16072022_First India_Mumbai (1).pdf

KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
AMIT THACKERAY TO BE GOVERNOR-NOMINATED MLC?
Renni Abraham & Satish
Nandgaonkar
Mumbai: Deputy
Chief Minister Deven-
dra Fadnavis on Friday
called on Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena chief
Raj Thackeray at his
Shivaji Park residence
Shivteerth amid specu-
lation that the BJP may
induct Thackeray scion
Amit into the new cabi-
net.
“Amit Thackeray
could be one of the 12
Governor-nominated
MLCs. After all, the
MNS had supported the
BJP during the Legisla-
tive Council polls and
their lone MLA Raju
Patil cast his vote for
us,” said a senior BJP
leader.
This person said the
BJP is in favour of
mending their relation-
ship with the MNS, al-
though its chief had
chosen to target the
Narendra Modi-govern-
ment and its policies
during the 2019 assem-
bly election campaign.
In the last few months,
Thackeray has warmed
up to the BJP and spo-
ken out in favour of
Hindutva.
In line with the plan
to project Eknath Shin-
de as the “true” inheri-
tor of the brand of
Hindutva personified
by Balasaheb Thack-
eray and Anand Dighe
to decimate the Shiv
Sena, the BJP is look-
ing to rope in Amit
Thackeray, groom him
and pit him against
Uddhav Thackeray’s
son Aaditya. The BJP
could also leave 8-10
seats in the BMC elec-
tions for the MNS if he
aligns with the party,
and also use Raj Thack-
eray to canvas for the
BJP against the Shiv
Sena.
The BJP had simi-
larly enrolled Maneka
Gandhi and later, her
son Varun who was be-
ing groomed to take on
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi in the political
sphere, although the ex-
periment did not bear
fruit.
MNS remained tight-
lipped about the possi-
bility of Amit joining
the government, and
Fadnavis refused to di-
rectly confirm or deny
the issue.
“Raj Thackeray un-
derwent a surgery re-
cently and many lead-
ers are calling on him
as a courtesy
. I had also
planned to meet him,
and had said so in the
house. So, why are peo-
ple getting a stomach
ache when I called on
him?”
When specifically
asked to comment on
Amit Thackeray’s pur-
ported induction, Fad-
navis said, “These days
it appears that the me-
dia does not have
enough news stories.”
Dy CM Fadnavis and MNS chief Raj Thackeray share a laugh at the
latter's residence in central Mumbai on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
‘BJP looking to rope in MNS scion,
groom him and pit him against
Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya’
Maha poll rain dance follows SC diktat
Renni Abraham
Mumbai: Maharashtra
and Goa will see elec-
tions held during the
monsoons for the first
time in more than three
decades, after the Su-
preme Court refused to
defer them.
The last time some-
thing like this happened
was when the general
elections were held fol-
lowingtheassassination
of Prime Minister Ra-
jeev Gandhi on May 21,
1991.
“In 1991, I was posted
as returning officer in
Nanded district and
polls were held in two
phases, with the latter
concluding in June.
Since then, the Election
Commission of India
has never scheduled
polls during the mon-
soon. However, now the
Supreme court directed
us on May 17 to hold
elections in such areas
where low rainfall ac-
tivity is historically
witnessed,” Kiran Ku-
rundkar, Secretary,
State Election Commis-
sion (SEC), said.
The SEC had ap-
proached the apex court
citing challenges of
manpower deployment
for the civil administra-
tion and police depart-
ment that are engaged
with disaster manage-
ment and flood relief ef-
forts, besides logistical
problems during the
rains.
However, following
the SC diktat the SEC
identified 271 gram pan-
chayats (villages), in-
cluding Solapur, where
historically low rainfall
has been recorded to
holdelectionsonJuly29.
“With no relief from
the court (which instead
asked why all Turn to P5
State to see
monsoon elections
for the first time in
three decades
MURMURS
INOPPNOVER
MURMU
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: Chinks are
widening in the Opposi-
tion ranks in the run up
to the July 18 Presiden-
tial elections. The Oppo-
sition parties’ presiden-
tial campaign has suf-
fered many jolts with
severalnon-NDAparties
already pledging their
support to NDA’s candi-
date Draupadi Murmu.
Thelatestshockerhas
come from JMM, a dom-
inant partner of UPA,
that has announced its
support for Murmu.
In another develop-
ment, Samajwadi Party
ally Om Prakash Rajb-
har’s Suheldev Bharati-
ya Samaj Party (SBSP)
on Friday announced it
will support Murmu.
Earlier, SP chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav’s uncle
Shivpal Yadav’s party
also announced its sup-
port for the NDA candi-
date Murmu. Before
that,BSPchief Mayawa-
ti too had declared her
support for Murmu.
PRESIDENTIAL POLLS
Many non-NDA
parties have
pledged their
support to Murmu
NDA’s Presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu garlands a statue of Rani Durgavati during her visit to
meet MPs and MLAs of Chhattisgarh as part of her poll campaign, in Raipur, on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Naqvi to be
NDA’s Vice-
Presidential
candidate?
Besides Mukhtar
Abbas Naqvi, the
names of Hardeep
Singh Puri and
Suresh Prabhu are
also doing the round
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: With
NDA, especially BJP
,
backing Draupadi
Murmu as its Presi-
dential candidate
and it being consid-
ered that Murmu is
set to sail, without
any trouble, past the
dotted line in the
Presidential polls, a
new question is do-
ing the rounds in the
political circles in
New Delhi. Now, all
eyes are set on find-
ing out who will be
the Vice Presidential
candidate of NDA?
In this regard,
k n o w l e d g e a b l e
sources have re-
vealed that discus-
sion of serious con-
sideration on three
names in BJP is go-
ing on at present
among which are
Mukhtar Abbas
Naqvi, Hardeep Sin-
gh Puri and Suresh
Prabhu.
Interestingly
, Naq-
vi is being told to
lead the race and the
saffron party may
play bets on Turn to P6
DRAUPADI MURMU MEETS MLAS AND
MPS IN CHHATTISGARH’S CAPITAL
Raipur: NDA’s presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu
on Friday visited Raipur to meet MPs and MLAs in
the Congress-ruled state as part of her poll campaign.
Tribal folk artists wearing colourful attire accorded a
grand welcome to Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha,
at the Swami Vivekananda Airport here amid the beats
of ‘dhol’ and ‘nagada’ and through traditional dance.
PREZ POLL: MPS TO GET GREEN
BALLOT PAPER, MLAS WILL GET PINK
New Delhi: Elected members of Parliament and of
state legislative assemblies will get ballot papers of
different colours on July 18 when they vote to elect
the next President of India. While MPs will get green
papers, the MLAs will get ballot papers printed in pink.
SL:RanilWickremesinghe
sworn in as interim Prez
Colombo (ANI): Sri
Lankan Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe
on Friday was sworn in
as the interim Presi-
dent after Parliament
Speaker Mahinda Yapa
Abeywardena accepted
the resignation of Gota-
baya Rajapaksa.
Wickremesinghe was
sworn in as the Acting
President before Chief
Justice Jayantha Jayas-
uriya, Daily Mirror re-
ported citing Prime
Minister’s Media Divi-
sion. Wickremesinghe
was appointed as the
acting President by for-
mer President Gota-
baya Rajapaksa on July
13 after the latter fled to
the Maldives due to the
massive protest de-
manding his resigna-
tion.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
submitted his resigna-
tion letter on Thursday
after arriving in Singa-
pore, officially vacating
the post of President.
Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe takes oath as acting
President after Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena accepted the
resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in Colombo on Friday.
811 rescued in
Guj’s Navsari
in a single day
Pak journalist row:
Ansari’s denial again
Gandhinagar (ANI):
At least 811 people were
rescued in the Navsari
district of Gujarat in a
single day, P Swaroop,
Relief Commissioner
said on Friday
.
Navsari has been bad-
ly hit due to the torren-
tial rains and increasing
waterlevelsinthePurna
River. The water level in
theriverhasgoneupdue
to the dams overflowing
in Maharashtra. “The
district administration
team worked from the
previousnightto5:30am
todayandrescuedallthe
people who were stuck,”
an official statement
from CMO said.
New Delhi (PTI): In the
face of a fresh attack by
theBJP
,ex-vicepresident
Hamid Ansari on Friday
said he stands by his pre-
vious statement that he
neverkneworinvitedPa-
kistani journalist Nusrat
Mirza to any conference.
Mirza has claimed
that he had visited India
five times during the
UPA rule and passed on
sensitive information
collected here to his
country’sspyagencyISI.
He purportedly com-
mented that he had vis-
ited India on Ansari’s
invitations and also met
him. Ansari, however,
hasdismissedthecharge.
The BJP on Friday
stepped up its attack on
the Congress over the
matterandcitedaphoto-
graph of Ansari and
Nusrat Mirza purport-
edly sharing the stage
duringa2009conference
in India on terrorism.
Hamid Ansari
COURTESY MEET
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah at latter’s
residence in New Delhi on Friday.
VALAPATTANAM IS
CASE: 7 YR JAIL FOR 2
UP: RSS WORKER
THRASHED BY COPS
7-YR-OLD DIES IN
SGNR FLOODING
3 CHILDREN DIE
OF DROWNING
Kochi: A special NIA court
in Kochi has sentenced
two accused to seven
years’ imprisonment and
one accused to six years’
imprisonment in the Islamic
State (IS)-related case, in
which a group from Kerala’s
Valapattanam attempted to
migrate to Syria.
Bareilly: Ten policemen
were booked and one of
them suspended after
they allegedly thrashed an
RSS worker at their police
post following a road rage
incident here. RSS and BJP
workers blocked the Budaun
road after coming to know
about the incident.
Sri Ganganagar: A 7-yr-old
boy died as extremely heavy
rainfall led to waterlogging
in Sri Ganganagar district,
prompting authorities
to seek the Army’s help,
officials said on Friday.
The district administration
appealed to people not to
step out of their homes. P2
Pali: Three children
drowned while taking a
bath in a water body in
Oran Bhoomi on Friday.
The kids were rushed to
the hospital where the
doctor declared them
dead. Their bodies have
been kept in the mortuary
of Bangar Hospital.
READ
Crucial
Crucial
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 SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 71
DELHI COURT GRANTS BAIL TO MD ZUBAIR
New Delhi: A Delhi court Friday granted bail to Alt News co-
founder Mohammed Zubair in a case related to an objectionable
tweet he had posted in 2018 against a Hindu deity, saying the
accused is not required for any custodial interrogation. P5
STOCKS
BOUNCE BACK
AFTER 4-DAY
DECLINE
Mumbai: Benchmark BSE Sensex rebounded by
344 points while Nifty closed above the 16,000 level
in choppy trade on Friday, snapping the four-day
falling streak on renewed buying interest from
foreign funds and firm global trends.
SUNAK TOPS 2ND
ROUND OF TORY
LEADERSHIP
CONTEST
London: Rishi Sunak topped the second round of
voting by Conservative MPs in the Tory leadership
race on Thursday with 101 votes whilst the only other
Indian-origin candidate in the race, attorney general
Suella Braverman, was knocked out of the race.
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, NEW DELHI MUMBAI BSE SENSEX 53760.78 344.63 | NSE NIFTY 16049.20 110.50
—PHOTO BY ANI

NEWS
MUMBAI | SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CM Shinde has BJP backing, Solicitor General’s opinion too
Renni Abraham
Mumbai: The newly
installed Eknath
Shinde-led govern-
ment has focused its
political moves only
after legal consulta-
tions, including with
India’s Solicitor Gen-
eral Tushar Mehta
on the twin issues of
disqualification of
MLAs as well as OBC
reservations in local
body polls.
“The MVA govern-
ment’s approach was to
first act (read: issue dis-
qualification notices to
16 rebel MLAs) and
then take legal opin-
ions, while we first took
legal opinions (read: of
SG Mehta) before issu-
ing notices to all 53
MLAs from both Sena
factions, based on legal
strategy
. We are also
confident of ensuring
OBC reservations (cur-
rently being heard in
the Supreme Court) be-
fore the forthcoming
civic elections,” a sen-
ior BJP leader told
First India.
“Under the anti-de-
fection rules, if a com-
plaint is made to the
speaker,hehastoexam-
ine it and if satisfied
that it complies with
the requirement, he
can issue notices. This
was done as the case
came forward before
him (newly elected
speaker Rahul
Narvekar),” a Vidhan
Bhavan official ex-
plained with regards to
the disqualification no-
tices issued to 53 MLAs
by the Shinde govern-
ment. “The notices to
the MLAs from both
camps of the split Sena
isastrategicploybythe
ruling dispensation,”
this person added.
“The new Speaker
will decide on the mat-
ter. Ironically, it was
his own election over
which notices were is-
sued. The Thackeray-
led MLAs, except Adi-
tya Thackeray, were
issued notices for fail-
ing to obey the whip
issued by the Shinde
faction to vote for
Narvekar as Speaker.
Similarly, the Shinde-
led group was also is-
sued notice for failing
to obey the Thackeray
controlled Chief Whip
who directed Sena
votes for the MVA can-
didate. The speaker
will rule, and keep the
political options alive
for the ruling dispensa-
tion,” a senior BJP
leader said, adding
that Narvekar can also
intervene in the MVA
government’s efforts to
disqualify the 16 rebel
Sena MLAs.
The new govern-
ment is now sitting
pretty over the legally
studied and endorsed
strategy they have em-
ployed before the Su-
preme Court on the is-
sues of the disqualifi-
cations, no-confidence
motion against the
Deputy Speaker as well
as in the matter regard-
ing OBC reservations.
As against this, the
efforts of the earlier
dispensation has been
placed before a consti-
tutional bench that is
not expected to issue a
ruling any time soon,
considering the legal
complexities involved
and their lack of legal
preparation.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bom-
bay High Court has
directed the state gov-
ernment to make eve-
ry effort to promote
the best interest of
Maharashtra’s tribal
population.
A division bench of-
Chief Justice Dipankar
Datta and Justice MS
Karnik, on Thursday
heard public interest
litigation filed in 2007,
highlighting the high
number of deaths of
children, pregnant
women, and lactating
mothers due to malnu-
trition in the state’s Mel-
ghat region.
The court stated in its
order, which was made
publiconFriday
,thatthe
issue required close co-
ordination between the
concerned departments.
“No stone should be
left unturned by the de-
partments to act cohe-
sively with a view to pro-
mote the best interest of
the tribal people,” the
bench said.
Government pleader
PP Kakade informed the
court that a meeting was
held on July 06 between
representatives of vari-
ous state departments to
discuss suggestions
from stakeholders, in-
cluding the petitioners.
Kakade sought three
weeks’ time to consider
which of these sugges-
tions can be implement-
ed. We grant the state
time to consider the sug-
gestions with an open
mind and to ensure that
thesameisimplemented
totheextentpossible,the
court said.
The bench directed
the government to sub-
mit a report on August
11, indicating which of
the suggestions had
been implemented and
are in the process of be-
ing implemented and
the ones that may not be
put into action.
The court also direct-
ed the government to
take into consideration
the report submitted by
senior IPS officer Dr
Chhering Dorje.
The HC had directed
special Inspector Gen-
eral Dorje to study the
problems faced by peo-
ple living in the tribal
belt and submit a re-
port. Dorje had submit-
ted an exhaustive re-
port to the court in De-
cember 2021, in which
he sought a compre-
hensive programme to
address the issue.
Leave no stone unturned to promote tribal interests: HC
FOR THE PEOPLE
lll
The Bombay
High Court has
directed the
state govt to
ensure close
coordination
among
concerned
departments
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The NCP on
Friday came down
heavily on Chief Min-
ister Eknath Shinde
over the clearances
given to the
Ahmedabad-Mumbai
bullet train project,
saying he should focus
more on issues con-
cerning the state.
Deputy Chief Minis-
ter Devendra Fadnavis
on Thursday said that
the state government’s
cabinet—currentlycom-
sisting of just Fadnavis
and Shinde at this
point—had given all the
clearances to expedite
the project, which the
previous Maha Vikas
Aghadi government, of
the Shiv Sena, NCP and
Congress, had put on the
back burner.
NCP’s chief spokes-
person Mahesh Tapase
said,“Theillegalgovern-
ment of Eknath Shinde
has expeditiously given
clearances to the bullet
train project.”
“Shinde should focus
more on issues concern-
ing the state and Thane
district to resolve the ur-
ban problems it faces,
insteadof bowingbefore
neighbouring Gujarat,”
Tapase alleged, adding
that Thane, which Shin-
de represents, is the
most urbanized district
in the state, he said.
The estimated cost of
theMumbai-Ahmedabad
bullet train project is
Rs1,10,000 crore, of
which Rs88,000 crore are
being funded by the Ja-
pan International Coop-
eration Agency (JICA).
Over 70% of the land re-
quired in Maharashtra
for the project has been
acquired in Thane and
Palghar districts.
NCP slams CM over Bullet train clearances
‘Disallowing protests on Parl
premises attack on rights’
First India Bureau
Nagpur: Sharad Pa-
war, the president of
the Nationalist Con-
gress Party (NCP), on
Friday slammed the
decision of prohibit-
ing demonstrations
and dharnas in the
precincts of Parlia-
ment House, calling it
an attack on the demo-
cratic rights of elected
representatives.
The Rajya Sabha sec-
retariat has said no
demonstrations, dhar-
nas or religious ceremo-
nies may be held in the
precincts of Parliament
House. The move has
drawn the ire of the Op-
position, but authorities
termed such notices as a
“routine” affair ahead
of Parliament sessions.
“No attack on demo-
cratic rights will be tol-
erated,” the Rajya Sab-
ha MP said, adding that
opposition parties are
meeting in New Delhi
on Saturday to discuss
the issue and frame a
collective stand.
Pawar said when
MPs’ voices are not
heard inside Parlia-
ment, they stage a walk-
out and hold peaceful
protests at the Mahat-
ma Gandhi statue on
the premises.
“That right is being
denied,” the former Un-
ion minister added.
Asked what issues the
Opposition will raise
during the monsoon ses-
sion, Pawar said two
meetings have been
scheduled for Saturday:
one of the Opposition
and the other an all-par-
ty meeting called by the
government.
“In the all-party meet-
ing, we will listen to
what the government
has to say and then de-
cide our strategy at the
meeting of opposition
parties,” Pawar said.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA govt had approved the move in its last cabinet meeting
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Chief Min-
ister Eknath Shinde
on Friday said the
previous Maha Vikas
Aghadi (MVA) gov-
ernment’s decision
to rename Aurang-
abad city when it had
been reduced to mi-
nority was illegal,
and it will be ratified
again in the next
cabinet meeting.
The Uddhav Thacker-
ay-led MVA govern-
ment announced the
renaming of Aurang-
abad in central Maha-
rashtra as “Sambhaji-
nagar”—after Chhatra-
pati Shivaji Maharaj’s
elder son Chhatrapati
Sambhaji—in its last
cabinet meeting, hours
before Thackeray re-
signed on on June 29.
Shinde was sworn in as
chief minister with the
BJP’s support the next
day, having split the
Thackeray-led Shiv
Sena.
“The MVA govern-
ment took the decision
to rename Aurangabad
as Sambhajinagar in its
last cabinet meeting
when it had been re-
duced to a minority gov-
ernment. Holding a
cabinet meeting (in
such a situation) was il-
legal,” Shinde said.
Sena founder Bal
Thackeray had an-
nounced that Aurang-
abad—which derives its
name from Mughal em-
peror Aurangzeb—
would be renamed as
Sambhajinagar several
decades ago, Shinde
said.
“The name Sambhaji-
nagar is already there,
we will ratify it in the
next cabinet meeting,”
he said, adding that this
will make the decision
legally safe.
He also said that he
rebelled against the
Shiv Sena leadership to
save the party and its
workers. “We got noth-
ing politically despite
our CM being in in the
three-party dispensa-
tion. We finished fourth
in nagar panchayat
elections,” said Shinde,
who was a senior minis-
ter in the Sena-NCP-
Congress government.
People accepted his
decision to rebel as it
was in the party’s inter-
ests, Shinde claimed.
Meanwhile, Sena leader
from Aurangabad and
former MP Chandra-
kant Khaire, who has
stayed loyal to Thack-
eray, warned that party
workers would launch
an agitation if the name
of the city was not
changed within a
month. The Shinde-led
government stayed the
renaming which was an
insult to Chhatrapati
Sambhaji, he said.
“Why didn’t the BJP
rename it when they
wereinpowerfrom2014-
19? The BJP-led Union
governmentdidnoteven
pass the proposal to
name the Aurangabad
airport (for Chhatrapati
Sambhaji),” he said, de-
manding that the air-
port too be named with-
in a month.
Aurangabad district
Shiv Sena chief Amba-
das Danve too said that
the “staying” of the de-
cisiontorenamethecity
was “unacceptable”.
DecisiontorenameAurangabad
illegal,willapproveitafresh:CM
The MVA government
took the decision to
rename Aurangabad
as Sambhajinagar in its last
cabinet meeting when it had
been reduced to a minority
government. Holding a cabi-
net meeting (in such a situa-
tion) was illegal.
—Eknath Shinde, CM, Maharashtra
MONSOON SESSION POSTPONED
The newly
installed state
government
consulted Tushar
Mehta prior to
launching its
battle in the SC
CM Shinde and Deputy CM Fadnavis had met Union Home
minister Amit Shah as well as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta
while in New Delhi last week. —PHOTO BY ANI
The MVA government—of the Shiv
Sena, NCP and Congress—had put
the project on the back burner
The high-speed Bullet train is expected to cover the distance of
over 500km between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in around two
hours. —FILE PHOTO
Attacks on Sena workers
won’t be tolerated: Uddhav
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Shiv Sena
president Uddhav
Thackeray on Fri-
day said attacks on
party workers would
not be tolerated.
He was speaking af-
ter visiting the party’s
Byculla office and
meeting Sena worker
Baban Gaonkar who
was attacked by uni-
dentified persons on
Thursday night.
Byculla in South
Mumbai is the Assem-
bly constituency of
Yamini Jadhav, one of
the rebel Sena MLAs
who has joined Chief
Minister Eknath Shin-
de’s faction. Shinde’s
rebellion last month,
which toppled the
Thackeray-led govern-
ment, has split the
party
.
“Attempts to play
with the lives of Shiv
Sena workers will not
be tolerated. If police
can not bring the cul-
prits to book, Sena
workers will do it. Po-
lice shouldn’t get into
politics,” Thackeray
further said.
Sharad Pawar
Uddhav Thackeray

First India Bureau
Chandrapur: Amid
heavy rains in parts of
Maharashtra, a video
has surfaced which
shows several people
standing dangerously
close to the water dis-
charged from Paka-
digudam dam in Chan-
drapur, with some of
them even entering it,
in order to catch fish.
After the video was
widely circulated on so-
cial media, district au-
thorities said a probe
would be conducted
into it.
Heavy rains over the
past few days have led
to reservoirs filling to
the brim at several plac-
es in the district. The
authorities have been
releasing water from
Pakadigudam dam lo-
cated in Korpana tehsil.
When asked about it,
district collector Ajay
Gulhane said, “An in-
quiry will be conducted
in this connection and
necessary measures
will be taken to prevent
people from entering
thePakadigudamdam.”
Mumbai (PTI): Rain-
related incidents
have claimed the
lives of 102 persons
across Maharashtra
so far during the on-
going monsoon sea-
son, the state disas-
ter management au-
thority said in a re-
port on Friday.
These figures are
between June 01 and
July 14, it said.
Three of the deaths
were recorded in the
last 24 hours—one
each in Buldhana, Na-
shik and Nandurbar
districts—and two
persons were report-
ed missing, it said.
The fatalities were
caused by incidents
like floods, lightning
strikes, landslides,
falling of trees and
collapse of struc-
tures, among others.
As per the latest
data, 20 villages in the
state were affected by
heavy rains. As many
as 3,873 people have
been evacuated and
sent to relief camps,
the report said.
Several parts of the
state, including Mum-
bai and its adjoining
areas, have been wit-
nessing heavy rainfall
over the last few days.
Twenty villages in
Gadchiroli and Chan-
drapur districts have
received an average
of 20.5mm rainfall in
the last 24 hours, it
said, adding that
Parshuram Ghat on
the Mumbai-Goa
Highway is shut for
traffic.
Death toll in rain-related
incidents crosses 100-mark
1heldinVasailandslidedeaths
First India Bureau
Palghar: Police have
arrested the developer
of a chawl on which a
boulder recently fell
after a landslide in Va-
sai town of Palghar
district, in which a
man and his teenage
daughter were killed
on Wednesday
, an of-
ficial said on Friday
.
The accused, identi-
fied as Mantu Singh,
the owner of Mitva Re-
alty, was arrested from
suburban Kandivali on
Thursday night for cul-
pable homicide not
amounting to murder,
he said.
The father-daughter
duo died while two of
their family members
were injured early on
Wednesday when a
boulder loosened by a
landslide fell on their
house located in a chawl
at Waghralpada in Ra-
joli area of Vasai city
amid rains. The de-
ceased were identified
as Amit Jitendra Singh
(35) and Roshni (14), of-
ficials.
Police had registered
two FIRs in connection
with the incident.
In one of the FIRs,
Mary Felix Gracias,
Shailendra Nishad, Rat-
nesh D Pandey, Anilku-
mar Dubey were
charged with sections
of the Maharashtra Re-
gional and Town Plan-
ning (MRTP) Act, 1966,
he said.
The other FIR was
against Mitva Realty
representatives Ajit
Raisaheb Singh, Mantu
Singh and others. They
were booked under In-
dian Penal Code (IPC)
section 304 (culpable
homicide not amount-
ing to murder) and the
MRTP Act.
“Following the regis-
tration of the FIR, the
police were on the look-
out of the accused and
arrested Mantu Singh
from Kandivali based
on a tip-off. Immediate-
ly after the incident,
Singh had fled to Vapi
in Gujarat and switched
off his mobile before fi-
nally returning to Kan-
divali,” the official said.
“He had allegedly
constructed the chawls
in the locality and ei-
ther rented them out or
sold them,” the official
of the Crime Unit-II of
the Mira Bhayandar-
Vasai Virar police said.
MAHARASHTRA
03
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Constant
heavy rainfall in the
catchment areas has
led to a five-fold in-
crease in the collective
water stock of seven
reservoirs that supply
drinking water to
Mumbai in a matter of
just 10 days, an official
said on Friday
.
While the water stock
recorded on July 05 was
14.76%, it has now risen
to 74.82%, the official
said. The metropolis re-
ceives its drinking wa-
ter supply from Upper
Vaitarna, Modak Sagar,
Tansa, Middle Vaitar-
na, Bhatsa, Vihar and
Tulsi lakes.
On Thursday, two of
these dams—Modak
Sagar and Tansa—lo-
cated in neighbouring
Thane district started
overflowing following
heavy rains over the
past few days.
“As heavy rains
lashed the catchment
areas in the last fort-
night, two of the seven
dams started overflow-
ing in the last 48 hours,”
a Brihanmumbai Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(BMC) official said.
Modak Sagar, which
has the storage capacity
of 36,61,133 million li-
tres per day (MLD), was
the first of one to start
overflowing on Wednes-
day afternoon, while
Tansa dam with its stor-
age capacity of 96,894
MLD was the next to
overflow from Thurs-
day evening.
The collective water
storage capacity of
these reservoirs is
14,47,363 MLD. On a
daily basis, 3,850 MLD
potable water is sup-
plied to the city from
these places.
Earlier this month,
Powai lake in the city
got filled to the brim,
but the water from the
lake is not potable and
it is used only for indus-
trial purposes.
The BMC had earlier
implemented a 10% wa-
ter cut in the city and
suburbs, but withdrew
it recently following
good rainfall in the
catchment areas.
Meanwhile, there was
a respite from rain on
Friday as the city and its
suburbs received only
light or moderate show-
ers at most places with
heavy spells only at a
few places.
The official said that
India Meteorological
Department has pre-
dicted moderate rain in
the city and suburbs
with the possibility of
heavy rains at isolated
places in the next 24
hours.
“Occasional strong
winds with speed reach-
ing 45-55 kmph gusting
to 65 kmph very likely,”
he said.
Water stock in Mumbai’s 7 reservoirs shoots up 60% in 10 days
5-FOLD IMPROVEMENT
lll
The collective
stock in the
Upper Vaitarna,
Modak Sagar,
Tansa, Middle
Vaitarna, Vihar
Bhatsa, and
Tulsi lakes was
14.76% on July
05, but has now
increased to a
decent 74.82%
Sea waves lash slums and boats at the shore during high tide, at Badhwar Park in Mumbai on
Friday, when the city received a much-needed respite from heavy rainfall. —PHOTO BY PTI
Developer of
chawl charged
with culpable
homicide, 5
others booked
TWO FIRs
Local residents and fire services personnel carry out rescue and relief work after a landslide
triggered by heavy monsoon rains, in Vasai near Mumbai on Wednesday. —FILE PHOTO
People risk lives to catch fish in dam
Locals fish in the overflowing Pakadigudam dam, in Chandrapur district, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Emergency personnel carry
out a search for the body of
seven-year-old Rishi Uswa,
who drowned after falling
into a creek on Wednesday.
—PHOTO BY ANI
MAN DIES IN HOUSE COLLAPSE
RAINY-DAY JUGAAD
Buckets are kept under a school’s leaking roof as a teacher conducts a class amid
monsoon rains, in Solapur. —PHOTO BY PTI
11K RAIN-AFFECTED PEOPLE
SHIFTED TO SAFETY
Nagpur : More than 11,000 rain-affected people
were shifted to safety in 45 villages amid incessant
rainfall in Gadchiroli district, police said on Friday.
According to the district disaster management cell,
Gadchiroli received 27.7mm of rainfall during the
day and heavy to moderate showers were wit-
nessed in parts of the district. Around 24 routes in
the district were blocked due to overflowing nullahs
and damage to the bridges, and many of the closed
routes are slowly being opened for traffic, it said.
IAF officer, family rescued after
car gets stuck in floodwater
Pune: An Indian Air Force (IAF) wing commander,
his wife, two children and their pet dog were rescued
by fire brigade personnel after their car stalled on a
flooded road here on Friday. The incident took place
under Harris Bridge in Bopodi area, a civic official
said. The Mula river was in spate following incessant
rains and discharge of water from upstream dams,
and the area near the bridge was flooded, said Satish
Kamble, a fire brigade official from Khadaki Canton-
ment Fire Department.
Palghar: With
rivers in spate and
bridges flooded due
to incessant rains,
several roads in
Palghar have been
closed for traffic, an
official said, adding
that the district has
received an average
of 149.38mm rain in
the 24-hour period
ended 8.30 am on
Friday.
Collector Dr Manik
Gursal said that
Zari creek bridge is
submerged, while
Talasari-Umargaon
Road has been
closed to people and
vehicles.
The road leading
up to Dabon, Saye
and Urse areas has
been closed, as wa-
ter was flowing over
Susari river bridge
in Ranshet village of
Dahanu taluka.
The region has re-
ceived 1,195.06mm
rain so far this sea-
son, officials said.
Flooded
bridges,
roads closed
for traffic

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 71
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: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
The power of God is with you at
all times; through the activities
of mind, senses, breathing, and
emotions; and is constantly
doing all the work using you as
a mere instrument.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Rajnath Singh
@rajnathsingh
There is a need to increase our
infrastructure and assets in the
changing scenario of the world. The
economic, political and trade relations
between countries are constantly
evolving. Security challenges in the
Indian Ocean region and Indo-Pacific
are constantly increasing.
Nitin Gadkari
@nitin_gadkari
Youth will drive the destiny of
#NewIndia.They are the foundation
of #AatmanirbharBharat.This
#WorldYouthSkillsDay, we reiterate
our commitment towards skilling,
re-skilling and upskilling the Youth
power of the nation.
TOP TWEETS
INDIA’S GENDER
GAP NARROWS
BUT WOMEN STILL
REMAIN UNEQUAL
orld Economic Fo-
rum’s annual Gender
Gap Report ranks In-
dia low at 135th place
out of 146 countries
reflecting the gender gap that ex-
ists in the country
. It has, how-
ever, improved upon its 140th
rank of last year. Afghanistan,
where women have no freedom,
Pakistan, Congo, Iran and Chad
are placed below India. Much of
the disparity in India exists due
to patriarchy and discrimination
againstgirls,despitetheprogress
madeon“economicparticipation
and opportunity”. The report
said, “With a female population
of approximately 662 million, In-
dia’s level of attainment weighs
heavily on regional rankings.”
While women’s participation as
legislators, senior officials and
managers increased from 14.6
percent to 17.6 percent, their par-
ticipation in the labour force fell.
The health and survival sub-
index is where India needs to
work hard for improving its
score. In this category India is
among the five countries with
gender gap larger than 5 percent
and is ranked 146th , the lowest,
along with Qatar, Pakistan,
Azerbaijan and China.
W
he venerable Ti-
betan spiritual
leader, the Dalai
Lama, reached
Leh on Friday af-
ter a stopover at Jammu. The
visit comes a day before the
scheduled meeting of com-
manders of the Indian Army
and the People’s Liberation
Army on Sunday to resolve
the dispute over the Line of
Actual Control (LAC). By fa-
cilitatingDalaiLama’svisitto
Lehacoupleof daysbeforethe
border talks, India has sent a
strong message to China
which raises objections every
time the Government of India
extendsthesmallestof courte-
sies to the spiritual leader.
LastweekwhenPrimeMin-
ister Narendra Modi greeted
the Dalai Lama on his 87th
birthday prompted China to
tell India not to interfere in its
internal affairs using Tibet as
an issue. When the Dalai
Lama visited the Rashtrapati
Bhawanonaninvitationfrom
the then President Pranab
Mukherjeein2016andhisvis-
its to Arunachal Pradesh in
2009 and 2017 invited sharp
reactions from Beijing. India
has always brushed aside the
Chinese objections as the Ti-
betan monk is regarded as
New Delhi’s honoured guest.
Beijing considers the Dalai
Lama as a separatist leader
who wants to break China
when all that the spiritual
leader has been asking for is
autonomy for Tibet under the
Chinesestate.“Moreandmore
Chinesepeoplerealizethatthe
Dalai Lama is not seeking in-
dependence but a meaningful
autonomyandpreservationof
Tibetan Buddhist culture
withinChina,”thehighlyven-
erated monk said at Jammu.
By facilitating the Dalai
Lama’s two-day visit to
Ladakh India has only as-
serted its position on the ter-
ritory along LAC.
CHINA’S PROTESTS
ARE MEANINGLESS
Beijing considers the Dalai
Lama as a separatist leader
who wants to break China
when all that the spiritual
leader has been asking for
is autonomy for Tibet under
the Chinese state. More and
more Chinese people realize
that the Dalai Lama is not
seeking independence but
a meaningful autonomy
T
irbhaya, Unnao, Hathras, and
Unnao again - these have be-
come shorthand references to
crimes of rape and murder
committed against girls and
women in India. Cases of vio-
lence against women are
steadily increasing in the
country
.ThedatafromtheNa-
tional Crime Records Bureau
(NCRB) reveals that a total of
4, 05,861 cases of crimes
against women were regis-
tered during 2019 of which
most cases under crime
against women were regis-
tered under ‘Cruelty by Hus-
band or His Relatives’, fol-
lowed by ‘
Assault on Women
with Intent to Outrage her
Modesty’, ‘Kidnapping Ab-
ductionof Women’and‘Rape’.
But these data may not really
representtheactualpictureas
so many crimes against wom-
en go unreported. The local
news pages of newspapers
and the social media have a
different story to reveal as
they are flooded with real pic-
ture of crime against women
prevailinginoursocietytoday
.
InHinduism,manandwom-
an represent the two halves of
the divine body
. Yet the cus-
toms and values are favouring
men and women eternally suf-
fer this discrimination in si-
lence. The Risk factors attrib-
utingtoviolenceagainstWom-
en are: Psychiatric Morbidity
,
High consumption of alcohol
by the men, Socio-demograph-
icfactorslikePatriarchy
,Fam-
ily environment with cruelty
on women, Married women
with Triple Tragedy of the fe-
malestatus,fearpsychosisand
separated / divorced status,
Socio- cultural factors like ste-
reotyped gender roles and
dowry over the ages, Modern
life style of living, rapid tech-
nological advances and avail-
ability of pornographic mate-
rial, Elements of insensitivity
,
inefficiency
, corruption and
heavily worked and under
staffedjudicialsystemandlaw
enforcement machinery and
Weaker, decayed social fabric
with diminishing respect for
women.
National Initiatives to
Curb the Gender Violence.
Setting up National Commis-
sion for Women (1992), Reser-
vation to women in local self
government (73rd Constitu-
tional Amendment Acts
1992), The National Plan of
Action for the Girl Child
(1991-2000), “National Policy
for the Empowerment of
Women” (2001) and National
Mission for Empowerment of
Women (2010) are the major
women friendly initiatives of
our central governments.
The Other Side. Since the
new amendment to the rape
law in 2013, the threat of false
rape cases on one pretext or
the other is increasing. This
fact is evident from the study
of court judgments of fast
track courts constituted
across the country and media
reports. The judiciary is well
aware of the possible misuse
of Section 498A (Women
cruelty).A conviction of a
45-year-oldwomanforturning
hostile after filing a false case
of gang-rape of her ‘minor’
daughter by three people in-
voking IPC Section 193 (pun-
ishment for false evidence)
and rise in such cases seen
across the country strength-
ens the argument for govern-
ment to bring about modifica-
tions in the law that are gen-
der-neutralandtightenshand-
cuffs against harassment.
WAY FORWARD
We as a society have failed to
give woman her just place in
our lives and men haven’t ac-
knowledged her strength, ca-
pabilities and ability to work
together. A caring attitude
towards a girl chid in a home
is still taken as a favour to her
whereas it’s seen as a right for
male child. This is where the
change has to begin. The next
stepisgendersensitizationby
parents and teachers regard-
ing the sensitivities and
boundaries of man - woman
relationships. In most educa-
tional institutions the lines of
associations are drawn on
gender basis, be it classes,
play grounds or extracurricu-
lar activities the gender dif-
ferentiation is clearly visible.
The root cause analysis of
the crime against women
needs to be done by the gov-
ernment crime prevention
units and well defined pro-
cesses have to be put in place.
There is need to improve the
investigative infrastructure
and strengthening the police
system where we can have a
security grid system covering
thepotentialriskareas(crime
againstwomen)andearmark-
ing social volunteers to pre-
vent and report the crime to
police ASAP. Active involve-
ment of Police with motto of
good policing and prevention
insteadof punishment.Areal
timecommunicationnetwork
with desirable mobility to po-
lice will make a remarkable
difference in reducing the
crime against women.
The legislation done for
enhanced punishment for
violence perpetrated against
women and at the same time
suitable modifications in the
law to make them gender-
neutral and save avoidable
harassment from either sex.
There is a need have aware-
ness programs such as road
shows, posters, street plays,
wall paintings with an aim to
reduce the cases of gender in-
equality
. Women will be cau-
tious towards their legal
rights through legal aware-
ness camps which will help in
eliminating violence against
women. At the same time we
need to groom moral and reli-
gious values in our children
and strengthen marriage sys-
tem. Efficient and accounta-
ble law enforcement machin-
ery at all levels (administra-
tion, government, police and
judiciary) and a fully aware
and gender equality apprecia-
tive society is a prerequisite
for a crime free society
.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
Crime Against Women in India:
A Realistic and Rational Approach
N
There is a need have
awareness programs such
as road shows, posters,
street plays, wall paintings
with an aim to reduce the
cases of gender inequality.
Women will be cautious
towards their legal rights
through legal awareness
camps which will help in
eliminating violence
against women. At the
same time we need to
groom moral and religious
values in our children
We as a society have failed
to give woman her just
place in our lives men
haven’t acknowledged
her strength, abilities to
work together. A caring
attitude towards a girl chid
in a home is still taken as
a favour to her whereas it’s
seen as a right for male
child. This is where the
change has to begin
COL RAJESH BHUKAR
The author has been Head Security Rajasthan
Operations of Cairn Energy and DGM HR in
Jindal Saw Ltd

To Receive Free Newspaper
PDF Daily
Whatsapp:
Telegram:
Click the above link☝ subscribe us on your
preferred platform.
https://bit.ly/fiwhatsappmumbai
https://t.me/thefirstindiamumbai

05
INDIA
2 soldiers killed
in fratricidal firing
in JK’s Poonch
New Delhi: 2 soldiers
were killed and two oth-
ers injured on Friday in
a fratricidal firing in
Jammu and Kashmir’s
Poonch district, official
sources said. One of the
deceased has been iden-
tified as Sepoy Ibrar
Ahmed. The injured
were airlifted to army
hospital in Udhampur.
The incident took place
inside an army camp in
the Surankote area of
Poonch district. Police
have launched investi-
gation into the incident
and the reasons behind
the firing incident are
being ascertained.
Monkeypox: Kerala steps
up vigil, issues spl alerts
Thiruvananthapuram
(PTI):TheKeralagovthas
steppedupvigiltoprevent
spread of monkeypox, is-
suing special alerts to five
districts, a day after the
southern state reported
the country’s first case of
the rare virus infection.
After chairing a high-
level meeting here, state
Health Minister Veena
George said special alert
has been issued to five
districts as people from
Thiruvananthapuram,
Kollam,Pathanamthitta,
Alappuzha and Kottay-
am were co-passengers
of the infected person in
the Sharjah-Thiru-
vananthapuram Indigo
flightthatlandedhereon
July 12.
NIRF ranking: IIT Madras best institution
for 4th yr; IISc B’luru best university
New Delhi (PTI): The
Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) Ma-
dras retained the top
spot among institutes
in the country for the
fourth consecutive
year whereas the Indi-
an Institute of Science
(IISc) Bengaluru was
the best university and
research institution,
according to the Minis-
try of Education’s Na-
tional Institutional
Ranking Framework
rankings.
The seventh edition
of NIRF rankings was
announced on Friday by
Union Education Minis-
ter Dharmendra Prad-
han. Seven Indian Insti-
tutes of Technology
(IITs) — IIT Madras,
IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi,
IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharag-
pur, IIT Roorkee and
IIT Guwahati— figured
in the top 10 in the over-
all rankings.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan awards an official of a
higher institution on the release of NIRF Rankings.
Maha poll rain…
pending elections could
not be held simultane-
ously before recom-
mending holding polls
in low-rainfall areas
first),westudiedrainfall
data of 50 years, and ac-
tual rainfall data for the
last 10 years in Maha-
rashtra, and then called
theChief Scientistatthe
Indian Meteorological
Department (IMD) in
Pune over for a fore-
cast,”Kurundkaradded.
On Tuesday, the SEC
told the apex court that
they had identified 271
villages for holding the
first phase of urban
self-body polls that span
across 17 districts cov-
ering 92 town munici-
palities, four town pan-
chayats with election
notices to be issued on
July 28 for their sched-
uled poll rain dance. On
Thursday, however, the
SEC partly stayed the
scheduled polls.
Says Kurundkar,
“The notification for 92
Municipal Councils and
four Nagar Panchayats
was to be issued on July
20 which we have stayed
following the hearing
before the apex court on
July 12. However, 271
Gram Panchayat polls
will be held as per
schedule as the nomina-
tion process was started
on July 12.” Goa is also
bracing for the mon-
soon challenge on Au-
gust 10, after a similar
diktat from the SC.
FROM P1…
New Delhi: LS Speaker
Om Birla Chaired a
meetingof PresidingOf-
ficers of Legislative
Bodies in Parliament
House Complex on Fri-
day
. Deputy Chairman,
RS and Presiding Offic-
ers from 17 States UTs
participated in meet.
Speakingonthisocca-
sion, Om Birla high-
lighted that debates and
discussions in legisla-
turesshouldbedignified
and every member
should conduct them-
selves in a manner that
will add to dignity and
decorum of the House.
Birla further added that
there should not be any
disruption during Ad-
dresses of President
Governor.
Presiding Officers
should meet regularly
and discuss these issues
so that meaningful dis-
cussion takes place in
legislatures, suggested
Birla. Issues like
strengthening anti-de-
fection law, awards to
outstandinglegislatures
and minimum number
of sittings of legisla-
tures were also dis-
cussed in the meeting.
Speaking about
strengthening the Anti-
DefectionLawShriBirla
said that Presiding Of-
ficers, Constitution Ex-
perts, legal scholars and
other stakeholders are
will be consulted for
amendments to the law.
Speaking on the issue
of expunctionof certain
words from parliamen-
tary proceedings, Birla
urged the Presiding Of-
ficers to inform the
Members that no word
has been banned but the
words which have been
expunged from the pro-
ceedings as per the di-
rections of the Chair
havebeencompiled.Pre-
siding Officers should
guide the Members for
dignified conduct in the
House, said Birla. He
added that efforts must
be made to enhance the
number of sittings of
State Legislatures.
Emphasizing on the
need for a single plat-
form for information
about legislatures in the
country
, Birla said that a
singledigitalplatformis
being prepared.
REFRAIN MAKING ALLEGATIONS: BIRLA
The Rajya Sabha secretariat has said that such a circular is issued normally ahead of every session of Parl
Godavari flood water swells
to 19 lakh cusecs in AP
Vijaywada(PTI): Hun-
dreds of villages, main-
ly the lankas (island
villages), along the
course of Godavari are
reeling under one of
the worst floods as the
swollen river has been
discharging 19.05 lakh
cusecs of water as on
Friday morning.
The flood crossed the
third danger signal at
Sir Arthur Cotton Bar-
rage at Dowaleswaram
near Rajamahendra-
varam in Andhra
Pradesh.
On the other hand
CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan
Reddy took stock of the
flood situation in the
erstwhile East and
West Godavari districts
through a video-confer-
ence with the district
Collectors and Superin-
tendents of Police.
Over 1.50 lakh pilgrims perform yatra in
Valley so far: Shri Amarnath Shrine Board
Jammu: Over 1.50 lakh
pilgrims have per-
formed the ongoing
Amarnath Yatra as an-
other batch of 5,461 pil-
grims left the Bhagwati
Nagar base camp on
Friday (July 15) for the
Valley
. Officials of Shri
Amarnathji Shrine
Board (SASB) said so
far 1,51,768 Yatris have
performed the Yatra.
“Of these, 11,768 had
Darshan yesterday
(July 14),” officials said.
Seven people, includ-
ing five Yatris and two
porters died on Thurs-
day (July 14) in the Pa-
halgam-Chandanwari
track. Of these, two por-
ters died after slipping
from the track while
five pilgrims died of
natural causes.
On Friday, another
batch of 5,461 Yatris left
Jammu camp in two es-
corted convoys for the
Valley. Of these, 3486
are going to Pahalgam
base camp while 1975
are going to Baltal base
camp. Those using the
shorter Baltal route
have to trek 14 kms and
they return to the base
camp the same day after
having Darshan at the
cave shrine situated
3888 metres above the
sea level.Those using
the longer, traditional
Pahalgam route have to
trek 48 kms for four
days to reach the cave
shrine. Helicopter ser-
vices are available for
the pilgrims on both the
routes.
The cave shrine hous-
es an ice stalagmite
structure that wanes
and waxes with the
phases of the moon.
Devotees believe that
the ice stalagmite struc-
ture symbolises mythi-
cal powers of Lord Shi-
va. Amarnath Yatra
2022 started on June 30
and will end after 43
days on August 11.
From Pahalgam to
Holy Cave, there is pos-
sibility of rain showers
with generally cloudy
weather till evening.
Amit Shah to attend conference aiming
revival of Agricultural Rural Devp Banks
New Delhi (ANI): Un-
ion Home and Coopera-
tion Minister Amit
Shah is all set to attend
a national conference
of Agricultural Rural
Development Banks
(ARDBs) here on Satur-
day aimed at preparing
a roadmap for revival
of sector.
National Cooperative
Agriculture and Rural
Development Banks’
Federation Ltd (NAF-
CARD) is organising
the conference of AR-
DBs-2022. Shah will be
the chief guest of event.
The technical session
of the conference will
“deliberate on roadmap
for revival of ARDBs
and finalize recommen-
dations for submitting
them to government,”
says a Home Ministry
statement.
Union Minister of
State for Cooperation
and Development of
North-East Region BL
Verma; Ministry of Co-
operation Secretary,
NCUI President and
IFFCO Chairman
Dileep Sanghani, Presi-
dent, International Co-
operative Alliance-
Asia-Pacific Region and
Chairman, KRIBHCO
Dr Chandra Pal Singh
Yadav will also be at-
tending the Conference.
The conference will
also be attended by rep-
resentatives of Cooper-
ative Agriculture and
Rural Development
Banks at state and pri-
mary levels across the
country and represent-
atives from the govern-
ment, NABARD and
other National Federa-
tions. National Cooper-
ative Agriculture and
Banks Federation based
in Mumbai is an apex
body of state coopera-
tive agriculture and ru-
ral development banks
in the country
.
This conference cul-
minates the sectoral
programmes of ARDBs
including public con-
tact programme at
ground level as part of
celebrating Azadi Ka
Amrit Mahotsav.
Federation is also
holding an Award Func-
tion on occasion to fe-
licitate SCARDBs in
Kerala, Karnataka, Gu-
jarat and West Bengal
for outstanding perfor-
mance in lending, re-
covery improvement
in other parameters of
performance.
Amit Shah
Pilgrims rush to the Amarnath cave temple. —PHOTO BY ANI
ILLEGAL MINING CASE
ED seizes `11.88 cr
of J’khand CM’s aide
New Delhi (ANI): The
Enforcement Directo-
rate (ED) has seized
cash amounting to Rs
11.88 crore lying in 37
different bank accounts
belonging to Pankaj
Mishra, a close aide of
Jharkhand Chief Min-
ister Hemant Soren,
and others in the illegal
mining case, the agency
said on Friday
.
The seized amount
belongs to Mishra,
Dahu Yadav, and their
associates. The amount
was seized under the
Prevention of Money
Laundering Act
(PMLA), 2002. Earlier,
ED had conducted
searches at 19 locations
in Sahibganj, Barhet,
Rajmahal, Mirza Chau-
ki, and Barharwar in
Jharkhand resulting in
the seizure of various
incriminating docu-
ments along with unac-
counted cash of Rs 5.34
on July 8.
During this search
operation, ED also
seized five stone crush-
ers that were being ille-
gally operated from the
Site and also five illegal
firearm cartridges, it
said.
“Evidences collected
during course of inves-
tigation including state-
ments of various per-
sons, digital evidences
documents revealed
the seized cash bank
balance is derived from
mining,” said the ED.
IN THE COURTYARD
DELHI COURT GRANTS BAIL TO MD ZUBAIR
AND ORDERS NOT TO REPEAT THE OFFENCE
HINDUS FILE PLEA IN SC TO PERFORM
RELIGIOUS RITUALS AT GYANVAPI MOSQUE
‘WOMAN WILLINGLY
STAYING WITH MAN
CAN’T FILE RAPE CASE’
SC MENTIONS BCCI
PLEA ON AMENDMENT
OF ITS CONSTITUTION
New Delhi: SC has held
that a woman, who was
in a relationship with a
man and willingly staying
with him, cannot file a
case of rape, after the
relationship had gone
sour. It ordered release
of the appellant on bail
to the satisfaction of the
competent authority. A
bench of Justices Hemant
Gupta and Vikram Nath
noted the admitted case
of the complainant that
she was in a relationship
with the appellant for a
period of four years. Also,
the complaint’s counsel
admitted that she was
21 years old, when the
relationship started.“In
view of the said fact, the
complainant has willingly
been staying with the
appellant and had the
relationship,” said bench.
New Delhi (ANI): A plea
was mentioned in the
SC on Friday seeking
an urgent hearing on a
petition related to amend-
ments in Board of Control
for Cricket in India (BCCI)
constitution. The plea
was mentioned by Senior
Advocate PS Patwalia,
who apprised the top
court that the matter
was pending for years,
to which, Chief Justice
of India NV Ramana said
that it will see. A plea
had been filed by BCCI
seeking a direction for the
extension of the tenure of
BCCI President, Sourav
Ganguly and Secretary
Jay Shah. The BCCI has
sought permission to
change the rules relating
to “cooling off” period for
the President, secretary,
and other office bearers.
TAMIL SUPERSTAR
VIJAY GETS RELIEF
FROM MADRAS HC
DELHI HC REFUSES
TO INTERVENE IN
ODISHA AIRSTRIP
Chennai: Court rules that
he needs to pay penalty
only from Jan 29, 2019 to
2021 and not from 2005.
Tamil film actor C. Joseph
Vijay received a major re-
lief from the Madras High
Court on Friday with the
court ruling that he would
be liable to pay penalty for
delayed payment of entry
tax only from January 29,
2019 to December 2021
and not from 2005 when
he imported a BMW X5
from the United States.
Tamil film actor C. Joseph
Vijay received a major re-
lief from the Madras High
Court on Friday with the
court ruling that he would
be liable to pay penalty
for delayed payment of
entry tax only from Jan
29, 2019 to Dec 2021
not from 2005 when he
imported a BMW X5.
Delhi HC on Friday refused
to hear a plea seeking
revival of the Amarda
Road Airstrip/Rasgovin-
dpur Airstrip situated in
the Mayurbhanj district
of Odisha.The bench of
Justice Satish Chandra
Sharma and Justice Sub-
ramonium Prasad refused
to hear the matter in detail
and said that the matter
is purely a policy decision
of the government and
concerned authorities in
which the court cannot
intervene. The petitioner,
Radha Shyam Jena,
practising advocate, stated
in the plea that the defunct
airstrip situated adjacent
to the state of Jharkhand
and West Bengal can
be utilized for industrial
purposes, thereby gener-
ating mass employment
for thousands including
skilled technicians and
factories for manufactur-
ing missiles. The plea held
that the airstrip is far from
public use after Second
World War, can now be
used as landing ground.
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court Friday granted bail to Alt
News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in a case related to
an objectionable tweet he had posted in 2018
against a Hindu deity, saying the accused is
not required for any custodial interrogation.
Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar
Jangala granted the relief to Zubair on a bail
bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety of like
amount and directed him not to leave the
country without its prior permission.The court also directed
the accused not to repeat the offence.
New Delhi: A petition has been filed before SC seeking a
direction to allow Hindus to perform religious practices or
rituals at ‘Shivling’ at disputed Gyanvapi site,
which is adjacent to famous Kashi Vishwa-
nath Temple in Varanasi. The petition filed
by one Rajesh Mani Tripathi, president of the
Shri Krishana Janma Bhumi Mukti Sthal, has
said since month of ‘Shravana’ is starting,
Hindus may be allowed to offer puja and
exercise their right. “Petitioner’s right to preaches his own
religious practices and rituals according to Hindu customs
as provided under Article 25 of the Constitution of India
and it is a fact that the month of Shravana,” plea stated.
—FILE PHOTO
Flood crossed the third danger signal in Andhra Pradesh.

06
INDIA
Dumka (ANI): As
many as 33 government
schools in Jharkhand’s
Dumka district have
Friday as their weekly
off instead of Sunday,
apparently without any
permission from au-
thorities.
District Education
authorities have sought
a report into the matter,
after which officials
said an investigation
will be initiated. Inci-
dentally, Dumka is the
hometown of chief
minister Hemant Sor-
en. Ten govt schools of
Dumka’s Shikaripara
Block, eight of Ranish-
war Block, seven of
Saraiyahat Block, two
of Jama Block and Jar-
mundi Block, Kathi-
kund Block and Dumka
Block have holidays on
Fridays. Most of these
institutions sport name
boards suffixing “Urdu
school” along with the
names of the schools.
“We have written a let-
ter to the Block educa-
tion officers of the 33
schools advising them
to enquire into the mat-
ter. All the schools have
Urdu in their names,”
said Sanjay Kumar Das,
District Superinten-
dent of Education,
Dumka on Thursday.
The official said that no
instruction to keep
schools closed on Fri-
day has been issued by
the department.
Centre is likely to bring
legislation by which
digital media in the
country will be regu-
lated and could face ac-
tion for “violations”
under the Registration
of Press and Periodi-
cals Bill, sources said.
The bill, if passed,
will replace the Press
and Registration of
Books Act, 1867, which
regulates newspapers
and printing presses
in India.
Under the Registra-
tion of Press and Peri-
odicals Bill, that pro-
poses to bring digital
media on par with
newspapers, digital
platforms will have to
apply for registration,
sources said.
The bill, that is yet
to be taken up by Cab-
inet, proposes to in-
clude “news on digital
media through any
electronic device”.
Digital publishers
will need to register
with the Press Regis-
trar General, sources
said.
First India Bureau
Jammu: Union Minis-
ter of State (Independ-
ent Charge) Science
Technology; Minister
of State Earth Sciences;
Dr Jitendra Singh on
Friday said that Jammu
and Kashmir’s Kisht-
war will become North
India’s major “power
hub” generating nearly
6,000 MW of power after
the completion of the
ongoing power projects.
Addressing a public
rally through virtual
mode from Jammu, as
he could not make it to
Kishtwar due to inclem-
ent weather, Dr Jiten-
dra Singh said, the sur-
plus power from Kisht-
war will not only be
utilised for other parts
of the UT, but will also
be sold to other States.
He lamented that the
rich natural resources
of Chenab were not ex-
ploited by the previous
governments which
ruled JK for 60-65
years. Pertinent to
mention that 1000 MW
Pakal Dul Project, 624
MW Kiru Project, 540
MW Kwar Project and
930 MW Kirthai Project
are all located in close
vicinity of each other,
along with 850 MW Ra-
tle Project which has
been revived as a Joint
venture between the
Centre and the UT.
This, the Minster
said, makes Kishtwar
region as one of the big-
gest power hubs of
North India. He also an-
nounced 100 percent
reservation for locals in
unskilled jobs for these
projects and promised
to give preference to lo-
cal talent in skilled
manpower require-
ment.
‘Kishtwar to be power hub of North’
FOR BETTERMENT
TRINAMOOLASKSITSMPs,MLAs
TO REACH KOLKATA BY 17 JULY
Kolkata (Agencies):
The Trinamool Con-
gress leadership has
asked all its elected
MLAs in West Bengal
to ensure that they
reach Kolkata by July
17 afternoon, a day be-
fore the Presidential
polls.
Similar instructions
have been sent to the
party MPs from both
Houses of Parliament
who have opted to cast
their votes at the West
Bengal Assembly
premises. Highly
placed party sources
said that this instruc-
tion has been given so
that veterans in the
party, who have prior
experience in voting in
the Presidential polls,
update the newcomers
in Parliamentary poli-
tics about the rules and
procedures.
A senior party lead-
er and a heavyweight
member in state cabi-
net said on strict condi-
tion of anonymity that
cancellation of a single
vote of any Trinamool
Congress MLA or MP
will be a great embar-
rassment for the party
.
“The opposition candi-
date Yashwant Sinha
was TMC national
vicepresident, who
resigned from the post
to contest for the Presi-
dential polls. So, what-
ever might be the final
results, we have to en-
sure all the votes from
our camp go in favour
of Sinha and not a sin-
gle vote is cancelled,”
he said.
New Delhi (ANI): The Aam Aadmi Party will
take a decision on the July 18 Presidential
election on Saturday. A meeting of the AAP
political affairs committee will be held on
Saturday where the party will take a call as
to whom to back in the Pre poll -- NDA nomi-
nee Draupadi Murmu or joint opposition
candidate Yashwant Sinha. With Bhagwant
Mann becoming the Chief Minister of Punjab
after AAP swept the Assembly polls, the
party’s number in the Lok Sabha
has been reduced to zero.
However, AAP has 10
members in the Upper
House, along with
62 MLAs in Delhi.
Dehradun(PTI): Uttarakhand’s Parliamen-
tary Affairs Minister Premchand Aggrawal
on Friday requested all MLAs in the state
to stay in Dehradun from July 16 till they
cast their votes for the presidential elec-
tion on July 18 polls. “There is a meeting
scheduled to be held at the Chief Minis-
ter’s residence on July 16 over the ensuing
presidential election. All the MLAs have
been requested to attend the meet-
ing,” Aggrawal said. A mock
drill will also be conducted
for MLAs in this regard
on July 17 in which
their presence will
be required.
33 J’khand government
schools give weekly off
on Friday, probe on
TMC has asked all its MLAs to
reach Kolkata a day before Prez poll
New delhi (PTI): Un-
ion Health Minister
Mansukh Mandaviya
launched ‘Covid Vacci-
nation Amrit Mahot-
sav’ at Covid Vaccina-
tion Camp in Nirman
Bhawan on Friday and
appealed to the masses
to get the free dose so as
to ensure protection
against COVID-19.
“
All Health Ministry
employees initiated their
inoculation of the free
doses. My appeal to all
citizens above the age of
18 years to get the free
dose to ensure your pro-
tection against COV-
ID19,”said“On‘
Aza-
di Ka Amrit Mahot-
sav’, all eligible
populations (18+)
can get a free pre-
cautiondoseforthe
next 75 days, start-
ing today
,” he added.
Cabinet Secretary Ra-
jiv Gauba is also likely
to chair a meeting with
all Chief Secretaries of
all states/UTs on the
free precaution dose
campaign launched on
Friday for the next 75
days.
GovttointroducebillinParlto
regulate digital media: Report
Mandaviya launches ‘Covid
Vac Amrit Mahotsav’
MUMBAIKARS ENJOY HIGH TIDE AT GATEWAY
High tides form near the Gateway of India due to the incessant rainfall, in Mumbai on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launched ‘Covid
Vaccination Amrit Mahotsav’ at Covid Vaccination Camp, Nirman
Bhawan, in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
—PICTURE FOR REPRESENTATION
—PICTURE FOR REPRESENTATION
New Delhi (PTI):Demonstrations, dharnas or religious
ceremonies cannot be held in the precincts of Parlia-
ment House, a circular by the Rajya Sabha secretariat
has said, drawing ire from the Opposition on Friday
even as the authorities termed the issuance of such
notices as “routine” affair ahead of the sessions. The
Rajya Sabha secretariat has said that such a circular is
issued normally ahead of every session of Parliament.
The Secretariat also provided copies of the similar
circular issued during the Congress-led UPA regime in
2013 and said such circulars are being issued for many
years now.
Kolkata: Hours after former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi
announced that he is dating Bollywood actress and
former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen and intends to tie
the knot with her soon, her father and retired Indian Air
Force officer Shubeer Sen on Friday said that he has
absolutely no knowledge regarding this development.
”I do not have any knowledge or information about this
development. I had a telephonic conversation with my
daughter on Friday morning only’’.
New Delhi: PM Modi has invited people to share the
ideas and suggestions for upcoming episode of ‘Mann
Ki Baat’. The ideas can be shared on MyGov, Namo
App. People can also record their message by dialing
the number 1800-11-7800. Sharing MyGov invitation,
Prime Minister Modi tweeted, “Do you have inputs for
this month’s #MannKiBaat, which will take place on
the 31st? I look forward to hearing them... share them
either on MyGov or the NaMo App.
Gurugram: A fake call
centre was busted here on
the intervening night of
Thursday and Friday and
18 people were arrested
for allegedly duping
foreign nationals on the
pretext of text support.
According to the police,
the accused used to cre-
ate false pressure on the
victims by invoking the
fear of child pornography
and the possibility that
their bank account details
may be compromised.
New Delhi: PM Modi
on Friday paid homage
to Congress stalwart K
Kamaraj on his birth an-
niversary, saying he made
an indelible contribu-
tion to India’s freedom
struggle and also made a
mark as a compassionate
administrator. A former
chief minister of erstwhile
Madras State, now Tamil
Nadu, Kamaraj was a key
organisational leader of
the Congress and played
a crucial role.
New DElhi (ANI): India recorded 20,038 new Covid-19
cases, 47 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the
total death toll to 5,25,604, as per data released
by the Ministry of Health on Friday. The active
cases stand at 1,39,073. The country also
reported 16,994 recoveries in a day. The
number of people who have recuperated from
the disease has increased to 4,30,45,350.
New Delhi (PTI): The Ministry of Health and Family Wel-
fare on Friday releases guidelines for the management of
Monkeypox disease.The ministry listed out points for the
general masses to avoid the contradiction of the disease
which included avoiding contact with sick people and
avoiding contact with dead or wild animals(rodents,
monkeys). The general public has also been advised
to visit the nearest health facility if one comes in close
contact with monkeypox-affected person.
PARLIAMENT PREMISES CAN’T BE USED
FOR PROTESTS, STRIKES, SAYS RULE
SUSHMITA’S FATHER DENIES KNOWLEDGE
OF HER RELATIONSHIP WITH LALIT MODI
PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI
INVITES IDEAS FOR ‘MANN KI BAAT’
FAKE CALL CENTRE
BUSTED IN DELHI,
18 HELD
PM REMEMBERS K.
KAMARAJ ON HIS
BIRTH ANNIV
INDIA REPORTS 20,038 NEW CORONAVIRUS
CASES, 47 DEATHS IN LAST 24 HOURS
AAP TO TAKE CALL ON
PRESIDENTIAL POLL TODAY
CRUCIAL READ
U’KHAND PARL MINISTER ASKS
MLAS TO STAY IN DOON TILL POLL
Naqvi to…
Naqvi as the undisputed
Muslim face while also
upliftingitsimageonthe
international platforms.
On the other hand,
due to political reasons
coming out of Punjab,
the party can go ahead
with Hardeep Puri
which can be seen as a
safe bet for damage con-
trol in view of farmers’
movement and AAP
govt. and in view of sen-
iority, consent can also
be made in the name of
Suresh Prabhu, who is a
four-time Lok Sabha MP
from Shiv Sena and
joined the BJP and ful-
filled the responsibility
of the Railway Minister.
Now in view of Shiv
Sena ‘Factor’ of Maha-
rashtra, a former Shiv
Sainikcangettherespon-
sibilityof VicePresident.
Meanwhile, the BJP
parliamentary board
meeting will be held on
Saturday for final deci-
sion in this regard dur-
ing which the board will
consider fielding or not
fieldinganyMuslimcan-
didate because a section
of the BJP has a differ-
ent opinion about this.
It is believed that it
will finally be Narendra
Modi, Amit Shah and
Mohan Bhagwat who
will take the final deci-
sion.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh virtually addressing a public
rally at Kishtwar on Friday.
Yashwant
Sinha
Draupadi
Murmu
PREZ
POLL
HEALTH MINISTRY ISSUES GUIDELINES
FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF MONKEYPOX
FROM P1…

BIZ BUZZ
07
Corp funding
in global
solar sec falls
corporate funding
in the global solar
sector has declined
by 11% year-on-
year to $12 billion in
January-June 2022,
a Mercom Capital
report released on
Friday said. Corporate
funding includes
venture capital and
private equity (VC),
debt financing, and
public market financ-
ing. “Total corporate
funding in 1H 2022
stood at $12 billion,
11% lower compared
to the $13.5 billion
raised in 1H 2021,”
the global clean
energy firm said.
BIF refutes
claims on
backdoor entry
New Delhi (PTI): BIF
on Friday said sug-
gestions that captive
networks should
bid for spectrum in
auctions is “extremely
irrational”. BIF refuted
the “misinformation”
being propagated to
demand a level play-
ing field between two
completely different
sets of services,
public and private net-
works.The comments
came a day after COAI
claimed that admin-
istrative allocation of
spectrum for private
5G networks will
be against tenets of
fairness.
White paper to
be unveiled at
EVConIndia-22
New Delhi (PTI):
Industry leaders and
experts will unveil a
white paper on the
status of EV adoption
in India at EVConIndia
2022 conference this
month. The EVConIn-
dia 2022 is being or-
ganised by the world’s
first sector-specific
professional network-
ing platform Blue
Circle in Gurugram on
July 29, a statement
said. The white paper
on the current status
of the EV industry and
opportunity it offers
will also be unveiled
during the event, it
added.
AIF: Centre
receives `23K
crore proposals
Bengaluru (PTI): The
Centre has received
proposals envisaging
an investment of Rs
23,000 crore under
the AIF, Union Minis-
ter for Agriculture and
Farmers Welfare Na-
rendra Singh Tomar
said. The AIF set up
in 2020 aims at pro-
viding a medium-long
term debt financial
facility till 2025-26 for
investment in viable
projects for post-har-
vest management
infrastructure and
community farming
assets through inter-
est subvention and
financial support.
BUSINESS
NEWS
Indian rupee nearing 80
to a US dollar will make
imports of items from
crude oil to electronic
goods, overseas educa-
tion and foreign travel
costlier while raising
fears that the inflation
situation could worsen.
The primary and im-
mediate impact of a de-
preciating rupee is on
the importers who will
have to shell out more
for the same quantity
and price. However, it is
a boon for the exporters
as they receive more ru-
pees in exchange for
dollars.
The rupee deprecia-
tion has wiped away
some of the gains that
would have accrued to
India from internation-
al oil and fuel prices
droppingtopre-Ukraine
war levels.
The rupee, which on
Thursday closed at an
all-time low of `79.99
to a $, appreciated 8
paise to 79.91 in trade
on Friday.
The basket of Indian
imports includes crude
oil, coal, plastic mate-
rial, chemicals, elec-
tronic goods, vegetable
oil, fertiliser, machin-
ery, gold, pearls, pre-
ciousandsemi-precious
stones, and iron and
steel. Here is how a de-
preciating rupee is like-
ly to impact spending:
Imports: Importers
need to buy US dollars
to pay for imported
items. With the dip in
the rupee, importing
items will get more ex-
pensive. Not just oil but
electronic items, such
as mobile phones, some
cars and appliances, are
likely to get expensive.
Foreign education:
The rupee losing value
against the US dollar
would mean foreign
education just became
more expensive. Not
just having to shell out
more rupees for
every dollar
t h a t
t h e
for-
e i g n
i n s t i t u -
tions charge
as fees, education
loans too have be-
come costlier fol-
lowing the interest
rate hikes by the
RBI.
F o r e i g n
travel: With
the COVID-19
cases declin-
ing, there has
been revenge
travel for
work and lei-
sure. But,
these have now
just become more
expensive.
Remittances: How-
ever, NRIs who send
money back home will
end up sending more in
the rupee value.
Kolkata (PTI): After
witnessing a steep fall
in employment rate in
June 2022, economic
think-tank CMIE has
estimatedthatthetrend
has been reversing in
the current month.
In the last three days
of the month since July
12, the unemployment
rate has been decreas-
ing gradually at 7.29%
on July 14, 7.46% on
July 13 and 7.33% on
July 12. In June 2022,
the all-India unemploy-
ment rate was 7.80%,
urban at 7.30% and ru-
ral at 8.03%.
Accordingtothedata,
in the previous month,
the all-India unemploy-
ment level was 7.12%
CMIE said India’s
June 2022 labour sta-
tistics had been highly
disappointing. Em-
ployment fell by 13 mil-
lion from 404 million
in May 2022 to 390 mil-
lion in June 2022.
The agency said this
shows that labour mar-
kets had shrunk in
June, with three mil-
lion being added to the
labour force. In the last
month, the labour force
shrunk by 10 million.
CMIE said the mass
exit of labour shows
that the labour partici-
pation rate (LPR) had
shrunk to the lowest
level at 38.8%.
Employment rate increasing in July: CMIE
ALLOW INDIA TO EXPORT
‘Foodgrains from public
stock to needy nations’
New Delhi (PTI): Fi-
nance minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman on Fri-
day asked World Trade
Organisation (WTO) to
allow India to export
foodgrains from its
public stockholding to
nations which are fac-
ing food crisis.
As per WTO norms,
countries are not al-
lowed to export
foodgrains from their
public stock holdings
as they are procured at
subsidised rates.
“WTO restriction
that grains so pro-
cured cannot be
brought to the market
to export. It is a condi-
tion which exists from
the Uruguay Round
days. We have repeat-
edly said that (sur-
plus) than what we
have for our small
farmers...We are quite
willing to trade,” Si-
tharaman said.
She said that India
can help in reducing
hunger or food insecu-
rity but there is a hesi-
tation on the part of
WTO. A group of
about 70-80 countries,
led by Singapore, is
pushing member
countries of the WTO
to accept binding com-
mitments of not ex-
tending export restric-
tionsonthefoodgrains
procured under the
United Nations WFP.
New Delhi (PTI): FM
Sitharaman on Friday said
India’s long-term growth
prospects are embedded in
public capital expenditure
programmes. Sitharaman
also said evidence-based
policy making is vital
for resilient economic
systems. “Reflecting on
India’s #growthstory, FM
shared that India’s long-
term growth prospects
are embedded in public
#CapitalExpenditure pro-
grammes, #Evidence-
Based #PolicyMaking is
vital for resilient economic
systems,” the Fin Min said
in a tweet.
‘India’s long-term growth
prospects embedded in
public capex programmes’
area under coverage for
paddy is down 17.4% so
far in the ongoing kha-
rif sowing season while
acreageof pulses,coarse
cereals and oilseeds are
higher by 7-9%.
As per the Ministry
of Agriculture data till
July 15, the paddy sow-
ing has reached 128.50
Lakh Hectares (LH) so
far this kharif season
as against 155.53 LH in
the corresponding pe-
riod of the previous
year.
Paddy acreage has
improved in the last one
week as sowing was
down 24% as on July 8.
The rains this month
will be crucial to com-
pensate the fall in acre-
age of paddy
.
However, the area un-
der coverage for pulses
has increased by 9% to
72.66 LH from 66.69 LH.
The sowing area of
coarse cereals is up 8%
to 93.91 LH from 87.06
LH. In non-food grains
category
, the area under
coverageforoilseedshas
grown 7.38% to 134.04
LH from 124.83 LH.
Under oilseeds, soya-
bean area is up 10% to
99.35 LH from 90.32 LH.
The cotton acreage is
up 6.44% so far to 102.8
LH from 96.58 LH. Sug-
arcane area is margin-
ally down to 53.31 LH
from 53.70 LH.
Total area under cov-
erage for kharif is up
marginally to 592.11 LH
as on July 15 in the on-
going kharif season
from 591.3 LH in the
same period last year.
Paddy acreage down 17% so far
in kharif season: Official data
Tata Power to
skill 3K youths
for RE sector
New Delhi (PTI):
Tata Power on Fri-
day said it will give
training to 3,000
youths this fiscal in
the field of renewa-
ble industry
.
The company
aims to train a total
of 5,000 youths by
2025 to work in the
sector, Tata Power
said in a statement.
The training will
be offered in solar
photovoltaic for
electric vehicle
charging, installa-
tion and mainte-
nance of rooftop
solar photovoltaic,
installation of
smart meters, and
home automation.
New Delhi (PTI): After
implementation of a
free trade agreement,
India’s exports to the
UAE rose by 16.22% to $
837.14 million during
May-June this year,
sources said on Friday
.
Exports during the
same period of the pre-
vious year stood at
$720.31 million.
The CEPA between
the two countries came
into force from May 1.
Under the pact, do-
mestic exporters from
various sectors like tex-
tiles, agriculture, dry
fruits, gems and jewel-
lery are getting duty-
free access to the UAE
market.
Post the signing of
the CEPA, exports grew
by 16.22% to $837.14 mil-
lion in May-June 2022,
one of the sources said.
India’s exports to UAE up
16.22% in May-June
finance ministry on Fri-
day released a paper
suggesting changes in
the monthly GST pay-
ment form and sought
industry comments by
September 15.
The GST Council in
its meeting last month
recommended that the
changes in GSTR-3B or
monthly tax payment
form be placed in public
domain for seeking in-
puts and suggestions of
the stakeholders.
“Accordingly
, general
public and the trade at
large are hereby in-
formed that a detailed
Concept Paper on com-
prehensive changes in
FORM GSTR-3B is en-
closed. All members of
trade/ stakeholders are
requested to kindly fur-
nish their views/com-
ments/suggestions on
the Concept Paper latest
by 15th September 2022
at gstpolicywing-cbic@
gov.In so as to facilitate
finalization of the mat-
ter,” the ministry said.
GSTR-3B is a return
form capturing thesum-
mary of outward and
inward supplies.
The paper takes into
consideration various
suggestions of both tax-
payers and administra-
tors, including auto-
population and amend-
ment in GSTR 3B.
FinMinseeksviewson
changesinmonthlyGST
New Delhi (PTI):
The Indian advertis-
ing market is fore-
cast to grow by 16%
in 2022 to reach $11.1
billion (`88,639
crore), becoming the
fastest growing mar-
ket globally, a report
said on Thursday
.
This would lead to
over 14.5% growth
by TV and 31.6% on
the digital side, said
Dentsu Global Ad
Spend Forecasts
July 2022.
The easing of lock-
down restrictions
has opened up cate-
gories such as travel
and hospitality,
which were not
spending during the
pandemic. Besides,
categories like ed-
tech, fintech, gaming
and cryptocurrency
have shown growth
on Over-The-Top
(OTT) platforms.
INDIA AD
MARKET TO
EXPAND BY
16% IN 2022
Adani to boost trade lanes with Haifa Port buy
New Delhi (PTI): A
consortium of Adani
Ports and Special Eco-
nomic Zone (APSEZ)
and Gadot Group has
won the tender to priva-
tise the Port of Haifa in
Israel for $1.18 billion.
Through the winning
bid, APSEZ said the
consortium has secured
the rights to buy 100%
shares of Haifa Port
Company Ltd.
The concession peri-
od of the Port of Haifa
remains up to 2054 and
Adani Ports and Gadot
Group hold 70% and
30% stakes, respective-
ly in the consortium.
“The consortium’s of-
fer was NIS 4.1 Bn,
equivalent to $1.18
billion,”it added.
Commenting on the
development, APSEZ
CEO and Whole-time
Director Karan Adani
said this is one of the
many steps the compa-
ny is taking to trans-
form APSEZ into a glob-
al transport utility that
will include logistics
and warehousing.
`ATLIFE-TIMELOW
TO HIT IMPORTS, OVERSEAS
EDUCATION AND TRAVEL
New Delhi (PTI): Gold prices in the national capital on Friday fell by `293 to `49,970
per 10 grams amid decline in international precious metal prices, according to HDFC
Securities. In the previous trade, the yellow metal settled at `50,263 per 10 grams.
Silver also tumbled by `1,075 to `54,326 per kg from `55,401 per kg in the previous
trade.In the international market, gold was trading lower at $1,703 per ounce while
silver was flat at $18.23 per ounce.
` RECOVERS 8 PAISE TO CLOSE AT
79.91 AGAINST US DOLLAR
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee recovered 8 paise to settle
at 79.91 (provisional) against the US currency on
Friday, tracking heavy buying in domestic equities and
weakness in the greenback overseas. At the interbank
foreign exchange market, the local currency opened
at 79.95 and witnessed an intra-day high of 79.82 and
a low of 79.96 against the US dollar in the day
trade.
STOCKS
BOUNCE BACK
AFTER 4-DAY
DECLINE
Mumbai (PTI): Bench-
mark BSE Sensex re-
bounded by 344 points
while Nifty closed
above the 16,000
level in choppy trade
on Friday, snapping
the four-day falling
streak on renewed
buying interest from
foreign funds and
firm global
trends. The
30-share
BSE
ba-
rometer
climbed 344.63
points or 0.65% to
settle at 53,760.78.
The broader NSE Nifty
advanced 110.55
points or 0.69%
to 16,049.20.
Among Sensex
constituents,
Hindustan
Unilever, Titan,
Maruti, LT
were the major
gainers.
GOLD DROPS ` 293; SILVER TUMBLES ` 1,075

08
2NDFRONT
A loving heart sees so much of what is
invisible to the eye, which is precisely
what is the power of love.
— Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Latur: A man was
arrested in Latur
city on Friday for al-
legedly raping a
woman on the false
promise of mar-
riage and forcing
her to convert her
religion, police said.
Arafat Laik Khan
(32) of Zinganappa
lane area, was arrest-
ed on Thursday, depu-
ty superintendent of
police, Jitendra Jag-
dale said.
A case under sec-
tion 376 (rape) and
other relevant provi-
sions of IPC and
Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atroci-
ties) Act, 1989 has
been filed against the
accused and seven
members of his fami-
ly, the official said.
The 27-year-old vic-
tim owned a shop in
the same shopping
complex as the ac-
cused and entered
into a relationship.
The accused pro-
posed to her in Octo-
ber 2018 and forced
her to convert her re-
ligion, after which an
agreement was made
on a bond paper. The
accused allegedly
took the victim to a
flat in a residential
building and raped
her. He later arranged
to marry another
woman, police said.
CRUCIAL READ
FOUR HELD IN CONNECTION WITH
MURDER OF AFGHAN NATIONAL
26-YEAR-OLD MAN ARRESTED IN
THANE FOR OPERATING SEX RACKET
MAN POSING AS IPS OFFICER ON
MATRIMONIAL WEBSITES ARRESTED
Nashik: Four people have been arrested in con-
nection with the murder of Afghan national and
Sufi preacher Khwaja Sayyad Zarif Chishti (28),
in Nashik, police said. Chishti was shot dead in
Chinchodi Khurd MIDC area near Yeola on July
5. Nashik rural police superintendent Sachin Patil
said that Ganesh alias Deva Babasaheb, Zinjad
alias Patil (28), Ravindra Changdev Tore (25) and
Pawan Popat Aher (26) were arrested in the case.
Thane: A 26-year-old man was arrested on Friday
for allegedly operating a sex racket in Thane city,
officials said. Acting on a tip-off, the anti-human
trafficking cell (AHTC) of crime branch nabbed
Bilal Kokan Moral, a native of West Bengal, while
he was allegedly catering to a decoy customer in
Thane, senior inspector Mahesh Patil said. The
accused operated in Thane City, Mumbai, Navi
Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Gujarat and Ghaziabad.
Mumbai: A man was arrested for duping a wom-
an and impersonating as an Indian Police Service
(IPS) officer in Mumbai. The accused, identified
as Abhijeet Parmeshwar Gadhave, used to pose
as an IPS officer and claimed that his father was
a retired army officer on matrimonial websites.
The Sakinaka Police initiated the investigation
after receiving a complaint from the woman who
had been duped by the accused.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Sathyanaray-
ana Rani, a 72-year-old
alleged Naxal opera-
tive, who is accused in
the 2019 Gadchiroli
blast case was granted
bail by the Bombay
High Court’s division
bench of Justices Re-
vati Mohite Dere and
VG Bisht on Friday
.
Fifteen security per-
sonnel of Quick Re-
sponse Team (QRT) and
one civilian were killed
in an explosion on May
1, 2019, in Gadchiroli in
the Vidarbha region.
A detailed order with
reasons and conditions
imposed would be made
available later.
Rani, in his bail plea
filed through advocates
Yug Chaudhry and Pay-
oshi Roy, said that he
had spent almost three
years in jail as an un-
dertrial despite there
being no evidence
against him.
Rani is currently
lodged in Mumbai’s Ar-
thur Road prison in
Mumbai.
He was arrested with
late wife Niramala Up-
puganti, who died of
cancer in April, in 2019.
In its charge sheet,
the National Investiga-
tion Agency had
claimed that Rani was
one of the 300 people
who attended a conspir-
acy meeting held nearly
a year before the attack,
which was allegedly
planned to avenge the
deaths of 40 persons by
security personnel in
2018.
The accused in the
case have been booked
under sections of the
Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act and for
murder and criminal
conspiracy of the Indi-
an Penal Code.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Police have
seized 73kg of heroin
from a container at
Nhava Sheva port
near Navi Mumbai,
officials said on Fri-
day, adding that the
seizure was result of
a joint operation be-
tween the Maharash-
tra and Punjab police.
While the contraband
was first thought to
have been bound for
Punjab, officials later
said they are looking
into the final destina-
tion of the drugs, which
are valued at about
Rs365 crore in the inter-
national market.
“The intelligence-led
operation regarding the
smuggling of heroin
from the UAE was car-
ried out jointly by the
teams of Punjab Police
and Maharashtra Po-
lice,” Director General
of Punjab Police
Gaurav Yadav told re-
porters, adding that the
contraband was kept
concealed in the door-
border of the container
containing white mar-
ble tiles imported by a
Delhi-based importer.
“After concealing the
contraband, the ac-
cused had welded the
door border and re-
painted it,” he also said.
Following due proce-
dure and documenta-
tion by the Maharash-
tra Police, the container
was opened up which
led to the recovery of a
big haul of 73 kg of her-
oin, he said.
The Maharashtra Po-
lice has registered a
case under the Narcotic
Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances (NDPS) Act,
a Punjab Police state-
ment said.
The Punjab Police
have seized 148kg hero-
in the last one week in
joint inter-state opera-
tions with the help of
central agencies.
Earlier, DGP Yadav,
in a video message,
said, “Continuing our
fight against drugs, the
Punjab Police achieved
another major success
today. In a joint opera-
tion with Maharashtra
Police, 73kg of heroin
has been recovered in
Nhava Sheva port.”
The drug bust comes
less than 72 hours after
officials recovered 75kg
of heroin from a con-
tainer at Mundra Port
in the neighbouring
state of Gujarat in a
joint operation with the
Gujarat Anti-Terrorist
Squad on Tuesday
.
FATHER RAPES,KILLS 10-YEAR-
OLD DAUGHTER,ARRESTED
350KG GANJA SEIZED,1 HELD
Thane: A 10-year-old girl was allegedly
raped and strangled to death by her father in
Bhiwandi town of Thane district on Thurs-
day. The cops have arrested the 34-year-old
accused, said senior inspector CR Kakade of
Bhiwandi town police station. The accused al-
legedly raped the child and later strangled her
to death with a piece of cloth. The victim's
body was sent to a government hospital for
post-mortem. A case under sections 376
(rape) and 302 (murder) of IPC,and relevant
provisions of the Protection of Children from
Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered.
Thane: The police seized 350kg of ganja from
a godown in Bhiwandi town and arrested a
40-year-old man for smuggling, senior inspec-
tor Vikas Ghodke said on Friday, adding that the
contraband is worth more than Rs35 lakh. The
police had earlier arrested one Ambalal Jagdish
Jhat (30) for allegedly smuggling ganja and
seized 110kg of the substance from him. During
interrogation, Jhat revealed the involvement
of one Vikas Premshankar Choubey, following
which the police raided Choubey’s godown at
Kasheli and arrested him on Thursday. Officials
have so far seized 460 kg ganja in this case.
`365 crore heroin seized
from Nhava Sheva port
The drug was
concealed in the
door-border of a
container
containing white
marble tiles
Navi Mumbai Crime Branch and the seized consignment of heroin. —PHOTO BY ANI
Man arrested for
raping woman on
promise of marriage
In Oct 2018, the
accused
proposed the
victim and then
forced to
convert her
religion
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Nation-
al Investigation Agen-
cy (NIA) told a court
here on Friday that
the murder of a phar-
macist in Amravati
for allegedly support-
ing Nupur Sharma
has 'international
ramifications.'
The court extended
the NIA custody of the
seven accused arrested
in the case till July 22.
Umesh Kolhe, a medi-
cal shop owner, was
killed on the night of
June 21 in Amravati.
Police claimed that Kol-
he was murdered be-
cause he shared a post
in support of suspend-
ed BJP leader Nupur
Sharma's controversial
remarks about Prophet
Mohammad. The inci-
dent preceded the simi-
lar killing of a tailor in
Udaipur.
The NIA, which took
over the investigation
from Amravati police,
produced the accused
before the special court
for NIA cases here on
Friday after their ini-
tial custody ended.
The agency sought
their custody for anoth-
er eight days. The case
was serious and had
national and interna-
tional ramifications, it
said, adding that the
motive behind the mur-
der was to terrorise a
section of society
.
The accused had en-
tered into a conspiracy,
and one more suspect
was absconding, the
NIA stated.
It was necessary to
move the accused to Ra-
jasthan for investiga-
tion, it told the court,
without mentioning the
Udaipur incident.
It had obtained re-
cords of international
calls received by the
three accused, the agen-
cy said, while denying
the defence lawyers'
claim that Kolhe's mur-
der was the fall-out of a
fight between friends.
Sharif Shaikh, the
defence lawyer, objected
to the extension of re-
mand, claiming that the
central agency was at-
tempting to paint it in a
different light.
Court grants bail to
72-yr-old accused in
Gadchiroli blast case
Amravati murder: NIA says
case has int’l ramifications
Court extends
custody of seven
accused in the
case till July 22
MURDER
ACCUSED
DENIED BAIL
Mumbai: The High
Court has denied bail
to Shree Jogdhankar
(23), an accused in
the Jhanvi Kukreja
murder case. Jhanvi
(19) was found dead
inside a building in
Khar on January 1,
2021. “In the wake
of the overwhelm-
ing circumstance of
presence of applicant
(Jogdhankar) in com-
pany of the deceased
and they being last
seen together and the
deceased lying in a
pool of blood with 48
injuries, is sufficient
to establish the case
of the prosecution
attributing the murder
to him,” Justice Dan-
gre said.
Umesh Kolhe
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The
US Consulate
General in
Mumbai cele-
brated the
246th anniver-
sary of US in-
dependence recently in
Mumbai. Chief Guest
Iqbal Singh Chahal,
BMC Commissioner,
joined Chargè
d’Affaires Patricia Lac-
ina and Consul Gener-
al David J Ranz to mark
the birthday of the
United States. The
event also recognized
the 75th anniversary of
U.S.-India diplomatic
ties. A highlight of the
evening was the pag-
eantry of the presenta-
tion of the colors by a
U.S. Marine Corps
Color Guard.
In his remarks, Con-
sul General Ranz recog-
nized Commissioner
Chahal for his extraor-
dinary efforts to man-
age the COVID-19 pan-
demic, saying: “His
leadership was critical
to saving countless
lives.”
US Consulate Mumbai Celebrates 246th
American I-Day
US-INDIA DIPLOMATIC TIES
Consul General Ranz recognized
BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh
Chahal for his extraordinary
efforts to manage the COVID-19
Iqbal Singh Chahal addressing guests, also seen David J Ranz.
David J Ranz and Iqbal Singh Chahal during the event.

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, SATURDAY,
JULY 16, 2022
A GO-GETTER DIVA
City First spoke to magnanimous Kashish from Bharatpur where she
shared glimpses of her journey. She also spoke about the importance
of optimism in life. Here are some excerpts of that chit-chat
lamour
is the ex-
pression
of confi-
dence. A
glamor-
o u s
woman is al-
ways elegant
and possesses an air of
poise. One such magnetic
soul is Kashish Ashwani
who puts her best foot for-
wardineverythingshedoes.
City First spoke to Kashish
Ashwani about her journey
in the modelling world.
Describe yourself for us.
My name is Kashish
Ashwani and I am from
Bharatpur. I am pursuing
an undergraduate course at
Maharani College. My hob-
bies are sketching and
dancing because creativity
attracts me to the core.
What would you say are
some vital skills to make
it in the modelling world?
I believe that a certain
set of skills is necessary to
make it to the modelling
world. I think my biggest
strength is my positive at-
titude. I accept challenges
with optimism. I believe
that’s what makes me suc-
cessful in everything that I
do. I keep motivating my-
self to achieve more in life.
I am a disciplined person
who is flexible enough to
adapt to change. I am both
a good listener as well as a
quick learner.
If you could go in future
and tell yourself one
thing about your career
what would it be?
Yes, there is a dream that I
am working towards and I
shall remind myself of the
same in future. I wish to
represent Rajasthan on a
higher platform at the Miss
India beauty pageant.
What inspired you to
become a supermodel?
What challenges did you
face in this journey?
I am a self-made girl who
comes from a small place in
Rajasthan. Yogesh Sir and
Nimisha ma’am inspired
and supported me in my
journey. I faced multiple
challenges in my journey
and even my relatives made
fun of me. It demotivated
metothecoreandIthought
that I won’t be able to
make it to Miss Ra-
jasthan. However, it all
changed after I attended
the 7-day training ses-
sion which changed my
life.
What was the
biggest rookie
mistake you
made?
The biggest
rookie mis-
take I com-
mittedwas
that I
turned un-
derconfi-
dent and didn’t believe in
myself. It is very important
to have strong faith in your
abilities.
What has been the most
memorable moment in
your career?
The most memorable mo-
mentinmycareerwaswhen
I was declared Miss Ra-
jasthan Runner-up 2021. It
wassorewardingthatIshall
remember the date of Octo-
ber 5 for the rest of my life.
Theeyesof myparentswere
filled with pride.
DHANUSHREE VYAS
cityfirstdel@gmail.com
G
—PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO

10-11
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CITY FIRST
he poster launch
party of Bikaji pre-
sents First India
Food and Hospital-
ity Awards 2022
and FS Realty pre-
sents The Fashion
Connect Season 12 Fair-
mont Jaipur took place on
Thursday at Lounge 18 of
Marriott Hotel in Jaipur.
The spectacular evening
witnessed the various so-
cialites of Jaipur.
Youth Icon and brand am-
bassador Rishee Miglani
added charm to the bash.
The party exuded scintillat-
ing music and lip-smacking
delicacies. It was graced by
eminent guests such as
Kamla Poddar, Prisha,
Bhawna, Vineet Jain,
Akanksha Bakshi, Dr Rimi
Shekhawat, Alfiya, Dr Anir-
udh, Dr Bhawna, Akansha
Bakshi, Dr Rimmi, Vineet
Jain, Meera Kataria, Nisha
Singh, Tina Kapoor, Manda-
kini, Teena Sawhney, Hema
Rathore, Dr Swati and Nar-
endra Singh Rathore, etc.
SOME MORE GLIMPSES
GALA NIGHT
OF
T
Vineet Jain
Dhirendra Raghav, Virendra and Abha
Anjula, Mohit and Akansha
Prateek and Mandakini
Cauldron sisters
Rahul Maini and Vinodh
Narendra Singh, Dhirendra Raghav and Shivraj Rathore
Manvi, Sonia, Rajat and Rishee
Ankit and Amit
Vishal and Shantanu
Akansha Bakshi Radhika and Zubin
Kamla Poddar and Raj Bansal
Ayan, Manan, Poonam, JD Maheshwari and Sandeep Singh Karan, Karanvijay, Amit and Rishee Rimi and Shivraj Minal, Ananta and Swati
Ashwin, Poonam, Neeta and Karan Shalini and Farah Kanakh Teena, Hema, Nisha, Meera and Rimi Deepak and Anjali
Franceieli and Pooja Narendra Singh
Tanya and Suvrat
Rahul Maini
Swati, Rahul and Rina
Shradha Vyas, Nasrin Bano and Alfiya
Shivani, Ayush and Sanjay Rina
Vinod, Shivendra, Nikhil, Vidhi, Rishee, Tapan and Chetan
Dhirendra Raghav, Narendra Singh, Shivraj,
Dr Bhawna, Dr Rimi and Akansha Lokesh and Kamla Poddar
—PHOTOS
BY
SANTOSH
SHARMA
AND
MUKESH
KIRADOO

16072022_First India_Mumbai (1).pdf

16072022_First India_Mumbai (1).pdf

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to 16072022_First India_Mumbai (1).pdf

Similar to 16072022_First India_Mumbai (1).pdf (20)

More from FIRST INDIA

More from FIRST INDIA (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (13)

16072022_First India_Mumbai (1).pdf