First india lucknow edition-01 march 2021

LUCKNOW l MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 107
PRAKASHMAY
YOGI!
Vishal Srivastav
ubah-e-Banaras
bore a subtle
charm on Sun-
day. The mysti-
cal Yogi Adity-
anath rolled out
a red carpet wel-
come for a spirited BJP na-
tional president JP Nadda in
the oldest city in human civi-
lisation. While Nadda’s pres-
ence enthused party workers
with a sense of zeal, Yogi’s
proximity
, ensured their was
no dearth of confidence
in them.
Both the BJP comrades
stand guard to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s look-East
policy where the underdevel-
oped eastern part of the state,
is witnessing a sonic-boom-
like holistic development.
The indefatigable Yogi is
the eyes and ears of PM’s
dream--the Kashi Vishwa-
nath Temple corridor, which
connects the iconic temple
with the holy Ganga. Day is
not far when after Ram Tem-
ple, the corridor emerges as
mainstay in the Hindu heart-
land.
During his maiden term as
CM, Yogi Adityanath has
been bearing a tough load on
his shoulders. He has been
manoeuvring away the state
from the clutches of corrup-
tion, crime and cult-politics.
In all the righteousness
and earnestness, both Nadda
and Yogi are standing as
strong pillars for the BJP who
can deliver whenever, wher-
ever & whatever required!
S

l Vol 1 l Issue No. 107 l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi Industrial Area Kanpur Road Lucknow.
Published at 98, Friend’’s Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP). Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVE
LUCKNOW | MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021
02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Promoted by First India
News International Pvt. Ltd.
everal political
leaders have
put out pic-
tures of them-
selves getting a
Covid-19 vaccine hoping
to reassure and persuade
citizens to follow suit.
Could it work? If the goal
is to spread the message
widely and quickly, the an-
swer is yes.
However, it should not be
surprising that this strat-
egy is causing a stir – par-
ticularly in countries
where politicians tradi-
tionally prefer oral debate
over emotion-based com-
munication using the body
as a prop.
Why have ritualised, in-
person demonstrations by
celebrity bodies become
such a widespread tool for
influence and persuasion?
USING EMOTION
French sociologist Gabriel
Tarde’s foundational works
of the 19th century – spe-
cifically The Laws of Imita-
tion – established that a
public figure’s physical rep-
resentation can be used to
provoke an emotional re-
sponse and encourage pub-
lic action dates.
In fact, the practice dates
back even longer than this.
Representations of Jesus
Christ and saints, kings
and queens, and even de-
ceased civilians, have all
been used at different
times to mobilise groups.
Using emotion to pro-
voke action relies on our
social need to imitate in
order to feel like we are
part of the group. Every
community identifies
with a certain charismat-
ic figure or trusted leader.
The choice to take action
and follow the leader’s in-
structions spreads from
one person to another due
to this need to imitate,
which makes people feel
like they belong to the
community.
This anthropological
framework has been used
for more than two decades
in emotional marketing,
which uses communica-
tion techniques developed
by media according to the
sociologist Elihu Katz, who
himself drew on Gabriel
Tarde’s ideas.
TURNING
APPEARANCE INTO
SPECTACLE
Communications having
been turned into an indus-
try, a leader’s emotional
power is enhanced by mak-
ing an event out of their
appearance. It is even easi-
er to provoke emotional
projection when an image
of a leader has been semi-
otically designed to trigger
reassuring emotions.
Former French presi-
dent François Mitterrand’s
“Quiet Strength” election
campaign of 1981 (created
by Jacques Séguéla) blazed
the trail for using a physi-
cal representation in this
way. The mechanism was
also at work in the recent
display of Queen Elizabeth
II’s image to boost British
morale during the current
health crisis. Images of
athletes, actors and other
celebrities are regularly
used like this in communi-
cation campaigns to en-
courage imitation.
Social media exploits the
desire to put oneself on dis-
play to provoke an emo-
tional response. Perform-
ing our private lives online
is an act intended to arouse
feelings in others.
French President Emma-
nuel Macron is well versed
insuchcommunication.Ina
highly commented-upon
selfie, sent when he tested
positive for Covid-19, he
placed himself in front of a
carefully orchestrated, so-
cial media-friendly back-
drop (French flag, hand
sanitiser on desk). It is all
designed to make viewers
senseMacron’skindness,ac-
cessibility
, authenticity
, vul-
nerability and compassion.
Indeed, it’s hard to resist
the emotions presented on
the faces of such person-
alities. We feel moved de-
spite ourselves.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
Should politicians take their doses publicly to reassure others?
S
When meditation is mastered,
the mind is unwavering like
the flame of a lamp in a
windless place.
—Bhagavad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavdekar
Number of water birds has increased
by about 175% compared to last year.
112 bird species have been sighted
in Kaziranga National Park during this
Census. Most important reason for
this is that here, there is better water
conservation along with very little
human interference: PM
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Lord Jagannath is the centre of faith
for all Hindus. It is our collective
responsibility to work towards the
development and promotion of
the Jagannath Culture—which is
synonymous with the belief and
identity of all Hindus across the globe,
including 4.5 crore Odias in Odisha.
alancing the need for regu-
lation to keep out obnox-
ious online content that
promotes violence and vul-
garity with the need to
preserve our core constitu-
tional values and freedom
of expression is at the core
of the new rules which
have been formulated by
the union government to
address concerns regard-
ing the new media.
The policy has tried to cre-
ate the much-needed level-
playing field between online
news platforms and print
media on the one hand and
online and television news
media on the other and to
bring the online news portals
within the ambit of the Code
of Ethics that govern the
print media like the norms
of journalistic conduct
drawn up by the Press Coun-
cil Act, the Cable Television
Networks (Regulation) Rules,
1994. This was long overdue
because of the recklessness
and irresponsibility that is
on display in some of these
platforms.
Similarly, while the cin-
ema industry has a film
certification agency with
oversight responsibilities,
OTT platforms have none.
However, in order to en-
sure artistic freedom, the
government has proposed
self-regulation and said
the OTT entities should
get together, evolve a code
and come up with content
classification so that a
mechanism is evolved to
preclude non-adults from
viewing adult content.
They must get down to do
it. The grievance redres-
sal mechanism thought of
is three-tier, with the pub-
lishers and self-regulating
bodies being the first two.
The third tier is the cen-
tral government oversight
committee. The policy
proposed requires pub-
lishers to appoint griev-
ance redressal officers
and ensure time-bound
acknowledgment and dis-
posal of grievances. Then,
there can be a self-regu-
lating body headed by a
retired judge.
Online platforms are wary
of rules that seek verifica-
tion of accounts, access con-
trol etc, but these issues need
to be resolved within the
framework of India’s laws.
For example, while main-
stream media is conscious of
provisions in the Indian Pe-
nal Code (IPC) dealing with
the promotion of violence,
enmity among communities,
defamation, etc, content on
online platforms seem to be
totally oblivious of all this.
The vulgar comments
posted on social media
about women profession-
als in media or in other
fields and the inability of
the Indian State to deal
with such behaviour
makes one wonder wheth-
er the IPC is inapplicable
in cyberspace.
The Indian digital and
OTT players can draw les-
sons from the concerted ac-
tion taken by the digital com-
panies in Australia which
have come together and
drawn up a code to deal with
fake news and disinforma-
tion. It is called the Austral-
ian Code of Practice on Dis-
information and Misinfor-
mation and it was released
only recently by the Digital
Industry Group.
Australian Communica-
tions and Media Authority
(ACMA) has welcomed the
initiative and said more
than two-thirds of Aus-
tralians were concerned
about “what is real or fake
on the internet”. In re-
sponse, ACMA says the
digital platforms agreed to
a self-regulatory code “to
provide safeguards against
serious harms arising
from the spread of dis- and
misinformation”. Some of
the actions promised by
the digital platforms in-
clude disabling of ac-
counts and removal of
content.
In the UK, the government
is all set to bring in a law to
make online companies re-
sponsible for harmful con-
tent and also to punish com-
panies that fail to remove
such content. The aim of the
proposed “Online Safety
Bill” is to protect internet us-
ers and deal firmly with plat-
forms that promote violence,
terrorist material, child-
abuse, cyberbullying, etc.
The Digital Secretary
, Mr.Oli-
ver Dowden was quoted as
saying “I’m unabashedly pro-
tech but that can’t mean a
tech-free for all”. This in a
sense sums up the current
mood in this issue across de-
mocracies.
In the UK, self-regula-
tion governs the print me-
dia and private television
and radio are regulated by
the Independent Televi-
sion Commission and the
Radio Authority as pro-
vided by a statute.
As regards the two minis-
ters who announced the gov-
ernment’s guidelines – Ravi
Shankar Prasad and Mr.
PrakashJavadekar-itshould
not be forgotten that both of
them are the heroes of what
is called the “Second Free-
dom Struggle” when they
fought against the dreaded
Emergency imposed by
Prime Minister Indira Gan-
dhi in the mid-1970s and suf-
fered incarceration for about
a year and a half, so that the
people got back their consti-
tution and democracy
.
Obviously
, their commit-
ment to basic democratic
values has and will con-
tinue to influence their
policy formulations vis-à-
vis media regulation.
Finally, a word about the
framework within which
companies should operate in
India. As the union minister
for Information Technology
Mr.Ravi Shankar Prasad
said, they must function with
the laws of the land. This is
non-negotiable.
In recent times, Twitter
has tried to define freedom
of expression and even
claimed that it seeks to
protect the freedom of ex-
pression of Indians. “Free-
dom of Expression” is em-
bedded in our chapter on
fundamental rights in our
constitution and it is cir-
cumscribed by what are
called “reasonable restric-
tions”. These are in place
because India is a vibrant
democracy and the most
diverse society in the
world with many social,
political, and economic
complexities. That is why
India’s founding fathers
have, with great intuition
and foresight introduced a
caveat vis-à-vis freedom of
expression, so that consti-
tutional rights promote
internal peace and harmo-
ny. What these freedoms
are and what these restric-
tions are have been defined
by our Supreme Court in
innumerable cases and the
law as laid down by India’s
apex court is the law of the
land. We do not want some
private international com-
panies to assume the role
of some supra courts and
put their own spin on our
Constitution.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS
REGULATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA
B
Online
platforms are
wary of rules
that seek
verification of
accounts, access
control, etc, but
these issues need
to be resolved
within the
framework of
India’s laws.
For example,
while
mainstream
media is
conscious of
provisions in the
Indian Penal
Code (IPC)
dealing with the
promotion of
violence, enmity
among
communities,
defamation, etc,
content on
online platforms
seem to be
totally oblivious
of all this
A.SURYA
PRAKASH
The writer is an independent
journalist
WHILE THE CINEMA INDUSTRY HAS A FILM
CERTIFICATION AGENCY WITH OVERSIGHT
RESPONSIBILITIES, OTT PLATFORMS HAVE NONE.
HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO ENSURE ARTISTIC FREEDOM,
THE GOVERNMENT HAS PROPOSED SELF-REGULATION
AND SAID THE OTT ENTITIES SHOULD GET TOGETHER,
EVOLVE A CODE AND COME UP WITH CONTENT
CLASSIFICATION SO THAT A MECHANISM IS EVOLVED TO
PRECLUDE NON-ADULTS FROM VIEWING ADULT
CONTENT. THEY MUST GET DOWN TO DO IT. THE
GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL MECHANISM THOUGHT OF IS
THREE-TIER, WITH THE PUBLISHERS AND SELF-
REGULATING BODIES BEING THE FIRST TWO. THE THIRD
TIER IS THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT
COMMITTEE. THE POLICY PROPOSED REQUIRES
PUBLISHERS TO APPOINT GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL
OFFICERS AND ENSURE TIME-BOUND
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND DISPOSAL OF GRIEVANCES.
THEN, THERE CAN BE A SELF-REGULATING BODY
HEADED BY A RETIRED JUDGE

First India Bureau
Lucknow: Banking ser-
vices? And that too in a
village of Uttar
Pradesh? It may have
seemed a distant dream
in Uttar Pradesh a few
years back but the
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath govern-
ment’s continued ef-
forts to connect rural
UP with banking ser-
vices, has fructified.
On the initiative of
CM Yogi, people are
now getting employ-
ment in villages besides
banking facilities are
also being made availa-
ble. Besides 59 thousand
banking correspond-
ents (BC Sakhi), women
are also getting employ-
ment as care takers in
toilets being construct-
ed in 59000 gram pan-
chayats. Soon BC Sakhi
would not only provide
banking facilities, but
also funds from MNRE-
GA and other facilities
related to public secu-
rity scheme.
CM Yogi had
launched ‘Ek Gram
Panchayat, Ek Banking
Correspondent’ scheme
to promote women self-
reliance, empowerment
and Digital India, under
which 59000 BC Sakhi
had been appointed. In
future through BC
Sakhi awareness of
various financial prod-
ucts, etc besides bank-
ing facilities would be
foe which Turn to P6
Bank On Yogi: 59k villages get banking facilities in UP
STRENGTHENING RURAL UP
CM Yogi had launched ‘Ek Gram
Panchayat, Ek Banking Correspondent’
scheme to promote women self-reliance,
empowerment and Digital India
CM Yogi Adityanath performing Puja at the iconic Kashi
Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi on Sunday.
THE RISE
LUCKNOW l MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021 l PAGES 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 107
ARRIVAL OF
“STICKY BOMBS”
IN KASHMIR
Srinagar: “Sticky
bombs”, that have
wreaked havoc in
Afghanistan, and
can be attached to
vehicles for remote
detonation, have been
seized during raids in
recent months in the
federally administered
region of Jammu and
Kashmir, senior secu-
rity officials told.
3 ARRESTED,
ARMY EXAM
CANCELLED
Pune: Three people,
including an ex-ser-
viceman, have been
arrested after question
papers of an Army
recruitment examina-
tion were leaked. The
exam, scheduled to
be held at various
locations across India
on Sunday, has been
cancelled.
Amitabh
Bachchan
undergoes
surgery
Mumbai: Bollywood
megastar Amitabh
Bachchan is going
through some medical
condition that has ne-
cessitated surgery
. He
gave the news to his fans
viahisTumblrblog.The
78-year-old wrote on late
Saturday night, “Medi-
cal condition .. surgery
.. can’t write.”
The news has made
Big B’s fans worried
and many shared their
distress on social me-
dia, and a few also spec-
ulated as to what the
said condition could be.
The superstar’s fans
wished for a speedy re-
covery of the legend.
One shared on Twitter,
“Prayers for @SrBach-
chan Ji’s speedy recov-
ery. Take care. Sending
my love and prayers for
you.” Another tweeted,
“Sir, Prayers for your
speedy recovery
. —PTI
Centre’s three farm laws are death
warrant for farmers: Kejriwal
Maha min Rathod resigns over
‘links’ with Pooja Chavan death
Meerut:“Centre’sthree
farm laws are death
warrant for farmers,”
alleged Delhi chief min-
ister Arvid Kejriwal on
Sunday at a farmers’
rally in Meerut.
“The government
wants to take away
their lands and give
them to 3-4 capitalists.
Farmers will become
labourers in their own
fields, that is why it’s a
do or die situation for
farmers,” Kejriwal hit
out at Centre amid the
ongoing farmers’ pro-
test against the new
agriculture laws while
speaking at Meerut’s
Kissan Mahapanchay-
at. Speaking at the ral-
ly, Kejriwal added,
“Even Britishers did
not oppress our farm-
ers to this extent, they
did not fix nails on the
ground. This govern-
ment has left behind
the Britishers.”
Firing a salvo at
Bhartiya Janata Party
(BJP), Kejriwal added
“The entire Red Fort in-
cident was planned by
them. See P8
Mumbai: Maharashtra
Forest Minister Sanjay
Rathod Sunday submit-
ted his resignation to
Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray after he
came under the scan-
ner over his alleged
links to the death of a
woman in Pune.
“In the last few days,
the opposition played
dirty politics over the
death of a 22-year-old
woman of our commu-
nity
. The opposition de-
famed me and my com-
munity through media
and social media. It was
done to destroy my po-
litical career. I want an
impartial probe to be
conducted in this mat-
ter Turn to P6
New Delhi: Asserting
that the Atmanirbhar
Abhiyan (campaign on
self reliance) is not just
a government policy
but also a national spir-
it, Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi Sunday
urged people to learn
more about Indian sci-
entists and develop
sports commentaries in
regional languages for
the Indian sports item
in order to make it so.
Modi, who during his
program aired a record-
ed version of a Sanskrit
cricket commentary at
a tournament between
universitites in his Var-
anasi constituencies,
said the country should
promote sports com-
mentaries in regional
languages.
Responding to a lis-
tener’s question about
his biggest regrets as
Chief Minister of Guja-
rat and later as Prime
Minister, PM Modi said
that he often feels bad
that he could not learn
Tamil, the “world’s most
ancient language”. “It is
a beautiful language
that Turn to P6, More on P6
New Delhi: India is all
set to begin the third
phase of Covid-19 vac-
cination drive that will
cover 10 crore people
across the country from
Monday
. Govt will start
the vaccination of peo-
ple above 60 years and
individuals above 45
years of age having co-
morbidities against
coronavirus.
People with the pres-
ence of one of the 20 co-
morbidities, including
diabetes and heart fail-
urewithhospitaladmis-
sion in the past one year,
will be prioritised in the
next phase of the COV-
ID-19 vaccination drive,
the government said.
The simplified sys-
tem of certifying people
with these co-morbidi-
ties within the 45-59
years age group was
explained to the States
Health Departments. At
Jaipur, Rajasthan Gov-
ernor Kalraj Mishra
might become the first
Governor of a state to
undergo vaccination at
about 1 PM. Moreover,
it is believed that CIC
DB Gupta and retired
judges of High Court
could also be in-
noculated.
Atmanirbhar Abhiyan
is national spirit: Modi
VACCINATION 3RD
PHASE STARTS TODAY
I APPRECIATE THAT: CONG’S GHULAM
NABI AZAD PRAISES PM MODI
WE’VE DEFEATED A MUCH BIGGER ENEMY
IN BRITISH, WILL BEAT MODI TOO: RAHUL
New Delhi: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi
heaped effusive praise on Ghulam Nabi Azad, the
senior congress leader returned the favor on Sunday.
Azad said he appreciates that PM, never tired to hide
his true self. “I like lot of things about many leaders.
I’m from a village and feel proud of it. Even our PM
hails from village and used to sell tea. We’re political
rivals but I appreciate that he doesn’t hide his true self.
Tirunelveli: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday
described Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “formida-
ble enemy” who ‘crushed’ his opponents and vowed
to send him to political oblivion by following the path
of love and non-violence. During an interaction titled
‘Educators Meet’ at the St Xavier College
here, Gandhi, touring southern Tamil
Nadu for the second day as part of
his second leg of campaign for the April 6 assem-
bly polls, Turn to P6, Related report on P6
COMPANIES ‘FEEL
BETRAYED’: KIRAN SHAW
ROGUE CORONA
STRAIN N440K
CAN CAUSE
REINFECTION
New Delhi: Biocon Chairperson Kiran
Mazumdar Shaw on Sunday hit out at the
government capping COVID-19 vaccine
price at Rs 250 at private hospitals, say-
ing vaccine companies “feel betrayed”
as it is too low to sustain. Reacting to a
report that the health ministry has fixed
Rs 250 per shot at private hospitals and
health centres, she tweeted, “We r (sic)
crushing instead of incentivising vaccine
industry.” Turn to P6
Hyderabad: Researchers,
have mentioned that the
novel coronavirus variant,
N440K, can cause reinfec-
tion. According to them,
this variant can escape
the immune system and
can cause reinfection in
sufferers already recov-
ered from Covid-19.
The researchers studied
a case in Kurnool, which
they mentioned was the
second case of Covid-19
reinfection in India at-
tributable to the variant
N440K, one of the rogue
mutants of the pandemic
virus. The study was
revealed on pre-print
analysis server OSF.
 Centre has deputed high-
level multi-disciplinary teams
to Kerala, Maharashtra, Kar-
nataka, TN, WB, Chhattisgarh,
Punjab, MP, Gujarat and JK
to ascertain reasons for the
surge in cases coordinate
with the State Health Depart-
ments in Covid-19 control and
containment measures: GoI
 Night curfew extended in
Pune city till March 14
 Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru
University issues notification
for further reopening of the
campus in phased manner
Arvid Kejriwal
Sanjay Rathod Pooja Chavan
COVID MEASURES
ISRO’S
PSLV-C51 LAUNCH
New Delhi: The main excitement around the PSLV-
C51, when it was announced, was about a satellite
that eventually could not be part of the launch.
Sunday’s mission was supposed to carry a satellite
from Pixxel India, one of the several new start-ups
that are tipped to do to India’s space sector what
companies like SpaceX or Planet Labs have been
doing in the US. Pixxel India, is planning to place
a vast constellation of earth-imaging satellites for
continuous monitoring of every part of the globe,
and beam high-resolution imagery and other data
that can be utilized for a variety of applications in
climate change, agriculture and urban planning.
The first of its satellites, called Anand, was sup-
posed to be on this PSLV-C51 rocket that took off
from the Sriharikota launching range this morn-
ing.But less than a week before the launch, the
company announced that due to “certain software
issues” during testing, it would not go ahead with
the launch of the satellite at this time.
and why Pixxel India’s Anand
satellite missed the flight
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD
LUCKNOW
www.firstindia.co.in
www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/
twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia
instagram.com/thefirstindia

UTTAR PRADESH
04
Yogi Speaks
Yogi Speaks
First India Bureau
Varansi: The trial run
of CNG boat in Ganga
was inaugurated by by
Union Petroleum Minis-
ter Dharmendra Prad-
hanbyfillingCNGgasin
boat on Saturday
. At Kh-
idhkia Ghat, he an-
nounced that a state-of-
the-artgasstationwould
beinauguratedbyPrime
MinisterNarendraModi
soon. Running of CNG
boat would reduce pollu-
tion as-well-as increase
income of sailors.
Duringinspection,the
Union minister said de-
velopment of Khidikiya
ghat was being done in
accordance to heritage
of Kashi and facilities
like Meditation Park,
Children Park, food pla-
za, and boating facility
wouldbemadeavailable.
Smart City Corpora-
tion, NBCC, Indian Oil
Corporation Limited,
EIL are also contribut-
ing in making Kashi a
Smart City
. Earlier,
Union Minister inspect-
ed Vishwanath Corridor
by boat after visiting
Sant Ravidas Temple in
Srigovardhan. He also
reviewed progress of de-
velopment works with
officials at a meeting in
circuit house.
Speaking to media
Union Minister said US
Joint Secretary was
holding talks with fuel
producing countries
Russia, UAE, Qatar, Ku-
wait for increasing fuel
productivity to address
gas price hike.
He said preparations
had begin to give 1 crore
new connections under
PradhanMantriUjjwala
Yojana and gas had
reached in 98 percent
households. The highest
number of Ujjwala con-
nectionsinUPhavebeen
allotted in Gorakhpur
and Sonbhadra areas.
Hesaidthecountof 14
crore gas connections
hadincreasedto28crore
connections in six years
and to ensure gas con-
nection in every house-
hold work on PNG was
in progress.
Around 200 boats
would be converted into
CNG boats and in com-
ing days, only CNG vehi-
cles will operate in UP
.
Pradhan steps on the gas to vroom on water
GOING GREEN
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan taking the CNG boat ride.
Party prez JP Nadda inaugurates offices in Vns, Prayagraj; targets 27 more by October
‘BJP’S IDEA NOT TO GRAB POWER
BUT TO REACH LAST MAN IN LINE’
First India Bureau
Varanasi: BJP national
president JP Nadda on
Sunday said the party
had become a medium
to bring transformation
in the country and take
it to great heights.
The BJP chief was
here to inaugurate a
newly built party office.
He inaugurated another
office in Allahabad
through video confer-
encing. Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath also ac-
companied him.
Addressing party
workers, Nadda said, “I
congratulate the organ-
isers who have built this
office. But friends, this
is hardware. The soft-
ware which we have to
install in this is our
workers. This office
will become a medium
to inculcate best quality
values.”
The BJP chief also
stressed that grabbing
power was not their tar-
get but a medium to
reach out to the the last
man in the line.
Nadda, who is on a
two-day visit to Varana-
si, said to run an organ-
isation, workers, execu-
tive body, programme
and office were needed.
Those who got an op-
portunity to join the
BJP, I consider them as
fortunate. The party has
become a medium to
bring transformation
in the country and take
it to glorious heights,”
he said.
TakingadigattheOp-
position, the BJP said
all parties in the coun-
try had become parties
of families.
“But in the BJP, it is
the party that has be-
come a family
,” he said.
Nadda also claimed
that the BJP has never
seen a downfall since
the days of the Jana
Sangh.
Recalling his college
days, he said, “People
used to say that Nadda,
you are a right person in
the wrong party
. I used
to say that there is noth-
ing right or wrong. If
principles are right, we
will prove to be right to-
day or tomorrow. Today
,
I ask them who is right?
who is wrong?”
In a reference to the
Left parties, the BJP
chief said, “Our Com-
rade friends used to say
Nadda, there will be a
revolution. I used to tell
them that India is a
country of saints. Evo-
lution takes place here,
not revolution. This
thing has to be under-
stood.”
The BJP chief told
party workers that they
aimed to build 80 offices
in the state, of which 53
had been built and by
October, the remaining
would also be ready
.
BJP National President JP Nadda with CM Yogi and party State President Swatantra Dev Singh inaugurating the party office in Varanasi
on Sunday.
CM Yogi Adityanath offering flowers to Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Bharat Mata as BJP president
JP Nadda offers his tributes.
BJP National President JP Nadda addressing party workers in
Varanasi on Sunday.
BJP State President Swatantra Dev Singh presents a memento depicting proposed Ayodhya Ram
Temple to party National President JP Nadda as CM Yogi applauds.
The Yogi govern-
ment lays out
the blueprint for the
development of the
sugar industry in NITI
Aayog. A record Rs123
lakh cr has been paid
to 45.44 sugarcane
farmers in the 4 years
of Yogi government.
The state produced a
record 427.30L tonnes
of sugar from 3,868L
tonnes of sugarcane.
The number of licenses
for Khandsari units
in has peaked at 264
for the first time in 25
years.The govt has
distributed loans to
industries by holding
mega loan fair for four
times across UP.
CM Yogi Adityanath
paid tributes to
India’s first President
Rajendra Prasad on his
death anniversary on
Sunday. In his twitter
tribute, the CM said
that Prasad’s leader-
ship was transparent,
he was a great freedom
fighter and believed in
simplicity.
CM Yogi has ap-
pealed to the
people of UP that they
take full use of the
Arogya Mela’s being
held every week across
the state. He said that
the initiative is for
the common man and
that everyone should
benefit from it.
CM Yogi Adityanath
said that from
Sunday, the Jal Jeevan
Mission was also
being started in India.
He said like the Swac-
chcha Bharat Abhiyan,
the JJM would also be
highly successful.
RaviKishanmeetsCMoverfilmcity
project,pushesBhojpuricinema
UP managed to
control encephalitis
by 75 per cent: CM
Pay bills on time to get
cheaper power: Min
First India Bureau
Mathura: Power minis-
ter Srikant Sharma on
Sunday exhorted con-
sumers to pay electrici-
ty bills on time and dis-
close actual load usage
to get cheap and unin-
terrupted power supply
.
The minister noted
that the dream of the
government to provide
cheap power to consum-
ers may be translated
into reality on the basis
of their cooperation.
“Timely payment of
bills and disclosure of
actual load by consumer
are the twin vital com-
ponents for cheap power
supply,” Sharma, told
reporters here.
He said, for the reason
best known to them, ru-
ral consumers, so far
have not been able to de-
posit bills in time. Con-
sumers would get a
cheap power tariff, pro-
vided the payment is on
time,theministerstated.
To ensure timely and
actual reach of power
billstoruralconsumers,
a prob-billing system,
replacing manual bill-
ing system, is in prog-
ress, he said.
First India Bureau
Varanasi: Uttar
Pradesh managed to
control the Encephali-
tis disease by 75 per
cent and the fatality
rate due to it has re-
duced by 95 per cent in
the past four years,
said Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath on
Sunday.
While inaugurating
a campaign here to cre-
ate awareness about
communicable diseas-
es, Adityanath said, “In
2017, we started a spe-
cial vaccination pro-
gramme to aware citi-
zens about Encephali-
tis. As a result, the
state managed to con-
trol the disease by 75
per cent and the death
rate due to the disease
reduced by 95 per cent
in the past four years.”
“We will fully con-
trol the disease in com-
ing years. United Na-
tions International
Children’s Emergency
Fund (UNICEF), World
Health Organization
(WHO) also supported
to make this program a
success,” he added.
The campaign will
formally start from
March 1 and will con-
tinue till March 31.
Adityanath said that
after coming to power
in 2017, the govern-
ment started a special
campaign to control
Encephalitis disease.
“We formed special
teams for treatment
and controlling the dis-
ease,” he said.
Last week, Adity-
anath launched the
Japanese Encephalitis
(JE) vaccine drive and
administered the vac-
cine drops to children
in Lucknow.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Gorakhpur
MP and Bhojpuri actor
Ravi Kishan met Chief
Minister Yogi Aditya-
nath on Sunday and
held discussions with
him over the proposed
film city in the state.
Kishan discussed the
shooting of the films in
the state with the Chief
Minister.
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath expressed
happiness about the
pace of film production
in the state. Kishan said
the Bhojpuri industry
should also make such
films that will bring na-
tional awards. The actor
explained, in detail, the
road map for the promo-
tion of the Bhojpuri
films and urged support
from the state govern-
ment.
Earlier this month,
the UP government led
by CM Adityanath held
discussions with pro-
ducers, directors, ac-
tors, and experts related
to the film industry re-
garding the proposed
world-class film city
.
A 1,000-acre land for
the film city has been
identified in Gautam
Buddh Nagar district by
Yamuna Expressway In-
dustrial Development
Authority (YEIDA)
where the Infotainment
Zone will be set up with
world-class facilities.
MP and actor Ravi Kishan meeting CM Yogi in Lucknow on Sunday
CM Yogi launching awareness drive on communicable diseases

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

UTTAR PRADESH
05
ONE DEAD, TWO
INJURED IN
DRUNKEN BRAWL
WANTED CRIMINAL NABBED AFTER
ENCOUNTER IN AMBEDKAR NAGAR
THREE ARRESTED FOR ILLEGAL
HOOKAH BAR IN LUCKNOW
Ambedkar Nagar: Notorious criminal Umanath
Giri carrying reward of Rs 25,000 on his head was
arrested after encounter in Saraiya area here. One
cop and the criminal were injured in cross firing. A
police team intercepted motorbike-borne suspects
near Saraiya at Mathiya road but they opened fire
on the police, in which constable Rahul Kumar was
injured. In retaliatory firing Giri was injured.
Lucknow: The police arrested three persons for
running hukkah bar in Mahanagar area here ille-
gally
. Arrested accused were identified as Mukesh,
Vikas and Zeeshan. According to the police, a team
lead by addl deputy commissioner of police (North)
Prachi Singh raided a hookah bar in Mahanagar
area. Manager of the bar was unable to produce
legal documents about the bar. Police arrested man-
ager Mukesh, employees Vikas and Zeeshan.
Azamgarh: In a
knife attack between
two groups in Jahan-
aganj area here, one
person died and two
others were severely
injured. Police said
Tribuvan Ram (30)
died on the spot while
Deena Ram and
Bheem Ram were in-
jured. They were
rushed to the hospi-
tal where their condi-
tion as stated to be
critical. According to
the police, a drunken
argument led to at-
tack on each other in
Jahanaganj area.
CRIME ROUND UP
Vishal Srivastav
Lucknow: Ugly scenes
were witnessed at the
Lucknow Nagar Nigam
on Sunday when an ar-
gument broke out be-
tween the members of
the opposition and the
BJP corporators.
The brawl cooked up
to a level where mem-
bers from both the sides
started hurling abuses
at each other. There was
no dearth of cuss words
andswearsateachother
from both the side. How-
ever,themembersdidn’t
seem to have been satis-
fied with just verbal
abuses as they started
exchanging blows as
Lucknow Mayor Sany-
ukta Bhatia held her
head in shame and de-
spair.
The ugly spat took
place during the budget
session of the Lucknow
Nagar Nigam which
was being chaired by
the Mayor Sanyukta
Bhatia. On various is-
sues, the members of
the BJP and the Sama-
jwadi party didn’t agree
and began to fight when
soon the situation went
out of hand.
However, with the in-
tervention of the mayor
and other officials, the
members could be
brought to a calm after
the proceedings for the
day were started and
budget was finalised.
THE LMC BUDGET
A revised budget of
Rs.1,780 crore for the
Municipal Corporation,
Lucknow was unani-
mously passed under
the Chairmanship of
MayorSanyuktaBhatia.
In the budget, Rs 344
crore (approx.) has been
allocated to the Water
Department. The fund
for the Head Office has
been increased to Rs.32
crore (previously Rs.30
crore)whilethezonalof-
fices will get a fund of
Rs.18 crore (previously
Rs.15 crore). Contingen-
cy/emergency expenses
have been allocated a
fund of Rs.15 crore (pre-
viously Rs.13 cr) while
Rs. 38 cr (previously
Rs.31 cr) has been allo-
cated for petrol and die-
sel expenses. The new
construction works un-
dertaken by the Munici-
pal Corporation has
been allocated a fund of
Rs. 2 cr and the expendi-
ture on pensions has
been increased to Rs.75
cr (previously Rs.70 cr).
The fund for digitalisa-
tion of the Corporation
has been increased to Rs
2.30 crore.
First India Bureau
New Delhi/Lucknow:
The CBI has identified
10 more victims of al-
leged child sexual abuse
by now-suspended Ut-
tar Pradesh Irrigation
department junior engi-
neer Ram Bhawan, the
alleged paedophile also
accused of selling the
illicit acts with kids on
the dark web, officials
said.
Further expanding
its exhaustive probe,
the central probe agen-
cy recorded the state-
ment of these 10 male
victims to buttress its
charges against Bhu-
wan who was arrested
along with his wife and
a suspected accomplice,
they said.
The person arrested
from the national capi-
tal, whose identity is
being kept secret by the
CBI, is understood to be
an important link in un-
ravelling the mystery
of the 50-year old junior
engineer using the dark
web to sell child sexual
abuse material and
making money from it,
they said.
The agency team has
so far identified around
35 victims and is in the
process of identifying
others, they said.
The CBI is also work-
ing on deciphering digi-
tal evidence from recov-
eries made during
searches at the premis-
es of Bhuwan and his
suspected accomplice,
they said.
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: “How can
2.75 lakh cases be de-
cided by just nine re-
tired officers? How will
jurisdiction be distrib-
uted among Lucknow
and Prayagraj as the
bill has no provision in
this regard,” ques-
tioned High Court Bar
Association (HCBA)
president Amrendra
Nath Singh while ad-
dressing the media
here.
Meanwhile, Lawyers
of Allahabad HC will
abstain from judicial
work on March 1 also to
oppose the Education
Service Tribunal bill
which provides for the
principal bench of the
Tribunal at Lucknow.
The HCBA in it’s res-
olution had asked it’s
member lawyers nei-
ther to enter into the
HC premises nor to file
any case.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Major re-
shuffle was carried out
in police department in
UP before Panchayat
Polls including transfer
of 27 PPS officers and
one IPS officer who had
beenservinginsamedis-
tricts for a significant
period.
The 27 ASPs trans-
ferredareRajeshSonkar
ASP Deoria, Dr Arvind
ASP Kannauj, Dayaram
ASP Chandauli, Ramse-
vak ASP (Traffic) Gora-
khpur, Premchand ASP
(SIT) Lucknow, Rajesh
Kumar (III) ASP City Sa-
haranpur, Avadhesh
SinghASP(North)Bara-
banki, Suresh Rawat
ASP Siddharthnagar,
Akhilesh Narayan ASP
(Rural) Firozabad, Om-
prakash Singh (II) ASP
Shamli, Arun Dixit
(Staff Officer) ADG Var-
anasi, Mayaram Verma
ASP (Crime) Agra,
Rajesh Srivastava ASP
(Crime) Aligarh, Vinod
Pandey ASP Amethi,
Shravan Singh Addl
Deputy Commissioner
of Police Lucknow,
Ashutosh Shukla Depu-
ty Commandant Bareili
PAC, Ramayash Singh
Deputy Commander
Prayagraj,RakeshSingh
ASP Jalaun, Shashi
Shekhar ASP Unnao,
Pragya Mishra ASP
Madhyanchal Bijli, JP
Singh ASP (ATS) Luc-
know, Alok Sharma ASP
(Vigilance Establish-
ment), Dinesh Yadav
ASC (ATC) Sitapur, Ajay
Singh ASP (Security)
Varanasi andIPSAditya
ASP (Crime), Varanasi.
First India Bureau
Chitrakoot: Raigarh
district secretary of
the Congress party Ma-
hendra Yadav commit-
ted suicide by shooting
self in his native vil-
lage Chhibon village
under Rajapur police
station area.
Police sources here
said Mahendra Yadav
(30) alias Jankisharan
wasresidinginRaigarh
district of Chhattis-
garh for a long time.
He was the Congress
district secretary of
Raigarh.
On Sunday morning,
at around 1130 hrs, he
committed suicide by
shooting self.
The police rushed to
the spot after informa-
tion and initiated the
investigation.
During investigation
it was revealed that
family feud could be
the reason behind the
incident.
It was also reported
that he had good con-
nections in Chhattis-
garh and political ri-
valry too could not be
ignored.
The police have in-
terrogated family
members regarding the
incident and also one
team was sent to Chhat-
tisgarh for further in-
vestigation.
BJP, Opposition corporators let free flow of cuss words abuses before coming to blows
Mayorhangsheadinshame
as‘slugfest’@NagarNigam
10moreabusevictims
ofsuspendedJEfound
HCBA questions UP
govt bill, its relevence
In major police reshuffle, 27
PPS, 1 IPS officer shifted
Chhattisgarh Cong leader kills self
Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia sits dejected at the sorry state of affairs.
Suspended JE Ram Bhawan in police custody. —FILE PHOTO
NO NEW CESS FOR PUBLIC
Cops suspended
as gang rape
accused flees
from custody
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: A dreaded
criminal, who was
arrested after an en-
counter a few days
back, escaped from
police custody from
Swarooprani Nehru
hospital here.
Gulshan, who was
injured in cross-firing
during the encounter
was taken to the hospi-
tal for treatment. He
managed to escape
from custody. Three po-
lice constables were
suspended in this refer-
ence and several teams
were formed to nab es-
caped criminals.
The escaped crimi-
nal hailed from Sarai
Akil area in Kausham-
bi district, and was one
of the top ten criminals
in the region. Several
criminal cases were
registered against
Gulshan and he was
prime accused of gan-
grape of a student
following which he
was arrested after en-
counter.
The arrest and en-
counter of Gulshan
was, however, panned
on social media after a
video of the criminal
went viral. In the video
the accused had de-
scribed how he was ar-
rested.
Representative photo
First India Bureau
Noida: Over 7.35 lakh
senior citizens across
UP have so far regis-
tered themselves with
the state police’s ‘Save-
ra’ initiative for “en-
hanced response” when
the emergency 112 num-
ber is called, officials
said.
ADG of Police (112
service) Asim Arun said
the initiative was
launchedin2019withan
objective to preparing a
database of senior citi-
zens in the state.
“At times senior citi-
zens call 112 but are un-
able to describe their
problem or inform their
location.Incaseof cities
having multi-storey and
high-rise apartments,
thePRV(policeresponse
vehicle) may track the
call location but then
there are hundreds of
flats and difficult to find
the callers’ location,”
Arun said at the 112
headquarters here.
Thedatabase,hesaid,
included information
like name of a senior
citizen, their home and
work address, contacts
of spouse, family or lo-
cal acquaintances.
“There is also an op-
tion for them to share
their basic medical his-
tory so that in case it is
a medical emergency,
the 112 responders
would already have ad-
equate knowledge about
the caller. But this infor-
mationsharingisvolun-
tary
,” the officer said.
Arun cited a number
of cases, like incidents
of domestic violence, in
which the emergency
police responders have
prevented serious mis-
haps, fights, and even
suicide attempts be-
cause of this initiative.
According to 112 offi-
cials, such an enhanced
response creates a sense
of security among the
citizens. Any senior citi-
zen living in UP can get
their primary registra-
tion in ‘Savera’ done by
calling112,officialssaid.
7.35L senior citizens register with cop initiative for better ‘Savera’
HELPING HAND

A database has
been made that
includes names,
home and work
addresses,
contacts of
spouse family
of senior citizens Representative photo.
HOLY DAY
UP Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari reached Naimisharanya pilgrimage, Sitapur,
with his family and participated in havan and worship at Chakratirtha on Sunday.
Mahendra Yadav
—FILE PHOTO
The police believe
family feud could be a
reson for the extreme
step the leader took
IPS officer Aditya
ASP (Crime),
Varanasi is also
among those shifted
A corporator picks up a chair during the melee.

INDIA
06
Chennai: The Income
Tax Department has de-
tected undisclosed in-
come of about `220
crore after it raided a
leading tiles and sani-
taryware manufacturer
based in Chennai,
CBDT said. The action
was carried out on Feb-
ruary 26 and a total of
20 premises in Tamil
Nadu, Gujarat and Kol-
kata were searched and
surveyed, it said. The
CBDT said in a state-
ment that `8.30 crore
cash was seized. The
group is the “leader” in
tiles business in south
India. “unaccounted
sale and purchase of
tiles were detected. De-
tails of unaccounted
transactions were un-
earthed in the secret of-
fice and the software
maintained in the
cloud,” it claimed.
“Considering the pre-
vious turnover, the sup-
pression of income may
be in the range of ` 120
crore. This is in addi-
tion to ` 100 crore of
undisclosed income in-
troduced by the group
as share premium
through shell compa-
nies,” it claimed. —PTI
`220 cr in black
money detected
after raids
Becomeexamwarrior,not
worrier: Modi to students
PM Modi updates the Exam Warriors book with new mantras interesting activities
New Delhi: Asking stu-
dents, who are about to
facetheirannualexams,
to become a warrior and
not a worrier, Prime
MinisterNarendraModi
on Sunday said he up-
dated the Exam Warri-
ors book with new man-
tras and interesting ac-
tivities.
In his monthly radio
address ‘Mann Ki Baat’,
PMModiaskedstudents
to go gleefully for the ex-
amination and come
back with a smile. “Most
of theyoungfriendswill
have exams. All of you
should remember - you
have to become a warri-
or and not a worrier, go
gleefully for the exami-
nation and come back
with a smile. You have to
compete with yourself,
not with anyone else,”
he said.
He asked the students
to get adequate sleep
and be mindful of time
management and also
not to stop playing. “For
those who play are the
ones that blossom. Revi-
sion and smart methods
of memorisation are to
be adopted, that is, over-
all, in these exams, you
have to bring out your
best. You must be think-
ing about how all this
will be possible. We’re
going to do it together,”
he added.
Modi said that like
every year, this year too
he will have ‘Pariksha
Pe Charcha’ with stu-
dents in March, and
asked the “exam warri-
ors, parents and teach-
ers” to share their expe-
riences and tips.
“You will get all the
information on MyGov
- how to participat, how
to get an opportunity to
discuss with me,” he
said. —ANI
Narendra Modi
New Delhi: PM
Modi will inaugurate
‘Maritime India
Summit 2021’ on
March 2 through vid-
eo conferencing.
According to PMO
the Maritime India
Summit 2021 is being
organised by the Min-
istry of Ports, Ship-
ping and Waterways
on a virtual platform
from March 2 to
March 4. The summit
will visualise a road-
map for India’s Mari-
time sector for next
decade and will work
to propel India to the
forefront of the Glob-
al Maritime Sector.
Eminent speakers
from several coun-
tries are expected to
attend the summit
andexplorethepoten-
tial business opportu-
nities and invest-
mentsinIndianMari-
time domain.
PM Modi to inaugurate
Maritime India Summit
2021 on March 2
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
on Sunday lauded
residents of Assam
for forest conser-
vation, water con-
servation and pro-
tection of nature.
In his monthly ra-
dio address ‘Mann
Ki Baat’, PM Modi
said a total of 112
species of birds
were sighted in
Kaziranga National
Park, Assam. He
also highlighted
the role of As-
sam temples in
protecting nature.
PM MODI
LAUDS ASSAM
RESIDENTS
Bank On Yogi...
common service cent-
ers have been set up in
every village.
To provide banking
services to villages,
state has been divided
into 27,628 sub service
areas (SSA) keeping in
mind population of 4000
to 6000 and a radius dis-
tance of 5 km. All bank
Mitra are doing Aad-
haar and RuPay card
based transactions.
Apart from this, pro-
cess of reviving inac-
tive bank mitra and ap-
pointment of new is
also being done.
There are 59000 gram
panchayats in UP with
64000 banking mitra al-
ready present in it
while 59000 BC associ-
ates have now been ap-
pointed bringing the
total count of banking
mitra swell to 1.22 lakh
banking correspond-
ents in 59000 gram pan-
chayats, who are pro-
viding services not only
in village panchayats
but also in nearby are-
as.
The banking network
post expansion in state
is serving an average of
one outlet per 2.38 sq
km. The service area of
banking outlets in quar-
ter ended September
2020 has improved in
comparision to March
2020.
Atmanirbhar
Abhiyan...
is prominent around
the world. Many people
have told me about the
quality of literature
and poetry written in
Tamil,” he said. Modi
began his 34-minute
speech calling for wa-
ter conservation and
nature conservation
citing examples from
West Bengal, Assam,
Tamil Nadu, Madhya
Pradesh and Uttara-
khand where individu-
als have taken initia-
tives for them and in-
spired others.
With the summer sea-
son quickly approach-
ing, PM Modi said it was
essential for all Indians
to recognise their re-
sponsibility towards
water conservation. He
also announced the Jal
Shakti Ministry’s up-
coming ‘Catch the Rain’
campaign aimed at rain
water harvesting.
On the occasion of
National Science Day,
PM Modi also highlight-
ed the importance of
science in building a
self reliant India. He
dedicated the day to the
work of esteemed scien-
tist Dr CV Raman and
his discovery of the ‘Ra-
man Effect’. “ —Agencies
Companies ‘feel...
She further said, “Covid
Vaccine Jab Capped At
Rs 250 At Private Hospi-
tals:Government-under-
stand vaccine cos (sic)
feel betrayed as price is
too low to sustain.” Ma-
zumdar-Shaw asked, “If
WHOhasagreedto$3per
dose, why beat them
down to $2?”
The government’s
capping of the vaccine
price at private hospi-
tals comes at a time
when India is prepar-
ing to vaccinate people
aged above 60 years and
those over 45 with co-
morbidities from
March 1. —PTI
Maha min...
and the truth will come
out. So, I have tendered
my resignation to CM,”
said Rathod while
speaking to reporters
outside the CM’s offi-
cial residence.
The Maharashtra
BJP had been demand-
ing Rathod’s resigna-
tion from the state Cab-
inet since he was linked
to the Pooja Chavan sui-
cide case. The saffron
party has launched a
state-wide agitation
against Rathod over his
alleged links to the
woman’s death.
Maharashtra Con-
gress leader Balasaheb
Thorat, who is also a
minister, had said: “The
Maha Vikas Aghadi
government will not
support any wrongdo-
ing. If something is
wrong, it is wrong, the
government will take
appropriate action in
the matter.”
We’ve defeated...
also said he counted
on the people’s sup-
port to defeat the BJP.
When a participant
wanted to know if
Gandhi felt it was pos-
sible to nudge the
Modi government to
implement his ‘good
ideas’ rather than
waiting to assume
power which seemed
‘Utopian’, he said it
could be done with the
‘powerful’ and ‘valua-
ble’ support of the
people.
“Yes we are fighting
a formidable enemy
(Modi). We are fighting
an enemy that is domi-
nating the money in
this country. We are
fighting an enemy that
is crushing its oppo-
nents. But we have
done this before. We
have defeated a much
bigger enemy (British)
than this new enemy
that has come,” he said.
Recalling the coun-
try’s independence
movement, he said the
Britishers were much
more powerful than
Modi would ever be.
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: The coun-
try had recorded 18,855
new infections on Janu-
ary 29. The number of
deaths soared to 1,57,051
with 113 fresh fatalities,
the data updated at 8 am
showed. The active case-
load further increased
to 1,64,511. It constitutes
1.48 per cent of the total
infections, it showed.
Thenumberof people
who have recuperated
from the disease surged
to 1,07,75,169, which
translates to a national
COVID-19 recovery rate
of 97.10 per cent. The
case fatality rate stands
at 1.42 per cent.
India’s COVID-19 tal-
ly had crossed the 20-
lakh mark on August 7,
30 lakh on August 23, 40
lakh on September 5
and 50 lakh on Septem-
ber 16. It went past 60
lakh on September 28,
70 lakh on October 11,
crossed 80 lakh on Octo-
ber 29, 90 lakh on No-
vember 20 and sur-
passed the one-crore
mark on December 19.
According to the In-
dian Council of Medi-
cal Research,
21,62,31,106 samples had
been tested until Febru-
ary 27 with 7,95,723 be-
ing tested on Saturday
.
The 113 new fatalities
include 51 from Maha-
rashtra, 18 from Kerala
11 from Punjab,
among other parts of
country. So far, 1,57,051
deaths have been re-
ported in country in-
cluding 52,092 from Ma-
harashtra, 12,493 from
Tamil Nadu, 12,326 from
Karnataka, 10,909 from
Delhi, 10,266 from West
Bengal, 8,725 from Uttar
Pradesh. —PTI
SELF-ISOLATE AS NATION SEES RISING VIRUS CASES
Tally climbed to 1,10,96,731 on Sunday with 16,752 new infections, the highest in the last 30 days, according to Union health ministry data
People flouting social distancing norms at the market, in Jalandhar on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Rahul Gandhi interacts with college professors at St. Xavier’s College in Tirunelveli on Sunday.
Police outside industrialist Mukesh Ambai’s residence Antilla.
A
runachalPradesh
became a corona-
virus-freestateon
Sundaywiththethreeac-
tive cases recovering
fromthedisease,asenior
health official said.
The total caseload in
the northeastern state
remained at 16,836,
while the number of
recoveries stood at
16,780, State Surveil-
lance Officer Lobsang
Jampa said. No fresh
COVID-19 case was re-
ported in the past 24
hours, he said, A total
of 56 people have so far
died due to the conta-
gion in the state.
Arunachal Pradesh’s
recovery rate and posi-
tivity rate are at 99.66
per cent and zero per
cent, respectively, the
official said. Altogeth-
er, 4,05,647 samples
have been tested, in-
cluding 312 on Satur-
day, Jampa said. Mean-
while, State Immunisa-
tion Officer (SIO) Di-
mong Padung said
32,325 health and front-
line workers have re-
ceived vaccine shots in
state thus far.—PTI
Arunachal is now Corona-free
as active case count hits zero
Tirunelveli: In a re-
newed attack on the
Centre, Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi on Sun-
day said that the Gov-
ernment of India has
turned noble profes-
sions like farming, edu-
cation and healthcare
into financial commodi-
ties. During an interac-
tion titled ‘Educators
Meet’ at Tirunelveli’s St
Xavier College, Gandhi
said, “I personally do
not believe that educa-
tion is a financial com-
modity. I believe that
education should be
available to everyone.”
Gandhi, who is tour-
ing Tamil Nadu for the
second day as part of
his campaign for the
April 6 assembly polls,
hit out at the National
Democratic Alliance
(NDA)-led union gov-
ernment and said, “It is
duty of a nation to give
education and health-
care to its people. What
is happening here is
that everything is being
seen as a financial com-
modity,” he remarked.
“Agriculture is being
seen as a financial com-
modity, education is be-
ing seen as a financial
commodity, healthcare
is being seen as a finan-
cial commodity. Basi-
cally
, if you have money
,
you can get anything. If
you do not have money,
you get nothing,” the
Congress leader said.
Centreturnededucation,
healthcareintofinancial
commodities:RaGa
New Delhi: An organ-
isation named Jaish-
ul-Hind has claimed
the responsibility of
placing an explosives-
laden SUV near indus-
trialist Mukesh Am-
bani’s house in south
Mumbai, police said
on Sunday.
A senior police offi-
cial said that all possi-
ble angles were being
investigated in this
connection.
The outfit claimed
the responsibility by
posting a message on
social messaging app
Telegram, which went
viral on social media
and came to the notice
of Mumbai police, the
official said. —PTI
Jaish claims responsibility for placing explosives near Antilla
MALLS SHUTDOWN
New Delhi: Delhi will begin the third phase of
Covid-19 vaccination from tomorrow for those
who are above 60 years and people between
45-59 years with co-morbidities, the Delhi Health
Department said. More than 3.6 lakh beneficiar-
ies have received the vaccine till Friday in Delhi
since the start of the inoculation drive a month
ago, with over 18,900 people receiving jabs on
Thursday. Meanwhile, India is all set to begin the
second phase of Covid-19 vaccination drive that
will cover 10 crore people across the country
from Monday. —Agencies
DELHI TO START THIRD PHASE OF
COVID-19 VACCINATION FROM TODAY
“DISPARITY” IN WEALTH DISTRIBUTION
STRONGER IN BJP RULE: RAHUL GANDHI
— PHOTO BY ANI

TALKING POINT
07
UNSETTLING
BUT
PLAUSIBLE
VISION
This vision of a fragmented and
decidedlylessliberalinternational
order is highly speculative, but
also dispiritingly plausible.
All nation states, especially
rising powers, desire a favourable
global environment in which they
can acquire power, prosperity and
prestige. The postwar system
greatly aided China, and it would
beincorrecttoclaimBeijingwants
to dismantle it entirely
.
Similarly
, it would be
disingenuous to overlook the
many instances where the US and
other liberal democracies have
behaved inconsistently
But the Chinese Communist
Party, which leads an
authoritarian state, sees the
liberal values embedded in the
present order as a threat to its
rule. Unlike the US, which at
times ignores or violates these
principles, China needs many of
them to be suppressed, even
eliminated.
As China seeks to remake
the international order, the
challenge is to understand
where and how Beijing’s
efforts will undercut its liberal
character, and to identify
where it is possible to resist.
HOW CHINA IS
CHANGING THE
WORLD
Rather than upend the existing
international system, Beijing’s
approach today is to co-opt, ig-
nore and selectively exploit insti-
tutions.
Xi has said:
reforming and improving
the current international sys-
tem do not mean completely
replacing it, but rather advanc-
ing it in a direction that is more
just and reasonable.
In late 2019, for instance, the
World Trade Organisation’s ap-
pellate body ceased to function
after the US – complaining about
the organisation’s soft stance on
China – blocked the appointment
of replacement judges.
Inmanyways,theWTO’sstruc-
ture is the epitome of a liberal
rules-based system: countries re-
linquish some sovereignty and
are bound by judicial decisions in
the interests of resolving trade
disputes.
In response, China joined with
the European Union, Australia
and other governments to set up
a parallel stop-gap legal mecha-
nism.
This was a reflection of the
CCP’s nuanced relationship with
the liberal international order.
China needs a stable trading sys-
temandwillagreetobindingrules
to preserve it. The odd trade dis-
pute does not substantially threat-
en China’s ideological security
.
In the future, Beijing should be
expected to exert its influence on
the current order. The challenge
for states is to identify when Bei-
jing’s behaviour exceeds influ-
ence and begins to erode the sys-
tem’s liberal foundations.
China is already skilfully ma-
noeuvring within international
institutions to guide their opera-
tions, press for reforms and pro-
mote the China model.
Chinese nationals run four of
the 15 United Nations specialised
agencies, including the Food and
Agricultural Organisation and
the International Civil Aviation
Organisation.
Ironically, the democratic na-
ture of international institutions
benefits Beijing. Chinese repre-
sentatives in a variety of forums,
such as the World Health Assem-
bly and committees of the UN
General Assembly, muster coali-
tions of the Global South to en-
sure favourable votes on issues
such as Taiwan’s (non)participa-
tion or to counter criticism of its
repressive policies in Xinjiang.
China also elevates its govern-
ment-organised NGOs, present-
ing an image of independence
while drowning out the voices of
independent civil society
.
The China Society for Human
Rights Studies, for example, has
official consultative status at the
United Nations as an NGO, but is
co-located with Chinese govern-
ment offices and staffed by Chi-
nese government officials. It has
vigorously prosecuted China’s
human rights agenda.
The use of deft diplomacy and
inducements to generate voting
blocs is unsurprising. But China
also seeks to change the system,
diluting the liberal elements that
threaten the China model and
thus the CCP’s rule.
For instance, China has al-
ready succeeded in weakening
the liberal character of interna-
tional human rights. In 2017, it
proposed its first-ever resolution
to the UN Human Rights Council,
headed: “The contribution of de-
velopment to the enjoyment of
all human rights”.
It prioritised economic devel-
opment above civil and political
rights, and put the primacy of the
state above the rights of the indi-
vidual. Despite objections and
nay votes from Western mem-
bers, the resolution passed. The
subsequent report by the coun-
cil’s advisory committee, a body
of 18 experts supposed to main-
tain independence, referred
mainly to Chinese party-state
documents.
Chinese diplomats also block
human rights resolutions at the
UN Security Council, such as a
February 2020 resolution on the
plight of Myanmar’s ethnic Roh-
ingya.
While the US has arguably
been similarly obstructive on
resolutions about Palestine, it is
for the narrow purpose of pro-
tecting an ally, rather than the
broader project of weakening the
rights themselves.
China has even been able to
marshal the international sys-
tem to defend and commend its
behaviour in Xinjiang and Hong
Kong.
In 2020, at the 44th session of
the UN Human Rights Council, a
joint statement signed by 27
countries, including Australia,
expressed concern at arbitrary
detention, widespread surveil-
lance and restrictions in Xinji-
ang and the national security
legislation in Hong Kong.
A competing statement sup-
porting the Hong Kong legisla-
tion received support from 53
states, only three of which are
considered “free” by the non-
governmental organisation Free-
dom House.
By working within the system
to rally a voting bloc, Beijing
was able to compromise the
world’s peak human rights body
.
Tactics that have been success-
ful in watering down human
rights are now being employed
in areas where norms are still
being established, such as inter-
net governance.
PREPARING FOR
THE NEW WORLD
DISORDER
The history of liberal
internationalism is replete with
contradictions. Some say that in
recent decades it is Washington,
not Beijing, that has damaged the
order most.
So can China really do more
damage to an order already on life
support? Liberalism is not just
facing an external challenge, but
one from within.
The answer requires optimism
aboutliberalism’scapacitytoself-
correct across the arc of history
,
and scepticism that illiberalism
can do likewise. As much as
DonaldTrumpbelittled,criticised
and attacked America’s
institutions, he also created the
conditionsforacoursecorrection
– Joe Biden’s victory
.
The CCP is a well-resourced
and well-organised political
force. It has the potential to be far
more effective than any
iconoclastic but capricious
populist in permanently
weakeningtheliberalfoundations
of the global order. Much of
China’s influence abroad is
unavoidable. A rising power with
the economic and military
strength that China wields is
unlikely to be deterred.
On this logic, optimism has no
place. But it would also be
mistaken to adopt a fatalistic
approach. Instead, Australia and
its partners must focus their
efforts on those elements of the
liberal order most worth
preservingandmostunderthreat.
The centenary of the people’s
republic is still 28 years away
.
SOURCE: THECONVERSATION.COM
Chinese state media lauded Xi Jinping as a ‘champion of the UN ethos’ ahead of the UN
General Assembly last year. —ANDY WONG/AP
Qu Dongyu, the new director-general of the Food and Agricultural Organisation.
—RICCARDO ANTIMIANI/AP
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a UN Security Council briefing in 2018.
—EVAN VUCCI/AP
NATASHA KASSAM
Fellow, ANU National Security College’s Futures
Council, Australian National University
DARREN LIM
Senior politics lecturer,Australian National University
I
t is the year 2049.
China is celebrat-
ing having
reached its second
centenary goal – to
become a “prosper-
ous, powerful, demo-
cratic, civilised and
harmonious socialist
modernised country”
by the 100th anniver-
sary of the people’s
republic.
Its economy is
three times the size
of the United States’,
as the International
Monetary Fund pre-
dicted back in the
2010s. The US re-
mains wealthy and
powerful – it has
functioning alliances
in Europe – but its
pacts with Asian al-
lies have fallen into
disrepair.
For decades, Hong
Kong has been accept-
ed as just another
province of China.
Few dare to criticise
the ongoing human
rights abuses there,
or in Xinjiang and
elsewhere, because of
the extraterritorial
application of Chi-
na’s national security
laws. Taiwan, if not
annexed, is isolated,
with no diplomatic
partners.
The legacy of Xi
Jinping, who led Chi-
na for more than 30
years, monopolises
ideological discourse
in China. His succes-
sors rule under his
shadow.
Outside China,
many of the third-
wave democracies
that transitioned in
the second half of the
20th century have be-
come far less liberal.
Elections are held,
but increasingly au-
thoritarian govern-
ments have adopted
many of Beijing’s
technological and le-
gal tools to manage
markets and control
politics. The internet
is heavily censored.
Mistrust permeates
every aspect of Chi-
na’s relations with
the West. Internation-
al co-operation on cli-
mate change and the
strong carbon-reduc-
tion commitments of
the early 2020s have
long been abandoned.
The focus is on indi-
vidual adaptation.
HOW CHINA IS
HOW CHINA IS REMAKING
REMAKING
THE WORLD IN ITS
THE WORLD IN ITS VISION
VISION

08
2NDFRONT
There is something so hopeful
about a beginning howsoever
small it might be …a new day… a
new month- Happy March to all !
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Meerut: Extending his
support to the farmers
agitating in the nation-
al capital against the
three farm laws, Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal on Sunday ac-
cused the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) work-
ers of perpetrating the
violence that took place
on Republic Day at Red
Fort during farmers’
tractor rally
.
He alleged that the
Red Fort violence was
planned by the BJP and
those who hoisted a flag
on the monument on the
Republic Day were their
party workers.
Protesters broke bar-
ricades to enter New
Delhi and clashed with
policeinseveralpartsof
the national capital dur-
ing the January 26 ‘trac-
tor rally’ protest organ-
ised by the farmers.
The protestors had
also entered the iconic
Mughal era monument
Red Fort and unfurled
their flags from its ram-
parts.
Speaking at a public
rally in Meerut, the Del-
hi Chief Minister said,
“The entire Red Fort
incident was planned
by them. Many people
told me that they (dem-
onstrators) were delib-
erately shown the
wrong path as they did
not know streets of Del-
hi. Those who hoisted
flag were their (BJP)
workers. Our farmers
can be anything but
anti-nationals.”
He went on to accuse
the Centre of filing cas-
es against farmers for
carrying out ‘anti-na-
tional activities’.
“Today, BJP’s central
government has filed
cases against farmers
for carrying out anti-
national activities. Even
Britishers did not have
this courage. They call
our farmers terrorists,”
the AAP chief said.
Cornering the Centre
for not withdrawing the
central farm laws, Ke-
jriwal termed these leg-
islations as ‘death war-
rant’ for farmers.
“Centre’s three farm
laws are death warrant
for farmers. The gov-
ernment wants to take
away their lands and
give them to 3-4 capital-
ists. Farmers will be-
come labourers in their
own fields, that is why
it is a do or die situa-
tion for farmers,” he
said. Drawing parallels
between the BJP and
Britishers, he said even
the former coloniser
did not oppress our
farmers to this extent.
“Even Britishers did
not oppress our farm-
ers to this extent, they
did not fix nails on the
ground. This govern-
ment has left behind
the Britishers,” he
said.
Farmers have been
protesting since No-
vember 26 against the
three newly enacted
farm laws - Farmers’
Produce Trade and
Commerce (Promotion
and Facilitation) Act,
2020; the Farmers Em-
powerment and Protec-
tion) Agreement on
Price Assurance and
farm Services Act 2020
and the Essential Com-
modities (Amendment)
Act, 2020.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Farmer
leader Rakesh Tikait
will be touring five
states in March to drum
up support for the ongo-
ing farmers’ protest
against Centre’s new
agriculture laws, a
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(BKU) office-bearer
said on Saturday
.
Tikait, the national
spokesperson of the
BKU and a prominent
face of the farmers’ pro-
test, will begin the tour
from March 1, the of-
fice-bearer said.
“Farmers’ meetings
will be held in Uttara-
khand, Rajasthan, Mad-
hya Pradesh, Karnata-
kaandTelangana,while
two meetings will also
be held in Uttar Pradesh
in March,” BKU media
in-charge Dharmendra
Malik said. Two meet-
ings will be held in Ra-
jasthan and three in
Madhya Pradesh.
The last three meet-
ings will be held on
March 20, 21 and 22 in
Karnataka, Malik said.
“One event is scheduled
on March 6 in Telanga-
na, but we have not got
permission for it yet due
to some election in the
state. If permission is
granted, the meeting in
Telangana will be held
asperschedule,”hesaid.
Thousands of farm-
ers are camping at Del-
hi’s border points at
Tikri, Singhu and Ghaz-
ipur since November
with a demand that the
Centre should repeal
the contentious farm
laws enacted in Septem-
ber last year and frame
a new one guaranteeing
the minimum support
price (MSP) on crops.
Tikait is leading the
protest at Ghazipur.
Delhi CM says those who hoisted flag on the monument on R-Day were BJP workers
Supporting farmers, Kejriwal
blames BJP for Red Fort violence
Rakesh Tikait
Trustfloodedwithfunds,
collectionsexceedneed
Rakesh Tikait to begin tour
of five states from today
First India Bureau
Lucknow: ADG Akhil
Kumar went on foot pa-
trol to inquire from the
small businessmen and
people selling things in
handcarts about police-
men of the Gorakhpur
city
.
He inquired whether
policemen harass them
and ask for bribe or not.
Kumar earlier attended
an event to remember
Sant Ravidas on his
birth anniversary
. ADG
Zone Akhil Kumar, IG
Range Rajesh Modak,
DIG / SSP Jogendra Ku-
mar attended the Sama-
dhan Divas in various
police stations in the
Gorakhpur.
They listened to vari-
ous complaints and
gave directions to re-
solve them while teams
were dispatched for re-
solving revenue related
disputes. The ADG di-
rected the inspector in-
charge of Chilluatal
police station to con-
struct the pink toilet in
the police station. ADG
Akhil Kumar said that
revenue officers and ac-
countants should work
together with the po-
licemen of the con-
cerned area to do the
physical verification of
the issues so that the
complainants do not
need to come to the po-
lice station again and
again.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Wom-
en’s cricket team
from India and South
Africa reached Luc-
know for the ODI and
T20I series between
them.
The ODI and T20I se-
ries will be played at
the Atal Bihari Vajpay-
ee Ekana International
Stadium from March 7
to 23. The teams are cur-
rently under quaran-
tine in a 5-star hotel
The South African
women’s team arrived
in the city on Saturday.
The 18-member Indian
team was announced
on Saturday. Mithali
Raj has been named as
the captain of the ODI
team while Harman-
preet Kaur will lead the
T20I team against
South Africa.
The Indian Women
were not involved in
any competitive inter-
national action since
the final of the Wom-
en’s T20 World Cup in
Melbourne on March 8.
Following the SOP
for sports event only
50% occupancy will be
allowed in the stadium
but the decision to
allow spectators in the
stadium is yet to be tak-
en by the state
government.
India, South Africa women’s
cricket teams reach Lucknow
ADG Akhil Kumar enquiring a vendor about the policemen of
Gorakhpur on Saturday night.
Sumit Awasthi
Kanpur: Satish Mah-
ana of Kanpur who
has celebrated Silver
Jubilee in represent-
ing Kanpur in the
state is the apple of
people’s eye of the
city. Everybody in the
state is wishing for a
public representative
like Satish Mahana.
Satish Mahana has
been ruling the hearts
of people for over 30
years.
Usuallythepublicrep-
resentatives come up
with many promises
during election cam-
paigns but rarely does
anyone come true to
theirwordslikeMahana.
In an exclusive
interview with First
India, Satish Mahana
Minister for Indus-
trial Development,
said that he has ded-
icated his past 30
years for solving the
problems faced by
the people of the city
and also has in-
structed officials to
solve any problem
faced by the public as
soon as possible.
Talking about the 105
km Ring Road project
in Kanpur, the minister
said that all the obsta-
cles will be removed
and for that he even
met officers of NHI and
PWD along with Depu-
ty chief minister for
resolving issues relat-
ed to the project.
He added that the con-
struction of Ring Road
willsoonbestartedsoon.
Mahanasaidthatformer
chief minister Akhilesh
Yadav’s worries about
industries in the state
are a welcome sign.
Mahana said that
Akhilesh was not
worried when the
mafia considered it-
self above the ruling
party during SP’s re-
gime but now is in-
terested in the devel-
opment of the state.
The minister point-
ed out that the state
used to rank 15 in
terms of investment in
the previous state gov-
ernment is currently
at the second spot in
the ranking, which is
proof that Uttar
Pradesh is moving to-
wards development.
The Minister while
praising the law and
order situation in the
state said that in the
Yogi government there
is no place for crimi-
nals in the state.
The eternal troubleshooter of Kanpurites, now a template for other cities
INDUSTRIOUS LEADER

Satish Mahana
has been ruling
the hearts of
people for over
30 yrs due to his
diplomacy and
ability to resolve
issues of people
of the city
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal addressing a gathering in Meerut.
WHAT A TASTE!
Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani enjoying ‘Panipuri’ in Varanasi on Sunday.
ADG asks small bizmen
about behaviour of
cops towards them
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The fund re-
ceived by the Shri Ram
Janmabhoomi Tirthk-
shetra Trust is now
more than the fund re-
quired to build the tem-
ple in Ayodhya. The
fund collection drive
was conducted by the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad
and RSS in tandem.
The treasurer of Shri
Ram Janmabhoomi
Tirthakshetra Trust,
Swami Govind Dev Giri
said that the fund collec-
tion drive from January
15 to February 27 has
resulted in collection of
Rs 2100 Crore which is
higher than the approxi-
mate cost of construc-
tion of the temple.
He said the cost for
construction can vary
due to changed in plan
for the foundation of the
temple. Giri said that
the trust has also re-
ceived several requests
from nationals from for-
eign countries for the
donation of funds and a
decision to collect dona-
tions from them will be
made during the meet-
ing of the temple trust
officials. Trust member
Dr. Anil Mishra said
1,50,000 groups were en-
gaged in donation cam-
paign and 46,000 people
have donated.
Iqbal Ansari, a liti-
gant for the Muslim side
in the Ayodhya land dis-
pute case on Saturday
made a secret donation
for the construction of
Lord Ram temple.
Iqbal Ansari also
made donations under
each of his family mem-
ber’s name. I q b a l
Ansari said that the con-
struction of the temple
will open the way for the
country’s progress and
will also ensure nation’s
unity
.
BIGGEST DRIVE
S Africa and India women’s cricket teams at Lucknow airport.
Industrial Development Minister Satish Mahana listening to
people’s problem in Kanpur

emember when Tony Stark
defeated the Iron Monger in
Iron Man all the way
through to his sacrifice to
stop the mad titan Thanos
once and for all, the villains
he faced, the relationships
he formed, the flashy tech he con-
structed, and the character develop-
ment of Stark himself ? We know
most of you would. There’s nothing
wrong with loving superhero films,
in fact, there’s a lot that’s right
about it. Superhero movies have
been connecting with audiences for
decades.
Speaking about superheroes,
there’s no denying that Marvel
films are larger than life. They’re
implausible, impossible and fantas-
tical. The Marvel Cinematic Uni-
verse or MCU for short is the shared
place where all 22 films featuring
the comic book characters are set.
Each film tells its own distinct sto-
ry but also connects with other
films in the MCU, to tell an over-
arching tale. It’s a technique Mar-
vel Comics pioneer Stan Lee also
used in his comics.
From Christopher Reeve’s Super-
man, Christopher Nolan’s Batman
trilogy, Spider-Man 1, 2 and 3, and
now the MCU, superheroes have
drawn people to the theatre regard-
less of age, social status, or, for all
intents and purposes, “nerd sta-
tus.” The characters of MCU such
as Spider-man, Iron man, Hulk,
Captain America, Thor, Black
Panther, Groot, Ant man and
even Thanos are loved by the
audience. Whether they are
casual fans or regulars at
comic conventions around
the world, these films keep at-
tracting massive audiences to
the theatres, and it isn’t for no rea-
son. Marvel has given certain hu-
manity and empathy to these super-
human characters, making them
more than the hypo-machoism
they’re accused of being. Not only
are their heroes multifaceted, but
their villains are as well. Pure luck
can be ruled out at this point be-
cause Marvel and the superheroes
are just good at what it does.
LUCKNOW, MONDAY
MARCH 1, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
KARISHMA GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in
Designe by Shailesh Tinker
R
I LOVE YOU 3000...
City First cheers to the larger than life
fandom of Marvel Cinematic Universe,
grown over the years to tell its Infinity-saga!

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
KIRTI AGARWAL, Foodpreneur
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Joining health conscious
people in daily workouts is
likely to keep you fit and
energetic. Someone on the
home front can irritate you and spoil
your mood. You may become
instrumental in getting a property
issue settled amicably. Marriage may
be on the minds of the eligible.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Changes happening on the
professional front can have
you worried, but will turn
out favourable. More
interest is required on the health
front. Family life will cruise along
smoothly as you resolve to remain
positive under all circumstances. You
will enjoy your day with your lover.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
You can become
concerned about a recent
heavy expenditure incurred
on something that you just
couldn’t help. lYou may take up some
activity or sport just to keep trim and
slim. Good news may greet you on
the family front as a suitable match is
found for the eligible.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Family will prove to be a
pillar of support for those
facing something important.
You may feel financially
secure, but take a reality check before
arriving at any conclusion. Only a little
effort will be able to resolve the
problems faced by students on the
academic front.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Financially you may need
to be more secure than you
are now. There is a need to
come up with something
original, if you are in a creative field.
You will be motivated to get back into
shape and may even join a gym.
Some adjustment problems among
the newlyweds need to be handled.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
It is best to take the opinion
of others before you put in
your money. A household
remedy may come in handy
for those suffering from body aches
and pains. Something that you wanted
to get done on the home front is likely
to be initiated. Prayers of those looking
for love are likely to be answered.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You may spend on
something not previously
catered for. You can
struggle to keep pace on
the work front. Condition of those
ailing is set to improve by leaps and
bounds and get them firmly on the
road to good health. Romantic
journey will be smooth and joyful.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
A lot of activity is foreseen
on the work front and you
will be right in the midst of
it. Some issues that seem
unlikely to get resolved on the family
front will begin to move towards a
solution. Good options will be found
by those searching for property that
fits their pocket.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Window shopping is all
that you can do in order to
conserve money. You are
likely to swim with the tide
on the professional or academic
front. Indulging in excesses may
prove bad for health. Issue regarding
an ancestral property is likely to be
settled amicably.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Something included in
your diet is likely to have a
positive effect on your
overall health. A glib talker
may try to confuse you so be aware.
Disturbances at home will need to be
curtailed to retain a peaceful
environment. You will get the
motivation to push yourself further.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Keeping a close tab on
spending will leave you
with much to splurge later.
You may take some time in
bouncing back on the work front. No
problems are foreseen on health and
financial fronts. You manage to play
your cards well and avoid getting
involved in a contentious issue.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You will manage to pick up
the threads from where
you left on the professional
front. Much happiness is
foreseen on the home front. A trip
with friends will not only be exciting,
but refreshing too. This is a good
time to finalise property as stars are
poised favourably.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
es, that is right. It
has been a wonder-
ful year of learn-
ing, sharing, and
gaining. Quite un-
usual you might
say for a pandemic
hit a year, but this is what
life is all about. Preparing
your life for the unexpect-
ed, embracing the unex-
pected, and making the
most out of it.
No Bollywood love story
led me to Jaipur from Pune.
It was simply my fondness
for change. I hate stagna-
tion. Can’t tolerate it. So
here I am, in Jaipur, serv-
ing animals and following
what I have realized is my
passion!
It all started with me
loading my babies Tipsy
and Basbousa on an Air In-
dia cargo plane from Mum-
bai. Little did we know then
that a short trip would be-
come a year-long love affair
withthelandof theRajputs.
I have always fancied the
royal lifestyle and imagined
myself living in a haveli.
While everybody else hat-
ed the lockdown, I made the
most of it. Befriending,
feeding, playing, and learn-
ing about dogs. Before then
I was simply a cat lady. I
loved dogs but didn’t live
with them. But the pandem-
ic came as a blessing. Every-
thing fell into place, as
though written beautifully
for me. Parts of it were pain-
ful, no doubt, but the year
presented something new to
me- it was the year that I
also became a dog person!
Let’s not tell this to my cats.
They won’t be happy that
they have to share with me.
Minnie and her 4 pups
Pluto, Daisy, Veronica, and
Betty, their friends Goofy,
Scooby
, and Meshki became
my world during the nation-
wide lockdown. Later Tar-
zan and New Boy joined the
clan! They were a handful.
Each of them taught me so
much about dogs. I became
their protector and they
mine. Life was bliss. Who
now has been complaining
about the lockdown being
unbearable? Not me!
While there were happy
memories so much of the
year has been spent in re-
porting cruelty against
animals, fighting court
cases, and attempts at sav-
ing animals who have been
either run over by speed-
ing vehicles or suffered
from parvo and distemper.
Daisy, my favorite of the
Minnie pups too fought a
long battle against distem-
per and eventually suc-
cumbed. It was a painful
loss for me. This is when I
realized that there was a
reason I was chosen to be
in Jaipur.
Working for animals is
not a job for me, but a pas-
sion. There is something
about the air of Jaipur.
Every activist here inspires
me to do more for these
animals. In Pune, I was
simply earning a fat salary
.
In Jaipur, I am living! My
earning are a quarter of
what I would make in Pune,
but somehow it lasts longer
and I never run out. It is
amazing how the universe
conspires.
This brings me to the
point I want to make. Fol-
low the universe. Let it sur-
prise you. Do more for ani-
mals and nature and watch
how much more abundant
your life gets. No exaggera-
tion here, when animals
bless you, you are truly
blessed. Animals are not
voiceless, they just need to
be understood.
You cannot be a true be-
liever if you do not love all
of God’s creations. You can-
not be a good person if you
cause harm to nature. You
are not worthy of God’s
love unless you share this
love with others. You are
not the only heir to this
earth. Live and let live. Love
and let love!
If this year has taught me
anything it would be to lose
myself in the world of these
innocent and lovely ani-
mals. Nature needs to find a
way to rid the earth of hate-
ful people, and give birth to
more compassion. Possible?
Possibly! You tell me.
MARIAM ABUHAIDERI
thepersianladki@gmail.com
Y
ONE YEAR
ONE YEAR
JAIPUR
JAIPUR
of
of

ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia LUCKNOW | MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021
11
CITY FIRST
he grand fi-
nale of the
Jaipur Win-
ter Polo
Season had
an apt end-
ingwiththe
final match of the
Rajmata Gayatri
Devi Memorial Cup
on Sunday
. Sunjay
Kapur’s Sona Polo
won the tournament
after a thrilling
game with Chandna
Los Polistas.
Thematchwasfol-
lowed by scrump-
tious high tea hosted
by the Rambagh Pal-
aceHotel.TheWho’s
Whoof thePinkCity
could be seen at the
elegant affair enjoy-
ing the gourmet
spreadandadmiring
the vintage polo
memorabilia artful-
ly displayed at the
event. The High teas
of Polo are as await-
ed as the match it-
self and the elite
crowd enjoys catch-
inginthewarmwin-
ter sun among the
hallowed grounds of
thepoloclub.Theex-
citement of polo
spillsovertothePolo
get-togethers also.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
The Thrilling Finale
T
Winners - Sona Polo and Runners Up - Chandna Los Polistas at the Award Ceremony
Ashok Rathore, GM Rambagh Palace giving the
MVP Award to Juan Augustin Garcia Grossi
Sunjay Kapur and Ashok
Chandna on the field
Vintage Polo Display
Tripti Pandey and Apra Kuchhal Vishal Mathur and Mohan Singh Tada
Jagdeesh Chandra with Ajai Singh, Vijit Singh and Narendra Singh Ashvini Sharma and Ravi Rathore
Ashok Rathore, Khalid Khan and Moncrief Aviet
Ram Rathore and Richa Rathore
Usha and Angelique Ishaan Jaiswal and Divya Shekhawat
Rajnish Pardal, Shreya Singh and Vedant Singh
Aditi Singh, Jagruti Shahar and Ruchi Durlabhji Digvijay Shekhawat, Dileep Shekhawat and Sunita Shekhawat
Vinod Sharma, Narendra Singh and Gaurav Chand Madhuvanthi Singh, Bhim Singh and Aditi Singh
Nick Pepper, Rajvi Shailender Singh, Manolo and Kuldeep Singh
Swarn Singh
Shailendra Singh Rathore, Bhawana, Neeta Dundloot,
Rishi Dundloot, Narendra Singh and Sameer
Richa Ram Rathore, Shailendra Singh Rathore and Ashok Rathore
—PHOTOS BY SUMAN SARKAR

12
CITY BUZZ
HAPPY B’DAY!
(From top) IAS Ishan
Pratap Singh, IPS S Anand,
IPS Satyarth Aniruddha
Pankaj and IPS Shailesh
Kumar Yadav celebrated
their birthdays on Sunday,
February 28. We wish
them all the best!
Union Minister Smriti Irani stepped out in Varanasi to
savour the golgappas and is all smiles for selfies as the
localites greet her on Sunday.
Syed Moin Ahmad's son Syed Abdullah Moin tied the knot with
Mariyam in a lavish ceremony held at Essel Palace, Barabanki.
MLA Suresh Yadav and lawyer G S Kidwai along with others
came to share their blessings with the newlyweds.
Makeup Competition
and Talent Award
ceremony was held
in a private function
conducted at Lalbagh.
The makeup artist
Suruchi Mishra bagged
the award of the best
makeup artist, awarded
by Bollywood’s
pardesi girl, Mahima
Chaudhary.
The zoo at
Gorakhpur city
heard the roars of
the lion,Pataudi
and lioness Gir,on
Sunday morning as
they were brought
from the forests of
Gujarat.CMYogi
Adityanath will soon
inaugurate the zoo
as the preparations
are going on.
On the occasion of Science day, the School of Management
Science conducted a Marathon from Janeshwar Mishra
Park on Sunday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
WWE fighter The
Great Khali was
in Lucknow to
attend an event
organised at Hotel
Dayal Paradise
on Sunday.
Henry Patten (GBR) lost his match in the qualifying round against
Osgar OHoisin (IRL) during ITF MEN'S $15K tournament held
at Vijyant Khand Stadium Gomti Nagar in Lucknow India on
Sunday. —PHOTOS BY SUMIT KUMAR
GOLGAPPAS!
BLESSED CEREMONY!
SHOOTING SCENES!
BEST MAKEUP ARTIST!
BABBAR SHER-SHERNI! AWADH’S PRIDE!
SCIENCE DAY! SPOTTED!
TENNIS!
CONGRATULATIONS!
PRAYERS AND BLESSINGS!
Padma Shri awardee Malini Awasthi visited the Ram Nagaria Fair at Farukhabad and offered prayers to the holy River Ganga on a full moon eve on Saturday.
IAS Parth Sarthi Sen
Sharma is grateful for
being able to put his
batting skills to practice
as he swings his bat for
a practice match during
the spring season.
CRICKET!
—PHOTOS
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR
IN LOVING MEMORY OF…
HarishSwami
Sri Madhopur: The
SavitriFoundationTrust
organised a ceremony to
felicitate, support and
honour widows on Sun-
day morning on the
premises of Saraswati
Marriage garden. The
SavitriFoundationTrust
works to support the un-
derprivileged and needy
in the memory of Savitri
Varma (his late wife) in-
formed the founder of
the Trust, Ram Varma,
former Chief Secretary
Haryana.
Tansukh Kumawat
the chairperson of the
Welcome Committee,
welcomed all the guests,
he said that 31 widows
were given support and
31 talented people were
honoured. P D Vyas, a
native of Srimadhopur
and leading business-
man of Indore was the
Chief Guestfortheevent
and appreciated the ef-
forts of the Trust. Ram
Varmapresidedoverthe
function, Palika Ad-
hyaksh Harinarayan
Mahant, Vandana Se-
hgal, Upasana Varma
and Jyotsana Varma
were the special guests
of honour. Eminent dig-
nitaries Dr Ajay Verma,
Dhananjay Varma, BJP
leader Kamal Jain, Sita-
ram Varma, Ramdeen
Chulet, Mahaveer Pras-
ad Tyagi were present
among others.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
The participants expressed their enthusiasm at the 5th Awadh Queer pride programme held at
Lohiya Park, Lucknow on Sunday. —PHOTOS BY SUMIT KUMAR
Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation is among the hustle
detinations these days as the team of ‘Anari is Back’ is
in Lucknow city to shoot at Charbagh Metro Station. The
spectators are enjoying the unusal scenes at the Metro and
are fondly clicking pictures with the cast.
Union Defence Minister and former UP CM Rajnath Singh showered his blessings on Dr Brijendra and his wife at
their wedding ceremony on Saturday. Rajnath Singh said it was a proud moment as he took the responsibility of
Brijendra while he was the CM of state and is happy to see him flourishing in his life.
Ram Varma addressing the rapt audience
The Guest of Honour along with Vandana Sehgal, Upasana and Jyotsana Verma felicitating the awardees.

First india lucknow edition-01 march 2021

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (6)

Similar to First india lucknow edition-01 march 2021

Similar to First india lucknow edition-01 march 2021 (18)

More from FIRST INDIA

More from FIRST INDIA (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

First india lucknow edition-01 march 2021