The Government of India and the Minister of Information Technology and Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw strongly refuted allegations that the Indian government used Pegasus spyware to conduct surveillance. Vaishnaw dismissed media reports about Pegasus usage in India, saying the allegations were aimed at maligning Indian democracy. He also said that with checks and balances in place, unauthorized surveillance is not possible in India. The Opposition protested the statements and disrupted Parliament, accusing the government of being involved in the alleged spying scandal.

1. ?=BQ =4F34;78
The Government on
Monday strongly refuted
allegations of its alleged
involvement in the Pegasus
telephone tapping scandal and
accused the Opposition of
using it to disrupt Parliament.
Information Technology
and Communications Minister
Ashwini Vaishnaw, whose
name was also found in the list
of people whose phones had
been tapped, dismissed media
reports on the use of Pegasus
software to snoop on Indians,
saying the allegations made
just ahead of the Monsoon
Session of Parliament are
aimed at maligning Indian
democracy.
In a suo motu statement in
the Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw said
that with several checks and
balances being in place, any
sort of illegal surveillance by
unauthorised people is not
possible in India.
The Minister made this
statement in response to media
reports that the spyware
Pegasus was being used to
conduct surveillance on several
Indians, including political
leaders, Government officials,
judges and journalists.
A highly sensational story
was published by a web portal
yesterday night.... The Press
report appeared a day before
the Monsoon Session of the
Parliament. This cannot be a
coincidence. In the past simi-
lar claims were made regard-
ing the use of Pegasus on
WhatsApp. Those reports have
no factual basis and were cat-
egorically denied by all par-
ties....” said the Minister.
?=BQ =4F34;78
The Pegasus snoopgate got
bigger on Monday as
names of Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi, poll strategist
Prashant Kishor, Minister of
Communications, Electronics
and Information Technology,
and Railways, Ashwini
Vaishnaw, and Minister of
State for Jal Shakti, Prahlad
Patel surfaced among those
who may have been the victim
of a spyware telephone tapping
conspiracy.
A lady staffer of the
Supreme Court who accused
for Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi
of sexual abuse also figures on
list as potential targets of
Israeli spyware Pegasus in
the latest set of explosive rev-
elations by The Wire portal
along with 15 International
media organisations like
Forbidden Stories, The
Washington Post and The
Guardian.
Former Election
Commissioner Ashok Lavasa
and West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee's
nephew Abhishek Banerjee's
name are among those whose
phones may have been com-
promised. Also on the list is the
personal secretary to
Vasundhara Raje Scindia,
when she was the BJP's Chief
Minister in Rajasthan, The
Wire reported.
The Israeli company, NSO
Group, which sells Pegasus, has
denied the snooping charges
and claimed that it only offers
its spyware to vetted
Governments and said it was
considering a defamation law-
suit.
The France-based media
non-profit Forbidden Stories
and Amnesty International's
Security Lab had access to
these records, which they
shared with The Wire and 16
other news organisations
?C8Q =4F34;78
The Supreme Court on
Monday ensured the
release of Manipur-based
political activist, booked under
NSA for his criticism of BJP
leaders on use of cow dung
and cow urine as cures for
Covid-19, by 5 pm, saying he
cannot be put in jail for even
a night.
A Bench of Justice DY
Chandrachud and MR Shah
said that his continued deten-
tion will be in violation of his
fundamental right to life
under Article 21 of the
Constitution.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Here comes a two-year
warning against the
prevalence of Covid-19. The
All India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) has cau-
tioned that people should be
careful for the next one to two
years, and not give a chance to
the Covid-19 to explode again.
The warning comes a day
after health experts cautioned
people to maintain Covid
appropriate behaviour for the
next 125 crucial days to min-
imise the effect of the infec-
tion. Alerts have been extend-
ed from overcrowded public
places to religious gatherings
which experts say can emerge
as epicentres, if not restricted.
Idea of festivals is to share
happiness, not Covid. For
next 1-2 years, till the pan-
demic is not under control, we
shouldn't become part of rea-
son for causing the pandem-
ic to.
=8:00;8:Q 270=3860A7
Aday after Navjot Singh
Sidhu’s elevation as Punjab
Congress chief, there was no
sign of a thaw in his strained
relationship with Chief
Minister Captain Amarinder
Singh. The cricketer-turned-
politician and his Captain were
engaged in their own show of
strength that did not augur well
for the health of the State party
ahead of the Assembly polls.
The two were so near, yet
so far away, as they met their
loyalists at locations a few hun-
dred meters away from each
other in Chandigarh Sector 2
on Monday.
Sidhu’s appointment came
amid opposition from party
MPs and several MLAs.
Besides, the High Command’s
decision to elevate Sidhu was
also seen as a snub to the Chief
Minister.
Notably, Amarinder has
all along been opposing Sidhu’s
elevation to the party’s apex
post. In the process, he had
used every possible ammuni-
tion he had — playing the caste
card, indicating a possible split
within the party, flagging up
the national security issue for
his association with Pakistani
Prime Minister Imran Khan,
and joining hands with his
political rival Partap Singh
Bajwa. But to no avail.
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?=BQ =4F34;78
The first day of the Monsoon
Session of Parliament was
marred by disruptions, with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
accusing the Opposition of
not liking women and those
from deprived sections - Dalits,
tribals, farmers and OBCs -
finding their place in the
Union Cabinet.
The PM made this calcu-
lated attack on the Opposition
in the Lok Sabha after sloga-
neering erupted when Modi
wanted to introduce to the
House, as per convention, the
new members in the Council
of Ministers who were induct-
ed by him in a major reshuffle
on July 7. The Opposition
members ignored Speaker Om
Birla’s repeated appeals for
calm.
Opposition parties sprang
to noisy protests and raised
issues of price rise, farm laws
and picked up placards as
soon as the Prime Minister got
up to present the new
Ministers inducted into his
Cabinet. As Modi started his
address, the Opposition
Benches raised the decibel of
their protests.
Modi said he thought there
would be an enthusiastic wel-
come to so many women,
Dalits, tribals and OBCs
becoming Ministers.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah on Monday hit out at
the Opposition, the Congress
party and international organ-
isations for accusing the
Government of being involved
in surveillance of phones of
politicians, journalists and oth-
ers, saying such obstructors
and disruptors will not be able
to derail India's development
trajectory with
their conspiracies.
In a hard-hit-
ting statement,
Shah said that the
report about the
alleged snooping
has been amplified
by a few whose only aim is to
do whatever is possible to
humiliate India at the world
stage.
“People have often associ-
ated this phrase
with me in a lighter
vein but today I
want to seriously
say - the timing of
the selective leaks,
the disrup-
t i o n s … a a p
chronology samajhiye! This is
a report by the disrupters for
the obstructers. Disrupters are
global organisations which do
not like India to progress.
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?=BQ =4F34;78
The Congress on Monday
demanded the resignation
of Home Minister Amit Shah
following the allegations
against the Modi Government
regarding the espionage scan-
dal on politicians including
their leader Rahul Gandhi,
top bureaucrats, judges, indus-
trialists and journalists
media organisations.
The Congress tried to cor-
ner the Government both in
and out of Parliament terming
the entire issues a case of sedi-
tion hence the Central
Government must be held
accountable. The party also
held a Press conference
addressed by leader of the
party in Lol Sabha Adhir
Ranjan Chowdhury and Rajya
Sabha LoP Mallikarjun
Kharge.
Taking to social media,
former party chief Rahul said,
We know what he's been read-
ing- everything on your
phone. His tweet was a quote-
tweet of an earlier post of his,
in which he had written: I'm
wondering what you guys are
reading these days. The party
expressed its deep resentment
over the latest revelations that
the telephones of Rahul and his
staff members were also
hacked. The telephone of
Ashok Lavasa, Chief Election
Commissioner was also select-
ed for illegal surveillance and
snooping.
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Patna: New technologies are
being used to disturb and trou-
ble people and hinder their
work, Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar said today in
strong disapproval of reports of
journalists, judges, and minis-
ters in India being targeted with
Pegasus spyware. He called
such acts of snooping dirty
and worthless.
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?=BQ =4F34;78
Afghanistan Army chief
General Wali Mohammad
will hold wide-ranging dis-
cussions with Army chief
General MM Naravane and
National Security Advisor
(NSA) Ajit Doval during his
two-day visit starting July 27 to
New Delhi.
His visit comes at a time
when the Afghan forces are
fighting the Taliban which has
controlled nearly two-third of
that country.
India and Afghanistan have
long-standing defence ties in
terms of training. India has
also supplied some MI heli-
copters to Afghanistan.
Incidentally, India has invest-
ed more than three billion dol-
lars in several projects related
to infrastructure and welfare.
The two Army chiefs are
likely to discuss the current sit-
uation prevailing in
Afghanistan, sources said here
on Monday. The visit comes
days after External Affairs
Minister S Jaishankar said dia-
logue was the only way out to
address the ongoing turmoil
there.
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Still not taking a chance
despite the drastic drop in
new and active Covid-19 cases
in the State, the State
Government has once again
extended the Covid-curfew in
the State by one more week.
The Covid-curfew which
was to end on July 20 will con-
tinue till 6 am on July 27. The
restrictions and relaxations
observed in the previous phase
of the Covid-curfew will be
implemented in this phase too.
The markets will remain open
from 8 a.m to 9 p.m while the
district administration will
decide the day of the weekly
closure. No major changes have
been made in the conditions
implemented in the previous
phase of the Covid curfew.
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BC055A4?AC4AQ
6DAD6A0)
With the city recording
714 mm of rainfall, the
residents were seen helpless
and multiple stretches across
Gurugram turned into lakes.
However, officials claimed that
efforts were on to clear water-
logging.
With heavy rain lashing
the city since the early hours
of Monday, several parts of the
district were inundated, and
water also entered several
houses in Sector 7, Sector 9,
Sector 10, Malibu Town,
Ashok Vihar, Palam Vihar and
Sushant Lok.
The Gurugram district
received over 714 mm rainfall
from 8 am to 5 pm on Monday,
according to the district admin-
istration.
“Water started to enter my
house on Monday morning
after 2-3 hours of rain. There
was knee-deep water inside
the house. Water has entered
several houses in the locality.
There is no way for the water
to drain,” a resident of Sector 7
said.
Apart from the city roads
and houses, multiple under-
passes include, including Rajiv
Chowk, Hero Hoda Chowk,
Medanta Underpass and
Signature Tower Underpass
were also submerged into the
rainwater. The local authorities
had to installed barricades to
stop the entry of the vehicle at
these underpasses.
The Gurugram resident
took social media to describe
their anguish and held respon-
sible the local authority due to
this huge mess.
Meanwhile, despite the
rain, the traffic police person-
nel of the district police were
seen to manage traffic in knee-
deep water. The traffic per-
sonnel were seen to clear road-
side drain to flush out rainwa-
ter from the road.
BC055A4?AC4AQ
6DAD6A0)
One person was rescued
while three others died
after a three-storied building
collapsed in Gurugram’s
Khawaspur village on Sunday.
The rescue operation was over
on Monday afternoon, the offi-
cials said.
Deputy Commissioner
Yash Garg said the incident
inquiry will be conducted by
Sub Divisional Magistrate
(SDM) Pataudi, Pradeep
Kumar.
The reason for the collapse
is yet to be ascertained, officials
said.Apart from this, Following
a complaint filed by Vijay
Kumar, who works as an
Executive in 'Delex Cargo India
Pvt Ltd Company', an FIR has
been registered under various
sections of the IPC against the
building owner Ravinder
Kataria and Company Manager
Krishan Kaushik at
Farrukhnagar police station in
Gurugram.
“The team had rescued
Pradeep at around 9.25 pm last
night and have pulled out two
other bodies of Robin and
Pradeep during the night-long
operation. Our fourth com-
panion Rahul alias Tinny
Bhardwaj's body was pulled out
Monday afternoon,” Vijay
Kumar, the complainant told.
Kumar said at the time of
the incident around 16 people
were inside the three-storied
building 12 of them were lucky
to come out the side of the
building at the last movement
only four were trapped inside
the building.
We had urged Ravinder
and Krishan several times that
the building's condition was
not good and the workers are
needed to be shifted to anoth-
er location but the duo did not
pay heed on our request and
due to their negligence two of
the workers have lost their
lives while one is yet to be
found, the complainant
alleged.
It was around 7 pm on
Sunday when a tree storied
building collapse in Khawaspur
village of
Gurugram.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
From multi-level parking,
green space to Floor to
Area (FAR) Regeneration
Policy, Delhi Government on
Monday reviewed Master Plan
(MPD) 2041 in a meeting
chaired by Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal.
During the meeting PWD
minister Satyendar Jain, Chief
Secretary Vijay Dev and other
senior officials in Delhi
Government brainstormed the
Delhi Development Authority
(DDA's) proposed MPD 2041.
While providing parking
spacealwaysremainsachallenge
for authorities, Jain emphasized
on the construction of multi-
levelparkingbepermittedunder
parks near residential areas to
remove cars, bikes from roads
andprovideampleparkingsolu-
tions. To enhance green space,
Delhi government also pro-
posed an FAR Regeneration
Policy where developers who
surrender land for public use are
incentivized by offering pro-
portionate FAR under Master
Plan 2041. “All utilities land of
Delhi Jal Board like WTP, STP,
SPS should be allowed to be
monetized as it is allowed in
case of DMRC, EWS and
Affordable Housing up to a car-
pet area of 50 Sq.m may be
allowed in all land use categories
to increase EWS housing,” Jain
said.
Assportsandphysicalactiv-
ities also play a crucial role in
lifestyle, the government also
stressed on badminton, table
tennis, lawn tennis, swimming
permitted in all land use cate-
gories under Master Plan 2041.
Delhi government also pro-
posed suggestions to increase
affordable and EWS housing
“EWS/ Affordable Housing up
to a carpet area of 50 Sq.m may
be allowed in all land use cate-
gories subject to a minimum
plot area of 2000 Sq.m to
increase EWS housing,”
Jain,PWD minister said. “For
affordable rental housing - max-
imum ground coverage for
affordable public rental housing
should be increased from
33.33% to 40%. FAR should be
increased from 200 to 400. To
ensure more affordable housing
the Delhi Government pro-
posed not charging conversion
charges in cases of EWS/afford-
able group housing projects
and increasing the FAR of group
housing projects from 200 to
300.
“Additionally, we propose
that dwelling units be increased
from 200 to 500,” he added. The
Delhi government also pitched
for land use swapping. “In
such a situation, land use of the
different land use site, used for
slum rehabilitation require-
ments should apply on the
vacated slum site if the devel-
oper entity wishes so.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
A27-year-old man drowned in a water-
logged railway underpass in southeast
Delhi's Pul Prahladpur area on Monday
afternoon. Police said that the man was
allegedly clicking selfies and filming when
the incident occurred.
The man has been identified as Ravi
Chautala of Jaitpur. The police said local
people told them that the victim had gone
in the waterlogged underpass to click self-
ies and make videos.
According to R P Meena, the Deputy
Commissioner of Police (DCP) Southeast
district, information was received around
1.40 PM regarding the drowning of a per-
sonbelowrailwayunderpassPulPrahladpur.
“Fire brigade and divers were called in
to rescue him but later his body was recov-
ered and he was identified as Ravi
Chautala. The body has been sent to AIIMS
for an autopsy, and the family has been also
notified,” said the DCP.
Inquest proceedings are being con-
ducted, and further investigation into the
matter is underway, the police said.
The national capital has been wit-
nessing incessant rainfall since Sunday
which has led to waterlogging at several
places.
BC055A4?AC4AQ
6DAD6A0)
Aman aged between 25 to 30
years died allegedly due to
drowning in a waterlogged
pedestrian underpass in
Gurugram on Monday.
The underpass heading
from Sohna road towards
Naharpur Rupa at Rajiv Chowk
in Gurugram was waterlogged
after heavy downpour in the
city.
The deceased’s identity was
yet to be ascertained. The offi-
cial said the man was trying to
cross an underpass on his foot
or any vehicle will be cleared
once the rainwater will be
flushed out from the under-
pass, an official said. His body
has been shifted to a mortuary
wherein it will be handed over
to his family after post-
mortem. We received a call
through '112' that a man has
been drowned in a waterlogged
pedestrian underpass at Rajiv
Chowk. The rescue teams took
1.30 hours to flush out the
body, said R.N. Yadav, a fire
department official.
Police said that the victim is
suspected to have died due to
drowning since no external
injury marks were found on his
body.Inquest proceedings have
been initiated in this regard,
they said.
Gurugram received its first
spell of heavy rains, which led
to waterlogging in multiple
locations and brought traffic to
a standstill at key stretches in
the city.
Several underpasses
including this pedestrian
underpass at Rajiv Chowk also
witnessed heavy waterlogging,
following several hours of
heavy rains.
The Gurugram Traffic
Police since morning has been
posting updates on its Twitter
account asking people to avoid
areas where there is heavy
waterlogging.
Many residents shared on
social media platforms videos
and pictures of rainwater gush-
ing into their houses and vehi-
cles wading through water-
logged roads.
Apart from this, all the dis-
trict's major roads, local roads
and streets were also sub-
merged in water. The district
received a total rainfall of over
714 mm from 8 am to
5 pm.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
Delhi on Monday witnessed light to
moderate rain accompanied by thun-
derstorms. As per the Indian
Meteorological Department (IMD), 70
mm rainfall have been recorded. The
IMD in its Delhi – National Capital Region
(NCR) bulletin said that thunderstorms
with light to moderate rain occurred over
and adjoining areas of NCR including
Gurugram, Sonipat, Rohtak and Jhajjar. In
South Delhi also traffic disruption was seen.
Traffic due to water logging witnessed
just a few meters away from Delhi secre-
tariat. According to private weather fore-
caster Skymet, Delhi rains are expected to
make a good comeback for the next to
three days.
Waterlogged streets also led to traffic
snarls at several stretches in the city and
traffic was diverted at the Pul Prahladpur
underpass.
Following the traffic situation and long
traffic snarls, the Delhi Traffic Police
(DTP) took to the Twitter. In a tweet, the
DTP said that “Waterlogging reported at
Pulpehladpur under railway bridge. Traffic
is diverted from MB (Mehrauli-Badarpur)
road towards Mathura road.”
At Pargati Maidan, traffic was paused
for long hours due to waterlogging near the
PWD underpass construction site.
According to Delhi Traffic Police 39
key stretches including underpass and
major crossing at Connaught Place (CP),
South Extension, Nehru Nagar saw water-
logging. In various locations, instance –
Pragati Maidan pumps had to installed to
remove excess water.Vasant Kunj under-
pass, Zakhira underpass, Mehruali
Badarpur Road, Pul Prehladpur, Dwarka
Link Road, Okhla Mandi, Lajpat Nagar
metro station, Adhchini, Spinal Injury
Hospital, IP Estate, Mehram Nagar under-
pass, NHS underpass, Lampur underpass,
Murga Mandi, Seempauri, Najafgarh-
Bijwasan (under flyover), Press Enclave and
DLF Marg-SSN Marg were the areas
where the authorities have to put major
efforts to remove excess water causing
waterlogging and jam.
Delhi recorded a minimum tempera-
ture of 24.2 degrees Celsius, three points
below the normal for the season. The rel-
ative humidity was recorded at 100 per cent
at 8.30 am.
Meanwhile, according to rainfall data
shared on IMD website, Safdarjung
Observatory received 69.6 mm rainfall over
the past 24 hours. The Palam weather sta-
tion has so far received the highest 24-hour
rainfall of the season at 99.3 mm. Lodhi
Road weather station recorded 62 mm
while Ridge and Aya Nagar stations got 58
mm and 51.6 mm rainfall, respectively.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
To deal with the perennial
waterlogging and traffic
problems during monsoon,
Lieutenant Governor Anil
Baijal and Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal held a crucial
meeting on Monday.
The national Capital has
147 major vulnerable points in
terms of waterlogging and the
Delhi Government will do
extensive mapping aiming to
enhance the drainage system.
“We can enlist all possible vul-
nerable points and if solutions
for these points are planned
and worked like Minto Bridge,
then we can make Delhi free
from waterlogging.” “Will
enhance Delhi’s drainage sys-
tem and make it world class,”
said CM Kejriwal.
Amid the complexities of
multiple agencies in Delhi,
Kejriwal cited Minto Bridge
work and appreciated agencies’
effort to resolve. “There’s a
folklore-benchmark in Delhi,it
is said that the day Minto
Bridge gets waterlogged, that
day marks the onset of the
monsoons. Minto Bridge this
time is the talk of the town.
Our officers and engineers
gave their best towards ensur-
ing the Minto Bridge does not
get waterlogged. I am not say-
ing so. The people of Delhi
are!” Kejriwal also took to
Twitter to share his vision
with the public. “Conducted
a review meeting with PWD,
MCD, DJB, IFC chaired by
the LG on the drainage sys-
tem of Delhi in view of the
monsoons. “Will implement a
system like Minto Bridge at
other vulnerable points Drains
and sewers will be regularly
cleaned.Will make a world-
class drainage system in
Delhi.” Emphasizing on the
best designed drainage system,
Kejriwal said that there a lot of
places in Delhi where drains of
the Jal Board and the MCD
converge, there is no coordi-
nation in them. “I would like
to suggest that PWD acts as the
nodal authority and under-
takes an exercise to redesign
Delhi’s drainage system. If an
excellent design is in place and
all the agencies can work
together on it, then we can
implement it.”
“Once such a system is in
place, we would only require
de-silting it once a year and the
drainage system will be free of
liability. So we should work on
that prospect. We need to also
popularise our grievance
helpline numbers with the
people of the city,” the CM
added. Public Works
Department (PWD) minister
Satyendar Jain asked the agen-
cies to be fully prepared for
combating any problems that
could be faced
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In order to enhance employ-
ment opportunities and dou-
ble the income of farmers, the
cultivation of industrial hemp
will be started soon in
Bageshwar district. As part of
the hemp cultivation pilot pro-
ject, the company concerned
will purchase seeds of industrial
hemp from France. These seeds
are of a variety which contains
0.3 per cent tetra hydro
cannabinol (THC). The first
license for cultivating industrial
hemp here has been granted to
Pradeep Pant, a resident of
Bhojgan of Garuad
Tehsil in Bageshwar dis-
trict. The block agriculture
officer of Garud, Navin Joshi
said that hemp seeds are being
imported from France for cul-
tivation here.
The quantity of the psy-
chotropic content- THC is less
than 0.3 per cent in this vari-
ety. An agreement with a med-
ical company is also in the final
stages for using the products of
the crop. Interested cultivators
from other mountainous dis-
tricts of Pithoragarh,
Champawat and Almora and
also contacting the company to
pursue this activity.
It is pertinent to mention
here that a number of farmers
in the mountains have given up
agriculture due to human-
wildlife conflict and other fac-
tors.
While plants of the
cannabis family have medicinal
value apart from being useful
for nutrition, fibre and other
products, these plants are not
damaged by animals. CBD oil
made from hemp will be used
in various products including
soaps, shampoo and medi-
cines. The cellulose from the
hemp can be used to make
paper and also hemp plastic
which is biodegradable. Apart
from this, high quality protein
found in hemp seeds can also
be used in baby food and
nutritional supplements.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
The State Health depart-
ment reported only 34 new
cases of the novel Coronavirus
(Covid-19) and 47 recoveries
from the disease in
Uttarakhand on Monday.
Death of one patient from
Covid-19 was reported on the
day by the department.
The cumulative count of
Covid-19 patients in the state
has now increased to 3,41,486
while a total of 3,27,511
patients have recovered from
the disease so far. In the state
7357 people have lost their
lives to Covid -19 till date. The
recovery percentage from the
disease is now at 95.91 and the
sample positivity rate is at
5.70 per cent in the state. The
authorities collected 20,019
samples in different parts of the
state on Monday.
The State health depart-
ment reported 12 new patients
from Nainital, five from
Haridwar, three each from
Pithoragarh and Rudraprayag,
two each from Udham Singh
Nagar, Chamoli and Dehradun
and one each from Bageshwar,
Pauri, Tehri and Uttarkashi
districts on Monday. No new
case of Covid 19 was reported
from Almora district on the
day. One patient of the disease
was reported dead at Sushila
Tiwari government hospital
Haldwani on the day.
The state now has only 604
active patients of the disease.
Dehradun district is at top of
the table in the list of active
cases with 249 patients while
Haridwar in the second posi-
tion with 64 active cases.
Pithoragarh has 48, Udham
Singh Nagar 43, Champawat
40, Rudraprayag 36, Nainital
33, Chamoli 32, Uttarkashi
20, Tehri 18, Uttarkashi 20,
Pauri 10, Almora six and
Bageshwar five active cases of
the disease.
The state reported three
new cases of Mucormycosis
(Black fungus) and death of
two patients from the disease
on Monday. A total of 546
patients of Black Fungus have
been reported till date in the
state and out of them 117
have died. In the ongoing vac-
cination drive, the health
department vaccinated 45,342
people in 732 sessions held on
Monday.
?=BQ 347A03D=
In an important decision, the
district health department
of Dehradun has allowed on
site vaccination of the people
above 18 years of age for their
second dose. For the second
dose of vaccine, the beneficia-
ries would not have to book the
online slot now.
The people who have been
administered the first dose of
the vaccine can now directly go
to the vaccination site for
administration of the second
dose.
It is worth mentioning here
that the beneficiaries were
demanding for quite some time
now that they should be
exempted from the hassle of
booking an online vaccination
slot. Fulfilling this demand the
health department has now
given this permission to them.
The Chief Medical Officer
(CMO) of Dehradun, Dr
Manoj Upreti said that the
objective of the department is
to make the process of
vaccination simple. He
said that efforts are
being made to provide
vaccines to all eligible
persons.
Dr Upreti said
that one of the prior-
ities of the depart-
ment is to provide the
second dose of vaccine
to those who have
already got the first
dose.
In Dehradun
5,608 people were vac-
cinated on Monday.
In the district 3,97,824
people who are more
than 45 years of age
have been vaccinated
with the first dose.
Similarly 2,36.724
people of this age
group have been completely
vaccinated in the district.
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In a major reshuffle in the
school education department
of Uttarakhand, the responsi-
bilities of the top brass of offi-
cers of the department were
changed on Monday. The
director Academic research
and training Seema Jaunsari
would now be the new educa-
tion director (Secondary) of the
state.
This position was hitherto
being held by Rakesh Kumar
Kunwar who has been shifted
to Academic Research and
training as director. Kunwar
was also holding additional
responsibility of director
Primary education of the state.
The additional director (in-
charge) of secondary educa-
tion, Ram Krishna Uniyal
would be the new director (in
charge) of primary education
department while additional
director of primary education,
education directorate Virendra
Singh Rawat would be the new
additional director, primary
education, Garhwal division.
The additional director of pri-
mary education, Garhwal, S P
Khali has been transferred to
the education directorate as
additional director secondary
education. He would also hold
additional responsibility for
primary education in the sim-
ilar capacity. The additional
project director of Samagra
Shiksha Abhiyan, Mukul
Kumar Sati would hold addi-
tional responsibility of chief
education officer (CEO) of
Dehradun. The CEO of
Dehradun Asha Rani Painyuli
would be the new Joint direc-
tor of State Council of
Education. Research and
Training (SCERT). The prin-
cipal of District Institute of
Education and Training (DIET)
Uttarkashi V K Simalti would
be the CEO of Uttarkashi and
hold additional responsibility of
District Education Officer
(DEO), Primary of Uttarkashi.
The DEO, Primary of
Uttarkashi, Jitendra Kumar
Saxena would be the new
Principal of DIET Uttarkashi.
In the transfer order the secre-
tary education R Meenakshi
Sundaram said that the officers
must join new assignments
within three days.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The new Education director
(Secondary) Seema
Jaunsari took charge of the
department on Monday.
Interacting with The Pioneer
she said that effective admin-
istration of the Atal Utkrishta
Vidyalayas (AUV), declaration
of board examination results,
monitoring of online classes
and promotion of teachers are
some of her responsibilities.
She added that pending cases
related to service and promo-
tion would be disposed of.
The new Primary education
director R K Uniyal told The
Pioneer that his focus would be
on taking measures which
would fill the learning gap
which has set in due to the pan-
demic of Covid-19. “The
schools are closed for students
and teachers are taking online
classes. We will hold discus-
sions with experts and devise
a plan to fill the learning gap,’’
he said.
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The higher education and
health minister of
Uttarakhand Dhan Singh
Rawat has expressed happiness
at the decision of the Union
Public Service Commission
(UPSC) to open new exami-
nation centres at Srinagar
Garhwal and Almora. Rawat
said that till now Dehradun was
the only place in Uttarakhand
where various examinations
of UPSC were held. He said
that many applicants residing
in Garhwal and Kumaon
regions of the state couldn’t go
to places like Dehradun and
Delhi due to adverse geo-
graphical conditions and poor
economic condition of their
parents. He said a large num-
ber of youngsters especially
those belonging to the moun-
tainous areas of the state would
be benefitted by the decision of
UPSC to open new examina-
tion centres in Almora and
Srinagar. The minister thanked
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, home minister Amit
Shah and Chairman of UPSC,
Pradeep Kumar Joshi for
approving the setting up of new
centres in Uttarakhand.
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The clamour for removal of
freeze in the Dearness
Allowance (DA) among the
state government employees of
Uttarakhand is increasing with
each passing day. After the
recent declaration of an
increase of 11 per cent of DA
by the union government for
its employees, different
employee organisations of the
state too are demanding a
similar benefit for them.
In a letter directed to the
Chief Minister the
Uttarakhand Secretariat asso-
ciation demanded on Monday
that the state government
should provide 11 per cent
increase in DA from July
month itself. It also demand-
ed that the arrear incurred due
to freeze in DA should also be
paid to the state government
employees. The president of
the association Deepak Joshi
said that all the employees
worked fearlessly and dedicat-
edly during the pandemic peri-
od and also gave one day’s
salary for five months.
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Despite the risk to lives and
property to people living
in slums established near
Rispana and Bindal rivers every
year during the monsoon and
the environmental damage
caused by such encroachments,
successive governments have
failed to take concrete measures
to permanently rehabilitate the
slum dwellers.
Though many areas in
Dehradun suffer during mon-
soon due to poor drainage
systems, security risk becomes
higher for slum dwellers living
alongside the Rispana and
Bindal rivers during the rains.
The streams of these rivers
remain dry throughout the
year but swell during the mon-
soon and make thousands of
families vulnerable to the dam-
age of lives and property. Most
of these slum dwellers have ille-
gally encroached on the areas
near these rivers and many
have even constructed pucca
houses with proper electricity
and water connections facili-
tated by public representatives.
Experts opine that for the bet-
terment of these rivers as well
as the families living alongside
them, the government should
make proper policies to per-
manently rehabilitate these
slum dwellers in safer areas.
However, every political party
that is elected to office fails to
take any decision for the fear of
losing its vote bank rather than
considering the welfare of slum
dwellers.
According to the experts,
the State government passed an
ordinance in 2018 to provide
three years of temporary relief
to slum dwellers and is now
planning to extend the same
this year rather than providing
a permanent solution to slum
dwellers after Uttarakhand
High Court directed the
authorities to remove unau-
thorised encroachments.
According to social activist
and founder of Social
Development for Communities
(SDC) Foundation, Anoop
Nautiyal, the government
should make a policy for the
welfare of the slum dwellers
and ensure its execution at
ground level rather than
extending the ordinance as the
situation is worsening in the
city year after year. Dehradun
based activist Lokesh Ohri also
stated that slum dwellers living
alongside these rivers must be
shifted to permanent secure
places which will resolve mul-
tiple issues in the city.
Besides ensuring the safe-
ty of slum dwellers during
monsoon, it will also help in
the revival of these rivers, said
Ohri. According to him, the sit-
uation will keep worsening
with time and if the authorities
do not take any decision
regarding this matter soon,
the day might come when
nature will show its wrath that
will cause heavy loss to lives
and property here.
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Four persons died, three were
injured and five homes were
damaged following very heavy
rain in Mando, Kakradi and
Nirakot villages of Bhatwadi
Tehsil of Uttarkashi district
on Sunday night. Rescue and
relief efforts began soon after
information about the disaster
was communicated to the
authorities. On Monday, chief
minister Pushkar Singh Dhami
telephoned a disaster affected
family member in one of the
affected villages. He expressed
grief at the loss of life due to
heavy rain in three villages of
Uttarkashi. On learning about
the incident late on Sunday
evening, he called the
Uttarkashi district magistrate
and sought details of the dis-
aster. He directed the local
authorities to ensure swift res-
cue and relief efforts.
Considering the incidents
of heavy rain in various parts
of the state, the chief minister
has directed all district magis-
trates to remain alert. The offi-
cials have been ordered to
ensure quick response in case
of any type of disaster. Dhami
also visited the state emer-
gency operation centre (SEOC)
in the secretariat on Monday
and sought information about
the damage caused by heavy
rains in different parts of the
state. Meanwhile, the state
meteorological centre has fore-
cast the possibility of heavy
rains at isolated places in
Uttarkashi, Tehri, Dehradun,
Haridwar, Nainital and
Pithoragarh districts on
Tuesday.
According to the SEOC,
the Rishikesh-Yamunotri
national highway 94 ius
blocked by debris at Kharadi
and the Uttarkashi-Lambgaon-
Srinagar motor road is closed
due to damaged bridge near
Sada while 17 rural motor
roads are also blocked in
Uttarkashi district. The
Rishikesh-Badrinath national
highway 58 is blocked by debris
at Sirohbagad and Narkota
while 39 rural motor roads are
also blocked in Chamoli dis-
trict. Two state roads and 18
rural motor roads are blocked
in Dehradun district while in
Rudraprayag district the
Rishikesh-Kedarnath national
highway 107 is blocked
between Rampur and Sitapur.
One state road and 18 rural
motor roads are blocked in
Pauri district while seven rural
motor roads are blocked in
Tehri district. Two rural motor
roads are blocked in Almora
district while five rural motor
roads are blocked in Bageshwar
district. In Nainital district
one state road and five rural
motor roads are blocked while
four rural motor roads are
blocked in Champawat district.
Three border roads and 12
rural motor roads are blocked
in Pithoragarh district.
Attempts are underway to open
these roads to traffic.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The level of damage contin-
ued to increase in
Dehradun with the spells of
heavy rain in the city as water
entered many houses in sever-
al areas on Monday. Water
entered the houses of areas
like Chandrabani, Vasant Vihar,
Raipur and Kunj Vihar in the
wee hours of Monday damag-
ing the properties of locals.
The operator of the disas-
ter control room of the
Municipal Corporation of
Dehradun (MCD) informed
that more than 40 people had
complained to the corporation
till Monday evening regarding
waterlogging, collapse of
embankments, stagnant water
on roads and water accumu-
lated inside many residential
and commercial buildings. We
also received complaints from
Big Bazaar near ISBT that water
entered their premises too,
said the operator.
The corporation also
received complaints, as per the
operator, regarding choked
drains, waterlogging and accu-
mulation of debris on streets in
areas like Gandhi Road, Kargi
Chowk, Rajpur Road and
Kanwali Road. Talking about
the issue, the mayor Sunil
Uniyal 'Gama' said that he has
directed the teams of MCD to
monitor situations in their
respective areas day and night.
The corporation is providing
help immediately to every
affected area across the city,
stated the mayor. Many
expressed their disappointment
that despite MCD's claims of
proper cleaning of drains in the
city before monsoon, drains in
several areas got choked that led
to waterlogged streets and
flooded houses. However, the
officials clarified that they did
clean all the drains regularly but
it is the locals in the vicinity
who dump all kinds of garbage
in the drains that result in
choked drains.
Meanwhile, the Dehradun
sub divisional magistrate
(SDM) Gopal Ram Binwal
informed that the administra-
tion paid the amount of Rs
3,800 each as immediate relief
to 23 families whose belongings
were damaged due to flooding.
Except for the issue that water
entered a few houses in some
areas, the situation was fine in
the city on Monday, stated the
SDM.
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The Monsoon Session of
Parliament on Monday
began on a stormy note with
the Opposition raising a din
and not allowing Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to
introduce the newly inducted
Ministers to the Rajya Sabha.
The agitated MPs came into
the well of the House shout-
ing slogans and also disrupt-
ed Chairman M Venkaiah
Naidu’s opening remarks.
The first day was marked
by repeated adjournments as
the Opposition continued to
protest on various issues
despite appeals by the chair to
let the proceedings com-
mence.
The Opposition made its
intentions clear as soon as
Naidu started his speech in
the pre-lunch session. Similar
scenes were witnessed when
Modi came to the House to
introduce his Ministers.
Expressing anguish over
the conduct of the protesting
members, Modi questioned
their mentality behind their
behaviour of not allowing
him to introduce women,
Dalit and scheduled tribe
MPs who have been made
Ministers.
The Prime Minister said
when the new Union
Ministers belonging to rural
background and children of
the farming
community were being intro-
duced to the House, some
opposition party members
were not happy.
He said a large number of
women, Dalit and those
belonging to scheduled tribes
were also inducted into the
cabinet but some opposition
members did not want to
hear their names and give
them the due respect.
“What is this mentality?,”
he wondered and added it was
for the first time that the
House was witnessing “such a
mentality”.
Amidst din, Modi laid
the list of newly-inducted
ministers on the table of the
House.
Meanwhile, the Chairman
did not allow the 17 notices
by different Opposition par-
ties to suspend the scheduled
business of the house and take
up the matters raised by them.
Giving his reason for
doing so, Naidu said it was
not feasible to take 17 issues
in one go, and assured the
members that all the
important matters would be
taken up in due course of
time. However, the
Opposition members did not
relent forcing the chair to
adjourn the house till 2.00
pm.
The new Leader of the
House and Union minister
Piyush Goyal said
Condemned the behav-
iour of the opposition and
said such a conduct would be
harmful for the democratic
traditions of the country. He
also said it was a tradition to
introduce the new ministers
to the house since the time of
first Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru.
Earlier in the morning,
when the House assembled,
the proceedings were
adjourned for an hour as a
mark of respect to departed
sitting MPs Raghunath
Mohapatra and Rajeev Satav.
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?=BQ =4F34;78
The Finance Ministry on
Monday informed Lok
Sabha that stock market reg-
ulator SEBI and Directorate
of Revenue Intelligence
(DRI) are probing some
Adani Group companies for
alleged non-compliance of
rules. Minister of State for
Finance Pankaj Chaudhary
in a written reply to a ques-
tion said accounts of three of
the six Mauritius-based
funds, that have invested
most of their money in
Adani Group firms, were
frozen in 2016 over the
issuance of Global
Depository Receipt (GDR)
by certain listed firms. No
freeze was ordered for their
holding in other firms.
“SEBI is investigating
some Adani Group compa-
nies with regard to compli-
ance with SEBI regulations,”
he said without giving
details. Also, DRI “is inves-
tigating certain entities
belonging to the Adani
Group of Companies under
laws administered by it,” he
said.
The Minister did not
name which of the Adani
Group companies were being
investigated by
Sebi and DRI. He also did
not elaborate on the nature of
the violation. He, however,
said the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) wasn’t
investigating the Adani
Group.
Shares of Adani Group
companies nosedived last
month after reports that
accounts of three of the six
Mauritius-based funds that
have invested most of their
money in Adani Group
firms had been frozen by
the national share deposi-
tory. The three funds owned
about USD 6 billion of
shares across the conglom-
erate.
The Adani Group on
June 14 denied the report of
the freeze, calling it “bla-
tantly erroneous”. A day
later it clarified that three
demat accounts of Cresta
Fund Ltd, Albula
Investment Fund Ltd and
APMS Investment Fund
were “suspended for debit”,
adding to the confusion
over the status of the off-
shore funds.
Shares of Adani Total
Gas Ltd, Adani Power Ltd,
Adani Transmission, Adani
Ports Special Economic
Zone , Adani Green Energy
and flagship Adani
Enterprises were impacted
by the reports.
Prior to the episode,
some of Adani Group’s list-
ed stocks had soared more
than six folds in value since
the start of 2020.
G a u t a m
Adani had earlier this
month blamed “reckless and
irresponsible” reporting for
the fall.
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Union Minister Mukhtar
Abbas Naqvi will be the
Deputy Leader of the House in
Rajya Sabha after his prede-
cessor Piyush Goyal was
appointed as the Leader of
House in Rajya Sabha, sources
said here on Monday.
The minority affairs min-
ister is known for his wide
knowledge of parliamentary
affairs and had also served as
the minister of state for parlia-
mentary affairs during the first
term of the Modi government.
The appointment of Naqvi,
who is known for having cor-
dial relations with leaders of
parties across the political spec-
trum, assumes significance as
it comes at a time when the
Opposition is raring to corner
the ruling dispensation over a
host of issues, including han-
dling of the second wave of
Covid-19, rise in fuel prices and
farmers’ stir.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Allaying apprehensions of
the employees of the
Ordnance Factory Board
(OFB) after corporatisation,
the Government on Monday
said it has ensured safe-
guarding the interests of the
workers.
The Union Cabinet in
May gave the go-ahead for
corporatisation of the OFB for
better utilisation of resources
for manufacturing the state-
of the-art weapons for the
armed forces within the stip-
ulated time frame. There are
more than 40 OFB factories
all over the country with
more than four lakh employ-
ees.
Assuring them, Minister
of State for Defence Ajay
Bhatt said in the Rajya Sabha
it was decided that all the
employees of OFB (Group A,
B C), belonging to the pro-
duction units and also the
non-production units being
handed over to the new
DPSUs (to be formed) would
be transferred to these
DPSU(s) on terms of foreign
service without any deputa-
tion allowance (deemed dep-
utation) initially for a period
of two years from the appoint-
ed date.
All the employees of OFB
Head Quarter, OFB New
Delhi Office, OF Schools and
OF Hospitals, would be trans-
ferred to the Directorate of
Ordnance Factories (to be
formed) under the
Department of Defence
Production, initially for a
period of two years from the
appointed date.
Till such time the
employees remain on deemed
deputation to the new entities,
they shall continue to be sub-
ject to all rules and regula-
tions as are applicable to the
Central Government servants.
Their pay scales,
allowances, leave, medical
facilities, career progression
and other service conditions
will also continue to be gov-
erned by the extant rules,
regulations and orders, as are
applicable to the Central
Government servants. The
pension liabilities of the
retirees and existing employ-
ees will continue to be borne
by the Government.
Since the announcement
of the Government to under-
take corporatisation of OFB
in May, the Government has
held various discussions with
the OFB employees’
Federations regarding the cor-
poratisation of OFB under
Chairmanship of Secretary
(Defence Production).
Their concerns and sug-
gestions were noted. Their
main concern about safe-
guarding the interests of the
employees of OFB has been
adequately addressed, he said.
It is pertinent to mention
that Chief Labour
Commissioner (Central) also
held discussions with
Government OFB
Federations as part of the
conciliation process under
the ID Act 1947.
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Urging people not to be
complacent in the fight
against corona pandemic in the
backdrop of the likely third
wave of the disease, Rajya
Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah
Naidu on Monday appealed to
the MPs to have informed dis-
cussion to enable the country
to be equipped to face the
threat.
Addressing the Elders on
the first day of the Monsoon
session, he said it will have 19
sittings. He informed the House
that 224 members of the Rajya
Sabha, accounting for 97 per
cent of the total, have taken vac-
cination including 207 who
have taken both the doses and
17 who took the first jab.
In his opening remarks,
Naidu said, “For about a year
and half, the people of India and
across the world have been
passing through a COVID-19
crisis. This disease has not only
dented the health of the people
but also the economies across
the globe”.
“...The people are living
amidst unprecedented uncer-
tainty and there is no certain-
ty as yet about this uncertain-
ty. ...Amidst this uncertainty,
Parliament needs to assure the
people of requiredsupport of all
kinds with necessary interven-
tions,” Naidu said amid com-
motion in the House.
He stressed the point that
it was important to draw from
the experience of first and sec-
ond COVID-19 waves so as to
be better equipped for the pos-
sible “fresh bouts” of the pan-
demic that are being talked
about.
“Both the Government and
all sections of the House need
to constructively ponder over
the course of events since the
outbreak of the pandemic last
year through informed discus-
sions on all aspects of the prob-
lem,” he said.
Referring to the impor-
tance of the Department
Related Parliamentary Standing
Committees (DRSCs), Naidu
said the Committees under the
Rajya Sabha have reported the
best performance so far during
the inter-session period.
He revealed that seven
committees of the Rajya Sabha
have held a total of 20 meetings
during this period over a total
duration of 50 hours 38 min-
utes.
The average meeting dura-
tion of 2 hours 32 minutes has
been the best so far, he said.
,QIRUPHGGLVFXVVLRQQHHGRIKRXUWRILJKWRYLGFULVLV1DLGX
?=BQ =4F34;78
The Delta variant (or
B.1.617.2 strain) of the
coronavirus was “primarily
responsible” for the second
wave of Covid-19 in India, Dr
NK Arora, co-chair of the
Indian SARS-CoV-2
Genomics Consortium
(INSACOG) said on Monday.
While he said that the
vaccines currently in use for
the immunisation were effec-
tive against the variant, citing
studies by the Indian Council
of Medical Research (ICMR),
nevertheless, he underlined
that the cases may go up if a
new, more infectious variant
comes. The variant is also
around 40-60 percent more
transmissible than its prede-
cessor, Alpha variant, and has
already spread to more than 80
countries, including the UK,
the US and Singapore.
“B.1.617.2, a variant of
Covid-19 is known as the
Delta variant. It was first iden-
tified in October 2020 in India,
and was primarily responsible
for the second wave in the
country, today accounting for
over 80 per cent of new Covid-
19 cases. It emerged in
Maharashtra and travelled
northwards along the western
states of the country before
entering the central and the
eastern states,” Dr Arora said.
The Delta Plus variant—
AY.1 and AY.2—has so far
been detected in 55-60 cases
across 11 states, including
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and
Madhya Pradesh and is still
being studied for its transmis-
sibility, virulence, and vaccine
escape characteristics, Dr
Arora said, according to a
Union Health Ministry state-
ment. The Delta variant has
mutations in its spike protein,
which helps it bind to the
ACE2 receptors present on
the surface of the cells more
firmly, making it more trans-
missible and capable of evad-
ing the body’s immunity, Dr
Arora said.
On whether it causes more
severe disease as compared to
other variants, Dr Arora said
there are studies that show that
there are some mutations in
this variant that promote syn-
cytium formation.
Dr Arora said current vac-
cines are effective against Delta
variant as per the studies
undertaken by ICMR on the
issue. On some parts of the
country still witnessing a spurt
in the number of cases, he
said, though there is a signif-
icant dip in the number of
cases in most parts of the
country, some regions are wit-
nessing a high-Test Positivity
Rate (TPR) particularly in the
north-eastern part and sever-
al districts in the southern
states, most of these cases
could be due to the Delta vari-
ant.
Whether future waves
could be prevented, Dr Arora
said ,”The cases may go up if
a new, more infectious variant
comes. In other words, next
wave will be driven by a virus
variant to which a significant
proportion of population is
susceptible.”
The second wave is still
going on. Any future waves
will be controlled and delayed
if more and more people get
vaccinated and most impor-
tantly, people follow COVID-
Appropriate Behaviour effec-
tively, especially till a sub-
stantial part of our population
gets vaccinated, he stressed.
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34;78
Out of the over 84,700
Central paramilitary
forces’ personnel who con-
tracted Covid-19 only 742 are
still down with the virus even
as 333 personnel succumbed
to the disease.
The Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) leads
the pack with most number of
infections having a tally of
25,067 Covid-19-hit person-
nel out of which 24,732
patients have been cured in
the CRPF ranks and 127 per-
sonnel died due to coron-
avirus infection, which the
highest casualty figure for
any paramilitary due to the
viral disease. Currently, the
Force has 208 active cases,
including 19 personnel infect-
ed during the last 24 hours.
The Border Security
Force (BSF) reported 23,233
personnel being infected with
Covid-19. Out of this, 22,892
patients have recovered and
90 men have succumbed to
the disease. At present, it has
251 active cases, including 41
infected during the last 24
hours.
The Central Industrial
Security Force clocked 19,875
cases of Covid-19 of which
19,590 patients have defeated
the virus.
As many as 76 Covid
patients have died due to the
disease and 209 cases contin-
ue to be active which includes
19 patients identified during
the last one day.
The Sashastra Seema Bal
(SSB) reported a total of 9,365
Covid-19 patients of which
9,284 patients have been
cured and 20 personnel died
due to the disease. Sixty one
patients continue to be active.
Only one new patient was
added to the list during the
last one day.
The Indo-Tibetan Border
Police (ITBP) and National
Disaster Response Force
(NDRF) reported no new
cases of Covid-19 during the
last 24 hours.
The ITBP has reported a
total of 5,895 Covid cases,
including 5,868 cured
patients, 17 casualties and 10
active cases.
The NDRF has registered
850 cases of Covid-19, includ-
ing 845 cured patients, two
deaths and three active cases.
The National Security
Guards (NSG) reported 501
cases of Covid which includes
one casualty and one new
patient identified in the last 24
hours. The NSG does not
have a single active case of
Covid-19.
Out of the 84,786 Covid
patients reported across these
Forces, 83,711 patients have
recovered 333 men have suf-
fered casualty due to the viral
disease.
A total of 742 patients
continue to be active includ-
ing 78 patients identified dur-
ing the last 24 hours.
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The Supreme Court Monday
asked a petitioner to bring
to its notice the cases registered
and people arrested for alleged-
ly pasting posters critical of
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi in connection with the
vaccination drive against
Covid-19.
The apex court said it can-
not issue blanket orders to
police not to register FIRs
over pasting of posters criti-
cising the Centre’’s vaccination
policy.
A bench of Justices DY
Chandrachud and M R Shah
gave petitioner Pradeep Kumar
Yadav a week to bring to its
notice individual cases regis-
tered against people and said
that he should have done his
homework instead of just rely-
ing on newspaper reports.
Yadav said cases have been
lodged in NCT of Delhi, Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and
Lakshadweep and police may
be directed to give the copy of
FIR to him.
?=BQ =4F34;78
After meeting all stake-
holders and pulses traders,
the Government on Monday
exempted importers of pulses
from stock limits, and also
relaxed the norms for millers
and wholesalers, in view of
softening of prices of key puls-
es in the country. The limits
have been fixed at 500 metric
tonnes for wholesale traders
and importers, and 5 tonnes
for retailers. The stock limit for
processors/dal millers has
been set at the last six months’
production or 50 per cent of
annual installed capacity,
whichever is higher. A revised
order in this regard has been
notified.
As per the notification,
now, the stock limits will be
applicable only on tur, urad,
gram and masoor for a period
up to October 31. “It has been
decided that Importers of
pulses will be exempted from
stock limits and shall contin-
ue to declare stocks of pulses
on the portal
(fcainfoweb.nic.in) of
Department of Consumer
Affairs,” it said. This relaxation
for Millers will have a down-
streaming effect in terms of
giving an assurance to farmers
at this critical juncture of
kharif sowing of Tur and Urad.
“These entities shall however
continue to declare stocks on
the web portal of Department
of Consumer Affairs,” it said.
“Respective legal entities
shall continue to declare their
stocks on the portal (fcain-
foweb.nic.in) of Department of
Consumer Affairs and in case
the stocks held by them are
higher than the prescribed
limits, then they shall bring it
to the prescribed stock limits
within 30 days of issue of this
notification,” it said. In case the
stocks held by them are high-
er than the prescribed limits,
they should bring it to the pre-
scribed stock limits within 30
days of issue of this notifica-
tion dated July 19.
Prices of Tur, Urad Moong
and Gram started showing a
consistently declining trend.
Beginning with the declaration
of stocks on the portal by
stockholders from mid- May
of 2021 and constant moni-
toring of by central and State
Government.
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The medical fraternity in
South India has been
shocked by the directive issued
by the University Grants
Commission to the universities
in the country to reopen col-
leges and resume undergradu-
ate and post graduate courses
by October 1.
“This is shocking and
depressing. The Covid-19 pan-
demic has not been brought
under control. The youngsters,
particularly in the age group of
15 to 30 are the most vulnera-
ble group as per the records.
The Government is duty bound
to keep the youngsters away
from crowd and gathering
because they are the priceless
assets of this nation,” Prof B M
Hegde, cardiologist of global
repute who was the vice-chan-
cellor of Manipal University
told The Pioneer.
Prof Hegde, who could be
the lone Indian medical doctor
who has had first hand experi-
ence in treating patients of the
1968 Spanish Flu pandemic
that attacked Britain, said that
sacrificing academic life for few
months would save one or two
generations from post-Covid
syndrome. “we should noty be
the reason for our youngsters
contracting the disease,” said
Prof Hegde, who could be the
only Indian doctor to have
awarded fellowships from five
medical universities in Britain.
Dr Padmanabha Shenoy,
trauma care authority in Kochi
says he was worried over
youngsters developing post-
Covid syndrome in the State.
“There are complaints of
loss of memory among stu-
dents and youths who were
afflicted with Covid-19. This
could be due to shrinkage of
brain as a fall out of the Covid-
19 attack and the medicines
prescribed to bring the patient
back to normal. The com-
plaint has to be studied in detail
before coming to any conclu-
sion,” said Dr Shenoy.
Government medical doc-
tors are also of the view that the
issue was serious and should be
studied in detail before taking
decisions on reopening col-
leges. “Yes, on-line classes have
many limitations. We also
know that the student com-
munity is not happy with on-
line course because they miss
the vibrant atmosphere in
schools and colleges. But the
teachers and parents could
convince them about the grav-
ity of the situation,” said a
senior Government physician.
Dr B Rajeev, Kerala’s lead-
ing Ayurvedic physician and
researcher, said he had come
across 15 graduate students
who were complaining of
memory loss following the
Covid attack. “It could be tem-
porary or long-term memory
loss. But I am not ready to take
chances with the future of
these youngsters. Let’s contin-
ue with on line courses for
some more time. The students
can have their fun and frolic
once it is established that the
memory loss is temporary and
curable. I know it is a cruel
decision but that is the only
way to save our future genera-
tion,” said Dr Rajeev.
78C:0=370A8Q 90D
Atop commander of the pro-
Pakistan Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) terrorist outfit along
with his accomplice was
gunned down during the night
long operation by the joint
team of security forces in South
Kashmir district of Shopian
early Monday morning.
The gunned down terror-
ists have been identified as
Ishfaq Ahmad Dar son of
Abdul Rashid Dar resident of
Heff Shirmal Shopian and
Majid Iqbal Bhat son of
Mohammad Iqbal Bhat resi-
dent of Malibagh Imamsahab,
Shopian.
The security forces have so
far gunned down 80 terrorists
since January 1, 2021 across
Kashmir valley.
According to a police
spokesman, the LeT
Commander was active since
2017 and had also figured
among the list of most wanted
terrorists in the area. Besides
being part of groups involved
in several terror crime cases, he
was very instrumental in plan-
ning and executing terror
attacks on security establish-
ments, civilian killings and
misleading the gullible youth
by motivating them to join ter-
rorist folds. He was also
involved in killing of 04 police
personnel at minority guard
Zainapora on 11/12/2018,
killing of two non-local drivers
in Chitragam Shopian on
24/10/2019. In addition, two
locals identified as Asif Lone
resident of Khudwani Kulgam
Ab Rashid Thoker resident
of Hussanpora Arwani had
joined the terrorist ranks after
he managed to coerce them to
take up arms.
Security forces also recov-
ered incriminating material,
arms and ammunition includ-
ing 2 AK-47 rifles and 08
Magazines from the site of
encounter.
Meanwhile, Budgam
police Monday busted a sep-
arate terror module of pro-
scribed terror outfit LeT by
arresting a local terrorist along
with four associates.
Incriminating material includ-
ing arms and ammunition have
been recovered from their pos-
session.
According to a police
spokesman, Budgam Police
along with 53RR and 43BN
CRPF arrested one local ter-
rorist linked with proscribed
terror outfit LeT and recovered
incriminating materials, arms
ammunition including one
Chinese pistol, one magazine,
08 live pistol rounds from his
possession. He has been iden-
tified as Mohd Younis Mir res-
ident of Choon Budgam.
Upon questioning of the
said terrorist, Budgam Police
succeeded in busting a terror
module of proscribed terror
outfit LeT by arresting 04 ter-
ror associates. Security forces
also recovered 02 hand
grenades from their possession.
They have been identified as
Imran Zahoor Ganie resident
of Kulbug Budgam, Umer
Farooq Wani resident of
Ompora Budgam, Faizan
Qayoom Ganie and Shahnawaz
Ahmad Mir both residents of
Choon Budgam.
Preliminary investigation
revealed that the arrested ter-
rorist associates were involved
in providing shelter, logistics
and other material support
including transportation of
arms and ammunition to the
active terrorists of proscribed
terror outfit LeT in various
areas of Budgam.
In view of the prevailing
security situation across the
Union Territory, Director
General of Police Dilbag Singh
Monday chaired a high level
joint security meeting at Police
Headquarters Jammu to take
stock of the situation.
The DGP stressed upon
the officers to ensure high
alertness, especially in the bor-
der areas and hinterland to
check any infiltration attempt.
The DGP said that terror out-
fits are continuously attempt-
ing to use drones for terrorist
activities and stressed upon the
officers to remain extra vigilant
and alert so that their evil
attempts are foiled. He also
stressed on strengthening of
Police Posts and Nakas in bor-
der areas.
While reviewing the secu-
rity situation on the highway
grid the DGP directed the offi-
cers to intensify the Naka
checking on the highway and
plug the gaps with strict secu-
rity measures so that no room
is given to the enemies of
peace. The DGP also stressed
on strengthening of the city
security grids.
ADGP Jammu, Mukesh
Singh, IG CRPF Jammu,
Padamakar, IG BSF Jammu,
N.S Jamwal, BGS 16 Corp,
Arvind Chouhan, DIG, JKS
Range, Atul Goel, representa-
tive of 26 infantry division
Col. G.S Vijay Dalal, SSP
Jammu Chandan Kohli,
attended the meeting at PHQ
and Spl. DG CID JK, R.R
Swain, Range DIsG and district
SSsP of Jammu Zone and
Commandants of
CAPFs/Armed Battalions
attended the meeting through
video conferencing.
The DGP after obtaining
the district assessments of pre-
vailing security situation and
arising challenges, directed the
officers to strengthen and aug-
ment the security grids in their
respective areas for the safety
and security of the people.
The DGP said that the
action against terrorists should
be continued and all the sus-
picious elements should be
kept under check so as to foil
their ill designs aimed at dis-
rupting normal lives of the peo-
ple. He also directed the offi-
cers to keep special focus on
measures to check the narcot-
ic trafficking, adding that it is
being used by the inimical ele-
ments to fund terror groups in
Jammu and Kashmir.
B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :;:0C0
WithNisithPramanikmain-
taining a studied silence
on the issue of his alleged
Bangladeshi origin, the Bengal
BJP leadership built up a dual
defence for the Union Minister:
FirstbyvounchingforhisIndian
citizenship — claiming he was
born and raised in Cooch Behar
—and second by offering him a
CAA shield saying in any case
the Citizenship Amendment
Act would make him an Indian.
Dismissing the Trinamool
Congress and Congress’ claims
that Pramanik hailed from
Gaibandha district of
Bangladesh,NorthBengalMLA
Mihir Goswami on Monday
said that he was in fact an
Indian who did his schooling
from Cooch Behar. “Nisith
Pramanik is from Cooch Behar
district…hestudiedinLataguri
school and later did his politics
as a student in Cooch Behar …
he is very much an Indian … let
those who are claiming his for-
eign origin prove their point.”
When asked as to why the
Minister was not coming out
with clarifications, he said the
onus to prove one’s case lay on
the person who claims.
While Goswami made a
case for his Indian origin BJP’s
MP from Barrackpore Arjun
Singh said in any case Pramanik
was an Indian by dint of the
Citizenship Amendent Act.
“First of all he is an Indian and
nooneshouldhaveadoubtover
it and secondly the CAA pro-
vides him enough immunity …
He is an Indian by the force of
CAA… the TMC is trying to
spike the Centre’s move to
empower the STs and Raj
BangshisofNorthBengalwhich
is why it is making an issue out
of nothing.” Earlier Assam
Pradesh Congress president and
MP Ripun Bora demanded a
probe into Pramanik’s alleged
Bangladeshi background citing
media reports on the “matter of
grave concern that a foreign
national is … Union Minister,”
Bora had written a letter to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
referring to some media reports
suggesting Pramanik was orig-
inally from Harinathpur in
Palashbari police station of
Gaibandha district in
Bangladesh and that he had
cometoIndiatostudycomputer
science. The report said that the
people of his ancestral village
had rejoiced at his being
appointedastheHomeMinister
of India.
“It's a matter of grave con-
cern that a foreign national is an
incumbent Union Minister,”
Bora wrote to the Prime
Minister seeking inquiry into it.
The report had appeared in a
Bangladeshi facebook post.
Kolkata: The Trinamool
Congress on Monday impli-
cated another Union Minister
for keeping “undesirable
friends” — this time an accused
involved in child trafficking
racket.
Bengal Minister Sashi
Panja attacked the BJP won-
dering whether the saffron
outfit was promoting child
traffickers after the picture of
Union Minister Subhas Sarkar
was found in the same frame
with the principal of a central
school who was on Monday
arrested in connection with
child trafficking.
The principal of Jawahar
Naboday Vidyalay was arrest-
ed along with seven other per-
sons for his alleged involve-
ment in child trafficking rack-
et. The school is in Bankura
district. Five children of the
same school were rescued by
the police. Eight people have
been arrested in this connec-
tion so far. “BJP MP Subhas
Sarkar’s picture is found in the
same frame with the accused
… is the BJP promoting such
accused persons,” Panja a high
profile state minister and the
daughter-in-law of late Union
Minister
Ajit Panja said. There was
no reaction from Sarkar as yet.
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Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP
President Nalin Kumar Kateel
has dismissed as fake an audio
clip that hints at possible lead-
ership change in the State, and
said it was not his voice.
The clip has gone viral,
fuelling a new round of spec-
ulation on whether replacing
the 78-year old Chief Minister
is on the cards.
Yediyurappa, who is com-
pleting two years in office on
July 26, visited Delhi last week,
meeting Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Home
Minister Amit Shah, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh and
BJP President J P Nadda.
The trip raised questions in
some quarters if the party is
now working out a succession
plan.
On his return from the
national capital, Yediyurappa
rubbished talks in some quar-
ters that he is on way out, and
asserted that the central lead-
ership has asked him to con-
tinue in the post. The surfac-
ing of the audio clip on Sunday
has led to political buzz again
on the leadership issue.
Kateel has termed the brief
audio as fake and has
demanded an inquiry into the
tape where the talk was about
removing the entire team
without mentioning
Yeddyurappa''s name. PTI
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Monday said it would
pass orders on applications
filed by telecom majors —
Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel
and Tata Tele Services Ltd —
raising the issue of alleged
errors in calculation in the
figure of Adjusted Gross
Revenue (AGR) related dues
payable by them. The apex
court in September last year
had given 10 years time to tele-
com service providers strug-
gling to pay rupees 93,520
crores of AGR related dues to
clear their outstanding amount
to the government.
A bench headed by Justice
L N Rao referred to the earli-
er order passed by the apex
court in the matter and
observed that they said no re-
assessment of AGR related
dues can be done.
However, the companies
submitted that arithmetical
errors can be rectified and
there are cases of duplication of
entries.
Senior advocate Mukul
Rohatgi, appearing for
Vodafone Idea, said they were
not blaming the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT) for
it as there are arithmetical
entries.
He said they want to place
the entries before the depart-
ment so that they can re-con-
sider it. The bench also
observed that the top court had
earlier said that there can't be
any re-assessment.
Rohatgi said figures are
“not cast in stone” and several
tribunals don't have the power
of review but they do have the
power to correct arithmetical
errors.
“Allow me to place these
entries before DoT and let
them take a call on this,” he
said, making it clear that they
were not seeking any extension
of time.
Senior advocate A M
Singhvi, appearing for Airtel,
said there are cases of duplica-
tion and also of payments
made but not accounted for.
He said these issues should
be considered by the DoT.
“I don't want to pay thou-
sands of crores on account of
these errors,”he said.
Senior advocate Arvind
Datar, appearing for Tata Tele
Services Ltd, said rectification
of errors in calculation can be
done.
The bench observed that
it was only looking at the bar
on re-assessment which was
imposed by earlier orders.
The bench then asked
Solicitor General Tushar
Mehta, who was appearing for
the DoT, about the issue raised
by these telecos.
“I must point out that I
don't have the instructions on
this,” he said, adding that he can
take instructions on this with-
in two days.
“It may be little hazardous
for me to make statement with-
out taking instructions. Within
a day or two, I will get concrete
instructions,” he said. PTI
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The monsoon onslaught contin-
ued for the third consecutive
day in the Mumbai Metropolitan
Region (MMR) on Monday, as
nine more persons were killed tak-
ing the toll in the rain-related inci-
dents in Mumbai and other districts
in the coastal Konkan region to 42.
A day after the 33 persons were
killed in various rain-related inci-
dents in Mumbai, the monsoon
fury claimed nine more lives –
including that of a five-member
family – in the neighbouring
Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts
on the coastal Konkan region.
The Island city of Mumbai
received a rainfall of 42.6 mm and
70.4 mm in the suburbs during 24
hours ending at 8.30 am on
Monday. Between 8.30 am and 6
pm on Monday, the Island city
received a rainfall of 30.69, the east-
ern and western suburbs of the city
recorded a rainfall of 47.82 mm and
61.36 mm respectively.
The Regional Meteorological
Centre has forecast “moderate to
heavy rain in city and suburbs with
possibility of very heavy to extreme-
ly heavy rainfall at isolated places”
for the next 24 hours.
With the rains having wreaked
havoc in the region, the Konkan
Railway cancelled, diverted or
short-terminated several trains on
the Mumbai-Kerala sector follow-
ing the ingress of water and slush
in the Old Goa Tunnel between
Karmala-Thivim stations in Goa.
The rain-related developments
threw off the gear the operations of
Konkan Railway on the both sides
The worst of the mishaps that
took place on Monday was a land-
slide at Gorai Nagar’s Durga Chawl
at Kalwa (east), a relatively small
suburb located on the outskirts of
Thane city, in which five members
of a family were buried alive, while
two persons were rescued from
under the debris and rushed to
nearby Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
Hospital at Thane.
In three other incidents report-
ed from Thane district, a 4-year-old
boy child fell accidentally into a
swollen nallah at Nalasophara,
while a four-year into an open drain
at Mira Road and 16-year-old boy
was drowned in Shahpur. In anoth-
er reported from Palghar district,
a youth was washed away by the
flood waters in a local river in
Palghar district.
Three occupants of a car had a
miraculous escape when their vehi-
cle was trapped in flood waters in
Belapur town and swept off into a
nearby lake nearby, from where
they were rescued by the local fire
brigade personnel. The rescuers
also fished out the car from the lake
using a crane. In Mumbai, five
houses collapsed partially, while
there were a dozen tree falls in var-
ious parts of the metropolis. There
were eight incidents of short-circuit.
However, there were injuries or
injuries in these incidents.
A mudslide was reported from
the picturesque hill station of
Matheran located 83 km away
from Mumbai. However, there
were no casualties in the mishap.
On a day when water from sev-
eral streams and rivers in coastal
Konkan region flooded the roads,
culverts and bridges, scores of vil-
lages were reported marooned.
The power was disrupted in sever-
al of the towns and villages in
coastal Konkan region
In Raigad district and adjoin-
ing Navi Mumbai township, the
police and fire brigade personnel
carried out two rescue operations
-- one off the Pandavkada waterfall
and another in the Kharghar hills,
from where 116 revellers and pic-
nickers were rescued.
Heavy inundation was report-
ed from the powerloom town of
Bhiwandi in Thane district, where
the work at the looms and the ancil-
lary units Bhiwandi is also home
to the warehouses of the big e-
commerce companies.
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Following revelation that NSO Group’s
‘Pegasus’ software may have been
used to snoop on journalists, politicians
and activists worldwide, including 300
Indian numbers, WhatsApp CEO Will
Cathcart has called on governments and
companies to take steps to hold the Israeli
technology firm accountable.
NSO's dangerous spyware is used to
commit horrible human rights abuses all
around the world, and it must be stopped,
he asserted.
WhatsApp had in 2019 sued the NSO
Group, accusing it of using its messaging
service to conduct cyberespionage on
roughly 1.400 user accounts, including of
journalists and human rights activists.
In a series of tweets, Cathcart has put
forward some points and defended how
WhatsApp in 2019 fought back against the
tool from NSO. In 2019, WhatsApp dis-
covered and defeated an attack from NSO.
They rely on unknown vulnerabilities in
mobile OSes, which is one of the reasons
why we felt it was so important to raise
awareness of what we'd found, he tweet-
ed.
“This is a wake- up call for security
on the internet. The mobile phone is the
primary computer for billions of people.
Governments and companies must do
everything they can to make it as secure
as possible. Our security and freedom
depend on it,” Cathcart said in another
tweet.
He added that there is a need for more
companies, and, critically, governments,
to take steps to hold NSO Group account-
able. “Once again, we urge a global
moratorium on the use of unaccountable
surveillance technology now. It’s past
time,” he said. That's why we continue to
defend end-to-end encryption so tirelessly.
To those who have proposed weakening
end-to-end encryption: deliberately weak-
ening security will have terrifying con-
sequences for us all, Cathcart said.
Cathcart also lauded the efforts of
Microsoft, Google, Cisco, VMWare, and
more, who have spoken against the use of
spyware tools by groups like NSO.
It exploited a known vulnerability,
which WhatsApp fixed before it became
public, to infiltrate Android and iOS
devices of the targets. Months after spy-
ing cases were reported, WhatsApp filed
a lawsuit against NSO Group — the mak-
ers of Pegasus.
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In blatant violation of the Department
of Personnel and Training (DoPT)
appointment rules and regulations, the
Ministry of Communication (MoC)
seems to have done a major goof up
regarding the appointment procedure
related to a senior Telecom Officer at the
Permanent Mission of India in Geneva,
Switzerland.
Against the Government's conven-
tion of a minimum four weeks to
process an appointment in any depart-
ment, the Department of
Telecommunication (DoT) under MoC
sought applications from eligible Indian
Telecom Services (ITS) Group A offi-
cers giving them a time period of only
five working days to apply.
The advertisement was issued by
DoT on July 9, 2021 and the deadline
ended on July 16, 2021, which includes
a weekend. Sources said the selection of
the candidate/officer will be done dur-
ing the next couple of days completing
the process within less than a fortnight
The said position is for UPSC
selected Indian Engineering Services
ITS officers falling under Senior
Administrative Group (SAG) category
for the post of a Technical Expert at
Geneva, requiring qualifications and
expertise in domestic and internation-
al telecom avenues, modernization of
equipments, cyber security, networking,
licensing and enforcement and moni-
toring of various communications and
IT regulatory guidelines.
While the number of applications
received was not known, many ‘eligible’
officers failed to apply due to various
reasons including restrictions related to
pandemic, and many recuperating from
post-covid complications.
Ideally a month’s time is good so
that the message is spread from various
means like electronically, print publi-
cations and most significantly by word
of mouth and sharing messages, rued
a retired ITS officer requesting not be
named when briefed about this goof up
done soon after the resignation of high
profile Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad.
A senior DoPT official explained
that the kind of experience being
sought for the post can only be fulfilled
by a select few people (read officers),
particularly those posted in the DoT
headquarters.
Therefore, it excludes a large num-
ber of ITS officers posted outside the
DoT headquarters including BSNL,
MTNL, other PSEs and subsidiaries and
on field, said the official.
New Delhi : Former IT Minister Ravi
Shankar Prasad on Monday said there
is not one evidence which linked
Pegasus with the BJP or the
Government. Addressing ba press
conference here Prasad said presence
of phone number data itself do reflect
that they were infected by Pegasus spy-
ware. He wondered why the contro-
versy erupted a day before the mon-
soon session ?
Prasad alleged the controversy was
a creation of some people who are not
happy with the progress of India
under the Modi-Government.He list-
ed Covid-19 management and 'higest
FDI' in India as the mark of India's
advancement. The former Minister
rejected opposition charge of
Surveillance saying India has a 'robust
legal mechanism' for phone tapping
and that too is only for the National
security. Prasad qouted a case in the
supreme Court where WhatsApp
lawyer Kapil Sibal said 'WHATSAPP
cannot be hacked by Pegasus He said
Congress is on a decline and the con-
troversy before the Monsoon session
is a way to create an agenda by the
party. PNS
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In a shocking incident, two
lawyers were attacked by
over a dozen miscreants with
swords, iron rods and knives on
a road in full public view at
Dahisar, a far-flung northern
suburb of Mumbai
The incident took place
when a lawyer identified
Satyadev Joshi and his associ-
ate lawyer Ankit Tandon had
gone to survey a land for their
client at Dahisar in north
Mumbai, on Sunday.
Acting on a complaint
lodged by the two lawyers, the
MBH Colony police have
arrested four persons in con-
nection with the
alleged assault on the two
lawyers and booked seven oth-
ers who have absconded after
the crime.
Quoting the complaint
filed by the two lawyers, the
police said that a group of
goons wielding swords, iron
rods and knives swooped Joshi
(38) and Tandon (28) and
attacked them, even as they
screamed for help.
The two bleeding lawyers,
who have sustained sword and
rod injuries on the shoulders
and arms, were rushed to a
nearby hospital for treatment
Both are stated to be out of
danger now.
Advocate Joshi said that he
and his associate had gone to
Kanderpada at Dahisar (west)
to survey a property for his
client Tauquir Khan, who is the
owner of the plot when the
goons attacked them at around
3.00 pm on Sunday.
Advocate Joshi, a resident
of Goregaon, recorded his
statement with the police, even
as a delegation of lawyers went
to the MBH Colony police
station to register its protest
over the attack on a member of
the legal fraternity and
demanding security.
Deputy Commissioner of
Police Vishal Thakur visited the
police station and listened to
their grievances and assured
necessary action in the
matter.
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