2021/03/22 · Police Act, 1951 with the reason that the transfer was necessi-tated by “adminis-trative exigencies”. It is settled law that the Orders have to stand on the

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In a clear indication of hisparty’s resolve to brazen out

the political crisis facing theShiv Sena-led MVAGovernment in Maharashtra,NCP chief Sharad Pawar onMonday dismissed theOpposition BJP’s clamour forState Home Minister AnilDeshmukh’s resignation overthe “letter bomb” dropped byParam Bir Singh, by saying thatthere was no truth in the alle-gations made by Mumbai’s for-mer Police Commissioneragainst Deshmukh.

Questioning the very claimthat Deshmukh had askedarrested police officer SachinVaze to “collect” Rs 100 crorea month from bars, restaurantsand other sources in Mumbai,Pawar said, “There is talk aboutDeshmukh’s resignation. Theformer Police Commissionerhas claimed that the HomeMinister had called Vaze to hisofficial residence around mid-February. But on February 15,Deshmukh was admitted to thehospital after he tested positivefor corona. I have proof withme to this effect. He was inquarantine till February 27.Since the former CP is claim-ing that Vaze met the HomeMinister in February, let therebe any enquiry into the wholething. Truth will come out”.

Talking to mediapersons at

his New Delhi residence, Pawarsaid, “I have all the proof aboutDeshmukh. That being the case,the question of Deshmukh’sresignation does not arise. Bynow, the Chief Minister musthave received all the proof relat-ing to the State Home Minister.It is for the Chief Minister totake a call on ordering a probeinto allegations againstDeshmukh by Singh”.

“The main issues are: Whoplanted explosive laden SUVand who killed businessmanMansukh Hiran. Singh had allthe information about the twocrimes. Why was he sittingquiet for a month?,” the NCPchief asked.

Former Chief Minister andcurrent Leader of theOpposition in the StateAssembly Devendra Fadnaviscontested the NCP chief ’s claimand tweeted: “Sharad Pawar jisaid, from 15th to 27thFebruary HM Anil Deshmukhwas in home quarantine. Butactually along with security

guards & media he was seenaddressing press conference,”BJP leader and former CMDevendra Fadnavis said in atweet after Pawar’s presser.

Meanwhile, the core groupmembers of the CongressMinisters in the MaharashtraCabinet, CWC permanentmember in charge ofMaharashtra Congress affairsHK Patil said that he had dis-cussed the issue with seniorState Congress leaders --Balasaheb Thorat and AshokChavan, who were scheduled tomeet Uddhav Thackeray onMonday night to discuss thesituation arising out of the let-ter written by Mumbai’s PoliceCommissioner to the ChiefMinister.

In a statement issued to themedia, Patil quoted Pawar assaying: “We will discuss the res-ignation as well. Whatever thealternative comes, we will see.Even the resignation is onealternative”, while the NCP hassaid that the final decisionwould be taken by the ChiefMinister.

It may be recalled that inthe operative part of the explo-sive letter, Singh wrote onSaturday: “....Sachin Vaze whowas heading the CrimeIntelligence Unit of the CrimeBranch of the Mumbai Policewas called by Anil Deshmukh,Home Minister, Maharashtra to

Continued on Page 11

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Citing scientific evidence,the Centre on Monday

revised the time window with-in which the second dose of theCovishield vaccine can betaken. The Centre has asked allStates and Union Territories toadminister the second dosebetween 6-8 weeks but not laterthan eight weeks instead of thepresent 4-6 weeks window.

Increasing the intervalbetween the two dosesenhances the protection as rec-ommended by its scientificpanels, the Center said.

The decision of revisedtime interval between twodoses is applicable only toCovishield and not toCovaxin vaccine, which isalso part of the vaccinationprogramme launched on

January 16, this year.Sources in the Union

Health Ministry said with therevised time window morenumber of people are likely tobe considered for the jab.

This will cover peoplewho are not included present-ly in the priority group underthe national vaccination pro-gramme launched on January16, this year.

Presently, the vaccinationprogramme is moving at asnail pace as the groups prior-itized for inoculation are notturning up as expected andmany of those who are eagerfor the jabs are ineligible underthe identified categories.

“In view of the emergingscientific evidence, the intervalbetween two doses of a specif-ic COVID-19 vaccine i e.COVISHIELD , has been revis-ited by National TechnicalAdvisory Group onImmunisation (NTAGI) andsubsequently by NationalExpert Group on VaccineAdministration for COVID-19(NEGVAC) in its 20th meetingduring which the recommen-dation has been revised to

provide 2nd dose of COV-ISHIELD at 6-8 weeks’ intervalafter 1st dose instead of earli-er practiced interval of 4-6


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The Government is yet totake a decision on attending

a multi-nation anti-terrorismmilitary exercise later this yearunder the aegis of the ShanghaiCo-Operation Organisation(SCO), which also includesPakistan, China, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan,and Uzbekistan.

The decision to hold the jointexercise “Pabbi-Antiterror-2021”was announced during the 36thmeeting of the Council of theRegional Anti-Terrorist Structure(RATS) held in Tashkent,Uzbekistan, on March 18.

The representatives of themember States also approvedthe draft programme of coop-eration for 2022-2024 tocounter-terrorism, separatismand extremism.

“Decisions have been madeto improve cooperationbetween the competent author-ities of the SCO member statesin identifying and suppressingchannels that finance terroristactivities,” China’s state-runXinhua news agency reported,quoting a RATS statement.

Delegations of the compe-tent authorities of India,Kazakhstan, China, the KyrgyzRepublic, Pakistan, Russia,Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and theRATS Executive Committeeattended the meeting.

This development came inthe backdrop of Indian andChinese troops pulling backfrom the stand-off points at thesouthern and northern banksof the Pangong Tso(lake)inLadakh in mid-February afterten months of eyeball.


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In a development that tookthe MVA Government by

surprise, Mumbai’s formerPolice Commissioner ParamBir Singh moved theSupreme Court onMonday, demandinga CBI probe againstMaharashtra HomeMinister AnilDeshmukh over cor-ruption charges and stay on histransfer order.

He sough an “unbiased,uninfluenced, impartial andfair investigation” into AnilDeshmukh’s alleged corruptmalpractices “before the evi-dences are destroyed”.

“Fair CBI investigation isthus warranted in each of suchacts of Deshmukh in abuse ofthe official position of theHome Minister, “ Singh said.

A 1988 batch IPS Officer,Singh told the apex court thathe had brought Deshmukh’s“corrupt practices” in theknowledge of the senior lead-ers and the Chief Minister.

Singh said he was trans-ferred immediately thereafterfrom his post of the PoliceCommissioner of Mumbai tothe Home Guard Departmentin an “arbitrary and illegalmanner” without the comple-

tion of the minimum fixedtenure of two years.

The petitioner said trans-fer was maliciously effectedpurportedly under Section22N(2) of the Maharashtra

Police Act, 1951 withthe reason that thetransfer was necessi-tated by “adminis-trative exigencies”. Itis settled law thatthe Orders have to

stand on the reasons containedin the same and no reasons canbe supplemented later.

The petitioner said hebelieved that the reason for thetransfer noted by theRespondent no. 1 in its file isto ensure a free and fair inves-tigation into the recovery of thegelatin sticks laden SUV fromnear the residence of industri-alist Mukesh Ambani onFebruary 25.

The transfer of the peti-tioner in the aforesaid circum-stances is for reasons smearedwith malice, when there is noiota of material or evidence -far from proof - found or evenimputed against the petitioner,and is solely based on conjec-tures, surmises and pure spec-ulation, without detail of anysort against the petitioner hav-ing been noticed by anybody,”


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In view of the increase in gapin inoculation period

between two doses ofCovishield shot, experts haveurged the Government toinclude intellectually disabledpeople and caregivers of bed-ridden patients in the vacci-nation priority list.

Dr Rajendra Prasad saidthe Government should allowdoctors to certify family mem-bers from amongst theirpatients, who are caregiversand thereafter open registra-tion for vaccination for thiscategory.


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In view of the spike in novelcoronavirus cases in UttarPradesh and the forthcom-

ing Holi festival, the state gov-ernment has decided to closeeducational institutions fromMarch 24 to 31.

The government alsoannounced that no public func-tion would be allowed withoutthe permission of the districtadministration but clarifiedthat there was no restriction onreligious functions.

The decision was taken ina late night meeting presidedover by Chief Minister YogiAdityanath here on Monday.

A government spokesmanhowever clarified that exami-nations, if any, will be held asper schedule.

“The chief ministerdeclared Holi holiday fromMarch 24 to 31 in all the state-run and private schools fromclass 1 to 8. The other educa-tional institutions wouldremain closed from March 25to 31,” the official said.

The chief minister hasinstructed officials to take spe-cial vigilance and caution inview of the festivals and pan-chayat elections. He said that allmeasures to prevent infectionshould be ensured by strength-ening the system of preventionand treatment of COVID-19.

He has directed deploy-

ment of a nodal officer oremployee at every gram pan-chayat level in rural areas andward level in cities. Thesenodal officers will ensure

that persons coming fromother states in their area arescreened.

“In case of any suspicion,action should be taken as perthe Covid protocol by arrang-ing their quarantine and con-ducting RT-PCR investiga-tions,” he said.

The chief minister saidthat availability of one dedi-cated Covid hospital in eachdistrict should be ensured andnecessary human resourcesand equipment should also bearranged.

He said that there was norestriction on festivals but peo-ple should be made aware ofCOVID-19 infection.

“No processions and pro-grammes or public functionsshould be held without theprior permission of the localadministration. These eventsshould be avoided in high riskcategories such as childrenbelow 10 years of age, elderlypeople above 60 years andcomorbidity, i.e. people withmore than one serious illness,”he said.

Before giving permission, itshould be ensured that Covidprotocol, use of masks andsocial distancing are fully fol-lowed in the events, he added.

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'&(��)�LUCKNOW (PNS): A total of 147 people tested positive for coro-navirus infection in Lucknow and 542 in the state on Monday.In the state capital, 45 patients recovered even as the numberof active cases soared to 761.

The fresh cases included 20 from Indiranagar, 14 fromGomtinagar, 12 from Ashiyana, and 10 each from Hazratganj,Aliganj, Manaknagar & Vikasnagar.

Across the state, the new cases included 34 from Varanasi,29 from Gautam Buddh Nagar, 25 from Meerut, 23 from Kanpurand nine from Ghaziabad, pushing the case tally to 6,08,076.However, only a single death reported from the state was fromKanpur. ■ Details on Page 3

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To fulfill the dream envi-sioned by former PM Atal

Bihari Vajpayee of interlinkingthe rivers of the country, amemorandum of agreement(MoA) has been signedbetween the Union Jal ShaktiMinistry and the chief minis-ters of Uttar Pradesh andMadhya Pradesh to implementthe Ken-Betwa Link Project

The project was inked onthe occasion of World WaterDay during the virtual launchof 'Catch the Rain Campaign'.

The first project of theNational Perspective Plan tolink rivers will provide relief tothe residents of the parchedregions and will be of immensebenefit to the water deficitareas of Bundelkhand, espe-cially to the districts of Panna,Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar,Damoh, Datia, Vidisha,

Shivpuri and Raisen of MadhyaPradesh and Banda, Mahoba,Jhansi, Hamirpur and Lalitpurof Uttar Pradesh, according toa PMO statement.

"Bundelkhand is a land ofbravehearts and its people willnot be allowed to remainthirsty. Ken-Betwa river linkingwill help resolve the waterscarcity and will bring pros-perity in this region," saidChief Minister YogiAdityanath.

The project will provideannual irrigation of 2.51 lakhhectares, 1700 million cubicmetres (mcm) of water to UttarPradesh and drinking watersupply to about 62 lakh peopleand also generate 103 MW ofhydropower.

The ambitious project willalso benefit the districts ofJhansi, Mahoba, Lalitpur andHamirpur of Uttar Pradesh by


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Bahujan Samaj Party supremoMayawati on Monday raised a ques-

tion on the style of working of the UttarPradesh government over the Hathrasgang-rape case and said that there wasa rule of criminals in the state.

In two tweets on Monday,Mayawati said the difficulties that thefamily of Hathras gang-rape victim wasfacing in getting justice was sad andshameful. She said the new facts in thisregard which had come up in the courtraised serious questions on the work-ing style of the government in provid-ing justice to the victims.

She said, “The UP government isagain in the dock after the HonourableHigh Court took cognisance of the newfacts in the Hathras case and orderedan investigation into witnesses beingthreatened and the people are forced tothink how the victims will get justice?Is this common belief, that criminalsrule in UP and it is very difficult to getjustice, wrong?”

Meanwhile cabinet minister andgovernment spokesman Sidharth NathSingh reacted strongly to Mayawati'stweets and said that the former chiefminister of UP should check the factsbefore issuing any statement otherwiseshe would also become irrelevant for theUP politics.

“In the case in which Mayawati said

that the government has threatened, itis in fact the arguments between thelawyers of the two parties,” Singh said,asking Mayawati to first check the factsthat it was the victim's lawyer who firstmisbehaved.

He said the Yogi Adityanath gov-ernment was known for taking quickaction in criminal cases and Mayawaticould also not deny this.

Singh took a jibe at Mayawati, cau-tioning her that people around her weretrying to improve their image by giv-ing her wrong facts.

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Advocating quality disposal of people’sproblems, Chief Minister Yogi

Adityanath said that in every district, thedistrict magistrate should regularly reviewthe problems and redress public griev-ances at the earliest.

Instructing officials to makeSampoorna Samadhan Diwas (TehsilDay) and Thana Day more effective,he said that problems should beresolved by the Revenue and Policedepartments expeditiously and satisfac-torily.

The chief minister was on Mondayreviewing the works of various depart-ments at a high-level meeting at his offi-cial residence.

He also said that there was a possi-bility of fire accidents in the summer sea-son and in view of this the revenue com-missioner’s office and revenue adminis-tration at the district should remainactive.

The chief minister directed that theFood Safety and Drug AdministrationDepartment actively examine the quali-ty of food items sold in markets in viewof the upcoming festival season. He alsoissued special instructions to check thequality of mustard oil being sold in themarkets.

The chief minister also instructedofficials to complete all the arrangementsin time for wheat procurement workbeing started under the price supportscheme from April 1, 2021. He said thatall the mandis should be inspected ran-

domly by forming teams to examine theirfunctioning on the spot.

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Following the promise of 200 units of free electricity by the Bharatiya JanataParty in its election manifesto to the voters of West Bengal, a similar demand

has been raised by the power consumers of Uttar Pradesh. The UP Power Consumer Forum has demanded the state government to

implement this first in UP as the BJP is in power in the state for the last fouryears. The BJP, in its election Sankalp Patra has also offered that no fixed chargeswill be levied on the new industrial units for six months and power tariff for thesmall and medium industries will be Rs 2 per unit for five years.

The UP Power Consumer Forum on Monday submitted a memorandum toEnergy Minister Shrikant Sharma in which it has said this should be implement-ed in UP first as the BJP is in power in the state.

President of UP Power Consumer Forum, Avadesh Verma, said the conces-sion in power tariff should be implemented in UP as the power distribution com-panies already owe Rs 19,535 crore to the power consumers.

Verma said to compensate the electricity consumers, the power consumerforum had been demanding gradual reduction of power tariff by 8 per cent forthree years or 25 per cent in one year.

He said so far the UP Power Corporation Limited had given no relief to theelectricity consumers and now the energy minister was duty bound to give themuch needed relief to three crore electricity consumers.

He said there had been no hike in power tariff in West Bengal since 2017-18 while the power tariff had been increased by as much as 27 per cent in UPever since the BJP came to power in the state in March 2017. He said in UP, urbanelectricity consumers were paying at the rate of Rs 5.50 per unit for 150 unitsconsumption, Rs 6 per unit for consumption up to 300 units and Rs 7 per unitfor consumption above 500 units.

He said besides the exorbitant power tariff, the consumers were also payingRs 110 per kilowatt as fixed charges.

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The total debt on the Uttar Pradeshgovernment is expected to rise by

more than 8 per cent, from Rs 5.65lakh crore in 2020-21 to Rs 6.11 lakhcrore in 2021-22, due to the econom-ic impact of the novel coronaviruspandemic.

Topping the debt is market bor-rowings of more than Rs 4.18 lakhcrore by the state government and itsagencies. However, the debt still con-forms to the Fiscal Responsibility andBudget Management (FRBM) Actwhich mandates states to tame aggre-gate debt below 30 per cent of theirgross state domestic product (GSDP).At an estimated Rs 6.11 lakh crore inthe financial year 2021-22, the debtratio stands at 28.1 per cent vis-à-visthe projected GSDP of Rs 21.72 lakhcrore.

Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtraaccount for the highest levels of gov-ernment debts in India. The top 10states make up for more than 70 percent of absolute debt in the country.The impact of the lockdown hasbeen felt in the states’ finances in termsof higher borrowings coupled with adip in the revenue collection.

UP's debt reduced from 29.2 percent in financial year 2020-21 to 28.1per cent of the GSDP, but market bor-rowings marked to the GSDPincreased from 18.8 per cent from Rs3.64 lakh crore in 2020-21 to Rs 4.18lakh crore in 2021-22. UP will issue

bonds worth Rs 41,000 crore toensure the financial stability of thestate energy distribution companies(discoms) battered by losses. Statepension/provident funds andsavings/reserve funds comprise Rs61,682 crore and Rs 22,826 crore of theestimated public debt.

Finance Minister Suresh Khannasaid despite the pandemic, the stategovernment was able to meet all itsnon committed expenditures likesalary, pension and all other expen-ditures on account of relief to the peo-ple affected by the pandemic.

The minister said against the tar-get of total revenue collection of Rs1.16 lakh crore during the current fis-cal 2020-21, the shortfall was as highas 33 per cent and the collection by theend of February this year is Rs1,01,910 crore.

He said during 2020-21, the GSTcollection was Rs 37,520 crore againstthe target of Rs 58,609 crore. The col-lection of VAT was Rs 18,674 croreagainst the target of Rs 24,488 croreor 76.3 per cent.

The collection of excise duty wasRs 25,703 crore against the target ofRs 33,700 crore or 76.3 per cent. Thecollection of stamp duty was Rs19,293 crore against the target of Rs21,140 crore. The collection frommotor and vehicle tax was Rs 5,165crore against the target of 5,165 croreand collection from land revenue wasRs 270 crore against the target of Rs770 crore.

Lucknow (PNS): The StateElection Commission hasmade it mandatory for districtmagistrates and district policechiefs to make personal inspec-tion visits to all the pollingbooths and take measures tocorrect the lapses if any.

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The results of the four states, includ-ing West Bengal, which are going to

polls might pose serious challenge forthe Congress leadership (read Gandhifamily) but it is also likely to createtremors for the Congress in UttarPradesh as the grand old political out-fit will hold a meeting of the veteranleaders under G-23 group led byGhulam Nabi Azad in Lucknow soonafter the results were announced in May.

The meeting under the banner of‘How to strengthen the Congress’ willbe called by the party’s 10 veteran lead-ers who were expelled for workingagainst the party last year. Sources saidthat with resentment over the style offunctioning of Congress general secre-tary and incharge of Uttar Pradesh,Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and UPCCchief Ajay Kumar Lallu refusing to die,the agitated leaders have now started tounite with the top ten leaders includingformer MP, former minister, formerMLA etc, who were shown the door bythe party high command for holding aseparate discussion on how to strength-en the party.

Former MLA Vinod Chowdhary,who was also removed from Congressalong with other senior leaders, claimedin a statement that many senior lead-ers of the party, including national andstate level office-bearers, district chiefs,former MLAs and MPs, were annoyedwith the functioning of Ajay KumarLallu and other party office-bearers. Healso cited a recent meeting called byAjay Kumar Lallu to discuss the strat-egy for fighting the coming panchayatpolls with full strength.

“When Lallu called 300 to 400senior leaders of the party to discuss thestrategy, hardly 30 to 40 leaders turnedup which is a clear pointer that the lead-ers, who had spend three to fourdecades in the party, are not happy withthe style of functioning of leadership,”

Chowdhary asserted, claiming thatthey all were in their touch with themand had showed concern over deterio-rating condition of the party.

Chowdhary said that to chalk outa strategy on how to go further so thatthe oldest political outfit could berevived with full strength, they wouldhold a grand meeting under the G-23group in Lucknow soon after the resultsof the poll-bound states are announcedin May. Sources said that the leaders areespecially agitated as Priyanka GandhiVadra has given the command of UttarPradesh to some leaders havingCommunist bent of mind and that theyare almost new to the party and knownothing about the ideology of theCongress.

The leaders feel that Lallu hasturned puppet under those Communistleaders as the latter have patronage ofPriyanka and no one dares to raise theirhead knowing the fate of senior lead-ers who called a separate meeting.

A senior leader in the party claimedthat G-23 under Ghulam Nabi Azad,Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal and otherleaders had already met in Kashmir andnow during the meeting with seniorleaders from Uttar Pradesh after theresults of four states are announced inMay, they would further launch a cam-paign to take over the party’s commandfrom the Gandhi family and bring insome other veteran leaders who couldgive new energy to the Congress keep-ing its ideology intact.

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The SEC has also directedthe field officers to file theaction taken report within thenext 24 hours.

State ElectionCommissioner Manoj Kumaron Monday held a meetingwith all district magistratesand district police chiefsthrough video conferencingand directed them to ensureeffective action against theanti-social elements. He askedthe district officers to ensureaction within 24 hours on allthe complaints they receivefrom the SEC. The districtofficers have also been direct-ed to make surprise inspectionsof the licensed firearms shops.

Kumar said it was theresponsibility of the districtofficers to ensure that the pan-chayat elections were conduct-ed in a transparent, peacefuland impartial manner. Hesaid in case of any lapses by theofficers, the district magistratewould ensure that responsibil-ity was fixed and punitiveaction was taken.

The state election com-missioner said in view of thehigh school and intermediateboard examinations, pollingbooths should be set up consid-ering the convenience of thestudents.

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Lucknow(PNS): In itscommitment to provideemployment and self-employ-ment in the state, the YogiAdityanath government isorganising employment fairs inall the 822 blocks of the state onMarch 24 next. TheEmployment Department incoordination with the districtadministrations is organisingthe ‘Rojgar Mela’ in urban andrural areas. “Under this, a tar-get has been set to provideemployment to at least 100people in each block on thatday. Thus, there is an attemptto provide employment to82,000 youth in a day,” the chiefminister said. In this fair, localand migrant workers will begiven information about socialand financial security schemes,registration process and also acard under Ayushman Yojana.

While giving the details ofemployment provided throughemployment fairs in the state,officials said that the MissionRojgar was launched last yearto provide jobs to peoplethrough employment, self-employment, skill developmentand apprenticeship. They saidnow this campaign had beenintensified and through it, aplan had been made to providejobs to youth in the govern-ment and private sector.

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Lucknow (PNS): ‘AtmanirbharBharat’ supports a massive package tofacilitate an economy based on five pil-lars, Industry Minister Satish Mahanasaid while speaking at the CII’s 2-dayannual review meeting which hadfocused sessions on advanced manu-facturing, real estate, sustainability,entrepreneurship, export and defence& aerospace.

“Defence and aerospace is animportant sector for the governmentand conscious efforts are being madeto help the country become a netexporter of defence from its presentstatus as a net importer,” he said.Pointing out that India is amongst thetop 25 defence exporters in the world,he urged the MSMEs to come forwardfor further growth of the sector.

ACS and CEO, UPEIDA, AwanishAwasthi said that the UP DefenceCorridor is a greenfield project andsubstantial land pockets are availablein Jhansi and Chitrakoot. He alsopointed out that start-ups in thedefence sector should get focusedattention, both from the state govern-ment as well as the Centre.

Awasthi said that a common

facility sector in this direction is alsoproposed close to the Lucknow air-port.

Chairman, CII Northern Region,Nikhil Sawhney said the northern partof the country has all essential ingre-dients of becoming a power. Some ofthe suggestions he made included lay-ing thrust for India to emerge as aglobal defence OEM, constructive

and transparent mechanism for tech-nology transfer, more model careercentres along the defence corridor fortraining manpower for specific needsto the sector, simplification of defenceprocurement procedure, integration oflocal companies with internationalplayers with an established global sup-ply chain and a level playing field forprivate players.

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PUBLIC NOTICE

I have changed my name fromJUBAID Ali to JUVED Ali for allfuture purpose, Juved Ali S/oMurtuza Husain R/O 197-CJareeb chowki, AnwarganjRailway Colony, Kanpur.

PUBLIC NOTICE

I, Shanti Joshi, W/o JagmohanChandra Joshi, R/o 12/543 IndiraNagar, Lucknow, hereby informthat the original Allotment Letterand Kabja letter of House No.12/543, Indira Nagar, Lucknow,issued by Avas Vikas Parishad,Lucknow, has been lost.

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PUBLIC NOTICE

I, GITA DEVI, W/O No.-JC481853 H NB/SUB ANILKUMAR SINGH, R/o Vill-Tushour, PO-Rajepur, Tehsil-Amratpur, Distt- Farrukhabad,UP - PIN- 209621, which hasbeen changed name as peraffidavit, has been changedGITA DEVI to GEETA DEVI,which was approved on20.03.2021, District Court,Prayagraj, UP.

NOTICE

I Kaushal Kishoer Gupta R/O521/175 A Bada Chand GanjMahanagar Lucknow declarethat I have changed my son’sname from Naksh Gupta to ParvGupta for all future purposes.

NOTICE

I have lost my original saledeed of Serial No. 5603 dated18.08.1977, sale deed of ser-ial No. 5463 dated 26.10.1960of H. No. 124/B/207 GovindNagar loss on dated15.03.2021 any misuse of thisdocument will be invalid.Gurutek Singh 9151757694.

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PUBLIC NOTICE

It is notified for the informationthat my original qualifying exam-ination certificate of main, seniorsecondary examination of year2015 and Roll No.5643733issued by CBSE has beenactually lost. Name of the can-didate Shubham Rawat, FullAddress/Tel. Flat No. 101,Shakti Tower, 6285/362,Shakti Nagar, Indira Nagar,PIN-226016, 7060755263.

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Public Notice is given about loss ofOriginal sale deed dtd. 02.06.2011 inrespect of plot No. 23 part of aarajee No.838, Singhpur Kachhar Area 120 sq.yrds.duly registered in the name of AjeetSachan S/o Shivkaran Sachan in theoffice of Sub Registrar, Kanpur, Policereport about said loss has been lodged.

Housing Loan over said property isunder consideration by the LIC HFL. Ifany one has any objection/claim oversaid property, same can be represent-ed before B.N. Bajpai Advocate (Mob.No. 09450514381) within 15 days of pub-lication of this Notice.

(B.N. Bajpai)Advocate

Civil Court, Kanpur Nagar.

PUBLIC NOTICE

COURT NOTICECITATION (BY ADVERTISEMENT)

(Chapter XXX, Rule-21)IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE

AT ALLAHABADORIGINAL JURISDICTION

TESTAMENTARY AND INTESTATEJURISDICTION

TESTAMENTARY CASE NO. 18 OF 2019IN THE MATTER OF

THE GOODS OFLate Shobh Nath Yadav and Late

Smt. Chandra Kala Devi W/o Late ShobhNath Yadav R/O Village BarammanpurJamaka Tehsil Kerakat District-Jaunpur.....................................Deceased

Sanjay Kumar Yadav.................petitioner

WHEREAS an application has beenmade by Sanjay Kumar Yadav Son ofShobh Nath Yadav R/O Vil lageBarammanpur Jamaka Tehsil KerakatDistrict Jaunpur, for the probate of the will( or Letters of Administration to the estate)of Late Shobh Nath Yadav deceased, whodied at Barammanpur, Jamaka, Jaunpur,on 07.02.2015 & Late Smt. Chandra KalaDevi deceased, who died at Barammanpur,Jamaka, Jaunpur on 29.10.2017 ANDWHEREAS, the 05th day of May, 2021 hasbeen fixed for hearing of the said applica-tion. THIS CITATION is issued calling uponall persons claiming to have any interestto come and see the proceedings if theythink fit before the grant of probate (orLetters of Administration).

Given under my hand and the seal ofthe Court this 25th day of February, 2021.

DEPUTY REGISTRARHIGH COURT, ALLAHABAD

Office of the Superintending Engineer,Sultanpur-Amethi Circle, PWD, Sultanpur

E-mail ID- [email protected]

E-Tender Notice [II Call]�/�! %E2<> �)$��"�"�FG�<2" �(��! H>E<"1<2"2>

On behalf of Hon'ble Governor, U.P., S.E. Sultanpur Amethi Circle P.W.D. Sultanpur invites online bids for thefollowing work from the eligible contractors registerd in UPPWD.Sl. Division Name of Work Estimated Bid Cost of Date of CategoryNo. Name Cost (Rs. In Security Document Completion of eligible

Lacs) with (Rs. in (in Rs.) (including registeredGST Lacs) rainy contractors

season)1 2 3 4 5 6 7 81 C.D. Construction of Harijan Basti 90.02 6.51 Tender Cost 4 Month A,B

Amethi Dakkhin link road from km + Stationary2 of Kadu Nala Link road Charge+GST

(Rs. 2714.00)The bid can be seen and downloaded online from 24.03.2021 and can be uploaded up to 12:00 Noon of 30.03.2021.

The Technical bid shall be opened on 30.03.2021 at 12:30 Noon.All the conditions related to bid can be seen onhttp//etender.up.nic.in

(Ravi Kant Rajak)Superintending EngineerSultanpur-Amethi Circle

PWD. SultanpurFor and behalf of Governor of UP

UP. 162667 Date 20-3-2021��I��;��7.www.upgov.nic.in ��,�&J��4

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Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath

has asked officials concerned totake caution towards COVID-19, saying that an effectivesystem of prevention and treat-ment from the novel coron-avirus should be maintained.

The chief minister was onMonday reviewing the lock-down unlock at a high-levelmeeting at his official residencehere. He emphasised that peo-ple should be constantly madeaware of ways to prevent coro-navirus by social distancingand mandatory use of masks inpublic places. The chief minis-ter stressed that there should beinfrared thermometer, pulseoximeter and rapid antigentest facility at railway stations,bus stations, and airports. Hesaid Covid tests should be con-ducted at full capacity alongwith contact tracing.

Directing the officials toconduct Covid vaccination asper the guidelines and order ofthe Government of India, thechief minister said that the vac-cination campaign should beregularly reviewed by all thedistrict magistrates and chiefmedical officers.

“The IntegratedCommand and Control Centreshould be effectively operatedand a wing should be createdin it to inform people aboutvaccination,” he said.

Meanwhile, DistrictMagistrate Abhishek Prakashon Monday issued directivesfor ensuring 100 per cent con-tact tracing and vaccinations toprevent the spurt in Covidcases in Lucknow. In a surpriseinspection of the IntegratedControl and Command Centreon Monday, the DM said theyare focusing on four things,including 100 per cent contacttracing & vaccination, shiftingof patients to hospitals throughambulances and callingpatients in home isolation.

“We are collecting vaccina-tion data at the Integrated

Control and Command Centreso that the drive is carried outsuccessfully,” he said. He alsoreviewed the works being doneat the centre, such as surveil-lance, hospital allotment,ambulance allotment and RRTteams.

He also nominated theCDO as the nodal officer forthe centre. He asked the offi-cials to remain alert to the sit-uation and also issued direc-tions that through the publicaddress system, people shouldto be made aware of precau-tions. The DM told the officialsto ensure the availability ofinfrared thermometers andpulse oximeters at the airportand railway stations.

ADM KP Singh said all the

contacts of Covid-19 patientsin the district should be traced.“All these contacts must also betested. We are sanitising theaffected areas and barricadingthem within 24 hours of casedetection,” he pointed out.

Singh said that ten teamsof the police and districtadministration inspectedrestaurants, malls, dharamsha-las, shopping areas, complex-es on Monday. The teamsasked people to mask up andpractise social distancing.

Asked about people open-ly flouting the Covid protocolseverywhere, he said they areholding awareness campaignsregularly and visiting privateoffices. “Strict action will betaken if Covid protocols are

not followed. All ADMs,SDMs, along with police teams,checked all the crowded places,including bakeries and sweetshops,” he said. He added thatmeetings were being presidedover on a daily basis by the DMat the Integrated Control andCommand Centre.

President of Adarsh VyaparMandal Sanjay Gupta said theyhave been carrying out aware-ness campaigns and appealingto shop-keepers to followCovid guidelines. “We are alsocarrying out campaigns at var-ious crossings and distributingmasks,” he added.

Meanwhile, director ofRam Manohar Lohia Instituteof Medical Sciences Dr AKSingh pointed out that thenumber of patients hasincreased. “We had reducedthe capacity when we had veryfew patients because there wasno point in using the hospitaland manpower. We have only50 beds at the moment andalmost all are occupied. Now,we will have to increase ourcapacity to 200,” he said.

He insisted that they fore-saw the increase in the num-ber of cases. “Right now, thereare only three Covid hospitals(KGMU, RMLIMS andSGPGI) and if the numberscontinue to increase, the num-ber of private hospitals will alsohave to be increased as in thepast,” he added.

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Liquor sellers in Uttar Pradesh are up in armsover no refund of licence fee to owners of

the shops which remained closed for 45 daysduring lockdown last year. They haveannounced to stage a protest on April 9. Theywill hand over a memorandum of demandsto the chief minister and excise ministerthrough excise officers of each district in thestate. Addressing mediapersons on Monday,president of Liquor Sellers’ Welfare Association(LSWA) SP Singh said the shops remainedclosed for 45 days during lockdown last yearbut the government did not refund thelicence fees despite repeated demands by theshop-owners. However, the shop-owners stillhave hopes pinned on the government as thenew session will start in a few days,” he said.

LSWA general secretary Kanhaiya LalMaurya said the government owes over Rs 900crore to different shop-owners who haddeposited the licence fees in March last year.

“The shop-owners could not do businessdue to the lockdown and faced losses. Thelicense fee was neither refunded to the shop-

owners nor was it adjusted. It caused huge loss-es to the liquor sellers. In the year 2020-21, theliquor business proved to be a poor deal. Thesellers across UP are rightfully seeking a refundof the licence fee,” he said.

Giving details of the arrears, Maurya saidsome of the shop-owners had deposited overRs 10 lakh as licence fee. “They could do nobusiness due to the lockdown as the shopsremained shut. While other institutes adjust-ed the fee, the Excise department neitheradjusted the licence fee nor gave extra time tothe sellers to sell the goods and make up fortheir losses. Now, they are in a soup,” he said.

He added that liquor sellers continued topetition their cases to higher authorities in thestate government but their pleas fell on deafears. “Now, the new session is going to startand if the sellers do not get their licence feeback, it will be great injustice to them,” he said.

LSWA media incharge Devesh Kumar andliquor trader Shiv Kumar Jaiswal said the liquorsellers and shop-owners would sport black armbands as a mark of protest on April 9 andwould also take out a foot march to press theirdemands.

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Amidst the second comingof Covid-19, the Lucknow

division of North-EasternRailway has set up testingcamps at different stationswhere all the passengers arebeing made to undergo rapidantigen and RT-PCR tests.

A spokesman of NER,Lucknow, said the camp isbeing run by the teams ofhealth and district administra-tion. He said that administra-tion of the districts fallingunder NER’s Lucknow divisionhave asked for a report on pas-sengers’ manifesto from rail-ways. “As per the directive ofthe district administration, weare providing them details ofpassengers like their names,addresses and mobile numberson a daily basis,” he said.

The spokesman said rail-ways is also providing the dis-trict administration with themanpower for these camps.

The NER has also startedconducting checking at differ-ent platforms. The passengersare no longer allowed to enterthe railway station premiseswithout masks. “Security per-sonnel caught 59 people with-out masks. They were fined Rs100 each and warned of thehazards of moving aroundwithout masking up,” thespokesperson said.

The NER has also issued anadvisory, asking the officialsconcerned to enforce Covid-19guidelines. The passengers have

been asked not to spit on plat-forms, inside the trains andinside railway station premis-es. They also have been askedto practise social distancingwhile travelling or waiting fortrains. The passengers havealso been asked not to sharetheir personal belongings likemobile phones, clothes, towels,food items etc with others andcontact the railway officialsimmediately if they have anycomplaints like coughing,

sneezing or fever.Also, the NER has asked its

frontline staff to follow theCovid-19 protocols withoutfail. “We are also making pas-sengers aware of the vaccina-tions, preventive measures tostop the spread of coronavirusthrough different posters, ban-ners and public address sys-tems. Our helpline number‘139’ is also available,” thespokesperson said.

The Lucknow division of

Northern Railway has alsomade similar arrangements.

An official said thatRailway Board officials havebeen holding discussions todecide the course of actionregarding train operations andother issues. “Presently, therailway is running special trainswith the number of passengersequal to that of seats/berthsavailable, and the same isexpected to continue till furtherorders,” he said.

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ACivil hospital doctor hastested positive even after

receiving two vaccine doses.Chief medical superintendentDr SK Nanda confirmed thatDr Nitin Mishra, posted in theemergency area of the hospi-tal, tested positive eventhough he got his first vaccinedose on February 15 and thesecond on March 16. DrMishra tested positive forcoronavirus infection onMarch 20. Dr Mishra had

already gone on a leave as hewas not feeling well when hetested positive.

“Currently, he is in homeisolation and his contacts arebeing tested,” Dr Nanda said.However, he added that itwas not surprising because theantibodies take at least a weekor ten days to develop after the second vaccine doseis administered.

Medical experts said ithas been stated time and againthat one should take precau-tions even after vaccination.

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Police claimed to have bust-ed a gang honey-trapping

people in Bazaarkhala policestation area on Monday. Twowomen among four accusedwere arrested and the policerecovered a high-end car witha hooter fitted atop and an‘MLA’ sticker pasted on it.There was also the nationalemblem embossed on the reg-istration number plate of thecar. The police also recovereda cigarette lighter, similar to atoy pistol, from the possessionof the accused.

Those arrested were iden-tified as Rizwana Khan aka Riaof Vikas Nagar, Neha Majhar ofMaharashtra, Sohail Rajput ofMumbai and Firoz Sheikh ofMaharashtra. The policeclaimed that a case of fraud inwhich an unsuspecting personwas duped was also worked outwith the arrest of the accused.

However, the arrest cameas a fluke to the police teamthat was tipped about the

accused who were sittinginside a car parked in a seclud-ed area near Aishbagh railwaystation early morning onMonday.

ADCP (West) RajeshSrivastava said the police weretipped off about the gang andits criminal activities by theinformer. “The team roundedthem up and interrogatedthem at the police stationwhere they confessed to theircrime,” he said.

Describing the modusoperandi, the ADCP said thewomen members in the gangused to make calls to people toseduce them. They wouldmake video/audio clips of theconversations and then black-mail their victims.

The ADCP said theaccused had trapped severalpeople in the past. “They usedto have private meetings withunsuspecting people and cap-ture the proceedings and con-versations in camera. Theywould then blackmail the vic-tims for extortion,” he said.

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Another shooter in the VibhutiKhand shootout case fell in police

dragnet on Monday. Inspector ChandraShekhar Singh said Mustafa aka Buntywas nabbed form Polytechnic crossingfollowing a tip-off. “The teams werekeeping a tab on his movement and hislocation was traced near Polytechnic.We rounded up him and brought himto the police station where he is beinginterrogated,” Singh said.

Sources said Mustafa was alsonamed in another sensation murdercase in Baghpat and was on police radar.“His name figured in the sensationalmurder of former block pramukh(Mau) Ajit Singh in Vibhuti Khandpolice station area,” they said.

Mustafa’s name surfaced after thepolice started a probe into the Ajit Singhmurder case and got their hands onprime shooter Girdhari Vishwakarmaaka Kanhaiya.

Girdhari was later killed in anencounter in Vibhuti Khand police sta-tion area. Earlier, he was arrested byDelhi Police and challaned for carryingillegal arms. He was brought toLucknow on a court’s order for inter-rogation. The needle of suspicion hadalso turned to former MP DhananjaySingh and the police had issued anarrest warrant against him.

Meanwhile, a case of dowry death

was registered in connection with theincident in which a woman, identifiedas Afsa Khan, was found dead onSunday. According to police, Afsa’sbrother Shadab of Kakori said that he,along with his brother, went to meet herat her in-laws’ house in Chowk onMarch 21 and were told that she haddied. “We took her to a hospital whereshe was declared brought dead,” he said.He alleged that Afsa was being torturedby her husband, brothers-in-laws andothers for dowry ever since she got mar-ried in 2019. “She used to tell us abouther sufferings and we tried our best tohelp settle the issues. However, her in-laws continued to torture her andfinally killed her,” he alleged.

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Thieves struck at a house inPGI police station area anddecamped with cash and orna-ments. Police registered a caseon the complaint of the houseowner on Monday.

Vidhu Shekhar Pandey ofVrindavan Colony told thepolice that he, along with hisfamily, had gone to Kanpur forsome work on March 17. “Wereturned on March 21 andfound the house burgled. Thethieves had made off withornaments, cash and othervaluables,” he said.

In another case, thievesmade off with stole an invert-er and other items from thehouse of a lawyer inThakurganj police station area.Kamrendra Singh of BharawanKala locality in the area said hewas staying in Husainganj oflate and his house inThakurganj was locked. Hesaid he was informed by neigh-bours about the theft.

Lucknow (PNS): A fortnight afterthe daring robbery at a jeweller’sshop in Ashiyana, police said onMonday that they have got animportant clue and they are closeto working out the case.

Police spokesman Nitin Yadavsaid the teams working on theAshiyana case have got a vital clueand the case is expected to becracked soon. On March 14, thepolice had made the sketch of arobber public and sought helpfrom citizens. The police had alsoannounced a cash prize to anyonetipping them off about the robber.

In the follow-up of the case, thepolice teams are camping in neigh-bouring districts and also inLakhimpur Kheri. On the fatefulday (March 8), three armed robbershad looted 500 gram gold and 10kg silver ornaments from a jew-eller’s shop in Ashiyana in broaddaylight. The shop, owned byDeepak Rastogi of Ashiyana(Sector H), is situated on theground floor of his house. Around

3:30 pm, three persons reached theshop and one of them, who waswearing a helmet, asked for apeace of ornament. Later, two of hisaides with their faces covered alsoentered the shop and held the shop-owner at the gun-point. The rob-ber later held his minor son hostageand threatened to shoot him.

Meanwhile, a woman wasfound hanging inside her house inSarojininagar on Monday. Thoughpolice claimed that the womanended her life, they could notexplain the reason.

Ranjula Sahu (28) of LDAColony (Sector-F) in Sarojininagarwas found hanging from the ceil-ing with a saree tied around herneck. Her husband runs a groceryshop. A huge number of residentsflocked to the scene and later, localcorporator Vimal Tiwari calledpolice. The police sent the body forautopsy and started further inves-tigation. The police said they weretrying to find out what made thewoman end her life.

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Atotal of 147 people testedpositive for coronavirus

infection in Lucknow and 542in the state on Monday. In thestate capital, 45 patients recov-ered even as the number ofactive cases soared to 761. Thefresh cases included 20 fromIndiranagar, 14 fromGomtinagar, 12 from Ashiyana,and 10 each from Hazratganj,Aliganj, Manaknagar &Vikasnagar.

Across the state, the newcases included 34 from Varanasi,29 from Gautam Buddh Nagar,

25 from Meerut, 23 fromKanpur and nine fromGhaziabad, pushing the casetally to 6,08,076. However, onlya single death reported from thestate was from Kanpur. Besides,177 patients defeated Covid-19,taking the recovery figures to5,95,920. The number of activecases in the state climbed to3,396.

Meanwhile, district immu-nisation officer Dr MK Singhsaid a total of 13,409 peoplewere vaccinated in the district,including 5,196 senior citizensand 1,733 those aged above 45years with co-morbidities.

Besides, 986 frontline workersgot their first vaccine dosewhile 3,887 the second dose. Asfor health workers, 904 weregiven the first dose and 703 thesecond.

State immunisation officerDr Ajay Ghai said the gapbetween first and second dosesof Covishield has been increasedfrom 4-6 weeks to 6-8 weeks. “Anew study shows that if the gapis more between the two doses,the vaccine will be more effec-tive. Earlier, the gap betweentwo doses of vaccine was 28-42days, but now it have beenincreased to 42-56 weeks, as perinstructions of the Central gov-ernment,” he said.

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Miffed with the decisiontaken by the district

administration to withdrawthe security of former stateminister and senior leader ofCongress Party Ajay Rai, theCongress leaders on Mondaydemanded the restoration ofsecurity as he has life threat.

A delegation of party led byformer chairman of UP BarCouncil Harishankar Singhand president of party cityunit Raghvendra Chaubey metthe Deputy Inspector General(DIG)/Senior Superintendentof Police (SSP) Amit Pathak inhis office, here and expressedit’s grave annoyance overthe withdrawal of security ofRai.

Rai has continuously raisedobjection against the faultypolicies of both Central and

state government and also putup strong protest against thewrong doing being carried outin the parliamentary con-stituency of the Prime Ministerin the name of development,Singh and Chaubey said blam-

ing, the district administrationwithdrew the security of Raibeing political motivated.

Rai is an eye-witness in themurder case of his brotherAwadhesh Rai and the MLAfrom Mau Mukhtar Ansari,

currently is in jail in Punjab, ismain accused in this murdercase, the delegation statedadding, as he has to go toPrayagraj for the hearing inspecial court (MP-MLA) andthus, there is threat to his life.So, the security of Rai shouldbe restored, the delegationdemanded.

Singh and Chaubey said,the police chief of the districthas assured of taking the mat-ter positively.

Both Singh and Chaubeyalso threatened that the advo-cates and Congressmen wouldlaunch an agitation if the dis-trict administration failed inmeeting out the demand at theearliest.

The delegation comprisedmainly with Om Prakash Ojha,Fatahat Hussein, ManishMorelia, Manish Singh andAshok Singh.

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Centre for Genetic Disorders(CGD), Banaras Hindu

University (BHU) has observedWorld Down Syndrome Dayon Sunday. This event was tospread awareness and promoteinclusion of the DownSyndrome persons into main-stream society. The chief guestwas Prof AN Tripathi (retiredprofessor, IIT-BHU). Thekeynote lecture was deliveredby Prof Jennifer MarshallGraves, distinguished professor,La Trobe University, Australia.Prof Parimal Das, coordinator,BHU briefed about contribu-tions of CGD in research, diag-nostics and service to society.

Prof Rajiva Raman, distin-guished professor, Zoology,BHU, explained the impor-tance of he day. He emphasisedon the importance of the moth-ers age and role of nutrition asone of the risk factors and howmodulation of these factorscan help in prevention of thedisease. He also mentionedhow special these children arewith their cognitive abilities.

Dr Tulsi, founder, DevaInternational Society for ChildCare (NGO) said ‘the challengeis not to teach these childrenbut to empower them. It’s alsoa challenge to mentally supporttheir families. Hence, psycho-logical intervention is very

useful and taking them bothtogether is the best foot for-ward’. Dr Vibha Mishra, gynae-cologist, Uphar Nursing Home(Varanasi) stressed on the factthat preconception monitoringis very instrumental for newmothers. Mothers-to-be shouldtake proper supplements spe-cially Vitamin B12 and VitaminD so as to prepare a healthywomb for the life they areplanning to bring on the plan-et. On the occasion, artdrawn by Down Syndromekids was given as a token ofappreciation to the dignitariesand also exhibited in CGD,BHU.

BJP LEADER FOR ‘ONENATION ONE ELECTION’:Rajya Sabha MP and nationalgeneral secretary of BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) BhupendraYadav said that the aim ofIndian democracy is good gov-ernance and not just to ensureparticipation in power. ‘Timeand again the electionremained only for the partici-pation in power, which affectsthe public interest the most,’ hesaid while delivering keynoteaddress in a webinar organisedon ‘One Nation One Election:Possibilities and Challenges’organised by the intellectualorganisation Policy RootResearch Foundation here onSunday.

Yadav said that ideology-based elections are getting lost

in politics, if we really want anideology-based election sys-tem, then we have to take theinitiative to hold electionstogether.

‘The question of the feasi-bility of one nation one electionis always questioned but in the1950s to 1960s, elections to theLok Sabha as well as the RajyaSabha were held simultaneous-ly,’ he said, adding that there isa confusion among the region-al parties about the simultane-ous elections that they willsuffer political damage, where-as this is not the case. States likeOdisha, Telangana are directexamples of this, where the LokSabha and assembly electionswere held simultaneously, butthe election result has alsochanged this perception of thepeople.

In the end, he said that allpolitical parties will have tocome together for the electiontogether because it is a matterof public interest and not ofparty interest. Frequent electioncode of conduct affects publicwelfare work and the public hasto bear the brunt of it, so thepeople of the country alsoneed to unite for it.

Earlier, Policy Rootfounder Sandeep Chaurasiawelcomed the guest speaker.Pratap Bahadur Singh con-ducted the proceedings, whilethe vote of thanks was pro-posed by Vidyasagar. Technical

support was done by SiddharthUpadhyay and Sumit.

30 MORE TEST POSI-TIVE: There is continue anincrease in the COVID-19cases. As many as 30 more havetested COVID-19 positive,increasing the tally of con-firmed cases to 22,221 byMonday evening. With noCovid death being reported inthe last 24 hours, the death tollremains at 377.

With seven Covid patientshaving been cured in home iso-lation and three in Covid hos-pital, the number of COVID-19 patients recovered in the dis-trict so far is 21,671 including18,680 in home isolationand 2,991 in Covid hospitals.As present 173 active casesare under treatment in thedistrict.

YOUTH CAMP HELD:Shree Aurobindo Society,Varanasi Chapter on Mondayorganised Youth Camp on‘Eternal consciousness &Personality development’ atseminar hall in Arya MahilaPG College, here.

Addressing the participat-ing girls, the trainers said, ‘Theyouths can know their eternalqualities through longing, sac-rifice and dedication’. andadded, ‘The youths can achieveof their actual goals of life bydeveloping their eternal qual-ities such as politeness, courageand allegiance.’

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Aman and his son werearrested in Pratapgarh in

connection with four hoochdeaths in Manoharpur RampurDabi area on March 14 and 15.

On being tipped off, ateam of Sangramgarh policecaught hold of Nayapurwa res-ident Babulal Patel and hisson Aman near Rajesa crossingwhile they were planning toescape. The police also seizedillegal chemicals for manufac-turing spurious liquor, �1,145cash and other articles fromtheir possession. The duo wasinvolved in the manufacturingand sale of spurious liquorfrom their house, police said.

During interrogation,Babulal confessed to sellingspurious liquor pouches nearShantinagar area, where fourpersons died and several oth-ers were left injured. He alsoadmitted that he and his sonused to prepare illegal liquor attheir house in Nayapurwa vil-lage.

He said he used to bringOP chemical liquor from anearby village and add threelitres of water to it to prepareseveral pouches. A pouchcontains 200ml liquor.

Station Officer(Sangramgarh) AshutoshTiwari said: ‘On the night ofMarch 13, four persons fell illafter consuming the spuriousliquor bought from Babulal

Patel. All of them died betweenMarch 14 and 15.’

‘Following the incident, anFIR under section 304 and 272of IPC, section 60 (A) of ExciseAct and SC\ST Act was regis-tered,’ he said.

O L D N O T E SRETURNED: The old notes of�1,000 and �500 have beenclosed since Prime MinisterNarendra Modi hadannounced the ban on the cir-culation of these notes. Peoplewere also given time to depositold notes in banks. After thatthe final time was also deter-mined. Thereafter, action wasalso instructed on being caughtwith old notes. At the sametime, there has been a panic inthe police department due tothe receipt of old � 1,000 and�500 notes in Prayagraj. Itsinvestigation has started.

In a recent development inPrayagraj, a cousin returned�47,000 old notes on thedemand of the loaned moneyin Masika village of the indus-trial area in Naini. Due to thereturn of old notes, the matterstarted catching up. The policehave started investigating thecase on the victim's writtencomplaint. Due to the receiptof such a large amount ofmoney, the police are enquir-ing about the money-lender atthe police station for investiga-tion.

As per Nankay Lal Harijanson of late Badrinath of

Industrial Area, he had lent �1.27 lakh to his cousin ManglaPrasad resident of Maheva formarriage six years ago. Whenthe Nankay required money, heasked for his money. It isalleged that at first, MangalaPrasad gave a false assurance topay off the lent money. For this,the nankey called a panchayatand Mangala agreed to pay offthe loaned money. It is allegedthat he gave three old notes of� 1,000 and the rest of � 500 oldnotes to him. In total it was �47000.

According to the victim,Mangla Prasad said that youhad given us the same money,which he was returning, onrefusing to take old expirednotes. This upset the wholefamily. Nankey told the vil-lagers that their note is equiv-alent to paper for him.Nanake's wife Ramkali allegedthat her brother-in-law hasescaped from the house afterreturning the money. Whenthey did not see any way, thenthey have given the police acomplaint in this regard. Thepolice started the investigationafter getting old discontinuednotes. Naini police said ManglaPrasad is absconding fromhome. The people of his fam-ily were called and questioned.Mangla Prasad will soon beunder police custody. Thenthe matter will be crystal clear,police added.

DISTRIBUTED: Minister

of Labour, Employment,Coordination UP, SwamiPrasad Maurya on Mondaydistributed �14.76 crore among8560 building labourers whileinaugurating the welfare pro-gramme for the buildinglabourers at Motilal NehruNational Institute ofTechnology. He said that theUnion as well as the StateGovernment of Uttar Pradeshas committed to uplift the liv-ing standard of the labourers.

Welfare schemes are reach-ing the doorstep of the benefi-ciary in Modi/Yogi regime reli-giously by eliminating the mid-dle man, and the drive foropening bank accounts hasproved to be a boon for thepoor, said the minister.

To ensure maximum regis-tration of labourers the feehas been reduced from � 50 to�20, while in Corona periodregistration was done free ofcost.

TRAINING: Poll relatedtraining of zonal and sectormagistrate in connection withthe three-tier Panchayat elec-tions-2021, will begin fromMarch 24, and strict action willbe initiated against the absen-tees, forewarned the CDOShipu Giri. The training of thezonal and sector magistrates,including the reserved ones,will be held in the Multi-Purpose Hall of Motilal NehruEngineering College from 12noon to 2 pm.

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The Allahabad High Courthas reserved its judgement

on a petition challenging main-tainability of a civil suit pend-ing before the Varanasi districtcourt with respect to land titledispute in the KashiVishwanath-Gyanvapi Masjidcase.

Justice Prakash Padiareserved judgment after hear-ing the petitioner, AnjumanIntazamia Masazid (mosquecommittee), Varanasi, andother respondents.

The land title disputerelates to the Gyanvapimosque, which was allegedlybuilt on the ruins of KashiVishwanath Temple.According to the suit filed bythe temple’s trust in 1991 inVaranasi district court, the

temple was destroyed byMughal emperor Aurangzebin 1664 and the mosque wasbuilt using the remains of thetemple.

In the instant petition,Anjuman Intazamia Masazid,Varanasi has challenged themaintainability of the saidsuit taking the plea that Placesof Worship (SpecialProvisions) Act, 1991, bars fil-ing of suit or any other legalproceedings with respect toconversion of religious char-acter of any place of worship,existing on August 15, 1947.

Hence, in this backdrop ofthe situation, it was argued onbehalf of the petitioner thatthe impugned (under chal-lenge) suit has been filed incontravention of the aboveprovision and proceedings,therefore, it should be

quashed on this ground alone.The petitioner has made

reference to the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid case, where theapex court has observed,‘Historical wrongs cannot beremedied by the people takinglaw in their own hands. Inpreserving the character ofplaces of public worship,Parliament has mandated inno uncertain terms that histo-ry and its wrongs shall not beused as instruments to oppressthe present and the future.’

Earlier last year, the HighCourt had stayed the decisionof the Varanasi district courtto proceed with the hearing ofthe Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque land titledispute.

It is relevant to mentionthat after the said suit wasfiled in 1991, the Allahabad

High Court had imposed aninterim order staying thehearing of the dispute in ques-tion. However, in February2020, the district court heldthat the stay order stoodvacated in the light of aSupreme Court verdict, whichprovided that all stay orderswill come to an end after theexpiry of six months unless inan exceptional case by thespeaking order such stay isextended.

The district courtobserved that since the stayorder passed by the AllahabadHigh Court in 1998 had notbeen extended by a separateorder within six months, thestay was deemed to be vacat-ed and it could resume hear-ing of the case. The courtpassed this order on March15.

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Many functions were organ-ised on the occasion of

World Water Day on Monday.Under the auspices of the LokSamiti, an awareness rally wastaken out in Nagepur, a villageadopted by the Prime Ministerin his parliamentary con-stituency. On the occasion,children and villagers took apledge to save water by plant-ing saplings at Nand Ghar.People went door-to-door andmobilised the villagers towardsthe importance of water.Convenor of Lok SamitiNandlal Master said that thewater level in the area is con-tinuously decreasing while thewater usage is increasing con-stantly, so everyone have to savewater by changing one’s habitsand avoiding misuse of water.Shyamsunder Master, Amit,Panchmukhi, Vidya, Sambano,

Manjita, Sunil Master andmany others were also present.

The day was also observedat Krishi Vigyan Kendra(KVK) located at Rajiv GandhiSouth Campus (RGSC) ofBanaras Hindu University(BHU) at Barkachha onMonday. Joint Director(Agriculture), Vindhyachaldivision, Dr BK Singh inaugu-rated the function. He gave abrief overview of water conser-vation programmes inMirzapur district and high-lighted the increasing role ofthe district in water conserva-tion. He called for increasingpublic participation by movingtowards awareness of waterconservation.

The purpose of WorldWater Day, which has beencelebrated every year sinceMarch 22, 1993, is to reviewthe efforts being made forwater conservation, identifica-

tion of the people involved inthis effort and water conserva-tion measures to the majorityof the population. The KVKin-charge Prof Shriram Singhwelcomed the participants andstressed the need for microirrigation system. Givingdetails of the efforts beingmade by the centre in the con-text of water conservation, hecalled for more people to beassociated with water conser-vation programmes.

A power point presenta-tion on water conservationwas presented by undergrad-uate (agriculture) students ofRGSC in which they specifi-cally underlined the differencebetween the present availabil-ity of water for human use andthe total requirements and itspossible availability in future.They emphasised the needfor rainwater harvesting andits maximum use. Pushpendra

Tiwari of the Horticulturedepartment (Mirzapur) alsohighlighted the need for microirrigation methods in horticul-tural crops, emphasising theneed for water conservation.KVK scientist Prof SantPrasad, Dr Jai P Rai and Dr SKGoyal and Dr SN Singh alsoexpressed their views.

Meanwhile, under theaegis of Ideal Women's WelfareSociety and Youth Foundation,an oath was taken by the par-ticipants to save water as thereis no life without water.Children showed the impor-tance of drinking water fromthe earthen pots.

The speakers said that thewomen have to play animportant role in water con-servation because they useexcessive water in their dailyroutine. Bina Singh, SeemaChaudhary and many otherswere present.

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Dozens of Congress workerstook out a procession and

staged a dharna in Civil Linesto lodge protest against hike inthe prices of petrol, diesel,LPG and foodgrains onMonday.

They took out a short dis-tance procession from theNagar Nigam to the specifieddharma spot near All SaintsCathedral in Civil Lines raisinganti-government, anti-Modi,and anti-Yogi slogans. Thisprotest was organised jointly bythe district and the city units ofthe Congress with support ofyouth and students wings.

The demonstrators handedover a memorandum addressedto the President of India, toACM-II.

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Two persons of a familydied while three others

sustained serious injuries whena speeding truck collided headon with their car. The residentsof Naini were going toLucknow for the treatment ofa family member by car (UP 70FA 2431). The accident tookplace on Monday morningnear SJS School, Bhadikhar inRaebareli on Prayagraj-Lucknow highway.

Two persons— NirmalaSahu of Naini, 46, and AmanJaiswal, 22, died on the spot,while the injured Vansh Sahu,Kajal Sahu, and Kamlesh Sahuwere pulled out from the dam-aged car by the police with the

help of local residents andwere rushed to district hospi-tal of Rae Bareli.

The truck driver made asuccessful escape with his vehi-cle.

In yet another accident onNawab Yusuf Road Civil Linesnear Geep Factory in Prayagraja bike rider was killed. Here theculprit was a Nagar Nigamtruck which knocked down amotorcycle rider Aditya, 22.This accident took place inafternoon hours. The accidentvictim was going to Atala froma call centre with his friend ona bike when the Nagar Nigamtruck knocked him down.

ROAD ACCIDENT: In ashocking incident, two youthswere killed in a road accident

on Monday morning under theSarai Inayat police station inPrayagraj. The GT Road truckhit the bike heavily nearBikapur village. Both the bike-borne youths were killed in theaccident. Both were cousins.One belonged to Kanpur andthe other to Pratapgarh. Herethey used to sell clothes byhawking.

Naresh Sarai, a residentunder the Narbal police stationof Kanpur, lived in the Inayatpolice station area. Naresh's 18-year-old son Chhotu and hiscousin Pawan's (20) son ofBanwarilal also lived with him.He was a resident of Sobanshin Pratapgarh. Both lived inRamnathpur village under theSarai Inayat police station for

the last several years and usedto sell clothes in three areas.They all lived in Ramnathpurvillage in rented rooms.

Chhotu was second inthree brothers and Pawan wasthe eldest of two brothers. OnMonday morning, bothChhotu and Pawan took a biketo the petrol tank at Bikapur topick up petrol.

After this they were aboutto leave on the ferry. The truckgoing towards Handia hit thebike from the front. Both diedon the spot in this accident.By the time the people reachedthere the truck driver leftthe truck and absconded fromthe spot. Police registered acase on Naresh's written com-plaint.

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Northern Coalfields Limited(NCL)’s Central Hospital,

Singrauli, organised a free healthcamp recently where more than320 villagers were examined. Inthis camp organised in Birkunia,the medical team of CentralHospital, Singrauli, conductedhealth check-up of villagers anddistributed free medicines withconsultation as per need. Moreover sanitation

kits were also provided to vil-lagers on the occasion. In thecamp patients suffering fromhigh/low blood pressure, dia-betes, skin disease besides otherailments were examined andvarious health-related infor-mation was also given to the vil-lagers. Central Hospital’s DrSantosh Tiwari, Dr PrashantJose, Dr Midhat Ejaz and othermedical staff played an active

role in the successful organisation of the camp.

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AHindi workshop wasorganised for officers and

employees in the auditorium ofVindhya Hospital in NTPCVindhyachal. AssistantManager (Human Resource-Corporate Communicationand Rajbhasha) LM Pandeygave a lecture on Rajbhasha’sconstitutional provision con-cerning Rajbhasha policy,implementation of Act andpolicies, importance of

Rajbhasha, nature etc. In thisworkshop Chief MedicalOfficer (Vindhya Hospital) BCChaturvedi and other seniordoctors along with otheremployees of the department

were present. Chaturvedi saidthis workshop is very useful forpromotion of Hindi and shouldshould be organised from timeto time so that interest of peo-ple increased towards it.

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Keeping in mind the festivalsof Holi and Shab-e-Barat

on the same day the peacecommittee meeting was held atall police outposts as well aspolice stations in the district on

Sunday. Such meetings wereheld by officers in their areasand cops were directed tomaintain law and order incoordination with people.Thecops were directed to patrol the

entire area, identify those whocould create a nuisance andkeep a close watch over them.The SHOs were directed toremain alert till the festival andin case of any possibility of adispute inform the authoritieswithout any hesitation.

Addressing the meeting at CityKotwali ASP (City) SanjayKumar appealed to clerics toensure minimum role of policeduring the festival. He alsomade an appeal to follow

Covid-19 prevention guide-lines and maintain social dis-tancing. The meeting wasattended by local representa-tives and the reputed personsof the society.

INSTALLATION FUNC-TION: Deputy governor ofZone 5 Shailendra Katare whileaddressing the installationfunction of Rotaract Cluborganised under the aegis ofRotary Club Mirzapur Gaurav asthe chief guest on Saturday saidwe should instil spirit of socialservice among children. On theoccasion he administered theoath to the new team of RotaractClub in which Vikas Kushwahawas made the president andAbhishek Singh as secretary. Inhis address president RotaryClub Gaurav Ashish Mehrotrathe blessed the new body.Prominent among who gracedthe function were JaswinderSingh, Ravi Katare, DeepakKushwaha, Sandeep Jain andChandrashekhar Patel.

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Under the aegis of NorthEastern Railway Sports

Association (NERSA) theFourth Annual Sports andCultural Meet for officers andtheir families was organised atSyed Modi Railway Stadiumand Golf Course. On the lastday of the event on Sunday atGolf Club here closing andprize distribution ceremonywas organised. North EasternRailway (NER) GeneralManager Vinay Kumar Tripathihonoured the winner and run-ners-up teams in various com-petitions besides winner andrunners-up officers and theirfamilies by presenting prizes tothem. The Headquarters (HQ)Gorakhpur bagged the trophyfor Overall Championship.

Addressing the prize dis-tribution ceremony, the GMsaid seeing the enthusiasm ofall participating officials itseems that everyone is full ofenergy and zeal. One messagefrom this programme is that weare all one and the purpose ofall of us is also one, he said.NER should keep moving for-ward towards its goal with thisunity and interest. All of ustogether have to take NER to anew height, he said. DivisionalRailway Manager (DRM),Varanasi, VK Panjiaar,expressed gratitude on behalf ofthe three divisions and saidarrangements made by theofficers of the headquarterswere very good for which theydeserved thanks. Railway offi-cials and their families partic-ipated enthusiastically in thisprogramme and enjoyed itthoroughly. In the entire pro-gramme the DRMs of all thethree divisions, heads ofdepartments by remaining pre-sent along with their sportsofficers and families kept

encouraging the participants.The vote of thanks was

proposed by NERSA presidentand Rolling Stock EngineerYogesh Mohan while the func-tion was conducted by NERSAgeneral secretary and ChiefPublic Relations Officer(CPRO) Pankaj Kumar Singh.

Under this annual sportsand cultural meet in bad-minton competition in theboys up to 10 years and boys upto 16 years age group, boysdoubles, women singles, men50 up to years, men’s doublesup to 50 years and above etc, inbasketball competition womenand men, in the walkathoncompetition, men and womenup to 50 years of age andabove, in carrom competitionmen singles up to 21 years,women doubles up to 21 years,men and women singles over21 years, men’s and women’sdoubles, mixed doubles, inchess competition in menabove 21 years of age, in boysup to 21 years, in girls up to 21years and women above 21years, in golf competition —best grass, best net, nearest topin and largest drive, in tabletennis competition in boys’and girls’ singles up to 21years, 21-50 years men’s andwomen’s age groups, men andwomen above 50 years, men’s

doubles up to 50 years, men’sdoubles in the above 50 yearsage group, women’s doubles,mixed doubles, volleyball com-petition and in handball com-petition Izzatnagar divisionwas the winner while Varanasidivision was the runner-up.

The six-a-side box men’scricket competition, six-a-sidebox women’s cricket competi-tion, under women’s group fungames competition tug of war,musical chair (women), three-legged race for couples up to 50years age group and above,under lemon race competi-tion for girls and boys up to 10years and above, under sackrace competition for girls up to10 years and above, boys up toyears and above, under cultur-al competitions solo song foradults and children, groupsong for adults, group dance(adults), rangoli, mehndi andfancy dress competitions, chil-dren’s group song, adult groupsong qawwali and dance com-petitions were organised whosewinners and runner-up officersand their families were hon-oured by the GM by being pre-sented prizes. In the competi-tion the teams of NERHeadquarters remained dom-inant. On the basis of marks theoverall championship title waswon by NER HQ.

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Unidentified thieves struckat a locked house situated

in Semri Tola in JungleAyodhya Prasad village underKhorabar police station andtook away valuables by break-ing open its lock on Saturdaynight. On getting informationabout the theft in the morning,the neighbour immediatelyinformed the police about it.Thereafter the police launched

a hunt for the thieves.According to a report receivedhere, Pradeep and DilipNishad, residents of SemriTola, lived in Mumbai alongwith their family members.However, they had come homeduring the lockdown. Theyhad returned to Mumbai inFebruary with family afterlocking their house. On seeingthe lock broken in the morn-ing, their neighbour wasstunned and informed the

landlord about the theft.Ganesh Nishad, a resident ofBistauli village under theBelipar police station, a relativeof the landlord, later in a com-plaint lodged with the policestated goods worth �10 lakhhad been stolen from thehouse. Meanwhile KhorabarSHO Nasir Hussain said that awritten complaint had beenreceived in this connectionand after registering a case thematter was being investigated.

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Deputy Chief Minister DrDinesh Sharma said today

a self-reliant and progressiveIndia was showing the way tothe entire world and this waspossible due to the farsightedapproach and strong leadershipof Prime Minister NarendraModi.

Addressing media per-sons at the Circuit Househere on Monday, Dr Sharmasaid today India not onlysaved its people but had alsoprovided Covid vaccine tosave people across the globeand the whole world waspraising it for this.

Singing paean for ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath, DrSharma said the four years ofhis successful governance wasthe golden era in the historyof Uttar Pradesh. He said thechief minister chief minister

had laid a strong foundationdue to which the state wasmaking all-round progress inmany fields like education,health, industrial develop-ment, electricity, roads agri-culture and be it in any sphere,the floodgates of progress hadbeen opened. He said apartfrom the infrastructural devel-opment there had been a sub-stantial positive change in thelives of the common man.

The deputy chief ministersaid massive changes werebeing introduced in the fieldof education so as to prepareyouth who could be excellentin every field and could playa pivotal role in the construc-tion of an Independent India.

He said UP was consid-ered to be the biggest state ofthe country and today it wasgradually becoming a modelfor the other states. He saidthe future of the youth duringthe previous regimes was dark

and they had made everyeffort to keep them in totaldarkness of ignorance. Hesaid the Yogi government hadopened the golden doors ofemployment.

Dr Sharma said todaythere were massive job oppor-tunities for the youth and inthe past four years over fourlakh youths had been givenjobs in a transparent manner.He said during the COVID-19period, the labourers weregiven the maximum employ-ment in Uttar Pradesh.

He said underIndependent India, a total of1.25 crore employment wasextended. He said similarlyunder MNREGA, 1.10 crorelabourers got employmentwhile over 58,758 womenwere made Banking Sakhis forrural areas. He said today UPwas giving a big challengeeven to Bengaluru in the fieldof information technology.

Dr Sharma said a big datacentre had given employmentto 75 lakh people and similarlyfor startups, defence manu-facturing corridor and theODOP Scheme were also gen-erating job opportunities.

He said ever since theYogi government assumedoffice, it was making vitalchanges in the education fieldand with all this a New Indiawas coming up. He said theprevious government hadgiven a long rope to studentsto use unfair means in exam-inations but now it had beenstopped.

He said skill developmenthad worked wonders in UP.He said in UP, 79 governmentcolleges had been establishedand three universities wouldbe opened soon. He saiddevelopment had taken upwings and expressways, air-ports would reflect a devel-oped and ‘atulya’ Bharat.

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Uttar Pradesh Governor andChancellor of Chandra

Shekhar Azad University ofAgriculture and Technology,Anandiben Patel, while deliv-ering the 22nd Convocationaddress of the university atKailash Bhawan on Monday,extended her wishes to the suc-cessful candidates and advisedthem to always respect parentsand praised the increasingexcellence of girl students, say-ing it was a clear indication ofwomen empowerment.

She said it was true that theemerging trends showed thatwomen were now pursuinghigher education in a big way.

The Governor said the daywas being celebrated at WorldWater Day and thus the effortof the students should be toeducate oneself and save waterwhich was the most preciouscommodity. She said educationcould spread awareness andconvince people not to wastethis rare commodity.

She said India was a land ofagriculture and thus the farmuniversities had a major role toplay in this direction.

She praised the contribu-tion of this oldest agriculturaluniversity of Uttar Pradeshand said it was certainly amatter of pride that it hadadopted a bio-cultured village,Anuppur, and distributed studymaterial to 25 children of thesevillages.

She said the onus of creat-ing a spark of education inrural children rested on theshoulders of pass-outs of theuniversities. She laid emphasis

on quality farming, especiallyorganic farming. The chancel-lor advised them to improvethe presence of carbon ele-ments in soil and ensure reduc-tion of input cost of farming,saying organic farming wasthe only solution to this. Shesaid this alone could drastical-ly improve the profit margin offarmers.

She advised the students tonow give back the nation whatthe nation had given to them sothat the nation can progress.

Addressing the students,special guest of honour LakhanSingh Rajput said that currentlythere were over 576 agriculture

production committees in thestate and said the UP govern-ment was making more effortto improve it further whichwould prove to be highly ben-eficial for small and marginalfarmers and help improve theirprofits.

The Governor then felici-tated NITI Aayog ViceChairman Dr Rajiv Kumarwith an honoris causa degree.They then handed over themedals to the outstanding stu-dents along with the degrees.

A total of 14 studentsbagged the Chancellor’s goldmedals, 14 silver medals and 15bronze medals. The research

students who scored the high-est were given books as prizes.

Shailvi Verma and ArpitaSoni bagged three medals each.Out of the total 57 medals, 31were bagged by girls.

Vice Chancellor Prof DRSingh read out the university’sannual report.

Other faculty felicitatedincluded Dr Arvind KumarSingh, Dr Naushad Khan, DrDigvijay Dubey, Dr KhalilKhan, Dr Manoj Mishra, DrHG Prakash and Dr SP Sachan.

Books were released byChancellor AnandibenPatel and NITI Aayog vicechairman.

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Noted environmentalist DrRajesh Bajpai while

addressing the seminar onWorld Water Day at the MahilaMahavidyalaya on Mondaysaid the current generationwas ignorant of water foot-prints and said everything thepeople used, ate or wore acrossthe globe took water to prepare.

He said the water footprintmeasured the amount of waterused to produce each of thegoods and services that oneused. He said it could be mea-sured for a single process, suchas growing paddy, for a prod-uct, such as a pair of jeans, forthe fuel one put in one's car, orfor an entire multi-nationalcompany.

He said the water footprintcould also tell how much waterwas being consumed by a par-ticular country or the wholeworld from a river basin orfrom an aquifer. He said thewater footprint was a measureof humanity’s appropriation offresh water in volumes of waterconsumed or polluted.

Dr Bajpai said the waterfootprint had three compo-nents, green, blue and grey, andtogether these componentsprovided a comprehensive pic-ture of water used by delineat-

ing the source of water con-sumed, either as rainfall or soilmoisture or groundwater, andthe volume of fresh waterrequired for assimilation ofpollutants. He added that thewater footprint looked at bothdirect and indirect water use ofa process, product, company orsector and included water con-sumption and pollutionthroughout the full productioncycle from the supply chain tothe end-user.

Addressing the studentsWWF representative, Dr SNPandey, said it was also possi-ble to use the water footprint tomeasure the amount of waterrequired to produce all thegoods and services consumedby the individual or commu-nity, a nation or all of human-ity. He said this included thedirect water footprint, whichwas the water used directly bythe individual and the indirectwater footprint, the summationof the water footprints of all theproducts consumed.

He explained water testingmethods and said one coulddetect thousands of chemicalsin water, even at extremely lowconcentrations. He said theever-growing list of tests thatwere available were over-whelming and the vast major-ity of methods required state-

of-the art lab facilities.He said a much smaller

and more practical set of testscould provide a good sense ofchemical water quality formonitoring purposes.

Principal Dr BR Agarwalsaid water was life and the mostprecious product on earth andthus the onus rested on thepeople to ensure they did notwaste water. The students of thecollege then presented skits todrive a message to save water.

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Kanpur Mayor PramilaPandey, while felicitating out-standing women in variousfields at the United PublicSchool on Monday, saidwomen possessed infinite pow-ers and on account of theircourage and confidence theywere successful in every sphereof life.

She said educating girlswas the first step towardswomen empowerment. Shesaid an educated girl turnedinto an educated woman whocould raise an educated nation.She said the educated mothercould guide her children aboutevery challenge of life. Shesaid an educated mother who

was aware of the importance ofhygiene and nutrition was anasset to the country and thisfactor equipped them not onlyto overcome challenges but toeducate their children for amore prosperous future.

Pandey appealed to womento work for the uplift of therural illiterate and semi-literatewomen and make them realisethat they had to ensure that thegirls were educated properly.

Dr Satya Singh said todayit had been proved beyonddoubt that women were at parwith their male counterparts inevery sphere. She said howev-er much more was needed toensure that the deprivedwomen were helped andbrought into the mainstream ofsociety. She appreciated theeffort of the United PublicSchool to identify women fromevery profession and class tobring them on a platform andmotivate them further by hon-ouring them which made themstrive even further.

The women were givensilver plaques.

Prominent women felici-tated were Neisha Arora, BinduSingh, Manpreet Kaur, RitaSingh, Komal Mahendru,Vanya Chandel, Dr PankajaPandey and Ruchi Rohatgi,besides several others.

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7��!�� !��;��%KANPUR (PNS): DeputyChief Minister Dr DineshSharma said that the NewEducation Policy would upliftthe Indian culture and therashtrabhasha, and createavenues of employment forthe youth.

Speaking at a seminar onthe New Education Policy at PtRK Shukla Law College atAmiliha in Chaubepur onMonday, Dr Sharma said as perthe directives of the Union gov-ernment, Deendayal ModelSchools and Smart Classes hadalready been started in thestate.

He said during the past 15years, only 48 schools wereopened in the state while theBharatiya Janata Party govern-ment, by creating 5,987 postsand abiding by the provisionsof the New Education Policy,had worked for enhancementof research and innovation.

Dr Sharma said in a bid topromote the NEP, colleges werebeing made autonomous bod-ies and at the same time thesupremacy of the educationmafia had been dealt with aniron hand.

The deputy chief ministersaid that during the regime oferstwhile regimes, mass copy-ing had become an industrywhich had now been fully con-tained to bring in transparen-cy in education.

He said the NationalCouncil of EducationalResearch and Training(NCERT) syllabus had beenlaunched in schools and withthe decoding of answer books,many changes were witnessedin the examination pattern.

Dr Sharma said thatOperation Kayakalp waslaunched by the EducationDepartment to improve theinfrastructure and other facil-ities being provided at theschool level. He said under thisinitiative, schools had beengiven a facelift by making pro-visions for separate toilets forboys and girls, fresh drinkingwater, multiple hand washingunits, construction of schoolwalls, doors and windows andelectrification, developingkitchen gardens, making prop-er arrangements for the mid-day meal scheme and ensuringhygiene and sanitation inschools.

The deputy chief ministersaid Sanskrit language wasbeing included in the syllabusto enhance the effect of Vedicand rashtrabhasha. He said togive thrust to educationalreforms, video conferencingfacilities had been introducedin colleges.

Minister of State for HigherEducation Neelima Katiyar andretired judge Rangnath Pandeyalso addressed the seminar.

Former MP Shyam BehariMishra, Avadh Behari Mishraof Nar Narayan Samiti, MLCArun Pathak, MLA PratibhaShukla and Dr Awadh Dubeywere also present.

Chairman of Pt RK ShuklaLaw College, Vinod Shukla,presented a memento to thechief guest.

*�� KANPUR (PNS): Members ofAdhivakta Kalyan SangharshSamiti paid homage to martyrBhagat Singh at Kanpur Dehatcourt compound on the eve ofShaheed Diwas on Monday.Former chief of GurdwaraBanno Saheb Mohkam Singh,president of Upbhokta BarAssociation Gurmeet Singh,former president of LawyersAssociation Avinash Bajpaiand president of Income-taxBar Association BL Gupta paidhomage to the martyr by gar-landing the portrait of BhagatSingh. Speaking on the occa-sion, Mohkam Singh said it wasunfortunate that even afterseveral decades of India’s inde-pendence, martyr Bhagat Singhwas not declared a shaheed. Hesaid a public movement wouldbe launched to press the gov-ernment to declare BhagatSingh a Shaheed. Convener ofthe function, Ravindra Sharma,highlighted the ideals of thegreat martyr and said there wasno other person like BhagatSingh who sacrificed his life forthe country at the age of 23. Hedemanded that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi declare BhagatSingh a shaheed and conferBharat Ratna on him to honourthe sentiments of crores ofcountrymen who accorded thetitle of Shaheed-e-Azam toBhagat Singh.

nation 06LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MARCH 23, 2021

MATHEMATICAL OLYMPIAD

Four meritorious students of CityMontessori School — Atul Pande, NamanMishra, Prerak Agarwal and UjjawalSharma — have brought laurels toLucknow by being selected in the RegionalMathematical Olympiad. The competitionwas organised under the aegis of HomiBhabha Centre for Science Education(HBCSE) in which students from all overthe country participated and showcasedtheir knowledge of science and mathemat-ics. The CMS students faced a tough com-petition and emerged victorious in theolympiad. They will now participate in theIndian National Mathematical Olympiad(INMO-2021).

WORLD WATER DAYOn the occasion of World Water Day,

a seminar was organised by Law Student

Academic Forum, department of Law,School of Legal Studies, BabasahebBhimrao Ambedkar, on Monday. Dean,School of Legal Studies, Prof SudarshanVerma said the right to clean water is a fun-damental right of every citizen underArticle 21 of the Indian Constitution. Headof the department Prof Sanjeev KumarChadha threw light on the importance ofwater conservation and highlighted effortsbeing made in this direction.

AWARENESS PROGRAMMECentral Institute for Subtropical

Horticulture organised an awareness pro-gramme on Monday for the farmers ofMall and Kakori blocks. The programmewas attended by 35 farmers producing veg-etables and fruit crops. CISH directorShailendra Rajan said that there is a mythamong UP farmers that flooding of thecrop field is good for the plant health.“Most of the time they overlook thewastage of water taking place during tra-ditional ways of irrigation. As a result, dras-tic groundwater depletion is taking placeand due to excessive exploitation, farmersare facing several soil-related problems.CISH scientists introduced different irri-gation methods by which good production

is possible with the use of limited water,”he said. Dr Dinesh Kumar gave technicaldetails of the drip irrigation and later, thefarmers visited the demonstration in thefield for understanding various compo-nents of drip irrigation and fertigation.

AWARDED

Noted social activist and poet SanjayMalhotra ‘Hamnawa’ was honoured by theNRMU Central divisional secretary.Divisional and branch office-bearers of theassociation were present on the occasion.Mahesh Prasad was elected an office-bear-er of the commercial branch of the association.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Five people, including a minor and twowomen, were killed and 10 others

were injured in a head-on collisionbetween an SUV and a pick-up van in theCivil Lines area of Rampur district on

Monday. Superintendent of PoliceShagun Gautam said the accident hap-pened around 06:30 am on NationalHighway-24 near the Pasiyapura villagein the Civil Lines area.

Five people, including four membersof a family, were killed in the accident.

The deceased have been identified asRahul (24), Poonam (28), Meena (50),14-month-old Gunan and Ashish (15).

The injured have been admitted tothe hospital and three of them are stat-ed to be critical.

The pick-up vehicle had more peo-ple than its seating capacity.

All the people were going to theirhomes in

MOHIT KANDHARI n JAMMU

After throwing open thestrategically important

Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumriroad in the first week of March2021, the 'unsung' heroes of theBorder roads organisation(BRO) have started working onthe Manali-Leh axis to providealternate road connectivity tothe Army formations campingin the Ladakh sector.

According to the DirectorGeneral of Border RoadsOrganisation the opening ofLeh-Manali axis depends onthe quantum of snowfall everyyear and weather conditions.He said, last year the road wasopened on 18 May 2020 whichis one month earlier than pre-vious years. This year we are allprepared to open the road axisearlier than previous year".

According to DGBRpresently three projects,Beacon, Vijayak and Himankare involved in Snow ClearingOperations in UT J&K andLadakh. Almost 1550 Km ofroad stretches are snow clearedby these projects during win-ters to keep the roads open. Allthese efforts go into WinterSnow Clearance to ensure allweather connectivity to for-ward locations along the bor-der and strategically importantplaces.

Remembering the sacri-fices of the foot soldiers whowere working in the hostileweather conditions DGBR said,"last year, more than 200 BROwarriors were martyred whileexecuting extremely dangeroustasks in very arduous and

inhospitable terrain conditions.These sacrifices will not go invain and we will continue toforge paths for our nation andpursue our Motto “We willEither Find a Way or MakeOne” more vigorously and riseto the occasion more thananybody’s expectation for anational cause and to achievenational objectives".

Referring to the strategicprojects in the pipeline DGBRsaid,in the coming year num-ber of Roads and Bridges willbe completed along the Indo-China Border roads namelybridges on DS-DBO Road,Phobrang-Marsimikla-HotSpring Road, Chisumle-Demochok Road, Tangste-Horang-Chusul Road andsome of the important Bridgesthat will be completed areSonamarg Bye Pass Bridge onSrinagar- Sonamarg – GumriRoad, Amiranagar Bridge onPuldoda- Bhaderwah Roadand two bridges on Srinagar –Baramulla – Uri – Kaman PostRoad.

The bridges on nationalhighway Zojila-Kargil-Leh axishave been upgraded to thehighest road classification,

where six major bridges besidesnumerous other minor bridgesand culverts are likely to becompleted in the current year,these are bridges on Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road, Khaltsi-Batalik road, Zojila-Kargil-Lehroad and Khalsar-Sasoma road.

In response to a specificquestion whether ongoing pro-jects were affected due to pro-longed standoff between Indiaand China DGBR said at notime, BRO work was affectedby the situation at ourNorthern Borders. "We havefocused more and have put inadditional efforts in terms ofmanpower and resources fordevelopment and execution ofworks in these areas inspite ofCOVID situation. At no loca-tion, the work was stopped byBRO in Eastern Ladakh due tostandoff with our adversaries.The work is going on at fullswing at all the locations inEastern Ladakh and we haveachieved our planned con-struction and will intend to doso in coming months".

Sharing progress of theongoing works on Manali-Leaxis, DGBR in a written replyto the list of questions said, "the

road passes through few of thehighest passes in the world.Logistics are already in place,we have pre-positioned ourresources in mothballed statesto open multiple attack pointsfor snow clearance operations".

"The Karm Yogis of BROhad twice attempted to reachthe mothballed equipment buthad to return due to avalanch-es. On their third attempt,they reached the location on 14Mar 2021 by walking over 15 to20 feet of snow for 20 Km overtwo days in extreme weatherconditions and hazards. Theyeven took a night halt in theopen in sub-zero temperatures.I salute their grit and determi-nation", DGBR said.

Referring to the snowclearing operation conductedalong the Srinagar – Sonamarg– Gumri Road, DGBR said it isan important road link forlogistic sustenance of Armyformations and Civilian popu-lation in Kargil & Leh.

"The Zozila-Kargil-LehNational Highway which con-nects UT of Ladakh to rest of thecountry is the lifeline for thepopulation of Ladakh. Despitefacing numerous challenges, theNational Highway was keptopen for traffic till 31 Dec 2020,which was unprecedented. Thenwe cleared the snow and con-nected the pass on 06 Mar2021. This was done minimum2-3 months in advance of tradi-tional opening dates. As such wewill be opening it for civil traf-fic very soon. Hence, instead ofbeing closed, for 5 to 6 months,this season pass will be openafter 2.5 months only".

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN n KOCHI

The BJP-led NationalDemocratic Alliance in

Kerala suffered a major setbackon Monday as the Kerala HighCourt declined to interfere inthe decision of the ElectionCommission of India rejectingthe nomination papers filed bythree candidates for the April6 election to the State assembly.

Justice N Nagresh of theKerala High Court, who heardthe petitions filed by N Haridasand Niveditha Subramanian(BJP candidates of Thalasseriand Guruvayur respectively)and Dhanalakshmi (AIADMKcandidate of Devikulam) chal-lenging the rejection of theirnomination papers by the con-cerned returning officers, saidthat once the ElectionCommission begins the elec-tion process the Court has norole in it. “The complainantscan approach the court withtheir grievances after theresults are declared. There are

Supreme Court verdicts whichsay that the courts should notinterfere in the poll processonce the Election Commissionissues poll notification,” said thejudge.

The nomination papers ofN Haridas and Niveditha wererejected on the ground thattheir papers did not carry thesignatures of the national andState presidents of the BJP. “Itwas not a fatal mistake and thiscould have been resolved bygiving them some more time.But the rules are clear and I feelthe candidates were not care-ful while submitting the papers.They should have doubklechecked the papers to ensurethat everything was in order,”said K Ramkumar, senior advo-cate, High Court who repre-sented the candidates.

The rejection of the nom-ination papers has given rise toa major controversy in Keralawith the CPI(M) and theCongress alleging each other ofmaking deals with the

Hindutwa party. Though theBJP is not strong enough toregister wins in both the con-stituencies, the party has thepotential to cause damages tothe rivals.

K N A Khader of theMuslim League is the UDFcandidate from Guruvayur.The Muslim League leader cre-ated a furor by offering prayersat the famous Lord Krishnatemple in the constituencybefore filing his nominationand this earned him the wrathof the conservatives and ortho-doxy in the community.

The CPI(M) candidate isN K Akbar. Though the town-ship boasts of the ancient LordKrishna Temple, the con-stituency has a considerableMuslim population. In the2016 assembly election, theCPI(M) candidate K V abdulKhader had won fromGuruvayur defeating theMuslim League candidate by amajority of 16,000 votes.Niveditha who was the BJP

candidate had polled morethan 25,000 votes.

The question being askedis who is going to get the ben-efit out of the absence of a BJPcandidate from Guruvayur.

Similarly in Thalasseri, A NShamseer of the CPI(M) hadwon in 2016 by a margin of34,000 votes against A PAbdullakutty (who was inCongress at that time ) whilethe BJP candidate had polledmore than 22,000 votes. TheCongress has deputedAravindakshan, a leaderknown for his closeness toHindutwa forces as the partycandidate.

Kerala BJP chief who is heli-hopping between Manjeswaramin Kasaragod and Konni inPathanamthitta district, the twoconstituencies from where he isseeking luck, told mediapersonsthat the party would not gounrepresented in these twoconstituencies despite the rejec-tion of nomination papers of thecandidates.

Setback for BJP as Kerala HC declines to interfere in EC decision

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee has

rejected the BJP’s election man-ifesto as “high-sounding noth-ing” as the party “makes tallpromises during the elections but seldom followsthem up.”

“They are making all kindsof tall promises but go and seehow they have performed in theStates where they are inpower … they never fulfilltheir promises. They are tellingthat they will give you freeration but all this is false as theywill never fulfill this,” Banerjeetold two elections rallies inBankura.

Reminding of promisesmade by the BJP before it came

to power in 2014 Banerjee said“they said that they will give Rs15 lakh to every family. Didthey bring that money? Nowyou ask Narendra Modi aboutthe Rs 15 lakh that he promisedbefore the elections… Did theyprovide 2 crore jobs that theypromised? … Did they bringout the black money afterNotebandi? … So first askthem to fulfill the earlierpromises before making thesenew ones.”

Home Minister Amit Shahhad on Sunday rolled out alengthy list of promises thatincluded free ration and educa-tion, health schemes, large-scale development in health andhospitality industry apart fromjob generation projects thatwould together transform

Bengal into Sonar Bangla (gold-en Bengal).

Once again raising the “out-sider issue” Banerjee said “theoutsider goons who are comingto Bengal in large numbers tobreach the peace and tranquili-ty of this region will dictate lifeif they come to power in thisState … they will dictate what people should eat what theyshould not, they will decidewhat women should wear andwhat they should not.” Attackingthe Prime Minister for letting thename of a cricket stadium inGujarat to be named after himBanerjee said, “today Modi hasmade a stadium after his name…tomorrow he will make himselfseem bigger than BR Ambedkar.”

On the divestment ofGovernment concerns she said“they are selling everythingfrom SAIL to Rail to banks toBSNL to Air India to LIC

everything … tomorrow theywill sell out the entire country… if they are allowed to con-tinue in power for too long…so let their defeat start fromBengal because after beingdefeated in Bengal their thronewill start trembling in Delhiand soon they will be out ofpower from there.”

Asking the people, particu-larly women to chase away thealleged BJP goons with theirrolling pins, and other kitchentools if they come to loot theirvotes, Banerjee said “the peopleof Bengal will have to remainalert every moment to protecttheir rights.” Bengal will go topolls in eight phases from March27 to April 29. Meanwhile in arelated development the ElectionCommission of India soughtreports from the Burdwan dis-trict administration after an 11-year-old child was killed and

another one was severely injuredwhen a crude bomb that theywere playing with went off at theSubhashpally area of the city.

The local police said thatSheikh Afroz (7) and SheikhIbrahim (9) were playing neartheir house when they hit apacket in which the crudebombs were kept. The bombsinside it went off immediatelykilling Afroz on the spot whileIbrahim was admitted Ibrahimfor treatment in the hospital.

While the BJP immediate-ly said that bombs were thepart of the huge arsenal thatthe TMC had amassedthroughout the State for useon election days the ECdirected the Burdwan dis-trict administration, StateChief Secretary and DirectorGeneral of Police to submit areport on the incident with-in 24 hours.

BY DR RAMESH POKHRIYAL�NISHANK�

Death won’t be able to killmy patriotism; my coun-

try’s fragrance will come evenfrom my grave!

These were the linesuttered by the trinity of BhagatSingh, Rajguru and Sukhdev,the emblem of endurance, grit,valour, fearlessness, sacrificeand patriotism. These linesare the testimony of their lovefor the Bharatmata. At the ageof 22-23, the trio has shown usthe path of pure patriotism. Onthe occasion of “Shahiddiwas”I bow my head to these threeluminaries of India’s strugglefor independence and manyother Bravehearts who haveselflessly devoted their lives tothe country.

I urge all the students inIndia to learn the values fromShahid-e-Azamand his com-panions. They were aggressivebut compassionate, determinedbut composed and committedto the cause. The 3Cs ofCompassion, Commitmentand Courage will be a mantrathat will help you in facing dif-ferent phases of life and keepyou motivated.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh jihas imbibed the core values ofIndian traditions and advocat-ed for a plural, inclusive andegalitarian society. He was avoracious reader, thinker andphilosopher. His passion forreading was so much that hehas read hundreds of booksduring his lifetime.

His reading was diverseand included books in biology,economics, polity, poetry andphilosophy. According to oneof his biographies, he has readaround 50 books during hisyears in the school (1913-21),around 200 books in his daysat the college and approxi-mately 300 books during twoyears before his ultimate sacri-fice on 23rd March 1931.Perhaps this may be the reasonfor his intelligence, scientifictemper, sense of justice andthought-provoking ideation.He was a deep thinker and

understood the nuances of lifeand its ultimate purpose.

I encourage all the studentsto read and share with theirfriends and classmates.Students can add an endeavourof one book-one month totheir lifestyle.

In this initiative, you readone book every month andshare the book, its findings,your experiences and observa-tions with your fellow mates. Ialso request all the teachers andguardians to provide diversereading opportunities to ourenergetic youth. Childhoodand young age leave a lastingimpression and prepare oneselfto become an active contribu-tor to society.

Reading shapes the think-ing and makes it coherent,concrete and constructive. Itwill enable students to expresstheir thoughts to the wideraudience effectively. BhagatSingh started public writing atthe age of 16 when he wrote oncomplex issues like universalbrotherhood and agrarianissues in Punjab. Bhagat Singhwas so determined from hischildhood that he kept the soilof Jalianwala with him alwaysto remember his life’s purpose.It is difficult to imagine such alevel of vision and determina-tion for the motherland froma teen-aged boy.

As Swami Vivekanandasaid, “Take up one idea. Makethat one idea your life – thinkof it, dream of it, live on thatidea. Let the brain, muscles,nerves, every part of yourbody, be full of that idea, andjust leave every other idea”,Bhagat Singh has personifiedthis and made the freedom ofthe motherland as his sole goalfor life.

He was so compassionatethat when they planned to“make the deaf (british raj)”; hetested the bombs so that theyshould not harm human livesand only make noise andsmoke. When along withBatukeshwarDutt, he threw thebomb in the central assembly,they purposefully threw it atthe place where it should not

hurt anyone; his purpose wasto send the message to theBritish empire. Then heallowed the police there toarrest them peacefully.

He understood that hisdeath would send a loudermessage than his life, alongwith Rajguru and Sukhdevhappily embraced deathsinging “Mera rang deBasantiChola”.

I come from the devbhoo-mi Uttarakhand, also a veerbhumi as many from the statehave laid their lives for thenation. I take great pride to rep-resent the Himalayan state ofUttarakhand in the parliamentof India. Being the educationminister of the country, I got tovisit different vibrant campus-es across the length andbreadth of the country. Somedays back, I attended theUniversity of Delhi’s convoca-tion and was fortunate enoughto visit the room in the vice-chancellor’s office where thefreedom fighters includingBhagat Singh were imprisonedduring a court trial. I wasoverwhelmed by seeing theletters and other belongings ofour Bravehearts.

I instructed the VC tomake arrangements to make itconvenient for students andteachers to visit the sacredplace and get inspired. BhagatSingh’s idea was influenced bythe Indian darshan of"equality andplurality", he was a truepatriot and not affiliated to anyfaction.

An epitome of his name(Bhagat), he was the true dis-ciple of Bharatmata. We have tofulfil the dreams of ourShahids; we need to put ourcontinuous efforts and energyinto the India of their dreams.Under the leadership of avibrant and dynamic primeminister, India’s government iscommitted to these dreams. Itleaves no stone unturned forSabka-Sath and SabkaVikas bygaining Sabka Vishwas.

(The writer is UnionEducation Minister,Government of India)

MOHIT KANDHARI n JAMMU

The South Kashmir districtof Shopian, also known as

apple bowl of Kashmir, contin-ue to pose a major challenge tothe security forces in theregion.

Out of 19 terrorists killedso far in nine different encoun-ters this year nine of them hailfrom Shopian. Four securitypersonnel including one armyjawan and three JKP cops sac-rificed their lives in theseencounters.

Two top commandersGhani Khawja and SajjadAfghani were also gunneddown in these operations.

In the latest encounter inManihal area of Shopian fourLashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror-ists were eliminated by thejoint team of security forcesearly Monday morning. Allthese were active in the area fora period ranging between twoto six months.

Briefing media personsalong with GoC Victor Force,Major General Rashim Bali,Inspector General of PoliceKashmir range Vijay KumarMonday said, "Pakistani agen-

cies were still exploiting youthin Kashmir valley and usingsocial media platforms to rad-icalise them before luring themaway to join the ranks of differ-ent terror outfits".

The IGP identified the fourLeT terrorists as Rayees AhmadBhat, Amir Shafi Mir, YakubAhmad Malik and AftabAhmad Wani while also con-firming that an army soldierhad been injured in the fire-fight. Three pistols and an AKrifle were recovered from thepossession of these four terror-ists, IGP said.

Commenting on the strat-egy of the security forces tomotivate local terrorists to laydown their arms and ammuni-tion even during the gunfight,the IGP said after the first con-tact was established with theterrorists in Manihal village ofShopian wife and four year oldson of a local terrorist wasbrought to the encounter site tomotivate him to surrender.Ignoring repeated appeals andannouncements the terroristsopened fire on the securityforces which resulted in a briefgunfight in which all four wereneutralised.

Jammu: Security forces inJammu and Kashmir are gear-ing up in advance to conductthe incident free annualAmarnath pilgrimage begin-ning June 28 this year.

Inspector General ofPolice, Kashmir range VijayKumar Monday said, " theentire security grid will bebeefed up ahead of theAmarnath yatra to ensure safe-ty and security of the pil-grims".

On the threat of stickybombs and IEDs, the IG saidyatra routes would be fullysanitised, and there would be24-hour patrolling andnakas.

“This time the (yatra)routes will not be left unse-cured even during the night.There will be deployment,mobile bunker vehiclepatrolling and NVD (nightvision devices), and droneswill also be used 24 hours,” hesaid.

Describing sticky bombs asa problem but “not a bigworry”, Kumar said securityvehicles will be fitted with 360-degree cameras and distancewill be maintained with civil-ian vehicles.

He said, fool-proof securi-ty arrangements, includinground-the-clock monitoringusing CCTV cameras anddrones, will be in place for theAmarnath Yatra this year.

“We are fully ready for thesummer months. We havedevised a plan and checkpointswill be increased, some campswill be shifted, and as we willget additional force after elec-tions (in some states of thecountry), we will plug all thegaps… Pilgrims will not faceany problems,” Kumar said.

“Our officers go on theground to physically check forchances of security lapses andto see whether additional forcesare required or where dronescan be used and equipment beplaced and also for the place-ment of 24-hour nakas. We arefully alert, and there will befool-proof security arrange-ments,” Kumar added.

“I am sure the public willsupport us fully. There will bea time factor also a time framefor the yatra vehicles. They willnot be allowed in a mix-way,”he said, adding the yatra will bemonitored through CCTVcameras and drones round-the-clock. PNS

CRUDE BOMB KILLS CHILD,INJURES OTHER IN BURDWAN

�I bow my head to martyrs�

BRO starts work on Manali-Leh axis

9 of 19 terrorists killed this yrin encounters from Shopian

J&K security forces gear up for Amarnath yatra

Chennai: The Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) on Mondayreleased its manifesto for theupcoming assembly electionsin Tamil Nadu. The visiondocument was unveiled by theUnion Ministers Nitin Gadkariand VK Singh at the partyheadquarters in Chennai inpresence of other party leaders.

While speaking after thelaunch, Gadkari expressed con-fidence that NDA will emergevictorious in the assembly polls."I am confident that NDA will

get the majority in Tamil Nadu.We will have a new governmentand Tamil Nadu will be devel-oped as a progressive state," hesaid. Click here to read BJP'sentire manifesto for the TamilNadu elections.

Key highlights of BJPmanifesto:

50 lakh new employmentopportunities will be created.Fishermen assistance of Rs.6000 per year would be provid-ed like it's being provided forfarmers. Tamil Nadu will be

made Number 1 state in SouthIndia in Ease of DoingBusiness. 12 Lakh acres ofPanchami Land will be recov-ered and handed over back toScheduled Caste people ofTamil Nadu The administra-tion of Hindu temples will behanded over to a separateboard comprising Hindu schol-ars and saints. Total prohibitionwill be implemented in the stateFree two-wheeler drivinglicense will be issued to girlsaged between 18 and 23. Free

Tablets will be provided to 8thand 9th-grade studentsSeparate Budget for AgricultureAll essential commodities thatare distributed through theTamil Nadu Public DistributionSystem will be delivered tohomes directly for all elec-tronic ration cardholdersGovernment Multi-specialtyhospitals will be established atall district headquarters in thestate and treatment will beprovided free of cost Under theJal Jeevan Mission. PTI

TN polls: Gadkari, VK Singh release BJP manifesto

BJP never fulfils poll promises: Didi

CITYBRIEFS

Bihar man kills wife,hangs self in SiwanIANS n PATNA

Marital discord turned uglyin Bihar's Siwan district

when a husband repeatedlystabbed his wife to death infront of his four minor chil-dren. The husband later hangedhimself.

The incident took place inBasaw Tola Nagri village lateSunday. The incident came tolight on Monday when neigh-bours reached the house.

The husband, Rajesh Rai,40, always had arguments withhis wife Ramkali Devi. OnSunday night, he came to thehouse and had a physical alter-cation with her.

"The accused stabbed hermultiple times using a kitchenknife. He also slit her throatleaving her in a pool of blood.After committing crime, hehung himself from a ceilingfan," said Ashutosh Kumar,SHO of Basantpur police station.

Five killed in road mishap

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The Rajya Sabha on Mondaywitnessed uproarious

scenes over corruption allega-tions against the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress ruled coalitionGovernment in Maharashtra.As soon as the Question Hourbegan in the Upper Houseafter a four-day break, the trea-sury bench members raised theMaharashtra issue with DeputyChairman Harivansh, who wason the Chair, asking them toallow the proceedings. RajyaSabha proceedings wereadjourned till 2 pm and afterthe resumption business con-tinued with one Bill also passedover voice vote

The protests were in con-nection with former MumbaiPolice chief Param Bir Singh’sclaim that Maharashtra HomeMinister Anil Deshmukh want-ed police officers to collect�100 crore monthly from barsand hotels in Mumbai. Singh,who was transferred to the low-key Home Guards departmenton March 17 following thearrest of police officer SachinWaze in the case related to thebomb scare near MukeshAmbani’s house Antilia, in aletter to the Maharashtra ChiefMinister had claimed that hewas made a scapegoat.

As the treasury benchmembers continued raising theissue, Deputy ChairmanHarivansh stood up andrequested members to ask theirsupplementary questions to

ministers. Minority AffairsMinister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvianswered supplementaries .Harivansh urged members sev-eral times to allow the QuestionHour and requested them totake their seats.

Amid the din, Congressmember Chhaya Verma askedEnvironment Minister PrakashJavadekar about provisionsprovided by the Centre on thedestruction of crops in variousStates by wildlife and addedthat Prime Minister NarendraModi had also expressed con-cern over the issue. However,Javadekar said he was unable tohear anything and tried toraise the Maharashtra issue.

“What she is asking, Icould not hear,” he said refer-ring to the Maharashtra issue,prompting the Chair toadjourn the House till 2 pm at12.11 pm. The trouble in theUpper House had started a fewminutes before the QuestionHour at 12 noon.

Chairman M VenkaiahNaidu repeatedly asked theagitating members to sit down.“What is happening? Bothsides must understand, noth-ing will be shown (on TV) andgo on records,” Naidu said.Naidu stressed he has notallowed anybody to makemention of any State and levelallegations. “I have not receivedany notice. Without noticehow can I allow anybody,” hesaid. The House then pro-ceeded for Question Houramid uproar.

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The BJP on Mondaydemanded the resigna-

tion of the MaharashtraVikas Aghadi (MVA)Government in the light offormer Mumbai PoliceCommissioner Parama BirSingh’s claim that the State’sHome Minister AnilDeshmukh set a �100-crorecollection target for the policeevery month, and sought aCBI probe into the allegationas Shiv Sena claimed that theBJP has been hatching a con-spiracy to defame the MVAdispensation for the last 14months so that a BJPGovernment can be installedin Mumbai.

Raising the issue duringZero Hour in Lok Sabhaamidst protests by the ShivSena and the NCP, BJP member Manoj Kotak saidthat according to Singh’s let-ter to the chief minister, thestate’s home minister hadasked suspended AssistantPolice Inspector (API) SachinWaze to collect �100 crorefrom 1,742 bars and restau-rants in the metropolis everymonth.

Kotak said the letterreflected that those who arein the Government wereusing officials in collectingmoney but the Chief Ministerso far has not uttered a sin-gle word on the issue.

“It is a serious matter. Thehome minister should resign,the Maharashtra governmentshould resign and there

should be a CBI inquiry intothe whole issue,” he said.BJP member Rakesh Singhthat the issue is so seriousthat it can’t be termed a statesubject as it has a nationalimplication.

Singh said that the formerpolice commissioner’s lettershowed that the top func-tionaries of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress Governmentwere involved in collectinghuge amounts of moneythrough illegal means.

“The allegation againstthe state home minister wasmade by none other than theformer police commissioner.What was the compulsion ofthe chief minister to defendan API-rank official, whowas in suspension for 16years, in a press conference,”he asked.

Singh claimed that asenior politician from thestate had changed his standafter telling that it was a serious matter and thereshould be an inquiry into it.

“What is the fear. Is thereany fear of spilling the beansabout those who get cut. If�100 crore col lected from Mumbaialone, what would be the fig-ure for the entireMaharashtra,” he asked.

He demanded that theMVA Government shouldimmediately resign and thereshould be an impart ialinquiry into it.

Another BJP memberKapil Patil said that it was notfor the first time that such a

letter has been written by asenior police officer and evena DGP-rank officer had alsowritten a similar letter in thepast.

“A senior leader had saidthat it is a serious matter buthe changed his tuneovernight. What is the fear?Fear of spilling the beans,” heasked.

However, Shiv Senamember Vinayak Rautstrongly defended the MVAGovernment and claimed thatthe BJP has been hatching aconspiracy to defame theShiv Sena-Congress-NCP dis-pensation for the last 14months so that a BJP gov-ernment can be installed inMumbai.

“The issue is nothing butpart of BJP’s big conspiracy,”he claimed. Raut a lso accused the former Mumbai police commission-er who wrote the sensation-al letter as the “most corruptpolice officer”.

Minister of State AnuragThakur a lso demanded appropriate actionby the MaharashtraGovernment over the allega-t ions of corruption by formerMumbai police chief againststate Home Minister AnilDeshmukh.

Speaking during theQuestion Hour in Lok Sabha,Thakur noted that the alle-gation that Deshmukhwantedpolice officers to collect �100crore per month, is a “matterof concern”, he said.

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Giving a further boost to the‘Make in India’ initiative in

the crucial defence manufac-turing sector, Defence MinisterRajnath Singh on Mondaysigned a contract withMahindra Defence SystemsLtd (MDSL) for supply of 1,300Light Specialist Vehicles to theIndian Army at a cost of �1,056crore.

The induction of thesevehicles manufactured by theprestigious Indian private sec-tor player is planned to be com-pleted in four years.

The Light Specialist Vehicleis a modern fighting vehicleand will be authorised to var-ious fighting units for carriageof Medium Machine Guns,Automatic Grenade Launchersas well as Anti-tank GuidedMissiles.

The Light SpecialistVehicle is indigenouslydesigned and developed byMDSL. These combat vehiclesare extremely agile with allround protection against smallarms fire and will assist smallindependent detachmentswhich are required to operatethis weapon platform in theoperational area.

This is a flagship projectshowcasing the indigenousmanufacturing capabilities ofthe defence industry and willadd another milestone to the‘Atmanirbhar BharatAbhiyaan’ and ‘Make in India’initiative of the Government,officials said here.

This contract comes daysafter the ministry inked adeal with the public sectorunit Bharat Dynamics Ltd

(BDL) to acquire 4,960 anti-tank guided missiles at a costof �1,188 crore for the IndianArmy.

The missiles, having arange of 1,850 metres, can befired from ground as well asvehicle-based launchers andtheir induction is planned tobe completed in three years,the ministry said.

In the last few months, theministry finalised a range ofprocurement projects for thethree forces to enhance theiroverall combat capabilities.

The acquisition wing ofthe Ministry of Defencesigned a contract with defencepublic sector undertakingBharat Dynamics Limited(BDL) for the supply of 4,960MILAN-2T anti-tank guidedmissiles to Indian Army at acost of �1,188 crore, it said.The missiles are being pro-duced by BDL under licensefrom French defence majorMBDA Missile Systems.

Officials also said it is arepeat order of contract whichwas signed with the BDL inMarch, 2016. The deal willfurther enhance the ‘Make inIndia’ initiative of theGovernment.

This project was a bigopportunity for the defenceindustry to showcase its capa-bility and will be a step in thedirection of achieving thegoal of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’in the defence sector.

The ministry last yearbanned import of more than100 items including weaponsand ammunition in order togive a fillip to the local indus-try. Plans are afoot to increasethis list in the coming months.

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The CBI on Monday car-ried out searches at the

off ices of three seniorSecurities and ExchangeBoard of India (SEBI) officialsin connection with theiralleged role in saving Saradhaponzi scheme operators.

The three officers whosepremises were searched areChief

General Managers JayantaJash and Jeevan Sonparoteposted in the InvestigationDepartment and CorporateFinance of SEBI respectivelyand Deputy General ManagerPrasenjit Dey of theInvestigation Department,sources said.

There are multiple FIRsagainst the Saradha Group inWest Bengal, in which it hasbeen alleged that thousands ofinvestors were a l l e g e d l ylured into investing in thePonzi scheme and duped tothe tune of several crores bythe company officials andtheir associates who swin-dled their deposits.

The Supreme Court hadhanded over the Saradha chitfund scam probe to the CBIand directed the State gov-ernments concerned to pro-vide all logistical help to theagency team investigating thematter.

Meanwhile, the agencyhas summoned West BengalEducation Minister ParthaChatterjee to appear before itsKolkata office on Tuesday forquestioning in the ICore chitfund scam.

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Nearly 800 soldiers died bysuicide since 2014 in the

three Services besides 20 casesof fratricide, the Governmentinformed Parliament onMonday.

This written reply in theRajya Sabha underscored theneed to maintain the temp ofreforms within the armed forcesto evolve an ethos whereinsuch incidents come downimmediately.

Giving details, theGovernment said while theArmy recorded 591 cases, theIAF reported 160 while theNavy saw 36 in the last sevenyears.

The defence forces hadtaken several measures someyears back when cases of frat-ricide wherein soldiers killingtheir superiors and colleaguesand suicides saw a spike. Thesteps included more relaxedleave norms to allow the jawansto attend to their families in farflung villages, stress manage-ment in insurgency and ter-rorism hit areas and regularinteraction with senior officers.

Given the make-up of thearmed forces with soldiers com-ing mostly from rural back-ground, the defence forces alsourged the local administrationof their villages to attend totheir cases of dispute if any withempathy and speed.

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With water shortagebecoming a major con-

cern all across the country,Prime Minister, NarendraModi on Monday launched“Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch theRain” Campaign for conservingwater and stressed that everypenny of MGNREGA funds bespent on rain water conserva-tion till the monsoon arrives.

Modi said it is a matter ofconcern that majority of rainwater in India gets wasted. Hesaid that more the rain water isconserved, the less will be thedependence on groundwater.

The Prime Minister urgedthat every penny of MGNRE-GA (Mahatma GandhiNational Rural EmploymentGuarantee Act) funds be spenton rain water conservation tillthe monsoon arrives. Theevent was also attended by anumber of panches andsarpanches from across thecountry. Participating throughvirtual mode, some of themalso shared their experiencestowards water conservation.

Modi said India’s self-suf-ficiency is dependent on its

water resources and waterconnectivity, and its fast-paceddevelopment is not possiblewithout effective water con-servation. He also urged thepeople to use water judicious-ly. The ‘Catch the Rain’ cam-paign will be undertakenacross the country, in bothrural and urban areas. It willbe implemented from March22 to November 30 - the pre-monsoon and monsoon peri-od in the country.

The campaign aims to takewater conservation at grass-root level through people’sparticipation. It is intended tonudge all stakeholders to cre-ate rainwater harvesting struc-tures suitable to the climaticconditions and subsoil strata,to ensure proper storage ofrainwater.

A Memorandum ofAgreement was also signedonline between the UnionMinister of Jal Shakti and theChief Ministers of MadhyaPradesh and Uttar Pradesh toimplement the Ken Betwa LinkProject, the first project of theNational Perspective Plan forinterlinking of rivers, in thepresence of the Prime Minister.

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The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on Monday

filed a chargesheet against twogunrunners and one financierof Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in dis-graced Jammu and Kashmirpolice Deputy Superintendentof Police Devender Singh Case.

On Monday, the NIA fileda supplementary chargesheetagainst three accused personsnamely Shaheen Ahmad Lone,Tafazul Hussain Parimoo andWaheed-ur-Rahman Paraunder IPC Sections relating tocriminal conspiracy and rele-vant provisions of theUnlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, Arms Actand Explosive Substances Actbefore the NIA Special CourtJammu.

“This case arose out of PSQazigund, Kulgam FIR No.05/2020 dated 11.01.2020 afterapprehension of two terroristsof Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM)namely Syed Naveed Mushtaq,the then District Commanderof HM for the district Shopianand Ganderbal and RafiAhmad Rather along with one

serving DSP of J&K Police,Devender Singh and AdvocateIrfan Shafi Mir, near Al-StopNaka, Qazigund while theywere travelling from Srinagarto Jammu in a Hyundai i20 carowned and driven by accusedAdvocate Irfan Shafi Mir,” theNIA said in a statement.

The NIA had re-registeredthe case and took over theinvestigation. NIA had earlierfiled chargesheet against eightaccused in this case.

Investigation has revealedthat chargesheeted accusedShaheen Ahmad Lone andTafazul Hussain Parimoo wereinvolved in gun running fromacross the LoC for the mili-tants of banned terrorist

organisations Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) andLashkar e Taiba (LeT) andwere also channelizing fundsto the militants for sustainingterrorist activities in J&K at thebehest of handlers located inPakistan, it said.

Investigation has alsorevealed that chargesheetedaccused Waheed-ur-RahmanPara was part of the conspir-acy for raising and transferringof terror funds to HM mili-tants for procurement of ter-rorist hardware and was alsoa crucial player in sustainingpolitical-separatist-terroristnexus in J&K. Further inves-tigation in the case is contin-uing, it added.

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The Gandhi Peace Prize forthe year 2020 is being con-

ferred on Bangabandhu SheikhMujibur Rahman. And theprestigious prize for the year2019 is being conferred on lateSultan Qaboos bin Said Al Saidof Oman in recognition of hisvision to strengthen relationswith India, and his efforts topromote peace and non-vio-lence in the Gulf region, theCulture Ministry announced onMonday.

The decision to confer theaward for 2020 on SheikhMujibur Rahman comes aheadof Prime Minister NarendraModi’s visit to Bangladesh, hisfirst foreign trip since the out-break of Covid-19. Modi willattend the national day pro-gramme of Bangladesh onMarch 26.

The Gandhi Peace Prize isan annual award instituted bythe government of India since1995, the 125th birth anniver-sary commemoration year ofMahatma Gandhi. The award isopen to all people regardless ofnationality, race, language, caste,

creed or sex.The jury for Gandhi Peace

Prize is chaired by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andcomprises two ex-officio mem-bers, namely the chief justice ofIndia and leader of the singlelargest opposition party in theLok sabha.

Prime Minister NarendraModi said, “Gandhi Peace Prize2019 being conferred on HisLate Majesty Sultan Qaboos binSaid Al Said of Oman is a fit-ting recognition of His Majesty’sstanding as a leader of remark-able compassion, and of hiscontributions to furtheringpeace and prosperity in theregion.”

Two eminent members arealso part of the jury — OmBirla, Speaker of the Lok Sabha,and Bindeshwar Pathak,Founder of Sulabh InternationalSocial Service Organisation.

The jury met on March 19,2021 and after due delibera-tions, unanimously decided toselect Bangladesh’s father ofthe nation, Sheikh MujiburRahman, and Oman’s longtimeruler Sultan Qaboos for theprize, an official statement said.

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The Election Commissionof India (ECI) on Monday

announced a ban on bike ral-lies 72 hours before votingtakes place in poll-boundStates in coming weeks. Thishas been done because thecommission came to knowthat these rallies are beingused to intimidate voters.Officials said that complaintswere received during theCommission’s visit from sev-eral political parties that bikerallies are resorted to intimi-date the voters in the last cou-ple of days before the poll.

In a directive issued tochief electoral officers of poll-bound West Bengal, Kerala,Tamil Nadu, Assam andPuducherry, the EC pointedout that it has been brought toits notice that “in some placesbikes are used by anti-socialelements to intimidate thevoters before the poll dayand/or on poll day.”

“After considering the

reports, the Commission hasdecided that “bike rallies shallnot be allowed at any place 72hours before the date of pollor on the poll day in all poll-going constituencies,” thedirective said.

The EC also asked itschief electoral officers toinform all stakeholders con-cerned, including candidates,political parties and theCommission’s observers, toensure strict compliance of the

directions.Assembly elections in

Tamil Nadu, Kerala andPuducherry will be held in asingle phase on April 6.

Besides these states, elec-tions will also be held inAssam and West Bengalbetween March 27 and April29 in three and eight phases,respectively. The counting ofvotes in all the four states andthe Union Territory will beheld on May 2.

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Just five States—Maharashtra,Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat

and Madhya Pradesh—havecontributed a major chunk, ashigh as 80 per cent of the total46,951 new Covid cases regis-tered on Monday across thecountry, the highest single dayrise so far this year. The UnionHealth Ministry said that thecountry’s total active caseloadhas increased to 3,34,646 com-prising 2.87 per cent of India’stotal infections. A total of 212deaths have been reported in aday.

Maharashtra continues totop the list of highest daily newcases on Monday too with30,535 (65.03 per cent), fol-lowed by Punjab with 2,644while Kerala reported 1,875new cases in the last 24 hours.Eight states includingMaharashtra, Tamil Nadu,Punjab, Madhya Pradesh,Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka andHaryana are displaying anupward trajectory in the dailynew Covid-19 cases, theMinistry said.

A net rise of 25,559 caseshas been added to the totalactive caseload in a span of 24hours while the daily positivi-ty rate (7-day average) currentlystands at 3.70 per cent, theMinistry said.

In what could be a worry-ing trend, eight States/UTs --Maharashtra, Chandigarh,Punjab, Puducherry, Goa,Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat andHaryana have a weekly posi-tivity rate more than the nation-al average of 3.7 per cent.

Maharashtra has conduct-ed 1,78,00,438 total tests andhas a positivity rate of 13.93 percent followed by Tamil Naduwhich has conducted1,78,13,593 tests and has a pos-itivity rate of 4.87 per cent.

Haryana has so far tested58,19,748 samples and has apositivity rate 4.81 per cent.Karnataka has tested2,05,49,434 tests and has a pos-itivity rate of 4.72 per cent.

Madhya Pradesh and Delhihave conducted 59,31,486 and1,39,44,512 tests so far andboth have a positivity rate of4.65 per cent.

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withdrawn by King George V.The Hindu ideology is not

anti-anyone else. The word“Hindu” has been the identi-ty for the entire subcontinent.In 1930, my father’s professorat the University of Bostonasked him what he was. Thereply was: An Indian. Theprofessor said, “You are prob-ably a Hindu. My question is— are you a Hindu Christian,a Hindu Muslim or a HinduHindu?” In other words, forthe world outside, Hindu andHinduism are the markers ofIndia’s identity.

Coming to the “Bengaliversus outsider” debate, it bearsiteration here that a prominentBengali who was born 120years ago seeded a nationalistparty that dominates Indianpolitics today. This is noneother than Syama PrasadMookerjee, a towering intellec-tual, academician and politicalleader. The party he founded,the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, wasthe only true opposition to thethen hegemonic rulingCongress. Its later avatarbecame the BJP, which not onlyrules India and has become theworld’s biggest political party,but has also decimated theonce-mighty Congress.

One must not forget thatMookerjee salvaged WestBengal and led the Hindus of

the erstwhile undivided Bengalto grab a slice of their home-land from the nefarious designsof MA Jinnah and his MuslimLeague by resisting the blatant-ly biased League’s provincialgovernment of Bengal.

Bengal’s Hindus were thesecond largest ethnic minori-ty after the Muslims in undi-vided Bengal (at nearly 42 percent) but were subjected to twohorrific rounds of genocide;the first in Calcutta in August1946, following Jinnah’s clari-on call for “direct action” (theGreat Calcutta Killings), andthen in Noakhali and Tipperadistricts of eastern Bengal inOctober that year. Nearly10,000 Hindus were massacredand thousands of Hinduwomen were raped in this orgyorchestrated by BengalPremier HS Suhrawardy him-self. Mookerjee, the indis-putable leader of Bengal’sHindus, recognised the loom-ing threat as early as in 1940when he said in Sylhet (then inAssam): “The dangers in frontof us are many; the latestaddition in the shape of amovement for Pakistan shouldnot be brushed aside lightly.Jinnah is out to destroy thevery soul of India.”

The looming danger wasthe pernicious dream of a so-called “United Bengal”, pro-

moted by Suhrawardy,Nazimuddin (ex-premier)and Fazlur Rahman (Bengal’srevenue minister), and sup-ported by Sarat Chandra Boseof the Socialist Republic Party.This “United Bengal” move-ment, a smokescreen to graball of Bengal for Pakistan, hadJinnah’s blessings. Had thisLeague plan materialised, theHindus of Bengal would havesuffered a plight similar tothat of Sindh’s Hindus whohave been left without a coun-try to call their own.

The incorporation of all ofBengal into Pakistan was foiledonly by the concerted efforts ofHindus, led resolutely byMookerjee, who formed theBengal Partition Leaguetowards the end of 1946.Governing the support of allsections of the Bengali society,League sections of commu-nists and socialists also had tosupport the partition of Bengal— the Muslim League didn’tspare Hindu communists.

The supreme irony is thatMamata might not have hadeven an identity, leave aloneState, but for the heroic effortsof Mookerjee, whose partyshe now dubs an “outsider”.

(The writer is a well-known columnist and anauthor. The views expressedare personal.)

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In replying to Mamata Didi’sallegation that the BJP is an“outsider” organisation,while she herself is the

“daughter of Bengal”, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, at aspeech in Kolkata’s BrigadeGround on March 7, remarkedthat the Trinamool had beenspawned by the Congress. TheIndian National Congress wasfounded in 1885 by a retiredbureaucrat, Allan OctavianHume, an Englishman. TheCommunist parties of Indiawere all spawns of theCommunist Party of the SovietUnion. Their ideology wasauthored entirely by the ideo-logue Karl Marx. Vladimir Leninbrought the Bolshevik Party topower with the Revolution of1917. A premier street inCalcutta celebrated Lenin’s com-ing to power by being named“Lenin Sarani”, opposite Metrocinema, near the DharamtollaStreet. Incidentally, the oldHarrington Street, where the USConsulate is situated, wasrenamed by Chief Minister JyotiBasu as “Ho Chi Minh Sarani”.

I once took a client visitingfrom Germany around the city.He found every CPM graffiti tobe a sketch of Soviet dictatorJosef Stalin and wondered: “WhyStalin, now? Is there no Indianleader attractive enough to catchvotes?” In World War II, Stalinwanted to arouse Russians tofight for their motherland, incomplete contrast to LeonTrotsky’s earlier call for a “per-manent Revolution” and KarlMarx’s Communist Manifesto,which called upon the workersof the world to unite.

Mamata Banerjee neveronce has termed these thingsfrom outside. She findsHindutva and “Jai Shri Ram” asoutsiders despite the fact that RajNarain Bose, the grandfather ofYogi Aurobindo Bose, hadcoined the term “Hindutva” in1863. Leading Bengalis, includ-ing Gurudev RabindranathTagore, were members of theaggressively Hindu AnushilanSamiti. The Samiti had becomeparticularly active after the firstpartition of Bengal in 1905, until1911, when the partition was

�� Sir — This refers to the editorial ‘Welcomestep’ (March 22). Indian courts and theirpresiding officers are expected to strike agender balance while conducting trials. Itis deeply disturbing that judges, even in thehigher courts, are displaying an insensitiveapproach towards women in sexual harass-ment cases. A judge of the Nagpur Benchof the Bombay High Court made headlinesa couple of months ago for her unusual, anduncalled for, interpretations on molestationin two cases. Strange and despicable rea-soning by High Courts makes for a sorryreading.

They reflect a chronic lack of applica-tion of mind with regard to cases that requirehigh levels of understanding and empathy.Fortunately, the Supreme Court (SC) hasstepped in to take stock of the situation. TheSC has rightly rued the acute paucity of gen-der sensitisation training among judges anddirected a module to be put in place to fillthe lacunae.

Even law students need lessons on gen-der sensitisation. How a woman looked andhow she behaved is immaterial for a judgeto come to a conclusion on a case at hand.The history of a victim should have no rel-evance to the case in question. Over theyears, reports have it that a few rapeaccused had proposed to marry their vic-tims. It would be a travesty of justice if such“proposals” become a rule and the courtsentertain them. Each case needs an unbi-ased adjudication without preconceivednotions and strictly on merit.

Ganapathi Bhat | Akola

��Sir — Subsequent to Russian PresidentVladimir Putin’s mockery of USPresident Joe Biden for calling him a“killer”, the Kremlin said that it is “pre-pared for the worst” when it was askedabout the possibility of a new cold warbetween the US and Russia. When Bidenwas asked if he believed Putin was akiller, he said, “I do”, prompting Putinto counter it by saying “he who said it,

did it”. With this development, tiesbetween Moscow and Washington sankto new lows. Biden’s comments createda serious crisis between Russia and theUS in years, with Moscow recalling itsambassador for consultations and warn-ing that their ties were on the brink of“collapse”. The US and Russia feel pro-found distrust for each other since 2014.The ties deteriorated over Russia’s allegedinterference in the US elections in 2016and, more recently, when Washingtonassumed that Russian Opposition figureAlexei Navalny was poisoned with aSoviet-designed nerve agent. The latestconflict between the countries could ignitea new ‘Cold War’.

Venu GS | Kollam

��Sir — The COVID footprint is expanding

and is a cause of great concern in our coun-try. The fresh surge in cases took the num-ber of active cases past 3,45,000. This evenas the second phase of the vaccinationprocess is on full swing.

Maharashtra touched a new high forthe last four days, followed by Punjab,Karnataka and Gujarat. Tracking crucialcases is important because it reflects theactual spread of the virus in a region as wellas the load the country’s healthcare systemis currently bearing. Maharashtra record-ed its highest spike with 30,000-odd casesand nearly 100 deaths. The healthcare sys-tem is working round the clock but the peo-ple have to bear their losses and work withthe Government.

CK Subramaniam | Mumbai

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At the Trade Policy Review (TPR) meetingheld at the World Trade Organisation(WTO) in January, India insisted that a per-

manent solution for public stockholding to servethe food security objective special safeguard mea-sures (SSMs) to prevent import surges and elimi-nation of unfair farm subsidy entitlements of somemembers should be taken up on a priority basis forany farm deal that may be worked out at the 12thWTO Ministerial Conference (MC-12) scheduledto be held from November 29.

For about two decades, India has been takingup at the WTO these core agriculture issues thatare of concern to developing countries, under whathas come to be known as the Doha DevelopmentAgenda (DDA). However, it has not met with anysuccess. In fact, at the MC-10 held in Nairobi(December 2015), developed countries led by theUS and the European Union (EU) literally junkedthe DDA. Whether or not MC-12 will yield thedesired outcome, we will have to wait and see.Meanwhile, there is a need for introspection as towhere did things go wrong?

Under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA)of the WTO, a developing country cannot giveaggregate measurement support (AMS) — anacronym for subsidies — in excess of 10 per centof the value of its farm production. For developedcountries, the threshold is kept at five per cent. TheAMS includes “product-specific” subsidies and“non-product specific” like subsidies on agricultur-al inputs such as fertilisers, seed, irrigation andpower. The “product-specific” subsidy is in excessof the Minimum Support Price (MSP) paid to farm-ers over the External Reference Price (ERP) mul-tiplied by the quantum of agri-produce. Whereasthe MSP is taken for the relevant year, say, 2018-19, the ERP is the average of the global price pre-vailing during 1986-88 fixed in rupee terms. If thesubsidy given by a developing country exceeds 10per cent, it will be treated as violation of its WTOcommitment.

The rationale behind putting a cap is that excesssubsidy given to farmers in any member countryhas the effect of giving unfair advantage to themin the global market by artificially lowering the priceof their food supplies — known as “trade distor-tion.” The cap is intended to prevent this.

India runs a mammoth programme of PublicStockholding (PSH) for food security purposes.Under it, agencies of the Government like the FoodCorporation of India buy agri-produce fromfarmers at the MSP and distribute it through a net-work of fair price shops to meet the needs of India’spoor and vulnerable population. Since the MSP ishigher than the ERP, the excess is deemed as sub-sidy under the AoA.

India’s argument is that supplies from the PSHare meant only for beneficiaries and not availablefor export, hence there is no question of these sup-plies causing any distortion in global trade.Therefore, it should be excluded from the calcu-lation of AMS to see if the cap is breached. The logicis sound. But the crucial question is why did Indianot press for this exemption from day one? Whydid it not insist on its inclusion in the AoA that cameinto force on January 1, 1995? That apart, even themethodology of calculating the AMS is flawed.

First, the MSP for the relevant/current year iscompared with the ERP that prevailed way back

in 1986-88. Second, quantities notprocured by Government agenciesare also considered for arriving at thesubsidy figure. Third, subsidy onagri-inputs to resource-poor farm-ers (they produce food for self-con-sumption and have no marketablesurplus) is included. These flawshave the effect of artificially inflat-ing the AMS. For instance, as per aMay 2018 submission by the US tothe WTO, during 2013-14 the IndianAMS on rice was 77 per cent againstonly 5.45 per cent it should havebeen sans these aberrations. In viewof the above, forget getting exemp-tion, the anomalies in AMS calcu-lation have made India’s PSH pro-gramme potentially susceptible toviolating WTO commitments.

The MC-9 in Bali (2013) agreedto a “peace clause” under which “ifa developing country gives AMS inexcess of 10 per cent, no member willchallenge this until 2017, when theWTO would look for a permanentsolution to address their food secu-rity concerns.” It came with severalriders such as submission of data onfood procurement, stockholding,distribution and subsidies. These alsoincluded establishing that subsidiesare not “trade distorting.”

In the WTO General Council(GC) meeting on July 31, 2014, Indiainsisted on a time-bound action planto find a permanent solution, to beexecuted before the end of the 2014

co-terminus with the approval of theTrade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)— an area of great importance todeveloped countries. This was agood strategic move but it wasabandoned midstream.

In December 2014, even as thelatter got away with the TFA, the for-mer got “extension of the peaceclause till a permanent solution wasfound.” Put simply, India had liter-ally surrendered its right to securea permanent solution; that it was“Ok” with “the benefit of peaceclause.” However, being subject to ahost of riders, even this is not auto-matically assured.

Meanwhile, the US and EUnations continue to give subsidies ata level much higher than the five percent (threshold applicable to them),yet remain compliant with the WTO.Unlike India, which subsidises agri-inputs and MSP to farmers, theyachieve the same result by makingdirect cash benefit transfers (DBT)to farmers which is exempt fromsubsidy cap obligation. In regard toSSM — it allows members to tem-porarily raise tariffs beyond the“bound levels,” — this is the maxi-mum permissible duty that a mem-ber country can impose underbound rate agreement; for instance,in case of wheat, it is 80 per cent —to deal with surging imports andresultant fall in prices.

The 2015 MC-10 in Nairobi had

recognised that developing countrieswill have the right to take recourseto it as envisaged under the HongKong Ministerial Declaration. Butthis comes nowhere near India’sdemand to amend an already exist-ing provision in Article 5 of the AoAto provide them the same benefitthat developed countries derivefrom Special (Agricultural)Safeguards (SSG).

In short, it is a case of lack of careand foresight on the part of ournegotiators at the WTO in letting aflawed formula for the AMS calcu-lation to creep into the AoA in thefirst place and a missed opportuni-ty to make corrections (2014/15) thathave led to the present precarious sit-uation for developing countries.

Even as India has flagged theseissues yet again, one wonderswhether the developed countries willagree to remove the flaws in the AoAor allow exemption for subsidiesgiven under the PSH.

The Government needs to thinkout of the box. It may consider DBTto farmers; India can give it withoutany cap and yet remain compliantwith its commitment under theWTO. However, in the currentatmosphere of anger over the threefarm laws, what will happen whenthe MSP goes (this is a natural con-comitant of introducing the DBT)?Prime Minister Narendra Modifaces a Hobson’s choice.

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India’s vaccine diplomacyis moving at a trot and hasset the pace for countering

the COVID-19 pandemic. Itwas indeed a big boost when,as part of the first virtualQuadrilateral SecurityDialogue (QSD) leaders’meeting on March 12, USPresident Joe Biden,Australian Prime MinisterScott Morrison and JapanesePrime Minister YoshihideSuga decided to help Indiaproduce at least one billionvaccine doses for the Asia-Pacific region.

The Quad initiative aimsto reduce manufacturingbacklog, speed up vaccina-tion, and defeat someCoronavirus mutations. Thefunding would be from theUS and Japan and logisticalhelp would come fromAustralia.

South Block claims thatIndia has now become a “vac-

cine superpower” in tack-ling the COVID-19 crisis.The new orientation is in tunewith Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s significantforeign policy approach atprojecting India as a globalstakeholder. A Wall StreetJournal (WSJ) editorial haspraised India for its COVIDdiplomacy.

“India has emerged thesurprise leader of the globalvaccine diplomacy race. It hasexported three times moredoses than it’s given its owncitizens and can spare evenmore without hurting its ownrollout”, Eric Bellman of WSJtweeted.

New Delhi has not onlymanaged to thwart China’sCOVID diplomacy but alsoovertaken it. According to theUnited Nations (UN), Indiahas made more vaccine dona-tions than China, with overeight million doses given

away, compared to 7.3 millionfrom China. Both are makingvaccines for the rest of theworld in addition to gettingtheir vast populations inocu-lated. Chinese premier XiJinping has called Chinesemedical supplies to the‘Health Silk Road,’ a part ofChina’s ambitious Belt andRoad Initiative (BRI).According to the ChineseForeign Ministry, it plans toprovide free vaccines to 69countries and sell them to 28.

India, too, has adoptedvaccine diplomacy as part ofits foreign policy. ExternalAffairs Minister S Jaishankardeclared in Parliament lastweek that the ‘Vaccine Maitri(Vaccine friendship)’ pro-gramme has “raised India’sstanding and generated greatinternational goodwill.”Giving details, the Ministersaid, “In fact, we supplied 150nations with medicines, 82 of

them as grants by India. As(the production of) our ownmasks, PPEs and diagnostickits grew, we made themavailable to other nations.This generous approach...was also extended to the‘Vande Bharat Mission.’Starting from Wuhan, webrought back nationals ofother countries while looking

after our own.”“Acting East” and “acting

fast” is the new mantra forSouth Block. The ModiGovernment’s vaccine initia-tive got a boost, particularlyin the neighbouring coun-tries. For instance, strainedties with Nepal, Bangladesh,the Maldives and Sri Lankahave improved after a timelyvaccine supply. Indicating theimportance of this, Sri Lankaand Dominica’s leaders per-sonally received Indian-madevaccines at the airport, andthe Mongolian PrimeMinister took the Indian vac-cine.

All these initiatives werepossible because India’s mas-sive pharmaceutical industryaccounts for about 20 per centof the world’s generic medi-cines and more than 60 percent of all global vaccineproduction. In fact, Indiaadministered 29.74 million

doses of the anti-COVIDshots to its own citizens byMarch 15 and the inoculationdrive is in full swing.However, the rising numberof variants and a secondsurge of COVID in States likeMaharashtra, Punjab,Gujarat, Karnataka and TamilNadu is causing concern.There are some concernsabout vaccine diplomacy, too,in a few quarters. The first iswhether India will be able tomeet the demand and the sec-ond is whether the vaccinediplomacy is taking place atthe expense of the citizens ofthe country?

Union Health MinisterDr Harsh Vardhan is confi-dent that the Government hasaddressed these concerns.

The Serum Institute ofIndia (SII) — which pro-duces the Novavax and theAstraZeneca vaccines —recently raised concerns

about raw material short-ages. Its Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Adar Poonawalla,alleged, “The sharing of theseraw materials is going tobecome a critical limitingfactor — nobody has beenable to address this so far.”Another Indian manufactur-er, Biological E, which pro-duces the Johnson andJohnson vaccine, has alsoraised similar concerns. Theother worry is that the coun-try is lagging behind its tar-get. However, there is opti-mism that other vaccines inthe pipeline might ease thisburden.

Overall, the COVIDdiplomacy so far has yieldedgoodwill for India and won itsome new friends. One can’tblame South Block for ridingon the new initiative. As TheNew York Times says, theCOVID-19 vaccine is the lat-est diplomatic currency.

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TATAELXSI 2778 2778 2701.55 2722.1FRETAIL 53.2 61.4 50.75 59.35SUZLON 5.4 5.67 5.3 5.62APOLLOHOSP 2906 2942.45 2876.05 2904.65MINDTREE 1996.8 2021 1977 2001.6IDBI 37.55 38.3 36.4 37.4SIEMENS 1850 1870.1 1819.65 1840.2M&M 860.1 860.1 832.15 853.6NCC 84.75 84.8 81.55 83.9LTI 4085.15 4190 4070.6 4093.35NBCC 46.5 47.3 45.75 46.5RECLTD 142.8 142.8 138.8 139.25FORTIS 193 204.45 190.9 202ESCORTS 1341.95 1375.45 1341.3 1362DEEPAKNI 1519.4 1544 1473.8 1530.6IRCON 84 84.2 82.3 83.05ICICIPRULI 411 439.1 411 437.8RCF 72.9 79.05 71.9 79.05ABFRL 205.4 207.75 202.5 205.4HEROMOTOCO 3130 3141.55 3080.6 3092.8APOLLOTYRE 225.7 226.7 220.75 224.9DIVISLAB 3380 3444.4 3353.85 3406.75JUBLFOOD 2885 2899.95 2819.2 2879.3TITAN 1451 1467.25 1448 1459.8SBILIFE 840 909.9 840 899.7LAURUSLABS 360.75 366.5 356.2 361.25L&TFH 102.6 102.6 98.45 99.3HAVELLS 1044 1054.95 1027.1 1034.5JKTYRE 116 119 113.8 117.9BANKINDIA 66.8 69.2 66.25 68.4CGCL 352.7 364.8 345.8 363.6PIDILITIND 1765 1783.45 1738.05 1761.95STAR 765 812.5 765 802.4SYNGENE 510.9 516.4 491.75 500.4TATACOFFEE 118.65 118.75 115.4 116.4WOCKPHARMA 425 457.55 424.95 449.05GRAPHITE 510.8 512.5 496 498.75INDIACEM 162.55 167 162.5 165.4

MUTHOOTFIN 1232 1247 1222 1238.65GMRINFRA 25.3 25.85 24.75 25.55TRIDENT 14.63 14.9 14.25 14.53RAYMOND 337 345.7 336.4 341.55NESTLEIND 16415 16672.65 16350.05 16594.25GLENMARK 458 467.35 456.1 459.95INDIAMART 8140 8270.65 7905.05 7991.65TATAMETALI 761 761 731.8 734.85MARICO 395 402.8 393.95 401.6CUMMINSIND 904.6 909.7 885.8 892.45CESC 614.95 614.95 595.9 597.8CONCOR 558.2 566.55 551.05 561.4NATIONALUM 54.9 55.25 54.2 54.5CYIENT 665 684.25 656.05 676.3ASHOKA 105 105 102.45 102.8CADILAHC 430 437.75 426.3 431.6QUESS 738 738 693.1 696.85PETRONET 225.9 230.75 225.8 228.9ADANIGREEN 1251.05 1251.05 1233.4 1251.05ADANITRANS 774.9 806.35 755 794.25GNFC 303.25 314.2 300.15 301.55COLPAL 1580 1588.7 1560.5 1578.35TATACOMM 1183.95 1194.5 1141.85 1156.65BOMDYEING 74.8 76 73.8 74.95LALPATHLAB 2533 2584.7 2533 2572.4PERSISTENT 1981 1990 1900.05 1963.7BHARATFORG 600.1 607.8 593 596.4HINDPETRO* 235.5 237.3 234.3 236.45HDFCAMC 2899.4 2899.4 2851.15 2880.4RAMCOCEM 942 980.15 942 974.15HSCL 42.55 43.9 41.5 43.15MGL 1115 1138.15 1114.7 1124.95COROMANDEL 760.9 760.9 744 758.45BDL 364 366.9 351 357.3AFFLE 5384 5439.2 5261.9 5299UBL 1235 1261 1206.2 1252.65MANAPPURAM 159 160.75 155.9 156.6GSFC 82.4 88.75 82.4 87.05CANFINHOME 575 611.05 575 602.35EXIDEIND 187.9 190.6 187 189.25AMARAJABAT 865 875.85 865 873.85JKPAPER 147.4 149.5 144.9 147.35SRF 5312.5 5320.2 5235 5282.55MPHASIS 1668 1679 1632 1669.9

HINDZINC 285 289.4 277.4 278.25CROMPTON 401.65 401.65 384.35 390.8UCOBANK 12.71 13.11 12.43 12.49APLAPOLLO 1270 1300 1250.2 1276.25CENTRALBK 16.3 16.75 15.8 15.9COFORGE 2967 3011 2894.15 2920.15BALRAMCHIN 202.5 207.2 198.15 204.1FSL 109.65 114.55 108.25 111.55ABCAPITAL 120.15 122.6 119.1 120.85KEI 525 555 512 549.4PNCINFRA 235 245.45 231.5 242.95ENGINERSIN 73.3 75.9 73.3 75.25PFC 123.85 124.35 121.05 121.55JSWENERGY 85.4 87.4 85 86.45GREAVESCOT 134.85 137.95 129.2 136.1SWSOLAR 263 273.7 259.95 264.7PIIND 2286.8 2309.45 2244.05 2296.35EDELWEISS 84 85.7 80.5 81.2AMBER 3255.05 3395 3231.1 3337.45HIMATSEIDE 157 157.7 149.05 155.2DEEPAKFERT 235 243.4 233.25 236.85HINDCOPPER 126.5 127.45 122.4 124.25POLYCAB 1340 1377 1340 1351.45VGUARD 226.35 235.75 226.35 233.7INDIANB 120.85 122.9 118.2 119.85CENTURYTEX 475.25 486.85 469.95 482.2UJJIVAN 225 226 221.3 222.85DABUR 526.8 534.5 524 533.35GUJGAS 518 520.4 508.15 510.2BATAINDIA 1501 1501 1469.25 1474.65NILKAMAL 1951.5 2071.6 1951.5 1978.3SHREECEM 27099.95 27199 26625 26956.3PTC 80.75 81.9 79.5 79.95BSOFT 249 250.4 240.2 248.05TATAMTRDVR 132.15 133.4 130.1 131.45MMTC 42.1 43.75 41.7 42.75FCONSUMER 6.2 7.06 6.2 7.06SWANENERGY 136.65 141.55 136.25 140.7IOB 15.6 15.85 14.95 15.05CASTROLIND 118.8 119.8 117.85 118.85INOXLEISUR 306 316.8 305.2 309.2KPRMILL 1138 1138 1040.55 1056.9VAIBHAVGBL 3990.25 4160 3961 4017.1GICRE 219 222.95 213.65 220.35MFSL 846.15 860.9 840.75 844.85GODREJIND 511 524.2 503.75 521.1UNIONBANK 35.05 35.65 34.25 34.45NIACL 166 171.75 162.55 169.2TORNTPOWER 429.95 429.95 418.55 427.3ASTRAZEN 3280 3382.5 3214.9 3281.05IIFL 302.5 309 287.5 301.25RAJESHEXPO 480 482 473 475.6WELSPUNIND 81 83.5 79.5 81.8TV18BRDCST 30.6 31.75 30.6 31.15RELAXO 845 879 840.1 869.45ITI 118.5 121.4 118.1 119.75AVANTI 451.05 461 442.3 455.5MINDAIND 576.2 591.8 551.6 558.25DISHTV 10 10.3 9.74 9.84TORNTPHARM 2418.8 2456.9 2394.6 2449.5HEG 1587.1 1600.5 1562 1568.95IDFC 51.4 51.4 49.45 50.45RAIN 147 151.4 145.6 148.2DCBBANK 105.1 108.6 103.85 105.25IRB 113 114.5 110.2 112.6MCX 1618 1639 1598 1613.45BALMLAWRIE 135.4 140.65 134 137.65LEMONTREE 35.65 39.45 35.65 38.8GLAXO 1433 1437.2 1422 1426.3BERGEPAINT 724.7 733.9 717.65 731.9TRENT 807.75 817 791 798.85SOUTHBANK 8.96 9.09 8.77 8.8IPCALAB 1840.05 1894.7 1818.45 1834.15MAHABANK 19.5 19.95 18.85 19HONAUT 42848 44636 42227.15 44465.85TATAINVEST 1025.4 1028 994 1016.9HUDCO 46.25 47.95 45.7 47.65KTKBANK 62.6 64.75 61.9 64.05NOCIL 173.95 173.95 165.55 168.15HFCL 26.35 27.35 25.95 26.65GODREJAGRO 492 496.6 481.05 496.05UJJIVANSFB 32.1 32.9 31.8 32.15KRBL 185.9 192.7 184.55 191.95GRANULES 315 318.95 309.8 311.05ORIENTELEC 332 344.9 321.7 324.35SUNDRMFAST 753 755 712 748.7LTTS 2599.9 2630.85 2578.65 2597.1GET&D 117.15 122.75 117.15 119.4RADICO 531.9 539.75 527.55 531.2PNBHOUSING 392 395.95 385.35 392.95BOSCHLTD 14500 14549.9 14321 14356.7CARBORUNIV 466 479.65 466 468.8EQUITAS 85.4 88.3 84.25 86.65UFLEX 391 401.2 388.6 393.5GMM 4279.95 4290.85 4171.55 4249.15INDUSTOWER 258 261 257 258.45ORIENTREF 227.35 254 227.35 244.7SONATSOFTW 465 475.6 457.5 472.05SHANKARA 450 450 391.6 394.3NLCINDIA 51.15 51.55 50 50.45ATUL 6720 7030.4 6679 6903.55IFBIND 1077.25 1077.25 995.6 1026.9THYROCARE 872.3 890 836 839.9MAHINDCIE 162.15 165.75 160.5 161.85JKCEMENT 2715 2859.55 2715 2793.7DCMSHRIRAM 520 537.3 512.5 526JAMNAAUTO 70.7 71.15 69 69.65ITDC 378 402 370.45 393.45ENDURANCE 1390.05 1517 1390.05 1491.2AARTIIND 1272 1289.6 1240 1280.55

JMFINANCIL 89.5 94.1 86.2 93.2NAM-INDIA 328.4 336.85 326.35 335.7VARROC 399 416 382.2 406.95JUBLPHARMA 730 730 676.75 697.55INDHOTEL 114.85 116.95 112.95 114.85REPCOHOME 313 330 309.2 321.95PHILIPCARB 188.7 194.9 188.45 191.15VENKYS 1574 1590.55 1557.8 1578.7ASTRAL 1700 1729.95 1663.55 1705.25KPITTECH 154.8 163.35 153.7 161.85STLTECH 204 207.9 203.1 205CHAMBLFERT 216.2 222.25 216.2 220.85ESABINDIA 1928.4 1928.4 1845 1851.2KAJARIACER 925 944 901 908.15PFIZER 4400 4427 4375.65 4409.7NHPC 24.45 24.45 23.95 24.05SUNTECK 322 323.1 313 315.2ABB 1430 1430 1385.05 1388.7PRESTIGE 288.8 300.5 284.75 299.05SPARC 155.15 158.05 155 156.1CUB 169.5 170.75 168 169.6DCAL 112.3 117.55 112.3 114.05GMDCLTD 58 59.4 57.25 57.55AAVAS 2314 2371.1 2285 2352.25OIL 120.5 121.1 118.4 118.9CEATLTD 1574.3 1581.5 1540.85 1548.55WHIRLPOOL 2357.9 2357.9 2278.1 2289.45ZENSARTECH 290 296.75 287.7 291.4RALLIS 259 261.25 254.4 259.8BLUESTARCO 909 918.7 881.55 893.7APLLTD 899 926 891.05 916.1BBTC 1174.35 1184 1158.25 1172.75LINDEINDIA 1705 1825 1705 1796.8OFSS 3180.05 3250 3180.05 3218.7MRPL 40.95 40.95 40 40.25FORCEMOT 1233.65 1239.1 1190.85 1230.4METROPOLIS 1936.3 1985.5 1909.05 1969.55NAVINFLUOR 2524.85 2579.95 2495.8 2540BLUEDART 5160 5444 5160 5241.45SYMPHONY 1278.2 1285.85 1236.4 1267.55ISEC 409.85 417.6 406 413.55ALKEM 2633.85 2657 2607 2619.4JAICORPLTD 88 89.55 87.3 87.9J&KBANK 26.95 27.1 26.5 26.75MIDHANI 183.25 187.15 180.5 186KNRCON 214.35 214.35 201.5 204ARVINDFASN 151 154.5 149.65 153.55CHENNPETRO 105.25 107 103.45 105.8FINEORG 2220 2250 2168.15 2213.55HERITGFOOD 306 313.75 294 299.9REDINGTON 155.25 160.75 155.15 155.8ICICIGI 1442.35 1459.4 1430 1433.05VIPIND 377.95 380.9 371 374.3GSPL 261.95 263.85 256.4 258.2EIDPARRY 339 342.3 324 332.8BAJAJELEC 944 949.9 919.05 933.15WELCORP 135 137.05 134.4 135.5JBCHEPHARM 1202.8 1202.8 1165.6 1189.85COCHINSHIP 363.3 368.75 359.35 361.55ALKYLAMINE 5421 5421 5315.4 5332.85DALBHARAT 1571 1597 1565.25 1585.15BAJAJCON 268.6 272.75 265.55 269.3SCHNEIDER 97 99.5 95.25 98.2SUMICHEM 284.85 285.25 277.9 282.2IFCI 12.48 12.93 12.15 12.93BASF 2061.15 2115 2052.85 2084.35WABAG 249.1 252.5 246 247.8OBEROIRLTY 585 607.3 575.1 598.5VBL 999 1005 978.35 999.453MINDIA 27700 27842.15 26603.6 27379.55SUDARSCHEM 523.4 540.1 522 531.3AIAENG 1885.55 1921 1884.9 1911.95LAXMIMACH 6904.9 7064.9 6888 6963.85POWERINDIA 1311.55 1407 1294.6 1396.15CAPPL 433.85 437.3 426 427.95MINDACORP 94.3 99.05 93.95 98.25ABBOTINDIA 14800 14800 14511 14654.4JINDALSAW 75.95 76.95 74.4 75.6MOTILALOFS 692.5 692.5 666.45 669.05PARAGMILK 99 103.5 98.3 100.85BIRLACORPN 798 838 791 833.75NBVENTURES* 69.95 70.6 69.35 70.05FINCABLES 371 375 366 367.6SUPRAJIT 290 292.5 279.05 289.1NATCOPHARM 809.55 817.5 807.25 814.1GPPL 97 102.4 96 102CREDITACC 708.95 709 687.8 689.7AEGISLOG 303.5 303.5 291.7 294.85FINOLEXIND 625 626 605.3 612.4RITES 242 247.55 242 243.95CSBBANK 247.55 251.65 243.55 245.5JSL 67 67 65.1 65.5GODFRYPHLP 873.05 893.15 873.05 887.5NESCO 592 592 535.2 538.6CARERATING 447.8 454.4 436.25 438.1GARFIBRES 2355.7 2426.95 2321.9 2397.75AJANTPHARM 1800.1 1802 1775 1778.35MOIL 145.3 147.8 143.4 143.95SHOPERSTOP 219 225 213.85 220.95GILLETTE 5435.05 5529.8 5430 5491.85EMAMILTD 479.3 487.9 472.4 485.1GEPIL 268.5 272.6 266.55 270.2JYOTHYLAB 145.6 145.65 142 142.6VINATIORGA 1449 1449 1395.65 1407GUJALKALI 348.75 360 347.25 350.25TCIEXP 895.6 916.9 876.7 886.7PRSMJOHNSN 114.4 121 113.85 118.15ORIENTCEM 97 99.45 96 97.95GESHIP 303.55 308.75 301.6 305.2KANSAINER 542 550 533.6 543.1

CRISIL 1920 1966 1916.75 1957.35BLISSGVS 107.9 107.9 101.6 102.3EIHOTEL 97.2 98.75 95.75 97.95KALPATPOWR 393.25 393.25 376.4 379.95THERMAX 1345 1359.1 1316.25 1352.15SIS 401.3 416.7 401.3 408.55EPL 210.45 214.6 210.3 213.5GRSE 192 197.9 191 191.7SJVN 26.25 26.25 25.7 25.9RATNAMANI 1845 1924.45 1836.2 1873.3NH 388.4 402.95 383.15 390.25SUPREMEIND 2019 2019 1965 1997.2TIINDIA 1143.6 1156.85 1107.85 1133.8PCJEWELLER 27.8 28.3 27 28.1PGHH 12852 13160 12851.7 13027.45JKLAKSHMI 408.4 428.2 405 407.3JAGRAN* 58.8 59.75 58.75 59.15ASTERDM 141.35 143.75 139.3 143.35TEAMLEASE 3542 3542 3422.7 3491.9FLUOROCHEM 580 601 580 590.7PHOENIXLTD 737.85 774.95 737.85 769.7KEC 461.9 461.9 445.6 447.3SCHAEFFLER 5296.2 5344 5220 5303.95VMART 2733 2814.05 2710.4 2788.2SOBHA 441.05 455.95 441.05 448.15BAYERCROP 5150 5150 5061.1 5094.9MAHSEAMLES 281 283.25 278.85 282.15WESTLIFE 460 467.85 451 465.4HAWKINCOOK 5514.9 5549 5450.05 5507FDC 273.5 278.3 272.7 275.75VSTIND 3390 3473.5 3380 3454.3SKFINDIA 2140.05 2190 2114.05 2178.2TAKE 51.55 52.5 51.05 51.3GHCL 231 233.8 228.3 231.4BAJAJHLDNG 3408 3439.95 3382.15 3427.4HATHWAY 29.4 30.35 29.2 29.9KSB 805 808.45 788.9 792.75CENTURYPLY 303 303 293.8 298.9VRLLOG 237.2 237.2 231.2 233.15JCHAC 2680 2680 2570 2588.9BRIGADE 250 253.85 245 252LUXIND 1744.2 1744.2 1688.35 1736.6GALAXYSURF 2346.35 2422.35 2345.35 2391.15TVSSRICHAK 1781.5 1845.15 1780.95 1815.3MAHLOG 518.8 530.2 506 525.9GULFOILLUB 720.85 754.15 720.85 744.5PGHL 6500 6500 6342.35 6351.75TTKPRESTIG 7250 7352.05 7176.65 7231.65ADVENZYMES 357.45 359.5 353 355.35JTEKTINDIA 87.9 89.8 86.7 88.35GRINDWELL 855 894.95 855 887.55SHK 114.7 117.35 112.85 115.3TIMETECHNO 56.35 57.65 55.1 55.7HEIDELBERG 219.95 226.55 219.25 225.15TASTYBIT 14253.9 14253.9 13742.15 13873.05SHRIRAMCIT 1445 1445 1399.85 1422.85ERIS 582 586.35 570 573.15STARCEMENT 96.5 98 95.5 96.1DBCORP 91.15 94 91.15 92.55CHOLAHLDNG 596.7 606.35 591.1 599.35LAOPALA 210.8 219.8 210 218.15TNPL 144.6 147.85 144.25 145.3JSLHISAR 116.25 118 114.45 115.05ZYDUSWELL 1845 1885.2 1840 1876.15ALLCARGO 127.1 132.55 127.1 130.65VTL 1225 1265 1225 1250.8DHANUKA 705.75 710 702 704.6MHRIL 214.35 216.9 211.5 214.1SOMANYCERA 413 418.7 403.05 413.9INDOSTAR 323.7 332.95 323.25 327.9AKZOINDIA 2201 2228.7 2182.5 2213.55MAHSCOOTER 3637.15 3685 3601.8 3634MASFIN 874.55 890.45 867.85 882.2ECLERX 968.8 972.4 960 966.85GDL 174.2 174.2 170.9 172.65TVTODAY 275 275 263.65 269.15NAVNETEDUL 85.3 85.3 82.5 83.55CERA 3885 3904.5 3825 3853.7TCNSBRANDS 505 524.15 500.55 520.2SFL 2000 2000 1955.25 1975MAHLIFE 520 537.2 520 527.5SOLARINDS 1311.95 1319.15 1278.25 1287.15INDOCO 282.3 283.15 278.8 280.7TIMKEN 1250 1263.35 1245.1 1260.55SPANDANA 590.1 600.5 585 590.85WABCOINDIA 6110 6143.9 6110 6136.55CCL 244.7 244.9 239.45 240.1IIFLWAM 1239.35 1239.35 1167.4 1207.4OMAXE 66.1 70.95 66.1 70.15

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 14736.30 14763.90 14597.85 14736.40 -7.60ADANIPORTS 686.00 726.25 681.00 721.75 35.50BRITANNIA 3440.10 3570.00 3440.10 3557.65 91.05TCS 3048.70 3139.45 3018.65 3129.00 78.80TECHM 989.90 1017.40 978.30 1013.05 23.60SUNPHARMA 578.60 593.60 578.60 591.50 13.20HINDALCO 335.10 342.65 331.10 341.95 6.85INFY 1350.10 1376.00 1336.10 1371.50 27.05DRREDDY 4276.90 4367.95 4268.25 4354.95 80.50HINDUNILVR 2310.10 2356.50 2302.00 2353.00 40.95HCLTECH 960.45 982.45 944.60 977.00 16.55NTPC 108.80 110.55 106.85 110.30 1.80TATASTEEL 731.10 745.65 725.00 744.80 11.80CIPLA 762.00 784.60 758.70 771.85 11.20ITC 223.30 226.40 221.50 226.05 3.10BPCL 438.25 442.00 434.35 438.50 5.55JSWSTEEL 441.00 449.00 436.80 445.80 5.25WIPRO 411.05 416.25 410.20 415.25 4.75DIVISLAB 3371.35 3444.00 3350.55 3403.00 32.70ULTRACEMCO 6665.90 6785.00 6631.30 6733.75 61.75EICHERMOT 2668.00 2692.00 2650.05 2683.55 22.05NESTLEIND 16451.00 16675.00 16351.00 16575.95 125.10GAIL 140.00 140.00 135.35 136.95 0.95ASIANPAINT 2390.00 2438.10 2390.00 2428.00 16.75BAJAJ-AUTO 3650.20 3685.00 3634.30 3667.15 17.10IOC 99.65 99.80 98.25 99.20 0.45HDFC 2530.10 2547.35 2485.00 2540.05 8.40SHREECEM 26900.00 27214.15 26618.00 26998.10 61.40GRASIM 1419.00 1428.00 1401.25 1414.00 2.75M&M 849.80 859.35 832.15 851.80 1.50UPL 624.95 636.90 617.65 625.90 0.45TITAN 1465.00 1468.65 1448.00 1466.20 0.75MARUTI 7104.00 7142.50 7050.20 7110.00 -3.55KOTAKBANK 1833.00 1849.95 1805.00 1828.60 -5.55BAJAJFINSV 9450.00 9494.95 9312.05 9405.00 -35.65COALINDIA 137.60 137.60 135.30 135.65 -0.65BHARTIARTL 533.05 534.00 523.00 527.40 -2.55HEROMOTOCO 3131.60 3143.95 3081.15 3101.00 -18.15LT 1409.00 1417.40 1392.25 1402.00 -9.25SBILIFE 905.00 909.25 895.35 898.30 -8.40SBIN 372.00 372.80 363.50 367.55 -3.60RELIANCE 2071.00 2074.00 2033.20 2061.00 -21.00ONGC 110.50 111.25 108.55 109.35 -1.15HDFCLIFE 689.45 694.75 678.25 680.75 -7.70BAJFINANCE 5446.50 5497.00 5337.00 5386.75 -66.50AXISBANK 719.00 730.00 709.30 717.00 -9.25HDFCBANK 1494.90 1494.90 1460.40 1473.90 -23.60TATAMOTORS 306.45 307.50 300.10 302.80 -6.15ICICIBANK 586.85 586.85 569.50 573.75 -12.90POWERGRID 234.40 234.40 222.20 222.90 -7.30

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 34,256.50 34,479.25 34,133.85 34,412.85 337ACC 1,760.00 1,873.90 1,751.20 1,863.90 108.9ADANIGREEN 1,252.20 1,252.20 1,234.95 1,252.20 59.6AMBUJACEM 284.45 297.8 278 297.4 13.95TATACONSUM 603 623.05 596.25 621.5 21.25GODREJCP 675 696 671 694.95 22.45ADANITRANS 767.8 807 758.15 787.85 20.05INDIGO 1,663.60 1,727.85 1,626.25 1,705.90 42.3DLF 288.9 293.9 284.25 293.9 6.5UBL 1,223.00 1,263.20 1,206.00 1,245.00 27.15NMDC 127.65 129.35 126.25 128.4 2.8PETRONET 226.6 231.5 225.25 228.9 4.8AUROPHARMA 830.1 849.5 826 839.4 17.15ICICIPRULI 430.2 439.1 430 438.4 8.35BANDHANBNK 346.05 355.45 343.3 352.5 6.45DABUR 525.1 534.7 523.7 533.6 8.8BIOCON 395.6 403.4 394.05 402.35 6.65NAUKRI 4,698.00 4,729.00 4,620.00 4,679.00 76.7MARICO 394.9 402.95 394 401 6.1TORNTPHARM 2,414.20 2,456.00 2,392.80 2,450.00 35.8IGL 513.5 518.5 506.25 517.75 6.55CADILAHC 427.55 438 425.75 430.6 5.2LUPIN 1,005.10 1,019.60 1,000.00 1,017.00 11.9MCDOWELL-N 538.7 543.6 534.3 541.9 5.55BERGEPAINT 726.1 734.45 717.6 732.15 6.45PGHH 12,821.00 13,190.00 12,821.00 13,055.00 115.25HINDPETRO 236.95 237.5 234.45 236.8 2.05OFSS 3,225.00 3,255.55 3,182.40 3,229.00 23.85PIDILITIND 1,769.00 1,783.80 1,738.15 1,760.00 8.95HDFCAMC 2,889.00 2,890.00 2,850.65 2,883.00 12ALKEM 2,634.20 2,659.30 2,606.20 2,634.85 10LTI 4,090.00 4,191.95 4,075.10 4,090.25 15.15PEL 1,889.00 1,919.05 1,865.70 1,895.00 5.95MUTHOOTFIN 1,236.00 1,247.50 1,221.60 1,234.20 3.75COLPAL 1,577.75 1,589.00 1,560.25 1,579.90 1.05ICICIGI 1,440.00 1,460.00 1,430.00 1,435.00 -1.6BAJAJHLDNG 3,427.80 3,455.00 3,366.15 3,422.50 -6.5SIEMENS 1,850.00 1,870.85 1,819.00 1,839.00 -3.8CONCOR 560 567.15 550.85 559 -1.55GICRE 218.9 222.9 214 218.15 -1ABBOTINDIA 14,855.00 14,855.00 14,500.00 14,649.95 -145BOSCHLTD 14,527.55 14,550.00 14,284.75 14,359.90 -167.65HAVELLS 1,046.00 1,054.65 1,027.00 1,031.80 -12.15PNB 38.45 38.55 37.5 37.85 -0.6PFC 123.5 124.45 121.05 121.5 -2BANKBARODA 73.8 74.65 71.75 72.45 -1.25HINDZINC 284.5 289.7 277.35 278.2 -5.15DMART 2,980.00 2,988.00 2,862.00 2,905.00 -55.3MOTHERSUMI 212 214.45 204 207.1 -4.55SBICARD 991.25 991.25 966.25 969 -22.25INDUSTOWER 257.5 261 256.7 257.25 -6.25

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Equity benchmark Sensexdeclined 87 points on

Monday, tracking losses inindex majors HDFC Bank,ICICI Bank and RelianceIndustries amid a weak trendin global markets.

After slumping over 570points in mid-afternoon trade,the 30-share BSE index recov-ered some lost ground to endat 49,771.29, down 86.95points or 0.17 per cent.

On similar lines, thebroader NSE Nifty dipped7.60 points or 0.05 per cent to14,736.40.

IndusInd Bank was thetop loser in the Sensex pack,shedding 4.33 per cent, fol-lowed by PowerGrid, ICICIBank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank,Bajaj Finance and SBI.

On the other hand, TechMahindra, TCS, Sun Pharma,Infosys and HCL Tech wereamong the gainers.

Global markets reeled andthe Turkish lira plunged tonear record lows afterPresident Tayyip Erdoganunexpectedly replaced thecountry’s central bank gover-nor, shocking investors andstoking fears of capital con-trols.

"Indian markets openedweak with marginal declinefollowing mixed to negativecues from its Asian marketpeers as investors watched theweakening Turkish lira andfears of rise in cases due toCOVID virus which increasedvolatility in markets.

"During the afternoon ses-sion, the markets extended

their losses and sentimentswere dented due to majordampener in the form of fast-rising COVID-19 cases...Restricted economic activity inthese regions may impact theoptimistic growth projectionsfor FY22," said NarendraSolanki, Head- EquityResearch (Fundamental),Anand Rathi.

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The Parliament on Mondayapproved the Bill to

increase Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) limit in theinsurance sector from 49 percent to 74 per cent with the LokSabha passing the proposed lawby a voice vote. Union FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanasserted that raising the FDIcap in the insurance sector wasnecessary to help insurers dealwith issues concerning finan-cial stress.

The Insurance(Amendment) Bill, 2021 waspassed by Rajya Sabha lastweek.

Strongly opposing the bil,Congress said the decision tohike the FDI limit was like a“somersault” by the BJP whichhad persistently opposedincrease the proposal when itwas in the opposition. ShivSena too opposed the bill.

Moving the Bill, theFinance Minister said the

insurance companies are facingsolvency related issues. "ifgrowth capital is hard to comeby, there will be a stress situ-ation. In order that the stresssituation is not left unattended,we need to raise the FDI limit."

Hiking the FDI limit in theinsurance sector will helpinsurers raise additional fundsand tide over the financialproblems, she said.

The minister said the gov-ernment will provide funds tothe public sector insurancecompanies but private playerswill have to raise capital ontheir own.

The COVID-19 pandemic,Sitharaman said, has furtheradded to the woes of insurancecompanies. She furthersaid the FDI limit was beingraised on the recommendationsof insurance regulator IRDAIwhich has done extensive con-sultations with the stakehold-ers. The FDI limit in the insur-ance sector, the minister said,has increased significantly afterthe government decided toraise the cap from 26 per centto 49 per cent in 2015. As muchas Rs 26,000 crore has come asFDI in the sector since 2015,she said, adding the asset under

management (AUM) in thissector has grown by 76 per centduring the last five years.

In here reply Sitharamandetailed how some insurancecompanies deal with life whileothers deal with GeneralInsurance like health, agricul-ture or agriculture insurance. “There are four companies inpublic sector and 22 in privatesector for general insurance .There are seven public sectorinsurance companies while 61private sector companies .And money should be availableto them to do business”, shesaid. “ Your can insure your lifewith just Rs 1 a day . That’sbecause of the universe hasexpanded”, she said.

“ The government assuresthe employment of LIC . Butwhat about employees in theprivate sector ?”, the financeminister asked.

Initiating the debate onthe bill, Manish Tewari (Cong)said when the BJP was in theopposition, it opposed anincrease in FDI. He said thethen UPA government couldnot breach the wall put by lateSushma Swaraj and ArunJaitely in both Houses ofParliament.

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The Indian rupee continuedits winning run for the third

straight session on Monday,adding another 15 paise toclose at 72.37 against the USdollar as some stability in crudeoil prices and sustained foreignfund inflows kept investor sen-timent upbeat. At the interbankforex market, the local unitopened at 72.47 against thegreenback and gained further totouch an intra-day high of72.34. It finally ended at 72.37against the American currency,registering a rise of 15 paise overits previous close.

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Gold in the national capitaltumbled by �302 to

�44,269 per 10 grams onMonday, reflecting overnightdecline in global gold pricesand rupee appreciation, accord-ing to HDFC Securities.In theprevious trade, it had closed at�44,571 per 10 grams. Silveralso tanked �1,533 to �65,319per kg, from �66,852 in the pre-vious trade.

In the international mar-ket, gold was trading margin-ally up at USD 1,731 per ouncewhile silver was trading lowerat USD 25.55 per ounce.

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Former president DonaldTrump could be culpable

for his role in the January 6 USCapitol riot, an ex-top prose-cutor who previously led thecriminal investigation into theincident said.

Michael Sherwin, the for-mer acting DC US attorney,also said he believes seditioncould be a charge made against

some Capitol riot defendants,CBS News reported.

Sherwin said it was“unequivocal” that the formerpresident was “the magnet thatbrought the people to DC onthe 6th” before his supportersstormed the Capitol building.

“We have plenty of people– we have soccer moms fromOhio that were arrested saying‘Well, I did this because mypresident said I had to take

back our house,'” he told CBSNews in an interview aired onSunday.

“That moves the needletowards that direction. Maybethe president is culpable forthese actions,” he said.

Sherwin noted that otherrioters have acknowledged theywent further than Trump'sspeech.

Sherwin's candid com-ments come as he leaves his

Justice Department post lead-ing the Washington, DC pros-ecutors' office and its widening

investigation into violence atthe Capitol. He was appointedto the job during the Trumpadministration.

Attorney General MerrickGarland and Sherwin's succes-sor, acting US Attorney for DCChanning Phillips, have notdirectly addressed whetherTrump, 74, will be investigat-ed.

When asked if investigatorswere looking into Trump's role,

Sherwin responded, "We havepeople looking at everything,correct. Everything's beinglooked at."

No public officials havebeen charged with crimes relat-ed to the Capitol riot investi-gation, and prosecutors havefocused so far on bringingcriminal cases against rioterswho breached the Capitolgrounds and against membersof extremist groups who are

alleged to have coordinatedbefore the attack which left fivepeople, including a police offi-cer, dead.

The ex-President hasdenied responsibility.

Trump has faced accusa-tions, particularly fromDemocratic lawmakers, thathis call to supporters to rally inDC and march to the Capitolon the day Congress was sched-uled to confirm the Electoral

College vote sparked the vio-lence.

The former president, aRepublican, was impeachedfor a second time a week beforehis presidency ended over theinsurrection but was acquittedby the Senate.

Ten House Republicansvoted in favour of impeach-ment and seven SenateRepublicans voted to convictTrump. PTI

Yangon: The BBC said Mondaythat a journalist from itsBurmese-language service wasreleased by authorities inMyanmar but gave no details,as protesters in the SoutheastAsian nation continued theirbroad civil disobedience move-ment against last month's mil-itary coup.

The journalist, AungThura, was detained on March19 by men who appeared to beplainclothes security agentswhile reporting outside a courtin the capital of Naypyitaw.

Arrests of media workershave been part of the junta'sintensifying efforts to choke offinformation about resistance tothe February 1 coup. Some 40journalists have been arrestedsince the coup, half of whomare still in detention — includ-ing Thein Zaw of TheAssociated Press — accordingto the Myanmar-basedAssistance Association forPolitical Prisoners.

On Monday, lawmakersfrom the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations urgedregional leaders to meet anddevise a “strong and decisiveresponse” to increased vio-lence against protesters byMyanmar's military. The law-makers urged the 10-nationbloc to send a delegation along-side the U.N. Special envoy toMyanmar to help negotiate a

“democratic and human rights-based solution."

ASEAN has a policy ofnon-interference in each other'saffairs, but some regional lead-ers have rebuked the violenceand urged restraint in Myanmar.

“The Myanmar army iskilling people every day.Statements are welcome, butare useless against the military'sbullets,” said Charles Santiago,

a Malaysian lawmaker whoheads the ASEANParliamentarians for HumanRights group.

Since the military seizedpower, many citizens fromteachers to doctors, tradersand railway workers havejoined a civil disobediencemovement that uses wide-spread boycotts, strikes andother actions in an attempt to

force a return to a civilian gov-ernment.

The junta has respondedwith an increasingly brutalcrackdown and sought to limitinformation reaching the out-side world. Security forces haveopened fire on crowds andkilled hundreds, internet accesshas been severely restricted,private newspapers have beenbarred from publishing, and

protesters, journalists andpoliticians have been arrestedin large numbers.

Protesters on Monday senthundreds of red balloons intothe air in Myanmar's biggestcity, Yangon, in support ofcivilian leader Aung San SuuKyi, who was ousted in thecoup and detained. Many alsowore red shirts, the colour ofher National League forDemocracy party.

Protesters have called forforeign intervention to aidthem under the doctrine ofResponsibility to Protect —also known as R2P — devisedto deal with matters such asgenocide, war crimes, ethniccleansing and crimes againsthumanity. Attached to the bal-loons were papers with R2Pwritten on them.

Angry citizens alsomarched and chanted slogans inearly morning demonstrationsin Yangon and various parts ofthe country, while others drovein convoys and honked theirvehicles in protest.

The Assistance Associationfor Political Prisoners has veri-fied 250 deaths nationwide butsays the actual total, includingcases where verification hasbeen difficult, is probably muchhigher. It said 2,665 people havealso been arrested or chargedsince the coup, with 2,290 stilldetained or sought for arrest. AP

Berlin: German authorities areexpected to extend lockdownmeasures again on Mondayand possibly tighten somerestrictions as they face a steadyrise in new coronavirus infec-tions.

Chancellor Angela Merkeland the country's 16 state gov-ernors, who in highly decen-tralised Germany are respon-sible for imposing and liftingrestrictions, are holding avideoconference nearly threeweeks after they agreed a sev-eral-step plan paving the way

to relax some rules.Since then, infections have

increased steadily as the morecontagious variant first detect-ed in Britain has become dom-inant. Most lockdown restric-tions are currently set to runthrough March 28. The chan-cellery is proposing an exten-sion to April 18.

Rather than new movestoward a more normal life, onefocus now is pressing regionalofficials to use consistently an“emergency brake” mechanismunder which relaxations grant-

ed in recent weeks — such asthe partial reopening ofnonessential shops — are sup-posed to be reimposed if newweekly infections in an areaexceed 100 per 100,000 resi-dents on three consecutivedays.

“Unfortunately, we willhave to make use of this emer-gency brake,” Merkel saidFriday. The weekly infectionrate per 100,000 people stoodat 107 nationwide on Monday,up from the mid-60s threeweeks ago. AP

Brussels: The European Unionon Monday imposed sanctionson 11 officials in Myanmar,mostly top military officers,accused of involvement in lastmonth's coup and the violentcrackdown on peaceful protest-ers that followed.

Ten of the 11 targeted withasset freezes and travel bans aresenior members of theMyanmar Armed Forces,including Commander-in-Chief, Min Aung Hlaing, andDeputy-Commander-in-Chief,Soe Win, EU headquarters saidin a statement.

The other heads the electioncommission and is accused overhis role in cancelling last year'spolls.

Myanmar's military juntaprevented Parliament from con-vening on Feb. 1. It claimed thatlast November's elections, wonby Aung San Suu Kyi's party ina landslide, were tainted byfraud. The election commissionthat confirmed the victory hassince been replaced by the junta.

The coup reversed years ofslow progress toward democra-cy in Myanmar after five decadesof military rule. In the face ofpersistent strikes and protestsagainst the takeover, the juntahas responded with an increas-ingly violent crackdown andefforts to limit the informationreaching the outside world. AP

Shanghai: New York Universitysaid Monday it was seekingmore information from Chineseauthorities after nine studentsfrom its Shanghai campus weretemporarily detained in whatappeared to be police dragnetfor drug suspects.

A statement from the uni-versity said two students wereheld as part of a police actionoutside a bar and the otherseven were at a birthday partyat an off-campus apartment onMarch 12 when police arrivedand brought all present in fordrug testing.

“None of the students werefound to have used or been inpossession of drugs and nonewere arrested,” NYU Shanghaisaid in a statement. China hostsa large number of foreign stu-dents, a number increased bythe opening of satellite cam-puses by British and Americanuniversities.

“Being brought in for test-ing as part of a drug sweep wasunderstandably frightening forour students ... Since then wehave continued to provide sup-port for the affected students,"said a statement from the schoolsent to The Associated Press onMonday.

Police who arrived at thebirthday party were apparently

looking for a specific individualbut it wasn't clear who that wasand no one was arrested. Thestudents at the bar that samenight told school authoritiesthat, upon leaving the venue,they were approached by a per-son wearing plainclothes whoshowed a badge they did notrecognise.

One tried to leave, bothwere detained and sufferedminor injuries, and all other barpatrons and staff, all of themChinese citizens, were alsodetained and subjected to drugtesting.

The students were allreleased by the next morningafter their drug tests came backnegative, NYU said. Six of thestudents were American whilethe other three came fromFinland, Malaysia and Morocco.

“We are currently seekingmore information from cityauthorities to better understandlast weekend's police actions,"the university's statement said.There was no immediateresponse to requests for com-ment from the Shanghai police.People caught using recreationaldrugs such as marijuana andcocaine can be locked up formonths or longer in China,while dealers can receive thedeath sentence. AP

Brussels: The European Unionon Monday imposed sanctionson four Chinese officialsaccused of responsibility forabuses against Uyghur Muslimsin a raft of measures targetingalleged human rights offendersaround the world, despitewarnings that Beijing couldretaliate.

The four are senior officialsin the northwest region of

Xinjiang.The sanctions involve a

freeze on their assets in the EUand a ban on them traveling inthe bloc. European citizensand companies are not per-mitted to provide them withfinancial assistance.

China at first denied theexistence of camps for detain-ing Uyghurs in the northwestregion of Xinjiang but has

since described them as centersto provide job training andreeducate those exposed toradical jihadi thinking. Officialsdeny all charges of humanrights abuses in the north-western region.

Xinjiang had been a hotbedof anti-government violence,but Beijing claims its massivesecurity crackdown broughtpeace in recent years. AP

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/>��,�"��#�Niamey: At least 40 peoplewere killed when a group ofarmed assailants attacked sev-eral villages in Niger's Tahouaregion near the border withMali, a government spokesper-son said on Monday.

S p o k e s p e r s o nAbdoulraman Zakaria said thatsoldiers were sent to the regionand fought the attackers,reports dpa news agency.

It was not known who wasbehind the attack. Numerousarmed groups are active inNiger and in the neighbouringSahel countries. Some havesworn allegiance to the IslamicState terror group, while othersare linked to Al Qaeda.

In the Mali border region

there have been recurringattacks.

A week ago, at least 58 peo-ple were killed in an attack onmarket traders in the region ofTillaberi, the government said.

Niger has also seen demon-strations after the recent pres-idential election.

At the end of February, theelectoral commission declaredformer Foreign MinisterMohamed Bazoum, a closeally of outgoing PresidentMahamadou Issoufou, the win-ner with almost 56 per cent ofthe vote. Former President andopposition candidateMahamane Ousmane slammedthe result as fraudulent andclaims he is the winner. IANS

/(': ��*� 3/,9,'��,7-��+C��,:,�:�his official residence Dyaneshwar severaltimes in last few months and repeatedlyinstructed to assist in collection of fundsfor the Home Minister,” Singh wrote in hisletter.

“In and around mid-February andthereafter, the Home Minister had calledVaze to his official residence. At that time,one or two staff members of the HomeMinister including his Personal Secretary,Palande, were also present,” Singh stated.

“The Home Minister expressed to Vazethat he had a target to accumulate Rs 100crore a month. For achieving the aforesaidtarget, the Home Minister told Vaze thatthere are about 1,750 bars, restaurants andother establishments in Mumbai and if asum of Rs 2-3 lakhs each was collectedfrom each of 3 them, a monthly collectionof Rs. 40-50 crores was achievable. TheHome Minister added that the rest of thecollection could be made from othersources,” the former CP wrote.

“Vaze came to my office the same dayand informed me of the above. I wasshocked with the above discussion and wasmulling over how to deal with the situa-tion,” Singh said.

In his letter, Mumbai’s former PoliceCommissioner had gone to allege thatDeshmukh’s Personal Secretary Palandeinformed Assistant Commissioner ofPolice Sanjay Patil, ACP, Social ServiceBranch - who had been called to the HomeMinister’s residence a few days later - thatDeshmukh “was targeting a collection ofRs 40-50 crores which was possiblethrough an approximate 1,750 bars, restau-rants and establishments operating inMumbai”.

In a related development, theOpposition BJP said that it would meetGovernor Bhagat Singh Koshyari onWednesday to submit a report on the cur-rent happenings and situation to PresidentRam Nath Kovind.

“We are not demanding the President’sRule….. the Governor, based on truth,principles, and provisions made availablein the Constitution, should send a report

to the President (on the ongoing happen-ings),” senior BJP leader SudhirMungantiwar said.

“It is a very serious allegation….anofficer of the rank of Director General ofPolice writes against the Home Ministeralleging that he was demanding Rs 100crore per month (from suspendedAssistant Police Inspector) Sachin Vaze,”Muingantiwar said. According toMungantiwar, ex-Mumbai PoliceCommissioner Param Bir Singh has senta copy of the letter to the Governor’s officethat he had sent to the Maharashtra ChiefMinister complaining about State HomeMinister Anil Deshmukh.

Meanwhile, a Vanchit Bahujan Aghadidelegation led by former Parliamentarian,Prakash Ambedkar, on Monday called onGovernor Bhagat Singh Koshyari anddemanded President’s Rule in Maharashtra.

“Because of the current situationemerging from the serious allegations, theState should be placed under President’sRule…however, the Assembly should bekept under suspended animation…may bein next four or five months we can have agovernment that would look into the inter-ests of people,” Ambedkar said.

Ambedkar, who is the grandson of DrBabasaheb Ambedkar, also said that thereshould be a probe into the allegations byformer Police chief Param Bir Singh to findout whether “collecting money” was thedecision of the three parties - Shiv Sena,NCP and Congress - or the state Cabinet.

“If the Governor fails to take action,there would be perception whether theOpposition (BJP) is also involved in thescam,” Ambedkar added.

8H�%/��BD8��%��B'�%+6/'B+8�he said.

“Such transfer followed by adversemedia publicity by Deshmukh, is in vio-lation of Article 14 and 21 of theConstitution of India, in teeth of the lawlaid down by this Court in TSRSubramanian vs Union of India, reportedin (2013) 15 SCC 732, and in clear non-

compliance with the provisions of IndianPolice Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954 asamended in 2014,” he said.

Singh stated in his writ petition filedin the apex court, “The Home Minister hadbeen holding meetings in February, 2021at his residence with police officers includ-ing Sachin Vaze of Crime Intelligence Unit,Mumbai and Sanjay Patil, ACP SocialService Branch, Mumbai, bypassing theirseniors and had instructed them that hehad a target to accumulate Rs 100 croresevery month and had directed to collectmoney from various establishments andother sources.”

“Anil Deshmukh had been interferingin various investigations and was instruct-ing the police officers to conduct the samein a particular manner as desired by him,”the former CP stated.

“Each such act of Anil Deshmukh inabuse of the official position of the HomeMinister, whether in calling and directlyinstructing the police officers of lower ranksuch as Vaze or Patil for his maliciousintent of extorting money from establish-ments across Mumbai and from othersources, or whether in interfering in theinvestigations & directing the same to beconducted in a particular manner, orwhether indulging in corrupt malpracticesin posting / transfers of officers, cannot becountenanced or justified in any democ-ratic State,” Singh said.

%87�'8��B'�67%'8,�8�67%BD6�:68�-�-B�8�.,/�weeks,” the Union Health Ministry said ina statement here. In a letter to the chief sec-retaries of states and UTs, Union HealthSecretary Rajesh Bhushan said the ministryhas accepted the recommendations ofNTAGI and NEGVAC.

“…and has thereafter advised thestates and UTs to ensure the administra-tion of 2nd dose of COVISHIELD to ben-eficiaries within this stipulated time inter-val of 4-8 weeks after the 1st dose,” he said.

Keeping the existing scientific evidencein view, it appears that protection isenhanced if the second dose of COV-

ISHIELD is administered between 6-8weeks, but not later than the stipulatedperiod of eight weeks, he said.

The Union Health Secretary has urgedstates and UTs to instruct the officials con-cerned accordingly to undertake necessarysteps to widely disseminate the message ofrevised dosing interval amongst pro-gramme managers, vaccinators and recip-ients of Covishield vaccine and ensureadherence of the revised dosing interval,the ministry said.

However, health experts felt that themove should not create confusion amongpeople seeking vaccination. “We welcomeany move which is based on robust dataand does not create confusion. Data ofimmunogenicity needs to be thoroughlystudied before making changes in immu-nisation schedule which need to be backedup in Cowin app as well so as to avoid con-fusion and chaos,” pointed out Dr RahulBhargava, Director-Bone MarrowTransplant Programme, Fortis MemorialResearch Institute, Gurugram.

The dosage interval of AstraZenecavaccine, manufactured by the SII, has beenunder scanner. Recently the World HealthOrganization’s (WHO) Strategic AdvisoryGroup of Experts on Immunisation(SAGE) had cited observations that two-dose efficacy and immunogenicity increasewith a longer inter-dose interval and rec-ommended an interval of 8 to 12 weeksbetween the doses. However, it also saidthat if the second dose was inadvertentlyadministered less than 4 weeks after thefirst, the dose does not need to be repeat-ed.

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“There is an urgent need to vaccinatecaregivers of patients who are bed-riddendue to disabilities. These patients cannotbe vaccinated at home, for obvious reasons,however they are exposed to the Covidvirus through their young caregivers,both professional and family members,said Prasad, senior consultant Neuro andSpine Surgeon at Indraprastha Apollo

Hospitals, Delhi.“In addition, nursing agencies pro-

viding nursing assistants (untrained ayahs)should also be allowed to vaccinate theirstaff. With the next wave imminent, it isimperative that we include and vaccinatecaregivers of the elderly, disabled and bed-ridden persons as early as possible. Thesemay be professional or family members,”said Prasad who is also associated withIndian Head Injury Foundation engagedin rehabilitation of seriously disabledpeople in the country.

Dr Prasad pointed out that the UK andCanada, who are among the countriesadministering the vaccine to their citizens,have expanded the gap to four months tocover maximum people.

Prasad in his letter to Union HealthMinister Harshvardhan and Niti Aayogmember Dr VK Paul had suggested“…increase in time gap between the twovaccinations to about 8 weeks so that moreand more people, including caregivers, par-ents of children going to school, etc. getthe first dose.”

With the increase in shot gap, Saritawho is the only caretaker for her 75-year-old mother suffering from breast cancerand father (82) having Parkisons’ diseasenow hopes of getting vaccinated.

She said, “there are many middle-agedsons and daughters like me, caring forolder relatives with serious ailments but tooyoung to qualify for a vaccine themselves.I wish I could get a vaccination sooner,rather than later and get protected againstthe coronavirus since I am the one goingout for livelihood and also taking care ofmy old parents.”

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It was the first step in disengagementand talks were now on to pull back fromthe other friction points at the LAC inLadakh.

Similarly, India and Pakistan in laterFebruary decided to observe ceasefire onthe Line of Control(LOC) in Jammu andKashmir to avoid civilian casualties. It was

the first time in many years that peace nowprevailed at the LOC which saw more than5,000 ceasefire violations by Pakistan lastyear.

While appreciating these positivemoves, sources in the security establish-ment said here on Monday it was too earlyto draw any conclusions. In this context,the government will take a considered viewbefore taking a final decision about tak-ing part in the SCO military drill, they said.

Based in Tashkent, RATS is a perma-nent organ of the SCO which serves to pro-mote cooperation of member states againstterrorism, separatism and extremism.The next meeting of RATS will be held inSeptember in Uzbekistan.

The SCO is an economic and securi-ty bloc in which India and Pakistan wereadmitted as full members in 2017. Itsfounding members included China, Russia,Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan andUzbekistan.

Incidentally, Defence Minister RajnathSingh and External Affairs Minister SJaishankar held one on one meetings withtheir Chinese counterparts last year todefuse tension at the Line of ActualControl(LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. Thesemeetings were held on the sidelines of theSCO summits in Moscow.

�B,��6.78-��B��67!!87"�+8�9,�'6D8'�providing 67 mcm of potable water to over21 lakh people.

Ending the 15-year-long wait, theproject involving the transfer of surpluswater from Ken river in Panna district inMadhya Pradesh to Betwa river in UttarPradesh will be done through the con-struction of a Dhaudan Dam and a 221km-long canal connecting the rivers tosupport the water-starved districts.

"It also will pave the way for moreinterlinking of river projects to ensure thatscarcity of water does not become aninhibitor for development in the country,"CM Yogi explained, while mentioning theconstant efforts of the government to pro-vide basic amenities to common people.

Down syndrome is a genet-ic condition that results

when there is an extra copy ofa specific chromosome, chro-mosome 21. It is not an illnessbut a term that describes thefeatures resulting from thischange. The extra chromosomecan affect the physical features,intellect, low IQ and overalldevelopment of an individual.It also increases the likelihoodof some health problems.

There can be impairments incognitive ability and physicalgrowth, mild to moderate devel-opmental disabilities, and a high-er risk of some health problems.Through a series of screeningsand tests, Down syndrome canbe detected before or after birth.

Causes: Down syndromehappens when there is an extracopy of genetic material on all orpart of the 21st chromosome.Every cell in the body containsgenes that are grouped alongchromosomes in the cell’s nucle-us. There are normally 46 chro-mosomes in each cell, 23 inher-

ited from the mother and 23from the father. When some orall of a person’s cells have anextra full, or partial, copy ofchromosome 21, the result isDown syndrome.

Symptoms: Down syn-drome is not a disease, so it maybe more appropriate to refer tofeatures or characteristics, ratherthan symptoms. People withDown syndrome often have dis-tinct physical features, uniquehealth issues, and variability incognitive development.

��1��' �� Physical characteristics

include:�Eyes that have an upward

slant, oblique fissures, epicanth-ic skin folds on the inner corner,and white spots on the iris.

�Low muscle tone and poorbody posture, small stature andshort neck

�Flat nasal bridge�Single, deep creases across

the centre of the palm �Protruding tongue

�Large space between thelarge and second toe

�A single flexion furrow ofthe fifth finger

�Denture problem Important food and nutri-

ents: There are always someslight chances of improvement inany kind of condition, if weentertain few basic changes inour daily routine, let’s say, startfrom the dietary habits like:

�Try to keep your mealgluten free as much as you canfor e.g., wheat and barley.

�Have more protein in yourdiet for e.g., bajra, jawar, ragi,amaranth, quinoa, Spirulina,nutritional yeast, eggs & non-vegare mandatory.

�Vitamin C rich diets forgood dental & oral health.

�For less irritated moodice cream, chocolates indifferentforms like hot or cold chocolatedrinks can be given.

�Give foods which theyenjoy and relish.

'��G��

�� Pumpkinseeds are typically flat andasymmetrically oval, have awhite outer husk and arelight green in colour afterthe husk is removed.

The seeds are rich inantioxidants like carotenoidsand Vitamin E.

Antioxidants canreduce inflamma-tion and pro-tect yourc e l l sf r o mh a r m f u lfree radi-c a l s .That’s whyconsumingfoods richin antioxi-dants can helpprotect against

many diseases.They are also high in fibre

that is known for promotingdigestive health. Not only thisthe seeds are rich in magne-sium. Consuming adequatemagnesium levels result inbetter sleep.

The presence of highamounts of antioxidants and

phytochemicalsensure a good

immune sys-tem andf u r t h e rreduce thepossibilityof viralin fec t ions

that maylead to

cold, flu, fatigueand other ai l-

ments.

With the change in sea-son and increase intemperature, many arecomplaining of sore

throat, cough and cold. Those whohave a rougher patch are also suf-fering from fever and flu-like symp-toms. Living in the shadow ofCOVID-19, many are scared if thisis normal or if this is going to makethem catch the pandemic virusmore easily than others.

Cough and cold as well as feel-ing feverish are common healthproblems associated with seasonalchanges — especially when summerfollows winter. This is because as thetemperature increases, pathogens —viruses and bacteria causing thesediseases — become more active.The warm air is light, unlike win-ter air that is cold and sits heavy,helps in carrying pollen and dan-der that cause allergic reactions.This increases the chance of sneez-ing and coughing in people who aresusceptible to allergic conditions.

According to research, mostadults suffer from cold two-fourtimes a year while children sufferfive to seven times. Every changein season sees up to 200 pathogensin the air that may cause a range ofsymptoms such as watery eyes,sore throat, sneezing, and mucusdraining from nose into throat,fever, and muscle ache. The mostcommon virus is human rhinovirus(HRV) that causes up to 40 per centof all colds and allergic reactions likerhinitis.

Prevention:As it is often said, prevention is

better than cure. Work towardsbuilding immunity in consultationwith your doctor. Following are afew tips that can help to prevent sea-sonal diseases:

�Practice good hygiene asviruses like rhinovirussurvive for 3hours outside the body.On fre-quently touched surfaces like door-knobs or switches, it can stay up to48 hours. Wash your hands after

touching any such surface andavoid touching your face. Use a facemask outdoors.

�Massage your throat withhot water and a pinch of salt into itas a cure to sore throat.

�Drinking hot beverages suchas lukewarm water but avoid coffeeand tea as they can add sugar intoyour diet.

�Make a concoction of turmer-ic powder, ginger powder and a tea-spoon of honey to warm water. It

helps curing cold and cough,relieves body ache and headache.

�Add eucalyptus oil to thehot water and inhale the steaminhalation to clear congestion in thenasal passage. Add a few drops toyour lukewarm bath water to recov-er from body pain.

�Add a few tulsi leaves, crushedginger, and black pepper in your teafor relief from cough and cold.

�Make sure you are doingmoderate exercise everyday.

�Do not miss your daily doseof vitamin-D, get out in the sun for15 minutes a day.

�Sleep is an integral part ofwellness — ensure eight hours ofsleep at night for better immunity.

Apart from this, one shouldtake balance diet with adequateintake of water along with fooditems which are rich in vitamin Cso that they can fight with healthconditions that happen because ofweather change. As we areapproaching towards summer sea-son, the chances of dehydration alsoincreases in kids especially infantsif fluids aren't given adequately withsuch illness.

There is a subset of children,who are quite sensitive to changingweather conditions. These are thosechildren who have the family his-tory of asthma. These childrenshould adhere to the guidelines ofregular hand washing, social dis-tancing and wearing mask.

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An insulin disorder that affects over 450 million people acrossthe world, Diabetes Mellitus is one of the leading causes of

death worldwide. In India alone, over 70 million people are esti-mated to be living with Diabetes. Poor disease management andineffective blood sugar control is a major risk factor for a seriesof life-threatening conditions such as cardiovascular, strokes andrenal disease. In fact, Diabetes is a major cause of vision loss,kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and amputations.Worrisomely, the incidence of this lifestyle disorder has growntremendously over the past three decades largely due tounhealthy lifestyles.

Naturopathic interventions such as diet management, yoga,lifestyle alterations and acupuncture can play a significant rolein controlling the Diabetes pandemic. Adopting a naturopath-ic way of life not only helps patients keep their blood sugar levelunder control, but also help them reduce their dosage of allo-pathic drugs.

Acupunture as a Diabetes control interventionThis ancient Chinese practice is based on the belief that a

life energy also known as qi flows through our bodies throughcertain pathways, thereby regulating health and vitality. Whenthe flow of this vital energy is obstructed due to some reason,the body experiences diseases. Acupuncture uses a practice ofinserting pins and needles on strategic points on the body to

remove the obstruction andrevive the flow of energythrough our organs. There arearound 1000 acupuncturepoints in the human body.

Acupuncture is an effectivetherapy for Diabetes, especial-ly for Type II Diabetics. Ithelps regulate the pancreaticfunction and control bloodsugar levels in the body. Theresult is better glycemic controland improved overall health.

Mainly two types ofacupuncture practices are usedto treat Diabetes — elec-troacupuncture and wrist-ankletreatment. The former is themost common form of treat-ment in which needles are

pierced at trigger points. Then a low-frequency electrical vari-ation is transferred from one needle to another that helps fightinsulin resistance. Wrist-ankle treatment is most effective in bring-ing down the sugar levels and focuses on deep stimulation of thetrigger points.

However, several myths and misconceptions about acupunc-ture prevent many people from receiving its benefits. We demys-tify some common myths related to acupuncture here.

Myth: Its painful.Fact: The mere thought of needles being pierced into the skin

leaves many people petrified, but acupuncture isn’t as painful asyou think it to be. The needles used for acupuncture are verythin and you feel very little or almost no discomfort while theyare inserted. Many patients don’t even realise when the needlesare being pierced into their body.

Myth: Doctors don’t recommend this. Fact: The World Health Organisation and National Institutes

of Health have recognised acupuncture as an effective therapyfor treating not just pain but also several other conditions likeDiabetes. A number of modern medicine practitioners also pre-scribe acupuncture as an adjuvant therapy along with the reg-ular medicines particularly to patients displaying poor glycemiccontrol.

Myth: It has side effects. Fact: Acupuncture is absolutely safe when performed by a

certified acupuncture practitioner. Side effects are almost neg-ligible or only minor such as soreness, minor bleeding in somecases or dizziness.

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The long tedious work-ing hours as a result ofwork from home has

for sure given us all one thing— dark circles under theeyes. Fret not. Thereare several naturalways by whichone can get ridof them easi-ly.

One ofthe simplestway is to usetomato. Thefruit that isused as a veg-etable, has naturalbleaching properties thatlightens skin effectively.

To make a mixture, takeon teaspoon of tomato juicewith one and a half teaspoonof lemon juice. Apply thismixture on your dark circlesand wait for 10 minutes.Wash with cool water. Do

this for a couple of weeks tosee results.

One can also take helpfrom potatoes. Grate a cou-ple of chilled potatoes and

extract the juice. Soak acotton ball in the

juice and place iton your closedeyes. The cot-ton shouldcovers thedark circles.Wait for 15

minutes andrinse well with

water. Do this fortwo-three weeks.

Rosewater not onlyhelps rejuvenate the skin butcan also reduce dark circles.For best results, soak two cot-ton pads in rose water andplace them on closed eyelids.Repeat the process for atthree weeks.

Dark circles are not onlyannoying, but unpleasing

too. ROSHANI DEVI shareshome remedies that can

help treat it without havingto put in too much efforts

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As much as we love splashing thecolours on each other, we know wehave to deal with the repercussionsof the damage done during Holi.

Here are some of the pre and post Holi tipsthat can be followed to have a smoother sail-ing boat when it comes to getting rid of thecolours and helping the skin gain back thelost moisture and hydration.

Pre-Holi skincare:A thick layer of moisturiser: We are all

well aware that the colours that are usedduring Holi contain a lot of chemicals.These chemicals harm the skin and some-times may even cause skin allergies. It wouldbe ideal to cover not just your face but alsoyour body with a thick layer of moisturis-er that locks in the moisture of the body.This helps the skin stay moisturised and actsas the base layer.

Don’t miss your sunblock: It is manda-tory that sunblock is used as Holi is an out-door festival and we all love runningaround under the sun on this day. Addingsunblock which is SPF 30+ can help the skinfrom tanning and sun damage. Apply yoursunscreen at least 20 mins before you stepout for it to work effectively.

Apply olive oil to the skin and rubaway any excess oil: Applying olive oilbefore you step out would be a smart choiceas the oil’s lubricant nature helps in the elim-ination of the colour post the celebration.It helps as a barrier between the skin andthe colour, although it doesn’t eliminatefully, it makes the exfoliation process easy.

Cover your body as much as you canto avoid the colour on the skin: It wouldbe a good idea to cover the body as muchas you can to minimise the direct contactof the colour to the body.

Post Holi: It is ideal to splash cold water instead

of hot or lukewarm water as it makes ittougher to get rid of the colour. Cold waterhelps in dissolving the colour better thanhot water. Hot water in general is not goodfor the skin as it strips away the moistureof the skin. A facewash that has foam is abetter bet to help remove the colour. Thefoam generated helps in removing the dirtparticles on the top layer of the skin.

Apply olive oil all over your face or bodyand let it settle for a half-hour which willhelp in washing away the colours and dustparticles. Wash away everything with aproper cleanser or body gel that has foam.Intense scrubbing and washing dries out theskin. Apply a thick layer of moisturiser andsunscreen to avoid loss of moisture in thescreen. Hydration for the skin is very impor-tant, lack of hydration makes the skin lookdry, old and wrinkly. To combat this andpamper your skin, the following can bedone.

Volite or Hydra Boosters: Volite is askin conditioning gel containingHyaluronic Acid & has been designed toimprove the condition of the skin.Hyaluronic Acid works like a magnet formoisture, making your skin feel & appearplump, healthy & radiant. Volite lasts forsix to nine months and a perfect solutionfor hydration.

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Menstruation is a naturalbodily function and yet

period shame along with lack ofaccess to menstrual health andeducation continue to hold mil-lions of girls and women back tothis day. With the Covid-19 pan-demic, the situation has onlyworsened with even morerestricted access to safe periodproducts, menstrual healthawareness and education. TheBody Shop, sets out to partnerwith CRY – Child Rights andYou, a leading Indian non-prof-it organisation, to make realchange by raising awarenessabout Periods, Period Shameand the impact of Period Shame.Through this partnership, TheBody Shop aims to normalisethe conversation around periodsand raise funds towards men-strual health and educationefforts for communicated deeplyaffected by the pandemic.

Periods are normal butIndia’s statistics around it are not:20% of girls in rural India leaveschools after getting their firstperiod. This is a direct conse-quence of social stigma, shame,isolation and poor access to safemenstrual products and dispos-al facilities. Poor menstrualhygiene leading to 70% increasein incidents of reproductivetract infections.

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Almost every individualeagerly waits for Holi. It isone of the most anticipat-

ed festivals of the year. Isn’t it?Well, it usually happens that in theexcitement of playing, peopledon’t realise the damage thecolours cause to their skin, evenif they are natural. But there’s noneed to worry as there are easyways this can be managed by fol-lowing a pre and post-Holi beau-ty regime. Well, a basic regime isa must for day-to-day skincare likecleansing, toning and moisturis-ing. However, the festival calls fora unique skincare session.

Here is the list for preppingyour skin pre-Holi:

� The first thing that can be doneis applying a sheet mask which isnothing less than ice. It helps theskin to wake up, hydrate, tighten,and prepares it for the next step.If time permits, you can also optfor a frozen spoon signature mas-sage for any festive day. You can,of course, also use a simple icecube and rub it on the face gen-tly.� Must ensure applying an anti-ageing serum. You can apply anyof your favourite serum. Then,layer it with nourishing face mois-turiser.� The next step is to apply sun-screen. Also, don’t forget to checkits SPF. Use as per your skin need.It’s best to choose a sunscreen withbroad-spectrum UV protection ofat least SPF 30.� It is important to not forget theeye contour area, apply someprimer on the eyelid. You can usesome vaseline as well. Put it underthe eye, at the corner of your ears,hairline and inside of nails.� A dark shade of nail paint onyour nails is recommended sincenails tend to catch colours faster

and it takes longer to come off.� Lips are the most sensitive partof your body. They have no oilglands that is why they are proneto chipping and flaking. Protectthem with your favourite lip balm

or vaseline.

After having an amazing time,you must be worried about goingto work without looking blue,green, pink or yellow. Well, here

is the post-Holi routine you mustfollow:

� The first and the foremostthing people should do is put anample amount of body oil from

top to toe. Coconut oil is also agreat option. Let it soak in beforetaking a shower. Those who haveafter sun cream can opt for that aswell. It will allow the skin to calmdown.� If you feel any skin burn, tryapplying aloe vera gel on theaffected area.� After 30 minutes or so, gentlyexfoliation or scrub your skin withcoffee or coconut granules. Makesure you do not over rub the skinto get rid of the colours. Be as gen-tle as possible. There is a possibil-ity the skin may burn or gettanned. Overdoing it may give anadverse effect on the skin.� While exfoliating your body,apply a calming and cooling facemask to your face. It can be madenaturally with basic ingredientslike aloe vera gel, rose water,besan, honey, saffron strands anda few drops of milk. Leave it on for10 minutes and gently remove itwith cold water. Avoid hot waterfor a shower for the next 12 hoursor so.� Post shower, apply cucumberwater or toner as per your skintype on your face.� Also, for the body, go with agenerous amount of moisturiser.�Don’t forget to remove your nailpaint. Also, you can get a mani-cure done. Another alternation isto soak your nails in a tub of luke-warm water with some sea salt andlime. It will help you get rid of allthe impurities.

Organic colours are madefrom naturally occurring sub-stances. Therefore, they are lesslikely to cause any skin irritations.Hence, always remember to optfor natural colours. Continue todrink an ample amount of waterand stay hydrated all the time.

(The writer is the TechnicalHead-Skin, Enrich salon.)

Recently, a brand of sleep-aid prod-ucts reached out to some of India’s

leading CEOs to learn about theirsleeping habits. Surprisingly enough,the study found that, while shoulder-ing the gigantic responsibility to growtheir empires and hectic schedules, amajority of the respondents are man-aging enough sleep in day-to-day life.

Losing sleep over work mightseem like a commendable characteris-tic, but it does have a significantimpact on one’s physical and mentalhealth. On the other hand, soundsleep leads to better productivity andconcentration, lower risk of weightgain, greater athletic performance,and lower risk of heart disease, depres-sion, and burnout. Contrary to how thelockdown phase has been with workfrom home overpowering the work-lifebalance, Indian CEOs have managed tofind refuge in meditation, yoga andother forms of physical activity to com-pete with the ongoing stress and arealso ensuring sufficient sleep cycles asa part of their daily routine.

From one of the few surveyed com-panies, Trade India’s COO SandipChettri follows a very disciplined rou-tine and fixed work schedule. Whenasked, if he experiences trouble fallingasleep, he responded, “No, as I practiceyoga and meditation which helps mefall asleep easily.”

The insights pointed towards thefact that most industry leaders preferfixed sleeping hours and try to achievea long and deep sleep. Most of therespondents, who are founders, co-founders, CEOs, etc, try to get an aver-age of seven to eight hours of sleep.However, many of the leaders respond-ed that they experience difficultyfalling asleep since their mind is active.While some nights, work thoughts dis-turb their sleep, this doesn’t happenevery day.

Pritesh Talwar, CEO, Livpure Sleep,said, “I think that if you are waking upfresh and energised, you had a soundsleep. I have a fixed sleep schedule andgenerally sleep around seven to eighthours every night. I like to start my dayearly so I fall asleep between 10-11 pmand start my day at six in the morning.I have made it a point to follow theschedule to make sure that otherthings fall in line and now my body has

also become used to it. If I am awakepast 12, my body starts resisting andhints at getting to bed as it’s past bed-time.”

Speaking on the quality of sleep, headded, “Usually, I do not find any trou-ble falling asleep during the night. Afew exceptions could be when I amtravelling or sleeping on an unfamil-iar mattress. During the day, I do thinka quick 15-minute nap makes you fresh

and re-energises you for the rest of theday. However, longer sleep during theday disturbs your system and does notlet you function properly. It’s advisedto have a long sleep only during thenight.”

Along the same lines, Arpi Mehta,co-founder of Toothsi, said, “Once youwake up from a sound sleep, you feelinvigorated. If you wake up tired orgroggy, that’s an indicator of otherwise.I’d advise everyone to follow a fixedschedule to avoid feeling tired through-out the day but, unfortunately, due tomy lifestyle and commitments, I amnot able to adhere to one. Being anentrepreneur, stress makes it hard tosleep. While I do wish to completeeight hours of sleep daily, sometimesit becomes impossible which is whenpower naps come to the rescue.”

Jatin Varma, the founder of ComicCon India, said, “For me, a minimumof six hours of sound sleep is necessarybut eight hours is ideal. My sleep hoursare generally fixed except for theweekends. But travel affects my routineand I have trouble sleeping a day or soafter I come back home. Long, stress-ful workdays can also affect my sleep.Lastly, if I get stuck in an OTT binge,then my schedule goes for a toss.”

Through the survey, the brand,Livpure Sleep, aimed to encourage bet-ter sleeping habits among Indians,focussing on the country’s most promi-nent business leaders. The data collat-ed will go a long way in helping peo-ple understand how important it is toget a good night’s rest.

Through the ongoing global crisis ofCOVID-19, finding happiness, hope and

motivation in everyday life has become moreimportant than ever before. Indian-Australianchoreographer and educator, Ashley Lobo, whohas taught the joy of movement to countlessstudents at The Danceworx Academy ofPerforming Arts and Navdhara India DanceTheatre, says, “Dancing and surrendering tothe rhythm of music is a time-tested way of feel-ing happier, no matter what the realities of lifemay be. Following the structured beauty ofinterconnected steps and immersing oneself inmusical beats can help drive the blues away,clears blocked energy and calms and rejuve-nates the senses. Even if you don’t think youcan dance, just move your body. I would urgepeople to take just 15 minutes every day to justdance as if no one’s watching and see the pal-pable difference in how they feel.”

“Dance is a simple way to connect withinner joy and it also improves cardiovascu-lar health, increases stamina and boosts ener-gy,” adds he.

Ashley is renowned for his Prana Painttechnique, a unique sensitising approachdeveloped by him that explores movementthrough yoga, breath, connectivity andtouch. This notable technique has put himon the international map and led to himbeing invited to teach and choreograph over-seas. His choreographic style has a stronginfluence of cinematic techniques com-bined with a clear narrative.

“Dancing is known to be cathartic andhelps reduce anxiety and stress. Even thosewho have not typically taken to a fitness-

related activity can get fitter and happier byputting on a favourite song and letting ittake over the mind and body. Dance worksout your body, conditions your muscles,improves balance and even boosts cognitiveperformance. And the best part is that any-one can dance. Just make sure that you don’thave health issues that require you to notundertake even a simple dance routine. Forthe rest, dancing is a great way to celebratelife and happiness every day,” he says.

Veteran actor Jackie Shroff saysbeing known as new-age

Bollywood star Tiger Shroff ’s fathermakes him feel really proud.

“I am so proud of him. In fact, hehas inspired me to keep myself ashealthy as possible and he inspires alot of children to keep their healthstrong. I am so happy, god has beenreally kind and people who love himhave been so kind. I’ve got a boost inmy life and career also. I am knownas Tiger’s father, which makes me feelreally proud of him,” Jackie said.

“I am stating a fact, dear. I’m actu-ally called Tiger Shroff ka papa bykids. He has a lot of tiny fans whorecognise me that way,” the actor saidwith a hearty laughter.

Jackie will soon be seen in the sci-fi comedy web series OK Computer.Talking about his character in theDisney+ Hotstar series, he said, “Mycharacter is someone who believes innature and has given up his clothes.He just wants green cover aroundhim, as many trees as possible. Hedoesn’t like robots and is againstthem. He just wants to go back tonature.”

Quizzed about the interference oftechnology in our day to day lives, the

actor replied: “Looking into eachother’s eyes have gone. We are mostof the times looking down at our lap-tops. All information is so easily avail-able. People have forgotten to do basiccounting like two into two, anddepend on calculators and comput-ers. But then, definitely technologyhas made us reach Mars at minimalcost.”

“I feel, we should go to Mars butwe have to make sure that drinkingwater does not disappear from earthso that we have to go around look-ing for that in the Moon or Mars,” headded.

With OTT platforms gainingpopularity with each passing day, canthe digital platform replace cinemahalls in the future? “It (OTT) haschanged the way people watch pro-grammes. There are people whodefinitely sit and watch for eighthours non-stop! But today if a streetplay is happening, I’ll find 50-100people standing and watching it. Sofrom street play to OTT, entertain-ment will grip viewers. There will beaudience for all kinds of entertain-ment, be it street play, OTT ormorning shows at halls and region-al films,” said Jackie.

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The series already out oftheir grasp, Indian women

would look to avoid a white-wash and end it on a positivenote when they take on SouthAfrica in the third and finalT20I here on Tuesday.

After losing the ODI rub-ber 1-4, things went frombad to worse for the Indianteam as it lost the first twoT20Is to hand South Africa anunassailable 0-2 lead in theseries.

In fact, this is the firsttime that the Indianwomen’s team has lost aT20 series against theSouth Africans.

The Indiansapproached theseries againstSouth Africa, theirfirst in a year, withan aim to shrug offtheir rustiness andprepare for the ODIWorld Cup, to be held in 12months’ time.

But things didn’t go as perplan as the momentum Indiagained with good perfor-mances from 2017 to 2019got lost somewhere afterthey were completely out-played in the two limitedovers formats by SouthAfrica, a side they havebeaten consistently overthe years.

From poor fielding byRicha Ghosh, RajeshwariGaikawad and Arundhati

Reddy, to Deepti Sharma’sstruggles with the bat andstand-in skipper SmritiMandhana’s unimaginativecaptaincy, nothing wentaccording to plan for India inthe first two T20Is.

Harleen Deol and ShafaliVerma has been among theruns in both the matches butinconsistent performances ofMandhana, JemimahRodrirues and Richa Ghoshdid not help India’s cause.

India seem to be badlymissing the services of regu-lar skipper Harmanpreet Kaur,who is out with a hip injury.

On the bowling fronttoo, the spin tr io ofGayakwad, Poonam Yadavand spinning all-rounderDeepti failed to live up toexpectations, while pacersArundhati Reddy andSimran Dil Bahadur, too,have been ineffective.

South Africa, on theother hand, looked like a

well-oiled machine as boththeir batters and bowlers have

excelled on the tour.Lizlee Lee, Anneke

Bosch and LauraWolvaardt have been inred-hot form with thebat. Skipper Sune Luus,

too, is in good touch, whileMignon du Preez didn’t getmuch opportunity to show-case her mettle in theshortest format.Shabnim Ismail and

Bosch shone with the ball forSouth Africa.

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Struggling opener ShikharDhawan will be the focus ina spoilt-for-choice Indian

team when it takes on worldchampion England in a three-match ODI series starting here onTuesday with the visitors eyeinga positive end to their tour afterTest and T20 debacles.

The series is particularlyimportant for the 35-year-oldDhawan, who failed to make animpact in the first T20 inAhmedabad before warming thebenches the remaining fourgames.

With the management hav-ing plenty of options in(Shubman Gill) and outside(Prithvi Shaw and DevduttPadikkal) the squad for the open-ing slot, it will be a litmus test forGabbar to prove himself in thelung-opener.

He will open the inningsalong with seasoned campaign-er Rohit Sharma, who was in blis-tering form in the final game ofT20 series and would be keen tocarry on in the same vein.

The ODI format givesDhawan the time he needs tobuild his innings. With loads ofexperience under his belt, theDelhi batsman could well returnto form on Tuesday.

For the Indian team, theseries would be an extension ofits preparations for the T20 WorldCup later this year.

The 50-over-format, in gen-eral, remains low priority in 2021with no major tournamentsaround the corner.

Skipper Virat Kohli was backamong the runs in the T20 seriesand he would look to carry themomentum into the ODIs.

It has been a while sinceKohli scored a hundred in the for-mat, his last and 43rd one com-ing against the West Indies (114not out) at Port of Spain in

August 2019.He will be itching to make his

good form count and end thecentury drought. It is also expect-ed that both KL Rahul, who isnot likely to feature at thetop of the order, andRishabh Pant, after turn-ing things around spec-tacularly since the bril-liant showing DownUnder, would be part ofplaying XI.

They would have a big role inthe middle-order along with theredoubtable Hardik Pandya.

There could be a toss-upbetween Mumbaikar’s ShreyasIyer and Suryakumar Yadav, for

one spot in the playing XI. Yadavproved himself to be quite apower-hitter in the T20 series,notching up a blistering half

century in his maidenInternational appearance.

The bowling attackis expected to be spear-headed byBhuvneshwar Kumar,

who picked four wicketsin the T20 series, and the

new ball will be shared by ShardulThakur. Thakur claimed eightwickets in the T20 series.

Spinners Yuzvendra Chahaland Washington Sundar areexpected to be preferred overKrunal Pandya and Kuldeep

Yadav. Also, a fit-again Pandya

would be the fifth bowler, but itremains to be seen how manyovers he can bowl.

On the other hand, Englandwould also be keen to end thetour on a high after sufferingdefeats in the Tests (1-3) and theT20 series (2-3).

And for it to happen, skipperEoin Morgan’s role with the batwill be vital.

The likes of Jos Buttler andthe swashbuckling Jason Roywill have to fire in unison and all-rounder Ben Stokes will have tostep up with both the bat and ball.

England pacer Mark Wood

troubled the Indian batters withhis pace and in the absence of aninjured Jofra Archer, he wouldhave to shoulder greater respon-sibility along with Chris Jordanand the young Sam Curran.

The spin duo of Moeen Aliand Adil Rashid will have beenunable to trouble the Indianbatsmen and it remains to be seenwhether they have any new tricksto change the dynamics.Additionally, Ali can perform therole of a pinch-hitter, if needed.

TEAMSIndia: Virat Kohli (Captain),Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan,

Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer,Suryakumar Yadav, HardikPandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), KLRahul (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal,Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya,Washington Sundar, T Natarajan,Bhuvneshwar Kumar,Mohammed Siraj, PrasidhKrishna, Shardul Thakur.England: Eoin Morgan(Captain), Moeen Ali, JonnyBairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler(wk), Sam Curran, Tom Curran,Liam Livingstone, MattParkinson, Adil Rashid, JasonRoy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley,Mark Wood. Covers: Jake Ball,Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan.

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England captain EoinMorgan on Monday said

the upcoming three-matchODI series against India wouldbe an opportunity for thefringe players to push theircase for the T20 World Cup as50-over format also throws upsituations similar to T20 crick-et.

“Given the T20 World Cupround the corner, playing anyInternational cricket is a hugeopportunity for guys who havebeen on the fringes and notmade selection so far,” theWorld Cup-winning skippersaid on the eve of series open-er.

“When you score runs,and take wickets away fromhome. There’s always a hugeincentive to try and push yourcase forward.”

Morgan said it will be

exciting to “play three gamesat the same ground against avery, very strong Indian side.”

“It is a huge opportunityfor everybody to get back intothe frame of mind to deal with

fifty-over cricket. But also itwill be an opportunity for theguys who haven’t had oppor-tunities to really push theircase forward,” he said.

The England skipper feels

50-over cricket is very close tothe T20I format in throwingfamiliar scenarios.

“There are pockets of thegame that replicate T20 crick-et, and given that there’s verylimited change between bothsquads. Given the two squadsare very similar, we see set skillsets as very valuable,” he said.

Morgan also hinted thatstar-allrounder Moeen Alimay be back in action afterbeing ignored for the T20Iseries.

Talking about EnglandTest skipper Joe Root, who hasbeen rested for the ODI series,Morgan said: “We’re spoilt forchoice in batters who certain-ly want a bat at the top-four.Obviously, losing Root is amassive hole, for a guy whoscores at a run-a-ball andaverages fifty.

“He’s an exceptional play-er and we’ll miss him.”

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18-year-old Sonam Malik onceagain down Rio Olympics bronze

medallist Sakshi Malik to clinch theAsian Olympic wrestling qualifiersberth in 62kg category. In the seniornational women’s national trials heldat Regional SAI Centre on Monday,Sonam edged Sakshi 8-7 in a closeencounter to register her fourth winover Rio medalist in two years. Theyoungster beat Sakshi at the Asianchampionships selection trial lastyear and most recently, got the bet-ter of her senior colleague at the finalsof the nationals.

Sonam along with Anshu Malik(57kg), Seema (50kg), Nisha Dahiya(68kg) and Pooja Sihag (76kg)secured their spots for the AsianOlympic qualifiers and Senior AsianChampionship to be held at Almaty,Kazakhstan.

Vinesh Phogat has already qual-

ified for Tokyo, wining the bronzemedal in the World championship.

Anshu Malik impressed to winthe 57kg category while NishaDahiya upset Asian champion DivyaKakran to progress from the 68kgcategory. Seema won in the 50kgwhile Pooja Sihag triumphed in the76kg.

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India’s teenage shooting sen-sations extended their dom-

inance in the ongoing ISSFWorld Cup here on Monday,winning the mixed team Goldmedals in both the 10m air pis-tol and 10m air rifle events tocontinue their stupendous runof form in the run-up to thisyear’s Olympics.

With Monday’s three Goldmedals, India have so farnotched up six top finishes,four Silver and as many Bronzemedals for a total of 14.

The sensational duo ofSaurabh Chaudhary and ManuBhaker netted the 10m air pis-tol mixed team Gold medalafter Divyansh Singh Panwarand Elavenil Valarivan pro-duced some excellent shootingto comfortably claim the Goldmedal in the 10m mixed airrifle event. The 18-year-oldChaudhary and the 19-year-old Bhaker defeated Golnoush

Sebhatollahi and JavedForoughi of Iran 16-12, mak-ing a brilliant rally after trail-ing 0-4 at the end of the sec-ond series to give India theirfifth Gold at the ongoing event.

This was the pair’s fifthWorld Cup mixed team Goldmedal. Also for India,Yashaswini Singh Deswal andAbhishek Verma bagged theBronze medal in the sameevent after getting the better ofTurkey’s Sevval Ilayda Tarhanand Ismail Keles 17-13 at theDr Karni Singh ShootingRange.

In the evening, Indianmen won the skeet team eventwhile the women settled forSilver.

Earlier in morning, 21-year-old Elavenil and 18-year-old Divyansh had combined toclaim the 10m air rifle mixedteam Gold. This was Elavenil’sfirst at the senior level, whilefourth for Divyansh at thesenior World Cups.

Manchester: India batsmanShreyas Iyer has joinedLancashire for the 2021 RoyalLondon Cup, the English coun-ty club announced on Monday.

“Lancashire Cricket isdelighted to announce the over-seas signing of IndianInternational batsman ShreyasIyer for the 2021 Royal LondonCup,” the club wrote its officialTwitter handle. Iyer, who has sofar played 21 ODIs and 29 T20s,will arrive at Emirates OldTrafford on July 15 ahead of thestart of the 50 over tournamentand will remain with the RedRose for the duration of themonth-long group stage, theclub stated.

“Lancashire is a legendaryname in English Cricket with along-standing association withIndian Cricket. I am extremelyhumbled and honoured to carrythe legacy forward of greats likeFarokh Engineer, SouravGanguly and VVS Laxman atLancashire,” said Shreyas.

“Emirates Old Traffordis a world classInternational stadi-um and I am lookingforward to meetingmy teammates andthe supporters of

the Club,” added Iyer,who also cap-

tains DelhiCapitalsin IPL.

PTI

PARIS: Top Indian shuttlerKidambi Srikanth will look toshake off the disappointment ofan early exit from the AllEngland Championship whenhe competes at the OrleansMasters Super 100 tournamentstarting with the qualifiers hereon Tuesday. Saina Nehwal, whohad pulled out of the openinground in Birmingham due to athigh injury, is recovering wellbut will take a call on her par-ticipation on Wednesday.

The $90,000 Super 100tournament will offer valuablepoints for Olympic qualifica-tion and Srikanth and Sainawill be eager to do well to inchcloser to the Tokyo berth.“Saina has made considerableprogress since withdrawingfrom All England. She hasstarted training on Saturday.She is slowly recovering but notyet 100 per cent. But it is animportant event for Olympicqualification, so we will take acall on Wednesday,” Indianphysiotherapist C Kiran said.While top seed Srikanth hasreceived a bye, fourth seedSaina is scheduled to openagainst Malaysia’s KisonaSelvaduray. Srikanth, who lostto Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in thefirst round in Birmingham, islikely to face fellow IndianAjay Jayaram in the secondround. Jayaram will openagainst Finland’s KalleKolojonen.

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India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday said he hasdecided to open in the shortest format to accom-

modate players like Suryakumar Yadav in the sidebut there is no “guarantee” of him taking up the rolein the T20 World Cup at home later this year.

The move to open with Rohit Sharma workedwonders as the star duo played match-winningknocks to seal the five-match series against England.Kohli made the decision to ensure that Suryakumarplays at his preferred number three spot.

Ahead of the first ODI against England, Kohliexplained his surprising call in the fifth T20 and whyhe will open in the IPL, a move that attracted a lotof attention.

“Firstly, the combination that plays on the field,selectors don’t have any role to play in that, just howthe team management doesn’t have any role in selec-tion,” said Kohli.

“Secondly, as Rohit mentioned, it was a strate-gic move but yes we did enjoy batting with each other,we did enjoy that partnership and we saw the effectsof us batting together...

“...It’s not a guarantee that this is going to be con-tinued in future.”

Suryakumar had Kohli “stunned” with hisknock in his debut game and the India skipper movedup a spot in the batting order to keep the Mumbaibatsman in the eleven in the following match.

“I have batted at four, I have batted at three. NowI want to go back into, you know, understanding myrole as an opener as well which I’ve done success-fully in the past in T20 cricket.

“So that I provide an option to open up a slotfor someone like Surya who’s playing the way he isat the moment and and if he can continue like thatI should be ready to play any kind of role that teamrequires.

“We will have a conversation about this closerto the World Cup when we get there,” he clarified.

Senior opener Shikar Dhawan has lost his placein the T20 eleven but Kohli made it clear that he willopen with Rohit in the first ODI on Tuesday. He alsosaid the series will serve as extended preparation forthe T20 World Cup.

“Yes, there are a couple of things that internal-ly we have discussed that we’re going to keep an eyeon. “As far as the opening competition in ODIs isconcerned, Shikhar and Rohit will definitely start.When it comes to One-Day cricket, I don’t thinkthere’s any issues or doubts over Rohit and Shikharopening together. And they’ve been amazing for usin the past few years.”

Kohli stoutly defended out of form Rahul andelaborated on how the team deals with strugglingplayers. “I can only think about one thing when peo-ple talk about a player is out of form. Kuch toh logkahenge logon ka kaam hain kehna, chodo bekaar kibaaton mein kahi beet na jaaye raina (quoting a Hindisong). “There is a lot of impatience outside the crick-et set up. People love listening to criticism and it hasonly increased. “In the team we know how to man-age a player going though a tough patch. It is not asif you forget playing the game, it is just that you don’thave the same mental clarity that you would usual-ly have and then there is talk about you, which isanother external factor you have to deal with. “Wewill continue to back our players and keep them ingood mental space.”

;�� &��'��India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday criticised

the fiercely-debated umpire’s call in the DecisionReview System, saying it is creating a lot of con-fusion and LBW dismissals should be based sole-ly on whether the ball is hitting the stumps, evenif marginally.

As per the existing rule, at least 50 per cent ofthe ball should be hitting at least one of the threestumps for the batsman to be adjudged LBW onreview in case an umpire’s call has been challenged.

“I played for a long time when there was noDRS. Right. If the umpire made a decision,whether the batsman liked it or not, it stayed likethat. Vice versa the umpire gave it not out and itwas out, it stayed like that, whether it was margin-al or not,” said Kohli.

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India skipper Virat Kohli onMonday said players should

be consulted over the cricketcalender as the extended bub-ble life during the coronaviruspandemic has strengthenedfears of burnout.

Virat said more attentionmust be paid to cricketers’mental health.

“The players need to bespoken to and consulted withall round,” said Kohli.

“Otherwise it’s going to bea case of whoever can lastthrough difficult times likethis plays, if not then moveaway and someone else replacesthat player.”

He added, “I don’t thinkthat’s healthy for a cricket sys-tem and cricket culture movingforward which we definitelywant to make stronger andstronger.”

Responding to suggestions

that the 50-over games wereout of place in a year dominat-ed by the World TestChampionship final and theT20 World Cup, Kohli saidtournament scheduling “issomething that is not in ourcontrol.”

“I think it’s very importantto consider how much cricketyou are playing. It’s not just thephysical side of thing but themental side of things as well,”said Kohli.

“Scheduling and workloadsis something that everyonewill have to be very aware,” headded. “Especially in today’sday and age where you justdon’t know where restrictionsmight come in.”

Most players have been insecure bubbles, with only smallbreaks since last August.

From September untilJanuary, India’s players wentthrough the Indian PremierLeague and a tour of Australia.

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�%��&��%��(��RBN Global Club defeated

RKB Club by five wickets in aleague match of Mumtaz BegumMemorial Cricket Tournamentat NDBG ground on Monday.Batting first, RKB scored 162runs in 36.3 overs with SumitSingh being the top scorer. Inreply, RBN achieved the target in31.2 overs for the loss of five wick-ets.BRIEF SCORES:RKB: 162 (Sumit 68, Md SahiAlam 33; Arpit 31/3, Atyan 28/2,Rajdeep 29/2)RBN: 166 (Rohan 79, Aadi 34;Aquib 19/1)

�� League match of the 16th

Timber Trophy between Matchbetween Kooh Sports Club andDhruv Academy ended in a tie,with both teams scoring 243 runsin the allotted 40 overs at Akhileshdas Stadim on Monday.BRIEF SCORES:KOOH: 243 (Aditya 70, Anand67, Deepak 42; Ansh 37/3, Milan51/2)DHRUV: 243 (Abhishek 66, Ansh41, Aviral 31; Surendra 35/2,Anand 36/2)

�� Top-seed Pawan Batham lost

his third consecutive match in thedistrict open selection tournamenton Sunday. On the first board,Tanishq Gupta defeated SanyamSrivastava to take the lead. On thesecond board, Medhansh Saxenacrushed Shivam Pandey’s Carokann defense to take the fullpoint while Aman Agarwal blun-dered against Sameer.

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Documents

2021/03/22 · Police Act, 1951 with the reason that the transfer was necessi-tated by “adminis-trative exigencies”. It is settled law that the Orders have to stand on the