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?=BQ =4F34;78
Anaval drill by the US Navy
earlier this week in the
Indian Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) has raised eye-
brows as no prior consent from
New Delhi was taken for the
strategic exercise, which was in
total disregard of internation-
al conventions. However, the
US has claimed it has abided by
the international laws.
This exercise without
approval by India came at a
time when the two countries
are marching ahead to forge
closer strategic and defence ties.
Moreover, the two countries,
now part of the Quadrilateral
last year, held the Malabar
series of exercises along with
Japan and Australia.
Taking exception to the
exercise, the External Affairs
Ministry said here on Friday
India has expressed its con-
cerns to the US through diplo-
matic channels.
A Ministry statement said
UN Convention on Law of the
Sea did not authorise other
states to carry out military
exercises or manoeuvres, in
particular those involving use
of weapons, in EEZ and on
continental shelf, without con-
sent of coastal state.
It further said the US war-
ship USS John Paul Jones was
continuously monitored tran-
siting from the Persian Gulf
towards the Malacca Straits.
“We have conveyed our con-
cerns regarding this passage
through our EEZ to the
Government of the USA
through diplomatic channels,”
the MEA statement said.
The US informed about its
drill when a statement by the
US Navy 7th fleet said it con-
ducted Freedom of Navigation
Operations (FONOPs) within
India’s exclusive economic zone
off the Lakshadweep Islands
without India’s permission.
“On April 7, 2021, the USS
John Paul Jones asserted navi-
gational rights and freedoms
approximately 130 nautical
miles west of the Lakshadweep
Islands, inside India’s EEZ,
without requesting India’s prior
consent, consistent with inter-
national law. India requires
prior consent for military exer-
cises or manoeuvres in its
exclusive economic zone or
continental shelf, a claim
inconsistent with internation-
al law,” said a statement by the
US 7th Fleet Public Affairs.
The statement irked New
Delhi since the US is among
India’s closest strategic partners
with both sides having repeat-
edly opposed China’s maritime
expansionism, particularly in
the South China Sea. India and
the US hold naval exercises
throughout the year.
The US statement also said,
“We conduct routine and reg-
ular FONOPs, as we have done
in the past and will continue to
do in the future. FONOPs are
not about one country, nor are
they about making political
statements.”
In the Quad group meeting
held in February this year, the
first since a new US adminis-
tration took over, the partners
pledged “to strengthen coop-
eration on advancing a free and
open Indo-Pacific region,
including support for freedom
of navigation and territorial
integrity”.
Reacting to this develop-
ment, former Navy Chief
Admiral Arun Prakash said on
Twitter, “There is irony here.
While India ratified UN Law of
the Seas in 1995, the US has
failed to do it so far. For the 7th
Fleet to carry out FoN missions
in Indian EEZ in violation of
our domestic law is bad
enough. But publicising it?
USN please switch on IFF
(Identification, friend or foe)!,”
The US regularly conducts
FONOPs against several coun-
tries challenging what it says
are “excessive maritime claims”
and FONOPs were regularly
conducted against India too in
the past.
Both the countries have
differences on the rights of
Littoral States to stop foreign
warships from carrying out
military activities in their EEZ.
India and the US have fun-
damental differences in coastal
states’ rights to stop foreign
military ships from conducting
military activities within their
EEZ.
When India ratified the
UN Convention of the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1995, it
declared that in its under-
standing “the provisions of the
Convention do not authorise
other States to carry out in the
exclusive economic zone and
on the continental shelf mili-
tary exercises or manoeuvres,
in particular those involving
the use of weapons or explo-
sives without the consent of the
coastal State”. The US has so far
not ratified UNCLOS.
The differences, which
began during the drafting of
the treaty, is over the interpre-
tation of Article 58 (i) of the
Convention, which says:.. In
the exclusive economic zone, all
States, whether coastal or land-
locked, enjoy, subject to the rel-
evant provisions of this
Convention, the freedoms
referred to in article 87 of nav-
igation and over flight and of
the laying of submarine cables
and pipelines, and other inter-
nationally lawful uses of the sea
related to these freedoms, such
as those associated with the
operation of ships, aircraft
and submarine cables and
pipelines, and compatible with
the other provisions of this
Convention.
The second clause of the
Article then lists Articles “88 to
115” as also applying to the
EEZ “in so far as they are not
incompatible with this Part”.
The US asserts that the
phrase “other internationally
lawful uses of the sea” means
that they can enjoy the freedom
to operate in the EEZ. They
also cite Article 87 that lists
freedoms in the high seas,
including freedom of naviga-
tion, implying that this applies
to the EEZ.
?=BQ =4F34;78
At least 700 severe and seri-
ous adverse events have
been reported from across the
country post-Covid vaccina-
tion since nationwide inocula-
tion drive began on January 16.
The cases are under scanner in
India in the wake of the glob-
al concerns over rare or unusu-
al types of blood clots after
administration of the
A s t r a Z e n e c a - O x f o r d
University shots.
Meanwhile, India reported
over 1.33 lakh cases in 24
hours on Friday, while the 679
people died of
Covid-19.
Sources in the Union
Health Ministry said the
national committee on adverse
events following immunsation
(AEFI) is closely monitoring
the cases and relooking at
some of the unusual technical
parameters following reports
by the European regulator and
the World Health Organisation
(WHO).
The result of the analysis is
likely to be finalised by the end
of this week, said the sources.
They said the review is sig-
nificant as globally regulators
are waiting for India’s data
because of a large number of
doses of Covid vaccine being
administered here. At over 83
million, AstraZeneca’s
Covishield vaccine accounts
for 90 per cent of the doses
administered in India so far.
The remaining 8.1 million
doses are of Bharat Biotech’s
Covaxin.
“Besides, we also have a
large-scale AEFI monitoring
and assessment mechanism
already in place for the uni-
versal child immunisation pro-
gramme,” he added.
On Wednesday, the
European Medicines Agency
(EMA) confirmed that the
cases of blood clots with low
blood platelets were associated
with the administration of the
AstraZeneca vaccine, but
should still be listed as very rare
side effects.
In fact, till March 29 when
over 6 crore people were inoc-
ulated, nearly, 180 people died
after getting the vaccine while
617 adverse events have been
reported in India. This means
that 29.2 per cent of these
AEFI cases resulted in deaths.
However, not a single case has
been attributed to deaths due to
the vaccine.
Instead, the Ministry has
found that most of the persons
who succumbed to their illness
had co-morbidities.
B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :;:0C0
Even as the Election
Commission of India
slapped a second notice on
Mamata Banerjee, this time for
asking her supporters to block-
ade the Central forces and
then vote because “they are
Amit Shah’s men,” a defiant
Bengal Chief Minister alleged
Home Minister Amit Shah was
trying to incite violence in the
State and egging on the police
to engage in unethical acts.
The TMC supremo
advised Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to control
Shah, alleging that he may
incite riots in the State.
“I have not seen such a
‘gunda’ (gangster), ‘dangabaaz’
(rioteer) Home Minister in my
entire life. Amit Shah is more
dangerous than a tiger. People
fear talking to him. I will urge
PM Narendra Modi to control
Amit Shah first. He is inciting
riots here,” news agency PTI
quoted Mamata saying this
while addressing a rally in
Memari in Purba.
On his part, the Union
Home Minister on Friday
pledged “common sense” to the
Bengal Chief Minister inform-
ing her about how the CPF
functioned during the elec-
tions.
“Mamata Didi has been
holding the Home Ministry
responsible for controlling the
conduct of the Central forces
during the elections… but a lit-
tle common sense would make
her think differently… in fact
during the elections the Central
forces are not controlled by the
Union Home Ministry but by
the Election Commission,”
Shah told mediapersons adding
he had not seen a Chief
Minister acting in a manner the
way she did.
Saying that Mamata’s out-
burst was the result of her fear
of losing the elections, the
Home Minister said, “Mamata
Banerjee’s outburst only indi-
cates that she is losing the elec-
tions … the frustration is evi-
dent from her regular attack on
the Central forces… In fact I
have never seen a Chief
Minister or party chief asking
the people to gherao the
Central forces.”
He wondered whether by
using such words she was try-
ing to create anarchy. “Is she
trying to create anarchy? I do
not understand,” Shah
said.
?=BQ =4F34;78908?DA
To thwart possible attempts
of horse-trading by the rul-
ing BJP, Assam’s minority-
based All India United
Democratic Front (AIUDF)
on Friday sent all its candidates
of the recently-concluded
Assembly elections to
Congress-ruled Rajasthan in a
chartered plane, perhaps being
the first case when election
contestants, not MLAs, have
been put in a secure place.
As many as 22 candidates
of the Opposition alliance led
by the Congress in Assam have
been flown to Jaipur amid
fears that the BJP may try to
lure them away ahead of elec-
tion results due early next
month. The candidates from
Mahajot alliance are from the
Maulana Badruddin Ajmal-
led AIUDF. AIUDF is a com-
ponent of Assam’s 10-party
and Congress-led grand
alliance of Opposition. It was
formed two months back to
oust the BJP from
power.
They have been kept in the
same Fairmont resort in Jaipur
where Rajasthan Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot had put his
MLAs last July during the
party’s internal crisis led by
Sachin Pilot.
“It’s now a trend since the
BJP tries to break the Congress
after losing elections. So they
(allies) want to take guard,”
AICC chief spokesman
Congress’s Randeep Singh
Surjewala said confirming the
developments.
Speculation is rife the can-
didates could be taken further
to Dubai from Rajasthan as the
results of the keenly-contested
Assam elections will scheduled
to be declared on May 2 comes
closer.
“All of us have just landed
in Rajasthan. The Rajasthan
Government has made
arrangements for our stay,”
one of the AIUDF candidates
said as quoted by a Assam daily.
He mentioned the AIUDF
chief Maulana Badruddin
Ajmal though have not accom-
panied the team since he is in
Mumbai.
?C8 Q =4F34;78
Intensifying their protest
against the three farm laws,
the farmers protesting at Delhi
borders will block the key
Kundali-Manesar-Palwal high-
way for 24 hours starting
Saturday morning.
“Tomorrow, on April 10,
the KMP-KGP highway will be
blocked for 24 hours (from 8
am, 10th April to 8 am 11th
April) as a warning to the gov-
ernment,” the Samyukt Kisan
Morcha, an umbrella body of
the protesting farmer unions,
said in a statement on Friday.
The KMP stands for
Kundali-Manesar-Palwal
expressway and the KGP for
Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal
expressway.
The move is a part of the
farmers’ strategy for protest this
month.
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Even as Covid-19 cases are
surging despite ramping up
of the vaccination drive each
passing day, the Government is
bracing up for a new worry as
the virus is infecting even
those people, including large
number of doctors, who have
already taken both doses of
vaccines.
This might hamper the
health services at a time when
the country is witnessing a sec-
ond wave.
Dr Jugal Kishore, head of
the department of community
medicine at Safdarjung
Hospital, said infection among
doctors even after getting vac-
cination can impair the func-
tionality of services that are
being provided. “If doctors go
for quarantine or get sick, who
will provide healthcare ser-
vices,” he cautioned.
For instance, at least 37
doctors in Delhi’s Sir Ganga
Ram Hospital have tested pos-
itive for the coronavirus and
five of them have been admit-
ted for treatment.
Similarly, about 40 doctors
have tested positive in a hos-
pital in the last few days.
Around half of them belong to
the general surgery depart-
ment, nine of the urology
department and three of the
department of medicine. Most
of them had taken the vaccine
in the first phase of the vacci-
nation that was launched from
January 16.
Studies say the “Peltzman
Effect”, might be one of the rea-
sons. The term is used to indi-
cate that when safety mea-
sures are mandated, people’s
perception of risk decreases,
making them take riskier deci-
sions.
The Peltzman Effect has
been termed after Sam
Peltzman, an economist at the
University of Chicago.
According to the theory,
Peltzman postulated that man-
dating the use of seatbelts in
automobiles led to more acci-
dents. This implies that safety
perception increases the
appetite for risks. In other
terms, people become more
careful when they sense greater
risk and less careful if
they feel more
protected.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
The Delhi Government on
Friday ordered all schools
to remain shut amid the rising
cases of coronavirus in the
city. On Friday, Delhi record-
ed 8,521 fresh Covid-19 cases,
highest single-day spike since
November 11 last year, and 39
new fatalities, according to
Health department bulletin.
The Directorate of
Education ( DoE ) in its order
stated, “In view of the sudden
surge in the cases of Covid-19
in Delhi, all the Heads of
Government, Government
aided and unaided recognised
Schools are hereby informed
that conduct of all academic
and examination activities
through physical mode shall
remain suspended with imme-
diate effect till further orders.
“They are further directed
to ensure that no student of
Classes IX to XII is called in the
school physically for any kind
of academic or examination
activity (like practice of prac-
ticals, mid-term annual
examination related work i.e.,
practical, project submission,
assessments etc) till further
orders,” said the order issued by
the DoE.
“However, teaching learn-
ing activities may be conduct-
ed for the students through dig-
ital modes,” it said further.
Meanwhile, Delhi
Government-run Rajiv Gandhi
Super Speciality Hospital
(RGGSH) has been again con-
verted into a dedicated Covid-
19 facility amid a massive surge
in coronavirus cases in the
national Capital, officials said
on Friday.
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Maharashtra Minister
Vijay Wadettiwar on
Friday said that a three-week
long lockdown was required
in the State to bring the coro-
navirus cases under control.
Having only a weekend
lockdown was not enough
for the State considering the
rise in numbers, he said.
“We are doing all we can
to check the spread, but it
requires strong manpower.
We will soon make available
five lakh doctors, including
those who are completing
their postgraduation,” the
Relief and Rehabilitation
Minister told a TV channel.
We need to bring curbs
on the movement of railways
and stop crowding in public
places to prevent the com-
munity spread and save peo-
ple’s lives, Wadettiwar said.
“As Relief and
Rehabilitation Minister, I
would demand that instead of
just a weekend lockdown,we
should go for a three-week
long strict lockdown. It is
required to check the com-
munity spread,” he said.
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Britain’s Prince Philip — the
Duke of Edinburgh, the
husband of Queen Elizabeth II,
who passed away at the age of
99 on Friday morning — made
three memorable royal visits to
India in his long years of
accompanying the 94-year-old
monarch during her nearly
69-year reign.
The UK’s longest-serving
royal consort joined the Queen
in India in 1959, 1961, 1983
and 1997 — during which he
made quite an impression with
his sense of humour, which
often also got him into some
controversy.
“Deeply saddened at sad
demise of HRH Prince Philip,
Duke of Edinburgh, an iconic
pillar of the British monarchy,
regarded by his people and
world with the highest esteem
and affection. India had the
honour of receiving him and
HM The Queen on four mem-
orable occasions,” the Indian
High Commission in
London said in a
statement.
Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief
Minister Ashok Gehlot has
written to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, saying the
stock of coronavirus vaccine
in the state will finish in next
two days and urged him to
immediately provide at least
30 lakh doses.
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BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal on Friday met the
chairman of Sir Ganga Ram
Hospital, Dr. DS Rana, at his
residence, where he inquired
about the health of the 37 doc-
tors appointed at the hospital
who have tested positive for
Corona.
Rajendra Nagar MLA
Raghav Chaddha was also pre-
sent in the meeting.
Kejriwal said,
Our doctors have
been at the forefront
of fighting
Coronavirus. I pray
for a swift recovery of
all the doctors who
have tested positive. The hos-
pital can reach out to the Delhi
government at any
point, if and when
required, and we will
provide them with all
the help possible.
During the meet-
ing, the CM was
apprised that out of the 37 doc-
tors who tested positive, most
of them are asymptomatic and
have been recommended home
isolation. 4-5 doctors, who
have observed serious symp-
toms, have been admitted to
the hospitals and are taken care
of.
He expressed serious con-
cerns over the spike in Corona
positive cases in the last few
days. Delhi has been observing
a spike in the number of
Corona positive cases, with
7,437 people testing positive
against 91770 tests being con-
ducted on Thursday.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
A23-year-old man was
injured after he was shot at
by an alleged criminal in north-
east Delhi's Dayalpur area.
The victim has been iden-
tified as Sahil, a resident of
Nehru Vihar area.
According to a senior
police official, Sahil had sus-
tained a gunshot wound in his
left leg and was admitted to the
Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital.
“Initially, Sahil accused two
other persons for the incident,
but when he was examined in
detail upon being discharged
from the hospital he told that
a person named Farooq was
behind the whole episode,”
said the senior police official.
“Farooq is a criminal of the
area whose motive was to
implicate others in the crime.
On Thursday around 5 pm,
Farooq allegedly shot at Sahil
and later informed the police
himself. A case has been regis-
tered and probe is underway,”
said the senior police official.
BC055A4?AC4AQ
6DAD6A0
The Haryana Government
has decided to shut schools
for classes 1 to 8 till April 30 in
view of the Covid-19 situation.
This was announced by
Haryana chief minister
Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday.
Khattar was present in
Gurugram on Friday to chair
an annual meeting of the
Gurugram Metropolitan
Development Authority
(GMDA).
We are monitoring the
situation in the state and are
focusing on testing instead of
'Night curfew' or 'Lockdown'.
In the coming days the gov-
ernment will increase testing at
the market places, malls, bus
stands, railway stations to curb
infections. We don't need to
panic in view of the surge in
Covid-19 cases. We should
work hard to fight against
Covid-19 and need to follow
covid guidelines, Khattar said.
The decision comes after
many school students and
teachers in different districts
tested positive for coronavirus.
Government school stu-
dents from several districts
had recently tested positive for
coronavirus infection after
which these schools had been
closed until further orders.
The students who were
asymptomatic too had tested
positive during a random sam-
pling drive carried out by the
health department for the
schools.
Earlier, the state govern-
ment had allowed classes from
3 to 12 to open in phased man-
ner with the prior consent of
parents.
Meanwhile, the state is wit-
nessing a surge in the cases of
COVID-19.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
Delhi Agriculture Minister
Gopal Rai on Friday visit-
ed Narela Mandi after receiv-
ing a series of complaints from
farmers of the food- grains not
being procured at ‘Minimum
Support Price’ (MSP).
The Minister visited mandi
to check the situation on
ground and found that FCI did
not even set up a counter
there.
Rai said “We decided to
inspect the situation today and
have been apprised by the
president and secretary of the
Mandi and found not even a
single counter of the FCI. The
Centre should stop harassing
farmers and purchase food
grains by setting up counters in
mandis.”
To resolve the matter, he
will hold a meeting with senior
officials of FCI in Delhi
Secretariat on Saturday, he
said.
“It is highly unfortunate
that such a system has been
created to trouble farmers. I
would like to say to the union
government that today farmers
are fighting for their rights and
they know that once the three
farm laws are implemented,
they will have to face a lot of
trouble. Today a farmer is
being sent from one place to
another for MSP. No purchas-
ing was done in the godown till
today,” he added.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
The Delhi Police has arrest-
ed five people, including a
couple, in connection with the
alleged kidnapping of a three-
year-old girl in outer Delhi's
Raj Park area.
The accused have been
identified as Ravi (26), his wife
Santosh (25), Mahesh (25),
Guddan (26) and Ramprasad
(36). Police said that the child
was safely recovered and hand-
ed over to her parents. An
amount of Rs 84,500 was also
recovered from the accused,”
said police.
According to Parvinder
Singh, the Deputy
Commissioner of Police
(DCP), Outer district, on
Tuesday, the victim's mother
reported that at around 8.30
pm, her daughter was playing
with other children in a park in
front of her house while she
was busy with household work
and subsequently, she went
missing.
“A case was registered and
while scanning through the
footage obtained from over 50
CCTV cameras, the police
noticed a couple carrying a
child. The couple were identi-
fied as Ravi and his wife
Santosh and they were nabbed
on April 7, but the child could
not be found at their resi-
dence in outer Delhi's
Mangolpuri,” said the
DCP.
“During interrogation,
Santosh told the police that he
had got a job as a patient
attendant at a house through
Mahesh, who works as a ward
boy at a private hospital, but
after the patient recovered, he
lost his job and was in a finan-
cial crisis. When he approached
Mahesh for help, the latter
offered him Rs 50,000 if he
could arrange for a child aged
up to five years,” said the
DCP.
“When Mahesh was ques-
tioned, he disclosed that Ram
Prasad, who also works as a
ward boy with him at the hos-
pital, asked him to arrange for
a child for adoption for his sis-
ter Guddan, who is separated
from her husband and is under
mental depression. Mahesh
made a plan to kidnap a child
through Ravi and Santosh and
demanded Rs one Lakh for the
same from Ram Prasad. After
the girl was kidnapped, she was
handed over to Guddan in
exchange for the promised
cash,” said the
DCP.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
The Delhi Police has arrest-
ed two men for allegedly
using monkeys to threaten and
rob people in south Delhi's
Malviya Nagar area.
The accused duo, Balwan
Nath (26) and Vikram Nath
(23), who are residents of
Okhla Mor in the city.
According to Atul Kumar
Thakur, the Deputy
Commissioner of Police
(DCP), South district, the duo
was waiting near Chirag Delhi
bus stand with their two mon-
keys when the police team
nabbed them on Thursday.
“The two monkeys have
been deposited with Wildlife
SOS centre.The accused, , along
with their third associate, Ajay
used monkeys to threaten peo-
ple and rob them of their valu-
ables,” said the DCP adding
efforts are being taken to catch
hold of Ajay, who is still
absconding.
“The accused men had
caught the monkeys from
Tughlakabad Fort jungle
around three months ago. The
matter came to light on March
2, when an advocate from
Khirki Extension reported that
three men carrying monkeys
surrounded them and force-
fully robbed Rs 6,000 from
him,” said the DCP.
“When the lawyer was sit-
ting in an auto-rickshaw, the
duo made the monkeys sit
inside the vehicle with one in
the front and the other at the
back seat and demanded
money from him. When the
advocate took out the wallet,
the duo robbed him and
escaped,” said the DCP.
“A case was registered
under Indian Penal Code
Sections 392 (punishment for
robbery) and 34 (acts done by
several persons in furtherance
of common intention) at
Malviya Nagar police station
and since it was a peculiar inci-
dent involving monkeys, a ded-
icated team was constituted to
nab the culprits,” said the
DCP.
“Further, relevant provi-
sions of the Wildlife Protection
Act, 1972 were added against
the accused in the case. The
team scanned through several
CCTV footages and conduct-
ed raids in and around
Delhi based on inputs from
sources and informers,” said the
DCP.
“On Thursday, a police
team got a tip-off that two men
with monkeys were present at
Chirag Delhi bus stand who
had committed the robbery
earlier and could commit fur-
ther thefts. We acted upon the
information and apprehended
them along with the two mon-
keys,” said the
DCP.
4V_bfZcVdRS`feU`TdhY`eVdegVRWeVc[RS
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?=BQ
347A03D=
The novel
What Went
Wrong by
Shradha Khanna
makes the reader
wonder what will
one do if one has
to choose
between a beau-
tiful planned out
life path and a
path one has no
idea about. How
will you justify
to everyone if
you choose
something which
no one agrees to?
Most importantly how do you
decide to choose between two
best options in your life? Meera
has everything she wants in her
life but not what she desires the
most.
Will she ever find out what
is important, even if she does,
will she be able to hold on to
the best things in her life or will
she lose everything in the
process? An MBA in
International Business, the
author worked with her fami-
ly firm and then ventured into
speciality baking. Encouraged
by her mother to pen her
thoughts soon saw her writing
her first novel ‘Should I Fall in
Love’ in 2016 followed by the
novel ‘The Emotional
Connection’.
:KDW:HQW:URQJ²
WKHFKRLFHVWKDWPDWWHU
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
Delhi Police Commissioner
SN Shrivastava on Friday
presented “Certificate of
Excellence” to Station House
Officer (SHO) of Begumpur
police station, Inspector Jai
Bhagwan, for being selected as
the best police station of Delhi
among top 10 police stations of
India 2020.
“The ranking is done on
the basis of prefixed parameters
by the Ministry of Home
Affairs annually, and are con-
ducted to incentivise effective
functioning of police stations
and bring healthy competi-
tion among them,” said
Chinmoy Biswal, the Public
Relation Officer (PRO) of
Delhi Police.
“The surveys were con-
ducted across the coun-
try, and the police sta-
tions were selected based
on data analysis, direct
observation and public
feedback. The survey
team also randomly vis-
ited various areas -- Rajiv
Nagar, Jain Nagar,
Begumpur falling under
the jurisdiction of Begumpur
police station and recorded
citizens’ feedback. They also
noticed checking being con-
ducted at the pickets and
observed the actual on ground
situation,” said Biswal.
“The survey team further
analysed the CCTNS (Crime
and Criminal Tracking
Network and Systems) entries
and Records of Police Station.
They visited the Malkhanas as
well as inspected the basic
amenities for visitors, waiting
areas, toilets, drinking water,
public facilitation desks, bar-
racks, separate rooms for
women constable, safety and
security of armoury and other
parameters as per the standards
for best police station, and
adjudged Begumpur as the
best police station in Delhi,”
Biswal added.
“To bolster effective polic-
ing, staff of Begumpur police
station in coordination with
members of public got installed
around 400 CCTV cameras in
2019-2020. Inspector Jai
Bhagwan, SHO Begampur also
took an initiative to involve
good Samaritans and youth in
order to control crime,” said
Bsiwal.
“A gang of snatchers and
robbers was apprehended by
team of Begumpur police sta-
tion actively involved in com-
mitting crime in Sector 37,
Rohini through active engage-
ment of youth who participat-
ed in police patrolling during
evening and night hours for 20-
25 days,” said the PRO.
“The police team of
Begumpur police station has
also taken several initiatives to
promote community friendly
policing like Child friendly
room, redressing the com-
plaints of vulnerable sections
on a priority basis and stringent
action against gangsters and
property offenders while being
accessible for public,” said
Biswal.
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- 1. &D;CA0B:8;;438=! 4=2D=C4AB8=9: BaX]PVPa)BTeT]X[XcP]cb X]R[dSX]VcTaa^a^dcUXc0]bPa 6WPifPcd[7X]S³bRWXTU8cXPi 0WPSBWPWfTaTVd]]TS S^f]QhbTRdaXchU^aRTbX]cf^ T]R^d]cTabX]9:³bBW^_XP] P]S?d[fPPSXbcaXRcb_^[XRT bPXS^]5aXSPh 20?BD;4 ?=BQ =4F34;78 Anaval drill by the US Navy earlier this week in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has raised eye- brows as no prior consent from New Delhi was taken for the strategic exercise, which was in total disregard of internation- al conventions. However, the US has claimed it has abided by the international laws. This exercise without approval by India came at a time when the two countries are marching ahead to forge closer strategic and defence ties. Moreover, the two countries, now part of the Quadrilateral last year, held the Malabar series of exercises along with Japan and Australia. Taking exception to the exercise, the External Affairs Ministry said here on Friday India has expressed its con- cerns to the US through diplo- matic channels. A Ministry statement said UN Convention on Law of the Sea did not authorise other states to carry out military exercises or manoeuvres, in particular those involving use of weapons, in EEZ and on continental shelf, without con- sent of coastal state. It further said the US war- ship USS John Paul Jones was continuously monitored tran- siting from the Persian Gulf towards the Malacca Straits. “We have conveyed our con- cerns regarding this passage through our EEZ to the Government of the USA through diplomatic channels,” the MEA statement said. The US informed about its drill when a statement by the US Navy 7th fleet said it con- ducted Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) within India’s exclusive economic zone off the Lakshadweep Islands without India’s permission. “On April 7, 2021, the USS John Paul Jones asserted navi- gational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands, inside India’s EEZ, without requesting India’s prior consent, consistent with inter- national law. India requires prior consent for military exer- cises or manoeuvres in its exclusive economic zone or continental shelf, a claim inconsistent with internation- al law,” said a statement by the US 7th Fleet Public Affairs. The statement irked New Delhi since the US is among India’s closest strategic partners with both sides having repeat- edly opposed China’s maritime expansionism, particularly in the South China Sea. India and the US hold naval exercises throughout the year. The US statement also said, “We conduct routine and reg- ular FONOPs, as we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future. FONOPs are not about one country, nor are they about making political statements.” In the Quad group meeting held in February this year, the first since a new US adminis- tration took over, the partners pledged “to strengthen coop- eration on advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region, including support for freedom of navigation and territorial integrity”. Reacting to this develop- ment, former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash said on Twitter, “There is irony here. While India ratified UN Law of the Seas in 1995, the US has failed to do it so far. For the 7th Fleet to carry out FoN missions in Indian EEZ in violation of our domestic law is bad enough. But publicising it? USN please switch on IFF (Identification, friend or foe)!,” The US regularly conducts FONOPs against several coun- tries challenging what it says are “excessive maritime claims” and FONOPs were regularly conducted against India too in the past. Both the countries have differences on the rights of Littoral States to stop foreign warships from carrying out military activities in their EEZ. India and the US have fun- damental differences in coastal states’ rights to stop foreign military ships from conducting military activities within their EEZ. When India ratified the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1995, it declared that in its under- standing “the provisions of the Convention do not authorise other States to carry out in the exclusive economic zone and on the continental shelf mili- tary exercises or manoeuvres, in particular those involving the use of weapons or explo- sives without the consent of the coastal State”. The US has so far not ratified UNCLOS. The differences, which began during the drafting of the treaty, is over the interpre- tation of Article 58 (i) of the Convention, which says:.. In the exclusive economic zone, all States, whether coastal or land- locked, enjoy, subject to the rel- evant provisions of this Convention, the freedoms referred to in article 87 of nav- igation and over flight and of the laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and other inter- nationally lawful uses of the sea related to these freedoms, such as those associated with the operation of ships, aircraft and submarine cables and pipelines, and compatible with the other provisions of this Convention. The second clause of the Article then lists Articles “88 to 115” as also applying to the EEZ “in so far as they are not incompatible with this Part”. The US asserts that the phrase “other internationally lawful uses of the sea” means that they can enjoy the freedom to operate in the EEZ. They also cite Article 87 that lists freedoms in the high seas, including freedom of naviga- tion, implying that this applies to the EEZ. ?=BQ =4F34;78 At least 700 severe and seri- ous adverse events have been reported from across the country post-Covid vaccina- tion since nationwide inocula- tion drive began on January 16. The cases are under scanner in India in the wake of the glob- al concerns over rare or unusu- al types of blood clots after administration of the A s t r a Z e n e c a - O x f o r d University shots. Meanwhile, India reported over 1.33 lakh cases in 24 hours on Friday, while the 679 people died of Covid-19. Sources in the Union Health Ministry said the national committee on adverse events following immunsation (AEFI) is closely monitoring the cases and relooking at some of the unusual technical parameters following reports by the European regulator and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The result of the analysis is likely to be finalised by the end of this week, said the sources. They said the review is sig- nificant as globally regulators are waiting for India’s data because of a large number of doses of Covid vaccine being administered here. At over 83 million, AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine accounts for 90 per cent of the doses administered in India so far. The remaining 8.1 million doses are of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. “Besides, we also have a large-scale AEFI monitoring and assessment mechanism already in place for the uni- versal child immunisation pro- gramme,” he added. On Wednesday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) confirmed that the cases of blood clots with low blood platelets were associated with the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but should still be listed as very rare side effects. In fact, till March 29 when over 6 crore people were inoc- ulated, nearly, 180 people died after getting the vaccine while 617 adverse events have been reported in India. This means that 29.2 per cent of these AEFI cases resulted in deaths. However, not a single case has been attributed to deaths due to the vaccine. Instead, the Ministry has found that most of the persons who succumbed to their illness had co-morbidities. B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :;:0C0 Even as the Election Commission of India slapped a second notice on Mamata Banerjee, this time for asking her supporters to block- ade the Central forces and then vote because “they are Amit Shah’s men,” a defiant Bengal Chief Minister alleged Home Minister Amit Shah was trying to incite violence in the State and egging on the police to engage in unethical acts. The TMC supremo advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi to control Shah, alleging that he may incite riots in the State. “I have not seen such a ‘gunda’ (gangster), ‘dangabaaz’ (rioteer) Home Minister in my entire life. Amit Shah is more dangerous than a tiger. People fear talking to him. I will urge PM Narendra Modi to control Amit Shah first. He is inciting riots here,” news agency PTI quoted Mamata saying this while addressing a rally in Memari in Purba. On his part, the Union Home Minister on Friday pledged “common sense” to the Bengal Chief Minister inform- ing her about how the CPF functioned during the elec- tions. “Mamata Didi has been holding the Home Ministry responsible for controlling the conduct of the Central forces during the elections… but a lit- tle common sense would make her think differently… in fact during the elections the Central forces are not controlled by the Union Home Ministry but by the Election Commission,” Shah told mediapersons adding he had not seen a Chief Minister acting in a manner the way she did. Saying that Mamata’s out- burst was the result of her fear of losing the elections, the Home Minister said, “Mamata Banerjee’s outburst only indi- cates that she is losing the elec- tions … the frustration is evi- dent from her regular attack on the Central forces… In fact I have never seen a Chief Minister or party chief asking the people to gherao the Central forces.” He wondered whether by using such words she was try- ing to create anarchy. “Is she trying to create anarchy? I do not understand,” Shah said. ?=BQ =4F34;78908?DA To thwart possible attempts of horse-trading by the rul- ing BJP, Assam’s minority- based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) on Friday sent all its candidates of the recently-concluded Assembly elections to Congress-ruled Rajasthan in a chartered plane, perhaps being the first case when election contestants, not MLAs, have been put in a secure place. As many as 22 candidates of the Opposition alliance led by the Congress in Assam have been flown to Jaipur amid fears that the BJP may try to lure them away ahead of elec- tion results due early next month. The candidates from Mahajot alliance are from the Maulana Badruddin Ajmal- led AIUDF. AIUDF is a com- ponent of Assam’s 10-party and Congress-led grand alliance of Opposition. It was formed two months back to oust the BJP from power. They have been kept in the same Fairmont resort in Jaipur where Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had put his MLAs last July during the party’s internal crisis led by Sachin Pilot. “It’s now a trend since the BJP tries to break the Congress after losing elections. So they (allies) want to take guard,” AICC chief spokesman Congress’s Randeep Singh Surjewala said confirming the developments. Speculation is rife the can- didates could be taken further to Dubai from Rajasthan as the results of the keenly-contested Assam elections will scheduled to be declared on May 2 comes closer. “All of us have just landed in Rajasthan. The Rajasthan Government has made arrangements for our stay,” one of the AIUDF candidates said as quoted by a Assam daily. He mentioned the AIUDF chief Maulana Badruddin Ajmal though have not accom- panied the team since he is in Mumbai. ?C8 Q =4F34;78 Intensifying their protest against the three farm laws, the farmers protesting at Delhi borders will block the key Kundali-Manesar-Palwal high- way for 24 hours starting Saturday morning. “Tomorrow, on April 10, the KMP-KGP highway will be blocked for 24 hours (from 8 am, 10th April to 8 am 11th April) as a warning to the gov- ernment,” the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of the protesting farmer unions, said in a statement on Friday. The KMP stands for Kundali-Manesar-Palwal expressway and the KGP for Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal expressway. The move is a part of the farmers’ strategy for protest this month. FDUcZ]]Z_66K:_UZRac`eVded 0($H[SUHVVHVFRQFHUQVWR86 IRUH[HUFLVHZLWKRXWSHUPLVVLRQ DB=PehR^]SdRcbP5aTTS^^U=PeXVPcX^]_TaPcX^]5=?X]cWT8]SXP]RTP]aTVX^]X]cWT;P?|a^dbTTgTaRXbT QTcfTT]0_aX[$P]S0_aX[ CfXccTa/DB=Peh @gVc$$]RY TRdVdZ_#%Ycd ?=BQ =4F34;78 Even as Covid-19 cases are surging despite ramping up of the vaccination drive each passing day, the Government is bracing up for a new worry as the virus is infecting even those people, including large number of doctors, who have already taken both doses of vaccines. This might hamper the health services at a time when the country is witnessing a sec- ond wave. Dr Jugal Kishore, head of the department of community medicine at Safdarjung Hospital, said infection among doctors even after getting vac- cination can impair the func- tionality of services that are being provided. “If doctors go for quarantine or get sick, who will provide healthcare ser- vices,” he cautioned. For instance, at least 37 doctors in Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital have tested pos- itive for the coronavirus and five of them have been admit- ted for treatment. Similarly, about 40 doctors have tested positive in a hos- pital in the last few days. Around half of them belong to the general surgery depart- ment, nine of the urology department and three of the department of medicine. Most of them had taken the vaccine in the first phase of the vacci- nation that was launched from January 16. Studies say the “Peltzman Effect”, might be one of the rea- sons. The term is used to indi- cate that when safety mea- sures are mandated, people’s perception of risk decreases, making them take riskier deci- sions. The Peltzman Effect has been termed after Sam Peltzman, an economist at the University of Chicago. According to the theory, Peltzman postulated that man- dating the use of seatbelts in automobiles led to more acci- dents. This implies that safety perception increases the appetite for risks. In other terms, people become more careful when they sense greater risk and less careful if they feel more protected. BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78 The Delhi Government on Friday ordered all schools to remain shut amid the rising cases of coronavirus in the city. On Friday, Delhi record- ed 8,521 fresh Covid-19 cases, highest single-day spike since November 11 last year, and 39 new fatalities, according to Health department bulletin. The Directorate of Education ( DoE ) in its order stated, “In view of the sudden surge in the cases of Covid-19 in Delhi, all the Heads of Government, Government aided and unaided recognised Schools are hereby informed that conduct of all academic and examination activities through physical mode shall remain suspended with imme- diate effect till further orders. “They are further directed to ensure that no student of Classes IX to XII is called in the school physically for any kind of academic or examination activity (like practice of prac- ticals, mid-term annual examination related work i.e., practical, project submission, assessments etc) till further orders,” said the order issued by the DoE. “However, teaching learn- ing activities may be conduct- ed for the students through dig- ital modes,” it said further. Meanwhile, Delhi Government-run Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGGSH) has been again con- verted into a dedicated Covid- 19 facility amid a massive surge in coronavirus cases in the national Capital, officials said on Friday. 0DPDWDGHILHV( NHHSVEODVWLQJ6KDK DYRY+ R^ReR `feSfcdecVdf]e `WWcfdecReZ`_ 8`gedYfeddTY``]d Z_5V]YZRWeVcdfcXV Z_4`gZU*TRdVd RYLGYHDIWHUERWKGRVHV $(U`Te`cdZ_ 5V]YZ¶dDZc8R_XR CR^9`daZeR] eVdea`dZeZgV 3ULQFH3KLOLSURDO YLVLWVWR,QGLDDQGD WLJHUFRQWURYHUV ZdR_e`S]`T AVhRj W`c#%Y`fcd 2:F57dV_Ud##TR_UZUReVd e`;RZafce`RgVcea`RTYZ_X FTbc1T]VP[2PPcP1P]TaYTT SdaX]VP]T[TRcX^]RP_PXV]aP[[hPc 9^caPX]1PaSWPP]^]5aXSPh ?C8 ?C8 Q =4F34;78 Maharashtra Minister Vijay Wadettiwar on Friday said that a three-week long lockdown was required in the State to bring the coro- navirus cases under control. Having only a weekend lockdown was not enough for the State considering the rise in numbers, he said. “We are doing all we can to check the spread, but it requires strong manpower. We will soon make available five lakh doctors, including those who are completing their postgraduation,” the Relief and Rehabilitation Minister told a TV channel. We need to bring curbs on the movement of railways and stop crowding in public places to prevent the com- munity spread and save peo- ple’s lives, Wadettiwar said. “As Relief and Rehabilitation Minister, I would demand that instead of just a weekend lockdown,we should go for a three-week long strict lockdown. It is required to check the com- munity spread,” he said. 0DKD0LQLVWHU IRUWKUHHZHHN 6WDWHORFNGRZQ ?C8 Q ;=3= Britain’s Prince Philip — the Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away at the age of 99 on Friday morning — made three memorable royal visits to India in his long years of accompanying the 94-year-old monarch during her nearly 69-year reign. The UK’s longest-serving royal consort joined the Queen in India in 1959, 1961, 1983 and 1997 — during which he made quite an impression with his sense of humour, which often also got him into some controversy. “Deeply saddened at sad demise of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, an iconic pillar of the British monarchy, regarded by his people and world with the highest esteem and affection. India had the honour of receiving him and HM The Queen on four mem- orable occasions,” the Indian High Commission in London said in a statement. Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the stock of coronavirus vaccine in the state will finish in next two days and urged him to immediately provide at least 30 lakh doses. GRide`Te`WZ_ZdY Z_#URjdac`gZUV Re]VRde$!=U`dVd+ 8VY]`ee`A`UZ SRVWVKRW DGYHUVHHYHQWV XQGHUVFDQQHU /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=B0CDA30H0?A8; !! *?064B !C! @A:?:@?' 7H?2A8BH8BE4AH D270;8E40=3F4;; DA@CE# 0=DC3F8=8= 4DA?0;406D4 m m H@C=5) DBB0=2C8=B=H0=0A64B C0A64C:4H9D=C05D=38=6BDA24 31µDC@51; 6E5D 579C8*=9;1 ! F9F139DI
- 2. ]PcX^]! 347A03D=kB0CDA30H k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·VZLOOQRWEHKHOGUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIFODLPPDGHEWKHDGYHUWLVHUVRIWKHSURGXFWV VHUYLFHVDQGVKDOOQRWEHPDGHUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIORVVFRQVHTXHQFHVDQGIXUWKHUSURGXFWUHODWHGGDPDJHVRQVXFKDGYHUWLVHPHQWV BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday met the chairman of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Dr. DS Rana, at his residence, where he inquired about the health of the 37 doc- tors appointed at the hospital who have tested positive for Corona. Rajendra Nagar MLA Raghav Chaddha was also pre- sent in the meeting. Kejriwal said, Our doctors have been at the forefront of fighting Coronavirus. I pray for a swift recovery of all the doctors who have tested positive. The hos- pital can reach out to the Delhi government at any point, if and when required, and we will provide them with all the help possible. During the meet- ing, the CM was apprised that out of the 37 doc- tors who tested positive, most of them are asymptomatic and have been recommended home isolation. 4-5 doctors, who have observed serious symp- toms, have been admitted to the hospitals and are taken care of. He expressed serious con- cerns over the spike in Corona positive cases in the last few days. Delhi has been observing a spike in the number of Corona positive cases, with 7,437 people testing positive against 91770 tests being con- ducted on Thursday. BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78 A23-year-old man was injured after he was shot at by an alleged criminal in north- east Delhi's Dayalpur area. The victim has been iden- tified as Sahil, a resident of Nehru Vihar area. According to a senior police official, Sahil had sus- tained a gunshot wound in his left leg and was admitted to the Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital. “Initially, Sahil accused two other persons for the incident, but when he was examined in detail upon being discharged from the hospital he told that a person named Farooq was behind the whole episode,” said the senior police official. “Farooq is a criminal of the area whose motive was to implicate others in the crime. On Thursday around 5 pm, Farooq allegedly shot at Sahil and later informed the police himself. A case has been regis- tered and probe is underway,” said the senior police official. BC055A4?AC4AQ 6DAD6A0 The Haryana Government has decided to shut schools for classes 1 to 8 till April 30 in view of the Covid-19 situation. This was announced by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday. Khattar was present in Gurugram on Friday to chair an annual meeting of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA). We are monitoring the situation in the state and are focusing on testing instead of 'Night curfew' or 'Lockdown'. In the coming days the gov- ernment will increase testing at the market places, malls, bus stands, railway stations to curb infections. We don't need to panic in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases. We should work hard to fight against Covid-19 and need to follow covid guidelines, Khattar said. The decision comes after many school students and teachers in different districts tested positive for coronavirus. Government school stu- dents from several districts had recently tested positive for coronavirus infection after which these schools had been closed until further orders. The students who were asymptomatic too had tested positive during a random sam- pling drive carried out by the health department for the schools. Earlier, the state govern- ment had allowed classes from 3 to 12 to open in phased man- ner with the prior consent of parents. Meanwhile, the state is wit- nessing a surge in the cases of COVID-19. BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78 Delhi Agriculture Minister Gopal Rai on Friday visit- ed Narela Mandi after receiv- ing a series of complaints from farmers of the food- grains not being procured at ‘Minimum Support Price’ (MSP). The Minister visited mandi to check the situation on ground and found that FCI did not even set up a counter there. Rai said “We decided to inspect the situation today and have been apprised by the president and secretary of the Mandi and found not even a single counter of the FCI. The Centre should stop harassing farmers and purchase food grains by setting up counters in mandis.” To resolve the matter, he will hold a meeting with senior officials of FCI in Delhi Secretariat on Saturday, he said. “It is highly unfortunate that such a system has been created to trouble farmers. I would like to say to the union government that today farmers are fighting for their rights and they know that once the three farm laws are implemented, they will have to face a lot of trouble. Today a farmer is being sent from one place to another for MSP. No purchas- ing was done in the godown till today,” he added. BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78 The Delhi Police has arrest- ed five people, including a couple, in connection with the alleged kidnapping of a three- year-old girl in outer Delhi's Raj Park area. The accused have been identified as Ravi (26), his wife Santosh (25), Mahesh (25), Guddan (26) and Ramprasad (36). Police said that the child was safely recovered and hand- ed over to her parents. An amount of Rs 84,500 was also recovered from the accused,” said police. According to Parvinder Singh, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Outer district, on Tuesday, the victim's mother reported that at around 8.30 pm, her daughter was playing with other children in a park in front of her house while she was busy with household work and subsequently, she went missing. “A case was registered and while scanning through the footage obtained from over 50 CCTV cameras, the police noticed a couple carrying a child. The couple were identi- fied as Ravi and his wife Santosh and they were nabbed on April 7, but the child could not be found at their resi- dence in outer Delhi's Mangolpuri,” said the DCP. “During interrogation, Santosh told the police that he had got a job as a patient attendant at a house through Mahesh, who works as a ward boy at a private hospital, but after the patient recovered, he lost his job and was in a finan- cial crisis. When he approached Mahesh for help, the latter offered him Rs 50,000 if he could arrange for a child aged up to five years,” said the DCP. “When Mahesh was ques- tioned, he disclosed that Ram Prasad, who also works as a ward boy with him at the hos- pital, asked him to arrange for a child for adoption for his sis- ter Guddan, who is separated from her husband and is under mental depression. Mahesh made a plan to kidnap a child through Ravi and Santosh and demanded Rs one Lakh for the same from Ram Prasad. After the girl was kidnapped, she was handed over to Guddan in exchange for the promised cash,” said the DCP. BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78 The Delhi Police has arrest- ed two men for allegedly using monkeys to threaten and rob people in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar area. The accused duo, Balwan Nath (26) and Vikram Nath (23), who are residents of Okhla Mor in the city. According to Atul Kumar Thakur, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), South district, the duo was waiting near Chirag Delhi bus stand with their two mon- keys when the police team nabbed them on Thursday. “The two monkeys have been deposited with Wildlife SOS centre.The accused, , along with their third associate, Ajay used monkeys to threaten peo- ple and rob them of their valu- ables,” said the DCP adding efforts are being taken to catch hold of Ajay, who is still absconding. “The accused men had caught the monkeys from Tughlakabad Fort jungle around three months ago. The matter came to light on March 2, when an advocate from Khirki Extension reported that three men carrying monkeys surrounded them and force- fully robbed Rs 6,000 from him,” said the DCP. “When the lawyer was sit- ting in an auto-rickshaw, the duo made the monkeys sit inside the vehicle with one in the front and the other at the back seat and demanded money from him. When the advocate took out the wallet, the duo robbed him and escaped,” said the DCP. “A case was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 392 (punishment for robbery) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) at Malviya Nagar police station and since it was a peculiar inci- dent involving monkeys, a ded- icated team was constituted to nab the culprits,” said the DCP. “Further, relevant provi- sions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 were added against the accused in the case. The team scanned through several CCTV footages and conduct- ed raids in and around Delhi based on inputs from sources and informers,” said the DCP. “On Thursday, a police team got a tip-off that two men with monkeys were present at Chirag Delhi bus stand who had committed the robbery earlier and could commit fur- ther thefts. We acted upon the information and apprehended them along with the two mon- keys,” said the DCP. 4V_bfZcVdRS`feU`TdhY`eVdegVRWeVc[RS :TYaXfP[TTcbBXa6P]VPAP7^b_XcP[bWTPS 639^_d`b_SebY^W gXUQdQd=C@Y^ 4UXYQUWUcBQY BRW^^[bU^a2[Pbb8E888c^aTPX] R[^bTSd]cX[0_aX[)7PahP]P2 P]bW^cPc QhRaXX]P[ X]3PhP[_da Dg_XUTV_bb_RRY^W`U_`UecY^W]_^[Uic $WT[SU^aZXS]P__X]Vha^[SVXa[X]dcTa3T[WX ?=BQ 347A03D= The novel What Went Wrong by Shradha Khanna makes the reader wonder what will one do if one has to choose between a beau- tiful planned out life path and a path one has no idea about. How will you justify to everyone if you choose something which no one agrees to? Most importantly how do you decide to choose between two best options in your life? Meera has everything she wants in her life but not what she desires the most. Will she ever find out what is important, even if she does, will she be able to hold on to the best things in her life or will she lose everything in the process? An MBA in International Business, the author worked with her fami- ly firm and then ventured into speciality baking. Encouraged by her mother to pen her thoughts soon saw her writing her first novel ‘Should I Fall in Love’ in 2016 followed by the novel ‘The Emotional Connection’. :KDW:HQW:URQJ² WKHFKRLFHVWKDWPDWWHU BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78 Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava on Friday presented “Certificate of Excellence” to Station House Officer (SHO) of Begumpur police station, Inspector Jai Bhagwan, for being selected as the best police station of Delhi among top 10 police stations of India 2020. “The ranking is done on the basis of prefixed parameters by the Ministry of Home Affairs annually, and are con- ducted to incentivise effective functioning of police stations and bring healthy competi- tion among them,” said Chinmoy Biswal, the Public Relation Officer (PRO) of Delhi Police. “The surveys were con- ducted across the coun- try, and the police sta- tions were selected based on data analysis, direct observation and public feedback. The survey team also randomly vis- ited various areas -- Rajiv Nagar, Jain Nagar, Begumpur falling under the jurisdiction of Begumpur police station and recorded citizens’ feedback. They also noticed checking being con- ducted at the pickets and observed the actual on ground situation,” said Biswal. “The survey team further analysed the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems) entries and Records of Police Station. They visited the Malkhanas as well as inspected the basic amenities for visitors, waiting areas, toilets, drinking water, public facilitation desks, bar- racks, separate rooms for women constable, safety and security of armoury and other parameters as per the standards for best police station, and adjudged Begumpur as the best police station in Delhi,” Biswal added. “To bolster effective polic- ing, staff of Begumpur police station in coordination with members of public got installed around 400 CCTV cameras in 2019-2020. Inspector Jai Bhagwan, SHO Begampur also took an initiative to involve good Samaritans and youth in order to control crime,” said Bsiwal. “A gang of snatchers and robbers was apprehended by team of Begumpur police sta- tion actively involved in com- mitting crime in Sector 37, Rohini through active engage- ment of youth who participat- ed in police patrolling during evening and night hours for 20- 25 days,” said the PRO. “The police team of Begumpur police station has also taken several initiatives to promote community friendly policing like Child friendly room, redressing the com- plaints of vulnerable sections on a priority basis and stringent action against gangsters and property offenders while being accessible for public,” said Biswal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
- 3. 347A03D=kB0CDA30H k0?A8; !! dccPaPZWP]S ?=BQ 70A83F0A347A03D= Overturning yet another decision of his predecessor, chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat announced that the management of 51 temples in Uttarakhand will not be under government control and that the existence of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board will be reconsidered. The CM said this on the side- lines of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Kendraiya Margdarshak Mandal meeting in Haridwar on Friday. At least 51 temples includ- ing Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri among others were brought under the director control of the state government after the governor approved the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board bill passed in the Vidhan Sabha. This decision had elicit- ed strong opposi- tion from mem- bers of the reli- gious fraternity, who questioned the basis for gov- ernment control over Hindu shrines. The issue of government con- trol on shrines and the demand for declaring Ram Setu as a national heritage were among the promi- nent issues raised in the VHP meet- ing. The CM said that the govern- ment will end gov- ernment control over the 51 temples, while adding that the state government is reconsid- ering the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board. A meeting of Teerth Purohits will be called soon on this issue. Further, he said that the system made by Shankaracharya in the ancient times regarding the Char Dham will be maintained with- out any tampering. The CM further said that liquor shops will remain fully closed in the Kumbh Mela area.Responding to the demand of the religious fraternity, Rawat said that liquor shops in Muni Ki Reti and Dhalwala will also remain closed. It is pertinent to mention here that the creation of Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board had elicit- ed considerable opposition from the religious fraternity, the Congress and even some mem- bers of the Bharatiya Janata Party. BJP MP Subramanian Swamy had first approached the Uttarakhand High Court and then the Supreme Court against the Act facilitating gov- ernment control on Hindu shrines in Uttarakhand. However, Rawat's announce- ment came before Swamy could argue the special leave petition he had filed. Swamy has appreciated the announce- ment stating this is called a responsive government in ademocracy. ?=BQ 347A03D= Considering the rising cases of Covid-19 especially in Dehradun, the state cabinet has decided to impose night curfew in the area within the purview of the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD). Informing about the decisions taken in the cabinet meeting on Friday evening, cabinet minis- ter and state government spokesman Subodh Uniyal said that the cabinet had approved night curfew from 10 PM to 5 AM in the area under the MCD. The night curfew will be imposed after orders to this effect are issued. In another decision related to the impact of the Covid pandemic, the cabinet decided to keep schools closed for students of classes I to XII in Dehradun district bar- ring Chakrata and Kalsi, in the entire Haridwar district, Nainital municipality area and Municipal Corporation of Haldwani area till April 30. In yet another develop- ment overturning the decision of the previous chief minister, the cabinet decided to put the decision of making Gairsain a separate commissionerate on hold for now. The cabinet also approved the Mukhyamantri Mahalakshmi Yojana under which a Mahalakshmi kit will be provided on the birth of a girl child. It was also decided that a Panchayat Bhawan will be constructed in each Gram Panchayat, there being a total of 2,338 Gram Panchayats in which this work will be under- taken. Further, the cabinet also approved the decision to estab- lish a plastic park in the state. This park will be built jointly by the Central and State gov- ernments. ?=BQ 347A03D= Amid spectre of the arrival of the second wave of the Covid-19 in Uttarakhand the state health department report- ed 748 cases of the disease on Friday. The state now has 106246 cumulative cases of the disease. The department also reported the death of five patients of the disease on the day which increased the death toll in the state to 1749. The authorities discharged 327 patients from different hospitals of the state following their recovery from the disease on fri- day. A total of 97327 patients have recovered from the disease in the state and the recovery percentage is now at 91.61 and the sample positivity rate is 3.56 percent. The authorities reported 335 new cases of the disease from Dehradun, 229 from Haridwar, 73 from Udham Singh Nagar, 30 from Pauri, 22 from Nainital, 18 from Tehri, 13 from Almora, nine from Bageshwar, eight from Pithoragarh, six from Champawat, three from Chamoli and two from Uttarkashi on Friday. No new patient was reported from Rudraprayag on the day. The health department reported the death of two patients of Covid-19 from Himalayan hospital Jollygrant and Mahant Indiresh hospital Dehradun on Friday. One patient was reported dead at JNL Hospital Rudrapur. The state now has 5384 active patients of the disease. Dehradun continues to be at the top of the table of active cases of the disease with 2141 patients, Haridwar has 1610, Nainital 528, Udham Singh Nagar 293, Tehri 229, Almora 87, Pithoragarh 75, Bageshwar 69, Rudraprayag 44, Champawat 35 ,Uttarkashi 34 and Chamoli 18 active cases of Covid-19. In the vaccination drive 60841peoplewerevaccinatedin different parts of the state on Friday. In the state 172339 peo- plehavebeenfullyvaccinatedso farastheyhavereceivedboththe first and second dose of the vac- cine. The Chief Operations Officer(COO)ofstateCovid-19 control room, Dr Abhishek Tripathisaidthat697vaccineses- sionswereorganisedindifferent parts of the state on Friday. In Dehradun 116 vaccine sessions were organised in which 10254 personsabove45yearsofage,198 healthcareworkersand138front line workers were vaccinated on Friday. In Haridwar 170 sessions were organised on the day in which 9017 persons above 45 years of age, 67 health care workers and 397 front line workers were vaccinated. ?=BQ 347A03D= The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh has reserved 80 beds for the treatment of Covid 19 patients. The recent spurt in the number of cases of the disease has reflected in the increased number of patients admitted in the insti- tute. The Dean of AIIMS Hospital Administration, Dr U B Mishra said that during the last one week a three-fold increase in the number of Covid-19 patients has occurred. “On April 1 we had 16 patients of the disease which has now increased to 57. These include 20 beds with ICU facilities. This number will be increased if the need arises,’’ he said. Dr Mishra informed that the speed of Covid-19 sam- pling has also picked up in the last week for the test. The PRO of the AIIMS Rishikesh Harish Thapliyal said that special guidelines have been received by the Central and State govern- ments in the case of Covid-19 infection. “In compliance with this, the time of OPD in AIIMS has been reduced to prevent Covid infection. The regis- tration time in the OPD was from 8 am to 12 am. Now the registration of OPD patients will be done till 11 am instead of 12 noon,’’ he said. ?=BQ 347A03D= Ahundred years ago, Rajwara Camp in Dehradun, which then trained young princes, had to shut down due to the Spanish flu pandemic. The 138- acre campus today is home to Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), which proba- bly is the only boarding school in the country to remain com- pletely functional during the Covid 19 pandemic. “As the news of the pan- demic broke last spring, famous schools in the Doon valley shut down but it was different at RIMC, which is a functioning military unit in addition to being a residential school,” says Sidharth Mishra, publisher of The Rimcollian, the alumni newsletter of RIMC, which has carried a detailed report on the humungous exercise in its March 2021 edition. The team led by the com- mandant, colonel Ajay Kumar, lieutenant colonel Gaurav Hamal, lieutenant colonel Gyan Ranjan Sahu and the academic head Prashant Kumar Sharma decided to keep the wheels of RIMC turning without a squeak. This needed access control, keeping the routine close to normal, being medically and administratively prepared and also assuage fears of the par- ents. Since the staff and faculty residing outside the campus were asked to stay out, the College was run on a skeleton staff, but all tasks were execut- ed with the same efficiency. To ensure social distancing, classes were held in open spaces, the syllabus was completed in time and the exams for the Spring Term 2020 conducted efficiently and progress reports made well within time. Meals in cadets mess were staggered, dished out in the lawn as a buf- fet, ensuring social distancing and minimal interaction with the waiters. The older house system for residence was replaced with class-wise in residence, limiting the interpersonal interaction to a small group of about 25 in each dormitory. The main ward in the College Hospital was kept ready for isolation facility. While the rest of the world was con- fined to their flats and houses during the national lockdown, team RIMC tried to maintain a modicumof normalcy by allow- ing cadets and staff to use the vast expansive playgrounds for exercise, all within segregated laid down timings. The bigger challenge was to send cadets home for vacations. While, par- ents from nearby states arranged to pick their wards, the chal- lenge was how to send those cadets home who were from far off states as the public transport system was grounded. Special buses were organ- ised, carefully calculated provi- sions of water and rations was made so that the travelling cadets did not have to purchase anything en-route. Military per- sonnel were placed on buses to ensure smooth crossing of sev- eral state borders. Liaison was carried out with state officials through which these buses had to pass and also with the parents and state officials to which ?=BQ 347A03D= The governor of Uttarakhand Baby Rani Maurya has said that the rank- ing of all the universities of the state should be made according to their performance indices. She was addressing a meeting of the Vice Chancellors (VC) and the senior officials of the universities at Raj Bhawan here on Friday. She said that a committee comprising the VCs should be made to decide on the perfor- mance indicators. Stressing on better coordination between the registrar and the VCs the governor said the officers should take the problems of the universities seriously. She suggested that univer- sities should organise such programs which are aimed at generating employment in the mountainous and border areas of the state. She said that the universities should organise programmes on World Environment Day on June 5 and International Yoga Day on June 21. She suggested that the students should be given cred- it for planting trees and all VCs should make arrangements for water conservation pro- grammes in the campuses. The governors said that VCs should work in the direction of mak- ing their universities centres of excellence. She said that institutes of higher education should make them capable of organizing both the online and physical classes in view of the contagion of Covid-19 so that the studies of the students are not affect- ed. The governor said that the process of de-affiliation of the colleges from the HNB uni- versities has started and they would be affiliated with the Sridev Suman Uttarakhand University. She directed that the uni- versities and colleges should start the process of filling the vacant posts of faculty without delay. The governor was informed that the Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU) don’t receive any financial assis- tance from the government on which she directed that a proposal regarding this should be sent to state administration. She said that the Universities should strengthen their own resources. The governor also took stock of the programmes undertaken in the villages adopted by the universities. The principal secretary higher education Anand Vardhan informed the governor that out of 106 colleges in the state only four colleges don’t have their own building. He said that work on construction of 23 colleges is in progress. Vardhan added that process of appointments in 250 posts of faculty in colleges has started. The additional chief secre- tary, Radha Raturi suggested that the words of Hindi lan- guage used in the study mate- rial of universities should be easy. The meeting was also attended by the Secretary, D Senthil Pandian, Sowjanya, Pankaj Pandey, Brijesh Kumar Sant and VCs of all the Universities. ?=BQ 347A03D= Gearing up to store the data which has been stored in paper documents for decades in the digital format, the regional transport office (RTO) of Dehradun would possibly commence the digitisation process from the next month. At present, there are about 12 lakh files that are stored in the various rooms of the RTO building at Rajpur Road. The officials stated that it becomes a challenge sometimes to store and retrieve data from about 12 lakh files manually, especially during an urgent situation. The digitisation of all such files would save time and space in the RTO building besides making its premises paper- free. According to the assistant regional transport officer (ARTO), Dwarika Prasad, the transport department is look- ing forward to digitising the files but it might take a few more weeks as the procedure of digitisation is still under process at the Central and the State Government level. He said that all the pending pro- cedures will possibly be com- pleted by the end of this month. It is pertinent to mention here that the transport office of Dehradun was set up in the year 1964 and files related to the vehicles, licenses, transport permits, fitness of vehicles are stockpiled in several iron racks, almirahs and storerooms which can be easily observed in the RTO building. Meanwhile, the officials also informed that there is currently no backlog of applications for driving licens- es in the transport office which occurred due to the Covid-19 pandemic last year. They informed that now regular reg- istrations of all kinds of driving licenses are being done in RTO. ?=BQ 347A03D= Gearing up for the treatment of the legacy waste in the Govindnagar area of Rishikesh, the Municipal Corporation of Rishikesh (MCR) has started to makearrangementstoinstallthe pieces of machinery for the treatment of the accumulated waste at the dumping site through the biomining tech- nique. The legacy waste which has mounted up in the area for the last 40 years is spread across the four-hectare land at the dumping site in the Govind Nagar area. The dumping site is filled with about 2.71 lakh cubic metres of legacy waste that mainly include glass, rubber, fibre, plastic and leachate. According to the officials, the biominingprocessisthebestway to treat the legacy waste as the segregation and proper dispos- alofmixedgarbagelyingaround for decades is not easy with any other technique. According to the tax and revenue superinten- dentofthecorporation,Ramesh Rawat,thecorporationhashired acompanyunderthepublic-pri- vate partnership (PPP) for the legacy waste disposal project. Rawatsaidthatthecompanyhas started the process of installing the required types of machinery to carry out the biomining process near the dumping site. According to him, the company is currently preparing a proper base for the installation of machinerybyclearingoutapart ofthelandnearthedumpingsite. About 10,000 square feet area is being prepared to make a stable base for machine installation which would take about three weekstofinish,informedRawat. He added that the installation processwouldhavestartedsoon- er for waste treatment but locat- ingaplacenearthedumpingsite where the noise or smell gener- ated during the biomining process would not disturb the nearbylocalresidentstooksome time. Rawat also stated that Rishikesh is the first city in Uttarakhand which would use the biomining technique for the proper disposal of the lega- cywaste.Sincethewasteisbeing accumulated at the site for over four decades, the biomining process would take at least six monthstotreatthelegacywaste, informed Rawat. He stressed that once the process of prepar- ing base and machine installa- tion would be completed in three to four weeks, the legacy waste treatment through bio- mining would be commenced from the second week of the next month. 4cV^`gVdDeReVT`_ec`]`gVceV^a]Vd E7?RP[[bU^a STR[PaX]VAP BTcdP]PcX^]P[ WTaXcPVT BRW^^[bX]cWaTT SXbcaXRcbc^ aTPX]R[^bTS cX[[0_aX[SdT c^2^eXS ( QHZFDVHVRIRYLG IRXQGLQ8WWDUDNKDQG 2AVTPabd_U^a[TVPRhfPbcT caTPcT]ccWa^dVWQX^X]X]V 199=CBbUcUbfUc ( RUTcV_b 3_fYT`QdYU^dc ACc^R^T]RTSXVXcXbPcX^] ^U_P_TaS^RdT]cb]Tgc^]cW A82PSP_cbc^R^]cX]dTUd]RcX^]X]VPXSbc2^eXS ( these buses were headed so that the quarantine protocols were followed. The story did not end here. Preparations had to be made to receive the cadets back for the next semester. Dormitories were earmarked for isolation and cadets joining back were segregat- ed in these dorms. After the mandatory quarantine period these cadets joined the normal routine. Cadets joined back in small batches and their arrival scheduled to quarantine them in small batches. For those delayed in arrival at the campus were reached online utilizing the available Smart Classes infra- structure. “When all’s said and done, the Covid-19 pandemic was, and continues to be a learning experience for us here at the College,” said colonel Kumar. 2^XccTT^U E2bc^_aT_PaT _TaU^aP]RT X]SXRPc^abU^a aP]ZX]V PZTd]XeTabXcXTbRT]caTb^UTgRT[[T]RT)6^eTa]^a 2PQX]TcP__a^eTb]XVWcRdaUTfX]3^^] _dcb6PXabPX]R^XbbX^]TaPcT^]W^[S
- 4. ]PcX^]# 347A03D=kB0CDA30H k0?A8; !! ?=BQ =4F34;78 Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding an immediate moratorium on Covid-19 vaccine exports and opening up of the vaccination to “everyone who needs it”. Rahul also asked for a pro- vision of a direct income sup- port to the vulnerable sections amid the disastrous second wave of Covid-19 in India, as he extended his support to the vaccination programme. “I humbly request you to provide vaccine suppliers with neces- sary resources to increase man- ufacturing capacity and place an immediate moratorium on vaccine export,” Rahul Gandhi said in his letter to the Prime Minister. “Open up vaccination to everyone who needs it,” he demanded, seeking fast-track- ing of approval of other vac- cines as per norms and guide- lines. He also asked the Prime Minister to double the central allocation for vaccine pro- curement from the existing C35,000 crore and give State Governments a greater say in vaccine procurement and dis- tribution. His suggestions came a day after Prime Minister Modi said vaccines will have to be prioritised due to limited sup- ply and lamented that some people were playing politics on the issue. Questioning the Government for permitting large-scale exports of vaccines, he said, “While our nation is facing vaccine starvation, more than six crore doses of vaccines have been exported.” The Gandhi scion alleged that the state governments were repeatedly highlighting vaccine shortages only to receive intemperate statements by the union health minister. He accused the health minister of targeting Opposition-ruled states and undercutting coop- erative federalism. “Was the export of vaccines also an ‘oversight’, like many other decisions of this govern- ment, or an effort to garner publicity at the cost of our own citizens,” he asked. Stressing that his party supports a well- planned, universalised and speedy vaccination drive, he said, “Our vaccination pro- gram has to move beyond an i n d i v i d u a l ’ s picture on the vaccine certifi- cate, towards guaranteeing maximum vaccination.” Expressing concern over the rising cases of the coron- avirus, the former Congress chief said that over the last year, the country suffered irrepara- ble losses, made tremendous sacrifices, and yet, it is under a renewed attack by this virus. “This is unfortunate con- sidering our scientific community and vaccine suppliers worked overtime to develop a solution but their efforts are undermined by the Centre’s poor implementation and ‘oversight’,” he said. Lamenting that the vaccination drive is slow, Rahul Gandhi claimed at the current rate, it would take years to inoculate 75 per cent of the population. “This will have catastroph- ic effects and will gravely decel- erate India’s economy,” he added. Hours after Rahul wrote to the PM, hitting back, senior Ravi Shankar Prasad took to Twitter to counter Rahul’s alle- gations and mentioned, “Rahul Gandhi must know that short- age in Congress-ruled states is not of vaccines but of basic commit- ment towards healthcare.” “He should write letters to his party’s governments to stop their ‘vasooli’ (extortion) ventures and concentrate on adminis- tering the lakhs of vaccines they are sitting on,” he said. India is not facing vaccine starvation but Gandhi is facing “attention starvation”, Prasad said. “Why has Rahul Gandhi not yet taken vaccine? Is it an oversight or he doesn’t want it or has he already taken one in many of his undisclosed trips to foreign locations but doesn’t want to disclose?” he posed. “After failing as a part- time politician, has Rahul Gandhi switched to full-time lobbying? First, he lobbied for fighter plane companies by try- ing to derail India’s acquisition programme. Now he is lobby- ing for pharma companies by asking for arbitrary approvals for foreign vaccines,” Prasad said. CRYf]dVVd^`cRe`cZf^`_gRTTZ_VVia`ce ?=BQ =4F34;78 Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for saying that country is witness- ing “vaccine starvation”, Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday said it is not India that is facing vaccine star- vation but “Shri Gandhi is facing attention starvation.” Former Congress presi- dent has in a letter to Prime Minister demanded that export of vaccines be immediately be halted “amidst domestic short- ages”. Hitting back at the Congress leader, Prasad accused Rahul of lobbying for pharma companies “by asking for arbitrary approvals for for- eign vaccines.” “Why has Rahul Gandhi not yet taken vaccine? Is it an oversight or he doesn’t want it or has he already taken one in many of his undisclosed trips to foreign locations but does- n’t want to disclose?”, Tweeted Prasad in an aside. “After failing as a part-time politician, has Rahul Gandhi switched to full-time lobbying? First, he lobbied for fighter plane companies by trying to derail India’s acquisition pro- gramme. Now he is lobbying for pharma companies by ask- ing for arbitrary approvals for foreign vaccines”, said the Union minister. Prasad claimed that Rahul does not have proper under- standings of the strategy that needed to be adopted to counter the Coronavirus pan- demic in the country. “Fighting a pandemic is not a one trick game. Apart from vaccination, there needs to be adequate focus on testing, tracing treating. Rahul Gandhi’s problem is that he doesn’t understand all this and his ignorance is compounded by his arrogance”, said the BJP leader. Prasad denied charge of shortage of vaccine in the Congress-ruled states. “Rahul Gandhi must know that shortage in Congress-ruled states is not of vaccines but of basic commitment towards health care. “He should write letters to his party’s Governments to stop their vasooli ventures con- centrate on administering the lakhs of vaccines they r sitting upon”, said the Minister. Amidst the talk of shortage of vaccine supply in the coun- try and it’s supply to foreign nations, Maharashtra Shiv Sena headed Government which is currently draggers drawn with the central Government, has accused the Modi-Government of showing bias against non- BJP-ruled states in the supply of vaccines. Maharashtra is the worst affected State in the coun- try with the highest positive cases in the country. The charge was denied by Union Minister Pralhad Javadekar on Thursday when he said 23 lakh does were available with the Maharashtra govern- ment on a daily basis and the latter needs to efficiently dis- tribute them in the State, he said. The second surge in Coronavirus cases have made it more so necessary that a major- ity of the population of all age groups get the vaccine jab as soon as possible and that would require an uninterrupted sup- ply of vaccine does and speedy reduction in their wastage. 4g2^]V_aTbXST]cUPRX]VPccT]cX^] bcPaePcX^])APeXBWP]ZPa?aPbPS ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Election Commission (EC) has sent a notice to West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee for her “highly objectionable” statements about Central para- military forces on election duties in the State saying her remarks are demoralising the personnel. Among the state- ments cited by the EC in its notice was her appeal to women voters to “gherao” Central forces if they caused disturbance to voting. The Chief Minister has been asked to respond to the notice by 11 am on Saturday. This is the sec- ond time that a notice has been issued to Banerjee by the poll body. The EC said prima facie, the completely false, provoca- tive and intemperate state- ments by Banerjee attempted to berate and vilify central paramilitary forces during the electoral process. Citing state- ments by Mamata, the notice said: “...prima facie, complete- ly false, provocative and intem- perate statements made by Ms. Mamata Banerjee, Chairperson of AITC, who is also the Hon’ble CM of West Bengal, to berate and vilify Central Paramilitary Forces during the electoral process, are causing extreme demoral- isation amongst the ranks and file of these forces…” The EC said it found Banerjee statements to be in violation of the Model Code of Conduct as well as Sections 186 (voluntarily obstructing public servant from discharg- ing public functions), 189 (threat of injury to public ser- vant) and 505 (making a state- ment with intent to incite any class or community of persons to commit an offence against any other class or community) of the Indian Penal Code. The EC notice said “It is more than obvious that Ms Mamata Banerjee, Chairperson of AITMC, has been consistent in berating and demoralising the Central para-military forces, who often played a sig- nificant role in assisting the concerned state government and governments of union ter- ritories in restoration of law and order and/or as and when requisitioned by the State Governments etc. in their day to day functioning also. “In fact, Banerjee is spar- ing no effort to ensure that a deep wedge and drift is creat- ing amongst them which is bound to have serious conse- quential damages after the process of election is over. It is extremely unfortunate that the political battles are thus sought to be fought in this manner instead of being fought in the campaign trail,” it said. The notice issued on Thursday night said the West Bengal Chief Minister’s barbs and false accusations are vili- fying the very forces “who have been rendering a yeoman service since late 80s, election after election, and have made a commendable contribution especially in ensuring area domination and causing deter- rence for anti-social hooligans by their sheer presence, there- by playing a major role in assisting the ECI to conduct free, fair, transparent and accessible elections”. Making it a point to record its appreciation of the Central forces, EC said they have invariably done commendable job on the duties assigned to them in all sectors, to the extent of laying down their lives, the most recent being the tragic episode of Bijapur, Chhattisgarh. “It also needs to be placed on record that they and many other ministries and departments of the Union government and departments of state governments assist the ECI for the conduct of elec- tions. But the praiseworthy role of central forces in ensur- ing free, fair, transparent and accessible elections merits a special mention,” it stated. In a strongly worded notice, the poll body deemed the statements made by the TMC supremo on March 28 and April 7 as an attempt to “berate and vilify Central Paramilitary Forces during the electoral process.” This, it adds, was “causing extreme demor- alisation amongst the ranks and file of these forces.” The EC notice said a del- egation of TMC leaders had alleged during the Commission’s visit to West Bengal in February 21 that Border Security Force person- nel were intimidating villagers living along the border to vote for a particular party. The EC said the delegation was asked to give empirical evidence of the allegation, but it did not do so. In an election rally on Thursday, Mamata claimed that central forces on poll duty in West Bengal were working under the instructions of the Central Government. Mamata also accused the forces of com- mitting atrocities on villagers and harassing women. Addressing a public meeting Alipurduar district, the TMC boss also accused the Election Commission of turning a blind eye to the “excesses” of the CRPF, CISF, BSF and the ITBP. The poll body on Wednesday issued a notice to Mamata for “openly demand- ing votes on communal grounds”. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief has been directed to explain her remarks within 48 hours of receipt of the notice, failing which the commission would take a decision without further reference to her. 8]P]T[TRcX^]aP[[h ^]CWdabSPhPPcP R[PXTScWPc2T]caP[ U^aRTb^]_^[[SdchX] FTbc1T]VP[fTaT f^aZX]Vd]STacWT X]bcadRcX^]b^UcWT 2T]caT 42bT]Sb]^cXRTc^PPcPU^aPZX]V ST^aP[XbX]VQPaQb^]2T]caP[U^aRTb ?=BQ =4F34;78 No fresh Covid-19 case has been reported in 149 dis- tricts in a week, while eight have not registered any new infection in a fortnight, Union Health MinisterHarshVardhansaidon Friday even as ten States — Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, UttarPradesh,Delhi,Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan — haveshownasteepriseaccount- ing for 83.29 percent of the new infections. Chairing the 24th meeting of the high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) on Covid-19 through a video link, he said more than 9.43 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the country till Friday morning. More than three crore vac- cine jabs have been adminis- tered to senior citizens, the health minister said. “India has also supported the global community through ‘Vaccine Maitri’, under which 6.45 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been sent to 85 countries. “While 3.58 crore doses have been supplied to 25 coun- tries under commercial con- tracts, 1.04 crore doses have been sent to 44 nations as grants, and 1.82 crore to 39 countries under COVAX,” Vardhan was quoted as saying in a statement. The Minister said that there has been no fresh COVID-19 case in 149 districts in the last seven days. Eight districts have not reported any fresh case in the last 14 days, no new infec- tion in three districts in the last 21 days and none in 63 districts in the last 28 days. =^UaTbW2^eXS (RPbTaT_^acTSX] #( SXbcbX]PfTTZbPhb7PabWEPaSWP] A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78 As the daily caseload has breached the one lakh mark for the fifth consecutive day, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh on Friday joined the list of 15 States and Union Territories which have imposed restrictions in the form of night curfews , weekend lockdown and related curbs to combat the rapid transmission of coron- avirus infections. Karnataka has imposed corona curfews (night curfews) in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumkuru, Udupi-Manipal till April 20 while Himachal Pradesh has closed all education institutions till April 20. Chhattisgarh’s Raipur has been in complete lockdown for 10 days. Bihar has closed all schools for a week. According to Pratyaya Amrit, Principal Secy (Disaster Management),Bihar. all shops are permitted to open till 7pm. Restaurants, Dhabas hotels are exempted can function on 25% seating capac- ity. Cinema hall, public trans- portation can function on 50% occupancy. Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir, Odisha, Rajasthan, Punjab, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are among those states and UTs which have been forced to rein- troduce lockdown-like curbs. Through the week, weekend lockdowns have been imposed in parts of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, while Delhi, Punjab, major cities in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and urban areas of Rajasthan have announced night curfews. Almost all states have limited the capacity of restaurants and bars and banned public events. In Karnataka, all the public religious services in Churches, Chapels institutions of Bangalore’s Urban Rural dis- tricts of Archdiocese will be sus- pended from 7th to 20th April. However, Churches/Chapels maybe kept open for private vis- its and adoration. Jammu and Kashmir has imposed night curfew in eight districts includ- ing Jammu, Kupwara, Anantnag and Srinagar till further order. The UP Government has announced night curfew in Gautam Budh Nagar, and Ghaziabad from 10 pm to 5 am till April 17. Madhya Pradesh Government imposed a night curfew in all “urban areas” of the state. Tamil Nadu government has barred all religious events and festival-gatherings have been barred till further orders. The Chhattisgarh govern- ment has announced a lock- down in the Raipur district with effect from April 9 to 19. Fearing another lockdown, many migrant workers and their families have started pro- ceeding to the hometowns. The Chandigarh adminis- tration has announced a night curfew in the city from 10 pm to 5 am until further notice. Punjab has declared a series of restrictions including night cur- few across the whole state -- up from the earlier 12 districts -- from 9 pm to 5 am. All politi- cal, social, cultural or sports gatheringshave beenbannedfor now. The MP Government also announced a lockdown in urban areas of all districts on every Sunday till further orders. Delhi government has imposed a seven-hour night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am, till April 30 to curb the spread of the coronavirus cases in the national Capital. People will require a soft or hard copy of the e-pass to travel during curfew hours. The e-pass can be obtained from the Delhi gov- ernment’s website www.delhi.gov.in. Punjab has extended night curfew across the state till April 30. Maharashtra Government has imposed a night curfew from 8 pm to 7 am till April 30. There will also be a weekend lockodown all through the month. All shops, malls and markets, except those selling groceries, medicines and veg- etables, will remain closed till April 30. Cinemas, multiplexes, theatres, video parlours, clubs, swimming pools, sports com- plexes, auditoriums, water parks, salons, beauty parlours and spas will remain shut dur- ing the period. Restaurants and bars will also remain closed except those that are part of a hotel but round-the-clock take- aways have been allowed. In Gujarat, the Rupani Government has imposed a curfew from 8 pm to 6 am in 20 cities of the State. The restric- tions were earlier in force from 9 pm to 6 am in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot cities in Gujarat. The cities where the curfew is being imposed are Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamangar, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Gandhinagar, Anand, Nadiad, Mehasana, Morbi, Dahod, Patan, Godhra, Bhuj, Gandhidham, Bharuch, Surendranagar and Amreli. The Government has also banned political or social gatherings till April 30 and has further reduced the number of guests at a marriage ceremony to 100. Government offices will remain closed every Saturday and Sunday in April. Odisha has extended the night curfew from 10 PM to 5 am in 10 districts which include Sundergarh, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur. Rajasthan has also imposed a night curfew and ordered the closure of multiplexes, gymna- siums till April 19. The night curfew will remain in force from 8 pm to 6 am. Dining at restaurants and hotels during the curfew hours has been pro- hibited but home delivery of food has been allowed. Karnataka announced night curfew in six cities including capital Bengaluru and Mysuru even as Tamil Nadu banned on all religious gatherings from April 10 till April 30. A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78 Despite Assembly polls, three States—West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam has managed record sowing of summer kharif crops — rice and pulses—so far. Of the total 38.80 lakh hectare area sown under rice acorss the country, West Bengal contributed 10.42 lakh hectare under rice plan- tation; Assam 2.61 lakh hectare and Tamil Nadu 1.76 lakh hectare. Similarly, in oilseed culti- vation, West Bengal reported 2.61 lakh hectare while Tamil Nadu 0.61 lakh hectare. Sowing of summer crops is in full swing despite an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, with the area expanding by 16.4% from last year to 6.78 million hectares. As per data released by the Ministry of Agriculture on Friday, total summer crops has been sown on 67.87 lakh hectare area against 58.26 lakh hectare during the corre- sponding period of last year, thus increase in total summer area coverage by 9.61 lakh hectare compared to corre- sponding period of last year in the country. Sowing reported under Pulses 8.68 lakh hectare against 5.72 lakh hectare area of last year i.e. increase in area cov- erage by 2.96 lakh hectare. Area coverage under Coarse Cereals reported on 10.86 lakh hectare area against 8.54 lakh hectare area of last year i.e. increase in area coverage by 2.33 lakh hectare in the coun- try. Area coverage reported under Oilseeds 9.53 lakh hectare area against 7.96 lakh hectare area of last year, thus increase in area coverage by 1.57 lakh hectare. Area cover- age reported under Rice on 38.80 lakh hectare area against 36.05 lakh hectare area of last year i.e. increase in area cov- erage by 2.75 lakh hectare. Summer crops are planted during March-May, the inter- vening period between rabi and kharif season which starts with monsoon in June. “The trend of summer sowing progress is very good as on date. Besides, the prospect of rabi crops is also very good in the country. There is no impact of COVID-19 pandemic situ- ation on progress of area cov- erage under summer crops in the country,” officials said. Harvesting of wheat and other rabi crops have been completed in 65.05 per cent of the total 697 lakh hectares sown area during 2020-21 rabi season, according to data released by the agriculture ministry on Friday. Harvesting of rabi (winter) crops begins from March. The main rabi crop is wheat. Wheat crop has been har- vested in 135.85 lakh hectares,43.02 per cent of the estimated total cultivated area of 315.77 lakh hectares during the rabi season of the 2020-21 crop year (July-June). 1d_Tab^fX]V^U :WPaXUX]BcPcTb STb_XcT0bbTQ[h_^[[b :´cPZP7?Y^X] $^cWTaBcPcTb DCbX]X_^bX]V]XVWcRdaUTf ?=BQ =4F34;78 To minimise Covid-19 infection, keep the CO2 levels in all the spaces where you share air as low as prac- tically possible, researchers have said asserting that in any given indoor environment, when excess CO2 levels dou- ble, the risk of virus trans- mission also roughly dou- bles. The study by the scientists from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and the University of Colorado Boulder has been published in the Environmental Science Technology Letters. The chemists relied on a simple fact that infectious people exhale airborne virus- es at the same time as they exhale carbon dioxide. That means CO2 can serve as a “proxy” for the number of viruses in the air. “You’re never safe indoors sharing air with others, but you can reduce the risk,” said Jose-Luis Jimenez, co-author of the new assessment, a CIRES Fellow and professor of chemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder. “And CO2 monitoring is really the only low-cost and practical option we have for monitoring,” said Zhe Peng, a CIRES and chemistry researcher, and lead author of the new paper. “There is noth- ing else.” Jimenez and colleagues turned to commercially avail- able carbon dioxide moni- tors, which can cost just a few hundred dollars. First, they confirmed in the laboratory that the detec- tors were accurate. Then, they created a mathematical “box model” of how an infected person exhales viruses and CO2, how others in the room inhaled and exhaled, and how the viruses and gas accumu- late in the air of a room or are removed by ventilation. The model takes into con- sideration infection numbers in the local community, but it does not detail air flow through rooms--that kind of modeling requires expensive, custom analysis for each room. It’s important to under- stand that there is no single CO2 level at which a person can assume a shared indoor space is “safe,” Peng empha- sized. That’s partly because activity matters: Are people in the room singing and talking loudly or exercising, or are they sitting quietly and read- ing or resting? A CO2 level of 1,000 ppm, which is well above outside levels of about 400 ppm, could be relatively safe in a quiet library with masks but not in an active gym without masks, said the scientists. Peng and Jimenez also shared a set of mathematical formulae and tools that experts in building systems and public health can use to pin down actual, not just rel- ative, risk. But the most important conclusion is that to minimise risk, keep the CO2 levels in all the spaces where we share air as low as practically possible. ³:TT_2![TeT[bPc[^fTbc c^X]XXbT2^eXSX]UTRcX^]´
- 5. ]PcX^]$ 347A03D=kB0CDA30H k0?A8; !! 80=BQ 14=60;DAD Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday appealed again to the Karnataka State Road Transport Employees League (KSRTEL) to end their strike and get back to work. I am very much positive and I am willing to hold talks with the employees. I am confirming once again that it is not possible to implement the sixth pay commission at this point in time. So, I request once again to come and join the duty, he told the media. The Chief Minister added that this is not the time to listen to any union or take part in any such protest. We together have already suffered, we are already spending 85 per cent of all earnings from the state-run four transport corporations for the payment of salaries and maintenance of vehicles. We are not able to save even 15 per cent to carry out any developmental works, he said. Yediyurappa added: I request all the four state-run transport corporation employees to come and join the duty and start operating buses immediately as all are aware of the loss we have incurred due to the Covid-19 pan- demic. He said that it was not right to trouble at this junc- ture, when the country has come under the grip of the second Covid wave and as a government agency it is our duty to serve the people in distress. The Chief Minister said that despite hardships due to the pandemic, the government had not stopped pro- viding salary to any employee even as the transport cor- porations had incurred losses. The bus services remain affected in the state for the third consecutive day on Friday as KSRTC employees con- tinued with their indefinite strike. 80=B Q C78ADE0=0=C70?DA0 With a fresh surge in Covid cases expected in Kerala, State Health Minister KK Shailaja on Friday held a high-level meeting with top officials where it was decided to embark on a mass vaccination drive, named Crushing the curve. At the moment, there is no short- age of vaccines and in a matter of one month, we plan to vaccinate maximum number of people in the age group 45 to 60. For that, we will approach the Centre for supply of more vaccines, said Shailaja, who chaired her first meeting of officials after the April 6 Assembly polls. The meeting also decided to strength- en the treatment facilities at hospitals across the state and decided to equip the hospitals with more ICU and ventilator facilities. It was also decided to allow Covid pos- itive patients who have all the facilities for being in isolation to remain at their homes. Shailaja also pointed out that Kerala is vulnerable because 89 per cent of the 3.30 crore population has not turned Covid positive and hence, more caution has to be exercised, especially when the daily cases in the country are going up. From Thursday onwards, the Covid protocols, loosened on account of the Assembly elections, were tightened again and the police asked to take strict enforce- ment measures. :D0A274;;0??0= Q :278) Post-poll violence continued unabated in Kerala as the Opposition parties Congress, Muslim League and the BJP alleged the ruling CPI(M) of targeting their cadre and vandalizing their offices. Leader of the Opposition, Ramesh Chennithala, reiterated his allegation that massive fraud was committed by the CPI(M) under the postal ballot scheme. Two Congress Members of Parliament, K Sudhakaran and M K Raghavan, representing Kannur and Kozhikode Lok Sabha constituencies addressed media persons and furnished details of the “terror” let loose by the Marxists in the northern districts. Sudhakaran, the firebrand leader from Malabar, pointed out that even after three days of the murder of Muslim League activist Manzoor , the police have not arrested anybody other than one of the CPI(M) activists who was nabbed by the locals and handed over to the cops. “The investigation team to arrest the accused is led by a police officer who is an active member of the CPI(M). What kind of justice we are going to get from him? The mandate given to the investi- gation team is not to touch the CPI(M) activists and somehow hush-up the mur- der charges,” said Sudhakaran. Meanwhile Mohsin, brother of Manzoor, told reporters that he knew all the 20 persons involved in the murder. “ All are well known faces and they are mov- ing around freely in the district. But it is surprising that they have not been taken into custody,” said Mohsin. Raghavan said it has become risky for non-CPI(M) party workers to function in the districts of Kasaragod, Kannur and Kozhikode. “Those who are working for other parties are attacked by the CPI(M). More than a dozen business premises and residences of Congress and Muslim League workers have been vandalized by the CPI(M) goons,” said Raghavan. Though many residences and shops belonging to the supporters of BJP too were attacked and destroyed by the CPI(M), that was not mentioned by the Congress as it is customary in this part of the country not to highlight the Hindutwa outfit. Chennithala, while addressing the media at Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday said that the CPI(M)’s eagerness to execute the postal ballot system was enmeshed in fraud and irregularities. “The postal ballot system was fully managed by Kerala Government officials who are hard- core CPI(M) activists. This was done deliberately to ensure that all votes were cast in favor of the Marxist candidates. There is no information about the number of postal ballots printed and used by the Government officials,” said Chennithala. He said he had written to the Election Commission of India about his appre- hensions in this regard. “There were many instances of postal ballot papers reaching the electorate after they had cast the votes and there were multiple casting of votes,” said Chennithala. C=A067D=0C70Q D108 The “active cases” in Pune, which is the country’s worst Covid 19- affected city, breached a grim land- mark of one lakh, even the infections in Maharashtra shot up further to a staggering 58,993 on Friday, as 301 more succumbed to the pandemic in various parts of the State. The situation in Pune, where a substantial number of cases is being reported on a daily for nearly one month, worsened further, as an alarming 10,083 cases were reported on Friday, taking the total number of infections in the city to 6,29,174. With the substantial increase in the number of cases, the “active cases” shot past one lakh mark to touch 1,00,051. Similarly, 43 more deaths were recorded taking the total number of deaths to 8575. A day after the new cases in Maharashtra dropped to 56,286 from the previous day’s record tally of 59.507, the daily infections in the state jumped further to 58,993, while the deaths dropped to 301 from the pre- vious day’s tally of 376. With 58,507 fresh infections, the total caseload in the state climbed from 32,29,547 to 32,88,540. Similarly, with 301 new deaths, the total Covid-19 toll rose from 57,028 to 57,329. As 45,391 patients were dis- charged from the hospitals across the state after full recovery, the total num- ber of people discharged from the hospitals since the second week of March last year went up to 26,95,148 The recovery rate in the state dropped from 82.05 per cent to 81.96 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of “active cases” total cases in the state increased from 5,21,317 to 5,34,603. The fatal- ity rate in the state dropped from 1.77 per cent to 1.74 per cent. While Pune accounted for a maximum number of “active cases” in the state, Mumbai stood second with b88,53 active cases, followed by Thane (67,479), Nagpur (63,036), Nashik (35,019), Aurangabad (16920), Ahmednagar (16,287), Nanded (12,540), Jalgaon (8581), Amaravati (3787) and Akola (3157). Of the 2,16,31,258 samples sent to laboratories, 32,88,540 have test- ed positive (15.20 per cent) for COVID-19 until Friday. Currently, 26,95,065 people are in home quarantine while 24,157 peo- ple are in institutional quarantine. 80=B Q C78ADE0=0=C70?DA0 The Congress-led UDF on Friday cried foul over the course of Kerala Police's probe into the brutal murder of Indian Union Muslim League worker at Kuthuparamba near Kannur, hours after the Tuesday's assembly election. IUML worker Manzoor, 22, was seriously injured when a gang of two dozen people first threw a bomb at him and then attacked him and his brother with swords and knives at their house near Kuthuparamba. Manzoor died while being taken to the hospital, while his brother is being treated at a hospital in Kozhikode. Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala alleged that this was a well-planned murder similar to the way the CPI-M planned the murder of former Communist leader T.P. Chandrasekheran. The CPI-M is trying to change the entire case by announcing a Crime Branch probe. The police are playing foul and even after almost three days, the only person who has been nabbed is the one who was taken into custody by the local people from the place of the crime. After that, the police have not been able to take into custody even a single accused. We demand that the probe should be headed by an IPS officer, he said. The senior Congress leader said that the party is also going to organise a protest meeting at the site to highlight the callous manner in which the probe is being conducted. Kannur's Congress MP K.Sudhakaran alleged the pre- sent probe team is headed by the close aide of the CPI-M and hence, all can assume which way the probe is head- ing. We are certain that, the truth will never come out in the present probe. Just like in a few similar murder cases at Kannur, the CBI will have to be called, with the help of the court, he said. Angry IUML leader P.K.Kunhalikutty said that there is no way that they will accept a probe by a team of police offi- cials close to the CPI-M. The criminals who did this are sure that nothing will happen to them, but we are not going to sit idle and we will do everything to bring out the real culprits, he said... 80=BQ 060AC0;0 Assam Minister and top BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that the party would get around 84 seats against the earlier target of 100 plus in the 126-member Assembly. Sarma, pointsman of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Assam, said that there is no doubt that the BJP-led alliance would retain power in the State. Our earlier target was to win in 100 plus seats. But our present assess- ment is that the BJP would get in and around 84 seats. We are 100 per cent certain that the BJP-led alliance would form the government in Assam after the declaration of results (on May 2), he told the media in southern Tripura's Gomati district headquarters Udaipur. The BJP's top leaders including Sarma have been saying that the ruling alliance would get 100 plus seats in the assembly elections, which ended on April 6. The BJP in the last assembly elections in 2016 had secured 60 seats and formed a gov- ernment in alliance with the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) and Asom Gana Parishad that had bagged 12 and 14 seats respectively. After the Assam elections, the BJP would restart renewed attempts to come to the power in the remaining states in Assam, said Sarma, who is also the convener of the BJP- led anti-Congress alliance of regional parties -- North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). The BJP is currently leading governments in Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh while the allies of NDA (National Democratic Alliance) are in power in the remaining four states - Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim. During his visit for a few hours in Tripura, Sarma offered puja at the famous Tripura Sundari Temple in Udaipur, 60 kilometre south of state capital Agartala. Former Tripura king Dhanya Manikya (1463 to 1515) built the Tripura Sundari Temple in 1501. It is one of the 51 Hindu Shakti Peethas in India. While claiming that the BJP would come to power in West Bengal by securing over 200 seats, Sarma said that the BJP government in Tripura is doing well and people are happy with the performance of the Tripura government headed by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb. The Congress turned BJP leader further said that the BJP would come to power in the politically important 28-member Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council, for which elections were held on April and the result would be declared on Saturday. After the Bodoland Territorial Council polls in December last year, the BJP had forged an alliance with two local parties -- United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) and Gana Suraksha Party (GSP) -- discarding its old ally BPF. The AGP is the BJP's main ally. During the last Assembly elections in 2016, the BJP had allied with AGP and BPF, which have three ministers in the Assam Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The three phases of balloting to the 126 member Assam assembly were held on March 27, April 1 and April 6. The results would be declared on May 2. ?=BQ :;:0C0 With instances of violence increasing with every pass- ing phase in the ongoing eight- phase elections in Bengal, the Election Commission of India has upped the number of securi- ty forces for the fourth phase of polling on Saturday. Accordingly about 80,000 cen- tral forces would man the conduct of elections at 12,310 polling station in 44 seats spread across five dis- tricts in North and South Bengal. Elections will be held in Coochbehar and Alipurudar dis- tricts in North Bengal and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, and Hooghly in the southern part of the State. Little more than 1.15 crore voters would decide the fate of 373 candidates including 50 women on Saturday. About 69 lakh men, 56.94 lakh women and 293 mem- bers of the Third Gender would exercise their franchise in the fourth phase of elections. Among the notable people whose luck would be tested on Saturday are Bengal Education Minister Partho Chatterjee, Union Minister and Asansol MP Babul Supriyo who is contesting against powerful Bengal Minister Arup Biswas, former Bengal Minister and turncoat BJP leader Rajib Banerjee, Hooghly MLA and minister Becharam Manna who is contesting from Singur, Howrah TMC leader and minis- ter Arup Roy, Bengal Opposition Leader Abdul Mannan, Left Legislature Party Leader Sujan Chakrabarty, CPI(M) politburo member and former MP Md Salim, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee who is contesting from Chinsura, former India cricketer Manoj Tewari who is contesting from Shibpur, senior journalist Rantideb Sengupta and others. Meanwhile, electoral vio- lence continued in different parts of Bengal with two TMC sup- porters, one from Nandigram suc- cumbing to their injuries on Friday. There was midnight bedlam at Chetla are in posh South Kolkata barely a km away from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resi- dence where hundreds of TMC and BJP supporters fought with brickbats leaving quite a few of them injured. Alleged TMC men attacked vandalized and looted shops in Kasba area in south-eastern Kolkata, sources said adding the attackers were asking the people to remain indoors on the polling day. Elsewhere acting on secret information the police recov- ered a drum full of bombs at Bhangore in eastern fringes of Kolkata where the TMC and ISF are facing each other. At Dubrajpur in Birbhum district two hands of a person was blown up when he was making bombs. He had been hospitalised, sources said. 78C:0=370A8Q 90D Without causing any major damage to the religious place in South Kashmir district of Shopian, the joint team of security forces on Friday elim- inated two more terrorists in Jan Mohalla area while chief commander of Alqaeda-linked Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind along with his associate were neu- tralised in a separate encounter at Nowbugh, Tral in Pulwama district,taking the total tally of terrorists killed in the last 24 hours to seven. Four soldiers including one army officer received injuries in the overnight gunfight. Earlier three terrorists were killed in Jan Mohalla on Thursday evening. All these terrorists had taken shelter inside a local mosque forcing the security forces to exercise maximum restraint while neutralising them in Jan Mohalla area. Religious leaders and fam- ily members including par- ents were taken inside the mosque to pacify the terrorists to lay down their arms but they refused to obey. Briefing the media about two separate gunfights, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said that in two different encounters one at Jan Mohalla, Shopian and another at Nowbugh, Tral in Pulwama district, seven ter- rorists including AGH chief Imtiyaz Shah, who was active since April 2019, was killed. “In Shopian operation we had to be very patient. We fol- lowed all SoPs. We allowed the Moulvi of the local masjid in which terrorists were hiding, to persuade terrorists to surrender twice in the night. We also brought the brother of a ter- rorist. His request for surren- der was also turned down. We brought the parents of terror- ists in the morning, but ter- rorists refused to surrender,” the IGP said, adding that in the Shopian gunfight no IED, no explosives and grenades were used. “We used tear smoke shells. In the ensuing gun- fight, five terrorists were killed—two from Hizbul Mujahideen, one from LeT and two from AGH. All were categorized terrorists.” He said that two terrorists including the AGH chief Imtiyaz Shah had fled from the Shopian encounter site during the initial cordon after throw- ing grenades. “We developed the lead and found that the duo had fled to Nowbugh area of Tral. Today, early morning a cordon was launched in an open area where Imtiyaz along with his aide were killed,” he said. From of the seven slain terrorists, the IGP said seven AK-rifles and two pistols were recovered. He said that in the Shopian operation sanctity of the masjid was maintained and the place of worship suffered minimum damage. The IGP identified the slain terrorists of Shopian as Muzamil Tantary who had joined militancy in August 2019, Adil Lone who picked up arms in July 2019, Younish Ahmed Khanday, who joined terrorists ranks in November last year and Basit Bhat who picked up gun in June last year. He said the fifth terrorist has not been identified yet. Similarly, the IGP said one of the slain terrorists of Tral gun- fight was identified as Imtiyaz Shah, the chief of AGH, who was active since April 2019, and was tasked to target Amarnath Yatra in the Tral area. The iden- tity of Imtiyaz’s aide is being ascertained. 80=BQ :;:0C0 With masks vanishing from public life and Covid protocols being ignored in elec- tion rallies and meetings, there has been a more than 14-fold rise in the number of Covid cases in West Bengal in the last one month. The State Government has started imposing restrictions on public life to check the spread of the virus. The Covid-19 case count in Bengal this year shows the infection rate has doubled since last year. While it took two months for the number to increase 10 times last year, this year it has happened in less than a month. Going by the health department statistics on May 24 last year, the State had recorded 208 fresh daily cases. It took a little more than two months for the daily cases to rise 10-fold when Bengal reported 2,198 cases on July 18. This year, 255 new cases were reported on March 16 and the fresh cases of Covid reached 2783 on April 8. The massive surge in Covid cases has prompted the state government to go back to 50% employee attendance in government offices. The state government in October last year decided to reduce the number of employees attending office to 50% and asked them to work on a rotational basis. However, with the improvement in the sit- uation there was relaxation and more employees started coming to office. Chief sec- retary Alapan Bandopadhya in a meeting on Thursday decided to go back to the rotational method of 50% attendance while the rest of the employees were asked to work from home. Not only that the steep surge has prompted the state health department to call back senior doctors, including infectious diseases specialist Yogiraj Ray, who had played a sterling role in combating Covid during the first phase of the infection, to Beliaghata ID Hospital. The nodal hospital for Covid care currently has 265 beds and 100 more are ready to tackle the surge in patients. Ray was released from the ID Hospital to the School of Tropical Medicine about a couple of months ago. In addition to Ray, the health department has also called in two more senior doctors, Rajarshi Basu and Arijit Sinha, both from NRS Medical College, for Covid duty at Beliaghata hos- pital. It has also asked government hospitals as well as private facilities to gear up to meet all eventualities. All the hospitals that had Covid facilities have been asked to reactivate them so that they can meet the increasing needs of the Covid patients, a senior official of the health department said. The Calcutta High Court is also think- ing of restricting the number of lawyers according to their cases as was done during the previous phase. The speed of vaccination is crucial at this juncture. Now with the 45 plus (work- force) included in the inoculation pro- gramme and the daily number of vaccina- tions hitting above 30 lakhs in about 10 weeks, about 30 crore people should have some protection. If this vaccination speed jumps up further, we will hopefully reach a baseline by July end, the official said. ?^bcT[TRcX^]eX^[T]RTP[[TVPcX^]b^U XaaTVd[PaXcXTbX]e^cX]VU[hWXVWX]:TaP[P 0RcXeTRPbTbRa^bb [PZWPaZX] f^abcWXc?d]TPWPaTR^aSb $'((SPX[hX]UTRcX^]b STPcWb µUXVKLQJWKH FXUYH PDVV YDFFLQDWLRQGULYH VRRQLQ.HUDOD 0DVVLYHVXUJHLQRYLGLQIHFWLRQV KDV%HQJDO*RYWRQWHQWHUKRRNV HGLXUDSSD DJDLQXUJHV WUDQVSRUWVWDII WRFDOORIIVWULNH 2^]VaTbbb[Pb:TaP[P _^[XRTbWP]S[X]V^U _^bc_^[[daSTa (eVcc`cZdedZ]]VUZ_# RdY^ZcV_T`f_eVcd 1T]VP[_^[[b)':2?5X] _WPbT8E_^[[X]Vc^SPh E8;4=24=)0=;B4B70=3BF78;40:8=611B C=A067D=0C70Q D108 After having been in the NIA’s custody for nearly four weeks, Mumbai’s sus- pended police officer Sachin Vaze was on Friday remanded by a Special Court here to judi- cial custody till April 23 in the twin explosive laden SUV planting and alleged Manshuk Hiran murder cases. Special Judge P. R. Sitre sent Vaze to the Taloja Central jail on a day when he allowed the CBI – which is conducting a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) against Maharashtra’s former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in the alleged cor- ruption case – access to diaries belonging to Sachin Vaze and convicted constable Vinayak Shinde that were recovered earlier by the NIA. Earlier, the NIA did not press for the extension of Vaze’s custody when it produced him before the special NIA court which sent him to 14-day judi- cial custody. Vaze was questioned for the third consecutive day in connection with allegations of corruption made by Mumbai’s former police commissioner Param Bir Singh against the State’s former Home Minister. The Bombay High Court had on April 5 ordered a “Preliminary Enquiry” (PE) by the CBI into Singh’s allega- tion that the then State Home Minister Deshmukh had asked Vaze in February to collect a staggering Rs 100 crore per month from bars, restaurants and other sources. On Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed petitions filed by the MVA government and Deshmukh challenging the High Court order instituting a “preliminary inquiry” by the CBI into the allegations of cor- ruption made by the former police commissioner against the former State Home Minister. Vaze had earlier this week created a sensation by making a written submission before the special NIA Court accusing Deshmukh and another Maharashtra Minister Anil Parab of asking him to Indulge in extortion for them. Informed sources in the NIA said that the agency was ascertaining if former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma 'provided logistics sup- port' in the alleged planting of gelatin sticks’ laden SUV near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s skyscraper mansion in south Mumbai on February 25. The NIA had recorded the state- ment of Sharma on Thursday. Vaze, who was arrested on March 13 in connection with the gelatine sticks laden Scorpion recovery case, was earlier booked under sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) 286 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance), 465 (forgery) 473 (making or possessing counterfeit seal) and 506 -2 (criminal intimida- tion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 4 (a)(b)(i) of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. Vaze, who was the first accused to have been arrested by the NIA which registered an FIR in the explosive-laden SUV recovery case on March 8, was subsequently booked under sections 16 (Punishment for Terror act) and 18 (Punishment for conspiracy etc) of the strin- gent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). On March 24, Thane court askedtheAnti-TerrorismSquad (ATS)of theMaharashtrapolice to stop investigations into the alleged murder ofSUV recovery case-linked businessman Mansukh Hiran and hand over the case to the NIA. 1,$RXUWVHQGV9D]HWR MXGLFLDOFXVWRGWLOO$SULO CWTfP[[^U^b`dT_PacXP[[hSPPVTSSdaX]VP Vd]QPcc[TX]BW^_XP] 0? 19?c^VTcPa^d]S'#bTPcbX]0bbP R[PXb7XP]cP1XbfPBPaP 2E83 (