President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to three farm bills passed by Parliament despite ongoing protests by farmer organizations and opposition parties. One of BJP's oldest allies, Shiromani Akali Dal, called for unifying the opposition against the BJP and said it was ready to join any struggle in support of farmers. The party broke ties with BJP's ruling coalition NDA over the farm bills. Opposition parties like TMC supported SAD's stand in favor of farmers. SAD urged the Punjab government to declare the entire state a 'Mandi' to nullify the effects of the central farm acts. The exit of SAD from NDA dents BJP's slogan of "inclusive development" as NDA's allies have

1. 20?BD;4
5028=68B8BA408=8=6
B8:7B78=3DB;40E405
:PQd[) 0UVWP]XbcP]bSfX]S[X]V
R^d]Xch^UBXZWbP]S7X]Sdb
XbbWaX]ZX]Vc^Xcb[^fTbc[TeT[b
FXcWVa^fX]VcWaTPcbUa^cWT
[^RP[8b[PXRBcPcTPUUX[XPcT
P]hPaTRW^^bX]Vc^[TPeTcWT
R^d]cah
BC0C4B CC0;20B4B340C7BA42E4A43
PWPaPbWcaP ! % $ ( %#$
0]SWaP?aPSTbW %$%# $'%$(
CPX[=PSd $''' ( $!$ $#
:Pa]PcPZP $$$%%'$'!#%!!#
DccPa?aPSTbW ''$ $$(#!$'''
3T[WX ! # $!$!%%$
FTbc1T]VP[ !##!$ #' ! %(!
SXbWP !(# '$ $
CT[P]VP]P '$' $##((
1XWPa '''! ''' %#$
:TaP[P $'$ %' (
0bbP %(('$ %$$ '
6dYPaPc ! ( # !#
APYPbcWP] !''$( ## '
7PahP]P !'! $((
PSWhP?aPSTbW !!!( !!($
20B4B) %$'$
340C7B)($
A42E4A43)
#(($$'
02C8E4)(% %$
4`gZU*
:?:?5:2
CC0;
?=BQ =4F
34;78270=3860A7
President Ram Nath Kovind
on Sunday gave his assent to
the three farms Bills passed by
Parliament even as the farmers'
organisation and Opposition
parties continued to rally
against the controversial legis-
lations. One of BJP's oldest
allies and a founding member
of the NDA, the Shiromani
Akali Dal, on Sunday called for
unifying the Opposition to
take on the BJP.
The Opposition had earli-
er urged the President to return
the Bills to Parliament saying
the Bills were anti-farmer and
had been rammed through the
Rajya Sabha without a division
of votes. SAD president
Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday
called upon all political parties
and organisations to close
ranks for a united fight to pro-
tect the interests of farmers,
farm labour and farm produce
traders in the country, espe-
cially in Punjab.
We are ready to join or fol-
low any struggle in the overall
interests of the farmers, farm
labour, Arhatiyas and other
farm produce traders, said
Badal, while making his first
public speech after the party
broke alliance with the NDA on
Saturday night. Badal received
instant support from the
Trinamool Congress. We sup-
port Sukhbir Singh Badal and
Akali Dal's stand with the
farmers. Fighting for farmers is
part of Trinamool DNA. In
2006, Mamata Banerjee risked
her life on a historic 26-day fast
for farmers' rights. We oppose
Farm Bills 2020 as they endan-
ger States' role, MSP, PDS pro-
curement, TMC leader Derek
O'Brien tweeted.
Thanking Derek for his
support, Sukhbir tweeted,
Derek — your stand against
the Agriculture Bills in
Parliament is well known.
Appreciate your support. He
said the country needed to
understand and empathise with
the farmers and farm labour in
view of the pathetic conditions
in which they were living.
Reiterating his party's firm
commitment to preserving
peace, communal harmony
and fraternity in Punjab at all
costs, Badal said, We must not
flinch from the ideals of keep-
ing our struggle for people's
rights absolutely peaceful and
democratic. I must caution
against attempts to defame our
struggle by disturbing peace
but that should only strength-
en our resolve to safeguard the
age-old values of Punjabi fra-
ternity and the path of peace-
ful democratic struggle.
He again advised the Chief
Minister to issue an Ordinance
to declare the whole State a
Mandi (Principal Marketing
Yard) to save farmers from
“black laws”. Badal was address-
ing gatherings of party workers
and farmers at Ropar,
Hoshiarpur and Phagwara on
Sunday, to mobilise them for
October 1 Kisan March, which
would commence from all three
religious Takht Sahibs in Punjab
and culminate at Mohali.
Taking a cue from its coun-
terpart in Rajasthan, the
Amrinder Singh Government
in Punjab is considering bring-
ing a legislation declaring the
entire State as a Principal
Mandi Yard to nullify the
Central Act. This would nulli-
fy the Central law prohibiting
imposition of any tax or cess on
o u t - o f - m a n d i
transactions.
Declaration of Punjab as a
mandi will ensure farmers sell-
ing directly to third parties will
get MSP and the State earns its
mandi tax.
7Rc^ac`eVdeddhV]]@aacR_d
3UH] JLYHV KLV DVVHQW WR WKUHH IDUP %LOOV DPLG IDUPHUV
SURWHVWV
344?0::D?A4C8Q =4F34;78
The exit of Shiromani Akali
Dal (SAD), one of the old-
est allies of the BJP, from the
National Democratic Alliance
(NDA), would not impact the
strong majority of the 303-
member BJP in the Lok Sabha
but it may dent its own catchy
and all-season political slogan
of “sabka saath, sabka vikas”.
The NDA has now been
reduced to a conglomeration of
Janata Dal(U), LJP, AIADMK,
Jana Nayak Janata Party, Apna
Dal and a handful of regional
outfits in North-East.
The SAD has only two
members in the Lok Sabha,
including Harsimrat Kaur, who
resigned from the Modi
Government following SAD's
protest over three farm Bills
recently passed by Parliament.
The three Rajya Sabha
members of the SAD are
Balwinder Singh Bhunder,
Naresh Gujral and Sukhdev
Singh Dhinsa.
On the eve of Lok Sabha
polls in 2019 and soon after the
poll victory, the BJP had
claimed to having 36 NDA
allies which included major
parties like Telugu Desam Party
(TDP), Shiv Sena and SAD,
Janata Dal-United JD(U) and
several other assorted region-
al outfits across the
country.
The departure of SAD in a
year when Shiv Sena too “lost
patience” with the BJP and less
than two years following the
TDP's decision to move out of
the NDA in 2018 reflects that
the BJP is increasingly assert-
ing itself with its plans and pro-
grammes after its sweeping
victory in the Lok Sabha.
Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) of Mehbooba Mufti in
Jammu Kashmir and
Upendra Kushwaha's RSLP in
Bihar, left the NDA due to dif-
ferent political reasons.
The NDA which started in
1998 under Atal Bihar
Vajpayee has transformed con-
siderably since 2014. With
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and Union Home
Minister Amit Shah taking a
tight grip over the affairs of the
Government and the party
and setting the BJP with an aim
of “speedy expansion” in the
States and introduce its policies
the allies have reasons to feel
threatened.
The protest against the too
much of centralisation of deci-
sion-making in the NDA had
also created rumblings in the
North-East with Asom Gana
Parishad walking out of the
NDA to protest Citizenship
(Amendment) Bill but it
rejoined later. Another region-
al NDA ally Bodo People's
Front too had differences with
the BJP which were ironed out
by State leadership.
6$'
V H[LW PD GHQW LPDJH RI
%-3
V VDEND VDDWK VDEND YLNDV
6WHDG ULVH UDLVHV ,QGLD
V
RYLG FRXQW WR RYHU /
?=BQ =4F34;78
With an average over
85,000 cases per day dur-
ing the last fortnight, India on
Sunday crossed the six-million
mark of the coronavirus cases.
The second-most-affected
country by the numbers of
active and total cases, and
third by the fatality count,
India has added 6,72,564 cases
since September 20. The last
one million cases for India
have come in just 12 days.
With this speed, India will
surpass the United States
(7,290,347) in the next 15-20
days.
The fatality cases will cross
one lakh in the next 5-6 days
with an average of 1100-1200
cases per day. According to the
Health Ministry's data, 10
States and UTs — Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar
Pradesh, Odisha, Delhi, West
Bengal and Chhattisgarh —
account for 80 per cent of the
new cases reported in a
day.
The five most affected
States by total cases are
Maharashtra (13,39,232),
Andhra Pradesh ( 6,75,674),
Tamil Nadu (5,80,808),
Karnataka (5,75,566), and Uttar
Pradesh (381491). There are
five States with the biggest 24-
hour jump in total cases are
Maharashtra (18,056),
Karnataka (9,543), Kerala
(7,445), Andhra Pradesh
(6,923), and Tamil Nadu
(5,791).
A total 76 per cent of the
new recovered cases are found
in 10 States and UTs —
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Odisha, Delhi
Chhattisgarh, Kerala and West
Bengal. Maharashtra continues
to top this list.
Union Health Minister
Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said
the Indian population is still far
from reaching herd immunity
against Covid-19 as shown by
the Indian Council of Medical
Research`s (ICMR) second
Sero Survey. As reports of
coronavirus reinfection in the
country emerge, the Minister
said such cases are under inves-
tigation.
?C8Q =4F34;78
UnionHealthMinisterHarsh
Vardhan said on Sunday
the Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) is actively
researching on reports of Covid-
19 reinfection and although
the number of such cases is neg-
ligible at this moment, the
Government is fully seized of
the importance of the matter.
4`gZUcVZ_WVTeZ`_TRdVd_VX]ZXZS]V
Sfe:4CViR^Z_Z_XdRjdGRcUYR_
New Delhi: The
national capital
reported 46
COVID-19 deaths on Saturday,
the highest in over 70 days, tak-
ing the number of deaths to
5,193, while 3,372 fresh cases
pushed the infection tally to
2,67,822, authorities said.
NEW DELHI:
Travellers from
Dubai and the
UK were primary
sources of Covid-
19 importations
into India,
according to an analytical study
done by Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT), Mandi.
5V]YZcVT`cUd%'
UVReYdYZXYVde
Z_`gVc(!URjd
7UDYHOOHUV IURP
'XEDL 8. DGGHG
WR RYLG VSLNH ,,7
?C8Q ?0C=0
Former Bihar DGP
Gupteshwar Pandey, who
was all over national TV for the
last few months, joined the
State's ruling JD (U) on Sunday
amid indications he would con-
test the Assembly polls begin-
ning next month.
Pandey joined the party in
the presence of Chief Minister
NitishKumar,whoisalsotheJD
(U) president, less than a week
aftertakingvoluntaryretirement
from service.
His much-anticipated
induction took place a day
after he met Kumar and insist-
ed there was nothing political
in their conversation.
The 1987 batch IPS officer
had strongly defended Kumar
on the issue of institution of a
CBI probe into the mysterious
death of Sushant Singh Rajput,
the Patna-born talented film
star.
The voluble officer had
reminded actor Rhea
Chakraborty, Rajput's girlfriend
and the main accused in the
abetment to suicide case being
probed by the CBI, of her
auqat (status) to question
Kumar, when she suggested
that there was politics behind
the Bihar Government's deci-
sion to push for a CBI
probe.
Pandey's application for
VRS was accepted by Governor
Fagu Chauhan on September
21, five months before the
1987 batch IPS officer was to
superannuate, and in a rare ges-
ture, a three-month cooling off
period applicable to bureau-
crats was waived in his case.
I have a long, loving asso-
ciation with Kumar. He per-
sonally called me and offered
party membership.
“I have a public profile
and connect with
people…people love me. But
I don't know anything about
politics. I will do what I am
asked to do, he later told jour-
nalists.
“Pandey also turned up at
a Press conference at the JD
(U) headquarters where he
was welcomed into the fami-
ly by Ashok Choudhary, a
Cabinet Minister who was
earlier in the day appointed
the working president of the
State unit.
%LKDU
V H['*3 *XSWHVKZDU MRLQV
-'8

2. WR ILJKW $VVHPEO HOHFWLRQ
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
In a new move, the Delhi Jal
Board (DJB) has approved a
proposal to collect annual
sewage pollution charge from
all households, irrespective of
whether they are located in
areas with or without sewer
network.
According to a National
Green Tribunal order, every
individual household causing
pollution by the release of
sewage into an open environ-
ment or in the sewer network
is liable for payment for its
treatment as per polluter pays
principle. At present, the util-
ity collects sewage charges only
from those households which
have water connections and a
functional sewer
network.
The money is utilised for
maintenance, upkeep and to
upgrade the sewer network.
But many households get water
from the DJB and generate
sewage but have not been pay-
ing sewage charges as there is
no sewer network in their area,
according to an official.
The DJB has 25.20 lakh
active water consumers, of
which 19.94 lakh come under
areas with sewage connec-
tion. Sewage charges are levied
in their water bills. Earlier, we
had been collecting sewage
charges from households
which come under sewered
areas and have an active water
connection.
0[[W^dbTW^[Sbc^_Ph
bTfPVTRWPaVTbX]3T[WX
?=BQ =4F34;78
Six years after a head injury
he suffered from a fall at his
home confined him to the
hospital bed, former Union
Minister Jaswant Singh, a close
associate of ex-Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, died here
on Sunday. He was 82.
A former Army officer,
Singh had been ill following the
accident since August 2014. He
had been in and out of the
Army Research and Referral
Hospital since then. Three
months ago, he was back to the
hospital — for one last time.
It is with profound grief
that we inform about the sad
demise of Major Jaswant Singh
(Retd), former Cabinet
Minister of Government of
India at on September 27,
2020. He was admitted on June
25, 2020 and being treated for
Sepsis with Multiorgan
Dysfunction Syndrome and
effects of Severe Head Injury
old (Optd) had a cardiac arrest
this morning, the hospital
said in a statement.
Singh fell out with the BJP
leadership prior to the 2014
Lok Sabha polls and was denied
the ticket. He went on to fight
the election as an Independent
candidate and lost. Three
months later, he met with what
would turn out to be a fatal
accident.
Born on January 3, 1938, in
Jasol village of Barmer district,
Rajasthan, Singh did his study
at the prestigious Mayo
College and National Defence
Academy, Khadakwasla. At the
age of 19, he joined a cavalry
regiment of the Indian Army.
After serving in the defence
services for eight years, he
resigned from his commission
in 1965 to take a plunge into
politics.
He didn't have much suc-
cess in his initial years in pol-
itics and had to wait till 1980
when the fledgling BJP sent
him to the Rajya Sabha. From
then on it was an uninterrupt-
ed stay in Parliament — five
times as member of the Upper
House and four times as Lok
Sabha MP — till 2014.
An able administrator with
few blemishes of the type that
are associated with many lead-
ers, Singh had the swallow the
mortification of accompanying
three terrorists — Ahmed
Omar Saeed Sheikh, Mushtaq
Ahmad Zargar and Masood
Azhar — and escort the hijack-
ers of the IC 814 aircraft to
Kandahar in exchange for 175
passengers who were held
hostage by Pakistan-backed
terrorists.
His career, however, was
also hit by controversy when he
was in the Government during
the Kandahar the hijacking of
1999.
Singh escorted three ter-
rorists — Ahmed Omar Saeed
Sheikh, Mushtaq Ahmad
Zargar and Masood Azhar —
to Kandahar in exchange for
175 passengers of IC 814 air-
craft who were held hostage by
Pakistan-backed terrorists.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and other top BJP lead-
ers paid rich tributes to Singh.
Modi said Singh served India
diligently and will be remem-
bered for his unique perspec-
tive on matters of politics and
society
The PM later spoke to
Singh's son Manvendra to con-
vey his condolences.
Modi said, Singh served
our nation diligently, first as a
soldier and later during his long
association with politics.
During Atal's Government, he
handled crucial portfolios and
left a strong mark in the worlds
of finance, defence and exter-
nal affairs. Saddened by his
demise.
Singh, considered close to
Vajpayee and veteran leader L
K Advani, held defence, finance
and external affairs portfolios
in the Vajpayee Government.
In his message, Modi
added, Singh will be remem-
bered for his unique perspec-
tive on matters of politics and
society. He also contributed to
the strengthening of the BJP. I
will always remember our
interactions. Condolences to
his family and supporters. Om
Shanti.
Expressing his anguish,
Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh said Singh served the
nation in several capacities
and distinguished himself as an
effective Minister and parlia-
mentarian
Singh would be remem-
bered for his intellectual capa-
bilities and stellar record in ser-
vice to the nation. He also
played a key role in strength-
ening the BJP in Rajasthan.
Condolences to his family and
supporters in this sad hour. Om
Shanti, Singh said.
9DMSDHH
V 0DQ )ULGD -DVZDQW 6LQJK QR PRUH
90BF0=CB8=67
9P]dPah ('°BT_cTQTa!!!
BWXa^P]X0ZP[X3P[?aTbXST]cBdZWQXa
BX]VW1PSP[PSSaTbbTbPVPcWTaX]V^U
_Pachf^aZTabP]SUPaTabc^^QX[XbT
cWTU^aRc^QTa :XbP]PaRWfWXRW
f^d[SR^T]RTUa^P[[cWaTTBXZW
aT[XVX^dbCPZWcbX]cWTBcPcTc^^WP[X
X]A^_PaSXbcaXRc^]Bd]SPh ?C8
0TSXR_[PhbfXcWPRWX[SPc2F6eX[[PVT2^eXS (2PaT2T]caT]TPa0ZbWPaSWP
X]=Tf3T[WX^]Bd]SPh ?C8
/CWT3PX[h?X^]TTa UPRTQ^^ZR^SPX[h_X^]TTa7`]]`hfd`_+
fffSPX[h_X^]TTaR^
X]bcPVaPR^SPX[h_X^]TTa
;PcT2Xch E^[ #8bbdT !%'
0XaBdaRWPaVT4gcaPXU0__[XRPQ[T
?dQ[XbWTS5a^
34;78;D2:=F 17?0;17D10=4BF0A
A0=278A08?DA 270=3860A7
347A03D= 7H34A0103E890HF030
4bcPQ[XbWTS '%#
51, 1R 5HJQ 877(1* 5(*' 1R 8$'2''1
347A03D==30HB4?C414A !'!!*?064B !C!
m
@A:?:@?'
5A440A:4CA
2?0=HA09.
H@C=5(
5867C8=64AD?CB14CF44=
0A4=800I4A10890= %:8;;43
39=1D5
381751
D8B51D*28E=9
! F9F139DI m
DA@CE#
A21C5024
88=8?;

3. RP_XcP[!347A03D=k=30H kB4?C414A!'!! C02:;8=62A=0E8ADB
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
Marking the fourth week of
the '10 Hafte 10 Baje 10
Minute Har Ravivaar Dengue
Par Vaar' campaign of the
Delhi government, Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal on
Sunday inspected his house for
stagnant clean water at 10 AM
for 10 minutes, draining and
replacing accumulated water at
various spots in his home and
surroundings.
The chief minister has
appealed to all RWAs of Delhi
to come forward and make the
residents in their localities
aware of the measures to be
taken to prevent dengue. He
appealed to the RWAs to talk to
people in their respective
colonies and increase partici-
pation by motivating them to
join hands in preventing
dengue.
Kejriwal said, I appeal to
all the RWAs to talk to people
in their societies as well and
motivate them to join this
campaign, we have to defeat
dengue together.
Taking to social media,
Kejriwal tweeted, Taking for-
ward the campaign against
dengue today on the fourth
Sunday by replacing the water
collected at home. In this way,
we have to stop the breeding of
dengue mosquitoes and protect
our family and the entire Delhi
from Dengue.
#10Hafte10Baje10Minute Har
Ravivaar Dengue Par Vaar.
Kejriwal sought the sup-
port of the RWAs in prevent-
ing Dengue last year as well. He
had introduced a 5-point plan
for the RWAs to take measures
to prevent the breeding of
dengue mosquitoes in their
areas.
Reiterating his appeal this
year, CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal
also said that the participation
from people from all walks of
life and all organizations such
as senior members of RWAs,
etc, is necessary to prevent
dengue.
This year, the Delhi gov-
ernment has also launched a
telephonic helpline -
01123300012 and WhatsApp
helpline - 8595920530 to assist
the general public for Dengue.
?0AE4B7B70A0Q
6DAD6A0
Lack of proper disposal of
biological waste is a big
problem in India and con-
tributes a lot to pollution and
contamination of groundwa-
ter resources.
One such sorry incident
has been unearthed in a
Gurugram village, which has
had frightening consequences
on groundwater, the local
people and animals.
This particular case was
unearthed by an animal
activist two months ago when
he observed an unauthorised
dump of mixed bio waste
water at Bhondsi village agri-
culture land in Gurugram by
a private pharmaceutical com-
pany, which is located in the
same region.
The illegal bio waste
dump, which is located at the
village land, of Gurugram dis-
trict, was first noticed by ani-
mal lover Rohit.
After finding the first
dump in July this year, he
shared his findings with his
colleagues, and he has since
raised the issue on social
media platforms and yet to file
an official complaint as he
belongs from Kolkata, and
had no idea where to file a
complaint against the phar-
maceutical company and its
irregularities.
“A week ago, when I was
on my morning walk, I dis-
covered the bodies of two
rabbits which are suspected to
have died due to consuming
toxic water dumped by the
company. In about two
months, I have noticed mul-
tiple times the company has
illegally dumped bio waste
water on the land of the region
though a tanker,” Rohit said.
He also alleged that the
tanker driver used to charge
Rs 1,000 per round to dump
the illegal bio waste water
from the company.
“The area is home to pea-
cocks, nilgai, rabbits, dogs
and other animals. We are
building our dog shelter home
for stray dogs and this dump
jeopardizes their survival,”
the pet lover said.
The illegal bio waste
dumping in the area not only
poses a risk to the wildlife, but
also threatens human life as
the bio waste water has
already polluted the ground-
water as toxic water enters the
ground and then our food
cycle, Rohit added.
He also asserted that the
water level in the region is 300
feet deep but not drinkable.
“Anyone can smell a chemical
in the groundwater and the
water colour will turn to be
yellow in just a few hours pre-
served,” he said.
“I am shocked that
nobody's in the region noticed
this gross negligence on part
of the company as they have
continued dumping toxic
water on this piece of land.
The bio waste would destroy
the lives of people living in a
15-km radius, in addition to
affecting wildlife, trees in the
region,” he elaborated.
“I will soon file a detailed
complaint against the compa-
ny in the concern depart-
ment and will demand stern
action against the company,”
said Rohit, adding that the
local administration should
consider processing of bio
waste, along with proper seg-
regation and efficient waste
collection policy, will help to
tackle the problem more effec-
tively”.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
Indian Railways has generat-
ed 10,66,246 ‘mandays’ of
work till 25 September 2020
under Garib Kalyan Rozgar
Abhiyaan in six states such as
Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya
Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan
and Uttar Pradesh.
Piyush Goyal, Minister of
Railways and Commerce and
Industry is closely monitoring
the progress made in these pro-
jects and generation of work
opportunities for the migrant
labours of these states under
this scheme. Around 164 rail-
way infrastructure projects are
being executed in these states,
the ministry said in a state-
ment.
Till 25 September, 2020,
12,276 workers have been
engaged in this Abhiyaan and
the payment of Rs 2190.7
crores has been released to the
contractors for the projects
being implemented, it added.
“Railway has appointed
nodal officers in each district
as well as in the States so that
a close coordination is estab-
lished with the State
Government. It has identified
no. of Railway works which are
being executed under this
scheme,” it said.
“The works are related to
and maintenance of approach
roads for level crossings, devel-
opment and cleaning of silted
waterways, trenches and drains
along the track, construction
and maintenance of approach
road to railway stations, repair
and widening of existing rail-
way embankments / cuttings,
plantation of trees at extreme
boundary of railway land and
protection works of existing
e m b a n k m e n t s /
cuttings/bridges,” it added.
It may be noted that Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
launched a massive employ-
ment -cum- rural public works
campaign named Garib Kalyan
Rojgar Abhiyaan to empower
and provide livelihood oppor-
tunities in areas/ villages wit-
nessing large number of
returnee migrant workers
affected by the devastating
COVID-19 on 20th June 2020.
The Prime Minister
announced that an amount of
Rs 50,000 crores would be
spent for building durable rural
infrastructure under the Garib
Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan.
“This Abhiyaan of 125 days
is being undertaken in mission
mode, and involves focused
implementation of 25 cate-
gories of works/ activities in
116 districts, each with a large
concentration of returnee
migrant workers in 6 states of
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand
and Odisha. Public works is
being undertaken during this
campaign will have a resource
envelope of Rs. 50,000 crores,”
it said.
The ministry said that the
Abhiyaan is a convergent effort
between 12 different ministries
or departments namely Rural
Development, Panchayati Raj,
Road Transport and Highways,
Mines, Drinking Water and
Sanitation, Environment,
Railways, Petroleum and
Natural Gas, New and
Renewable Energy, Border
Roads, Telecom and
Agriculture to expedite imple-
mentation of 25 public infra-
structure works and works
relating to augmentation of
livelihood opportunities.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
Apatrolling team of Delhi
Police saved the life of a 32-
year-old man on time who was
attacked by a group of people
during an argument over take-
away food in central Delhi's
Anand Parbat area. The inci-
dent took place at a dhaba on
Saturday night.
According to Sanjay Bhatia,
the Deputy Commissioner of
Police (DCP), Central district,
at around 9:33 Pm when head
constable Damodar and con-
stable Vijay Dudi were on
patrolling duty in Nai Basti,
Anand Parbat they saw two
groups chasing and fighting
with each other.
“Damodar intervened and
saved the life of Gaurav, who
had suffered injuries to his
head and other body parts
when the accused dhaba own-
ers attacked them with a knife
and utensils,” said the DCP.
“Gaurav had gone to the
dhaba with his friend Prem
Sagar (30). An argument over
ordering takeaway food broke
out among Gaurav, his friend
Sagar and the dhaba owners,
identified as Neelesh and
Akash, who are brothers,” said
the DCP.
“As Gaurav and his friend
left the dhaba, they were
attacked by Neelesh and Akash.
Gaurav received stab injuries
on his head and other body
parts. The accused kept attack-
ing them. In the meantime, the
patrolling staff reached there
and brought the situation
under control,” said the Deputy
Commissioner of Police .
“The police team appre-
hended both the accused and
took the injured to hospital,
where his condition was stated
to be out of danger. A case has
been registered and legal action
is being taken,” said the Deputy
Commissioner of Police.
The entire incident was
captured in CCTV footage. In
the footage, Gaurav can be seen
on a road when four-five men
accost and assault him.
Head constable Damodar
reaches the spot and is followed
by constable Vijay, after
which the accused are
apprehended.
BC055A4?AC4AQ
=4F34;78
The Delhi Women and
Child Development
(DWCD) Minister Rajendra
Pal Gautam on Sunday
instructed officials to expedite
the process of resolving pend-
ing pension cases on priority.
The Minister also
instructed officials to make
the process smooth for sub-
mission of applications
through e-district portal.
“The Delhi Women and
Child Development depart-
ment should take up the issue
with the Delhi Unit of
National Informatics Centre
of Government of India and
Information Technology
Department of Government
of the Delhi government. As
there is a need to synergize
the IT system keeping in view
of server expansion of the E-
district portal of Delhi
Government,” he said.
He said that in the time of
the pandemic, these pension
cases should be resolved on
priority by the department.
The instruction was given in
a monthly meeting chaired by
the minister to review the
performance of all the
schemes of the Department of
Women and Child
Development. “The instruc-
tion was given on the basis of
feedback provided by the dis-
trict officers for the penden-
cy of pension cases,” the office
of Delhi Women and Child
Development said in a state-
ment.
The Minister was briefed
by the department and was
updated about the ongoing
distribution of ration to reg-
istered beneficiaries, preg-
nant women and children in
the capital, under Integrated
Child Development Services
(ICDS), it said.
The meeting was attend-
ed by Secretary (WCD)
Madhu Garg, Director WCD,
Rashmi Singh along with
other senior officers of the
Department of Women and
Child Development.
The Minister informed
that with the setting up of
ward level monitoring com-
mittees in the capital, the
process of distribution of
ration has improved as the
discrepancies in ration dis-
tribution have been checked
effectively.
Gautam also instructed
that the accessibility of all
District Officers to the citi-
zens should be ensured so
that there is the smooth func-
tioning of the redressal system
for grievances.
He said for better service
augmentation and outreach to
the target audience the avail-
ability of District officers is
essential.
BC055A4?AC4AQ
=4F34;78
Delhi Police has arrested a
23-year-old student for
allegedly harassing a woman by
sending her obscene messages
on social media in South Delhi
area.
The accused has been iden-
tified as BA first-year student
Kafil, a resident of Mehrauli.
According to Atul Kumar
Thakur, the Deputy
Commissioner of Police
(DCP), South district, a woman
had lodged a complaint that a
Facebook user was harassing
her by sending obscene and
abusive messages on her
account.
“A case under relevant sec-
tions of Indian Penal Code
(IPC) was registered and inves-
tigation was taken up. During
investigation, police obtained
the details of the user and
with the help of technical sur-
veillance, he was arrested on
Saturday,” said the DCP.
“During interrogation, the
accused said he would create
fake Facebook IDs in order to
make friends with women and
send them obscene messages.
He used hotspot or WiFi ser-
vices of others to evade detec-
tion,” said the DCP.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
Delhi Police on Sunday
claimed to have arrested
two men who had allegedly
cheated over thousand people
across the country on the pre-
text of home delivery of liquor.
The accused were identi-
fied as Huzaifah (25), a resident
of Sangam Vihar, and Hafiz
Tufail (35), a resident of Lado
Sarai.
According to R P Meena,
the Deputy Commissioner of
Police (DCP), Southeast dis-
trict, the matter came to light
on July 24 after Karan Palta,
one of the victims of the scam,
lodged a police complaint.
“The complainant told
police that he came across a
social media advertisement on
May 22 that claimed to provide
home delivery of liquor during
the lockdown. He contacted the
mobile numbers provided in
the advertisement. The person
at the other end asked him to
transfer Rs 4,000 for two bot-
tles of liquor. When the liquor
was not delivered, he called
again and asked for a refund,”
said the Deputy Commissioner
of Police.
“The accused sent a UPI
link and asked him to scan the
Quick Response (QR) code
for receiving the money. When
he scanned the QR code, an
amount of Rs 20,000 was
deducted from his e-wallet,”
said the DCP.
“During investigation,
police identified Huzaifah and
arrested him on Friday from
Saket. According to the bank
statement of Huzaifah, Rs 35
lakh was deposited in his
account from February 20 to
September 9,” said the DCP.
“Huzaifah told police that
he had opened multiple bank
accounts. The gang leader,
Naseer, used to deposit money
online into his accounts and
take cash from him. He further
told police that Naseer lives in
Bharatpur in Rajasthan and
was introduced to him by
Tufail. On his instance, Tufail
was also apprehended,” said the
DCP.
“Tufail told police that
Naseer is his relative and he
used to transfer money online
in his bank accounts and
charged a commission from
Naseer. The accused have
cheated around 1,500 people in
the last one year. Five e-wallet
accounts and three bank
accounts have been frozen,
said the Deputy Commissioner
of Police adding efforts are on
to nab Naseer.
BcdST]cbP__TPaX]VX]944PX]bTgPX]PcX^]U^[[^fX]Vb^RXP[SXbcP]RX]V]^abX]eXTf^U2^eXS (X]cWT4PbcBRW^^[^U4Pbc3T[WX^]Bd]SPh AP]YP]3XaXk?X^]TTa
705C4 1094 8=DC470AA0E8E00A34=6D4?0AE00A
4Z_daVTedYZdY`fdVe`T`_eRZ_UV_XfV
?Pca^[[X]V_^[XRTcTPaTbRdTb
P]QTX]VQTPcT]d_SdaX]VQaPf[
1X^c^gXRfPcTaSd_X]VX]6dadVaPeX[[PVTRPdbX]VPbbXeTT]eXa^]T]cP[SPPVT
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
The National Capital report-
ed 3,292 Coronavirus cases,
taking the total number of
people infected with life- threat-
ening virus to 171 lakh with 42
more fatalities reported on
Sunday.
This is the highest number
of deaths reported in a day since
July 16, when the city record-
ed 58 fatalities. There are 29228
active cases of the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) and
236651 people have recovered
so far, according to health bul-
letin The number of contain-
ment zones in Delhi jumped to
2380 and the positivity rate
stands at 9.27 per cent. As
many as 51416 tests were con-
ducted to detect COVID-19
infection , of which 11414 were
RTPCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat
tests and 40002 were rapid
antigen tests, the latest health
bulletin said.
According to the bulletin,
out of the 15830 beds in
COVID hospitals, 9072 are
vacant, while 6758 beds in
COVID care centres are occu-
pied. The number of people in
home isolation is 17291.
According to the Indian
Council of Medical Research,
suspected individuals who test
negative for COVID-19 in
rapid-antigen tests should
undergo RT-PCR to rule out
the infection.
Rapid-antigen testing
requires a prescription and an
ICMR form filled by a regis-
tered doctor, and a government
identity proof, same as that for
RT-PCR test. Testing was
ramped up June 18 onwards,
when Delhi started conducting
tests through the faster rapid-
antigen methodology.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
After Uttar Pardesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath
government’s announced
health insurance for journalists,
Delhi Bhartiya Janta Party ( BJP
) state President Adesh Gupta
also demanded the same from
ruling Aam Aadmi Party (
AAP ).
“The Kejriwal government
should provide health insur-
ance of Rs 5 lakh to the jour-
nalists of Delhi and make a
provision for compensation of
Rs 10 lakh on their death from
Corona,” Gupta said.
Complimenting Yogi for
his initiative, Gupta said such
a health insurance scheme
should also he provided for
journalists of Delhi.
“Kejriwal government has
responsibilities towards the
people of Delhi as well as the
journalists of Delhi. Kejriwal
government should take inspi-
ration from Yogi government
for the welfare of journalists,”
he said, “Highest outbreak of
Corona pandemic was seen in
Delhi. Despite the pandemic,
the journalists in Delhi carried
out their responsibilities well
and made the country aware of
every small and big news relat-
ed to Corona and other issues
regardless of their life.”
5HVROYH SHQGLQJ SHQVLRQ
FDVHV ':' 0LQLVWHU BiWU^UbQdUc! $]Q^TQic_Vg_b[
60A81:0;H0=AI60A0178H00=
3T[WXbTTb!(!R^a^]PeXadbRPbTb
BcdST]cWT[SU^a
WPaPbbX]Vf^P]
QhbT]SX]VWTa
^QbRT]TTbbPVTb
0DQ DUUHVWHG IRU
GXSLQJ SHRSOH
3T[WX19?bTTZb
WTP[cWX]bdaP]RT
U^aY^da]P[Xbcb
$OWKRXJK HYHU SRVVLEOH FDUH DQG FDXWLRQ KDV EHHQ WDNHQ WR DYRLG HUURUV RU RPLVVLRQV WKLV SXEOLFDWLRQ LV EHLQJ VROG RQ WKH FRQGLWLRQ DQG XQGHUVWDQGLQJ WKDW LQIRUPDWLRQ JLYHQ LQ WKLV SXEOLFDWLRQ LV PHUHO IRU UHIHUHQFH DQG PXVW QRW EH WDNHQ DV KDYLQJ DXWKRULW RI RU ELQGLQJ LQ DQ ZD RQ WKH ZULWHUV HGLWRUV SXEOLVKHUV DQG SULQWHUV DQG VHOOHUV ZKR GR QRW RZH DQ UHVSRQVLELOLW IRU DQ
GDPDJH RU ORVV WR DQ SHUVRQ D SXUFKDVHU RI WKLV SXEOLFDWLRQ RU QRW IRU WKH UHVXOW RI DQ DFWLRQ WDNHQ RQ WKH EDVLV RI WKLV ZRUN $OO GLVSXWHV DUH VXEMHFW WR WKH H[FOXVLYH MXULVGLFWLRQ RI FRPSHWHQW FRXUW DQG IRUXPV LQ 'HOKL1HZ 'HOKL RQO 5HDGHUV DUH DGYLVHG DQG UHTXHVWHG WR YHULI DQG VHHN DSSURSULDWH DGYLFH WR VDWLVI WKHPVHOYHV DERXW WKH YHUDFLW RI DQ NLQG RI DGYHUWLVHPHQW EHIRUH
UHVSRQGLQJ WR DQ FRQWHQWV SXEOLVKHG LQ WKLV QHZVSDSHU 7KH SULQWHU SXEOLVKHU HGLWRU DQG DQ HPSORHH RI WKH 3LRQHHU *URXS·V ZLOO QRW EH KHOG UHVSRQVLEOH IRU DQ NLQG RI FODLP PDGH E WKH DGYHUWLVHUV RI WKH SURGXFWV VHUYLFHV DQG VKDOO QRW EH PDGH UHVSRQVLEOH IRU DQ NLQG RI ORVV FRQVHTXHQFHV DQG IXUWKHU SURGXFWUHODWHG GDPDJHV RQ VXFK DGYHUWLVHPHQWV
3ULQWHG DQG SXEOLVKHG E $MLW 6LQKD IRU DQG RQ EHKDOI RI 0. 3ULQWHFK /WG SXEOLVKHG DW 8QLJDWH *HQHUDO 0HGLD 3YW /WG 2OG 1HKUX RORQ 2SS 8WWDUDNKDQG -DO 6DQVWKDQ 'KDUDPSXU 'HKUDGXQ 3K 0RE DQG SULQWHG DW $PDU 8MDOD 3XEOLFDWLRQV /WG 6KHG 1R 3DWHO 1DJDU R2SHUDWLYH ,QGXVWULDO $UHD
'HKUDGXQ 8WWDUDNKDQG (GLWRU KDQGDQ 0LWUD $,5 685+$5*( RI 5H (DVW DOFXWWD 5DQFKL %KXEDQHVZDU 1RUWK /HK :HVW 0XPEDL $KPHGDEDG 6RXWK %DQJDORUH KHQQDL HQWUDO .KDMXUDKR 'HOKL 2IILFH 1R %HKLQG *XODE %KDZDQ %DKDGXU 6KDK =DIDU 0DUJ 1HZ 'HOKL 3KRQH RPPXQLFDWLRQ 2IILFH ) 6HFWRU
12,'$ *DXWDP %XGK 1DJDU 83 3KRQH /XFNQRZ 2IILFH WK )ORRU 6DKDUD 6KRSSLQJ HQWUH )DL]DEDG 5RDG /XFNQRZ 7HOHSKRQHV

4. dccPaPZWP]S347A03D=k=30H kB4?C414A!'!!
?=BQ 347A03D=
The number of Covid-19
patients in Uttarakhand
mounted to 47045 on Sunday
with the state health depart-
ment reporting 764 fresh cases
of the disease. The depart-
ment also reported the death of
eight patients on Sunday which
increased the death toll to 574.
The authorities discharged 813
patients of the disease from dif-
ferent hospitals of the state after
their recovery. A total of 35462
patients have so far recovered
from the disease and the recov-
ery percentage in the state is
now at 75.38 percent.
Four patients of Covid-19
were reported dead at Max hos-
pital Dehradun on Sunday.
Two patients succumbed to the
disease at All India Institute of
Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
Rishikesh. One patient each
was reported dead at Sushila
Tiwari government hospital,
Haldwani and HNB Base hos-
pital Srinagar.
The provisional state cap-
ital Dehradun continues to be
the hardest hit by the contagion
of Covid -19. Here 241 fresh
cases were reported on Sunday.
In Haridwar 139 patients were
reported while 90 and 89
patients were reported in Pauri
and Udham Singh Nagar
respectively. Nainital reported
50, Uttarkashi 36 while 25
patients each were reported in
Tehri, Chamoli and
Champawat districts.
Rudraprayag reported 16,
Pithoragarh 11, Almora nine
and Bageshwar eight patients
on Sunday.
The authorities discharged
259 patients in Haridwar, 244
in Dehradun, 104 in Almora
and 35 in Pauri district on
Sunday. Uttarakhand now has
10799 active patients of the dis-
ease with Dehradun maintain-
ing its lead at top of table with
3542 active cases of the disease.
Haridwar is on second spot
with 1816 active patients and
Nainital on third position with
1304 active cases. Udham
Singh Nagar has 1016, Pauri
786, Uttarkashi 428, Chamoli
374, Almora 373, Pithoragarh
325, Tehri 292, Champawat
267, Rudraprayag 157 and
Bageshwar 119 active patients
of the disease.
4`gZU*T`f_e^`f_ed
e`%(!%Z_F¶YR_U
?=BQ 347A03D=
Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti
was tested positive for
Covid-19 on Sunday. The flam-
boyant leader informed about
the illness in her social media
posts. Bharti is on a tour of reli-
gious places in Uttarakhand.
On September 21 she visited
Kedarnath shrine while on
September 24 she was in
Badrinath. In one of her tweets,
the BJP leader said that she is
in isolation at Vande Mataram
Kunj near Rishikesh. She also
said that she contracted the dis-
ease from her driver.
DP1WPacX
cTbcb_^bXcXeT
U^a2^eXS (
%#_PcXT]cbP]S
TXVWcSTPcWb
aT_^acTS^]
Bd]SPh
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Covid-19 contagion is
getting more fatal as it con-
tinues to spread in
Uttarakhand. In the week end-
ing September 26, a total of 88
deaths due to Covid-19 were
reported by the state health
department which is the high-
est number of deaths in a week
ever since the contagion start-
ed in the state on March 15 this
year. The first death due to the
disease was reported in the
state in the week seventh (April
26 to May 2). The 28th week
(September 20 to 26) saw 6196
cases which is less than the pre-
vious two weeks. In the 27
week, 9749 cases were report-
ed while in 26th week
(September 6 to 12) 6375 cases
were reported. The less num-
ber of cases in the week which
has just ended could have con-
tributed to less number of tests
than the previous week. This
week 73895 tests were con-
ducted while in the previous
week 84664 tests were con-
ducted.
The founder of Social
Development for Communities
Foundation (SDCF), Anoop
Nautiyal said that 10769 less
tests were conducted in the
week that has just ended as
compared with the previous
one. He said that fewer tests
and more deaths is cause of
concern.
2^eXS (
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Municipal Corporation
of Dehradun (MCD) has
restricted the entry of public on
its premises once again after an
employee of the corporation
tested positive for Covid-19. As
informed by the municipal
commissioner, Vinay Shankar
Pandey, an employee was found
Covid-19 positive on Sunday
and so the MCD will remain
closed to the public on Monday
and Tuesday.
He stated that the campus
will be sanitised on Monday
while the employees and offi-
cials of the corporation will
continue to work in the cor-
poration. Pandey appealed to
people to contact officials con-
cerned of MCD in case of any
emergencies and requested
them to avoid unnecessary vis-
its to public places.
23aTbcaXRcb
_dQ[XRT]cahU^acf^
SPhbPbT_[^hTT
cTbcb2^eXS (eT
?=BQ 347A03D=
In a recent survey conducted
by Dehradun district admin-
istration to identify illiterate
people in the district, it was
revealed that about 35,000 peo-
ple have never been to school.
Recently, the district adminis-
tration announced its plan to
end illiteracy from the district
by January 26 and to achieve
this goal, the administration
asked people to volunteer to
teach illiterate people in vari-
ous areas of the district under
the Padho Doon Badho Doon
campaign.
Informing about the cam-
paign, the chief development
officer (CDO), Nitika
Khandelwal said that a survey
conducted with the help of
Anganwadi workers to identi-
fy illiterate people above the age
of 11 years in the district was
recently finished in which
about 25,517 illiterate people
have been identified and the
data of about 10,000 illiterate
people will be available soon.
Meanwhile, it was also revealed
in the survey that there are 339
girls aged 11 years to 14 years
who are school dropouts and
did not finish their school
education due to their families.
Though the number of
illiterate people is quite high in
the district, only about 40 vol-
unteers have registered in the
portal so far to teach such peo-
ple.
According to Khandelwal,
the classes of some people
have already started in some
areas and will begin soon in
other areas too. She informed
that any educated person can
volunteer to teach illiterate
people of the district and con-
tribute in eradicating illiteracy
in Dehradun district. As
Khandelwal stated, there would
be five students under one
volunteer who has to give at
least 25 hours to the students
in a three-month period. The
administration has given lib-
erty to the volunteers to
arrange and schedule their
classes as per their will by
coordinating with others.
Besides, the volunteers will
not have to go too far from
their respective areas as the
administration is providing
them space in a school in the
area a volunteer wants to take
classes in. One can register at
http://dsclservices.org.in/vol-
unteer.php to volunteer to teach
illiterate people of the
district.
0Q^dc$_T^_[TX[[XcTaPcTX]SXbcaXRc
(VXa[bU^d]Sc^QTbRW^^[Sa^_^dcb
A?=08;F0;
The ongoing border row
with China has brought to
fore fresh challenges to the
security of Uttarakhand which
was earlier also in the limelight
after some Chinese armymen
had intruded into the demili-
tarized zone in the Barahoti
area of high altitude district
Chamoli of the state some
three to four years ago. There
was also a reported air space
violation by the Chinese planes
around the same time in the
same district bordering China.
At that time both the state
and the Central governments
seemed highly concerned over
this incident as this happened
to be a major development on
this border with China after the
1962 war.
Over the years, and spe-
cially after the formation of
Uttarakhand state in the year
2000 and the gradual dilution
of ties with Nepal with which
Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh dis-
trict shares its eastern border,
the strategic position of the
central Himalayan state has
become much more vulnerable.
India’s sour relations with
Nepal and strengthening of
bonds between Beijing and
Kathmandu in recent times
has made it all the more nec-
essary both for the State and the
Central governments to imple-
ment plans for building the
necessary infrastructure in the
rugged mountainous terrains of
the state to face the two coun-
tries common threat on a war
footing.
Even as China is currently
engaged in pre- war like mili-
tary exercises near its border
with Uttarakhand, the ascen-
dance of Maoists to power in
Nepal and their recent topo-
graphic aggression on India
have made the two nations'
intentions much more clear
now. Both the nations appear
to have assumed a belligerent
stance towards India.
Even though the Union
and the state governments have
taken ample measures to mon-
itor the cross border move-
ments in Pithoragarh district,
the Chinese intelligence net-
work is reportedly posing a
latent threat not only to the
security of the state but to the
entire country as well. Since
the Indo-Nepal treaty of 1950
has not been abrogated as yet,
cross border movement can not
be stopped in toto. Thus, there
is always a possibility of rogue
elements making an effort to
enter India and pose a serious
threat to the country's securi-
ty. The present Nepalese polit-
ical dispensation, which is
heavily under the influence of
China, may not be so much
bothered allowing such agents
to cross over to India. Similarly,
we can safely assume that
Uttarakhand's northern high
altitude areas are being close-
ly watched by China all the
time. There are four areas,
lying above 17,000 feet, which
make the cross border accessi-
bility easy for the Chinese.
These are -Barahoti, Niti and
Mana pass in district Chamoli
and Lipulekh pass in
Pithoragarh district.
It is often reported that
Chinese have developed an
excellent infrastructure right
across the border which
includes communication, rail
and road modernisation.
Besides, a large number of
Chinese forces are said to have
been positioned by China
across its border with
Uttarakhand recently in a bid
to threaten the security of
Uttarakhand and the country.
Therefore, in the event of a war
with India, Chinese would be
able to shift their troops to the
desired locations in no time. In
contrast, however, India has no
such infrastructure in place,
particularly in Uttarakhand.
Thus, in the eventuality of
such a situation taking place,
and in the absence of matching
infrastructure in this side of the
border districts, it might real-
ly cost Uttarakhand and the
country dearly.
Therefore, there is indeed
a crying need for developing a
proper defense related infra-
structure in the state. This
central Himalayan state is also
known for major centers of
Hindu shrines which are visit-
ed by millions of devotees
round the year.
It seems the Union gov-
ernment is moving fast in this
regard. The recent meeting of
one of the senior air force offi-
cers, Air Marshal Rajesh
Kumar with the state Chief
Minister Trivendra Singh
Rawat for allocation of some
land for setting up a few
advanced landing grounds and
radar facilities can be seen as
one of the steps in the right
direction. Such facilities need
to be set up in Chamoli,
Pithoragarh and Uttarkashi
districts. Even the army is
planning to set up airfields in
the border areas in the wake of
the latest border stand off.
It may also be mentioned
here that the director-general of
Border Roads Organisation
(BRO) Lieutenant General
Harpal Singh also met Rawat to
discuss the fast completion of
Rs 18,000 crore ongoing project
for a vast road network along
the Chinese border of the state.
According to some reports, a
few roads have already been
completed.
Along with developing the
defence infrastructure,
observers feel that there is also
a pressing need to improve the
communication, medicare,
education and transport facil-
ities in the mountains. They
feel jobs need to be created for
local hill folks who are still
migrating to other states. They
also stress the need for exploita-
tion of available natural
resources of the state in order
to generate more revenue. The
youth of the state are said to be
the second line of defence.
Similarly, observers feel that
farmers can also provide
enough strength to the hillfolks
in the hour of need not only as
food providers but also as
fighters being the members of
martial races. But farmers'
basic interests must be pro-
tected.
Therefore, it is high time a
serious brainstorming is done
to look into the gaping loop-
holes in the preparedness of the
state to face the latest challenges
from across the state's border.
(The author is a veteran
journalist based in Dehradun)
5aTbWRWP[[T]VTbc^bTRdaXch^UDccPaPZWP]S
?=BQ 347A03D=
Accusing the state govern-
ment of being immersed
in corruption, the Pradesh
Congress Committee (PCC)
president Pritam Singh has
said that it has lost the moral
authority to be in the gov-
ernment. Talking to the media
persons at the Congress
Bhawan here on Sunday, the
PCC president said that the
BJP MLA from Lohaghat has
accused the government of
promoting corruption. He
said that the BJP MLA want-
ed to raise the issue of a road
in his area in the state assem-
bly under rule 58 but instead
of listening to him, the state
unit of BJP has issued a notice
to him. He said that the peo-
ple of the state are closely
watching the character and
activities of the government
and the veil over the ‘zero tol-
erance’ rhetoric of the gov-
ernment has been
removed.
The Congress leader
claimed a power struggle is
going on in the state and there
seems to be no coordination
between the government and
state administration. Singh
said, “In the episode involv-
ing the state minister Rekha
Arya all the ministers are
advocating that they should
have the right to write the CR
of secretaries. This power
already is there with the min-
isters and there is a need to
put it into execution. The
manner in which the minis-
ters are accusing officers and
the officers in turn feeling dis-
comforted and indirectly
blaming the ministers shows
that the issue is very
serious.’’
The PCC president added
that the minister Rekha Arya
has indirectly questioned the
Chief Minister (CM) by stat-
ing that the inquiry commit-
tee should have representa-
tion of ministers which shows
no confidence in leadership.
He said that in such a situa-
tion the state government has
no moral authority to remain
in office for a single day.
?=BQ 347A03D=
On the call given by
the Congress
President Sonia Gandhi,
the party leaders and
workers would hold a
protest march to Raj
Bhawan here on Monday.
Gandhi has asked
Congressmen in all the states to
march to their respective
Governor houses and register
strong protest over the three
farm bills passed by the par-
liament recently. After the
march the party leaders would
submit a memorandum to the
governor Baby Rani Maurya.
On Sunday the Pradesh
Congress Committee (PCC)
president Pritam Singh held
meetings with senior Congress
leaders and assigned responsi-
bilities to them for the protest.
The party has decided to make
the event grand and for pur-
pose has asked all senior lead-
ers to ensure a good attendance
in the march.
It has asked all former Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha
Members of Parliament, pre-
sent Rajya Sabha MP, all MLAs,
former MLAs, all candidates of
Lok Sabha elections of 2019, all
candidates of 2017 Vidhan
Sabha elections, all office bear-
ers of PCC, members of AICC
and PCC, presidents of all
frontal organisations of party,
district and Mahanagar
Congress president and others
to take part in the March.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Tourism is on the rise in
the state with the govern-
ment encouraging religious
and other tourism activities in
Uttarakhand. The Covid-19
pandemic has definitely
brought a drop on tourism
but the situation will revive
swiftly once the conditions
return to normal. Chief min-
ister Trivendra Singh Rawat
said this while speaking at a
webinar organised by the
Tourism department on the
occasion of World Tourism
Day on
Sunday.
The CM said that theme-
based tourist destinations are
being developed in each dis-
trict, adding that tourism is a
sector which has considerable
scope for employment. He
referred to the rich variety,
resources and biodiversity of
the state ranging from snow-
clad Himalayan peaks and
Bugyal meadows to the rich
fauna and good human
resources which attract
tourists to Uttarakhand. He
informed that the state is
building a snow leopard con-
servation centre in Uttarkashi
district. The government is
also making efforts to facili-
tate year round tourism with
a conducive atmosphere in
the state for adventure activ-
ities like kayaking, rafting
and paragliding. Efforts are
also being undertaken to
boost tourism in border areas.
With homestays also being
encouraged, more than 2,200
have been registered so far,
added Rawat.
Tourism minister Satpal
Maharaj said that the tourism
sector has had an important
contribution in the State’s
GDP. Efforts are being made
to boost the livelihood of the
locals through pilgrimage and
tourism activities. Referring
to the Covid pandemic, he
said that the state government
is attempting to convert a dis-
aster into an opportunity.
Citing this year’s World
Tourism Day theme of
‘Tourism and Rural
Development’, Maharaj said
that the state government is
undertaking various efforts to
facilitate rural development
along with tourism in the
mountainous regions. The
scenario in Uttarakhand will
change and livelihood of peo-
ple will improve through
tourism in the coming days as
a result of the governmental
efforts, he added.
Tourism secretary Dilip
Jawalkar, screenwriter
Prasoon Joshi and others also
expressed their views on the
occasion.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Bharatiya Janata Party
state president Banshidhar
Bhagat said that the party has
to focus on developing workers
who are committed to working
for establishing the BJP gov-
ernment and organisation at the
Centre and State for the next 30
years. He said this while speak-
ing at the inaugural session of
a BJP training programme here
on Sunday. He exhorted the
party workers to strive towards
achieving the aim while ensur-
ing their own and others’ safe-
ty amidst the Covid pandemic.
Later, speaking at the con-
cluding session, the chief min-
ister said that today the BJP is
one of the major political par-
ties in the world with every
small and big worker having
played an important role in tak-
ing the party to its present posi-
tion. Referring to the party’s
training, he said that impor-
tance is accorded to being goal
oriented. “All of us are working
to lend pace to the party. We all
are among those workers who
are responsible for taking the
party forward,” said Rawat.
Regarding the state gov-
ernment’s works he said that
more than 100 growth centres
had been started on different
concepts. He also referred to
the Mukhyamantri Swarozgar
Yojana (MSY) and other ini-
tiatives taken to facilitate self
employment and boost liveli-
hoods of the people.
Uttarakhand is also the first
state to provide Rs five lakh
annual medical cover to every
family under the Atal
Ayushman Yojana. More than
22,000 hospitals across the
country are registered under
this scheme. Free treatment has
been facilitated for more than
two lakh patients under this
scheme so far. Declaring
Gairsain the summer capital is
another major achievement of
the state government. The
focus is now on developing
facilities necessary for a capi-
tal. Rawat also referred to
planned efforts aimed at
encouraging reverse migra-
tion.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Even after the Ramky Enviro Engineers
Limited (REEL) stated that proper pro-
cedure is being followed in the
Sheeshambada solid waste management
and recycling plant to dispose of the
garbage, the residents of Sheeshambada
have resumed their protest against the
plant once again.
The locals of Sheeshambada were
already protesting against REEL that man-
ages the operation of the plant and the
Municipal Corporation of Dehradun
(MCD) before the lockdown in March but
according to the locals, the situation has
gotten worse since then. Earlier the
leachate released from the plant used to get
accumulated outside the plant and get
absorbed by the ground but the situation
is now so bad that even the ground is
unable to absorb the leachate. Now the
leachate is getting settled there in layers
which is causing issues like water conta-
mination and air pollution besides a foul
smell spreading in the area, said local res-
ident Satpal Dhaniya. According to anoth-
er resident, Anil Negi, despite several
anomalies in the plant, no action has been
taken so far by authorities concerned.
There are just claims by the compa-
ny about managing the plant well but they
are all false. They have stated several times
that they have leachate treatment plant
(LTP) installed in the plant but still the
leachate accumulates outside the plant.
Heaps of garbage are visible there all the
time besides the refuse derived fuel (RDF)
not disposed of. We do not understand
how anyone can ignore these things and
claim that everything is running smooth-
ly in the plant. Even our MLA, Sahdev
Pundir has complained about it to the
municipal commissioner. At least, the
MCD should act as a responsible body but
probably they are in connivance with the
company too, added Negi. Locals also stat-
ed that it is also questionable how the plant
has been unable to get renewal certificate
of Consent to Operate (CTO) from
Uttarakhand Environment Protection and
Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB) for
about a year now. Moreover, on the ques-
tion of what locals think about Ramky's
plan to set up a waste to energy power
plant in Dehradun, locals stated that they
do not trust the company with their
alleged plans to improve the sanitation
facilities in the area. They added that they
have resumed their protest against the bad
working conditions of the plant and will
keep on protesting until authorities listen
to them.
BWTTbWPQPSP[^RP[baTbdT_a^cTbc
PVPX]bcWP]S[X]V^UfPbcTP]PVTT]c_[P]c 6DV WKDW WKHUH LV
QR FRRUGLQDWLRQ
EHWZHHQ
*RYHUQPHQW DQG
DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ
BcPcT6^ecWPb[^bc^aP[PdcW^aXchc^ad[T)?aXcP
C^daXbfX[[aXbT^]RTPVPX]X]BcPcT)2 BcaXeTc^bTRdaT19?Pc2T]caTBcPcTU^a]TgchTPab)1WPVPc
5Pa1X[[b
RQJ WR KROG
SURWHVW PDUFK WR
5DM %KDZDQ WRGD
2PdbT^UR^]RTa])5TfTa
cTbcb^aTSTPcWb

5. ]PcX^]#347A03D=k=30H kB4?C414A!'!!
4`_XXZgVdf]eZ^Ref^e`C;5SVXZ_deR]dhZeY]`TR]aRceZVd
344?0::D0A970Q
=4F34;78
The Congress has initiated
talks with local parties like
RLSP, VIP, NCP and even
with the former Union
Minister in Vajpayee
Government Yashwant Sinha
to forge an alliance for the
Bihar Assembly elections,
starting next month. At the
same time, it has given an
ultimatum to its old natural
ally RJD to make up its mind
by this month end over the
issue of seat sharing.
Sources said the Congress
leadership has conveyed to
RJD to come to the negotiation
table and finish the seat shar-
ing process so that enough
time remains for the grand
alliance to campaign.
RJD chief Tejaswi Yadav is
likely to go to Ranchi to dis-
cuss further on the Bihar
Assembly polls with his father,
RJD patriarch Lalu Yadav, who
is lodged in jail in Jharkhand
in connection with the fodder
scam.
The Congress has also
shared its list of ‘bastion’ seats.
some of them believed to be
common for both the RJD and
Congress which had fought
the last assembly polls togeth-
er and registered impressive
wins to form the
Mahagathbandhan govern-
ment including JD (U). Nitish
Kumar had later switched
sides to BJP and formed the
NDA Government.
Congress sources said it
has agreed to project former
Deputy CM and RJD chief
Tejaswi Yadav as the Chief
Ministerial candidate of the
alliance but in lieu of more say
in the choice of seats.
“We have already shared a
list of 75 constituencies to
RJD which is the bone of con-
tention between both the par-
ties to begin the negotiations,”
said a senior Congress leader
looking after the Bihar affairs.
He shared that Congress is
also in talks with NCP,
Yashwant Sinha, VIP and for-
mer Union Minister Upendra
Kushwaha's RLSP, in case the
alliance with RJD does not
materialise. A resentment in
Kushwaha is also palpable for
his objection to Tejashwi
Yadav’s projection as the CM
face of the alliance.
Congress chief Sonia
Gandhi, in the meantime, on
Sunday announced the names
of a few candidates for the
assembly by-election in
Madhya Pradesh and Uttar
Pradesh.
With former Congress col-
leagues and friends
Jyotiraditya Scindia and
Sachin Pilot ranged on oppo-
site sides, the Madhya Pradesh
bypolls have now become a
high-pitched electoral clash
both between the two and
both the Congress and BJP on
28 Assembly seats.
Pilot is campaigning for
the party candidates in the by-
elections for 28 Assembly seats
in the state, most of which are
in the Gwalior-Chambal
region, considered to be the
bastion of Scindia. Most of the
seats for which Pilot has been
called have a large number of
Gujjar voters and Congress
hopes to use Pilot to woo
them.
Of the 28 seats, 25 were
vacated by Congress MLAs
who switched to the BJP to
facilitate the comeback of
Shivraj Singh Chouhan as
Chief Minister, while three fell
vacant due to the death of sit-
ting MLAs.
Congress announced can-
didates for 9 more seats in
which three of the nine can-
didates are ex-BJP leaders.
The party had announced the
first list of 15 candidates on
September 11.
1870A4;42C8=
?=BQ =4F34;78
Dr Ajoy Kumar rejoined
Congress after he quit the
party to join the Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP). The former MP
and former president of
Jharkhand Pradesh Congres
Committee had joined AAP in
September 2019. Congress
General Secretary K C
Venugopal, in a statement,
said, “Congress president Sonia
Gandhi has approved the pro-
posal for the re-joining of Dr.
Ajoy Kumar, Ex-MP and for-
mer President, Jharkhand PCC,
to the Congress party.”
3a0Y^h:dPa
aTY^X]b2^]VaTbb
?=BQ =4F34;78
The Union Home Ministry
on Sunday ordered the
immediate dispatch of 300 com-
panies of paramilitary forces for
poll-bound Bihar.
These paramilitary are from
various units of CRPF, BSF,
CISF, SSB, ITBP and RPF. The
State Government was asked to
submit detailed deployment
plans for the poll duties of the
300 companies across the State.
One company consists of 135
jawans and officers.
With 80 companies, CRPF
has the highest number of its
personnel deployed in Bihar.
The BSF will send 55 compa-
nies, CISF 50, and SSB 52 com-
panies. While 30 companies
are from ITBP, the RPF will
send 15 companies for the poll
bound State.
The Union Home Ministry
directed the paramilitary forces
to adhere strictly to the Covid-
19 guidelines during trans-
portation, deployment and
logistics.
7^TX]Xbcah^aSTabSXb_PcRW^U
R^_P]XTb^U_PaPX[XcPahU^aRTb
A0:4B7:B8=67Q =4F34;78
Against the backdrop of
casualties of six personnel
due to suicide or fratricide in
the last few months, the Central
paramilitary forces have issued
orders to its officers to liberal-
ly grant leave to the jawans,
expeditiously resolve any issues
being faced by them, timely
clear their allowances and for-
mulate a proper duty roster.
The move comes following
a directive from the Union
Home Ministry after the
Confederation of Ex
Paramilitary Force Welfare
Association raised concern
over the rising shootout and
suicides and demanded
instructions to the Forces to
check the trend.
During the last few
months, jawans of paramilitary
forces like CRPF, BSF, SSB and
ITBP have resorted to fratrici-
dal killings leading to the death
of six jawans. This dangerous
trend is continuing and in the
majority of the cases, enquiries
have concluded that domestic
discord was the reason for
such incidents.
Apart from existing mea-
sures already in place to check
such incidents in the ranks, the
Forces have issued a fresh set
of guidelines to contain any
such trend in the future.
The officials commanding
their respective formations
have been specifically asked to
adopt a liberal approach in
granting leave to the jawans. A
suitable roster of duty of jawans
can be formulated. Payment of
allowances and entitlements
should be made at the earliest
and without any hassles.
Officials at different levels have
further been asked to give sin-
cere hearing to the problems
being faced by the jawans and
make every possible effort to
resolve their issues, officials
said, adding the latest directive
has been circulated across all
the formations of these para-
military forces.
While the Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) is engaged
in a variety of internal securi-
ty roles like anti-terrorism and
counter Naxal operations, the
Border Security Force (BSF) is
tasked to secure the frontiers
along Pakistan and Bangladesh,
the Indo-Tibetan Border Police
(ITBP) is securing the borders
with China and the Sashastra
Seema Bal is deployed along
the boundary with Nepal and
Bhutan.
6aP]c[TPeT[XQTaP[[hc^
YPfP]b_PaPX[XcPah
^UUXRTabc^[S
?=BQ =4F34;78
The Government is mulling
to substitute petrol, diesel
and kerosene in boats operat-
ing at tourists spots across the
country with environment-
friendly CNG/LPG fuel. This
was stated by Union Petroleum
Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
at a virtual event held here on
the occasion of World Tourism
Day marked on Sunday.
Talking about sustainable
environment, the Minister said
that he was keen to take it fur-
ther by susbstituting petrol,
diesel, kerosene etc in operat-
ing boats at tourist sports with
CNG/LPG which are pollu-
tion-free.
In fact, in Varanasi an ini-
tiative has already been
undertaken in this regard
with the local administration
after consultation with the
locals are planning to replace
the pollution causing petrol
driven boats at over 84 ghats
of the Ganga river with the
green fuel CNG.
Pradhan also emphasised
upon using battery operated
vehicles in and around tourist
spots.
With Covid-19 playing
spoilsports with the interna-
tional travel, Union Tourism
Minister Prahlad Singh Patel
urged every citizen to visit at
least 15 destinations in the
country by 2022 to promote
domestic tourism.
He said that the Ministry
has launched the Dekho Apna
Desh (DAD) initiative early
this year with the objective of
creating awareness among the
citizens about the rich heritage
and culture of the country,
encouraging citizens to trav-
el widely within the country
and enhancing tourist footfalls
leading to development of
local economy and creation of
jobs at the local level.
To create mass awareness,
the Ministry has also launched
an online DAD pledge and
Quiz on the MyGov.in plat-
form. The online pledge and
Quiz are open to all for par-
ticipation.
Patel further said that the
programme will help in
enhancing the overall experi-
ence of the tourists, who
would benefit from the
knowledge of the local tourist
facilitators and it will also help
in creating employment
opportunities even in the
remotest parts of the country.
This year United Nations
World Tourism Organisation
(UNWTO) has designated
2020 as the Year of Tourism
and Rural Development. “This
Year is an opportunity to pro-
mote the potential of tourism
to create jobs and opportuni-
ties.
It can also advance inclu-
sion and highlight the unique
role tourism can play in pre-
serving and promoting natural
and cultural heritage and
curbing urban migration,” said
a senior official from the
Ministry.
6^ecd[[bTR^UaXT]S[h2=6;?6ad]Q^PcbPcc^daXbc_[PRTb
A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78
Due to increasing cases of
paddy crop residue burn-
ing in Punjab, the air pollution
in northern India is likely to get
poor in the coming days.
Between September 21st and
25th, at least 612 paddy crop
residue burning incidents have
been reported while only 215
such incidents were reported
during this period last year. The
maximum were incidents
reported from Amritsar, Tarn
Taran and Patiala.
Besides NASA satellites,
the agencies are using eight
satellites like Metop-1, Metop-
2, Noaa-18, Noaa-19, Terra-1,
Aqua-1, S-NPP, and Drought
TVD to capture the incidents
of stubble burning in northern
states. On the other hand,
farmers have alleged that they
do not have machinery to stop
stubble burning.
As per the data compiled
by Consortium for Research on
Agroecosystem Monitoring
and Modeling from Space,
Indian Agricultural Research
Institute (IARI), Punjab has
reported 568 stubble burning
incidents between September
26 and 18. Haryana has report-
ed 31 incidents; Uttar Pradesh
12 and Delhi one incident so
far. The data showed that inci-
dents of paddy crop residue
burning have increased since
September 18.
Presently, Delhi and NCR’s
air quality is moderate. If wind
directions change from Punjab
side to Delhi, the air pollution
will be poorer. Currently, wind
direction is from Punjab to
Pakistan
According to IARI data,
there were 61,332 instances of
stubble-burning in Punjab,
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh
between October and
November, 2019. There were
75,532 instances in 2018,
88,948 in 2017 and 127,774 in
2016, according to data sourced
from the Indian Council of
Agricultural Research.
In late September and
October each year, farmers
mainly in Punjab and Haryana
burn an estimated 35 million
tons of crop waste from their
paddy fields.
The Prime Minister’s
Office recently held high level
meetings in advance with con-
cerned states to tackle this
issue ahead of the stubble
burning season. As per data,
total funds of C11,78.47 crore
were provided in the year 2018-
19 and 2019-20 to Punjab,
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and
Delhi. In 2020-21, C600 crore
has been provided in the bud-
get for the scheme and C548.20
crore has been released to the
states well before time to ensure
they can take up the activities
in advance.
Every winter, not just Delhi
but also large parts of north
India are frequently enveloped
in a thick blanket of smog,
caused by air pollution from
vehicular and industrial emis-
sions mixing with fog. The
burning of post-harvest paddy
stubble in the agricultural fields
of Haryana and Punjab is often
cited as a major cause of this
unhealthy smog.
This year, health experts
fear that the effects of COVID-
19, which primarily causes res-
piratory problems, would be
worsened by heightened air
pollution due to smog and
smoke from the annual stubble
burning.
The burning of stubble
emits large amounts of toxic
pollutants like Methane,
Carbon Monoxide and car-
cinogenic polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Lauding the farmers for
showing “tremendous
resilience” during the
Coronavirus pandemic and
their contribution to
‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initia-
tive, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Sunday said that they
would benefit from the new
agriculture-related Bills once
these become laws. He also
spoke about the rich Indian tra-
dition of story-telling which, he
said, was needed to rejuvenate
the family system.
Addressing the 69th edi-
tion of his monthly radio
address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ , Modi
pointed out that farm growers
had benefited when fruits and
vegetables were taken off the
ambit of the Agriculture
Produce Marketing Committee
Act in 2014 and now other
farmers would benefit too.
The Prime Minister noted
that in the recent past, the agri-
culture sector has been liber-
ated from many restrictions
and has tried to break free from
many myths. He shared the
example of Kanwar Chauhan,
a farmer from Haryana, who
used to face “great difficulties”
in marketing his fruits and veg-
etables outside the mandi, but
in 2014, fruits and vegetables
were excluded from the APMC
Act, which “ benefited him”.
Farmers would be able to
send their produce wherever
they want without old restric-
tions and get a good price, said
the prime minister .
He also talked about Tamil
Nadu Banana farmers’ compa-
ny, a collective of farmers,
which purchased hundreds of
metric tons of vegetables, fruits
and bananas from nearby vil-
lages during the lockdown,
and supplied a vegetable combo
kit to Chennai. He mentioned
the ‘Irada Farmer Producer’
group from Lucknow who,
during the lockdown, procured
fruits and vegetables directly
from the cultivators’ fields,
and sold directly in the markets
of Lucknow, free from the
middlemen.
Talking about India’s rich
tradition of storytelling, PM
Modi said that ‘our stories are
gaining popularity again.’
“We have had a tradition of
storytelling. This is an ancient
method of narrating stories.
Kathakali Shebam has also
been part of this. Different
types of folklore are prevalent
in our country,” he said.
“But there are issues with
some of the families. Some
families have lost touch with
their values,” he said, adding
that stories can help reinvigo-
rate such families.
“There has been a thriving
tradition of telling stories in
India. There is an important
tradition of storytelling in
Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is
called Villu Pattu,” said PM
Modi, talking about the various
forms of storytelling prevalent
in India.
Modi spoke to people
involved in this field. It includ-
ed a group of women who run
Bengaluru Storytelling Society
and even asked them to narrate
a story.
“I urge all storytellers to
include all inspirational stories
from the period of foreign rule
as we are going to celebrate 75
years of independence, espe-
cially between 1857 and 1947.
We can introduce our new
generation to them in form of
stories,” he further said.
?^SX[PdSbUPaTab´
aTbX[XT]RTSdaX]V³PWPPaX´
CWT?aXT
X]XbcTa]^cTS
cWPcX]cWTaTRT]c
_PbccWT
PVaXRd[cdaT
bTRc^aWPbQTT]
[XQTaPcTSUa^
P]haTbcaXRcX^]b
BcdQQ[TQda]X]VPhf^abT]
PXa`dP[XchX]R^X]VSPhb
?=BQ =4F34;78
Amid rising number of
Covid-19 cases and fatali-
ties, Union Health Minister Dr
Harshvardhan on Sunday cau-
tioned that Indian population
is still far from achieving herd
immunity against COVID-19
as shown by Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR) sec-
ond Sero Survey and there is no
room for complacency.
Dr Harsh Vardhan also said
that the ICMR expert panel is
examining reinfection cases. A
total of 88,600 new cases and
1,124 deaths have been report-
ed in the past 24 hours in the
country.
Whileinteractingwithsocial
media users during ‘Sunday
Samaad-3’, the Minister said:
The findings of the second sero
survey are going to be released
soon. “But second sero survey
indications are that we are far
from having achieved any kind
of herd immunity which neces-
sitates that all of us should con-
tinue following COVID appro-
priate behaviour.
“The first sero-survey of
May 2020 revealed that the
nationwide prevalence of novel
coronavirus infection was only
0.73 per cent,” he said.
The Minister also talked
about the cases of reinfections
beingreportedfromthecountry
saying that the “ICMR is also
actively investigating and
researchingreportsofreinfection
andalthoughthenumberofrein-
fection cases is negligible at this
momentthegovernmentisfully
seized of the importance of the
matter.”
Dr Harsh Vardhan discour-
aged the wide usage of investi-
gationaltherapiessuchasremde-
sivir and plasma therapies.
“Governmenthasissuedregular
advisoriesregardingtherational
use of investigational therapies.
The private hospitals have also
beenadvisedagainstroutineuse
oftheseinvestigationaltherapies:
ThedoctorsintheStates/UTsare
being made aware of the thera-
pies.
The Union Health Minister
alsodispelledfearsregardingthe
phased opening of schools and
advisedonproperprotocoltobe
followed while visiting salons
and hair-spa.
India has been recording
higher number of recoveries
than the new cases for several
consecutive days in the recent
past.92,043newrecoverieshave
beenreportedinthelast24hours
inthecountry.76percentofthe
newrecoveredcasesarefoundin
10 States/UTs, said a senior
health official adding that
Maharashtra continues to top
this list. It has alone contributed
more than 23,000 followed by
AndhraPradeshwithmorethan
more than 9,000 cases.
Ten States/UTs account for
77 per cent of the new con-
firmed cases. Maharashtra con-
tinues to lead this tally. It has
contributed more than 20,000
followed by Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh with more
than more than 8,000 and 7,000
cases respectively.
²8]SXP]_^_d[PcX^]bcX[[UPaUa^PRWXTeX]VWTaSXd]XchPVPX]bc2^eXS³
?=BQ =4F34;78
Aday after the Centre
announced commence-
ment of paddy procurement at
the minimum support price
(MSP) with immediate effect in
Punjab and Haryana in the
wake of early arrival of the
kharif crop in these two States,
the National Cooperative
Development Corporation
(NCDC), an apex financing
organisation under the Union
Agriculture Ministry, sanc-
tioned C19,944 crore as the first
instalment to Chhattisgarh,
Haryana and Telangana for a
smooth purchase process.
Chhattisgarh got the high-
est amount at C9,000 crores
while for Haryana, the sanc-
tioned amount is C5,444 crores
and Telangana C5,500 crores.
These States account for near-
ly 75 percent of paddy pro-
duction in the country.
However, Punjab is yet to get
any sanctioned amount.
The Centre has fixed MSP
for 'common variety' paddy at
C1,868 per quintal and for 'A'
grade variety at C1,888 per
quintal for the current year. On
Saturday, the Centre had
announced purchase of the
crops at MSP to placate the
farmers across the country
who were up in arms against
the recently passed Farms
Bill.which has got the President
sanction on Sunday.
The NCDC loan is sup-
posed to assist the States or the
State Marketing Federations
in undertaking paddy pro-
curement operations in a time-
ly manner through their
respective cooperative organi-
zations.
CWT=232[^P]Xb
bd__^bTSc^PbbXbc
cWTBcPcTb^acWT
BcPcTPaZTcX]V
5TSTaPcX^]bX]
d]STacPZX]V_PSSh
_a^RdaTT]c
2´VPaW7PahP]PP]SCT[P]VP]P
VTcC ((##RaU^a_PSSh_daRWPbT