10012022 first india new delhi

No plan to impose lockdown in Delhi yet: Kejriwal
New Delhi: Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal on Sunday
said there is no plan to
impose a lockdown as
of now in the city, and
that there will be no
need for it if people
wear masks.
He said that on Sun-
day, the city is likely to
report 22,000 COVID-19
cases in 24 hours.
He appealed to the
public to wear masks
and not panic.
Rising COVID-19 cas-
es are a matter of con-
cern but there is no
need to panic. Very few
people are getting hos-
pitalised. Wearing
mask is very important.
There will be no lock-
down if you continue to
wear mask. There is no
plan to impose lock-
down as of now, Kejri-
wal said in a virtual
press conference.
The CM said that he
along with Lieutenant
Governor Anil Baijal
and the Centre are
keeping a close eye on
the Covid situation.
“Our attempt is to
impose minimum re-
strictions so livelihoods
are not affected,”
Arvind Kejriwal said.
Comparing the cur-
rent third wave with
the second Covid wave
in April-May last year,
the Chief Minister said
that on May 7, 2021
there were 20,000 cases
reported with 341
deaths but on Saturday
Delhi witnessed same
number of cases with
only seven deaths.
He, however, said
that there should not be
even a single death.
On May 7 last year
nearly 20,000 Covid
beds were occupied
while till yesterday
there were only 1500
hospital beds occupied
despite having reported
same number of cases.
“I am telling you this
data to show that very
less people are requir-
ing to go to hospital in
this infection and you
do not need to panic. We
just have to behave re-
sponsibly
, Kejriwal said.
The CM said that a
meeting of the Delhi
Disaster Management
Authority (DDMA) will
be convened on Monday
to further review the
situation and discuss
efforts to be taken.
We have overcome
the dangerous second
wave last year and we
will sail through this
one too, he said. —PTI
More on P2
Kejriwal addresses media on COVID situation, in New Delhi on Sunday.
 Delhi CM appeals to the public to
wear masks to guard themselves
against pandemic and not panic
DELHI GOVT’S FIGHT AGAINST COVID
PAKISTAN BOAT
WITH 10-MEMBER
CREW NABBED OFF
GUJARAT COAST
Porbandar: The Indian
Coast Guard (ICG) ap-
prehended a Pakistani
fishing boat with 10
crew members in Indian
waters in the Arabian
sea off the Gujarat coast,
it said on Sunday. The
boat, named Yaseen, was
intercepted by the ICG
vessel Ankit about seven
nautical miles on the
Indian side of the inter-
national maritime border
during an operational
patrol on Saturday night.
When the crew mem-
bers of the boat failed to
justify their presence in
Indian waters after being
questioned, the ICG ship
apprehended it, the ICG
said in a release.
More on pg8
NEW DELHI l MONDAY, JANUARY 10, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNITITLE NO.DELENG/2021/19840 lVol 1 l Issue No.132
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
The Delhi Police on Sunday arrested a 25-year-old Aumkareshwar Thakur from
Indore for allegedly creating a web-based app in July last year which hosted
doctored photographs and objectionable comments targeting Muslim women.
The app targeted around 50-80 Muslim women in July, 2021 and was soon
pulled down by GitHub after several women lodged complaints with the police.
At least 164 people have died in Kazakhstan in the wake of violent riots that
have shaken Central Asia’s largest country this week, media reported on Sunday
citing the health ministry. The energy-rich nation of 19 million has been rocked
by a week of upheaval with nearly 6,000, including a number of foreigners,
detained over the unrest. 103 have lost life in the largest city of Almaty.
‘SULLI DEALS’ APP
CREATOR ARRESTED
FROM INDORE,
SAYS DELHI POLICE
KAZAKHSTAN: 164
KILLED IN A WEEK IN
PROTESTS OVER
FUEL HIKES
NEET-PG counselling to
begin from January 12
December 26 to be observed as
‘Veer Baal Diwas’: PM Modi
New Delhi: Union
health minister Man-
sukh Mandaviya said
on Sunday that NEET-
PG counselling for 2021-
2022 will start from
Wednesday
, January 12.
The minister’s state-
ment came two days af-
ter the Supreme Court
paved the way for start-
ing the stalled counsel-
ling process that it said
should go ahead based
on the existing 27 per
cent OBC (Other Back-
ward Class) and 10 per
cent EWS (Economical-
ly Weaker Section) res-
ervations in the All In-
dia Quota seats.
There is an “urgent
need” to begin the ad-
mission process, the Su-
preme Court had said
on Friday
.
The order came as a
relief for the Federa-
tion of Resident Doc-
tors’ Association (FOR-
DA), which has recent-
ly led a weeks-long pro-
test over the delay in
starting of NEET-PG
counselling that ma-
jorly affected health-
care services in gov-
ernment hospitals
across the country, es-
pecially Delhi.
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: As the Omi-
cron variant of the Cov-
id-19 continues to fuel a
surge in the infection
count across the coun-
try
, Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi on Sunday
chaired a review meet-
ing where he stressed
upon the need to con-
tinue intensive contain-
ment and active surveil-
lance in clusters report-
ing higher number of
cases, and providing
required technical as-
sistance to states where
the infection is surging
rapidly
.
He also underlined
the necessity of using
masks and boosting
health infrastructure,
and said there is a need
for continuous research
in testing, vaccines,
pharmacological inter-
ventions, including ge-
nome sequencing as the
coronavirus is evolving.
Just ahead of the
Budget session of Par-
liament, which usually
begins in the end of
January, nearly 400
staffers working with
Lok Sabha and Rajya
Sabha secretariats and
allied services have test-
ed positive for Covid-19
in the last few days.
New Delhi: On the oc-
cassion of the birth an-
niversary of Guru Gob-
ind Singh, Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Sunday announced
that December 26 will
be observed as “Veer
Baal Diwas” as a trib-
ute to the Sikh guru’s
two sons who were ex-
ecuted by the Mughals.
In a tweet, PM Modi
said, “This is a fitting
tribute to the courage
of the “sahibzades”
and their quest for jus-
tice”.
“Veer Baal Diwas
will be on the same day
Sahibzada Zorawar
Singh Ji and Sahibzada
Fateh Singh Ji attained
martyrdom after being
sealed alive in a wall.
These two greats pre-
ferred death instead of
deviating from the no-
ble principles of Dhar-
ma,” he added.
“The bravery and
ideals of Mata Gujri,
Sri Guru Gobind Singh
Ji and the 4 Sahibzades
give strength to mil-
lions of people. They
never bowed to injus-
tice. They envisioned a
world that is inclusive
and harmonious. It is
the need of the hour for
more people to know
about them,” he fur-
ther said.
SHAH EXTENDS
PARV GREETINGS
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah on Sunday
extended greetings on
the Guru Gobind Singh’s
jayanti and said that he
taught the unity against
the “anti-national
forces”. “Guru Gobind
Singh Ji, the founder
of Khalsa Panth, taught
unity against unright-
eousness and anti-
national forces,” Shah
tweeted in Hindi.
ASHES: HEART-PUMPING DRAW
Battle-weary England dug deep for a gripping draw with just one wicket left to deny
dominant Australia a 4-0 series lead in the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney on Sunday.
Number 11 batsman James Anderson doggedly played out a tense 102nd and final over
from leg-spinner Steve Smith in deteriorating evening light as England ended on 270
for nine chasing a 388-run target in a heart-pumping finish. It all came down to the last
six balls at the Sydney Cricket Ground with eight fielders crowding around the bat as
Anderson fended off Smith’s part-time leg-spin. —PHOTO BY PTI
CORONA ENTERS
TEMPLE OF
DEMOCRACY!
400 PARLIAMENT
STAFFERS TEST POSITIVE
BEFORE BUDGET SESSION...
THERE IS
NO COVID: DK
A day after Karnataka reported 8,906 Covid cases - the most in
a day since mid-June - the Congress launched a 10-day protest
march - over a drinking water project - that drew a crowd of
thousands in defiance of pandemic protocols, including the use
of face masks and maintaining social distance. The march was
led by Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah and state Congress
chief DK Shivakumar, who said, “There is no covid... no disease”.
PM Modi chairs high-level
review meeting attended by
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah, Health Minister Mansukh
Mandaviya and senior
government officials
Punjab sees 264% rise
in patients on oxygen
support in 24 hours
Apart from a steep rise
in Covid cases in Punjab,
a cause of worry is the
increased number of
patients on oxygen in the
past 24 hours. According
to the state’s medical bul-
letin, 226 patients were put
on oxygen support from
just 62 on previous day.
This was a jump of 264%
in just 24 hours. Only 23
patients were on oxygen
support on January 1.
PRECAUTIONARY DOSE FOR 60+,
HEALTH WORKERS FROM TODAY
The precaution dose will be administered to
all healthcare and frontline workers, and those
above the age of 60 years with co-morbidities
at existing centres starting Monday. All those
above the age of 60 can get the shot if they
verbally confirm that a doctor had suggested it,
health officials said. Meanwhile, “Third dose of
COVAXIN holds promise,” tweeted ICMR. The
medical research body in its tweet highlighted
benefits of getting Covaxin’s precautionary dose.
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
NEW DELHI
22,751
NEW CASES
10,179
RECOVERED
17
NEW DEATHS
...as tribute to Guru Gobind Singh’s sons
YOGI-DEV TO MULL
ON BJP’S ASSEMBLY
CANDIDATES TODAY!
Shashikant Sharma
New Delhi: On Monday,
a meeting will be held in
Lucknow to decide on
the names of BJP candi-
dates for the upcoming
UP assembly elections.
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath and State BJP
President Swatantra Dev
Singh will participate in
the all important meeting
which will start from 4
PM, during which the
names of the candidates
will be decided and a
list of the names will be
sent to Delhi. The Central
Election Committee of
the BJP will hold the
final meeting in this
regard in Delhi and hold
deliberations on the win-
nability of candidates.

CAPITOL
NEW DELHI | MONDAY, JANUARY 10, 2022
02
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New Delhi: Ahead of
the upcoming assembly
elections, Delhi Chief
Minister and AAP con-
venor Arvind Kejriwal
on Sunday addressed
the party workers and
encouraged them to
carry out door-to-door
campaign by adhering
to the guidelines laid
down by the Election
Commission.
Addressing the media
persons today virtually,
the Chief Minister said,
“Greetings everyone on
the occasion of Prakash
Parv. Election Commis-
sion has announced
elections in five states.
For us, it is not a means
to defeat one party and
bring another party to
power, but is a means of
change.” “For AAP, an
election is not a medium
to change the govern-
ment but it is a chance
to bring about a change
in society and the coun-
try. When you go cam-
paigning, you need to
realize that you are per-
forming a patriotic
task,” he added.
“When you (workers)
go out for an election
campaign with this in-
tention, then a new and
an honest system will be
implemented in the
coming days by uproot-
ing the current corrupt
system. In Delhi, we
have shown that change
is possible,” he said.
Slamming the other
parties in the country,
Aam Aadmi Party su-
premo said, “These par-
ties have shown so far
that children of poor
cannot be given a good
education. These par-
ties have not changed
the system in 75 years.”
“Election Commis-
sion has allowed door-
to-door campaigning.
You all (workers) should
go door-to-door from to-
day itself,” he said.
“In door to door
campaign, whenever
you go to someone’s
house, I advise all my
workers to first ask
their condition and help
them if they need it.
This should be our op-
portunity to serve the
people of the states. In-
form the people about
how AAP fixed problems
related to schools, hospi-
tals, electricity and wa-
ter in Delhi,” the AAP
convenor said. —PTI
New Delhi: Delhi’s three
municipal corporations
—North, East and South
—have sealed 24 liquor
shops till December 31
and 113 such establish-
ments were served no-
tices for violating mu-
nicipal laws or the mas-
ter plan 2021, civic au-
thorities have said.
These shops were set
up under new excise pol-
icy, which came into
force on November 17
last year, they said.Under
the new excise policy, the
Delhi government has
privatised retail liquor
sale, allocating 849 vends
across the city through a
tendering process. It has
quit the retail liquor sale.
The policy states that
liquor stores will have at
least 500 square feet area
with a walk-in facility.
The BJP, which rules
the three civic bodies in
the city, is opposing the
new policy. The party’s
Delhi unit chief Adesh
Gupta has warned that if
liquor shops, set up un-
der the new excise policy,
would be sealed if they
do not conform to mu-
nicipal laws. —PTI
New Delhi: On the occa-
sion of Republic Day this
year, huge paintings de-
picting the stories of un-
sung heroes of India’s
freedom movement will
be exhibited in Delhi.
More than 500 artists
have done the research
and prepared these
paintings scrolls. The
Government of India is
organizing the Kala
Kumbh-Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav to celebrate
the 75 years of India’s in-
dependence and its cul-
ture and achievements.
Earlier, the National Gal-
lery of Modern Art, New
Delhi organized Kala
Kumbh exhibition in
Chandigarh and Bhu-
baneswar in December
last. 10 huge painting
scrolls of about 750 me-
tres were displayed at
designated educational
institutes in these cities.
Now, these huge paint-
ings are all set to catch
the attention of people in
Delhi on Republic Day.
Kala Kumbh is being
organized under the
joint aegis of the Minis-
try of Culture and Minis-
try of Defence. —ANI
New Delhi: Delhi Po-
lice have identified
46-Pakistan-based Twit-
ter handles which were
engaged in spreading a
fake video in which cul-
prits tried to show that
a Cabinet meeting is
discussing a matter
which is “against Sikh
community
.”
According to Delhi
Police, a fake or mor-
phed video has been
shared on Twitter by
some handles.
“With the ill intent to
promote enmity and to
instigate communal
disharmony, the video
was morphed and a new
voice-over was super-
imposed, in which the
alleged persons tried to
show that this meeting
was against the Sikh
community,” reads the
official statement. —ANI
New Delhi: One thou-
sand start-up ideas from
government schools have
been shortlisted from
among 51,000 for the sec-
ond round of Delhi’s
Business Blasters pro-
gramme.
As part of its “Entre-
preneurship Mindset
Curriculum”, the gov-
ernment had started the
“Business Blasters” pro-
gramme across all of its
senior secondary schools
in September, giving Rs
2,000 as seed money to
Class 11 and 12 students
to develop entrepreneur-
ship ideas.
Through this pro-
gramme, 51,000 start-ups
had been designed by
students across govern-
ment schools. Following
this, the top 3 teams from
each school were to be
chosen for the second
round.
For this, zonal-level
panels were constituted
comprising three zonal
officials and teachers,
one business coach or lo-
cal entrepreneur, and
one educational and vo-
cational guidance coun-
sellortosupportstudents
who were not selected.
Ultimately, 1,000 pro-
jects were selected for
Round 2. Of these, 100
will be shortlisted for the
final round. A master-
class was held on Satur-
day for the shortlisted
teams by Ritesh Malik of
‘Innov8 Co-working’ and
Swati Bhargava of
‘CashKaro’ and ‘Earn
Karo’. 22% of the popula-
tion still earns only `900
per month and many peo-
ple go to their beds hun-
gry. So where did we go
wrong? Education. Our
generations were taught
to be job seekers, not job
creators.
However, that is going
to stop. Student entrepre-
neurs from the Kejriwal
government’s Business
Blasters programme
will set-up companies
where students from
across the world will
wish to work,” Deputy
Chief Minister Manish
Sisodia said. —Agencies
1,000 start-up ideas selected for entrepreneurship programme
BUSINESS BLASTER
—FILE PHOTO
New Delhi: As Cov-
id-19 cases continue
to rise in Delhi, Swami
Dayanand Hospital in
East Delhi Municipal
Corporation area has
started a helpline
called “Corona Mitra”.
Dr Gladbin Tyagi, the
nodal officer, said that
the hospital has also
completed all
preparations to deal
with a third wave of the
pandemic.
He added that the
helpline aims to
help out Covid
patients as doctors
will be throughout the
day for tele-consulta-
tion.
New Delhi: The DU
administration has
accepted the report
of retired Delhi High
Court judge Justice
S N Dhingra, which
found “irregulari-
ties” in the purchase
of library books
for the College of
Vocational Studies
(CVS), and asked
the principal to
proceed on leave till
further orders. The
GB of the college
had on April 10 last
year decided to is-
sue show-cause no-
tices to 10 persons,
including principal
Inderjeet Dagar.
SWAMI DAYANAND
HOSPITAL STARTS
COVID HELPLINE
PRINCIPAL OF
CVS TOLD TO
GO ON LEAVE
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: Overnight rain in the national capital led the
minimum temperature on Sunday to settle at 13.8 de-
grees Celsius, seven notches
above normal, the IMD said.
The weather department
said the city received 8 mm
rainfall in the last 24 hours
as recorded at 8.30 am while the relative humidity was
100 per cent. The weatherman has forecast generally
cloudy sky with light rain while the maximum tem-
perature is likely hover around 18 degrees Celsius. On
Saturday, Delhi recorded its highest rainfall in a day for
January in 22 years, yielding the city’s best air quality
in over two months even as the minimum temperature
settled at 15 degrees Celsius, 8 notches above normal.
DELHI LIKELY TO RECEIVE MORE RAIN
DMRC in contempt of
HC order: DAMEPL
New Delhi: The Delhi
Airport Metro Express
Private Limited
(DAMEPL) has told the
Delhi High Court that
Delhi Metro Rail Corpo-
ration (DMRC) is delib-
erately trying to delay
the execution of the
over Rs 4,600 crore arbi-
tral award against it,
which is costing taxpay-
ers a daily interest of
almost Rs 1.75 crore.
The Reliance Infra-
structure subsidiary, in
an application filed in
the ongoing execution
proceedings before the
high court, stated that
DMRC is trying to de-
feat the process by mak-
ing a “limited disclo-
sure of bank account
details only with re-
spect to Rs 1642.69
crores” in spite of the
order directing it to dis-
close all its bank ac-
count details.
It claimed that
DMRC, in an affidavit
filed in December, had
disclosed “total availa-
ble funds” to the tune of
`5800.93 crores. —PTI
Delhi’s air
quality improves
to ‘satisfactory’
New Delhi: Delhi’s air
quality improved from
‘moderate’ category to
‘satisfactory’ on Sunday
with the AQI standing at
90, as the capital city and
its adjoining areas wit-
nessed heavy rainfall
and thunderstorm for
two continuous days, as
per SAFAR India.
“Thunderstorm with
light to moderate inten-
sity rain with few spells
of heavy intensity rain
would continue to occur
over and adjoining areas
of entire Delhi and NCR
( Loni Dehat, Hindon AF
Station, Bahadurgarh,
Ghaziabad, Indira-
puram, Chhapraula, Noi-
da,” tweeted IMD. —PTI
WATCHDOGS
Security personnel stand guard outside Jama Masjid during a weekend curfew imposed to
contain the spread of COVID-19 and Omicron cases, in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
3 MCDS SEAL 24 LIQUOR SHOPS TILL THIS
YEAREND FOR VIOLATING CIVIC NORMS
STORIES OF UNSUNG HEROES OF INDIA’S FREEDOM
MOVEMENT TO BE DEPICTED ON REPUBLIC DAY
Pak-operated Twitter
handles booked for
spreading fake news
Kejriwal encourages AAP workers to carry out
DOOR-TO-DOOR POLL CAMPAIGN
New Delhi: The Delhi
Police reunited three
minor sisters, the eld-
est being just 11, with
their family in the Bapa
Nagar area here after
they got lost while
trying to find their way
home from a relative’s
place on their own, of-
ficials said on Sunday.
It took police just three
hours to locate their
home after finding
them in Wazirabad,
they said. The 11-year-
old was able to tell the
police personnel that
their home is in Bapa
Nagar and that there is
a temple nearby, they
said.
COPS REUNITE 3
MINOR SISTERS,
WHO GOT LOST IN
CITY, WITH FAMILY
New Delhi: Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal on Sunday said that
he has recovered from
Covid and is back in the
service of the public.
He had tested posi-
tive on January 4 and
had isolated himself
at home. He had mild
symptoms. “I am back
in your service after re-
covering from Corona,”
Kejriwal said in a tweet
in Hindi on Sunday
morning. Kejriwal had
tested positive a day
after holding a rally in
Dehradun on January
3. Last year in April,
Kejriwal’s wife Sunita
had tsted positive for
COVID-19. Though
Kejriwal had then
developed symptoms,
he had tested negative.
Last year, most of the
ministers in his Cabinet
including his deputy
Manish Sisodia, Health
Minister Satyendar
Jain, Transport Minister
Kailash Gahlot and
Environment Minister
Gopal Rai had tested
Covid positive.
AAP CONVENOR TESTS
NEGATIVE FOR COVID-19
STICK TO NORMS LAID BY ELECTION COMMISSION: CHIEF MINISTER
—Representative Image

INDIA
03
Kavita Pant
New Delhi: Restric-
tions, night curfew,
weekend curfew, etc.
have been imposed in all
the states of the country
amid the threat of the
new Coronavirus vari-
ant -Omicron- and the
increasing cases of both
Delta and Omicron.
Schools and colleges
have been closed and
gymandsportsfacilities
have also been closed. In
Delhi, a provision has
beenmadetoopenshops
from using the ‘tested’
odd-even formula. But
surprisingly
,nostatehas
thoughtof closingliquor
and bars etc.
Schools and colleges
were first closed as soon
as Corona came and if
anything has been af-
fected more than other
sectors in the two years
of Corona pandemic, it
is education. This time
too, as soon as Corona
spread, the schools and
colleges were first
locked. But the liquor
shops were not closed.
Keep in mind that even
in the earlier waves of
Corona, governments
had ensured the sale of
liquor. Shops were kept
open as long as possible
and when this was not
possible, online sales
were started and Gov-
ernments ensured door-
to-door delivery of liq-
uor. What else can be
expected when the edu-
cation departments of
the governments are
running from the reve-
nue generated from the
sale of liquor.
NO BAR ON BARS AND LIQUOR SHOPS!
RELIEF FOR BARS
COURAGE PORTRAYED BY SAHIBZADES
UNDER OPPRESSION UNPARALLELED: CAPT
Amarinder Singh termed the Prime Minister Modi’s move as a ‘commendable step
Chandigarh: Former
Punjab Chief Minister
Captain Amarinder
Singh on Sunday wel-
comed Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s deci-
sion to mark December
26 every year as ‘Veer
Baal Diwas’, saying
that the courage por-
trayed by Sahizades
under oppression is
unparalleled and peo-
ple across the globe
must know about their
supreme sacrifice.
He termed the Prime
Minister’s move as a
‘commendable step’.
“Welcome PM @naren-
dramodi ji’s decision to
mark 26th December as
‘Veer Baal Diwas’. The
courage portrayed by
Sahibzades under enor-
mous oppression is un-
paralleled & everyone
across the globe must
know about their su-
preme sacrifice. This is
a commendable step in
that direction,” said
Singh who is also Pun-
jab Lok Congress (PLC)
chief in a tweet.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi on Sunday
announced that start-
ing this year, Decem-
ber 26 will be marked
as ‘Veer Baal Diwas’ as
a tribute to the cour-
age of Sahibzades
(Guru Gobind Singh’s
sons) and their quest
for justice.
“Today, on the auspi-
cious occasion of the
Parkash Purab of Sri
Guru Gobind Singh Ji,
I am honoured to share
that starting this year,
26th December shall be
marked as ‘Veer Baal
Diwas.’ This is a fitting
tribute to the courage
of the Sahibzades and
their quest for justice,”
PM Modi tweeted.
Channi only subservient to
Gandhi family: Gaurav Bhatia
New Delhi: Amid the
row between the Cen-
tre and the Punjab
Government over the
security lapse issue of
PM Narendra Modi
during his visit to the
state recently, BJP
spokesperson Gaurav
Bhatia on Sunday hit
out at Chief Minister
CharanjitSinghChan-
ni and said that he is
only subservient to
the Gandhi family
, not
to the Constitution of
the country
.
CM Channi had
said that he had a con-
versationwithPriyan-
ka Gandhi Vadra and
he briefed her on
whatever happened in
Ferozepur. Bhatia
said, “Today
, the Chief
Minister of Punjab,
Mr Channi has stated
that he shared all the
sensitive, highly confi-
dential details of
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi’s security
and his visit with Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra.
It is a very serious
matter because the
Chief Minister has
taken an oath of se-
crecy under the Con-
stitution. All informa-
tion pertaining to the
security of the Prime
Minister pertains to
highly confidential in-
formation.”
Raising questions
over the position of
Priyanka Gandhi, the
BJP spokesperson
said that she does not
hold any constitution-
alpositionthattheCM
needs to report her.
BJP bashes
Punjab CM
Channi
Chandigarh: The BJP on
Sunday slammed Pun-
jab CM Charanjit Singh
Channi over his briefing
Cong General Secretary
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
on PM Narendra Modi’s
security and asked why
she was kept in the
loop regarding the PM’s
security. Sambit Patra,
the BJP spokesperson,
said, “The Gandhi family
should give clarification
on this whole issue.”
AMARINDER’S ‘BIZZARE’
uneasiness over President’s rule
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: Ever since
Captain Amarinder
Singh stepped down
from the post of Chief
Minister and left the
Congress party, he has
demanded, multiple
times, the imposition of
President’s rule in Pun-
jab. Whenever he meets
BJP leaders and central
government ministers
in Delhi, he demands
President’s rule. Such
has been his situation
that even when a road
accident happens in
Punjab, he demands
President’s rule. There-
fore, it was not a sur-
prise, he demanded
President’s rule after
the lapse in security of
the Prime Minister.
When the Prime Minis-
ter could not hold a
rally in Ferozepur and
got stuck in a jam cre-
ated by farmers at a
flyover en route to Hus-
sainiwala, Amarinder
demanded immediate
imposition of Presi-
dent’s rule.
Earlier, when a bomb
exploded in a Ludhiana
court, Amarinder Sin-
gh was the first and
only leader to demand
President’s rule.
Around the same time,
the desecration of
Guru Granth Sahib
took place in some gur-
dwaras of the state and
two people were killed
in mob lynching, even
then Captain was prob-
ably the only leader
who demanded Presi-
dent’s rule. Before that,
a law was made to in-
crease the jurisdiction
of BSF and the state
government opposed it,
even then the Captain
demanded President’s
rule. In fact, Captain
has become extremely
hurt by the Congress
party that in some way
or the other he wants to
remove Congress from
the government. He
was associated with the
BJP with the same
hope but no one is pay-
ing heed to his demand.
He has an idea of the
election results, so as
of now he is trying to
play a role in running
the government indi-
rectly, hoping that Pres-
ident rule may get im-
posed.
NCB’s seizure of bank
accounts illegal in drug
case linked to SSR: Court
BJP appoints new state prez
of Ladakh, Lakshadweep
New Delhi: The BJP
appointed KN Kas-
mikoya as the
new President of
the Lakshadweep
unit of the party
.
“BJP National
President Hon’ble
Shri Jagat
Prakash Nadda
has appointed
Shri K.N. Kaamikoya,
as State President of
Lakshadweep BJP. This
appointment comes
into immediate
effect,” said a let-
ter from Arun
Singh, National
General Secre-
tary, BJP. Earlier
on Sunday, Phun-
chok Stanzin was
appointed as the
Presidentof theLadakh
unit of BJP. —ANI
Mumbai: A special
court this week ordered
the de-freezing of ac-
counts of two accused
in the drugs case filed
following the death of
actor Sushant Singh Ra-
jput, observing that
they were seized illegal-
ly by the Narcotics Con-
trol Bureau (NCB).
Two accused, Jai
Madhok and Zaid Vila-
tra, filed separate appli-
cations before the spe-
cial court stating that
their bank accounts
were seized by the NCB.
Madhok’s plea said that
he has accounts in two
banks, which informed
him in October last year
that they were stopping
transactions. Madhok’s
plea said that there was
no allegation that the
bank accounts had any
proceeds related to the
alleged crime. He said
that the investigation
officerhadnotinformed
a magistrate as re-
quired under Sec-
tion 102 of the
Criminal Proce-
dure Code.The
NCB through
its special
public pros-
e c u t o r
(SPP) op-
posed the plea stating
that its investigation is
continuing. The court
said that as per the
CrPC, the police officer
is required to report a
seizure to the magis-
trate.
SSR DEATH CASE
Modi lauds Indian diaspora on Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Sunday lauded the Indi-
an diaspora on the
‘Pravasi Bharatiya Di-
was’, saying the commu-
nity has distinguished
itself all over the world
and has excelled in dif-
ferent spheres. The
Pravasi Bharatiya Di-
was is observed on Jan-
uary 9 every year to
mark the contribution
of the overseas Indian
community in India’s
development. It was on
January 9 in 1915 that
Mahatma Gandhi had
returned to India from
South Africa to lead its
freedom struggle.
Modi tweeted, “Greet-
ings to everyone, espe-
cially the Indian dias-
pora on Pravasi
Bharatiya Diwas. Our
diaspora has distin-
guished itself all over
the world and has ex-
celled in different
spheres. At the same
time, they have re-
mained connected to
their roots.” —PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
PM to address
National
Youth Festival
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi will inaugurate
and address the 25th
National Youth Festival
on January 12, on the
occasion of Swami
Vivekanand’s 159th
birth anniversary. The
Prime Minister may
include some of the
suggestions in his
speech, the official
release by the Prime
Minister’s office said.
Shah’s gives
sleepless nights
to BJP MLAs
New Delhi: The former
national president of
the BJP and the Union
Home Minister, Amit
Shah is considered
a skilled strategist
of electoral politics.
The reason for this is
not only the party’s
back-to-back victories
in elections, but also
his expertise to assess
the voters as well as
the leaders and the
workers.
Govt has been
outsourced in last
30 years in
Punjab: Sidhu
New Delhi: Punjab
Congress chief Navjot
Singh Sidhu on Sunday
criticised all the previ-
ous govts in the state,
which includes the
Congress govts also. He
said that in the past 30
years the govt has been
outsourced in the state.
“A Political narrative
without a People driven
agenda is hollowness, a
diversion tactic. It’s im-
portant to bring back
People of Punjab at the
Core of this Election. In
the last 30 yrs the Heart
& Mind of the Govt. has
been outsourced & con-
solidated in a few rooms
& powerful hands,” he
said in his tweet.
He attacked all the
past CMs, which in-
cludes those from the
Cong as well, including
Beant Singh, Har-
charan Singh Brar and
Rajinder Kaur Bhattal
apart from Amarinder
Singh.
FILE AFFIDAVIT
Captain Amarinder Singh
Chandigarh: The
AAP has claimed the
“shocking death of de-
mocracy” after a BJP
leader - Municipal
Councillor Sarabjit
Kaur-wasdeclaredthe
winner of the mayoral
race in Chandigarh
yesterday
, beating out
the AAP’s Anju Katyal
by one vote.
Sarabjit Kaur and
Anju Katyal both
polled 14 of 28 polled
votes but the former
was declared the win-
ner after one vote in
favour Anju Katyal
was ruled to be inva-
lid. “SHOCKING
DEATH OF DEMOC-
RACY| DC (District
Collector) illegally
elected BJP’s Mayor
despite AAP winning
more seats. AAP sen-
ior leaders are waiting
outside his office, but
he now refuses to meet
them,” the AAP tweet-
ed Saturday
.
The AAP’s Punjab
MLA, Jarnail Singh,
also hit out at the at-
tempt to ‘kill democ-
racy’. “Congress coun-
cillors directly joined
BJP after BJP wit-
nessed reduced num-
ber of seats. Even af-
ter that, BJP took help
from the bureaucracy
when the votes turned
out to be low in num-
ber. It is an attempt of
killing democracy by
misrepresenting right
votes,” he said.
BJP’s victory in Chandigarh
Mayor race is illegal: AAP
AAP has protested results of the Chandigarh mayoral race.
AAP LIKELY TO FACE FUND CRUNCH
Captain Amarinder Singh

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol 1 Issue No. 132
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: Sharat K Verma
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
On the auspicious occasion of the
Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Gobind
Singh Ji, I am honoured to share that
starting this year, 26th December shall
be marked as ‘Veer Baal Diwas.’ This
is a fitting tribute to the courage of the
Sahibzades and their quest for justice.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Welcome thank PM @narendramodi
for declaring December 26 as ‘Veer
Baal Diwas’ to honour the martyrdom
of Guru Gobind Singh ji’s 4 sons—
Sahibzaadas Ajit Singh ji, Jujhar Singh
ji, Zorawar Singh ji Fateh Singh
ji. Their shaheedi has allowed every
Indian to practice his faith.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
And we know that in all
things God works for the
good of those who love
him, who have been called
according to his purpose.
—Romans 8:28
IN-DEPTH
AFTER POLL DATES
COMES THE PLEA
TO SHIFT OFFICERS
IN UTTAR PRADESH
n the high-stake UP
Assembly elections,
all political parties
have big expecta-
tions of fair play
from the Election Commission
and look at it as Caesar’s wife,
who is above all suspicions of
bias. The Samajwadi Party has
made the first move by demand-
ing that the EC “remove officers
who have functioned like BJP
workers from their present
posts” with immediate effect.
Whether the EC will accept
the SP’s demand and remove
three high-ranking officers is
not certain. But shuffling of of-
ficers seen as close to the ruling
dispensation before elections
used to be a routine exercise.
The exercise was undertaken to
ensure free and fair elections.
It becomes necessary to re-
move some officers in view of
the politicization of bureaucra-
cy and the police. Even if the EC
agrees to shift some officers,
how will the Samajwadi Party
ensure that they are neutral? It
is, therefore, best left to the poll
panel to decide if any officer is
required to be shifted.
TOP TWEETS
I
ppointment of
vice-chancellors
of universities
has not been easy
.
Should they be ap-
pointed by governors in their
capacity as Chancellor of
state universities, or should it
be the prerogative of the state
government? If the selection
is left to state govts, there’s
every chance of VCs having
the imprint of the ruling dis-
pensation. It was to avoid VCs
becoming political appoin-
tees that the power of ap-
pointing VCs was vested with
governors as chancellors.
That however has not solved
the problem. As more and
more governors began to be
political appointees, their
sharp political leanings came
to be reflected in the selection
of VCs. Either way, it is uni-
versities that began to suffer
as deserving candidates were
bypassed in favour of politi-
cally suitable but undeserv-
ing candidates who began to
occupy the office of VCs.
Following differences with
the Kerala govt over “dipping
standards in higher educa-
tion” due to political interfer-
ence, Governor Arif Moham-
med Khan announced to give
up the Chancellor’s post over
the choice of a VC. CM
PinarayiVijayanhassoughtto
mollify Khan and said there’s
no plan to take over the posi-
tion of Chancellor. The TN
govt is seeking legal advice to
doawaywiththepostof Chan-
cellor. The Shiv Sena govt re-
centlyamendedtheMaharash-
tra Public University Act 2016
whichwillallowittoinfluence
the selection of VCs. In WB
Governor Jagdeep Dhankar
recently blamed the Mamata
government for appointing 24
VCs without his consent.
Vice-chancellors should
not be there as an extension
of either the governor or a
government for their respec-
tive political agendas.
WHO SHOULD APPOINT
VCs---GUV OR GOVT?
If the selection is left to
state governments, there’s
every chance of VCs
having imprint of ruling
dispensation. It was to
avoid VCs becoming
political appointees that the
power of appointing
VCs was vested with
governors as chancellors.
A
RUSSIAN ARMY IN KAZAKHSTAN
Chinese -Russian Rivalries
Intensify in Central Asia
id Russian President
Vladimir Putin surprise both
China and the US-led western
powers on January 7 by send-
ing troupes to Kazakhstan?
The answer could be in the
affirmative. The civil protests
in the country had become
violent and the government
was unable to tackle them. It
appeared that the protesters
have made the administra-
tion totally dysfunctional.
Just a few hours before the
match of Russian army in the
country a sharp reaction of
the Chinese President XI Jin-
ping supporting the autocrat-
ic regime of the Kazakhstan
President, Kassym-Jomart
Tokayen was issued. It ap-
peared that China may send
its forces to control the civil-
ian agitation, but the Russian
initiative has thwarted such
an intervention for a while.
Earlier, the protesters were
seen destroying various
trade offices and the outer
structure of Chinese facto-
ries. It was happening de-
spite Tokayen’s shoot-at-
sight order against the pro-
testers. The situation was
worsening with each passing
day till the Russian forces ar-
rived in the troubled areas.
The decision of the Kazakh-
stan government to invite the
Russian forces, perhaps, was
not only correct but timely
. If
he had sought Chinese help,
the country might have been
facing much bigger turmoil,
if not a full-scale civil war.
The immediate cause of
the countrywide movement
against the government is
said to have triggered off fol-
lowing the price-hike of gas
and petroleum products, but
the anger against the present
autocratic regime was brew-
ing for the past several years.
Therefore, it is not surpris-
ing that the agitation has
continued In spite of the
withdrawal of the price-rise
order. The people’s anger has
been brewing against the rul-
ers having agreements with
China, which have been kept
under wraps under the confi-
dential clauses. There are
reports that the ruling elite
has siphoned off huge funds
as bribes obtained from the
Chinese deals to various des-
tinations in Europe and oth-
er countries. Therefore, it is
not surprising that XI Jin-
ping has endorsed the shoot-
at-sight order. It has reaf-
firmed the connivance of the
Chinese companies with the
corrupt Kazakhstan officials.
Meanwhile, the American
opposition to the presence of
the Russian army in Kazakh-
stan has upset the initiatives
of NATO’s Partnership for
Peace and its long-term plans
to penetrate the Eurasian re-
gion. The recent criticism of
the US Secretary of State, An-
tony Blinken, could be attrib-
uted to this western dream.
The Russian forces have been
sent under the security pact,
Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO) be-
tween Russia and the former
republics of the USSR.
The Chinese apprehen-
sions regarding the troubles
in Kazakhstan could be
traced to its 276 billion USD
investments in the crucial
energy sector. It is also in-
vesting in the development
of infrastructure. Earlier, the
anti-Chinese protests had
erupted due the refusal of the
government to reveal the
agreement clauses. The gov-
ernment had recently
, though
reluctantly revealed the de-
tails, which included the re-
vision of the land code. It has
enabled the Chinese to obtain
land for 25 years, while the
local investors could obtain
land only for 10 years. It is
also stated that the Chinese
could successfully extract
the most favourable terms
under the Chinese educated
Tokayen, who has been en-
joying unbridled state power
in the country
.
During the post-1990 years,
especially following the frag-
mentation of the USSR, the
western powers tried to pro-
mote radical Islam in the
country, but the Kazakh peo-
ple could not be trapped to it.
They reverted to religious
practices but maintained a
broader liberal approach to
Islam. They had transferred
the nuclear assets to Russia
and allowed the Russians to
continue their space re-
search from their country.
However, the unrestricted
exploitation of the country’s
natural resources took place
during the past two decades,
both Russia and China in-
vested in the country. The
Russian investment was
mostly focused on the renew-
able energy sector, especially
in setting up windmills. The
Russian environmentalists,
such as Eugene Simonov,
have been active in river con-
servation and other nature-
friendly activities in the re-
gion, including Mongolia and
the western regions of Chi-
na. On the other hand, the
Chinese investment was to-
wards the exploitation of Na-
ture and for ensuring a
friendly regime in the coun-
try
. China also considers the
country as a natural exten-
sion of its influence zone in
the region.
Therefore, in spite of the
China-Russia Treaty in 1864,
which had demarcated Chi-
na’s northwestern frontiers,
the Chinese ambitions in the
region never ceased. It in-
cluded present-day Kazakh-
stan. The Chinese also claim
theirs ancient ties with the
region. During the 14th cen-
tury, the region was brought
under the Mongol Empire. XI
Jinping believes that dury
the pre-Christian era, the Ka-
zakh ancestors, Wusun, were
supported by the Chinese.
Their marriages have ce-
mented these ancient ties.
However, during the USSR
years, the Kazakh-Russian
marriages were common,
which have continued even
the post-USSR years. There-
fore, a growing Russian-Chi-
nese competition, if not the
confrontation, in the region
cannot be ruled out.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
D
The Russian
environmentalists, such as
Eugene Simonov, have been
active in river conservation
and other nature-friendly
activities in the region,
including Mongolia and
the western regions of
China. On the other hand,
the Chinese investment was
towards the exploitation of
Nature and for ensuring a
friendly regime in the
country. China also
considers the country as a
natural extension of its
influence zone in the region.
The decision of the
Kazakhstan government
to invite the Russian
forces, perhaps, was not
only correct but timely. If
he had sought Chinese
help, the country might
have been facing much
bigger turmoil, if not a
full-scale civil war.
GOPAL MISRA
The writer is accredited as a journalist
of long and distinguished service with the
Press Information Bureau of the Information
and Broadcasting Ministry

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INDIA
05
COVID SURGE UNABATED, 44K TEST +VE IN MAHA
Ministers, Mumbai mayor hit ground zero to raise awareness
Mumbai: Maharashtra
reported 44,388 new
Covid-19 cases and 12
Covid-related deaths in
Maharashtra on Sun-
day. The State tally of
Covid-19 positive pa-
tients stands at
69,20,044. There are
2,02,259 active cases in
the State.
Some 207 patients in
the State are infected
with the Omicron vari-
ant. Of these, 155 have
been reported by BJ
medical College and 52
have been reported by
National Institute of Vi-
rology
.
Currently 10,76,996
people are in home
quarantine and 2,614
people are in institu-
tional quarantine.
Field surveillance of
all international pas-
sengers who have ar-
rived in the state since
November 1 is under-
way. Through airport
and field surveillance,
3868 samples have been
sent for genomic se-
quencing. Results of 97
are awaited so far.
Mumbai on Sunday re-
ported 19,474 cases.
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar interacts with people to spread awareness on coronavirus during
the third wave of Covid-19 in Mumbai. —PHOTO BY PTI
Probe ordered
after flyers test
Covid positive
Ban on gatherings
in Himachal amid
Covid upsurge
Amritsar: A probe has
been ordered against a
private lab after a num-
ber of flyers who
reached Amritsar in
Punjab from Italy re-
cently tested positive
for Covid amid allega-
tions that their test re-
ports were incorrect.
The Airports Author-
ity of India has also re-
placed the services of
the Delhi-based labora-
tory with a local lab, of-
ficials said. —PTI
Shimla: The Himachal
Pradesh government on
Sunday announced five-
day week in its offices
besides banning social
and religious gather-
ings from January 10 to
24. It capped the attend-
ance of staff at govern-
ment offices to 50 per
cent of the total
strength from Monday
to Friday during the pe-
riod.
The government also
prohibitedthegathering
of more than 100 people
forindoorand300people
for outdoor academic,
sport, cultural and po-
litical events. The re-
strictions, however, will
not be applicable on of-
fices dealing with emer-
gency services.
The state till January
8 has recorded 2,31,587
coronavirus cases, in-
cluding 3,864 deaths.
Earlier, the state gov-
ernment had imposed a
night curfew till further
orders and shut the edu-
cational institutions till
January 26.
NEW COVID NORMS: 50% CAP ON
SALONS, GYMS IN MAHARASHTRA
New Delhi: Salons and
gymnasiums will be
allowed to operate at
50 per cent capacity,
the Maharashtra gov-
ernment announced
today revising the
Covid-19 restrictions
announced a day
earlier. The restrictions
will come into effect
from tomorrow. On
Saturday, when the
state reported over
41,000 new Covid-19
cases, the govern-
ment had said gyms
and beauty salons will
remain closed, while
hair cutting salons will
function at 50 per cent
capacity. The order
was revised on Sunday
and the beauty salons
were grouped with the
hair cutting salons.
“Beauty salons will be
grouped with hair cut-
ting salons and shall
be allowed to remain
open with 50% capac-
ity subject to restric-
tion mentioned in the
table for salons.
ACTOR PARESH RAWAL RAGES
AGAINST CLOSURE OF GYMS
Mumbai: Noted actor
and politician Paresh
Rawal has raged
against the Maha-
rashtra government’s
decision to close
down gyms, even
though restaurants,
bars and cinemas are
allowed to operate at
50% capacity. Taking
to twitter, the actor
has questioned the
logic of this decision.
“Trains n Theatres n
Bars n Restaurants
etc are allowed to
remain open with
50% capacity BUT
NOT GYMNASIUM
!!! “WHATS THE
LOGIC BEHIND IT ?
IS IT A CRIME TO
LOOK AFTER ONES
HEALTH ? IS IT
NOT AN ESSENTIAL
SERVICE ?,” Paresh
asked. Maharashtra
is witnessing a rise in
Covid-19 cases.
 UP sees 1,300% jump
in daily Covid cases in a
week ahead of polls
 UP clamps night curfew
across State, suspends
physical classes
 Delhi logs 22,751 new
Covid cases, positivity
rate at 23%
 1,59,632 new Covid
cases in India, positivity
10.21%
 PM’s photo won’t be
on vaccine certificates in
5 States going to polls:
Sources
 Bihar man booked
for taking 11 doses of
Covid-19 vaccine
 Union Health Minister
Mansukh Mandaviya to
interact with State Health
Ministers today
 New coronavirus vari-
ant ‘Deltacron’ emerges in
Cyprus
 Everyone must wear
masks, says Delhi CM
HIGHLIGHTS COVID
POSITIVE
lVarun Gandhi l
Esha Gupta l Pun-
jab’s Chief Electoral
Officer Dr S Karuna
Raju l Jharkhand
CM’s wife and son
l Sri Lanka batter
Avishka Fernando l
Sixty-two workers
at railway workshop
l 4 SC Judges test
positive, over 150
staff in quarantine.
Hyderabad: Air Asia Ranchi to Chennai flight was
directed to Bhubaneswar due to a medical emergency
on Sunday even-
ing. Bhubaneswar
airport director
Dr Pravat Ranjan
Beuria told ANI,
“Air Asia Ranchi
to Chennai flight
was directed to
Bhubaneswar due
to a medical emer-
gency. A critically ill patient was transferred to Captain
Hospital in the city.” More details are awaited.
New Delhi: After limiting fund collection from abroad,
the AAP may face a financial crunch for campaigning
in four of the five poll-bound States. Two days ago, the
Election Commission increased the expenditure limit
from Rs 28 lakh to Rs 40 lakh in candidates in Punjab,
Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and from Rs 20 lakh
to Rs 28 lakh in Goa. Earlier, the NRI wing of the party,
which was considered very strong in Punjab, used to
donate crores of rupees to the party’s coffers. During
the 2017 Punjab elections, NRI Joban Randhawa was
the Youth Deputy Convener of the NRI cell of the AAP.
As many as 30,000 NRI supporters had registered
themselves with the party for campaigning and around
2,000 NRI supporters reached Punjab that year.
New Delhi: Long-
distance train travel is
likely to cost more for
passengers boarding or
alighting at redeveloped
stations as the Railways
is planning to levy a
station development fee
ranging from `10 to `50
depending on the class of
travel. Officials said the
fee is likely to be added to
the train tickets. The fee
will be levied only after
such stations become
operational.
Panaji: Independent
MLA Prasad Gaonkar
on Sunday resigned as
a member of the Goa
Legislative Assembly, a
month ahead of the As-
sembly elections. He is
set to join Congress. The
Sanguem MLA submit-
ted his resignation to the
Goa Assembly Speaker.
With his resignation, the
strength of the 40-mem-
ber House has been
reduced to 33.
AIR ASIA RANCHI TO CHENNAI FLIGHT
DIRECTED TO BHUB DUE TO EMERGENCY
AAP LIKELY TO FACE FUND CRUNCH IN
UPCOMING ASSEMBLY POLLS IN 5 STATES
RLYS PLANNING TO
LEVY FEE FOR
BOARDING
GOA MLA GAONKAR
QUITS AS MLA, TO
JOIN CONGRESS
New Delhi: India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier
(IAC) Vikrant began another set of sea trials on
Sunday to carry out complex manoeuvres in high
seas ahead of its planned induction in August. The
40,000-tonne aircraft carrier, the largest and most
complex warship to be built in India, successfully
completed a five-day maiden sea voyage in August
and underwent 10-day sea trials in October. “The
IAC now sails to undertake complex manoeuvres
to establish specific readings of how the ship per-
forms in various conditions,” Navy spokesperson
Commander Vivek Madhwal said, adding various
sensor suites of the ship would also be tested.
INDIA’S FIRST DESI AIRCRAFT CARRIER
IAC VIKRANT BEGINS ANOTHER SEA TRIAL
CRUCIAL READ
‘Indian diaspora’s youth have major
role to play in widening tech innovation’
New Delhi: Emphasis-
ing that the youths of
the Indian diaspora
have a major role to
play in widening tech
innovation, NITI Aayog
CEO Amitabh Kant said
that the diaspora’s
youths are uniquely po-
sitioned to contribute to
India’s unprecedented
tech and digital story
.
“As a youth of our vi-
brant Indian diaspora,
you have a massive role
to play in widening tech
innovation for a num-
ber of reasons. Firstly,
you are young and you
have the thirst to inno-
vate, secondly, you have
a passion to contribute
to India and the world
towards development,”
said Kant during his
virtual address at the
Youth Pravasi Bhartiya
Divas conference focus-
ing on the role of dias-
pora youth in innova-
tion and technology
.
“Thirdly, you act as a
bridge between the
country you are in,
their companies, their
products, technologies
and finally you have the
access to some of the
best resources,” he said.
Kant also empha-
sised that these youths
are all uniquely posi-
tioned to contribute to
India’s unprecedented
tech and digital story
.
You are the future of
India and the world.
And so we wanna see a
vision for the future,
said Kant, stressing,
“We want you to use the
existing form of tech-
nologies, create new
technologies that will
take India and the world
to the next level.”
Mansukh Mandaviya pushes for
‘atmanirbharta’ in urea DAP
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister for Chemicals and
Fertilizers Mansukh
Mandaviya chaired a
high-level meeting in
Nirman Bhawan with
officials of the ministry
to make Atmanirbhar
Bharat in urea and di-
ammonium phosphate
(DAP) production by us-
ing ‘Green Hydrogen’.
As per the ministry,
during the meeting, the
Union Minister urged
the officials of the De-
partment of Fertilizers
to take necessary steps
for sustainable agricul-
ture. In the Independ-
ence Day speech in 2021,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi announced
the launch of the Na-
tional Hydrogen Mis-
sion and stated the goal
to make India a global
hub for Green Hydro-
gen production, stated
the Ministry
. —ANI
You have a massive
role to play in widen-
ing tech innovation.
You have the thirst to
innovate, you have a
passion to contribute
towards development
—Amitabh Kant,
NITI Aayog CEO
NITI Aayog CEO, Amitabh Kant
SEASON’S FIRST SNOWFALL PAINTS SHIMLA WHITE
Shimla: The capital of
Himachal Pradesh is
covered with a white
blanket of snow. There
has been fresh snowfall
on Shimla Ridge and
Mall Road including
Jakhu Temple. While
tourists had fun in the
snow, the local people’s
problem has increased.
Traffic on the road has
been affected. Due to
this the supply of essen-
tial goods has also been
affected. Apart from
this, the traffic has
come to a standstill due
to heavy snowfall in the
areas of Narkanda and
Kufri in Upper Shimla.
Many buses are stuck
on the routes.
The Meteorological
Department has pre-
dicted heavy snowfall
in the upper areas till
on Monday. Due to this
the administration has
issued a warning.
WORK ON JAMMU-SRINAGR
NATIONAL HIGHWAY ESCALATES
Banihal/Jammu:
The Jammu-Srinagar
national highway re-
mained closed for the
third day on Sunday
owing to heavy snow-
fall and multiple land-
slides in Ramban dis-
trict even as the road
clearance agencies
speeded up the resto-
ration work amid im-
provement in weath-
er, officials said.
The air link be-
tween Kashmir and
the rest of the coun-
try was restored on
Sunday, a day after
heavy snowfall in the
valley forced cancel-
lation of all flights in
Srinagar.
The helicopter ser-
vice resumed at the
holy cave shrine of
Mata Vaishno Devi
atop Trikuta hills in
Reasi district, while
efforts are on to re-
start the battery car
service, they said.
“The restoration is
not possible as loose
debris from the hill-
ocks overlooking the
highway at various
places is still flowing
down and delaying
the clearance opera-
tion,” Senior Superin-
tendent of Police,
Traffic, Shabir Ah-
mad Malik said. —PTI
Snow brings century old problems
in Shimla for locals, fun for tourists
Weather office predicts heavy
snowfall in Shimla today
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chairs high-level meeting.
Tourists holding umbrellas enjoy the city’s fresh snowfall, at the Ridge, in Shimla on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
A view of a snow-covered road at Lal Chowk amid heavy
snowfall following a 40-day long period of harsh winter
called ‘Chillai Kalan’, in Srinagar —PHOTO BY ANI
WESTERN DISTURBANCE LIKELY TO
HIT EASTERN INDIA FROM JAN 11
New Delhi: The India Me-
teorological Department
on Sunday predicted that
the western disturbance
is likely to hit the eastern
region of India from Janu-
ary 11, issuing yellow
and orange warnings of
rainfall. RK Jenamani,
Senior IMD Scientist said,
“As western disturbance
is moving further, central
India and the east part of
India particularly Odisha,
Jharkhand, Bengal, and
Bihar will face heavy rain-
fall.” “Odisha is already
under orange warning
on January 11 and 12
because on January 11,
a hailstorm will take
place in Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, and Odisha,”
said the IMD Scientist.
IndiGo airlines hit
turbulence again
New Delhi: On Sunday,
the country’s largest
airline IndiGo an-
nounced the withdraw-
al of 20 per cent of its
scheduled flights due to
reduced demand. Full-
service carrier Vistara
said it is adjusting ca-
pacity in sync with
changing demand. And,
an Air India official
said some flights on
routes.

BIZ BUZZ
06
Reliance to buy control of NY’s Mandarin Oriental hotel for $98 mn
New Delhi: Reliance
Industries Ltd is pay-
ing nearly $100 million
for a controlling stake
in Mandarin Oriental
New York, a five-star
hotel in midtown Man-
hattan, through the
purchase of its Cay-
man Islands-based par-
ent.
Reliance said in a
stock exchange filing
on Saturday its indus-
trial investments sub-
sidiary will acquire
Cayman Islands-based
Columbus Centre Corp
(Cayman) for an equity
value of approximately
$98.15 million.
The company said
the acquisition of Co-
lumbus Centre Corp
(Cayman), an indirect
ownerof a73.37%stake
in Mandarin Oriental
New York, by Reliance
Industrial Investments
andHoldingsLtdwould
add to its consumer
and hospitality activi-
ties. The closing of the
transaction is antici-
pated by the end of
March 2022.
It added that in the
event other owners of
the hotel elect to par-
ticipate in the transac-
tion, its subsidiary
would acquire the re-
maining 26.63% stake,
based on the same valu-
ation used for the ac-
quisition of the indi-
rect 73.37%stake, Reu-
ters reported.
A Reliance statement
said the hotel won sev-
eral influential awards
and the acquisition will
help the group increase
its consumer and hos-
pitality footprint. The
group has investments
in EIH Ltd (Oberoi Ho-
tels), Stoke Park Lim-
ited in UK and it is de-
veloping a convention
centre, hotel and resi-
dences in Mumbai.
—Agencies
New Delhi: Deposits
in bank accounts
opened under the Jan
Dhanscheme,launched
about seven and half
years ago by the gov-
ernment, have crossed
the `1.5 lakh crore
mark. As per the latest
finance ministry data,
the total balance in
over 44.23 crore Prad-
han Mantri Jan Dhan
Yojana (PMJDY) ac-
counts was at
`1,50,939.36 crore at De-
cember end, 2021.
PMJDY, the National
Mission for Financial
Inclusion, had complet-
ed seven years of im-
plementation in Au-
gust last year. It was
announced by Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi in his Independ-
ence Day address on
August 15, 2014.
As per the fi-
nance minis-
try data, of
the total 44.23
crore ac-
counts, 34.9
crore were with the
public sector banks,
8.05 crore with region-
al rural banks, and the
rest 1.28 crore with pri-
vate sector banks.
Also, 31.28 crore PM-
JDY beneficiaries were
issued RuPay debit
cards. It may be noted
t h a t t h e
number of RuPay
cards and their usage
has increased over
time.
As per the data, 29.54
crore Jan Dhan ac-
counts were held in ru-
ral and semi-urban
b a n k
branches. Nearly 24.61
crore account holders
were women as of De-
cember 29, 2021.
During the first year
of the scheme 17.90
crore PMJDY accounts
were opened.
As per the RBI guide-
line, there is no re-
quirement of main-
taining minimum bal-
ance in Basic Savings
BankDepositaccounts,
including Jan Dhan ac-
counts. —PTI
Deposits in
Jan Dhan
cross `1.5 lakh cr
Reasonable time to
EXPLAIN MISMATCH
New Delhi: Tax offic-
ers will give reasona-
ble time to erring
business to explain
reasons for mismatch
in turnover reported
in sales return GSTR-
1 and tax payment
form 3B before ini-
tiating recovery
action for short
payment or
non-payment
of taxes.
Apex indi-
rect tax body
CBIC has is-
sued guidelines
on recovery pro-
ceedings and said
that taxmen would
give a “reasonable
time” to businesses to
explain the reasons
for such mismatch.
So far, under the
goods and services
tax law, show-cause
notices were first is-
sued and then a re-
covery process was
initiated in such cas-
es of mismatch in
GSTR-1 and GSTR-
3B.
Following doubts
raised by the trade
and the field forma-
tions regarding mo-
dalities for initiation
of the recovery pro-
ceedings, the Central
Board of Indirect
Taxes and Customs
(CBIC) on January 7
issued guidelines,
say- i n g
that
an opportunity needs
to be provided to the
concerned business-
es for short payment
or non-payment of
the amount of self-
assessed tax liability
.
It noted that in
some cases there may
be a genuine reason
for the difference be-
tween the details of
outward supplies de-
clared in GSTR-1 and
those declared in
GSTR-3B.
Giving example,
the CBIC said the
GST law permits rec-
tification of typo-
graphical errors or
omissions in the
GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B
of a particular
month, in the returns
or tax payment forms
of subsequent
months.
—PTI
LAW SAYS
Taxmento
give‘reasonable
time’tobusinessto
explainreasonsfor
mismatchinGSTR-1,
3Bbeforerecovery
action
GST
FMCG companies see customers pantry loading
New Delhi: FMCG
companies witnessed
an increase in demand
in the past two weeks as
consumers stocked up
in the wake of rise in
COVID-19 cases across
the country, and have
ramped up supplies to
their stockists to avoid
supply shortage. Com-
panies such as Parle
Products, Dabur India
and ITC, which are al-
ready facing inflation-
ary pressures on in-
puts, are keeping extra
stock of raw materials
to avoid any disrup-
tions in the supply
chain due to the fresh
wave of the pandemic,
putting in use their
learnings from the past
two waves.
The FMCG makers
also expect that a sud-
den increase in COVID
cases and some restric-
tions imposed by local
authorities in some
states would again im-
pact the demand for
‘out of home’ channels
products, which was
recovering from the
lastfewmonths,though
demand for home con-
sumption and immu-
nity products is going
to gain for few weeks.
The companies ex-
pect further accelerat-
ed digitalisation -- e-
commerce and om-
nichannel presence
with technology
platforms expected
to play a strong
role in ensuring
continued and un-
interrupted sup-
ply of FMCG
products.
“In the last two
weeks, we have
seen a 10-15 per
cent increase in
demand in the
market. We
understand
there is a bit
of pantry load-
ing as custom-
ers do not want to
venture out,” Parle
Products Senior Cate-
gory Head said. —PTI
EXPECT SUDDEN INC IN COVID CASES
Biz leaders share
thoughts at Youth
PBD Conference
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Eminent
business leaders
shared their thoughts
on ‘Role of Diaspora
Youth in Azadi ka Am-
rit Mahotsav (AKAM)-
Innovation and New
Technologies’. Along
with the leading busi-
ness leaders, Minister
of Stateof ExternalAf-
fairs, NITI Aayog CEO
Amitabh Kant, Flip-
kart CEO and other
eminent business lead-
ers participated in the
‘YouthPravasiBharati-
ya Divas (PBD) Confer-
ence’, held in virtual
format on Sunday
.
MonsoonConsulting
FounderCEOBharat
Sharma was invited
share his thought on
the role of diaspora
youth. With a humble
background, Bharat
Sharma scaled new
heights in his career.
Due to his efforts Mon-
soon Consulting is now
Europe’sleadingeCom-
merce digital trans-
formation company
.
Sharma completed
his Computer Engi-
neering in 1996 from
the Engineering Col-
lege, Kota, Rajasthan.
While in India he
worked with compa-
nies like TCS as an
Oracle programmer
and after moving to
Europe he was work-
ing as an Oracle con-
tractor in various loca-
tions in UK Ireland.
ANIL: Adani’s vehicle for new energy biz
New Delhi: Billionaire
Gautam Adani’s logis-
tics-to-energy conglom-
erate has set up a new
subsidiary, ANIL to un-
dertake green hydro-
gen projects, genera-
tion of low carbon elec-
tricity and manufac-
ture of wind turbines,
solar modules and bat-
teries as it looks to be-
come the world’s larg-
est renewable energy
company and produce
the cheapest hydrogen.
Adani had stated that
his group will invest
$70 billion in the new
energy space.
And now the compa-
ny has incorporated a
wholly-owned subsidi-
ary, Adani New Indus-
tries Ltd (ANIL), its
flagship Adani Enter-
prises Ltd said.
ANIL will undertake
business of developing
and operating projects
for the synthesis of low
carbon fuels and chem-
icals, generation of low
carbon electricity and
the manufacture of key
components/material
for projects including
generation of green hy-
drogen, related down-
stream products, elec-
tricity generation, it
said. —PTI
AMAZON CHALLENGES FUTURE DEAL SUSPENSION
New Delhi: Amazon.
com Inc has filed fresh
legal challenges in its
long-running
dispute with
Indian retailer
Future Group
after the na-
tional antitrust
agency suspended a
2019 deal between the
two sides, leading to a
halt in their arbitration,
sources said on Sunday.
The CCI last month
suspended its ap-
proval of Amazon’s
2019 deal with
Future, denting the
US e-commerce
giant’s attempts to
block the sale of Future’s
retail assets to Indian
market leader Reliance
Industries. The suspen-
sion jolted Amazon as
subsequently a New
Delhi court halted the
arbitration proceed-
ings between the two
sides. Late on Saturday,
Amazon filed an appeal
against the CCI suspen-
sion decision at India’s
National Company Law
Appellate Tribunal.
Mukesh Ambani

07
NEWS
Lucknow: The BJP
has its task cut out in
Uttar Pradesh - to
break a jinx under
which no party has
won two consecutive
assembly elections in
the state after 1985.
Spread over seven
phases, moving se-
quentially from the
west to the east of the
vast state, the 403-seat
polls will have a major
bearing on the 2024
parliamentary elec-
tions, when the party
hopes to return to
power in Delhi under
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi.
Union Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah, who
has been spearhead-
ing the ruling party’s
campaigns in UP in
the past elections, in-
dicated that much a
few weeks back at a
rally that scotched
speculation that Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath is now out of
favour with the BJP’s
central leadership.
The foundation of
the 2024 Lok Sabha
election, which has to
be won under the lead-
ership of Modi ji, will
be laid in the 2022 as-
sembly elections here,
he said.
The state will vote
on February 10, 14, 20,
23, 27, March 3 and 7.
The results will be de-
clared on March 10
along with the four
other poll-bound
states of Punjab, Utta-
rakhand, Goa and Ma-
nipur.
The BJP had regis-
tered a landslide vic-
tory in 2017 assembly
polls winning 312
seats on its own, and
325 if those won by the
allies are also count-
ed.
Akhilesh Yadav’s
Samajwadi Party was
a distant second then
at 49. Mayawati’s Ba-
hujan Samaj Party
won 19 seats. Apna Dal
(Sonelal) got nine, two
more than the Con-
gress tally
.
The SP has emerged
as the major contend-
er to power, and the
Congress is under
pressure to come up
with better numbers,
now that the cam-
paign is under the di-
rect charge of general
secretary Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra.
With PM Modi inau-
gurating or laying the
foundation stones for
a series of projects in-
cluding expressways
and irrigation
schemes in recent
weeks, development
still remains a big poll
plank for the ruling
BJP.
But the party ap-
pears to be banking
heavily on the Hindu-
tva card.
The Ram temple be-
ing built in Ayodhya
has been a constant
refrain at political ral-
lies and the first phase
of the redevelopment
around the Kashi
Vishwanath temple
was showcased by
Modi himself. He took
a dip in the Ganga and
addressed a rally
which focused on the
country’s resilience
against the likes of
Aurangzeb. —PTI
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: Punjab
Congress Chief Navjot
Singh Sidhu on Sunday
kickstarted the party’s
election campaign on
digital platform. Start-
ing the digital cam-
paign, Sidhu said “DIG-
ITAL ELECTION” is
the first step towards a
new “DIGITAL PUN-
JAB”.
Being the first to kick-
start a virtual cam-
paign, Sidhu said that
the Congress party has
already been emphasiz-
ing on the importance
of digitisation main-
taining a virtual inter-
action with the elector-
ate and highlighted that
Punjab Congress has
the highest digital foot-
print amongst other po-
litical parties.
He said the party will
decide on the list of can-
didates for upcoming as-
sembly polls in the state
after a screening com-
mittee meeting being
heldviavideoconferenc-
ing.
“The list of candi-
dates for the upcoming
assembly polls will be
announced soon. It will
be finalized very soon.
Even today, the screen-
ing committee meeting
is going on. We will
make our decision after
careful thought. Con-
gress always announces
its candidates at the
end,” he said. Speaking
on how Congress would
run its poll campaign,
Sidhu said, “I hope
things will change after
January 15. Till then,
directions are clear that
you will have to cam-
paign digitally
. In case
things go worse, then
we’ll have to pass this
litmus test.”
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The an-
nouncement of Assem-
bly polls in UP has hurt
political parties into a
race for the victory
post, with parties al-
ready releasing posters
on social media, where
most of the campaign-
ing is set to take place.
The BJP poster has a
photograph of UP CM
Yogi Adityanath waving
to the crowds and the
caption says: “Raj tilak
ki karo taiyyari, 10
March ko phir aa rahe
hain Bhagwadhari.”
The Samajwadi Party
poster has, Akhilesh,
with his back turned,
waving to the crowd,
with a caption: “Chal
padi hai lal aandhi, aa
rahe hain Samajwadi.”
The ‘lal aandhi’ is a ref-
erence to red caps worn
by the party cadres.
The BSP posters, for
the first time, have two
leaders — Mayawati
and Satish Chandra
Mishra — with the cap-
tion: “10 March, Sab
saaf’/ Behenji hain UP
ki aas.”
The Congress poster,
with a picture of Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra,
read, “10 March - aa
rahi hai Congress”.
Mahesh Kumar
Chandigarh: The
Aam Aadmi Party has
accused the ruling
Congress of adopting
a ‘Use Throw’ policy
for Charanjit Singh
Channi just to get the
votes of Scheduled
Caste (SC) people.
AAP’s Punjab af-
fairs co-in-charge Ra-
ghav Chadha has ex-
pressed shock over the
statement of Randeep
Surjewala, Congress
leader and Rahul Gan-
dhi’s close aide, who
said “Punjab will have
three chief ministeri-
al faces Sunil Jakhar,
Navjot Sidhu and
Charanjit Singh Chan-
ni”. Chadha said that
the party which could
not make a decision on
its chief minister’s
face, how it can claim
to give a stable govern-
ment to Punjab. Sur-
jewala’s statement has
exposed Congress’s
intentions that they
just want to secure SC
votes.
Addressing a digital
press conference on
Sunday, Chadha said
that the Congress has
used CM Channi as a
“night watchman” un-
der its policy of “use
and throw”. Chadha
said that Chief Minis-
ter Channi comes
from Dalit community
,
so Congress used him
for Dalit vote. The in-
tention of Congress is
not the party of Dalits
but to take their votes.
Panaji (Goa): The
Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) released its sec-
ond list of candidates
for Goa Assembly
polls scheduled for
February this year, on
Sunday
.
“Today @AAPGoa
releases its second list
of candidates. We are
committed to bring in
good governance and
work for the people of
Goa,” said a tweet
from Rahul Mhambre,
Convener, AAP Goa
unit. 10 candidates in
the list along with
their Assembly con-
stituencies are as fol-
lows: 1. Ramrao Wagh
(St Andre) 2. Sudesh
Mayekar (Calangute)
3. Cecille Rodrigues
(Taleigaon) 4. Rajesh
Kalangutkar (Maem)
5. Prashant Naik
(Cuncolim) 6. Rahul
Mhambre (Mapusa) 7.
Cruz Silva (Velim) 8.
Anoop Kudtarkar (Ca-
nacona) 9. Anil
Gaonkar (Sanvordem)
10. Sandesh Telekar
(Fatorda)
The Election Com-
mission on Saturday
announced poll dates
for five states. —ANI
Imphal: Manipur
Chief Minister N
Biren Singh has
claimed that the
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty (BJP) will get an ab-
solute majority in the
upcoming polls.
Speaking to ANI,
Singh said, “I wel-
come the announce-
ment by the Election
Commission. Our gov-
ernment delivered
what we promised,
even though some
things take time. We
will get the absolute
majority.” Voting for
the 60-seat Manipur
assembly will be con-
ducted in two phases
on February 27 and
March 3.
Six districts of Ma-
nipur will go to the
polls on February 27,
while voting in the
other 10 districts will
be held on March 3.
Afterthe2017Assem-
bly polls, a coalition of
BJP
, National People’s
Party (NPP), Naga Peo-
ple’s Front and Lok
Janshakti Party (LJP)
formed the govern-
ment, which is pres-
entlyledbyCMNBiren
Singh. —ANI
Navjot Sidhu kickstarts Cong’s Digital
Campaign, as per EC guidelines
Post poll announcement, parties
start poster war on social media
DIGITAL ELECTIONEERING
Congress to
decide on list of
candidates after
screening
committee
meeting, says
PPCC Chief
2022 ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS
POLLSEASON
SETS IN
BJP set to pull out all stops
in UP; SP main contender
Crucial BJP panel meet in UP
today to decide candidates
Lucknow: The BJP’s
election committee is
set to meet in Lucknow
on Monday to finalise
the candidates and
party strategy for the
forthcoming assembly
polls in UP. The meet-
ing will take place at
the party headquarters
on Vidhan Sabha Road
here. Sources said the
discussion will be on
shortlisting candidates
as the last date of
filing nomination for
first phase is Janu-
ary 21. Besides, the
strategy for effective
campaigning mode
will be finalized, along
with delegation of work
and duties. The BJP
is willing to repeat a
significant number of
sitting MLAs, mark-
ing a shift from its
strategy of beating
anti-incumbency with
new candidates. Party
functionaries feel that
this time too new
candidates will get a
chance. Sources said
the party’s election
co-in-charges of UP
have prepared a report
with a list of three
candidates on each
seat and will submit it
to the party leadership
this week.
AAP blames Cong
of adopting ‘Use
Throw’ policy for
Channi for SC votes
Act impartially in
upcoming polls in 5
states: Kharge to
Election Commission
Bengaluru: Senior
Congress leader Mall-
ikarjun Kharge on
Sunday requested the
Election Commission
to act impartially in
the upcoming assem-
bly polls in five states.
Kharge said, “We re-
quest the Election
Commission to act im-
partially
. Let’s see how
they act. Some people
act as per their own
wishes many times, so
it’s difficult to predict
how much impartiali-
ty will be there.”
Kharge’s request came
after the ECI on Satur-
day announced poll
dates for five states
with Uttar Pradesh go-
ing for a seven-phase
assembly election
from February 10, Ma-
nipur to go for a two-
phase election from
February 27 and Pun-
jab, Goa and Uttara-
khand to face elections
on February 14. The
counting of votes in all
states will take place
on March 10. The poll
dates were announced
by Chief Election
Commissioner Sushil
Chandra at a press
conference in Delhi.
The 7-phase election
in UP will be held on
February 10, 14, 20, 23,
27 and March 3 and 7.
“There is equitable
distribution of seats
for Uttar Pradesh in
seven phases. Voting
phases move West-to-
East in terms of the
state’s geographic
spread,” he said. —ANI
AAP releases second
list of candidates
for Goa polls
BJP will get absolute
majority in Manipur,
says N Biren Singh
N Biren Singh
Rahul Mhambre
Raghav Chadha Mallikarjun Kharge

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
55,04,218
TOTAL DEATHS
25,92,16,339
TOTAL RECOVERED
41,787,984
ACTIVE CASES
30,65,08,541
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
4,83,790
TOTAL DEATHS
3,44,53,603
TOTAL RECOVERED
5,90,611
ACTIVE CASES
3,55,28,004
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
Hindi as a language has been
recognized worldwide and
appreciated for its literature!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Haryana categorized into
7 zones for water mgmt
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: Taking
first of its kind initia-
tive towards state govt’s
water conservation ob-
jective, Haryana Water
Resources Authority
(HWRA) has catego-
rized the State into sev-
en different zones based
on depth to groundwa-
ter table as of June 2020
taking village as the
unit of assessment
which means this cate-
gorization is at the mi-
cro-level as compared to
earlier categorization
which used to be done
taking block as assess-
ment unit.
This village-wise cat-
egorization is initially
for the purpose of man-
agement and micro-lev-
el planning of water
resources and for tak-
ing remedial actions for
water resources in the
State. The Authority
has called for objections
or suggestions from the
public at large on the
proposed categoriza-
tion on its official email
id objections2022.
hwra@gmail.com. An
official spokesperson of
the HWRA said that the
categorization has been
done while adhering to
the direction given by
Haryana CM Khattar.
After Gehlot, 27 CMR
staff tests covid +ve
First India Bureau
Jaipur: Three days af-
ter Rajasthan CM Ge-
hlot tested positive for
Corona, 27 employees
of the CMR have also
tested positive, along
with driver of VVIP ve-
hicle at Chief Minis-
ter’s residence. After
Gehlot tested positive,
samples of 96 person-
nel were taken from
CMR as a precaution-
ary measure, out of
which, 27 personnel
have tested corona posi-
tive. Meanwhile, CM’s
OSD Shashikant Shar-
ma also tested positive
for Corona and tweeted
in this regard, “’I got
my covid test done this
morning and the result
has come to be positive.
I have mild symptoms
and I request those who
came in contact with
me to get tested. Stay at
home, wear a mask.”
Pak boat with 10-member crew nabbed off Gujarat coast
First India Bureau
Porbandar: The Indian
Coast Guard (ICG) ap-
prehended a Pakistani
fishing boat with 10
crew members in Indi-
an waters in the Arabi-
an sea off the Gujarat
coast, it said on Sunday
.
The boat, named Ya-
seen, was intercepted
by the ICG vessel Ankit
about seven nautical
miles on the Indian side
of the international
maritime border during
an operational patrol on
Saturday night.
When the crew mem-
bers of the boat failed to
justify their presence in
Indian waters after be-
ing questioned, the ICG
ship apprehended it, the
ICG said in a release,
adding that none of the
crew had any documen-
tation.
The boat tried to flee
towards the Pakistani
waters, but it was made
to stop and the crew was
apprehended.
Around 2,000kg fish
and 600 litres of diesel
were seized from the
boat, the ICG said, add-
ing that the boat is reg-
istered at Keti Bandar
in Pakistan.
The apprehended
boat, with the 10 crew
members, is presently
being towed to Por-
bandar for detailed in-
vestigation and joint
interrogation, it said.
Coast Guard chief VS
Pathania has issued di-
rections to further
strengthen patrolling
along waters with Paki-
stan in view of frequent
attempts to push contra-
band and terrorists into
India from that side.
It have been often ob-
served that Pakistani
fishing boats cross the
notional international
maritime boundary and
enter Indian waters
during fishing expedi-
tions. There has also
been a rise in cases of
such boats being used to
smuggle contraband
drugs through the Guja-
rat coast.
PRO Defence Gujarat @DefencePRO_Guj
The Indian Coast Guard ship Ankit apprehended
Pakistani boat ‘Yaseen’ with 10 crew in Indian
waters at Arabian Sea during night ops on 08
Jan. Boat being brought to Porbandar for further
interrogation
RJD shuts Patna office after visitors tested +ve
Kumar Pramod
Patna: The Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD), the
main Opposition party
in Bihar, has closed its
office in the state capi-
tal Patna for an indefi-
nite period as the num-
ber of coronavirus cas-
es there is continuously
rising.
On Sunday, the state
had reported as many
as 5,022 new Covid cas-
es, 496 more than the
previous day, pushing
the number of active
cases to 16,897 and the
tally to 7,45,400, accord-
ing to the state’s health
department.
RJD spokesperson
Chitaranjan Gagan said
that the party had
closed its office in Patna
for an indefinite period
after some visitors to it
tested positive after
they underwent RT-
PCR tests.
A bulletin by the state
health department said
that one death due to
the disease was report-
ed in the last 24 hours
and the cumulative toll
in the infection stood at
12,101.
A total 71,6401 people
have recovered from the
disease so far, including
435 in the last 24 hours.
Five districts of the
state accounted for the
majority of the new
cases, the bulletin said.
Patna alone regis-
tered 2,018 fresh cases
on Sunday
.
On Friday and Satur-
day, the city had regis-
tered 1,314 and 2,956
cases respectively
.
The number of active
cases now stands at 9122
in Patna, the bulletin
said.
Gaya reported 258
cases, Muzaffarpur 209,
Begusarai 125 and Sa-
ran 121, it said.
Bihar had registered
3,048 fresh coronavirus
cases on Friday
.
Altogether 6.23 crore
samples have been test-
ed so far, including 2.10
lakh in the last 24 hours,
the bulletin said.
The state has so far
accounted for one con-
firmed case of the Omi-
cron variant.
Bihar Additional
Chief Secretary
(Health) Pratyaya Am-
rit sought to assure the
people of the govern-
ment’s readiness to
tackle the situation.
“There is nothing to
panic at all. The Bihar
government is already
on alert. Proper ar-
rangements have been
made in all the hospi-
tals. Common people
need to be on the alert”,
he said.
Case filed against marathon organizers
in Veraval for breaking nCoV norms
Veraval: Police regis-
tered an FIR against the
organiser of a marathon
on Sunday in Gujarat’s
Gir Somnath district
where around 500 people
participated without
maintaining social
distance or wearing face
masks, an official said.
As per the Gujarat gov-
ernment’s latest SOPs,
not more than 400 peo-
ple are allowed to gather
for any social, political or
religious event, in view
of the rising COVID-19
cases and its new Omi-
cron variant.
However, around 500
people gathered during
the marathon organised
by the Bharat Vikas
Parishad (a social organi-
sation) in Veraval town in
the morning, an official
from Veraval police sta-
tion said.
The participants were
not wearing face masks
or maintaining social
distance, which was in
violation of the COVID-19
guidelines laid down by
the state government
and notifications issued
by district collector, the
official said.
A case was registered
against the event organ-
iser, Kalpesh Shah, under
Indian Penal Code Sec-
tions 188 (disobedience
to order duly promul-
gated by public servant)
and 270 (malignant act
likely to spread infectious
disease), as well as pro-
visions of the Epidemic
Diseases Act and the
Disaster Management
Act, he said. —PTI
RJD STATEMENT
‘Ensurecontinuous
powersupplyto
healthcenters’
First India Bureau
Chandigarh: TheHary-
ana Govt is very alert to
stop the increasing out-
break of corona epidem-
ic. Keeping in view the
safety measures and
that people should not
face any problem, suita-
ble guidelines have been
issued by Uttar Haryana
Bijli Vitran Nigam to its
officers regarding con-
tinuous power supply to
Health Institutions.
In order to maintain
continuityof powersup-
ply in district hospitals,
CHCs, PHCs, Oxygen
Manufacturing Indus-
trial Units and other
Health Centers of the
state, the Nigam has set
up Control Rooms at the
districtlevelinPanchku-
la and Rohtak zones.
Nigam’s spox while
giving above ingorma-
tion saidthat in view of
the epidemic situation,
Uttar Haryana Bijli Vit-
ran Nigam Managing
Director PC Meena has
given guidelines to the
Superintendent Engi-
neers and Executive En-
gineers to provide 24
Hours Power Supply to
Health Institutions in
their respective areas.
Electricity Control
Rooms have been set up
in every district, which
will be monitored by the
designated nodal offic-
ers. Circle and Division-
al Officers will them-
selves continuously
monitor the power sup-
ply and any technical
fault; no feeder of any
hospital shall be
switched off without
their permission,
spokesperson added.
ILLUMINATED
Gurudwara Bangla Sahib illuminates on the occasion of Prakash Utsav of Guru Gobind Singh,
in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
The Yaseen was apprehended by ICG and towed to Porbandar,
where the crew is being questioned.

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






COLOUR CODING
RAJ SCHOOLS
SHUT TILL JAN 30
Jaipur: In revised corona
guidelines on Sunday,
the state government has
reimposed the weekend
curfew from 11 pm on
Saturday to 5 am on
Monday. Schools up to
class 12 in all urban areas
of the state have been
closed till January 30.
Markets will also open till
8 pm. In weddings and
public gatherings, only 50
people in cities and 100
in rural areas will now be
able to attend. Studies will
continue in colleges with
social distancing. After
January 30, the vaccinated
children will be able to go
to school. Other guide-
lines will be applicable
from January 11.
Rajasthan CM’s
OSD Shashikant
Sharma also
tests positive

ell us something
about yourself.
A dreamer who is pur-
suing a master degree
in journalism and
mass communication
from the IIS University
Jaipur. From performing
well in academics to fear-
lessly following my pas-
sion, I m a strong wom-
an who is capable of
doing things whatever
she wants.
Q. When did you
decide that you
shall take up
modelling?
Manushi has
been my biggest
i n s p i r a t i o n
from the mo-
ment she won
the crown of
Miss World
till now!
She has in-
spired me
in many
w a y s ,
She is
t h e
o n e
w h o
taught me “When you cease to
dream you cease to live.’ ‘Cour-
age to give flight to your dreams
and the ability to believe in
yourself makes life worth liv-
ing..” and I took the rein of my
life in my hands and ran my
horses in the direction of my
dreams!
Q. What are your future
plans? Where do you see your-
self in the future?
Moving onwards and upwards
without looking back! I want to
be a supermodel and actress in
future. I want to represent my-
self on national and interna-
tional platforms so that I can
inspire several other girls who
just want to take out the step to
achieve their goals
Q. If not a model, what would
you be?
I belong to a family of academic
toppers so if not model, I would
have done something in the
Government sector.
Q. Is there anything else that
you would like to share with
the audience?
I want to say that once you set
your heart on something your
hard work, discipline, and de-
termination take you on top.
When I was in college I want to
do Modeling but I didn’t know
how to start. Social media
helped me a lot! Youtube Ins-
tagram were my personal train-
ers. Initially, my parents were
against modelling but I fought
and trained myself. And I want
girls to fight for their dreams.
MUSKAN KAMDAAR PARTICIPATED IN FIRST
MISS INDIA 2021 HELD ON OCT 30 AT
NOVOTEL GOA WITH AN UNMATCHED GRIT
NEW DELHI, MONDAY
JANUARY 10, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
ALIANT
IBRANT
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
CHITRANGI SHARMA, Blogger
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Health tips from an expert
will enable you to get closer
to your fitness goals.
Chances of being misled by
competitors in business are high.
Your generous behavior would enable
to enjoy some lovely moments with
family. Love comes your way as
friendship turns into romance.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Some of you are going to
experience emotional
fulfillment on romantic
front. Place emphasis on
domestic affairs to enhance the
domestic tranquility and harmony.
Associating yourself with
humanitarian group on social front
would benefit you.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Investment antiques and
jewellery would bring
handsome financial gains.
On professional front,
recognition for good work would
motivate you to work harder. Those
awaiting an affirmation on romantic
front are likely to get lucky today, as
partner responds positively.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Your hard work and
dedication are may noticed
by seniors, paving way for
promotion or increment.
Family will be supportive of career
aspirations. A promising day overall as
you stay in limelight without any
efforts. Harsh words may create a rift
in your romantic relationship.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
A sound financial health of
businessmen would enable
to give monetary benefits
to employees. Your sole
dependency on friends may fail to
bring any respite from loneliness
today. It is good day to confess your
love as stars appear favourable for
positive reply.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You will succeed in
resolving misunderstanding
with family members,
normalizing ties. Seek
proper valuation of the property you
are planning to buy. Keep a close tab
on what you eat if you want to
remain healthy. Your colleagues may
not like your upfront nature.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You succeed in completing
an important project well
before deadline.
Disagreements on the
family front are foreseen. Be careful
about the legal apprehensions in the
property you are planning to buy.
Your intuition will save you from a
tricky spot today.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Those suffering from
chronic ailments may find
remarkable improvement
in their healt. Minor
domestic disputes may snowball into
a major row, so give attention to the
family. Rewards and recognition will
come your way for your involvement
in a social endeavour.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Implementation of new
ideas and projects would
add to your prestige. A
sound monetary position
would enable you to keep pace with
changing times. It is a wonderful day
to build new connections. Your
relationship requires you to be
tactful.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You will have an awesome
day today. Continue to put
in efforts at work and you
will see promising
opportunities coming your way.
Matrimonial match for siblings will
bring happiness for entire family. You
are likely to receive invaluable
guidance from a spiritual leader.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Paying special attention to
plan your career would
give immense joy. You are
likely to get clearance or
approval for your construction plans.
You find things moving in the way
you want them. Gifting something to
your beloved is likely to make the day
memorable.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Seek the opinion of your
family before finalizing a
property deal. An
impromptu invitation to a
function from an unexpected friend is
likely to be received. Your bold
initiatives on romantic front bring
back passion and spark in romantic
relationship.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
hakars is what I
will be talking
about today
. Jodh-
pur wallahs are
well aware of this
term – Bhakar. Let
we explain it to the
others. Bhakar literally
translated means hills. In
Jodhpur parlance, it means
rocky hills. The Mehran-
garh fort with its towering
presence itself is built on a
Bhakar – ‘Bhakar Chiriya’
– Mountain of the Birds.
Another Bhakar – Mussou-
ria Pahar is another promi-
nent landmark of the city
.
Twoprominenttemplesare
locatedonthisBhakar–Ha-
numanji and Baba Ram-
devji? Besides these, there
are Bhakars in Mandore,
Umaid Bhawan Palace, Bal-
samand, Kailana and Sid-
dhanath.
Stand atop a vantage
point anywhere in the city
and look in any direction;
You will see quite a few of
thesevolcanicrockyforma-
tions characterized by
small ridges, escarpments
and outcrops dotting the
city’s landscape. Part of the
western Aravallis – moun-
tains that are much older
than the lofty Himalayas,
these igneous rock forma-
tionsfromthePrecambrian
era,appeartobreakthemo-
notony of an otherwise
open and plain terrain.
The fascination for the
Bhakars grew on me quite
early on as I would go ex-
ploring them with a few
like-minded friends and
evenaspartof schoolexcur-
sions. Visits to Mandore,
Kailana and Siddhanath
formed part of such excur-
sions. It was to relive those
days, that I decided to visit
theBhakarsaroundKailana
and Sidhnath. A short drive
along the road branching
from the Soorsagar bypass
on Jodhpur – Jaisalmer
highway takes one into the
folds of the Kailana – the
artificial lake created to ad-
dress the water problem of
the people of Jodhpur. A
windingroadrunningalong
the Eastern periphery of
the Kailana takes one fur-
ther to Siddhanath Ma-
hadev
.Herethelakeiscalled
Takhat Sagar named after
MaharajaTakhatSingh,the
Jodhpur ruler in whose
reign it was built. It was
duringmylastvisittoJodh-
pur in November last year
that I decided to take a day
off from my schedule and
exploretheBhakarsaround
Kailana.Itwasabrightsun-
nyNovembermorningwith
a pleasant cool breeze that
saw me driving up to the
base of Siddhanath Ma-
hadev. There are a few cars
and a Tempo-traveller
parked in the limited park-
inglot.TheGuardattheAir
Force Pump house at the
basehelpsmefindaparking
slot. After crossing a fairly
large courtyard that serves
as a Gaushala – a cow shed,
I climb a long stairway – 355
steps I am told, that brings
me to the top of the Bha-
kars. As I stop to catch my
breath, I notice a warning
painted on a smooth rock
face – ‘Yahan pe Ladka –
Ladki ka akele aana warjit
hai’. I believe, what it in-
tends to convey is that
young unmarried couples
are forbidden to visit the
place. I cannot help but
smile at the irony; It is the
youngmenandwomenwho
have the energy
, drive and
muscle strength to climb up
these Bhakars and explore
them. Anyway
, I move on to
the temples. I have faint
memories of the place from
my last visit here - 37 years
ago as part of my school
trip. There was a small tem-
ple–oldanddilapidatedand
almostaruin.Now,twonew
templesmadeof theradiant
chittar stones, that are
widelyusedinconstruction
of prominent buildings in
Jodhpur, have been con-
structed beside the old one.
I come across three men
– two middle aged and one
elderly – conversing
amongst themselves. I ask
them in broken marwari if
they can tell me the histo-
ry of the place. They look
at me amusedly hearing
my clipped marwari. One
of them, Govind Lal Shar-
ma tells me that these Bha-
kars were part of the wil-
derness where the Rajas
would come hunting. In
this wilderness, two en-
lightened hermits lived
and meditated for many
years. Baba Narayan Swa-
my and later his disciple –
Nepali Baba. Both have
their samadhis (memori-
als) here. Govindji tells me
an interesting story about
Baba Narayan
Swamy. “Babaji who was
originally a resident of
Madhya Pradesh was a
Brigadier in the British
Indian Army
. Once he was
on his way to his battalion
to conduct a senior British
officer’s visit. Enroute he
stopped by a mendicant, to
hear his discourse. Naray-
an Swami got completely
engrossed in the spiritual
discourse of the mendi-
cant and completely forgot
about his official assign-
ment. Later when he
reached the battalion, he
realized to his surprise
that the superior British
officer’s visit had been
conducted by none other
than himself. Brigadier
Narayan Swamy had been
seen in the battalion going
about his work as he nor-
mally would have. Infact
the troops were sur-
prised when he said
that he had been
delayed. They
said, no sa-
hib you
w e r e
very much here. He won-
dered how could he be at
two different places simul-
taneously
. It was then that
Narayan Swamy
realized the
s p i r i t u a l
power of
the mendi-
cant
who had stopped him.”
Looking at my wide-open
eyes, Govindji smiles and
continues, “Baba Narayan
Swamy resigned his com-
mission in the army and
withdrew into spiritual-
ism. He wandered the
country for many years
before reaching the Bha-
kars of Siddhanath where
he settled, lived and medi-
tated.”
TO BE CONTINUED
IN CITY FIRST
TOMORROW...
EXPLORING
THE BHAKARS
OF JODHPUR
Anyone who grows up in Jodhpur, cannot possibly
avoid being fascinated with three things. They are -
the Mirchibara, the Mehrangarh fort and the Bhakars
B
COL SOMBIT GHOSH, an
Army Officer, hails from
Jodhpur. He has been PRO
Defence in Rajasthan Siddhanath Mahadev

ETC
11
CREATIVITY FOR
CURFEW BLUES!
City first
asked its
readers the
one creative
activity they
seek solace
in during
such times of
turmoil,
curfews and
weekend
lockdowns!
ew year went
delightfully, we
all were pas-
sionate about
the cheers and
joys that 2022
might bring
fotr us. However, follow-
ing the new year; Cov-
id-19’s Omicron variant
is opening its claws to
engulf us in curbs again.
The tiring curbs are
knocking our doors
oonce again, we might
be gearing up for anoth-
er ‘staying indoors’ ses-
sion but, no one wants it
to be dull this time. Eve-
ryone is now attaching
themselves to mindful
activities such as paint-
ing, sketching and
journaling to pamper
their mental health ans
stay away from the cur-
few blues. Care for some
new ideas?
N
PARTH
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
As we all know covid is spreading,
life can’t be stopped there. I am
taking the best use of this time
by engaging myself in my college work,
doing internships, planning for further
studies, my morning regime and last
growing and uplifting myself to become
the best version of me. Taking care of
myself and the loved ones around me is
the most important thing.
—Lakshita Bhargava, RAJ
Even though there have been
no strict guidelines by the govt,
people are chosing to stay back at
home at their own will. By staying home,
there’s an endless list of things that I
have started recently; such as keeping a
blog, I have been learning new life skills,
meditation, home workout, art and craft
have been catching up on my sleep and
have got access to e-library, and so on
this list is inexhaustible.
—Ananya Pal Singh, RAJ
Indoor activities like sitting
with my friends or family
around a bonfire while hav-
ing some barbecued food
is my favourite to do in winter.
It doesn’t cost much but always
ends up giving us the best time
and that’s what matters. And as
the cases are on a rise it’s also
better. I resort to my backyard,
take out my DIY barbecue and
have fun with my close friends
and family members. We often
sing songs together, someone
might take out their guitar and
we all begin to jam. Well, it’s my
kind of ‘staying indoors’.
—Akarshan Jaiswal, UP
First of all, I will keep my-
self optimistic, things are
not in my hand so stress-
ing about it will only affect
my mental state, therefore better
to focus on things that are under
my control like diet, mental
health and my happiness. I enjoy
writing to the fullest, I’ve started
focusing on my writing skills so
that I can express myself on the
pages more lucidly. I try to en-
hance my writing, explore more
styles of composing and read
more to write better. I thoroughly
enjoy the process of learning to
be a better writer.
—Kevin Giri, AHMEDABAD
Being a doctor gets hectic
sometimes and to ensure
quality time with my family,
my favourite indoor activity
is to play some board games
with my family after tea time.
It can be as simple as playing
Scrabble with them or darts in
the living room. Indoor activi-
ties like these boost our mood
and overall mental well being.
We also play games like Ludo,
Catan, UNO and dumb charades.
It gives all of us a chance to con-
nect after a long day of working
hard! Honestly, I like this oppor-
tunity of reconnecting.
—Adeeba Siddiqui, UP
To keep me active during
the pandemic, I try to
tie myself to a balanced
schedule. I include home
workouts, in it. The workouts
help me feel active. I video-call
my friends and we all work out
together. It’s a fun way to keep
myself active and maintain my
social circle. I’ve also realised
that working out during such
difficult times keeps me more
productive throughout the day. It
keeps me energised for my work
day and away from the ‘work
from home’ boredom, which I
ebb away on the bed.
—Sourav Jangid, DELHI

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