Do other states in India also

NEW DELHI, JUN 15

(PTI): Political parties should forget their differences and join hands in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic in Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday after chairing an all-party meet.

Leaders of the BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Congress and the BSP attended the meeting with the Home Minister, who had on Sunday announced a slew of measures, including ramping up of testing facilities, after holding discussions with the Delhi government and the civic bodies on the coronavirus crisis.

Pitching for political unity to inspire confidence among the people, Shah appealed to the representatives of the four parties to urge their workers to ensure implementation of the Delhi government’s coronavirus guidelines on the ground.

These steps will enhance public trust and the COVID-19 situation in Delhi will improve soon, Shah said.

All parties should forget their political differences and work together for the people of Delhi, he

Amit Shah with Ajay Bhalla chairs a meeting with doctors at LNJP hospital in New Delhi, June 15. (PTI)

was quoted as saying in the meeting by a home ministry spokesperson.

Shah briefed the parties about the decisions taken by the government after he held two separate meetings with Delhi LG Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and the mayors and commissioners of Delhi’s three municipal corporations to strengthen the strategy to fight the coronavirus on Sunday.

There have been frequent run-ins between the LG and the Kejriwal government, which has accused him of acting at the behest of the BJP-led central government. “Shah called on the parties to mobilise their party workers to help implement the decisions taken by the central government for the welfare of the people of Delhi,” the spokesperson said. “He appealed all the parties to rise above political differences in the interest of the people. Political unity will create confidence among the public and lead to improvement in the pandemic situation in the capital,” he said. Shah said, “We all have to stand united under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this fight against the pandemic.”

The home minister said COVID-19 testing in Delhi has to be increased by adopting new techniques.

The meetings have been held in the wake of a spurt in novel coronavirus cases in the national capital.

After the Sunday meeting, Shah had announced that COVID-19 tests would be started at every polling station in the containment zones and a comprehensive house-to-house health survey would be conducted in the hotspots for contact tracing.

He had said testing for coronavirus will be doubled in Delhi over the next two days and subsequently tripled.

In view of a shortage of beds for coronavirus patients in Delhi, the Modi government has decided to immediately provide 500 railway coaches, which will be equipped with all facilities, Shah had said.

The pandemic has infected over 41,000 in the national capital so far and claimed more than 1,300 lives.

PAT I A L A , J U N 1 5

(AGENCIES): The Patiala Media Club on Monday filed a complaint against controversial singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu Moosewala for allegedly threatening the media for writing against him and also for using highly rude language against the journalist fraternity.

The complaint was handed over to Patiala SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu, who has assured of a thorough investigation into the case.

“The singer has even asked his supporters to thrash mediapersons. In a live video, viral on social media, he took names of some media organisations and said that he is least bothered about writings and news against him. He has used highly offensive language against the fraternity and said that they should be cautious in future if they write or air any news against him. He said that if done so, they will face the consequences,” said the club president Gurpreet Singh Chatha who along with senior members of the club met the SSP at his office.

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD, JUN 15 (PTI):

Pakistani authorities on Monday detained two officials of the Indian high commission in Islamabad in a case of alleged “hit and run” and released them after over 10 hours following India’s strong demarche and a blunt message to Islamabad that the duo must be freed immediately.

The Pakistani action is seen as a retaliation for the expulsion of two Pakistani High Commission officials by India on charges of espionage two weeks back.

Pakistani media reported that the two Indian staffers were arrested by Pakistani agencies for their alleged involvement in a “hit and run” case, but there was no official word on it from Islamabad.

The non-diplomat staffers were back in the high commission after they were released by Pakistani authorities, government sources said, adding they left the mission in a vehicle at around 8 AM (Pakistan time) but did not reach their destination.

In the morning, the two staffers in Islamabad went missing following which India took up the matter with the Pakistan Foreign Office, sources said.

Within hours of the development, India summoned the Pakistan charge d’affaires Syed Haider Shah to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi and served him a demarche, lodging its strong protest over the reported arrest of the two officials.

In the demarche, it was made clear to Shah that there should be no interrogation or harassment of the Indian officials and the responsibility for their safety and security was squarely on the Pakistani authorities, sources said. Pakistan was also asked to return the two officials along with the official car of the high commission immediately.

The two staffers are believed to be CISF personnel and working as drivers at the mission.

According to Pakistani media, they were charged with rash driving, hitting a pedestrian and for carrying fake currency. The two were arrested after a BMW car hit a pedestrian who was walking on the city’s Embassy Road at around 8am, Geo News reported, quoting some eyewitnesses.

NEW DELHI, JUN 15

(IANS): The Supreme Court on Monday declined to stay the Department of Health and Family Welfare’s April 4 notification whereby certain rules under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act were temporarily suspended.

A bench headed by Justice U.U. Lalit issued notice on the plea challenging the notification, but refused to stay it.

“See the kind of difficult situation the country is in... lot of medical professionals, doctors, required for all this work... we are in a national emergency and the relaxation is also only till June 30,” the bench observed, referring to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The apex court, however, allowed petitioner Sabu Mathew George, appearing through senior advocate Sanjay Parikh, to raise the issue, if it was renewed beyond June 30.

Justice Lalit told Parikh: “You come back to us if the order is not withdrawn on June 30. As of now, we are not staying the order.”

Supreme Court refuses to stay April 4 Temp in India likely to rise by over 4 0 C by end of 21st century

notification on anti-sex selection act

After issuing notice, the top court has scheduled the matter for further hearing in the third week of July.

Claiming certain relaxations in the Act would result in rampant sex determination tests, George had challenged the April 4 notification suspending certain “time sensitive rules with deadlines” under the law that prohibits sex determination before or after conception in view of the pandemic’s outbreak.

The notification suspended rules 8, 9(8) and 18 A (6) of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994, (PC/ PNDT Act). All these rules are to do with certain administrative procedures.

The petition argued that the notification could be misused by unscrupulous sections to conduct sex determination tests freely.

Police later discovered that the two persons were from the Indian high commission. The incident comes two weeks after India expelled two Pakistan High Commission officials here on charges of espionage.

India had declared Abid Hussain and Muhammad Tahir as ‘persona non grata’ after they were found obtaining sensitive documents relating to movement of Indian Army troops from an Indian national, according to authorities here.

Following their expulsion, Pakistani agencies started harassing a number of mission officials in Islamabad including charge d’affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia. Ahluwalia’s car was aggressively tailed by Pakistani agencies on at least two occasions following which India lodged a strong protest with the Pakistan Foreign Office.

It contended the notification is without jurisdiction and a nullity as the PCPNDT Act does not provide any powers for the suspension of the rules made there under, thereby making the act of the Central government illegal.

“The action of the Central Government in suspending certain Rules under the PCPNDT Act, 1994, despite not having the power to do so, violates Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution, as (in addition to being without jurisdiction), the Central Government has arbitrarily and selectively weakened a legislation aimed at curbing the pernicious activity of sex-selection and sex-determination,” said the plea.

The Health Ministry, however, contended that the notification will not dilute the spirit or application of the law in any form, and that sex determination is still strictly prohibited, and the suspension of the three rules doesn’t mean the suspension of the Act.

NEW DELHI, JUN 15

(PTI): The average temperature over India is projected to rise by 4.4 degrees Celsius, while the intensity of heat waves is likely to increase by 3-4 times by the end of the century, according to a government report on the impact of climate change on the country.

India’s average temperature has risen by around 0.7 degree Celsius during 1901–2018, largely on account of Green House Gases-induced warming, states the report by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

It is likely to be published by Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday.

The report has been prepared by the Centre for Climate Change Research, a cell under MoES’ Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.

“By the end of the twenty-first century, average temperature over India is projected to rise by approximately 4.4 degrees Celsius,” the report states.

In the 30-year period between 1986 and 2015, temperatures of the warmest day and the coldest night of the year have risen by about 0.63 degrees Celsius and 0.4 degree Celsius, respectively.

C H E N NA I , J U N 1 5

(AGENCIES): Just days after claiming that the state government had no plans to announce another lockdown in the state, the Tamil Nadu government has declared that Chennai and parts of Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur districts will go under complete lockdown from June 19 to June 30.

Grocery shops, vegetable shops, petrol bunks, and mobile markets can remain open between 6.00 am and 2.00 pm. People driving to the market in their private vehicles will be allowed to travel only within 2 kms from their house.

The blanket ban will mean that only essential services and travel for medical emergencies will be permitted in the four districts.

Under the National Disaster Management Act of 2005, starting from the midnight of June 19, the lockdown will continue for 12 days until the end of this month.

This decision comes after Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami consulted a panel of medical experts regarding the current situation in Chennai and its neighbouring districts which has seen a growing number of COVID-19 cases deaths over the last month. Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar while talking to the media last week had admitted that a lockdown will be announced if the expert panel recommends it.

Complete lockdown in Chennai from June 19

While the areas under the limits of Greater Chennai city police limits in all four districts will be covered under this lockdown, Thiruvallur municipality, Gummidipoondi, Ponneri, minjur, Poonamallee, Eekadu and Cholavaram in Thiruvallur district will also be covered under the lockdown. In Chengalpattu district, Chengalpattu and Maraimalai Nagar towns, Nandivaram, Guduvancheri and Kattankulathur areas will be locked down. In Kancheepuram, only the areas that fall under the limits of the Greater Chennai City police will fall under the new lockdown norms.

Speaking to the media the expert panel stated that they had told the state government that further restrictions were required to control the spread of the virus.

E-passes will be provided for those people requesting to travel out of Chennai only for events like weddings, deaths and medical emergencies.

For those coming to these four districts from outside the state through air, trains and ships, the present norms will be applicable.

By the end of the century, the temperatures of the warmest day and the coldest night are projected to rise by approximately 4.7 degrees Celsius and 5.5 degrees Celsius, respectively, according to the report.

The frequencies of occurrence of warm days and warm nights are projected to increase by 55 per cent and 70 per cent, it says.

“The frequency of summer (April–June) heat waves over India is projected to be 3 to 4 times higher by the end of the twenty-first century,” the report states.

The average duration of heat wave events is also projected to approximately double. The combined rise in surface temperature and humidity, amplification of heat stress is expected across India, particularly over the Indo-Gangetic and Indus river basins, the report

FIR against Cong leader Digvijaya for tweeting ‘edited’ video of CM Shivraj

BHOPAL, JUN 15 (AGEN

CIES): Madhya Pradesh Police registered an FIR against Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh and 11 others on Monday in a case of circulation of an alleged “edited” video of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s old statement on the liquor policy of the previous Kamal Nath government.

Singh said he had no objection to the FIR against him, but the police should also investigate the source of the video and who “edited” it.

On Sunday night, leaders of the ruling BJP submitted a complaint to the police, demanding that an FIR be lodged against Singh for tweeting the alleged “edited” video.

In the video, Chouhan is purportedly seen commenting on the liquor policy of the previous Kamal Nath government.

“On the basis of the complaint, a case has been registered against 12 people, including Digivijaya Singh and Avinash Kadbe (MP Congress’ social media coordinator),” Additional Superintendent of Police Nishchal Jharia told PTI.

They have been charged under Indian Penal Code Sections 500 (defamation), 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), 505 (2) (public mischief) and 465 (forgery), the official said. Jharia said the FIR was registered after the complaint received from BJP leaders was found to be “right” in preliminary investigation.

“Further action would be taken after the investigation, he said.

Reacting to the development, Digvijaya Singh said the BJP is upset as he raised an issue of cheating in Chief Minister Chouhan’s constituency.

“The BJP has been fuming and is perturbed since I wrote to Chouhan that tribals in his constituency Budhni were duped of Rs 450 crore by his agents. No action was taken during Chouhans (previous) tenure. I wrote to him that if no action would be taken, I will be forced to sit on a dharna at the CM’s residence, Singh told reporters.

He also demanded an FIR against those who duped the tribals in Chouhan’s constituency.

“I don’t have any objection to the FIR (against him), but it should be investigated what is the source (of video) and who edited this? The BJP and Modi-Shah bhakts edited Rahul Gandhis video and circulated it and are running fake news.

“Action should also be taken against them,” he said. State Congress president and former chief minister Kamal Nath criticised the action against Digvijaya Singh. “The BJP government is continuously showing its malicious thinking by taking oppressive action against Congress leaders in the state, Nath said.

He said the BJP government is setting a “wrong tradition” in the state.

People associated with the BJP are constantly doing dirty politics against Congress leaders and trying to spoil their image, they have made false complaints against Digvijaya Singh over a viral video, he said, adding that action should be taken against those who created the video. On Sunday night, a BJP delegation, headed by former minister Umashankar Gupta, submitted a memorandum to the crime branch of Bhopal police.

In their complaint, the BJP leaders said Chouhan had given a statement against the liquor policy of the then Kamal Nath government on January 12 this year.

This 2.19-minute video was edited and a ninesecond cropped part of it was shared on Twitter by Singh to malign the image of the Chief Minister, they alleged.

Representational image

notes.

Sea Surface Temperature (SST) of the tropical Indian Ocean has risen by a degree Celsius on average during 1951–2015, markedly higher than the global average SST warming of 0.7 degree Celsius, over the same period, the report states.

Sea Surface Temperatures does have an influence over the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean Dipole is linked to the SSTs of the Indian Ocean. A positive IOD, linked to the cooling/warming of the Indian Ocean waters, generally helps to have a good monsoon.

Sea-level in the North Indian Ocean (NIO) has risen at a rate of 1.06–1.75 millimetre per year during 1874–2004 and has accelerated to 3.3 millimetre per year in the last two and a half decades (1993–2017), which is comparable to the current rate of global mean sea-level rise.

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND DIRECTORATE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION NAGALAND : KOHIMA NO. DTE/ ESTT-2/12/2018-19/ Dt. Kohima, the th June, 2020. PRESS RELEASE

In continuation to earlier Notification of this office Letter NO. DTE/ ESTT2/12/2018-19/1909 dated Kohima, 3 rd June, 2020 the last date for submission and issue of Diploma Entrance Examination (DEE-2020) form is hereby extended up to 30 th

June, 2020.

Intending candidates are informed to download the form from the Website: www.dtenagaland.org.in and send the scanned copies of all necessary documents along with deposit slip of application form fees amounting to Rs. 300/- (Rupees three hundred) only to this email address: tenagaland@gmail.com or by hand during office working hours.

The candidates are requested to deposit the said amount to the Department AC/ NO given below.

Account Number - 39210279019

IFSC Code - SBIN0016933

Branch - SBI, Capital Complex, New Sectt. Road, Kohima

Further, candidates are informed to submit all required documents (Marksheet/ Photos etc) on or before 30 th June, 2020 without fail.

(Er. Arjun Singh) Director

DC-524

Issued by DIPR

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND

DIRECTORATE OF SCHOOL EDUCATION No.ED/AEI-8/2019 Kohima, the, 15th June 2020 NOTIFICATION

As per the official communique received from MHRD, it is hereby notified for the information of all concerned candidates that the remaining subjects/papers of CBSE Class XII Senior Secondary Examination 2020 which could not be conducted due to the Lockdown is now scheduled to be conducted from 1 st to 15 th July 2020.

In Nagaland, the Examination will be conducted in the following centres. The figures in bracket mentioned against the subject indicate the number of candidates appearing in the subject. 1. Delhi Public School, Dimapur – Geography [60] Bus. Studies [30] & Info. Prac.(O) [14] 2. Hollotoli School, Padampukhuri – Geography [17] Sociology [20] Bus.Studies [4] Home Sc. [6] & Info. Prac.(O) [10] 3. Livingstone Foundation HS School, Dimapur – Bus. Studies [39] 4. Maple Tree School, Dimapur – Geography [7] Bus. Studies [3] & Info. Prac.(O) [9] 5. Army Public School, Rangapahar – Sociology [5] 6. J N V Nihokhu – Geography [38] & Hindi Core [38] 7. Kendriya Vidyalaya, Dimapur – Geography [32] Bus. Studies [31] Info. Prac. (N) [16] Comp.Sc.(N) [12] & Hindi Core [47] 8. Kendriya Vidyalaya, Rangapahar – Geography [16] Comp. Sc. (N) [3] & Hindi

Core [24] 9. G Rio School, Kohima – Geography [36] Sociology [36] & Comp. Sc. (O) [8] 10. J N V Yakukie – Geography [37] & Hindi Core [38] 11. Kendriya Vidyalaya, Zakhama – Hindi Core [1] 12. Assam Rifles High School, Mokokchung – Geography [1] & Hindi Core [1] 13. Kendriya Vidyalaya, Tuli – Geography [17] Info. Prac. (N) [15] Comp. Sc. (N) [1] & Hindi Core [2] 14. J N V Wakching – Geography [17] & Hindi Core [29] 15. Sainik School, Punglwa – Comp. Sc. (O) [13] & Hindi Core [2] 16. J N V Jalukie-B –Hindi Core [10] 17. J N V Zuketsa – Geography [35] & Hindi Core [35] 18. J N V Lumami – Geography [32] & Hindi Core [32]

Candidates should visit CBSE Website for the rescheduled Routine/Datesheet. Instructions for COVID-19 related safety protocols to be followed during examinations for ensuring the safety of students are being issued separately by the CBSE.

( SHANAVAS C ) IAS Principal Director

No.ED/AEI-8/2019 Issued by DIPR