First india lucknow edition-11 march 2021

Ease of Doing Business: Yogi government cuts short red-tapes
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Having
achieved unprece-
dented progress in
Ease of Doing Busi-
ness by securing the
second spot national-
ly in implementation
of Business Reforms
Action Plan, the Yogi
Adityanath govern-
ment has initiated
the process to reduce
the regulatory com-
pliance burden not
only on businesses
but citizen centric
services also.
The objective is to
minimize the regula-
tory compliance bur-
den across the states
based on defined com-
pliance parameters
such as renewals; in-
spection; register and
records; display re-
quirement; filings; de-
criminalization and
redundancy etc. and to
complete the exercise
of repealing, merger,
reduction or rationali-
sation of these compli-
ances while minimiz-
ing the physical touch-
points. The State Gov-
ernment has so far
identified a total 675
compliances
Turn to P6
While improving the EoDB for
industries, govt was also focusing
on citizen-centric services and
compliances to improve the ‘ease of
living’ as well
Man commits
suicide, blames
IPS officer
Lucknow: A contrac-
tual employee of UP
secretariat committed
suicide by jumping
in-front of moving
train and left a suicide
note accusing an IPS
officer for his extreme
step.The computer-
operator in secre-
tariate, Vishal (26)
was arrested along
with 15 men and 20
women suspects
during raid on
Massage Parlor in
Indira Nagar area on
February 13. See P8
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath takes selfies at the inauguration of the Rasin Dam project in
Chitrakoot on Wednesday. —PTI PHOTO
SENSITISING OFFICIALS
DIDI HURT IN
NANDIGRAM
BJP-JJP govt survives Congress’
no-confidence motion in Haryana
Chandigarh: TheMano-
har Lal Khattar govern-
ment in Haryana defeat-
ed the no-confidence
motion moved by the
Congress in the state as-
sembly on Wednesday
.
The ruling BJP-JJP
alliance had 55 votes,
the opposition scraped
up 32 votes.
The Congress had
moved the motion,
claiming two Independ-
ent MLAs supporting
the government have
withdrawn support to
the government.
The party, though,
had made it clear that
the exercise was meant
to expose MLAs who
were not supporting the
farmers’ cause amid
widespread anger over
the Centre’s farm laws.
In parts of the state, the
farmers have boycotted
the elected MLAs who
are supporting the Cen-
tral laws.
The BJP alone had 40
seats in the 90-member
Haryana assembly. It
also has the support of
10 MLAs of ally Dushy-
ant Chautala’s Jannay-
ak Janata Party and
five independent legis-
lators. The Congress
has 31 seats.
The voting took place
after nearly six hours of
debate, during with
Chief MinisterMLKhat-
tar claimed that his gov-
ernment has a keen eye
on farmers’ welfare and
had “never used force”
against them. “Force
means lathicharge and
firing....yes we did dig
trenches....used water
canon....to stop them
from interstate move-
ment,” he said, Turn to P6
8 DEAD, 11 INJURED AS BUS
FALLS IN GORGE IN CHAMBA
SHOOT-AT-SIGHT FOR TIGER
AFTER IT KILLS 4 IN K’TAKA
Shimla: Eight people were
killed and 11 others injured
as a private bus fell into
a deep gorge in Himachal
Pradesh’s Chamba district
on Wednesday, police said.
The accident occurred in
Teesa sub-division in the
morning, Chamba Super-
intendent of Police S Arul
Kumar told PTI. During the
ongoing budget session of
the state assembly, Chief
Minister Jai Ram Thakur
told the House in the after-
noon that he has ordered
an inquiry to ascertain the
exact cause of the accident.
The injured have been
rushed to Medical College
Chamba, Thakur said,
adding that four of them
are critical. Expressing
grief over the loss of lives,
Prime Minis-
ter Narendra
Modi on
Wednesday
extended his
condolences to the families
of the deceased and wished
the injured a speedy
recovery. BJP president J
P Nadda also expressed
condolences.
Bengaluru: Ei After a tiger
attacked and killed four
people in Karnataka’s Koda-
gu district recently, the
state government has is-
sued a shoot-at-sight order
for the big cat. This comes
after a boy was killed and a
plantation worker seriously
injured in a tiger attack at
Belluru village in Ponnam-
pet taluk of South Kodagu
on Monday.
The boy was
identified as
Rangaswa-
my (8) while
his grandfather, Kencha,
was injured and has been
hospitalised in Mysuru.
After this incident, two
Kodagu MLAs on Tuesday
took up in the Assembly
the issue of repeated man-
animal conflicts. BJP MLA
from Virajpet, KG Bopaiah,
said in the Assembly, “If
the forest department
cannot catch or kill the
man-eating animal, let us
know. We will take neces-
sary action. We will kill and
marry the tiger (referring to
‘Nari Mangala’ tradition of
the Kodava community.”
Kolkata: West Bengal
Chief Minister Mama-
ta Banerjee said she
was attacked today
while in Nandigram,
where she had gone to
file her nomination for
the coming elections.
Visuals from the spot
showed security guards
lifting and placing her
on the backseat of a car.
The 66-year-old -- who
has sustained many an
injury earlier in the
line of work -- appeared
pale, visibly shaken
and in much pain.
The Chief Minister
said she was pushed by
four or five men while
she was trying to get
into her car. Pointing to
her leg, she added, “See
how it is swelling up”.
According to the po-
lice, she was meeting lo-
cal voters at the bazar
when there was an alter-
cation and the Chief
Ministerfelldowninjur-
ing her leg. She has also
sustained a slight injury
on her head, they said.
However, the chief
minister alleged that
when she was coming
out from a temple and
going towards her car,
Turn to P6
LUCKNOW l THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 117
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD
& LUCKNOW
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Tirath Singh
Rawat is new
Uttarakhand
Chief Minister
Dehradun: BJP’s sur-
prise choice for the top
job in Uttarakhand Ti-
rath Singh Rawat was
sworn-in as the state’s
new chief minister on
Wednesday, replacing
Trivendra Singh Rawat
ahead of next year’s As-
sembly polls.
The oath of office
was administered on
Rawat by Uttarakhand
Governor Baby Rani
Maurya at a simple
function held at the Raj
Bhawan here in the
evening in the presence
of a host of dignitaries.
Rawat alone was
sworn-in on Wednesday
,
which means the mem-
bers of his Cabinet will
be finalised and sworn-
in later.
Rawat is currently
the BJP MP from Utta-
rakhand’s Pauri Garh-
wal Lok Sabha constitu-
ency as well as a nation-
al secretary of the party
.
He was the president
of the Uttarakhand BJP
from 2013-15. Turn to P6
...CLAIMS CONSPIRACY, SAYS PUSHED
BY 4-5 MEN, BJP REFUTES STATEMENT
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee appeared pale, visibly shaken and in much pain after getting
injured during her campaign trial at Nandigram in Purba Medinipur on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar speaks in the Vidhan Sabha.
His deputy, Dushyant Chautala is seen sitting to his right.
Tirath Singh Rawat
EC SEEKS REPORT
New Delhi: Election
Commission on
Wednesday sought
a report from
West Bengal chief
secretary Alapan
Bandyopadhyay
on the Nandigram
incident. The EC
has also sought a
report from Vivek
Dubey, special
police observer and
Ajay Nayak, special
general observer,
West Bengal.
Har Har
Har Har
Mahadev!
Mahadev!
Artists paint graffiti on the wall of the Shiv Mandir on the eve
of Maha Shivratri in Mumbai on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
CRUCIAL READ
Maha Shivratri will be
celebrated across India with
festive fervour on Thursday.
Workers clean Lord Shiva’s
mega statue at Gurugram
on Wednesday.

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021
02
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First India Bureau
Lucknow: In a yet an-
other move to assuage
agitating farmers on
minimumsupportprice
(MSP), the Yogi Adity-
anath Government has
announced to buy un-
limited wheat from
farmers on hiked MSP
till their stock last.
Under the new
Wheat Procurement
Policy, the UP govern-
ment has not fixed or
specified any target
for procurement of
wheat. “We will con-
tinue to buy wheat on
the increased MSP
(Rs 1975 per quintal)
till the farmers run
out of stock,” said a
government spokes-
person.
He said the procure-
men drive will com-
mence from April 1 and
will continue till June
15. The registration pro-
cess has started from
March 1 and so far over
30,000 farmers have reg-
istered themselves to
sell wheat on MSP at
different procurement
centres.
The official said that
Registration for farm-
ers on the portal of the
food and civil supplies
department has been
made mandatory to
keep middlemen out of
the procurement pro-
cess.
“Those who are al-
ready registered, need
not apply again,” said
Food Commissioner
Manish Chauhan. The
revenue department
will verify farmers who
are willing to sell more
than 100 quintals of
wheat on MSP.
For the first time, en-
tire wheat purchasing
will be done through e-
Pos machines after tak-
ing thumb impressions
and providing receipts
to farmers to keep mid-
dlemen out. The gov-
ernment has already
begun a training ses-
sion for the employees.
Now, Yogi-led govt to buy wheat at revised MSP till stocks last
PACIFYING STRATEGY
CMYogi presided over a meet,and reviewed development works in Banda district’s Chitrakoot
Dham on Wednesday.

Around 6K
procurement
centres will be
opened in UP,
an upcoming
app will inform
farmers about
the centre’s
location
Upcoming Chitrakoot airport to enhance connectivity: CM
First India Bureau
Banda/ Mahoba/
Chitrakoot: Chief
Minister Yogi Adi-
tyanath, who is on
a whirlwind tour of
the region in the run
up to the three tier pan-
chayat polls next, inau-
gurated and an-
nounced several new
development projects
worth Rs 2574 crore.
He said Bun-
delkhand would scale
new heights with mega
Defence Corridor Pro-
ject, which change the
landscape and improve
the lives of farmers
and people of the re-
gion. At the Lahchura
Dam in Mahoba, the
UP CM inspected the
Rs 2,600 crore Arjuna
subsidiary project and
said efforts were un-
derway to provide
drinking water to all
through the ‘Har Ghar
Nal’ scheme.
“Once the Arjun
subsidiary project
starts, five to six lakh
people will be benefit-
ted,” he added. The
project will bring posi-
tive change in the lives
of farmers of Mahoba,
Hamirpur and Banda,
adding that that 1.5
lakh farmers will get
irrigation facility and
4 lakh people will get
drinking water.
Later, the CM
reached Chitrakoot
and inaugurated the
Rasin Dam. Speaking
at the event, he said
the Chitrakoot air-
port is getting ready
and people here will
be able to travel by
air to Mumbai, Delhi
and Ayodhya.
He instructed the
district administration
to provide training to
students of engineer-
ing, ITIs and polytech-
nics and give them jobs
under the ‘Har Ghar
Nal’ scheme.
Talking about the Rs
200 crore Mahila
Samarthya Yojana, CM
Yogi said that safety,
dignity and self-reli-
ance of women the pri-
ority of the govern-
ment. “To promote self-
reliance of women, we
have made a provision
of Rs 200 crore for Ma-
hila Samarthya Yoja-
na. In Bundelkhand,
under Jal Jeevan Mis-
sion and Swachh
Bharat Mission, every
household toilet has
strengthened the secu-
rity and respect of
women,” he said.
Yogi was upset when
he found a siightly
damaged idol of Nandi
in a temple. He asked
officials to immediate-
ly get it replaced with a
new one.
CM Yogi has
extended heartfelt
greetings and best
wishes to the people
on Mahashivaratri.
He said government
has made all neces-
sary arrangements for
devotees and urged
latter to adhere to
Covid-19 protocols.
UP CM has congratu-
lated Tirath Singh
Rawat for taking over as
the new CM of Uttara-
khand. “I am sure that
under your able leader-
ship, Uttarakhand will
achieve new heights of
development,” he said.
CM Yogi said Chitra-
koot will become a
religious tourism hub
with the completion of
Bundelkhand e-way later
this year.
Yogi Speaks
Yogi Speaks
‘DefCorridor,HarGharNal,Jal
JeevantotransformB’khand’
PREVIOUS REGIMES
LOOTED B’KHAND
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the Rasin Dam project in Chitrakoot in
presence of Jal Shakti Minister Mahendra Singh on Wednesday.
Employment aid to 50K
youth by Yogi-led govt
First India Bureau
Jhansi: Under the ap-
prenticeship training
scheme, the Uttar
Pradesh government
plans to connect over
50,000 youth with the
employment opportu-
nities.
Additional Chief
Secretary, MSMEs,
Navneet Sehgal said
on Wednesday that
the apprenticeship
training scheme is a
scheme of the Gov-
ernment of India and
Uttar Pradesh.
Under this, it is
mandatory to get 2.5%
apprentices in indus-
trial units with more
than 30 workers.
The centre and the
state have jointly pro-
vided an incentive
amount of Rs 2500 per
beneficiary
.
The ACS was con-
ducting a virtual re-
view of the appren-
ticeship training
scheme for the
youth in his office at
Lok Bhawan on
Wednesday. He said
that a grant incen-
tive of Rs. 1500 per
person will be given
by the Government
of India, and an ad-
ditional Rs 1000 per
beneficiary by the
state government.
“In this financial
year we have set up an
aim of connecting
50,000 youths with em-
ployment and this
goal will have to be
achieved at all times,”
he said adding that
instructions have
been issued to offi-
cials in all districts to
to register maximum
number of youths for
apprenticeship.
Sehgal said that
this year 13 lakh units
have been financed by
banks which have cre-
ated a large number
of jobs. “The youths
getting training in
these industrial units
would easily get job,”
Joint commissioner
Industries Pawan
Agarwal, Sunil Ku-
mar and all district
industries officers in
the State attended the
virtual review.
ACS MSME, Navneet Sehgal conducting the virtual meet.
PowerdisruptionatVrindavankumbh
First India Bureau
Meerut: Power supply
has been paralysed and
few camps were partial-
ly uprooted following
high intensity dust
storms and heavy show-
ers the previous night
in Vrindaban Kumbh,
officials said on
Wednesday
.
While civil and clean-
liness work has been
completed, the work for
power supply is in pro-
gress , said Nagendra
Pratap, CEO, Uttar
Pradesh Braj Teerth Vi-
kas Parishad.
He said there were no
injuries with maximum
damage done only to
hoardings and gates of
different camps hous-
ing seers.
Improvised cultural
auditorium has also
been affected due to
rain and high intensity
wind, officials stated.
Thirteen electric
poles were uprooted
and work to bring them
back up is in progress,
said Anand Prakash
Shukla, Superintend-
ing Engineer, Dakshi-
nanchal Vidyut Vitaran
Nigam, Mathura city
.
Officials said the
power supply has been
affected owing to the
heavy gates of few
camps that fell on elec-
tric poles and wires.
NABARD backs
women: Shahi
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The ‘Mahila
Samridhi Mahotsav’ in
collaboration with NA-
BARD and allied organ-
izations, organised in
Raj Bhavan lawns on
the occasion of Interna-
tional Women’s Day
concluded on Wednes-
day. Self-help Groups
(SHGs) involved in the
exhibition were hon-
ored on the occasion.
Agriculture Minister
Surya Pratap Shahi in
his address said that,
NABARD has been
working towards mak-
ing women in remote
rural areas self-reliant.
He added that today
women are no less than
men and are producing
quality products
Finance Minister
Suresh Kumar Khanna,
who also attended the
program said that NAB-
ARD has contributed
significantly in agricul-
ture, rural development
and in empowering
women.
Rly develops
App for Maha
Kumbh visitors
Dalit man falls
unconcious at
CM’s rally, dies
First India Bureau
Banda: A Dalit man
died after he fell uncon-
scious during Chief
Minister Yogi Adi-
tynath’s public meeting
here on Wednesday
.
The 35-year-old Vijay
Sonkar fell unconscious
during the meeting at
Government Inter Col-
lege ground at around
2.30 pm, police said.
He was rushed to the
trauma centre where
doctors declared him
brought dead.
216 couples
get benefit
of UP govt’s
scheme
First India Bureau
Moradabad: The Mo-
radabad Railway Divi-
sion launched an app
for pilgrims of ‘Maha
Kumbh Mela’ for their
assistance. The mobile
app provides informa-
tion about trains and
government guidelines
on COVID-19.
Ashutosh Gangal,
General Manager of
Northern Railway
said: “Moradabad di-
vision made an app
that not only, gives
information about
trains, but also infor-
mation about local
temples. They can
also get information
related to the state ’s
guidelines on COV-
ID-19 that keeps on
changing.”
Ashutosh also said
that we send SMS alerts
to every passenger re-
garding any changes.
Meanwhile, the
Haridwar railway sta-
tion too was decorated
by the railways to wel-
come the pilgrims.
First India Bureau
Noida: As many as 216
financially weak cou-
ples in Gautam Buddh
Nagar district have ben-
efitted from UP govern-
ment’s marriage grant
scheme so far in 2020-21.
These beneficiaries
have got state aid worth
Rs 43,20,000 at Rs 20,000
per couple, District So-
cial Welfare Officer
Shailendra Bahadur
Singh said.
“A grant has been
given for marriage of
216 couples, including a
total of 58 general and
158 scheduled caste and
scheduled tribe benefi-
ciaries,” Singh said.
“An amount of Rs
20,000 per couple, grants
worth Rs 11,60,000 have
been given to general
category beneficiaries
and Rs 31,60,000 to those
from SC/ST class.
Amout has been sent to
the bank account of the
brides,” he added.
DECOR FOR SHIVA
Beautiful decorations at Mankameshwar temple of Lucknow on the eve of Maha Shivratri.
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
—REPRESENTATIVE PICTURE
GUV EXTENDS MAHA
SHIVRATRI WISHES
Agriculture
Minister
Surya Pratap
Shahi, Finance
Minister Suresh
Khanna fete
SHGs members
at Mahila
Samriddhi
Mahotsav.

UTTAR PRADESH
03
Janardan Misra
As UP continues to excel
in handling the coivd
situation, Health Minis-
ter Jai Pratap Singh
opens up to First India
detailingoutthestrategy
.
Q.What are the prepa-
rations for the second
phase of vaccination
drive in state?
A.AsperCentre’sguide-
lines people over the
age of 60 years and
those over 45 with co-
morbid conditions will
get vaxed in second
phase. Over 2 cr people
will get the vaccine in
second phase. With sin-
cere efforts of Naren-
dra Modi government
at the Centre and CM
Yogi Adityanath, UP
has earned reverence
across the world in deal-
ing with corona effi-
ciently with hard work
of corona warriors and
strategic management
of officials.
Q. How many people
have been vaccinated
till date and what is
the status of vaccina-
tion centres in UP?
A. As many as 17,11,376
persons have got first
doseof thevaccinewhile
5,38,549 persons have re-
ceived second dose till
date. Also, about 10 lakh
healthworkerswerevac-
cinated in first phase
and most have received
both doses. As many as
3,848 vaccination cen-
tres, including 400 pri-
vate establishments
across the state are
consistently jab-
bing people,
while till
March 12
number of government
and private vaccination
centreswillbeenhanced
in good numbers.
Q. What are the ar-
rangements of vacci-
nation in rural areas?
How a person with no
access to mobile appli-
cation can get vacci-
nated?
A. Daily vaccination fa-
cility has been arranged
at district hospitals and
medical colleges except
Sundays. At private cen-
tres all jabbing would be
done after pre-registra-
tion of the person while
at government centres
there are facilities to get
registered on the spot,
speciallyforthosewho
cannot access
the mobile ap-
plications.
At govern-
ment vac-
cination centres jabbing
iswithoutanycostwhile
private centres were
charging Rs 250 per vac-
cination. Till now pri-
vate hospitals empan-
eled under CGHS and
Ayushman Bharat were
allowedtoprovidevacci-
nation facility but fol-
lowing the policy deci-
sion to promote vaccina-
tion in state, the govern-
ment can allow other
private hospitals to join
the drive.
Q. How is the supply of
vaccine for the drive?
A. We have adequate
supply of both Covaxin
of Bharat Biotech and
Covishield of Serum In-
stitute of India and both
vaccines have proven ef-
fective against the virus
with no adverse effect
noticed till date on any-
one in the state.
Those in rural areas can get
registeredonthespotforvax
As many as 3,848
vax centres are
jabbing people,
while till March
12 number of vac-
cination centres
will be enhanced
in good number .
Jai Pratap Singh,
UP Health Minister
‘Don’tgivealmstobeggars
as it fuels trafficking’
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Child Com-
missionalongwithChild
Welfare Committee in-
tercepted some beggars
at IT Crossing here and
sendthemtohelplinefor
counselling, rehabilita-
tion and UP State Com-
mission for Protection
of Child Rights member
Preeti Verma here said
“Nine men, nine women
andfiveinfantswereres-
cued during drive at IT
crossing on Wednesday
.
These rescued kids were
sent to Child Welfare
Committee for basic en-
quiry and for their reha-
bilitation.”
Vermasaidthatcounsel-
ling of the child, his par-
ents involved in begging
would be done and ef-
forts to align them with
mainstream will be
made.Shesaidonewom-
an rescued during the
drive had suspected
background. After inter-
rogation it was revealed
that she hailed from
Barabanki district and
had all basic amenities
and had taken benefits
of government schemes
but she begged in her va-
cant time. She told that
when her husband goes
forjobandshecomesout
with her children for
begging.
State Child ProtectionTeam rescuing destitute children to place them
in rehab centre to stop child begging as part of‘Bal BhikshuAbhiyan’.
Interest Waiver
Scheme:More
helpdeskssoon
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Under the
Interest Waiver Scheme
2021, the Commissioner
(Trade Tax) has directed
all zonal additional com-
missioners for estab-
lishing help desks at all
locations and appoint-
ing a gazetted officer
along with a senior/jun-
ior officer.
He directed that all
businessmen desiring to
know their dues should
be provided information
on the same. Besides
those not filling up on-
lineformsshouldbepro-
videdassistancetodoso.
The Commissioner
has fixed responsibili-
ties of all officers and
employees under the
scheme and has appoint-
ed additional commis-
sioner as supervisors.
Additional commis-
sioners and subordinate
circleofficersaremaking
trader organisations and
lawyer organisations
aware about the scheme.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In view of
rising sensitivity in ru-
ral areas due to the
forthcoming panchayat
elections, the State Elec-
tion Commission (SEC)
has planned tight secu-
rity arrangements.
While rural elections in
UP have always been
volatile in the past, the
Yogi Adityanath govern-
ment wants it complete-
ly peaceful, free and fair.
The DGP headquarters
has already geared up
with identifying the sen-
sitive districts.
Official sources said
elaborate instructions
had been issued to dis-
trict police for making
adequate security ar-
rangements for which
additional forces would
be provided to each dis-
trict. Sources said secu-
ritywouldbeinplacefor
both pre and post-elec-
tion scenarios in the ru-
ral areas.
The election commis-
sion is expecting more
pressure as there is a
possibilityof largenum-
ber of people joining the
fray in village Pradhan
and village panchayat
membership elections.
This is largely due to in-
flux of immigrants who
returned to their villag-
es after pandemic lock-
down and did not go
back. “Their presence is
likely to put extra pres-
sure of election pro-
cess,” commented an of-
ficer of panchayat de-
partment. Moreover, the
reservation of posts has
also created a piquant
situation as the govern-
ment is flooded with
large numbers of objec-
tions about allotment of
seats to various commu-
nities. Even the BJP
leaders have raised ob-
jectionsovertheissueas
a number of them have
found themselves not fit
tocontestintheirrespec-
tive areas because of
caste reservations.
The reservation crite-
ria on the basis of 2011
census data is being
seen as root cause of
problem in reservation.
During the last one dec-
ade there has been large
migrations, deaths as
well changing of bound-
aries from rural to semi
urban which have also
affected the demograph-
ic profile of the villages.
Mismatch between cen-
sus data and the prevail-
ing present situation
has created a strange
situation forcing people
to lodge complaints.
Even the problem last
week forced Chief Sec-
retary RK Tiwari to con-
vene a meeting of the
department to discuss
the issue.
Quota, migrant influx dominate Panchayat poll narrative
CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS
Foolproof security, free and fair polls
top priority of Yogi government
EMPLOYEE OF GAS
AGENCY ROBBED
OF RS 62,000
MAN STABBED TO
DEATH AFTER
ARGUMENTS
YOUTH ARRESTED FOR KIDNAPPING
UNDER ANTI CONVERSION LAW
SELF IMMOLATION BID BY WOMAN
IN FRONT OF ASSEMBLY THWARTED
Lucknow: A woman claiming to be a rape sur-
vivor was stopped by the police from attempting
self-immolation in front of Assembly complex
after she poured kerosene on herself on Wednes-
day
. The woman, who said that she had filed a
rape case in Sultanpur recently that the police
were not acting on, reached Gate. 5 of the As-
sembly complex and tried to set herself on fire.
Mathura: An employee
of a gas agency was
robbed by four armed
menhere,thepolicesaid
on Wednesday
. The inci-
dent occurred on Tues-
day in Roti Godam area
atSadarBazar,theysaid,
adding the robbers
threw chilli powder in
Rishikesh’s eyes and
snatched a bag contain-
ing Rs 62,000 from him.
The victim works at Sri
Krishna gas agency
,
owned by Laxmi Naray-
an Chaudhary
, Minister
of Dairy Development &
Animal Husbandry
.
Bahraich: Panicspread
in the area after a man
was stabbed to death by
six-seven criminals at
Chandpura crossing un-
der Dargah police sta-
tionarealateonWednes-
day evening. Police
sources here said Mohd
Sageer alias Sonu had
scuffle with a few mis-
creants at Chandpura
crossing. After heated
arguments they stabbed
Sageerseveraltimesand
fledthespot.Injuredwas
rushed to the hospital
where doctors declared
him brought dead.
CRIME ROUND UP
Gorakhpur: AyouthwasarrestedinGorakhpur
districtundertheanti-conversionlawforalleged-
ly kidnapping and forcibly marrying a minor, the
police said on Wednesday
. A case of kidnapping
along with provisions of the recently enacted an-
ti-conversionlawhasbeenlodgedagainsttheman
while further sections of law, if required, will be
added after the girl’s statement, the police said.
2 criminals held after
gunfight with cops
HC dismisses plea
against Minister Ajit
Singh Pal’s election
First India Bureau
Noida: Two alleged
criminals were arrested
followingagunfightwith
the police in Noida on
Wednesday morning, of-
ficials said.
The motorcycle-borne
duo, members of the no-
madic Bawaria gang,
were intercepted in the
city by a team of officials
from the Sector 20 police
station around 4.30 am,
NoidaAdditionalDeputy
Commissioner of Police
Ranvijay Singh said.
“They looked suspi-
cious to the police party
andweregesturedtostop
for checking, but they
sped away
. Their motor-
cycle skidded at a U-turn
and they were chased
down by the police team,
leadingtoagunfight,”he
said.
“Both the accused got
injured in the retaliatory
firing by the police and
were held. They were
then taken to a hospital
for treatment,” Singh
added.
Thearrestedmenwere
identified as Pawan, of
Hapur district, and Shiv
Ram, a Greater Noida
resident. Both are mem-
bers of the inter-state
Bawaria gang.
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: TheAlla-
habad HC on Wednes-
day dismissed a peti-
tion challenging the
election of Minister
Ajit Singh Pal from
the Sikandra assem-
bly constituency in
Kanpur Dehat dis-
trict in 2017.
BJP nominee Pal’s
election was chal-
lenged by Samajwadi
Party candidate See-
ma Sachan on the
grounds of alleged
tampering with elec-
tronic voting ma-
chines (EVMs) and
flouting of rules by
poll officials.
Dismissing the pe-
tition, Justice DK
Singh-I observed,
“The counsel for the
petitioner has miser-
ably failed in proving
as to how the said
non-providing of the
copy of the required
document to polling
agents by the presid-
ing officers has re-
sulted in materially
affecting the election
result of the returned
candidate.”
“It has also come
on record that the
margin of defeat is
very huge as the win-
ning candidate has
won this election by
securing 73,325 votes
while the petitioner
has just secured
61,455 votes and,
therefore, it shows
difference of more
than10,000votes,”the
court further ob-
served.
—FILE PHOTO
Pal’s election was
challenged by
SP candidate
Seema Sachan
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Relatives of
Samajwadi Party chief
AkhileshYadav,whohad
shown his reluctance to
take “BJP’s vaccine”
against COVID-19, have
got themselves vaccinat-
ed against coronavirus.
KamlaDevi--sisterof
Samajwadi Party veter-
an Mulayam Singh Ya-
dav, and her husband Dr
Anjat Singh -- received
the first jab of covid vac-
cines at the district hos-
pital in Etawah on Tues-
day
.
Dr Ashok, in-charge
of the district COVID-19
vaccination centre, said:
“Dr Anjat and his wife
Kamla came around 3
pm on Tuesday for the
vaccination. The couple
was kept under observa-
tion for some time after
they received the vac-
cines. Both of them fall
into the senior citizen
category
.”
SP’s Anurag
Bhadouria said Akh-
ilesh was against the
“BJPnisation” of the
vaccine, not of the vac-
cine itself.
“We completely trust
thevaccinedevelopedby
our scientists. Taking
the vaccine shot is one’s
personal wish and we
cannot tell an individual
whether they should
take the vaccine or not,”
Bhadouria said.
Akhilesh kin get jab even as SP
chief had opposed ‘BJP’s vaccine’
Akhilesh Yadav
Kejri offers free
Ayodhya yatra
for sr citizens
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Delhi CM
Arvind Kejriwal on
Wednesday announced
facilitating free pilgrim-
age for Delhi’s senior
citizens to the Ram tem-
ple in Ayodhya and as-
serted that his govern-
ment follows 10 princi-
ples inspired by the con-
cept of ‘Ram Rajya’ to
serve the people.
The principles listed
by him are providing
food, education, medical
care, electricity
, water,
employment, housing,
security for women and
honouring the elderly
.
Kejriwal’s announce-
ment about the pilgrim-
age came a day after his
AamAadmiParty(AAP)
government presented a
Rs 69,000-cr budget
themed on “patriotism”
underwhichinstallation
of 500flagmastsandpro-
grammes on the lives of
freedom fighters are
planned across Delhi.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
MinisterlaudsPMandCMfor covidmgmt;Assuresthere’snoshortageofvaccine
INTELLECTUAL DELIGHT
ACS Home Awanish Awasthi being gifted the book ‘Kailash
Mansarovar Yatra: Astha Ke Vaicharik Ayaam’ by IAS officer
Hari Om on Wednesday.
—FILE PHOTO
—PHOTO
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR

l Vol 1 l Issue No. 117 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
04
f late, state-
ments from the
highest level in
Pakistan’s gov-
ernment have
urgedtheglobalcommunity
to build a relationship with
thecountrycenteredaround
“geoeconomic security
.”
The new policy posture is
aimed at the Biden adminis-
tration, but it appears in
equal proportion in Paki-
stan’s recent diplomatic
overturestoothercountries.
In the past, Pakistan’s
global pitch was peppered
with terms such as “geo-
strategic pivot” — an um-
brella concept for military
and security nuances — to
emphasize its indispensa-
bility in South Asia. This
predisposition informed
the overall trajectory of
the US–Pakistan relation-
ship since the 9/11 attacks
in 2001, as well as the bur-
geoning China–Pakistan
bonhomie that has mani-
fested through the China–
Pakistan Economic Corri-
dor (CPEC).
WHAT AN AFGHAN
PEACE DEAL
COULD LOOK LIKE
Pakistan’s sojourn from
“geostrategy” to “geoeco-
nomics” is led by the coun-
try’s national security ad-
viser, Moeed Yusuf. In his
speech at the Wilson Cent-
er in January, Yusuf re-
minded the United States
that it would be engaging
with a “very different Paki-
stan” that is now focused
on the “economic security
paradigm.” He said Paki-
stan should be seen beyond
the Afghanistan “prism”
as an economic partner. He
also cautioned against
viewing Pakistan from a
“third country lens and
keeping India at the center
of all conversations.”
Similar sentiments were
echoed later during the
launch of a report titled,
“Pak-Americana — Usher-
ing in a New Era of Paki-
stan–U.S. Relations,” pub-
lishedbyTabadlab,anIslam-
abad-based think tank. The
speakers at the event unerr-
ingly ground the future of
US–Pakistan relations in
economic terms. This para-
digm shift was also men-
tioned by Prime Minister
Imran Khan during his re-
centtriptoSriLanka,which
he invited to join the CPEC.
Interestingly
, Pakistan’s
new pitch has also gone in
lockstepwithrecentinterna-
tional publications. For ex-
ample,writingfortheAtlan-
tic Council, Shamila Chaud-
hary and Vali Nasr have ar-
gued that Pakistan’s strate-
gic calculus has changed
over the years and US policy
toward the country should
be informed by considera-
tions of a broad-based eco-
nomic partnership.
THE DRIVER
The underlying driver be-
hind these new policy ut-
terances could be the at-
tempted pushback against
entrenched perceptions
in US policy circles where
Pakistan has been viewed
with suspicion. In the
best of times, Pakistan
has been seen as a secu-
rity hedge for protecting
US regional interests.
Since 9/11, the US–Paki-
stan relationship has
been largely about the
South Asian nation con-
ducting counterterrorism
operations and support-
ing US military action in
Afghanistan. Lately, Paki-
stan has been trying to
put an end to the 20-year-
long war in Afghanistan
to help the US extricate
itself from the Afghan im-
broglio.
HTTPS://WWW.FAIROBSERVER.COM/
PAKISTAN’S NEW ‘GEOECONOMICS’ LAWFARE
O
I say to the Lord, You are
my Lord; apart from You I
have no good thing.
—Psalm 16:2
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Greetings to our CISF personnel
@CISFHQrs on their 52nd
#CISFRaisingDay. The nation is
grateful to CISF for their invaluable
service in providing internal
security, safeguarding strategic,
economic infrastructural assets
and in advancing national progress.
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavdekar
Congratulations to Haryana CM
Shri @mlkhattar for defeating the
No-Confidence motion moved by
Congress in Haryana Assembly today.
The trust of the people of Haryana
continues to be with BJP government
led by Shri Manohar Lal Khattar.
#HaryanaNoConfidenceMotion
t last the much awaited pro-
cess of deportation of Roh-
ingyas, the illegal immi-
grants, has begun. In a recent
move, Jammu and Kashmir
Police after the due identifica-
tion process has started mov-
ing them to “holding centres”
prior to their deportation
which is to be organised cen-
trally by the Government of
India. It is believed to be a
part of the larger all-India ex-
ercise which will finally cul-
minatewiththeirdeportation
to the country of their origin.
As is well-known these Roh-
ingyas, with established ter-
rorist links, were brought all
the way to Jammu between
2002 to 2014 during the re-
gimes of PDP- Congress, and
NC-Congress regimes. They
were also with the conniv-
ance of local politicians be-
longing to these parties pro-
vided identity documents,
ration cards and settled on
the periphery of Jammu city
surrounding the military gar-
rison at Sunjuwan. It took
some time for the majority
community in Jammu to real-
ise that it was a well-planned
conspiracy not only to chal-
lenge national security but
also to change the demogra-
phy of the winter capital city
.
The twin threat became a tin-
der box as far as Jammu was
concerned. However, the gov-
ernmental support ensured
that they continued to mush-
room in and around Jammu
only
. The fact that they were
being settled nowhere else in
the state but Jammu only fur-
ther raised the heckles of se-
curity analysts and the local
civil society
. Any move to pro-
test against their planned set-
tlement was dubbed as a right
wing communal protest and
silenced. Many of them were
also enrolled as voters and
provided voter cards by the
then local MLA to enhance
his vote bank. National secu-
rity and the sentiments of the
majority population were no
consideration for these self-
seeking politicians.
The sinister design became
clearer when these illegal im-
migrants were not allowed to
settle in Kashmir despite reli-
gious affinity and were also
being supported financially
by many Kashmiri philan-
thropic organisations who
were also working towards
their rehabilitation in Jam-
mu. Even these organisations
never thought of taking them
to Kashmir where to look af-
ter them would have been
much easier logistically
. Jam-
mu due to its strategic loca-
tionandHindu-majoritychar-
acterwasobviouslythetarget
of Pakistan’s Inter-Services
Intelligence, the mastermind
of this plan. The ISI’s inten-
tion behind selecting Jammu
was two-fold: firstly; to spread
fundamentalism in the areas
they settle and keep an eye on
thesensitivemilitaryinstalla-
tionsinthenarea,secondly;to
foment serious political and
religious fights to force the
exodus of Hindus to alter the
local demography
. As and
when needed they could also
be inducted into terrorism.
Manypeoplearguedthatall
Rohingyas are not terrorists
or jihadis but then going by
the track record of the com-
munity and their presence in
large numbers in terrorist
training camps run by ISI in
Bangla Desh and Pakistan it
was well- nigh impossible to
draw a distinction. The grow-
ing dissent in Jammu to these
illegal settlers received no at-
tention of the successive state
governments. In fact their
numbers continued to swell.
The noose was finally
tightened around their neck
after the formation of new
BJP-led government at the
Centre in 2014. After BJP
formed government with
PDP in 2015 in the state it re-
alised that PDP was not sin-
cere to check the menace. It
finally withdrew from the
government in 2018 after the
Central government had be-
gun to act earnestly in 2017.
The uncompromising stance
of the new government with
relation to national security
began the process of putting
an end to their inflow as well
as take a firm view on their
deportation including one to
one talks between Prime Min-
ister Modi and Aung San Suu
Kyi, de-facto ruler of Myan-
mar. (She has now been re-
placed by a military regime).
Interestingly, it is not only
the Government of India or
the people of Jammu who
consider Rohingyas as a secu-
rity threat. Both Myanmar
and Bangladesh also consider
thesame.ManyotherMuslim
nations like Indonesia and
Malaysia who have resisted
the entry of Rohingyas into
their country also do so be-
cause of security concerns
despite sharing religious af-
finity
. In June 2017, Bangla-
desh Foreign minister Abul
Hassan Mahmood Ali told the
national parliament that Roh-
ingyas may become a threat
for national security in the
future. “Among the Cox’s
Bazar population, 20-25 per-
cent people are now Rakhine
Muslims. Such huge Rakhine
Muslimsmaybecomeathreat
for national security in the
future,” he said. Only recent-
ly his junior minister Shariar
Alam echoed the same senti-
ments when he said that the
Rohingya crisis is both a hu-
manitarian and security is-
sue. He further said that the
possibility of links between
Arakan Rohingya Salvation
Army(ARSA)andforeignter-
ror groups cannot be ruled
out. India also shared a simi-
lar view point. India had sent
relief material to the refugee
campsinBangladeshhousing
Rohingya refugees as human-
itarian aid. But humanitari-
anism and national security
cannot be viewed from the
same prism, particularly
whenIndiaisavictimof glob-
al jihadi terror.
As soon as the police began
to act, the pseudo-secular pro-
Rohingya lobby also became
active. The Rohingyas had
solid support base in Kash-
mir among the separatists
and the terrorists. In the past
whenever protests were made
in Jammu to deport them
there used to be a severe back-
lash in Kashmir because the
whole issue of national secu-
rity was communalised by
the vested lobby by portray-
ing it as a religious vendetta.
Hurriyat at one time had
threatened of a Valley-wide
agitation. Terrorists openly
supported the Rohingyas
though it is said that terror-
ists have no religion. Notori-
ous Kashmiri terrorist Zakir
Musa had threatened to kill
Hindus of Jammu if Rohing-
yas were deported. AQIS and
ISIS had also called for com-
ing to the aid of Rohingyas.
Fortunately
, with the changed
environment the separatist
andterroristvoiceshavebeen
silencedinKashmir.Buttheir
new Avtaars in Kashmir rep-
resented by the Gupkar Alli-
ance have begun to criticise
the government’s move and
dubbed it once again as reli-
gious vendetta.
The patron of Gupkar Alli-
ance has said that India being
a signatory to the UN charter
must abide by it and work on
humanitariangrounds.While
his party spokesperson ac-
cused the then Vajpayee led
NDA government of settling
them in Jammu. Dr Abdullah
also supported him indirectly
by saying, “Nobody can settle
here without the permission
of the Government of India.”
Having failed in its ambitious
plan of overhauling Jammu’s
demography
,NCisnowtrying
tospin-doctoranewnarrative.
But everybody in Jammu is
aware of the truth and no
amountof spin-doctoringwill
help NC, PDP or Congress to
wash their hands away from
involvementinfacilitatingthe
Rohingyas to settle here ille-
gally and in the process facili-
tate the nefarious designs of
ISI. Incidentally
, India is not a
signatory to the 1951 UN con-
vention on refugees.
Where was the humanitar-
ian conscience of Dr Farooq
Abdullah and his party that
had turned a blind eye to the
persecutionandethniccleans-
ing of Hindu Kashmiri Pun-
dit community from their an-
cestral land by blood thirsty,
slogan shouting, gun trotting
locals to convert Kashmir
fromamulti-ethnic,peacelov-
ing, multi-religious society to
a monolith? Till date except
for a lip-service they have
made no sincere effort for
their safe and honourable re-
turn to their home land.
The clear aim of these po-
litical parties is to draw the
necessary political mileage
through polarisation which
is a sad reflection of their to-
tal disregard of national se-
curity for petty vote bank
politics. But the Government
of India is sincere and un-
compromising on the issue
of national security hence it
is not going to blink or get
buckled down by such ac-
tions of the self-seeking op-
position parties.
The police needs to be com-
plimented but it has a long
haul yet. The number of ille-
gally settled Rohingyas is not
in hundreds but thousands
and may have reached till ten
thousand by now. Many of
themormissingpossiblyhave
mixed and settled with the lo-
cal population through fraud-
ulent means. Police has an
arduous task ahead to identi-
fy
,locateanddeportthem.But
one thing is crystal clear Roh-
ingyashavetogoback.Thisis
unnegotiable. Their exit from
Jammu is mandatory
. The na-
tion can ill afford to let the
design of ISI succeed in stra-
tegically vital Jammu.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
ROHINGYAS HAVE TO GO BACK
A LARGER ALL-INDIA EXERCISE WILL FINALLY CULMINATE WITH THEIR DEPORTATION TO COUNTRY OF THEIR ORIGIN
A
Many people
argued that all
Rohingyas are
not terrorists or
jihadis but then
going by the
track record of
the community
and their
presence in
large numbers
in terrorist
training camps
run by ISI in
Bangla Desh
and Pakistan it
was well- nigh
impossible to
draw a
distinction.
BRIG VETERAN
ANIL GUPTA
The author is a Jammu
based veteran, political
commentator, columnist, security
and strategic analyst
INTERESTINGLY, IT IS NOT ONLY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
OR PEOPLE OF JAMMU WHO CONSIDER ROHINGYAS AS
A SECURITY THREAT. BOTH MYANMAR AND
BANGLADESH ALSO CONSIDER THE SAME. MANY OTHER
MUSLIM NATIONS LIKE INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA WHO
HAVE RESISTED THE ENTRY OF ROHINGYAS INTO THEIR
COUNTRY ALSO DO SO BECAUSE OF SECURITY
CONCERNS DESPITE SHARING RELIGIOUS AFFINITY.

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INDIA
05
Kerala polls: PC Chacko quits,
says no democracy left in Cong
Kerala: Senior Con-
gress leader PC Chacko,
a former Lok Sabha MP
from Thrissur district
in Kerala, quit the party
on Wednesday, report.
His resignation came
less than a month be-
fore Assembly elections
in the state.
Chackosaidtherewas
“groupism” within the
Congress. He also com-
plained that there was
no democracy in the
party, according to
sources. “Kerala is fac-
ing a crucial election,”
Chacko said. “People
want [the] Congress to
come back but there is
groupism practiced by
top leaders of Congress.
Ihavebeenarguingwith
high command that this
should be ended.”
Chacko alleged that
the Congress high com-
mand was being a
“mute witness to this
disaster”. “Congress is
a great tradition,” he
said. “Being a Congress
man is a prestigious
thing but today in Kera-
la nobody can be a Con-
gress man. One can be-
long to either ‘I group’
or ‘A group’. So I decid-
ed to call it a day
.”
Chacko accused the
Congress of ignoring
leaders in Kerala in
choosing candidates for
the Assembly elections.
“There is no democracy
left in the Congress,” he
said. “The list of candi-
dates has not been dis-
cussed with the state
Congress committee. I
have sent my resigna-
tion to Sonia Gandhi.”
Chacko added that be-
ing a Congress leader in
Keralawasverydifficult.
He claimed that a party
member can “survive”
only if one belonged to a
faction in the Congress.
“The leadership of the
Congress is not much
active,” he said.
The senior politician
said he hoped his resig-
nation will be an eye-
opener, reports. “I’m un-
happy with the function-
ing of the Congress,” he
said. “The Congress is
becoming weaker and
weaker day by day
, if my
resignation opens the
eye, then I will think my
resignation has served
the purpose.”
Congress leader
Anand Sharma dis-
missed Chacko’s allega-
tions. —ANI
Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has sent sports shoes to Kanyakumari’s 12-year-
old boy Antony Felix as promised. During Rahul’s Tamil Nadu tour Felix, had told Rahul that he is the
runner of the 100 meters race. Rahul had promised to send him a pair of shoes which he got today.
SCtoCentre:Whynowomen
inNat’lDefenceAcademy?
Denial of admission for women to NDA has been
challenged by a petitioner in the Supreme Court
New Delhi: Denial of
admission for women to
the National Defence
Academy has been chal-
lenged by a petitioner
in the Supreme Court,
which has asked the
centre to respond to it.
The petition filed by
Kush Kalra, an advo-
cate, said women being
not allowed admission
to the National Defence
Academy (NDA) is a vi-
olation of fundamental
right of equality and
right to practice a pro-
fession.
The NDA is the coun-
try’s joint military
training institution for
producing junior lead-
ers for the armed forc-
es. The petition said
eligible women candi-
dates with 10+2 level of
education are denied
an opportunity to take
the NDA examination
on the ground of their
gender, and the conse-
quence of this denial is
that they do not have
access to any mode of
entry to the armed
forces as officers at
this level.
The petition said the
number of women in
the armed forces is
extremely low.
National Defence Academy
INDIA EXPORTING DEFENCE
EQUIPMENT TO 84 COUNTRIES: GOVT
INS KARANJ, INDIGENOUS SUBMARINE,
COMMISSIONED INTO INDIAN NAVY
New Delh: Minister of State for Defence Shripad
Naik on Wednesday shared the details of the
important defence equipment exported during
the last five years. In a written reply in the Lok
Sabha in response to a question asked by Kaushal
Kishore and P P Chaudhary, Naik informed that
presently defence items from India are being
exported to more than 84 countries.
A third Scorpene class submarine INS Karanj of
Project-75 was on Wednesday commissioned
into the Indian navy,
after two years of sea
trials.The submarine
was launched in Jan
2018 for sea trials
and will increase the
strength and capability of the Indian navy, said
chief of staff (CNS) admiral Karambir Singh.
Demarche to UK
over agriculture
laws discussion
MUKESH AMBANI BOMB SCARE: MUMBAI COP TRANSFERRED
‘An outsider, Didi’s mantras all wrong’:
Suvendu Adhikari plays recording
Mumbai: The Maha-
rashtra government on
Wednesday announced
the transfer of Assis-
tant Police Inspector
Sachin Vaze from the
Mumbai Crime Branch
after the cop was ac-
cused of murdering
Mansukh Hiren.
Hiren, who owned
the vehicle that was
found laden with explo-
sives near billionaire
businessman Mukesh
Ambani’s residence,
was found dead in the
Kalwa creek last week.
Addressing the state
Legislative Assembly,
Maharashtra Home
Minister Anil Desh-
mukh said, “Police of-
ficer Sachin Vaze will
be removed from his
current posting in the
crime branch till the in-
vestigation is not com-
pleted.”
“I am taking this de-
cision in view of the ris-
ing demand from the
Opposition. We will
take appropriate action
against Vaze if he is in-
volved in his death,” the
Minister added. Hiren’s
wife, Vimla, has ac-
cused Vaze of playing a
role in his murder. Vaze
was the investigative of-
ficer in the Ambani
bomb scare case until
he was replaced by an-
other officer.
Vaze had been using
Hiren’s car from No-
vember 2020 till Febru-
ary 5, Vimla said. She
said Vaze had told her
husband to get arrested
in the case, assuring he
would be bailed out.
Vaze’s transfer comes a
day after the Opposi-
tion demanded Vaze’s
suspension and arrest.
The Leader of Oppo-
sition in the Assembly,
Devendra Fadnavis,
read parts of Vimla’s
statement in the House.
He demanded Vaze’s ar-
rest in connection with
the case.
If not murder, the cop
should at least be ar-
rested, said Fadnavis, a
former state CM. —ANI
Nandigram: Branding
West Bengal Chief Min-
ister Mamata Banerjee
as an outsider in Nandi-
gram, BJP leader and
her former protege Su-
vendu Adhikari on
Wednesday asserted
that people duped by
chit fund companies in
the state would get back
their money if the saf-
fron party is voted to
power.
Accusing Banerjee of
trying to divide commu-
nities on religious lines
ahead of the assembly
elections, Adhikari said
the TMC supremo had
“incorrectly” recited
the ‘Chandipath’ (holy
text) here on Tuesday.
The chit fund scam hap-
pened because of the
TMC government and
its leaders “looted pub-
lic money”, he alleged.
“She is an outsider in
Nandigram. She does
not even cast her vote
here. I am not only the
‘bhoomiputra’ (son of
the soil of Nandigram),
but also a regular voter
of the area.
“I have been with the
people of this place for
several years unlike
her, who comes here
only during polls,”
Adhikari said, while in-
augurating his election
office. Nandigram As-
sembly constituency is
set for a high- octane
battle with Banerjee de-
ciding to contest from
the seat against Adhi-
kari. —ANI
New Delhi: India sum-
moned the British high
commissioner on Tues-
day and conveyed its
strong opposition to the
“unwarranted and ten-
dentious” discussion on
India’s agri reforms in
the UK Parliament, de-
scribing it a “gross in-
terference” in politics
of another country
.
The ministry of exter-
nal affairs said Foreign
Secretary Harsh Vard-
hanShringlaadvisedthe
envoy that British MPs
shouldrefrainfromprac-
tising “vote bank poli-
tics” by misrepresenting
events,especiallyinrela-
tion to another fellow
democracy
. India’s de-
marche to the envoy
came a day after several
British MPs held a dis-
cussion in the parlia-
mentoverissuesaround
the use of force against
protesters opposed to
agricultural reforms in
India and journalists be-
ing targeted while cov-
ering the protests on the
outskirts of Delhi.
“Foreign Secretary
summoned the British
high commissioner and
conveyed strong opposi-
tion to the unwarranted
and tendentious discus-
sion on agricultural re-
forms in India in the
British Parliament,”
the MEA said in a state-
ment. —ANI
SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN GIVES
HIS SPIN TO ‘PAWRI HO RAHI HAI’
Indore: After Bengal, the
‘pawri’ fever has now
made its way into Madhya
Pradesh where CM
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
gave the viral catchphrase
his own spin on Tues-
day to reiterate the BJP
government’s resolve of
cracking down against
land mafia. Chouhan, who
was in Indore to attend
a programme, was seen
in an unusual avatar on
the stage as he used the
‘pawri ho rahi hai’ meme
to laud his government’s
crackdown against mafia
in the state. “Yeh main
hun. Madhya Pradesh
main meri BJP ki sarkar
hai. Yahan meri sashakt
prashanik team hai!
Aur bhumafia Madhya
Pradesh chhod kar bhag
rahe hain),” said CM.
SECURITY FORCES GUN
DOWN CHIEF OF AL-BADR
New Delhi: The
Jammu and Kashmir
police gunned down
one terrorist in Sopre
in an encounter.
Based on specific
inputs an operation
was launched by the
Sopore police at Tujjer
Sharief after contact
was established.
During the search
operation, as the
presence of a terrorist
got ascertained he was
given opportunity to
surrender, however, he
fired indiscriminately
upon the joint search
party, which was
retaliated leading to an
encounter.
NO DAMAGE CAUSED TO
WILDLIFE OR HUMANS: GOVT
Odisha: Claiming that
no life was lost in the
forest blaze, which had
been raging in Odisha
for more than a week,
the state government
on Tuesday said “95
per cent of the fire
points” have been
extinguished or at least
attended to” over the
last 24 hours. A mas-
sive fire ripped through
vast tracts of Simlipal
National Park in May-
urbhanj district and
other wildlife habitats
nearby, raising concern
among wildlife and
environmental activ-
ists over its possible
impact.
MAN WHO ATTACKED DELHI
COP WITH SPEAR ARRESTED
New Delhi: Two persons,
including a 21-year-old
man who assaulted a
policeman on duty at Red
Fort with a spear on Jan
26, has been arrested
in connection with the
violence at the historic
monument. With this, the
total number of arrests
made in connection with
the case of violence at
the Red Fort on Republic
Day stands at 14, the
police said. It may be
noted that various teams
of the Crime Branch Unit,
probing the Red Fort
violence case, have been
conducting regular raids
in Delhi and Punjab in
search of the culprits. The
duo, Maninderjit Singh,
23, and Khempreet Singh,
21, which was actively
involved in the violence.
Resolution in Andhra
assembly for steel plant
Visakhapatnam: The
Rajya Sabha member
and YSRCP general sec-
retary Vijayasai Reddy
and tourism minister M
Srinivasa Rao said they
would meet the Prime
Minister and also pass a
resolution in the
Andhra assembly for
the protection of Vizag
Steel Plant.
Speaking to media
persons on Tuesday,
they said that they are
committed to the pro-
tection of the plant.
“Andhra Pradesh chief
minister YS Jagan Mo-
han Reddy had written
a letter to the Prime
Minister and requested
him not to privatise the
plant,” they said.—ANI
TMC MIN
HANSDA
AND MLA
DUTTA
JOIN BJP
Kolkata: In a fresh
setback for the
TMC, State minister
Bachchu Hansda
and TMC MLA Gouri
Sankar Dutta who did
not receive a ticket
to contest in the
upcoming Assem-
bly polls, joined the
BJP on Wednesday.
Several other leaders
including TMC MP
Pratima Mondal’s sis-
ter Jayashree Mondal
and Bengali film actor
Bonny Sengupta too
joined the BJP at
the party’s Hastings
office in the presence
of West Bengal BJP
president Dilip Ghosh
and party leader
Rajib Banerjee. While
Hansda is the Minis-
ter of State for North
Bengal Development
and a two-time MLA
from Tapan seat in
South Dinajpur dis-
trict, Dutta is an MLA
from Tehatta in Nadia
district.
PC Chacko
Security heightened after gelatin sticks found in SUV outside Mukesh Ambani’s Mumbai house.

INDIA
06
Ease of Doing...
to be reduced, out of
which 195 compliances
are to be reduced in
phase-1 and 480 compli-
ances in phase-2.
Addressing around
80 officials of different
departments, Addition-
al Chief Secretary, In-
frastructure and Indus-
trial Development,
Arvind Kumar said that
besides further improv-
ing the ease of doing
business for industries,
now the government
was focusing on citizen-
centric services and
compliances to improve
the ‘ease of living’ as
well. Kumar called
upon the departments
to work on this exercise
on war-footing since Ut-
tar Pradesh had been
identified as one of the
highest compliance
burden state. Invest In-
dia officials, represent-
ing DPIIT, informed
that a dedicated portal
has been launched for
the states and their de-
partments to identify
and upload the compli-
ances that could be re-
duced or minimized.
The portal will com-
prise a dash board for
the Chief Secretary for
direct review and moni-
toring. Technical as-
pects and procedure for
identification of com-
pliances to be reduced
were explained to the
Nodal officers in detail.
Secretary, Industrial
Development and Chief
Executive Officer, In-
vest UP, Neena Sharma
informed that around
120 compliances related
to 26 departments had
been already uploaded
by Invest UP on the ded-
icated portal for reduc-
ing compliance burden,
but now onwards de-
partmental nodal offic-
ers would be provided
with User ID and pass-
words to do it them-
selves. It was informed
that the initiative has
been divided into two
phases, first phase will
end on March 31, 2021
and second phase will
be up to August 15, 2021.
Each department will
have to submit an ac-
tion plan for identifica-
tion and reducing of
compliances along with
evidence for ease of do-
ing business as well as
ease of living.
didi hurt...
four-five people sudden-
ly pushed her car’s door
and her right leg got
stuck in the door, injur-
ing her right knee and
ankle in the process.
Visibly furious, Ba-
nerjee said, “This is a
conspiracy
. No adminis-
tration was there to pro-
tect me. Police Super
was also not there. They
basically came there to
hurt me. I decided to re-
turn to Kolkata right
now.”Banerjee, who
was expected to spend
the night in Nandi-
gram, soon left for Kol-
kata, around 130 km
away
.
Nandigram will be
the site of the biggest
battle in the state elec-
tions that begin by the
end of this month. The
Chief Minister has
been challenged by her
erstwhile aide Suvendu
Adhikari, who is now
representing the BJP.
The BJP, which had
blamed the Trinamool
after its chief JP Na-
dda’s convoy came un-
der attack in Bengal in
December, said today’s
incident was a politi-
cal stunt by the ruling
party.
BJP-JJP...
adding, “Don’t take our
patience as our weak-
ness,” he said.
Congress’s former
Chief Minister Bhupin-
der Singh Hooda said
Chief Minister Khattar’
s inability to hoist the
flag in Panipat on Janu-
ary 26 indicated his un-
popularity among peo-
ple. Mr Khattar’s chop-
per was not allowed to
land by protesting
farmers. He also re-
minded the government
that agriculture is a
state subject, saying,
“The moment I speak of
farm laws, they (the
government) says it is
Central laws”.
Senior Congress lead-
er Raghuvir Singh Ka-
dian said the no-confi-
dence motion would
make it clear who
stands with farmers
and who is against
them. The party’s tar-
get was seen to be JJP
– which has a consider-
able following among
farmers.
Tirath Singh...
Known as a down-to-
earth leader, Rawat
takes over the reins of
power at a time when
the ruling Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) is pre-
paring for the state As-
sembly polls due early
next year. His principal
challenge will be to en-
sure the party another
term in office.
Earlier in the day,
Rawat was elected as
the leader of the Utta-
rakhand BJP legisla-
ture party, which came
as a surprise to many
as his name was not
among the nearly half-
a-dozen names doing
the rounds in the me-
dia over the last few
days as contenders for
the top post.
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: Six states
-- Maharashtra, Kerala,
Punjab, Karnataka,
Gujarat and Tamil
Nadu -- accounted for
83.76 per cent of the
17,921 cases of COV-
ID-19 reported in the
country in a day, the
Union Health Ministry
said on Wednesday.
India’s tally of active
COVID-19 cases stood at
1.84 lakh and comprised
1.64 per cent of the total
infections, according to
the ministry’s data.
The total number of
tests conducted in In-
dia so far has crossed
22 crore and the daily
positivity rate stood at
2.43 per cent.
Maharashtra contin-
ued to report the high-
est daily new cases at
9,927, followed by Kera-
la with 2,316 cases and
Punjab 1,027 fresh in-
stances of the infection.
According to the
ministry, 133 deaths
were reported in a day,
with five states ac-
counting for 77.44 per
cent of the fatalities.
Maharashtra saw the
maximum daily deaths
at 56, followed by Pun-
jab where 20 people suc-
cumbed to the disease
and Kerala witnessing
16 fatalities.
Nineteen states and
Union Territories have
not reported any COV-
ID-19 death in a day
.
These are Rajasthan,
Andhra Pradesh, Chan-
digarh, Odisha, Uttara-
khand, Jharkhand, Bi-
har, Puducherry, Lak-
shadweep, Sikkim,
Ladakh, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Nagaland,
Daman and Diu, Dadra
and Nagar Haveli,
Tripura, Mizoram, the
Andaman and Nicobar
Islands and Arunachal
Pradesh.
According to a provi-
sional report, over 2.43
crore vaccine doses
have been administered
through 3,39,145 ses-
sions till 7 am on
Wednesday
.
These include
71,30,098 healthcare
and 69,36,480 frontline
workers who have ad-
ministered the first
dose, 38,90,257 health-
care and 4,73,422 front-
line workers who re-
ceived the second dose
of the vaccine.
Besides, 8,33,526 peo-
ple aged more than 45
years with specific co-
morbidities and
51,04,123 beneficiaries
aged over 60 years
also were given the
first dose.
On Day-53 of the vac-
cination drive, more
than 13.5 lakh vaccine
doses were given in
52,351 sessions.
Out of this, 10,60,944
beneficiaries were ad-
ministered the first
dose and 2,98,229 health-
care and frontline work-
ers received the second
dose of vaccine. —PTI
TN, MAHA, KERALA WORST AFFECTED STATES
17,921 new cases found with 1 crore recoveries so far 133 new fatalities include 56 from Maharashtra, 20 from Punjab 16 from Kerala
Senior citizens wait for their turn to get vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine at BMC hospital in Mumbai Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Wednesday requested
MPs and all public rep-
resentatives to take part
in ‘Amrit Mahotsav’ to
mark India’s 75 years of
Independence, which
will start from March 12
in Gujarat’s Sabarmati
Ashram, Parliamenta-
ry Affairs Minister
Pralhad Joshi said.
Addressing the BJP’s
parliamentary party
meeting, Modi in-
formed that the grand
festival to commemo-
rate the 75th year of In-
dependence will be held
at 75 locations across
the country for 75
weeks, he said.
The PM also gave a
clarion call to the Mem-
bers of Parliament that
they should reach out
to people and help in
carrying out the Cov-
id-19 vaccination
drive by the govern-
ment, Joshi told report-
ers after the meet-
ing.
“PM Modiji told
MPs that they
should act as a fa-
cilitator in the ongo-
ing vaccina-
tion drive
like by ar-
ranging
vehicles
for citizens
to take
them to the vaccination
centres, helping in
making arrange-
ments at the vacci-
nation centres and
through other pos-
sible means,”
he said.
Modi
a l s o
asked all
public
repre-
senta-
tives to
t a k e
part in
‘Amrit
Mahot-
sav’ to commemorate 75
years of Independence,
Joshi said.
“The grand festival
will be celebrated at 75
locations across the
country for 75 weeks
and will start from Sa-
bramati Ashram in Ah-
mdedabad in Gujarat
from March 12,” he
said. The BJP’s parlia-
mentary party also
passed a resolution ap-
plauding the prime
minister for his able
and effective leadership
during the Covid-19
pandemic. —PTI
‘AmritMahotsavtomark75yrsofIndependence’
New Delhi: The Cen-
tral Bureau of Investi-
gation registered 425
cases of corruption in
2020, the Lok Sabha was
informed on Wednes-
day. In 2019, the federal
probe agency registered
396 cases. In 2018, 460
cases were registered.
“Total number of
corruption cases regis-
tered by CBI in current
year i.e. in 2021 till
31.01.2021 is 39,” Minis-
ter of State for Person-
nel Jitendra Singh said
in a written reply
. —PTI
425 corruption
cases registered
by CBI in 2020
Bengaluru: ISRO’s
commercial arm NewS-
pace India Limited
(NSIL) has bagged four
more dedicated launch
service contracts even
as it plans to pursue sat-
ellite building deals.
NSIL launched its
first dedicated commer-
cial mission on Febru-
ary 28, orbiting Brazil-
ian satellite Amazo-
nia-1 from Sriharikota
spaceport of the ISRO.
“We currently have
four more dedicated
launch service con-
tracts, which will be ex-
ecuted in the coming
two to three years,”
NSIL’s Chairman and
Managing Director G
Narayanan told news
agency PTI.
NSIL is also actively
pursuing the new poli-
cy change to provide
space-based services on
‘’demand driven basis’’,
a shift from the current
supply driven model, he
said. “Towards this we
are in discussions with
several users to ascer-
tain their demands and
shortly you will hear
from us regarding firm
agreements for build-
ing and launching of
satellites through
NSIL”, he said. —PTI
ISRO’s commercial arm bags
4 contracts, eyes satellite deals
New Delhi: 33% of
the sitting MLAs in
Tamil Nadu - 68 out
of the 204 - have de-
clared criminal
cases against them,
as per report by poll
rights group ADR
(Association for
Democratic Re-
forms). Out of the
total sitting MLAs
from the poll-bound
state, 38 (19%)
MLAs have serious
criminal cases
against them, it
said. Serious crimi-
nal cases are non-
bailable offences
with over five years
of imprisonment.
33% TN MLAs
have criminal
cases against
them: Report
New Delhi: As many as
755 FIRs have been reg-
istered and 1,829 people
were arrested in con-
nection with the north-
east Delhi riots last
year, the Centre in-
formed Parliament on
Wednesday
.
Minister of State for
Home G Kishan Reddy
told the Rajya Sabha the
investigation was car-
ried out in all the cases
based on facts and evi-
dence, using the latest
scientific techniques,
and without any regard
to the affiliation or
identity of the accused.
Mr Reddy said the
Delhi Police conveyed
that 755 FIRs had been
registered in connec-
tion with the riots, out
of which 62 heinous
cases were investigat-
ed by the special inves-
tigation teams in the
crime branch. A total
of 1,829 people have
been arrested charge
sheets in 353 cases
have been submitted
in the court for trial,
he added. —PTI
1,829 arrested, 755 cases
lodged in connection with
Delhi riots, says Centre
New Delhi: Pfizer has told the government it wants
to produce its vaccine locally if assured of faster
regulatory clearance and freedom on pricing and
exports, sources told the media. The US company
pulled an application last month seeking emergen-
cy approval for its product in India after the drug
regulator declined its request to skip a small local
safety trial. That has kept its vaccine, developed
with Germany’s BioNTech SE, out of one of the
world’s biggest drug markets. Pfizer was the first
company to apply for emergency use authorisation
in India, proposing to import doses from its US
European facilities instead of producing locally.
New Delhi: More than 2.43 crore (2,43,67,906)
vaccine doses have been administered through
3,39,145 sessions across the States and Union
Territories so far, Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare (MoHWF) informed on Wednesday.
“More than 2.43 cr (2,43,67,906) vac-
cine doses have been administered through
3,39,145 sessions across the States and UTs.
Meanwhile, 83.76 per cent of the new cases
are from Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karna-
taka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. —PTI
PFIZER WANTS TO MAKE VAX IN INDIA
IF FASTER CLEARANCE ASSURED
OVER 2.4 CRORE VACCINE DOSES
ADMINISTERED SO FAR ACROSS INDIA
New Delhi: Farmers
are ready to continue
protests on the bor-
ders of Delhi, against
the three agricultur-
al laws, for the re-
maining three and
half years of the Nar-
endra Modi govern-
ment’s second term,
said farmer leader
Narendra Tikait. The
protests cannot be
“culled” he said.
The farmers’ pro-
test has been contin-
uing for more than
100 days. Narendra
Tikait does not hold
any official position
in the Bharatiya
Kisan Union (BKU),
formed by his father,
Mahendra Singh Ti-
kait, in 1986. He
mostly focuses on
the family’s farming
activities but is as
vocal on farmers’ is-
sues as his two elder
brothers, Naresh
and Rakesh Tikait,
who are leading from
the front. —PTI
Will protest till
Modi govt lasts:
Narendra Tikait
Farmers protesting against the new farm laws.
NSIL launched its first dedicated commercial mission on Feb 28.
GOVT’S TACTICS
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi

NEWS
07
First India Bureau
Kanpur: The father of
a 13-year old teenage
girl who was gang-
raped in Sajeti was
crushed to death by a
truck in front of the
CHC in Ghatampur just
a day after the incident
against his daughter.
The situation went
south when villagers
gathered after the acci-
dent and blocked the
Kanpur-Sagar Highway
.
The situation was
brought under control
by police who reached
the spot and calmed the
villagers and the whole
ordeal took hours to re-
solve and caused huge
queues of vehicles on
both side of the high-
way
.
A case of gang-rape
of a 13-year-old teenag-
er was filed against
Deepu Yadav, his broth-
er Saurabh Yadav and
friend Golu Yadav on
Tuesday
. Co-incidental-
ly Deepu and Saurabh
are sons of a police sub
inspector. The family of
the victim had claimed
that they were threat-
ened of dire conse-
quences by the accom-
plice of the accused if
the victim family ap-
proached the police.
The victim’s brother
was previously threat-
ened by the son of the
sub-Inspectorandhisac-
complice and now the
accident has made peo-
ple think that the acci-
dent was premeditated.
Just a day after the
complaint, around 6 AM
on 10th March a speed-
ingtruckattheAnuppur
intersection trampled
thefatherof therapevic-
tim, who died on the
spot. Villagers who soon
gathered after getting
the news blocked the
Kanpur-Sagar Highway
which resulted in long
queues of vehicle on ei-
ther side of the highway
.
The villagers have al-
leged that the father of
the girl was murdered
and that attempts are
being made to cover it
under the name of ac-
cident.
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh BJP is gearing
up for the two-day cru-
cial State Working Com-
mittee starting March
15 as a meeting of the
party officials and
board presidents of
Lucknow division was
held to chalk out the
strategy of the meeting.
The meeting will be
held at Indira Gandhi
Foundation, here on
Wednesday
.
The state working
committee meeting will
be inaugurated by for-
mer national president
and Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh while the
concluding session will
be addressed by the
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath. The state
committee will deliber-
ate on the political sce-
nario in the state and
developments in state
politics. The meeting is
crucial because the Pan-
chayat elections are
slated in April and after
that Uttar Pradesh will
go to polls to elect the
new government.
“The State Working
Committee will set the
tone and tenor of the
party’s campaign. We
will formulate new
strategies and look for
options as to how to gal-
vanise the youth for the
elections. We have per-
formed and will go to
the people with our re-
port card,” BJP state
president Swatantra
Dev Singh told this re-
porter.
In Lucknow, the offic-
ers bearers decided to
decorate the city roads
with banners, hoard-
ings and festoons. Gates
would be erected at
main roads. “A detailed
discussion was held
about making arrange-
ments for guests and
their accommodation,”
Mukesh Sharma, city
president said.
The meeting in Luc-
know was attended by
Ashwani Tyagi, state
general secretary and
MLC, Govind Narayan
Shukla, secretary and
MLC, Amar Pal Mau-
rya, state General Secre-
tary and in-charge of
Awadh Region, Shesh
Narayan Mishra, presi-
dent of Awadh Region,
Mukesh Sharma, city
president and other of-
fice bearers.—Agencies
Day after filing gang
rape case, UP girl’s
father dies in accident
State BJP gearing
up for the two-day
crucial state working
Committee meeting
URS OF SHAH JAHAN
Urs Committee members offer tributes at the tomb of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan on his 366th Urs, at Taj Mahal in Agra
on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Panic buttons,vehicle tracking system
in school buses and taxis in state soon
First India Bureau
Lucknow: After
launching pink buses in
state the Uttar Pradesh
Transport Department
has pulled up its socks
for going further in en-
sure protection of citi-
zens. The department
has decided to initiate
concrete measures like
installing of panic but-
tons and Vehicle Track-
ing System (VTS) in
school buses as-well-as
taxis in state. The panic
button would be con-
nected to dial-112,
which could make
traveling in vehicles
more secure.
As per reports, work
was underway as part
of the Nirbhaya scheme
wherein a dedicated
control room would be
set up for the exercise at
Transport Headquar-
ters. Strategy for exe-
cuting the plan was be-
ing finalized with dif-
ferent aspects like how
the control room team
would work at the press
of the panic button,
how much time the con-
trol room will take to
respond to the informa-
tion entered and dial-
112 action were being
screened. The depart-
ment will make the
journey safer by using
this technology in taxis
and school buses as all
such vehicles would be
monitored in due
course. Additional Re-
gional Tourism Officer
(ARTO), Headquarters
Kamal Joshi said that
presently only pink bus-
es which were brought
in under Nirbhaya head
has panic button while
the Vehicle Tracking
System (VTS) was avail-
able only in roadways
buses. The twin facili-
ties presently available
in pink buses and road-
ways vehicles was be-
ing monitored from the
control room set up at
Transport Corporation
headquarters. He fur-
ther informed that the
technology was not be-
ing fully used in other
commercial vehicles.
He further informed
that department aimed
at making journey of
state residents safe and
budget for the same had
already been agreed
upon.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Not much
has been done by previ-
ous state government
as far as health con-
cerns of residents of
country’s most popu-
lous state was con-
cerned. Records re-
vealed, since independ-
ence in past seven dec-
ades seven decades af-
ter independence, till
2017, there were only 12
medical colleges and
the state had no re-
sources to fight an epi-
demic like Corona.
However, today there
are 30 new medical col-
leges.
The World Health Or-
ganization has also
praised the efforts
made in the state to win
the war against Coro-
na.
Though every gov-
ernment has a chance
to do a lot in the field of
health, but the chal-
lenges faced by Yogi
Adityanath govern-
ment were numerous.
As the state govern-
ment started taking
steps to strengthen
health infrastructure
of state, Corona attack
arrived posing a big
challenge. In March
2020, lab of King
George Medical Col-
lege (KGMU), Lucknow
had testing capacity of
only 60 samples but de-
termined efforts result-
ed in increasing the
same to 20 million
while a significant 1.5
lakh beds were set up
in 674 Covid hospitals.
Uttar Pradesh set the
record by carrying out
Corona testing on a
maximum of 3.18 crore
people besides in a
year’s period a signifi-
cant 242 new labs were
set up. Out of 6.94 lakh
patients infected with
Corona, 5.94 lakh i.e.
98.2 percent patients
were cured registering
the death rate at just 1.4
percent. Now the state’s
health infrastructure
is able to deal with any
epidemic.
Giving a booster dose
to state’s health servic-
es, the government
started MBBS studies
from 2019-20 along with
OPD services at AIIMS
in Rae Bareli and Gora-
khpur. In past four
years, 2,488 more seats
were allotted for MBBS
in medical besides 588
PG Diploma seats were
increased. Also a medi-
cal university named
after former Prime
Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee was set up in
Lucknow.
Further several hun-
dred children were
killed every year due to
encephalitis in Purvan-
chal districts.
In the year 2016, 442
patients of JE and AES
were detected and 74
deaths were reported.
In the last four years, 16
Pediatric Intensive
Care Units (PICU), 15
Mini PICU and 177 En-
cephalitis Treatment
Centers were set up in
state. Owing to the
measures in 2020, only
95 patients were found
and nine deaths were
reported bringing the
mortality rate drasti-
cally down by 95 per-
cent.
In UP, under the
Ayushman Bharat
Pradhan Mantri Jan
Arogya Yojana, 6.47
crore people of 1.18
crore families had been
benefited while 42.19
lakh people of 8.43 lakh
families who could not
be covered under the
scheme were accommo-
datedundertheMukhy-
amantri Jan Arogya
Yojana.
Special emphasis has
been laid on increasing
super specialty servic-
es in state and the first
robotic surgery of state
was started at Sanjay
Gandhi Post Graduate
Institute (SGPGI). Also
super specialty blocks
have been established
in state medical col-
leges of Jhansi, Gora-
khpur, Meerut and
Prayagraj.
BOOSTER DOSE: UP UNDER YOGI ADITYANATH
MAKING GREAT STRIDES IN FIELD OF HEALTH
NO JEANS
FOR GIRLS,
NO SHORTS
FOR BOYS
In a panchayat meeting
in Muzaffarnagar a
decree was passed
which banned girls from
wearing jeans and boys
from wearing shorts.
The Indian Farmers’
Organization whilst
banning the use of the
above said clothes said
that anyone flouting the
decree will be socially
punished and banished
from the village. A
meeting of Indian
Farmers’ Organization
was convened at
Peepalshah in Charathaval
village of Muzaffarnagar
on 9th March where
people from the Kshatriya
community took part in.
The meeting was called
to discuss the reservation
list released for the
panchayat elections
and whether to raise
objection or not. During
the meeting, a discussion
about the clothes also
cropped up where
everyone gave their view
about adopting dresses of
Indian culture. Majority of
the person in the meeting
said that boys and girls
should wear clothes
according to Indian culture.
After listening to the
arguments of the people
present in the meeting
The National President
of the Indian Farmers
Organization, Puran Singh,
issued the decree passed
which banned girls from
wearing jeans and boys
from wearing shorts and if
any one seen flouting the
rules then they would be
boycotted and punished
as well. The organization
strongly condemned the
government’s order to
reserve 90 percent of the
villages in the panchayat
elections. —Amit Bailyan
MEERUT GIRL
DEPLOYED
ON INS
VIKRAMADITYA
Girls born in Meerut
have once against
showed their mettle
as Lieutenant Shivi
Bhardwaj, a resident of
Ashok Vatika Colony
near Prabhat Nagar in
Meerut was one of the
four women officers of
the Indian Navy who have
been deployed on INS
Vikramaditya and INS
Shakti. Shivi Bhardwaj
is the fourth of the
five children of retired
Principal Rajveer Sharma.
Her elder brother is a
gazette officer in Nainital
while two elder sisters
are assistant professors
in a government degree
college. Her youngest
brother is currently
studying as well as
working in US.
Shivi completed her
studies from Meerut
and was working as an
engineer in a private
company in the initial
days after graduating
college. She was
admitted to the Navy on
28 December 2014 and
underwent training in
Kerala and is currently
serving as Lieutenant
in the Indian Navy. She
was deployed on INS
Vikramaditya along with
another female officer on
the occasion of Women’s
Day. —First India Bureau
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Relatives of the deceased mourn their loss sitting on the road.

08
2NDFRONT
Greetings on the occasion of
Mahashivratri, may Lord
Shiva fulfill all your wishes and
bless each aspect of your life!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Lucknow: AIMIM has
completed its prepa-
rations for the upcom-
ing Bengal Assembly
elections. Whether
the results of Bengal
elections will decide
the direction and con-
dition of Muslim poli-
tics in UP is a ques-
tion which will be an-
swered in a few
months.
Bengal is not like
any other state when it
comes to Hindu-Mus-
lim politics. Both Hin-
du and Muslim reli-
gious politics have
deep roots here. After
winning some seats in
Bihar Assembly elec-
tions, Asaduddin
Owaisi’s AIMIM is try-
ing its hand in Bengal.
if his party manages to
win seats in the Bengal
elections too then AIM-
IM can boast of suc-
cessfully representing
the Muslim society at
the national level.
Such a result will also
help his cause to rally
the Muslim society un-
der his party’s flag in
Uttar Pradesh and in-
crease its presence in
the state.
Actually, Bengal’s
performance is being
seen somewhere relat-
ed to Owaisi’s future in
UP. Asaduddin
Owaisi’s party AIMIM
will play a major role
in the 2022 assembly
elections in Uttar
Pradesh. Prof.
Suleman, President of
the Indian National
League, said that the
number of people turn-
ing up to listen to
Owaisi’s speech is at a
level above many of
the other leader’s pub-
lic meeting.
Owaisi’s speech has
also been a rage in so-
cial media and this has
increased his populari-
ty among the youth.
The one thing which
goes in favor of Owaisi
is that he has spoken
about every issue with-
out any delay and has
always spoken his mind
in front of public. This
is something which has
not been followed by
any other leaders like
Akhilesh Yadav or for
the matter anyone else.
A change has been
observed in the voting
pattern of the Muslim
society which is an af-
ter effect of various
speeches of Owaisi.
Muslim voters have al-
ways been accused of
voting for candidates
with the target of de-
feating BJP but in the
recent times, Muslim
voters have started to
vote to not defeat BJP
but to make the candi-
date win. These views
though are not received
by everyone, some be-
lieve that Owaisi is a
clone of Jinnah who
thinks only about peo-
ple of upper-class and
works for their uplift
only and not for the ma-
jority of the Muslim
community
.
Bengal poll results may decide
directionofMuslimpoliticsinUP
Asaduddin Owaisi’s party AIMIM will play a major role in 2022 polls
—FILE
PHOTO
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A contractu-
al employee of UP sec-
retariate committed
suicide by jumping in-
front of moving train
and left a suicide note
accusing an IPS officer
for his suicide.
Computer-operator
in secretariate, Vishal
Saini (26) was arrested
along with 15 men and
20 women suspects
during raid on massage
parlor in Indira Nagar
area on February 13. He
was sent to jail for 20
days and when he came
out, he was under se-
vere depression.
Vishal committed
suicide near Raidas
temple accusing IPS
Prachi Singh for his
step. In his suicide note
Vishal wrote “2017
batch IPS Prachi Singh
is responsible for my
suicide. She ruined my
career and I am feeling
suffocated as being un-
able to make eye con-
tact with even family
members. Stern ac-
tions should be taken
against Prachi Singh
which will prevent her
to trap any innocent in
future. I was innocent
but she trapped me in
sex racket.”
While Additional
deputy commissioner
of police (north) Prachi
Singh said police team
had arrested several ac-
cused including Vishal
during raids at six mes-
sage and spa parlors in
Indira Nagar area. I
was performing my du-
ties. Though I feel sad
about his death but all
allegations against me
were baseless.
Youth ends life accusing
lady IPS officer for his step
Vishal Saini who committed suicide
FOR CROP PROTECTION
Farm owner Chanderpal (L) and guard Akbar Ali sit under a temporary shed near a field at
Jani Khurd village in Meerut. The problem of stray animals damaging crops looms large in
the sugarcane-yielding district where men hired to guard the fields are hoping for better
aid for their community from the government. —PTI
HC Bar Assn
suspends
strike
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The Alla-
habad High Court Bar
Association has sus-
pended the strike which
has been going on from
February 23 in protest
against the Education
Services Tribunal and
has decided to continue
the protest through judi-
cial process.
Judicial works will be
restored in the High
Court from 12th March.
The resolution for the
same was passed by
voice vote in the Gener-
al Assembly of the Bar
Association headed by
President of the Associ-
ation, Amarendra Nath
Singh and the proposal
for postponement was
brought forward by the
President of the Associ-
ation himself.
It was also decided
that the Committee of
Senior Advocates head-
ed by Senior Advocate
GK Singh of the Bar As-
sociation will act as a
party to the PIL under
consideration in the
Lucknow Bench.
The Bar Association
will also present its
stand on the petition un-
der consideration in
Prayagraj.
High Court Bar Associ-
ation President Amar-
endra Nath Singh
talking about the deci-
sion to postpone said
that the protest will be
continuedintheformof
judicialprocessandthat
there was no justifica-
tion for continuing the
strike.
BSP to celebrate Kanshi
Ram’s birth anniversary
CJM court imposes fine
on 21 jamaat members
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Holding
them guilty of violating
the Epidemic Act and
the Foreigners Act, the
court of Chief Judicial
Magistrate (CJM), Ba-
reilly, on Tuesday im-
posed fine on 21 mem-
bers of Tabhligi Jamaat
arrested from different
parts of UP during the
Covid-19 pandemic.
The court of CJM
Yash Pal Singh Lodhi,
while imposing fine on
them, also ruled that
their sentence of pun-
ishment was limited to
the extent of term they
had already spent in
prison. Of the 21 ac-
cused, 16 were from In-
donesia while others
were from Tamil Nadu
and Karnataka.
All of them had par-
ticipatedinthereligious
gathering held at Delhi
Markaz prior to the
lockdown. However, af-
ter the lockdown was
imposed, these Jamaat
members had dispersed
to various districts of
Uttar Pradesh.
They were arrested
from different places on
charges of spreading
Covid-19 infection and
violating norms under
ForeignersAct.Of those
convicted on Tuesday,
eight Jamaatis hailed
from Indonesia and
were arrested by the po-
lice during lockdown
from a religious place in
Moradabad.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: BSP chief
Mayawati has directed
the party office-bearers
and workers in UP to
celebrate the birth anni-
versary of the party’s
founder Kanshi Ram in
all districts on March
15. The main function
will be organised at
Kanshi Ram memorial
in Lucknow where par-
ty workers and leaders
from Kanpur, Faizabad
and Lucknow divisions
will come to pay their
tribute.
The workers of
Meerut division will
attend the function in
Noida. The BSP work-
ers will gather in
strength to pay tribute
to the founder at events
to be organised in all
403 assembly segments
as well. The party lead-
ers and in-charge of
the assembly seats will
address meetings to en-
lighten the party work-
ers about the policies
of the BSP and views
of Kanshi Ram, said a
press statement of the
BSP here on Wednes-
day.
A meeting of the of-
fice-bearers was held
under the chairman-
ship of Mayawati to
review the preparation
for the panchayat elec-
tions too. Mayawati di-
rected the chief sector
in-charges to release
the name of the zila
panchayat candidates
after approval from the
party.
Mayawati
Vishal was arrested
during raid on
massage parlour on
February 13
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The ap-
pointments committee
of the cabinet (ACC) on
Wednesday gave its
nod to the empanel-
ment 22 senior IPS offi-
cers for Central post-
ing including two from
Uttar Pradesh.
The two senior IPS
officers from the State,
whose names were
cleared by the ACC to
hold IG or equivalent
level post at the Centre
are Bhagwan Swaroop
Srivastava and Praveen
Kumar of 1998 and 2001
batch respectively
.
An IIT Kanpur top-
per Bhagwan Swarup
Srivastava is IG Crime,
a post which has been
holding for over four
years now at DGP head-
quarters.
While IG Meerut Range
Praveen Kumar is a
much decorated officer.
Western UP has been in
the grip of ongoing
farmers agitation but
Kumar has deftly han-
dledthesituationinfour
sensitive districts of the
range namely, Meerut,
Hapur, Bulandshahr
and Muzaffarnagar.
Others who have
been empanelled in-
clude Dr S Pandia Raja
Kumara (Gujarat
1996), Amrit Raj of Bi-
har 1998 batch and 19
other IPS officers, all
of 2001 batch. They are
B Shankar Jaiswal and
Ms Sindhu Pillai A
(AGMUT), Vineet Brij
Lal ( Andhra Pradesh),
Shalin (Bihar) Dr
Anand Chhabra
(Chandigarh), Dr AK
Digambar Fulzele (Hi-
machal Pradesh), San-
tosh Verma AR (Kera-
la) Nishit Kumar Ujjw-
al (MA) Cheektala Sta-
lin Babu (MH) Pramod
Verma (MP)Smt Shyni
S (OR), Dr Kastubh
Sharma (PB), Prafulla
Kumar (RJ), Gyanen-
dra Kumar Verma
(SK), Dr Akun Sabhar-
wal (TG), Prem Anand
Sinha (TN), Damor
Deepak Motibhai (TN)
and Sumit Chaturvedi
(WB).
Two senior IPS officers empanelled for Central postings
NEW ROLE
lll
ACC clears
names of
Bhagwan
Swaroop
Srivastava and
Praveen Kumar
to hold IG or
equivalent post
Why Meerut is
celebrating Tirath
Singh’s new role
as U’khand CM?
First India Bureau
Lucknow: With the an-
nouncement of the
name of Tirath Singh
Rawat as the new chief
minister of Uttara-
khand, there is an at-
mosphere of happiness
in Meerut. Rawat has a
connection with
Meerut as his wife
Rashmi Tyagi’s family
hails from Kailashpuri
in Meerut.
The news of Tirath
Singh being named as
CM was celebrated
with vigor at his in-
laws home with music
bands. His in-law’s
family was also seen
distributing sweets to
their neighbors and to
their well wishers.
Tirath Singh’s moth-
er-in-law Sushma Tya-
gi blessed her son-in-
law by chanting verses
in Sanskrit and also
praised her daughter
Rashmi Tyagi for be-
ing a pillar of support
for Tirath Singh. She
added that Tirath
should continue his
good work for the state
and country and per-
form better.
Tirath Singh started
his political career
when he contested post
of minister in the Akh-
il Bharatiya Vidyarthi
Parishad. Uttrakhand CM Tirath Singh and wife Rashmi Tyagi
IPS Praveen
Kumar
IPS Bhagwan
Swaroop
Srivastava

THE MASCULINE ELEGANCE
CITY FIRST ANNOUNCES THE NEXT DESIGNER OF THE FASHION CONNECT SEASON-9, TO BE HELD ON MARCH 20, IN DUBAI!
KARISHMA GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in
n an ongoing designer announce-
ment series of The Fashion con-
nect Season 9 to be held on March
20 at Oaks Ibn Battuta, Dubai, we
present you our next designer-
Pankaj Kothari, a man of immense
devotion driving himself subse-
quently towards his epic dream of creating
a distinctive brand, PKIN, with the love
and support of his fellow mates and family
.
On his journey of aspiring the unfath-
omable, his constantly fueled dreams have
led him to introduce PKIN’s exquisite col-
lection of ‘Groom Wear Traditional’ in
The Fashion Connect S-9.
His wife played a huge role in his sup-
port and stood strong with him in this
journey of his. He marched towards his
dream headstrong to bring forth a brand
unparalleled to varied extents in this
evolving Fashion Industry
.
Their designs for Ethnic Men’s Wear are
paired with Tie and Dye Kurta Pants,
which ensembles a perfect memorabilia of
India’s colorful fashion sensibilities.
Showcasing bold personalities with the
Bold designer Blazers Coats. A fine as-
sembly of Sherwani to compliment the
Groom on the most special day of their
life. Pankaj has empowered the brand’s vi-
sion to cultivate the masterpieces crafted
by highly skilled designers to put forth the
best there could be.
PKIN’s wide range of extravagant out-
fits from varied collections strike an ap-
peal to the eyes and so have been said by
their clients. They have displayed an array
of Traditional designs suitable for your
every occasion and weddings. While cher-
ishing the modern touch they have inter-
twined it with the incredibly desirable
traditional outfit designs.
I
Models showcasing the design by PKIN
Pankaj Kothari
LUCKNOW, THURSDAY
MARCH 11, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09

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