22042022_First India Lucknow.pdf

IAS OFFICERS
RESHUFFLED
LUCKNOW: The UP
Government transferred
three IAS officers on
Thursday. Former Noida
District Magistrate
Brajesh Narayan Singh
has been made Special
Secretary, Industrial
Development, while
Kanchan Verma, MD
of Medical Supplies
Corporation, has been
put on the waiting list.
V Muthukumar Swamy,
serving as Special
Secretary, Industrial
Development, has been
made new MD of Med-
ical Supplies Corpora-
tion. The CM’s Special
Secretary Prathamesh
Kumar has been given
additional charge of
ACEO, Invest UP.
HIGH COURT SANCTIONS INSPECTION
OF DISPUTED KASHI SITE
First India Bureau
PRAYAGRAJ: The Al-
lahabad High Court on
Thursday dismissed a
petition filed by Anju-
man Intazamia Masajid,
Varanasi, challenging the
order of civil court Vara-
nasi dated April 8, 2022,
appointing an advocate
commissioner to inspect
the disputed site of Kashi
Vishwanath Temple
and Gyanvapi Mosque.
The order was passed
by Justice JJ Munir
after hearing counsel for
petitioner SFA Naqvi and
Chief Standing Counsel
Bipin Bihari Pandey
along with MC Chatur-
vedi, Additional Advocate
General for the state
government. By order
dated April 8, the civil
court had appointed Ajay
Kumar Mishra, advocate,
as court commissioner
to inspect the site and
submit report and also
do videography of the
spot.
UP should have agency like the CBI:CM Yogi
CM TIGHTENS THE SCREWS
First India Bureau
Lucknow :Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath on
Thursday said that UP
should have a Special
Police Establishment
Act and an agency on
the lines of the Central
Bureau of Investigation
(CBI). He said this dur-
ing the presentation of
the 100-day action plan
of Home, Prison, Home
Guard, Secretariat Ad-
ministration, and Ap-
pointmentdepartments.
“To strengthen the
system of investigation
a UP Special Police Es-
tablishment Act should
be prepared on the lines
of the CBI. Process
should be started in this
direction within 100
days,” he said and di-
rected to arrange train-
ing of Anti Terror
Squad (ATS) team by
foreign agencies.
“To increase the pro-
fessional skill of the
ATS team it should be
trained by investigation
or secret agencies like
FBI and Homeland Se-
curity along with differ-
entagenciesinthecoun-
try
,” he said. More on P2
CM Yogi Adityanath during a meeting to review the govt’s 100-
day action plan, in Lucknow on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
‘BUILD NEW JAILS’
Land should be purchased for the construction of
district jail in Amroha, Shamli, Sambhal and Muzaf-
farnagar. Construction of district jail should be started
in Amethi, Hathras, Auraiya, Hapur, Chandauli, Bhadohi,
Amroha, Sambhal, Kushinagar and Mahoba,” CM Yogi
directed. He said there is a need to amend the existing
policy regarding premature release of prisoners from jails.
“This should be done within the next 100 days,” he said.
“Keeping in view of the current situation of cyber crime, a
Digital Forensic lab in Lucknow and Cyber Forensic Lab in
the zone should be set up. Forensic field units should be
established in every district. A cyber help desk should be
constituted at every police station,” he further directed.
LUCKNOW l FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 159
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/lucknow I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
A powerful explosion in a Shiite Muslim mosque in northern
Afghanistan on Thursday killed at least 10 worshippers and injured
another 40, according to a hospital official. The explosion in northern
Mazar-e-Sharif occurred as scores of worshippers knelt in prayer.
BLAST HITS SHI’ITE
MOSQUE IN NORTH
AFGHANISTAN, KILLS
10, INJURES 40
Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases reported in some parts of India,
around 12 people have tested positive for the virus at IIT Madras.
Health secretary J Radhakrishnan will inspect the campus to direct
officials to sanitise locality and follow safety Covid-19 safety norms.
12 STUDENTS TEST
POSITIVE FOR
CORONAVIRUS AT
IIT MADRAS
ANURAG THAKUR
IN GUJARAT TODAY
CBI BOOKS ANIL
AMBANI’S RELIANCE
Union IB Minister
Anurag Thakur will be
in Gujarat on Friday,
where he will hold meet-
ing with PBI officials in
Gandhinagar. He will also attend
Global Ayush Investments Closing
Session and Innovation Summit.
Six months after ex-JK gover-
nor Satya Pal Malik claimed he
was offered Rs 300-crore bribes
to clear two files, the CBI has
booked Anil Ambani’s Reliance
General Insurance Company
and officials of Chenab Valley
Power Projects Pvt Ltd. P6
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi ad-
dressed the nation from
the Red Fort on Thurs-
day to mark the 400th
birth anniversary of
Guru Teg Bahadur.
The Prime Minister
addressed the nation
from the lawns of the
Red Fort and not its
ramparts.
“I felt at peace while
listening to the shabad.
I am happy that the
country is following
the path of our gurus.
When Guru Teg Baha-
dur was born, it was
said that this child will
eliminate sorrow of
the marginalised. Gur-
dwara Shish Ganj Sa-
hib, which is close to
the Red Fort, is a sym-
bol of Guru Teg Baha-
dur’s sacrifice,” said
PM Modi.
PM said the govern-
ment is making efforts
to connect pilgrimages
of Sikh tradition. He
lauded the dedication
of the Sikh community
and pushed for a self-
reliant India.
“India works for the
welfare of the world,”
he added.
PM also released a
commemorative coin
and postage stamp on
the occasion.
Guru Tegh Bahadur
is the ninth Sikh guru
who stood up against
forcible conversions by
the Mughals.
THE FATE OF THE BESIEGED PORT CITY OF MARIUPOL HAS BECOME TOTEMIC AS RUSSIA
BATTLES TO COMPLETE A LAND BRIDGE COVERING TERRITORIES OF UKRAINE ALREADY
UNDER ITS CONTROL, INCLUDING CRIMEA AND OTHER PRO-RUSSIAN REGIONS
DAGGER IN
UKRAINE’S
HEART!
Russia claims
Mariupol ‘liberated’,
leaves Ukrainian
defenders holed up
Moscow: President
Vladimir Putin
claimed victory in the
biggest battle of the
Ukraine war on Thurs-
day, declaring the port
of Mariupol “liberated”
after nearly two months
of siege, despite hun-
dreds of defenders still
holding out inside a gi-
ant steel works.
In a televised meeting
with his defence minis-
ter inside the Kremlin,
Putin said there was no
need for a final confron-
tation with the last de-
fenders who were boxed
in after surviving near-
ly two months of Rus-
sia’s siege.
“I consider the pro-
posed storming of the
industrial zone unnec-
essary,” he told Defence
Minister Sergei Shoigu
in a televised meeting
at the Kremlin. “I order
you to cancel it.”
“There’s no need to
climb into these cata-
combs and crawl under-
ground through these
industrial facilities,”
he said. “Block off this
industrial area so that
not even a fly can get
through.”
Shoigu estimated
2,000 Ukrainian fight-
ers remained inside the
steel plant.
Russian Prez Putin orders siege instead
of assault on a steel plant tunnels in
Mariupol where last Ukrainian troops are
suspected to be hiding
Putin orders blocking off tunnel paths so
tight that “Not Even Fly Can Escape”
1
2
NOT ENOUGH WEAPONS:
ZELENSKY TELLS WORLD
BODIES AFTER
BODIES FOUND
The Ukranian Presi-
dent said Ukraine still
did not have enough
weapons, despite
billions in Western
military aid that has
forced Russia to
re-focus its offensive
away from Kyiv and
towards the east of
the country.
In morgues around the
capital, the bodies of some
1,020 civilians are being
stored after Russian troops
withdrew from the region,
said Deputy Prime Minister
Olga Stefanishyna. The bod-
ies of nine civilians, some
showing signs of torture,
have been found in the town
of Borodyanka outside Kyiv.
India is following ideals of
Gurus: PM from Red Fort
Don’t lecture judiciary: Supreme
Court to Centre over Salem plea
New Delhi: Ongangster
Abu Salem’s petition
against his jail sentence
exceeding 25 years, the
Supreme Court today
used stern words while
rejecting the Union
Home Ministry’s stance
that the plea is prema-
ture. The Supreme
Court also objected to
the Centre asking it to
decide on the case.
“Don’t lecture the ju-
diciary. We do not take
it kindly when you tell
us to decide something
which you have to de-
cide,” Justice SK Kaul
told the Home Ministry
.
“The Home Secre-
tary is nobody to tell
us to decide the is-
sue,” the judge said.
Nat’l database on internal
security in works: Shah
New Delhi: Union
home minister Amit
Shah on
Thursday said
the Centre is
working on a
national data-
base related to
internal secu-
rity covering
bomb blasts,
terror funding,
fake currency, narcot-
ics, hawala, arms smug-
gling, and terrorism. He
said the database will
help the central agen-
cies and police in states
and union territories in
investigations.
Shah said the
database on
terrorism will
go a long way
in helping in-
vestigations
and securing
convictions of
terror ac-
cused. He add-
ed NIA, National Intel-
ligence Grid, and the
Intelligence Bureau
were working on this.
INSPIRED BY INDIA
UK Prime Minister
Boris Johnson climbs
onto a JCB at the
new JCB Factory
in Vadodara on
Thursday. The UK PM
is scheduled to meet
PM Narendra Modi in
New Delhi on Friday.
(Left) Mauritius Prime
Minister Pravind
Jugnauth worships at
the Kashi Vishwanath
Temple in Varanasi
on Thursday.
—PHOTOS BY PTI
SC WARNS OF
‘SERIOUS VIEW’ ON
JAHANGIRPURI
DRIVE THAT WENT
ON POST ORDER
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Thursday
stayed the Jahangirpuri
demolition drive for two
weeks and says it will
take a serious view if
found that the demoli-
tion drive continued on
Wednesday even after
the SC’s status quo order
was passed.
NIA RAISING DAY
The BJP has been
trying to reach out
to the Sikh
community ever
since it decided to
go it alone in the
Punjab Assembly
elections following
the breakdown of
the old alliance
with Akali Dal
over farm laws

z PM Modi is the first prime minister to deliver a
speech at the Mughal-era monument after sunset.

z The fort was chosen as the venue for the event as it
was from here that Mughal ruler Aurangzeb had given
orders for the execution of Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth
Sikh Guru, in 1675, as per culture ministry officials.

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022
02
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CM brings down high decibel sounds of faith
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Blaring
sound of loudspeakers
from religious shrines
in UP have almost fallen
silent or considerably
lowered down to avoid
noise pollution in the
state. While hour-long
Mangalacharan Arati
at Sri Krishna Janmab-
hoomi in Mathura was
not played through the
loudspeaker at Bhag-
wat Bhawan, in Gora-
khpur Gorakhnath tem-
ple trust has lowered
the volume of loud-
speakers in the temple
premises.
Moreover, loudspeak-
ers installed outside the
temple have been re-
moved.
The move has fol-
lowed the instructions
of the Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath that
high sound of loud-
speakers should not
cause inconvenience to
people.
While issuing in-
structions for peace and
communal harmony
during forthcoming fes-
tival seasons Yogi asked
the officers that “loud-
speakers can be used
but they should ensure
that sound does not
come out of the premis-
es. Other people should
have any problem”.
While in Meerut the
management of Rajesh-
wari temple has decid-
ed to keep the volume
low, Mandi Mutt coordi-
nation committee Kan-
pur has taken off loud-
speakers from the tem-
ple. Kali Paltan temple
Meerut has also taken
similar decision. Not to
lag behind all the prom-
inent saints in Ayodhya
have announced to
strictly adhere to Yogi’s
guidelines to keep a
check on loudspeakers.
The raging contro-
versy over the use of
loudspeakers in
mosques in Aligarh had
led to communal ten-
sion last week as the
local BJP MLA Mukta
Raja asked the district
administration to pro-
vide the details of loud-
speakers being used at
the mosques in the city
.
She also said that the
district administration
should ensure that
loudspeakers are used
in compliance with Su-
preme Court order.
However, with Yogi’s
“sound policy” receiv-
ing an all-round wel-
come there is feeling in
the official circle that
“Aligarh-type” prob-
lems would subside.
The Lucknow Eidgah
Imam and senior execu-
tive member of All In-
dia Muslim Personal
Law Board (AIMPLB)
Maulana Khalid Rash-
eed Firangi Mahli wel-
coming the CM’s move
said “we have asked all
mosque committees to
limit the sound of loud-
speakers and to ensure
it may not come out of
the premises”.
Major temples and mosques’ committees stand in unison to adhere to Yogi Adityanath’s instructions to get rid of noise pollution levels
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath pays obeisance at the Shri Krishna
Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura.
MOSQUES TOO SUPPORT CM’S MOVE
It is not only temples, as large numbers of mosque
have also reduced sound levels. Senior clerics have
issued instructions to mosque committees to reduce
the volume in compliance of Yogi’s directions. Re-
ports indicated that Lucknow Eidgah Imam Maulana
Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahli, Kanpur Shahr Qazi
(religious head) Qazi Saqib Adeeb Misbahi, deputy
Shahr Qazi Meerut Qazi Zainur Rasheedin, Maulana
Mohsin Taqvi, Prayagraj have asked the mosque
committees to keep volume at the minimum.
We have asked all
mosque committees
to limit the sound of
loudspeakers to en-
sure it may not come
out of the premises
—Maulana Khalid Rashid
Firangi Mahli,
Lucknow Eidgah Imam
NO HELMET!
Rajkiya Balika Inter College, Shahmina Road, organised an awareness rally on road safety
with help of NCC cadets on Thursday. NCC officer Lieutenant Aarti Singh and cadets
stopped all those not wearing helmets, including policemen. —PHOTOS BY ASHOK DUTTA
CM instructs officers to form
a team of women commandos
Lucknow: Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
on Thursday directed
officials to speed up set-
ting up of a commando
training centre in Ram-
pur and also form a
skilled team of women
commandos.
He further issued in-
structions to set up a
unit of the Special Task
Force (STF) in Ayodhya
in the next 100 days.
The chief minister’s
directions came during
presentations of vari-
ous departments, in-
cluding Home, Jails,
Home guards, Secretar-
iat administration, as
well as appointment
and personnel, before
the Council of Minis-
ters here.
Adityanath holds the
Home portfolio.
“Complete further ac-
tion by selecting land
for the commando
training centre in Ram-
pur. Like the men’s
team, a skilled team of
women commandos
should also be formed,”
the chief minister said.
Hailing women for
doing a good job by join-
ing the police service,
the chief minister said
a scooty should be pro-
vided to every female
beat constable.
In order to strength-
en law and order, a new
women Provincial
Armed Constabulary
(PAC) battalion each
should be formed in Ja-
laun, Mirzapur and Bal-
rampur districts, the
CM said, asking offi-
cials to prepare a pro-
posal in this regard.
New field units of the
ATS are being formed
in many districts, in-
cluding Deoband, Bah-
raich, Aligarh, Kanpur
and Bahraich. The
availability of neces-
sary human resources,
buildings etc. should be
ensured for the new
units, Adityanath said.
To enhance skills in
crime investigation,
training of ATS teams
in various institutions
of India, besides for-
eign training with in-
vestigative and intelli-
gence agencies like the
FBI and HomeLand Se-
curity should also be
done, CM Yogi Adity-
anath said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reviews presentations of different
departments on Thursday. Deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya
and Brajesh Pathak and other ministers were also present.
Ministers directed to gather
feedback at grassroots level
Lucknow: Adity-
anath also asked his
18 cabinet ministers
to go to the field,
meet people and
gather their feedback
on governance at the
grassroot level.
Under the chair-
manship of cabinet
ministers, 18 teams
for 18 circles are be-
ing formed and a pro-
gramme is being pre-
pared for 18 weeks,
he said.
These teams will
stay for 72 hours in
each division and
also visit different
districts, meet people
and examine the sys-
tem and possibilities,
after which the nodal
officers of all the 75
districts will take the
report of these teams
and submit the plan
of implementation
within 15 days, he
said.
The CM also em-
phasised that the sec-
retariat should be
kept free from touts.
He said thugs who
promise jobs and
work should be kept
away from the secre-
tariat premises and
field officers should
not be called unnec-
essarily to the Secre-
tariat.
The chief minister
said efforts should be
made to bring down
the response time of
UP 112 helpline num-
ber further to 10 min-
utes and a single win-
dow system for po-
lice, prosecution and
organization should
be implemented in a
phased manner.
15 NEW IAS OFFICERS TO JOIN 2021 UP CADRE SOON
Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: Out of 177
IAS officers selected in
the Indian Administra-
tive Service in 2020, 15
IAS officers were allot-
ted the UP Cadre. The
selected IAS officers
will be allotted the 2021
cadre.
The Department of
Personnel and Training
(DOPT) in its letter sent
to all Chief Secretaries,
Director LBSNAA and
Secretary UPSC has
mentioned in detail
about the cadre distri-
bution of 177 IAS offic-
ers presently undergo-
ing training in Mus-
soorie LBSNAA Acade-
my
. The Government of
Uttar Pradesh received
15 IAS officers out of
177 selected in country
including 6 women of-
ficers.
UPSC second topper,
IAS Jagriti Awasthi,
who hails from MP, has
been allotted the UP
cadre, while Delhi’s IAS
Ankita Jain, who had
secured third position
in country, got Uttar
Pradesh cadre, while
IAS of Delhi who has
secured 129 rank
Shaheed Ahmed got UP
cadre. The officers
would join after com-
pleting their training
from LBSNAA.
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NEW JOINEES OF UP CADRE
IAS Ankita Jain IAS Jagriti Awasthi IAS Shahid Ahmed
BJP TOPS IN RECEIVING
donations from corporates
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Donations
from corporates to the
national parties in-
creased by 109% be-
tween FY 2017-18 and
2018-19, said an analysis
by the Association for
Democratic Reforms
(ADR), an NGO work-
ing for bringing in
transparency in elec-
toral politics.
The analysis, a re-
port of which is availa-
ble with First India
News, was done on the
basis of details given by
the parties to the Elec-
tion Commission of In-
dia of donors who have
made donations above
Rs 20,000 in a financial
year.
According to ADR
analysis, in the finan-
cial year 2019-20, a total
of Rs 921.95 crore was
donated by corporate/
business houses to the
five national parties.
This accounts for 91 per
cent of the total dona-
tions to parties from
known sources.
From 2004-12, there
has been an increase of
143 per cent in dona-
tions to parties.
TOP DONOR
Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: IAS officers
of 2018 batch, presently
posted as Joint Magis-
trates in different dis-
tricts of UP are under-
going a lot of stress
owing to the delay in
their promotion to the
post of Chief Develop-
ment Officer (CDO).
In 2018 IAS batch, a
total of 16 IAS officers
were allotted UP cadre,
amongst which IAS Ri-
shi Raj had been made
CDO of Badaun long
time back as his wife
IAS Isha Priya of 2016
batch had earlier been
made CDO of Pratap-
garh. She was of Chhat-
tisgarh cadre and had
got her cadre changed
to UP cadre in Septem-
ber 2019.
After becoming IAS
Rishi Raj has been
made the CDO of
Badaun, IAS Gaurav
Kumar, Joint Magis-
trate Azamgarh, the
second number in the
order of preference,
should have been pro-
moted but under the
pick and choose policy,
the appointment and
personnel department
made one step behind
IAS Vikramaditya
Singh Malik, Joint Mag-
istrate, Bijnor as the
new CDO of Ghaziabad.
As per sources in
state bureaucracy
father of IAS Vikrama-
ditya Singh Malik has
been an IAS officer of
Haryana cadre, which
provided benefit to his
son. However, out of 16
IAS officers, 14 IAS offi-
cers are still serving as
joint magistrates.
BUREAUCRACY
lll
Many
officials fear
that other
bureaucrats
who are
much behind
them may be
promoted as
CDOs
IAS 2018 batch Jt Magistrates await their turn to become CDOs
IAS Gaurav Kumar IAS Vikramaditya Singh
IAS Rishi Raj IAS Anubhav SIngh
I
I
9 IPS OFFICERS TRANSFERRED
Sarojini Nagar MLA Rajeshwar
Singh meets CM Yogi to convey
heartfelt gratitude of the public
of his constituency for planning
to set up a National Centre for
Disease Control here.

UTTAR PRADESH
03
YA ALI!
To mark the martyrdom of Imam Ali, Shia community takes out a
procession on the occasion of 19th Ramadan in old city area in Lucknow
on Thursday. —PHOTOS BY SUMIT KUMAR
A girl splashes her hair in the water of the Ganga in Prayagraj on
Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
GOODNEWS!
Heatwave likely to abate as IMD
predicts rainfall, thunderstorm
Respite is
expected as
there is a
possibility of
thunderstorm
activity around
April 22 and 23
First India Bureau
Lucknow: As per the
latest weather trends,
the Met office has pre-
dicted there are chanc-
es of isolated thunder-
storm and dust storm
over Western parts. In-
tensity and spread of
monsoon activities may
increase from April 21.
A cyclonic circula-
tion may develop over
Bihar and Jharkhand
and a trough will ex-
tend up to Uttarakhand
across Northern parts
of Uttar Pradesh. Sky
may become partly
cloudy to cloudy over
many parts of the state.
Hence, possibility of
thunderstorm, dust
storm and isolated light
rain over parts of Agra,
Aligarh, Mathura, Ba-
reilly, Faizabad, Gora-
khpur, Bahraich, Gon-
da, and Khushi Nagar
area. Many other dis-
tricts may also experi-
ence mild thunder-
storm or cloudy weath-
er. Cloud cover and pre
monsoon thunderstorm
will be instrumental in
decreasing the maxi-
mums over many parts
of the state.
Heat wave conditions
will abate and there will
be marginal relief for at
least next 2 to 3 days.
Temperatures will in-
crease again, and heat
wave conditions may
make a comeback by
April 24. UP has not
witnessed a single spell
of good rain during this
pre monsoon season.
There were isolated
light rain spells over
Northwest UP. This is
evident from the rain
statistics of the state. .
Between March 21 and
April 19, east UP has not
received any pre mon-
soon activity
. Therefore,
it is deficient by 100%,
west UP has witnessed
isolated rain and thun-
derstorm during sec-
ond week of April.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A team of
Madhya Pradesh Police
on Thursday reached
Lucknow to arrest Sa-
hara Group chief Sub-
rata Roy in a case filed
by investors in Sahara
Finance Company, but
were not successful in
their objective as Roy
was nowhere to be
found in his residence.
The police team past-
ed a notice asking Roy
to appear before the Da-
tia Police Station on
May 5.
The MP Police team
along with local police
reached the Gomti
Nagar Sahara City resi-
dence of Roy in the
morning. Ravindra
Sharma, Inspector of
Datia Police Station,
said that more than
2,000 investors had not
received the money
promised to them.
He added that based
on their complaint, a
case was registered
against eight members
of the Board of Direc-
tors including Roy and
his wife Swapna Roy.
Non-bailable warrants
have been issued
against Subrata and
Swapna Roy, he said, as
well as against six other
Directors.
Inspector Sharma
said that a case has
been registered against
all of them under Sec-
tions 420,406 of IPC and
Section 6(1) of the Pro-
tection of Interest of
Depositors of Madhya
Pradesh Act.
Lucknow(ANI): A five-
member delegation of
the Samajwadi Party
will visit the Jahangir-
puri area in the nation-
al capital on Friday,
where the demolition
drive was carried out by
the civic body. Accord-
ing to the official state-
ment, the committee
will investigate the mat-
ter and submit the re-
port to the Samajwadi
Party’s Central Office.
The members of the
inquiry committee are-
-LokSabhaMPShafiqur
Rahman Barq, former
Rajya Sabha MP Ravi
Prakash Verma, Lok
Sabha MP ST Hasan,
Rajya Sabha MP
Vishambhar Prasad Ni-
shad and former Rajya
Sabha MP Javed Ali
Khan. ‘‘On the instruc-
tions of the SP presi-
dent Yadav, the delega-
tion will go to New Del-
hi. On April 20, 2022,
the Jahangirpuri area
was destroyed by run-
ning bulldozers by the
BJP (run) Municipal
Corporation of Delhi.
A 5-member commit-
tee has been constituted
for its investigation,
which will investigate
and submit its report to
the SP’s Central Office,
New Delhi/State Office,
Lucknow on April 22. A
delegation of 16 mem-
bers of Cong including
Delhi Congress Chief
Anil Chaudhry, AICC
Gen Secretary Ajay
MakenAICCIncharge
Sinh Gohil have also vis-
ited Jahangirpuri.
Lucknow(PTI):BSP
president Mayawati on
Thursday came down
heavily on the use of
bulldozers in Delhi’s vi-
olence-hit Jahangirpu-
ri area, and said using
religion as a tool in
such exercises can
harm mutual harmony
and anti-national forces
can take advantage of
the situation.
“Bulldozers are being
run under the guise of
illegal construction in
different states of the
country including Jah-
angirpuri in Delhi in
which poor people are
also being affected,
whereas the govt should
also take strict action
against officials whose
corruption has led to
illegal constructions,”
the BSP chief said in a
tweet in Hindi. The for-
mer UP chief minister
said strict action should
be taken against those
who are the original
culprits. Governments
must think on this mat-
ter also,” the BSP chief
said.
CRUCIAL READ
Prayagraj: A petition
has been filed in the
Allahabad High Court
regarding six disput-
ed questions of Uttar
Pradesh Teacher Eligi-
bility Test (TET) 2021.
In the petition, there
has been a demand to
give marks to the can-
didates who have given
two correct answers to
all these questions. The
petition said that the
final result of UP TET
2021 was released on
April 8.
Noida: A man was
arrested on Thursday
for allegedly harassing
a woman colleague
physically and on social
media, police said.
The accused Mukesh,
a native of Mainpuri
district, worked for a
security agency, they
said. The 22-year-old
complainant from
Fatehpur alleged that
besides harassing her
on city roads, Mukesh
also used cuss words
at her.
UPTET: PETITION
FILED IN HC ON
DISPUTED QUESTIONS
MAN HELD FOR
HARASSING WOMAN
COLLEAGUE IN NOIDA
3 KIDS ACCUSED
OF THEFT FLEE
PROTECTION HOME
Muzaffarnagar: Three
children escaped
from a govt pro-
tection home in the
district, police said
on Thursday. Two
among them have
been involved in a
theft case, while the
third kid was booked
for rape. The assis-
tant superintendent of
the protection home
along with 3 guards
have also been
booked in connection
with the case.
MP police in Lucknow to arrest Sahara
Group chief Subrata Roy in fraud cases
Madhya Pradesh Police at
Sahara India chief Subrata
Roy’s Gomti Nagar residence
in Lucknow on Thursday.
A boy sifts through the wreckage of his home demolished in
Jahangirpuri area of Delhi on Wednesday.
Jahangirpuri: 5-member team
of SP to visit demolition site
Bulldozers
being run
against the
poor: Mayawati
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In addition
to placing precaution-
ary measures to control
spread of Covid-19 in-
fection, the UP govt has
also been maintaining a
strict watch on the pre-
vailing situation.
While reviewing the
Covid-19 situation
across the state with se-
nior officials in a
high-level meeting on
Thursday
, CM Yogi said,
“According to our
Health experts, the new
strain of the Covid-19,
may be more transmis-
sible, however, is not a
matter of concern for
UP as the form of infec-
tion is unlikely to
change and will not
cause any kind of sever-
ity as compared to other
variants.”
Furthermore, Yogi
also directed the offi-
cials to intensify aware-
ness activities and said,
“We have to be vigilant
about the health and
safety of children and
they should be made
aware of the Covid pro-
tocols in schools.” Inch-
ing closer towards an-
other vaccine mile-
stone, the state of UP
has so far administered
over 30,95,36,315 total
doses of the vaccine.
‘Infection may be transmissible, but unlikely to cause any severity’
FOURTH WAVE
lll
At a high-level
review meeting,
CM Yogi
assured that
according to
several studies,
the vaccinated
population has
nothing to worry
about new strain
Medical staff collect a sample for Covid test at Dr Ram Manohar
Lohia Hospital in Lucknow. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
‘NO NEED TO PANIC ON
COVID, MAINTAIN CAUTION’
Even though COVID-19 cases are on the rise, there
is no need to panic and the risk for those who have
taken the vaccines is very low, an UP govt spokes-
person said here on Thursday. According to health
experts, it is possible that in the coming days, there
may be an increase in new cases of the disease, but
the current variant of the virus is a “normal” one, the
official said. There is no need to panic but caution
has to be maintained, he added. On guidelines issued
by CM at a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation
in the state, the spokesman said there is a need to be
vigilant about the health safety of children and that they
should be made aware of Covid protocols in schools.
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 159 l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi Industrial Area Kanpur Road Lucknow. Published at 98, Friend’’s Colony,
Raheem Nagar, Dudouli Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP). Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Vishal Srivastav responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
or those addict-
ed to online
streaming plat-
form Netflix the
news of its fall-
ing fortune must be disap-
pointing. Contrary to its
forecast of adding 2.5 mil-
lion subscribers in the first
quarter, Netflix has lost
200,000 of them and its
share prices also tanked on
the Wall Street for two days
in a row. Netflix has not pre-
dictedarosyfutureandsees
a further fall of 2 million
subscribers. The company
isfacingthisjoltforthefirst
time in over 10 years.
Netflix blamed tougher
competition, the Ukraine
war and inflation for the
loss.Itsdecisiontoincrease
subscription rates for add-
on viewers to stop pass-
word sharing is also be-
lieved to have pushed away
subscribers. It lost 700,000
subscribers after suspend-
ing operations in Russia.
The facility of password
sharing which Netflix al-
lowed for a household was
misused to include about a
100 million n0n-paying
viewers using others’ con-
nections. As Netflix
planned to monetize these
viewers to increase its rev-
enue and subscriber base,
the move did not get a fa-
vourable response.
Netflix viewership got a
boost during the Covid-19
lockdown but the real pic-
ture was revealed only af-
ter the opening of markets
and cinemas. Netflix is not
alone. Disney is also fac-
ing problems and intends
to introduce a lower priced
version to be supported by
advertising. Netflix may
have to take the same
route to shore up its for-
tunes. That would mean
TV commercials disrupt-
ing the fun of watching a
movie or serial seamlessly
may not be liked by view-
ers. With 222 million sub-
scribers still on its list, it
remains the biggest
streaming platform.
NETFLIX MAY HAVE
TO TAKE THE AD ROUTE
Contrary to its forecast of adding 2.5 million subscribers in
the first quarter, Netflix has lost 200,000 of them and
its share prices also tanked on the Wall Street for
two days in a row. Netflix has not predicted a rosy future
and sees a further fall of 2 million subscribers. The
company is facing this jolt for the first time in over 10 years
F
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
If you knew what I know about the power
of giving you would not let a single meal
pass without sharing it in some way.
—Buddha
Anurag Thakur @ianuragthakur
Have you visited the National
Museum of Indian Cinema in
Mumbai? Do visit for a journey
through Indian cinematic history and
experience our cinematic excellence
through the ages. You can also find
unique equipments used since the
advent of moving pictures.
Kiren Rijiju @KirenRijiju
On Civil Services Day, I convey my
greetings to all Civil Servants. The
civil service is the backbone of the
administration of a country. We must
appreciate all the public officers
who are strengthening working
tirelessly to run the administrative
machinery of the country.
TOP TWEETS
he above statement of the
thenPMSirimavoBandara-
naike in her address on
May Day crowd, was an ac-
curate description of the
then pathetic economic
condition of country
, as
wellasitsamessageforthe
policymakers of the nation
needstotakeconcretesteps
to build a self-reliant Sri
Lanka. Economy of the
country has always been in
crisis due to protracted ter-
rorism, civil wars, natural
disasters and short-sighted
policies.Thesituationaris-
ing out of the Corona pan-
demichascreatedaserious
crisis for the economy of
Sri Lanka at present.
Despite the declaration
of economicemergencyon
30 August 2021, the dread-
ful phase of the crisis con-
tinues.Thecountrysuffers
from severe food, power,
and fuel crises and a lack
of pharmaceuticals. In
fact, the short-sighted poli-
ciesof theRajapaksa΄sgov-
ernment have brought the
country to the brink of
bankruptcy
. The Covid-19
lock-down and subsequent
protocols almost brought
the country’s tourism in-
dustry to an end, trigger-
ing a period of pressure in
theeconomyduetoasharp
drop in foreign exchange
earnings.Significantly
,Sri
Lanka received a record $
4 billion in revenue from
thetourismindustryinthe
year 2018, which has come
down to just $ 682 million
in the year 2020. Due to
whichtherewasahugefall
in the Forex reserve of the
country
.Noteworthy
,when
Gotabaya Rajapaksa come
in power in November
2019,thecountryhadacur-
rency reserve of $ 7.5 bil-
lion, which was reduced to
just $ 1.5 billion in Novem-
ber 2021.
In such a situation, in
April 2020, President com-
pletely banned the import
of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides by taking a sui-
cidal decision of 100% or-
ganic farming in the coun-
try
.Theagriculturalsector
which had been dependent
onchemicalfertilizersand
pesticides for a long time
wasalmostruinedwithout
fertilizers. The annual av-
erage production of tea in
Sri Lanka is about 1 mil-
lion tonnes, with exports
earning the government
$1.25 billion annually,
which is 10 percent of the
gross export earnings.
Thiswasreducedtohalf in
the year 2021 and in the
samewaytherewasahuge
decline in paddy and rub-
berproduction.Asaresult,
the majority of the coun-
try’spopulationdependent
on agriculture became a
victim of starvation.
On January 4, FM Basil
Rajapaksa announced a $1
billion (229 billion Sri Lan-
kan rupees) relief package
that was expected to pro-
vide direct relief to 2 mil-
lion people. Efforts have
been made to reduce the
growing discontent of the
people by providing subsi-
dies to small tenants in-
cludingimportof essential
food items and medicines,
payment of wages and al-
lowances of employees.
Butitcouldnothappenand
the public is now protest-
ing furiously
. Foreign debt
of $500millionistobepaid
in January and $ 1 billion
byJuly
.TheRajapaksegov-
ernment closed its many
embassiesfromJanuaryto
save Forex, but the uncon-
trollable situation does not
seem to be improving yet,
because from January
many power generation
units of the country have
no fuel oil. Due to which a
new crisis of power supply
has arisen. A large part of
the food supply in Sri Lan-
kadependsonimports,but
depleted Forex reserves
and a 7.5 percent deprecia-
tion of the Sri Lankan ru-
pee against the dollar last
year, import conditions
worsened causes an unex-
pected rise in food prices.
In early 2020 Govern-
ment had imposed a board
import banned 360 other
non-essential items like
sugar, turmeric, tooth-
brush holders. In March,
inflationhit18.7percent.It
was the highest inflation
rate since October 2008.
Food inflation soared 30.2
percent. Rice is selling at
Rs500andacupof teaatRs
100. The hospitals are the
worst hit as the country
faces a 13-hour power cut.
The shortage of ink and
paper has necessitated the
postponementof examsfor
the students. The street
lightshavetobeturnedoff;
the darkness has filled the
people with great despair.
On the whole, the Sri Lan-
kans face a night-mare.
Desperate people staged
violent demonstrations at
the Presidential residence,
due to which President Go-
tabaya has declared a na-
tionwidepublicemergency
late on April 1. But now the
public anger at the boiling
point, Buddhist monks,
medicalhealthcommunity
,
student unions, trade un-
ions, cricketers and other
big national figures con-
tinuously demonstrating.
Due to the increasing pres-
sure of the public, the
Prime Minister dissolved
hiscabinetandmadeanew
cabinet of 17 ministers
along with the opposition
members. However, this ef-
fort of PM Mahinda can
save the government, not
the economic challenge.
The overall economic
situation in the country is
presenting a sight similar
to the economic crisis of
the seventies. Even at that
time the situation was so
dire that analysts even
called the economy of Sri
Lanka as ‘Ship to mouth
economy’. At that crisis
time PM Bandaranaike
hadsaid-“almostsqueezed
us-we are literally fighting
to survive.”
It is a matter of great
surprise that the govern-
ments of a country with a
populationof only2.5crore
which have been facing
food crisis for decades nei-
ther developed any public
distribution system (PDS)
nor any concrete plans for
agriculture - irrigation or
power generation were
madeandtheLankanwere
left on their fate.
It is to be hoped that the
Rajapaksa brothers will be
shed their traditional Chi-
nese fascination soon and
they will be able to get
theirpeopleoutof thisdire
economic crisis like other
crises with the help of in-
stitutions like IMF and
good allies like India.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
SRI LANKA UNDER A STATE OF EMERGENCY;
FACING AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS
T
DR SURESH YADAV
The writer is Freelancer and
Commentator on International Affairs
The overall economic
situation in the country is
presenting a sight similar to
the economic crisis of the
seventies. Even at that time
the situation was so dire
that analysts even called the
economy of Sri Lanka as
‘Ship to mouth economy’. At
that crisis time PM
Bandaranaike had said -
“almost squeezed us-we are
literally fighting to
survive.” It is a matter of
great surprise that the
governments of a country
with a population of only
2.5 crore which have been
facing food crisis for
decades neither developed
any public distribution
system (PDS) nor any
concrete plans for
agriculture - irrigation or
power generation were
made and the Lankan were
left on their fate
SORRY STATE OF SRILANKA

z New Delhi extended a $1
billion line of credit to
Sri Lanka, a $400 million
currency swap, and a $500
million credit line for fuel
purchases earlier year

z The fertiliser dispute with
China has exposed the re-
ality of the Chinese - debt
trap and increasing the
country’s troubles

z Sri Lanka has to pay $6.8
million instead of contami-
nated organic fertiliser, the
said incident has worked as
a scab in the leprosy

z In these difficult situations,
Sri Lanka has to repay
domestic and foreign debt
of about $ 7.3 billion this
year, of which 68% of the
debt i.e. about $-5 billion
has to pay China

z China had given a loan of
$1.2 billion to Sri Lanka
for the construction of
Hambantota Port under the
Belt and Road project, the
said project badly entangled
Sri Lanka in the debt trap
of China

z Eventually, in 2017 itself
Sri Lanka had given this
port to China on a lease of
99 years, but the situation
did not improve

z Country with a population
of only 2.5 crore which
have been facing food
crisis for decades
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
We are facing a crisis
such as the country
has never yet faced
in its history; the
only salvation lies in
making the country
self-Sufficient.
—Sirimavo Bandaranaike
(May, 1974)
On January 4, FM
Basil Rajapaksa an-
nounced a $1 billion
(229 billion Sri Lankan
rupees) relief package
that was expected to
provide direct relief to
2 million people

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INDIA
05
New Delhi (ANI): A
group of Congress lead-
ers, including general
secretary Ajay Maken,
on Thursday, reached
Delhi's Jahangirpuri to
meet the families affect-
ed by yesterday's demo-
lition drive in the area.
The delegation will
submit a report to the
party's interim presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi, said
a member of the
16-member group.
We have come to Ja-
hangirpuri to meet the
victims.Policehavebeen
cooperative. We have
come here to tell the peo-
ple that this should not
be seen from the prism
of religion, Maken told
media persons.
Congress leader Im-
ran Pratapgarhi, a del-
egation member, said,
We will meet the af-
fected families. Later,
we will submit a report
to Sonia Gandhi.
Former Congress
MLA Hari Shankar
Gupta, who arrived at
the site before the dele-
gation, said that permis-
sion for meeting the peo-
ple was sought from the
police. We do not want
todisturbthepeacehere
but only meet the affect-
ed families, he added.
Condemning the
demolition drive car-
ried out by BJP-ruled
North Municipal Cor-
poration of Delhi, Gup-
ta said, They did not
obey the SC's orders.
They shouldn't have
dared to carry on with
the demolition drive in
contempt of the apex
court. In the coming
days, this can set a dan-
gerous precedent.
The16-membergroup
of Congress includes
Delhi Congress chief
Anil Chaudhry and
AICC in-charge of Del-
hi Shakti Sinh Gohil
among others.
Ajay Maken on
Wednesday apologized
for not being able to
reach the area while the
demolition drive was
going on.
Jahangirpuri demo-
lition without notice/
procedure is entirely il-
legal...Tomorrowmorn-
ing, along with other
senior leaders, I will
visit the site. Sorry for
not being there today,
said Maken.
The visit of the Con-
gress delegation comes
after CPI(M) Politburo
member Brinda Karat
visited the demolition
site on Wednesday and
called the BJP-ruled
civic body's demolition
drive unconstitutional.
All India Majlis-e-It-
tehadul Muslimeen
chief Asaduddin Owai-
si also visited Jahangir-
puri on Wednesday and
termed it a targetted
drive against a particu-
lar community.
Oppn’s empathy reaches Jahangirpuri
VARIOUS PARTY DELEGATIONS INCLUDING CONGRESS GROUP MEET FAMILIES AFFECTED BY DEMOLITION DRIVE
A Congress delegation led by Ajay Maken visits the violence-affected Jahangirpuri area in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
TMC to send fact-finding team
to Delhi after violence: Report
Kolkata (ANI): With
the Jahangirpuri vio-
lence stirring the po-
litical pot, the Trina-
mool Congress has de-
cided to send a fact-
finding team to the na-
tional capital on Fri-
day
,partysourcessaid.
Trinamool MP Ka-
koli Ghosh Dastidar is
among the party
members in the fact-
finding team, sources
said. The West Bengal
Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee-led
Trinamool has joined
the bandwagon of the
Opposition in step-
ping up the heat on
the BJP following the
Jahangirpuri vio-
lence and the subse-
quent demolition
drive carried out by
NDMC in the locality
on Thursday
.
The Trinamool’s
move has come in the
backdrop of CPM Po-
litburo member Brin-
da Karat visiting the
area to demand the
halt of the demolition
driveonWednesday
.At
the same time, the
Congress has also de-
cidedtojumptheband-
wagonandsendateam
of leaders, including
formerUnionminister
AjayMaken,tothesite
on Thursday
.
Violence broke out
between two commu-
nities in Jahanagir-
puri on April 16 dur-
ing a Hanuman Jay-
anti procession. The
incident left nine peo-
ple injured, including
eight police personnel
and a civilian.
WE ARE ON ROAD TO HELL: CHIDAMBARAM ON JAHANGIRPURI
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader P Chidam-
baram on Thursday attacked the BJP over bulldozers
razing several structures in violence-hit Jahangirpuri
during an anti-encroachment drive, saying “we see
the rule of law break down everyday” and soon there
will be “no law and no rules”. Several concrete and
temporary structures close to a mosque were brought
down on Wednesday morning as part of an anti-
encroachment drive by the BJP-ruled North Delhi Mu-
nicipal Corporation (NDMC), days after the northwest
Delhi neighbourhood was rocked by violence.
TEJASHWI SLAMS CENTRE OVER ‘BULLDOZER CULTURE’
Patna (Agencies): RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday
slammed the “bulldozer culture” of Narendra Modi govern-
ment accusing it of demolishing the structures of a particular
community in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri and other BJP-ruled
states. “China built two villages in the Indian territory but the
Centre fear speaking two words about it, forget about demol-
ishing them. Are they concerned about national interest, unity
and integrity and the constitution or are just running bulldoz-
ers on a particular community?” Tejashwi said. “If those in
(Jahangirpuri) are illegal constructions, what was the govern-
ment and administration doing till now,” Tejashwi asked.
Seven electoral trusts received `258 cr in
donation, BJP got 82% of money: Report
New Delhi: Seven elec-
toral trusts received a
total amount of `258.49
crore from corporates
and individuals, and
the BJP bagged more
than 82% of it, poll
rights body ADR said.
Electoral trust is a
non-profit organisation
formed in India for or-
derly receiving of con-
tributions from corpo-
rate entities and indi-
viduals to political par-
ties. It aims at improv-
ing transparency in the
usage of funds for elec-
tion-related expenses.
The Association for
Democratic Reforms
(ADR), in a new report,
said 16 out of the 23
electoral trusts submit-
ted details of their con-
tribution for the finan-
cial year 2020-21 to the
EC, of which only seven
declared to have re-
ceived donations.
“Seven electoral
trusts which have de-
clared receiving contri-
butions during FY 2020-
21, have received a total
amount of `258.4915
crore from corporates
and distributed
`258.4301 cr to political
parties,” it said.
The BJP received
`212.05 crore or 82.05
per cent of these dona-
tions, while the JDU se-
cured `27 crore or 10.45
per cent of the amount.
Ten other political
parties — Congress,
NCP, AIADMK, DMK,
RJD, AAP, LJP, CPM,
CPI and the Loktantrik
Janta Dal together re-
ceived `19.38 crore.
According to the
rules formulated by the
central government,
electoral trusts are re-
quired to distribute at
least 95 per cent of the
total contributions re-
ceived during the finan-
cial year, along with the
surplus brought for-
ward from the previous
financial year, to eligi-
ble political parties be-
fore March 31.
The ADR report anal-
yses the details of do-
nors of seven electoral
trusts formed after Jan-
uary, 2013, and the con-
tributions made
through them to politi-
cal parties during a
given year.
BJD’s Subash
resigns from
Rajya Sabha
New Delhi: After being
elected as mayor of Cut-
tack Municipal Corpo-
ration (CMC), senior
BJD leader Subash
Chandra Singh re-
signed from the mem-
bership of Rajya Sabha
on Thursday
.
Speaking to media
here, Singh said he was
elected as CMC mayor
on March 26 and took
oath on April 7, 2020.
Now, he has decided to
serve as Cuttack mayor.
So, Singh has tendered
his resignation. He sent
his resignation letter to
chairman of the Rajya
Sabha, Venkaiah Naidu
on Thursday
.
CBI files charges
against ex-NSE
chief Chitra
New Delhi (PTI): The
CBI has filed its charge
sheet against former
NSE MD and CEO Chi-
tra Ramkrishna and ex-
Group Operating Offic-
er Anand Subramanian
in connection with its
probe into a co-location
scam case, officials said
Thursday
.
Ramkrishna and
Subramanian are both
in judicial custody fol-
lowing their arrest by
the CBI on March 6 and
February 25 respective-
ly, they said.
In its charge sheet
filed in their Special
Court here, the CBI has
alleged that Ramkrish-
na allegedly abused her
official position in key
decisions among other
charges.
Sasikala grilled for
over 6 hours by cops
Chennai (Agencies):
A team led by R Sudha-
kar , IG, west zone,
questioned VK Sasikala
at her house in T Nagar,
in connection with
heist-cum-murder inci-
dent happened at her
Kodanad estate, which
was a favourite retreat
of late CM Jayalalithaa,
in April 2017. Sasikala,
who owned the estate,
was in jail when the in-
cident happened.
The police team of
IG, Nilgiris SP Ashish
Rawat and ADSP
reached the house of
Sasikala in Habibullah
Road at around 11 am
and started the enquiry
with Sasikala, once a
powerful shadow of AI-
ADMK leader Jay-
alalithaa. The team left
the premise.
The police team is
trying to find out who
was in charge if Kodan-
ad bungalow in the ab-
sence of Jaya and Sasi-
kala.
VK Sasikala
PM cannot imprison
truth, Mevani’s arrest
undemocratic: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): The
Congress on Thursday
termed as “undemo-
cratic” and “unconsti-
tutional” the arrest of
Gujarat legislator
Jignesh Mevani over
his tweets, with former
party chief Rahul Gan-
dhi saying PM Naren-
dra Modi cannot im-
prison the truth by try-
ing to “crush” dissent.
The Congress at-
tacked the BJP govern-
ment over Mevani’s ar-
rest by the Assam Po-
lice and alleged that
Prime Minister Modi
was “scared” and run-
ning “helter-skelter” by
such actions.
Mevani, an independ-
ent MLA from Gujarat
who has pledged his
support to the Con-
gress, was arrested
from Palanpur town in
Gujarat on Wednesday
night over a tweet and
taken to Assam by air in
the early hours.
Flaying the arrest of
Mevani, Gandhi said it
is an insult to the people
who elected him as a
public representative.
Rahul Gandhi
‘Rubber Doll’:
Sidhu in jibe
against Mann
Chandigarh: Congress
leader Navjot Singh
Sidhu on Thursday
d u b b e d
P u n j a b
C h i e f
Minister
Bhagwant
Mann as a
“ r u b b e r
doll”, alluding to the
Opposition charge that
the state government is
being run by the AAP
leadership from Delhi.
Sidhu, along with for-
mer MLAs Navtej Singh
Cheema and Ashwani
Sekhri, met Punjab
Governor Banwarilal
Purohit in Chandigarh
and raised several is-
sues, including the law
and order situation in
the state.
Big dare to
Akhilesh from
uncle Shivpal
Lucknow (PTI): Sulk-
ing socialist leader
Shivpal Singh Yadav on
Thursday
took on Sa-
majwadi
P a r t y
c h i e f
Akhilesh
Y a d a v
over a remark alluding
to his apparent close-
ness to the ruling BJP,
and dared him to expel
him from the SP legisla-
ture party
.
Shivpal Yadav was,
however, not invited for
a meeting of Samajwa-
di Party MLAs soon af-
ter the results came in.
Since then he has
thrown hints that he
might cross over to the
Bharatiya Janata Party
.
ED submits over 5,000-page
chargesheet against Nawab
Mumbai (Agencies):
The Enforcement Direc-
torate (ED) on Thurs-
day submitted a volumi-
nous charge sheet of
over 5,000 pages against
Maharashtra Minister
Nawab Malik, in an al-
leged money-launder-
ing case arising out of a
tainted 20-year-old land
deal having mafia links.
The charge sheet has
been submitted to the
Special PMLA Court
registry and after scru-
tiny of the documents.
Malik, 69, was arrest-
ed on February 23 by
ED sleuths from his
Mumbai home and is
currently in judicial
custody for nearly 60
days now. The ED
nabbed him following a
FIR filed by the Nation-
al Investigation Agency
against the fugitive
don, Dawood Ibrahim
Kaskar and others un-
der the Unlawful Activi-
ties (Prevention) Act.
The alleged money-
laundering case in-
volved the Goawala
Compound in Kurla,
which was allegedly
usurped by Malik with
help from the mafia, ac-
cording to the ED.
Nawab Malik. —FILE PHOTO
ED TO CHARGESHEET
NAWAB’S SONS
FARAZ, AAMIR
Mumbai: The ED
has decided to file a
chargesheet against
Faraz Malik and Aamir
Malik, sons of Maha-
rashtra Minister and NCP
leader, Nawab Malik, af-
ter they failed to appear
before the agency for
questioning in connec-
tion with Dawood Ibra-
him money laundering
case. According to ED,
Faraz and Aamir were
sent summon multiple
times asking them to ap-
pear for questioning. But
both skipped the sum-
mon. Earlier, the ED had
served the first notice to
Faraz on March 1, when
he did not appear before
the agency, following
which, another summon
was sent on March 16.

INDIA
06
MODI URGES CIVIL SERVANTS TO WORK FOR
‘NATION FIRST, INDIA FIRST’
New Delhi (ANI): On
the occasion of Civil
Services Day, Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Thursday
urged civil servants to
work on three goals to
align with ‘Nation
First, India First’ policy
.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi conferred
Awards for Excellence
in Public Administra-
tion 2021 on Civil Ser-
vices Day
.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, the Prime Minis-
ter said, “Today, on
Civil Services Day, I
would like to stress
three goals: Firstly,
bring Ease of Living to
each and every citizen
of the country. Second-
ly, we have to draft new
governance models
with the goal of making
India the best country
in the world.”
“Thirdly, maintain
the harmony and integ-
rity of the nation with
the underlying mantra
of ‘Nation First’. All
our efforts should be
aligned to one thing:
Nation First, India
First,” he said.
PM added that every
decision taken by the of-
ficials should be with
the goal of ensuring the
unity of the nation. He
said, “We have to uplift
our districts with multi-
pillar activities. Your
India@100 vision
should have your dis-
trict at the top,” he said.
“Our efforts should
be directed towards
making the dreams of
common man a reality
and create a positive at-
mosphere around this
mission,” he said.
“When you try to pro-
actively learn from peo-
ple, you will always find
something new to adapt
in your life,” he said.
Earlier in the day,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi also wished
all Civil Servants.
“Best wishes to all
Civil Servants on the
occasion of Civil Ser-
vices Day. In different
terrains and across dif-
ferent sectors, they are
working tirelessly to
help our citizens and
enhance national pro-
gress. May they keep
serving the nation with
the same zeal,” PM, said
in a tweet on Thursday
.
Every year, April 21 is
observed as Civil Ser-
vices Day
. The civil ser-
vice in India includes
Indian Administrative
Service (IAS), Indian
Police Service (IPS), In-
dian Foreign Service
(IFS) and the central
Group A and Group B
services in the country
.
The first National Civil
Service Day was ob-
served on April 21, 1947.
15TH CIVIL SERVICES DAY
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses during the valedictory
session and awards ceremony on the occasion of 15th Civil
Services Day in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Chalk out plans for Govt
schemes: PM to officials
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Thursday called upon the district officials to draw
an action plan to implement the government
schemes on the ground. On the occasion of
the Civil Services Day, PM Modi urged civil
servants of the country to select any one of
the government schemes and draft a plan to
implement it in districts where they’re posted.
PM Modi also conferred Awards for Excellence
in Public Administration 2021 on Civil Services
Day. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister
said, “Can the award winners share their stories
at training institutes related to civil services?
This will not only inspire others but will also give
practical exposure to them.”
Adani hosts Boris, first
UK PM to visit Gujarat
Ahmedabad: UK
Prime Minister Boris
Johnson, who is on a
two-day visit to India,
met industrialist Gau-
tam Adani on Thursday
.
“Honoured to host @
BorisJohnson, the first
UK PM to visit Gujarat,
at Adani HQ. Delighted
to support climate
sustainability agenda
with a focus on renewa-
bles, green H2 new
energy. Will also work
with UK companies to
co-create defence aer-
ospace technologies,”
Mr Adani tweeted.
According to sources
quoted by news agency
PTI, the two discussed,
among other things,
key sectors such as en-
ergy transition, climate
action, aerospace and
defence collaboration.
With India set to in-
vest $300 billion by 2030
to modernize its armed
forces, sources said col-
laboration in the de-
fence sector was one of
the key focus areas of
the meeting between
Adani and Mr Johnson,
PTI reported.
HAVE ALREADY RAISED UKRAINE ISSUE
WITH MODI AT DIPLOMATIC LEVEL: BORIS
Halol: Asserting that India strongly condemned atroci-
ties in Ukraine and that everybody understands India
and Russia’s “very different relationships historically”,
British PM Boris Johnson said the UK has already
raised the Ukraine war issue with PM Narendra Modi at
a diplomatic level. Johnson’s visit to India comes at a
time when India has taken a neutral stand on the Rus-
sian invasion of Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson places a garland around the
neck of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at his Sabarmati Ashram in
Ahmedabad during a cultural tour on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Rakesh Ranjan
New Delhi: Two days
after Prime Minister’s
interaction with Union
Secretaries (02.04.2022),
the Cabinet Secretariat
has shot letters to the
heads of various de-
partments and minis-
tries asking them to ini-
tiate immediate steps to
fill the existing vacan-
cies against sanctioned
posts.
While interacting
with Union Secretaries,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi had expressed
serious concerns over
continuing vacancies in
various departments.
Reportedly
, PM had
emphasizedthatemploy-
ment generation should
be given a high priority
and should be the focus
of Government inter-
ventions across public
and private sectors. Eve-
ry industry/ Depart-
ment should immediate-
ly take steps to fill the
existing vacancies
againstsanctionedposts.
As a matter of fact,
there is a shortage of of-
ficers at various grades
under the Central Sec-
retariat Service (CSS)
and Central Secretariat
Stenographers’ Service
(CSSS) in various de-
partments, thus ad-
versely impacting the
functioning of several
Departments and ham-
pering timelines and ef-
fectiveness in providing
the essential services to
the public and ensuring
good governance - one
of the poll promises of
NDA Govt since 2014.
Taking a look at the
vacancies against the
aforementioned servic-
es (CSS CSSS). Sourc-
es say that roughly all
put together hundreds
and hundreds of posts
are vacant in minis-
tries and departments
at various levels name-
ly; Senior Private Secre-
tary/Principal Staff Of-
ficer, Under Secretary,
Principal Private Secre-
tary, Section Officers,
Private Secretary, As-
sistant Section Officers,
Personnel Assistant,
Stenographer ‘D’, Sen-
ior Secretariat Assis-
tant and Junior Secre-
tariat Assistant.
In last few days many
Union Secretaries have
started responding to
Cabinet Secretariat’s
letter along with the de-
tails of sanctioned
strength and vacancies
in respective depart-
ments ministries at
various levels as afore-
mentioned.
For example the De-
partment of Food and
Public Distribution has
written a letter to Secre-
tary, DoPT requesting
filling up of vacant
posts; details of the va-
cancies are like this:-
Senior Private Secre-
tary/Principal Staff Of-
ficer 3 sanctioned posts
with one vacancy; Un-
der Secretary 31 sanc-
tioned posts with 3 va-
cancies; Principal Pri-
vate Secretary 13 sanc-
tioned posts with one
vacancy; Section Offic-
ers 59 sanctioned posts
with 26 vacancies; Pri-
vate Secretary 29 sanc-
cancies; Assistant Sec-
tion Officers 122 sanc-
cancies; Personnel As-
sistant with 21 sanc-
tioned post with 21 va-
cancies; Stenographer
‘D’ 26 sanctioned post
with 6 vacancies; Sen-
ior Secretariat Assis-
tant 8 sanctioned post
with 2 vacancies; and
Junior Secretariat As-
sistant 12 sanctioned
posts with 6 vacancies.
It may be underlined
that Central Secretariat
which comprises of
mainly three services
i.e. Central Secretariat
Service (CSS), Central
Secretariat Stenogra-
pher Service (CSSS)
and Central Secretariat
Clerical Service (CSCS)
is having hundreds of
vacancies.
The PM’s direction
has provided the much-
needed solace to CSS
CSSS cadre officers in
view of their long-pend-
ing attempts at seeking
decision-makers’ atten-
tion to the career pros-
pects and long-pending
issue of promotion of
CSS Cadre. They had
met Dr. Jitendra Singh,
MoS for Personnel
PMO, seeking his inter-
vention and getting
them justice. Though
their promotional is-
sues, subject to judicial
outcomes, are yet to be
addressed it seems that
their efforts are likely
to bear fruits. A section
of the CSS cadre looks
at the recent develop-
ment (filling up vacan-
cies with urgency) and
presumes that their col-
lective efforts have not
gone unheard and their
promotion issues may
soon gather momentum
in the backdrop of PM’s
latest direction to Un-
ion Secretaries.
PM’s direction filling vacancies provides solace to CSS CSS Cadre officers
DELHI HIGH COURT SEEKS CENTRE’S STAND
ON CHALLENGE TO NEW CRIMINAL LAW
SC TAKES UP PLEA
OVER MGNREGA
SC TO HEAR SAD
LEADER’S PLEA
Court on Thursday
has agreed to hear a
plea alleging a “grave
crisis” being faced by the
workers under the rural
employment guarantee
scheme, MNREGA, with
their pending wages piling
up with negative balances
in many states.
Court on Thursday posted
for hearing on April 26 a
plea filed by SAD leader
Bikram Singh Majithia
seeking quashing of cases
registered against him by
the Punjab Police under
the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances
Act, 1985.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought
the Centre’s response on a public interest litigation
claiming that the provisions of the Criminal Procedure
(Identification) Act. A bench headed by Acting Chief
Justice Vipin Sanghi stated that the plea “requires con-
sideration” and issued notice on the petition by lawyer
Harshit Goel who asserted that the law aids profiling.
India condemns Ilhan
Omar’s visit to PoK
Rajnath exhorts companies to join
India’s ‘Make for World’ drive
New Delhi (PTI): India
onThursdaycondemned
thevisitof USCongress-
woman Ilhan Omar to
Pakistan-occupied-
Kashmir(PoK),sayingit
reflected her “narrow-
minded” politics.
At a media briefing,
External Affairs Minis-
try Spokesperson Arin-
dam Bagchi criticised
Omar for visiting PoK.
The US Congress-
woman is currently on
a four-day visit to Paki-
stan.
“We have noted that
she has visited a part of
the Indian Union Terri-
tory of Jammu and
Kashmir that is cur-
rently illegally occu-
pied by Pakistan. Let
me just say that if such
a politician wishes to
practice her narrow-
minded politics... that
may be her business,”
Bagchi said.
New Delhi (ANI): Un-
derlining the impor-
tance of strengthening
the commercial and
economic pillars be-
tween India-US, De-
fence Minister Rajnath
Singh on Thursday
noted that both coun-
tries are expanding en-
gagements in critical
and emerging domains
of defence and exhorted
companies to take ad-
vantage of policy initia-
tives in India to steadily
march from ‘Make in
India’ towards ‘Make
for the World’.
Rajnath made these
remarks at the Ameri-
can Chamber of Com-
merce in India’s (AM-
CHAM) Annual Gener-
al Meeting.
This event took place
in the backdrop of the
recently concluded 2+2
dialogue, during which
the Defence Minister
stated the positive con-
versation between PM
Narendra Modi and
President Joe Biden has
enabled both nations to
look forward.
During his US visit,
the minister said he re-
ceived a positive re-
sponse from American
leadership for co-devel-
opment, co-production
and investments in re-
search and industry
.
India-UAE deal
effective from
May: UAE Min
Dubai: The “historic”
Comprehensive Eco-
nomic Partnership
Agreement between In-
dia and the UAE will
come into effect on May
1, an Emirati minister
said on Thursday
.
The agreement will
provide significant ben-
efits to Indian and UAE
businesses.
Minister of State for
Foreign Trade Thani Al
Zeyoudi took to Twitter
to announce that India
and the UAE’S CEPA)
will come into effect on
May 1.
INDIAN CINEMA CREATED IDENTITY FOR
INDIA IN WORLD,SAYS ANURAG THAKUR
Mumbai (ANI): Union
Minister of Informa-
tion and Broadcasting
Anurag Thakur on
Wednesday visited the
National Museum of
Indian Cinema (NMIC)
at the Films Division
Complex on Pedder
Road in Mumbai and
said that Indian cinema
has succeeded in creat-
ing an identity for India
in the world.
The Museum is housed
in two buildings — the
19th-century heritage
structure the Gulshan
Mahal and custom-built
New Museum Building.
Thakur will be on Gu-
jarat tour on Friday,
and hold meeting with
PBI officials in Gandhi-
nagar. Will participate
in Global Ayush Invest-
ments session and inno-
vation summit.
Union Minister for IB Anurag Thakur visits National Museum of
Indian Cinema, in Mumbai on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
ED raids Jindal Steel’s
offices in Delhi, Gurugram
CBI registers two cases on
graft charges made by Malik
New Delhi: The federal
financial crime fighting
agency raided offices of
Jindal Steel Power
Ltd (JSPL) in New Del-
hi on Thursday over
suspected violation of
foreign exchange regu-
lations, a source famil-
iar with the matter said.
The federal ED also
conducted searches in
Gurugram, a satellite
town near the capital’s
main airport. Jindal
Steel shares plunged as
much as 6% to a three-
week low in their big-
gest fall since mid-
March. Thecompanydid
not respond to a Reuters
request for comment.
“The searches have
been going on since
morning, maybe over
old cases,” the source
said, declining to be
identified due to the
sensitive nature of the
matter.
Srinagar: The Central
Bureau of Investigation
has registered two cas-
es — on a reference
from the Jammu
Kashmir government
following corruption
charges made by its for-
mer Governor Satya
Pal Malik — to probe
alleged malpractices in
the award of two con-
tracts related to civil
works worth about Rs
2,200 crore and a group
health insurance
scheme. Malik, who is
now the Governor of
Meghalaya, had alleged
corruption in these two
projects.
IN THE COURTYARD
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. —FILE PHOTO

NEWS
07
LEMONS FOR
FREE
Lemons are now being offered
free with mobile accessories.
Sounds apocryphal? But this is
exactly what a Varanasi-based
shopkeeper is offering - free
lemons on the purchase of
mobile accessories. The
incentive is being offered since
the prices of both lemons and
petrol have escalated in recent
weeks. The shopkeeper is also
claiming to offer free petrol to
consumers buying mobile
accessories worth Rs 10,000. A
poster put up in from of the shop
says that 2 to 4 lemons will be
given with mobile accessories,
irrespective of the amount of
purchase. Meanwhile, a special
puja was also organised at the
Maa Adishakti temple in Varanasi
to control the rising prices of
lemons. The puja was held at the
temple which is also known as a
center of black magic, and 11
lemons were ‘sacrificed’ to
appease the Goddess. Harish
Mishra, who organised the puja,
said that the ‘tantra puja’ has the
power to fulfill wishes and he
was confident that the prices of
lemons would come down within
days. He denied that indulging in
black magic was wrong if it was
not designed to harm anyone.
—M Tariq Khan
STUDENT’S
DEATH: FAMILY
ACCUSE POLICE
OF SHIELDING
ACCUSED
Family members of a 10-year-
old boy, who was killed after
his head hit an electricity pole
while he was peeping out a
window of his school bus,
protested here on Thursday,
accusing police of shielding the
accused. Parents of the Class 3
student had filed a complaint
against the school management,
holding them responsible for his
death. Police have booked two
people from the school
management and the bus driver,
who has been arrested. The
victim’s relatives staged a dharna
outside the police station on
Thursday and tried to obstruct
traffic on the Delhi-Meerut road.
They accused police of
“conniving with the accused”.
“One side of the Delhi-Meerut
highway was blocked for some
time due to the protest,” SP
(Rural) Iraj Raja said, adding that
the boy’s family members were
assured that the accused will be
nabbed soon. The district
authorities have also ordered a
safety audit of the bus, which will
be conducted by a technical
officer of the Regional Transport
Department. The Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister’s Office also
sought a report about the
incident. —PTI
Police claim to arrest Swami Prasad
Maurya’s ‘secretary’ for duping youth
Lucknow (PTI): The
Uttar Pradesh Police on
Thursday arrested five
people, including a man
who they claimed to be
the personal secretary
of former minister Swa-
mi Prasad Maurya, for
allegedly duping unem-
ployed youth on the pre-
text of giving them gov-
ernment jobs. Maurya,
who had quit the Yogi
Adityanath cabinet and
joined the Samajwadi
Party just ahead of the
recent Assembly polls
in the state, denied that
the man had been work-
ing for him.
There were reports
thatagangisinvolvedin
duping unsuspected
youthinthenameof get-
ting them government
jobs. Five members, in-
cluding Armaan Khan,
personal secretary of
former minister Swami
PrasadMaurya,werear-
rested from near the Na-
tionalPGCollegeinHaz-
ratganj here, a press re-
lease issued by the Spe-
cial Task Force (STF) of
the Uttar Pradesh Police
on Thursday read. Dur-
ing investigations, it
came to light that the
gang had earned crores
of rupees from the
youth,itsaid.Whencon-
tacted, Maurya denied
the allegation that Khan
used to be his personal
secretary
. The promi-
nent OBC leader said
Khan was a common
worker in the Bahujan
Samaj Party and later
the BJP when he was a
member of those par-
ties. The STF told the
media that while inter-
rogatingAsgharAli,one
of the accused in the
case, he revealed that he
had access to the Secre-
tariat because of Ar-
maan Khan. Khan also
used to get the prospec-
tive candidates meet
Mauryaondifferentpre-
texts, it said. The STF
also said Ali confessed
with the officers that he
used to contact Khan in
order to get officials
transferred and give
them favourable post-
ings. Khan used to draw
his salary from the la-
bourdepartment,itsaid.
According to Ali, the
gang targeted youth in
Gorakhpur, Azamgarh,
Sultanpur Allahabad
among other districts.
Seven mobile phones, 57
cheques of different
banks and accounts, 22
fake appointment let-
ters and other items
were seized from them.
Several vehicle passes
to the Secretariat were
also recovered. The mat-
ter is being investigat-
ed, the release added.
The arrested five accused in police custody who were involved in
a fraud of providing jobs to unemployed youths.
Swami Prasad Maurya
ITEMS SEIZED
Seven mobile
phones, 57 cheques
of different banks and
accounts, 22 fake
appointment letters
and other items were
seized from them.
Several vehicle pass-
es to the Secretariat
were also recovered.
The matter is being
investigated, the
press release said.
‘Cattle smuggler’ held
after exchange of fire
Gorakhpur (PTI):
An alleged cattle
smuggler was arrest-
ed on Thursday fol-
lowing an exchange
of fire in Kushinagar
district, police said.
The accused and a po-
liceman sustained
bullet injuries. Police
recovered 22 bovine
cattle, a phone, truck,
32 bore pistol and an
unused cartridge
from his possession.
Kushinagar SP
Ritesh Kuman Singh
said they had re-
ceived a tip-off that a
truck with bovines
will try to cross the
state border with Bi-
har. “During a check-
ing near the Kushina-
gar police post at the
NH-28, police saw the
truck coming from
Gorakhpur direction
and when police tried
to stop it, the driver
tried to run over the
truck over police,” he
said. While trying to
escape, the accused
opened fire on police,
in which Head Con-
stable Rajesh was in-
jured. In retaliation,
policeopenedfireand
one among the ac-
cused was injured
while the others es-
caped, he said. The
accused has been
identified as Sant
Prasad, a resident of
Ahirauli, Azamgarh
district, the SP added.
K
K
TIP-OFF
Man involved in over dozen cases
of loot held after gunfight in Noida
Noida (PTI): A man in-
volved in over a dozen
cases of loot in Uttar
Pradesh’s Gautam Bud-
dh Nagar and Ghazi-
abad was arrested in
Noida on Thursday af-
ter a gunfight with the
police in which he suf-
fered injuries, officials
said. The accused has
been identified as
Gaurav,whohadaround
15 cases lodged in the
districts against him.
The police had also
announced a reward of
Rs 25,000 on his arrest,
Additional Deputy
Commissioner of Po-
lice (Central Noida)
Elamaran G said. “To-
day, the police had set
up a check near Garhi
Chaukhandi village on
the Pusta road when a
motorcycle reached
there but did not stop
for checking. The per-
son riding the motor-
cycle fled the spot,
prompting the local
police party to chase
him and a gunfight
broke out between
them,” Elamaran said.
“The accused was in-
jured in retaliatory po-
lice firing and was ap-
prehended. His motor-
cycle has been im-
pounded and a coun-
try-made pistol along
with some ammuni-
tion was seized from
his possession,” the
officer said.
The accused was tak-
en to a hospital for
treatment, he said. The
gunfight took place un-
der the Phase 3 police
station area and fur-
ther legal proceedings
are being carried out,
the police said.
The gunfight
took place under
Phase 3 police
station area
further legal
proceedings are
underway
SAFE FOR NOW
A sloth bear at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Police said they had announced
a reward of Rs 25,000 on the
accused’s arrest.
BUILDING OF SP LEADER’S KIN DEMOLISHED
Shahjahanpur (PTI):
An “illegal” structure
owned by the family of
a former BJP MLA who
had crossed over to the
Samajwadi Party be-
fore the UP Assembly
polls was on Thursday
demolished by the ad-
ministration here.
The action has come
two days after former
MLA Roshanlal Verma
said he hopes for justice
from Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath. He
had accused his politi-
cal rivals of conspiring
against him. Tilhar
SDM Himanshu Upad-
hyay had told PTI on
Tuesday that following
complaints against the
former MLA, a team of
revenue officials were
sent to take measure-
ment of the structure.
As per District Magis-
trate Umesh Pratap
Singh, the structure
was constructed on gov-
ernment land measur-
ing 450 sq feet.
3 bulldozers were
pressed into service to
razetheillegalconstruc-
tion,hesaid,addingthat
another plot “grabbed”
by the former MLA was
also freed. The building
was rented to a doctor. It
was in the name of Ver-
ma’s daughter-in-law
Ruchi Verma. Ruchi
Verma’s lawyer Anup
Kumar Trivedi said he
hadapproachedthecivil
judge for a stay order
and it had reserved its
order but the adminis-
tration initiated the ac-
tion without any notice.
A petrol pump owned by
SP’s Bhojipura MLA
Shazil Islam Ansari was
razedinBareillydistrict
earlier this month.
HOPED FOR JUSTICE FROM CM YOGI
BJP,RSSbentupondamaging
Ganga-Jamunitehzeeb:Akhilesh
Lucknow (PTI): SP
president Akhilesh
Yadav on Thursday
accused the BJP and
RSS of spreading ha-
tred in society and
damaging the Ganga-
Jamuni tehzeeb’ of
the country besides
its democracy and the
unity and integrity
.
He also charged
the BJP government
with oppressing the
poor and weak and
the leaders and work-
ers of opposition par-
ties to divert the peo-
ple’s attention from
real issues and sup-
press the voice of dis-
sent.
“The BJP and RSS
first instigate every-
one on the basis of
religion. They play
with the sentiments
of the majority, Ya-
dav said in a state-
ment. India became a
secular, socialist and
democratic country
with great difficulty.
Equal civil rights
were given to every-
one in the Constitu-
tion. But BJP is try-
ing to break this so-
cial fabric, he alleged.
The BJP is trying to
demolish the Ganga-
Jamuni ‘tehzeeb’ of
HindusandMuslims,”
he asserted, adding
that the BJP and RSS
agenda of spreading
hatred in the society is
causing damage to the
democracy and the
unity and integrity of
the country
.
Roshanlal Verma with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav

08
2NDFRONT
The pursuit of truth and beauty
is never-ending and hence we
are permitted to defy age.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
H
e started social
service as an
RSS volunteer
and then started the po-
litical innings by becom-
ing a part of the BJP
. In
the previous Yogi gov-
ernment, when he was
appointed President of
Mati Kala Board, he
hogged limelight by ar-
ranging designer diyas
from Agra, Etah, Kan-
nauj for the Deepotsav
programme in Ayodhya.
Dharamveer Prajapa-
ti, who took over as
Minister of State (In-
dependent Charge) for
Prisons and Home
Guard in the Yogi 2.0
government, in an inter-
view with Gyanendra
Kumar Shukla, Editor
(News) First India,
spoke on various issues
related to his depart-
ments. Excerpts:

z The prison system
is one of the relative-
ly complex and sensi-
tive departments,
how big a challenge
do you consider it?
A BJP worker accepts
all challenges. In the or-
ganisation, it has be-
come a habit to accept
challenges while work-
ing. It is my nature that
wherever I live, whether
it is the political field or
social field, the area that
comes under the pur-
view of the responsibil-
ity of the post, all the
employees who are re-
lated, should work like a
family
. I have full faith
that doing so will bring
fruitful results.

z There is a dire need
of reforms in the
prison department,
what is your plan in
this direction?
Improvements have
started in this depart-
ment since the last Yogi
regime. Whatever
change has happened, it
has to be taken to the
nextlevel.Ibelievewhen
the released prisoner is
back home, his mindset
should be transformed
completely
. The people
of thevillageorthearea,
to which the person be-
longs, should feel that
thispersonhascomeout
of jail as a good human
being. If we can develop
such a system, I believe
that the crime rate will
comedownsignificantly
.

z It is believed that
at the root of the
anarchy and cor-
ruption in the
jails, there is a
nexus between some
officers and jail staff
The caucus will be
broken. It is my endeav-
ourthatboththePrisons
and Home Guards de-
partments should be-
come an excellent exam-
ple during my tenure.
There is a blueprint of
many schemes in this
direction. I trust to do
more than I say
. Wheth-
er it is the subject of
prisoners or the issues
related to officers/em-
ployees, it will be en-
sured that proper re-
forms are done.

z You have giv-
en instructions
for chanting man-
tras in jails, for
which mixed reac-
tions are coming out.
I think there are two
categories of prisoners;
one is a professional
criminal while some be-
come prisoner due to
accidental reasons.
When the latter is be-
hind the bars away from
the family
, he also feels
remorseful. To change
themindsetof suchpris-
oners it was instructed.
Ours is a country of be-
lievers;webelievein‘Sa-
natan Dharma’ and I be-
lieve that recitation of
mantra,prayers,spiritu-
al stories purifies and
sanctifies the atmo-
sphere.Ithasbeenfound
thatone’smentalstateor
psychology changes for
good by chanting of
‘mantras’ and as such I
ordered playing of
‘Gayatri mantra’ and
‘MahamrityunjayaJaap’
in jails across UP so that
prisoners are guided to-
wards better and peace-
ful life.

z There are many ma-
fia dons lodged in
jails of UP
, what will
be your strategy re-
garding the common
prisoners along with
cracking down on
former’s influence?
Wewillexamineevery
shortcoming and im-
proveit.Manyprisoners
are well versed in crafts.
Assoonasopportunities
are available, they will
besearched,detailshave
been called from the offi-
cers regarding them. Af-
ter the eirjail term, they
willnotfaceanydifficul-
ty in joining the main-
streamof society
,wewill
take concrete steps in
this direction. It has
been directed that earth-
en pots be kept in all the
barrackssothatcoldwa-
ter is provided to the
prisoners. There is no
concession with profes-
sional criminals but oth-
ers should be given a
chance to reform; will
take steps towards en-
suring friendly treat-
ment with them.

z Home Guards have
been a neglected lot
for long. They have
been agitated in the
past for their de-
mands related to
work and salary.
What’s the plan for
their betterment?
The previous govern-
ment had taken impor-
tant decisions regarding
uniform salary and al-
lowances of Home
Guards. Now other ef-
forts are being made for
them. The Yogi cabinet
hasalsoapprovedthede-
mand for providing pis-
tols at the district com-
mandant and higher
level. It is our endeavour
to establish a dialogue
with the Home Guards.
and take a favourable de-
cisiononalltheirration-
al demands.
Dignity to prisoners the mantra
of MoS Dharamveer Prajapati
NEW PRISONS
AND HOME
GUARD
MINISTER
THROWS
LIGHT ON
ROADMAP
FOR JAIL
REFORMS
Q
A
Efforts to promote ‘Kalanamak’ rice
of UP earn PM’s Award for Excellence
New Delhi (PTI): Ef-
forts to promote ‘Kala-
namak rice’ by Uttar
Pradesh’s Siddharth-
nagar district adminis-
tration and ‘makhana’
by Bihar’s Darbhanga
district officials were
honoured with the
Prime Minister’s
Awards for Excellence
in Public Administra-
tion here on Thursday
.
Besides these, promo-
tion of digital payments
by Varanasi and Anant-
nag (Jammu and Kash-
mir) municipal corpo-
rations were also
awarded with the PM’s
honour. PM gave away
these awards to the offi-
cers responsible at a
function organized on
the occasion of 15th
Civil Services Day at Vi-
gyan Bhawan here.
Kalanamak rice, also
called ‘gift of Lord Bud-
dha’, has been awarded
under ‘ one district one
product’(ODOP)scheme,
a mission-mode scheme
for holistic development
of the district.
The scheme adopts
the ODOP approach to
reap the benefit of scale
in terms of procure-
ment of inputs, availing
common services and
marketing of products.
ODOP scheme aims to
provide framework for
value chain develop-
ment and alignment of
support infrastructure
towards economic de-
velopment of the dis-
tricts.Kalanamak rice
is an ODOP product of
Siddharthnagar, an as-
pirational district locat-
ed in Terai belt of UP .
Featured in speciality
rices of the world by
Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO),
UN, it is known for its
unique aroma and nu-
tritional qualities.
The award was given
as the farming area has
rapidly increased from
2,700 hectares in 2018 to
6,000 hectares in 2020 to
12,000 hectares in 2021
and the farmers’ income
has increased manifold
aswholesalesellingprice
has gone up from `40/kg
in 2018 to ` 90/kg in 2020
and `135/kg in 2021, ac-
cording to the citation.
Lucknow (PTI): Pri-
vate lender HDFC Bank
on Thursday said it
will open 150 new
branches across Uttar
Pradesh this year, cre-
ating more than 1,000
direct jobs.
Majority of these
branches will be
opened in rural areas,
said Akhilesh Kumar
Roy, branch banking
head of UP, HDFC
Bank. “We are commit-
ted to supporting the
state’s economy by
opening of new bank
branches. While the
new branches will gen-
erate direct employ-
ment for 1,000 people, a
number of indirect jobs
will also be added,” Roy
said.
He claimed that the
bank opened over 170
new branches in the
state in the last finan-
cial year, and the lender
has completed its target
in implementing all the
state and central gov-
ernments’ financial
schemes.
“We give special im-
petus to women entre-
preneurs and business
run by women. We also
focus on providing fi-
nancial literacy to them
and link them with var-
ious digital platforms to
expand their business,”
Roy said.
“We adopt rural vil-
lages for a duration of
around five years.
During this period we
invest in developing in-
frastructure like over-
head water tanks, street
lights, schools and sci-
ence parks in these vil-
lages,” Roy added.
PM Narendra Modi confers PM’s Award for Excellence in Public
Administration to Varanasi DM Kaushal Sharma in New Delhi on
Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
HDFC Bank to open 150
branches to create 1K jobs
RURAL FOCUS

z The bank, which has
7% market share in
UP, will focus on rural
employment as part of
its CSR activities.

z The bank opened over
170 new branches in the
state in the last fiscal
‘Reply within
six weeks on
Mukhtar’s bail’
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The Alla-
habad HC has sought a
response from the gov-
ernment in six weeks
on the bail application
of former MLA
Mukhtar Ansari, who
has been in jail since
October 25, 2005, under
the Gangster Act.
A bench of Justice
Rahul Chaturvedi
passed the order while
hearing a Criminal
Misc Bail plea by An-
sari. “Applicant is fac-
ing number of serious
accusations against
him including murder,
dacoity and other heni-
ous offences. Under the
circumstances, let the
AGA file counter affi-
davit within a period
of six weeks...,” the or-
der read.
J
agdeesh Chandra met Dr Jitendra
Singh, Union Minister of State (Ind.
Charge) Science Tech, PMO,
PP/DoPT, Atomic Energy and Space at
his residence on Thursday evening, to
congratulate him on the wedding of his
son. Arunoday, son of Manju and Dr
Jitendra Singh wed Parul, daughter of
Dr Meenakshi and Dr Rajive Kotwal on
April 17 at 4, Kushak Road, New Delhi.
Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh, Rajasthan
Governor Kalraj Mishra, former
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara
Raje, and many other dignitaries
attended the wedding. Jagdeesh
Chandra, who was on a day’s visit to the
national capital, blessed the newlyweds
and wished them all happiness.
MEET
GREET
Jagdeesh Chandra in conversation with Dr Jitendra Singh. Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Dr Jitendra Singh, Arunoday Singh, Parul Singh and Manju Singh.

he 2022 edition of
Glamanand Super-
model India 2022
comes with an op-
portunity to repre-
sent India at a few
of the biggest in-
ternational pageants. Gla-
manand Supermodel India
recently acquired the fran-
chise of Miss Grand Inter-
nationalandmadethelistof
Franchisees stronger. The
three major titles at stake
will be Miss International
India, Miss Grand India and
Miss Multinational India.
Glamannand Supermod-
el India 2021, held at the
Kingdom of Dreams in Au-
gust 2021 witnessed the
grand event where Zoya
Afroz (Miss International
India), Divija Gambhir
(Miss Multinational India)
and Tanya Sinha (Miss
Globe India) won the titles.
Asmita Chakraborty and
Anisha Sharma were
crowned as the First and
Second Runners-up Re-
spectively
.
Talking to the Nation-
al Director, Nikhil
Anand said, “I am look-
ing forward to meeting
the aspirants at the audi-
tions this year
where we will
get to wit-
ness the tal-
ents. I am
l o o k i n g
for candi-
d a t e s
who have the zeal to win
international titles
for India. It will
be exciting to
see the aspir-
ants back to
the physical
auditions this year.”
The Glamanand Super-
model India 2022 applica-
tions are now live on the
website www.supermode-
lindia.in The Applicants
can fill in the registration
form and submit their 3
pictures. The shortlisted
candidates will be called
for the physical auditions
in the final week of May
.
The selected finalists
will be asked to stay
back for 2 days where
their official photo-
shoot shall be done and
they’ll be sent back for
their online training
sessions. The pageant
will be held in the
month of September
once the online training
sessions are complete.
T
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/lucknow I twitter.com/
thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
LUCKNOW, FRIDAY,
APRIL 22, 2022
FIRST INDIA JOINS HANDS WITH ONE OF THE TOP 3 BEAUTY PAGEANTS OF INDIA,
GLAMANAND SUPERMODEL INDIA. FIRST INDIA COMES ON BOARD AS THE PRESENTING
PARTNER MAKING THE OPPORTUNITIES THIS YEAR MORE ATTRACTIVE AND STRONGER!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
GLAMANAND SUPERMODEL INDIA 2022
(L-R) Anisha Sharma, Divija Gambhir, Zoya Afroz, Simran Abuja, Aayushi Dholakia, Tanya Sinha and Asmita Chakraborty
Asmita Chakraborty and Trisha Shetty
Anisha Sharma and Aparna Jha Tanya Sinha and Nishi Bhardwaj
First India is pleased to partner with
GLAMANAND SUPERMODEL INDIA
2022, an all-India beauty pageant which
will open the gates of employment
in the entertainment and fashion
industry for many deserving girls!
We wish all our contestants Best
of Luck!’
—JAGDEESH CHANDRA
Zoya Afroz
MAGNIFICENT
MAGNIFICENT
SHOWS AHEAD!
SHOWS AHEAD!
09

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
ELLIE ZAID, Model
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Dietary control
will benefit.
Assistance of
colleagues will
help complete
a project much
before time. A
family youngster
is likely to make
you proud. Don’t be hasty in matters
pertaining to property. An entertaining
time with near and dear ones is foreseen.
An expected raise is on cards for some.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Your desire to
increase earning
may need to
be put on hold
temporarily till
the time is right.
Your health
consciousness
will keep you hale
and hearty. Pending things on the home
front may hinder official work. Those
looking to buy property are likely to get
one at bargain price.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Someone may
do for you more
than what was
expected on
the social front.
Your life will
turn better if
you accept the
changes with
ease. Fingers may be pointed at you for
something you are not responsible for
at work. You can find yourself fitter with
regular exercises.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Peak physical
fitness will make
even strenuous
activities seem
like child’s
play. Bad mood
of a family
member may
spoil domestic
environment. A thing you had been
apprehensive about will turn in your
favour. Romance can distract you from
other important pursuits.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
You will manage
to showcase your
professional skills
to those who
matter. Playing
your cards well in
a family situation
will get you the
support and
attention you crave for. Taking possession
of a new house may become a reality. You
may not keep a regular exercise routine.
You will grab opportunities.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Inculcating
physical
workouts in
your lifestyle will
benefit health.
A family get
together can find
you into your
element. You
will have enough to invest in a suitable
property. Interest in whatever you have
undertaken on the academic front may
wane, so find ways to remain focused.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
A new project will
proceed smoothly
as you get help
from all quarters.
You will need to
handle a tensed
family member
with sympathy. A
property dispute
can pit you against someone close. A
misunderstanding with someone close
will be cleared. Positive results of your
hard work will be seen on health front.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
A family event
will raise your
spirits. Those
dealing with
property issues
may need to be
careful not to get
into legal hassles.
A get together
will prove refreshing. Lack of energy may
make you postpone important tasks.
Those struggling to find a solution to a
workplace problem will succeed.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Whatever you
deal in today
is likely to turn
to gold! Those
experiencing
a cash crunch
will manage to
overcome it by
tight budgeting.
A family member may prove annoying.
Good returns can be expected by those
investing in property. Adhering to a good
routine will help you in negating ill health.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Settling down
in a new house
is indicated
for some.
You can feel
overworked on
the professional
front. Spouse can
expect a helping
hand. An invitation to a party may provide
you an opportunity to meet someone
special. An attempt at saving is the only
way you can repay your loans.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Those ailing
can expect their
condition to
improve. Not
much gains on
the monetary
front are
indicated. Those
feeling restless in
a particular job will be able to settle down
in time. Interruptions are foreseen that
will not allow you to do your own thing.
Young couples can expect togetherness.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Work front may
appear a bit too
demanding, but
you will be able
to handle it well.
Problems faced
on the health
front show signs
of disappearing
completely. A family get-together will
provide an excellent opportunity to meet
people you have not met in years. Social
front will be good, but may waste time.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
Hangxiety: Do You Feel
Anxious After Drinking?
he morning after a
night of drinking
with friends, and
family is never fun
if you have a hango-
ver. For most people,
hangovers involve a
headache, fatigue, thirst or
nausea. But some people also
report experiencing what
many have dubbed “hangxi-
ety” – feelings of anxiety dur-
ing a hangover. To know
more about hangxiety First
India brings you in conversa-
tion with Jinee Jain, a Psy-
chologist from Indore.
Jineesaysalcoholconsump-
tion often leads to disruption
in rational thinking and deci-
sion-making. This explains
whyitiscommonforpeopleto
make the wrong choices. Be it
spending money excessively;
exposing oneself to strangers;
orevenputtingoneself indan-
gerous situations- these are
decisions that our sober self
would not easily make. Later,
when one starts obsessing or
ruminating over regrets of
past decisions, anxiety kicks
in. ‘Hangxiety’, thus, is the ex-
perience of both physical and
psychological stress and dis-
comfortpostalcoholconsump-
tion. “And for people who are
already prone to depression
and anxiety
, alcohol can wors-
en symptoms of those condi-
tions,” says Jinee Jain.
WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO
DEVELOP HANGXIETY?
People who suffer from de-
pression and anxiety are
more likely to experience
anxious feelings after drink-
ing. Though alcohol can sup-
press anxious feelings while
a person is imbibing, the re-
bound effect can be far worse
than their baseline level of
anxiety
. Unfortunately, those
uncomfortable emotions can
drive people straight back to
the culprit: alcohol.
TIPS TO PREVENT HANGXIETY
n
There’s one obvious an-
swer to preventing hango-
ver anxiety: Drink less al-
cohol. “Consuming an ex-
cessive amount of alcohol
can place anyone at risk of
experiencing unpleasant
physical and emotional, “
Jinee explains. And here
are some tips and tricks to
manage the Hangxiety
.
n Eat anxiety-reducing foods-
Opt for fibre-filled and nu-
trient-dense foods like
Sprouted grain toast
topped with avocado or a
refreshing smoothie with a
banana, a handful of
greens and coconut water.
And in beverages green or
black teas. Eggs are also a
good choice, as they have a
compound called choline
that can aid in breaking
down alcohol.
n Stay hydrated- Drink plen-
ty of water and include
electrolytes if you can.
There are lots of great elec-
trolyte powders out there.
n Sleep it off- Sufficient sleep
helps the brain to detoxify,
promotes a healthy mood
and can allow your mind to
most efficiently get back to
its healthy functioning and
help reduce anxiety-induc-
ing inflammation.
n Eat something before you
drink- Brown’s biggest rule
is never to drink on an
empty stomach. Go for
something with healthy
fats, like olives or nuts.
n Go one for one- After each
drink, sip water or spar-
kling water, advises Jinee.
This will help you feel more
hydrated the next day and
slow you down from drink-
ing too much at the mo-
ment.
n Practising mindfulness
-Focusing on the present-
not only post hangover but
if we make it a routine
practice, we can signifi-
cantly reduce anxiety
.
n Get moving -The more you
procrastinate, the more
you get into rumination or
overthinking. So get mov-
ing! Focus on what the rest
of the day has for you. This
is a very important tech-
nique- it’s very commonly
used in therapy work.
n Remind yourself what as-
pect of the situation is in
your control. This takes us
closer to reality and in-
stead of beating ourselves
up for our actions, we learn
to focus on what can be
done now.
A few drinks might be relaxing but they get on to your
nerves on the next day by playing tricks with brain
SHIVANI SHRIVASTAVA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
T

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