24122021 first india lucknow

Election Commission summons
all DMs, SSPs to Lucknow
Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: The Election
Commission of India
hassummonedallDMs/
SSPs of Uttar Pradesh
to Lucknow for a meet-
ing which is slated to be
held on December 29.
A 13-member team of
Election Commission
of India (ECI) is visiting
Uttar Pradesh for 3 days
to take stock of prepara-
tions for the 2022 assem-
bly elections. The team
includes Chief Election
Commissioner Sushil
Chandra, Election Com-
missioners Rajiv Ku-
mar and Anoop Chan-
dra Pandey, Sr DEC
Chandra Bhushan Gup-
ta, DEC Nitesh Vyas,
DEC T Shrikant and
other members of the
Commission.
The team will hold
review meetings with
administrative officers,
representatives of po-
litical parties, and dis-
trict election officers
from 28th December to
30th December.
The team will also
meet with State Chief
Secretary Rajendra Ku-
mar Tiwari, DGP
Mukul Goel, and Chief
Electoral Officer Ajay
Shukla regarding the
preparations for the as-
sembly elections.
On 29th December, a
meeting is scheduled
with all District Magis-
trates (DMs) and Senior
Superintendents of Po-
lice (SSPs) of all the dis-
tricts. The discussion is
expected to be on moni-
toring of election cam-
paigns, ban of illegal
liquor sale, transfer and
posting of officers, etc.
The Election Com-
mission will on 30th De-
cember hold a press
conference to provide
information about the
slated assembly elec-
tions in UP. The ECI
team had prior to tour-
ing Uttar Pradesh visit-
ed Punjab, Goa and Utt-
arakhand, and will pro-
ceed to Manipur before
coming back to Uttar
Pradesh.
HON’BLE
COMMISSION
Sh.Sushil chandra,
Chief Election
Commissioner
Sh.Rajiv Kumar,
Election Commissioner
Sh.Anup chandra
Pandy, Election
Commissioner
Security personnel at the site after an explosion at the Ludhiana district court complex on Thursday.
1 DEAD
5 INJURED
IN EXPLOSION AT
LUDHIANA COURT
WASHROOM
An advocate who was present on the spot said the blast
happened in the public washroom on the second floor
PM holds Covid review
meet amid rising concerns
over spread of Omicron
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
held a review meeting
on the COVID-19 situa-
tion in the country on
Thursday evening amid
rising concerns over
the spread of the Omi-
cron variant of the cor-
onavirus.
Official sources said
Modi took stock of the
pandemic situation
across the country in a
high-level meeting at-
tended by senior offi-
cials and experts.
India has recorded
236 cases of the Omi-
cron variant of the cor-
onavirus across 16
states and Union Terri-
tories (UTs) so far, out
of which 104 people
have recovered or mi-
grated, according to the
Union health ministry
data updated on Thurs-
day
.
In a communication
to the states and UTs on
Tuesday, the Centre
said the Omicron vari-
ant of the coronavirus
is at least thrice more
transmissible than its
Delta variant and asked
them to “activate” war
rooms, keep analysing
even small trends and
surges and keep taking
strict and prompt con-
tainment action at
the district and local
levels.
There have been de-
mands that the govern-
ment allow booster
doses of vaccines to be
administered to those
already fully inoculated
against COVID-19, as
has been done by many
countries.
Aditi Nagar
Ludhiana: One person
died and five others
were injured in an ex-
plosion at the Ludhiana
District Court Complex
on Thursday
.
An advocate who was
present on the spot said
the blast happened in-
side the public wash-
room on the second
floor, at a time when the
district court was func-
tioning.
Ludhiana police
chief Gurpreet Singh
Bhullar said the area
has been sealed and fo-
rensic teams will collect
samples from the blast
site. Replying to a ques-
tion on preliminary in-
vestigations, Bhullar
said the source of the
blast is unclear as of
now. “One body has
been recovered. The
person was either car-
rying the explosive or
was very near to it. We
are awaiting the arrival
of an NSG team from
Delhi. The five injured
are out of danger,” Bh-
ullar said.
MHA SEEKS REPORT
ON BLAST INCIDENT
ANTI-NATIONAL ELEMENTS ACTIVE
AHEAD OF STATE POLLS: CHANNI
New Delhi: Union Home Secretary
Ajay Bhalla on Thursday dialed senior
Punjab government officials over the
incident. The Ministry of Home Affairs
has sought a report from the Punjab
government about the blast. According
to sources from the home ministry,
officials from the NIA and the National
Security Guard have left for the spot
for an inspection.
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief
Minister Charanjit Singh Channi
on Thursday said that the act of
explosion at the Ludhiana District
Court Complex is the doing of
“anti-national elements”, ahead
of the state’s Assembly elections.
Channi also said that the
government is on alert and those
guilty won’t be spared.
MADHYA PRADESH
ORDERS NIGHT CURFEW
FROM 11 PM TO 5 AM
Bhopal: Madhya
Pradesh chief
minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan on Thursday
announced that night
curfew will be brought
back across the state
from 11 pm to 5 am
amid fears of a surge
in Covid cases as
Omicron cases rise
across the country.
MP, however, hasn’t
registered any cases of
the Omicron yet.
MeetseeksweaponsforHindus,‘waronMuslims’
Haridwar: A three-
day ‘Dharam Sansad’
held in Haridwar by
controversial religious
leader Yati Narsing-
hanand called for a
“war against Muslims”
and urged “Hindus to
take up weapons” to
ensure a Muslim
“didn’t become the
Prime Minister in
2029”, with one of the
speakers warning he
would have “emptied
all six bullets” in a re-
volver into ex-PM Man-
mohan Singh. Former
Delhi BJP spokesper-
son Ashwini Upadhyay
was among those pre-
sent at the meeting,
held from December 17
to 19, and presented
Narsinghanand a copy
of the Constitution.
The office of Uttara-
khand DGP Ashok Ku-
mar said he had direct-
ed Haridwar DIG/SSP
Yogendra Singh Rawat
to take cognisance of
the videos regarding
the event and take ac-
tion “in case a com-
plaint is filed”.
The speeches became
public Wednesday after
videos of the closed-
door event leaked.
Known for his con-
troversial remarks tar-
geting Muslims and
accused of inciting
communal tension,
Narsinghanand, the
head priest of a temple
in Ghaziabad, is facing
several FIRs in UP. He
had also been charged
with making objec-
tionable comments re-
garding BJP women
leaders.
Speaking to a
news channel,
Prabodhanand was
nonchalant. “I am
not ashamed of
what I have said.
I am not afraid of
police. I stand by my
statement,” he said.
‘STAND BY MY
STATEMENT’
PM Modi holding Covid review meeting on Thursday.
Allahabad High Court
has appealed to PM
Narendra Modi and the
Election Commission
to consider the
postponement of
elections in UP in view
of the third wave and
rising Omicron cases.
Justice Shekhar Yadav
while passing an order
on a bail application
observed that people
must exercise caution.
He also appealed to the
Union government and
election commission to
delay elections saying
large congregations
and rallies can result in
further spread of
the virus.
ALLAHABAD HC
APPEALS TO PM,
EC TO POSTPONE
UP ELECTIONS
LUCKNOW l FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 44
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI
KANGANA APPEARS BEFORE POLICE
Actor Kangana Ranaut appeared before the Mumbai Police
and recorded her statement in connection with an FIR
registered against her for a social media post that allegedly
linked farmers’ protests to a separatist group.
SENSEX CLOSES 500 POINTS HIGHER
Sensex closed at 56,319.01, up 497.00 points or 0.89 per
cent. It recorded an intraday high of 56,900.74 and a low
of 56,047.22. The Nifty 50 closed at 16,770.85, up 156.65
points or 0.94 per cent.
K’TAKA PASSES CONVERSION BILL
The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the conten-
tious anti-conversion bill, titled ‘Protection of Right to
Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021’, amid huge uproar from the
opposition parties.
AMIT SHAH ON UP POLL
CAMPAIGN FROM TODAY
New Delhi: Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah is embarking on a
statewide tour of Uttar
Pradesh from Friday to
give momentum to the
party’s election cam-
paign. Shah is expected
to address public meet-
ings at nearly 21 differ-
ent locations and each
public meeting will be
attended by party work-
ers and supporters from
the surrounding seven
Assembly constituen-
cies.In this way, he will
be covering around 140
Assembly seats in his
tour. The BJP plans to
put Shah on the fore-
front of organisational
strategy even as Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
goes on a spree to lay
foundation stones or
launch developmental
projects in the state.
CORONA CATASTROPHE
UP
INDIA
7,495
new cases
434
new fatalities
31
new cases
00
new fatalities
CONG CALLS HARISH RAWAT TO DELHI
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and ‘unhappy’ Con-
gress veteran Harish Rawat will attend a pre-scheduled
meeting in Delhi with the party’s top leadership on Friday,
confirmed party sources.
TALKING ABOUT COW CRIME FOR SOME,
BUT WE REVERE COW AS MOTHER: PM
Varanasi: Launching a veiled attack
on the Opposition, PM Modi on
Thursday said some people have
made talking about cows a crime
but for us cows are revered as
mothers. “Talking about cow and
‘govardhan’ has been made
a crime by some people.
Cow can be a crime for
some people but for
us cow is revered as
mother,” said the
Prime Minister.
PM inaugurates,
lays stone for `870
crore projects in
Varanasi
Varanasi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Thursday
inaugurated a total
of 22 developmental
projects worth over
Rs 870 crores in Var-
anasi, his parlia-
mentary constitu-
ency in Uttar
Pradesh.
Also, he laid the
foundation stone for
the ‘Banas Dairy
Sankul’ at the UP
State Industrial De-
velopment Authori-
ty food park. This
aims to develop the
dairy farmers and
the economy of the
state.
The Prime Minis-
ter also transferred
Rs 35 crore bonuses
to the bank accounts
of more than 1.7 lakh
milk producers asso-
ciated with Banas
Dairy and then laid
the foundation stone
for a biogas-based
electricity genera-
tion plant for the
Milk Producers Co-
operative Union
Plant in Ramnagar.
Apart from that, PM
Modi also distributed
the rural residential
rights record named
‘Gharauni’ to more
than 20 lakh people in
the state. More on P3
ELECTION CONFUSION
First India Bureau
PRAYAGRAJ: A judge
of the Allahabad High
Court on Thursday re-
quested PM Modi and
the Election Commis-
sion to consider post-
ponement of UP elec-
tions for 1-2 months
considering the rising
cases of omicron vari-
ant of Covid-19.
The judge further re-
quested the Election
Commission to stop po-
litical rallies to prevent
people in large numbers
from gathering and also
to direct political par-
ties to carry out their
campaign through
Doordarshan and print
media instead of organ-
ising rallies.
The judge praised PM
Modi for providing free
corona vaccines to citi-
zens of India and re-
quested him to take
stringent steps and con-
sider postponement of
state elections as ‘jaan
hai to jahan hai’ (if
there is life, there is eve-
rything.) Justice Shek-
har Kumar Yadav made
these observations
while hearing a bail ap-
plication. On seeing a
large number of advo-
cates in his courtroom,
Justice Yadav said, “So-
cial distancing is not
even maintained in the
courtroom.”
Postpone polls, ban
rallies: Ald HC Judge

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2021
02
‘BJP eliminated middlemen’s
role in procurement process’
CM YOGI BATS FOR PM MODI’S VISION OF PROMOTING COW BASED AGRICULTURE
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
on Thursday held the
previous governments’
policies responsible for
farmers’ suicides in
the state.
Speaking at the
‘Farmers’ Day’ pro-
gramme organised on
the 119th birth anni-
versary of former
prime minister Chaud-
hary Charan Singh,
Yogi Adityanath went
on to say , “The earlier
governments’ anti-
farmer approach and
unscientific policies
drove the farmers to
commit suicide. A lot
of them moved away
from agriculture. After
the BJP was voted to
power in Uttar
Pradesh, we waived off
their loans to the tune
of Rs 36,000 crore,” the
chief minister said.
He said the Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi government’s pol-
icies for the farmers
was for everyone to see.
Paying tribute to
Charan Singh, Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister
said the BJP govern-
ment had been fulfilling
the former farmer lead-
er’s dream with a slew
of welfare measures,
both at the state and
central levels.
The chief minister
said though the central
government in 1967 in-
troduced minimum
support price (MSP) in
the country, it was im-
plemented in its true
spirit only by the Modi
government.
He also said his gov-
ernment eliminated the
role of middlemen be-
tween the cultivators
and the buyers as the
government has been
procuring crops direct-
ly from the farmers. Ex-
pressing concern over
the use of hazardous
chemicals in agricul-
ture, Adityanath sec-
onded the PM’s ‘reme-
dy’ of practising cow-
based agriculture.
“This will also help in
cow protection and pro-
motion of faith. The
productivity in farming
will also increase rela-
tively,” he said.
CM Yogi Adtiyanath attends an event on Kisan Diwas’, marking the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh in Lucknow on Thursday.
Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, CS RK Tiwari, Lucknow DM Abhishek Prakash and other BJP leaders were also present on the occassion.
CM Yogi gifts tractor keys to farmers on the occasion. CM flags off the newly gifted tractors to farmers on Kisan Diwas.
UP bags Ist prize
in e-prosecution
competition
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Min-
istry of Home Af-
fairs, Government of
India has awarded
Uttar Pradesh for
ranking first in the
Interoperable Crimi-
nal Justice System
Competition.
The award was re-
ceived by Ashutosh
Pandey, ADG Prose-
cution on behalf the
whole state.
The award given to
UP is due to the effi-
cient guidance of
Chief Minister Yogi
Aditayanath who by
his regular review
and provision of
desktop computers
and laptop to all pros-
ecutors enabled them
to achieve their best.
In Uttar Pradesh,
crime against chil-
dren and various
other heinous crimes
were followed up
with utmost serious-
ness due to which
stringent action were
taken against mafia
and those involved in
these crimes.
Mission Shakti
was launched in the
state to ensure that
speedy justice and
harshest punish-
ment was being de-
livered to those who
commit crimes
against women and
children.
State prosecutors
have also been work-
ing extra hard and
have registered
17,00,000 cases on
the e-Prosecution
Portal distant ahead
of 2nd place MP
which registered
just 7 lakhs and Gu-
jarat came third
with 4 lakhs cases.
ADG Prosecution Ashutosh Pandey receives the award
from CM Yogi on Thursday. ACS (Home) Awanish Awasthi
was also present on the occasion.
17,00,000
cases have
been so far
registered on
e-prosecution
portal of Uttar
Pradesh
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Alla-
habad High Court has
directed the Uttar
Pradesh government to
fill up vacant senior-
level posts of doctors in
all medical colleges of
the state immediately
.
The Principal Secre-
tary, Medical Educa-
tion, Government of
Uttar Pradesh, Luc-
know has been direct-
ed to personally over-
see and make sincere
efforts to see that not
only at Meerut and Sa-
haranpur but in all the
other state medical col-
leges senior-level posts
are timely advertised
and vacancies are
filled expeditiously.
The single-judge
bench of Justice Alok
Mathur noted that the
Court has an opportu-
nity to notice the situa-
tion where at such a
senior level in two med-
ical colleges, there is
acute shortage of sen-
ior staff including the
post of Professor in the
Radio-Diagnosis De-
partment which has led
to passing of the order
while hearing a petition
filed by Dr. Yasmeen
Usmani.
It was submitted by
Senior Counsel for peti-
tioner who during the
hearing stated that the
petitioner is a Professor
in the Radio-Diagnosis
Department and pres-
ently she is posted at
Shaikh-Ul-Hind Maula-
na Mahmood Hasan
Medical College, Saha-
ranpur and by means of
the order dated August
24, 2021, she has been
directed to perform du-
ties for four days in a
week at the Medical
College that is situated
in Meerut while the re-
maining two days, she
will be performing her
duties in Saharanpur.
After hearing the coun-
sel’s statement, the
bench of Allahabad
High court in its order
stated, “It also tran-
spires that the said situ-
ation is in existence
since at least 2018 and
for the last two years
not much efforts have
been made to make
fresh appointments to
the post of Professor in
the Radio-Diagnosis De-
partment and even in
case the efforts have
been made they have
not been successful in
filling the vacancy”.
HC directs govt to fill vacant senior-level posts in all med colleges
COURTROOM DIARIES
While hearing a petition, the court
observed that there is acute shortage of
senior professors in institutions
Allahabad High Court.
VACANCY SAGA
‘Celebrate Christmas, NY with caution’
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
on Thursday empha-
sised that vigilance and
alertness was neces-
sary and urged
people to strictly follow
the Covid-19 protocol
and not to let their
guard down during
Christmas and New
Year celebrations.
“Everyone must fol-
low Covid-19 protocols
and ensure 100 percent
caution by usage of
masks, sanitisers along
with social distancing
and maintenance of
personal hygiene. The
transmission remains
in control, however, the
virus still exists,” said
the Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath ahead of
the festive celebrations.
He mentioned that
the five-fold strategy of
Tracing, Testing, Treat-
ment, Covid-appropri-
ate behaviour and Vac-
cination implemented
with utmost serious-
ness has proved to be
effective, and must be
continued to prevent
any further spread.
The Chief Minister
Yogi Aditynath further
said that the govern-
ment’s focus is on re-
storing normalcy in the
state with an aim to
save both ‘Lives and
Livelihood’, while stay-
ing prepared to fight the
disease.
While increasing the
security and vigilance
on the borders of UP,
emphasis is being laid
on the tracing and test-
ing of every passenger
coming to the state. Be-
sides, rapid vaccination
is being done to protect
the people from the new
variants like ‘Omicron’.
CM Yogi confers Chaudhary Charan Singh Kisan Samman
certificate to farmers, entrepreneurs, scientists at Lok Bhawan on
Kisan Diwas on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ASHOK DUTTA
CM Yogi, who met reserved category candidates
alleging discrepancies in reservation system in
the recruitment of 69,000 assistant teachers, has
issued instructions to the Basic Educa-
tion Department for finding a speedy
solution to the problem.
Chief Minister Yogi has ex-
pressed grief on the death of
senior journalist Uma Shankar
Tripathi and conveyed his
deep condolences to
the bereaved family.
Tripathi and conveyed his
Yogi Speaks
Yogi Speaks
30 projects
worth `30cr
dedicated to
public in Noida
Noida: Thirty in-
frastructure pro-
jects worth over Rs
30 crore, including
laying of drainage
lines, footpaths and
landscaping were
dedicated to public
Thursday
.
Noida Authority
CEO Ritu Mahesh-
wari, Noida MLA
Pankaj Singh and
Rajya Sabha MP
SurenrdaNagarded-
icated the projects
during a ceremony
in which projects
worth Rs 22.62 crore
were inaugurated
and foundation
stones worth Rs 8.35
crore laid for devel-
opmental works.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath pays tributes to former Prime Minister and farmer icon
Chaudhary Charan Singh on his birth anniversary, which is also celebrated as ‘Kisan
Diwas’ in Vidhan Bhawan premises in Lucknow on Thursday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
JAI KISAN!
—PHOTOS BY SUMIT KUMAR

UTTAR PRADESH
03
CRUCIAL READ
UNION MINISTER GADKARI DEDICATES
DELHI-MEERUT EXPRESSWAY TO PUBLIC
Ghaziabad: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday
dedicated Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) to the pub-
lic. The 82-km DME connects Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi
to Meerut. Gadkari also inaugurated ‘Intelligent Traffic
System Control Room’, which will monitor the Eastern
peripheral expressway and DME so that the public may
have a safe journey. At least 150 cameras have been
installed on the e’way to monitor accidents and com-
muters driving on wrong side. Japanese envoy Satoshi
Suzuki, MP VK Singh and officials were present.
UBI LAUNCHES
REDESIGNED MSME
FIRST BRANCHES
Lucknow: The Union
Bank of India (UBI)
Thursday launched the
next generation rede-
signed MSME Branches
– ‘Union MSME First
Branch’ at 20 additional
locations across the
country, taking the total
to 25 locations. These
branches were launched
by Nitesh Ranjan, Ex-
ecutive Director of UBI.
These branches will
have supreme focus on
providing customised
service to MSMEs.
SPL POCSO COURT
SENTENCES MAN TO
7-YR RI FOR RAPE
Lucknow: A special
POCSO court on Thurs-
day convicted a man
of raping a mentally-
challenged girl and
sentenced him to seven
years of imprisonment.
Special judge for
Protection of Children
from Sexual Offences
(POCSO) cases Arti
Fauzdar also slapped
a fine of Rs 10,000
on convict Monu after
holding him guilty under
Section 376 (rape) of
the IPC and POCSO Act.
‘THOSE WHO SEE POLITICS WITH SPECTACLES OF CASTE,RELIGION DON’T WANT DEV OF UP’
PM ATTACKS
RIVALS WITH
PARIVARVAD,
MAFIAVADBARB
First India Bureau
Varanasi: In an appar-
ent attack on the Sama-
jwadi Party, PM Naren-
dra Modi said on Thurs-
day, “Their dictionary
contains ‘mafiavad’ and
‘parivarvad’. For us, the
priority is ‘sabka saath,
sabka vikas’.”
On a visit to the city
to launch a series of
projects the PM said,
“It gives pain to some
when I talk of double
engine, double power
and double develop-
ment as they, who see
politics with the spec-
tacle of caste, sect and
religion, never wanted
the development of the
state.”
“They have an objec-
tion to the development
of Purvanchal and
works for Baba Vishwa-
nath Dham. I have been
told that last Sunday,
1.50 lakh pilgrims
reached for darshan of
Baba Vishwanath
Dham,” he said.
The anger of those
who pushed UP back-
ward, will only rise as
people from all over the
state stand with the
double engine govern-
ment and give their
blessings, Modi
claimed.
After arriving here
in the morning, Modi
laid the foundation
stones for projects
worth Rs 2,095 crore.
This included Banas
Dairy Sankul at UP
State Industrial Devel-
opment Authority Food
Park, Karkhiyaon, a
biogas-based power
generation plant, a
homeopathic medical
college and multiple
urban development
projects.
Agra: Union Minister
of State for Electronics
and Information Tech-
nology Rajeev Chan-
drashekhar on Thurs-
day launched seven
new internet exchange
nodes in the state.
The seven new nodes
were launched for Agra,
Prayagraj, Gorakhpur,
Lucknow, Varanasi,
Meerut and Kanpur un-
der the Digital Uttar
Pradesh campaign and
Digital India. Gautam
Budhh Nagar already
has an internet ex-
change node.
He was accompanied
by Union Minister of
State for Law and Jus-
tice SP Singh Baghel.
Talking to reporters,
Chandrashekhar said,
“Soon, Agra will have a
centre of excellence and
a tech park. We have a
strategy that there
should be a centre of ex-
cellence and infrastruc-
ture so that investors
across the globe invest
in Uttar Pradesh.”
He added that PM
Modi and CM Yogi Adi-
tyanath are making all
efforts to develop the
state a hub of technolo-
gy across the globe.
“When UP becomes a
hub of technology and
electronics, more jobs
and businesses will in-
crease in the state. We
have come up with the
centre of excellence in
Lucknow and will soon
have it in Meerut and
Agra,” he added. When
asked about the 5G tech-
nology
, he said the tele-
com department will de-
cideaboutitstiming.—PTI
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Indian
Green Building Council
(IGBC) – one of the apex
bodies to rate and certi-
fy a system as a ‘Green’
system – has certified
Kanpur Metro as a
“Green Metro Rail Sys-
tem”, thereby
, awarding
platinum certificate to
all its nine Metro sta-
tions on the ‘Priority
Corridor’ from IIT to
Motijheel, which will be
inaugurated by PM
Modi on December 28.
The certificates of
and plaques were hand-
ed over to Kumar Kes-
hav, Managing Director,
UPMRC by Alok Shuk-
la, CII State Head and
Amit Srivastava, co-
chairman IGBC UP
State Chapter at Uttar
Pradesh Metro Rail Cor-
poration Corporate Of-
fice, Lucknow today
.
It is yet another ma-
jor milestone that has
been achieved by Uttar
Pradesh Metro Rail
Corporation. It is also
worth mentioning here
that all 21 stations of
Lucknow Metro have
also been certified with
platinum rating of In-
dian Green Building
Council.
Varanasi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Thursday said that
strengthening India’s
dairy sector was one of
the top priorities of the
government and lauded
the people of UP for
making it the largest
milk-producing state in
the country
.
PM Modi laid the
foundation stone of ‘Ba-
nas Dairy Sankul’ at the
Uttar Pradesh State In-
dustrial Development
Authority Food Park,
Karkhiyaon here.
Spread across 30
acres, the dairy will be
built for Rs 475 cr and
have a facility to process
5 lakh litre milk per day
.
Modi also digitally
transferred Rs 35 crore
bonus to the bank ac-
counts of over 1.7 lakh
milk producers associ-
ated with Banas Dairy
.
He also laid the founda-
tion stone for the Biogas
based Electricity gener-
ation plant for the Milk
Producers Cooperative
Union Plant, Ramnagar,
Varanasi.
The PM launched a
Portal and Logo dedi-
cated to the Conformity
Assessment Scheme of
milk products, devel-
oped by the Bureau of
Indian Standards (BIS)
with the help of the Na-
tional Dairy Develop-
ment Board (NDDB)
CM Yogi Adityanath
and Union Minister Ma-
hendra Nath Pandey
were among those pre-
sent on the occasion. PM
Modi palso aid tribute to
former PM Chaudhary
Charan Singh on his
birth anniversary
.
—AGENCIES
First India Bureau
Kanpur: On Thursday,
the Income Tax Depart-
ment here raided the
premises of the Jain
family, who launched
the ‘Samajwadi Itra’.
The team reached Pi-
yushJain’shouse,where
it used four machines to
count currency notes.
Jain has a big busi-
ness of perfume. His
brother Pammi Jain is
an MLC of Samajwadi
Party
. A month ago, he
had launched Samajwa-
di perfume with Akhile-
sh. According to I-T of-
ficials,documentsrecov-
ered from Jain’s house
show he had taken loans
of over Rs 100 crore
through shell compa-
nies. There is also an
estimate of tax evasion
of Rs150crore.However,
till now the department
hasnotissuedanofficial
statement. The Income
Tax team is also taking
actionatbetelnuttrader
KK Agarwal, who lives
near Jain’s house.
Jain’s house is in
Anandpuri located in
Juhi police station. Ac-
cording to officials, Pi-
yush has about 40 com-
panies including many
shell companies.
Prime Minister Modi receives a memento from CM Yogi Adityanath at the programme held at Karkhianv (Pindra) in Varanasi on
Thursday. (Bottom) The PM launching a project as CM Yogi looks on. —PHOTOS BY PTI
7internetexchangenodes
launchedinadayinUP
‘Samajwadi Itra’
makersfaceI-Traid
MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar along with MoS SP Singh Baghel,
and Anil Kumar Jain CEO, NIXI at the launch of the facility.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at an event in Varanasi
on Thursday.
I-T dept team at the house of Piyush Jain on Thursday.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Chief Secre-
tary Rajendra Kumar
Tiwari on Thursday
held a review meeting
on the preparations be-
ing made for the
Prayagraj Magh Mela.
The Chief Secretary
instructedtheofficialsto
ensure that all the works
related to the fair be
completed in the time-
frameandnodelaytakes
place. He added that
awareness programmes
related to cleanliness
and Covid be run during
the Magh Mela.
“Put up paintings re-
lated to cleanliness, ag-
riculture, women em-
powerment, govern-
ment schemes like PM
Svanidhi,etc. at all the
entrance to the Magh
Mela along with broad-
casting of documenta-
ries and other videos
on an LED screen,” the
CS ordered.
Tiwari further in-
structed the officials to
organise cultural pro-
grammesduringthefair
with cleanliness, health
and Covid as their
themes to spread aware-
ness.Hefurtheraskedto
ensure strict compli-
ance of Covid protocol
and that no one should
be found roaming with-
out mask in the mela.
The CS instructed the
officials to conduct An-
tigen or RTPCR test of
people coming from for-
eign counties.
The presentation on
the preparations for the
Magh Mela was given by
Sanjay Goyal, Division-
al CommissionerPray-
agraj during which he
said the fair will start
from Makar Sankranti
wonJanuary14andcon-
tinue until March 1.
CS Tiwari reviews preparations for Prayagraj Magh Mela starting Jan 14
MEGA EVENT

The CS ordered
that awareness
programmes
related to
cleanliness and
Covid be run
during the
Magh Mela
Officials and sadhus offer milk to the Ganga as part of a ritual at
Magh Mela Pujan, in Prayagraj. —FILE PHOTO
Kumar Keshav, MD, UP Metro Rail Corp receiving IGBC Platinum
rating Certification from Amit Srivastava, co-Chairman, IGBC UP
State Chapter Alok Shukla, State Head, CII Uttar Pradesh.
MAIN DAYS FOR
HOLY DIP
The main days when
the public will take a
dip in River Ganga are
on Jan 14, followed by
Paush Purnima on Jan
17, Mauni Amavasya
on Feb 1, Basant Pan-
chami on Feb 5, Maghi
Purnima on Feb 16 and
the fair will culminate
with Mahashivratri on
March 1.
‘Akhilesh
must clarify
on Noida
land scam’
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Hous-
ing and Urban Plan-
ning Minister of
State, Girish Chan-
dra Yadav,has de-
manded that Sama-
jwadi Party leader
Akhilesh Yadav
must clarify his role
as CM in the wide-
spread irregulari-
ties in allotment of
properties in Noida
from 2012 till 2017,
leading to a loss to
Noida to the tune of
Rs 58,000 crore.
In a statement, he
said the CAG audit
report on the entire
process of land ac-
quisition and allot-
ment of properties
has found “signifi-
cant lapses” in the
areas of planning,
land acquisition,
pricing of proper-
ties and allotment
of properties under
various categories.
He said as Yadav
wasCMfrom2012tol
2017, he must own
responsibilityforthe
failures at the level
of Noida’sBoardand
management.
India’s dairy sector is one of the
top priorities of govt: PM Modi
IGBCcertifiesKnpmetroasGreenMetroRailSystem
20 L PPL BENEFIT
I am happy that today
UP is not only the larg-
est milk producing state
in the country, it is also
significantly ahead in
the expansion of the
dairy sector.
—Narendra Modi,
Prime Minsiter

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 44
l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi
Industrial Area Kanpur Road Luc-
know. Published at 98, Friend’’s
Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli
Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP).
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Vishal Srivastav
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Promoted by First India
News International Pvt. Ltd.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
The tongue like a sharp
knife… Kills without
drawing blood.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
Another milestone towards a safer
tomorrow, as over 60% of the eligible
population is now fully vaccinated.
India under the leadership of PM
@narendramodi Ji, marching ahead to
achieve the target of 100% vaccination.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
National Dope Testing Laboratory
(NDTL) regains the World Anti-
Doping Agency (WADA) accreditation.
Restoration of accreditation is a
boost to India’s efforts to achieve the
highest global standards of excellence
in sport. This is the result of untiring
efforts by GOI.
TOP TWEETS
SUSPENSION
OF MPs GIVES
NUMERICAL
ADVANTAGE TO
GOVT IN HOUSE
ongress leaders in
Parliament have ac-
cused the BJP gov-
ernment at the Cen-
tre of using suspen-
sion of opposition MPs to con-
trive majority in Rajya Sabha.
“The united opposition had 120
MPs in Rajya Sabha while the
government had 118, and it
would have lost in case of divi-
sion over any bill. So they selec-
tively suspended MPs against all
rules, like punishment for one
session cannot be handed out in
the next session,” said Mallikar-
jun Kharge of the Congress.
Jairam Ramesh feared what
would happen if the opposition
MPs were suspended in the
forthcoming Budget session.
Repeal of the controversial
farmlawswithoutanydiscussion
marked the start of the winter
session. The session ended with
the bill linking Aadhaar and vot-
er ID card being passed, again
without any discussion. The gov-
ernment on its part blamed the
rowdyconductof oppositionMPs
for their suspensions which do
giveanumericaladvantagetothe
rulingparty
.Especiallyif itwants
to avoid division of votes.
C
K Delimitation
exercise has run
into controversy
over perceived
pro-Jammu bias-
es creeping in its final report.
The PDP has called the exer-
cise pre-planned and former
Chief Minister Omar Abdul-
lah of the National Confer-
ence asked why instead of
waiting for the 2021 census
the JK Delimitation Com-
mission was relying on the
2011 census when Jammu’s
population was recorded as
53,78,538 and that of Kashmir
as 68,88,475. Population is one
of the delimitation will also
take into account physical
features of the terrain and
communication facilities.
Jammu is predominantly
Hindu and the Valley is Mus-
lim majority
. More assembly
seats in Jammu therefore
suits the BJP and weakens
both the PDP and NC. Both
the JK parties stayed away
from the Delimitation Com-
mission’s deliberations.
In the case of Andhra
Pradesh’s bifurcation the de-
limitation exercise has been
put off till after 2026 to coin-
cide with the national delimi-
tation exercise. The 2011 cen-
sus does not reflect the declin-
ing population numbers in
severalstateswhichputsthem
at a disadvantage vis-à-vis
states with high populations.
After delimitation Jammu
stands to gain six seats and
raise its share in the 90-mem-
ber Assembly to 43, while
Kashmir will get only one
extra seat to increase its
share to 47. Jammu region
has 37 seats at present and
the increase will give it near
parity with the Valley. It is
also expected to increase the
Union Territory’s represen-
tation in the Lower House.
The general view is that
delimitation in JK should
not be rushed through. The
CEC Sushil Chandra has
promised transparency in
the exercise, Kashmiri lead-
ers have their own fears.
APPREHENSION OVER
JK DELIMITATION
After delimitation
Jammu stands to gain
six seats and raise its
share in the 90-member
Assembly to 43, while
Kashmir will get only
1 extra seat to increase
its share to 47
J
Delectation of European
Weihnachtsmarkt or Christmas Market
pen-air street markets in Eu-
rope that sell local food, wine,
handmade goods, and much
more, have a rich history, long
before someone came up with
the idea of a Christmas mar-
ket. The germination of
square markets is difficult to
pin down, but in the late Mid-
dle Ages special winter mar-
kets, often opened only for a
day or two in early winter, of-
fering townspeople a chance
to stock up on food and sup-
plies to tide them over in the
freezing months. They were
popularly known as the win-
ter markets. The products of-
ten came from the household
industries mostly centring
around the local talent.
With the wheel of time, peo-
ple started setting up stands at
winter markets to sell baskets,
toys, and woodcarvings. There
were also booths for almonds,
nuts,roastedchestnuts,ginger-
bread, and other baked goods.
These items were often pur-
chased as gifts to be given out
forChristmasoronNewYear’s
Day
. These winter markets
were the precursor of contem-
porary Christmas markets.
Exchanging gifts on Christ-
mas day also happened to be a
levitation for these markets.
For example, in Europe 6th
December is celebrated as
Nicholas day and 11th Novem-
ber as St. Martin day
. Kids are
generally gifted small goods
on these days. Some people
gift local food items to kids
which are bought from these
open-air markets. Another
such popular figure in Ger-
many is Christ- kind, a roman-
tic, fairy-like being, dressed in
white and gold, with a golden
crown. It resembles Santa
Claus. It also distributes gifts
to children during and around
this time at winter markets.
These markets are generally
located at the downtown
square, giving easy accessibil-
ity to the people. Buying and
selling local is the focal point
of these markets. This tradi-
tion of giving gifts on Christ-
mas proved to be a gratuity to
these winter markets and
eventually, they were called
Christmas markets.
Nowadays during the four
weeks of the Advent season,
leading up to Christmas, al-
most any town in Europe for
example German-speaking
world has at least one Christ-
mas market. Some larger cit-
ies usually have many. They
are locally popular with vari-
ous names such as:
Weihnachtsmarkt, Advent(s)
markt, Christkindlmarkt,
Nikolausmarkt, and Krippen-
markt. Christmas markets are
popularly known as
Weihnachtsmarkt in Germa-
ny. People from wide and far
come to see and buy from
these markets. The signature
hallmark of this market is
also the spirit that it builds
around. The light traditional
music with the alluring aro-
ma of hot chocolate mixed
with the homemade cookies
popularly known as Plätzchen
can enchant anyone to sink in
the spirit of Christmas. The
added magic of the local drink
popularly known as Glühwein
holds the centre of attraction.
This is generally served hot.
Quite a few of the stalls are
essentially outdoor bars.
Glühwein is the traditional
drink at German Christmas
markets. It is a gentle mix of
sweet, spiced wine, mostly
red. Environment-friendly
selling is taken care of here as
you can finish your drink and
then give back the glass or
mug. You’ll be charged extra
for the mug which you can get
back if you return the mug. It
is called Pfand in the local lan-
guage. Children especially are
very fond of these markets as
there are musical rides dedi-
cated to them. A hot grabber
among children is Kinder-
punsch, a kind of fruit juice
served hot. What really makes
these almost look alike Christ-
mas markets differ from each
other is the local trading of
goods which gives it personal
flavour. Food and beverages
that are sold, are each town’s
local make and production
which display distinctive re-
gional characteristics. The
Christmas market stalls twin-
kle with colourful lights, espe-
cially when it gets dark which
is generally mid-afternoon
around this time of year. In
most cities, the market is in
the centre of town, often
ringed by the charm of an-
cient churches and city gates.
With the current situation
created by the pandemic, the
Christmas market in Europe
has changed a little. The visi-
tors must take care of the lo-
cal rules to safeguard them-
selves and others from infec-
tions. Although the picture
does not look so positive yet
the spirit is very high. Wher-
ever it is not possible to hold
the Christmas market in per-
son, it is conducted through
online portals. Preserving the
culture is not only promoted
through such Christmas mar-
kets in Europe but also this
legacy is passed on to the next
generation with a sense of
pride. The richness of reli-
gion, wrapped in the promo-
tion of local talent, support-
ing the local economy is cer-
tainly something the others
can look up to.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
O
DR JYOTI JOSHI
The writer is a soft skill, yoga trainer,
business coach and English language
instructor in Germany, Europe
The signature hallmark
of this market is also the
spirit that it builds
around. The light
traditional music with
the alluring aroma of hot
chocolate mixed with the
homemade cookies
popularly known as
Plätzchen can enchant
anyone to sink in the
spirit of Christmas
Kids are generally
gifted small goods on
these days. Some
people gift local food
items to kids which are
bought from these
open-air markets

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INDIA
05
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: Whenever it
seemsthattheissueof reser-
vation is now out of political
discourse, the ‘ghost’ comes
back to haunt.
Reservation was a big is-
sue during Bihar Assembly
polls in 2015. Then there was
controversy regarding
Maratha reservation and
sometimes Jat reservation
and when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi announced
the reservation for upper
castes, reservation as a sub-
ject, was discussed across
length breadth of nation.
Now once again the genie
of OBC reservation has
come out of the bottle and it
has created a stir in politics
of two states of Maharash-
tra Madhya Pradesh.
The Supreme Court has
stayed the decision to imple-
ment reservation for OBC in
localbodyelectionsinMaha-
rashtra. The state govt had
implemented this law
through an ordinance but
the Supreme Court rejected
it. Not only this, the SC also
rejected the petition to post-
pone the elections and said
that 27% seats which were
made OBC seats should be
made general seats and elec-
tions should be held.
After the SC decision,
state government requested
the Election Commission to
postpone the elections for
three months.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi
government of the state
seemstobestuckinthismat-
ter, but the difficulties of the
BJP are also not any less.
EventhoughBJPleadersare
blaming the government for
this, but at the sametime,
they are with the govern-
ment in the matter of post-
poning the elections.
Pankaja Munde, who once
emerged as the face of BJP’s
OBC politics in the state,
wantstheelectionstobepost-
poned by three months, even
while attacking the govern-
ment.Itmaybenotedthatthe
party has put her aside and
sheislookingforan‘opportu-
nity’inthiscrisis.Sometime
ago, her meeting with NCP’s
OBC leader Chhagan Bhu-
jbal was also a hot topic of
discussion. That’s why the
BJP leadership is upset and
istryingtogetoutof thiscon-
troversy somehow.
On the other hand, a simi-
lar situation has occurred in
Madhya Pradesh as well.
There too, SC has asked to
conduct elections in local
bodies by converting re-
served seats for OBCs into
generalseats.SCreprimand-
ed the government said
that decision to implement
reservation without follow-
ing the triple test will not be
accepted.Afterthisdecision,
theconcernof ShivrajSingh
Chouhan government of the
state has increased, so the
Opposition Congress is also
surrounded because the pe-
titioneronwho’spleaSChas
given the decision is Con-
gressspokespersonandCon-
gress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek
Tankha is his lawyer. So, in
two states both the govern-
ment and the Opposition are
caught in this controversy
.
RESERVATION GENIE IS OUT OF THE BOTTLE, YET AGAIN!
CREATING POLITICAL STIR
New Delhi: Ministry
of Home Affairs (MHA)
on Wednesday effected
a major reshuffle of AG-
MUT cadre IAS and IPS
officers. Altogether 27
officers were trans-
ferred to various union
territories including 17
IAS officers and 10 IPS
officers. The list goes as
follows:- Santosh D
Vaidya (IAS:1998) was
transferred from Delhi
to Andaman Nicobar
Island (ANI).
Similarly, Kunal
(2005) was transferred
from Goa to Delhi; Ni-
harika Rai (2005) from
Arunachal Pradesh to
Delhi; Ramesh Verma
(2009) from Delhi to
Goa; R N Sharma (2010)
from ANI to Delhi; Ku-
lanand Joshi (2010)
from ANI to Delhi;
Danish Ashraf (2011)
from DNH DD to Del-
hi; Pooja Jain (2011)
from DNH DD to Del-
hi; Indu Shekhar
Mishra (2011) from
ANI to Delhi; Pooja
Joshi (2011) from ANI
to Delhi; Naveen S L
(2012) from Mizoram to
Delhi; Kinny Singh
(2014) from Arunachal
Pradesh to Delhi; An-
kita Anand (2015) from
Goa to DNH DD; Me-
kala Chaitanya Prasad
(2015) from Goa to DNH
DD; Purva Garg from
Puducherry to Chandi-
garh; Bhanu Prabha
from AP to DNH DD
Kumar Abhishek
transferred from Mizo-
ram to Delhi.
New Delhi: Finally,
the National High-
ways Authority of
India (NHAI) got its
Member (Finance)
after a long gap of
over two years.
The Appointment
Committee of Cabi-
net on Wednesday
endorsed the pro-
posal of the Search-
cum-selection-com-
mittee appointed
senior RBI cadre
officer NRVVMK
Rajendra Kumar as
new Member (Fi-
nance) for a period
of three years.
The post lying
vacant since Oct
2019. Presently, Ra-
jendra Kumar is
working as Chief
General Manager,
Reserve Bank of In-
dia (RBI) who was
among the five
shortlisted candi-
dates from a list of
nine applicants.
New member Rajen-
dra Kumar replaces
Asheesh Sharma
(IAS:1996:MH) who
is now Joint Secre-
tary, DOPT.
17 IAS 10 IPS
transferred to
various UTs
NHAI: RBI cadre
officer Rajendra
becomes member
10 IPS TRANSFER
IAF EXTENDS RELEASE DATE OF OFFICER TILL MATERNITY ENDS
New Delhi: The Indian Air Force was releasing a woman officer currently on mater-
nity leave after giving birth to a premature baby but changed its decision after the
intervention of a military court. As per the counsel in the case, Colonel I S Singh
Retd, the case is related to Squadron Leader Anju Gehlot, a short service commis-
sioned woman officer. She was aggrieved by the order as she was being forcibly
discharged from service prematurely on medical grounds on 23 Dec even as she
is already on duly sanctioned maternity leave until March 11 2022, he said.
DELHI HC TO HEAR JUHI'S PLEA ON JAN 25
AGAINST SETTING UP OF 5G NETWORK
New Delhi: The Delhi HC would hear on Jan 25,
the plea of Bollywood actress and environmental-
ist Juhi Chawla challenging its earlier order which
dismissed her lawsuit against the setting up of 5G
wireless networks in the country. Observing that
there is no urgency in the matter, a Division Bench
posted the matter for January 25, 2022.
DELHI COURT RESTRAINS SELLING BOOK
BASED ON FORMER YES BANK CEO
New Delhi: A court here has restrained publisher Pen-
guin Random House India amongst others from selling
and distributing a book based on former CEO of Yes Bank
titled The Banker Who Crushed His Diamonds: The YES
Bank Story until the next date of hearing. The court also
restrained Almighty Tech Films from releasing any movie
having reference to Rana Kapoor without prior consent.
AMAZON SEEKS
RELIEF FROM ED
SUMMONS
New Delhi: Amazon has
filed a writ petition against
ED in HC here seeking
clarification on unneces-
sary summons issued
to its employees and
questioning the scope of
its investigation in alleged
FEMA violation in the
Future Group deal. In a
plea filed before the Delhi
HC, Amazon accused ED
of conducting a fish and
roving enquiry against
it. It said that the agency
is causing unnecessary
harassment. —ANI
8 ACTIVISTS,
DENIED BAIL IN
ELGAR CASE
Mumbai: Eight activ-
ists accused in Elgar
Parishad-Maoist links
case, who were denied
default bail by the
Bombay HC earlier
this month, told the
HC on Thursday that
they will file review
petitions against order
which was based on
a “factual error”. The
accused activists and
academicians - Sudhir
Dawale, Varavara Rao,
Rona Wilson, advo-
cate Surendra Gadling,
Professor Shoma Sen,
Mahesh Raut, Vernon
Gonsalves and Arun
Ferreira, had earlier
this week filed an ap-
plication for ‘speaking
to minutes’, which is
used for getting minor
corrections.
Chennai: The Tamil
Nadu government has
granted parole for Na-
lini Sriharan, one of
the seven life term con-
victs in Rajiv Gandhi
assassination, Madras
HC informed.
State Public Prosecu-
tor Hassan Mohammed
told this to a division
bench of Justices P N
Prakash R Hemala-
tha, when a habeas cor-
pus petition from S
Padma, mother of Na-
lini, came up for further
hearing on Thursday
.
Recording this, the
bench closed the peti-
tion. In her petition,
Padma had stated she
was suffering from var-
ious illnesses and want-
ed her daughter to be by
her bedside. In this con-
nection she had sent
several representations
to State government to
grant parole for one
month, but to no avail. 7
people Murugan, San-
than, Perarivalan, Jaya-
kumar, Robert Payas,
Ravichandran and Na-
lini are serving life
term. —PTI
Rajiv assasination: TN
grants parole to Nalini
Nalini Sriharan
IN THE COURTYARD
START-UP VILLAGE
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
A BIG SUCCESS
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Start-up
Village Entrepreneur-
shipProgramme(SVEP)
under the State Rural
Livelihood Mission
(SRLM) has proved a
boonforwomenof Uttar
Pradesh, according to
the programme’s Mis-
sion Director, Bhanu
Goswami.
Utilising the SVEP
, as
many as 13, 801 women
have set up small-scale
business units for their
economic empower-
ment.
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath’s efforts to
empower rural women
and make them self-re-
liant during the last
over four-and-a-half
years have started
yielding results as more
and more rural females
are now turning to en-
trepreneurship.
The SVEP was
launched to strengthen
women’s groups in UP
while accelerating the
economic development
of villages and elimi-
nating poverty and un-
employment from
there.
Mission Director
Bhanu Goswami in-
formed, “At present, the
programme is imple-
mented in 18 districts
and 19 development
blocks of the state. As
many as 13, 801 women
entrepreneurs of the
state have benefited so
far from the Start-Up
Village Entrepreneur-
ship Programme
(SVEP).”
The beneficiaries of
the programme includ-
ed women hailing from
Arajiline block of Var-
anasi, Nighasan Block
of Kheri, and the Na-
jibabad block of Bijnor.
Women in rural areas
of the State are setting
up grocery shops, pow-
er loom units as well as
flour and porridge
mills, strengthening
the rural economy.
These efforts are mak-
ing villagers in gener-
al financially stronger
than before. Each
member is earning a
minimum monthly in-
come of Rs 6,000 to Rs
8,000 through the en-
terprises.
Also, the National
Rural Livelihood Mis-
sion has been playing a
vital role in motivating
rural women of UP to
start small industries.
Stampede
after railing
collapses at
SP-RLD rally
Aligarh: A stam-
pede occurred after
the railing of the
stage broke during a
joint public meeting
of Samajwadi Party
(SP) and Rashtriya
Lok Dal (RLD) in Ut-
tar Pradesh’s Ali-
garh district on
Thursday
.
During the inci-
dent, RLD chief
Jayant Chaudhary
was also present on
the stage. As soon
as the stage broke
down, there was
chaos at the rally
site and people were
seen running here
and there in a video.
Ahead of the Ut-
tar Pradesh elec-
tions scheduled to
take place early
next year, SP and
RLD held a joint
rally in Aligarh’s
Iglas.
Taking to Twit-
ter, SP chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav said,
“The general pub-
lic and farmers
gathered at the
joint rally of SP-
RLD in Iglas and
gave a clear mes-
sage they want
change in UP. The
west is calling that
it does not want
BJP. There will be a
revolution in UP.
There will be a
change in 2022.”
Samajwadi Party
has formed an alli-
ance with RLD and
several smaller par-
ties in the state for
the upcoming as-
sembly polls. —ANI
13,801
enterprises
established in 19
blocks under the
programme have
proved a boon for
women
BJP MP Hema Malini at the felicitation ceremony of the newly elected Village Pradhan of Mant constituency, in Mathura. —PHOTO BY ANI
Supporters of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Samajwadi
Party (SP) gather to attend the joint rally, in Aligarh on
Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

INDIA
06
New Delhi: A factually
incorrect narrative has
been presented based on
the observations of
some leaders and Mem-
bersof Parliamentof RS
in the matter of stale-
mate over the suspen-
sion of 12 members of
the House and adjourn-
ments of the Upper
House, said the RS Sec-
retariat on Thursday
.
The statement issued
by the Rajya Sabha Sec-
retariat comes a day af-
ter continuous disrup-
tions due to the Opposi-
tion’s ruckus over sev-
eral issues including
the suspension of 12
MPs, Lakhimpur inci-
dent, and others forced
both the Lok Sabha and
RS to be adjourned sine
die ahead of schedule
on Wednesday
. —ANI
New Delhi: Centre pro-
posed a fivefold strategy
for tackling the threat
of COVID-19 variant
‘Omicron’, in a review
meeting on Thursday
over public health pre-
paredness by States and
Union Territories for
fighting Covid-19 and
the Omicron variant.
According to Health
Ministry, states are ad-
vised to Impose night
curfews and ensure
strict regulation of
large gatherings, espe-
cially ahead of the
forthcoming festivities.
Promptly notify “Con-
tainment Zones”, “Buff-
er Zones” in the case in
new clusters of Covid
positive cases. Ensure
strict perimeter control
of Containment Zone as
per extant guidelines
and send all cluster
samples to INSACOG
Labs for Genome Se-
quencing without delay
.
“As many States have
decommissioned COV-
ID facilities, they are
required to keep an ac-
tion plan ready for mak-
ing these operational
along with adequate
availability of doctors
and ambulance on call,
in case there is a rise in
COVID cases,” said
Health Ministry
. —ANI
Gurugram: A total of
117 Directly Appointed
Gazetted Officers (DA-
GOs) from 21 states on
Thursday formally in-
ducted into the CRPF
after their almost one-
year training here at
Kadarpur Academy
.
The 52nd batch of
DAGOs consists of 117
trainees including
three lady officers and
91 officers who have
engineering-related de-
grees. The 52-week ba-
sic training of the batch
commenced on Novem-
ber 2, 2020. MoS for
Home Affairs Nity-
anand Rai, chief guest
of the function, took the
salute of marvellous pa-
rade beaming with
pride and exuding cour-
age and confidence
with each step. —ANI
New Delhi: Tibetan
spiritual leader the Da-
lai Lama on Thursday
interacted with staff
and students of the IIM
Rohtak via VC and as-
serted that India is a
country with years of a
tradition that promotes
Ahimsa and Karuna.
He said I came to India
as a refugee due to con-
flict in Tibet. I was re-
ally captivated by reli-
gious harmony of this
nation. India is a living
e.g. of religious harmo-
ny across world. —ANI
Haryana ACS (Health and Home) Rajeev
Arora conferred SKOCH Public Service Award
India is country with
tradition: Dalai Lama
FAREWELL FUNCTION
HELD FOR JUSTICE
RS CHAUHAN
Balasore: India on Thursday successfully conducted
the second flight test of indigenously developed
surface-to-surface missile
‘Pralay’ off the Odisha
coast, the DRDO said.
For the first time, flight
tests of a ballistic missile,
developed by the DRDO,
have been conducted suc-
cessfully in two consecu-
tive days, it said. “In today’s launch, ‘Pralay’ missile
was tested for heavier payload,” it said.
Thiruvananthapuram: President
Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday
unveiled a statue of late PN Pan-
icker at Poojappura in Thiruvanan-
thapuram and said he wanted to
remove the evil of illiteracy. The
President said Panicker spread
an important message - “Vayichu
Valaruka” which means “Read
and Grow”. He said that Pan-
icker made libraries and literacy a
movement of the people.
Hyderabad: Rich tributes were paid to former Prime
Minister PV Narasimha Rao on his death anniversary
on Thursday. Telan-
gana Governor Tamilisai
Soundararajan, state min-
isters, family members
of Narasimha Rao and
leaders of various political
parties paid floral tributes
to the late leader at PV
Gnana Bhoomi on the banks of Hussain Sagar lake
here. Speaking on the occasion, the governor recalled
the services rendered by Narasimha Rao to the nation.
She said ex-PM was an erudite scholar.
CRUCIAL READ
FIRHAD HAKIM
NAMED NEXT
MAYOR OF KOLKATA
ED ATTACHES
PROPERTIES OF
‘LOTTERY KING’
Kolkata: WB Minister
Firhad Hakim is going to
be new Mayor of Kolkata.
Four days after sweeping
the Kolkata Municipal
Corporation (KMC) polls,
the Trinamool Congress
(TMC) declared Firhad as
the next KMC Mayor. The
decision was taken at a
meeting of the newly-
elected TMC councillors
in Kolkata Thursday,
which was chaired by
party supremo and West
Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee.
New Delhi: ED has
provisionally attached
immovable properties
worth `19.59 crore in the
case against self-styled
‘Lottery King’ Santiago
Martin and others, the
agency said on Thursday.
Martin Santiago, better
known as ‘Lottery King’
Martin, is a business
tycoon who built his
empire by printing and
selling lottery tickets.
Immovable assets in the
form of vacant lands in
TN were attached.
Bhubaneswar: Odisha-
born Justice Sanjaya
Kumar Mishra has been
appointed as the acting
CJ of Uttarakhand HC. A
farewell ceremony was
organised in honor of
Chauhan. He expressed
gratitude to Bar and
Bench of Uttarakhand
High Court. Other office
bearers including the
President were present in
the function. Acting Chief
Justice Sanjay Mishra will
take over his post from
December 31, 2021.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
The Odisha govt’s an-
nouncement of giving
preference to OBC can-
didates in the upcoming
Panchayat polls is all
but tokenism. The anti-
OBC face of the Odisha
govt. is evident from its
lack of iron will in imple-
menting the reservation
quota for OBCs in local
body elections.
INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TESTS NEW-GEN PRALAY
MISSILE FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE DAY
PRESIDENT KOVIND UNVEILS PN PANICKER’S
STATUE IN THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
TRIBUTES PAID TO FORMER PM NARASIMHA
RAO ON DEATH ANNIVERSARY IN T’GANA
WARNINGBELLS!
OMICRON CASES RISE

z Omicron cases in
India rise to 236, tally
reaches 7,495

z Maharashtra records
the maximum 65
cases

z New Delhi records the
maximum 64 cases

z Rajasthan reports 21
new Omicron cases

z Tamil Nadu reports 33
new cases of Omicron
variant

z Karnataka reports 19
new Omicron cases,
tally rises to 38

z Two fresh Omicron
cases in Odisha, tally
rises to Four

z Delhi prepared to han-
dle 1 lakh Covid-19
cases daily

z China locks down
Xi’an amid COVID-19
surge

z AstraZeneca vaccine
booster shot effective
against Omicron

z With Omicron, experts
warn against cloth
masks

z Omicron less likely to
put you in the hospi-
tal, studies say

z India crosses
140-crore Covid-19
vaccination doses
milestone

z Move over Omicron,
‘Delmicron’ is new
villain hurting West
1 2 3 4 5
Centre proposes five-
fold strategy to States,
UTs to tackle new
Omicron threat
Consider local curbs
ahead of festive
season, Centre tells
States and UTs
States were advised to
be vigilant and monitor
case positivity and
clusters of new cases
Attention needs to be
placed on conducting
tests as per extant
ICMR, MoHFW norms
Omicron creates
hurdle in lawyer
couple’s wedding, HC
allows online marriage
n CONTAINMENT
n TESTING AND
SURVEILLANCE
n CLINICAL
MANAGEMENT
n COVID SAFE
BEHAVIOUR
n VACCINATION
THE FIVE-FOLD
STRATEGY
Students of Gurukul School Of Art, dressed up in Santa Claus attire, make a painting with a message
‘Celebrate Christmas With Care’ in the wake of the new Covid-19 variant Omicron, in Mumbai.
Chennai: Thirty-three cas-
es of the fast-spreading
Omicron strain have been
reported in Tamil Nadu,
taking the state’s tally to
34. All of them, except
two children, are fully
vaccinated, the govern-
ment said. “30 of these
are returnees from abroad
and 1 from Kerala and 3
from Tamil Nadu,” said
Health Minister Ma Subra-
manian. He added that
all of them are asympto-
matic and have reported
only “mild giddiness and
sore throat” so far. The
minister said the infected
included the contacts of
the state’s first case, an
air traveller who arrived
here from Nigeria via
Doha.
33 NEW OMICRON CASES IN TN,
ALL FULLY JABBED EXCEPT 2
PETITION IN DELHI HC CHALLENGING
PROHIBITING GATHERINGS ON X-MAS
New Delhi: A petition has been filed before Delhi HC
challenging completely prohibiting religious gather-
ings in the NCT of Delhi on the eve of Christmas. The
petition has been filed by Kamlesh Jacob, a senior
citizen and an educationist. The Petitioner said that she
is aggrieved by the impugned orders of the Delhi govt
completely prohibiting religious gatherings in NCT of
Delhi at the eve of Christmas all of a sudden without
any prior notice.
PIECE OF ADVICE
States going in for elec-
tions in the near future
to exponentially ramp up
the vaccination, espe-
cially in the low coverage
districts to protect the
vulnerable population and
pockets with low vaccina-
tion coverage and those
with low COVID exposure
may be more vulnerable
to the new Omicron vari-
ant of Covid-19.
HIGHLIGHTS
With regards to Clinical manage-
ment, States were informed that
the existing National Clinical
Management Protocol remains un-
changed for Omicron. They
were advised to increase bed
capacity, ensure logistics like
ambulances and enforce mech-
anism for seamless shifting of
patients. —Rajesh Bhushan,
Union Health Secretary
Suspension of MPs; Few leaders
presented wrong narrative: RS
117 directly appointed gazetted officers
from 21 states join CRPF,91 hold engg deg
Nityanand Rai confers a trophy to CRPF personnel at the Passing
out Parade of 52nd batch of DAGOs of CRPF in Gurugram.
KISAN DIWAS
New Delhi: Union Home
Minister Amit Shah,
former PM Manmohan
Singh and Gandhi family
will now be protected by
women commandos of
the Central Reserve Police
Force, apart from the
male contingent provided
to them for security. They
all are Z-plus protectees
of CRPF. This is the first
time the force will deploy
women commandos for
VIP security.
In a first, CRPF
puts women on
VIP detail; Shah,
Gandhis on list
Leaders pay
tributes to ex-
PM Charan
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Haryana’s
Additional Chief Sec-
retary (Health Home)
Rajeev Arora has been
conferred with prestig-
ious SKOCH Public
Service Award. SKOCH
Development Founda-
tion, a not-for-profit
company and an inde-
pendent think tank,
confers these awards to
the country’s Best Per-
forming Civil Servants.
Arora has been at the
forefront in tackling
the Covid-19 pandemic
in Haryana. Under his
guidance, the state took
several innovative
measures to increase
Covid-19 testing and
vaccination. Molecular
Labs have been set up
at the District Hospi-
tals in Haryana, where
tertiary-level health
care services such as
ICU care, ventilators
and NIVP are provided.
To ensure the afforda-
bility for the general
public, he capped treat-
ment cost for Covid in
pvt hospitals. He also
handles home affairs,
jails, criminal investi-
gation and administra-
tion of justice depart-
ments.
New Delhi: On the oc-
casion of the birth an-
niversary of former
PM Chaudhary Charan
Singh which is cele-
brated as
N a t i o n a l
F a r m e r s ’
Day (Kisan
Diwas), De-
fence Min-
ister Ra-
jnath Singh, Congress
general secretary Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra on
Thursday extended
their greetings to farm-
ers of country. Paying
tributes to Chaudhary
Charan Singh, SP
chief Akhilesh Yadav
on Thursday demanded
Bharat Ratna for the
former PM Chaudhary
Charan Singh. —ANI
Dalai Lama interacts with students of IIM, Rohtak on Thursday.
New Delhi: A day after LoP in the
RS Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that
Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had left it
to the govt and Opposition to resolve
the stalemate over the suspension of
12 MPs from House, and that he said
he “cannot do anything”, RS Secre-
tariat Thursday countered the same. It
also challenged Kharge’s assertion that House was
repeatedly adjourned at slightest disturbance.
New Delhi: The Congress delegation
formed in response to the Nagaland
killings presented its report to Con-
gress interim president Sonia Gandhi
on Thursday. A firing incident by
security personnel earlier this month
killed 14 civilians and resulted in the
death of security personnel in a mob
attack in Tizit of Mon district in Nagaland. Congress
on December 6 constituted a four-member panel.
SUSPENSION OF MPS: RAJYA SABHA
COUNTERS MALLIKARJUN’S CLAIM
CONG DELEGATION SUBMITS REPORT
ON NAGALAND KILLINGS TO SONIA
Rajeev Arora (inset) receives award from Sameer Kochar.

NEWS
07
REMOVE THIS
IAS AS POLLS
CANNOT BE
FREE FAIR
UNDER HIM: BJP
MP TO ECI
After ministers in the UP
government, it is now the
turn of a ruling party Member of
Parliament (MP) to complain that
an IAS officer is not listening to
him. The ‘aggrieved’ lawmaker is
none other than BJP’s MP from
Aonla parliamentary constituency
in Bareilly, Dharmendra Kashyap.
So miffed is the ‘Sansad’ (MP)
with additional commissioner
Arun Kumar (II) that he has shot
off a letter directly to the Election
Commission of India (ECI)
alleging that free and fair
elections would not be possible if
Kumar continues in the chair!The
poll body usually shunts out
officers who have completed
three-year on a position in a
district during elections. The BJP
MP, in his letter to ECI, has cited
this thumb rule to seek the IAS
officer’s removal. “Though
Kumar, who was posted in
February 2019, will be
completing three years as
additional commissioner in
February 2022, his overall tenure
in the region is six years as he
has also served from July 30,
2013, to June 25, 2016, here,”
the letter points out. Though the
ECI has sought a list of officers
who have completed three years
on a position from the UP
government, it remains to be
seen whether Kumar will get the
marching orders or not.Ironically,
it is the Opposition parties, who
demand the removal of officers
considered close to the ruling
dispensation. Not surprising, the
hot demand from one of its own
lawmaker has left the ruling party
red face. —M Tariq Khan
HC REJECTS 2ND
BAIL PLEA OF
EX-DIRECTOR
FINANCE,
POWER CORP
The Lucknow Bench of the
Allahabad High Court has
rejected the second bail plea of the
then Finance Director Sudhanshu
Dwivedi in the PF scam case in
Power Corporation during the
Samajwadi Party government. A
single-judge bench of Justice
Dinesh Kumar Singh passed this
order while hearing the Bail
Application filed by Sudhanshu
Dwivedi. Dwivedi’s first application
for bail had been rejected on April
7, 2020. He had sought bail in FIR
Police Station CBI-ACB, Lucknow
under Sections 409, 420, 467, 468,
471 and 120B Indian Penal Code,
1860 read with Section 13(2) of
the Prevention of Corruption Act,
1988, which was initially lodged at
Police Station Hazratganj,
Lucknow. The investigation of the
case was transferred to the CBI. As
per the FIR, in pursuance of the
implementation of the Uttar
Pradesh Electricity Reforms
Transfer Scheme, 2000, the Uttar
Pradesh State Electricity Board
was divided on January 14, 2000
into 3 Companies i.e (i) Uttar
Pradesh Power Corporation
Limited (UPPCL), (ii) Uttar Pradesh
Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam
Limited, and (iii) Uttar Pradesh
Hydro Power Corporation Limited.
On January 14 , 2000 itself the
employees working in the Uttar
Pradesh State Electricity Board
were assigned to the aforesaid
three corporations established in
pursuance of the Reform Scheme.
“Considering the magnitude of the
financial loss to two employees’
funds caused by the acts of
omissions and commissions of the
accused-applicant and other co-
accused, and also the fact that it
was the accused-applicant who
was the architect in making
investment in DHFL in order to
obtain huge illegal commission on
the investment made, this Court
does not find any fresh ground or
changed circumstance for
enlarging the accused-applicant on
bail,” the Court observed while
rejecting the bail application.
—First India Bureau
PM VISIT TO BOOST CAMPAIGN IN
KANPUR-BUNDELKHAND REGION
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: To realize
the dream of BJP’s Mis-
sion-2022 in the upcom-
ing assembly elections,
once again PM Modi is
going to register his
presence in the Kan-
pur-Bundelkhand re-
gion of UP. Prior to this,
PM’s first rally was
held in Mahoba on 14th
November and now his
rally is proposed on
28th December at Nira-
la Nagar Railway
Ground in Kanpur.
In Mahoba, the land
of Alha-Udal, the PM
had taken the signifi-
cant initiative to end
water scarcity for farm-
ers in 19 assembly con-
stituencies belonging to
the parched Bun-
delkhand region by
dedicating multiple wa-
ter projects.
Now the PM is going
to give the gift of many
infrastructure projects
costing more than 17
thousand including
metro rail to the resi-
dents of Kanpur.
Notably, there are
more than 120 seats in
Kanpur, Auraiya, Eta-
wah, Unnao and Bun-
delkhand regions.
Most of which are oc-
cupied by BJP. Out of 27
assembly seats in Kan-
pur division, 22 seats
are with the BJP
. One of
the remaining seats is
with the Congress and
four are with the SP.
Of the five seats that
BJP failed to win in the
2017 elections from this
region, three are in
Kanpur city
, one in Kan-
nauj Sadar and one in
Etawah’s Jaswantnagar
assembly seat.
Political experts be-
lieve that to repeat the
2017’s electoral suc-
cess, BJP strategists
have devised various
electoral strategies for
Bundelkhand and Cen-
tral UP. With the help
of PM Modi’s rally,
there is a plan to win
Kanpur’s Cantt, Sisa-
mau, and Aryanagar,
besides Kannauj’s Sa-
dar and Etawah’s Jas-
wantnagar seat.
According to a high-
level source privy to the
preparation meetings
for the rally, the party
plans to make the rally
in Kanpur bigger than
that of Mahoba.
Preparations are be-
ing made to mobilize
more than two lakh
people here. With this
event, an attempt will
be made to give a strong
message in favor of
BJP in other assembly
seats as well.
Mathura: A 60-year-
old blind female ele-
phant, that was rescued
and rehabilitated at the
Elephant Conservation
and Care Centre here,
has been shifted to the
Elephant Hospital as it
is suffering from multi-
ple diseases, an official
said. Besides her old
age, ‘Ginger’ (as named
by the centre) is blind,
she is suffering from os-
teoarthritis, wear and
tear of footpads and dis-
eases caused due to mal-
nutrition, deputy direc-
tor, veterinary services,
Wildlife SOS, Dr S Ila-
yaraja said. Due to ex-
cessive friction and
long walks on hot rough
surfaces, Ginger’s foot-
pads have worn out so
much that she continu-
ously feels the pain and
is unable to bear her
own weight, he said.
According to Dr Ila-
yaraja, the hospital has
begun pain manage-
ment sessions, includ-
ing laser therapy. We
will also begin sole-
guard therapy on her
footpads to protect them
from further damage,
he said. Sole-guard is a
form of liquid urethane
that sets quickly when
exposed to air, coating
whatever surface it is
on with a durable,
shock-absorbent, and
flexible layer and pro-
tects it from moisture,
debris, and possible in-
fection. Mud beds have
also been placed in her
enclosure to overcome
the pain caused by ar-
thritis, enable her to lie
down easily and reduce
pressure on her joints
as well as the footpads,
the doctor said. —PTI
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: Taking a
tough stand on lawyers
involved in criminal ac-
tivities, the Lucknow
Bench of the Allahabad
HC has asked the UP
Bar Council the Bar
Council of India what
disciplinary action has
been taken against the
advocates, who have
been found guilty of
misconduct. The Divi-
sion Bench of Justice
Rakesh Srivastava
Justice Shamim Ahmed
passed this order while
hearing a petition filed
by Piyush Shrivastava
(In Person) Ors. In
pursuance of the order
dated November 30, 2021
passed by the Court.
Report dated Decem-
ber 20, 2021 submitted
by Somen Barma, Depu-
ty Commissioner of Po-
lice, West Zone, Luc-
knowistakenonrecord.
The HC perused the re-
port dated December 11,
2021 submitted by Ram
Manohar Narayan
Mishra, District Judge,
Lucknow. The Court
noted, “According to
him, 50 cases are pend-
ing trial against the ad-
vocates in Lucknow
Judgeship out of which
36 cases are pending be-
fore the Magistrate and
14 cases are before the
Sessions Judge. In the
FIR lodged by the then
Chief Judicial Magis-
trate, Sandhya Srivas-
tava, the case is fixed for
appearance of accused
persons. It is surprising
that the charge-sheet
having been filed long
back even the presence
of accused persons
could not be ensured
and the charges could
not be framed.”
The Court was not
satisfied with the tardy
progress of the criminal
trial, especially when
the Courts’ working is
involved. It asked the
District Judge to im-
press upon the Magis-
trate to ensure the ap-
pearance of the accused
persons expedite
framing of charges so
that trial could begin
immediately
. The cases
involving advocates
should be tried expedi-
tiously so that innocent
donotsuffertheguilty
are not spared. The
Court further noted, as
per report, submitted by
D.K. Thakur, the Com-
missioner of Police, in
74 cases the charge-
sheets have been sub-
mitted, while District
Judge has given refer-
ence to only 50 cases.
Noida: The National
Thermal Power Corpo-
ration (NTPC) will pro-
cure 20 tonnes of plastic
waste daily from the
Greater Noida Industri-
al Development Author-
ity (GNIDA) and use it to
generate400kilowattsof
electricity
, officials said
on Thursday
. An agree-
ment for this was signed
between the state-run
NTPC and the GNIDA,
the officials said.
At present, the GNI-
DA has one waste reme-
diation plant in the
Lakhnawali area of
Greater Noida where
garbage is segregated.
Of the total garbage col-
lected daily, 50% is do-
mestic waste, which is
used for making com-
post, the GNIDA said.
Half of remaining gar-
bage is processed and
used in construction
work or at land filling
sites, while the rest is
the leftover plastic
waste, for which the
GNIDA was looking for
a buyer, it added. “With
an initiative led by GNI-
DA CEO Narendra
Bhooshan, the research
and development centre
of the NTPC’s Greater
Noida branch has
agreed to procuring 20
tonnesof plasticwaste,”
as per statement. “The
NTPC will take the pro-
cessed plastic waste to
convert the waste into
fuel which would even-
tually be used to gener-
ate electricity
,” the GNI-
DA said. —PTI
M u z a f f a r n a g a r :
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(BKU) president Naresh
Tikait on Thursday ap-
pearedinalocalcourtin
connectionwithmurder
of a farmer leader. How-
ever, the hearing was
adjourned due to a law-
yers’ strike, prosecutor
Niraj Kant Malik said.
Tikait has been an ac-
cused in a case involv-
ing the killing of nation-
al president of Rashtri-
ya Kisan Morcha
Choudhary Jagbir Sin-
gh. Singh was shot dead
in 2003 in Alawalpur vil-
lage of the district.
A case was filed then
at the complaint of Sin-
gh’s son, Rajbir Singh,
against three people,
including Tikait. The
other two accused died
during the trial.
Earthen pots with a face design of Prime Minister Narendra Modi being sold at a market in
Kanpur. —PHOTO BY ANI
—FILE PHOTO
POLITICAL STALWARTS
GNIDA NTPC
to generate
electricity from
plastic waste
SP, RJD promise
martyr status, `1
cr to kin of farmers
killed in protest
Aligarh: Rashtriya
Lok Dal (RLD) chief
Jayant Chaudhary on
Thursday accused
the BJP of garnering
farmers’ votes by us-
ing the credentials of
their leader and for-
mer prime minister
Chaudhary Charan
Singh during the 2017
Assembly elections.
He also promised
‘martyr’ status to the
farmers who died
during the agitation
against the three
farm laws Rs 1
crore to each of their
families if his party
rose to power. Ad-
dressing a joint rally
of the Samajwadi
Party (SP) RLD at
Iglas in Aligarh on
the 119th birth anni-
versary of Charan
Singh, also his grand-
father, Jayant said SP
chief Akhilesh Yadav
had rendered true
tribute to the former
PMbydemandingthe
government to confer
‘Bharat Ratna’ on
him. “After this (de-
mand) CM Yogi Adi-
tyanath in Lucknow
PM Narendra Modi
in Delhi will not be
able to sleep tonight,”
Jayant said. —PTI
JAYANT SLAMS BJP OVER LAW ORDER
RESCUED BLIND ELEPHANT FALLS ILL
HC asks UP Bar Council about
action taken against lawyers
PROBE CONTINUES
BKU PREZ NARESH TIKAIT
APPEARS IN UP COURT
ASSERTION OF POWER
Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur holds a sword with BJP
supporters during a rally, in Mathura on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
ASSEMBLY POLLS 2022

08
2NDFRONT
Yes, the world is getting
increasingly complicated but
simple things like kindness and
honesty are forever.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
IN MEMORIAM
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) National Spokesperson Rakesh Tikait with others pays homage at the Samadhi of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh
on his 119th birth anniversary, in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
AYODHYALAND
SCAM:MAYASEEKS
SCINTERVENTION
First India Bureau
Lucknow: BSP presi-
dent Mayawati on
Thursday sought inter-
vention of the Supreme
Court in the alleged
land scam in Ayodhya
in which huge parcels
of land around five km
radius of Ram temple
had been sold out to
BJP MLAs, Ayodhya
Mayor and large num-
bers of officers and
their relatives.
Addressing a press
conference here,
Mayawati said that it is
a serious matter and the
Supreme Court should
take note of it. Mayawa-
tisaidthecentralaswell
as the state govern-
ments should take the
matter seriously and all
the land deals should be
cancelled. The state gov-
ernment has already
ordered an inquiry into
the alleged matter.
Mayawati has held a
meeting of incharges of
all 18 divisions and pres-
idents of 75 districts in
which the party’s elec-
toral preparations were
discussed. The BSP
chief also raised objec-
tion to the passage of
electoral bill in Parlia-
ment in which the NDA
governmenthasdecided
to link Aadhar number
to voter ID. She said the
issue was of far reach-
ing consequences and
an indepth debate was
required in Lok Sabha
and Rajya Sabha, in-
stead of rushing
through the legislation.
Referring to the accu-
sationof oppositionpar-
ties about the phone-
tapping, Mayawati said
when the Congress was
in power at the centre, it
indulged in similar tac-
tics and now the BJP is
doing the same.
She said both Con-
gress and BJP are two
sides of the same coin.
Last week the Sama-
jwadi Party president
Akhilesh Yadav had ac-
cused the BJP of
phone-tapping.
Mayawati said there
was no weight in the
claim of the BJP to win
300 seats in 2022 UP elec-
tions. She said the way
theBJPgovernmenthas
gone on inauguration-
spree of large numbers
of projects and deploy-
ing a battery of leaders,
it indicated that the rul-
ing party was not in
comfortable position.
She said the people of
UP had seen the rule of
Congress, SP
, BJP and
BSP and they now re-
member only clean and
effective governance of
BSP
. Mayawati said dur-
ing her previous four
regimes there had been
large numbers of devel-
opment and welfare
work for the every sec-
tion of the society
. She
said the BJP and other
parties had resorted to
communal agenda to
win the elections.
New Delhi: Congress
leader Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra on Thursday dis-
missed as an ‘eyewash’
the probe ordered by the
UP government into the
alleged Ayodhya land
scam and urged the Su-
preme Court to inter-
vene.She said by indulg-
ing in ‘corruption’, BJP
leaders and officials
have hurt the faith of
people who donated for
the construction of the
Ram temple.
Addressing a press
conference here, she
said the Supreme Court
should take suo motu
cognisance of the mat-
ter as the Ram temple in
Ayodhya is being built
following its order.
Vadraalsoquestioned
the “silence” of Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi and Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath
over the alleged corrup-
tion by temple trust
members, BJP leaders
and officials in buying
land for the temple, say-
ing they owe a moral
responsibility towards
the donors who gave
theirmoneyoutof faith.
BJPleadershave‘sold
the sentiments, faith
and religion’ by indulg-
inginlootandmisuseof
donations received for
the Ram temple, she
charged.
The Ram temple
trust’s money is being
‘misused to benefit’ the
BJP
,RSSandtrustmem-
bers, she alleged, adding
that land belonging to
Dalits which is not al-
lowed to be sold is also
being usurped” and il-
legally bought by offi-
cials and their relatives.
—PTI
First India Bureau
Lucknow: AfterHindu-
stani Awam Morcha
(HAM), Lok Janshakti
Party (Ram Vilas) has
decided to contest Uttar
Pradesh Assembly elec-
tions alone.
The decision was tak-
en at a high-level meet-
ing headed by national
president Chirag Pas-
wan in New Delhi on
Wednesday evening.
“TheLJPwillcontestthe
electionwithoutanyalli-
ance with other political
parties. It will contest on
all 403 seats,” said Chan-
dan Singh, Bihar state
spokesperson of the par-
ty
. “During the meeting,
Mani Shankar Pandey
,
state president of UP
along with members of
all executive Committee
at district level of UP
were present. They have
unanimously decided to
go it alone and challenge
the ruling BJP and SP
,”
said Singh.
Though parties like
LJP(RamVilas)orHAM
areconsideredasparties
of Dalit communities in
Bihar, they would not
have status more than
“vote katwa” in UP
. The
political experts believe
that these parties are
ideal for BJP which is
considered as party of
upper castes in UP
.
Priyanka Gandhi and Randeep Surjewala address a press
conference at party headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday.
LJP TO MAKE
FORAY IN UP
ASSEMBLY
ELECTIONS
‘UP govt probe into land deal an eyewash’
Riotstookplaceunder
SPrule,saysThakur
First India Bureau
Agra: Union Sports
Minister Anurag
Thakur attended the
prize distribution cere-
mony of Fatehpur Sikri
MP Sports Competition
in Agra as the chief
guest on Thursday
.
Taking a dig at the Sa-
majwadi Party, he said
that there are “dangal”
in the BJP government,
but there used to be “ri-
ots” in the SP govern-
ment.
While addressing the
media, the minister said
thattheBJPgovernment
is promoting sports. In-
ternational level facili-
ties are being provided
totheplayers.Regarding
the action taken by the
central government on
YouTube channels, he
said that the anti-nation-
al forces, whether out-
side and inside the coun-
try
, will not be spared.
The Sports Minister
said that MP Rajkumar
Chahar had told him
about the demand for an
international stadium
in Agra. In such a situa-
tion, the central and
state government will
work together for the
stadium. As soon as he
will get the project re-
port of Stedimay from
here, he will start work-
ing on it. He said that
one thousand centers
will be opened under
Khelo India scheme to
promote sports and
sportspersons.
Akhilesh Yadav takes break
from public programmes
Lucknow: With his
family members test-
ing positive for Cov-
id-19, SP chief Akhile-
sh Yadav on Thursday
said he will keep away
from public pro-
grammes for three
days as a precaution-
ary measure.
Taking to twitter, he
wished the joint rally
of alliance partners
SP-Rashtriya Lok Dal
in Iglas “immense suc-
cess.” “Due to family
members testing posi-
tive for coronavirus, I
will not attend public
prog rammes.Best
wishes for the im-
mense success of to-
day’s Iglas joint rally
and appeal to all the
workers to participate
with full enthusiasm
and energy
,” His wife
and former SP MP
Dimple Yadav had test-
ed positive for COV-
ID-19 on Wednesday
.
“I am fully vacci-
nated and not showing
any symptoms yet. I
have isolated myself....
I request all those who
met me recently to get
themselves tested,”
shehadsaidinatweet.
According to a govern-
ment release, CM Yogi
Adityanath tele-
phoned Yadav and in-
quired about the
health of his “wife
daughter”, besides
wishingthemaspeedy
recovery
.
Ballia: Targeting Ra-
hul Gandhi over his
recent remarks on Hin-
du and Hindutva, Un-
ion minister A Naraya-
naswamy has said the
Congress leader is not
a Hindu and makes
such remarks
whenever elec-
tions near.
In remarks
over the past
few days,
Gandhi has
r e p e a t e d l y
sought to high-
light the difference be-
tween Hindu and Hin-
dutva and described
Hindu as tolerant and
Hindutva as power-
seeking.
“Whenever the elec-
tion comes he (Rahul
Gandhi) speaks like
this only, but he is not a
Hindu,” the minister
told reporters on the
sidelines of a social
empowerment camp
organised in Ballia on
Wednesday.
D i s m i s s i n g
Gandhi’s at-
tack on the
government
over inci-
dents of
lynching, the
Union Minis-
ter of State for
Social Justice and Em-
powerment said there
is no such thing and
the former Congress
president does not
know what is happen-
ing in the country.
—Agencies
Rahul Gandhi not a
Hindu, says minister
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: Despite the
game of one-upman-
ship and clamour to
woo women voters
ahead of UP 2022, a fact-
check shows that the
fair sex is given a raw
deal by almost all polit-
ical parties, including
the BJP and the Con-
gress, which don’t quite
live up to their promise
when it comes to ticket
distribution.
What seems to have
triggered this vying
game was the announce-
ment made by
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
mooting 40 per cent res-
ervation for women can-
didates and launching
party’swomen-exclusive
manifesto. While main-
stream political parties
are yet to announce list
of their candidates for
UP 2022 assembly elec-
tions, a data analysis of
Lok Sabha polls 2019
shows that women were
given the short-shrift by
all political outfits.
Sample this: The four
major political parties,
namely the Congress,
the BJP
, the SP and the
BSPtogetherfieldedjust
29 women candidates for
the80LokSabhaconstit-
uencies in UP
. Both the
Congress and the BJP
put up 10 women each.
The Congress faired
slightly better as it did
not contest on all the
seats. The SP fielded five
womenfollowedbythree
by BSP
. The BJP main-
tains that it assesses its
candidate on his/her
‘winnability’ potential
and not on gender.
“On each and every
level of our organisa-
tional setup, the party
has made sure that at
least one third of them
are women,” says BJP
leader Amit Puri. He
said this was also evi-
dent wherever the BJP
was in power and on all
important government
positions. The Congress
andtheSP
,whichtopthe
list for giving the maxi-
mum number of tickets
to women, say their ac-
tions speak louder than
words.
Representation of
women is not adequate
in politics and decision
makinginstitutions.But
this does not mean our
party has not promoted
women,” says Abdul
Hafiz Gandhi spokesper-
sonof SP
.HesaidSPisin
favour of the Women’s
Reservation Bill but
wanted special provi-
sions to include women
from the marginalized
backward sections.
Adequate women’s representation still no priority for parties
NO FAIR DEAL
UP THIRD IN NUMBER OF WOMEN MPS
When the Congress was
in power at the centre, it
indulged in similar tac-
tics and now the BJP
govt is doing the same
Both Congress and BJP
are two sides of the
same coin.
—Mayawati, BSP chief BHARAT RATNA FOR CHARAN SINGH
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple tested positive for C-19
BSP supremo Mayawati addressing a press conference at state
party office in Lucknow on Thursday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Union Sports Minister Anurag
Thakur at the prize distribution
ceremony in Agra on Thursday.
—PHOTO
BY
PTI

LUCKNOW, FRIDAY
DECEMBER 24, 2021
Facets organised
its first-ever im-
mersive experi-
ence in India, to
connect more with
its people. After
huge success in
America, they are now ex-
panding in India. The rose-cut
reveals the soul of the dia-
mond and by creating fine
rose-cut diamond jewellery,
it celebrates every facet
of the modern wom-
an. Sitting close to the skin,
these diamonds glow delicate-
ly from within, providing a
brief yet intimate glance into
the heart of the wearer.
Held on Wednesday at Ram-
bagh Palace, Jaipur, _La Vie en
Rose_ (Life seen through rose-
colored glasses) was a fun and
never-seen-before
celebration. Brand’s aesthet-
ics and values were
brought to life in the
most immersive expe-
rience by Envelop.
Jagdeesh Chandra
graced the occasion as
the Chief Guest.
It was an invite-only
event with all the social-
ites and elites of the town.
From decor and entertain-
ment to food and mood; every-
thing was heavily inspired
by the rose. The in-
vitees could first and
foremost, explore the brand in
detail and find some of their
finest pieces of rose-cut dia-
mond jewellery on display.
Further ahead, they explored
a whole new world of rose.
The food menu had a whole
section of French desserts
honouring rose. An exquisite
and exclusive drink was con-
cocted, which was a toast to
their Rajasthan (India) roots
and an ode to their in-
ternational presence.
A rose wine, brewed
exclusively by a Royal
family of Rajasthan,
was the main ingredi-
ent. A fine martini was
curated out of it, cele-
brating the internation-
al culture. Inspired
from the old European
culture of storing jewel-
lery, a musical in Bal-
lerina Box, a life-size
box was curated for
the event, from which
ascended finest balle-
rinas and the music
team. Leaving every-
one spellbound, it in-
deed was the highlight
of the evening. Through
the event, people experi-
enced the brand’s
world with a stun-
ning, rose-tinted
perspective. The
whole immersive ex-
perience generated
buzz-worthy impressions
for the brand. More on P10
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
64 Facets
celebrated a
glittering
timeless and
glamorous
facets in the
most fun style
revealing life
seen through
rose-colored
glasses and
never-seen-
before
celebration held
at Rambagh
Palace on
Wednesday!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
64
Jagdeesh Chandra with Rishee, Suman,
Lokesh , Neeru, Lalit and Radha
Neeru Soni and Toshi Vijay
(Clockwise) Neeta Ramlakhani,
Pearl Agarwal and Swati Gehlot
The ravishing collection by ‘64 facets’
—PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO
The gorgeous
Ballerina

10
ETC
64Facets is a family-owned and operated ‘global fine jewellery business’
with operations in New York, London, Hong Kong, Jaipur Mumbai.
Currently carried at 9 Neiman Marcus locations in the United States,
along with independent retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, 1stdibs,
Stanley Korshak and Bahrain Jewellery Centre; the brand is
expanding to various locations in Europe as well. City First brings
to you some more glimpses!
SCINTILLATING EVE!
SCINTILLATING EVE!
Jagdeesh Chandra with Rishee Miglani, Suman Soni, Kavita Chauhan, Pearl Agarwal, Lalit Soni and Lokesh Sharma
Suman, Lalit, Jai, Neeru and Priyanka Navdeep and Manushree
Gaurav and Medha Sonal and Himanshu Maanya with a guest Shailendra Singh Sisodia, Lalit Soni and Suman Soni
Shekhar, Madhu, Sanjay and Yash
Richa, Suruchi and Anshita
Radha, Arshad and Sadhna Garg
Guests captured in a candid moment
Pallavi Aggarwal Shreya
Natasha
Singh
Chauhan
Swati and Anshita caught in a candid moment
(L-R) Swati Oberoi, Rekha Kapoor
and Indu Dhull
—PHOTOS
BY
MUKESH
KIRADOO
Manushree

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia LUCKNOW | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2021
11
Hara Bhara kebab 15 Pcs
Paneer Tikka 15 Pcs
Paneer khurchan 1 Kg
Dal Tadka 1 Kg
Veg Dum Biryani 1 Kg
Butter Naan 5 Pcs
Tandoori Roti
Tandoori Roti 10 Pcs
Gulab Jamun/ 10 Pcs/ 1 kg
Gajar ka Halwa
Chicken Tikka Burra 15 Pcs
Mutton galauti 15 Pcs
Butter Chicken(12 pcs) 2 Kg
Dal Makhani 1 Kg
Chicken Dum Biryani 1 Kg
Butter Naan 5 Pcs
Laccha Parantha
Laccha Parantha 10 Pcs
Kesar Phirni/ 10 Pcs/ 1 kg
Gajar ka Halwa
Murg Malai Tikka 15 Pcs
Mutton Seekh Kebab 15 Pcs
Chicken Curry (12 pcs) 2 Kg
Dal Tadka 1 Kg
Chicken Dum Biryani 1 Kg
Roomali Roti 5 Pcs
Tandoori Roti
Tandoori Roti 10 Pcs
Gulab Jamun/ 10 Pcs/ 1 kg
Gajar ka Halwa
Rajma Galauti 15 Pcs
Cheesy Cigar Rolls 15 Pcs
Paneer Tikka Masala 1 Kg
Dal Makhani 1 Kg
Veg Dum Biryani 1 Kg
Stuffed Kulcha 5 Pcs
Laccha Parantha
Laccha Parantha 10 Pcs
Kesar Phirni/ 10 Pcs/ 1 kg
Gajar ka Halwa
VEGETARIAN PARTY PACKS
NON-VEGETARIAN PARTY PACKS
Rs 4000/-
Rs 3500/-
Rs 5500/-
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CHOOSE FROM SPECIAL NEW YEAR PARTY PACKS
SANTA BABIES
SANTA BABIES
If you walk around the streets, it’s common to find a kid or two dressed in the Santa Claus’ attire and why not it is the
most amazing time of the year and we should celebrate it in the happiest manner possible. City First brings to you
glimpses of Santa babies caught on camera shared by our readers from Rajasthan, Ahmedabad, UP and Delhi!
t is the most
a w a i t e d
time of the
year and the
Christmas
cheer is vis-
ible every-
where. People have
been baking cakes,
if not baking buying
probably, Christmas
trees are all set, the
great star that led
the Magi to baby
Christ is shining,
which, reminds me
of babies. The little
Santa babies are all
decked up to con-
quer this season.
The cute little
cherubs with their
bright smiles and
playful eyes remind
us of how Christ
would have been as
a baby. Let’s cele-
brate the spirit of
Christmas with the
Santa babies exclu-
sively shared by our
readers!
SUSHMITA AIND
sushmita.aind@firstindia.co.in
I
I couldn’t help but
wonder what baby Shawn
Sarilla must be thinking
dressed as Santa, ‘Have
I been a good boy, will
Santa give me gifts/’ Not
sure about Santa but
everyone else after seeing
his cute chubby face
certainly will.
Daksh Gupta with his minion like
smile doesn’t fail to attract eyeballs
from everywhere. The cute little
baby looks more like an elf who is up for
some kind of mischief.
Armaan has landed straight from his
sleigh with scintillating lights in the
background, he has presented the gifts
and is ready to surprise everyone, or,
so it seems.
Proclaiming the crown of Miss Santa
Fashionista Claus, Sanvi happily whirled
her skirt as she cheered for the most
awaited season of the year. Dashing
through the snow!
Little Devang who failed to smile for
the shutterbugs looks like an innocent
soul, reminding me of the lyrics of the
famous Christmas Carol: Silent Night,
‘Sleep in Heavenly peace’.
Surely the brothers Vikhyat and
Veohm couldn't decide who would be
Santa this year and they decided that
they are going to share the responsi-
bility. Coming up with sweets and gifts and
joy this season are the coolest Srivastava
brothers.
Sanvi Agarwal
Vikhyat and Veohm Srivastava
Devang Gupta
Armaan Patni
Shawn Sarilla Siddhisa Bareth
Daksh Gupta
Some habits never
change, Siddhisa who
looked like a cute little
baby as a Santa, gets
excited every year to
celebrate this season and
deck up in the colours
of this season, red and
white.

12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
CHEFS’ CHRISTMAS
CITY FIRST
T
helatestRajastha-
ni song, Gorband,
surfaced on the
internet and has
been making a big buzz
featuring Sawai Bhatt
and Himani Dave. The
song was released on
Tuesday on the official
YouTube channel of
Sawai Bhatt. Sawai
Bhatt rose to fame with
Indian Idol 12. Currently
playing among the top
singers of Rajasthan, he
started from a small
village called
Gachhipura and
led his journey af-
terwards. He has
also produced four
blockbuster hits with
Himesh Reshammiya.
Whereas, Himani Dave,
an international model
and actress hailing from
London, has taken on
the journey as she
prepared herself
as the desi girl
around the streets
of Rajasthan. An
epitome of beauty
and grace, Himani takes
the role of a Rajasthani
tribal girl exquisitely
.
In an exclusive inter-
view with City First,
Himani shared, “First of
all, I’m very honoured to
work with THE top art-
ist, Sawai Bhatt, he is
very hardworking,
plays more than ten
instruments and I
really want every-
one to support
this incredible
artist. Gorband
is a song about a
camel, repre-
senting Ra-
jasthan. Two
songs com-
bined in one
and it’s
sung in a
very tradi-
tional and
the singer’s
style.”
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
cityfirstdel@gmail.com
GORBAND
GORBAND –
– melody of culture!
melody of culture!
t’s beginning to look a lot
like Christmas and what
better way to celebrate it
than to have amazing
gourmet food in the com-
pany of your loved ones.
While the Christmas
trees have been bejewelled with
ornaments and lights and the
carols have been queued, the
city of Nawabs is all set to up-
scale the cosy holiday with a
gastronomic menu of traditional
and contemporary cuisines.
City First talked to Lucknow’s
finest culinarians to know about
their most epicurean dishes pre-
pared for people, especially for
Christmas.
Chef Subhash Vij of Distillery
Lucknow shared his special
Christmas treats and said, “We at
distillery aim at providing some-
thing unique, authentic mouth-
watering and this year for Christ-
mas we have our ‘winter bar-
beque’, which will be served
throughout the day
. Along with
this, we will be serving ‘Tiramisu’
which I mastered from an Italian
chef during my work abroad. It’s
called Mr Claus Tiramisu. A bite
of it will give you all the Christ-
mas feels.”
Whereas executive Chef at Hil-
ton Garden Inn, Anuj Mishra
shared his Christmas curated
menu and said, “There are multi-
ple cuisines which we will be of-
fering to our in house and Non-
Resident guests on Christmas like
traditional, Roast meat, turkey so
along with delicacies of different
parts of India. Few dishes which
will be the centre of attraction
are Roast Turkey with stuff-
ing, Awadhi Biryani of Luc-
know and Christmas Desserts
like Plum cake, Stollen, Yule log
and eggnog.”
Chef Dasharth Singh, previ-
ously of Trident Oberoi, Hil-
ton and Mariott shared his
Christmas specialities and
said, “My Christmas menu will
include:-
• 1. Panettone
• 2. Stollen bread
• 3. Christmas plum pudding
• 4. Stuffed Roasted turkey
with cranberry sauce and
roasted chestnut.
• 5. Slow roasted Suckling pig
with some exotic winter veg-
gies and purple potato mash.
Lastly, Chef Irshad from Black
Brewhouse said, “The highlight
of our Christmas menu will be
the traditional roast turkey along
with desserts like plum cakes, To-
blerone cheesecake and Ginger-
bread Wreath.
I
City First talked to
Lucknow’s finest
culinarians to know
about their most
epicurean dishes
prepared for people,
especially for
Christmas
MONICA
PRABHAKAR
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
MONICA
PRABHAKAR
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
TREATS
Lucknow is tuning into the Holiday mood as the city gets decked up
with lights and decorations. St Joseph Cathedral Church, Hazratganj
is lit up in its full glory to celebrate Christmas eve with enthusiasm.
CHRISTMAS PREPS!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! WEALTH MANAGEMENT
UP MAHOTSAV BEGINS
IN THE LOVING MEMORY OF…
A three-day workshop on ‘Wealth Management in Stock
Market’ was organised by the Department of Commerce,
University of Lucknow from December 21 to 23 at Prof.
S B Singh Auditorium, Department of Commerce under
the guidance Prof. Audhesh Kumar, Head, Department of
Commerce. The teachers of Department of Commerce
- Prof. Arvind Kumar, Prof. Somesh Shukla, Prof. Ram
Milan, Dr Sunita Srivastava, Dr Geetika T. Kapoor and the
Research Scholars also marked their valuable presence.
Under the aegis of Pragati Environment Protection Trust, 14th UP Mahotsav commenced
on Thursday with a press conference. The Mahotsav is set up in front of Sector O Postal
Ground, Kendriya Vidyalaya. The carnival, based on the theme of self-reliance, will go on till
January 11, 2022.
Chief airport officer SC Hota paid homage
to the former Prime Minister of India, Late
Chaudhary Charan Singh, on his birth
anniversary on Thursday by garlanding his
statue at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport,
Lucknow.
—PHOTOS BY ASHOK DUTTA —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Himani Dave
Sawai Bhatt
Chef Dasharth Singh
Chef Irshad
Chef Anuj Mishra
Chef Subhash Vij
Christmas Menu by Chef
Subhash Vij
Mr Claus Tiramisu by
Chef Subhash
The
birthday of
IPS Satya
Narain
Sabat
was on
Thursday,
December
23. We
wish him
all the best!

24122021 first india lucknow

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