First India-Lucknow Edition-18 May 2021

More vaccine options, procurement of DRDO’s 2-DG drug soon: Yogi
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
asked his Team 9 offi-
cials to immediately
place an order for pro-
curing 2-deoxy-D-glu-
cose (2-DG), the Covid
therapy drug, hours af-
ter its launch by the De-
fence Research and De-
velopment Organisa-
tion (DRDO) in Hy-
derabad on Monday
.
Not merely the drug,
UP residents will soon
also have more vaccine
options for inoculation
from the deadly corona
virus as the Yogi Adity-
anath government has
relaxed global tender
conditions to allow Pfiz-
er and Moderna to sup-
ply their vaccine. The
decision apart from of-
fering choice to resi-
dents will also acceler-
ate the vaccination pro-
cess in the State.
“
A decision was taken
on the instructions of
UP CM to reduce the
global tender earnest
money deposit amount
by half,” said a senior
health department offi-
cial adding that some
other major relaxations
have also been made in
the vax tender to widen
the scope of suppliers
willing to supply vac-
cines to UP. The State
government had stipu-
lated Rs 16 crore as ear-
nest money to be depos-
ited by pharma majors
willing to participate in
the global tender floated
onMay7includingstrict
terms and conditions re-
garding Turn to P6
CM Yogi interacting with the villagers and members of the committee formed to oversee the Covid
Curfew arrangements in Rampur village off Muzaffarnagar during his visit on Monday. CM was
accompanied by Muzzafarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan during his visit.
2-DG is an anti-Covid oral drug developed by
the DRDO & was recently approved by the
DCGI for emergency use as an adjunct therapy
in moderate to severe coronavirus patients
BIG PLAYERS IN FRAY
Take-2
NARADA
STING
CASE
CBI PICKS UP 4 INCLUDING
2 MINS BEFORE BAIL DRAMA
BENGAL
NOTHING CAN CHANGE DELHI’S
WILLPOWER AND AGENDA
CBI and Mamata enter into second phase of
confrontation as law of the land takes its course!
Kolkata: Thebailgrant-
ed to West Bengal minis-
ters Firhad Hakim and
Subrata Mukherjee,
TMC MLA Madan Mi-
tra, and former Kolkata
MayorSovanChattopad-
hyay
, who were arrested
by CBI in the Narada
bribery case, was stayed
by the Calcutta High
Court late on Monday
evening. Turn to P6
West Bengal CM
Mamata Banerjee
leaves CBI office
in Kolkata on Monday.
WHATIS
THECASE
The case relates
to sting operations
by Narada news
portal that showed
several West Bengal
ministers and
senior officials
accepting bribes.
Along with others,
BJP leaders Mukul
Roy and Suvendu
Adhikari, then with
the Trinamool Con-
gress, also featured
in the footage.
The footage was
released just before
the 2016 Assembly
elections and put
the ruling Trina-
mool Congress on
backfoot. Still, TMC
managed to win.
After the footage
emerged, the state
government regis-
tered a case against
Samuel under
charges of forgery
and defamation.
The Trinamool has
maintained that
the centre is using
agencies to pursue
political vendetta
against the opposi-
tion party leaders.
1
3
2
4
5
TMC WORKERS GO ON RAMPAGE
Kolkata: Chaos ensued outside the CBI office at Nizam Place,
as hundreds of party supporters defied the ongoing lockdown,
raising slogans against the BJP-led NDA government, hurling
stones and bricks at security personnel in protest against the
arrests. The agitators also burnt tyres and blocked roads in
several parts of the state, including Hooghly, North 24 Parganas.
Total lawlessness and
anarchy: Guv Dhankhar
Kolkata: Expressing
concernoveragitationby
TMCworkersoutsidethe
CBI office here and else-
where in West Bengal af-
terthearrestof twomin-
isters and others in the
Naradastingcase,Gover-
nor Jagdeep Dhankhar
on Monday alleged that
there is “total lawless-
ness and anarchy” in the
state and the police and
administrationarein“si-
lence” mode.
The governor urged
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee to contain the
“explosive situation”
and asked her to weigh
the “repercussions of
such lawlessness and
failure of constitutional
mechanism”. Turn to P6
CBI SEEKS TRIAL
OUTSIDE STATE
Kolkata: West Ben-
gal Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar gave his assent
to CBI’s request seeking
sanction for prosecution
of four political leaders on
May 7, CBI officials said
during a press conference
on Monday. Later, citing
protests by TMC outside
its office, the CBI sought
from HC transfer of the
trial outside Bengal.
CM MAMATA CAMPS AT
CBI OFFICE FOR 6 HOURS
BENGAL GOVT REQUESTS CENTRE TO
EXTEND SERVICE OF CHIEF SECRETARY
Kolkata: A furious Mamata Banerjee landed at the CBI
office in Kolkata on Monday as two of her ministers were
arrested in the Narada bribery case. “The way they have
been arrested without due procedure, CBI will have to
arrest me also,” the Bengal Chief Minister reportedly
said during her more than six-hour stake-out at the CBI
office in Nizam Palace of the city.
Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government has requested
the Centre to extend the tenure of chief secretary Alapan Ban-
dyopadhyay, who is set to retire on May 31, by three months,
citing the need of continuity at the helm of the state admin-
istration to fight the second wave of Covid-19. According to
norms, the DoPT (department of personnel and training that
reports to PM Narendra Modi) takes a call on the extension.
WHY NO ACTION ON ROY, ADHIKARI,
ASKS NARADA STING EDITOR SAMUEL
Mathew Samuel, whose Narada sting opera-
tion, started it all, says the arrests show some
progress in the “long wait for justice” but expresses
his shock at CBI’s failure to proceed against Mukul
Roy and Suvendu Adhikari “because the evidence
against them is pretty much the same as against
those arrested.” “The sting tapes were released in
2016 but no action was taken till now,” said Samuel.
New Delhi: The num-
ber of bleeding and clot-
ting events following a
Covid vaccine injection
in India - of which 26
have been identified -
are “miniscule” and “in
line with the expected
number of diagnoses”,
a panel on AEFI (ad-
verse events following
immunisation) told the
Union Health Ministry
on Monday
.
The panel said it had
studied 498 (of 700) “se-
rious and severe
events” and found that
26 had been reported as
“potential thromboem-
bolic events”, referring
to the potentially fatal
formation of a blood
clot that could break
loose and be carried by
the blood stream to
block another vessel.
Turn to P6
Bleeding, clotting events following
vaccination ‘minuscule’, says govt
INDIA
2,81,386
new cases
4,106
new fatalities
UTTAR PRADESH
9,391
new cases
285
new fatalities
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
CYCLONE TAUKTAE
HITS MUMBAI LIKE
NEVER BEFORE, ARMY
CALLED IN GUJARAT
The extremely severe cyclone ‘Tauktae’ made its landfall a little after 8 pm on Monday as the outermost wall of the
cyclone was passing over Saurashtra. The process will continue during the next several hours, the officials of the India
Meteorological Department said. The maximum wind speed will likely be between 155 and 165 kms/hr gusting to 175
km/hr as it crosses between Porbandar and Mahuva in Bhavnagar district. Before heading towards the Gujarat coast,
the cyclonic storm caused gusty winds and heavy showers across Mumbai city and its neighbouring areas. A total of
six persons were killed in Maharashtra’s Konkan region in separate incidents. —PHOTO BY PTI
LUCKNOW l TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 156
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
WHOLESALE INDEX
HITS ALL-TIME HIGH
AT 10.49% IN APRIL
SENSEX ADDS 848
POINTS, ENDS AT
IMPRESSIVE 49,581
The wholesale price-based inflation (WPI) shot up to an all-time high of
10.49% in April, on rising prices of crude oil and manufactured items.
Also, a low base of April last year contributed to the spike in inflation in
April 2021. The WPI inflation was 7.39% in March 2021, and (-) 1.57%
in April 2020. This is the fourth straight month of uptick seen in index.
A sharp drop in Covid-19 cases lifted benchmark indices nearly 2 per cent
higher on Monday. The frontline S&P BSE Sensex zoomed 848 points
to settle the day at 49,581 levels, lifted largely by financial counters.
Eight of the top 10 index contributors included names like HDFC Bank,
ICICI Bank, HDFC, SBI, Axis Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
West Bengal Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar
People over 18 years of age stand in a queue to get their first
dose of covid vaccine outside a centre in Shimla on Monday.
 After CBI
court grants bail,
HC stays sending
all 4 leaders to
jail custody till
Wednesday
 Now, Mamata
likely to approach
Supreme Court

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2021
02
First India Bureau
Lucknow:For the first
time since mid-April,
amid the second wave
of the pandemic in the
state, the number of ac-
tive cases have shown a
sharp decline by 52%,
even as Uttar Pradesh
maintained its number
of daily discharges that
was almost 14,000 more
than the fresh Covid
cases reported on Sun-
day
.
UP recorded 9,391
cases, a sharp slide
from 10,682 on Saturday
,
even as the state con-
ducted a total of 2,55,110
tests as per its policy of
‘Test, Trace and Treat’
in the last 24 hours. The
state saw a whopping
23,045 Covid-19 patients
discharged as against
fresh cases dropping be-
low ten thousand for
the first in the second
wave.
With this robust
sign, the state’s recov-
ery rate recorded a
significant improve-
ment as it climbed up
to nearly 90 percent.
The daily Covid positiv-
ity rate — the number
of positivecasesagainst
the total tests done —
on Sunday dipped be-
low5%inUttarPradesh
again for the first time
since the mid of last
month, according to the
official data. This rate
was at its highest at
16.84% on April 24 dur-
ing the second wave of,
which has now come
down to 3.68 %.
The active Covid cas-
es have been drastically
reduced by more than
one lakh sixty one thou-
sand from its peak
which went up to
3,10,784 cases on April
30, and has now come
down to 1,49,032, record-
ing a drop by 52 %.
CM Yogi has asked to
ramp up the health in-
frastructure in all the
Community Health
Centres and set up pae-
diatric ICUs with a min-
imum capacity of 100
beds in all the district
hospitals and medical
colleges for proper and
special care of the chil-
dren and women, which
might be the vulnerable
groups as per expert as-
sessments. The Medical
Education Minister in
the regard has been
asked to monitor and
supervise the daily de-
velopments.
UP records 52 % fall in active cases since its peak
GOOD NEWS
CM Yogi inspects an Integrated Command and Control Centre in
Saharanpur. PS to CM, Sanjay Prasad is also seen there.
GREEN BLOOM
Lucknow’s lifeline Gomti river has a green carpet spread over it these days after a thick
layer of Hyacinth has completely covered a few stretches of the water-body. Hyacinth is
a free-floating perennial aquatic plant. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Even as pan-
demic is surging in ru-
ral areas of Uttar
Pradesh, the Yogi gov-
ernment has allowed
utilisation of funds fall-
ing under the purview
of Village Panchayats to
beutlisedintacklingthe
Covid spread in rural
areas.
While the health de-
partment has extensive-
ly launched the tracing,
testing and treating
drive in rural areas, the
state has directed the
Pradhans to provide a
monetary help of Rs
5000 per person for per-
forming last rites of the
poor.
Apart from this, the
funds would be used at
local level for manage-
ment of people involved
in tackling the spread.
It is to be noted that
58194 pradhans have
been elected after the
recent Panchayat elec-
tions, who will take oath
after formation of the
village panchayats in
the coming days, for
which the process is un-
derway in Panchayati
Raj department.
Since tackling Cov-
id-19 is a challenge for
the newly elected Prad-
hans, the state has made
a provision to divert
funds under this head.
The government has
also given a green sig-
nal for utilization of Rs
9217 crore available in
accounts of village pan-
chayats across the state.
The developmental ac-
tivities came to a stand-
still after declaration of
panchayat elections in
March and could not be
used in rural areas.
Funds from state fi-
nance commission and
central finance commis-
sionhavealreadylanded
in the accounts of these
village panchayats.
Throwing light on the
same, Additional Chief
Secretary Rural Devel-
opment and Panchayati
Raj,ManojKumarSingh
said that Rs 1400 crore
finance from Central Fi-
nance Commission has
been sent to panchayats.
Includingtheabovemen-
tioned fund, a total of Rs
5905 crore is available
with Panchayats via
Central Government’s
financing schemes.
Earlier Rs 1200 crore
under Swachch Bharat
Mission and Rs 2112
crorefromStateFinance
Commission was pro-
vided to these panchay-
ats. Thus, a total of Rs
9217 crore is available
with the panchayats in
the state for the develop-
mental activities.
Yogi Speaks
Yogi Speaks
Yogi said that the vaccination
of people in the age group
of 18 to 44 years has expanded
to 23 districts of UP. Five more
districts including Mirzapur,
Banda, Gonda, Azamgarh and
Basti have been included in the
campaign. 18 districts were
included in the drive before.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath has asked
officials to provide free food
grains to eligible persons for
three months from the month
of June and has instructed
them to appoint one nodal
officer for each and every
distribution centre.
CM Yogi has given the call for eradication
of dengue by taking necessary precautions
and spreading awareness on National Dengue
Day on Monday. Dengue, in the state of Uttar
Pradesh, starts spreading in the monsoon
season and is said to have claimed many lives
in the past.
CM Yogi reviews Covid situation along with Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan, local MLA Kapil Dev Aggarwal, DM Selva Kumari J, SSP
Abhishek Yadav and others in Muzaffarnagar district on Monday.
Saharanpur to get
11 Oxy-plants: CM
First India Bureau
Lucknow: On a whilr-
wind tour of the State,
UP Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath, who
reached Saharanpur on
Monday said the dis-
trict would get 11 new
oxygen plants soon.
He said that oxygen
generator plants will be
set up in every district
by the sugarcane de-
partment, which along
with the Excise depart-
ment will establish
such plants in 79 hospi-
tals in the State with
Corporate Social Re-
sponsibility (CSR)
funds.
He inspected the
city’s Integrated Covid
Command and Control
Center and subsequent-
ly gave necessary in-
structions in a review
meeting with public
representatives and of-
ficials.
Later addressing a
press conference here,
CM Yogi said that he did
not impose lockdown as
he wanted to save the
economy and Corona
curfew was an equally
effective way to tackle
the situation. “Essen-
tial services are being
provided to the needy.
The laborers are not
facing any problems as
industries are function-
ing,” he said. He said
that the government’s
motive should not be to
create trouble or hard-
ships for the people.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Police have
arrested seven per-
sons during raid on a
hukka bar in Ashiya-
na area. Police sourc-
es here said that act-
ing on tip-off Ashiya-
na police raided at
second floor of a
building where sever-
al people were gath-
ered despite of lock
down instructions.
They have been
booked under Epidem-
ic Disease Act. The
arrested were identi-
fied as Sharik Hus-
sain, Rajveer Singh,
Sultan, Tushar, Na-
deem Siddiqui and
Manik Sanjay. Police
have recovered seven
hukkas, flavours and
other objectionable
materials from there.
Oppn blasted for
pulling the plug
on Covid fight
First India Bureau
Muzaffarnagar: Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath on Monday ac-
cused the opposition of
triggering panic among
people and health work-
ersinsteadof increasing
their confidence during
the second wave of Cov-
id-19 pandemic.
Slamming Oppisiton
parties for creating a
falsescarewhileinspect-
ing an Integrated COV-
ID Control Room in Mu-
zaffarnagar, Yogi, said,
when the need was to
increase confidence of
the people and health
workers, some people in-
tentionally and mischie-
vously tried to lower
their morale and create
an atmosphere of fear.
This led to a panic, he
said. Due to this, every
person ran for oxygen
and remdesivir doses.
“And, at one point of
time, a situation of cha-
osprevailed.But,thanks
toGod,witheverybody’s
co-operation, the situa-
tion is in complete con-
trol now,” he asserted.
There is a continuous
decline in active Cov-
id-19 cases, Yogi said.
Till now, nearly 4.50
crore samples for Cov-
id-19 have been tested,
while1.50crorepeoplein
UP have been adminis-
teredvaccines,headded.
Jabs for citizens aged
between 18-44 too has
started, he added.
The CM also re-
ferred to the appre-
hension of an impend-
ing third wave of Cov-
id and black fungus
infection among cured
patients and said the
government is making
all efforts to tackle
these twin challenges.
He also announced
the decision to set up
six more medical oxy-
gen plants in Muzaffa-
rnagar.
Amid the fears that a
third wave may affect
childrenmore, Yogisaid
the government is mak-
ing all efforts to set up
paediatricintensivecare
units (PICUs) in every
district and every medi-
cal college of the state.
Accompanied by Un-
ion Minister Sanjeev
Balyan and state minis-
ter and local MLA Kapil
Dev Aggarwal, the CM
earlier visited Rampur
village and urged villag-
ers to take utmost care
against the infection.
Covid-19 claims20within
10 days in Meerut village
First India Bureau
Meerut: Panic trig-
gered in Alipur village
of Meerut, that has wit-
nessed more than 20
deaths in last 10 days,
owing to the pandemic.
Demisesinsuchlarge
numbers have raised
concerns of the health
department, that found
more than 30 persons as
Corona positive in the
village.
Sources here said that
several people had died
in recent past in Alipur
village but after 20
deaths in past 10 days
heath department was
forcedtosetupcamps in
the village for testing
and general medica-
tions.
The village has popu-
lation of about 8000,
where in several villag-
ers are under home iso-
lation and others hav e
beenshiftedinhospitals.
According to health de-
partment only one per-
son died due to Corona
in the village but villag-
ers claimed a different
story
.
The Health depart-
ment has initiated
screening of every per-
son and medical kits
were distributed to per-
sonswithsymptoms.Fa-
cility to measure oxygen
saturation levels of the
suspects has also been
provided.
GROUND LEVEL CONNECT: CM Yogi interacts with Nigrani Samiti
members in Balvantpur/Salempur village of Saharanpur district.
Cops arrest 7 for opening
Hukkabardespitelockdown
CMYogireviewsanIntegratedCovidCommandCentreinMuzaffarnagar.
—FILE PHOTO
Govtdolesoutcashsopsinvillagep’yatsforCovid-hitrural...
AAMAADMI

Janardan Misra
Lucknow: IndianAcad-
emyof Paediatrics(IAP)
hasissuedinformations,
based on research and
evidence available till
today
, for protection of
children from Corona
virus infection.
IAP has cleared it was
difficult for common
man and even for doc-
tors, to know the differ-
ence between every fe-
ver-cough and coronavi-
rus disease. It should be
considered as a possibil-
ity if such symptoms
are visible and especial-
ly if a family member is
suffering or recently
suffered from COVID.
Cold, mild cough, fe-
ver, and body pain are
the common symptoms
of corona infection. In
the second wave, it has
been noted that other
symptoms such as pain
in abdomen, loose mo-
tions, and vomiting are
also present in children,
IAP underlined.
Dr Shalini Tripathi,
additional professor,
paediatric department
KGMU said symptoms
mentioned in guide-
lines issued by IAP
should be closely ob-
served by parents and if
child has fever, cold,
cough or loose motions
it should not be ignored.
Dr Tripathi said sev-
eralcaseswereobserved
where only loose motion
and vomiting were pre-
sent and they tested co-
rona positive. She said
diarrhea was major rea-
son of children mortali-
ty and in present situa-
tion it should not be tak-
en casually
.
RELIGIOUS LEADERS TO HELP
Lucknow: The UP government will now take the
help of religious leaders to create awareness
among people not to dump bodies in the rivers,
an official said on Monday. CM Yogi Adityanath
instructed officials during a meeting that the
process of burial on the banks of rivers or
disposing bodies in rivers as part of last rite
was not environment friendly. There should
be a dialogue with the religious leaders
as there is a need to make people aware
about it, an official said. Adityanath asked for
continued patrolling by water police of the State
Disaster Response Force and Provincial Armed
Constabulary around all the rivers and asked for
ensuring that bodies were not disposed of in wa-
ter under any condition, the spokesperson said.
The CM stressed last rites should be respectfully
performed and financial assistance was also be-
ing provided for it, the spokesperson said.
COVID-19 UPDATE
TOTAL CASES
TOTAL DEATHS
17,817
NEW CASES
9,391
NEW DEATHS
285
GORAKHPUR 542
LUCKNOW 517
SAHARANPUR 458
GAUTAM BUDDH
NAGAR 457
MEERUT 452
RECOVERED 14,62,141
ACTIVE CASES 1,49,032
16,28,990
UTTAR PRADESH
03
Mask violation:
Cops rewarded
for fining MLA
First India Bureau
Kanpur: Samajwa-
di Party (SP) MLA
Irfan Solanki had
feud with police
when he was ques-
tioned for not using
mask. After the
matter escalated,
manhandling was
reported at the spot
and police fined the
MLA for not wear-
ing mask.
Police commis-
sioner Asim Arun
appreciated action
of the police team
and rewarded two
sub-inspectors Rs
1,000 each, who
stood upright in-
front of political
pressure.
Arun said, “Po-
litical workers and
public servants
should cooperate in
such hard times.
MLA Irfan Solanki
was fined Rs 1,000
for not wearing
mask and SI Ab-
hishek Sonkar and
Faheem Khan who
performed their
duty responsibly
were rewarded Rs
1,000 each.”
Police said the
MLA had reached
to oppose challan
of his supporter in
Dalelpurva police
station. After heat-
ed arguments and
manhandling, po-
lice fined Solanki
for not wearing
mask. Meanwhile
the MLA alleged SI
Faheem had
pushed him and
thrashed him.
IAP issues guidelines
for protection of kids
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Senior Nod-
al Officer (Covid-19),
Lucknow, Dr Roshan Ja-
cob, has directed the
Chief Medical Officer to
suspend MoIC, Kakori
for not taking interest in
his work nor following
the instructions of the
government,and attach-
him to headquarter be-
sides deputing a compe-
tent medical officer in
his place.
Jacob inspected the
CommunityHealthCen-
tre, Kakori, Lucknow
and two villages under
its jurisdiction Bara-
gaon and Durgaganj.
She also addressed the
meeting of ASHA work-
ers at Kakori block of-
fice. Along with the
MoIC and his team,
door-to-door surveil-
lance and drug distribu-
tion works were re-
viewed in the villages.
During the review, it
was found that the MoIC
was not aware of the
workdonebythesurveil-
lanceteam,formationof
drug distribution RRT
teams, details of RTPCR
investigation done by
the teams every day etc.
No data related to any
subject could be made
available by him.
The number of RRTs
posted at Community
Health Centre Kakori
was not enough and suf-
ficient number of tests
were not being done by
the teams present. The
number of drug kits
madeavailablefordistri-
bution to ASHA workers
was also inadequate and
most had only two to
four kits available for
distribution. Further
therewaslessawareness
about surveillance ac-
tivities in the villages,
which suggests that the
fieldvisits/operationsof
the surveillance teams
was relatively less.
Jacob orders suspending medical officer
Dr Roshan Jacob during the
inspection on Monday.
MLA Irfan Solanki
RLYS SUPPLIES
2.6K TONNES OF
OXYGEN TO UP
FOR COVID
Lucknow: The Indian
Railways reached the
milestone of transport-
ing 10,000 tonnes of
liquid medical oxygen
on its ‘Oxygen Express’
trains on Monday
morning, and the
service now covers 13
states across the coun-
try. This information
was given by Railway
Board Chairman
Suneet Sharma.
Of the total 10k
tonnes, Uttar
Pradesh has
received a ma-
jor chunk of oxygen
supply that stands at
2,652 tonnes. In the
state, 10 coaches each
have been deployed
in Faizabad, Bhadohi,
Varanasi, Bareilly and
Nazibabad for treatment
of Covid-19 patients.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Itmaysound
miraculous and for
many
, especially in the
administrative and po-
litical set up and those
rendering services in
the hospitals, Uttar
Pradeshforthefirsttime
in more than a month,
recorded less than 10,000
fresh covid cases.
The state recorded
9,391freshcovidcasesin
the last 24 hours, an
evening bulletin re-
leased by the UP govern-
mentstated.However,on
the death front, the state
still remains a disap-
pointing performer as
285 people succumbed to
Coronavirus related
complications. The total
infection tally rose to
16,28,990 in the state. So
far, 17,817 people have
died from the infection
in the state.
Of the fresh deaths, 22
were reported from Luc-
know, followed by 21 in
Kanpur. Eleven deaths
each were report-
ed from Ghazi-
abad and Sa-
h a r a n p u r
and nine
each from
Lakhimpur
Kheri and
Etawah, the
bulletin said.
Meanwhile, the highest
542 infection cases sur-
faced in Gorakhpur, fol-
lowedby517inLucknow,
458inSaharanpur,457in
Gautam Buddh Nagar
and 452 in Meerut.
Till now, 14,62,141 peo-
ple have recovered from
the virus with 23,045 re-
coveries in the past 24
hours.
The count of active
cases in the state stands
at 1,49,032, the bulletin
said.
On Sunday
, over 2.55
lakh tests were done,
takingthetotaltestsper-
formed till now to 4.49
crore,
BELOW10K:-VETREND
RINGSINPOSITIVITY
In the second wave,
symptoms like loose
motion and vomiting
are also being
seen in children
DESPITESEMINALREDUCTIONINNEWCOVIDCASES,FATALITIESINSTATEREMAINHIGH
WHAT CURFEW?: Serpentine queues of vehicles seem to be making a mockery of Covid-19 guidelines at Hazratganj
crossing in Lucknow on Monday. (Below) As hundreds of cars queued up at the crossing and police spoke to the passengers,
(with one cop ironically without his mask fitted properly to cover his nose), most people fined were two-wheeler riders.
Seemed like all those in cars were on Covid-19 duty or two-wheeler riders were an easy catch! —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR

Vol 1 Issue No. 156 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi Industrial Area Kanpur Road Lucknow.
Published at 98, Friend’’s Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP). Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVE
04
he images and
reports coming
from Israel, Je-
rusalem and
Gaza in recent
days are shocking. They
are also surprising to those
who thought the 2020 Abra-
ham Accords and subse-
quent agreements to nor-
malise relations between
Israel and the United Arab
Emirates, Bahrain, Moroc-
co and Sudan would place
the conflict between Israe-
lis and Palestinians perma-
nently on the backburner.
Assomeonewhohasbeen
writing and teaching about
West Asia for more than 30
years, I had no such illu-
sions. The reason for this is
thatatitsheart,theso-called
“Arab-Israeli conflict” has
always been about Israelis
and Palestinians. And no
matter how many treaties
Israel signs with Arab
states, it will remain so.
In a phone call on May 12,
US President Joe Biden as-
sured Israeli Prime Minis-
ter Benjamin Netanyahu of
his “unwavering support
for Israel’s security and for
Israel’s legitimate right to
defend itself and its peo-
ple”. Biden was referencing
the rocket attacks on Israel
launched by Hamas, the Is-
lamist group that governs
Gaza. By targeting civil-
ians, Hamas is committing
a war crime. In all probabil-
ity
, so is Israel, by bombing
and shelling Gaza.
Despite the carnage the
Hamas rocket attacks and
Israeli retaliation inflicts
on Israelis and Gazans, the
Biden administration is fo-
cusing on a sideshow, not
the main event.
That main event is an un-
precedented conflict taking
place on the streets of Jeru-
salem, Haifa, Lod and else-
where. It is what scholars
call an “intercommunal
conflict”, pitting elements
of Israel’s Jewish popula-
tion against elements of Is-
rael’s Palestinian popula-
tion who have had enough
andhavetakentothestreets.
MANY REASONS
Palestinian anger can be
attributed to multiple is-
sues. In April, Israel at-
tempted to impede access
to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jeru-
salem for Palestinians liv-
ing in the West Bank. Is-
raeli police then raided the
Muslim holy site, report-
edly after Palestinians
threw stones at them, in-
juring 330. At the begin-
ning of May, Mahmoud
Abbas, the current presi-
dent of the Palestinian Au-
thority, which governs the
West Bank, cancelled the
first Palestinian legisla-
tive elections in 15 years.
Finally, when the current
conflict spilt over into the
West Bank, the Israeli oc-
cupation and continued
colonisation of Palestini-
an territory were thrown
into the mix.
These significant issues
explain Palestinian anger.
However, the intercommu-
nal nature of the ongoing
conflagration is due to two
other issues.
First, Jewish settlers at-
tempted to evict eight Pal-
estinian families from
their homes in the Sheikh
Jarrah neighbourhood of
Jerusalem. The United Na-
tions Relief and Works
Agency had settled the fam-
ilies in the neighbourhood
during the 1950s.
Jewish settlers filed suit
in 1972 claiming their right
to the homes where those
families lived. They argued
that Jews had owned the
Palestinians’ homes before
the division of the city in
the aftermath of the 1948
Arab-Israeli War. By right,
they argue, the homes be-
long to their community
.
Jewish neighbourhoods
housing more than 215,000
encircle the predominant-
ly Palestinian eastern part
of Jerusalem, where
Sheikh Jarrah is located.
For Palestinians, the at-
tempt to evict the families
is representative of Israel’s
overall policy of pushing
them out of the city
.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
Israel is having its Black Lives Matter moment
T
No one who does good work
will ever come to a bad end,
either here or in the world
to come. —Bhagavad Gita
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Ravi Shankar Prasad @rsprasad
As PM @narendramodi released the
8th instalment under #PMKisan with
a total of `19,000 crore released
for over 9.5 crore farmer families. In
this regard, CSC VLE Siddharajsinh
Kursinh Dabhi from Gujarat is
helping farmers to withdraw `2000
under this scheme.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
PM Shri @narendramodi’s govt.
is working with a ‘whole-of-
government’ approach and is
making concerted efforts across
several fronts to combat the
#SecondCOVIDWave as well as
scale up preparations for future
waves of the #Covid19 pandemic.
#IndiaFightsCorona
he second wave of Covid-19
pandemic in India has been a
big wakeup call for all govern-
mentsinmanyways.Itnotonly
made the Indian government
serious about the gravity and
epic proportions of the pan-
demicbutalsodrewimmediate
globalattentiontoIndiaandits
likely fallout on other coun-
tries. It brought home the im-
port of unified global action as
can be seen from these major
developments-itgalvanizedin-
ternational aid to India in
terms of medicines, medical
devices, and health equip-
ments; it drew attention of
countries to the vital issue of
making available Covid-19 vac-
cines to India and other devel-
oping countries and it brought
areversalinthestandof theUS
towards the pending matter of
waiverof intellectualproperty
rights for the vaccines. It was
on 6th May
,2021 that the US an-
nounceditsdecisiontosupport
theproposalof IndiaandSouth
Africa in WTO for temporary
waiverof TRIPS(Traderelated
Aspects of Intellectual Proper-
ty Rights) in the case of Cov-
id-19 vaccines. This surprise
but welcome move on the part
of the US was hailed as a land-
markstep.TheUSalsodeclared
that ‘extraordinary circum-
stances of the Covid-19 pan-
demic call for extraordinary
measures’andthatitwillwork
to‘expandvaccinemanufactur-
ing and distribution’. ….and
‘increase the raw materials
needed to produce those vac-
cines.’ WTO and WHO and
many world leaders welcomed
it as a ‘monumental moment’.
However,someEuropeancoun-
triesledbyGermanyexpressed
reservations on the issue and
instead advocated a redistribu-
tion of the vaccines (produced
in the USA) to various parts of
theworld.Thisissuewithallits
ramifications will now be dis-
cussed in the TRIPs Council
andthereafteradecisiontaken
byconsensusof allWTOmem-
bers. These proceedings are
likely to be protracted due to
the varying interests of coun-
triesandthebigPharma.How-
ever,lookingtotheoverwhelm-
ing support of most members
in favour of the proposal it is
likely to go through.
It was on 2nd October 2020
that India along with South
Africa took a major step and
submitted a proposal in WTO
for temporary waiver of intel-
lectual property (IP) rights in
the case of Covid-19 vaccines
and medicines. This proposal
is now being supported by 120
other members of WTO (out
of a total of 164 members).
Onceadecisionistakenitwill
be just the first step. Thereaf-
ter technology transfer and
sharingof tradesecretsbythe
innovator to new players will
be needed to ramp up produc-
tion.Vaccinemakingishighly
complicated and more so in
the case of mRNA vaccines,
hencefullsupportof theinno-
vator companies is essential.
WHAT IS TRIPS WAIVER
(involves waiver of four types
of intellectualpropertyrights-
patents,copyrights,industrial
design, and trade secrets)-
All member countries of
the WTO have adopted the
TRIPS agreement which was
signed in 1994. In India it be-
cameapplicablefrom2005and
our Patent Act of 1970 was
suitably amended to incorpo-
rate the IP related provisions.
All new innovations includ-
ing new vaccines are protect-
ed under these provisions.
India’sproposal,if accepted,
will open the door for collabo-
rations with new players for
expanding production of vac-
cinesandrelatedmedicineson
a mass scale and providing ac-
cesstolow-incomecountriesat
affordable prices. The tempo-
rary waiver may last for a few
years till most of the world’s
population is vaccinated and
herd immunity created.
OTHER OPTIONS
UNDER TRIPS
AGREEMENT
VOLUNTARY LICENSING
BY INNOVATOR
Here the innovator company
willingly enters into a manu-
facturing contract with other
players. AstraZeneca has
signed such a contract with
Serum Institute of India (SII)
toproduceonebilliondosesof
their vaccine known as Cov-
ishield – for supply to develop-
ing countries including India.
Anothercompany
,BharatBio-
tech, making Covaxin, has in-
vited other manufacturers for
partnershipsinproducingthe
vaccine. Three Pharma PSUs
have been shortlisted for this
purpose – Haffkine Biophar-
maceutical Corpn.Ltd (Maha-
rashtra), Indian Immunologi-
cals Ltd. (Hyderabad); Bharat
Immunologicals and Biologi-
cals Limited (Bulandshahar).
Similarly
, Russian Direct In-
vestment Fund (RDIF) has en-
tered into contract manufac-
turing agreement with six In-
dian companies for making
850milliondosesof SputnikV
vaccine for global supply
.
COMPULSORY
LICENSING (CL) BY
GOVERNMENT
If an IP holder of a lifesaving
drug is unable to increase
supplies at affordable prices
and does not enter into a lo-
cal contract for manufactur-
ing the same during an epi-
demic or health emergency,
the concerned government
can grant compulsory li-
cense to any other manufac-
turer to produce generic of
that medicine. This provi-
sion is used sparingly due to
its legal and political conse-
quences. India has used it
only once and granted com-
pulsory license to Natco
pharma to produce the ge-
neric version of anti-cancer
drug called Nexavar of Bayer
company
. Recently PILs have
been filed in Supreme Court
and High Courts for a direc-
tion to the Central govern-
ment to grant compulsory
licenses for manufacture of
vaccines and other critical
medicines like Remdesivir,
Tocilizumab, favipiravir,
ventilators etc. Since a multi-
lateral agreement is likely to
materialize under the aegis
of WTO, it may be better to
wait for the same as it would
lift all kinds of barriers to
the entry of more players. (In
2005 when there was fear of
bird flu epidemic, tremen-
dous pressure was brought
on the Indian government to
grant compulsory license for
Tamiflu (oseltamivir) pro-
duced under patent by Roche,
a Swiss pharma major. Three
Indian companies were will-
ing to produce the generic
drug. The pressure got built
to such an extent that before
a decision to grant compul-
sory license could be taken,
Roche agreed to grant sub-
license to Indian companies
for making the drug. So the
CL clause did work here in an
indirect way)
REDISTRIBUTION OF
VACCINES FROM USA
With the help of Operation
Warp speed (US $18 billion
funding), USA has created a
huge manufacturing capacity
in Covid-19 vaccines and ther-
apeutics with three major
players, Pfizer, Moderna and
AstraZeneca. It has put a ban
on export of these vaccines to
other countries. The devel-
oped countries are creating a
stockpile of vaccines which is
more than 2-3 times of their
population. The result is that
by April,2021 while 83% vac-
cines went to high to upper
middle-incomecountriesonly
0.3 % went to low-income
countries. In April,2020 COV-
AX Scheme for equitable dis-
tributionof vaccinestopoorer
countries was launched by
WHO, GAVI (Global Vaccine
Alliance), CEPI (Coalition for
Epidemic Preparedness Inno-
vations) and UNICEF. There
hasbeenalukewarmresponse
to this by many developed
countries and by April,2021
only 38 million doses of vac-
cines were distributed to 100
low-income countries (as
against the annual target of 2
billiondosesduring2021).Sev-
eral countries including India
have urged the USA to lift the
ban on the export of vaccines
to other countries. With the
huge loss of lives and damage
to economies at the global
levelnofurthertimeshouldbe
lost in working out solutions
totheproblem.Themessageis
loud and clear-‘no country is
healthy and safe until all are’
as the UN Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres has said.
The emergent needs re-
quire countries, individually
and collectively, to explore
everypossiblewaytoenhance
the production and equitable
distribution of vaccines and
other medicines at the global
level. Temporary waiver of IP
rights is one such major step
in this direction. If successful
this can act as the template
for any next epidemic.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
With the help of
Operation Warp
speed (US $18
billion funding),
USA has created a
huge
manufacturing
capacity in
Covid-19 vaccines
and therapeutics
with three major
players, Pfizer,
Moderna and
AstraZeneca. It
has put a ban on
export of these
vaccines to other
countries. The
developed
countries are
creating a
stockpile of
vaccines which is
more than 2-3
times of their
population. The
result is that by
April,2021 while
83% vaccines went
to high to upper
middle-income
countries only 0.3
% went to low-
income countries.
In April,2020
COVAX Scheme
for equitable
distribution of
vaccines to poorer
countries was
launched by
WHO, GAVI
(Global Vaccine
Alliance), CEPI
(Coalition for
Epidemic
Preparedness
Innovations) and
UNICEF
IT WAS ON 2ND OCTOBER 2020 THAT INDIA ALONG WITH
SOUTH AFRICA TOOK A MAJOR STEP AND SUBMITTED A
PROPOSAL IN WTO FOR TEMPORARY WAIVER OF
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) RIGHTS IN THE CASE OF
COVID-19 VACCINES AND MEDICINES. THIS PROPOSAL IS
NOW BEING SUPPORTED BY 120 OTHER MEMBERS OF
WTO (OUT OF A TOTAL OF 164 MEMBERS). ONCE A
DECISION IS TAKEN IT WILL BE JUST THE FIRST STEP.
THEREAFTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND SHARING OF
TRADE SECRETS BY THE INNOVATOR TO NEW PLAYERS
WILL BE NEEDED TO RAMP UP PRODUCTION
DR GS
SANDHU
THE AUTHOR IS A
RETIRED IAS, RAJASTHAN
BREAKING BARRIERS
AT THE WTO

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INDIA
05
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Monday, in a telephonic
conversation with Ma-
harashtra Chief Minis-
ter Uddhav Thackeray,
Gujarat Chief Minister
Vijay Rupani, Goa
Chief Minister Pramod
Sawant and Daman and
Diu Lt Governor Praful
Patel, took stock of the
situation and prepared-
ness to deal with the
cyclonic storm if it im-
pacts these states and
the UT, more than what
was expected.
Defence Minister Ra-
jnath Singh too held a
meeting via video con-
ferencing on Monday to
review the prepared-
ness and assistance be-
ing provided by the
Armed Forces to civil
authorities to tackle the
situation arising out of
cyclone Tauktae. Mean-
while the Indian Army
said it has put 180 teams
and 9 engineer task
forces on standby to
face any contingency.
While Indian Coast
Guard Ship Samarth re-
sponding to a distress
call rescued 15 crew
from a fishing boat
named Milad, off Goa
coast on Monday. All
crew are safe and boat
is being towed ashore
the Coast Guard said.
PM SPEAKS TO CMs OF
STATES AFFECTED BY TAUKTAE
AsIndiabattles
secondwaveof
Covid,towns
locatednear
WesternGhats
werebattered
byCyclone
Tauktae
Tree uprooted after strong winds and rainfall, in Mumbai
on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
PM Narendra Modi
Rudraprayag: The por-
tals of the Kedarnath
Temple were reopened
on Monday amid obser-
vation of strict COV-
ID-19 protocols.
The gates of the tem-
ple were opened at 5 am
after a ritualistic cere-
mony, while Gangotri
and Yamunotri temples
were reopened on May
14. “Kedarnath shrine
was reopened on Mon-
day at 5 am with all the
rituals. I pray to Baba
Kedarnath to keep eve-
ryone healthy,” tweeted
Uttarakhand CM Tirath
Singh Rawat.
According to the Dev-
asthanam Board, Ke-
darnath is one of the
four shrines of the idol
of Lord Shiva, which
was moved to his winter
abode Omkareshwar
Temple at Ukhimath
and it was reinstalled at
Kedarnath on May 14.
The portals were
closed in November last
year for the winter sea-
son.
Meanwhile, the Utta-
rakhand government
has announced that the
‘Chardham Yatra’ has
been temporarily sus-
pended in view of the
threat posed by the coro-
navirus pandemic.
“In view of the COV-
ID pandemic, ‘Chard-
ham Yatra’ is temporar-
ily suspended. Only rit-
uals are being per-
formedwithnopilgrims
allowed,” the Uttara-
khand DIPR said. —ANI
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi
attacked Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi on
Monday morning al-
leging the ventilators
provided under the PM
CARES Fund were dys-
functional.
“There’s a lot [in]
common between PM-
Cares ventilator[s] and
the PM himself: too
much false PR, don’t do
their respective jobs
and nowhere in sight
when needed,” Gandhi
said in a tweet.
Rahul also alleged that
the government has
failed to manage the
Covid-19 crisis and the
prime minister is no-
where to be seen.
He also lauded indi-
viduals who are help-
ing out people in this
crisis and expressed
gratitude to them.
“While GOI has
failed not just in man-
aging Covid crisis but
also in standing with
the people, there are
numerous individual
stories of strength and
altruism every day,” he
said on Twitter.” Im-
mense gratitude to
these heroes dedicated
to serving others and
showing the world
what India truly stands
for,” he also said.
Some states like
Punjab, Rajasthan and
Maharashtra have
complained that the
ventilators provided
from PMCARES Fund
have not been func-
tioning properly.Gan-
dhi has been critical of
the government’s han-
dling of the COVID
situation in the coun-
try and the shortage of
essential medicines
and oxygen.
—PTI
304, 3rd
Floor, 3rd
Eye II, Opp. Parimal Garden, Nr. Panchwati Char Rasta, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad-380015 | Ph. : 79-40050660-61 | Fax : 40050662
4th
Floor, Plot No. A-2, UDB Corporate, Tower, Near Jawahar Circle, JLN Road, Jaipur – 302017
www.jkcement.com | E-mail : jkc.gujrat@jkcement.com
Call us at : 1800-266-4606
vius ?kj dks ekSle dh ut+ju yxus nsa
gj ekSle lqj{kk ds fy, flQZ lqij LVªkWx osnj ‘khYM
Kedarnath
portals open
amid strict
Covid protocols
Goa: Goa Chief Minis-
ter Dr Pramod Sawant
on Monday spoke to
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah regard-
ing the impact and
devastation caused by
the Tauktae cyclone in
the state.
“Spoke to the Union
Home Minister Shri @
AmitShah ji regarding
the impact and devas-
tation caused by the
Tauktae cyclone in the
state of Goa,” said the
Goa CM in a tweet.
He further said that
the Home Minister
inquired about the
damage and assured
of full support to the
state.
“Hon’ble HM
inquired about the
widespread damage
caused by the cyclone
in the state and as-
sured full support of
all Central agencies to
the State for returning
to normalcy. We will
provide all necessary
assistance to Goans
impacted by the cy-
clone,” he added. —ANI
Mumbai: Mumbai,
Thane and Palghar
districts are on orange
alert while Raigad
district has been
put on red alert due
to Cyclone Tauktae,
informed the Chief
Minister Office (CMO)
Maharashtra on
Monday.
Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray is
closely monitoring the
cyclone situation in
the state. As many as
12,420 citizens were
relocated to safer
places from the coastal
areas so far.
“Chief Minister
Uddhav Balasaheb
Thackeray is closely
monitoring the #Cy-
cloneTauktae situa-
tion in the State. So
far, 12,420 citizens
were relocated to
safer places from the
coastal areas. Mum-
bai, Thane Palghar
districts are on orange
alert while Raigad dis-
trict is on red alert,”
tweeted Maharashtra
CMO. —ANI
GOA CM SPEAKS TO SHAH OVER
DAMAGE CAUSED BY TAUKTAE
MUMBAI, THANE ON ORANGE ALERT,
RAIGAD ON RED; CM MONITORING
Mumbai: Operations at
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maha-
raj International Airport
were first closed from 11
am to 2 pm on Monday in
view of Cyclone Tauktae.
It was later extended up
til 10 pm said Mumbai
International Airport
Limited. Additionally, the
Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC), too
announced that the key
Bandra-Worli sea link will
be closed for commuters
till further updates. —ANI
MUM AIRPORT, SEA
LINK OPS AFFECTED
Both failed! RaGa on PM Modi
ventilators bought with PM CARES
IN THE COURTYARD
New Delhi: Hearing
a plea against alleged
hoarding of Covid
supplies by politicians,
Delhi High Court said
that medicines will be
submitted to govern-
ment hospitals and were
not being hoarded for
political gains. HC on
Monday directed Delhi
Police to file a status
report of its investigation
on how some politicians
were able to stock large
amounts of essential
medicines at a time when
national capital was fac-
ing a shortage. Bench of
Justice Vipin Sanghi
Justice Jasmeet Singh
also questioned about
how politicians like BJP
MP Gautam Gambhir and
IYC chief BV Srinivas
managed to procure
large quantities of medi-
cines in the first place.
New Delhi: Mobile messaging service WhatsApp
on Monday told the Delhi High Court that it has
not deferred the May 15 deadline for users to
accept its new privacy policy. Senior advocate
Kapil Sibal, representing WhatsApp, submitted
before a bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and
Justice Jyoti Singh that it is trying to get users
on board, but if they do not agree to the privacy
policy, then the company will slowly delete these
user accounts. Sibal submitted before the court,
“there is no deferment of policy.” —PTI
Hope Covid meds not being
hoarded for political gains: HC
NO DEFERMENT OF PRIVACY POLICY,
TRYING TO GET USERS ON BOARD: WA
Central Vista:
HC reserves
order on plea
seeking stay
Hearing on
PIL seeking
reduction in vac
price adjourned
New Delhi: Delhi HC
on Monday reserved its
order on a plea seeking
a stay on the construc-
tion of Central Vista in
New Delhi amid Covid.
During the hearing,
senior advocate Siddarth
Luthra, representing the
petitioner, argued that
Centre was targeting
petitioners for raising the
issue of their own health.
Luthra said plea was
moved with a concern for
health and the safety of
construction workers on
project site. In his argu-
ments, Solicitor General
Tushar Mehta said the
petition was selective
as it only targeted one
construction project
while several others
were underway in Delhi
simultaneously. —ANI
New Delhi: Delhi High
Court on Monday ad-
journed the hearing on a
PIL that sought direction
to the respondents to
reduce the price of anti-
coronavirus vaccine for
citizens of the country.
The bench of Justice DN
Patel and Justice Jyoti
Singh deferred the matter
after taking note that the
Supreme Court of India is
already examining a simi-
lar matter. The petitioner
Rakesh, social activist,
through Advocates AK
Dubey and Pawan Kumar
stated that earlier the
price of vaccine at a pri-
vate hospital was Rs 250,
which was reasonable. It
is not easy for most peo-
ple to pay the increased
cost of anti-Corona vax
as it raises the expenses
of common people. —ANI

INDIA
06
More vaccine...
the temperature and
storage of the vaccine.
On May 12, a pre bid
meeting was held with
the representatives of
the vaccine manufac-
turers to discuss the
tender process. Repre-
sentatives of Pfizer,
Johnson and Johnson,
Serum Institute, Bharat
Biotech attended the
meeting. After discus-
sions with representa-
tives of the companies,
the State government
announced many relax-
ations in the terms and
conditions of the global
tender. “This was done
to involve more compa-
nies in the tender in or-
der to increase supply
of vaccines in the state,
speed up vaccination
and provide more vac-
cine options to the
people,”said an official
privy to the meeting.
Besides reducing the
earnet money from Rs
16 crore to Rs 8 crore,
the condition of vac-
cine storage at 2 to 8 de-
gree Celsius tempera-
ture has also been re-
laxed. Thus, manufac-
turers of vaccines that
can be stored at temper-
atures ranging from -20
to -80 degrees Celsius
will also be able to par-
ticipate in the tender.
This has cleared the
way for companies such
as Pfizer and Moderna
to join the tender. Com-
panies will have to safe-
ly transport Covid-19
vaccines to the govern-
ment warehouse. Com-
panies will also have to
make arrangements for
storage of vaccines at
-20 to -80 degrees Celsi-
us. However, companies
from neighbouring
countries, including
China, will have to get
the approval of the Cen-
tral Government to join
the global tender for
Covid-19 vaccine.
CBI picks...
The four TMC leaders
will now be in jail cus-
tody till the next hear-
ing in the case on
Wednesday
.
The arrested leaders
were produced at Bank-
shall Court through a
virtual hearing from
Nizam Palace earlier in
the evening and grant-
ed bail. The CBI then
moved the Calcutta
High Court challenging
the move and their bail
order was stayed.
Citing protests by the
Trinamool Congress
supporters outside its
office, the CBI sought a
transfer of the trial out-
side Bengal.
The court decided that
the leaders will be
placed in jail custody.
All four, who were in
the CBI office even after
being granted bail,
were taken to the Presi-
dency jail. The next
hearing will take place
on Wednesday
.
Earlier today, Central
forces had arrived at
the leaders’ homes and
took them to the CBI of-
fice. Within an hour, a
furious Mamata Baner-
jee also landed at the
CBI office in Nizam Pal-
ace and dared the inves-
tigating agency to ar-
rest her too.
“The way they have
been arrested without
due procedure, CBI will
have to arrest me also,”
the Bengal Chief Minis-
ter reportedly said dur-
ing her extraordinary
stake-out at the CBI
lasting more than six
hours.
The Trinamool Con-
gress has also once
again accused Gover-
nor Jagdeep Dhankhar
of playing a partisan
role, saying he is not au-
thorized to sanction the
arrest of the three Tri-
namool MLAs; the as-
sembly Speaker is. But
Dhankhar said he had
the right to clear their
prosecution as he had
sworn them in as minis-
ters when the crime
was committed.
Total lawlessness...
He also accused the
state administration of
allowing the “situation
to drift” and “not taking
any tangible action”
against the agitators.
Taking to Twitter,
Dhankhar said, “Mes-
sage @MamataOfficial
Total lawlessness an-
archy. Police and ad-
ministration in silence
mode. Hope you realize
repercussions of such
lawlessness and failure
of constitutional mech-
anism.
Hundreds of TMC sup-
porters launched a pro-
test outside the CBI of-
fice here and threw wa-
ter bottles and stones at
the central force per-
sonnel who barricaded
the CGO Complex in
Nizam Palace where the
central agency’s office
is located.
Bleeding, clotting...
The panel further said
Covishield - the Astra-
Zeneca-Oxford Univer-
sity vaccine linked by
some studies to clotting
issues - reported fewer
than 0.61 cases per mil-
lion doses adminis-
tered.It was noted that
this figure was far be-
low the four cases per
million doses reported
by the United King-
dom’s health regulator,
and the 10 cases per mil-
lion doses reported by
Germany
.
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
will be interacting with
field officials from
states and districts to
converse about their ex-
perience in handling
the COVID-19 pandemic
on Tuesday at 11 am.
According to a state-
ment issued by PMO,
officials from Karnata-
ka, Bihar, Assam, Chan-
digarh, Tamil Nadu, Ut-
tarakhand, MP, Goa,
Himachal and Delhi
willtakepart.“Through
their interaction with
the PM, officials will
share some best prac-
tices, in addition to sug-
gestions recommen-
dations for continuing
our ongoing battle
against Covid, especial-
ly in semi-urban rural
areas,” statement said.
New Delhi: The De-
fence Research and De-
velopment Organisa-
tion’s (DRDO) new anti-
COVID drug 2-DG
should work against
various strains of the
COVID-19 virus, DRDO
chairperson Dr G
Satheesh Reddy said on
Monday
.
The first batch of an-
ti-COVID drug was re-
leased by Defence Min-
ister Rajnath Singh and
Union health minister
Harsh Vardhan on Mon-
day. “Whenever our
country needed, DRDO
has always supported
the need of the hour. I
congratulate the Chair-
man of DRDO, Dr G
Satheesh Reddy, and
heartily congratulate
the scientists for devel-
oping this drug. I will
personally the people
involved in the making
of the drug socially the
chairman of DRDO,”
said Rajnath Singh.
“The drug 2DG devel-
oped by us should work
against the various
strains of the COVID-19
virus,” Reddy told ANI
when asked if the drug
would be effective
against the new strains
and other mutated vari-
ants of Covid-19 virus.
He added that the or-
ganisation was hoping
to ramp up production
of the drug up to one
lakh sachet per day by
the first week of June.
“From the first week
of June, we are hoping
to ramp up the produc-
tion of the drug as the
process to develop it
takes around one
month. We are hoping
to increase the number
of sachets production
to one lakh per day,”
Reddy said. India on
Monday reported
2,81,386 new cases,
3,78,741 discharges and
4,106 deaths in the last
24 hours, as per Union
Health Ministry
. —ANI
New anti-COVID drug 2-DG should work against various strains of COVID-19 virus, DRDO chairperson
2DG ROLLED OUT AMID SECOND WAVE OF COVID
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan during the release of the
first batch of Anti-COVID drug 2DG developed by DRDO at DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi on Monday.
PM to interact with state, dist officials
across country on Covid mgmt today
Vardhan: 2-DG
will reduce oxy
dependency
New Delhi: Union
Health Minister Dr
Harsh Vardhan on Mon-
day said that the recov-
ery time from COVID-19
infection and oxygen
dependency will be re-
duced by anti-COVID
drug 2-DG.
Vardhan said, “With
the support of DRDO
and in the leadership of
Union Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh, this
drug may be our first
indigenous research-
based outcome to fight
against COVID-19. It
will reduce recovery
time and oxygen de-
pendency. I hope this
drug will serve the
world and not just India
in the fight against
COVID-19 in the coming
days,” he further said.
CBDT MEMBERS TO BE
APPOINTED THIS MONTH ?
CBDT Members are expected to be appointed only
this month. Presently only one Member is holding
the effort of the CBDT.
TENURE OF ASHUTOSH JINDAL
AS JOINT SECRETARY, CABINET
SECRETARIAT EXTENDED
The tenure of Ashutosh Jindal as Joint Secretary,
Cabinet Secretariat has been extended for a period
of six months till November 16, 2021. He is a 1995
batch IAS officer of Tripura cadre.
NITESH KUMAR VYAS APPOINTED AS
DEPUTY ELECTION COMMISSIONER
Nitesh Kumar Vyas has been appointed as Deputy
Election Commissioner in Election Commission of
India. He is a 1996 batch IAS officer of MP cadre.
CSS OFFICERS REQUEST DOPT,
ALLOW TO WORK FROM HOME
The Association of Central Secretariat Service
(CSS) is said to have written a letter to the Depart-
ment of Personnel Training (DoPT) requesting
allow the officers ‘work from home’ after the
premature demise in the coterie one after another
due to the deadly strain of Covid-19.
TRAI TO APPOINT ADVISORS
ON DEPUTATION
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has
invited applications for the appointment to the post
of Joint Advisor/Deputy Advisor in TRAI Region-
al Office at Bengaluru on deputation on foreign
service terms.
LARGE SCALE TRANSFER
AT PCCIT LEVEL SOON
Large scale transfer and postings in the grade of
PCCIT / CCIT level are expected to take place by
May 20, 2021.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
Nation’s weekly positivity
rate drops to 18.17 pc: Govt
New Delhi: In an en-
couraging develop-
ment, a declining trend
in the weekly positivity
rate is observed which
stands at 18.17 per cent
today, said the Ministry
of Health and Family
Welfare on Monday
.
According to health
ministry data, 2,81,386
new cases were regis-
tered in the last 24
hours out of which Ma-
harashtra has reported
the highest daily new
cases at 34,389, followed
by Tamil Nadu with
33,181 new cases. There
has been an average de-
cline in daily new cases
since May 9, it pointed
out. The ministry said
that total daily tests
conducted in the last 24
hours stand at 15,73,515
and cumulatively
31,64,23,658 tests have
been conducted so far.
“Karnataka has the
most number of dis-
tricts (27) with more
than 20 per cent positiv-
ity rate and Madhya
Pradesh consisting the
highest number of dis-
tricts (38) with more
than 10 per cent positiv-
ity rate,” it added. —ANI
A young beneficiary gets a dose of COVID vaccine at a
vaccination centre in Bhopal on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Ghosh files plaint against Didi
New Delhi: In a huge
development, West Ben-
gal BJP chief Dilip
Ghosh filed a complaint
against Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee for
provoking violence in
the state. As per the
plaint registered with
the Kotwali Police Sta-
tion in West Medinipur,
Ghosh claimed that she
tried to wedge a divide
between the locals and
outsiders from the be-
ginning of the Assem-
bly election campaign.
Maintaining that her
diatribe against “out-
siders” was unlawful,
he opined that the TMC
supremo should be held
responsible for any vio-
lence resulting out of
the linguistic divide.
“I urge eve-
ryone to
abide by the
law and re-
frain from any activi-
ty that violates lock-
down norms for the
sake of the larger in-
terest of Bengal and its
people. We have ut-
most faith in the judi-
ciary and the battle
will be fought legally,”
Abhishek Banerjee,
TMC leader
Remdesivir
production
capacity hiked
New Delhi: The domes-
tic production capacity
of Remdesivir, the es-
sential drug used for
the treatment of Covid
has increased unprece-
dentedly from 38 lakh
vials manufactured per
month to manufactur-
ing 119 lakh vials per
month, the government
said on Monday
.
The patented drug,
which is manufactured
in India under volun-
tary licenses granted by
Gilead Life Sciences
USA, was very scarce
when catastrophic wave
of the pandemic hit the
country. Increased
surge in demand for the
drug even led to its
black marketing.

z CoWIN portal in
Hindi, other
languages from
next week, more
labs to monitor
COVID variants

z Eminent journalist
and popular TV an-
chor Anjan Bandyo-
padhyay, died at 56
at a private hospital
in Kolkata on Sunday
night due to Covid.

z In a bid to speed up
India’s COVID-19
vaccination efforts,
another Indian
company, Shilpa
Medicare has joined
efforts to ramp up
the manufactur-
ing capacity of the
Sputnik V vaccine.

z Dr Reddy’s labs
collaborated with
Apollo hospitals
and launched a
pilot programme
for administer-
ing the Russian
COVID-19 vaccine
Sputnik V vaccine on
Monday.

z Amid reports of
oxygen shortage
ONGC said it will
procure one lakh
oxy concentrators.

z In last month, Delhi
University has lost
over 35 teachers to
the ongoing COV-
ID-19 pandemic.

z No more vaccines
to be supplied for
under-45 in Delhi,
says Deputy CM.
DAY’S HIGHLIGHT
Kolkata: BJP lashed
out at TMC over their
agitations across the
state, following the ar-
rest of party leaders in
Narada sting case,
said CM Mamata Ba-
nerjee her support-
ers, instead of coming
in the way of CBI probe,
should opt for a legal
remedy. BJP general
secretary Kailash Vi-
jayvargiya claimed that
Banerjee was creating
hurdles for the CBI.
Didi creating
hurdles for CBI:
Vijayvargiya
Bodies in Ganganot
ourculture:BiharMin
Patna: Bihar Water Re-
sources Development
Minister Sanjay Kumar
Jha said that the bodies
found floating in the
river Ganga were not
from the State and add-
ed that it is ‘not our cul-
ture’. Jha’s remarks
come after reports of
several bodies being
found floating in Ganga
and its tributaries in the
last few days in Bihar
and Uttar Pradesh. The
Minister said, “Do you
think this is our cul-
ture? No, it’s not. It is
serious matter if bodies
have been found floating
in river Ganga but these
bodies are not from Bi-
har.” “We are shocked
by the way bodies have
been found floating in
the holy Ganga river.
Ever since we have seen
this news we have taken
immediate steps and
asked officials to take
appropriate action,”
said the Minister. —ANI
—PHOTO
BY
ANI
New Delhi: PM Naren-
dra Modi on Monday
interacted with a group
of doctors from across
the country in a video
conference to discuss
the Covid-19 related
situation, a statement
from the PMO said. PM
used the meeting to
thank India’s medi-
cal fraternity and the
paramedical staff for
their exemplary fight
against the deadly viral
contagion. PM noted
that be it testing, supply
of medicines or set-up
of new infrastructure in
record time, all these
are being done at a fast
pace. Several challeng-
es of oxygen production
and supply are being
overcome. The steps
taken by the country
to augment human
resources, like includ-
ing MBBS students in
Covid treatment, and
ASHAs and Anganwadi
workers in rural areas,
provided extra support
to the health system.
PM spoke to groups
of doctors involved in
COVID care through
video-conferencing.
The doctors were from
various regions, includ-
ing the northeast, and
Jammu and Kashmir.
They shared their expe-
riences in dealing with
the disease and offered
suggestions. —Agencies
PM LAUDS DOCS, DISCUSSES
VAX PLAN BLACK FUNGUS

NEWS
07
First India Bureau
The hospitals in the
state capital which were
turning down admitting
Covid positive patients
citing shortage of beds
have now resorted to the
same reasoning for
turning down non-Cov-
id patients too.
In one such case,
Ashok Kumar who met
with an accident while
travelling with his son
was taken to govern-
ment hospital in Mall by
the locals but the doc-
tors in the hospital
asked them to take the
patients to Dr. Shyama
Prasad Mukherjee (Civ-
il Hospital) at Hazrat-
ganj citing shortage of
beds.
Soon after, Ashok Ku-
mar and his son were
taken to the Civil hospi-
tal but after struggling
to get a bed even after
couple of hours were
then taken to Ram
Manohar Lohia. Even in
Ram Manohar Lohia,
the relatives of the in-
jured had to roam from
one corner to another to
get both Ashok and his
son admitted but even
that did not bear fruit.
The injured duo were
then accommodated by
the private hospital
named South City Hos-
pital.
Ashok Kumar later
spoke to journalists
over the phone and re-
counted the entire epi-
sode. He said that he had
expected to get treated
at the Ram Manohar Lo-
hia hospital but to his
utter disappointment,
no doctor came to check
on him and his son. He
added that he had a bro-
ken hand while son
Tarun had multiple
fractures in his leg.
Ashok said that upon
unable to get treatment
atLohia,hewastakento
aprivatehospitalnamed
South City Hospital in
Telibag,whichtookafee
of Rs. 50,000 for admit-
ting.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The effect of
cyclone Tauktae which
has formed in the Ara-
bian Sea has brought
respite to the people of
Uttar Pradesh. Around
32 districts in the state
have reported cloudy
weather and drizzle
with light winds have
also been reported. The
Meteorological Depart-
ment has predicted that
this kind of weather
will be seen by many
districts for the next
week too.
The cloudy sky and
occasion drizzle has
come as a relief to the
people of Purvanchal,
Paschimanchal and
Awadh regions from
scorching heat. The Me-
teorological Depart-
menthasforecastedthat
Lucknow, Meerut, Ba-
reilly, Bahraich, Sant
Kabir Nagar, Gorakh-
pur, Fatehpur and Vara-
nasi will be receiving
rain in the coming days.
Majority of the west-
ern districts in UP have
been cloudy since Mon-
day morning and this
region will probably
even receive rain in the
coming days as predict-
ed by theMeteorological
Department. According
to IISSR senior meteor-
ologist N Subhash, light
rain is expected in west-
ern UP on May 17 and 18
and there is a possibility
of heavy rain on May
19th. He added that rain
during this time of the
year could prove benefi-
cial to the farmers.
BHU Meteorologist
Prof. Manoj Shrivastava
saidthatcycloneTauktae
which will make a land-
fall in the western coast
of India will have an ef-
fectintheweathercondi-
tions of the eastern dis-
tricts of UP
. He added
that there is a possibility
of rain in Varanasi and
adjoining districts with
strong wind in the next
two-three days. He fur-
ther added that monsoon
seasonthisroundaround
will receive good rain
and will be beneficial to
farmers.
NO BEDS: Hospitals’
reason for not admitting
even non-covid patients
From cloudy sky
to light drizzle,
courtesy Tauktae
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The state
which is still reeling
under the second wave
of Corona has another
problem of rapid
spread of black fungus
in the state. Many dis-
tricts in the state have
started reporting cases
of black fungus and
the government has
also issued several
guidelines to the au-
thorities on how to
handle the situation.
Soon after the report
of second death due to
black fungus in
Meerut, a special ward
has been created for
treatment of patients
with black fungus in-
fection in the Banaras
Hindu University
(BHU) in Varanasi.
The district of
Meerut which record-
ed it 2 death due to the
black fungus infection
has in total 20 patients
who are suffering from
the same infection.
The black fungus is a
type of infection which
causes disfiguration of
patient’s face and is
known to be caused by
molds called ‘Mu-
cormycetes’. This type
of infection has been
recently reported to
occur in post-Covid pa-
tients whose immune
system is already
weakened by the virus.
The increase in the
black fungus cases
prompted the BHU ad-
ministration to create
a separate ward to
treat the patients
showing symptoms for
the infection.
A separate team of
doctors from ENT,
Dental, Neurology,
Medicine and Microbi-
ology departments
have been constituted
to watch over the 16-
bed ward.
According to Dr KK
Gupta of BHU Hospi-
tal, the resident doc-
tors and paramedical
staff are being educat-
ed on how to handle
resources including
oxygen and ventilators
for the patients
suffering from black
fungus. A system has
been formed in a way
such that both Covid
positive and Covid
negative types of pa-
tients can be easily
treated. The doctor
added that the number
of beds in the ward
will be increased soon.
After Meerut and
Varanasi, cases of
black fungus have been
increasing rapidly in
Gorakhpur, the dis-
trict of CM Yogi.
What is more worry-
ing that the news of
spread of black fungus
has created a shortage
of an essential drug
needed to treat the in-
fection.
The rate of the injec-
tions of the drugs
needed to treat black
fungus which normal-
ly would cost Rs. 1650
is now costing close to
Rs. 11,000 becoming a
cause of concern for
the government.
SIGHTSCARE:SPECIALWARDATBHUTOTACKLE
CORONA’SLATESTMENACE‘BLACKFUNGUS’
THIS HONEST
OFFICER GAVE
VIOLATORS
TOUGH TIME
The notion that powers lie
with positions and not
with the persons sitting on it
might be true in majority of the
cases but a person with mental
fortitude will still command the
power and respect even after
he relinquished his position.
Such is the effect of the officer
that even after relinquishing his
seat can intimidate people who
resort to lobbying to get their
work done. As per our sources,
the officer when in power, did
not let through any file which
was lobbied by any individual
and now these individuals have
been forced to wait until another
officer taken over the position
left vacant by the officer. The
officer who used to work in a
department which dealt with
planned development of city
retired last month and was
known to be one of the honest
officers in the department. He
in his prime would crack down
on those who had illegally taken
over government land among
other violators.The officer was
also liked by the public due to his
dedication to development of the
city and was also well respected
among his colleagues. During his
last few days in the department,
many individuals tried to get
some unfair documents approved
by the officer but the officer being
just to his cause read through
all the file and thwarted any
opportunity for individuals to
swindle money. —Amit Baliyan
ILLITERACY
GALORE
AMONG
PANCHAYAT
POLL WINNERS
Even as Uttar Pradesh boasts
of around 70% rate of literacy,
illiteracy is rampant among the
panchayat poll winners in the
state. The data reeled out by
the state election commission
about Lucknow indicated that
there are large number of
illiterate pradhans and BDC
member. These pradhans would
find it difficult the undertake
official functioning. While 5%
new pradhans in Lucknow are
completely illiterate around
30% are only class fifth pass
outs, which amply indicated
that literacy mission is yet to
fully capture the masses in
the state. Similarly of the total
473 BDC members in Lucknow
12% are illiterate and 34% are
class fifth pass outs. There are
some who could clear class ten
or intermediate. Only few are
graduate and post graduates. The
picture is almost same in other
parts of the state.—First India Bureau
Delhi cops reveal conspiracy
to kill Mahant in Ghaziabad
First India Bureau
New Delhi:DelhiPolice
Special Cell have re-
vealed a conspiracy to
kill Mahant Yati Nar-
asimhanand Saraswati
by a Jaish-e-Mohammed
terrorist.
Mahant Yati Nar-
was in the news last
month after he had
made abusive remarks
against Prophet Mu-
hammed. The assassin
sent to murder the Ma-
hant was arrested by the
Delhi Police and they
have recovered saffron
clothes, items of wor-
ship, pistols and kum-
kum from the arrested
accused.
According to sources,
a terrorist and resident
of Kashmir was sent to
carry out the assassina-
tionof MahantYatiNar-
in Ghaziabad while be-
ing in the disguise of a
saint. The modulo oper-
andi is similar to the
murder of Kamlesh Ti-
wari in Lucknow. The
Special Cell of Delhi
Police, in collaboration
with intelligence agen-
cies has arrested a per-
son resident of Pulwa-
ma, Jammu and Kash-
mir from Delhi and have
recovered pistol, 2 mag-
azines, 15 cartridges
along with other cloth-
ing materials. The exact
information about the
accused though has not
been confirmed by the
police.
The name of the ac-
cused has surfaced as
John Mohammed Dar
alias Jahangir and he
was contracted by Abid,
a member of the Paki-
stan-based militant
group Jaish-e-Moham-
med to assassinate Ma-
hant Yati Narasim-
hanand Saraswati un-
der the disguise of a
saint. The accused who
was caught has been
previously named in
two separate incidents
of stone-pelting, one in
Anantnag in 2016 and
another during the
stone pelting on the
army personnel after
the encounter of terror-
ist Burhan Wani.
A medical worker takes swab sample of a man for COVID test at Birapur village in Prayagraj on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
RURAL TESTING!
Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (Civil) Hospital cites shortage of beds.
Meerut district which recorded two deaths due to the black fungus
has in total 20 patients who are suffering from the same infection.
Electric poles were uprooted in western parts of the country
due to cyclone Tauktae.
Mahant Yati Narasimhanand
was in the news last month
after he had made abusive
remarks against Prophet
Muhammed.

08
2NDFRONT
SEASON OF LOSSES
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The post of
the head of Revenue
Council which is con-
sidered as the one of
the most important
post after the Chief
Secretary has been ly-
ing vacant for the last
15 days.
The head of Revenue
Council is the one who
over sees the entire rev-
enue administration of
the state and all the col-
lectors as well as com-
missioners of the state
report to him.
There has been tradi-
tion that a senior IAS
officer who is at the
level of Chief Secre-
tary or Additional
Chief Secretary is usu-
ally given the post as
Chairman of Revenue
Council and many a
times, a Chief Secre-
tary has been removed
and named as the
Chairman of the Reve-
nue Council.
The posting of Chair-
man of Revenue Coun-
cil at times is perceived
by many as a post
which is given to an of-
ficer who has offended
the government, which
is why not many offic-
ers want to become the
Chairman of the
council.
The post of Chair-
man of Revenue Coun-
cil has become vacant
after the untimely de-
mise of the previous
Chairman Deepak
Trivedi on April 29 just
a day before he was to
retire.
Speculations are rife
in the corridors of bu-
reaucracy that except
for one in the line for
the post of Chairman,
every other officer
holds an important
post at the government
level.
Another speculation
is that the delay in
Chairman’s posting is
due to an impending
reshuffle at the top lev-
els of bureaucracy.
Chairman, Revenue Council post lying vacant for over 2 weeks
VITAL LAG
The post has become vacant after
the untimely demise of the previous
Chairman Deepak Trivedi on April 29
Office of the Revenue Department, Lucknow —FILE PHOTO
Plea seeks directions
for live-streaming of
court proceedings
25K Jal Nigam
staff not getting
salary for 3 mnths
In a social media world,
people turn unsocial
If I speak up, I may face
sedition charges:BJP MLA
Woman gives birth on road after
ANM centre denies admission
SP,PSP(L)‘PACT’MAYGIVEJITTERS
TO OTHERS FOR P’YAT CHIEF POST
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The unan-
nounced rapproche-
ment of Samajwadi
Party (SP) and Pragat-
isheel Samajwadi Party
(Lohia), in the race to
ensure win of more and
more own people on the
post of chairman of dis-
trict panchayat election
can well pose a chal-
lenge for other parties
in central and western
Uttar Praesh.
To save the family’s
reputation, these two
parties managed to stop
the BJP to a great ex-
tent in Mulayam Singh
Yadav’s belt. If this un-
announced rapproche-
ment of SP and PRSPA
continues like this, then
it would not be surprise
in the next year’s as-
sembly elections that
Akhilesh Yadav and his
uncle Shivpal Yadav
came together.
Now, in the election
for the post of chair-
man of district pan-
chayat, the challenge
before SP is to deal with
BJP. Independents are
in a decisive position in
many places. It is be-
lieved that a large num-
ber of independents are
supporters of Shivpal
Yadav and with their
support, the challenge
of defeating BJP could
be dealt with.
The SP has been dom-
inating for years in ar-
eas with Mulayam’s
family influence such
as Etawah, Mainpuri,
Auraiya, Kannauj, Firo-
zabad. In Etawah, since
1989, the president has
been with the Mulayam
family or his near ones.
Now, in all these areas,
the PRSPA could extend
its support to SP in the
forthcoming elections
for the post of chair-
man of district pan-
chayat.
The experiment of
coming together for
elections of member of
District Panchayat had
proved beneficial.
Those who fought from
BJP camp by rebelling
against the Mulayam
family, lost to this equa-
tion. This experiment is
now ready to be repeat-
ed in the Panchayat’s
chairman election.
In the same way, the
SP also got better re-
sults in western UP by
aligning with RLD.
Now, on arrival of fa-
vorable results, if both
parties come under
pressure from family to
come together, it would
be no surprise.
The SP seems excited
by these results and
therefore will not take
the risk of loss due to
family tussle in elector-
al battle next year.
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The health
system of Uttar Pradesh
which has been criti-
cized heavily by the op-
position has come under
more scrutiny after a
video of a brick-kiln
worker in the district of
Prayagraj giving birth
on road after being not
admitted by the ANM
centre went viral.
The woman in ques-
tion was assisted in giv-
ing birth by some wom-
en who were on their
way to cast their vote for
Panchayatelections.The
women using a blanket
made an enclosure
around the pregnant
lady
, a mere 20 meters
away from ANM center
and successfully helped
deliver the child.
The medical staff
from the hospital did not
come to help the new-
bornchildandthemoth-
erevenafterthedelivery
.
A video has gone viral
on social media putting
even more stain on the
alreadyunderfirehealth
system of the state. As
persources,thevillagers
have levelled serious al-
legations against ANM
Anita Chaudhary who
was posted at the ANM
center. It is said that An-
ita did not admit the
woman,whichforcedthe
villagers to create a
makeshiftenclosureand
help the woman deliver.
SP seems excited by results and therefore will not take risk of loss due to family tussle in electoral battle next year
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav (R) Shivpal Yadav
Women help pregnant lady to deliver the child.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A petition
has been filed in the
Allahabad High Court
seeking directions for
live-streaming and
live-reporting of court
proceedings across Ut-
tar Pradesh, including
in High Courts, subor-
dinate courts and tri-
bunals.
The plea, moved by
legal reporters Areeb
Uddin and Sparsh
Upadhyay and three
law students, through
Advocates Shashwat
Anand and others,
stated that access to
court proceedings has
been extremely re-
stricted for legal jour-
nalists and law stu-
dents due to virtual
hearings being con-
ducted amid the Cov-
id-19 pandemic.
The petition said
live-streaming and
live-reporting of court
proceedings will re-
store such access and
harmonize VC hear-
ings with the ‘open jus-
tice’ principle.
“The fundamental
right to Freedom of
the Press, of the peti-
tioners –as journal-
ists/mediapersons – is
well-settled in the day
to gain access to VC or
physical hearings and
report the same as
they occur, as the same
is an implicit aspect of
Article 19(1)(a) of the
Constitution,” the peti-
tion said.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Due to the
second wave of Coro-
navirus in the state,
close to 25,000 work-
ing and retired em-
ployees of the Jal
Nigam are yet to re-
ceive their salary of
past 3 months.
There are reports
that more than 500
familiesof thedepart-
ment are currently
being treated for the
virus and in such a
scenario,theexpendi-
tures have increased
and the families are
findingithardtomeet
their ends. The re-
tired employees have
also incurred huge
monthly medical bills
andwithouttheirpen-
sion it is difficult to
pay their bills. The
CM has already or-
dered that salaries be
credited to the em-
ployees account.
Chetan, an employ-
ee of the department
said that after contin-
ued protest it was
promised that salary
will be credited and
even after being di-
rected by the chief
minister, the depart-
ment has not released
thesalaryof for10,000
regular and 15,000 re-
tiredemployeesinthe
state. He added soon
after the protest in
March, 3 months sal-
aryoutof thepending
6 months were given
but after that no sala-
ry has been credited
for February
, March
and April.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The second
wave of corona has
highlighted inhumane
storieshappeninginreal
lives and one such inci-
dent was reported in
Ramnagar area of Vara-
nasi.
A video of a widowed
mother crying over the
body of her son who had
passed away 10 hours
prioraftergettinginfect-
ed with Corona. The
heart wrenching aspect
isthatnofriend,relative,
neighbor of acquaint-
ance came forward to
help the lady fearing get-
tinginfectedthemselves.
The body of the lady’s
son was at last taken to
crematorium on a hand
driven cart.
The body in the video
wasof 44-yr-oldPrashant
who lived near the Ram-
nagar Fort and had
passedawaysuddenlyon
Sunday morning. Ru-
morsspreadlikewildfire
thatPrashanthadpassed
away due to Corona and
in such a case, no one in
the vicinity came for-
ward to help carry the
body of Prashant to cre-
matorium.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Rakesh
Rathore, BJP MLA from
Sitapur, has hit out at
his own government in
Uttar Pradesh, saying
that lawmakers like
him do not have any
freedom to speak the
truth.
“This may lead to a
sedition charge against
me,” he said while talk-
ing to reporters.“I have
taken many steps, but
what is the stature of
legislators? If I speak
too much, then sedition
charges may be invoked
against me,” he said.
“Do you think MLAs
can speak their mind?
You know I have raised
questions in the past.”
Rakesh Rathore, a first-
time MLA, had joined
the BJP before the 2017
Assembly elections in
the state. He had fought
election in the past as
an Independent and
was also associated
with BSP.
Last year, Rathore
was served a show
cause notice after a vid-
eo clip in which he ap-
parently questioned
PM’s call to light can-
dles and beat ‘thalis’
during the initial days
of the lockdown
—FILE PHOTO
Rakesh Rathore
MERIT OF TRUCE
Jal Nigam employees protesting for not getting salaries.
There are two kinds of winning. One
when we win in competition with
others and the other when we win
against ourselves, doing better than before.
Both are important, the second one more so!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
The iconic Malihabad Dussehri Mango, known worldwide for its flavour and quality, is
also bearing the brunt of Covid-19 as farmers have failed to procure the fertilisers and
chemical sprays that keep it safe from worms and insects. This year, the crop is begging
for revival with farmers crying foul. In the photo, a kid is seen plucking an unripened
mango from a tree in Malihabad on Monday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR

ndia’s Adline Castelino
has made the entire coun-
try proud by grabbing the
position of 3rd Runner up
at the 69th Miss Universe
competition held at Semi-
nole Hard Rock Hotel Casino -
Hollywood, Florida on Monday
morning. India was striving hard
for the past 20 years to be in the top
5 of the Miss Universe beauty pag-
eant. And this year, Adline made it
possible by securing 4th position at
this international pageant, where
a total of 74 contestants from dif-
ferent countries competed.
Andrea Meza of Mexico has
been crowned Miss Universe 2020
whereas Julia Gama of Brazil, Jan-
ick Maceta of Peru and Kimberly
Jimenez of Dominican Republic
secured the position of 1st, 2nd and
4th Runner up respectively. Ad-
line’s journey in Miss Universe
2020 had various rounds like the
National costume Round and Pre-
liminary Swimsuit round where
she looked stunning in all her out-
fits. Her national costume was in-
spired by the national flower of
India, the Lotus, which symbolizes
knowledge and spirituality
.
Adline Castelino was born in
Kuwait City, to parents Alphonsus
and Meera Castelino. Her family is
originally from Udyavara in the
city of Udupi, Karnataka. While
growing up, the beauty queen wit-
nessed violence against women
and that’s how she understands the
pain of the women she supports
and easily connects with.
She is a fighter, a self-learner,
who has worked on herself day and
night to be the voice for millions of
women. Adline feels it’s the women
who ultimately make the society
they nurture. Her life changed
right after she was crowned as Liva
Miss Diva Universe 2020. After her
big win, she worked with India’s
leading talent agencies and was
seen on runways, magazine
covers including Femina
Magazine, television and
digital campaigns for lead-
ing fashion and lifestyle
brands. She also show-
cased her dance skills op-
posite Melvyn Louis. Ad-
line’s incredible journey
from Liva Miss Diva Uni-
verse 2020 to representing
India at the Miss Uni-
verse 2020 pageant has
been really inspiring. The
beauty queen feels her
Miss Universe journey is
a tribute to her grand-
mother.
She is an inspira-
tion for all the
young girls who
want to become
independent and
raise their voice
for women and
also for the ones
who want to repre-
sent our country- In-
dia, on international
platforms. We wish Adline
great success in life.
MANSI BACHANI
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
Adline Castelino’s winning moment at Miss Universe 2020
LUCKNOW, TUESDAY
MAY 18, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I
twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I
instagram.com/thefirstindia
09
22 years old Adline Castelino from India
has secured 4th position at Miss Universe
2020-21 competition held in Florida on Monday where
74 countries competed for the coveted title!
I

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
SAMANTHA GEORGE, Influencer
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You may spend on
something not previously
catered for. You can
struggle to keep pace on
the work front. Condition of those
ailing is set to improve by leaps and
bounds and get them firmly on the
road to good health. A suitable
matrimonial match is expected.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Something included in
your diet is likely to have a
positive effect on your
overall health. A glib talker
may try to confuse you so be aware.
Disturbances at home will need to be
curtailed to retain a peaceful
environment. You will get the
motivation to push yourself.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Money is hard to come by
for everyone, so contribute
your share if someone is
spending on you. A lot of
activity is foreseen on the work front
and you will be right in the midst of
it. Some issues that seem unlikely to
get resolved on the family front will
begin to move towards a solution.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Window shopping is all that
you can do in order to
conserve money. You are
likely to swim with the tide
on the professional or academic front.
Indulging in excesses may prove bad
for health. Issue regarding an ancestral
property is likely to be settled amicably.
You will be surprised today.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Keeping a close tab on
spending will leave you
with much to splurge later.
You may take some time in
bouncing back on the work front. No
problems are foreseen on health and
financial fronts. You manage to play
your cards well and avoid getting
involved in a contentious issue.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
It is best to make some
lifestyle changes to save
money rather than become
monetarily tight. You will
manage to pick up the threads from
where you left on the professional
front. Much happiness is foreseen on
the home front. This is a good time to
finalise property.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
It is best to take the
opinion of others before
you put in your money. A
household remedy may
come in handy for those suffering
from body aches and pains.
Something that you wanted to get
done on the home front is likely to be
initiated now.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Repayment of a loan may
force you to make
adjustments. Changes
happening on the
professional front can have you
worried, but will turn out favourable.
More interest is required on the
health front. Family life will cruise
along smoothly.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Financially you may need
to be more secure than you
are now. There is a need to
come up with something
original, if you are in a creative field.
You will be motivated to get back into
shape and may even join a gym.
Problems among the newlyweds
need to be handled with tact.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You can become con-
cerned about a recent
heavy expenditure incurred
on something that you just
couldn’t help. Something important
may be entrusted to you at work
today. You may take up some activity
or sport just to keep trim and slim.
Good news may greet you.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You will need to follow the
directions in letter and
spirit in discharging a task.
Some of you can face a
medical problem on the health front,
but it will be nothing serious. Family
will prove to be a pillar of support for
those facing something important.
You may feel financially secure.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Money loaned may take
some more time to be
returned. You will need to
keep your priorities right
on the professional front. Joining
health conscious people in daily
workouts is likely to keep you fit and
energetic. Someone on the home
front can irritate you.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
urviving a pan-
demic is one of the
most difficult situ-
ations as the event
has both short as
well as long term
impacts. A pan-
demic is more destructive
than war except for the de-
struction of property and
other physical assets. A war
mainly affects soldiers,
their families, strategically
located cities and some ci-
vilians but the pandemic
takes its toll on every per-
son. A totally fit, healthy
and strongly built person
might be dead within a
week or so. It appears as
though the death is roam-
ing here, there and every-
where and can strike any-
one despite all the reason-
able precautions. The psy-
chological impact can be
huge except for very few
people. But just like a war,
every pandemic ultimately
ends. The death of an indi-
vidual is an irreparable
loss to a family but for the
officialdom and general
masses, it is simply a part
of the overall statistics. The
survivors have to cope with
several things post the pan-
demic as reality starts de-
scending across the land.
Pandemic shreds the psy-
chological framework of
even the boldest of human
beings and takes away wis-
dom from the wise ones be-
cause it strikes unan-
nounced. A thriving and
vibrant society becomes
tamed like a goat before a
lion. The loss of self-confi-
dence is always immense,
even for the naysayers. Psy-
chological disorders always
take their roots during ex-
treme situations and then
may linger on for the rest of
life. It has been observed
that after every epidemic
where a disease erupts in a
localised area and popula-
tion groups, many people
start living in their physi-
cal confines with several
psychological barriers
which limit their growth
and joy of life. A pandemic
has much more impact than
an epidemic as almost the
whole globe is involved.
There is an unending news
flow with negative inputs,
self claimed cures, so many
illogical logics and hypoth-
eses that people become
trapped in a web of only
one type of thinking -
thoughts of sickness and
death. The negativity thus
generated may stay for the
rest of the life in a signifi-
cant majority of people.
Now the question arises -
how to cope with this fear
of sickness and death? I
think that the only logical
option is to take all the safe-
ty measures possible and
then be prepared to die.
This thought may sound
drastic but is there any oth-
er option, any other line of
thought process?
When life used to be busy
and competition cutthroat,
everyone wanted a day or
two with family and for lei-
sure and every such hap-
pening used to be a real
stress buster. It is always
fine to be total with family
but for how long? Ultimate-
ly
, monotony starts creating
several problems. Dialogue
becomes replaced by argu-
ment and slowly, over some
time, a type of relationship
stress starts building as the
administrative confine-
ment prolongs. In urban
India, the houses have a
negligible free space hence,
people mostly stay in their
rooms glued to TV set or
mobiles. Only a few people
have creative hobbies and
the capability for lasting
interpersonal conversa-
tions on a variety of sub-
jects. This brings boredom
which might lead to anger,
conflicts and significant
damage to intra-family re-
lationships. The possible
solutions include develop-
ing hobbies, minimising
arguments, giving space to
every family member and
creating a personal life
where one can devote a cer-
tain amount of time with
own self. One should learn
to forgive and forget other-
wise the memories of pan-
demic conflicts might lin-
ger and spoil relationships.
Everyone should remem-
ber that human life is con-
trolled by a system that in-
cludes government, banks,
society and local bodies etc.
A system is always non-
compassionate and wants
its every obligation ful-
filled. Whatever the tragedy
one may suffer in personal
life, one has to pay taxes,
bank or other loan instal-
ments, all the monthly bills
and other social obliga-
tions. One has to maintain
all the books of accounts
properly otherwise post-
pandemic life might be very
painful. Every system sus-
tains on inherent brutality
and one should never forget
this fact.
Finally, in every pandem-
ic, there is bereavement for
so many people. People sud-
denly lose someone dearest
to them who had been an
integral part of their life.
The void thus created can
never be filled, no words of
sympathy and counsel help.
But the wheel of life is im-
mense and it never stops.
One has to keep the memo-
ries of lost souls in the
heart and move ahead in
life because stopping at a
point is impossible. Be-
reavement can be mini-
mised only with a philo-
sophical attitude and ac-
ceptance of death as part of
life. We die because we
dared to be born.
COPING PANDEMIC:
COPING PANDEMIC:
A FEW POINTS OF VIEW
A FEW POINTS OF VIEW
DR RAMAWTAR
SHARMA
ramawatarf132
@gmail.com
S

ETC
11
Andrea
Meza
MEXICO
Julia
Gama
BRAZIL
Adline
Castelino
INDIA
Kimberly
Jimenez
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
Estefania
Soto
PUERTO
RICO
Janick
Maceta
PERU
MISS
UNIVERSE
2020:
DREAMS COME
TRUE!
ANDREA MEZA FROM MEXICO HAS BEEN CROWNED MISS UNIVERSE 2020.
MISS BRAZIL, JULIA GAMA, WAS THE RUNNER-UP WHILE MISS PERU, JANICK
MACETA DEL CASTILLO, SECURED THE THIRD POSITION, AMONG 73 OTHER
WOMEN REPRESENTING DIFFERENT COUNTRIES!
iss Universe 2020 was
the 69th edition of the
Miss Universe compe-
tition which was held
on May 16, 2021, at
Seminole Hard Rock
Hotel Casino in Hol-
lywood, Florida, United States.
After a tough competition with
73 other candidates, Miss Mexi-
co Andrea Meza has been
crowned the 69th Miss Universe
during a three-hour televised
competition. Zozibini Tunzi of
South Africa crowned her suc-
cessor Andrea Meza of Mexico at
the end of the event. Contestants
from 74 countries and territories
competed. The competition was
hosted by Mario Lopez and Ol-
ivia Culpo. City First talks about
a few finalists, along with the
selection committee!
ANDREA MEZA
Andrea Meza represented Mexi-
co and won the crown of 69th
Miss Universe. She is a software
engineer and model. The Miss
Universe 2020 winner Andrea is
quite vocal about gender dispar-
ities and gender violence, re-
veals her social media. She also
made some hard-hitting state-
ments during the pageant. Meza
is a software engineer graduate
from the Autonomous University
of Chihuahua.
JULIA GAMA
Julia Gama became the first run-
ner up as she represented Brazil
at 69th Miss Universe. She is a
26-year-old model who has com-
pleted her studies up to the third
year of her Chemical Engineer-
ing degree at the Federal Univer-
sity of Rio Grande do Sul. Julia
quit and decided to give atten-
tion to her artistic skills. She
had already won the title of Miss
Brasil Mundo 2014.
JANICK MACETA
Janick Maceta aka Janick Mac-
eta del Castillo is an Audio Engi-
neer, Music Producer, Social Ac-
tivist and Model. She also runs
an NGO called Little Heroes Peru
that was created in favour of
children who are or have been
victims of sexual violence. Jan-
ick is also a co-founder of the
Record Label Top of New York.
She became the second runner
up of Miss Universe 2020.
ADLINE CASTELINO
Adline Castelino is born in Ku-
wait and has her roots in Udupi,
Karnataka. She moved back to
Mumbai during her teenage. Af-
ter years of training for pag-
eants, she participated in Miss
Diva Universe 2020 that had Bol-
lywood celebs like Anil Kapoor,
Lara Dutta and Aditya Roy Ka-
pur as judges.
KIMBERLY MARIE JIMÉNEZ DE LEÓN
Kimberly Jiménez is a Puerto
Rican-Dominican beauty queen,
actress and model. She was born
in Puerto Rico to a Dominican
father and a Puerto Rican moth-
er and was raised in an all-wom-
en household in La Romana, Do-
minican Republic.
ESTEFANÍA NATALIA SOTO TORRES
Estefanía Soto Torres has a
bachelor’s degree in foreign
languages and a masters de-
gree in intercultural media-
t i o n .
S h e
studied
i n
F r a n c e ,
B e l g i u m
and Mexi-
co, where
she complet-
ed her mas-
ter’s with a so-
ciological, an-
thropological
and gender per-
spective. Happy
and Relaxed. This
is how she felt after
winning the crown.
Like most things,
the Miss Universe
pageant was signifi-
cantly impacted by
the COVID-19 pandem-
ic. Not only was the
ceremony postponed
from late 2020, but 19
countries and territories
— Angola, Bangladesh,
Egypt, Equatorial Guin-
ea, Georgia, Germany,
Guam, Kenya, Lithuania,
Mongolia, Namibia, New
Zealand, Nigeria, Saint Lu-
cia, Sierra Leone, Sweden,
Tanzania, Turkey and the
US Virgin Islands were
forced to withdraw from the
competition. On the bright
side, Sunday’s ceremony
marked the Miss Universe
debut of Cameroon, as well
as the returns of Ghana and
Russia!
M
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
SELECTION COMMITTEE
With a group of 8 beautiful
and successful women serving
as the selection committee, we
were sure that they looked for
qualities beyond those that are
skin deep. Leading the panel
were two former Miss Uni-
verse winners, Brooke Lee
(USA 1997) and Zuleyka Rivera
(Puerto Rico 2006). Alongside
them are Carnival Cruise Line
President Christine Duffy,
Korean-American actress and
model Arden Cho, Canadian
TV personality Keltie Knight,
South Asian entrepreneur and
CEO of Live Tinted Deepica
Mutyala, Chief Marketing Of-
ficer of Mary Kay Cosmetics
Sheryl Adkins-Green, and
President of Arena del Rio,
Tatyana Orozco of Colombia.
Zozibini Tunzi crowns the winner
of the 69th Miss Universe pageant,
Mexico’s Andrea Meza

First India-Lucknow Edition-18 May 2021

First India-Lucknow Edition-18 May 2021

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