07112021 first india new delhi

CORONA FAILS TO DAMPEN
DELHIITES’ SPIRITS ON DIWALI
New Delhi:Skiesover
Delhihungheavywith
smoke and its air qual-
ityinchedtowards“se-
vere” category on
Diwali as people
burst fire-
crackers in a
blatant disre-
gard to the ban
against it. The
situation was ag-
gravated further as
the festivities were co-
incided with seasonal
farm fires, fumes from
which invade the city
around winter. Resi-
dents of Lajpat Nagar
in South Delhi, Burari
in North Delhi,
Paschim Vihar
in West Delhi
and Shahdara
in East Delhi
reported inci-
dents of fire-
cracker bursting as
early as 7 pm, despite
the blanket ban in the
national capital till
January 1, 2022. —PTI
PM Modi, Shah to pave way for BJP’s poll
journey in UP on Poorvanchal Expressway
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: To acceler-
ate Bharatiya Janata
Party’s poll journey in
the run-up to the 2022
Assembly elections in
Uttar Pradesh, Prime
MinisterNarendraModi
and Union Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah would be
in the state in coming
days. While Shah will be
in Azamgarh and Vara-
nasi for two days next
week to review party’s
poll preparedness, PM
Modi is likely to inaugu-
rate Poorvanchal Ex-
pressway–longestonein
UP– from Sultanpur
around November 15.
Touted as the Show-
piece Project of Yogi
government, Poorvan-
chal Expressway will
connect Lucknow with
Eastern U. The govern-
ment sources reported-
ly said that the PM is
likely to inaugurate the
Poorvanchal Express-
way project from Sul-
tanpur district on No-
vember 15 or any day
soon after.
PM Narendra Modi with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. —FILE
DOOMSDAY
11 COVID-19 PATIENTS KILLED IN
MAHA’S AHMEDNAGAR HOSPITAL FIRE
Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik said the ICU had been newly built to treat
Covid patients and the fact that a fire had broken out was a ‘very serious issue’
Ahmednagar:Asmany
as 11 Covid-19 patients
died after a fire broke
out at the intensive care
unit (ICU) of a govern-
menthospitalinAhmed-
nagar district of Maha-
rashtra on Saturday
.
Therewere17patientsat
the Covid ward at that
time. Initially
, 10 had pa-
tients died in the fire
while seven others were
shifted.Outof theseven,
one patient who was
critical died later.
Ahmednagar district
collector Rajendra Bho-
sale has ordered an in-
quiry into this incident.
Bhosale told media per-
sons that the fire report-
edly broke out at around
10.30 am at the Covid
ward in the new build-
ing of the civil hospital.
Maharashtra Chief
MinisterUddhavThack-
eray said that stern ac-
tion will be taken
against guilty of negli-
gence.
He asked district col-
lector to carry out a
thorough probe and
submit a report.
Prima facie reports
suggest that an electri-
cal short-circuit may
have started the fire.
But the exact reason
can only be determined
after the probe is com-
pleted. —ANI
Charred remains at the ICU of Civil Hospital after a fire broke out in Ahmednagar on Saturday.
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
Anguished
by the loss of
lives. Condo-
lences to the bereaved
families. May injured
recover at the earliest
99 killed in oil
tanker blast in
Sierra Leone’s
capital city
Freetown: An oil tank-
er exploded near Sierra
Leone’s capital, killing
at least 99 people and
severely injuring doz-
ens of others after
large crowds gathered
to collect leaking fuel,
officials and witnesses
said Saturday.
The explosion took
place late Friday after a
bus struck the tanker in
Wellington,asuburbjust
to the east of Freetown.
President Julius
Maada Bio, who was in
Scotland attending the
UN climate talks Satur-
day, deplored the “hor-
rendous loss of life.”
The explosion site near Sierra
Leone’s capital Freetown.
Army goes all guns blazing in J&K
after villagers’ claim of terrorists
Srinagar: The Army
has launched a major
combing operation in
the Khablan forests of
Jammu and Kashmir’s
Rajouri district after vil-
lagers reported the pres-
ence of heavily armed
terrorists in the area.
The Thanmandi-Ra-
jouri road has been
closed to traffic as a pre-
caution.
Saturday’s op is part
of the ongoing anti-ter-
ror operation in the
Poonch and Pirpanjal
regions of J&K. Nine
soldiers, including two
officers,havebeenkilled
in action over the past 27
days. —Agencies
Mumbai:Dismissedcop
Sachin Waze extorted
large amounts of money
from cricket bookies on
the instructions of for-
merMumbaipolicecom-
missioner Param Bir
Singh, now an abscond-
ing accused in an extor-
tion case, the Mumbai
Police told a court here
on Saturday
.
Themagistrate’scourt
sent Waze to further cus-
tody of the police till No-
vember 13 following a
submission through his
lawyerRounakNaikthat
hewaswillingtoconcede
and be sent to police’s
custody to cooperate
with the probe. —ANI
‘Wazeextortedmoneyfrom
bookiesonBir’sinstructions’
NCB SIT FORMED TO PROBE ARYAN;
5 OTHER CASES REACH MUMBAI
Mumbai: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of
NCB reached Mumbai on Saturday, a day after
the agency transferred investigation in six cases,
including the controversial cruise drugs case in
which Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was
arrested, to it. The team which flew in from Delhi,
later left for the NCB zonal office in south Mum-
bai. It is headed by senior IPS officer Sanjay Ku-
mar Singh, DDG Operations at NCB headquarters.
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD,
LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI
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NEW DELHI l SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 68
MODI IN
KEDARNATH
Aditi Nagar
hile offering
prayers at Baba
Kedarnath
Temple in
Uttarakhand and unveiling
a 13-foot-tall statue of
Adi Guru Shankaracharya
at his reconstructed
samadhi, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Friday
said that India’s success
is no longer bound by the
old ways; new India has
a new vision to be one of
the leading economies
in the future. PM added
these pilgrim centers are
not limited to tourism and
a source of enjoyment
but rather a “way of living
for Indians and makes
us who we are”. PM
inaugurated development
projects worth `225
crore under first phase
during his one-day visit to
Kedarnath.
W
PM Narendra Modi offering prayers at Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand on Friday. PM informed that work on the Char Dham road project is going on with great pace and is
being connected with a highway. Meanwhile, portals of Kedarnath Temple closed for winters for 6 months on Saturday at 8 am. —PHOTOS BY PTI
Deshmukh in judicial custody
as court refuses plea by ED
Mumbai: A special
holiday court in Mum-
bai on Saturday sent
former Maharashtra
home minister Anil
Deshmukh in a
14-day judicial
custody in con-
nection with a
money launder-
ing case. Court,
however, refused to
grant Enforcement Di-
rectorate(ED)addition-
al custody for 9 days.
Meanwhile, the ex-
minister’s son Hrishi-
kesh Deshmukh ap-
proached the court
with an anticipatory
bail plea in the case
filed by ED. The
court has posted
the matter for fi-
nal hearing on
November 12, re-
fusing to grant
interimrelief tillthen.
According to reports,
the ED had summoned
Hrishikesh for ques-
tioning on Friday
.

New Delhi: Stubble
burning accounted for
36 per cent of Delhi's
PM2.5 pollution on Fri-
day
, the highest this sea-
son so far, according to
government air quality
forecast agency SAFAR.
“The overall air qual-
ity of Delhi plunged to
the upper end of the ‘se-
vere’ category with ad-
ditional firework emis-
sions the share of stub-
ble emissions has
peaked today at 36 per
cent,” said Gufran Beig,
the founder-project di-
rector of SAFAR.
“Local winds have
picked up, and fast dis-
persion (of pollutants)
is expected now. With-
out any more firecrack-
er emissions, the AQI
will improve to the
‘very poor’ category by
tonight although the
stubble contribution is
expected to remain al-
most the same (on Sat-
urday),” he said.
Last year, the share
of stubble burning in
Delhi's pollution had
peaked at 42 per cent on
Nov 5. In 2019, crop resi-
due burning accounted
for 44 per cent of Delhi’s
PM2.5 pollution on Nov
1. The concentration of
stubble burning in Del-
hi's PM2.5 pollution was
32 per cent on Diwali
last year as compared to
19% in 2019.
A thick layer of acrid
smog engulfed the Del-
hi-NCR region on Fri-
day following rampant
cracker bursting on Di-
wali night amid a rapid
increase in fumes from
stubble burning.
Ahead of the festival
season, the Delhi gov-
ernment had an-
nounced a complete
ban on crackers till Jan
1, 2022 and ran an ag-
gressive campaign
against the sale and use
of crackers. —PTI
CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2021
02
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New Delhi: Environment Minister Gopal Rai on
Friday said that Delhi’s air quality had deteriorat-
ed due to a surge in farm fires and some people
bursting firecrackers on purpose on Diwali despite
a ban on it. He alleged that the BJP made people
burst firecrackers on Diwali. Rai said Delhi’s base
pollution has remained the same. Only two factors
have been added firecrackers and stubble burning.
The minister said the number of farm fires has ris-
en to 3,500 and its impact is visible in Delhi. —PTI
BJP TO BLAME FOR PEOPLE BURSTING
CRACKERS DESPITE BAN: GOPAL RAI
Stubble burning share in Delhi’s pollution
rises to season’s highest of 36 per cent
On Friday, Delhi had to
maximum this season, says SAFAR
Delhi’s severe air pollution during
Diwali due to blatant disregard to cracker ban
New Delhi: A blatant disregard to
the ban on firecrackers led to severe
air pollution in the national capital
during the Diwali week, experts
said as Delhiites witnessed choking
levels of pollution. Experts felt that a
lack of understanding about how to
celebrate green Diwali is one of the
biggest reasons behind it as people
think the festival and firecrackers
are synonymous.
Kamal Narayan, CEO of Integrat-
ed Health and Wellbeing Council,
said, “Delhiites woke up to a severe
air quality on Friday morning due
to blatant disregard to the Delhi
government’s ban on firecrackers.
People burst firecrackers across
Delhi on Diwali and this contributed
to the already poor quality of air in
the national capital.”
“Many people do not care about
air pollution and think that there is
no Diwali without firecrackers. This
thinking has to be changed and the
state government also needs to step
up its efforts to curb the use or sell-
ing of firecrackers, Narayan said.
Sharing a similar view, Ravindra
Khaiwal, Professor of Environment,
PGI Chandigarh, said banning
firecrackers is one thing but bring-
ing in behavioral change requires a
sustained effort.
“People think banning firecrack-
ers reduces their joy. But we need
to understand that Diwali is more
than that. The Supreme Court
recently banned it but there is a lack
of proper understanding among
people on how to celebrate green
Diwali. We have created a booklet
in which we have explained it,”
Khaiwal said. Ahead of the festival
season, the Delhi government had
announced a complete ban on
crackers till January 1, 2022 and
ran an aggressive campaign against
the sale and use of crackers.
Narayan also said that the relax-
ing of COVID-19 restrictions and
lockdowns has allowed the illegal
selling of firecrackers but people
have to be made aware that air pol-
lution is another kind of pandemic
that is severely affecting the health
of many people on a daily basis. He
said that Delhi’s neighbouring states
are playing a big role in making
the banned items available in the
national capital.
Experts said that other impor-
tant factors causing pollution during
this season cannot be ignored.
“Eighty per cent of the pollution
depends on meteorology, atmos-
pheric reactivity and emissions
from vehicles, etc. Crop residue
burning and firecrackers contribute
20 per cent of this pollution. We
should reduce our base causes first,
Narayan said. Mahesh Palawat, VP-
Meteorology and Climate Change,
Skymet Weather, blamed the drop
in temperature as well as wind
speed for the increased pollution in
the city. —PTI
Delhi Govt extends free ration
scheme for next 6 months
New Delhi: As the cen-
tral scheme of free ra-
tion came to an end, the
Aam Aadmi Party gov-
ernment decided to ex-
tend its free ration
scheme by six months
till May 2022, Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal said on Satur-
day
.
“Inflation is at its
peak. The common man
is struggling to manage
even two square meals
a day. Many have lost
their jobs due to COV-
ID-19. Prime minister
sir, please extend the
scheme of supplying
free ration to the poor
by six months. The Del-
hi government is ex-
tending its free ration
scheme for the next six
months,” he said in a
tweet in Hindi.
Kejriwal’s remarks
came a day after Food
Secretary Sudhanshu
Pandey said the Centre
had no proposal to ex-
tend distribution of
free ration through the
Pradhan Mantri Garib
Kalyan Anna Yojana
(PMGKAY) beyond No-
vember 30. Pandey said
the scheme was not ex-
tended in view of recov-
ery in the economy and
good disposal of
foodgrains in the open
market under the OMSS
(open market sale
scheme) policy
.
The Delhi govern-
ment distributes free
ration to beneficiaries
under the National
Food Security Act
(NFSA), 2013, and PMG-
KAY.
The city has over
2,000 fair price shops,
17.77 lakh ration card
holders and around
72.78 lakh beneficiaries.
The free ration is given
over and above subsi-
dised grains distributed
to them through ration
shops.
—PTI
PMGKAY PACK
Centre should further reduce fuel prices by `15: Sisodia
New Delhi: Days after
the Centre slashed ex-
cise duty on petrol and
diesel, Delhi Deputy
CM Manish Sisodia on
Saturday said the AAP
government is looking
into steps it can take to
provide more relief to
the people. He, however,
demanded that the cen-
tral government should
reduce the prices of
these fuels by at least `
15 each, saying states
have fewer resources.
“In the last few years,
they have increased ex-
cise duty on fuel prices
from `15 per litre to `34
per litre even as petrol
(fuel) prices were going
down. After reducing a
few paisa on fuel prices,
they are asking state
governments to reduce
(VAT). States already
have less resources.
“We are examining
what impact it will have
on Delhi and what Delhi
(govt) can do. But I re-
quest the central gov-
ernment to reduce pet-
rol and diesel prices by
at least `15 each to give
further relief to the
public,” Sisodia said.
—PTI
Probe ordered in Green Park
multilevel car parking case
New Delhi: The Del-
hi Government on
Saturday ordered a
probe into the col-
lapse of a portion of a
multilevel parking in
Green Park and di-
rected authorities to
submit a report in 15
days.
Addressing a press
conference, Deputy
CM Manish Sisodia
alleged that corrup-
tion in the BJP-led
South Delhi Munici-
pal Corporation,
which runs the park-
ing facility, had led to
the incident.
“I have ordered the
director of local bod-
ies in the Delhi Gov-
ernment to get the
parking collapse inci-
dent investigated by
the PWD engineer-in-
chief and submit a
report in 15 days,”
Sisodia said. He said
that appropriate ac-
tion will be taken de-
pending on the find-
ings of the probe.
The multilevel
parking which was
inaugurated in No-
vember 2020 collapsed
in just one year, the
Deputy CM said. No
casualty was reported
in the incident. —PTI
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: The South Delhi
Municipal Corporation has set up a
15-bed dengue treatment facility at
the Tilak Nagar Colony Hospital, the
civic body spokesperson said, add-
ing that the facility will have ICU
support and will be available round
the clock to patients suffering from
vector-borne diseases.
New Delhi: The Delhi
Cabinet approved a budget
of `1,544 crore under the
Emergency COVID-19 Re-
sponse Package to bolster
health systems in order to
be prepared for a possible
third wave, CM Arvind Ke-
jriwal said. “Corona is not
over yet and a third wave
can be expected. Thus…
there should not be any
hesitations with respect to
the control and prevention
of the spread of COVID-19.
In this direction, the Delhi
Cabinet approved a budget
of `1,544.24 crore for the
State ECRP 2021-22 to
further strengthen the fight
against Corona,” he said.
New Delhi: The Delhi government on Friday declared a
public holiday on November 10 on account of Chhath
Puja. The DDMA had last week issued an order allow-
ing the celebration of Chhath Puja at designated sites
in the city. “Chhath Puja is an important festival for the
people of NCT of Delhi. Accordingly, the Government
of Delhi has decided to declare November 10, 2021,
as a public holiday on account of Chhath Puja,” said a
note issued by Deputy CM Manish Sisodia.
DELHI’S SOUTH BODY OPENS 15-BED
DENGUE TREATMENT FACILITY
DELHI CABINET
APPROVES `1,544 CR
TO TACKLE COVID-19
DELHI GOVT DECLARES PUBLIC HOLIDAY
ON NOV 10 FOR CHHATH PUJA

INDIA
03
New Delhi: The Board
of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI) on Satur-
day condoled the demise
of legendary coach
Tarak Sinha.
“TheBoardof Control
for Cricket in India ex-
presses grief at the pass-
ing away of renowned
andwell-respectedcoach
Shri Tarak Sinha. The
founderof SonnetCrick-
et Club, which produced
an assembly line inter-
national and first-class
cricketers breathed his
last on Saturday
,” stated
BCCI in a release. “A re-
cipient of the Dronacha-
rya Award, Sinha had
been coaching and nur-
turing cricketers for
over four decades. From
Surinder Khanna to
Rishabh Pant and An-
jum Chopra to Rumeli
Dhar, Sinha always in-
sisted on setting higher
benchmarks for his pu-
pils. While he coached
the wards, he was also
credited for spotting tal-
ents at an early age and
giving them the right
kind of coaching re-
quired to shape their ca-
reers,” the release fur-
ther said. Tarak Sinha
passed away on Satur-
day aged 71 after a battle
with cancer.
Former India batter
Virender Sehwag also
condoled the death of
the coach and tweeted,
“Feel a lot of pain on the
demise of passing away
of Ustaad Ji #TarakSin-
ha. He was one of the
rare coaches who gave
India more than a dozen
Test Cricketers & the
values he inculcated in
his students helped In-
dian cricket immensely
.
Condolences to his fam-
ily and students. Om
Shanti.” Sinha is only
the fifth cricket coach,
after Desh Prem Azad,
Gurcharan Singh, Ram-
akant Achrekar and Su-
nita Sharma, to be giv-
en the Dronacharya
award. —ANI
BCCI expresses grief at coach Tarak Sinha’s demise
Akash’s success will motivate
younger boxers to excel: PM
IRCTC plans Ramayana
Yatra train tours
END OF AN ERA
WORLD BOXING C’SHIPS
Thapar Institute to confer honorary
degree on BMC commissioner Chahal
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Rajasthan
born Iqbal Singh Cha-
hal who is Brihanmum-
bai Municipal Corpora-
tion commissioner
would be conferred
with an honorary doc-
torate degree by his
alma mater Thapar In-
stitute of Engineering
and Technology (TIET)
on Monday
.
According to availa-
ble information, reput-
edTIETthatisadeemed
university, will confer
an honorary degree of
Doctor of Science (Hon-
oris Causa) on its alum-
nus, Chahal, who is cur-
rently holding the pres-
tigious post of
BMC Mumbai, in a spe-
cial convocation on
Monday
.
Chahal’s manage-
ment of the Covid-19
pandemic, as BMC com-
missioner, has received
acclaim from all quar-
ters. Chahal had done
his B.Tech (Electronics
and Communications
Engineering) from the
TIET in 1987, before
joining the Indian Ad-
ministrative Service
(IAS) in 1989.
Chahal planned well
for the second wave of
COVID-19, ensuring
that earlier this year,
when most states in In-
dia battled oxygen
shortage, Mumbai re-
mained well-equipped.
Notably, BMC is In-
dia’s richest civic body
and has an annual budg-
et of Rs 39,000 crore. As
BMC commissioner
Chahal also ensured
that the COVID-19 situa-
tion in Dharavi, the big-
gest slum of India, re-
mained under control.
Established in 1956,
Thapar Institute of En-
gineering and Technol-
ogy, is one of the top
engineering and re-
search institutes in the
country
.
Over the past eight
years, the deemed uni-
versity has not con-
ferred this honour on
anyone, with former
Prime Minister Man-
mohan Singh the last to
be so felicitated.
Sharat K verma
New Delhi: It seems
that West Bengal is a
state created only
for Partition. 116
years ago there was
a great controversy
over the partition
and eventually that
partition was an-
nulled.
But after a few
days, the states of
Bihar and Odisha
were carved out of
West Bengal. At the
time of Independ-
ence, finally East
and West Bengal
were divided and
now it is being said
that West Bengal
will also be divided.
The demand was
started by the lead-
ers of the ruling
Bharatiya Janata
Party at the Centre,
which is now re-
ported to be
serious-
ly being
consid-
ered. There
is news that a
separate state
of North Bengal
can be created to in-
crease administra-
tive efficiency.
Recently, the Un-
ion Home Ministry
had also taken some
initiative regarding
the bifurcation of
the state and a meet-
ing was also held.
The proposal to
create a new state by
separating the dis-
tricts of Darjeeling,
Kalimpong, Kur-
seong etc. is report-
ed to be seriously
considered. Even
during the Atal Bi-
hari Vajpayee gov-
ernment, three
states were divided
and three new states
were formed. The
BJP is very strong
in those three states.
The Congress cre-
ated a new state by
bifurcating one state
and was out of poli-
tics in both the
states.
However, it is be-
ing said that prepa-
rations for the for-
mation of a separate
Gorkhaland are go-
ing on inside.
Opposing this,
Chief Minis-
ter Mamata
Baner-
jee has
s a i d
that she
has a formula
through which
partition can be
avoided perma-
nently.
H o w e v e r,
the BJP itself
is still in a di-
lemma be-
cause if the
state is bifur-
cated, Bengali pride
will be hurt and the
BJP will suffer in
the next Lok Sabha
elections. On the
other hand it is be-
ing said that anyway
Mamata will contest
elections on Bengali
identity to become
the Prime Minister
so there is less
chance for BJP. But
if the state is bifur-
cated into Gorkha-
land, then BJP can
get some benefit
there.
Anita Hada
New Delhi: Trinamool
Congress MP and sen-
ior leader Sukhendu
Shekhar Roy has said
that his party cannot
wait till eternity for the
Congress to come for-
ward and form an Op-
position alliance
against the BJP.
The question is, “Is
the Trinamool Con-
gress really waiting for
the Congress to form
an alliance or does it
want to ‘settle’ the Con-
gress and replace it in
national politics?” Con-
gress also understands
what the real motive of
Trinamool is. That is
why the Congress has
started for itself, leav-
ing aside its allies and
Trinamool and all oth-
er possible parties.
Concerned about its
politics, Congress has
fielded its candidate in
the by-elections of two
seats in Bihar and is
fighting with full force.
It may be that the RJD
will get an advantage
on one seat, but the
Congress has expressed
its intention.
Party’s in-charge
Bhakta Charan Das has
said that the Congress
will fight the next Lok
Sabha elections alone.
Similarly, on the other
hand, in Maharashtra,
Congress state presi-
dent Nana Patole has
announced that the
Congress will fight
alone in the next elec-
tions.
He is part of the
Maha Vikas Aghadi
government but has an-
nounced to fight alone
in the next year’s BMC
elections.
Congress is doing
this work under a strat-
egy. As part of the
strategy, it has cut ties
with its ally Badruddin
Ajmal’s AIUDF in As-
sam. Congress will now
form its new alliance
there according to the
upcoming elections.
There was an alli-
ance of Congress and
JDS in Karnataka, but
now Congress is doing
politics completely
alone. The party’s cur-
rent state president DK
Shivakumar has made
a plan for the Congress
to contest alone in the
2023 elections.
In Uttar Pradesh, the
Congress party has ex-
pressed its intention of
an alliance but is now
preparing to contest
the elections alone.
Today, Congress and
Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra are doing poli-
tics like the main Op-
position in Uttar
Pradesh According to
an informed Congress
leader, there are two
reasons for this.
The first reason is
that as soon as the Con-
gress and all the Opposi-
tionpartiescometogeth-
er, the BJP gets an op-
portunity to polarize the
majority vote. Second,
the allies of the Con-
gress are treating the
Congress as a weak re-
gional party
. To change
this thinking, it is neces-
sary that the Congress
strengthens itself.
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Saturday congratulated
Akash Kumar for be-
coming the seventh In-
dian male boxer to win
a medal at World Boxing
Championships.
Akash Kumar’s sen-
sational run at the 2021
AIBA men’s World Box-
ing Championships
ended with a bronze
medal after he suffered
a heartbreaking loss in
the semi-final in Bel-
grade on Thursday.
Akash endured a 5-0
loss against Kazakh-
stan’s Makhmud Saby-
rkhan in 54kg category
.
PM said Akash’s suc-
cess will motivate
younger boxers to excel
in the sport. “Well done
Akash! Congratulations
for the prestigious med-
al at the World Boxing
Championships. This
success will motivate
younger boxers to excel.
Wishing you the very
best for your future en-
deavours,” PM tweeted.
It was India’s seventh
medal at world’s one of
biggest boxing events as
Akash joined the elite
list of boxers that in-
cludes Amit Panghal
(silver in 2019), Vijender
Singh (bronze in 2009),
Vikas Krishan (bronze
in 2011), Shiva Thapa
(bronze in 2015), Gaurav
Bidhuri (bronze in 2017)
and Manish Kaushik
(bronze in 2019) who
have won medals for the
country at Men’s World
Championships in the
past. —ANI
New Delhi: To promote
religious tourism, the
IRCTC has planned a
series of Shri Ramaya-
na Yatra Tours, which
will mark a gradual re-
sumption of domestic
tourism by trains in
view of the improved
Covid situation. One
such tour will begin
from November 7, Indi-
an Railway Catering
and Tourism Corpora-
tion (IRCTC) said.
“IRCTC has planned
the train tour packages
utilising its Pilgrim
Special Tourist Trains
and Deluxe Tourist
Trains duly under-
standing requirement
of the budget & premi-
um segment tourists,”
it said on Saturday
.
The first departure
on Ramayana Circuit
train will commence on
November 7 from New
Delhi followed by four
other departures in
subsequent month. Oth-
er packages include 12
nights / 13 days Shri
Ramayana Yatra Ex-
press-Madurai, which
will depart on Novem-
ber 16. —ANI
WILL BENGAL BE
PARTITIONED?
Congress is now a worried lot!
Rakesh Ranjan
New Delhi: At one
stroke, NBCC has
brought down not only
its own reputation but
has also caused shame
to all public sector em-
ployees who take great
pride in serving the na-
tion.
Following an inspec-
tiononSeptember18,of
NBCC’s Green View
Residential Society
spread over 18 acres in
Sector 37 D Gurugram,
the IIT Delhi made sev-
eral alarming observa-
tions in terms of struc-
tural faults and use of
poor quality construc-
tion material. Follow-
ing the vigilance en-
quiry two construction
companies, Rama Con-
structionsandSupreme
Infrastructure, who
constructed the project
have reportedly been
put in the holiday list
for two years.
The IIT Delhi’s in-
spection was necessi-
tated in view of the
complaints from resi-
dentsof thesocietythat
their flats were becom-
ing inhabitable barely a
few years after their oc-
cupation. So the inspec-
tion team carried out
comprehensiveforensic
auditing of the struc-
tures and building ma-
terial.
At some point, an ex-
pert team from the IIT-
Bombay was also roped
in for a second opinion.
NBCC launched its
Green View Project in
2010 and started giving
the possession in Au-
gust2017afteradelayof
over two years. The so-
ciety has 923 flats, in-
cluding 139 EWS flats.
So far, 260 flats have
been sold and more
than 150 families are re-
siding here.
The IIT Delhi inspec-
tion team has con-
firmed the complaints
of the residents as gen-
uine.
In the light of the
complaints, the IIT Del-
hi’s structural audit
team has advised the
evacuation of all resi-
dents within two
months to carry out re-
pairs of the entire
structural work as well
as of plastering and til-
ing which have to be
completely replaced.
This constrained
NBCC to issue an evac-
uation notice on Octo-
ber 3. Already seething
in anger for having
been cheated, residents
have demanded that
they be defrayed the en-
tire cost of their flats
along with interest plus
cost of registration and
interiors because they
have no interest in stay-
ing in an imperilled
housing society
.
Most of the occu-
pants have reportedly
vacated following the
alarming situation but
many others are still
not willing to vacate be-
cause of the issues they
have with NBCC.
NBCC’s Green View fiasco; a true case of breach of trust!
z Consistent sag-
ging of slabs from the
popping of tiles. At
numerous sections of
the structure 10-12
cm, the thick creed was
observed on the top of
the slab
z Vertical cracks in
the indoor part of the
columns in kitchens
z New cracks were
observed in the slabs
of buildings
z Corrosion was
observed all over the
reinforcement work.
At numerous spots, 4
mm thick rust marks
were seen throughout
the concrete. Pitting
erosion in the reinforce-
ment was also observed
z Compression cracks
at several locations in
the columns
z Progression of de-
terioration in the time
span of the previous
visit of the consultant
IIT Delhi
z The magnitude of
deterioration with the
continuous increase
z The threat of old
contaminated concrete
easily travelling into
the repair concrete and
causing a failure of the
repaired elements
DEFICIENCIES
HIGHLIGHTED BY IIT-D
Chahal’s mgmt of
Covid pandemic, as
BMC commissioner
received acclaim
from all quarters
Iqbal Singh Chahal
Legendary coach
Tarak Sinha is renowned
for coaching players
across generations
and the list comprises
Surinder Khanna, Manoj
Prabhakar, Ajay Sharma,
Atul Wassan, Ashish
Nehra, Sanjeev Sharma,
Aakash Chopra, Shikhar
Dhawan, Anjum Chopra
and Rishabh Pant.
Tarak Sinha

Vol 1 Issue No. 68
RNI TITLE NO. DELENG/2021/19840
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Impressions Printing and Packaging
Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59,
Noida-201301. Published at G-20,
3rd Floor, 309, Preet Vihar, New
Delhi-110092. Phone 011-49846474.
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
THE FRACTURED HIMALAYA: INDIA, TIBET AND CHINA, 1949-1962
Rao’s most authoritative book on
India-China relations
irupama Rao was born in
1950. She joined the Indian
Foreign Service in 1973, retir-
ing in 2011. She was Foreign
Secretary, ambassador to the
US and China during her un-
blemished career.
She has very recently writ-
ten, what I think is the most
authoritative book on India-
China relations, “The Frac-
tured Himalaya: India, Tibet
and China, 1949-1962”. The
volume is over six hundred
pages long. Deeply re-
searched, scholarly, insight-
ful and convincing.
She has mentioned me
more than once in her book.
I am no China specialist, but
neither am I unfamiliar with
the torturous course of Sino-
Indian bilateral relations.
My first posting was to Pe-
king in 1956. I spent almost
two years in the country
. My
efforts to learn Chinese were
not spectacular. Indian diplo-
mats at the time were treated
with exceptional cordiality.
The Indian ambassador had
easy access to Chairman Mao
Tse Tung and Prime Minister
Chou En Lai.
The Chairman even came
to have dinner with Ambas-
sador RK Nehru’s residence.
I must have seen Mao at very
close quarters dozens of
times. I even lit his cigarette
when he was fumbling to
locate his match box. I
have several photos,
I took them, stand-
ing six feet away
from him.
Nirupama
i n d i r e c t l y
writes that I
was in some
vague way
connected
with Prime
M i n i s t e r
Chou-En-
lai’s visit
to Delhi in
April 1960. Ac-
tually I
w a s
ap-
pointed liaison officer to the
charismatic Chinese Prime
Minister.
All these years I have held
the view that Chou had come
to strike a deal- Aksai Chin
would remain with China.
The rest of the border would
remain as it was. We blew it.
Nirupama Rao, broadly
speaking, agrees with this
view.
From 1927 onwards Jawa-
harlal Nehru was the sole
Congress spokesman on for-
eignpolicy
.In1938,Nehruwas
president of the Congress.
Japan had occupied large
parts of China. Nehru sent a
medical mission to the Guo-
mindang government. But
severalmembersof thegroup
went over to the communists.
Prominent among them were
Dr Atal and Dr Dwarkanath
Kotnis. Jawaharlal Nehru
himself went to Chunking in
August 1939. A meeting with
Mao could not take place be-
cause Nehru had to rush back
toIndiaasHitlerhaddeclared
war by invading Poland.
Nehru till the mid nine-
teen fifties took a
rather romantic
and unrealistic
view of the Commu-
nist regime. The
Chinese in general and the
communists in particular
had a “profound contempt for
the Indians, and also a sense
of very considerable superi-
ority towards them….” was
the British assessment.
After Independence Nehru
sent KM Panikkar as ambas-
sador to China. When the
communist took over on 1st
October 1949 K.M Panikkar
was retained as ambassador.
A worst choice could not have
been made. Girjashankar Ba-
jpai, Secretary-General, in
August 1950 noted that Panik-
kar was, “a little too respon-
sivetotheatmosphere,wheth-
er for our conviction or a safe
guide to our policy
. His eulogy
of the men who now rule Chi-
na, their great reforms and
their friendship for us, leave
me somewhat sceptical, espe-
cially the last. My own rather
cynical view is that in us,
China sees the only potential
rival, and economic equality
in Asia….Panikkar’s enthusi-
asm,genuineorfeigned,caus-
es me personally a good deal
of difficulty at times. The PM
is impressed with his reports
andIhavetoworkhardtocon-
trol his enthusiasm when, in
my own rather conservative
judgement, caution seems to
be necessary
.”
The other disaster was VK
Krishna Menon. He had his
plus points. The minuses out-
numbered the pluses by ten
to one.
Nehru appointed him De-
fence Minister. Menon sold
the idea to Nehru that the
real enemy was Pakistan, not
China. Nehru himself genu-
inely believed that China
would never go to the war
with India. This was to put it
politely the height of naivety
.
Another Nehru lapse. He did
not raise the question of the
border with Chou Enlai in
1954. “Nehru wished to avoid
confrontation with China”,
writes the author and casti-
gates Nehru for his poor
judgement and faith in Chi-
na’s‘peacefulandPanchsheel’
mantra. She quotes S. Gopal,
Nehru’s biographer and Dr S
Radhkrishnan’s son. Nehru
was “insufficiently alert to
possible Chinese encroach-
ments on a major scale. Curi-
ously, the reported presence
of Chinese personnel in Ak-
sai Chin, and the defence of
Indian sovereignty that this
implied, roused no marked
reaction in Delhi.”
Sumul Sinha was Counsel
General in Lhasa. His critical
reports on Chinese atrocities
in Tibet were not only ig-
nored, these irritated the P
.M.
One of Prime Minister
Nehru’s obsessions was for
China becoming a member of
the U.N. Security Council-
even in 1962 India did not give
up. China never expressed
any gratitude. It has never
considered India as an equal.
Jawaharlal Nehru was the
maker of modern India. His
role in the Freedom Move-
ment was second only to that
of Gandhiji. He was a great
and noble man. He grievously
erredonChina.1962hastened
his death. This is an absorb-
ing, balanced, knowledgea-
ble, eminently readable book.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
N
Nirupama indirectly writes
that I was in some vague
way connected with
Prime Minister Chou-
Enlai’s visit to Delhi
in April 1960. Actually
I was appointed liaison
officer to the
charismatic Chinese
Prime Minister
From 1927 onwards
Jawaharlal Nehru was the
sole Congress spokesman on
foreign policy. In 1938,
Nehru was president of the
Congress. Japan had
occupied large parts of
China. Nehru sent a medical
mission to the Guomindang
government. But several
members of the group went
over to the communists.
Prominent among them
were Dr Atal and Dr
Dwarkanath Kotnis.
Jawaharlal Nehru himself
went to Chunking in August
1939. A meeting with Mao
could not take place because
Nehru had to rush back to
India as Hitler had declared
war by invading Poland
K NATWAR SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India
PERSPECTIVE
04
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Our life is shaped by our mind;
we become what we think.
Suffering follows an evil
thought as the wheels of a cart
follow the oxen that draw it.
Our life is shaped by our mind;
we become what we think. Joy
follow a pure thought like a
shadow that never leaves.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Warm birthday greetings to @
DrJitendraSingh ji. His passion for
establishing India as a research and
science-driven economy is admirable.
A terrific orator, he is also committed
to the development of JK and
the NER. May he be blessed with a
healthy, happy and long life.
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Purchase of Packaged Products To
Get More Transparent! Govt’s New
Packaging Guidelines from April
2022 will ensure that manufacturers
mention per unit price of product. The
details will enable consumers make an
informed decision while buying.
TOP TWEETS
CASHLESS
ECONOMIES RAISE
ETHICAL CONCERNS
ABOUT INCLUSION
he global health cri-
sis has led to an in-
crease in going out
cashless due to fears
of transmission of
the coronavirus. Yet this has had
an adverse impact on social and
economic inclusion. It has also
exacerbatedtheso-called“digital
divide” over who has access to
the internet and can buy things
online. In the United Kingdom,
1.9 million households do not
have an internet connection.
Cash, an integral part of daily
lifeformillionsof people,isbeing
sidelined to make way for digital
paymentsystems,undertheguise
of anti-corruption efforts, in-
creasedconvenienceandsecurity
for consumers. The act of going
cashless has crept into our every-
day lives, and it seems somewhat
inevitable that advanced econo-
mies will fully digitalize in the
not-so-distant future. In the UK,
for example, over a third of con-
sumers have reported being re-
fused when trying to pay with
cash “at least once since the first
lockdown in March 2020.”
SOURCE: FAIR OBSERVER
T
fter the pandemic
closed schools
last year, hospi-
tals saw a surge
in mental health-
related emergency visits
among children 18 and un-
der. The statistics have been
grim enough that a large
cohort of the nation’s top
pediatricians recently de-
clared a “national emergen-
cy” in child and adolescent
mental health.
COVID disrupted connec-
tions for everyone, but espe-
cially children. Cut off from
social networks — some-
times even the internet —
young people had few oppor-
tunities to forge relation-
ships outside the home, said
Jenlei Li, the host of a Har-
vard Graduate School of
Education webinar called
“The Healing Power of
Friendships and Relation-
ships.” Stuck at home, they
lost chances to connect with
peers, teachers, coaches, and
guidance counselors.
“Young people are suffer-
ing,” said Rhodes, a profes-
sor of psychology and direc-
tor of the Center for Evi-
dence-Based Mentoring at
the University of Massachu-
setts, Boston. In her re-
search, Rhodes has found
that strong relationships be-
tween children and caring
adults can have positive ef-
fects for decades, extending
through middle age. Many
of those relationships are
built at school.
SOURCE: WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
A knock-on effect of this
was a surge in the number
of mental health cases for
children under 18 and
the isolation also had a
negative effect on
learning, where children
use social environments
and close relationships
to learn
Why young need help to
reconnect after Covid-19
A

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INDIA
05
Mumbai: “A recent re-
port in a newspaper
led to unwarranted
speculation in social
media regarding Am-
bani family’s plans to
partly reside in Stoke
Park, London. RIL will
like to clarify that
chairman and his
family have no plans
whatsoever to relo-
cate or reside in
London or anywhere
else,” the statement
said.
Further, the compa-
ny statement added
that Reliance Indus-
trial Investments
and Holdings Limit-
ed had recently ac-
quired Stoke Park
estate in London with
the intent of turning
the heritage proper-
ty into a “premier
golfing and
sporting re-
sort”. —ANI
Mukesh Ambani family have
no plans of relocating to London
RIL CLARIFIES
PUNJAB AG HITS BACK AT SIDHU
...says Sidhu obstructing govt functioning
Chandigarh: Punjab
Advocate General APS
Deol Saturday hit back
at Congress leader Nav-
jot Singh Sidhu, who
has demanded his resig-
nation for representing
two accused cops in the
2015 sacrilege and po-
lice firing case.
This comes a day af-
ter Sidhu took back his
resignation as Punjab
Congress chief, but add-
ed that he would re-
sume charge only after
the state government
will replace DGP IPS
Sahota and Deol.
Deol said that the
Congress leader has
been making “repeated
utterances (that) seek to
derail the earnest ef-
forts of the state to en-
sure justice in the drugs
matter and the sacri-
lege cases”. —ANI
In a strongly worded
statement, Deol
slammed Sidhu,
accusing him of
“spreading misin-
formation to gain a
political advantage
over his political
colleagues” and
added that Sidhu is
obstructing the func-
tioning of the state
government and of
AG, Punjab.
There is a concerted attempt by vested
interests to malign the functioning of
the Congress party in view of the com-
ing elections in Punjab for their selfish political
gain, by politicizing the constitutional office of
the Advocate General of Punjab.
—APS Deol, Punjab Advocate General
Miles away from the rhetoric of devel-
opment, lakhs of families are forced to
use “chulhas”. The development vehicle
of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the
“reverse gear”.
—Rahul Gandhi, Congress Leader
IN FIRM MESSAGE TO SIDHU, CHANNI
BACKS GOVERNMENT LEGAL TEAM
AKALI DAL CHIEF SUKHBIR BADAL
LEADERS PROTEST OVER FUEL PRICES
Chandigarh: Punjab CM
Charanjit Singh Channi,
broke his silence on Sat-
urday, on the 2015 sacri-
lege case and backed the
government legal team
amid barbs from Navjot
Singh Sidhu. Sidhu on
Friday had sent an ultima-
tum to Punjab Congress,
ahead of the state election
next year, on continuing
as the state chief. The
controversy over the 2015
sacrilege case and police
firing has escalated ahead
of the state elections as
the ruling party witnesses
continued infighting.
Channi, also raised critical
issue of drugs and said
our legal team managed
to get permission to inter-
rogate Gurmeet Ram Ra-
him in sacrilege case. Our
lawyers are also fighting
the case of drugs in the
court and hopefully on
November 18, the sealed
reports will be opened.
Chandigarh: SAD chief Sukhbir Singh
Badal along with party leaders and
workers staged a protest outside
Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi’s
residence in Chandigarh demanding
compensation to farmers for reducing
prices of petrol and diesel. Prices of
petrol, diesel have been seeing an up-
ward trend over the past few weeks.
The prices of 2 petroleum products
reduced after Centre announced a
cut in excise duty of petrol and diesel
by Rs 5, Rs 10 resp. Subsequently,
states and UTs reduced VAT on fuel.
Sukhbir Singh Badal with party supporters during a protest outside CM Channi’s residence.
DEOL SLAMS
SIDHU
New Delhi: The BJP
national executive will
meet on Sunday, the
first time since 2019, to
discuss plans for the up-
coming Assembly polls
and pass a political res-
olution, BJP national
general secretary Arun
Singh said on Saturday
.
He added that exhibi-
tions about the “At-
manirbhar Bharat”
mission of the govern-
ment and the recently-
achieved milestone of
100 crore Covid-19 vac-
cine doses would be dis-
played at the venue of
the meeting in New
Delhi, the NDMC Con-
vention Centre. —ANI
BJP nat’l executive to meet today
...124 members to discuss bypoll results, upcoming assembly polls
Arun Singh addresses media at party HQ in New Delhi on Saturday.



DECISION-MAKING BODY TO DISCUSS...
Every mem-
ber, across the
country, will
be getting guidelines
by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on
how to make the party
better. Party's nation-
al executive meeting
today will commence
with a speech ad-
dressed by Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
and will conclude at
around 3 pm.
—Arun Singh, BJP National
General Secretary
Fake news:Tripura cops
seek info on 102 accounts
Agartala: The Tripura
police have asked the
Facebook, Twitter, and
YouTube authorities to
provide details of over
a hundred accounts
from which various
fake and provocative
posts were made in con-
nection with some inci-
dents in Tripura follow-
ing recent instances of
communal violence in
Bangladesh.Thiscomes
within days of the
Tripura Police filing a
dozen criminal cases
and taking action
against more than 70
persons including SC
lawyers, activists, and
religious campaigners.
Cases have been filed
under various provi-
sions of the UAPA and
IPC. Those who have
been booked in these
cases were asked to ap-
pear before probe offic-
ers before Nov 10. —ANI
New Delhi: In a step
ahead to tighten noose
against US-based seces-
sionist group SFJ, a
two-member NIA team
is camping in Canada to
liaise with the authori-
ties in connection with
the pro-Khalistan cas-
es registered with the
agency, said top sourc-
es. The NIA team, com-
prising an Inspector
General rank officer,
will be meeting with
concerned authorities
during its visit to Cana-
da emphasing the exe-
cution of MLAT re-
quests, faster sharing
of info with NIA. —ANI
NIA in Canada
to probe pro-
Khalistan case
CRUCIAL READ
‘WILL GOUGE EYES,
CUT ARMS,’ BJP MP
ARVIND WARNS
Chandigarh: Haryana
BJP congressman
Arvind Sharma on
Saturday made a vile
threat to Cong – that
he would “tear out
their eyes and cut off
their arms” on anyone
who opposes his party
colleague Grover. At
a public event, his
comment was greeted
with applause from
audience. He also said
Cong would “go around
in circles for 25 years”
as BJP – in power after
forging an alliance with
Chautala’s JJP following
2019 polls – reigned.
HARYANA’S 75%
JOB QUOTA FOR
LOCALS NOW LIVE
Chandigarh: Fulfilling a
major election promise,
Haryana govt on Satur-
day enacted a law that
mandates up to 75% job
quota for locals in pri-
vate sector in the state.
However, quota will
apply only for jobs that
offer a gross monthly
salary of up to `30,000.
The draft bill had set the
salary ceiling for this
reservation at `50,000,
drawing bitter criticism
from industry bodies.
The deadline to upload
employees’ data on
state government portal
is January 15.
PROSENJIT COMPLAINS TO MODI, MAMATA
AS SWIGGY FAILS TO DELIVER HIS ORDER
Kolkata: Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee writes
to PM Narendra Modi and WB CM Mamata Banerjee
after food delivery app Swiggy failed to deliver his
food after confirming order.
As soon as Prosenjit shared
letter via Twitter, many
ridiculed him for bringing
issue to the attention of the
political leaders. “Shame to
those who are mocking you
for tagging cm and PM . I further want to say that this
is not national problem but an international one. @UN
should take note,” a sarcastic comment read.
NSAS OF INDIA, FRANCE DISCUSS COOPERATION
IN INDO-PACIFIC AT STRATEGIC TALKS IN PARIS
Paris: NSA Ajit Doval on Saturday met his French
counterpart for an annual strategic dialogue between
2 countries in Paris. Doval co-
chaired the strategic dialogue
with, diplomatic advisor to prez
of Republic of France, Emmanuel
Macron. The French delegation
also included chief military advisor to Macron, Admi-
ral. NSA Doval also met Jean-Yves Le Drian, min of
foreign affairs Florence Parly, min of Armed Forces.
Nath meets Sonia
over bypoll results
New Delhi: Former
Madhya Pradesh
Chief Minister Ka-
mal Nath on Saturday
met Congress interim
president Sonia Gan-
dhi in New Delhi, said
sources.
Sources close to the
developments of the
leader told, “Kamal
Nath informed Sonia
Gandhi about the re-
cently concluded by-
elections in Madhya
Pradesh, its results.”
BJP bagged two As-
sembly seats while
Congress managed to
secure victory in the
Raigaon constituency
as the bypolls were
conducted on three
seats in the state.
Congress’s Kalpa-
na Verma bagged the
Raigaon constituency
while defeating BJP’s
Pratima Bagari, with
a margin of 12,290
votes. —ANI
Mumbai: The drugs-
on-cruise case involv-
ing Bollywood super-
star SRK's son Aryan
Khan took a new turn
on Saturday as BJP
leader Mohit Bharatiya
addressed PC linked
Maha ex-HM Anil Desh-
mukh with case. Maha
min Nawab Malik said
he will reply to allega-
tions what BJP leader
claimed as ‘revelations’
in press meet scheduled
on Sunday when Malik
is supposed to expose
some secrets hidden in
hotel The Lalit'. —ANI
Sameer Dawood Wankhede’s private army:
Malik reacts to BJP’s ‘twist’ to Aryan case
Modi ji’s devp vehicle is in
reverse gear: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
slammed the central
government over the
rising prices of LPG
cylinders on Saturday.
The Congress MP in
his Twitter shared a
screenshot of a news
report that carried a
survey revealing that
42 percent of people in
rural areas have
stopped using LPG cyl-
inders for cooking
food because of the
hike in prices. This
has forced the people
to go back to using fire-
wood as they can’t af-
ford it. —ANI
Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
Far away from the
words of develop-
ment, Millions of
families were forced
to light the wooden
stove. Modi Ji’s
development vehicle
is in reverse gear and
brakes also fail.
Sonia Gandhi Kamal Nath
Tripura police officials discuss
in the meeting about the issue.
MALIK’S DAUGHTER PENS AN OPEN LETTER OVER
‘UNJUST’ TREATMENT OF HER HUSBAND
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra minister Nawab
Malik’s daughter
Nilofer Malik Khan
wrote an open letter to
recount the “unjust
and unlawful manner”
in which her family
was treated after her
husband, Sameer
Khan, was arrested by
the NCB in January
this year. In the letter
titled “From the wife
of an innocent: The
beginning”, Nilofer
recalled the night her
husband, Sameer
Khan, was arrested by
the NCB and talked
about the “catastro-
phe” that her family is
still battling with.
She claimed, “De-
spite being within the
legal parameters and
NCB having no con-
crete proof, Sameer
was arrested. This hit
us hard, that was the
moment we realized it
was more than just
about Sameer as an in-
dividual.” —ANI
Nawab Malik’s daughter
Nilofer Malik Khan.
APS Deol
Navjot Singh Sidhu Charanjit Singh Channi
Rahul Gandhi
no plans of relocating to London

NEWS
06
BSP CHARTS ROADMAP TO DEAL WITH POLL CHALLENGES
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: The Bahu-
jan Samaj Party, which
never released the poll
manifesto, is now mak-
ing big election prom-
ises to achieve victory
in the upcoming Uttar
Pradesh Assembly
elections. The Mayawa-
ti-led party is trying to
connect voters of dif-
ferent castes and class-
es, but at the same time
struggling with the
challenge of rebels.
In the last two years,
more than three dozen
BSP leaders have
joined the Samajwadi
Party since the
breakup of the SP-BSP
alliance. Veer Singh,
three-time Rajya Sabha
member, had been as-
sociated with the BSP
since its inception in
1984. Now, he has be-
come a part of the SP.
Lalji Verma and Ram
Achal Rajbhar, once
influential leaders of
BSP, have now joined
the SP.
On Sunday, both
these leaders will
showcase their
strength by organizing
a big rally under the
leadership of Akhilesh
Yadav in Ambedkar
Nagar. The list of those
who broke ties with
BSP is very long. Re-
cently, six rebel BSP
MLAs had joined the
SP. BSP Bhaichara
Committee’s state con-
vener Chintamani
Kanojia’s resignation
from the party’s mem-
bership was a major
setback for Mayawati.
Out of the 19 BSP
MLAs who won in the
year 2017, only six
MLAs are left with the
party. Obviously, there
are serious challenges
for the BSP, multi-level
efforts are going on to
deal with them. The
BSP is trying to imple-
ment the formula of
social engineering
firmly. For example,
Brahmin candidates
have been decided in
Kidwainagar and Go-
vindnagar in Kanpur.
Preparations are be-
ing made to field candi-
dates from the upper
castes in two out of the
remaining four seats
here. Senior journalist
Rajkumar Singh said,
“Mayawati is thinking
that Brahmins angry
with BJP can join BSP,
that is why slogans like
‘Hathi nahi Ganesh
hai’ have been heard in
BSP meetings”. The
pro-Hindu attitude that
came into vogue in the
Modi-Yogi era is re-
flected in Mayawati’s
strategy as well, the
development of Ayod-
hya-Kashi-Mathura is
included in the BSP’s
agenda, he added.
Mayawati has de-
claredthatif shecomes
to power, she will not
build memorials, parks
and museums. She has
also promised to pro-
vide government facili-
tiestoSanskritschools,
to form a commission
for unaided schools
and to stop the imple-
mentation of all three
central agricultural
laws. The BSP has also
made media panelists
for TV debates. At the
same time, the party is
also aggressively ac-
tive on social media
platforms.
30 MORE PEOPLE TEST POSITIVE
FOR ZIKA VIRUS IN KANPUR
Total number of patients infected with the virus in the district has reached 66
Kanpur: Thirty more
people have tested posi-
tive for Zika virus here,
taking the total number
of those infected in the
district to 66, a senior
official said on Friday
.
Of those infected, 45
are men and 21 women,
according to officials.
The first case in Kan-
pur was reported on Oc-
tober 23 when an Indian
Air Force (IAF) war-
rant officer tested posi-
tive for Zika virus.
“Thirty more people
have tested positive for
Zika virus in Kanpur,”
District Magistrate
Vishak G Ayyar said.
Samples were collect-
ed from various pockets
in the neighbouring ar-
eas of IAF station hang-
ars and sent to the lab at
King George’s Medical
University (KGMU),
Lucknow for testing.
Thirty of them came
back positive for Zika
virus, he said. To check
the spread of the dis-
ease, health teams are
undertaking sanitisa-
tion programmes and
identifying fever pa-
tients, and pregnant
women.
Health officials have
been asked to step up
surveillance and en-
sure door-to-door sam-
pling and testing for
Zika virus. “We advise
the local people not to
panic regarding the
sudden spurt in Zika vi-
rus cases,” Ayyar said.
A high alert has been
sounded in the periph-
ery of hangars of the
IAF station, another of-
ficial said. —PTI
YOGI ORDERS GUIDELINES
ON COVID-19 VAX, ZIKA
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
on Saturday directed
officials to release
detailed guidelines
on COVID-19 vacci-
nation and Zika vi-
rus in the state.
Presiding over a
high-level meeting
here on Saturday, he
asked the officials re-
garding the COV-
ID-19 vaccination,
the Chief Minister
said that “a target
should be set to vac-
cinate up to 25-30
lakh people on daily
basis in the next two
months. He asked the
state’s Additional
Chief Secretary of
Health to speed up
the COVID-19 vacci-
nation process by
holding a meeting
with all the CMOs of
the state.
In view of the ris-
ing cases of Zika vi-
rus in Kanpur, he in-
structed the officials
to speed up sanitisa-
tion work. “Consid-
ering the seriousness
(on Zika), special
caution is required,”
he said.
Mukesh Mathrani
Barmer: Revenue min-
ister in the Gehlot cabi-
net and in-charge of
Punjab Congress, Har-
ish Chaudhary on Sat-
urday said it has now
been clear that former
Punjab chief minister
Captain Amarinder
Singh had some collu-
sion with the BJP and
Akali Dal.
Choudhary was on a
two-day visit to his con-
stituency here and left
for Punjab on Saturday
.
Talking to media per-
sons, Chaudhary al-
leged that the way for-
mer Punjab CM is col-
laborating with BJP
government at the Cen-
tre, it is now clear that
he had have some collu-
sion with BJP and Aka-
li Dal. The Congress
leader further alleged
that Amarinder was re-
moved from the post as
most of the legislators
were not satisfied with
his working style as he
was taking the deci-
sions while focusing on
BJP and Akali Dal and
it was damaging Con-
gress in Punjab.
Chaudhary said that
now Congress MLAs
and even the people of
Punjab are happy with
the decision taken by
Congress party, which
replaced Captain Ama-
rinder Singh with
Charanjit Singh Chan-
ni. He claimed that he is
sure that this time the
party will perform in a
better way and again
form the government
with increased num-
bers.
Talking about Navjot
Singh Sidhu, Chaud-
hary said that he is a
very mature leader.
Chaudhary further said
that Sidhu had some is-
sues and it is Congress
culture that every lead-
er has its space to raise
his concern. He further
added that the party has
been sorting out the is-
sues on merit basis.
Referring to recent
by-poll results in Ra-
jasthan, Congress lead-
er said that it’s people’s
mood for the upcoming
elections as they have
thrown the BJP on third
and fourth position.
It’s clear Amarinder colluded with BJP, Akali Dal: Chaudhary
PUNJAB POLITICS

Punjab Cong
incharge says
Amarinder was
removed from
CM’s post as
many MLAs
were unhappy
with his
working style
Harish Chaudhary
We advise the local people not to panic
regarding the sudden spurt in Zika
virus cases.
Vishak G Ayyar, District Magistrate
Jinnah supporters should be
rejected, says Yogi in Auraiya
First India Bureau
Lucknow/Auraiya/
Etawah: Attacking the
Samajwadi Party chief,
on glorification of Jin-
nah, Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath on Satur-
day said that the public
needs to stay alert from
people with ‘criminal
mindset’ as they are
least concerned about
the problem faced by
the public. He also said,
“You guys have given
them opportunities in
the past but all went in
vain.”
“The leader of the op-
position compared Jin-
nah with the national
hero Sardar Patel. Such
shameful and reprehen-
sible statements and
such people should be
rejected. You must un-
derstand their dirty
mindset and stay alert
from them. For their po-
litical interests, they
are shaking hands with
the mafias,” he said.
The Chief Minister
was on the Auraiya and
Etawah tour. In Aurai-
ya, he laid the founda-
tion stone of the Gov-
ernment Medical Col-
lege to be constructed at
a cost of Rs 280 crore.
He also inaugurated
and laid the foundation
stone of 12 development
projects worth Rs 109
crores. While in Eta-
wah, the CM inaugu-
rated the Central Pris-
on equipped with mod-
ern facilities built at a
cost of Rs 272 crores
and launched various
development projects
worth Rs 575 crore .
Addressing the peo-
ple, CM Yogi said that
till 2017 there were only
12 medical colleges in
the state. Now, there are
58 medical colleges. He
said that work is being
done to speed up the de-
velopment projects in
the district.
COVID COUNT
FLAYS OPPN’S ROLE DURING COVID
DAREDEVILRY
Nihang Sikhs show their riding skills during the Mohalla religious procession on ‘Fateh
Divas’ or ‘Victory Day’, in Amritsar on Friday. —-PHOTO BY ANI
Nine cops
found guilty
of inaction:
UP tells SC
New Delhi: The Ut-
tar Pradesh govern-
ment has told the
Supreme Court that
nine police person-
nel, including five
inspectors, have
prima facie been
found to be respon-
sible for the delay
and inaction re-
garding service of
court processes in a
matter relating to
the alleged encoun-
ter of a man by the
police in 2002. The
SC had in Septem-
ber this year pulled
up the state for the
laxity in proceeding
with the case and
directed it to depos-
it Rs seven lakh
with the top court
registry towards in-
terim costs.
Hearing a plea
filed by the victim’s
father, the court
had termed it a very
serious case and ob-
served that the lax-
ity with which the
state had proceeded
speaks volumes of
how State machin-
ery is defending its
police officers. —PTI
State has adequate stock of fertilizers
for farmers: MP’s Agriculture Minister
Bhopal: Madhya
Pradesh’s Agriculture
Minister Kamal Patel
on Saturday claimed
that the state has ade-
quate stock of fertilis-
ers.
Patel said that the
state government has
procured enough stock
to provide to farmers in
the state. He informed
that up to 75 per cent
fertiliser has been
stocked at government-
run shops (Sahkari
Samiti), while 25 per
cent has been given to
vendors so that farmers
can avail it on their
own.
“There has been
some shortage of ferti-
lisers, but now we have
enough stock. We have
taken punitive action
against those found in-
volved in black market-
ing of fertilisers,” Patel
said on Saturday
.
It would be a great re-
lief for the farmers in
the state who have been
struggling to get ferti-
lisers for their crops.
Also, the crisis of ferti-
liser had created a po-
litical controversy be-
tween the BJP and the
Congress.
Former MP CM Ka-
mal Nath had last week
written to CM Shivraj
Singh Chouhan accus-
ing Kamal Patel of in-
dulging in black-mar-
keting of fertilisers.
—Agencies
Kamal Patel
STOCK SITUATION
ON NEW CM
Mayawati
Yogi Adityanath

G
lobally,
only one
in 50 new cars
was fully electric in 2020
and one in 14 in the UK.
Sounds impressive, but even
if all new cars were electric
now, it would still take 15-20
years to replace the world’s
fossil fuel car fleet.
The emission savings
from replacing all those in-
ternal combustion engines
with zero-carbon alterna-
tives will not feed in fast
enough to make the neces-
sary difference in the time
we can spare: the next five
years. Tackling the climate
and air pollution crises re-
quires curbing all motorized
transport, particularly pri-
vate cars, as quickly as pos-
sible. Focusing solely on
electric vehicles is slowing
down the race to zero emis-
sions.
This is partly because
electric cars aren’t truly ze-
ro-carbon – mining the raw
materials for their batteries,
manufacturing them and
generating the electricity
they run on produces emis-
sions.
Transport is one of the
most challenging sectors to
decarbonise due to its heavy
fossil fuel use and reliance
on carbon-intensive infra-
structure – such as roads,
airports and the vehicles
themselves -
a n d
the way
it embeds car-
dependent lifestyles.
One way to reduce transport
emissions relatively quickly,
and potentially globally, is to
swap cars for cycling, e-bik-
ing and walking – active trav-
el, as it’s called.
Active travel is cheaper,
healthier, better for the envi-
ronment, and no slower on
congested urban streets. So
how much carbon can it save
on a daily basis? And what is
its role in reducing emis-
sions from transport over-
all?
In new research, col-
leagues and I reveal that
people who walk or cycle
have lower carbon footprints
from daily travel, including
in cities where lots of people
are already doing this. De-
spite the fact that some
walking and cycling hap-
pens on top of motorised
journeys instead of replac-
ing them, more people
switching to active travel
would equate to lower car-
bon emissions from trans-
port on a daily and trip-by-
trip basis.
What
difference
a trip makes
We observed around 4,000
people living in London, Ant-
werp, Barcelona, Vienna,
Orebro, Rome and Zurich.
Over a two-year period, our
participants com-
pleted 10,000
travel dia-
ry en-
tries
which served
as records of all the trips
they made each day, whether
going to work by train, tak-
ing the kids to school by car
or riding the bus into town.
For each trip, we calculated
the carbon footprint.
Strikingly
, people who cycled
on a daily basis had 84% lower
carbon emissions from all their
daily travel than those
who didn’t. We
also found
that the
aver-
age
person
who shift-
ed from car to
bike for just one day a
week cut their carbon footprint
by 3.2kg of CO – equivalent to
the emissions from driving a
carfor10km,eatingaservingof
lamb or chocolate, or sending
800 emails.
When we compared the
life cycle of each travel
mode, taking into account
the carbon generated by
making the vehicle, fuelling
it and disposing of it, we
found that emissions from
cycling can be more than 30
times lower for each trip
than driving a fossil fuel car,
and about ten times lower
than driving an electric one.
We also estimate that ur-
ban residents who switched
from driving to cycling for
just one trip per day reduced
their carbon footprint by
about half a tonne of CO
over the course of a year, and
saved the equivalent emis-
sions of a one-way flight
from London to New York. If
just one in five urban resi-
dents permanently changed
their travel behaviour in this
way over the next few
years, we estimate
it would cut emissions
from all car travel in Eu-
rope by about 8%.
Nearly half of the fall in
daily carbon emissions dur-
ing global lockdowns in 2020
came from reductions in
transport emissions. The
pandemic forced countries
around the world to adapt to
reduce the spread of the vi-
rus. In the UK, walking and
cycling have been the big
winners, with a 20% rise in
people walking regularly,
and cycling levels increasing
by 9% on weekdays and 58%
on weekends compared to
pre-pandemic levels. This is
despite cycle commuters be-
ing very likely to work from
home.
Active travel has offered an
alternative to cars that keeps
social distancing intact. It
has helped people to stay safe
during the pandemic and it
could help reduce emissions
as confinement is eased, par-
ticularly as the high prices of
some electric vehicles are
likely to put many potential
buyers off for now.
So the race is on. Active
travel can contribute to tack-
ling the climate emergency
earlier than electric vehicles
while also providing afford-
able, reliable, clean, healthy
and congestion-busting
transportation.
TALKING POINT
07
from all car travel in Eu-
is 10x more imp than electric cars
for reaching net-zero cities
CYCLING
CHRISTIAN BRAND
Associate Professor in Transport,
Energy Environment,Transport
Studies Unit, University of Oxford
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM
People who cycled daily
have 84% lower carbon
emissions than those
who did not.
—MICHAEL
WHEATLEY/ALAMY
Driving an electric vehicle is only as green as the
energy supply. —I WEI HUANG/SHUTTERSTOCK
Temporary bike lanes have popped up in
cities around the world during the pandemic.
—TEXTUREMASTER/SHUTTERSTOCK

08
2NDFRONT
As the festive season comes to an
end for now, let us continue to
celebrate togetherness, love and
harmony in our lives.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Tollrisestoover40dieinBiharhoochtragedy
Patna: With four more
persons dying and sev-
eral others falling ill on
Saturday, the death toll
has risen to over 40 in
the Bihar hooch trage-
dy that had hit state’s
three districts on Di-
wali festival. Four per-
sons succumbed to the
suspected poisonous
liquor in Samastipur
district, officials said
on Saturday
. This is the
third straight day that
deaths due to illegal liq-
uor have been reported
in Bihar.
Over 40 people have
died in Muzzafarpur,
Gopalganj and Bettiah
since Thursday, the Di-
wali day
.
There is total alcohol
prohibition in the state
since 2016.
The death count in
the hooch tragedy at
Rupauli village in Mu-
zaffarpurdistrictwhere
residents consumed liq-
uor on the night before
Diwali, reached 33 to-
day while arrests were
made and officials were
punished over the sale
of the illicit liquor.
According to authori-
ties, the death count in
West Champaran has
reached 14 while seven
people are currently un-
dergoing treatment in
Bettiah town.
In Gopalganj, the
number of deaths has
climbed to 17, according
to the district authori-
ties.
Meanwhile, Bihar
Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar vowed strict ac-
tion against those re-
sponsible for the tragic
deaths at a review meet
on Friday
.
“I will conduct an in-
depth review of the en-
forcement of prohibi-
tion in the state. But, it
appears that we need
another extensive cam-
paign to spread aware-
ness about the ill-effects
of drinking,” Kumar
said.
Leader of the opposi-
tion in Bihar Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD)
Tejashwi Yadav termed
liquor ban law in Bihar
as “complete failure”
attacking the Nitish Ku-
mar government over
the deaths due to the
consumption of illicit
liquor. —Agencies
THE CASUALITIES
HC seeks
Delhi govt’s
stand on
infra for JNU
Covid centre
Leopard takes away
5-yr-old kid in Shimla
Shimla: Diwali cele-
bration for a family
turned into mourn-
ing after a suspected
leopard took away a
5-year-old boy from
outside his home in
Downdale area of
Shimla town on
Thursday night.
While the family
and locals fear that
child was taken away
by leopard, Wild-
life officials
who have
launched a
search op-
eration in
the ad-
joining
a r e a
a l o n g
with police so far have
not found any evi-
dence showing that
child was taken away
by a leopard or any
other wild animal.
The incident creat-
ed a panic in the town.
In last 3 months, this
is the second such in-
cident in Shimla.
Around 11 pm on
Thursday the Rapid
Rescue Team of
the Forest De-
p a r t m e n t
received a
call from
the police
s t a t i o n
about the
incident.
—Agencies
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court has sought
the city government’s
stand on providing in-
frastructure and medi-
cal staff for a proposed
Covid care centre at
Jawaharlal Nehru Uni-
versity (JNU).
The counsel for the
JNU Teachers’ Associa-
tion and others, who
have filed a petition on
the availability of med-
ical facilities on the
campus to deal with
COVID-19, said that
though the university
administration has ear-
marked space in the Sa-
barmati Dormitory for
setting up a Covid cen-
tre, doctors and requi-
site infrastructure are
not available. —PTI
TRAGEDY ON DIWALI
Central govt should further reduce excise
duty on fuel, suggests Raj CM Ashok Gehlot
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Amid demand
by the opposition BJP
to reduce VAT on pet-
rol and diesel by the
state government, Ra-
jasthan chief minister
Ashok Gehlot on Satur-
day said that the Cen-
tre should further re-
duce excise duty on
fuel due to which the
VAT collection of the
states will automati-
cally reduce.
He said that the state
governments levy VAT
on the revenue collect-
ed by the Central Gov-
ernment in the form of
Additional Excise Duty,
Special Excise Duty
and CESS from petrol,
diesel and gas.
“In view of the infla-
tion, the Central gov-
ernment should make
further reduction due to
which the VAT collec-
tion of the states will
automatically reduce in
the same proportion,”
he tweeted. He said that
with the Centre’s deci-
sion on November 4 to
reduce the excise
duty
, the state’s
VAT has also
automatical-
ly been re-
duced by Rs
1.8 per litre on
petrol and Rs
2.6 per litre on
diesel which has
caused an an-
nual loss of
Rs 1800 crore in revenue
collection of the state.
Hesaidthatduetothe
reduction of VAT by 2
percent by the State
Government dur-
ing the budget
p re s e n t at i o n ,
there has al-
readybeenarev-
enue loss of Rs
1,000 crores. hus,
the total reve-
nue of Rs
2 , 8 0 0
c r o r e
will be there in the state.
At the same time, the
CM urged the Centre to
restrict the oil compa-
nies for curbing daily
increases in the prices
of petrol and diesel.
“Otherwise, after
Deepawali or assembly
elections in 5 states, the
oil companies will in-
crease the price and
make the benefit of the
relief given by the Cen-
tral and state govern-
ment to zero.
l Centre’s Nov 4 reduction caused an
annual loss of `1,800 cr to Rajasthan
while 2% VAT reduction by state
government during the budget, has
already caused a revenue loss of
`1,000 crore, says the Raj CM
l Centre should restrict oil companies
from daily hike in fuel prices so that
relief is not taken away, says Gehlot
Start Kota-Nagda ordinary train tickets
from Monday, Om Birla directs officials
First India Bureau
Kota: Lok Sabha
speaker Om Birla on
Saturday directed rail-
way officials to issue
orders for traveling be-
tween Kota-Nagda by
ordinary ticket. From
November 8, the jour-
ney on ordinary tickets
will start on this route.
Birla gave instructions
duringapublichearing
at his residence.
Besides, significant
progress is also going
to be made regarding
the expansion of Da-
kaniya station on the
instructions of the
speaker. Birla conduct-
ed the public hearing
and heard the griev-
ances of the public.
He celebrated Bhai
Dooj with his family
members at Shakti
Nagar residence on
Saturday.
SHAHRUKH’S REAL
CONCERN ABOUT
SON ARYAN
Shah Rukh Khan’s
son Aryan may have
got bail and is back
home, but Shah Rukh is
still not at peace and his
real concern is about
his son’s mental state.
Sources close to Khan
say that ever since Ary-
an has come home, he is
silent, in extreme
shock, he is not talking
to anyone and he is
mostly spending time
alone in his room. Ary-
an had left his house
only on Friday to give
his presence at the NCB
office. If sources are to
be believed, the days
spent in Arthur Jail
were nothing less than
a torture for Aryan. For
many days he could not
sleep in the jail. Shah
Rukh is in constant
touch with an eminent
mental health expert in
America these days to
help his son, an intro-
vert by nature, get out
of this phase of depres-
sion. It is said that those
experts are behaving
like Aryan’s life coach-
es these days. Shah
Rukh wanted to take his
son to America, but
since Aryan’s passport
is deposited with NCB,
he cannot leave the
country even if he
wants to. So, these
American experts are
helping Aryan online. A
close aide of Shah Rukh
says that Aryan had
been introvert and shy
since childhood and has
also avoided cameras so
these days he is finding
it very difficult to ad-
just to the current situ-
ation. Somewhere in
the entire world, there
is a perception that
Shah Rukh has become
a victim of political
disagreements. Rahul
Gandhi’s recent state-
ment in his support also
reinforces this belief.
Many foreign newspa-
pers and magazines
want to interview Shah
Rukh in detail to know
his side on Aryan’s is-
sue, but he is refraining
from saying anything
because he does not
want to make any fuss
with current system.
WILL SHIV SENA
TURN BACK?
Markets of specula-
tion are heating
up again that a new coa-
lition of power may
start in Maharashtra.
Sources say that very
soon the future of Maha
Vikas Aghadi govern-
ment in Maharashtra is
going to come to an end
and Uddhav Thackeray
is going to rule through
old relations. With this
changed alliance of
BJP with Shiv Sena, the
Sena can also breathe a
sigh of relief in the
coming BMC elections.
It is said that Sharad
Pawar had told PM
Modi that he will take a
U-turn in 6 months but
when it did not happen,
investigation agencies
started targeting Pa-
war’s close friends. The
arrest of NCP leader
Anil Deshmukh is an
example of this. Where-
as former Mumbai Po-
lice Commissioner Par-
ambir Singh, who ac-
cused Deshmukh, had
on October 13 submit-
ted an affidavit before
Justice KU Chandiwal
Commission, admitting
that he did not have
any solid evidence to ac-
cuse Deshmukh of cor-
ruption worth Rs 100
crore. Now Nawab Ma-
lik, who is close to Pa-
war, may be another
target. Malik has
worked to expose NCB
and Sameer Wankhede
in Aryan Khan case, but
Nawab Malik’s past is
creating trouble for
him. Speculations of
his underworld connec-
tions are being probed
by the investigating
agencies, so there may
be another big blast in
the coming days, in
which Sharad Pawar
can be hit again.
WANKHEDE
WANTED WIFE’S
ENTRY IN B’WOOD?
One more thing is
troubling the inves-
tigating agencies that
who is providing accu-
rate information to
Nawab Malik about Sa-
meer Wankhede of
NCB? Investigating
agencies have come to
know that it could be
Wankhede’s first wife
Dr Shabana Qureshi
who is also a relative of
Nawab. Wankhede’s
second and current
wife Kranti Redkar has
been associated with
Marathi films and she
wanted a respectable
entry in Bollywood for
herself. If sources are
to be believed then Sa-
meer Wankhede had
also approached
Shah Rukh asking
him to give his wife
abreakinBollywood
but it is said that
Khan did not listen
to Wankhede
who then
showed his
true col-
ours.
WHAT DO THE
BY-ELECTION
RESULTS SAY?
The results of the re-
cent by-elections in
the country clearly
show that voters no
longer have any faith in
the fractured mandate.
The parties which do
not have winning pros-
pects or act just to cut
votes were shown the
door. In Bihar, the same
thing happened with
both Congress and Chi-
rag Paswan’s party,
whose candidates got
their security forfeited.
The results of the by-
polls also showed that
the vote share of the
BJP has fallen sharply.
In Madhya Pradesh, due
to rebels, Shivraj Singh
s ave d
his
party from embarrass-
ment but the vote share
of the Saffron party has
fallen by 7% there. Con-
gress vote share may
have increased by 4.5%
but party could not con-
vert it into seats. BJP’s
vote share in Bengal
also come down from
40.71% in 2019 LS elec-
tions to 38.09% in 2021
elections. If the same
trend of vote percent-
age continues, Mamata
may set the aim to win
all 42 LS seats in West
Bengal in 2024.
HOW WILL CONG
RISE IN BIHAR?
Rahul Gandhi’s con-
cern is about the fu-
ture of Congress in Bi-
har. Team Rahul still
hopes that if Congress
gets a good leader in Bi-
har, then new doors of
possibilities can open for
the party there. Earlier,
when Rahul held a meet-
ing with PCC chief, in-
charge of Bihar and 19
party MLAs, he had
made it clear that party
would now move ahead
on its own in the state.
The by-elections of
TarapurandKushesh-
war Asthan came as
a real ordeal for the
Congress.Inboth
these constit-
uencies,secu-
rity of Con-
gress candi-
dates was
forfeited. The biggest
problem of Congress in
Bihar is that every vet-
eran party leader is sym-
pathetic either to Nitish
or Lalu. Rajesh Mishra,
the Congress candidate
in Tarapur, was a para-
chute candidate who
came from America. He
hadnothingtodowithlo-
cal party organisation.
The in-charge of Assem-
blySameerSinghisclose
toNitishashisfatherhas
also been a minister in
Nitish govt. When Sa-
meerwasfilinghisnomi-
nation for the seat of the
Legislative Council, Nit-
ish had helped him a lot
internally
. For the
Kusheshwar Asthan by-
election, Congress had
initially made Shyam
SunderSinghDheerajin-
charge but Lalu put pres-
sure and got his confi-
dant Akhilesh Singh ap-
pointed as in charge of
seat. Rahul entrusted
Meira Kumar and Nikhil
Kumartocampaignhere,
but both were already in
touch with Lalu who had
promised to send them to
Rajya Sabha.
FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL
BY TRIDIB
RAMAN
The author is a journalist
and political commentator
and views expressed are
his personal
Rahul Gandhi
Shivraj Singh
Uddhav Thackeray, Nawab Malik
Aryan Shah Rukh Khan
Mamata Banerjee
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla celebrates Bhai Dooj with his
family members at Shakti Nagar residence in Kota on Saturday.
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia NEW DELHI | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2021

NEW DELHI, SUNDAY
NOVEMBER 7, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
MANSI BACHANI
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
iwali is a festival of joy, victory of
good over evil, togetherness and
harmony
. It is celebrated in honour
of Lord Ramchandra because on
this day Lord Rama returned to Ayo-
dhya after 14 years of exile. Like all
other festivals, the First India family
celebrated Diwali 2021 in a fantas-
tic and unique manner.
Jagdeesh Chandra greeted
everyone present on the oc-
casion and wished them a
year full of happiness
and prosperity. An-
chor Shweta Mishra
hosted the occasion
and made the even-
ing more beautiful
with her charisma.
The event was full
of fun, frolic and
games where
gorgeous divas
grooved on Bol-
lywood music. and
participated in fun
competitions. Pearl Agarw-
al, winner of First Miss In-
dia 2021, Sonal Kukreja,
Miss Universe India 1st
Runner up, Supermodel
Aakriti Anand, Kriti
Garg, Rishee Miglani,
Yogesh Mishra, Aruna
Beniwal, Ashok Sin-
gh, Lokesh Sharma,
Gaurav Gaur,
Khalid Ansari ,
also graced the
evening.
The evening
was made all
themoremag-
ical with the
festivespirit
and sumptu-
ous food!
The beats of
music, colourful
attires, magnificent
performances and
beautiful faces,
this was the
charming
atmosphere of the
First India Diwali
celebration on
November 3 which
made this festival
of lights even
more exciting!
D
(L-R) Navya, Shubhi, Rishika, Yashika, Angel, Muskan, Juhi, Mona, Kriti, Aakriti,
Divya, Shweta, Isha, Riya Sain, Riya Suledia, Akshita, Chahak, Simran and Yashvi
Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Rishee Miglani, Vishal Mathur,
Aakriti Anand, Gaurav Gaur, Pearl Agarwal and Sonal Kukreja
Muskan Mulchandani
Kriti and Mona
Rishika Chandnani
Shubhi Dhaneta
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA

MUKESH
KIRADOO

10-11
ETC
HERE ARE SOME MORE GLIMPSES
FROM THE DIWALI CELEBRATIONS THAT
WITNESSED FUN-FILLED GAMES LIKE
‘TUG OF WAR’, ‘BALLOON BALANCE
DANCE’ AND ‘PEN IN BOTTLE’ AMONG
MANY OTHER. THERE WAS ALSO A
COMPETITION IN WHICH THE GIRLS
DANCED WHILE BALANCING ‘DIYAS’
ON THEIR HANDS. BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
DRESSED UP IN BRIGHT ETHNIC WEAR
AND JEWELLERY WERE LOOKING NO
LESS THAN GODDESSES.
DEEPAWALI
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA

MUKESH
KIRADOO
Kriti Garg and Mona Gautam caught in a candid moment
Pearl Agarwal
Chef Akshay Khalid Ansari and Ashok Singh Lokesh Sharma and Rishee Miglani Yogesh Mishra Upadhi Jolotia grooving to the beats
Clockwise: Divya Kasliwal, Shweta Mishra, Aakriti Anand and Angel Sain
Chahak Bhandula dancing to the festive tunes
Rishika Chandnani and Karishma Tak
Girls enjoying the Tug of War
Sapna
Bundwal
Birthday celebration of Shweta Mishra on November 3
DILWALON KI
Karishma, Angel, Muskaan, Juhi, Shweta, Mansi and Ayushi groove to the music
Sonal Kukreja
Sanya
and
Srishti
enjoying
the
evening

T
v actor Mayur
Mehta who got
fame through Zee
TV Serial “Aur
Pyar Ho Gya” is now
gearing up for his recent
film “Nobel Peace”. The
film recently bagged the
Best Film (Jury) award
at the 10th Dada Saheb
Phalke Film Festival
2020 and the best screen-
play at the eighth Indian
Cine Film Festival 2020.
Mayur Mehta Said,
“This world will be a
better place if we con-
sider humanity as our
religion and let the Love
Peace prevail”.
The film revolves
around how the youth
gets influenced by cer-
tain things and choose
the wrong path and how
a professor’s teachings
playanimportantrolein
Asif Alam’s life and di-
recthimtoseektheright
path. It is an undying
questfortruth.Themov-
ie also stars Mudasir Za-
far,AartiSharmaamong
others and is directed
and written by Astik Da-
lai. It is presented by O.P
Rai’s Kala Niketan En-
tertainment.TheFilmis
now streaming on Jio
Cinema.
12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
FOOD FESTIVAL!
One 8 Commune,Aerocity commenced a Taco, Gin and Kombucha festival on November 5 which will go
on till December 5.A pre lunch party was organised on Friday by Chef Pawan Bisht and Rivansh at One 8
Commune which was graced by many food connoisseurs, creators, artists and socialites from the capital.
ECO-FRIENDLY DIWALI
A
momentous Diwali
party was organ-
ised by blogger Ni-
tika Panjwani at her
residence which was
graced by many blog-
gers, designers and art-
ists of the city
. The theme
of the party was, Eco-
friendly Diwali, hence all
the decor was done using
eco-friendly materials
like paper lanterns, lo-
cally sourced flowers,
handmade candles, clay
lampsandbamboocrock-
ery. People celebrated
Diwali in an Eco-friendly
manner with lots of fun
and no pollution-caus-
ing crackers.
WAY TO NOBEL PEACE
COMEDY SHOW
Popular stand-up
comedian Amit
Tandon performed
at Vegas Mall on
Friday, November
5. His new
comedy-drama,
Masala sandwich
talks about his
experiences as
a middle-aged
married advocate,
who loves to
balance his personal
and professional life.
CELEBRATING DIWALI
The official Twitter
handle of DCP South
East Delhi tweeted
that Delhi CP Rakesh
Asthana distributed
sweets to police
personnel deployed for
night patrolling in the
city on Thursday, on the
occasion of Diwali.
Rivansh and Chef Pawan
Ruchi, Sneha, Pragati, Vickrham and Pavneet
Richa, Neha, Vickrham,
Megha, Pooja, Simran, Anjeet,
Nehaa, Sneha, Chef Pawan Bisht, Ruchi, Tanmeet, Sonakshi, Amrita, Neeraj
Simran, Pooja, Richa, Neha, Meghna, Amrita, Gauri
Harsha Kachiwal, Shradha,
Kashvi, Sugandha, Nitika, and Medha Saloni, Nitika and Shradha
Saahiba, Saloni and Nitika Pooja, Saahiba and Gaurang Kashvi and Nitika
Mayur Mehta
Poster of the film
During the show
Amit Tandon posing with appreciative audience

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