· 2021. 1. 26. · metro station. The Delhi Police was outnumbered as belliger-ent protesters...

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    The farmers’ tractor marchturned violent as protestersbroke barricades and violatedthe agreement on the routes ofthe rally, creating unprece-dented scenes of anarchy in thenational Capital as they foughtwith police, overturned vehiclesand delivered a national insultby hoisting a religious flag atRed Fort, a privilege reservedfor India’s tricolour.

    From Rajpath to Red Fort,the day unfolded in scenes ofcontrasts. One that Indianshave seen for seven decadesand the other that seared itselfinto collective memory with itsimagery of protesters demand-ing a repeal of the three farmlaws storming the Mughal eramonument, the centrepiece of

    India’s Independence Day cel-ebrations.

    While there were no exactestimates of how many farmerswere hurt in clashes, DelhiPolice officials said 86 policepersonnel have been admittedto Delhi’s LNJP Hospital andone of them is critical.

    A protester died after histractor overturned near ITO.

    “The farmers began tractorrally before scheduled time,they also resorted to violenceand vandalism. We followed allconditions as promised and didour due diligence but theprotest led to extensive damageto public property,” Delhi PolicePRO Eish Singhal said.

    After appeals from leadersof farmers’ unions, some of thefarmers started returning to theborder but others stayed put at.

    ITO Chowk became themain flashpoint where severalpolice personnel and protesterssustained injuries. Thousandsof protestors, who even start-ed their parade before theallotted time from Singhu,Tikri and Ghazipur borders,deviated from the routesassigned to them by the Police.

    “The struggle between thepolice and farmers continuedthroughout the day until lateevening. Most of the incidentswere reported from MukarbaChowk, Gazipur, A-Point ITO,Seemapuri, Nangloi T-Point,Tikri Border and Red Fort. 86policemen so far have report-ed injured and several publicand private properties havebeen damaged in this act ofvandalism by the rioting mob,”said police in a statement on

    Tuesday late evening. Police have registered

    seven FIRs, three in Dwarkadistrict, three in East districtand one in Shahdara district.The Special Cell of Delhi Policewill investigate the incident.

    Following the clashes, theSanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM),which had agreed with theDelhi Police to hold a peacefultractor rally on Republic Daysaid some antisocial elementsinfiltrated their parade andindulged in violence.

    “We dissociate ourselvesfrom all such elements thathave violated our discipline. Weappeal to everyone to desistfrom any such acts. We are try-ing to get a full picture of all theevents with regard to the sev-eral parades that were plannedtoday and will share a full

    statement soon,” the SKM state-ment stated.

    The day began after thefarmers from Singhu, Tikriand Ghazipur borders startedtheir parade two hours beforethe allotted time, chanting“rang de basanti” and “jaijawan jai kisan” crossing thecity on tractors, bikes, horsesand even cranes for their pro-posed parade.

    However, soon somegroups of farmers deviatedfrom the route, broke barri-cades and clashed with police.At ITO crossing, the policetried to stop the protestors butthey turned violent and dam-aged police buses with theirtractors, prompting the force touse lathicharge and tear gasshells against them.

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    Protesting farmers, includingwomen, dancing on dholsand chanting slogans, begantheir tractor rally from Singhuand Tikri borders. As scores oftractors entered the city border,the locals showered petals oncavalcades.

    The groups of protestingfarmers camping at Singhu,Tikri broke police barricadeson Tuesday morning to forcetheir way into the city, muchahead of the time they weregranted permission.

    Farmers also marched onfoot in large numbers holdingflags of different farmer unionsand raising slogans Rang DeBasanti. Some were seen ridingmotorcycles and horses. Peoplealso perched atop their tractorsand sang revolutionary songs.Locals were also seen distrib-

    uting food and water bottles tothe protesting farmers whowere part of the rally.

    The group of protestersfrom Tikri border protest site,

    however, tried to deviate fromthe pre-agreed route to enterDelhi and rammed their trac-tors into barricades.

    Continued on Page 5

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    Jolted by the massive intelli-gence failure that allowedthousands of farmers to stormthe national Capital, the Centreon Tuesday decided to deployadditional paramilitary troopsin Delhi to restore peace andmaintain law and order.

    The decision was taken ata high-level meeting chaired byUnion Home Minister AmitShah and attended by UnionHome Secretary Ajay Bhalla,Delhi Police CommissionerSN Shrivastava and seniorIntelligence Bureau officials.Additional paramilitary troopswill be brought in for deploy-ment in sensitive places inDelhi, a Home Ministry officialsaid.

    The way the farmers ledtheir tractor rally in the nation-al Capital and virtually seizedthe Red Fort has left the secu-rity experts stunned.

    Continued on Page 5

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    Opposition parties onTuesday condemned theviolence in the wake of clash-es between police and protest-ing farmers after thousands offarmers stormed the nationalCapital riding their tractors.

    Former Congress chiefRahul Gandhi said violence isnot the solution to any prob-lem. “Violence is not the solu-tion to any problem.Irrespective of who gets hurt,it’s the country which will suf-fer. Take back the anti-agricul-tural law for the sake of thecountry,” Rahul Gandhi tweet-ed. Rahul and his party havebeen continuously backing theprotest by various farmers’union over the controversialfarm laws.

    With a large number ofprotesting farmers fromPunjab, Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh appealed forpeace and said the country is

    with farmers.“The farm laws are com-

    pletely wrong as they areagainst federalism since agri-culture is a State subject underSchedule 7 of the Constitution.Be peaceful and the country iswith you,” Amarinder Singhsaid in his message postedthrough social media.

    Shiv Sena leader and aRajya Sabha member PriyankaChaturvedi said, “It is sadden-ing that people are defendingthe sacrilege that we witnessedat Red Fort, dear apologiststhere is only one flag and thatis the Indian Flag that shouldfly high from the ramparts ofour historic monument how-ever strong a cause for protestone might have.”

    CPI(M) general secretarySitaram Yechury howeverattacked the Delhi Police for“excecess” and said, “using teargas and lathicharge on kisan isunacceptable”.

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    While the country cele-brated 72th RepublicDay, the national Capitalresembled a war zone as pro-testers masquerading as farm-ers, took over highly sensitiveCentral Delhi, East Delhi, WestDelhi and Outer Delhi.

    There was mayhem on thecity roads, as protesting farm-ers drove their tractors as tanksto bulldoze their way and reachITO, when the Republic DayParade was going on. Farmersbroke all the promises they hadmade to the Delhi Police.

    It all started with farmersowing allegiance to BhartiyaKisan Union leader RakeshTikait broke through the policebarricades at Ghazipur borderand moved towardsAkshardham. The Delhi Policepersonnel tried to prevent themfrom digressing the givenroutes to them but they werenot willing to listen.

    As tempers rose, protestersriding tractors, cars and bikes,breached the police barricadesbelow Akshardham flyover andstarted moving towards the

    metro station. The Delhi Policewas outnumbered as belliger-ent protesters tried to run overpolice personnel on duty.

    Hundreds of tractors andvehicles reached Vikas Margand moved menacinglytowards ITO crossing. TheDelhi Police men and officials

    ran to prevent them from mov-ing towards India Gate, whereparade was still going on.

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    In the wake of coronaviruspandemic, the Governmentis likely to double the healthspending in the next fiscalyear with an aim to raiseexpenditure in the sector to 4per cent of gross domestic out-put in the coming four years,sources in the Union HealthMinistry have said.

    In the forthcoming Budget,health spending is likely to beraised to �1.2-1.3 trillion in thefiscal year starting April 1,from the current year’s pro-jected spending of �626 billion,

    the sources said, adding thenew healthcare plan is likely tobe unveiled on February 1when the Budget is presented.

    The country’s spending onhealthcare has been a meagre1.3 per cent of GDP, much lessthan the neighbouring nationslike Bangladesh and BRICScountries.

    Experts in the sector toofeel that healthcare should beaccorded ‘national priority’ sta-tus and Covid-19 should betreated as a wake-up call. Theyfeel that going forward inhealth sector shall be signifi-cantly measured by sanitation,

    hygiene and preventive health-care.

    Dr Alok Roy, Chair, FICCIHealth Services Committeeand Chairman, Medica Groupof Hospitals, said “Expectationsare running much higher thistime (from the Budget). Theyear that’s ending has been ayear of pandemic disruptinglives and livelihoods and caus-ing economic turmoil. Frombeing one of the fastest-grow-ing economies, we are still bat-tling with the pandemic gloom.In the 2021-22 Budget, priori-tisation of the healthcare sec-tor should be of utmost impor-

    tance.”DS Negi, CEO of Delhi-

    based Rajiv Gandhi CancerInstitute & Research Centre(RGCIRC) echoed similarviews saying, “In the wake ofthe pandemic, our expectationsfrom the Budget 2021 centrearound higher allocationtowards healthcare and policiesfor incentivising a robusthealthcare infrastructure.”

    He called for higher allo-cation for preventive healthcareso as to meet the rising chal-lenge of lifestyle illnesses.

    “Ayushman Bharat is nodoubt a highly positive step

    towards attaining the objectiveof universal healthcare; how-ever, more budgets need to beapportioned for its continuedsuccess,” he added.

    Saumyajit Roy, founder ofEmoha Elder Care felt it washigh time for the Governmentto address the needs and con-cerns of India’s highly vulner-able population. He cited thelatest reports that point out “theshare of elders, as a percentageof the total population in thecountry, is expected to increasefrom around 7.5 per cent in2001 to almost 12.5 per cent by2026, and surpass 19.5 per

    cent by 2050.”Continued on Page 5

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    The IMF on Tuesday pro-jected an impressive 11.5per cent growth rate for Indiain 2021, making the countrythe only major economy of theworld to register a double-digit growth this year amidstthe coronavirus pandemic.

    The InternationalMonetary Fund’s growth pro-jections for India in its latestWorld Economic Outlook

    Update released on Tuesdayreflected a strong rebound inthe economy, which is esti-mated to have contracted byeight per cent in 2020 due tothe pandemic.

    In its latest update, theIMF projected a 11.5 per centgrowth rate for India in 2021.This makes India the onlymajor economy of the world toregister a double-digit growthin 2021, it said.

    Detailed report on P9

    New Delhi: The WHO onMonday warned of the risk ofcontinued transmission of thenovel coronavirus even afterlarge-scale vaccinations in theforeseeable future as the cov-erage is not likely to reach apoint where it can stop trans-mission.

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    Following the violence by theprotesters at several placesacross the city, the Delhi Policesaid the protesting farmersviolated the conditions pre-agreed for their tractor paradeand resorted to violence andvandalism, leaving 107 policepersonnel injured.

    In a statement, police alsoclaimed the force did all duediligence in following the con-ditions for the rally, but the pro-testers began their march muchahead of the scheduled timeand extensive damage to pub-lic property was caused.

    Police statement came asthe national Capital witnessedviolent scenes during a tractorparade by farmers who enteredthe city in their tractors fromdifferent points to press fortheir demand of repealing thethree new agri laws.

    According to Dr EishSinghal, the Public RelationOfficer (PRO) of Delhi Police,the protesters violated condi-tions fixed for the rally. “Thefarmers began tractor rallybefore scheduled time, theyalso resorted to violence and

    vandalism. We followed allconditions as promised anddid our due diligence but theprotest led to extensive damageto public property. Many police-men were also injured duringthe protest,” said Dr Singhal.

    Thousands of protestingfarmers, wielding sticks andclubs and holding the tricolourand union flags, atop tractorsbroke barriers, clashed withpolice and entered the cityfrom various points to lay siegeto the Red Fort and climb theflagpole on Republic Day onTuesday.

    If police used teargas shellsto disperse the restive crowdsin some places, hundreds offarmers in ITO were seen chas-ing them with sticks and ram-ming their tractors into parkedbuses. A protester died after histractor overturned.

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    The Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) condemned the vio-lence erupted at some places inthe national Capital duringfarmers’ tractor parade onTuesday.

    “It is regrettable that theCentral Government allowedthe situation to deteriorate tosuch an extent. The movement has been peace-ful for the last two months.Farmer leaders have said thatthose who indulged in violencetoday were not part of themovement and were externalelements,” the AAP said in astatement.

    “The violence has certain-ly weakened the movementwhich was going on so peace-fully and in a disciplined man-ner,” it added.

    Protesting farmers clashedwith police at several places inthe national capital and enteredthe iconic Red Fort and ITO inthe heart of the nationalCapital, with hundreds of themdeviating from pre-decidedroutes, prompting security per-sonnel to resort to lathichargeand tear gas.

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    In view of the farmers’ tractorrally, the Gurugram policehad erected concrete barriersand containers on both sides ofthe Delhi-Jaipur expressway(NH-48) near the NSG campusto stop farmer’s from enteringthe national Capital.

    A number of trucks werestationed on the Delhi-Jaipurexpressway between the NSGcampus and Manesar women’spolytechnic college.

    The Gurugram police hadalso deployed huge police forceincluding Rapid Action Force,Haryana police commando,

    traffic personnel along withwater cannon, special purposevehicle and fire brigade.

    Convener of Gramin KisanMazdoor Samiti, Ranjit SinghRaju told The Pioneer that ahuge number of tractors wereheading towards Gurugramfrom the Haryana-Rajasthanborder and Masani barrage inRewari which were lined up foraround 12 kilometers.

    Meanwhile, the truck dri-vers claimed that they haveforcefully stopped sinceMonday night.

    “I was heading towardsJaipur laden with industrialmaterial but when I reachednear NSG campus on the Delhi-

    Jaipur expressway the policedeployed here stopped me andsnatched my keys. I didn’t eatanything since night,” saidRoshan Singh a truck driver.

    Apart from this, Hundredsof farmers from Haryana,Rajasthan, Maharashtra, TamilNadu, Karnataka and Keralaalong with more than 300 hun-dreds tractors, SUV vehicles,bus and motorcyclists affixedwith the tricolor had taken partin the Farmer’s tractor rallyparade on the occasion ofRepublic Day in Gurugram.

    The Farmers’ carrying thenational flag sung patrioticsongs, slogans and anti slogansagainst the central government

    reached near Manesar women’spolytechnic college on theDelhi-Jaipur expresswayaround 3.30 pm.

    A number of farmersunder the banner of severalfarmers’ union took aroundmore than five hours to reachin Gurugram from Haryana-Rajasthan border, Dharuheraand Masani barriage in Rewarion hundreds of tractors, SUVvehicles and motorcycles.

    “We started movingtowards Gurugram around 11am. During rally a number oflocal people supports our rallythey even had arranged langar(community kitchen) for us.They were also distributing

    food which shows that they aresupporting ongoing Farmers’agitation,” said Tevender, afarmer who took part in thetractor rally.

    However, some farmersalleged that when they reachednear Panchgaon the local includ-ing BJP workers attacked onthem. “We were moving peace-fully towards Gurugram butnear Panchgaon on the NH-48few villages and BJP workersattacked on us with stone whichbreaks our vehicle window pain.However, there were no clashreported between the policeand farmer’s,” said Sarabjit Singh,a protesting farmer.

    Meanwhile, when the

    farmer’s tractor rally reachednear the polytechnic college onthe national highway theGurugram police deployed atthe spot welcomed the farmer’swith flowers.

    The police also kept vigilover the entire location viadrones. Also, a number of police

    personnel were also deployed toavoid any untoward incidents.

    The Farmers’ tractor rallytook U-turn just ahead ofpolice blockage near theWomen’s polytechnic college on the NationalHighway and returned to theirprotesting sites.

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    After the protesting farmerson tractors reached ITO,deviating from the designatedroute, traffic went haywire oncity roads on Tuesday.

    The traffic on the city roads,though thin due to the RepublicDay holiday, was thrown com-pletely out of gear with hordesof protesting farmers deviatingfrom the pre-designed rallyroutes and driving their tractorstowards Delhi from Singhu,Tikri, Ghazipur and other bor-der points.

    The Delhi Traffic Policetook to Twitter to updatecommuters about situationdeveloping on roads in differ-ent parts of the city.

    “Traffic is very heavy onGTK road, Outer Ring Road,Badli road, KN Katzu Marg,Madhuban Chowk, KanjhawalaRoad, Palla Road, Narela &DSIDC Narela roads. Pleaseavoid these roads. Traffic isvery heavy on Wazirabad road,ISBT road, GT road, Pushtaroad, Vikas marg, NH-24, Roadno. 57, Noida link road. Pleaseavoid these roads,” it tweeted inthe afternoon hours.

    The Delhi Police had givenpermission to farmers protest-ing against the three farm lawsto hold their tractor parade onselected routes only after theofficial Republic Day parade onthe Rajpath concluded.

    By the evening hours, traf-fic was affected from PunjabiBagh underpass to Zakhira,Peeragarhi to Punjabi Bagh,Raja Garden Flyover to DhaulaKuan, as the tractors descend-ed on the capital, according tothe Traffic Police.

    However, Vikas Marg, thatwas earlier closed with farmers

    reaching to ITO from wherethey moved to Red Fort,opened in the evening for traf-fic movement.

    The traffic was very heavyon Wazirabad road, ISBT road,GT road, Pushta road, Vikasmarg, NH-24, Road no. 57,Noida link road in the eveningwith farmers moving across ontheir tractors.

    The GT Karnal Road, OuterRing Road, Badli Road, KNKatzu Marg, Madhuban chowk,Kanjhawala road, Palla road,Narela & DSIDC Narela roadsto witnessed heavy traffic withpolice requesting commutersto avoid these stretches.

    Traffic movement wasclosed from Yudhistir Bridge toSeelam Pur and vehicles werediverted from Geeta Colonyand Signature Bridge, due tothe rally. With farmers reach-ing many parts of Delhi, themain thoroughfares likeShankar Road, Talkatora Roadand Minto Road were alsoclosed by the police.

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    Following the violence atseveral places across thenational Capital, the SamyuktaKisan Morcha (SKM) onTuesday disassociated itselffrom those who indulged inviolence during the tractorparade and alleged some “anti-social elements” infiltrated theirotherwise peaceful movement.

    The SKM called of theKisan Republic Day Paradewith immediate effect andappealed to all participants toimmediately return back totheir respective protest sites.The SKM announced themovement will continue peace-fully and further steps will be

    discussed and decided soon.The union also con-

    demned and regretted theundesirable and unacceptableevents as the parade turned vio-lent after several groups offarmers deviated from the pre-decided route for the march.

    The Samkyukt KisanMorcha, an umbrella body of41 farmer unions, is leading theprotest against the three centralfarm laws at several borderpoints of Delhi.

    “We thank farmers for theunprecedented participation intoday’s farmers’ Republic DayParade. We also condemn andregret the undesirable and unac-ceptable events that have takenplace today and dissociate our-

    selves from those indulging insuch acts. Despite all our efforts,some organisations and indi-viduals have violated the routeand indulged in condemnableacts. Antisocial elements hadinfiltrated the otherwise peace-ful movement. We have alwaysheld that peace is our biggeststrength, and that any violationwould hurt the movement,”SKM said in a statement.

    Its statement comes asfarmers clashed with police atseveral places in the nationalcapital. A protesting farmerdied at Delhi’s ITO after histractor overturned. Police alsohad to use lathicharge andteargas shells to control unrulyprotesters at multiple locations

    in the city.“We dissociate ourselves

    from all such elements thathave violated our discipline. Weappeal strongly to everyone tostick to the route and norms ofthe parade, and not indulge inany violent action or anythingthat taints national symbolsand dignity. We appeal toeveryone to desist from anysuch acts,” SKM stated.

    “We are trying to get a fullpicture of all the events withregard to the several paradesthat were planned today andwill share a full statement soon.Our information is that apartfrom some regrettable viola-tions, the parades are underwaypeacefully as per plan,” it said.

    New Delhi: Around 200 artists,including children, who werepart of the Republic Dayparade, were rescued after theygot stranded near Red Fort asthe farmer’s tractor paradeturned violent and protestersbroke barriers and stormedthe Mughal era monument.

    They were safely rescued bythe Delhi Police personnel afterbeing stuck for almost twohours in the afternoon, provid-ed refreshments and subse-quently escorted away, a seniorofficer said. The tractor parademeant to highlight the demandsof the farmer unions dissolvedinto anarchy on the streets of thenational Capital during the dayas hordes of rampaging pro-testers broke through barriers,fought with police, overturnedvehicles and delivered a nation-al insult — hoisting a religiousflag from the rampart of the RedFort, a privilege reserved forIndia’s tricolour. PTI ���������������������������� ����!��

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    The father of late ColonelSantosh Babu on Mondaysaid he was "not 100 per centsatisfied" with the MahavirChakra posthumously award-ed to him for his acts of gal-lantry against the Chineseattack in Galwan Valley ineastern Ladakh in June 2020,and that he should have beenhonoured with the Param VirChakra.

    "It is not that I am unhap-py. But I am not 100 percentsatisfied (with the award ofMahavir Chakra). There isscope for honouring him in abetter way. But my opinion isthat Santosh Babu should havebeen named for the highestmilitary award Param VirChakra for the gallantry he dis-played while discharging hisduties," Babu's father BUpendra told PTI.

    He said the valour shown

    by his son had inspired manypeople, including those work-ing in the defence forces.

    Colonel Babu, the command-ing officer of the 16 Bihar reg-iment, was among 20 Indian

    soldiers who laid down theirlives in the fierce hand-to-hand combat on June 15 last

    year in the Galwan Valley, anincident that marked one of themost serious military conflictsbetween the two sides indecades.

    Upendra said his son, over-coming the challenges posed bythe climatic conditions of thearea where he was posted,fought with Chinese troops.

    "My son and his menfought barehanded. He provedthat India is superior andstronger than China by killingmore enemy soldiers," he said.According to him, Col Babu'sfamily did not get anythingmore than the departmentalbenefits that are usually givento the families of martyred soldiers, from the Centre.

    The TelanganaGovernment gave ?five croreex-gratia to Santosh Babu'sfamily, besides Group-I post tohis wife and a residential plot.

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    For the first time in nearlyeight months, India report-ed less than 10,000 coron-avirus cases. With 9,102 freshcases of coronavirus infec-tions in the last 24 hours, theoverall tally now stands at1,06,76,838.

    Also, this is the lowestdaily tally in the last 237 days,said the Union HealthMinistry.

    Consequently, the numberof active coronavirus cases inthe country has dropped to1,77,266 on Tuesday, consti-tuting just over 1.60 per cent ofthe total infection count, theMinistry said.

    In a statement, it saidactive cases declined by 6,916in a 24-hour period.

    "Active cases per millionpopulation is lowest in theworld (128). Germany, Russia,Brazil, Italy, the UK and theUSA have much higher casesper million population," itsaid.

    The ministry said Indiahas crossed a crucial milestonein its fight against the globalpandemic as the daily new

    cases have touched a new low,dropping below 10,000 onTuesday. It said that 83.68 percent of the new recoveredcases were observed to be con-centrated in 9 States/UTs withKerala reporting the maxi-mum number of single dayrecoveries at 5,606.Maharashtra follows with3,080 new recoveries.Karnataka recorded another1,036 daily recoveries.

    "With a sustained, pro-active and calibrated strategy ofthe Centre based on 'whole ofgovernment' and 'whole ofsociety' approach, the dailynew cases have seen a consis-tent decline. This has ensureda steady fall in daily fatalitiestoo. The country has recordedless than 120 (117) fatalities inthe last 24 hours after morethan 8 months (8 months 9days)," it said.

    The Ministry also said20,23,809 beneficiaries havereceived coronavirus vaccineshots as on January 26 till 8AM. "In the last 24 hours,4,08,305 people were vacci-nated across 7,764 sessions.36,378 sessions have been con-ducted so far," it said.

    �������������� �8-9���

    The Uttar PradeshGovernment is preparingthe ground to fight the nextAssembly polls early next yearon the plank of the MSME sec-tor, construction of fourexpressways, one each con-necting the underdevelopedPurvanchal and Bundelkhandregions, and also developingindustrial/defence corridorsalong them besides the megaredevelopment of the templetown of Ayodhya.

    UP Chief Minister YogiAdityanath said the OneDistrict One Product (ODOP)scheme of the StateGovernment has yielded inexports worth �1.16 lakh crorein just one year and theexpressways in the easternregion which will serve asengines of growth even as thedevelopmental changes on theground in Ayodhya is visible.

    Elaborating on theemployment generation capac-ity of the Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises (MSME)sector, the CM said while ini-tiatives and incentives are afootto attract big investments in theindustrial sectors, theGovernment is simultaneous-ly focussing on the MSMESector.

    “Every opportunity is beingused to promote the ODOP

    Scheme as it has given a newboom to the MSME Sector andhelped in generating moreemployment. Support from theadministration has delivered avery good result. Exports ofproducts under the ODOPScheme has led to exportsworth �1.16 lakh crore in justone year is a testimony of thesuccess of the Scheme,” the CMsaid while interacting withjournalists at his residence hereon Sunday, a day after celebra-tion of UP Diwas.

    “While support is beinggiven at every level to the MSMEsector and linking the ODOPwith various schemes of the Stateand Centre, even a little handholding acts as a catalyst to theODOP as people are ready towork for such initiatives and takethem forward,” he said.

    The ODOP Schemelaunched in 2018 involves iden-tification of at least one specialproduct or enterprise endem-ic to one of the 75 districts inthe State and incentivising theproduction to leverage exportsof the handicrafts. In districtswhere there was no product ofspeciality, certain productswere linked to those districts tobring them under the ambit ofthe ODOP, he said.

    “To attract big investments,the government has to grant bigincentives but the bigger levelof incentives do not help in

    generating employment on alarge scale. In the case of localproducts, a small incentivecontributes in creating largescale employment and pro-moting Atma Nirbharta,” hesaid, adding bigger investmentshave been attracted successfullybut the local products are alsobeing promoted on a big scale.

    Unlike the western UP andAwadh (South Central region),the Purvanchal andBundelkhand regions were leftbehind on the developmentmap, he said and added thework is underway on the con-struction of three expresswaysand another one is beingworked out. Industrial corri-dors along these express wayswill help serve these areas asgrowth engines, he said.

    “The age old dispute overAyodhya, as you all know, hasended completely and not onlyAyodhya but entire UttarPradesh is relaying the messageof peace and amity by linkingwith the new system of devel-opment,” he said.

    The works on variousinfrastructure projects like theexpressways, industrial anddefence corridors besides thesupport to the MSME sectorand improved law and orderhave all contributed in a creat-ing constructive approachabout the state’s potential toattract investments, he added.

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    The temple town of Ayodhyais set for a major faceliftwith approvals in the pipelinefor an international airport, aring road, two bus terminals,doubling of the railway line anda new township in 1,200 acresfor institutional establishmentslike holiday inns and culturaltrusts, among others.

    Ayodhya DistrictMagistrate Anuj Kumar Jhasaid a lot of proposals fordevelopment of the temple cityare under consideration of theadministration. Works havealready begun in certain pro-jects and are on the thresholdof completion.

    “Our idea is to completethe developmental projects forimproving the access and facil-itation of the pilgrims beforethe completion of the RamMandir. The projects includeconstruction of a multi-levelparking, a ring road, wideningof the approach roads, flyoverover the railway line and dou-bling of the railway tracksamong others. A bus depotwith the capacity of parking

    150 buses is ready for inaugu-ration any time.”

    The daily footfall of the pil-grims has already doubledfrom the earlier 5,000 to 6,000to 10,0000-12,000. When theRam Mandir is complete, thefootfall of pilgrims is expectedto be 1-1.5 lakh pilgrims andinfrastructure is being plannedaccordingly, he said.

    Sixty to seventy per cent ofthe land for the internationalairport in Ayodhya has beenidentified and consent of theland holders have beenobtained. As much as 1,200acres of land for development

    of a new township for institu-tional development has beennotified for development by theUP Awas Vikas Nigam, hesaid.

    A number of state govern-ments have approached thedistrict administration for allot-ment of land in the proposedtownship for construction oftheir respective Bhavans (build-ing complexes). Certain cor-porate houses have also evincedinterest in obtaining land in theinstitutional area of the pro-posed township, officials said.

    Access from the Lucknowhighway is planned to be

    widened, four-laning of thehighway from Rai Bareily con-necting the town has beenapproved besides the con-struction of the highway fromVaranasi. Construction of thehighway from Prayagraj isunder consideration of thegovernment.

    On a question on the paceof the construction of the tem-ple, he said a riverine patch hasbeen found beneath the foun-dation of the proposed templecomplex and complete excava-tion of 10-12 metres on the sur-face is being undertaken on theside where the sub-strata hasbeen identified to be that of theSaryu river. Top engineers areon the job on the site and adecision will be taken to pre-pare the base with either a mixof lime or concrete. Upon this

    bed of lime or concrete mix, alayer of stones will be laid tosupport the 1,200 pillars of thenew temple, he said, adding 40per cent of the work or aboutone floor of the temple hasbeen readied at workshops,both onsite and offsite. Oncethe pillars are laid, the stonestructures will be enjoined tocreate the structure, he said.

    The National HighwaysAuthority of India (NHAI) is inthe final stages of finalising thealignment of the Ring Road forthe temple town.

    Widening of the PanchKosi and 14-Kosi Parikramaand development of pilgrimsparks are also part of the rede-velopment projects as over 25lakh pilgrims traverse theseroutes on certain festive occa-sions like Ram Navami, hesaid.

    “Ten years down the line,there will be a completemakeover of the temple townand it will not only emerge asa major attraction of pilgrim-age from around the globe butwill also serve as an engine ofgrowth in the region,” headded.

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    The Government is bankingon fisherwomen fromacross the country’s severalcoastal States to help it not onlyachieve the eco-friendly sea-weed production target of 11.5lakh tonnes from the currentlevels of 2,500 tonnes in thenext five years but also makepresence felt in the growingglobal market.

    “When fishermen are outin the ocean to catch fishes,their female folks can take upthe seaweed vocation which hasa huge market, domestic as wellabroad. It is a profitable liveli-hood option for fisherwomen,who can earn a substantialincome for the household withlittle effort ,” Fisheries Secretary

    Rajiv Ranjan said recently here.

    The idea is to make thecoastal communities particu-larly women to become selfreliant through these eco-friendly business practice ofmacro algae which needs littleinvestment and technology, headded.

    He knows better. Globally,seaweed production is USD12-15 billion and is expected togrow to USD26 billion by 2026.Currently, China and Indonesiahave 80 per cent of the marketshare.

    “Even if India aims only forthe low-hanging fruits in thesector, it can easily achieve thetarget itset. Currently, seaweedproduction in India is primar-ily confined to the Gulf of

    Mannar and Palk Bay in TamilNadu,” Ranjan said at a curtainraiser event here for an inter-national webinar on entrepre-neurship development on sea-weed business to be held onJanuary 28.

    This can be achieved byusing just 1 per cent of its8,000-kilometre-long coastline,the official added.

    The government hasalready setup a fund of aroundRs 640 crore for boosting sea-weed cultivation in the coun-try, a part of the Rs 20,000-crore flagship scheme PMMatsya Sampada Yojana(PMMSY).

    Seaweed farming in Indiahas minimum capital and tech-nological requirements, Ranjansaid adding that currently

    around 25,000 people areinvolved in the vocation, thetarget is to increase it to 4 lakhpersons.

    The webinar, to be organ-ised by the NationalCooperative DevelopmentCorporation (NCDC), togeth-er with Department ofFisheries, will dwell on howfisherwomen cooperatives canbe created for encouragingseaweed cultivation at a largescale across several coastalStates in the country, saidNCDC’s Managing Director,Sundeep Kumar Nayak.

    He said, if the availableresources are harvested to itsoptimal level, it can provideemployment to many womenfrom the coastal communitiesin harvesting sector and an

    equal number in post-harvestactivities.

    He also said that the webi-nar will be attended by theexperts from verticals of theseaweed sector which is used inplethora of products whether itis pharmaceuticals, cosmetics,human food, animal feed, agri-culture, production of bio-fuel,and wastewater management.They are often termed as the‘Medical Food of the 21stCentury’ due to their use intreatment of goitre, cancer,bone-replacement therapy andcardiovascular surgeries.

    Indicating that seaweed isgoing to become way of farm-ing soon in the coastal regionwhich is highly vulnerable toclimate change threats, DrRanjan had last week inspect-

    ed seaweed cultivation in thecoastal areas of Mandapamand Rameswaram island andheld discussions with stake-holders particularly to industryand SHGs to formulate a planof action for promotion of sea-weed cultivation in the region.

    In the last four months, theFisheries Department has sanc-tioned a few seaweed projectsin Tamil Nadu, Gujarat,Odisha, Andhra Pradesh,Lakshdweep, Andaman whiletalks are on with Kerala. Theseare low hanging fruits, he saidadding that a three-prongedstrategy is being adopted atproduction level, industriallevel and marketing level. Ideais to produce and market toindustry, he added.

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    Flight Lieutenant BhawnaKanth became the firstfemale fighter jet pilot to be partof the Indian Air Force's tableauduring the Republic Day paradeon Tuesday.

    She was part of the IAF'stableau that featured scaleddown models of the light com-bat aircraft, light combat heli-copter, Sukhoi-30 MKI fighterjet and Rohini radar.

    Three other male pilots werestanding along with her on thetableau. Kanth is one of the firstthree fighter pilots, others beingAvani Chaturvedi and MohanaSingh, who were inducted intothe IAF in June 2016.Flight Lieutenant Tanik Sharmaled the IAF marching contingentcomprising 96 airmen and fourofficers during the parade.

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    The newly inducted Rafalefighter aircraft was theshow-stopper as India dis-played its military might andvibrant cultural heritage onRajpath on the 72nd RepublicDay on Tuesday, with the cer-emonial event this year beingdrastically scaled down in viewof the Covid-19 pandemic.

    India also displayed its keyassets from the Army, includ-ing T-90 tanks and BrahMosmissile system, BMP-II, twoPinaka multiple launch rocketsystem, two bridge laying tanks,electronic warfare equipment‘Samvijay’ and one upgradedSchilka air defence weaponsystem, the last one beingCaptain Preeti Choudharyfrom 140 Air DefenceRegiment (Self Propelled).

    The Rafale fighter aircraftfeatured for the first time in theRepublic Day flypast as it car-ried out the 'Vertical Charlie' ina fitting finale. Besides, it alsoflew as part of the 'Eklavya' for-mation with two Jaguar jets andtwo MiG-29 aircraft. A total of

    38 IAF aircraft participated inthe flypast.

    The ceremony began withPrime Minister Narendra Modileading the nation in payinghomage to the martyrs by lay-ing a wreath at the NationalWar Memorial. DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh, Chiefof Defence Staff Gen BipinRawat, Army chief Gen M M

    Naravane, Navy chief AdmiralKarambir Singh and IAF chiefAir Chief Marshal R K SBhadauria were also present onthe occasion.

    The parade, commandedby Lt Gen Vijay Kumar Mishra,with Maj Gen Alok Kacker asthe second-in-command,began with President RamNath Kovind taking the salute.

    The national flag was unfurledfollowed by the nationalanthem, synchronised with a21-gun salute.

    Another first at the cere-mony was a 122-membermarching-cum-band contin-gent of the Bangladesh armedforces taking part in the parade.

    The Bangladeshi tri-ser-vices contingent was the firstmarching contingent to walkdown the ceremonial boule-vard. Lt Col Abu Md ShahnoorShawon of the Bangladesharmy, who spearheaded theparading contingent said, "Itwas an honour for us to be partof this august ceremony of

    India, and that too in the 50thyear of our Independence. And,India gave us the honour tolead the parade."

    The Bangladeshi militaryband right behind the march-ing contingent played six tunesin all, including some of theiconic ones like war song “ChalChal Chal” by poet Kazi NazrulIslam, and “Shono EktiMujiborer”.

    Known otherwise to wit-ness huge bustling crowdsacross many age groups, theannual ceremonial event atRajpath was scaled down thistime in view of the coronaviruspandemic, with spectators' size

    drastically cut to 25,000 fromabout 1.25 lakh last year.

    From members of contin-gents to spectators, everyonewore masks, the audiencemaintained the mandated dis-tance while sitting, and stand-ing spectators were not allowed.

    The marching contingents'route was also curtailed andthey stopped at the NationalStadium this year instead of fol-lowing the regular route all theway to the Red Fort.

    The size of the marchingcontingents was also reducedfrom regular 144 to 96 so thatthey could maintain social dis-tancing, a senior official said.

    Due to Covid-19 safetynorms, gravity-defying stuntsby motorcycle-borne men — amajor attraction for the crowdat Republic Day celebrations onthe Rajpath — were also miss-ing this year.

    Depicting the nation's richcultural heritage, 17 tableauxfrom states and Union territo-ries, and nine from differentUnion Ministries and para-military forces took part in the72nd Republic Day celebra-tions. Six tableaux from thedefence arm, including oneeach from the Indian Air Force(IAF) and the Navy, were alsopart of the parade. Flt Lt

    Bhawana Kanth, the firstwoman pilot of the IAF waspart of its tableau, whichdepicted scaled down modelsof Light Combat Aircraft, LightCombat Helicopter, Su-30 MKIand Rohini radar.

    The Navy's tableau dis-played models of Indian navalship (INS) Vikrant and navaloperations that were conduct-ed during the 1971 India-Pakistan war. India is current-ly celebrating the SwarnimVijay Varsh — the GoldenJubilee year — commemorat-ing the country’s victory overPakistan in the 1971 war thatled to the creation ofBangladesh.

    Young Union territory ofLadakh made its debut in theextravaganza on Rajpath witha beautiful tableau depictingthe iconic Thikse Monasteryand its rich cultural heritage.

    The Union Territory ofLadakh was created in 2019after the central governmentbifurcated the state of Jammuand Kashmir.

    Other states and Unionterritories which showcasedthe diversity of India includedGujarat, Assam, Tamil Nadu,Maharashtra, Uttarakhand,Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Tripura,West Bengal, Sikkim, UttarPradesh, Karnataka, Kerala,Andhra Pradesh, ArunachalPradesh and Delhi.

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    Chairs neatly placed apart ina grid in enclosures, nostanding spectators allowed,people wearing masks andpocket sanitizers kept handy.The Republic Day celebrationat Rajpath this year, whileupholding most traditions, wasunusual due to the Covid-19pandemic.

    Known otherwise to wit-ness huge bustling crowdsacross many age groups, theannual ceremonial event atRajpath has been scaled downthis time in view of the coro-navirus pandemic, with spec-tators’ size drastically cut to25,000 from about 1.25 lakhlast year.

    While the number of dailyincidences has come down inthe national capital in the lastfew weeks, the Covid-19restrictions are still in placeespecially at public gatherings.

    As per the advisory issuedby authorities before the event,persons below 15 years of agewere not allowed this time, andthe number of enclosures were

    cut down from 38 to 19.From members of contin-

    gents to spectators, everyonewore masks, the audiencemaintained the mandated dis-tance while sitting and stand-ing spectators were notallowed.

    The marching contingents'route was also curtailed andthey stopped at the NationalStadium this year instead offollowing the regular route allthe way to the Red Fort.

    The size of the marchingcontingents was also reducedfrom regular 144 to 96 so that

    they could maintain socialdistancing, a senior officialsaid. Due to the Covid-19safety norms, gravity-defyingstunts by motorcycle-bornemen — a major attraction forthe crowd at Republic Day cel-ebrations on the Rajpath —was also missing this year.

    Members of the tableauxcontingents from a total of 32states and UTs, ministries andgovernment departments hadundergone multiple Covid-19tests at a cultural camp atDelhi Cantonment, the last onebeing on January 22.

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    The Republic day celebra-tions passed off peacefullyamid tight security arrange-ments across Jammu &Kashmir on Tuesday. The inter-net services remained sus-pended in parts of Kashmir val-ley while markets wore adeserted look during the day.

    According to officialsources, “No untoward incidentof violence was reported fromanywhere in the region”.

    The main function washeld in Jammu where Lt-GovManoj Sinha hoisted theNational Flag and inspected theparade. In Srinagar, Advisor toLieutenant Governor, BaseerAhmad Khan, unfurled theTricolor and took salute at themarch-past during RepublicDay celebration at SK stadium,Srinagar.

    Speaking on the occasion,Advisor said that Jammu &Kashmir is marching fast

    towards rapid growth anddevelopment and theGovernment of India is leavingno stone unturned to make theUT progressive and prosper-ous.

    Before arriving at thevenue, the LieutenantGovernor laid a wreath atPolice Martyrs Memorial andBalidan Stambh. He paidhomage to the martyrs whosacrificed their lives for thehonour of the country. “We are

    eternally indebted to our menin uniform for their supremesacrifices towards ensuringintegrity and sovereignty ofIndia”, said the Lt Governor.

    In his maiden speech afterunfurling the tricolor,Lieutenant Governor ManojSinha declared that nefariousdesigns of the neighbouringcountry, a reference to Pakistan,will never be allowed to suc-ceed in Jammu & Kashmirand maintained that security

    agencies have effectively con-trolled the violence.

    Sinha also lauded braveryof police and security person-nel saying they are working dayand night to create a con-ducive atmosphere for smoothday-to-day life and maintainingpeaceful environment inJammu & Kashmir.

    Without naming Pakistan,the Lieutenant Governor issueda stern warning to the neigh-bouring country.

    “We want to assure all cit-izens that the “political con-spiracies and nefarious designs”of a neighbouring country willnever be allowed to succeed inthis land of great persons andwarriors. Security agencieshave effectively controlled vio-lence and those who are tryingto fulfil their political motiveswith the help of proxy war, arebeing given a befitting reply,” hesaid.

    Describing the year 2020 asan year of unprecedented

    change in Jammu & Kashmir,Sinha said through a continu-ous process of change, theroots of progress have beenplanted in new Jammu &Kashmir.

    “With the Constitution ofIndia in one hand and tricolourin the other, all people of vil-lages and towns, with dreamsof progress in their eyes, havestarted building a new Jammu& Kashmir to fulfil their ambi-tions and those of the nation,”he added.

    Referring to successfulconduct of the DistrictDevelopment Council (DDC)elections, the LieutenantGovernor assured all electedrepresentatives that with theirsupport, the Jammu & Kashmiradministration will bring fruitsof development to the last per-son in the queue.

    He said the Government isdetermined to enable hon-ourable return of KashmirPandits to the Valley.

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    Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal marked the occa-sion of the nation’s 72ndRepublic Day by unfurling theNational Flag at his residence onTuesday.

    Addressing the people onRepublic Day, Kejriwal salutedthe contributions of the med-ical fraternity, soldiers, farmers,sanitation workers etc. Kejriwalsaid that despite such difficultcircumstances, the entirenation has witnessed glimpsesof bravery of such warriors, andnations’ strong unity on dif-ferent occasions.

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    From Page 1Prime Minister Narendra

    Modi, President Ram NathKovind and hosts of dignitariesincluding foreign diplomatsand Union Ministers were pre-sent at the Rajpath. As theangry protesters tried to break-

    through and march towardsRed Fort, the Delhi Police andParamilitary forces tried toprevent them from moving. Itwas here when protestersturned violent as they not onlybroke the road dividers, theytried to run over policemen. Awoman constable was corneredand beaten by the protesters.She was however, rescued byher colleagues from beinglynched. While all this wasgoing on, tractor borne pro-

    testers moved towards DeenDayal Upadhyay Marg whereBJP national headquarters issituated.

    Meanwhile, hundreds ofSikh protesters had reachedRed Fort and they climbed atopthe ramparts and hoisted theirreligious flag. It took sometime for the Delhi Police andCentral forces to remove thereligious flag from the pole.

    Police had to deploy moreforces to get the Red Fort

    premises vacated. WhileCentral Delhi witnessed highvoltage drama, protesters atSinguu border were movingtowards North Delhi viaMukarba Chowk wherepitched battle was foughtbetween the protesters and thepolice forces. Tractor borneprotesters marched on theouter ring road and reachedRed Fort via Old Delhi Railwaystation. Protesters were finallyevicted from the Red Fort and

    ITO by 6.30 pm. According to the Delhi

    Police officers, farmers havestarted reaching Ghazipur,Singhu and Tikri border, wherepolice presence has been fur-ther beefed up. Additionalsecurity personnel drawn fromParamilitary forces have beendeployed to man security.Atmosphere is quite tense on allthe borders as well equippedpolice personnel are standingguard.

    �������������(�������&�����/�������'0!�/���%���

    From Page 1The farmers wanted to

    move towards Delhi however,the see saw scene was witnessedduring the day as protestersmoved towards Peeragarhi andpolice pushed them back.

    Meanwhile, groups offarmers’ protesters from Singhuborder on their tractors, on footand horses breached barri-cades as tractors moved inprompting the police to fire teargas at the protesters. Some ofthe farmers driving cranesremoved the cement barri-cades as some protesters onhorses breached them.

    At Sanjay GandhiTransport Nagar on GT Road,

    the protesting farmers had toturn right but they kept onmoving ahead. The policerequested them to follow theroute assigned but protestorspelted stones on security per-sonnel. Some of the protestersmoved their tractors into theprohibited route and were oncourse to the Ring Road as theytook over both the carriage-ways of the GT Road.

    The protesting unions havealso announced a foot march toParliament on February 1,when the annual Budget isbeing presented, to press fortheir demands, including arepeal of the three new agri-culture laws.

    Heavy security has beendeployed in view of the “KisanGantantra Parade” that willmove into Delhi from theSinghu, Tikri and Ghazipurborder points.

    ��������'���0���������0�*���������/�20�������666

    From page 1In our view, we think it is

    significant to view the CentralGovernment Budget estimatesof Rs 67,484 crore towards thehealth sector for the financialyear of 2020-2021, in the con-text of the total spends of lessthan 0.05 per cent of the totalhealth Budget on mentalhealth-related initiatives.

    Hence, the primary expec-tation from the Government isto give special focus to theelderly and address the press-ing issues pertaining to theirphysical and mental wellbeingby creating a robust healthinfrastructure and makingmore investments in mentalhealth programmes to supportthem in general.

    Speaking on the expecta-tions from Budget 2021,

    Shekhar Rawtani, Founder,Prescrip, a platform to addressthe lack of adoption of tech-nology across healthcare, said,“The ongoing pandemic hasput healthcare in the spotlightand exposed several gaps in theecosystem. Hence, we needpolicies that can cover wide-ranging voids in infrastructure,facilities, and financial provi-sions in the upcoming Budget.Making budgetary provisionsfor our frontline workers, whohave been pivotal in our fightagainst the pandemic should beone of the key focus areas of theGovernment.” Also, the year2020 has set the base for digi-tal transformation and inno-vations in the healthcare systemand 2021 policies must worktowards scaling them, increas-ing digital inclusion in theremotest corners of the coun-try, he added.

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  • detected by the US-based PlanetLab satellite imagery.

    Former ally Shiv Sena hasquestioned the Centre on thelatest intrusions in Arunachaland elsewhere, especially theland lost to China since the BJPGovernment came to power,and the plans to recover it. TheCongress said it hopes theGovernment will not againgive a clean chit to China.Surprisingly, the Governmentmerely “took note of the con-struction along the border”and ramped up its infrastruc-ture development projects,adding that “the area is disput-ed and under Chinese posses-sion since 1959”. But it does notentitle China to alter the statusquo, converting a disputed areainto permanent settlement inviolation of border protocols. Itwas vital and necessary for theGovernment to resist the year-long construction activity andtake up the case with Beijinginstead of its leaders statinguncharitably that the areas weregifted to China by Nehru. Whythen has Home Minister AmitShah pledged to retake AksaiChin, which is under Chinesepossession and was lost duringNehru’s time? A parliamentaryresolution requiring theGovernment to retake all landlost to China was displayed inUdhampur’s NorthernCommand till the mid-eighties!

    China has issued a strongrebuttal saying the constructionof a village across the LAC inArunachal Pradesh is beyondreproach because it had neverrecognised Arunachal, adding:“China’s position on Zangnan(south Tibet) is clear. Ourdevelopment and constructionactivities within our own terri-tory are normal.” Global Timeshas said the border has not yetbeen demarcated. The IndianMilitary Operations Directoraterecords show that China hadattacked an Assam Rifles postin 1959 (LongJu incident) at theintrusion site. Developing theborder areas is part of XiJinping’s plan to populate thedisputed borders to legitimiseclaims to additional territory.

    Vast stretches of the LAC inArunachal are inaccessiblewhile they are within easy reachof China. Chief Minister PemaKhandu has been pushing foran 1100-km highway alongthe LAC with what he says isthe India-Tibet border. Thisroad, when built, will allowtroops to switch quickly astridethe LAC but it will be a geolog-ical challenge for the BorderRoads Organisation (BRO).

    Besides the multiple intru-sions in east Ladakh under theNorthern Command’s watch,two intrusions in EasternCommand over the same peri-od are worrying. There are

    around 24 contested/disputedareas along the McMahonLine/LAC over which surveil-lance and military vigil has tobe tightened. Intrusions tookplace in Kargil when patrollingand aerial surveillance over theunheld areas ceased. TheChinese have been intrudingacross the undefined LAC andunrecognised McMahon Line.This coercion has to be coun-tered effectively.

    Xi’s aggressive land grab indisputed territory has becomepolitical football in India insteadof it being addressed in strate-gic unison. The Governmenthas to stop blaming Nehru andthe Congress for their myopicChina policy: Instead, take theblame for creating more rhetoricthan usable defence capacity todeter Xi’s aggression. Let therebe in the Budget Session whatwas disallowed in the MonsoonSession — an honest debate onChinese perfidy instead ofRajnath Singh’s strategic solilo-quy, “will not compromise ter-ritorial integrity” and “a befit-ting reply”, without namingChina after losing territory.

    (The writer, a retiredMajor General, wasCommander, IPKF South, SriLanka, and founder member ofthe Defence Planning Staff,currently the IntegratedDefence Staff. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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