LUCKNOW l WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 109

YOGI TO CAMPAIGN IN TN, KERALA TODAYLucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Min-ister Yogi Adityanath will be on a two-day poll campaign in Ta-mil Nadu and Kerala from Wednesday. As per the officials, the CM will leave for Coimbatore from Luc-know on Wednesday morning. He will flag off a bike rally in Pal-iamkulam and attend a public meeting at Theranilai Thedal. On Thursday, Yogi will head to Kerala. His first public meeting in Haripad Assembly will be followed by a roadshow in Adur. He will then have road show in Kazhakkottam.

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD

& LUCKNOW

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First India Bureau

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minis-ter Yogi Adityanath laid the foundation stone for the exten-sion of the Gorakh-pur airport’s termi-nal building. Union Civil Aviation Minis-ter Hardeep Singh Puri was also present at the event. As many as seven new routes have been opened for air travel. While five commenced opera-

tions from Sunday, two routes started flights from Monday.

The two dignitaries also flagged off an Al-liance Air flight from Gorakhpur to Luc-know under the UDAN scheme on this occasion. Under the UDAN scheme, finan-cial incentives from the Centre, state gov-ernments and airport operators are extend-ed to selected air-lines to encourage operations from

un-served and under-served airports, and keep airfares afford-able.

The existing Gora-khpur airport termi-nal building, commis-sioned in 2018, was designed to cater to 100 passengers and has an area of 1,890 sqm. “The passenger traf-fic at the Gora-khpur airport has grown ex-ponentially in a very short span of t i m e . Thus, to increase the

passenger handling capacity of the air-

port... The AAI has planned the exten-

sion of the exist-

ing terminal building at a cost of Rs 26.87 crore,” said a state-ment by Airports Au-thority of India (AAI).

An additional secu-

rity hold area will be created on the first floor, after which the terminal building will be able to handle the 200 passengers during peak hours, it said. The new expanded building will have escalators, lifts and enough space for a restaurant and for oth-er commercial activi-ties, the statement said.

Speaking on the occa-sion, UP CM said that in the last four years, there has been a rapid expan-sion of the aviation sec-tor in the state. “Uttar Pradesh is going to be the first state in the country to offer inter-national flight services from five airports. Two are already functional

and three will soon be commissioned,” he said. Laying stress on the regional air connec-tivity, Adityanath said that air services will be started from Lalitpur, Jhansi, Sonbhadra, Shravasti, Aligarh and Moradabad.

The chief minister said that with the flight to Lucknow starting from Sunday, Gorakh-pur will now have flights to seven major cities — New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hy-derabad, Prayagraj and Lucknow — and it will continue to expand fur-ther The Gorakhpur-Ahmedabad flight will commence operations from April 12.

UP SET TO FLY : PURI, YOGI ADD 7 MORE AIR ROUTESIn state, seven new routes have been opened for air travel. While five commenced operations from Sunday, two routes started flights from Monday

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, CM Yogi Adityanath & UP Aviation minister Nand Gopal Gupta flagging off the first Alliance Air flight from Gorakhpur to Lucknow in Gorakhpur on Monday. Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan was also present on the occasion.

CM Yogi Adityanath

JUST AS JUDAS DID TO JESUS, LDF ‘BETRAYED’ KERALA : MODIPalakkad: Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi on Tuesday targeted Kera-la’s ruling LDF over the gold smuggling scam, saying the CPI(M)-led government “betrayed” the people of the state just as Judas did to Je-sus for a few pieces of silver. He also slammed the LDF government on the manner in which it dealt with the agitation against the decision to implement a Supreme Court verdict allowing entry of women in all age groups into Sabari-mala temple, saying the Left dispensation should be ashamed of showering lathis on in-nocent devotees.

“Judas betrayed Lord Christ for a few pieces of silver. LDF has be-trayed Kerala for a few pieces of gold,” the PM said while attacking the Left government on the gold smuggling case al-legedly involving the former principal secre-tary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Modi sought to link the be-trayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot in exchange for money to the Kerala gold smuggling case in the poll rally held dur-ing the Holy Week being observed by the Chris-tian community.

Addressing his first election rally in Palak-kad where Turn to P6

Govt: Entire country at risk, Corona turning severeNew Delhi: India is facing an increasingly severe and intensive COVID-19 situation in some districts and the whole country is poten-tially at risk and all ef-forts to contain the vi-rus should be taken, Dr VK Paul, Member (Health) of the NITI Aayog, said on Tues-day. “We are facing an increasingly severe and intensive situation in some districts but the whole country is potentially at risk. All efforts to contain the virus and save lives should be taken,” Dr Paul said addressing a press conference.

The Centre has said that there is a need to exponentially increase tests in states, Union Territories that are re-porting a spike in COV-ID-19 cases. Turn to P6

Disappointed but my conscience is clear: MistryNew Delhi: Ousted Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry on Tues-day expressed disap-pointment over the Su-preme Court order in the fight against the con-glomerate over his oust-er, but asserted his con-science was clear and he had no doubt about the direction he took re-garding the generation-al change in leadership during his tenure.

The apex court order on Friday had set aside National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order restor-

ing Mistry as executive chairman of the con-glomerate, while allow-ing appeals filed by the Tata Group.

“Every member of so-ciety looks to institutions such as courts to validate and endorse the appro-priateness of his or her

actions and beliefs. As a minority shareholder of Tata Sons, I am person-ally disappointed by the outcome of the judge-ment with respect to our case,” Mistry said in a statement.

He further said, “Al-though I will no longer be able to influence the direction of govern-ance of the Tata group directly, I hope that the issues I have raised will cause deeper reflection and influence individu-als concerned to cata-lyse change. I sleep with a clear conscience.”

Waze present at meeting where Hiran’s murder was planned: NIAMumbai: Suspended Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze and for-mer policeman Vinayak Shinde were present at the meeting where the murder of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran was planned, the NIA told the court on Tuesday and added Waze had used a mobile phone to contact “con-spirator”.

The agency also said that it was close to un-ravelling the conspiracy

Turn to P6

NIA SEIZES HIGH-END CAR ‘REGISTERED’ IN SACHIN WAZE’S NAMEMumbai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday seized a high-end car appar-ently registered in the name of arrested Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze from Navi Mumbai, an official said. The probe team had been looking for this Mitsubishi Outlander SUV for the last several days, the official said. On specific information, a team of NIA officials travelled to Kamothe area in Navi Mumbai and recovered the SUV, which was found parked outside a housing society in sector 7, he said. The car’s number plate shows it was registered in the name of arrested API Sachin Waze, the official added.

RISKY SITUATIONl 43 women prisoners & a child have tested positive for Covid. They’ve been transferred to another loca-tion. A team from district administration is con-ducting testing in the jail premises. Jail employees and officers being vacci-nated: Jail Superintendent, Patiala’s New Nabha jail

l Delhi, taken as one district, among top 10

Covid-19 high-burden dis-tricts have the most number of active cases including Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, Thane, Nashik, Aurangabad, Bengaluru Urban, Nanded, Delhi and Ahmednagar.

l Two Covid patients die by suicide in Nagpur

l Farooq Abdullah Tests Covid Positive, Son Omar Says Family Self-Isolating

NARAYANASAMY GOVT WAS A DISASTER: MODIPuducherry: Targeting senior Congress leader V Narayanasamy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said previous party government headed by him was a ‘disaster’ that failed on all fronts & underlined NDA’s commit-ment to ensure growth. “In long list of non-per-forming Congress govts over the years, previous Puducherry govt has a special place.

MODI’S VISIT TO BANGLADESH VIOLATED POLL CODE: TMC WRITES TO ELECTION COMMISSIONNew Delhi: The TMC has written to Election Commission alleging that PM Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Bangladesh violated the model code of conduct in place for West Bengal Assembly polls and some of his programmes there “intended to influence the voting pattern” in certain constituencies of the state. The letter dated March 28 was released by TMC on Tuesday. Modi visited Bangladesh from March 26 to 27 to attend 50th anniversary of the country’s independence and the birth centenary of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman following an invitation from his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina. Turn to P6

Nandigram: Exuding confidence that BJP candidate Su-vendu Adhikari will win the elections from Nandigram by a record margin, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said defeating TMC chief Mamata Baner-jee, a co- contestant from the seat, was “absolutely necessary to bring about the much-desired change in Bengal. Shah, while talking to reporters at a party office in Nandigram, said the saffron camp’s victory margin “should be so big that no politician Turn to P6

Police from BJP ruled states ‘terrorising’ votersNandigram: WB Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged police

forces from BJP-ruled states have been brought in to “terrorise” voters

in Nandigram assembly constituency and also accused BJP ministers and security forces of distributing cash to lure voters. Criss-crossing the assembly segment on wheelchair in the last leg of campaigning, Turn to P6

12 IM terrorists awarded life imprisonment

Jaipur: A court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to 12 members of Indian Mujahideen terror out-fit who were arrested by Rajasthan police in 2014. A total of 13 al-leged members of a terror module were ar-rested by the anti-ter-rorist squad (ATS) and special operations group (SOG) based on information provided

by IM terrorists arrest-ed by the National In-vestigation Agency (NIA).

“Of them, 12 were convicted by District Judge Uma Shankar Vyas under sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Ex-plosives Act and IPC, while one was acquit-ted,” public prosecutor Liyakat Khan said.

Turn to P6

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed during a rally in favour of NDA candidates, ahead of Assembly polls, in Puducherry, Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

MAMATA HAS TO BE DEFEATED TO BRING ABOUT MUCH-DESIRED CHANGE IN BENGAL: SHAH

UTTAR PRADESHLUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021

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Yogi SpeaksYogi Speaks

Yogi has conveyed his greetings to peo-

ple on Rajasthan Day. He said the State is a confl uence of incredible cultural heritage and rich traditions.

UP CM has sought ef-fective resolution of

people’s grievances on Janasunwai Portal and CM Helpline 1076. He said that feedback from the public should be obtained in this regard.

CM Yogi has an-nounced fi nancial

assistance of Rs 50 lakhs to family of army personnel Pinku Kumar, who was killed during an encounter with terrorists in Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir.

Distributing allotment letters to ben-

efi ciaries of PM Awas Yojana in Gorakhpur on Monday, UP CM said nobody will remain shelterless and made to sleep on pavement.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: Self-Help Groups (SHG) with a lit-tle push and encourage-ment from Yogi govern-ment are scripting a success story in self-re-liance and employment generation amid Cov-id-19 pandemic.

According to a gov-ernment estimate, as many as four lakh wom-en were provided em-ployment in the past four years of the Yogi regime, which gave fi-

nancial and social in-clusion to approximate-ly 45 lakh families. The planned and prompt manner in which the UP Government came to the rescue and provided timely as-sistance to workers and migrants through these SGHs during the global pandemic has proved to be an example in the country.

These SGHs proved to be a boon for finan-cially weaker women as they the economic sta-

tus of the families and made them self-reliant. The UP CM took a ma-

jor step in strengthen-ing the rural economy and encouraging the

Uttar Pradesh State Ru-ral Livelihood Mission. Under this mission, on-line transfer of capitali-sation funds worth Rs. 445.92 crore was given to as many as 97663 self-help groups and their o r g a n i s a t i o n s .This amount has direct-ly benefited lakhs of women and their fami-lies associated with self-help groups of the state. It is to be mentioned that as many as one crore women have been added to ten lakh Self

Help Groups. Self-help groups are being linked to the government’s schemes on priority. As a result, 1.28 crore school dress has been manufactured by 67,000 group members during the COVID-19 pandemic and earned Rs 100 crore. Also, 1141 shops are be-ing operated by women self-help groups and dry rations like wheat, puls-es, rice, and milk are being distributed at 51,981 Anganwadi cen-tres in the state.

Yogi’s SHGs script success story amid Corona ruinsJOBS GALORE

CM Yogi Adityanath. —FILE PHOTO

Union Minister Smriti Irani campaigns for BJP in Assam.

‘Gandhi siblings do politics for their family’s survival’

Yogi hails SC decision to shift ‘Mukhtar’ in UP

Action against EDMC for not taking fire prevention steps

ENSURE TIMELY WHEAT PROCUREMENT: YOGI

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Delhi Envi-ronment Minister Go-pal Rai on Tuesday said strict action will be tak-en against the East Del-hi Municipal Corpora-tion (EDMC) for not taking steps to prevent fire at the Ghazipur landfill site.

A section of the land-fill site had caught fire on Sunday evening, worsening pollution levels in the area, he

said.A team of the Delhi

Pollution Control Com-mittee (DPCC) inspect-ed the landfill site man-

aged by the EDMC and submitted a report. It states that the civic body has not made any arrangement to prevent such incidents at the site, Rai said.

“Strict action will be taken against the EDMC,” he said.The minister said the DPCC has also written to various agencies, asking them to monitor all such sites where fire may break out due to rising temperature.

First India Bureau

Lucknow:Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given instructions to ensure timely arrangements for wheat procurement work starting from April 1, 2021. He said that the present state government was com-mitted to provide a fair price to the farmers for their produce. “The state government is continuously provid-

ing benefits of price support scheme to farmers on a large scale from the year 2017 on-wards. In this sequence,

the purchase of wheat under MSP should be conducted smoothly in the year 2021-22,” he said. The UP CM was

reviewing the prepara-tions for wheat procure-ment at a high-level meeting convened at his government residence here on Tuesday. He said that it should be ensured that farmers do not have to wait long to sell their produce. Ar-rangements for the seat-ing and drinking water of the farmers should be made at the wheat purchasing centres. He said preventive measures against Cov-

id-19 should be adopted during wheat procure-ment. It should be en-sured that pulse oxime-ter and infrared ther-mometer were available at the purchasing cen-tres. Chief Secretary RK Tiwari, Commis-sioner of Agricultural Production Alok Sinha, Commissioner of Infra-structure and Industri-al Development Sanjeev Mittal, Additional Chief Secretary Home Awanish Kumar

Awasthi, Director Gen-eral of Police Hitesh C. Awasthi, Additional Chief Secretary MSME and Information-Navneet Sehgal , Addi-tional Chief Secretary Health Amit Mohan Prasad, Principal Sec-retary Chief Minister and Information Sanjay Prasad, Principal Sec-retary Medical Educa-tion Alok Kumar and Secretary Chief Minis-ter Alok Kumar were present on the occasion.

First India Bureau

Borbhag/Gauripur/Guwahati:Apparently referring to Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Union minister Smriti Zubin Irani on Tuesday alleged that they “do not know the Assa-mese culture” and pur-sue politics only for “the survival of their family”.

Irani who defeated Rahul Gandhi from the Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha elec-tions, However, did not name the siblings.

“A few days ago, two members of the Gandhi family visited Assam. They don’t know the As-samese culture and do politics only for the sur-

vival of their family,” she said while address-ing election rallies at Borbhag in Nalbari dis-trict and Gauripur in Dhubri district.

The Union minister for textiles and women and child development appealed to people to bring the saffron party back to power in the state for its development.

The senior BJP lead-er also accused the Con-gress of committing a sin by not fulfilling the promises that it had made during earlier elections in Assam.The Congress was in power in Assam for three consecutive terms between 2001 and 2016 and the late Tarun Go-goi was the chief minis-ter during that period.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: The Yogi government has hailed the Supreme Court’s verdict in Mukhtar Ansari case last Friday,directing the Punjab Govern-ment to shift the no-torious gangster turned BSP legisla-tor to a UP jail as vic-tory of its drive against mafia.

Ruling BJP, in a statement, said the development, at the same time, has come as a massive embar-rassment and let down for Captain Amarinder Singh led Congress govern-ment in Punjab.

The apex court has given Punjab Gov-ernment a couple of weeks to shift Ansari from Rupnagar jail in Punjab to Banda jail in Uttar Pradesh. Technically, the ver-dict upholds the UP-Government’s appeal for transfer of Ansa-ri to a UP jail under Article 32 that deals with the ‘Right to Constitutional Rem-edies.

However, techni-calities apart, any-

one who believes in rule of law would definitely oppose a blatantly shameless move like this one by a state government to shield a notorious gangster who is fac-ing trial in a number of cases involving heinous crimes in another state whose victims are awaiting justice, said the com-munique.

The statement said the Punjab Government went too far in its bid to protect Ansari; it locked horns with another democrati-cally elected Gov-ernment to shield him. Does it not set a bad precedent? Will it not make it easier for dreaded gangsters to flee a state to find shelter in another? Will it not encourage criminals and in-crease criminal ac-tivities in society?

Fire at Ghazipur landfi ll site

Yogi seems committed to uproot land mafi a from UP.

WITH ‘LAW’ AND ORDER

Law Minister of Uttar Pradesh Brijesh Pathak extended Holi greetings and gifted two of his self written books—Uttar Pradesh Educational Manual and ‘Bharat ka Samvidhaan’ to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday.

Better than convents: CM Yogi does a Kayakalp of schools in UPFirst India Bureau

Lucknow: More than one thousand primary schools in Uttar Pradesh are surpassing convent schools in terms of basic facilities and infrastructure.

The Yogi Adityanath government’s ‘Opera-tion Kayakalp’ that is aimed at transforming the primary schools of the state, has started yielding results.

After the state gov-ernment’s initiative, the number of stu-dents in government schools has also in-creased rapidly.

Vandana Srivastava, a teacher in-charge of primary school in Hi-rapur, Barabanki, says that her school counts among the best schools in the block.

“We have received the recognition from the government. There is a smart class, beauti-ful classrooms, library for children. The most important thing is that school children now speak English. The me-

dium of education in this school is English,” she said.

At present, there

are 12 to 15 schools in every district having facilities like con-vents. In many dis-

tricts -- 20 to 25 schools have been de-veloped at par with private schools.

About 10 schools in Hardoi, seven in Sita-pur, six in Barabanki and 10 to 12 schools in Lucknow have same or better facilities than those in the pri-vate schools.

To improve the basic education in the state, the state government is running around 2.65 lakh schools across Ut-tar Pradesh.

According to the of-ficial data, around 1.85 crore children have been enrolled for the acaedemic session 2020-21 under the “School Chalo Abhiyan”. The government is also pro-viding free books, sta-tionary, school bags, shoes and socks, and sweaters to the students of primary classes, so that they would not be deprived of their right to primary education due to financial hard-ships.

Yogi government has also appointed over 1.20 lakh assistant teachers to fulfill its promise of providing ‘Quality Edu-cation’.

Parents are enrolling their children in govt schools instead of their pvt counterparts

The verdict will help UP govt to further actions

against land mafia Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inspects a government school in Lucknow. —FILE PHOTO

1.39 LAKH GOVT SCHOOLS BENEFITTED

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. —FILE PHOTO

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19-YR-OLD KILLED FOR REFUSING MARRIAGE

MAN FOUND DEAD IN SUSPICIOUS CONDITION DURING HOLI CELEBRATION

SEER FOUND MURDERED IN HIS ASHRAM IN BULANDSHAHR

Bijnor: Panic was triggered in the area after a man was found dead in suspicious condition in Dhampur town under Sherkot police station area. Police sourc-es here said that Rakesh Kumar Pal (19) was celebrat-ing Holi with his friends in Mirzapur village under Sherkot police station area. Rakesh was found dead near Hafizapur road late in evening. The family members of Rakesh alleged that he was murdered.

Bulandshahr: A seer was found dead in his ash-ram in jungle area of Achru village under Shikar-pur police station. Police said sage Ashok Kumar Sharma was residing in ashram in Achuru jungle area. Locals were regular visitors to his ashram. He was found dead in morning. Villagers informed the police about the incident following which po-lice rushed to the spot and initiated probe.

Ballia: A 19-year-old woman was killed al-legedly by a man after she decided to marry someone else at a vil-lage in Ballia, the po-lice said on Tuesday. Annu Rajbhar, the ac-cused, met the wom-an on Monday morn-ing and killed her by slitting her throat, ASP Sanjay Yadav said. Sindhu Rajb-har’s body was found in an agricultural field in the village later in the day, Yadav said.

CRIME ROUND UP

First India Bureau

Lucknow: The Covid-19 scare is deepening its roots in Uttar Pradesh as covid positive caseload is increasing unabated here. The state reported 10 more fatalities on Tuesday, pushing the death toll to 8,800, while 918 new cases took the infection tally to 6,15,996.

With this, Lucknow became the city with highest death count in the state. As of now, the city has reported 1200+ deaths.

Meanwhile, four deaths were reported from Lucknow, two from Kanpur, and one each from Meerut, Muzaffar-nagar, Unnao and Au-raiya, a health bulletin issued here said.

“The state reported 918 new cases of corona-virus infection in past 24 hours. While the death toll reached 8,800, the number of active

cases is 9,195. The num-ber of patients treated and discharged is now 5,98,001,” it said.

The bulletin said the state has so far tested over 3.47 crore samples for COVID-19, including 64,519 on Monday.

Shelter home girls test positive

After 12 inmates in Kan-pur jail tested positive for Corona, 13 girls in state-run girls shelter home have now tested positive for Corona.

Soon after the girls tested positive Kanpur CMO inspected and ar-

ranged medicines, food and a lady doctor team was appointed to oversee

the health of the girls.A total of 208 samples

were collected out of 13 people including a child tested positive for the vi-rus. The female doctor has been assigned the duty to oversee the health of the patients who have tested positive and a report is to be sub-mitted to the CMO on daily basis.

The CMO said all the patients have been quar-antined separately with necessary equipments in the shelter home itself.

Corona strikes harder as cases continue to rise across state918 new cases reported; 10 more fatalities, including 4 in Lko, take death toll to 8,800

CM Yogi chairs Covid-19 meet in presence of CS RK Tiwari, PS Sanjay Prasad, ACS (Home) Awanish Awasthi, ACS (Info) Navneet Sehgal and other offi cials on Tuesday.

People in Prayagraj fl outing all Covid-19 norms during Holi.

Priyanka Gandhi at a rally in Kerala on Tuesday.

Finance department worst hit Corona strikes UP’s Finance Department as Special Secretary, Finance, OP Dwivedi and his family mem-bers have tested positive for Corona. The Section E-11 of Finance Department which deals with Home and social welfare budget is the most affected in the de-partment. Officers from seven departments, includ-

ing Finance Department have been af-fected with Corona as well as dozens

of Secretariat personnel have also tested positive for the dreaded vi-rus. It is being feared that the Fi-nance Department contracted Co-

rona thorough a file and all the af-fected sections have been sealed.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: With the number of covid posi-tive cases continuing to be on the rise in Uttar Pradesh, dwellers here intelligently kept cele-brations a low-key af-fair. With Holi being one of the biggest and most important festi-vals in UP, celebrations this year remained sub-dued. Roads in most cit-ies wore a deserted look as people preferred to stay indoors, celebrat-ing the festival with their family members.

However, at places in Mathura, Prayagraj and Varanasi, people flouted covid norms and gath-ered in large numbers thereby increasing the

threat of coronavirus spread. In Prayagraj, a massive congregation could be seen playing Holi without wearing masks or following so-cial distancing. The ad-ministration completely failed to curtail celebra-tions at these places.

CM Yogi, meanwhile, extended greetings to the people, saying in a tweet that the festival symbolises the victory of truth over evil.

“Pray to God that the festival dedicated to love, cheerfulness and joy strengthen the col-ours of our unity and harmony. May the col-ours of happiness, peace and prosperity fill your lives,” the CM said in a Hindi tweet.

First India Bureau

T h i r u v a n a n -thapuram /Lucknow: Congress leader Priyan-ka Gandhi on Tuesday launched a scathing at-tack on the CPI(M)-LDF government, describing it as a dispensation of “frauds and scams”, which was following a “corporate” manifesto instead of the commu-nist manifesto.

She said the Left Dem-ocratic Front govern-ment had sworn alle-giance to the Communist manifesto, but was actu-ally following a “corpo-rate manifesto” like the Modi government at the Centre. She also slammed the BJP and RSS for the alleged har-assment suffered by the

nuns belonging to a Ker-ala based congregation during a train journey in UP and claimed that Home Minister Amit Shah had condemned it only because it was elec-tion time.

Addressing a series of public meetings and road shows, she embarked on her hectic two-day cam-paign across southern Kerala for the April 6 as-sembly polls on a day when PM Modi was also in the state to address a public meeting at Palak-kad, the constituency where BJP has fielded E Sreedharan. “You have struggled..you have suf-fered. Many Central gov-ernment policies have hurt you and several LDF policies hurt you even more,” she said.

First India Bureau

Bahraich: The authori-ties have slapped charg-es under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on a man for al-legedly kidnapping a 12-year-old boy for ran-som and subsequently killing him in Bahraich district last year, the po-lice said.

The district adminis-tration invoked charges under the NSA against Hasan Mohammad in February, the police said. Under NSA one can be detained without

a charge for up to 12 months if the authori-ties are satisfied that the person is a threat to na-tional security or law and order.

According to ASP (Rural) Ashok Kumar, accused Hasan Moham-

mad, his son Kaleem and four other family members had abducted the 12-yr-old on October 29 last year when he was going to coaching class.

They had demanded Rs 30 lakh from the fam-ily of the boy, a resident of Majhauli village in Matera police station area. The accused had later killed the boy and threw his body in a canal.

On a complaint by the boy’s father, a case was registered against Hasan, his son Kaleem and four family mem-bers.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: Chief Minis-ter Yogi Adityanath has issued instructions for closure of all council and private schools from Class I to VIII till Sunday (April 4). He di-rected the authorities to ensure strict compli-ance of Covid-19 proto-col and norms in schools.

Directing the officials to step up vigil and be fully geared, he said, that no laxity would be tolerated and all meas-ures should be taken to control the infection in the state. In this regard, the corona testing work should be conducted at full capacity, he said adding that RTPCR test should be done compul-sorily. He called for Cov-id-19 testing on priority basis in mass institu-tions like Girl Child Pro-tection Home, Old Age Home, Orphanage, Resi-dential School etc.

The CM said monitor-ing committees in rural and urban areas should be activated once again.

Covid humbles Holi revelry but violations happen

Priyanka attacks LDF, BJP in Kerala

Man booked under NSA for kidnapping, killing minor boy

CM orders closure of schools

Asheesh Kumar Shukla

Lucknow: Mukesh Maurya, 41, a railway employee at RDSO Colo-ny here, is an ardent fan of Discovery channel and Animal Planet for the last 22 years. But who knew that being a consistent fan of these channels would make him a snake catcher and rescuer, that too a popu-lar one?

Mukesh gradually learnt the traits of snake catching from these wildlife channels and has been actively

involved in rescuing snakes for the last five years. He is known far and wide for his exper-tise, which of course is not his core profession.

“These channels are my Guru, and taught me a lot of practical aspects related to wildlife and snakes, which helped me catch over 500 snakes, in areas such as Rajajipuram, Cantt, RDSO, Alambagh to Ma-dion at Sitapur Road”, says Mukesh, who has also been feted as a cov-id warrior for his contri-butions during the lock-

down last year, when the snakes found it easier to come out because of minimal human inter-ference.

Ont thing that makes Mukesh stand out is that as soon as he receives a call from a person in-forming him of the pres-

ence of a snake in or near their residence, his sole request to them is not to kill the snake.

“As soon as I get a complaint over the

phone, I request the complainant to keep grounded and not to kill the reptile. I go to the residences to not only save the family from fear, but also to save the snake. After catching the snakes, I leave them at the dense green belt behind Dilkusha Colony or the backyards of IR-ITM office at Hardoi Road,” says Mukesh.

Mukesh has played a fundamental role in get-ting rid of the fear fac-tors related to snakes. So much so that his col-ony members, despite

knowing of presence of a snake inside a tree-hole, prefer not to dis-turb its peace. The ser-pent too keeps to itself.

“Most snakes are non-poisonous. Even the poi-sonous ones are not in-tentional biters. How-ever, when you walk in a forest area, make sure you keep a stick with you and keep tapping the grounds ahead. This will create vibrations, that would in turn alarm the snake, which prefers running away,” tells Mukesh as a pre-cautionary measure.

Ardent fan of eco channels, Mukesh turns Pied Piper of snakesOFF THE BEATEN TRACK

Snake charmer Mukesh Maurya

First India Bureau

Ayodhya: A case has been registered against a local BJP functionary and his supporters for allegedly holding a tehsildar captive for half an hour at a village here, the police said on Tuesday.

Tehsildar Shiv Sagar Dubey complained that on March 27 when he was returning from Bairia village after measuring a land, he was stopped by Shiv Ku-mar Verma and 20 of his associates at Chappra village, they said. Dubey has alleged that he was held captive for half an hour, threatened by them and verbally abused, Additional Su-perintendent of Police (ASP) Sanjay Yadav said.

The case in the matter was lodged at the Bairia police station on Dubey’s complaint against Verma on Mon-day, he said.

BJP leader booked for holding tehsildar captive

2 brothers arrested for murder of lawyer

First India Bureau

Hamirpur: A 14-year-old girl attempted sui-cide by torching-self due to molestation by a mis-creant, sources said add-ing she was rushed to the district hospital from where she was referred to Kanpur hospital due to her critical condition.

Police said that vic-tim is a 9th standard

student and she was frustrated over molesta-tion and threatening of preparator of same vil-lage. Accused had been

reportedly threatening her to make her videos viral on social media.

It was alleged that family members of the victim informed the po-lice about the incident but no stern action was taken against the ac-cused. SP NK Singh said that there were some feuds between family of victim and accused.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: Police have arrested two brothers for murder of a lawyer who was found dead at roadside in Maurava area of Unnao district.

Police said advocate Nitin Tewari (35) of Maqboolganj, was kid-napped last Saturday and his brother Mayank had filed complaint

about his missing in Kaiserbagh Kotwali. The body of Nitin was found roadside in Pisan-da village under Maura-van area in Unnao dis-trict.

During investigation it was revealed that he had left home with Paveen Agarwal and his brother Vipin Agarwal. Police have arrested both accused.

Class 9 girl attempts self-immolation after molestation, threat by miscreant

Snake TimeMukesh says that the snakes start coming out of their holes from Shivaratri onwards and the process continues till Diwali. It is very rare that a snake is found creeping on the roads or in residences after the festival of lights.

l Vol 1 l Issue No. 109 l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi Industrial Area Kanpur Road Lucknow.Published at 98, Friend’’s Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP). Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

PERSPECTIVELUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021

04www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

hen music fans listen to their fa-vourite album, there’s a certain satisfaction de-

rived from knowing that they paid for the music they love – they’re giving back to the artists who made it.

That’s not the case on music streaming plat-forms, where artists aren’t paid a fixed fee when you stream their songs or al-bums. Instead, your sub-scription fee enters a big pot which is then split be-tween every artist on the platform based on their share of overall streams. You can think of the pay-ment pot as a pie chart: the size of an artist’s slice of revenue is determined by how many streams they get compared with their fellow artists.

This might seem a fair way to distribute music streaming revenue. If Ri-

hanna gets 1% of all streams on Spotify, it’s fair that she is paid 1% of the subscription revenue. But this system, called the pro rata payment model, be-gins to look unfair when the effects of curated play-lists are taken into account.

Popular playlists are streamed repeatedly by mil-lions of people, constitut-ing around a third of all streams on platforms like Spotify – a third of the pro rata pie. Because the third of the streaming pie repre-sented by playlists mostly features the world’s most prominent musicians, the effect of playlists is to en-large the slices enjoyed by the biggest artists at the ex-pense of smaller artists, who see their tiny slices shrink further.

This uneven playing field was the subject of our recent investigation into playlists on Spotify, con-

ducted with royalty-pric-ing expert Daniel Antal. We found that playlists don’t just benefit top art-ists, but the curators of these playlists may unfair-ly favour such artists, in-fluenced by the negotiating power of the major music labels that manage them.

ON DEMANDOver the last few years, music streaming has be-come the dominant form of music distribution around the world. Today, streaming makes up over half of global revenue from the selling of record-ed music.

Globally, almost four in five listeners use Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Tencent or YouTube. Some of the music that listeners on these platforms come across is the result of a tar-geted search for a specific artist or an album, but many people choose to sim-

ply defer to a playlist of some sort to throw togeth-er their musical diet.

The biggest playlists on Spotify are curated by the platform’s editors, attract-ing several million regular listeners. As an artist, fea-turing in a top playlist is like hitting the jackpot: your streams will rocket, and your slice of the pie will increase.

There are over 4 billion playlists on Spotify, but those that make up the top 100 attract a quarter of all playlist followers. Our study found that 81% of the songs in these top 100 Spo-tify playlists are record-ings by major music labels. A 2018 study found inclu-sion in a top playlist with 18.5 million followers rais-es an artist’s streams by almost 20 million, and re-sults in a payout of at least US$116,000 (£84,500).

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

Music streaming: Dominant form of music distribution

W

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. —Buddha

SpiritualSPEAK

TopTWEET

Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjpBengal has had enough of violence, corruption & cultural disintegration under the TMC. Bengal now wants the double engine of BJP at the Centre & the State. The sea of humanity in the road show at #Nandigram is a reflection of the mood of the people. #BanglayEbarAsolPoriborton

Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyalCongress and DMK have launched their outdated 2-G missile. This 2-G missile has one clear target - the women of Tamil Nadu.A few days back, this Missile was launched by UPA with a clear order - to attack the Nari Shakti of Tamil Nadu: PM @NarendraModi ji

MANIPUR TURNS SOFT TOWARDS REFUGEES

fter the Rohingya refugees, India is faced with another influx of refugees from My-anmar where the military junta is indis-criminately killing those protesting the dismissal and arrest of democratically

elected Aung San Suu Kyi. The protests are not sub-siding, nor are the protests and the Myanmar army’s crackdown after the military coup. The Manipur gov-ernment has withdrawn its earlier order through which deputy commissioners of Chandel, Teng-noupal, Ukhrul, and Churachandpur districts asking them to ignore the earlier letter of March 26, direct-ing them to “politely turn away” people from Myan-mar fleeing the ruling junta’s brutalities. The letter also said that civil society also should be barred from providing “food and shelter” to the refugees. The lat-est letter issued by H. Gyan Prakash, Manipur’s Spe-cial Secretary (Home), said that the March 26 missive was “misconstrued and interpreted differently”. The state government, the latest letter said, was taking care of the humanitarian needs of the Myanmar na-tionals. In contrast to Manipur’s earlier stand, the Chief Minister of Mizoram Zoramthanga defied the Centre and refused to turn away the refugees.

On March 12, the Union Home Ministry asked Mi-zoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh to “sensitise all law enforcement and intelligence agencies for taking prompt steps in identifying the illegal immigrants and initiate the deportation pro-cesses expeditiously and without delay”. The change in Manipur’s approach shows how one humanitarian crisis differs from another. When the Rohingya Mus-lims fled Myanmar to escape the massacre at the hands of Buddhists there, they were looked at as “Muslims” and every effort was made to deport them.

A

IN-DEPTH

POLARISATION GIVES ADHIKARI AN EDGE

ll eyes are on Nandigram which, along with 29 other seats, goes to poll on April 1. Attention is focused on Nandigram which is the only seat from where Mama-ta Banerjee is seeking people’s mandate

making it a fight for prestige. Facing Mamata in Nandigram is her one-time protégé and colleague Suvendu Adhikari who is now a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate. By not choosing any other safe constituency, The West Bengal Chief Minister has put her political fortunes at stake and that’s making the BJP confident of dislodging her from power.

Just before the campaigning ended, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Mamata Banerjee held road-shows in Nandigram in a show of strength. With Mamata in a wheelchair, her eight kilometre long pro-cession passed through one part of the constituency which is said to be Muslim-dominated. The Hindu majority area saw Shah’s impressive roadshow. The divide has made polarisation a buzzword in Nandi-gram and it is being used by Suvendu Adhikari to at-tack Didi. Adhikari said that Mamata’s recitation of shlokas was wrong but she can correctly recite the qalma! For this reason, Adhikari called her “Begum”. Jai Sri Ram, the slogan which irked Mamata at an event where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest, has now become the catchword. A change the BJP will relish. It hopes to win Nandigram by a huge margin. Mamata’s defeat will end the TMC story.

By deciding to contest from Nandigram Mamata has shackled herself. At least in this phase, she won’t be able to campaign for other TMC candidates.

A

n informal discussion was held recently on how small companies face financial challenges by Enterprise In-dian. The matter of concern was that promoters of small companies remained under stress about the financial concern of their companies, all this happened due to lack of financial manage-ment. Most of the promot-ers completely lack the knowledge of working capi-tal while some were paying high-interest loans to banks. In the discussion, we came to know that most of the promoters were una-ware of how company eval-uation is counted and was not even aware of how to plan the company’s annual budget.

Because of these things one thing is clear that whenever we see any negative drop in the market, the company’s man-agement gets into stress. Most promoters talk about one prob-lem, the expenditure of the company is fixed, but of the company sells little or nothing then the business cycle gets dis-torted. Due to this, the compa-ny sees economic instability at some point.

For a company, it is impor-tant to have good manage-ment. Each section of the company has prominent sig-nificance, but if the finance department is not well man-aged then the foundation of the company weakens. The CFOs working in the small companies financially dam-age the company due to their old and convincing connec-tions. Because of the insuf-ficient financial knowledge, they are not able to give proper guidance of the com-pany, and as the promoters always nod a yes head to their decisions the company has to suffer ultimately. The time has come for Small Scale Industries to increase their Strategic Financial Knowledge and take help from the expert.

LET’S LOOK AT ONE MORE EXAMPLERecently, Global Asset Man-agement Company and World Reputed Investment Company “JP Morgan Group”, when asked about the financial prob-lems of a small company in India, the CEO of the Indian branch, who is a Gujarati has to say that all the countries have been influenced by the global impact and India can-not be excluded from this. But the good news for small-scale Indian companies is that the Indian Economy is being re-vived. In the past few years, we have been trying to improve the system and the Indian Economy will soon get better momentum.

He also talked about Indi-an entrepreneurs and their ability to take risks and how governments are giving them proper support. In In-dia, the demand goes up and the investment flows quick-ly. The Reserve Bank is building a mission to infla-tion and it is a good thing. Now the priority of the gov-ernment should be to take the growth upwards. We have such a kind of environ-ment created that it is get-ting easier for the younger class to get jobs. This is a wonderful opportunity if

you want to work well. He also said that it is consid-ered to be the best time to get into the market with the long-term objective. Accord-ing to the research, in the last 35 years, the share mar-ket has seen a downfall only in 9 years. The corporate earnings growth looks to be rising this year and seems that investors will get the ultimate benefit.

He added that if small com-panies, properly manage their

expenditure then the compa-ny’s growth will not be stopped. CFOs and promoters of big en-terprises should share the knowledge of strategic finance and give the necessary guid-ance from time to time.

The only thing to say is that if you follow effective financial management, then the compa-ny will not be under financial stress. Tips for Companies to Keep Financial Management Strongz Study deeply from each section of finance and get the latest information about the Finance Trade in the market.z Think twice when talking about the growth of the company, because if there is no growth in the company with the increased expenditure, then the financial crisis will start immediately.z Maintain and plan to achieve sustainable growth so that there is no major difference in financial managementz Be vigilant so that the cost of the company does not increase suddenly. Have proper plan-ning.z Keep a goal of achieving a Bottom Line over the top line of the company, so that your financial situation will always remain strong.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY

THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES IN SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES

A

For a company, it is important to have good management. Each section of the company has prominent significance, but if the finance department is not well managed then the foundation of the company weakens. The CFOs working in the small companies financially damage the company due to their old and convincing connections. Because of the insufficient financial knowledge, they are not able to give proper guidance of the company, and as the promoters always nod a yes head to their decisions the company has to suffer ultimately

RECENTLY, GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT

COMPANY AND WORLD REPUTED INVESTMENT

COMPANY “JP MORGAN GROUP”, WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE FINANCIAL

PROBLEMS OF A SMALL COMPANY IN INDIA, THE

CEO OF THE INDIAN BRANCH, WHO IS A

GUJARATI HAS TO SAY THAT ALL THE COUNTRIES

HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED BY THE GLOBAL IMPACT

AND INDIA CANNOT BE EXCLUDED FROM THIS

BHAVESH UPADHYAY

BUSINESS/ HR EXPERT

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Insulting women is part of Cong-DMK culture: PMDharapuram (TN): In a veiled attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday dubbed former union telecom minister A Raja, as an ‘outdated 2G missile’ of the Congress and DMK and slammed him for insulting the mother of Chief Minis-ter K Palaniswami and targeting Tamil Nadu women.

Without naming Raja, Modi in his elec-tion rally here said Con-gress and DMK have launched their ‘outdat-ed 2G missile’ and this missile has one clear target, the women of Tamil Nadu.

“A few days back, this missile was launched by UPA with a clear or-der to attack the nari shakti of Tamil Nadu.”

Today Congress and DMK have insulted the respected mother of Ta-mil Nadu Chief Minis-ter K Palaniswami, he alleged.

“God forbid, if they come to power, they will insult many other wom-en of Tamil Nadu.”

Days ago, in his cam-paign, Raja allegedly spoke in an offensive manner over the birth of Palaniswami and the ruling AIADMK lodged a police complaint and a case has been regis-tered against him. —PTI

PM Modi assures FAST development of KeralaPalakkad: PM Naren-dra Modi has assured development of fisher-ies and fertilisers, agri-culture and Ayurveda, skill development and social justice, tourism, and technology and promised state ‘FAST’ development under a Bharatiya Janata Party government. “The time has come for FAST de-velopment in Kerala- F for fisheries and ferti-lisers, A for agriculture & Ayurveda, S for skill development and social justice and T for tour-ism and technology,”

PM Modi said at a pub-lic meeting in Palak-kad. Hitting out at the opposition parties, the PM said, “The high number of road barri-ers created by United Democratic Front (UDF) and Left Demo-cratic Front (LDF) has

made the speed of de-velopment slower.” “Our government is un-dertaking many steps for the growth of agri-culture and the welfare of farmers. For many years, governments promised hike in Mini-mum Support Price, but it was our government that had the honour of raising MSP for farm-ers,” he added. Kerala and tourism have a close link but sadly, LDF and UDF have not done much to improve tourism infrastructure here, PM added. —ANI

Home Minister Amit Shah holds rally in Nandigram

Campaigning ends for second phase of Assam electionsDispur: The second phase of campaigning for assembly polls in Assam ended on Tues-day with all the players including the ruling NDA, Congress-led Ma-hajath make hard ef-forts to woo voters on 39 seats that will go to the polls on April 1.

The second phase of elections will decide the fate of 345 candidates. The main contest is seen to be between the alliances led by BJP and

Congress. The BJP-led led alliance also in-cludes the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL).

Congress has stitched a broad alliance that in-cludes All India United Democratic Front (AI-UDF), Communist Par-ty of India, the Commu-nist Party of India (Marxist), the Commu-nist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Lib-eration, the Anchalik

Gana Marcha (AGM) and the Bodoland Peo-ples’ Front (BPF).

Jailed activist Akhil Gogoi’s Raijor Dal has stitched an alliance with Assam Jatiya Pari-shad. The BJP is bank-ing on the performance of the Sarbanand So-nowal government in the state in the past five years, the initiatives of the central government and the appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. —ANI

Nandigram: Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a roadshow in West Bengal’s Nandi-gram ahead of the sec-ond phase of polling in the state on April 1. A huge number of party workers and supporters have gathered, hurling garlands and waving party flags. Nandigram seat is experiencing a high-octane battle be-tween turncoat Suvendu Adhikari and West Ben-gal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, which falls in the second phase of the state assembly elec-tions to be held on April 1.

In phase-II, 30 seats will go to the polls to de-cide the fate of 171 can-

didates including 19 women. The first phase of the West Bengal As-sembly elections con-cluded with an estimat-ed 79.79 per cent voter turnout on Saturday.

Now the remaining seven phases for the 294-member Assembly will be held on different dates with the final round of voting sched-uled on April 29. —ANI

‘People of Kerala will not be fooled by corrupt govt’

Kollam: The people of Kerala will not be fooled by false promises and corrupt governance, said Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while campaign-ing in Kollam ahead of the Assembly elections.

“Kerala, I wish for you to show to every-body in this country that you will not be fooled by any false prom-ises, corrupt govern-ance, and people who want power but don’t serve you,” Priyanka Gandhi said while ad-dressing a public rally in Karunagappally.

“Vote for Congress to get a good government and so that Kerala can be put back on the top of development and your economy can be made strong once again,” she added. She urged the people to vote for the party to strengthen & encourage young candi-dates. At her arrival, Priyanka was welcomed by the youngest candi-date from Kerala, Ari-tha Babu, who will be contesting the Karuna-gappally seat. —ANI

No auto pay transactions from April 1

Graft allegation against Maha HM: Retd HC judge to probeNew Delhi: Auto pay-

ments of your mobile and utility bills as well as subscription charges to any of your favourite over-the-top (OTT) plat-forms using your credit card, debit card, UPI, or other prepaid payment instruments are likely to get disrupted starting Thursday, April 1 as the RBI is applying its re-cently announced rule for recurring transac-tions. The central bank notified all scheduled commercial banks, card payment networks, pre-paid instrument issu-ers, and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) about the forthcoming regime that it first announced through a circular in August 2019. —PTI

Not an inch of land has been lost: Gen Naravane on Indo-China conflict

Singh: Prez’s bypass surgery successful

New Delhi: India did not lose even an inch of its territory during its months-long standoff with China in Eastern Ladakh, said Army chief General MM Nar-avane on Tuesday.

He added that since the disengagement pro-cess kicked off last month, there has been relative peace in the re-gion. On being asked about the situation along the LAC with China and the ninth round of the Core Com-mander level talks be-tween India and China, he said, “After the ninth round of the Core Com-

mander level talks, we had agreed upon a phased disengagement from these friction ar-eas, and as per that from Feb 10 onwards, disengagement started and it went according to the plan where from the North and South

Bank of Pangong Tso as well as from the Kailash Range, people have gone back to their nearest permanent lo-cations. Thereby face-to-face deployment that was there and because of which there could have been chances of miscalculation has now receded. So we have gone back and as a result now there is relative peace and tran-quility in the LAC.”

He added, future round of talks will con-tinue and I am sure through these we will be able to narrow down our differences.” —ANI

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind has undergone a successful bypass surgery at Del-hi’s AIIMS, Defence Minister Rajnath Sin-gh tweeted. Singh said he spoken to Dr Ran-deep Guleria Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences and wished President a speedy recovery.

“President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, has undergone a suc-cessful bypass surgery at AIIMS, Delhi. I con-gratulate the team of doctors for the success-ful operation. Spoke to Director AIIMS to en-quire about Rashtrapa-tiji’s health. Praying for his well-being and speedy recovery,” Sin-gh said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah

conveyed good wishes and prayers for the president’s speedy re-covery. Glad to learn about Rashtrapati Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji’s successful bypass sur-gery at AIIMS. May each day bring him re-newed strength. My good wishes and prayers for his speedy recovery, he tweeted.

‘Officers can be sacked even after 20 yrs of service’New Delhi: Taking a tough stand against cor-ruption, Gen Naravane said the force has zero-tolerance towards those who use wrong practices to join Army and services of those found to have done so can be terminat-ed, even after 20 years of service. “No matter when such misdeeds come to light anybody who enrolled or got selected through improper means his services can be terminated anytime,” he said. —ANI

Mumbai: The Maha-rashtra government on Tuesday appointed a one-member judicial commission to probe allegations of corrup-tion against home minister Anil Desh-mukh levelled by for-mer Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh, who was re-moved amid investiga-tions into the explo-sives-laden car found near billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s house in February. The retired judge of Bombay High Court, Kailas Chandiwal, has been given six months to submit his report to the state government. —Agencies

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Just as...‘Metroman’ E Sreed-haran is contesting as the BJP candidate, Modi also flayed the Congress-led UDF over corruption, saying dur-ing its rule, the then government did not even spare the rays of sun, a reference to the solar panel scam when senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy was Chief Minister in 2013.

“Over the last few years, the politics of Kerala is seeing a major shift.This shift is being driven by the aspira-tions of the youth, espe-cially the first time vot-er in the state. For many

years, the worst kept secret of Kerala politics was the friendly agree-ment of UDF and LDF.Now, the first time vot-ers of Kerala are ask-ing- what is this match fixing?” Modi said.

Police from...the TMC supremo al-leged at Sonachura that huge amount of cash was being brought from all over the country and “distributed from hotels by the (BJP) ministers” to lure people cast their votes in favour of the saffron party nominee.

Modi’s visit...The subject line of the

letter written by TMC national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha mem-ber Derek O’Brien read: “Gross violation of dem-ocratic ethics and the Model Code of Conduct by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during his visit to Bangladesh.” “We have no objection whatsoever to his visit to Bangladesh for this offi-cial purpose. After all, India played a critical role in the liberation of Bangladesh. West Ben-gal, in particular, made an immense contribu-tion to the heroic strug-gle of our fellow Benga-lis in (what was then) East Pakistan for free-

dom from the brutal re-gime in West Pakistan.

“However, the All lndia Trinamool Con-gress strongly objects to Shri Modi’s pro-grammes in Bangla-desh on March 27. These had nothing to do with either the 50th anniver-sary of the independ-ence of Bangladesh or the birth centenary of ‘Bangabandhu’. Rather, they were solely and ex-clusively intended to influence the voting pattern in certain con-stituencies in the ongo-ing elections to the Leg-islative Assembly of West Bengal,” O’Brien said in the letter.

Mamata has...will dare to fool the mass-es with false promises ever again”. By defeating Mamata didi in Nandi-gram, you can bring about the much-desired change in West Bengal. You defeat her here, The TMC will automatically get defeated in other parts of the state,” he said. Earlier in the day, in a show of might, Shah held a massive roadshow in the high-profile con-stituency. Standing atop a lorry, decked up with flowers and BJP flags, Shah, with Adhikari by his side, waved at enthu-siastic crowds that gath-ered along the four-km

stretch between Bethu-ria and Rayapara in the East Midnapore assem-bly segment. —PTI

Govt: Entire...“We spoke to representa-tives of these states. We asked them why they are not increasing testing when cases are increas-ing. It is essential to in-crease testing with a focus on RT-PCR tests. Rapid Antigen tests be used for screening in densely pop-ulated areas,” Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said. —ANI

12 IM...He said that the maxi-mum punishment award-

ed by the court was life imprisonment under Sec-tion 121-A of IPC. Khan said that the convicts were mainly engaged in activities like making bombs. Those convicted were identified as Mo-hammed Ammar, Mo-hammad Sajjad, Moham-mad Aqib, Mohammad Umar, Abdul Wahid Gau-ri, Mohammad Waqar, Abdul Majid alias Addas, Mohammad Maruf, Waqar Azhar, Barkat Ali, Mohammad Saqib Ansari and Ashraf Ali Khan.Mashraf Iqbal was acquit-ted by the court.—PTI

Waze present...and the motive behind

the crime. The special court judge P R Sitre has extended till April 7 the NIA custody of Shinde and another accused Naresh Gor, a cricket bookie, in the murder case. The agency said it needs to question the ac-cused duo regarding the recovery of seven SIM cards, some mobile phones and a CPU dur-ing the probe. Special public prosecutor for NIA Sunil Gonsalves told the court that the probe team found a piece of paper during the probe listing 14 mo-bile phone numbers, of which five numbers were given to Waze.

FROM PG 1

New Delhi: The Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Tuesday announced that from April 1 all people above 45 years will be eligible for vaccination.

He stated that ad-vance appointments for vaccination can be booked through http://cowin.gov.in, or one can visit their nearest vac-cination center after 3 pm and get on-site reg-istration done.

“From April 1 all people above 45 yrs of age will be eligible for vaccination. Advance appointments can be booked through http://cowin.gov.in. If you don’t want to do this, you can go to your near-

est vaccination center after 3 pm and go for on-site registration,” said Bhushan.

He added, “Those who want to go for on-site registration are re-quested to go to their nearest vaccination center after 3 pm with an identity document. Usually people with Aadhaar Card and vot-er ID. But you can also produce a bank pass-book, passport, ration card.”

Bhushan on Tuesday informed that 10 dis-tricts have the highest number of active COV-ID-19 cases, which in-clude eight districts of Maharashtra.

These are Pune,

Mumbai, Nagpur, Thane, Nashik, Aurang-abad, Bengaluru Ur-ban, Nanded, Delhi, and Ahmednagar.

He further stated that 807 UK variants, 47 South African variants, and one Brazilian vari-ant have been found in India so far.

The Union Health Secretary informed that the recovery rate in the country stands at 94 per cent while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent.

Stating measures that need to be taken to curb the spread of the disease, Bhushan said isolation needs to be done immediately for those who test positive.

ABOVE 45 YEARS OF AGE WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR COVID VACCINATION FROM APRIL 1, SAYS HEALTH MINISTRY

New Delhi: Direc-torate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said all air-ports need to en-sure strict adher-ence to COVID-19 protocols as the cur-rent situation is not satisfactory. “Dur-ing the surveillance of some airports, it has come to notice that compliance is not satisfactory,” read a DGCA circu-lar issued.

“All airport oper-ators requested to ensure that instruc-tions on COVID-19 protocol from the standpoint of wear-ing face masks prop-erly, covering nose and mouth, as well as maintaining so-cial distance norms within the airport premises are fol-lowed,” it added. It said that the possi-bility of taking pu-nitive action, such as a levy of spot fines in accordance with the law, shall also be explored with the local police authorities. —ANI

New Delhi: PM Naren-dra Modi on Tuesday wished National Con-ference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah speedy recovery from the COVID-19 infection.

“Praying for the good health and speedy re-covery of Dr Farooq Abdullah Ji. Also pray-

ing for your and the en-tire family’s good health, Omar Abdul-lah,” the Prime Minis-ter tweeted. Prime Min-ister’s tweet came after NC vice-president Omar Abdullah, also the son of Farooq Ab-dullah, informed that his father contracted

coronavirus. “My fa-ther has tested positive for COVID-19 and is showing some symp-toms. I will be self-iso-lating along with other family members until we get ourselves tested. I request anyone who has come in to contact with us over the last

few days to take all the mandated precau-tions,” Omar said.

Abdullah, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at Sher-i-Kashmir Insti-tute of Medical Science in Srinagar on March 2.

New Delhi: The most number of active Cov-id-19 cases have been found in 10 districts across India, including eight districts in Maha-rashtra, the most affect-ed state in the country that has seen the high-est surge in the number of infections, the health ministry said.

The Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said while briefing the media that eight out of 10 districts with most number of active cases across the country are in Maraha-rashtra. 10 districts are Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, Thane, Nashik, Aurang-abad, Bengaluru Ur-ban, Nanded, Delhi, and Ahmednagar. The health secretary said that 807 cases of the UK strain have been found in India so far.

New Delhi: Six chil-dren were burnt to death after the thatched house they were inside caught fire in Bihar’s Araria district on Tues-day. The incident took place in the Kavaiya vil-lage of the Palasi block of Araria.

The six children were roasting corn when the hut caught on fire. The flames spread quickly, preventing the

children from being able to escape. Some lo-cals tried to douse the flames but could not rescue the children. Soon, police and the fire department reached the spot. The bodies were recovered from the burnt down hut and sent for a post-mortem.

All the victims were between the ages of 3 and 6.

New Delhi: A delega-tion of Congress lead-ers on Tuesday met the Election Commission seeking registration of a case against BJP chief JP Nadda and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal for allegedly violating the law by giving ad-vertisements in news-papers claiming victo-ry in the assembly polls.

Congress leaders led by Rajiv Shukla urged the EC to immediately act against the BJP leaders for trying to “influence” the Assam elections by “making predictions” about the first phase.

He claimed the BJP leaders have flouted the Representation of

the People Act and rules of the EC which clearly bar anyone in-cluding astrologers and tarot card readers from making any pre-diction about the out-come of polls.

Rajiv Shukla alleged that the ruling party at the Centre and in the state of Assam is flout-ing the law and strict action should be taken against it.

He also said that they have complained against Assam minis-ter Himanta Biswa Sar-ma for allegedly threat-ening the Congress’ al-liance partner Bodo-land People’s Front of action through the use of central agencies and demanded strict action against him.

New Delhi: IPL 2021, set to begin on April 9, will see revised playing conditions with focus on two key elements – the removal of the on-field soft signal and re-duction of playing time for each innings to 90 minutes.

According to Cricbuzz, BCCI have re-moved the soft signal rule and also said teams should finish the 20th over in 90 minutes.

The report quoted a letter which has been sent by the BCCI to all the eight IPL teams, in-forming them about the changes.

“As a measure to con-trol the match timings, the 20th over in each in-nings is now included in 90 minutes, earlier

the 20th over was to start on or before the 90th minute,” BCCI said warn the batting side if it indulges in time-wasting tactics.

With regard to the soft signal rule, BCCI said the on-field um-pire’s signal will not have any bearing on the decision of the third umpire.

“The third umpire

shall determine wheth-er the batsman has been caught, whether the de-livery was a bump ball, or if the batsman will-fully obstructed the field. In case of a fair catch, the third umpire will use all the techno-logical support availa-ble to him/her. The third umpire shall com-municate his/her deci-sion,” the letter read.

Airports need to ensure strict adherence to norms: DGCA

PM Modi wishes Farooq Abdullah speedy recovery from COVID-19

10 districts including 8 from Maharashtra have highest active COVID-19 infections

Six kids burnt alive as straw house catches fire in Bihar

Cong meets EC, seeks case against Nadda

No soft signal, 90-minute innings: BCCI’s conditions for IPL 2021

Locals tried to douse the flames but could not rescue the children. —REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE

Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan receives a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, at Delhi Heart and Lung Institute, in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Recovery rate in the country stands at 94 per cent while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent

New Delhi: Delhi reported 992 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with a positivity rate of 2.70 per cent, while four more people succumbed to the pathogen in the city, health department officials said here. They said the low number of cases could be attributed to fewer COVID-19 tests conducted on Monday on account of Holi. The total number of cases stands at 6,60,611, the officials added.

Chandigarh: Punjab extended restrictions to tackle Covid with schools & colleges to remain shut for another 10 days. On March 19, Punjab government had ordered the closure of educational institutes besides gathering restrictions till the month-end. Punjab CM Amarinder Singh ordered all restric-tions will now remain in force till April 10.

DELHI RECORDS 992 NEW CASES

PUNJAB EXTENDS CURBS TILL APRIL 10

Islamabad: Paki-stan’’s top leadership has been hit by the coronavirus with President Dr Arif Alvi and Defence Minis-ter Pervez Khattak contracting it, days after Pak PM Imran Khan & his wife tested positive for the disease which is now raging in the country. On Monday, President Alvi tweeted that he had tested positive for the virus. Paki-stan PM Khan tested positive for the virus on March 20. His wife Bushra Bibi also tested coronavirus positive the same day.

PAKISTAN’S TOP LEADERSHIP HIT BY COVID; PREZ & DEFENCE MIN TEST POSITIVE

New Delhi: A fire broke out at the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Kashmere Gate in Delhi on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

According to authorities the blaze was first reported on the sixth floor of the bus terminus.

Authorities received information about the blaze at 2.36 pm, fire officials said adding that nine fire tenders are trying to douse the blaze.

DELHI: FIRE BREAKS OUT AT KASHMERE GATE ISBT

NEWSLUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021

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First India Bureau

Lucknow: With busi-nesses in the country slowly coming back on track, the traders of counterfeit notes are also re-establishing their roots in the state. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has started an investigation into the issue after the ar-rest of counterfeit note smuggler Sadar Ali from Noida three days ago. The ATS has now started to unearth oth-ers connected to the net-work of Sadar Ali.

The ATS has launched a manhunt for Mumtaz, wife of Sadar Ali and have announced a reward of Rs. 25,000 for information related

to Mumtaz.According to ATS

sources, Sadar Ali’s net-work was spread in Ba-reilly, Kanpur Nagar and other cities includ-ing Lucknow and he used to supply fake notes made in Pakistan to many smugglers in Uttar Pradesh.

The interrogation has also revealed that in the last few months a large supply of fake notes has been received by smug-glers in the state.

Based on the facts un-earthed during interro-gation, the ATS is look-ing for suppliers associ-ated with the gang and the ATS has also begun investigating several previously caught smugglers.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: The police arrested an accused for smuggling liquor from Haryana prior to the Panchayat elections in the state. The police have also recovered huge amounts of Hary-ana Marca liquor from his possession.

In-charge Inspector Deepak Chaturvedi said, a team led by SI Ganesh Sharma stopped and conducted search on a car on Rahkada Kasampura Marg. The team recov-ered 288 quarter bottles and 12 big bottles of Haryana Marca liquor from the car. During in-terrogation, the ac-cused stated his name to be Shyam Singh of Rahkada village.

According to the po-lice, the accused was planning to smuggle liquor from Haryana into the state for the Panchayat polls.

In another news, a team of Sunil Kumar, SI of Police Outpost Shuk-tirth, raided the jungle of Majlispur Taufir and arrested an accused who was operating a liq-uor furnance.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: The journey between a dozen dis-tricts of Delhi to west-ern Uttar Pradesh is going to be easy in the next few days as the Un-ion Ministry of Roads and Transport High-ways has received ap-proval to begin opera-tion of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway. The Delhi-Meerut Ex-pressway is expected to be started from March 31 but there has been no official information available on it.

The expressway though will be started from first week of April after which people of Uttarakhand along with Delhi from Meerut, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Shamli and Mu-zaffarnagar will bene-fit from it. As per un-confirmed sources, if the Delhi-Meerut Ex-pressway starts on March 31, then toll col-lection will also start from the next day i.e. April 1.

If the expressway is opened then the jour-ney between Meerut

and Delhi will take just an hour and the best part about the journey

will be the absence of traffic jams or traffic signals which other-

wise increases the jour-ney time.

The expressway will benefit a large number of people from Meerut who travel to Ghazi-abad, Noida-Greater Noida and Delhi due to their jobs.

The people of Ghazi-abad are also eagerly waiting for the Delhi-Meerut Expressway to be operated as once the expressway is open then it would mean that the journey to Meerut will take just 30 minutes and will be void of traffic jams.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: The last date for disposal of pending cases for 2017-18 VAT period has been extend-ed by three months. Thismeans that the last date now happens to be June 30, 2021 instead of the earlier March 31.

The decision to ex-tend the date has come as a big relief to the three and a half lakh traders of the state in-volved in the pending suit. The issue was vig-orously raised by the Merchant Welfare Board and the Lucknow Business Board.

The issue raised by the Welfare Board and the Merchant Organisa-

tion said that the last date for pending VAT tax is March 31. It said that in such a short time, it would be diffi-cult to take a decision on the pending cases of VAT tax as the mer-chant class will not be able to present its case properly and a one-sid-ed decision made by the authorities will be in an arbitrary, inconsistent form.

The issue was con-veyed to the Chief Min-ister and Additional Chief Secretary of the state and understand-ing the seriousness of the issue Commercial Tax Commissioner Ministhy S has decided to extend the last date.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: The Rashtri-ya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will start the ‘Bhoomi Suposhan Ab-hiyan’ from April 13 and all the Sangh branches will be activated in eve-ry Nyaya Panchayat.

Sunil Khare Co-sang-hachaalak of the Awadh Province informed about the decisions tak-en at the All India House of Representatives

meeting in Bangalore organised by the Rash-triya Swayamsevak Sangh. He said, 488 del-egates from all over the country were present physically and 850 dele-gates were in attend-ance through the virtual medium.

Two resolutions were passed in the meeting with the first one on the manifestation of the in-herent power of the con-struction of Ram Tem-

ple in India and the sec-ond proposal was re-garding the united stand

to be taken against the pandemic.

Khare said the Bhoo-

mi Suposhan Abhiyan will promote organic farming and to help to overcome the deficiency of essential nutrients in the land. He added that with the excessive use of chemical fertilisers and medicines in agri-cultural works the fertil-ity of land has decreas-ing rapidly.

He further added that society has to be made aware to save the land from going barren.

ATS girds up to bust fake currency racket

Last date for disposal of VAT cases extended

One held for smuggling liquor from Haryana

RSS to launch Soil Nutrition Campaign from Apr 13

Zoom down Del-Meerut E-way from today

HOLI SPIRIT

Devotees play “Huranga” (Holi) at Dauji temple near Mathura on Tuesday. Huranga is a game played after Holi between men and women.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: Foreign tour-ism in the country which has been crippled due to the ongoing Corona pan-demic is ready to grow to new heights as soon as the Corona has been brought under control completely.

The state tourism de-partment has started preparing to pull the non-resident Indians to tour Uttar Pradesh. The tourism department has started to target the cur-rent generation of coun-trymen who went to

South Africa decades ago as Girmitiya as the feeling of finding their roots has been aroused in them and are waiting to visit the country once the Corona pandemic is banished.

Yogi government has been continuously pro-moting religious-cultur-al tourism in the state. Which is why after about a year when the impact of the corona dimin-ished the tourists started flowing into places like Mathura, Vrindavan, Ayodhya and Kashi. The state government has

been trying its best to de-velop a tourist destina-tion in every assembly constituency to boost the domestic as well as for-

eign tourism in the state.UP undoubtedly has a

rich attraction of his-torical heritage and tourists come from all

over the world to see them and admire them. The Tourism Depart-ment has also been tak-ing new efforts in view

of the current challeng-es and in order to in-crease foreign tourism in the country steps are being taken to attract

foreign tourists of Indi-an origin.

Mukesh Kumar Me-shram, Principal Secre-tary, Tourism and Cul-ture said that large number of NRIs live in South Africa. The peo-ple went there as work-ers on contract as inden-tured before independ-ence and have since then settled there. He added through the Indian Em-bassy in South Africa, films were shown relat-ed to Uttar Pradesh’s culture, food, living, im-portant places etc.

Meshram said that he

was thrilled by the re-sponse as the descend-ants of Indian origin want see and understand the land, culture etc. of their ancestors. He add-ed that based on their consent a tour plan is be-ing prepared for them. He further said same ac-tion plan is being made for NRIs from many countries of Africa in-cluding Trinidad, Toba-go, Mauritius, Fiji and Maldives and once MoUs are signed tourists will soon start visiting the country after the pan-demic subsides.

TOURISM BOOST: PLAN TO CONNECT NRIs TO UP ROOTS State starts preparing to woo Indian descendents of Girmitiyas from African nations once covid-induced impositions end

COVID-19 SCARE SPREADS

Increase in the rise of cases of covid in the

state capital Lucknow as well as other parts of Uttar Pradesh has not only the government but also activists, journalists, politicians and officers in panic mode. With the recent news regarding the advice for the journalists of Lucknow to get tested for the virus going viral,

the number of tests being conducted has seen an increase. The number of people reaching hospitals to get vaxed has also seen a rise in recent times. But the opinion around is that getting vaccinated alone cannot be the only solution and it is important to maintain social distancing as well follow protocols set by the government. The government is engaged in creating awareness on one side but at the

same time media is busy defending itself against the virus and at the same time spreading awareness about the virus to people. The memories of 2020 is still fresh in the mind of people as it was around this time that last year that the country and every citizen’s life came to a standstill due to fear of spread of the deadly COVID-19. The public are hoping that the government this time around can control the

spread of virus and that the daily life of public is not affected due to the virus again. This desire for maintaining normalcy though depends on the people as they are to follow the protocols set by the government but if they become ignorant of these protocols then there is a chance that another

set of stringent steps by the government in view of safety of the public can derail the economy. —Ahtesham Siddiqui

SHO USES GANGAJAL AS SANITISER

A Station House Officer (SHO) in Meerut

district of Uttar Pradesh is using ‘Gangajal’ as sanitiser and also to ‘purify’ visitors in his police station to keep coronavirus at bay and control law and order. The SHO Nauchandi in Meerut district Prem Chand Sharma shot into the limelight when a video containing his

divine act went viral on YouTube. He sprinkles the holy water on any complainant visiting his police station and then chants a mantra (he calls it a purification mantra) after applying a ‘tilak’ on the forehead of the visitors. After purification at the Police Station, most complainants return with a bottle of Gangajal as a gift from the SHO with a vow to promote peace and brotherhood and give up alcohol, if any

of them consume. During the Holi festival, the SHO distributed bottles of Gangajal to people under his police station with a resolve to give up drinking liquor. “Holi celebration is incomplete without liquor. I offered bottles of Gangajal and appealed to people to give up liquor and drink holy water to purify the soul and sprinkle on the body to stay sanitized from all diseases,” he claimed. —M Tariq Khan

Ghats along the Sarayu river in Ayodhya. —FILE PHOTO

—FILE PHOTO —FILE PHOTO

—FILE PHOTO

—FILE PHOTO

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The way to keep going- as soon as the thought to quit pops into your mind replace it with the

thought why you should keep going!—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, First India

Sumit Awasthi

Kanpur: Fire broke out once again in LPS Institute of Cardiology in Kanpur on Tuesday morning just two days after fire broke out in the same hospital.

The first fire broke out in roof of the emer-gency ward due to short circuit near the AC unit placed on the roof. See-ing the smoke, the staff immediately shifted 4 patients to the general ward and the remain-ing 4 patients to the SBU ward. The staff then

extinguished the fire with the help of fire ex-tinguishers even before the fire brigade could arrive at the spot.

The second inci-dent happened soon after the fire brigade had left the Institute of Heart Disease at around 7 in the morn-ing, 3 hours after the first fire as a curtain in room number 1 caught fire.

The staff of the hos-pital this time around too extinguished the fire with the help of fire extinguishers and got

the situation under con-trol.

The fire in the CCU ward of the Kanpur’s Heart Disease Institute on Sunday had taken the life of four patients of the hospital. The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adity-anath has expressed grief over the incident and set up a high-level committee to investi-gate the incident.

The fire on Tuesday again had caused panic but fortunately no casu-alty has been reported due to the incident.

Fire breaks out twice at LPS Institute of Cardiology in Kanpur

Water cannons in action to extinguish fi re at the Cardiology hospital. A patient being shifted from the hospital on a stretcher.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: Holi, in Luc-know, has lost much of its vibrancy and colour — and it is not corona alone that is to blame.

The changing political scenario, hardening of lines in various political parties and increasing acrimony between lead-ers has robbed the festi-val of its festivity. With Chief Minister Yogi Adi-tyanath away in Gorakh-pur, his official residence at 5 KalidasMarg, on Monday, wore a desolate look. Barring a few secu-rity personnel strolling around, there was al-most no activity in the high-security zone.

He left for Sefai on Sunday to celebrate Holi with his extended fami-ly. The chief minister’s residence in Lucknow, once upon a time, used to be the epicenter of all celebrations, particu-larly Holi.

Former chief minis-ters, including Hemvati-NandanBahuguna, Veer Bahadur Singh, Narain-DuttTiwari and even Ra-jnath Singh, kept an open house on Holi. Bu-reaucrats, party work-ers, leaders and journal-ists were allowed free access into the chief minister’s residence. Colour flew into the air and snacks were served

to all and sundry. “The Chief Ministers

welcomed everyone with open arms. There were no security checks and everyone was treated with respect. In the pre-sent times, it is almost unthinkable that politi-cians would host such events,” said senior jour-nalist PradeepKapoor.

The trend stopped when Mayawati became

the Chief Minister in 1995. She did not believe in celebrating festivals that were ‘Manuwadi’ and she was also para-noid about her security.

“It has never been the same after that. Whether it was Mulayam Singh or AkhileshYadav and now Yogi Adityanath — they all stay away on festivals like Holi” said another journalist.

On Monday, the BJP office had few familiar faces but all senior lead-ers were missing. The Samajwadi Party also wore a desolate look since Akhilesh and Mu-layam were away in Se-fai. The gates of the BSP office, like every other day, remained firmly locked and there were no signs of any celebra-tions here. The scene at the Congress party of-fice also reflected the mood in the party that is presently locked in bit-ter infighting.

CM house, political parties’offices desolated on HoliEarlier, the Chief Minister’s residence used to celebrate the festival of colours with gusto

AWAY FRM LUCKNOW

CM’s residence. —FILE PHOTO

First India Bureau

Lucknow: The allot-ment of 28 plots to bu-reaucrats and politi-cians in posh Vipul Khand area of Gomti Nagar in Lucknow has come to haunt its own-ers again.

The case under an-ti-corruption Act which has been drag-ging on for 15-years is now scheduled to come up for hearing on April 5.

And this is giving sleepless nights to half-a-dozen civil servants, who were beneficiaries of the alleged largesse during former CM Mu-layam Singh Yadav’s regime in 2005.

A committee headed by former Divisional Commissioner, Luc-know, Vijay Shankar Pandey, had recom-mended cancellation of allotments and regis-tration of FIRs against all allottees and nine Lucknow Development

Authority (LDA) offi-cials during Mayawa-ti’s regime.

The allottees includ-ed SP leader (late) Amar Singh. The then Secretary to the Chief Minister Anita Singh, the then SSP (Luc-know) Navneet Sikera, wife of the then Reve-nue Minister Ambika Chowdhury, Chief Town Planner (LDA) C P Sharma, Retired IAS officer S D Bagla and many others.

Plot allotment case haunts VVIPs again

SP names jailed IPS’ wife among 29 contestants for Ayodhya P’yat polls

First India Bureau

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel has ordered an inquiry into the appointment of Re-tired Officer Pradeep Dubey who is currently posted as the Principal Secretary, UP Assem-bly.

The inquiry has been ordered on a complaint by social activist Dr. Nutan Thakur who al-leged that Pradeep Ku-

mar Dubey has been holding the post of Principal Secretary, Legislative Assembly even after his retire-ment.

In her complaint, Nutan Thakur said that Pradeep Dubey took voluntary retire-ment on 13 January 2009 and then on 19 January 2009, he was appointed to the post of Principal Secretary, contrary to the rules of the Uttar Pradesh Leg-

islative Assembly Sec-retariat Service Rules.

When the controver-sy blew up and the is-sue was taken up to the Supreme Court, an ad-vertisement for re-cruitment was re-leased. Once again Pradeep Dubey was again appointed as Principal Secretary on 06 March 2012 even though at the time of appointment his age had exceeded the maximum age limit for

the post. Nutan has alleged

that even after retiring on 30 April 2019, he is said to be working in the post of Principal Secretary, Legislative Assembly without any legal order or exten-sion of service. Nutan Thakur while calling for inquiry has also re-quested that he be re-moved from the post without any delays as well as examine the previous appointment.

Guv orders probe into retired bureaucrat’s ‘posting’ INVESTIGATION

UP Governor Anandiben Patel. Principal Secretary UP Assembly Pradeep Dubey in inset.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: Union Railway Minister Pi-yush Goyal on Mon-day dismissed as wrong the allegations that two nuns belong-ing to a Kerala-based congregation were “attacked” during a train journey via Ut-tar Pradesh recently. “There was no at-tack on any nun whatsoever…the Chief Minister of the state (Kerala) is completely lying and making false statements when he says that,” Goyal told a press confer-ence in Kochi.

The alleged inci-dent occurred at Jhansi railway sta-tion on March 19 had its echoes in poll-bound Kerala last week with Chief Min-ister Vijayan taking it up with the Centre and Home Minister Amit Shah promising strong action.

“Some people made a complaint (against the nuns). It is the duty of the police to find out whether the complaint is correct or wrong. Police, checked all their doc-uments, made enquir-ies (to ensure) that they are genuine pas-sengers going for the correct purpose and then immediately let them go,” said Minis-ter Piysuh Goyal said justifying the police action with regards to the case.

First India Bureau

Lucknow: The Sama-jwadi Party has an-nounced the list for the 29 Zilla Panchayat Members for the dis-trict of Ayodhya.

The list released by the Samajwadi Party in-cludes Priyanka Sen Ya-dav, wife of jailed IPS

officer Arvind Sen Ya-dav and Indu Sen Yadav,

wife of former minister Anand Sen Yadav who is the younger brother of Arvind Sen.

The news of both daughter in-laws of the same family enter-ing the election ground has got every-one talking in the po-litical ring about the development.

Allegations on attack on nuns wrong, says Rly Min

It is election time. That is why when the

sisters (nuns) were taken off a train in Jhansi and harassed by their own people, the union minister made a comment, saying it’s wrong.—Priyanka Gandhi, Congress Leader

First India Bureau

Lucknow: Congress leader Priyanka Gan-dhi Vadra, on Tuesday, slammed the BJP and RSS for alleged harass-ment suffered by the nuns belonging to a Kerala-based congrega-tion during a train journey in Uttar Pradesh, and claimed that Home Minister Amit Shah had con-demned it only because of assembly polls.

Addressing a rally at Karunagapally in Kol-lam district, Vadra said, “It is election time. That is why when the sisters (nuns) were taken off a train in Jhansi and harassed by their own people, the union minister made a comment say-ing it’s wrong. The rest of the time, they fully encouraged this sort of behaviour.”

“Who gave the men of the BJP youth wing permission and au-thority to harass wom-en on a train? Who gave them the right to check the identity papers of the nuns and two girls with them. Who al-lowed them to ask what their religion was? Are we to believe that in our country women cannot take a train without be-ing harassed by some-one and she is answer-able to some goons about what she stands for and what she be-lieves in,” she asked.

The Congress lead-er said she had spo-ken on the phone to the nuns and they told her that they were worried. They were pulled out of the train, adding that they were afraid and there was nobody to protect them, at that time.

Nuns told me they were worried: Priyanka Gandhi

Disciplinary action has been

recommended against involved officials

Priyanka Sen

The fire incident at cardiology institute in Kanpur is saddening. The district adminis-tration is on its heels to treat the injured.

An investigative com-mittee has also been constituted to probe into the incident. I

pray to God for their (the injured ones) speedy recovery.

—CHIEF MINISTER YOGI ADITYANATH

LUCKNOW, WEDNESDAYMARCH 31, 2021

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n these deeply di-vided political times, let me de-clare one of my staunchest posi-tions: I am a proud proponent

of the gossamer, floaty floral dress, no matter what the month, no mat-ter what the tempera-ture. But may I also de-clare upfront that I am not one of those women who wafts around half-naked in her sheer frock, even in brutal weather.

Though we wear them all year round, floaty dresses come to full flow-er—so to speak—in the summer months, when you can chuck the jeans, liberate your legs, and drift down the shoreline with your airy-fairy dress billowing around you. But fair warning—your life is not a maga-zine spread!

In an industry that hews so passionately to tradition, heritage, and status quo, how exciting is it to feel that after sea-sons of talk, we are final-ly on the precipice of real, tangible change? That change will hopefully take many forms beyond a democratized Digi-phys-ical fashion week, but this season of shows has been a good start.

The biggest shift in the garments that flashed across our screens is that, for the first time in a long time, these looked like clothes that are meant to be worn. The irony and irreverence of all those seasons danc-ing on the lip of a volca-no in cake topper gowns has given way to some-thing more thoughtful and realistic this season.

What time is it? Sum-mertime! And you know what that means? It’s time for spring, flowery dresses! But, of course, with winter’s reluctant departure, your spring dresses of choice need to be styled appropriately and, honestly, the fact that your legs can roam

free under frocks that swish and swoosh without getting stuck thanks to the static of your fleece tights is something to c e l e b r a t e with much anticipa-tion.

TREND THAT WON’T END

Printed dresses have enjoyed a renaissance over the past few seasons, with a wide

consumer appetite. City First gives you reasons to flaunt your airy-fairy dress!

MITALI DUSADmitalidusad01@gmail.com

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10ETC

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FACE

OF TH

E DAY

RIDDHIMA SHARMA, Model

LEOJULY 24 - AUGUST 23

Fingers may be pointed at you for something you are not responsible for at work. You can fi nd yourself fi tter

with regular exercises. This is the time to strengthen the family bonds. A prime property may come into your name. Someone may do for you more than what was expected.

LIBRA SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

Financial worries can make some restless, but the situation will not be beyond redemption. A new

project will proceed smoothly as you get help from all quarters. You will need to handle a tensed family member with sympathy. A property dispute can pit you against someone.

ARIESMAR 21 - APR 20

Those on medication will fi nd a distinct improvement in their condition. Those struggling to fi nd a

solution to a workplace problem will succeed. A forthcoming family event is likely to raise your spirits. Those dealing with property issues may need to be careful.

SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 - DEC 22

Those ailing can expect their condition to improve. Not much gains on the monetary front are indicated. Those

feeling restless in a particular job will be able to settle down in time. Interruptions on the domestic front are foreseen that will not allow you to do your own thing.

GEMINIMAY 21 - JUNE 21

Assistance of colleagues will help complete a project much before time. A family youngster is likely to make

you proud. Don’t be hasty in matters pertaining to property. An entertain-ing time with near and dear ones is foreseen. An expected raise or bonus is on the cards for some.

AQUARIUSJAN 21 - FEB 19

It may be diffi cult to make a client accept your views on the professional front. Avoid indulging in speculation.

Peak physical fi tness will make even strenuous activities seem like child’s play. Bad mood of a family member may spoil the domestic environment. A holiday promises much rest.

TAURUSAPR 21 - MAY 20

Judicious spending will fi nd your bank balance in a healthy state. You can feel overworked on the

professional front. Spouse can expect a helping hand. Settling down in a new house is indicated for some. An invitation to a party or function may provide you an opportunity.

CAPRICORNDEC 23 - JAN 20

New dimensions open up on the professional front as you handle more than one project. Your desire to

increase earning may need to be put on hold temporarily till the time is right. Your health consciousness will keep you hale and hearty. Pending things on the home front may hinder.

VIRGOAUG 24 - SEP 23

You will manage to showcase your profes-sional skills to those who matter. Playing your cards

well in a family situation will get you the support and attention you crave for. Taking possession of a new house may become a reality for some.

CANCERJUNE 22 - JULY 23

Problems faced on the health front show signs of disappearing completely. A deliberate attempt at

saving can repay your loans. Work front may appear a bit too demand-ing, but you will be able to handle it well. Family get-together will provide opportunities.

PISCESFEB20 - MARCH 20

A friend will come to the rescue in bailing you out of a fi nancial situation. Inculcating physical

workouts in your lifestyle will benefi t health. A family get together can fi nd you into your element. You will have enough to invest in a suitable property.

SCORPIOOCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

Those experiencing a cash crunch will manage to overcome it by tight budgeting. You may feel

hesitant to broach a contentious issue with a rival at work. A family member may prove annoying by not doing your bidding. Good returns can be expected.

YOUR DAY

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

s I sit down to chalk out a plan for a podcast on mental health, the World Happi-ness Report 2021 has been released

by the UN Sustainable De-velopment Solutions Net-work and Finland is once again crowned as the world’s happiest country.

My eyes search for In-dia’s name and I’m re-minded of the ominous scene from 3 Idiots where Farhan prompts Raju to ‘neeche se check kar’ for their exam results. There we have it! At 139 stands India. It gets one think-ing, what could have pos-sibly changed in the past couple of years to get us here?

Could it be the fact that only a couple of years ago people had to stand in long queues outside banks and ATMs for their own money? Or is it that a large chunk of the popula-tion is protesting for their rights to remain citizens in their motherland? That the annadaata remains hungry in the capital? That so many of our stu-dents have been vandal-

ized time and again, in their institutions? Could it be the landlords claim-ing the lives of their Dalit, Bahujan, Adivasi work-ers? Or armed forces per-sonnel violating those he is supposed to protect? What, possibly, could bring us here? I mean, we’re not new to atroci-ties, to power-based poli-tics.

After all the beating utensils and lighting can-dles and chanting Go Co-rona Go, after killing those who got in our way, and ostracizing the rest, how is it that we are still poor, famished, unhappy?

The answer is simple. The solutions didn’t work.

The pandemic, if you have been paying atten-tion, has pushed 75 mil-lion citizens into poverty. We don’t have jobs, we don’t have certainty, all we have is an empty prom-ise of better days and a statute of unity. I suppose that counts for something.

Andrew Bernard, in the final episodes of the American sitcom, The Of-fice had said “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days... be-fore you’ve left them”. Never in my five re-watch-es of the show did I ever think I would be taking life lessons from Nard Dog, but I suppose that’s what this article is about

– that we never thought we’d be here.

Studying psychology in a country where 381 peo-ple commit suicide a day often seems trivial. Who am I going to save, after all? If I do save one life, does that not mean I could have saved them all? Per-haps I can, but at what cost?

We are in that part of kalyug where actors, jour-nalists, businessmen, edu-cational institutions, hos-pitals, pretty much any-thing can be bought. Who does one trust? How does one escape the lingering feeling of helplessness? How do we go about our ordinary lives while the

State threatens the legiti-macy of our existence?

An important part of working as a mental health professional is to acknowledge the various factors of each individual who approaches one, ask-ing for help. In such a situ-ation, gender, caste, socio-economic status, all of these things matter. This means all of these things have something to do with how we exist in a world. These are parameters im-portant to acknowledge because society has made them important.

There is no ‘trauma competition’, but the hur-dles we may come across are often decided upon

based on where we were born, and to who.

When giving impor-tance to these factors, one happens to come across the work and lives of Ambedkar, Savitribai Phule, Umar Khalid, the Dadis of Shaheen Bagh, Roxane Gay, Bell Hooks to name a few. One starts to search the smaller spaces of daily life to find an-swers. The answers are often confusing and are intended to be this way, lest we find one-point so-lutions and solve all our problems. It teaches you that everything is related to the State, an elected

body, the job of which is to solve our problems. In my opinion, this is where the problem starts. Once you realize who is responsi-ble, you choose to ask them questions. On ask-ing questions, like Umar and so many before and after him, you could be jailed for days on large. You could find an enemy quicker than you may find friends.

What would finding en-emies make us? Unhappy, probably. I don’t know if this has anything to do with the Happiness Index, but sure does make you think, does it not?

“Tu Khush Toh Hai Na?”“Tu Khush Toh Hai Na?”The story of India’s position on the World Happiness Index

RIA ARYAcityfirst@firstindia.co.in

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11

Elsa Pataky says she and her husband, Marvel star Chris Hemsworth are spending a lot of time training togeth-er to get her ready for her upcoming movie, “Intercep-tor”. Pataky is set to play a US Army lieutenant in the

action drama, to be directed by Matthew Reilly. The actor said Hemsworth, is ‘thrilled’ about giving her a lot of work-out tips. “I’m always training and keeping fit because I like to have a toned body. But for this role, I had to take things to a whole other level. Chris is thrilled be-cause we’re training together more often now. He’s giving me lots of great tips. I’m now doing more weight training, because I needed to boost my physical strength. I needed to be very agile too. It was very tough.” —Agency

Come together

Godzilla vs Kong

The recently-re-leased action-packed film ‘Godzilla vs.

Kong’ is proving to be a major force to reckon with at the Indian box office. The film, which hit the big screens on last Wednesday, has registered a good first extended weekend. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the film has raked in Rs 28.96 crore during its opening week-end. Helmed by Adam Wingard, the movie stars A l e x a n d e r Skarsgard, Mil-lie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza Gonzalez, Ju-lian Dennison, Kyle Chandler, and Demian Bichir. —Agency

he era of period epics started right after Baahubali caused havoc at the box office and made producers believe that ‘To get, you have to give. The constant name associated with the film is Deepika Padukone who will be playing the role of Sita but the big question remains on the casting of Lord Ram in this

epic. Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu has been ap-proached to play the enigmatic character of Lord Ram opposite Deepika. —Agency

PREPPING UPT

aapsee Pannu has mul-tiple forthcoming films where she is playing the

titular character or a strong lead. One of Taapsee’s most awaited films is Shabaash Mithu, which is the biopic of Indian Women’s Cricket Captain Mithali Raj. Taap-see posted a picture on her Insta-gram where she is bat-ting in the nets and the caption is, “Down the line !” Taap-see is known to be getting in the skin of the c h a r -a c t e r

while prepping and her straight drive stance is near perfect as compared to a professional cricketer. —Agency

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a massive toll on normal life and has introduced us to a new normal wherein masks and hand sanitisers have been our permanent companions. In fact, the pandemic has also changed the way we celebrate festivals and has also dampened the festive spirit to some extent. And

while the nation is busy celebrating Holi, Abhishek Bachchan took a trip down memory lane and shared a throwback picture. Here’s a sneak peak into celebrations by celebs.

B-TOWN’S

HOLI CELEBRATION!

Aditi Rao Hydari has been acting in films for a decade and a

half now, but she admits she still feels like a new-comer at the start of every film. “With every film, I feel like a new-

comer. When I walk into the set, it’s a new character, new pace, new feeling, new co-stars, new house, new set, new location -- everything is new,” she told. In fact, the actress adds that she is often clueless on the set of a new film. —Agency

Ramayana 3DT

Still a newcomerStill a newcomer

Actor Akshay Ku-mar, who has just wrapped up the shooting of

Atrangi Re, shared the first look on social me-dia. He will be essaying archaeologist role in the film. The film mahurat shot was done in Ayod-hya as the whole team including Jacqueline Fernandez and Nushr-ratt Bharuccha had gone

there. Taking it to his official Twitter han-dle, Akshay Kumar tweeted, “The journey of making one of the most special films for me begins today. #RamSetu shooting begins! Playing an archaeologist in the film. Would love to hear your thoughts on the look? It always matters to me.” —Agency

Punjabi singer Diljaan (31) died in a road acci-dent in Jandiala

Guru near Amritsar on Tuesday morning. The singer was on his way to Kartarpur from Amritsar when his ve-hicle met with an acci-dent. He died on the spot. Diljaan was a resident of Kartarpur.

According to news reports, his vehicle collided with a truck parked on the roadside. He was rushed to a nearby private hospital where doctors declared him dead. —Agency

New mom and Hollywood vet-eran Mandy Moore recently

gave fans an update on her health journey since her baby’s deliv-ery and how she’s hold-ing up. Over the week-

end, the Princess Diaries star shared that she is still suffering from low blood platelets after giving birth to her son, August Harrison, last month. —Agency

SHOOT BEGINS

SAD DEMISE

BABY BLUES

Aayush Sharma, Genelia D’Souza, Arpita Khan and Riteish Deshmukh

Nitara and Akshay KumarGene Goodenough & Preity Zinta

Abhishek, Aishwarya Rai and Aaradhya Bachchan Taimur Ali Khan

...Taapsee Pannu’s post

Deepika Padukone

Aditi Rao HydariElsa Pataky

Mandy Moore and August Harrison

Diljaan

Akshay Kumar

Millie Bobby Brown

Mahesh Babu

IAS Saumya Srivastava with his sister Dr Manini Srivastava

12CITY BUZZ

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o be a woman is powerful in so many ways but the proud-est of them all is when she de-cides to create

a new life; enduring the excruciating pain of a lifetime. But the nine magical months of pregnancy is an experi-ence cherished for life.

To begin a legacy of such a special niche, Galaxy Seth, Lucknow's first and only dedicated Maternity & Newborn Photographer has tak-en the reins in her hand with her designated stu-dio 'Flash N Click'.

City First had an ex-clusive conversation with Galaxy about her passion turned profes-sion of Maternity pho-tography and her tri-umphs with it.

On being asked how her journey as a photog-rapher started, Galaxy said, "When I was preg-nant with my son, I used to capture every mo-ment, from baby bump to his birthday. My shoot made me wonder how soon to be mothers would want the same thing. So I took up Ma-ternity & Newborn Pho-tography as my passion cum profession. Even today, we do not have any designated photog-raphers for this."

She added, "The hap-py moments I spent with my clients and the reviews I get after deliv-ering their pictures is the biggest inspiration and encouragement to do my best work."

Galaxy's work is driv-en by passion and pro-

fessionalism hence, the big brands like Baby-hug and Firstcry couldn't resist taking her as the only featured

photographer in North India while adding feather to 'Flash N Click's cap.

But the brands come

secondary for Galaxy, she said, "My priority lies in keeping the mother comfortable, so apart from photogra-

phy skills I needed to be their stylist, posing as-sistant and above all their nurse who under-stands their medical

conditions. While hand-picking a collection of international dresses and props in my studio 'Flash N Click' itself."

CITY FIRST

E ach one of us continues to make conscious

efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle by reg-ular workout and tak-ing a healthy diet, it is equally important to stay financially protect-ed against any unex-pected healthcare exi-gency.

In the last decade, lifestyle-related diseas-es such as diabetes and cancer have been on a constant rise in our country, thus, the need for a higher sum in-sured policies – cater-ing to all medical emer-gencies is essential.

Amit Chhabra, Head, Health Insurance, Poli-cybazaar.com, said, "For most people in our country, health insur-ance has remained low in their priority list. Fortunately, in the last

12 months, many prom-inent health insurance companies including Policybazaar.com have come up with 1 crore sum insured health plans. These plans are a combination of the base plan and super-top policy that is enough to pay for the most ad-vanced treatment pos-sible at any hospital."

In times of pandem-ic, health insurance acts as a shield in case of a medical emergency.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

AN ACT OF KINDNESS!

DRAMA!

IAS Arvind Mallappa Bangari celebrated his birthday on Tuesday, March 30. We wish him all the best!

To aid the mid-meal beneficiaries during the pandemic, Newgen Software, a global provider of low code digital automation platform, teamed up with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to provide mid-day meals and happiness kits on Tuesday. The company sponsored 17378 children in Vrindavan, Lucknow and Jhalawar by completing the distribution in 2 rounds/phases: 8689 kits in each round.

A heart touching play, ‘Main Purna Purush’, was performed by the talented theatre artists at the divine educational cultural and social institution, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lucknow recently.

—PHOTOS BY SUMIT KUMAR

HEALTHY INSURED

F U T U R E MEMORIES FOR A LIFETIME

MONICA PRABHAKARcityfirst@firstindia.co.in

TCITY FIRST GOT CANDID WITH GALAXY ABOUT HER PASSION OF MATERNITY PHOTOGRAPHY TRANSLATING INTO PROFESSION AND HER TRIUMPHS WITH IT!

PARI-WAR AGAINST COVID DURING HOLI!

Given the rise in COVID-19 cases, most of the citizens in Uttar Pradesh kept the Holi celebration low key with just family around. The government has also advised the people to be careful. Various offi cers celebrated the festival by smearing each

other with colours while children enjoyed the splashing of water balloons and savouring

thandai. City First brings you some glimpses from the Holi

celebration!

PCS Himanshu Gupta with his familyAbhishek Kaushik, OSD to UP CM with his daughter PCS Chandan Kumar with his family

IAS Mahendra Bahadur Singh, DM Mainpuri with his family

IAS Dharmendra Pratap Singh, Director NDMC with his family

IAS Sanjeev Singh, DM Chandauli with his daughter

PCS Vishwa Bhushan, ADM TG with his family

IAS Anjaneya Kumar Singh, Commissioner Moradabad with his family

IAS Dr Raj Shekhar, Commissioner Kanpur with his family

Galaxy Seth Maternity photo shoot done by Galaxy Seth

Amit Chhabra