First India-Lucknow Edition-28 May 2021

Governor & Chief Minister Meet Amid Expansion Buzz!
Vishal Srivastav
Lucknow: Political
circles are abuzz again
after Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath called
on Governor Anandi-
ben Patel on Thursday
evening. However, the
political pundits who
were predicting cabi-
net reshuffle/expan-
sion within hours of
the meeting, can take a
breather. As per sourc-
es, no expansion or re-
shuffle will take place
at least for the next 2-3
days. On the same
lines, no decision has
been made yet to ap-
point AK Sharma as
the Deputy CM. How-
ever, according to
sources, CM Yogi con-
tinues to be in com-
mand and control of
the situation and any
change in the present
leadership, just 6-7
months before the
code-of-conduct is
completely ruled out.
The Governor who
was reportedly sup-
posed to go to Gujarat,
postponed her visit and
the ‘courtesy meet’ be-
tween her and the CM
took place in a hotbed
of rumours about the
expansion which is def-
initely overdue and a
burning issue especial-
ly after the meeting on
May 23 in Delhi this
year, between the BJP
top leadership and UP
General Secretary
Sunil Bansal in which
RSS General Secretary
Dattatreya Hosabale
was also present.
Governor Anandiben
and Yogi Adityanath
met after a gap of three
months since the Feb-
ruary 18 call ahead of
the UP budget assembly
session and this meet-
ing lasted 50 minutes.
While the UP Gover-
nor, who also holds the
dual charge of Madhya
Pradesh, got back to the
State capital after
spending 15 days there,
CM Yogi, on a whirl-
wind tour of the State
flew back from Basti at
around 5.30 pm and
went to meet the former
at around 7 pm. Accord-
ing to sources, apart
from updating the UP
Governor about his on-
ground assessment of
the Covid-19 situation
and the steps taken by
his government to tack-
le the pandemic, CM
Yogi is also understood
to have Turn to P6
CABINET EXPANSION? NOT YET…
CM Yogi Adityanath greeting Governor Anandiben Patel with a
mythological book at Raj Bhavan in Lucknow on Thursday.

With more than
six vacancies in
the cabinet, the
saffron brigade
may induct new
faces soon but
no date has
been fixed for
proposed
expansion
so far BJP MLC AK Sharma
Stop beating
around the
bush, comply
with law of
land: Centre
hits back
LUCKNOW l FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 166
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
SENSEX TOPS
51K, NIFTY HOLDS
ABOVE 15,300
PETROL & DIESEL
PRICES HIKED
AGAIN IN UP
Mumbai: BSE Sensex gained 98 points or 0.19 per cent to end at 51,115,
while the broader Nifty 50 index jumped 36 points or 0.24 per cent to set-
tle at 15,338. State Bank of India (SBI), Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank,
Bajaj-Auto, Tech Mahindra, TCS were among the top Sensex gainers. On
the contrary, HDFC, Bajaj Finance and ONGC were top index laggards.
Lucknow: Yet another hike in Petrol and Diesel prices in Uttar Pradesh is sure
to burn a bigger hole in common man’s pocket. The Petrol price was raised by
18 paise while Diesel was hiked by 29 paise. The respective price of Petrol and
Diesel in UP inclusive of all taxes is `91.19 and `84.98 per litre. Since May 1,
2021, Petrol and Diesel have been hiked by `2.30 and `3.58 respectively.
Even docs’ baap can’t
arrest me, says Ramdev
Dehradun: Roasted for
his disparaging re-
marks against allopa-
thy and modern medi-
cine, yoga guru Ramdev
on Thursday was seen
in another controver-
sial video on social me-
dia, challenging calls
for his arrest, saying
“even their baap (fa-
ther) cannot arrest
Swami Ramdev”.
“They are just mak-
ing a noise. They keep
creating trends like
Thug Ramdev, Ma-
hathug Ramdev, Giraf-
tar Ramdev and so on,”
he said responding to
#Arrest Ramdev trends
on social media.
“Arrest to khair unka
baap bhi nahin kar sak-
ta Swami Ramdev ko
(even their father can-
not arrest Swami Ram-
dev),” he was heard say-
ing in the video.
Political effort to
depict our govt a
certain way: MEA
New Delhi: With India
grappling with the fero-
cious second wave of
Covid-19, External Af-
fairs Minister S Jais-
hankar has said that “a
political effort” is being
made to depict the pre-
sent Indian government
“in a certain way” and
there is a difference be-
tween the “concocted”
political imagery and
the actual governance
record. The minister is
on a vaccine mission to
the United States as In-
dia fights shortages of
doses amidst a virulent
second surge. Turn to P6
PM Modi to visit Odisha, West Bengal today, will
hold Cyclone Yaas review meet with CM Mamata
Twitter flags
‘potential threat
to freedom of
expression’, says
concerned over
‘intimidation
tactics’
Do not dictate
terms to largest
democracy: Govt
New Delhi: The government on
Thursday said that the social
media site should “stop beating
around the bush and comply
with the laws of the land” in-
stead of “dictating terms” to the
world’s largest democracy
.
“Twitter needs to stop beating
around the bush and comply
with the laws of the land. Law
making and policy formulations
is the sole prerogative of the sov-
ereignandTwitterisjustasocial
media platform and it has no lo-
cus in dictating what India’s le-
galpolicyframeworkshouldbe,”
the Ministry of Electronics and
IT said in a detailed takedown,
denouncing Twitter’s statement
as “totally baseless, false and an
attempt to defame India”.
On Twitter’s comment ex-
pressing worry about its em-
ployees in India after the Delhi
Police visited its offices on
Monday, Turn to P6
New Delhi: The News Broad-
casters Association urged the
government to “exempt and
exclude” the traditional television
news media and its extended
presence on the digital news
platforms from the ambit of
the IT Rules 2021, saying it is
already “sufficiently regulated”
by various statutes, laws,
guidelines, codes and regula-
tions. “IT Act, 2000 had not
contemplated the regula-
tion of digital news media,
but IT Rules, 2021 does,”
said NBA. P5
New Delhi: Earlier
on Thursday, the
Twitter had said
it would “strive to
comply with applicable
law” but would ask for
changes to “elements
that inhibit free, open
conversation”.Rules en-
forced yesterday require
social media platforms
to appoint a compliance
officer in India, set up
a grievance response
mechanism and take
down content within 36
hours of a legal order.
CENTRE, TWITTER
New Delhi: Twitter on
Thursday said it was
very concerned with the
“recent events” regard-
ing its employees in the
country and “the poten-
tial threat to freedom of
expression”foritsusers.
“We, alongside many
in civil society in India
and around the world,
have concerns with re-
gards to the use of in-
timidation tactics by the
police in response to en-
forcement of our global
Termsof Service,aswell
as with core elements of
the new IT Rules. We
plan to advocate for
changes to elements of
these regulations that
inhibit free, open public
conversation,” a Twitter
spokesperson said.
The statement by the
social media intermedi-
ary comes days after the
Special Turn to P6
New Delhi:India is wit-
nessing a downswing in
the second wave of Cov-
id-19 and hopefully it
will be sustained even
when restrictions are
gently, systematically
and cautiously relaxed,
the government said on
Thursday
.
Addressing a press
conference, NITI Aayog
member (Health) V K
Paul said the country
continues to note stabi-
lisation of second wave
in most parts, both by
the number of cases
and positivity rate, and
despite a sustained and
high overall testing cov-
erage which is “reas-
suring”.
“We are achieving
this in face of very sig-
nificant restrictions in
most states Turn to P6
2nd Covid wave on
downswing: Centre
INDIA UTTAR PRADESH
2,11,298
new cases
3,847
new fatalities
3,278
new cases
188
new fatalities
CORONA CATASTROPHE
ELDERLY, DISABLED
TO GET JAB NEARBY
‘NO MAJOR EFFECT
IF JAB DOSES MIXED’
New Delhi: In the ‘Near
to Home COVID Vaccina-
tion Centres’ guidelines,
tHealth Ministry said in-
dividuals above 60 with
no vaccination or first
dose, and those below
60 but having disability,
physical or medical, will
be eligible for vaccina-
tion at such centres.
New Delhi: Significant
adverse effects are “un-
likely” if an individual’s
second Covid vaccine
dose is different from
the first, the centre said,
in response to con-
troversy over a group
of UP villagers being
given mixed doses at a
government hospital.
Kolkata: West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee said on Thurs-
day that she would be
holding a review meet-
ing with Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi over
the cyclone Yaas-led
devastation, during his
visit to the state.
Banerjee said that
the meeting will be held
at Kalaikunda in Pas-
chim Medinipur dis-
trict on Friday
.
“Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi is coming
here after conducting a
survey of cyclone-affect-
ed areas in Odisha. He
will reach Kalaikunda
via Digha, and take his
flight to Delhi from
there. The PM will hold
a review meeting with
me at Kalaikunda,” Ba-
nerjee told reporters at
the secretariat. Turn to P6
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev
The require-
ment of moni-
toring and
blanket authority to the
government to seek infor-
mation about users repre-
sented dangerous overreach
Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO
Law making is
sole preroga-
tive of sover-
eign and Twitter has no lo-
cus in dictating what In-
dia’s legal policy frame-
work should be
Ravi Shankar Prasad,
Electronics & IT Minister
3 NEW FACEBOOK FEATURES
THAT FLAG MISINFORMATION
NEWS BROADCASTERS
DEMAND EXEMPTION
FROM NEW IT RULES
TWITTER FOR
CHANGE IN
NEW RULES
Facebook has mainly brought in
three new changes.
Firstly, it will tag a
page that has been
repeatedly sharing
information flagged
by fact-checkers.
Secondly, it is expanding
penalties for individual Face-
book accounts to reduce viral
misinformation. And lastly,
the Facebook has redesigned
the notifications that people
get when they share content
that has been flagged by the
fact-checkers.
Do not dictate
terms
Secondly, it is expanding
penalties for individual Face-
book accounts to reduce viral
misinformation. And lastly,
the Facebook has redesigned
the notifications that people
get when they share content
that has been flagged by the
fact-checkers.
LOCK HORNS
Study: India faced 117 cyclones from
1970-2019, over 40,000 lives lost
New Delhi: As many as
117 cyclones hit India in
50 years from 1970-2019
claiming over 40,000 lives,
according to a study on
extreme weather events,
which also states the mor-
tality rate due to tropical
cyclones has come down
significantly over the past
10 years. A total of 7,063
extreme weather events
killed 1,41,308 people
during the period in the
country, which included
40,358 (or 28 per cent)
due to cyclones and 65,130
(a little over 46 per cent)
due to floods, the reserch
paper on cyclones stated.
WB CM Mamata Banerjee
A bridge at river Kanchi after it collapsed due to heavy rain
triggered by cyclone Yaas in Tamar of Ranchi on Thursday.

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2021
02
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Uttar
Pradesh government is
planning to install
CCTV cameras and pan-
ic buttons with GPS fa-
cility in 11,750 UPSRTC
buses.
The aim is to improve
safety for all passengers
travelling on these bus-
es, particularly women.
The buses to be up-
graded with these facili-
ties include both ordi-
nary and AC buses.
The panic button will
instantly notify the
transport department
control center, as well as
the bus driver, passen-
gers, and nearby Police
Control Vehicle vans
connected to Dial 112.
As soon as a passen-
ger presses the panic
button, the control cen-
tre will be notified,
sounding a horn. The
horn will not only alert
other passengers, con-
ductor and the driver of
the bus, but also other
motorists on the road
and any nearby Police
Control Room vehicles.
The government
will utilise Rs 15 crore
from the Nirbhaya
Fund to install the
two devices in buses
that will make women
of the state feel much
safer when onboard
while the GPS will al-
low officials at the
control room to keep
an eye on the buses at
all times.
The Board of Direc-
tors of UPSRTC has al-
ready given its nod to
the proposal and the ten-
ders for the same will be
issued on May 28, while
the deadline for submit-
ting bids is June 11.
The company win-
ning the tender will set
up its own command
centre, connect it to Dial
112 and operate the facil-
ity
.
“The panic buttons
and the live feed from
theCCTVswillbelinked
toacentralcontrolroom
that will come up at the
transport department’s
office. In case of an
emergency, the police
will be alerted immedi-
ately,” a transport offi-
cial said briefing about
the updation.
BusKaroOnCrime:UPsettovroomtech-smartvehicles
SAFE TRAVEL

CCTV cameras,
panic buttons
would be added
as safety
features in 11750
UPSRTC buses
including the AC
and the
non-AC ones
UPSTRC to ensure a safer ride. —FILE PHOTO
“DON’T WORRY ABOUT CHILDREN,VAX FOR 12-18-YR GROUP WILL SOON BE ROLLED OUT”
APPREHENSIONS PROVEN WRONG: CM
First India Bureau
Siddharthnagar: Con-
gratulating rural sur-
veillance committe
members for playing a
crucial role in denting
Covid-19’s second wave,
CM Yogi Adityanath
said that Uttar Pradesh
has set example for oth-
ers on how to deal with
the pandemic.
The UP CM, who was
on a tour of Sid-
dharthnagar and and
Basti on Thursday said
that he had covered all
the 18 divisions in UP to
take stock of the on-
ground medical facili-
ties and infrastructure.
Holding a virtual
meeting with members
of village surveillance
committees, he in-
formed them about the
massive free vaccina-
tion drive starting June
1inallthe75districtsfor
18-44 age group in Sid-
dharthnagar.
“It is being suspected
that children will be
more affected in the
third wave. You do not
have to worry, vaccine
for people in the age
group of 12-18 years is
also coming soon,” he
assured.
“It was peoples appre-
hension that the pan-
demic would spread in
villages that forced me
to hit the ground and as-
sess the situation my-
self,” he said while ad-
dressing a press confer-
enceinSiddharthNagar
district. He inspected
the functioning and ar-
rangements of the Inte-
grated COVID Com-
mand Center in Sid-
dharth Nagar and also
visited the village Jogia
where he interacted
withthemembersof the
SurveillanceCommittee
in the primary school.
The CM also examined
the Community Health
Center of Jogia village.
Later, he held a meeting
with the public repre-
sentatives and officials
in the DM office and
thereafter addressed a
press conference in the
police lines.
On reaching Basti in
the afternoon, the CM
reviewed arrangements
of theCOVIDCommand
and Control Centre and
gave directions to pro-
vide better facilities to
the COVID-infected pa-
tients. The officials in-
formed the CM that
there is no shortage of
oxygen in over there.
CM told that the state,
being the most popu-
lous, fought well by car-
rying out an aggressive
testing campaign under
theTest,TraceandTreat
mechanism, adding that
the number of beds was
increased on a large
scale in hospitals in UP
.
“Now there are more
than 80,000 beds all over
where the COVID infect-
ed patients are being
treated”, he said.
“In the last 24- hour, only 3278 fresh cases were reported. The
active cases have come down from 3.10 lakh to 58,270 within
just 26 days in the state,” said the Chief Minister, adding that the
the recovery rate of state has surpassed 95% and the while the
positivity ratio of Uttar Pradesh has declined to 1%only. Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath further said that district administrations
across Uttar Pradesh are conducting aggressive Covid related
testing in the rural pockets of the state with RRTs going door-to-
door and carrying out antigen tests.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath interacts with the Nigrani Samiti members of Jogiya Khas village of Siddharthnagar district. Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh,
Basic Education Minister Satish Chandra Dwivedi and DM Deepak Meena were also present.
Yogi Speaks
Yogi Speaks
CM Yogi paid rich
tribute to Ramabai
Ambedkar on her death
anniversary and said
she was an epitome of
sacrifice and courage
and a symbol of wom-
en’s empowerment.
CM Yogi extended
greetings to
Union Minister
Minister of Road
Transport and High-
ways Nitin Gadkari
on his birthday on
Thursday.
UP CM said
apart from
gearing up for
the possible third
wave authorities
should be ready to
deal with enceph-
alitis, malaria, and
dengue.
UP CM said
that orders
have been
issued for free
treatment of
post-covid
complications
in corona-free
patients.
Med waste:
GMC admin
warns hosps
First India Bureau
Gorakhpur: Gorakh-
pur administration has
issued strict warning to
private hospitals in the
city after medical waste
was found lying in open
areas at roadside.
Sources here said that
Municipal Commission-
er Avinash Singh found
medical waste dumped
alongsideroadsnearpri-
vate hospitals during an
inspection drive. The
Municipal Corporation
thenclearedthewastage
after which, the Com-
missioner has instruct-
ed to file an FIR against
culprits.
Singh said that action
would be taken against
privatehospitals,if they
are unable to manage
the medical waste.
Amidst increasing
threat of fungal infec-
tion in state, special in-
structions have been
issued to maintain
cleanliness in major cit-
ies. The Municipal
Commissioner inspect-
ed several areas and has
instructed to clean the
garbage dumpedatvari-
ous locations. The clean-
liness drive witnessed
sanitisation of 16 areas
in the city, after which
instructions were given
to sanitize other areas
consistently
.
UP govt spells out mega med
blueprint to defeat corona
First India Bureau
Lucknow: With the Ut-
tar Pradesh govern-
ment to roll out one the
biggest vaccination
drives in the country for
youths from June 1, the
authorities on Thurs-
day gave final touches to
the blueprint of the
mega campaign. The
free vaccination drive
will target those in the
age group of 18 plus cat-
egory in all the 75 dis-
tricts of UP
.
“The campaign for
those above 18 is be-
ing extended to all the
districts of the state
from June 1. We have
decided to inoculate
at least 1000 citizens
every day in the less
populated districts,”
said Additional Chief
Secretary Amit Mo-
han Prasad adding
that so far the facility
was available in only
23 districts. And now
it will be taken to re-
maining 52 districts.
“At least four work-
place vaccination cen-
tres will be established
in each district where
one will be for the dis-
trict court, two will be
in the government of-
fices and one for the
journalist and media
personnel along with
the employees of Infor-
mation Department”,
he said.
Over 50 people will be
given doses every day at
the Workplace CVC.
In densely populated
districts, extra centres
will be set up for bank
workers, railway and
transport department
employees etc. in order
to boost the vaccination
drive.
Also, there is provi-
sionforreserving50vac-
cine slots for the catego-
ry of 45+, taking the
daily doses adminis-
tered at the centre to one
hundred. There will be a
separate centre for this
category
. Emphasizing
on the Guardian Special
Campaign the adminis-
trationhasdecidedtoset
up at least two ‘Guardi-
an Special’ booths in
every district for the 18+
category
. The govern-
ment aims at vaccinat-
ing around 100 parents
of children under the
age group of 12 years.
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
Govt extends ESMA,bans
strikes in public services
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The govern-
ment has extended the
EssentialServicesMain-
tenance Act (ESMA) in
UP, banning strikes in
publicservices,corpora-
tions and local authori-
tiesunderit,foraperiod
of six months, said an
official spokesperson on
Thursday
.
A notification to this
effect was issued on
Thursday
, he added. The
Act gives the police pow-
ers to arrest, without a
warrant, anybody for
violating its provisions.
An official statement
issued said strikes have
beenbannedwithimme-
diate effect in all public
services, including cor-
porations and local au-
thorities owned or con-
trolled by the state. The
decision comes in the
wake of support extend-
ed by some state govern-
ment employee unions
tothefarmersandteach-
ers agitation, who have
losttheirkinstothepan-
demic which they alleg-
edly contracted when
they were deputed on
panchayat poll duty
.
A recent protest at Civil Hospital of Lucknow. —FILE PHOTO
REPURCUSSIONS OF ESMA VIOLATION
RECOVERY RATE CROSSES 95% MARK EMPHASIS ON CHILDREN’S HEALTH
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in Siddharthnagar said that a medi-
cine kit for school children will be arranged and distributed very
soon. Along with this, special Guardian Booths are being set up in
every district for the parents of children below 12 years of age. If
parents are safe, children will also be safe, said the CM briefing the
media persons. During his visit to Basti, the Chief Minister Yogi Adi-
tyanath visited the Kaili Hospital where he inspected the 50-bed ward
being made for children.During the inspection, he also inquired the
authorities regarding the Oxygen supply in the hospitals.

UTTAR PRADESH
03
KingGeorgeMedicalUniversityinLucknowhasseen
186patientsofthediseaseadmittedinitsfacilitytilldate.
Inlast24hrs,10patientswereoperatedupon.
KGMU prof clarifies black fungus is not a new fungal
infection. Microbiologists have treated fungal
infections including Mucormycosis effectively for long.
Those ignoring their regular medications and those
taking overdose of medicines without doctor’s
consultation or those with diabetes are mostly at risk
First India Bureau
Lucknow: As many as
186 patients of black
fungus have been ad-
mitted in King George
Medical University till
date, while 16 of them
were admitted in past
24 hours. Also, no cau-
sality was reported due
to the fungus infection
while surgery treat-
ment of 10 patients was
concluded in past 24
hours.
Speaking with First
India Dr Sheetal Ver-
ma, Associate Profes-
sor, Department of Mi-
crobiology, King
George Medical Uni-
versity said that black
fungus was not a new
fungal infection. Mi-
crobiologists have
treated fungal infec-
tions including Mucor-
mycosis effectively
. The
rise in number of cases
was due to several rea-
sons and detailed re-
search will reveal the
cause behind the rapid
increment of fungal in-
fection cases.
Dr Verma said that
most of the patients
suffering from fungal
infection ignored their
regular medications
and some others took
overdose of medicines
including anti-biotics
without doctor’s con-
sultation. She said that
several patients lost
control over their dia-
betic issues which
caused decline in im-
munity and they were
affected by fungal in-
fections.
Speaking about the
treatment Dr Verma
said “It usually causes
minor illness when it
involves mucosal mem-
branes and easily treat-
able. It can be life
threatening if it in-
volves vital organs and
disseminates in blood.
Early diagnosis and
treatment is promising
in such patients.”
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh is set to imple-
ment the ‘FELUDA’ Cov-
id-19 test developed by
the Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research
(CSIR). The ‘FELUDA’
test will be able to give
result within 40 minutes
to 1 hour.
The test will be imple-
mented as a pilot project
in two medical in-
stitutes in the
state. Principal
Secretary Alok
Kumar has giv-
en a set of in-
structions to
Director Gen-
eral Medical Ed-
ucation and Training.
Following the instruc-
tions DGME has begun
collecting information
about medical institutes
to decide on where the
pilot project will be im-
plemented.
The state is cur-
rently using the RT-
PCR, antigen and
antibody tests.
The FELUDA
paper strip test
will soon be add-
ed to these testing
methods. The govern-
ment has stared to col-
lectinformationtocheck
whether any equipment
or manpower would be
neededfordeployingthe
testing process.
It is speculated that
FELUDAtestmaybeem-
ployed in KGMU here,
while one other institu-
tion is yet to be decided
upon.
The FELUDA test kit
developedbyCSIR-Insti-
tute of Genomics and
Integrative Biology can
give result with up to
98% accuracy
. The test
willalsobecheaperthan
the already present tests
in the market. The kit
hasbeennamedafterthe
detective created by
famed film maker and
writer Satyajit Ray
.
DECODING BLACK
FUNGUS
CLOSE WATCH: A doctor minutey testing a woman for suspected Black Fungus infection as she arrives at a government medical
facility in Prayagraj on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Now FELUDA to help
detect Covid in no time
MASK MARRIAGE: Members of Namo Gange distribute masks to a bride and groom at Ganga ghat
in Varanasi.
291 MEDIA PERSONNEL, THEIR
FAMILIES VAXED ON THURSDAY
‘UP’S POLICY OF TRACE-TEST-
TREAT HELPED TAME COVID’
3,278 NEW COVID CASES IN
STATE, 188 DEATHS IN 24 HRS
Lucknow: Director (Information) Shishir has
said that during the ongoing vaccination drive
for media personnel and their family members,
291 people were vaccinated at the Information
Directorate on Thursday.
The officer added that the drive has been im-
mensely successful given which, it has been
extended. The drive
was earlier scheduled
to end on May 26. Amid
the ongoing nation-
wide vaccination drive
against coronavirus, the
Yogi Adityanath-led Ut-
tar Pradesh government
had on May 4, declared
journalists and media
professional as ‘frontline
workers’ and directed
authorities to allot separate centres for them
where they can be inoculated.
Lucknow: Additional Chief Secretary, Informa-
tion, Navneet Sehgal said that the state’s policy
of Trace-test-treat, imposing of partial Corona
curfew and a successful vaccination program are
the reason that the state’s condition has drasti-
cally improved.
He said that CM
soon after recovering
from Covid flung himself
into the field to ensure
better management
during the second wave
of Corona and the state
has currently seen 90%
decrease in the daily
positive cases report-
ing.ACS, Information,
Navneet Sehgal said that the CM had recently
chaired a meeting on black fungus infection and
instructed that there should be no shortage in the
medicines for the treatment of the infection.
Lucknow: COVID-19 on Thursday claimed 188
more lives and 3,278 people in Uttar Pradesh,
raising the death toll due to it to 19,900 and the
total number of cases to 16,83,866, officials said.
“In the last 24 hours, 3,278 fresh cases were
reported, while 6,995 COVID-19 patients recov-
ered from the disease, taking the total number of
recoveries in the state to 16,05,696,” Additional
Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad
told reporters. A total of 188 more people died
of COVID-19, taking the death toll to 19,900, he
said. The recovery rate in the state is now 95.4
per cent, while the number of active cases came
down by 81.26 per cent since April 30 when a
peak of 3,10,783 was reported, he added. The ac-
tive COVID-19 cases in the state stand at 58,270,
the official said, adding the figure includes
34,508 patients who are in home isolation.
Among fresh deaths, maximum cases, number-
ing 15, were reported from Lucknow, followed by
14 each from Farukhabad and Meerut.
COVID-19 UPDATE
NEW
CASES
3,278
NEW
DEATHS
188
RECOVERED 16,05,696
ACTIVE CASES 58,270
TOTAL DEATHS
19,899
16,80, 684
LUCKNOW
141
MEERUT
164
SAHARANPUR
199
VARANASI
166
GORAKHPUR
206
TOTAL
CASES
Medical staff taking a swab of a person for Covid-19 test,
at Charbagh railway station in Lucknow on Thursday, even
as a street dog graces the spot. SUMIT KUMAR
FELUDA is an acronym for FNCAS9 Editor-Limit-
ed Uniform Detection Assay. It uses CRISPR-Cas
technology for the detection of genes specific to
SARS-CoV-2 virus. With FELUDA, the need for
technical expertise is minimal and no require-
ment of expensive equipment, making it an
easy to perform, point of care test. It thus saves
space, time and money.
WHAT IS FELUDA ?
ACS, Information,
Navneet Sehgal
Director (Information)
Shishir
Black fungus aka Mucormyco-
sis is a very rare infection. It is
caused by exposure to mucor
mould, which is commonly
found in soil, plants, manure,
and decaying fruits and veg-
etables. It affects the sinuses,
the brain and the lungs and
can be life-threatening in dia-
betic or severely immunocom-
promised individuals, such as
cancer patients or people with
HIV/AIDS. In some cases the
fungus surrounds the blood
vessels and destroys them
resulting in tissue necro-
sis (death of body tissue)
and can even lead to death.
The number of cases has
increased due to the corona
virus epidemic. The immunity
of patients has fallen and over
use of medicines without doc-
tor’s consultation can also be
cause behind the rise in cases.
BLACK FUNGUS
Yellow fungus initially devel-
ops due to the presence of
moulds (a type of fungi) in
the environment. It may be
present with symptoms like
unnecessary fatigue, rashes,
burning sensation on skin etc.
It may not start from the lungs
but it invades internal organs
and affects the entire function-
ing. It is potentially danger-
ous, but the focus should be
on its prevention. As far as
its severity and risk factors
are concerned, like any other
infection, yellow fungus can
be severe if not treated early.
Its sheer development and
spread in the body depends
upon the prevailing medical
and physical condition of a pa-
tient. Again, prolonged use of
steroid, contaminated environ-
ment, uncontrolled diabetes
etc are the triggers.
YELLOW FUNGUS
White fungus is more
dangerous than black fungus.
It spreads to several parts of
the body and severely dam-
ages the lungs. Severe effects
can be seen on the kidney,
mouth, skin and brain. The
white fungus begins from
the tongue or private parts, it
makes the tongue white, and
then it spreads to other parts
like lungs, brain and food
pipes. It usually causes minor
illness when it involves mu-
cosal membranes and is easily
treatable. It can be life threat-
ening if it involves vital organs
and disseminates in blood.
Early diagnosis and treatment
are promising in such patients.
Common symptoms can be
cough, fever, diarrhoea, dark
spots on lungs, reduced oxy-
gen level, and skin lesions.
WHITE FUNGUS
One should maintain good
hygiene and cleanliness in his
surroundings for prevention of
fungal infection. Maintain oral
hygiene care with mouthwash,
povidone-iodine gargles. Use
sterile water for humidification
while administering oxygen,
and there should also be no
leakage from the humidifier.
Steroids usage should be lim-
ited and not more than neces-
sary, with strict blood glucose
control. Avoid unnecessary use
of broad-spectrum antibiotics
or antifungals, that can in turn
result in growth of unwanted
bacteria or organisms. Also,
people with low immunity are
more prone to these fungal
diseases, which is why it is
necessary to maintain a healthy
immune system by exercise,
rest and nutritious food.
PREVENTION

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 166
l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi
Industrial Area Kanpur Road Luc-
know. Published at 98, Friend’’s
Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli
Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP).
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Promoted by First India
News International Pvt. Ltd.
Ravi Shankar Prasad
@rsprasad
Government fully recognises and
respects the right of privacy. Ordinary
users of WhatsApp have nothing to
fear about the new Rules. Its entire
objective is to find out who started the
message that led to commissioning of
specific crimes mentioned in the Rules.
Adhir Chowdhury
@adhirrcinc
Do not alienate the most docile and
peace-loving islanders to please
the saffron brigade of India, I must
suggest the govt to replace that
uncouth and malicious guy by an
adroit administrator as immediately as
possible. #Lakshadweep
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Therefore do not be anxious
about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will be anxious
for itself. Sufficient for the
day is its own trouble.
—Matthew 6:34
IN-DEPTH
JAISHANKAR IN
AMERICA ON
MISSION VACCINE
oreign Minister S.
Jaishankar is in the
US where he will be
discussing various
strategic and bilater-
al issues to strengthen ties be-
tween two of the world’s biggest
democracies but in reality he is
on a mission to get vaccine sup-
plies for India. The MEA website
states that the objectives of the
visit include, among other
things, “interactions with busi-
ness forums on economic and
Covid-related cooperation be-
tween India and the US”. In an
interactive session on India at
Stanford University
, Jaishankar
said, “The number one question
on everybody’s mind today is
Covid, and the worry which peo-
ple have---do we have accessible,
affordable vaccines. Now we
can’t have a world which is part
vaccinatedandpartneglected…”
The US is said to be sitting
over a stock of about 40 million
unused doses of AstraZeneca,
Covishield in India. In April,
America had agreed to supply 20
million of these doses to India.
Jaishankar’s visit holds the key
to progress on that front.
TOP TWEET
F
or months there
has been suspense
over the origin of
Covid-19 virus.
The World Health
Organisation dismissed as ex-
tremely unlikely Donald
Trump’s theory of the novel
coronavirus having originat-
ed from a laboratory in Chi-
na’s Wuhan province. Its ori-
gin has since been attributed
to a nearby meat market but
its journey from animals or
birds to human beings re-
mains untraced. No serious
investigation has been con-
ducted on the origin of the vi-
rus because of clampdown by
China’s authoritarian regime
and its refusal to subject the
lab to detailed investigation to
confirm if the virus was the
result of an experiment.
China has repeatedly re-
jected the laboratory theory
and the US intelligence com-
munity is also divided on
whether it resulted from an
experiment that went awry.
The conspiracy theorists
keep popping up neverthe-
less. Their premise for flag-
ging China is that while the
virus continues to cause
havoc in the rest of the world,
China was able to contain its
spread in a few months time.
They point out that the econ-
omies of the US, UK, several
European countries and In-
dia are tottering but that of
China was holding firm. In
simple words they claim that
China used the virus to desta-
bilize the world. China calls
it a “smear campaign”.
Joe Biden, Trump’s succes-
sor in White House, has or-
dered his intelligence to in-
vestigate the origin of the
virus and submit a report in
90 days. The success of the
investigation will depend on
the extent to which China is
willing to cooperate. Circum-
stantial evidence may sup-
port the lab theory but there’s
little the world can do.
TRACING THE ORIGIN
OF SARS-COV-2
No serious investigation
has been conducted on the
origin of the virus because
of clampdown by
China’s authoritarian
regime and its refusal to
subject the lab to detailed
investigation to confirm if
the virus was the result of
an experiment
F
CAPITAL CITIES RISE
TO CAPITAL DISPUTES!
apital cities also give rise to
capital disputes. Many of us
are aware that Chandigarh
was proposed as the capital
of Punjab, but with the for-
mation of Punjab and Hary-
ana, the city was claimed by
both, and Punjab put its
claims more aggressively be-
cause the Akali Dal often
raised it as an election issue.
Although the in -principal
decision to give Chandigarh
to Punjab has been made re-
peated by the Centre on sev-
eral occasions, questions of
compensation to Haryana,
plus the transfer of some
Hindi speaking tracts to Har-
yana have led to such a long
procrastination that a kind
of fatigue has set in, and in
any case, the citizens are
quite comfortable with the
arrangements. Moreover,
both Punjab and Haryana
have also developed Mohali
and Panchkula as adjuncts to
Chandigarh, thereby making
the region a Tri city which
abounds in infrastructure,
educational institutions and
medical facilities. This has
therefore ceased to be an is-
sue, as of now, and Chandi-
garh has been described as
one of the better cities to live
in! On similar lines, Hy-
derabad too was proposed as
the joint capital for both
Andhra and Telangana for a
period of ten years, but in
this case, Andhra did not
have any continuous territo-
ry with Hyderabad, sur-
rounded as it was on all sides
by Telangana. Moreover, the
animosity between the two
states was running quite
high, and unlike in Punjab
and Haryana where the na-
tional parties were at the
helm, both Andhra and Tel-
angana were governed by re-
gional dispensations which
were totally opposed to each
other. In any case, the then
CM Chandra Babu Naidu
planned to build a new capi-
tal – Amravati – by pooling in
land from the farmers on the
one hand, and external bor-
rowings on the other. How-
ever, his successor has now
proposed three capitals – Am-
ravati as the seat of Legisla-
ture, Kurnool for the High
Court and Visakhapatnam as
the headquarters of the po-
litical executive and the State
Secretariat.
Readers may be interested
to note that Bombay too was
proposed as a Union territo-
ry between 1956 to 1960: SRC,
the BPCC and the All-India
Congress Working Commit-
tee were also keen on this.
Prior to the division between
Gujarat and Maharashtra,
the erstwhile state of Bom-
bay was a bi lingual state in
which both Gujaratis and
Marathas wanted to have
their own linguistic state –
but Bombay was the main
bone of contention. It is said
to have been made by Guja-
rati capital and Maratha la-
bour. Dr Ambedkar was also
keen for Bombay to be inde-
pendent of both Gujarat and
Maharashtra, and as a safe
haven for minorities and Dal-
its. Finally
, however, the Mar-
tha lobby prevailed, and
when the separation of Ma-
harashtra and Gujarat actu-
ally took place on May 1,1960,
Bombay remained as a part
of Maharashtra.
Even less known is the fact
that the city of Madras was
contested between the Telugu
speaking Andhra state which
was carved out of the thir-
teen Telugu speaking dis-
tricts of Madras. When Pat-
tabhi Sitaramayya, one of the
three members of the JVP
(Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhb-
hai Patel) committee which
recommended putting the lin-
guistic reorganization of
states for a period of ten
years was cornered on his
statement that Madras will
not be part of Andhra state,
he said that it did not imply
that the city of Madras would
remain in the state of Ma-
dras, thereby hinting that the
possibility of Madras as a UT
could not be ruled out! Final-
ly
, it was agreed that Andhra
state would get the Tirumala
Tirupati complex, which
even then was the biggest pil-
grim centre of the South.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
C
DR SANJEEV CHOPRA
The writer is a historian, public policy analyst,
and Festival Director of Valley of Words,
a literature and arts festival based out of
Dehradun. Till very recently, he was a member
of the IAS and posted as the Director of LBS
National Academy of Administration
Although the in -principal
decision to give Chandigarh
to Punjab has been made
repeated by the Centre on
several occasions, questions
of compensation to
Haryana, plus the transfer
of some Hindi speaking
tracts to Haryana have led
to such a long
procrastination that a kind
of fatigue has set in, and in
any case, the citizens are
quite comfortable with the
arrangements
Readers may be
interested to note that
Bombay too was
proposed as a Union
territory between 1956
to 1960: SRC, the BPCC
and the All-India
Congress Working
Committee were also
keen on this

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INDIA
05
NO QUESTION OF CHOKSI’S
DEPORTATION TO INDIA: LAWYER
New Delhi: Legally, as per
Section 17 and 23 of the
Immigration and Passport
Act, Mehul Choksi can
only be deported to Anti-
gua, the fugitive diaman-
taire’s counsel said on
Thursday. Advocate Vijay
Aggarwal, Counsel for
Choksi, while respond-
ing to ANI on reports
of Choksi’s deportation di-
rectly to India, said it can-
not be done. In a state-
ment, Advocate Aggarwal
said, “As per the Indian
Citizenship Act, Section 9,
the moment Mehul Choksi
acquired the citizenship of
Antigua, he ceased to be
a Citizen of India. Hence,
legally, as per Immigra-
tion and Passport Act
Section 17 and 23, he
can be deported only to
Antigua.”
J&K CHIEF SECY TO MOVE TO
CENTRE AS COMMERCE SECY
Srinagar: J&K Chief Secretary, B.V.R. Sub-
rahmanyam, was on Thursday, posted as OSD in
the Union Commerce Ministry and will succeed
Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan on his
retirement next month-end. An order issued by
the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Griev-
ances and Pensions said: “The appointments
committee of the cabinet (ACC) has approved the
appointment of B.V.R. Subrahmanyam IAS (CG;
87), Chief Secretary Jammu & Kashmir as officer
on special duty in the Department of Commerce.
LEADERS, CELEBS TWEET WISHES
ON NITIN GADKARI’S BIRTHDAY
New Delhi: Wishes poured in for Union Minis-
ter Nitin Gadkari on his birthday on Thursday.
Among those to convey their greetings included
those from the film, music and sports fraterni-
ties, apart from the political fraternity. Among the
other leaders to shower praises and good wishes
on Gadkari on his 64th birthday included Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh and Textiles and Women
& Child Development Ministers Smriti Irani. Many
dignitaries took to Twitter to praise the senior
leader and pray for his good health.
KPCC CHIEF EXPRESSES
WILLINGNESS TO QUIT
Thiruvananthapuram:
Weeks after the drub-
bing of the Congress
party in the Assembly
polls in the state, the
Kerala Pradesh Congress
Committee chief Mullap-
pally Ramachandran is
learnt to have expressed
his willingness to tender
his resignation from the
post, sources said. The
eight-time Parliamentar-
ian conveyed his willing-
ness to quit but the party
leadership in New Delhi
asked him to continue till
the selection of the new
president. “Ramachan-
dran had conveyed his
willingness to quit the
same day when Ramesh
Chennithala was removed
as opposition leader. Now,
he has put his resignation
in writing.
Ordinary WhatsApp users have nothing to fear about the new rules, he added
New Delhi: A day after
WhatsApp moved the
Delhi HC against the
Centre’s recent IT
Rules, Union Minister
for Social Justice and
Empowerment, Com-
munication and
InformationTech-
nology Ravi
Shankar Prasad
said the central
government ful-
ly recognises
and respects the
right of privacy, adding
that ordinary What-
sApp users have noth-
ing to fear about the
new rules.
Taking to microblog-
ging site Koo, the Union
Minister said the objec-
tive of the new IT Rules
is to find out who start-
ed the message that led
to the commissioning
of specific crimes.
“Government fully rec-
ognises and respects
the right of privacy
. Or-
dinary users of What-
sApp have nothing to
fear about the new
Rules. Its entire objec-
tive is to find out who
started the message
that led to com-
missioning of
s p e c i f i c
crimes men-
tioned in the
Rules,” he
said.
“The obliga-
tion to reveal first origi-
nator of an offensive
message already in cir-
culation relates only to
offences relating to
“ s o v e r -
eignty,
integri-
ty & se-
curity of
India, public
order, rape, & child
sexual abuse” &
that too when
other less intru-
sive measures are not
effective. “ New rules
are designed to prevent
abuse & misuse of so-
cial media. Govern-
ment welcomes criti-
cism including right to
ask questions. —ANI
WHATSAPP ROW
DELHI HC ADJOURNS HEARING
ON PILs ON NEW IT RULES
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thurs-
day adjourned the hearing on a batch of
petitions challenging the newly en-
forced Information Technology
Rules, 2021. The Bench of Jus-
tice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti
Singh, which was hearing
petitions filed by digital
news platforms including
Quint, The Wire & several
others challenging the
Ministry of Electronics &
Information Technology’s
digital and social media
rules, adjourned the mat-
ter till August 4. —ANI
Ravi Shankar Prasad
IN THE COURTYARD
Delhi HC asks Centre to consider
Amphotericin B duty waiver
New Delhi: The Delhi
HC asked Centre to
consider a complete
waiver of import du-
ties of drug Ampho-
tericin B, for a limited
period till its scarcity
is resolved. A Division
Bench of Justices Vi-
pin Sanghi & Justice
Jasmeet Singh said
that Amphotericin B,
used to treat black fun-
gus is required to save
lives of people suffer-
ing all over the country
& Centre should con-
sider a complete waiv-
er of import duties of
the drug till the issue
of scarcity of drug is
resolved. The Court
also said that any per-
son can import Am-
photericin B and the
same may be cleared
by accepting the bond
from the importer
without actual pay-
ment of duty till a final
decision on the said
aspect is taken. —ANI
HC seeks Centre,
Delhi govt’s reply
on patient update
New Delhi: Family
members or attendants
of COVID-19 patients
should be kept updated
about their condition
and treatment, a PIL
has sought in Delhi HC
which asked for Centre
& Delhi government’s
stand on the issue. A
bench of CJ DN Patel &
Justice Jyoti Singh is-
sued the notice. —PTI
Amend victim references in Tejpal judgement: HC
Panaji: Bombay HC
bench in Goa directed
Additional District &
Sessions Court in
North Goa to rewrite
references which re-
vealed identity of
sexual assault victim.
In its 527 page order,
sessions court on May
21 acquitted former
Tehelka editor-in-
chief Tarun Tejpal
from charges of rape
levelled against him
by a junior colleague
in 2013.Single bench
of Justice SC Gupte
said that alterations
to judgement should
be made in 3 days, be-
fore order is uploaded
to court’s online por-
tal for public viewing.
Rahul Gandhi seeks withdrawal of
sweeping Lakshadweep regulations
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi on
Thursday wrote to
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi urging him to
ensure that the “anti-
people policies” an-
nounced by Lakshad-
weep administrator
Praful Khoda Patel are
withdrawn.
Patel, who was ap-
pointed as the Admin-
istrator of Lakshad-
weep in December 2020,
is facing opposition
over policies intro-
duced by him from the
people of the union ter-
ritory and politicians,
both from within Lak-
shadweep and the
neighbouring state of
Kerala.
In the letter to the
Prime Minister, Gan-
dhi said the adminis-
trator has unilaterally
proposed sweeping
changes without duly
consulting elected rep-
resentatives or the pub-
lic, and the people are
protesting against the
arbitrary actions.
“Under the guise of
development and main-
taining law and order
in a low crime union
territory, the draconi-
an regulations penalise
dissent and undermine
grassroots democracy,”
Gandhi said. “I request
you to intervene in this
matter and ensure that
the above-mentioned
orders are withdrawn.
he added. —ANI
RAGA’s TRIBUTES TO NEHRU ON DEATH ANNIV
Note for vote
scam:ED files
chargesheet
against MP,others
New Delhi: The En-
forcement Directorate
(ED) has filed a charge
sheet against Telanga-
na Congress MP A Re-
vanth Reddy, TRS MLA
Venkata Veeraiah and a
few others in connec-
tion with its money
laundering probe into
the 2015 alleged cash-
for-vote scam.
The central probe
agency said in a state-
ment here that a prose-
cution complaint
(charge sheet) has been
filedbeforeaspecialPre-
vention of Money Laun-
deringAct(PMLA)court
in Hyderabad’s Nampal-
ly
. It said the complaint
has been filed against
Congress MP from Mal-
kajgiri Anumula Re-
vanth Reddy
, MLA San-
dra Venkata Veeraiah
representing the Sathu-
pally constituency
, Bish-
op Harry Sebastian,
Rudra Sivakumar Uday
Simha, Mathaiah Jeru-
salem & Vem Krishna
Keerthaninthecash-for-
vote scam. —PTI
A Revanth Reddy
Ongoing Covid restrictions extended in WB till June 15: Mamata
Kolkata: West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee on Thursday
extended the ongoing
Covid-19 restrictions
till June 15, saying that
the curbs have helped
ease the pandemic situ-
ation a little.
The West Bengal gov-
ernment had an-
nounced the existing
restrictions for 15 days
from May 16 following a
huge surge in the num-
ber of coronavirus cas-
es. The announcement
for extension of the
curbs came three days
before they were sched-
uled to come to an end.
“The Covid-19 re-
strictions in the state
will continue till June
15. This is not a lock-
down or a curfew. We
will strictly follow the
restrictions.
“It’s a relief to see
that the ongoing restric-
tions have helped in
easing the situation a
little,” Banerjee told re-
porters at the state sec-
retariat ‘Nabanna’.
“We will see that the
state’s economy is not
disturbed,” Banerjee
said. —PTI
‘BOARD EXAMS IN LATE JULY, AUGUST’
HC to hear plea to restrain
‘media trial’ of wrestler today
New Delhi: Delhi HC
said that it will hear
today a petition
moved by Sushil Ku-
mar’s mother Kamla
Devi and a law stu-
dent seeking to make
standard rules for re-
porting in criminal
cases by considering
the rights of the ac-
cused, to put stop to
media trial and to stop
from “sensational re-
porting” in the case
against the wrestler.
The matter was
mentioned before a
Division Bench of CJ
DN Patel & Justice
Jyoti Singh, who
agreed to give it an ur-
gent hearing.The peti-
tion was filed by Su-
shil Kumar’s mother
Kamla Devi and Shri-
kant Prasad, a law stu-
dent at Delhi Univer-
sity
.
The law student
claimed that Sushil
Kumar’s mother has
given him consent to
file the petition.
The petitioner also
sought to restrain me-
dia from declaring
him guilty even be-
fore court’s verdict.
The petition sought
to initiate a high pow-
er panel to unveil
those who were leak-
ing information to the
media by breaching
the right to privacy of
the accused causing
prejudice, biased to
him, his right to a free
and fair trial is taken
up by the media with
an intention to end
his career. —ANI
PSYCHOLOGICAL
EXPERT TO
INTERROGATE
KUMAR: COPS
New Delhi: “Dur-
ing police interro-
gation, Sushil Ku-
mar claimed that
he is innocent and
he was misguided
by some people
around him who
had advised him to
hide. The wrestler
said, ‘why will I
commit murder.
I can never think
of committing
murder. I don’t
support gang-
sters’,” the offic-
ers said.“Sushil
is smart and
he is mentally
strong enough to
manipulate the
answers. This is
why police need to
take the help of a
psychologist,” the
cops added. —ANI
Chhatrasal Stadium Murder
Sushil Kumar
CENTRE RESPECTS RIGHT OF
PRIVACY: UNION MIN PRASAD

INDIA
06
Governor &
Chief Minister
briefed her about other
pressing matters at
hand including cabinet
expansion.With more
than six vacancies in
the cabinet, the party
may induct new faces
very soon but no date
has been fixed for pro-
posed expansion so far,
which may take place
after the party com-
pletes its celebrations
for seven years of Modi
Government on Sunday
.
The ruling BJP has
been under fire over its
handling of the Covid
situation from its own
ministers and party
lawmakers, who have
written letters to the UP
CM drawing his atten-
tion towards the prob-
lems but refrained from
targeting directly
. BJP’s
rather dismal perfor-
mance in the Panchaya-
ti Raj elections has also
fuelled the issue. “Cov-
id-19 is going to be un-
der control soon and the
people have a short
memory about such is-
sues. But they know
about Modi and Yogi’s
contribution for the
cause of Temple,” said a
seniorpartyfunctionary
onconditionof anonym-
ity
. The BJP may be dis-
cussing changes to gear
up for UP assembly elec-
tions. It may
, however,
take some time. The
spread of Covid-19 is
likely to be contained in
the next few weeks.
There should not be any
changes in the minis-
tries/department deal-
ingdirectlywithcontrol-
ling Covid-19,” he said.
Centre, Twitter...
Cell of Delhi Police had
earlier this week on
Monday knocked on the
doors of Twitter India’s
Delhi and Gurgaon of-
fices to allegedly serve
a notice asking the com-
pany executives to join
in the probe regarding
the alleged “toolkit”
seeking to undermine
Indian government’s
response to Covid-19,
released on Twitter.
Do not...
the government said it
wished to “emphatical-
ly assure that repre-
sentatives of social me-
dia companies includ-
ing Twitter are and will
always remain safe in
India and there is no
threat to their personal
safety and security
.”
2nd covid...
in addition to other
tools and operations,
including testing and
COVID appropriate be-
haviour and vaccina-
tion efforts. Nonethe-
less, it is reassuring
that we are on the down-
swing of second wave
and we do hope and be-
lieve that it will be sus-
tained even when re-
strictions are gently,
systematically and cau-
tiously opened up,” he
said.
“We have a total of
51.6 crore doses, a large
proportion of it is avail-
able and has to be used
in an efficient manner
even as we build our ef-
forts to build our stock-
pile in the time to come.
PM Modi...
The Bengal Chief Min-
ister, along with Chief
Secretary Alapan Ban-
dyopadhyay, is sched-
uled to undertake an
aerial survey of the cy-
clone-hit areas in Purba
Medinipur, South and
North 24 Parganas on
Friday
.
Political effort...
Talking to former US
National Security Advi-
sor General HR McMas-
ter in ‘Battlegrounds’
session on ‘India: Op-
portunities And Chal-
lenges For A Strategic
Partnership’ at Stan-
ford University’s Hoo-
ver Institution, New
York, Jaishankar also
mentioned that it is “a
very stressful time” for
India due to the pan-
demic.
FROM PG 1
Priyanka Gandhi slams centre on
nation’s COVID-19 vax shortage
New Delhi: Why is In-
dia, one of the largest
manufacturers of vac-
cines in the world, fac-
ing a scarcity today?,
asked Congress General
Secretary Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra on Thurs-
day, hitting out at the
Centre for its manage-
ment of the COVID-19
vaccination process.
In a video captioned
‘The Government of In-
dia owes the people of
India answers,’ she
asked why the govern-
ment had placed its first
vaccine order only in
January this year.
“Why is India, one of
the largest manufactur-
ers of vaccines in the
world facing a scarcity
today? Why was the first
order or vaccines by the
government of India
placed in January 2021
when other countries
began placing their or-
ders in the summer of
2020?” She further
asked, “Why did our
government export six
crore vaccines between
JanuaryandMarch2021
while vaccinating only
3.5 crore Indians during
the same period of time.
The government of In-
dia owes the people of
India answers. We have
to ask them questions
and they have to answer
us.” The Congress lead-
er had criticised the
Centreearlieraswellfor
the country’s dearth of
COVID-19 vaccines.
Earlier in April, she
had tweeted, “Shocking
that while COVID rav-
ages India, from being a
vaccine exporter, it has
been compelled to be-
come a vaccine import-
er undoing 70 years of
govt effort.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked the Modi government that why is
India, the largest COVID vaccine manufacturer, facing shortage?
 Russian FM to
take part in BRICS
foreign ministers
meet in June;
regional conflicts,
COVID on agenda
 Delhi records
1,072 fresh
COVID-19 infec-
tions, positivity
rate drops to 1.53
pc lowest in two
months
 24 states reported
decline in active
COVID-19 cases
since last week,
says health min-
istry
 I&B ministry ap-
proves Rs 5 lakh
assistance to kin of
67 journalists who
died of COVID-19
 9,462 villages
in Chhattisgarh
‘corona-free’
 24 states reported
decline in active
COVID-19 cases
since last week,
says health ministry
 Operation Sam-
udra Setu II: INS
Shardul arrives at
Kochi with 87 MT of
oxygen
 Apollo hospitals to
roll out Sputnik V
from second week
of June
 Punjab extends
COVID curbs till
June 10, lifts limit
on number of pas-
sengers in personal
vehicles
HIGHLIGHTS
New Delhi: Maharash-
tra-based Genetic Life
Sciences has begun
manufacturing Ampho-
tericin B Emulsion in-
jections, which are used
for treating Mucormy-
cosis or Black Fungus,
the Union Minister Ni-
tin Gadkari’s office in-
formed on Thursday
.
According to Union
Minister’s office, the
Amphotericin B Emul-
sion injections manu-
factured by the Genetic
Life Sciences are priced
at Rs 1200 each. “With
efforts of Union Minis-
ter Nitin Gadkari, Ge-
netic Life Sciences,
Wardha has manufac-
tured Amphotericin B
Emulsion injections for
treating Mucormyco-
sis. It was being pro-
duced by only one com-
pany so far,” Gadkari’s
office tweeted.
The Union Minister
for Chemicals and Ferti-
lizers Sadananda Gow-
da yesterday informed
that additional 29,250
vials of Amphotericin
B, used in the treatment
of Mucormycosis, were
allocated to states & Un-
ion Territories, based
on their number of pa-
tients under treatment.
Covid vax trials on children
in India to begin soon: Govt
Vax availability is going to increase in future:DrVinod K Paul,NITIAayog
New Delhi: The Cen-
tral government on
Thursday announced
that Covid-19 vaccine
trials on children in the
country would begin
soon. Member (Health)
in NITI Aayog and the
chair of National Ex-
pert Group on Vaccine
Administration for Cov-
id-19 (NEGVAC), Dr Vi-
nod K. Paul, made the
announcement on be-
half of the government
while clearing several
myths on India’s Cov-
id-19 vaccination pro-
gramme doing the
rounds.Clarifying one
such myth that “Centre
is not taking any step to
vaccinate children”,
Paul said: “As of now, no
country in the world is
giving vaccines to chil-
dren. Also, WHO has no
recommendation on
vaccinating children.”
Paul, however, said
that there have been
studies about safety of
vaccines in children,
which have been en-
couraging. “Trials in
children in India are
also going to begin
soon. However, vacci-
nating children should
not be decided on the
basis of panic in What-
sApp groups and be-
cause some politicians
want to play politics,”
Paul said. Paul also
said that the decision in
this regard is taken by
our scientists after ad-
equate data is available
based on trials.
NITI AAYOG SEEKS TO BUSTS MYTHS
ON CENTRE’S VACCINATION DRIVE
New Delhi: Claiming that several ‘myths’ around
India’s Covid-19 vaccination program were doing
the rounds, the Indian government’s think-tank NITI
Aayog, sought to explain the Centre’s efforts towards
ramping up the supply of vaccines. “These myths
are arising due to distorted statements,
half-truths and blatant lies,” NITI Aayog
said. Addressing the ‘myth’ that the
Centre hasn’t done enough to buy
vaccines from abroad, NITI Aayog
claimed that the government has
been engaging with international
manufacturers since mid-2020.
Zydus Cadila
seeks DCGI
approval for
clinical trials
New Delhi: Zydus
has announced bio-
logical therapy ZRC-
3308, used to treat
mild COVID-19. The
pharmaceutical com-
pany now seeks
DCGI (Drugs Con-
troller General of In-
dia) nod to undertake
clinical trials for
monoclonal antibod-
ies cocktail that can
neutralise Covid in-
fection.ZRC-3308 is a
cocktail of 2 anti-
SARS-CoV-2 mono-
clonal antibodies.
Zydus is the only In-
dian company to de-
veloped a neutraliz-
ing monoclonal anti-
body based cocktail
for the treatment of
COVID-19, it said. Zy-
dus is currently seek-
ing permission to
initiate phase 1/3 hu-
man clinical trials
from the DCGI.
‘SPUTNIK V MANUFACTURING TO START SOON IN INDIA’
New Delhi: The manu-
facturing of Russia’s
Sputnik V Covid-19 vac-
cine will start soon in
India as the country has
accomplished technolo-
gy-transfer to Indian
companies, said Dr Vi-
nod K. Paul.
Paul said the govern-
ment has also proactive-
ly eased entry of vac-
cinesapprovedbytheUS
FDA, EMA, UK’s MHRA
& Japan’s PMDA, &
WHO’s Emergency Use
Listing into India in
April. He said these vac-
cines will not need to un-
dergo prior bridging tri-
als as the provision has
nowbeenfurtheramend-
ed to waive off the trial
requirement altogether
for the well-established
vaccines manufactured
in other countries. “No
application of any for-
eign manufacturer for
approval is pending
with the drugs control-
ler,” he further said.
10KsachetsofDRDO’sCovid
drugavailableinmarket:Singh
New Delhi: Union De-
fence Minister Rajnath
Singh informed that
10,000 sachets of anti-
COVID drug 2-DG will
be available in the mar-
ket from Thursday
. The
anti-COVID drug has
been developed by the
Defence Research and
Development Organisa-
tion (DRDO).
Launching the “Ser-
vices e-Health Assis-
tance and Tele-consul-
tation (SeHAT)” OPD
Portal via video confer-
encing, Mr Singh laud-
ed the armed forces,
stating that it is a key
step taken at a very crit-
ical time for the health
of service personnel as
it will reduce the load
of the hospitals.
Chief of Defence
Staff Gen Bipin Rawat,
Army Chief Gen MM
Naravane, and Navy
Chief Admiral Karam-
bir Singh were also
there. Referring to the
second wave, Defence
Minister said, “This
wave of COVID is un-
precedented and more
dangerous than earlier.
But Defence Ministry
has rendered its servic-
es in second wave too.
DRDO has set up COV-
ID hospitals and oxygen
generation plants in
Delhi, Lucknow, Vara-
nasi, and many other
parts of the country
.”
Rajnath Singh launched Services e-Health Assistance & Tele-
consultation OPD portal through video conferencing, in New Delhi.
Black Fungus drug to
cost Rs 1,200 in Maha
Doctor conducts eye check-up
of patients. —PHOTO BY ANI
1.84 cr vax still
available with
states, UTs
New Delhi: Health
Ministry said more
than 1.84 crore vaccine
doses are still available
with states and union
territories and they will
receive over 11 lakh
more within the next
three days. “More than
1.84 crore COVID vac-
cine doses are still
available with the
States/UTs to be admin-
istered. 11lakh vaccine
doses are in the pipeline
and will be received by
the States/UTs within 3
days,” ministry said.
The Centre has so far
provided, both through
the free of cost catego-
ry and through direct
state procurement cat-
egory, more than 22
crore vaccine doses.
—PHOTO
BY
ANI
S RAMESH SELECTED AS MD,
BHARAT PETRO RESOURCES LTD
S Ramesh, GM, BPCL, has been selected for
the post of MD, Bharat Petro Resources Limited
(BPRL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board
(PESB) meeting held on May 27, 2021.
AK MOHANTY POSTED
AS IGF (FC) IN MOEF&CC
Anjan K Mohanty has been posted as Inspector
General of Forests in MoEF & Climate Change,
consequent upon grant of central extension. He is
a 1992 batch IFS officer of Sikkim cadre.
HEMA SHARMA IS DIRECTOR,
WOMEN & CHILD DEVP IN HARYANA
Hema Sharma has been posted as Director and
Special Secretary, Women & Child Development,
Haryana and handed over additional charges of
Secretary, Haryana State Commission for Pro-
tection of Child Rights and MD, Haryana Women
Development Corporation Ltd.
WILL PK TRIPATHY BE NEW CS OF J&K?
Name of PK Tripathy is doing the round in corri-
dors of North Block for post of Chief Secretary of
J&K. He is 1987 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.
ARVIND KUMAR’S TENURE AS
DIRECTOR, IB EXTENDED
The tenure of Arvind Kumar as Director, Intelli-
gence Bureau has been extended for a period of
one year with effect from June 30, 2021.
10 ADDL JUDGES OF BOMBAY HC
APPOINTED AS JUDGES
10 Additional Judges of Bombay HC have been
appointed as Judges. They are, Justices Avinash
Gharote, Nitin Suryawanshi, Anil Kilor, Milind
Jadhav, Mukund Sewlikar, Virendrasingh Bisht,
Debadwar Bhalchandra Ugrasen, Ms. Mukulika
Shrikant Jawalkar, Surendra Pandharinath Tavade
and Nitin Rudrasen Borkar.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com

NEWS
07
First India Bureau
Sitapur: The govern-
ment provides resourc-
es for convenience of
common man, but the
latter faces hardships
due to laxity in system.
A case in point is that of
a helpless father who
was forced to carry his
young son’s body on a
bike to mortuary for
postmortem after re-
peated requests to am-
bulance drive failed to
bear fruit. When the
helpless father ap-
proached the ambu-
lance driver, the latter
was in an inebriated
state which forced the
father to take the step.
Chavinag’s son An-
kur, resident of Deoria
of Talgaon, died in Sita-
pur district hospital on
Tuesday evening. An-
kur was admitted to dis-
trict hospital after be-
ing injured in a road
accident. After Ankur’s
death, the body was
kept in district hospi-
tal’s mortuary. Post
Panchayatnama, which
took place in district
hospital on Wednesday,
the family started ar-
ranging for body to be
taken to postmortem
house by hospital am-
bulance. According to
Chavinag, the emergen-
cy ward personnel
spoke to ambulance
driver who assured to
arrive in 10 minutes but
did not come even after
an hour. According to
Chavinag, when he per-
sonally went to ap-
proach the driver, he
found to be heavily
drunk which forced
him to take his son’s
body on bike.
After the video of the
incident went viral on
internet media, SP RP
Singh sent CO (City) Pi-
yush Kumar Singh and
SDM (Sadar) Amit
Bhatt for investigation
after which police out-
postinchargeShashank
Pandey was sent to line
while constable
Shashidhar Mishra was
suspended. Ambulance
driver Nilesh was re-
lieved of his duty
.
First India Bureau
Varanasi: A peculiar
case of Covid negative
woman in Varanasi giv-
ing birth to a Covid pos-
itive baby girl has the
scientists in the country
puzzled.
On May 23, a woman
was admitted to the Sir
Sunderlal Hospital in
BHU, Varanasi after her
Covid test came nega-
tive. The woman on May
25 gave birth to a baby
girl but surprisingly the
baby girl tested positive
for the Corona virus the
same day
.
Fortunately, both the
baby girl and her moth-
er are healthy but the
case of a newborn of a
Covid negative person
testing positive has the
scientist world sur-
prised.
This would be first
time in the country that
a Covid negative preg-
nant lady has given
birth to a Covid positive
baby
. There have been
thousands of cases Co-
rona positive pregnant
woman giving birth to
Covid negative babies
but a Covid negative
pregnant woman giving
birth to Covid positive
baby is the first time.
The hospital doctors
have for the time being
havekeptboththemoth-
er and her child sepa-
rately to safeguard each
other’s health.
Medical science ex-
perts have since the
event have begun taking
opinions from many
places to see if there has
been any such occur-
rence before. It is being
estimated that the case
in Varanasi would be
first ever in the world.
The CMO said that
both mother and child
are healthy at the mo-
ment but have been kept
in separate wards.
He added that this
rarest of the rare case
willbeinvestigatedsoon
to understand how this
would have occurred.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A special
contingent of National
Disaster Response
Force (NDRF) has been
deployed in West Ben-
gal to rescue people dur-
ing the Yaas cyclone.
This squad has soldiers
of Lucknow and Vara-
nasi. The squad com-
mandos had received
special training from
US, Singapore, Mauri-
tius and Sri Lanka. The
commando squad was
trained in deep diving
by Indian Navy in
Kochi. In addition, The
squad has expertise in
evacuating people from
high-rise buildings
which had been demol-
ished in association
with Air Force. This
was informed by Manoj
Kumar Sharma, Com-
mandant of NDRF 11th
Corps. He informed a
total of five teams from
Lucknow and Varanasi
had so far been air-lift-
ed to West Bengal. To-
gether, around 113
teams of the country
are engaged in relief
and rescue operations.
NDRF Lucknow unit
deputy commandant
Neeraj Kumar said that
special commando
squad from Lucknow
and Varanasi sent un-
der the direction of
Commandant Manoj
Kumar Sharma along
with Inspector Suresh
Kumar were skilled
swimmers. If someone
fell into sea during a cy-
clone or went missing
or needs some other
type of sea-related help,
squad members with
oxygen cylinders wear-
ing special suits and
gaggle can resuscitate
for three to four hours
or even longer.
They have also been
given boats of high
quality
.
NDRF PERSONNEL FROM LUCKNOW, VARANASI LEAD
RESCUEOPAFTERYAASHAMMERSBENGALCOASTLINE
CONFOUNDING
CONFABULATIONS
Amidst speculations over a
possible cabinet expansion,
chief minister Yogi Adityanath
called on UP Governor
Anandiben Patel. Though
officially the meeting has been
termed as a “routine affair” to
update Her Excellency on State
matters, it is the timing which
has created a flutter both in
political and administrative
circles. Having successfully
managed to blunt the Covid
second wave, the UP CM, on
a state-wide whirlwind tour
reachedLucknow on Thursday
evening. A flurry of political
developments in the past
week starting with the meeting
between PM Modi and RSS
top-brass to high-profile BJP
MLC AK Sharma calling on UP
CM last Sunday has only added
grist to the rumour mills.
The last cabinet expansion
took place in August 2019 to
accommodate 18 ministers.
With just about nine months
to go for Assembly elections
2022, the BJP in an early-bird
approach wants to broad-base
its appeal by inducting at least
half-a-dozen, the number
maybe higher, new faces in
the Government. Three seats
in the Adityanath cabinet are
vacant after the deaths of
sitting cabinet ministers -
Chetan Chauhan, Kamala Rani
Varun and Vijay Kashyap fell
victim to the virus last week.
The reshuffle may also witness
transition of a couple of UP
BJP bigwigs from government
to party’s organisational fold
and vice-versa.
—M Tariq Khan
TORTUROUS TALE
OF UP POLICE
The Uttar Pradesh police
has again shown its brutal
side with five youths being
tortured overnight in a police
station cell, which has caused
deep wounds and rashes all
over the body of the victims.
The incident took place at
around 11.30 pm on Tuesday
night when the victims named
Vipin, Vinay, Rahul, Shivakant
and Luvkush were returning
to Harpur Halla in Rae Bareli
after attending a wedding-
related function of their friend.
The police waylaid the youth
near Rajapur forest and after
accusing the youth of rash
driving while being drunk and
not stopping the vehicle when
asked by the police took them
to police station. During the
stay in the police station all of
them were subject to torture
and a video of the youths
bruised body went viral on
social media which caused huge
uproar among netizens. In the
video, the youths can be seen
having deep bruises on the
waist, abdomen, legs, arms and
head. The victim youths said
that they were first stopped
and beaten near Rajapur forest
and later the police took to
station and hit them with
lathis and leash. They added
that they were then taken to
CHC for medical checkup but
were not allowed to show their
injury to the doctor there. A
senior police official said that
an investigation into the case
has been launched under the
leadership of CO Inderpal
Singh and strict action will be
taken.
—-Amit Baliyan
ROAD RUNWAY!
A chartered plane landed in an emergency situation at Yamuna expressway in Mathura on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Private aircraft makes emergency landing
on Yamuna Expressway after technical snag
First India Bureau
Mathura: The Yamu-
na Expressway was
built in such a way
that at times of emer-
gency, it can be used
by the Air Force to
land its planes and the
same was tested by
the Air Force a few
years ago. On Thurs-
day, there was one
such emergency due
to which a charter air-
plane made its emer-
gency landing on the
Yamuna Expressway
.
The aircraft in
question (Cessna 152)
belonged to a private
company which has
an aircraft flying
training center in Ali-
garh.
The aircraft was
commanded by pilots
Jagrat Singh and as-
sistant pilot Udit Goy-
al who were on their
way to Aligarh from
Narnaul when sud-
denly, the aircraft de-
veloped technical
snag due to which fuel
supply to engine was
cut off and the air-
craft began descend-
ing.
The pilot made a
frantic call to the con-
trol tower and in-
formed that he would
have to make an emer-
gency landing. After
getting the go ahead,
pilot Jagrat Singh
skillfully landed the
aircraft near Mile-
stone 72 of Yamuna
Expressway which
falls under Naujheel
police station.
The local police
were also alerted so
that any accident can
be avoided but due to
the lockdown and the
clamping down of ve-
hicular movement
meant that traffic in
the Expressway was
minimum.
A Senior police of-
ficial said that prior
information was giv-
en due to which the
traffic in the Express-
way was diverted. He
added that police
force was deployed in
the region for securi-
ty reasons. He further
added that both the
pilot and the co-pilot
are safe and that the
emergency landing of
aircraft had to be done
due to a technical
snag.
Father carrying the son’s body on the bike.
NDRF team carries out a rescue operation after landfall of cyclone Yaas at South 24
parganas district of West Bengal on Wednesday. —PHOTOS BY PTI

z The deputy comman-
dant said a cyclone struck
Bengal on Wednesday
morning.

z Large trees were up-
rooted on different routes
in Kolkata city.

z Due to this traffic
was interrupted. Build-
ings were also damaged.
NDRF jawans used the
carabite-chainsaw and
other cutting tools to
clear the route as soon as
possible.

z The divers, medical
personnel and other team
members were fully in-
volved in relief and rescue
operations.
Father carries son’s body
on bike after ‘inebriated’
ambulance driver refuses
Covid negative
woman gives
birth to corona
positive baby
Both the baby girl
and her mother are
healthy but the case of
a newborn of a Covid
negative person testing
positive has the sci-
ence world surprised.

08
2NDFRONT
Two-judge bench ‘kudos’ to UP for medical infra in C-treatment
BallotBazooka:Partiesriding
Covidcresttowoovoters
First India Bureau
Prayagraj:Atwo-judge
bench of the Allahabad
High Court, on Thurs-
day
, appreciated some
of the steps taken by Ut-
tar Pradesh govern-
ment with regard to
COVID-19.
The court noted that
with regard to medical
facilities, it does “…ap-
preciatethatsomework
has been done with re-
gard to the improve-
ment of medical infra-
structure”. The im-
provement in facilitates
being referred to are in
Bahraich,Shravasti,Bi-
jnor, Barabanki and
Jaunpur. The court has
expresseditsdesirethat
similar work should be
done in five more dis-
tricts—Bhadohi, Ghaz-
ipur, Ballia, Deoria and
Shamli.
On May 17, perusing
reports on the status of
medical health infra-
structure in the afore-
mentionedfivedistricts,
the court had noted “..
Wehavenohesitationin
observing that health
infrastructure is abso-
lutely insufficient in
city areas to meet the
requirement of city
population,andinrural
areas the community
healthcentresarevirtu-
ally lacking in respect
of lifesavinggadgets.In
mostof thedistricts,the
Level-3 hospital facili-
ties are not there.”
The court has been
hearing a PIL on ‘inhu-
man conditions at
quarantine centres
and for providing bet-
ter treatment to Coro-
na positive’. On Thurs-
day, the court also said
it was satisfied with
the work done in cap-
ping of fee for diagnos-
tics. In respect of RT-
PCR tests the fee rang-
es between Rs 500 and
Rs 900. For Antigen
tests the fee has been
fixed for Rs 200. Rate
for TrueNat private
testing has been fixed
for Rs 1200 while for
CT Scan, depending on
the number of slices,
prices have been fixed
between Rs 2,000 to Rs
2,500.
In the last hearing,
the HC had been scath-
ing in its observations.
Referring to the data
from Bijnor and the
other four districts it
had observed, “..we
have no hesitation in
saying that in rural ar-
eas things would not
improve in this way.
For a rural population
of 32 lakhs, as is the
case of district Bijnor,
every day four to five
thousand tests should
be conducted and all
the tests should be
through RT-PCR. This
time if we fail to iden-
tify a Covid infected
person at the earliest,
we are definitely invit-
ing a third wave.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: With the Ut-
tar Pradesh Assembly
elections round the cor-
ner, the Yogi Adityanath
government has started
making efforts on
ground to improve its
image, while on the oth-
er hand, the Congress,
which has been out of
power for decades, is
trying to regain its
place. Both are visiting
Corona affected villages
to woo people.
Though SP and BSP
areyettostarttheircam-
paign, their prepara-
tions are going on. Actu-
ally
, people struggling
with lack of medical fa-
cilitiesareunhappywith
the government.
Surprisingly
, several
BJP leaders, MLAs and
activists are also not
happy with the Yogi gov-
ernment’s style of han-
dling Corona and they
areopenlycriticisingthe
government. Seeing the
resentment among par-
tymen, CM Yogi has
started ‘Mera Gaon Co-
ronaMukt’campaignall
over the state.
The CM will also
speak directly to gram
prdhans and panchayat
members to strengthen
party’s hold. For this he
isalsotakinghelpof Un-
ion ministers and top
leaders in this initiative.
CongressGeneralSec-
retary Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra has also taken ini-
tiative to improve the
condition of villages i.
She has asked state pres-
ident Ajay Kumar Lallu
andCLleaderAradhana
Mishra visit villages.
Alongwiththis,about12
lakhmedicalkitservices
have been sent from Del-
hi to Uttar Pradesh un-
der the Satyagraha
chain. These are being
distributed in about
58000 gram panchayats.
Priyanka’s picture and
Seva Satyagraha are
written on all of them.
Ajay Kumar Lallu
said that in each block
800 medical kits, food
grain, essential medi-
cines were being made
available to villagers in
home isolation. Fami-
lies who do not have
cooking facilities are
also being served food.
The party has also is-
sued helpline numbers
for each block. Arrange-
ments have been made
to send about 15 lakh
sanitizers all over the
state. So far assistance
hasbeenprovidedto2.41
lakh families.
Lallu alleged that the
government was claim-
ing that there was no
shortageof vaccinesand
medicines but the fact
was that PHC are in di-
lapidated state with no
medicine or doctors.
Allahabad High Court —FILE PHOTO
BJP trying to improve its image to retain power; Congress also trying hard to win voter trust
IN MEMORIAM
UP Congress State President Ajay Kumar Lallu along with senior leader Pramod Tiwari and
PL Punia paying floral tributes to former Prime Minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru on his death
anniversary, at the party office in Lucknow on Thursday.
The court had also
labelled the status of the
health system as ‘Ram
bharose’—a statement
that was stayed by the
SC on May 21
First India Bureau
Amroha: Amroha’s Ba-
hujan Samaj Party MP
Kunwar Danish Ali on
Thursday urged Prime
MinisterNarendraModi
to direct the state gov-
ernment to pay all the
dues of sugarcane farm-
ers in Uttar Pradesh.
The MP in his letter to
PM Modi has claimed
that the sugar mills of
Uttar Pradesh owed Rs
11,872.70 crores.
The MP has stated in
the letter that as per doc-
uments of the state gov-
ernment, till May 12 the
totalduetobepaidbythe
sugar mills of the state
to sugarcane farmers
was Rs 32,348.66 crore
andaftersubtractingthe
statutory arrears for 14
day
, the due stands at Rs
31,487.75 crore.
He has further stat-
ed that out of this due
only Rs 19,615.05 crore
has been paid by the
said sugar mills till
May 12 which comes to
be around 62.29% of
total dues.
UP has been the larg-
est producer of sugar in
the country for the sec-
ond year in a row, which
was made possible be-
cause of the contribu-
tion of over 40 lakh sug-
arcane farmers of the
state, Ali noted.
Thesefarmersplayan
important role in
strengtheningtheecono-
my of the state as the
sugar industry is a
strong pillar in the in-
dustrial development of
UP
, he asserted.
TheMPhassaidwhile
the sugar production of
sugar mills in Maha-
rashtra last year was
half of Uttar Pradesh
and even during the cur-
rent season the sugar
productionislesserthan
that of the state but the
sugar mills in Maha-
rashtra has paid 92.4%
of the dues.
The MP in his letter
wrote that the PM dur-
ing the UP Assembly
electionsin2017hadsaid
that sugarcane farmers
will be paid within 14
days but still there has
been delay
.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Former
councilor Neha Raj has
written a letter to the
Presidentof thecountry
,
demanding the release
of Rampur MP Azam
Khan. In her letter, she
has stated that the cases
filedagainstAzamKhan
are fake and hence he
should be released.
Rampur MP Azam
Khan is known for his
philanthropist work and
has built schools and
universities for the
weaker sections of the
society
. Azam Khan is
MP from the Rampur
districtandamemberof
the Samajwadi Party
.
He has been lodged in
the Sitapur jail since 26
February 2020 and re-
cently been shifted to
Medanta Hospital in
Lucknow for treatment
after he contracted the
dreaded Corona virus.
The MP’s condition on
Wednesday deteriorated
and has been shifted to
ICU after his lung was
found infected.
Medical Director of
Medanta Hospital, Dr.
Rakesh Kapoor said that
Azam Khan’s condition
is critical but under con-
trol and that he is being
supervised by a team of
critical care specialists.
MP urges PM to push clearance
of sugarcane farmers’ dues
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A dispute
erupted between Uttar
Pradesh Minister of
State for Women and
Child Development (In-
dependent Charge) Swa-
ti Singh and Principal
Secretary V
. Hekali Zhi-
momi during the tender
process for procuring
1.25 lakh smartphones.
UttarPradeshgovern-
ment had decided to pur-
chase smartphones for
Anganwadi workers un-
der the Nutrition Mis-
sion and a tender for the
same was floated by the
government.
The mobile phone
manufacturing compa-
ny ‘LAVA’ was ruled out
for the tender which
prompted it to complain
to Minister of State,
Swati Singh, question-
ing the whole tender
process. Swati Singh,
on the basis of the com-
plaint asked Principal
Secretary Zhimomi to
cancel the whole tender
process. She refused to
cancel the tender pro-
cess and defended that
there was nothing
wrong in the tender pro-
cess.
Angered by the reply,
Swati Singh com-
plained to the Chief
Minister’s Office (CMO)
and the Prime Minis-
ter’s Office (PMO). On
basis of the complaint,
the CMO had asked Ka-
pil Singh, the Director
State Nutrition Mis-
sion, to file a report on
the case. The Director
in his report to the gov-
ernment has mentioned
that there has been no
irregularity in the ten-
der process and that the
points raised by the
Minister of State are
unfounded. Following
the completion of tech-
nical bids, financial
bids have also been
opened but due to the
pressure of the minis-
ter, no company has
been invited to the ten-
der so far.
Row between Min, PS over smartphone purchase
Minister Swati Singh V. Hekali Zhimomi
Real estate developers
seek protection from
insolvency for a year
Ex-councilor writes to Prez
for Azam Khan’s release
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Real estate
developers in Uttar
Pradesharenowseeking
protection from insol-
vency proceedings for at
leastayearsincethesec-
tor had been severely hit
financially due to the
pandemic.
RK Arora, state presi-
dent of National Real
Estate Development
Council, said, Section 7
of Indian Bankruptcy
Code (IBC) allows a fi-
nancial creditor to file
for initiating the corpo-
rate insolvency resolu-
tion process against a
corporate debtor.We
have requested that ap-
plicability of these three
sections be suspended
for a year.
They have also writ-
ten to the UP Real Estate
Regulatory Authority
(UP-RERA) seeking
moretimetorepayloans.
We request UP RERA
and the government of
India to extend this re-
lief further because the
second wave of COVID-9
has further ruined the
business with most of
our sales staff, construc-
tion works and others
falling ill and affecting
projects.Besidesweseek
a moratorium of one
year for business loans
inviewof thepandemic,
said Arora.
According to a major
real estate developer,
who spoke on condition
of anonymity
, Real es-
tate business has been
worst hit in the pandem-
ic. Most of the project
have been stalled. More-
over, just when the mar-
ket saw hope of revival,
WRONG NUMBER
Developers have requested UP RERA and the Govt of India to
extend this relief further because of the second wave of Covid-19
UP has been the largest producer of sugar in the country
CM Yogi Adityanath Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
Over the years, I have realized
that what changes a person’s life
is not the months and years, but
the daily habits that one acquires.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
—PHOTO
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR

ith a dream in her eyes and passion
to work towards it, Jahazpur based
Karishma Tak is winning the hearts
of everyone in the country. In an ex-
clusive interview with City First, Ka-
rishma shared how she started with
her journey of modelling and what all
things she learnt in the process. “My modelling
career started after I passed my higher second-
ary education. Unlike many others, the people
in my surrounding motivated and supported
me,” she said.
Karishma further added, “To pursue to ca-
reer, I then moved to Ajmer. In the initial
days, I didn’t have any project but I still
worked hard and didn’t get demoti-
vated. The first break in my career
happened from Housefull 4
when I worked as a back-
ground dancer in the
movie and received
my first cheque.
After that, I start-
ed getting oppor-
tunities in vari-
ous projects.
While talk-
ing about her
journey, she
said, “In 2018,
I participat-
ed in a beau-
ty pageant
where I
won the ti-
tle of Miss
a t t r a c t i v e
and after
that, I started
getting recogni-
tion in the modelling
industry. I moved to Jaipur
after this in 2019 and applied
to Elite Miss Rajasthan. I didn’t get
selected at first but I retried again in 2020
and became Miss Viva Crush 2020. Things
started to change for me, thanks to my mentor
Gaurav Gaur. I started getting paid shoots
and many projects”
On being asked about the goals, the model
said, “I want to be a successful actor one day.
I believe that if you follow your passion
with dedication, everything will fall in the
place.”
KARISHMA TAK FROM
JAHAZPUR SHARED HOW SHE
STARTED IN THE FIELD OF
MODELLING AND WHAT ALL SHE
LEARNT, WITH CITY FIRST!
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
W
Charismatic
Charismatic
KARISHMA
KARISHMA
KARISHMA GWALANI
Karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in
LUCKNOW, FRIDAY
MAY 28, 2021

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
AROHI BHATT, Model
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Those looking for
jobs may have
to pull up their
socks to prepare
for the upcoming
interviews. Your
hard work will
be quite visible
in bringing a
project to success. This is a good day
to meet people in your social circle.
Religious activities may hold special
interest for you.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
A financially
sound investment
is likely to come
your way. Your
hard work is
likely to be
recognised and
get you back
into the rat race.
Initiatives taken
by you on the professional front are likely
to be appreciated by all. Good earning is
set to improve your quality of life.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You are likely to
remain socially
active by meeting
whoever you can
and expanding
your circle. A
property owned
by you is likely
to give you good
returns. Job
seekers may be in for a long wait for
getting a suitable job. Your friend’s circle
is set to increase.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You shine on the
academic front,
as your talents
get recognized.
Excellent showing
on the academic
front will help
you join the lead
pack. Your image
on the social
front shines bright, as you remain at your
helpful best. Marriage of someone close
in the family is likely to get fixed.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Financial front
grows stronger
as you come
across big
money. TV stars
may still have to
wait for some
more time to
fetch new pro-
jects. Students
are likely to add a feather in their cap by
bringing in brilliant results in the studies.
Right timing is the key for success.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
You continue
to excel on the
academic front.
Appreciation
comes to you
for something
achieved on the
professional
front. A deeper
understanding
with the one you love can be expected and
help strengthen the loving bonds. You may
find a juicy gossip session fulfilling!
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
This is one of
your luckiest days
in which you are
poised to achieve
the unachievable!
This is a reward-
ing day to grab
the benefits. Your
performance on
a specific task is
likely to come up for praise by those who
matter. Salary increase may become a
reality for some.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
This is an
excellent day
that promises to
boost your image
both on the social
and professional
fronts. Winning
a lucrative deal
on the business
front is indicated
and will help in furthering your interests.
Taking some time off from the routine will
help you rejuvenate, so go for it.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Those trying
to raise a
loan will meet
with success.
Moonlighting
promises to
earn good
money for some.
Choosing healthy
alternatives over
junk food is likely to have a positive effect
on your health. Handle an off-mood family
elder with tact.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Your standing on
the social front
may get the boost
it deserves. A
comparatively
cooler time at
work may come
as a big relief to
some. Someone
with his or her
self-interest in mind is likely to appease
you. You cannot help but appreciate your
rival on the social front.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Someone can ask
you for a favour
on the profes-
sional front.
You are likely to
settle well in your
work routine
today. At times
it is best to keep
your opinions to
yourself. A positive influence on health
by changed lifestyle and self-discipline
will be quite apparent.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You manage to
keep people who
matter on your
right side on
the social front.
There are many
who will support
you when you
really require
them. Meeting
friends and relatives, you hit out well with
is indicated today. Acquisition of property
is in the pipeline for some.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
Fight against novel coronavirus
with the healing expedients of
ovid-19 is a dreadful
pandemic of this Era
and has affected a vast
part of the world popu-
lation. The Coronavi-
rus has shaken the
healthcare system
globally
. The world health or-
ganization (WHO) has re-
ported over 141 million peo-
ple have been affected and
showing a death rate of 3.1
million. COVID-19 alongside
others mainly affects the res-
piratory system in the hu-
man body and is believed to
be caused by the novel coro-
navirus of SARS-CoV-2. Yoga
and naturopathy plays a cru-
cial role in the speedy recov-
ery and improving the qual-
ity of life in an individual.
Pranayama plays an impor-
tant role in the prevention of
Covid-19. Recent studies have
claimed that inhaled nitric
oxide seems to be the most
promising drug of choice in
respiratory distress among
Covid-19 patients. Nitric ox-
ide therapy is more expen-
sive than artificial respira-
tion. Bhramari pranayama is
a breathing technique de-
rived from ancient yogic
texts. The word ‘Bhramari’
comes from the Sanskrit
word‘bhramar’whichmeans
humming bee. This practice
is named so due to the simi-
lar humming sound of the
bee that is done during expi-
ration.
HOW TO PRACTICE BHRAMARI
PRANYAMA:
The naturopath and yoga ex-
pert Dr Alka Yadav says that
it’s very easy to practise Bh-
ramari Pranayama, in every
age of individual i.e. chil-
dren, adults or elders. Sit in
any comfortable posture
(preferably meditative pos-
ture). Slowly close your eyes,
maintain an erect posture
and plug your ears with your
thumb and put your four fin-
gers on your eyes and fore-
head on both sides, slowly
inhaleandtakeadeepbreath,
and while you exhale gently,
produce a humming sound
till the end of the expiration.
Repeat the practice of this
pranayama for 10-15 long
breaths and relax.
Dr Alka says that bhra-
mari pranayama when prac-
tised this way helps in expo-
nentially increasing endoge-
nous production of Nitric
oxide. Nitric oxide is anti-
inflammatory and contrib-
utes to nonspecific host de-
fence against bacterial, viral,
fungal infections. Nitric ox-
ide improves the ventilation-
perfusion ratio in the lungs
along with the relaxation of
bronchial tree smooth mus-
cles. Hence oxygen uptake is
increased and provides ben-
efit in respiratory distress.
Naturopathy Pranayam
C
SOME NATUROPATHIC EXPEDIENTS USED AS PREVENTIVE
MEASURES IN THE PANDEMIC SITUATION OF COVID-19:
 Take a healthy, nutritious
and Vitamin-C rich diet
including mixed vegetable
soups, tender coconut
water, amla juice, lemon
honey water, seasonal
fruits like grapes, blackber-
ries, cranberries, lemon,
guava, orange, buttermilk
adding black pepper and
garlic powder into it
 Take adequate sleep of 6-8
hours, maintain a proper
routine and fix a time
for sleep
 Maintain a good
daily routine by
adding yoga
practice, exercises,
doing pranayama
and meditation
 Take facial steam
daily -three times in a
day i.e. Morning, Even-
ing and before bed-time
 Take 4-5 drops of pepper-
mint oil or eucalyptus oil
and massage the external
part of the nose and fore-
head daily.
 Prepare the decoction by
using Tinospora cordifolia
(Giloy) stem, ginger, basil
leaves, black pepper, cin-
namon, and jaggery (Gur),
consumes it daily
 In the condition of
fever, rake cold
water spong-
ing 2-3 times
in a day and
apply a cold
compress
over the
forehead,
nape of the
neck and
abdomen for at
least 20 minutes.
DR. ALKA YADAV

First India-Lucknow Edition-28 May 2021

First India-Lucknow Edition-28 May 2021

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First India-Lucknow Edition-28 May 2021