First india lucknow edition-12 december 2020

YOGI’s “ROAD” TO POWER
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: Express-
ways are a means for
faster travel. In Uttar
Pradesh, however, they
could well pave way and
become Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath’s ‘Road
to Power’ once again
given the pace with
which his government
has doubled down on
the Infra-projects.
“Samajwadi Party
(SP) never tires of tak-
ing credit for building
the Agra-Lucknow Ex-
pressway as it was an
Herculean task. The
Yogi Adityanath Gov-
ernment will complete
three expressways and
start work on another
one before its term
comes to end in 2022,”
claims Chandramohan,
secretary of BJP’s state
unit. The battle for the
hustings in 2022, says
BJP would literally “be
its way because of the
highways.”
The Yogi Government
still has 15 months to go.
“And mind you, there
was no Covid-19 when
Samajwadi Party was in
power. We have achieved
what the latter could not
in adverse circumstanc-
es not merely express-
waysbutoveralldevelop-
ment of the State,” em-
phasised the BJP leader.
When Yogi Adity-
anath took over as UP
CM in 2017, the State
had only two functional
expressways — the 165
km long Yamuna Ex-
pressway, Turn to P6
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
Adityanath govt to distribute free
vegetable seeds to 20L farmers
First India Bureau
Gorakhpur: To pro-
mote cultivation of veg-
etables, the Yogi gov-
ernment will be giving
vegetable seeds free of
cost to over 20 Lakh
farmers. The govern-
ment is also promoting
horticulture, vegetable
and fruit farming in the
Purvanchal region as it
is very effective in dou-
bling the income of
farmers of this region.
Surya Pratap Shahi,
the Minister for Agri-
culture, Agriculture
Education and Re-
search, has said that
horticulture has im-
mense potential in
Purvanchal. In this re-
gion, while cereals are
ready in 6 months, veg-
etable take 2 to 3 months
to reap. Turn to P6
Horticulture can
maximise income
of farmers: Govt
LUCKNOW l SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No.30
New Delhi/Kolkata:
The tussle between
Mamata Banerjee gov-
ernment and the Centre
over attack on BJP pres-
identJPNadda’sconvoy
escalated further on Fri-
day with the former de-
ciding not to send the
state’s chief secretary
and police chief to New
Delhi in compliance
with Union Home Min-
istry’s summons.
In a letter to Union
Home Secretary Ajay
Bhalla, state chief secre-
tary Alapan Bandopad-
hyay said he had been
directed to request to
“dispense with the pres-
ence of the state offi-
cials”inthemeetingcon-
vened on December 14.
“While further re-
ports are being ob-
tained and compiled,
Turn to P6
New Delhi: The
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(BKU) Friday moved
the Supreme Court
challenging the contro-
versial agriculture
laws, claiming that
these legislations will
make farmers “vulner-
able to corporate
greed”, news agency
ANI reported. Agricul-
ture Minister Narendra
Singh Tomar, on the
other hand, reiterated
that the government is
ready to talk with the
farmers and urged
them to stop agitation
in the “interest of the
common people” and
take the path of discus-
sion. He further said
that the government is
willing to make re-
forms in the laws after
talks, ANI reported.
Meanwhile, two sen-
ior Delhi Police offic-
ers heading security
arrangements at Sin-
ghu border, where
thousands of farmers
have been camping for
two weeks, have tested
positive for Covid-19,
an officer said. Hun-
dreds of police per-
sonnel have been de-
ployed at the Singhu
border point to pre-
vent the protesters
from entering the na-
tional capital.
The Centre on Thurs-
day issued a fresh call
for farmers to end their
agitation Turn to P6
India’s mRNA
vaccine gets
approval for
human trials
New Delhi: An anti-
Coronavirus vaccine be-
ing developed by the
Pune-based company,
Gennova, has become
the first indigenous
mRNAcandidatetohave
received approval to ini-
tiate human clinical tri-
al, a central government
statement has said.
The mRNA vaccines
are different than the
conventional model.
“ThemRNAvaccinesdo
not use the conventional
model to produce im-
mune response. Instead,
mRNA vaccine carries
the molecular instruc-
tions to make the pro-
tein in the body through
a synthetic RNA of the
virus,” the government
said in the statement.
The mRNA vaccines
are considered safe as
they are “non-infec-
tious, non-integrating
in nature, and degraded
by standard cellular
mechanisms”.
The vaccines devel-
opedbyAmericancompa-
nies Pfizer and Moderna,
which are said to have
over 90 percent efficacy,
use the mRNA model.
GOINGAGGRO,BKUTAKESSCROUTEBJP’s campaign amid
pushback: 100 Press
Confs, 700 Meetings
New Delhi: With no
end to the deadlock be-
tween protesting farm-
ers and the government,
the BJP has planned a
massive campaign
across the country to
promote the controver-
sial farm laws against
which farmers have
been protesting for the
sixteenth straight day.
As part of the big push
from the ruling party
over the next few days,
100 press conferences
and 700 farmers’ meets
have been planned in
700 districts, sources in
the party said.
Cabinet ministers
will also take part in the
communication cam-
paign, BJP sources
said, adding that the
government’s measures
to address the issues
raised by farmers on
the agricultural laws
will also be spelt out
during the outreach.
The BJP will also ad-
dress questions and
concerns people have
about the farm laws,
they said.
Farmers on Wednes-
day turned down the
centre’s written offer of
amendments in farm
laws, and announced a
series of plans to esca-
late their protest. The
next day, Agriculture
Minister Narendra Sin-
gh Tomar urged farm
leaders to consider the
proposals and said he is
ready for further dis-
cussions with them.
“The government is
ready to consider with
an open mind any pro-
vision in the new laws
where farmers have
any issues and we want
to clarify all their ap-
prehensions,” Tomar
had said on Thursday.
“We kept waiting for
suggestions from farm-
ers’ leaders to address
their concerns, but they
are stuck on the repeal
of laws,” he said, while
virtually ruling out
conceding to the key de-
mand of farmers.
Thousands of farm-
ers, who have braved
water cannons, tear gas
and police barricades,
began their protest over
two weeks ago against
the farm laws, aimed at
doing away with mid-
dlemen and allowing
them Turn to P6
The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) moved the Apex Court challenging the controversial agriculture laws, claiming that these
legislations will make farmers “vulnerable to corporate greed” as Centre reiterated that the govt is ready to talk
Two senior Delhi Police officers heading security arrangements at
Singhu border, where thousands of farmers have been camping
for two weeks, have tested positive for Covid-19.
Women family members of farmers protesting in Delhi, work
in fields in their absence, at Daun Kalan village, in Patiala on
Friday. —PHOTOS BY PTI
Farmers shout slogans during a protest march against Centre’s agri-laws, at Delhi-Meerut Expressway in New Delhi on Friday.
WILL QUIT IF NO
MINIMUM PRICE
FOR FARMERS,
SAYS DUSHYANT
FARMERS TO
‘CHAKKA JAM’
DELHI-JAIPUR
HIGHWAY TODAY
Chandigarh: Haryana’s
Deputy Chief Minister,
Dushyant Chautala, a
key BJP ally, on Friday
promised to resign
from his post if he is
unable to secure the
minimum support
price (MSP) guarantee
for farmers.
Jaipur: A day after
threatening to intensify
the agitation across the
country, the famers on
Friday said they will
block Delhi-Jaipur road
on Saturday. They also
said will stage sit-in
protest in front of DC
offices, houses of BJP
leaders & block Reli-
ance/Adani toll plazas
on December 14.
However, they will not
block the train services
on the day of their
nationwide protest.
A KRANTI IN THE MAKING!
BENGAL TUSSLE DEEPENS
Mamata govt refuses to send chief secretary,
DGP despite summons from Home Ministry
WB GUV DHANKAR URGES
MAMATA TO APOLOGISE
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar slammed
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the attack on
Nadda’s convoy, calling it a “slur on
democratic fabric”. Sharing a video
of Banerjee where she is heard
commenting on the Nadda’s visit
and the incidents that followed,
Dhankhar urged her to “apologeti-
cally” withdraw the remark that
“outrages essence and sublimity
of Bengal’s rich culture”. “I urge
Chief Minister @MamataOf-
ficial to engage in deep
reflection and apologeti-
cally withdraw Turn to P6
Amit Shah may visit
Bengal on Dec 19, 20
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: Home
Minister Amit Shah is
settovisitWestBengal
once again. Shah is
likely to visit West
Bengal on December
19 and 20, revealed
sourcesintheBharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP).
This will be Home
Minister Shah’s sec-
ondvisittothestatein
the last one and a half
months.“HomeMinis-
terAmitShahislikely
toarriveinthestateon
December 19 and 20,”
an official from the
West Bengal unit of
the BJP told IANS.
“During his two-day
visit, apart from meet-
ing party workers, he
will also interact with
the general public.
The Home Minister’s
visit will again infuse
enthusiasm among
the party workers the
wayitdidthelasttime
he visited the state,”
said the source.
Turn to P6
File pic of the broken windshield of JP Nadda’s convoy vehicle.
13°C - 20°C
www.firstindia.co.in
www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/
twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia
instagram.com/thefirstindia
OUR EDITIONS:
JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD
& LUCKNOW

UTTAR PRADESHLUCKNOW | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2020
02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
DEVELOPMENT ASSURED! YOGI WALKS THE TALKUP government opens new vistas of growth for Purvanchal consisting of various facets related to infrastructural development
First India Bureau
Lucknow: For more
than six decades,
Purvanchal remained
neglected and far off
region from main-
stream in the country
and in Uttar Pradesh.
While the youth region
yearned for jobs, locals
waited endlessly for de-
velopment.
In 2017 when Yogi
Adityanath became the
Chief Minister of the
state, the double engine
of development, pushed
on by the Narendra
Modi-led government at
the centre since 2014,
started sowing seeds of
change in this hitherto
neglected region, which
sadly despite immense
potential, had no one to
care for! Many develop-
mental projects have
been rolled out by the
state and centre since
then. Be it infrastruc-
ture, healthcare, con-
nectivity, education - gi-
ant strides have been
taken.
The government is
working in a big way to
enhance air-connectivi-
ty in the region. Gora-
khpur airport has
flights to six destina-
tions and the airport is
for now being operated
by the Indian Air Force
and a letter has been
sent to the union de-
fence minister for ex-
pansion of the apron of
the civil enclave and for
parking aircrafts. Of
the Rs 640.26 crore ear-
marked for the Ayodhya
Airport, financial ap-
provals of Rs 525.91
crore have already been
granted.After privatisa-
tion, Varanasi Interna-
tional Airport will be
providing better facili-
ties. Prayagraj airport,
Kanpur airport, Soneb-
hadra and Chitrakoot
airports, Kushinagar
airport...works initiat-
ed in civil aviation sec-
tor have been both un-
paralleled and historic.
Better education op-
portunities and facili-
ties in Purvanchal is
also on top of the plans
of the state govern-
ment.
Azamgarh will be
coming up with a state
university, to be built on
a sprawling 15,589 hec-
tares of land. Posts have
also been created for
vice-chancellor, regis-
trar and financial offic-
ers at the state univer-
sity, Azamgarh. 51 acre
land has been trans-
ferred to Shaheed
Smarak trust and Rs
489.83 lakh have also
been issued for con-
struction of buildings
at Jannayak Chan-
drashekhar University,
Ballia.
Research is also be-
ing promoted in a big
way by the government.
A Maha Yogi Guru Shri
Gorakshnath Research
Centre has bene estab-
lished. An internation-
al Buddhist centre and
a centre of excellence
in Hinduism, Jainism
and Buddhism has also
been established.
YOGI SE HOGA: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has been a five time MP from Gorakhpur has
immense exposure to the problems faced by Purvanchal part of Uttar Pradesh. —FILE PHOTO
HEALTH FIRST
MSME Min to prepare Purvanchal’s
developmental blueprint with experts
First India Bureau
Gorakhpur: Uttar
Pradesh’s Minister of
State for Small, Medi-
um Enterprises
(MSME) Chaudhary
Udaybhan Singh, pre-
siding over a session
organised at Gorakh-
pur University on Fri-
day during National
Webiner-cum- Semi-
nar on ‘Sustainable
Development: Issues,
Strategy and Future
Direction of Purvan-
chal’. said that he
would like them to sit
with all experts of the
session to prepare a
blueprint for a rich
and better Purvan-
chal, as intended by
the Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath”.
He added, the govern-
ment follows the prin-
ciple of ‘ We do what
we say’ for the overall
development.
Purvanchal, he
pointed out, has been
of special importance
due to its merits and
has been known for its
history, natural wealth
and personalities.
There is a rich tradi-
tion of cottage indus-
try and handicrafts
throughout the region,
the minister said add-
ing that the govern-
ment has been work-
ing for cottage indus-
tries through its flag-
ship scheme of One
District Programme,
One Product (ODOP).
The chief speaker
of the webinar, Ad-
ditional Chief Secre-
tary, MSME Navneet
Sehgal said that
Purvanchal will be
the new hotspot of
Uttar Pradesh’s
economy. There are
all possibilities in
this regard, for ex-
ample, the world’s
most fertile land,
abundant water, rich
human resources
and markets.
MSME Minister Udaybhan Singh says that Purvanchal region
of Uttar Pradesh has got enough resources to set it on a
developmental spree. —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Gorakhpur: Farmers
will now produce elec-
tricity along with crops
using alternate or re-
newable source of en-
ergy. According to the
intention of Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi,
work has been started
in this direction in the
entire State with spe-
cial emphasis on
Purvanchal under the
leadership of Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath. Farmers will
set up solar power
plants on barren or
wastelands and sell
the remaining power
after their consump-
tion to the Uttar
Pradesh Power Cor-
poration. This initia-
tive will also achieve
the goal of doubling
their income making
them self-reliant.
State Power Minister
Shrikant Sharma said
these while chairing
over the fifth technical
session of the manufac-
turing sector on the sec-
ond day of the national
webinar and seminar
on ‘Sustainable devel-
opment: issues, strate-
gies and future direc-
tion of Purvanchal’ or-
ganised under the joint
aegis of Planning De-
partment and Gorakh-
pur University on the
Gorakhpur University
campus on Friday.
The Energy Minister
of the state while detail-
ing the scheme said
that four of the sub-sta-
tions to be built to buy
power produced by
farmers under the PM
Kusum scheme in the
field of renewable en-
ergy will be installed in
Purvanchal.Apartfrom
this, out of 8000 solar ir-
rigation pumps of the
state, 2882 have been
given to Purvanchal.
‘Not just crops, farmers will yield electricity too’
MULTI-TASKING
REAPING SOLAR BENEFITS TOO: PM’s Kusum Scheme to help increase profitability of the farmers
who install Solar panels in their field for production of solar electricity.
COURTESY CALL
Commissioner of Police DK Thakur met Governor Anandiben Patel on Friday. The governor praised the working of the police
department and gave instructions on better policing to the official.
BJP is heartless towards
farmers, says Akhilesh Yadav
Govt sponsored
mass marriage
function unites
63 couples
First India Bureau
Gorakhpur: A govern-
ment sponsored mass
wedding function took
place in a village in Ut-
tar Pradesh’s Gorakh-
pur district that wit-
nessed 63 marriages,
including that of a mid-
dle-aged widow and her
daughter, officials said.
The marriage pro-
gramme took place un-
der the state govern-
ment’s ‘Mukhyamantri
Samuhik Vivah Yojana’
at Piprauli village in
Gorakhpur on Thurs-
day, officials said here.
Beli Devi (53) had got
married to one Harihar,
who died 25 years ago.
The couple bore three
daughters and two sons.
At the event, she got
married to Harihar’s
brother Jagdish (55),
who was till now single.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Samajwadi
Party president Akh-
ilesh Yadav on Friday
accused the BJP of
adopting a “heartless
attitude” towards farm-
ers and said the re-
sponse to their protest
has “deeply” hurt im-
age of India worldwide.
His party has been
backing the farmers’
protest against the Cen-
tre’s three new farm
laws.
“The BJP govern-
ment is ignoring farm-
ers by adopting a heart-
less attitude towards
the justified demands
of the agitators shiver-
ing on the streets. The
global response that is
coming to this has deep-
ly hurt the democratic
image of India world-
wide. The BJP govern-
ment should stop ex-
ploiting those who feed
us,” Yadav said in a
tweet.
The Samajwadi Party
(SP) president has
asked party workers to
organise peaceful sit-
ins at district head-
quarters on December
14 in support of the
farmers’ agitation, a
party statement issued
here said.
The party is already
taking out ‘yatras’
since December 7 in the
state in their support,
it added.
Farmer leaders on
Wednesday vowed that
they would intensify
their agitation by
blocking key highways
linking Delhi and a na-
tionwide protest on De-
cember 14.
Min appeals banks
to loosen purses
for Purvanchal
Next CIPET in Ayodhya for
vocational training purpose
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Yogi govern-
ment has decided to set
up a training centre of
the Central Institute of
Plastic Engineering
Technology (CIPET) in
Ayodhya for providing
vocational training to
youths.
For this, 10.030 Acre
of land will be trans-
ferred free of cost to the
MSME Department in
village Ganja of Ayod-
hya district. The deci-
sion was taken at a
cabinet meeting headed
by Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath on Friday.
Two vocational train-
ing centres of the CI-
PET are already estab-
lished in Lucknow and
Varanasi and with this
decision, the third cen-
tre will now come up in
Ayodhya.
CIPET offers gradu-
ate, post graduate and
diploma courses in
plastic engineering and
manufacturing technol-
ogy. The institure is af-
filiated to the Dr. APJ
Abdul Kalam Technical
University.
First India Bureau
Gorakhpur: The Ut-
tar Pradesh Govern-
ment on Friday
urged banks to loos-
en their purses and
pitch-in Rs 40,000
crore to drive devel-
opment projects.
Outlining develop-
mental works of
Purvanchal, UP Cab-
inet Minister Suresh
Khanna said that the
region was steadily
developing. The gov-
ernment, he added,
was focusing on the
development of
Purvanchal. The sen-
ior minister stressed
upon banks to make
use of Jan Dhan Vi-
kas Nidhi and ap-
pealed to banks to
arrange for at least
Rs 40,000 crores for
Purvanchal’s devel-
opment.
In the beginning,
Additional Chief
Secretary Institu-
tional Finance San-
jeev Mittal said
that bankers have
an important part
in development of
Purvanchal. He
said that most of
the farmers of
Purvanchal are
small and marginal
and that they re-
quire small funds
for agricultural in-
vestment and re-
quested the bank-
ers to give them
loans according to
their need on time.
Saket Mishra, Ad-
visor to the Purvan-
chal Development
Board, said the devel-
opment plans should
not just be seen on
paper.
POINTING IT OUT : Akhilesh points out that BJP has not been
listening to the demands put forward by farmers. —FILE PHOTO
Purvanchal Expressway has been one of the most talked
about developmental projects of the Yogi-led government.

UTTAR PRADESHLUCKNOW | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2020
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In a meet-
ing of the state cabi-
net headed by Chief
anath here on Friday,
the Uttar Pradesh
government decided
to give special incen-
tives to Samsung Dis-
play Noida Private
Limited for setting up
a manufacturing unit
of mobile and IT dis-
play products.
This is the first high-
technique project of
South Korea’s multi-na-
tional major being set
up in India after relocat-
ing from China and the
country will become
third in the world to
have such a unit.
The unit intends to
invest Rs 4,825 crore. It
could be made possible
by the sustained efforts
of the UP government
to create an eco-system
in NCR in sync with the
intent of the Centre to
make an export hub in
view of the ever-in-
creasing demand of mo-
bile and other gadgets
in the country and
abroad, an official
spokesman said.
During the last fi-
nancial year, Samsung,
with 2.7 billion dollar of
export, is the largest ex-
porter of UP. It has set
an export target of 50
billion dollars during
the next five years. As
per the ‘UP Electronics
Manufacturing Policy
2017’, the Samsung will
get exemption of stamp
duty in transfer of land.
The state government
will have to make finan-
cial provision of Rs 250
crore for this project
during five years.
Thecompanywillalso
receive financial incen-
tive of Rs 460 crore un-
der Government of In-
dia’s`SchemeforPromo-
tion of Manufacturing
Electronic Components
and Semiconductors
(SPECS) ‘. Over 70 per
cent of the total display
products used in TVs,
phones,tablets,watched,
etc., in the world are
manufactured by Sam-
sung in South Korea, Vi-
etnam and China.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: For record-
ing undisputed inher-
itance in all villages
of the state, detailed
guidelines have been
issued in connection
with the special cam-
paign programme for
two months from De-
cember 15, 2020 to
February 15, 2021.
While sharing the
information, Chief
Secretary Rajendra
Kumar Tiwari said it
was an important task
of the revenue depart-
ment to keep the land
records updated.
“In the absence of
timely action in cas-
es of inheritance,
not only do the legal
heirs are deprived of
their rights but it
also creates unneces-
sary disputes result-
ing in the illegal oc-
cupation of land by
antisocial elements/
land mafia which
sometimes leads to
law and order prob-
lem,” he said.
According to Section
31 of the Revenue Code
Act 2006, it is the re-
sponsibility of the Col-
lector to keep the
rights records (Kha-
tauni) of each village
in the manner pre-
scribed in the Revenue
Code Rules. Subject to
the control of the Col-
lector, the Deputy Dis-
trict Magistrate,
Tehsildar and Revenue
Inspector should re-
cord all changes in
authority records,
Khatauni, Khasra,
map and all other
such transactions
which may affect any
recorded rights or
interests.
With a view to keep-
ing the revenue re-
cords updated, it has
been decided by the
revenue administra-
tion to conduct a two-
month special cam-
paign from to record
the names of undis-
puted heirs by the rev-
enue administration.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi’s
parliamentary constitu-
ency Varanasi will soon
be connected with the
country’s capital New
Delhi by an elevated
track. There will also be
an underground rail-
way line at some places
along the track.
Trains will run at a
maximum speed of 320
KMPH on the track. For
this purpose, Light De-
tection and Ranging (LI-
DAR) survey via heli-
copter will begin from
December 13. The tech-
nology will help survey
800 km in 12 weeks,
which normally takes
up around a year when
conducted manually.
The track will be con-
structed in a way that
not only Kanpur but
Lucknow, too, gets con-
nected to it. For this pur-
pose, some stations will
be built. The survey re-
port will be sent to the
Ministry of Railways.
Upon approval, DPR
will be made and tender
process floated.
This work is being
done by National High
Speed Rail Corporation
Limited (NHSRCL), an
organisation under the
Ministry of Railways.
LIDAR technology is
basically based on laser
lights and sensors. This
technique has previous-
ly been used in the
Mumbai-Ahmedabad
high-speed rail corridor
survey. Its survey data is
very accurate. The chop-
per uses state-of-the-art
high resolution camer-
as. Work is done based
on inputs from laser
data, GPS data, flight pa-
rameters and informa-
tion from actual photo-
graphs.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Uttar
Pradesh government on
Friday approved a pro-
posal to expand Ayod-
hya’s development area
by including over 300
revenue villages of Gon-
da and Basti districts in
the temple town, an of-
ficial said.
The decision was
taken by the state cabi-
net chaired by Chief
anath.
According to the of-
ficial, 343 revenue vil-
lages have been includ-
ed in the Ayodhya De-
velopment Zone (ADZ).
Adityanath has said
the planned expansion
of this area will be pos-
sible with the border
expansion of ADZ.
Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi laid the
foundation stone for
the construction of
Ram temple in Ayod-
hya in August.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh reported
1,613 new COVID-19
cases on Friday, taking
the infection tally to
5,62,722, while 14
more fatalities pushed
the state’s death toll to
8,025, an official said.
“The number of ac-
tive cases in the state
stands at 20,473, of
which 9,473 are in home
isolation. Till now,
5,34,224 people have
been treated and dis-
charged. In past 24
hours, 1,613 fresh cases
were reported, while
1,875 patients were dis-
charged,” Additional
Chief Secretary, Health,
Amit Mohan Prasad
told reporters.
The recovery rate in
the state has now in-
creased and stands at
94.94 per cent.
On Thursday, over
1.68 lakh samples were
tested for COVID-19, tak-
ing the total number of
tests done in the state to
over 2.11 crore, Prasad
said. The officer said the
infection rate among
those above the age of 60
was increasing and it
stood at 10.51 per cent.
“The increase of in-
fection in elderly people
might be due to mar-
riage and other func-
tions. We appeal to peo-
ple to avoid taking the
elderlytosuchfunctions
and keep them safe at
home,” Prasad said.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Dense to
very dense fog was ob-
served at isolated places
in Uttar Pradesh on Fri-
day, the met department
office here said.
Day temperatures
climbed appreciably in
Gorakhpur division and
fell quite a few notches
in Bareilly division.
There was, however, no
large change in other
parts of the state, it said.
The met office said
the day temperatures
were appreciably below
normal in Gorakhpur
and Ayodhya, while it
was normal in Varana-
si,KanpurandLucknow
divisions.
The lowest tempera-
ture was in Churk at 7.8
degrees Celsius.
The cabinet meeting headed by CM Yogi Adityanath took several major decisions on Friday
Trains running at 320 km/h will connect the holy city to the capital
Chief Secretary RK Tiwari holding meeting with officials on Friday
HindiHi,ChiniBye:SamsunggoesMakeinIndia
The South Korean electronic giant is relocating its mobile and IT display production unit from China to Noida; To invest ` 4,825 crore
KAWAD MARG
New charitable
affairs directorate
The charitable affairs
department will soon
have a directorate.
Though set up in 1985,
the department lacks a
directorate which has
been causing adminis-
trative difficulties in the
running of its projects.
The headquarters of the
proposed directorate
will be in the building
provided by Shri Kashi
Vishwanath Special
Area Development
Board in Varanasi. Its
sub-office will be in Kai-
las Mansarovar Bhawan
Ghaziabad Bhawan.
CM Yogi to visit
Moradabad today
Chief Minsiter Yogi
Adityanath will visit
Moradabad today. He
will reach the city at 2
pm by an official air-
craft and hold a meet-
ing of members of BJP
organisation. The CM
will also talk to jail of-
ficials for 10 minutes
and leave the city at
4.30 pm.
Digi excellence
award for LMC
The Lucknow Munici-
pal Corporation is be-
stowed with the ‘Elet-
sAwards of Digital Ex-
cellence’ for its role in
ensuring transparent
and self-sufficient gov-
ernance, urban devel-
opment, clean technolo-
gy, sanitation solutions
and improvement in
the economic condition
of the municipal bod-
ies. On Friday, Ajay Ku-
mar Dwivedi, Munici-
pal Commissioner was
honoured by theElets
Technomedia for his ef-
forts through video
conferencing in Smart
CityAuditorium.
BRIEF
in
Spl camp in all UP
villages to register
ownership of land
Govt gives nod for
expansion of Ayodhya
High-speed elevated track from Varanasi to Del
Covid-19: 14 deaths,
1,613 new cases
Day temp climbs, fog continues
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Uttar
Pradesh government is
planning to project
Poorvanchal region as
an investment destina-
tion to foreign compa-
nies planning to shift
their base from China to
otherdestinationsinthe
wake of Coronavirus
pandemic that has dis-
rupted the global supply
chain, said Navneet Se-
hgal, Additional Chief
Secretary, MSME and
Export Promotion.
“Agriculturally rich,
the Purvanchal region
is known for its cheap
labour. If we concen-
trate on the skill devel-
opment of this labour
force then instead of
choosing Vietnam and
Thailand, foreign com-
panies will choose
Purvanchal as their des-
tination,” said Sehgal
while addressing the
national webinar cum
seminar on ‘Sustainable
Developmentof Purvan-
chal’ as lead speaker at
Lok Bhawan on Friday.
Stressing that the re-
gion had the potential to
become an economic
hotspot of not only Ut-
tar Pradesh but the en-
tire country, Sehgal
said, “The region is rich
in resources such as
land and water and now
we need to focus on fur-
ther tapping its tradi-
tional art and craft
which has been prac-
ticed here since genera-
tions,” said Sehgal
Highlighting the rich
history of the region,
ACS MSME and Export
Promotion said Purvan-
chal was very prosper-
ous and besides agricul-
ture, the cottage indus-
tries thrived here on the
local art and craft. “The
British too had set their
foot here on account of
its prosperity. But grad-
ually we lost our way
and now the perception
about the region is that
it is not developed and
most of the people mi-
grate from here in
search of greener pas-
tures. The reason is we
did not adopt the latest
technologies in upgrad-
ing our products. We did
not consider the devel-
opment of cottage and
small-scale industries
as the harbinger of
growth,” he said.
The ACS said that the
government is focus-
sing on a few compo-
nents for development.
“Government is deter-
mined to bring about
drastic improvement in
infrastructure. Next
comes connectivity and
the Puvanchal Express-
way and the airports
coming up in Kushina-
gar and Kashi are an
example of this. Fur-
ther, there is much fo-
cus on the One District
One Product Pro-
gramme that aims at
reviving the traditional
art and craft of the re-
gion,” he said.
The webinar was at-
tendedbyacademicians,
bureaucrats, political
leaders and technocrats.
Purvanchal can be India’s economic hotspot: Sehgal
TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF
Cheap labour, resources, infra push by
govt makes it ideal replacement for China
Additional Chief Secretary, MSME and Export Promotion Navneet Sehgal
ACS Navneet Sehgal
said the govt was
arranging for storage
of vaccines
PLIGHT OF THE POOR
An old man who works as labourer braves icy cold winds just by a thin blanket under the
sky in Lucknow. In the city, this is a usual sight as most night shelters remain full.
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
EXPORT HUBGIFT TO DOCS
ROPEWAY PLAN

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 30 G 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
PERSPECTIVELUCKNOW | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2020
n early 2020,
Airbnb’s man-
agement an-
nounced that to
address the
slowing growth in sales, it
wanted to scale back ancil-
lary activities and focus on
thecompany’scorestrength
of mid-range and budget
short-term rentals. This
was just before COVID-19
stopped the travel and lei-
sure industry in its tracks.
Against such a bleak
backdrop, it was a surprise
when the company’s CEO
Brian Chesky announced
that the online holiday rent-
al company would go public
inDecember2020–anditdid
just that on December 10.
Shares were originally
priced from US$45-US$50
(£34-£38) per share. This
went up to US$55-US$60 the
day before listing. By the
time of the listing, the final
share price was US$68. The
Initial Public Offering
(IPO) is expected to bring in
fresh cash for the business
of up to US$3 billion, and if
successful, it will increase
the value of Airbnb close to
US$42 billion.
According to details
filed by Airbnb with the US
Securities and Exchange
Commission, the plan is
for the business to raise ad-
ditional capital for funding
future growth.
Typically businesses pre-
fer to launch IPOs during a
phase of sustained econom-
ic growth to gain advantage
of the confidence in the
market. They avoid IPOs
during economic slumps
and catastrophic events:
like World War I and II, the
great recession or a pan-
demic. Going by traditional
corporate finance practice
standards, Airbnb’s deci-
sion to go public was noth-
inglessthanmaverick.And
its timing has attracted ex-
traordinary attention.
AIRBNB’S IPO
DECISION IN A SEA
OF BUSINESS GLOOM
But Airbnb had some stra-
tegic advantages, the first
being its tech-based busi-
ness model. Unlike other
leisure and holiday busi-
nesses – such as hotels and
airlines – Airbnb does not
need to spend large
amounts of money on the
cost associated with the up-
keep of its fixed assets. In-
stead, Airbnb can success-
fully pass on the risk of
such rigid payment obliga-
tions to its “hosts” – the
property owners. It then
retains the profitable parts
of the business for itself
with enough agility to face
systematic disruptions
like Covid-19.
Thecompany’ssecondad-
vantageisthatithasbecome
a well known name in the
word of travel, building a
strongbrandandaloyalcus-
tomer base. If we compare
the sales in the first nine
months of the year for 2019
and 2020, everyone suffered
a drop, but the decrease was
least (in percentage terms)
for Airbnb among all its
close rivals like booking.
com and Expedia.
In addition to its com-
petitive status, ongoing
market changes also cre-
ated confidence for
Airbnb’s IPO. Towards the
end of 2020, markets across
the world started reviving.
South-East Asian, African
and Latin American travel
destinations reopened for
business , as vaccines for
COVID-19wereannounced.
Airbnb also managed to
quieten its critics and
avoid aggravating local
housing regulators. How-
ever, adverse local regula-
tory reactions isn’t specific
to Airbnb. Amazon, Face-
book and Uber have all had
their own stories. Given
the combined bargaining
power of the Silicon Valley
giants, there are limited
chances that any world-
wide systematic regulato-
ry change will happen in
the near future.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
Airbnb going public is a maverick move
I
And do not mix the
truth with falsehood or
conceal the truth while
you know [it]. —Ayat 42
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavdekar
Recent independent assessment of
India’s #ClimateAction like the @
UNEP report that said that India’s
emissions grew just 1.4 % in
2019, & the Climate transparency
report stating that India is only
G20 nation that is 2 degree
compliant, establishes that India is
walking the talk.
Ravi Shankar Prasad
@rsprasad
PM-WANI will strengthen
#DigitalIndia mission and will provide
seamless Internet connectivity
through public Wi-Fi hotspots. Wider
Internet coverage will enable students
to access study material online in
urban and rural India.
ow do we make sense of the
past? What lies ahead? Where
are we going?
A question I often ask people
is: have you ever experienced a
yesterday or a tomorrow? You
can remember yesterdays, you
can imagine tomorrows, but
they are only ideas. In your ex-
perience, no such thing has
ever happened. Your experi-
ence of life has always been
right here and now. Your expe-
rience of life is happening in
this very moment. So time is a
human idea. There is no such
thing in this existence.
Time and space are essential
dimensions for physical crea-
tion. But if you touch a dimen-
sion beyond the physical, there
is no such thing as here and
there, now and then. Every-
thingishere.Everythingisnow.
Once you aspire to be spiritu-
al, it means you aspire to go be-
yond the limitations of the
physical. In this pursuit, the
biggest barrier is your resist-
ance to death. This makes you
cling hard to the physical which
renders your efforts to tran-
scend its limitations futile. It’s
like putting your anchor down
and rowing your boat. It will be
just an enormous waste of en-
ergy and life. But once you go
beyond the physical, you find
time and space are merely crea-
tions of your conscious mind.
Physicists today are saying
that a whole process of crea-
tion and destruction is going
on in what is known as the
vacuum states. In this culture,
we have always talked of time
in terms of time cycles. Mod-
ern physicists have been talk-
ing so far about an ever-ex-
panding universe. But now
they’re also saying for the first
time that just as there was a big
bang, it is possible that some-
day there will be a big crunch.
This means that as this uni-
verse expands from something
infinitely small into something
infinitely large, a reverse pro-
cess can happen and bring eve-
rything into the here and now.
This is something mystics
have always known within
themselves, experientially.
When we talk ‘nirvana’, ‘mok-
sha’, ‘shoonya’, this is exactly
what we are saying: this uni-
verse came from nothing and if
you take it through the full cy-
cle then it will once again be-
come absolute nothingness.
Because I am not a slave of hu-
man ideas, I have never been a
slave of time. Only when your
experience of right now is not
enough,youwanttogoelsewhere.
If this moment is big enough,
where would you want to go?
You’d find there is no such thing
as time; there is only eternity.
And yet, I am always on time,
and our programmes at Isha
are always punctual! I see punc-
tuality not as discipline or time
management, but as a matter of
simple decency. Because our
lives are valuable, nobody has a
right to expend somebody else’s
life. So being on time at any cost
is very important to me, some-
times at the risk of my life. I am
very conscious of time when
my eyes are open, but the mo-
ment I close my eyes, I’m com-
pletely timeless.
So where are we all going? If
you have not gone to enough
places, going somewhere is very
exciting. Most people spend
their lives trying to become like
someoneelse.Theconstantcom-
paring and aspiring to be some-
one different, the need to be one
up on somebody, just wastes the
fundamental possibility in a hu-
man being. If you nurture who
you are in the best possible way,
this seed will naturally find its
ultimate possibility.
On a certain day, two little
boys, Johnny and Tommy, were
having their usual argument.
“My father can beat up your
father,” said Johnny. Tommy
said, “My father can beat up
your father.” Johnny said, “No
way, my father will win.” Then
Johnny said, “Okay, but my
mother is better than your
mother.” Tommy paused for a
moment and said: “Maybe
that’s true because even my fa-
ther says so.” Life is going on
like this for most people.
This is why we talk of lib-
eration. If you have not been
around enough, being is excit-
ing. But if you remember the
antiquity your being carries
within itself, then the only
thing that is truly attractive
for you is non-being. When you
are not bound by the physical,
when you simply disappear
into space and time, you tran-
scend their limitations.
Then where do you go? When
all going stops, that’s the end-
game. You don’t go anywhere.
That is the ultimate liberation.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
H
SADHGURU, ISHA FOUNDATION
Ranked amongst the fifty most influential
people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic,
visionary and a New York Times bestselling
author Sadhguru has been conferred the Padma
Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2017,
the highest annual civilian award, accorded for
exceptional and distinguished service
THE END OF THE YEAR OFTEN
PROVOKES QUESTIONS ABOUT TIME
Physicists today
are saying that a
whole process of
creation and
destruction is
going on in what
is known as the
vacuum states.
In this culture,
we have always
talked of time in
terms of time
cycles. Modern
physicists have
been talking so
far about an
ever-expanding
universe. But
now they’re also
saying for the
first time that
just as there was
a big bang, it is
possible that
someday there
will be a big
crunch
IF YOU HAVE NOT
GONE TO ENOUGH
PLACES, GOING
SOMEWHERE IS VERY
EXCITING. MOST
PEOPLE SPEND THEIR
LIVES TRYING TO
BECOME LIKE
SOMEONE ELSE
TRINAMOOL AND BJP
CROSS SWORDS AGAIN
hether the attack on Bharatiya Janata
Party President JP Nadda’s car in Kol-
kata was orchestrated by the party itself
or by the Trinamool Congress (TMC)
goons, it must be condemned. West Ben-
gal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar said the “rule of
law has broken down” in the state and asked Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee to do some “serious
soul-searching”. He stopped short of recommend-
ing Central rule which can be invoked in the event
of a breakdown of law and order. The TMC charged
the governor with behaving like a stooge of a par-
ticular political party and said his conduct was
unbecoming of a governor.
Mamata called it a “nautanki”. “They have no
other work. At times Home minister is here, other
times its Chaddha, Nadda, Fadda, Bhaddha. When
they have no audience they call their workers for
doing nautanki,” she mocked the BJP president.
To further harden its stand on the incident,
the state chief secretary and the director-gener-
al of police politely refused to appear before the
Union home secretary. The two officers had been
summoned by the Centre to explain the situation
that led to the violence and the police’s failure
to prevent it. A combative TMC said that law and
order being a state subject Centre should not in-
terfere.
Things are going to get bitter, but no better than
what they are because violence has become an in-
tegral part of our political culture. A political
party is ready to point a finger at its rivals but
won’t put a leash on its own goons. This culture of
violence must stop.
W
IN-DEPTH
FARMERS’ STIR ENTERS
CRUCIAL PHASE TODAY
s talks with farmers have made no head-
way, the Centre is now preparing to
launch an information offensive to de-
fend the three new laws on agricultural
reforms to the hilt even as it left the
doors open for dialogue. To make it two-pronged,
the other line of attack will be to discredit the
farmers with the allegation that they have allowed
ultra-left elements and “tukde, tukde gang” to take
over their movement. The charge that pro-Khal-
istani elements have infiltrated their ranks has
already been thrown at them. In other words, the
government will resort to a psychological war to
push back the agitators. The strategy to discredit
the protesters is similar to the one used by the
Bharatiya Janata Party members against the crit-
ics of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act.
Whether the party will unleash its goli maro saal-
on ko gang also on farmers remains to be seen.
On their part farmers have their action plan
ready. Starting December 12 they will block Delhi-
Agra and Jaipur-Delhi highways as they intensify
their agitation. Protests at toll plazas to make them
free and gherao of BJP offices is also part of the
protest plan. It is this phase of the stir and the
government’s response that will decide the fate of
farmers and the new laws.
A faction of the Bharatiya Kisan Union intro-
duced a new element in the action plan by filing a
petition in the Supreme Court challenging the va-
lidity of the three Acts. It is a doubtful move as the
farmers will have to abide by the court’s order.
A

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.

INDIALUCKNOW | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2020
RaGaslamsCentreoverfarmers’incomeissue
The Gandhi scion, whose party is against the new farm laws, has been a constant critic of the BJP-led government
FARMERS WILL GO HOME ONCE
CENTRE REPEALS 3 NEW LAWS: BKU
Ghaziabad: With the farmers' protest in and
around Delhi against the recently enacted farm
laws entering 16th day, the Bhartiya Kisan Union
(BKU) on Friday reiterated that the agitation
would not be withdrawn till the three Acts are
repealed. "There is only one way to end the stand-
off between the Centre and the farmers. Both
have to back down. The Centre will have to repeal
the laws and the farmers will go home," said BKU
spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, adding that they
don't want the amendments suggested by the
central government. —ANI
'WILL RESIGN IF UNABLE TO
SECURE MSP FOR FARMERS'
Chandigarh: Haryana Deputy CM and NDA
ally Dushyant Chautala has said he will resign
from his post in the Manohar Lal Khattar gov-
ernment if he doesn’t manage to secure MSP
for the farmers. Chautala has vowed to secure
MSP for the farmers. Jannayak Janta Party
(JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala has said, “Our
party's national president already made it clear
that MSP must be assured to farmers. The
written proposals given by the central govern-
ment yesterday included MSPs. I'll work to
secure MSP to farmers as long as I'm the
Deputy CM. I will resign when I'm unable.”
WILL HOLD JAN SAMPARK, 'CHAUPALS'
TO EDUCATE ON FARM LAWS: BJP
New Delhi: Amid ongoing farmers protest on
Delhi border areas against agri laws, Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) has decided to organise series of
measures including press conferences, 'chaupals'
and Jan Sampark, in all the districts of the country
on the issue of the new farm laws from Friday
onwards. As many as 700 press conferences,
hundreds of 'chaupals' and Jan Sampark will be
organised in the coming days. BJP General Secre-
tary discussed the issue through video conferenc-
ing with state 'prabharis' and state president on
Thursday. BJP led government have brought the
laws with the aim to benefit the farmers, but the
party says that farmers have been misguided by
the opposition. Therefore, the party is starting the
programmes to educate and inform farmers about
the benefit of the laws. —ANI
‘Farmers are
right, laws
should be
repealed’
Ludhiana: The new
farm Acts are not in the
interests of farmers
and they should be re-
pealed, said Dr Vardin-
derpal Singh, Principal
Soil Scientist at Depart-
ment of Soil Sciences,
Punjab Agricultural
University (PAU), who
refused an award from
the central government
on Monday.
He was supposed to
receive the award from
Union Chemicals and
Fertilisers Minister D V
Sadananda Gowda at an
event in New Delhi on
Monday.
But when Singh’s
name was announced,
he came on stage but
refused to accept the
award, saying that his
conscience would not
allow it.
“I returned the award
to tell that farmers are
right and these laws
should be repealed...
These laws are not in
the interest of farmers.
Farmers, not only from
Punjab but other parts
of the country as well
are protesting. No one
is listening to them. It is
being said that terror-
ists have come. They
are not terrorists, they
are farmers,” Singh
told ANI. —ANI
Farmers stage a protest against Farm bills at Singhu Border in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi: Attacking
the Union government
overtheissueof farmin-
comeinthecountry,Con-
gress leader Rahul Gan-
dhi on Friday said that
NDA government wants
the average farmers’ in-
come in the country to
drop down to the level of
income being earned by
farmers in Bihar.
Citing government
data from 2013, the Con-
gress leader tweeted:
“The farmers of the
country want their in-
come to be on par with
farmers of Punjab. The
Modi government
wants the income of all
the farmers of the coun-
try to be as much as the
farmers of Bihar.”
According to the data,
Punjab tops the farm-
ers’ income list while
Bihar is at the bottom.
This remark comes
amid continuing farm-
ers protest on different
borders of the national
capital since November
26againstthethreenew-
ly-enacted farm laws.
Rahul Gandhi, whose
party is against the new
farm laws, has been a
constant critic of the
BJP-led government.
Congress leader on
Wednesday slammed
the Union government
over farmers protest
against the new agricul-
ture laws and termed
the Centre a govern-
ment of ‘lie and loot’.
—ANI
The farmers of the country want their
income to be on par with farmers of Punjab.
The Modi government wants the income of
all the farmers of the country to be as much
as the farmers of Bihar.
—Rahul Gandhi, Congress Leader
THERE IS TOO MUCH
BUREAUCRACY, LAMENTS CHIDU
New Delhi: Taking a
veiled dig at NITI Aayog
CEO Amitabh Kant’s
reported comments on
the issue of democracy,
senior Congress leader P
Chidambaram said there
is too much “bureaucra-
cy” in the country. “There
is too much democracy,
laments a senior bureau-
crat. There is too much
bureaucracy, says an
anguished democrat,”said
Chidambaram. In a series
of tweets, he slammed
the BJP-led UP govern-
ment for making a law
on ‘love jihad’ & asserted
that foundation of a new
Parliament building was
laid on ‘ruins of a liberal
democracy’.”The founda-
tion for a new Parliament
building was laid on ruins
of a liberal democracy.”
CONG IS WEAK, OPPN NEEDS TO
COME TOGETHER, SAYS RAUT
Mumbai: Asserting that the Congress, which leads
the UPA, has become weak now, Shiv Sena leader
Sanjay Raut on Friday suggested the opposition
needs to come together and strengthen the alliance.
“We will be happy if (Nationalist Congress Party chief
Sharad) Pawar sir becomes the UPA chairman. But I
have heard that he refused it. We will support him if
such a proposal comes to the fore officially. Congress
is weak now so the opposition needs to come togeth-
er and strengthen the UPA,” said Raut whose party
was earlier part of the National Democratic Alliance.
PARL TO PAY FLORAL TRIBUTES
TO MARTYRS OF 2001 ATTACK
New Delhi: A function to pay floral tributes to
martyrs who sacrificed their lives during the 2001
terrorist attack on Parliament will be held at the
Parliament House on Sunday, an official state-
ment said on Friday. According to officials, the
function will be held on December 13 at 10:30
am. On December 13, 2001, five heavily-armed
terrorists belonging to terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tai-
ba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), stormed
the Parliament complex in New Delhi and opened
fire indiscriminately.
SENSEX ENDS 139 PTS HIGHER;
NIFTY TOPS 13,550: TRADE GURUS
Mumbai: Equity bench-
mark Sensex ended 139
points higher on Friday
following gains in ICICI
Bank, ITC and NTPC amid
persistent foreign fund
inflows. After touching
its all-time intra-day
high of 46,309.63, the
30-share BSE index
settled 139.13 points up
at 46,099.01, just shy
of its closing record.
Similarly, the broader NSE
Nifty rose 35.55 points to
13,513.85. It hit a lifetime
high of 13,579.35 during
the session. ONGC was
the top gainer, rallying
around 6%, followed by
NTPC, Tata Steel, ICICI
Bank, ITC, Titan and Bajaj
Auto. On the other hand,
Axis Bank, M&M, Tech
Mahindra, Asian Paints
were among the laggards.
SSR DEATH CASE
Mahakal produced
before NDPS court
Mumbai: Reigel Ma-
hakal, an accused in a
drug case related to the
death of actor Sushant
Singh Rajput was taken
out for medical exami-
nation by the Narcotics
Control Bureau (NCB)
on Friday.
Mahakal’s NCB cus-
tody for two days has
ended and he was pro-
duced before Special
NDPS court later for
further remand. He was
arrested on December 9
for allegedly supplying
drugs.
Esplanade Court in
Mumbai on Wednesday
had sent Mahakal to
two-day NCB custody in
connection with a drug
case related to the death
of Sushant Rajput. “He
used to supply drugs to
(another accused) Anuj
Keshwani who further
supplied it to others,”
an official had said.
Earlier, NCB here
had conducted raids at
Milat Nagar, Lokhand-
wala, from where a sub-
stantial quantity of
drugs was recovered.
The NCB had on Sep-
tember 12 conducted
several searches in the
case based on informa-
tion provided by Kes-
hwani who was arrest-
ed after one Kaizan
Ebrahim disclosed his
name. Ebrahim had
said that Keshwani was
his supplier for contra-
bands. —ANI
IN THE COURTYARD
HC notice to Delhi govt on plea against capping cost
New Delhi: Delhi HC
issued a notice to Delhi
government on a peti-
tion against the latter’s
decision to cap the cost
of the reverse
transcription-pol-
ymerase chain
reaction (RT-
PCR) test for COVID-19
at Rs 800.
A single-judge bench
of Justice Navin Chaw-
la asked Delhi govern-
ment to file a reply on
petition filed by the As-
sociation of Practicing
Pathologists. The
bench listed the
matter for fur-
ther hearing on
February 25.
The association,
which filed the plea
through advocate
Neeraj Grover, urged
the court to quash the
Delhi government or-
der saying that it is seri-
ously affecting the
rights of private labora-
tories run by its mem-
bers and causing finan-
cial losses every day.
Delhigovernmenthas
arbitrarily & without
any authority of law
fixed ceiling price on
charges of RT-PCR
basedmoleculartestsfor
COVID-19inDelhibythe
private sector labs,
therebyviolatingseveral
fundamental rights of
members of petitioner
association guaranteed
by the Constitution of
IndiaunderArticle14,19
( 1) (g) and violating the
fundamental rights of
the common man under
Article 21.”While the
costs to labs for doing
RTPCR tests is around
Rs 1,200, the cost for
TRUNAT is around Rs
2000 and the cost for CB-
NAAT tests is around
3500,” the plea said. —ANI
Criminal-politician nexus: SC declines
plea to handover 1993 report
New Delhi: SC declined
to admit a plea seeking
directions to the Central
government to hand
over the 1993 Vohra
Committee report to
various Central agen-
ciesforacomprehensive
probe into the criminal-
politician nexus.
A bench headed by
Justice SK Kaul refused
to admit the plea filed
by advocate Ashwini
Upadhyay. “Look at the
prayers. I hope the
country will be at the
top, I hope the world is
a beautiful place, I hope
every man will live hap-
pily, these are the
prayers! Write a book
on it, not petitions. One
can understand giving a
nudge to Centre but I can-
not encourage petitions
like these. These are all
utopian prayers. PIL must
serve a purpose, one
should understand what
directions can be given.
Plea dismissed as with-
drawn,” the bench said.
RT-PCR
TESTS
SCwon’thearPILonmaking
lawsonbenamiproperties
CIC order on
PM's entourage
details stayed
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court on Friday
stayed an order by the
Central Information
Commission (CIC) seek-
ing the disclosure of
security apparatus and
the entourage of the
Prime Minister of India
under the Right to In-
formation (RTI) Act.
A bench of Justice
Navin Chawla, while
hearing a petition filed
by IAF , stayed CIC or-
der directing them to
provide information re-
garding Special Flight
Returns & listed matter
for further hearing in
April. “What is the
problem in giving num-
ber of passengers? You
may not give names.
But how does it affect
sovereignty of country
if the number is given,”
the bench asked. —ANI
New Delhi: The SC de-
clined to entertain a
plea seeking directions
to the Central govern-
ment to ascertain the
feasibility of confiscat-
ing black money, bena-
mi properties and dis-
proportionate assets.
A bench headed by
Justice SK Kaul said it
can’t issue a mandamus
for Parliament to create
a law. As the apex court
refused to hear the plea,
the petitioner withdrew
the same. —Agencies

NEWSLUCKNOW | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2020
Going aggro...
and join the next round
of talks. Having reject-
ed the Centre’s propos-
als, the farm leaders
reacted to the new ap-
peal by saying they
would continue their
protests for repeal of
the laws. “We are
against the three laws.
We will block railway
tracks if the Prime
Minister doesn’t listen
to us,” said Boota Sin-
gh, chairperson, BKU
(Dakaunda), which is
part of the stir.
BJP’s campaign...
to sell produce any-
where in the country.
Farmers say the laws
will deprive them of the
minimum prices fixed
by the government and
leave them at the mercy
of corporates. At least
five deaths have been
reported since the pro-
tests began.
Amit Shah...
Before this, home Min-
ister Amit Shah went to
Bengal on a two-day
visit on November 5. At
that time, he had ap-
pealed to party workers
to work towards achiev-
ing the target of win-
ning more than 200
seats in the state. Dur-
ing the last visit, Home
Minister Shah also in-
teracted with public in-
tellectuals and the gen-
eral public to under-
stand the state’s politi-
cal climate.
Yogi’s “Road”...
which links Agra with
the National Capital Re-
gion, and the Lucknow-
Agra Expressway,
stretching 302 km.
These projects were
completed over a period
of nine years between
2008 and 2017.
The BJP’s Track Re-
cord: It is being billed as
the State’s own Golden
Quadrilateral – that is
connecting East with
the West and North
with the South through
an extensive road net-
work.
When the UP CM
completes five years in
office in 2022, his gov-
ernment would have
finished work on three
expressways — the 340
km long Purvanchal Ex-
pressway, the 296 km
long Bundelkhand Ex-
pressway and the 91 km
long Gorakhpur Link
Expressway. The pro-
ject management group
headed by Chief Secre-
tary RK Tiwari, which
is constantly monitor-
ing these projects has
set a completion dead-
line of December 31,
2021 for Bundelkhand,
March 31, 2021 for
Purvanchal and Gora-
khpur Link Express-
way. The PMG has set a
deadline of June 2021
for completing all land
acquisition proceed-
ings for commencing
work the state’s sixth
and longest, the 594 km
long Ganga Express-
way. The Samajwadi
Party, however, accuses
the BJP Government of
“selling the expressway
projects to its rich
friends.” Former chief
minister Akhilehsh Ya-
dav in a tweet alleged
that private companies
will charge high tariffs.
“The UP government is
preparing to hand over
the ‘expressway’ to rich
friends. The govern-
ment wants to do a scam
by givingexpresswayon
lease and taking a loan
to benefit some people
who will exploit people
by charging toll as per
their choice. This mega
scam will be investigat-
ed when the SP govern-
ment comes to power”,
he said in a tweet.
Adityanath govt...
Farmers should be
made aware of such
technology so that they
can earn maximum in-
come from horticulture,
he said.
Shahi, who was
speaking in the techni-
cal session of the pri-
mary sector on the sec-
ond day of the national
webinar cum seminar
on `Sustainable devel-
opment: issues, strate-
gies and future direc-
tion of Purvanchal’, in
Gorakhpur, said “The
reason for the back-
wardness of the farm-
ers is that they do not
have updated knowl-
edge of technologies.
Diversification and
multi-cropping are the
demands of the agricul-
ture sector and horti-
culture can play an im-
portant role in this.”
Bengal Tussle...
in the circumstances, I
am directed to request
you to kindly dispense
with the presence of
the State officials in the
meeting, considering
that the State Govern-
ment is already ad-
dressing this issue
with utmost serious-
ness,” he said in the
two-page letter.
WB Guv...
this video comment
that outrages essence
and sublimity of Ben-
gal’s rich culture,” he
tweeted. In the clip
shared by Dhankhar,
Banerjee appears to be
miffed by the top brass
of BJP frequenting the
state ahead of 2021 as-
sembly elections. Mock-
ing Nadda, she says.
FROM PG 1
GOI TO ENGAGE RETIRED GOVERNMENT
OFFICERS AS CONSULTANTS
Ministry of Corporate Affairs has invited applica-
tions from retired Central Government officers for
engagement as Consultants, initially for a period
of one year.
FIVE IRS (C&CE) OFFICERS TAKE
VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT
Five IRS(C&CE) officers viz. one Jt Commissioner,
one Dy Commissioner and three Asstt. Commis-
sioners have taken Voluntary Retirement. Vipan
Chopra, Jt. Commissioner and Deepaka Dewan,
Dy Commissioner and Asstt Commissioners T L
Vijay Kumar, Hastimal Jain took VR on December
7 while Minguel Miranda, Asstt Commissioner’s
VR is effective from
THREE VACANCIES IN SC TO BE
FILLED UP
Three vacancies of the Supreme Court Judges are
being filled up early next year. Who will make it ?
DUBE TO BE REPATRIATED FROM
PRASAR BHARTI
Consequent upon completion of his tenure, A
P Dubey, presently posted as DDA(Sports) on
deputation at Prasar Bharati will stand repatriated
and relieved from Prasar Bharati with effect from
December 30t, 2020.He was on deputation from
the Ministry of Industries.
DEPUTATION OF POONAM SINGH
EXTENDED
The ACC has approved the proposal of Depart-
ment of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
for extension of deputation tenure of Ms Poonam
Singh, Director, Comptroller General of Patents,
Design and Trademarks (CGPDTM) for a period
of two years up to May 1, 2023. She is an IOFS
officer of 2002 batch.
PK ARORA APPOINTED WHOLE-TIME
MEMBER, IRDA
Pramod Kumar Arora, Secretary, International
Operations, Life Insurance Corporation of India
(LIC), Mumbai, has been appointed Whole-Time
Member (Actuary) in the Insurance Regulatory
and Development Authority of India (IRDA) for a
period of three years.
SANDEEP POUNDRIK APPOINTED
PRO-TEM DG, CDRI
Sandeep Poundrik, Adviser (Mitigation), MDMA,
MHA, has been appointed Pro-tem DG, Coalition
for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), New
Delhi, till October 7, 2021. He is a 1993 batch IAS
officer of Bihar cadre.
RP MEENA SENT ON DEPUTATION TO
RAJASTHAN GOVT.
Raghubeer Prasad Meena, Chief Mechanical Engi-
neer (CME) (Planning and Freight), Headquarters,
South Western Railway (SWR) has been sent on
deputation to the Government of Rajasthan for
a period of three years. He is an Indian Railway
Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) officer.
GAURAV AHLUWALIA APPOINTED
AMBASSADOR TO ALGERIA
Gaurav Ahluwalia, presently Deputy High Com-
missioner in the High Commission of India, Islam-
abad, has been appointed as the next Ambassador
of India to the People’s Democratic Republic of
Algeria. He is a 2005 batch IFS officer.
VIRENDRA SINGH GETS ADDITIONAL
CHARGE IN RAJASTHAN
Virendra Singh, Commissioner and Special Secre-
tary, Information Technology and Communication,
Rajasthan, will hold the additional charge of Direc-
tor, Civil Aviation Corporation, Jaipur. He is a 2006
batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
Kolkata: West Bengal
Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar Friday said
he has sent a report to
the Centre in the back-
drop of the violent at-
tack on the convoy of
BJP chief JP Nadda,
and warned CM Mama-
ta Banerjee over the
deteriorating law and
order situation &
warned “not to play
with fire”.
The “non-respon-
sive” stance of the CM
towards the Raj Bha-
wan is an indication
that governance is not
in accordance with the
Constitution. It is the
duty of the governor to
protect the Constitu-
tion, Dhankhar said.
Dhankhar said the
chief minister is also
under constitutional
obligation and has to
act in accordance with
the Constitution. —PTI
FOLLOW CONSTITUTION, DON’T PLAY
WITH FIRE: GOVERNOR WARNS MAMATA
Kolkata: Seven per-
sons were arrested in
West Bengal on Friday
for their alleged in-
volvement in the at-
tack on Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party national
president JP Nadda’s
convoy a day ago, a
senior police officer
said.
Four persons were
arrested from Falta,
and three from Usthi
police station area, both
in South 24 Parganas
district, he told PTI.
All seven of them
were booked under
various sections of the
IPC for rioting, ob-
structing public serv-
ant in discharge of
public functions and
other offences. —PTI
7 held for attack on BJP
president’s convoy in WB
Chennai: Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi
hailed famous Tamil
poetandfreedomfighter
Subramanya Bharathi's
vision of independent
and empowered women
& said his government
was inspired by it to en-
sure woman-led devel-
opment. He was virtu-
allyaddressingtheInter-
national Bharathi Festi-
val to mark the 138th an-
niversary of the famous
poet,hailedasMahakavi.
The poet's definition of
progress had a central
role for women and one
of his important vi-
sions "was that of inde-
pendent & empowered
women." The PM said
Bharathiyar, as the poet
is addressed with rever-
ence, wrote that women
should walk with their
held high while looking
people in their eyes.
Centrekeentoensure
women-led devp: PM
New delhi: India’s total
active COVID-caseload
has dropped to 3.63 lakh
(3,63,749) on Friday and
this is the lowest after
146 days. The total ac-
tive cases was 3,58,692
on July 18, according to
data released by the
Health Ministry on Fri-
day. India's total COV-
ID-19 active caseload
has dropped to 3.63 lakh
(3,63,749), the lowest in
146 days, and comprises
just 3.71 per cent of the
total coronavirus infec-
tions, the Union health
ministry said on Friday.
The total active cases
were 3,58,692 on July 18.
"The country has re-
ported a trend of sus-
tained decrease in the
number of active cases.
India's present active
caseload consists of
just 3.71 per cent of In-
dia's total cases," the
ministry said.
It said that 37,528 peo-
ple recovered from
COVID-19 in a span of
24 hours and this led to
a net decline of 8,544
cases from the total ac-
tive caseload. —PTI
INDIA’S COVID-19 CASES DROP TO
LOWEST IN OVER HUNDRED DAYS
With the rising cases in Punjab, state CM Amarinder Singh has
extended night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am till January 1, 2021.
Bengaluru: With the
Karnataka legislative
council getting ad-
journedsinediewithout
taking up the conten-
tious anti-cow slaughter
billpassedbytheAssem-
bly, Chief Minister B S
Yediyurappa on Friday
said, the government
will promulgate an ordi-
nance to bring it into ef-
fect. The Chief Minister
also expressed reserva-
tions about the legisla-
tive council’s Chairman
K Pratapachandra Shet-
ty’s decision to adjourn
sine die “abruptly”, and
saidthatthegovernment
has decided to convene
the house on Tuesday
and also petitioned the
Governor in this regard.
‘Karnataka govt will promulgate
anti-cow slaughter ordinance’
Karnataka CM Yediyurappa worships a cow at his residence in
Bengaluru on Friday, after the state assembly passed the Prevention
of Slaughter & Preservation of Cattle Bill-2020 on Dec 9.
New Delhi:Minister of
Petroleum and Natural
Gas and Steel Shri
Dharmendra Pradhan
today held a telecall
with HE Saad Sherida
Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Min-
ister of State for Ener-
gy Affairs and Presi-
dent & CEO Qatar Pe-
troleum on promoting
Qatari investments in
the entire energy value
chain in India. Both
sides agreed to further
strengthen cooperation
in the energy sector
and move beyond the
buyer-seller relation-
ship to a comprehen-
sive one, including two-
way investments. Min-
ister Pradhan and Min-
ister Al-Kaabi have
agreed to set up a Task
Force on Energy, repre-
sented by Vice-Presi-
dent of Qatar Petrole-
um and a senior officer
from Petroleum Minis-
try to identify specific
projects in India’s en-
ergy sector for Qatari
investments.
India, Qatar to set up task
force for investment
New Delhi: India said
the military standoff in
eastern Ladakh in the
last 6 months has been
a result of the actions
by China which sought
to effect a ‘unilateral
change’ in the status
along the Line of Actu-
al Control. The com-
ments by External Af-
fairs Ministry Spokes-
person Anurag Srivas-
tava came at a media
briefing when asked
about the fresh com-
ments by the Chinese
foreign ministry blam-
ing India again for the
border situation in east-
ern Ladakh. —PTI
Border standoff
in Ladakh due to
China: India
New Delhi: Indian
Medical Association
(IMA) observed a na-
tionwide no-demonstra-
tion strike on Friday to
oppose the central gov-
ernment’s move to al-
low Ayurveda doctors
to perform surgery.
Dr Rajan Sharma, na-
tional president of
IMA, said that allowing
Ayurveda postgradu-
ates to perform surgery
is a “blatant attempt” to
“corrupt” the health-
care system of the
country. “It takes years
and years to become a
doctor. ” he added. —PTI
‘Cannot permit
Ayurveda doc to
conduct surgery’
‘SHAME THAT CENTRAL FORCES CAN’T PROTECT YOU’
PROTEST IN MUM
Mahua Moitra
Jagdeep Dhankhar
PM Narendra Modi
Dharmendra Pradhan
—PHOTOBYANI

NEWSLUCKNOW | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2020
Lucknow: Private hos-
pitals, nursing homes,
and diagnostic centres
in Uttar Pradesh on Fri-
day extended support to
the strike called by the
IMA against the Cen-
tre’s move allowing post
graduate practitioners
of Ayurveda to be
trained in performing
surgical procedures.
Emergency services
and treatment of COV-
ID-19 patients have been
exempted from the
strike.
Government doctors
are not a part of the
strike .
AccordingtotheUttar
Pradesh unit president
of the Indian Medical
Association (IMA) Dr
Ashok Rai, there are
21,500 private hospitals,
pathologies, diagnostic
centres and private doc-
tors in the state who are
observing strike.
During this period,
only treatment of COV-
ID-19 patients and emer-
gency services will re-
mainfunctional,hesaid,
adding that Indian Den-
tal Association has also
extended its support to
the IMA.
Elaborating on the
reasons for observing
the strike, Dr Rai said
Ayushdoctorshavebeen
given permission to con-
duct surgeries after tak-
ing a bridge course.
As of now, allopathic,
ayurveda,Unaniandho-
moeopathy have their
different identities and
mixing them to create
‘mixopathy’ would have
serious repercussions,
he said.
IMA office bearers
will hold demonstra-
tions in all the districts
of the state and hand
over memorandum ad-
dressed to the prime
minister through re-
spective district magis-
trates demanding with-
drawal of this decision,
he said.
The president of Luc-
know unit of IMA, Dr.
Rama Srivastava, said
there are 271 nursing
homes and private hos-
pitals in the state capital
besides 6800 private doc-
tors, 350 diagnostic cen-
tres and pathologies
where this strike is be-
ing observed. —PTI
First India Bureau
Hardoi: A 19-year-old
woman has given a com-
plaint against a youth
for forcing her to
change her religion for
marriage in Uttar
Pradesh’s Hardoi dis-
trict, police said.
The woman, belong-
ing to a Hindu commu-
nity, is a resident of a
village under Sha-
habad Kotwali police
station area and lodged
a complaint with Har-
doi Superintendent of
Police Anurag Vats on
Thursday.
In the complaint, she
stated that the youth,
identified as Azad, had
been in a relationship
with her for the past
two years.
She said the Muslim
youth, who is from the
same village, pressured
her to change her reli-
gion when the two
reached the registrar of-
fice for marriage on No-
vember 30 but later left
the place on her refusal
to do so, the complaint
stated.
The woman has al-
legedthatAzadhadbeen
physically exploiting
her on promise of mar-
riage and threatened
thathewoulduploadher
pictures on social me-
dia, it further said.
SP Vats said the com-
plaint has been received
and the police directed
to take stern action in
this connection.
Boy kidnapped for
Rs 50 lakh ransom
Gorakhpur: A six-year-
old boy has been kid-
napped from a village in
Uttar Pradesh’s Mahara-
jganj district and a ran-
som of Rs 50 lakh de-
mandedfromhisparents,
police said on Friday.
Deepak, son of Piyush
Gupta, was playing
gamesonamobilephone
outsidehishousearound
3 pm on Wednesday from
where he went missing
with the handset, they
said.
His parents started
searching for him and
lodged a missing report
in this regard, police
said.
On Thursday evening,
Gupta received a threat-
ening letter in which the
abductors demanded a
ransom of Rs 50 lakh,
they said.
PM will inaugurate AIIMS at
Gorakhpurwithinayear:CM
First India Bureau
Gorakhpur: Prime
MinisterNarendraModi
will inaugurate the
AIIMS at Gorakhpur
withinayear,Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
said. Citing encephalitis
as the main reason be-
hind the establishment
of AIIMS in the city, the
CM said that it will ben-
efit five crore people of
Northeastern Bihar,
Purvanchal and Nepal.
Addressing the inau-
gural function of
‘Healthy Eastern Uttar
Pradesh - Ek Pahal’ cam-
paign held at AIIMS as
its chief guest, he said
thatthemedicalsciences
institute will have to
playthesameroleinpre-
vention of diseases for
which it is renowned.
Since better research
can be done in the field
than laboratory, one has
to work in the field.
Treatment of diseases is
thelastoption,thiseffort
starts with rescue.
The Chief Minister
said that teamwork can
give us better results.
“Move forward by
making a positive ges-
ture. If we can conquer
polio, we will be able to
controlTBinthecoming
days,” he said.
The CM called for bet-
ter facilities to bring dis-
eases such as dengue,
malaria,kalaazar,which
are prevalent in eastern
UP, under control. Tech-
nicalsupportwillleadto
good results.
The welcome ceremo-
ny was conducted by
AIIMS Director Prof.
Surekha Kishore. He
laid out the entire out-
line of health condition
of eastern Uttar
Pradesh. Dr. Priyanka
Dwivedi and Dr. Amar-
preetKaurpresentedthe
thanksgivingspeech.On
this occasion, Health
Minister Jai Prakash
Singh, Additional Chief
Secretary Awanish
Awasthi, Economic Ad-
visor to the State Gov-
ernment Dr. KV Raju,
Vice Chancellor Deen-
dayalUpadhyayGorakh-
pur University Rajesh
Singh,Principalof Baba
RaghavDasMedicalCol-
lege Dr. Ganesh Kumar,
Director of Regional
Medical Research Cent-
er, Dr. Rajini Kant, Vi-
rologist Dr. Ashok Pan-
dey,AIIMSDeputyMedi-
cal Superintendent Dr.
Gaurav Gupta etc. were
present.
95% decrease in
deaths due to encepha-
litis
CM said people in
eastern Uttar Pradesh
have witnessed deaths
from encephalitis for a
long time.
“I made it an issue in
Parliament as an MP. Af-
ter becoming the Chief
Minister, efforts were
started for its preven-
tion,” he said, adding
that today “we have
about 95 percent control
over encephalitis.”
Man dies after being shot in the head
during celebratory firing in Meerut
First India Bureau
Meerut: A celebratory
firing in a wedding cer-
emony took away the
life of a young man in
Meerut.
The shocking inci-
dent is reported from
Ahmedabad village of
Sardhana area where
the wedding ceremony
of an eminent family
was taking place.
The young man was
shot in the head and
was rushed to Meerut
Medical College, where
he breathed his last on
Friday afternoon. The
area police have not
filed any complaint in
this matter. MP Sanjeev
Balyan and Budhana
MLA Umesh Malik are
also believed to have at-
tended the wedding cer-
emony.
The wedding of Sa-
marpal’s daughter was
held on Thursday night.
During the procession,
the celebratory firing
took place and one of
the bullets injured
Monu, son of Satpal, be-
longing to Sakauti Tan-
da area. The deceased
Monu is said to be the
gunner of a big shot re-
siding in Modipuram’s
A-to-Z colony, while Sa-
marpal is said to be a
relative of Budhana
MLA Umesh Malik. De-
spite the death of the
young man during the
treatment, the Sardha-
na police is trying to
coverup the case.
According to the po-
lice, as of now, they do
not have any informa-
tion on this case and are
considering it as anony-
mous.
Private hospitals,
diagnostic centres
support IMA strike
Woman alleges youth
forcing her to convert
for marriage in Hardoi
Bareilly: Police in Ba-
reilly district of Uttar
Pradesh stopped the
marriage of a 16-year-
old boy and a 20-year-old
woman,actingonacom-
pliant from an NGO, of-
ficials said on Friday.
The incident took
place on Thursday in
the Bahedi area here.
Officials from the local
police station reached
the wedding venue and
stopped the marriage
after the age certificate
of theboyprovedhewas
a minor, even as the cou-
ple were on the dias.
Inspector, Bahedi Kot-
wali, Pankaj Pant said
police got the wedding
stopped acting on a com-
plaint from NGO Child-
line.
“The Childline team
reached the Bahedi Kot-
wali in Bareilly district
late on Thursday night,
apprisedthepolicethere
about the entire case
and showed the real age
certificate of the groom.
The police immediately
reached the venue,
where bride and groom
were on the dias,” the
NGO’s in-charge Kusum
Thakur said.
“Now both sides will
have to appear before
the Child Welfare Com-
mittee, and action will
be taken on the direc-
tion of the committee,”
Pant said.
Childline India Foun-
dation had initially in-
formed the Nawabganj
police station about the
16-year-old boy being
married to a woman
four years older to him,
Thakur said.
Based on that infor-
mation, Kundra Koti
area in-charge Suresh
Pal Singh had gone to
the spot but was told
that the groom was a
21-year-old man, follow-
ing which he left, she
said.
Later, as the ‘baraat’
(wedding procession)
left Nawabganj for Ba-
hedi, the NGO followed
it and informed the po-
lice there, and the cere-
mony was stopped.
Thakursaidbothsides
havegiveninwritingnot
to proceed with the wed-
ding until the matter is
resolved. —PTI
Police stop marriage of
16-year-old boy in Bareilly
BRAVING THE CHILL FOR A CAUSE
Farmers warm themselves around a bonfire during their protest over the Centers farm reform laws, at Delhi-Noida border.
—PHOTO BY PTI
Yogi called for better facilities to bring
diseases like dengue, malaria, kala azar,
which are prevalent in east UP, under control
MP Sanjeev Balyan and Budhana MLA Umesh Malik
believed to have attended this wedding ceremony
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
40,000 HEALTH
WORKERS TO BE
VACCINATED IN
FIRST ROUND
Yogi Adityanath Government
is gearing up for Covid-19
vaccination drive under which
some 40,000 health workers
would be vaccinated in the
first round. On Thursday, the
UP CM had announced in
Gorakhpur that the vaccine
was only a month away.
Custom-made Ice-Lined
Refrigerators (ILR) have
started arriving in the State
capital and are being stored
in specially created cold-chain
storage facilities in Aishbagh.
“As of now we have got four
ILRs. More are on the way.
Each one has a capacity
of 225 litres,” said Dr MK
Singh, in-charge of routine
immunisation. Two more
residential blocks have been
acquired close to the vaccine
storage building to enhance
the capactiy. According to
Dr Singh, the ILRs have
compartment temperature
which range from 2 degrees
Celsius to 8 degrees Celsius
to maintain the cold chain
for vaccine vials. The State
Government has decided that
after health workers frontline
covid warriors like policemen
and municipal corporation
staff, will be vaccinated in
the second phase followed
by senior citizens and those
above 50 years of age.
There are about 14,000
municipal corporation staff
and approximately 20,000
policemen, including traffic
police personnel and home
guards. —M Tariq Khan
GOVT SPENDS,
HOSPITAL
REPENTS
While the government
is pushing the state
machinery hard to combat the
deadly Covid-19, it is being let
down by its own fraternity and
administrative officials. The
bugle is being blown aloud to
aware people on the crisis but
city’s one of the biggest medical
facilities the Dr Ram Manohar
Lohia Institute of Medical
Sciences (RMLIMS) seems to
be fast asleep. Despite being
a Covid-19 dedicated hospital,
hospital’s main communication
channel, the phone lines, details
of which are on hospital’s
website https://drrmlims.ac.in/,
are all but functioning. All the
telephone numbers including
the hospital’s helpline numbers
are dead and when one calls
on them, they get only one
response that the number
does not exist. Thankfully,
the hospital does! The
administrative block, where
hospital’s director AK Tripathi
sits, also has a dead phone, at
least as per the details present
on the website. Hope the
government spends some a
few hundred bucks to get the
hospital a functioning telephone
line where people can enquire
about their queries.
—Vishal Srivastav

For the average minded facts are
irrefutable and for the intellectual
everything is a mere interpretation.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A petition,
filed by advocates De-
veshSaxenaandShash-
wat Anand, has sought
a stay on the effect and
operation of the im-
pugned ordinance
promulgated by the
Governor of Uttar
Pradesh with direction
to the state govern-
ment to not take any
coercive action in pur-
suance of the im-
pugned ordinance.
The plea has stated
that the impugned ordi-
nance leads to an unrea-
sonable intrusion into
the domain of personal
autonomy,andmandates
an advance notice of 60
days to the District Mag-
istrate before the intend-
ed conversion, which is
to be followed by a police
enquiry into the circum-
stances of conversion.
The religious priest
doing the conversion is
also required to give
such prior notification.
After the conversion,
the person has to appear
before the District Mag-
istrate for confirma-
tion. The authority will
notify the conversion
and will invite public
objections before con-
firming the conversion.
Therefore, the obliga-
tion imposed by the Or-
dinance to seek permis-
sion for conversion two
months in advance is
fundamentally arbi-
trary and a violation of
the right to privacy and
the State has no role to
play in the personal
choice of individuals in
consummating a union
and embracing the reli-
gion of their partner,
the petition says.
The plea has contend-
ed that while the State
can certainly regulate
acts of forced conver-
sion but the starting
point of such regulation
has to be a complaint
made by the individual
who opts to convert. In
most of these cases, it is
the parents who com-
plainthattheirdaughter
has been fraudulently
enticed into a relation-
ship and is a victim of
forced conversion,
which makes the Ordi-
nance an instrument of
harassment in situa-
tions where interfaith
marriagesarevoluntary.
The plea has contend-
ed that the Ordinance
giveslicencetothepolice
to terrorise and harass
inter-faith couples who
want to exercise their
righttomarryaccording
to their choice, in the
guise unfounded radical
theories of ‘love jihad’.
The ordinance, which
has completely failed to
strike a balance between
freedoms and mala fide
conversions, has been
passed and is being im-
plementedinmuchhaste
and reckless manner
without ensuring that
the same does not curb
one’s Fundamental
Rightsorhampernation-
al integration instead.
State prying on privacy, says
PIL against ‘Love Jihad law’Seeking stay petitioners claim law empowers police to harass inter-faith couples
THE REALITY
ROAD TO PROGRESS?
NECK DEEP IN PROTEST
A loaded truck overturned due to damaged road in Nishatganj area of Lucknow on Friday.
voting machines ahead of. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
As a mark of protest against the new farm laws, SP MLC Rajesh Yadav hung anti-farmer bill’s posters around the neck of cattles as seen on Kursi Road in
Lucknow on Friday.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Congress
national general sec-
retary in-charge of
UP Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra on Friday ex-
panded her team with
new appointments of
Saif Ali Naqvi as gen-
eral secretary and
Gyanesh Shukla and
Abhimanyu Singh as
secretaries in the Ut-
tar Pradesh unit of
the party.
Congress President
Sonia Gandhi has ap-
proved the appointment
of following persons as
General Secretary/Sec-
retary in Uttar Pradesh
Congress Committee
with immediate effect.
On December 6, Ram Sa-
jiwon Nirmal was ap-
pointedasworkingpres-
ident of the SC depart-
ment in Uttar Pradesh
East. Tanuja Punia was
appointed as working
president of the depart-
ment in Uttar Pradesh
Central and Yogi Jatav
for Uttar Pradesh West.
Priyanka appoints new
members in UP team
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A study car-
ried out by the Right
to Food Campaign and
the Center for Equity
Studies in 11 states
has found that even
five months after the
lockdown has ended, a
large number of
households report
lower levels of income
(62%), reduced intake
of cereals (53%), puls-
es (64%), vegetables
(73%) and eggs/non-
vegetarian items
(71%), worsened nu-
tritional quality (71%)
and an increased need
to borrow money to
buy food (45%).
The study said, in Ut-
tar Pradesh, the condi-
tion of vulnerable com-
munities like Musahari
became precarious. The
community was collect-
ing chicken feathers for
consumption in order to
survive.
Based on interviews
with 3,994 respondents
from 11 states (UP, MP,
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Ma-
harashtra, Chhattis-
garh, Jharkhand, Delhi,
Telangana, Tamil Nadu
and West Bengal), 2,186
in rural areas and 1,808
in urban areas, the
study said, the govern-
ment support in the
form of free rations, and
alternatives to school
and anganwadi meals in
the form of dry rations
and/or cash transfers
reached more than half
the people, which was
“crucial”. The study
found, 43% respondents
had no income in April-
May. Of these, only
about 3% went back to
income levels of what it
was before the lock-
down, while 56% of
them continued to have
no income in the last 30
days of the study period
(September-October).
The study found in
September-October, 53%
reported that their con-
sumption of rice/wheat
had decreased, 64% re-
ported their consump-
tion of dal had de-
creased, and 73% report-
ed that their consump-
tion of green vegetables
had decreased. While
17% of the respondents
consumed eggs/non-veg
‘often’ before the lock-
down, among them, 91%
said that their eggs/
meat consumption de-
creased in September-
October. The study fur-
ther found for 45% of the
respondents, the need to
borrow money for food
increased from the
pre-lockdown period.
Lockdown woes: UP among 11 worst-hit states; incomes dip
HUNGER WATCH
In Uttar Pradesh, the condition of
vulnerable communities like Musahari
became precarious. They collected
chicken feathers to survive
—FILEPHOTO
COVID-19
UPDATE
UTTAR PRADESH
8,011
DEATHS
5,61,161
CONFIRMED CASES
GUJARAT
4,148 DEATHS 2,25,304 CASES
DELHI
WORLD
15,94,628
DEATHS
7,10,64,142
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
98,23,901
CONFIRMED CASES
1,42,593
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
48,059 DEATHS 18,72,440 CASES
RAJASTHAN
KARNATAKA
11,928 DEATHS 8,99,011 CASES
Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: Seven PCS
officers have been
transferred and the
transfer order of one
was stayed late on
Thursday night in Ut-
tar Pradesh. The or-
der was issued to the
officers by personnel
department over
WhatsApp.
ADM Administration
Rakesh Kumar Patel of
Deoria district has been
transferred as ADM, Ju-
dicial, Aligarh. Firo-
zabad City Magistrate
Kunwar Pankaj has
been transferred to the
post of ADM, Adminis-
tration, Deoria.
City Magistrate
Manoj Kumar Singh of
Mathura has been
transferred as ADM FR
Sant Kabir Nagar.
ADM FR Sanjay Ku-
mar Pandey posted in
Sant Kabir Nagar dis-
trict has been sent to
Jhansi as ADM Judi-
cial. City Magistrate
Jagdamba Singh of
Mirzapur has been ap-
pointed as City Magis-
trate Bulandshahr.
Deoria ADM E,
Rakesh Kumar Patel is
transferred as ADM ju-
dicial Aligarh. City
Magistrate Vinay Ku-
mar Singh of Buland-
shahr has been ap-
pointed as City Magis-
trate Mirzapur.
IAS Ajay Chauhan
Housing Commission-
er Uttar Pradesh Direc-
tor has given addition-
al charge of Secretary
Housing and Urban
Planning Department.
What, however, has
reportedly been con-
cerning some officers
is the secrecy around
the transfers.
7 PCS officers transferred,
addl charge to IAS officer
SURPRISE TRANSFERS CONTINUE

ne of the top beau-
ty pageants of the
world, Miss Ocean
World 2020 is cur-
rently being or-
ganised with one
of the most tal-
ented and beautiful par-
ticipants on board.
Began on 1 Decem-
ber, this pageant
will go on till 30
December, for
which the grand finale will
be organised virtually.
The official rights for
Miss Ocean World have
been taken for 3 years by
the organizer Yogesh
Mishra from the Fusion
Group in the Pink City. It is
an honor and a proud mo-
ment for the whole country
as Miss Ocean World has
been ranked on #17 all over
the world, by the prestig-
ious Euthopia Models in
the list of World Pageantry.
Due to COVID-19, the or-
ganizer, Yogesh Mishra has
decided to conduct Miss
Ocean World – 1st Edition
virtually, for the face value
activity with the following
six rounds: Intro-
duction Round, Bi-
kini Round, Tal-
ent Round, Na-
tional Costume
Round, Catwalk
Round and Interac-
tion with the Judges
Round, respectively.
The results of Miss
Ocean World 2020 will
be announced virtual-
ly on 30 December.
Later, Miss Ocean
World 2021 will be
conducted on the
ground in India
with a participa-
tion of 40-45
countries from all
over the world.
NEHAL NAYAR
nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in
THE CURVES
O
Flaunting
During the second round of Miss OceanWorld 2020, all the
participants from across the globe got a bikini photoshoot
done for themselves, to compete for the next round!
LUCKNOW, SATURDAY
DECEMBER 12, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
United
Kingdom
SpainTanzaniaFrance
Nigeria
Peru
Uganda
Chile
India

10
ETCLUCKNOW | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
LARISSA D’SA, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Financial situation improves
as previous investments
start giving returns. You
will be able to achieve
stability in your career. Chances of
contracting a common ailment cannot
be ruled out for some. A family
youngster is likely to bring good
news.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You spend well, but you
earn well too, so expect
this happy situation to
persist on the financial
front. Learning the ropes on the
professional front will prove
interesting. Some of you may get a
step closer to coming back in shape.
You will make right moves.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Financial worries are likely
to become a thing of the
past, as money comes to
you from various sources.
Something entrusted to you will be
completed with utmost efficiency.
You may seriously consider joining a
gym or starting a fitness regimen.
You will feel really good today.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Despite rising expenses, you
will be able to remain fairly
well off financially. You
achieve much on the
professional front today. Your daily
fitness routine will find you fit and
energetic. A family youngster is likely
to add to your prestige by his or her
good showing.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
You may resolve to come
back in shape and take up
a fitness course. Domestic
commitments can
temporarily put profession on hold.
Getting tied up in professional
matters will give you little time for
family. Time with family will be
satisfying.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Excellent returns from
previous investments and
from immovable property
cannot be ruled out for
some. Your ideas are likely to be much
sought after on the work front. Not
giving in the culinary temptations is
likely to benefit you on the health front.
A family reunion is on the cards.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Good money is likely to be
earned today by
freelancers and
commission agents. Some
of you will need to be careful about
your reputation on the professional
front. A change in lifestyle will make
you feel fit and energetic. You are
likely to add to your assets.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Remaining in control on
the financial front will help
curb wasteful expenditure.
You will be much more at
ease as you find your rhythm at
work. You will take positive steps to
keep fit and healthy. You desire best
of both the worlds – work and family
– and you shall have it.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Wealth comes to you
through a profitable
venture or inheritance.
Those hunting for a
suitable job are likely to get lucky.
You may start something on the
fitness front. A family member will
give good advice regarding a
professional matter.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Enrolling for a financial
scheme will be in your
favour, as it promises to
add to your wealth. Take
care on the professional front as
things do not appear to progress as
planned. Stay away from the gossip
mill on the family front as you can
become someone’s target.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Strict self-discipline, where
spending is concerned, will
keep your bank balance
brimming. A decision at
work is likely to favour you. Keeping
pace with fitness buffs is indicated
and promises to keep you in good
health. Some good news awaits you
on the domestic front.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
This is an excellent time for
you to invest, as you are
likely to get fantastic
returns. You are set to gain
a position of authority on the
professional front. Good health is
assured as you resolve to shake a
leg. Family life brings immense joy. A
property may be acquired by some.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
n an extraordinary ini-
tiative during the pan-
demic, a young woman
teaches adolescent girls
how to make cloth pads
at home Ganga, a
28-year-old, young wom-
an from Goghra Phala Village in
Dungarpur district of Ra-
jasthan, is determined to ad-
vance of adolescent health and
rights. She has all the makings
of a role model and leader, hav-
ing successfully stood her
ground through numerous chal-
lenges and continued her studies
despite an early marriage.
Ganga is presently working as
a cluster coordinator with Jatan
Sansthan under the FAYA pro-
ject in Dungarpur district. FAYA
(Feminist Adolescents and
Youth-Led Action)
is a program sup-
ported by Popula-
tion Foundation of
India, in partner-
ship with The Young People
Foundation. The program aims
at building the knowledge of
adolescents about their sexual &
reproductive health through the
Comprehensive Adolescent
Health curriculum. Population
Foundation of India with its im-
plementing partner JATAN
reaches more than 2500 adoles-
cents directly in Dungarpur. In
this process of making adoles-
cents aware of their health
rights, coordinators like Ganga
play a crucial role.
As a confident and engaging
facilitator, Ganga routinely edu-
cates adolescent groups and ad-
dresses all their queries related
to sexual and reproductive
health by building
a very strong bond
with them. How-
ever, to come this
far has not been
easy as Ganga herself was ini-
tially a shy and hesitant person.
After participating regularly
in FAYA training focused on Ad-
olescent Health and then deliver-
ing sessions to groups in her
community, she became the con-
fident coordinator that she is
today. She now proactively ad-
dresses the health concerns of
adolescents.
During the COVID-19 imposed
lockdown, when the entire na-
tion had come to a standstill,
adolescent girls and women
faced serious menstrual hygiene
problems due to the non-availa-
bility of sanitary napkins. In
rural areas, the situation was
even worse as the distribution of
sanitary napkins via schools and
Anganwadi centres had come to
a halt because of the lockdown.
Difficult access to distant phar-
macies made it near impossible
for rural residents to procure
sanitary napkins.
Taking all this into account,
Ganga came up with a simple
and sustainable solution and
started training adolescents to
make hygienic sanitary pads
from cloth. While following so-
cial distancing norms, she im-
parted training to adolescent
girls in small groups. The girls
she trained are now self-reliant
in meeting their menstrual
health needs in a crisis. Ganga,
with support from her organiza-
tion, intends to replicate this
initiative in other Gram Pan-
chayats through cluster coordi-
nators under the FAYA project.
Ganga is proud and happy to
provide this long-term, sustain-
able hygiene solution and says,
“Access to sexual and reproduc-
tive health services and informa-
tion is a fundamental right of
adolescents and I, along with
others, will strive and work for it
each day, especially during these
difficult times.”
A GREAT INITIATIVE!
NIKITA SRIVASTAV
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
I
Ganga

First india lucknow edition-12 december 2020

First india lucknow edition-12 december 2020

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to First india lucknow edition-12 december 2020

Similar to First india lucknow edition-12 december 2020 (20)

More from FIRST INDIA

More from FIRST INDIA (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

First india lucknow edition-12 december 2020