Download to read offline
![MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2023
06
INDIA
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
GUJ: DOLPHINS’
POCHING SHOCKS
FOREST OFFICIALS
Gandhinagar: Days
after 10 fishermen
from other states were
nabbed for poaching
dolphins and sharks
off Gujarat coast, state
Forest Department has
decided to conduct
regular patrolling in the
coastal waters. It will
be done in coordination
with the Indian Coast
Guard, Marine Police
and Customs, Forest
Minister Mulubhai
Bera said in Assembly
on Tuesday. Congress
MLA Arjun Modhwadia
sought to know what
steps state govt was
taking to save species.
14 COWS KILLED
IN TELANGANA
ROAD ACCIDENT
Hyderabad: Fourteen
cows were killed when
a bus rammed a cattle
herd in Nalgonda dis-
trict on Tuesday. The
accident occurred on
Addanki-Narketpally
highway near Bugga-
bavigudem village.The
coming to Hyderabad
from Chennai hit the
cattle herd when it was
crossing the road.The
coming to Hyderabad
from Chennai hit the
cattle herd when it was
crossing the road.The
farmer has suffered a
loss of Rs 7 lakh.
First India Bureau
Devasthal: Union Min-
ister of State (MoS) Dr
Jitendra Singh on Tues-
day inaugurated Asia’s
largest 4-metre Interna-
tional Liquid Mirror
Telescope at Devasthal
in Uttarakhand in the
presence of Uttara-
khand Governor Lt Gen
(Retd) Gurmeet Singh.
Speaking after the
launch, Dr Singh said, it
is primarily the patron-
age, promotion and pri-
oritization from PM
Narendra Modi that has
enabledandemboldened
the scientific fraternity
to successfully try new
initiatives, one after the
other, in the field of sci-
ence, technology and in-
novation, which are be-
ing rated as world class.
Not only PM Modi has
given us the motivation
to move ahead but also
given the freedom to ex-
plore hitherto lesser ex-
plored areas like Space
which has been opened
up for private players or
India’s oceans whose
vast resources are wait-
ing to be unfolded.
Today’s landmark
event, Dr Singh said,
places India at a differ-
ent and a much higher
level of capabilities to
study the mysteries of
the skies and astrono-
my, and to share the
same with the world.
Aryabhatta Research
Institute of Observa-
tional Sciences (ARIES)
announced that the
world-class 4-metre In-
ternational Liquid Mir-
ror Telescope (ILMT) is
now ready to explore
the deep celestial sky
. It
achieved its first light
in the 2nd week of May
2022. The telescope is
located at an altitude of
2450 metre at the Dev-
asthal Observatory
campus of ARIES, an
autonomous institute.
India gets Asia’s largest 4-mtre ILMT
WORLD-CLASS
Chandigarh (ANI):
Fugitive pro-Khalistan
leader Amritpal Singh
used several vehicles
and changed his outfits
while he was fleeing the
police net during the
crackdown on Saturday
.
As the hunt to arrest
Khalistan sympathiser
Amritpal Singh is un-
derway, Punjab IGP
Sukhchain Singh Gill
addressed the media
and said the Brezza car,
in which Amritpal Sin-
gh fled, has been recov-
ered by the police.
He said Arms Act has
been invoked against
four people who helped
him. “An important fact
has come to light that
Amritpal Singh, after
fleeing, visited the Gu-
rudwara in Nangal Am-
bian village (in Jaland-
hardistrict)andchanged
hisclothesbeforefleeing
again. This came to be
knowninquestioningof
thefourpeoplewhohave
been nabbed.”
Givingupdate,hesaid,
“National Security Act
(NSA) has been invoked
against Amritpal Singh.
A non-bailable warrant
has been issued against
him on March 18.”
“Police is working as
per law. People have
suspicions, but the
prime accused (Amrit-
pal Singh) has not been
arrested yet. As soon as
the arrest is made, we
will inform you,” he
concluded.
Earlier on Tuesday,
the Punjab and Hary-
ana High Court
slammed the Punjab po-
lice and questioned how
Amritpal Singh had
given them the slip re-
peatedly. “You have
80,000 cops. What were
they doing. How did
Amritpal Singh es-
cape?,” the High Court
asked the Punjab gov-
ernment. The court
called it an intelligence
failure.The Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA)
instructed the chiefs of
the Border Security
Force (BSF) and the Sa-
shastra Seema Bal
(SSB) to be vigilant in
the international bor-
der regions of Punjab,
India-Nepal, among
others, in an effort to
halt Amritpal Singh’s
escape.
The development
took place Punjab Po-
lice on March 18
launched a statewide
search operation to nab
Amritpal Singh and his
close aides who at-
tempted to disrupt the
law and order situation
in the state.
CARINWHICHWPDCHIEFFLEDFOUND
Punjab Police said that Amritpal visited Gurdwara and changed clothes before fleeing again; Police said that
Amirtpal was helped by four people and they have been booked under the Arms Act, hunt is on for Amritpal
MAOISTS TORCH
VEHICLES AT BRICK
KILN IN JHARKHAND
AP COP FETED FOR
SAVING WOMAN
FROM DROWNING
RADICALS HECKLE
INDIAN-ORIGIN
JOURNALIST KAUSHAL
Medininagar: Five tractors
at a brick kiln were set
ablaze by LWEs in Mao-
ist-affected in extremist-hit
Palamu district, a police
official said. A group of
about 40 armed members
of the banned Tritiya Sam-
melan Prastuti Committee
(TSPC) forced their way
to the kiln at Kanda village
on Monday night and took
away several workers
as hostages before they
torched the tractors,
Palamu superintendent
of police Chandan Kumar
Sinha said. The Maoists,
who had their faces cov-
ered, fled the scene after
the crime. It is suspected
that the incident took place
to extort money, he said.
Amaravati: A police
constable was feted by
the Andhra Pradesh
government for gallantly
rescuing a woman who
jumped into the Godavari
river to commit suicide
recently. Andhra Pradesh
director general of police
(DGP) K. V. Rajendranath
Reddy felicitated con-
stable Angani Veerababu
from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
Konaseema district on
Monday for this act with a
cash award as well.“Veer-
ababu’s name has also
been recommended for
‘Prime Minister’s Police
Medal for Life Saving’,”
said an official in a state-
ment on Monday night.
Surrey (Candada): Sameer
Kaushal, an Indian-origin
journalist in Canada, was
heckled by
pro-Khalistan
protesters in
Surrey, Brit-
ish Columbia
on Monday
evening.
Kaushal, in a
Twitter post,
said he was in Surrey to
cover the Indian High Com-
missioner’s visit when a
pro-Khalistani group threat-
ened and roughed him up.
“The Surrey RCMP [police]
remained mute spectators
to this whole affair, even as
the protest turned violent.
Instead of stopping them,
the police kept asking me
to leave for my own safety,”
Sameer Kaushal tweeted.
CRUCIAL
READ
CRACKDOWN AGAINST AMRITPAL SINGH
MoU to enrich lives of 70,000
rural women small farmers
First India Bureau
Patna: A new partner-
ship between Harvest-
Plus and Heifer Inter-
national (Heifer) will
enrich the diets and
lives of 70,000 rural
women and smallhold-
er farmers in Bihar.
HarvestPlus and Heif-
er will work to improve
the nutrition and in-
come generation poten-
tial of rural women and
smallholder farmers.
“Heifer International
believesthatendinghun-
ger and poverty begins
with agriculture, and
smallholder farmers are
attheheartof thiseffort.
I am hopeful that biofor-
tified seeds provided by
HarvestPlus will help
BiharSustainableLiveli-
hood Development pro-
ject farmers increase
their income, improve
their families’ nutrition,
and provide more food
forthelocalmarketplace,
and leading to an end to
hunger and poverty in
Bihar,” said Mahendra
Lohani, Sr Vice Prez,
Asia, Heifer.
IN FULL BLOOM!
Visitors at Tulip Garden after it reopened for the public, in Srinagar on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel flag march amid crackdown against ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh and his aides, in
Jalandhar, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
WILL TAKE SEVEREST ACTION AGAINST THOSE
CONSPIRING TO DISTURB PEACE: PUNJAB CM
Chandigarh (Agencies):
Asserting that the state is in
safe and firm hands, Punjab
Chief Minister Bhagwant
Mann on Tuesday said
severest of severe action is
being taken against those
conspiring to disturb peace,
amity, communal harmony
and brotherhood in the
state. In a video message,
the Chief Minister said Pun-
jab symbolises peace and
progress as from this sacred
land the great Sikh gurus
have given the message
of universal brotherhood
and well-being of every
section to the people. He
said right from the national
freedom struggle to making
the country self-reliant in
foodgrain production and
then in safeguarding the
borders of the nation, people
of Punjab have always led
the country in every field
during the crisis. Mann said
people of Punjab are known
for extending helping hand
to anyone who is in trouble
adding that this land has
shown the path of love and
peace to the world.
Indian envoy in Canada cancels
event due to security concerns
Toronto (PTI): Anevent
to be attended by the In-
dian envoy to Canada in
British Columbia prov-
ince had to be cancelled
due to security concerns
after a violent protest by
Khalistan supporters.
The event had been or-
ganisedonSundayatthe
Taj Park Convention
Centre Surrey to wel-
come the high commis-
sioner of India, Sanjay
Kumar Verma’s first
visit to the west coast.
The event was ulti-
mately cancelled for se-
curity reasons, Global
News, the news and cur-
rent affairs division of
theCanadianGlobalTel-
evisionNetwork,report-
ed.High Commissioner
Verma was scheduled to
attend the event.
Indian-origin jour-
nalist Sameer Kaushal,
who was at the venue to
cover the protest, was
also assaulted by pro-
testers. Kaushal, said
when he arrived at the
venue, he found a large
protest and said demon-
strators would not al-
low him to access the
event.
Sanjay Kumar Verma
Heifer’s Surita Sandosham poses with rural women from Bihar.
THREE MORE ASSOCIATES OF AMRITPAL
BROUGHT TO DIBRUGARH CENTRAL JAIL
Dibrugarh: Three more associates of radical preacher Amrit-
pal Singh, including his uncle Harjit Singh, were brought to
the high security Dibrugarh jail on Tuesday, an Assam Police
official said. Altogether seven members
linked to Amritpal Singh’s ‘Waris Punjab
De’ (WPD) have been brought here since
March 19, including Harjit Singh who was
brought on Tuesday.Two WPD members
identified as Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal and
Gurinder Pal Singh were brought here by
a flight from Delhi and whisked to the Dibrugarh Central Jail
amidst tight security later in the day , the official said. Harjit
Singh was moved to the Dibrugarh jail by road from Guwa-
hati. A cavalcade of seven security vehicles took Harjit Singh
from the Guwahati airport to the Dibrugarh Central Jail.
MAN BOOKED FOR
SUPPORTING
AMRITPAL SINGH
Udham Singh Nagar:
Amid ongoing crackdown
against ‘Waris Punjab
De’ chief Amritpal Singh
carried out by the Punjab
Police, the police in the
nearby state of Uttara-
khand has also registered
a case in Mandhi Chowki
police station of Udham
Singh Nagar district for
sharing a post in support
of Amritpal Singh, said
the police.
RAF, POLICE TAKE
OUT FLAG MARCH
IN JALANDHAR
Jalandhar: Amid the
crackdown against Am-
ritpal Singh, the Punjab
Police and Rapid Action
Force conducted a flag
march to maintain the
law and order at the PNB
Chowk in Punjab’s Jaland-
har on March 21. The se-
curity in the area has been
tightened. Punjab Police
launched the operation
against Amritpal and his
aides on March 18.
KEJRIWAL LAUDS MANN FOR MAINTAINING
LAW ORDER AMID HUNT FOR AMRITPAL
New Delhi (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on
Tuesday lauded Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann for
maintaining the law and order situation in Punjab amid the
ongoing hunt against the Khalistani radical Amritpal Singh.
While addressing the mediapersons, Kejriwal said, “I want to
congratulate Punjab CM hagwant Mann for maintaining the
law and order situation in a patient and mature way.”
2 more aides of Amritpal being brought to Dibrugarh Central Jail
amid tight security, in Dibrugarh, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI
MoS Dr Jitendra Singh](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/firstindiamumbai22032023-230321185610-3cffc9ce/85/First-India-Mumbai-22032023-pdf-7-320.jpg)
First India Mumbai 22032023.pdf
- 1. MAHARASHTRA LOGS 280 NEWnCOV CASES, 1 DEATH Mumbai (PTI): Maharash- tra on Tuesday record- ed 280 new cases of COVID-19 and one fatality due to the infection, taking the tally to 81,40,145 and toll to 1,48,429, an official from the state health department said. The daily count of cases has more than doubled since Monday, when it reported 128 new cases. Accord- ing to an official report, with 7,845 swab samples tested in the last 24 hours, the total number of tests conducted across the state rose to 8,65,57,062. Of the latest cases, Pune circle reported the highest 133 infections, followed by 101 from Mumbai, 14 from Nashik, 10 from Kolhapur, 9 from Nagpur, seven cases from Akola and six from Aurangabad. The only casualty of the day was reported from Latur circle, the report said. Maharashtra politics going the way of UP, Bihar: MNS prez Raj Thackeray First India Bureau Mumbai: Maharashtra NavnirmanSena(MNS) president Raj Thacker- ay has appealed to youth of the state to stake their claim in re- viving politics in Maha- rastra, or risk letting it go the way of “Uttar Pradesh and Bihar”. In an interview on Tuesday, the MNS chief called the state of poli- tics here “dirty” and jibed that he would re- frain from commenting on the current political scenario in his profile as a cartoonist. “A large section of so- ciety has gone out of politics. They got tired of the situation here and settled in other countries after seeing better jobs there. In my mind, they should come back. These things should be taken care of. Otherwise, the matter will get out of control. The political situation of Maharashtra will be similar to that of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,” he said. “Looking at the cur- rent politics in Maha- rashtra, I feel that I am a misfit for politics. I don’t want to say any- thing as a cartoonist looking at the current situation. Today’s po- litical situation in Ma- harashtra is very dirty ,” he added. He also returned to the issue of loudspeak- ers in mosques--an is- sue that seemed to have quieted down in recent months. “Those who speak about Hindutva, should also show their Hindu- ism once. If Saudi (Ara- bia) can stop azaan on loudspeakers, why can’t (Prime Minister Naren- dra) Modi stop them here. I will present a de- tailed position on the matter tomorrow,” he said. LoI only after financial capability is established: Fadnavis First India Bureau Mumbai: Deputy Chief Minister Deven- dra Fadnavis on Tues- day said the Adani group which has won the tender for Dharavi redevelopment will re- ceive the Letter of In- tent (LoI) only after it establishes that it has the financial capabili- ty to execute the pro- ject. He was replying in the Legislative Assem- bly after Congress MLA Varsha Gaikwad, whose constituency in- cludes Dharavi, raised concerns about the project following the allegations of stock manipulation facing the Adani group. Gaikwad also asked if a fresh tender would be floated for the pro- ject. Fadnavis asserted that the tendering pro- cess was transparent. There was a global tender and three par- ties responded to it. The bids of two parties were proper and the highest bidder among them was awarded the contract, he said. “So it is incorrect to say that the process was flawed. The LoI has not been issued yet. This is because it is issued only after all the departments take that decision… There is one decision (yet to be made) from the Ur- ban Development de- partment after which the LoI will be issued,” Fadnavis said. In November 2021, the Adani group emerged as the highest bidder for the 259-hec- tare Dharavi Redevel- opment Project; its winning bid of Rs5,069 crore was more than double that of DLF’s Rs2,025 crore. The tender mentions that the money would be paid upfront and a bank guarantee will be given (by the winning firm), Fadnavis said. “Before issuing the LOI, they (the compa- ny which has won the tender) have to show whether they are fi- nancially capable, they have to show whether the bank is ready to give them money, and deposit a certain amount in a dedicated account,” the deputy CM said, adding, “If they comply with eve- rything, they can exe- cute the project....If they do not, they will not get the LoI,” he added. READ Crucial Crucial www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia MUMBAI l WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2023 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 312 Dy CM responded after Cong MLA Varsha Gaikwad-- whose constituency includes Dharavi-- raised queries on the project following allegations of stock manipulation facing the Adani group Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis MNS president Raj Thackeray MAHATMA GANDHI’S GRANDDAUGHTER USHA PASSES AWAY Mumbai: Mahatma Gandhi’s granddaughter Usha Gokani passed away in Mumbai on Tuesday. Gokani, 89 years, was ail- ing for the last five years and was bedridden for last two years, Mani Bhavan executive secretary Megh- shyam Ajgaonkar said. Union Minister for I&B Anurag Thakur speaks to media at the Parliament House on Tuesday. THAKUR CHANGES HIS MINISTRY’S ‘FORTUNES’, AUCTIONS SLOTS WORTH `1,072CRORE! First India Bureau New Delhi: Known for his management and pragmatic approach to- wards any mission that is delegated to him, Un- ion Minister of Infor- mation and Broadcast- ing Anurag Thakur has created a record, of sorts, regarding the rev- enue collection from DD free dish auction! Renowned channel Bharat24 also auc- tioned for a slot for over `17 cr! Turn to P5 Restore red notice against Choksi: CBI First India Bureau New Delhi: The CBI has asked an Inter- pol body to restore the Red N o t i c e a g a i n s t fugitive diaman- taire Mehul Choksi terming its earlier decision to drop his name from the list had “serious short- comings, procedural violations, over- reach of mandate and mistakes”. HUNT FOR AMRITPAL SINGH ENTERS DAY 4 ‘80,000 COPS, HE STILL ESCAPED?’ Moni Sharma Chandigarh: The Pun- jab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday slammed Punjab police and asked them to sub- mit a status report in their operation against Khalistani leader Am- ritpal Singh. “You have 80,000 cops. What were they doing? How did Amritpal Sin- gh escape?” the HC asked Punjab govern- ment. The court re- marked that this is an intelligence failure of the state’s police. The court’s remarks come amid the Punjab Police action against the Khal- istan leader and mem- bers of his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’. Court asked the state govt ‘how is everyone held, except Singh’. P6 POSSIBLE AVATARS OF AMRITPAL... From hirsute to clean shaven, Punjab Police on Tuesday released possible avatars or looks of fugitive Amritpal Singh, Khalistani leader on run for last 4 days, and hoping that people could help spot him. l HC raps Punjab govt, says it big intel failure l How are all arrested, except Amritpal, asks HC l The next court hearing slated to be after 4 days l 3 aides of Amritpal brought to Dibrugarh jail Days after crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said action was taken against those who at the instance of foreign forces were speaking about disturbing the state’s peace and giving hate speeches. ACTION TAKEN AGAINST ELEMENTS DISTURBING PEACE IN PUNJAB: MANN The Punjab government on Tuesday extended the suspension of mobile internet and SMS services in Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Moga, San- grur and Amritsar’s Ajnala sub-division and a few areas in Mohali till Thursday noon. MOBILE INTERNET SERVICES TO RESUME IN SOME DISTRICTS The Brezza car, in which Amritpal Singh fled, has been recovered by the Police. He was helped by four people. Arms act invoked against 4 who helped Amritpal Singh. —Sukhchain Singh Gill, Punjab IGP NSA INVOKED AGAINST AMRITPAL, PUNJAB GOVT TELLS HC: LAWYER Punjab government on Tuesday informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the stringent National Security Act has been invoked against radical preacher Amritpal Singh, claimed a lawyer. During a hearing on the habeas corpus petition seeking the preacher’s production in court, Justice N S Shekhawat also pulled up the state govt over Amritpal Singh giving police the slip on Saturday and called it an intelligence failure. Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks at the 148th Foundation Day of Arya Samaj, at Talkatora Stadium, in Delhi on Tuesday. P5 SHAH’S HECTIC 8 DAYS AHEAD IN 4 STATES HM will inaugurate Sharda Devi temple in Kupwara district of JK today New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend a series of events in next 8 days for which he will travel to 4 States, in- cluding twice to Karnataka, officials said on Tuesday. The home minister will inaugurate the Sharda Devi temple, located in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, on Wednesday through video conference. The temple has been built by the Shri Sringeri Math and Seva Sharda Samiti Kashmir. MARCH 23 Shah will inaugurate a vedic herit- age portal and virtual music, based on 64 arts, in New Delhi. MARCH 24 He will travel to Karnataka where he will attend conference of southern states and UTs inaugurate various development on drug trafficking and national security in Bengaluru. MARCH 25 HM will travel to Chhattisgarh where he will attend the 84th raising day celebrations of the CRPF, launch the telecast of a news service by Prasar Bharati at Jagdalpur. He will offer prayers at the Aanchalkund Dada Darbar in Chhindwara, MP. MARCH 26 Amit Shah will visit Karnataka where he will inaugurate the Gorata martyrs memorial and memorial of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Bidar. MARCH 28 He will attend the annual day celebrations of the AS- SOCHAM in New Delhi. MARCH 29 Shah will attend the convocation ceremony of 78 Assis- tant Commandants of the CRPF at the CRPF Academy in Gurugram. 6.6 magnitude quake in Af, tremors scare India and Pak Jaipur (FIB): Strong earthquake tremors were felt in northern India including Delhi- NCR, Rajasthan. As per reports quake of 6.6 mag hit countries including Afghanistan, India, Ka- zakhstan, Pak, China. Epicenter is believed to be 90 km from Kalafgan in Afghanistan.There was no immediate re- port of any loss of life. People rush out of their houses as strong earthquake tremors were felt in Jaipur on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY SANTOSH SHARMA HAPPY CHAITRA NAVRATRI HINDU NAV VARSH GREETINGS! ODI WORLD CUP 2023 TO BEGIN ON OCT 5, FINAL NOV 19 OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR MUMBAI BSE SENSEX 58,074.68 445.73 | NSE NIFTY 17,107.50 119.10 KANNADA ACTOR ARRESTED FOR ‘OBJECTIONABLE’ TWEET ON HINDU New Delhi: The 2023 ODI World Cup will start on October 5 with the final taking place on November 19. The report further stated that the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has shortlisted around 12 venues for the tournament and final will be held at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Bengaluru: Popular Kannada actor, Chetan Kumar, also known as Chetan Ahimsa, has been arrested by Bengaluru police following a viral tweet he made about Hindutva. The actor, who is also a Dalit and tribal activist, faces charges of insulting a religion. DELHI BUDGET APPROVED BY MHA, SAY LG OFFICE SOURCES New Delhi: Sources from the lieutenant governor’s office on Tuesday said Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had approved Delhi govt’s budget for fiscal 2023-24 communicated it to AAP administration. This comes amid a disagreement between Centre and city govt.
- 2. NEWS MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY,MARCH 22, 2023 02 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia First India Bureau Pune: The second edi- tion of the Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX- 2023) be- tween India and 23 na- tions of the African continent commenced at Foreign Training Node, Aundh, Pune on Tuesday . According to the of- ficial statement, 100 Participants from Bot- swana, Cameroon, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethi- opia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mo- rocco, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Seychelles, Senegal, Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, Ugan- da, Zambia, Zimbabwe, are attending this unique field training exercise. The partici- pants were addressed by Lt Gen Rakesh Ka- poor, Corps Command- er, Desert Corps. The joint exercise is in keeping with India’s outreach to Africa, which commenced in 2008 through the India- Africa Summit and has been thereafter held in 2015 and 2019. The theme of the exercise is focused on Humanitar- ian Mine Action and Peace Keeping Opera- tions, the official state- ment read. The improvement of interoperability and op- erational readiness for UN peacekeeping mis- sions depends on mili- tary engagement and cooperation among the participating member countries. The objectives of the exercise are to continue to build upon the initia- tives taken to strength- en India - Africa rela- tions, with a focus on enhancing peace and security, to create op- portunities to exchange ideas perspectives, learn from the African experience in coopera- tive security and man- agement of security crisis situations as well as to promote a collabo- rative approach in ca- pacity enhancement of African armies, the press release read. Notably, the Exer- cise is categorically di- vided into four phases. Initially, the trainers are trained. This is fur- ther followed by a Hu- manitarian Mine Ac- tion and a Peace Keep- ing Operations Phase; finally, culminating in a validation exercise to assess the results of the training conducted, the release added. Africa-India joint exercise AFINDEX- 2023 commences in Pune DISPLAY OF STRENGTH The second edition of Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX- 2023) between India and 23 nations of the African continent commenced at Foreign Training Node, Aundh, in Pune on Tuesday. The joint exercise is in keeping with India’s outreach to Africa, which commenced in 2008 through the India-Africa Summit 100 PARTICIPANTS BODY OF 28-YEAR- OLD MAN FOUND IN PALGHAR DISTRICT LATUR MUNICIPAL CORPORATION LAUNCHES TAX COLLECTION DRIVE Latur: The Latur Municipal Corporation has initiated a special drive to collect pending property taxes from citi- zens. The drive will continue until March 31, with the civic body warning of property seizure for defaulters who fail to pay. The corporation is waiving interest on property tax dues during the special drive. On Monday, the corporation disconnected two water connections in the Latur D zone area for non-payment of property tax. Palghar: Body of a 28-year- old man was discovered in the central park of Nalasopara in Palghar. The body was found lying on a bench by local residents on Monday, who informed the police. The deceased has been identified, and police have registered a case of accidental death. The cause of death is currently under investigation. CRUCIAL READ POLICE RESCUE THREE WOMEN FROM PROSTITUTION RACKET IN THANE DIST KALYAN ZONE OF THANE HAS PENDING POWER BILLS OF `127 CR Thane: Police have rescued three women from a spa cen- ter in Kashimira, Thane district, which was being used as a front for a prostitution racket. Two men, who worked as a manager and a sweeper at the facility, were arrested. The owner of the spa center is also facing an FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Immortal Trafficking regulations. Thane: The Kalyan zone of Thane district has pending power bills worth Rs127 crore, according to officials from the Ma- harashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL). An MSEDCL official said, Rs100.33 crore is pending with 3,31,275 consumers, while Rs27.17 crore is pending with 48,225 oth- ers whose electricity sup- ply has been disconnected for non-payment. He also added that MSEDCL offic- es will remain open during the weekend before March 31 to facilitate payment of pending bills. First India Bureau Nagpur: Environmen- tal activist Jadav Pay- eng, popularly known as the “forest man of In- dia”, has said that chil- dren across the globe shouldbetaughttoplant trees by schools and to love mother earth. The Padmashri awardee rued that young minds are not taught to love and respect mother earth at schools. The school curricu- lum across the world should teach the chil- dren to plant trees. Chil- dren should get practi- cal knowledge of plan- tation as it will prove helpful to turn the earth green. While the new National Education Policy of India has in- cluded this aspect, it will take some time to trickle down before it is practised, he told on the sidelines of the C-20 meeting in Nagpur. Payeng said he and a team of 50 people are working on a project to plant trees on 2,000 hec- tares at the Majuli is- land in Assam, which will provide food to ele- phants, rhinoceros and deer in the forest. Ma- juli is a river island in the Brahmaputra river in Assam. Payeng had planted and tended trees on a sandbar of the river Brahmaputra over dec- adesturningitintoafor- est reserve. The forest, called Molai forest after him,islocatednearKok- ilamukh of Jorhat. First India Bureau Mumbai: The Maha- rashtra government is contemplating setting up a network of inform- ers to check illicit liq- uor trade, the state leg- islative Assembly was told. Responding to a question by Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar on Monday, state Excise Minister Shamb- huraj Desai list- ed various steps being taken by the govt in this regard. “We plan to set up an in- formers’ net- work on lines of one the police have. These informers will give information about illicit liquor trade oper- ating in districts. Those who supply informa- tion may also receive monetary rewards, De- sai said. While posing query during question hour, Pawar suggested that the state excise depart- ment can have a net- work of inform- ers to stop illicit liquor trade and a proposal to this effect had been under discussion when he handled the depart- ment. — PHOTO BY ANI ‘Forest man of India' wants tree plantation to be taught at schools Jadav Payeng said that young minds are not taught to love and respect mother earth Illicit liquor: Informers’ network on the cards K’takaborderissueleadsto ruckusinMaharashtraCouncil First India Bureau Mumbai: The Karna- taka government’s deci- sion to block funds al- located by the Maha- rashtra government for border villages with significant Marathi population located in the southern state led to a ruckus in the Legisla- tive Council here on Tuesday . The din occurred af- ter Shiv Sena -Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve questioned the silence of the ruling coalition in Maharash- tra over the Karnataka government’s move. While deputy chair- person of the Legisla- tive Council Neelam Gorhe adjourned the proceedings for 10 min- utes to mark the pro- test, she also observed that the Opposition leaders have behaved “irresponsibly and im- maturely”. Earlier, Danve said the Karnataka govern- ment is stopping funds worth Rs54 crore meant for health benefits from reachingMarathipeople living inborder villages. “The BJP is in power in Karnataka, still no one here in Maharash- tra is objecting to this move. The funds are meant for extending health benefits. It is highly condemnable,” the Leader of the Op- position in the Council said. However, BJP legisla- tors objected to Danve’s remarks. Soon, mem- bers from the treasury benches and the Oppo- sition started arguing loudly over the issue. When Gorhe’s repeat- ed appeals for order bore no fruit, she ad- journed the proceed- ings for 10 minutes at around 1.45 pm. “To mark the protest against the Karnataka government’s act of blocking the funds, I adjourn the Council for 10 minutes but the op- position leaders have behaved irresponsibly and immaturely,” she noted. The Eknath Shinde- BJP government re- cently allocated Rs54 crore for the implemen- tation of the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Aro- gya Yojana in Karnata- ka’s border villages. Amid criticism by Opposition, Karnataka Chief Minister Basa- varaj Bommai had on Wednesday said his gov- ernment would take measures to stop the Maharashtra govern- ment from offering its health insurance scheme in 865 border villages. Opposition leaders including Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal protest outside Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai on Tuesday. Row came after oppn questioned BJP’s silence on southern state’s move to block Maha govt’s benefits to the border villages AT THE CRUX The Eknath Shinde-BJP government recently allocated Rs54 crore for the implementation of the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana in Karna- taka’s border villages with a large Marathi-speaking population. Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai has said his government would take measures to stop the Maharashtra government from offering its health insurance scheme in 865 border villages. First India Bureau Mumbai: A Bharatiya Janata Party legislator sparked a Hindi-Mar- athi debate in the Maha- rashtra Legislative Council after he sought to raise a job-related matter by speaking in Hindi. House proceed- ings are usually con- ducted in Marathi, the state's official language. BJP member Shree- kant Bharatiya ex- pressed concerns say- ing some tech compa- nies are issuing only letters of intent to new- ly recruited employees but delaying their ac- tual joining. However, Maneesha Kayande and Anil Parab from the Shiv Sena (UBT) objected to it on the grounds that Bharatiya was speaking in Hindi instead of Mar- athi. Kayande said, Why is the legislator speaking in Hindi when he himself can speak Marathi well? The en- tire House functions in Marathi, what is the rea- son behind such an act? Inhisdefence,Bharati- ya said, Hindi is our Rashtra Bhasha' (nation- al language), there is nothing wrong in speak- ingit.Kayanderetorted, Hindi has not been rec- ognised as Rashtra Bha- sha'. He should not pro- vide such wrong infor- mation in the House. Parab said, If someone speaks in Hindi and I fail to understand, it is the responsibility of the speaker to translate it into Marathi. The eighth schedule of the Indian Constitu- tion recognises 22 lan- guages. According to Articles 344(1) and 351, these are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hin- di, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Ne- pali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Ta- mil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithi- li and Dogri. Mumbai (PTI): Neelam Gorhe, the Deputy Chairperson of the Ma- harashtra Legislative Council, on Tuesday said state Health Minis- ter Tanaji Sawant should issue a state- ment regarding the cur- rent status of coronavi- rus and use of masks. Gorhe hinted at a re- cent comment made by the ex-chairperson of thestate'sCOVID-19task force, Dr. Sanjay Oak, re- garding the compulsory use of masks in state. The state health minister should make a statement in the legisla- tive Council regarding the use of masks. Dr. Oak has already issued a statement asking peo- ple to wear masks, Gorhe said. The House needs to know the current status of coronavirus, its se- verity, and precautions to be taken to avoid its spread, she said. The state on Monday recorded 128 new cases of coronavirus that took the tally of infec- tions to 81,39,865, which includes 1,48,428 casual- ties. While the current active cases stand at 1,364 active cases. BJPlegislatordraws oppositioncriticism overaddressinHindi The eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution recognises 22 languages. —FILE PHOTO Minister should issue statement on COVID-19 situation: Gorhe —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
- 3. MAHARASHTRA MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY,MARCH 22, 2023 03 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Mercury dips as Mum region sees heavy unseasonal rains First India Bureau Mumbai: A spell of heavy showers in Mum- bai and satellite cities such as Thane, Mira- Bhayander, and Vasai- Virar on Tuesday morn- ing brought down the temperature. The India Meteoro- logical Department at- tributed the heavy un- seasonal rains to west- erly winds and moisture incursion from the Ara- bian Sea. The Colaba observa- tory recorded a mini- mum temperature of 20.6 °C and Santacruz observatory recorded 21.2 °C—a departure of 2.6 °C and 0.3 °C, respec- tively—fromthenormal. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that some parts of Mumbai city andsuburbsrecordedup to 20-25mm of rain be- tween 7 am and 8 am. BMC said the Brihan- mumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) busoperationswerenor- mal, and that bus routes were not changed due to rain or waterlogging an- ywhere in the city . Railway authorities said train services in the city on all three subur- ban corridors main line, harbour line and west- ern line were running normally . “Heavy rain was re- ported in various sec- tions of the Mumbai di- vision, but trains are running smoothly ,” said Shivaji Sutar, chief pub- lic relations officer of Central Railway (CR). However, commuter associations said trains ran late as the day pro- gressed. Local televi- sion channels reported that trains stopped at Sandhurst Road sta- tions of CR’s Kalyan and Harbour Line for a while due to a technical snag at Ray Road. Mean- while, trains between Panvel and CST were also running late by half an hour. The sched- ule of some trains were also changed in Mum- bai, channels reported. RAINFALL BY AREA Mandvi fire station 28mm Memonwada fire station 25mm Byculla fire station 23mm BMC headquarters 19mm Mulund 20mm Bhandup Complex 19mm Dahisar fire station 18mm Chincholi fire station 14mm IMD attributed the wet spell to westerly winds and moisture incursion from the Arabian Sea No hike in taxes as Thane gets `4,370 crore budget First India Bureau Thane: In relief to residents, the Rs4,370 crore budget for fiscal 2023-24 presented by Thane Municipal Commissioner Abhi- jit Bhangar on Tues- day does not propose any hikes in taxes. The budget focuses oncleanliness,health- care, education and pothole-free roads, the civic chief told re- porters, adding that the budget proposes revenue expenditure of Rs2,708.83 crore and capital expenses Rs1,660.00 crore. The Thane Munici- pal Corporation (TMC) has decided to float bonds worth Rs50 crore in the open market for funds, to take advantage of the 13% government sub- sidy available on them, he added. Under the Chief Minister Matrutva Surakasha Yojana, Rs12 crore has been set aside to strength- en maternity homes, he said. The capacity of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa will be in- creased from 500 beds to 1,000, he said, add- ing that Rs10 crore will be provided for the expansion of Van- daniya Balasaheb Thackeray Hospital. In order to boost the educational infra- structure, the civic body plans to start CBSC schools in its limits, while Rs32 crore has been ear- marked for facilities in primary educa- tion, he said. The civic body has allocated Rs77 crore for cluster develop- ment works and there are plans to build tene- ments on government land to accommodate people whose houses will go under redevel- opment, he said. The transport budg- et of Rs230 crore will include introduction of double-deckerbuses and additional electric air-conditioned buses, the civic chief said. The TMC will un- dertake a mega pro- gramme to revamp toilets, which will cov- er more than 900 toi- lets in the city . INFLOW (IN ` CR) Property tax 761.72 Development funds 565.00 Local bodies tax 1,267.79 Water taxes 225.00 Fire taxes 132.00 Estate income 19.65 MAJOR ALLOCATIONS (IN ` CR) Road repairs 300 Improved water supply 100 Zero garbage programme 80 Woman child welfare programmes 33 Integrated city beautification work 30 Disability welfare programmes 14 Maintenance of public toilets 10 First India Bureau Mumbai: The 800-year- old Mahim fort, has now become free of en- croachments as more than 200 hutments in- side it were demolished, the Brihanmumbai Mu- nicipal Corporation (BMC) said on Monday . The civic body has an- nounced the appoint- ment of renowned ar- chitect and archaeologi- cal consultant Vikas Dilawari as a consultant for the restoration of the fort. According to a press release, the fort will be transformed into a tourist attraction. The descendants of King Bimbdev, who es- tablished his kingdom Mahikawati in “Aparant” or north Kon- kan belt of Maharash- tra, built the fort some- where between 1140 and 1241, the release issued by the BMC stated. Squatters have re- portedly taken over a fort on the west coast of the city for several dec- ades. The fort, which is a state-protected monu- ment under the Maha- rashtra Ancient Monu- ment and Archaeologi- cal Sites and Remains Acts, 1960, has been left without security by the excise department. This has raised con- cerns about the safety and preservation of the historical site. People residing in more than 260 hutments inside the fort were qualified for alternate accommodation in a survey conducted for the restoration project, the BMC said. The release said that approximately 3,000 in- dividuals were residing inside the fort. Howev- er, they have now been relocated to areas such as Malad and Malvani. As per the release, some residents had not vacated their huts even after rehabilitation or- ders and were forceful- ly removed with the help of the local police who registered com- plaints against them before the demolition last week. Residents of more than 200 hutments qualified for alternate housing in survey conducted before restoration of 800-yr-old monument The descendants of King Bimbdev had built the fort somewhere between 1140 and 1241 15,253 teen mothers found in 16 tribal districts in 3 years: Min Lodha Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra govern- ment has come across 15,253 adolescent moth- ers in the past three years in 16 tribal-domi- nated districts of the state, Woman and Child Development Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha told the Legislative Council on Tuesday. The minister was re- sponding to a question in the House on child marriages, which is a crime in India. In a written reply, Lodha said: “In 16 trib- al districts in Maha- rashtra, the number of pregnant girls aged less than 18 years was found to be 15,253 (in past three years). The de- partment has set up a three-member commit- tee to gather this infor- mation.” When asked whether the state had reported more than 15,000 child marriages in the last three years and if it could prevent even 10% of it, Lodha in his written reply said it was “partially” true. The minister said child marriage is tradi- tional in certain tribes, making it difficult to identify such cases. The minister admit- ted that according to the National Family Health Survey, Maha- rashtra has reported more incidents of child marriage than Kerala. Between 2019 and 2021, Lodha said, 152 criminal cases have been filed under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of which 136 are in court. Latur: Timely intervention by government authori- ties prevented at least three child marriages—one each in Vadval in Chakur tehsil, Bamani village in Deoni tehsil and Budhoda in Ausa tehsil of Latur district—in one day, officials said. The state Wom- en and Child Development Department said the action was taken based on inputs from ChildLine NGO and other sources, an official said on Mon- day. He said the officials counselled the parents of the three girls and also provided legal assistance. 3 CHILD MARRIAGES STOPPED IN 1 DAY Mahim fort free of encroachments; to be restored as tourist attraction Amruta Fadnavis extortion case: Cops get custody of ‘bookie’ Anil Jaisinghani First India Bureau Mumbai: A court here on Tuesday remanded allegedbookieAnilJais- inghani in police custo- dy till March 27 in a case related to alleged at- tempt to blackmail and bribe Amruta Fadnavis, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Deven- dra Fadnavis’s wife. The court also ex- tended the police re- mand of Jaisinghani’s daughter Aniksha Jais- inghani till March 24. Anil Jaisinghani was nabbed from Gujarat on Monday. He was pro- duced before additional sessions judge DD Al- male here on Tuesday . Mumbai police had on March 16 arrested Aniksha Anil Jaising- hani, a designer, after Amruta Fadnavis ac- cused her of offering a bribe for intervening in a criminal case in which Anil Jaisinghani was involved, and also threatening her. Aniksha was pro- duced before the court on Tuesday at the end of her initial remand. The court extended her custody as police said it was necessary for fur- ther probe. The father-daughter duo have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy and extortion and also under the Prevention of Corruption Act. FAMILY AFFAIR 13 hours 13 godowns later, Thane fire finally doused First India Bureau Thane: The fire that broke out in a godown complex in the Shil Diva area of Thane district on Monday afternoon was doused after 13 hours on early Tuesday . While no casualties were reported, as many as 13 godowns were re- duced to ashes as the storage inventory com- prised combustibles including scrap, rub- ber sheets, wood, plas- tic, and cardboard, of- ficials said. The flames were put out by five fire engines and an equal number of water tankers around 4 am on Tuesday, a disas- ter management cell of- ficial said. Thecauseof theblaze is under investigation. Mumbaikars appeared unfazed by the odd weather as they went about their day armed with umbrellas and raincoats. —PHOTOS BY BHSUHAN KOYANDE PTI Thane Municipal Corporation. —FILE PHOTO About 3,000 people had been squatting in the protected monument. —FILE PHOTO
- 4. FOR INDIAN CINEMA…FILMABHI BAKI HAI he party has just begun. The night is still young. Indian Cinema was BIG and at the global podium… be it Venice, Berlin or Cannes… Indian Cinema was always credited for its make. However, with the success at the Oscar 2023, fully home-grown Indian Cinema has finally tri- umphedagainstall“odds”! Since the Fifties, Indian Cinema has created a rip- ple in the celluloid world. Today, we take a look at the baby steps that Indian cinema in general took post-Independence, un- knowingly that collective- ly India would create a niche (albeit small) in the arena of world cinema. We have several times asked ourselves why was the great dream merchant icon Raj Kapoor so popu- lar in Russia? The answer is perhaps the optimism of the charismatic actor that inspired Russians to brave through their trou- bled times. In the early fifties, just after the devastating war with Germany, the coun- try was still in ruins and people were poor and their lives were full of pri- vations and shortages. But when they saw great- er hardships being faced by the poor from India and too with a smile, it boosted their sagging optimism. So, after watching Awara and Shri 420, Raj Kapoor became a symbol of hope and optimism for the peo- ple of Soviet Union. Also, the common man shares perhaps the same spiritual values as per- haps all Indian movies gives the message of ‘vic- tory of good over evil’. This is perhaps the yearn- ing of every downtrodden soul in the world and it is so eternally bonded. Believe it or not, in the late Eighties this anecdote reveals exactly how big B Subhash’s Disco Dancer was in Russia. When the then USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev visited New Delhi, Prime Minister Ra- jiv Gandhi introduced Amitabh Bachchan as the ‘biggest superstar from India’, but Gorbachev ap- parently said, “But my daughter only knows Mithun Chakraborty .” After Disco Dancer’s re- lease in Soviet Union thea- tres in 1984, Disco Dancer grossed a whopping $76 millioninthatcountry .For the record, that is $100 mil- lion more than what Pad- maavatgrossedworldwide. MithunChakraborty-star- rer Disco Dancer was the highest grossing foreign film in the Soviet Union! BUT THESE WERE IN BITS AND PIECES… Pather Panchali was re- leased in Basusree, a Cal- cutta cinema on August 26, 1955 and received a poor initial response. The screenings started filling up within a week or two, buoyed by word of mouth. It opened again at another cinema, where it ran for seven weeks. A delay in subtitling led to postpone- ment of the UK release till Dec 1957. It went on to achieve great success in the US in 1958, running for eight months at Fifth Avenue Playhouse in New York.WB govt which pro- duced the film earned a profit of $50,000 from its initial US release, and dec- ades later the film grossed $402,723 from its 2015 lim- ited release. Lagan, on its part, made it to a close call at cine- ma’s biggest stage in the world, but missed chance to make the cut. Even as the maestro Ray received the Lifetime Achievement from Oscar, home-gown Indian cinema (as I termed it earlier in this column) had to wait in general for some more time before Naatu Naatu “Trunk Call” of The El- ephant Whisperers made it big at Academy Awards. This year’s unprece- dented night at the Acade- my Awards is a manifesta- tion of years of cerebral and emotive filmmaking without the expectation of any recognition from the West. In recent times, thanks to technology and money power, India has taken major strides in globally communicating through its popular medi- um of cinema and Films likeKantara(Telugu),RRR (Telugu), Pariyerum Peru- mal (Tamil), Sairat (Mar- athi)Mandela(Tamil),and Asuran (Tamil) The El- ephant Whisperers have been enough proof of this trend which has finally ar- rived. It is not that Indian cinema has not received recognition in the past from the Academy . But the recent bumper successes signify the Indian time- tested interests in equality , fraternity, human liberty and justice. These films and recognition will take Indiancinematotheglobal stagewherethesepiecesof art actually belong. After years of sustainable ef- forts, despite being shunned several times, people have sat up and no- ticed our mettle. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL T ROBIN ROY The writer is Senior Journalist and former Managing Editor, First India SOME FILMS THAT WON GLOBAL ACCOLADES…. z SANT TUKARAM (Directed by Vishnupant Govind Damle and Sheikh Fattelal, 1937) Bagged special prize at the Venice Film Festival to become the first film to get global recognition z DO BIGHA ZAMEEN (Directed by Bimal Roy) Won the prestigious Prix Internationale at the 1954 Cannes Film festival z PATHER PANCHALI (Directed by Satyajit Ray) Won a number of awards including the Palme d’Or for Best Human Document at the 1956 Cannes Film festival z MOTHER INDIA (Directed by Mehboob Khan, 1957) Nargis won the best actress award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 1958, it was 1st Indian film which was nominated for Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language film z CHALCHITRO (Directed by Mrinal Sen, 1981) Film won the prestigious Alitalia Prize and the film also in the race for the Golden Lion at the 1981 Venice Film Festival z LAGAAN (Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, 2001) Apart from Mother India Salaam Bombay, Lagaan is the only other film which made it to the final nomination list for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language film category RISE AND RISE OF SOUTH FILMS While Indians did win Oscars in the past, this win was special as it was for the first time that an Indian production and film won the Academy Award. ‘The Slumdog Millionaire’ that won the Best Original Song in 2009 was a predominantly British production. The Naatu Naatu fever had gripped people across the world and the dance sequence have had millions of views on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. OUR NATION’S “RAY” OF HOPE... As India celebrates its historic wins at the Oscar, here's a look at the global icon Satyajit Ray, whose films, literature and art continue to have an impact on audiences across the world. Ray (1921-1991), polymath, polyglot, novelist, short-story writer, il- lustrator, designer and music composer, was one of the most emi- nent film directors of world cinema. His 'Pather Panchali' (Song of the Little Road, 1955) established his position as a major film director, winning him the earliest of the many awards that he was to win throughout his career, culminating in the Lifetime Academy Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Oscars in 1992. The award, which he could not receive in person because he was ailing, was given to him in recognition of his rare mastery of the art of motion pictures and for his profound humanitarian outlook, which has had an indelible influence on filmmakers and audiences throughout the world. PERSPECTIVE MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2023 04 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia SPIRITUAL SPEAK We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. —Buddha Narendra Modi @narendramodi Navroz Mubarak! On this auspicious occasion, I pray for the happiness and good health of everyone. May the year ahead bring greater prosperity and further the spirit of togetherness in our society. TOP TWEETS Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda Greetings to everyone on the joyous occasion of Navroz, may it bring new beginnings and fresh opportunities to all. Wishing everyone a blessed Parsi New Year! here has been a spurt in anti- Muslim senti- ment in Maha- rashtra with Hindutva organisations and some BJP leaders sup- porting rallies organised over the last four months. At these gatherings the Hindutva leaders have been calling for an eco- nomic boycott of Muslims to push them to penury. Early this week right wing organisations held a rally at Mumbai’s Mira Road un- der the Jan Aakrosh Mor- cha where leaders spoke of Islamic aggression in the form of love jihad, land ji- had and conversion. They specifically targeted the Naya Nagar locality in Mira Road for its sizeable 97-98 percent Muslim pop- ulation. The speakers re- ferred to the Muslims as jihadis and asked “where will Hindus seek refuge”. Kajal Hindustani, one of the speakers, explained that the economic boycott of Muslims is one weapon the use of which “cannot be stopped by the political leaders, the Supreme Court or even the media”. Al- though Maharashtra’s BJP government has distanced itself from these rallies, those present at Mira Road included BJP MLA Nitesh Rane, local BJP leaders and members of VHP and Bajrang Dal. Rane said he supported calls for an eco- nomic boycott of Muslims. The Hindu hardliners think that call for econom- ic boycott will not attract censor but it also amounts to hate against a commu- nity just as calling Mus- lims jihadis and issuing open threats to the commu- nity members do. The eco- nomic boycott would tanta- mount to a social boycott of Muslims. The Jan Aak- rosh Morcha’s rallies pose a threat to harmonious co- existence. On the Supreme Court’sordersthespeeches are being recorded by the police. Action will follow based on legal advice. HINDU GROUPS’ CALL FOR ECONOMIC BOYCOTT T There has been a spurt in anti- Muslim sentiment in Maharashtra with Hindutva organisations and some BJP leaders supporting rallies organised over the last four months. At these gatherings, the Hindutva leaders have been calling for an economic boycott of Muslims to push them to penury l Vol 1 l Issue No. 312 l RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701. Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057. Phone 022-46031417. Editor-In-Chief: DrJagdeesh Chandra Editor: Kartikey Dev Singh responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
- 5. To Receive FreeNewspaper PDF Daily Whatsapp: Telegram: Click the above link☝ subscribe us on your preferred platform. https://bit.ly/fiwhatsappmumbai https://t.me/thefirstindiamumbai
- 6. MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY,MARCH 22, 2023 05 INDIA www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia First India Bureau New Delhi: The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned again with the Opposition de- manding a Joint Parlia- mentary Committee probe (JPC) probe into theAdaniissue,andBJP demanding an “unam- biguous apology” from Rahul Gandhi for his re- marks in the UK that democracy in India is “under attack” Mean- while, Opposition MPs protested from the first floor of the Parliament House building on Tues- day, demanding that a Joint Parliamentary Committee be constitut- edtolookintotheallega- tions of fraud and stock manipulation against the Adani Group. BUDGET SESSION OF PARLIAMENT BOTH HOUSES ADJOURNED TILL THURSDAYAMIDRUCKUSAGAIN Opposition MPs raise slogans in Lok Sabha demanding a JPC probe into the Adani issue, on Tuesday. IRRESPONSIBLE OPPN WILFULLY STALLING PARL: PIYUSH GOYAL RAHUL IS PRESENT-DAY MIR JAFAR OF INDIAN POLITY: BJP BJP IS JUST A TENANT, NOT OWNER OF DEMOCRACY: CONG New Delhi: The BJP on Tuesday dubbed Con- gress leader Rahul Gandhi as the “present- day Mir Jafar of Indian polity” who went overseas seeking help from foreign forces to become a ‘nawab’ in India. Stepping up its attack on Ganhi over his democracy in danger remark in London, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra reiterated the demand for an apology. “It would not be an aberration to say that Rahul Gandhi is a present-day Mir Jafar of Indian polity. What he has done in London is the same thing that Mir Jafar did,” Patra said. New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday said the ruling BJP is just a tenant and not the owner of democracy and asserted that hold- ing the govt to account does not amount to criticising the nation. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said that the BJP was resorting to “theatrics” and “drama” to divert country’s attention from the Adani issue. He said the BJP will be seen as “Jai Chands” in history and claimed its ideological forefathers were known apologisers of the British, after the BJP attacked Rahul Gandhi as “Mir Jafar”. New Delhi: Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday ac- cused the Opposition of will- fully stalling Parliament with its “irresponsible” comments and “unfounded” allegations to mislead the country amid global recognition of PM Narendra Modi’s leadership. Goyal, joined by Parliamen- tary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, accused the Opposition of repeatedly insulting Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar by refusing to even meet him. Even on Tuesday, some parties including Con- gress did not attend the meet- ing called by him, he said. New Delhi (PTI): Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday that Maharshi Day- anand Saraswati fear- lessly propagated “swadharma, swabha- sha and swaraj” in the pre-independence era when talking about these was prohibited. By establishing the Arya Samaj, Maharshi Dayanand awakened the soul of the country which had been in slum- ber for years and was the first one after Ved Vyas to bring the Vedas back to their original form, Shah said at its 148th Foundation Day . In the pre-independ- ence era when talking about “swadharma, swabhasha and swaraj” was prohibited, Ma- harshi Dayanand fear- lessly propagated these in the country, he said. Shah said that in spite of having Gujarati as his mother tongue and expertise in San- skrit, he chose Hindi for his writings. Shah said PM Narendra Modi has taken inspiration from the life of Dayanand Saraswati to take the country forward on the path of making it a “vishwa guru”. New Delhi (Agencies): A Delhi court on Tues- day listed, for March 25, former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s bail matter in connection with the now-scrapped excise policycasebeingprobed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Special Judge MK Nagpal of the Rouse Av- enue Court asked the probe agency to file written submissions and relevant judgments. Appearing for CBI, Special Public Prosecu- tor DP Singh said: “It’s not only the mobile phones, files were also destroyed.” The CBI op- posedSisodia’sbailplea, saying that this will compromise and scuttle their investigation. Bhubaneswar (Agen- cies): West Bengal Chief Minister and Tri- namool Congress (TMC)PresidentMama- ta Banerjee arrived in Odisha on Tuesday on a three-day visit. Banerjee arrived at Biju Patnaik Interna- tional Airport where she was received Odis- ha’s Minister of State for Home and Sports, Tusharkanti Behera. Soon after landing, she left for Puri by road with a police escort. She is scheduled to meet Biju Janata Dal (BJD) President and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here on March 23. “Naveen Patnaik Ji is our senior leader. I will meet him,” Banerjee told reporters at the air- port. She also informed that she will offer prayer at Lord Jagan- nath temple in Puri. New Delhi (ANI): The BJP is the world’s most importantforeignpoliti- cal party and it may also be the least understood according to an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal authored by Walter Russell Mead. “India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is,fromthestandpointof Americannationalinter- ests, the most important foreign political party in the world. It may also be the least understood,” the WSJ piece read. BJP , aftersuccessivevictories in 2014, and 2019 is also headed for a repeat vic- tory in 2024, the publica- tion stated, adding that, Indiaisemergingbothas a leading economic pow- er and, along with Ja- pan, as the linchpin of American strategy in the Indo-Pacific. “For the foreseeable future the BJP will be calling the shots in a country without whose help American efforts to balance rising Chi- nese power are likely to fall short,” it added. BJP world’s most important party: Wall Street Journal “Maharshi Dayanand gave first call for independence” Destruction of evidence constant practice, CBI tells Delhi court Union HM Amit Shah during the 148th Foundation Day of Arya Samaj, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Guj Guv Acharya Devvrat also seen. Manish Sisodia being taken to the court. —FILE PHOTO WB CM Mamata Banerjee It is matter of pride for me that I was born in the region from where Maharshi Dayanand came. When the country is celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, we must know it was Ma- harshi who had given the first call for In- dependence. —Amit Shah, Union Home Minister EXCISE POLICY CASE NO INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE FOUND, MANISH SISODIA TELLS COURT New Delhi: Ex-Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on Tues- day told a court he has coop- erated with the CBI investiga- tion into the excise scam case and none of the searches have revealed any incriminat- ing material against him. Sisodia’s counsel, making submissions on his bail plea said his custodial interroga- tion was no longer required and he was not a flight risk. “I am public servant but two other public servants, against whom allegations are graver have not been arrested,” his counsel contended. Didi reaches Odisha, to meet CM Patnaik Chennai: Prime Minis- ter Narendra Modi will visit Chennai on April 8 and inaugurate railway projects, worth Rs 294 crore, including the Chennai-Kovai Vande Bharat express and Tambaram-Sengottai Express. The visit of the PM was announced by the state Public Rela- tions Department on Tuesday but the full de- tails of his itinerary was not yet available. PM Modi had visited Ta- mil Nadu on November 11, 2022 to participate in theGandhigramTrust’s platinum jubilee cele- brations at Dindigul. PM Modi inTN on April 8 to inaugurate railway projects S.No. Auction Auction Round Channels Format Period Period Term Status Language Genre Bucket Reserve Price Auction- No. Date (From) (To) as per Notice Closed Price 1 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Manoranjan TV MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17.1 2 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Manoranjan Grand MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17.8 3 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Shemaroo MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17.7 4 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 The Q MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17.9 5 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Dangal 1 MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17.6 6 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Big Magic MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17.65 7 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 B4U Kadak MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 16.15 8 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Star Utsav Movie MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 16.9 9 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 B4U Movie MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 17.55 10 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Colors Cineplex Superhits MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 17.35 11 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Dhamaka Movies B4U MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 17.35 12 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Zee Anmol Cinema MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 24.05 13 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Sports 18 Khel MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Sports B 10 17 14 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 MTV Beats MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music B 10 17.5 15 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Zee Bioskope MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Bhojpuri Regional B 10 21.1 16 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Mastii MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music B 10 20.25 17 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Zing MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music B 10 17.2 18 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Big Ganga MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music B 10 16.65 19 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 News18 MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 19.75 20 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 R Bharat MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 16.55 21 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 TV9 Bharatvarsh MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 14.55 22 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Zee News MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 15.5 23 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 NDTV India MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 16.55 24 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 ABP News MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 17.1 25 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Zee chitramandir MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Marahi Movie D 6 13.4 26 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Zee Punjabi MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Punjabi GEC D 6 12.35 27 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Fakt Marathi MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Marathi GEC D 6 12.65 28 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Shemaroo Marathibana MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success English Movie D 6 13 29 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Manoranjan Movies MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Punjabi Movie D 6 13.4 30 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Sanskar MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Devotional D 6 14.6 31 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Unique MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Marathi GEC D 6 15.5 32 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Russia Today MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success English International D 6 16 33 67 14-Mar-23 Round 1 Popular TV MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Assamese Regional R1 3 3.05 34 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Sony Wah MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies A 12 20.25 35 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Star Gold Thrill MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies A 12 17.85 36 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Colors Cineplex Bollywood MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies A 12 17.5 37 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Azaad MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 17 38 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Dangal 2 MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 16.8 39 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Shemaroo Umang MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 16.65 40 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Nazara MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 16.6 41 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Manoranjan Prime MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies A 12 16.7 42 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Goldmines MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies A 12 16.7 43 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Ishara MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi GEC A+ 15 16.75 44 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Goldmines Bollywood MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies A 12 16.9 45 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 B4U Music MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies B 10 17.05 46 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Showbox MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music B 10 17.05 47 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 ABZY Cool MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movies D 6 17.05 48 67 14-Mar-23 Round 2 Filamchi MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Bhojpuri Movie B 10 16.7 49 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Dil Se Movies MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 15 50 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Aastha MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music D 6 15.05 51 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Times Now Navbharat MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 15.15 52 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Dhinchaak 2 MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Bhojpuri Movie A 12 15.35 53 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 B4U Bhojpuri MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Bhojpuri Movie B 10 15.05 54 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Bhojpuri Cinema MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Bhojpuri Movie B 10 15.1 55 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 News Nation MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 15.05 56 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 AajTak MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 15.1 57 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 9xm MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Music B 10 15.2 58 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Goldmines Movies MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 15.2 59 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Bharat 24 MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 17.15 60 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Movie Plus MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 16 61 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 ABZY MOVIES MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 17 62 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Enter10 MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi Movie A 12 18.7 63 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 India TV MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 18.65 64 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Good News Today(Tez) MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Hindi News C 7 17.9 65 67 14-Mar-23 Round 3 Sun Marathi MPEG2 1-Apr-23 31-Mar-24 Annual Success Marathi Marathi D 6 18.5 Thakur changes... Under Thakur’s lead- ership, a total of 65 channels took part in the auction and a rev- enue collection of Rs 1,072 crore was gener- ated by the Ministry through auction to these channels. Nota- bly, in the year 2022, the revenue collection was only Rs 657 crore. In fact, such was the excitement around the auction that even though it was held on weekend - Saturday and Sunday - the auc- tion received wide- spread participation. Moreover, on Sunday itself, 13 slots were auctioned while on Saturday, 14 slots were auctioned. Re- nowned channel Bharat24 also auc- tioned for a slot for over Rs 17 crore! Thus, probably for the first time in the history of DD FREE DISH, such a huge rev- enue jump has been registered and as a re- sult, individuals asso- ciated with the media industry are congratu- lating Anurag Thakur! FROM PG 1
- 7. MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY,MARCH 22, 2023 06 INDIA www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia GUJ: DOLPHINS’ POCHING SHOCKS FOREST OFFICIALS Gandhinagar: Days after 10 fishermen from other states were nabbed for poaching dolphins and sharks off Gujarat coast, state Forest Department has decided to conduct regular patrolling in the coastal waters. It will be done in coordination with the Indian Coast Guard, Marine Police and Customs, Forest Minister Mulubhai Bera said in Assembly on Tuesday. Congress MLA Arjun Modhwadia sought to know what steps state govt was taking to save species. 14 COWS KILLED IN TELANGANA ROAD ACCIDENT Hyderabad: Fourteen cows were killed when a bus rammed a cattle herd in Nalgonda dis- trict on Tuesday. The accident occurred on Addanki-Narketpally highway near Bugga- bavigudem village.The coming to Hyderabad from Chennai hit the cattle herd when it was crossing the road.The coming to Hyderabad from Chennai hit the cattle herd when it was crossing the road.The farmer has suffered a loss of Rs 7 lakh. First India Bureau Devasthal: Union Min- ister of State (MoS) Dr Jitendra Singh on Tues- day inaugurated Asia’s largest 4-metre Interna- tional Liquid Mirror Telescope at Devasthal in Uttarakhand in the presence of Uttara- khand Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmeet Singh. Speaking after the launch, Dr Singh said, it is primarily the patron- age, promotion and pri- oritization from PM Narendra Modi that has enabledandemboldened the scientific fraternity to successfully try new initiatives, one after the other, in the field of sci- ence, technology and in- novation, which are be- ing rated as world class. Not only PM Modi has given us the motivation to move ahead but also given the freedom to ex- plore hitherto lesser ex- plored areas like Space which has been opened up for private players or India’s oceans whose vast resources are wait- ing to be unfolded. Today’s landmark event, Dr Singh said, places India at a differ- ent and a much higher level of capabilities to study the mysteries of the skies and astrono- my, and to share the same with the world. Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observa- tional Sciences (ARIES) announced that the world-class 4-metre In- ternational Liquid Mir- ror Telescope (ILMT) is now ready to explore the deep celestial sky . It achieved its first light in the 2nd week of May 2022. The telescope is located at an altitude of 2450 metre at the Dev- asthal Observatory campus of ARIES, an autonomous institute. India gets Asia’s largest 4-mtre ILMT WORLD-CLASS Chandigarh (ANI): Fugitive pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh used several vehicles and changed his outfits while he was fleeing the police net during the crackdown on Saturday . As the hunt to arrest Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh is un- derway, Punjab IGP Sukhchain Singh Gill addressed the media and said the Brezza car, in which Amritpal Sin- gh fled, has been recov- ered by the police. He said Arms Act has been invoked against four people who helped him. “An important fact has come to light that Amritpal Singh, after fleeing, visited the Gu- rudwara in Nangal Am- bian village (in Jaland- hardistrict)andchanged hisclothesbeforefleeing again. This came to be knowninquestioningof thefourpeoplewhohave been nabbed.” Givingupdate,hesaid, “National Security Act (NSA) has been invoked against Amritpal Singh. A non-bailable warrant has been issued against him on March 18.” “Police is working as per law. People have suspicions, but the prime accused (Amrit- pal Singh) has not been arrested yet. As soon as the arrest is made, we will inform you,” he concluded. Earlier on Tuesday, the Punjab and Hary- ana High Court slammed the Punjab po- lice and questioned how Amritpal Singh had given them the slip re- peatedly. “You have 80,000 cops. What were they doing. How did Amritpal Singh es- cape?,” the High Court asked the Punjab gov- ernment. The court called it an intelligence failure.The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) instructed the chiefs of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Sa- shastra Seema Bal (SSB) to be vigilant in the international bor- der regions of Punjab, India-Nepal, among others, in an effort to halt Amritpal Singh’s escape. The development took place Punjab Po- lice on March 18 launched a statewide search operation to nab Amritpal Singh and his close aides who at- tempted to disrupt the law and order situation in the state. CARINWHICHWPDCHIEFFLEDFOUND Punjab Police said that Amritpal visited Gurdwara and changed clothes before fleeing again; Police said that Amirtpal was helped by four people and they have been booked under the Arms Act, hunt is on for Amritpal MAOISTS TORCH VEHICLES AT BRICK KILN IN JHARKHAND AP COP FETED FOR SAVING WOMAN FROM DROWNING RADICALS HECKLE INDIAN-ORIGIN JOURNALIST KAUSHAL Medininagar: Five tractors at a brick kiln were set ablaze by LWEs in Mao- ist-affected in extremist-hit Palamu district, a police official said. A group of about 40 armed members of the banned Tritiya Sam- melan Prastuti Committee (TSPC) forced their way to the kiln at Kanda village on Monday night and took away several workers as hostages before they torched the tractors, Palamu superintendent of police Chandan Kumar Sinha said. The Maoists, who had their faces cov- ered, fled the scene after the crime. It is suspected that the incident took place to extort money, he said. Amaravati: A police constable was feted by the Andhra Pradesh government for gallantly rescuing a woman who jumped into the Godavari river to commit suicide recently. Andhra Pradesh director general of police (DGP) K. V. Rajendranath Reddy felicitated con- stable Angani Veerababu from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district on Monday for this act with a cash award as well.“Veer- ababu’s name has also been recommended for ‘Prime Minister’s Police Medal for Life Saving’,” said an official in a state- ment on Monday night. Surrey (Candada): Sameer Kaushal, an Indian-origin journalist in Canada, was heckled by pro-Khalistan protesters in Surrey, Brit- ish Columbia on Monday evening. Kaushal, in a Twitter post, said he was in Surrey to cover the Indian High Com- missioner’s visit when a pro-Khalistani group threat- ened and roughed him up. “The Surrey RCMP [police] remained mute spectators to this whole affair, even as the protest turned violent. Instead of stopping them, the police kept asking me to leave for my own safety,” Sameer Kaushal tweeted. CRUCIAL READ CRACKDOWN AGAINST AMRITPAL SINGH MoU to enrich lives of 70,000 rural women small farmers First India Bureau Patna: A new partner- ship between Harvest- Plus and Heifer Inter- national (Heifer) will enrich the diets and lives of 70,000 rural women and smallhold- er farmers in Bihar. HarvestPlus and Heif- er will work to improve the nutrition and in- come generation poten- tial of rural women and smallholder farmers. “Heifer International believesthatendinghun- ger and poverty begins with agriculture, and smallholder farmers are attheheartof thiseffort. I am hopeful that biofor- tified seeds provided by HarvestPlus will help BiharSustainableLiveli- hood Development pro- ject farmers increase their income, improve their families’ nutrition, and provide more food forthelocalmarketplace, and leading to an end to hunger and poverty in Bihar,” said Mahendra Lohani, Sr Vice Prez, Asia, Heifer. IN FULL BLOOM! Visitors at Tulip Garden after it reopened for the public, in Srinagar on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel flag march amid crackdown against ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh and his aides, in Jalandhar, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI WILL TAKE SEVEREST ACTION AGAINST THOSE CONSPIRING TO DISTURB PEACE: PUNJAB CM Chandigarh (Agencies): Asserting that the state is in safe and firm hands, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said severest of severe action is being taken against those conspiring to disturb peace, amity, communal harmony and brotherhood in the state. In a video message, the Chief Minister said Pun- jab symbolises peace and progress as from this sacred land the great Sikh gurus have given the message of universal brotherhood and well-being of every section to the people. He said right from the national freedom struggle to making the country self-reliant in foodgrain production and then in safeguarding the borders of the nation, people of Punjab have always led the country in every field during the crisis. Mann said people of Punjab are known for extending helping hand to anyone who is in trouble adding that this land has shown the path of love and peace to the world. Indian envoy in Canada cancels event due to security concerns Toronto (PTI): Anevent to be attended by the In- dian envoy to Canada in British Columbia prov- ince had to be cancelled due to security concerns after a violent protest by Khalistan supporters. The event had been or- ganisedonSundayatthe Taj Park Convention Centre Surrey to wel- come the high commis- sioner of India, Sanjay Kumar Verma’s first visit to the west coast. The event was ulti- mately cancelled for se- curity reasons, Global News, the news and cur- rent affairs division of theCanadianGlobalTel- evisionNetwork,report- ed.High Commissioner Verma was scheduled to attend the event. Indian-origin jour- nalist Sameer Kaushal, who was at the venue to cover the protest, was also assaulted by pro- testers. Kaushal, said when he arrived at the venue, he found a large protest and said demon- strators would not al- low him to access the event. Sanjay Kumar Verma Heifer’s Surita Sandosham poses with rural women from Bihar. THREE MORE ASSOCIATES OF AMRITPAL BROUGHT TO DIBRUGARH CENTRAL JAIL Dibrugarh: Three more associates of radical preacher Amrit- pal Singh, including his uncle Harjit Singh, were brought to the high security Dibrugarh jail on Tuesday, an Assam Police official said. Altogether seven members linked to Amritpal Singh’s ‘Waris Punjab De’ (WPD) have been brought here since March 19, including Harjit Singh who was brought on Tuesday.Two WPD members identified as Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal and Gurinder Pal Singh were brought here by a flight from Delhi and whisked to the Dibrugarh Central Jail amidst tight security later in the day , the official said. Harjit Singh was moved to the Dibrugarh jail by road from Guwa- hati. A cavalcade of seven security vehicles took Harjit Singh from the Guwahati airport to the Dibrugarh Central Jail. MAN BOOKED FOR SUPPORTING AMRITPAL SINGH Udham Singh Nagar: Amid ongoing crackdown against ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh carried out by the Punjab Police, the police in the nearby state of Uttara- khand has also registered a case in Mandhi Chowki police station of Udham Singh Nagar district for sharing a post in support of Amritpal Singh, said the police. RAF, POLICE TAKE OUT FLAG MARCH IN JALANDHAR Jalandhar: Amid the crackdown against Am- ritpal Singh, the Punjab Police and Rapid Action Force conducted a flag march to maintain the law and order at the PNB Chowk in Punjab’s Jaland- har on March 21. The se- curity in the area has been tightened. Punjab Police launched the operation against Amritpal and his aides on March 18. KEJRIWAL LAUDS MANN FOR MAINTAINING LAW ORDER AMID HUNT FOR AMRITPAL New Delhi (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday lauded Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann for maintaining the law and order situation in Punjab amid the ongoing hunt against the Khalistani radical Amritpal Singh. While addressing the mediapersons, Kejriwal said, “I want to congratulate Punjab CM hagwant Mann for maintaining the law and order situation in a patient and mature way.” 2 more aides of Amritpal being brought to Dibrugarh Central Jail amid tight security, in Dibrugarh, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI MoS Dr Jitendra Singh
- 8. MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY,MARCH 22, 2023 07 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Commodity Price Change % Chg GOLD 59,480.00 470.00 0.79 (Per 10g) SILVER 68,550.00 420.00 0.61 (Per 1kg) COMMODITIES Currency Price Change % Chg USDINR 82.66 0.10 0.12 GBPINR 101.28 0.52 0.51 CURRENCIES Domestic tyre industry back on growth path New Delhi (PTI): Domes- tic tyre industry is expect- ed to witness double-digit growth next fiscal with the automobile industry back on full swing, JK Tyre Chairman and MD Raghu- pati Singhania said. JK Tyre, which on Tues- day introduced a tyre brand -- Levitas Ultra -- to cater to the luxury car seg- ment, is also expected to follow the industry growth path and report a double- digit sales growth next fi- nancial year, he noted. “Tyre industry had un- dergone a bit of a rough patch in the last couple of years back when the auto industry was in a bit of a slowdown due to Covid and all that... Now with the eco- nomic activity improving the tyre industry is coming back on full swing,” Sing- hania said. He noted that demand remains strong across most segments of the domestic automobile industry . SAYS JK TYRE MD MAJOR HIGHLIGHT z According to JK Tyre Chairman and Managing Director, Tyre industry had undergone a bit of a rough patch in the last couple of years back when the auto industry was in a bit of a slowdown due to Covid and all that... Now with the economic activity improving the tyre industry is coming back on full swing business BRIEFS New Delhi: Bank of Baro- da promoted IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company (IndiaFirst Life) has re- ceived capital markets regulator Sebi’s approval to float Initial Public Of- fering (IPO). The IPO comprises a fresh issue of up to `500 crore along with an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 14,12,99,422 equity shares by the promoters and existing shareholders of the company. Bank of Baroda will sell 8,90,15,734 equity shares. —PTI INDIAFIRST LIFE INSURANCE GETS SEBI’S NOD FOR IPO New Delhi: State-owned NMDC on Tuesday said it has hiked price of iron ore lumps by `100 to `4,500 per tonne with immediate effect. The country’s larg- est iron ore miner has also increased rate of iron ore fines by `200 to `4,110/tonne, NMDC said. The prices are effec- tive from Tuesday and ex- clude royalty, district min- eral fund (DMF), National Mineral Exploration Trust (DMET), cess, forest per- mit fee and other taxes, the company said. Lump ore or high-grade iron ore contains 65.53% Fe (iron), while fines are in- ferior grade ore with 64% and less Fe content. —PTI NMDC HIKES IRON ORE LUMP RATE BY `100 PER TONNE Kolkata: Japanese car maker Honda will intro- duce one new product every year for the next three to five years to raise its market share in the In- dian market, a company official said. Honda Cars India presently has two models in the country, a compact sedan and a se- dan. “We are going to launch one new model every year for the next three to five years. These could be either new mod- els or variants”, a Honda Cars official said. —PTI HONDA TO LAUNCH NEW CAR EVERY YR TILL 2028 IN INDIA New Delhi: Gold price plunged by `470 to `59,480 per 10 grams in the national capital on Tuesday amid weak global trends, according to HDFC Securities. In the previous trade, the yellow metal had closed at `59,950 per 10 grams. Silver also declined `420 to `68,550 per kilo- gramme. “Spot gold pric- es in the Delhi markets traded at `59,480 per 10 grams, down `470 per 10 grams,” Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst - Com- modities at HDFC Securi- ties, said. —PTI GOLD PLUNGES BY `470/10 GM; SILVER DECLINES `420/KG *Rates till the edition went to print. TURKISH AIRLINES LOOKING FOR COOPERATION WITH AI New Delhi: Turkish Airlines is looking for cooperation with Air India as the carrier looks to expand in the Indian market. At present, Turkish Air- lines is closely cooperating with IndiGo. Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi pitched for more cooperation with Indian carriers and said that it can cooperate with Air India as that will also support both counties as well as tourism. “We are not getting enough (of Indian market)... We are trying to expand. This is the time for Turkish Airlines to expand operations in India,” he said. —PTI INDIA EXPLOITED 29% OF HYDROPOWER POTENTIAL: POWER MIN New Delhi: India has exploited 29% of its hydropower poten- tial against over 80% and 70% developed by the US and European Un- ion respective- ly, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. The assessed hydropower po- tential in the country is about 1,45,320 MW (for projects with capacity above 25 MW), Power Minister R K Singh said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Singh said that 42,104.6 MW (29%) out of 1,45,320 MW has been developed and 15,023.5 MW (10.3%) is under construction. —PTI AT `10.89 LAKH, HYUNDAI’S NEW VERNA HOTS UP COMPETITION IN MID-SIZE SEDAN SEGMENT New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India on Tuesday introduced a new version of its mid-sized sedan Verna in the country priced between `10.89 lakh and `17.37 lakh (ex-show- room), hotting up the competition in the segment. The new Verna competes with the likes of Honda City, Skoda Slavia, Volkswagen Virtus and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz in the domestic market. The 1.5 litre trims of the 6th generation Verna are priced between `10.89 lakh and Rs 16.19 lakh while the 1.5 litre turbo petrol variants, which come with enhanced power, are priced between `14.83 lakh and `17.37 lakh (all prices ex-showroom). —PTI UNTIMELY RAINS, HAIL NOT IMPACTED STANDING RABI CROPS MUCH: AGRICULTURE MINISTER New Delhi: Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday said there is not much impact on standing rabi crops like wheat due to the current untimely rains and hailstorm, as per preliminary report. “There is not much impact on rabi crops as per the preliminary assessment. We are yet to receive a ground report from the state governments,” Tomar said. Wheat is the main rabi crop, harvesting of which is underway in some states. Mustard and chickpea are other major rabi crops. —PTI OTHER STORIES CUSHION IN UNCERTAIN TIMES GDP at 7%; inflation to level out New Delhi (PTI): Indian economy is expected to grow at 7% in FY23 despite global headwinds while re- tail inflation would moder- ate in line with wholesale inflation which fell to a 25-month low in January, the Finance Ministry said. Supported by the gains from high services exports, the moderation in oil pric- es, and the recent fall in import-intensive consump- tion demand, India’s cur- rent account deficit is esti- mated to fall in FY23 and FY24, providing a buffer to the rupee in uncertain times, Monthly Economic Review by the ministry said. This will provide a much- needed cushion to India’s external sector at a time when the Fed is likely to raise rates further and en- sure that India’s external finances are not a major cause of concern, it said. The jump in net service exports over the previous year is a critical develop- ment as India increases its market share in both IT and non-IT services, whose de- mand has been triggered by the pandemic, it said, add- ing, imports are also less costly now with the easing of globalcommodityprices. “With a manageable cur- rent account deficit and a growth rate highest among the major economies in FY23, the Indian economy has shown a new-found re- silience in sailing through the turbulence caused by the pandemic and geopo- litical stress,” it said. Macroeconomic stability is likely to receive a further boost in FY23 as the cur- rent account deficit is set to narrow from the year-be- ginning estimates, it add- ed. With regard to growth, the report said, real GDP estimates for Q3 of 2022-23 reaffirm the ability of the Indian economy to grow on the strength of its domestic demand even as a rise in global uncertainties slows global output. Indian economy wit- nessed a growth of 4.4% in the third quarter that end- ed in December 2022. Growth momentum gathered in Q3 of 2022-23 is likely to be sustained in Q4, as reflected in the perfor- mance of High-Frequency Indicators for January/ February 2023, it said. TOP TALKING POINTS z Indian economy is expected to grow at 7% in FY23 despite global headwinds while retail inflation would moderate in line with wholesale inflation which fell to a 25-month low in January z India’s current account deficit is estimated to fall in FY23 and FY24 Govt not in favour of putting caps on airfares: Bansal New Delhi (PTI): The gov- ernment is not in favour of interfering in a free market economy by putting caps on airfares, Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal said on Tuesday amid con- cerns over possible preda- tory pricing of air tickets. “Fundamentally, putting (fare) caps and interfering in the market economy is not good and we are not in favour of it. We are not in favour of putting lower or upper caps. I don’t think the government should in- terfere in a free market economy at all...,” he said. India’s 1.7% spend on transport upgrade to set stage for $5 tn eco New Delhi (PTI):Indiawill spend a whopping 1.7% of its GDP on transport infra- structurethisyear--around twice the level in America and most European coun- tries -- a feat that has been noticed even by The Econo- mist which called it ‘eye- watering’ upgrade that will set stage to achieve a $5 tril- lion economy . The Modi government has allocated `2.4 lakh crore for railways capital expenditure, nine times higher than the amount in the financial year 2013-14. The funds will mostly be spent on building tracks, new coaches, electrifica- tion, and developing facili- ties at stations. Allocation for roads has jumped 36% to `2.7 lakh crore for 2023-24. There is also the focus on reviving 50 additional airports, heli- ports, water aerodromes and advance landing grounds for improving re- gional air connectivity . The unprecedented in- frastructural makeover at such sheer scale and speed will help India fulfil its am- bition to turn into a $5 tril- lion economy by 2025-26, up from $3.5 trillion today , The Economist said in its issue. Windfall tax on diesel export hiked to `1/L New Delhi (PTI): The gov- ernment has hiked the windfall profit tax on ex- port of diesel to `1 per litre while the levy on domesti- cally produced crude oil has been cut by a fifth, ac- cording to an official order. The levy on crude oil produced by companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has been reduced to `3,500 per tonne from `4,400 per tonne, the order dated March 20 said. The government raised the tax on export of diesel to `1 per litre from Rs 0.50, and the same on overseas shipments of ATF remains at nil. The new tax rates come into effect from March 21, the order said. Crude oil pumped out of the ground and from below the seabed is refined and converted into fuels like petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF). The tax rates are reviewed every fortnight based on average oil prices in the previous two weeks. RE capacity reaches 168.96 GW till Feb 2023 New Delhi (PTI): India’s total installed renewable energy capacity touched 168.96 GW mark by Febru- ary 2023-end, Parliament was informed on Tuesday . Out of the total 168.96 GW , 64.38 GW is solar power capacity, 51.79 GW hydro, 42.02 GW wind and 10.77 GW bio power, R K Singh, Union Minister for Power, New and Renewable Ener- gy, said. Another 82.62 GW of green energy capacity is under implementation and 40.89 GW of capacity is un- der various stages of ten- dering, he said. A total of 3,16,754.86 MU of electricity has been gen- erated from renewable en- ergy sources. 6 Indian start-ups among world’s top 100 unicorns New Delhi (FIB): India, which has the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, is home to 6 of the world’s top 100 unicorns, ac- cording to a report released by the Credit Suisse Re- searchInstitute onTuesday . The 6 Indian startups that feature on the global top 100 unicorns’ list in- cludes BYJU’s, Swiggy, OYO Rooms, Dream11, Ra- zorpay, and Ola Cabs. Val- ued at $22 billion at the end of December 2022, edtech platform BYJU’s is India’s most valued startup and world’s 12th. Sensex, Nifty rebound nearly 1% Mumbai (PTI): Bench- mark Sensex and Nifty re- bounded nearly 1% at close on Tuesday amid firm trends in global equities and buying in index major Reliance Industries and banking stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 445.73 points or 0.77% to settle at 58,074.68. During the day, it rallied 504.38 points or 0.87% to 58,133.33. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 119.10 points or 0.70% to settle at 17,107.50. Among the Sensex stocks, Reliance Industries climbed the most by 3.11% Bajaj Finance, Titan, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, Larsen Toubro, HDFC Bank, HDFC and Kotak Mahin- dra Bank were among the other major winners. Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Infosys and Asian Paints were among the big- gest laggards. In Asia, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai mar- kets ended higher. ` FALLS 10 PAISE TO 82.66 AGAINST US $ Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated by 10 paise to 82.66 against the US dollar on Tuesday amid a rise in crude oil prices and unabated for- eign fund outflows from the domestic equity market. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened strong at 82.54 against the dollar. During the day, it went as high as 82.53 and hit the lowest level of 82.70. It finally settled at 82.66 (provisional) against the American currency, registering a fall of 10 paise against its previous close.
- 9. MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY,MARCH 22, 2023 08 2NDFRONT www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Leadership and true success is about doing what’s right not about what’s easy. — Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India First India Bureau Mumbai: Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has termed the Legislative Assem- bly’s disciplinary panel “against natural justice and parliamentary democracy”. The 15-member breach of privilege committee was formed after Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atul Bhat- khalkar submitted a breach of privilege no- tice to Speaker Rahul Narwekar after the Thackeray camp MP al- legedly called the “vi- dhimandal” (legisla- ture) a “chormandal” (a body of thieves), up- setting lawmakers across party lines. The privilege com- mittee members served a breach of privilege notice to Raut and also asked him to file a reply to them in the incident. In response to the no- tice, Raut earlier by- passed the privilege committee and sent his reply in a letter direct- ly to the Speaker. In his reply to the breach of privi- lege notice against him, Raut said, “The govern- ment is unconsti- tutional and those who are part of the committee have disqualifica- tion notice against them pending be- fore the Supreme Court. Those who objected and com- plained against me are part of the panel, who are also my politi- cal opponents. This is against natural justice and parliamentary democracy .” Raut in his letter to Narwekar said that he has been a Rajya Sabha MP and knows the im- portance of the Assem- bly, adding that his statements were direct- ed towards only a spe- cific group (Shinde camp) and not all MLAs. Raut said he has the highest regard and re- spect for Maharashtra Legislature and will never make any com- ments which will affect the prestige of the Ma- harashtra Legislature. Raut objects to Assembly disciplinary panel, calls it against ‘parl democracy’ MP bypasses panel, sends reply directly to Speaker Narwekar in breach of privilege inquiry Sanjay Raut —FILE PHOTO West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee —FILE PHOTO The government is unconstitutional and those who are part of the committee have disqualification notice against them pending before the Supreme Court. Those who objected and complained against me are part of the panel, who are also my political op- ponents. This is against natural justice and parliamentary democracy. —Sanjay Raut, MP, Shiv Sena - UBT First India Bureau Mumbai: State minis- ter Dada Bhuse on Tuesday claimed Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasa- heb Thackeray (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut’s loyal- ties lie with NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Speaking in the Leg- islative Assembly, Bhuse said Raut be- came a Rajya Sabha MP on votes of “gaddars” (traitors)—the term Ud- dhav Thackeray led- Shiv Sena faction uses to taunt Eknath Shinde and 39 rebel MLAs— and dared the parlia- mentarian to resign. Bhuse is part of the Shiv Sena led by CM Shinde. The minister was referring to a tweet in which Raut alleged Bhuse collected shares worth Rs178.25 crore from farmers in the name of a company, but its website shows only Rs1.67 lakh shares against 47 members. Bhuse said he would quit politics if he is foundguilty ,butif theal- legationsarewrongthen Raut should quit as Ra- jya Sabha MP and editor of Saamana. Nationalist Congress Party leader and Leader of Opposition, Ajit Pa- war, objected to Bhuse’s reference to his uncle and party chief Sharad Pawar, and demanded theremarksbeexpunged from the record. Raut’s loyalties are with Sharad Pawar: Sena’s Dada Bhuse Dada Bhuse —FILE PHOTO Bhuse dared Raut to resign as the votes of ‘gaddars’—a UBT taunt for Shinde-group MLAs—had made him MP National anthem ‘disrespect’ case: Mamata moves HC First India Bureau Mumbai: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday movedtheBombayHigh Court against a special court’s order which di- rected a magistrate to decide afresh a plea seeking that a First In- formation Report (FIR) be registered against her for allegedly disre- specting the national anthem. Ametropolitanmagis- trate’s court here had in March 2022 issued a summonstoBanerjeeon acomplaintfiledbylocal BJP functionary Vive- kanand Gupta, who claimed that the WB CM had remained seated when the national an- them began during a functionattheYashwan- traoChavanAuditorium here in December 2021. The complaint also says that Banerjee later stood up, and sang two verses, butstoppedabruptlyand left the venue. The West Bengal chief minister chal- lenged the issuance of summons before a spe- cial court for cases against MPs and MLAs. This past January, specialjudgeRNRokade set aside the summons on procedural grounds and asked the magis- tratetoconsiderGupta’s complaint afresh. Banerjee, in her plea before the high court, contended that the spe- cial court should have quashed the summons once and for all, and not remanded the case back to the magistrate. Her application is likely to be heard by a single judge of the high court on March 27. Gupta’s contention is that Banerjee commit- ted an offence under the Prevention of In- sults to National Hon- our Act, 1971. Man attempts to extort `10 crore from Union Min Gadkari via call to his office FOCUSED ATTACKS? First India Bureau Nagpur: Security was increased at Union minister Nitin Gadka- ri’s home and office in Nagpur on Tuesday af- ter a man made three calls threatening to harm the senior BJP leader if Rs10 crore was not paid to him, a police official said. The caller identified himself as one Jayesh Pujari, alias Jayesh Kantha, the same per- son whose name had been used to make sim- ilar calls to the minis- ter’s office in January, he said. Rahul Madane, Dep- uty Commissioner of Police (zone II), said three calls, two in the morning and one around 12 noon, were made to Gadkari’s pub- lic relations office, op- posite Orange City Hos- pital in Nagpur. The person demand- ed Rs10 crore and threatened to harm the minister, who holds the portfolio of road trans- port and highways, if the money was not paid, he said. After be- ing alerted by Gadka- ri’s staff, the city police have started an investi- gation, he said. Securi- ty has been beefed up at the minister’s home and office, said the DCP. On January 14, a man identifying him- self as Pujari had made threat calls to Gadka- ri’s public relations of- fice, demanding Rs100 crore. The caller claimed that he was a member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang. Pujari, who is lodged in Hindalga jail in Kar- nataka’s Belagavi after being sentenced to death in a murder case, had denied his involve- ment in the calls. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari with BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma and BJP leader Ramvir Singh Bidhuri during a visit to inspect the progress of the Urban Extension Road Project (UER-II), last week. —FILE PHOTO Man booked for circulating posts with references to Nitin Gadkari Nagpur: The cyber cell of Nagpur police has registered a case against a man for allegedly posting of- fensive comments on social media which had references to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. According to the police, the accused, Dattatray Joshi, made certain references to Gadkari in the posts circulated on WhatsApp. On learning about this, Gadkari's office, through Twitter, urged the cyber police to register a case. A representative of the senior BJP leader's of- fice in Nagpur later filed a complaint with the police and demanded strict action against the person who circulated the posts. Accordingly, a case was registered under the Indian Penal Code and the Informa- tion Technology Act. Mumbai (PTI): Wing Commander Jag Mohan Nath (retd), the Indian Air Force veteran who flew numerous recon- naissance sorties over Tibet and Pakistan in his Canberra aircraft in the 1962 and 1965 wars, passed away in Mumbai on Tuesday . The octogenarian, called “Jaggi” by his Air Force colleagues, was twice the recipient of Maha Vir Chakra gal- lantry honour. Six decades ago, when he leapt into his Can- berra, a twin-engine jet bomber fitted with cam- eras, and flew into Paki- stan on a top-secret mis- sion, then Squadron Leader Jag Mohan Nath already had a Maha Vir Chakra awarded to him for his 1962 war opera- tions. He won his second three years later. First India Bureau Nashik: Many districts have been hit hard due to unseasonal rains and hailstorms, leaving farmers in a financial crisis. While the ques- tion was being raised as to who will assess the loss of the farmers, Ag- riculture Minister Ab- dul Sattar visited Niphad taluka of Na- shik district on Tuesday evening. However,thevisithad farmes asking what the minister--who arrived after dusk--could in- spect in the dark. According to the claims of farmers, the Agriculture Minister did not take this visit seriously . On one hand, the farmers have expressed their displeasure about Sattar’s visit in the evening. On the other hand, there were talks of Sattar joining the rul- ing alliance after taking a bribe of Rs50 crore. Therefore, this visit of the Agriculture Minis- ter has become a hot topic of discussion. Farmers up in arms over Min’s visit to affected area Abdul Sattar —FILE PHOTO ‘Jaggi’ was a two-time Maha Vir Chakra recipient.—FILE PHOTO Air Force veteran Wing Cmdr JM Nath dies First India Bureau Mumbai: In the face of criticism from the Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasa- heb Thackeray (UBT) and Nationalist Con- gress Party (NCP), In- dustries minister Uday Samant on Tuesday said civic official Mahesh Aher would be stripped of his responsibilities untiltheinquiryagainst him is complete. In addition to corrup- tion,Aher—anAssistant Commissioner in the ThaneMunicipalCorpo- ration—has been ac- cused of threatening the family of NCP MLA Ji- tendra Awhad. Before Samant an- nounced his removal in the House, Shiv Sena - UBT legislator Anil Par- ab and Shashikant Shin- de of the NCP claimed that the state had admit- ted to Aher’s involve- ment in corruption, but had not taken any action against him. The silence over Aher’s claim that he can could call Chief Minis- ter Eknath Shinde “any time” sparked doubts about the latter, Shinde said, adding that Aher had also hired expensive private bodyguards. “There have been several complaints against Aher, includ- ing allegations that his degree certificate is fake. There should be a thorough investi- gation,” Parab said. To this, Samant said, “Aher is holding some additional charges. His additional charges will be removed. The state government is carrying out various inquiries against him and those will continue.” ‘Corrupt’ civic official to be stripped of addl charge: Min CAUSE EFFECT Uday Samant —FILE PHOTO An Assistant Municipal Commissioner in the Thane civic body, Mahesh Aher has also been accused of threatening the family of NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad VIRAL AUDIO CASE
- 10. www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbaiI twitter.com/ thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09 aks Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel, the crowned jewel of Dubai, host- ed one of India’s pre- mier single-day fash- ion events called Fashion Connect, season 14, Presented by First India News and Bharat24-Vi- sion of New India on Sunday , March 19. Jagdeesh Chandra graced the magical evening and appreciated the designer, Anju Modi for her timeless collection designed with per- fectionandtailoredtolast.His Highness Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum was present as the Chief Guest and Yakoob Al Ali, Executive Director and Private Advisor inHisHighnessOfficeattend- ed the show as the special guest. Asia’s most loved and India’s favourite fashion de- signer,AnjuModi,showcased her scintillating couture col- lection ‘Gul Bahaar’ at Fash- ionConnect-Season14.While describing her beautiful col- lection,thedesignersaid,“My new couture collection, ‘Gul Bahaar’ is inspired by the cy- clic nature of life. It is a beau- tiful curation of elegant en- sembles that are built upon the strong foundations of tra- ditionalIndiancraftsmanship and yet prove their relevance in the modern world. The collection represents the beauty of metamorphosis innaturethatoccurswithsea- sonal shifts. I believe these changes also add sparks of creativity to our lives and we’ve tried to display those emotions artistically through our outfits. I am glad to show- case my collection at Fashion Connect in Dubai.” Her work takes a more con- scious, progressive interac- tive approach with her love for textiles and the Indian craftservingasthemaincata- lyst and foundation of her designing philosophy whilst continuing to push bounda- ries for a unique experience. Each dimension of Modi’s personalitycanbeseeninher body of work, which displays the passion and gentleness of an artist. The 32-year-old la- bel’s guiding prin- ciples are Time- less, Vintage Handicraft with a deep influence from the found- er’s passion for textiles and Indian crafts- m a n s h i p . Anju Modi is best known for her work in the mov- ies Ba- jirao M a s - t a n i Ram Leela. The magnificent Fashion Connect presented by First India and Bharat24- Vision of New India held at Oaks Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel Dubai on March 19 gave way to a fresh splash of fashion, leaving everyone in awe with astounding trends. City First highlights the outstanding collection of the highly acclaimed and multi-faceted designer Anju Modi, reviving age-old Indian crafts and textiles showcased at Fashion Connect Season 14! KAVITA CHAUHAN cityfirst@firstindia.co.in O International models: Poppy, Mudit, Marie, Eva and Natalia showcasing designer collection by Anju Modi Nancy, Alina T and Marie showcasing collection ‘Gul Bahaar’ by Anju Modi Jagdeesh Chandra and Yakoob Al Ali with Anju Modi, Rishee Miglani and Lokesh Sharma during the show FacetsofFashionDreams MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2023 —PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA
- 11. 10-11 ETC MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY,MARCH 22, 2023 www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia FASHION LUXURY PERSONIFIED THE FIRST INDIA FASHION CONNECT SEASON 14, PRESENTED BY FIRST INDIA AND BHARAT24- VISION OF NEW INDIA, HELD AT OAKS IBN BATTUTA GATE HOTEL, DUBAI ON SUNDAY WAS A UNIQUE FUSION OF TRADITIONAL AND MODERN COLLECTIONS WHICH CELEBRATED THE HERITAGE OF INDIA. BESIDES THIS, A RAVISHING MERGING OF THE CULTURES OF UAE AND INDIA WAS ALSO SEEN ON THE RAMP. DURING THE SHOW, LUXURY LIFESTYLE AWARDS 2023 WERE ALSO HELD, WHEREIN THE WHO’S WHO OF THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES WERE FELICITATED. CITY FIRST HIGHLIGHTS SOME MAGICAL GLIMPSES CAPTURED BY OUR SENIOR PHOTOJOURNALIST SANTOSH SHARMA! Jagdeesh Chandra with Sheikh Yaqoob Al Ali felicitating Ashwin Thadani for Most Promising Event Management Company Jagdeesh Chandra with HH Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum felicitating Dr Swati for Most Promising Dentist and Esthetician Jagdeesh Chandra with HH Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum felicitating Vandana Chandna for Most Promising Production House Jagdeesh Chandra with HH Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum felicitating Nitika Panjwani for Best Lifestyle Brand for Aromatic Products Jagdeesh Chandra with HH Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum felicitating Kamla Poddar for Best Design Institute Jagdeesh Chandra with HH Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum felicitating Vineet Rajpal for Most Promising Entrepreneur Nimit Mathur and Shaan Jagdeesh Chandra enjoying the sights of Dubai Kavita Chauhan with her adorable daughter Gauravi Designer Aishwarya Jain walking the ramp with the models Designer Michael Cinco Tomaz, Kristina, Dari and Oleksa showcasing grand finale designer Anju Modi’s collection Jagdeesh Chandra with HH Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum and Sheikh Yaqoob Al Ali. Also seen are Persiana, Astha, Renu and Harsh From Top: Dari and Daria (L-R) Poppy, Muskan Moolchandani, Astha Khandelwal and Soni Yadav Sheikh Yaqoob Al Ali, Lokesh Sharma, HH Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum and Rishee Miglani —PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA Jagdeesh Chandra with Sheikh Yaqoob Al Ali felicitating Harsh in the categories of ‘Best Luxury Builder For FS Realty’ Best Architect for Gyanendra Singh Shekhawat
- 12. T he makers ofKisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan released a new song from the film, on Tuesday. The USP of the song is that the actor himself has voiced this song and reunited with Amaal Malik after almost 8 years. Also, you can- not miss the cute chemistry between Pooja Hegde and the Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor. The actor features in a new long hairstyle with half of his hair tied in a pony while the rest falls on his shoulders. Bhaijaan is seen romancing co- star Pooja Hegde in a romantic setting and the two even perform a Matrix-like stunt by going for a free fall but stop short of touching the ground. Sharing the song teas- er on Instagram, Salman wrote, “Fall in Love with ‘Falling in Love…. Jee Rahe The Hum out tomorrow.” It seems to have shot at a floral and antiques market and a scene also shows them danc- ing amid several chandeliers around them in a dimly lit room. 12 MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2023 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia CITY BUZZ GET VACCINATED STAY MASKED atural Star Nani’s upcoming film Dasara will be re- leased soon. Go- ing by the visuals of the trailer the film looks like a blood-soaked, intense sto- ry of one man’s uprising from a small village called Veerlapally, which is sur- rounded by piles of coal. “Dasara” tells the tale of socio-economic conditions, political ambitions and power struggles set against the backdrop of the Singareni coal mines in India’s Tel- angana state. In an exclu- sive conversation with Ashish Tiwari of First In- dia Nani Spoke about his experience and more. When asked about what made him say yes to Dasara the actor shared, “Everything about the film excited me, the most im- portant quality to impress the audience is the emo- tion. And Dasara has en- thralling emotion, every moment in the film is or- ganic and will make every- one cheer. When I heard the story I transformed into that universe so have put in a lot of hard work for the audience to like it” He added, “I have done many films in Telegu, and people have always wel- comed and loved all my past work. Dasara is a the- atrical release that’s com- ing after a long time. And its emotional value will connect to each and every one. The basic plot line is very strong so the audi- ence from Pan India will relate to it.” Speaking on how was his shooting expe- rience he said, “There was no fun, the condi- tions that we shot in were very difficult so every- thing was extremely in- tense but when we saw the output was interesting. So all the efforts seemed worth it.” Speaking on his camara- derie with his costar he said, “Keerthy is my close friend, our first film was a blockbuster and was suc- cessful pan India also. So we have always thought that whenever we’ll do the second film it will be dif- ferent. And we got Dasara. So it’s a very special film for us.” With Pan India Movies getting love from all over the world Nani Shared, “It’s a very beautiful phase of Indian Cinema, where you just have to make good films and the entire na- tion will sup- port. So now the only mo- tive for all the filmmak- ers is to make good films audi- ence will get enter- tained no m a t t e r what. I am very h a p p y that now people are r e m a k i n g our films which means we have man- aged to entertain with our content. Dasara is slated to hit the screens on March 30. N DASARA HAS AN ADRENALINE RUSH TO IT: NANI ASHISH TIWARI cityfirst.mumbai@firstindia.co.in CITY FIRST A s we gear up for Chaitra Navratri 2023, which is from March 22 to March 30 this year, you need to priori- tise your health as well. The nine-day Hindu festival, which is dedicated to the nine avatars of Goddess Durga, is a time of fasting, prayers, and celebrations. While reli- gious devotees fast for nine days, there are many who use this time for rejuvenation and healing. So, fasting may be seen by some as a process of detoxification. As you do fasting, your energy levels will go down. But you can stay energised during Navratri by following easy tips! EAT SMALL AND FREQUENT MEALS Most of the days, you must be eating three large meals. Dur- ing Navratri, opt for five or six small meals throughout the day. This will help in main- taining blood sugar levels and avoid the feeling of lethargy. STAY HYDRATED As you do fasting, drink plen- ty of water and natural fruit juices to stay hydrated. It helps to detoxify the body and aids in digestion too, says the expert. Another healthy option is to drink co- conut water, which can keep your body energised and ac- tive during fasting sessions. CONSUME HIGH-PROTEIN FOODS During Navratri, people gen- erally avoid eating grains and pulses, which are foods high in protein. You can always make up for this by consum- ing protein-rich foods such as nuts, milk, yogurt and paneer. EXERCISE REGULARLY Light exercises such as walk- ing, yoga, or stretching help in improving blood circula- tion, reducing stress, and keeping you energised, says the expert. PREFER BALANCED HEALTHY PRODUCTS Fruits and vege- tables are all good sources of fiber as well as vitamins, and minerals. So, go for bananas, apples, sweet potatoes, sabudana (tapioca), makhana (fox nuts), tomatoes, cabbage and capsicum while fasting during Navaratri. As we mark the beginning of the auspicious 9 days, City First highlights 5 easy ways to stay energetic as you focus on fasting and celebrations! CHAITRANAVRATRI2023BEGINS! H avingrecently wrapped the Az erbaijan shoot sched- ule of his upcoming film AS04, Aayush Sharma shared a throwback video of his last-minute grind to ace the perfect body shot phy- sique to shoot a shirtless scene. Aayush recently announced the wrap of his straining schedule packed with action in Azer- baijan, which also included a body shot flaunting his wash- board abs and toned muscles. The actor shared a video presenting the grind needed minutes before the main shot, to define the abs and muscles more prominently. Salman Pooja’s Sizzling Chemistry Keerthy distributes GOLD COINS K eerthy Suresh is winning hearts from all across India for her kind gesture to- wards the unit members of her upcoming film Dasara. The actress is said to have distributed coins to the crew members of the filmonthelastdayof theshoot.As per an update, Keerthy distributed 130 gold coins of 10 grams each. With each coin costing around Rs 50,000 to 55,000, the Mahanati ac- tress spent close to rupees 70 lakhs to 75 lakhs in purchasing these coins as a token of appre- ciation for the crew. A source said, Keerthy was quite emotional on the last day of the shoot. She wanted to give away something to the people who made her give her best. She gave 10 grams of coins to 130 people and made all of them happy . Aayush's grind behind a shirtless scene 'Ja! Tujhe maaf kiya!' O n Monday , An- upam Kher at- tended the prayer gather- ing for his late friend and fellow actor Sat- ishKaushik.Afterthe meeting, he posted a video and an emo- tionalfarewellmes- sage for Satish. He included the Tune Do Lafzon Ki Hai Dil Ki Kahani from The Great Gambler in the background.Sharing a video of him show- ering rose petals on Satish's picture, Anu- pamwrote,“Ja!Tujhe maaf kiya! Mujhe akela chhod kar jaane ke liye! I will surely find you in peo- ple’s laughter! But will miss our friend- ship on a day-to-day basis! Alvida mere dost! Tera favourite gana lagaya hai back- ground mein! Tu bhi kya yaad karega! # S a t i s h K a u s h i k #Friend #Friendship #OmShanti.” Nani Pooja Hegde Salman Khan Anupam Kher Keerthy Suresh Aayush Sharma