First India-Lucknow Edition-22 November 2020

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LUCKNOW l SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 10

WELCOME AMIT SHAH, CHENNAI CHEERS ON STREETS

Union Home Minister Amit Shah waves his supporters as he arrives in Chennai on Saturday.

HOME MINISTER AMIT SHAH SPRINGS A SURPRISE, BREAKS PROTOCOL TO WALK ON CHENNAI ROAD TO GREET SUPPORTERS

Shah lays metro foundation; tie-up with BJP to continue, says AIADMK Mohd Fahad Chennai: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday sprang a surprise in Chennai when he virtually broke protocol to get out of his vehicle and walk on the busy GST Road outside the airport to greet supporters, minutes after he landed here for a twoday visit of the city.

Soon after his arrival from Delhi, Shah was received by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami, his deputy O Panneerselvam, senior cabinet members and BJP State President L Murugan.

However, after exiting the airport, Shah’s car suddenly stopped and the BJP veteran got out, before walking a short distance, waving at scores of BJP and AIADMK workers who

Amit Shah paying tribute to former Tamil Nadu chief ministers MGR and Jayalalitha on Saturday. (Right) Shah laid the foundation stone for phase-two of Chennai Metro Rail Project and virtually dedicated the new reservoir at Thervaikandigai to the people in Chennai on Saturday. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam were present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, Suspended DMK member and former Member of Parliament, KP Ramalingam joined BJP in Chennai. “I will dedicate my life for the development of BJP. For 30 years I was in DMK... During Covid-19 situation, DMK called for all-party meeting. I released a statement against the meeting and I was suspended. Now I have taken 8 months’ time and under no pressure joined BJP,” said Ramalingam. had gathered to receive him with their respective party flags. Shah was accompanied by

BJP National General Secretary and party incharge of Tamil Nadu, CT Ravi, and Murugan,

‘GOVT WILL DECIDE’: LS SPEAKER OM BIRLA ON

HOLDING WINTER SESSION OF PARLIAMENT

Aditi Nagar

New Delhi: Amid speculation over holding the Winter Session of Parliament during corona crisis in Delhi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, on Saturday, said that Lok Sabha Secretariat is ready to hold the session, and dates are decided by the government. At a press conference in New Delhi, he said the Monsoon session was held with all precautions amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the Parliament Standing Committees have also been meeting regularly. “The Lok Sabha Secretariat is prepared to hold the parliament session. As far as dates are concerned, it is decided by the

with his security in tow.

Meanwhile, the AIADMK’s alliance with the BJP will continue

I can say with humility that whatever we are giving to Tamil Nadu, it was the right of the people and they were deprived of it since last 10 years of Congress-DMK rule

—Amit Shah

Union Home Minister for the Tamil Nadu elections due early next year, CM Palaniswami announced.

Turn to P6

Mukesh Ambani hails PM’s “bold reforms”, says it will pave way for India’s growth Gandhinagar: Reliance Industries Limited Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Saturday appeared virtually in his home state of Gujarat after weeks of speculated illness.

Addressing Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University’s (PDPU) students via video conference during the convocation ceremony, Ambani said that “bold reforms” introduced under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pave the way for India’s rapid economic progress in the years to come.

He said “his (PM Modi) passionate and dynamic leadership has made the world sit up and take notice of the emergence of a new India. His confidence and conviction have inspired and galvanised the entire nation.” “I am sure that the bold reforms introduced under his leadership will pave the way for India’s

Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs,” He also announced that a two-day all-India presiding officers’ meet will be held from November 25 in Kewadia near Vadodra with President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu gracing the occasion. PM Narendra Modi will also address the gathering, the Lok Sabha Speaker said.

New Delhi: India will double its oil refining capacity in the next five years and will multiply the usage of natural gas by four-fold, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday while addressing the 8th convocation of Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU). He also suggested that PDPU alter its name to include the word “energy”. Stating that India targets to cut down on its carbon footprint by 30-35 percent, Modi told the students of this Gandhinagar-based university, “Keeping in mind our energy needs, it is our endeavor to increase the proportion of natural gas by four times in this decade alone. In the next five years, efforts are already being made to double the country’s oil refining capacity.

There are many opportunities for you here as well.”

swift recovery and rapid economic progress in the years to come,” Ambani added.

Talking about days

On her b’day, Guv proposes release of women prisoners aged over 80 years First India Bureau

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

INDIA WILL DOUBLE OIL REFINING CAPACITY IN NEXT 5 YEARS: MODI

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel turned 79 on Saturday. A barrage of greetings and wishes for the veteran leader poured in from all corners with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath being the first to greet her at the Raj Bhawan.

Other who greeted her included, BJP State President Swatantra Dev Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav

CM Yogi greeting Governor Anandiben with a Lord Ganesha idol on her 79th birthday at Raj Bhawan on Saturday.

Prasad Maurya, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Swati Sin-

gh, Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari, Additional Chief Secre-

tary, MSME Navneet Sehgal, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Avneesh Awasthi, Information Commissioner Kiranbala, Mahant Divyagiri of Mankameshwar Temple and eminent folk singer Malini Awasthi met the Governor at Raj Bhavan and congratulated her on her birthday. Officials and employees of Raj Bhavan also congratulated the Governor on her birthday.

Turn to P6

when PM Modi was Gujarat Chief Minister, he said, “...all of us know that PDPU itself is a product of Turn to P6

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UTTAR PRADESH LUCKNOW | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020

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02

PM Modi-CM Yogi join hands to quench Vindhyachal’s thirst

The two BJP stalwarts will be kick starting a multi-crore water supply project on Sunday First India Bureau Lucknow: In yet another milestone, courtesy of partnership between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his deputy in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, people in the Vindhyachal region of the state will not have to toil for as basic an amenity as water. While CM Yogi Adityanath will be heading to Sonbhadra on Sunday, PM Modi will lay the foundation through his digital presence for rural drinking water supply projects worth Rs 5,555 crore in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts here.

On completion within two years, the two projects will provide piped-water supply to over 42 lakh people in 2,995 villages of the two districts of the Vindhyachal region which,

‘HAR GHAR NAL’

Yogi and Modi make it two for tango.

along with Bundelkhand is among India’s most water-scarce regions.

After inaugurating the projects through video conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also interact with water and sanitation committee members of various villages in

these two districts, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement on Saturday.

The Uttar Pradesh government had earlier formed water and sanitation committees in all the beneficiary villages, where members will shoulder the responsibility of operating and

Municipal Commissioner inspects airport, tightens noose around lazy officers First India Bureau Lucknow: Municipal Commissioner Ajay Kumar conducted a random inspection at Amausi Airport, following Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s zero tolerance orders.

He was accompanied

by Additional Municipal Commissioner, rchana Dwivedi, Environmental Engineer, Pankaj Bhushan the Chief Engineer, Zonal Officer Zone-5 along with other officials.

At the time of inspection, a large pile of garbage was found inside Amausi Airport on the route leading to the Air Traffic Control. The garbage was being picked by two persons and a child.

Babul Ali from M/S SD Enterprises was reported to the present at the time of the inspection. Since he could not answer the questions, the airport authority officials were called upon.

The heap has come up at the site where waste generated during air

maintaining the water supply lines and systems.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also be present on the occasion, the statement added.

Once the project is functional, villagers of Vindhya region will not have to struggle for drinking water and ru-

FOUR DAY PAY CUT FOR ZONAL OFFICER

mental Engineer was directed to calculate the amount of expenditure and send the bill to the Airport Authority for its recovery.

Guv addresses LU students on convocation ceremony First India Bureau Lucknow: Governor of Uttar Pradesh and Chancellor of Lucknow University, Anandiben Patel, addressed the 63rd convocation ceremony of the prestigious institution. She said that the ceremony held special importance as the centenary celebrations of the university were also being organised along with.

Anandiben said that the University has played a special role in inventing and imbibing new processes to en-

First India Bureau

courage students to contribute towards the social consiousness of the society.

The governor said that the students being feted at the ceremony will take forward the legacy of one of the most respected institutions of the country.

The governor added that the students should not only a be a part of the cultural and educational processes, but should also participate in efficient management of the institution.

Talking about the new National Educa-

tional Policy, the Chancellor said that it is an enthusiastic step towards broadening the educational pastures of the students of the country and has great political will instilled in it.

The Vice Chancellor of the University AK Rai enumerated the achievements of the4 University. She also extended warm wishes of President Ramnath Kovind on completion of 100 years of the renowned institutions to the students of Lucknow University.

TESTS IMPORTANT

Proper testing, preventive measures can help break COVID-19 chain.

was at 493228. The death toll of the state reached 7524 by Saturday.

The CM was presid-

ing over an unlock review meeting at his official residence on Saturday. He said that peo-

ple should continuously be made aware about Covid-19 and the public address system being

used in this task should be further activated.

Public address systems of the home, rural development, urban development, revenue, health and industrial development departments should be used to make people aware.

To ensure that people use mask, the District Magistrate, Senior Superintendent of Police and the Chief Medical Officer of all the districts should hold a meeting with various organisations and NGOs.

UP, now is a much safer place for cattle: CM First India Bureau

travel should be disposed of.

Airport officials said that the work was outsourced by them.

Thus, the Environ-

Cancellor of Lucknow University and Governor Anandiben Patel participating in LU’s 63rd convocation event.

Gear up! Yogi instructs officials to combat growing cases of COVID-19 Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that in view of the second wave of Covid-19 in neighbouring states especially Delhi, there should be complete vigilance in UP and the effective system of prevention and treatment of corona should be maintained.

The total positive cases across the state reached 524223 on Saturday, while the total number of recovered patients

LMC Commissioner Ajay Kumar during the inspection.

ral women will get rid of their arduous chores of fetching water from far away locations.

In Sonbhadra, water from the lake and rivers will be purified and supplied for drinking across villages.

The CM of most populous state of India, will also attend the programme of Gopashtami at the Tadafal cow shelter site in Mirzapur after the PM lays the foundation stone of the drinking water scheme.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also hand over cheques of remuneration to the women who make school dress under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antayodaya scheme.

After this, he will also voffer prayers at Mata Vindhyavasini Devi in Vindhyanchal Dham on Sunday evening, the government statement said.

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that the Uttar Pradesh government has beensuccessful in keeping check on both, the cow slaughtering and their smuggling to other states.

“The cows were even being sent to other countries before I took

over as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

It was a challenge before me to protect the holy animal which I did to the my full capablities,’’ Adityanath said.

He said the steps taken to protect stray cattle too have borne fruits and about 5.24 lakh cows are kept in government-run shelters, while more than eight lakh of them have been

CM was speaking on the eve of Gopashtami which is a festival dedicated to cows housed in ‘Kanha Upvan’, the cow shelters being run by local bodies in the state.

Speaking at a book release function at his official residence on

Saturday, a day before the ‘Gopashtami’, a festival dedicated to cows and Lord Krishna, the Chief Minister underlined the religious importance of cows.

He said that the ‘Gopashtami’ has been a tradition followed for thousands of years.

He released the book ‘Gau-Lok Ki Ore’ authored by Shivani Sharma, a government state-

ment said on Saturday.

Yogi in his recent bypolls election rally in Unnao had said that those involved in cow slaughter would be dealt with sternly.

His remarks came in the backdrop of the Allahabad High Court recently observing that the anti-cow slaughter law was being misused against innocent persons in the state.

LOUD-ALOUD

Oppn working against national unity, integrity: State BJP Chief 

Swatantra Dev Singh said that the opposition parties are constantly engaged in damaging the social fabric of India

First India Bureau Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership has come out all guns blazing against opposition parties, after the Chief Minister Yogi slammed the opposition for functioning against the government.

State BJP Chief Swatantra Dev Singh too has joined Yogi bandwagon on Saturday where he alleged that

Congress and other opposition parties are working against national unity and integrity on various fronts including important issues like Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing BJP workers at party headquarters in Lucknow, in view of the upcoming UP Legislative Council elections, he said the opposition parties are damaging the social fabric of the country.

State President of BJP, Swatantra Dev Singh

According to a statement released by the party, Singh alleged that the opposition, including the Congress are conspiring to harm the national unity and integrity for their vested interests.

He said that the opposition parties had tried their bit to instigate caste violence in the state, but the UP government foiled their plans, Singh said.

“They (opposition)

stooped to a new low in trying to bring an imbalance to the social fabric of the country,” Singh said the speech addressed to his partymen.

Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, the Uttar Pradesh BJP Chief said the Congress has become a party to the Gupkar declaration aimed at “creating disharmony and separatism” in Jammu and Kashmir.

UTTAR PRADESH LUCKNOW | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020

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in

BRIEF Sunil Pandey to be new CCF Indian Forest Service 1984 batch officer Sunil Pandey will be the new Chief Conservator Forests (CCF), Wildlife. He will be taking over from Dr Rajib Kumar Garg, who is going to retire from service next month on December 31.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath approved the appointment of Pandey. He will take charge from January 1, 2020.

Yogi suspends Sambhal DO Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered on Saturday the suspension of the Sambhal district development officer following allegations of indiscipline. Bareilly division joint development commissioner has been made investigating officer to probe the matter. Adityanath ordered suspension of District Development Officer Ramsevak “for violating the orders of senior officials, not sending the reports under the IGRS, leaving the district headquarters without permission,”the CM’s office said.

Lko properties to get unique ID About 6 lakh properties in Lucknow are set to get unique ID number.

All the details of all immovable properties of the city will be locked in these codes. Each ID number will be of 17 digits. An order has been issued by Urban Development Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar.

03

Like rioters, spurious liquor traders too face Yogi’s whip

CM orders to confiscate properties of those involved in selling spurious liquor under Gangster Act First India Bureau Lucknow: Yet again going on offensive against the laxity of officials and illicit liquor traders, CM Yogi Adityanath ordered stern action under the stringent Gangster Act against those found selling spurious liquor in the state.

The chief minister cracked the whip a day after five persons died and many others were taken ill after consuming hooch in a village in Allahabad district.

“The CM has taken serious cognizance of the incident in Allahabad in which some people died, said the UPgovernment in an official statement.

Those found selling spurious liquor should be booked under Gangster Act, and their prop-

ZERO TOLERANCE

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted her views on Saturday

CM Yogi dealt a similar blow to rioters earlier this year confiscating their private properties.

erties should be seized.

The seized property should be auctioned and the money be used to help the aggrieved families,” the statement said in a direction to government officials. The incident occurred in Amliya village under Gangapar Phulpur PS of Allahabad district.

Allahabad’s SSPSarvashreshtha Trip-

athi had on Friday said five people died while others were admitted to Swarooprani Nehru Hospital as a precautionary measure.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, meanwhile, on Saturday said the BJP Government s not bothered about the health and life of the common people.

“The confidence level

of the liquor mafia is so high that they are violating all laws and selling spurious liquor openly,” he said.

“Very strict action under the Criminal Laws and also under the Excise Laws is being taken against all the concerned persons including the licencee, Shyam Babu Jaiswal of village Amaliya, Praya-

graj who are found responsible for Friday’s incident. Suspension and Departmental action is also being taken against Sandeep Bihari Modwel, DEO, Vijai Pratap Yadav, Inspector and Suresh Kumar, Head Constable of Prayagraj,” said Sanjay Bhoosreddy Additional Chief Secretary, Excise Department

Accidental firing kills one at SP MLC’s house First India Bureau Lucknow: In a shocking incident, one person was shot dead at the residence of Samajwadi Party MLC Amit Yadav in the wee hours of Friday. The incident took place while the birthday celebrations of one Vinay Yadav were going on in the house.

The deceased individual has been identified as Rakesh Rawat.

According to Somen Verma, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Rawat was fired by accident by the MLC’s nephew, Pankaj Yadav, who was showing the gun to his friends.

“Last night, five boys were celebrating the birthday of Vinay Yadav, a friend of MLC Amit Yadav’s nephew, Pankaj Yadav. While showing the 32-bore country-made pistol to

Laplace Apartment where the incident took place

his friends, Pankaj accidentally shot his friend Rakesh Rawat, who died instantly,” Verma said.

The four present at the party have been taken into police custody. Investigation revealed that the gun belonged to Pankaj, and a magazine and three cartridges for the same have been recovered at the residence of the MLC.

Priyanka slams UP govt over illicit liquor deaths First India Bureau Lucknow: Taking the attack to the ruling BJP government Uttar Pradesh, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday hit out at the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saying that deaths due to consumption of “poisonous liquor” in the state were on a rise and the government was unable to handle the problem.

“Several deaths due to poisonous liquor have taken place in UP in Lucknow, Firozabad, Hapur, Mathura and Prayagraj. There were also deaths in Agra, Baghpat and Meerut. Why has the government failed to take action

against the poisonous liquor mafia, apart from some pretentious steps? Who is responsible?”

Vadra tweeted, along with an image of newspaper articles about the incidents.

In the last couple of days, it was claimed that atleast 10 people have died due to consumption of illicit liquor.

As many as six people died on Friday after allegedly consuming illicit liquor in the Brajpuri and Garh Mukteshwar areas of Hapur.

While families of the deceased claimed that the deaths were due to the spurious liquor, the UP Police have dismissed the claims.

Two sages die in mysterious circumstances First India Bureau

Police challan people for not wearing mask.

Police take to the streets to promote use of mask

First India Bureau

Lucknow: Eyeing the alarming increase in the number of coronavirus positive cases, the city administration took on a task to penalise people for not wearing masks.

In this regard, the Lucknow police were

tasked to penalise people of Rs 500 and also distribute masks to those not wearing them.

Police personnel were seen interacting with people and requesting them to wear masks at all major crossings of the city.

While on the other hand, people who were

being penalised, gave creative excuses for not wearing them when they were caught without masks.

The cops also sensitised people about the ill effects of coronavirus and its cases being on the rise here. Many people promised to wear masks when venturing out.

Lucknow: Two sages died in suspicious conditions on Saturday at an ashram located behind Giriraj Bagh in Thana Govardhan area of Mathura district, while one sage has been admitted to the hospital in critical condition.

The ashram housed three sages: Gopal Das (55), of village Dalauta, Vrindavan, Shyam

Sundar Das (60), of village Pantha Govardhan and Rambabu Das (60) of Kasba Govardhan.

They were living a spiritual life in the ashram for the past one year.

After drinking tea in the morning, their health started deteriorating. It is being speculated that some poison was added to the tea.

After consuming it, two sages died. The collector and SSP reached the

Police probing the incident at the ashram on Saturday.

spot and the forensic team investigated at the ashram. SSP Gaurav Grover said after drinking tea at the ashram around 10 am on Saturday , the health of the three sages worsened.

The three were rushed to the district hospital, where doctors declared Gopal Das and Shyam Sundar Das dead. Rambabu Das is still at the hospital and his condition is critical.

Cop, family members brutally murdered in Banda First India Bureau Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Police constable and his two family members, were brutally killed allegedly by their relatives over a petty dispute in Gayatri Nagar area of

Banda district, police said on Saturday.

The incident took place late on Friday night when constable Abhijit Verma (27) his sister Nisha Verma (29) and mother Ramawati (54) were dragged out of

their house by their cousins and attacked with sharp-edged weapons and lathis following a dispute over the disposal of garbage in a drain, Circle Officer (City) Alok Mishra said.

They were rushed to a

hospital where doctors declared them as brought dead, Mishra said, adding two others, including a woman, who had rushed to rescue them were also injured and were undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Late in the night, three of the accused were arrested along with the weapons used in the commission of the crime. A woman family member was also taken into custody while raids are being conducted.

INFRA BOOST

Addl CS Awanish Awasthi take stock of Purvanchal Expressway 

The main route of this mega Expressway from Lucknow to Ghazipur will become operational for traffic on January 26 next year.

First India Bureau Lucknow: Additional Chief Secretary Home and Chief Executive Officer, UPIDA Awanish Awasthi is doing the terrestrial inspection of Purvanchal Expressway these days.

Awasthi is reviewing the progress of construction works in Package 1 in Barabanki and Package 2 in Amethi.

Top officials of all

construction companies including UPIDA are also present on site inspection. Purvanchal Expressway is an ambitious project of the Yogi Government.

Purvanchal Expressway is passing through nine districts from Lucknow to Ghazipur.

The main route of this mega Expressway from Lucknow to Ghazipur will become operational for traffic on January 26 next year. At

Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Awasthi inspecting work of the Poorvanchal Expressway on Saturday

least 64 per cent of the physical work of the expressway and 94 per cent of the soil work has been completed, said sources.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath will be made aware of the onsite inspection and progress of the work of Purvanchal Expressway. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed that thiswork should be completed quickly by maintaining

high quality in the construction work of the expressway, making an example in the country for the people of Purvanchal.

Interestingly, after Yamuna Expressway and Agra Expressway, this will be the third expressway in the state where Rafale and other fighter jets can land. A 3,300-metre long airstrip for this purpose is also being built as part of the project.

PERSPECTIVE LUCKNOW | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020

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MR PRESIDENT, THIS IS UNFAIR!

IN-DEPTH

BJP GEARING TO STORM DRAVIDIAN CITADEL

L

eaving West Bengal in the hands of his experienced party colleagues Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached Chennai to prepare a strategy for the state elections due next year. The message from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam (AIADMK) camp was that the ruling regional party will contest the elections in alliance with the BJP. Shah said that Chief Minister Edapaddi K. Palaniswamy, EPS in short, will lead the alliance. Tamil Nadu’s Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, issued a statement saying that his party is ready to tango with the BJP. The BJP is aiming to breach the southern citadel at a time when Dravidian parties are in a political ferment. Panneerselvam was at loggerheads with EPS not very long ago. The party which witnessed a power struggle immediately after J. Jayalalithaa’s death is still riven with factionalism. With the legacy issue not yet settled and Sasikala, who claims to be the political (and financial) inheritor of Jayalalithaa’s mantle, is likely to be released from jail next year. That should set the AIADMK’s pot boiling again. Given the situation, the BJP-AIADMK alliance may not be the best bet but BJP has its own cadre and defectors thronging to its camp.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), on the other hand, has its own family issues to settle as M.K. Alagiri, whose loyalist KP Ramalingam recently joined the BJP, is also expected to switch loyalty.

Besides banking on defectors, BJP is counting on the charisma of thespian Rajnikanth. It is also doing its best to whip up religious issues to win voters.

K NATWAR SINGH The author is Former Minister of External Affairs of India

F

BEWARE! CORONAVIRUS EXPLOITS HUMAN LAXITY

W

hen it comes to Covid-19, there’s a visible complacency among the people not just in India but across the world. They don’t want to wear masks or maintain the required social distance. In the US and in Europe they insisted on going to beaches and parties. There have been protests against lockdowns and Covid protocols. Bravado got the better of fear of suffering and death until governments decided to impose heavy fines on those violating lockdowns and protocols.

Yet the novel coronavirus continues to play havoc, causing deaths and misery in several countries. If in India the new cases touched the 91,000 with 46, 232 new cases and 564 deaths in the last 24 hours mark, the US reported 195, 542 new cases on Friday. President Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. was among those who tested positive.

The American President was the one who took the pandemic very lightly as he mocked at doctors and scientists. With Trump stubbornly refusing to accept defeat, Joe Biden is unable to decide on a Covid related action plan.

The situation in the US is grim for lack of an effective policy and absence of leadership. In India there is a concern over high incidence of the virus in a few states like Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala and MP. The silver lining is the high recovery rate in India.

That does not mean one should be lax about protection from the virus. If it does not kill, it leaves some of its victims badly affected. Those who don’t care expose others to the dangerous.

Barack Obama met Kennedy in the latter’s office, “I hear there is talk of you running for president”.

Obama told him it was unlikely but he wanted to but he wanted Kennedy’s “Counsel”.

Here’s what the younger brother of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy said to Barak Husain Obama.

ormer US President Barack Obama’s autobiography, “A Promised Land” is seven hundred and forty one pages long. I am half way through it. He belongs to the rare breed of untarnished political leaders. His place in history is assured. He is the only black American to become President of the United States of America.

Whether he was a great President or not only time will tell.

That he is a great and remarkable man is not in doubt. Within two years of being a US Senator, he became known throughout the country. His refined character, his wide reading, oratory made members of Congress, the rapacious multinationals and the media sit up. Here was the coming man. A unique phenomena was unfolding. People seriously started talking about him as a possible President. He himself gained confidence and said to himself, “Yes we can”.

He consulted hundreds of people, in many walks of life, but mainly politicos.

One of his close friends suggested to Obama that he “talk to Kennedy. He knows all the players. He run himself. He’ll give you some perspective. And at the very least he’ll tell you if he plans to support anyone else.”

Barack Obama met Kennedy in the latter’s office, “I hear there is talk of you running for president”. Obama told him it was unlikely but he wanted to but he wanted Kennedy’s “Counsel”. Here’s what the younger brother of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy said to Barak Husain Obama.

“I won’t be wading in early”, Teddy said. “Too many friends. But I can tell you this, Barack. The power to inspire is rare. Moments like this are rare. You think you may be ready, that you’ll do it at a more convenient time.

But you don’t choose the time.

The time chooses you. Either

you seize what may turn out to be your only chance you have, or you are willing to live with the knowledge that the chance has passed you by.”

On Mahatma Gandhi, the author writes at some length.

“More than anything, though my fascination with India had to do with Mahatma Gandhi.

Along with Lincoln King (Martin Luther) and Mandela, Gandhi had profoundly influenced my thinking. As a young man, I’d studied his writings and found him give voice to some of my deepest instincts. His notion of Satyagraha or devotion to truth and the power of nonviolent resistance to stir the conscience, his insistence on our common humanity and the essential oneness of all religions; and his belief in every society’s obligation, through its political, economic and social arrangements, to recognize the equal worth and dignity of all peopleeach of these idea resonated with me. Gandhi’s actions had stirred me even more than his words: he’d put his beliefs to test by risking his life…..” Gandhi according to Obama had “Set off a moral charge that pulsed around the globe.”

MR. PRESIDENT, THIS IS UNFAIR. INDIA IS A SECULAR COUNTRY, ITS CIVIL SERVICES ARE AMONG THE BEST IN THE WORLD. INDIA’S DEMOCRACY IS A FUNCTIONING ONE AND INDIA HAS NOT PRODUCED A MR. DONALD TRUMP

About Manmohan Singh he writes, “….. I would find Manmohan Singh to be wise, thoughtful and scrupulously honest. Despite its genuine economic progress, though, India remained a chaotic and impoverished place: largely divided by religion and caste, captive to the whims of corrupt local officials and power brokers, hamstrung by a parochial bureaucracy that was resisting change”.

Want to save the economy? Start by vanquishing COVID

R

ising COVID-19 numbers have placed much of Canada on the edge of seemingly inevitable lockdowns, just as winter begins. Having failed to contain the disease, with one lockdown behind us and another before us, it feels as if Canadians outside of Atlantic Canada are trapped on an unending rollercoaster of despair.

Even more demoralizing, it’s increasingly obvious that we don’t even need to be on this ride.

As the International Monetary Fund notes, Asia-Pacific countries as diverse as Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan have crushed the curve, and their citizens are able to get on with their lives.

Cafés are full, crowds

04

cheer live sports events.

People aren’t dying.

This assumption is on full display in Ontario’s much-criticized and recently revamped colour-coded “COVID-19 response framework” that imposes restrictions based on a region’s COVID-19 prevalence.

Its tagline — “keeping Ontario safe and open” — explicitly assumes that it needs to keep the economy open for as long as possible during the pandemic. The unstated corollary is that protecting the economy requires suffering through a certain number of illnesses and deaths.

On its face, perhaps this makes some sense: we don’t want small businesses to go bankrupt or for people to lose their jobs.

But it gets the economy/ health trade-off exactly backward.

with COVID-19 hurts the economy, the economy is actually damaged by not dealing directly with the pandemic. The two are linked, but in a positivesum relationship: Address COVID-19, save the economy.

TO SAVE THE ECONOMY, STOMP THE VIRUS To put it bluntly, saving the economy requires minimizing, if not eliminating, community COVID-19 transmission. As economist Martin Eichenbaum and his coauthors note in a July

VoxEU article, community transmission itself reduces economic activity. Many people won’t risk their lives even for the most delicious restaurant sushi.

The upshot is that even with no, or limited, government intervention, we’re

going to end up in a recession and also with an overwhelmed health-care system, made worse when people living paycheque-topaycheque are forced to work while ill.

While Ontario’s government and others have assumed that dealing

READY-MADE ECONOMIC SOLUTIONS Fortunately, while this coronavirus may be novel, it presents a straightforward economic problem and response.

Our situation involves what economists refer to as “negative externalities.”

These are individually rational decisions — “I have to work to pay the bills,” or “I can’t go to the restaurant because I don’t want my parents to die” — with socially negative effects. In this case, that’s spreading the disease or reducing economic activity.

Mr. President, this is unfair.

India is a secular country, its civil services are among the best in the World. India’s democracy is a functioning one and India has not produced a Mr. Donald Trump.

I hope to finish this engrossing and absorbing book next week, but do not intend reviewing it.

The central government should without delay take action to monitor the manner in which Delhi government is handling or mishandling the Corona Virus pandemic. New Delhi and Delhi now have the dubious distinction of having the second largest number of Covid cases after New York.

With winter on us the situation is likely to get worse.

Shortage of beds and ventilators will multiply by the day.

Who knowns when the vaccine will arrive in India. The distribution problem will be acute.

We are not the most caring or efficient country in the world.

It’s time the Delhi Government paid heed to the strictures passed against it by the High Court.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Top

TWEET Prakash Javadekar @PrakashJavdekar Proud moment for India, as our supercomputer,”Param Siddhi” gets recognised amongst the most powerful AI supercomputer in the world. This will immensely benefit the country in various fields. Digital India under PM @ narendramodi ji’s leadership is surging ahead in AI Technology Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda Today addressed a public meeting in Bilaspur of Devbhoomi Himachal Pradesh. I am overwhelmed by this immense affection and blessings of all of you. The central and state government is committed to the all-round development of Himachal.

Spiritual SPEAK

“Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”

—Buddha

Vol 1 Issue No. 10 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.

Published at 98, Friend’’s Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP). Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

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Acceding to Punjab CM’s request, farmers agree to lift rail blockade

05

‘AIADMK-BJP alliance to continue for 2021 TN polls’

Soon after the announcement, Amarinder Singh urged the Centre to start train services in the state Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday succeeded in breaking the imbroglio over the suspension of train services in the state, with the farmer unions acceding to his appeal and announcing complete lifting of the rail blockade from November 23 to pave the way for resumption of both goods and passenger train services after two months.

Soon after the announcement, the Chief Minister urged the Central government to reciprocate by restoring all train services in the state, and also to hold further talks with the farmer representatives to resolve the crisis over the farm laws.

The decision to lift the rail blockade was announced by Bharti Kissan Union (Rajewal) President Balbir Singh Rajewal at a meeting of representatives of the

Won’t allow CBI to investigate without consent: Amarinder

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh during a meeting with members and representatives of Kisan Unions in Chandigarh on Saturday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

Kisan Unions with the Chief Minister here to resolve the imbroglio over the rail blockade imposed by the farmers in protest against the Centre’s laws.

Rajewal, however, warned of resumption of blockade if the Central government fails to hold talks with the farmers’ representatives in the next 15 days

to address their concerns on the agricultural laws.

The farmer leaders urged all political parties in Punjab to get together to support them in their fight against the Central agricultural legislations instead of politicizing the issue, which was of grave concern to the state.

Thanking the farmer

J&K ‘turned into open air prison,’ alleges Mufti Srinagar: PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti said that she was stopped from visiting a site where she claimed illegal sand mining is carried out. Taking to Twitter, Mufti lashed out at the Centre, saying while J&K’s resources are being plundered, the government of India has “nothing but contempt for us”.“I was stopped from visiting Rambiara Nalla today by local admin.

This is where sand extraction through illegal tenders has been outsourced to outsiders & locals are barred from the area. Our land & resources are being plundered by GOI that has nothing but contempt for us,” the PDP leader tweeted. “Sand mafia is operating in broad daylight yet we are expected to remain quiet. As a leader, its my responsibility to articulate these grievances. But BJP is brazenly violating my rights & curbing my movements under guise of ‘security’.”

She also alleged that Jammu and Kashmir has been turned into an open air prison.

Mehbooba Mufti

Farooq writes to J&K poll panel, alleges PAGD not allowed to canvas Srinagar: PAGD President and former CM Farooq Abdullah in a letter to the state election commissioner KK Sharma alleged that ahead of the District Development Council elections PAGD candidates are being whisked away to secure locations “I am taking the liberty of writing to you about upcoming DDC elec-

AGRA DOCTOR KILLED INSIDE HOME, KIDS INJURED; 1 HELD Agra: A 38-year-old dentist was allegedly strangled to death while the perpetrator was arrested within five hours of committing the crime, police said on Saturday.The victim, Nisha Singhal’s eight-year-old daughter and four-year-old son too were injured after being attacked with a knife by the accused identified as

Shubham Pathak, they said.Pathak, who had robbed Singhal’s house, was caught following an encounter at Kalindi Vihar area. He was shot in the leg, a police officer said, adding that the stolen cash was seized from him.Pathak gained entry into Singhal’s house on the pretext of recharging a TV set top box.

tions. A strange and a unique feature has come to the fore. Candidates put up by the PAGD are immediately whisked away to “secure locations” in the name of security. They are not allowed to canvass, they are completely out of touch with those from whom they are supposed to seek votes,” the letter reads.

—Agencies

unions for accepting his request, the Chief Minister assured the farmer leaders that he would meet the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister soon to press for their demands.

“Let us together put pressure on the Centre to see our point of view and understand how these laws would ruin Punjab,” he said.

Chandigarh: Citing the agency’s poor track record in the Bargari case, which it had closed without any investigation, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said his government will not allow the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into his state without permission.

Pointing out that eight states, including Punjab, had withdrawn permission to the agency to enter without prior permission, the Chief Minister said the agency was being increasingly used to play politics, and a

New Delhi: Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister O Paneerselvam said that the alliance of his party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) with th Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will continue for the 2021 Assembly election.

AIADMK-BJP alliance will continue for 2021 assembly elections,” Paneerselvam said at a function organised for Amit Shah in Chennai where the Union home minister inaugurated infrastructure projects. The Tamil Nadu Assembly polls are expected

fair probe could not be ensured through CBI. Dismissing the BJP as a non-entity in Punjab’s political arena, the Chief Minister told that the BJP was welcome to contest all 117 assembly seats in the state though the party would not be able to win a single seat without an alliance partner.

With elections in state still around 18 months away, it was not possible to say which issue will dominate polls, said Singh, expressing hope that BJP will resolve farmers’ grievances soon.

to take place on April-May next year.

Shah is on a twoday visit to Chennai where he is scheduled to hold crucial meeting with BJP office-bearers and party’s district-level presidents.

The alliance between AIADMK and BJP has come into strain after over the latter’s Vetrivel Yatra. The state government has denied permission citing the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, and AIADMK’s mouthpiece called it “divisive”.

BJP members have continued with yatra since November 6, courting arrests.

IN THE COURTYARD

Court asks MJ Akbar, Ramani if there is Comedian Bharti Singh scope of settlement in defamation case arrested by Anti-Drugs New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday asked former Union minister M J Akbar and journalist Priya Ramani whether there was a chance of settlement between them in a criminal defamation complaint filed by him against her.

Akbar had filed the complaint against Ramani for allegedly defaming him by accusing him of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist.

Ramani had said the allegations against Akbar, made in the wake of #MeToo movement in 2018, were her truth

Bureau after questioning

and were made in public good.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey posed the query as he started hearing afresh the final arguments in the case since the previous judge hearing the matter was transferred to another

court on Wednesday.

Senior advocate Geeta Luthra, appearing for Akbar, said she needed time to talk to her client before making a decision on the issue. Ramani’s advocate Bhavook Chauhan, said there was less chance of any settlement since case facts were peculiar.

—PTI

Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau on Saturday arrested comedian Bharti Singh after she confessed to consuming drugs, ANI reported.

The anti-drug agency said in a statement that it had found 86.5 grams of drugs during raids at Singh’s home and office. “Both Bharti and her husband Harsh Limbachiya accepted consumption of Ganja,” NCB said. “Bharti Singh [is] arrested and the examination of Harsh Limbachiya is underway.” NCB had earlier summoned Sin-

gh and Limbachiyaa for questioning. They arrived at the agency’s office soon after NCB conducted a raid at their Mumbai residence on Saturday. The agency’s widening probe into drug consumption within the film industry began with inquiry into actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide in June.

—ANI

Delhi HC directs JMI University to give law graduate his degree New Delhi: The Delhi high Court has directed the Jamia Millia Islamia University to give a law graduate his degree and other documents related to his education at the educational institution within a period of three days.

With these directions, a single-judge bench of Justice Jayant Nath had on Thursday

‘WILL FIGHT ‘RAVAN RAJ’ IN MAHA WITH JAN AAKROSH YATRA’ Mumbai: Referring Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra as ‘Ravan Raj’, BJP MLA Ram Kadam said that he will continue to fight against the current regime and again take out the ‘Jan Akrosh Yatra’ on Palghar lynching case. “The state government tried to stop our ‘Jan Aakrosh Yatra’ but we will fight the Ravan Raj of the current regime. We will hold a hunger strike at Palghar and demand CBI investigation in the case,” BJP leader said. Ram Kadam and his supporters were detained by the police on November 18.

disposed of the petition filed by Mohd Munis Siddique through advo-

cates Harpreet Singh Hora and Himangi Kapoor with the grievance

PAKISTAN VIOLATES CEASEFIRE ALONG LOC IN J-K’S RAJOURI Rajouri: Pakistan has violated the ceasefire along LoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district on Saturday. Indian Army is retaliating befittingly.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan Army resorted to an unprovoked ceasefire violation on the LoC in the same sector. In the incident, Hav Patil Sangram Shivaji, an

Indian Army soldier from Kolhapur in Maharashtra, was critically injured and later succumbed to his injuries. “Hav Patil Sangram Shivaji was a brave, highly motivated and sincere soldier. The nation will always remain indebted to him for his supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty,” Lt Col Devender Anand said.

that the varsity has not given his marksheet, degree, etc. “If any compliance is to be done by the petitioner the same shall be communicated by the respondent to the petitioner today itself. The respondent will ensure that necessary degree along with other documents begiven to the petitioner within three

days thereafter,” the bench said.

Siddique had moved that court claiming that the varsity had not given his marksheet, degree and other documents due to which he is losing opportunities for higher education and employment despite making efforts for the same since July, 2020.

—ANI

TRS, BJP HAVEN’T DONE ANY DEVELOPMENT IN HYBD: CONG Hyderabad: Apart from blaming each other and pointing out flaws of each other, both Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have not done any development in Hyderabad, Telangana Congress leader Ponnam Prabhakar said on Saturday ahead of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls scheduled to be held on December 1. Ponnam Prabhakar who happens to be a former MP while speaking to ANI said, “The development that you currently see in Hyderabad is due to Congress”.

INDIA LUCKNOW | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020

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On directions of Home Minister Amit Shah, ICMR has increased testing capacity from 27,000 to 37,200 per day

MHA to ICMR: Increase Delhi’s Covid-19 testing Churches to restart mass for public from Nov 29 in Mumbai

A couple from Vasai getting married at a church and donates all the marriage expenses in gifting beds and oxygen kits at quarantine centres, in Mumbai on Tuesday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

New Delhi: To ramp up Delhi's COVID-19 testing facilities, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has increased RT-PCR testing capacity from 27,000 tests per day to 37,200 RT-PCR tests per day, said the Ministry of

Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday.

"ICMR has increased RT-PCR testing capacity from 27,000 tests/day to 37,200 RT-PCR tests per day on directions of Home Minister Amit Shah. 30,735 RT-PCR samples collected in

Delhi on 19 Nov as compared to 12,055 RT-PCR samples on 15 Nov," MHA tweeted.

The highest number of daily cases in India was reported from Delhi with 6,608 new cases registered in the last 24 hours. —ANI

New Delhi: Early Thursday morning, an encounter between a group of terrorists and security forces happened at the Ban toll plaza near Nagrota. By the end of it, four terrorists were dead, but it wasn’t just a chance encounter. This was an intelligence-based operation that was aimed at blocking what security forces believed could be a major attack, being planned from across the border.

According to initial data from a GPS device and mobile phones carried by the four terrorists shows that they were in touch with Pakistan-based group

Jaish-e-Mohammed’s (JeM) operational commanders Mufti Rauf Asghar and Qari Zarar with the objective of wreaking havoc in the Valley.

Mufti Asghar is the younger brother of JeM chief and UN designated global terrorist Masood Azhar.

Following this, the PM said in a tweet: “Neutralizing of four terrorist belonging to Pakistan based terrorist organizations JeM and the presence of large cache of explosives with them indicates that their efforts to wreak havoc and destruction have once again been thwarted.”

Mussoorie: As many as 33 civil services officer trainees have tested positive for coronavirus at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) at Mussoorie, prompting authorities to close "all non-essential departments" there.

The LBSNAA has tweeted, "33 officer trainees have tested COVID positive at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.

A total of 428 officer trainees are on campus for the 95th Foundation Course.

Academy is taking every measure to break the chain of covid spread in consonance with guidelines.

"Food and other necessities are being delivered to the officer trainees in their hostels," it said in tweet.

PARL COMMITTEE SUBMITS REPORT ON COVID TO NAIDU

CM Nitish Kumar offers ‘Arghya’ on Chhath Puja Patna: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar took part in Chhath Puja rituals on the last day of the festival by offering prayers to the Sun God at his residence.

Kumar offered 'argha' to lord Asthachalagami and prayed for the peace and happiness for the state residents and countrymen," according to the press release.

He also tweeted in Hindi, "On the occasion of Mahaparva Chhath, I offered Arghya to Asthachalagami Bhagwan Bhaskar at 1 Anne Marg." —ANI

New Delhi: The MHA has approved a study to analyse radicalisation in India, suggest practicable solutions to remedy and/or prevent the problem and also indicate how the Unlawful Activities Act can be amended.

The study 'Status of Radicalisation in India: An Exploratory Study of Prevention and Remedies' will be done under the leadership of GS Bajpai, Professor of

GS Bajpai

Criminology and Criminal Justice who is also the Registrar of National Law University.

According to Bajpai, the study will focus on the process of radicali-

Narendra Singh Tomar

FIVE OFFICERS RESIGN FROM RAILWAY SERVICES

J K Agarwal, Mukesh Kumar Jain, Ajit Kumar Mishra and Biswajit Mitra have tendered technical resignation from Railway services to enable their permanent absorption in Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL). Likewise, Sunil Kumar Singh has submitted his technical resignation from Railway services to enable his permanent absorption in Railtel Corporation of India Limited (RCIL).

Ashok Kumar has been appointed new DGP of Uttarakhand. He is 1989 batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.

MASALDAN APPOINTED JS, CBIC

Gaurav Masaldan has been appointed as JS, CBIC for a period of five years. He is a 1998 batch IRS(C&CE) officer and posted as Commissioner in Delhi.

MANISH SINGH IS BACK FROM LONDAN TO MP

Manish Singh is back from central deputation to the parent Madhya Pradesh cadre. 1997 batch IAS officer Manish Singh was posted in Indian High Commission London.

ANURADHA SINGH REPATRIATED TO PARENT CADRE

sation, its actors, target youths and will be probably conducted in four states like Maharashtra, Assam, Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir where cases of radicalisation have been reported.

On giving suggestions to amend UAPA Act, Bajpai said, "We will also critically reviewing the current legal aspects. We would study to define radicalisation, de-radicalisation." —ANI

Ms. Anuradha Singh, Director, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, has been prematurely repatriated to her parent cadre on personal grounds. She is a 1999 batch officer of Indian Railway Personnel Service.

N K SUDHANSU REPATRIATED TO PARENT CADRE

N K Sudhansu, Professor (JS level), Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, has been prematurely repatriated to his parent cadre on personal grounds. He is a 2000 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.

RAHUL POSTED AS DEPUTY SECRETARY, NITI

Aayog Rahul has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the NITI Aayog, Delhi, under Central deputation for four years. He is a 2011 batch Indian Railway Traffic Service officer.

H S SANDHU POSTED AS DEPUTY SECRETARY, HOME

MoFPI approves 28 food projects worth ` 320 cr New Delhi: A total of 28 projects under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) worth Rs 320.33 crores, was approved under the Creation/Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities (CEFPPC) scheme in IMAC meeting chaired by Union the Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Saturday.

POWER Gallery

1989 BATCH IPS OFFICER IS DGP OF UTTARAKHAND

MHA approves study to analyse phenomena of radicalisation

Jaish terrorists killed in Nagrota had orders from Azhar’s brother

Pakistani deep state is, as is its wont, using pan-Islamist groups, JeM to target India by sending in suicide attackers across border.

Mumbai: All churches in Mumbai will resume Sunday masses and other celebrations from November 29 with strict adherence to Covid protocols, according to a circular issued by Archbishop of Bombay.

Although religious places to reopened from Nov 16, churches in Mumbai remained shut.

Father Barrett said precautions will be strictly followed. The church is fully invested in the people’s safety. There will be gaps between prayers, one-third capacity of visitors to allowed at a time. —ANI

33 trainee officers test Covid-19 positive

Harjot Singh Sandhu has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Delhi, under Central deputation for four years.

He is a 2011 batch Indian Railway Traffic Service officer.

NCB detains Bharti, her husband in drug case Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday detained comedian Bharti Singh and her husband for questioning in connection with a drug case after a raid was conducted at their residence in Mumbai here.

“She (Bharti Singh) and her husband both have been detained for questioning by the NCB

about possession of narcotics substances,” NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede told reporters here. Earlier today, a raid was conducted at the residence of Bharti Singh and her husband Harsh Limbachiyaa in connection with a drug case. Their names had reportedly surfaced during the questioning of an alleged drug peddler.

NISHTHA TIWARI APPOINTED DIRECTOR, HOME

Ms. Nishtha Tiwari has been appointed Director in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Delhi, under Central deputation for five years. She is a 2005 batch Indian Revenue Service (IT) officer.

TWO IPS OFFICERS TRANSFERRED IN ODISHA

The Odisha government has Friday night transferred two IPS officers. Accordingly, K Vishal Singh has been appointed new SP, Puri while Akhileshwar Singh has been transferred from Puri and posted at the Phq. By arrangement with: http:// whispersinthecorridors.com

FROM PG 1 On her...

The Governor organized a three-month chikankari and zardoji scheme for the women of the Raj Bhavan families under the scheme ‘One District-One Product’ in collaboration with the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development, Lucknow and Asma Hussain Institute of Fashion Technology.

Later in the day, Governor spent time with elderly prisoners at the Nari Bandi Niketan situated at Gosainganj.

What stood out during her visit was the fact that the governor pro-

posed to release the woman prisoners who were ailing or were above the 80 years of age.

Mukesh Ambani...

Honourable Prime Minister Narendra bhai’s ‘Atma Nirbhar’ vision.

It is a vision he cherished even when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat...”

“PDPU is only fourteen years old. Yet, it already ranks among the top-25 in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on innovation,” Ambani said.

On the country’s energy needs, the RIL Chair-

man said, “The future of energy is being shaped by unprecedented changes. And these changes are impacting the future of humanity -- indeed, the very future of our planet.”

“The most important question we face is this: Can we produce the growing amounts of energy we need to sustain our economies without harming the environment?” he said.

Continuing of the topic of climate change, Ambani added that “without failing” we need to fulfil our Climate Change obligations.

Over the future energy prospects, he said, “We need breakthroughs in new energy sources such as green and blue hydrogen. We also need great innovations in energy storage, saving and utilisation.”

“What makes it even more exciting is the synergy between the Energy Revolution and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. If we master this synergy, we will surely be able to make India one of the most prosperous nations in the world. An India that guarantees prosperity and wellbeing for all 1.3 billion Indians,” the Re-

06

liance Chairman added.

Shah lays...

“The Lok Sabha alliance will continue for the assembly elections. We have given 10 years of good governance. Our alliance will win the 2021 polls. Tamil Nadu will always support PM Narendra Modi,” Palaniswami said.

Shah also praised the Tamil Nadu government for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and said the state was the best-governed in the country this year according to the centre’s ranking.

“India under PM

Modi has contained Covid while other nations struggle. I applaud E Palaniswami and [Deputy Chief Minister] O Panneerselvam for containing Covid.

Tamil Nadu’s recovery rate is high. Covid statistics shared by Tamil Nadu are good. No other state has taken care of pregnant women like Tamil Nadu,” he said.

After a setback in the Lok Sabha elections, the AIADMK hopes to trump rival DMK once again in the state where it has been in power for more than nine years now.

The AIADMK defeat-

ed the DMK in the 2011 assembly polls when J Jayalalithaa led the party to a resounding victory. It won again in 2016 before the DMK bounced back with a strong performance in last year’s Lok Sabha elections.

An alliance led by the DMK, also including the Congress, won 38 of the 39 parliament seats in Tamil Nadu, besides the lone Puducherry seat, leaving just one to the AIADMK, in the first major election in the state held after the death of Jayalalithaa and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

Police busts online dating scam, 8 held Cyberabad: A gang of eight who cheated the public and extracted money out of them from fake dating websites were arrested on Friday by Cyber Crime Police. Police have also seized a laptop, 31 Samsung mobile phones, six documents pertaining to the crime, and 12 ATM cards.

The accused persons have been arrested and identified as Bijay Kumar Sah, Binod Kumar, Mohamad Nur Alam Ansari, Deepa, Halder.

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500 acres of land worth

`3,000 cr freed in Gorakhpur First India Bureau Gorakhpur: The possession of 500 acres of land in Gorakhpur city of Uttar Pradesh and its surrounding areas has been done away with and secured. According to the circle rate, their market price is more than Rs 3000 crores.

Talking about the entire district, a 2000-acre land bank has been prepared for the administration.

Gorakhpur’s face is changing rapidly since Yogi Adityanath became the Chief Minister. One by one, many development projects have landed, while some are in progress.

Many more development projects are pro-

The anti-encroachment drive in action.

posed in the coming time. Due to the lack of land, the administration has been running a campaign to free land from illegal occupation for a year.

For most of the development projects, the city and its surrounding areas are suitable, so the district administration is more focused on freeing the land from

Lost & found: Canada

the Sadar tehsil area.

The revenue team, led

by Joint Magistrate Gaurav Singh Sogarwal, has so far taken possession of 69 acres of land in the city and se-

cured it. Much of this land is situated at central locations in the city.

Many lands of Nazul and Ceiling had been occupied for years, but the administration had been ignoring it. Now that the district is developing rapidly, the need of land has arisen.

The files related to the land of Nazul and Ceiling are being searched.

Many such lands were also vacated. The lease of the people occupying the land of Nazul ended more than 5 to 10 years ago yet people were occupying the land using their influence.

So far, 372 acres of land has been liberated from 42 villages.

Revised memento of Ram Temple for dignitaries soon First India Bureau Ayodhya: Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust is preparing a revised model of the Ram temple. A sample of this is likely to come to the trust office soon. It will be presented as an offering to the dignitaries.

It has been started in the Deepotsav. At the Deepotsav, the model of Ram temple was presented as a memento to Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and BJP state president Swatantradev Singh.

Now when these models will be available with the trust, the trust will also be able to use them in such work.

General Secretary Champat Rai at the trust office saw another small model of the

The stolen idol.

legacy of colonialism”.

It is believed that this idol was stolen from the Annapurna temple of Kashi. Now, with this statue coming back to India, it is expected that it will soon become an integral part of the Annapoorna temple, though after a hundred years.

Regional Archaeological Officer Dr Subhash Chandra Yadav told that after the idol comes to India, then only the further process will be completed.

According to Mahanta Rameshwar Puri of Annapurna Temple, this idol disappeared from Varanasi several decades ago. Now after getting this idol, there is hope that the idol of 100 year old mother Annapurna will come back to Kashi.

An anti-smog gun sprays water to control air pollution, near the bank of Hindon River in Ghaziabad

—PHOTO BY PTI

UP roadways bus collides with a tree in South Delhi, 20 passengers injured New Delhi: A Uttar Pradesh Roadways bus collided with a tree in South-East Delhi’s Sukhdev Vihar area near New Friends Colony injuring at least 20 people in the early hours of Saturday A Uttar Pradesh Roadways bus collided with a tree in SouthEast Delhi’s Sukhdev Vihar area near New Friends Colony injuring at least 20 people in

the early hours of Saturday. The driver of the bus absconded after the

kept at the Ram Janma Bhoomi complex for observation. Small models of the Ram temple being prepared in Uttarakhand have reached Ayodhya.

They are also available for common people.

Ashish Kumar Gupta, who runs a shop in Shringarhat in Ramnagri, says that he has ordered a sample model from Uttarakhand.

Panic grips LDA as DM raids, cracks whip on Authority

First India Bureau Varanasi: A Canadian university will soon return to India a unique statue of Hindu goddess Annapoorna that was stolen from a shrine in Varanasi over a century ago and found its way to the varsity’s art gallery.

The statue is part of the University of Regina’s collection at the MacKenzie Art Gallery.

The statue was part of the original 1936 bequest by Norman MacKenzie, the gallery’s namesake.

Indian-origin artist Divya Mehra caught sight of this idol during World Heritage Week and brought to the attention to the fact that the statue had been wrongfully taken over a century ago.

When the current administration at the University and the MacKenzie Art Gallery were alerted to the documentation which revealed the statue as an object of culture theft, both institutions committed to taking appropriate action, the varsity said.

The university called the move an attempt to “right historical wrongs” and help overcome the “damaging

temple and directed it to be kept in the office.

He also told that they too are preparing such models of Ram temple.

After it arrives, better one out of the both will be kept. A member of the trust office said that it would be presented to guests under special circumstances.

It is also discussed that soon the big model of Ram temple will be

BOGUS PLOTS ENTRY CASE

ALL TO CONTROL POLLUTION

varsity to return Varanasi idol stolen a century ago

07

accident.

At about 3:22 am a call about accident near

Sukhdev Vihar was received in Police station NFC. The police team rushed to the spot immediately.

“A UP roadways bus collided with a tree on Mathura road opposite CRRI office, near CNG pump. Bus was coming from Bah, Agra and enroute to ISBT Sarai Kale Khan. Many people were injured,” said RP Meena, DCP SouthEast Delhi.

Lucknow: Lucknow District Authority VC Abhishek Prakash raided the LDA office on Saturday afternoon on information about possible tampering with land documents.

He ordered the main gate to be shut which stirred up the situation as no one was allowed to go out.

The Gomti Nagar police has taken six employees with them in connection to the case.

District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash said that he discovered about the tampering of documents by the land mafia and anarchic elements, basis which this action has been taken.

An FIR will be lodged by the Department of Acquisition in

the case. He informed that the collusion of some officers has also come to light, and disciplinary action will be taken against all of them.

The District Magistrate directed many officers and employees of LDA to be suspended and some employees were arrested.

LDA employees are in a panic due to this surprise raid. Some employees have gone on leave for fear of action. LISU handed over the list of officers and their commission to VC Abhishek Prakash.

In which 8 percent commission was being taken in the name of VC. During this raid, DM found many negligence and disturbances.

Absconding son calls father for money, caught alive after mistakenly being cremated

DM’S HUMBLE MOTHER REFUSES VIP TREATMENT

B

abita Devi, the mother of the DM of Lucknow and VC of LDA Abhishek Prakash sent out a message on the

occasion of Chhath puja. She is well aware that her son DM Abhishek Prakash is engaged in combating corona round the clock and also trying to make the best possible arrangements for the Chhath puja amid

corona scare. When DM’s mother, who hails from Bihar, decided to celebrate Chhath, the subordinates of DM Abhishek Prakash suggested making VIP arrangements for her puja separately on the banks of Gomti river.

But Babita Devi denied any such privilege and decided to observe the Chhath puja with his son at his official residence.

She prayed to the Sun God by offering the customary Ardhya while praying to save humanity from coronavirus.

—Ahtesham Siddiqui

CORONA ALERT IN POETIC STYLE!

T

he revived threat of coronavirus has alerted the Uttar Pradesh government as well. Finance and Medical Education Minister Suresh Khanna, who is also holding the responsibility of Covid-19 arrangements in the state, called up DM of Lucknow IAS Abhishek Prakash on phone and said that the winds blowing from Delhi will soon be knocking on the doors of Lucknow, travelling via Noida and Ghaziabad, so the DM

must prepare to stop these winds from entering the capital of Uttar Pradesh. This is the poetic style of Finance Minister Suresh Khanna who conveys the biggest messages in the most poetic manner.

—Vishal Srivastav

Bijnor: A businessman from Dhampur in Bijnor had cremated a body found in Delhi as his son Pallav Aron, but after three-and-ahalf months, the police have found him alive.

It is being told that there were serious differences between father and son. Pallav was hiding in Haridwar after his disappearance.

Two days ago he called his father and asked for Rs 20 lakh.

After this, his father informed the police

and the police caught him from Haridwar. Police is interrogating him.

42-year-old Pallav went missing on July 6.

Advertisements were made to search for him.

During this time a body was found from Delhi railway station.

The family identified the body as Pallav and cremated him.

Everyone assumed that Pallav is no longer alive until he was caught, said SP Dr. Dharmveer Singh.

soul too.

Regular exercise is beneficial not just for the body, I believe it empowers the mind and

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

LUCKNOW | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020

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COVID-19 UPDATE

WORLD

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DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN 2,146 DEATHS 2,40,676 CASES

gress and Left despite the best efforts and opposition of Mamata Banerjee. This time the Left parties are forming an alliance with the Congress with an open heart and mind, under which both parties will have a common election manifesto, common agenda and common campaign for the battle of Bengal.

WHY DID NITISH WANT TO SIT IN THE OPPOSITION? here is an Urdu couplet ‘ Tujhse naraz bhi hun aur tere pehlu mein bhi hun. Mohabbat ka yah dastoor naya naya sa hai, ki mujhe ruthna na aaya, tujhe manana na aaya.’

Although Nitish Kumar is once again heading the NDA government in Bihar discarding all pre-poll calculations, exit poll predictions and new aspiration theory, but it seems that all is not well between the BJP and Nitish Kumar. The elec- t i o n

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DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

KARNATAKA 11,641 DEATHS 8,71,342 CASES

BY TRIDIB RAMAN

results and trends by the evening of November 10 had made it amply clear that NDA was well on its way on the path of victory but when till late night Nitish did not issue any statement regarding forming the government in Bihar, the seniors in BJP got worried. Nitish started hinting his close ones that since JDU was reduced to mere 43 seats from the earlier 71, he would like to obey the mandate of the people and sit in the Opposition. Next day in New Delhi when PM Modi and Amit Shah left their residences for party headquarter to participate in the ‘Bihar Vijay’ function, both the top leaders called Nitish on phone and asked him to release a statement. In the evening is symbolic statement was released

by Nitish, “People of Bihar are the masters who have given majority to the NDA, I bow down in respect of the people of Bihar. I also thank PM Shri Narendra Modi ji for the cooperation which I am receiving from him.’ This was a short tweet after a long silence of Nitish Kumar.

SUSHIL MODI WAS THE WEAKNESS OF NITISH ccording to the sources, after the grand celebration of ‘Bihar Vijay’ in BJP Central headquarters, the PM himself called Nitish again and told him that he wanted to shift Sushil Modi to Delhi so Nitish

A

had a choice of either of the three—Nityanand Rai, RK Singh and Giriraj Singh—as his deputy CM. Nitish is said to have replied sarcastically that why was PM limiting himself in suggesting the name of deputy CM, BJP could very well make its own CM. Sources say here PM Modi did not let the sarcasm of Nitish derail his line of thought because then he said anyone from our party workers is deserving of all the posts possible but right now we are only trying to build a consensus on the name of deputy CM. When the BJP became aware of the fact that Nitish did not Sushil Modi

Samajwadi Party likely to reap the major benefits; fate of Shivpal camp leaders in doldrums LITTLE HOPE

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav with uncle Shivpal Yadav.

BSP. The BJP has one seat. Here the BJP has never been able to challenge the SP-BSP. Congress is fighting for survival.

Congress and SP fought together in 2017.

Even after the mobilisation of backward classes votes for BJP, the

Covid-19: HC censures delay in trial court proceedings First India Bureau Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad HC has expressed concern over the delay in proceedings in trial courts as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, saying that an accused could not be incarcerated indefinitely.

A bench of Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan made the observation on the bail plea of one Ram Niwas alias Nankan. Advocate Manoj Mishra argued that the applicant had been in judicial custody in a dowry death

case for more than one and-a-half years. ADJ, F.T.C-I, Gonda has submitted status report dated 5.11.2020, which indicates that charge has already been framed in March.

Thereafter, the trial proceedings are held up due to COVID-19, however, date has been fixed for examination of witness as 26.11.2020. The bench posed a query earlier than the state lawyer as to whether liberty of the accused could also be curtailed when the trial courts are unable to proceed the trial.

party got only one seat.

It is a different matter that for the first time the party was second in four seats. This has increased the enthusiasm of the BJP, but it knows it isn’t a cakewalk here.

SP considers Azamgarh as the safest district. In 2012, it won

nine of ten seats. The Mubarakpur seat went to the BSP only because Ramdarshan Yadav, former district president of SP, contested on BJP ticket by rebelling from the party. He later returned to the SP. But in 2016, after a dis-

CONFIRMED CASES

GUJARAT 3,846 DEATHS 1,95,917 CASES

NITISH FALTERS itish has experience of taking oath 7 times for the post of CM and Central minister and yet this time while taking the oath of CM he was tense, unsettled and the same was visible from his expressions too. When he reached the podium to take the oath as CM, he took the oath of the post and went towards the register to sign it. He was only stopped by the Governor and reminded that he was yet to take the oath of secrecy which means that Nitish had only read out the first page and had not even bothered to look at the second page. Normally such mistakes are committed by the first timers but it was surprising that a seasoned Nitish faulted on such an occasion.

All throughout the oath taking ceremony there was a vacant chair between Amit Shah and Nitish Kumar and

N

Azamgarh key in Chacha-Bhatija union

Shishir Awasthi

DEATHS

DELHI 8,270 DEATHS 5,23,117 CASES

FIRST INDIA SUNDAY SPECIAL

Mamata Banerjee

Lucknow: Even as Akhilesh Yadav is warming up to uncle Shivpal Yadav for the 2022 assembly poll prospects, this marriage of convenience may be more fruitful to the SP than Shivpal’s Progressive Samajwadi Party (Lohia).

Several turncoat SP leaders who had joined Shivpal’s party may stare at defeat in SP bastion Azamgarh, which is set to play a key role in deciding the fate of these leaders.

Azamgarh has ten assembly seats, of which five are held by the SP and four by

UTTAR PRADESH

1,382,851 5,82,30,549 1,33,218 90,92,177 7,524 5,24,223

MAHARASHTRA 46,573 DEATHS 17,74,455 CASES

JOINT WAR CRY BY CONGRESS AND COMMUNISTS. he Congress and the Communist parties will fight the West Bengal Assembly elections together. Not that they weren’t together in the last Assembly elections, but then only the party heads had come together while the party cadre of both the parties was not heart to heart. So, it was Mamata’s Trinamool which took the advantage of the rift between the party cadre of the Congress and the Communists. Sources say that this time the Congress and the left parties have decided to go in for the Assembly contest following the ‘Siliguri Model’. This model had made Ashok Bhattacharya Mayor with the support of Con-

INDIA

08

pute between Shivpal and Akhilesh, Ramdarshan again joined PSPL. From this seat, Akhilesh has lost two consecutive elections.

Ramdarshan Yadav has been the sole reason for it. Similarly, after the formation of PSPL, senior SP leader Hemraj Paswan also left Akhilesh for Shivpal.

PSPL District President Ram Pyare Yadav is also an old SP leader.

He joined Shivpal to get a chance to fight Atraulia, but now, his hopes are diminishing because Dr Sangram Yadav, son of SP National General Secretary Balaram Yadav is Atraulia MLA.

want any BJP heavyweight leader as his deputy CM, immediately the names of Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi emerged. Tarkishore Prasad, simply because he belongs to the same caste as of Sushil Modi which would have kept the Baniya voters of the BJP satisfied and Renu Devi, besides being a woman hailed from the region from which BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal came. That was like killing three birds with single stone as it not only balanced the overpowering ambitions of Sushil Modi and Jaiswal at one go but the most important aspect of floating these two names was that Nitish did not have objection to any of them.

things didn’t stop at that. Throughout the ceremony both leaders were not seen talking to each other even once. It is worth recalling that Amit Shah had kept distance from the Bihar elections due to Corona.

When the election campaigning was at its peak in Bihar, Shah chose to go to Bankura in West Bengal rather than campaign in Bihar. As soon as the National Anthem finished during the oath taking ceremony Shah got up from his chair and started heading towards the exit. Nitish tried to catch up with Shah but he had gone ahead and did not even turn back once.

The author is a journalist and political commentator and views expressed are his personal

Nitish Kumar

Govt commited to boosting state’s economy: ACS Sehgal First India Bureau Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Chief Secretary, Information, Navneet Sehgal addressing the press representatives at Lok Bhawan said that the state government was constantly making efforts for economic activities to grow more rapidly in the state.

New MSME units are being opened with the back-up of the government to create employment opportunities.

About 818,279 units of micro, small, medium and large category are operational, in which 51.78 lakh workers

ACS Navneet Sehgal

areemployed.

To get the old units out of the problem of working capital, loans worth Rs 10,854 crore are being distributed and sanctioned to 4.37 lakh units in coordination with banks in

the self-sufficient package.Jobs will be made available to the people by creating employment opportunities through micro and small scale industries.

In coordination with banks, 6.40 lakh new MSME units have been given a loan of Rs 18,900 crore after lock-down in the current financial year.Navneet Sehgal said a big loan fair will also be organised soon.

In 59000 ‘Our Village Panchayats’, work is being done to distribute complimentary nutrition and ration to women SHGs and only Mahila Bank Sakhi is being deployed.

YOGI IN ACTION

Bureaucratic reshuffle: Six PCS officers shifted Ahtesham Siddiqui Lucknow: The Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh is making frequent transfers to bring the law and order back on track.

In the last one month, the government has transferred IAS, PCS and other officers more than six times. Continuing the trend, more than half a dozen PCS officers have been issued transfer orders in the latest rejig.

In a hush-hush ac-

tion, the information was sent to the officers’ mobile phones through WhatsApp message.

The PCS officers have also raised question on transfers now, asking the reason for the transfer lists of PCS officers being kept so confidential by the government.

PCS Vaibhav Mishra, Exam Control, Subordinate Service Selection Commission, Lucknow has been made GM Sugar Mill. PCS Pankaj Kumar, Najool Adhikari, Lucknow Development

Vaibhav Mishra

Authority has been transferred to GM Sugar Mill.

PCS Shiv Pratap

Pankaj Kumar

Shukla is now GM Sugar Corporation from Greater Noida Authority, Noida. PCS Deven-

dra Kumar has also been made GM Sugar C o r p o r a t i o n .

Along with this, Deputy Collector PCS Vinay Singh posted in Varanasi is new City Magistrate of Prayagraj. City Magistrate PCS Rajneesh Mishra posted in Prayagraj has been made Controller of Examination, UP Subordinate Services Selection Commission, Lucknow.

Sources say Additional Chief Secretary Sugar Cane, senior IAS officer Sanjay Bhusreddy

had demanded 4 to 5 PCS officers to run sugar mills because the officers already posted in them have completed their tenure and want to come back in the field.

Therefore, the Appointment Department has sent 4 PCS officers to the sugar mill, later the department will deploy them in different sugar mills as GMs. Surprisingly the GM of the sugar mill does not even get the salary on time, so where will the these officers be posted?

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09

LUCKNOW, SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2020

L-R: Shivani Jain, Nandini Soni, Mahima Choudhry, Khushi Ajwani and Faiza Sayyed

OH, SO GLAMOROUS! —PHOTOS BY SANTOSH SHARMA

Rajasthan’s oldest beauty pageant, Miss Rajasthan 2020 completed its three-day ‘Interview Round’ on Saturday in the Pink City. In the closing ceremony, the participants started a Corona Awareness campaign!

Jagdeesh Chandra with Yogesh and Nimisha Mishra along with the team of ‘Miss Rajasthan 2020’

NEHAL NAYAR

nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in

A Clockwise: Mansi Bainada, Kanchan Khatana, Mahima Choudhry, Khushi Ajwani, Faiza Sayyed

three-daylong interview round of R a j a s t h a n ’s oldest beauty pageant, Miss Rajasthan ended on Friday at Hotel Grand Uniara in Jaipur.

During the closing ceremony of the same, the participants kick-started a Corona

Awareness campaign for the people in the state.

Organised by Yogesh and Nimisha Mishra from Fusion Group, Miss Rajasthan 2020’s interview round was held for three days, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with a total of 180 contestants- 60 contestants being interviewed every day.

Talking about hosting the interviews, Yogesh and Nimisha stated, “Organising the interview round during the Corona period was a very big task. But we made sure to follow all the necessary guidelines given by the government, to safeguard everyone present at the event.”

Jagdeesh Chandra was the chief guest on the closing

ceremony and declared that 180 girls of Miss Rajasthan will be starting a campaign, where they would be educating people across the state about how they can take care of themselves during the Corona pandemichow important it is to use a mask, and all about social distancing.

The results of the interview round will be announced soon, where a total of 26 girls will be selected to be a part of the finale. 2 more contestants will be given a golden ticket, as per who receives the maximum number of votes. The finale will be held with a total of 28 best contestants at the end.

The judging panel of the Interview Round

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ARIES

MAR 21 - APR 20 Make a big splash as the week begins! Monday is an excellent day for pioneering ideas and activities. On Tuesday and Wednesday, count on your ambition and enthusiasm to drive you ahead.

You just need to focus on getting things done.

Thursday and Friday are likewise great days for action and advancement, but that focus will shift slightly to include getting help from (giving help to) other like-minded people.

TAURUS

APR 21 - MAY 20 You might have a hard time trusting others on Monday, and you should pay heed to that hesitance. On Tuesday and Wednesday, make people plans. You’ll be energized by socializing, and you’ll learn a lot by mixing up ideas and activities with like-minded people. On Thursday and Friday, forge ahead on your own plans and don’t get distracted -- especially by anyone who’s just looking to get a rise out of you for their own entertainment.

WEEKLY 22 TO 28 NOVEMBER MILEY CYRUS, WHOSE BIRTHDAY FALLS ON 23 NOVEMBER, WILL HAVE A GOOD YEAR OVERALL. WORK SHE HAS DONE IN THE PAST BEGINS TO PAY OFF – NOT NECESSARILY IN DRAMATIC WAYS, BUT IN SMALL, MEASURABLE WAYS. SHE MAY BE RECOGNIZED OR REWARDED IN SOME WAY FOR THE EFFORTS SHE HAS PUT FORTH. THIS IS A YEAR IN WHICH SHE PUTS HER LIFE IN ORDER IN SOME SIGNIFICANT MANNER. IMPROVED CONCENTRATION, A MORE REALISTIC OUTLOOK, AND A PRACTICAL AWARENESS OF THE LIMITS OF TIME ALL HELP HER TO MAKE STEADY PROGRESS, PARTICULARLY IN HER CAREER. HER CONCERN FOR HER FUTURE THIS YEAR IS STRONGER THAN USUAL, AND SHE MAY FIND THAT PROJECTS SHE STARTS OR INVESTMENTS SHE MAKES, THIS YEAR WILL BENEFIT HER FOR YEARS TO COME.

LUCKNOW | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020

10

LIBRA

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22 You can communicate with unusual quickness and clarity as the week begins. On Tuesday and Wednesday, you’ll feel the depressing pressure of old problems and issues, but don’t give into that maudlin mood -- you’re too affable and easygoing for such self-indulgent whining. On Thursday and Friday, it’s time to take on something new. This weekend, look for beauty in life’s little things and share your perspective with someone else.

SCORPIO

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22 Go on and get up caught up in the moment on Monday! Your week begins with an overdue surge of impulsiveness . On Tuesday and Wednesday, hit up the to get what you want.

Opportunities have finally aligned themselves to match your ambitions, and you need to strike while the iron is hot. On Thursday and Friday, harmony in your home could be threatened by unexpected outbursts. This weekend, indulge your imagination and playfulness.

GEMINI

SAGITTARIUS

You just can’t beat teamwork, at least not on Monday. You’ll get the most done (and have the most fun) if you can partner up with others and work towards a common goal. On Tuesday and Wednesday, though, those alliances could become troubled. On Thursday and Friday, expect an unusual influence -- probably from a conversation with someone charismatic. You’ll see things differently and could be inspired to take radical action.

It’s a red-letter Monday! Ah, if only all your weeks could start out this way. All your best qualities -- your playfulness, optimism and good-natured charm -- are doubled for the day.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, you might find yourself feeling a little more conservative.

Thursday and Friday are both great days for trying new things and meeting new people.

Explore with creativity and confidence. This weekend, you can accomplish a lot.

CANCER

CAPRICORN

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23 Do something for yourself on Monday! You’ve done enough for others lately, and you deserve some healthy self-indulgence -- especially if it involves some quiet time to yourself. On Tuesday and Wednesday, expect that introverted trend to continue. Work things out on your own rather than looking for help, and strive to strike a balance between ideas competing in your head. On Thursday and Friday, your thoughts will drift to money and material possessions.

LEO

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23 Romance is on the rise on Monday! You’re full of fire and flirtatiousness as the week begins, and your energy knows no bounds. That confidence and charisma continues into Tuesday and Wednesday, and you’ll have the drive to get what you want, provided you’re willing to help others get what they want, too. On Thursday and Friday, beware of potential conflicts and clashes. On Saturday and Sunday, avoid any interaction involving money.

VIRGO

AUG 24 - SEP 23 You’ll want to rush ahead on Monday, but you can’t, and you’ll need to just go with the flow.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, all that hard work and planning you did will finally pay off. Your ambitions will be satisfied right now -- in your work and maybe even in your love life. On Thursday and Friday, you might need to take a new approach. This weekend, you’ll need to make peace with other people’s pace.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

DEC 23 - JAN 20

Anything is possible on Monday with a little perseverance. You just need to dig in and stick to your plans to make things happen as the week begins. On Tuesday and Wednesday, your amazing proficiency for planning continues to save the day. On Thursday and Friday, you might want to switch things up a little -- try some spontaneous solutions and ad hoc approaches to the problems at hand. This weekend, make close connections with others.

AQUARIUS

JAN 21 - FEB 19

Find a common cause on Monday. You’ll do your best work -- and have the most fun, too!

-- if you can connect with others who want the same things you do. On Tuesday and Wednesday, you’ll need to buckle down a little if you’re hoping to make the same progress.

On Thursday and Friday, a big boost of energy and inspiration will instigate a change. This weekend, put yourself first.

PISCES

FEB20 - MARCH 20 Luck is on your side on Monday! Fortune favors you as the week begins, provided you’re smart and attentive about how you press your advantage. On Tuesday and Wednesday, lead the way. On Thursday and Friday, you’ll want to help everyone you meet -- and you just might be able to pull it off. This weekend, indulge yourself. The more lavish the activity, the better.

ETC

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LUCKNOW | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020

11

Happiest Season

Working out

K

...her post

WEEKEND IN STYLE

A

c t r e s s Ananya Panday may have skipped her Dubai trip with her parents Chunky Panday and Bhavana prior to Diwali due to her film shoot in Goa, but she is certainly not in the mood to miss it again.

Her recent Instagram photos from Dubai prove that her weekend is off to a great start in the beautiful city.

The Khaali Peeli star had wrapped up a schedule of shooting for Shakun Batra’s film in Goa prior to Diwali and had returned to Mumbai. Taking to her Instagram handle, Ananya dropped stunning photos as she posed by a waterbody in Dubai.

—Agency

...her post

virtually

risten Stewart recently spoke up about her much-anticipated rom-com Happiest Season in a new interview with The Guardian. Talking about the film and its importance of showing two female leads at the centre of a love story, Kristen, 30, said it is “extremely attractive.” Speaking to The Guardian, Kristen also added: “It’s a gay Christmas movie and I know that’s an annoying thing to label it right off the bat, but, for me, that is extremely attractive, and sounds like... a huge exhale.”

Kristen went on to admit that it was important as she didn’t grow up with films that had “two female leads at the centre of a love story” and she would have loved to have seen more movies feature a LGBTQ+ couple. Not to say there hasn’t been great queer content made over the years that has been really beautiful, and really important touchstones. But at the same time, it’s not something that I grew up with, and I would have loved to.”

—Agency

I

t seems like Shraddha Kapoor is hooked to Yoga during her time at home and even on a weekend morning, the gorgeous star followed her daily routine to practice asanas at home. The Stree star has been spending time at home amid the ongoing pandemic. She has also been keeping her fans updated about shenanigans via her social media handle. And since she cannot head to her workout studio, she has been working out virtually with her trainers.

Taking to her Instagram story, Shraddha shared a photo in which she is seen performing different yoga asanas effortlessly. In the photo, she is seen sporting a light purple top with black shorts and her hair is neatly tied in a plait.

—Agency

It’s a gay Christmas movie and I know that’s an annoying thing to label it right off the bat, but, for me, that is extremely attractive, and sounds like... a huge exhale.

Aananya Panday

Kristen Strewart

SIA’S

Songwriter VAANI’S EXPERIENCE of the Year REACTION

A

T

aylor Swift recently accepted a huge award (virtually) and she was looking super chic doing it.

The 30-year-old singer-songwriter filmed an acceptance speech for the 2020 Apple Music Awards, where she was named Songwriter of the Year, which was chosen

by Apple Music’s editorial team.

In her acceptance speech, Taylor said: “Winning Songwriter of the Year in any capacity in any year would be so exciting, but I think it’s really special because this particular year was a year where I really feel like songwriting was the one thing that was able to keep me connected to fans that I wasn’t able to see in concert.”

—Agency

Vaani Kapoor and Akshay Kumar

S

ia recently reacted to criticism of her upcoming movie. The Chandelier singer responded to some social media outcry following the release of the trailer for her upcoming movie, Music, which stars Kate Hudson and Maddie Ziegler. “I want you to work every day knowing that we’re trying to show love for all of the caregivers, and for all of the people on the autism Sia spectrum, that this movie is for them. If we can keep our egos out of it, that would be great,” Sia said while making the film. She also admitted she was scared to address her diagnosis directly at first “because if I made it clear [what her diagnosis was, then I might offend somebody.” —Agency

Shraddha Kapoor

THAI GLASS NOODLES SALAD

VRTIKA JAIN

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Taylor Swift

film that kicked off and wrapped up shooting amid a global pandemic of COVID 19 was Akshay Kumar and Vaani Kapoor starrer Bell Bottom. While it surely became an achievement to shoot the film successfully amid a pandemic, it wasn’t an easy task. Talking about the experience of working with Akshay for the first time, Vaani Kapoor could not stop praising him. She claimed that the actor can ‘ace any genre.’ Further, she shared that on the sets, he was friendly and that he ensured that the entire crew and cast would sit together for lunch and dinner with each other like a family.

—Agency

INGREDIENTS: Glass Noodles- 250 Gm Spring Onions - 6-7 with greens Green Capsicum -One ( Medium Size ) Grated Carrot - 1 ( medium Size ) Mint leaves - 4-5 ( fresh ) and a sprig for garnishing Coriander Sprigs - 5-6 Lemon Grass Stem - 1 One medium-light green, unpeeled cucumber 5 fresh red chillies 1 TSP grated ginger

1 tsp grated ginger Salt and black pepper to taste 1 Tbsp lemon juice 2 Tbsp honey

METHOD: Boil water in a non - stick pan.

Cut spring onions with greens in diamond-shaped pieces and put it into a bowl. Quarter cucumber vertically, remove the seeds and cut again into long thin strips and put this into the same bowl and mix bowl.

Put glass noodles into the boiling water and switch off the heat and let it remain for a couple of minutes.

Drain and put into a bowl of 2 cups cold water and separate it’s layered gently, cut capsicum into long thin strips and mix with cucumber and spring

onions, add carrot and mix well.

For the dressing, finely chopped lemon grass and put it into a separate bowl finely chop red chillies and add to the same bowl add ginger, salt, lemon juice, honey, and mix well.

Add the dressing reserving some, to the bowl of vegetables and mix well.

Drain the noodles and add them to bowl and mix well.

Finely chop mint leaves and coriander sprig and add to the bowl. Drizzle the reserved dressing and mix well.

Transfer onto a serving plate and serve garnished with a sprig of mint.

Healthy Glass Noodle Salad is Ready.

CITY BUZZ LUCKNOW | SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020

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CITY FIRST

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he audition of seventh season of Rajasthan’s most prestigious beauty pageant ‘Elite Miss Rajasthan’ was held in at Maheshwari Resort, Kota, on Saturday.

More than 95 girls participated in the Kota audition, out of which Shivani Pancholi, Priyanka Mathur, and Vanshika Bajaj were chosen as the finalists of Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020.

Ayush Vijay, the director of Kota Chapter, Elite Miss Rajasthan coordinated the event and encouraged all the participants. The eminent panel of judges included distinguished personalities like Face of Elite Miss Rajasthan– Shevia Gautam, Elite Miss Rajasthan 2015– Sonakshi Chanana, Elite Miss Rajasthan 2014– Surbhi Joshi, Elite Miss Rajasthan 2018– Tripti Sharma, Elite Miss Rajasthan 2019 finalist– Dr Aashi Verma, and Elite Miss Rajasthan 2019 Rising Star– Ishika Dhabhai along with Daisy Chowdhury, Jaya Meena, and Syed Almas. They graded the girls according to their talent, communication skills, selfpresentation, catwalk, attitude and confidence.

Special care was taken for safety and sanitation. Complying with all the govern-

ELITE AT

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DURING THE DAY!

KOTA

Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal druing the session RAJ: Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal attended the ongoing Digital Children’s Fair to keep the enthusiasm of the Bal Mela team and the contestants. The event is being organised with the courtesy of Future Society and LIC at the State level. Meghwal said, “Bal Mela is a good step in the interest of children. He appealed to the children of the state to come forward and participate in the Bal Mela.” During the event, the artisans participating in ten different categories of Bal Mela, through their art, presented their talent to Minister Meghwal. He also gave tips to all the contestants who attended the Bal Mela to remain stress-free.

RAJ: 17-year-old Harsh Godha from Jaipur triumphed his fear to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.

This achievement is huge in many ways because Harsh has been suffering from Type-1 diabetes since the age of 10 and has to take 4 insulins in a day to keep himself going. This treatment made it even more difficult for Harsh to climb the highest single free-standing mountain in the world but he achieved this feat in the first go with his strong willpower and determination.

Shivani Pancholi, Priyanka Mathur, Gaurav Gaur and Vanshika Bajaj

ment orders, a biosecure bubble was installed at the audition location. Complete sanitisation and no mask, no entry policy was also fol-

lowed. All the contestants were allowed in the auditions with sanitisers and masks, on a compulsory scale. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

From top: Shivani Pancholi and Priyanka Mathur

Condolences

Book Launching CITY FIRST

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he latest book of Dr Shashi Tharoor - The Battle of Belonging was launched on Friday under the Kitaab Series.

Kitaab is an initiative of Prabha Khaitan Foundation. This was in association with Aleph Book Company. During the occasion, Hamid Ansari Former Vice

President of India, Dr. Farooq Abdullah Former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir and Chairman of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, Pavan Varma Author- Diplomat and Former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Prof. Makrand Paranjape who is currently thr Director at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shim-

la David Davidar Publisher & Managing Director, Aleph Book Company, Apra Kuchhal, Convener PKF were present along. Dr Shashi Tharoor is the bestselling author of over twenty books, both fiction and nonfiction, besides being a noted critic and columnist, he is the longest-serving member of the Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

GUJ: Renowned singer Bhoomi Trivedi along with Osman Mir is all set to mesmerized the audience with their brand new Gujarati song ‘Utsav’ which connects with Indian tradition and culture not just in Gujarat or India but all across the globe targeting youth and all age groups.

RAJ: Actress Akanksha Singh was seen enjoying the Leopard Safari in Jhalana, Jaipur on Saturday morning.

The actress said, “It is incredible to have a beautiful forest reserve inside Jaipur”. During the Jhalana Leopard Safari, Rohit and Kunal Gangwal were present with Akanksha Singh.

—Photo by Mukesh Kiradoo

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tribute meeting o former president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Shiv Bhagwan Sharma was organised on Friday at Goseva Camp Adarsh Vidya Mandir, Churu.

While highlighting his life philosophy on this occasion, Principal Sharad Sharma said that Guruji retired from the post of Additional District Education Officer in the year 1989. After retirement, he devoted his entire life to social service. On this occasion, several dignitaries including Vishwanath Gotewala and Sanvarmal paid homage. cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

DAND DIABETES SHORT FILMS ASSOCIATION

AWARD WINNING

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he two short films ‘Life in Lockdown’ and ‘Jaipur Activists’ of Eshan Harsh, a first-year student of Amity University, Jaipur, got selected and are in the Competition Category at the Cinemaking International Film Festival to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The festival will be held on 24 December 24, 2020.

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mega medical camp is being organised at 100 places across the globe by Dand Diabetes Association on 22 November, today, with following all the guidelines of the corona epidemic.

Convener of the camp and Dr Sunil Dand of Dand Diabetes Association informed that keeping in mind the social distancing

and all other guidelines, they have made more than 100 volunteers Roshni Mitra for this camp. Wherever these Roshni Mitra volunteers reside, they will check people’s blood sugar, BP and pulse oximeter inside their houses. To find out the oxygen level and if any person shows a lack of oxygen, then they will send them for medical consultation immediately.

Dr Sunil added that for the first time such a diabetes camp is being organised. Volunteers have been trained for this. These volunteers will take their blood sugar test kit from 8 am and send test result of their areas. Dand Diabetes Association has also applied for the Golden Book of World Records for this camp.

District Governor Lion Alok Aggarwal informed that an online doctor panel discussion is also being organized with the medical camp at 5:00 pm in which Dr Sunil Dand, Dr Jitendra Makkar and Dr RK Surekha will give information about diabetes and complications related to it.

GUJ: Entrepreneur and Social Philanthropist Piyuus Jaiswal celebrated Chhath Puja with family on Saturday in Surat.

HAPPY B’DAY!

Eshan Harsh

Eshan’s film ‘Jaipur Activists’ is designed to bring awareness that just by putting some posts and creating awareness online to clean the city is not enough. For this, you need to take initiative to clean your city on your own. Before this, the film has been screened in more than 9+ Film Festivals across the globe and has won awards. The short film ‘Life in Lockdown’ is about a woman who is caged in her own home and thinks how life can be lived with limited resources like fishes in an aquarium.

Eshan is also a jury member of the Reel Youth Film Festival of Canada for the last 2 years.

RAJ: Pink City’s prestigious ‘Jaipur Jewellery Show’ (JJS) is not going to be held this year in view of the circumstances of the Covid epidemic. The decision was taken unanimously in the JJS Organising Committee meeting held on Saturday.

(RAJ) IAS Jitendra Kumar, IPS Dr Nitin Deep Baggal and (UP) IAS Abhishek Prakash celebrated their birthdays on 21 November, Saturday. We wish them all the best!