08032022 first india lucknow

THE POWER OF THE YOGI
Highest turnout in Chandauli,
Sonbhadra at above 60% First India Bureau
Lucknow: The jury is
out. If exit polls are to
be believed, the ruling
BJP is all set to create
history by winning a
spectacular second
term on March 10 when
final results are an-
nounced.
A top BJP leader said
that none of the strong
UP CMs in the last three
decades — be it Kalyan
Singh, Rajnath Singh,
Mulayam Singh Yadav,
or even Akhilesh Yadav
— have been able to
bring back their gov-
ernment, and if Yogi
Adityanath achieves
this, it will be a big feat.
Amongst the BJP’s vast
support base, both tra-
ditional and newly ac-
quired (since 2014), he
is seen as perfect sup-
port to Modi. Those
who believe in “Double
Engine Government”
theory, see Yogi as an
engine that acts as a
force multiplier for PM
Modi and the party.
Personal integrity or
‘Kiske liye kamayega?’:
This is working hugely
in favour of Yogi. He is
taken as a man of sim-
ple needs and taste. A
man who doesn’t have a
family, unlike the rival
Mulayam Singh Yadav
and his son, to extend
patronage for. He is per-
ceived as a hard-work-
ing man who couldn’t
be accused of indulging
in corruption of any
kind.
Lucknow: Over 57 per
cent voter turnout was
recorded on Monday in
54 assembly seats in
the seventh and last
phase of Uttar Pradesh
polls. Voting started at
7 am and ended at 6 pm,
except in Naxal-hit
Chakia in Chandauli,
and Robertsganj and
Duddhi seats in Sonb-
hadra where it con-
cluded at 4 pm.
According to the Elec-
tion Commission, 57.53
per cent voting was re-
corded. The polling per-
centage in the seventh
phase of the 2017 Assem-
bly elections was 59.56
per cent. No untoward
incident was reported
from the state, Addition-
al Chief Electoral Offic-
er BDR Tiwari said.
Chandauli saw a rela-
tively high turnout of
61.99 per cent and Vara-
nasi 58.80 per cent.
Azamgarh witnessed
55.00 per cent voting,
Bhadohi 56.90 per cent,
Ghazipur 56.54 per cent,
Jaunpur 56.45 per cent,
Mau 57.02 per cent, Mir-
zapur 58.89 per cent and
Sonbhadra60.74percent.
CM Yogi Adityanath arrives at the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
VoterstakeaselfieinVaranasionMonday. —PHOTOBYSUMITKUMAR
LUCKNOW l TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 116
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O
il and other com-
modities prices
soared while
global shares sank on
Monday as the risk of a
US and European ban
on Russian crude im-
ports threatened supply
chains and heaped fur-
ther inflationary pres-
sure on economies
worldwide.
Brent, the interna-
tional benchmark,
briefly hit more than
$139 a barrel, its highest
level since 2008. Nickel
soared 30%, gold broke
through $2,000 an ounce
and wheat jumped to a
14-year high, as indus-
trial buyers and traders
scrambled to source
raw materials hit by
supply disruptions
caused by the Russian
invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, third
round of talks between
Russia and Ukraine be-
gan in Belarus amid
heavy shellings in Kyiv,
Chernihiv in the north,
Mykolaiv in the south,
and Kharkiv, the coun-
try’s second-largest city
.
Netflix, TikTok be-
came the latest compa-
nies to pull out from
Russia.
z A nlike acrimonious
comments made on one
another in recent times,
West Bengal Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar and
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee held a folded-
hands meeting on
Monday to reach an
agreement to avert “a
constitutional crisis”
in the state legislative
assembly.
z Governor Dhankhar
was leaving the house
without reading his
address to West Bengal
Legislative Assembly
amid ruckus as BJP
members shouted slo-
gans in the house.
z CM Mamata Banerjee,
chairperson of the TMC,
reached out to Gover-
nor requesting him to
deliver his speech. P6
BATTLE BATTERS...
At $77.01, India
Rupee plummets
to all-time low
Netflix, TikTok
latest to pull
out from Russia
At $130/barrel+,
crude oil highest
in the last 10 years
3rd round of
Russia-Ukraine
began in Belarus
At $1,474.90, Gold at
2.5-year high; silver
at its highest in 31 years
1 4
2 5
3
PM MODI SPEAKS TO UKRAINE’S ZELENSK,
RUSSIA’S PUTIN FOR SAFE EVACUATION
For the third time since the conflict
in Ukraine began, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to
Russian President Vladimir Putin and
conveyed to him the importance of
the safe evacuation of Indian citizens
from Sumy. PM also called Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
ICJ RESERVES VERDICT
ON UKRAINE’S PLEA,
RUSSIA ABSTAINS
WE WILL NOT FORGET,
FORGIVE: ZELENSKY
The International Court of
Justice (ICJ) has reserved
its order after concluding
the hearings on the Ukraine
government’s application
seeking immediate cessa-
tion of all military action.
The President of the ICJ,
Judge Joan E Donoghue,
said the court would
declare its verdict soon in a
public hearing.
Ukrainian President Volody-
myr Zelensky has vowed to
punish eve-
ryone who
“committed
atrocities”
in the war
that has
claimed
lives of hundreds, includ-
ing women and children.
Zelenskyy said that “we will
not forget, we will not for-
give” those involved. “It’s
murder, deliberate murder,”
Zelensky raged in an ad-
dress as he warned of more
shelling to come Monday.
“We will not forgive, we will
not forget, we will punish
everyone who committed
atrocities in this war on our
land,” he said. “There will
be no quiet place on this
Earth except the grave.”
SUMY EVACUATION
PUT ON HOLD
The evacuation of around
600 Indian students at
Sumy State University in
northeastern Ukraine was
put on hold at the last
minute after the Indian
Embassy reportedly in-
formed that it would not
be safe for them.
INJURED INDIAN
STUDENT ARRIVES
Harjot Singh, an In-
dian student injured in
Ukraine, returned home
on Monday aboard an In-
dian Air Force aircraft IAF
C17 via Poland. Harjot
was hospitalised after he
sustained bullet injuries
in Kyiv last month.
UKRAINE REJECTS
HUMANITARIAN
CORRIDORS THAT
LEAD TO RUSSIA
Ukraine on Monday said
that humanitarian cor-
ridors out of Kyiv, Kharkiv,
Mariupol and Sumy that
lead to Russia and Belarus
are “immoral”. Earlier,
Moscow had proposed
six humanitarian cor-
ridors, including three
routes leading to Russia.
Ukraine accused Russia of
trying to manipulate world
leaders. Meanwhile, China
emphasized on ‘rock solid’
relations with Russia.
European Union on
Monday said it expects to
receive 5 million refugees
from Ukraine.
BENGAL’S BLOCKBUSTER DRAMA!
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee requests State
Governor Jagdeep Dhankar to start his inaugural address,
amid a protest staged by BJP MLAs over the alleged violence
during recent civic polls, on the first day of the Budget Session
of State Assembly, in Kolkata on Monday.
The lifeless body of a man
killed in a Russian rocket
attack lies amidst the
debris, in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s
second-largest city.
PILOT ESCAPED
COLLISION WITH
ANOTHER PLANE,
CLAIMS MAMATA
West Bengal Chief Min-
ister Mamata Banerjee
on Monday said another
aircraft had come in
front of her plane when
she was returning to
Kolkata from Varanasi
and prompt action of the
pilot averted a head-on
collision. The Bengal
government sought a re-
port from the Directorate
General of Civil Aviation
(DGCA) on Saturday
after Banerjee’s chartered
flight experienced mid-air
turbulence, injuring her
back, news agency PTI
reported.
MALIK SENT TO JUDICIAL
CUSTODY TILL MARCH 21
MEDIA ONE BAN: SC TO
HEAR PLEA ON MARCH 10
Maharashtra minister and National-
ist Congress Party (NCP) leader
Nawab Malik has been sent to judi-
cial custody till March 21 in money
laundering case linked to fugitive
gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Earlier
in the day, Malik was produced
before court by ED after his ex-
tended custody ended.
The Supreme Court will on March
10 hear a plea challenging the
Centre’s decision to not renew the
broadcasting licence of Malayalam
TV channel MediaOne citing “secu-
rity reasons”. Contending that it is
“too serious” a matter, Dave said
that the channel has functioned
for last 11 years.
ASSEMBLY
ELECTION 2022
EXIT POLL
YOGI SET TO REGAIN
UP, AAP LIKELY TO
SWEEP PUNJAB
BEFORE RESULTS, CONG
PLAN TO AVOID DEBACLE
Congress has launched unprecedented
moves to prevent defections that have hurt
the party in the past. Top Congress leaders
have been despatched to at least four of the
five states that voted over the past month -
Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur. The
move is to avoid 2017 Goa-like situation where
Congress was found napping post poll results.
Menawhile, Uttar Pradesh recorded 54.18%
voter turnout in seventh poll phase on Monday.
BJP+
SP+
BSP
CONG
OTH
288-326
71-101
03-09
01-03
02-03
228-244
132-148
13-21
04-08
02-06
India Today
Axis My India
C Voter
294
105
02
01
01
222-260
135-165
04-09
01-03
03-04
225
151
14
09
04
Today’s
Chanakya
Jan Ki
Baat
Veto
UTTAR PRADESH (403 Seats)
BJP
CONG
BSP
AAP
OTH
36-46
20-30
02-04
-
02-05
26-32
32-38
-
0-2
3-7
India Today
Axis My India
C Voter
43
24
-
-
03
32-41
27-35
00-01
00-01
00-03
37
31
-
01
01
Today’s
Chanakya
Jan Ki
Baat
Veto
UTTARAKHAND (70 Seats)
CONG
BJP+
AAP
SAD+
OTH
19-31
01-04
76-90
07-11
0-02
22-28
07-13
51-61
20-26
-
India Today
Axis My India
C Voter
10
01
100
06
00
18-31
03-07
60-84
12-19
00-00
22
05
70
19
01
Today’s
Chanakya
Jan Ki
Baat
Veto
PUNJAB (117 Seats)
04-08
33-43
04-08
-
06-15
12-16
23-27
10-14
03-07
-
India Today
Axis My India
C Voter
00
00
00
00
00
10-14
23-28
07-08
05-08
08-09
00
00
00
00
00
Today’s
Chanakya
Jan Ki
Baat
Veto
MANIPUR (60 Seats)
CONG+
BJP
NPP
NPF
OTH
Pramod
Sawant
Nongthombam
Biren Singh
Pushkar Singh
Dhami
Yogi Adityanath Charanjit Singh Channi
Narrow majority for
BJP in Uttarakhand
1
Hung Assembly
likely in Goa
3
BJP nears majority
mark in Manipur
2
14-18
15-20
02-05
00-04
-
13-17
12-16
-
00-02
05-09
India Today
Axis My India
C Voter
00
00
00
00
00
13-19
14-19
01-02
01-03
03-05
14
16
-
06
04
Today’s
Chanakya
Jan Ki
Baat
Veto
GOA (40 Seats)
BJP
CONG+
MGP
OTH
AAP+

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022
02
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VOTE FOR THE BEST
Voters of different ages, castes and and faiths took part in the democratic voting process in the concluding phase of UP Vidhan
Sabha elections on Monday in Varanasi. —PHOTOS BY SUMIT KUMAR
CM YOGI ADITYANATH ALL SET TO
BOUNCE BACK IN UTTAR PRADESH
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: Five years
ago, UP voted over-
whelmingly in PM Mo-
di’s name, giving 312 to
BJP, and over 325 in to-
tal to the NDA, in an
assembly of 403. PM
Modi and Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah made a
bold experiment by
making a feisty Yogi
Adityanath, an MP, and
Mahant of Gorakhnath
temple, chief minister
of India’s most popu-
lous and politically crit-
ical state.
Cut to 2022: The
monk-turned-UP CM
has meta-morphed into
a no-nonsense tough ad-
ministrator and a mass
leader. But by securing
the support of maths,
especially in the last
phase of UP elections,
CM Yogi gained an edge
over his principal chal-
lenger, according to poll
observers.
A top BJP leader said
that none of the strong
UP CMs in the last three
decades — be it Kalyan
Singh, Rajnath Singh,
Mulayam Singh Yadav,
or even Akhilesh Yadav
— have been able to
bring back their gov-
ernment, and if Yogi
achieves this, it will be
a big feat.
Those who believe in
“Double Engine Gov-
ernment” theory, see
Yogi as an engine that
acts as a force multipli-
er for PM Modi and BJP
.
They are seen as a
team. Pictures of Modi
affectionately putting
his hands on Yogi’s
shoulder and both of
them taking a round of
Manduadih Railway
station (Varanasi) after
midnight has had its de-
sired effect.
First, UP CM is a
hero among vast major-
ity of people when it
comes to crackdown on
criiminals.
His crackdown on the
likes of Mukhtar Ansa-
ri, Atiq Ahmed and Vi-
kas Dube, mafias, local
dons and local toughs,
encounters included,
has placed him in an en-
tirely different league.
Second, a new catego-
ry of voters: the ‘labh-
karis’ (beneficiaries) of
free bi-monthly ration
along with edible oil to
all ration-card holders:
It took care of the
mahngai or inflation
that figures commonly
figures in political dis-
course.
Three, improved elec-
tricity supply: Low and
erratic power supply
with faulty meter read-
ing and rates, corrup-
tion at all stages used to
be one of the biggest
talking points in state
elections till 2017.
Fourth, infrastructure
development: A travel
by road in parts of the
state gives a clear im-
pression of improved
infrastructure. People
of catchment areas of
the infra projects judge
the Adityanath admin-
istration positively on
that count.
DUO OF PM MODI- CM YOGI SEEMS TO HAVE PULLED OFF A PRO-INCUMBENCY FEAT IN UP
The picture that speaks a thousand words: PM Modi was
recently clicked guiding CM Yogi on political matters.
People will vote only for
BJP in Varanasi South:
Neelkanth Tiwari
Varanasi (ANI): Ex-
uding confidence in
poll victory, UP Min-
ister Neelkanth Ti-
wari on Monday said
that the people of
Kashi share a special
bond with PM Naren-
dra Modi under
whose leadership
several developmen-
tal works have taken
place in the city, in-
cluding the redevel-
opment of the Vish-
wanath Dham (tem-
ple complex).
Kashi Vishwanath
corridor is in the Va-
ranasi South Assem-
bly constituency,
from where the BJP
has fielded sitting
MLA Neelkanth Ti-
wari against Sama-
jwadi Party’s Kishan
Dixit, who is a Mah-
ant at the local Ma-
hamritunjay temple.
Speaking to ANI
after casting his
vote, Tiwari said,
“There is no fierce
battle between the
SP and the BJP on
the Varanasi South
seat. The Opposition
has tried all tactics.
They have tried the
SP-BSP alliance and
the Congress-SP alli-
ance in the past.
They also fielded a
big leader from here,
who has been a
three-time MP.”
Neelkanth Tiwari
Improper arrangements led
to low voter turnout: Ajay Rai
Varanasi (ANI): Con-
gress leader Ajay Rai on
Monday charged that
the low voter turnout in
the last leg of the Uttar
Pradesh Assembly elec-
tions was due to the
lack of proper arrange-
ments by the local ad-
ministration.
He also said that Con-
gress will gain a major-
ity in the Uttar Pradesh
Assembly
. After casting
his vote in Varanasi,
the Congress leader
told ANI: “Not many
people can be seen ...
unlike earlier elections
when long queues used
to be seen outside the
polling booths. They ha-
ven’t made proper ar-
rangements, and people
are forced to stand in
the open. People don’t
seem to be excited. Yet,
we will get the majori-
ty
.”
He further said that
the important issues of
the elections are unem-
ployment and inflation.
Last month, Rai had
stirred controversy
, say-
ing that after the re-
sults, CM Yogi Aditya-
nath and Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi
‘’will be buried in salt”.
Indicating that the BJP
government is set to
lose the elections, he
had said, “Post results,
the leaders, including
Modi and Yogi, will be
buried in the same salt
(which the government
claims to be giving free
of cost to the people).”
These comments came
in a video that had gone
viral wherein Rai had
commented on the UP
government’s scheme
to provide salt and
cooking oil along with
free grains to people.
Rai had contested the
Lok Sabha elections
against the PM from the
Varanasi Parliamenta-
ry constituency twice.
‘FUEL PRICES SET TO INCREASE POST POLLS’
‘SP-SBSP
team will win
45-47 seats
in Purvanchal’
Kasimabad (ANI):
Amid voting for the last
phase of Uttar Pradesh
Assembly elections,
Suheldev Bharatiya Sa-
maj Party chief OP Ra-
jbhar, on Monday exud-
ed confidence of win-
ning over 45 seats in the
Purvanchal region of
the Uttar Pradesh.
A former BJP ally
, the
SBSP has sealed an alli-
ance with Akhilesh Ya-
dav’s Samajwadi Party
for these Assembly elec-
tions.
Speaking with ANI,
Om Prakash Rajbhar
who is a frequent pre-
dictor of numbers
during the elections,
went on to say, “We’ll
win 45-47 seats in the
Purvanchal region. We
are winning on five of
eight seats in Varanasi,
three of four seats in
Chandauli, seven of
nine seats in Jaunpur.”
Further, the SBSP
chief said that the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) and the Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP) will
not win a single seat in
Ghazipur, Mau,
Azamgarh, Ambedkar
Nagar and Ballia re-
gions of the state.
Om Prakash Rajbhar
Ravindra Jaiswal alleges EVM glitch, delay in
voting by 40 minutes at one booth in Varanasi
Varanasi (ANI): Amid
the polling for the sev-
enth and final phase of
the Assembly elections
on Monday, Uttar
Pradesh Minister
Ravindra Jaiswal al-
leged that the Electron-
ic Voting Machine
(EVM) was purposely
kept switched off at a
booth in Maldahiya, Va-
ranasi, delaying voting
by 40 minutes.
Jaiswal is the BJP nom-
inee from Varanasi
North constituency. He
along with his wife and
family members had
come to cast vote at the
Government Girls Inter
College here. “Voting
was delayed by around
40 minutes at booth
number 311 because of
the main power switch
connected to the EVM
remaining off due to
negligence by the poll-
ing officer here,”
Jaiswal alleged.
He said that he has spo-
ken to the District Mag-
istrate (DM), asking for
strict action against the
polling officer.
Ravindra Jaiswal
‘PURPOSELY’
MOST BEAUTIFUL
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) women personnel stand guard at the premises of
Taj Mahal for the security of tourists, in Agra on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
ITBP assists the elderly,
differently abled to vote
SC to hear plea of UPSC
aspirants who missed exam
Sonbhadra (ANI):
Amid the polling for the
last phase of the Assem-
bly elections on Mon-
day, Indo-Tibetan Bor-
der Police (ITBP) per-
sonnel assisted the dif-
ferently-abled and el-
derly voters to cast their
votes.
The personnel could
be seen helping the el-
derly at different poll-
ing booths in Varanasi,
Jaunpur, Sonbhadra,
Gazipur and Azamgarh.
For the differently
abled, the ITBP had ar-
ranged to pick them up
using a cot, wheelchair
and other means.
New Delhi (ANI): The
Supreme Court on Mon-
day said that it will hear
on March 21 the plea
filed by UPSC aspirants,
who had missed their
Civil Services exam due
to COVID-19 and sought
an additional attempt.
A bench of justices AM
Khanwilkar and CT Ra-
vikumar had adjourned
the matter after Union
Public Service Commis-
sion (UPSC) counsel
sought time to seek in-
struction on the matter.
The court was hearing
the petition filed by
UPSC aspirants who
said they had cleared
the UPSC-2021 Prelims
examination and were
entitled to appear in the
UPSC Mains examina-
tion which was sched-
uled from January 7-16,
2022, but could not do so
due to Covid restric-
tions.
Ajay Rai
An ITBP personnel helps an
aged owman cast her vote.

UTTAR PRADESH
03
Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: In Uttar
Pradesh, bureaucrats
have started cycling to
keep themselves fit, not
only in Lucknow, but
officers posted in other
districts of the state
have also adopted the
mode of exercise in
early morning hours.
In one such case the
cycle ride of 2013 batch
IAS officer Dhirendra
Singh Sachan, Special
Secretary, Administra-
tion Reform Depart-
ment of UP, presently
posted in Lucknow has
come into limelight.
The 52-year-old IAS
officer Dhirendra-
Sachan has set a new
record by traveling 72
km from Lucknow to
Kanpur on a cycle.
The aim behind the
feat was to give the
message of pollu-
tion-free environment
and healthy society.
The IAS officer,
chairman of UP Cycle
Association completed
the journey of 72.10
km in 37 minutes and
18 seconds for which
many organisations,
including CFI, UP
Olympic Association,
Cycle Association con-
gratulated, etc have
extended their con-
gratulations.
On the other hand,
bureaucrates have
also congratulated
him for the achieve-
ment.
Some bureaucrats
said that Dhirendra
Sachan, who became
an IAS officer from
PCS cadre, was posted
on side posting during
Yogi government and
the effort could bring
him better posting af-
ter March 10.
IAS officer shines by cycling to Knp in 37 mins
FEAT & FINE
CRUCIAL READ
Lucknow: UP State Electricity Council Engineers
Association and RVP Junior Engineers’ Association,
UP, jointly submitted a memorandum to M Devraj,
Chairman of Energy Corporation, in protest against
the corruption spread at the highest level in energy
corporations and the atmosphere of fear being gener-
ated at the lower level. Electricity engineers and junior
engineers demanded in the memorandum for initiating
action against corruption in ERP, electricity purchase,
action against private company guilty of stalling supply
to lakhs of consumers on Janmashtami last year, etc.
Hamirpur: An elderly couple was murdered by their
own son in Lodipur Nivada village under Biwar police
station area. Police said Lallu Singh (65), his wife
Bangalan (65) and their son Shyamu were residents
of Lodipura Nivada village. Bhola, brother of deceased
Lallu Singh said that accused Shyamu was not men-
tally stable and he was annoyed with his parents as
he was not married and his parents were not support-
ing him for that. It was reported that Shyamu told his
neighbour that he murdered his parents after he had
scuffle with them. Villagers informed police about the
incident meanwhile Shaymu managed to escape.
ALLEGED PFI MAN
ATIQ-UR-RAHMAN
ADMITTED TO AIIMS
Mathura: Alleged
PFI activist Atiq-ur-
Rahman was admitted
to AIIMS in Delhi after
he complained of chest
pain, officials said on
Sunday. Rahman was
arrested along with
journalist Siddique
Kappan and two others
when they were on
their way to Hathras
village after the gang
rape-murder of a girl.
They were arrested on
the apprehension of
causing a breach of
peace but were later
booked for sedition and
violation of the UAPA,
an anti-terror law.
‘NDA CANDIDATES
TO WIN ALL SEATS
IN MIRZAPUR’
Mirzapur: Union Minis-
ter of State for Com-
merce and Industry
and Apna Dal (Sonelal)
National President
Anupriya Patel on Mon-
day said that the NDA
candidates will win all
five seats in Mirzapur.
Speaking to media
persons after casting
her vote at a booth in
Mirzapur, Patel said, “I
am assured that all five
seats in the constitu-
ency will be won our
NDA candidates.” Apna
Dal is contesting Uttar
Pradesh Assembly
elections in alliance
with the BJP.
ELECTRICITY ENGINEERS’ ASSOCIATIONS
SUBMIT MEMO AGAINST CORRUPTION
ELDERLY COUPLE MURDERED BY
‘MENTALLY UNSTABLE’ SON
On a cab booking portal, DG Civil Defence was convinced into downloading an app
IPS OFFICER FALLS IN TRAP OF
CYBER CRIMINALS, LOSES RS 50K
Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: After the
common man, now po-
lice officers are on
the target of cybercrim-
inals.
Amidst the sudden
spurt in incidents of
cybercrime in Uttar
Pradesh, the DG Civil
Defence Vishwajit Mo-
hapatra, an 1987 batch
IPS officer has become
victim of forgery and
fraud.
IPS Vishwajit Moha-
patra was duped while
searching the number
from Google to book a
cab. During the process
cyber criminals duped
him of Rs 50,000 from
his bank account in two
attempts by convincing
him for downloading an
app.
The IPS officer has
lodged an FIR in this
context in Gomtinagar
police station.
As per reports, the
IPS officer, a resident of
Vishal Khand in Gomti
Nagar, Lucknow, tried
to book a cab online
from Mumbai to Karad
on February 8 for
which he searched
number of Allindiacab.
net on Google.
On the website he
came across instruc-
tions for filling up
name, address and mo-
bile number besides the
destinations.
After a few minutes
of filling the details on
the website, a person
called and told that he
was from allindiacab.
net and asked to deposit
Rs 100 for cab booking,
for which a link was
sent to him.
However, when the
amount could not be de-
posited through the
link, the caller sent an-
other link and asked to
download the app and
send money through
the app.
As soon as DG Vish-
wajit Mohapatra down-
loaded and opened the
app, Rs 50,000 was with-
drawn from his account
in two attempts and
when he called the per-
son, his mobile was
switched off.
Realising the fraud,
Vishwajit Mohapatra
lodged complaint on cy-
bercrime portal besides
a report was lodged in
the Gomtinagar police
station on the report of
cyber cell.
DG Vishwajit Mohapatra
Students with DM Dinesh Chandra.
CYBER THUGS GET ACTIVE,
DUPE5INCLUDINGCOPINLKO
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Despite of
besteffortsandclaims
of police to curb cy-
ber-crime, fearless cy-
ber thugs burgled five
more persons, includ-
ing a CISF head con-
stable.
The case of cyber
larceny was regis-
tered in Gudabma, Sa-
rojani Nagar, Naka,
ChinhatandGhazipur
police stations and po-
lice have launched in-
vestigations.
Pramod Kumar
Maurya of Seemant
Nagar in Kalyanpur
area under Gudamba
policestationareahad
pushedadvertisement
to rent his house.
He got a call who in-
troduced himself as
Army personal and
showed interest in
house. For advance
money transfer in ac-
count of Pramod, the
caller asked him for
code on his phone and
Rs 64,000 were deduct-
ed from his account
within no time. He re-
ported the incident to
Gudamba police sta-
tion.
In another incident
CISF jawan Umesh
Mishra received a call
who introduced him-
self as bank official of
his own bank. After
sharing few details of
his account, the bur-
glar succeeded to get
remaining details of
his account and mon-
ey was deducted from
his account.
Om Agrawal was
also burgled in same
pattern and Rs 85,000
were deducted from
hisaccount.Also,Sud-
ha Mall, resident of
Gomti Nagar area got
a verification call
from telecom compa-
ny and she was asked
to submit Rs 19 for
continuation of her
services. When she
transferred money
, Rs
95,489 were burgled
from her account.
Ukraine returned
students meet
DM, narrate ordeal
First India Bureau
Bahraich: Dozens of
students of Bahraich
district after returning
from Ukraine where
they were studying
medicine narrated
their tale of woe.
The 15 students of
Bahraich who returned
with the help of Indian
government met Dis-
trict Magistrate (DM)
Dr Dinesh Chandra
and narrated their hair
raising experience
and that the National
Flag of India saved
their life.
They said that all In-
dians, including people
of all religions, when
trapped in difficult cir-
cumstances of life, the
tricolor instilled
self-confidence in Indi-
ans and with the help
of Government of In-
dia, they had all
reached back home.
District Magistrate
(DM) Dr Dinesh Chan-
dra welcomed all the 15
students by giving
them roses and encour-
aged them by giving
them pen and diary to
read and write.
District Magistrate
Dinesh Chandra told
First India that in such
difficult situation, the
national flag instilled
confidence in Indians
and saved their lives
for which all Indians
were proud.
Asha&Coowner
hangstodeath
Prayagraj (PTI): The
owner of a prominent
public address system
company known for in-
stalling loudspeakers at
various religious fairs
here and elsewhere in
the country for last eight
decades allegedly com-
mitted suicide on Mon-
day
, the police said.
They said Praveen
Malviya, 60, the owner
of Asha and Company,
which has been install-
ing public address sys-
tems in Kumbh, Ar-
dh-Kumbh and Magh
fairs here on banks of
the Ganga and else-
where in the country,
including Nashik, Ha-
ridwar and Ujjain, was
found hanging in the
storeroom of his house
in Civil Lines area.
Civil Lines police sta-
tion SHO Virendra Ya-
dav said the body has
been sent for post-mor-
tem and only after its
result comes, the exact
cause of death could be
ascertained.
Malviya’s son
Yasharth told police that
his father had gone for a
walk in the morning as
usual.
He said after he did
not return home for
long, his mother called
hisfriendswhosaidthey
did not see him
today
.
Malviya’s body
, mean-
while, was found hang-
ing in the storeroom and
police were informed,
the SHO said.
POWERING TRANSFORMATION
A group of women metro loco pilots travel with women passengers on the eve of International Women’s Day in Lucknow on Monday.
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Two accused, including auto driver
arrested in Agra gang rape case
First India Bureau
Agra: Anautorickshaw
driver and his compan-
ions were found to be in-
volved in the gang rape
of a student. As soon as
the incident came to no-
tice, the police arrested
twoaccusedinahurry
.A
case was registered in
Etmadpur police station
in connection with the
gang rape.
The police have also
seized the auto in which
the student was taken.
The name of a third ac-
cused has also come up
in the interrogation.
Accordingtoinforma-
tion,astudentof Tundla
doing B.Com from a col-
legeinEtmaddaulaarea,
along with a relative had
come to the college on a
holidaytofillsomeform.
At 1 pm, the relative
youthmadehersitinthe
auto to go home from
Rambagh intersection.
The auto driver started
taking her towards
Tundla.Assoonasitwas
ahead of Kuberpur, the
driver made his friends
sit in the auto near Budi-
ya ka Taal. After this, all
three took her towards
the closed service road.
They dragged her into
the bushes and commit-
ted the crime. Later, they
fled leaving her on the
bridge in front of FH
Medical College. The girl
somehow reached home
and informed the family
.
She told the police that
she could identify the ac-
cused if they come for-
ward. One of them had
Bhura Yadav written on
hishand.OnMonday
,the
police arrested Yadav
and Yashpal along with
an auto from Khandauli
Marg. The third accused
hasbeenidentifiedasYo-
gendra Prakash.
IAS officer Dhirendra Singh Sachan.
Praveen Malviya
‘WAS ON WALK’
The accused in police custody.

PERSPECTIVE
04
Vol 2 Issue No. 116
RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229.
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: Vishal Srivastav
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
The soul is never born, it never
dies having come into being
once, it never ceases to be.
Unborn, eternal, abiding and
primeval, it is not slain when
the body is slain.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Wishing everyone a healthy and happy
life on #JanaushadhiDiwas2022. By
making quality medicines available
at affordable prices, the life of crores
of people has become life. Due to the
visionary thinking of Prime Minister
today @narendramodi Ji, the medium
of health, service and employment is
also becoming #PMBJP.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
Great team performance by @
SarnobatRahi @singhesha10
Rhythm Sangwa! Congratulations on
winning in the 25m Pistol team event
by defeating Singapore SG (17-13) in
the gold medal match.
TOP TWEETS
EXIT POLL
LESSONS FOR
CONGRESS IN
PUNJAB AND
UTTAR PRADESH
f all the exit polls,
Congress must seri-
ously consider the
prediction on Punjab
and start introspect-
ing on why the projection is go-
ing against them in such a big
way
. All exit polls show the Aam
Aadmi Party in pole position in
the state with the Congress com-
ing a distant second. Will the cen-
tral leadership rue its decision to
have allowed Navjot Singh Sidhu
to make the party a laughing
stock? As the knives will be out
forRahulGandhiassoontheexit
poll predictions are confirmed,
will the party admit that indeci-
siveness left the party in a mess?
Uttarakhand would have gone
the Punjab way had it been bet-
ter sense to allow Harish Rawat
manage the situation not pre-
vailed. It is due to Rawat’s ef-
forts that the Congress may have
a fighting chance to form a gov-
ernment in the hill state.
Uttar Pradesh, which has re-
jected the Congress, necessitates
that the party reinvents itself as
It is a now or never moment.
O
he UN Intergov-
ernmental Panel
on Climate
Change recently
warned that time
was running out for saving
the Earth if global warming
does not come down drasti-
cally. Citing scientific evi-
dence the report cautioned
that any further delay in cut-
ting carbon emissions would
mean missing a brief oppor-
tunity. The impact of global
warming in India has been
brought out by the first com-
prehensive study of glaciers
in the Alaknanda river basin.
The study shows that the gla-
ciers in the basin are reduc-
ing in area. The river flows
past the religious shrine of
Badrinath in Uttarakhand.
The study found that the
Alaknanda, which is a major
source of water for the Gan-
ga, has reduced by 59 square
km over a 50-year period.
Like glaciers in the
Alaknanda basin, Gangotri
basin’s 1,020 glaciers are an
equally, if not more, impor-
tant source of water for the
mighty Ganga. The iconic
glacier in this basin is the fa-
mous Gangotri which some
scientists worry is receding.
One study said that the Gan-
gotri glacier retreated by 870
metres between 1971 and
2001, which is an annual aver-
age of 30 metres.
A small step in the right
direction could make a big
difference in the long run.
The Government of India
has been able to keep its as-
surance given at last year’s
climate summit to “phase
down” use of coal, which ac-
counts for 72 percent of total
greenhouse gas from the
electricity sector. In 2021 the
government gave nod to only
one coal-based power, prov-
ing its commitment towards
environment protection.
More such steps have to be
taken expeditiously to save
the planet.
REDUCING GLACIERS
OF UTTARAKHAND
The impact of global warming
in India has been brought out
by the first comprehensive
study of glaciers in the
Alaknanda river basin. The
study shows that the glaciers
in the basin are reducing in
area. The river flows past
the religious shrine of
Badrinath in Uttarakhand
T
he DoPT inaction might have
acutely embarrassed Minis-
ter of State for Personnel, Dr
Jitendra Singh, whose assur-
ance to the CSS cadre on Feb-
ruary 8 is yet to be translated
into a concrete action plan to
ensureasteadycareergrowth
of officials that carry ‘institu-
tional memory’ of rules and
regulations of the central
government and are a true
arm of the executive to imple-
ment its policy decisions.
Since the proactive Minis-
ter has called the meeting at
his own initiative to resolve
the long-pending issues of
CSS officers through interac-
tive consultations, his embar-
rassment is understandable.
The DoPT inaction is said
to have provoked CSS officers
to stage a sit-in protest at the
entrance of North Block on
Feb 25, 2022. More than 1,000
CSS officers, under their um-
brella organization CSS Fo-
rum, are said to have partici-
pated in the sit-in protest.
The protest was called af-
ter several meetings and as-
surances by the cadre con-
trolling authority DoPT
failed to break the deadlock
on the promotional issues af-
fecting the CSS officers.
The protest once again
highlighted the long-pending
demand of CSS officers
which includes the resump-
tion of long-stalled promo-
tions, an extension of all ben-
efits of Organised Group A
service to CSS including non-
functional upgrade.
The historic protest at
North Block is said to be the
first of its kind after almost
22 years. In the late nineties
and early 21st century
, CSS of-
ficers were constrained to
stage protests and hold rallies
before the first cadre review
of CSS was executed in 2003.
The Central Secretariat
Service(CSS)isoneof theear-
liest organized services in the
country
. The officers are post-
ed in various Ministries and
Departments, Prime Minis-
ter’s Office, National Security
Council Secretariat, intelli-
gence agencies, Apex /Auton-
omous organizations of Gov-
ernment of India located at
different places in the Secre-
tariat in New Delhi. They are
alsoappointedasthepersonal
staff of the Union Council of
Ministers of India.
The CSS has always been
considered as the backbone
of the Central Secretariat. It
has been the repository of
the institutional memory of
the Central Government
working and has been play-
ing a vital role in ensuring
continuity of administration
in the Central Secretariat.
In the 2020-21 Covid-19 pan-
demic, CSS officers once
again proved their mettle by
continuously working on dif-
ferent fronts in a dynamic
situation as it was. During
this pandemic, CSS even lost
60 of its officers.
The origin of the service
can be traced back to the year
1919 when the Imperial Sec-
retariat Service came into
being as one of the off-shoots
of the Lewellyn-Smith Com-
mittee which had been set up
on the eve of the introduc-
tionof theMontagueChelms-
ford Reforms. The posts of
Assistant and Assistant Sec-
retary/Under Secretary were
filled by officers drawn from
the Imperial Secretariat Ser-
vice during the British Raj.
Service (Reorganization and
Reinforcement) Scheme, sub-
mitted by Sir RA Gopalas-
wamy Iyengar, which can be
regarded as the precursor of
the service as it stands today,
was evolved in 1949. It con-
sists of posts of Under Secre-
tary, Superintendent, Asst.
Superintendent and post of
Assistant at that time.
Service in its present form
was constituted with effect
from October 1, 1962, with the
notification of CSS Rules
1962. As far as the composi-
tion of Central Secretariat
Service is concerned, it is
unique in nature and consist
of Group-B officers i.e. Assis-
tant Section Officer and Sec-
tion Officer/Assistant Direc-
tor (For Directorate) and
Group A officers Under Sec-
retary/Deputy Director (For
Directorate), Deputy Secre-
tary/Joint Director (For Di-
rectorate), Director, Joint
Secretary (In Situ). Further
in Central Staffing Scheme,
CSS officers are placed at the
level of Joint Secretary, Ad-
ditional Secretary
, and Secre-
tary Level posts.
In the past, officers like PN
Kripal, AJ Kidwai, NP Dube,
Dr. D B Singh held the post of
Secretary to Government of
India. Many other officers in
past also held various impor-
tant positions at Additional
Secretary and Joint Secre-
tary level in the Government
of India. P V Gopalan, the
grandfather of present US
Vice President Kamla Har-
ris, was also a member of the
Central Secretariat Service.
From 1946 until 2003, 50 per-
cent of direct recruitment
into CSS was through the
Civil Services Examination
conducted by the Union Pub-
lic Service Commission, the
next 25 percent recruitment
was through Annual Depart-
mentalExaminationandnext
25percentbypromotion.How-
ever, after the first cadre re-
structuring in 2003, the direct
recruitmentintoCSSthrough
the Civil Services Examina-
tion has been stopped.
ItispointedoutthattheFeb
15, protest was not a sudden
development. Discontent has
been building up and due to
the failure of higher govern-
ment machinery to pay atten-
tion and resolve the problem,
theDoPTallegedlyshirkedits
responsibilitybycitingtheSC
case, without even realizing
thattheSChasn’tpreventedit
from following the principle
of good governance.
It is pointed out that CSS
officers are shown indiffer-
ence all the time as the DoPT
is more concerned and fo-
cused on streamlining ave-
nues for IAS, IPS, and other
officers.
So the CSS has to continu-
ally struggle for getting its
legitimate dues. After the
first cadre review in 2003, the
second cadre review move-
ment initiated in 2008 took
eight years before the DoPT
agreed to rename the desig-
nation of Assistant to Assis-
tant Section Officers.
It only shows that the
DoPT, which is supposed to
work as the eye and ear of the
government in personnel
management, is said to be
blind and deaf when it comes
to resolving the problem of
the most critical supporting
tier of the bureaucracy
.
To be continued….
DoPT INACTION MIGHT HAVE
EMBARRASSED MIN DR JITENDRA
CENTRAL SECRETARIAT SERVICE DEMANDS
T
It is pointed out that CSS
officers are shown
indifference all the time as
the DoPT is more concerned
and focused on streamlining
avenues for IAS, IPS, and
other officers. So the CSS has
to continually struggle for
getting its legitimate dues.
After the first cadre review
in 2003, the second cadre
review movement initiated
in 2008 took eight years
before the DoPT agreed to
rename the designation of
Assistant to Assistant
Section Officers. It only
shows that the DoPT, which
is supposed to work as the
eye and ear of the
government in personnel
management, is said to be
blind and deaf when it
comes to resolving
the problem of the most
critical supporting tier
of the bureaucracy
The DoPT inaction is said
to have provoked CSS
officers to stage a sit-in
protest at the entrance of
North Block on Feb 25,
2022. More than 1,000
CSS officers, under their
umbrella organisation CSS
Forum, are said to have
participated in the
sit-in protest
RAKESH RANJAN
The author is a senior journalist
CEO, New Media Network
Central Sect Service (CSS) officials waiting outside MoS (PP)
Jitendra Singh office at North Block on February 25, 2022.
Dr Jitendra Singh, MoS for Personnel

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INDIA
05
BRIEF
in
RAJYA SABHA
ELECTIONS FOR 13
SEATS ON MAR 31
New Delhi: Elections
for 13 Rajya Sabha
seats spread across six
states will be held on
March 31 this year, the
Election Commission of
India (ECI) announced
today. The seats are un-
evenly spread across six
states - five in Punjab,
three in Kerala, two in
Assam, and one each
in Himachal Pradesh,
Tripura, and Nagaland.
“The term of office of 13
members of the Rajya
Sabha elected from 6
States is due to expire
on their retirement in
April 2022,” the official
statement read. Several
leaders including Con-
gress veterans Anand
Sharma and AK Antony
are set to retire.
TELANGANA BJP
MLAs SUSPENDED
FROM ASSEMBLY
Hyderabad: Three
Telangana BJP MLAs, T
Raja Singh, M Raghu-
nandan Rao and Etela
Rajender, were suspend-
ed from the assembly
on Monday, March 7.
The motion to suspend
them was moved by the
ruling Telangana Rashtra
Samithi (TRS) party min-
ister, Talasani Srinivas
Yadav. The Telangana
BJP MLAs suspended
from the Assembly are
sitting outside in protest.
Within minutes of the
Budget session begin-
ning at the Telangana as-
sembly, Minister Talasani
Srinivas Yadav moved
a motion to suspend
the three members till
the end of the budget
session.
Amarinder Singh meets Amit Shah,
says alliance did well in Punjab polls
Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh with Home Minister Amit Shah. —FILE PHOTO
New Delhi (ANI): For-
mer Chief Minister and
Punjab Lok Congress
president Captain Ama-
rinder Singh on Mon-
day met Union Minister
for Home Affairs Amit
Shah in Delhi while ex-
pressing confidence
that the BJP led alliance
will do well in the state
Assembly elections.
Addressing the me-
dia, Singh, when asked
about the prospects of
his alliance in the polls,
said, I am not a Pundit.
I am not somebody who
can predict. My party
has done well. The BJP
has done well. Let us see
what happens.
Further, the former
Chief Minister said
that his meeting with
Union Home Minister
in Delhi was to discuss
Punjab in general and
had nothing to do about
the elections.
Results are not de-
claredyet.Ihadageneral
discussion with Home
Minister.There'llbeade-
tailed discussion after
the results, Singh said.
Meanwhile, the BJP
national president JP
Nadda chaired a meet-
ing with the party's na-
tional general secre-
taries to take stock of
the party's prospects
in the five States — Ut-
tarakhand, Uttar
Pradesh, Punjab, Goa
and Manipur.
Punjab witnessed a
multi-cornered contest
with Congress, Aam
AadmiParty(AAP),Shi-
romani Akali Dal-Bahu-
jan Samaj Party alli-
ance, and the coalition
of Bharatiya Janata
Party-former chief min-
ister Amarinder Singh's
Punjab Lok Congress
party as key players.
The result of elec-
tions in five States, in-
cluding Punjab, are set
to be announced on
March 10.
I am not a
Pundit. I am
not somebody
who can predict. My
party has done well. The
BJP has done well. Let
us see what happens.
Captain Amarinder Singh,
Ex-Chief Minister, Punjab
Akhilesh: Centre failed
in Ukraine evacuation
due to Varanasi polls
Lucknow (PTI): Sama-
jwadi Party chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav on Monday
slammed the BJP-led
Centre over ‘Operation
Ganga’, saying he would
have applauded if
stranded students were
evacuated from war-hit
Ukraine directly
.
Speaking to media,
Mr Yadav questioned
the claims of having
evacuated the students
from Ukraine, saying
the Centre “failed to
evacuate Indians”.
Calling the operation
a mere political stunt for
the Uttar Pradesh As-
sembly elections, Mr Ya-
dav said, “Don’t know
which international rec-
ognition they are boast-
ing about. They (BJP-led
Centre) failed to evacu-
ate Indians, named evac-
uation ‘Operation Gan-
ga’ because of the polls
in Varanasi. Had they
rescued our people from
Ukraine directly I
would’veappreciatedit.”
The Centre arranged
for flights from neigh-
bouring countries of
Ukraine for the evacua-
tion of Indian students
under ‘Operation Gan-
ga’. The government on
Sunday said that it
has evacuated nearly
16,000 Indian students
since February 22 from
Ukraine.
Conflict erupted in
Ukraine on February 24
when Russia launched a
special military opera-
tion there.
CHAOS IN WB ASSEMBLY AS GUV’s
SPEECH DISRUPTED BY BJP MLAs
Kolkata (PTI): High
drama was witnessed
on the first day of the
budget session of the
West Bengal assembly
on Monday as Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar was
forced to table his inau-
gural address with BJP
MLAs staging a protest
in the House over al-
leged violence in the
recently concluded civ-
ic elections in the state.
Dhankhar, who ar-
rived at the assembly at
2 PM to deliver the inau-
gural address, could not
do it as BJP legislators
carrying posters and
photographs of alleged
victims of civic poll vio-
lence came down to the
well to stage a protest.
Dhankhar was seen
pleading with the BJP
MLAs to let the pro-
ceedings begin but the
MLAs remained ada-
mant. They raised ‘Jai
Shri Ram’ and ‘Bharat
Mata Ki Jai’ slogans.
As the governor was
abouttoleavetheHouse,
TMC MLAs including
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee requested him
to stay, following which
Dhankhar again urged
the BJP lawmakers to
calm down, but in vain.
Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar in Assembly on Monday.
GUV PHYSICALLY
ASSAULTED BY
TMC: SUVENDU
Kolkata (ANI): LoP Suv-
endu Adhikari on Monday
said Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar
was
physically
assaulted
by TMC
leaders on
the first day of the budget
session of the West Ben-
gal Assembly. “Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar was
physically assaulted by
TMC leaders...what hap-
pened inside the House
everybody saw it very
carefully... we’ll meet
Governor. He should
take appropriate action
against it,” Suvendu said.
Maharashtra
defers local body
elections till OBC
quota is restored
Mumbai (PTI): In a ma-
jor political develop-
ment, the Maharashtra
Legislature
on Monday
unanimous-
lypassedtwo
bills to defer
the upcom-
ing elections to the civic
and local bodies till the
OBC quotas are restored
in the state. Under these
amendments, the SEC
powerstodelimitandfix
the wards is proposed to
becancelledandthegov-
ernment shall be em-
poweredtodecidedelim-
itation of wards and fix
the number of members
in these bodies.
30 of 36 disputed
villages to remain
in Meghalaya: CM
BORDER ROW WITH ASSAM
Shillong (PTI): Thir-
ty of the 36 disputed
villages along the
Meghalaya-Assam
border have been rec-
ommended by region-
al committees of the
two states to remain
in Meghalaya, Chief
Minister Conrad K
Sangma informed the
assembly on Monday
.
The 36 villages cov-
er a 36.9 square kilo-
metre area, while the
30 villages are spread
over 18 square kilo-
metre area, he said.
The chief minister,
addressing the House
on the progress of the
talks with the Assam
government to resolve
the inter-state bound-
ary dispute, said that
both the states have
agreed that no new ar-
eas of differences
shall be added to the
already identified 12
areas. “Of the 36 vil-
lages claimed by
Meghalaya in 2011, a
total of 30 have been
recommended by re-
gional committees of
the two states to re-
main in Meghalaya.
Ownership of land,
however, will not be
affected after demar-
cation of the bounda-
ry
,” he said.
“All eight villages
claimed by Megha-
laya in Tarabari area
will remain in the
state. In Gizang, two
of three claimed vil-
lages will remain
with us. We will get 11
of 12 claimed villages
in Hahim, one of two
in Boklapara, five of
six in Khanapara-Pil-
langkata, and three
of five in Ratacher-
ra,” he said.
Conrad K Sangma, Chief Minister, Meghalaya
SRINAGAR GRENADE ATTACK
Rafiya Nazir passed her class 12 board exams with very high scores last month. On
Monday, she was among two dozen victims of a terrorist attack in a busy marketplace
in Srinagar. This morning, the 19-year-old promising student succumbed to the multiple
injuries she had suffered in the blast. As the body reached her home at Dargah Hazratbal,
hundreds joined to mourn the tragic death and participated in her last rites. Scores of men
and women were seen crying and wailing. —PHOTO BY PTI
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: Assembly
elections have been held
in Uttarakhand and the
results will be an-
nounced on March 10
along with the rest of
the four poll-bound
States. But even before
the election results have
been formally an-
nounced, Congress lead-
ers are assuming that
they have won and they
have to form the govern-
ment.Therefore,atussle
has ensued within the
Congress party as to
who will be the Chief
Minister. Knowledgea-
ble Congress leaders say
thatwhensuchadispute
arose in the party before
the election, at that time
RahulGandhihadcalled
all the leaders and made
it clear that Harish Raw-
at would become the
CM. But now that votes
have been cast, the issue
of leadership has start-
ed rising once again.
Informed sources in
Congresssaythattaking
lessons from Captain
Amarinder Singh’s epi-
sode, Rahul Gandhi is
not thinking of giving
power to any ‘powerful
satrap’ again. Although
the new leaders are also
cheating him but he is
thinkingof carryingout
new experiments. It is
being said that at pre-
sent the dispute of Har-
ishRawatversusPritam
Singh is going as claim-
ants to the Chief Minis-
terial position. But the
Congress high com-
mand is considering a
third and new name in-
stead of these two. Keep
in mind that Harak Sin-
gh Rawat has joined the
Congress,althoughafter
much trials and tribula-
tions and even then he
was not given the ticket
due to Harish Rawat af-
ter which he made his
daughter-in-law contest
the election. That’s why
Harak Singh Rawat will
also hinder Harish Raw-
at’s path. However, in all
this tussle, Harish Raw-
at is seen as the strong-
est contender.
Congmen tussle for CM’s chair even before
Uttarakhand poll results are announced!
Keep in mind that
Harak Singh Rawat
has joined the
Congress, although
after much trials
and tribulations and
even then he was
not given the ticket
due to Harish Rawat
after which he made
his daughter-in-law
contest the election
Congress Leaders Rahul Gandhi and Harish Rawat
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav
Internal disputes and political
families go hand in hand!
Moni Sharma
New Delhi: In the as-
sembly elections of Ut-
tar Pradesh, the issue of
dynastic politics has be-
come a core issue. Not
only in Uttar Pradesh,
there are political fami-
lies active in almost all
the states of the country
and the politics of that
state revolves around
that family
. Many of
these families have had
political disputes. Like
there has been a dispute
between Thackeray
family in Maharashtra,
Paswan family in Bihar,
Badal family in Punjab
and Mulayam family in
Uttar Pradesh. However,
Mulayam Singh’s broth-
er Shivpal Yadav has
returned to the family
camp. In Tamil Nadu,
Karunanidhi’s eldest
son MK Alagiri is differ-
entandhasnotreturned
to the DMK. Now MK
Stalin is heading the
party and the family
. In
the coming days, there
may be another dispute
in his family
.
This time, Stalin’s
sister Kanimozhi can
become the cause of
controversy. In DMK
politics, Stalin has
made preparations to
hand over the command
of the party to his son
Udayanidhi Stalin after
him which has angered
Kanimozhi.
Recently, on his 54th
birthday, BJP leader
and Union Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah called
Stalin to congratulate
him and since then
there has been a lot of
speculation in this re-
gard. Similarly in West
Bengal, Mamata Baner-
jee had shown her sta-
tus to her nephew Ab-
hishek Banerjee and
abolished his post of
national general secre-
tary. Although he was
later reinstated in the
post, but this has start-
ed a dispute between the
family and the party.
NCP chief Sharad Pa-
war’s family also had a
strongdisputetwoyears
ago, which was handled
but in the coming days
it can erupt again.
Kanimozhi and MK Stalin

INDIA
06
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
said the poor and the
middle class have ben-
efitted from the ‘Jan
Aushadhi Kendras’, set
up to provide generic
drugs at affordable pric-
es, and they saved about
`13,000 crore through
the stores.
He also interacted
with ‘Jan Aushadhi
Pariyojana’ beneficiar-
ies on the occasion of
‘Jan Aushadhi Diwas’
and took feedback from
them about the scheme.
The Pradhan Mantri
Bhartiya Janaushadhi
Pariyojana (PMBJP) is
a campaign launched
by the Department of
Pharmaceuticals to pro-
vide quality medicines
at affordable prices to
the masses.
PMBJP stores have
been set up to provide
generic drugs, which
are available at cheaper
prices but are equiva-
lent in quality and effi-
cacy as expensive
branded drugs.
In his remarks, PM
Modi said the Jan Aus-
hadhi Kendras have re-
duced the apprehension
of people over the cost
of medicines.
“Today, more than
8,500 Jan Aushadhi
Kendras have opened in
the country. These cen-
tres are not just govern-
ment stores but are be-
coming solution cen-
tres for the common
man,” PM Modi said.
The prime minister
said his government
has regulated the price
of more than 800 medi-
cines required for the
treatment of diseases
like cancer, tuberculo-
sis, diabetes and heart
ailment.
Sharat K Verma
New Delhi: It has been
three months since the
death of India’s first
Chief of Defence Staff
(CDS) i.e. General Bi-
pin Rawat and a new
CDS has not been ap-
pointed in his place yet.
After the death of Gen-
eral Rawat in a helicop-
ter crash, it seemed that
the government would
appoint a new CDS as
soon as possible be-
cause after the appoint-
ment of General Rawat
to this post, the system
of CDS started working
and this led to an effec-
tive coordination be-
tween the three servic-
es. It seemed then that
the senior-most Chief
of Army Staff, General
MM Naravane, would
be given the responsi-
bility of CDS and a new
Chief of Army Staff
would be appointed.
But even after almost
three months, there is
no ‘movement’ regard-
ing appointment of
CDS. Think, at a time of
turmoil around the
world,therestorationof
Taliban rule in Afghani-
stan that worries India
the most and Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine,
due to which a new
world order is emerging
and China’s ‘siege’ on
India’s border is in-
creasing from many
sides. At such a time,
India should appoint a
new CDS without delay
.
General Rawat had tak-
en the initiative to cre-
ate a studio command
which should be imple-
mented. But the Indian
government is sitting
silently
. The post of CDS
isnotapostof Secretary
to the GoI that work can
be carried on without
him. It is a post of most
strategic importance.
Therefore it should be
appointed immediately
.
When will the next CDS be appointed?
Beijing (PTI): China
and India have encoun-
tered “some setbacks”
in the bilateral rela-
tions in recent years,
Chinese Foreign Minis-
ter Wang Yi said on
Monday as he called for
managing their differ-
ences over the bounda-
ry issue through equal
footing consultations
for a “fair and equita-
ble” settlement.
Addressing his annu-
al Press conference on
the sidelines of the Chi-
nese parliament, Wang
also said that some forc-
es have always sought to
stoke tensions between
China and India, in an
apparent reference to
the US.
“ChinaandIndiarela-
tions have encountered
some setbacks in recent
yearswhichdonotserve
the fundamental inter-
ests of the two countries
and the two peoples,”
Wang Yi said in re-
sponse to a question
asked by PTI on the
boundary issue and ties
between the two neigh-
bours. “As regards the
boundary question, it is
left over from history
.
China has all along ad-
vocated managing dif-
ferences through equal
footingconsultationand
actively seeking a fair
and equitable settle-
ment and meanwhile
not letting it affect or
interfere with bigger
picture of bilateral co-
operation,” he said.
China and India
should be “partners
rather than rivals”, said
Wang, who is also the
State Councilor.
New Delhi: India has
recorded its lowest dai-
ly Covid-19 cases since
May 17, 2020, at 4,362,
which took the total
tally to 4,29,67,315, ac-
cording to Union health
ministry data updated
on Monday. The death
toll has climbed to
5,15,102 with 66 fresh fa-
talities. The country on
May 17, 2020, had re-
corded 4,987 new cases.
The active Covid-19
cases in the country has
dipped to 54,118 and
comprised 0.13 per cent
of the total infections,
while the national re-
covery rate has further
improved to 98.68 per
cent, the ministry said.
A reduction of 5,324
cases has been recorded
in the active Covid-19
caseload in a span of 24
hours. The number of
people who have recu-
perated from the dis-
ease has increased to
4,23,98,095, while the
case fatality rate has
been recorded as 1.20
per cent.
New Delhi (PTI):
The Congress on
Monday expressed
grave concern over
the safety of stu-
dents in Ukraine,
and asked the gov-
ernment to make all
efforts to bring back
citizens without in-
dulging in “parti-
san propaganda”.
The opposition
party also sought
immediate end to
all hostilities in
Ukraine and called
for creation of cor-
ridors for safe evac-
uation of citizens.
“The Congress
party is alarmed
and distressed over
conflict in Ukraine.
The loss of inno-
cent lives, wide-
spread destruction,
mass exodus of peo-
ple and the aggra-
vated human suf-
ferings is unaccep-
table,” the Congress
said in a statement.
New Delhi (Agencies):
A Delhi court has grant-
ed the CBI seven days’
custody of former CEO
and MD of the National
Stock Exchange (NSE),
Chitra Ramkrishna,
who was arrested by the
agency in a 2018 case of
bourse manipulation.
The central agency
arrested Ramkrishna
on Sunday in what was
the second high-profile
arrest in the case. Last
month, the agency had
arrested Anand Subra-
manian, NSE’s former
group operating officer
and Ramkrishna’s dep-
uty and confidante.
The CBI prosecutor
sought the custody of
Ramkrishna for 14 days
before Additional Ses-
sions Judge Sanjeev Ag-
garwal arguing that she
was “evasive in her re-
plies” and, despite be-
ing confronted with
Subramanian, she “re-
fused to even identify
him.”
Former National
Stock Exchange (NSE)
chief Chitra Ramkrish-
na, arrested last night
over major lapses at In-
dia’s largest stock ex-
change and accused of
taking huge decisions
under the influence of a
“Himalayan yogi”, was
sent to seven-day CBI
custody today
.
The investigating
agency told a court that
it needed to question
her and confront her
with evidence as she
“has been evasive” till
now. Ramkrishna was
questioned along with
her former aide Anand
Subramanian on March
6, but she “refused to
recognise him”, the
agency told the court.
“We have recovered
2,500 email exchanges
between the accused,”
the CBI said, seeking 14-
day custody, who has
been arrested in a case
of market manipula-
tion.
Ramkrishna’s lawyer
argued that she had
been questioned for
eight days and that she
appeared before the CBI
on Saturday and Sun-
day, even after the court
rejected her request for
protection from arrest.
POOR, MIDDLE CLASS BENEFITTED
FROM ‘JAN AUSHADHI KENDRAS’: PM
Governmenthascontrolledpricesofover800
medicinesrequiredfortreatmentofseriousdiseases
likecancer,tuberculosis,diabetes,saysModi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing at the interaction with the beneficiaries of Jan Aushadhi
Yojana, through video conferencing, in New Delhi on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Today, more than 8,500 Jan Ausha-
dhi Kendras have opened in the coun-
try. These centres are not just govern-
ment stores but are becoming solution centres
for the common man.
—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
New Delhi (ANI):
On the occasion of
International Women’s
Day, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi will
address a seminar at
women saint’s camp
at Dhordo, Kutch via
video conferencing on
Tuesday. According to
Prime Minister’s Office
(PMO), the seminar
is being organised to
recognise the role of
women saints in society
and their contribution
towards women
empowerment. Over
500 women saints will
attend the seminar in
Dhordo at saint’s camp
on Tuesdy.
New Delhi: On Interna-
tional Women’s Day on
Tuesday, President Ram
Nath Kovind will confer the
Nari Shakti Puraskars to
29 outstanding individu-
als for the years 2020 and
2021.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi will also interact with
the recipients of the award.
Twenty-eight awards
— 14 each for 2020 and
2021 — will be given to
29 women in recognition
of their exceptional work
towards empowerment of
women, especially the vul-
nerable and marginalised.
The Nari Shakti
Puraskar is an initiative
of the women and child
development ministry to
acknowledge the excep-
tional contribution made
by individuals and institu-
tions.
“These achievers have
not allowed age, geograph-
ical barriers or access
to resources to come in
the way of fulfilling their
dreams. Their indomitable
spirit will inspire society
at large and the young In-
dian minds in particular to
break gender stereotypes,”
the ministry said.
New Delhi (ANI): De-
fence Minister Rajnath
Singh on Monday called
for innovation and
increased international
cooperation to deal with
issues that affect the
health of the world.
Singh virtually inau-
gurated the four-day
Indo-Pacific Military
Health Exchange (IP-
MHE) conference. In his
address at the confer-
ence themed ‘Military
Healthcare in a Volatile,
Uncertain, Complex
and Ambiguous (VUCA)
World’, Singh described
medical service as an
important pillar for any
military.
Modi to address
seminar on Int’l
Women’s Day
today
PREZ TO CONFER NARI SHAKTI PURASKARS TO 29 WOMEN
Rajnath calls
for innovation
to deal with
health issues Some forces sought to
stoke tension between
China, India: Wang Yi
CO-LOCATION SCAM CASE
CBI gets 7-day custody of former
bourse chief Chitra Ramkrishna
IN THE COURTYARD
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: The
Supreme Court of India
has given notice to
the Bihar government
and asked it to reply
why SK Singhal has
been appointed as the
Director General of
Police (DGP). Singhal
is an officiating DGP of
the state. The SC has
also said why it should
not pursue contempt of
court case against the
Bihar government which
did not follow the SC’s
direction and appointed
Singhal as the DGP. Jay
Salve, senior lawyer
who argued in the court
on behalf of petitioner
on Monday, said that
the SC has repeatedly
given directions to the
Bihar government but
the latter did not heed.
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Monday said that
it will hear on March 21 the
plea filed by UPSC aspir-
ants, who had missed their
Civil Services exam due to
Covid-19 and sought an ad-
ditional attempt. A bench of
justices AM Khanwilkar
and CT Ravikumar had
adjourned the matter
after UPSC counsel
sought time to seek
instruction on the
matter. The court has asked
the parties concerned to
file an affidavit on the plea.
It was hearing the petition
filed by UPSC aspirants
seeking to extend the benefit
of an extra attempt. Senior
Advocate Gopal Sankarana-
rayanan appeared for
the petitioners, and the
petition was filed by
three UPSC aspirants
through advocate
Shashank Singh.
Murshidabad (West Bengal): Two BSF personnel died in a
fratricidal incident at a camp in West Bengal’s Murshidabad
district on Monday. “A shooting incident took place between
two BSF head constables. An investigation is underway. An
FIR has been registered,” said DIG Surjeet Singh Guleria.
As per the BSF, in Murshidabad’s Kakmarichar, at 6.45 am,
Johnson Toppo of the 117 Battalion (Bn) shot HG Shekharan.
Following that, Toppo shot himself dead with his service rifle.
Amritsar: The BSF troops
on Monday shot down a
Pakistani drone along the IB
in Punjab’s Ferozpur sector.
The BSF personnel heard a
humming sound at around
3 am of a flying object com-
ing from the Pakistan side
of the border to the Indian
side. They then illuminated
the area with “para bombs”
and fired at the drone, a BSF
spokesperson said. They
have also seized a green
colour bag that was attached
to the drone and contained
four packets in yellow wrap-
pings and one small packet
in black wrapping, he added.
New Delhi (ANI): India’s exports of agricultural and pro-
cessed food products rose by over 23 per cent to $19.70
billion in the first ten months of the current fiscal (April-Jan-
uary, 2021-22) compared to the same period of the previous
year, the government data showed on Monday. The export of
products under the Agricultural and Processed Food Prod-
ucts Export Development Authority (APEDA) ambit increased
from $15.97 billion in April-January 2020-21.
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Monday warned
against the misuse of its
order to get ex-gratia com-
pensation for Covid-19 death
on the basis of fake medical
certificate and observed that
it would order an independ-
ent probe to catch those who
indulged in such practice.
A bench headed by Justice
MR Shah expressed serious
concerns at fake certificates
being issued by doctors to
enable undeserving people
to claim the ex-gratia com-
pensation.The SC sought
suggestion on a mechanism
to curb fake Covid death
certificates, being issued to
avail Rs 50,000 ex-gratia.
Our orders should not be
allowed to be misused, said
the bench.
New Delhi (PTI): The
Supreme Court on Monday
directed its registry to list
before a Bench headed by
Justice UU Lalit the plea
of Balwant Singh Rajoana,
convicted in the 1995 as-
sassination case of former
Punjab Chief Minister Beant
Singh, seeking commuta-
tion of his death penalty into
life imprisonment. A bench
headed by Chief Justice
NV Ramana took note of
the submissions of senior
advocate Mukul Rohatgi,
appearing for Rajona, that
his plea has not come up
for hearing for the last six-
seven months and, he is in
jail for the last 25 years.
Earlier, the SC had ques-
tioned the Centre over the
delay in sending a proposal
to the President for com-
muting the death sentence
of Rajoana.
SC NOTICE TO
BIHAR GOVT FOR
APPOINTING SK
SINGHAL AS DGP
SUPREME COURT ORDERS LISTING OF FORMER
PUNJAB CM BEANT SINGH KILLER’S MERCY PLEA
UPSC ASPIRANTS WHO MISSED EXAM
MOVE SC SEEKING EXTRA ATTEMPT
BSF JAWAN KILLS COLLEAGUE
BEFORE SHOOTING SELF IN BENGAL
PAKISTANI DRONE
SHOT DOWN BY
BSF IN PUNJAB
INDIA’S FARM EXPORTS SURGE BY 23%
TO $19.70 BILLION IN APR-JAN 2021-22
SC WARNS AGAINST FAKE DEATH
CERTIFICATES FOR COVID RELIEF
India sees another
dip in Covid cases,
logs 4,362 new
Covid infections
Cong reminds
Centre of duty,
slams ‘partisan
propaganda’
Chitra Ramkrishna
—FILE PHOTO
Chinese Foreign Min Wang Yi

NEWS
07
BJP
STRATEGISTS
DISCUSS POST-
POLL SCENARIOS
IN U’KHAND
Ahead of the assembly poll
results, BJP leaders and
strategists in Uttarakhand have
begun internal confabulations
over the possible post-poll
scenarios that may emerge in
the state. Party strategist Kailash
Vijayvargiya arrived here on
Sunday and was huddled with
former Union minister Ramesh
Pokhriyal Nishank at the latter’s
residence to discuss how the
party was likely to fare in the
polls. He also held discussions
with Chief Minister Pushkar
Singh Dhami and Pradesh BJP
president Madan Kaushik. An
important party meeting to be
attended by party poll in-charge
for Uttarakhand Pralhad Joshi is
also being held on Monday. The
poll results will be declared on
March 10. Vijayvargiya is
considered an expert in the
politics of making and breaking
and meanings are being read
into the timing of his arrival just
ahead of the poll results. The
stepped up confabulations are
being seen as the party’s efforts
to evolve a formula to cobble up
a majority in case it misses the
magic figure. If the elections
throw up a hung assembly with
neither of the major players
(Congress and BJP) getting a
clear majority, the role of
independents in government
formation and also those of
triumphant candidates from
parties like the BSP, SP and UKD
will become important. The
arrival of Vijayvargiya, who is
said to have played a key role in
the rebellion against Harish
Rawat by his MLAs in 2016, is
being seen from this angle. The
gathering of party strategists
like Vijayvargiya shows that
contrary to its claims of winning
more than 60 seats this time,
the BJP is not quite optimistic
about getting a comfortable
majority, political observer JS
Rawat said. —PTI
TEJASHWI
PREDICTS
HANDSOME
VICTORY OF SP,
RETURN OF
AKHILESH AS CM
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on
Monday predicted a
resounding victory for the
Samajwadi Party in Uttar
Pradesh assembly polls and the
return of Akhilesh Yadav as the
Chief Minister. The Bihar leader
of the opposition shares
ideological affinity as well as
family ties with the former Uttar
Pradesh chief minister, to whose
nephew his younger sister is
married. Both SP and RJD draw
their support base primarily
from the OBCs and the Muslim
community. I think it is a one-
sided contest in Uttar Pradesh.
The people have decided to vote
out Yogi Adityanath and the BJP
and bring back Akhilesh Yadav
and SP , Yadav told reporters
when asked about the keenly
watched elections in the
adjoining state. The BJP and the
SP seem to be locked in a
straight fight in Uttar Pradesh
where the BSP seems to be on
the wane and the Congress has
been, for quite some time, a
spent force. The BJP had
wrested power in 2017 when it
staged a stunning comeback,
after two decades of progressive
decline. The party won more
than 300 seats in the
403-member UP assembly. The
SP, which was then in power
with Akhilesh Yadav as chief
minister, got drubbed despite a
hastily cobbled alliance with the
Congress which was expected to
offset the damage caused by
revolt of Shipval Yadav,
estranged younger brother of
Samajwadi Party founder
Mulayam Singh Yadav. —PTI
NGT slaps fine on Coca-Cola, Pepsi
for groundwater exploitation
First India Bureau
Noida: The National
Green Tribunal has im-
posed a fine totalling al-
most Rs 25 crore on two
Indian bottlers of US
cola majors Coca-Cola
and Pepsi for causing
environmentaldamages
in India. The Bench of
Justice Adarsh Kumar
Goel(Chairperson),Jus-
ticeSudhirAgarwal(Ju-
dicial Member), Justice
Brijesh Sethi (Judicial
Member), Prof. A. Sent-
hil Vel (Expert Mem-
ber), Dr. Afroz Ahmad
(Expert Member) al-
lowed the application
involving a common
question with respect to
notification dated
24.09.2020 laying down
guidelines to regulate
and control groundwa-
ter abstraction in India.
The NGT ruled that
the companies’ bottling
operations were in vio-
lation of environmental
legislation issued by the
CGWA as they operated
without the requisite no
objection certificate
(NOC) to withdraw
groundwater. The Co-
ca-Cola bottling plants
are situated in Greater
Noida and Sahibabad,
and the PepsiCo plant in
Greater Noida. Both
companies were also ac-
cused of breaking the
terms of their licences
by failing to meet their
requirements to re-
charge groundwater.
“CGWA having caused
damage to the environ-
ment and being respon-
sible for allowing illegal
extractionof groundwa-
ter and failing to ensure
recharge by the con-
cerned PPs for which it
may be held account-
able,” the NGT also
came down hard point-
ing out various flaws.
They have also contrib-
utedandareresponsible
for causing damage to
the environment in
causing illegal abstrac-
tion of groundwater for
which it may be held ac-
countable. Moon Bever-
ages (Coca Cola) and
VarunBeverages(Pepsi-
Co) were thus ordered to
pay a total of around Rs
25 crore for illegally ab-
stracting groundwater
and inflicting environ-
mental harm.
The NGT issued fol-
lowing directions: (a)
M/s Moon Beverages
Ltd (Greater Noida)
shall pay Rs 1,85,38,350
as environmental com-
pensation within one
month. (b) M/s Moon
Beverage Ltd (Sahib-
abad) shall pay Rs
13,24,80,000 as environ-
mental compensation
within two months.
(c) M/s Varun Beverag-
es Ltd (Greater Noida)
shall pay Rs 9,71,33,440
as environmental com-
pensation within two
months.
UScompaniesaccusedofillegallyextractinggroundwaterfromtheirmanufacturingplantsinUP
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
TO IMPROVE GROUND WATER LEVEL
15 including students
suffer burn injuries
in cylinder blast
First India Bureau
Bulandshahr: An
explosion in the
kitchen in Uttar
Pradesh’s Buland-
shahr on Monday
caused panic among
the students and
teachers. 15 persons
including 13 stu-
dents, suffered burn
injuries after an LPG
cylinder exploded in
the hostel of the col-
lege located in Debai
tehsil. The incident
took place when the
kitchen staff were
busy cooking break-
fast. Injured students
were rushed to the
hospital where one
of them was stated to
be in critical condi-
tion. Police reached
the spot and initiated
the investigation
about the incident.
When the hostel
worker tried to save
the bigger cylinder, it
dropped and explod-
ed. 2 workers were
also severely injured
in the incident. Var-
un Nair, hostel in
charge said that stu-
dents Shiv Mangal,
Gaurav, Deepanshu,
Videsh Kumar, Tri-
dev, Jai Singh, Amit,
Kapil, Khemchand,
Dhananjay, Shailen-
dra Patel were in-
jured in the incident.
Officials investigating the
case people injured in LPG
gas cylinder blast
Noida Airport’s own Aerocity-like facility
proposed in YEIDA’s Master Plan 2041
Noida (PTI): An ‘Aero-
tropolis’ with commer-
cial residential spac-
es would be developed
around the Noida Inter-
national Airport in
Jewar on the lines of
Delhi’s Aerocity as part
of the region’s Master
Plan 2041 unveiled on
Monday. An ultra-mod-
ern city and a sports
zone with Olympics-lev-
el facilities are also pro-
posed in Master Plan
2041 of the Yamuna Ex-
pressway Industrial De-
velopment Authority
(YEIDA). YEIDA man-
ages land around the
Yamuna Expressway in
western UP. The Master
Plan 2041 would cover
parts of Gautam Buddh
Nagar Bulandshahr
districts surround the
upcoming Greenfield
Noida Airport, accord-
ing to officials. The
master plan has been
prepared by consultan-
cy firm MARS Planning
Engineering Services
and it was presented in
the auditorium room of
YEIDA to senior offi-
cials, including CEO
Arun Vir Singh and Ad-
ditional CEO Shailen-
dra Bhatia. In the pre-
sentation of the Master
Plan 2041, it was in-
formed by the consul-
tancy that the area
around the proposed
international airport
would be developed as
Aerotropolis,” YEIDA
said in a statement.
‘A proposal was
presented for the
development of
an Olympic Park
and Olympic
Village in the
Master Plan’
Bareilly police
seizes assets
of absconding
drug mafia
First India Bureau
Bareilly: Con-
tinuing the cam-
paign against the
drug mafia, the
police sources said
that taking actions
against drug ma-
fia Rifaqat, a resi-
dent of Fatehgarh
west, police have
confiscated Rs 8.50
crore assets. Ri-
faqat was jailed
after he was ar-
rested with 250
grams of drugs on
November 2021.
Police have also
seized bank ac-
counts and luxury
cars. The report
was sent to Na-
tional Crime Re-
cord Bureau
(NCRB). Family
members of Ra-
faqat were also in
drug ped-
dlings. Rafaqat
had named his
gang ‘Gaura Gang
Babu Gaura
alias Ansar, Shan
Khan, Rajababu
alias Faizan, Cha-
cha Harafat and
his brother Ish-
aqat were an im-
portant part of it.
Ruling party can use ‘unfair’ means
during counting of votes: Tikait
Muzaffarnagar (PTI):
Bhartya Kisan Union
(BKU) national spokes-
person Rakesh Tikait
has alleged that the rul-
ing party can use “un-
fair” means during the
counting of votes for
the Uttar Pradesh elec-
tions on March 10. Vot-
ing in the six assembly
seats, including Muzaf-
farnagar, Budhana,
Pyrkazi, Khatoli, Mura-
pur and Charthawal
were held in first phase
on February 10. The rul-
ing party can use unfair
means to win during
the counting of votes to
be held on March 10, the
BKU leader said after
visiting Navin Mandi
here where EVMs are
being kept. Meanwhile,
additional district
magistrate and addi-
tional election officer
Narendra Bahadur
Singh said the count-
ing of votes will be con-
ducted in a fair and
peaceful manner, un-
der tight security and
the directive of the
Election Commission.
BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait. —FILE PHOTO
2 women
among 8
injured in
clash
Muzaffarnagar
(PTI): 8 people, in-
cluding 2 women,
were injured in a
clash between 2
groups over alleged
harassment of a
woman in Shamli
district, police said
on Monday. The in-
cident took place on
Sunday. As per po-
lice, the incident
took place when a
group confronted
accused Shoran and
Ravinder for al-
legedly harassing a
woman.
DELHI COP HELD FOR BEATING
STRAY DOG TO DEATH IN NOIDA
Noida (PTI): A Delhi
Police constable has
been arrested in Noida
for allegedly beating a
stray dog to death with
a baseball bat, officials
said on Monday
. The ac-
cused lives in Chhalera
village in Sector 44, un-
der the Sector 39 police
station limits, and the
incident took place on
Sunday night, they
said. According to the
officials, the constable
and his family, includ-
ing his young son, felt
threatened by the dog
as the animal would
bark at them every time
they passed through the
neighbourhood. “A row
had broken out between
the Delhi Police consta-
ble and the local people
after the incident. The
police were alerted
about it, and the consta-
ble was taken into cus-
tody
. An FIR was lodged
under IPC section 429
and he was arrested,” a
senior Noida Police offi-
cial said. The constable,
Vinod Kumar, aged
around 35, is from Ha-
pur district in Uttar
Pradesh, according to
the officials. Purported
videos of the row be-
tween Kumar and some
local people also sur-
faced on social media in
which the constable
was heard claiming
that the canine had
scared his son earlier in
the night after which he
killed it. Further legal
proceedings are under-
way, the police added.
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
THE FINAL
PHASE
Citizens wait to
cast their vote
outside a polling
booth in Mirzapur
on Monday.
—PHOTO BY PTI

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
60,22,526
TOTAL DEATHS
38,03,22,027
TOTAL RECOVERED
6,07,91,504
ACTIVE CASES
44,71,36,057
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
5,15,133
TOTAL DEATHS
4,23,98,095
TOTAL RECOVERED
54,087
ACTIVE CASES
4,29,67,315
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Army wives
accomplish myriad and
difficultroles,frombeing
apillarof strength to the
husband, loving mother
to the children, caretak-
ertoparents,companion
to friends and a profes-
sional as well.
And ordinarily unaid-
edattimes,whenthesol-
dier is out to defend the
borders. Despite the
rigours of Army life, the
Army Wives stand
strong, ever smiling; a
true reflection of em-
powerment. Hidden in
them is a rare passion
for creativity
, forged by
joys, fulfilment, trials
and tribulations.
Resonating the senti-
ments of International
Women’s Day
, Surya
AWWA in Central Com-
mand, proudly show-
cased the creative and
entrepreneurial facet of
Army wives in an Exhi-
bitionatMahomedBagh
Club, Lucknow from 6-8
Mar 2022. The Exhibi-
tion was inaugurated by
Nidhi Dimri, Regional
President, AWWA Cen-
tral Command on 6 Mar
2022.
In huge numbers, the
ladies, girls and nursing
cadets, presented a rep-
ertoire of their talent in
more than 300 works of
art to include canvas,
Madhubani,oilacrylic
water colour and glass
paintings;decowork,de-
coupage, murals, clay
mouldings, sculpture,
etc. The highlight of the
Exhibitionwasanexqui-
site display of coffee
paintings.
SuryaAWWAshowcasescreativityofArmywivesat3-dayexhibition
DIFFERENT CANVAS
Glimpses from the army wives art exhibition.
VIBRANT DEMOCRACY
A man dressed as Hanuman shows his inked finger after casting his vote in Mirzapur on
Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
SPchiefslamspre-pollpredictions,expressesconfidencethathispartyisgoingtowinUPpollswithmajority
SURVEYS DON’T MATTER, WE’LL
GET OVER 300 SEATS: AKHILESH
Lucknow (PTI): Dis-
missing pre-poll surveys
thatshowedthattheBJP
had the edge in Uttar
Pradesh elections, Sam-
ajwadi Party chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav on Monday
claimed that the ruling
party will be wiped out
from the state when the
results are declared on
March 10.
“Let them show what-
ever they have got. We
are winning with a ma-
jority
,” he said, dismiss-
ing predictions earlier
on some TV channels.
Yadav spoke to PTI be-
fore the exit polls were
scheduled to come up
withtheirpredictionson
Monday evening, at the
end of the final round of
polling for the state as-
sembly
.
He claimed that the
SP-led alliance will form
the next government in
Uttar Pradesh with over
300 seats.
TheSPchief slammed
the ruling BJP for pre-
senting lies and fake
data during the cam-
paign, and said people
had realised this and in-
stead voted for their fu-
ture -- against inflation
and unemployment and
for growth.
At the receiving end
of the BJP attack on
“pariwarvad” through-
out the polls, Yadav hit
back, claiming that the
maximum cases of dy-
nastic politics are found
in the ruling party
.
“
After the seventh and
final phase of polling,
theBJPwillbewipedoff
from the state. The SP
allianceisformingama-
jority government after
March 10 with over 300
seats,” Akhilesh said.
Uttar Pradesh has a
403-member House.
Resultsof theUPpolls
would come out on
March 10, along with
those from Punjab, Ut-
tarakhand, Goa and Ma-
nipur.
Asked how the 2022
elections were different
for him as he was the
only face of the party
andledtheSPcampaign,
Yadav said, “The elec-
tions were fought by the
party and its cadre.”
“I was there with
them. We were prepared
in advance. We held
training camps, took out
rath yatras, response to
which was tremendous.
It rejuvenated the party
cadre and enthused par-
ty workers, who whole-
heartedly worked to en-
sure victory
.”
“This will be a victory
of the voters,” he said
The SP supremo held
over 120 public meetings
across the state to drum
up support for his party
aswellasforthealliance
partners.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav speaks to the media on Monday.
SP CHIEF SLAMS CENTRE’S
‘OPERATION GANGA’
Lucknow(ANI): Sa-
majwadi Party chief
Akhilesh Yadav on
Monday slammed
the BJP-led Centre
over ‘Operation Gan-
ga’, saying he would
have applauded if
stranded students
were evacuated from
war-hit Ukraine di-
rectly.
Speaking with
ANI, Yadav ques-
tioned the claims of
having evacuated
the students from
Ukraine, saying the
Centre “failed to
evacuate Indians”.
Calling the opera-
tion a mere political
stunt for the Uttar
Pradesh Assembly
elections, Yadav
said, “Don’t know
which international
recognition they are
boasting about. They
(BJP-led Centre)
failed to evacuate In-
dians, named evacu-
ation ‘Operation
Ganga’ because of
the polls in Varana-
si. Had they rescued
our people from
Ukraine directly I
would’ve appreciat-
ed it.”
Politicalfortunesofallies
alsoatstakeinpollfinale
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: Of the nine
districts where voting
was held in the seventh
phase on Monday
,
Azamgarh and Jaunpur
are considered among
thebastionsof SP
. While
Omprakash Rajbhar is
believed to have a signif-
icant influence in Mau
and Ghazipur districts,
BJP’s alliance partner
Apna Dal (S) and Sanjay
Nishad-ledNishadParty
were also considered to
haveastrongholdonthe
Non Yadav OBC caste
groups.
In the 2017 assembly
elections, the then BJP
ally SBSP had won three
seats while the Apna Dal
got four seats. The Ni-
shad Party could get
only one seat. Notably
,
last time Nishad Party
had contested 72 seats in
alliance with Dr Ayub’s
Peace Party
. On behalf
of this party
, Bahubali
leader Vijay Mishra won
the election from Bhado-
hi’s Gyanpur seat.
However, then the in-
fluence of Vijay Mishra
on the voters of the area
was considered as the
main factor of victory
.
This time Vijay Mish-
ra contested from
Pragatisheel Manav Sa-
maj Party
, whereas in
theseventhphase,candi-
dates of Nishad Party
contested on four seats,
Atraulia, Saidpur, Gyan-
pur and Shahganj. Be-
sides Sanjay Nishad’s
party
, the VIP party has
alsoclaimedtoholdonto
the Nishad caste group.
The Mukesh Sahni-led
VIP party of Bihar con-
tested the UP assembly
elections for the first
time; it fielded 32 candi-
dates.. It is obvious that
there is a tough competi-
tion between both, the
Nishad Party and the
VIP
, to prove their hold
on their caste group.
In the last phase itself,
along with the opposi-
tion,NDA’sallyJDUalso
escalated the challenges
of BJP strategists. In
fact, the NDA constitu-
ent JDU in Bihar also
fielded its candidates in
the UP elections. Be-
cause of this, BJP and
allies faced a tough chal-
lenge in Malhani,
Mungra Badshahpur,
Zahoorabad, Majhwan,
Ghosi,Gyanpur,Varana-
si Cantt, Bhadohi, Mu-
ghalsarai, Rohini, Madi-
han, Dhorwal, Roberts-
ganj, Madiyahun and
Chunar. Most of these
seats have a high num-
ber of Kurmi voters. On
whombothApna Dal(S)
and JDU have been
claimingtohaveastrong
hold.
Union minister Anupriya Patel speaks to the media after casting
her vote in Mirzapur on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
No anticipatory bail to govt doc in corruption case
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Luc-
know Bench of Alla-
habad HC, while dis-
missing anticipatory
bailtoagovernmentdoc-
tor, observed that cor-
ruption is like a termite
ineverysystemandonce
it has entered the sys-
tem, it goes on increas-
ing.
A Single-Judge Bench
of JusticeKrishanPahal
passed this order, while
hearing a Criminal Mis-
cellaneous Anticipatory
Bail Application 438
CRPC filed by Dr Rajeev
Gupta, MD.
The anticipatory bail
application was filed on
behalf of the applicant
in Criminal Case under
Sections 13(2) r/w 13(1)
(e) of PC Act, 1988 and
Section 109 IPC, Police
Station CBI/ACB, Dis-
trict Lucknow, with a
prayer to enlarge him on
anticipatory bail.
The case was regis-
tered on the basis of a
complaint by Anmol
Sachan, PI/CBI/ACB/
Lucknow, dated
23/05/2019 against Dr
Sunita Gupta, then Sr
DMO Northern Railway
,
Divisional Hospital,
Charbagh,Lucknowand
her husband Dr Rajeev
Gupta,Professor,KGMU,
U/s 109 IPC Section
13(2) r/w 13(1)(e) of PC
Act, 1988.
It is alleged that Dr
SunitaGuptawasinpos-
session of dispropor-
tionate assets to her
known sources of in-
come to the tune of Rs
1,80,96,585.33 during
01/01/2009 to 12/07/2016,
and Dr Rajeev Gupta,
abettedthepossessionof
those assets.
Searches were con-
ductedbySandeepPand-
eyinpresenceof theCBI
team at official resi-
dentceof DrSunitaGup-
ta at Church Road, Rail-
way Colony
, near Fatehli
Chauraha,Charbagh,on
12/07/2016. At the time
Dr Sunita Gupta was
posted at Rae Bareli.
HusbandDrRajeevGup-
ta was present in the of-
ficial residence at Luc-
know.
During the search, Rs
1,59,00,000 were found in
an almirah. Dr Rajeev
Gupta said the cash had
been earned by him
throughprivatepractice.
The plea was not found
satisfactory and the
amount was seized.
HC orders police
force for varsity polls
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Alla-
habad HC has ordered
theCommissionerof Po-
lice, Varanasi to provide
police force to conduct
the Mahatma Gandhi
Kashi Vidyapeeth Stu-
dent Union elections
peacefully
.
A single-judge bench
of Justice Ajit Kumar
passed this order while
hearing a petition filed
by Shashi Prakash
Chandan.
Shashi Prakash Rai,
advocate appearing for
the University
, stated
that in view of ongoing
Assembly polls, the po-
lice are not in a position
to provide necessary
force to ensure free, fair
and peaceful election of
the Students’ Union al-
though a letter was writ-
ten to the Commissioner
of Police, Varanasi on
January 19, 2022.
Rai submitted that
soon after the elections
areoverandnotification
to that effect is issued by
the EC, the University
shall again write to the
Commissioner.
FAILED MISSION
We salute the women who enrich
our lives - Mothers, Sisters,
Daughters, Colleagues - You are
all a blessing on Earth!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
—PHOTO
BY
ANI

LUCKNOW, TUESDAY,
MARCH 8, 2022
THE POWER
IS IN YOU
Today on Women’s day, we at City First bring
you the idea that the Power in Dressing is
You! Wear whatever celebrates your culture
and heritage, wear what makes you feel
comfortable and powerful, wear clothes
that project what YOU want- The Power
is in you- not the dress!
orking women across the
globe do have a clear for-
mula for what they wear
andwhatitprojectstotheir
colleagues and the world at
large. Women’s clothes
have been minutely dis-
sectedbymediahouses,fashion
houses, colleagues and more
and true to the adage have
drawn more criticism than
appreciation.
After almost 3 decades
in the different work
fields ranging from edu-
cation,corporatetome-
dia I believe that the
‘POWER IS IN US’. It
is in you and me and
how we feel!
Tell me,canthere
be someone more
powerful than a saree
clad, head covered
woman sarpanch, who
sits among the men, the first
woman from her village to do
so- and decides the progress
of her village?
From Indira Gandhi, in her signa-
ture silks to Sushma Swaraj and Nir-
mala Sitharaman, the saree defines
powerdressingandsameforthewhite
cotton clad Mamata Bannerjee.
For a young profes-
sional maybe an em-
broidered kurta
makes her feel
goodwhileanartistwouldcelebrate
with a quirky graffiti trouser suit.
A fashion model would choose a
flamboyant outfit which showcas-
es her beauty and the design, that
is her power.
All-time trouser, blouse and
coat dress is always welcome in
boardrooms and alike but so is
everything else, provided you
carry it off with confidence.
With the controversy on hi-
jab raging, I put forward that
it can be a statement for the
young professional if it
helps her step out, be confi-
dent and financially inde-
pendent.
As Women, let us refuse to be put
into labelled boxes and stereotypes.
Regardless of how much you may
kow-tow to set standards, there will
alwaysbecriticism.IrememberIwas
in awe of the points raised by Sheryl
Sandberg, then Facebook CEO at the
Davos conference 2016 but sadly her
outfits garnered more comments. I
felt her outfits conveyed competence,
and professionalism, though for a
man it is easier to project these- just a
suit and shoes will do!
Power dressing is an unequal field
and this is precisely why today
, we de-
bunk it.
We are power-
ful! The dress
will have to
follow!
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
W
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia

N OUR DAILY LIVES
WE,AS HUMANS
SEEK MOTIVATION
AND INSPIRATION
TO DO BETTER AND
REACH TO OUR
POTENTIAL.AS WOMEN,
IT IS NATURAL TO SEEK
WOMEN ICONS WITH
STORIES WHICH GIVE US
HOPE AND PUSH US TO
STRIVE MORE, BOTH
PROFESSIONALLY AND
PERSONALLY. CITY FIRST
TALKED TO A CROSS
SECTION OF ITS WOMEN
READERS ABOUT THE
INDIAN WOMEN WHO
HAVE INSPIRED THEM
AND CONTINUE TO DO
SO TODAY. ON
WOMEN’S DAY WE
BRING YOU SOME OF
THESE TOWERING
WOMEN WHO HAVE
REDEFINED THE SPACE
AND HAVE SET
EXAMPLES FOR ALL!
10-11
ETC
Tessy Thomas, the
first woman scien-
tist to lead the mis-
sile project in India is
an inspiration and a
woman model.She is
also called as Agni
Putri for her contri-
butions to Agni-IV
.
With her traditional
saree, she breaks the
stereotypes of a sci-
entist. We salute you!
DR TESSY
THOMAS
PV SINDHU
PV Sindhu is one of India’s most
successful sportspersons. She
has proved the world that nothing
is impossible. Sindhu has won
medals at various tournaments
including the Olympics a gold
at the 2019 World Championships
and made our country proud.
AVANI CHATURVEDI
Flight Lieutenant Avani
Chaturvedi was declared
as the first woman combat
pilot along with Mohana
Singh Jitarwal and Bhawa-
na Kanth. The trio was in-
ducted into the Indian Air
Force fighter squadron in
June 2016. These women
have opened the combat
skies for all of us!
INDIRA NOOYI
Indra Nooyi,
former Chair-
person and CEO
of PepsiCo, has
consistently
ranked among
the world’s 100
most powerful
women. Her
frank and com-
pelling memoir
‘My Life in full’
gives hope to
lakhs of women
who balance
work and home,
daily
.
MC MARY KOM
Mary Kom, the first In-
dian female boxer to
earn an Olympic medal
for her nation, has given
dreams and gloves in
hands to lakhs of
girls. Humble,
grounded and a
family person,
Mary has set ex-
amples not just
for sportsper-
sons but even
celebrities in
general.
SAALUMARADA
THIMMAKKA
An environmentalist,
Saalumarada Thimm-
akka is a perfect example
that age and education are
nowhere connected to be
good and to do good. She
is known for planting over
300 banyan trees along the
highway between Hulikal
and Kudur in Karnataka.
Thimmakka achieved a
place in the BBC’s 100
most influential
women at the
age of 105.
LAXMI AGARWAL
Laxmi Agarw-
al’s story could
be one of despair
but her strength
and courage has
made it an inspi-
rational and mo-
tivational one.
After her acid at-
tack at age 15 she
fought back and
has played a cru-
cial role in
changing the re-
forms in the sale
of acid in the
country
. A true
beauty!
GITA GOPINATH
Gita Gopinath is an Indi-
an-American economist
serving as the First Deputy
Managing Director of the
International Monetary
Fund, its number-two lead-
ership position, since Jan-
uary 21, 2022. From 2019 to
2022 she was the Chief
Economist of the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund.
NEERJA BHANOT
The22-year-old
brave girl, who
received Ashoka
Chakra from India
and Tamgha-e-Paki-
stan from Pakistan
for saving hundreds
of passengers on
Pan Am Flight 73,
which was hijacked
in Karachi in 1986.
Neerja with her ex-
traordinary cour-
age redefined ‘duty’
in the face of terror.
DEEPIKA PADUKONE
Deepika Padukone motivates
us not because she is one
of the highest-paid actresses
in India or features in listings
of the nation’s most popular
personalities, not even be-
cause Time (2018) named her
one of the 100 most influential
people in the world but be-
cause she had the courage to
open up and speak about her
battle with depression, mak-
ing it easier for so many who
fight alone.
SUSHMITA SEN
Sushmita Sen is an
inspiration not
just for her win at
the Miss Universe
pageant but is loved
and admired by her
choice to be a single
Mom by adoption.
Sush has broken ste-
reotypes and how, a
family need not have
a man to make it
complete.
INDIRA GANDHI
Indira Gandhi remains a
source of motivation for
girls and women across
the world. She was strong,
dynamic and cut a power-
ful figure in the Indian as
well as the global scene
with her astute political
acumen, legendary
charm and amazing per-
sonality
. Till date, she is
remembered as the most
iconic woman leader.
REDEFINING
BOUNDARIES
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
I
Arunima, succesfuly scaled the Mount
Everest, Mount Vinson and many
other with a prosthetic leg. She created
history by becoming the first female
amputee to climb Mount Everest. Can
there be a better motivation to sur-
mount difficulties?
ARUNIMA SINHA

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