- Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh on Friday to review the Covid-19 situation. - His helicopter landed half an hour late due to bad weather. He held review meetings with officials at the DM's office and Covid Command Centre. - The CM said that active Covid cases in UP will not be the highest in the country as the state has significantly reduced daily cases from 38,000 to 7,000 in the last 20 days through massive testing and vaccination campaigns. - He has now launched the 'Mera Gaon, Corona Mukt Gaon' and 'Mera Ward, Corona Mukt

1. Yogi continues
his state-wide
Covid vigil
Lakhimpur Kheri:
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath was on an
inspection-spree during
his visit to Uttar
Pradesh’s Lakhimpur
Kheri district on Fri-
day. The CM reached
Lakhimpur city at
around 12:15 in the af-
ternoon and headed to
the Covid Command
Centre from there. His
chopper landed with a
delay of half an hour
due to inclement weath-
er. He later held a
Covid review meeting
at Lucknow.
More on Page 2
Allahabad HC’s ‘Ram Bharose’ order stayed by SC
Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Friday stayed
the order of Allahabad
High Court in which it
said that entire medi-
cal system in villages
and small cities of Ut-
tar Pradesh is at God’s
mercy (“Ram bharose”)
amid the COVID-19
pandemic.
A vacation bench
comprising Justices
Vineet Saran and BR
Gavai stayed the order
after hearing the sub-
missions made by So-
licitor General of In-
dia Tushar Mehta on
behalf of the State of
Uttar Pradesh.
It said that High
Courts should refrain
themselves from pass-
ing directions which
cannot be implemented.
On May 17, the High
Court while hearing a
PIL over the coronavi-
rus spread and the con-
dition of quarantine
centres in the state
passed slew of direc-
tions while taking into
accountthedeathof one
Santosh Kumar (64),
who was admitted to an
isolation ward at a
Meerut hospital.
The doctors there
had failed to identify
him and disposed of
the body as unidenti-
fied, according to a
probe report.
Santosh had fainted
in a hospital bathroom
on April 22 and efforts
were made to revive
him but he died.
HCs should avoid
passing orders -
incapable of being
executed
Taking note of the So-
licitor General’s sub-
missions, the Supreme
Court observed, “At
the outset, we may ap-
preciate the efforts of
the High Court of Al-
lahabad as well as var-
ious other High Courts
for taking up the mat-
ter for management of
COVID. However,
while dealing with
such matters and the
concerns the Courts
may have for patients
and general public
and the anxiety of
Courts to give utmost
relief to those suffer-
ing, sometimes, unwit-
tingly the Courts over-
step and pass
certain orders that are
not capable of being
implemented.
A MAJOR LEGAL BATTLE WIN FOR YOGI GOVT!
Speaking of the many lives lost due to the pandemic, the Prime
Minister choked with emotions while paying respects to the deceased
Trinamool Congress MLA from Bhawanipore Shobhandeb
Chattopadhyay, resigns to clear way for Didi to contest
Centre asks twitter to
drop ‘toolkit tag’ tweets
New Delhi:The govern-
ment has asked Twitter
to remove “manipulated
media” tag for tweets on
an alleged “Congress
toolkit” to discredit
COVID-19efforts,calling
it “prejudicial, a clear
overreach and unwar-
ranted”, sources said
today
. The official com-
plaint has been spurred
by Twitter marking BJP
spokesperson Sambit
Patra’s tweet as “manip-
ulated media”.
The Ministry of Elec-
tronics and IT, in a
“strong communica-
tion” to the global team
of Twitter, has objected
to the use of the “ma-
nipulated media” tag on
“certain tweets made
Turn to P6
Sensex up by
975 points,
Nifty at 15,150
Court acquits
Tejpal in sexual
assualt case
Mumbai: The Sensex
and Nifty ended with
strong gains on Friday
led by broad-based buy-
ing across sectors amid
positive global cues.
Sensex gained 975
points, or 1.92 per cent,
at 50,520 levels and the
Nifty50 index topped
the 15,150-mark. The
Nifty sectoral indices
were painted green,
with the Nifty Bank
index trading 3.5 per
cent higher.
Panaji: A sessions
court on Friday acquit-
ted former Tehelka edi-
tor-in-chief Tarun Tej-
pal of all charges in a
sexual assault case.
Tejpal had been ac-
cused of sexually as-
saulting a woman inside
the elevator of a five-
star hotel in Goa during
an event in November
2013. Tejpal, who was ar-
rested on November 30,
2013, was later released
on bail and has been
contesting the allega-
tions since then. Con-
cluding the trial,
Turn to P6
‘Hurt’ Mamata goes
back to earlier seat
Kolkata: Mamata Ba-
nerjee, who swept the
Bengal election but lost
her own contest in
Nandigram, is set to re-
turn to the seat she gave
up in favour of chal-
lenging her former aide
Suvendu Adhikari in
his stronghold.
The Trinamool MLA
who won from Bhawani-
pore, Shobhandeb Chat-
topadhyay, resigned
from the Bengal assem-
bly on Friday afternoon
to enable his party boss
to contest from the seat.
“Mamata Banerjee
willfightfromBhawani-
pore in the coming six
months,” said Chatto-
padhyay before handing
in his resignation to As-
sembly Speaker Biman
Bandopadhyay
. Turn to P6
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
was visibly emotional
on Friday as he spoke
about those who had
lost their lives to Covid.
“This virus has ...
snatched many of loved
ones from us. I pay my
humble tribute to them
and I express my condo-
lences to the families
who lost people,” the
Prime Minister said,
appearing to choke up
as he took a long pause.
He thanked doctors
and frontline workers
during video confer-
ence with health work-
ers in Varanasi, his par-
liamentary constituen-
cy in Uttar Pradesh.
“In the second wave
of corona, we are fight-
ing on multiple fronts at
the same time. The rate
of infection is also
much more and pa-
tients are in hospital for
a longer time.”
The Prime Minister’s
emotional homage
Turn to P6
New Delhi: The govern-
ment is exploring the
possibility of boosting
production of vaccines,
including identifying
manufacturing sites for
indigenously developed
Covaxin outside India.
The government also
intends to take up the
matter with WHO to step
up Covaxin production.
It will also take up with
Moderna, Johnson and
Johnson and other vac-
cine makers the issue of
granting voluntary licence.
CENTRE MULLS
MAKING COVAXIN
OUTSIDE INDIA
PMREDUCEDTO
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
addressed the growing
challenge posed by the
surge in ‘black fungus’
cases in different parts
of the country. “In our
ongoing fight
against Cov-
id-19, a new
challenge
of Black
fungus has
surfaced.
We must
focus on tak-
ing precau-
tion and
preparation
to deal,”
he said.
MODI WARNS
ON THREATS OF
BLACK FUNGUS
TEARS
INDIA
2,59,551
new cases
4,209
new fatalities
CORONA
CATASTROPHE TOTAL DEATHS DUE TO PANDEMIC UP TO THREE
TIMES HIGHER THAN REPORTED: WHO OFFICIAL
Geneva: Up to three times
more people have died
due to the pandemic than
indicated by the officially
reported Covid deaths,
the World Health Organi-
zation said Friday. So far,
more than 3.4 million
deaths worldwide have
officially been attributed
to Covid-19 since the
disease first surfaced in
China in late 2019. “Total
deaths are at least two
to three times higher
than officially reported,”
Samira Asma, the WHO
assistant director-general
in charge of data, told
mediapersons.
New Delhi: A delay in getting the second shot not
only allows the existing supply of shots to be more
widely distributed, it boosts their protective power by
giving the immune system more time to respond to
the first inoculation. Levels of antibodies produced to
fight off the virus are 20% to 300% higher when the
follow-up vaccine comes later, new research shows.
UP TO 300 PER CENT MORE ANTIBODIES WHEN
SECOND DOSE DELAYED, NEW STUDY SHOWS
PM Narendra Modi interacted with the doctors and
frontline workers on COVID situation in Varanasi
through video conferencing from New Delhi on Friday.
JANUARY 9, 1927 - MAY 21, 2021
SPLIT-BENCH SENDS BENGAL NETAS TO
HOUSE ARREST, CASE TO 3-JUDGE BENCH
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday
ordered the house arrest of the two Bengal
ministers, one MLA and the former Kolkata
Mayor in Narada case. The Division Bench of
Acting Chief Justice Bindal and Justice Baner-
jee differed in their opinion and a larger Bench
would be constituted to hear plea. Under house
arrest, the ministers will be able to work virtu-
ally, but will not be allowed to meet anyone.
LUCKNOW l SATURDAY, MAY
22, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00
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OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
MYANMAR
TO DISSOLVE
AUNG SAN SUU
KYI’S PARTY
RARE
PERSIAN
LEOPARD
PAIR SPOTTED
MICROSOFT TO
RETIRE INTERNET
EXPLORER IN
JUNE NEXT YEAR
Naypyitaw: Myanmar’s junta-appointed elec-
tion commission will dissolve Aung San Suu
Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party
(NLD) because of what it said was fraud in
a November election, news outlet Myanmar
Now said on Friday, citing a commissioner.
Quetta: A pair of rare Persian
leopards have been sighted in
Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
Adult leopards are solitary in the
wild and pair only to mate.
Washington: Microsoft has said that it is
retiring its long-standing browser Internet Ex-
plorer on June 15 next year after serving the
netizens for over 25 years. The veteran web
browser was released with Windows 95, the
tech giant said in a blog post on Wednesday.
RARE
PERSIAN
LEOPARD
Quetta: A pair of rare Persian
leopards have been sighted in
Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
Adult leopards are solitary in the
RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol
1 l Issue No. 160
Rishikesh: Well-known environmentalist Sunderlal Bahu-
guna is no more. He was 94. Bahuguna died from COVID-
related complications at AIIMS in Rishikesh. A pioneer in
environmental protection, Bahuguna led the charge against
the construction of big dams in the Himalayas in the
1980s. He was fervently opposed to the construction of the
Tehri dam.He, along with local women, founded the Chipko
movement to prevent the felling of trees in the ecologically
sensitive zones. Prime MInister Narendra Modi, Ram Nath
Kovind among other leaders condoled his demise.
‘GUARDIAN OF HIMALAYAS’
BAHUGUNA PASSES AWAY
7,735
new cases
172
new fatalities
UTTAR
PRADESH
CM converses with medical staff at a CHC in Kathwara village
of Bakshi Ka Talab in presence of Medical Education Minister
Suresh Khanna and Lucknow DM Abhishek Prakash on Friday.

2. First India Bureau
Lucknow/Lakhimpur
Kheri: Uttar Pradesh
CM Yogi Adityanath
was on a inspection-
spree during his visit to
Uttar Pradesh’s Lakh-
impur Kheri district on
Friday
. The CM reached
Lakhimpur city at
around 12:15pm and
then headed to the Cov-
id Command Centre.
CM’s chopper landed
half an hour late due to
inclement weather.
Yogi held a meeting
with officials at the
DM’s Office to review
the handling the pan-
demic menace here.
At the Covid Com-
mand Centre, he spoke
to a number of employ-
ees and enquired about
the responsibiltieis as-
signed to them.
“The state which, be-
tween April 25 and May
10, was feared of record-
ing one lakh COVID
cases daily, has made a
sigificant improvement
in the last 20 days to re-
duce the daily tally
from 38,000 to 7,000 pa-
tients,” said the CM.
Yogi said that his gov-
ernment had launched
a massive campaign in
the rural and urban ar-
eas that helped in re-
ducing Covid-19 cases.
Rubbishing the spec-
ulations that active
cases in UP will be the
highest in the coun-
try, he said, “Until
April 30, the COV-
ID-19 cases were in-
creasing in the state;
positivity rate was
high and recovery
rate was low, but in
the last 20 days, as
many as 2.04 lakh
people have recovered
and discharged from
hospitals across the
state.”
UP has performed
over 4.62 crore COV-
ID-19 tests so far. Over
1.6 crore people, includ-
ing 8 lakh above 18
years of age, have been
inoculated with COV-
ID-19 vaccine, he said.
“Of the Districts I
have visited so far, rep-
resentatives of Lakhim-
pur have extended their
best support for setting
up of oxygen plant,”
said the CM urging peo-
ple to strictly adhere to
Corona curfew, adding
that complete lockdown
was not imposed to
make sure that people’s
livelihoods are not hit.
UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2021
02
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First India Bureau
Lucknow: CM Yogi
Adityanath has direct-
ed to begin a campaign
to break Corona infec-
tion chain in state.
He has instructed all
DMs to run ‘Mera Gaon,
Corona Mukt Gaon’ and
‘Mera Ward, Corona
Mukt Ward’ campaign
in villages and urban
areas.
In each district, three
best-performing villag-
es and three wards
would be awarded.
Additional funds
would also be provided
by government to such
villages and wards for
development works.
CM Yogi issued these
directives in a review
meeting with team 9 at
his official residence on
Friday
.
He said large testing
campaigns were getting
good results in villages.
The hard work of moni-
toring committees and
RRT teams is paying off.
In such a situation, the
initiative should be
handled as a mission by
creating awareness and
spreading the message
of ‘Corona Free Vil-
lage’, a goal for every
villager.
He said on the lines
of ‘My village, Corona
free village’ in state, the
police department has
also pledged for ‘my
line, corona free line’.
He said that effective
control was possible on
pandemic was possible,
as role of every citizen
including medical
workers, policemen,
sanitation workers, An-
ganwadi workers, Asha
workers was important
to defeat Corona.
The campaign
launched by CM would
prove to be a milestone
in tackling Corona. He
had set up separate
monitoring committees
and rapid response
teams for urban and ru-
ral areas and ordered
door-to-door screening.
which has resulted in
lessening Covid cases.
CM Yogi visits a CHC situated in Kathwara village of Bakhshi Ka
Talaab on Friday, in presence of Medical Edu Minister Suresh
Khanna, PS(CM) Sanjay Prasad, DM Abhishek Prakash, others.
CM spearheads Mera Gaon, Corona Mukt drive DM flags off Covid testing vans, to
collect samples from C-suspects
First India Bureau
Lucknow: As many as
eleven mobile Covid
sample testing vans
were flagged off by Luc-
know District Magis-
trate Abhishek Prakash
from Aishbagh Com-
munity Health Centre
on Friday
.
The vans would now
be used to test Covid
suspects people from
different localities of
Lucknow.
Four government
testing vans and seven
private vans will visit
suspected homes of co-
rona infected patients
and collect samples.
Abhishek Prakash
said, “The initiative
will benefit people
and enhance reach of
the health machinery
.
Correct phone num-
ber and address of
the suspected infect-
ed patient will be re-
corded by the staff
involved in Covid
sample collection”.
CM Yogi conducts a reality check of Lakhimpur Kheri district’s health facilities, holds high level meet at the DM office
YOGI LAUDS TESTING, C-VAX DRIVES
Uniform procedure for
selection in academic
posts across Univs
Knp officials get ready
ahead of CM Yogi’s visit
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In order to
bring uniformity and
transparency in ap-
pointment through di-
rect recruitment with
regards to various aca-
demic posts in universi-
ties of UP, an interview
would be conducted on
basis of merit as-well-
as marks obtained after
written examination,
informed Mahesh Ku-
mar Gupta, Additional
Chief Secretary to Gov-
ernor.
He informed that
post discussions un-
der the chairmanship
of Governor, a com-
mittee of five Vice
Chancellors of Gen-
eral University, Agri-
cultural University,
Technical University
and Medical Univer-
sity was constituted
and on the basis of
their report ,a deci-
sion to implement
uniform selection
process in all univer-
sities was implement-
ed.
Gupta informed a to-
tal of 100 marks have
been fixed for selection
on the post of Assistant
Professor, according to
which 20 marks on
Bachelor/Master/M
Phil or equivalent de-
gree, 30 marks for AI
score as prescribed by
University Grants Com-
mission, 20 marks have
been prescribed for
written examination to
assess subject informa-
tion and 20 marks for
knowledge about teach-
ing skills.
He further said that
the skill written test
would be on objective
basis in which comput-
er knowledge test will
be taken up prominent-
ly because now online
education was being
emphasized upon in
universities across Ut-
tar Pradesh.
Sumit Awasthi
Kanpur: Ahead of to
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath’s visit to
Kanpur today, discus-
sions are ripe with re-
gards to possible trans-
fer of some officers post
CM’s inspection.
However, officers are
presently heaving a
sigh of relief, because
of favourable data of
Covid recoveries in the
industrial city
.
Though Black Fun-
gus has spread its tenta-
cles across the district,
but the administra-
tion’s statistics may
please the CM. In fact,
death of many patients
due to lack of due to
lack of oxygen, injec-
tion and beds, have
made headlines but the
administration contin-
countering these
claims.
Sources informed
that the government
data reported far lesser
than actual Corona
deaths and instead has
shown ample availabil-
ity of beds in govern-
ment and private hospi-
tals, starting of Oxygen
plant in Ursula and
many other hospitals,
availability of medi-
cine kits for home isola-
tion patients, so that
officers responsible can
make a positive impact
on the CM.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Miffed
over Opposition for
perpetrating negative
politics even in times
of crisis, UP govern-
ment spokesman and
Minister of Micro,
Small and Medium en-
terprises (MSME),
Sidharth Nath Singh
said that it is highly
inhuman that the two
major political ‘lead-
ers’ are engaged in
spreading fear, lies.
“During such chal-
lenging times and
even amid a prevailing
pandemic, Congress
leader Priyanka Gan-
dhi Vadra and SP
Chief Akhilesh Yadav
should focus on help-
ing the people instead
of trading in politics
of lies,” he said.
He asserted that the
opposition leaders,
desperate to regain
lost political ground,
are solely engaged in
political stunts in-
stead of helping the
people.
Calling out SP Chief
Akhilesh Yadav, Singh
said that the former
CM has time and again
raised questions on
ongoing vaccination
drive and has tried to
topple efficient work-
ing of UP government
instead of understand-
ing the pain and suf-
ferings of the common
people.
SN SINGH SLAMS AKHILESH,PRIYANKA
NMMU turns savior for 45L patients
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Nation-
al Mobile Medical Unit
(NMMU), launched by
Chief Minister Yogi in
the year 2019 to provide
free treatment to the
people of the state at
home has become the
savior as more than 45
lakh people have re-
ceived free treatment
and check-up without
even going to hospitals
since its launch.
The NMMU has been
providing OPD services
with the help of a team
of five people which in-
cludes a doctor, a phar-
macist, a lab technician
and a staff nurse per
unit and has also dur-
ing the Corona pandem-
ic helped in screening
of people with the help
of Anti-gen tests. A to-
tal of 170 NMMU vehi-
cles are currently oper-
ating in 53 districts of
the state and each unit
visits villages in the
state and provide free
medical checkup to eve-
ryone.
The NMMU scheme
was launched by Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath with the help of
Indira Gandhi Founda-
tion in February 18,2019
and has treated around
6,92,562 people in UP in
the last 3 months.
The NMMU
unit after visiting a par-
ticular village revisits
the same village in a
time span of 15 days to
do follow up checks and
provide medicine if
needed. These units
also during the initial
check refers patients to
major hospitals if there
is a need for complex
treatments.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath hands over a Covid vaccination
certificate to an old woman during an inspection at Kahtawara
village of Bakshi Ka Talaab on Friday.
MSME Minister SN Singh
Mahesh Kumar Gupta,
Additional Chief Secretary to
Governor of UP. File photo
CM Yogi addresses a press conference in Lucknow, DM Abhishek
Prakash, Lucknow CP D K Thakur are also seen.
The officials are trying
their best to showcase
pleasing stats and
figures, so that they
can leave a lasting
impression on the CM
4 MEN POSING
AS CM’S OSD
ARRESTED
Lucknow: Four
persons posing as
Officer on Special
Duty (OSD) to CM
Yogi to dupe people
on pretext of getting
their work done
were arrested by
STF on Friday.
Pramod Kumar
Dubey, Atul Sharma,
Pradeep Kumar
Srivastava and
Radhey Shyam
Kashyap were
arrested near the
Secretariat building.
ENSURE NO
LACK OF BEDS,
O2, MEDS: CM
CM Yogi presiding
over a review meet
of Lucknow Division
instructed that there
should be no dearth
of beds, medicines
and oxygen supply
for Covid patients.
Other officials too
participated via
virtual mode in the
high level meet.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath presides over a review meet in Lucknow on Friday. Medical Education Minister Suresh
Khanna, Urban Development Minister Ashutosh Tandon, Minister of State for Minority Welfare Muslim Waqf and
Haji Mohsin Raza, Minister of WCD Swati Singh Law Minister Brajesh Pathak, Jal Shakti Minister Dr Mahendra
Singh, PS to CM Sanjay Prasad, ACS (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad and DM Abhishek Prakash were also present.
Yogi Speaks
Yogi Speaks
CM Yogi has asked officials
to ensure timely treatment
to the Covid patients across
the state. During a meet, he
said that any lapses on the part
of officials will not be tolerated.
CM Yogi has condoled
the death of noted
environmentalist Sundar
Lal Bahuguna. He said
that Lal’s connect with the
nature was unmatchable
and that his departure is a
big loss for the society.
CM Yogi has mourned
death of Sushila Devi,
mother of Manoj Tomar,
Group Editor of Rashtriya
Sahara. The CM offered
solace to the bereaved
family and has prayed for
the departed soul.
DM Abhishek Prakash waving off a Covid testing van on Friday.
DM Lakhimpur Kheri, Shailendra Singh, briefs CM Yogi on the
Covid Control situation in the district on Friday.
CM Yogi addresses a gathering at the Collectorate Auditorium
in Lakhimpur Kheri on Friday, Minister Ashok Kataria, PS to CM
Sanjay Prasad, Divisional Commissioner Ranjan, DM Shailendra
Singh and other public representatives were also there.

3. UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2021
03
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It is for the first time in the history of Uttar Pradesh that oxygen plants are being established on such a large scale in the state
BREATHOFFRESHAIR:YOGI’SNODTO258PLANTS
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Tackling
with the crisis of Oxy-
gen supply in Uttar
Pradesh,Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath seems
to be now batting on the
front-foot as he has said
that the state will be set-
ting up more than 250
oxygen plants in times
to come.
As part of its mission
to achieve self-sufficien-
cy in the production of
medical oxygen in Uttar
Pradesh, the Yogi gov-
ernment has been cur-
rently working on war
footing to establish 258
oxygen plants in the
state.
The Government has
also sent proposals for
setting up 167 new
plants in the state to the
Central Government.
The Government plants
to have altogether 485
oxygen plants in the
state in future, which
will end the UP’s de-
pendence on oxygen
supplyfromotherstates.
It is for the first time in
the history of Uttar
Pradesh that oxygen
plants are being estab-
lished on such a large
scale in the state, thanks
to Yogi Adityanath’s ini-
tiative and consistent
efforts. CM Yogi has also
ordered setting up of
oxygen plants in private
medical colleges. Oxy-
gen plants will be set up
in all those private med-
ical colleges that have
been taken over by the
government, and which
do not have a plant, with
the funds allocated for
those colleges.
The Yogi Govern-
ment’s initiatives of ox-
ygen audit and software
based tracking are lead-
ing to better outcomes
in terms of ensuring
adequate supply of oxy-
gen across the state. At
present, all the districts
have adequate backup
of oxygen in UP. Medi-
cal colleges also have
oxygen backup for two
and a half days. A total
of 753 MT of oxygen has
been supplied in the
state in the last 24 hours.
Oxygen is also being
given to people in home
isolation.
There are 25 oxygen
plants currently operat-
ing in the state of UP.
Besides, a total of 188
newoxygenplantsareto
be set up from the PM
Care Fund, of which
five have been estab-
lished while work is un-
derway on 16 others.
Apart from this, a pro-
posal has been sent to
theCentralGovernment
for 167 new plants. The
plants to be set up in-
clude 27 by the State
Government, 79 by the
Sugar Mills and Excise
Department, 10 by Bill &
Melinda Gates Founda-
tion, six from MP and 37
from MLA Funds, 25
from State Disaster Re-
lief Fund (SDRF) and
two from Path. Apart
from this, 59 plants are
being set up from CSR
Fund, of which three
have already been in-
stalled. It is worth men-
tioning here that two
plants to be set up with
the help of MP Fund, 20
from the MLA Fund and
five oxygen plants from
the SDRF are likely to be
approved soon.
The oxygen plants are
being set up in 10 hospi-
tals of the state also.
TheseincludeAvantibai
Women’s Hospital in
Lucknow; RSM Hospi-
tal-Saadhamau; 300-bed-
ded Covid Hospital at
Gautam Budh Nagar;
Manyavar Kanshiram
Trauma Centre at Kan-
pur; DCH Gauriganj of
Amethi, District Hospi-
tal of Bijnor, Deoria and
Etawah; Combined Hos-
pitalof Mathura;aswell
as district hospitals at
Vrindavan and Pilibhit.
First India Bureau
or the first in
the last one
month, Uttar
Pradesh regis-
tered less than
200 deaths within a span
of 24 hours.
In the past 24 hours,
7,735 fresh COVID cases
were reported which
took the total case tally
to 16,59,212, he said.
A total of 17,668 people
have recovered from the
infection in the
past 24 hours,
taking the total
recoveries in
the state to
15,34,176, the of-
ficial said.
With 172 more
deaths, the fatality
count in Uttar Pradesh
rose to 18,760, he further
said.
Of the new deaths,
not more than 15 were
reported from Varanasi,
12 from Lucknow and 11
from Saharanpur, as per
a health bulletin issued
here.
As far as fresh cases
are concerned, not more
than 1,003 cases were re-
ported from Ghaziabad,
892 from Gorakhpur, 427
from Meerut, 394 from
Gautam Buddha Nagar,
287 from Saharanpur,
286 from Lucknow and
229casesfromVaranasi,
it said.
The UP government
on Friday said the num-
ber of active coronavi-
rus cases in the
state has come
down by 68 per
cent since the
peak, while 172
deaths were re-
corded in the past
24 hours.
“The recovery rate of
the state is improving. It
is now 92.5 per cent. The
active cases in the state
in the past 20 days have
come down by 68 per
cent,” Additional Chief
Secretary, Information,
Navneet Sehgal told re-
porters here.
During the peak on
April 30, there were
3,10,783 active COVID-19
cases in the state which
have now come down to
1,06,276, he said.
First India Bureau
Ghaziabad: A drive-
through covid vaccina-
tion facility has been
launched in Ghaziabad
for people aged 45 years
and above.
“We recognise imme-
diate and widespread
vaccination as a prong
in the two-pronged
strategy to help with the
current situation, the
other being community
participation in re-
vamping healthcare in-
frastructure,” read a
statement from United
by Blood, which
launched the faility
.
Since people will be in
theircars,socialdistanc-
ing norms will be auto-
matically followed and
in a better fashion.
As the second wave of
Covid-19 sweeps across
India, there is a need for
mass scale and rapid
vaccination of people.
India currently has
three approved vaccines
in use i.e. Covishied, Co-
vaxin and Sputnik V
.
Withdesignatedvaccine
drive-in facilities outside
hospitals and clinics, the
stress on the medical
staff and infrastructure
at hospitals can reduce.
As of now, only a few cit-
ies like Mumbai, Bhu-
baneswar, Bhopal have
followed the idea of hav-
ing drive-through vacci-
nation facilities.
Thedrive-throughvac-
cination facility is at
WorldSquareMall.Once
the dose is administered,
the person has to spend a
mandatory30-minutepe-
riod in a dedicated wait-
ing area under the obser-
vation of healthcare pro-
fessionals.
A new oxygen plant set up at DRDO, Lucknow —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
A COVID-19 patient waiting for admission outside LLR hospital in Kanpur on Friday —PTI PHOTO
25 OXY PLANTS OPERATING AT PRESENT
There are 25 oxygen plants currently operating in the
state. Besides, 188 new plants are to be set up from
the PM Care Fund, of which five have been established
while work is underway on 16 others. Apart, a pro-
posal has been sent to the Centre for 167 new plants.
The plants to be set up include 27 by the State, 79 by
the Sugar Mills and Excise Department, 10 by Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, six from MP and 37 from
MLA Funds and 25 from State Disaster Relief Fund.
PLANTS AT HOSPS
Plants being set up
in hospitals include
Avantibai Women’s
Hospital,Lucknow,
RSM Hospital, Saad-
hamau, 300-bed Covid
Hospital at Gautam
Budh Nagar, Manyavar
Kanshiram Trauma
Center at Kanpur etc.
C toll in state below 200 for the
first time in more than a month
Drive-through vax facility in
Gzb for ppl above 45 years
COVID-19 UPDATE
GHAZIABAD 1,003
GORAKHPUR 892
MEERUT 427
GAUTAM BUDDH
NAGAR 394
SAHARANPUR 287
LUCKNOW 286
VARANASI 229
TOTAL CASES
16.59 L
TOTAL DEATHS
18,760
NEW CASES
7,735
NEW DEATHS
172
RECOVERED 15,34,176
ACTIVE CASES 1,06,276
F
‘SO FAR OVER 4.61 CRORE TESTS CONDUCTED IN
STATE, 1.58 CR VAX DOSES ADMINISTERED’
Lucknow: On Thursday, 2.89 lakh
tests were conducted in the state, ACS
Information Navneet Sehgal said, adding
that so far over 4.61-cr tests have been
conducted. He said so far, over 1.58
crore vax doses have been administered
in UP. Over 1.25 cr people have received
the first dose while over 33 lakh got
the second dose also, he added. Sehgal
said of the 98,386 villages in the state,
covid has been reported in only 28,742
villages and the government is actively
distributing medical kits in rural areas.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also
directed officials to initiate “Mera Ward
Corona Mukt Ward” (COVID-free ward)
campaign, he said.
HOPE IN FAITH
Women offer prayers against the spread of COVID19 disease at Nishadraj Ghat in Varanasi on
Friday.
A woman being administered
vaccine in her car.
The company will put
a real-time live feed on
the number of doses
available and number
of cars in the queue to
help plan better
Janardan Misra
Lucknow: Persons re-
covered from Covid-19
virus infection should
get vaccinated after
three months of recov-
ery while those who
were infected after first
jab should get second
dose after three months,
said Dr Ajay Ghai, State
Immunisation Officer,
UP on suggestions of
National Expert Group
on Vaccine supervising
Covid vaccinations and
its effects.
Dr Ghai said the Na-
tional Expert Group has
vital role in making
strategies for vaccina-
tion and recent advice
was issued after observ-
ing scientific evidences
and experiences related
to global vaccination
drive and changing sce-
nario in Corona period.
According to new sug-
gestions breastfeeding
mothers can also get
vaccinated, he said add-
ing that earlier several
speculations were float-
ed on harmful effects of
vaccination for breast-
feeding mothers. Sever-
al informations on so-
cial media platforms
related to that were fake
and any medical assis-
tance should not be giv-
en to patient without
doctor’s discussion, he
underlined.
The group has sug-
gested that persons in-
fected with Covid 19 vi-
rus and were given anti-
sars-cov-2 monoclonal
antibodies, can get vac-
cinated after three
months. Also, hospital-
ised patients should
avoid vaccination for
more than three months
after recovery
.
Dr Ghai said that any
healthy person can do-
nate blood during Coro-
na period and persons
who were vaccinated
candonatebloodafter14
days of getting jab. Also,
persons who were in-
fected from virus and
tested negative in RTP-
CR can donate blood af-
ter 14 days, he added.
Get vaccinated three months after recovery from infection, says med official

National Expert
Group issued
advice on basis
of scientific
evidences and
experiences
related to global
vax drive A woman gets vaccinated at a facility in Lucknow.
—PHOTO
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR
—PHOTO
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR
ACS Navneet Sehgal

4. PERSPECTIVE
LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2021
04
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Promoted by First India
News International Pvt. Ltd.
l Vol 1 l Issue No.160
l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi
Industrial Area Kanpur Road Luc-
know. Published at 98, Friend’’s
Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli
Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP).
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Whoever heeds discipline
shows the way to life, but
whoever ignores correction
leads others astray.
—Proverbs 10:17
IN-DEPTH
Prakash Javadekar
@PrakashJavdekar
At the G7 Climate and Environment
Ministerial stated that India
expects stronger commitment
by G7 nations to deliver on the
#climatefinance as well as on the
technology transfer obligations
under the Paris Agreement.
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Running on a high priority Green
Corridor, Oxygen Expresses
have delivered a record 1,118
MT of Oxygen in a single day
for COVID-19 patients. So far,
208 #OxygenExpress trains have
provided 13,319 MT of Oxygen to
13 States across India
TOP TWEET
DIY COVID-19
TESTING KIT
A BIG RELIEF
etting a Covid-19 test
done when the sec-
ond wave was at its
peak was a tough
call. Even tougher
was getting a reliable report.
Government’s labs were giving
as many false reports as private
pathology labs. Nobody knew
which report to rely on. Sadly, a
large number of lives were lost
either because of false negative
reports, which were allegedly
given to keep the positivity rate
low or, reports that were delayed.
In both the cases patients’ condi-
tion became unmanageable.
A molecular company located
in Pune has now developed Co-
viSelf which can be used at
home. The ICMR has approved
the kit for testing Covid-19 using
a rapid antigen formula. The
test will give the result in 15
minutes. The kit will come as a
big relief for the masses who are
being warned of a third wave.
Compared to the cost of a Cov-
id-19 test in a private lab this kit,
country’s laudable first, is inex-
pensive and easy to operate.
G
wo of the world’s
biggest democra-
cies can’t do with-
out scanning user
data on Facebook.
The US continues to make
the largest number of re-
quests for user data with In-
dia placed at number two
place. They were followed by
Germany, France, Brazil and
the UK. India made 40,300 re-
quests, of which 37,865 were
legal, for user data between
July and December 2020. Fa-
cebook’s Transparency Re-
port states that it restricted
access to content 944 times,
which was more than 824
times the content was re-
stricted during the first half
of 2020. Over the years, the
requests from states and the
Central government have
risen sharply
. In the first half
of 2013, around 3,200 requests
which jumped to 35,600 dur-
ing the same period in 2020.
Social media has strength-
eneddemocracybyupholding
the freedom of expression en-
joyed by the people who can
bypass traditional sources of
information like journalists
and news channels. The Indi-
an government swears by the
democratic right of the peo-
ple but has its biases against
those not toeing its line. It
also feels that social media
platforms vest too much pow-
er in social media tech giants
which could destabilize gov-
ernments. That is not India’s
concern alone but of some
other governments as well.
The war between social me-
dia giants and various gov-
ernments is as much about
constitutional rights as it is
about Left and Right ideolo-
gies and polarized society and
privacy rights.
India is at war with Face-
book, Twitter and WhatsApp
over user data. The greater
access it has, the lesser will
be the freedom enjoyed by in-
dividuals.
WHY GOVT WANTS
MORE INFO FROM FB
The Indian government
swears by the democratic
right of the people but has
its biases against those not
toeing its line. It also feels
that social media
platforms vest too much
power in social media
tech giants which could
destabilize governments
T
WHEN HIT BY WORST,
USE THE BEST!!
The Armed Forces are the
last hope of the nation. They
are called in when
everything else has failed
and it’s a matter of pride
that they have never let-
down the nation. History is
full of examples when armed
forces were called in against
external aggression like
Liberation of Bangladesh in
1971, Kargil intrusion
in 1999 or revenge of
Pulwama massacre
pandemic like COVID strikes
themankind,probablyoncein
a century
, as per the historical
evidence. The second wave of
the COVID-19 pandemic has
caused unprecedented devas-
tation in India. Having 4 lakh
new infections daily and over
4000 deaths every day
, is a seri-
ous crisis. The deaths due to
Covid are more than the total
battle casualties, we have had
so far in last 74 years of Inde-
pendence. The health infra-
structure of the country is
stretched to near-breaking
point. The government must
press into service its instru-
ment of last resort, which has
proven capability beyond
doubt. It’s very aptly said that
“When you are hit by the
worst,useyourbestweaponto
counterit’.Wearealreadylate
in decision making and pay-
ing the price for delay by loss
of human lives, every day
.
WHY ARMED FORCES
Last Hope of the Nation:
TheArmedForcesarethelast
hope of the nation. They are
calledinwheneverythingelse
has failed and it’s a matter of
pride that they have never let-
down the nation. History is
full of examples when armed
forces were called in against
external aggression like Lib-
erationof Bangladeshin1971,
Kargil intrusion in 1999 or re-
venge of Pulwama massacre.
Similarly
, in national calami-
ties like Gujrat earthquake,
Sunami in A & N Islands or
Delhi Riots in 1984, they have
done a praiseworthy job and
saved thousands of lives.
Basedonpastgloriousrecord,
the nation again wants to re-
pose faith in uniformed peo-
ple to rescue them from this
deadly pandemic.
Suitability: Armed Forces
have no magic vend. The pri-
mary strength of the forces is
thecommandcentricorganiza-
tion of 1:5 million, trained and
disciplined personnel, vacci-
natedandreadyforcrisisman-
agement, Pan India. The
Armed Forces have adequate
resourcesintermsof heavylift
aircrafts, helicopters, cargo
ships, load carriers and porta-
ble field engineering equip-
ments for casualty evacuation
and medical support. They are
masters in logistics manage-
ment. The Armed Forces have
their own communication set-
up and digital networking to
establish a grid of Command
andControlCentersandnodal
points,whichisveryessential.
ASSIGNMENTS
z Medicare: Armed Forces
have their dedicated state of
the art medicare facilities.
There are about 130 Military
Hospitals and another 100
field hospitals can be created
quickly. Similarly, large size
adhoc Covid Care Centers,
like DRDO Hospitals, can
also be created.
z Vaccination at War Foot-
ing: Combatants trained
as Battlefield Nursing
Assistants(BFNA) can be ef-
fectively utilized for vaccina-
tion at war footing.
z Supply Chain Management:
Defence logistics expertise
can be very well entrusted
with enhanced production,
movement and timely deliv-
ery of oxygen, drugs and life
saving equipment. The Indian
Air Force (IAF) and the Indian
Navy have transported oxy-
gen containers and tankers
from abroad and within India.
z Organised Labour Migra-
tion: Armed Forces with PAN
India presence can perform
this task in very efficient and
organised manner.
z Area Sanitisation and Pre-
vention: All Armed Forces
Stations have a Station
Health Organization, which is
capable of performing effec-
tive area sanitization drive.
z Rations Distribution: The
Armed Forces expertise in
handling supply of rations
during war and peace could
be utilised for delivery of es-
sentials in containment zones.
z Crowd Control: As part of
Aid to Civil Administration,
Armed Forces can also be
used to augment civil police
force in crowd control during
lockdown.
z Decent Last Riots: Armed
Forces are trained for last rites
of their soldiers in war like
situation. This onerous yet
essential task could well be
entrusted to Defence Forces.
z Command and Control:
The whole govt machin-
ery appears to have been
paralyzed, with little Inter-
Dept coordination. Army can
establish it’s own Command
and Control network at all
levels, within own resources.
CONCLUSION
The pandemic is a calamity
, a
national security challenge,
thatonehasnotwitnessedina
century
. The Armed forces
have never failed the nation
and yet again they will deliver.
Theneedistoidentifythemag-
nitudeof theproblemandtake
decision to use the best avail-
able resource. Valuable time
has already been lost. A free
handshouldbegiventoArmed
Forces with emergency pow-
ers and all other concerned
depts placed under their com-
mand. Let’s all contribute in
ourownwaytofightthiscatas-
trophe and saving the human-
ity because, one day
, coming
generations will ask us .
”TUM KAHAN THEY
AUR TUMNE KYA KIA.”
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
A
MAJ GEN
CP SINGH, RETD
The writer is a scholar soldier accredited with
MA, MSc, LLB, MBA, M Phil (Def Mgt) and M
Phil (International Strategic Affairs)
The pandemic is a
calamity, a national security
challenge, that one has not
witnessed in a century.
The Armed forces have
never failed the nation
and yet again they will
deliver. The need is to
identify the magnitude of
the problem and take
decision to use the best
available resource. Valuable
time has already been lost

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6. INDIA
LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2021
05
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New Delhi: Congress
president Sonia Gandhi
on Friday accused the
BJP-led government at
the Centre of indulging
in anti-people activi-
ties, playing with the
future of farmers and
acting against their in-
terests by bringing new
agriculture laws.
She praised the Con-
gress government in
Chhattisgarh, saying
that it was trying to
bring about a change in
the lives of common
people, particularly
farmers, by empower-
ing them financially
.
Mrs Gandhi said this
in a written message
read out by Chief Min-
ister Bhupesh Baghel at
a function held at his
official residence here
to disburse cash bene-
fits to farmers and cat-
tle-rearers under two
schemes of the state
government on the oc-
casion of former prime
minister Rajiv Gandhi’s
death anniversary
.
In her message, she
hailed the Bhupesh
Baghel-led government
saying that these
schemes are a tribute in
a true sense to Rajiv
Gandhi. “In the current
situation, when the BJP
government at the Cen-
tre is involved in anti-
people activities, play-
ing with the future of
cultivators, taking eve-
ry steps against inter-
ests of farmers by
bringing laws (referring
to new farms laws) and
exploiting them, I am
satisfied that Congress
government in Chhat-
tisgarh has been seri-
ously fulfilling its poll
promises,” Mrs Gandhi
said in the message.
The government led
by Mr Baghel has been
continuously making
efforts to bring happi-
ness and change in lives
of common people, par-
ticularly “annadata”
(food providers), by eco-
nomically empowering
them, she said.
“Rajiv Gandhi ji al-
ways kept the interest
of common people in
his thoughts and resolu-
tion. He wanted to see
farmers, workers, poor
and backward people
economically strong
and happy. The step by
Chhattisgarh govern-
ment (to provide cash
benefit to farmer and
cattle rearers) on his
death anniversary is a
tribute in a true sense
to him,” she added. —PTI
SONIA GANDHI SLAMS CENTRE
FOR ‘ANTI-PEOPLE’ ACTIVITIES
Sonia Gandhi praised the Congress government in Chhattisgarh, saying that it was
trying to bring about a change in the lives of common people, particularly farmers
Congress President Sonia Gandhi —PHOTO BY ANI
TCS TO SET UP 100 VACCINATION
CENTRES FOR EMPLOYEES
New Delhi: Software
exporter TCS said it is
setting up 100 vaccina-
tion centres across India
to inoculate its nearly 5
lakh employees and their
dependents, with plans
to step up the vaccination
drive between the third
and fourth week of May.
TCS’ Bengaluru-based
peers Infosys and Wipro
have also unveiled plans
this week to vaccinate
staff. While Infosys has
vaccinated 11,000 people
and will order 1.6 million
doses to cover all its
staff and their kin, Wipro
expects to have access to
1 lakh doses of vaccine by
early June. In an earlier
interaction, HCL said that
it has started vaccination
of employees in Delhi-
NCR and Chennai.
CINEMATOGRAPHER V JAYARAM
DIES OF COVID COMPLICATIONS
New Delhi: Veteran Telugu cinematographer V
Jayaram passed away on Thursday evening due
to Covid-19 complications at the age of 70. He is
survived by his wife, son, and daughter.
His work credits include films in Telugu and
Malayalam. He worked as a cinematographer
in films starring Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao,
Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Krishna, Chiranjeevi,
Nandamuri Balakrishna, Mohan Babu, Mohanlal,
Mammootty, and Suresh Gopi.
STUDY SHOWS 50 PC PEOPLE
STILL DO NOT WEAR MASKS
New Delhi: As India continues its battle with
the Coronavirus pandemic, the Union Health
Ministry on Friday informed that according to
a study, nearly 50 percent of the people do not
wear masks. While speaking at a press briefing,
Health Ministry Joint Secretary, Lav Agarwal
said, “As per a study, in India, 50 percent of the
people still do not wear masks. Among those
who wear masks, 64 percent of them do not
cover their nose properly.” He further said 19
states have less than 50,000 active cases.
‘YAAS’ LIKELY TO HIT COASTS OF
BENGAL, ODISHA ON MAY 26
Kolkata: Less than a
week after severe cyclonic
storm ‘Tauktae’ wreaked
havoc in some of the
Western states, including
Maharashtra and Guja-
rat, the India Meteoro-
logical Department has
now warned of another
depression building over
the North Andaman Sea
in the Bay of Bengal. The
depression is likely to
intensify into a powerful
cyclone. As per the World
Meteorological Organisa-
tion (WMO) norms, once
the depression turns into
a cyclone, it will be known
as ‘Yaas’. As per predic-
tion, it will start gaining
its ferocity in the Bay of
Bengal from May 22-24
onwards and will hit
West Bengal and Odisha
between May 26-27.
IN THE COURTYARD
Panaji: Goa Chief
Minister Pramod
Sawant on Friday (May
21) said the state gov-
ernment will challenge
in the High Court jour-
nalist Tarun Tejpal’s
acquittal in a 2013 rape
case by a district court
here. A sessions court
at Mapusa on Friday
acquitted Tejpal of sex-
ually assaulting his for-
mer female colleague
in an elevator of a five
star resort in Goa.
Talking to reporters,
CM Sawant said, “We
will not tolerate any
injustice to be meted
out to the women in
Goa. We will challenge
the district court’s or-
der before the high
court soon in this
case.” He said he has
personally discussed
the issue with the pub-
lic prosecutor and the
investigating officer.
TARUN TEJPAL’S ACQUITTAL IN RAPE CASE:
CM PRAMOD SAWANT SAYS WILL MOVE HC
New Delhi: The En-
forcement Directorate
(ED) on Friday said its
personnel have con-
ducted raids at seven
places in Delhi-NCR,
including business-
man Navneet Kalra’s
residence, in connec-
tion with the hoarding
and black-marketing
of oxygen concentra-
tors racket busted by
Delhi Police earlier
this month.
Noting that the
raids were being con-
ducted with an aim to
gather additional evi-
dence, officials said.
New Delhi: SN Shriv-
astava, who was hold-
ing the additional
charge of Commis-
sioner of Police, Delhi
has been appointed as
the Commissioner of
Police of the city, in-
formed the Union
Ministry of Home Af-
fairs. “With the ap-
proval of Competent
Authority, SN Shrivas-
tava, IPS (AG-
MUT:1985), presently
holding the additional
charge of Commis-
sioner of Police, Delhi
is hereby appointed to
the same post.
The Calcutta High
Court on Friday or-
dered the house ar-
rest of the two Ben-
gal ministers, one
MLA and the former
Kolkata Mayor who
have been held in the
Narada bribery case.
The Division Bench
of Acting Chief Jus-
tice Rajesh Bindal
and Justice Arjit Ba-
nerjee differed in
their opinion regard-
ing the matter and a
larger Bench would
be constituted to
hear the plea. While
under house arrest,
the ministers will be
able to work virtual-
ly, but will not be al-
lowed to meet anyone
personally
.
“Justice Arijt Ba-
nerjee was is favour
of granting interim
bail while Justice
Rajesh Bindal (Chief
Justice Acting) want-
ed house arrest. Now,
a larger bench will be
constituted which
will hear the matter,”
Manishankar Chat-
terjee, the lawyer for
Subrata Mukherjee,
said. “Meanwhile,
the four accused will
be under house ar-
rest,” he added. —ANI
O2 concentrator hoarding:
ED raids Kalra’s residence
SN Shrivastava appointed as
Delhi Police Commissioner
Narada case:
HC orders
house arrest
of ministers
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court Friday
granted bail to rebel
YSR Congress Party
MP K Raghu Ram-
akrishna Raju in a se-
dition case lodged in
Andhra Pradesh.
Raju, who was arrest-
ed by the Andhra
Pradesh Police on
May 14 under sedition
charges for alleged
hate speeches against
certain communities,
had moved the top
court seeking bail and
terming the case
againsthimaresultof
“political vendetta”.
He had also claimed
that he was “beaten
mercilessly” by the
state CID, which ar-
rested him, while in
custody
.
A vacation bench
of Justices Vineet Sa-
ran and B R Gavai,
while referring to
Raju’s medical report
received from the
Army hospital at Se-
cunderabad, said it
cannot be ruled out
that the MP was “ill-
treated” in custody
.
SC grants bail to rebel
YSRCP MP Raghu R Raju
Govt to set up ‘Defence
Enclave’ under Vista project
India in particularly
difficult situation:
Jaishankar On Crisis
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment will set up a
large “Defence En-
clave” to house top de-
fence brass and person-
nel under its ambitious
Central Vista redevel-
opment project, official
sources in the Union
Housing and Urban Af-
fairs Ministry said on
Thursday
.
According to the
sources, the vice presi-
dent’s house and its
nearby buildings will
be demolished to pave
the way for construct-
ing the defence enclave.
The new residence of
the vice president will
come up near the North
Block.
At present, the de-
fence minister, his dep-
uty, defence secretary,
Army chief, Navy chief
as well as several three-
star officers have their
offices at the South
Block.
The offices of the
Navy, Army and Air
Force are also spread
across several parts of
central Delhi, including
the Lutyens’ Zone.
Many operate from hut-
ments near the North
and South Blocks.
“There are currently
various offices of the
defence ministry at
many places. They will
now have their own
large ‘’Defence En-
clave’’ that is also re-
quired from security
point of view. The new
enclave will be con-
structed by 2026. —PTI
New Delhi: The coro-
navirus pandemic may
be the most serious in
living memory but it
should be seen as a re-
curring challenge and
not as a one-off episode,
External Affairs Minis-
ter S Jaishankar said
on Thursday, noting
that India is particu-
larly going through a
difficult situation.
Mr Jaishankar also
said the nature of the
pandemic has also
brought to fore con-
cerns of trust and
transparency and
warned that opacity
can no longer be over-
looked as it has real im-
plications for the rest of
the world.
In an online address
at the ‘Future of Asia’
conference organised
by Nikkei, the External
Affairs Minister said
India, Japan and Aus-
tralia are working on a
supply chain resilience
initiative and called for
strengthening and de-
risking the global econ-
omy through effective
partnerships.
He said meeting the
health and medical re-
quirementsof theworld
effectively requires a
mature recognition of
the global nature of the
underlying supply
chains.
“Barring a select few,
it cannot be addressed
purely nationally and
in fact needs a collabo-
ration,” Jaishankar
said.
He said the answer to
the challenges thrown
up by the pandemic is to
expand and smoothen
global flows while creat-
ing confidence that its
outcomes are for the
benefit of the world.
—PTI
STOP CENTRAL VISTA PROJECT, GIVE
FREE DOSES: EX-BUREAUCRATS TO PM
New Delhi: A group of 116 former civil servants
have written an open letter to PM Narendra Modi
urging the Centre to provide for a free vaccination
to all Indian citizens and ramp up RT-PCR testing in
both rural and urban areas. The civil servants, in-
cluding former cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar,
former health secretary K Sujatha Rao, former
foreign secretary and ex-national security adviser
Shivshankar Menon, former adviser to the PM T K A
Nair, former chief information commissioner Wajahat
Habibullah and former Delhi L-G Najeeb Jung.
WB violence:
BJP workers
activists
move SC
New Delhi: A group of
BJP workers, advocates
and social workers on
Friday filed a fresh peti-
tion in the Supreme
Court seeking an SIT
probe into the post-poll
violence in West Ben-
gal. The Supreme Court
will hear these peti-
tions and other related
pleas on May 25.
The petitioners claim
to have been “directly
affected” as their
“homes and offices are
being demolished by
TMC mob”, forcing
them to “flee from their
homes”. Appearing for
the petitioners, senior
advocate Pinki Anand
told the court that
“more than 1 lakh peo-
plehavebeendisplaced”
due to the post-poll vio-
lence in the state.
The plea alleged that
“exodus of the people in
West Bengal due to
state-sponsored vio-
lence has posed serious
humanitarian issues”.
—PTI

7. INDIA
LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2021
06
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
AIZAWL: More than
5,600 Myanmar nation-
als, including 18 law-
makers have so far
sneaked into Mizoram
since the military
seized power in the
neighbouring country
in February, a police of-
ficer said on Friday
.
More than 100 refu-
gees have returned to
their country, the police
officer told PTI on con-
dition of anonymity
.
The United Nations
Refugee Agency (UN-
HCR) on Thursday had
said that in Myanmar,
as of last week, approx-
imately 60,700 women,
children and men have
been internally dis-
placed and that an esti-
mated 4,000-6,000 of
them had made their
way to India.
Quoting data with
the Crime Investigation
Department (CID) of
state police, which dealt
with Myanmar refu-
gees, the official said
that a total of 5,673 My-
anmar nationals have
taken refuge in Mizo-
ram alone with the bor-
der district Champhai
housing the most at
3,170.
He said that at least
18 members of the My-
anmar parliament be-
longing to the National
League for Democracy
(NLD) party are among
those who have taken
refuge in the state.
He said that the ac-
tual figure could be
more as some refugees
have come in but have
remained unrecorded.
According to the of-
ficer, the Myanmar na-
tionals are currently
living in 9 districts, in-
cluding the state capital
Aizawl. Six Mizoram
districts- Champhai,
Siaha, Lawngtlai, Ser-
chhip, Hnahthial and
Saitual share a 510 km
long international bor-
der with Myanmar.
The southernmost
Lawngtlai district is
housing 887 Myanmar
nationals, Siaha dis-
trict- 633, Aizawl dis-
trict- 419, Hnahthial
district- 313, Saitual dis-
trict- 112, Serchhip dis-
trict 62, Lunglei dis-
trict- 41 and Kolasib
district, which borders
Assam, has 36 refugges
The majority of My-
anmar nationals are be-
ing provided food by lo-
cal NGOs, while some
are being sheltered by
villagers.
Meanwhile, state
spokesperson on Cov-
id-19 Dr Pachuau Lal-
malsawma said that
some Myanmar nation-
als have been found in-
fected with Covid-19.
He however, could
not place a number on
the number of refugees
suffering from Cov-
id-19.
The official said that
a 61-year-old woman
from Myanmar, who
died of Covid-19 on May
17, was not a refugee but
a visitor, who came to
see her relatives
PM reduced...
tothosewhodiedof Cov-
id in the fierce second
waveof infectionscomes
as his government bat-
tles criticism about its
handling of the pandem-
ic. The opposition has
repeatedly attacked PM
Modi over the scale of
infection and deaths in
the past weeks, alleging
that the government
failed to prepare for the
surge, declared victory
over Covid too early and
exported vaccines when
itshouldhavefocusedon
protecting people in the
country
. The PM was
sharply criticised by Ra-
hul Gandhi and other
Congress leaders for his
extensive election cam-
paign in Bengal and
crowded rallies in the
time of Covid. After
peaking in early May
,
Covid cases have been
declining in the past two
weeks but experts have
warned against a third
wave that may be tough-
er on children.“This is
not the time to be com-
placent. We have a long
fight ahead,” the Prime
Minister said, stressing
on the need to protect
children.
‘Hurt’ Mamata...
He will continue as state
Agriculture Minister for
sixmonths,duringwhich
time he will contest from
another seat to return to
the assembly
.
Mamata Banerjee’s
landslide victory in the
Bengal election to win a
third straight term was
temperedbyherownloss
in Nandigram by a nar-
row margin to the BJP’s
Suvendu Adhikari, her
former lieutenant. To
stay Chief Minister,
Mamata Banerjee has to
contest by-polls within
sixmonthsandbecomea
member of the state leg-
islative assembly
.
Centre asks...
by Indian political lead-
ers with reference to a
toolkit created to under-
mine, derail and demean
the efforts of the govern-
mentagainstCOVID-19,”
sources said. Sambit
Patra’s tweet on May 18,
shared by several BJP
leaders, had screenshots
of what he called a “Con-
gress toolkit” aimed at
smearing Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi and
the government’s han-
dling of Covid.
The government’s let-
ter slams Twitter’s move
as “pre-judged, preju-
diced and a deliberate at-
tempttocolourinvestiga-
tions”. The government,
saysources,assertsthata
complaint has already
been made questioning
the veracity of the
“toolkit” and it is under
investigation.“Theinves-
tigation will determine
the veracity of the con-
tent, not Twitter. Twitter
should not interfere in
theinvestigationprocess.
Twitter cannot pass its
judgment while the mat-
ter is under investiga-
tion,” the sources said.
Court acquits...
the District and Sessions
Court in Mapusa in
North Goa acquitted Tej-
pal, who faced charges
under IPC Sections 341
(wrongful restraint), 342
(wrongful confinement),
354 (assault or criminal
force with intent to out-
ragemodesty),354A(sex-
ual harassment), 354B
(assault or use of crimi-
nal force to woman with
intent to disrobe), 376 (2)
(f) (person in position of
authority over women,
committing rape) and
376(2)(k) (rape by person
in position of control).
Readingastatementon
behalf of Tejpal, his
daughter Cara said: “In
November 2013, I (Tejpal)
was falsely accused of
sexual assault by a col-
league. Today the Hon’ble
trial court of Additional
Sessions Judge Kshama
Joshi,inGoa,hashonour-
ably acquitted me. In an
awfullyvitiatedage,where
ordinary courage has be-
come rare, I thank her for
standingbythetruth.”
FROM PG 1
MYANMARNATIONALSSEEKREGUGEIN
MIZORAM,AROUND5600SEEKSAFETY
UNHCR:In Myanmar approximately 60,700 women, children and men have been internally displaced
Some Myanmar nationals seeking refuge have been found infected with Covid-19.
Israelis-Palestine accept
ceasefire terms for now
Tel Aviv/Gaza: A
ceasefire between Israel
and the Palestinian mil-
itant group Hamas in
the Gaza Strip has come
into effect.
The ceasefire began
early on Friday, bring-
ing to an end 11 days of
fighting in which more
than 250 people were
killed, most of them in
Gaza.
Both Israel and Ha-
mas claimed victory in
the conflict.
The truce faced an
early test on Friday
when fresh clashes
broke out at the al-Aqsa
mosque compound in
occupied East Jerusa-
lem.
Israeli police spokes-
man Micky Rosenfeld
told news agency that
Palestinians had
thrown stones at offic-
ers, and that “riot” sup-
pressing measures had
been taken in response.
Palestinian women grieve
during funeral of loved ones.
New Delhi: More than
20.61 lakh tests for de-
tection of Covid-19 were
conducted in a span of
24 hours in the country,
the highest-ever tests
done in a single day,
while the daily positiv-
ity rate has declined to
12.59 per cent, the Un-
ion health ministry
said on Friday
.
India’s Covid-19 daily
recoveries continued to
outnumber the daily
new cases for the eighth
consecutive day, with
3,57,295 patients recu-
perating in a span of 24
hours.
The cumulative re-
coveries have reached
2,27,12,735 in the coun-
try, it said.
SANGHAMITRA GHOSH IS
SECRETARY, WOMEN & CHILD
DEVELOPMENT IN W BENGAL
Mrs. Sanghamitra Ghosh has been posted as
Secretary, Women & Child Development and Social
Welfare Department, West Bengal. She is a 1997
batch IAS officer of W Bengal cadre.
SMARAKI MAHAPATRA POSTED AS
SECRETARY, FINANCE IN W BENGAL
Mrs. Smaraki Mahapatra is appointed as Secretary,
Finance Department, West Bengal. She is a 2002
batch IAS officer of W Bengal cadre.
S N SHRIVASTAVA IS NOW FULL-
FLEDGED DELHI POLICE
COMMISSIONER
S N Shrivastava holding additional charge of Delhi
Police Commissioner has been appointed as full-
fledged Police Commissioner, Delhi. He is a 1985
batch IPS officer of AGMUT cadre.
VIJAY NAMDEORAO ZADE POSTED AS
FINANCE SECY, UT OF CHANDIGARH
Vijay Namdeorao Zade has been posted as Finance
Secretary, Union Territory Administration of Chan-
digarh on inter-cadre deputation from Punjab Cadre
to AGMUT Cadre, for a period of three years. He is
a 2002 batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre.
10 IAS OFFICERS GET NEW POSTING
IN JHARKHAND
As many as 10 IAS officers have been given new
postings in Jharkhand. Accordingly, Bhishma
Kumar has been appointed as Project Direc-
tor, Jharkhand Tribal Development Society and
Yatindra Prasad was posted as Managing Director,
Jharkhand State Food Corporation and Chandra
Kishore Oraon will join as Joint Secretary, Health,
Medical Education and Family Welfare Department.
Similarly, Sunil Kumar is posted as Managing
Director, Jharkhand Skill Development Society;
Meghu Badike as Joint Secretary, Chief Minister’s
Secretariat; Chandrasekhar Prasad as Project
Director, ITDS Jamshedpur; Moti George Lakra
as Joint Secretary, Commerce Tax Department;
Manoj Kumar as Joint Secretary, Planning cum
Finance Department; Avinash Kumar Singh as Joint
Secretary, Finance Department and Arun Kumar
Ratan has been posted as Joint Secretary, Urban
Development and Housing Department.
KUMAR RAVI IS ALSO MD, BMSIL IN
BIHAR
Kumar Ravi, Secretary, Building Construction
Department, Bihar, has been handed over an ad-
ditional charge of MD, Bihar Medical Services and
Infrastructure Corporation (BMSIL), Patna. He is a
2005 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre.
POWERGallery
By arrangement with: http://
whispersinthecorridors.com
New Delhi: Delhi Po-
lice said that Olympic
gold medallist Sushil
Kumar, who is an ab-
sconding accused in the
murder case of junior
gold medallist wrestler
Sagar at Chhatrasal Sta-
dium, was seen in
Meerut. According to
sources, a picture of a
Meerut toll plaza has
surfaced in which a
man wearing a white T-
shirt can be seen, who is
said to be Sushil Kumar.
The photo that has been
received by the Delhi
Police is of the Meerut
toll plaza. In it, Sushil
Kumar is seen sitting in
the car with another
man. As per police, this
photo is dated May 6 af-
ter the incident. On the
basis of this picture
Delhi Police are looking
for that car to know
where Sushil Kumar is
hiding at the moment.
New Delhi: The Nation-
al Crisis Management
Committee (NCMC)
headed by Cabinet Sec-
retary Rajiv Gauba on
Thursday directed the
central and state agen-
cies to “expeditiously”
restore the telecommu-
nication, power, road
and water supply links
affected by Tauktae. As
many as 37 personnel
have died while 38 are
still missing, after the
navy rescuers, battling
extreme weather, res-
cued 186 of the 261 peo-
ple who were onboard
barge P305 off the Mum-
bai coast and 2 person-
nel from a tugboat.
“Chief secretaries of
states & advisors to the
administratorsof Union
territories apprised the
committee of the dam-
age to infrastructure,
crops as well as loss of
life in the affected areas
& the measures taken by
them to restore telecom,
power, roads, water sup-
ply
, and other utilities.
‘Restore power supply
links hit by Tauktae’
Record 20.61 lakh
tests done in a day
SushilKumarwasseen
atMeeruttollplaza: Cops
‘White fungus just a normal fungal
infection, black fungus is dangerous’
New Delhi: At a time
when states are wit-
nessing a rise in black
fungus (mucormyco-
sis) cases, a disease
primarily affecting im-
munocompromised
Covid-19 patients, re-
ports of another fun-
gal infection, called
“white fungus” have
caused a stir.
However, experts In-
diatoday.in spoke to
say there is no such
disease as “white fun-
gus”. The infection
that is being reported
is nothing but candidi-
asis, they said.
The first reports of
white fungus came
from Patna, Bihar.
However, the govern-
ment-run Patna Medi-
cal College and Hospi-
tal (PMCH) dismissed
these reports.
Now, a fresh case of
so-called white fungus
has been detected in
Uttar Pradesh.
“White fungus is just
a myth and misconcep-
tion. It is basically can-
didiasis, a fungal infec-
tion caused by a type of
fungus called Candida.
It is most common fun-
gal infection,” said in-
fectious diseases spe-
cialistDrIshwarGilada.
Siliguri: After oxygen
leakage at the North Ben-
gal Medical College and
Hospital in Siliguri was a
cause of concern among
COVID-19 patients and
their families this morn-
ing. Patients started run-
ning out amid the chaos,
while large number of
people, including their
family members, gath-
ered outside the block.
C-19 PATIENTS RAN
OUT AT WB HOSP
New Delhi: The Union health ministry
said that 50% of the country’s popula-
tion isn’t wearing a mask, as it shared
an update about Covid-19 situation
in India. At the media briefing, health
ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal
said that eight states have more than
1 lakh active cases of Covid-19, nine
states have 50,000 to 1 lakh active
cases and 19 states have less than
50,000 active cases of the infection.
New Delhi: The Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO)
has developed an antibody test kit
for the early screening of COVID.
DIPCOVAN, the DIPAS-VDx COVID
19 IgG Antibody Microwell ELISA for
sero-surveillance has been developed
by the Defence Institute of Physiol-
ogy and Allied Sciences (DIPAS) in
association with Delhi-based firm
Vanguard Diagnostics Pvt Ltd.
50% DON’T WEAR A MASK:
HEALTH MIN CITES STUDY
DRDO’S ANTIBODY DETECTION
KIT; TO BE LAUNCHED IN JUNE
PROTECT KIDS ORPHANED BY C-19, POOR WOMEN: MHA
New Delhi: The Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA) has written a letter
to all states and Union Territories
(UTs) directing them on steps for
the protection of “vulnerable sec-
tions” especially children who lost
parents due to COVID-19. The letter
informed states/UTs on the advi-
sory by MHA on standard operat-
ing procedures for preventing and
combating crimes against vulnerable
sections of the society, including
women, children, senior citizens and
Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes.
Man wearing a white T-shirt is
said to be Sushil Kumar.

8. NEWS
LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2021
07
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
First India Bureau
Meerut: Questions
have started to raise
over the MIG-21 after an
Air Force MIG-21 Bison
crashed in Moga, Pun-
jab taking the life of
Squadron Leader Abhi-
nav Chaudhary with it.
The slain pilot’s fa-
ther Satyendra Singh
Chaudhary has con-
demned the use MIG-21
calling it an old ship
which puts the life of
many young pilots at
risk. He has in a heart-
felt request has asked
the government to stop
using MIG-21s. Satyen-
dra Singh said that had
his son been martyred
during a war he would
have felt proud but his
young son’s death due
to a technical fault has
highly saddened him.
Martyred pilot’s
brother Dr. Anuj la-
belled the fighter jet as
flying coffin and criti-
cized the government
for using it. He added
that the jet has been
built by using inferior
equipment and parts
which is why there has
been more than 12 to 14
MiG-21 crashes in the
last year.
Abhinav Chaudhary
who is survived by his
wife and daughter was
to come home on May 15
but stayed back after
his father persuaded
him that his country
needed him more than
his family during the
Corona pandemic. Ab-
hinav’s father had
asked Abhinav to con-
tinue serving the coun-
try and come back for
holidays when the pan-
demic situation be-
comes normal.
The family of Abhi-
nav is finding it hard to
come to terms that the
young pilot is no more
as the slain pilot’s
mother has been crying
ever since the news of
death of received.
First India Bureau
Saharanpur: The Co-
rona imposed lockdown
although has been bru-
tal on the people of the
country, the environ-
ment has in this dura-
tion begun healing it-
self. When the first lock-
down was imposed last
year, people of Saharan-
pur and Bijnor were fi-
nally able to see hills of
the Himalayan range
clearly due to reduced
pollution.
The beautiful scenario
has returned this year
too due to rain and an-
other Corona curfew
which had to be im-
posed in the state.
Way back in the past,
after rainy season the
Himalayan hills were
visible from Saharan-
pur which is located at
the foothills of the ma-
jestic mountain range
owing to clear sky and
low levels of pollutions,
but recent industriali-
zation had meant that
scenic view had become
a rare sight. The scenic
view which has become
visible twice now in al-
most a year’s gap has
brought cheer to the
people of the district.
DFO VK Singh said that
due to improvement in
the air quality index i.e.
AQI level, the surround-
ing hills is visible from
high rise building in
the region.
The recent burst of
rain in the state owing
to cyclone Tauktae
meant that the people
of Bijnor were able to
view beautiful rain-
bows as well as scenic
view of the hills. Apart
from Saharanpur and
Bijnor residents of
Jansath of Muzaffarna-
gar district were also
able to enjoy the beauty
of nature.
Deceasedpilot’sfather
raisesdoubtsoveruse
of‘flyingcoffin’MIG-21
Himalayasseen
fromSaharanpur
yetagainthisyear
First solar community toilet in state
to come up in Todarpur of Kanpur
First India Bureau
Kanpur: Now commu-
nity toilets in rural ar-
eas would be illuminat-
ed with solar lights. The
initaitikve would pro-
vide employment to ru-
ral women working
groups operating under
State Rural Livelihood
Mission.
On the initiative of
District Magistrate of
Kanpur Dehat Jitendra
Kumar and Chief De-
velopment Officer
Saumya Pandey, first
solar community toilet
in state will be made in
village panchayat
Todarpur of Maitha
Block of district. The
women of the group
have started work of
toilet lighting as a mod-
el project. The State
Livelihood Mission is
now preparing to con-
nect women with em-
ployment by installing
solar systems in public
toilets. So far, 56 thou-
sand toilets have been
constructed in rural ar-
eas of state under
Swachta Mission.
The cost of installing
solar panels and center
bulbs in a public toilet
is around Rs 20,000 to Rs
40,000. For this, DM and
CDO have sent letter to
banks, industrialists
and other private insti-
tutions for constribut-
ing generously so that
financial burden did
not fall on government.
Two per cent of earn-
ings are spent as CSR
funds for social work by
private institutions.
In Kanpur Dehat, a
private bank has con-
tributed from its CSR
Fund for illuminating
toilets. Director of State
Livelihood Mission Su-
jit Kumar said there are
2.11 lakh self-help
groups in state. If solar
light is used in toilet,
income of women
would increase.
UP Congress state President Ajay Kumar Lallu garlanding the statue of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Rajiv Chowk on
his death anniversary in Lucknow on Friday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
REMEMBERING RAJIV
Mangled remains of Air Force MiG-21 aircraft, which crashed late
on Thursday night, killing the pilot in Moga district of Punjab.
Himalayas clearly visible from Saharanpur after rains as the sky
was clear and Air Quality Index was around 85 on Friday.
New Delhi/Varanasi:
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Friday said
that bringing treatment
to the doorsteps of pa-
tients will reduce the
burden on the health
system and he also pro-
vided a new mantra in
COVID management -
‘Jaha bimar, wahi up-
chaar’.
PM, while interact-
ing with doctors and of-
ficials of Varanasi to-
day through video con-
ference, hailed the ini-
tiatives taken.
“Creating micro con-
tainment zones and dis-
tributing medicines at
the doorstep of the peo-
ple is a good initiative.
We have to follow the
initiative comprehen-
sively in villages,” the
PM said.
“Bringing doctors,
labs and e-marketing
companies together to
provide a telemedicine
facility named ‘Kashi
Kavach’ is also a very
innovative initiative,”
he said. PM emphasized
the important role
played by ASHA and
ANM workers in the
war against COVID-19
in the villages and
urged the health offi-
cials to take maximum
advantage of their po-
tential and experience.
The Prime Minister,
during the video confer-
ence, lauded Varanasi
for fighting efficiently
against the second wave
of the COVID-19 crisis.
PM Modi also re-
viewed the working of
various COVID hospi-
tals in Varanasi includ-
ing Pandit Rajan
Mishra COVID Hospi-
tal, which was recently
started through the
joint efforts of DRDO
and the Indian Army
.
DOORSTEP TREATMENT WILL REDUCE BURDEN ON
HEALTH SYSTEM: PM MODI TO DOCS IN VARANASI
CONGRESS’ PAWAN KHERA’S JIBE AT PM MODI OVER TRIBUTE TO HEALTHCARE
Varanasi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi
today warned against
what he called the “new
challenge of Black Fun-
gus” and said the coun-
try must be prepared to
fight the rare and poten-
tially fatal condition
that is increasingly
seen in recovering Cov-
id patients.
He said vaccinations
should be a mass move-
ment in the long battle
against Covid, describ-
ing the virus as an un-
seen and shifting ene-
my
. The PM also became
emotional as he spoke
about those who had
died of Covid in a vir-
tual address to health
workers from Varanasi
in Uttar Pradesh.
“This virus has
snatched many people
from us.
Those who lost their
loved ones because of
Corona, I pay my trib-
ute and I express my
condolences,” the
Prime Minister said.
“Yoga and Ayush
have bolstered people’s
strength in this corona-
virus crisis. But this is
not the time to be com-
placent. We have a long
fight ahead.”
Calling for special at-
tention to rural areas,
he said: “Our mantra
will be, Jahaan Bimar,
Vahi Upchaar (wherev-
er there is illness, there
should be treatment).
The more we take well-
ness to the people, the
less will be the pressure
on our health systems.
New Delhi: Hours after Prime
Minister Narendra Modi became
emotional while thanking doctors
and frontline workers, Congress
spokesperson Pawan Khera took
a jibe at the PM saying he should
have been in films. Taking to
his Twitter, Khera said, “Those
who have known Saheb since
the days of Gujarat tell that if he
had not been in politics, Saheb
would have been in films. The
films have benefited, the country
has been damaged.” The Prime
Minister, while interacting with
doctors, paramedical staff, and
other frontline health workers of
his parliamentary constituency
Varanasi said, “COVID-19 has
snatched many of our loved ones
from us. I pay my respect to the
people who died of COVID-19 and
express my condolences to their
beavered families.”
‘Havetomakevaccination
acollectiveresponsibility’
Like cities, we have to create micro containment zones and distribute
medicines at doorstep comprehensively in villages also: PM Modi
PM Narendra Modi interacts with the doctors and frontline workers on
COVID situation in Varanasi via video conferencing from Delhi on Friday.

9. LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2021
08
2NDFRONT
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NOBLE INITIATIVE
Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma visiting the community kitchen being run by Marwari Society in Lucknow on Friday.
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
FIRagainst7forgettingdemolished
mosqueregisteredasWaqfproperty
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A case has
been lodged by Baraban-
ki police against seven
people for allegedly re-
sorting to fraud and
cheating to get a mosque
thatwasdemolishedear-
lierthisweek,registered
as a waqf property
.
The case was lodged
against some members
of the committee, in-
cluding a former UP
Sunni Central Waqf
Board inspector.
The district adminis-
tration had demolished
themosqueinthevillage
of Bani Kada in Ram
Sanehi Ghat tehsil on
Monday
, claiming it was
an “illegal structure”. It
waslocallyknownasthe
Gareeb Nawaz Masjid.
A day after the demo-
lition, the UP Sunni
Cen tral Waqf Board is-
sued a statement term-
ing the action as illegal
and a violation of an
Allahabad HC directive.
According to Ram
Sanehi Ghat Station
House Officer Sachidan-
and Rai, the people
named in the FIR had
fraudulently got a struc-
ture in the tehsil prem-
ises registered as a waqf
property
. “They had
formedacommitteetodo
so,” the SHO added. The
“fraudulent registra-
tion” was done in 2019.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Mukhtar
Ansari prime accused
in the case of buying
weapons using fake ad-
dress on Friday attend-
ed a hearing via video
conferencing from Ban-
da Jail where he is cur-
rently lodged.
The dreaded gang-
ster and MP told Judi-
cial Magistrate Ut-
karsh Singh that he
received mosquito net
and an air cooler on
April 9 but was not be-
ing allowed to talk to
either his family mem-
bers or his lawyer. He
further alleged that the
jail authorities had not
been providing him the
facilities he is entitled
to in jail.
Ansari alleged as per
the directions of the
Supreme Court, his
health was monitored
by a doctor who had
recommended some
precautions to be taken
but none of those pre-
cautions had been
taken by the jail’s
superintendent.
Judicial Magistrate
Utkarsh Singh after
hearing the arguments
of the prosecuting of-
ficer and advocate of
Mukhtar Ansari has
approved the remand
for judicial custody of
Ansari and fixed May
26 as the next date for
hearing.
According to the
prosecution, a case
against Ansari and 7
others were filed at the
South Tola police sta-
tion on 5 January 2020
after it was reported
that he had in his offi-
cial letter pad sent rec-
ommendation to DM
for approval of arms
license to people with
fake address.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Continuing
withitsrelief efforts,the
RashtriyaSwayamsevak
Sangh(RSS)hasgivenat
leasttwooxygenconcen-
trators to each of its dis-
trict offices to help pa-
tients in need of oxygen.
RSS functionary
Prashant Shukla said, “
We have been in touch
with doctors at various
places who can help us
reach out to patients.
Our swayamsevaks are
also in touch with pa-
tients who need oxyen.
People too can contact
our district offices
where these oxygen
concentrators have
been kept.”
The RSS has got the
concentrators from an
NGO Sewa Internation-
al. The NGO, which is
active in over 25 coun-
tries, has purchased the
oxygen concentrators
from abroad.
Sewa International
was started as a move-
ment in 1993 to engage
the Indian diaspora
worldwide. It encour-
aged Indians across the
world to remain con-
nected with their roots
through contribution to
humanitarian causes lo-
cally and in India, espe-
cially in times
of natural calamities,
which cause largescale
distress and need huge
resources for recovery
.
The movement has
spread its wings world-
wide to more than 25
countries.
The mosque that was demolished. —FILE PHOTO
Mukhtar had reportedly
sent recommendation to
DM for approval of arms
license to people with
fake address.
Ansari alleges not
being allowed to
contactfamily,lawyer
RSSgetsO2 concentrators
todistofficesforpatients
Mukhtar Ansari is currently lodged in Banda jail.
Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: At least 17
IAS officers of UP cad-
re 2019 batch who are
currently engaged in
Covid-19 management
in the state alongside
the team of District
Magistrates have also
begun their second
phase of professional
training via online
mode. The training is
being givenby the Lal
Bahadur Shastri Na-
tional Academy which
is present in Mus-
soorie.
The 6-week profes-
sional training at the
Lal Bahadur Shastri
National Academy,
which began on May 17
will run upto June 25.
This training which
generally is held at
Mussoorie has been
shifted to online due to
the ongoing Corona
pandemic in the coun-
try. The decision to
train the IAS officers
online was taken to not
delay the training pro-
gram anymore.
The 17 IAS officers of
UP cadre include 9 male
and 8 female officers
and these officers will
report to the Central
Government in Delhi
on June 28 after finish-
ing the training. The 17
officers are currently
posted as Assistant
Magistrate/Assistant
Collector in various dis-
tricts of the state.
The names of the IAS
officers alongside their
districts are Junaid
Ahmed (Bareilly), Gu-
zan Dwivedi (Buland-
shahr), Deeksha Jain
(Mathura), Anurag
Jain (Gorakhpur),
Himanshu Nagpal (Sa-
haranpur), Soumya
Gururani (Meerut), An-
kur Kaushik (Agra),
Amritpal Kaur (Muzaf-
farnagar), Laxmi N
(Hardoi), Suraj Patel
(Bahraich), Manish
Meena (Varanasi),
Pooja Yadav (Kanpur
Nagar), Amit Kale
(Agra), Prashant Nagar
(Ayodhya), Sumit Ya-
dav (Deoria), Pranata
Aishwarya (Lucknow)
and Sanya Chhabra
(Bulandshahr).
17 IAS officers in covid squad begin 2nd phase training
ON TOES
The 6-week professional training ending
June 25, is being conducted by the Lal
Bahadur Shastri National Academy
IAS officers undergoing online training session on Friday.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Attacking
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi and Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath, Sama-
jwadiPartypresi-
dent Akhilesh
Yadav said lives
of people could
have been saved
hadbothfocused
on arranging es-
sentials for Cov-
id patients in-
stead of indulg-
ing in each oth-
er’s “fake” praise.
The former CM also
accused the Prime Min-
ister of awarding a “ap-
preciation medal” to
himself through the
“jahan Bimar waha up-
char” slogan, which he
had given at a video
conference with doc-
tors on Friday
.
“People of the state
and the country are fac-
ing hardships. Had the
time spent on fake prais-
es been spent on arrang-
ing vaccine, beds
andoxygen,lives
of many people
could have been
saved.Condemn-
able!,” Akhilesh
Yadav said in a
Hindi tweet.
“Even after
ruining health
services from
district to villages, the
exchange of praises is
going on. This is a per
pre-planned tactic of
the BJP to create confu-
sion among people and
hide deaths taking
place without treat-
ment,” he alleged.
Akhilesh targetsPMModi,
andCMYogiAdityanath
On International Day for Biological Diversity,
the 2021 slogan- “We’re part of the solution” - is
an important reminder in pandemic times.
The solution to the COVID 19 issue lies partly with us-
Get Vaccinated and follow the COVID protocol.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Intensetesting,tracinghelpUP’sCcontrolmission
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The state of
Uttar Pradesh with a
population of 23 crore
(230 million) has wit-
nessed a 68 per cent re-
duction in the number
of Covid-19 cases from
the peak of 2.10 lakh on
April 23. On Thursday
,
the state recorded 7,336
fresh cases, the lowest
single-day rise since 30
April.
ACS,Health,AmitMo-
han Prasad said active
caseshavecomedownby
over 1.87 lakh in around
20 days.
Thepositivityratehas
also declined to 2.67 per
cent, which is one of the
lowest in the country
,
from22percentinApril,
and the recovery rate is
92.5 per cent.
Around 1.6 crore vac-
cine doses have been ad-
ministered in Uttar
Pradesh,whichisamong
the10statesthataccount
for 66.32 per cent of the
over 19 crore doses given
so far in the country
. It is
also among the group of
states which account for
74.55 per cent of the new
recoveries.
The state’s success in
bringing down the cases
can be attributed to the
state government’s ag-
gressive ‘tracing, test-
ing, tracking and treat-
ment’ strategy
.
The government has
putaspecialfocusonthe
ruralareasandlaunched
door-to-door screening
inaround97,000villages.
The gram nigrani sami-
tis are actively checking
thespreadof thevirusin
rural areas.
As per the 19 May
health bulletin by the
government, a record
2,97,327 samples were
tested in 24 hours, of
which more than 73 per
cent — 2.19 lakh of 2.99
lakh tests — were from
rural areas.
More than one lakh
Covid-19 tests are being
conducted daily in vil-
lages.”Theteamsof the
department have in-
spected over 89,000 vil-
lagessofarandtheinfec-
tion has been detected in
28,000 villages only
,
A two-member monitor-
ing team visit homes to
testeveryonewithsymp-
toms of COVID-19 using
Rapid Antigen Tests
(RAT) kits. Those who
test positive are quickly
isolatedandgivenamed-
icine kit with advice on
disease management.
All the contacts of those
who test positive are
quarantined and tested
using an RT-PCR at
home by a rapid re-
sponse team.
Each Block within a
district has been allocat-
ed two mobile vans to
test people with symp-
toms, even as routine
sample collection and
testing continues in
Community Health Cen-
tres.The state govern-
ment has deployed over
1.4 lakh teams and 21,242
supervisors from the
state health department
forthisactivitytoensure
all rural areas are cov-
ered.
Additionally
, a special
sanitation campaign has
beenstartedunderwhich
themembersof themon-
itoringcommitteesreach
out to villagers to raise
awareness on the impor-
tance of hygiene and so-
cial distancing.
Active cases in state come down by
over 1.87 lakh in about 20 days
First India Bureau
Lucknow:TheSupreme
Court bench of Justice
DineshMaheshwariand
Justice Aniruddha Bose
on Friday directed the
appellant,arapeconvict,
and the state of Uttar
Pradesh to file 2-page
briefs on whether the 13
years plus imprison-
ment undergone by the
said convict was concur-
rent or consecutive in
nature as sentenced by
the trial court.
Thenexthearinginthe
matter (Sunil Kumar v
Stateof UP)wasdeferred
to May 25.
Vinod Diwakar, Addi-
tional Advocate General
of UP
,readoutSection31
of the Code of Criminal
Procedurethatincaseof
awarding sentence con-
current or consecutive,
the court has to specifi-
cally mention in case of
concurrent sentence,
while for consecutive
sentence, the order need
notexplicitlyspeak.Jus-
tice Bose submitted that
if there are same set of
allegations, then it will
run concurrently
.
Amit Pai, counsel for
theappellant,quotedpara
28 of judgment of Muth-
uramalingam and ors v
.
State ( CRL.APP- 231 Of
2009) passed by Constitu-
tional Bench of this apex
court, whichstates, “... a
life sentence once award-
ed would imply that a
prisoner shall spend the
remainder of his life in
prison. Once that hap-
pens there is no question
of his undergoing anoth-
er life sentence...”
Justice Maheshwari
observed: “The trial
court neither speaks
aboutconcurrentorcon-
secutive. The petitioner
has served 5 years under
Section 363, 7 years un-
der Section 366, 10 years
for 376 IPC.”
AAG submitted, “The
maximum sentence un-
der Section 376 IPC is 10
yrsandhadthesentence
been concurrent, the ap-
pellant would have come
out by this time.”
Sentence by trial court concurrent or
consecutive, SC seeks clarification
A healthcare worker with a vaccinated youth.
—PHOTO
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR

10. LUCKNOW, SATURDAY
MAY 22, 2021
09
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Astonishing
ajasthan is a house
of artists, dream-
ers, madmen and
poets. One such
dreamer is Aan-
chalAjaipal,whose
dream of being an
astonishing model has
brought her forward, from
the exotic streets of Chittor-
garh to the shimmering
lights of the glamour world.
Aanchal holds a degree in
Bachelors of Science. In an
exclusive interview with
City First, she shared, “My
journey began in the year
2019 when I signed up for
the first beauty pageant, en-
titled, Miss Viva, where I
was the first runner-up.
This pageant shaped my fu-
ture destinies, I learned
about Elite Miss Rajasthan
from which I was intro-
duced to my then future and
nowpresentmentor,Gaurav
Gaur. I participated in
Udaipur auditions of Elite
Miss Rajasthan 2020 and I
won the title for the
same.”Shethanks
her mentors,
Gaurav Gaur
and Ajay
Nair who
have de-
l i b e r -
a t e l y
helped her in shaping her-
self as a model.
The model also credits
nature for being her source
of inspiration. The varied
seasons inspire her to adapt
according to changes. She
believes that once you set a
goal for yourself, the uni-
versal powers bring them
over to you. Apart from na-
ture, her biggest source of
inspiration is the one who
nurtured her from the very
beginning, her mother. Be-
ing a single mother, she
never doubted her daugh-
ter’s dreams, and always
encouraged her to break the
social norms.
Aanchal aspires to repre-
sent India on international
platforms and has been
soaked in her hard work to
make her dream come true.
An inspiration for a lot of
girls who still cannot find
the courage to live their
own dreams, she shared,
“We must all refuse to give
up. Once you achieve your
goal, it just doesn’t matter
who you are and where
have you come from, it is
okay to face criticism,
but once you reach that
goal, all the criticism
that you have faced
will turn into glory.
That will be your day to
shine. Every journey be-
gins with a single step
and every journey is
accompanied by hur-
dles, but, it is best to
climb the mountain
and enjoy the view
rather than just see-
ing its pictures from
afar.”
SUSHMITA AIND
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
R
Aanchal
Aanchal
AROUND THE BANKS OF RIVER GAMBHIRI AND BERACH LIES THE BEAUTIFUL
CITY CHITTORGARH AND FROM THAT CITY HAS RISEN A DREAMER, AANCHAL,
WHO LETS THE UNIVERSE BRING HER CLOSER TO HER DREAMS!

11. 10
ETC
LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, MAY 22 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
GLADY GEORGE, Blogger
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Those looking for buying a
house can get a good
bargain. Appreciation is in
store for some
homemakers. A professional victory
is yours if you play your cards well
today. Those in business will be able
to maintain good earning. You are
likely to enjoy good health.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You may wait for
someone’s invitation for a
trip. Your professionalism
in handling problem areas
will be appreciated. Tenant troubles
are foreseen for some house owners.
You will find family life more than
fulfilling. A senior is likely to put in a
good word for you.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
This is the time when you
enjoy yourself with a new
group of friends or
colleagues. A change of job
is likely to give you better salary and
perks. Those in business will soon
get a chance to make profits. A new
deal is likely to come through and
give you a taste of success.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
You are likely to take up
someone’s cause and earn
appreciation from all
quarters on the social front.
Remaining on the good side of those
who matter on the academic front will
help you achieve much. Good tidings
of your well wishers will keep you
going on the professional front.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Excellent opportunities
may knock at your door.
Professionals will be able
to give their best in a new
situation. Financially, this day may
prove lucky for you, so go ask for the
raise that is keeping you on
tenterhooks. Don’t take any chances
with your health today.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You will have to be more
focussed on the academic
front. You may get busy
organising something on the
social front. You may need to put your
ideas into action, if you want to prove
yourself. A party may be thrown in
your honour at work. Health-wise a
good day is foreseen.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
A family youngster is likely
to do you proud. Your
strategy to promote
yourself on the
professional front will bear fruits.
You may need to speed up things on
the academic front to remain ahead.
On the social front, the day finds you
in your element.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Success is foretold on the
academic front. Your
reputation is likely to boost
your image on the social
front. On the work front, you’ll
manage to keep your superiors in
good humour. This is an excellent
day. Good planning will see you
complete a task.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Getting into a favourable
situation on the academic
front is possible. Good luck
promises to brighten your
day. Some positive changes can be
expected on the home front. This
seems a good day for job seekers.
New avenues for earning open up as
you get more determined.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Your performance at work
will be commendable. Your
own happiness is in your
hands today. Spouse may
need her space, respect that. This is
a favourable day for completing
pending jobs. Financially, no
problems are foreseen. It is best to
avoid outside food.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
You will manage to achieve
what you had aimed for on
the academic front. A
celebration can find you in
your element today. Praise and
honour are likely to greet you in
something that you have managed to
achieve. You will be a pillar of
strength to a friend or associate.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Good performance on the
academic front will help
enhance your reputation at
work. Some favourable
developments on the social front are
foreseen. Buying new furniture or a
major appliance is possible. With
good networking, a prized posting
can be yours.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
tressing about cre-
ating compelling
content for your
blog, small busi-
ness, or personal
page? On days
when you are deal-
ing with creative road-
blocks, having a content
pillar to reference can save
a lot of time and effort!
Content pillars (also called
content buckets), as the
name suggests, are a set of
topics or themes which act
as a rich source of informa-
tion about your organiza-
tion, its purpose, and the
audience, which can be bro-
ken further into pieces.
This could be anything
from a blog post to a short
video. Since they are the
‘pillars’, they essentially
thus help you shape and
guide your content deci-
sions to help meet your ob-
jectives. Here’s the deal:
Using content pillars isn’t
new. They have been a prov-
en content marketing strat-
egy for years and when
done right, can give you a
reliable framework for a
more flexible, adaptable
and stress-free approach
for creating content that is
both relevant and original.
Here’s how you can use
them to brainstorm fresh
ideas, ditch last-minute
posts and scale your reach:
ADDRESS THE BASICS
Before jumping to the type
of content you can make,
begin with clearly outlin-
ing three to five pillars,
their purpose and mapping
a solid understanding of
what you wish to achieve
through your content (Is it
converting followers into
buyers? Building an email
list?) then do a thorough
breakdown of your niche,
the value you offer and your
target audience. Making
mock personas to under-
stand their desires and pain
points can help you decide
what sort of message you
want to share. Through free
online tools like HubSpot
and Xtensio, you can gener-
ate user-profiles and tem-
plates to answer some of
these questions. Other
ways are to hold QA’s, sur-
veys or start discussions in
public forums to find what
topics are of importance to
them. The insights derived
from this can also help you
create effective content that
caters to every subset of
your audience.
REPURPOSE AND REFINE
Once you have a basic un-
derstanding of your pillars
and target audience, you
can then move forward
with outlining possible
ways to address them. Con-
duct an audit of your social
media and existing content
and see their performance.
What resonates with your
target audience? Tap into
your creative side and ask
how these topics can be
used to recreate content in
a different format or if you
can add more value to exist-
ing material. For example,
if you were a jewellery
brand sharing your latest
ring collection, you could
also make a video tutorial
on how to stack different
styles. Other ways to fine-
tune your content are to
create specific tags to build
a stronger sense of commu-
nity for the intended audi-
ence. Reformatting your
content for specific social
networks can majorly affect
your reach. For example,
you may post long pieces of
text on your blog, but could
reformat the same informa-
tion for visual-heavy plat-
forms like Pinterest and
Instagram by utilizing info-
graphics. This not only cre-
ates a multitude of content
out of a single idea but can
also be used to trace back to
your pillars and stick with
the best practices of each
social network. It will help
with easier recognition and
also maintain a sense of
uniformity in your digital
footprint.
MAKE A CONTENT CALENDAR
Perhaps the most impor-
tant aspect, focus on direct-
ing your effort towards
maintaining consistency
with your content and us-
ing social media analytics
to track their performance
and how your audience en-
gages with it. Segregate it
by creating columns for
editorial, platform and pro-
motion plan to keep up with
updates to existing content
and scheduling future ones.
Look for opportunities
within this inventory and
how you can further utilize
your pillars. Having creat-
ed an outline of your con-
tent, audience, and social
channels, all you have to do
is make sure there is a
clearly defined purpose be-
hind what you create, ex-
periment with new types of
content, while keeping in
mind your audience behav-
iour and preferences.
Establishing good con-
tent pillars with a strong
foundation that you can go
back to is an investment in
your time. Effective con-
tent pillars take time to de-
velop, and with ever-chang-
ing market trends and con-
sumer preferences, you
must stay focused to give
your digital practices the
best chance at success.
When done right, it is
worth the effort.
ACE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA GROWTH
WITH CONTENT PILLARS
S
JASMINE NAHTA
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

12. F
ans from Southern Indian states can
truly be all heart when making a ges-
ture for their beloved movie. Since 2020
happened to the world, India has faced
a desperate problem of accommodating such
a huge population against the COVID virus.
Sonu Sood stood up and represented human-
ity by arranging travel, food and s h e l t e r
for thousands of needful.
Even in the second wave
outbreak, Sonu is work-
ing relentlessly with his
team to provide hospital
beds, oxygen concentra-
tors, and vaccines.
Some fans in Andhra
Pradesh decided to
build a life-size poster
of Sonu, put a celebra-
tory garland on it, and
pour milk on the loved
actor’s face. Sonu wrote
‘Humbled’ on the video
on Twitter that
has since gone vi-
ral. —Agency
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2021
11
A
nd it’s finally out! BTS has released
their highly-anticipated song ‘Butter’,
on Friday
. ‘Butter’ is a dance-pop track
that easily becomes listeners’ favour-
ite earworm, with its distinctive baseline and
crisp synth sounds. Sometimes smooth and at
times charismatic, the duality of BTS they
claim to “owe [it all] to [my] mother” will melt
listeners’ hearts. The fun and witty lyrics
brimming with positive and bright energy will
instantly uplift moods. —Agency
C
her, who turned 75 yesterday
, shared the
news on Twitter that her biopic is fi-
nally in the works. Often referred as the
‘Goddess of the Pop’, Cher is known for
her decades-long career in music, television
and films, with multiple albums and movies
such as Mask, The Witches of Eastwick and her
Oscar-winning role in Moonstruck, in her kitty
.
Producers Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman,
who backed both Mamma Mia! films, are set to
produce the project for Universal. —Agency
T
he Jonas Brothers and Marshmello, the
masked musician, have released a new
song called “Love Before You Love Me.”
The Jonas trio teamed up with Marsh-
mello for this fuss free track, which was re-
leased on Friday
. The lyrics video has already
surpassed 50,000 views in less than three hours
of its release. The Jonas Brothers have also
announced that they will be performing it at
the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday
.
—Agency
D
irected by Karthik Rapolu and written
by Merlapaka Gandhi, the romantic
comedy is produced by UV Concepts in
association with Mango Mass Media
and stars Santosh Sobhan, Kavya Thapar in
the lead roles. Prime members in India and
across 240 countries and territories can stream
the exclusive digital premiere of ‘Ek Mini
Katha’ starting May 27 2021. Taking on a social
stigma, one laugh at a time, Ek Mini Katha also
displays a strong social message. —City First
A
s ‘Pyaar ka Punchnama’ clocks 10
years to its release, Nushrratt Bharuc-
cha expresses her gratitude for the
film and the character that put her on
the map of the industry
. Expressing her grati-
tude, Nushrratt said, “When I look back to the
time we were shooting for Pyaar Ka Punchna-
ma - none of us had the faintest clue what won-
ders this film will do for us, or even how this
film will eventually turn into a power-packed
franchise.” —City First
F
ollowing the massive success of URI:
The Surgical Strike, Vicky Kaushal,
Ronnie Screwvala, and Aditya Dhar de-
cided to take things to the next level
with The Immortal Ashwatthama, a modern-
day superhero film based on the Mahabhara-
ta’s King Ashwatthama. Vicky Kaushal and
Sara Ali Khan will shoot the film in UAE, Ice-
land, and India from September to January.
The actors have been learning new forms of
action for the film. —Agency
I
t has been over a year since the sad and
tragic demise of legendary star Irrfan
Khan and well, his friends, family and fans
are still trying to cope with his loss. Taking
to his Instagram handle, Babil shared a still
from Irrfan’s college play and expressed that
he was feeling lost, insecure and frightened.
Further, he shared in his emotional note that
he is slowly falling in love with the attention
he is getting. Babil, is currently gearing up for
his debut in showbiz. —Agency
R
aj and DK finally released the trailer
for The Family Man 2 on May 19 and
revealed that the second season of this
espionage would premiere on June 4.
The series has also been renewed for a third
season on Amazon Prime. The top executives
are pleased with the shaping of Season 2. Giv-
en the cliffhangers and the franchise’s rising,
the creators are certain to announce a third
season soon. The top executives are happy
with the way season 2 has shaped up. —Agency
R
eality TV star and supermodel Kendall
Jenner is under fire again for accusa-
tions of cultural appropriation. Kend-
all is currently promoting her new te-
quila brand 818 in full force, received criticism
over the photo and video promos of her brand,
which were recorded on an agave farm in Jalis-
co, Mexico, where she set up shop for the new
venture. After the ad went live, many people
thought her look capitalized on stereotypes as-
sociated with Mexican farmers. —Agency
Smooth like Butter Goddess of the Pop Latest release Ek Mini Katha
A Decade already
Ashwatthama Lost and insecure Time for Season 3? Tequila Brand: 818
UPCOMING
EPISODE
im Kardashian and
Kanye West’s son, Saint
West had tested positive
for COVID-19 last fall.
While neither Kim nor
Kanye had spoken about
it before, it has been re-
vealed for the first time in the
upcoming episode of Keeping Up
With the Kardashians. In the up-
coming episode, Kim will be seen
revealing on a phone call that
her son has tested positive for
coronavirus. It was revealed last
year that Kanye himself had
tested positive for the virus last
fall but Kardashian had not spo-
ken about Saint at the time. The
episode will show Kim talking
over the phone as she says,
“Sainty just tested positive for
COVID. And North is saying
she’s feeling sick. “ In the show’s
confessional, Kardashian fur-
ther admits that she doesn’t
want to freak anyone out but
she’s “worried.” —Agency
K
Fan
Moment
The new episode of
Keeping Up With
the Kardashians
shall reveal the
incident when Saint
West tested positive
for Covid-19!
BTS Cher The Jonas Brothers Poster of the film, ‘Ek Mini Katha’
Sonu Sood
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian and Saint West
Kendall Jenner
Poster of the series, ‘The Family Man’
Late Irrfan Khan
Vicky Kaushal
Nushrratt Bharuccha
N
etflix’s upcoming ‘Knives Out’ sequel
has added actor Kate Hudson to the al-
ready packed star cast of the film. The
actor has joined the first sequel to
teaming up with Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautis-
ta, Janelle Monae, Leslie Odom Jr and Edward
Norton. Daniel Craig will reprise the role in
the sequel. The upcimg second installment
will be written and directed by Rian Johnson.
—ANI
On board
Kate Hudson

13. 12
LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
S
andeep Aur Pinky
Faraar was released
on the OTT platform
on May 19. To begin
with, Sandeep isn’t a man
and Pinky isn’t a wom-
an, yes you read it
right. The character
of Sandeep/Sandy is
played by Parineeti
Chopra whereas Satinder
aka Pinky is the character
name of Arjun Kapoor. The
story of the film revolves
aroundabanker(Parineeti)
who along with her boss as
well as boyfriend engineers
a scam to save the bank
from collapsing. The scam
involves countless small de-
positors, thousands of fake
accounts and millions of
rupees. However, the fallout
between Sandy and her
boss who is also the presi-
dent of the bank is a prob-
lem. The bank president
wants her dead as the
pregnant Sandy knows
too much. Police officer
Tyagi (played by Jaideep
Ahlawat) comes into the
picture when he asks the
police constable Pinky to
get Sandy, this is when
Pinky realises that Tyagi
wants to get rid of him too.
Both Sandy and Pinky are
left with no option but to
flee. They land up in a vil-
lage which is at the Nepal
border and start living as
paying guests with an old
couple played by Neena
Gupta and Raghubir Yadav
till they can illegally cross
the border.
The story has a lot of po-
tentials and could have
made for an intense thriller
but the screenplay
, however,
is dry and insipid. A lot is
happening in the film but
it’s scripted poorly
. It seems
as if the writers purposely
made the proceedings bor-
ing. Dibakar Banerjee’s di-
rectionisnotuptothemark.
The filmmaker has made
some fine films in the past
and he knows his craft. But
here, he just doesn’t seem to
be in form.
The first half is bearable
and one expects fireworks
in the second half. Howev-
er, the second half is flawed
and needlessly stretched.
One fails to understand
what’s happening at sever-
al places. You would want
to watch more of Neena
Gupta and Raghubir Yadav
in the film than Arjun Ka-
poor who looks like a rock
with no expressions.
Parineeti has done justice
to her role as was expected
out of her. The film overall
is just OK.
KAVITA CHAUHAN
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
DIRECTOR
Dibakar Banerjee
CAST CREW
Parineeti Chopra, Arjun Kapoor,
Jaideep Ahlawat, Neena Gupta,
Raghubir Yadav etc.
SANDEEP AUR
PINKY FARAAR
RATING:
LOST BETWEEN THRILLER, COMEDY AND DRAMA
HAPPY B’DAY!
IPS Chandra Prakash-I
celebrated his birthday on
Friday, May 21. We wish him
all the best!
ife has not been
the same since
the pandemic.
The pandemic
almost took a
year away from
us and while we
are learning to adapt to the
new normal, it gets diffi-
cult to find a connection
with ourselves and others.
With the growing amount
of anxiety, our state of
mind is in danger. The FIC-
CI Flo Lucknow Chapter on
Friday organised a unique
workshop online which
aimed at helping everyone
to cope with the Covid-19
pandemic with a calm
brain and a more robust
immune system. The
workshop entitled,
‘Instaoxygen’ focused
on mindfulness and
meditation.
The sessions were led by
Ami Patel, celebrity stylist
turned Art of Living spe-
cialist along with Samarth
Narayan. Ami Patel shared,
“Art of living is following a
path of a spiritual journey
to keep your and body fit
during life’s circumstanc-
es. It is attained through a
meditative path and yoga
which keeps the heart
healthy and state of mind
healthier.”
The main objective of
this workshop was to edu-
cate on how to live a healthy
life physically and mentally
during the Covid-19 pan-
demic. City First attended
this invigorating session
and has brought its readers
the key conclusions of the
online conclave.
During the 45-minute ses-
sion, the two experts talked
about yoga routines, pra-
nayama, mindful medita-
tion, healthy diet tips, men-
tal health and many health-
conscious topics. The ses-
sion was packed with prac-
tical exercises and trained
people in pulse purification
through Pranayama, Su-
darshan kriya, Bhastrika
and Bhramari Pranayama.
Addressing the program,
FICCI Flo Lucknow chapter
chairpersonArushiTandon
said, Today's session was
informational and useful,
seeing how coronavirus has
affected and restricted our
lifestyles to such a level that
many of us are sick, infect-
ed. It has helped us realise
that being mentally and
physically fit through yoga
helps in both prevention
and recovery from the infec-
tion and, that is what we
need to overcome in these
challenging times.
The program hosted by
FICCI Flo Lucknow mem-
ber Rohita Suri was at-
tended, by the members of
Flo across India, includ-
ing Senior Vice Chairper-
son Sima Ghai, Former
chairperson Lucknow,
Madhuri Halwasiya,
Swati Verma, and
Vandita Aggarwal.
It was also broad-
cast live on Face-
book.
The session end-
ed on a positive
note with Sima
Ghai thanking FIC-
CI Flo members,
the attendees
and its spon-
sors.
L
MONICA PRABHAKAR
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
THE ART OF LIVING
City First reviews
the invigorating
session on the Art
of Living that was
unwinded during
the InstaOxygen
workshop
organised by
FICCI FLO!
NCC Alumni Association
CITY FIRST
F
or the first time
ever, the ‘NCC
Alumni Associa-
tion’ has been
formed and registered
withtheRegistrarof So-
cieties, New Delhi.
The association
will consist of the
central all India
chapter as well indi-
vidual state-wise chap-
ters. The association
will be launched shortly
.
NCC is proud to have
amongst its alumni
many illustrious citi-
zens of the coun-
try including PM
Narendra Modi.
Post the launch, this
will be a unique forum
for all ex-NCC cadets to
come under one umbrel-
la across the nation.
This platform will give
an opportunity to ex-
changeideasthatwillbe
of immense benefit to
all alumni as well as pre-
sentcadets.Alumniwho
have achieved success
in different fields in
theircareerswillbeable
to act as role models and
mentors to cadets pres-
ently undergoing NCC
training.
This Forum will also
provideNCCCadetswith
a common platform to
continue their efforts to-
wards Nation Building
and National Integration
evenaftertheyleaveNCC.
The police department of Lucknow observed Anti Terrorism Day by taking the oath
at 11 AM on Friday. The police officers maintained social distancing as they took part
in the oath.
BASIC NECESSITY! ANTI TERRORISM DAY!
BALIDAAN DIWAS
CITY FIRST
T
he incessant
rains have
caused tremen-
dous damage to
the ancient Siddhpeeth
Achaleshwar Mahadev
temple of Aligarh, on
the night of May 19, as
a large part of the tem-
ple fell down and af-
fected the nearby are-
as. AICC in-charge of
Haryana State, Vivek
Bansal, expressed that
instead of making
countless temples that
couldn’t stand tall dur-
ing a natural calamity
the government must
spend money on edu-
cating people and
availing them of basic
necessities. People are
more important than
temples, their needs
must come prior
to building tem-
ples.
Vivek Bansal dis-
tributed ration, masks
and sanitisers to the
destitute people as they
suffered after the natu-
ral calamity. On the oc-
casion, he also remem-
bered the former Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi,
for his sacrifices, on
the occasion of ‘Bali-
daan Diwas’.
With a mission
of no one to be
be left hungry
in such crucial
times, Minister
Brajesh Pathak
in association
with Atal Bihari
Memorial
Foundation
launched a free
food service for
the poor and
needy at Gandhi
Kala Bhavan,
Lucknow, where
the citizens may
avail themselves
the joy of basic
necessity as and
when required.
—PHOTOS BY
SUMIT KUMAR
A still from the movie
During the event
Arushi Tandon during
the virtual session