11042022_First India Lucknow.pdf

Every Assembly segment to have 100-bed hospital: Yogi
Gorakhpur (PTI):
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath on Sunday
inaugurated a statewide
health campaign and
said each of the 403 As-
sembly segments in the
state will have a 100-bed
hospital.
Launching the Jan
Arogya Mela in the state
from the Jungle Kaudia
primary health centre
here, the CM said his
government is focusing
on strengthening the
health infrastructure.
Every Assembly seg-
ments in the state will
have a 100-bed well-
equipped hospital, Adi-
tyanath said, adding
that the Jan Arogya
Mela will be organised
every Sunday at all pri-
mary health centres.
People will get free
consultation and medi-
cines during the drive,
he said. The CM said the
campaignwasstartedin
2020 but discontinued
due to the coronavirus
pandemic.
He also claimed that
deadly encephalitis,
which took lives of more
than 50,000 children
from 1977 to 2017, came
under control due to
jointeffortsof theUnion
and state governments.
“Encephalitis came un-
der control in the past
four years. The deadly
encephalitiswillbeerad-
icated forever in one to
two years,” he said.
CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurates the Jan Arogya Mela in Gorakhpur on Sunday.
JAN AROGYA MELA BEGINS AGAIN
COVID COMBATED
‘‘We are starting the facility
of Arogya Melas again
which was affected due
to the Covid pandemic.
Every Sunday health
teams will be visiting these
Melas spreading aware-
ness regarding health
issues while also ensuring
that people get various
health facilities,” CM Yogi
said. He also lauded the
health workers for their
exemplary performance
in curbing the pandemic
across the state.
LUCKNOW l MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 148
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, is not conducting any probes in India,
the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in a statement, categorically denying
the Congress’ claims. On Friday, a Congress MLA from Karnataka alleged that the
US’ FBI is investigating a “billion dollar Bitcoin scam” in India. “This is to inform
you that FBI has not sent any team to conduct a probe in the matter,” the CBI said.
FBI NOT PROBING
BITCOIN SCAM IN
INDIA: CBI JUNKS
CONGRESS CLAIM
A 26-year-old spectator Dashrath Jadhav, who jumped the barriers and ran into
the field and gave fist bumps to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during match no. 18
of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal
Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune
was arrested by police on Sunday for invading the pitch and stopping the play.
PITCH INVADER
GIVES FIST BUMPS
TO KOHLI, ROHIT AT
IPL, ARRESTED
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Islamabad: The oppo-
sition parties in Paki-
stan on Sunday nomi-
nated Shehbaz Sharif
of Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz as their
joint candidate for PM
polls. Khan’s Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI)
party also nominated
65-year-old former for-
eign minister Shah Me-
hmood Qureshi as its
candidate.
Pakistan Peoples Par-
ty chief Bilawal Bhutto
is likely to be appointed
as next foreign minister.
Meanwhile, after Pa-
kistan’sNationalAssem-
bly voted out PM Imran
Khan during no-confi-
dencemotion,Khantook
toTwitterandsaid,“The
freedom struggle begins
again today after 1947”.
Kyiv: A new grave with
dozens of civilian
Ukrainians was found
on Saturday in Buzova,
a liberated village near
the capital Kyiv that for
weeks was occupied by
Russian forces, a local
official said.
Taras Didych, head of
the Dmytrivka commu-
nity that includes Buzo-
va and several other
nearby villages, told
Ukrainian television
that the bodies were
found in a ditch near a
petrol station.
The number of dead
is yet to be confirmed,
reported news agency
.
“Now, we are return-
ingtolife,butduringthe
occupation we had our
‘hotspots’, many civil-
ians died,” Didych said.
Jairam Thakur won’t
be replaced,will lead
Himachalpolls:Nadda
Northeast groups oppose
central govt’s Hindi move
New Delhi: In a sur-
prisinganddaringstate-
ment, BJP National
President JP Nadda, by
virtually exercising this
authority as the
party chief, has
surprised every-
one in Shimla and
New Delhi by say-
ing that the next
assembly polls in
Himachal Pradesh,
scheduled to be held
later this year, will be
held only under the
leadership of the state’s
present Chief Minister
Jairam Thakur, whose
removal was being spec-
ulated in media for last
couple of months. Ac-
cording to political ob-
servers, normally such
major policy deci-
sions and an-
n o u n c e m e n t s
have been in the
past made by
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
and Amit Shah, but this
time Nadda has availed
his ‘opportunity’ to con-
vey BJP high com-
mand’s decision about
the political future of
Jairam Thakur.
Several Northeast-
based organisations,
including Assam’s apex
literary body, the Asom
Sahitya Sabha, have
urged the Centre to roll
back its decision to
make Hindi compulsory
till Class X in the region.
In a statement on Sat-
urday, the Sabha said
thatitopposedthemove.
The statement said,
“The Union Home min-
ister should have in-
stead taken steps to de-
velop Assamese and
other indigenous lan-
guages. Such steps spell
a bleak future for Assa-
mese and all indigenous
languages in the North-
east. The Sabha de-
mands that the decision
be revoked.”
Meanwhile, Tamil na-
du’srulingDMKonSun-
day ‘warned’ the Centre
against imposing Hindi
saying the Tamil people
still remembered the
anti-Hindi agitation by
late party patriarch M
Karunanidhi, implying
that they would not al-
low it to happen.
STAGE SET FOR NEW
PM SHEHBAZ
PTI’s Qureshi also throws in hat,
Bilawal next foreign minister likely
Freedom struggle begins again: Imran’s
1st words after being losing midnight vote
Immigration authorities on high alert; Imran’s PTI warns
to withdraw lawmakers, launches stir against new govt
Imran Khan
@ImranKhanPTI
Pakistan became an
independent state in
1947; but the freedom
struggle begins again
today against a foreign
conspiracy of regime
change. It is always the
people of the country
who defend their sover-
eignty democracy.
Dozens of Ukrainians
found in grave near Kyiv
In this image provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy, center, and Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, center left, walk in downtown Kyiv.
RUSSIAN HELICOPTERS DESTROY
UKRAINIAN MILITARY CONVOY
AFTER EID, WILL
NAWAZ RETURN?
COMING HOME
OF THE SHARIF
OPENING WITH
INDIA POSSIBLE?
T’GANA CABINET’S
DHARNA IN DELHI
PM MODI, BIDEN’S
VIRTUAL MEET TODAY
UKRAINE: DNIPRO AIRPORT‘COMPLETELY
DESTROYED’ BY RUSSIAN SHELLING
Russian attack helicopters have destroyed a
convoy of Ukraine’s armoured vehicles and anti-
aircraft warfare, the news agency Interfax reported
on Sunday, citing Russia’s defence ministry.
“Attack helicopters KA-52 ... destroyed weapons
and military equipment of the armed forces of
Ukraine,” the agency cited the ministry as saying
in a statement. Ukrainian military officials were not
immediately available for comment. Reuters was
not immediately able to verify the report.
With brother Shehbaz
at helm and not without
nod from Army, it won’t
be wrong to guess that
ex-PM Nawaz Sharif will
be paking his bags in
London for a homecom-
ing, provided authorities
let go of his cases as
part of some ‘behind
close-door deal’. Let’s
wait and watch!
By ousting Imran Khan,
Nawaz Sharif’s brother
Shehbaz Sharif has
shown that he still holds
the cards to be back
in the game. He has
worked his way into get-
ting the support of the
Pakistan Army.
Imran Khan attacked
PM Narendra Modi and
the RSS in last two-
and-half years of him
heading the country. His
ouster makes it relatively
easier for New Delhi and
Islamabad to start diplo-
matic conversations.
The entire Telangana Cabinet
and its 107 TRS MLAs will hold
a protest at Telangana Bhawan
in Delhi on Monday, on the ‘dis-
criminating’ issue of the central’
government’s decision to not
procure paddy from the State
of Telangana. P5
Amid hectic diplomatic activity
with growing pressure from the
West on India’s oil deals with
Russia, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi will virtually meet with US
President Joe Biden on Monday.
The Ukraine situation expected
to come up in meet. P6
The airport in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro
has been completely destroyed in fresh Russian
shelling, a local official said Sunday. “There has
been another attack on Dnipro airport. There is
nothing left of it. The airport itself and the infra-
structure around it has been destroyed. Rockets
keep flying and flying. We are seeking to clarify
information about victims.,” the head of the city’s
military administration, Valentin Reznichenko said.
Congress can’t set own house in
order: Maya hits back at Rahul
New Delhi: Responding
to Rahul Gandhi’s
“Mayawati didn’t fight
for Dalits retort” Bahu-
jan Samajwadi Party
(BSP) on Sunday said
that Congress must get
theirownhouseinorder
rather than intruding
into her party affairs.
“Congresscan’tmend
its own way and can’t
set its own house in or-
der but is intruding into
our matters. Congress
and Rahul Gandhi
should think 100 times
before commenting on
the BSP
,” said Mayawati
while addressing a
press conference.
BSP president’s re-
sponse comes after Ra-
hul Gandhi on Saturday
while addressing a
gathering at a book
launch event said that
BSP supremo Mayawati
did not put in her full
efforts in the 2022 as-
sembly election due to
political pressure by
the BJP.
19 Lankans reach TN on boat,
seek asylum as crisis spirals
Chennai:Asmanyas19
SriLankanTamilsfrom
Jaffna and Mannar
reached Dhanushkodi
in Tamil Nadu on boat.
These people, seeking
refugeinIndia,saidthat
living in Sri Lanka has
become very difficult
due to the severe eco-
nomiccrisis.Theprices
of essential commodi-
tiestherehaveincreased
tremendously
.
Till now, a total of 39
people,includingwom-
en and children have
reached the Indian
coast to seek asylum.
Neighbouring Sri
Lanka is currently fac-
ing its worst economic
crisis in recent history
.
POWER INCOMING: Shehbaz Sharif
BSP Supremo Mayawati Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
POWER OUTGOING: Imran Khan
We don’t hug PM
forcefully: Maya
...call it ‘imposition’; DMK too hits out at Centre
Sri Lankan refugees

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2022
02
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CM@KANYA-PUJAN
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is also the Chief Priest of Gorakshnath temple situated in Gorakhpur, led the Kanya Pujan event there on the occasion of Chaitra Navratri’s Mahanavmi on Sunday. He was seen washing the feet of nine girls, representing nine avtars
of Goddess Durga with all rituals. The CM also hosted a bhoj (feast) for them. The day is also celebrated as Ram Navami, which is one of the most significant Hindu festivals as it marks the birth anniversary of Lord Ram.
Bulandshahr (PTI): A
novel initiative of set-
ting up astronomical
laboratories in govern-
ment schools of this
district in Uttar
Pradesh has become
the cynosure of all eyes
as children and adults
alike make a beeline for
these centres to know
about planets, stars
and other aspects of as-
tronomy.
The laboratories
have sown the seeds of
curiosity, with their
walls filled with pic-
tures giving informa-
tion about solar system.
Here, children as well
as people of the village
can watch the beauty of
moon and stars through
telescopes.
Chief Development
Officer (CDO) Ab-
hishek Pandey said the
astronomical laborato-
ries have been estab-
lished in 109 primary
and upper primary
schools in the district
after taking inspiration
from the New Educa-
tion Policy 2020.
Vikas, a teacher post-
ed at the astronomical
laboratory set up in the
primary school of Si-
kanderabad develop-
ment area here, said
enrolment of children
inschoolshasincreased
after establishing these
loboratories in the
state.
“Apart from children,
villagers are also invit-
ed to these labs. We give
information about the
weight of planets and
other aspects of astron-
omy. In fact, enrolment
of children in schools
has increased due to
these laboratories,” he
said.
A student, who visits
the astronomical labo-
ratory at a primary
school of Bilsuri, said
he came to know about
earth and its revolution
around sun, solar sys-
tem and lunar eclipse at
these centres.
He added that he also
gets to watch the moon
and stars through tele-
scope
—FILE PHOTO
INITIATIVE
Astro labs in govt schools become cynosure of all eyes
The initiative has been able to
attract children and even adults
to know about planets, stars
State can progress only when
its people are healthy: CM Yogi
First India Bureau
Gorakhpur: While in-
augurating the ‘Arogya
Mela’ throughout the
state at Jungle Kaudia
in Gorakhpur on Sun-
day, CM Yogi said, “It
the duty of the govern-
ment to ensure that the
people of the state re-
ceive proper, accessible
health care and medi-
cal facilities without
any kind of discrimina-
tion and we working on
a mission-mode to-
wards this.”
Maintaining that his
governmenthasworked
on a mission-mode to
improve and strengthen
the health infrastruc-
ture in UP, Yogi Adity-
anath pointed out that,
“Only the BRD Medical
College, which used to
lack in terms of medi-
cal facilities, was once
known as the centre of
healthcare in the east-
ern UP
, today
, not only it
is giving proper servic-
es but also, institutes
like AIIMS, and medi-
cal colleges in Deoria,
Siddharthnagar and
Basti are also serving
people.”
He added that the
construction of a medi-
cal college in Kushina-
gar is going on and ap-
proval has been given to
set up a medical college
in Maharajganj.
“From 1977 to 2017,
the eastern part of Ut-
tar Pradesh suffered
from communicable
diseases like encephali-
tis because of which
there were thousands
of deaths every year. In
the last four to five
years, our government
eliminated the disease
completely which was
not done in forty years,”
said Yogi, adding that,
“With a little vigilance
and collective efforts,
encephalitis will be
eradicated forever in
next one or two years.”
Over 30 crore vaccine
doses as well as free
testing facilities, free
treatment and free dou-
ble-dose of foodgrains
have been made availa-
ble to the citizens of Ut-
tar Pradesh, he added.
Adityanath enumerates efforts taken by his government to strengthen health infra in UP
Chief Minister Yogi performs Annaprashan ceremony of a kid during the launch of Arogya Mela in
Gorakhpur on Sunday.
FACILITATION OF
HEALTH FACILITIES
The CM said, “We are
starting the facility of
Arogya Melas again
which was affected
due to the Covid pan-
demic. Every Sunday
health teams will visit
these Melas spreading
awareness regarding
health issues while
also ensuring that
people get various
health facilities.”
OBJECTIVE
Official alleges threat to life from
BJP MLA's brother, probe ordered
Badaun: The district
magistrate here or-
dered an inquiry after
a civic body official
sought transfer alleg-
ing threat to his life
from a BJP MLA’s
brother.
The allegations
were levelled by Data-
ganj civic body Execu-
tive Officer Sunil Ku-
mar Saroj against lo-
cal BJP MLA Rajiv
Kumar Singh’s broth-
er Vinay Kumar Sin-
gh. The MLA’s brother
denied the charge and
accused the official of
corruption.
District Magistrate
Deepa Ranjan said in-
vestigation has been
handed over to the ad-
ditional district mag-
istrate (administra-
tion), who has been
asked to submit the
report within two
days.
“Action will be tak-
en on the basis of the
findings of the re-
port,” the DM said.
The executive of-
ficer alleged that the
MLA’s brother misbe-
haved and abused him
on April 6, claiming
corruption in a con-
struction work.
In the complaint to
the DM, Saroj said he
was making arrange-
ments for the stay of
some official at a
guest house on April 6
when the MLA’s
brother called him.
After some time, Vi-
nay Kumar Singh
reached the guest
house and abused the
EO while referring to
the construction
work, the complaint
said.
The EO alleged
threat to his life and
property from the
MLA’s brother.
—FILE PHOTO
Sisodia hits out at UP govt for
allowing pvt schools to hike fees
New Delhi: Delhi
Deputy CM Manish
Sisodia slammed the
BJP-led Uttar Pradesh
government on Sunday
for allowing private
schools to hike their
fees and alleged that
the saffron party wants
to “keep the country
uneducated”.
“The Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) govern-
ment was formed in
Punjab on March 16 and
within 10 days, CM
Bhagwant Mann issued
an order saying private
schools can’t increase
their fees.
“On the other hand,
the BJP government
was formed in Uttar
Pradesh on March 25
and it passed an order
saying private schools
have complete freedom
to increase the fees and
loot the parents,” he
said.
Delhi’s Deputy CM
Sisodia said many peo-
ple have lost their liveli-
hood during the COV-
ID-19 pandemic and the
fee hike will hurt them.
“They cannot work
on improving govern-
ment schools. Where
will the common man
go? People have lost em-
ployment during Covid.
You will not work on
improving the condi-
tion of the government
schools and you will al-
low private schools to
hike the fees. You want
to keep the country il-
literate. This is the
BJP’s governance mod-
el in Uttar Pradesh.
Please think about the
parents,” the Delhi
Deputy Chief Minister
said during an online
interaction.
Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia.
‘UP GOVT IGNORES COVID IMPACT’

UTTAR PRADESH
03
WELCOME VICE PREZ
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will travel from Lucknow
Charbagh railway station to Ayodhya on a special train on
April 15. To prepare for the day and to spruce up both the
stations, officials conducted a meeting on Sunday while
workers carried out some paint work.
—PHOTOS BY ASHOK DUTTA
4 held in connection with theft from bank lockers
Kanpur (PTI): Four
people, including a bank
manager, have been ar-
rested in connection
with an alleged theft of
valuables worth over Rs
2.5 crore from nine lock-
ers of the Central Bank
of India’sKarachikhana
branch here, police said
on Sunday
.
Stolen ornaments
weighing342gramshave
been recovered from the
arrested accused, Depu-
ty Commissioner of Po-
lice (East) Pramod Ku-
mar said.
Bank manager Ram
Prasad, Chan-
draprakash, Karan Raj
and Rakesh were arrest-
edonSaturday
,headded.
Police,however,failed
to nab assistant bank
manager Shubham
Malviya, who has been
absconding since a
probe was launched in
the matter.
Talking to PTI, the
DCP said Prasad and
Malviya allegedly broke
open the lockers, took
awaytheornamentsand
sold those off.
According to norms, a
five-member committee
comprising two bank
managers, a legal advi-
sorandtwoindependent
witnessesistobeformed
to open the inoperative
lockers, but the arrested
manager defied the Re-
serve Bank of India
(RBI) norms, DCP
(Crime)SalmantajJafer-
taj Patil said.
When a Special Inves-
tigation Team (SIT)
launched its investiga-
tion, discrepancies were
foundintheregisterand
other records of the
bank.
The probe suggested
that 29 inoperative lock-
ers were opened.
When police interro-
gated locker technician
Chandraprakash, he ini-
tially tried to mislead
them but later, broke
down and confessed to
his crime.
He told the interroga-
tors that he had broken
open 29 lockers, of
whichaboutadozenhad
valuables.
At least nine custom-
ers of the bank branch
had found valuables
worth crores of rupees
missing from their lock-
ers, police had said on
Friday
.
ThreeFIRshavesofar
been lodged in connec-
tion with the matter.
The incident came to
light on March 14, when
Manju Bhattacharya,
one of the customers of
the bank, checked her
locker and found valu-
ables missing.
SitaGuptaalsoreport-
ed the same happening
with her.
When the news ap-
peared in the local news-
papers, other customers
rushed to the bank, of
whom seven since Tues-
day have said valuables
have gone missing from
their lockers, Kumar
said.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Tracing the
financial resources of
arrested accused Mur-
taza into the matter of
Gorakhnath temple at-
tack, UP Anti-terrorist
Squad (ATS) has sum-
moned his brother Dr
Khalid Abbasi for
questioning.
It was reported that
Dr Khalid Abbasi had to
reach ATS head quarter
at Lucknow on Saturday
but he requested to hold
the interrogation at Go-
rakhpur only as he had
issue in traveling due to
age but message was
conveyed to reach at
Lucknow headquarter.
ATS was probing fi-
nancial resources of
Murtaza as he was re-
ceiving funds even after
he had left his job. It
was reported that Mur-
taza confessed to trans-
fer funds in Syria and
he was in connection
with foreign handlers.
Murtaza had sent sev-
eral coded messages to
his handlers in other
countries. Family mem-
bers of Murtaza
claimed that he was
mentally challenged
but doctors observed no
such discrepancies.
Also earlier investiga-
tions revealed that ac-
cused Murtaza was in-
volved in terror funding
and had connection
with terrorist organisa-
tion ISIS.
Murtaza Abbasi had
attacked two police con-
stables with a sharp-
edged weapon and tried
to barge into the premis-
es before he was over-
powered on April 3. The
temple is under high
security as it is fre-
quently visited by UP
Chief Minister Yogi Ad-
ityanath, who is the
head seer.
First India Bureau
Ghazipur: The police
have confiscated assets
worthRs3.5croreof ma-
fia-turned-politician
Mukhtar Ansari near
Shubra Complex in Ma-
hubagh area.
Earlier, a hotel owned
by Afsha Ansari, wife of
Mukhtar was demol-
ished last year in same
areaandassetsworthRs
60crorehavebeenseized
till date.
Senior administrative
and police officers in-
cluding DSP Ojsavi
Chawla and SDM An-
irudhh Pratap Singh
reached Mahubagh area
to seize property owned
by Rabia Khatun, moth-
er of Mukhtar Ansari.
Chawla said actions
were taken under Gang-
ster Act and further in-
vestigationswereunder-
way
. Mukhtar is present-
ly in Banda district jail
and police are probing
his whole nexus.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Six minor
blasts were success-
fully carried out be-
fore the demolition of
the illegally built Su-
pertech twin towers
in Noida Sunday, offi-
cials said. The blasts
in the basement and
on the 13th floor using
5 kilograms of explo-
sives took place at 2.30
pm for about four sec-
onds, they added.
Officials of Edifice
Engineering and Jet
Demolitions, which
has been roped in by
the Noida authority to
demolish the twin
towers, said they se-
lected columns and
pillars on the base-
ment and on the 13th
floor for trials.
According to offi-
cials present at the
site, the trial blasts
were performed in the
32-storeyed Apex Tow-
er building.
“Total of six minor
blasts were conduct-
ed—five in the base-
ment and one of the
columns on the 13th
floor—to see the side
effects and the dam-
ages. Overall, it was
successful and we are
satisfied and happy
with the trials.
The after test study
result will take about
15 days,” said
Utkarsh Mehta, the
Indian partner with
Edifice Engineering
company.
New Delhi (PTI): The
Samyukt Kisan Mor-
cha( SKM) will observe
an ‘MSP Guarantee
Week’ from April 11 to
17 to press its demand
for a legal guarantee on
minimumsupportprice
for farmers.
During this week,
farmer unions will hold
dharnas, demonstra-
tions and seminars
across the country, the
SKM said in a state-
ment on Sunday
.
The programme was
first announced on
March 14.
Between April 11 and
17, farmer organisa-
tions across the country
will observe an ‘MSP
Guarantee Week’ under
the banner of the
Samyukt Kisan Mor-
cha, the statement said.
“Under this pro-
gramme, public aware-
ness campaigns will be
held through dharnas,
demonstrations and
seminars at different
places for the demand
to make Minimum Sup-
port Price (MSP) a legal
right of farmers,” it
said.
CUSTOMERS RUSH TO BANKS AFTER
NEWS OF EMPTYING LOCKERS
When the news appeared in the local newspapers,
other customers rushed to the bank, of whom
seven since Tuesday have said valuables have gone
missing from their lockers, Kumar said. The total cost
of the stolen articles is estimated to be over Rs 2.5
crore, with each customer reporting a loss of about
Rs 30 lakh in valuables, he added.
ATS summons temple attack accused
Murtaza’s brother for interrogation
TestblastatoneofSupertech
twin towers goes off well
SKM’s‘MSPGuarantee
Week’ starts today
Supertech twin towers in Nodia. —FILE PHOTO
More assets
of Mukhtar
seized in
Ghazipur
Prayagraj(PTI): Class
4 student Kajal, who
had come into lime-
light last year by par-
ticipating in the Indira
Marathon here, started
a run from Prayagraj
to Lucknow on Sunday
.
Kajal, who aspires to
be an athlete, will
reach the residence of
CM Yogi Adityanath in
Lucknow on April 17.
She will cover over
200 kilometres, run-
ning.
Before leaving for
Lucknow from the Civ-
il Lines here, Kajal told
PTI that she had partic-
ipated in the Indira
Marathon last year.
Despite this, neither
her school nor the dis-
trict administration
appreciated her, she
says.
Kajal’s coach Ra-
jinikanth said she will
have her first stop at
Phaphamau. On Mon-
day, she will leave for
Kunda in Pratapgarh,
where she will rest at
the house of MLA Raja
Bhaiya.
Kajal will reach Luc-
know on April 17 via
Unchahar, Rae Bareli.
Due to extreme heat,
she will run from 5 am
to 8 am and from 5 pm
to 7 pm. She will rest in
the afternoon.
Rajnikanth said Ka-
jal’s father, a resident
of Lalitpur village,
works as a pointsman
in the Railways.
Kajal expressed hope
that CM Yogi will fulfil
her dream of bringing
glory to the country
by becoming an athlete
and hopes of getting
resources required
for it.
Rajinikanth said Ka-
jal was stopped from
going to the stage in
stadium despite com-
pleting the Indira Mar-
athon last year.
After this, she decid-
ed to do something big
in future, he said.
Class 4 girl begins over 200-km run from Prayagraj to Lko
SPRINT PRODIGY
lll
Kajal hoped CM
Yogi will fulfil
her dream of
bringing glory to
the country
by helping her
getting the
resources
needed for an
athlete
Kajal at the start of the marathon to Lucknow.
CRUCIAL READ
Kanpur: Members of Arogyadham remembered Dr
Hahnemann on World Homeopathy Day in accordance
the Covid-19 guidelines. Goldie Masala MD Surendra
Gupta, SB Global’s Vishal Dalmiya and Indian Indus-
tries Co-Operative Society Chairman Vijay Kapoor,
senior BJP leader Rakesh Tiwari, Guru Singh Sabha
president Harvinder Singh present on the oaacsion ap-
preciated the work of Arogyadham on the 267th birth
anniversary Sir Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann.
Homeopathy has miraculous results in Corona and
other viral diseases. The programme started with
lighting of inaugural lamp and garlanding the portrait of
father of homeopathy Dr Samuel Hahnemann.
Sambhal: Five people have been arrested for alleged-
ly betting on IPL matches here, police said on Sun-
day. The accused have been identified as Shahvez,
Jahangir, Hilal, Zafar and Farhaz. They were nabbed
on Saturday for betting on IPL matches, Superinten-
dent of Police, Chakresh Mishra said.Twenty-three
laptops, Rs 17,000 in cash and calculators were
recovered from their possession, Mishra said.
MAHANT PREM
DAS LEAVES FOR
HEAVENLY ABODE
Gorakhpur: Mahant
Prem Das, priest of the
Hanuman Temple at
Gorakhnath Dham, died
on Sunday at the age of
85. CM Yogi Adityanath
reached Gorakhnath
Dham along with
several Ayodhya-based
seers as soon as the
news reached him. The
Mahant will be given
samadhi in Ayodhya in
rites supervised by the
CM. The chief minister
called the Mahant’s
death as an irreparable
loss to the community
of saints. He said that
the Mahant chose the
day of Ram Navami to
leave for Ram’s abode.
9-YEAR-OLD GIRL
RAPED IN BADAUN,
ACCUSED HELD
Budaun: A 9-yr-old
girl was allegedly raped
by her neighbour in a
village in Islamnagar
area, police said on
Sunday. The incident
took place on Saturday
afternoon when the girl
was playing outside
her house and the
neighbour identified as
Rambharose took her
to his place and raped
her, the family members
of the girl said in their
complaint. When the
girl reached home, she
narrated the incident to
her family members,
who lodged the case
following which the
accused was arrested.
AROGYADHAM MEMBERS REMEMBER
HAHNEMANN ON HOMEOPATHY DAY
5 ARRESTED FOR BETTING ON IPL
MATCHES, LAPTOPS, CASH SEIZED
MOTIVE UNCLEAR
Murtaza said his hatred
spawned from ‘atroci-
ties’ committed against
Muslims, the police
said. He said he went to
the temple as cops are
always stationed there
and he wanted to flee
after attacking them.

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 148
l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi
Industrial Area Kanpur Road Luc-
know. Published at 98, Friend’’s
Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli
Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP).
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Vishal Srivastav
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Govt. creates matrix for 50 agricultural
products with good export potential
to further enhance farmers’ income.
Building the road ahead after record-
breaking $50 billion exports in 2021-22.
Shashi Tharoor
@ShashiTharoor
I was brought up to believe that piety
prayer were private, emotions were
to be expressed behind closed doors,
“grace under pressure” was the ideal,
you worked hard to make your
successes look effortless. None of
those values or standards of behaviour
are upheld any longer.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
The power of God is with
you at all times; through the
activities of mind, senses,
breathing, and emotions;
and is constantly doing all
the work using you as a
mere instrument.
—The Bhagvad Gita
IN-DEPTH
EVEN ATHEISM CAN
HURT SENTIMENTS
OF THE MAJORITY
COMMUNITY
his conference had
nothing to do with
Islam or Christianity
.
Nor had it anything
to do with Hindu
bashing. Yet it was not allowed
to be held by the Pune Police as
Sunday was Ram Navmi day and
the event may have caused law
and order problem. The event
was the seventh edition of the
Atheist conference organised by
the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Vi-
char Manch, Pune. Incidentally,
Bhagat Singh believed in Athe-
ism. The police told the organ-
izers that certain groups felt that
the Atheist conference on Ram-
navmi was meant to hurt the
sentiments of believers. This is
strange logic which does not al-
low room for lack of one’s belief
in god. The event could have
been allowed out of deference to
Bhagat Singh.
India has a miniscule number
of atheists---33,000 according to
the 2011 census, who can hardly
hurt a religious majority’s senti-
ments. Atheism was propagated
in ancient India by the philoso-
pher Charvaka’s who rejected
the notion of karma, afterlife
and supernaturalism.
TOP TWEETS
T
n a historic first
Imran Khan Niazi
was ousted from
power after a post
midnight vote on
a no-confidence motion
moved by the opposition par-
ties went against him. One
must appreciate the Pakistan
Supreme Court which did not
succumb to any pressure and
ensured that the due demo-
cratic process was followed.
Helped by the National As-
sembly speaker Prime Minis-
ter Imran Khan tried every
trick to have the no-trust
shelved so that he could re-
main in power but it wasn’t
his day
. Now former Pakistan
Prime Minister Nawaz Sha-
rif’s younger brother She-
hbaz Sharif is likely to be
elected the next prime minis-
ter. He’ll be heading a dispa-
rate group and may find the
task of leading the country
very challenging. Unlike the
ace cricketer who has a spot-
less image barring a few per-
sonal weaknesses, Sharif is
on bail in a money launder-
ing case in a multi-billion
rupee sugar scam. He was
also lodged in Lahore jail in
another money laundering
case and was released only
last year.
With such baggage, he may
not be an ideal choice for the
prime minister’s post but
he’s a product of democra-
cy’s strange ways. Not only
will Shehbaz have to keep an
eye on the criminal cases
against him, but he also has
the daunting task of pulling
Pakistan’s economy out of
the quagmire as Imran’s beg-
ging trips abroad were of no
help. Inflationary woes were
exacerbated by Imran’s in-
sensitive remark that he was
not in politics to check prices
of “aloo and tamatar”. De-
spite that he retains some of
his popularity and can’t be
written off just yet.
IMRAN KHAN CANNOT
BE WRITTEN OFF
Not only will Shehbaz
have to keep an eye on
the criminal cases
against Imran
Khan, but he also has
the daunting task of
pulling Pakistan’s
economy out of the
quagmire as Imran’s
begging trips abroad
were of no help
I
he Maharashtra government
is attempting, to eliminate
Chandrapur’s dubious title
as the state’s most polluted
city and district, located at
the eastern edge of Maha-
rashtra’s Vidarbha district.
The Chandrapur adminis-
tration has set up a body
called the District Level Pol-
lution Control Agricultural
Compensation Committee to
look into the effects of coal
pollution and fly ash on the
district’s food and other rev-
enue-generating crops. The
committee will be chaired by
the District Collector, with
members including the Dis-
trict Superintendent of Ag-
riculture and the Chan-
drapur Zilla Parishad CEO,
as well as the Maharashtra
Pollution Control Board
(MPCB). According to dis-
trict administration, the ag-
ricultural department will
evaluate crop health
throughout a two-year evalu-
ation that will begin this
Kharif season (beginning
June 2022) with help from lo-
cal academic institutions.
Farmlands within a 500 m
to 1 km radius of coal-fired
industries, including the
Chandrapur Super Thermal
Power Station, will be exam-
ined as part of this. The ef-
fects of coal pollution in the
form of fly ash on food crops
in these farmlands will be
compared to those in areas
where industries are not pre-
sent. If the evaluation re-
veals a drop in crop yield or
blackening of crops near in-
dustries, the coal-fired com-
panies will be responsible for
compensating farmers for
the revenue lost in terms of
the crop area. The crops fo-
cussed in this analysis will
include - cotton, soybean, tur
pulses and paddy. The same
exercise will be conducted
during the Rabi season (Octo-
ber onwards).
Following an investigation
by the MPCB into each indus-
try failing to meet standards
under the Air (Prevention
and Control of Pollution)
Act, 1981 and The Water (Pre-
vention and Control of Pollu-
tion) Act, a separate commit-
tee - Taluka Level Pollution
Control Agricultural Com-
pensation Commitee - headed
by the Tehsildar, BDO, Talu-
ka agriculture officer, among
others, will design a compen-
sation framework for farm-
ers. The action comes after
Maharashtra Cabinet Minis-
ter Aaditya Thackeray filed a
written response to BJP MLC
Chandrasekhar Bavankule’s
query in Maharashtra legis-
lature on March 24, 2022. The
event in issue, according to
Bavankule, occurred in Jan-
uary 2022, when cotton fields
in an area near coal enter-
prises were blackened owing
to pollution from coal trans-
portation. Bavankule ques-
tioned if it was true that pol-
lution had harmed the envi-
ronment and was impacting
not only cotton and soybeans
but also other crops, citing
industry non-compliance.
Thackeray responded by
confirming that the impact of
coal pollution on crops near
industries was indeed true, as
evidenced by a letter from the
District Superintendent of
Agriculture, Chandrapur, dat-
ed February 25, 2022, stating
that pollution was affecting
the growth of cotton and soy-
bean crops, and production
was declining. The Minister
went on to say that the State
EnvironmentDepartmenthad
requested a thorough report
fromDistrictCollector’soffice
and that the MPCB had issued
a spate of notifications and
had also terminated the bank
guarantee for enterprises that
did not follow the Pollution
Control Rules.
The impact of fly ash on
crops in Chandrapur is a
double whammy, as the dis-
trict is already grappling
with the effects of climate
change on agriculture, with
research indicating reduced
crop growth and production,
water scarcity, soil fertility
reduction, poor quality yield,
and late or no seed germina-
tion as a result of changes in
rainfall and temperature pat-
terns, as well as crop residue
burning. Over the last six
years, the Maharashtra gov-
ernment has paid out Rs.
171.37 crore in compensation
to residents of Chandrapur
who have sustained losses as
a result of climate-related ca-
lamities such as floods,
droughts, and excessive rain.
Apart from being a key ti-
ger destination in the country
(Tadoba Wildlife Sanctuary),
Chandrapurdistrictisknown
for its huge coal mines. The
district’s mineral-based in-
dustrial expansion and fast
urbanisation have inevitably
resultedinpollutionandenvi-
ronmentaldeterioration,with
wide-ranging consequences.
According to the State’s Eco-
nomic Survey report issued
last month, Chandrapur dis-
tricthas1,751industries,with
272 (16%) of them being red
category industries, predomi-
nantly coal-fired. Action tak-
en by MPCB over the past
year for violations at Chan-
drapur included issuing 5
closure notices to coal fired
industries, 85 show cause no-
tices including those to the
CSTPS, and bank guarantee
forfeited to the tune of Rs. 47
lakh across energy and ce-
ment industries.
Chandrapur has the dis-
tinction of being Maharash-
tra’s most polluted city and
the only city in state where
pollution levels didn’t de-
crease during the Covid-19
pandemic-induced lock-
downs. the MPCB plans to
open two additional Continu-
ous Air Quality Monitoring
Stations in Chandrapur next
month, as well as expand its
Online Continuous Emis-
sions Monitoring System to
include all red-category sec-
tors by the end of the year.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
BADRI CHATTERJEE
The writer is a Contributing Author to
First India as well as Communications
Engagement Strategist with Asar, which is a
research and communications startup that
seeks to address the big environmental and
social challenges facing India
If the evaluation reveals a
drop in crop yield or
blackening of crops near
industries, the coal-fired
companies will be
responsible for
compensating farmers for
the revenue lost in terms of
the crop area. The crops
focussed in this analysis
will include - cotton,
soybean, tur pulses and
paddy
Maha commissions coal pollution
study to assess impact on crop yield
...to issue compensation to farmers facing revenue loss
—
P
HOTO
BY
YOGESH
DUDHPACHARE
The impact of fly ash
on crops in Chandrapur
is a double whammy, as
the district is already
grappling with the effects
of climate change on
agriculture, with research
indicating reduced crop
growth and production,
water scarcity, soil fertility
reduction, poor quality
yield, and late or no seed
germination as a result of
changes in rainfall

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INDIA
05
JAGAN REDDY REVAMPS ANDHRA
CABINET, INDUCTS FRESH FACES
Representation of SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes rises to 68 per cent
Hyderabad (Agencies):
Andhra Pradesh Chief
Minister Jagan Mohan
Reddy
,keepinghisprom-
ise of June 2019 of re-
vamping his cabinet in
the middle of his term,
has reconstituted it. The
new cabinet has a mix-
ture of senior and expe-
rienced leaders as well
as fresh and young faces
for balanced govern-
ance. While the seniors
will bring in their exper-
tiseandexperienceonto
the table, the young lead-
ers will bring in innova-
tiveideasandinitiatives,
focussing on people-ori-
ented governance.
The previous minis-
ters, however, will be
given responsibilities
in the party so they
can make use of their
experience to ensure
the party’s victory in
the upcoming assem-
bly and general elec-
tions in 2024.
From the beginning,
the representation Red-
dy gave to the Sched-
uled Castes and Tribes,
minorities and back-
ward classes is unprec-
edented in Andhra
Pradesh and the same
continues in this cabi-
net as well.
In 2019, when Reddy
formed his cabinet, 56
per cent of his 25 minis-
ters were from the
Scheduled Castes and
Tribes, Other Back-
ward Classes and mi-
norities.
This time, the Chief
Minister has increased
their representation to
68 per cent.
In the previous cabi-
net, there were 5 mem-
bers of the Scheduled
Castes, one from Sched-
uled Tribes, 7 members
of the Other Backward
Classes, one from mi-
nority. This time, the
representation has
been increased by 17 –
11 from the Backward
Classes, 5 from Sched-
uled Castes and 1 from
Scheduled Tribes.
During Chandrababu
Naidu’s tenure ‘starting
in2014,theOtherCastes
representation was 13
while the Scheduled
Castes, and Backward
Classes was 12. Of the
12, no ministry given to
leaders from the Sched-
uled Tribes and minor-
ity communities.
The same ratio was
again maintained in
2017, when the cabinet
was revamped.
TheScheduledTribes
were included in
Naidu’s cabinet only
four months before he
completed his tenure.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Of the 10 ministers retained from the previous
cabinet, three are from Scheduled Castes, five
from Backward Classes and two from other castes
Discontent in Sidhu
camp after Congress
appoints new Pb chief
Chandigarh (Agen-
cies): The appointment
of three-time MLA and
former National Youth
Congress President
Amrinder Singh Raja
Warring as the new
Punjab Congress chief
has left former party
chief Navjot Sidhu’s
camp fuming.
While Navjot Singh
Sidhu congratulated
the new Congress chief,
new CLP leader Pratap
Singh Bajwa and Depu-
ty CLP leader Rajku-
mar Chabbewal, his
supporters openly criti-
cised the decision an-
nounced on Saturday
night.
“Congratulations to
Raja Warring and
Bharat Bhushan Ashu
wish them the best al-
ways .” Navjot Sidhu
tweeted after the new
appointments were an-
nounced on Saturday
.
Former Amargarh
Congress MLA and a
staunch Sidhu sup-
porter Surjit Singh
Dhiman, while react-
ing to the new appoint-
ments, said that the
new PCC chief is “a
novice and the deci-
sion to appoint him as
PCC Chief will be a set-
back to the party.”
“The present Con-
gress chief is the most
corrupt and the deci-
sion to appoint him is
wrong,” Dhiman said.
Former Punjab Congress chief
Navjot Singh Sidhu
Mess staff
stopped from
serving non-veg:
2 student groups
clash in JNU
New Delhi (Agen-
cies): Twogroupsof
students clashed on
Sundayafternoonin
the Jawaharlal
Nehru University
(JNU) campus, al-
legedly over meat
being served in the
hostel canteen on
the occasion of Ram
Navami.
The incident took
place at Kaveri hos-
tel at 3:30 in the af-
ternoon.
The Jawaharlal
Nehru University
Students’ Union
(JNUSU) has al-
leged that the Akhil
Bharatiya Vid-
yarthi Parishad
(ABVP) members
assaulted the mess
secretary and
stopped the staff
from serving meat
dishes in the hostel.
Shiv Sena has become pseudo-secular,
says Fadnavis citing calendar in Urdu
Mumbai (PTI): The
ruling Shiv Sena has
become “pseudo-secu-
lar” as a worker from
that party has printed
a calendar in Urdu in
which founder Bal
Thackeray is ad-
dressed as “janab”,
Maharashtra BJP lead-
er Devendra Fadnavis
said on Sunday.
He was talking to re-
porters while cam-
paigning for Kolhapur
North Assembly bypoll
scheduled for April 12.
“The Shiv Sena has
become pseudo-secular.
However, we are not
against any religion or
theirbeliefs,”theformer
chief minister claimed.
Fadnavis condemned
the MSRTC staffers’
protest outside NCP
chief Sharad Pawar’s
home on April 8 but
also attacked leaders
from some parties for
blaming the BJP for the
incident.
BJP leader and former Maharashtra CM Fadnavis.
‘Hanuman chalisa’ outside Shiv
Sena HQ: 4 MNS workers held
Mumbai (ANI): Four Maharashtra Navnirman
Sena (MNS) workers have been detained by the
Mumbai police after they played the ‘Hanuman
Chalisa’ in front of the Shiv Sena headquarters
in the Dadar area of the city. The workers had
mounted a loudspeaker on the roof of a cab
which also had a placard with pictures of Hindu
god Lord Ram and the MNS chief Raj Thackeray,
with “Shree Ram Rath” written on it. The police
reached the spot and shut down the prayer hymn,
they also seized the vehicle and the loudspeaker.
The Shivaji Park police are questioning four men
in the matter. Reacting to the provocation, Maha-
rashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray said that this
is an attempt to revive a “dead party”.
Paddy procurement: T’gana Cabinet
to stage ‘Maha Dharna’ in Delhi today
New Delhi/Hy-
derabad (Agencies):
The Telangana Rash-
tra Samithi (TRS) is all
set to launch a mega
protest in New Delhi
on Monday against the
Centre’s decision to
not procure paddy
from the State.
On Monday, the en-
tire Telangana Cabinet
and its 107 TRS MLAs
will hold a protest at
Telangana Bhawan in
Delhi, on the issue of al-
leged discrimination
against the state in pad-
dy procurement.
Demanding the Cen-
tre to procure the entire
paddy from Telangana
during ongoing Rabi
season, state ministers,
MPs, state legislators
and other public repre-
sentatives of TRS will
stage the protest.
Chief Minister K.
Chandrasekhar Rao is
likely to lead the sit-in,
though the party is yet
to announce this offi-
cially. KCR, as Rao is
popularly known, is
camping in the national
capital for the last six
days on personal work.
Over 1,000 leaders
from the TRS will par-
ticipate in the protest,
the first public protest
by TRS in the national
capital over the issue of
paddy procurement.
Thepartyalsoexpects
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(BKU)leader Rakesh Ti-
kait and leaders of oth-
er farmers’ groups to
participate and show
their solidarity
.
BKU LEADER RAKESH TIKAIT AND OTHER FARMERS’ GROUPS TO PARTICIPATE IN TRS PROTEST
A billboard carries the picture of Telangana Chief Minister KCR
demanding ‘One Nation One Paddy Procurement Policy’.
Yechury re-elected
as CPI(M) General
Secy for 3rd term
T h i r u v a n a n -
thapuram (Agencies):
CPI-M General Sec-
retary Sitaram
Yechury will contin-
ue in the post for a
third term. This was
announced at the
party’s 23rd party
Congress venue on
Sunday
.
Yechury was re-
elected as the general
secretary along with
a 17-member polit-
buro and an 85-mem-
ber central commit-
tee during the 23rd
party Congress.
Sitaram Yechury
was first elected as
the party general sec-
retary during the
21st party Congress
at Visakhapatnam in
April 2015. He was re-
elected to the post at
the 22nd party Con-
gress at Hyderabad
on April 18, 2018.
He succeeded
Prakash Karat as
the general secre-
tary of the party
who held the post
from 2005 to 2015.
LDF convenor and
Kerala CPI-M former
acting secretary, A.
Vijayaraghavan has
been made the new
politburo member
from Kerala. All In-
dia Kisan Sabha
president Ashok
Dawale and Dalit
leader Ram Chandra
Dome are also the
two new entrants to
the party’s highest
decision-making
body, Politburo.
BJP rolls out its ‘Mission 150+’ plan
for Karnataka Assembly elections
Bengaluru (Agen-
cies): After the party
won four out of five
states in the recent as-
sembly polls, the BJP
has started prepara-
tions for the Karnataka
assembly polls sched-
uled mid next year. The
party is working on
‘Mission 150+’ for the
assembly polls in 2023.
Recently, Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah visited the south-
ern state to take stock
of the preparations and
asked the party cadre to
hit the ground running
to achieve ‘Mission
150+’. It is learnt that
Shah has given specific
work to be completed
and said that more will
be assigned in the fu-
ture.
“Elections will be
held next year. Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi ji’s ‘naam’ and
‘kaam’ (name and
work) is everywhere in
the country and the
state government is
also doing good work.
We will definitely
achieve our ‘Mis-
sion150+’. Amit (Shah)
bhai ji has given cer-
tain directions to the
state unit on how we
should work on the
ground. The state unit
executes the directions
on the ground. We will
contest the Karnataka
election on Prime Min-
ister Modi’s name and
work and the work of
the BJP government in
the state. We will again
come to power for sure,”
CT Ravi, BJP national
general secretary and
member Karnataka as-
sembly
, told media.
Srinagar (Agen-
cies): Twoterrorists
were killed in a gun-
fight with the secu-
rityforcesinCentral
Kashmir’s Srinagar
district, officials
saidonSunday
.Both
have been identified
as Pakistani nation-
als and were in-
volved in an attack
on CRPF personnel.
“Two Pakistani
terrorists who were
involved in recent
terror attack on
CRPF Personnel,
neutralisedinSrina-
gar Encounter.
Arms and ammuni-
tion, other incrimi-
nating materials re-
covered,” Jammu
and Kashmir Police
quoting Inspector
GeneralPoliceKash-
mir zone Vijay Ku-
mar, tweeted.
“Today’s encoun-
ter in Srinagar is
one of the best ex-
ample of how an in-
vestigation of ter-
ror-crime led to anti-
terror encounter.”
JK:Two Pak
terrorists killed
in gunfight with
security forces
BrahMos misfiring:
IAF probe finds
more than 1 guilty
New Delhi (ANI): In
less than a month, the
IAF has completed its
inquiry into the
BrahMos accidental fir-
ing case and blamed
more than one official
from the missile squad-
ron for the incident for
whichtherewould“swift
andseverepunishment”.
The inquiry into the
March 9 incident was
done by Assistant Chief
of Air Staff Operations
(Offensive) Air Vice
Marshal RK Sinha
where during routine
maintenance and in-
spection, a BrahMos
missile got fired acci-
dentally and landed up
in the Mian Channu
area of Pakistan.
RAM CHANDRA
DOME TO BE 1ST
DALIT POLITBURO
MEMBER: CPI(M)
Kolkata (Agencies):
Seven-time MP and
the CPI(M) Central
Committee member
from West Bengal,
Ram Chandra Dome
will be the first
Dalit representative
in the Politburo,
which is the highest
decision-making
body of the party.
Sources in the
CPI(M) told media
that the party’s
Central Committee
meeting.
Mahila Cong chief confronts
Irani on inflation during flight
Nitish to be Bihar CM till NDA govt
exists, says Upendra Kushwaha
New Delhi (ANI): Ja-
nata Dal (United) Par-
liamentary Board
Chairman and Former
Union Minister, Upen-
dra Kushwaha, on
Sunday reiterated that
Nitish Kumar is Chief
Minister of Bihar and
will hold the post till
the NDA government
remains in Bihar be-
cause he is its leader
of NDA.
Speaking to media,
Upendra Kushwaha
said that the alliance
of JDU with the BJP is
under the leadership
of Nitish Kumar in Bi-
har and as long as there
is an alliance with BJP
in the state, Nitish Ku-
mar is its leader.
New Delhi (Agencies):
A video of Union Minis-
ter Smriti Irani being
confronted by Mahila
Congress chief Netta
D’Souza on the issue of
inflation has gone viral.
Thetwowereonboard
a Guwahati-bound flight
and the conversation
took place as the plane
landed and passengers
started disembarking.
D’Souza asked Irani
about the rising fuel
prices to which Irani re-
plied that the Centre
has been helping the
poor through various
welfare programmes.
Congress leader Netta D’souza
and Union Minister Smriti Irani.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar with JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha.
Sitaram Yechury

INDIA
06
New Delhi (PTI): India
has 103 active or de-
funct spacecraft and 114
objects categorised as
‘space debris’ in orbit
and it has embarked on
a research to reduce
such fragments from
outer space. “Presently,
the Indian Space Re-
search Organisation
(ISRO) has taken up re-
search activities to
study the feasibility
and technologies re-
quired to undertake ac-
tive debris removal
(ADR),” Minister of
State in PMO Jitendra
Singh told parliament.
According to Orbital
Debris Quarterly News
issued in March by
NASA, India had 103
spacecraft, including
active and defunct satel-
lites, and 114 space de-
bris objects, including
spent rocket bodies or-
biting the earth. So, the
country has a total of
217 space objects orbit-
ing the earth.
Singh said Active De-
bris Removal (ADR)
was one of the active
methods suggested by
the Space Debris Re-
search Community to
contain the growth of
space debris objects.
“ADR is a very complex
technology and in-
volves policy and legal
issues. Technology
demonstration studies
have been taken up by
many countries, includ-
ing India. Developmen-
tal studies for finalising
necessary technologies
are initiated,” he said.
A top ISRO official
had told a technology
conclave last year that
the space agency was
working on futuristic
technologies such as
self-eating rockets and
vanishing satellites.
According to the Or-
bital Debris Quarterly
News, the US has 4,144
spacecraft, and 5,126 ob-
jects that can be catego-
rised as space debris.
India has 217 space objects orbiting earth: Report
REDUCING SPACE DEBRIS?
New Delhi (PTI):
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi will hold a vir-
tual meeting with US
President Joe Biden on
Monday to review bilat-
eral cooperation and
exchange views on re-
cent developments in
South Asia and the In-
do-Pacific and global is-
sues of mutual interest,
the MEA amd US an-
nounced on Sunday
.
The Ministry of Ex-
ternal Affairs made an
announcement on Sun-
day about the virtual
meeting.
“The two leaders will
review ongoing bilater-
al cooperation and ex-
change views on recent
developments in South
Asia, the Indo-Pacific
region and global issues
of mutual interest,” the
MEA said.
PM Modi, Biden to hold virtual
meeting ahead of 2+2 dialogue
Meeting aimed at further strengthening bilateral comprehensive global strategic ties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting US President Joe Biden at
the White House in US. —FILE PHOTO
Ahmedabad (PTI):
dra Modi on Sunday
said the coronavirus
has not gone away and
keeps resurfacing, and
cautioned people not to
let their guard down in
the battle against the
pandemic.
Nobody knows when
the ‘bahurupiya’ (one
that changes form) Cov-
id-19 will resurface,
PM Modi said, adding
that administering
nearly 185 crore doses
of vaccines to control
its spread was made
possible due to public
support.
He was addressing
via video conferencing
the Mahapatotsav pro-
gramme of Maa Umiya
Dham at Vanthali in
Gujarat’s Junagadh dis-
trict, as part of the 14th
foundation day celebra-
tion of the temple of
Maa Umiya, considered
as the deity of Kadva
Patidar community
.
The PM urged devo-
tees of Maa Umiya to
turn to natural farming
with the aim to save
Mother Earth from the
scourge of chemical
fertilisers.
He also asked people
to a pledge to partici-
pate in creating 75 ‘Am-
rit Sarovars’ (lakes) in
each district as part of
the Azadi Ka Amrit Ma-
hotsav, being organised
to mark 75 years of In-
dia’s Independence.
“Covid-19 was a big
crisis, and we are not
saying that the crisis is
over. It may have taken
a pause, but we never
know when it will resur-
face. To stop this, nearly
185 crore doses of vac-
cines were adminis-
tered, which surprised
the world,” he said.
The PM also said the
devotees of Maa Umiya
should undertake a pro-
ject to take care of the
health of malnourished
children and anemic
mothers at the village
level. The ‘Maa Umiya
Trust,’ which manages
the temple, should or-
ganise competitions at
the village level promot-
ing good health of chil-
dren, he said.
Covid not over, is changing
forms and resurfacing: PM
‘DON’T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN’
New Delhi (PTI): The
stronger the farmers be-
come, the more prosper-
ous New India would be,
draModisaidonSunday
and asserted that the
‘PM Kisan Samman Ni-
dhi’ giving new strength
to crores of tillers.
Taking to Twitter, the
PrimeMinistershareda
graphic which stated
that Rs 1.82 lakh crore
havedirectlybeentrans-
ferred to the bank ac-
counts of 11.3 crore
farmers. The graphic
stated the benefits farm-
ers received under the
'PM Kisan Samman Ni-
dhi' and other agricul-
ture-related schemes.
Thecountry is proud
of our farmer brothers
and sisters. The strong-
er they become, the
more prosperous the
New India will be. I am
happy that PM Kisan
Samman Nidhi and oth-
er schemes related to
agriculture are giving
new strength to crores
of farmers in the coun-
try,” Modi said.
Stronger farmers become, more
prosperous India would be: PM
Banaskantha (ANI):
Union home minister
Amit Shah on Sunday
inaugurated the Indo-
Pak border viewing
point in Nadabet in Gu-
jarat’s Banaskantha
district.
Nadabet, as per the
Gujarat Tourism web-
site, is a small slice of
land jutting into a
sprawling lake, where
the “Seema Darshan
(border viewing) for
tourists is organised.
“It offers an opportu-
nity for travellers to see
the workings of an
army post. Some of the
activities and sights
that will interest the
traveller include the re-
treat ceremony against
the backdrop of a glori-
ous orange sunset
where the BSF jawans
put up a gallant show of
marching with pride to
end another day of
guarding the borders,”
the website stated.
It further added that
a weapon display and
photo gallery at Nada-
bet includes guns, tanks
and other sophisticated
devices that help in
keeping the border and
inland places secure.
Amit Shah inaugurates Indo-Pak Seema
Darshan project at Gujarat’s Nadabet
Colombo: Former
Prime minister of Sri
Lanka Ranil Wickrem-
esinghe on Sunday ac-
cused the incumbent
governmentof plunging
the country into a deep
economic and political
crisis with its incompe-
tenceindealingwiththe
financial challenges
while also stating that
the utter failure has led
to a situation where the
people are standing in
long queues.
It never happened in
our time...when our gov-
ernment was here there
were no queues of the
people to buy the basic
necessities. But it's all
happening because of
the incompetence of the
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
governmentinthecoun-
try
, former PM said.
Wickremesinghe also
stated that when he was
the PM in 2019 the coun-
try's economy was in
healthy status with cap-
ital surplus but the in-
competency of the cur-
rent government has
brought the people on
the streets.
Ex-Lanka PM thanks
India amid eco unrest
Bilaspur (ANI):
Bharatiya Janata Party
chief Jagat Prakash
Nadda on Sunday said
that apart from BJP,
there is no political par-
ty in the country that
runs without promot-
ing familism and added
that, because of this
reason many of the op-
position parties have
limited themselves to
mere regional parties.
Nadda was address-
ing a roadshow in Bilas-
pur on Sunday. Ad-
dressing a gathering
today, Mr Nadda said,
“In the recently con-
cluded Assembly elec-
tions, we all witnessed
that Yogi Adityanath
became the Chief Min-
ister of UP for the sec-
ond time in a row.”
All parties, except BJP,
promote familism:Nadda
CATTLE
SMUGGLER
KILLED IN ASSAM
ADVANCED LIGHT
COPTER MK III
COMMISSIONED
Guwahati: A cattle
smuggler was killed in a
gunfight with the police
in Assam’s Dhubri
district, officials said
on Sunday. Acting on
a tip-off, police tried to
intercept a vehicle in
Sapatgram area on Sat-
urday night, they said.
“The car was signalled
to stop, but it sped
away. Our team started
chasing it,” a police
officer said. Those
inside the car fired
at the police vehicle,
which was retaliated in
self-defence, he said.
Bhubaneswar: The
Indian Coast Guard
(ICG) on Sunday com-
missioned a squadron
of Advanced Light
Helicopter (ALH) MK III,
which will strengthen
maritime security. ALH
MK III choppers are
fitted with modern sur-
veillance radar and elec-
tro-optical equipment
which enables them to
undertake the role of
long-range maritime,
an ICG statement said.
These helicopters also
feature an array of state
of the art sensors.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Assam Agricultural Minister
Atul Bora enjoying a Jeep Safari during their visit to Kaziranga
National Park, in Nagaon on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Narmadapuram: A British-era bridge on the dry Suk-
thwa river in Madhya Pradesh’s Narmadapuram col-
lapsed while a trailer-truck was crossing on Sunday,
leading to traffic disruption on the Bhopal-Nagpur
national highway, a senior police official said. The in-
cident took place when a 138-wheel trailer-truck was
crossing the narrow bridge, leading to the vehicle
falling on the dry river bed, ASP Awadhesh Pratap
Singh told news agency PTI over phone.
Washington: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have arrived in
the US capital to attend the India-US ‘2+2’ ministerial
dialogue in Washington on Monday — the first under
the Biden administration. To be held under the shadow
of the Ukrainian crisis, the ‘2+2’ ministerial is reflec-
tive of the significance the two governments attach to
this bilateral relationship, which former PM Atal Bihari
Vajpayee described as natural allies.
BRITISH-ERA BRIDGE COLLAPSES IN MP,
TRAILER-TRUCK FALLS ON DRY RIVER BED
DEFENCE MIN RAJNATH SINGH, EAM
JAISHANKAR IN US FOR ‘2+2’ TALKS
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi (ANI):
Amid a strong push
by Central government
for ‘Make in India’ in
defence sector, the
Defence Ministry has
formed a committee
under a three star-
rank officer to decide
on the curtailed deal
for buying predator
drones from the US.
As per the plans, India
was earlier planning
to acquire 30 of these
high-altitude long-
endurance drones
equipped with strike
capability, including
missiles, which were
to be equally distrib-
uted among the three
services. “A commit-
tee has been formed
under a Lieutenant
General-rank officer to
decide on the number
of predator drones
that the three services
should buy to meet
their requirements till
the time indigenous
development of similar
equipment can be
done,” Government
sources said.
PANEL TO DECIDE ON
CURTAILED PREDATOR
DRONE DEAL WITH US
Precaution dose of vax
rolled out at pvt centres
A healthcare worker inoculates a beneficiary with a
precautionary dose in New Delhi on Sunday.
New Delhi (ANI):
India on Sunday be-
gan administering
precaution dose of
Covid-19 vaccines to
all aged above 18
years, who have com-
pleted nine months
since the administra-
tion of their second
dose, at private vac-
cination centres.
The Centre has
told all States and
UTs that the precau-
tion dose will be of
the same Covid-19
vaccine which has
been used for ad-
ministration of the
first and second
dose and that pri-
vate vaccination
centres can charge
up to a maximum of
Rs 150 per dose as
service charge over
and above the cost
of the vaccine.
Union health sec-
retary Rajesh
Bhushan, also in-
formed that no fresh
registrations would
be required for pre-
caution dose as all
due beneficiaries
are already regis-
tered on CoWIN.
HIGHLIGHTS
l Shanghai residents
question human
cost of China's
Covid quarantines
l India records
1,054 fresh Covid
cases, 29 more
deaths
l Over 17.47 crore
Covid-19 vaccine
doses available
with States, UTs:
Centre
Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Gujarat CM Bhupendrabhai
Patel salutes in Banaskantha on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Satellite orbiting the earth. —FILE PHOTO
BJP chief JP Nadda
517 FROM CHINA
GTA POLLS:
WB BJP SEEKS
SHAH’S ADVICE
Kolkata, (Agencies):
West Bengal unit of
the BJP, during Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah’s two-day visit
to the state on April
16-17, will seek his
advice on contest-
ing the forthcom-
ing elections for
Gorkhaland Territorial
Administration (GTA)
in Darjeeling. On April
16, Shah will be in
north Bengal, wherein
the hill leaders of the
party will meet him
and seek his sugges-
tions on GTA polls.
ENJOYING SAFARI!
—PHOTO
BY
ANI

NEWS
07
DELHI: AISA
PROTESTS
OUTSIDE UP
BHAWAN,
DEMANDS
ARREST OF SEER
WHO ISSUED
‘RAPE THREAT
The Left-affiliated All India
Students’ Association (AISA)
on Saturday protested outside the
Uttar Pradesh Bhawan here
against a seer, who allegedly
delivered a hate speech against a
community and made a rape
threat, and demanded his arrest.
Over 50 protesters were detained
by police and later released,
according to officials. Bajrang
Muni Das, mahant of Maharshi
Shri Lakshman Das Udasin
Ashram in Uttar Pradesh’s
Khairabad town, allegedly made
the speech and threat on April 2
and a video of it surfaced on
social media on Thursday. In the
two-minute video, Das is heard
saying if any Hindu girl is teased
by a man belonging to a particular
community, he would himself
rape a woman of that community.
AISA activists raised slogans
demanding Das’ immediate
arrest. They alleged that police
detained them and several
protesters were injured in the
melee. “Women, Muslim and
queer protesters were harassed
by police. Even after 6 pm, police
refused to release the detained
protesters, some of whom were
observing ‘roza’. Finally, just three
minutes before the time of
breaking the fast, the protesters
were released,” the AlSA claimed.
A senior police officer said 52
protesters -- 42 men and 10
women -- were detained and later
released. The Uttar Pradesh
Police on Friday registered a case
against Das over his hate speech.
Hours after the case was
registered, a video surfaced
online in which Das apologised
and said his statement had been
presented in a “wrong way”.
—PTI
DRIVER OF
ROADROLLER
FALLS FROM
VEHICLE, COMES
UNDER ITS
WHEELS
Aman was killed after he fell
from a roadroller and came
under its rear wheel in Gopiganj
here, police said on Sunday.
Jaya Shankar Yadav (40), the
vehicle’s driver, lost his balance
after a high-tension electric wire
fell on it, they said. He was a
contractual employee with the
local municipality and was
working on rural road project in
the Gopiganj area, police said,
adding that Jogendra, a
labourer, who tried to save him,
was injured. “The incident
occurred on Saturday afternoon.
Yadav was killed when he fell
and came under the rear wheel
of the road roller he was
driving. He lost his balance and
fell when a high-tension wire fell
on the roadroller,” Gopiganj
Station House Officer (SHO)
Brijesh Singh said. Jogendra
was admitted to the district
hospital, he said. —PTI
CELEBRATING RAM NAVAMI
(From top) Devotees
wait in queues to offer
prayers at Vindhyavasini
Temple in Mirzapur.
Devotees gather at the
banks of Sarayu river in
Ayodhya. Devotees offer
prayers on the banks of
the Ganga in Prayagraj.
—PHOTOS BY PTI
PRISONERS CHANT GAYATRI
MANTRA ON RAM NAVAMI
First India Bureau
Agra: Prisons and
Home Guards Minister
Dharamveer Prajapati
has given instructions
to recite Gayatri Man-
tra and Mahamrityun-
jaya Mantra in jails.
Following the instruc-
tions, Gayatri Mantra
Sankirtana has now
started in the jails. Pris-
oners chant Gayatri
Mantra and do bhajans
on Ram Navami in Agra
District Jail.
Ram Navami was cel-
ebrated in the morning
in the district jail by fe-
male prisoners in a
havan with Gayatri
Mantra. Apart from
this, male prisoners re-
cited Gayatri and Ma-
hamrityunjaya Mantra.
Meditation was done
by chanting mantras
with dholak and man-
jire. A large number of
prisoners took part in
the sankirtana. Jail Su-
perintendent Prem Das
Salonia said that Gay-
atri Mantra and Ma-
hamrityunjaya Mantra
are being recited after
prayers in the jail in the
morning. Apart from
this, discourses and
morallessonsarebroad-
cast for 20 minutes on
the speaker installed in
each barrack. In the
coming days, religious
teachers and moral dis-
courses will be called in
the jail, so that the pris-
oners remain stress-free
and change. Minister
Dharamveer Prajapati
said that he wishes that
the prisoners should be
given the opportunity,
they should be provided
with a positive environ-
ment to change their
mood and behaviour.
“This country is a be-
liever of Sanatan Dhar-
ma. There are people
who believe in God.
Wherever there is dis-
course, Katha-Bhagwat
and chanting of man-
tras, there is a change in
the atmosphere. That is
why instructions have
been given that after
prayer in the jails, the
Gayatri Mantra or Ma-
hamrityunjaya Mantra
should be chanted, so
there will be a change in
the mood of the prison-
ers and they will behave
well after getting out,”
the minister said.
Jail minister said that the intent behind this is to turn the prisoners into better citizens
Prisoners chanting in Agra District Jail on Ram Navami.
‘AFTER THIS, INMATES WILL BEHAVE WELL’
CRIME ROUND-UP
POLICE NAB 2 CROOKS WHO ROBBED CONSTABLE
Ayodhya: Police have arrested a
miscreant after an encounter while
his two accomplices managed to
escape at Pachhiyana road. The
criminal and a police constable
were injured in cross-firing during
the encounter. Police sources
said three perpetrators had looted
a service rifle and motorbike of
constable Bhaskar at Tarun-Haid-
erganj road late on Friday even-
ing. During When the police team
intercepted three suspects on two
motorbikes, they opened fire on
the police team in which police
constable Krishna Kumar Yadav
was injured. In retaliatory firing,
one criminal was injured while
two others managed to escape.
The injured criminal was identi-
fied as Akash Dubey and police
have recovered one country-made
pistol along with cartages and a
motorbike from the criminal. Es-
caped criminals were identified as
Brijesh Tewari and Aman Maurya
residents of Haiderganj. Police
have launched a manhunt to nab
escaped criminals and further
investigations were underway.
CRIMINAL BEATEN TO DEATH
IN AMBEDKAR NAGAR
YOUTH KILLS HIS COUSIN’S SISTER OVER
MINOR DISPUTE IN MAU, SAY POLICE BODY OF BOY FOUND IN MEERUT
Meerut (PTI): The body of a 17-year-old boy,
who went missing 11 days back, was found
here on Sunday, police said. The family mem-
bers of Rahul had lodged a missing person
report on March 30 and accused the deceased’s
friends of murdering him, they said. Following
the accusation, the police had detained Rahul’s
two friends, officials said. Superintendent of
Police (city) Vineet Bhatnagar said prima facie
it seems to be a case of old enmity. A case has
been registered based on the complaint and the
matter is being probed, he said.
Mau: Panic triggered
in the area after a
youngster murdered his
cousin’s sister over a
minor dispute in Khal-
ispur village under Sarai
Lakhansi police station
area. Police sources
here said that Viraj,
brother of deceased
Saima found lots of
blood in the bathroom.
He informed me about
it to his parents.
When family members
search the whole house,
they realised Saima was
missing and blood was
spotted in the clothes
of her cousin brother
Muzahid. Police took
Muzahid into custody
and interrogated him.
During interrogation,
Muzahid confessed
to his crime and told
police that he murdered
Saima by slitting her
throat. He was irked
over Saima’s comments
on him. Muzahid told
police that he burnt
the dead body of Saima
near the Tamsa river to
clean the evidence. Po-
lice have recovered the
corpse near the river
on the testimony of the
accused Muzahid.
Ambedkar Nagar: A
criminal was beaten to
death by a mob irked
over the thrashing of
a person in Gherwa
Maraucha village. Police
have registered a case
against three accused
and some unidenti-
fied miscreants in the
matter. Police sources
here said that notorious
criminal Sher Bahadur
Yadav had beaten Sand-
eep Shukla after heated
arguments in Gherwa
Maroucha village. When
villagers heard about the
incident, they thrashed
Sher Bahadur Yadav
badly. Severely injured
Sher Bahadur was
rushed to Baskhari CHC
where he died during
treatment. More than 10
criminal cases of loot,
murder, and attempt
to murder charges
were registered against
him. Police have inter-
rogated several villagers
about the incident and a
manhunt was launched
to nab the accused.
BJP GOVT IN UP HAS FAILED
ON ALL FRONTS: AKHILESH
Lucknow (PTI): Sama-
jwadi Party chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav on Sunday
claimed that the Uttar
Pradesh government
has failed on all fronts
and the BJP is insensi-
tive towards the prob-
lems of the youth. “Law
and order, education
and health are in very
bad shape. There is re-
sentment among people
related to teaching
work, and the youths
are angry. This is be-
cause the attitude of
the BJP towards the
problems of the youth
is insensitive.
“The youth raises its
voice, but the police
wields a cane to silence
his voice. Now, no one
believes in the hollow
claims made to the
youth about providing
jobs ,” the SP chief said
in a statement. He said
the people in the BJP
want to rule the state
by making people feel
afraid. “This is highly
condemnable in a de-
mocracy,” he said, add-
ing that the saffron
party, owing to its an-
tics, has defamed Uttar
Pradesh. Attacking the
BJP, the SP chief said,
“The government first
announces vacancies
in various depart-
ments, then comes out
with advertisements
regarding recruitment,
and then claims about
giving employment on
a large scale. “But,
there is a flaw in the in-
tention of the BJP gov-
ernment, due to which
there are question pa-
per leaks of various
examinations. And, the
examinations are can-
celled.”
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav —FILE PHOTO
The mahant of Maharshi Shri Lakshman Das Udasin Ashram in Khairabad town.
‘LAW ORDER, EDU HEALTH IN BAD SHAPE’

08
2NDFRONT
Accept the change with
positivity and you will see a
dramatic change in its face.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: In the re-
cently concluded as-
sembly elections in five
states, the BJP fared
better in all places ex-
cept Punjab. In UP, the
party defied the nega-
tive forecasts of many
political analysts and
achieved a thumping
majority
.
The BJP camp is
brimming with enthu-
siasm after a big hard-
won victory, but instead
of resting, party strate-
gists are busy with
their next mission-2024.
The party aims to get a
far higher vote share in
the next general elec-
tions than in the year
2019. By the way, party
workers in all the states
have been mobilized in
this mission. But in UP,
the most populous state,
there is a special atten-
tion on this mission.
Having analyzed the
poll results of 2022, par-
ty strategists have come
to the conclusion that
the beneficiaries of cen-
tral and state welfare
schemes have played a
decisive role in the his-
toric victories.
According to a highly
placed BJP source, even
though the party won a
landslide victory, this
time the SP alliance led
by Akhilesh Yadav had
created uncomfortable
situations before the
party
. Because of this, it
had become a difficult
challenge for the party
to gain the trust of the
OBC and dalits voters
in many seats.
Taking lessons from
this, now the party
strategists are cam-
paigning in the direc-
tion of social justice, so
that the party’s hold on
caste equations can be
strengthened in future.
The party has em-
barked on a nationwide
public relations cam-
paign to widen its vote
base, combining its so-
cial justice campaign
with its fundamental
tenets of Hindutva.
Through a mega out-
reach drive like ‘Social
Nyay Pakhwada’, the
plan is being imple-
mented to assure the
beneficiaries about the
future plans and
strengthen the party’s
base by winning trust.
The party’s well oiled
machinery has been
rolled out to streamline
such outreach drives.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In a clear
indication to a change
in his political affilia-
tion, the Pragatisheel
Samajwadi Party Lo-
hia (PSPL) president
Shivpal Singh Yadav
has changed the header
photo on his Twitter
profile. The new pic-
ture on Shivpal’s Twit-
ter handle shows his
black and white silhou-
etted photograph and
the caption says its all,
“Hain taiyyar hum”.
The black and white
profile keeps people
guessing about his fu-
ture course of action.
Meanwhile, talking to
reporters in Etawah on
Saturday evening,
Shivpal has said, “Ach-
che din are coming
soon.
He said that he would
disclose his political
plans ‘very soon’. There
have been speculations
of Shivpal snapping all
his ties with Akhilesh
Yadav and the Sama-
jwadi Party and opting
for an alliance or merg-
er with the BJP in Ut-
tar Pradesh. The Yadav
clan patched things up
just before last month’s
assembly elections
when Shivpal’s PSP-L
came together with the
SP. What’s more signif-
icant is that Shivpal
contested the election
as an SP candidate
from Jaswantnagar
and won.
What’s worrying the
67-year-old Shivpal
most is his son Aditya’s
political future.
Shivpal’s request for a
seat for his son was
turned down. When the
Yadav clan was still
united, Shivpal was
known as an “organisa-
tion man” who still
wields some influence
in the SP and among a
section of Yadavs.
Ghaziabad(ANI): The
father of the Ghaziabad
student who was shot
dead in Canada’s To-
ronto has appealed to
the Central govt for sup-
port in bringing the
mortal remains to In-
dia. The student, Kartik
Vasudev, was killed in a
shooting incident out-
side the Sherbourne
subway station on
Thursday evening.
Speaking to media on
Saturday, Ritesh Vas-
udev, father of the de-
ceased, said, “I received
a phone call yesterday
from the Indian consu-
late in Toronto. I was
told that the consulate
is looking into the re-
quest to bring the mor-
tal remains to India. I
was also told that pro-
cessing the request
could take nearly six
days as required by the
Canadian govt.” How-
ever, he said that he had
replied to the tweet by
Minister of External
Affairs S Jaishankar,
but he hasn’t yet re-
ceived any response
from any govt official.
Ritesh Vasudev also
stated that he has been
told that the Toronto po-
lice are investigating
the shooting incident
which led to the death
of his son. ‘‘His friends
are in touch with us.
But they too have not
received any response
from officials in the po-
lice about the progress
of the investigation
Ritesh said.” External
Affairs Minister S Jais-
hankar on Saturday ex-
pressed grief over the
death of Kartik Vas-
udev. Taking to Twitter,
Jaishankar also offered
his “deepest condolenc-
es” to the family
.
BJP camp starts planning the roadmap for the 2024 elections
LOOKING FAR AHEAD
lll
After a historic
victory of BJP,
instead of
resting, party
strategists are
busy with
their next
mission-2024.
The party aims
to get a far
higher vote
share in the next
elections
CM Yogi listens to people’s problems at Gorakhnath Temple
premises on Sunday.
JYOTIBA PHULE KANYADAN
YOJANA A BOON FOR GIRLS
UP govt Jyotiba Phule Shramik Kanyadan Yojna
of Labour Welfare Council has become a boon
for poor daughters. So far, 769 labourers’ daugh-
ters have received help for their marriage under the
scheme. For getting them married, the government
has disbursed a grant of Rs 1.44 crore to poor
families for getting their daughters married. The state
government is continuously doing unprecedented
work for the poor, workers and labourers of UP.
Since coming to power in 2017, the Yogi government
has extended the benefit of Jyotiba Phule Shramik
Kanyadan Yojana in a thoughtful manner. Under the
scheme, 51 thousand rupees to poor daughters for
their marriage. The Yogi govt provided Rs.50 lakh
to 137 beneficiaries in 2021-22. The intention of the
govt is to bring respect to the poor and improve their
standard of living. Along with this, by helping them
financially, they have to get rid of their problems.
COOLING STATION
Traveling from Kolkata to Jammu Tawi in general class, two children use the cleaning water pipe to cool down the heat at
Charbagh railway station on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ASHOK DUTTA
The new picture on Shivpal’s Twitter handle shows his black and white silhouetted photograph.
‘Hain Taiyar Hum’
says Shivpal’s new photo
on his twitter account
SHIVPAL SAYS, ACHCHE DIN
ARE COMING VERY SOON
The induction of Shivpal into the BJP in the
near future could be significant, especially
given by-election for the Azamgarh Lok Sabha
seat is due within six months. Azamgarh is an
SP stronghold Mulayam Singh Yadav won it by
a margin of 63,204 votes in 2014, and Akhilesh
won the seat in 2019 by 2,59,874 lakh votes.
Meanwhile, talking to media in Etawah on Sat-
urday, Shivpal has said, “Achche din are coming
soon. He said that he would disclose his political
plans ‘very soon’.”
After Rahul’s outburst, Mayawati lashes
out at ‘completely false’ claims
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The BSP
chief Maywati on Sun-
day strongly rejected
the allegation of Con-
gress leader Rahul
Gandhi that his party
had contacted her for
alliance in recent As-
sembly elections and
offered her chief min-
ister’s post, but she did
not respond because
she was under pres-
sure from the NDA
government’s investi-
gation agencies.
Mayawati said Ra-
hul Gandhi’s state-
ment was highly ob-
jectionable as it
smacked of inferiori-
ty complex, hatred for
Dalits and castiest
and against the BSP.
Rahul Gandhi while
addressing a confer-
ence in Delhi on Sat-
urday revealed the
Congress had asked
for alliance with the
BSP with CM’s post
for Mayawati.
Gandhi said May-
awati, who had
strayed away from
Dalit mission, did not
contest UP election
and left the field open
for the BJP as she was
afraid of CBI, ED.
However Mayawati
said “meri party ke
bare me kuch bhi
kehne se pehle unhe
apna khud ka ghar bhi
dekh lena chahiye jo
bikhra pada hai. Jiska
BJP bhi khub faida
utha rahi hai (Before
making any remark
against my party,
Gandhi should first
look at his own house
that is in disarray.
Even the BJP is taking
advantage of that).”
She said that it will be
better if Gandhi di-
rects his concern on
his own party rather
than others. On offer
of alliance she said
“there is no trust
about it and it is total-
ly false” pointing out
that every opposition
party had been re-
viewing the results
but no such baseless
remarks should be
made.
Saharanpur(PTI): Yet
another shocking case
of sexual assault has
come to light from the
state of UP. An occult-
ist allegedly raped a
woman on the pretext
of curing her of her ail-
ments in Saharanpur
district of UP, police
said on Sunday. Super-
intendent of Police
(City) Rajesh Kumar
said a case was regis-
tered on the basis of a
complaint lodged by the
woman at Mandi police
station of the district
on Saturday night and
that efforts were on to
nab the accused.
According to the
complaint, the woman
approached the occult-
ist after she did not re-
cover from her illness
despite taking medi-
cines. The woman al-
leged that the occultist
raped her on the pretext
of curing her of her ail-
ments.
Sambhal(PTI): Sama-
jwadi Party MP
Shafiqur Rahman Barq
has lashed out at his
own party, accusing it
of not “working for the
Muslims”. The leader
also expressed dissatis-
faction over the func-
tioning of the BJP-led
UP govt, saying justice
is not being meted out
to the Muslims.
The MP made the
statement on Saturday,
when he voted for the
UP Legislative Council
elections here. CM Yogi
Adityanath is “work-
ing on his own terms”
and his government
“isn’t doing justice
with the Muslims”, he
said. He put his own
party in the dock, say-
ing the Samajwadi Par-
ty is “not working for
the Muslims”. Barq has
been in the news for his
statements in the past
as well. In August last
year, his statement
over Taliban had trig-
gered a row.
BSP President Mayawati arrives to address the press at her
residence on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ASHOK DUTTA
WHAT RAHUL SAID
SP NOT
WORKING FOR
MUSLIMS:
SAMBHAL MP
Occultist rapes
woman in
Saharanpur
Father seeks Centre’s help to bring
remains of son from Canada
Family members of killed
Indian student Kartik Vasudev
at their residence in Ghaziabad.
MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq

ashion modelling is
more than a profes-
sion, it is a way for
the model to express
herself through a
certain line of cloth-
ing and makeup.
Modelling is undoubtedly
the most popular modern
goal among young women of
all backgrounds. It is the
most difficult occupation,
which requires passion and
patience, this is not unques-
tionably limited to the world
of fashion, but also encom-
passes other well-known vo-
cations. The gorgeous beauty
Amrita gives a sneak peek
about her journey as a model
in a conversation with City
First.
When asked about her
journey the ravishing beauty
said,” I’m a 22-year-old girl
from Panipat who is current-
ly residing in Delhi to pursue
my goal and build a career
out of it. My bachelor’s de-
gree was in computer sci-
ence. My modelling career
began in 2018 when I entered
a contest and afterwards be-
gan working as an Instagram
influencer. As a model, I’ve
worked with several well-
known brands. I’ve also
worked with several well-
known designers and celeb-
rity makeup artists.”
When asked about the
hardships faced during her
remarkable journey, Amrita
said, “Because of my job, I
have to live away from my
parents, which is difficult for
me because I am a family-
oriented girl. My family has
always been supportive, but
due to society’s preconceived
beliefs about models and
their careers, they occasion-
ally try to persuade me to
stop modelling and find a
good partner. I persuaded my
parents to let me pursue
modelling.”
She also added “I re-
ally enjoyed and
also learnt quite
a bit from the
Queen of cos-
mos event
held at Fair-
m o u n t
Jaipur and I
am really
grateful to
J a g d e e s h
C h a n d r a
Sir and
First India
team for
this won-
derful op-
portunity”
We asked
her about
her future
a s p i r a t i o n s
and she told us
“After 20 years, I
want to see myself
in a position where
I am an example to
many other young
women from small
towns, and they as-
pire to be like me. I
want to start a
grooming school for
everyone interested
in working in this
field and provide them
with free training. I
want to reach new
heights in this indus-
try, but I also want
my parents to be
right beside me,
supporting me
at all times.”
F
LUCKNOW, MONDAY,
APRIL 11, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/lucknow I twitter.com/
thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
City First offers you
an exclusive
interview with
Amrita Khurana, a
stunning Delhi-
based fashion diva
who has carved a
name for herself in
the industry and
serves as an
inspiration to many
young people who
aspire to work in
the industry
DEVANSHI MUDGAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
BEAUTEOUS STARLET
BEAUTEOUS STARLET
AMRITA
AMRITA
—PHOTOS
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO

10
ETC
here are dozens
of spells that are
used by the char-
acters in Harry
Potter’s fictional
world of wizard-
ry. From Expecto
Patronum to Avada Ke-
davra each spell has a
unique story but to know
the darkest secrets behind
these magical quotes we
have to dig into the histo-
ry of Hogwarts.
Ever since becoming
popular, the Harry Potter
series has been among the
most frequently chal-
lenged books, as meas-
ured by the American Li-
brary Association. While
the series was welcomed
by many parents and
teachers for getting chil-
dren interested in read-
ing, not to mention being
a good story, others feel
that the series presents
dangerous ideas and atti-
tudes that are bad for
readers.
In some parts of the
United States and the
United Kingdom, Potter
books have been banned
from being read in school,
taken out of libraries,
and even burned in pub-
lic. Omg, why on earth
such a masterpiece is
banned? To my surprise, I
discovered that some
spells used in Harry Pot-
ter were actually real.
Even the decision to re-
move Harry Potter books
from the St. Edward’s li-
brary was widely mocked
on social media by fans of
the popular series.
The names of many of
the spells are indeed de-
rived from other languag-
es, especially Latin. How-
ever, for the most part,
they aren’t proper words.
Author J.K. Rowling
created words that resem-
ble other words with real
meanings.
A CLOSER LOOK AT A
FEW SPELLS …
Here’s a closer look at
some of them: The
spell Alohomora is used
to open and unlock doors.
The word is supposedly
from the West African
Sidiki dialect and means
“friendly to thieves.”
Need to make invisible
ink appear? Try the
spell Aparecium, which
supposedly derives from
the Latin appareo, mean-
ing “to become visible or
to appear.”
Here’s a fun one: Conf-
ringo. It causes something
to explode in flames. The
spell is likely derived
from Latin and means “to
break in pieces, to bring
to nought.”Densuageo is
derived from two Latin
words: dens, which means
“tooth,” and augeo, which
means “to enlarge.” The
spell causes the victim’s
teeth to grow quickly.
The spell Episkey is de-
rived from the
Greek episkeu, which
means “repair, restora-
tion.” It’s used to heal mi-
nor injuries, such as Har-
ry Potter’s broken nose
in Half-Blood Prince. Pro-
tego Horribilis is also
used in Deathly Hallows.
It provides protection
against Dark Magic and
comes from the Latin pro-
tego, meaning “to
protect,”and horribilis,
meaning “horrible.”
Scourgify
, which is a spell
used to get something
clean, such as Hedwig’s
cage, is likely a play on
the word scour.
The spell Taranta-
llegra makes a victim’s
legs dance uncontrolla-
bly. It’s likely that it com-
bines the Italian allegra,
which means “joyful,”
and tarantella, which is a
Southern Italian folk
dance with rapid move-
ments.
Even Harry Potter bans
have a long history: As
the Daily Telegraph
notes, the books
were repeatedly
banned by schools
and targeted by
church-spon-
sored book
burnings
between
1 9 9 7
a n d
2007,
when the seven volumes
in the series were pub-
lished. Author J.K. Rowl-
ing was frequently ac-
cused of promoting Sa-
tanism and glorifying the
occult, and the American
Library Association
found that between 2000
and 2009, the books were
among the most likely
to be challenged by
parents objecting to
their inclusion in school
libraries. Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI even
weighed in on the contro-
versy when he was a car-
dinal, writing in 2003 that
the books “deeply distort
Christianity in the soul
before it can grow
properly.”
All the above informa-
tion has proved that cer-
tain types of magic are
possible outside the
school as else or are y’all
still waiting for your
Hogwarts letter?
HOGWARTS AND ITS
BANNED HISTORY!
Are you too riddikulusly obsessed with Harry
Potter? And have you ever wondered how the
names for Hogwarts’ spells were created?
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
T

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/lucknow I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia LUCKNOW | MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2022
11
TOGETHER FOR
ETERNITY!
B
rooklyn Beck-
ham and Nico-
la Peltz are of-
ficially mar-
ried. As confirmed by
People, the couple
tied the knot on Sat-
urday in a lavish
ceremony held at
Pelz’s family es-
tate in Palm
Beach, Florida.
The duo said “I
do” in presence of their close family and
friends, including celebrity guests like
Serena Williams,
—Agency
T
amanna Bhatia lives by
the rule ‘no pain, no
gain’. The Baahubali
star has shared anoth-
er inspiring update from her
daily routine. Recently, she
posted a workout video from
her gym session on Insta-
gram. She was seen indulging
in some intense weight training
to maintain her toned physique.
The F3 star opted for a grey
co-ord athleisure for her
day at the gym. This lat-
est clip was captioned,
“You have it, don’t
hide it”. — Agency
M
otherhood is
agreeing with
Shriya Saran.
Whenever the
Drishyam actress gets a
breather from work, she
likes to spend her time
with hubby Andrei Ko-
scheev and her daugh-
ter Radha. Shriya
Saran started her
Sunday with
some playtime with the 1-year-old. In the
pics, the Awarapan actress posed with
Radha’s toys and in others, she is seen
capturing the adorable movements of her
little bundle of joy
. —Agency
D
eepika Padukone took
her fans back in time
on Sunday afternoon
as she dished out an
extremely special piece of
work from the archives.
Turns out, the actress
gave a shot at writing po-
etry when she was only
12-years-old. Taking to
Instagram, Deepika
shared a photo of the
poem she wrote when
she was 12 and hilari-
ously called it her
first and last attempt.
The actress wrote a
rather lengthy
poem of at least 3
stanzas. —Agency
IT’S A GOOD
NEWS!
J
ennifer Lopez and Ben
Affleck left fans sur-
prised with their en-
gagement news over
the weekend. After rekindling
their romance last year, the
couple took a big step into
their relationship as they got
engaged again after two dec-
ades since their first engage-
ment. Affleck proposed to JLo
with a green ring that holds a
special meaning for her.
The singer’s massive spar-
kler is reportedly an 8.5-carat
green diamond stone that
could range between 8 to 10
USD million. —Agency WISHES- FULL
OF LOVE!
K
risten Stewart is a year
older and a year ‘flyer.’ On
Saturday, the Academy
Award nominee celebrated
her 32nd birthday with her fian-
cée Dylan Meyer, who posted
a shot of them leaning in for
a kiss over a birthday cake.
Captioning it “Another
one around the sun and
you’re out here getting
flyer every year,” The cou-
ple recently walked the
redcarpettogetheratthe
94th Academy Awards
where Stewart
received her
first-ever nom-
ination for
best actress af-
ter portray-
ing Princess
Diana in Spen-
cer. —Agency
FINAL OF FAST
FURIOUS!
T
he Fast
and the
Furious
f r a n -
chise is set to
wrap up
with its fi-
nal two films
and after addi-
tions such as that of
Cardi B in F9, its sequel is
looking even brighter with
the addition of MCU
star Brie Larson. The Cap-
tain Marvel star is joining
the Fast and Furious fran-
chise and an announce-
ment for the same was
made by Vin Diesel on
Instagram. Describing
the Oscar-winning actress as a
“profound soul”, Diesel wrote,
“Yeah yeah yeah… you see this
angel over my shoulder cracking
me up, you say to your self that’s
Captain Marvel”.
—Agency
riyanka Chopra is the
newest mum on the
block as she welcomed
her first child via sur-
rogacy in January this
year. However, the ac-
tress has also kept up
with her work commitments.
Looks like the weekend was an-
other project on the cards for
Priyanka Chopra as the actress
headed out to Los Angeles
where she is currently based.
Delighting her fans, Priyanka
dropped a selfie, or rather a
carfie, as she snapped a picture
while in her car. —Agency
P
CarfieTrending!!
LOVELY SUNDAY!
BRAHMASTRA
POSTER LAUNCH
LADY IN BLACK!
A
ll eyes are on Ranbir Ka-
poor and Alia Bhatt ever
since the news of their
wedding has come out.
Well, the lovebirds have recently
wrapped up the shoot of their
much-awaited film Brahmastra.
We have all seen the first look of
Ranbir and Alia respectively and
on Sunday, just a few days ahead
of their wedding, Ayan Mukerji
dropped a poster featuring the
two together and called it the love
poster of Brahmastra. Along with
it the filmmaker also hinted at
some ‘extra love in the air these
days’. —Agency
S
hruti Haasan does not shy
away from sharing up-
dates from her personal
and professional life on
social me-
dia. The
Premam ac-
tress is in
Guwahati
at the mo-
ment for
the Rongali
Bihu cele-
brations in
Assamwith
her boy-
friend San-
tanu Haz-
arika for an event. She recently
dropped some stunning pictures
from her visit. The star looked
pretty as a picture in a black saree
with golden embellish. The look
was enhanced multi-fold with tra-
ditional jhumkas and bangles.
—Agency
Fit to Fight!
Fit to Fight!
“I Am”
Priyanka Chopra
Jennifer Lopez
Deepika Padukone Kristen Stewart
Shruti Haasan
Brroklyn Beckham
and Nicola Peltz
Shriya Saran
Brie
Larson
Tamanna Bhatia
Poster of the movie

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