€¦ · 27/01/2021  · Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday took stock of the security situation and...

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W ith the Opposition gun- ning for him for the farmers-led chaos in Delhi on the Republic Day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday took stock of the security situation and mea- sures taken to ensure peace in the city. Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and senior officers of the MHA and the Delhi Police attended the meeting. “The Home Minister reviewed the law and order sit- uation in Delhi, which wit- nessed violence during the farmers’ tractor rally on Tuesday, an official said. The high-level meeting decided to take action against all leaders responsible for unto- ward incidents on Tuesday in the Capital. Delhi Police was directed to register FIRs on the various incidents. The Central Government has deployed around 4,500 paramilitary troops to assist the Delhi Police in maintaining law and order. Rapid Action Force per- sonnel have also been reposi- tioned in the national Capital and vigil has been intensified in view of the evolving situation. Meanwhile, the Congress blamed the BJP-led Central Government for the violence and vandalism that ensued on the streets of national Capital on Republic Day and demand- ed resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for failing to protect Red Fort. “Union Home Minister Amit Shah is directly respon- sible for the violence carried out in the name of farmers protest. His failure to stop the vandalism despite intelligence inputs means he has no right to remain in his position. We demand that he resign from his position immediately,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said at AICC Press conference. Former Congress presi- dent Rahul Gandhi appealed to the Narendra Modi Government on Wednesday to repeal, what he claimed were, “anti-agriculture” laws. A day after unprecedented violence in Delhi during the tractor parade, the Government on Wednesday said it has never stated that the doors for dialogue with farm- ers are closed and stressed that it will inform whenever the decision is taken for fresh talks. “We have never said that the doors for dialogue are closed. Have you heard. Whenever talks are held, we will let you know,” Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said, when asked at the Cabinet briefing on whether the doors for talks with farmers are closed now. After the 11th round of talks on Friday last, the Government asked the farmers to reconsider their proposal of holding the three farm laws on hold for 1-1.5 years, but the farmers rejected their propos- al. No decision has been taken on another round of talks with farmers. He said whatever deci- sions with regard to talks with farmers are taken, will be dis- closed at the right time. “We have already told you, if there is any change, we will let you know,” he said. Asked whether Tuesday’s violence was discussed in the meeting of the Union Cabinet, Javadekar said the Cabinet is different from the security committee. The Government’s negoti- ations with representatives of thousands of protesting farm- ers hit a roadblock on Friday as the unions squarely rejected the Centre’s proposal to put three contentious laws on hold. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar also blamed external “forces” for their rigid stand and said no resolution is possible when the sanctity of agitation is lost. Unlike the last 10 rounds of talks, the 11th round saw both the sides hardening their posi- tions and could not even reach a decision on the next date for the meeting. The Government asked unions to revert by Saturday last in case they agree to the suspension proposal and the talks can continue only thereafter. Farmer leaders, however, are adamant that they would settle for nothing less than repeal of the laws, which they find pro-corporate, and a legal guarantee for the procurement of crops at Government-fixed minimum support price (MSP). D elhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava on Wednesday said farmers’ lead- ers were involved in the vio- lence in national Capital and those involved in the violence will not be spared and a Special Investigation Team (SIT), including officials from Special Cell, Crime Branch and district police, have been constituted to investigate the incident. Police has also registered 25 First Information Reports (FIRs) for riots, robbing, attempt to murder and other criminal offences across the city. The top cop also said by January 25 evening, it became clear that the farmers’ unions were not keeping their words as they brought forward the aggressive and militant ele- ments who occupied the stage at protest site and delivered provocative speeches. The Delhi Police has also named 37 farmer union Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders, including Medha Patekar, Yogendra Yadav, in an FIR registered at Samaypur Badli police station in connec- tion with the violence that took place during a tractor rally by farmers. According to the FIR, in the riot, the protesters had also robbed the official pis- tol with 10 rounds of ammu- nition along with two gas gun on Tuesday. The farmers’ leaders named in the FIR includes Medha Patekar, Yogendra Yadav, Darshan Pal, Kulwant Singh Sandhu, Satnam Singh Pannu, Joginder Singh Ugraha, Surjeet Singh Phool, Jagjeet Singh Dalewal, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Harinder Singh Lakhoval, Gurnam Singh Chanduni and Rakesh Tikait. Addressing the Press con- ference at Police Head Quarters (PHQ) on Wednesday evening, the CP said after five rounds of talks with farmers union regarding the tractor parade on Republic Day there was mutu- al agreement on the parade routes from Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders. “Police laid down the con- ditions, which were agreed by the farmers and the first term was a time that was fixed for tractor rally at all border from 12 pm to 5 on. Second condi- tion laid was that tractor march will be lead by farmers’ union leaders and with every jhatha their leader should lead the rally and tractors should not exceed more than 5,000 in the rally. Police also put a condition to not bring any kind of weapons. The farmers gave undertaking and agreed on the route,” said the CP. “The protesters from Singhu border started their rally, hours before the time allotted, despite request from police officials they did not stop and broke down the barri- cades,” said the CP. “Farmer leader Satnam Singh Pannu, who was with farmers from Singhu border was stopped by police at Mukarba chowk after they deviated from the route. Pannu sat on dharna and gave inflam- matory speech following which the protesters got agitated and broke past the police installed barricades towards ITO,” said the Police Commissioner adding that Darshan Pal Singh, to sat on dharna with other when Pannu delivered the speech. “The farmers’ march from Tikri and Ghazipur started around 8:30 am. The farmers from Tikri border also broke barricades at Nangloi to move ahead towards Red Fort. They overturned trailers and van- dalized vehicles,” said the CP. “Farmer leaders were insti- gating farmers and they were the ones who were refusing to move on the predetermined routes. We have videos which are showing how leaders were instigating farmers. From Ghazipur, many from Rakesh Tikait’s team broke barriers and marched forward,” he said. The Police Commissioner also said not a single life was lost as the Delhi Police showed extreme restraint. “As many as 25 FIRs have been registered so far. Police teams are using the facial recognition system and taking the help of CCTV and video footage to identify the accused. Strict action will be taken against those identified. No culprit will be spared,” said the CP. He said 394 police person- nel were injured while 30 police vehicles were damaged in the violence on Wednesday. Six DTC buses were damaged in the violence. Capital’s ITO area became the main clashing point where several cops and protesters sustained injuries. A day after the violence dur- ing the tractor parade on Republic Day, two farmer unions announced the end of their protest against farm laws. Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) president Thakur Bhanu Pratap Singh said he was deeply pained by whatev- er happened during the trac- tor parade in Delhi on Republic Day Sardar VM Singh of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee said the union is withdrawing from the ongoing agitation as they cannot carry forward a protest with someone “whose direc- tion is something else”. Many farmers’ bodies across northern India blamed actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu for Red Fort incident. Senior farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal, who has been steering the farmers’ agitation since beginning, on Wednesday termed Punjabi actor Sidhu and Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Committee leaders Satnam Singh Pannu and Sarwan Singh Pandher as “biggest traitors” giving a call for their boycott in Punjab. Sidhu, who is in the eye of a storm for egging on protest- ers to put up a religious flag atop the Red Fort on Republic Day, has been considered by several farm bodies as an “agent” of the Government since he joined the protest. “Sidhu is an agent of the Government and he did it at the behest of the Centre to defame the farmers’ agita- tion,” alleged Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) gener- al secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan on Wednesday. However, Sidhu has sought to defend the action of the protesters at the Red Fort, saying they did not remove the national flag and had put up the “Nishan Sahib” flag as a symbolic protest. VM Singh alleged Rakesh Tikait, the national spokesper- son of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, who is heading the Ghazipur front, misdirected the movement. He also ques- tioned the committee of 40 people negotiating with the Government. Chandigarh: Indian National Lok Dal’s only representative in Haryana Assembly, Abhay Singh Chautala, on Wednesday resigned as an MLA over the three new Central farm laws. “I decided I cannot sit in the Assembly with those who bring resolutions favouring these laws,” Chautala said. New Delhi: The outlawed Sikhs for Justice is learnt to have released a seven-minute video backing the Red Fort siege and announcing a reward of $3,50,000 for those who hoist- ed the Nishan Sahib there. The SFJ has called for a siege of the Parliament when the Budget Session begins. This comes a day after a tractor parade called to protest the agriculture laws. I n a second arrest in less than one year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested former chairman of Yes Bank Rana Kapoor in a money laundering case linked to the Mack Star Group-4,300 crore PMC Bank scam case. Rana Kapoor is the third person to have been arrested in the Mack Star Group-PMC Bank scam case. On January 23, ED had arrested Mehul Thakur and Madan Gopal Chaturvedi in this year. A day ahead of these arrests, the ED conducted raids at ten premises including the residence of former underworld don Bhai Thakur and offices of Viva Group which is controlled by his family. Rana Kapoor was pro- duced before a PMLA court which remanded in ED cus- tody till January 30. Detailed report on P5 T he Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to grant interim protection from any coercive action to Ali Abbas Zafar, Director of web series “Tandav”, and others seeking quashing of FIRs against them for allegedly hurt- ing religious sentiments of Hindus and issued notices Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other States on their pleas. Observing that “freedom of speech and expression is not absolute” and is subject to restrictions, the top court said Zafar, Amazon Prime India head Aparna Purohit, produc- er Himanshu Mehra, the show’s writer Gaurav Solanki and actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub may seek bail from courts concerned in the FIRs lodged in connection with the web series. A bench comprising jus- tices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah, hearing as many as three sep- arate petitions on behalf of the makers and others connected to the web series, issued notices to U P, M P, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar and Delhi and the police officers probing the complaints. They have sought either quashing or clubbing of the FIRs lodged in several States on various grounds, including that the objectionable scenes have already been removed from the political thriller. “We cannot use the power under section 482 CrPC (power of courts to quash the criminal case). We are not inclined to grant interim pro- tection,” said the apex court at fag end of the hearing con- ducted through video-confer- encing. T he Union Home Ministry on Wednesday issued new guidelines allowing more capacity in cinema halls and opening up swimming pools for “all” persons. The Ministry also allowed the opening up of all exhibition halls. The MHA new guidelines said that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry will issue new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for cinema halls to increase the current capacity of 50 per cent to high- er seating capacity. As far as the opening of swimming pools, the Ministry of Sports will issue SOPs for allowing all persons. Currently, only sportspersons are allowed to use swimming pools. The Ministry of Commerce is empowered to formulate SOPs for opening up of exhibition halls. “Cinema halls and theatres have already been permitted up to 50 per cent of seating capac- ity. Now they will be permitted to operate at higher seating capacity, for which a revised SOP will be issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in consultation with the MHA. T he Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Bombay High Court order which acquitted a man under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act saying “groping a minor’s breast without ‘skin to skin contact’ cannot be termed as sexual assault”. A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian stayed the high court order after Attorney General KK Venugopal men- tioned the matter. The top court also issued notice to Maharashtra Government and permitted the AG to file an appeal against the January 19 verdict of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. New Delhi: Delhi recorded 96 fresh Covid-19 cases in a day, the lowest single-day rise in over nine months. New Delhi: As cracks began to appear in their ongoing agitation against the agri laws, farmer unions on Wednesday cancelled their planned march to Parliament Budget day on February 1. C hief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat announced on Wednesday that district development authorities (DDAs) will be discontinued in the State. Talking to media per- sons in Almora on Wednesday, the CM said that considering the problems related to district development authorities, these have been discontinued and the government order to this effect will be issued soon. He said that the decision was taken consid- ering the complaints received from the public. It will be recalled that dis- trict development authorities were meant to facilitate planned development and con- struction activities in the state especially the mountainous regions. However, the feed- back received from the public was more about corruption and other problems in these authorities.

Transcript of €¦ · 27/01/2021  · Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday took stock of the security situation and...

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    With the Opposition gun-ning for him for thefarmers-led chaos in Delhi onthe Republic Day, Union HomeMinister Amit Shah onWednesday took stock of thesecurity situation and mea-sures taken to ensure peace inthe city. Home Secretary AjayBhalla and senior officers of theMHA and the Delhi Policeattended the meeting.

    “The Home Ministerreviewed the law and order sit-

    uation in Delhi, which wit-nessed violence during thefarmers’ tractor rally onTuesday, an official said.

    The high-level meetingdecided to take action againstall leaders responsible for unto-ward incidents on Tuesday inthe Capital. Delhi Police wasdirected to register FIRs on thevarious incidents. The Central

    Government has deployedaround 4,500 paramilitarytroops to assist the Delhi Policein maintaining law and order.

    Rapid Action Force per-sonnel have also been reposi-tioned in the national Capitaland vigil has been intensified inview of the evolving situation.

    Meanwhile, the Congressblamed the BJP-led Central

    Government for the violenceand vandalism that ensued onthe streets of national Capitalon Republic Day and demand-ed resignation of Union HomeMinister Amit Shah for failingto protect Red Fort.

    “Union Home MinisterAmit Shah is directly respon-sible for the violence carriedout in the name of farmers

    protest. His failure to stop thevandalism despite intelligenceinputs means he has no right toremain in his position. Wedemand that he resign from hisposition immediately,”Congress chief spokespersonRandeep Singh Surjewala saidat AICC Press conference.

    Former Congress presi-dent Rahul Gandhi appealed tothe Narendra ModiGovernment on Wednesdayto repeal, what he claimedwere, “anti-agriculture” laws.

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    Aday after unprecedentedviolence in Delhi duringthe tractor parade, theGovernment on Wednesdaysaid it has never stated that thedoors for dialogue with farm-ers are closed and stressed thatit will inform whenever thedecision is taken for fresh talks.

    “We have never said thatthe doors for dialogue areclosed. Have you heard.Whenever talks are held, we willlet you know,” Union MinisterPrakash Javadekar said, whenasked at the Cabinet briefing onwhether the doors for talks withfarmers are closed now.

    After the 11th round oftalks on Friday last, theGovernment asked the farmersto reconsider their proposal of

    holding the three farm laws onhold for 1-1.5 years, but thefarmers rejected their propos-al. No decision has been takenon another round of talks withfarmers. He said whatever deci-sions with regard to talks withfarmers are taken, will be dis-closed at the right time.

    “We have already told you,if there is any change, we willlet you know,” he said. Askedwhether Tuesday’s violence wasdiscussed in the meeting of theUnion Cabinet, Javadekar saidthe Cabinet is different fromthe security committee.

    The Government’s negoti-ations with representatives ofthousands of protesting farm-ers hit a roadblock on Friday as

    the unions squarely rejected theCentre’s proposal to put threecontentious laws on hold.

    Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar alsoblamed external “forces” fortheir rigid stand and said noresolution is possible when thesanctity of agitation is lost.

    Unlike the last 10 rounds oftalks, the 11th round saw boththe sides hardening their posi-tions and could not even reacha decision on the next date forthe meeting. The Governmentasked unions to revert bySaturday last in case they agreeto the suspension proposaland the talks can continueonly thereafter.

    Farmer leaders, however,are adamant that they wouldsettle for nothing less thanrepeal of the laws, which theyfind pro-corporate, and a legalguarantee for the procurementof crops at Government-fixedminimum support price(MSP).

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    Delhi Police CommissionerSN Shrivastava onWednesday said farmers’ lead-ers were involved in the vio-lence in national Capital andthose involved in the violencewill not be spared and a SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT),including officials from SpecialCell, Crime Branch and districtpolice, have been constituted toinvestigate the incident.

    Police has also registered 25First Information Reports(FIRs) for riots, robbing, attemptto murder and other criminaloffences across the city.

    The top cop also said byJanuary 25 evening, it becameclear that the farmers’ unionswere not keeping their words asthey brought forward theaggressive and militant ele-ments who occupied the stageat protest site and deliveredprovocative speeches.

    The Delhi Police has alsonamed 37 farmer unionSamyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM)leaders, including MedhaPatekar, Yogendra Yadav, in anFIR registered at SamaypurBadli police station in connec-tion with the violence thattook place during a tractor rallyby farmers. According to theFIR, in the riot, the protestershad also robbed the official pis-tol with 10 rounds of ammu-nition along with two gas gunon Tuesday.

    The farmers’ leadersnamed in the FIR includesMedha Patekar, YogendraYadav, Darshan Pal, KulwantSingh Sandhu, Satnam Singh

    Pannu, Joginder Singh Ugraha,Surjeet Singh Phool, JagjeetSingh Dalewal, Balbir SinghRajewal, Harinder SinghLakhoval, Gurnam SinghChanduni and Rakesh Tikait.

    Addressing the Press con-ference at Police Head Quarters(PHQ) on Wednesday evening,the CP said after five rounds oftalks with farmers unionregarding the tractor parade onRepublic Day there was mutu-al agreement on the paraderoutes from Singhu, Tikri andGhazipur borders.

    “Police laid down the con-ditions, which were agreed bythe farmers and the first termwas a time that was fixed fortractor rally at all border from12 pm to 5 on. Second condi-tion laid was that tractor marchwill be lead by farmers’ unionleaders and with every jhathatheir leader should lead therally and tractors should notexceed more than 5,000 in therally. Police also put a condition

    to not bring any kind ofweapons. The farmers gaveundertaking and agreed onthe route,” said the CP.

    “The protesters fromSinghu border started theirrally, hours before the timeallotted, despite request frompolice officials they did not stopand broke down the barri-cades,” said the CP.

    “Farmer leader SatnamSingh Pannu, who was withfarmers from Singhu borderwas stopped by police atMukarba chowk after theydeviated from the route. Pannusat on dharna and gave inflam-matory speech following whichthe protesters got agitated andbroke past the police installedbarricades towards ITO,” saidthe Police Commissioneradding that Darshan Pal Singh,to sat on dharna with otherwhen Pannu delivered thespeech.

    “The farmers’ march fromTikri and Ghazipur started

    around 8:30 am. The farmersfrom Tikri border also brokebarricades at Nangloi to moveahead towards Red Fort. Theyoverturned trailers and van-dalized vehicles,” said the CP.

    “Farmer leaders were insti-gating farmers and they werethe ones who were refusing tomove on the predeterminedroutes. We have videos whichare showing how leaders wereinstigating farmers. FromGhazipur, many from RakeshTikait’s team broke barriersand marched forward,” he said.

    The Police Commissioneralso said not a single life waslost as the Delhi Police showed

    extreme restraint. “As many as25 FIRs have been registered sofar. Police teams are using thefacial recognition system andtaking the help of CCTV andvideo footage to identify theaccused. Strict action will betaken against those identified.No culprit will be spared,” saidthe CP.

    He said 394 police person-nel were injured while 30 policevehicles were damaged in theviolence on Wednesday. SixDTC buses were damaged inthe violence. Capital’s ITO areabecame the main clashingpoint where several cops andprotesters sustained injuries.

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    Aday after the violence dur-ing the tractor parade onRepublic Day, two farmerunions announced the end oftheir protest against farm laws.Bharatiya Kisan Union(Bhanu) president ThakurBhanu Pratap Singh said hewas deeply pained by whatev-er happened during the trac-tor parade in Delhi onRepublic Day

    Sardar VM Singh of AllIndia Kisan SangharshCoordination Committee saidthe union is withdrawing fromthe ongoing agitation as theycannot carry forward a protestwith someone “whose direc-tion is something else”.

    Many farmers’ bodiesacross northern India blamedactor-turned-activist DeepSidhu for Red Fort incident.Senior farmer leader BalbirSingh Rajewal, who has beensteering the farmers’ agitationsince beginning, onWednesday termed Punjabiactor Sidhu and MazdoorKisan Sangharsh Committeeleaders Satnam Singh Pannuand Sarwan Singh Pandher as“biggest traitors” giving a callfor their boycott in Punjab.

    Sidhu, who is in the eye ofa storm for egging on protest-ers to put up a religious flagatop the Red Fort on RepublicDay, has been considered byseveral farm bodies as an

    “agent” of the Governmentsince he joined the protest.

    “Sidhu is an agent of theGovernment and he did it atthe behest of the Centre todefame the farmers’ agita-tion,” alleged Bharti KisanUnion (Ekta Ugrahan) gener-al secretary Sukhdev SinghKokrikalan on Wednesday.

    However, Sidhu hassought to defend the action of

    the protesters at the Red Fort,saying they did not remove thenational flag and had put upthe “Nishan Sahib” flag as asymbolic protest.

    VM Singh alleged RakeshTikait, the national spokesper-son of the Bharatiya KisanUnion, who is heading theGhazipur front, misdirectedthe movement. He also ques-tioned the committee of 40people negotiating with theGovernment.

    Chandigarh: Indian NationalLok Dal’s only representativein Haryana Assembly, AbhaySingh Chautala, on Wednesdayresigned as an MLA over thethree new Central farm laws. “Idecided I cannot sit in theAssembly with those who bringresolutions favouring theselaws,” Chautala said.

    New Delhi: The outlawed Sikhsfor Justice is learnt to havereleased a seven-minute videobacking the Red Fort siege andannouncing a reward of$3,50,000 for those who hoist-ed the Nishan Sahib there. TheSFJ has called for a siege of theParliament when the BudgetSession begins. This comes aday after a tractor parade calledto protest the agriculture laws.

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    In a second arrest in lessthan one year, theEnforcement Directorate (ED)has arrested former chairmanof Yes Bank Rana Kapoor in amoney laundering case linkedto the Mack Star Group-�4,300crore PMC Bank scam case.

    Rana Kapoor is the thirdperson to have been arrested inthe Mack Star Group-PMCBank scam case. On January 23,ED had arrested Mehul Thakurand Madan Gopal Chaturvediin this year. A day ahead of thesearrests, the ED conducted raidsat ten premises including theresidence of former underworlddon Bhai Thakur and offices ofViva Group which is controlledby his family.

    Rana Kapoor was pro-duced before a PMLA courtwhich remanded in ED cus-tody till January 30.

    Detailed report on P5

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    The Supreme Court onWednesday declined togrant interim protection fromany coercive action to AliAbbas Zafar, Director of webseries “Tandav”, and othersseeking quashing of FIRsagainst them for allegedly hurt-ing religious sentiments ofHindus and issued noticesUttar Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh and other States ontheir pleas.

    Observing that “freedom ofspeech and expression is notabsolute” and is subject torestrictions, the top court saidZafar, Amazon Prime Indiahead Aparna Purohit, produc-er Himanshu Mehra, the show’swriter Gaurav Solanki andactor Mohammed ZeeshanAyyub may seek bail fromcourts concerned in the FIRslodged in connection with theweb series.

    A bench comprising jus-tices Ashok Bhushan, RSubhash Reddy and MR Shah,hearing as many as three sep-arate petitions on behalf of themakers and others connectedto the web series, issued noticesto UP, MP, Karnataka,Maharashtra, Bihar and Delhiand the police officers probingthe complaints.

    They have sought eitherquashing or clubbing of theFIRs lodged in several States onvarious grounds, including thatthe objectionable scenes have already been removed from the politicalthriller.

    “We cannot use the powerunder section 482 CrPC(power of courts to quash thecriminal case). We are notinclined to grant interim pro-tection,” said the apex court atfag end of the hearing con-ducted through video-confer-encing.

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    The Union Home Ministryon Wednesday issued newguidelines allowing morecapacity in cinema halls andopening up swimming poolsfor “all” persons. The Ministryalso allowed the opening up ofall exhibition halls.

    The MHA new guidelinessaid that the Information andBroadcasting Ministry willissue new Standard OperatingProcedures (SOPs) for cinemahalls to increase the currentcapacity of 50 per cent to high-er seating capacity.

    As far as the opening ofswimming pools, the Ministryof Sports will issue SOPs forallowing all persons. Currently,only sportspersons are allowedto use swimming pools. The

    Ministry of Commerce isempowered to formulate SOPsfor opening up of exhibitionhalls.

    “Cinema halls and theatreshave already been permitted upto 50 per cent of seating capac-ity. Now they will be permittedto operate at higher seatingcapacity, for which a revisedSOP will be issued by theMinistry of Information andBroadcasting in consultationwith the MHA.

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    The Supreme Court onWednesday stayed theBombay High Court orderwhich acquitted a man underthe Protection of Childrenfrom Sexual Offences(POCSO) Act saying “gropinga minor’s breast without ‘skinto skin contact’ cannot betermed as sexual assault”.

    A bench of Chief Justice SABobde and Justices ASBopanna and VRamasubramanian stayed thehigh court order after AttorneyGeneral KK Venugopal men-tioned the matter.

    The top court also issuednotice to MaharashtraGovernment and permittedthe AG to file an appeal against

    the January 19 verdict of theNagpur bench of the BombayHigh Court.

    New Delhi: Delhi recorded96 fresh Covid-19 cases in aday, the lowest single-day risein over nine months.

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    New Delhi: As cracks beganto appear in their ongoingagitation against the agrilaws, farmer unions onWednesday cancelled theirplanned march toParliament Budget day onFebruary 1.

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    Chief Minister TrivendraSingh Rawat announcedon Wednesday that districtdevelopment authorities(DDAs) will be discontinued inthe State. Talking to media per-sons in Almora on Wednesday,the CM said that consideringthe problems related to districtdevelopment authorities, thesehave been discontinued and thegovernment order to this effectwill be issued soon. He said thatthe decision was taken consid-ering the complaints receivedfrom the public.

    It will be recalled that dis-trict development authoritieswere meant to facilitateplanned development and con-struction activities in the stateespecially the mountainousregions. However, the feed-back received from the publicwas more about corruptionand other problems in theseauthorities.

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    The chief secretary (CS) ofUttarakhand Om Prakashhas said that the state adminis-tration is emphasising on theuse of generic medicines. Hesaid that the chief medical offi-cers (CMO) in the districtshave been directed to recom-mend generic medicines to thepatients. The CS attended ameeting of the chief secretariesof all the states via a video con-ferencing on Wednesday onPragati Portal. The meetingwas on Pradhan Mantri JanAaushadhi Kendra and theAmritsar- Kolkata industrialcorridors and was chaired by

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi.In the meeting Om Prakash

    said that all the CMOs and thedistrict coordinators have beendirected to make people awareabout the generic medicines andthe state government is provid-ing free medicines to thepatients in the government hos-pitals of the state. On theAmritsar- Kolkata industrialcorridor, the CS of Uttarakhandsaid that the state governmenthas earmarked 1002.15 acres ofland at Khurpia in UdhamSingh Nagar district for settingup an integrated manufacturingcluster. He added that the workon environmental clearance forthe cluster is at present going on.

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    Train services at two metrostations near India Gatewill be curtailed on January 29in view of the Beating RetreatCeremony at Vijay Chowk.

    The two stations UdyogBhawan and Central Secretariatof the Delhi Metro's YellowLine (Samaypur Badli toHUDA City Centre) will not beavailable for a few hours, theDMRC said in a statement.

    However, interchange ofpassengers from Yellow Line toViolet Line (Kashmere Gate toRaja Nahar Singh) and viceversa will be allowed at CentralSecretariat Metro station dur-ing this period. Normal ser-vices at these stations will berestored at 6:30 PM, it said.

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    The Delhi Government onWednesday directed that allsort of surgeries, invasive pro-cedures , OPDs and other med-ical services shall be started inState Government hospitalsnoticing a sharp decrease in thenumber of coronavirus cases.

    Importantly, Delhi regis-tered only 96 Covid cases inpast 24 hours, lowest in ninemonths according to healthofficials sixth consecutive daywhen the Capital registered lessthan 200 cases.

    S M Ali, Special Secretary,health and family welfare, Delhigovernment issued an orderstated : In suspension of all pre-vious orders in this regard andin view of the decrease innumber of Covid-19 cases inDelhi, it is hereby directedthat all kinds of surgeries, inva-sive procedures, IPD, OPD,

    and other medical servicesshall be started in all hospitalsunder the GNCT of Delhi,including society hospitals.”

    It may be recalled, the non- Covid facilities in governmenthospitals were on halt as thepremier institutions run byDelhi government, instance -LNJP and RGSSH convertedinto dedicated COVID -19hospitals soon after the casesregistered in hundreds.

    OPD services have alreadybegun at both the hospitals.

    Earlier, On December 31,the Delhi government hadannounced de-escalation ofthe number of beds earmarkedfor the treatment of the infec-tion at private hospitals. Allthese steps are being taken inview of slump in cases.

    Tuesday, Delhi reported157 new cases of Covid-19,pushing its total tally to6,34,229.

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    The Aam Aadmi Party onWednesday accused thecentral agencies and theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)behind the incident happenedat the Red Fort on Tuesdayduring farmers’ “TractorRally”.

    AAP leader and Punjabco-in-charge Raghav Chadhasaid that the people like DeepSidhu infiltrated in farmers'protest and instigated the vio-lence. The BJP sleeper cellagents like Deep Sidhu andCentral agencies under theBJP government were behindTuesday’s shameful Red Fortincident.

    Chadha said that DeepSidhu who is the mastermindof yesterday's violence has aclose connection with PMNarendra Modi and Home

    Minister Amit Shah. “TheAAP condemned the witchhunt against the farmer leaderand demanded that DelhiPolice not to harass them butarrest the sleeper cell agents ofthe BJP who were involved inviolence,” he said.

    The Delhi Police whichcomes under the BJP govern-ment completely failed tomaintain the law and ordersituation of Delhi, he alleged."I also want to tell you thatBJP agent and Punjab chiefminister Captain AmarinderSingh is trying to defame theAAP by blaming us for theviolence. The BJP agentCaption Singh and Delhi BJPchief Adesh Gupta are defam-ing the AAP in a plannedmanner,” he added.

    Tens of thousands offarmers broke barriers tostorm the national capital onTuesday, their tractor parade

    to highlight their demandsdissolving into unprecedent-ed scenes of anarchy as theyfought with police, overturnedvehicles and delivered anational insult hoisting a reli-gious flag from the rampartsof the Red Fort, a privilegereserved for India's tricolour.

    Clashes broke out in mul-tiple places, leading to vio-lence in well-known land-marks of Delhi and its sub-urbs, amid waves of violencethat ebbed and f lowedthrough the day. While therewere no exact estimates ofhow many farmers were hurt,Delhi Police officials said 86of their men were injuredthroughout the day. Of these,41 were injured at the RedFort.

    A protester died after histractor overturned near ITO,one of the major flashpoints oftrouble.

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    Supreme Court onWednesday stayed the crim-inal defamation proceedingsagainst the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) leaders ManojTiwari and Vijender Gupta.

    The proceedings againstthe BJP leaders were initiatedafter a complaint by Delhi'sDeputy Chief Minister, ManishSisodia. Later, Tiwari andGupta moved to the apex courtseeking the quashing of thesummons issued against themin a defamation case.

    On December 17, 2020,Delhi High Court dismissedthe petitions by MP Tiwari andMLA Gupta challenging trialcourt order issuing summonsagainst them in a defamationcase filed by Sisodia. JusticeAnu Malhotra dismissed thepetitions challenging trial courtorder issuing summons against

    them and sought quashing ofan order passed by RouseAvenue Court on November28, 2019.

    All the accused includingTiwari and Gupta were earliergranted bail after they appearedbefore the trial court.Sisodiahad filed a defamation caseagainst Tiwari, BJP MPs HansRaj Hans and Pravesh Verma,BJP MLAs Manjinder SinghSirsa and Vijender Gupta andBJP spokesperson HarishKhurana for making false alle-gations regarding his (Sisodia's)involvement in corruption ofRs 2000 crores in the buildingof classrooms of Delhi gov-ernment schools.

    Sisodia, in the defamationcase, stated that all the allega-tions made by these BJP leadersjointly and were false, defama-tory and derogatory to intend-ing to harm and damage his rep-utation and goodwill. ANI

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    Aplea was filed onWednesday in the SupremeCourt seeking setting up of acommission, headed by aretired apex court judge, toinquire the violence duringthe protesting farmers'' tractorrally in the national capital onthe Republic Day.

    The plea has also sought

    direction to the concernedauthority to lodge FirstInformation Report (FIR)under relevant penal provi-sions against the individuals ororganisations responsible forthe violence and causing dis-honour of the National Flag onJanuary 26.

    The tractor parade onTuesday that was to highlightthe demands of farmer unions

    to repeal three new agri lawsdissolved into anarchy on thestreets of Delhi as thousands ofprotesters broke through bar-riers, fought with the police,overturned vehicles and hoist-ed a religious flag from theramparts of the iconic RedFort.

    Delhi Police has registered22 FIRs so far in connectionwith the violence in which

    over 300 policemen wereinjured, officials said onWednesday.

    The plea, filed in the apexcourt by advocate VishalTiwari, has said that a three-member inquiry commission under the chair-manship of a former top courtjudge and comprising of tworetired high court judgesshould be set up for collecting

    and recording evidence in thematter and submit a report tothe court in a time boundmanner.

    It said that farmers’ protestagainst the three new agri lawsis going on for over two monthsbut it took a “violent turn” dur-ing the tractor parade.

    “Unfortunately, the tractormarch took a violent turn leav-ing injuries and destruction of

    public property. This incidentalso effected the daily life of thepublic. The internet serviceswere interrupted as govern-ment ordered the operators tosuspend the same. In the pre-sent time, the internet ser-vices are very essential to carryout the work in different pro-fessions especially in advocacyas the courts and our SupremeCourt of India is functioning

    online,” Tiwari has said in his

    plea.The petition said that clashbetween the farmers and policeon the Republic Day has caughtthe attention of the entireworld.

    “The matter is seriousbecause when the protest wasgoing on peacefully for last twomonths then suddenly, how itturned into violent

    movement and led violence onJanuary 26. The question for consideration in national secu-rity and public interest arisesthat who is responsible forcreating the disturbance andhow and who turned the peace-ful farmer protest into violentmovement or how and whocreated the circumstanceswhich let the protest turn vio-lent,” it said.

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    In the FIR registered at IPEstate police station, theDelhi Police has stated that sixDelhi Transport Corporation(DTC) buses and five policevehicles were damaged in theviolence that broke out at ITOduring the farmers' tractorparade on Republic Day.

    The FIR also stated that sev-eral police personnel wereinjured and 70 iron barricadeswere damaged when over 10,000protesting farmers on nearly600 tractors stormed the area.

    Police has registered 22

    FIRs so far in connection withthe violence that broke out dur-ing the farmers' tractor paradein the national capital leavingover 300 policemen injured,officials said on Wednesday.

    An official said multiplevideos and CCTV footage arebeing scanned to identify farm-ers involved in the violence andstrict action will be taken.

    Security has been beefedup in several places across thenational capital, especially atthe Red Fort and farmer protestsites, with deployment of addi-tional paramilitary forces fol-lowing the violence.

    The FIR stated that theprotestors tried to enterLuytens' Delhi from TilakBridge despite not being givenpermission to hold the tractorparade in the jurisdiction of IPEstate Police station.

    “The farmers smashed thebarricades and hit DTC busesat ITO with their tractors andalso tried to run over policepersonnel. Police tried to con-vince the agitating farmers.However, they were adamantabout going to Luytens' area.They also damaged vehiclesand equipment of mediaper-sons," it stated, adding that

    police used tear gas to dispersethe protesters from the spot.

    “Police personnel were pre-sent at Ram Charan AggarwalChowk, ITO. Around 12 pmfrom Sarai Kale Khan towardsMGM Marg, 500 to 600 trac-tors carrying 9,000 to 10,000protestors entered the ITO. Itclaimed that a tractor, going toDDU Marg from Ram CharanChowk, hit a barricade placednear Andhra Public Schoolwhile being driven rashly, andoverturned,” stated the FIR.

    “While police personneland others were trying to res-cue the driver from under the

    tractor, the other protesterson tractors reached there andtried to run over the police.Some of the protesters took thedriver to ITO Chowk. Later,they took him and his tractoralong with them and left thearea. The deceased was lateridentified as Navneet Singh, aresident of Rampur district inUttar Pradesh,” state the FIR.

    “During demonstration,six DTC buses, five policevehicles and 70 iron barri-cades were damaged. Severalpolice personnel were also gotinjured during the incident,”the FIR stated.

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    There were long trafficqueues due to trafficrestrictions on key routes inthe national Capital, a day afterviolence broke out duringfarmers' tractor parade.

    The Delhi Traffic Policeon Twitter and stated that thetraffic movement is heavy dueto closure of four lanes onKalindi Kunj and Noidastretches.

    Meanwhile, the trafficmovement near ITO, MandiHouse and India Gate, whichwas affected due to restrictionsplaced there, resumed onWednesday afternoon.

    According to a seniorpolice official, the barricadesplaced near the Tilak Bridgewere removed and the roadleading to India Gate fromITO was opened. Similarly, theroad going towardsConnaught Place from Minto

    Road is also functioning now.The C-Hexagon at India

    Gate has also opened for traf-fic and there is no restrictionon the movement of vehicles,police said. On Wednesday,retired Delhi Police personnelstaged a protest near ITO,leading to disturbance in traf-fic.

    They were protestingagainst the violence whichbroke out during the farmers'tractor parade in the city.

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    In view of violence duringTuesday's tractor parade atseveral locations in Delhi, theGurugram Police was put onhigh alert on Wednesday.

    Gurugram Police chief K KRao directed the entire policeforce including senior police

    officials to ensure that law andorder in the district is main-tained. In his directions, Raosaid law and order should notbe disrupted at any cost.

    According to officialsources strict instructions havebeen issued in the Gurugramdistrict adjoining the nationalCapital as a precautionary mea-sure.

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    Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar slammed the DelhiPolice and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government for"mishandling" the farmers’ on Tuesday.

    Terming the violence unfortunate, he said the Delhi Policefailed to control the situation. Kumar accused the Delhi Policeof acting at the behest of its handlers in the Union HomeMinistry. "It is evident from the manner in which the policefiled 22 FIRs against 200 farmers including leaders of the farm-ers’ unions for the violence and mayhem,"he added.

    The Congress president further said "It was the duty ofthe police to properly guide them on the designated route butinstead police tried to use force on the farmers, which led tothe disorder. Meanwhile, Kumar welcomed the ElectionCommission’s decision to hold bye-elections to the five vacantseats in the Municipal Corporations of Delhi. He said that thepeople of Delhi are fed up with the mind-boggling corrup-tion in the BJP-ruled MCDs and the Delhi Government, dueto which sanitation workers, doctors, nurses, paramedics,teachers and others have been on strike for the past few weeks,seeking their wages and arrears.

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    The just concluded 65thnational freestyle seniormen’s wrestling champi-onship in Noida stadium wassuccessful as it attracted 252wrestlers in 10 weight cate-gories from across the coun-tr y with huge wrestl inglovers’ turnout.

    Throughout two days ofthe championship, WrestlingFederation of India (WFI)president Br ij BhushanSharan Singh was seen in thestadium encouragingwrestlers and distributingmedals to them. In an inter-action with The Pioneer,Singh gave insights intoIndia’s position rise in theworld in freestyle wrestling.

    He said he is hopeful thatIndia wrestlers would win atleast 4 medals in upcomingTokyo Olympics scheduled tobe held from July 24, 2020 butwas postponed due to coron-

    avirus pandemic. Singh said inthe last many years since tak-ing over as WFI president hehas worked to popularise thegame and it has yielded pos-itive results.

    He said earlier Greco-roman men’s f reesty lewomen’s freestyle used to beorganised together but thistime it was shelved off due toCovid-19.

    WFI’s newly appointedVice President Dr Zubed UrRehman said grapplers whoparticipated in the champi-onship were tested forCovid-19. Organising com-mittee president GN Singhsaid for the first time inIndia, American-made OHair purifier machines wereput in the stadium to killCovid virus through hydrox-yl radicals. Railways wonthe championship with Armyholding second position andHaryana stood at numberthree.

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    The Dehradun districtadministration will con-duct camps in six blocks at theGram Panchayat level fromthe next week for the immedi-ate redressal of public griev-ances.

    The administration isorganising such camps underthe Uttarakhand chief minis-ter’s quick response team(QRT). The teams on thesecamps will make efforts toresolve most of the issuesimmediately and even thosematters that require a certaintime period to be addressedwill be resolved within a giventime frame. This was informedby the chief development offi-cer (CDO), Nitika Khandelwal

    who will also monitor theprogress of these camps in theblocks. According toKhandelwal, the first campwill be conducted on February3 in Doiwala block from 11AM and the administration hasdone preparation for theremaining five camps in fiveblocks till March 10. Moreover,Khandelwal has also appoint-ed the project director ofDistrict Rural DevelopmentAgency (DRDA), VikramSingh as a nodal officer of thedistrict level QRT team. She hasinstructed the officials con-cerned to resolve all the issuesof the public immediately andkeep the record of every com-plaint they receive and resolvein the camps from local resi-dents.

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    How rarely we come acrossa book which deals withwomen empowerment in amatured manner rather thanadvocating exaggerated free-dom of women on the name offeminism and women empow-erment?

    “Indomitable Susan WithHIV”, a book by Prof. SuvasishMukhopadhyay is one suchmasterpiece which have tack-led the delicacy of feminismwith utmost precision. Therole of a female in variouscapacities as daughter, wife,daughter-in-law, sister-in-lawand the mother in her variousphases of life. The aliment ofthe protagonist’s husband addan irresistible element in thestory which gets further a chill-ing experience for the readers

    being her widow in the latterhalf of the story. The varioushardships in terms of financial,emotional, compromise alongwith her silent revolution areenough to engage the readers.The insightful outlook towardswomen empowerment makes itquite relatable and make thismasterpiece a must read!

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    Accusing the administra-tion of Cantonment Boardof Dehradun (CBD) to bebiased towards some localshopkeepers during their recentanti-encroachment drive in thePremnagar area of Dehradun,the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)stated that they condemn suchdiscrimination by the admin-istration and will protestagainst it.

    According to the statespokesperson of Aam AdmiParty (AAP), Ravindra Anand,

    the Cantt board recentlydemolished many encroach-ments in Premnagar area butthe illegal establishments ofthose who have connections inthe board remained untouched."Why some were provided withrelaxations while others withno privileges were not givenany chance?" enquired Anand.He further added that if theboard will continue such abiased attitude towards thelocals in future, AAP will beforced to protest against theMCD board administration.

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    The 72nd RepublicDay was celebratedwith patriotic fervourand enthusiasm at theParade Ground in statecapital Dehradun onTuesday.

    The GovernorBaby Rani Mauryahoisted the nationalflag and reviewed theparade held on theoccasion. The person-nel of the army, ITBP,police, PAC,Homeguard and PRDtook out a march pastat Parade Ground tomark the Republic Day.While folk artistes of the stateperformed on the occasion, thegovernor also awarded policepersonnel for commendableperformance.

    A number of tableaux werealso taken out by differentgovernment departments andorganisations on various gov-ernment schemes and works onthe occasion. These includedthe tableaux by forest depart-ment, SDRF, RuralDevelopment Department,UREDA, Dehradun Smart CityLimited (DSCL), MDDA, edu-cation department, tourismdepartment, horticulture

    department, health departmentand industry department. Thetableaux of the health andrural development depart-ments were jointly adjudgedthe best followed by the tableauof DSCL in second positionand education department inthe third place.

    Chief minister TrivendraSingh Rawat, MPs Mala RajyaLaxmi Shah, Naresh Bansal,Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal‘Gama’, local MLA Khajan Das,chief secretary Om Prakash,director general of policeAshok Kumar and others werealso present on the occasion.

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    Chief minister TrivendraSingh Rawat unfurled thenational flag at the CM resi-dence on Republic Day here onTuesday. He also administeredthe oath of the constitution’spreamble to the officials, per-sonnel and police personnel onthe occasion.

    Wishing the people ofUttarakhand on the occasion,Rawat wished for their happi-ness and prosperity. Rawatpaid tributes to the freedomfighters remembering thosewho made the supreme sacri-fice and worked for the unityof the nation. Speaking on theoccasion, he said that India hasemerged as a strong republicwith the world viewing Indiatoday. He said that despitelimited resources, Covid-19was under considerable controlin the nation and state. He saidthat the scientists had pre-

    pared the vaccine againstCovid-19 in a considerablyshort time and that the nationis moving swiftly towards com-plete control on Covid. Thecountry is on the path ofprogress under the leadershipof Prime Minister NarendraModi, he added. Later, the CMalso unfurled the national flagat the BJP State office. Whileattending another event on theoccasion at Gandhi Park, theCM said that the scene creat-

    ed by some anarchist elementsin the name of farmers inDelhi on Republic Day shouldnot have happened. A farmercannot indulge in such actionson such an occasion, he said,while adding that this type ofan incident is a cause of con-cern for all. Rawat said that herespects the farmers who didnot indulge in the rioting,adding that the State govern-ment is committed to ensurethat such an incident does not

    take place in Uttarakhand.Stating that the genuine farm-ers have understood what hadhappened in Delhi, the CMsaid that there is no logicbehind damaging governmentproperty in the manner seen inthe national capital. Reiteratingthat the farm laws are fully inthe interests of the farmers,Rawat stressed that the Centraland State governments arecommitted to ensuring thewelfare of farmers.

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    The Kedarkhand tableau ofUttarakhand was exhibitedas part of the Republic Dayparade at Rajpath in New Delhion Tuesday. The state’s tableauwas received with considerableappreciation by the crowdswhich started clapping inenthusiasm as the tableau cameon Rajpath. The State’s infor-mation department deputydirector and team leader of thetableau team, KS Chauhan and12 artistes performed as part of

    the tableau on the theme songof Jai Jai Kedara.

    The front portion of thetableau displayed the state ani-mal musk deer, state birdmonal pheasant and stateflower Brahmakamal whereasbehind these a model of theKedarnath temple compoundwas displayed along with devo-tees. Behind the temple, theDivya Shila- the large boulderwhich protected the shrineduring the 2013 disaster, wasalso exhibited as part of thetableau.

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    Noted orthopaedic surgeonDr Bhupendra KumarSingh Sanjay and Prem ChandSharma were conferred thePadma Shri award for distin-guished service the field ofmedicine and agriculturerespectively. Chief ministerTrivendra Singh Rawat andothers have congratulated thetwo for the prestigious recog-nition.

    A prominent orthopaedicand spine surgeon based inDehradun, Dr Sanjay regular-ly gives his services throughfree camps for disabledpatients. Having seen variousaspects of road traffic accidentsin his 40 years of professionalexperience, he also undertakesefforts to raise public awarenessabout the impact of road traf-fic accidents in India. Alongwith his team, he has organised225 free health camps whichearned him an entry in Indiabook of records in 2017. Hehad also removed the largestbone tumor of the femur

    weighing 16.5 kg from a 35-year-old patient- a feat whichhad featured in the GuinnessBook of World Records in2005. He also entered theLimca Book of Records in2002, 2003, 2004 and 2009 fordifferent innovative and suc-cessful surgical achievements,like hip replacement surgery ina 98 year old high-risk patient,re-implantation of autoclavedtumor bone to save the limband life of a teenager girl suf-

    fering from bone cancer, forremoving the largest bonetumor and for doing a suc-cessful spine operation in an 88year old man.

    The other Padma Shrirecipient from Uttarakhand,Prem Chand Sharma is a pro-gressive farmer and horticul-turist based in the Chakrataarea of Dehradun district. Bornin a farming family, he wasinvolved in agriculture since ayoung age. However, due to

    comparatively less profit intraditional agriculture systems,he decided to experiment infarming starting with theorganic cultivation of pome-granates in 1994. After his ini-tiative succeeded, he motivat-ed others in the region to dothe same. He then prepared anursery of 1.5 lakh saplings ofhigh yielding pomegranates in2000 and distributed these tofarmers in the region. Later in2013, he formed the fruit and

    vegetable producers committeein the region with 200 farmers.Sharma also played an impor-tant role in the development ofagriculture and horticulture inthe region by opening KrishiSewa Kendra at the villagelevel. Involved in agricultureand horticulture for about threedecades, he motivated farmersin the Jaunsar-Bawar region toincrease cultivation of cashcrops for increasing theirincome.

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    Taking cognizance of theless number of allotmentsas compared to the applicationsreceived under the ambitiousChief Minister Solar SelfEmployment scheme to pro-vide self employment oppor-tunities in solar power sector,the secretary power and alter-native energy Radhika Jha hasdirected the officers ofUttarakhand Renewable

    Energy Development Agency(UREDA) and UttarakhandPower Corporation Limited(UPCL) to expedite the processof allotment of projects.

    A total of 529 entrepre-neurs have so far applied for thescheme and out of them only75 projects have been approvedby the UREDA. Not happy atthe slow pace of the scheme,the secretary has directed thatthe officers concerned shouldensure that the required pen-dency in the applications arecomplete so that all the appli-cants get the approval to startthe project.

    With an objective to pro-vide self employment oppor-tunities to the youths whohave returned back to their

    native places due to the pan-demic of Covid-19 and thesmall and marginal farmers, thestate government launched,Chief Minister Solar Selfemployment scheme onOctober 8 last year.

    Jha said that on the sug-gestion of the chief ministerTrivendra Singh Rawat thesolar power plants of 20 MWcapacity on 25 KVA trans-formers have been approved. Ina review meeting the CM hadsuggested that since theUttarakhand PowerCorporation Limited (UPCL)mostly has transformers of 25KVA in the mountainous areas,the solar power plants of 20MW capacity should beapproved. In view of the sug-

    gestions made by the districtmagistrates (DM), the govern-ment has made some changesin the process of allotments sothat more and more people areattracted towards the scheme.

    It is worth mentioning herethat the tentative cost of a 25MW solar power plant is aboutRs 10 lakhs. The banks are pro-viding loans for the scheme. A25 MW plant roughly produces38000 units of power in a year.

    The power produced bythe entrepreneur would bepurchased by UPCL as per thePower Purchase Agreement(PPA) with the producer. It isestimated that an entrepre-neur can earn Rs 1.70 lakhfrom a 25 MW power plantannually.

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    Though the MunicipalCorporation of Dehradun(MCD) claimed last year toprovide employment opportu-nities to over 10,000 locals withthe projects like smart vendingzones and wedding points acrossthe city, the corporation is stillwaiting for the approval of theState Government to start theseprojects. Last year, the corpora-tion announced the construc-tion of 19 smart vending zonesand about10 wedding pointsacross the city. The senior offi-cials also asked ward counsellorsto recommend locations to setup wedding points which can beused by locals for conduct ofwedding ceremonies in afford-able rates. However, the officialsinformed that the MCD hadsent a proposal to State

    Government in October for theapproval of these projects but thecorporation has not received anyresponse so far. "We have sentthe proposal last year but thegovernment's approval is stillpending for the construction ofvending zones and weddingpoints. We have the plans but wecan execute them only after get-ting government's nod," saidmunicipal commissioner, VinayShankar Pandey.

    According to the officials,the corporation has collectedthe data of most of the activelocal vendors in the city whichwill help the MCD team to planthe construction of smart vend-ing zones accordingly. The cor-poration will commence thepreparation for these projectslike floating the tenders accord-ingly as soon as they get theapproval, as per the officials.

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    The number of novelCoronavirus (Covid-19)cases in Uttarakhandincreased to 95826 onWednesday with the statehealth department reporting85 new cases of the disease.The department also report-ed the death of three patientson Wednesday whichincreased the death tally from

    the disease to 1639 in the state.The health authorities dis-charged 96 patients from dif-ferent hospitals of the state fol-lowing their recovery on theday. A total of 91419 patientshave so far recovered from thedisease. The recovery per-centage in the state nowstands at 94.40 percent andthe sample positivity rate is4.57 percent.

    Two patients of the dis-ease were reported dead atMahant Indiresh hospitalDehradun on Wednesdaywhile one patient succumbedto the disease at Sushila Tiwarigovernment hospitalHaldwani on the day.

    The state health depart-

    ment reported 44 new cases ofCovid-19 from Dehradun, 20from Nainital, 11 fromHaridwar, six from UdhamSingh Nagar, two fromPithoragarh and one eachfrom Bageshwar andChampawat districts onWednesday. No new case ofthe disease was reported fromAlmora, Chamoli, Pauri,Rudraprayag, Tehri andUttarkashi districts on theday.

    With an increasing num-ber of recoveries and reduc-tion in the number of newcases, the active cases of thediseases are decreasing rapid-ly in the state. The state nowhas only 1439 active cases of

    the disease. Dehradun is at thetop of the table of active caseswith 308 cases while with 272active cases Nainital is at sec-ond position. Haridwar has191, Almora 128, Bageshwar125, Udham Singh Nagar 113,Pithoragarh 73, Tehri 65,Uttarkashi 61, Pauri 50,Rudraprayag 26, Chamoli 18and Champawat nine activecases of the disease.

    Meanwhile 144 healthworkers were vaccinated intwo vaccine sessions held inthe state on Wednesday. Thesesessions were held in Pauridistricts. A total of 14690workers have so far been vac-cinated in 231 vaccine sessionsin the state.

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    Expressing unhappiness overlesser number of hospitalsbeing empanelled in the recent-ly launched State GovernmentHealth Scheme (SGHS) andother anomalies in the proce-dural issues in the scheme, thestate government employeeassociations have demandedthat their suggestions should beincluded in the scheme. In theSGHS launched on January 1this year, cashless treatment is

    provided to the employees andpensioners of Uttarakhand gov-ernment. The scheme was dis-cussed in detail in a meeting ofthe high power committee ofthe State Employees JointCouncil Uttarakhand onWednesday. The general sec-retary of the council, ArunPandey said in the meeting thatit was discussed that the num-ber of hospitals empanelled inthe scheme is very less. Themultispecialty hospitals likeMax hospital Dehradun, Fortisand Kailash hospitals are notincluded in the scheme.Similarly the Mendanta hospi-tal Gurugram, GurudevHospital Rudrapur and othersare not providing medical facil-ities to the employees under thescheme. Pandey further addedthat many empanelled hospitals

    are hesitating to provide bettercare and facility due to the lesspackage offered under thescheme. In the meeting theemployee leaders asserted thatthe employees are facing manyproblems in the scheme andthe state government shouldconvene a meeting of differentemployee associations to dis-cuss the issue. Pandey saidthat the suggestions proposedby the employee associationsshould be included in thescheme. He said that a websiteof the scheme should belaunched so that all informa-tion regarding the cashlessscheme is readily available tothe employees.

    The meeting was attendedby Thakur Prahlad Singh,Nandkishore Tripathi, ShaktiPrasad Bhatt and others.

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    Promoting the recycling ofdomestic garbage in thecity, the Dehradun Mayor SunilUniyal 'Gama' inaugurated thenew benches constructed fromthe recycled materials by aN o n - G o v e r n m e n t a lOrganisation (NGO), WasteWarriors in Gandhi Park onWednesday.

    The benches are madefrom the cardboard preparedby recycling the waste likejuice boxes and milk cartonsthrown by locals in dumps.

    Appreciating the initiativeof the organisation, 'Gama'stated that preparing usefulproducts from waste materialslike the sturdy benches installedin Gandhi Park can resolve var-ious garbage related issues inthe city. It will also raise aware-ness among people about prop-er garbage disposal and com-

    pels them to look at the garbagein a different way, said themayor. According to him, suchinitiatives will not only con-tribute to reducing waste dis-posal issue in the city but willalso increase better employ-ment opportunities for ragpickers. Further, the officialsalso informed that the corpo-

    ration will possibly soon installsuch benches in the premises ofthe municipal corporation too.Moreover, the municipal com-missioner, Vinay ShankarPandey and chief municipalhealth officer, Dr Kailash Joshiwere also present during theinauguration ceremony besidesthe mayor.

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    The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) has taken upprobe into the murder ofComrade Balwinder SinghSandhu of Punjab. Sandhu wasa Shaurya Chakra awardee andhe was shot dead by two uniden-tified men in the early hours ofOctober 16, 2020 at the resi-dence-cum-school run by himin Bhikiwind, Tarn Taran,Punjab.

    After committing the mur-der, the assailants had imme-diately escaped on a motorcy-cle. A case FIR No: 174 /20dated October 16, 2020 wasfiled under Indian Penal Code(IPC) Sections relating to mur-der and common intentionbesides provisions of the ArmsAct in connection withSandhu’s murder on the state-ment of the wife of thedeceased, Jagdish Kaur.

    “During the peak of ter-rorism in Punjab, ComradeBalwinder Singh and his fam-ily had fearlessly fought ter-rorists. For this fearless fight,the Government of India,awarded him “Shaurya Chakra”in 1993. Besides BalwinderSingh Sandhu and his wifeJagdish Kaur, his elder broth-

    er Ranjit Singh and his wifeBalraj Kaur had also receivedthe Shaurya Chakra,” the NIAsaid in a statement.

    During the initial investi-gation by Punjab Police, it wasrevealed that the killing was exe-cuted under a conspiracyhatched by Pakistan-basedKhalistani terrorist Lakvir SinghRode and his handlers inPakistani intelligence agency,ISI, it said.The killing ofComrade Balwinder Singh wasexecuted through SukhmeetPal Singh alias Sukh Bhikariwalof village Bhikariwal, Kalanaur,Gurdaspur, a gangster- turned-terrorist, it further said.

    “Considering the gravity ofthe offence and its inter-stateand international ramifica-tions, the Ministry of HomeAffairs, Government directedNIA to take up the investiga-tion of the case. In complianceof these directions, NIA has re-registered the case and hastaken up the investigation,” itadded.

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    The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) hasattached movable property inthe form of seized cashamounting to � 80 lakh in amoney laundering case relatedto corruption and criminalmisconduct by MP Dixit, thethen Chairman-cum-Managing Director of SouthEastern Coalfields Ltd. (SECL).

    Dixit had allegedlydemanded and agreed to acceptillegal gratification of �1 crorefor illegally favouring a privateentity Maruti Clean Coal &Power Ltd. (MCCPL).

    Investigation underPrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) wasinitiated on the basis of the FIRregistered by CBI, Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU)-II,New Delhi under Indian PenalCode Section relating to crim-inal conspiracy and provisionsof the Prevention ofCorruption Act, 1988 againstDixit, Vijendra Singh, SurojitSamanta, VN Singh, BajrangLal Aggrawal, Ram AvatarAggarwal, Sanjay Singh, VinodBaid and Naveen Sharma.

    “Investigation underPMLA revealed that accused

    MP Dixit, the then Chairman-cum-Managing Director ofSouth Eastern Coalfields Ltd.(SECL), had demanded andagreed to accept illegal gratifi-cation of � 1 crore for illegal-ly favouring a private entitynamely Maruti Clean Coal &Power Ltd. (MCCPL). MPDixit in connivance with oth-ers, through a maze of events,attempted to indulge in acqui-sition of � 80 Lacs as part pay-ment which was received byVN Singh on behalf andinstructions of MP Dixit. Theamount of � 80 Lacs acquiredas a result of criminal activitiesrelated to the scheduled offenceof criminal conspiracy andcorruption, being proceeds ofcrime, has been provisionallyattached under PMLA,” it said,adding, further investigation isunder progress.

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    The World HealthOrganisation (WHO) hastaken exception to the bilater-al deals on Covid-19 vaccinesbeing carried out betweencountries and companies,warning that such moves wereputting at risk the promise ofCovax, the WHO led globalinitiative aimed to ensure rapidand equitable access to thejabs against the pathogens.

    “Of some 50 countrieswhere Covid-19 vaccines arebeing administered, nearly allare wealthy nations and 75 per-cent of doses have beendeployed in only ten countries,”said WHO Director-GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusin his speech at a meeting inGeneva. COVAX is the globalinitiative to ensure rapid andequitable access to COVID-19vaccines for all countries,regardless of income level.

    “At least 56 bilateral vac-cine deals have been signed,which fragments the market,forces countries to compete,and drives up prices of Covid-19 vaccines,” he pointed out.

    "Vaccine nationalism isself-defeating and inefficient,leaving the world's poorest andmost vulnerable people at risk,"he warned. "The emergence ofrapidly spreading variantsmakes the urgent and equitablerollout of vaccines all the moreimportant."

    "It is understandable thatgovernments want to prioritizevaccinating their own healthworkers and older people first.But it is not right that younger,healthier adults in rich coun-tries are vaccinated beforehealth workers and older peo-ple in poorer countries," Tedrossaid.

    "The situation is com-pounded by the fact that mostmanufacturers have prioritizedregulatory approval in richcountries where the profits arehighest, rather than submittingfull dossiers to WHO," he said."To put it bluntly: many coun-tries have bought more vaccinethan they need."

    The WHO chief called onall manufacturers of vaccinesthat meet international stan-dards of safety, efficacy, andquality to prioritize their sub-mission to WHO forEmergency Use Listing, theXinhua news agency reported.

    He stressed that Covaxneeds to "receive extra dosessoon, and not the leftoversmany months from now."

    Last week, COVAX hadannounced that, pendingWHO emergency use listings,nearly 150 million doses of theAstraZeneca/Oxford candidateare anticipated to be availablein the first quarter of 2021, viaexisting agreements with theSerum Institute of India (SII)and AstraZeneca.

    "2021 could be a year with

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    The proposed � 9,167-croremultipurpose hydropowerdam on river Ujh in Jammu &Kashmir's Kathua region isinching towards reality. The twocentral green panels have givennod to the diversion of 4,350hectares of land including about680 hectares of forest land andfelling of over two lakh trees forthe project, which they said isof ‘national importance’.

    The project, which envis-ages construction of a 116-metre dam, is part of India’sendeavour to step up use of thewater available under the IndusWater Treaty and is proposedon rive Ujh, a tributary ofRiver Ravi that flows intoPakistan--a part of the Indusriver basin system.

    It was considered for envi-ronment and forest clearanceby the Union EnvironmentMinistry’s expert appraisalcommittee (EAC) and forestadvisory committee (FAC)respectively in December 2020.Both the expert panels haverecommended clearance to theproject. Wildlife clearance wasalready granted to the projectin August 2020.

    The project comprises of a116-metre high concrete facerockfill dam, a powerhouse of

    installed capacity 186megawatts and a barrage 11.5kilometre downstream of thedam, ensuring annual irriga-tion of about 31,380 hectares.

    During its meeting onDecember 22, 2020, the FACobserved that this project is of“national importance whichprovides geopolitical strategicadvantage in form of moreeffective use of water of UjhRiver.”

    “This project will amelio-rate the agricultural and powersectors in the otherwise barrenKandi area. It will also be aboon in the dry Kandi beltwhich is reeling under theperil of impending water crisisduring the dry season and alsoreduce the miseries of floods inthe monsoons,” noted the min-utes of the FAC’s meeting.

    The minutes highlightedthat that the panel accepted the“justification” given by the J&Kauthorities regarding “consid-ering a patch of compensatory

    afforestation area that is ofless than five hectares afterdetailed deliberation on theoverall proposal.”

    The FAC recommendedthe project after “thoroughdeliberation” and noted that alarge number of trees are pro-posed to be cut due to the pro-ject. “Every effort shall be madeto ensure that trees are felledonly when felling is unavoidableand it shall be done in a phasedmanner. The administrationshall therefore also ensure thatcompensatory afforestation istaken up in the first year of theconstruction of the project,and adequate post-plantingmeasures are taken to ensurehealthy growth of the regener-ated forest,” as per the minutes.

    The panel also asked theauthorities to ensure that theresettlement and rehabilitationplan is not proposed over for-est land.Following FAC nod,the project was discussed byministry’s EAC for river valleyand hydroelectric project whichnoted that in all 52 villages with3,700 families are likely to losetheir homes in the land acqui-sition process for construc-tion of the dam.

    “The project will providerelief from the miseries offloods to the people living inthe area. The project has the

    scope of indirect benefits suchas pisciculture, tourism andother progressive development.Job opportunities will drasti-cally improve in this area. Atpresent most of the populationsustains on agriculture andallied activities. There are nomajor industries or otheravenues of occupation in thearea,” the EAC’s minutes said.

    It further said that the “ter-restrial fauna in the Ujh multi-purpose project” area includesmammals, birds, reptiles, but-terflies and amphibians. Someof the birds found in the regioninclude Black-winged Kite,Great-horned Owl, Black-facedBanting, Blue-throated barbet,Common Hawk Chuckoo,Common Indian Nightjar andCommon myna … Some ofthem (mammals) found in theproject vicinity are AsiaticJackal, Barking deer, CommonGrey Mongoose, Grey MuskShrew, Himalayan Hoary belliedsquirrel, Himalayan palm civet,Himalayan rat, House Rat,Indian Fox besides jungle catand leopard, which have thehighest protection under India’swildlife laws.

    The panel has also called forreview of the project regardingits impact on environment“after five years of its commis-sioning.”

    ����� ��������

    Flagging health of the soiland post-harvest manage-ment as major areas of concernfor the Indian farm sector,Agriculture Minister NarendraSingh Tomar on Wednesdaysaid the Government has set upa �1 lakh crore fund underAatmanirbhar Bharat pro-gramme to strengthen the stor-age infrastructure and reducepost-harvesting losses.

    Speaking at a panel dis-cussion on 'UnlockingInnovation to Transform FoodSystems' during the WorldEconomic Forum's week-longonline Davos Agenda Summit,the minister also said morethan 80 crore people are beingprovided adequate foodthrough the National FoodSecurity Act, under which theGovernment provides five kg of

    wheat and rice per person, permonth at a highly subsidisedprice of Rs 2-3 per kg.

    He was replying to a queryon what actions the govern-ment of India was taking tocatalyse innovations and seekfresh solutions to transform thefood systems. Tomar said nutri-tion is a big focus and priorityarea for the country and theGovernment has launched aNational Nutrition Missionalso.

    On the other hand, wider

    research by the Indian Councilfor Agriculture Research(ICAR) is taking place for pro-ducing new varieties that canreach everyone. "The concernis primarily of the soil health.Prime Minister Narendra Modilaunched a programme in 2016under which 12 crore farmershave been given soil-healthcards. We are now emphasisingon adoption of these cards touse balanced fertilisers in amore efficient manner and toincrease productivity," Tomarsaid.

    Production and produc-tivity are being ramped up bystrong research and develop-ment network and we alreadyseeing an upward trend in agriproduction, he said, addingthat ICAR is focussing ondeveloping climate-resilientand nutritious varieties. Tomarfurther said, "Post-harvestmanagement is also a majorconcern for us and to deal with

    that, Prime Minister Modi hasgiven a slogan of making Indiaself-reliant."

    "Under the AatmanirbharBharat Yojana, we have set upa USD 13 billion dollar (Rs 1lakh crore) fund for strength-ening agri-infrastructure andcold storage, hence reducingpost-harvest losses," he said.

    “As far as agriculture isconcerned, we are also layingemphasis on Research andDevelopment for production &productivity. It is our effort tosee that the crop can be man-aged in a proper manner afterharvesting,” he said. Speakingin the same panel, global fer-tiliser major YaraInternational's CEO Svein ToreHolsether said as ministerTomar said, it all comes downto soil health and technologycan improve soil health.

    "Healthy soil can not onlyprovide better quality andincreased farming, but it alsoleads to reduced carbon foot-print and the opportunity tocapture carbon from theatmosphere as well," he said."Besides, a large agriculture sec-tor has a direct effect on theeconomy as a whole. With thetech connectivity and farming,we can really benefit eachfarmer and society as a whole,"Holsether added.

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    At least 23,28,799 peoplehave been vaccinated incountrywide Covid-19 vacci-nation program till date onWednesday since January 16with nine people dying aftertaking the jab. However, theUnion Health Ministry saidthat these deaths were in noway linked to the vaccine

    “The cumulative numberof healthcare workers vacci-nated against Covid-199 hascrossed 23 lakh on Wednesday.A total of 23,28,779 beneficia-ries (till 6 pm) were vaccinat-ed through 41,599 sessions, asper the provisional report. Atotal 2,99,299 beneficiarieswere vaccinated onWednesday alone through5,308 sessions held till 6 pm,”said the Ministry.Final reportswould be completed for theday by late tonight.

    At least 79 per cent ofbeneficiaries vaccinated onWednesday were from fiveStates Karnataka, West Bengal,

    Maharashtra, MadhyaPradesh and Rajasthan.

    The Ministry said that onthe twelfth day of the vacci-nation drive, 123 AEFIs havebeen reported while a total 16persons have been hospital-ized so far. 0.0007 per centpeople have recorded hospi-talization against vaccinations.

    In the last 24 hours, oneperson who is suffering frombacterial sepsis has been hos-pitalized at Apollo Hospital,Chennai. He was vaccinated on23rd January and was hospital-ized on 24th January, said theMinistry.

    “Total 9 deaths have beenreported so far. None of thesedeaths have been causallylinked with COVID-19 vacci-nation,” it added.

    In the last 24 hours, oneperson aged 23 years, a resi-dent of Odisha has died. Thepost-mortem report is await-ed, the Ministry said addingthat no case of serious/severeAEFI/Death attributable tovaccination till date.

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    BANGALORE: VK Sasikala, formergeneral secretary of the AIADMKand aide to late J Jayalalithaa wasreleased from the Parappana AgraharaCentral Prison in Bangalore onWednesday morning, it was officiallyannounced by the Government ofKarnataka and her nephew TTVDhinakaran.

    Hectic parleys are underway inChennai where Chief MinisterEdappady Palaniswami and his deputyO Panneerselvam are chalking outstrategies to counter the moves fromSasikala camp. EPS had meade it clearduring his trip to the national capitalthat Sasikala has no place in theAIADMK.

    “There are possibilities of formerministers and MPs joining Sasikala indays to come. Anwar Raja, the formerRamanathapuram MO and GokulaIndira, former Tamil Nadu minister arelikely to cast their lots with Sasikala,”said G Satyamurthy, veteran scribe andlong time specialist in AIADMK mat-ters.

    But Sasikala is undergoing treat-ment for Covid-19 at the Victoria

    Hospital in Bangalore where she wasadmitted on January 20.

    A medical bulletin issued by thehospital on Wednesday said though shehas been tested negative for the pan-demic, as per medical protocol, shewould be discharged on tenth day(January 30) if she is asymptomatic andfree of oxygen support for at least threedays.

    “The decision for her to continuetreatment in Victoria Hospital has beentaken by her and her family members,”said the bulletin signed by medicalsuperintendent and director cumdean of the hospital.

    A team of astrologers are workingto find out the auspicious day forChinnamma (as she is addressed byparty cadre) to return to Chennai. Itwas on February 15, 2017 she left forBangalore to serve the four-year rig-orous imprisonment term slapped onher by the Special Court Judge in con-nection with the disproportionateasset case.

    Her nephew Sudhakaran, cousinIlavarasi and former chief ministerJayalalithaa were the co-accused in the

    case. Since Jayalalithaa bfreated her laston December 5, 2016, the supremeCourt which upheld the trial court ver-dict had released her from the case.

    Since her departure to Bangalore,the AIADMK of which she was thegeneral secretary went a total trans-formation as the EdappadiPalaniswamy and O Panneerselvan duotook control of the party and eased outthe Mannargudi Mafia (as Sasikala andher relatives were known) from theAIADMK.

    Dhinakaran launched the AmmaMakkal Munnetra Kazhakam(AMMK) in 2017 reportedly with theblessings of Sasikala. The split in theAIADMK had its repercussion in the2019 Lok Sabha election as the DMK-led alliance swept the polls by wrest-ing 38 out of the 39 constituencies inthe State.

    While the DMK-led front polled52.3 per cent votes, the AIADMK andits allies had to cintent with just 31.26per cent votes. The general feeling isthat had the AIADMK faced the pollsunitedly, the result would have beendifferent. PNS

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    Board of Control for Cricketin India president SouravGanguly was on Wednesdayhospitalised with cardiac dis-comfort barely three weeks afterbeing discharged from a hospi-tal where he was treated for heartblockage.

    The former Team Indiacaptain was rushed to the ApolloHospital ---after the StateGovernment created a special“green corridor” for hisvehicle --- following mild chest pain anduneasiness, sources said addinghe had a disturbed sleep onTuesday night.

    The former Indian south-paw had undergone an angio-plasty early this month after doc-tors treating him found morethan 90 percent blockage in one

    of his coronary arteries. Theother two arteries also havesimilar blockages and the doc-tors had decided to addressthose problems at a later date.

    The doctors said his ECGand echocardiogram reportswere not normal adding he anangiogram to ascertain his con-dition would be conducted onThursday.

    Incidentally Ganguli’s elderbrother Snehashis Ganguli alsoa former first class cricketer andBengal captain too underwentan angioplasty days after theBCCI president was treated forthe same ailments. Their fatherChandidas Ganguli too hadsimilar problems sources said.

    The doctors weretightlipped on whether he wouldrequire more angioplasties. “Ateam of four doctors led by Dr

    Aftab is monitoring his condi-tion, and they will take thedecision as and when necessary,”family sources said adding thecricketer was doing fine at pre-sent.

    Earlier the doctors treatinghim at the Woodlands Hospitalshad said that “he would notrequire a by-pass surgery atthis moment as he is compara-tively young and fit. He wouldreturn to normal life within 3-4 weeks.”

    Meanwhile, anxious callshad started pouring in from allparts of the country with HomeMinister Amit Shah beingamong the first persons toenquire about the cricketinglegend’s health. He called upBengal BJP observer KailashVijaybargiya to enquire about hishealth, sources said.

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    As the number of Covid-19 patients inKerala crossing the 72,000 mark byWednesday, the Indian Medical Association hasissued a note of caution of an impending hikein the pandemic. According to the latest datareleased by KK Shylaja, Minister for Health, theTest Positivity Rate in the State as onWednesday was 11.07 per cent while 5,659 newpatients were diagnosed with the pandemic ona single day.Though all States are registeringa drastic reduction in the number of patientsdiagnosed with Covid-19, situation in Keralais alarming, warns the IMA which has calledfor stringent preventive measures to check thepandemic.

    A joint statement signed by Dr RajivJayadevan, former president of IMA, Dr T VRavi and Dr Atul Manual, office bearers of theKerala chapter, says that Kerala has the high-est per centage of Covid-19 patients in thecountry. “It is with concern we are watchingthe hike in the TPR on a daily basis while theIntensive Care Units in hospitals across the Stateare getting filled up to capacity. The situationcalls for emergency measures as the State is onthe verge of a third wave of attack by the pan-demic,” said the doctors.

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    Jammu: An Army jawan, deployed on RoadOpening party duty, was killed and threeothers received splinter injuries when animprovised explosive device (IED) explod-ed near Shamshipura area of Khanabal inKulgam district on Wednesday.


Rheumatoid Doctors Arthritis Under Spinal Tuberculosis ...healthspectrum.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/April-2017...Beware from infected blades - Dr Ajay Bhalla /47 Mental Health

Rheumatoid Doctors Arthritis Under Spinal Tuberculosis ...healthspectrum.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/April-2017...Beware from infected blades - Dr Ajay Bhalla /47 Mental Health

Gaurav Bhalla Capstone Project

Gaurav Bhalla Capstone Project

11th UK Stroke Forum Conference Monday 28 - Wednesday 30 ... · 30/11/2016  · Evidence Based Update (2016) for Stroke Physicians Dr Ajay Bhalla (Consultant Stroke Physician, ...

11th UK Stroke Forum Conference Monday 28 - Wednesday 30 ... · 30/11/2016  · Evidence Based Update (2016) for Stroke Physicians Dr Ajay Bhalla (Consultant Stroke Physician, ...

Dental Implants | Dr. Bhalla Dental Clinic

Dental Implants | Dr. Bhalla Dental Clinic

Home | Ministry of Home Affairs | GoI · 2020. 10. 27. · AJAY BHALLA, IAS DO. No. 40-3/2020-DM-I(A) Dear Chief Secretary, Home Secretary Government of India North Block, New Delhi

Home | Ministry of Home Affairs | GoI · 2020. 10. 27. · AJAY BHALLA, IAS DO. No. 40-3/2020-DM-I(A) Dear Chief Secretary, Home Secretary Government of India North Block, New Delhi

Bhalla Sir Final Proposal

Bhalla Sir Final Proposal

talb Talbros Automotive Components Ltd. · AKHIL Digitally signedby AKHIL BHALLA BHALLA D1 6a:t0e1: :210721%05320? (Akhil Bhalla) Partner Membership No. 505002 UDIN: 20505002AAAAGN6231

talb Talbros Automotive Components Ltd. · AKHIL Digitally signedby AKHIL BHALLA BHALLA D1 6a:t0e1: :210721%05320? (Akhil Bhalla) Partner Membership No. 505002 UDIN: 20505002AAAAGN6231

Dr ajay bhalla

Dr ajay bhalla

Operations Bhalla

Operations Bhalla

Sures Real Estate Magazine

Sures Real Estate Magazine

Kavita bhalla, vicepresidente outbound, cox & kings

Kavita bhalla, vicepresidente outbound, cox & kings

12978 Surjit Bhalla Two Policy Briefs

12978 Surjit Bhalla Two Policy Briefs

Siddharth Bhalla Amazon

Siddharth Bhalla Amazon

M/s. Bindal & Bindal Batteries Pvt. Ltd.-Bid Document · 2021. 1. 19. · with EMD and other required documents to the “Authorised Officer”, Shri Ajay Bhalla, DGM, Retail Recovery,

M/s. Bindal & Bindal Batteries Pvt. Ltd.-Bid Document · 2021. 1. 19. · with EMD and other required documents to the “Authorised Officer”, Shri Ajay Bhalla, DGM, Retail Recovery,

DJ Sures Homepage

DJ Sures Homepage

Bhalla (1999) Visual-motor recalibration in geographical ...wexler.free.fr/library/files/bhalla (1999) visual-motor recalibration... · Mukul Bhalla, Department of Psychology, Box

Bhalla (1999) Visual-motor recalibration in geographical ...wexler.free.fr/library/files/bhalla (1999) visual-motor recalibration... · Mukul Bhalla, Department of Psychology, Box

1070 Varun Bhalla

1070 Varun Bhalla

Material design by Rajiv Bhalla

Material design by Rajiv Bhalla

Ravi Bhalla November ELEC 2017

Ravi Bhalla November ELEC 2017

Copy of Ppt Bhalla

Copy of Ppt Bhalla