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  •  · 2020. 12. 30. · committee when it is consti-tuted. ... out of 107 positive Covid cases. As a...
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T he sixth round of talks between the Centre and protesting farmers’ unions on Wednesday failed to break the impasse with the latter sticking to their position over the repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee for minimum sup- port price (MSP). But the two sides reached some consensus to address farmers’ concerns over rise in power tariff and exclusion of farmers from Air Quality Management Ordinance. Both sides have agreed to hold further talks on January 4. After nearly five hours of negotiations between three Union Ministers and 41 farm- ers unions, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said at least 50 per cent resolution has been reached with mutual agreement on two of four items on the agenda. The Minister said talks were held in a cordial atmos- phere and the two sides have reached an agreement on two issues — one relating to the proposed electricity law and the other about an Air Quality Management Ordinance to keep farmers outside the ambit of the penalty clause (up to 1 crore) for the stubble burning ordinance. “Discussions on the three agriculture laws and the MSP as a guarantee for farmers will continue in the next meeting scheduled for January 4,” Tomar added. “First issue was an ordi- nance related to the environ- ment. Both sides agreed to farmers’ exclusion. Farmers feel that if reform is introduced in the Electricity Act, they’ll suffer loss. The unions wanted the electricity subsidy given to farmers by States for irrigation should continue. The consen- sus was reached on this issue also,” Tomar said. On farmers’ demand for a legal guarantee for procure- ment at MSP, the Minister said the Government has already said that it is ready to give a written assurance. Tomar assured the unions that MSP and the Mandi sys- tem will continue like before. The demand of the farmers’ unions for an MSP law and the difference between MSP and market rates for agricultural produce would be referred to a committee when it is consti- tuted. On the unions’ demand for the repeal of farm laws, the Minister said that this too can be referred to a committee which will study the constitu- tional validity and propriety keeping in mind the welfare of farmers. The Minister asked the Union leaders to put forward their proposals which the Government will study and discuss. This meeting came after a long gap as after the last meet- ing the situation hit a dead end with farmers stern on their demand for a complete with- drawal of the laws and the Centre not accepting it. While farmers have decid- ed to carry on their agitation till their demands are met, they have, however, deferred their proposed tractor march so that it does not clash with their next round of talks with the Government on January 4. Sources said that firm on backing the farm laws, the Government has offered to form a committee to look into farmers’ demands. Sources said the Government also explained to the farmers that the process of withdrawing laws is a long one. The Minister said the union leaders kept insisting on repeal of the three farm laws, but the Government side tried to explain them the benefits of the Acts and sought to know specific problems faced by the farmers. Tomar hailed the unions for maintaining peace and dis- cipline during their protest, but urged them to send the elder- ly, women and children back to their homes due to the extreme cold weather. Tomar was accompanied by Food and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash at the meeting. Farmers’ leader Rakesh Tikait said that the farmers are insistent that the Government should repeal the farm laws and give legal guarantee for MSP. T hree Union Ministers joined farm leaders on Wednesday to share “langar” food arranged by protesting farmers during their sixth round of talks to resolve the deadlock over new farm laws. The langar (community kitchen) food arrived in a van at the meeting venue, Vigyan Bhawan, after around two hours of discussions had taken place and the two sides took a break for tea and snacks. Sources present at the venue said that Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Food and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash joined the farmer leaders to share their langar food during the break. A two-year-old girl who recently returned to Meerut with her parents from the UK has been found to be infected with the new Covid-19 strain. With this, the number of UK returnees found carry- ing the new variant of SARS- CoV-2 has increased from 6 on Tuesday to 14 on Wednesday out of 107 positive Covid cases. As a preventive measure, the Centre has dashed off a missive to States asking them to curb crowding in the wake of New Year celebration and keep a strict vigil on all events that could be a potential super spreader. Of the 20 new UK coron- avirus mutant strain, 8 have been registered at the National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi, 7 at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro- Sciences in Bangalore, two at Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad. One each has been logged at the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics near Kolkata, National Institute of Virology in Pune and CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in Delhi. Of the total 107 cases, eight are from the national Capital. The new variant is consid- ered to be more lethal than the original coronavirus and is more transmissible among young people. Keeping in view the fresh surge of coronavirus cases in Europe and America, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhsuhan said in the letter to the States and UTs that there was still a need for maintaining comprehensive precaution and strict surveillance within India. “You will appreciate that in the wake of New Year and var- ious celebratory events associ- ated with it as well as the ongoing winter season, a strict vigil is required to be main- tained to curb all potential ‘super spreader’ events and places where crowds may gath- er,” Bhushan said in the letter. A senior official with the Union Health Ministry said the two-year-old girl in Meerut and her parents, who have also tested positive for the new strain, had returned from the UK. The child is in an isolation ward with her parents at Meerut’s Subharti Medical College. I ndia will take a call on giv- ing approval to the three Covid-19 vaccines developed in the country on January 1. A high-level DCGI panel met on Wednesday to discuss the approval issue even as the UK became the first country to give nod to the Covishield shot from the stable of drug firm AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. In India, Serum Institute of India is developing the vaccine in collaboration with Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. The Union Health Ministry in a statement here said the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) in the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) had met on Wednesday to consider the Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) request of Pfizer, Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech Pvt Ltd. “While further time was requested on behalf of Pfizer, the additional data and infor- mation presented by SII and Bharat Biotech Pvt Ltd was perused and analysed by the SEC,” said the Ministry. The analysis of the addi- tional data and information is going on. SEC will convene again on January 1, 2021, said the statement. However, sources said the approval by the UK is likely to pave the way for authorisation of the vaccine in several coun- tries. India successfully com- pleted two-day dry run of the Covid immunisation. India is hoping to launch the immunisation drive soon once vaccines are approved. Earlier this month, the SEC had sought more data on the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccine candidates after deliberating on the com- pany’s application that sought emergency use authorisation. While considering the application submitted by Serum Institute of India, the committee had recommended that the firm should provide safety data of phases 2 and 3 clinical trials in the updated applications. The committed had also sought immunogenicity data from the clinical trial in India as well as in the UK along with the outcome of the assess- ments made by the MHRA. I n an effort to give a boost to defence exports, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave the go-ahead for export of indigenously- developed and manufactured Akash short range surface-to- air (SAM) missile. The Cabinet also approved the setting up of a committee comprising Defence and External Affairs Ministers, besides the National Security Adviser (NSA), to clear such exports. This committee will also explore various available options, including the Government-to-Government route. It will help in forging stronger strategic and defence ties with various countries all over the world. The aim is to touch the five-billion dollar mark in the next few years by exporting high-value defence platforms. At present, India is one of the biggest importers of weapons, while the exports are relatively poor. In the fiscal year 2019-2020, the export figure stood at slightly more than 8,000 crore. The Government wants to breach the 15,000 crore mark in the next fiscal. The Cabinet approval on Wednesday will facilitate Indian manufactures to par- ticipate in tenders issued by various countries. The major decision came against the backdrop of sever- al countries, especially in the Indian Ocean region, keen to procure Indian missile sys- tems, including the superson- ic Brahmos and Prithvi. So far, India only exports components and specialised parts. Moreover, with the Indian industry ramping up its pro- duction capabilities and sophis- tication in the last few years, many countries also want to acquire coastal surveillance system, radars and aircraft and helicopters. Giving these details, the Defence Ministry officials said in order to fast track exports through quick approvals, a committee comprising of Defence Minister, External Affairs Minister and NSA has been created. “This committee would authorise subsequent exports of major indigenous platforms to various countries. The com- mittee would also explore var- ious available options including the Government-to- Government route,” the Ministry stated. T he Government on Wednesday extended the deadline to file income tax return (ITR) for individuals by 10 days to January 10, 2021. The deadline for filing tax returns by businesses too has been extended till February 15, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. This is the third time that the Government has extended the deadline to file ITR — first from the normal deadline of July 31 to November 30, 2020, and then to December 31, 2020. Also, the due date for fil- ing declaration under the direct tax dispute resolution scheme Vivad Se Vishwas has been extended till January 31. Detailed report on P9 T he CBI has conducted a detailed investigation in connection with the death of Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput and the agency contin- ues to maintain that “all aspects are being looked at and no aspect has been ruled out.” CBI Superintendent of Police Nupur Prasad in a letter addressed to BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday said, during the course of the probe CBI teams visited Aligarh, Faridabad, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Manesar and Patna and examined all the witnesses. During the probe, the agency deployed advanced mobile forensic equipment, including latest software for extraction and analysis of rel- evant data available in the dig- ital devices and also for analy- sis of dump data of the cell phone tower locations related to the case, she said. The CBI response came following a letter from Swamy dated July 30 addressed to the Prime Minister. “After taking over the investigation, a team of expe- rienced investigating officers was constituted for looking into the circumstances relating to unnatural death of Sushant Singh Rajput. The investigating team took over the case papers of FIR No 241/2020 from Patna Police. The CBI also took over the case papers of ADR (Accidental Death Report) No. 43/2020 under Section 174 of CrPC relating to the unnatur- al death of Sushant Singh Rajput from PS-Bandra, Mumbai,” the CBI said. The investigating team along with senior officers vis- ited all places like Aligarh, Faridabad, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Manesar (Gurgaon) and Patna, the CBI said in the letter. A yodhya police claimed to have made a major break- through by arresting four mis- creants for fraudulent with- drawal of 6 lakh from Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trusts bank account in September. The kingpin, how- ever, is yet to be held. Confirming the news of the arrest, Ayodhya DIG Deepak Kumar claimed on Wednesday that they were making all-out efforts to trap the prime accused after extract- ing whereabouts of the gang leader from his arrested accomplices. According to the police, the amount was transferred to the PNB in Maharashtra from Ayodhya’s State Bank of India using two cloned cheques of 2.5 lakh and 3.5 lakh with the forged signatures of the trustees. The scam was busted after a third cloned cheque was intercepted at a SBI clearing house in Lucknow. The withdrawal was made on September 1 but the Trust was in the dark about the fraudulent withdrawals till a third cloned cheque of 9.86 lakh was presented at a Bank of Baroda’s branch and sent to SBI for clearing after a week. Alarm bells rang when a senior bank official intercepted the cheque and made repeated calls to Trust secretary Champat Rai to verify whether he had signed on the high-value cheque. L ike the previous year, this year also the Delhi Police is girding up for the New Year. This year’s traffic advisory for New Year’s eve is to come into effect from Thursday 8 pm in the national Capital for all pri- vate and public vehicles. Special arrangements have been made for the areas in the vicinity of Connaught Place in the national Capital. While alcometers (device to measure alcohol content in a breath sample) are not being used in the city due to the Covid-19 outbreak, action will be taken if anybody is found driving in an inebriated state. According to the advisory, no vehicle will be allowed to proceed towards Connaught Place from the Mandi House roundabout, Bengali Market roundabout, north foot of Ranjit Singh Flyover (Barakhamba Road-Tolstoy Marg crossing), Minto Road- Deen Dayal Upadhaya Marg crossing and Chelmsford Road near Munje Chowk (New Delhi Railway Station). It said vehicular move- ment towards CP will not be allowed from RK Ashram Marg-Chitragupta Marg cross- ing, Gole Market roundabout, Gol Dakkhana roundabout, Patel Chowk, Kasturba Gandhi Road-Feroz Shah Road cross- ing, Jai Singh Road-Bangla Sahib Lane, Pachkuian Road- Bangla Sahib Lane, Windsor Place roundabout, Buta Singh Marg roundabout and State Entry Road-New Delhi Railway Station. No vehicular traffic will be allowed in the inner, middle and the outer circle of Connaught Place without valid passes, the traffic police advi- sory added.

 · 2020. 12. 30. · committee when it is consti-tuted. ... out of 107 positive Covid cases. As a preventive measure, ... including latest software for

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    The sixth round of talksbetween the Centre andprotesting farmers’ unions onWednesday failed to break theimpasse with the latter stickingto their position over the repealof three farm laws and a legalguarantee for minimum sup-port price (MSP). But the twosides reached some consensusto address farmers’ concernsover rise in power tariff andexclusion of farmers from AirQuality ManagementOrdinance.

    Both sides have agreed tohold further talks on January 4.

    After nearly five hours ofnegotiations between threeUnion Ministers and 41 farm-ers unions, AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar said at least 50 per centresolution has been reachedwith mutual agreement on twoof four items on the agenda.

    The Minister said talkswere held in a cordial atmos-phere and the two sides havereached an agreement on twoissues — one relating to theproposed electricity law and theother about an Air QualityManagement Ordinance tokeep farmers outside the ambitof the penalty clause (up to �1crore) for the stubble burningordinance.

    “Discussions on the threeagriculture laws and the MSP

    as a guarantee for farmers willcontinue in the next meetingscheduled for January 4,”Tomar added.

    “First issue was an ordi-nance related to the environ-ment. Both sides agreed tofarmers’ exclusion. Farmersfeel that if reform is introducedin the Electricity Act, they’llsuffer loss. The unions wantedthe electricity subsidy given tofarmers by States for irrigationshould continue. The consen-sus was reached on this issuealso,” Tomar said.

    On farmers’ demand for alegal guarantee for procure-ment at MSP, the Minister saidthe Government has alreadysaid that it is ready to give awritten assurance.

    Tomar assured the unionsthat MSP and the Mandi sys-tem will continue like before.The demand of the farmers’unions for an MSP law and thedifference between MSP andmarket rates for agriculturalproduce would be referred to acommittee when it is consti-tuted.

    On the unions’ demand forthe repeal of farm laws, theMinister said that this too canbe referred to a committeewhich will study the constitu-tional validity and proprietykeeping in mind the welfare offarmers.

    The Minister asked theUnion leaders to put forwardtheir proposals which theGovernment will study anddiscuss.

    This meeting came after along gap as after the last meet-ing the situation hit a dead endwith farmers stern on theirdemand for a complete with-drawal of the laws and theCentre not accepting it.

    While farmers have decid-ed to carry on their agitation tilltheir demands are met, theyhave, however, deferred theirproposed tractor march so thatit does not clash with their nextround of talks with theGovernment on January 4.

    Sources said that firm onbacking the farm laws, theGovernment has offered toform a committee to look intofarmers’ demands. Sources saidthe Government also explainedto the farmers that the processof withdrawing laws is a longone. The Minister said theunion leaders kept insisting onrepeal of the three farm laws,but the Government side triedto explain them the benefits ofthe Acts and sought to know

    specific problems faced by thefarmers.

    Tomar hailed the unionsfor maintaining peace and dis-cipline during their protest, buturged them to send the elder-ly, women and children back totheir homes due to the extremecold weather.

    Tomar was accompaniedby Food and Railways MinisterPiyush Goyal and Minister ofState for Commerce SomParkash at the meeting.

    Farmers’ leader RakeshTikait said that the farmers areinsistent that the Governmentshould repeal the farm laws andgive legal guarantee for MSP.

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    Three Union Ministersjoined farm leaders onWednesday to share “langar”food arranged by protestingfarmers during their sixthround of talks to resolve thedeadlock over new farm laws.

    The langar (communitykitchen) food arrived in a vanat the meeting venue, VigyanBhawan, after around two

    hours of discussions had takenplace and the two sides took abreak for tea and snacks.

    Sources present at thevenue said that AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar, Food and RailwayMinister Piyush Goyal andMinister of State forCommerce Som Parkashjoined the farmer leaders toshare their langar food duringthe break.

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    Atwo-year-old girl whorecently returned toMeerut with her parents fromthe UK has been found to beinfected with the new Covid-19strain. With this, the numberof UK returnees found carry-ing the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 has increased from 6 onTuesday to 14 on Wednesdayout of 107 positive Covid cases.

    As a preventive measure,the Centre has dashed off amissive to States asking them tocurb crowding in the wake ofNew Year celebration and keepa strict vigil on all events thatcould be a potential superspreader.

    Of the 20 new UK coron-avirus mutant strain, 8 havebeen registered at the NationalCentre for Disease Control inDelhi, 7 at National Institute ofMental Health and Neuro-Sciences in Bangalore, two atCellular and Molecular Biologyin Hyderabad.

    One each has been loggedat the National Institute ofBiomedical Genomics nearKolkata, National Institute ofVirology in Pune and CSIRInstitute of Genomics and

    Integrative Biology in Delhi. Ofthe total 107 cases, eight arefrom the national Capital.

    The new variant is consid-ered to be more lethal than theoriginal coronavirus and ismore transmissible amongyoung people.

    Keeping in view the freshsurge of coronavirus cases inEurope and America, UnionHealth Secretary RajeshBhsuhan said in the letter to theStates and UTs that there wasstill a need for maintainingcomprehensive precaution andstrict surveillance within India.

    “You will appreciate that inthe wake of New Year and var-

    ious celebratory events associ-ated with it as well as theongoing winter season, a strictvigil is required to be main-tained to curb all potential‘super spreader’ events andplaces where crowds may gath-er,” Bhushan said in the letter.

    A senior official with theUnion Health Ministry said thetwo-year-old girl in Meerut andher parents, who have alsotested positive for the newstrain, had returned from theUK. The child is in an isolationward with her parents atMeerut’s Subharti MedicalCollege.

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    India will take a call on giv-ing approval to the threeCovid-19 vaccines developed inthe country on January 1.

    A high-level DCGI panelmet on Wednesday to discussthe approval issue even as theUK became the first country togive nod to the Covishieldshot from the stable of drugfirm AstraZeneca and theUniversity of Oxford.

    In India, Serum Institute ofIndia is developing the vaccinein collaboration with OxfordUniversity and pharmaceuticalcompany AstraZeneca.

    The Union HealthMinistry in a statement heresaid the Subject ExpertCommittee (SEC) in theCentral Drugs StandardControl Organisation(CDSCO) had met onWednesday to consider theEmergency Use Authorisation(EUA) request of Pfizer, SerumInstitute of India (SII) andBharat Biotech Pvt Ltd.

    “While further time wasrequested on behalf of Pfizer,the additional data and infor-mation presented by SII andBharat Biotech Pvt Ltd wasperused and analysed by the

    SEC,” said the Ministry.The analysis of the addi-

    tional data and information isgoing on. SEC will conveneagain on January 1, 2021, saidthe statement.

    However, sources said theapproval by the UK is likely topave the way for authorisationof the vaccine in several coun-tries. India successfully com-pleted two-day dry run of theCovid immunisation.

    India is hoping to launchthe immunisation drive soononce vaccines are approved.

    Earlier this month, theSEC had sought more data onthe safety and efficacy ofCovid-19 vaccine candidatesafter deliberating on the com-pany’s application that soughtemergency use authorisation.

    While considering theapplication submitted bySerum Institute of India, thecommittee had recommendedthat the firm should providesafety data of phases 2 and 3clinical trials in the updatedapplications.

    The committed had alsosought immunogenicity datafrom the clinical trial in Indiaas well as in the UK along withthe outcome of the assess-ments made by the MHRA.

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    In an effort to give a boost todefence exports, the UnionCabinet chaired by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onWednesday gave the go-aheadfor export of indigenously-developed and manufacturedAkash short range surface-to-air (SAM) missile.

    The Cabinet also approvedthe setting up of a committeecomprising Defence andExternal Affairs Ministers,besides the National SecurityAdviser (NSA), to clear suchexports. This committee willalso explore various availableoptions, including theGovernment-to-Governmentroute. It will help in forgingstronger strategic and defenceties with various countries allover the world. The aim is totouch the five-billion dollarmark in the next few years byexporting high-value defenceplatforms.

    At present, India is one ofthe biggest importers ofweapons, while the exports arerelatively poor. In the fiscal year2019-2020, the export figurestood at slightly more than�8,000 crore. The Government

    wants to breach the �15,000crore mark in the next fiscal.

    The Cabinet approval onWednesday will facilitateIndian manufactures to par-ticipate in tenders issued byvarious countries.

    The major decision cameagainst the backdrop of sever-al countries, especially in theIndian Ocean region, keen toprocure Indian missile sys-tems, including the superson-ic Brahmos and Prithvi. So far,India only exports components and specialisedparts.

    Moreover, with the Indianindustry ramping up its pro-duction capabilities and sophis-tication in the last few years,

    many countries also want toacquire coastal surveillancesystem, radars and aircraft andhelicopters.

    Giving these details, theDefence Ministry officials saidin order to fast track exportsthrough quick approvals, acommittee comprising ofDefence Minister, ExternalAffairs Minister and NSA hasbeen created.

    “This committee wouldauthorise subsequent exports ofmajor indigenous platforms tovarious countries. The com-mittee would also explore var-ious available options includingthe Government-to-Government route,” theMinistry stated.

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    The Government onWednesday extended thedeadline to file income taxreturn (ITR) for individuals by10 days to January 10, 2021.

    The deadline for filing taxreturns by businesses too hasbeen extended till February 15,the Finance Ministry said in astatement.

    This is the third time thatthe Government has extendedthe deadline to file ITR — firstfrom the normal deadline ofJuly 31 to November 30, 2020,and then to December 31,2020. Also, the due date for fil-ing declaration under the directtax dispute resolution schemeVivad Se Vishwas has beenextended till January 31.

    Detailed report on P9

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    The CBI has conducted adetailed investigation inconnection with the death ofBollywood star Sushant SinghRajput and the agency contin-ues to maintain that “all aspectsare being looked at and noaspect has been ruled out.”

    CBI Superintendent ofPolice Nupur Prasad in a letteraddressed to BJP MPSubramanian Swamy onWednesday said, during thecourse of the probe CBI teamsvisited Aligarh, Faridabad,Hyderabad, Mumbai, Manesarand Patna and examined all thewitnesses.

    During the probe, theagency deployed advancedmobile forensic equipment,including latest software forextraction and analysis of rel-

    evant data available in the dig-ital devices and also for analy-sis of dump data of the cellphone tower locations relatedto the case, she said.

    The CBI response camefollowing a letter from Swamydated July 30 addressed to the

    Prime Minister.“After taking over the

    investigation, a team of expe-rienced investigating officerswas constituted for lookinginto the circumstances relatingto unnatural death of SushantSingh Rajput. The investigatingteam took over the case papersof FIR No 241/2020 from PatnaPolice. The CBI also took overthe case papers of ADR(Accidental Death Report) No.43/2020 under Section 174 ofCrPC relating to the unnatur-al death of Sushant SinghRajput from PS-Bandra,Mumbai,” the CBI said.

    The investigating teamalong with senior officers vis-ited all places like Aligarh,Faridabad, Hyderabad,Mumbai, Manesar (Gurgaon)and Patna, the CBI said in theletter.

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    Ayodhya police claimed tohave made a major break-through by arresting four mis-creants for fraudulent with-drawal of �6 lakh from ShriRam Janmabhoomi TeerthKshetra Trusts bank account inSeptember. The kingpin, how-ever, is yet to be held.

    Confirming the news ofthe arrest, Ayodhya DIGDeepak Kumar claimed onWednesday that they weremaking all-out efforts to trapthe prime accused after extract-ing whereabouts of the gangleader from his arrestedaccomplices.

    According to the police, theamount was transferred to thePNB in Maharashtra from

    Ayodhya’s State Bank of Indiausing two cloned cheques of�2.5 lakh and �3.5 lakh withthe forged signatures of thetrustees. The scam was bustedafter a third cloned cheque wasintercepted at a SBI clearinghouse in Lucknow.

    The withdrawal was madeon September 1 but the Trustwas in the dark about thefraudulent withdrawals till athird cloned cheque of �9.86lakh was presented at a Bank ofBaroda’s branch and sent to SBIfor clearing after a week. Alarmbells rang when a senior bankofficial intercepted the chequeand made repeated calls toTrust secretary Champat Rai toverify whether he had signed on the high-valuecheque.

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    Like the previous year, thisyear also the Delhi Police isgirding up for the New Year.This year’s traffic advisory forNew Year’s eve is to come intoeffect from Thursday 8 pm inthe national Capital for all pri-vate and public vehicles.

    Special arrangements havebeen made for the areas in thevicinity of Connaught Place inthe national Capital.

    While alcometers (deviceto measure alcohol content ina breath sample) are not beingused in the city due to theCovid-19 outbreak, action willbe taken if anybody is found driving in an inebriatedstate.

    According to the advisory,no vehicle will be allowed toproceed towards ConnaughtPlace from the Mandi Houseroundabout, Bengali Marketroundabout, north foot of

    Ranjit Singh Flyover(Barakhamba Road-TolstoyMarg crossing), Minto Road-Deen Dayal Upadhaya Margcrossing and Chelmsford Roadnear Munje Chowk (New DelhiRailway Station).

    It said vehicular move-ment towards CP will not beallowed from RK AshramMarg-Chitragupta Marg cross-ing, Gole Market roundabout,Gol Dakkhana roundabout,Patel Chowk, Kasturba GandhiRoad-Feroz Shah Road cross-ing, Jai Singh Road-BanglaSahib Lane, Pachkuian Road-Bangla Sahib Lane, WindsorPlace roundabout, Buta SinghMarg roundabout and StateEntry Road-New Delhi RailwayStation.

    No vehicular traffic will beallowed in the inner, middleand the outer circle ofConnaught Place without validpasses, the traffic police advi-sory added.

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    India is moving forward to bethe world leader under theleadership of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and publicrelations has to play a pivotalrole in translating the vision ofIndia to reality. The UnionEducation Minister RameshPokhriyal Nishank said thiswhile inaugrating the 42nd AllIndia Public RelationsConference hosted by thePublic Relations Society ofIndia in the virtual mode onthe theme of “the emergingnew world, post Covid-19:public relations in action”.

    Appreciating efforts ofPRSI in raising awareness onCovid and other national issuesNishank said that once India is

    out of the pandemic, it willemerge as a world leader on thestrength of its traditional val-ues, youth power and technicalskills.

    He also unveiled a schemelaunched by PRSI to promoteresearch in public relations.The scheme involves cashrewards to those achieving

    doctorate in public relationsalong with life membership ofPRSI.

    Presiding over the inau-gural session, Indian OilCorporation chairman MadhavVaidya appreciated the roleplayed by the public relationsand communication profes-sionals during the pandemic toachieve organisational goals,sustaining public services, cre-ating awareness about Covid 19and promoting safe work cul-ture.

    Past president of IndianMedical Association, Dr KKAggarwal, national president ofPRSI Ajit Pathak and the soci-ety’s Dehradun chapter headAmit Pokhriyal along with sec-retary Anil Sati also spokeduring the event.

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    Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar onWednesday directed the offi-cers concerned to ensure thatthe State ArchaeologicalMuseum, to be constructed inPanchkula, is made touristfriendly.

    Presiding over a meetinghere, the Chief Minister saidthat arrangements should bemade to provide adequate facil-ities to the visitors visiting themuseum.

    During the meeting, it wasinformed that an amount ofabout Rs 60 crore will be spenton the construction of themuseum, which will be built on1.83 acres of land. The cost ofinterior designing and finish-ing will be decided later. Theofficers of the concerneddepartment gave detailed infor-mation through a presentationabout the museum building tothe Chief Minister.

    Khattar directed that toensure a favourable atmos-phere for tourists visiting muse-um premises, an open gardenhaving various varieties offlowers should be developed inthe middle of the museumbuilding. He said the opengarden will not only rejuvenatevisitors, but they will also visitthe museum with enthusiasm.

    He said that there shouldalso be adequate arrangementsfor a cafeteria in the building,adding that since children andwomen will also be visiting themuseum, therefore, arrange-ment of crèches and baby feed-ing rooms in the buildingshould be ensured. He alsodirected the officers to explorethe possibilities of setting up agymnasium.

    It was informed in themeeting that not only histori-cal information will be madeavailable in this museum, butresearchers will also do researchwork by visiting here and forthis library and research lab willalso be set up in the building.Documents from the Britishperiod will also be made avail-able in the museum.

    The Chief Minister wasapprised that efforts should bemade so that the building givesa glimpse of Indus Valley andHarappan culture. The muse-um will also have an e-libraryand a strong room will bebuilt in the building.

    CM DIRECTS TO PUBLISHBOOK ON HISTORICALAND HERITAGE MONU-MENTS IN HARYANA

    The Haryana ChiefMinister also directed to pub-lish a book containing infor-mation about historical andheritage monuments located inthe state so that every child canbe made aware of the glorioushistory of Haryana.

    He said that to make the

    information accessible to thechildren, the step of con-structing a ‘HistoricalMemorial Corner’ (HeritageCorner) in every school willprove to be effective. While onone hand the details of the glo-rious history of the state will bewritten, on the other, there willalso be information about his-torical monuments, in thismemorial corner. Informationabout the major historicalmonuments of every districtand archives of the Departmentof Archeology will be availablein every school in the district.

    Information related toimportant places of the statewill be available in every schoolin the state. Initially, these cor-ners will be built in 100 schools.Later these corners will beestablished in all schools of thestate. In every school, the repli-cas of historical items will bemaintained. The Department isalso working towards addinghistorical information in theschool syllabus. Soon a chap-ter will be added in this regardin the school syllabus whiletraining related to this will begiven to history teachers so thatthey can pass on the knowledgeto the students.

    Haryana Archaeology &Museums Minister, AnoopDhanak, Woman and ChildDevelopment Minister,Kamlesh Dhanda, ChiefPrincipal Secretary to ChiefMinister, DS Dhesi, PrincipalSecretary Haryana, Archives,Archaeology & MuseumsDepartments, Ashok Khemka,Deputy Chief Secretary toChief Minister, Ashima Brarand Director, Archaeology &Museums Department,Mandeep Kaur were also pre-sent in the meeting.

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    Haryana Home MinisterAnil Vij was onWednesday discharged fromHospital where he had under-gone treatment for Covid-19.The minister will now stay athis Ambala residence on oxy-gen support, he said in a tweet.

    Over the past some days,Vij had been showing steadyimprovement. He was admittedto Medanta hospital onDecember 15. “With God’sgrace, day and night efforts ofdoctors and your prayers today,I have been shifted from theICU to a room. Thanks to all,”Vij, who also holds the HealthDepartment portfolio, said inanother tweet a week ago. Vij,a BJP MLA from AmbalaCantt, had tested positive forCOVID-19 on December 5.Initially, he was admitted to theCivil Hospital at Ambala andlater shifted to the PGIMS,Rohtak, before being hospi-talised at Medanta.

    The BJP leader had offeredto be the first volunteer in thephase three trials for Covaxin,an indigenous potential vaccinebeing developed by BharatBiotech against COVID-19.He was administered a dose onNovember 20 at the CivilHospital in AmbalaCantonment. Bharat Biotechhad said that clinical trials of

    the vaccine are based on a two-dose schedule, given 28 daysapart. The vaccine efficacy willbe determined two weeks afterthe second dose, it said.Covaxin has been designed tobe protective two weeks aftervolunteers receive the seconddose.

    HARYANA REPORTS 7COVID-19 DEATHS, 382FRESH CASES

    Haryana on Wednesdayreported seven more Covid-19deaths, taking the fatality tolldue to the infection to 2,899

    even as 382 new cases pushedthe state’s infection tally to2,62,054. According to the stateHealth Department’s daily bul-letin, the fatalities includedone each from Hisar, Rohtak,Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar,Jhajjar, Palwal and Kaithal dis-tricts. The districts where newcases were reported includedGurgaon (96) and Faridabad(44). The number of activecases in the state was 3,799,with as many as 2,55,356 hav-ing been cured and discharged,clocking a recovery rate of97.44 per cent.

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    To comprehensively dealwith various kinds ofcybercrimes, Haryana Police isin the process of establishing aRegional Cyber CrimeCoordination Centre (R4C) inthe State, Director General ofPolice (DGP), Manoj Yadavasaid on Wednesday.

    In a statement, he said thiswould assist in enhancing capa-bility in cyber investigationsand act as a nodal point to con-tain the menace. A proposal toestablish R4C has already beensent to the Union Ministry ofHome Affairs, this year. After

    getting the approval, the samewould be established in the year2021, he added.

    Yadava said that there hasbeen a phenomenal increase inuse of computers, smartphonesand the internet over a periodof time.

    With this cybercrime hasemerged as a major challengefor the police. Increased use oftechnology due to the Covidpandemic in recent times hasalso led to sharp rise in cyber-crime incidents.

    Addition of more capabil-ity would help us detect tech-nology-based crime effective-ly, he added.

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    The ruling BJP-JJP combinein Haryana won only oneof three mayoral seats forwhich elections were held onSunday in the cities of Ambala,Panchkula and Sonipat. Whilethe BJP won Panchkula, theCongress and the Haryana JanChetna Party (HJCP) baggedmayoral posts in Sonipat andAmbala, respectively.It was forthe first time that direct elec-tions were held for mayoralposts in the three cities. BJPhad swept mayors’ polls infive Haryana cities two yearsago.

    In 2018, the party had wonmayoral polls in Hisar, Karnal,Panipat, Rohtak and

    Yamunanagar.For the post of mayor in

    Ambala, HJCP’s Shakti RaniSharma, wife of former Unionminister Venod Sharma,emerged as a surprise winner,defeating Vandana Sharma ofthe BJP by a margin of 8,084votes. The Congress candidateended up at the fourth spot,officials said.Kulbushan Goyalof the BJP will be Panchkula’snew mayor. He defeatedCongress’ Upinder KaurAhluwalia by 2,057 votes.Congress won the Sonipatmayoral polls. The party’s

    Nikhil Madaan defeated BJP’sLalit Batra by 13,818 votes.Inthe Ambala MC polls, the BJPwon eight of the 20 seats,HJCP 7, Congress 3 andHaryana Democratic Front 2.In Sonipat, the BJP won 10wards and the Congress 9. Onone seat, an Independentemerged victorious. InPanchkula, the BJP and theCongress won nine and sevenseats, respectively. The JJP wontwo.

    The post of the Rewarimunicipal council chairper-son was bagged by BJP’sPoonam Yadav, who defeatedIndependent candidate UpmaYadav by 2,087 votes. TheCongress slipped to the thirdspot here.

    Chandigarh:The PunjabPolice and the BSF onWednesday recovered 7.31 kgof heroin and three China-made pistols from a border out-post in Dera Baba Nanak. Thedrugs and the pistols werepushed into the Indian territo-ry by a notorious Pakistan-based smuggler, officials said.”Ajoint search of the area led tothe recovery of 7.31 kg ofheroin and three China-made

    .30 bore Norinco Pistols fromnear Border Pillar No. 38/3 ofthe Metla BOP,” the officialssaid. As per initial inputs, theconsignment had been pushedinto the Indian territory by anotorious Pakistan-basedsmuggler Jagdish Singh, aliasBhura, who is presently settledin Belgium.Bhura is an activeterrorist and a proclaimedoffender in three terrorism-related cases, officials said.PNS

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    President Ram Nath Kovindon Wednesday conferredthe Platinum Award under thecategory ‘Excellence in DigitalGovernance - State/UT’, DigitalIndia Awards 2020, forAntyodaya Saral Portal to theHaryana Government.

    Taking the lead in thecountry in rendering efficientpublic service delivery for allGovernment to Citizen (G2C)services and schemes, theHaryana Government’sAntyodaya Saral Portal hasreceived the prestigious Awardby the Ministry of Electronicsand Information Technology(MEITY).

    Project Director, ChiefMinister’s Good GovernanceAssociates Programme, RakeshGupta said that in the era ofdigitization, Antyodaya SaralPortal, a one-stop digital plat-form for citizen services acrossthe state, became a huge successand there is a visibility of over3.4 crore applications forschemes/services across theState since its launch. Also,more than 5.5 lakh applicationsare received through theAntyodaya Saral portal on amonthly basis. In addition tothat citizens are sent morethan 20 lakh proactive SMSs

    per month informing themabout the status of their appli-cations.Gupta said thatAntyodaya Saral platform wasan in-house product of the NICHaryana and the technicalteams of the concernedDepartments. He asserted thatthe portal has been developedwithout an external vendor, atthe fraction of the cost thatvendors would have chargedfor the same work. The portalis built on the Service Plusframework built by NIC Delhifor ePanchayat Suite. Moreover,Service Plus is also going to beconferred a Digital India Awardunder the ‘Exemplary Product’category as well, he added.

    The Project Director saidthat the Antyodaya Saral(https://saralharyana.gov.in) isa Government to Citizen(G2C) public service deliveryplatform with the citizens at the

    centre of it. Citizens can applyfor 549 governmentschemes/services offered by 40Departments/Boards/Corporations through the online portal,at the nearest Common ServiceCentre (CSC) or at the 117Antyodaya Saral Kendras runby the State Government,Antyodaya Saral offers the cit-izens a standard service deliv-ery experience across the Statein terms of the documentsrequired, fees charged etc.

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    To bring in more automationand efficacy in the func-tioning of the state PublicRelations department, PunjabChief Minister Capt AmarinderSingh on Wednesday virtuallylaunched a mobile application‘DigiNest’, to give people digi-tal access to the state govern-ment’s directory, which can besynced with the smart phonewith the click of a button.

    The Chief Minister alsorolled out an online PunjabAdvertisement Release OrderSystem to bring transparencyand efficiency in the entireprocess of releasing StateGovernment’s advertisementsand payments to media hous-es. The system, he said, wouldhelp streamline the process of

    issuance of advertisements andrelease of payments.

    The two initiatives, said theChief Minister, would beinstrumental in creating syn-ergy between the PR depart-ment and the stakeholders con-cerned, especially the com-mon people. Coming on theheels of the recently launched`PR Insight’, they would furtherhelp the Information andPublic Relations Department,which is the brains behind`DigiNest’ to achieve newheights in the sphere of digi-talization, he added.

    It may be recalled that theChief Minister had recentlylaunched Mobile Applicationand web portal ‘PR Insight’ tomonitor the feedback, and sub-sequently improve the deliveryof citizen centric services to

    ensure responsive and trans-parent administration in theState.

    ‘DigiNest’ will enable citi-zens to check department-wisecontact numbers of variousofficers, and help them reachout with ease to the officers bycalling or sending E-mail. Theemployees of PunjabGovernment can also log intothe app using their HRMS cre-dentials and can keep them-selves updated about superan-nuation and birthday dates oftheir fellow employees in orderto send greetings via SMS orWhatsApp.

    Transfer orders of officerscan also be accessed fromDigiNest, which the state gov-ernment is planning to makethe official App for release ofsuch orders.

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    Chief Minister TrivendraSingh Rawat, who is cur-rently undergoing treatment atAll India Institute of MedicalSciences (AIIMS), New Delhicould soon get discharged fromthe hospital. The physician ofthe CM, Dr NS Bisht said onWednesday that the CM’shealth is steadily improving. Hesaid that the results of all thetests conducted on the CM arenormal. Dr Bisht said that the

    CM would soon be dischargedfrom the hospital.

    Rawat was admitted to theAIIMS, New Delhi on Mondayafter he developed fever on thetenth day of getting infectedwith Covid-19. He was initial-ly admitted in GovernmentDoon Medical College(GDMC) hospital where his CTindicated mild infection in thelungs. On the advice of doctors,he was shifted to AIIMS, New

    Delhi for further check up andexpert advice.

    CM Rawat along with hiswife and daughter was found tobe positive with Covid-19 onDecember 18 after which hewas in home isolation. Hedeveloped fever on December27 after which he was admittedin GDMC initially from wherehe was shifted to AIIMS, NewDelhi.

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    Amid threat posed by theentry of the new strain ofthe novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country, the conta-gion of the virus is continuingits upward trend inUttarakhand.

    On Wednesday the StateHealth department reported449 new cases of the pandem-ic which increased the tally ofthe disease to 90,616 in theState. The department alsoreported the death of ninepatients from the disease afterwhich the death toll increasedto 1504 in the State. Theauthorities discharged 724patients from different hospi-tals of the State on Wednesdayafter their recovery. A total of82,967 patients have so farrecovered from the disease in

    the State. The recovery per-centage from the disease is at91.56 and the sample positivi-ty rate is at 5.13 per cent.

    Five patients of Covid-19were reported dead at SushilaTiwari Government hospitalHaldwani on Wednesday. Onepatient each succumbed to thedisease at AIIMS Rishikesh,Himalayan Hospital Dehradun,Synergy Hospital Dehradunand Mahant Indiresh HospitalDehradun on Wednesday.

    Out of the 724 patients dis-charged on Wednesday, 231belonged to Dehradun, 139from Nainital and 101 fromUttarkashi.

    The authorities reported157 fresh cases of the diseasefrom Dehradun, 108 fromNainital, 38 each fromHaridwar and Pithoragarh, 22from Udham Singh Nagar, 17

    from Almora, 14 fromUttarkashi, 11 each fromChamoli and Champawat, ninefrom Pauri, eight each fromRudraprayag, Bageshwar andTehri on Wednesday.

    Uttarakhand now has 4,963active cases of the disease.Dehradun is at continuing toremain at top of the table ofactive cases with 1,556 caseswhile with 956 active casesNainital is at second spot.Pithoragarh is now at thirdposition with 431 active cases,Haridwar has 404 active cases,Uttarkashi 277, Tehri 263, Pauri221, Almora 189, Udham SinghNagar 160, Bageshwar 154,Chamoli 151 and Champawat109 active cases of the disease.With 92 active cases of Covid-19, Rudraprayag is now at thebottom of the table of activecases of Covid-19.

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    The experts of All IndiaInstitute of MedicalSciences (AIIMS) Rishikeshhave warned that in view of thecontinuing threat of Covid-19,one should not get negligentwhile celebrating the arrival ofthe New Year. They also pointout that apart from fever, coldand cough, diarrhoea is also asymptom of Covid-19.

    The associate professor andHead of Department ofGeneral Medicine at AIIMS-Rishikesh, Dr Minakshi Dharsaid that diarrhoea is also asymptom of Covid. She saidthat fever, cough, cold, bodyache and headache are themain symptoms of Covid.

    The assistant Professor ofGeneral medicine, Dr MukeshBairwa said, “Corona is nowcoming out in various forms.Apart from normal symptomsthose who are unable to detect

    taste and aroma should also gettheir Covid-19 test done imme-diately.’’

    He added that those whoare not getting their tests doneeven after getting infected, areputting their entire family indanger. Lung damage can occurif not treated on time. DrBairwa also advised that oneshould not be negligent in cel-ebrating the New Year andvisiting crowded places shouldbe avoided.

    The director of the AIIMSRishikesh, Ravikant said thatdue to the rising Covid-19graph in Uttarakhand, peopleneed to be more vigilant andcareful.

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    The 108 ambulance servicehas put its entire fleet intoalert mode in view of the cel-ebrations on New Year eve. Thedata of the service shows thatthe number of accidents relat-ed emergencies increases onthe night of December 31.

    The service has also can-celled leaves of its entire staff onDecember 31 and January 1.On Wednesday the GeneralManager Projects of the service,Anil Verma took a meetingwith the officials of the serviceand directed them to preparethe service to meet any exi-gency.

    He said that the fleet ofambulances should be kept onhigh alert as people celebrateNew Year. He said that the ser-vice has made all preparationand made technical arrange-ments so that the ambulancesdon’t get stuck in traffic jams.

    Sharma said that theambulances would be stationedat Survey Chowk, Clock Tower,Jakhan, Raipur, BallupurChowk, Prem Nagar, VidhanSabha and Race Course in

    Dehradun for quick responseto any emergency situation onNew Year eve.

    The data available with theservice show that it received 71road accident calls on

    December 31, 2019 andJanuary 1, 2020.

    In view of expectedincrease in the number of callsmade to the emergency service,additional staff would be

    deployed in the central call cen-tre of the service.

    The service has alsodeployed 18 ambulances asbackup to the field ambu-lances.

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    The Uttarakhand HighCourt has sought a replyfrom the State Governmentregarding non-compliance toits earlier order on restoringAdi Shankaracharya’s Samadhiat Kedarnath following the2013 disaster.

    In the past, the High Courthad directed that the Samadhibe restored within a year butthe same has not been done yet.Expressing its displeasure atthis, the division Bench of act-ing Chief Justice RavikumarMalimath and Justice ManojKumar Tiwari asked whyshould a contempt notice not

    be issued to the departmentsconcerned, while directing theState Government to submit itsexplanation and reply in thecourt within two weeks. Thecase will be taken up for hear-ing next on January 14.

    It is pertinent to mentionhere that Delhi resident AjayGautam had filed a publicinterest litigation regarding therestoration of the Samadhi ofAdi Shankaracharya near theKedarnath shrine from where

    it was swept away during the2013 disaster. In its order inOctober 2018, the high courthad directed that the Samadhibe restored within a period ofone year but this task has notbeen done so far.

    Stating that this is con-tempt of the High Court order,the petitioner has stated thatAdi Shankaracharya had estab-lished the Char Dham pil-grimage to shrines across Indiaincluding to Badrinath inUttarakhand.

    It was Shankaracharya whohad made the Uttarakhandregion popular around theworld, despite which the stategovernment has not done theneedful for his Samadhi. Thisis despite the fact that theKedarnath reconstruction pro-ject is a dream project of thePrime Minister NarendraModi, the petitioner added.

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    Even though the Covid-19pandemic has dampenedthe property tax collection inthe Municipal Corporation ofDehradun (MCD), the officialsstill hope to collect over �40crores by March 2021.

    Informing this, the munic-ipal tax superintendentDharmesh Painuly stated thatabout �20 crores have been col-lected by the corporation so farbut he is optimistic that the taxcollection will reach up to �50crores by the end of March.

    “There are still threemonths left in the currentfinancial year and since most ofthe taxpayers tend to depositproperty taxes by the end ofMarch, the MCD will possiblycollect �40 crores to �50crores,” said Painuly. Moreover,the officials informed that thetax submission through onlinemode also increased this yearduring the pandemic.

    It is pertinent to mention

    here that the 20 per cent rebateon property tax will end onJanuary 31 and will not beextended this time as per theofficials.

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    The Municipal Corporationof Dehradun (MCD) isconsidering using three-wheel-er vehicles with installed stor-age boxes to collect dry and wetgarbage separately in residen-tial colonies to make the doorto door garbage collection effi-cient in the new 31 wards ofDehradun.

    The MCD officialsinformed that a UP basedcompany approached the cor-poration a few days back to usethe vehicles that appear likeelectric rickshaws for thegarbage collection in the wardsbut nothing has been con-firmed by MCD yet. Informingfurther about it, one of the rep-resentatives of the companyinformed that they have builtthree types of prototype ofsuch vehicles for the corpora-tion which has the capacity tohold more than one quintalgarbage and can easily cover

    long distances to collect thegarbage.

    He said that the municipalcommissioner Vinay ShankarPandey and some other offi-cials have tested the vehiclesand might soon give permis-sion to operate.

    However, the chief munic-ipal health officer Dr KailashJoshi said that he has recom-mended some changes in thevehicles since he is not satisfiedwith the current prototype.According to him, the corpo-ration will consider using suchvehicles in residential coloniesfor the collection of segregat-ed garbage only if the improvedprototypes will fit the standardsset by the corporation.

    It is noteworthy to mention

    here that the corporation isplanning to commence door todoor service in the new 31wards possibly from the month

    of January. Since most of the garbage

    collected from the old wards isunsegregated, the officials

    informed that the corporationis trying to ensure door to doorservice in new wards withproper segregation of waste.

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    Launching a scathing attackon BJP Government ofUttarakhand from New Delhi,the Pradesh CongressCommittee (PCC) presidentPritam Singh has said that forthe first time in history ofUttarakhand, as many as 17farmers have committed sui-cide during the BJP rule in theState.

    He said that like other slo-gans, the promise of doublingthe income of farmers has alsoproved to be a mere rhetoric inUttarakhand. The All IndiaCongress Committee (AICC)member Garima Dasauniinformed that the PCC presi-dent addressed a joint Pressconference with the PCC pres-ident of Haryana Kumari Seljaat AICC headquarter onWednesday on the issue offarmer agitation.

    Singh said that the BJP inthe run up to the Assemblyelection of 2017 had promisedthat it would waive off the loanof farmers when it would cometo power but in the last four

    years it has not fulfilled itspromise.

    He said that when the issueof suicide of farmers wasbrought before the CM herefused to provide compensa-tion to the families. Referringto the Kisan Samman Nidhi asa cruel joke on farmers, Singhsaid that the UnionGovernment is providing ameager �16 a day to the farm-

    ers and in this too major irreg-ularities have surfaced.

    He said that in Laksar inHaridwar district irregulari-ties worth �15 lakh have beendetected and here 185 fakebeneficiaries were found intwo villages.

    Criticising the UnionGovernment for showing anapathetic attitude towards theagitating farmers who are sit-

    ting in open from more than amonth in severe cold condition,Pritam Singh said that theNarendra Modi Governmenthas made the agitation as anissue of its false pride.

    He said that it appears thatthe Modi Government hasgone into a secret understand-ing with some capitalists.

    The PCC president saidthat the three draconian farmlaws are not only against farmers but they are anti peo-ple too.

    He said that consideringthe obstinate attitude adoptedby the Union Government, thefarmers’ agitation can becomeprotracted. Kumari Shelja saidthat the Congress party isstanding firmly with thefamers.

    The vice-president ofUttarakhand CongressAryendra Sharma, general sec-retary organisation VijaySaraswat and Shilpi Arora werepresent on the occasion.

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    Hearing on a public interestlitigation filed againstacquisition of 1,072 acres landof GB Pant University ofAgriculture and Technologyfor construction of an airportin Pantnagar, the UttarakhandHigh Court has directed theState and CentralGovernments, the universityand Civil Aviation Ministry tosubmit their reply within twoweeks.

    The division Bench of act-ing Chief Justice RavikumarMalimath and Justice AlokKumar Verma has set January13 as the next date of hearingfor the case.

    In his PIL, social workerresiding in Udham SinghNagar, Keshav Pasi has statedthat a new airport is proposedto be constructed on the south-ern side of the GB PantUniversity of Agriculture and

    Technology for which about1,072 acres land of the univer-sity is being acquired.

    The petitioner has furtherstated that since the creation ofUttarakhand till the present,about 4,300 acres land of theuniversity has been acquiredfor non-agricultural works.

    This is posing a threat tothe very existence of the uni-versity credited with a crucialrole in the green revolution.Presently, there is already anairport on the northern sideand with SIIDCUL industrialestate on side of the universi-ty another airport is proposedon the southern side.

    This will generate noiseand pollution all around theuniversity which will affect theacademic atmosphere andresearch work here.

    The petitioner has furtherstated that the university pro-vides 25 per cent of the nation’stotal seed requirement.

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    Ahead of the high-stakeWest Bengal Assemblypolls, Prime Minister NarendraModi is likely to visit WestBengal on January 23, which iscelebrated as Netaji SubhashChandra Bose’s birth anniver-sary.

    The Centre has constitut-ed a high-level committee tocommemorate Bose’s 125thbirth anniversary as a mark ofhis contribution to India’sfreedom struggle.

    Headed by Union HomeMinister Amit Shah, the com-mittee also includes experts,historians, authors, familymembers of Bose as well aseminent persons associatedwith Azad Hind Fauj.

    This panel will decide on

    the activities for the one-yearcommemoration startingJanuary 23, 2021.

    Sensing the major trac-tion that the memory of Bosehas with people of Bengal, BJPhas already roped in ChandraKumar Bose in the party. He isthe grand nephew of NetajiSubhash Chandra Bose andgrandson of Sarat ChandraBose, elder brother of NetajiSubhash Chandra Bose.

    He was at the head of acampaign for the completedeclassification of Bose-relateddocuments.

    After coming to power atthe Centre in 2014, the Modigovernment had promised todeclassify all the secret docu-ments on the possible last daysof Bose, still shrouded in mys-tery.

    Some documents weremade public but they hardlythrew much light on the cir-cumstances leading to thedeath of Netaji.

    The BJP Government,

    however, undertook new ini-tiatives towards preservingBose’s legacy, including settingup a museum at Red Fort andIn 2018.

    Three islands in Andamanand Nicobar- the Ross Island,the Neil Island and theHavelock Island were renamedas Netaji Subhas Chandra BoseDweep, Shaheed Dweep andSwaraj Dweep.

    Modi’s expected visit toWest Bengal assumes signifi-cance and set the pitch for theBJP campaign ahead of thestate Assembly elections due inApril-May 2021.

    BJP is looking to makemajor inroads in the WB pollsbuoyed by its win in 18 out of42 Lok Sabha constituencies inthe 2019 General Election.

    Both Union HomeMinister Amit Shah and BJPpresident JP Nadda haveexpressed confidence in theparty winning more than 200seats in the coming Assemblypolls.

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    With men’s best friend—thedog—proving threat tothe wildlife in and around thecountry’s tiger reserves, theNational Tiger ConservationAuthority (NTCA) has for-mulated guidelines to keepthem at bay by treating them as‘street dogs’ which needs to besterlised and vaccinated.

    But unlike those in theurban cities, the dogs found inthe tiger reserves should notbe released back in the big cats’habitat, indicates the StandardOperating Procedures (SOP),released by Minister of Statefor Environment, BabulSupriyo recently.

    “All dogs within tigerreserves will be dealt with inkeeping with the Animal BirthControl (Dogs) Rules, 2001,but the clause that after ster-ilization and vaccination theybe released where they werepicked up from, will not beapplied in tiger reserves,”points out the SOP.

    “Feral/stray dogs capturedfrom within tiger reservesshould under no circumstancebe released back and a suitablealternate site be selected fortheir rehabilitation,” it saidaiming to immunize thecanine against contagious dis-eases like canine distempervirus and controlling theirnumbers which are on the rise.

    The dogs survive ongarbage thrown by villagerslocated inside the reserves aswell on the fringes. AS theymultiply rapidly they lose theirfear of humans and turn feralor free-ranging dogs, accord-

    ing to experts. There havebeen instances of feral dogsmauling chinkaras and bigpredators like tigers as well.

    In fact, in August, the lat-est tiger survey had foundmore dogs than tigers in 17reserves across the country.There are total 50 tigers in thecountry. The wildlife expertswarned that when tigers preyon them or consume the meatof animals dogs may havekil led, the virus can be transmitted to the big cats.

    After sterlisation and vac-cination, the dogs have to berehabilitated at a suitable alter-nate site outside the tigerreserves say the guidelines.

    The SOP has also asked allthe reserves to create immu-nization buffers around tigerreserves to keep wild animalssafe from being hunted by feraldogs and to avoid transmissionof diseases between them andwild animals.

    “The aim is to ensure thatferal or stray dogs are handledinan appropriate manner toavoid disease spread and phys-ical injury to the tigers andother wild animals. Due tomany villages inside the tigerreserves, the menace is gravenot only at the fringers but alsowithin the reserves,” saidNTCA head SP Yadav.

    As per the SOP, respectivefield directors will have to set

    up a seven-member panelcomprising local veterinariansand NGOs, animal welfareactivists belonging to SPCA,panchayat representatives fortechnical guidance and imple-mentation of interventions,especially for planning andmanagement of dog controlprogramme.

    It also asks to delineateareas of feral dog movementand areas vulnerable to staysand map them on the GISdomain and coordinate withthe local animal husbandrydepartment.

    Vaccination of dogs isexpected to reduce the threatof transmission to wild ani-mals.

    Abi Tamim Vanak, a con-servation scientist at theAshoka Trust for Research inEcology and the Environment(Atree), Bengaluru noted that,the free-ranging dogs posedthe biggest threat to wildlife, inRajasthan and across thecountry.

    “Our data from Spiti,Himachal Pradesh, and Kutch,Gujurat, shows dogs huntinga range of wild species—fromblack-naped hare (herbivore)to red fox (carnivore). Feraldogs are even known to attackcritically endangered birdspecies such as the GreatIndian Bustard and Bengalflorican,” he said, as per areport.

    Snow LeopardConservancy India Trust, awildlife conservation NGObased in Leh too has flaggedthe issue of the feral dog prob-lem, saying that it is acuteacross Ladakh, Jammu andKashmir, too.

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    The Union Cabinet onWednesday approved ascheme to provide bank loans atlower rates to distilleries pro-ducing ethanol for doping inpetrol, with a view to raisingIndia’s ethanol productioncapacity to suck out surplussugar as well as cut oil imports.

    Oil Minister DharmendraPradhan said the Governmentis targeting to more than dou-ble blending of ethanol in petrolto 20 per cent by 2030, for whichdomestic production capacityhas to be augmented. Cabinetalso approved a multi-modallogistics and transport hub(MMTH) at Greater Noida inUttar Pradesh with a view tomaking India a strong player inthe global value chain.

    The Cabinet Committeeon Economic Affairs (CCEA),headed by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, approved amodified scheme for extendinginterest subvention to augmentethanol production capacity,he said.

    The Government wouldbear interest subvention for fiveyears, including one-year mora-torium against the loan availedby project proponents frombanks, at the rate of 6 per centper annum or 50 per cent of therate of interest charged by banks,whichever is lower. The inter-est subvention would be avail-able for setting up new as wellas an expansion of existingmolasses or grain-based distil-leries and for units that will pro-duce ethanol from other feed-stocks such as sugar beet, sweetsorghum and cereals.

    “Previously, �4,687 croreinterest subvention scheme was

    approved and now �4,573 crorehas been sanctioned,” saidPradhan.

    The Cabinet approved amulti-modal logistics and trans-port hub (MMTH) at GreaterNoida in Uttar Pradesh with aview to making India a strongplayer in the global value chain.The Union Cabinet alsoapproved a proposal to set upindustrial corridor nodes atKrishnapatnam and Tumakuruunder CBIC, said Minister ofInformation and BroadcastingPrakash Javadekar. “The pro-posals have a total estimatedcost of �7,725 crore and an esti-mated employment generationof more than 2.8 lakh persons,”he said.

    The Cabinet also approveda �3,000 crore project to turnParadip Port into a world-classport by setting up a dock. Thedecision to set up a westerndock was taken by the UnionCabinet in its meeting held onWednesday, Ports, Shipping andWaterways Minister MansukhMandaviya said. Paradip port inOdisha is one of the 12 major

    ports under thecontrol of theCentre.

    ���� 1��,123&

    The entire Nagaland was onWednesday declared a “dis-turbed area” for six moremonths by the CentralGovernment, enabling the con-tinuation of the controversialAFSPA which empowers secu-rity forces to conduct opera-tions anywhere and arrest any-one without any prior warrant.

    The Armed Forces (SpecialPowers) Act (AFSPA) has beenin force in Nagaland for sever-al decades.

    The Union Home Ministrysaid in a notification that theCentral Government is of theopinion that the area compris-ing the whole of Nagaland is insuch a “disturbed and danger-ous condition” that the use ofarmed forces in aid of the civilpower is necessary. “Now,therefore, in exercise of thepowers conferred by Section 3of the Armed Forces (SpecialPowers) Act, 1958 (No. 28 of1958), the Central Governmenthereby declares that whole ofthe State of Nagaland to be ‘dis-turbed area’ for a period of sixmonths with effect from 30thDecember 2020 for the purposeof the said Act,” the notification

    said. There have been demands

    from various organisations inthe Northeast as well as inJammu and Kashmir forrepealing the AFSPA, which,they allege, gives “sweepingpowers” to security forces. TheAFSPA has not been with-drawn even after a frameworkagreement was signed onAugust 3, 2015, by Naga insur-gent group NSCN-IM generalsecretary Thuingaleng Muivahand government interlocutor RN Ravi in the presence ofPrime Minister NarendraModi.

    The framework agreementcame after over 80 rounds ofnegotiations spanning 18 years,with the first breakthrough in1997 when the ceasefire agree-ment was sealed after decadesof insurgency in Nagaland.However, the peace processhas been stuck for some timeas the NSCN-IM has beenpressing for a separate flagand Constitution, a demandrejected by the CentralGovernment.

    Previous week NSCN-Kalso declared their intention fora ceasefire and engage in peacetalks.

    ���� 1��,123&

    Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birlaon Wednesday called for ahigh-level probe by an inde-pendent agency into the deathof Karnataka LegislativeCouncil Deputy Chairman S LDharme Gowda.

    The 64-year-old DeputySpeaker was found dead onrail tracks in theChikkamagaluru district ofKarnataka in the early hours ofTuesday, with police sourcesclaiming that it was a case ofsuicide. He was a JD(S) MLC.

    He was at the centre of ahigh drama on December 15in the legislative council,which saw BJP, JD(S), andCongress members hurlingabuses and pushing each otherover a row on a no-confidencemotion against Chairman KPratapachandra Shetty. Duringthe ruckus, Gowda was pulled

    down from the Chair by someCongress legislators, whoaccused him of occupying it asDeputy Chairman againstrules, as part of the BJP’s planto unseat Shetty, who is fromthe Congress.

    Referring to the incident,Birla said, “The unfortunateincident in the House, whenhe was in Chair, is a seriousattack on democracy. It isnecessary to have a high-levelprobe through an independentagency into his death.”According to an official state-ment, the Lok Sabha Speakersaid, “It is the duty of all of usto safeguard the prestige of leg-islative bodies and dignityand freedom of presiding offi-cers.”

    ���� 1��,123&

    The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) hassaid that severe cold waveconditions sweeping acrossnorth and northwest Indiapushed mercury to sub-zerolevels at many places in Jammuand Kashmir, Punjab,Rajasthan and HimachalPradesh, Delhi and NCR onWednesday.

    The severe cold wave con-ditions have intensified overthe region as icy winds withmoderate speed have beenblowing sharpening the windchill factor and therefore dropin the feel like temperature.

    The IMD also warned ofcontinuing cold wave condi-tions across the Indo-Gangeticplains, Bihar, Odisha, MadhyaPradesh and parts of Gujarattill January 1.

    Under the influence ofthe cold wave, some parts inGujarat and Odisha have beenreporting a significant drop inthe night temperatures.

    Pahalgam (-9 degreesCelsius), Churu (-1.5 degreesCelsius), Kullu (-0.2 degreesCelsius), Amritsar (1.8 degreesCelsius) and Jammu city (2.9degrees Celsius) remainedamong the coldest places innorth India.

    Wednesday was the cold-est December day for Churusince 2008. Similarly, Jammucity recorded one of its cold-est December daysWednesday. The plains ofJammu previously experiencedsuch conditions in 2014 (2.4degrees), and the city holds anall time record of 0.9 degreesin 1998. Pahalgam last report-ed such a cold December in2013, when the night temper-ature recorded was -9.6degrees Celsius.

    ���� 1��,123&

    Khadi and Village IndustriesCommission (KVIC) lentspecial focus on Khadi artisansin Jammu & Kashmir duringthe Covid-19 period. It dis-bursed �29.65 crore to KhadiInstitutions in the hilly terrainsof J&K alone, which has beenthe focus area of the CentralGovernment.

    KVIC Chairman VinaiKumar Saxena said throughthis special drive, the paymentof Rs 29.65 crore released to 84Khadi institutions has directlybenefited 10,800 artisan fami-lies in J&K. This goes on tostrengthen the Prime Minister’sdream of making every weak-er section “Aatmanirbhar”, hesaid.

    This amount was disbursedfrom May 2020 to September2020 to 84 Khadi institutions inJ&K under ModifiedMarketing DevelopmentAssistance (MMDA) scheme ofKVIC, which is directly linked

    with the production activities.Under this scheme, money isdirectly transferred into thebank accounts of artisansthrough DBT.

    During the Covid-19 lock-down period, a special drivewas also launched by KVIC tosettle 951 old MMDA claims ofJ&K Khadi institutions thatwere related to 2016-17 to2018-19, pending due to vari-ous technical reasons.

    “Apart from ensuringfinancial assistance throughMMDA Scheme to KhadiInstitutions and artisans, KVICalso roped in thousands ofwomen artisans working inself-help groups in Jammu,Udhampur, Pulwama, Kupwaraand Anantnag in stitching ofKhadi face masks. Almost 7lakh Khadi face masks werestitched by these women arti-sans and supplied to the J&KGovernment,” Saxena said.

    At present, 103 Khadi insti-tutions are working in J&K.

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    Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesdaypraised the newly designedvistadome coaches developedby the Integral Coach Factoryand said the comfort they willprovide will make journeysmore memorable.

    The vistadome touristcoaches, which have largerviewing area including roof topglass and 44 seats for passen-gers that can rotate up to 180degrees, completed the 180kmph trial run on Tuesday.

    “Comfort and cutting edgetechnology! Will make trainjourneys more memorable,”

    the PM said in a tweet respond-ing to Railway Minister PiyushGoyal’s post on the microblog-ging site introducing the newcoaches.

    “It is rightly said, ‘Journeyis best measured in terms ofmemories rather than miles’.Take a look at the newVistadome coaches of IndianRailways that will give anunforgettable travel experienceto passengers and will ensurethat they truly have a journeyto remember,” tweeted Goyal.

    The coach also has a Wi-Fi-based passenger informationsystem and for the first time thevistadome coach has been builton the LHB platform, which issafer.

    Among other stand-outfeatures of the new vistadomecoaches are that they areequipped with air-spring sus-pension in secondary stage forbetter ride comfort, large glasswindows and glass roof thatboast electrically controlledopalescence, transparent rooffor the passengers to get apanoramic view of their jour-ney, and observatory loungewith a larger window at oneend.

    In the newly built coaches,a mobile charging socket hasbeen provided

    for each passenger belowthe seat armrest, an entertain-ment system integrated withdigital display screens and

    speakers for music lovers.“Content on Demand” Wi-fifacility has been provided onpersonal gadgets of passengers,wider entrance doors for per-sons with disabilities on wheel-chairs and automatic slidingdoors at the compartment’sentry on both sides.

    The coaches are connectedwith GPS-based PublicAddress-cum PassengerInformation System (PAPIS),sunk-in type LED destinationboard, stainless steel multi-tier luggage racks outside thepassenger area, mini pantry toprovide refreshments to thepassengers, service area con-sisting of hot case, microwaveoven, coffee maker, bottle cool-

    er, refrigerator and washbasin.The new coaches are also

    equipped with a CCTV systemfor onboard surveillance andhave aesthetically designedinteriors and FRP panelling,FRP modular toilets with pres-surized flushing system and biotanks and automatic fire detec-tion with an alarm system forsafe travel.

    The ICF will be manufac-turing 10 such coaches at pre-sent. Two coaches have beenrolled out and the remainingwill be finished before March31 next year.

    The two coaches whichwere rolled out have gone to theCentral Railway, one of whichhad cleared the speed trials.

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    The External Affairs Ministry onWednesday launched the GlobalPravasi Rishta portal and app to con-nect with the nearly 3.12-crore strongIndian diaspora across the world.

    Speaking at the launch of the por-tal and app, Minister of State forExternal Affairs V Muraleedharansaid it aims to create a three-way com-munication between the ministry,Indian missions and the diaspora.

    “The government recognises theimportance of India diaspora and hasbeen engaging with them in variousways. One such innovative step is theglobal Pravasi Rishta portal and mobileapp through which Government ofIndia aims to connect with the over-seas Indian community, not just cer-emonially but at every step,” he said.

    Muraleedharan said the mobileapp will be used by the diaspora andthe Indian nationals, while the portalweb interface will be used by the mis-sions.

    “As of now, there is no effectivecommunication channel available withthe ministry to connect with theIndian diaspora worldwide.

    Hence effective connect with ourdiaspora has been a challenge not onlyduring normal circumstances but alsoduring emergencies. This is to have athree-way communication betweenthe ministry, our missions and the dias-pora,” he said.

    Muraleedharan said this portal iscreated to enable the registration ofIndian diaspora members i.E. NRIs,PIOs and the OCIs which is not justgoing to facilitate the Indian govern-ment to connect with the overseasIndian community but also facilitateNRIs, OCIs and PIOs community byconnecting them to various new andexisting government

    “This portal and app will alsoassist during any crisis managementand lend a helping hand to the NRIsand PIOs. The rishta portal will enablecommunication with the diaspora ona realtime basis and will have the abil-ity to issue emergency alerts and advi-sories. It will also enable the diasporato reach the consular officers and ser-vices in time of emergencies,” he said.

    Presently there are nearly 3.12crore overseas Indians globally ofwhich nearly 1.34 crore are PIOs and1.78 crore are NRIs, he said.

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    Days after BCCI presidentSourav Ganguli metBengal Governor JagdeepDhankhar for around twohours during which he report-edly invited her to inspect theEden Gardens senior CPI(M)leader and former BengalMinister Ashok Bhattacharyaon Wednesday called on theformer India captain.

    Bhattacharya a formerMayor of Siliguri MuncipalCorporation who had fordecades enjoyed a good chem-istry with Ganguli reportedlyrequested him not to join pol-itics as it was not a place meantfor people like him.

    The former India southpaw reportedly enquiredwhether the CPI(M) MLAwould be contesting electionsthis time round. A picture ofthe two leaders chatting atGanguli’s Behala house waslater posted by the formerminister.

    ��%������%�� � +52+ �

    The first play between BengalGovernor JagdeepDhankhar and the MamataBanerjee Government onWednesday reached thePresident’s House with the rul-ing Trinamool Congress writinga letter of protest to PresidentRamnath Kovind urging him tocall back the Governor for hisunconstitutional ways.

    Accusing the Governor’soffice of ‘serious breach of oathTrinamool MP SukhenduSekhar Roy wrote on behalf of

    his party “We submit that theGovernor has failed to pre-serve, protect, and defend theConstitution, and repeatedlybreached law declared by SC.”

    Apart from Roy the letterwas signed by TMC MPs likeSudip Bandyopadhyay, DerekO'Brien, Kalyan Banerjee andKakoli Ghosh Dastidar.

    Even as the letter demand-ed immediate recall of theGovernor the BJP immediatelyretorted saying it was not theGovernor but the ruling partywhich was conducting itself inmost unconstitutional manner.

    ��%������%�� � +52+ �

    Can Mamata Banerjee dobetter what Amit Shahdoes? In an apparent bid to bal-ance out the Union HomeMinister’s lunching sessions attribal hutments during hisBengal visits the Chief Ministeron Wednesday engaged in “chaipe charcha” in villages en routeto Kolkata from Bolpur whereshe held a triumphant roadshow on Tuesday.

    The Chief Minister madesudden halts at Ballavpur Dagaand then Sarkarpur Daga, twotribal hamlets nestled by theshrubby forests and engaged inprivate conversations withlocals and even cooked insidea shop.

    Returning to her formerself that perhaps earned her thepopular adage‘ Didi,” the ChiefMinister made a sudden stopover at a tea stall atSarkarpurDaga, walked up to the earth-en oven where a woman wascooking an overflowing pan ofvegetable.

    �� � +5�3&

    In an embarrassment to ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan, theadditional chief judicial magis-trate court in Kochi onWednesday dismissed the bailapplication petition filed by MSivsankar, the former principalsecretary in the CMO.

    Sivsankar had approachedthe court with a bail plea in thecase filed by the Department ofCustoms in which the formerhas been accused of misusing hisofficial position to facilitate goldsmuggling throughT h i r u v a n a n t h a p u r a mInternational Airport. TheCustoms has also told the courtof Sivsankar’s close liaison withSwapna Suresh, the kingpin ofgold smuggling and her associ-ates Sarath and Sandeep Nair.

    All four mentioned abovehave been arrested and impris-oned. The court observed that ifSivsankar was granted bail, thereare possibilities of him influ-encing the witnesses and derail-ing the investigation process.

    The court also took intoconsideration the fact thatSivsankar had suppressed detailsabout his second mobile phonewhich the Customs had seizedin the course of investigation.The Customs Department hadtold the court that thoughSivsankar was aware of the ille-gal activities carried out by theofficials of the UAE ConsulateGeneral at Thiruvanantha-puram, he deliberately kept theinformation as a secret and didnot alert the Government ofIndia agencies.

    �� � (1� 24=4

    Initial trends indicate thatThe candidates backed by theBJP have won a majority ofpanchayat seats in Karnataka asthe counting of votes pro-gressed on Wednesday.

    Though these polls don'ttake place on party symbols, allpolitical parties have put inefforts to ensure that the can-didate supported by them wins,so as to have their hold ongrassroot level politics, whichmay prove advantageous for

    them in taluk or zilla panchayatand even assembly polls when-ever it happens.

    According to sources, theBJP has so far secured 4,228seats, followed by the Congresswith 2,265 seats, JD(S) 1,167seats and independents 678seats. Karnataka State ElectionCommission officials saidcounting was on at all 226 cen-tres at the Taluk headquartersby adhering to strict COVID-19 protocol of mandatorywearing of face masks, socialdistancing and hand hygiene.

    Over 1,100 security per-sonnel have been deployed atthe counting centres, StateElection Commissioner B

    Basavaraju said.During the election, ballot

    papers were used in all districtsexcept Bidar, election officialssaid. The elections to 5,728 vil-lage panchayats had taken placeacross 226 Taluks of the statefor 82,616 seats.

    They were conducted intwo phases on December 22and 27 where 78.58 per centvoting was registered.

    As many as 2,22,814 can-didates contested the electionwhereas 8,074 candidates wereelected unopposed.

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    Senior NCP leader EknathKhadse, who had been sum-moned by the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on Wednesdayin connection with a question-able land deal in Pune, hassought and obtained 14 days’time to appear before the ED,citing health reasons.

    Less than a week after hewas summoned before the EDon December 30 in connectionwith the Pune land deal, said thathe was planning to appear beforethe central investigating agency,but he had sought and sought 14days’ time owing to his suddenindisposition. “Based on thesummons I had received, I wasto appear before the ED onDecember 30. But, on the mid-night of December 28, I sud-denly developed fever, cold anddry cough,” Khadse said in astatement issued here onWednesday.

    “After medical examination,doctors told me that I hadsymptoms of Covid-19.Subsequently, I underwentCovid-19 and its report is await-ed. The doctors have advised me14 days’ rest. Accordingly Icommunicated to the ED which

    has allowed me to appear beforeit after 14 days,” Khadse said.

    Khadse went on to say thatonce he recovered from his ill-ness, he would extend his fullcooperation to the ED in itsinvestigations.

    Khadse’s decision to skip hisdate with the ED came a dayafter Shiv Sena leader SanjayRaut’s wife Varsha sought timetill January 5 to appear before thecentral investigating agency inconnection with the PMC bankscam. Sixty-eight-year-oldKhadse, who had – while quit-ting the BJP and joining theNCP two months ago – said that

    “if the BJP unleashes ED againstme, then I will release CDsagainst the BJP leaders”, con-firmed on Saturday last that hehad received summons from theED and he would appear beforethe investigating agency onDecember 30.

    “I have received the sum-mons from the ED to appearbefore it on December 30. I willappear before the agency on thatday. I have already four inquiriesin this land deal. I will cooper-ate with the ED. As far as myreleasing CDs against the BJPleaders, I will do it at a laterstage,” Khadse had said.

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    The gunfight which eruptedbetween the joint team ofsecurity forces and a group of'unidentified' terrorists on theoutskirts of Srinagar nearLawaypora late Tuesdayevening ended wi


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