15072022_First India_Mumbai.pdf

Shinde govt reverses three MVA decisions
Satish Nandgaonkar
Mumbai: The state gov-
ernment on Thursday
reversedkeydecisionsby
the Maha Vikas Aghadi
including reintroducing
the pension scheme for
those jailed during the
Emergencyyears,andal-
lowingvoterstoelectsar-
panches, presidents of
semi-urban and rural lo-
cal bodies.
The state cabinet,
which is currently limit-
ed to Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde and Dep-
uty CM Devendra Fad-
navis,approvedapropos-
al from the urban devel-
opment department to
re-startapensionscheme
for those jailed during
the Emergency years,
from August 01.
Those jailed for more
than one month will re-
ceive a monthly pension
of Rs10,000; their spouse
willgetRs5,000aftertheir
demise.Forthoseimpris-
oned for less than one
month, the state will pay
a pension of Rs5,000 per
month and Rs2,500 per
month to their spouse af-
ter their demise.
“The scheme was dis-
continued by the MVA
governmentprobablyun-
der pressure from the
Congress,”Fadnavistold
reporters.
The cabinet also ap-
proved a proposal to al-
low voters to directly
elect the heads of gram
panchayats, nagar pari-
shads and nagar pan-
chayats, rather than hav-
ing elected representa-
tives choose them. The
Fadnavis-ledgovernment
had brought this change
in 2018, but the MVA gov-
ernment reversed the de-
cisionin2020.Theearlier
rule that no-confidence
motions against the pres-
identsof nagarparishads
and nagar panchayats
cannot be moved within
one year has now been
extended to 2.5 years.
The cabinet also ap-
proved a marketing de-
partment proposal to al-
low farmers to directly
elect their representa-
tives in the agricultural
produce marketing com-
mittees (APMC) by
amendingtheprovisions
of theMaharashtraAgri-
culturalProduceMarket-
ing Regulation Act, 1963.
The amendments will al-
low any adult farmer
whohassoldhisproduce
at the APMC thrice in
five years to vote. The
proposal has been ap-
provedtoenablegenuine
farmers holding 7/12 ex-
tractof theirlandtoelect
the APMC members. In
severalgrampanchayats,
members who are not ac-
tive farmers hold the
power to elect the mem-
bers.
Allows farmers to vote for APMC
committees, allows voters to decide heads
of local bodies, reintroduces pension
scheme for those jailed during Emergency
Maharashtra cuts VAT on petrol &
diesel, to cost exchequer `6K cr
Mumbai (PTI): Maha-
rashtra government
has decided to reduce
the Value Added Tax
(VAT) on petrol and die-
sel by Rs5 and Rs3 per
litre respectively, said
Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde in Mumbai on
Thursday
.
The decision, which
is to be implemented
from Thursday mid-
night, would entail a
burden of Rs6,000 crore
on the state exchequer.
It will benefit the com-
mon man affected by
the fuel price hike,
Shinde told reporters
after a cabinet meeting
at the secretariat ‘Man-
tralaya’.
Deputy CM Devendra
Fadnavis said the deci-
sion was part of the
Shiv Sena-Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) gov-
ernment’s commitment
to people’s welfare.
The government will
ensure the burden of
Rs6,000 crore on the
state exchequer does
not impact develop-
ment works, said
Shinde.
Prices brought
down by Rs5 and
Rs3 respectively
to benefit common
people: CM
TWITTER SEES
LONGEST GLOBAL
OUTAGE IN YEARS
FREE BOOSTER JAB
FOR ADULTS FROM
TODAY FOR 75 DAYS
ZUBAIR MOVES SC
SEEKING TO
QUASH ALL FIRs
BIHAR TERROR:
PM’S PATNA VISIT
WAS ON TARGET
New Delhi: Twitter
experienced longest
outages for years, with
social network completely
unavailable to users around
globe on web and mobile for
almost an hour on Thursday.
Many users reporting “over
capacity” error messages
and even errors saying
“this page is down.”
New Delhi: All adults will
be able to get free booster
doses of the coronavirus
vaccine at government
centres under a special
drive over the next 75
days from Friday. Aimed
at improving third-dose
coverage, drive will be held
as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav’ celebrations.
New Delhi: AltNews
co-founder Mohammed
Zubair has moved the
Supreme Court seeking
to quash all six cases
registered against him by
the Uttar Pradesh police
over his ‘controversial’
tweets. The six FIRs were
filed against him in UP.
Patna: The Patna Police
has busted a suspected
terrorist module in Patna,
who as per cops, were
planning to make India an
Islamic nation by 2047.
Both terrorists have been
arrested and there was a
plot to target Modi during
his visit on July 12.
MONSOON SESSION OF PARLIAMENT TO COMMENCE FROM MONDAY
MIND YOUR
LANGUAGE!
Use of some terms will henceforth be
considered unparliamentary in both Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha, according to a new
booklet by the Lok Sabha Secretariat
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: The book-
let listing out unpar-
liamentary words and
expressions comes
ahead of the Monsoon
session beginning
July 18. Some words
and expressions are
declared unparliamen-
tary from time to time
by the Chair in differ-
ent Legislative bodies
in country as well as in
Commonwealth Parls,
have been compiled by
LS Secretariat for
ready reference in fu-
ture. However, the RS
Chairman, LS Speaker
will have last word in
expunging words & ex-
pressions. List states
that some of the key-
words may not appear
unparliamentary un-
less read in conjunc-
tion with other expres-
sions spoken during
the parl proceedings.
NEW DICTIONARY FOR NEW INDIA: RAHUL
GANDHI CRITICISES GOVERNMENT’S MOVE
NO WORDS HAVE BEEN
BANNED, SAYS OM BIRLA
The government’s decision to designate certain
words as unparliamentary has sparked off a
debate. Now, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has
jumped into the discussion and criticised the
govt’s move. Rahul Gandhi shared an image on
Twitter that described word unparliamentary.
LS Speaker Om Birla on Thursday
said that no word had been
“banned” in either house and the
list was merely a compilation of
expressions that had been scrubbed
off records in past. “Earlier a book
of such unparliamentary words used
to be released...to avoid wastage of
papers, we have put it on internet.
No words have been banned, we
have issued a compilation of the
words that have been expunged,”
Birla said. “Have they (Oppn)
read this 1,100-page dictionary
(comprising unparliamentary
words)?,” Om Birla told the media.
LIST OF THE UNPARLIAMENTARY WORDS
w
Gaddar
w
Jumlajeevi
w
Girgit
w
Ghadiyali Ansu
w
Apmaan
w
Asatya
w
Ahankaar
w
Kala Din
w
Kala Bazaari
w
Danga
w
Dalal
w
Daadagiri
w
Dohra charitra
w
Bechara
w
Vishwasghat
w
Samvedanheen
w
Pitthu
w
Behri Sarkar
w
Khareed Farokht
w
Shakuni
w
Taanashah
w
Jaichand
w
Vinash Purush
w
Khalistani
w
Khoon Se Kheti
w
Baal Buddhi
w
Chamcha
w
Dohra Charitra
w
Nikamma
w
Nautanki
w
Dhindora
wPeetna
wVinash
wTaanashahi
w
Lollypop
w
Goons
w
Bobcut
w
Dictatorial
w
Covid Spreader
w
Snoopgate
w
Ashamed
w
Abused
w
Bloody
w
Cheated
w
Betrayed
w
Corrupt
w
Crocodile tears
w
Drama
w
Hypocrisy
w
Incompetent
w
Chelas
w
Childishness
wCoward
w
Criminal
w
Crocodile tears
w
Disgrace
w
Donkey
w
Eyewash
w
Fudge
w
Hooliganism
w
Mislead
w
Sexual
wHarassment
w
Foolish
Alas, Gotabaya resigns
as Sri Lanka President
Colombo: Sri Lankan
President Gotabaya Ra-
japaksa on Thursday
emailed his resignation
letter to the parliament
speaker. He had fled to
the Maldives earlier
this week and on Thurs-
day took a Saudi Air-
lines plane to Singa-
pore. Sources have,
however, refuted media
reports on their on-
ward travel. His escape
to Maldives was negoti-
ated by former Mal-
dives President Mo-
hamed Nasheed, sourc-
es said. Gotabaya’s
original resignation
letter will be flown
from Singapore.
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
MUMBAI l FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 70
SC SETS ASIDE HC ORDERS AGAINST SAHARA CHIEF
New Delhi: The SC on Thursday set aside Patna HC orders in an
anticipatory bail case including the one directing Sahara Group
chief Subrata Roy to appear before it. Orders were passed by HC
while hearing anticipatory bail application of another person.
ED ARRESTS
EX-NSE CHIEF,
BOOKS SANJAY
PANDEY
Mumbai: The ED on Thursday arrested former NSE
Chief Chitra Ramakrishna in an illegal ‘phone tapping’
case related to exchange’s co-location scam. ED also
filed a money laundering complaint against ex-Mum-
bai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey.P2
SINGER DALER
MEHNDI GETS 2
YEARS JAIL IN
2003 CASE
Patiala: A court in Punjab’s Patiala on Thursday
dismissed the plea of leading bhangra-pop singer
Daler Mehndi against his two-year jail in a 19-year-
old human trafficking case. He was subsequently
arrested and sent to a local jail.
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, NEW DELHI & MUMBAI BSE SENSEX 53,416.15 98.00 | NSE NIFTY 15,938.65 28.00
I2U2 establishes positive agenda
in its first summit, says PM Modi
MODI AT I2U2 SUMMIT: INDIA-ISRAEL-UAE-USA
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
joined USA President ,
Israeli PM Yair Lapid
and UAE President at
the first virtual summit
of thefour-nationgroup-
ing ‘I2U2’ on Thursday
.
TheinauguralI2U2lead-
ers meeting focused on
food security crisis and
clean energy
. The lead-
ersdiscussedinnovative
ways to ensure longer-
term, more diversified
food production and
food delivery systems
that can better manage
global food shocks, read
a joint statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses at the first I2U2 leaders’
virtual summit, as US President Joe Biden, Israel Prime Minister
Yair Lapid and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al
Nahyan listen to him, in New Delhi on Thursday.
GOOD MODEL FOR PRACTICAL COOPERATION
AMID GLOBAL UNCERTAINTIES: PM MODI
UAE TO INVEST $2 BN FOR FOOD PARKS
ACROSS INDIA: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
INDIA SAYS NO ROLE
IN RAJAPAKSA’S
TRAVEL FROM LANKA
WE CAN DO GREAT
DEAL IF WE STICK
TOGETHER: BIDEN
LAPID: WE WANT
TO CHANGE FOR
THE BETTER
“Our cooperative framework is a good model for practical
cooperation in face of increasing global uncertainties,” said
PM Modi at I2U2 summit, adding, “We have identified joint
projects in various sectors and prepared a roadmap to go
ahead.” “We can make important contributions to global
economy. Amid increasing global uncertainty,” said Modi.
The United Arab Emirates will invest USD 2 billion to de-
velop a series of integrated food parks across India under
the framework of the four-nation grouping. The decision
was announced after the leaders of the grouping held the
first virtual summit.
India on Thursday reiter-
ated that it has no role in
SL Prez Rajapaksa’s travel
from country or in facilitating
same. An MEA spokesperson
said that india has taken note
of media reports that Raja-
paksa is now in Singapore.
“We will continue to stand
with the people of SL, and
their aspirations,” said MEA
spokesperson Bagchi.
Accepting that “there is
a vacuum” right now,
US President Joe Biden
said this group is going
to work to identify new
infra projects over next
3 years. “The challenges
we face today include
accelerating climate
crisis and growing food
insecurity,” said Biden.
Israel PM Lapid said
real solutions will only
come through countries
who know how to bring
together resources. “We
want to change world
for better. “All of us want
same thing: infra devp,
quality edu for kids, re-
ducing damage inflicted
on environ,” said Lapid.
READ
Crucial
Crucial
Kerala reports India’s first case of
monkeypox; Centre rushes team
New Delhi: The Centre
on Thursday rushed a
high-level, multi-disci-
plinaryteamtoKeralato
collaborate with state
health authorities and
institute public health
measures after one case
of monkeypox was con-
firmedinKollamdistrict
of this southern state.
A person who re-
turned to Kerala from
UAE and was hospital-
ised after showing signs
of monkeypox, state
Health Min Veena said.
SYMPTOMS
WERE REPORTED
IN TRAVELLER
FROM UAE
SUSPEND ME,SAYS TMC MP DEREK O’BRIEN
Lashing out at the government’s decision to
designate certain words as unparliamentary,
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien said
that he would ensure that he uses such “basic”
terms. Derek O’Brien had also challenged the
Speaker to suspend him.
‘EXPUNGING WORDS
AS PER PARL RULES’
Amid the row over
questioning by Oppn
over words listed as
“unparliamentary”,
sources said removal of
words has been taking
place since 1954 under
various pol dispensations.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla
addresses a press conference,
in New Delhi on Thursday.
Gotabaya Rajapaksaa
Eknath Shinde

NEWS
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2022
02
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HC rejects stay order plea on
refund by Mumbai developer
Satish Nandgaonkar
Mumbai: The Bom-
bay High Court has
refused to grant a
stay sought by Radius
and Deserve Builders
LLP Developers on a
refund order by Ma-
harashtra Real Estate
Appellate Tribunal
(MEAT) after the de-
veloper failed to com-
ply with its April or-
der to deposit a re-
fund amount to a
homebuyer in full.
Justice Prithviraj
Chavan took serious
cognizance of the non-
compliance of the
court’s April 19, 2022 or-
der by the company, in
which it had asked the
developer to deposit the
entire refund amount
within eight weeks.
Counsel for the devel-
oper submitted that his
client could not comply
with the order as its
chief promoter had
been arrested. “Counsel
takes an excuse that the
chief promoter of the
appellant’s company is
behind bars, which
would not be and can-
not be a reason for non-
compliance of the order
passed by this Court.
Since the order passed
by this Court on April
19, 2022 is self-operative,
there shall be no stay to
the effect and operation
of the impugned judg-
ment,” said the court in
its July 05 order.
On April 19, Justice
Bharati Dangre had di-
rected that the stay on
the refund order could
be granted if Radius
Developers deposits the
entire refund amount.
Home buyer Sunita
Gunjal had booked a
flat in the developer’s
Anantya project in
Chembur and paid
more than 20% of the
Rs46.17 lakh total con-
sideration in April 2016.
However, when the
developer unilaterally
changed the possession
date from December
2020 to December 2024,
she had approached the
housing regulator Ma-
harashtra Real Estate
Regulatory Authority.
In August 2018, Maha-
RERA granted a refund
of only the principal
amount to Gunjal. She
appealed against it be-
fore MEAT which or-
dered a refund of the
amount with interest.
CRUCIAL READ
POLICE NAB
MAN WANTED
FOR ABDUCTION
BODY OF
35-YEAR-OLD
FOUND IN POND
Mumbai: The
Mumbai police have
arrested a 41-year-
old accused wanted
in connection with a
case of kidnapping a
man and thrashing,
him, police said on
Thursday. Rajesh
‘Raju’ Shettiyar
and his associates
allegedly kidnapped
a man on May 8,
took him to the
Sewri area, and
thrashed him. An
FIR was registered
under sections 367
(kidnapping).
Mumbai: Body of
a 35-year-old man,
identified as Paresh
Bhosale, was found
in a pond in Malad
on Monday. The vic-
tim’s T-shirt, which
featured the name
of a local cricket
team as well as his
initials, assisted
police in determin-
ing his identity via
Facebook, an official
said on Wednesday.
He worked as team
leader at a company.
All in order for Bal Thackeray memorial construction: BMC
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Brihan-
mumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC)
and a heritage panel
told the Bombay High
Court on Thursday
that all necessary pro-
cedures were followed
for the construction
of Shiv Sena founder
Bal Thackeray’s me-
morial in Mumbai.
Thackeray (86) died
at his residence in sub-
urban Bandra in No-
vember 2012. The BMC
and the Mumbai Herit-
age Conservation Com-
mittee (MHCC) sub-
mitted their affidavits
before a division bench
comprising Chief Jus-
tice Dipankar Datta
and Justice MS Karnik
in response to a public
interest litigation. It
challenged the deci-
sion taken by the Ma-
harashtra government
in 2017 to convert the
former mayor’s bunga-
low in Shivaji Park
area to a memorial for
Thackeray.
The petition was filed
in April 2017 by one
Bhagvanji Rayani after
the government pro-
posed to set up the me-
morial.The memorial is
to be constructed on a
plot where the mayor’s
bungalow was located at
Shivaji Park in Dadar.
In its affidavit of May
2018, the BMC said that
the state government
sanctioned the change
of the mayor’s bunga-
low to ‘Bal Thackeray
Rashtriya Smarak’, and
the said land reserva-
tion was changed from
green zone to residen-
tial zone.
The change in the
reservation was done in
accordance with provi-
sions of the Maharash-
tra Regional and Town
Planning (MRTP) Act.
The MHCC in its affida-
vit said the mayor’s
bungalow was a Grade
II-B heritage structure
and the committee had
given all necessary No
Objection Certificates
(NOCs) for construc-
tion of the memorial.
The HC bench posted
the matter for hearing
on August 25.
NO DISCREPANCIES
‘Allclearancesgiven
forBullettrainwork’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The state
government has given
all the clearances
needed to expedite
the Mumbai-
Ahmedabad bullet
train project, Deputy
Chief Minister Dev-
endra Fadnavis said,
after the cabinet
meeting on Thursday.
Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde has giv-
en all the clearances for
the project, Fadnavis
said, explaining that
pending issues includ-
ed those related to the
forest clearances and
land acquisition,
among others.
The estimated cost of
the bullet train project-
-which is expected to
cover the distance of
over 500km between
Mumbai and
Ahmedabad in around
two hours--is Rs1,10,000
crore, of which Rs88,000
crore are being funded
by the Japan Interna-
tional Cooperation
Agency (JICA). Over
70% of the land re-
quired in Maharashtra
for the project has been
acquired in Thane and
Palghar districts.
The previous Maha
Vikas Aghadi (MVA)
government headed by
Uddhav Thackeray had
not taken any step to
put the project on the
fast track.
Proposal to convert Thackeray’s bungalow into a memorial was given the nod in 2018. —FILE PHOTO
Civic body, MHCC respond to petition
filed against conversion of the former
mayor’s bungalow into a memorial
SOUND APPROVAL
The memorial is to be constructed on a plot where
the mayor’s bungalow was located at Shivaji Park
in Dadar. In its affidavit of May 2018, the BMC said
that the government sanctioned the change of the
mayor’s bungalow to ‘Bal Thackeray Rashtriya
Smarak’, and said land reservation was changed
from green zone to residential zone. The change
in the reservation was done in accordance with
provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town
Planning (MRTP) Act. The committee had given all
necessary NOCs for construction.
Renni Abraham
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra’s ruling govern-
ment is in a legal bind
that could leave them
politically blindsided
over the delimitation
exercise carried out
by the previous Maha
Vikas Aghadi (MVA)
government in March
2022 for forthcoming
local civic bodies. This
included the Mumbai,
Thane and Pune mu-
nicipal corporations,
20 municipalities,
apart from thousands
of local bodies across
the state.
Around 23 civic cor-
porations including
Mumbai, Thane, Pune,
Solapur, Kolhapur as
well as medium and
small civic bodies in-
cluding 221 town mu-
nicipalities, 25 zilla
parishads, around 284
block samitis and sev-
eral village panchayat
samitis are scheduled to
go to polls in 2022 by
September and October.
Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde on
Thursday said that he
would like the delimita-
tion exercise to be car-
ried out for local civic
bodies afresh. Deputy
CM Devendra Fadnavis
was more cautious and
said that his govern-
ment would articulate
merits of their case be-
fore Supreme Court Jus-
tice Dhananjay Chan-
drachud, while follow-
ing the apex court’s di-
rections on the same.
A senior BJP leader
told First India, “The
MVA government had
usurped the powers of
the state election com-
mission (SEC), and tak-
en upon itself to carry
out the delimitation
process which is cur-
rently being challenged
in the apex court for its
unconstitutionality.
Moreover, the Shiv Sena
in particular, had cus-
tomized the wards of
civic corporations in-
cluding BMC in Mum-
bai, TMC in Thane and
PMC in Pune and
tweaked the ward de-
marcations to suit their
own political ends. We
will point out the inher-
ent flaw in how the pro-
cess was done to seek a
fresh exercise.”
State election com-
mission (SEC) Secre-
tary, Kiran Kurundkar,
says, “It is true that the
powers of the SEC were
taken over by the state.
However, the process of
delimitation, which
was a public exercise,
was carried out, with an
additional chief secre-
tary (ACS) rank officer
appointed for hearings
in the BMC. Senior and
experienced officers
were deputed for public
hearings in other corpo-
rations as well.”
These officers then
submittedrecommenda-
tionstotheSECafterthe
process was completed.
The SEC, in turn, either
accepted or rejected the
recommendations in
keepingwiththevarious
electoral acts that ap-
plied to the same.
PM Narendra Modi and his then-Japanese counterpart Shinzo
Abe initiated the project in Ahmedabad in 2017. —FILE PHOTO
ED case against
former Mumbai CP
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The En-
forcement Directo-
rate has filed a money
laundering complaint
against ex-Mumbai
Police Commissioner
Sanjay Pandey and
former NSE top boss-
es Chitra Ramkrish-
na and Ravi Narain in
connection with the
alleged illegal phone
tapping case of the
stock exchange em-
ployees, officials said
Thursday.
It also placed Ram-
krishna, till now in
judicial custody in
the National Stock
Exchange (NSE) colo-
cation case linked to
alleged manipulation
of the bourse, under
arrest.
Pandey is understood
to have been summoned
by the ED to appear be-
fore the agency on Fri-
day in Delhi for ques-
tioning in the phone
tapping case, the offi-
cials said.
The federal probe
agency filed the fresh
case under criminal
sections of the Preven-
tion of Money Launder-
ing Act (PMLA), a week
after the CBI booked
them.
The Central Bureau
of Investigation had al-
leged that Narain and
Ramkrishna, both for-
mer chief executives of
NSE, had roped in a
company founded by
retired IPS officer Pan-
dey to snoop on the
stock market employ-
ees by illegally inter-
cepting their phones
calls.
“The CBI, and now
the ED, have named
Pandey, his Delhi-based
company iSEC Services
Pvt. Ltd, NSE’s former
MD and CEOs Narain
and Ramkrishna, exec-
utive vice president
Ravi Varanasi and head
(premises) Mahesh
Haldipur, among oth-
ers, in their respective
complaints.
Sanjay Pandey.
(L to R) Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, NDA prez candidate Draupadi
Mumru, CM Eknath Shinde and Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis, in
Mumbai on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Murmu meets MPs,
MLAs in Mumbai
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Nation-
al Democratic Alli-
ance (NDA) presiden-
tial candidate Drau-
padi Murmu arrived
in Mumbai on Thurs-
day afternoon to meet
and interact with
MPs and MLAs of the
ruling alliance.
Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde and
Deputy Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis re-
ceived her at the
Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj International
Airport. She was ac-
companied by Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
leader Vinod Tawde.
Murmu then headed
to a private hotel near
the airport to meet the
elected representatives,
including rebel Shiv
Sena MLAs of the Shin-
de camp. However, Mur-
mu is not scheduled to
meet Shiv Sena chief
Uddhav Thackeray at
his residence here, par-
ty sources said, causing
loyalists to stay away
from the meeting.
“We are not going for
the meeting,” Sena’s
Sindhudurg MP Vinay-
ak Raut told reporters
on Thursday
.
Mumru receives a gift at a
tribal event in Mumbai.
—PHOTO
BY
BHUSHAN
KOYANDE
Agency to probe if any
proceeds were
generated through
alleged phone tapping,
public funds laundered
Defense counsel
cites promoter
arrest as grounds
for non-compliance
Counsel takes an excuse that the chief
promoter of the appellant’s company is
behind bars, which would not be and
cannot be a reason for non-compliance of the or-
der passed by this Court. Since the order passed
by this Court on April 19, 2022 is self-operative,
there shall be no stay to the effect and operation
of the impugned judgment.”
—Bombay HC bench
MVA DELIMITATION PUTS NEW
SHINDE GOVT IN LEGAL BIND
Constitutional validity of process is being challenged in the SC ahead of local body polls
BMC is one of the municipal corporations whose wards were‘customized’ by the MVA govt.—FILE PHOTO
“The constitutional mandate has
been discharged and the statutory
process followed and completed in
respect of the delimitation process.
If the whole exercise has to be repeated it
would lead to protracted elections by at least
six months. The Supreme Court would also
need to be convinced about the need for de-
laying the elections as it is monitoring the
whole process.”
—Kiran Kurundkar, Secretary, SEC

MAHARASHTRA
03
First India Bureau
Bhandara/Palghar:
Ten workers of a con-
struction firm strand-
ed in the swollen Vai-
tarna river were res-
cued by the National
Disaster Response
Force (NDRF) on
Thursday
, a senior of-
ficial said.
Meanwhile, the State
Disaster Response Fund
(SDRF) team rescued 15
people in Bhandara, in-
formed the officials on
Thursday
. The people
were stuck in a temple
due to a flood-like situa-
tion. “About 15 people
were rescued by the
SDRFteaminTumsarin
the Bhandara district,
today
.Theywerestuckin
a temple due to a flood-
like situation there,”
said SDRF officials.
In Palghar district,
workers of a private
firm engaged in con-
struction of the Mum-
bai-Vadodara Express-
way
, had entered the riv-
er in a barge as part of
their work, but got stuck
at Bahadoli due to the
rising water level on
Wednesday following
heavy rains, an official
earlier said.
A team of the NDRF
wassummonedandheli-
copter arrangements
werealsomadetorescue
them. As the water level
receded, the NDRF team
rescued all the 10 work-
ers using a boat, in an
operation which contin-
ued till Thursday early
morning, Palghar Col-
lector Dr Manik Gursal
said.
“All the workers are
safe,” said the collector
who was monitoring the
rescue operation. Pal-
ghar district, located
about 100km from state
capital Mumbai, has
been witnessing heavy
rainssincelastweek.Ac-
cording to district au-
thorities, Palghar has
received an average of
222.31mm rain in 24
hours ending at 8.30 am
on Thursday
. A maxi-
mum of 296.5mm rain-
fall was recorded in
Mokhada. The district
has received an average
of 1,460.9mm rain so far
thisseason,itwasstated.
Staff at BMC asked to
gear up for emergencies
First India Bureau
Mumbai: With Mum-
bai expecting more
rain in the next few
days, municipal com-
missioner IS Chahal
on Thursday asked of-
ficials to stay prepared
to tackle emergencies
and undertake rescue
operations.
Chahal held a meet-
ing of the disaster man-
agement department of
the Brihanmumbai Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(BMC) here.
The city is being
pounded by rains over
the last one week. On
June 29, 19 persons had
died in a building col-
lapse in suburban Kur-
la. Officials should ap-
peal to the residents of
dilapidated structures
in the city, to vacate the
premises, Chahal was
quoted as saying in a
BMC release. Tempo-
rary shelters should be
provided till Septem-
ber-end for people liv-
ing in such buildings,
he said.
Buses of the civic
transport body BEST
and the Maharashtra
State Road Transport
Corporation (MSRTC)
should be arranged if
local train services get
hit by the monsoon, the
commissioner directed.
The department
should be ready to run
400 BEST buses and 11
MSRTC buses to ferry
stranded train commut-
ers, Chahal said. The
commissioner also or-
dered that potholes on
roads should be filled
up within 48 hours of
receiving complaints.
900peoplerescuedfrominundated
housesinChandrapuramidrains
First India Bureau
Chandrapur: Over 900
people were evacuated
safely from houses
that were inundated
with water from the
Irai dam in Chan-
drapur district on
Thursday
, an official
said. Disaster manage-
ment personnel con-
ducted rescue opera-
tions at Ballarpur, Ar-
wat, Korpana among
other places in the
district, he said.
The water level has
increased in all reser-
voirs, including the Irai
dam, due to incessant
rainfall in the district
since last week. Offi-
cials have opened seven
gates of the dam by a
metre. The discharge of
water from the Irai dam
caused flooding in Reh-
mat Nagar, Datala,
Haveli Complex, Sister
Colony, Bangarwada,
and low-lying areas of
the city under the Chan-
drapur Municipal Cor-
poration, he said.
Authorities have
shiftedpeopletoschools
in the city and food, wa-
ter and mobile toilets
have been made availa-
ble. The district disas-
ter management team
rescued 22 truck drivers
who got stuck near Bo-
hegaon in Korpana
tehsil in the district. Bo-
hegaon bridge on Ward-
ha river got flooded and
the road was cut off for
motorists. However,
some truck drivers got
stuck near the bridge
and had to be rescued.
Latur district has
seen 300mm rainfall
Latur (PTI): The Latur
district received an av-
erage 56.5mm rainfall
in the 24-hour period
that ended 8 am on
Wednesday
, while its
cumulative rainfall re-
corded so far this mon-
soonstoodat307.9mm,
officials said.
The tehsil-wise data
of the total rainfall this
season is as follows: La-
tur 307.9mm, Ausa
196.6mm, Ahmedpur
425.7mm, Nilanga
210.6mm, Udgir
399.1mm, Chakur
370.2mm, Renapur
298.3mm, Deoni
301.6mm, Shirooor-
Anantpal 354.0, Jalkot
416.0mm.
Meanwhile, district
officials have issued
warnings to the people
in the villages located
on the banks of Manja-
ra, Terna and Tawarja
rivers to remain alert in
view of the heavy rains,
the officials said.
NDRF personnel conduct rescue ops
after 10 workers were trapped in the
Vaitarna River. —PHOTO BY ANI
Villagers forced to carry children, belongings
First India Bureau
Nashik: The residents
of Pegalwadi village
were seen crossing a
stretch of road filled
with knee-level water
with their belongings
and children on their
shoulders and heads
as heavy rains pound-
ed numerous areas in
Maharashtra, leading
to overflowing rivers
and drains.
In another incident
in Palghar on Wednes-
day, a landslide was re-
ported in the Vasai
area. Two people were
killed in the incident
while the another two
were rescued. Maha-
rashtra Chief Minister
expressed his grief over
the incident and took
note of the situation.
“The relatives of the
deceased will be pro-
vided Rs4 lakh each
from Palghar District
Collector’s Natural Dis-
aster Fund and Rs2 lakh
each from Vasai Virar
Corporation. Besides,
he instructed the con-
cerned administration
to pay Rs50,000 each to
the injured for treat-
ment,” tweeted Eknath
Shinde.
A red alert issued by
the India Meteorologi-
cal Department (IMD)
on Tuesday is said to
continue for several dis-
tricts of Maharashtra,
including Raigad, Pal-
ghar, Nashik, Pune, Sa-
tara, and Kolhapur.
There is an Orange
alert for rainfall today
in Mumbai, Thane,
Gadchiroli, Chan-
drapur, Ratnagiri, Sind-
hudurg and Nandurbar.
According to IMD
fairly widespread/
widespread light/mod-
erate rainfall and thun-
derstorm/lightning
with isolated heavy
rainfall are expected
over Maharashtra and
several other states dur-
ing the next four to five
days.
On Monday, various temples submerged under the Godavari river in Nashik, due to incessant rain over
the past three days. —FILE PHOTO
River, drains flooded following
incessant downpours in Nashik
MONSOON WOES
SRDF EVACUATES 15, AS
SRDF EVACUATES 15, AS
NRDFRESCUES10 INMAHA
NRDFRESCUES10 INMAHA
Workers had entered the river in a barge but
got stuck as waters rose onWednesday
SDRF personnel rescued 15 people stuck ina temple due to a rise
in the water level at Tumsar, in Bhandara. —PHOTO BY ANI
Sea waves crash at the shore at Gateway of India in Mumbai on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
People try to protect themselves from rain at the Gateway of India in
Mumbai, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Rainfall and backflow from Wardha river has blocked roads to
several villages in the district.
Rescue ops to rescue stranded people at an empty house
after its wall collapsed, in Pune. —PHOTO BY ANI
Nagpur: Over 3,000
people from 29 villages
in Gadchiroli district have
been shifted to safety
as a precaution after the
IMD issued an orange
alert for the district for
the day. According to the
disaster management cell,
Godavari, Kaleshwaram
and Indravati rivers in the
district are flowing above
the danger level, while
Wainganga, Pranhita and
Wardha rivers are inching
close to the warning level.
People living near these
rivers have been asked
to remain alert to the
possibility of flooding.
People in villages of Aheri
and Sironcha talukas who
live near rivers are being
shifted to safer places on
war footing.
3K EVACUATED
AMID HEAVY RAINS
IN GADCHIROLI
District officials have issued warnings to the people in villages
near river banks.
1 injured as buildings
collapse in Pune,
Thane,Amravati
First India Bureau
Pune/Thane/Am-
ravati: A 50-year-
old woman in
Thane district was
injured when a wall
of her house
crashed following a
heavy downpour on
Thursday morning,
civic officials said.
The incident took
place around 5.30
am at a chawl (tene-
ment) in Rashid
Compound of Mum-
bra township, Thane
Municipal Corpora-
tion’s regional dis-
aster management
cell (RDMC) chief
Avinash Sawant
said. Local firemen
and RDMC person-
nel rushed to the
spot for rescue work,
and Tabassum
Sayyed was admit-
ted to a local hospi-
tal, he added.
In Pune city, 11
people were rescued
from three houses
after a wall of an ad-
jacent unoccupied
“wada” (an old clus-
ter of houses with
many rooms) col-
lapsed in Kondhwa
Budruk area. In a
third such incident,
a ground-plus-one
floor commercial
building collapsed in
Maharashtra’s Am-
ravati city. However,
no one was injured
in Pune or Amravati
as the buildings
were unoccupied.

PERSPECTIVE
04
hat happened in Udaipur
and Amarawati were hei-
nous and planned acts.
What follows in many
parts the country in the
name of blasphemy is
nothing short of a chaotic
mob frenzy
. Condemnable
is too insufficient and mild
an adjective for such bel-
ligerent conspiracy
. How-
ever, the response of the
political fraternity contin-
ues to be disgusting; that
of the bureaucracy and
administration, under the
command of their respec-
tive political lords, is
mixed as always; that of
the media is mostly de-
pendent on its ideological
leanings and its strength
to counter or ignore pres-
sures, political or other-
wise. The response of the
common man appears to
be little more attentive and
alive than usual. Each one
of these groups extracts
its share of mileage out of
the reprehensible acts and
resulting disorder. There
are indeed exceptions, but
they are like islands of
sanity and hope in the oth-
erwise turbulent seas.
Any such public crime
should be condemned, just
condemned, without qual-
ification. When we put ‘ifs’
and ‘buts’ in our response,
we not only dilute the
graveness of the crime but
also associate our sympa-
thies with those who glo-
rify such inveterate senti-
ments of violence. A
wrong done by someone in
the past, cannot justify a
wrong done in retaliation
by another person in the
present, whether the gap
between the present and
the past is a few hours, a
few days, a few decades or
a few centuries. Such a
vengeful mind-set breeds
a continuing chain of vio-
lence and retaliation.
When working against
evil, it is essential to con-
demn it unequivocally and
to dissociate oneself from
it. Those who respond
with any reservations or
conditions attached, risk
the chance of being count-
ed among those who per-
petrate evil. Those who
sincerely fight evil should
ensure that such people
are also counted among
the evil-doers. The die-
hards and the fence-sitters
sympathetic to them may
require different medi-
cines, but both should be
counted among the sick.
All analysis, recrimina-
tion, and explanation
should come separately
and much later, not when
the atmosphere is charged
with the passions of the
moment. Ironically
, the so
called intellectuals rush
too quickly to discussion
that inevitably leads to un-
pleasant hardening of at-
titudes. The basic purpose
of any discussion should
be to develop better mutu-
al understanding of views
and viewpoints. But unfor-
tunately such productive
discussion is not often
seen, neither in visual nor
print media, and indeed it
is hardly seen in seminars
or meetings of any kind,
general or private. Mostly
,
discussion on such issues
does not fall in the catego-
ry of genuine intellectual
interchange. Rather, it
tends to consist of argu-
mentative exchanges or
overly heated debate that
merely propagates dog-
mas. Such debates by peo-
ple, who are not concerned
directly and immediately,
have a tendency to inflame
both sides. They end up as
irresponsible messiahs in-
advertently adding fuel to
an already burning fire.
People in the grip of the
passions of the moment
would do well to avoid dis-
cussion of contentious is-
sues. They should at least
allow for a cooling-off pe-
riod. This is not because
they are necessarily mis-
taken in their opinion, but
because any hardening of
attitudes is antithetical to
compromises and peaceful
solutions. If we want oth-
erstolistentous,weshould
first prepare ourselves to
listen to others. And that
becomes impossible when
attitudes harden.
We must realize that ter-
rorism or any sort of ex-
tremism thrives on parti-
san attitude hardening
into dogma. Therefore, in-
stead of an immediate re-
action, we should stop and
think calmly and rational-
ly
. Throwing around accu-
sations of blame and insti-
gating people to raise their
voices is simply playing
into the hands of unscru-
pulous leaders of all hue.
An area is continuously
doused with petrol, acci-
dentally or intentionally
.
No one takes any steps to
stop this process and the
area continues to get satu-
rated. No one tries to cor-
don off and clean the area,
and then someone throws
a spark, perhaps acciden-
tally
,perhapsintentionally
.
The area bursts into flame.
Who should get the blame?
Thosewhosprinkledpet-
rol say that those who
threw sparks should be
blamed. Those who threw
sparks say that the petrol-
sprinklers should be
blamed. Those who re-
mained inactive blame
both. This indiscriminate
throwing around of invec-
tive further inflames the
fire. It also makes extin-
guishing the fire more dif-
ficult. In fact, each and
every group should share
the blame. But they never
do. Once again, the leaders
are responsible because
they callously continue to
takeadvantageof theshort-
ness of public memory
.
Nowadays, leaders, pol-
iticians, preachers, and
advisers — both altruistic
and selfish, who them-
selves do not follow what
they advise or preach —
infest our social system. It
would be good for them to
recall the oft repeated in-
cident from Gandhiji’s life
where he postponed advis-
ing a child not to eat jag-
gery till he himself aban-
doned doing so.
Why do none of these
leaders actually go to dis-
turbed areas with the re-
solve of staying there un-
til peace is permanently
restored? Alas, this is not
what they do; instead,
they utter sympathetic cli-
chés, promise some mon-
ey or job and consider
their duty to be fulfilled by
means of a short, formal
visit. This is because in
their hearts they consider
the common people to be
mere stepping stones for
their pursuit of personal
glory
. Yes, apparently they
take care of their follow-
ers but how? Not as fellow
human beings, but as mu-
nitions for the artillery
employed in missions of
their mercenary motives.
It is time we realized
how we are being used —
mostlyinwayswescarcely
suspect— by our so-called
leaders; leaving aside a mi-
nority of exceptions. In
eyesof mostpoliticianswe
are simply vote-banks and
nothing else. For religious
leaders we are hordes of
mice who dance to the
tunes of their sacrosanct
flutes. For social activists
we are sacrificial lambs
ready to be slaughtered on
the altar of their ideology
for enhancing their glory
.
For the parasitic monolith
of the bureaucracy we are
simply a perpetual source
of illegitimate pecuniary
nourishment. For the me-
dia we are like fire-crack-
ers that can be blown at
will any time to enhance
their TRP. The farcical
irony is that each one of
these leaders continues to
exploit us on the pretext of
our welfare, and we con-
tinue to produce more
such leaders in our trance-
like stupidity
.
Shouldn’t we pause and
ask ourselves, “Are we not
mere pawns on the chess-
board of our leaders’ self-
ish games?” If we find the
answertobeyes,weshould
honestlyacceptthisreality
andmakeearnesteffortsto
dissociate ourselves from
leaders who seek sacrifice
without giving any
. If we
find that impossible, we
shouldatleastextractfrom
themwhatwecanwithour
eyes wide open. Why kill
for such people? And, yes,
why die for them?
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
WHY KILL FOR THEM
WHY DIE FOR THEM?
W
SURENDRA BOTHRA
The writer is author, poet, editor,
scholar of Jainism, Managing Editor -
Prakrit Bharati Academy
Shouldn’t we pause and ask
ourselves, “Are we not mere
pawns on the chess-board of
our leaders’ selfish games?” If
we find the answer to be yes,
we should honestly accept
this reality and make earnest
efforts to dissociate ourselves
from leaders who seek
sacrifice without giving any.
If we find that impossible, we
should at least extract
from them what we can with
our eyes wide open. Why kill
for such people? And, yes,
why die for them?
Ironically, the so called intellectuals rush too
quickly to discussion that inevitably leads to
unpleasant hardening of attitudes. The basic
purpose of any discussion should be to develop better
mutual understanding of views and viewpoints. But
unfortunately such productive discussion is not
often seen, neither in visual nor print media,
and indeed it is hardly seen in seminars or
meetings of any kind, general or private. Mostly,
discussion on such issues does not fall in the category
of genuine intellectual interchange.
he monsoon ses-
sion of Parlia-
ment is set to
begin from July
18. Instead of is-
sues to be raised in the
House, many MPs would be
turningthepagesof thesau-
rustosearchforalternatives
to words declared unparlia-
mentary by the Lok Sabha
secretariat. Simple, innocu-
ous words like hypocrisy
and ashamed will be ex-
punged if used during pro-
ceedings in the two Houses.
As it is, MPs and ministers
are rarely “ashamed” of
their acts of omission and
commissionbutevenif they
do they won’t be allowed to
say so. ‘Regret’ is a milder
alternative now available
unless one wants to use a
strongerwordlike“perfidy”.
For “incompetent” also
thereisalonglistof alterna-
tives available.
Trinamool Congress’s
Mahua Moitra said in a
tweet,“Basicallygovttaken
all words used by opposi-
tion to describe how BJP
destroying India banned
them.” That explains why
“jumlajeevi” figures in the
listbut“andolanjeevi”does
not. Opposition has also
used “dictatorial”, “tana-
shahi” “vinash purush”
“behrisarkar”“Snoopgate”
in the context of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
and his government. The
words are now on the list of
guillotined words like “dra-
ma” and “incompetent”.
Another Trinamool MP,
Derek O’Brien, defiantly
said that he will use all the
banned words like
“Ashamed, Abused, Be-
trayed, Corrupt, Hypocri-
sy, Incompetent”. “Sus-
pend me,” he challenged.
Eyes of most opposition
MPs must be on the irre-
pressible wordsmith, Con-
gress MP Shashi Tharoor,
to prepare a list of alterna-
tive words to help them
continue with their verbal
attacks on the government.
Will someone call out
against the new curtail-
ment of freedom?
DEAR MPs, IT’S
TIME TO MUG
UP THESAURUS
The monsoon session
of Parliament is set to
begin from July 18. Instead
of issues to be raised in
the House, many MPs
would be turning the pages
of thesaurus to search
for alternatives to
words declared
unparliamentary by
the Lok Sabha secretariat
T
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
I will not look at another’s bowl intent on
finding fault: a training to be observed.
—Buddha
Amit Shah @AmitShah
Matter of immense pride for every
Indian, especially the people of Gujarat
that India’s first UNESCO World Heritage
City, Ahmedabad has now been included
in the list of “World’s 50 Greatest
Places of 2022” by Time Magazine.
Congratulations to everyone!
TOP TWEETS
Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda
Ever since 2001, when Shri @narendramodi
Ji took over the reins of Gujarat, he
has always emphasised the creation of
world-class, futuristic infrastructure. It’s
his approach towards infrastructure and
development that has made this possible
and is also helping the country.
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 70 l RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.
Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057. Editor-In-Chief:DrJagdeeshChandra Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

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06
INDIA
RIL-AFI partner to support Indian athletes
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Reliance In-
dustries Limited (RIL)
and the Athletics Feder-
ation of India (AFI) an-
nounced a long-term
partnership to enable
the holistic growth of
Athletics in India. Reli-
ance Foundation has
been a dedicated partner
to AFI over the years
and now the partnership
is set to deepen the en-
gagement between the
two organisations.
The partnership aims
to discover, nurture and
develop Indian athletes
from across the country
and provide them with
world-class facilities,
coaching and sports sci-
ence and medicine sup-
port by leveraging the
Reliance Foundation
ecosystem. This part-
nership will have a spe-
cial focus on girl athletes
to bridge the gender di-
vide and enable them to
achieve their dreams.
As AFI’s principal
partner, the Reliance
brand will appear across
the national team’s jer-
seys and training kits.
Nita M Ambani, IOC
Member, and Director,
Reliance Industries Ltd
said, “We are delighted
to expand Reliance
Foundation’s partner-
ship with the Athletics
Federation of India.
Athletics is one of the
most popular disciplines
in global sport, and this
association aims to
accelerate the growth
of Indian athletics
by providing opportuni-
ties and world-class fa-
cilities to our young tal-
ent.”
Nita M Ambani with young athletes.
Hospitals asked
to shut for selling
minor’s egg cells
Chennai(Agencies):
Four hospitals in Tamil
Nadu were ordered to
shutpermanentlybythe
state health department
for their alleged involve-
ment in the sale of egg
cells of a 16-year-old.
The girl was forced by
hermothertodonateher
egg cells eight times to
various fertility centres.
“Only adult married
women in the 21-35 age
group with a child are
permitted to donate oo-
cyte, only once. In this
case the girl was forced
into this several times,”
said Ma Subramanian,
the state Health Minis-
ter, listing a series of
violations identified by
a probe committee.
Oocyteisanimmature
ovum or an egg cell in-
volved in reproduction.
“An Aadhar card was
forged to show the mi-
nor girl as an adult. A
fictitioushusband’scon-
sent was obtained,” Mr
Subramanian added.
The hospitals were
accused of violating the
Assisted Reproductive
Technology Act. They
neither have qualified
counsellors nor did they
counsel the donor girl
of the pros and cons of
the procedure, the in-
quiry committee found.
Action has also been
initiated under the Aad-
haar and POCSO acts.
Ahmedabad (Agen-
cies): Heavy down-
pours continued to
lash partsof Gujarat on
Thursday with many
areas in the southern
districts such as Navsa-
ri, Valsad, and Dangs
witnessing knee-deep
water as flood wa-
ters fromswellingrivers
entered villages and ad-
joining areas.
As roads were sub-
merged, traffic move-
ment was affected. The
authorities closed the
Ahmedabad-Mumbai
national highway for
traffic as the road has
been submerged near
Valsad. Similarly
, more
than 100 other routes/
highways were also
closed in the State.
According to Navsa-
ri Collector Amit
Prakash Yadav, three
rivers – Purna, Kaveri
and Ambika, flowing
through Navsari in
south Gujarat — are in
spate. The Purna ex-
ceeded the danger level
onWednesdaynight.In
all, 40,000 people were
affected in adjoining
areas,2,500peoplewere
shifted to relief camps.
Authorities rescued
45 people stranded in
Tapi and Vadodara dis-
trictsintheearlyhours
of Thursday
, according
to a State government
release. In Dolvan ta-
luka of Tapi, fire bri-
gadepersonnelrescued
10 people stranded in a
village facing a flood-
like situation.
Over 30,000 people
have been shifted from
low-lying areas to safer
locations.
National Disaster Response
Force (NDRF) shift an elderly
person from a flood-hit
residential colony following
heavy monsoon rains, in Navsari
on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Devotees start pouring in Haridwar as Kanwar Yatra begins
Haridwar: TheKanwar
Yatra began on the first
day of the Hindu month
of ShravanonThursday
amid tight security ar-
rangements with Shiva
devotees reaching
Haridwar in large num-
bers to fetch the waters
of the Ganga.
The Kanwar Yatra is
taking place after a gap
of two years due to Cov-
id-19 and the authori-
ties hope that at least
four crore Kanwariyas
will come to Haridwar
and neighbouring Ri-
shikesh to collect the
waters of the holy river
during the nearly fort-
night-long fair.
All arrangements
have been made for the
yatra and police are
committed for making
it a success, Uttara-
khand DGP Ashok Ku-
mar said.
When asked if the re-
cent rise in Covid infec-
tions will affect it, Mr.
Kumar said the normal
protocol in view of the
pandemic is still in
place but there will be
no special restrictions.
“All activities have
been opened up. The
Char Dham Yatra is also
going on. There are no
restrictions anywhere.
We think people should
take necessary precau-
tions themselves and
participate in the pil-
grimage,” the DGP said.
He also appealed to
devotees to register on
policecitizenportal.
uk.in/Kanwar for
their own convenience
although it is not man-
datory.
“It is for the conveni-
ence of the Kanwariyas
only
. Many of them get
separatedfromtheirrela-
tives. If they are regis-
tered it will be easier for
us to reach their rela-
tives. Therefore, my ap-
pealistheymustregister.
So far, 4,000-5,000 people
have registered through
the website,” he said.
Shiva devotees from
several states, including
UP, Haryana, Delhi,
Himachal, Punjab and
Rajasthan, visit Harid-
war and Rishikesh to
collect waters of the
Ganga and make an of-
feringof ittoLordShiva
in temples back home.
In view of a large
crowd of devotees ex-
pected to throng the two
pilgrimage towns, strict
vigilisbeingmaintained
through CCTV cameras,
drones and monitoring
of the social media.
Haridwar and adjoin-
ing areas have been di-
vided into 12 super
zones, 31 zones and 133
sectors with the deploy-
ment of around 10,000
police personnel.
The DGP visited
HaridwaronWednesday
and assessed the ar-
rangements at Bairagi
Camp, Sinh Dwar,
S h a n k a r a c h a r y a
Chowk,Jwalapur,Neeld-
hara parking, Rodi Bel-
wala and Har ki Pairi.
TheDGPadvisedChar
Dham yatris to avoid us-
ing the Haridwar-Roor-
kee National Highway
duringtheyatraandpre-
fer other routes.
BUS WITH AMARNATH PILGRIMS RAMS
TRUCK, OVER A DOZEN INJURED
Qazigund: More than a dozen people were injured when a
bus carrying pilgrims for the Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and
Kashmir crashed into a dump truck at a crossing in Qazi-
gund on the Srinagar-Jammu highway. The injured were
taken to the hospital. The incident was caught on a closed-
circuit television (CCTV) camera. Video footage captured
the speeding bus colliding into the stationary dump truck
as it was trying to take a turn at a crossing. Bystanders
were seen running in panic when the crash took place.
Haridwar District Magistrate Vinay Shankar Pandey interacts with
Lord Shiva devotees or ‘Kanwariyas’ as the annual ‘Kanwar Yatra’
commences, in Haridwar on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
PREZ ELECTION
‘Draupadi Murmu will get
more votes than expected’
Panaji (Agne-
cies): Goa CM Pramod
Sawant on Thursday
said NDA’s Presidential
candidate Draupadi
Murmu will get more
votes than expected as
the BJP has ‘numbers’
in the state at present.
Murmu on Thursday
afternoon arrived in
Goa to seek support
from the MPs and the
MLAs for the upcoming
July 18 election.
Apart from the sup-
port of MLAs, BJP has
two members of Parlia-
ment — Union Minister
of State for Tourism
Shripad Naik, and Ra-
jya Sabha MP Vinay
Tendulkar.
Twenty MLAs of BJP
,
alongwithtwoMGPand
three independent
MLAs, rushed to the ho-
tel in the capital city
, af-
ter the assembly session
was adjourned early on
Thursday
, to meet Drau-
padi Murmu.
Shripad Naik, Rajya
Sabha MP Vinay Ten-
dulkar and other senior
BJP leaders were pre-
sent.
Chief Minister
Sawant,afterthemeeting
withMurmu,speakingto
reporters said that apart
from support of BJP’s 20
MLAs, two of MGP and
three independent, Mur-
mu will get more votes.
“We are hopeful that
Draupadi Murmu will
get more votes than the
number we have at pre-
sent. Apart from 25
MLAs, we have ap-
pealed to other MLAs
too to vote for her, we
are hopeful to get more
votes,” Sawant said.
MP Vinay Tendulkar
said that Draupadi
Murmu will get maxi-
mum votes from Goa.
“She will win with
majority votes,” Ten-
dulkar said.
NDA’s Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu during her visit to
meet NDA MLAs, in Mumbai on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
BJP running
‘Operation
Kamal’ even in
Presidential poll
Bhopal (PTI): Oppo-
sition parties’ Presi-
dential candidate
Yashwant Sinha on
Thursday accused
the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)
of indulging in horse
trading in the elec-
tion for the country’s
highest constitution-
al post and sought a
probe into it.
He claimed that
the saffron party was
carrying out ‘Opera-
tion Kamal’, under
which it was alleg-
edly offering “huge
money to non-BJP
MLAs” to ensure its
presidential candi-
date’s win as it is
afraid of the outcome
of a free and fair elec-
tion.
Kamal or lotus is
the poll symbol of
the BJP. In recent
years, the opposition
parties have been ac-
cusing the BJP of
carrying out ‘Opera-
tion Kamal’ to gain
power in the states
where it does not
rule.
JMM ANNOUNCES SUPPORT TO MURMU
IN UPCOMING PREZ POLL
Ranchi: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Chief Shibu Soren on
Thursday said his party will support NDA presidential nomi-
nee Droupadi Murmu in the July 18 election. It is for the first
time that a tribal woman has got an opportunity to become
President of India. Soren directed all MPs and MLAs of the
JMM to vote for Murmu on July 18. Murmu, the former
Jharkhand governor, had recently visited the state to seek
support for her candidature. She met the JMM chief and its
executive president and Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
IN THE COURTYARD
NUPUR CASE: AG DECLINES CONSENT FOR
CONTEMPT AGAINST EX-JUDGE, 2 LAWYERS
HC DISMISSES
PLEA SEEKING
POSTPONEMENT
OF NEET-UG EXAM
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court on Thurs-
day dismissed a plea
seeking directions to
the Centre, the National
Testing Agency (NTA),
and others to postpone
the National Eligibility
cum Entrance Test-Un-
dergraduate (NEET-UG)
exam scheduled to be
held on July 17. Refus-
ing to entertain the plea,
a single judge bench of
Justice Sanjeev Narula
said: There is absolutely
no merit in the petition.
Dismissed.” “The pres-
sure can only be eased
by self-study, not by the
manner you are doing
this. I wish the students
all the best,” the bench
orally remarked.
MOOSE WALA CASE:
TRANSIT REMAND OF
‘SHOOTERS’ GRANTED
New Delhi: The Patiala
House Court on Thursday
granted one-day transit re-
mand of Lawrence Bishnoi
gang shooters Ankit Sersa
and Sachin Chaudhary to
Punjab police in connec-
tion with the murder case
of singer Sidhu Moose
Wala.
‘GYANVAPI MOSQUE
COMPLEX NOT WAQF
BOARD PROPERTY’
Varanasi: The Hindu side
on Thursday argued in a
district court here that the
Gyanvapi complex is not
the property of Waqf Board
and the case over it should
be heard in its entirety. The
Hindu plaintiff had earlier
claimed that a Shivling was
found in the “wazookhana”
New Delhi: Attorney General KK Venugopal has declined
consent to initiate criminal contempt charges against a for-
mer Delhi HC judge and two senior advocates
who openly criticised observations passed by
the SC while turning down a plea by suspended
BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, in which she
urged to club all criminal cases filed across the
country over her alleged derogatory remarks on
Prophet. The three – former Delhi HC judge SN
Dhingra, former addl solicitor general Aman Lekhi and senior
advocate K Rama Kumar – spoke against the SC comments.
CBI files fresh
FIR against
Mehul Choksi
New Delhi (PTI): The
CBI has filed a fresh FIR
against fugitive diaman-
taire Mehul
Choksi for
a l l e g e d l y
cheating a
C a n a r a
B a n k - l e d
consortium to the tune
of Rs 55.27 crore, offi-
cials said on Thursday
.
The agency has also
booked Bezel Jewellery
anditswhole-timedirec-
tors, including Choksi,
Chetna Jhaveri, Dinesh
Bhatia and Milind Li-
maye. Canara Bank and
the Bank of Maharash-
trahadsanctioned`30cr
and `25 cr respectively
as working capital.
MONSOON FURY CONTINUES IN GUJ,
MANY HIGHWAYS CLOSED
Dhiman
appointed HP
Chief Secy
Shashikant Sharma
Shimla: 1988 batch HP
cadre IAS officer cur-
rently working as ACS
EnergyandIndustryRD
Dhiman has been ap-
pointedasthenewChief
Secretary (CS) of HP.
CurrentCSRamSubhag
Singh applied for CIC of
the state although Ram
Subhag Singh can be
made an advisor in the
govt.Dhimanisalsosen-
ior to IAS officers Al-
ireza Rizvi, Nisha Singh
and Sanjay Gupta. Rizvi
is currently posted in
DelhionCentraldeputa-
tion while Nisha Singh
and Sanjay Gupta are
posted in HP itself.
RD Dhiman Ram S Singh

BIZ BUZZ
07
Securitisation
volumes shoot
70% in June qtr
Mumbai (PTI): Securi-
tisation volumes shot
up 70% to Rs 35,000
crore in June quarter
and the credit growth
at non-banks may
take the number to the
pre-pandemic highs
of Rs 1.9 lakh crore in
FY23, Crisil Ratings
said on Thursday.
The volumes were
high in first quarter of
FY23 primarily due to
increase in economic
activity, while the high
growth came on the
back of a low base,
it said.
PNB’s account
aggregation
platform is live
New Delhi (PTI):
PNB has on-boarded
Account Aggregator
(AA) platform to help
customers digitally
access and share
information from one
financial institution
to other regulated
such entities. The
AA system helps
banks leverage data
acquired digitally
through customers’
consent. It thus elim-
inates the need for
physical documen-
tation furnishing by
a customer for other
financial usages.
Sebi invites
applications to
hire 24 officials
New Delhi (PTI):
Sebi on Thursday
invited applications
for as many as 24 se-
nior-level executives
in the IT department.
The recruitment drive
would beef up the
headcount at the Sebi
for faster more
effective execution of
its regulatory role. In
its notice, Sebi has
invited applications
from Indian citizens
for the post of Officer
Grade A (Asst Manag-
er) in the Information
Technology stream.
SBI Contra Fund
AUM doubles in
last one year
New Delhi (PTI):
SBI Mutual Fund on
Thursday said its
equity fund — SBI
Contra Fund — has
recorded nearly 100%
growth in its asset
base to Rs 4,688
crore in last one
year. “The scheme
AUM (Assets Under
Management) stands
at `4,687.76 crore
as on June 30, 2022
as compared to
`2,397.73 crore as on
June 30, 2021,” SBI
Mutual Fund said.
INDIA’SJUNEWPIINFLATION
COMES IN AT 15.18 PER CENT
wholesale price-based
inflation eased to a
three-month low of
15.18% in June on a
sharp decline in the
prices of minerals, but
food articles continued
to remain costly
.
June is the 15th con-
secutive month when
the Wholesale Price
Index (WPI) based in-
flation remained in
double-digit. Last
month, it touched a re-
cord high of 15.88%. In
June 2021, it was 12.075.
Inflation in food arti-
cles in June was
14.39%, as prices of
vegetables, fruits and
potato witnessed a
sharp spike over the
year-ago period.
In May, the whole-
sale price inflation in
food articles was
12.34%. The rate of
price rise in vegetables
was 56.75%, while in
potato and fruits, it
was 39.38 and 20.33%,
respectively. The WPI
inflation in minerals
dropped sharply to
8.55% in June.
In the fuel and power
basket, inflation was
40.38%, while in manu-
factured products and
oil seeds, it was 9.19%
and 2.74%, respectively
.
Inflation in crude pe-
troleum and natural
gas was 77.29% in June.
Icra Chief Econo-
mist Aditi Nayar said
minerals and basic
metals displayed a
sharp month-on-month
correction in June
2022, as fears of an im-
pending global reces-
sion unfolded, dampen-
ing commodity prices.
“We expect the WPI
inflation to ease to 13%
in July 2022, reflecting
the ongoing correction
in global commodity
and fuel prices as well
as domestic food pric-
es,” Nayar said.
WHOLESALE PRICE INDEX
Icra Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said that the RBI
could hike interest rates by 60 bps over the next
two reviews, taking the repo rate to 5.5% by Sep-
tember 2022, followed by a pause to ascertain the
momentum of economic growth. The RBI mainly
looks at retail inflation to frame monetary policy.
RBI could hike interest rates by 60 bps
June is the 15th consec-
utive month when the
Wholesale Price Index
(WPI) based inflation re-
mained in double-digit.
Last month, it touched a
record high of 15.88%.
In June 2021, it was
12.075.
15TH CONSECUTIVE
MONTH
Inflation in food articles
in June was 14.39%,
as prices of vegeta-
bles, fruits and potato
witnessed a sharp spike
over the year-ago peri-
od. In May, the wholesale
price inflation in food
articles was 12.34%.
INFLATION IN FOOD
ARTICLES
New Delhi (PTI): In-
dia’s merchandise ex-
ports in June grew by
23.52% to $40.13 bil-
lion, while the trade
deficit ballooned to a
record of $26.18 bil-
lion, according to the
government data re-
leased on Thursday
.
Imports expanded
by 57.55% to $66.31 bil-
lion in June compared
to the year-ago month,
the data showed.
The trade deficit
stood at $9.60 billion in
June 2021.
Cumulative exports
in April-June 2022-23
rose by about 24.51%
to $118.96 billion,
while imports in-
creased 49.47% to
$189.76 billion during
the period.
The trade deficit
during the first three
months of this fiscal
widened to $70.80 bil-
lion from $31.42 billion
in the year-ago period.
Exports rise 23.52% to $40.13 billion in June
New Delhi (PTI): Fi-
nance minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman on
Thursday called on G20
countries to ensure
that the developing na-
tions are guarded
against any “unintend-
ed consequences” of
the proposed global
minimum tax deal at
the G20.
Nimrala Sithara-
man said that to ensure
a fairer and inclusive
tax system, it is neces-
sary that all G20 inclu-
sive framework mem-
bers actively partici-
pate in the finalisation
of the proposed deal to
tax multinational com-
panies and said the
pact should result in
“meaningfulrevenues”
for the developing
countries.
A total of 130 coun-
tries, including power-
houses like India and U
nited States, had in
July last year agreed to
a overhaul of global
tax norms to ensure
that multinationals
pay taxes wherever
they operate and at a
minimum 15% rate.
G20 must ensure nations earn
‘meaningfulrevenues’:Nirmala
New Delhi (PTI): Elec-
tronics major Samsung
India is targeting to sell
Galaxy M-series smart-
phones worth $1 billion
this year, a senior com-
pany official said.
Samsung India sen-
ior director Aditya Bab-
bar said that the
first half of the
year has been
very good for the
company, with
over 20% year-on-
year growth in
value terms.
“We have 42 mil-
lion happy M-Se-
ries consumers
since 2019. We have
very aggressive plans
for the year. We have
set ourselves a target
of $1 billion this year
coming from the M se-
ries,” he said.
He was speaking on
the side-
lines of
launch-
ing two
new M-series smart-
phones - Galaxy M13
and Galaxy M13 5G.
The M13 5G with 6GB
internal memory and
128 GB external memo-
ry is priced at `15,999,
while the another mod-
el with 4GB internal
memory and 64 GB ex-
ternal memory will be
tagged at `13,999 apiece.
Samsung India aims to sell M-series
smartphones worth $1 bn this year
AGGRESSIVE PLANS
“We have very aggressive plans for
the year. We have set ourselves a tar-
get of $1 billion this year coming from
the M series,” Samsung India senior
director Aditya Babbar said.
New Delhi (PTI):
Rating agency Icra
on Thursday said it
expects prices of
domestic coal to re-
main high in the
ongoing quarter as
well given the sup-
ply challenges of
the dry fuel during
monsoon. The do-
mestic e-auction
premium on coal
increased by over
400% in May, there-
by adversely im-
pacting the cost
structure of the
base metal compa-
nies and margins.
Domestic
coal prices to
remain high
COAI urges fair play
in India’s 5G faceoff
dustry body COAI on
Thursday said adminis-
trative allocation of
spectrum for private 5G
networks will be
against tenets of level
playing field as it laud-
ed use of open bidding
and transparent auc-
tion route by companies
seeking 5G airwaves.
Administrative allo-
cation of spectrum for
captive 5G networks is
against principles of
level playing field and
“effectively provides a
backdoor entry to big
technology players to
provide 5G services and
solutions to enterprises
in India” without equiv-
alent regulatory com-
pliance and payment of
levies that telcos are
subject to.
The sector is poised
for mega 5G spectrum
auction. Total 72 GHz of
spectrum worth at least
`4.3 lakh crore will be
put on the block.
Sensex,Nifty slide for 4th
day;IT,banking shares dip
Mumbai (PTI):
Benchmark indices
Sensex and Nifty gave
up early gains to close
lower for a fourth
straight session on
Thursday due to sell-
ing in IT and banking
shares amid weak
global equities.
The 30-share BSE
benchmark settled 98
points or 0.18% lower
at 53,416.15. The broad-
er NSE Nifty also
pared initial gains and
ended 28 points or
0.18% down to settle at
15,938.65. Among the
Sensex constituents,
Axis Bank declined the
most by 1.74%. HCL
Technologies, State
Bank of India, Tech
Mahindra,TCS,Wipro,
UltraTech Cement and
ITC were the major
laggards.
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee declined by 9 paise to settle at
a new record low of 79.90 against the US currency on
Thursday due to a firm US dollar in overseas markets and
capital outflows. At the interbank foreign exchange market,
the local currency opened strong at 79.72 and witnessed an
intra-day high of 79.71 and a low of 79.92 against the US
dollar in the day trade. The local unit finally settled at 79.90
a dollar, down 9 paise over its previous close.
` DROPS 9 PAISE TO HIT LIFETIME LOW OF 79.90/$
PE inflows
into proptech
firms rise to
$741 million
New Delhi (PTI):
Private equity in-
vestments in
proptech firms rose
35 per cent to $741
million last year as
investors sought to
tap huge opportuni-
ties amid rising use
of technology in the
realty sector, Hous-
ing.Com said.
Proptech firms
that are providing so-
lution in sales and
marketing, and con-
struction manage-
ment got 69% of the
total funds.
Inflow of funds
into proptech firms
stood at $551 million
in 2020.
Between 2009 and
2021, the proptech
players in India re-
ceived a total of $3.2
billion Private Equi-
ty (PE) investments.
In the total invest-
ment figure, Austral-
ia’s REA group-
owned Housing.Com
has included private
equity, venture capi-
tal, debt, PIPE (Pri-
vate Investment in
Public Entities), pro-
ject level invest-
ments, and pre-IPO
private equity deals,
at the early, growth
and late stage.
presence of open net-
work for digital com-
merce, a Unified Pay-
ments Interface-type
protocol, will be gradu-
ally expanded to more
cities after the success-
ful launch of its pilot
phase, Union Minister
Piyush Goyal has said
on Thursday
.
Open network for
digital commerce
(ONDC) is a set of
standards for voluntary
adoption by sellers or
logistics providers or
payment gateways.
The objective is to de-
mocratise the fast-grow-
ing e-commerce sector
in the country to help
small retailers and re-
duce the dominance of
online retail giants.
It provides small re-
tailers the freedom to
choose any logistics
player and seller plat-
form based on different
parameters like loca-
tion and rates.
“Yes, certainly,” the
commerce and industry
minister said when
asked whether they are
planning to expand the
ONDC to more cities as
the pilot phase in five
cities is going well.
‘ONDCtobegraduallyexpandedtomorecities’
New Delhi (PTI): IR-
DAI on Thursday al-
lowed general insurers
to launch products for
the agriculture and al-
lied activities without
its prior approval.
Last month, IRDAI
had permitted insurers
to launch health and
most of the general in-
surance products by
extending the ambit of
‘use and file’ proce-
dure, thus giving them
greater leeway in de-
signing and pricing of
insurance covers in
line with market needs.
The ‘use and file’
procedure was also ex-
tended to most of the
life insurance prod-
ucts. “In order to facili-
tate the insurance in-
dustry to promote in-
surance penetration
and enhance coverage
in the unserved and un-
derserved areas by de-
signing suitable and
need-based products
covering agriculture
and allied activities,
the Authority...Hereby
permits the general in-
surers to file retail
products for agricul-
ture and allied activi-
ties under the Use and
File procedure,” it said.
This move, IRDAI
said will facilitate in-
surance companies to
design launch inno-
vative products for
these segments in a
timely manner ex-
pand choices available
to the policyholders.
Norms eased for launching agri insurance products
HELPING MOVE
The move will facilitate
insurance companies
to design launch
innovative products
for these segments in
a timely manner.
dia’s capital expendi-
ture recorded a growth
of over 70% in May
2022, revealed in the
Finance Ministry’s
economic report for
the month of June re-
leased on Thursday
.
This can be attrib-
uted to the govern-
ment’s concentrated
approach to expanding
capex while maintain-
ing a budgeted fiscal
deficit to GDP ratio fol-
lowing the excise duty
cuts on fuel.
The review released
on Thursday by the
ministry also said that
global headwinds
would continue to pose
a downside risk to
growth as crude oil
and edibles, which
have driven inflation
in India, remain major
imported components
in the consumption
basket. The surging in-
flation may have been
a stumbling block but
robust GST collection,
increase in customs
duties, and imposition
of windfall tax are
likely to boost govt rev-
enues.
Capex grows by 70%
in May: FinMin report
HIGHLIGHTS
70% India’s capital
expenditure recorded a
growth of over 70% in
May 2022.
The review released
also said that global
headwinds would con-
tinue to pose a down-
side risk to growth.
RoSCTL HELPING BOOST
EXPORTS, EMPLOYMENT: AEPC
New Delhi (PTI): The Rebate
of State and Central Taxes and
Levies (RoSCTL) scheme for
the apparel sector has helped
enhance cost competitive-
ness of the industry in global
markets and boost exports,
the Apparel Export Promotion
Council said on Thursday.
The scheme has provided a
stable and predictable policy
regime to boost exports and
employment, AEPC Chairman
Naren Goenka said. “RoSCTL
is a forward-looking and
growth-oriented scheme
which has provided a stable
and predictable policy regime,
helping boost exports and
employment,” Goenka said.

08
2NDFRONT
A bad attitude scars you for
life, disables your path to
success. It is something you
can change and should!
— Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Indian Su-
per League (ISL) fran-
chise Mumbai City FC
on Thursday con-
firmed that the club
will deal with Kerala
Blasters FC for the
transfer of defender
Sanjeev Stalin.
The 21-year-old joins
the Islanders’ on a four-
year contract.
“It’s a big step for me
to join Mumbai City FC
at this stage of my ca-
reer. But it’s one that I
am confident about. I
am looking forward to
learning from my peers,
seniors and coach Des
Buckingham,” Stalin
said in a press release.
The club’s head coach
Des Buckingham de-
scribed the defender as
“one of the most excit-
ing talents in India.”
Stalin went on to rep-
resent India at the 2017
FIFA U-17 World Cup.
He also represented In-
dia at the U-20 level.
He then featured for
I-league side Indian Ar-
rows, making 28 appear-
ances in two seasons
and later moved to Por-
tugal in 2019, where he
played for Deportivo
Aves U-23 side and had
a loan stint with the
third division club Ser-
tanense.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Artist
Manoj Das had
shipped a consign-
ment of paintings
worth Rs 4.3 lakh to
one of his fans in Ri-
yadh, but the consign-
ment got lost in tran-
sit. Instead of tracing
the paintings, the
staff offered Das a
compensation of Rs
5000. The artist then
went to the police
who tracked the
paintings and handed
them over to him.
The paintings were
couriered to Riyadh on
March 2 from the Blue
Dart office at Hotcase
area of Mira Bhay-
andar. A fee of Rs 22000
was also paid.
Blue Dart employees
Navin Rawale and Ma-
hesh Gurav opened the
consignment and
checked the packet be-
fore booking the con-
signment, Das said.
The customer called
me when the paintings
did not reach their des-
tination even after a
month, but no one gave
me a proper answer,”
said a disgruntled Das.
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv
Sena leader Sanjay
Raut on Thursday
claimed there is no
government in place
in Maharashtra at
present as the Eknath
Shinde-led dispensa-
tion is “illegal”. He
also asked about the
whereabouts of Gov-
ernor Bhagat Singh
Koshiyari, in face of
rains wreaking havoc
across the state.
Talking to reporters,
Raut said cholera has
broken out in many
parts of the state, which
has resulted in deaths.
“Maharashtra is
again under a lock-
down. Nearly 100 people
have died due to floods,”
he said.
According to the
state government fig-
ures, 83 people have
died due to rain-related
incidents between June
01 and July 10. These
deaths were caused by
incidents like floods,
lightning strikes, land-
slides, falling of trees
and collapse of struc-
tures, among others,
the state disaster man-
agement authority had
said in a report.
On Wednesday, the
state health department
said 181 people have
been infected with chol-
era, of whom, five have
died.
“In such a situation,
no government exists in
the state. There is no
government in the
state, because this is an
illegal government,”
said Raut.
“Where is our gover-
nor now? There is no
government in the
state, and there is no
cabinet,” he said.
Cops handing over the paintings to painter Manoj Rai.
First India Bureau
Nashik: Swar Mauli
Foundation, founded
by legendary singer
Late Lata Man-
geshkar, which was
announced on the oc-
casion of Guru Purni-
ma on Wednesday, is
making her dream of
building an old age
home for artists,
come true.
Lata Mangeshkar,
who left for the heaven-
ly abode on February 6,
had registered this or-
ganization in July 2021.
The Swar Mauli
Foundation is deter-
mined to help artists
who are in the twilight
of their age and in dire
need of help. It was Lata
Didi's vision to help and
heal elderly artists who
are either abandoned
by their children or feel
financially helpless to
sustain their lives, the
foundation, that is com-
ing up with an old-age-
home in Nashik, said in
its statement.
With renowned starts
such as Lalita Pawar,
Bharat Bhushan,
Parveen Babi, Achala
Sachdev and A K
Hangal, dying alone,
the home will fill a long-
felt need, industry in-
siders said.
During my journey
(of life), I witnessed a
dismal side of life;
wherein not all older
people were being
looked after by their
families. In my younger
days, I witnessed many
of the artists from our
film industry being left
to face the evening of
their lives by them-
selves. As years passed
by, this side of life over-
whelmed me and I de-
cided that I needed to do
something in my own
little way to heal this
pain,LataMangeshkar
had said.
The launch of the
foundation was an-
nounced by Mega Star
Amitabh Bachchan on
Twitter.
Bharat Ratna Lata
ji's .. most noble gesture
and gift for humanity,
he wrote.
Apart from Lata Man-
geshkar, the founding
members of the founda-
tion consist of Usha
Mangeshkar, their
niece Rachna Shah and
Mayuresh Pai. Singer
Sonu Nigam and direc-
torMadhurBhandarkar
are a part of five-mem-
ber advisory committee
of the Swar Mauli foun-
dation.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A special
Prevention of Chil-
dren from Sexual Of-
fences (POSCO) court
ordered 20-year rigor-
ous imprisonment to
a father and two of
his friends for gang-
rape of minor,
16-year-old daughter
over a period of two
months in 2018.
The three were
booked for offences un-
der section 376-D under
the Indian Penal Code
and other relevant sec-
tions under POSCO Act.
The court also ordered
the accused to compen-
sate an amount of Rs
10000 each to the victim.
Her father, a drug
peddler was let off from
the jail after serving a
two year jail term. After
sometime, he started
drugging the daughter
and gangraped him
with his friends.
Special Public Prose-
cutor Veena Shelar said
that the matter came
into light when a per-
son from Railway Child-
line found her at CSMT
station, 15 days after
she had run away from
home. She narrated the
ordeal over there, after
which a police case was
filed and the girl was
given shelter in chil-
dren's home in Dongri.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bom-
bay High Court on
Thursday said it does
not have an issue with
helipads in villages,
but the Maharashtra
government should
also provide good
roads for children to
go to schools.
A division bench
headed by Justice
Prasanna Varale made
the remark while hear-
ing a public interest
litigation (PIL) taken
up suo motu on the
plight of students of
Khirkhindi village in
Satara district.
The students of Kh-
irkhindi village have to
travel by a boat in the
Koyna river backwaters
and then walk through
a forest to reach their
school.
The court directed
Maharashtra chief sec-
retary to convene a
meeting with secretar-
ies of the departments
concerned and come up
with a positive and per-
manent solution.
The HC said it was
only interested in see-
ing the children get
help and facilities for
their education.
The court noted that
a village in Satara dis-
trict has two helipads,
but no roads or bridges.
“We don’t mind heli-
pads in some villages,
but at the same time we
also want to see good
roads for children to go
to school or college, fin-
ish their education and
help the society,” said
Justice Varale.
We only want the Ma-
harashtra government
here to take positive
steps and do whatever
is possible and find a
permanent solution, he
added.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bom-
bay High Court on
Thursday said that it
will not allow unau-
thorized buildings to
take the life of even
one “innocent per-
son”, while taking a
serious note of the
dangers posed by
such structures.
A bench comprising
Chief Justice Dipankar
Datta and Justice MS
Karnik was hearing a
petition filed by three
residents from Thane,
who had sought the
demolition of nine un-
authorized buildings in
Mumbra that were be-
ing inhabited by several
families, to avoid any
untoward incident or
loss of life.
The bench asked the
state government why a
1998 government reso-
lution, which was still
being implemented, re-
strained civic authori-
ties from demolishing
unauthorized struc-
tures during the mon-
soon season.
“Is demolishing an
unauthorized building
riskier during the
rains? What is the logic
behind the GR?” asked
the court.
The petitioners, one
of whom is a state wit-
ness in the 2013 ‘Lucky
Compound’ building
collapse in which 76
people were killed, ap-
proached the court
through advocate Neeta
Karnik.
On Thursday, Karnik
told the court that the
Thane Municipal Cor-
poration (TMC) had
served several demoli-
tion notices to the unau-
thorized structures,
and had even cut off
power and water supply
.
However, residents con-
tinue to live there and
had even managed to
access power and water
via illegal channels.
TMC’s counsel Ram
Apte confirmed that the
civic body had sent sev-
eral demolition notices
to the nine buildings,
but residents had re-
fused to vacate.
Advocate Suhas Oak,
who appeared for the
residents of the said
buildings, urged the
court to take a “human-
itarian view”, and stop
TMC from demolishing
the buildings at least
till the end of monsoon.
To this, the court
said, “We are on hu-
manitarian ground al-
ready, as we want you to
live. One building that
collapses might take
with it several lives, and
also bring down neigh-
bouring buildings.”
The bench then di-
rected that the “senior-
most member” of each
family residing in these
nine buildings must
give an undertaking by
this evening stating
that all residents will
vacate the structures by
August 31. In an oral di-
rection, the court said
that the TMC can re-
frain from carrying out
the demolition action
against the nine build-
ings till then.
ISL: Mumbai
City FC signs
defender
Sanjeev Stalin
`5K compensation for
paintings worth `4.3L!
Father, two
frns get 20-yr
RI for minor’s
gangrape
PHILANTHROPIC GESTURE
Lata’s gift: An Old-age home for elderly artists
Swar Mauli is based on belief that no
elderly should be left alone to face life
when it is most vulnerable
Students of Khirkhindi village travel by a boat and then walk
through a forest to reach their school. —FILE PHOTO
‘Helipad ok, but build good
roads for school-going kids’
HC pulls up
Maha govt for
not ensuring
facilities such as
good roads for
children to reach
their schools
Won’t allow unauthorized
buildings to take lives: HC
Bench directs
families of nine
dilapidated
buildings in
Mumbra to
vacate their
homes by Aug 31
UNIFORM POLICY NEEDED
BAILABLE WARRANT
AGAINST RAUT CANCELLED
On HC’s order to vacate structures
by August 31, defense counsel Oak
argued that the subject of the petition
was only nine buildings. “At least
90% of buildings in Mumbra are
unauthorized. In such a case, the gov-
ernment needs to devise a uniform
policy,” he said. The high court, how-
ever, said that while a policy should
come into force, one could not say
that in the meantime, let unauthorized
development continue.
Mumbai (PTI): A Mumbai court on Thursday
cancelled a bailable warrant issued against Shiv
Sena MP Sanjay Raut after he appeared before it
in connection with a defamation complaint filed by
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya’s wife Medha Somaiya.
The Sewri metropolitan magistrate’s court had last
month issued a process (summons) against Raut,
asking him to appear before it on July 04. However,
he did not turn up before the court then following
which a bailable warrant was issued against him.
NO GOVT EXISTS IN MAHA,
SAYS SENA MP SANJAY RAUT
Sanjay Raut
Sanjeev Stalin
Bombay High Court
Lata Mangeshkar

A
s soon as business-
man Lalit Modi
shared pictures
from his vacation
with actress Sushmita Sen,
everyone wondered if the
couple has tied the knot se-
cretly. The business
tycoon shared
pictures from
their recent
trip to the
M a l d ive s
Islands and
w r o t e ,
“Just back
in London
after a
whirling
g l o b a l
t o u r
# m a l -
dives # sardinia
with the families -
not to mention my
#better-looking
partner @sush-
mitasen47 - a new
beginning a new
life finally
. Over the
moon. However
soon, Lalit clarified
that he is dating Su-
shmita and they are
not married. In his
tweet, he also ex-
pressed that marriage
too will happen! His
tweet read, “Just for
clarity. Not married -
just dating each other”.
GOOD LUCK
JERRYTRAILER
J
anhvi Ka-
poor has re-
turned with
a comedy-
drama. Titled
GoodLuck Jerry,
the makers dropped
the film’s trailer on
Thursday and it fea-
tures the actress sharing
screen space with other sen-
ior actors. Helmed by Sid-
dharth Sen, the film is a re-
make of the Tamil movie
Kolamaavu Kokila and will
feature actors such as Deepak
Dobriyal, Mita Vashisht and
Sushant Singh in pivotal
roles.
OnThursday
,theGoodLuck
Jerry trailer was released.
Sharing the same on social
media,Janhviwrote,“FINAL-
LY! Miliye Jerry se. Aur yaad
rakhiye- hum jitne dikhte
hain, utne hain nahi #Good-
LuckJerry
streaming
from 29th
July
.”
T
aapsee Pannu is
one of the most
loved actresses
in Bollywood.
One of her films Ha-
seen Dillruba
which was re-
leased in
2021, won a lot
of hearts. The
film which also
stars Vikrant Mas-
sey and Harshvard-
han Rane got mixed re-
views from the critics
and the audience. Well,
according to the sourc-
es, Taapsee opened up
about the sequel to this
2021 film.
When she was asked
if a sequel to Haseen
Dillruba is being
made, Taapsee
Pannu revealed
that she is glad
people actual-
ly started an-
ticipating it
as soon as
the film was
released.
K
aran Johar kick-
started Koffee
With Karan Sea-
son 7 last week.
This week we will see
Sara Ali Khan and Jan-
hvi Kapoor gracing the
couch. Just hours be-
fore the episode’s re-
lease, Karan dropped
a brand new video
with Janhvi and
Sara. Sharing the
video, Karan cap-
tioned it, “My Kof-
fee guests tonight
are nothing less than
PHAT and you know
what that means @janh-
vikapoor @saraal-
ikhan95.”
NEWBEST
FRIENDS IN
TINSEL TOWN
W
hile it is usually be-
lieved that two peo-
ple get together
when they have
quite a few things in common
and are often spotted togeth-
er, the opposite can also be
true. The latest buzz is a
prime example. Word on the
street is that Aditya Roy Ka-
pur and Ananya Panday are
the new best friends in tinsel
town. Even though they
haven’t teamed up for a film
yet and haven’t been spotted
together in public either, the
grapevine has it that some-
thing is brewing between the
two actors. She was report-
edly dating Ishaan Khatter,
whom she met during the
making of Khaali Peeli
(2020). In fact, earlier this
year, his mother Neelima
Azim had even said
that Ananya is a part
of their inner cir-
cle. However, Anan-
ya and Ishaan
broke up in
March. Aditya,
on the other
hand, was
said to be
seeing mod-
el Diva
D h a v a n ,
but things
have gone
quiet on
that front
too.
PRETTY HOT TEMPTING
T
ara Sutaria is one of the
most popular starlets in
Bollywood currently. For
Ek Villain Returns, Tara
will be making her debut as a
singer for the upcoming film.
A few hours back, she shared a
behind-the-scenes picture
from a music studio as she
preps for her song. Taking
to her Instagram handle,
she captioned it: “Been
waiting a long time to
share the largest part
of who I am with you
all... It’s almost here
:)Youready?”React-
ing to the post, her
boyfriend-actor
Aadar Jain com-
mented: “Can’t
wait.”
Tara’s
singing debut
Taapsee on Haseen
Dillruba’s sequel
Tara Sutaria
Taapsee Pannu
Janhvi Kapoor
Sara Ali Khan
Ananya Panday
SUSHMITA TIED KNOT
WITH LALIT MODI?
Sushmita Sen
His post...
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
MUMBAI, FRIDAY,
JULY 15, 2022
here are some
movies that you
watch, enjoy, and
then forget about
as soon as you
leave the theatre.
Then some films
linger in your thoughts for
years after you’ve seen
them. Sanjay Leela
Bhansali’s ‘Devdas’ is one
such movie that is forever
etched in people’s hearts.
Released on July 12,
2002, ‘Devdas’ is a remake
of late legendary actor
Dilip Kumar’s film of the
same name. It starred
Shah Rukh Khan, Aish-
warya Rai Bachchan, and
Madhuri Dixit Nene in the
lead roles.
Astheiconicfilmturned
20 on Tuesday, Aishwarya
took a stroll down memory
lane and shared her exqui-
site look at the character
Paro. She captioned the
post with several emojis.
Aishwarya’s post left
many fans nostalgic.
T
Her post...
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

10
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
ADITI,
Model
FACE
OF
THE
DAY!
Aries
MARCH 21 - APRIL 20
Self-discipline may help
you achieve peak
physical fitness. You
may need to monitor
your finances closely.
You are likely to win the day on the
professional front by your original
ideas. Keep options open on the
investment front. Health will be
satisfactory.
Gemini
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Be more assertive in
dealing with workplace
issues, otherwise you
can be taken for granted
by others. Joining an
online exercise routine is indicated and
will prove beneficial. Those trying to
boost income may figure out newer
ways. Luck favours you on the
academic front.
Leo
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Some of you can safely
say goodbye to
depression, as positivity
enters your life once
again. You may find it
difficult to convince a family member
regarding something you want to
achieve. Clarity of mind and retentive
power will help you forge ahead on the
academic front.
Libra
SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 22
A diet plan adopted
recently will suit your
system well. Your
performance may leave
you feeling good today
on professional or academic front.
Maintain confidentiality regarding a
property deal being negotiated by you.
A chance for an outing with lover
finally arrives.
Sagittarius
NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 22
Health may become a
concern. You will need
to muster all your
persuasive powers to
swing a deal in your
favour. Good negotiating skills are likely
to bring a lucrative deal within your
grasp on the professional front. You will
get help in tying up loose ends on the
domestic front.
Aquarius
JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 19
You will get the
opportunity to acquire
new property at a good
price. Health may
become a concern.
Think twice before investing in
anything big. A healthy debate with
someone in the knows is likely to open
up your mind to the possibilities in
your particular field at work.
Taurus
APRIL 21 - MAY 20
There is a fair chance
of some property
getting allotted to you.
Good opportunities are
likely to appear on the
academic front. Good health is
assured through own efforts. A
healthy bank balance will allow you to
buy a major item. Overall it will be a
good day.
Cancer
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
It will be in your interest
to speed up a financial
transaction. You will
come out with flying
colours in a competitive
situation on the academic front.
Appreciation for the work done on the
professional front is in the pipeline for
some. Seek opinion of expert before
opting for a health supplement.
Virgo
AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23
Your efforts at work will
be richly rewarded by
getting noticed by those
who matter. A balanced
diet will be the first step
in achieving good health, so stick to it.
Help people out as much as you can as
monetarily you face no problems. Today
you will enjoy the trust of senior
management.
Scorpio
OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Opportunities to further
your career will come
only if you make efforts.
A new health routine
may start giving health
benefits right away. You gel well with a
new acquaintance. Financial scene is
likely to stabilise once you review your
investment options.up a new job.
Capricorn
DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20
Taking up a regular
fitness routine will help
you get into shape. Aca-
demic pursuits will be
fruitful. Increase in
household expenditure is possible, so
take all steps to cut it down. You will
need to choose the investment
schemes wisely to ensure profitable
returns.
Pisces
FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20
Will power, will be your
key to remain in shape.
An exciting time lies
ahead as travelling with
friends is foreseen. Do
not misunderstand the motives of
someone trying to help you. You are
set to grow professionally and attract
new clientele. You are likely to receive
guidance from a spiritual leader.
YOUR DAY Horoscopeby
SaurabbhSachdeva
Whatsapp Subscription
Subscribe “First India” Daily
E-News Paper For Free On Whatsapp
To Receive the Most Exclusive News from
the Power Corridors of MAHARASHTRA.
Make
Make
Your Skin
Your Skin
Monsoon
Monsoon
ready
ready
ho does not
want clear
s k i n ?
Rains can
be tough
on our
skin, be as-
sured you are not the
only one. As humidity
increases, so does
trouble for the skin,
making it greasier
along with regular oc-
currences of clogged
pores. Not only the
skin but the hair and
scalp also become a
problem zone during
the monsoons. How-
ever, dread not. Me-
hak Dawar, one of In-
dore's best and lead-
ing make-up artists,
suggests tips that can
be essential in keep-
ing our skin and hair
healthy during the
monsoon, as the sea-
son approaches.
SHIVANI SHRIVASTAVA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
W
SKIN CARE TIPS
n Cleanser: Wash
your face with a mild
cleanser face wash
that won't dry out
your skin. The Less
the foaming is, the
better the cleanser
is. Be sure to cleanse
twice a day -- in the
morning and at night,
before heading to bed.
n Toner: Before apply-
ing any makeup on
the face, the use of
toner is a must as it
helps in removing any
remaining impurities
and residue. Given
all the humidity, you
probably don't want
something too heavy,
so go light with your
thick creams. Instead,
toners restore skin’s
pH level, provide hy-
dration and treat acne.
It will keep your skin
healthy and fresh.
n Sunscreen: A must
item to use in
all the weather,
make sure you
have a habit
of applying
sunscreen on
a daily basis
- whether you
are going out
or not. Just
because it is
cloudy outside does
not mean it is okay to
give your sunscreen
a miss! UV rays
penetrate through
the clouds and even
through windows.
n Water-based moistur-
izer: It gives an extra
boost of nourishment
to the skin
and is great. Depend-
ing on your skin
concerns, you can opt
for any water-based
moisturizer that works
for you.
HAIR CARE TIPS
n Humidity calls for
thorough cleansing
of the scalp. Using a
gentle shampoo gets
rid of the buildup and
balances and nourish-
es your scalp. Be sure
to apply the shampoo
to your scalp only,
Otherwise, you will dry
out your hair.
n Do not wash your hair
often. Try to wash it
once a week.
n Have a habit of chang-
ing your pillow covers
often as it carries dust
and our face oils. Tie
up your hair and sleep.
Mehak Dawar, make-up
artist: “Monsoon trig-
gers excessive oil se-
cretion in the body and
leads to itching which
may further cause skin
and hair related issues
including disorders
as well as fungal and
bacterial infections. Not
only skin care products
may help but you also
keep a check on your
diet. A healthy diet
which includes all types
of vitamins, minerals,
proteins, and greens
will help your skin and
hair to look great.”

upur Jhankal first
caught the glam-
our world’s eye at
just age 18, when
she was crowned
as the 2nd Run-
ners of Elite Miss
Rajasthan, the diva’s list
of titles grew to include
model, and eventually,
influencer. Known for
her strong opinions
and inspiring career
choices, Nupur is a
force to be reckoned
with.
Describe yourself
and what would
you say are some
vital skills or
characteristics to
have to make it
in the modelling
world?
I would describe
myself as an
ambivert. I be-
lieve in living
in the mo-
ment, any-
thing and eve-
rythingthat’s
goneoryetto
come never
affects my
nature of
behaviour.
Being a
model in-
volves hy-
perfocus on your appear-
ance. However, beauty is
subjective, and you never
know what someone will
find beautiful about you.
You can reflect confidence
in your body language,
which can affect how other
people perceive you. And
thisissomethingthatIhave
believed in since the very
beginning.
What inspired you to
find the Supermodel in
you. Share some insides
of your journey.
I don’t really consider my-
self a supermodel. I think
thereisstillalongwaytogo.
But my passion and zeal to
work harder every day are
what I think will lead me to
thebestjourneyandresults.
Modelling comes with a
lot of new and commend-
able moments to cherish
for a lifetime and one of
the foremost for me would
be my crowing as the 2nd
Runners of Elite Miss Ra-
jasthan when I was just 18
years old and was so na-
ive that I didn’t realise
that this moment will
really mould my life to
be something else. I
am grateful to Gaurav
Gaur for introducing
this world to me.
What was the
biggest rookie
mistake you
made when
just starting
out?
People used
to come to
me and tell
‘Oh you’ve
got a dusky
complexion, we require
fair models for the part’
and ‘you’re too skinny for
the shoot’ which really
made me confident but
gradually things worked
out in my favour.
What has been the most
memorable or rewarding
moment in your career?
Being called at my school
justafteroneyearof passing
out as a jury member. I felt
commendable when while
introducing me my princi-
pal said that despite the fact
that I have been the most no-
torious child she has ever
come across and I was the
pain in her neck during
school days- She was proud
of me. And that hit me real
hard. And that was the
proudest moment that Mod-
elling has given me.
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
N
SHE PAINTS HER
RAINBOWS
OVER HER BLUES!
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia MUMBAI | FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2022
11

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