 in Panchkula. Among 117 crit-
ical Covid-19 patients in the state, 99 were on oxy-
gen support while 18 were on ventilators. Till now,
274024 patients including 748 in the last 24 hours
have recovered and have been discharged from
hospitals in the state, the bulletin stated.
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- 1. 14=60;0BB0B4C 5A?7 ?;;BC30H :^[ZPcP6dfPWPcX) ?^[XcXRP[[h e^[PcX[TBcPcTb^UFTbc1T]VP[ P]S0bbPfX[[V^c^_^[[bX] cWTUXabc_WPbT^U0bbTQ[h T[TRcX^]b^]BPcdaSPhPXSP aTbdaVT]c2^eXS (RaXbXbc^ STRXSTcWTUPcT^UP]dQTa^U c^__^[XcXRXP]bX]R[dSX]V0bbP 2BPaQP]P]SPB^]^fP[ 8=38020=´C14A45D644 20?8C0;24=CA4C4;;BB2 =Tf3T[WX) CWTR^d]cahRP]]^c QTcWT°RP_XcP[±U^aX[[TVP[ XXVaP]cbcWT2T]caTc^[ScWT B2fWXRWaTbTaeTS^aSTa^]P UaTbW_[TPbTTZX]VSXaTRcX^]bU^a XTSXPcTaT[TPbT^USTcPX]TS A^WX]VhPaTUdVTTbX]9Pd P]SaTbcaPX]cWT6^eTa]T]c Ua^X_[TT]cX]VP]h^aSTa ST_^acX]VcWTc^hP]Pa 20?BD;4 ?C8Q 370:0 India and Bangladesh must remain vigilant and united to counter threats like terrorism as well as ideas and powers behind such inhumane acts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday as he hailed ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s leadership and the contributions of the Indian Army in Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War against Pakistan. Addressing the main gold- en jubilee celebrations of Bangladesh’s Independence and the birth centenary of its founder here in the presence of his counterpart Sheikh Hasina and President Abdul Hamid, Modi said both nations possess the power of democracy, with a clear vision to move forward. “That India and Bangladesh move forward together is equally important for the development of this entire region,” said Modi, who is visiting Bangladesh on his first trip to a foreign country since the Covid-19 outbreak. “We must remember that we’ve similar opportunities in fields of trade and commerce, but at the same time, we’ve sim- ilar threats like terrorism. The ideas and powers behind such types of inhumane acts are still active. We must remain vigilant and united to counter them,” he added. Modi recalled the role played by the Indian Army in Bangladesh’s freedom war. “I salute the brave soldiers of the Indian Army who stood with the brothers and sisters of Bangladesh in Muktijuddo. Those who gave their blood in Muktijuddo, sacrificed them- selves, and played a very big role in realising the dream of independent Bangladesh,” said Modi, who was wearing a “Mujib Jacket” as tribute to Bangladesh’s Father of the Nation, said that Bangabandhu had a mesmerising personali- ty and was blessed with an unwavering commitment to further human empowerment. No wonder all sections of society were inspired by him. His leadership and bravery had ensured that no power could enslave Bangladesh, Modi said, adding that Bangabandhu was a ray of hope for the people of this land and for Indians. Under his leadership, common people of Bangladesh across the social spectrum came together and became ‘Muktibahini’, Modi said, adding Bangladesh’s Liberation War had support from all cor- ners of India, from all parties, every section of the society. “This is one of the most memorable days of my life. I am grateful that Bangladesh has included me in this event. I am grateful that Bangladesh has invited India to take part in this function. It is a matter of our pride that we got the opportunity to honour Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with Gandhi Peace Prize,” he said. The Gandhi Peace Prize 2020 was conferred on Bangabandhu this week. Recalling the 1971 war of independence, Modi said the pictures of atrocities that the Pakistan Army inflicted on the people in then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) used to distract people in India. “I must have been 20-22 years old when I and my col- leagues did Satyagraha for Bangladesh’s freedom,” he said. The war broke out after the sudden crackdown at midnight past on March 25, 1971 in the erstwhile East Pakistan by the Pakistani troops and ended on December 16. The same year Pakistan conceded defeat and uncondi- tionally surrendered in Dhaka to the allied forces comprising the freedom fighters and the Indian soldiers. Modi said the efforts of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her important role in Bangladesh’s freedom war are well known. He also named several Indian Army officials such as Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw, General Jagjit Singh Aurora, General JFR Jacob, Lance Nayak Albert Ekka, Group Captain Chandan Singh, Captain Mohan Narayan Rao Samant and others who were instrumental in Bangladesh’s freedom. Modi said the next 25 years are crucial for both India and Bangladesh. “For both our nations, the journey of the next 25 years in the 21st cen- tury is crucial. We have descended from a shared her- itage, and we are advancing towards shared development. We have shared goals, and shared challenges,” Modi said. He also invited 50 Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to India to get associated with innovation ecosystem and meet venture capitalists. Modi also invoked Bengali poets and writ- ers Kazi Nazrul Islam and Rabindranath Tagore in his speech to highlight the common heritage of the two countries. Earlier, the programme began with the religious lead- ers from Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity reciting prayers from their holy books, projecting a secular image of Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Bangladesh was founded as a secular state, but Islam was made the state reli- gion in the 1980s. In 2010, the High Court held up the secu- lar principles of the 1972 con- stitution. Modi was the guest of hon- our while President Hamid was the chief guest at the func- tion chaired by Prime Minister Hasina. Meanwhile, at least four persons were killed and dozens injured when some Islamist organisations protesting Modi’s visit to Bangladesh clashed with police on Friday after- noon. In Chittagong’s Hathazari upazila, at least four persons, including two students, were killed and dozens injured when fired tear shells followed by rubber bullets and shotguns to disperse crowd, the Dhaka Tribune reported. In Dhaka, at least 50 people, including two journalists, were injured when clashes broke out between a group of protesters, mostly members of Islamist groups, and police in the Baitul Mukarram area on Friday. ?=BQ =4F34;78 In the wake of sharp surge in Covid-19 cases in Chhattisgarh and Chandigarh, the Union Health Ministry has rushed there two high-level multidisciplinary teams even as there has been big spurt in infection in Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka and Gujarat taking the total daily tally to above 62,000. At least 257 peo- ple died on Friday. Meanwhile, a record 5.5 crore people have been vacci- nated through 9,01,887 ses- sions throughout the country according to a provisional report till 7 am on Friday. The Ministry said the team to Chhattisgarh is headed by Dr SK Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). The team also has experts from the AIIMS, Raipur and All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health. The team to Chandigarh is led by Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Textiles Ministry Vijoy Kumar Singh and also has experts drawn from the RML Hospital and the Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, it said. These teams will work with the respective Governments of the State and the UT to ascer- tain the reasons behind the surge, assist in undertaking gap analysis and recommend requisite Covid-19 control, and containment measures. “Chhattisgarh has recently witnessed a significant spurt in fresh Covid-19 cases as well as new deaths every day. Chandigarh has also seen a sig- nificant surge in new cases. “The deployed teams shall visit the most affected districts/hotspots in the State and UT to take stock of on- ground implementation of pub- lic health interventions. They will share the key findings, recommendations and remedi- al measures to be taken up with the Chief Secretary/Chief Administrator,” the Ministry said in a statement. According to the Ministry, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Gujarat collectively account for 80 per cent of the new Covid-19 cases. ?=BQ =4F34;78 India and Pakistan on Friday reviewed the ceasefire situa- tion on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu Kashmir and agreed to maintain peace and continue the dialogue process. This meeting between the Brigadiers of the two Armies was the first one since both the sides on February 24 agreed to uphold ceasefire on the 750-km long LoC. The crucial meeting came after Amy Chief General MM Naravane on Thursday said not a single shot was fired since the agreement last month. He also said silence prevailed on the LoC for the first time in the last five to six years. At the same time, he cautioned that the terror infrastructure, including terrorist launch-pads on the Pakistani side, remained intact. The meeting last month was held between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGsMO) where- in both the Armies agreed to adhere to the 2003 ceasefire pact on the LoC. The truce was called in order to avoid casu- alties of innocent citizens on both sides of the border. As regards the Friday meeting, Army sources said post the DGsMO, a Brigade Commander Level Flag Meeting was held between Indian and Pakistan Army at Poonch- Rawalkot crossing point to discuss implementa- tion mechanism as per the understanding reached in the last month’s discussions. The two officers took stock of the present situation and agreed to maintain peace on the LoC. ?=BQ =4F34;78 The 12-hour nationwide Bharat Bandh call given by farmers to protest against the three controversial farm laws received good response in Punjab and Haryana on Friday. However, it evoked mixed or no impact in other parts of the country. The Bandh had a minimal impact in Delhi. Markets at Connaught Place, Karol Bagh, Kashmere Gate, Chandni Chowk and Sadar remained open. Private vehicles or pub- lic transport such as auto rick- shaws, cabs and buses were ply- ing normally. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had to briefly close the entry and exit gates of the Tikri Border, Bahadurgarh City and Brigadier Hoshiar Singh sta- tions, but after a few minutes, the stations were reopened. A railway spokesperson said four Shatabdi trains were cancelled, 35 other passenger trains were detained and the movement of 40 goods trains was affected by the protests. Train movement was disrupt- ed at 44 locations that fall under the Delhi, Ambala, and Ferozepur divisions. However, there was no report of any untoward inci- dent from anywhere in the country. Emergency medical services were exempted from the blockade. Farmers’ leader Darshal Pal has claimed that Bharat Bandh was a success in many States including Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha. “In more than 20 districts in Bihar, more than 200 places in Punjab and also in Haryana, people made the Bandh a big success. In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as well, the impact of the Bandh was impressive,” he said. The leaders of the farmers claimed they blocked national highways and other key roads at 32 locations across Punjab and Haryana, and squatted on railway tracks at several loca- tions. Since morning, farmers in the two States gathered at several highways and roads, including in Bathinda, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala, Mohali, Rohtak, Ferozepur, Pathankot, Jhajjar, Jind, Panchkula, Kaithal, Yamunanagar and Bhiwani dis- tricts. Shops remained closed at several places in Punjab. At a few places in Haryana too, shutters were down in support of the Bandh. People protested at Attari, near the Indo-Pak border, blocking the National Highway to Wagah. In view of the ‘Holla Mohalla’ festival at Sri Anandpur Sahib, vehicles car- rying devotees were being allowed to commute. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Considering the “grim” pan- demic situation and the need to prevent the spread of Covid-19 across the country, the Road Transport Ministry has again advised enforcement authorities to treat as valid all the vehicle related documents such as fitness, permit, regis- tration and driving licence whose validity expired on February 1, 2020, or would expire by June 30, 2021. The Road Ministry has said all such vehicle-related documents may be treated to be valid till June 30, 2021. “Enforcement authorities are advised to treat such doc- uments valid till June 30, 2021. This will help out citizens in availing transport-related ser- vices, while maintaining social distancing,” said Road Ministry advisory. Earlier, in the backdrop of Covid-19 in 2020, the MoRTH had issued advisories on March 30, June 9, August 24, and December 27 regarding the extension of validity of docu- ments related to Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989. It was advised that the validity of Fitness, Permit (all types), License, Registration, or any other concerned document(s) might be treated to be valid till March 31, 2021. The advisories were issued in view of the long queue in front of transport offices for the renewal of such documents. ?C8Q =4F34;78 In a big victory for the Tata Group, the Supreme Court on Friday upheld its removal of Cyrus Mistry as the executive chairman of the $100 billion salt-to-software conglomerate, bringing the curtains down on a bitter four-year long pub- lic and legal battle. Setting aside NCLAT’s order which had restored Mistry to the top post, the apex court in a unanimous 3-0 deci- sion dismissed a plea of Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group seeking separation of owner- ship interests in Tata Sons Pvt Ltd (TSPL). The SP Group owns 18.37 per cent shares in TSPL, and the next fight could be over its valuation. “A person who tries to set his own house on fire for not getting what he perceives as legitimately due to him, does not deserve to continue as part of any decision making body (not just the Board of a com- pany),” the SC said, in a hard- hitting observation, question- ing the conduct of Mistry. BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78 Two men died after inhaling toxic gases while cleaning a septic tank of a banquet hall in East Delhi’s Ghazipur, police said on Friday. Lokesh (35) and Prem Chand (40), residents of Trilokpuri, entered the tank to clean it on Thursday evening and were found dead inside it, the police said, adding that the deceased were not given any protective gear and were offered C3,000 for the work. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem, they said. “The housekeeping staff of the banquet hall called the two men for cleaning the tank at 7.30 pm and around 10 pm, they were found dead,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Deepak Yadav said. Teams from the fire depart- ment, Delhi Disaster Management Authority and MCD visited the spot, he said, adding that the two men were taken to hospital, where they were declared brought dead. A case under section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act has been registered, the DCP said. Further investigation is underway, the police said. Mumbai: Nine coronavirus patients died in a fire at a Covid-19 hospital in a Mumbai mall on Friday, officials said. All nine patients died due to suffocation as a result of the fire, the BMC said. The hospital, however, claimed that there was no casu- alty due to the fire. “All the patients were shift- ed alive but there were a few patients on ventilator and were extremely critical. We believe the casualties are not due to the fire, but either in transit or at other hospitals (where they were shifted), it said. ?C8Q =4F34;78 The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed pleas seeking stay on further sale of electoral bonds ahead of Assembly elections, saying the scheme was in place since 2018, the bonds were released at periodical intervals without any impediment and safe- guards were in place to prevent their misuse. A Bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde said it saw no justification to grant stay at this stage. Detailed report on P4 30KDLOVFRQWULEXWLRQVRI,QGLDQ$UPLQ%DQJODGHVK¶V/LEHUDWLRQ:DU :_UZR3¶UVdY^fdeT`f_eVceVcc`cZd^+`UZ A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday for the first time boarded the Air India One aircraft to fly to Bangladesh. The newly- inducted custom-made Boeing 777 aircraft has been acquired to facilitate VVIP movements within India and on state vis- its abroad. The B777 aircraft, which has registration number VT- ALW, was delivered by Boeing to the Indian Government in October last year. President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurat- ed Air India One when he boarded the B777 aircraft on its inaugural flight to Chennai in November 2020. The aircraft, which has call sign AI1 or Air India One, departed from Delhi around 8 am and landed at the Dhaka airport around 10.30 am on Friday, officials said. Another custom-made B777 aircraft, with registration number VT-ALV, was also delivered by the American air- craft giant to the Indian Government in October last year. Both of them will be on par with the US President’s Air Force One in terms of securi- ty measures. The planes are to fly only President, Vice President and Prime Minister. These two aircraft were part of Air India’s commercial fleet for a few months in 2018 before they were sent back to Boeing for retrofitting for VVIP travel. 30ERDUGV$LU,QGLD2QH ILUVWWLPHWRIOWR'KDND ?aXTX]XbcTa=PaT]SaP^SXPaaXeTbX]3WPZP^]5aXSPh ?C8 HQWUHUXVKHVRYLGWHDPV WRKDQGLJDUKKKDWWLVJDUK 4RdVdRTc`dd T`f_ecjcZdVe` hY`aaZ_X'#!!! :_UZRARcVgZVh =`4TVRdVWZcVRXcVV e`T`_eZ_fVUZR]`XfV %KDUDW%DGK3XQMDE +DUDQDKLWDOLWWOHRU QRLPSDFWHOVHZKHUH 9DOLGLWRIGULYLQJ OLFHQFHYHKLFOH SDSHUVH[WHQGHG WLOO-XQH0LQLVWU *UVRURdWZcV V_Xf]Wd4`gZU Y`daZeR]Z_ f^SRZ^R]] ZRUNHUVVXIIRFDWHLQVHSWLF WDQNIRUZDQWRIVDIHWJHDU D4cV[VTeda]VRd e`deRjdR]V`W V]VTe`cR]S`_Ud RYVRU`Wa`]]d B2`dPbWTb=2;0C^aSTa d_W^[SbaT^eP[^U2hadb XbcahPbCPcPRWPXaP] ?aXTX]XbcTa=PaT]SaP^SXQTX]VaTRTXeTSQh1P]V[PSTbW?BWTXZW7PbX]PX]3WPZP^]5aXSPh ?C8 CWXbfX[[WT[_^dcRXcXiT]b X]PePX[X]VcaP]b_^ac aT[PcTSbTaeXRTbfWX[T PX]cPX]X]Vb^RXP[ SXbcP]RX]V /CWT3PX[h?X^]TTa UPRTQ^^ZR^SPX[h_X^]TTa 7`]]`hfd`_+ fffSPX[h_X^]TTaR^ X]bcPVaPR^SPX[h_X^]TTa ;PcT2Xch E^[ $8bbdT '# 0XaBdaRWPaVT4gcaPXU0__[XRPQ[T ?dQ[XbWTS5a^ 34;78;D2:=F 17?0;17D10=4BF0A A0=278A08?DA 270=3860A7 347A03D= 7H34A0103E890HF030 4bcPQ[XbWTS '%# 51,1R5HJQ877(1*5(*'1R8$'2''1 347A03D=B0CDA30H0A27 !!! *?064B !C! @A:?:@?' 0A8272A40CA F73843?4==8;4BB DA@CE# B08=04=C4AB A;40=BB48B m m H@C=5) 340C7C;;8=H0=0A ?AC4BCBDA?0BB4B B1:9C1 9351=5* B1:;E==1B ! 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- 2. dccPaPZWP]S! 347A03D=kB0CDA30H k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·VZLOOQRWEHKHOGUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIFODLPPDGHEWKHDGYHUWLVHUVRIWKHSURGXFWV VHUYLFHVDQGVKDOOQRWEHPDGHUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIORVVFRQVHTXHQFHVDQGIXUWKHUSURGXFWUHODWHGGDPDJHVRQVXFKDGYHUWLVHPHQWV ?=BQ 347A03D= Various events are being held at the Food Corporation of India (FCI) regional office as part of the nutrition fortnight being marked by the corporation in Uttarakhand from March 16 to 31. Deputy general managers Manoj Kumar and Kamal Kishore distributed seeds and saplings of various fruit/flower and vegetable plants while also informing them about the util- ity of these plants. Informing about the importance of the nutrition fortnight, the officials said that all need more nutri- tious elements in times of a pandemic. Considering this, the nutrition fortnight is being held to raise awareness among personnel and the general pub- lic with various events and competitions being held in it. ?=BQ 347A03D= The protesting outsourced workers of the Uttarakhand Purva Sainik Kalyan Nigam Limited (UPNL) will abstain from Holi celebrations this year if the State government does not approve their pending demands. The president of the UPNL employees union, Kushagra Joshi stated that the outsourced employees of the union have been protesting for over a month now but the State government has still not taken any positive decision in their favour. If the govern- ment does not take any positive decision before Holi, they will not celebrate the festival this year, asserted Joshi. ?=BQ 347A03D= That Day It Rained and Other Stories by Rimli Bhattacharya is a collec- tion of stories which brings the reader in a direct confrontation with the vices of the mortal world. The author takes the reader into a world where rape, lust, lies, for- bidden love, mental illness, homicide and death are a hard reality. The book opens the dark domains of the human mind which makes it a compelling read but also sets it apart from the seasoned story collec- tions. ?=BQ 347A03D= The Coaching Federation of India (CFI) conducted a seminar chaired by its president Vaibhav Tiwari and general secretary Alok Dixit. The sem- inar was organised to introduce the CFI team to the public and new team members were awarded different positions for their service in Uttrakhand. Dixit said that the CFI is supporting the families of teachers and students with its small initiatives and called on others to help them in whichever way possible in these challenging times. In addition to prominent teachers, several other mem- bers took membership in CFI and took oath work in the interest of the teachers, educa- tion industry and the compre- hensive growth of the sector in its entirety with teachers, stu- dents, parents and others involved. ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Haryana Government has decided to introduce a settlement scheme for clear- ance of an outstanding dues of C1500 crore, which will bene- fit more than 2250 industrial- ists in the state. An announcement in this regard was made by Chief Minister Manohar Lal during ‘Vivaadon Ka Samadhan’ pro- gramme for industrialists own- ing Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HSIIDC) plots. During the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala and Minister of State for Labour and Employment Department Anoop Dhanak were also present. The Chief Minister also announced other major reliefs as a Holi bonanza to the indus- trialists in the state. As per the announcement, if the industrialists pay out- standing plot cost and enhanced cost in one go with waiver of 25 percent on over- due interest and 100 percent waiver of penal interest and by freezing the interest liability up to March 31, 2021, provided the entire balance amount is paid by June 30, 2021. There is an outstanding amount of approximately Rs 1500 crore. The benefit that is likely to be provided is expect- ed to be Rs 225 crore, the Chief Minister said. Khattar also announced rationalization of extension fee structure with effect from April, 1, 2021. The period for comple- tion of the project beyond the initial period of three years would be deemed extended for a further period of three years on payment of ratio- nalised extension fee, to be decided by Board of Directors of HSIIDC, for three cate- gories of Estates i.e. A, B and C. He hinted that for A cate- gory Estates, the 4th and 5th year extension fee would be Rs 50 per sq. meter, for B catego- ry Estates it will be Rs 25 per sq. meter and for category C, it will be Rs 10 per sq. meter. The Chief Minister said that presently an amount of about Rs 636 crore is out- standing because of extension fees from approximately 330 allottees. He announced that it has now been decided that HSIIDC shall waive 50 percent of the outstanding amount because of extension fee. Upon clearance of default because of extension fees as on March 31, 2021, the allottees shall be entitled to further extension on payment of the applicable fees as per revised norms. 7PahP]P2P]]^d]RTb fPXeTa ^U_T]P[X]cTaTbc^]X]SdbcaXP[_[^cb ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday announced to resume the series of public rallies, under the ‘Punjab Mangda Hisaab’ campaign, across Punjab which had been discontinued after the party president Sukhbir Singh Badal tested positive for Covid-19. The decision to resume the rallies was taken at a spe- cial meeting of the Core Committee of the party chaired by Sukhbir, who told the meeting that he had fully recovered from his ailment and had been advised to resume normal work from March 30. Sukhbir said that he would first be going to Amritsar to offer prayers and thanksgiving at Sri Harmandir Sahib. SAD Core Committee was of the view that there is “a tsunami of disappoint- ment, frustration and anger” waiting to erupt all across the State against the Congress Government. “From Dalits, farmers to students and from employees and the unemployed youth, every Punjabi was feeling totally cheated by the Congress rulers. Capt Amarinder Singh had sworn on oath of sacred Gurbani , promising to dreams like total loan waiver to farmers, jobs or unemployment stipend to every youth, free plots and houses to Dalits and the poorer segments, smart- phones to youth and totally free education to all girls students in the state,” said the core panel. It stated that the employ- ees had been promised Pay Commission implementa- tion, interest free loan to youth to start new enter- prise, and compensation and relief of Rs 10 lakhs plus government job to every sui- cide-affected farmer family. “Four years have passed and this government has not fulfilled even one of its count- less promises. On the con- trary, it has discontinued sev- eral welfare schemes like Suvidha centres in most vil- lages and Rs 1.5 lakh free treatment to every cancer patient in the state,” it added. ?=BQ 270=3860A7 In recognition of exemplary valour shown by five martyrs of Galwan valley hailing from Punjab, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday sanctioned C25 lakh each for the development of their native villages. Reviewing various welfare measures for ex-servicemen, the Chief Minister said that it was a humble effort on the part of the State Government to undertake the development of the villages of Galwan martyrs. Giving details, an official spokesperson said that the Chief Minister had sanctioned Rs 25 lakh each for the devel- opment of Seel village in Patiala district from where Naib Sub Mandeep Singh of 3 Medium Regiment belonged; Bhojraj village in district Gurdaspur of Naib Sub Satnam Singh of 3 Medium Regiment; Birewal Dogra village in Mansa of Sep Gurtej Singh Vir Chakra awardee of 3 Punjab; Tolewal village in Sangrur of Sep Gurbrinder Singh of 3 Punjab; and Mardanheri village in Patiala of Lance Naik Saleem Khan of 58 Engineer Regiment. Apart from the total Rs 1.25 crore sanctioned for the development of these five vil- lages, the Chief Minister also approved Rs 18 crore for the Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum at Amritsar. To provide boarding and lodging facilities to ex-service- men, war widows, and their family members, the Chief Minister also sanctioned Rs four crore for the construction of Sainik Rest Houses at Mansa and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar. The CM also approved Rs 39.50 lakh for the construction of the Victory Tower and ren- ovation of War Memorial at Asafwala in Fazilka district. Pertinently, this memorial was constructed to commemorate the gallantry deeds of the sol- diers, who laid down their lives during 1971 Indo-Pak war in Fazilka sector. 0PaX]STabP]RcX^]bC !$Ra U^aSTeT[^_T]c^U]PcXeT eX[[PVTb^UUXeT6P[fP]Pachab S 8cbcPcTScWPccWT T_[^hTTbWPSQTT] _a^XbTS?Ph 2^XbbX^] X_[TT]cPcX^] S 8]cTaTbcUaTT[^P]c^ h^dcWc^bcPac]Tf T]cTa_aXbT S 2^_T]bPcX^]P]SaT[XTU ^UC [PZWb_[db 6^eTa]T]cY^Qc^TeTah bdXRXSTPUUTRcTSUPaTa UPX[h ?=BQ 270=3860A7 With major industrial chambers expressing concern over the job reserva- tion policy of Haryana Government, the Chief Minister Manohar Lal has sought suggestions from the stakeholders for framing rules under the law mandating 75 per cent job reservation for local candidates in the state. The Chief Minister presided over a meeting with major industrial associations, chambers, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders held here. He said that the main pur- pose of the meeting is to seek suggestions and feedback from the stakeholders prior to fram- ing rules for this new policy mandating 75 per cent job reservation for people of the state. The Chief Minister assured that no industrial units would face any problem in Haryana and for this dedicated efforts would be made to ensure that skilled local youth are employed in the industries as per its needs and demands. He said that the State Government is committed for providing ample employment opportunities to the local youth along with ensuring educa- tion and skill development of every youth. Therefore Haryana has introduced Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy (HEEP) 2020. “Industry plays a pivotal role in state’s development. During the meeting many important and valuable sug- gestions were shared by the stakeholders, which would cer- tainly be incorporated before framing the policy. If required, amendments in the policy would be made so as to ensure that it becomes industry friend- ly,” said Khattar. He said that maintaining a perfect balance between progress of the industry, econ- omy along with creating a favourable employment envi- ronment especially for the youth of the state is the need of the hour and both the State Government and industrialists should jointly work in this direction. Notably, the information technology, auto and export companies based in Gurugram had recently said that the Haryana Government’s deci- sion to reserve 75 percent jobs for local job-seekers who have a state domicile will signal that the city and the state are no more business-friendly desti- nations. Haryana Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya had already given his assent to Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020, which provides for 75 per cent reservation in private sector to job seekers in the state which have a salary of less than Rs 50,000 per month in private companies, societies, trusts, limited liability part- nership firms, partnership firms. The quota will initial- ly be applicable for 10 years, after it is notified by the gov- ernment. Earlier during the meeting, the Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said that the basic idea of inviting the suggestions is to ensure that more and more employment is given to local candidates and also ensuring maximum indus- trial investment in Haryana. B44:BBD664BC8= =$?4A24=C @DC0?;82H 8QbiQ^QbU`_bdc UYWXdVQdQYdYUc!# VbUcX3_fYTSQcUc 7PahP]P2TTcbX]SdbcaXP[XbcPY^aX]SdbcaXP[RWPQTab ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Haryana on Friday reported eight Covid-19 related fatalities and 1322 fresh positive cases. “The death toll stood at 3125 while the total infec- tions have reached 284944 in the state,” accord- ing to the Haryana Health Department’s evening bulletin. There were 7795 active cases in the state. According to the health bulletin, out of 1322 fresh cases reported, a maximum of 269 positive cases were reported in Gurugram followed by 204 in Karnal and 131 in Panchkula. Among 117 crit- ical Covid-19 patients in the state, 99 were on oxy- gen support while 18 were on ventilators. Till now, 274024 patients including 748 in the last 24 hours have recovered and have been discharged from hospitals in the state, the bulletin stated. ?a^cTbcX]VD?=; f^aZTabc^bWd] 7^[XRT[TQaPcX^]b DXQd4Qi9dBQY^UT ?dXUbCd_bYUc*1SQbQfQ^ _V]ibYQTU]_dY_^c 258cPZTbbcT_bc^ WT[_UPX[XTb^U cTPRWTabbcdST]cb 74:^Rcd?fecZeZ`_7`ce_ZXYe e`cRZdVRhRcV_Vdd 6$'WRUHVXPH UDOOLHVIURP$SULO ILUVWZHHN6XNKELU
- 3. 347A03D=kB0CDA30H k0A27!!! dccPaPZWP]S ?=BQ 347A03D= Considering the spike in Covid-19 cases, the State government will prepare a list of cities and states where the Covid cases are rising alarm- ingly. People from such listed cities will have to present a Covid-19 negative report for entering Uttarakhand. Apart from this, the State government is also considering the decision of the previous chief minister to make Gairsain a commis- sionerate and the final decision on this will be taken in accor- dance with public sentiments. Chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat who is under isolation after recently testing positive for Covid, said this while addressing the media virtually on Friday. The CM said that he was following Covid guidelines while in isolation but also car- rying out his official works. “I am taking two to three virtual meetings daily, tak- ing feedback from departments and issu- ing necessary instruc- tions.” Regarding the guidelines for the Kumbh Mela, Rawat said that the central government guide- lines will be followed to the letter but there is no need for fear. He said that the state government is prepar- ing a list of Covid hotspot cities and people from such places will have to show Covid nega- tive report while entering the state. Regarding the decision taken by the previous CM to make Gairsain a new commis- sionerate, he said that he had already made it clear that the decision is being reconsidered and that a final call will be taken on it considering the wishes of the people. Regarding his priorities, Rawat said the state govern- ment is focusing on health, education, roads, drinking water, other infrastructure and on how to mitigate migration. Referring to the various mea- sures being taken to enhance medical health facilities, he said that government medical colleges are being established in Rudrapur, Pithoragarh and Haridwar, adding that he had recently approved the release of Rs 50 crore for the Rudrapur medical college. The CM said, “In my meetings with the offi- cials, I have made it clear that we want development and time-bound completion of works. There shouldn’t be heaps of files on the desks of officials. I have also made it clear that those who do good work will be appreciated but there is no place for those doing wrong.” ?=BQ 347A03D= With the threat of the sec- ond wave of the Contagion of Covid-19 increas- ing, the state government has imposed many restrictions on the general public for celebrat- ing the festival of Holi. The fes- tival would be totally banned in the containment zones. In an order directed to all the additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, director general of police, secretaries, commissioner of Garhwal and Kumaon and district magis- trates, the chief secretary Om Prakash said that for Holika Dahan programme the organ- isers should allow only 50 per cent of the people of the total capacity of the place and should refrain from collecting unnec- essary crowds. People should wear masks and observe social distancing in these pro- grammes. The elderly, chil- dren of less than ten years of age and those suffering from serious ailments should avoid participating in Holi pro- grammes. The consumption of Alcohol and use of high deci- bel music systems at public places would remain banned. The CS in his order said that the organisers of Holi Milan programmes should make arrangements of thermal scanning and sanitizers and should politely refuse entry to the people without masks and those suffering from fever or cough in the programmes. People should avoid using water and wet colours in Holi and organisers should refrain from distributing edibles in the programmes of Holi. These restrictions would remain enforced on other festivals on different dates next month. ?=BQ 347A03D= The upward swing in the number of patients of Covid-19 is continuing in Uttarakhand. The state health department reported 187 new cases of the disease on Friday following which the cumula- tive number of the patients of the disease in the state increased to 99258. The department also reported the death of one patient of the disease on the day. The disease has so far claimed 1708 lives in the state. The authorities discharged 161 patients from different hospi- tals of the state following their recovery on Friday. A total of 94916 patients have recovered from the disease in the state so far and the recovery percent- age is now at 95.63 and the sample positivity rate is 3.69 percent. The authorities reported 65 new cases of the disease from Dehradun, 58 from Haridwar, 18 from Tehri, 14 from Nainital, eight from Tehri, five from Udham Singh Nagar, seven from Udham Singh Nagar, six from Uttarkashi, five each from Almora and Pauri, four from Chamoli, three from Rudraprayag and one from Bageshwar on Friday. No new patient of the disease was reported from Champawat dis- trict on the day. The health department reported the death of an 81 year old female patient at Himalayan hospital Jollygrant Dehradun on the day. The state now has 1162 active patients of the disease. Haridwar district is at the top of the table of active cases the disease with 385 patients, Dehradun has 378, Nainital 107, Tehri 60, Pauri 51, Udham Singh Nagar 49, Almora 34, Rudraprayag 22, Uttarkashi 19, Chamoli 18, Champawat 17, Pithoragarh 13 and Bageshwar nine active patients of the disease. Meanwhile in the ongoing vaccination drive, 24330 peo- ple were vaccinated in differ- ent parts of the state on Friday. In the state 120401 people have been fully vaccinated so far as they have received both the first and second dose of the vaccine. A total of 296048 senior citizens (60 Plus) have received the first dose of the vaccine in the state. Similarly 21068 persons in the age group of 45-59 years having co-mor- bidity have been vaccinated. The Chief Operations Officer (COO) of state Covid-19 con- trol room, Dr Abhishek Tripathi said that 510 vaccine sessions were organised in dif- ferent parts of the state on Friday. In Dehradun 104 vaccine sessions were organised in which 3409 senior citizens, 227 people with co-morbidity, 278 healthcare workers and 269 frontline workers were vaccinated on Friday. Similarly 2812 senior citizens, 281 per- sons with co-morbidity, 47 health care workers and 717 front line workers were vacci- nated in 115 vaccine sessions in Haridwar district on the day. ?=BQ 347A03D= The condition of former chief minister and general secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Harish Rawat is steadily improving. He is infected with Covid-19 virus and is currently undergoing treatment at the All India Institute Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi. The chief spokesperson of the former CM, Surendra Kumar told The Pioneer that the oxygen level of Rawat is improving and the level of the infection in the chest has also decreased. He said that the National President of the Congress party Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi talked to Rawat on phone to inquire about his health. They also wished him a speedy recovery. Surendra Kumar said that senior Congress leaders, Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary, Gulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma have also expressed their wishes for a speedy recov- ery to Rawat. Rawat was detected posi- tive for Covid-19 on Wednesday along with his wife and daughter. On Thursday he was taken to the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) hospital where infec- tion was detected in his lungs. On the advice of doctors, he was shifted to the AIIMS New Delhi in an air ambulance. ?=BQ 347A03D= Paving the way for construc- tion of Government Medical College at Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar district the government has approved a sum of Rs 336.89 Crore for the college. An amount of Rs 50 Crore has been released as the first instalment for the medical college. The secretary in charge, medical education department Pankaj Kumar Pandey said that the TAC of finance depart- ment had proposed that a sum of Rs 237.78 Crore for civil works and Rs 98.11 Crore for additional works is needed for the medical college following which the finance expendi- ture committee approved a sum of Rs 336.89 Crore for the medical college. T h e Rudrapur med- ical college would be con- structed under the centrally funded scheme in which the Union govern- ment would bear 90 percent of the total cost while the remain- der of 10 percent would be borne by the state govern- ment. In the order the Pandey said that the regulations of e procurement and procurement policy 2017 should be strictly followed in purchase of mate- rial and equipment. He also said that the internal heating system should be based on solar energy and use of prima- ry steel should be made for structuring and steel works in the building construction. ?=BQ 347A03D= The new academic session for the students of classes VI to IX in Uttarakhand would commence from April 15. In an order directed to Director General (DG) of school edu- cation, the education secretary, R Meenakshi Sundaram said on Friday that the academic session 2021-22 should start from April 15. He said that in view of the future of the stu- dents and the fact that the stud- ies of the students were ham- pered by the pandemic of Covid-19, the home examina- tion of the students of classes VI to IX should be completed before March 14. The order of the secretary follows the directive of the education minister Arvind Pandey to start the new session from April 15. It also clears confusion in the department as internal examinations of the students of classes VI to IX in the government and aided schools of the session 2020-21 were slated from April 20. These examinations would now be held before April 14. ?=BQ 347A03D= The Bharatiya Janata Party is confident of winning the Salt assembly by-election and the 2022 assembly elections in the state. The party’s state in- charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam said this while address- ing the media at the party’s state office on Friday. Meanwhile, the BJP State president Madan Kaushik apologised on moral grounds for using the state heli- copter during his recent visit to Bageshwar. He said that the BJP state unit will pay for the flight. Gautam said that the party is confident of winning the Salt assembly by-election, adding that the name of the candidate will be announced in a couple of days. He also appreciated the various decisions taken by the chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat in public interest. However, he added that the BJP is approaching the public with all the positive works done by the State government during its four years in office so far. On being asked about former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, Gautam said that the party’s central leadership is thinking about him. “The position of the BJP has improved in various regions including Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal and Kerala. The party is in need of experienced workers and the central leadership of the party may find some task for him in this scenario,” he said. The BJP state in-charge further stressed that the previous CM was not miffed at the party’s leadership. He said that unlike in the Congress, a party worker does- n’t occupy any position perma- nently. On being asked about the current CM reversing vari- ous decisions of the previous CM, Gautam said that the BJP is not obstinate in its thinking. ?=BQ 347A03D= Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal 'Gama' has asked the leader of opposition in the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) to probe the allegations against the offi- cials of the corporation involved in the alleged scam of the procurement of sanitiser spray. Recently, some media outlets alleged that MCD offi- cials had bought disinfectant at higher rates during the lock- down. Though the senior offi- cials of the corporation have refuted the allegations repeat- edly, the leader of opposition in MCD, Bijendra Pal Singh along with some councillors and Congress party members staged a protest in the MCD premises against the issue. They stated that they want a probe in this matter so that everyone can know the truth. The MCD officials are con- sistently saying that they did the best work during the lock- down in sanitising the city which we are not questioning. Our point is that the public deserves to know the real issue that caused the corporation to buy sanitiser at such high prices, said Singh However, the mayor stated that the allegations are baseless and the opposition is just adding fuel to the fire. He asked Singh to form an inves- tigation committee with the members of his choice to probe the issue. The opposition would not be satisfied with our investigation so I have asked them to form a committee to investigate this matter. I have asked the leader of opposition to provide the list of all the members of the committee so that a written order can be issued by us. We have every- thing that proves that nothing wrong has been done by any MCD official in the procure- ment of the sanitiser, stated 'Gama'. The municipal com- missioner, Vinay Shankar Pandey also asserted that the corporation has the right to make emergency purchases under certain acts by the gov- ernment which was done dur- ing the lockdown too. Moreover, the members of Safai Mazdoor Sangh also staged a protest in the corpo- ration against the media outlets that alleged the scam in MCD, stating that it was an insult to the sanitation workers who worked day and night during the lockdown. ?=BQ 347A03D= The celebration of Holi in Uttarakhand has changed considerably in recent years compared to the traditional celebrations in the mountain- ous regions. Talking to The Pioneer, two prominent folk singers- Narendra Singh Negi and Pritam Bhartwan shared how Holi was celebrated in the past and how the people espe- cially the youths are forgetting the culture and traditions of the mountains. Negi said, “Holi in the hills was inspired from Braj and Mathura where lord Krishna was born and because it’s a festival of happiness and enjoyment we all adopt it and started celebrating it in Uttarakhand too. At first, it used to be all musical where traditional and classical songs were sung. The villages of Kumaon can still be seen cel- ebrating khadi and Baithki Holi. There were the colours of love and happiness on the faces of the people. However, now the traditional form is lost and it's all chaos. Holi has lost its serenity and composure and now people create din and behave roughly,” he added. Negi further opined that youngsters nowadays don’t want to adopt and follow their own traditional norms which shouldn’t be the case. He stressed on the need for main- taining the traditional practices and rich heritage. Bhartwan says that Phoolon ki Holi (flower Holi) was celebrated in the past. No synthetic colour was used at that time only natural and homemade colours were used, different homemade sweets and items like Urad Pakodas and Daal Parathas were served to guests. “People of distant vil- lages would come to partici- pate in the Holi celebration. The elders used to apply tilak on each others foreheads while the youngsters were seen coat- ed in different colours. People dressed in traditional attire used to rejoice to the beats of dhol. But now the celebration is different and involves DJs and synthetic colours. Sometimes, uncultured and rowdy behav- iour is also witnessed during celebrations which is disap- pointing,” he said. Bhartwan said that people should teach their children about culture, tradition and heritage, as the youth today seem to be for- getting their own rich culture while being carried away by foreign culture. ?=BQ 347A03D= Extending sup- port to the agi- tation headed by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), the Aam Aadmi Party state president SS Kaler met BKU leader Rakesh Tikait at a Kisan Panchayat held in Herbertpur area of Dehradun on Friday. Kaler said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is only interested in contesting elections in various States rather than paying attention to the protesting farmers of the coun- try. Despite their peaceful protest for months, the BJP has paid no heed to their issues. Addressing the gathering, Kaler said that the Central Government claims that the new farm laws are for the wel- fare of the farmers but on the other hand, the government has distanced itself from them. He opined that the new farm laws are anti-farmer and added that the AAP will always stand in support of the farmers of the country. GZdZe`cdWc`^4`gZUY`eda`ed hZ]]_VVU4`gZU_VXReZgVcVa`ce ATR^]bXSTaX]V STRXbX^]c^PZT 6PXabPX]P R^XbbX^]TaPcT 2WXTUX]XbcTa 8¶NKDQGLPSRVHV UHVWULFWLRQVRQ +ROLFHOHEUDWLRQ 7^[XZP3PWP] _a^VaPTb bW^d[SWPeT^][h $_T^_[T^U cWTeT]dT RP_PRXch ']TfRPbTb aT_^acTSX]cWT BcPcT^]5aXSPh D_bfX]VX]2^eXS (RPbTb X]D´ZWP]SR^]cX]dTb 2^eXSeT7PaXbWAPfPc bW^fbX_a^eTT]cX]WTP[cW 5^[ZPacXbcTbaTRP[[7^[XRT[TQaPcX^]X]XcbcaPSXcX^]P[U^a Ph^aPbZb[TPSTa^U__^bXcX^]c^U^aR^XccTTc^_a^QTP[[TVPcX^]b .DOHUPHHWV%.8 OHDGHU5DNHVK7LNDLW 19?R^]UXST]c^UfX]]X]VBP[cQh_^[[!!!T[TRcX^]b)6PdcP ?=BQ 347A03D= The online booking process for Char Dham helicopter services is all set to start from April 1. The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) is also planning to start helicopter services to Kedarnath from three more locations- Gauchar, Chinyalisaur and Pithoragarh. Stating this, the chief executive officer (CEO) of UCADA, Ashish Chauhan said that the administration is also working on upgrading various services in order to make the whole process secure and transparent. He revealed that the manage- ment is also planning the installation of hi-tech cameras in helipads to ensure proper services to pilgrims during the Char Dham Yatra. The officials disclosed that as there had been some com- plaints of overcharging and black marketing of the heli- copter tickets during the Char Dham Yatra among other issues, hi-tech cameras at heli- pads will help enhance checks on various aspects of the ser- vice. Apart from this, the offi- cials informed that UCADA is also planning to commence heli services from new loca- tions but nothing has been finalised yet. According to them, most of these plans are still under procedure and awaiting approval of the State Government. They also informed that the companies which were selected through the tender procedure last year to provide the chopper services to pil- grims will be providing service this year too at the same prices. All the necessary details regard- ing the booking of the tickets for the heli services are avail- able on the website of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) heliservices.uk.gov.in, stated officials. ][X]TQ^^ZX]VU^a2WPa 3WPWT[XbTaeXRTbc^ bcPacUa^0_aX[ =TfPRPSTXRbTbbX^]c^bcPac Ua^0_aX[ $X]D´ZWP]S *RYWDSSURYHVEXGJHWIRU 5XGUDSXU0HGLFDOROOHJH
- 4. ]PcX^]# 347A03D=kB0CDA30H k0A27!!! ?=BQ =4F34;78 Ahead of the first round of voting for the Assembly elections in Assam on Saturday, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday appealed to the people to “vote wisely” for a Government that upholds the constitution and democracy. He said if the Congress comes to power, it will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). “You must vote for a Government that will care for every citizen, for every com- munity. You must vote for a Government that will ensure inclusive growth,” he said hrough a video message. The Congress lost power in Assam in 2016 after 15 years as the BJP ousted the party’s Government led by then Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. “For many years, Assam has been my second home,” said the former PM referring to what he called his “friendship” with former Chief Ministers Hiteshwar Saikia and Tarun Gogoi. Manmohan Singh, 88, was a Rajya Sabha member from Assam from 1991 to 2019, after which he was elected to the Upper House of parliament from Rajasthan. “The people of Assam enabled me to serve our coun- try as Finance Minister of India for five years and as Prime Minister for 10 years. Today I am speaking as one of you. Once again the time has come for you to cast your bal- lot... You must vote wisely,” Singh said. The people of Assam endured terrible suffering through a long period of insur- gency and unrest, said the for- mer PM, and it was under the leadership of Tarun Gogoi in 2001-2016 that Assam made a “new beginning” towards peace and development. “However it is now facing a very serious setback. Society is being divided on the basis of religion, culture and language. The basic rights of the common man are being denied. There is an atmosphere of tension and of fear. The ill-conceived notes ban and badly implemented GST (Goods and Services Tax) have weakened the economy,” said the former PM. Lakhs of people and women had lost their liveli- hoods, youths were desperate for decent jobs, the rise in prices of fuel and cooking gas had made life difficult for the common man, “the poor are becoming poorer and COVID- 19 is making matters much worse”, he said. “You must vote for a Government that will put Assam once again on the path of peace and development.” According to Singh, Congress was committed to protecting the unique language, culture and history of Assam. Singh went on to list the five promises in the Congress manifesto, which include not implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), jobs for unemployed youth in the public and private sector, increasing the wages of tea plantation workers, free elec- tricity of up to 200 units for every home and C2,000 allowance for every housewife. “Brothers and sisters. Your future and the future of your children is in your hands,” he said, appealing for votes for the Congress. Assam will vote from Saturday to April 6 in three rounds for a new Government. The results will be declared on May 2. CWT2^]VaTbb [^bc_^fTaX] 0bbPX]! % PUcTa $hTPabPb cWT19?^dbcTS cWT_Pach´b 6^eTa]T]c[TS QhcWT]2WXTU X]XbcTaCPad] 6^V^X ?=BQ =4F34;78 President Ram Nath Kovind visited the Army’s Research and Referral hospital on Friday after he complained of chest discomfort in the morning. As per a statement from the hospital, he is undergoing a routine check-up and is under observation. His condi- tion is stable, the hospital said. “President of India visited Army Hospital (RR) follow- ing chest discomfort this morning. He is undergoing routine check-up and is under observation,” the hospital said in a medical bulletin. His con- dition is stable,” it said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi enquired about the President’s health and prayed for his well being. “PM @narendramodi spoke to Rashtrapati Ji’s son. He enquired about the President’s health and prayed for his well- being,” read a tweet from the Prime Minister’s office. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also enquired about President’s health after he went for a check- up in the Army hospital. ?aTbXST]cadbWTS c^W^b_XcP[PUcTa RWTbcSXbR^U^ac ?C8Q =4F34;78 The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed pleas seeking stay on further sale of electoral bonds ahead of Assembly polls, saying the scheme was in place since 2018, the bonds were released at periodical intervals without any impediment and safe- guards were in place to prevent their misuse. A Bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said it saw no justification to grant stay at this stage and dismissed the two applications moved by NGOs to put on hold any further sale of the electoral bonds ahead of the upcoming Assembly elec- tions in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Union territory of Puducherry from March 27 to April 29. “In light of the fact that the (electoral bond) scheme was introduced on January 1, 2018, that the bonds are released at periodical intervals in January, April, July and October of every year, that they had been so released in the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 without any impediment and that certain safeguards have already been provided by this court in its interim order dated April 12, 2019, we do not see any justi- fication for grant of stay at this stage,” the apex court said. The NGOs — Association for Democratic Reforms and Common Cause had also sought stay on sale of the elec- toral bonds during the pen- dency of the PIL filed pertain- ing to funding of political par- ties and alleged lack of trans- parency in their accounts. The Bench, also compris- ing Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, observed that there may not be complete anonymity in financing of political parties by corporate houses, as apprehended by the NGOs. It said as the purchase of the bonds and their encash- ment can only happen through banking channels and only those customers who fulfil KYC norms can engage in such transactions details of which would be with the State Bank of India as it was the sole authority for issuance and encashing of the bonds. “Moreover, any expendi- ture incurred by anyone in pur- chasing the bonds through banking channels, will have to be accounted as an expenditure in his books of accounts. The trial balance, cash flow state- ment, profit and loss account and balance sheet of companies which purchase electoral bonds will have to necessarily reflect the amount spent by way of expenditure in the purchase of electoral bonds,” the apex court said in its order. It further said that the financial statements of com- panies registered under the Companies Act 2013 are filed with the Registrar of Companies and were accessible online on the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for anyone. The NGOs had claimed that there was a serious appre- hension that any further sale of electoral bonds before the upcoming Assembly elections, including in West Bengal and Assam, would further “increa- seillegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies”. “Since the scheme man- dates political parties to file audited statementof accounts and also since the Companies Act requires financial state- mentsof registered companies to be filed with the Registrar of Companies,the purchase as well as encashment of the bonds, happening only through banking channels, is always reflected in documents that eventually come to the public domain. “All that is required is a lit- tle more effort to cull out such information from both sides (purchaser of bond and polit- ical party) and do some ‘match the following’. Therefore, it is not as though the operations under the scheme are behind iron curtains incapable of being pierced,” the Bench said. The court also termed as misconceived the apprehen- sion of the NGOs that foreign corporate houses may buy the bonds and attempt to influence the electoral process in the country, saying that under the scheme, the bonds can be pur- chased only by a person who is a citizen of India or incor- porated or established here. The Bench also rejected the NGO’s contention that the Reserve Bank of India was opposed to the scheme, saying that the central bank of the country was concerned with the issue of the bonds in scrip form rather than in demat form. “What RBI wanted to achieve was, in their own words, the twin advantage of (i) providing anonymity to the contributor; and (ii) ensur- ing that consideration for transfers is through banking channels and not cash or other means. “In fact RBI called the electoral bonds as ‘an enduring reform, consistent with the government’s digitization push’. Therefore, the concerns expressed by RBI, to the form and not to the substance, can- not really advance the case of the petitioner(s),” it said. The court also said in its order that repeated applica- tions for the same relief cannot be filed merely because the bonds are being issued at peri- odical intervals of time. The bench said that under the electoral bonds scheme of 2018 they available for pur- chase for 10 days each in January, April, July and October and once the apex court put in place an interim arrangement in April 2019, applications for stay of sale of the bonds cannot be moved every time a window is opened for issuing them. D4_ZiVda]VRddVVZ_XdeRj `_dR]V`WV]VTe`cR]S`_Ud ?=BQ =4F34;78 Aday after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPI(M) questioned the “political intervention” behind the poll body’s deci- sion to put in abeyance the schedule for the Rajya Sabha election to three seats from the State, the Election Commission on Friday said a call on holding the election will be taken shortly by it strictly within the existing legislative framework. The Election Commission (EC) also said the Union law ministry has “no remit” to make recommendations on the schedule of Rajya Sabha elections. The EC issued a statement on Wednesday, saying, “The commission...Had announced schedule for biennial election for three seats to Council of States (Rajya Sabha) from Kerala.... In the meanwhile, a reference has been received from the Ministry of Law and Justice. Pending examination of the reference, the commission has decided to keep the afore- mentioned proposed notifica- tion and schedule in abeyance till further orders.” In a tweet on Thursday, Vijayan said the election to the three Rajya Sabha seats from Kerala was put in abeyance. “ECI says Law Ministry rec- ommended so. Art. 324 (of the Constitution) vests the power to conduct the election only in the ECI. Why the political intervention? Why has ECI succumbed to it? Indian Constitution has been violated, yet again!” The CPI(M) also wrote to the poll body questioning its decision to put in abeyance of three RS sears elections. Nilotpal Basu, a member of the Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) met members of the Election Commission. A spokesperson of the poll watchdog responded to Vijayan’s charge on Twitter on Friday, saying the “decision of conducting elec- tions to the 3 Rajya Sabha seats in Kerala will be shortly taken by ECI strictly within the exist- ing legislative framework including provi- sions of RP (Representation of the People) Act, 1951. “M/o Law Justice has no remit to make recommendation on schedule of RS elections.” Sources said on Wednesday that the law min- istry had pointed out that the polls to elect a new legislative Assembly in Kerala would be held on April 6. Is it legally ten- able to hold an exercise, where the members of an outgoing Assembly vote on April 12 to elect Rajya Sabha members, whereas the polls to elect a new Assembly would have already taken place on April 6, the law ministry had asked. The election to the three Rajya Sabha seats from Kerala falling vacant the next month was to be held on April 12. Abdul Wahab of the IUML, K K Ragesh of the CPI(M) and Vayalar Ravi of the Congress are retiring on April 21. The notification for the biennial elections was to be issued on Wednesday. Rajya Sabha elections are usually held before the expiry of the terms of the retiring mem- bers. 42c^cPZTRP[[^]W^[SX]V:TaP[PAB_^[[bW^ac[h ?=BQ =4F34;78 Twenty-six per cent of the 205 candidates contesting in the third phase of the West Bengal Assembly polls this year have declared criminal cases against themselves, says a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The West Bengal Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all the 205 candi- dates who are contesting in the polls to be held on April 29. “Out of 205 candidates analysed, 53 (26 per cent) can- didates have declared criminal cases against themselves and 43(21 per cent) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves,” the report said. Among the major parties, 19 (61 per cent) out of 31 can- didates analysed from the BJP, eight (62 per cent) out of 13 candidates analysed from the CPI(M), three (43 per cent) out of seven candidates analysed from the Congress, 11 (36 per cent) out of 31 candidates analysed from the AITC and two (11 per cent) out of 18 can- didates analysed from the SUCI(C) have declared crim- inal cases against themselves in their affidavits. It said 16(52 per cent) out of 31 candidates analysed from the BJP, 5(39 per cent) out of 13 candidates analysed from the CPI(M), 10(32 per cent) out of 31 candidates analysed from the AITC and 2(11 per cent) out of 18 candidates analysed from the SUCI(C) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits. According to the report, nine candidates have declared cases related to crime against women. Three candidates have declared cases related to murder (IPC section 302) against themselves and 16 can- didates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC section 307) against themselves, it said. !%RP]SXSPcTbUXVWcX]V cWXaS_WPbT^U1T]VP[ _^[[bWPeTRaXX]P[_Pbc ?=BQ =4F34;78 The CBI on Friday recovered C67lakhcashduringsearch- es at the premises of a regional manager of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The CBI has registered a case against the then Regional Officer, NHAI, Regional Office, Jammu, the accused private firm, and its proprietor and unknown others on the basis of a Preliminary Enquiry con- ducted by the agency. It was alleged in the Preliminary Enquiry that the private firm through its Proprietor entered into con- spiracywithofficialsofRegional Office, NHAI, Jammu and got the work order in a tender dated January 10, 2018, for the improvementandroutinemain- tenance of Lakhanpur- Jammu Section for Rs 9.34 crore, in vio- lations of terms and conditions of the said tender. It was further alleged in the PE that the then Regional offi- cer, NHAI, entered into con- spiracy with the said proprietor and favoured the firm in the award of said tender. It was also alleged that the experiencecertificatessubmitted by the said firm along with the bid, did not mention whether the road constructed from Atholi to Palali section in Kishtwar district was a 02/04/06 lane highway. In the experience certificatesofotherqualifiedbid- ders, they had specifically men- tioned that the roads con- structed by them were 02/04/06 lane highway. It was further alleged that the fact was over- looked while processing the bid of the said firm and conse- quently, favourably processed the bid. Moreover, experience certificates submitted by the said firm through its Proprietor were allegedly found to be fake and forged. In this manner, the accusedallegedlycheatedNHAI, the CBI said. Searches were conducted on Friday at seven places in Jammu, Chandigarh and Ropar which led to recov- eryofincriminatingdocuments, hard disks, other digital evi- dence. A cash of more than C65 lakh from the premises of the contractor and cash of C2 lakh from the premises of the then Regional Officer, NHAI, Hem Raj, IDSE, were also recovered. Besides Raj, the other accused are Rakesh Kumar Chaudhary, Proprietor of M/s Rakesh Kumar Chaudhary and the accused firm M/s Rakesh Kumar Chaudhary. 218bTPaRWTb=708P]PVTa´b W^dbTbTXiTbC%[PZWX]RPbW ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Delhi Zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has carried out searches at two premises belonging to Archana Bhargava, former Chairperson-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of United Bank of India, and former Executive Director of Canara Bank in connection with a money-laundering case linked to possession of dispropor- tionate assets by her. The ED had initiated probe on the basis of FIR registered by CBI against Bhargava in a dispropor- tionate assets case. As per the CBI FIR, she had amassed dis- proportionate assets to the tune of C3.63 crore during the check period when she was occupying senior positions in various public sector banks. “The searches were carried out by the ED to trace the pro- ceeds of crime and to unearth the documentary evidence showing acquisition, routing, layering and projection (as legitimate assets) of the said Proceeds of Crime amounting to C3.63 crore, leading to com- mission of the offence of money-laundering,” the agency said in a statement. As a result of searches, the ED has recovered certain incriminating documents and electronic evidence about the alleged possession of dispro- portionate assets, further rein- forcing the case against Bhargava, it further said. Bhargava is being investi- gated in another case also under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 in respect of FIR booked by CBI against her in 2016. 43aPXSb!_aTXbTb ^UTg23^UD18 ?=BQ =4F34;78 Union Home Ministry on Friday asked States and Union territories to regulate crowd during upcoming festivals like Holi, Easter and Eid in view of rising cases of Covid-19. In a letter to Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla pointed out that the coun- try is passing through a critical juncture as COVID-19 cases and deaths have been on the rise. The Home Secretary said after assessing the situation, guidelines for effective control of COVID-19 were issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on March 23 and it has been emphasised that states and UTs should strictly enforce the ‘test- track-treat’ protocol. “In view of upcoming festivals such as Holi, Shab-e-Barat, harvesting festivals, Easter, Eid-ul- Fitr, etc. The State Governments and UT administrations should take necessary measures to regulate crowds during these festivals by ensuring strict observance of COVID appropriate behaviour, such as wearing of mask and maintaining social distancing, as man- dated in aforesaid guide- lines and in the National Directives for COVID- 19 Management,” the com- munication said. The Home Secretary also asked Chief Secretaries to issue neces- sary instructions to district administrations and police authorities to scrupu- lously enforce COVID- 19 appropriate behav- iour and SOPs in all public gatherings dur- ing the upcoming festi- vals. Further, Bhalla said, the campaign should also be intensified for creating public awareness. “As has been empha- sized time and again by health experts, strict adherence to COVID appropriate behaviour in public places and gather- ings will help in breaking the chain of transmission and reduce the incidence of COVID cases in the country,” he said. ATVd[PcTRa^fSSdaX]VUTbcXeP[bBcPcTbDCbc^[S 9RWHZLVHOH[306LQJK DSSHDOVWR$VVDPYRWHUV
- 5. ]PcX^]$ 347A03D=kB0CDA30H k0A27!!! 78C:0=370A8Q 90D The Union Territory admin- istration headed by Lt- Governor Manoj Sinha has now set itself a target to paint the skyline of Jammu Kashmir in patriotic colours of India. According to a Press release issued by the Department of Information and Public Relations, a deci- sion has been taken to hoist the National Flag on all Govern- ment buildings in Jammu Kashmir. According to the press statement, the necessary instructions were issued by the Lt-Governor Manoj Sinha himself while chairing a high level meeting with the Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police through video conferencing here at civil secretariat late Thursday evening. Responding to the diktat, the Office of Divisional Commissioner Jammu Friday directed all the Deputy Commissioners and Heads of the Departments to implement the directions of Lieutenant Governor, JK UT regarding hoisting of National flag on all the Government buildings within next fifteen days. As per a communiqué by the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, the Deputy Commissioners/Divisional Heads of various Departments of Jammu Division have been asked to ensure strict compli- ance of the directions of the Lieutenant Governor, JK, as per the provisions of Flag Code of India within next fifteen days, under intimation to the Div com office. In Kashmir valley, Deputy Commissioner Anantnag Dr Piyush Singla too issued a cir- cular for hoisting of National Flag on all government build- ings and offices across the dis- trict. It has been impressed upon all district, sectoral, tehsil and block level officers to com- ply with the directions therein and ensure that the National Flag is flown on all Government buildings within a period of 15 days. The district heads have further been instructed to submit the progress report on a daily basis in this regard , stated a press statement issued by the office of Deputy Commissioner Anantnag. Earlier, the school educa- tion department in JK had directed all the heads of the institutions to adopt “grey and white colour scheme” for gov- ernment school buildings besides installing “a signboard of standard design with tri- colour of national flag in the background”.The heads of the institutions have been also instructed to mention all the details of the school on the signboard. April 30, 2021 has been set as the final deadline to complete the project. The Lt Governor, while reviewing the activities under the “Azaadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’, also asked the dis- trict officers to identify people from their areas who have played an important role in the freedom struggle and felicitate them in the ongoing celebra- tions. In view of the upcoming Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra the Lt Governor also directed the Deputy Commissioners to con- struct fully functional toilet complexes at prominent places in all the districts through which the Yatra passes, within the next two months. He called for synergizing the inter- departmental efforts to provide the best in class facilities to the visiting yatri’s. B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :;:0C0 Citizenship Amendment Act will be implemented simul- taneously in the entire country, Home Minister Amit Shah has told in an interview to a private Bengali television channel. Replying to a question as to why CAA has been mentioned in the election manifesto in Bengal but not in Assam, he said, “Mamata Banerjee opposed CAA while, Assam Government did not oppose it … this is the reason why we have kept it in the manifesto here in Bengal … CAA will definitely be implemented and … simultaneously all over the country.” On the oft raised allegations made by the Chief Minister that BJP was bringing in “outsiders” to capture power in Bengal, Shah said “this is the narrow-mindedness of the Chief Minister … Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was not an outsider in Gujarat. He was the valiant son of India … he was made the president of the Congress Party not as a so- called outsider. It is my demo- cratic right as the citizen of India to come to Bengal and no one can stop me from coming here.” Replying to the logic being proffered by the Opposition parties that the BJP has no Chief Ministerial face he said “we have been successful in other States without projecting Chief Ministerial faces… We came to power in UP and Jharkhand, without projecting any face. We have remained faceless while contesting elec- tions in many States… A strong face will emerge after the elec- tions and he will be a Bhumiputra of Bengal … he will be the Chief Minister here.” On why the Central agen- cies become active about Narada and Sharada chit fund cases only before the elections and why even after 8 years no headway has been made in the probe he said “Mamata Banerjee Government which started the probe initially has devoured the entire records of the scam and is not sharing the details with the CBI … but when we come to power we will have access to all the details … we will probe the cases through an SIT and send all the accused to jail.” “We are not changing the ideology, rather those who are coming to the party are fol- lowing our ideology, Union Home Minister further added on TMC turncoat Suvendu, who is pitted from Nandigram Assembly seat battling incum- bent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Alleging that the TMC Government was encour- aging infiltration in Bengal he said that appeasement politics pursued by Mamata Banerjee has been primarily responsible for unchecked infiltration in this side of the border adding “once BJP comes to power not a bird will come in from other countries.” Only the refugees driven out of those countries would be given citizenship through CAA. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister continued to rain fire on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah in her election campaign. Flipping back their accusation that the TMC ran extortion syndicates she said it was not the Trinamool but the BJP that ran on syndicates. Singling out the two top leaders of the saffron outfit the Chief Minister said, “The BJP has two syndicates. One is a rioter, has sponsored riots in Delhi, Gujarat and UP. The other person is only growing his own beard but slowing down the industrial growth of the country. In an apparent reference to the Prime Minister she said “sometimes he compares him- self with Gandhi ji, Rabindranath Tagore and even Swami Vivekananda and on other occasions he names national properties including stadiums after himself” Referring to him as a self- absorbed person who attaches his photographs with corona vaccine advertisements, sends his photograph to space … One day he will sell the entire coun- try and name it after himself…. He seems to have a loosened screw” the Chief Minister who even used slang a day before while referring to the Prime Minister said. B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :;:0C0 In a charged up scenario where the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP are locked in a neck and neck fight, Bengal is all set to go to its first phase of the eight-phase Assembly elections on Saturday. Elections will be held for 30 seats across five districts of East and West Midnapore, Bankura, JhargramandPurulia.Inthefirst phase 191 candidates including 21 women are in the fray. A massive security ban- dobast has been made by the Election Commission which has arranged for 187 compa- nies of central forces in Purulia’s 9 seats with 2491 booths, 82 companies for Bankura’s 4 seats with 1328 booths, 148 companies for East Midnapore’s 7 constituencies and 124 companies for West Midnapore’s 6 seats. Four seats of Jhargram district will also go to polls on Saturday. Salboni and Kharagpur in West Midnapore had been placed under high alert by the administration, sources said. TMC had won 27 out of these 30 seats in the 2016 elec- tions and BJP was not a major player in the last polls. While the Trinamool is eying a hat- trick challenger BJP that has occupied the second place shoving out the Left in the past couple of years is determined to wrest power from Mamata Banerjee this time round. The Sanyukta Morcha formed by the Left-ISF- Congress alliance is also striv- ing to spring a surprise in the elections. Meanwhile, even as the Left-Congress Morcha lodged a complaint with the Commission saying people from other States had put up in most of the private hotels in the State reports of violence con- tinued to come from various parts of it. A TMC party office was blown up at Kotulpur in Bankura district injuring at least three persons after bombs they were allegedly making went off, sources said. Elsewhere ISF supporters were beaten up by the TMC men at Bhangore near Kolkata sources said. The Friday’s incident comes after four persons --- three of the BJP and one of the TMC --- were reportedly mur- dered between Wednesday and Thursday. 422hZ]]UVWZ_ZeV]jYRaaV_dRjdDYRY 0DPDWDDWWDFNVVQGLFDWHV UXQEµULRWHUEHDUGPDQ¶ 3TRXbX^]cPZT]c^W^Xbc =PcX^]P[5[PV^]P[[ 6^ecQdX[SX]VbX]9: DYWXdRQ^T_RQcdV_b2U^WQ @XQcU9UUSdY_^cd_TQi New Delhi: Aapke Dwar Ayushman campaign has crossed a crucial milestone by verifying more than 9 lakh eli- gible beneficiaries in a day under Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna scheme. In the last 24 hours, the NHA's has recorded the veri- fication of over 9.42 lakh (9,42,231) eligible beneficiaries under AB-PMJAY scheme to enable them to seek free med- ical benefits upto Rs 5 lakhs per family per year. With this achievement, NHA has registered over 2 crore (2,30,06,678) potential beneficiaries under AB PM- JAY scheme in this calendar year. During the ongoing Aapke Dwar Ayushman campaign, in the past 24 hours (25 March) Chhattisgarh has alone verified more than 6 lakh (6,27,097) beneficiaries while Madhya Pradesh has verified 1,23,488 beneficiaries. Uttar Pradesh has conducted the verification of about 80,337 beneficiaries, Madhya Pradesh (1,23,488), Punjab (38, 488), Uttarakhand (7,460), Haryana (8,247) and Bihar (16,070) respectively. It may be noted that Aapke Dwar Ayushman Campaign was launched on 1 February to create large scale awareness about AB PM-JAY health insurance scheme among all beneficiaries residing in the all parts of the country especially in rural and interiors parts so that beneficiaries can avail cashless healthcare benefit upto Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year. PNS Chennai: The Tiruchirappalli based ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) is hopeful that the shipment of 10 ton of Nendran banana sent by sea from Kerala reaches UK safely soon and exporters start the sea route, said a top official. We had developed special protocol for sending bananas by sea. One consignment of bananas reached Dubai. Then the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council - Keralam had requested us to develop the protocol for Nendran banana variety for shipment to UK, S.Uma, Director, NRCB told IANS. Kerala is famous for the Nendran banana variety and it is used for making chips and others. She said freight cost of banana can be brought down drastically if the export con- signment is sent by a ship instead of air lifting the same. Uma said the protocol fol- lowed for the sea shipment includes scientific preharvest bunch care management like micronutrients, growth regu- lators, male flower removal, covering the bunch and others. According to her, airlifted bananas may not be of uniform maturity and may not match with international grading standards. The Nendran banana sent to the UK is for the Indian expats there targeting the Malayalam New Year Vishu that will be celebrated on April 14. IANS Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath Government is trying to increase self-employment among the youth in rural Uttar Pradesh through food pro- cessing units. Under the current food processing industries policy, capital grants and rebate in interest are being provided to those who are setting up such units. Apart from providing employment opportunities to people, these food processing units will also make the farm- ers of the villages economical- ly self-reliant and fulfil the resolve of rural development. According to the govern- ment spokesman, the state gov- ernment will create new jobs in the rural areas through its 62,122 units. A record investment of Rs 10,500 crore has been made in the food processing industry which is considered to be the backbone of the project. The government has made amendments in its food pro- cessing industry policy and will be ready to provide employment to around 3 lakh people by bringing investment of more than Rs 20,000 crore. To increase employment and self-employment in rural areas, the units are being set up according to the area wise agricultural production. Units related to milk prod- ucts will be set up in Aligarh, Bareilly, Bulandshahr, Kanpur Dehat, Jaunpur and Mathura, while Aurraiya and Kasganj will have units for making ghee. Products based on green chillies will be set up in Varanasi and Deoria, mango in Lucknow, Amroha and Sitapur, Kala Namak rice in Basti, Gorakhpur and Siddhartha Nagar, banana chips in Kushinagar and potato in Purvanchal. The spokesman said that there is an emphasis on setting up food processing units based on maize cultivation in western and central Uttar Pradesh. It is noteworthy that in order to promote food pro- cessing industries in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government is giving an exemption in mandi rates to agricultural processing units and new rules have been made for that purpose. The government is com- pletely focused on bringing up more units to the state so that with more employment oppor- tunities, farmers can also get maximum benefit from these units. The government has also proposed a plan to set up agri- culture and food processing industries on the vacant land of big mandis in the state. IANS RJLIRFXVHVRQIRRGSURFHVVLQJXQLWVWRERRVWVHOIHPSORPHQW B32X_`UcRQ^Q^Q Uh`_bdUbcgY´cXY`µ `b_TeSUd_5eb_`U 0P_ZT3fPa 0hdbWP] RP_PXV] Ra^bbTbX[Tbc^]T C=A067D=0C70Q D108 Aday after a female Range Forest Officer (RFO) post- ed in the Amravati-based Melghat Tiger Reserve (MRT) committed suicide after alleg- ing harassment at the hands of her superior officer, the police on Friday arrested Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Vinod Shivkumar in Nagpur while he was trying to flee to his native town in Karnataka. In a disturbing incident, RFO Deepali Chavan-Mohite (33)—a dare-devil officer known in the local forest circles as “Lady Singham” -- shot her- self with her service revolver at her official quarters at Harisal in Gugamal division at around noon on Thursday. At the time of the incident, Deepali was alone at her home. Her mother Shakuntala Chavan with whom she used to live had left for Satara in west- ern Maharashtra, while her husband Rajesh Mohite, who works as a treasury officer at Chikhaldara in Amravati dis- trict, was away at work. The police recovered a four-page suicide note near RFO’s blood-splattered body. In her note addressed to MS Reddy, Field Director of Melghat Tiger Reserve and Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Deepeli alleged that DFO Vinod Shivkumar was an officer who used to harass her. She said in her note that stern action be taken against Shivkumar, an IFS officer, so that no other employee or offi- cial underwent the ordeal that she had undergone at the hands of the latter. After perusing the contents of the suicide note left by the lady forest officer, the Amravati launched a search and traced Shivkumar to Nagpur railway station where they arrested him on Friday, while he was trying to board a Bengaluru- bound train to head to his native town in Karnataka. Among other things, Deepali has alleged in her sui- cide note that Shivkumar, given to excessive drinking, used to harass her, heap abuses on her, make lewd comments, dropped hints at getting physical, give her difficult assignments and on one occasion, he had back her salary. Deepali had reportedly on a few occasions complained about Shivkumar to his senior MTR Field Director, M.S. Reddy (IFS), but in vain. Talking to media persons in Pune, Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said: “We have ordered a detailed investigation into the circum- stances leading to the lady for- est officer’s suicide. If she had any kind of harassment, black- mail or torture, we will not spare the person who abetted her suicide”. We will take strict action against those found responsi- ble for her death, added state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Meanwhile, in a letter writ- ten to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and Amravati’s Guardian Minister Yashomati Thakur, the Nagpur-based Maharashtra Forest Guard- Forester’s Union has demand- ed strict action against Shivkumar. Giving details of the man- ner in which Shivkumar used to harass Deepali, the Union General Secretary Indrajit Baraskar said: “In 2020, when she was pregnant, in early- February, Shivkumar com- pelled Dipali to accompany him on a gruelling 3-days for- est patrol, walking or driving hundreds of kms ignoring her condition and her complaints to Reddy was not addressed”. “Consequently, upon return she suffered a miscar- riage and was in deep depres- sion,” Baraskar alleged. Deepali, who joined the Maharashtra forest depart- ment, Deepali had come down with a heavy hand on illegal encroachers in the forests, rub- bing in the process the local politicians and mafia the wrong way. Known for her honesty and uprightness, Deepali had created a sensation in the state forest department five years ago, when she chased in her official car a gang of forest smugglers that was escaping by a train to Madhya Pradesh. At the next railway station, she intercepted the gang trying to smuggle out over five tonnes of a valuable jungle produce 'lac', arrested them, seized the consignment, and brought the gangsters back to Maharashtra. Deepali had become a ter- ror for local mafias who attempted to steal forest pro- duce or poach big and small animals. “There were many occasions when she chased them caught red handed,” her friend Rohan Bhate said. In a related development, BJP’s women wing leader Chitra Wagh has demanded that both Shivkumar and Field Director of Melghat Tiger Reserve MS Reddy be booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. “Deepali’s complaints against Shivkumar were not acted upon by Reddy. Both Shivkumar and Reddy must be booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder,” Wagh said. PWP³;PShBX]VWPbW^^cbbT[UP[[TVX]VWPaPbbT]c BD?4A8A 55824A74;3 Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday asked the Election Commission to respond to the petition of Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala after he approached the court seeking its intervention in the fraud- ulent voters list for the April 6 Assembly polls. The high court will now take up this peti- tion on Monday. Chennithala's public inter- est litigation, according to him, was a forced one as he had approached the Chief Electoral Officer, in the state five times with a complaint that there are over four lakh fraudulent vot- ers in the 140 Assembly con- stituencies, having their names in multiple constituencies. He has been releasing the details of this 'duplication' in the past week in various con- stituencies that he has been touring. Chennithala in his petition has demanded all such people, who have multiple identity cards, should not be allowed to vote and action under the Indian Penal Code and the Peoples Representation Act should be taken against all the government officials who played a role in issuing such fake cards. However, Teeka Ram Meena, the Chief election offi- cer (CEO) in Kerala has asked all the 14 district collectors to conduct a detailed probe into the complaints, and then will present his views before the court. IANS 80=BQ 274==08 Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the election mani- festo of the BJP for the April 6 Puducherry Assembly polls on Friday with a slew of welfare measures and promising cre- ation of 2,50,000 jobs for the youth. Puducherry will get Special Union Territory sta- tus. This will ensure devolution of funds from 25 per cent to 40 per cent as was done in Jammu and Kashmir. The manifesto also promised to meet the aspira- tions of the people as it is final- ized after getting feedback from the public. The BJP had gathered opinion from around 50,000 people of Puducherry before preparing the mani- festo. A BJP government at the Centre and the union territo- ry will ensure implementation of all central schemes. The previous state government did not do this fearing that the credit would go to the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, the minister said. The manifesto promises measures aimed at the empow- erment of women, besides making Puducherry a spiritu- al hub and provide free and quality education to girls from Kindergarten to Post-Graduate level. The BJP has also promised free scooters to girls in colleges. The promises also include interest-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakh for women self-help groups and also waiver of loans taken by Women SHG's which were affected by the Covid-19. There will be 50 per cent reservation for women employ- ees in government institutions and in local body elections, the manifesto promised, besides free public transport for women. The BJP also promised free healthcare for women, set- ting up of sanitary napkin vending machines at schools, colleges, public places, PDS outlets and Anganwadis. The manifesto promises to built a 150 ft statue of poet Subramania Bharathy and set up new tourism centres across Puducherry to promote tourism. It also promised to constitute new IT Parks, Textile parks, an elevated railway line to Chennai via Mammalapuram. Lucknow: Despite the Opposition campaign against the Yogi Adityanath Government on the law-and- order issue, the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) states that the crime situation in the State has improved. The NCRB data says that UP has witnessed a sharp reduction of 45.43 per cent in rape cases and has the lowest figures of crimes against women compared to the 21 major states of the country. This has played an impor- tant role in changing the image and perception of Uttar Pradesh globally and re-estab- lishing its identity. According to an official release, the state has seen a sig- nificant fall in the number of rape cases from 3419 cases in 2016 to 2317 cases in the year 2020. The UP government has also recorded the highest con- viction rate in the cases of crimes against women and cyber-crime in the country, says the report by NCRB. Uttar Pradesh has taken several steps to check crime against women which include anti-Romeo squads, UP-122 India App, night security cover scheme, women helpdesks and pink booths. A total of 25,895 criminals have been sent behind bars till the year 2019. Despite being the most populous state, UP has also seen reduction in cases of mur- der. With a density of 690 per- sons per square km, Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a sharp decline of 19.80 per cent from the year 2016 to 2020, in cases of murder. IANS 3XGXFKHUU6LWKDUDPDQUHOHDVHV %-3PDQLIHVWRYRZV/MREV Qg_bTUbY^ E@XQcY]`b_fUT cQic3B2TQdQ :TaP[P72bTTZb42aT_[h^]²UaPdSd[T]ce^cTab[Xbc
- 6. ing to the hotel, he came out and started walking on the street to see the city. Meanwhile, he was telling to his companion: “This Santanu is a big guy. He humbly invited me to attend the literary festival, and I thought it must be a small affair with some like-minded people in a homely atmos- phere. But he put me in a five- star hotel, that too air-condi- tioned. Being a communist at heart, how can I stay here?” That defines Sagar Sarhadi. In 2017, the Dehradun International Film Festival honoured him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was presented to him by the then Chief Minister Harish Rawat. Before the event, we went to his Mumbai home in Sion to invite him. The small flat with a nice place to sit and brain- storm for projects turned out to be a nice place to recollect beautiful memories. I saw the Black Lady, the prestigious Filmfare Award trophy, among the various awards on his rack. A huge collection of books, too, mostly written in Urdu. Very sadly, Sagar Sa’ab said: “You know, now I am old. I can’t take good care of these books. I wanted to gift all my Urdu books to the library, but they don’t want these since they say there are no Urdu read- ers. So the books are lying with me only.” He used to praise his birthplace, Abbotabad, now in Pakistan, and also in news because of Osama bin Laden. Sagar Sa’ab was so much influenced by the scenic beauty of Abbotabad that the story of Noorie was complete based on that background. The shooting, however, has been done in Kashmir. The memories of the old good days were always fresh in his mind, though by the time he had become forgetful and repeated the same con- versation. But his association with Yash Chopra was known to everyone. From Kabhi Kabhie to Silsila to Chandni, an amazing journey altogeth- er. He recalls that he first went to the south, then to Shimla, Delhi and Punjab. At the end of it, when he submitted the bills to Yash Chopra, the latter jokingly said: “Kya kilo- metre ke hisaab se likhte ho? (Do you write on the basis of kilometres travelled?)”. Yash Chopra was keen to make Bazaar, but Sagar Sa’ab was reluctant to pass on the story to anyone. He wanted to make the film by himself. He proudlysaid:“ThattimeIgave Smita Patil C25,000 as the remuneration and C20,000 to Naseeruddin Shah.” Many people talk about his affection towards Smita but, in our sev- eral conversations, honestly, I never found any such thing. In 2019, at the Kolkata International Film Festival, he was a special invitee to pay tributes to Khayaam Sa’ab. The whole city was covered with the posters and banners of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He innocently asked one of the organisers: “Why is there no film poster but only her face?” In his last days, after see- ing Sagar Saab’s struggle for survival, whenever we invit- ed him, the organiser must offer some monetary assis- tance to the veteran writer. Since he didn’t ask for money from anyone, I strongly feel, even the super rich Hindi film industry is partly respon- sible for such neglect as his. (The writer is a Delhi- based film festival curator, film- maker and producer. The views expressed are personal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·VKDUSRQ%HLMLQJLVQRWGLIIHUHQWIURPKLVSUH GHFHVVRU·V 'RQDOG 7UXPS VWDQFH LQ WKDW VHQVH %LGHQKDVVDLGWKDWKLQD·VDPELWLRQRIEHFRPLQJ WKHZHDOWKLHVWDQGPRVWSRZHUIXOFRXQWULQWKH ZRUOGLV´QRWJRLQJWRKDSSHQRQPZDWFKµ+H YRZHGWRRXWVSHQGKLQDRQLQQRYDWLRQDQGLQIUD VWUXFWXUHWRSUHYHQWWKHFRPPXQLVWQDWLRQIURPVXU SDVVLQJWKH86WREHFRPHWKHZRUOG·VPRVWSRZ HUIXOFRXQWU:DVKLQJWRQLVZRUNLQJRQDOOHTXD WLRQVDJDLQVW%HLMLQJZLWKWKHKHOSRIJOREDOSDUW QHUVDQGLVDSSDUHQWOWDSSLQJDOORSSRUWXQLWLHVWRWDNHLWRQ5HFHQWOLQWKHPHHW LQJRIWKHKHDGRIWKH6WDWHVRIWKH4XDGDOOLDQFH86,QGLD$XVWUDOLDDQG-DSDQ