First india lucknow edition-16 march 2021

First India Bureau
Lucknow: Union De-
fence Minister Rajnath
Singh on Monday an-
nounced that the Cen-
tral government is
ready to amend the
three farm laws and as-
sured agitating farmers
that they will continue
to get the minimum
support price (MSP).
Inaugurating the BJP
State Executive Com-
mittee meeting in Luc-
know, Rajnath appealed
to agitating farmers to
resolve their problems
by holding talks with
them. About 600 execu-
tive committee mem-
bers are participating
in the meeting which is
being held after a gap of
nearly three years.
“We are ready for
talks as many times
farmers want to settle
their issues. I am also
from a farmer’s family.
I assure you that MSP
will continue and Cen-
tre is ready Turn to P6
Centre ready to amend new farm laws: Rajnath Singh
DEFENCE MINISTER IN TOWN
Rajnath Singh asserted that no power on
earth can stop India from becoming a
global superpower
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh & UP CM Yogi Adityanath during an intense discussion during the
SWC meet at BJP HQ in Lucknow on Monday.
YOGI ON DIDI’S TURF
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
LUCKNOW l TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 122
ARMY RECRUITMENT SCAM: CBI BOOKS
5 LT COL-RANKED OFFICERS AND 18
OTHERS, CARRIES OUT SEARCHES
Six Lt Colonels and a Major of Indian Army were
among 23 people named by CBI in an investi-
gation into corruption involving recruitment to
the force on Monday following searches in 30
places in 13 cities. The accused include 17 army
personnel in all and six others with “allegations
pertaining to bribery and irregularities in recruit-
ment of officers and other ranks through Service
Selection Board”, the CBI said. It said case was
registered based on complaint from office of ADG,
Discipline & Vigilance, Adjutant General’s Branch,
Integrated HQ of MoD (Army). Locations searched
include those in Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Guwahati,
Kapurthala, Bathinda, Kaithal, Palwal, Bareilly,
Gorakhpur, Vishakhapatnam, Jorhat & Chirangon.
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
BENGAL A LEADER ONCE, ENTANGLED
IN ‘GOONDARAJ’ NOW: AMIT SHAH
Ranibandh: Monday
saw some high-voltage
campaigning in West
Bengal with Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah reminding Chief
Minister Mamata Ba-
nerjee of the pain of the
family members of the
‘130 BJP workers who
were killed in her state’.
Addressing a rally at
Ranibandh in the
Bankura district, Shah
promisedthatif theBJP
is voted to power in West
Bengal, it will imple-
ment the seventh pay
commissionforthestate
government employees.
Shah also said that
West Bengal was once
India’s leader and now
the state is entangled in
“goondaraj”. “Bengal
was at one time was In-
dia’s leader. It was the
hub of education, free-
dom fighters, religious
leadership and more.
The same Bengal is en-
tangled in goondaraj,”
said Shah during the
virtual rally Turn to P6
Bill to define role
of Delhi LG
introduced in LS
Bill to amend
juvenile justice
law introduced
With the objective
of giving a proper
‘interpretation’ of a
SC ruling, govern-
ment on Monday
introduced a bill in
Lok Sabha that seeks
to define certain role
and powers of LG
of Delhi. Union MoS
for Home G Kishan
Reddy introduced
Government of
National Capital Terri-
tory of Delhi (Amend-
ment) Bill, 2021.
A bill to amend the
Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protec-
tion of Children) Act,
2015, which seeks
to increase the role
of district magis-
trates and additional
district magistrates,
was introduced in
the Lok Sabha on
Monday. Juvenile
Justice (Care and
Protection of Chil-
dren) Amendment
Bill, Turn to P6
‘Will take up UK
racism matters
when required’
New Delhi: India will
champion the fight
against discrimination
and will take up the
matters of racism
against Indian students
with the UK, said the
External Affairs Minis-
ter S Jaishankar in Ra-
jya Sabha on Monday
.
“We will raise it
whenever required and
we will always champi-
on the fight against rac-
ism and other forms of
intolerance,” the Minis-
ter said. Jaishankar’s
response came after a
question Turn to P6
NO CONSPIRACY: SHAH’S DIG AS RALLY
CANCELLED DUE TO CHOPPER SNAG
NADDA TO HOLD ROADSHOW
AND RALLY IN WB TODAY
SENSEX TANKS 397 PTS; NIFTY
SLIPS BELOW 15K
ECI ORDER: WB GOVT APPOINTS
NEW DIRECTOR SECURITY
Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday said that a technical snag which
was detected in his helicopter wasn’t a ‘conspiracy.’ Shah’s remark was
in direct reference to WB CM Mamata Banerjee’s allegations of a ‘conspiracy’
against her in the wake of an alleged attack in Nandigram on March 10. “I’m a
little late today because of some glitch in my helicopter but I won’t call it a con-
spiracy,” Shah was quoted as saying by news agency ANI at a rally in Ranibandh
in Bankura district. The rally was to be Shah’s second of the day in WB; the first
one, in Jhargram, was held virtually after the BJP leader’s helicopter developed a
technical glitch. “Mamata ji has a leg injury, it’s now known how she got it. TMC
calls it a conspiracy but EC says it was an accident,” he further said.
New Delhi: BJP National
President JP Nadda will
be on a one-day visit to
West Bengal on Tuesday.
He will hold a roadshow
from Kumari Takiz cinema
hall to the bus stand
in Bishnupur of West
Bengal’s Bankura district
at 11 am in support of
the BJP candidate. Later
in the day, he will chair a
meeting to review election
preparedness with Bishnupur district office-bearers.
After this Nadda will address a public rally at Ghaush-
ali Para Kali Mandir ground in Kotulpur at 3 pm. —ANI
Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled 397
points on Monday, tracking losses in index heavy-
weights Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and ICICI
Bank amid weak macroeconomic cues. After gyrating
1,035.71 points during the day, the 30-share BSE index
ended 397 points or 0.78 per cent lower at 50,395.08.
The broader NSE Nifty finished 101.45 points or 0.67
per cent down at 14,929.50. Bajaj Finserv was the top
loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent,
followed by Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, L&T.
Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Monday
appointed IPS officer Gyanwant Singh as the new
director security in place of Vivek Sahay who was
removed by the Election Commission of India (ECI)
over the incident in Nandigram in which CM Mamata
Banerjee was injured, an official said. Chief Sec-
retary Alapan Bandyopadhyay held a meeting with
Director General of Police P Nirajnayan and decided
to appoint Singh, who was the additional director
security, for the post. —ANI
Modi incompetent,
says Didi in Purulia
Purulia: Launching a
scathing attack on the
Centre, West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee on Monday
said the “Prime Minis-
ter is totally incompe-
tent, cannot run the
country”.
Addressing a public
meeting in Purulia sit-
ting on a wheelchair,
Banerjee said, “Prime
Minister is totally in-
competent, cannot run
the country. An auto-
cratic government is
being run at the Centre.
She alleged that the
BJP-led central govern-
ment suppresses the
voice raised against
them. “I will continue
to fight against them.
BJP hatao, desh bachao
(remove BJP, save the
country),” she said.
Stating BJP, Con-
gress and the Left Front
as ‘three brothers’, Ba-
nerjee raised the slo-
gan, “Chaie na BJP ke
chaie na, Turn to P6
PROTEST AFTER
BJP CANDIDATE
LIST IN KOLKATA
Huge protests started
outside BJP office in Kol-
kata as party announced
its 2nd list of candidates.
Dramatic visuals from the
area showed hundreds
of people jostling and
shouting. Sources said
the protesters are from
Panchla in Howrah, the
twin city of Kolkata that
lies across the Ganga.
Batla House: Convict Ariz
Khan sentenced to death
New Delhi: A Delhi
court Monday awarded
death penalty to Ariz
Khan for the murder of
decorated Delhi Police
InspectorMohanChand
Sharma in connection
with the sensational
2008 Batla House en-
counter case, saying the
offence fell under the
“rarest of the rare cat-
egory” warranting the
maximum sentence.
Additional Sessions
Judge Sandeep Yadav
said Ariz be hanged by
neck till death.
Inspector Sharma of
the police’s special cell
was killed during the
Batla House encounter
between the police and
alleged terrorists in Ja-
mia Nagar in south
Delhi following serial
bomb blasts in the na-
tional capital in which
39 people died and 159
were injured. Turn to P6
Bank strike affected cheque
clearance of `16,500 cr: Unions
New Delhi: Banking
services such as cash
withdrawals, deposits,
cheque clearing and
business transactions
were impacted across
the country on Monday
,
the day one of the PSU
bank union’s strike,
againsttheproposedpri-
vatisation of two more
state-owned lenders.
Over a million bank
employees from over
80,000 branches across
India participated on
first day of the two-day
bank strike that affect-
ed clearances of
cheques and other pay-
ment instruments
worth `16,500 crore,
bank unions said.
Payment instru-
ments like cheques, de-
mand drafts and pay
orders are processed by
three large centres in
the country
. Turn to P6
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee addresses a public rally while
sitting on a wheelchair, in Purulia on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Ariz Khan alias Junaid has been awarded death penalty. —FILE PHOTO
A view of closed Indian Bank during strike called by United Forum
of Bank Unions over various demands, in Patna on Monday. —ANI
SHAH PROMISES TO IMPLEMENT 7TH PAY COMMISSION IF BJP FORMS GOVT IN BENGAL
S Jaishankar
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah addresses an election
campaign rally, in Bankura, on
Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
NEET to be held
only once this
year: Pokhriyal
Union Education
Minister Ramesh
Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
on Monday an-
nounced that the Na-
tional Eligibility Cum
Entrance Test (NEET)
for undergraduate will
be conducted by Na-
tional Testing Agency
(NTA) only one time
in 2021, said the
Minister in a written
reply to Lok Sabha.

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2021
02
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A few im-
portant decisions were
taken at the State BJP
Working Committee
(SWC) meet with re-
gards to the upcoming
Panchayat elections in
Uttar Pradesh.
BJP will now be field-
ing candidates for all
3051 Zilla Panchayat
member posts, in addi-
tion to the 826 key posts.
Support will be extend-
ed by the party to pre-
ferred candidates of
BDC and Pradhan
posts.
The party, which will
run as many as eight
campaigns in the state,
will be soon start with
the campaigning pro-
cess.
The SWC has also de-
cided to organise vari-
ous programmes on
March 19—the day
when Yogi government
completes the fourth
year of its regime in Ut-
tar Pradesh. This will
be followed by a num-
ber of programmes be-
ing organised in all 403
assembly constituen-
cies in the state on
March 20.
The programmes will
cover all areas where
Panchayat elections are
to be organised, and
will register presence
of all BJP MLAs and
MPs in Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP leaders are
likely to meet farmers
on March 21 to spread
awareness with regards
to works done by the
government for their
benefit.
After farmers, the
BJP leaders will reach
out to the youths in the
party on March 22 to
showcase steps taken
by the state government
to increase employment
in the state.
The next day (March
23), will witness leaders
from the ruling BJP
meeting and encourag-
ing women across the
state of Uttar Pradesh,
followed by contact
campaigning on March
25 and March 26.
SWC prepares a to-do list directed towards Panchayat elections
MANTHAN
State BJP Chief Swatantra Dev Singh, felicitates Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in presence of Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma and other BJP leaders. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
CM lambasts
opposition for
questioning
‘encounters’
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Lambast-
ing Opposition par-
ties for questioning
police encounters of
criminals, Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath said these par-
ties always patron-
ised the organised
crime and the crimi-
nals.
“It is quite natu-
ral for them to feel
upset because the
criminals having
been nurtured by
them are on the
run in BJP govern-
ment,” the CM said
on Monday.
He said it was be-
cause of the zero tol-
erance policy of his
government that the
goons who used to
get political protec-
tion were today seek-
ing refuge in other
states and begging
for their lives.
The Opposition
were provoking
farmers against the
new farm laws for
their own political
agenda, he said.
Yogi said that in
the last four years,
the government has
worked with commit-
ment in securing in-
vestment, providing
employment, con-
trolling crimes
against women and
making payment to
farmers.
“ It is due to a con-
ducive atmosphere
that today UP is sec-
ond in investment,
which used to be on
16th and 17th rung, “
he pointed out.
CM YOGI ENCOURAGES PARTYMEN TO TAKE THE DEVELOPMENTAL WORKS TO GRASSROOT LEVEL
Ensure word-of-mouth publicity
of govt works: CM to workers
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Ahead of
the three-tier panchay-
at polls, UP Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
exhorted party workers
to get vocal and spread
the message to grass-
root level about the
schemes and steps tak-
en by both the State and
Central government for
peoples welfare.
“Do not be tongue
tied. Go armed with
facts and figures of gov-
ernment schemes in
your cellphones to peo-
ple and tell them about
the schemes meant for
them. This is the time to
be vocal. We have intro-
duced welfare schemes
for the people and they
should know it,” said
the UP CM while speak-
ing in the concluding
session of the state
working committee
meeting of the BJP here
on Monday
.
He specifically talked
about three insurance
schemes the govern-
ment has launched.
This includes Suraksha
Bima for Resident or
migrant person from
UP, Rs 5 lakh medical
insurance cover under
Ayushman Bharat and
Rs 2 lakh insurance
cover for share cropper
or batohi.
“From March 19 to 26
special campaigns
would be held across UP
where party leaders
would tell people about
government schemes.
Emphasise on these
three insurance
schemes. Tell people
that the government
will ensure that every
poor resident of the
state gets an Ayush-
man card. The state will
also ensure safety of
Batohis, if something
goes wrong with them-
during sharecropping,”
the Chief Minister said.
He said in the last
four years the BJP gov-
ernment has achieved
milestones, which no
other party could ever
dream of.
“We have given over
40 lakh houses to the
poor, toilets have been
given to the villagers
and during pandemic
the government has
provided free ration
and Rs 2000 to the
poor people across
the state.”, the CM
said.
“We are working for
the welfare of the farm-
ers as we are committed
to double their income.
Welfare of farmers was
never in the agenda of
the previous govern-
ments. They are spread-
ing lies about the new
farm laws whereas the
fact is not a single man-
di has been closed in UP
.
Farmers are being paid
as per MSP,” he added.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, State BJP Chief Swatantra Dev Singh CM Yogi, Deputy CMs Dinesh
Sharma and Keshav Prasad Maurya, state’s Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, UP’s Finance
Minister Suresh Khanna, State General Secretary Sunil Bansal and other leaders at BJP’s SWC meet.
Defence Minister and former UP CM Rajnath Singh speaks after the inaugural honours.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the first State Working Committee meet, under the
leadership of State BJP Chief Swatantra Dev Singh, on Monday. Swatantra Dev Singh also feted the
Defence Minister and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the occasion.
Members of State Working Committee stand during National Anthem. —ALL PHOTOS BY SUMIT KUMAR
Chief Minister Yogi on
Monday said that
Uttar Pradesh climbed
upto the second posi-
tion in investment in four
years and was way ahead
of the previous regimes
in providing employment
opportunities, adding that
the party workers
were the real strength
behind the govern-
ment and asked them
to strengthen the
cadre at booth
level ahead of
Panchayat polls.
CM’s twitter han-
dle on Monday
retweeted and echoed
the sentiments of The
President of India, Ram
Nath Kovind, who said
that river Ganga should
not just be considered
as a river, but should be
respected as the lifeline
of the nation and a
carrier of India cultural
values. The handle also
retweeted the Presi-
dent’s reference to the
famous song, Jis Desh
Mein Ganga Behti Hai.
Yogi Speaks
Yogi Speaks
CM Yogi said It
was due to the
conducive atmos-
phere that today UP
which used to be on
16th and 17th rung,
was today on second
position. The Chief
Minister also said
that the farmers
were never on the
agenda of Congress
and the latter was
only misleading
them for its own
political agenda.
CLEAN’ AGREEMENT
Covid-19: CS directs random check of passengers
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Chairing a
video conference with
all Divisional Commis-
sioners and District
Magistrates to review
progress in Covid-19
vaccination, Water Life
Mission, PM Swanidhi
Yojana, Prime Minister
Kisan Samman Yojana,
Environment, Public
Grievances Redressal,
removal of encroach-
ment on ponds, estab-
lishing of cow protec-
tion centers, prepara-
tion of wheat procure-
ment etc., Chief Secre-
tary Rajendra Kumar
Tiwari said in some
states like Maharash-
tra, Kerala, Punjab,
Karnataka, Delhi etc,
the corona infection
was increasing in the
form of second third
wave and some dis-
tricts UP witnessed
marginal increase in
infection, requiring
more awareness and
vigilance.
He said Integrated
Control and Com-
mand Centers should
be made fully active
in all districts and all
DM, CMO and other
officers should meet
daily to review pro-
gress of testing, con-
tact tracing and sur-
veillance. He added
that random and pre-
liminary checks of
passengers should be
ensured at railway
stations and airports.
The Chief Secretary
said vaccination drive
was going on success-
fully across Uttar
Pradesh, and instruct-
ed officials that 100 per-
cent vaccination of
health workers and
front line workers
should be ensured.
CM Yogi Adityanath
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
CS RK Tiwari chairing the conference.
HEART FOR ART!
Dr. Neelkanth Tiwari, Minister of State, Tourism, Culture and Religious Affairs, singer
Padmashree Malini Awasthi and ACS (Home) Awanish Awasthi feted Padamshree Gulabo
Sapera with Lok Nirmala Samman on Monday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR

UTTAR PRADESH
03
TWO SCHOOL
STUDENTS KILLED
AS BUS HITS BIKE
WOMAN TRIES TO SELF-IMMOLATE
IN FRONT OF UP ASSEMBLY
Muzaffar nag ar:
Two school students
died after their mo-
torcycle got hit by a
speeding bus in
Shamli district, po-
lice said on Monday
.
The incident oc-
curred near Alem vil-
lage on Sunday even-
ing, Kandhla police
station incharge Ro-
zan Tyagi said. The
deceased were identi-
fied as Priyanshu (16)
and Rihan (17), stu-
dents of classes 9 and
10 respectively, the
officer said.
CRIME ROUND UP
First India Bureau
Lucknow: District
Magistrate Abhishek
Prakash said here on
Monday that in view
of increasing cases of
covid in Maharashtra,
Chhattisgarh, Mad-
hya Pradesh, Punjab
and Jammu and Kash-
mir, more alertness
was required as all
these states had direct
connectivity with Luc-
know. Chairing a
meeting at the collec-
torate, the DM said
the pace of tracing
and testing done by
RRT teams will have
to be increased. Also,
every CHC surveil-
lance team should be
activated and a door-
to-door survey should
be done to locate pa-
tients with ILI and
SARI symptoms.
He directed that ICCC
should be re-activated
like earlier for checking
the spread of Covid-19.
Further, Prakash
directed for making
Municipal Commis-
sioner as nodal offic-
er of urban area and
CDO of rural area.
He said police force
would be deployed at
railway station, bus
stands and airport
and sampling of peo-
ple would be done. A
week’s travel history
of all people arriving
from outside would
be gathered.
He directed that all
new cases detected
should be reviewed
with their travel histo-
ry and contact tracing.
He said a review meet-
ing should be held eve-
ryday under the chair-
manship of Municipal
Commissioner and
Chief Development Of-
ficer for effective con-
trol of Covid.
The DM ordered for
deploying police in old
containment zones be-
sides ensuring compli-
ance of sanitation and
Covid protocol.
He said testing, trac-
ing and surveillance as
well as vaccination
would be carried out on
a war footing. In urban
and rural areas, strict
compliance of masks
and social distancing
would be ensured and
strict action will be tak-
en against those who
fail to comply. The DM
said next one month
was sensitive from the
point of view of infec-
tion and everyone need-
ed to remain cautious.
He further informed
that field visits would
be done by him wherein
physical verification of
vaccination, tracing,
testing and surveil-
lance would be done.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Yogi
Adityanath government
on Monday claimed it
had given out Rs 56,000
crore into the bank ac-
counts of beneficiaries
including famers under
variousschemethrough
Direct Benefit Transfer
(DBT)andsavedRs4,402
crore in the process.
Though DBT started
in 2013 under UPA gov-
ernment on pilot basis,
it took off in a major
way only under Modi
government after the
LPG subsidy scheme
was commenced
through the mecha-
nism. Ever since, DBT
has not only helped
check irregularities in
the name of subsidy in
the state but has also put
an end to the role of
middlemen. According
top priority to DBT, the
Yogi government
streamlined funds
transfer and the mode
of payment was being
adopted for beneficiar-
ies of 136 schemes of 27
departments. “The state
government has saved
Rs4,402.05crorethrough
DBT in seven schemes
of the Central and state
government,” said plan-
ning department offi-
cial.
Apart from curbing
corruption, the elec-
tronic transfer of mon-
ey came in handy for
farmers, labourers, stu-
dents and pensioners,
specially during the
lockdown last year.
First India Bureau
Lucknow:District Mag-
istrate of Lucknow, Ab-
hishek Prakash chaired
a meeting to oversee the
preparation / arrange-
ment for the upcoming
Holi festival at the Dr.
APJ Abdul Kalam Audi-
torium on Monday
. The
DM gave instructions to
theofficialstomaintain-
ing peace and order in
the city
.
The DM also instruct-
ed the Deputy DM, Ad-
ditional Municipal Mag-
istrates and area in-
charge to jointly visit
their respective areas to
check upon the ‘Holika
Dahan’ sites so that no
issues arises due to that.
He directed the Mu-
nicipal Corporation to
ensure cleanliness,
sprinkling of lime and
lighting at the ‘Holika
Dahan’ sites.
He also directed the
officials of the Water
Department to make
sure that all arrange-
ments are made for the
presence of water tank-
ers at the designated
sites and to ensure pres-
ence of reserve water
tankers in case of emer-
gencies.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Police were
on alert after Samajwa-
di Party (SP) president
Akhilesh Yadav had
tweeted copy of FIR and
stated that he could
place hoardings of that.
After his intimation
some controversial post-
ers were pasted near
1090 crossing featuring
Akhilesh and CM Yogi.
Police sources here
said that all such contro-
versial poster were re-
moved in a few hours.
Posters were displaying
recent charges on Akh-
ielsh Yadav after scuffle
with his security per-
sonnel and journalists
in Moradabad. Along
with that posters had
photograph of CM Yogi
mentioning the charges
removed from him.
Case was registered
against 21 persons in-
cludingformerCMAkh-
ilesh Yadav in matter of
scuffle. Akhilesh had
tweeted that FIR on him
was representing falling
BJP
.
First India Bureau
New Delhi/Lucknow:
The CBI has booked five
lieutenant colonel-rank
officers, 12 other per-
sonnel and six civilians
for alleged corruption
in recruitment in the
Army through Service
Selection Board cen-
tres, officials said on
Monday
.
CBI carried out
searches at 30 locations
spread across 13 cities,
including Lucknow, Ka-
purthala, Bathinda,
Delhi, Kaithal, Palwal,
Bareilly, Lucknow,
Gorakhpur, Vizag,
Jaipur, Guwahati,
Jorhat and Chirangon.
Lt Col MCSNA Bhag-
wan of the Army Air
Defence Corps, the al-
leged mastermind of
the recruitment racket,
is among those booked.
“Several incriminating
documents related to re-
cruitment process were
recovered,” CBI spokes-
person RC Joshi said.
First India Bureau
Pratapgarh: Four peo-
ple, including a woman,
died after consuming
spurious liquor in
Pratapgarh district, po-
lice said on Monday
.
Fourpolicepersonnel,
including the Nawab-
ganj police station in-
charge, have been sus-
pended following the in-
cident at Manoharpur
Rampur Dabi village in
Sangramgarh police sta-
tionarea,anofficersaid.
The four residents
purchased liquor from
Babulal Patel on Satur-
day and consumed it.
They were admitted to
Sangramgarh commu-
nity health centre as
their condition deterio-
rated, Allahabad Range
IG Kavindra Pratap
Singh said. The four
people died on Sunday
night. The deceased
were identified as Suni-
ta Saroj (55), husband
Jawaharlal Saroj (56),
Vijay Kumar (35) & Ram
Prasad (40).
Janardan Misra
Lucknow: Ankita, wife
of Ayush attempted sui-
cide by cutting wrist ac-
cusing her husband, in-
laws and police of not
heeding to her griev-
ances. She was rushed
to the hospital where
herconditionwasstated
to be stable.
Earlier, a video of An-
kita went viral on social
media accusing her hus-
band of ditching her.
She alleged that neither
her in-laws nor police
were heeding to her
grievances and she was
going to end her life. She
said Ayush refused to
talk with her and his fa-
ther BJP MP Kaushal
Kishore also ignored
her calls. Ankita said
her husband had threat-
ened her for life. She ac-
cused she was ignored at
the police station as
Ayush’s father was lead-
er of the ruling party
.
Admn gearsuptotakeoncovidsurge
DBT helped save
over `4,000
crore for UP govt
DM chairs meeting on Holi
preparations, guides officials
CBI books 5 Lt Col
rank army officials
Hooch Tragedy: 4 cops
suspended over deaths
Firing On MP’s Son:Ayush’s
wife attempts suicide
Controversial Akhilesh,Yogi posters removed
Enhanced contact tracing, testing, door-to-door survey, daily review meeting, police presence planned
District Magistrate chairing the covid review meet on Monday.
CM Yogi at an event on Monday —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
STRESSONPUBLICAWARENESS
First India Bureau
New Delhi/Lucknow:
A 28-year-old man want-
ed in the notorious
criminal Ajit Singh
murder case in Uttar
Pradesh was arrested
here early on Monday,
police said.
Rajesh Tomar alias
Jai, a resident of Ali-
garh district, was appre-
hended when he tried to
evade police checking in
the Swaroop Nagar
area in north east Delhi,
they said
“Tomar is involved in
several criminal cases.
He was carrying a re-
ward of Rs 50,000 on his
head and wanted in the
famous Ajit Singh mur-
der case that took place
on January 6, 2021, in
Lucknow,” Deputy Com-
missionerof Police(out-
er north) Rajiv Ranjan
Singh said.
A sophisticated im-
ported pistol with five
live cartridges was
seized from his posses-
sion, he said.
Man wanted
inAjit murder
case held
First India Bureau
Bahraich: A pregnant
Gangetic river dolphin
was found dead in Giri-
japuri barrage under
the Katarniyaghat Wild-
life Sanctuary here, an
official said on Monday
.
The dolphin was aged
around 11 years, divi-
sional forest officer
Yashwant Singh said.
According to Singh, a
team of vets conducted
a post-mortem of the
dead dolphin and a fetus
was found in its uterus.
Singh said the dol-
phin was cremated ac-
cording to rules.
The Gangetic river
dolphins, a species of
freshwater dolphins pri-
marilyfoundintheGan-
ga and Brahmaputra
rivers and their tribu-
taries in India, Bangla-
desh and Nepal, were
declared national aquat-
ic species in 2010.
As per official fig-
ures, there are about
3,700 Gangetic river dol-
phins in the Indian riv-
er systems.
Pregnant
Gangetic
dolphin
found dead
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A Lucknow
bench of the Allahabad
High Court on Monday
directed the State Gov-
ernment to take 2015 as
the base year for rota-
tion of reserved seats
for the three-tier Pan-
chayat Polls.
The order was passed
by a two-member bench
comprising Justice Rit-
uraj Awasthi and Jus-
tice Manish Mathur.
It directed the govern-
ment to release the final
list of rotated seats by
March 27 to complete
the poll process by May
25. The bench passed the
verdict in a PIL filed by
one Ajay Kumar who
had challenged the deci-
sion of the State govern-
ment of rotating re-
served seats taking 1995
as the base year.
The HC verdict is be-
ing viewed as a setback
to the state government
which had carried out a
majorexerciseoverquo-
ta and announced the
final list to seek objec-
tions. The revised final
list was to be published
on March 17 after taking
a call on objections.
With the court ruling,
the government will
have to do the entire ex-
ercise for rotating re-
served seats again. The
State Panchayati Raj de-
partment will have to
work day and night to do
the process again as per
theHCorderinlessthan
12 days. There is already
adelayinthepanchayati
elections. They were to
be held by Jan 15 this
year. But due to rotation
of reserved seats, it was
delayed. The AAP has
already released a list of
400 candidates. AAP Ut-
tar Pradesh In-Charge
Sanjay Singh said they
will change the party
candidates as per the re-
vised list of rotated re-
served seats.
Panchayat Polls: Take 2015 as base yr for seat rotation, HC to govt
RUSH AGAINST TIME

It asked the govt
to release final
list of rotated
seats by Mar 27
to complete the
poll process
by May 25
—FIle
Photo
Ankita at the hospital
The govt transferred
` 2806.10 crore as
subsidy on gas
cylinders.
DM Abhishek Prakash
The suspended
include Nawabganj
PS in-charge
Lucknow: A woman tried to self-immolate in
front of Assembly here but due to swiftness of
security guards there the untoward situation was
averted.
Police sources said that security personnel de-
ployed near the assembly intercepted a suspi-
cious woman carrying a bottle of kerosine with
her. When she was detained, she alleged that po-
lice were ignoring her grievances after a man
sexually abused her.
It was the second incident in a week when a
woman tried to self-immolate in front of assem-
bly. During interrogation she told police that
she was sexually abused by a man on pretext of
marriage.
When she complained about it in Ashiyana po-
lice station, they were ignoring her issue for the
past six months.
Police have registered her complaint and fur-
ther actions would be taken after investigations.
GROWTH PATH
ACS Information Navneet Sehgal speaking at an event
on Monday explaining the benefits of UP govt’s ODOP
scheme.
Posters of Akhilesh Yadav and CM Yogi near 1090 crossing.

Vol 1 Issue No. 122 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi Industrial Area Kanpur Road Lucknow.
Published at 98, Friend’’s Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP). Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVE
04
here is no
shortage of
disciplines and
industries rife
with sexism.
The STEM fields – sci-
ence, technology, engi-
neering and mathematics
– are particularly well
known for their misogy-
nistic cultures.
But I believe, based on
my personal experience,
the experiences of my fel-
low female economists and
hard data, that there’s a
strong case to be made that
economics is the worst aca-
demic field in which to be
a woman.
And the consequences
of this aren’t felt only by
the women who work in
the field and must endure
sexist policies and hostile
behavior. Government
policies would likely look
very different were more
women involved in draft-
ing them.
THE NUMBERS
DON’T LIE
Most people realize that
women are underrepre-
sented in STEM fields.
But even though women
are actually less well rep-
resented in economics,
there seems to be little
awareness of how bad
things are in that field –
and how slowly they’re
changing.
The field of economics is
dominated by men, in
terms of both faculty and
students, with dispropor-
tionately few women and
members of historically
underrepresented racial
and ethnic minority
groups, relative to the over-
all population and to other
academic disciplines.
By rank, women repre-
sent fewer than 15% of full
professors in economics
departments and 31% of
faculty at the assistant lev-
el. Altogether, just 22% of
tenured and tenure-track
faculty in economics are
women, according to a sur-
vey the American Econom-
ic Association conducted
last year.
By many measures, the
gender gap in economics is
the largest of any academ-
ic discipline. For example,
women received about 30%
of doctorate and bachelor
degrees in economics in
2014 – the same as in 1995
– compared with 45% to
60% of degrees in busi-
ness, humanities and the
STEM fields. That’s the lat-
est year for which compa-
rable figures are available.
A LACK OF ROLE
MODELS AND SEXISM
It may seem strange that
the field of economics
would have such a gaping
gender gap when one of
the most powerful econo-
mists in the world, Janet
Yellen, is a woman. She’s
currently the U.S. treasury
secretary and was chair of
the Federal Reserve from
2014 to 2018.
Women are notoriously
underrepresented at the
top of the economics field.
Just eight of the 140 Fed
presidents appointed since
1914 have been women, as
are barely a fifth of cur-
rent members of the Na-
tional Bureau of Economic
Research – one of the most
influential economic poli-
cy think tanks in the U.S.
ECONOMICS’
DIVERSITY PROBLEM
Achieving more gender
and other kinds of diver-
sity in economics isn’t just
about political correctness.
Diversity leads to better
results and policies by al-
tering group dynamics and
decision-making.
Decades of research by
organizational scientists,
psychologists, sociologists,
economists and demogra-
phers show that being
around people who are dif-
ferent from ourselves – and
not just by gender, but by
race, class, ethnicity and
sexual orientation – makes
people more creative, dili-
gent and hard-working.
Source - The Conversation
TWO TEMPLES AND
A BUNCH OF CASES
FOR PUJA RIGHTS
he Gyanvapi mosque at Kashi and
a 17th century mosque which
stands adjacent to the Krishna
Janmabhoomi in Mathura have
been an eyesore for the Rashtriya
Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the Vishwa Hin-
du Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal who
together ran a movement which brought
down the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Bharati-
ya Janata Party leader Subramaniam Swa-
my said to Muslims in 2016, “Give us three
temples, keep 39,997 mosques. The objective
a Ram temple in Ayodhya having been
achieved, the focus has shifted to Kashi and
Mathura with petitions being filed in Vara-
nasi and Mathura courts. A suit was filed in
a Varanasi court seeking worshipping rights
in the temple of Lord Adi Visheshwar and
Goddess Maa Shringar Gauri located in the
Gyanvapi mosque which is adjacent to the
Kashi Vishwanath temple. The case has been
filed even as the Allahabad High Court is set
to hear a plea against its maintainability.
Parallelly, additional district and sessions
judge Dev Kant Shukla admitted a plea for
the removal of the mosque near the birth-
place of Lord Krishna. According to the
judge the plea was maintainable, therefore,
admissible. Besides this, there are three
more suits pending before courts in Mathu-
ra. The lawyer in one of these suits is HS
Jain, who is also representing plaintiffs in
the Gyanvapi case in Varanasi.
These are well thought of moves by the
Hindus. Take the matter to court and then
resort to other means to settle the dispute in
case the litigation drags on for decades as
happened in the case of Ram Janmbhoomi.
The concerted attempt being made to set the
record straight, points to a tense and commu-
nally charged future.
These are, however, side shows. A bigger
and more significant development has been
the Supreme Court agreeing to relook at the
Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act
of 1991. The law prevents conversion of re-
ligious places and maintains their character
as it existed on August 15, 1947. In his peti-
tion BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay
stated that the Act takes away rights of Hin-
dus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs to reclaim
their places of worship through courts. If
done away with, it will open a Pandora’s Box
in the name of undoing the acts of medieval
invaders.
Not only these three temples, a suit has also
been filed before the Civil Judge Senior Divi-
sion at Saket District Court claiming that
Qutub Complex, where the famous Qutub
Minar is located, originally housed 27 Jain
and Hindu temples which were destroyed by
Qutb-ud-din Aibak in the 12th century. The
case has been filed on behalf of Lord Vishnu
and Lord Rishabh Dev. The plaintiff has de-
manded worshipping rights.
This sudden upsurge in cases by Hindus
for worshipping rights over Gyanvapi, Ma-
thura and Qutub Complex will keep the na-
tion on tenterhooks.
IN-DEPTH
T
ou have just finished your
meal; you tell yourself that this
evening you are going to clean
and organize your desk or you
have a project to complete that
is pending for weeks or even
months. But before you get
started, you tell yourself, why
not relax for a moment? So, you
turn on the TV – ‘just for a few
minutes.’ Before you know it,
the evening is gone. The task
you planned to do will have to
wait again.
Do we see ourselves in the
above description? Putting it
off, postponing or procrastinat-
ing is the most common ten-
dency among many. There is
hardly anyone who has not at
one time or another said to one-
self, “I know I should be doing
it, but…”
Procrastination makes it-
self manifest in our lives in
many different guises and it
is easy for the habit to be-
come ingrained in us. We
can tell ourselves, “I’ll do
better next time,” and that is
the beginning of a losing
battle. There may not always
be a “next time.”
The lazier a person is, the
more he says he is going to do
it tomorrow. The saying, “To-
morrow is often the busiest day
of the year,” reflects the ten-
dency to delay
.
Procrastination means to
put off intentionally and ha-
bitually the doing of something
that should be done.
Have we not all, at one time
or another, made personal reso-
lutions to do something? How-
ever, it is one thing to make a
personal resolve and quite an-
other to carry it out. This is
because matters do come up
unexpectedly, some of which
demand our immediate atten-
tion. Unless we promptly carry
it out, we will be continually
postponing it. This usually
leads to our forgetting about
our good intentions or giving
up the whole idea.
As stress and pressure
mount, many find relief by
pushing the task into the back-
ground and relishing the newly
found ‘free time’, until the pres-
sure builds up again as one gets
closer to the deadline. This se-
riously affects our creative
ability and hampers our pro-
ductivity at work.
Procrastinators put them-
selves under so much pressure
by delaying action that they
suffer more stress related ill-
ness than others, like head-
aches, back-pains, colds, sleep-
ing problems and allergies.
Many put off doing work on
time because they feel they
have the motivation to do some-
thing only at the last minute, or
they do not have the desire to
do anything due to lack of self
discipline.
Different people procras-
tinate at different stages.
Some before starting be-
cause they view the project
as too big. Others begin, but
half way through, their en-
thusiasm wanes, and they
put off finishing it. Still oth-
ers get close to completing it
but start another project,
leaving the first one unfin-
ished.
Generally, procrastinators
are not time conscious and do
not know how to manage time
so they are not able to do things
on time. Thus, large corpora-
tions often attempt to teach
their employees time manage-
ment techniques. But when it
comes to putting the “learn-
ings” to good use, most tend to
procrastinate as usual.
The feeling of inadequacy
or incompetence makes most
people postpone doing work.
Putting things off acts as a
buffer for their shaky sense of
self worth. Their fear of criti-
cism prevents them from even
starting.
Doing work at the last min-
ute may be a person’s way of
excusing his shoddy work be-
cause one can then say, “if only
I had more time!”
Since procrastination is a
form of avoidance, to overcome
it, one must be able to evaluate
the reason, importance and the
true worth of the task at hand.
So, the next time we wonder
why certain things we intended
to do get put off so often, we
can stop and ask ourselves –
Are these things really impor-
tant? Do they serve a useful
purpose? And if so, what is pre-
venting me from doing them?
The remedy is to get start-
ed even if we do not complete
the work now. To create in-
centive, we can make a to-do
list. We can slice down big
tasks into several small size
ones. Doing uninteresting
tasks first helps us to look
forward to more enjoyable
activities. Planning for inter-
ruptions as we work, allows
us to take care of it without
getting upset. Besides, tak-
ing short breaks to pause,
stretch and reflect, helps in
better concentration.
In view of the transient na-
ture of life, by taking a serious
look at our priorities and our
habits, we will do now what we
resolve in our heart and not put
things off.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
TOMORROW NEVER COMES
PROCRASTINATION
Y
Generally,
procrastinators
are not time
conscious and
do not know
how to manage
time so they are
not able to do
things on time.
Thus, large
corporations
often attempt to
teach their
employees time
management
techniques. But
when it comes
to putting the
“learnings” to
good use, most
tend to
procrastinate
as usual
REKHA
KUMAR
Do we see ourselves
in above description?
Putting it off,
postponing or
procrastinating is
common tendency
among many; there is
hardly anyone who has
not said to oneself, “I
know I should be doing
it, but…
The writer is a personal
development trainer working
with corporate and SME sector
Gender gap in economics is huge – it’s worse than tech
T
Work for work’s sake, not
for yourself. Act but do not
be attached to your actions.
Be in the world, but not of it
—Bhagavad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavdekar
Kudos to the efforts of these
forest rangers for their
commendable forest-based
livelihood initiatives that helped
the people of a local community in
Uttarakhand increase their income
over 10 fold since last October.
Ravi Shankar Prasad
@rsprasad
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
is making more and more women
in rural areas a part of the formal
economy. 23.25 Crore women
beneficiaries all over India are
part this financial service.
ACHIEVING MORE
GENDER AND OTHER
KINDS OF DIVERSITY
IN ECONOMICS ISN’T
JUST ABOUT
POLITICAL
CORRECTNESS

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INDIA
05
Purulia: West Bengal
Banerjee while address-
ing a public meeting in
Purulia on Monday said
that Trinamool Con-
gress(TMC)government
willdeliverfreerationto
the people of West Ben-
gal at their doorsteps if
voted to power.
“TMC government
will remain in power,
you will continue to get
free ration. We will de-
liver ration to your
doorstep. You don’t
have to come to the shop
after May,” said Baner-
jee. “My government
has taken the decision
in the budget to give Rs
1,000 to all the widows,”
she said adding that a
pension of Rs 2,000 was
also provided in the
Budget for tribals aged
above 60 years.
“This is the only state
that has not snatched
the land rights of trib-
als,” Banerjee said.
She slammed BJP by
saying, “Did they give
you Rs 15 lakhs as they
promised? Remember,
people cannot be pur-
chased with money. On
one side, we are doing
development activities
and on the other side
BJP is increasing fuel
and gas prices”.
“How did BJP be-
come rich all of a sud-
den? They have earned
a lot by selling banks,”
she alleged.
Banerjee said to the
people, “Don’t bow
down your head. If ide-
ologies, character, mor-
al and values are lost,
everything will be lost.”
WILL DELIVER RATION AT DOORSTEPS: MAMATA
DELHI MAY FACE HUGE WATER
CRISES: SATYENDAR JAIN
New Delhi: Delhi may
face a huge water supply
cut of about 25 per
cent as the canals from
Bhakra dam in Punjab
will be closed, Health
Minister Satyendar Jain
said on Monday. “There
may be a huge water
supply cut of about 25
per cent as the Punjab
administration has said
that the canal from
Bhakra dam will be
closed. We are talking
to them. If the supply is
disrupted then there will
be an outcry in Delhi,”
said Jain. Earlier on
Sunday, the Delhi Jal
Board (DJB) said water
supply in several areas of
east Delhi was hit due to
repair work to fix leakage
and added the supply is
likely to be restored.
BJP TRYING TO ‘CURTAIL
POWERS’ OF ELECTED GOVT
New Delhi: CM Kejriw-
al on Monday accused
BJP of trying to “cur-
tail powers” of elected
government through
a Bill in LS. Referring
to the Gov of National
Capital Territory of
Delhi (Amendment)
Bill, 2021, Kejriwal
condemned the BJP’s
anti-democracy move.
“After being rejected
by ppl of Del, BJP
seeks to curtail powers
of elected govt thro
a Bill in LS. Bill is
contrary to Constitu-
tion Bench judgement.
We strongly condemn
BJP’s anti-democracy,”
Kejriwal tweeted.
OM BIRLA INAUGURATES CGHS
HEALTH CAMP IN PARLIAMENT
New Delhi: LS Speak-
er Om Birla inaugurat-
ed the Central Govern-
ment Health Scheme
(CGHS) health camp in
Parliament House An-
nexe on Monday. Rajya
Sabha Deputy Chair-
man Harivansh, Union
Minister for Health
and Family Welfare Dr
Harsh Vardhan, Union
Minister of Parliamen-
tary Affairs Pralhad
Joshi, Union Minister
of State for Parliamen-
tary Affairs Arjun Ram
Meghal, Union Minister
of State for External Af-
fairs V Muraleedharan
also participated were
also present there.
PM MODI CONDOLES DEMISE OF
MAESTRO CHEMANCHERI
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Monday expressed his
condolences on the death
of Kathakali maestro Guru
Chemancheri Kunhiraman
Nair. Modi said that his
passion towards Indian
culture and spirituality
was legendary. In a tweet,
PM Modi said: “Saddened
by the demise of Kathakali
maestro Guru Cheman-
cheri Kunhiraman Nair.
His passion for Indian
culture and spirituality
was legendary. He made
exceptional efforts to
groom upcoming talent
in our classical dances.
My thoughts are with his
family. Om Shanti.” Born
in Kerala’s Kozhikode,
Chemancheri Kunhiraman
Nair was a notable Indian
Kathakali actor.
Wheel-chair bound, CM Mamata Banerjee, on way to address
public meeting in Purulia on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
TMC MLA Debasree Roy
resigns ahead of polls
What happened to Mamata was accident,
should’nt be politicised, says Gadkari
TMC APPOINTS
SINHA AS
PARTY’S VICE
PRESIDENT
BSP WILL CONTEST ASSEMBLY
POLLS ALONE, SAYS MAYAWATI
TN CM PALANISWAMI FILES
NOMINATION FROM EDAPPADI
ATTEMPTED ATTACK ON MNM
CHIEF KAMAL HAASAN’S CAR
Former BJP leader
Yashwant Sinha, who
recently joined the
Trinamool Congress, has
been appointed the Vice
President of the Mamata
Banerjee-led party. The
former union minister has
also been made a member
of the TMC national work-
ing committee as per the
order issued on Monday
by TMC General Secretary
Subrata Bakshi. On March
13, Sinha joined the TMC
in Kolkata ahead of the
state Assembly polls.
West Bengal will witness
eight-phased Assembly
polls beginning March
27. The tenure of the 16th
Legislative Assembly of
West Bengal will end on
May 30 this year. A total
of 7,34,07,832 voters will
choose their representa-
tive for the 17th Legisla-
tive Assembly of West
Bengal.
Former Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha,
who recently joined the Tri-
namool Congress, has been
appointed the Vice President
of the Mamata Banerjee-led
party. The former union min-
ister has also been made a
member of the TMC national
working committee as per
the order issued on Monday by TMC General Secretary
Subrata Bakshi. On March 13, Sinha joined the TMC in
Kolkata ahead of the state Assembly polls. West Bengal
will witness eight-phased Assembly polls beginning
March 27. The tenure of the 16th Legislative Assembly
of West Bengal will end on May 30 this year. A total of
7,34,07,832 voters will choose their representative for
the 17th Legislative Assembly of West Bengal.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and
AIADMK Joint Coordinator K
Palaniswami on Monday filed
nomination from his native
Edappadi in this district for
the April 6 Assembly polls.
Palaniswami has won from
Edappadi four times (1989,
1991, 2011 and 2016) and the
region is among the strong-
holds of the ruling party. The chief minister, who walked
a short distance to reach the local Taluk office, submit-
ted his required papers. Palaniswami is later slated to
address poll rallies in different parts of the district.
Chennai: The Makkal Needhi
Maiam has alleged that an
unidentified person attempted
to damage a car in which the
party’s chief, Kamal Haasan,
was travelling on Gandhi Road
in Kancheepuram district on
Sunday night. A senior police
officer, who said no FIR had
been filed yet, said there was
no damage to the car. The officer said that a person had at-
tempted to stop the car to have a conversation with Haasan.
ECI HAS NOT DENIED
MAMATA’S INJURY: KHARGE
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha
Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said that the
Election Commission of India (ECI) has ruled out
the conspiracy against
Banerjee but has not
denied her injury. “ECI
has ruled out the con-
spiracy against Mamata
Banerjee but has not
denied her leg injury.
The BJP should at least
trust their agency,” said
Kharge. “There must
have a police lap that
the election commission has mentioned. Shah and
Modi always create a scene over everything but I
believe politics should not be done in this matter,”
he added. He also mentioned that, by privatis-
ing the banks, the government is systematically
getting away with the arrangement of reservation
given to SC, ST and OBCs. While talking about
COVID-19 precautions, Kharge said, “We are tak-
ing preventive measures to avoid COVID-19 but
the leaders of this country, Modi ji and Amit ji, are
holding large gatherings in West Bengal.”
Kolkata: Actress-
turned Trinamool
Congress MLA Debas-
ree Roy on Monday
tendered her resigna-
tiontothepartyahead
of the West Bengal
Assembly elections.
In a letter, the Ray-
dighi MLA thanked
the party for allowing
her to serve the peo-
ple for the last 10
years. She wrote,
“From today I am sev-
ering all my ties with
the TMC. Since I am
not there in any party
position there is no
need to resign from
that. For the last 10
years, I had been the
MLA from Raydighi
and I want you to re-
lieve me from all my
duties. I am grateful
to the party for letting
me work for the peo-
ple for a long time.”
Over 20 ministers
and MLAs have re-
signed from Trina-
mool Congress (TMC)
ahead of the upcom-
ing West Bengal As-
sembly elections, in-
cluding big names
like Suvendu Adhi-
kari, state Finance
Minister Amit Mitra,
Land Minister Abdul
Rajjak Molla and Ag-
riculture Minister
Purnendu Basu.
The incident in which
West Bengal Chief Min-
ister Mamata Banerjee
suffered injury was an
“accident” and it should
not be politicised, said
Union Minister Nitin
Gadkari on Monday,
adding that such con-
troversies ruin the at-
mosphere of the elec-
tions. Gadkari also
termed the accident
“unfortunate” and said
we should not tarnish
polls.
“Polls further dignify
our democratic tradi-
tions. We shouldn’t tar-
nish polls. What hap-
pened with Mamata Ba-
nerjee was an accident,
everyone says it. This
should not be politi-
cised. She and we are
going to the people’s
court. One should go
ahead by accepting the
decision,” Gadkari said.
IN THE COURTYARD
SC seeks response over ‘iron
ore smuggling’ allegations
Court directs to supply
chargesheet copy to
Kanhaiya Kumar
Right to reject may
disrupt Parl; SC seeks
Centre, EC reply
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court Court on
Monday sought a de-
tailed response from
the Centre and certain
iron exporting compa-
nies after hearing a pe-
tition filed by lawyer
Manohar Lal Sharma,
seeking directions to
the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) to
register an FIR and
probe the alleged duty
evasion by 61 compa-
nies in allegedly ‘smug-
gling’ iron ore to China
since 2015.
“We seek a response
from the Centre,” a
three-judge bench of
the Apex Court, headed
by CJI Sharad Arvind
Bobde and also com-
prising Justices A S Bo-
panna and V Ramasu-
bramanian, said. The
Apex Court also sought
a reply from certain
iron exporting compa-
nies.
During the course of
the hearing today, So-
licitor General (SG)
Tushar Mehta, appear-
ing for the Centre,
sought and pleaded for
more time as he wanted
to file a reply in the
case. The petitioner,
Sharma, submitted to
the Apex Court that an
application has been
filed.
“It is an urgent mat-
ter. A date be given, my
lords in this matter,”
Sharma pleaded to the
Apex Court, to which,
the CJI, adjourned the
matter. —ANI
New Delhi: Delhi’s Pa-
tiala House Court on
Monday directed the
prosecution to supply
the copy of chargesheet
and other documents to
all accused in the Jawa-
harlal Nehru Universi-
ty (JNU) sedition case
in which the Commu-
nist Party of India
(Marxist) leader Kan-
haiya Kumar is an ac-
cused among others.
Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate (CMM)
Dr Pankaj Sharma also
granted bail to seven ac-
cused on a personal bail
bond of Rs 25,000 in the
matter, who were never
arrested by Delhi Police
in the case. The Court
also noted that Kanhai-
ya Kumar, Umar Khalid
and one other had al-
ready got bail in the
case earlier. The Court
slated the matter for
April 7 for scrutiny of
documents.
However, Advocate
Sushil Bajaj represent-
ed Kanhaiya Kumar
sought exemption from
appearance of the
CPI(M) due to his social
engagement, but the
Court said it can’t con-
sider this application in
advance. —ANI
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Mon-
day sought response
from the Centre and the
Election Commission
on a PIL seeking direc-
tion to give voters the
right to reject a candi-
date in an election, if
maximum votes are
polled in favour of
NOTA.
The plea argued that
the contesting candi-
dates should be consid-
ered as rejected and not
be allowed to fight fresh
elections.
“Right to reject and
elect new candidate will
give power to the people
to express their discon-
tent,” said the plea.
A bench headed by
Chief Justice S.A. Bob-
de posed a query, if an
influential political
party manages to get
many candidates reject-
ed, then in that back-
drop of so many vac-
cancies, it will be diffi-
cult for the Parliament
to function.
Senior advocate Me-
naka Guruswamy, rep-
resenting the petitioner,
submitted his client
had approached the
statutory authorities,
but he has not received
any response. —PTI
SC notice to
govt: Surgery by
Ayurveda docs
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court sent a no-
tice to Centre on a plea
by Indian Medical As-
sociation (IMA) against
a Central Council of
Indian Medicine
(CCIM) order allowing
post-graduate practi-
tioners in specified
streams of Ayurveda to
be trained to perform
surgeries.
The court issued no-
tices to the Ministry of
Ayush, CCIM and Na-
tional Medical Commis-
sion seeking their re-
plies on the petition.
A Central Council of
Indian Medicine notifi-
cation had listed 39 gen-
eral surgery procedures
involving the eye, ear,
nose and throat by
amending regulations,
2016. —PTI
Kanhaiya Kumar

INDIA
06
Centre ready...
to amend farm laws to
their satisfaction,” as-
sured the defence minis-
ter. “This is not a crowd
of workers aiming to
gain power but a lively
party which has a politi-
cal vision,” he said. Giv-
ing his own example, he
said, “People say I am in
the party for quite long
but did not get my dues.
I tell them that BJP is
the only organization
where injustice is not
done to any leader or
worker. There may be a
delay but it will come.
Sometimes, you may not
get big posts but you will
always get due respect
within the party
.” He
claimed that in the 2022
UP Assembly elections
the BJP will get more
seats than its 2017 tally
.
The one-day BJP Execu-
tive Committee meeting
mainly discussed the
situation arising out of
farmers’ agitation in
Western UP and its im-
pact on Panchayat and
2022 Assembly polls. Ut-
tar Pradesh Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath,
Deputy CMs Keshav
Prasad Maurya and
Dinesh Sharma and UP
BJP chief Swatantra
Dev Singh also attended
the meeting.He also in-
voked the border clash-
es with China and the
constructionof theRam
temple. Referring to the
ongoing construction of
a Ram temple in Ayod-
hya, he said, “People
used to say that when-
ever elections come,
BJP leaders speak about
constructionof theRam
Temple. So was it more
than just a coincidence
that when the struc-
ture fell in Ayodhya,
there was a BJP gov-
ernment in UP, and
Kalyan Singh was the
chief minister. And
when the foundation
stone for construction
of the Ram temple was
laid, there was a BJP
government in UP, and
Yogi ji was the chief
minister?”
Bengal a...
in Jhargram on Mon-
day. “Corruption, po-
litical violence, polari-
sation, Hindus and
SC/STs had to go to
courts for celebrating
their festivals - this is
the sort of situation
they have brought to
the state, ruining de-
velopment in the
state,” Shah said.
Meanwhile, Shah
while whishing Didi a
speedy recovery ques-
tioned that whether
she could feel the pain
of families of BJP
workers who have
been killed during
TMC’s rule in West
Bengal.
Modi incompetent..
chaie na Congress ke
chaie na, CPM ke chaie
na. BJP ke bidai dao...
Khela hobe, dekha
hobe, jeta hobe (oust
BJP, game is on, we will
see, we will win).”
Addressing her first
rally in a district after
being injured at the
hustings in Nandigram,
Banerjee said as long as
she has her voice and
her heart functions, she
will continue to fight.
“Wait for a few days, my
legs will be better. I will
see whether your legs
move freely on Bengal’s
soil,” Banerjee said
without naming any-
one. —PTI
Batla House:...
The court also imposed
a total fine of Rs 11 lakh
on Ariz in the case.
It said Rs 10 lakh should
be immediately re-
leased to the family
members of Sharma.
“I feel the fine of Rs 10
lakh is insufficient.
Hence, I am referring
the matter to Delhi Le-
gal Services Authority
for award of additional
compensation,” the
judge further said.
—Agencies
‘Will take...
by an Odisha BJP MP
Ashwini Vaishnaw,
where he expressed
“shared global con-
cerns about racism”.
Vaishnaw stated that
there “appears to be a
continuation of atti-
tudes and prejudices
from the colonial area
especially in the United
Kingdom” —ANI
Bank strike...
While Chennai handles
5.8 million instruments
worth Rs5,150 crore on
a daily basis, Mumbai
handles 8.6 million in-
struments worth 6,500
crore and Delhi pro-
cesses 5.7 million in-
struments of 4,850
crore. The strike com-
menced at about 6 am
when service branches
dealing in cheque clear-
ances start operations
and will end on Tuesday
midnight.
Bill to...
2021 was later intro-
duced by a voice vote.
As per the Cabinet deci-
sion, in every district,
the district magistrate
and the additional dis-
trict magistrate will get
the power to monitor
functions of agencies
responsible for the im-
plementation of the
Act. The amendment to
the bill intends to em-
power district magis-
trates and additional
district magistrates to
authorise orders of
adoption etc. —ANI
FROM PG 1
APPOINTMENT OF CBDT’ MEMBERS
SOON
Appointment of three new Members of the CBDT
is expected to be made either this week or early
next week.
CBIC MEMBER AJAY JAIN TO RETIRE
IN APRIL
Ajay Jain, Member (Legal, CX ST) in CBIC is
superannuating by April end. He is 1985 batch
IRS officer.
NO FULL-TIME SECRETARY FOR
DRINKING WATER
The Government of India is yet to appoint
full-time Secretary to the Department of Water
Drinking Sanitation.
WILL CENTRE INTERVENE IN
UTTARAKHAND BUREAUCRATIC
APPOINTMENTS ?
As per available indications, this time the Centre
is likely to have full say in the appointment
of senior bureaucrats in Uttarakhand. If this
happens then new CS and DGP are likely to be
sent from Delhi. This exercise is being seen as
the damage control exercise.
WILL SENIOR OFFICERS BE SENT
FROM DELHI ?
It is widely believed that if the present CS and
DGP in Uttarakhand are changed then their
successors will be sent from Delhi.
CAT VACANCIES YET TO BE
FILLED UP
There are over a dozen vacancies of
Administrative Members in the Central
Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
MS. PARUL SINGH RELIEVED TO
JOIN CENTRAL DEPUTATION
Ms. Parul Singh has been relieved to join
as Deputy Secretary in the Department of
Commerce, Delhi on deputation basis. She is an
IRS-IT officer.
MS. MAHESHWARI RETURNS TO
PARENT CADRE, JOINS PRCCIT,
BHOPAL
Ms. Maya Maheshwari, who was on deputation
to the Government of Madhya Pradesh for a
period of three years, returned to the parent
cadre. Ms Maheshwari, who belongs to an
IRS-IT, has been appointed as CIT(OSD) in the
office of Principal CCIT Bhopal, MP Chattisgarh
region.
MS. VIDHI CHOUDHARY TO JOIN
FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT
Ms. Vidhi Choudhary has been appointed Deputy
Director in Financial Intelligence Unit - India on
deputation basis. She is an IRS-IT officer.
DEPUTATION TENURE EXTENDED
FOR ONE YEAR
The DoT has extended the deputation tenure of V
S Raju, Joint Advisor, TRAI for one more year i.e.
till March 31 2022.
B SAHOO IN THE RACE FOR
CMD, BEML
B Sahoo ED, NMDC, is in the race for the post
of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, BEML
Limited.
RAJNESH SINGH TO BE DIRECTOR,
DEPARTMENT OF HEAVY INDUSTRIES
Rajnesh Singh, Divisional Mechanical Engineer
(DME), Computer Information Systems (CIS),
Railway Board, has been selected for deputation
to the post of Director in the Department of
Heavy Industries, Delhi, for a period of five years.
He is an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical
Engineers (IRSME) officer.
TWO IPS OFFICERS IN WB PLACED
UNDER SUSPENSION
Vivek Sahay, Director Security and Pravin
Prakash, SP, Purba Medinipur, in West Bengal,
have been placed under suspension immediately.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi on
Monday said the COV-
ID-19 virus continues to
be a big threat and peo-
ple should follow all
precautions and not let
their guard down.
He had last month ac-
cused the government
of being grossly negli-
gent and over confident
in tackling coronavi-
rus, saying it is not over
yet.
“As warned earlier,
Covid19 continues to be
a big threat. Please keep
the guards up -- wear
masks and follow all
precautions,” he said
on Twitter.
He shared a graph
showing that coronavi-
rus cases have doubled
in the last four weeks.
India recorded 26,291
new COVID-19 cases,
the highest in 85 days,
taking the total tally of
cases to 1,13,85,339, ac-
cording to the Union
Health Ministry data
updated on Monday
.
—PTI
A GRAPH SHOWED HOW CASES DOUBLED IN THE LAST FOUR WEEKS
DON’T LET GUARD DOWN, COVID-19
CONTINUES TO BE BIG THREAT: RAHUL
MP govt advises week-long
quarantine to passengers
Bhopal: In view of a
spike in COVID-19 cas-
es, the MP government
has issued new guide-
lines and said people
coming to districts
which share border
with Maha should be
identified and advised a
week-long quarantine.
Madhya Pradesh’s
eight districts - Chhind-
wara, Balaghat, Betul,
Seoni, Khandwa, Bar-
wani, Khargone and
Burhanpur - shared
border with Maharash-
tra.
“Passengers coming
to the border districts
from Maharashtra
should be identified and
they should be advised
a week-long necessary
quarantine,” as per
MP’s Additional Chief
Secretary (Home) Dr
Rajesh Rajora.
Rahul urged people to keep wearing masks.—FILE PHOTO
Disregard to SOPs reason for
recent spike: Vardhan
New Delhi: As India
is witnessing a surge
in the cases of the
coronavirus disease
(Covid-19), health
minister Dr Harsh
Vardhan pointed to
people’s disregard for
social distancing and
other guidelines. Var-
dhan also said that
Covid-19 cases are
on the rise in a few
states only. “Around
85% of cases are in
five to six states. The
main reason behind
the increase in cases
is people not taking
Covid appropriate
behaviour,”the health
minister.
New Delhi: The
Indian Railways has
rendered yeoman
service during the
coronavirus pandem-
ic by transporting 43
lakh migrant labour-
ers, distributing
two crore free food
packets and making
available coaches to
be used as healthcare
centres, BJP MP Ram
Kripal Yadav said on
Monday. “During the
coronavirus pan-
demic, the railways
has offered over 200
coaches for health-
care centres, 43 lakh
migrant labours were
transported, he said.
Railways lauded in Parliament
for ‘yeoman service’
Ambani scare: Mum cop
Sachin Waze suspended
Mumbai: Mumbai Po-
lice on Monday sus-
pended assistant police
inspector Sachin Waze
following his arrest by
the NIA in connection
with its probe into the
recovery of explosives
from a car near indus-
trialist Mukesh Amba-
ni’s residence here, an
official said. Deputy
Commissioner of Po-
lice S Chaitanya told
reporters that “API
Sachin Waze has been
placed under suspen-
sion by an order of Ad-
ditional Commissioner
of Police Special
Branch”. The National
Investigation Agency
(NIA) arrested Waze on
late Saturday night in
connection with its
probe into the recovery
of a Scorpio containing
20 gelatin sticks near
Ambani’s house ‘Antil-
ia’ in south Mumbai on
February 25. Waze (49),
credited with eliminat-
ing 63 alleged criminals
in ‘encounters’, is also
facing heat in the mur-
der case of Thane-
based businessman
Mansukh Hiran, who
was in possession of
the Scorpio. Hiran was
found dead in a creek
in Thane district on
March 5. A Mumbai
court remanded Waze
in the NIA’s custody
till March 25.
CURB TAXES
NIA action insult of
Maha Police: Sena
Mumbai: The Shiv
Sena on Monday said
the arrest of Mumbai
police officer Sachin
Vaze by the National In-
vestigative Agency over
the recovery of explo-
sives from a car near
industrialist Mukesh
Ambani’s residence
was an “insult” of the
Maharashtra Police,
and alleged that it was
being done deliberately
.
An editorial in the
Sena mouthpiece
‘’Saamana’’ said that
the NIA investigation
in the case was surpris-
ing “Bravery of the Ma-
harashtra Police are
being acknowledged
around the world.”
“If Sachin Vaze was
guilty in the case, the
Mumbai police and the
Maharashtra Anti-Ter-
rorism Squad (ATS)
were capable of taking
action against him,” it
said.
But, (NIA) did not
want that to happen, the
Marathi publication
said.
It alleged that since
Vaze had arrested jour-
nalist Arnab Goswami
in the Anvay Naik sui-
cide case, he was on the
“hit-list of the BJP and
the Centre”. —PTI
No proposal to bring petrol, diesel under GST: FM
New Delhi: Amid re-
cord-high fuel prices,
Finance Minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman on
Monday said there is no
proposal as of now to
bring crude oil, petrol,
diesel, jet fuel (ATF)
and natural gas under
the Goods and Services
Tax (GST).
When the GST was
introduced on July 1,
2017, amalgamating
over a dozen central and
state levies, five com-
modities - crude oil,
natural gas, petrol, die-
sel, and aviation turbine
fuel - were kept out of its
purview given the reve-
nue dependence of the
central and state gov on
this sector. This meant
that the central govern-
ment continued to levy
excise duty on them
whilestategovernments
charged VAT. These tax-
es, with excise duty, in
particular, have been
raised periodically
. —PTI
Marine Aids to
Navigation Bill
introduced in
Lok Sabha
New Delhi: With tech-
nological changes tak-
ing place at a fast pace
in marine navigation, a
bill to provide for a
fresh framework to es-
tablish and manage ves-
sel traffic services was
introduced in Lok Sab-
ha on Monday
.
The Marine Aids to
Navigation Bill, 2021
provides for the use of
the term marine aids to
navigation instead of
lighthouse to enable
further use of modern
forms of aids to naviga-
tion, according to the
bill.
The bill, moved by
Union minister Man-
sukh Mandaviya, also
seeks to rename the ex-
isting Director General
of Lighthouse and
Lightships as the Direc-
tor General to provide a
framework for estab-
lishment, and manage-
ment of vessel traffic
services.
According to the
statement of objects of
the bill, the government
also plans to repeal the
Lighthouse Act, 1927.
—PTI
I have in-
structed the
team to dis-
cuss night
curfew and other
things. Relevant de-
partments will pre-
pare for a meeting
which will be held to-
morrow. We have is-
sued some instruc-
tion and will take
few more steps if
needed,
Shivraj Singh Chouhan,
Chief Minister, MP
Nirmala Sitharaman
Prioritising vaccine based
on profession: Centre to SC
New Delhi: The Central govern-
ment today informed the Supreme
Court that prioritising Covid-19
vaccination based on professions
will be discriminatory and not in
national interest. The Centre was
responding to a notice based on a
public interest litigation (PIL) that
wanted judges, lawyers, and oth-
ers of legal fraternity to be given
priority in the inoculation drive.
Sachin Waze

NEWS
07
MYSTERIOUS
DELAY IN PSC
GRADATION
LIST RELEASE
After coming to
power in the state,
the Uttar Pradesh
government under CM
Yogi Adityanath has put
development work at
the helm of it affairs.
The appointment letters
of the PCS officers of
batch 2018 was handed
personally by CM Yogi
and the Appointment
Department has also
received a lot of
praise from the CM.
The Appointment
Department has been
working earnestly and
with transparency but
has been under constant
pressure to publish
the Gradation List of
the PCS cadre officers.
The Uttar Pradesh Civil
Services Gradation List
was last published on
2015 which included
932 PCS officers.The
previous Gradation List
was published in such
a hurried manner that it
did not contain names of
some officers who were
allotted the 2014 batch.
It has been 6 long years
after the release of the
Gradation List, which
means that officers
of 2014, 2015, 2016,
2017 and 2018 are
still looking out for the
Gradation List even as
year 2021 has begun.
In such a situation, the
question as to why the
List has been delayed
and who is behind
the delay is surely to
arise. The release of
the Gradation List will
help people to get the
complete information
about the PCS officers
as well as any other
meaningful information
like retirement date,etc.
Officers are calling for
investigation to look into
the process responsible
for the release.
—Ahtesham Siddiqui
LEADER IN
DILEMMA
OVER LAND
GRAB BY
PEOPLE
Arepresentative of the
people who has been
protesting for some days
for those who have lost
their homes due to the
collapse of the roof, has
now started worrying
about people who have
established township
while occupying public
roads. He is though
unable to publicly raise
support for them as
firstly, they are residents
of another assembly
constituency and
secondly, he cannot
openly support people
who have illegally taken
over public property
as the opposition party
politicians may take on
him for doing so. He has
been silently expressing
his concern to the people
who have authority over
the issue and has even
gone on to ask them
whether they will resolve
the issue only when his
life is at stake or what?
He became the
representative of the
people to resolve
problems faced by public
but has forgotten this fact
and now advocating for
people who have illegally
occupied public property.
—Amit Baliyan
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The func-
tioning of private
company EECL and
officials of Prayagraj
Municipal Corpora-
tion (PMC) in instal-
lation of LED street
lights in the city is
under scrutiny. The
Indian Audit and Ac-
counts Department,
Prayagraj (Acc. Gen-
eral I), has found a
significant irregular-
ities in the `229.97
crore contract be-
tween municipal cor-
poration and private
company. The Indian
Audit and Accounts
Department, Praya-
graj has sought a re-
port from PMC in this
regard.
The Municipal Cor-
poration signed a con-
tract with EESL on Oc-
tober 26, 2017 for install-
ing streetlights in city.
In the contract, before
installation of LED
street, 26762 kV power
consumption and
10449.76 kV (kW) power
consumption after LED
installation was agreed
upon. Records revealed
electricity bill from
18843.60 to 20547.79 kV
during April 2017 and
December 2017 which
was around 25 per cent
less than that agreed
upon, while records
showed a 25 per cent
higher bill.
The audit found
that electricity bill
for April 2017 to Sep-
tember 2017 was
`50.03 crore, on the
basis of which annual
electricity bill would
have been Rs 100.06
crore as against the
mentioned `149.50
crore in contract.
According to the con-
tract, there should have
been a saving of `97.28
crores in electricity bill
in the first year, of
which 33.90 per cent (Rs
32.98 crores) was to be
paid to EESL. Investiga-
tion revealed between
June and October 2017,
monthly bill for tradi-
tional lights (old road
lights) was an average
`829.75 lakhs, while
monthly average bill
from June 2018 to March
2019afterinstallingLED
lights was `574.13 lakhs.
On this basis, annual
savings amounting to
`256.61 lakhs per month
is `2566.10 lakhs, while
the savings shown in
contract was Rs 97.28
crores which actual sav-
ings was Rs 25.66 crore.
EECL had submitted
ten month bill of
`2170.41 lakh from June
2018 to March 2019 of
which 70 percent of
amount was recom-
mended by Corporation
amounting to `1519.59
lakh which was sent to
Directorate of Local
Bodies for payment.
According to provi-
sions of contract, pay-
ment was to be recom-
mended based on re-
duction in the electric-
ity bill. Only 33.90 per-
cent of `2566.10 lakhs
savings was share of
EECSL and instead of
recommending 70 per
cent of `608.94 lakh,
why 70 per cent amount
was recommended in
the bill given by EESL?
EESL was largely
negligent in removing
traditional street lights
installed in the past.
During this time 48090
street lights were dam-
aged. The Corporation
also suffered a loss of
`2.95 crore.
‘LED’ there be transparency: PMC in a spot
NAGAR NIGAM’S DEALINGS WITH PRIVATE COMPANY EECL FOR LED STREETLIGHTS IN PRAYAGRAJ UNDER SCRUTINY
—FILE
PHOTO
NH-24fromDelto
Gzb reopened for
traffic movement
Ram Mandir foundation work begins;
40-ft deep filling to finish by April 9
Registration for July
25TET starts May 18
On CM’s directive, Gkp Kotwali
inspector line attached by SSP
Land purchase for Ganga
E’way directly from farmers
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The car-
riageway of NH-24
going towards Ghazi-
abad from Delhi,
which was closed
since January 26, was
reopened for com-
muters on Monday,
the police said.
The carriageway
from Ghaziabad to-
wards Delhi, howev-
er, remains closed,
they said.
In view of the pre-
vailing law and order
situation at the Ghaz-
ipur border and keep-
ing in mind the as-
pectof publicconven-
ience, the carriage-
way of NH-24 going
towards Ghaziabad
from Delhi has been
opened in due consul-
tation with the police
officials of the dis-
trict, a senior official
said.
The stretch had
beenclosedsinceJan-
uary 26, when vio-
lence broke out in the
national capital dur-
ing a tractor parade
by farmers.
The carriageway
was briefly opened on
March 2. The Tikri
and the Singhu bor-
ders continue to be
closed due to the
farmers’ agitation.
Thousands of
farmers, mostly from
Punjab, Haryana and
western UP, have
been camping at Del-
hi’s border points --
Singhu, Tikri and
Ghazipur -- for over
three months, de-
manding a repeal of
the three farm laws
and a legal guarantee
on the minimum sup-
port price for their
crops.
The farmers have
expressed apprehen-
sion that these laws
would pave the way
for the dismantling
of the minimum sup-
port price (MSP) sys-
tem, leaving them at
the “mercy” of big
corporations.
First India Bureau
Ayodhya: The long
awaited foundation fill-
ing work for the Lord
Ram temple in Ayodhya
was started on Monday
.
A puja before the filling
of the foundation work
of the Ramlalla temple
was performed by Gen-
eral Secretary Champat
Rai Bansal and other
members of the Shri
Ram Janmabhoomi Tir-
tha Kshetra Trust.
The process related to
building the Ram Tem-
ple was begun by Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi with the Bhoomi
Puja which was per-
formed on August 5. Af-
ter completing and veri-
fying the required tests,
the foundation filling
work was started from
Monday
. The puja was
attended by General
Secretary of Ram Jan-
mabhoomi Teerth Area
Trust Champat Rai,
Trustee Anil Mishra,
Raja Vimalendra Mo-
han Pratap Mishra, Ma-
hant Dinendra Das and
District Magistrate
Anuj Jha.
The filling up the 40
feet deep foundation
whichbeganonMonday
will be completed by
April 9 which is the
same day as Chaitra
Krishna Trayodashi.
The Lord Ram temple is
being built in an area of
2.77 acres out of the 5
acres of land dedicated
for it.
The filling up of the
foundation is begun by
adding one-foot thick
layer of concrete. The
foundation filling will
be done by a mixture of
concrete and Maurang
along with a layer made
with silicon. Once the
layer is done Chunar
stones will be laid over
them followed by con-
crete layer and again fol-
lowed by Chunar stones.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Yogi
Adityanath Govern-
ment, which has been
continually providing
employment to youths
even during the
pandemic, has
continued the
great work. Af-
ter the large
scale appoint-
ment of teach-
ers, now the gov-
ernment is going
to conduct the Teacher
Eligibility Test (TET).
The government has
released the UP TET
2020 examination notifi-
cation. The exams will
be conducted on July 25
across the state. The
candidate can register
fortheexamfromMay18
to June 1. The exam cen-
tre will be declared on
August 20. The entire
schedule for UP-
TET-2020 has
been released by
the Basic Educa-
tion Depart-
ment.
The last date
for submission
of application
fees for the exams be-
ing conducted for Pri-
mary and Junior High
School teachers is May
2 and the admit card
will be available for
download from July 14.
First India Bureau
Gorakhpur: On the di-
rectives of CM Yogi Adi-
tyanath, SSP Jogendra
Kumar on Sunday
morning sent Kotwali
inspector Jaideep Ver-
ma to police lines. The
action was taken after
several complaints
against Verma were re-
ceived in Janta Dar-
shan. Inspector Kalyan
Singh Sagar, has been
made the new Kotwali
inspector.
CM Yogi who visited
GorakhpuronShivratri,
heard grievances next
day by organising Janta
Darshan at Gorakhnath
temple where the first
four complaints were
against Kotwali police
station. Taking cogni-
zance, the CM had di-
rected police officers to
initiate action against
Kotwali inspector post
investigation of com-
plaints.
Meanwhile, a medical
store owner Abhishek
Sharma, who was sell-
ing drugs on a price
morethanMRPwaspro-
duced by the Chiluatal
police on Sunday after-
noon in the court of re-
mand magistrate after
which he was sent to
jail.
Sharma, a resident of
Jhungia market, used to
run a medicine shop
near the medical college
gate. On Saturday
, ADM
(Finance) Rajesh Singh
along with Drug Inspec-
tor Jai Singh raided his
shop run under the
name Raju Medical
Store.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The govern-
ment has said that the
construction of Ganga
Expressway between
Meerut and Prayagraj
would start and end on
schedule, for which it is
ensuring all arrange-
ments on time. Present-
ly
, land purchase work is
underway for the ex-
pressway for which
funds are made availa-
ble regularly
. Recently
Rs 95 crore had been
rereleased for Meerut
district as third install-
ment and procurement
of land would be com-
pleted in all 12 districts
by June.
Presently land for the
expressway is not being
acquired but purchased
directly from farmers
through Bainamas. The
expressway will pass
through nine villages of
Meerut wherein around
180 hectare land is to be
purchased. Till now,
over 25 hectares (2.5 mil-
lionsquaremetres)have
been purchased.
Daily four to five
Bainamas are being reg-
istered, which include
15 to 20 farmers and pay-
ment is being made to
them on time.
Puja being performed before the start of the work on Tuesday
CM Yogi at a Janta Darshan in Gorakhpur. —FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO

08
2NDFRONT
You want to have power to change
your life? Then, think you have it!
The only way you can give up your
power is by thinking you don’t have it!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Four years
down the line the Yogi
Adityanath Govern-
ment has made strides
in state’s balanced
growth and employ-
ment generation. Even
as the Chief Minister
Yogi completes four
years in office on March
19, there are several
fronts in which his gov-
ernment has performed
well ahead of its prede-
cessors.
According to infor-
mation when the BJP
government was in-
stalled on March 18, 2017
the unemployment rate
was 17.5% which has
now come down to 4.1%
in 2021. This has been
possible because of the
pro-active programmes
and policies of the state
government.
Official data for the
last four years indicated
that revenue collection
from almost all the rev-
enue generating depart-
ments has recorded 10 to
143% increase and now
as the chief minister
prepares for 2022 assem-
bly election the govern-
ment has planned expe-
dite the process in the
next one year. Similarly
,
on employment front
moves are afoot to go in
for large-scale recruit-
ment drive in almost all
the departments.
As compared to 2017
when the commercial
tax collection was Rs
51882.88 crore which has
now shot up to Rs 57354
crore which is more
than 10.5% 2017. Moreo-
ver, excise department
has also registered 17%
increase from Rs 14273
crore to Rs 23926.66
crore. It is further esti-
mated to go up to Rs
37500 crore.
Significantly there
has been 103% increase
in stamp and registra-
tion duty as this amount
has come to Rs 23550.55
crore in 2021. Transport
department recording
growth of 143% has
earned Rs 12515,07 crore
as compared to Rs 5148.6
crore in 2017.
Moreover, mining de-
partment where large-
scale corruption has
been effectively con-
tained the growth has
been 56%. Per capita in-
come has also gone up
from 52.74% in 2017 to
around 70% in 2020-21
(Rs 95000).
Official sources said
during the last four
years the state has
emerged has second
largest economy with
next year’s outlay of Rs
5.50 lakh crore. “It was
difficult to imagine in
2017,” commented an
officer of the finance
department.
Even though the state
government will have to
do a lot of balancing act
because of gap between
revenue collection and
expenditure in next
year, it has committed to
ensure completion of
dream project Purvan-
chal and Bundelkhand
expressway and com-
mencement of Rs 36000
crore Ganga Express-
way along the river Gan-
ga from Meerut to Pray-
agraj. The government
has also planned nearly
adozennewmedicalcol-
leges in the state.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: National Mi-
norities Commission
has issued a notice to
former chairman Shia
Waqf Board Wasim Riz-
vi for his move to file
PIL in Supreme Court
demanding deletion of
26 Verses of Holy Quran
on the ground that they
promoted terrorism.
Acting on the com-
plaint of Abdul Majid
Nizami, Ali Raza Zaidi
and others the commis-
sion gave 21 days to Riz-
vi tender unconditional
apology
,thecommission
said failing which legal
action would be taken
against him.
Issuing the notice the
vice chairman of com-
mission said that state-
ment of Wasim Rizvi
was aimed created reli-
gious animosity among
various Muslim sects
and was also against
right to religious free-
dom guaranteed under
the constitution. The
panel has veered the
view that Wasim Rizvi’s
statement was part of a
conspiracy to disturb
communal harmony in
the country
.
Pointing out that
such a move was preju-
dicial to national inter-
est where all communi-
ties were living peace-
fully and brotherhood,
the panel said it called
for criminal action un-
der various provisions
of IPC. Outrightly re-
jecting and condemning
the statement of Rizvi,
the panel said it was
highly provocative, ob-
jectionable and mali-
cious and against na-
tional interest. The
commission thus asked
Rizvi to issue uncondi-
tional apology and with-
draw statement with in
21 days otherwise panel
will take legal action.
First India Bureau
Vrindavan: Yoga guru
Baba Ramdev has once
again described yoga as
the best way to deal with
growing corona cases in
the country
. He said that
yoga helps to keep away
corona as well as many
other diseases.
He said that proper
physical distance and
following government
guidelines will also pro-
tect Corona. On Monday
,
the Yoga guru, who had
arrived to participate in
a private ceremony in
Vrindavan told the me-
dia that the cases of co-
rona infection were
once again witnessing a
rise in the country
.
He said that there was
no need to panic and
people should do yoga
instead of worrying. He
said that the lifestyle
and his yogasana had
been helpful in dealing
with Corona easily
. He
further said that this
was the reason why In-
dia had a lower death
rate as compared to oth-
er countries. Baba Ram-
dev was welcomed by
Bhagwat spokesperson
Dr Sanjay Salil while
Girish Bharti garlanded
the Yoga guru and pre-
sented memento.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Executive
director of Reliance In-
dustries and chairper-
son of Reliance Founda-
tion Nita Ambani will
now teach Women’s
Studies at Benares Hin-
du University (BHU).
A proposal in this re-
gard has been forward-
ed to Nita Ambani for
being a visiting profes-
sor at BHU’s Centre for
Women’s Studies and
Development by Faculty
of Social Sciences of
University
.
Neeta Ambani, wife
of Reliance Industries
owner Mukesh Ambani,
is a B.Com from Mum-
bai University and be-
came Executive Direc-
tor of Reliance Indus-
tries in 2014. It is being
hoped that if she joined
BHU, it would help pro-
mote women enterprise
in eastern UP
.
Centre Coordinator
Prof Nidhi Sharma,
said the name of Nita
Ambani was known
globally in the field of
women enterprise, so-
cial problems and wom-
en’s support. The tech-
nique of better work
being done by her was
necessary to spread out
to every village in
Purvanchal from BHU.
4-Year Report Card: On several
fronts Yogi is peerless, stands tall
Economy booming, state govt brings down unemployment rate from 17% to 4%
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
First India Bureau
Lucknow: BSP presi-
dent Mayawati an-
nounced on Monday
that the party would
contest the assembly
elections in West Ben-
gal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala
and Puducherry on its
own, saying it had a “bit-
ter experience” of align-
ing with other parties in
the past.
Mayawati also stated
that her party would go
alone in the UP assem-
bly election. “We are
working internally on
the elections. We do not
reveal our strategy,”
Mayawati told report-
ers at an event to pay
tributes to BSP founder
Kanshi Ram on his 87th
birth anniversary
.
“The BSP will contest
on all the 403 assembly
seats in UP. The perfor-
mance of the party will
be good in the panchay-
at elections also,” she
said. Mayawati asserted
that the BSP would per-
form well in West Ben-
gal, Tamil Nadu and
Kerala.
She said, “In an alli-
ance, our votes are
transferred to the other
party, but the votes of
the other party are not
transferred to us,” she
said. “This has been a
very bad and bitter ex-
perience. In future also,
we will not forge any al-
liance with any party
.”
Paying tributes to
Kanshi Ram, Mayawati
said the party was mov-
ing on the path of B R
Ambedkar and the BSP
founder.
She hit out at the gov-
ernment over “skyrock-
eting” fuel prices, pov-
erty and unemploy-
ment. “The huge in-
crease in the private
wealth of some capital-
ists also raises ques-
tions on the govern-
ment’s policy and inten-
tion towards public in-
terest and public wel-
fare,” she added.
Raking up the “poor”
law and order situation
in the state, the BSP
leader claimed that as
per the common percep-
tion of the people, “most
of the encounters are
done with the feeling of
casteist malice.”
Asked about Con-
gress leader Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra making
frequent tours to UP,
Mayawati said: “There
is democracy in the
country and every par-
ty has the right to forge
an alliance as per their
own view.”
BSPsupremotogoalone
forBengal,TNpolls
BSP supremo Mayawati addressing a press meet on Monday.
MUCH AHEAD OF
PREVIOUS GOVTS
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Insti-
tute of Women Stud-
ies (IWS), Lucknow
University on Mon-
day organised a web
talk on ‘Domestic vio-
lence: from flower to
fire’ under the aegis
of Mission Shakti.
Speaker Asim Arun,
Additional Director
General of Police, 112
UP, said that earlier
people used to consider
domestic violence as a
family issue and inter-
vention of state to stop
the violence was not
easy
. However, with the
start of the 112, an in-
creasing number of do-
mestic violence cases
are being registered
mostly by elderly, wom-
en and children.
Arun appreciated
the enthusiasm
shown by women po-
lice officers in par-
ticipating in PRV
units which respond
to distress calls.
Through this initia-
tive women are being
made to aware about
their rights. The
ADGP also informed
the audience about
the steps they can
take to ensure their
safety and the app de-
veloped by 112 UP to
avail help.
Abha Singh, a law-
yer and social activist
from Mumbai, briefed
the audience about the
provisions of Domestic
Violence Act. She
stressed the need to
bring all the stakehold-
ers on a common plat-
form whether its po-
lice, media, social ac-
tivists and society in
general to work against
the evil practice of vio-
lence against women
The third and the
last speaker of the
event was Ruma Sinha,
a senior journalist, un-
derscored the impor-
tance of med Dr. Sheela
Mishra, Coordinator,
Mission Shakti, Luc-
know University, talked
about the role of Mis-
sion Shakti in helping
women. Dr. Archana
Shukla, coordinator of
the IWS, explained how
domestic violence is be-
coming one of the big-
gest evil practices, hin-
dering the well-being
of women.
More people using 112 to report domestic violence cases: ADG Arun
OUT OF THE CLOSET

At IWS talk show
under Mission
Shakti, Mumbai
lawyer Abha
Singh talked
about Domestic
Violence Act
provision
Asim Arun Abha Singh Ruma Sinha
Minority panel notice
to ex-Waqf chairman
No need to panic, practice yoga to
deal with corona: Baba Ramdev
BHU to have Nita Ambani as visiting professor
First India Bureau
Lucknow: AIMIM pres-
ident and Hyderabad
MP Asaduddin Owaisi
has alleged that Mus-
lims were being unfair-
ly targeted in UP under
the BJP government.
Owaisi, who was in
Balrampur district on
Sunday, tried to project
the BJP government as
anti-Muslim as he ac-
cused it of having a se-
lective approach of car-
rying out encounters of
criminals in the state.
He said that out of 6,475
encounters of the crim-
inals that took place in
the state between 2017
and 2020, 37 per cent
were Muslims.
UP law minister
Brijesh Pathak, howev-
er, contradicted the re-
marks of Owaisi on
Monday
. He said a crim-
inal is a criminal and
the state government
made no discrimina-
tion on the ground of
caste, creed and
religion.
Owaisi slams
Yogi govt
for targeting
Muslims in UP
NO TO PRIVATISATION
State Bank employees protesting against proposed
privatisation of Public Sector Banks at SBI headquarters
during Nationwide Bank strike in Lucknow on Monday.
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Nita Ambani
Baba Ramdev
Wasim Rizvi

LUCKNOW, TUESDAY
MARCH 16, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
ore often than not, fash-
ion trends come and go.
A clothing item or acces-
sory that is super popu-
lar in one decade might
disappear from the fash-
ion magazines and the
runways for years and years—but
there’s always a chance that it could
pop back up at any time.
But while some unexpected
trends do make a comeback, others
are so out-there that there’s basi-
cally zero chance they’ll ever be
considered fashionable again—at
least we hope so. If you need a rea-
son to clean out your closet, here
are some clothing items you can get
rid of, because they’re never com-
ing back into style.
COLD SHOULDER TOPS
Cold shoulder tops recently had a
big moment, but they’ve since been
falling off. We’re calling it—they’re
not going to be coming back to the
runway, so you might as well do-
nate yours.
BANDANA TOPS
Bandanas themselves have been
around forever and probably al-
ways will be in some capacity. But
bandana tops? This 90s style staple
is unlikely to return to the top of
the trend lists. It’s safe to say you
can get rid of yours if you were
holding onto it.
LONG DENIM SKIRTS
Denim mini skirts came back in
style a few years ago and can still
look cute when styled the right way
.
But long denim skirts that hit below
your knees? Those can probably be
put in the donation box.
LOW-RISE JEANS
Every single year, rumors
flood the internet that
thefashionindustryis
going to bring low-
rise jeans back. Lis-
ten: the people will
not let this happen.
People will not give
up their high-rise
mom jeans for these
low-rise nightmares
ever again.
DENIM WITH EXPOSED
POCKETS
Another early 2000’s
trend that leaves any-
one who’s worn it
shaking their heads
is denim shorts and
skirts, cut so short
that the pockets
stuck out the bot-
tom. And this
wasn’t accidental,
either. Looking
back, these look
sloppy and are
just silly
.
M
KARISHMA GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in
City First points out some of the not-so-loved fashion items
so that you don’t hold on to them in the hopes that it will
one day be popular again!
The fashion
The fashion
that never was
that never was

First india lucknow edition-16 march 2021

First india lucknow edition-16 march 2021

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