Pioneer dehradun-english-edition-2021-04-07

1. B0D38)=;HE0228=0C43
?8;6A8BC4=C4A4220
AXhPSW)][h_X[VaXbP]S
f^abWX__TabfW^WPeTQTT]
ePRRX]PcTSPVPX]bccWT]^eT[
R^a^]beXadb^aWPeTaTR^eTaTS
fX[[QTP[[^fTSX]c^cWT6aP]S
^b`dTX]TRRPBPdSX
0aPQXPbX]Xbcah^U7PYYP]S
DaPWP]]^d]RTS1TU^aT
TQPaZX]V^]PcaX_
PeXbXc^a³bePRRX]PcX^]bcPcdbfX[[
WPeTc^QTaTVXbcTaTS^]BPdSX
0aPQXP³b2^eXS (P__
°CPfPZZP[]P±
20?BD;4
?=BQ =4F34;78
Even as India’s daily tally of
new cases is growing faster
than most others in the list of
top five countries, the
Government on Tuesday paint-
ed a grim picture warning that
next four weeks are very criti-
cal and people’s participation is
vital to control the second
wave of pandemic. In the last
24 hours, the virulent pathogen
has claimed 446 lives.
Meanwhile, India on
Tuesday recorded a new peak
of Covid daily count at nearly
1.15 lakh cases, 12,000 more
than that previous highest day’s
tally recorded on Sunday.
Maharashtra leaped back in the
50,000 plus range again after a
dip on Monday. The State
clocked 55,469 cases, 34,256
recoveries, and 297 deaths in
the last 24 hours. Chhattisgarh
emerged as the second worst-
affected State by clocking 9,921
new cases and 53 new
deaths.
The Centre has rejected
requests of two non-BJP ruled
States’ Chief Ministers —Delhi
and Maharashtra — seeking
relaxation in age limit for the
vaccine. The Centre on
Tuesday ruled out Covid-19
vaccination for all, stressing the
aim is not to administer the
shot to “those who need it so
as to prevent death and protect
the healthcare system”.
During a Press conference
here, Union Health Secretary
Rajesh Bhushan said many
people are asking why the
Government is not opening up
vaccination for those above 18
years. Bhushan said even the
West has conducted the vacci-
nation drive in phases.
“The basic aim is to reduce
death through vaccination. The
other aim is to protect your
healthcare system. If healthcare
workers, doctors, nurses, para-
medics and others fall sick, who
will work in hospitals? So the
aim, for any country, is to pro-
tect those who are the most
vulnerable. The aim is never to
administer the vaccine to those
who want it but to those who
need it,” Bhushan said.
?=BQ =4F34;78
In a major bureaucratic
reshuffle, the Centre union
on Tuesday approved appoint-
ment of several Secretaries and
Special Secretaries, including
that of Tarun Bajaj as new
Revenue Secretary under the
Ministry of Finance.
Bajaj was serving as secre-
tary to the Department of
Economic Affairs (DEA) since
April 30, 2020. Tarun Bajaj took
additional charge of Secretary,
Department of Revenue, after
the superannuation of Ajay
Bhushan Pandey.
Pandey, who is a 1984
batch Indian Administrative
Service (IAS) officer of
Maharashtra cadre, retired on
February 28. He was given the
charge of Revenue Secretary in
the Finance Ministry in
November 2018.
Prior to taking over as
Economic Affairs Secretary,
Bajaj served as Additional
Secretary in Prime Minister’s
Office.
Bajaj, a 1988 batch
Haryana-cadre IAS officer,
worked as Joint Secretary and
Director in Department of
Financial Services.
The appointment commit-
tee of the Cabinet has also
approved the appointment of
Ajay Seth, a 1987 batch
Karnataka-cadre IAS officer, as
new secretary for
DEA.
Along with this, there were
also other changes in top
bureaucracy notified by the
Ministry of Personnel.
While Gyanesh Kumar,
additional secretary in the
Department of Home, has been
appointed as secretary in the
Ministry of Parliamentary
Affairs.
?C8Q =4F34;78
Senior-most Supreme Court
judge Justice Nuthalapati
Venkata Ramana was on
Tuesday appointed as the next
Chief Justice of India.
According to a notification
issued by the Government,
Justice Ramana would take
over as the 48th CJI on April 24
after incumbent CJI SA Bobde
demits office a day before.
Justice Ramana would
retire on August 26, 2022.
“In exercise of the powers
conferred by clause (2) of
Article 124 of the Constitution
of India, the President is
pleased to appoint Shri Justice
Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana,
Judge of the Supreme Court, to
be the Chief Justice of India
with effect from 24th April,
2021,” the notification
read.
As per convention,
Principal Secretary to the
Prime Minister PK Mishra and
Secretary (Justice) Barun Mitra
handed over the warrant of
appointment to Justice Ramana
this morning. Justice Bobde
had recently recommended
Justice Ramana as his succes-
sor in keeping with convention
and norms of seniority.
The CJI’s recommenda-
tion had came on a day when
the SC had made public its
decision to dismiss a com-
plaint of the Andhra Pradesh
Chief Minister against Justice
Ramana after giving the mat-
ter “due consideration”.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi said on Tuesday that
rurmours, lies and “false nar-
ratives” are being spread by
BJP’s rivals about a conspiracy
to create political instability in
the country and sought BJP
members to be alert about
those “stoking imaginary fears”.
Speaking on the occasion
of his party’s 41st foundation
day, Modi said blatant lies like
farmers’ land will be seized, cit-
izenship of some people will be
revoked, reservation will be
scrapped, or the Constitution
will be changed are spread by
certain individuals and organ-
isations.
These false narratives have
been spread over his
Government’s measures like
farm laws, Citizenship
(Amendment) Act and labour
laws, he said.
“Deliberate politics is
behind it. It is a very big con-
spiracy and its aim is to trigger
political instability in the coun-
try by creating misconceptions
and stoking imaginary fears,”
he said, telling BJP members
about this “serious challenge”.
He asked party members to
be alert about them and go
among the masses to spread
awareness.
Opposition parties have
criticised the laws on citizen-
ship, and farm and labour
reforms over a number of
issues, including some which
the Prime Minister has often
rejected as blatant lies.
The poor and the rural
India have embraced the BJP as
for the first time they have seen
“antyodaya” (welfare of the
most deprived) being realised
through a number of schemes.
“These people spread
rumours, lies and create atmos-
phere of imaginary fear like
Constitution will be changed,
reservation will end, land will
be taken away. All these
rumours are lies,” Modi said,
lashing out at the party’s polit-
ical opponents.
“What they are doing will
hurt the country in the long
run. Therefore, the BJP work-
ers have to stay alert and warn
people about the truth.”
“BJP means defeating the
dynasty-based politics. It
means an opportunity to able
leadership. It means trans-
parency and good governance.
It means ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka
Vikaas, Sabka Vishwas’,” he
said.
“Parties that began with the
help of local aspirations became
a family-based party later.
Parties that were wearing a
mask of secularism are finally
being unmasked,” he said.
C=A067D=0C70Q D108
The Maharashtra
Government and former
State Home Minister Anil
Deshmukh on Tuesday moved
the Supreme Court challenging
the Bombay High Court’s order
instituting a “Preliminary
Enquiry” (PE) by the CBI into
the serious charges of
corruption made against
Deshmukh by Mumbai’s for-
mer Police Commissioner
Param Bir Singh.
This even as a CBI team on
Tuesday reached Mumbai to
probe the corruption allega-
tions against Deshmukh fol-
lowing the HC’s directive.
During its stay in Mumbai,
the team will record the state-
ments of Singh who was a peti-
tioner in the matter before the
Bombay High Court and col-
lect documents as part of the
PE, sources said.
They said the probe has
started as a notification from
the Department of Personnel
and Training is not required in
cases referred by the High
Courts and the Supreme
Court.
While officials remained
tight-lipped, sources said a
Superintendent of Police from
the Indian Police Service has
been made the Investigating
Officer of the case and the team
also comprises a Joint Director
and a Deputy Inspector
General of Police for supervi-
sion of the enquiry.
In his plea filed on March
25, Singh had sought the CBI
probe against Deshmukh who,
he claimed, had asked police
officers, including suspended
Assistant Police Inspector
Sachin Waze, to extort C100
crore from 1,700 bars and
restaurants in Mumbai.
However, Deshmukh has
denied the alleged wrongdo-
ings.
Earlier, Singh had peti-
tioned the apex court seeking
a CBI probe in the matter. But
the top court directed him to
approach the High Court for
relief.
In a Special Leave Petition
(SPL) before the Supreme
Court, the Maharashtra
Government urged the apex
court to set aside Monday’s
order by the High Court direct-
ing the CBI to conduct a PE
into the allegations of graft
against Deshmukh, who
resigned from his post as the
State Home Minister shortly
after a HC Bench passed an
order against him.
?=BQ =4F34;78
As stand-offs continue at
some friction points at the
Line of Actual Control (LAC)
in Ladakh, Russia on Tuesday
assured India it will not forge
any military alliance with
China. Making this assertion,
visiting Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov also
said Moscow and New Delhi
will further strengthen their
defence and strategic ties.
The Russian Minister’s
statement after holding detailed
discussions with his Indian
counterpart S Jaishankar came
days before the likely 11th
round of Corps Commander
level talks between India and
China at the LAC on April 9.
The two commanders are like-
ly to discuss the possible dis-
engagement plan from face-off
sites like Hot Spring and Gogra,
sources said here.
Meanwhile, Jaishankar and
Lavrov reviewed the entire
gamut of their time-tested ties
and economic co-operation
besides fast-developing situa-
tion in Afghanistan. The two
Ministers also discussed
President Putin’s likely visit to
New Delhi later this year for the
annual summit with Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
Lavrov is on a two-day visit.
The two leaders also issued
a joint statement in which
Jaishankar said they discussed
the connectivity, including the
International North-South
Transport Corridor and
Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime
Corridor. The two Ministers
reviewed longstanding part-
nership in nuclear, space and
defence sectors, Jaishankar
said.
He also said the two
Ministers focused on prepara-
tions for Putin’s visit for the
annual summit with Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
%hVVdTcZeZTR]+4V_ecV
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
On a day when Delhi
recorded 5,100 new
Covid-19 cases, highest this
year, and 17 deaths in a day, the
Delhi Government on Tuesday
imposed seven-hour long night
curfew with immediate effect
for this entire month as an
emergency measure for the
“wellbeing and safety” of peo-
ple.
However, it exempted peo-
ple of certain professions from
the curfew.
The decision was taken
after the Delhi Disaster
Management Authority
(DDMA) after it reviewed the
Covid-19 situation in the city.
The DDMA order for curfew
from 10 pm to 5 am will con-
tinue till April 30.
People travelling during
curfew hours for Covid-19
vaccination will require a soft
or hard copy of an e-pass
which can be obtained from the
website Delhi.Gov.In.
According to the order
issued by the chief secretary
and chairperson of the execu-
tive body of DDMA, a sudden
increase in Covid-19 cases in
the recent past along with a
high positivity rate has been
observed in Delhi.
“It is felt that night curfew
needs to be imposed in the
NCT (National Capital
Territory) of Delhi from 10 pm
to 5 am, except for essential
activities and services, as an
emergency measure for the
wellbeing and safety of people,”
the order
stated.
1LJKWFXUIHZLQ'HOKLFLWORJV
HDU¶VKLJKHVWGDLOFRXQWDW
H`_¶eW`cXV^Z]ZeRcjeZVdhZeY
4YZ_RCfddZRRddfcVd:_UZR
*RRGQHZVFRPHV
DKHDGRI/$WDONV
4V_ecVRaac`gVd
Raa`Z_e^V_e`W
DVTjdDa]DVTjd
DT`eTYcf^`fcdSjcZgR]d+ `UZ
30VDVWKHUH
LVFRQVSLUDFWR
FUHDWHSROLWLFDO
LQVWDELOLW
-XVWLFH1XWKDODSDWL
5DPDQDWRWDNHRDWK
DV-, RQ$SULO
7DUXQ%DMDMQHZ
5HYHQXH6HF
3HRSOH¶VSDUWLFLSDWLRQYLWDOWRFRQWDLQQGRYLGZDYHVDV*RYW
Bijapur: The outlawed CPI
(Maoist) has claimed that
CoBRA commando Rakeshwar
Singh Manhas, who went miss-
ing after the April 3 ambush in
Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, is
in captivity of ultras, and asked
the State Government to
appoint interlocutors for his
release.
The Maoists have, howev-
er, not raised any formal
demands for the release of the
commando.
Police are verifying the
authenticity of the statement,
purportedly issued by
the outlaws.
The banned outfit also
admitted that four of its cadres
were killed in the encounter in
which 22 security personnel
had lost their lives.
Constable Rakeshwar
Singh Manhas of the 210th
CoBRA battalion, an elite unit
of CRPF, had gone missing
after the gunfight along the
border of Sukma and Bijapur
districts last
Saturday.
43:SVXZ_dV_bfZcj
Z_e`XcRWeT`^a]RZ_e
Sjf^SRZVi4A
RXRZ_de5VdY^fY
4CA7^R_Zd`fc
TRaeZgVRaa`Z_e
Z_eVc]`Tfe`cd
dRjR`Zded
New Delhi: Over 43 lakh
Covid-19 vaccine doses were
administered in a span 24
hours on April 5, the highest
single-day coverage, taking
the total doses given in the
country so far to 8,31,10,926,
said the Health Ministry.
0c#[PZWWXVWTbcbX]V[TSPhePRRX]PcX^]X]8]SXP
([0DKD+0PRYHV6
DJDLQVW+SUREHRUGHU
?=BQ 274==08
C78ADE0=0=C70?DA0
:;:0C0
The alarming situation of
Covid-19 didn’t deter the
voters from coming out in
large numbers in Assam, West
Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and
Puducherry to exercise their
franchise in the Assembly elec-
tions on Tuesday.
Keeping with the trend of
high voters turnout in earlier
phase of the staggered elec-
tions, Bengal also kept its tra-
dition of poll violence and
allegations and counter allega-
tion of rigging. Stray incidents
of clashes between workers of
rival parties were also report-
ed in other States.
In Kerala, while the Left is
hoping to beat anti-incum-
bency to retain power, the BJP
is making efforts to make
inroads, nearly 74 per cent
polling was recorded till 7 pm.
There was 63.47 per cent vot-
ing in Tamil Nadu for 234
Assembly constituencies and
77.90 per cent in Puducherry
till 5 pm. Both Kerala and
Tamil Nadu have seen changes
of Government in successive
elections in the
past.
The three-phase Assembly
election culminated in Assam
with nearly 79 per cent polling
in the final round in the State
where the ruling BJP is battling
the Congress-led alliance to
retain power, while the trend of
high turnout and violence dur-
ing polling continued in West
Bengal as the ruling Trinamool
Congress, the BJP and the
Left-Congress alliance put up
an intense fight in the high-
stakes contest.
Five candidates, including
two women, were assaulted in
poll-related clashes as over 77
per cent voting was recorded in
31 seats in West Bengal till 5
pm in the third phase.
Violence was reported in areas
like Uluberia, Khanakul, Falta,
Canning Purba, Durbrajpur
and Hooghly, where a BJP
supporter’s family member was
killed. The State is having
eight-phase elections.
DMK Lok Sabha MP
Kanimozhi, who is being treat-
ed for Covid-19, voted at a
polling station in Chennai,
wearing a Personal Protective
equipment kit. In Tamil Nadu,
both the Dravidian parties
AIADMK and DMK went into
the election without their stal-
warts, J Jayalalithaa and M
Karunanidhi.
%HQJDO$VVDP.HUDOD
71VHHKXJHWXUQRXW
Uluberia (WB): Four EVMs
and a similar Number of
VVPATs were found at the
house of a Trinamool
Congress leader in West
Bengal’s Howrah district, fol-
lowing which a poll official
was suspended, a senior offi-
cer said on Tuesday. The inci-
dent happened in Tulsiberia
village in the Uluberia Uttar
Assembly segment, he said.
4EBEE?0CB5D=30CC2;4034A´B
74?;;558280;BDB?4=343
CC0;20B4B)
!!(#'#'%
340C7B) %$'$
A42E4A43)
$#%
02C8E4)''$$!
4`gZU*
:?:?5:2
070A0B7CA0)$''$
:4A0;0) # (
:0A=0C0:0) !%$'#
0=37A0?A034B7)( (#
34;78) %'$%!
0WTP[cWf^aZTaR^[[TRcbbP_[TbU^acWT2^eXS (cTbcX]=Tf3T[WX^]CdTbSPh
AP]YP]3XaXk?X^]TTa
19?]PcX^]P[_aTbXST]c9?=PSSPfXcW_Pach[TPSTabP]Sf^aZTab[XbcT]c^?aXT
X]XbcTa=PaT]SaP^SXbPSSaTbbb_TPZX]VeXPeXST^[X]Z^]cWT^RRPbX^]^U
19?´bBcWP_P]P3XfPb5^d]SPcX^]3PhPc19?7@X]=Tf3T[WX^]CdTbSPh ?C8
AdbbXP]5^aTXV]X]XbcTaBTaVTh;Pea^eP]S4gcTa]P[0UUPXabX]XbcTa
BdQaPWP]hP9PXbWP]ZPaPccT]SPY^X]c]TfbR^]UTaT]RTU^[[^fX]VcWTXacP[ZbX]
=Tf3T[WX^]CdTbSPh 0?
:_UZRcVT`cUdR]]eZ^VYZXY
=4`gZUTRdVdZ_#%Ycd
/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=F43=4B30H0?A8; !! *?064B !C!
@A:?:@?'
H0=0A2D?
20D;3A=B84AB
2G6?F6D!
0:4020A44A8=
2H14AB42DA8CH
m
m
H@C=5)
B7C8=2782060B6D=58A4
4AD?CB3DA8=6B834F0;:5867C
@1D5H39D54
6?B4589
31@D193I
!C@?BD

2. ]PcX^]!
347A03D=kF43=4B30H k0?A8; !!
$OWKRXJKHYHUSRVVLEOHFDUHDQGFDXWLRQKDVEHHQWDNHQWRDYRLGHUURUVRURPLVVLRQVWKLVSXEOLFDWLRQLVEHLQJVROGRQWKHFRQGLWLRQDQGXQGHUVWDQGLQJWKDWLQIRUPDWLRQJLYHQLQWKLVSXEOLFDWLRQLVPHUHOIRUUHIHUHQFHDQGPXVWQRWEHWDNHQDVKDYLQJDXWKRULWRIRUELQGLQJLQDQZDRQWKHZULWHUVHGLWRUVSXEOLVKHUVDQGSULQWHUVDQGVHOOHUVZKRGRQRWRZHDQUHVSRQVLELOLWIRUDQ
GDPDJHRUORVVWRDQSHUVRQDSXUFKDVHURIWKLVSXEOLFDWLRQRUQRWIRUWKHUHVXOWRIDQDFWLRQWDNHQRQWKHEDVLVRIWKLVZRUN$OOGLVSXWHVDUHVXEMHFWWRWKHH[FOXVLYHMXULVGLFWLRQRIFRPSHWHQWFRXUWDQGIRUXPVLQ'HOKL1HZ'HOKLRQO5HDGHUVDUHDGYLVHGDQGUHTXHVWHGWRYHULIDQGVHHNDSSURSULDWHDGYLFHWRVDWLVIWKHPVHOYHVDERXWWKHYHUDFLWRIDQNLQGRIDGYHUWLVHPHQWEHIRUH
UHVSRQGLQJWRDQFRQWHQWVSXEOLVKHGLQWKLVQHZVSDSHU7KHSULQWHUSXEOLVKHUHGLWRUDQGDQHPSORHHRIWKH3LRQHHU*URXS·VZLOOQRWEHKHOGUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIFODLPPDGHEWKHDGYHUWLVHUVRIWKHSURGXFWV VHUYLFHVDQGVKDOOQRWEHPDGHUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIORVVFRQVHTXHQFHVDQGIXUWKHUSURGXFWUHODWHGGDPDJHVRQVXFKDGYHUWLVHPHQWV
?=BQ 347A03D=
In an attempt to intensify
their protest against the
Uttarakhand government, the
protesting outsourced employ-
ees of Uttarakhand Purva
Sainik Kalyan Nigam Limited
(UPNL) began an indefinite
hunger strike from Tuesday.
The protestors said that they
are disappointed that despite
making promises to work
towards the issues of the out-
sourced employees, nothing
has been initiated by the State
government so far. According
to the president of the UPNL
Employees Union, Kushagra
Joshi, the government had stat-
ed that a subcommittee has
been formed for the consider-
ation of the issues raised by
contractual UPNL employees
about two weeks ago but since
then, no initiative was taken by
the government.
According to him, they
have been protesting peaceful-
ly for the past 44
days at the protest
site in Ekta Vihar
and the govern-
ment has still failed
to take any positive
decision even after
promising it last
month. The chief
convenor of the
union, Mahesh
Bhatt has also writ-
ten a letter to the
chief secretary of Uttarakhand
to inform him about the indef-
inite hunger strike of the
protesting employees. Bhatt
wrote in the letter that none of
the representatives of the asso-
ciation has been called to have
any dialogue with the govern-
ment regarding the issues of the
protestors since the govern-
ment constituted the subcom-
mittee on March 25.
He further mentioned that
the government recently ter-
minated the services of 59
UPNL employees from the tax
department which has shaken
their faith in the intentions of
the State government. He
stressed that the lack of pro-
testors’ trust in the government
is the main reason due to
which four protesting employ-
ees, Mahesh Bhatt, Garima
Dobhal, Yogendra Badoni and
Deepa Negi started the indef-
inite hunger strike from
Tuesday. The association also
made it clear that it will not
back out until the government
takes concrete decision on their
demands.
?=BQ 347A03D=
AMountain Terrain Bike
(MTB) hike was recently
organised by Indian Military
Academy (IMA) Dehradun as
part of as part of the midterm
break activities for the
Gentlemen Cadets (GC). A
communiqué from the IMA
says, ‘The spirit of adventure
remains at the core of military
training at IMA. A team com-
prising 48 Gentlemen Cadets
and three Officers of the acad-
emy covered a distance of
about 450 km over seven days
before returning to
Academy. The GCs traversed
places like Nagthat,
Lakhamandal, Andie village
and Moriyana Top.
The hike provided an expo-
sure to Gentlemen Cadets to
local places of cultural and his-
torical heritage value as well as
an opportunity to interact with
local citizens.
?=BQ 347A03D=
In what could prove to be a
major relief amidst forest
fires and rising level of mercury
in the state, the state meteoro-
logical centre has forecast light
to moderate rain/thunderstorm
at many places in Uttarakhand
on Wednesday. Further, snow-
fall is likely to occur at places
situated at altitude of 3200
metres and above. The meteo-
rological centre has also issued
a warning about hail/lightning
likely to occur at isolated places
in Uttarkashi, Chamoli,
Bageshwar, Nainital, Almora
and Pithoragarh districts.
Further, gusty wind (40-50
kmph) is likely to occur at iso-
lated places in the plains of
Uttarakhand.
Dehradun is forecast to
experience partly cloudy sky
with light rain/thunderstorm
likely to occur in some areas.
Gusty wind (30-40kmph) is
also likely to occur in some
areas with the maximum and
minimum temperatures likely
to be around 33 degrees Celsius
and 18 degrees Celsius respec-
tively.
?=BQ
347A03D=
Bu d d h a ’ s
House of
Mirrors, a short
book on simple
spirituality by
Shukla Ji is a book
which helps the
reader find
answers to ques-
tions which
revolve in the
mind. The con-
versation penned
by the author
makes it quite dif-
ferent from other
books while also
enabling the
reader to relate.
The book
puts the focus
back on the
observer - the
true self which
observes as the individuals
routinely play different roles
going through different emo-
tions and stories of success and
failures. The author focuses on
removing the reader from his
or her own way to a blissful life
and does so through rational
arguments than take a feel-
good preachy route.
?=BQ 347A03D=
In view of increasing Covid-
19 cases in Rishikesh, the
Dehradun district administra-
tion has acquired Bharat
Bhumi Tourist complex,
GMVN in Rishikesh to utilise
it as a Covid care centre.
According to the district mag-
istrate Ashish Kumar
Srivastava, several people are
arriving in Rishikesh from var-
ious States due to the ongoing
Kumbh Mela. He asserted that
the number of positive patients
of Covid-19 has also increased
considerably in the last few
days in the Rishikesh
area.
Considering the increasing
number of patients in the hos-
pitals, Srivastava said that the
administration decided to take
over Bharat Bhumi Tourist
Complex, GMVN as a Covid
care centre to provide necessary
medical help to the
patients.
He also appealed to people
to avoid crowded areas during
the ongoing Kumbh Mela if
they experience fever, cough
and cold and advised them to
get tested for Covid-19 while
following all the guidelines.
,0$'HKUDGXQ
RUJDQLVHV07%KLNH
2eTTXQµc8_ecU_V=Ybb_bc°
bUVUSdY^Wc`YbYdeQYdi
FTPcWTac^
cPZTPcda]
fXcWaPX]
U^aTRPbcX]
BcPcTc^SPh
3XbcaXRc
PSX]XbcaPcX^]
PR`dXaTb6E=
_a^_Tachc^
aTbcaXRc2^eXS (
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Punjab Government has
finally handed over the cus-
tody of gangster-turned-politi-
cian Mukhtar Ansari, after his
two years long stay in Punjab’s
jail in an extortion case, to the
Uttar Pradesh Police on
Tuesday.
A team of UP police, which
reached Ropar on Tuesday
morning, officially took
Ansari’s custody from Ropar
jail authorities to transfer him
to Banda prison. After com-
pleting a journey of about 900
kilometres, Ansari will reach
Banda on Wednesday morning
and will be kept in Barack No.
15 of the district jail.
The transfer comes fol-
lowing a legal battle between
UP and Punjab over Ansari in
the Supreme Court. The Apex
Court had ordered Anari’s
transfer from Punjab’s Ropar
jail to Uttar Pradesh’s Banda jail
within two weeks.
BSP MLA from Uttar
Pradesh’s Mau constituency,
Ansari had been lodged in the
Ropar jail since January 2019 in
connection with an extortion
case. Ansari is facing 52 cases
in his home state and elsewhere
and 15 of them are in the trial
stage.Earlier, a convoy of six UP
Police vehicles, one Vajra vehi-
cle, and an ambulance from
Banda, headed by a DSP, along
with around 40 other police
personnel and a medical team
reached Ropar at about 4:30
am, a senior Punjab police
official said.
The team arrived at the jail
at noon after registering its
attendance at a police station in
Ropar. First, the Ropar jail
administration got Ansari’s
medical check-up done, fol-
lowed by another checkup by
the medical team from UP
before taking custody. The
team left at about 2 pm after the
completion of legal formalities.
Heavy security arrange-
ments were made by the
Punjab Police outside the
Ropar jail. Barricades were
also put by the police on the
road leading to the jail.
The five-time MLA is a his-
tory-sheeter in
Mohammadabad police sta-
tion of Ghazipur district. The
cases are lodged at various
police stations in different dis-
tricts, including Lucknow,
Ghazipur and Mau. While
Ansari has been acquitted in
most of these cases, he still
faces trial in some of them.
The gangster had been
lodged in Punjab jail since
January 2019 after he was
booked for extortion (Section
386 of Indian Penal Code) and
criminal intimidation (Section
506 of the IPC) on the com-
plaint of the Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of Homeland
Group engaged in real estate
business in Punjab and the
National Capital Region.
In his complaint to the
Mohali SSP, the CEO had stat-
ed that on January 9, 2019
evening he answered a call
from a person who introduced
himself as “some Ansari from
UP” and asked him to pay up
Rs 10 crore if he wanted to
ensure the safety of his family.
The complainant said he had
recorded the call. The police
lodged an FIR in which Ansari
was named as the accused with
his address as Banda, Uttar
Pradesh.
The Punjab Police brought
Ansari on a production warrant
from Banda jail in UP about a
fortnight after the registration
of this case. He has been lodged
in the Ropar jail since then.
On March 26, while hear-
ing a plea of Uttar Pradesh gov-
ernment, the Supreme Court
had directed the Punjab
Government to hand over
Ansari’s custody to UP, saying
that it was being denied on triv-
ial grounds under the guise of
medical issues. It had also said
that a convict or an under-trial
prisoner, who disobeys the law
of the land, cannot oppose his
transfer from one prison to
another and the courts are not
to be helpless bystanders when
the rule of law is being chal-
lenged with impunity
On April 3, Punjab Home
Department wrote to their UP
counterparts to take over the
custody of the gangsters on or
before April 8. “It is, hence,
requested that suitable arrange-
ments for transfer of the under-
trial prisoner Mukhtar Ansari
from District Jail, Roopnagar
(Ropar) may be made and the
said transfer/handover be
effected,” read the April 3 let-
ter by Punjab Additional Chief
Secretary (Home) Anurag
Agarwal to UP ACS (Home)
Avnish Kumar Awasthi.
“It is also mentioned that
prisoner Mukhtar Ansari has
certain medical conditions and
the same may be kept in mind
while making arrangements
for the transport from District
Jail Roopnagar to District Jail,
Banda, UP,” the correspon-
dence by Punjab ACS (Home)
read further.
During the hearing in the
top court, the UP government
had accused the Punjab gov-
ernment of “shamelessly pro-
tecting” Ansari by not handing
over his custody to face trial “in
10 heinous cases of murder,
extortion, cheating, fraud” and
“gangster acts” in the special
court for MPs and MLAs in
Allahabad.
2WeVceh`jVRcd2_dRcZSRTe`FA
?D=901?;824
70=3BE4A
60=6BC4A´B
2DBC3H ?=BQ 270=3860A7
Ranking third in the coun-
try’s tele-density, the
Punjab Government has decid-
ed to increase the telecom
infrastructure further to ensure
fast track growth of digital
communication network and
provide affordable and univer-
sal access of broadband for all
in the border state. The state’s
telecom infrastructure density
was already almost double than
the national average.
Presently, Punjab’s telecom
infrastructuredensitywas0.7per
1,000population,ascomparedto
0.42 per 1,000 national average
an aim to top the country in
respect of best telecom infra-
structureandnetwork,theChief
Secretary Vini Mahajan on
Tuesday issued directions to
expeditetheprocessofclearance
for installation of more telecom
infrastructure in the State. She
also asked the Housing and
Urban Development and
Science, Technology and
Environment Departments to
adopt the State Telecom Policy,
aimed at increasing the telecom
density, to bridge the digital
divide in the border state.
3XQMDE
UDQNVWKLUGLQ
FRXQWU¶V
WHOHGHQVLW
C8?AE4C4;42
8=5A05A14CC4A
=4CFA:
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Haryana will now be mak-
ing online transfers for
cadre above 300 posts in every
department.
The Chief Minister
Manohar Lal on Tuesday gave
directions in this regard. He
was presiding over a meeting of
officers of various departments
at his office here.
During the meeting, he
directed to implement the
online transfer policy in all
departments.
The Chief Minister direct-
ed to make all necessary
arrangements for implement-
ing online transfer policy in all
departments by April 30.
He said that if an employ-
ee is in the district cadre and
wants to go to another district,
then he should be given the
option to do so.
7PahP]Pc^PZT
^][X]TcaP]bUTabX]
ST_cbfXcWRPSaT
PQ^eT_^bc
?=BQ :DAD:B74CA0
The farmers, protesting
against three central farm
laws, on Tuesday attacked the
vehicle of Kurukshetra MP
Nayab Singh Saini and
smashed the windscreen of
his car.
The MP was not in the
SUV when the protesters at
Shahbad Markanda targeted
it.
The farmers were sitting
on a dharna in front of the
Jannayak Janta Party MLA
Ram Karan Kala’s home when
they learnt that the MP had
reached a BJP worker’s home
in nearby Majri mohalla.
They ‘gheraoed’ the resi-
dence of the BJP worker,
raised anti-BJP slogans and
waved black flags, while Saini
was having tea inside the
house.
According to Saini, when
he tried to leave the place over
50 protesters gheraoed it. A
few of them jumped over the
vehicle while someone
smashed the windscreen with
a stone or a lathi, he said. He
said it was with great diffi-
culty that police got him out
of the area in the SUV. The
situation had become tense
and a heavy police force was
deployed in the area.
The MP said those who
indulge in acts of violence
against elected representa-
tives cannot be farmers. Such
people are defaming farmers,
he added.
K u r u k s h e t r a
Superintendent of Police
Himanshu Garg said police
are investigating the matter
and would file a case against
those found responsible for
the violence.
Notably, Shahbad is the
hometown of Gurnam Singh
Charuni, state president of
Bhartiya Kissan Union. The
area has remained the epi-
centre of the farmers’ agita-
tion. The Kurukshetra inci-
dent is the latest in a series of
protests by farmers against
ruling BJP-JJP coalition lead-
ers in Haryana. Farmer lead-
ers have said they would con-
tinue their peaceful social
boycott of leaders from the
BJP and its allies.
On Saturday, farmers had
held a protest against Haryana
Chief Minister Manohar Lal
Khattar in Rohtak, forcing
authorities to shift the land-
ing site for his helicopter.
Farmers also held a protest
last week against Deputy
Chief Minister Dushyant
Chautala outside Hisar air-
port.
C74H²674A043³
C74A4B834=245
C7419?FA:4A
A08B430=C819?
B;60=B0=3
F0E431;02:
5;06B
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Haryana Deputy Chief
Minister Dushyant
Chautala on Tuesday said that
during the ongoing procure-
ment season, more than one
lakh metric tonnes of wheat
have so far arrived in the man-
dis and all of it has been pro-
cured by the government.
“The State Government is
giving a minimum support
price (MSP) on not one, but six
crops to the farmers. It is our
objective to procure the crops
of the farmers properly, get it
lifted as soon as possible and
make payments directly to the
farmers' accounts,” the Deputy
Chief Minister said while tak-
ing to the mediapersons after
paying homage at Chaudhary
Devi Lal memorial ‘Sangharsh
Sthal' located in New Delhi on
the occasion of death anniver-
sary of the former Deputy
Prime Minister.
Commenting on the ongo-
ing farmers’ agitation against
three central farm laws,
Dushyant appealed to the
leaders of the agitating farmers
that they should come for-
ward to discuss the issues with
the government, as the avenues
of the Central Government
are open for continued discus-
sion. He said that if 40 farmer
leaders who lead the movement
are ready for talks with the
Centre, then all possible coop-
eration will be extended on
behalf of the government.
Dushyant said that
Chaudhary Devi Lal had envi-
sioned that the farmers should
be paid directly for their crop
which the State Government is
fulfilling by making payments
directly to the farmers' account.
Chaudhary Devi Lal had played
an important role in bringing
political and social change in the
country and the younger gen-
eration should learn about his
life struggle, he added.Earlier,
former MP Ajay Singh Chautala
and others also paid floral trib-
utes to former Deputy Prime
Minister, Chaudhary Devi Lal at
the memorial.
GOVT FAILS TO ENSURE
SMOOTH WHEAT PRO-
CUREMENT, ALLEGES
HOODA
Former Haryana Chief
Minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda on Tuesday claimed
that about eight lakh farmers in
the state have so far not been
able to register on the crop reg-
istration portal thus facing
problems to sell their produce.
“While the State
Government is making tall
claims on smooth wheat pro-
curement, its ‘Meri Fasal, Mera
Byora’ portal is not able to han-
dle the traffic of 16 lakh farm-
ers. Only 50 percent farmers
i.e. around 8 lakh farmers have
been able to get the registration
done so far because the portal
server has been down,” said
Hooda, who is also Leader of
Opposition while talking to the
mediapersons here.
@gVc]RYEe`__Vd
ac`TfcVUeZ]]_`h+4YRfeR]R
F740C?A2DA44=C
@fed`fcTVUFA?=deRWW
deRceYf_XVcdecZV
8QbiQ^Q2:@=@CQY^Yµc
SQbR_S[UTRiVQb]Ubc
gY^TcSbUU^c]QcXUT
3ULQWHGDQGSXEOLVKHGE$MLW6LQKDIRUDQGRQEHKDOIRI0.3ULQWHFK/WGSXEOLVKHGDW8QLJDWH*HQHUDO0HGLD3YW/WG2OG1HKUXRORQ2SS8WWDUDNKDQG-DO6DQVWKDQ'KDUDPSXU'HKUDGXQ3K0RE DQGSULQWHGDW$PDU8MDOD3XEOLFDWLRQV/WG3ORW1R+WR+6HODTXL,QGXVWUL
DO$UHD'HKUDGXQ8WWDUDNKDQG(GLWRUKDQGDQ0LWUD$,5685+$5*(RI5H(DVWDOFXWWD5DQFKL%KXEDQHVZDU1RUWK/HK:HVW0XPEDL $KPHGDEDG6RXWK%DQJDORUH KHQQDLHQWUDO.KDMXUDKR'HOKL2IILFH1R%HKLQG*XODE%KDZDQ %DKDGXU6KDK=DIDU0DUJ1HZ'HOKL3KRQH
RPPXQLFDWLRQ2IILFH)6HFWRU12,'$*DXWDP%XGK1DJDU83
3KRQH /XFNQRZ2IILFHWK)ORRU6DKDUD6KRSSLQJHQWUH)DL]DEDG5RDG/XFNQRZ7HOHSKRQHV

3. 347A03D=kF43=4B30H k0?A8; !! dccPaPZWP]S
?=BQ 347A03D=
The prediction of the health
experts about a massive
surge in the cases of Covid-19
after the festival of Holi and
with advent of Kumbh in
Haridwar is proving to be
right. On Tuesday the state
health department reported a
staggering 791 cases of the
disease which is the highest sin-
gle day surge in the Covid cases
in this year. On December 10
last year the state had 830
cases and after that 791 is the
highest single day case load in
the state on Tuesday. The
department also reported death
of seven patients of the disease
on the day which increased the
death toll in the state to
1736.
The authorities discharged
351 patients from different
hospitals of the state following
their recovery on Tuesday. A
total of 103602 patients have
recovered from the disease in
the state and the recovery per-
centage is now at 93.29 and the
sample positivity rate is 3.59
percent.
The authorities reported
303 new cases of the disease
from Dehradun, 185 from
Haridwar, 107 from Nainital,
75 from Tehri, 45 from
Pithoragarh, 41 from Udham
Singh Nagar, 11 from
Bageshwar, seven from
Uttarkashi, six from Almora,
five from Rudraprayag, three
from Chamoli, two from
Champawat and one from
Pauri on Tuesday.
The health department
reported the death of three
patients at All India Institute of
Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
Rishikesh on Tuesday. One
patient each succumbed to
Covid 19 in Kailash hospital,
Himalayan hospital, Synergy
hospital Dehradun on the day.
One patient was reported at
Sushila Tiwari government
hospital Haldwani on
Tuesday.
The state now has 3607
active patients of the disease.
Dehradun continues to be at
the top of the table of active
cases of the disease with 1446
patients, Haridwar has 1010,
Nainital 344, Tehri 232, Udham
Singh Nagar 130, Pauri 126,
Almora 71, Pithoragarh 61,
Uttarkashi 56, Bageshwar 54,
Rudraprayag 36, Champawat
24 and Chamoli 17 active cases
of Covid-19.
In the ongoing vaccination
drive against the disease, 60214
people were vaccinated in dif-
ferent parts of the state on
Tuesday which is the highest in
a day. In the state 150186 peo-
ple have been fully vaccinated
so far as they have received
both the first and second dose
of the vaccine. The Chief
Operations Officer (COO) of
state Covid-19 control room,
Dr Abhishek Tripathi said that
647 vaccine sessions were
organised in different parts of
the state on Tuesday. In
Dehradun 119 vaccine ses-
sions were organised in which
10945 persons above 45 years
of age, 185 healthcare workers
and 198 frontline workers were
vaccinated on Monday. In
Haridwar 140 sessions were
organised on the day.
BTeT]
STPcWb(
]TfRPbTb
aT_^acTS^]
CdTbSPh
?=BQ 347A03D=
The surge in the number of
cases of Covid-19 in
Uttarakhand has put the edu-
cation department of the state
on an alert mode. It is learnt
that the state government could
take a decision to close the
school again for some time to
prevent the students from
falling victim to the contagion
of the Covid-19.
The demand for closing the
school has started growing
louder from the parents and
civil society. It is worth men-
tioning here that the schools in
Uttarakhand were closed in the
last week of March 2020 when
the pandemic of Covid-19
started in the state. The pres-
ident of the National
Association for Parents and
Students Rights (NAPSR) Arif
Khan said that the state gov-
ernment should immediately
order closure of schools. He
said that the guidelines of the
Covid-19 prevention are not
being followed in the schools
and the students are under
threat in the schools.
The education department
opened the schools for students
of class X and XII were opened
in the month of November last
year while the students of class-
es VI, VII, VII, IX and XI were
opened on February 8 this
year.
When contacted the
Education Minister Arvind
Pandey told The Pioneer that
the decision on the schools
would be taken after reviewing
the situation with the officials
in Dehradun on Wednesday.
He however added that no
compromise would be made on
the safety of the students.
*RYWFRXOGRUGHU
VFKRROFORVXUHDV
RYLGFDVHVULVH
FX[[]^c
R^_a^XbT
^]bPUTch^U
RWX[SaT]
bPhb0aeX]S
?P]STh
?=BQ 347A03D=
Chief Minister
Tirath Singh
Rawat said that
c o n s i d e r i n g
Covid-19, all nec-
essary precautions
will be observed
while ensuring a
divine and grand
Kumbh Mela. The
CM said this after
inaugurating 31
schemes of vari-
ous departments
worth Rs 153.73
crore under the
Kumbh Mela in
Haridwar on
Tuesday. Rawat
also inspected Chandighat, Har
Ki Paidi, various camps and
Ghats along with the media
centre on the occasion. He
told officials that no short-
coming will be tolerated in the
Kumbh.
The CM said that the state
government is working full
time to ensure that all facilities
are provided to the Akhadas.
Stating that the government is
with the religious fraternity, he
said that the government will
put in all effort in the short
period. Pointing at the impor-
tance of the Haridwar Kumbh,
he said that it should be divine
and grand, while adding that it
is also essential to follow the
Covid guidelines. Stating that
officials had served the public
without caring for themselves
during the Covid pandemic, he
said that the officials who had
done good work will be felici-
tated.
Speaking on the occasion,
Urban Development minister
Banshidhar Bhagat said that the
works inaugurated by the CM
will speed up development in
Haridwar and the state. Vidhan
Sabha speaker Prem Chand
Agrawal said that after recov-
ering from Covid, the CM had
come to attend the Kumbh
which shows his faith and seri-
ousness.
Earlier the CM offered
prayers at Har Ki Paidi.
?=BQ 347A03D=
In order to facilitate
better communication
with the public, chief
minister Tirath Singh
Rawat has changed his
bullet-proof SUV for a
non-bullet proof Innova
vehicle. The CM has
decided to travel in the
non-bullet proof vehicle
to public programmes.
According to sources,
as the earlier SUV was
bullet proof, its win-
dows could not be rolled
down which was ham-
pering communication
with the public. Two
days after testing negative for
Covid-19, the CM resumed his
public engagements on
Tuesday meeting a number of
citizens at the Bijapur house,
listening to their problems and
directing action to resolve the
same. Stating that the public is
supreme, Rawat said that
resolving the problems of the
people is the government’s
duty. Attempts are being made
to resolve the issues of the pub-
lic at the local level. The virtu-
al night Chaupal is being
organised with this in mind. He
said that officials have been
strictly instructed to ensure that
citizens do not have to make
unnecessary visits to get their
work done.
3A1:BB0=90H
The World Health Day is
commemorated on April 7
each year. The occasion is
aimed at creating awareness of
a specific health theme to high-
light a priority area of concern
for the World Health
Organisation (WHO). This
year WHO theme is to build a
fairer, healthier world.
The troika of Health,
Education and Nutrition
(HEN) are the basic pillars of
development and it is unfortu-
nate that both the government
and society are ignoring these
basic principles, hence the
country is paying a heavy price.
Health is not only an asset but
also a resource which must be
nurtured.The people associat-
ed with this sector should not
work with the sole purpose of
commercial benefit, their
action should be based on
human ethos.
Health, as defined by
WHO is a state of complete
physical, mental and social
well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmi-
ty. Every person has a desire to
be happy and I believe that only
healthy person can be a happy.
A healthy person can do not
only his work but the work of
others as well. The ability of any
healthy person will be higher
than the unhealthy person in
every way.
Stress is the new health
problem- around 70 per cent of
diseases are stress related. Stress
has been reported as a cause
not only of diabetes, hyper-
tension, heart disease and
many musculoskeletal prob-
lems but also cancer. Breathing
exercise and meditation tech-
niques have been proven to
reduce stress by many bio feed-
back studies.The WHO has
reported that the world wide
burden of musculoskeletal
problems is increasing day by
day.
Most of these are self-cre-
ated which are caused due to
change in lifestyle. It is not dif-
ficult to change the lifestyle, it
needs a change of mind set.
The habit of alcohol, smoking
and sedentary lifestyle is work-
ing as a fuel in the fire. If an
individual can abstain from
habits of alcohol, smoking and
the sedentary work then the
result will be much
better.Abstaining from these
three can result in better
health.If one does his or her
house hold work and avoids
sedentary work, takes balanced
diet and does regular yoga
exercise and meditation then
there is fair chance that one will
lead a healthy and happy life.
If we want change in our
self then we should learn the
Buddhist philosophy about our
life being shaped by our mind-
we become what we think. As
animals, humans are basically
creatures of their environment-
humans change their action
according to the consequences
of their and others’ behaviour.
As far as health is concerned,
personal and social responsi-
bility can be found only with
behavioural changes. A clinical
research conducted by me
revealed that 90 per cent of the
road traffic accidents occurred
due to the driver’s negli-
gence.The main cause of acci-
dents in India is overtaking,
over speeding, drunken driving
and recently the use of mobile
phone while driving. All these
are behavioural problems.
Currently, road traffic
injuries are the main cause of
deformity and disability in our
country. The numbers of road
injuries are increasing day by
day. According to WHO report
there are five lakh road traffic
accidents in India every year.
Out of them almost 1.5 lakh
people are killed and a similar
number of patients end up
with deformity and disability in
spite of the best available treat-
ment in current health sce-
nario.
I think that aggression of
the road is a common scenario
on the Indian roads and it
seems that we take pride in
breaking the traffic rules while
travelling on the roads.We
should change our mind set
and take pride while following
the law.Many psychological
studies have shown that the
brain does not differentiate
between the right or wrong
action, but, any action which
you like can give you the same
kick and adrenaline rush
whether it is right or wrong in
other words lawful or unlawful.
In my opinion, it is the
responsibility of the society
and the nation that we should
be taught what is right and
what is wrong in childhood.
Had we all learnt the habit of
following the law in childhood
then things would have been
different in India today as it
rightly said that you are what
your habits are. An American
educationist Horace Mann said
that a former is worth a thou-
sand reformers. The concept
of good health should be given
in the childhood rather than in
the later stages of life.
Infection is another major
problem. The country was
already facing many infections
existing for centuries in our
country like malaria, TB and
others bacterial or viral infec-
tions. The recent Covid-19
pandemic has exposed not
only our health system but the
mind set of the general public
too. People are still not giving
importance to primordial pre-
vention of infection even after
experiencing the Covid pan-
demic. Whenever the people
forget to follow the precau-
tionary measures, these inci-
dences of infection have
increased as seen in the resur-
gence of Covid. It seems that
Covid infection came under
control and everyone was very
happy that the vaccination will
eliminate the infection but in
the last week the number of
new cases of Covid-19 surged
over one lakh cases and the
number is increasing at an
alarming rate.
It has been scientifically
proven that the 50 per cent of
the lung infection and 25 per
cent of the gut infections can be
reduced just by washing the
hands properly. Here I would
like to emphasise that we all
should take precautions to pre-
vent infection and take steps to
improve the immunity in case
of any infection.
Sleep is a fundamental
need of every living being just
like eating. No person can do
without sleep for more than 48
hours. The former prime min-
ister of Britain, Harold Wilson
has even said that the prime
minister who succeeds, is the
one who sleeps for eight hours
at his will. Those who do more
work have a better sleep cycle,
those who do not work as
much suffer from insomnia.
The lack of sleep and the influ-
ence of liquor are the main rea-
sons why night accidents are
mostly fatal.
(The writer is an
orthopaedic surgeon and
Padma Shri recipient)
+HDOWKQRWRQODQDVVHWEXWDOVRDUHVRXUFHZKLFKPXVWEHQXUWXUHG
?=BQ 347A03D=
It is due to its sense of service that the
Bharatiya Janata Party has emerged as
the largest political party in the world
with development reaching the last
beneficiary. The BJP state president
Madan Kaushik said this at the pro-
gramme held to celebrate the party’s
foundation day here on Tuesday.
Greeting the gathering which
included party state in-charge Dushyant
Kumar Gautam, chief minister Tirath
Singh Rawat, former CM Trivendra
Singh Rawat and others, Kaushik said that the
BJP is an ideological party for which the per-
son comes after the nation and organisation. He
said that the address of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and BJP national president JP Nadda was
heard at the booth to district levels in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, Gautam spoke
about the journey from Jan Sangh to BJP while
also elaborating on how to move forward with
the strength of the people. CM Tirath Singh
Rawat spoke about the progress made by the
party since 1980. Referring to the founding lead-
ers of the party, he recalled that Atal Bihari
Vajpayee had said that the darkness will be dis-
pelled, the sun will rise and the lotus will bloom.
“The BJP’s lotus is now blooming across the
nation,” said Rawat. Recalling Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh ideologue Dattopanth
Thengadi’s statement about the saffron flying
high across the nation in the 21st century, Rawat
said that the prediction is now being achieved
under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. Ex
CM Trivendra Singh Rawat also addressed the
gathering on the occasion.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The state in charge of
Congress party Devendra
Yadav accused the chief min-
ister Tirath Singh Rawat of run-
ning away from the battle of
Salt. In a statement released
after a hectic tour of the assem-
bly constituency where the by
election is due, Yadav said that
the Congress party had chal-
lenged the CM to contest from
Salt so that the state is pre-
vented from the burden of an
additional by election but the
CM preferred to run away
from the field after seeing the
report card of the four years of
the BJP government. Yadav
accused the ruling BJP for
misusing the government
machinery and resources. He
said that the workers of the
Congress party are taking the
failures of the BJP government
at booth level in Salt and the
Congress candidate would win
the election. He added that the
people of Uttarakhand are reel-
ing under the price rise, unem-
ployment and corruption in the
state and the BJP government
is engaging in exploiting peo-
ple by closing the social welfare
schemes started by the previous
Congress government. Yadav
said that the people of Salt
would give a fitting reply to the
state government in the
upcoming by election. Yadav
said that during the visit to the
rural areas he found that
Congress candidate is receiving
big support and the people of
Slat have made up their mind to send their daughter Ganga Pancholi to the state assembly.
New Tehri: The uncle of one of
the four youths who were
found dead while they went for
hunting on Saturday night in
the forest under Bal Ganga area
in Bhilangna block of Tehri dis-
trict has filed a complaint
against the missing person
allegedly involved in the inci-
dent after which the revenue
police have registered a case of
culpable homicide not amount-
ing to murder against the youth
who has been missing since the
incident.
The revenue police are
searching for the youth who
has remained missing since
the incident. Rajiv alias Rajji
(22), a resident of Khawara vil-
lage in Bhilangana block, had
gone on a hunt in the forest
with six of his friends on
Saturday night. Santosh (19), a
resident of Kundi village, died
of bullet injury under suspi-
cious circumstances on the
same night. Soban Singh (21),
Pankaj Singh (22) and Arjun
Singh (20) of Kundi village,
who were distressed at the
death of their friend purport-
edly consumed pesticides kept
in the cattle shed while Rajiv
went missing.
The bodies of four youths
were recovered when the fam-
ily members came to know
about the incident. Santosh's
uncle Balbir Singh filed a com-
plaint with the revenue police
on Sunday night stating that his
nephew had gone with Rajeev
and died due to a shot fired
from Rajeev’s gun. Revenue
police sub inspector Manohr
Singh Negi informed that on
the complaint filed by the uncle
of one of the deceased a case of
culpable homicide not amount-
ing to murder has been regis-
terd along with abetment to sui-
cide.The sub-inspector said
that so far there was no trace of
Rajeev who has been missing
since the incident. PNS
?=BQ 347A03D=
After a video recently went
viral on social media in
which a man claimed that one
of his minor students was
forcibly married to an adult
during the lockdown period,
the State Commission for
Protection of Child Rights
(SCPCR) chief Usha Negi
directed the Chamoli district
administration to investigate
the matter. While talking to
The Pioneer, Negi informed
that somebody sent her a
video on Monday in which a
man has stated that a 14 years
old girl was married to a 32
years old man during the
lockdown period by luring her
father with some
money.
The man has claimed in
the video that the girl is also
a victim of domestic violence,
said Negi. Taking cognisance
of the matter, the SCPCR got
in touch with the child welfare
committee members of the
Chamoli district who
informed Negi that the mem-
bers along with a Patwari
reached the house of the
alleged victim in the Pokhri
village of the district on
Tuesday and started the inves-
tigation. According to Negi,
the accused who married the
minor girl lives in the
Dehradun district and
allegedly beats her too. Negi
has ordered the district mag-
istrate of Chamoli to take
proper action against the cul-
prits after investigating the
matter and asked that the
investigation report be sub-
mitted to the commission
within 10 days.
According to Negi, she
recently heard about cases in
which poor and underprivi-
leged children are targeted by
some offenders from nearby
states like Haryana in the
remote areas of various dis-
tricts. Such men marry young
girls by luring their parents
with money and then nobody
knows what happens with
these minors. She added that
such cases are not generally
brought to light by anyone but
it is commendable that people
are now coming forward with
such complaints. She stressed
that it shows people trust the
government and authorities
for taking appropriate action
in such crimes against
minors.
BcaTbbTb^]
^QbTaeP]RT^U
2^eXSVdXST[X]Tb
X]:dQWT[P
2X]PdVdaPcTb STeT[^_T]c
f^aZbf^acWC $RaX]7PaXSfPa
2:@bUYdUbQdUcS_]]Yd]U^d
d_cUbfYSU_^V_e^TQdY_^TQi
ATeT]dT_^[XRTUX[TbRd[_PQ[TW^XRXST
RPbTPVPX]bch^dcWXbbX]VX]6WP]bP[X
2APfPcTePSTSBP[cRWP[[T]VT)2^]VaTbb
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Uttarakhand Congress dispatched two LED campaign vehi-
cles from Dehradun to Salt on Tuesday. The Vice President
of Uttarakhand Congress Surya Kant Dhasmana flagged off these
two vehicles from the Rajiv Bhawan on the day. These vehicles
are fitted with 80x48 inch LEDs on one side and have posters
of the Congress candidate Ganga Pancholi along with the pic-
tures of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Pritam
Singh, former chief minister Harish Rawat and in-charge of the
party Devendra Yadav. Dhasmana said that victory of Pancholi
in Salt is confirmed as the by-election would start the countdown
for downfall of BJP in the assembly election of
2022.
;43RP_PXV]eTWXR[Tb
^U2^]VaTbbU^aBP[c
635FDOOVIRUSUREHLQWR
DOOHJHGIRUFHGPDUULDJHRIPLQRU
2SXcRWTbQd[[Tc_a^^UBDEc^T]PQ[T
QTccTaR^d]XRPcX^]fXcW_dQ[XR
4`gZUcVdfcXV_TVXReYVcd
^`^V_ef^Z_FeeRcRYR_U

4. ]PcX^]#
347A03D=kF43=4B30H k0?A8; !!
?=BQ =4F34;78
Former Congress chief Rahul
Gandhi on Tuesday took a
swipe at the Government over
the Rafale fighter jet deal, say-
ing karma is the ledger of one’s
action and no one can escape
from it. He said this after a
French media report claimed
that 1.1 million Euros was paid
to a “middleman” by the air-
craft manufacturer, a charge
that was denied by the BJP as
baseless.
While Rahul has been
continuously attacking the
Modi Government on the
Rafale defence deal, the latest
response comes a day after his
party demanded a fresh inves-
tigation into the Rafale deal.
“Karma = The ledger of
one’s actions. Nobody escapes
it,” he tweeted with the hash-
tag #Rafale.
The French portal —
Mediapart — had reported
that France’s anti-corruption
agency, Agence Française
Anticorruption (AFA), found
aircraft manufacturer
Dassault Aviation had paid
one million to an Indian
company in the 7.87 billion
Rafale deal between India
and France.
Congress chief
spokesman Randeep
Surjewala said the entire
Rafale episode now require a
full and independent investi-
gation into India’s biggest
defence deal to find out as to
how much bribery and com-
mission in reality.
“If any, whom was the
bribe paid and to whom in the
Indian Government? Will
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi answer to the nation
now,” asked Surjewala at a
Press conference.
“How can middleman and
payment of commission be
permitted in a Government-
to-Government defence con-
tract or in any defence pro-
curement in India in violation
of the mandatory Defence
Procurement Procedure,”
Surjewala added.
APUP[TZXRZQPRZRPbT
APWd[cPZTbPSXVPc
19?bPhbZPaPXb
[TSVTa^U^]T´bPRcX^]
?=BQ =4F34;78
Almost rejecting requests of
two non-BJP ruled States’
Chief Ministers—Delhi and
Maharashtra—seeking relax-
ation over age limit for the vac-
cine, the Centre on Tuesday
ruled out Covid-19 vaccination
for all, stressing that the aim is
not to administer the shot to
“those who want it but to those
who need it so as to prevent
deaths and protect the health-
care system”.
During a press conference
here, Union Health Secretary
Rajesh Bhushan said that many
people are asking why isn’t the
Government opening up vac-
cination for all those above 18
years.
Bhushan said that even
Western countries have con-
ducted the vaccination drive in
phases.
“The basic aim is to reduce
death through vaccination. The
other aim is to protect your
healthcare system. If healthcare
workers, doctors, nurses, para-
medics and others fall sick, who
will work in hospitals? So the
aim, for any country, is to pro-
tect those who are the most
vulnerable. The aim is never to
administer the vaccine to those
who want it but to those who
need it,” Bhushan said.
NITI Aayog member
(Health) Dr V K Paul said the
narrative has to be seen in a sci-
entific way. He questioned,
“When we talk about opening
vaccination to all, our focus
reduces on controlling the pan-
demic. Did you hear of any
country that is vaccinating less
than 45.”
So far, nobody doing vac-
cine research has shown that if
given on this scale, it leads to
herd immunity, he said, adding
that it is not yet scientifically
proven.
“What we know so far is
that all vaccines that are being
used, including the two being
used in ,India reduce mortal-
ity, severity of the disease,
protect lives and keeping that
in mind priority groups have
been decided,” Dr Paul said.
He said that priority
groups have been decided who
are vulnerable to mortality.
“Because history will only
remember how many deaths
have taken place. Globally,
the vaccine is finite,” Dr Paul
underlined. Talking about vac-
cines, the Health secretary
said, “We administered 43
lakh doses of COVID-19 vac-
cine in 24 hours yesterday,
which is a record. As a result
of today morning, we admin-
istered 8.31 crores doses of the
vaccine”.
The officers also referred
to guidelines in countries like
America, Australia and UK for
phase-wise vaccination. “The
UK had 9 different groups in
its phases. Switzerland is vac-
cinating only those above 65,”
Dr Paul said, adding, “When
our history is written our
deaths will be the most impor-
tant count.”
The Indian Medical
Association had written to
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi suggesting that vacci-
nation be allowed for all peo-
ple above the age of 18 years.
Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal and his
Maharashtra counterpart
Uddhav Thackeray too on
Monday requested Modi to
relax the age limit for the
vaccination.
2T]caTaTYTRcb3T[WXPWP´b³YPQ
U^aP[[RP[[´bPhbbW^cbU^a]TTSh
?=BQ =4F34;78
To prevent the spread of
coronavirus, the Central
Government on Tuesday urged
all its eligible employees to get
vaccinated.
“All Central Government
employees of the age of 45
years and above are advised to
get themselves vaccinated so as
to effectively contain the
spread of COVID-19,” said
the order issued to all the
Central Government min-
istries and departments.
Starting from 1 April, those
who are above 45 years of age,
have been allowed to take
Covid-19 vaccines.
The employees have been
advised to continue following
Covid-appropriate behaviour
even after vaccination by fre-
quent washing of hands and
sanitisation, wearing a mask or
face cover and observing social
distancing, etc, an order issued
by the personnel ministry
stated.
“The Government has
been monitoring the situation
very closely, and based on the
strategy adopted for prioritis-
ing the groups for vaccination
to contain the spread of
COVlD-19, currently, all per-
sons of the age of 45 years and
above can participate in the
vaccination exercise,” it said.
The Central Government
had earlier said that the two
doses of the COVID-19 vac-
cine will be given at an inter-
val of 28 days. The second
dose of Covishield can be
given up to eight weeks after
the first, the Union health
ministry said in a statement on
Monday. However, the
increased interval does not
apply to Covaxin.
The Government had
granted emergency use autho-
risation to two COVID-19
vaccines — Pune-based Serum
Institute of India’s Covishield
and Hyderabad-based Bharat
Biotech International Ltd’s
Covaxin which are being used
in the Government’s vaccina-
tion drive.
6TcePRRX]PcTS
2T]caTdaVTbP[[
T[XVXQ[TbcPUUTab
?=BQ =4F34;78
Raj Kapahi (62) who had
been for the past ten years
living with Multiple Myeloma
(MM), a type of blood cancer
that adversely impacts plasma
(white blood cells) production
in the body, is now back to her
normal routine and living a
healthy life.
Senior haematologist Dr
Rahul Bhargava from Institute
of Blood Disorder, Fortis
Hospital, Gurugram along
with his team conducted the
Bone Marrow Transplant
(BMT) on the JK resident.
They used Kapahi’s own cells
for transplant, thereby reduc-
ing the chances of rejection and
infections.
MM is a type of cancer that
arises from plasma cells in
case they start dividing uncon-
trollably and spread abnor-
mally in the body. Myeloma
can present with various symp-
toms with the most common
being unexplained renal failure,
back pain with broken bones as
well as long term anaemia,
fatigue and infections in the
urine. Doctors say that can-
cerous myeloma can be
destructive to the bones.
The disease has been in
the news recently when actor
and Lok Sabha MP, Kirron
Kher, 68 has been found to be
suffering from MM. She is
recovering well, says her doc-
tors.
Dr. Pravas Mishra,
Director, Hemato-Oncology
BMT, Max Hospital added,
currently, we are seeing near-
ly one to two myeloma cases
for every 100,000. So, that
translates to about 50,000 new
cases of multiple myeloma
every year and that might be
just the tip of the iceberg con-
sidering that a large number of
cases must be unreported.
Dr Bhargava shared that
MM a few years back was a
non-curable disorder, but
advancements in newer ther-
apies and new drugs coming
into the market is promising
an operational cure and con-
trol for the long term.
“The survival is further
increased by doing the BMT in
these patients, which is not so
expensive these days and
requires patients to stay for
around 10 days in hospital. “
Dr Bhargava further says
“ If MM is diagnosed at an
early stage, the survival is
longer. Medications are no
longer expensive as well as do
not cause hair loss, diarrhoea
and nausea. The Myeloma
treatment medications are
now slowly moving from
Intravenous to subcutaneous,
like a jab for an insulin injec-
tion and along with oral med-
ications which are making the
life very easy for patients to
live with myeloma”
Dr Mishra too talked
about some of the available
options for the treatment of
MM. “We are using immuno-
modulatory drugs. So, those
are not exactly chemothera-
py… and then recently we
have now started using mon-
oclonal antibodies in multiple
myeloma as well. The number
of molecules are simply mind-
boggling. So, if you start with
treatment, you do a transplant
and if the person still relaps-
es, there is a possibility of giv-
ing him/her a new molecule,
bring him back into remission
and then again do a trans-
plant.”
Dr. Lalit Kumar,
Oncologist from Department
of Medical Oncology, Institute
Rotary Cancer Hospital,
AIIMS, Delhi too in an article
published last year in a journal
said, “survival of patients with
myeloma has improved signif-
icantly in the past two decades.
.. This has been attributed to a
better understanding of biolo-
gy, the introduction of novel
agents (immunomodulators,
proteasome inhibitors), autol-
ogous stem cell transplanta-
tion, and maintenance thera-
py. Supportive care is an
important component of over-
all care for these patients.
0RcaTbbP]S?:Xaa^]:WTafPb
aTRT]c[hSXPV]^bTSfXcWd[cX_[T
hT[^P ?X^]TTa_W^c^
d[cX_[ThT[^P)0SeP]RTS
caTPcT]cbPV^^SaTPb^]U^a^_cXXb
?=BQ =4F34;78
With the threat of a two-
front war simultaneous-
ly with China and Pakistan
always looming, Army Chief
General MM Naravane said on
Tuesday India is “facing
renewed challenges” along its
borders. Keeping this in view,
military officers undergoing
training should keep them-
selves abreast of these devel-
opments, he said.
Making this observation in
his lecture on ‘Developments
along the Western and
Northern Borders and their
Impact on the Future Road
Map of the Indian Army’ at
Defence Services Staff College
(DSSC), Wellington, Tamil
Nadu, he also focused on
enhanced synergy and joint-
manship amongst the Army,
IAF and Navy.
“He (Army Chief) empha-
sised that the nation is facing
renewed challenges along its
borders and exhorted the stu-
dents on the need to remain
abreast of all developments,”
said the Indian Army’s state-
ment.
Naravane was on a two-day
visit to the college. The lecture
was delivered to the faculty and
officers attending the 76th staff
course at the college.
Commandant of the
College Lt General MJS Kahlon
gave an update to Naravane on
the ongoing training activities
and incorporation of new ini-
tiatives with specific reference
to professional military train-
ing on “jointmanship” among
the three services, the Army’s
statement said.
The Army Chief was
briefed on the changes being
undertaken in the training
curriculum and infrastructur-
al development as a step
towards enhancing the role of
DSSC as a centre of excellence
for professional military edu-
cation, it noted.
He complimented the col-
lege for maintaining a very high
state of training in spite of
COVID-19 pandemic con-
straints, the statement said.
?RcRgR_VTR]]dW`cSVeeVc
dj_VcXjR^`_X$W`cTVd
?=BQ =4F34;78
The All India Motor
Transport Congress
(AIMTC), the umbrella body of
transporters, representing about
95 lakh truckers and entities on
Tuesday said it fears disruptions
in services due to restrictions
imposed by several States,
including Maharashtra and
Delhi, due to surge in coron-
avirus cases and demanded
hassle-free goods movement.
“The transporters who have
already experience the hassles
of the previous lockdown era
are a worried lot. They fear that
fresh lockdown will now lead to
disarray in transportation-relat-
ed activities, leading to mount-
ing fears that it will cripple the
supply chain of the states, espe-
cially in Maharashtra,” AIMTC
said in a statement.
The statement comes in the
wake of state governments
including Maharashtra, Punjab
and Delhi imposing restric-
tions and issuing guidelines to
contain the out-break amid a
surge in cases in various parts
of the country. The new restric-
tions include night curfews,
weekend lockdowns and day-
time prohibitions, to control the
spread of the disease.
“The trucks are not allowed
to step inside Mumbai before 9
pm, while offices are supposed
to be shut down by 8 pm. This
has led to major problems in
same-day dispatches and also
added to the existing grievances
of the transporters. The
Transportation business main-
ly starts after 8.00 pm, when
trucks are allowed in the city for
loading and unloading,”
AIMTC said.
The new guidelines have
put a curb on traffic timings,
which is leading to major delays
in transportation and expiry of
e-way bills in many a cases, it
said adding, this is attracting
huge penalties.
CaP]b_^acQ^ShUTPab
SXbad_cX^]X]
bTaeXRTbPUcTa2^eXS
RdaQbQhBcPcTb
?=BQ =4F34;78
Amid the crucial third phase
of elections in West Bengal,
the Election Commission ( EC)
on Tuesday suspended three
officers, including a sector offi-
cer and two assistant sector offi-
cers in West Bengal’s Uluberia
Uttar constituency, after it was
found that he slept over at the
home of a local Trinamool
Congress leader with four
Electronic Voting Machines
and a similar number of Voter
Verifiable Paper Audit Trails
(VVPAT) machines.
The EC has also suspend-
ed Sujoy Chakraborty of CID,
WB, deputed to Howrah Rural
for law and order duties and
three home guards, for gross
negligence in performing duties
of sector police officer.
“Whereas Tapan Kumar
Sarkar, RI, BLLRO-Uluberia-
II, who was appointed as Sector
Officer and Sanjib Majumdar,
Amin, BLLRO, Uluberia-II
Mithun Chakraborty, Tax
Collector, Basudevpur GP as
Assistant Sector Officers of
Sector 17, 177-Uluberia Uttar
AC in connection with General
Elections to the West Bengal
Legislative Assembly, 2021,
switched off their GPS tracking
and exhibited gross violation of
ECI’s instructions by taking
the reserve EVMs to their rel-
atives’ house on 05.04.2021, as
reported by the Returning
Officer, 177-Uluberia Uttar AC.
I, the District Election Offcer,
Howrah hereby suspend Tapan
Kumar Sarkar, Sanjib
Majumdar and Mithun
Chakraborty with immediate
effect and recom mend for
immediate disciplinary pro-
ceedings against them,” DM
and District Election Officer
Suman Saha said in its order.
In its order, the EC said,
“Tapan Sarkar, sector officer of
Sector 17 in AC 177 Uluberia
Uttar at Howrah District went
with Reserve EVM and slept at
a relative’s house. This is a
gross violation of ECI’s instruc-
tions for which the Sector
Officer has been suspended
and charges will be framed for
major punishment.” The poll
body has said that one of the
machines was a reserved EVM,
which has been removed from
the election process for the
assembly elections. The said
EVM and VVPAT have been
taken out of the stock and
shall not be used in the polls,
said the poll body.General
Observer Neeraj Pawan has
checked the intactness of all the
seals on the EVMs, which are
now stored in a separate room
in the observer’s custody.
Reacting to the incident,
Union minister Prakash
Javadekar said that “yet anoth-
er TMC attempt
has been
exposed”. He said
that the issue of
EVM machines
being recovered
from the TMC
leader’s residence
might prove to
be “bigger” than
it currently
seems, and
demanded there
be a full inquiry of the machines
that have been recovered.
Uluberia Uttar is one of the 31
constituencies in the state
which went to polls on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Sarkar said
that he brought four EVMs to
the home of TMC leader
Goutam Ghosh in Uluberia’s
Tulsiberia area since the office
of the block development offi-
cer was occupied by police per-
sonnel. The accused official
said he wanted to take rest and
carried the machines with him
as keeping them in the car
would have been riskier. BJP
candidate in Uluberia Uttar,
Chintan Bera, has dismissed
Sarkar’s version of events and
claimed that the TMC intend-
ed to “loot votes”. Locals
gheraoed the home of the
Trinamool leader and protest-
ed against the block develop-
ment officer when he visited
the site.
The EVM incident in
Bengal comes close on the
heels of an EVM being found
inside the car of Assam BJP
candidate Krishnendu Paul
soon after the conclusion of the
second phase of assembly elec-
tion in the state. Four polling
officers were suspended in the
incident while repolling was
ordered at Ratabari polling
booth in Patharkandi Assembly
constituency.
A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78
The Election Commission
has seized unaccounted
cash, liquors, narcotics and
freebies including precious
stones worth C948 crore from
the five States till third phase
of polling on April 6, 2021.
The amount is 4.198 times
more than the total combined
seizure of C226 crore in 2016
Assembly polls.
According to the EC, cash
worth C331.56 crore, precious
metals worth C266.82 crore,
8103.37 kg narcotics worth
C156. 81 crore, 4364510.03
litre liquor worth C 73.81 crore
and freebies of C119.03 crore
was seized from the five states-
West Bengal, Kerala, Assam,
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Assam and Bengal are among
the top states where a huge
quantity of liquor was seized.
The data shows the sur-
veillance agencies have seized
Rs 82.84 crore from Kerala
which include unaccounted
cash worth Rs 22.64 crore; pre-
cious metals worth Rs 49.21
crore; 812.01 kg narcotics
worth Rs 4 crore and 67542
litre liquor in West Bengal so
far. The amount is more than
the total seizure of Rs 26.13
crore in 2016.
In West Bengal, the total
seizure was calculated worth
Rs 263.15 crore so far as com-
pared to Rs Rs 44.33 crore in
2016 assembly polls.
This include Rs 40.27 crore
(unaccounted cash); Rs 10.28
crore ( precious metal; Rs
115.89 crore ( 255 kg narcotics
which include ganja, heroine,
charas) and 1935455 litre
liquor.
The authorities have seized
Rs 445.81 crore so far from
Tamil Nadu as compared to Rs
130.99 crore in 2016 Assembly
polls. As per the data, the EC
has seized unaccounted cash
worth Rs 236.51 crore; pre-
cious metal worth Rs 176.22
crore; freebies worth Rs 25.64
crore and 289618 litre liquor.
The agencies have made
total seizure of Rs 119.29 crore
from Assam as compared to Rs
16.58 crore in 2016. As per
data, 2044249 litre liquor was
seized in Assam during the
third phase of polls.
The total seizure in
Puducherry is Rs 36.89 crore
this election as compared to Rs
7.74 crore during the previous
elections.
“A total 4606 Flying
Squads (FS) and 4670 Static
Surveillance Teams (SST) were
operationalised to check move-
ment of cash, liquor, drugs
freebies in these states/UT
closely supervised by DEOs,
Expenditure observers in
Districts and Special observers.
A total 19 Air Intelligence
Units (AIU) of IT Department
are also set at different stations
in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala,
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry,”
the EC said.
42bTXiTbC(#'Ra^aTRPbW[X`d^a
Ua^$BcPcTbcX[[aS_WPbT^U_^[[b
42bdb_T]Sb_^[[^UUXRXP[bX]1T]VP[
=0A0E0=4F0B=0CF30HE8B8C
CC742;;464C74;42CDA4F0B
34;8E4A43CC74502D;CH0=3
55824AB0CC4=38=6C74%C7BC055
2DAB40CC742;;464

5. ]PcX^]$
347A03D=kF43=4B30H k0?A8; !!
New Delhi: Union Minister of
State of Jal Shakti, Social Justice
Empowerment, Rattan lal
kataria has been discharged
from Medanta Hospital in
Gurugram (Haryana).
It is noteworthy that Union
Minister of State Shri Ratnalal
Kataria was infected with
Covid-19. He was admitted to
Medanta Hospital in
Gurugram for treatment after
infection of Covid-19. He was
discharged after 10 days of
treatment in Medanta Hospital.
The Union Minister of
state will stay for a few days at
his official residence in New
Delhi.
^B9P[BWPZcX
APccP];P[:PcPaXP
SXbRWPaVTSPUcTa
2^eXScaTPcT]c
:D0A274;;0??0=Q :278
Kerala recorded 74 per cent
polling till 7 pm in the elec-
tion held to the State Legislature
on Tuesday. The single phase
saw isolated attacks allegedly
unleashed by the CPI(M) cadre
on BJP activists at many assem-
bly constituencies in the State.
There were widespread
impersonation and casting of
fake votes in many constituen-
cies according to Ramesh
Chennithala, Leader of
Opposition and many BJP lead-
ers. He said Chief Minister
PinarayiVijayanhasbeencursed
by Lord Ayyappa for vandaliz-
ing the sanctum sanctorum of
Sabarimala.
“Kerala is in for a change of
government. There will be a
change of government once the
results are announced,” said A
KAntony,formerChiefMinister
and former defense minister.
Speaking to media after casting
his vote at the capital city of
Thiruvananthapuram Antony
said the violence resorted to by
the CPI(M) was an indication of
their restlessness and sense of
fear arising out of an impending
defeat.
Kazhakoottam, a con-
stituency that saw high pitch
campaign had to bear the brunt
of violence as BJP cadre were
assaulted by persons allegedly
belonging to the CPI(M). Many
women voters were driven away
by the attackers as the police
stood in mute silence.
Kadakampalli Surendran
Kerala’s minister for Temple
Administration is engaged in a
high pitch battle with BJP’s
Shobha Surendran at
Kazhakoottam. The rivalry
between the two was so intense
that the Congress candidate
was relegated to the third place.
Hari Kartha, political com-
mentator based in
Thiruvananthapuram said there
would be a change of govern-
ment in the State and the
Congress-led UDF had gained
upper hand by the morning of
Tuesday. “The CPI(M) wore a
picture of helplessness by
Tuesday morning. We could
feel the anti-incumbency feeling
from the body language of the
voters as well as that of the
CPI(M) leaders,” said Kartha.
True to his words, Chief
Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in is
brief interaction with the media
at Kannur said that people
belonging to all sectors were
with the LDF. “Even Ayyappa
and his disciples have joined the
LDF,” said Vijayan.
PRajan,historianofKerala’s
politics, too said that the LDF
was on its way out. “Their arro-
gance cost them this election.
But how much the UDF would
benefit out of this is to be debat-
ed as the anti-CPI(M) votes are
likely to go to the BJP this time.
The Hindutwa party had estab-
lished a commanding presence
in the campaign and if they
manage to win at least five
seats, it would be at the cost of
LDF and the UDF,” said Rajan.
Reports from Kannur, the
home district of Chief Minister
Vijayan, which is a baston of the
CPI(M) gave enough indica-
tions of group fighting in the
party resulting out of denial of
seats to many Marxist stalwarts.
B0D60AB4=6D?C0 Q
20==8=6A083867850;C0
The curse of electoral vio-
lence continued to blemish
Bengal even as sporadic clash-
es and complaints of rigging
marked the third round of the
8-phase Assembly elections. A
total number of 31 seats in
three districts of Howrah,
Hooghly and South 24
Parganas went to polls on
Tuesday.
In what looked like any-
thing but a good advertisement
for peaceful polling two per-
sons were murdered, many
others injured --- in intermit-
tent clashes --- and no less than
seven candidates were brutal-
ly roughed up by supporters of
rival parties. So much so that,
Dr Nirmal Maji a sitting TMC
MLA was seen approaching a
polling booth with a crash hel-
met on.
Notwithstanding the day-
long tumult the third phase of
elections recorded an appre-
ciable 80 percent of polling
when reports came in at 5 pm.
The poll percentage could go
up by 3-4 percent considering
the long queues of voters still
standing outside many polling
booths, Election Commission
officials said.
While Hooghly recorded
79.36 percent polling, it was
77.93 for Howrah. About 76.68
percent voters voted in South
24 Parganas.
The first news of blood-
shed came in from Goghat in
Hooghly district where
Madhavi Adak the mother of
Piru Adak, a BJP worker was
killed by alleged Trinamool
Congress supporters when she
went to save her son from his
attackers. The postmortem
report however showed no
bodily injuries, sources said.
One person was reportedly
arrested in the incident, police
said.
Body of another BJP sup-
porter was recovered at
Dubrajpur in Birbhum district
where polling would however
take place at a later date. The
police had to fire tear gas shells
after the BJP supporters pelted
stones at them following the
incident.
In an unprecedented devel-
opment at least seven candi-
dates were physically attacked
and in some cases their secu-
rity officers were injured while
trying to save them during the
election day on Tuesday.
A rare scene to be wit-
nessed in the past 10 years of
Trinamool Congress rule, a
TMC candidate Sujata Mandal
Khan was attacked thrice in
Arambagh constituency by
alleged BJP supporters even as
she went to ensure fair polling.
The TMC candidate was
chased away past a paddy field
by charging saffron workers,
she claimed, adding her PSO
was given a fractured head and
she was hit by a bamboo and
dried muds.
Her estranged husband
and BJP MP Soumitra Khan
said “Sujata might have been
rounded up by the local vil-
lagers who were not given to
vote for the past 10 years …
they were perhaps venting their
anger.”
At nearby Tarakeshwar
Arindam Chakrabarty the
polling agent of BJP candidate
Swapan Dasgupta was attacked
by alleged TMC goons, the saf-
fron leadership claimed, adding
Chakrabarty suffered fractured
head after he was beaten with
a bamboo.
In neighbouring Khanakul
TMC candidate Najbul Karim
was reportedly beaten up by
alleged ISF supporters when he
went to inquire about report-
ed booth capturing. He had to
literally flee away from the
area.
At Uluberia North con-
stituency in neighbouring
Howrah district sitting TMC
MLA was gheraoed by the BJP
supporters. Stones were pelted
at his vehicle even as the rul-
ing party politician was escort-
ed to safety with his crash hel-
met on. In adjacent Uluberia
South seat BJP candidate and
film actor Papiya Adhikary
was roughed up by alleged
TMC men when she went to
see an injured party worker at
the general hospital. “I was hit
on the head and could have
been murdered but for the
security staff,” the saffron can-
didate said.
A sector officer was sus-
pended by the Election
Commission after a set of elec-
tronic voting machines (EVM)
were recovered from the house
of a local TMC leader. The offi-
cials said that he had taken the
EVM to that house as the sec-
tor office was closed and that
he did not know that it was the
house of a TMC leader. All the
machines were sent out of
operation by the EC, sources
said.
On the other bank of the
Hooghly River in South 24
Parganas where 16 seats are up
for the grab intermittent bomb-
ings and booth-capturing was
reported from various places.
While at Falta BJP candidate
Bidhab Parui was attacked by
TMC candidates when he went
to inquire about booth captur-
ing Canning TMC leader
Shaukat Molla complained of
rampant bombing by the ISF
men.
B0D60AB4=6D?C0 Q :;:0C0
War of words intensified
between Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee with latter asking the
“mothers and sisters of Bengal”
to “unite” against a prejudiced
Election Commission and
Central forces which are
“working in favour of the BJP.”
Referring to Banerjee’s
repeated refrains of a bias EC
and faltering Muslim votes,
Modi on Tuesday said that, “it
was the same Election
Commission which earned
praise from Mamata Didi for its
role in earlier elections that
brought her to power in Bengal,
it was the same central forces
that ensured free and fare elec-
tion when she threw out the
Left Front Government and it
was the same electronic voting
machines (EVMs) that func-
tioned during her victory and
now the same ECI, the same
CPF and the same EVMs have
become a villain for her… she
is wasting no opportunity to
attack the Commission and
central forces.”
The Prime Minister was
addressing an election rally at
Coochbehar in North Bengal.
Saying that the Chief
Minister’s repeated appeal to
the Muslims not to let their
votes divided only meant that
she was expecting a defeat in
the elections. He said, “Didi,
recently you said all Muslims
should unite so that their votes
do not get divided. You are say-
ing this because you know
that even the Muslims have
deserted you… they have also
turned away their face from
you… Didi you are losing in
the elections.”
By roundly accepting the
elections the Chief Minister
had hit a same-side goal he
said. “Didi, people say you
play football a lot. In football
there is a same side goal... You
have scored a self-goal in the
field of elections. You yourself
have accepted the truth.. . now
your khela is shesh (your game
is over)”
The minority population
comprising about 30 percent of
the total votes has been the
electoral mainstay of Banerjee’s
Trinamool Congress ever since
she came to power dislodging
the Left Front in 2011.
However, the Chief
Minister this time round the
Chief Minister has been receiv-
ing a tough challenge from
Abbasuddin Siddique a Muslim
cleric from Furfura Sharief the
largest congregation of the
Bengali Muslims in Bengal.
Siddique’s newly launched
party Indian Secular Front has
not only won the support of All
India Majlis-e-Ittehadul
Muslimeen or AIMIM chief
Asaduddin Owaisi but also he
has stitched up an alliance
with the Left-Congress detente.
Banerjee has been calling the
Left-Congress-ISF alliance
“more dangerous than a cobra,”
which is “funded by the BJP.”
Saying that the way the
Chief Minister attacked the
ECI and the way she would
play the minority card “… had
we been in your place and had
we asked the Hindus so open-
ly to vote for us then then we
would have received 10 notices
from the EC.”
The Chief Minister who
was holding a rally at Kalchini
in North Bengal said that it was
at at the behest of the BJP lead-
ership and the complacency of
the ECI that TMC candidates
were being attacked all over
Bengal.
We have already seen 7-8
murders in the State in which
four of our men have been
killed,” she said adding “the EC
is doing nothing about this.”
“They have seriously
injured on our Scheduled Caste
candidate Sujata, while she
was visiting a booth to ensure
that there is no rigging by the
BJP men. They also attacked
our Khanakul candidate Najbul
Karim.
The CPF is acting on their
advice and stopping our MLA
and candidate Shaukat Molla
from entering a booth in
Canning East constituency…
We have numerous such
instances to show how our
candidates are being attacked
and the central forces and ECI
is doing nothing,”
Banerjee said asking the
“mothers and sisters” to “unite
against the arbitrary actions of
the central forces… resist them
if they come to stop you from
voting.”
?A0344?B0G4=0 Q 0;860A7
On Tuesday, a young man
died under suspicious cir-
cumstances at Sarai Hakim of
Bannadevi. The body of the
young man was found hanging
onthenooseonthesecondfloor
and his hands were tied. Family
has accused of murder. The
policeisinvestigatinginthecase.
25-year-old Rohit Kumar
son of Bhola Shankar, a resident
of Sarai Lavaria, used to work in
a textile factory in Delhi. After
coming home on Diwali, he
started working as a laborer in
the city itself.
0VdPaSaTbcb^dcbXSTPd[cX_[TgPUcTaPdcW^aXcXTbR[^bTSRX]TPbPbP_aTRPdcX^]PahTPbdaTPVPX]bc2^eXS (X]dQPX^]CdTbSPh ?C8
0f^aZTa_PX]cbRaXRZTcQP[[bPcPP]dUPRcdaX]VUPRc^ahPc=PdRWP]SXX]TTadc^]CdTbSPh ?C8
#Z]]VU_`^Z_VVdSVReV_fa
14=60;?70B4?;;B
1^Sh^Uh^dcW
U^d]SWP]VX]VPc
W^dbTX]0[XVPaW
Patna: There has been a surge
in the cases of financial fraud
in Bihar as cyber criminals
have resorted to hacking of
phones to commit these crimes.
According to an official
spokesperson of the Economic
Offence Wing (EOW) Patna,
the criminals are sending
forged links after every digital
transaction through which they
hack the phones of individuals
and then compel the users to
send the One Time Password
(OTP) by using which they
empty the bank accounts.
Explaining the modus
operandi, the spokesperson
told IANS, “These criminals
send a link to the individual
after every digital transaction.
When the person clicks on that
link his mobile gets hacked and
the fraudsters convert the
amount in their bank accounts
to a fixed deposit. After this the
balance in the account is seen
as zero.
Then an OTP is sent to the
mobile number of the user and
the fraudsters call the person
assuring them of returning the
whole amount if they share the
OTP. The victims, out of des-
peration, share the OTP and
these criminals withdraw the
money in their account.”
“Over 570 cases have been
reported in the last four
months from various districts
such as Siwan, Gaya, Nalanda,
Nawada, Begusarai etc. A lot of
cases might not have been
reported too,” he said.
74 investigating teams
headed by an inspector rank
officer and comprising four
computer experts, one inspec-
tor, three sub-inspectors and
two constables have been con-
stituted in the state to look into
such cases.
According to the official,
over 1,000 cases related to
cyber fraud are reported in
Bihar every year, the majority
of them related to bank and
online financial frauds. Apart
from this, cases related to
uploading derogatory videos of
women, creating fake
Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram accounts and send-
ing obscene messages are also
reported in bulk. IANS
3XSXPSXcb[^bbQhQ[PX]V42
UaPRcdaTSdb[Xe^cTab)^SX
.HUDODUHFRUGVSHU
FHQWSROOLQJWLOOSP
EHUFULPLQDOVXVLQJQHZWHFKQLTXHIRUILQDQFLDOIUDXGV
80=BQ ?0=098
The Speaker of the Goa legislative Assembly Rajesh Patnekar,
on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court through the Solicitor
General of India Tushar Mehta, that he would pronounce his final
order related to the disqualification of 10 BJP MLAs on April
20. The Speaker's assurance came in the course of a hearing at
the apex court before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India
SA Bobde, advocate Abhijit Gosavi, counsel for state Congress
president Girish Chodankar said.
Earlier, Patnekar while hearing the petition filed by
Chodankar had said that he would be pronouncing
his order related to the
disqualification of 10 MLAs on April 29.
“The Supreme Court was not happy with such a long date
and told the Solicitor General to ask the Speaker to pass the order
in one week's time. In response, Tushar Mehta said that the order
would be passed by April 22.
Again the CJI enquired whether it could be done earlier and
whether it would be passed by April 20,” Gosavi said.
“The Solicitor General then took instruction from the Speaker
and informed the Court that the order would be passed on April
20,” Gosavi added. The matter will be heard again before the SC
on April 21.
Chodankar, as the party's state president, had filed a dis-
qualification petition with the Goa Speaker's office in 2019 and
argued the split by the 10 Congress MLAs and
their subsequent merger into the BJP was illegal and violative
of the provisions of Schedule 10 of the Indian
Constitution. Chodankar has also accused Speaker Rajesh
Patnekar of dragging on the case.
Patnekar is hearing another petition filed by a
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA, who has alleged that
two other MLAs had attracted disqualification after they quit the
regional party and joined the Congress on April 29. Patnekar is
expected to pronounce the order in the matter on April 29.
6^PB_TPZTac^_a^]^d]RT
^]SXb`dP[XUXRPcX^]
_TcXcX^]^]0_aX[!
80=BQ 274==08
Asenior citizen collapsed
and died near a polling
booth in Thanjavur district
where he was going to cast his
vote in the Tamil Nadu
Assembly election on Tuesday,
a poll official said.
The 61-year-old man,
whose name was not revealed,
was on his way to the polling
booth near
his residence in Papanasam
constituency, but a few metres
away, he swooned and fell
down.
People nearby gave him
water and he was taken to the
hospital where the doctors
declared him dead.
C=bT]X^a
RXcXiT]SXTb
QTU^aTe^cX]V
Patna: The second wave of
Covid-19 is spreading at a rapid
pace in Bihar with the State
reporting 935 new cases across
38 districts in the last 24 hours.
Of these, the state capital
alone reported 432 cases,
including 18 students testing
postive at the Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) Patna, locat-
ed on the outskirts of the city in
the Bihta sub-town.
Confirming the develop-
ment, the registrar of IIT Patna
said that two students returned
to the campus after the Holi hol-
idays on Sunday and tested
positive for the virus.
“As per the Covid protocols,
we conducted RT-PCR test on
those two students and their
reports returned positive.
Following that, we conducted 41
more tests on students staying
in the hostel where the duo
stayed. Of these, 16 reports
returned positive on Tuesday,”
the registrar said.
“We have converted the
hostel into a quarantine centre.
Besides, we have also turned the
academic building into a quar-
antine facility for the suspected
students. Educational activities
on the campus have been sus-
pended for a week,” he added.
Earlier, Amrit Pratyay, the
principal health secretary of
Bihar, had said that the health
department had conducted
72,418 tests till Monday
evening, of which 935 were
found to be positive across the
state.
“The second wave of
Corona is spreading at a more
rapid pace as compared to last
year. It is more dangerous than
Phase 1. We have added 10
ICU beds in AIIMS Patna, tak-
ing the total number of ICU
beds to 30. IANS
RYLGVWULNHV
,,73DWQD
VWXGHQWVYH
C=A067D=0C70 Q D108
Aware of the allegations of “excessive inter-
ference” in the functioning faced by his
immediate predecessor Anil Deshmukh,
Maharashtra’s new Home Minister Dilip Walse-
Patil said here on Tuesday that there would be
“zero political interference” in matters relating
to the police administration in the State.
Talking to media persons here soon after
assuming the charge as new State Home
Minister, Walse-Patil said: “I will ensure a clean
police administration and there will be no polit-
ical interference from my side”.
Walse-Patil said that he had taken up the
responsibility as the State Home Minister “at a
very difficult and challenging period” in the state
with several crises confronting the MVA gov-
ernment
Walse-Patil, who was named late on Monday
night as Deshmukh’s successor, said: “It is a very
important responsibility…I will try and live up
to the expectations”.
Deshmukh had resigned as the Maharashtra
Home late on Monday afternoon, after the
Bombay High Court ordered a “Preliminary
Enquiry” (PE) by the CBI into the serious
charges of corruption made against him by
Mumbai’s former Police Commissioner Param
Bir Singh.
“Everyone has different expectations. My
focus will be the common man….the common
man should trust the police force,” Walse-Patil
said.
A seven time MLA who had earlier hed
excise and labour ministries in the Uddhav
Thackeray Cabinet, Walse-Patil said: “I have just
taken over…will look at each and every thing.”
Sixty-four-old Walse-Patil said that the
Covid-19 pandemic was a big challenge given
that “the entire force is in the streets”.
“The police force is working actively on the
ground due to the Coronavirus pandemic. They
have to maintain not only law and order but also
help enforce the Covid restrictions. Besides, this
month there are festivals like Gudi Padwa, Ram
Navami, Mahavir Jayanti and the start of the
Ramadan month,” Walse-Patil said.
Walse-Patil, who was a Speaker in the
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker in the past, said
that there was perfect coordination among the
three ruling alliance partners - Shiv Sena, NCP
and Congress “Together we are running the gov-
ernment,” he said.
Walse-Patil also said that the Maharashtra
government would challenge the Bombay High
Court’s order instituting a “Preliminary Enquiry”
(PE) by the CBI into the charges of corruption
made against Deshmukh by Mumbai’s former
Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.
CWTaTfX[[QTiTa^_^[XcXRP[X]cTaUTaT]RT
X]_^[XRTPccTab)PWP]Tf7
PWPaPbWcaPb]Tf7^TX]XbcTa3X[X_FP[bT?PcX[fXcWWXb_aTSTRTbb^a0]X[3TbWdZWcP[ZX]Vc^TSXP_Tab^]bPc
P]caP[PhPX]b^dcWdQPX^]CdTbSPhPUcTacPZX]VRWPaVT^UcWT^UUXRTUa^3TbWdZW

6. India finds itself on the
wrong side of the fence not for
thefirsttimethoughourdiplo-
mats are confident they can
navigatethesituation,thanksto
the lessons learnt in the 1980s
and 1990s. They are forgetting
thatMyanmar2021isverydif-
ferent from those days when
peoplewerepoorandmalnour-
ished;today,theyhaveapresent
and future from the gains of
democracybetween2011-2020.
TheCDMbelievesitissucceed-
ingindenyingcontrolofphys-
ical space and economy to the
junta. In the forefront of street
mobilisation are women, con-
fronting the police every day.
The CDM is pitching a non-
violent campaign that is being
projected as a front-runner for
the Nobel Peace Prize, 2022. It
has attracted $7 mn worth of
support from well-wishers.
If the fighting intensifies
betweentheEAOsandjunta,it
wouldengagenotonlythemil-
itary against unarmed internal
resistance but also three main
dissident armed groups in the
border regions — Karens,
Kachins and Arakanese
(BrotherhoodAlliance)besides
possibly other EAOs. A multi-
ple front engagement would
stretch the military and lead to
civilwar.TheUNspecialenvoy
on Myanmar, Christine
Burgene, told the 15-member
UNSC on March 31 that the
military was not capable of
managing the country and
warnedthatthesituationcould
worsenintoabloodbath.China’s
mutedcriticismofthecouphas
led to anti-Chinese sentiment,
resultingin32Chinese-owned
factoriesbeinggutted.Beijing’s
main concern is the security of
the 770-km-long gas and oil
pipelines worth $2.5 bn from
the Yunan province to the
RakhineStateaswellas38pro-
jects linked to the China-
MyanmarEconomicCorridor.
Beijingisalsotheleadplayerin
the recent diplomatic moves
between the junta and Asean.
Myanmar’s economy will
soonbeintatters.TheUSsanc-
tions have resulted in the sus-
pension of bilateral trade and
investment agreement, pre-
ventedtheGeneralsfromwith-
drawing$1bnfromtheFederal
ReserveBankofNewYorkand
targeted Generals and police
chiefs and their businesses.
Next could be the Generalised
System of Preferences (GSPs)
under which 5,000 products
carry zero tariff. Japan, which
provides the biggest develop-
ment assistance — $1.8 bn in
2019—istransferringitsbusi-
ness from military holdings to
civilian companies. Whether
combinedresistanceforthefirst
timeagainstthemilitaryresults
inthedefeatofthejuntaishard
to tell. The Buddhist monks
who led the saffron revolution
in 2007 have not taken sides.
Indiahastakenaclearposition:
Tonotcriticisethemilitaryfor
thecoupbutcondemnviolence
againsttheCDM.Thisisnotan
ethical stance that India can
sustain. But it has insurgency-
related security interests along
the border with Myanmar,
strategic connectivity projects
of its ‘Act East’ policy and
Indo-Pacificstrategyaswellas
concernsaboutChinaboosting
its influence at India’s cost,
especially when the military
lookstowardsIndiatobalance
China.Giventheseconflicting
interests, New Delhi has to
appear,andbeeven-handed,in
reachingouttotheCRPHand
Myanmarese people. The
Generals require a face-saving
exit, not a protracted urban
conflict or civil war.
(The writer, a retired Major
General, was Commander,
IPKF South, Sri Lanka, and
founder member of the Defence
Planning Staff, currently the
Integrated Defence Staff. The
views expressed are personal.)
,
QWKHSDVWIHZKRXUVWKH$$3OHG'HOKL*RYHUQPHQWKDVPDGHDFRXSOHRIPDMRU
DQQRXQFHPHQWV³RQHTXLWHLPSRUWDQWDQGSHRSOHIULHQGODQGWKHRWKHUHTXDOOIOLS
SDQWDQGSRLQWOHVV,WVILUVWGHFLVLRQSHUWDLQVWRGRXEOLQJWKHKRXUVIRU29,'YDF
FLQDWLRQ7KLVLVXQGRXEWHGODZHOFRPHVWHSEHFDXVHODNKVRISHRSOHLQWKHFLWDUH
IRUFHGWRWUDYHOORQJGLVWDQFHVRQZRUNRUIRURWKHU
EXVLQHVVHVZKLFKDOORZVWKHPOLWWOHWLPHWRJHWWKHP
VHOYHVLQRFXODWHGHYHQLIWKHEHRWKHUZLVHHOLJLEOH
WRUHFHLYHWKHLQMHFWLRQ$PLGWKHVZLIWLQFUHDVHLQWKH
QXPEHURIDFWLYHFDVHVVXFKSHRSOHZRXOGQRZKDYH
DQRSSRUWXQLWWRJHWWKHPVHOYHVIRUWLILHGDJDLQVWWKH
YLUXVZKLOHDWWKHVDPHWLPHPDNLQJHYHQLIDVPDOO
GHQWLQWKHQXPEHUVZKRZRXOGFURZGDYDFFLQDWLRQ
FHQWUHEHFDXVHWKHZRUNLQJKRXUVZHUHRQOWKLVPXFK
7KH$$3*RYHUQPHQWFHUWDLQOGHVHUYHVKLJKSUDLVH
IRUWDNLQJWKLVLQLWLDWLYH%XWWKDWEULQJVXVWRLWVVHF
RQGGHFLVLRQ7KHFXUIHZEHWZHHQSPDQGDP
7REHJLQZLWKZKRURDPVDURXQGWKHFLWEHWZHHQ
WKHVDLGKRXUVZLWKRXWJHQXLQHEXVLQHVVZRQ·WWKH
SROLFHQRWLFHWKHVXVSLFLRXVRQHVOXUNLQJDURXQGDLPOHVVO
7ZRLIWKHGDWLPHFURZGVNHHSDFWLQJDVUHFNOHVVODVWKHGRZLWKRXWSKVLFDO
GLVWDQFLQJRUZHDULQJPDVNVSURSHUOKRZZRXOGWKHQLJKWFXUIHZKHOS'RHVRURQD
WUDYHORQODWQLJKWRULWZRQ·WFDWFKSHRSOHZLWKDQHSDVV$QGWKHQVRPDQFDWH
JRULHVKDYHEHHQH[HPSWHGWKDWLWLVXQOLNHOWKDWWKHFXUIHZZRXOGKDYHDQLPSDFWRQ
SHRSOH·VQLJKWSDUDGHHVWKH*RYHUQPHQWKDVQRWH[HPSWHGRQOWKHVXQWRYHQWXUH
RXWDWQLJKW,QLWVVLQFHUHDWWHPSWVWR´QRWFDXVHDQLQFRQYHQLHQFHWR'HOKLLWHVµUHDG
QRWDQWDJRQLVLQJDQVHFWLRQRIVRFLHW