First India Mumbai 13012023.pdf

First India Bureau
Mumbai: In what could
be termed as a major
development in Maha-
rashtra’s political
sphere, Vanchit Bahu-
jan Aghadi (VBA) chief
Prakash Ambedkar met
Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde on Thursday
and the duo held discus-
sions for nearly two and
a half hours at the
Chief Minister’s resi-
dence.
This meet initiated a
round of discussions as
to the possibility of
Ambedkar joining
Shinde camp, doing
away with the Uddhav
Thackeray gang. How-
ever, after the meeting,
Ambedkar said it was
now for Shiv Sena
(UBT) leader Uddhav
Thackeray to finalize
an alliance with his
party
.
He also denied that
the VBA could form a
tie-up with the rival
Eknath Shinde-led fac-
tion of the Sena, saying
that he would not join
hands with the Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP)
and its allies. The CM’s
faction of the Sena has
already announced an
alliance with Dalit lead-
er Jogendra Kawade’s
People’s Republican
Party
.
“The situation is flu-
id. It is such that the
party we want to go
with, the Shiv Sena....
We proposed to them
that we will hold a joint
press conference and
declare that talks are
on. Now, it is the Shiv
Sena that has to decide
when it wants to de-
clare that. As long as
talks are on, specula-
tion will continue,”
Ambedkar told report-
ers.
The VBA was ready
for striking “compro-
mise” with the Shiv
Sena, he said.
“It is in Uddhav
Thackeray’s hands,
when to finalise. The
Congress and NCP
made mincemeat of our
party
. We too could have
made mincemeat of
Congress and NCP as I
know my party’s
strength,” Ambedkar
said.
Even if the Shiv Sena
(Uddhav Balasaheb
Thackeray) wanted a
front of opposition par-
ties with the VBA, the
Congress and National-
ist Congress Party may
not agree, he said.
PM TO VISIT
POLL-BOUND
MUMBAI ON
JANUARY 19
Mumbai: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi is scheduled
to visit Mumbai next
Thursday, January
19, to inaugurate
two stretches of the
Mumbai and Navi
Mumbai metro rail
projects which is be-
ing viewed as a BJP
strategy to strength-
en its efforts to win
the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corpora-
tion (BMC) election
that is expected to be
held in the coming
months. This will be
the prime minister’s
second visit to Ma-
harashtra in as many
months.
The announce-
ment of the PM’s
visit came on a day
when Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde and
Deputy Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis
held a joint meeting
with the MLAs of their
parties — the Balasa-
hebanchi Shiv Sena
and the BJP — from
Mumbai to discuss
the BMC elections.
PM Modi will
address a rally on
Thursday, January
19, however, it has
been learnt that
this rally will be
held near Uddhav
Thackeray's house
i.e. BKC ground.
VBA was ready
for striking
‘compromise’ with
the Shiv Sena,
Ambedkar said
Ambedkar meets Shinde, rules out going with Shinde faction
POLITICAL ‘RIPPLES’ IN MAHARASHTRA
It is in Uddhav Thackeray’s hands, when
to finalise. The Congress and NCP made
mincemeat of our party. We too could have
made mincemeat of Congress and NCP as I know my
party’s strength. —Prakash Ambedkar,
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief
ED arrests Mumbai
builder in `500 cr fraud
New Delhi (ANI): The
Enforcement Directo-
rate (ED) has arrested
Mahesh Bhupatkumar
Ojha, a promoter of
Mumbai-based Karan
Group Builders and De-
velopers under the pro-
visions of the Preven-
tion of Money Launder-
ing Act (PMLA) in an
alleged fraud and cheat-
ing case involving an
amount of more than
Rs500 crore, an official
said on Thursday
.
Ojha, who was ar-
rested on January 10,
has been sent to ED cus-
tody for 10 days by a spe-
cial PMLA court. He is
already in judicial cus-
tody having earlier
been arrested by CID,
Bengaluru.
In this case, multiple
FIRs related to fraud
and cheating in the
name of investment in
real estate projects were
registered by the Kar-
nataka Police. P6
Prakash Ambedkar, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief
PM INAUGURATES 26TH NAT’L YOUTH FESTIVAL IN HUBBALLI
First India Bureau
Hubballi: Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi on
Thursday said the
“yuva shakti” (youth
power) is the driving
force of India’s future
and its growth would
provide ample opportu-
nities to youth of na-
tion. PM Modi while
addressing event re-
membered Vivekanan-
da, Modi said his pan-
India visits was a reflec-
tion of the oneness of
India’s consciousness
which reflects the true
spirit of “Ek Bharat
Shrestha Bharat”. India
is taking this feeling
with new resolutions in
Amrit Kaal, he added.
“Next 25 years are im-
portant for building the
nation. Yuva’s dreams
decide India’s direc-
tion, aspirations decide
India’s destination, and
their passion decides
India’s power,” he said.
Twin messages of Swami Vivekananda -
Institution and Innovation should be the
part of every youth’s life, stresses Modi
PM Narendra Modi being felicitated by Karnataka CM Basavaraj
Bommai at the inauguration of National Youth Festival on birth anniv
of Swami Vivekananda, in Hubballi on Thursday. Union Ministers
Prahlad Joshi Anurag Thakur and other dignitaries also seen here.
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OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR MUMBAI
Shah to visit JK’s Rajouri today
Days after terrorists killed civilians in Jammu and
Kashmir’s Rajouri, Home Minister Amit Shah will visit
the district today to assess the security situation.
Prophet row: Nupur gets gun licence
Ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma who was suspended
from party after outrage over Prophet remarks has been
granted licence to carry a personal gun amid death threats.
MUMBAI l FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 247
H A P P Y
L O H R I
Pay `163 crore in
10 days: Notice
to AAP over ‘ads’
New Delhi (FIB): AAP’s
Arvind Kejri has been
asked by its own govt in
Delhi to pay
₹ `163.62 cr
in 10 days
for its polit-
ical adver-
tisements
allegedly passed off as
govt messages. A recov-
ery notice was issued
by DIP. If AAP fails to
pay up, its office in Del-
hi and properties could
be sealed, officials say,
citing an earlier warn-
ing by LG VK Saxena.
RELIEF, RESCUE OPERATIONS INTENSIFY
JOLTED
JOSHIMATH!
Moni Sharma
New Delhi/Joshimath:
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah on Thursday
chaired a high-level
meeting to review the
situation in Joshimath,
a hill town in Uttara-
khand that is facing
land subsidence affect-
ing the lives of hun-
dreds of families.
The meeting, which
was attended by Union
Minister Nitin Gadkari,
RK Singh, Bhupendra
Yadav and Gajendra
Singh Shekhawat, was
held to discuss issues
related to roads, power
supply, water scarcity
and environment in
Joshimath in the wake
of land subsidence.
Meanwhile, demoli-
tion commenced with
demolition of Hotel Ma-
lari, which was marked
unsafe due to building
developing more deeper
cracks that nudged it to
incline backwards.
A day after protesters halted demolition drive,
the work resumes with razing of a hotel
l Union Home Minister Amit Shah chairs high-
level meeting to review situation in Joshimath
l From Joshimath, Army relocates it’s troops,
Army Chief Pande says ‘no impact on readiness’
There’s such pressure from the adjacent ho-
tel building that my hotel is about to collapse.
I am helpless, can’t say anything. Can anyone
be happy if their hotel is being demolished?
—Thakur Singh Rana, Owner, Hotel Malari Inn
Our govern-
ment stands
strong with
these people. Our
upcoming
meetings
are planned
to find
solutions
for all the recent up-
dates we have received
after visiting here
—Pushkar S Dhami,
Uttarakhand CM
Police personnel deployed outside Hotel Malari Inn ahead of its demolition, in Joshimath on Thursday.
CM IN JOSHIMATH,
ANNOUNCES `45 CR
REHAB PACKAGE
‘CRACKS ON 20
ARMY BUILDINGS,
TROOPS SHIFTED’
‘IND IS WORLD’S 5TH
LARGEST ECONOMY’
WORLD IS IN STATE
OF CRISIS: PM MODI
Uttarakhand govt has an-
nounced a relief package
of `45 crore to families in
Joshimath, where large
cracks appeared in homes
and on roads. CM Push-
kar Singh Dhami has also
declared a relief package
for 3k families affected
by land subsidence. CM
Dhami also held meeting
with senior district ad-
ministration officials. P5
India has relocated
some troops from areas
surrounding the sinking
Himalayan town of Joshi-
math that’s near LAC with
China, Army Chief Manoj
Pande said on Thursday.
Gen Pande also said over
20 military installations
around Joshimath have
sustained “medium to
minor damage.”
Modi also spoke about
India’s achievements on a
global level. He said, India
is world’s fifth-largest
economy and aims to take
India to top 3 economies
of world. From the toys
to tourism, defence to
agriculture, India is making
headlines across the globe.
The world is in a state of
crisis and it is difficult
to predict how long this
state of instability will last,
PM Modi said referring to
various global challenges
arising out of conflict, war
in his opening remarks
at Voice of Global South
virtual summit. P5
Temple defaced with
anti-India graffiti in Oz
Melbourne (FIB): Hin-
du temple in Melbourne
was allegedly vandal-
ised by anti-India sup-
porters and defaced
with anti-India graffiti,
saying ‘Hindustan
Murdabad’. The walls
of BAPS Swaminaray-
an Mandir were also
marked with praises of
Indian terrorist Jarnail
Singh Bhindranwale —
a supporter of the crea-
tion of Khalistan for
Sikhs — as a ‘martyr’.
“We are deeply sad-
dened by the anti-India
graffiti at the gates of
Swaminarayan Mandir
inMillPark,Melbourne
by anti-social elements.
‘Modi Hitler’ hate was
also written on wall.
Swaminarayan Temple with Anti-
Indian Slogans at Mill park area.
‘Yuva shakti’ a driving force: PM
EX-DGP LATHER
APPOINTED INFO
COMMISSIONER
Jaipur (FIB): Ex-DGP
ML Lather has been
appointed as Information
Commissioner. Justice
Ram Singh Jhala was
made a member of the
State Human Rights Com-
mission. Governor Kalraj
Mishra issued the ap-
pointment orders. Lather
got reward of control on
law and order. Appt has
been made for 3 years or
till the age of 65 years,
whichever is earlier.
Yogesh Sharma
Jaipur: Describing
Parliament and Legisla-
tive Assemblies as tem-
ples of democracy, Ra-
jasthan Governor
Kalraj Mishra said that
people’s representa-
tives should rise above
politics and consider is-
sues of public interest
sensitively
.
Lok Sabha Speaker
Om Birla said that it is
a privilege and honour
for all of us that India
has presidency of the
G-20. Giving informa-
tion about the efforts
being made by the Lok
Sabha for healthy Parl
traditions, he said that
efforts will be made to
ensure uniformity in
conduct, rules-proce-
dures and traditions in
legislative institutions
across country. He
called for efforts to
strengthen democracy
by rising above the par-
ty in Parl committees.
‘Practice of calling Assembly without
prorogation dangerous for democracy’
It is a privilege and
honour that India
has presidency of
G-20, says Om Birla
Raj CM Ashok Gehlot greets Raj Guv Kalraj Mishra as LS Speaker Om
Birla looks on at 83rd All India Presiding Officers’ Conf on Thursday.

NEWS
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023
02
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KHARGHAR
MARATHON TO BE
HELD ON JAN 22
Navi Mumbai: The ‘Khar-
gar Marathon 2023’ will
be taking off on January
22, 2023 with the welfare
slogan “Run for Free
From Addiction”. It will be
organized by the Ramsheth
Thakur International Sports
Complex and Kharghar
Residents Welfare Associ-
ation. This is the 13th year
of the marathon and will
feature men open group
10 km, women open group
10 km, boys under 17
years 05 km, girls under 17
years 05 km, boys under
14 years 05 km, and girls
under 14 years 05 km.
MAN NABBED
FOR BOMB THREAT
CALL TO SCHOOL
Mumbai: A 34-year-old
man from Gujarat was
arrested by the police for
allegedly making a bomb
threat to the Dhirubhai
Ambani School in Band-
ra-Kurla Complex (BKC)
area, the police said. The
school had received a
threat call on Tuesday and
the caller identified himself
as Vikram Singh Jhala
from Gujarat saying that he
had planted a bomb in the
school, they said adding
that an FIR under Sections
505 (1)(B) and 506 was
registered by the BKC
police.
MSEDCL TEAM
ATTACKED FOR
INSPECTION
Thane: A team of the
Maharashtra State Elec-
tricity Distribution Co. Ltd
(MSEDCL) came under
attack while carrying out
an inspection to detect
power theft at a village,
police said. A squad led by
assistant engineer Ravindra
Nahide was checking the
meters in a building when
five men attacked them
with sticks, iron rods, pipes
and stones, he said. One
of the assailants has been
arrested.
TEEN GIRL ENDS
LIFE IN THANE
HOUSING COMPLEX
Thane: A 13-year-old
girl allegedly committed
suicide in her home in
Thane, a police official said
on Thursday. The teenager
hanged herself on Wednes-
day night, Inspector Vijay
Murtadak of Wagle Estate
police station said. He
added that “The body of
the girl has been sent for
post-mortem. A case of
accidental death has been
registered and an investi-
gation has been launched
into the matter,”.
FIR AGAINST ONE IN THANE FOR REPORTING
FALSE FIRE TO CLEAR ENCROACHMENT
Mumbai: The police have filed an FIR against a man in
Thane for allegedly making a hoax call about a fire, officials
said. The Badlapur fire station received
information about a fire in Khau Gali
area. Rushing to the location, they found
a car blocking the road with the accused
sitting in it. He allegedly asked the fire
officials to clear the encroachment on
the road and then proceed, informing
them that there was no fire but he made
the call to get the department to clear
the encroachment, a police official said.
TIGER FOUND DEAD IN MAHA’S PENCH TIGER
RESERVE, CAUSE OF DEATH ‘NOT DISCLOSED’
Nagpur: A tiger was found dead on Thursday on the Maha-
rashtra side of the Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR), an official
said. A press release issued by the office of PTR Field Di-
rector A Sreelakshmi said the carcass of the tiger was found
floating in a lake and information regarding this was provided
by local villagers. The carcass was found in Sillari beat under
the Paoni Unified Buffer Range of the reserve spread across
Ramtek, Parseoni and Saoner tehsils of Nagpur district in
eastern Vidarbha, it said. The release, however, did not dis-
close the possible cause of the tiger’s death. A post-mortem
will be conducted as per guidelines set by the National Tiger
Conservation Authority and other related authorities, it said.
CRUCIAL READ
GovtmoreconcernedwithBMC
pollsthaninvestment,saysRaut
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Shiv Sena -
Uddhav Balasaheb
Thackeray leader San-
jay Raut called out the
government for being
more worried about the
civic elections in Mum-
bai than it was about
bringing in investment.
Raut’s comments fol-
lowed an announce-
ment that Chief Minis-
ter Eknath Shinde will
cut short his visit to
Davos for the World
Economic Forum
(WEF) as Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi will
be in Mumbai on Janu-
ary 19 to inaugurate two
stretches of the Mum-
bai and Navi Mumbai
metro rail projects.
Deputy Chief Minis-
ter Devendra Fadnavis
also cancelled his visit
to Davos as he would
be overseeing prepara-
tions for the PM’s visit.
The annual WEF is
being held January
16-20.
“CM Shinde will visit
Davos and participate
in the WEF on January
16, and will return on
the night of January 18.
He will be present for
all the events of PM
Modi the next day,” an
aide said.
Shinde and Fadnavis
had both scheduled
long trips to Davos, but
changed plans after
Modi’s schedule was fi-
nalized, he added.
“They are not at all
serious about it (bring-
ing investments to the
state),” Sanjay Raut
told reporters else-
where.
“Almost all chief
ministers and their del-
egations are going to
Davos… but the Maha-
rashtra CM and Dy CM
are more concerned
about BMC elections
than about invest-
ments,” the Rajya Sab-
ha member said.
Elections to the BMC,
the country’s richest
civic body with an an-
nual budget of Rs40,000
crore--which is larger
than some state budg-
ets--have been due since
last year.
The Maharashtra
government could have
asked Modi to resched-
ule his visit to Mumbai
as the dates of the Da-
vos meet can not be
changed, Raut further
said, adding, “They
want to show that the
Centre is doing every-
thing (in Mumbai). But
the public knows every-
thing.”
Mahesh Tapase,
spokesperson of the
Nationalist Congress
Party, an ally of the Ud-
dhav Thackeray-led
Sena, said the chief
minister should tell the
people how much in-
vestment he will bring
from Davos.
CM cuts Davos
visit to attend
PM’s events
staring Jan 19,
Dy CM cancels
trip entirely
Elections for BMC, the country’s richest civic body with an annual budget of `40,000 crore, have
been due since last year. —FILE PHOTO
They are not at all serious about it (bringing in-
vestment to the state). Almost all chief ministers
and their delegations are going to Davos… but
the CM and Dy CM are more concerned about BMC
elections than about investments.
—Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena (UBT)
First India Bureau
Latur: Noted water
conservationist Rajen-
dra Singh attended the
Chala Januya Nadila
(let’s know our rivers)
rally held on Thursday
in Latur between the
district stadium and the
Mahatma Basweshwar
College.
School and college
students were holding
placards exhorting peo-
ple to keep water bodies
clean and to reduce pol-
lution. Speaking at the
end of the river conser-
vation rally, Singh said
protecting rivers would
be a true celebration of
75 years of the coun-
try’s Independence.
“Everyone must work
together for conserva-
tion and cleanliness of
rivers,” the Magsaysay
Award and Stockholm
WaterPrizewinnersaid.
Addressing the gath-
ering, Padma Bhushan
awardee and eminent
surgeon and author
Ashok Kukade said con-
servation of water was
essential for survival of
humans.
The rally was held by
the Maharashtra de-
partment of tourism
and cultural affairs, the
collectorate and outfits
like Manavlok Sanstha
and Manjra Nadi Jal
Sanvad Yatra, officials
said.
River conservation
rally held in Latur
First India Bureau
Thane: Police have ar-
rested four persons on
the charge of theft of
auto-rickshaws in Navi
Mumbai and neigh-
bouring places, seizing
10 stolen vehicles from
them, an official said on
Thursday
. With this, the
police claimed to have
solved 10 cases of auto-
rickshaw thefts.
There had been a lot
of cases of auto-rick-
shaw theft following
which the crime branch
was directed to solve
them, Vinayak Vast,
Navi Mumbai’s Assis-
tant Commissioner of
Police (crime) said.
The police worked on
various leads and first
arrested a driver, Re-
hman Yusuf Khan(23),
followed by Hassan
Imamsaheb Sayyed(35),
from Mankurd, Moham-
mad Nadeem Naheem
Shaikh(38) and plumber
Sahebaz Shakhil Hu-
sile(29) he said. Ten sto-
len auto-rickshaws
worth Rs7.60 lakh were
seizedfromtheirposses-
sion, the official said.
Ten auto-rickshaws
recovered, 4 held
by police for theft
AUTO-RICKSHAW DRIVER HELD FOR
STEALING PASSENGER’S JEWELLERY
Thane: A 37-year-old auto-rickshaw driver Shivprasad
Banvarilal Gupta was arrested for allegedly stealing
jewellery worth Rs8.08 lakh in Thane, an official said.
A couple was travelling in the auto-rickshaw to keep
their jewellery in a bank locker, they got down from the
auto-rickshaw and the woman was about to pick up the
bag containing the jewellery, but the driver sped away
with the bag. He was caught within 2 hours of the crime,
Senior Inspector Sanjay Dhumal said.
Two former I-T officers get 3 years in jail for taking bribes
Mumbai (PTI): A spe-
cial Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI)
court here has sen-
tenced two former in-
come tax officers to
three years of rigorous
imprisonment for ac-
cepting bribes, terming
the offence as grave and
observing that dishon-
est intention and abuse
of official position to
grab the money as grat-
ification is alarming.
The duo sought
bribes after threatening
to conduct search opera-
tions at the offices and
residences of complain-
ants, according to the
prosecution. The ac-
cused, Raj Kumar Bha-
tia and Suresh Khetan,
were found guilty of of-
fences committed under
relevant provisions of
the Indian Penal Code
(IPC) as well as the Pre-
vention of Corruption
Act (PCA) by special
judge SP Naik Nim-
balkar on Tuesday. A
detailedorderwasmade
available on Wednesday
.
The court, in its or-
der, held, “Undoubtedly
,
the nature of the of-
fence is grave and seri-
ous. The dishonest in-
tention and abuse of
official position to grab
money as gratification
is alarming. It needs to
be checked.” As per the
prosecution, the com-
plainants are partners
in a firm.
In December 2008,
Bhatia, then an Assis-
tant Commissioner of
Income Tax posted in
Mumbai, through his
colleague Khetan,
called one of the com-
plainants to his office, it
said. The accused asked
him to produce tax pa-
pers of their firm and
the latter complied.
Later, Bhatia demanded
Rs2 lakh from the duo
and threatened to con-
duct search operations
at their offices and resi-
dences if the money
was not paid, the pros-
ecution said.
The court termed the offence grave, observing
that dishonest intention and abuse of official
position to grab the money is alarming
3 BOOKED FOR FRAUD ON
PRETEXT OF MEDICAL SERVICES
Thane (PTI): Police
have registered a
case against two men
and a woman for al-
legedly cheating
some people of Rs56
lakh after approach-
ing them to set up a
pharmacy and a lab
at a hospital which
they planned to start
in Thane district, an
official said on
Thursday
.
One of the victims
told the police that
the accused ap-
proached him saying
they were launching
a hospital in Kalyan
town and asked him
to set up a pharmacy
at the facility.
The accused alleg-
edly asked the victim
for a sum of Rs32
lakh as a deposit,
which he and his
partner paid to them,
an official from Man-
pada police station in
Dombivli said, quot-
ing the complaint.
The accused also
approached a woman
and her partners in a
healthcare company
and offered them to
set up a lab in the
hospital for which
they took an amount
of Rs24 lakh from
them as a deposit, the
official said.
‘BJP wants to
give tickets to
youth in local
body polls’
Latur (PTI): Maha-
rashtra Bharatiya
Janata Party leader
Sambhaji Patil
Nilangekar on
Thursday said func-
tionaries below the
age of 35 must pre-
pare to fight civic
polls as the party
wants to field youth.
The MLA from
NilangainLaturand
former state minis-
terwasspeakingata
“yuva morcha” of
the BJP here. The
party wants to give
80% tickets in local
body polls to young-
sters, he claimed.
He also refuted
speculation here
that Congress MLA
Amit Deshmukh
may join the BJP
.
Without taking any-
one’s name,
Nilangekar said the
BJP will not allow a
“prince” to join as it
wantedcommonciti-
zenstocomeintothe
party fold.
Deshmukh is the
son of former CM,
the late Vilasrao
Deshmukh. He is a
three-time MLA
from Latur and was
minister in
the Thackeray
government.
Rajendra Singh
Real estate agents will now need
to get certification: MahaRERA
INCREASED AWARENESS
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The 37,746
real estate agents regis-
tered with the Maha-
rashtra Real Estate
Regulatory Authority
(MahaRERA) will soon
have to sit for exams
and get certified in or-
der to do their jobs.
According to a new
circular issued by the
regulatory body, only
agents with a valid
Competency Certifi-
cate will be allowed to
work as authorized real
estate agents begin-
ning May 01.
MahaRERA, enacted
in 2017, has announced
plans to provide train-
ing to real estate agents
to further improve pro-
fessionalism, account-
ability and competence
in the highly un-organ-
ized sector. The author-
ity, which has devel-
oped a basic curricu-
lum over the past two
years, will now impart
training in online, of-
fline and hybrid form.
The circular said
real estate agents are
the public face and in-
termediary between
promoters and home
buyers and therefore it
is essential to provide
them training to equip
them with the knowl-
edge of regulatory
framework.
“MahaRERA propos-
es to introduce a basic
real-estate agent train-
ing and certification
course for real estate
agents across Maha-
rashtra,” the circular
said. This is expected to
enhance knowledge
and awareness of the
regulatory and legal
framework and prac-
tices and enforcement
of code of conduct, so
that real estate agents
are professionally qual-
ified to help assist home
buyers.
The agents presently
registered with Maha-
RERA have to obtain
the competency certifi-
cate by September 01.
MahaRERA, which
has developed a
curriculum over
the past two years,
will now impart
online, offline and
hybrid training,
culminating in an
online exam
PROPOSAL FOR IMPROVEMENT

MAHARASHTRA
03
Mum civic body plans `4 cr makeover for Juhu Chowpatty
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Soon, Juhu
Beach will have a make-
over as Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation
(BMC) plans to under-
take a beautification
project, for which K
West Ward has allotted
Rs4crore.Theworkwill
be done keeping in fo-
cus the idea of a ‘Plas-
tic-free Ocean’.
As part of the pro-
ject, the civic body
will install lights at
the entrance of the
beach and artwork
will be put up for chil-
dren’s entertainment.
New bins will be
placed and the en-
trance pillar will be
adorned with hanging
plants. Arches, seats,
pavements, graffiti
and new public toilets
will also be a part of
the programme.
Notably, Juhu Chow-
patty is a major land-
mark frequented by lo-
cals and domestic and
foreign tourists. Apart
from this, many Bolly-
wood celebrities also
live in the area. On the
weekends, as many as
8,000 people visit the
Chowpatty
.
The beach is among
the most popular sites
in the city for the an-
nual Ganesh Chaturthi
celebrations where
thousands of devotees
arrive in grand proces-
sions, carrying idols of
Lord Ganesh, to be im-
mersed in the sea.
BMC FLOATS TENDER FOR MITHI RIVER DESILTING
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has floated a tender worth Rs87 crore, with a period of two years
(from 2023 to 2025) for desilting the Mithi river as in April 2022, the previous contract expired. The civic body
cleans the 17.8-km river, starting at Vihar lake and flowing into the Arabian Sea at Mahim Causeway, to prevent
flooding during the monsoon. From March onwards, the desilting will be carried out in three phases; 70% before
monsoon, 20% during rains and 10% later. “The tender will be opened by January end and will be sent for approval
of the civic administrator. The actual desilting work will start from March,” an official said.
The prominent
landmark, a
favourite haunt
among locals
and tourists
alike sees 8K
every weekend
HC stays transfer of adoption
cases to district magistrates
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bombay
High Court has directed
a single bench judge of
the HC to continue with
adjudication in pending
adoption matters till
February 14, the next
date of hearing in the
case, while ordering an
interim stay on the
transfer of such cases
to district magistrates.
A division bench of
Justices Gautam Patel
and SG Dige passed the
order on Tuesday while
hearing two petitions
filed by couples chal-
lenging the validity of
the Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protection of
Children) Amendment
Act of 2021, in which
the word “court” was
replaced with “district
magistrate”.
The effect of this
amendment would
mean all adoption cas-
es, including foreign
adoption cases, would
be placed for final ap-
proval order before the
district magistrate in-
stead of the high court.
The HC also issued a
notice to the Attorney
General of India seek-
ing the Union govern-
ment’s response to the
petitions.
The bench in its or-
der noted that until now
adoption cases were be-
ing handled by judges
of the high court.
“It has not been
shown to us that there
has been any complaint
about the handling of
these cases. We have yet
to see the justification
for the amendment,” the
court said in its order.
The HC said it has been
handling such adoption
cases for a very long pe-
riod of time.
“Nothing is shown to
us to indicate why for a
limited period of time
of about four weeks this
should not be continued
until we finally hear the
challenge. No prejudice
will be caused to any
party if the existing sys-
tem continues. On the
contrary, the primary
interest would be pro-
tected,” the bench said.
It also refused to ac-
cept the contention
put forth by the gov-
ernment that there has
been a delay in the dis-
posal of adoption cas-
es by HC.
Issues notice to
AGI seeking the
Union govt
response to the
petitions
We are not im-
pressed by the
arguments of
delays for disposals be-
cause at least in this
high court, the adop-
tions jurisdiction is one
in which there is no
backlog at all. Adjourn-
ments are almost never
requested or ordered,
and disposals take place
on a weekly basis.
—Justices Gautam Patel
and SG Dige,
Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court
Missing toddler traced 3
months after kidnapping
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Mumbai
police have rescued a
two-year-old girl almost
three months after she
was allegedly kid-
napped from a skywalk
near the Bandra rail-
way station, and arrest-
ed the kidnapper, in
West Bengal’s Siliguri.
“The accused, identi-
fied as Asif Ali Shaik,
wasknowntothechild’s
parents as they lived
next to each other on
the skywalk. He consid-
ered her a good luck
charm, because he
started earning more
money than usual; so he
decided to kidnap her.
On October 19, Shaikh
told her mother he was
taking her to get her a
chocolate,” an official
said on Thursday
.
When he failed to re-
turn with her daughter,
the mother filed a com-
plaint at the Bandra po-
lice station, and a case
of kidnapping was reg-
istered.
The police officials
had been trying to trace
the girl since then. The
police even had CCTV
footage of the girl with
the kidnapper but could
not trace them.
“We acted on every
tip-off we got. The in-
vestigation took us to
Delhi, Punjab, Ra-
jasthan, Haridwar in
Uttarakhand, and even-
tually to Malda and
Howrah in West Bengal.
While we were in West
Bengal, we developed
some human sources,
who then tipped us off
about the kidnapper.”
Shaikh was then lo-
cated at his house in
Siliguri and arrested.
The child has been reu-
nited with her parents.
Accused took the child
away from her parents
on October 19 under
the pretext of giving
her chocolate and
kidnapped her as he
considered her a ‘good
luck charm’
Cops’ special drive
against vehicles
parked on highway
First India Bureau
Mumbai: In a special
drive, the Traffic De-
partment will act
against private vehicles
and buses which are
parked on the Western
Express Highway near
the airport, which leads
to traffic congestion.
Accordingtothecops,
to avoid high parking
charges, many motor-
ists have been parking
their cars on the high-
way at the Terminal 2
parking lot while pri-
vate buses wait to pick
up passengers. Actions
against nearly 75 and 10-
15 buses taken daily
.
The Vakola traffic di-
vision has also put up
banners near the road
that connects Mumbai
airport terminal-2
to Western Ex-
press Highway.
“Private buses
and vehicles are not al-
lowed to be parked here.
Private buses and pas-
sengers waiting for the
buses lead to traffic
congestion at this
spot.”- the notice reads
Sunil Yadav, Senior
Inspector of Vakola traf-
fic division said, “We
started the drive three
days ago. On the first
day of the drive, we took
action against 75 cars
and 15 luxury buses
parked at the spot. This
isano-parkingzone.But
the buses and cars that
are parked here add to
traffic congestion on
this busy road, especial-
ly during peak hours. So
far,wehavetakenaction
against around 300 vehi-
cles.” The traffic cops
are levying a fine of
Rs500 on any vehicle
found parked at
this spot.
Navi Mumbai police to collaborate
with civic body to issue e-challans
Thane/Palghar (PTI):
The Navi Mumbai po-
lice will collaborate
with the local civic
body to introduce e-
challans for the viola-
tion of traffic rules in
the city, Milind Bhar-
ambe, Police Commis-
sioner, Navi Mumbai
said.
He was speaking at
an event organized in
the Vashi area to mark
the commencement of
road safety week. On
the occasion, a boy,
dressed up as 'Chhota
Police', gave a presenta-
tion before the gather-
ing on traffic discipline.
Bharambe said the
Navi Mumbai police
will make efforts to ed-
ucate children about
traffic discipline so
that the habit of follow-
ing road rules gets in-
culcated in them from a
young age.
The Navi Mumbai
police will collaborate
with the Navi Mumbai
Municipal Corporation
(NMMC) and make use
of footage of the CCT-
Vs installed in the city
to introduce e-challans
for traffic norms viola-
tions. This is likely to
happen from March/
April, he said.
The official also said
he wants to make Navi
Mumbai a traffic-
friendly city and for
this, he will seek the
support of all develop-
mental agencies includ-
ing the City and Indus-
trial Development Cor-
poration (CIDCO),
NMMC, Regional
Transport Office (RTO)
and citizens. The Navi
Mumbai police's traffic
department will act as
a catalyst towards the
same and make the city
accident-free, he added.
First India Bureau
Pune: A proposal has
beensenttothestategov-
ernment to set up addi-
tionalbarracksinPune’s
YerawadaCentralJailto
tackle the issue of over-
crowding in the facility
,
where the number of in-
matesis200%morethan
its capacity
, Additional
Director General of Po-
lice (Prisons) Amitabh
Gupta has said.
There are a total of 60
jails in the state, includ-
ing nine central prisons.
As of November 2022,
these jails housed a to-
tal of 40,718 inmates,
against a cumulative
capacity of 24,722, ac-
cording to data from the
prisons department. Ye-
rawada jail had 6,854
inmates against its ca-
pacity of 2,449.
Gupta said, “A pro-
posal to construct addi-
tional barracks in the
Yerawada jail was sent
to the state government
a few days back. Be-
sides this, there is a
need for more prisons
(in the state) and the
government is also seri-
ous about it.”
All these are long
drawn out processes
and the government
and the jail administra-
tion are already work-
ing on them, he said.
Prison overcrowding:
Yerawada jail to get
additional barracks?
As of November 2022,
the Yerawada jail in
Pune had 6,854
inmates against
its capacity of 2,449,
according to data
from prisons dept
The new move is likely to begin from March. —FILE PHOTO
The Navi
Mumbai
police will
collaborate with the
Navi Mumbai Municipal
Corporation (NMMC)
and make use of
footage of the CCTVs
installed in the city
to introduce e-chal-
lans for traffic norms
violations. This is likely
to happen from March/
April.
—Milind Bharambe,
Police Commissioner,
Navi Mumbai
The Navi
Mumbai police
will make efforts
to educate
children about
traffic discipline
so that the habit
of following road
rules gets
inculcated in
them from a
young age
—FILE PHOTO

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 247
l RNI TITLE NO.
MAHENG/2022/14652
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe
MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial
Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.
Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C
of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS
Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville
Parle East, Mumbai 400057.
Phone 022-46031417.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Kartikey Dev Singh
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
IN-DEPTH
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
Vivekananda ji was a strong critic of
casteism and social ostentatious and
was in favor of social harmony. Along
with awakening national consciousness
among the youth, he gave ideas to
connect spirituality with modernity.
His immense knowledge and inspiring
thoughts will remain a center of
inspiration for the youth for ages.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
Regards on the birth anniversary of
Swami Vivekananda ji, a young ascetic,
a shining constellation, an unmatched
example of concentration and humanity,
who scented the whole world with the
fragrance of Indian all-inclusive culture
and enlightened spirituality and best
wishes to all the youth of the country on
National Youth Day.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
If you knew what I know about
the power of giving, you would
not let a single meal pass
without sharing it in some way.
—Buddha
TOP TWEETS
FACE-OFF BETWEEN
TN GOVERNOR RAVI
AND MK STALIN
GOVT CONTINUES
n the Tamil Nadu
government versus
Governor RN Ravi
row, a new dimen-
sion was added after
the latter referred to himself as
the governor of Tamizhagam
(instead of Tamil Nadu) in the
invites for Pongal. Governor
Ravi had used Tamizhagam in
his speech on the inaugural day
of the state Assembly’s opening
session when he also deviated
from the tradition of sticking to
the speech provided to him by
the MK Stalin government. Ravi
finds Tamizhagam appropriate
as Nadu has come to mean a
country
. Ravi prefers Tamizhag-
am over Tamil Nadu as it “has
contributed to the spread of
Sanatan culture.
The latest cause of friction is
the state government’s usage of
“ondriya arasu” instead of the
Union government. The gover-
nor finds the term “disrespect-
ful” and “problematic” especial-
ly because the TN government
prefers to use the Central gov-
ernment as India is “a Union of
states”. The fraught relations
between the two sides may
prove counterproductive for the
BJP as Dravidian pride is re-
peatedly hurt.
I
ndia’s IT capital,
Bengaluru, is try-
ing to live up to
the allegation of
having a 40 per-
cent commission. Two days
after an under-construction
Metro pillar collapsed kill-
ing a young mother and her
child and her husband and
daughter seriously injured,
a biker was injured when a
stretch on Brigade Road
caved in. The incident oc-
curred near an area where a
tunnel boring for the Metro
was on. Two accidents near
phase two construction site
Metro suggest that there is
something woefully wrong
with the project’s execution
and the city’s civic body
. The
Congress reminded the state
government of the 40 per-
cent commission charge lev-
elled against it by an ag-
grieved contractor who ac-
cused officials of taking a 40
percent cut to release pay-
ments in 2021.
In October last year a ser-
vice road built as part of a Rs
19.5- crore underpass caved
in barely four months after
its inauguration highlight-
ing the corruption in con-
struction projects. The latest
accidents involving the Met-
ro project which was started
in 2007 aren’t the only ones.
In 2013 a 47-year-old worker
died after being hit by a six-
tonne iron frame. In 2020 a
labourer died after a cable
pierced his head. In 2021 a
worker fell into a utility
shaft and died. As there were
no signages the man mistook
the utility shaft as a toilet.
According to an RTI reply,
Delhi Metro took a toll of 156
lives during construction be-
tween 2002 and 2017. Bengal-
uru Metro officials perhaps
did not take any lessons from
Delhi Metro to avoid casual-
ties. Lucknow Metro had
fewer casualties due to better
supervision.
ACCIDENT PRONE
OR CARELESSNESS
Two days after an
under-construction
Metro pillar collapsed
killing a young mother
and her child and leaving
her husband, daughter
seriously injured, a biker
was injured when a
stretch on Brigade
Road caved in
I
fghanistan, officially the Is-
lamic Emirate of Afghani-
stan, is a landlocked country
located at the crossroads of
Central Asia and South Asia
and is referred to as the Heart
of Asia.Characterisedbyrug-
ged terrain Afghanistan bet-
ter known as “graveyard of
empires” has witnessed rise
and fall of many kingdoms
andfinallytheHotakandDur-
rani dynasties, marked the
political origins of the mod-
ern state. Since the late 1970s,
Afghanistan’s history has
been dominated by extensive
warfare, including coups, in-
vasions, insurgencies and
civil wars. The conflict began
in 1978 when a communist
revolution established a so-
cialist state, and subsequent
infighting prompted the So-
viet Union to invade Afghani-
stan in 1979. Mujahedeen
fought against them in the
Soviet- Afghan war and con-
tinuedfightingamongstthem-
selves following Soviet with-
drawal in 1989. The Islamic
fundamentalist Taliban con-
trolled most of the country by
1996, but their Islamic Emir-
ates of Afghanistan received
little international recogni-
tion and it was overthrown by
US invasion in 2001.
Birth, Rise and Fall of
Taliban (First Regime):
The Taliban, or “students” in
the Pashto language, trained
in madrasas of Afghanistan
and Pakistan emerged as sav-
iours in the early 1990s follow-
ing the withdrawal of Soviet
troops from Afghanistan and
resultant clashes amongst the
mujahedeen militia groups
for greater control. Their
leader was Mullah Moham-
mad Omar, who had earned a
reputation for being pious
and assisting in the fight
against the Soviets. The birth
anditsriseof Talibanin1990s
were primarily to counter So-
viet presence in Afghanistan.
The Taliban was funded by
Saudi Arab, trained by ISI Pa-
kistan and had a tacit support
of US to fill the vacuum cre-
ated once Soviets were driven
out of Afghanistan. The Tali-
ban were accused of various
human rights and cultural
abuses and their actions like
destruction of the famous
Bamiyan Buddha statues, at-
tacks on World Trade Center,
New York on 11 Sep 2001 and
providing a sanctuary for the
prime suspects, Osama Bin
Laden and his al-Qaeda move-
ment led to US-led military
coalition launched attacks in
Afghanistan on 07 Oct and by
the first week of December,
2001 the Taliban regime had
collapsed. A pro-US govern-
ment was established in Ka-
bul under President Hamid
Karzai in 2002.
Resurgence of Taliban -
2021: Even after its fall the
Taliban made numerous at-
tacks on Kabul, NATO’s base
in Sep 2012 and seized control
the strategically important
city of Kunduz. Subsequently
MullahMansourwaskilledin
a US drone strike in May 2016
and replaced by his deputy
Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhun-
dzada. At one point, a Paki-
stani offshoot of the Taliban
threatenedtodestabilisePaki-
stan from areas it controlled
in the north-west. A major
military offensive two years
later following the Peshawar
school massacre greatly re-
ducedthegroup’sinfluencein
Pakistan. The US entered into
a peace deal negotiation with
the Taliban in 2020 paving
wayforresurgenceof Taliban
whohadconstantlypursueda
long guerrilla war against US
and its supported Afghan gov-
ernments. National govern-
ments led by Hamid Karzai
and Ashraf Ghani had inter-
national recognition and sup-
portbuttheycouldnotcontrol
Taliban activities fully
. The
Taliban retook control of Af-
ghanistanin2021,twodecades
after being removed from
power by a US-led military
coalition. Currently
, the Tali-
ban are led by Mawlawi Hai-
batullah Akhundzada as the
head of the Rahbari Shura,
the council that takes all the
political and military deci-
sions for what it calls the
Emirate - the Afghanistan ter-
ritories under its control. Al-
though initially claiming to
formaninclusivegovernment
for the country, the regime
currently remains interna-
tionally unrecognized.
IndiaandAfghanistanhave
very ancient historic and cul-
tural ties since Indus Valley
Civilisation days. Despite ob-
stacles from Pakistan, rela-
tions between two countries
at the people-to-people level
have remained good. Surviv-
ing Taliban rule in the 1990s
and since August 2021, India
always had strong stakes and
strategic interests in Afghan-
istan.In October 2011, India
and Afghanistan signed a
Strategic Partnership Agree-
ment, which strengthened
their relations as it provides
for assistance to help rebuild
Afghanistan’s infrastructure
and institutions, education
and technical assistance to re-
build indigenous Afghan ca-
pacity in different areas. In-
dian PM Modi views “Afghan-
istan as a good neighbour of
Indi and Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani wished the
friendship to last forever.
Taliban Resurgence and
Implications for India: Pre-
viousTalibanregimewasrec-
ognized only by Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia, and the United
Arab Emirates (UAE). The de-
struction of the Bamiyan
Buddha monuments by the
Taliban led to outrage and an-
gry protests by India. In 1999,
the hijacked Indian Airlines
Flight 814 landed and stayed
in Kandahar in Afghanistan
and the Taliban were suspect-
ed of supporting them. India
became one of the key sup-
porters of the anti-Taliban
Northern Alliance following
these developments. A year
ago, India was not happy
about the state of affairs in
Afghanistan as the U.S. was
negotiating its exit, the Tali-
ban was consolidating power,
and decades of India’s base of
supporting anti-Taliban forc-
eswereevaporating.Indiahas
sentbackabatchof diplomats
to Kabul in a significant shift
seenasgivingadefactorecog-
nition to the Afghan Taliban
government. The Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan wel-
comes Indian’s step to up-
gradeitsdiplomaticrepresen-
tation in Kabul. Besides en-
suring security, we will play
close attention to the immu-
nity of the diplomats and co-
operate well in endeavour.
Way Forward: India must
consolidate its move to up-
grade its diplomatic repre-
sentation in Kabul and need
to have a permanent pres-
ence inside Afghanistan. For
the Taliban, being friends
with India allows it to put in
place some sort of hedging
strategy vis-à-vis Pakistan.
India to put in place more
concrete measures to engage
Taliban giving it a better lev-
erage against arch rival Paki-
stan. India’s direct return to
Afghanistan will keep third-
party interventions out and
will be more result oriented.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
BREAKING THE ICE: INDIA
AND RESURGENT TALIBAN
A
Need to establish a working
relationship with new
Taliban regime. The
Taliban are really
struggling to govern the
country as they are not
diplomatically recognized.
They are short on resources
and there’s a humanitarian
crisis in the country. India
need to address issue of
cross border terrorism with
Taliban reciprocating with
some guarantees that they
will not allow Afghan
territory to be used against
India. If the Taliban are
responding to India and
are talking about terrorism
and if they open up to a
human rights conversation
with the Indians that
might be good news
AFGHANISTAN,
OFFICIALLY THE
ISLAMIC EMIRATE OF
AFGHANISTAN, IS A
LANDLOCKED COUNTRY
LOCATED AT THE
CROSSROADS OF
CENTRAL ASIA AND
SOUTH ASIA AND IS
REFERRED TO AS THE
HEART OF ASIA
COL RAJESH BHUKAR
The author is a Post Graduate in
International Studies, Alumni of Defense
Services Staff College, Wellington
and College of Combat, Mhow

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05
INDIA
New Delhi (PTI): India
is committed to tackling
the impact of climate
change and supporting
the efforts of developing
countries in achieving
their development goals
through necessary tech-
nical assistance, Union
Environment Minister
Bhupender Yadav said
on Thursday
.
At Voice of Global
South summit, he said
the developed world has
already consumed its
share of climate re-
sources and it is time
that they accept respon-
sibility for past actions.
The development of a
country and conserva-
tion of its biodiversity
and ecosystems are two
important aspects, nei-
ther of which can be ig-
nored. As such, there is a
need for development
policies to be inclusive
andsustainabletoreduce
inequality and contrib-
utetoempowermentand
improvement of quality
of people’s lives, he said.
“India is supporting developing nations”
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT
World is in state of crisis: PM Modi at Voice of Global South summit
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The world
is in a state of crisis
and it is difficult to pre-
dict how long this state
of instability will last,
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi said on
Thursday referring to
various global chal-
lenges arising out of
conflict, war and ter-
rorism among others.
In his opening re-
marks at the Voice of
Global South virtual
summit, Modi flagged
concerns over rising
prices of food, fuel and
fertilisers, the econom-
ic impact of Covid-19
as well as natural dis-
asters driven by cli-
mate change.
“We, the Global
South, have the largest
stakes in the future.
Most of the global chal-
lenges have not been
created by the Global
South. But they affect
us more”.
He said “the world is
in a state of crisis” and
toldtheleadersof devel-
oping countries: “your
voice is India’s voice”
and“yourprioritiesare
India’s priorities”.
Noting that 5Rs need
to recalibrate the rela-
tionship between the
developing countries
and the developed
world,hesaidtheworld
has to respond to the
priorities of the Global
South by framing an
inclusive and balanced
international agenda.
It has to recognise that
the principle of ‘com-
mon but differentiated
responsibilities’ ap-
plies to all global chal-
lenges. It must respect
the sovereignty of all
nations, rule of law and
peaceful resolution of
differences and dis-
putes; and the world
must reform interna-
tional institutions, in-
cluding the United Na-
tions, to make them
more relevant.
The PM said: “We
have turned the page
on another difficult
year that saw war, con-
flict, terrorism, and
geo-political tensions;
rising food, fertiliser
and fuel prices; climate
change-driven natural
disasters, and the last-
ing economic impact of
the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is difficult to predict
how long this state of
instability will last”.
He said most of the
problems the world is
facinghavebeenthrust
upon it by developed
countries: “We have
seen this in the im-
pacts of Covid pan-
demic, climate change,
terrorism and even the
Ukraine conflict. The
search for solutions
also does not factor in
our role or our voice,”
he said.
He recalled that In-
dia has always tried to
share its expertise and
learning with underde-
veloped countries. “We
supplied medicines
and vaccines to over
100 countries during
the pandemic. India
has always stood for a
greater role of develop-
ing countries in deter-
mining our common
future.”
Dehradun (PTI): The
crisis in Joshimath has
brought into focus the
issue of land subsid-
ence which has for
years been threatening
several places of Utta-
rakhand, including the
pilgrim town of Kar-
naprayag and Landour.
Around 80 km from
Joshimath, at least 50
houses at Bahuguna Na-
gar in Karnaprayag
have been developing
cracks since 2015. Lo-
cals hold gradual land
subsidence responsible
for the fissures and at-
tribute it to the widen-
ing of the national high-
way
, violation of norms
in construction works
related to mandi pari-
shad, erosion caused by
the Pindar river and un-
systematic flushing out
of rainwater.
Debris brought down
by a landslide from
above the Bahuguna
Nagar first inflicted
damage to houses in
2015, former chairman
of Karnaprayag munic-
ipal council Subhash
Gairola said.
JOSHIMATH LAND SUBSIDENCE BHARAT JODO YATRA
KARNAPRAYAG, LANDOUR
TOOSTARINGATDISASTER
NDRF and SDRF personnel deployed near the damaged hotels that have to be demolished, in Chamoli on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi leads the party’s Bharat Jodo
Yatra, at Doraha, in Khanna on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav with his Japanese
counterpart Akihiro Nishimura in New Delhi on Thursday.
Dehradun (PTI): Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on
Thursday said a committee would decide the market rate for
compensation to be paid to the families affected in Joshimath
by keeping in mind the interests of stakeholders. A 19-mem-
ber committee headed by Chamoli District Magistrate Himan-
shu Khurana was set up to distribute an interim assistance of
Rs 1.50 lakh among each affected family and decide the rate
at which compensation is to be paid. “People will get the best
compensation possible. The state govt will do all it can to
properly rehabilitate them. Protecting their life and property
is our top priority,” CM Dhami said at a meeting.
New Delhi: The Uttarakhand
govt on Thursday told Delhi
High Court that authorities are
rehabilitating families affected
due to land subsidence in
Joshimath, and that the Na-
tional Disaster Response Force
and State Disaster Response
Force have been deployed in
the area. The state govt said a
rehabilitation package is also
being prepared and a lot of
relief work is going on. The
submission was made before
a bench which was hearing a
petition seeking to direct the
Centre to constitute a commit-
tee headed by a retired judge
to look into the issue.
GOVT TELLS DELHI
HC THAT AFFECTED
FAMILIES ARE BEING
REHABILITATED
Lucknow (PTI): Accusing the BJP govt of being in a slumber
despite the Joshimath tragedy, Samajwadi Party chief
Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday demanded proper compensation
for those who have suffered losses. Speaking to reporters
here, Yadav said that BJP government both in Uttrakhand and
the centre was ignoring its responsibility towards
the affected families in Joshimath. “Such a big
tragedy has taken place in Joshimath and the
government still appears to be in a slumber.
The government needs to extend proper
compensation to the locals there as they are
facing loss of all their lifelong savings
in setting up their businesses, hotels
and now they are forced to leave
everything behind,” Yadav said.
Ludhiana (ANI): On the arrival of Congress leader Rahul Gan-
dhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Ludhiana, members of the 1984 Sikh
Massacre Riot Victims Society, raised slogans and burnt an
effigy of Rahul Gandhi at the Ghantaghar Chowk.The protesters
alleged that the attack on Sri Darbar Sahib was on the orders
of Rahul Gandhi's grandmother and former Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi. They also pointed out that Sikhs were massacred
during the time of Rahul's father and former Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi. They claimed that the Bharat Jodo Yatra has again
cut open their wounds. The protesters demanded that Rahul
Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi should apologize for the
attack on Sri Darbar Sahib and the massacre of Sikhs.
BJP IN SLUMBER DESPITE JOSHIMATH
TRAGEDY, SAYS AKHILESH YADAV
ANTI-SIKH RIOT VICTIMS BURN RAHUL
GANDHI’S EFFIGY IN PUNJAB’S LUDHIANA
COMPENSATION RATE TO BE DECIDED WITH
STAKEHOLDERS’ INTEREST IN MIND: DHAMI
“Ludhiana has potential
to compete with China”
Ludhiana (PTI): Con-
gress leader Rahul Gan-
dhi on Thursday said
Ludhiana’s small and
medium businesses can
compete with China if
they are given adequate
support even as he ac-
cused the Punjab govt
and the Centre of not
supporting them. He is
undertaking the Punjab
leg of the Bharat Jodo
Yatra. Targeting Modi
govt over the issue of
demonetisation, he al-
leged that it has hit the
small and medium en-
terprises. “But how and
who hit Ludhiana?
Pradhan Mantri ji im-
plemented demonetisa-
tion and ‘wrong’ GST,”
he said. “Somebody
told me today that Lu-
dhiana is like Manches-
ter. I thought it was
wrongly said. Manches-
ter is like Ludhiana.
New Delhi (ANI):
Bharatiya Janata Party
national president JP
Nadda is all set to have
a hectic start to 2023
with a series of party
meetings, visits to poll-
bound states and Lok
Sabha Pravas.
“It is not easy to be
the president of the
world’s largest party
and our leaders like Na-
dda ji are an inspira-
tion,” a top BJP office
bearer told ANI. Nadda
who is all set to get his
presidency term ex-
tended next week at the
party's national execu-
tive meeting has been
busy all along.
“Just this week, Na-
dda held a meeting
with leaders for the
Lok Sabha Pravas. Fol-
lowing this, he held a
day-long meeting with
the party General Sec-
retary and also held a
meeting on “know your
BJP campaign”...Today
our president held a
rally in poll-bound
Tripura. Apart from
that there are multiple
meetings he holds with
the party leaders that
many are unaware of.
That’s the kind of ef-
forts that are put in,” a
national general secre-
tary said.
FromBJPmeetingstoLokSabhaPravas,
JP Nadda has a busy January month
Bengaluru (PTI): The
Karnataka government
on Thursday authorised
the CBI to attach ‘excess
properties’ belonging to
former min-
ister and
mining bar-
on G Ja-
nardhana
Reddy, his
wife and companies
owned by him. The or-
der came after the High
Court of Karnataka
granted the state gov-
ernment two days on
January 10 to give infor-
mation on the delay in
granting permission to
the CBI to attach Red-
dy’s properties.
The court had asked
the govt why it had not
given the go-ahead to at-
tach the properties
worth Rs 19 crore while
it had earlier sanc-
tioned the attachment
of Rs 64 crore assets.
K’taka authorises
CBI to attach
excess properties
of G J Reddy
India has always
stood for a great-
er role of develop-
ing countries in
determining our
common future.
—Narendra Modi,
Prime Minister
11-member commit-
tee constituted for
transparent distri-
bution of immedi-
ate interim assis-
tance to the affected
people in #Joshi-
math and to decide
the rate of rehabili-
tation package.
—Chamoli DM
YADAV HOLDS MEET WITH JAPANESE
COUNTERPART AKIHIRO NISHIMURA
New Delhi: Union Environment Minister Bhupender
Yadav held a bilateral meeting with Akihiro Nishimura,
Minister of the Environment, Japan, here on Thursday.
Both leaders discussed a range of issues including
G7/G20 collaboration, LiFE, Marine Plastic Waste,
COP-27 and CBD 15. Yadav said that it is a coincidence
that both Japan and India have taken over Presidencies
of the G7 and G20 respectively and this presents an
opportunity for both countries to set the agendas and
priorities for shaping the future of the world.
BJP chief JP Nadda waves to supporters on his arrival at Maharaja
Bir Bikram Airport, in Agartala on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
New Delhi (PTI): The
BJP on Thursday
slammed Bihar CM
Nitish Kumar over the
controversial remarks of
a member of his Cabinet
on Ramcharitmanas,
alleging that his govt
has been hurting Hindu
sentiments and wonder-
ing if the minister will
dare to make similar
comments on holy
books of other religions.
Bihar’s Education
Minister Chandrashek-
har, who is from the
RJD, has sparked a row,
saying Ramcharitmanas
penned by Saint Gos-
wami Tulsidas spreads
“hatred” in society.
SACK BIHAR
MINISTER FOR
COMMENTS ON
HINDU EPIC: BJP
PRIYANKA TURNS 51
Congress workers celebrate party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s birthday, in Prayagraj
on Thursday. Born on 12 January, 1972, the AICC General Secretary celebrated her 51st
birthday on Thursday.

06
INDIA
New Delhi (Agencies):
One person died and an-
other is feared missing
after avalanches struck
two mountainous areas
in JK’s Ganderbal on
Thursday amid inces-
sant snowfall in the re-
gion for the past few
days, the police said.
The identity of de-
ceased is yet to be ascer-
tained, police said. Lo-
cals claimed that the
body was of a labourer
working in the area.
The twin snow ava-
lanches hit near Zojila
and Hung in Sonamarg,
a day after the higher
reaches of Kashmir wit-
nessed the season’s sec-
ond snowfall. Officials
have asked people in av-
alanche-prone areas to
stay indoors and avoid
unnecessarymovement.
In the morning, a
massive avalanche hit
close to Zojila some 10
kilometres from the
tourist destination of
Sonamarg in central
Kashmir’s Ganderbal
district. It was captured
on camera.
Meanwhile, weather
officials have predicted
more snowfall and rain-
fall from Thursday
evening in the area. The
minimum temperature
in Jammu and Kashmir
is also dipping below
the freezing point.
A separate but rela-
tively smaller ava-
lanche hit near Hung
ahead of Sonamarg on
the Srinagar-Zojila
road. There was no re-
port of loss of life or
property in this inci-
dent. Immediately after
the avalanches, men
and machinery were
put to work to remove
the debris and the road
was thrown open.
The officials said the
twin avalanches
snapped the electricity
supply in the area and it
would take some hours
for the officials to re-
store the electricity
.
CRUCIAL READ
Kolkata: A Trinamool Congress leader was shot dead
in broad daylight at Ketugram in West Bengal’s East
Burdwan district on Thurs-
day morning, police said.
The deceased has been
identified as Dulal Sheikh,
45. Police are investigating
the matter. District Trinamool
leaders claimed that the murder was a fallout of some
family problem. However, local BJP leaders have
claimed that the event was the fallout of infighting in
the ruling party over illegal sand mining in the area.
It is learnt that the victim was a trader in construction
materials, including sand.
TRINAMOOL CONGRESS LEADER SHOT
DEAD IN WEST BENGAL’S BURDWAN
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thurs-
day denied bail to former Madhya Pradesh minister
and state Congress leader
Raja Pateria, who was
arrested for his controver-
sial statement on Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
Pateria had approached the
HC after his bail plea was
denied by a district court a few days back. How-
ever, the Congress leader got no leniency for his
alleged remarks on Prime Minister Modi during a
meeting with party workers in the Panna district of
Madhya Pradesh.
MADHYA PRADESH HIGH COURT DENIES
BAIL TO CONG LEADER RAJA PATERIA
COLD WAVE: 15%
SURGE IN HEART
ATTACKS, HIGH BP
BRAIN STROKES
KERALA FARMER
DIES AFTER TIGER
ATTACKS HIM
Thiruvananthapuram:
A farmer working at
his field in Kerala’s
Wayanad on Thursday
was attacked by a tiger,
and later succumbed
following a cardiac ar-
rest. According to the
locals at Puthuserry in
Wayanad, the incident
occurred around 9.30
a.m. Thomas alias Sal-
lu, 50, was immediate-
ly taken to the nearby
Manathavady hospital
with deep injuries on
his hands and legs.
Daman: Police in the UT
of Daman have arrested
two persons, Naveen
Patel and his brother
Ashok Patel, in an extor-
tion case. A scrap dealer
had lodged a complaint
with the police alleging
that the duo extorted
money from him.The
police said on Thursday
that a resident of Nani
Daman running a scrap
business had lodged
a complaint with the
coastal police station on
Wednesday.
DAMAN: 2 BROTHERS
ARRESTED IN
EXTORTION CASE
AvalanchesinJK’sGanderbal;
AvalanchesinJK’sGanderbal;
one person dead, one missing
one person dead, one missing
NORTH HEADED FOR SEVERE COLD SPELL,
MERCURY TO HOVER BETWEEN 0 -4°C
New Delhi (ANI): Al-
ready in the grip of a
severe cold spell, there’s
more bad news in the
offing for North India as
vast swathes of the re-
gion are likely to experi-
ence a drop in tempera-
tures to a minimum of
-4 degrees Celsius and a
maximum of 2 degrees
Celsius in the plains,
weather experts said.
According to a tweet
by the weather expert,
the icy, severe chill
would be experienced
between January 14 and
19 and is likely to be at
its peak from January
16 to 18. Jammu and
Kashmir, which has lit-
erally been snowed un-
der in what has been an
unforgiving winter,
would have no respite
from the cold spell with
the mercury predicted
to drop to a minimum
of -6 degrees Celsius.
Punjab,Haryana,New
Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar
Pradesh and Northern
Madhya Pradesh will be
in the grip of a severe
cold wave over the week,
with the minimum tem-
perature hovering be-
tween 0 and 4 degrees
Celsius.
Owing to strong
winds blowing in be-
cause of a Western Dis-
turbance, the relief, ac-
cording to the Met ex-
pert, won’t be for long
as the chill and fog will
be back soon.
An avalanche occurred near Baltal, Zojila in the Sonamarg area of Ganderbal on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
PANIPAT CYLINDER BLAST
Six members of family
killed in house fire
Panipat (Agencies):
Six of a family died on
Thursdaymorningafter
a fire broke out report-
edly due to a leakage in
the LPG cylinder here.
The deceased were
identified as Abdul Ka-
rim (50), his wife Afroza
(46) and their four chil-
dren Ishrat (18), Resh-
ma (16), Abdul (10) and
Arfan (7). The incident
tookplaceinParshuram
Colony
.
After preliminary in-
spection, Panipat’s SP
Shashank Anand said,
“It appears that there
was an LPG cylinder
leakage that filled the
room with the gas and
when Afroza woke up
this morning and tried
to light the burner to
make tea, it resulted in
a blast. Their house
consisted of a single
room which had a bed
and a kitchen.”
The police said the
room where the family
lived is approximately 8
feet by 10 feet on the
first floor of a godown.
The officials added that
it appears that the fam-
ily did not even get time
to open the door which
was locked from inside.
As the blast took
place, the family
screamed for help when
their neighbors rushed
to their help. After they
broke open the door, a
huge ball of fire ema-
nated from the room,
the neighbors said.
EC team lands in
Tripura to ensure
free and fair polls
New Delhi: The Elec-
tion Commission (EC)
heldameetingonThurs-
day with the leaders and
representatives of all
political parties to en-
sure free and fair assem-
bly elections in Tripura.
The meeting was
headed by Chief Elec-
tion Commissioner Ra-
jiv Kumar and Election
Commissioners Anup
Pandey and Arun Goel.
At a presser, Kumar said
special arrangements
were being made for an
“all-inclusive election”.
He said that efforts are
afoot to make the voting
process transparent,
while security has been
tightened to ensure the
safety of candidates. He
EC said that voter cards
have been issued for
first-time voters and the
enrolment of women
and transgenders is on.
New Delhi: The promoter of a Mumbai-based real
estate company has been arrested under the anti-mon-
ey laundering law in a case related to alleged fraud of
more than Rs 500 crore, the Enforcement Directorate
(ED) said on Thursday. Mahesh Bhupatkumar Oza,
promoter of Karan Group Builders and Developers, was
taken into custody on January 10 from jail where he
was lodged after he was first arrested by the Bengaluru
police, it said.The money laundering case is based on
multiple FIRs filed by the Karnataka Police against Oza
and others on the complaint of an investor who put
money in his projects.
HEAD OF KARAN GROUP BUILDERS
ARRESTED IN `500 CRORE FRAUD CASE
—Representational image
New Delhi: The CBI has lodged a fresh loan fraud
case of Rs 1688 crore against ABG Shipyard
owner Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal and others. The CBI
had last year booked Agarwal for a loan fraud of
Rs 22000 crore which was said to be the biggest
bank loan fraud. A senior CBI officer said that a
complaint was received from Karambir Singh,
Chief Manager, Punjab National Bank (PNB) Mum-
bai on behalf of other banks (e-OBC, UCO Bank,
Bank of India, Bank of Baroda (e-Dena Bank) and
e-United Bank of India) in this regard.
`1,688 CR LOAN FRAUD CASE AGAINST
ABG SHIPYARD OWNER RISHI AGARWAL
EX-CMD OF AMRAPALI GROUP BOOKED IN
KILLING OF BALIKA VIDYAPEETH’S EX-SECY
New Delhi: The CBI
has booked former
chairman and managing
director of Amrapali
Group Anil Sharma in
connection with the
eight-year-old murder
case of Sharad Chand,
a former secretary of
Bihar-based educational
institution Balika Vidy-
apeeth, officials said.
Sharma was arrested
Wednesday on the
Patna High Court’s or-
ders issued last month.
In accordance with its
procedures, the CBI has
taken over the probe
into the FIR registered
by the Lakhisarai police
station in Bihar.
`4,957 cr loan fraud: CBI raids in Maha
New Delhi: The CBI
has lodged a case of a
bank loan fraud of Rs
4957 cr against Pratibha
Industries, it’s Direc-
tors and others and is
conducting raids in
Mumbai and Thane. A
complaint was lodged
on September 12, 2022
by Sanjay Kumar Ti-
wary, Deputy General
Manager, Stressed As-
sets Management
Branch, Bank of Baro-
da, Mumbai against
Pratibha Industries
Limited, it’s Directors
Ajit Bhagwan Kulkar-
ni, Ravi Kulkarni, Su-
nanda Datta Kulkarni,
Sharad Prabhakar
Deshpande and others
for causing a wrongful
loss of Rs 4957.31 crore
(Rs. 4735.67 crore as per
the complaint made by
Bank of Baroda and Rs
221.64 crore as per the
mandate dated
13.09.2022 given by SBI).
WINTRY WEATHER
New Delhi (ANI): Emer-
gency departments of
private and govt hospi-
tals in Delhi witnessed
more patients with heart
attacks, brain strokes
and high BP during early
mornings this winter, as
Delhi recorded its third
worst cold wave in 23
years. According to Dr
Suresh Kumar, Medical
Director, Lok Nayak Jai
Prakash (LNJP) Hos-
pital, “We are getting
approx 10-15 per cent
more patients of heart
attacks, brain strokes
and high blood pressure
especially during early
hours because of the cold
waves since 12 days and
the most affected age
group is between 50-70
yr old.” He also said that
OPDs are filled with viral
infections.He advised,
“People should monitor
their diabetes and blood
pressure regularly, avoid
walk during the morning
and wear warm clothes.”
Pandemic provided chance to strengthen
healthcare infrastructure: Mandaviya
New Delhi (Agencies):
The pandemic period
provided an opportuni-
ty to strengthen the
country’s healthcare
infrastructure and de-
livery systems, Union
Health Minister Man-
sukh Mandaviya said
here, on Thursday
.
He made the observa-
tion while chairing the
eighth meeting of Mis-
sion Steering Group
(MSG) of National
Health Mission (NHM).
The MSG is the apex
decision-making body
of NHM that takes deci-
sions on policies and
program implementa-
tion under the Mission.
For the first-time,
health is being linked
with the agenda of de-
velopmentunderaholis-
ticapproachundertaken
by the Centre, he said.
Mandaviya stated,
“Exceeding the target
of 1.50 lakh Ayushman
Bharat- Health Well-
ness Centres (AB-HWC)
by 31 December, 2022,
more than 1.54 lakh Sub
Health Centres and Pri-
mary Health Centres
have been transformed
as AB-HWCs. In sync
with the approach of
the National Health
Policy 2017 (NHP 2017),
AB-HWCs are provid-
ing comprehensive pri-
mary healthcare closer
to the communities.”
Mansukh Mandaviya releases the book-‘Braving A Viral Storm:
India’s Covid-19 Vaccine Story’, in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY ANI
India beat SL, lead ODI series 2-0
Kolkata (ANI): KL
Rahul scored an un-
beaten half-century in
his 50th ODI to help
India claim a four-
wicket victory in the
second ODI against
Sri Lanka here at the
Eden Gardens on
Thursday
.
India clinched the
three-match ODI se-
ries with an unassail-
able 2-0 lead. Sensible
batting from KL Rahul
and Hardik Pandya
ensured the hosts re-
covered from the early
setback to complete
the chase. The wicket-
keeper batsmen
scored 64* runs while
Hardik made 36 runs.
Chamika Karunarat-
neand Lahiru Kumara
picked up two wickets
apiece to dent the In-
dian run-chase. Chas-
ing the target, India
were off to a quick
with openers Shubh-
man Gill and Rohit
Sharma smashing five
fours and a six inside
the first four overs.
Thebattingduolooked
in sublime touch and
fed on the over-pitched
bowling by the Sri
Lankan pace attack.
The Indian captain
looked set for another
Eden Garden
special knock with the
Kolkata ground
serving as the right-
hander’s happy hunt-
ing ground.
KL Rahul Hardik Pandya during 2nd India-SL ODI match.

07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 56,082.00 105.00 0.18 (Per 10g)
SILVER 68,754.00 572.00 0.83 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 81.57 0.11 0.13
GBPINR 99.31 0.33 0.33
CURRENCIES
EVs take centre stage this year
FIRST INDIA @ AUTO EXPO 2023
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Alibaba is
learnt to have sold a 3.1%
stake - nearly half of its
direct shareholding - in
digital financial services
firm One97 Communica-
tions in an indication of
exiting the Indian market,
sources said on Wednes-
day. However, Alibaba
group firm Ant Financial
has not diluted its stake
in Paytm and continues to
hold 25% of the compa-
ny. The development fol-
lows Alibaba’s stake sale
in BigBasket and Zomato.
“Alibaba seems to be
making an exit from India
as it has sold shares in
other investments,” the
source said. —PTI
New Delhi: The country’s
wheat production is likely
to set a new record of
more than 112 million
tonnes (MT) in the 2022-
23 crop year. Wheat pro-
duction had declined to
106.84 million tonnes due
to heat wave in key grow-
ing states in 2021-22
crop year. “The crop
prospect of wheat crop is
better due to current
weather conditions and
slightly higher acreage.
The total production is
estimated to be more
than 112 MT this year,”
sources said. —PTI
INDIA’S WHEAT
OUTPUT MAY SET
NEW RECORD
ALIBABA SELLS ITS
STAKE IN PAYTM
WORTH $125 MILLION
New Delhi: Union Minis-
ter Nitin Gadkari on
Thursday said that Sri
Lanka and B’desh have
shown their keenness to
import ethanol from In-
dia. He discussed about
ethanol with the govern-
ment of both the coun-
tries. “I was able to dis-
cuss this matter with PM
of Bangladesh and even
the Sri Lankan minister.
Both are keenly interested
about import of ethanol
from India for adding eth-
anol into petrol in Bangla-
desh Sri Lanka.” —PTI
SRI LANKA B’DESH
KEEN TO IMPORT
ETHANOL FROM INDIA
New Delhi: India’s im-
ports of vegetable oils,
comprising edible and
non-edible oils, rose 28%
to 15.66 lakh tonnes in
December. In a statement,
the SEA said the import
of vegetable oils during
December 2022 stood at
15,66,129 tonnes com-
pared to 12,26,686
tonnes a year ago. As per
the data, the import of ed-
ible or cooking oils in-
creased to 15,55,780
tonnes from 12,16,863
tonnes, while the ship-
ments of non-edible oils
rose to 10,349 tonnes
from 9,832 tonnes. —PTI
VEGETABLE OILS
IMPORT RISES TO
15.66 LAKH TONNES
*Rates till the edition went to print.
Garvit Narang
Greater Noida: Auto Expo
2023 - The Motor Show, tak-
ing place from January 11
to 18 at India Expo Mart in
Greater Noida, is a highly
anticipated event showcas-
ing some of the topmost
vehicles from leading auto-
motive brands in India.
The 16th edition of the
biennial fest for petrol-
heads will be open to the
general public from Fri-
day onwards from 11 am
to 7 pm.
Moving forward with
the ‘Go Green’ initiative,
the main focus of the expo
is on electric vehicles. A
total of 70+ manufactur-
ers, including over 30 pure
EV manufacturers,
launched and unveiled
their vehicles during the
two-day media preview,
i.e., January 11 and 12.
The event witnessed
Tata Motors bringing back
its veteran Sierra Concept,
a l o n g with its mod-
ern marvel Harrier in the
all-wheel drive variant in
its EV avatar. Tata Altroz is
equipped with a more pow-
erful engine in its Racer
edition, in addition to a
CNG variant. The Curvv
Concept ICE version, based
on the Gen2 platform of
Tata, also captured eye-
balls at the event.
The 16th Edition Auto
Expo – The Motor Show
2023, was officially inaugu-
rated on Thursday by Nitin
Gadkari, Union Minister
for Road Transport and
Highways, Government of
India and Mahendra Nath
Pandey, Union Minister for
Heavy Industries, Govern-
ment of India.
On the other hand, MG
Motors has launched its
Next-Gen Hector,
priced at Rs.
14.72 lakhs
(ex-show-
room), and Hector Plus. It
has also taken covers off a
new hydrogen fuel cell
electric vehicle, Euniq 7
MPV
, besides the MG4 EV
hatchback and eHS PHEV
SUV
. BYD, a new entrant in
the Indian automotive sec-
tor, unveiled its luxury
electric sedan BYD Seal,
which is expected to be
available for sale by the
end of 2023.
Maruti Suzuki is also
making headlines with
the launch of its SUVs, the
5-door Jimny and Fronx
(Baleno-based platform),
adding to its SUV lineup
consisting of Brezza and
Grand Vitara.
The company has also
opened bookings for the
newly launched Jimny and
Fronx at their NEXA deal-
erships. Another highlight
at the Maruti Suzuki arena
was their Concept Electric
SUV eVX.
Another marquee car
manufacturer in India,
Toyota, welcomed the visi-
tors with its new genera-
tion Land Cruiser (LC300),
alongside a red-colored Hi-
lux Concept kitted out with
specialist off-roading mod-
ifications.
While Hyundai un-
veiled its all-electric
SUV
, Ioniq 5 (priced
at `44.95 lakhs), Kia
Motors came up
with the SUV Con-
cept, Kia Concept
EV9, along with its
fourth-gen Carnival
(KA4).
Apart from the boom in
EVs in cars, two-wheelers,
and even the three-wheeler
market, commercial sector
led by Ashok Leyland,
JBM Auto, and VE Com-
mercial Vehicles (a Vol-
vo-Eicher joint venture)
showcased various ad-
vanced mobility solu-
tions, including Hydro-
gen Internal Combus-
tion Engine (ICE) tech-
nology
.
Retail inflation eases
to 5.7% in December
New Delhi (PTI): Retail
inflation declined to a one-
year low of 5.72 per cent in
December 2022, mainly due
to softening prices of food
items, according to official
data released on Thursday
.
The Consumer Price In-
dex (CPI) based retail infla-
tion was at 5.88 per cent in
November 2022 and 5.66 per
cent in December 2021.
As per the data released
by the National Statistical
Office (NSO), inflation in
the food basket was at 4.19
per cent in December as
against 4.67 per cent in
November.
After remaining above
the Reserve Bank of India’s
upper tolerance threshold
of 6 per cent since January
2022, retail inflation de-
clined in November to 5.88
per cent and further in De-
cember to 5.72 per cent -- its
lowest level in one year.
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION EXPANDS AT
5-MONTH HIGH OF 7.1% IN NOV: GOVT DATA
New Delhi (PTI): India’s industrial production rose by 7.1% in
November 2022 after contracting in October, according to official data
released on Thursday. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew
by 1% in November 2021. As per the IIP data released by the National
Statistical Office (NSO), the manufacturing sector’s output grew by
6.1% in November 2022. The mining output rose by 9.7% and power
generation increased by 12.7% during the month under review.
IndiaUnitedStates
‘thinkingbig’:Goyal
Washington (PTI): The
Modi government and the
Biden administration are
“thinking big” in terms of
their trade and commerce
relationship, Union minis-
ter Piyush Goyal said on
Wednesday as he ruled out
the previously talked about
mini trade deal or a free
trade agreement and noted
that restoration of GSP is
notapriorityforNewDelhi.
Responding to a question
on the mini trade deal, Go-
yal said “it was too mini” to
really merit any great ef-
fort on both sides. “We have
even forgotten most of
those issues. We are look-
ing at much, much bigger
ambitions in our trade
with the US.”
“The United States is
currently not looking at
any free trade deals with
any country whatsoever, as
a matter of their political
policy,” the minister said
when asked about the pros-
pects of a free trade deal.
“The FTA is not on the
table,” he asserted.
“Rather than that, we are
focusing on greater market
access. We are focusing on
ease of doing business be-
tween the two countries,
you’re looking at, bilater-
ally, a much larger foot-
print between the two
countries, for trade, invest-
ment and business. And
therefore, the small mini
trade deals have lost rele-
vance today,” Goyal said.
❍ RULES OUT MINI TRADE DEAL OR FTA
Central govt’s
borrowings may
touch `14.8 lakh
crore in FY24
Mumbai (PTI): The Cen-
tre as well as state govern-
ments are likely to budget
for higher market borrow-
ingsnextfiscaleventhough
the Union Budget may peg
a lower-than-expected fis-
cal deficit at 5.8% of GDP, a
report said.
Icra Ratings anticipated
that higher redemptions
will lead to gross market
borrowings of the Centre
and states to rise to `14.8
lakh crore and `24.4 lakh
crore, respectively, in FY24
from `14.1 L cr and `22.1 L
cr, respectively, in FY2023.
The agency also said the
Centre is expected to peg
its FY24 fiscal deficit at
5.8% of the GDP, a healthy
moderation from 6.4% of
GDP projected for FY23.
Despite this, higher re-
demptions will enlarge the
Centre’s gross market bor-
rowings to `14.8 lakh crore
in FY24 from `14.1 lakh
crore in FY23.
Mkts close lower as oil, banking stocks dip
Mumbai (PTI): Bench-
mark stock indices Sensex
and Nifty closed with loss-
es in a choppy trade on
Thursday as investors pre-
ferred a cautious approach
ahead of inflation and in-
dustrial production data.
Unabated foreign fund
outflows also hit the inves-
tor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex
declined by 147.47 points or
0.25% to settle at 59,958.03.
During the day, it declined
473.18 points or 0.78% to
59,632.32. The broader NSE
Nifty fell 37.50 points or
0.21% to close at 17,858.20.
From the Sensex pack,
Reliance Industries, Axis
Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak
Mahindra Bank, Bharti
Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, Asian
Paints, ICICI Bank, Tata
Steel and ITC were among
the major laggards.
UltraTech Cement, Lars-
en Toubro, HCL Tech-
nologies, Maruti, Nestle
and HDFC were among the
major winners.
RUPEE GAINS 11 PAISE
TO CLOSE AT 81.57
AGAINST US DOLLAR
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee gained
11 paise to close at 81.57 (pro-
visional) against the US dollar
on Thursday, tracking the overall
weakness in the American cur-
rency. At the interbank foreign
exchange market, the local unit
opened strong at 81.54, but lost
ground to quote an intraday low
of 81.74 against the greenback.
It finally ended at 81.57, register-
ing a rise of 11 paise.
India to become $7 tn
economy in 7 years: CEA
Kolkata (PTI): Chief Eco-
nomic Advisor V Anantha
Nageswaran said that the
Indian economy will be $3.5
trillion at current prices by
the end of the 2022-23 fiscal
and is expected to be $7 tril-
lion in the next seven years.
The government had pre-
viously said India would
become a $5 trillion econo-
my by 2025. He mentioned
that India’s GDP will be
$3.5 trillion at current pric-
es at the end of 2022-23.
“Indian economy will be
$7 trillion in the next seven
years, which is not impos-
sible,” Nageswaran said.
The CEA also said the
most important issue is
that the US is expected to
lower its interest rates in
2024 or 2025, which will
have an impact on the In-
dian rupee.

08
2NDFRONT
Greetings on the festival of
Lohri! A day of gratitude for
Mother Earth, who sustains us
all with her bountiful harvests.
— Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Mumbai (PTI): Chief
Minister Eknath Shin-
de has said 90% civil
work of the Mumbai
Trans-Harbour Link
(MTHL) has been com-
pleted and the bridge
will be open for traffic
in November this year.
Of the total 22km
length of ‘the longest
sea bridge in the coun-
try’, a 16.5km stretch is
above the sea.
According to an offi-
cial release, Shinde
said once the bridge
opens for traffic, it will
be possible to travel
from Sewri in central
Mumbai to Chirle in
Navi Mumbai in 15-20
minutes. The Open
Road Tolling System
would mean vehicles do
not have to stop on the
bridge to pay tolls, he
said.
MTHL will be the
first in India to use the
ORT system, which is
currently used in Sin-
gapore, officials said.
The Mumbai Metro-
politan Region Develop-
ment Authority (MMR-
DA), a Maharashtra
government agency, is
the implementing au-
thority for the six-lane
MTHL project, which
is being financed by the
Japan International
Cooperation Agency
.
The MMRDA on
Wednesday successful-
ly launched the first
longest Orthotropic
Steel Deck (OSD) in
package-2 of MTHL in
the presence of CM
Shinde, the authority
said in a press release.
The first longest OSD
of package-2 of about
22km long Trans-Har-
bour link between
Mumbai and Navi
Mumbai is 180m long
and weighs 2,300
tonnes.
MTHL’s package-2
has 32 OSD spans and
of these 15 spans have
already been launched,
the release said.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Actor Anush-
ka Sharma has moved
the Bombay High Court
challenging two orders
passed by the deputy
commissioner of Sales
Taxraisingduesfor2012-
13 and 2013-14 assess-
ment years under the
MaharashtraValueAdd-
ed Tax Act.
A division bench of
Justices Nitin Jamdar
and Abhay Ahuja on
Thursday directed the
SalesTaxDepartmentto
respond to her pleas and
postedthematterforfur-
ther hearing on Febru-
ary6.Sharmahassought
that the court quash and
set aside the orders
passed by the Sales Tax
department.
She has filed four peti-
tions for the assessment
years 2012-13, 2013-14,
2014-15 and 2015-16. The
actor filed the petitions
last week after the HC in
December 2022 refused
to entertain a petition
filed by Sharma’s taxa-
tionconsultantShrikant
Velekar challenging the
Sales Tax department
orders.
According to Shar-
ma’s petitions, she per-
formed in films and at
award ceremonies as a
performer as part of a
tri-partyagreementwith
her agent, Yashraj Films
Pvt Ltd and producers/
eventorganizers.Theas-
sessing officer levied
Sales Tax not on film
consideration but on
product endorsements
and anchoring at award
functions holding that
Sharma had transferred
her performer’s rights,
the pleas said.
For 2012-13, the Sales
Taxdemandinclusiveof
interest was Rs1.2 crore
on Rs12.3 crore consid-
eration and for the year
2013-14,itwasRs1.6crore
onnearlyRs17crorecon-
sideration.
The pleas contended
that the copyrights of
videos always remain
withtheproducerwhois
the owner of the same.
“Unless it is established
thatthereissaleof goods
(tangible or intangible),
sales tax cannot be lev-
ied,” the plea said.
“The petitioner sub-
mits that as an actor
does not possess any
copyrightinthefilm,the
question of transfer-
ring/selling the same to
any other person or pro-
ducer does not arise,”
the petitions said.
Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link to open for traffic in Nov: CM Shinde
Anushka moves Bombay HC against Sales Tax dept orders
SMOOTH RIDE
The bridge will make it possible to go from Sewri in central Mumbai to Chirle in Navi Mumbai in
15-20 minutes. —FILE PHOTO
Sharma’s petitions
say she performed
in films and at award
ceremonies as part of
a tri-party agreement.
However, the as-
sessing officer levied
Sales Tax on product
endorsements and
anchoring at award
functions holding that
Sharma had trans-
ferred her performer’s
rights
THE PLEA SAYS
Of the total 22km
length of ‘the
longest sea bridge
in the country’, a
16.5km stretch is
above the sea
OPEN ROADS
Blow to Cong as nominee
opts out of Council race
Mumbai (PTI): In an
embarrassment for the
Congress ahead of polls
to the Maharashtra
Legislative Council, of-
ficial party candidate
Sudhir Tambe on
Thursday announced
his withdrawal from
the race and said his
son will contest from
the constituency he cur-
rently represents.
Elections to gradu-
ates and teachers con-
stituencies of the Coun-
cil will be held on Janu-
ary 30 and Thursday
was the last day for fil-
ing nominations.
Sudhir Tambe has
been representing the
Nashik Division Grad-
uates’ constituency in
the Upper House of the
legislature for the last
three terms (18 years)
and was renominated
by the party from the
seat for a fresh term.
Announcing the
withdrawal, the senior
Tambe said his son
Satyajit will contest the
polls as the party has
decided to promote
youths in politics.
However, on Thurs-
day Satyajit Tambe
filed his nomination as
an independent and as-
serted he was still as-
sociated with the Con-
gress even as he sought
support from the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), which is part of
the Eknath Shinde-led
coalition government
in the state.
“Youths have been
leading in various sec-
tors and hence the par-
ty has decided to field a
youth like Satyajit
from the Nashik Grad-
uates’ constituency.
Technical problem is
that the party had giv-
en the ‘AB’ (nomina-
tion) form in my name,
but we had already
communicated to the
leadership that Satyajit
would be contesting the
polls,” said the outgo-
ing legislator.
The AB form indi-
cates a party’s official
nominee in an election.
“(Satyajit Tambe)
will contest as a candi-
date of the Maha Vikas
Aghadi (MVA),” Su-
dhir Tambe had said.
The MVA is the Op-
position alliance con-
sisting of the Congress,
the NCP and the Shiv
Sena (Uddhav Balasa-
heb Thackeray).
However, Satyajit
Tambe told reporters:
“You all know that dep-
uty chief minister De-
vendra Fadnavis has a
lot of affection for me.
I wish the BJP votes for
me in the elections.”
The state BJP said it
may consider support-
ing the junior Tambe.
“If Tambe approach-
es us and seeks our
support, we can
consider it,” state
BJP president Chan-
drashekharBawankule
shared.
Hissonjoinsfray
asindependent,
BJPdropshintsof
extending support
If Tambe approaches
us and seeks our
support, we can
consider it.
—Chandrashekhar
Bawankule, Maha BJP chief
Dy CM Devendra
Fadnavis has a lot of
affection for me. I wish
the BJP votes for me in
the elections.
—Sayajit Tambe, candidate
(Satyajit Tambe) will
contest as a candidate
of the Maha Vikas
Aghadi (MVA).
—Sudhir Tambe,
outgoing legislator
Aurangabad (FIB): Lauding the policies of the current
Maharashtra government, the state unit chief of the
Bharatiya Janata Party said many leaders and workers
of opposition outfits are ready to join his party. He
was speaking to reporters while his colleague Kiran
Patil filed a nomination for the teachers’ constituen-
cy. “The BJP is in talks with many leaders. Due to
the policies of the current (Eknath Shinde-Devendra
Fadnavis) government, many persons from opposi-
tion parties want to join the BJP. Some of the names
will shock the people of the state,” he claimed. About
1,500 Congress workers joined the BJP amid the Ra-
hul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra as there is a lack of
leadership in the opposition party, he also said, adding
that Uddhav Thackeray was “comprising” to partner
with Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi as
he was “unable to handle his own party”.
‘OPPN LEADERS WANT TO JOIN
BJP DUE TO CURRENT GOVT’
Junior-most Thackeray, Tejas,
gearing up for political debut?
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Ever since
Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde broke away
from the Shiv Sena with
40 MLAs in June, for-
mer CM Uddhav Thack-
eray and his family
have been battling to
hold on to the legacy of
Sena founder, the late
Balasaheb Thackeray.
During this time, Ud-
dhav’s younger son
Tejas, has been firmly
out of the political are-
na, focusing on his en-
davours as a wildlife
photographer.
Now, all that might be
set to change, with post-
ers bearing Tejas’s im-
age and the caption “To-
day’s calm, tomorrow’s
storm!” have come up
in Mumbai’s Girgaon
area, sparking rumours
of an iminent debut.
Girgaon branch chief
Nilesh (Bala) Ahirekar
and sub-divisional con-
venor Vishal Sagvekar
are credited with put-
ting up the posters.
“We see Balasaheb in
Tejas Thackeray. Bala-
saheb had said that
Tejas is like me. Young-
sters are also inclined
towards Tejas. There-
fore, we feel that Tejas
should enter politics
soon,” Ahirkar said.
Ahirkar also lauded
Tejas’s older brother
and former environ-
ment minister Aaditya
Thackeray
.
“
Aditya’s vision is tre-
mendous. His style of
administrative work
and his skill in manag-
ing public affairs are
completely different. We
appreciateAditya’slead-
ership but everyone’s
way of working is differ-
ent. If Tejas becomes ac-
tive in Shiv Sena, his
pure presence will in-
spire us and boost the
enthusiasm of young
Shiv Sainiks,” he added.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Following
Vanchit Bahujan
Aghadi (VBA) chief
Prakash Ambedkar’s
announcement that he
would not ally with the
Shiv Sena faction led
by Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde since
the latter was in a part-
nership with the
Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty, MLA Sanjay Shirsat
had some advice for
Ambedkar.
“In politics, compro-
mises have to be made
somewhere,” Shirsat,
who is part of the
Shinde-led group,
said, adding that alli-
ances cannot be
formed without com-
promise.
Tejas Thackeray (left) with his father Uddhav and elder brother Aaditya. —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Even as the
controversy over Na-
tionalist Congress Par-
ty leader Ajit Pawar’s
comment that Sambhaji
Maharaj was not a reli-
gious hero continues to
simmer, BJP leader
Nitesh Rane continued
his attack on the former
leader of opposition.
Following Pawar’s
comments, Rane had
launched a campaign to
put up 'Dharamveer
Maharaj' stickers on ve-
hicles in Kankavali and
also criticized NCP
MLA Jitendra Awhad
and MP Amol Kolhe
over the issue in Ward-
ha on Wednesday
.
Earlier, Rane had
claimed that the contro-
versy on whether Samb-
haji Maharaj was Dhar-
amveer or Swarajya
Rakshak was caused by
Kolhe’s serial Challa.
“For many genera-
tions, we have been
calling Chhatrapati
Sambhaji Maharaj
Dharamveer. Our pre-
vious generation also
called him Dharam-
veer. Sambhaji Maha-
raj will be known as
Dharamveer for the
coming generation too.
Now someone wakes up
and comes up with new
things to keep their se-
rial running. Chhatra-
pati Sambhaji Maharaj
was a hero of religion,”
he added.
“Someone writes
something on the paper,
and Ajit Pawar reads it
out. Do you want to
erase the title that
Sambhaji Maharaj has
held for years because
of Amol Kolhe?” Rane
asked.
“He plays Chhatra-
pati Shivaji Maharaj
with Amol Kolhe’s mon-
ey. He is elected for
namesake only
. We will
defeat him in 2024. No
one will recognize him
after removing his
beard. It is only for seri-
als,” remarked Rane.
Sambhaji: Once
future Dharamveer,
says Nitesh Rane
BJP MLA Nitesh Rane.
—FILE PHOTO
NO POLITICS SANS COMPROMISE,
SHIRSAT ADVISES AMBEDKAR

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MUMBAI | FRIDAY,
JANUARY 13, 2023
ohri being the first traditional fes-
tival of the year, is celebrated with
immense love, laughter and happi-
ness all around. Celebrated on
January 13, Lohri marks the end
of the winter solstice and is also a
major harvest festival. For all the
ladies, it is one of those festivals,
where they get to glam-up and look
their best, by putting on their best eth-
nic outfits. Along with revdi, gajak,
chikki and popcorn, style, glamour and
love are what this festival is all about.
Like every year, since you cannot celebrate
this festival with all your family and
friends, there is definitely something you
can surely do- DRESS UP!
City First brings you a few styling tips to
look your best this Lohri, and eventually
spread love in your own sweet way
. Wearing
a dhoti is the new trend, and women are
going absolutely gaga over it. A short kurti
with a dhoti will make you look a class
apart and is definitely a head-turner. Kurti
with Palazzo/Pants is another combination
may be the simplest ones, but are one of the
most elegant ones too. Pairing a gorgeous
kurti with contrasting-colour palazzo/
pants, or even palazzo/pants of the same
colour will make you look super graceful
throughout the event.
If you have a Punjabi suit and you are
thinking of styling it on Lohri, then you
can carry bangles in your hands with the
Punjabi suit. With this, you can make a
French braid. You can also decorate
Paranda in your hair. If you want, you
can put a chandelier on the side of
your dupatta, which will give you
a perfect Punjabi look.
You can also wear a Patia-
la suit on the occasion
of Lohri.
THE LIGHTING OF BONFIRE DURING THIS WINTER
FESTIVAL IS AN ANCIENT TRADITION. CITY FIRST BRINGS
TOYOU TRADITIONAL OUTFITS FOR THE ULTIMATE LOHRI
CELEBRATIONS WE WISHYOU A VERY HAPPY LOHRI!
L
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com

10
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
ohri is a harvest fes-
tival observed
throughout North
India, particularly
in Punjab on Janu-
ary 13. People as-
semble in the middle
of the night to build a camp-
fire. They also provide the
sacred fire rewdi sweet (sesa-
me brittles), Gajak, popcorn,
and peanuts. On this day, the
fire deity is worshipped, and
it is forbidden to eat rewdi,
peanuts, or popcorn without
first presenting it to the fire
deity
.
SARSON KA SAAG
This is one of the most fa-
mous Punjabi winter recipes.
Sarson ka saag topped with
handmade butter and served
with makki di roti not only
warms the tongue but also the
body
.
MAKKI DI ROTI
A popular maize flour bread
in North India. The bread is
made without yeast and fried
in ghee. The combination of
makki di roti and sarson ka
saag topped with white butter
is unbeatable.
If you visit Punjab in the win-
ter, don't miss this combina-
tion of makki di roti and sar-
son ka saag. It is not only
tasty but also quite warm in
the cold.
PINDI CHOLE
Pindi Chole also known as
Pindi Chana is one of the eas-
iest and most tasty chickpea
dishes that we can make on
this special festival. The reci-
pe comes from the Rawalpindi
region in Punjab, Pakistan
and hence the name Pindi
Chana. This a unique recipe
that does not have any gravy
or sauce and is dry made with
soft, tender white chickpeas,
fragrant ginger-garlic, spicy
chana masala powder and
tangy dry mango powder.
ATTA LADOO
Delicious ladoos prepared
with whole wheat flour, ghee,
and sugar that are simple to
make. They are full and taste
delicious.
BESAN LADOO
A popular ladoo that is com-
monly cooked during festive
events. Besan ladoo is a sim-
ple and healthful dessert that
is popular throughout India.
MOOLI PARATHA
Whole wheat flatbread filled
with spicy shredded radish.
In Punjabi households, these
parathas are frequently pre-
pared for breakfast. We can
also try Gobi Paratha, Onion
Paratha, Paneer Paratha
Aloo Paratha.
GOBI PAKORA
Crispy fried marinated cauli-
flower fritters prepared from
gramme flour. Pakoras are
popular throughout the win-
ter and monsoon seasons.
PEANUT CHIKKI OR GAJAK
The most popular delicacy
which are beautifully cara-
melised, sweet, wonderfully
crisp and crispy peanut chik-
ki or gajak. It’s a wintertime
favourite in my family
, but it’s
delicious any time of year.
MATAR PANEER
A creamy, spiced dish with
green peas and Indian cot-
tage cheese Matar Paneer is
everyone’s favorite. It is a
family recipe that is quick
and easy to make.
CHOLE MASALA DISH
The Punjabi Chole masala
served with the Batura is the
most famous dish of Punjab-
is, the combination is simply
irresistible. The dish can be
served with tandoori rotis,
poories, fulkas, stuffed naans,
along with sliced onions and
lime.
DAL MAKHANI
This is a classic Punjabi len-
til-based dish. Dal makhani is
a dish prepared with whole
black gramme and kidney
beans. Dal makhani is com-
monly offered during wed-
dings, engagements, and
other social gatherings in
India. The slower
the dal makhani is cooked,
the better it tastes.
PALAK PANEER
Another traditional Indian
dish,thistimecookedwithlus-
ciouspaneercubesinasmooth
and creamy spinach sauce. It
pairs well with naan, paratha
or jeera rice.
PANJIRI
It is a traditional Punjabi
treat prepared by roast-
ing whole wheat flour
in ghee and then
adding powdered
sugar to the mix.
Panjiri and a
warm glass of
milk make a
quick, easy
and nutri-
tious break-
fast or snack!
FLAVOURS OF THE
LOHRI FESTIVAL!
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
L

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