First India-Lucknow Edition-15 December 2020

LUCKNOW l TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

GMAIL & OTHER GOOGLE SERVICES BACK ONLINE AFTER 1 HR GLOBAL OUTAGE OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW

RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No.33

Google’s services, including Gmail, YouTube, Google Docs, Google Meet, faced a global outage earlier on Monday. Most the service were back online after an hour. Users also took to Twitter

10°C - 21°C

to complain about the issues. Google’s Workspace Status Dashboard showed an outage for all services appear of the company. Google later shared a statement explaining that the issue was caused by

an internal storage quota issue, and that all services have now been restored. What can only be termed as great the Google blackout of 2020, the problem appears to have started at 5.25 pm for Gmail.

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FARMERS ON A FAST TRACK AS GOVT HOPEFUL OF TALKS —PHOTO BY PTI

New Delhi: The government is engaging with farmer leaders to decide on the next date of talks, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, as unions intensified their agitation against the Centre’s 3 farm laws and observed a day-long fast on Monday.

“The meeting will definitely happen. We are engaging with farmers,” Tomar told PTI. The government is ready for discussion anytime. The farmer leaders have to “decide and convey” when they are ready for the next meeting, he added.

The farmers protesting at Delhi’s borders observed a day-long fast on Monday even as the agitation spread to different parts of the country with peasant unions

New Delhi: Bharatiya Kisan Union’s (BKU) national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait on Monday said that there is no rift among farmers after the resignation of three leaders of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) faction.

“There is no rift among farmers. 3 leaders of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) Turn to P6

RAJ FARMERS BLOCK DEL-JPR NH Farmers wash their clothes at Singhu border during their sit-in protest in New Delhi on Monday.

staging demonstrations at district headquarters.

Tomar is leading the negotiations with 40 farmer unions, along with Food Minister Pi-

yush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Som Parkash.

“We tried to convince farmers and farmer unions leaders. Our wish

Retail inflation declines to 6.93% in November New Delhi: Softening prices of food items like cereals, fruits and milk pulled down retail inflation to 6.93 per cent in November, though it remained above the comfort level of the Reserve Bank of India.

Retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 7.61 per cent in October and 7.27 per cent in September. According to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday, inflation in the food basket was 9.43 per cent in November, down from 11 per cent in the previous month.

Inflation in the ‘cereals and products’ category reduced to 2.32 per cent from 3.39 per cent in October.

The rate of price rise in ‘meat and fish’ segment was 16.67 per cent in November, as compared to 18.7 per cent in the previous month.

Similarly, inflation in

TIKAIT DENIES RIFT AMONG FARMERS

vegetables was lower at 15.63 per cent from 22.51 per cent.

Inflation in fruits and ‘milk and products’ was also lower over October.

The rate of price rise in the ‘fuel and light’ segment too moderated to 1.9 per cent as against 2.28 per cent in October.

The RBI, which mainly factors in retail inflation while arriving at key policy rates, has been mandated by the government to keep inflation at 4 per cent (+, - 2 per cent).

The central bank had maintained status quo in the policy rate earlier this month due to high inflation.

Commenting on the data, Sachin Chhabra, Founder of B2B grocery business Peel-Works, said it was heartening to note that the inflation subsided in November, riding primarily on softer food prices.

“We expect inflationary pressure to subside even further in Q4 of the current fiscal.

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is that they come for clause-by-clause discussion. If they are ready to express their views clause by clause, we are ready for discussion,” he said.

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Jaipur: Farmers from Rajasthan on Monday blocked Delhi-Jaipur national highway at Shahjahanpur in Alwar after police stopped them from marching to Delhi. Due to blockade, vehicular traffic on Jaipur-Delhi highway was diverted to Bansur and other routes of Alwar. P7

Govt ready to hold dialogue with farmers, says Rajnath New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that the government is willing to hold dialogue with farmers but asserted that the recent reforms have been undertaken with the best interests of farmers.

“There is no question of taking retrograde steps against our agricultural sector ever. The recent reforms have been undertaken with the best interests of India’s farmers in mind”, Rajnath Singh said while addressing the annual convention of the Fed-

New Delhi: Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group was among “multiple” entities that on Monday put in preliminary bids for buying the government’s stake in loss-making carrier Air India.

“Multiple expressions of interest have been received for strategic disinvestment of Air India. The Transaction will now move to the second stage,” Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Sec-

retary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted.

Air India itself was established as Tata Airlines in 1932, but separated in 1946 and nationalised in 1953, a fact which prompts many to consider the potential buyout Turn to P6

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Dhordo in Kutch, Gujarat on December 15 and lay the foundation stone of several development projects in the State, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Monday.

According to a statement by the PMO, these projects include a desalination plant, a hybrid renewable energy park, and a fully automated milk processing and packing plant.

JIO WRITES TO TRAI, SAYS RIVALS PORTRAYING IT AS ANTI-FARMER New Delhi: Reliance Jio has written to the Telecom Regulator Authority of India (TRAI) seeking strict action against Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea for “unethical practices” and “unscrupulous

l Took first-hand account of the ground realities l With I-pad in hand, he took notes about health, education, cleanliness and other amenities, to take such surprise trips in future also Lucknow: It was spontaneous but with assertion and conviction, much to the consternation of security staff deployed with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The security personnel of CM Yogi were a worried

bunch when the latter announced to take the road route from Moradabad to Ghaziabad on Saturday after the inclement weather did not allow him to fly. He was in Moradabad and had to fly to Ghaziabad.

The authorities also advised him to postpone the event at Ghazi-

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath

abad in which the Chief Minister was to dedicate Kailash Mansarovar building to the

eration of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

As the farmers’ agitation against the agricultural reforms entered the 19th day, Singh said the govern-

ment is “always willing to listen to our farmer brothers, alley their misgivings and provide them with assurances whatever they can provide.

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Tatas bid for Air India Modi in Kutch on Dec 15 to lay 67 years after exit! foundation stone of projects

violations” and to stop campaigns under which “false propaganda is being spread across the country to get some additional MNP port-ins” by “capitalising on the ongoing farmer pro-

test in the northern parts of the country”.

In a letter to Secretary, TRAI, Reliance Jio said its letter was in furtherance of its letter of September 28, 2020 “highlighting the unethical Turn to P6

Braving bad weather, a diligentYogi reaches G’bad by road!

M Tariq Khan

Rajnath Singh

public, the project which has been very close to his heart. He firmly told to go ahead

with the event and said he will travel by car instead leaving the officials in a state of jitter.

Ignoring security threat, the undeterred CM embarked upon a road trip of about 150 kms during which he was well received by the people along the road.

“This, in fact, was deliberate on his part as he wanted to take firsthand stock of the ground realities in terms of conditions of road, arrangements of cleanliness and general amenities for the people of the state,” a senior

officer accompanying him said. The official went on to say that he was informed of the security aspect of his road trip but the CM insisted upon travelling in a car.

EMERGENCE OF NEW YOGI Not only this, all through his journey, CM Yogi, when not responding to crowds, was seen having a studious look at his I-pad where he has stored data of his programmes, and even the status of implementation.

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Chief Minister of Gujarat will be present on the occasion. Prime Minister Modi will also undertake a visit to the White Rann, followed by witnessing a cultural programme. “Harness-

ing its vast coastline, Gujarat is taking a significant step towards transforming seawater to potable drinking water with the upcoming Desalination Plant at Mandvi, Kutch. This Desalination Plant, with 10 crore litre per day capacity (100 MLD), will strengthen water security in Gujarat by complementing Narmada Grid, Sauni network and treated wastewater infrastructure,” the statement said. —ANI

No cycle, no laptop!

Yogi’s give-away to people is class apart The CM is on a spree of personally distributing appointment letters to selected candidates of various jobs that makes it a remarkable event in commoners’ lives Vishal Srivastav Lucknow: Sample this: A 23-year-old girl was recently handed over an appointment letter by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. She was one of the 500-odd lady tubewell operators who got recruited for the post for the first time in the history of Uttar Pradesh.

While she was understandably jubilated, the first words that she spoke after meeting the CM was “Yogi ji hain tabhi ye ho paya varna hum gaon ki ladkiyon ko aaj tak kaun poocha (It is because of CM

Yogi, this could be done otherwise who cares for the girls from rural areas.)”

Getting a tubewell operator’s job may seem like a lesser achievement in today’s corporate-crazy world but for the girl who got the letter from the CM, it surely means a world.

In yesteryears, former CM Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati too tired to woo people with free laptops and bicycles but Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath knows what people want most from him—i.e. appointment letters for jobs.

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Yogi credits PM Modi for coining ‘Divyang’

CM, along with guv Anandiben Patel attended the seventh convocation ceremony of Shakuntala Devi Rehablitation Univ First India Bureau Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for coining the term divyang’ and motivating the differently abled to move ahead in their lives.

He also said around 10.68 lakh ‘divyaang’ or specially abled people were given onetime pension by his government during the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

“I would like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for coming with a term Divyang for the differently abled

people. Earlier people used to call them by names which were not in the right spirit of humanity. People used to feel neglected and bad because of these words being attributed for them but that is not the case anymore,” Adityanath, who was speaking during the convocation ceremony of Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University, said while addressing the audience.

The chief minister, who was accompanied

by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, also unveiled a bronze statue of former prime minister Atal Bihari

GOVT ASSISTANCE

SPECIAL EVENT: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath feting students of Dr Shakuntala Mishra National Rehabilitation University at its seventh convocation ceremony. Governor Anandiben Patel was also present on the occassion.

Vajpayee on the occasion. The two dignitaries also released a postage stamp bearing the name and photo of the university.

Addressing the seventh convocation cere-

mony of the university, Adityanath said, “We all are indebted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who called the differently abled ‘divyang’ instead of ‘viklang’. I offer my gratitude to him for coining this word and motivating the ‘divyangjan’ to move ahead.

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, who was also present at the event, gave medals to the students.

“This university is different, as the normal’ and the divyang’ study here together, former chairman of Sahitya Akademi, Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari said at the event.

National Highway status ‘Emphasise on timely Farmer Protest: ADG sets for Lko-Knp Expressway completion of projects’ to act against law flouters First India Bureau

First India Bureau Lucknow: The proposed greenfield Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway will be accorded status of the National Highway.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had sought approval from the Uttar Pradesh government for the same.

The proposal has been accepted by the CM. Soon no-objection certificate will be sent by the state government to the Govt of India.

Travel time between the two cities will be reduced to 45 minutes after the expressway comes up.

A FASTER WAY VERY SOON: The Lucknow Kanpur route will soon have a much faster alternative in form of an expressway.

MANSAROVAR BHAWAN, A PERFECT GIFT

Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given instructions to review the works of all development authorities of the state. He said that the schemes of the authorities should be time bound, focussing on public interest and should ensure that citizens should not be disturbed or harassed.

The Chief Minister has also issued instructions to first review the status of the projects run by them at the respective department level, after which he himself will review each authority.

The Chief Minister was reviewing various

First India Bureau

CM has vouched for hassle free payments to farmers.

departments at a highlevel meeting convened at his government residence on Monday.

In the review meeting, CM Yogi while expressing commitment to the interests of farmers, said that all effective and hassle free system of paddy purchasing should be ensured at all procurement centres.

Lucknow: ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar seems to be acting tough during the on going farmer agitation and has given necessary instructions to the police force of the state.

Cops have been ordered not to allow encirclement of any high profile person’s place. He has also ordered strict action against those creating nuisance and disturbance. The local administration too is keeping an eye on activities of the magistrates who have been appointed at police station levels.

While a round the

CONFIDENT: ADG Prashant Kumar is confident of tackling the law and order issues arising out of the ongoing farmers’ protest.

clock vigil is being maintained by the officials, right from 8:00 am, 140 PACs have been deployed across the state. IGs of nine ranges have also been sent to other districts.

There are reports of Shaheen Bagh protestors trying to enter Del-

BJP govt not developing my CM helps constituency, says Akhilesh martyr’s

INDIA’S WARMTH

First India Bureau

A FLUTTER TOGETHER: Migratory birds hailing from colder faraway lands take a flutter in unison. These birds usually come every winter at the Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary situated in Unnao district.

—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR

Azamgarh: Samajwadi Party president and local MP Akhilesh Yadav has alleged that the BJP-led state government does not carry out development works in his district as it houses his parliamentary constituency.

He claimed that the government owes Rs 52 crore to the farmers of his constituency, but “the government is not making any payments because it is Azamgarh”.

“The Manduri airstrip is ready, but the government is not mak-

No development in Azamgarh, claims MP Akhilesh Yadav.

ing it functional as we will start coming here.

Why a four-km section of the airstrip could not be completed in four years (of the BJP rule)?

This is just because this is Akhilesh Yadav’s

constituency,” the former chief minister said, while speaking to reporters, Yadav was here in his constituency to attend a wedding function. He also paid his condolence to former minister Waseem Ahamad, who passed away recently.

Exuding confidence that the Samajwadi Party would be forming the next government in the state, Yadav said, “We will take smaller parties along. We will not tell more of our strategy now, otherwise the BJP will start hatching conspiracies.”

PREPARATIONS ON

COVID-19 vax centres may feel like elections in process Central govt advises states to prepare COVID-19 vaccine booths on the lines of voting booths during elections First India Bureau Lucknow: The Central Government has advised the states to use the experience from organising elections and other national immunisation programmes such as polio for COVID-19 vaccination.

Two vaccine special-

ists, two assistants and volunteers will be deployed at these booths.

A maximum of 100 people will be vaccinated at a single booth.

According to a senior health department official, the Government of India and NITI Aayog have jointly prepared a de-

hi border and were boycotted by the farmers. It is to be noted that such elements are directly being monitored by ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar, who is taking a stock of the situation from all officers across the districts in Uttar Pradesh.

VACCINE SOON: The Yogi-led government is gearing up for distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to the population across Uttar Pradesh.

tailed plan for the COVID-19 vaccination, covering vaccine storage, cold chain, distribution and vaccination itself.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also discussed the same with the Chief Ministers of all the states.

According to health department officials, there will be two vaccinators at a single booth.

These may be any two of ANM, Nurse, MPW and Pharmacist. There

will also be an assistant for maintaining data and records. One assistant will be available for logistic preparations.

Two to three people will be installed at the booth for crowd management. These human resources can be from the NCC or other volunteers. Registration information will be given to the beneficiary via SMS. Following vaccination, a QR-based electronic vaccination certificate will be given.

family

First India Bureau Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday paid tribute to martyr deputy commandant of CRPF Vikash Kumar, resident of Muzaffarnagar. Vikash Kumar was killed in Chhattisgarh while performing his duty.

The Chief Minister has announced to provide financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh to the families of the martyr.

He has also announced to give a government job to a member of the martyr’s family and to name a road in the district after the martyr Vikash Kumar.

Expressing his condolences, the Chief Minister said that the state government is with him in this hour of grief.

The State Government will provide all possible help to the martyr’s family.

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Indo-American industrialists find new vistas in Yogi turf

Yogi stresses better health facilities to C-patients First India Bureau

Our govt is making planned efforts to convert possibilities into opportunities, says CM First India Bureau Lucknow: In an interaction with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at an Investment and Tourism programme organised under the banner of Uttar Pradesh Association of North America (UPANA), UP-American industrialists, appreciated the government’s policies for industrial development.

They also made CM Yogi aware of the proposals.

In this virtual programme, CM Yogi said, “In Uttar Pradesh, there has been immense compassion for Nature and God. There are rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, and Saryu. Lord Shri Ram took birth in the holy city of Ayodhya.

The state also has Kashi, the oldest city of the world apart from Mathura and Vrinda-

CM Yogi Adityanath holding the virtual meet with UP NRIs on Monday.

van. UP is the best for spiritual tourism.”

Stating that Prayagraj Kumbh has been described as an ‘Intangible Heritage of Humanity’

by UNESCO, the CM said, “Our government is making planned efforts to convert these possibilities of UP into opportunities. We are also working on a plan to develop Ayodhya as the most beautiful city in the world. ” Describing the devel-

opment work in UP, Yogi said, “The state government is constructing Bundelkhand, Purvanchal, Gorakhpur link, and Ganga ExpresswayWedge. This expressway will actually accelerate the pace of development. There are plans to develop industrial clusters along these expressways. This is a good opportunity for the private sector.” With a view to expanding healthcare

facilities, the government is trying to set up medical colleges in all 75 districts of the state. As of 2017, there were 12 medical colleges in the state. Although there are currently 16 such districts that do not have medical colleges, the government will soon introduce a new policy, the CM added.

Investors who were present at the event also showed enthusiasm

03

about the policies. Giving information about his government’s innovative initiative ‘One District One Product’, the CM informed investors about the recent ranking of Ease of Doing Business.

The CM said, “The interests of investors are also being taken care of. Uttar Pradesh will do everything possible to fulfill PM Modi’s dream of Selfreliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat).”

Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said to provide best possible facilities to corona patients, it is necessary to continue with the existing effective system for treatment and protection.

He directed all the medical institutions to further improve the arrangements as quality health services to its people have always been the top priority of the government. Presiding over the unlock

review meeting at his residence, the CM said doctors should take regular rounds in the hospitals which should remain equipped with adequate medicines, medical equipments and oxygen. People should be made aware of the covid protection protocol and it should be properly publicised through various modes of communication including public address system, the CM said.

He also expected covid testing should be continued in the same

effective manner and adequate number of RTPCR and Rapid Antigen be ensured everyday. He further asked to run Integrated Command and Control Centres actively.

Yogi said the training of vaccinators is starting today. “The training should be in easy language so that vaccinators understand the nuances easily,’’ he said while reminding the officials about maintenance of cold chain for efficient storage of vaccines.

TOLL REACHES 8,083; 1,229 FRESH CASES IN STATE

Record payment by Five killed in Pratapgarh road mishap; CM condoles deaths govt to paddy, wheat farmers: ACS Sehgal First India Bureau

Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief on the death of five people who died in a gruesome accident in Pratapgarh district.

Five people, including an Uttar Pradesh Police cop, were killed

Addl Chief Secretary, Information, Navneet Sehgal

First India Bureau Lucknow: Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh Government has made a record payment to the paddy and wheat farmers of the state, said Addl Chief Secretary, Information Navneet Sehgal.

The state government has paid Rs 31904.78 crore to the paddy farmers in the last four years, making a record of the highest payment to paddy farmers in the state.

In terms of payment to wheat farmers, the government has left the previous governments far behind. In a 4-yr tenure, it has paid Rs 29017.45 crore for the crop of over 33 lakh wheat farmers, he said.

The Yogi government has already set a record for the highest ever payment to sugarcane farmers, including the dues of the previous government. It has paid Rs 60922.23 crore to the wheat and paddy farmers till 14 December.

Under the policy of paying the grain of the crop to the farmers, the government has paid Rs 6663.32 crore for the purchase of 42.90 lakh MT paddy in the first year of the term 2017-18.

Rs 8449.39 crore payment for 48.25 lakh MT in 2018-19. 56.47 lakh MT in 2019-20. Also, Rs 6517.82 crore were paid for the purchase of 34.86 lakh MT paddy, he informed.

on the spot when the vehicle in which they were travelling dashed against a tree near here, the police said on Monday.

Additional SP (East) Surendra Dwivedi said the driver lost control over the vehicle leading to the accident on Pratapgarh Patti road

The ill-fated jeep after the incident on Sunday night

under the Kandhari Police Station, 12 km from the district headquarters, Sunday night.

Victims -- constable Sandeep Kumar Yadav (29), Sandip Yadav (26), Akhilesh Yadav (35) and Rahul Yadav (28), besides driver of the vehicle Pappu Yadav-- were returning from a wed-

Realtors’ body urges reduction Excise checks high in stamp duty to boost sector on illegal liquor sale First India Bureau Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh unit of apex realtors’ body NAREDCO on Monday urged state’s chief minister Yogi Adityanath to reduce stamp duty to boost demand in the real estate sector, which has come to a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Real Estate Developers Council (NAREDCO), which has around 250 developers as members in the state, also cited reduction in stamp duty in Maharashtra this year which has led to a growth in demand in the sector.

“We would like to bring to your kind atten-

A letter has been sent to the CM requesting him to reduce duty.

tion that due to the pandemic and lockdown, real estate activities have almost come to a standstill. Real estate is one of the key sectors which directly or indirectly connects with 275plus industries and second most employment generation sector after agriculture in India,”

NAREDCO UP president RK Arora said in a letter to the CM. “The government of Uttar Pradesh, under your dynamic leadership, is taking required measurer to help the sector recover from current crisis. We will, therefore, recommend for reduction in stamp duty charges in UP to boost demand in real estate,” Arora said.

Moreover, he said, due to the “operational constraints” in all areas of homebuying due to the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns, the real estate industry has seen a “sharp decline” in property sales.

First India Bureau Lucknow: Sanjay R. Bhoosreddy, Additional Chief Secretary Excise Department, said the department was carrying out enforcement actions regularly to prevent the manufacture, sale and smuggling of illicit liquor in the state.

In the last week, 596 cases were registered all over the state in which 17,510 litres of illicit liquor were recovered.

Along with it 147 persons involved in the illegal act have been arrested and 05 vehicles seized. The ACS also said in Agra district, 40 cases of illicit county liquor have been recovered from a well

ACS Excise Sanjay Bhoosreddy said action was on a far footing and one person has been arrested. In Badaun Rs 1,53,510, six mobile handsets, 90 litres of illicit liquor, two cases of country liquor and other equipments for preparing illicit liquor hwere recovered in a raid while three persons were arrested from the spot, with FIR against four.

During road checking in Badaun, 230 cases of foreign liquor for sale in Haryana were recovered from a truck.

ding ceremony when the accident took place near Dewan Mau village, he said.

CM Yogi condoled the loss of lives in the accident, an official statement said on Monday.

A pall of gloom descended on Khajohari -- the native village of all the deceased.

FIR against Col for rape First India Bureau Lucknow: An Army officer of Colonel rank, posted at Central Ordnance Depot (COD) in Kanpur, allegedly raped his friend’s Russian wife at the officer’s mess in the Cantt area after sedating the husband.

The incident took place on December 10, but came to light when an FIR was lodged against him under section 376 (rape) and other sections of IPC following a complaint by the husband at Cantt police station on Saturday.

According to him, his friend Col Neeraj Gehlot, invited the couple to dinner at his place, where he did the crime.

MASTERSTROKE

Yogi holds out olive branch, doles out sops as farmers shun SP ploy Samajwadi Party’s renewed bid to grab the headlines and join the farmers’ bandwagon is a clear albeit late attempt to queer the pitch for the ruling party in the state.

M Tariq Khan Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath Government doled out yet another sop for agitating farmers’ even as Samajwadi Party (SP) tried to up the ante and ‘hijack’ the stir by holding protests in several districts on Monday.

In a masterstroke, expected to take the winds out of the sails of those trying to stoke farm unrest in the State, Yogi Government has decided to give increased compensation to farmers as those whose land has been acquired for Jewar

Airport project. The decision taken by Yamuna Expressway Authority in its Board meeting on Monday will come as a windfall for thousands of farmers. They will now be able to get a developed plot of up to 500 square metres and it would also include an area used to keep cattle, fodder machines etc.

But Opposition parties with an axe to grind are trying to queer the pitch for the ruling party in the state. Samajwadi Party’s renewed bid to grab the headlines and join the farmers’ bandwagon is a clear albeit

—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR



REALPOLITIK: The opposition is trying to make the farmer-government tussle into an issue of government-opposition slugfest.

late attempt towards this. The underlying agenda is to wrest the movement and instead of being a farmer-Gov-

ernment issue, make it (farmers’ stir) a Government-Opposition parties slugfest. Ironically, the Bhartiya Kisan Union

and other farmers’ unions in the State have shunned SP’s overtures and attempts to ‘hijack’ the movement.

“Our umbrella organisations have already decided that no leader of any political party will be allowed to speak from our stages. Politicians in UP are looking at 2022 (assembly elections) but for us it is a question of our livelihood,” said Harnam Singh of the Bhartiye Kisan Union in Lucknow. “We don’t need their support, but they still want to join our protest. We have strictly

banned entry of any party flags or politician in our demonstration,” said Raju Gupta, leader of another farmers’ outfit.

But poor agitating farmers may not even be aware that political parties have their own ways of sneaking in craftily into the protest through their various farmers’ wings and taking over the leadership and jeopardise their “struggle.”

Public posturing apart, it has now become clear that both the Congress and the BJP are on the same page about their stand on the new farm

laws. Then there are likes of the CPI (M) and the BSP which are facing an existential crisis and are trying to catch at a straw through the ongoing stir. The Yogi Government is therefore not wrong in accusing these parties of opportunism and doing a u-turn now.

Under such circumstances, the political slugfest comes as a no surprise. But experts and scholars, who have a soft-corner for farmers braving the biting cold for over two weeks feel the loser in this game of one upmanship by parties may be the farmers.

PERSPECTIVE LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020

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INDIA-PAKISTAN POST-1971

IN-DEPTH

CYBER ATTACK FEAR AS GOOGLE, YOUTUBE CRASH

G

oogle services took a hit with multiple outages being reported around 5 pm, Monday. YouTube, Gmail, and other Google services like Google Docs, GMaps, and Google Analytics stopped working for a short while causing security concerns among users. In the case of Gmail, the message popping up on screens read, “…the system encountered a problem, retrying.” On YouTube, a monkey’s cartoon appeared to say that something went wrong. The outage was unusual as YouTube and Google seldom crash. For Twitter users, it was their first experience of the platform’s crash.

The outage was global, including in the US where some feared that the disruption was due to a cybersecurity attack launched by a foreign nation”. Google officially denied any cyberattack and said that the outage was due to a technical glitch.

Downdetector, which tracks cyber disruptions, said that outages were experienced in Brazil, Chile, Santiago, and Argentina. In Europe, parts of Germany and the Netherlands experienced a breakdown.

Such outages lead to loss of user trust. In October the tech giant had said that there was an exponential growth in cybersecurity threats like distributed denial of services (DDoS) which attack websites and online services. In July Twitter accounts of several public figures and celebrities were hacked in a crypto-currency attack. Twitter had said 130 accounts were hacked.

Circa 2020 has been terrible with Covid-19 afflicting and killing large numbers of people and the economy going into a tailspin. The cyber outage was the least expected trouble to strike in these times and hopefully, the year will end without any more outages of any kind.

HARSHA KAKAR THE WRITER IS MAJOR GENERAL (RETD)

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STAR WAR ON TAMIL NADU’S HORIZON

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nybody who thought that there’ll be a star war in TN’s political firmament would be disappointed as Makkal Needhi Maiam president Kamal Haasan, who launched his election bid with a pitch for Madurai as the state’s second capital, made a broad hint at an alliance with the to-beannounced political party of Rajnikanth. “Alliances will break and new combinations will emerge,” he said while reminding people of former CM MG Ramachandran’s dream of making Madurai the second capital. The two superstars coming together appears an unlikely scenario as Rajnikanth has been cosying up to the BJP which is aware of the superstar’s stupendous popularity.

It is expected that the two will enter into an alliance to keep the two Dravida parties out of power.

Kamal Haasan has been critical of PM Narendra Modi on various issues, the recent one being his comments on the Rs 1000-crore expenditure on a new parliament building “when half of India is hungry”. Considering that the project is close to the prime minister’s heart, his criticism should make him an untouchable for the BJP. By invoking MGR Kamal Haasan also sought to take on the AIADMK, a party founded by the late celebrity CM but which has considerably weakened after the death of Jayalalitha and the internal dissensions that followed. Tamil Nadu’s politics is set to become even more interesting with Jayalalitha’s confidante Sasikala likely to throw her hat in the ring to claim her mentor’s legacy.

In March 1971, using violence as an excuse, the Pakistan Army intervened to crush the movement supported by the Jamaat-i-Islami and pro-Pakistani elements. It resulted in millions of refugees streaming into India. India had no option but to get involved in the region as it was facing economic pressure supporting millions of refugees streaming across the border

he surrender at Dhaka on Dec 16, 1971, was a humiliating defeat for Pakistan and ended with the largest surrender since the second world war.

The operations led by Eastern Command, in close coordination with the Mukti Bahini, concluded in 13 days and led to the creation of Bangladesh.

The seeds of defeat were sowed from the time of Independence in 1947, with India only ensuring completion of the process.

Pakistan’s refusal to accept Bengali as a state language in the early years after Partition, the economic disparity between the two parts, hegemony of the West Pakistani ruling elite over the country, regular the imposition of martial laws, and a demeaning attitude towards Bengali culture and population soured relations between the two parts. Tensions came to a peak in December 1970 when the Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won the national elections but Bhutto led Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), refused to hand over power.

In March 1971, using violence as an excuse, the Pakistan Army intervened to crush the movement supported by the Jamaati-Islami and pro-Pakistani ele-

ments. It resulted in millions of refugees streaming into India.

India had no option but to get involved in the region as it was facing economic pressure supporting millions of refugees streaming across the border.

The war ended and the Shimla Agreement of Jul 2, 1972, led to the repatriation of the 93,000 prisoners of war. The agreement failed to resolve the basic issue of Kashmir which was the major bone of contention between the two nations. The agreement was the end of part 1 of the Indo-Pak conflict and the commencement of the next.

Strategically, India removed one threat from Pakistan. If viewed in the current IndoChina standoff as also during Doklam, East Pakistan would have been a major threat for India as they with the Chinese could pose a serious threat to the Siliguri Corridor. Chinese string of pearls would have been far easier in the current environment had East Pakistan remained.

Militarily, it was India’s finest moment. It reflected the professionalism, integration, operational readiness, and high morale of the forces that shattered the Pakistani military and inflicted serious losses to its strategic assets. It was a display of perfect synergy between the political and military leadership backed by excellent civilmilitary relations. India wiped off its memory the defeat in 1962 and limited gains in 1965.

It also had a negative impact.

PART 2 OF THE INDO-PAK CONFLICT CONTINUES EVEN TODAY. IT IS UNLIKELY TO END SOON. HOWEVER, DUE TO LESSONS FROM INDIAN CROSS-BORDER STRIKES, THESE WILL BE LIMITED TO SUPPORTING SECESSIONIST FORCES

Pakistan became a viable and cohesive entity with its Armed Forces capable of defending a smaller nation. By creating Bangladesh, we have made an implacable enemy of Pakistan for whom Balkanisation of India by whatever means has become an article of faith. Pakistan had realised that it could never match India in a conventional war and its only deterrence was to develop nuclear weapons, for which it fell to China and North Korea for support. It also took up supporting radical and secessionist forces within India.

Bhutto supported the Khalistan movement which ended with operation Blue Star. He is stated to have said, ‘Pakistan will also have a Bangladesh carved out of India, except that it will be on Pakistan’s border.’

This was further pushed by Zia-ul-Haq who also launched his philosophy of bleeding India with a thousand cuts. The

Global emissions are down by an unprecedented 7%

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lobal emissions are expected to decline by about 7% in 2020 (or 2.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide) compared to 2019 — an unprecedented drop due to the slowdown in economic activity associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

To put this into perspective, the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 saw a 1.5% drop in global emissions compared to 2007. This year’s emissions decline is more than four times larger.

These are the findings we show in the 15th global carbon budget, an annual report card of the Global Carbon Project on the sources and removals of carbon dioxide, the primary driver of human caused climate change.

It may sound like welcome news, but we can’t celebrate yet. A rapid bounce

04

back of emissions to preCOVID levels is likely, possibly by as soon as next year.

A recent study found emissions in China snapped back to above last year’s levels during late spring when economic activity began to return to normal.

These findings come ahead of the Climate Ambition Summit on Saturday, where global leaders will demonstrate their commitments to climate action five years since the Paris Agreement. This huge drop in emissions should be taken as a unique opportunity to divert the historical course of emissions growth for good.

EMISSIONS IN THE PANDEMIC YEAR The total global fossil carbon dioxide emissions for 2020 are estimated to be 34 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Estimated emissions at

the beginning of December are lower than their levels in December last year, at least in the transport sectors. However, emissions have been edging back up since the peak global daily decline of 17% in early April.

The decline in emissions

in 2020 was particularly steep in the United States (12%) and European Union (11%), where emissions were already declining before the pandemic, mainly from reductions in coal use.

Emissions from India dropped by 9%, while emissions from China, which

have returned to close or above 2019 values, saw an estimated drop of only about 1.7%.

Australian greenhouse gas emissions during the peak of the pandemic lockdown (the quarter of March to June 2020) were lower by 6.2% compared to

the previous quarter. The largest declines were seen in transport and fugitive emissions (emissions released during the extraction, processing and transport of fossil fuels).

Globally, the transport sector also contributed the most to the 2020 emissions drop, particularly “surface transport” (cars, vans and trucks). At the peak of the pandemic lockdowns, the usual levels of transport emissions were halved in many countries, such as in the US and Europe.

While aviation activity collapsed by 75%, its contribution to the total decline was relatively small given the sector only accounts for about 2.8% of the total emissions on an average year. The number of global flights was still down 45% as of the first week of December.

Kashmir militancy commenced in that period and support to the Khalistan movement continues.

Pakistan believed that its nuclear deterrence and policy of first use would deter India from commencing a conventional war, opening doors for it to launch terrorist strikes across the country, impacting India’s growth, development, and internal stability. It also hoped that terrorist strikes would result in religious strife breaking internal cohesion.

Mumbai and the parliament attacks were a result of this. It was only after this myth was broken by the cross border and Balakote strike did Pakistan realize that its nuclear bluff has outlived its utility.

These strikes also laid down limits of Indian tolerance, pushing Pakistan back. Pakistan’s military establishment has realised that it needs to be careful as the next Indian action may not be hidden from its public as Balakote was. Recent Indian decisions on Kashmir were uncontested by Pak proxies as there remained a fear within their establishment of Indian counter actions. It could only resort to diplomatic projections, which were a global failure.

Part 2 of the Indo-Pak conflict continues even today. It is unlikely to end soon. However, due to lessons from Indian cross-border strikes, these will be limited to supporting secessionist forces.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

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TWEET Prakash Javadekar @PrakashJavdekar PM Sh @narendramodi’s call of “Make In India”, is making India an investment hub. Samsung is set to invest `4,825 crore & relocate it’s mobile production unit from China to India. Our government’s commitment towards making “Atmanirbhar Bharat” a reality, is for all to see.

Dr Harsh Vardhan @drharshvardhan India has crossed a landmark milestone in its eHealth journey. #eSanjeevani telemedicine service of the @MoHFW_INDIA has crossed 1 million (10 lakh) teleconsultations today. eSanjeevani is being used by patients in over 550 districts of India.

Spiritual SPEAK

There is nothing so disobedient as an undisciplined mind, and there is nothing so obedient as a disciplined mind. —Buddha

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

Vol 1 Issue No. 33 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi Industrial Area Kanpur Road Lucknow.

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FARMER STIR CONTINUES AT DELHI-

NOIDA BORDER BRAVING COLD New Delhi: Even as the winter season started getting intensified in the national capital, protestors continued with their agitation against the three farm laws at the Chilla border on Monday.

In the morning, a thick layer of smog surrounded parts of the national capital leading to decreased visibility.

Despite facing such adverse weather conditions, protestors seemed determined to protest against these farm laws.

Kuldeep Pandey, a protestor at the site, said, “Due to light rainfall early in the morning, the cold weather condition has intensified. We had tea and snacks in the morning.

We are surviving in this cold weather only by the mercy of God.” An old man, said, “We are surviving here only by looking at the farmers’ determination against these black laws.”—ANI

Speak for Maha farmers first: Fadnavis

Farmers gather at Singhu border during their sit-in protest against the Centres farm reform laws, in New Delhi on Monday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

MP: BJP TO ORGANISE MEETINGS OF FARMERS

DELHI MINS, AAP MLAS HOLD ‘HUNGER STRIKE’

Ujjain: The BJP will organise meetings of farmers in various divisions of Madhya Pradesh from Tuesday to dispel “misconceptions” being spread about the Centre’s three new farm laws, state Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel said. Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country. —ANI

New Delhi: Senior Delhi government ministers and AAP MLAs, including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, are sitting on a ‘hunger strike’ in support of farmers who are protesting against the Centre’s farm laws.

Ministers Satyendar Jain, Gopal Rai, and party leader Aatishi Marlena are also present at the strike organised at party headquarters. This comes after Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had announced a one-day fast in support of farmers’ protest on Sunday. —ANI

Mumbai: The war of words between Maharashtra chief minster Uddhav Thackeray and the former CM Devendra Fadnavis continued on Monday after the Bharatiya Janata Party leader fired another shot. Reacting to Thackeray’s recent comments on farmers’ protest in Delhi, Fadnavis asked the chief minister to first speak about agriculturists in his own state.

“The CM must speak of Maharashtra farmers first instead of commenting on protests in Delhi. Protesters are being beaten up in their homes here and the state government is talking of protesters’ rights in Delhi and calling it an emergency situation,” ANI quoted the BJP leader as saying. —Agencies

Govt’s plan is to make all kinds of good films in India, says Javadekar New Delhi: Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said the government plans to promote all kinds of good films, including documentaries and short films. Addressing a session at the online International Coronavirus Short Film Festival, he also said it was nothing short of a “communication revolution” that everyone with access to a smartphone and a story to tell is a filmmaker today.

“People have now become citizen journalists, where they shoot on mobile phones and even edit them and are ready with their short films. This is a communication revolution,” the minister said.

From the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to the Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films, all reward the best talent in the

Union Ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (L) and Prakash Javadekar during the inauguration of International Coronavirus Short Film Festival, at NDMC Convention Centre in New Delhi on Monday.

business, Javadekar said.

“At IFFI, we will showcase 21 non-feature films, even at National Film Awards, we have several categories for short films under 70 minutes. The Mumbai International Film Festival also awards documentaries and filmmakers. This is the government’s plan…that all kinds of films, good films, films which move people are made…,” Javadekar said.

IN THE COURTYARD BJP Bengal in-charge Vijayvargiya’s security Delhi HC slams CBSE for Ban on online gambling upgraded after attack ‘anti-student attitude’ websites:HC notice to govt

Kailash Vijayvargiya’s vehicle was attacked on December 10.

New Delhi: Security of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) general secretary and West Bengal in-charge Kailash Vijayvargiya has been upgraded and he has been given a bulletproof car, according to news agency PTI on Monday, days after his vehicle came under attack in the eastern state. Vijayvargiya currently has Z-category security.

“As per the order of the Union home ministry, I have been provided with a bulletproof vehicle,” Vijayvargiya, who is in Kolkata for a programme in Mathurapur in South 24 Parganas, said according to news agency PTI.

The vehicle of the BJP general secretary, who was travelling along with party president JP Nadda, was attacked on December 10 when he was on his way to Diamond Harbour to meet party workers.

The windscreen of his car was damaged in the attack. Vijayvargiya, who was not harmed in the incident, told reporters that when he was going to a local hospital to meet injured party workers, his vehicle was damaged “by lathi- wielding TMC miscreants who along with policemen charged towards BJP workers.”

Vijayvargiya and V-P Mukul Roy sustained injuries. — PTI

SITHARAMAN HOLDS PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATIONS WITH TOP BIZMEN New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday held pre-Budget consultations with top industrialists in the national capital ahead of the forthcoming Union Budget 2021-22, informed the Ministry of Finance. Sitharaman has concluded a comprehensive review of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package

(ANBP) with the Secretaries of various Ministries/Departments, the Ministry of Finance said on Sunday. In an official release, Finance Ministry said, the Ministries and Departments concerned have started implementing announcements under the three Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Packages & progress is being monitored.

New Delhi: Delhi HC rapped the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for its “anti-student attitude”, saying it was “treating students as enemies” by dragging them all the way to the SC in certain matters.

A bench of CJ D N Patel & Justice Prateek Jalan made the observation while hearing a plea moved by the Board challenging a single judge order, which said CBSE’s reassessment scheme for students whose board exams got cancelled due to COVID-19 would apply to improvement

candidates also. “We don’t like this anti-student attitude of the CBSE. You are dragging students all the way to SC. Should they be studying or going to court?

We should start imposing costs on the CBSE. They are treating students as enemies,” the

bench added. “There is no earthshaking emergency for you to come to court now all guns blazing,” the bench said, adding that CBSE should have gone to apex court for a clarification, instead of dragging students to court.

—ANI

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice to the Central government on a public suit seeking direction to take steps to ban and prevent online gambling websites from operating in the country.

A division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan asked the Centre and other to file reply on the public interest litigation seeking direction to the Ministry of Information Technology to exercise its powers under sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000, to prevent online gambling websites. The PIL, filed by one Avinash

Mehrotra represented through advocates Awantika Manohar, Siddharth Iyer and Prashant Kumar, sought directions to the Ministry of Finance to take steps to recover taxes due from both persons who played such online gambling, and more importantly, those who run and operate these websites. —ANI

PIL seeking release of arrested Kerala journo adjourned New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned for the third week of January a plea seeking immediate release of a senior Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, who was arrested along with some others by the Uttar Pradesh Police on October 5 while on their way to cover the Hathras incident.

the plea from the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government, and its police chief on the matter.

An FIR had been registered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in the case. Kappan is lodged in the Mathura jail, the court was informed earlier.

The KUWJ had approached the Supreme

A bench, headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde, adjourned the matter after the senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), sought time to file a reply to the additional affidavit filed by the Uttar Pradesh government.

Earlier, the bench had sought a response on

EQUITY INDICES CLOSE IN THE GREEN, ENERGY STOCKS GAIN Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices traded with mild gains on Monday with energy stocks witnessing handsome profits.The BSE S&P Sensex closed 154 points or 0.34% higher at 46,253 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 44 points or 0.33 per cent at 13,558. Most sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty metal up by 1.38 per cent, PSU bank by 1.77 per cent and private bank by 0.47 per cent. Among stocks, ONGC was the top gainer by moving up 5.9% to Rs 102.55 per share.

MP SET TO BE AMONG MOST DEVELOPED STATES IN 3 YEARS: MIN Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh will emerge as one of the country’s most developed states in three years due to the work it is doing as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme, state PWD minister Gopal Bhargava said on Monday.

Addressing the inaugural session of CII Madhya Pradesh Infrastructure Conclave, Bhargava said

05

strong infrastructure and industries will play a huge role in the effort. “After 2003, MP has made record progress in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, irrigation, industrial development,” he said, adding that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had prepared a roadmap for “Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh.”

Court with a habeas corpus plea to know the whereabouts of its Delhi unit secretary and senior journalist. But earlier the court refused to intervene while advising the union to move the Allahabad HC instead. KUWJ has sought fulfillment of Kappan’s basic rights such as legal help access to family. —ANI

He said a film festival for short films based entirely on the deadly disease is a novel idea.

Organised by the Indian Infotainment Media Corporation (IIMC), the International Coronavirus Short Film Festival has received over 2,800 entries from 108 countries. The festival aims at showcasing stories based on cure, safety measure and lives affected during the coronavirus pandemic.

—PTI

SC to probe if declaring emergency ‘unlawful’ New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine whether it would be feasible or desirable, after the passage of 45 years, if the declaration of Emergency in 1975 was unconstitutional or not.

A three-judge bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy issued notice to the Centre and sought its response on the plea filed by a 94-year-old woman for the proclamation of Emergency in 1975 to be declared as unconstitutional. During the hearing, the bench raised questions about hearing the issue after the passage of 45 years.

“This plea arises from the passage of time. It is Mr Salve’s (senior advocate Harish Salve appearing for petitioner) submission that ‘prayer A’ survives and wrongs of history must be corrected. We asked Mr Salve whether the petitioner is seeking other reliefs too, the bench said. —ANI

BJP RELEASES ‘TMC FAIL CARD’, SAYS GOVT A FAILURE Kolkata: Describing the report card released by Trinamool Congress last week on its government’s 10-year-rule as a bluff to fool the people of West Bengal, the BJP on Monday brought out the “TMC Fail Card” and accused the Mamata Banerjee regime of peddling lies about the development of the state. The “TMC Fail Card - the true story of 10 years of TMC’s corrupt and inept governance in West Bengal” was released by senior BJP leaders Swapan Dasgupta, Shishir Bajoria Shamik Bhattacharya.

NEWS LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020

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Govt issues guidelines for vaccination drive India’s active caseload contracts to 3.52 lakh; lowest in 149 days —PHOTO BY ANI

New Delhi: Vaccinating 100-200 people in each session per day, monitoring them for 30 minutes after administering the shots for any adverse event and allowing only one beneficiary at a time are among the guidelines issued by the Centre for the COVID-19 inoculation drive.

According to the guidelines issued to states recently, the COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) system—a digitalised platform—will be used to track enlisted beneficiaries for the vaccination and anticoronavirus vaccines on a real-time basis.

At the vaccination

A healthcare worker collects a sample to conduct tests for the COVID-19 at a Bus Depot in New Delhi on Monday.

site, only pre-registered beneficiaries will be vaccinated in accordance with the prioritisation, and there will be no provision for on thespot registrations. The

states have been asked, as far as possible, to allocate the vaccine from one manufacturer to a district to avoid mixing of different COVID-19 vaccines in the field.

India to establish climate centre for Himalayas: IMD

Ajit Pawar denies reports on Rs 90 crore

A file photo of snow-capped mountain ranges of the Himalayas.

New Delhi: India is planning to establish a regional climate centre for the Himalayan mountain region which will not only provide weather-related advices within the country but also to its neighbours, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said on Monday.

Mohapatra said the work for establishing such a centre has already begun and talks are also on with the World Meteorological Organisation.

China is also building a similar regional climate centre on its side of the Himalayas, he said. Addressing a webinar on ‘Weather and Climate Services over Mountains Region’, Mohapatra said India has the eastern

1ST SHOT IN USA

CLIMATE SERVICES

Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday said that the reports about Rs 90 crores spent on bungalow renovation (of Ministers) is not correct. Speaking to reporters, the Deputy Chief Minister said, "The reports about Rs 90 crores spent on bungalow renovation (of Ministers) is not correct. I don't know where did they get this figure from." "According to the concerned department, data on expenditure has not been updated yet," he said

‘India is far ahead POWER Gallery of China in leading world with ideas’ IS PM ANNOYED WITH A COUPLE OF SECRETARIES?

New Delhi: Lauding the "exemplary courage" shown by the country's armed forces amid the stand-off with China, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said there can be a debate on the issue of military might between the two countries but as far as soft power is concerned India is "far ahead" of China, in leading the world with ideas.

"In these testing times, our forces have shown exemplary courage and remarkable fortitude. The coming generations of this nation will be proud of what our forces have managed to achieve this year," said Rajnath Singh while addressing the 'Valedictory Session' of FICCI's Annual Con-

Insiders say that PM Narendra Modi is quite annoyed with the style of functioning of a couple of Secretaries. One can guess the names.

CENTRE CAN ONLY DEBAR IPS OFFICERS FROM DEPUTATION ON DECLINING OFFER?

Rajnath Singh

clave.

Talking about the ongoing military face-off between the two countries, the Defence Minister said, there can be a serious debate on who owns more military might but when it comes to soft power there is no scope of ambiguity. India is far ahead of China when it comes to leading the world with ideas," he said. —ANI

IIT-Madras under lockdown after students, staff test +ve Chennai: IIT-Madras campus has been placed under temporary lockdown after 104 students and staff members of the institution tested positive for coronavirus. The state health department and the IIT management are yet to identify the source of the outbreak.

As per local reports, the students had claimed there had been overcrowding in the hostel mess and that could have led the infection to spread. This is one of the biggest clusters that has emerged in Chennai after the

ghats, western ghats along the east and the west coast and the Myanmar hills in the northeast.

Considering the size of Himalayas and its role in India’s hydrology, meteorology, disaster management, ecosystem and many other activities, the world has correctly recognised it as the ‘third pole of the world’, he noted.

SUDHIR KUMAR SAXENA PROMOTED AS SPECIAL DIRECTOR GENERAL, CISF

Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Additional Director General, CISF, has been promoted to the rank of Special Director General. He is a 1987 batch IPS officer of MP cadre.

ARUN KUMAR SINHA PROMOTED TO DG GRADE

Arun Kumar Sinha, Director, SPG, has been promoted to the rank of Director General. He is a 1987 batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre.

SANJAY CHANDER APPOINTED AS SPECIAL DG, CRPF

Sanjay Chander, ADG, CRPF, has been appointed as Special Director General, CRPF. He is a 1987 batch IPS officer of West Bengal cadre.

SURENDRA PAWAR APPOINTED AS SPECIAL DG, BSF

Surendra Pawar, ADG, BSF, has been appointed as Special Director General, BSF. He is a 1987 batch IPS officer of Odisha cadre.

Newly appointed Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh Amitabh Jain will create history in the bureaucracy.

1989 batch IAS officer Jain will retire in July 2025.

P K SINGH IS MEMBER LAW, CERC IIT (Madras) campus placed under temporary lockdown after 104 students & staff members tested positive for coronavirus.

state government permitted educational institutions to function from December 7. In the last 10 days, 71 residents of IIT-Madras tested positive for Covid-19 and on Monday, 33 more were found to be

infected. According to the officials, a total of 700 students are currently staying on the campus and they are accommodated across nine hostels with less than 20 per cent capacity occupied in each.

form to women to unburden themselves. "#MeToo came to India in 2018. It wasn't a crime to speak up on the #MeToo platform.

These are acts of extreme courage that require celebration.

Kolkata: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat stated on Monday that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is carrying out development activities in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, amid the Sino-Indian standoff at Ladakh.

He also underlined that Indian forces are well- equipped to deal with any eventuality, and similar activities are being undertaken in the country. “We are locked in a stand-off in Ladakh. There is some development activity

which has been going on in Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

Every nation will continue to make preparations to boost its security based on its strategic interests.

“I don’t think there should be much concern in that because we, on our side, are also carrying out similar activities,” Rawat told reporters after the launch of indigenously built state-of-the-art stealth frigate ‘Himgiri’ at Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers here.

hospitals, cleanliness and schools and interacted with few to have hands-on information.

He took notes , some on I-pad and some mental, of his road travel and asked questions about some shortcomings he found in terms of cleanliness and other civic amenities. As it was not enough, on reaching back to the state capital, he immediately asked the officials about what he noticed during the visits. “ This is new CM Yogi who has now given enough indications to take such impromptu

road trips and even planned ones to make on-the-spot appraisal of public amenities and their aspirations, “ another official said. He said that the CM was particularly happy to be amongst the people and said it was such an enlightening experience for him which he would like to take up more often.

Moreover, the Inauguration of Kailksah Mansarovar building for the convenience of pilgrims was something he was looking forward to hence did not want to miss the opportunity.

No cycle,...

The CM has been on a spree of distributing the appointment letters to the selected candidates for various jobs.

But what stands out in his approach is the fact that he does not target the higher rank recruitments. He simply meets, greets and distributes letters to people selected for junior ranks.

A political analyst from the state feels that by this move, Yogi is playing on the front foot where he is touching people from the rural backgrounds who are usually left unattended by by bigwigs. “Just im-

Priya Ramani (L) MJ Akbar (R) —FILE PHOTO

The IPS officers, whose services are taken on the central deputation by the Government of India, can’t be forced without the permission of the State.

However, the Centre can debar such officers from central deputation postings for a certain period of time on declining deputation, according to sources.

CHHATTISGARH CHIEF SECRETARY TO HAVE LONGEST TENURE

‘Speaking on MeToo INDIA READY FOR ANY is an act of courage’ EVENTUALITY: RAWAT New Delhi: Journalist Priya Ramani on Monday submitted before a Delhi court that speaking up on #MeToo is not a crime and such acts are of extreme courage that requires celebration and not defamation cases.

Senior Advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Ramani in the defamation case filed against her by former Union Minister MJ Akbar, told Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey that she felt #MeToo gave a plat-

06

ACC has approved the appointment of Pravas Kumar Singh, Member (Legal), Jharkhand, SERC, to the post of Member (Law), Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).

22 OFFICERS IN GRADE OF DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ENFORCEMENT SHIFTED

As many as 22 officers in the grade of Deputy Director of Enforcement (on deputation) have been shifted. Accordingly, Vikrant Bangotra was posted at Jalandhar and Richa Jaiswal was shifted to Ahmedabad; Amit Kumar to Chandigarh; Yogesh Kumar to Jaipur; Mallikarjun V Mamani to Chennai; Manish Kumar Yadav to Allahabad; Prakash Chaudhary to New Delhi; Bhanu Priya Meena to Jalandhar; Manoj Mittal to Bangalore; Abhijeet Kumar Gautam to New Delhi; Divya Vashishtha to Kolkata; Sudhakar Verma to Ahmedabad; Pugalia Chandan Rajendra to Lucknow; Visakh K to New Delhi; Arjun Singh to Surat; Chandra Mohan Singh to Kolkata; Kamal Deep to New Delhi; Money Jain to Bangalore; Pankaj Jha to New Delhi; Ajit Kumar Nirala to Srinagar; Avinash Parashar to Patna and Purna Kam Singh has been posted to Ahmedabad.

R SUBRAMANYAM APPOINTED ED, RBI

R Subramanyam has been appointed Executive Director (ED) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

In this capacity, he will be responsible to look after Foreign Exchange Department, Financial Markets Regulation Department, Internal Debt Management and International Department. Prior to this, Subramanian was serving as Chief General Manager-in-Charge, Enforcement Department.

By arrangement with: http:// whispersinthecorridors.com

FROM PG 1 Farmers on...

Tomar indicated that the government will not repeal the laws. —PTI Tikait denies... faction resigned because they were upset with their President Bhanu Pratap Singh, as to why he compromised,” Rakesh Tikait told ANI regarding 3 BKU (Bhanu Faction) leaders’ resignation. . —ANI Retail inflation...

This will provide elbow room to RBI to continue its accommodative stance, which is critical for sustained revival of

demand,” he added.

Govt ready...

He also said that his government is always open for discussion and dialogue”. —ANI Tatas bid... as Air India’s “return” to the parent company.

Sources said Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, has put in an Expression of Interest (EoI) at the close of the deadline on Monday.

Jio writes... and anti-competitive MNP (mobile number portability) campaign

being run by Airtel and VIL to capitalise on the ongoing farmer protests in northern parts of the country”. The letter said the campaign is not limited to northern states and “this false propaganda” is being spread across the country to get some additional MNP port-ins.

The letter also contained “such campaigns in other states of the country like Maharashtra”. —ANI

Braving bad...

The tech-savvy UP Chief Minister, while on way, asked many questions about roads,

agine how a 24 year old boy recruited as tubewell operator, would feel when he gets the offer letter from the CM himself. For him, that would be the biggest day of his life,” said Sharat Verma, a political analyst while speaking to First India.

He adds that usually in these recruitment there are seats in thousands. “Like recently in tubewell operators recruitment, there were around 3600 people recruited whom CM Yogi gave away the appointment letters physically and through online medium as well,” Verma

said.

“Similarly in the recent recruitment of 69000 teachers in UP, he gave away the letters.

What this is doing is that people are getting to interact with a CM directly with no boundaries in place and that too on their biggest day,” the analyst added.

This is a new trend that has been brought in by the Chief Minister and his team where he is penetrating through untouched areas and creating newer grounds for the BJP with eyes on future.

This will surely reap big results.

NEWS LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020

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PRIORITISE INTER-DISTRICT

TRANSFERS OF TEACHERS: CM

First India Bureau

Lucknow: In a review meeting held at his official residence on Monday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave instructions to complete the inter-district transfer process of teachers of the Basic Education Department at the earliest.

The Chief Minister’s plan is to regularise the session of the department and make proper arrangements for teachers everywhere.

He said that this is for the benefit of youth and that all hindrances associated with it have ended. The CM called for urgency in the matter.

He also said that along with the Union

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath

Urban Development Minister, a review of the state’s Smart City and Amrit Scheme will be carried out.

Since these tasks are related to public interest, they should be monitored continuously and officers should keep

In Atmanirbhar Bharat, US

company clinches bid to prepare DPR of Film City First India Bureau Lucknow: The name of the company making the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the construction of the Film City at Sector 21 of Yamuna Authority area in Gautam Buddh Nagar, adjoining the national capital, has been finalised.

Financial bids were opened on Monday and American company CBRE South Asia Private Limited was selected.

The company will prepare a detailed project report for the film city and will have to prepare the DPR by February 14. Last Friday, four companies selected in the technical bid gave their presentations.

Yamuna Authority plans to build one of the world’s best film cities in a 1000-acre area.

NDS Art World Private Limited, CP Kukreja Architects, CBRE South Asia Private Limited and Aegis India Consulting Engineers Private Limited had bid for the DPR last week.

Yamuna Authority CEO Dr. Arunvir Singh and other officials carefully took note of each

The companies revealed how they would design the world’s best film city. Authority officials said that all the film cities of the world will be visited.

Design should be made by incorporating the good elements from all aspect in the presentations given by the companies.

The companies revealed how they would design the world’s best film city. Authority officials said that all the film cities of the world will be visited. Design should be made by incorporating the good elements from all.

The selected company will now submit the model to the state government after taking stock of the film city in Mumbai, Hyderabad and other cities of the world.

Public Private Partnership (PPP Model) is being considered by the Authority to make the film city.

DISENCHANTED, DISAPPOINTED WITH THE SYSTEM

T

he writing bug usually bites bureaucrats when they hang up their boots.

But in Uttar Pradesh, a member of the ‘steel frame’ quit the service 10 years before his retirement not because of what the government did but because of what his colleagues in the elite service did not do.

“I have no doubt that most of the problems or ills that beset this country is because

them in priority.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed to review the works of all development authorities of the state.

He said that to ensure that the schemes of the authorities are time bound, focused on pub-

lic interest and citizens are not disturbed unnecessarily, their functioning needs to be vastly improved at many levels.

The Chief Minister directed that the status of the ongoing projects should be reviewed at the respective department level following which he would himself review each authority.

The Chief Minister was reviewing the work of several departments at his residence.

Among them was the Food and Civil Supplies Department and the Urban Development Department.

Commitment to the interest of farmers: In the review meeting, Chief Minister

Yogi Adityanath expressed his commitment towards the welfare of farmers and said that effective arrangement of procurement should be ensured at all paddy purchasing centres so that farmers can get the benefit of MSP (Minimum Support Price) timely.

He also directed a review of all paddy purchasing centres in the state.

The CM added that some chaotic elements are planning to disturb the established system and certain complaints have also been received.

He said that strict action should be taken against such people and there can be no compromise with the interests of farmers.

07

SP-backing for Mamata’s

TMC in West Bengal elections First India Bureau Lucknow: After supporting the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the just-concluded Bihar assembly elections, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has now decided to support Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the West Bengal assembly elections.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who arrived on a two-day tour of his parliamentary constituency Azamgarh, expressed confidence that his party will form the government in Uttar Pradesh in 2022.

“In 2022, we will form alliances with smaller parties and take everyone along,” he said.

The former chief minister said that the Samajwadi Party government is set to be formed in the state in

FIle photo of Akhilesh Yadav with Mamata Banerjee.

the next two years.

He said that BJP has inaugurated all our work. Now his party’s time is coming.

He said that in West Bengal, too, BJP has started the work of spreading hatred.

“We once again want Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal. We will support Mamata Banerjee there,” he said.

He said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a party that spreads hatred and

hatches conspiracies.

Akhilesh Yadav also raised fingers at the Purvanchal Expressway.

Yadav was at a private function at the house of former Cabinet Minister Durga on Monday.

During the function, he fiercely attacked the BJP-led central and state governments. He lashed out at the BJP government over the Kisan Bill, support price for farmers’ crops, development issues and law and order.

Vigilance dept launches investigation against IPS Manilal, Abhishek

FOGGY MORNING!

A reward of `50,000 has been declared on the absconding IPS officer Manilal Patidar for abetting Mahoba’s crusher businessman Indrakant Tripathi for suicide First India Bureau

—PHOTO BY ANI

A child with his father crossing railway tracks under dense fog in Prayagraj.

Man observes jal satyagrah to show solidarity with farmers First India Bureau Varanasi: A man standing in the waters of the Ganges, keeping the tricolour afloat in his hand and observing a vow of silence extended support to farmers.

Farmers are protesting the farmer laws at many places in the country and many big parties and prominent individuals are extending their support to them.

Workers of the SP and the Congress parties besides farmers’ organisations are also demonstrating in sup-

of us ‘babus’ and not because of anyone else,” says 50-year-old Rakesh Verma, a 1997 batch civil servant.

Disenchanted and disappointed with the system, Verma put in his papers in February, this year but his resignation was turned down by the State Government.

He quit again following which his resignation was accepted in July this year. “I had a very good working relationship with the UP CM, in fact one of the best that I have had with any seem so far. It was never

Man observing jal satyagrah in Varanasi.

port of farmers in Varanasi.

Meanwhile, a man on the Ganga Ghat supported the farmers in a constructive way. He descended into the waters of the Ganges, held a poster in his hands and appealed for the

about getting a plum posting, I was serving with the Industrial development department as a special secretary, which is one of the most priority sector of the government,” he said.

“We (bureaucrats) seem to talk in echo chambers where only their beliefs and opinions matter and their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas or suggestions are not

withdrawal of the farmer laws. The man observed a vow of silence for farmers and also held aloft the tricolour.

The man was taken into custody.

BHU students extend support to farmers

considered,” he says.

This attitude of his colleagues got his goat.

Verma, who is penning a book on the ways of the bureaucracy has devoted a special chapter to one such wheeler-dealer high profile officer whose name he is not willing to disclose as yet.

“There will be several eye-opening and jawdropping revelations, you wait and watch,” he says adding that the

BHU students also backed the farmers in the latter’s agitation against the laws. Members of the Joint Action Committee and students demonstrated in front of the Singh Dwar of BHU demanding that the farmer laws are withdrawn. They said that the laws are antifarmer.

SP demonstration At the call of Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav, party workers staged a sit-in at the district headquarters in Varanasi in support of farmers on Monday.

book would be out in a couple of months.

—M Tariq Khan

2020 IAS CADREGROOMS IN WAITING?

T

he Uttar Pradesh bureaucracy is eagerly waiting for the 2020 IAS Cadre list and every senior officer is trying to get to know that UP will get how many new IAS

Lucknow: Acting on the directives of the Uttar Pradesh government, vigilance has launched a disproportionate assets investigation against Manilal Patidar and Abhishek Dixit, the suspended SSP of Prayagraj. It is to be noted that vigilance is already investigating corruption cases against both IPS officers and other policemen.

It is worth mentioning that a reward of Rs 50,000 has been declared on the absconding IPS officer Manilal Patidar for abetting Mahoba’s crusher businessman Indrakant Tripathi for suicide.

Under its policy of zero tolerance, the UP government has taken a very strict route for the cases of corruption. Accordingly, on the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, vigilance in the month of September started an open investigation into the serious allegations of corrup-

officers and how many officers will get their postings in other states.

The Senior officers of the bureaucracy are eagerly waiting for the list simply to be able to search for a suitable son-in-law or daughter-in-law. It is the season of marriages and weddings have been seen in many bureaucratic families and as many are still searching for suitable match for their children.

One of the topics of discussion in the weddings is that once the new IAS cadre

tion against Mahoba and Prayagraj police.

Vigilance started a thorough investigation by sending teams under the leadership of one SP each in both the districts.

Earlier too, the administration had received complaints of corruption in Mahoba area. Vigilance is also investigating these cases.

Apart from corruption, departmental irregularities are also being investigated in Prayagraj.

Besides the serious allegations of corruption against suspended SP Manilal Patidar of Mahoba and suspended SSP Abhishek Dixit of Prayagraj, vigilance is also investigating the role of several police officers and personnel at the time of the incident.

Simultaneously, Vigilance has now started investigating disproportionate assets against both IPS officers on the direction of the government. Details of both their properties are being collected.

come , we will be able to search and get better options. Indeed some seem to have even made a decision that they will only marry their daughters to a 2020 cadre IAS officer but it is to be kept in mind that ‘marriages are made in heaven’ and for many a bureaucrat the seeds of love and marriage are sown in IAS coaching classes or the Mussoorie IAS Academy and whether these aspiring ‘In-laws’ will be successful in their desire or not, only time will tell.

—Ahtesham Siddiqui

When you heal others with compassion, you heal yourself too. Love within is the best dose.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020

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COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

INDIA

DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN 2,555 DEATHS 2,92,539 CASES

DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

KARNATAKA 11,954 DEATHS 9,02,240 CASES

Writes to RSS chief Bhagwat calling graduate/teacher constituency losses as mini-referendum on party ‘MAJOR JOLTS’

First India Bureau

issues, said, “In a way, you must appreciate the fact that it is also a sample survey of sentiments of the most qualified big strata of society, constituting more than 60 lakh people spanning Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, like a

‘mini-referendum.”

The losses in Varanasi, Allahabad-Jhansi and Gorakhpur with a BJP government, and Nagpur, the seat of RSS and also both seats at Pune and Amravati, are huge jolts for party units, said top farmer

— FILE PHOTO

leader Tiwari, the Chairman of Maharashtra government’s Late Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavlamban Mission.

Saying that it cannot be termed as a ‘normal defeat’, Tiwari, the founder of Vidarbha

In CM Yogi’s script, UP is new hotspot for Bollywood industry Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s foray into Maharashtra takes one back to the days of former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and his being bedazzled with Bollywood.

Yogi may not have a wheeler dealer by his side or a Bollywood connect like Singh’s but he appears determined to get Bollywood to Uttar Pradesh. Taking a cue from his master in

Delhi, Yogi wants to tap the film industry and sell UP as a perfect film destination.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it may be recalled, is kind of star struck. Apart from flying kites with actor Salman Khan or talking about how he likes his mangoes in an hourlong interview with Akshay Kumar, Modi made it a point to attend wedding receptions of actor Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas and cricketer Virat Kohli and ac-

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with actor Akshay Kumar in Mumbai

tor Anushka Sharma.

Unlike Modi, Yogi may not be a die-hard fan but he sensed the potential of getting Mumbai to Uttar Pradesh. Expectedly, he flew to Mumbai and had key meetings with stakeholders both from Bollywood and the corporate world.

Yogi’s predecessor Akhilesh Yadav had covered enough ground, weaving in incentives for the film fraternity to make UP their favoured destination.

—FILE PHOTO

Yogi, of course, did not jump at the idea. If reports are anything to go by, he was initially reluctant to go that route but eventually he saw sense in building bridges. Whether it was if Modi can why can’t I syndrome or the state bureaucracy prevailing on him is hard to say.

Irrespective, Yogi pulled out all the stops to make things work. He had already unveiled the proposal to develop a film city. Spread over 1000 acres, the film city, which will come up in Noida, will comprise the state-of-the-art technology, pre and post production facilities, processing labs, digital technology under one roof.

The proposal is to divide the city into five zones complete with office and shopping complexes, hotels, outdoor locations for shootings, sets of villages, amusement parks and special effect studios.

Jan Andolan Samiti said, “Has BJP forfeited the faith and confidence of the cream of Indian society as reflected from this largest sample survey? Is it the repercussions of the failure of the PM’s policies and the big economic

crisis that burns educated poor/middle-class sections?”

“Has the PM’s ‘magic’ failed – especially the silent, nonvocal secular Hindus, who no longer back his extremely communally divisive policies, things like ‘love-jihad’, targeting sections of the population on caste and communal lines, which RSS never propagated?” he wanted to know.

Tiwari, who had switched from the BJP to Shiv Sena ahead of 2019 Vidhan Sabha polls, said: “These aspects must be assessed and seriously debated in the Sangh Parivar think tank, at least, or the RSS may lose its influence over the BJP.”

CONFIRMED CASES

GUJARAT 4,182 DEATHS 2,28,803 CASES

Centre’s response on ‘Emergency’ sought First India Bureau New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Centre on a plea filed by a 94-yearold woman seeking to declare as “wholly unconstitutional” the proclamation of Emergency in 1975.

While agreeing to hear the plea, a bench headed by Justice S K Kaul said the apex court would also examine whether it is “feasible or desirable” for it to examine the validity of proclamation of Emergency after a lapse of 45 years.

“We are having difficulty. Emergency is something which should not have happened,” the top court observed while hearing the plea.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for

Supreme Court —FILE PHOTO

petitioner Veera Sarin, said that Emergency was a “fraud” and the “greatest assault” on the Constitution as rights were suspended for months.

Emergency was proclaimed minutes before the midnight of June 25, 1975 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The proclamation was revoked in March 1977.

ON THE WRONG FOOT —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath (R) RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

DEATHS

DELHI 10,074 DEATHS 6,08,830 CASES

Poll Pourri: In BJP losses, farmer leader fears RSS losing grip on party

First India Bureau

UTTAR PRADESH

16,22,818 7,28,59,198 1,43,710 99,04,096 8,083 5,66,728

MAHARASHTRA 48,269 DEATHS 18,83,365 CASES

Lucknow: Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari has claimed that going by the losses that the BJP suffered in the Graduates/Teachers constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, it seems the RSS is losing its influence over the party.

In a letter to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, farmers’ leader Tiwari referred to the recent elections/results of Graduates/Teachers seats in Varanasi, Allahabad-Jhansi and Gorakhpur-Faizabad in UP. Talking about the polls, Tiwari, the advisor to Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on farmers’

08

A Samajwadi Party worker is being carried off by the woman cops during a party protest against the new farm laws in Lucknow on Monday

Three IAS officers shifted to Revenue Board Ahtesham Siddiqui Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has transferred three IAS officers to the Revenue Board in Prayagraj.

They were shifted after the High Court order. Three posts were vacant in the Revenue Board and these officers were posted as judi-

cial members of the Board.

The appointment and personnel department has transferred IAS Om Prakash Rai, who was serving as Project Director, General Administration, HRD and UP Disaster Management Authority, to member Judicial Revenue Board, Prayagraj. While IAS officer

Three posts were vacant in the Revenue Board and these officers were posted as judicial members of the Board.

Sahdev Special Secretary, Agricultural Production Commissioner, has been transferred as

member the Judicial Revenue Board.

IAS officer Amarnath Upadhyay, who was serving as special secretary (Pension) and Freedom Fighter Council, has been appointed as member of the Judicial Revenue Council, Prayagraj. All the three IAS officers sent to Revenue Board are promoted from PCS to IAS.

GOOD GOVERNENCE

Officers retiring next year will not get plum posting in state 

Sources said the new rule will cause losses to officers who become DM & SP after getting promoted in the state

EXCLUSIVE Ahtesham Siddiqui Lucknow: For better law and order and to speed up development works, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has decided not to give field posting to those officers, who are going to retire within one year.

This new rule will be applied on officers, posted in all districts of the UP. The chief minister has decided to remove officers from important posts, who are set to retire within one year. New rules will be effective on IAS, IPS, PCS, PPS engineering, doctors and teachers.

With this new rule, the work of removing DM and SP from the field has started. In this connec-

tion DMs of three districts were removed from the field and posted in the Secretariat.

Former DM Etawah, IAS JB Singh, DM Mau, IAS Gyan Prakash Tiwari, DM Sitapur IAS Akhilesh Tiwari who are going to retire in May 2021,were removed from the field and posted in the Secretariat. Following the same rule, the Appointment Department on

Monday issued a new order for PCS officers as well. Sources in the bureaucracy say that this rule was earlier used to run the forest department. Where officers were removed from the field posting six months before of their retirement, so that they could skip the forest posting and all his retirement papers could be completed before his retirement with ease.

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09

LUCKNOW, TUESDAY DECEMBER 15, 2020

Jagdeesh Chandra with the top 31 finalists of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020

The Sash Ceremony of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020 was held on Monday, where a total of 31 finalists were announced, who will further compete for the title

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

A

fter auditioning for months in order to select the best, the team of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020 finally announced the top 31 finalists at Hotel Hilton on Monday.

Jagdeesh Chandra was the chief guest of the event, and congratulated the finalists on attaining the finalists’ positions.

On talking about the arrangements made for the finale, show director Gaurav Gaur said, “We were thrilled to the excitement amongst girls of Udaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, and Jaipur.

Girls from small towns, rural establishments and even villages participated in the auditions, and

now, 31 of the best ones have been selected. To bring them at the same level of preparation, a training and grooming session of 7 days will be conducted, where famous celebrities will give the girls a few tips on fashion, glamour, publicity, etiquettes and style.”

He added, “The grand finale of the program will be held on 20 December in the Samskara Resort at Ajmer Road. Keeping the safety of the contestants in mind, all 31 girls, mentors, directors and additional teams had to undergo a COVID test. Keeping the pandemic in mind, all the guidelines issued by the government will also be followed.”

—PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

ALL SET TO COMPETE

Gaurav Gaur

Jagdeesh Chandra with Charvi Tanya Dutta

Riya Sain Priyanka Mathur

Shabnamistan Jabeen

Isha Agarwal

Daisy Chaudhary

ETC LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020

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AGE AND ART OF AGEING

DR RAMAWTAR SHARMA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

T

mental power but you have to put some effort to stay mentally fit.

The brain, too, should be cared like your heart whenever you reach your 40th birthday.

Does natural curiosity arise?

How and why does a body age?

How and why we change in our looks are per age? Why don’t we stay young forever in our looks?

Is there a method to control or slow down ageing? Is there a drug which can slow down the ageing process of our body?

We are not made to survive forever. Nature has created a system which causes an imperceptible degeneration of body over a period which finally reaches a state at which its survival is impossible. There is an “ axis of ageing “ in our cells which takes care that the body ultimately slows down and then stops regenerating. This axis starts with special strands of DNA called telomeres that cap off our chromosomes, each chromosome having its telomere. These telomeres prevent mutation in our chromosomes when they divide.

As we progress in age, these telomeres get shortened and frayed. Once these telomeres

FA CE OF TH ED AY

he meaning of age has become elusive. The visual clues of age are now untrustworthy- children dress like adults and parents in figure-hugging jeans and Ts. Some people in their 50s are trying to remain transcendently youthful while some 20-something are showing signs of premature ageing. The rules of age-appropriate behaviour drummed into us by parents and teachers, religion and state, no longer hold sway.

Madonna adopted children at the age of 50 while John Elton fathered a child at 62! What to talk about Hugh Hefner......! Look at the true agelessness of Meryl Streep, Rekha, Jane Fonda, Simi Grewal, Mithun and Milkha Singh. Not to forget the classical immortality of Woody Allen - turning out 37 films in 40 years while performing regularly at a jazz band.

How do these people slow down the process of ageing? Age is the period you are alive while ageing is what you look at a particular age- you may look 60+ in your early 50s or vice versa. Ageing is both mental and bodily. Mental ageing isn’t visible on the surface but it starts much earlier than the bodily ageing. By the time you reach 45-49 on your birth chart, you lose about four per cent of your reasoning ability. It is seen more so in people with a sedentary lifestyle and in those who don’t indulge in mental activities.

It is not that everyone loses the

shorten to a critical length, our cells can not divide, the regeneration of cells stops, the powerhouse of cells called mitochondria starts losing energy and the whole body starts degenerating- it is then a downhill course all the way.

Once again a natural question, a curiosity arises. Can we restore telomeres? No, not at present but still, we are capable to revitalise our telomeres to some extent.

Regular meditation increases the blood level of an enzyme called telomeres which helps preserve telomeres. A 10-15 minutes’ session two to three times in a day can preserve your telomeres longer, you stay younger for more length of time. Meditation is a type of leisure- a relaxation of body, its muscles, the mind, dropping of thoughts, decluttering of the brain.

Learn to relax, don’t work like a junky. Every material gain ultimately depreciates and so do you and your body. Try to learn the art of no accumulation and enjoying your gains. You are not a machine who is supposed to work and work alone. You are here to understand and enjoy nature and life. Philoso-

YOUR DAY Horoscope by

Saurabbh Sachdeva

pher Bertrand Russell, though criticised at his time, was after all right when he advocated life leisure. Leisure is your natural right, a way of natural living, get is back from forces and attitudes who have conspired to turn you into an aimless working zombie.

Work hard during your working hours but learn to say NO at a stage and then enjoy your leisure, solitude and relaxation.

Words alone can’t describe what I’m trying to convey, do it and feel the difference.

One can add 6.2 years to one’s life by slow jogging, cycling, brisk walk etc for about 2 hours a week.

Dying is certain but can be delayed.

If you drink 2-3 cups of coffee per day, you increase your chances of living a bit longer provided you drink for leisure rather than stimulation to work more. Always remember, you are human, not horse.

If you sleep less, if you sleep poorly, you increase your chances of ageing fast and dying early.

Sleep deep, sleep adequately.

Sleep well even if you have to buy it with a pill on medical recommendation.

There is a natural agerelated decline in your memory but you can delay it. Read books and eat berries whenever you can. Mushrooms contain some antiageing ingredients, try to make them part of your menu.

Go for heartfriendly fats like coconut oil, olive oil etc. Also, go for antioxidant-packed and anti-inflammatory foods like red bell peppers. Nuts

TAURUS

Becoming a confidante of someone important cannot be ruled out for some.

Something included in your diet is likely to have a positive effect on your overall health. A glib talker may try to confuse you so be aware. Disturbances at home will need to be curtailed.

Money loaned may take some more time to be returned. You will need to keep your priorities right on the professional front. Joining health conscious people in daily workouts is likely to keep you fit and energetic. Someone can irritate you and spoil your mood.

GEMINI

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

It is best to make some lifestyle changes to save money rather than become monetarily tight. You will manage to pick up the threads from where you left on the professional front. Much happiness is foreseen on the home front. A trip with friends will not only be exciting.

You will need to follow the directions in letter and spirit in discharging a task.

Some of you can face a medical problem on the health front, but it will be nothing serious. Family will prove to be a pillar of support for those facing something important.

You may feel financially secure.

Money is hard to come by for everyone, so contribute your share if someone is spending on you. A lot of activity is foreseen on the work front and you will be right in the midst of it. Some issues that seem unlikely to get resolved on the family front will begin to move towards a solution.

SAGITTARIUS Keeping a close tab on spending will leave you with much to splurge later. You may take some time in bouncing back on the work front. No problems are foreseen on health and financial fronts. You manage to play your cards well and avoid getting involved in a contentious issue.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

NOV 23 - DEC 22

UNNATI MALHARKAR, Content Creator

have significant anti-ageing properties if consumed in moderation, they contain omega-3. The leafy green vegetables are your great source to preserve your telomeres and so is the vegetable from the ocean- the fish.

At a certain stage of life, preferably your late 50s, you should let go of your attachments to material things and move towards living life and it’s inherent leisure. You are born for that but have forgotten. Some day in your life you should hail Bertrand Russell or that ancient Indian concept Charvak.

ARIES

MAR 21 - APR 20

10

AUG 24 - SEP 23

Window shopping is all that you can do in order to conserve money. You are likely to swim with the tide on the professional or academic front. Indulging in excesses may prove bad for health. Issue regarding an ancestral property is likely to be settled amicably.

CANCER

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

Repayment of a loan may force you to make adjustments. Changes happening on the professional front can have you worried, but will turn out favourable.

More interest is required on the health front. Family life will cruise along smoothly.

SCORPIO

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You can become concerned about a recent heavy expenditure incurred on something that you just couldn’t help. Something important may be entrusted to you at work today. You may take up some activity or sport just to keep trim and slim.

Good news may greet you.

You may spend on something not previously catered for. You can struggle to keep pace on the work front. Condition of those ailing is set to improve by leaps and bounds and get them firmly on the road to good health.

Students will be able to keep pace on the academic front and perform well.

Financially you may need to be more secure than you are now. There is a need to come up with something original, if you are in a creative field.

You will be motivated to get back into shape and may even join a gym.

Those thinking of selling a property will be able to get buyers.

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

It is best to take the opinion of others before you put in your money. A household remedy may come in handy for those suffering from body aches and pains.

Something that you wanted to get done on the home front is likely to be initiated now.

FEB20 - MARCH 20

ETC LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020

www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

Hilarious Moment B

SECRET

REVEALED!

C

razilian bombshell Adriana Lima took to her Instagram stories during her coffee run to share something.

Starbucks hilariously misspelling her name on her coffee order.

Instead of “Adriana” or “Lima,” the super model’s coffees got a mixture of the two: “ELIMA”. That honestly sounds like some form of medication!

Adriana even clarified that as she was ordering, she took the time to spell out her name for them to get it right but alas, that did not work.

And it seems as though this isn’t the first time this has happened to Adriana.

Before getting her coffees, she asked her followers, “you think they will get my name this time?”, apparently not.

—Agency Kareena Kapoor Khan and Taimur Ali Khan

ome March 2021 and Kareena Kapoor Khan will soon be a mommy of two. The actress, who gave birth to Taimur in 2016, is now expecting her second child with Saif Ali Khan. She revealed her secret to staying fit during Taimur’s pregnancy in a video.

The video is from a book launch and Kareena stressed on the importance of staying fit even before getting pregnant. She also revealed that when she was planning for her first child, one of the first few people she told about it was her dietician Rujuta Diwekar.

Revealing her secret to a happy pregnancy, Kareena said, “It is Your fitness levels. Eating right, exercising, it has been a combination of that even pre-pregnancy. “ —Agency

Late Sushant Singh Rajput

Fans remember SSR

T

he year 2020 witnessed one of the most shocking moments when the news of Sushant Singh Rajput’s unfortunate demise surfaced. The 34-year-old actor was found dead in his Mumbai residence under mysterious circumstances. And while it’s been six months since this heartbreaking incident, Sushant’s fans across the world took to social media to remember him and took a pledge to continue to fight for justice.

Hashtags like #Oath4SSR and #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput have been trending on social media with fans tweeting messages like, “We want justice for Sushant Singh Rajput as soon as possible.” Another user tweeted, “I promise you @ itsSSR I will roar it Everyday “Justice For Sushant Singh Rajput”.

—Agency

19 YEARS OF K3G!

K Adriana Lima

11

aran Johar is one of the ace filmmakers in Bollywood who have given us some of the most iconic movies. Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor Khan starrer Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham completed 19 years of its theatrical release on Monday. KJo penned a sweet note reliving the memories of this blockbuster family drama. Calling K3G the biggest blessing in his filmography, Karan expressed his gratitude towards fans for showing love on the movie. He even shared a video reliving the aura of K3G and wrote, “#19yearsofK3G. I continue to be eternally grateful for the abundant love that continues to come our way... this film will always be a blessing in my filmography.... thank you for all memes, memories and moments in the past 19 years!” followed by heart emoticons.

—Agency

CITY BUZZ LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020

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12

GET, SET, GO!

A vintage car rally was organised in Lucknow on Monday, which was witnessed on various routes of the city. The participants of the rally were Preeti, Sudipto, Sandeep, Divij, Kalpesh, Surjitm Mano, Captain Chauhan, Udai, Rati, Narain, Kaashvi, Keshav, Ankita, Alok, Pranjal and Azman.

—PHOTOS BY SUMIT KUMAR

NEHAL NAYAR

C

osa Nostraa, an Italian term, signifies a clan of people who claim sovereignty over a territory. The ethos of the company is the same, i.e, to mark territory in men’s accessories by offering a range of impeccably crafted accessories. Established in 2019, their focus is on bringing wearable art to the world, each handcrafted with precision by highly skilled local artisans of Rajasthan. Each piece goes through antique oxidization and texturing to give them a vintage look. While they hold a lot of pride in our craftsmanship, their unconventional designs remain our USP. Inspired by the world around and within, past and the present - the country’s majestic wildlife, diverse culture, roots and values and architecture act as their muse every day.

From everyday wear to occasion wear, from exquisite cufflinks to contemporary brooches, from vintage buttons to luxe lapel pins, they have something for every man.

Cosa Nostraa is also the accessory partner of The Fashion Connect

by First India, which will be taking place at Rambagh Palace tomorrow, 16 December.

MARKING

BIG RELEASE!

territory with style

CITY FIRST

I

n the corona era, Bollywood’s first Hindi film “Sayonee” is being released nationwide on December 18th.

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s father Yograj Singh and Upasana Singh are

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

Two Successive Years

GREAT INITIATIVE!

playing the role of parents in the film along with actor, Tanmay Singh and Telegu Actress Muskan Sethi. The special thing is that “Aashiqi’s hero Rahul Roy will appear as a villain in “SAYONEE”.

The title song “sayonee......sayonee” is be-

coming very popular in the voice of the legendary singer ARIJIT SINGH and Punjabi singer Mika Singh has put Punjabi tadka in the film with the song , EK PAPPI. The story is full of adventure and suspense. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

REACHING HEIGHTS

MONICA PRABHAKAR

T

he Scindia School, for the second time in a row has been ranked undisputed #1 boarding school for boys in India by the annual Education World India School Rankings (EWISR) rankings for the year 2020-21. In addition to being ranked #1 overall, the Scindia School also topped the ranking in the following categories: Academic excellenceTeacher welfare and development, Individual attention to students and Leadership/ management quality.

Responding to the #1 ranking, Jyotiraditya Scindia, President of the Board of Governors said, “This is an amazing achievement and I am proud of the support we have received in these difficult times from the parents, the children and indeed, the entire faculty and staff of the school. This is a significant milestone in our 123 year old journey. I am confident that the Scindia School would also serve as a role model to many other schools.”

Acknowledging the achievement

with his trademark humility, the Principal – Dr MD Saraswat said, “We have had a very challenging year, thanks to the pandemic but I am as proud of my team as I am of our being ranked the #1 Boys Boarding School in India.” cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Uttar Pradesh Police Welfare Association's Senior Conservator, Shweta Thakur, wife of DK Thakur, CP Lucknow, started a career counseling workshop for the bright future of the students, with Vijay Pratap Singh, Director, Dhyeya IAS Academy, and Shri Shivam Shukla, Director, Civil Defense Academy.

PCS Rajesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner, Rural Development UP, was sent to King’s College London on a one-year long term training by the Govt. of India under the DFFT program of DOPT. He has been awarded M.Sc. Public Policy and Management Degree with merit.