![?=BQ =4F34;78
Of a total over 1 lakh break-
through Covid-19 cases
reported in India so far, Kerala
tops the list with over 40,000
such infections, according to
the Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR).
Breakthrough cases are
those cases in which recovered
people contract the disease for
a second time or those fully
vaccinated contract infection.
While this has raised con-
cerns whether a new variant
which is much more transmis-
sible than the Delta variant is
responsible for spike in Kerala,
the Centre has dismissed this
theory and has now stressed on
genomic sequencing of all the
breakthrough cases in the State.
“Now the ICMR has decid-
ed to carry out genomic
sequencing for all break-
through infections to under-
stand the nature of the variant
causing the spread of the infec-
tion,” said sources in the Union
Health Ministry. They said
they have communicated the
same to the Kerala
Government.
Sequencing of break-
through samples will tell the
researchers if there is a differ-
ent coronavirus variant that is
escaping the immunity gener-
ated by vaccination, leading to
infection among fully vacci-
nated.
Breakthrough Covid-19
cases were high in
Pathanamthitta district and a
similar situation was seen in
other districts as well. A team
of the Union Health Ministry
is now expected to visit Kerala
after August 15.
A Central team that visit-
ed eight districts of Kerala had
on Tuesday at a Press confer-
ence said the State may witness
around 4.6 lakh cases of coro-
navirus from August 1 to
August 20.
The six-member team of
the National Centre for Disease
Control (NCDC) was sent to
Kerala by the Centre to take
stock of the pandemic situation
in the State.
Meanwhile, the number of
new Covid-19 cases increased
to 38,353 in the last 24 hours,
a rise of over 10,000 from
Monday when India reported
28,204 infections.
?=BQ =4F34;78
The Government is all set to
acquire 50 million doses of
vaccine produced by Pfizer Inc
and BioNTech SE, with an
aim to boost vaccination drive
and ease the pressure on the
production of vaccines in the
country.
More than 40 lakh vac-
cine doses have been admin-
istered across India on
Wednesday, taking total
cumulative Covid vaccina-
tion coverage to 52,32 crore,
as per the Union Health
Mnistry.
“It is also expecting to
receive about seven million
doses of a vaccine made by
Moderna Inc from the US
through Covax, a programme
to supply Covid-19 vaccines
to poorer nations,” a report in
WSJ said.
Recently, US-based phar-
ma giant Johnson Johnson’s
single-dose Covid-19 vaccine
were given Emergency Use
Authorisation (EUA) in India.
The five vaccines granted
EUA in India are Covishield,
Covaxin, Sputnik V, Moderna
and janssen.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Even as vaccine-starved India
has decided to adopt a wait-
and-watch policy on the need
of giving a booster dose, a team
of scientists at the University of
Nottingham have said the third
jab will be an effective way to
protect people from existing,
and potentially future, variants
of concern.
The scientists said they
found that neutralising anti-
bodies generated by a single
dose of the Pfizer vaccine were
less effective at neutralising
key variants of concern, for
example the beta (first identi-
fied in South Africa) variant.
The findings are published
in the journal Science
Translational Medicine.
However, the second dose,
especially in those volunteers
who had previously been
infected with SARS-CoV-2,
dramatically increased virus
variant neutralising antibody
responses (and therefore poten-
tial protection) to a level com-
parable to those seen for the
original strain of SARS-CoV-2.
This suggests that an addi-
tional boost, even using vac-
cines containing the original
strain of coronavirus, will
increase protection against
variants of concern, revealed
the findings.
“We showed that the indi-
viduals with past infection pro-
duced more antibodies follow-
ing each dose of vaccine than
those who hadn’t been exposed.
We also showed that this
increased antibody response
was more effective against
some of the variants of concern,
such as the Beta and Gamma
variants,” said Professor
Jonathan Ball, School of Life
Sciences at the university.
?=BQ B78;0
At least 10 people died and
13 others sustained injuries
while several others are still
missing after a massive land-
slide near Nigul Sari in
Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur
district on Wednesday after-
noon.
Several vehicles, including
an ill-fated Himachal Road
Transport Corporation
(HRTC) bus carrying passen-
gers, were buried under boul-
ders and debris. The HRTC bus
was on its way from Reckong
Peo in Kinnaur to Haridwar.
The driver of the bus who
survived the tragedy informed
district authorities at Kinnaur
about the tragedy which took
place around 12:30 pm.
“10 residents of Himachal,
including one child and five
women, have died in the inci-
dent while 13 injured have
been rescued (till now) during
the rescue operations,” said a
Government official.
The HRTC bus and three
light vehicles were buried
under the debris, while a truck
hit by a shooting boulder
plunged into the Sutlej river.
Till the filing of this report,
the rescue operations were
going on as no traces of pas-
sengers and the bus, which was
suspected to be trapped in the
debris, were found at the acci-
dent site.
“The driver and conductor
of the bus were rescued while
the HRTC bus, which was
believed to be carrying over 30
passengers, seemed to have
fallen into the Sutlej river.
The rescue teams are gone
searching the riverbed to find
the bus,” the official said.
He said that rescue oper-
ations by teams of the ITBP,
the National Disaster
Response Force, the CISF and
local police were earlier hin-
dered at the site as the shoot-
ing boulders continued to roll
down, posing grave risk to the
teams.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Deploring pandemonium in
the Rajya Sabha a day ear-
lier, Chairman M Venkaiah
Naidu on Wednesday broke
into tears and termed the
behaviour of some Elders as
“sacrilege.” Expressing
“anguish” over members climb-
ing on the table, Naidu said he
spent a “sleepless night.”
Naidu made these remarks
after the House witnessed
unruly scenes with some
Opposition members stand-
ing on the table of the Rajya
Sabha secretariat and throwing
a file at the Chairperson’s seat.
However, there was no one pre-
sent in the chair.
These actions took place
when a discussion on farmers’
agitation against the farm Bills
was initiated in the Rajya Sabha
on Tuesday.
Expressing distress over
the ruckus created by the
Opposition MPs, Naidu said he
struggled to find a provocation
or reason for such a low in the
“august House”.
?=BQ =4F34;78
With the approval of the
Rajya Sabha, Parliament
on Wednesday passed the
Constitution (One Hundred
and Twenty-Seventh
Amendment) Bill, 2021, to
restore the powers of States to
have their own lists of OBCs
for reservation in jobs and
educational institutions, after
a “healthy” almost seven
hours of non-stop discussion.
There was no vote polled
against the Bill. However, the
Opposition created a ruckus
just as the Bill was passed, in
the similar fashion they have
been doing since the
Monsoon Session started on
July 19. Moving the Bill, Social
Justice and Empowerment
Minister Virendra Kumar said
the Bill will help restore the
powers of States to have their
own lists of OBCs which was
negated by the Supreme
Court.
He thanked the Prime
Minister and various parties
and their members for evolv-
ing a consensus to take up the
important Bill that seeks to
create history by providing
reservation to other backward
classes in the country.
The Lok Sabha had on
Tuesday passed the Bill ending
the logjam by Opposition par-
ties, who backed the legislation
but demanded the removal of
the 50 per cent cap on reser-
vation and many of them also
called for a caste-based census.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Both Houses of Parliament
were adjourned sine die on
Wednesday, bringing an end
to an almost washout
Monsoon Session two days
ahead of the scheduled date of
August 13.
Noisy Opposition protests
over the Pegasus snooping
row, three controversial farm
laws and other issues com-
pletely derailed the proceed-
ings of both Houses since the
start of the session on July 19
with the Congress-led-
Opposition regularly trooping
into the Well of the House and
not allowing Question and
Zero Hour to go smoothly and
the Chair adjourning the
House repeatedly before call-
ing it a day.
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Asking the industry to take
full advantage of the
atmosphere of trust for India’s
development and capabilities,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
exhorted the domestic indus-
try to enhance its risk-taking
appetite as “the country’s eco-
nomic growth is picking up
pace again”.
Assuring all support to the
industry, Modi said that India
is receiving record foreign
direct investment (FDI)
because of reforms done in the
last few years.
He mentioned that the
maze of labour laws has been
rationalised into four labour
codes; and agriculture, which
was treated as a mere means of
livelihood, is being connected
with the markets through
reforms. As a result, he said,
India is getting record FDI and
FPI and forex reserves are
also at an all time high level.
“There was a time when
foreign was synonymous with
better. Industry big-wigs
understand the consequences
of such a psychology. Situation
was so bad that even indige-
nous brands developed with
great hard work were adver-
tised with foreign names,” he
said, while addressing the
CII’s annual meeting, and
added that the trust of the
countrymen is with the prod-
ucts made in India and they
want to adopt made in India
goods. The PM said Indian
start-ups have the same level
of self-confidence as displayed
by Indian athletes and
sportspersons at Tokyo
Olympics. “When today’s
youth of India come out on
the field, they don’t have any
hesitancy in their minds. They
want to work hard and take
risks. They want to yield
results. Yes, we belong to this
place — we see this emotion
in our youth today,” he said.
He added that investor
response has been tremen-
dous for startups and this
signals that India has extra-
ordinary opportunities for
growth. India now has 60
unicorns, 21 of them reaching
that status in the last few
months, he noted.
Noting the recent reforms
taken by the Government,
the Prime Minister said that
bringing reforms is a matter of
conviction for his govern-
ment, which is ready to take
all risks in the national inter-
est. “We have taken bold deci-
sions. Reforms continued even
during pandemic. The gov-
ernment is doing reforms not
out of compulsion but out of
conviction,” he said. The PM
said that the major responsi-
bility for the success of the self-
reliant India campaign lies
with the Indian industry.
Highlighting the changes
in the approach of the current
government and changes in the
ways of working of the current
setup, he stressed that the new
India of today is ready to
march with the new world.
“India, which was apprehen-
sive of foreign investment at
one point of time, is welcom-
ing investments of all types
today. Similarly, tax policies
used to induce despondency
among the investors, the same
India can boast of the world’s
most competitive corporate
tax and faceless tax system,”
he said.
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The Taliban seized three
more provincial capitals in
Afghanistan and a local army
headquarters in a blitz across
the country’s northeast, officials
said Wednesday, with the
insurgents now controlling
some two-thirds of the nation
as the US and NATO finalise
their withdrawal after its
decades-long war there.
Afghanistan’s acting
Finance Minister Khalid
Payenda has resigned and left
the country after the Taliban
captured key customs posts
bleeding the administration of
revenue. Payenda has “resigned
and left the country because
Afghanistan is grappling with
declining revenues after the
takeover of the custom posts,”
Finance Ministry spokesman
Mohammad Rafi Tabe told the
Bloomberg in a phone interview
on Wednesday.
The fall of the capitals of
Badakhshan and Baghlan
provinces to the northeast and
Farah province to the west put
increasing pressure on the
country’s central government
to stem the tide of the advance,
even as its lost a major base in
Kunduz.
Related reports on P8
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Hockey player Vandana
Katariya who was part of
the Indian team in the Tokyo
Olympics received a rousing
welcome on her return to
Haridwar on Wednesday. She
was also felicitated at a func-
tion held in a private univer-
sity in Dehradun later during
the day.
On reaching Haridwar, she
was taken in a procession
wherein she was garlanded
and welcomed by the locals.
Various MLAs from the district
and senior public officials also
welcomed and felicitated her
on the occasion at a function
held in the Roshanabad stadi-
um. She had an emotional
reunion with her mother and
other family members.
Thanking all for the welcome,
Katariya said that the hockey
team will soon start preparing
for the Asian Games,
Commonwealth Games and
the world cup. In Dehradun, at
the Graphic Era university she
was welcomed and presented a
cheque for Rs 11 lakh. The uni-
versity also named her its
brand ambassador. Graphic
Era Educational Group presi-
dent Kamal Ghanshala and
senior office bearer Rakhee
Ghanshala welcomed the
Olympian to the function.
Ghanshala said that the
women of Uttarakhand are
physically and mentally very
capable, and have a major role
in the state’s development.
If Katariya requires any
training in the future, the uni-
versity will support her. Other
players who have performed
well in international sports
will also be encouraged, he
said.
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3TWaPSd]) 0bX_[TUd]RcX^]fXcW_aTRPdcX^]bPVPX]bc2^eXSfPb
^aVP]XbTSQhcWT5A8[PSXTbR[dQc^RT[TQaPcT7PaXhP[XCTTYCWT
^QbTaeP]RT^U2^eXS_a^c^R^[bSXS]^cPUUTRccWTT]cWdbXPb^UcWT
_PacXRX_P]cbCWTUd]RcX^]QTVP]fXcWBPeXcPbAPYPbcWP]XU^[ZSP]RTP]S
BPeXcaXb?PWPSXU^[ZSP]RTfWX[T=TT[P_TaU^aTS^]cWTBXcPaP]S
P]XbWPP[^]VfXcWBWP[X]X_TaU^aTSPSdTcCWTR[dQ_aTbXST]c^WX]X
APfPcUT[XRXcPcTS?aTTcXBX]VWfW^fPbSTR[PaTScWTCTTY@dTT]0a_]P
XbWaPfPbSTR[PaTSbTR^]SP]S?^^YP6X]fP[cWXaS
?=BQ 270=3860A7
The Chief Minister Manohar
Lal Khattar on Wednesday
said that after making Haryana
as a leading agrarian and indus-
trial state, the government is
now focused on moving
towards a high ease of living
index for the people of the state.
Khattar was speaking dur-
ing the plenary session titled
‘Haryana at India @75 and
Going India@100 organized
as a part of the annual meeting
of the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII)- 2021 held
through video conferencing.
The Chief Minister said,
“After steadily ushering in a
new era of corruption-free
governance, we are now
focused to chalk out such plans
wherein Haryana can rapidly
move towards ensuring ease of
living for the economic uplift-
ment of the people of the state
along with improving the rank-
ings on happiness index.
The state has already made
its mark on ease of doing busi-
ness graph, he said.
The Chief Minister said
that in the year 1966 when
Haryana was separated from
Punjab then it was said that
Haryana would not even be
able to pay its employees.
Today, 55 years since its incep-
tion, Haryana has proved itself
successful on many parameters
like education, health, sports,
agriculture, etc.
Describing the role played
by Haryana in realizing the
vision of Atamnirbhar Bharat,
the Chief Minister, said that the
main objective of the State
Government is to build
Haryana as the most suitable
investment destination on the
world map.
“As Haryana has emerged
as one of the preferred invest-
ment destinations for domes-
tic and international investors,
we will ensure that all potential
investors coming to Haryana
do not face any difficulty. Every
possible cooperation will be
ensured to the investors,” he
added.
The Chief Minister further
said that every possible effort
is being made by the State
Government to provide a
dynamic and innovative culture
to promote sports and ensure
maximum participation of state
youth in sports.
He said that while pro-
moting sports facilities in the
state, Haryana would be made
a sports hub. Despite having
only 2 percent of the country's
population, out of the 126
members in Olympic 2020
squad, about 30 players from
Haryana have not only partic-
ipated in the world’s biggest
tournament, but five players of
the state won medals, he added.
6^ecU^RdbTS^]T]bdaX]V
WXVWTPbT^U[XeX]VX]STgX]
7PahP]PbPhb:WPccPa
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Aday after about two-dozen
government school stu-
dents tested COVID-19 positive
from just three schools, Punjab
Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan
on Wednesday directed the
departments concerned to step
up RT-PCR testing and to con-
duct at least 10,000 RT-PCR
tests related to schools daily to
ensure that COVID situation
remains under control and the
deadly virus could not spread
again in the State.
At the same time, the
Deputy Commissioners have
been directed to ensure that
only fully vaccinated teaching
and non-teaching staff was
allowed to attend the schools.
The Chief Secretary direct-
ed that target of 40,000 samples
per day must be achieved and
testing shall be further
increased if the COVID cases
rise.
Mahajan, chairing a meet-
ing to review the COVID sit-
uation in the State with the
senior officials of the Health,
Medical Education, School
Education departments, and all
Deputy Commissioners,
expressed concern over the
movement of people to Punjab
fromneighbouringstates,where
the virus cases were once again
on the rise.
She asked the officials con-
cerned to keep a close watch on
the positivity rate ahead of the
festival season when extra vigil
was required to prevent the
surge of virus.
Instructingallthedistrictsto
continue aggressive testing and
contact tracing and testing to
check the spread of the pan-
demic, Mahajan said that epi-
demiologistshavebeenappoint-
ed in all the districts and all-out
effortsshouldbemadetothwart
thepossiblethirdCOVIDwave.
Quoting the forecast from
the University of Cambridge,
Mahajansaidthatgoingwiththe
forecast, new cases can be
expected to double in about 64
days(undertheassumptionthat
the growth rate remains con-
stant).Sheexpressedsatisfaction
over the fact that 2,45,823 sam-
ples have been taken in the past
week from August 3 to 9, and
only 352 had tested positive,
which accounted for a positivi-
ty rate of 0.1 percent.
Stressingtheneedtofurther
ramp up the
existing health
infrastructurein
the state, the
Chief Secretary
desired that
each district
should aim to
augment bed
capacity by 25
percent from
second wave’s
peak demand.
She was
apprised that at
present, 4,307
Level-II beds
were available
in the govern-
ment hospitals,
whichwouldbe
increased to
5,387 after
adding 25 per-
cent capacity,
while 6,565
level-II beds
were existing in
theprivatefacil-
ities, where
1,644 more
beds would be
added.
?d]YPQc^T]bdaT ZAC
?2AcTbcbX]bRW^^[bSPX[h
?=BQ 270=3860A7Q =4F
34;78
Punjab Chief Minister Capt
Amarinder Singh on
Wednesday urged Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to
immediately initiate steps for
the repeal of the controversial
farm laws, and an amendment
to the relevant law for includ-
ing farmers in the free legal aid
category. The Chief Minister,
who called on the Prime
Minister late Wednesday
evening, submitted two separate
letters calling for immediate
review and revocation of the
three farm laws that had “trig-
gered widespread resentment
among farmers of Punjab and
other states, who have been
protesting at the Delhi borders
since November 26 last year”.
Pointing to the prolonged
agitation which had cost the
lives of more than 400 farmers
and farmworkers, the Chief
Minister said that the stir had
the potential of posing securi-
ty threats for Punjab and the
country with Pak-backed anti-
India forces looking to exploit
the farmers’ disgruntlement
with the Government.
Urging the Prime Minister’s
intervention for expeditious
redressal of the farmers’ legiti-
mate concerns by the Central
Government to explore an
enduring solution, the Chief
Minister said that the continued
agitation was not only impact-
ing economic activities in
Punjab but also had the poten-
tial to affect the social fabric,
especially when political parties
and groups take strong posi-
tions.
Capt Amarinder noted that
he had earlier too, sought the
Prime Minister’s appointment
for a meeting with an all-party
delegation from Punjab.
The Chief Minister further
underlined the need to com-
pensate farmers for the man-
agement of paddy straw at the
rate of Rs 100 per quintal and
also to address the fears of
DAP shortage, which could
aggravate the farmers’ problems
and the crisis triggered by the
farm laws.
In another letter, the Chief
Minister stressed that due to the
fragmentation of landholdings,
and persistent disputes with
lessees and various market oper-
ators and agents, the farmers are
also facing heightened litigation
these days, causing stress on
their meagre financial resources.
Stressing the need to reduce
the farmers’ financial burden as
a result of such litigation, he
noted that the Central Legal
Services Authorities Act, 1987,
provides free legal aid to certain
categories of persons, who are
perceived to be the vulnerable
sections of the society. Pointing
out that the country’s farmers
are also very vulnerable, he
said that they are, at times, com-
pelled to commit suicide due to
financial problems, even though
they remain proud and prefer to
till their land even at the cost of
their lives. “It is, thus, the need
of the hour to amend Section 12
of the Legal Services Authorities
Act, 1987, to include farmers
and farmworkers in the cate-
gory of persons entitled to free
legal services to pursue and
defend themselves in the courts
to secure their livelihood,” said
Capt Amarinder.
DSWDLQPHHWV30
0RGLVHHNVUHSHDO
RIIDUPODZV
?=BQ 270=3860A7
On the occasion of Hariyali
Teej, Haryana Chief
Minister Manohar Lal Khattar
on Wednesday virtually inau-
gurated 'Lado ki Bagiya' Oxyvan
built on five acres of land at vil-
lage Khanpur Khurd in Jhajjar
district.
The initiative is a part of the
campaign launched by the State
Government for setting up
Oxyvans across Haryana.
During the ‘Lado ki Bagiya'
programme, about 500 saplings
were planted by 500 daughters,
who have decided to take care
of these trees.
Extending his best wishes,
the Chief Minister said that the
festival of Teej brings greenery
and prosperity. On the occasion
of Teej, he encouraged the
daughters to shine bright in
every field.
Every daughter should be
given a chance to shine, he said.
Khattar said that trees are
'Paranvayu Devta'. At present,
trees cover about 7 percent
area in the state and now, the
target has been set to increase
this to 10 percent. For this,
three crore saplings will be
planted in Haryana during the
monsoon season, he added.
The Chief Minister said
that in order to promote the
conservation of trees in
Haryana, a provision has been
made for giving a pension
amount of Rs 2500 for the trees
above the age of 75 years. Along
with this, the farmers who plant
trees in their fields will be given
Rs. 10,000 for a period of three
years, he said.
He further said that 134 vil-
lages come under the 48-kos
parikrama route ofKurukshetra,
on which the State Government
will plant Panchavati having five
different types of trees. Their
protection and care has been
entrusted to the Van Mitras.
The government has creat-
ed 'Haryana Forest
Management Information
System App' for sharing infor-
mation related to the availabil-
ity of plants. On this app, peo-
ple can get information about
the places where different types
of plants are available, he added.
Khattar said that the State
Government has also set up 60
herbal parks in Haryana and
soon four more will be set up at
different places.
He informed that medicinal
forest is being developed on
about 5000 acres of land in
Morni area. Flower cultivation
is also being done in Gurugram
and Rewari, and the same is
being promoted on 116 acres of
land in Murthal and 11 acres in
Yamunanagar.
About the concept of
Oxyvan, the Chief Minister
saidthatthisconcept,whichwas
started from Panchkula and
Karnal, is now being adopted
across the state. Students,
youth, voluntary organizations
and social organizations are
actively participating in this
and their efforts deserve
applause, he said.
In our scriptures, trees are
considered auspicious and are
symbolic of creation and that is
why they are worshipped, he
added. Speaking on the occa-
sion, Forest and Education
Minister Kanwar Pal Gujjar
while congratulating the people
of the state on Teej festival said
that 'Lado ki Bagiya' is one of its
kind initiative.
He said that Oxyvan is
being developed on govern-
ment and private land in the
state and efforts are being made
to make the irrigated land as
green area with the cooperation
of the common people.
8QbiQ^Q3=Y^QeWebQdUc
´QT_;Y2QWYiQ?hifQ^
Y^:XQZZQb
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Ahigh-powered land bank
committee under the
chairmanship of Haryana Chief
Minister Manohar Lal Khattar
will now take the decisions
about transferring unutilized
acquired land of various gov-
ernment departments, auc-
tions of such land and to pur-
chase land of private people in
the state.
For, the State Government
notified its new land bank pol-
icy which was approved by the
Cabinet last week. Three dif-
ferent committees have been
constituted under the policy.
The policy will serve the
twin objectives of preventing
the land owners from resorting
to distress sale of land, and
making land available to dif-
ferent departments of the State
Government for setting up
essential public services.
According to the policy, the
Revenue Department will con-
solidate such chunks of surplus
land as had been acquired by
the departments under the
Land Acquisition Act, 1894
(Central Act 1 of 1894) but not
needed now, and provide it to
the departments that need
them most. It will also make
things easy for the State
Government which has been
experiencing a lot of difficulty
in making land available to the
departments.
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- 1. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Of a total over 1 lakh break- through Covid-19 cases reported in India so far, Kerala tops the list with over 40,000 such infections, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Breakthrough cases are those cases in which recovered people contract the disease for a second time or those fully vaccinated contract infection. While this has raised con- cerns whether a new variant which is much more transmis- sible than the Delta variant is responsible for spike in Kerala, the Centre has dismissed this theory and has now stressed on genomic sequencing of all the breakthrough cases in the State. “Now the ICMR has decid- ed to carry out genomic sequencing for all break- through infections to under- stand the nature of the variant causing the spread of the infec- tion,” said sources in the Union Health Ministry. They said they have communicated the same to the Kerala Government. Sequencing of break- through samples will tell the researchers if there is a differ- ent coronavirus variant that is escaping the immunity gener- ated by vaccination, leading to infection among fully vacci- nated. Breakthrough Covid-19 cases were high in Pathanamthitta district and a similar situation was seen in other districts as well. A team of the Union Health Ministry is now expected to visit Kerala after August 15. A Central team that visit- ed eight districts of Kerala had on Tuesday at a Press confer- ence said the State may witness around 4.6 lakh cases of coro- navirus from August 1 to August 20. The six-member team of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was sent to Kerala by the Centre to take stock of the pandemic situation in the State. Meanwhile, the number of new Covid-19 cases increased to 38,353 in the last 24 hours, a rise of over 10,000 from Monday when India reported 28,204 infections. ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Government is all set to acquire 50 million doses of vaccine produced by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE, with an aim to boost vaccination drive and ease the pressure on the production of vaccines in the country. More than 40 lakh vac- cine doses have been admin- istered across India on Wednesday, taking total cumulative Covid vaccina- tion coverage to 52,32 crore, as per the Union Health Mnistry. “It is also expecting to receive about seven million doses of a vaccine made by Moderna Inc from the US through Covax, a programme to supply Covid-19 vaccines to poorer nations,” a report in WSJ said. Recently, US-based phar- ma giant Johnson Johnson’s single-dose Covid-19 vaccine were given Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) in India. The five vaccines granted EUA in India are Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V, Moderna and janssen. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Even as vaccine-starved India has decided to adopt a wait- and-watch policy on the need of giving a booster dose, a team of scientists at the University of Nottingham have said the third jab will be an effective way to protect people from existing, and potentially future, variants of concern. The scientists said they found that neutralising anti- bodies generated by a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine were less effective at neutralising key variants of concern, for example the beta (first identi- fied in South Africa) variant. The findings are published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. However, the second dose, especially in those volunteers who had previously been infected with SARS-CoV-2, dramatically increased virus variant neutralising antibody responses (and therefore poten- tial protection) to a level com- parable to those seen for the original strain of SARS-CoV-2. This suggests that an addi- tional boost, even using vac- cines containing the original strain of coronavirus, will increase protection against variants of concern, revealed the findings. “We showed that the indi- viduals with past infection pro- duced more antibodies follow- ing each dose of vaccine than those who hadn’t been exposed. We also showed that this increased antibody response was more effective against some of the variants of concern, such as the Beta and Gamma variants,” said Professor Jonathan Ball, School of Life Sciences at the university. ?=BQ B78;0 At least 10 people died and 13 others sustained injuries while several others are still missing after a massive land- slide near Nigul Sari in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district on Wednesday after- noon. Several vehicles, including an ill-fated Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus carrying passen- gers, were buried under boul- ders and debris. The HRTC bus was on its way from Reckong Peo in Kinnaur to Haridwar. The driver of the bus who survived the tragedy informed district authorities at Kinnaur about the tragedy which took place around 12:30 pm. “10 residents of Himachal, including one child and five women, have died in the inci- dent while 13 injured have been rescued (till now) during the rescue operations,” said a Government official. The HRTC bus and three light vehicles were buried under the debris, while a truck hit by a shooting boulder plunged into the Sutlej river. Till the filing of this report, the rescue operations were going on as no traces of pas- sengers and the bus, which was suspected to be trapped in the debris, were found at the acci- dent site. “The driver and conductor of the bus were rescued while the HRTC bus, which was believed to be carrying over 30 passengers, seemed to have fallen into the Sutlej river. The rescue teams are gone searching the riverbed to find the bus,” the official said. He said that rescue oper- ations by teams of the ITBP, the National Disaster Response Force, the CISF and local police were earlier hin- dered at the site as the shoot- ing boulders continued to roll down, posing grave risk to the teams. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Deploring pandemonium in the Rajya Sabha a day ear- lier, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday broke into tears and termed the behaviour of some Elders as “sacrilege.” Expressing “anguish” over members climb- ing on the table, Naidu said he spent a “sleepless night.” Naidu made these remarks after the House witnessed unruly scenes with some Opposition members stand- ing on the table of the Rajya Sabha secretariat and throwing a file at the Chairperson’s seat. However, there was no one pre- sent in the chair. These actions took place when a discussion on farmers’ agitation against the farm Bills was initiated in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Expressing distress over the ruckus created by the Opposition MPs, Naidu said he struggled to find a provocation or reason for such a low in the “august House”. ?=BQ =4F34;78 With the approval of the Rajya Sabha, Parliament on Wednesday passed the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021, to restore the powers of States to have their own lists of OBCs for reservation in jobs and educational institutions, after a “healthy” almost seven hours of non-stop discussion. There was no vote polled against the Bill. However, the Opposition created a ruckus just as the Bill was passed, in the similar fashion they have been doing since the Monsoon Session started on July 19. Moving the Bill, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar said the Bill will help restore the powers of States to have their own lists of OBCs which was negated by the Supreme Court. He thanked the Prime Minister and various parties and their members for evolv- ing a consensus to take up the important Bill that seeks to create history by providing reservation to other backward classes in the country. The Lok Sabha had on Tuesday passed the Bill ending the logjam by Opposition par- ties, who backed the legislation but demanded the removal of the 50 per cent cap on reser- vation and many of them also called for a caste-based census. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Wednesday, bringing an end to an almost washout Monsoon Session two days ahead of the scheduled date of August 13. Noisy Opposition protests over the Pegasus snooping row, three controversial farm laws and other issues com- pletely derailed the proceed- ings of both Houses since the start of the session on July 19 with the Congress-led- Opposition regularly trooping into the Well of the House and not allowing Question and Zero Hour to go smoothly and the Chair adjourning the House repeatedly before call- ing it a day. RURQDLQIHFWV/SHRSOH IRUQGWLPHRUDIWHUVKRWV !UZVdT`cVd^ZddZ_X Z_Z__Rfc]R_Ud]ZUV %XVWUXFNIDOO LQWR6XWOHMULYHU VHDUFKJRLQJRQ CWXb_W^c^VaP_W_a^eXSTSQh8]S^CXQTcP]1^aSTa?^[XRTbW^fbPaTbRdT^_TaPcX^]PccWTbXcT^UP[P]Sb[XSTX]:X]]PdaSXbcaXRc X]7XPRWP[?aPSTbW^]FTS]TbSPh ?C8 VcR]Re`adhZeY %!!!!ScVReYc`fXY TRdVd,4V_ecVW`c XV_`^ZTdVbfV_TZ_X `WR]]dfTYTRdVd 4`gZU* :?:?5:2 CC0;20B4B) !$%! #!! 340C7B)#!(%'#%( A42E4A43) !#(# %!$( 02C8E4)'$% 070)%%(!$$% :4A0;0)% (!$ :´C0:0)!(!!'$ '!% C=)!$' (# (%# 34;78) #%''( BRXT]cXbcbU^aaS YPQU^aXd]Xch PVPX]bcePaXP]cb 8`gee`Sfj !^U`dVd `WAWZkVcgRi ?RZUfScVRdU`h_ `_cfTfdZ_9`fdV 93VDVKHVSHQW VOHHSOHVVQLJKWWR ILQGUHDVRQIRU VXFKDORZLQ56 ?Pa[_PbbTb1X[[^]BcPcTb´ _^fTac^PZT12[Xbc F_R_Z^`fd_`UZ_ FaaVc9`fdVR]d` 0RQVRRQ6HVVLRQHQGV GDVEHIRUHVFKHGXOH ;^ZBPQWPB_TPZTa1Xa[PSdaX]VPTTcX]VfXcW[TPSTab^UP[[cWT_PacXTbX]cWT 7^dbTU^[[^fX]VPSY^da]T]c^UcWT7^dbTbX]TSXT^]cWTR^]R[dbX^]^UcWT ^]b^^]BTbbX^]^U?Pa[XPT]cX]=Tf3T[WX^]FTS]TbSPh ?C8 ?=BQ =4F34;78 Asking the industry to take full advantage of the atmosphere of trust for India’s development and capabilities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted the domestic indus- try to enhance its risk-taking appetite as “the country’s eco- nomic growth is picking up pace again”. Assuring all support to the industry, Modi said that India is receiving record foreign direct investment (FDI) because of reforms done in the last few years. He mentioned that the maze of labour laws has been rationalised into four labour codes; and agriculture, which was treated as a mere means of livelihood, is being connected with the markets through reforms. As a result, he said, India is getting record FDI and FPI and forex reserves are also at an all time high level. “There was a time when foreign was synonymous with better. Industry big-wigs understand the consequences of such a psychology. Situation was so bad that even indige- nous brands developed with great hard work were adver- tised with foreign names,” he said, while addressing the CII’s annual meeting, and added that the trust of the countrymen is with the prod- ucts made in India and they want to adopt made in India goods. The PM said Indian start-ups have the same level of self-confidence as displayed by Indian athletes and sportspersons at Tokyo Olympics. “When today’s youth of India come out on the field, they don’t have any hesitancy in their minds. They want to work hard and take risks. They want to yield results. Yes, we belong to this place — we see this emotion in our youth today,” he said. He added that investor response has been tremen- dous for startups and this signals that India has extra- ordinary opportunities for growth. India now has 60 unicorns, 21 of them reaching that status in the last few months, he noted. Noting the recent reforms taken by the Government, the Prime Minister said that bringing reforms is a matter of conviction for his govern- ment, which is ready to take all risks in the national inter- est. “We have taken bold deci- sions. Reforms continued even during pandemic. The gov- ernment is doing reforms not out of compulsion but out of conviction,” he said. The PM said that the major responsi- bility for the success of the self- reliant India campaign lies with the Indian industry. Highlighting the changes in the approach of the current government and changes in the ways of working of the current setup, he stressed that the new India of today is ready to march with the new world. “India, which was apprehen- sive of foreign investment at one point of time, is welcom- ing investments of all types today. Similarly, tax policies used to induce despondency among the investors, the same India can boast of the world’s most competitive corporate tax and faceless tax system,” he said. (FRRQULVHLQGXVWUVKRXOG UDLVHULVNDSSHWLWHVDV30 CVT`cU75:dW`cVi cVdVcgVcVdf]ed`W cVW`c^ddRjd`UZ ?aXTX]XbcTa=PaT]SaP^SXPSSaTbbTb2880]]dP[TTcX]V!! ^]cWTcWTT8]SXP/$eXPeXST^R^]UTaT]RX]VX]=Tf 3T[WX^]FTS]TbSPh ?C8 0?Q :01D; The Taliban seized three more provincial capitals in Afghanistan and a local army headquarters in a blitz across the country’s northeast, officials said Wednesday, with the insurgents now controlling some two-thirds of the nation as the US and NATO finalise their withdrawal after its decades-long war there. Afghanistan’s acting Finance Minister Khalid Payenda has resigned and left the country after the Taliban captured key customs posts bleeding the administration of revenue. Payenda has “resigned and left the country because Afghanistan is grappling with declining revenues after the takeover of the custom posts,” Finance Ministry spokesman Mohammad Rafi Tabe told the Bloomberg in a phone interview on Wednesday. The fall of the capitals of Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces to the northeast and Farah province to the west put increasing pressure on the country’s central government to stem the tide of the advance, even as its lost a major base in Kunduz. Related reports on P8 2W7Z_Z_bfZed RdER]ZSR_dVZkV $^`cVTRaZeR]d 20?BD;4 603:0A808BC1D8;3 :7867F0H030H =Tf3T[WX) 7XVW[XVWcX]VcWT X_^acP]RT^UX]UaPbcadRcdaT STeT[^_T]cU^acWTR^d]cah D]X^]X]XbcTa=XcX]6PSZPaX^] FTS]TbSPhbPXSWXbcPaVTcXbc^ PRWXTeTcWT_PRT^U Z_Ta SPhX]WXVWfPhR^]bcadRcX^] 80BC??4A2D?;4C8=0 0C70A64C38EA243 =Tf3T[WX) CX]P3PQXP]S0cWPa 0PXa:WP]cWT8]SXP] 0SX]XbcaPcXeTBTaeXRT80B ^UUXRTabfW^bTfTSSX]VX]! 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- 2. ]PcX^]! 347A03D=kC7DAB30H k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·VZLOOQRWEHKHOGUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIFODLPPDGHEWKHDGYHUWLVHUVRIWKHSURGXFWV VHUYLFHVDQGVKDOOQRWEHPDGHUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIORVVFRQVHTXHQFHVDQGIXUWKHUSURGXFWUHODWHGGDPDJHVRQVXFKDGYHUWLVHPHQWV ?=BQ 347A03D= Hockey player Vandana Katariya who was part of the Indian team in the Tokyo Olympics received a rousing welcome on her return to Haridwar on Wednesday. She was also felicitated at a func- tion held in a private univer- sity in Dehradun later during the day. On reaching Haridwar, she was taken in a procession wherein she was garlanded and welcomed by the locals. Various MLAs from the district and senior public officials also welcomed and felicitated her on the occasion at a function held in the Roshanabad stadi- um. She had an emotional reunion with her mother and other family members. Thanking all for the welcome, Katariya said that the hockey team will soon start preparing for the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the world cup. In Dehradun, at the Graphic Era university she was welcomed and presented a cheque for Rs 11 lakh. The uni- versity also named her its brand ambassador. Graphic Era Educational Group presi- dent Kamal Ghanshala and senior office bearer Rakhee Ghanshala welcomed the Olympian to the function. Ghanshala said that the women of Uttarakhand are physically and mentally very capable, and have a major role in the state’s development. If Katariya requires any training in the future, the uni- versity will support her. Other players who have performed well in international sports will also be encouraged, he said. GR_UR_RReRcZjRcVTVZgVdc`fdZ_XhV]T`^V 8=1A845B =02=;8=40F0A4=4BB4E4=CC30H 3TWaPSd])0b_Pac^UcWT=Tf8]SXP/$R^]RT_cQTX]VX_[TT]cTSc^ PaZ$hTPab^UX]ST_T]ST]RTcWT=PcX^]P[083B2^]ca^[aVP]XbPcX^] =02fX[[^aVP]XbTSP]PfPaT]Tbb_a^VaPT^]78EcdQTaRd[^bXb P]Se^[d]cPahQ[^^SS^]PcX^]^][X]Tc^SPhCWTTeT]cfX[[QTWT[SUa^ 0c^ )#$0U^afWXRWbRW^^[bcdST]cb^UR[PbbTb8Gc^G88P]S R^[[TVTbcdST]cbRP]aTVXbcTaPcfffX]SXPccXcdST]Tc]PR^CW^bTfW^ PccT]SfX[[aTRTXeTP_PacXRX_PcX^]RTacXUXRPcT B2FB?A4B4=CB4A0=3DC23708 3TWaPSd]) UUXRTQTPaTab^UcWTBT]X^a2XcXiT]FT[UPaTB^RXTchB2FB bdQXccTSPT^aP]Sdc^RWXTUX]XbcTa?dbWZPaBX]VW3WPXCWT b^dVWcX_[TT]cPcX^]^UcWT_PaT]cbR^bc^U[XeX]VbRWTTd]STafWXRW XUbT]X^aRXcXiT]bUPRTWPaPbbT]cUa^cWTXaRWX[SaT]cWThfX[[QT PdcW^aXbTSc^SXbX]WTaXccWTUa^cWTXa_a^_TachfWX[TP[b^PZX]VXccWT Sdch^UcWTRWX[SaT]c^_a^eXSTcWTXaR^bc^U[XeX]VTg_T]bTb0]^SP[ ^UUXRTabW^d[SQTP__^X]cTSPcTeTah_^[XRTbcPcX^]^aCTWbX[[TeT[c^PbbXbc bT]X^aRXcXiT]bUa^cWTb^RXP[P]S[TVP[_Tab_TRcXeTb5dacWTaVTaXPcaXR fPaSbbW^d[SQTTbcPQ[XbWTSX]P[[V^eTa]T]cP[P]S_aXePcTW^b_XcP[b CWTB2FBWTPS3a0cd[9^bWXbPXScWPccWTR^d]RX[P[b^b^dVWcU^abfXUc aTSaTbbP[U^aTgXbcX]VVP_bX]cWT0hdbWP]RPaSbRWTTX]cWTbcPcT B20414ABBD18C340=3BC070A00I A^^aZTT) UUXRTQTPaTab^cWTbRXT]cXUXRRPSaTPbb^RXPcX^]^U8aaXVPcX^] 3T_PacT]cTccWTST_PacT]cP[X]XbcTaBPc_P[PWPaPPiP]S bdQXccTSPT^aP]Sdc^WXaTVPaSX]VcWTXaePaX^dbSTP]Sb CPZX]VR^V]XbP]RT^UcWTXbbdTbaPXbTSQhcWTcWTX]XbcTaSXaTRcTScWT WTPS^UcWTST_PacT]cc^cPZT]TRTbbPahPRcX^]CWTPbb^RXPcX^]³bbcPcT WTPS3TT_PZ:dPaP]SVT]TaP[bTRaTcPahAPYP9^bWXbPXScWPccWT X]XbcTafPbX]U^aTSX]STcPX[PQ^dcXbbdTb_TacPX]X]Vc^cWTfT[UPaT^U cWTT_[^hTTb 10303BC34;8E4A43C2DBC4A8=70;3F0=8 7P[SfP]X)0bW^Z;Th[P]S[Pd]RWTSXcb]Tf_XRZd_1PSP3^bcX#PcXcb PdcW^aXbTSSTP[Ta0VaPfP[0dc^I^]TWTaT0eTWXR[TfPbP[b^ST[XeTaTS c^PRdbc^TaX]7P[SfP]X0RR^aSX]Vc^cWT^UUXRXP[bcWTcWaTTbTPcTa _XRZd_WPbQXVVTaP]SQa^PSTafWTT[Tbc^cPZT^]^aT[^PSfWXRWP[b^ VXeTXcP]Tf[^^Z^STa]cTRW]^[^VhWPbQTT]dbTSc^STbXV]cWTRPQX] U^a[^]VcaX_bCWTR^_P]hWPbP[b^_a^eXSTSPfPaaP]chU^a^]T[PZW ZX[^TcaTb^acWaTThTPabP]SPdbXRbhbcTfXcW^][X]TQ^^ZX]V^UcWT eTWXR[TBXg^UcWTbT_XRZd_bWPeTQTT]Q^^ZTSPccWTPdcW^aXbTSSTP[Ta b^UPa 5A8;0384B2;D124;41A0C4BC44907CB0E 3TWaPSd]) 0bX_[TUd]RcX^]fXcW_aTRPdcX^]bPVPX]bc2^eXSfPb ^aVP]XbTSQhcWT5A8[PSXTbR[dQc^RT[TQaPcT7PaXhP[XCTTYCWT ^QbTaeP]RT^U2^eXS_a^c^R^[bSXS]^cPUUTRccWTT]cWdbXPb^UcWT _PacXRX_P]cbCWTUd]RcX^]QTVP]fXcWBPeXcPbAPYPbcWP]XU^[ZSP]RTP]S BPeXcaXb?PWPSXU^[ZSP]RTfWX[T=TT[P_TaU^aTS^]cWTBXcPaP]S P]XbWPP[^]VfXcWBWP[X]X_TaU^aTSPSdTcCWTR[dQ_aTbXST]c^WX]X APfPcUT[XRXcPcTS?aTTcXBX]VWfW^fPbSTR[PaTScWTCTTY@dTT]0a_]P XbWaPfPbSTR[PaTSbTR^]SP]S?^^YP6X]fP[cWXaS ?=BQ 270=3860A7 The Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said that after making Haryana as a leading agrarian and indus- trial state, the government is now focused on moving towards a high ease of living index for the people of the state. Khattar was speaking dur- ing the plenary session titled ‘Haryana at India @75 and Going India@100 organized as a part of the annual meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)- 2021 held through video conferencing. The Chief Minister said, “After steadily ushering in a new era of corruption-free governance, we are now focused to chalk out such plans wherein Haryana can rapidly move towards ensuring ease of living for the economic uplift- ment of the people of the state along with improving the rank- ings on happiness index. The state has already made its mark on ease of doing busi- ness graph, he said. The Chief Minister said that in the year 1966 when Haryana was separated from Punjab then it was said that Haryana would not even be able to pay its employees. Today, 55 years since its incep- tion, Haryana has proved itself successful on many parameters like education, health, sports, agriculture, etc. Describing the role played by Haryana in realizing the vision of Atamnirbhar Bharat, the Chief Minister, said that the main objective of the State Government is to build Haryana as the most suitable investment destination on the world map. “As Haryana has emerged as one of the preferred invest- ment destinations for domes- tic and international investors, we will ensure that all potential investors coming to Haryana do not face any difficulty. Every possible cooperation will be ensured to the investors,” he added. The Chief Minister further said that every possible effort is being made by the State Government to provide a dynamic and innovative culture to promote sports and ensure maximum participation of state youth in sports. He said that while pro- moting sports facilities in the state, Haryana would be made a sports hub. Despite having only 2 percent of the country's population, out of the 126 members in Olympic 2020 squad, about 30 players from Haryana have not only partic- ipated in the world’s biggest tournament, but five players of the state won medals, he added. 6^ecU^RdbTS^]T]bdaX]V WXVWTPbT^U[XeX]VX]STgX] 7PahP]PbPhb:WPccPa ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Aday after about two-dozen government school stu- dents tested COVID-19 positive from just three schools, Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan on Wednesday directed the departments concerned to step up RT-PCR testing and to con- duct at least 10,000 RT-PCR tests related to schools daily to ensure that COVID situation remains under control and the deadly virus could not spread again in the State. At the same time, the Deputy Commissioners have been directed to ensure that only fully vaccinated teaching and non-teaching staff was allowed to attend the schools. The Chief Secretary direct- ed that target of 40,000 samples per day must be achieved and testing shall be further increased if the COVID cases rise. Mahajan, chairing a meet- ing to review the COVID sit- uation in the State with the senior officials of the Health, Medical Education, School Education departments, and all Deputy Commissioners, expressed concern over the movement of people to Punjab fromneighbouringstates,where the virus cases were once again on the rise. She asked the officials con- cerned to keep a close watch on the positivity rate ahead of the festival season when extra vigil was required to prevent the surge of virus. Instructingallthedistrictsto continue aggressive testing and contact tracing and testing to check the spread of the pan- demic, Mahajan said that epi- demiologistshavebeenappoint- ed in all the districts and all-out effortsshouldbemadetothwart thepossiblethirdCOVIDwave. Quoting the forecast from the University of Cambridge, Mahajansaidthatgoingwiththe forecast, new cases can be expected to double in about 64 days(undertheassumptionthat the growth rate remains con- stant).Sheexpressedsatisfaction over the fact that 2,45,823 sam- ples have been taken in the past week from August 3 to 9, and only 352 had tested positive, which accounted for a positivi- ty rate of 0.1 percent. Stressingtheneedtofurther ramp up the existing health infrastructurein the state, the Chief Secretary desired that each district should aim to augment bed capacity by 25 percent from second wave’s peak demand. She was apprised that at present, 4,307 Level-II beds were available in the govern- ment hospitals, whichwouldbe increased to 5,387 after adding 25 per- cent capacity, while 6,565 level-II beds were existing in theprivatefacil- ities, where 1,644 more beds would be added. ?d]YPQc^T]bdaT ZAC ?2AcTbcbX]bRW^^[bSPX[h ?=BQ 270=3860A7Q =4F 34;78 Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately initiate steps for the repeal of the controversial farm laws, and an amendment to the relevant law for includ- ing farmers in the free legal aid category. The Chief Minister, who called on the Prime Minister late Wednesday evening, submitted two separate letters calling for immediate review and revocation of the three farm laws that had “trig- gered widespread resentment among farmers of Punjab and other states, who have been protesting at the Delhi borders since November 26 last year”. Pointing to the prolonged agitation which had cost the lives of more than 400 farmers and farmworkers, the Chief Minister said that the stir had the potential of posing securi- ty threats for Punjab and the country with Pak-backed anti- India forces looking to exploit the farmers’ disgruntlement with the Government. Urging the Prime Minister’s intervention for expeditious redressal of the farmers’ legiti- mate concerns by the Central Government to explore an enduring solution, the Chief Minister said that the continued agitation was not only impact- ing economic activities in Punjab but also had the poten- tial to affect the social fabric, especially when political parties and groups take strong posi- tions. Capt Amarinder noted that he had earlier too, sought the Prime Minister’s appointment for a meeting with an all-party delegation from Punjab. The Chief Minister further underlined the need to com- pensate farmers for the man- agement of paddy straw at the rate of Rs 100 per quintal and also to address the fears of DAP shortage, which could aggravate the farmers’ problems and the crisis triggered by the farm laws. In another letter, the Chief Minister stressed that due to the fragmentation of landholdings, and persistent disputes with lessees and various market oper- ators and agents, the farmers are also facing heightened litigation these days, causing stress on their meagre financial resources. Stressing the need to reduce the farmers’ financial burden as a result of such litigation, he noted that the Central Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, provides free legal aid to certain categories of persons, who are perceived to be the vulnerable sections of the society. Pointing out that the country’s farmers are also very vulnerable, he said that they are, at times, com- pelled to commit suicide due to financial problems, even though they remain proud and prefer to till their land even at the cost of their lives. “It is, thus, the need of the hour to amend Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to include farmers and farmworkers in the cate- gory of persons entitled to free legal services to pursue and defend themselves in the courts to secure their livelihood,” said Capt Amarinder. DSWDLQPHHWV30 0RGLVHHNVUHSHDO RIIDUPODZV ?=BQ 270=3860A7 On the occasion of Hariyali Teej, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday virtually inau- gurated 'Lado ki Bagiya' Oxyvan built on five acres of land at vil- lage Khanpur Khurd in Jhajjar district. The initiative is a part of the campaign launched by the State Government for setting up Oxyvans across Haryana. During the ‘Lado ki Bagiya' programme, about 500 saplings were planted by 500 daughters, who have decided to take care of these trees. Extending his best wishes, the Chief Minister said that the festival of Teej brings greenery and prosperity. On the occasion of Teej, he encouraged the daughters to shine bright in every field. Every daughter should be given a chance to shine, he said. Khattar said that trees are 'Paranvayu Devta'. At present, trees cover about 7 percent area in the state and now, the target has been set to increase this to 10 percent. For this, three crore saplings will be planted in Haryana during the monsoon season, he added. The Chief Minister said that in order to promote the conservation of trees in Haryana, a provision has been made for giving a pension amount of Rs 2500 for the trees above the age of 75 years. Along with this, the farmers who plant trees in their fields will be given Rs. 10,000 for a period of three years, he said. He further said that 134 vil- lages come under the 48-kos parikrama route ofKurukshetra, on which the State Government will plant Panchavati having five different types of trees. Their protection and care has been entrusted to the Van Mitras. The government has creat- ed 'Haryana Forest Management Information System App' for sharing infor- mation related to the availabil- ity of plants. On this app, peo- ple can get information about the places where different types of plants are available, he added. Khattar said that the State Government has also set up 60 herbal parks in Haryana and soon four more will be set up at different places. He informed that medicinal forest is being developed on about 5000 acres of land in Morni area. Flower cultivation is also being done in Gurugram and Rewari, and the same is being promoted on 116 acres of land in Murthal and 11 acres in Yamunanagar. About the concept of Oxyvan, the Chief Minister saidthatthisconcept,whichwas started from Panchkula and Karnal, is now being adopted across the state. Students, youth, voluntary organizations and social organizations are actively participating in this and their efforts deserve applause, he said. In our scriptures, trees are considered auspicious and are symbolic of creation and that is why they are worshipped, he added. Speaking on the occa- sion, Forest and Education Minister Kanwar Pal Gujjar while congratulating the people of the state on Teej festival said that 'Lado ki Bagiya' is one of its kind initiative. He said that Oxyvan is being developed on govern- ment and private land in the state and efforts are being made to make the irrigated land as green area with the cooperation of the common people. 8QbiQ^Q3=Y^QeWebQdUc ´QT_;Y2QWYiQ?hifQ^ Y^:XQZZQb ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Ahigh-powered land bank committee under the chairmanship of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will now take the decisions about transferring unutilized acquired land of various gov- ernment departments, auc- tions of such land and to pur- chase land of private people in the state. For, the State Government notified its new land bank pol- icy which was approved by the Cabinet last week. Three dif- ferent committees have been constituted under the policy. The policy will serve the twin objectives of preventing the land owners from resorting to distress sale of land, and making land available to dif- ferent departments of the State Government for setting up essential public services. According to the policy, the Revenue Department will con- solidate such chunks of surplus land as had been acquired by the departments under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (Central Act 1 of 1894) but not needed now, and provide it to the departments that need them most. It will also make things easy for the State Government which has been experiencing a lot of difficulty in making land available to the departments. 8QbiQ^Q7_fd^_dYVYUc Q^TRQ^[`_YSi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
- 3. dccPaPZWP]S 347A03D=kC7DA330H k0D6DBC !!! ?=BQ 347A03D= The Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) has postponed the Geographic Information System (GIS) based survey due to the rains in the city. Earlier, the corpo- ration had planned to com- mence the GIS based survey in Kaulagarh ward as a pilot pro- ject under the Urban Development Directorate (UDD) from this month through drones to get the com- plete details of all residential and commercial properties. At present, all the property tax- payers submit the property tax on the basis of the self-assess- ment of their properties most of which are not verified by the corporation. According to the officials, this survey will help the cor- poration to maximise the prop- erty tax as all the actual details of each establishment in the city along with their owners' information will be available at one click after this survey. The collected data through the sur- vey will also be used to gener- ate a unique property identifi- cation number which can be used by the government to pro- vide required facilities to the locals of a certain area. However, the GIS based survey has been delayed by one month in Dehradun due to rains in the city. Ashish Kataith who is managing this project in Dehradun informed the cor- poration had planned to com- mence the survey from August using drones and door to door survey but it has been post- poned due to frequent rainfall in the city. We have not start- ed the process considering the ongoing rainfall here because once we start the process of the survey through drones and door to door survey, we want it to be regular and consistent for our pilot project. The MCD will start the survey by the end of this month or at the begin- ning of September, said Kathait. It is pertinent to mention here that UDD has planned to commence GIS based survey in the urban local bodies of Dehradun, Haridwar, Rudrapur and Rishikesh as the pilot project in the State after which, the plan will be execut- ed in other ULBs too. ?=BQ 347A03D= On second day of his Delhi visit Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday. Dhami also visited Maharashtra Bhawan in New Delhi on the day where he met Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. In his meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah, the CM requested setting up of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kumaon region of the state. He told Shah that the people of remote areas of Kumaon region are bereft of super speciality health facility and if centre approves AIIMS in the region the state govern- ment would provide land for it. He also requested that the Indian Science Education and Research institute should be established in Dehradun. In his meeting with the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the CM said that a broad gauge rail link between Tanakpur and Bageshwar should be approved in view of its strategic impor- tance. He said that railway ministry has ordered survey for a narrow gauge rail link between Tanakpur and Bageshwar. He said that the construction of the narrow gauge is impractical as it would neither serve solve transporta- tion neither purpose nor it would be of strategic impor- tance. Dhami said that since the area is close to China and Nepal borders, a broad gauge rail line should be constructed. The CM also told Singh that the Union Government had given its approval for setting up of a Sainik School in Jakholi in Rudraprayag and the state gov- ernment was to set up infra- structure facilities in the schools but in view of the lim- ited resources of the state, the centre should provide financial assistance to the state for set- ting up infrastructure in the school. He said that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) should be amended for the same. ?=B Q 347A03D= Accusing the State Government of selling lands to outsiders for profits, the leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Rakesh Tikait supported the demand for stringent land laws in Uttarakhand. Addressing media persons on Wednesday at the Press Club in Dehradun, Tikait gave suggestions to the State government to improve the conditions of farmers and labourers. He said that the people of the plain areas are given many benefits for serving in the mountains so people living in mountainous areas should be given more facilities too under the hill policy to prevent migration. He also demanded the implementation of a vil- lage tourism policy in Uttarakhand like in Himachal Pradesh and the provision of subsidies to people involved in the transport business under the transport policy. Tikait also asked the state govern- ment to make a separate zone for the villages located near the border with China and making of a policy for the pro- tection of villagers. He further said that many educational institutes are charging exorbitant fees from farmers and labourers and nothing is being done by the government here. Talking about land laws, Tikait said the government is selling lands to the industri- alists and entrepreneurs of other states for their own profits while neglecting the public of Uttarakhand. He said lands nearby main roads in the villages must be pro- tected by locals and appealed to the farmers to not sell their lands to outsiders. Tikait said the farmers will also protest against the Uttarakhand gov- ernment if nothing will be done to improve the situation of farmers here. He said it will not take much time to reform the State government here. We only need to close the borders of Uttarakhand for eight days and ask the authorities at bor- ders to improve the gover- nance here, averred Kathait. He also asserted that farmers will continue to protest against the Central government till it with- draws the farm laws. ?=BQ347A03D= The convenor of the Social Media cell of Uttarakhand Congress Amarjeet Singh has accused the BJP for trying to stifle the voice of opposition. He said that the former presi- dent of Congress party Rahul Gandhi condemned the rape and murder of a nine year old girl in Delhi after which his twitter account was locked on the insistence of the govern- ment. He said that Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ganesh Godiyal sup- ported Rahul Gandhi by using '#I am also Rahul' and demand- ed justice for the victim after which the account of Godiyal too was locked. Amarjeet Singh said that he also tweeted in sup- port of Rahul Gandhi and Godiyal and raised questions on the Delhi incident following which his Twitter account was also suspended. “The accounts of many workers of Congress who are part of the social media team are also locked. It is all hap- pening at the behest of BJP. The government is trying to silence the voice of the Congress work- ers but we will not get bogged down. The BJP’s anxiety is clear- ly visible and it would be reflected in the upcoming elec- tions in five states,’’ he said. ?=BQ 347A03D= Replying to his critics who are asking questions on his last elections in his unique style former Chief Minister and general secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Harish Rawat has said that he would rise from his ashes whenever Uttarakhandiyat is under threat. In his facebook page Rawat said that some turncoats are asking him that which would be his last elections. “I want to make it clear that Harish Rawat would rise even from his ashes whenever Uttarakhandiyat is under threat, whenever the interests of farmers and Dalits are affected and whenever employment is snatched away,’’ he said. ?=BQ 347A03D= The State Health depart- ment reported 40 new cases of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) and 48 recoveries from the disease in Uttarakhand on Wednesday. Death of one patient from the disease was reported on the day. The cumulative count of Covid-19 patients in the state is now at 3,42,502 while a total of 3,28,658 patients have recov- ered from the disease so far. In the state 7369 people have lost their lives to Covid -19 till date. The recovery percentage from the disease is at 95.96 while the sample positivity rate on Wednesday was 0.20 per cent. The state health depart- ment reported eight new patients of Covid -19 each from Bageshwar, seven from Dehradun, six from Pithoragarh, four from Chamoli, three from Haridwar, two each from Almora, Champawat, Nainital, Rudraprayag and Udham Singh Nagar and one each from Uttarkashi and Pauri districts on Wednesday. No new patient was found in Tehri district on the day. Death of one patient was reported from Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) on Wednesday. The State now has 435 active cases of Covid 19. Dehradun with 171 cases is at top of the table of active cases while Pithoragarh is at second spot with 58 active cases. Chamoli has 53, Champawat 34, Udham Singh Nagar and Rudraprayag 23 each, Uttarkashi 19, Bageshwar 16, Pauri 10, Nainital seven, Tehri and Almora six active patients each of the disease. The State reported no new case of Mucormycosis (Black fungus) on Wednesday. A total of 570 patients of the disease have so far been report- ed. In the ongoing vaccination drive 99,348 people were vac- cinated in 701 sessions in dif- ferent parts of the state on Wednesday. 45YR^Z^VVedDYRYCR[_ReYR_U`eYVcdZ_5V]YZ ?=BQ 347A03D= The Union Government would soon provide approval of Rs 4673 crore for the Lakhwad multipurpose pro- ject in Uttarakhand. This assur- ance was given by the Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday. In the meeting Dhami also requested that the MoU of the Kisau pro- ject should be amended. The Union minister assured Dhami that a meeting of states con- cerned would soon convened to discuss the Kisau project. The duo also decided to conduct joint review of the ‘ Jal Jivan Mission’ in Uttarakhand. Dhami told Shekhawat that the norms for the ‘ PMKSY-Har Khet ko Pani’ scheme should be relaxed for the mountainous states and requested that 422 micro irrigation projects in the state should be approved under the scheme. The CM said that all nec- essary clearances for 300 MW Lakhwad multipurpose pro- ject have been obtained and work on the ambitious project having strategic importance would start when the financial approval from the cabinet sub- committee is received. BWTZWPfPc³b PbbdaP]RT aTZX]S[TbW^_T^] ;PZWfPS_a^YTRc ?=BQ 347A03D= The Union surfaced Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that Uttarakhand would receive a sum of Rs 1000 crore for con- struction of new national high- ways. He added that the cen- tre would provide an addi- tional sum of Rs 300 crore under central roads infra- structure fund. Gadkari told Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday that every require- ment of Uttarakhand would be addressed. He also assured that cen- tre would help the state in con- struction of ropeways and cable cars. Dhami thanked Gadkari for these announce- ments and said that historic work in the increasing con- nectivity has taken place in Uttarakhand in last your years. Eµ[XQ^Td_bUSUYfUC!;Sb V_bQdY_^Q8YWXgQic 7LNDLWVXSSRUWVGHPDQGIRU VWURQJODQGODZLQ8 NKDQG 2:@]ejjY^Wf_YSU_V ?``_cYdY_^QUWUc3_^W :RXOGULVHIURPDVKHV WRSURWHFWLQWHUHVWV RI8¶NKDQG5DZDW 0'SRVWSRQHV *,6EDVHGVXUYH 3_fYT!)*$ ^UgSQcUc_^U TUQdXbU`_bdUT_^GµTQi ?=BQ =08=8C0; Hearing on a public interest litigation against the state government’s denotification of the Shivalik elephant reserve the division bench of the Uttarakhand High Court stressed on the need to achieve balance between environmen- tal conservation and develop- ment. The court asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) about the steps being taken to save the trees along the Delhi- Dehradun national highway. The bench also asked the peti- tioner about how cutting 2,500 Sal trees will cause irreparable environmental damage and whether this damage cannot be compensated by planting even more trees. Stating this, the division bench comprising chief justice RS Chauhan and justice Alok Kumar Verma set the next date of hearing on the PIL for August 25. Dehradun resident Reenu Paul had filed the PIL stating that the state wildlife board had decided to denotify the Shivalk elephant reserve in November 2020 for the proposed expan- sion of the Dehradun airport. The petitioner has challenged the denotification in the high court. The court had earlier ordered a stay on the denotifi- cation. The petitioner had fur- ther questioned how the state wildlife board could approve the denotification of the Shivalik elephant reserve, spread across about 5,404 square kilometre area citing factors including the fact that this area is used by the pachy- derms to travel between here and Nepal. 72bTTZbTg_[P]PcX^]bX]BWXeP[XZ T[T_WP]caTbTaeTST]^cXUXRPcX^]?8; ?=BQ 347A03D= The enforcement team of the Dehradun regional transport office (RTO) has started impounding mobile phones of traffic rules violators besides imposing penalties. The regional transport officer (enforcement), Sandeep Saini said that distraction caused due to using mobile phones while driving or riding a vehi- cle has resulted in many major accidents and fatalities in the district in the past few days. The enforcement team on Wednesday took strict action against such traffic rules vio- lations and seized 13 mobile phones of drivers and two- wheeler riders, stated Saini. Besides this, the team also penalised 63 drivers and rid- ers for traffic rules violations like overspeeding, invalid permits, no driving licence and for not wearing helmets among others, informed Saini. He said, “Traffic rules vio- lations put the life of the dri- ver as well as other people on the road at risk. We hope people will be more careful while driving and follow traf- fic rules after observing strict actions taken by the authori- ties.” BD?Y]`_e^Tc ]_RYU`X_^Uc_V dbQVVYSbeUcfY_Qd_bc ?A4?A0:0B7D?037H0HQ 1064B7F0A The history of tea cultivation in Uttarakhand is about 150 years old. In 1824, the British writer Bishop Heber, while expressing the possibili- ty of cultivating tea in the Kumaon region, said that tea plants grow naturally on the land here but are not used. Heber had said that Kumaon's soil, temperature and other weather conditions closely match those of China's tea gar- dens. Tea cultivation has a come a long way in Uttarakhand since it was encouraged by the British. Today, there are some tea gar- dens which not only produce good quality tea but also pro- vide locals with a source of employment. The Simgadi tea garden located along the bor- der of Bageshwar and Pithoragarh districts is one such example. About three dozen women here have become self-suffi- cient from this plantation. They get 18 to 20 days of work every month, but only a few days in the three rainy months. They get remuneration at the rate of Rs 316 per day. Along with their farming, these women are augmenting their income with their work in the tea garden which is also moti- vating the women of other vil- lages to do the same. The Uttarakhand Tea Development Board estab- lished the tea garden at Simgadi in 1994. The former Uttarakhand chief secretary RS Tolia and statehood activist Ganga Singh Pangti also played a role in establishment of this tea garden. At a time when lack of employment opportunities remains one of the major factors for migration from the mountainous regions, the tea garden is pro- viding a reason for villagers to remain here. Pangti said that most of the people living in Simgadi are associated with this work. A woman earns upto Rs 7,000 per month from her work in the tea garden. He further said that there was a time when the tea from Uttarakhand was exported to all over the world with the tea from Berinag, Chaukori and Kausani leaving its mark. Today this has come down due to factors including govern- mental apathy. He demanded that the government should set up a tea factory here. The Bageshwar chief development officer DD Pant said, “Tea plantation is pro- viding employment to women while the mountain soil and climate are also better for tea cultivation. A letter will be sent to the government for setting up a tea factory here and other measures. A tea factory is being operated in Harinagari.” CY]WQTYdUQWQbTU^*8U`Y^W VQb]UbcQeW]U^ddXUYbY^S_]U ?=B Q 347A03D= The Uttarakhand transport department received a total of 1,889 applications from the public transport operators, con- ductors and cleaners on the first day to register as the benefi- ciaries for the monetary aid provided by the State Government. The transport department recently invited applications from public trans- port operators, conductors and cleaners of the State from Wednesday as potential bene- ficiaries for the monetary aid of Rs 2,000 to each eligible bene- ficiary whose livelihood was affected due to Covid-curfew. The department will send Rs 2,000 for the next six months to the bank accounts of the eligi- ble beneficiaries as per the recent orders. The deputy transport commissioner of the depart- ment Sanat Kumar Singh informed that the department received a total of 1,889 appli- cations on Wednesday through the portal http://uk.gov.in out of which only 185 were approved, 16 were kept on hold, two were rejected while the remain- ing 1,686 applications are pend- ing for approval. “It was the first day of registering at the portal due to which numbers of appli- cants were less but this number will surely rise in the next few days,” said Singh. DbQ^c`_bdTU`Qbd]U^dQ``b_fUc !(%Q``YSQdY_^cV_b]_^UdQbiQYT
- 4. ]PcX^]# 347A03D=kC7DAB30H k0D6DBC !!! ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said the Special (PMLA) Court, Mohali, has allowed the confiscation of assets worth around C10 crore in the Bhola Drug case on its request. The ED had earlier attached these assets including immovable properties, Indian currency, foreign currencies, fixed deposits. Subsequently, the agency filed applications under Prevention of Money Laundering Act against four accused persons, Roy Bahadur Nirwal, Mahesh Gaba, Anoop Singh Kahlon and Varinder Singh Raja, who were abscond- ing during the course of trial. “In this case, the Court while passing the confiscation order categorically observed that no objection regarding confiscation of the properties has come from any quarter in spite of publication in the newspaper to the general pub- lic. The Court held that since the properties attached by ED have been confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority and the accused persons have been declared as Proclaimed Offenders by the Court for evading the process of law subsequent to the Prosecution Complaints filed against them, said properties are confiscated to the Central Government,” the agency said in a statement. In the Bhola Drug case, multiple FIRs under Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Arms Act were registered by the Punjab Police in 2013 and 2014. Consequent to that, the ED initiated investigation in this case of multi-crore syn- thetic drug racket that was operated by wrestler-turned- cop-turned-drug Mafia Jagdish Singh alias Bhola. During the course of the money laundering investiga- tion, statements of accused persons and witnesses were recorded and numerous docu- ments from different agencies/ authorities have also been obtained. So far, a total of five Provisional Attachment Orders have been issued in this case wherein total ‘proceeds of crime worth C95 crore has been attached, it said. Jagdish Singh alias Bhola, who was the kingpin of the syndicate, was arrested under the relevant Section of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in January 2014 by the ED, and since then he has been in judi- cial custody. Singh had filed three bail applications on various dates to secure his bail, however, all were dismissed by the Special PMLA Court. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Expressing displeasure over the disruptions in Lok Sabha proceedings during the Monsoon Session, Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday said he was “extremely hurt” and voiced hope that parties will, through consensus, ensure that members follow the rules strictly and maintain the dig- nity of the House. The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Wednesday, two days before schedule, after Opposition protests over the Pegasus snooping row, farm laws and other issues. Addressing a press confer- ence, Birla said out of the total 96 hours, the House func- tioned for only 21 hours and its productivity reduced to 22 percent due to the ruckus. He disapproved of the members coming into the Well and shouting slogans, saying pre- siding officers have maintained that such conduct was unac- ceptable. “I am pained at con- tinuous disruptions of the House. I don’t have words to express my anguish over the ruckus in the House... I am extremely hurt,” Birla said. The Speaker said he will call a meeting of leaders of all parties to build consensus on ways to ensure that rules are strictly followed and to discuss stringent action against habit- ual offenders. Birla said the people of the country expect Parliament, which is the tem- ple of democracy, to function so that elected representatives can raise matters of public concern and feel saddened when it does not happen. Asserting that the House can only run through dialogue and consensus, the Speaker said he also held several meetings with leaders from both treasury and opposition sides to end the log- jam but it could not happen due to several factors. “Members should maintain the dignity of Parliament and help run the House according to traditions... It is a collective responsibility,” he said while replying to questions, and expressed confidence that the next session will be more pro- ductive. His remarks came on a day Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu broke down in the Upper House while expressing anguish over the unruly conduct of MPs, who had climbed on the officers’ table in the Well and hurled files on Tuesday, and said that they had committed sacrilege. On possible action to check unruly behaviour of members, Birla said it is not necessary that action would yield the desired result, but added that he will call a meeting of leaders from all parties to discuss “stringent action against habitual offend- ers”. Birla also informed that the construction of the new Parliament building is expect- ed to be completed before August 15 next year. After the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and floor leaders of various other parties met the Speaker in his chamber over tea. +XUWZLWKGLVUXSWLRQVRI /6SURFHHGLQJV6SHDNHU ?=BQ =4F34;78 Twitter on Wednesday informed Delhi High Court that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter account is locked due to violating their policy by uploading the photos of recently raped and murdered nine year old Dalit girl’s par- ents. Twitter was responding to a petition seeking FIR against Rahul Gandhi for allegedly revealing the identity of the Dalit girl. Senior advocate Sajan Poovayya, representing Twitter, told the court that the tweet by Rahul Gandhi has been removed as it was found to be in violation of the platform’s own policy. “The account has been locked and the tweet is not available,” Poovayya said. Counsel for Mhadlekar, advo- cate Gautam Jha, however, responded that he disputed Twitter’s stand and urged the court to call for an affidavit. “If this is the attitude, we are not issuing notice,” the court remarked as it proceeded to adjourn hearing. Senior advo- cate R S Cheema appeared for Rahul Gandhi. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh refused to issue notice on the public interest litigation (PIL) by Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar at this stage and asked the parties to “keep 1-2 pages of submissions ready on next date”. The case was post- ed for hearing on September 27 in which was the petitioner has made Twitter as party. APWd[´bCfXccTaPRR^d]c[^RZTS U^aU[^dcX]VVdXST[X]TbCfXccTa cT[[b3T[WX7XVW2^dac CWTRPbTfPb _^bcTSU^a WTPaX]V^] BT_cTQTa!X] fWXRWfPbcWT _TcXcX^]TaWPb PSTCfXccTaPb _Pach A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78 Taking note of a new type of cyber-attack on banking cus- tomers, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT- IN) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a warning saying attackers are using ‘ngrok’ platform to host phishing websites that look like internet banking websites of popular banks in India to collect sensitive information such as inter- net banking credentials, mobile number and one-time password (OTP) to carry out fraudulent transactions. “It has been observed that Indian banking customers are being targeted by a new type of phishing attack using ngrok platform. The malicious actors have abused the ngrok platform to host phishing websites impersonating internet banking portals of Indian banks. Using these phishing websites, malicious actors are collecting sen- sitive information such as internet banking credentials, mobile num- ber and one time password (OTP) to carry out fraudulent transac- tions,” the advisory said. In a warning, the CERT-In said the scammers are sending SMS to customers with embedded phishing links ending with ngrok.io/xxxbank. According to officials, you may get a message like “Dear customer, your xxx bank account will be sus- pended! Please Re KYC Verification Update click here link http://446bdf227fc4.ngrok.io/xxxba nk” The moment you click on this link to login to your internet bank- ing account, your online banking login details and mobile number may be stolen to carry out fraud money transfers. Once stolen, the scammer gen- erates OTP by entering your details on the actual online banking web- site which gets delivered to your phone number. Now, the victim unknowingly enters the same OTP on the phish- ing website, thus giving away the real OTP to the scammer. For stealing money, the SMS text may be changed to fetch OTPs in a similar way. CERT has also released some best practices which users should follow in order to stay safe from malicious actors which include do not browse un-trusted websites or follow un-trusted links and exercise caution while clicking on the link provided in any unsolicited emails and SMS. “Look for suspicious numbers that don’t look like real mobile phone numbers. Scammers often mask their identity by using email-to-text services to avoid revealing their actual phone num- ber. Genuine SMS messages received from banks usually contain sender ID (consisting of bank’s short name) instead of a phone number in sender information field,” it said. It further suggested internet banking users to “only click on URLs that clearly indicate the website domain.” “When in doubt, users can search for the organisation’s website directly using search engines to ensure that the websites they visited are legiti- mate,” it said. “Users are advised to hover their cursors over the shortened URLs (if possible) to see the full website domain which they are vis- iting or use a URL checker that will allow the user to enter a short URL and view the full URL,” it said. Users can also use the shortening service preview feature to see a preview of the full URL, the advisory stated. ?=BQ =4F34;78 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday the monsoon over the country has entered a break mode and is likely to continue for the next five days. However, the intense rainfall spell over the north- east and adjoining east India, northern parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, is expect- ed to last till August 14 and reduce thereafter. Crisil Research in its report on Kharif sowing forecasts that uneven distribution of mon- soon rainfall is likely to impact the kharif sowing, which is expected to fall one per cent as compared to last year. According to the IMD data, from June 1 to August 10, the country received 5 per cent less rain- fall than normal. The east and northeast India meteorological divi- sion of the IMD has recorded 12 per cent less rainfall, while the northwest India and central India meteoro- logical divisions have recorded minus 2 and 7 per cent rainfall respectively. The south peninsula meteoro- logical division has 8 per cent more rainfall than normal so far. The cur- rent spell of fairly widespread to wide- spread rainfall activity with isolated heavy to very heavy falls are very like- ly to continue over northeast and sub- Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim during August 11-14 and reduce thereafter. “Subdued rainfall is very likely over north Indian plains (Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan), adjoining cen- tral India and most parts of penin- sular India (outside Tamil Nadu and Kerala), including Maharashtra and Gujarat till August 15, the IMD said. Rainfall activity will increase over peninsular India from August 16 onwards, it said. Scattered to widespread rainfall is very likely over Tamilnadu and Kerala during next five days with iso- lated heavy falls over Tamil Nadu dur- ing August 11-14 and over Kerala during August 11-12. “The current spell of weak monsoon conditions over the country is likely to contin- ue till next 5 days (August 11-15), outside northeast and adjoining east India, northern parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where current activities of intense rainfall spell likely to contin- ue till August 14 with reduction there- after,” the IMD said. In its report, Crisil said that overall kharif sowing is expected to remain one per cent lower year-on- year. “Cumulative sowing till August 8 was two per cent lower year-on- year, attributable to the advancement in sowing last year, and three per cent higher than the average of the past five years”. ^]b^^]c^R^]cX]dTU^a]Tgc$SPhb 2A8B8;B083E4A0;; :70A85BF8=68B 4G?42C43CA408= =4?4A24=C;F4A H40A=H40A ?C8Q =4F34;78 Over 2.45 lakh urban home- less people have so far been identified in the country via sur- veys conducted by the respec- tive States and Union Territories, the Centre told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. In a written reply, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore said the central government is adminis- tering ‘Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH)’ scheme under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY- NULM) through states and UTs. The guidelines of SUH provide for conducting system- atic third party surveys in cities and towns by urban local bod- ies to identify the number of urban homeless in order to assess the need for shelters. “So far, 2,45,945 urban homelesshave beenidentifiedin surveys conducted by respective states/Union territories (UTs),” the minister said. The Union government is augmenting efforts of state and Union terri- tory governments through the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Urban (PMAY-U) to meet the housing demand through finan- cial help, he said. eTa!#$;daQP] W^T[TbbWPeTb^ UPaQTT]XST]cXUXTS X]8]SXP)X]XbcTa ?=BQ =4F34;78 On a day the Monsoon Session of Parliament ended prema- turely there was a bitter clash between the Opposition and the Government over use of security personnel in the Rajya Sabha dur- ing the passage of the insurance amendment Bill to privatise general insurance companies. The Opposition MPs walked out of the Rajya Sabha alleging heavy deployment of marshals to prevent their protests. While the Opposition alleged that marshals manhandled two women MPs, the treasury bench- es accused the Opposition to attack the marshals and pushed in the Rajya Sabha. The incident comes a day later when two Opposition MPs had jumped on the table of the Secretary General in the House. Before staging a walkout in the upper house, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge conveyed to the presiding officer that women MPs were manhandled and this should be condemned and demanded that sufficient number of female Marshals should be deployed so that our female col- leagues are safe. Condemning the allegations of attack on women MPs, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar said that never in his Parliamentary career has heard or seen such a nasty inci- dent guided by the government. Trinamool Congress leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O Brien alleged that there were more secu- rity guards in the Rajya Sabha than MPs as the government bulldozed the insurance Bill. “RSTV will not show you that. This is censorship, the Modi-Shah Gujarat model at work in Parliament,” he said. The TMC also alleged that the government used “gender shields” to foil MPs’ protests inside Rajya Sabha. “Male marshals were sent after women MPs and female mar- shals were posted in front of male MPs,” Brien said as some women MPs, including TMC’s Dola Sen and Congress’ Ami Yagnik, alleged manhandling by marshals. Congress Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh termed the day as “worse than atrocious” amid indications that Opposition leaders and MPs would assemble in Parliament on Thursday to protest. Congress has convened all its Parliamentarians in the Parliament on Thursday. “The insurance amendment Bill to privatise general insurance companies was passed in the Rajya Sabha with a large force of securi- ty personnel present. The govern- ment refused to send it to a select committee as demanded by all Opposition parties, including those close to the BJP. What happened this evening was worse than atro- cious,” Congress chief whip Jairam Ramesh said. Before the Deputy Chairman Harivansh announced sine die, Rajya Sabha passed The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021 that restores the states’ right to create their OBC list, General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021, the National Commission for Homoeopathy (Amendment) Bill, 2021, and the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (Amendment) Bill, 2021. *RYW2SSFODVKRYHUXVHRIPDUVKDOV LQ5DMD6DEKDGXULQJSDVVDJHRI%LOO ?=BQ =4F34;78 To promote the Ayush industry nationally and globally, the Government is infusing young pro- fessionals in the sector to help them start their own small-scale Start-ups. In this direction, the Union Ayush Ministry has also launched a web-based e-learning programme of all the pharmaceutical processing involved in preparation of Ayurvedic drugs in line with the New Education Policy. The web-based e-learning pro- gramme for Rasa Shastra Bhaishajya Kalpana (RSBK) education has been launched by the Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth (RAV), an autonomous organisation under the Union Ministry of Ayush. This programme will give the participants a practical feel of con- ceptual learning of the principles and knowledge of RSBK. According to Director of RAV, Dr Anupam Srivastava, “In the cur- rent scenario, there is a great demand in Ayurveda system of medicine globally. For this purpose, there is also a need for quality. This course will help meet the cus- tomers’ desire for quality, safe and effective medicines. “Since there are less Start-ups in the Ayush sector and to infuse young professionals of Ayush system to start their own small-scale Start- ups, this course will give them great scope. This programme will help in achieving the Prime Minister’s goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat”. Dr Srivastava further said, “This programme will not only help in the setting up Start-up of the sector but will also be helpful to students in acquiring credit points to enrich their credit bank for their future endeavor in line with the New Education Policy.” This e-learning programme will be conducted through a series of tutorials, which will run all along the course. This programme is designed to provide students, practitioners, pharmacists an in-depth under- standing and detailed knowledge of core-concepts of Ayurvedic phar- maceutical science, techniques and principles involved in the prepara- tion of classical Ayurvedic and Ayurvedic patent and proprietary formulations, said an official. A total of 50 students will be allowed to enroll on first come-first serve basis and a student has to complete the whole course within 6 to 8 months of enrollment, the offi- cial said. It will also provide an opportu- nity to get exposure through live demonstration and working expe- rience in the manufacturing units of Pharma industries to learn the con- cept of the operations involved in the manufacturing of classical and PP Ayurvedic preparations among others. C^_a^^cT0hdbW6^ecc^WT[_h^d]V _a^UTbbX^]P[bc^bcPacbcPacd_b 1P]ZRdbc^TabfPa]TSPVPX]bcRhQTaPccPRZb DVZkfcV`WC!TcRddVed Z_3Y`]RUcfXTRdV@U
- 5. ]PcX^]$ 347A03D=kC7DAB30H k0D6DBC !!! :D0A274;;0??0=Q :278 The Kerala High Court on Wednesday stayed till fur- ther orders the probe by judi- cial commission constituted by Government of Kerala into the functioning of the Enforcement Directorate in the State in connection with the infamous gold smuggling case in which many senior Government Staff attached to the Chief Minister’s Office allegedly played crucial roles. A single Bench headed by Justice P B Suresh Kumar grant- ed interim stay to a plea by the Enforcement Directorate which challenged the Kerala Government Order dated 7th May, 2021 constituting a com- mission of inquiry headed by retired Judge V K Mohanan under the Commission of Inquiry Act 1952 to probe the agency’s role in the alleged gold smuggling through the green channelofThiruvananthapuram International Airport in the year 2020. M Sivasankaran, the then principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Swapna Suresh, a former employee of the UAE Consulate in the capital city, Sarath and Sandeep Nair were arrested in connection with the scam. Sivasankaran was released on bail after 90 days in jail while the other three who reported- ly played major role in getting the gold smuggled in with the connivance of people in power continue to languish in jail. The Kerala Government constituted the commission of inquiry following the ED’s probe extending to other areas like the LIFE Mission pay off, a flagship programme of the LDF Government to provide houses and liveli- hood to those without a roof over their head. The judicial probe was ordered to examine if the ED and the Customs Department had made an alleged attempt to falsely implicate Chief Minister Vijayan in the gold smuggling case. There were allegations by the State Government that the ED and the Customs were coercing Swapna Suresh and her kingpins to falsely impli- cate the Chief Minister in the case. The contention of the ED was that the Kerala Government did not have the authority to order an inquiry into its functioning. “The Central Government is the only authority which can con- stitute a judicial commission to probe the functioning of the ED,” the agency told the Court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, had argued that constitution of the Commission by the State Government was ultra vires Section 3 read with Section 2A of Commission of Inquiry Act (COI Act) wherein the Central Government is the competent authority for matters related to an entry in Central list/ list 1 of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution Section 3 of the COI Act states that a COI can be appointed for the purpose of making an inquiry into any definite matter of public impor- tance. However, Mehta submitted that the notification in this case was issued to impede an ongo- ing investigation against the same executive functionaries who have issued said notifica- tion and therefore it serves per- sonal interests Judge Suresh Kumar, while accepting the argument of the ED, ordered notice to the Kerala Government (except the chief minister) and ordered interim stay to the functioning of the said judicial commission. :D0A274;;0??0=Q :278 Kerala on Wednesday diag- nosed 23,500 new Covid- 19 cases from 1.63 lakh samples tested while the Test Positivity Rate remained on the higher side with 14.49 per cent. A release issued by Health Minister Veena George said 116 persons succumbed to the pandemic on Wednesday and this took the death toll to 18,120. Thrissur replaced Malappuram as the district with the highest number of new Covid-19 patients on Wednesday. Thrissur tested 3,124 new Covid-19 cases while Malappuram was relegated to the second spot with 3,109 new patients. Till Wednesday evening, the State had 1.75 lakh patients undergoing treatment for Covid-19. The weekly Infection Population Ratio (WIPR) in 52 local self-government bodies spread across 266regions stood at 10 which means that the entire regions would be shut down as per the revised safety regulations. On Tuesday, Kerala had diagnosed 21,119 new Covid cases across the State, Veena George had told media persons last week that the coming days would see the Covid-19 cases shooting up further in the State before it plateaus and come down. Meanwhile the Kerala High Court lambasted the State administration for the second day in succession for the latter’s indifference towards the court directive to ensure that the pan- demic does not spread through the outlets of the liquor outlets. Justice Devan Ramachandran, hearing a peti- tion against the Kerala Government for its vacilla- tions towards court directive to provide safe and clean envi- ronment to tipplers queuing up in front of the watering holes in the State, told the Beverages Corporation that just because the State gets revenue out of liquor sale, it cannot compro- mise on safety norms to expose customers to Covid. The justice told the Government that it should not have an indifferent attitude towards people who line up in front of the Bevco outlets. “We must save the lives of every cus- tomer who goes there because it doesn't affect just them, they will carry the disease to their house and give it to their wives and children,” the judge said. Panaji: A day after a video showing three rape accused being forced to do sit-ups in the nude at the Aguada central jail in North Goa, prison authori- ties on Wednesday directed a probe into the incident. Speaking to reporters, Inspector General of Prisons, Goa, Venancio Furtado, said that that the central jail super- intendent has been directed to submit a report within 24 hours. I have asked the jail super- intendent to submit the inquiry report within 24 hours. If other inmates are found to be involved, we will take action as per the prison rules, Furtado told reporters.Terming the inci- dentasdeplorable,Furtadosaid, Amessageneedstogothatsuch incidents will not be tolerated, adding that the enquiry would also probe whether such rag- ging rituals are common in the prison complex. The three accused were arrested last month in connec- tion with the alleged rape of three persons at Colva beach in South Goa. In the video, the three naked inmates can be seen made to do sit-ups, while other other inmates can be heard cheering in the backdrop. In all, four persons, name- ly Asif Hateli, 21, Rajesh Mane, 33, Gajanand Chinchankar, 31, and Nitin Yabbal, 19, have been arrested in connection with the alleged rape incident. IANS 80=BQ 14=60;DAD Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has collected Rs 12.58 crore as fine for Covid guide- lines violations in the past 16 months in Bengaluru. According to data given by BBMP, from May 2020 to August 7, 2021, Rs 11.86 crore fine amount has been collect- ed from 4.93 lakh plus persons for not wearing masks.A total of 31,339 cases were lodged and Rs 71.35 lakh fine has been collected from those who did not ensure social distancing. As many as 5,25,196 cases have been lodged in connection with Covid guidelines violations. About 150 industries were shut down by the BBMP in the same period for Covid proto- col violations. BBMP has deputed mar- shals to ensure the implemen- tation of Covid guidelines across the city. The fines were collected from apartments, markets, hotels, bars, restau- rants, bus stops and other places. Meanwhile, Minister for Health, Family Welfare and Medical Education Dr K. Sudhakar said on Wednesday that Karnataka has crossed 4 crore Covid tests marking yet another milestone in the battle against the pandemic. More than 80 per cent of the tests conducted in state are RT- PCR. Karnataka has tested the third-highest number of sam- ples in the country. The tests were conducted in 3,338 swab collection centres, 252 Covid- 19 testing labs and 81.45 per cent of total tests conducted are RT-PCR tests, he stated. 80=BQ :278 In what could spell further trouble for Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, gold smuggling case prime accused Swapna Suresh has alleged that a packet of foreign currency was sent to him while he was on a visit to the UAE in 2017, through a diplo- mat of its Consul General's office here. Her allegation came in response to a show cause notice issued by the Customs to her on the issue of illegal export of dollars abroad. The show cause notice, dated July 29 and surfacing in the media on Wednesday, has statements of Swapna Suresh and others. According to it, Swapna, asked who were all these senior politicians she has accused, replied that pre- sent Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and then Assembly Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan had sent foreign currency to the UAE through Ahmed Al Doukhi, a diplomat of the Consul General Office, and Consul General, Jamal Al Zaabi, respectively. When Swapna was asked how these politicians sent foreign currency through diplomats, she replied that in the beginning of 2017, she got instructions from the Consul General to call (Vijayan's then Principal Secretary) M. Sivasankar and to ask whether any arrangements could be made for Chief Minister's arrival at UAE, that she had called Sivasankar and he told her to try to make necessary arrangements, if possible, but they were also trying to make arrangements through the Indian Embassy in the UAE, that she agreed and did the necessary things. Next day, Sivasankar called her and said there was a very important packet that had to be sent to the UAE to Chief Minister, who had reached the UAE on the pre- vious day, without any hin- drance and delay. She spoke to the Consul General and told him about the requirement and the CG told her that Ahmed Doukhi could be sent to the UAE for that purpose. She asked Sarith (PRO) to contact Sivasankar and to col- lect the packet and deliver to the diplomat Ahmed Al Doukhi, for carrying it to the UAE. 80=BQ ?0C=0 Ajournalist associated with a private news channel and son of a leading State vernac- ular newspaper editor was killed in Bihar's East Champaran district, an official said. The decomposed body of Manish Kumar Singh was found on Tuesday from Mathlohiar Gaddi Tola — three days after his disappearance. The killers have removed both of his eyes. Singh is a native of Paharpur village in the same district and his father Sanjay Kumar Singh is an editor of a Hindi news paper (Areraj Darshan). In a statement to the Harshidhi police, Sanjay Singh said that his son went to Mathlohar Gaddi Tola three days ago. He had posted a photo- graph of a get-together party of himself and two other jour- nalist friends Amrendra Kumar and Ashlaj Alam at 8.42 p.m. Since then, he was missing and we lost contact with him. We searched for him for the entire night and the next two days but he has not been traced, Sanjay Singh said. Santosh Kumar, the DSP of Areraj sub-division in east Champaran district earlier said: As the family members of the deceased are worried about him. They were suspecting some untoward incident might have happened with him. Hence, they have lodged FIR against 12 persons including those two alleged journalists. The father suspects that he has property dispute with his cousin brothers and they may be involved in his murder. Besides, he also suspects that his son, who had done many investigative stories and exposed wrongdoings in the district, could have been tar- getted by criminals he exposed. He was receiving threatening calls for the past few days, the officer said. The villagers on Tuesday, spotted a pair of shoes in the farm land. When they searched further, the dead body was found from a Sareh village. The dead body was in a semi- decomposed state, the officer said. We have arrested journal- ists Amrendra and Ashlaj Alam. A bag belonging to Manish was also found in the house of Amrendra, he said. 80=BQ 14=60;DAD The Karnataka High Court has ordered the manage- ment of 16 mosques in Bengaluru to submit affidavit in connection with sound pol- lution on Tuesday. The divisional bench head- edbyChiefJusticeA.S.Okaand JusticeSanjayGowdagavedirec- tions in this regard. The Public InterestLitigation(PIL)wasfiled by32residentsofIconapartment on Thanisandra Road. During the hearing, the masjid management submitted that they have taken permis- sions to use loudspeakers. The bench stated that the management of masjids has to submit an affidavit before the court on whether they are fol- lowing the guidelines pre- scribed by the government to avoid sound pollution. They also have to mention in the affidavit that, they have obtained a license as per the Pollution Control Board (PCB) guidelines and if a license is not obtained they will not use loudspeakers. .HUDOD+VWDVSUREHEMXGLFLDO FRPPLVVLRQLQWR(' VIXQFWLRQLQJ .HUDODJHWVQHZ RYLGSDWLHQWVJHWV VODPPHGE+ CRaVRTTfdVUdecZaaVU cRXXVUZ_8`RacZd`_, ac`SV`cUVcVU CFUFROOHFWHGIRURYLG QRUPVYLRODWLRQVLQ%¶OXUX 6^[SbdVV[X]V_aXT PRRdbTSBfP_]P]^fR[PXb U^aTgbT]cc^EXYPhP]X]D04 4hTbV^aVTSQ^Sh dcX[PcTS)XbbX]V1XWPa Y^da]P[XbcU^d]SSTPS eRR94`cUVcd '^`dbfVde` dfS^ZeRWWZURgZed `_]`fUdaVRVcd ?T^_[TRPaahcWTQ^Sh^UPUPX[hTQTaPbcWThfPSTcWa^dVWcWTU[^^STSPaTP^U6d[QX6WPcRaTPc^aXd^]cWTQP]Zb^U cWT6P]VPaXeTaX]?Pc]P^]FTS]TbSPh ?C8 B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :;:0C0 Days after Trinamool Congress youth leaders were attacked by alleged saffron workers in Tripura in the wake of the Bengal ruling outfit’s bid to gate-crash into Tripura pol- itics the Biplab Deb Government has registered FIRs against TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and a couple of senior Bengal leaders including a state minister and an MP. Apart from Banerjee who is also the nephew of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee the Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu, TMC MP Dola Sen and State Trinamool spokesperson and former MP Kunal Ghosh, senior leaders Subal Bhowmick and Sri Prakash Das also have been named in the FIR. The Bengal politicians have been booked for misbehaving with Additional SP and SDPO of Khowai and obstructing pub- lic servants from discharging their official duty, sources said. Bengal TMC leadership condemned the legal process saying “this only proves the fas- cist nature of the BJP Government.” Senior Trinamool leader Firhad Hakim said “today the Tripura Police is framing us but tomor- row when we will capture power the same police will salute us … and power we will capture in that state definitely … the process has begun.” The opposition Left Front is however seeing the latest development as a part of Tripura BJP’s “diabolic designs to afford political relevance to TMC, a non-existent entity which enjoys no more than 2 percent vote” in that State. The latest controversy started after Banerjee’s convoy was black-flagged and alleged- ly attacked in Tripura. Subsequently three Bengal youth TMC leaders were also attacked in that State by alleged BJP men. In the attack their vehicles were smashed and they sustained injuries for which they were flown in to Kolkata and were being treated at the Government-run SSKM Hospital. Incidentally Mamata Banerjee had earlier blamed Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the attacks saying “Biplab Deb does not have the courage to do such works … it all have been done on the instructions Amit Shah.” She said the BJP was running anar- chic governments wherever they were in power. “I have information that Abhishek’slifeisindangerasthe BJP’sgoonsarefollowinghim… when he went to Tripura five suspicious people followed him and were seated around him in the flight,” Banerjee who enjoys a reputation for making similar “life-threatening” claims throughout political career said. 7:CRXRZ_deE4]VRUVcdZ_EcZafcR ?=BQ :;:0C0 Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been invited to Rome to attend an international peace summit which is likely to be attended by Pope Francis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Theconferencebeingorgan- ised by a religious Community ofSantEdigioAitwillbeheldin the first week of October. In the invitation written to Banerjee the President of the Community Marco Impagliazzo has, apart from congratulating the Chief Minister for her recent electoral victory in Bengal, said “in the framework of this human, social and spiritual dimension I would like to invite You, Excellency, to honour us with Your relevant presence and your meaningful and enriching contribution to the international event in Rome: The World Meeting for Peace Peoples as Brothers, Future Earth, on the next 6 and 7 October 2021.” Congratulating for her electoral victory Impagliazzo wrote “I would like to express my personal congratulations on your significant election and for the important work for social justice, for the development of your country and, therefore, for peace, which you have been doing for over ten years now.” When contacted the Bengal BJP leadership would not give a public reaction but privately a senior leader sar- castically said “good! Finally Mamata Banerjee has received an international invitation for promoting peace and social jus- tice regardless of the unre- strained post-poll violence in Bengal, and the damning National Human Rights Commission report.” 'LGLLQYLWHGWR5RPH SHDFHFRQIHUHQFH Meanwhile former Bengal Minister and senior CPI(M) leader Ashok Bhattacharyya said “the BJP knows that the TMC is not a threat in that State … they are doing so to provide them unnecessary publicity in order to divide the opposition votes … the very same thing was done in Bengal by Mamata Banerjee who provided that political relevance to the BJP using similar tactic … again in the Centre the BJP is using the same tactic to use Mamata Banerjee to break the opposi- tion vote… these two parties are complementary to each other. ?=BQ ;D2:=F Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attacked the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party Government over the issue of high prices of cooking gas and said that if the government was indeed honest about its Ujjwala Scheme, it should provide sub- sidy to the poor and reduce the galloping inflation in the coun- try. Priyanka’s attack on the government came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Ujjwala 2.0, the sec- ond phase of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), by virtually presenting free LPG connections to some benefi- ciaries in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh which goes to polls early next year. Ninety per cent of the cylinders provided under Ujjwala Scheme are lying in disuse and women are forced to cook using firewood because the BJP government has dou- bled the rates of a cooking gas cylinder in the last seven years and reduced subsidy to a neg- ligible amount, Priyanka tweeted in Hindi on Wednesday. In another tweet, the Congress top leader tagged a media report on the problems being faced by the poor due to rising prices of cooking gas and posted, If the government is honest about Ujjwala then it should give subsidies to the poor and reduce inflation.” Earlier on Tuesday, the UP Congress had said that Ujjwala Scheme had proved to be a “hollow gimmick” of the gov- ernment as a domestic cooking gas cylinder was costing C 888. µ:RPHQJLYHQDVVXUDQFHQRW/3*FOLQGHUV¶ ?=BQ ;D2:=F To fight the growing dissent between senior and young leaders in Uttar Pradesh Congress, the party brass con- stituted Uttar Pradesh Congress Election Committee (UPCEC) including almost all senior lead- ers and present office bearers of UPCC in it on Wednesday. Congress president Sonia Gandhi approved a proposal for the setting up of the Pradesh election committee which was confirmed by a statement issued by AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal on Wednesday. Apart from the 38 members named in the panel, national presidents or chairpersons of AICC organisations or depart- ments from Uttar Pradesh, the state heads of frontal organisa- tions, vice-presidents and gen- eral secretaries of UPCC will be its ex-officio members. The poll committee includes UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, CLP leader AradhanaMishra`Mona’,senior leaders Mohsina Kidwai, Salman Khurshid, Rajeev Shukla, Nirmal Khatri, Pramod Tiwari, PL Punia, RPN Singh and Vivek Bansal. Lallu said that the Congress would fight the 2022 UP Assembly polls under the leadership of party general sec- retary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and stage a comeback in the state after three decades. Former MPs Rajesh Mishra, Rajaram Pal, Rakesh Sachan, Begum Noor Bano, Zafar Ali Naqvi, Harendra Malik, Rashid Alvi, Mohammad Muqeem, Naseemuddin Siddiqui and the party's Lok Sabha candidate from Lucknow in 2019, Acharya Pramod Krishnam are also part of the panel. All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretaries Imran Masood, Brijlal Khabri, Sudhanshu Tripathi, BP Singh and Jitendra Baghel are also among those included in the committee. Congress functionaries said that the party was prioritising organisation building and con- tinuing with the battle against the Bharatiya Janata party gov- ernment on the streets in the run-up to the crucial polls. UP Congress leaders have already organised ‘BJP Gaddi Chhodo’ marches in all assem- bly constituencies across the state to expose the wrongdo- ings of the Yogi Adityanath government as well as to high- light how the prices of all essential commodities, includ- ing petroleum, have gone through the roof in the BJP rule at the Centre in 2014 and in Uttar Pradesh in 2017. RQJFRQVWLWXWHV SROOSDQHOIRU83 3ULDQNDKLWVRXWDW 8MMDZDODVFKHPH ?=BQ ;D2:=F Avideo clip of four men thrashing a youth and administering electric shocks after tying his hands went viral in Ballia on Tuesday, after which a case was registered at the local police station and a probe was initiated. While the reason for the heinous act was still not known to the police, efforts were under- way to locate the accused so that stern action could be initiated. As per reports, four resi- dents of Surahia village in Sahatwar police station area tied the hands and legs of Pintu Rajbhar of Rajbharbasti of the same village and beat him up brutally in the early hours on August 7. What is more, the assaulters were also seen giving the victim electric shocks while another local shot a video of the incident. After Pintu's condition dete- riorated, he was admitted to Ballia district hospital by his family. H^dcWc^acdaTSVXeT]T[TRcaXRbW^RZX]1P[[XP