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S ending a strong message to China by brushing aside its objection, the Malabar series of naval exercises this year will see the participation of Australia too, a clear signal about the forging of closer cooperation among the Quad nations against the backdrop of Beijing’s expansionist designs. So far, only India, the US and Japan used to take part in the annual exercise. Australia had participated in the exercise in 2007 as a non-permanent member. But, subsequently, China claimed that with Australia joining the exercise, the Quad is getting militarised and may pose a threat to Chinese interests especially in the Pacific region. Given Beijing’s reserva- tions, India had been with- holding Australia’s participa- tion since then despite the lat- ter’s keenness. Not anymore. The Defence Ministry on Monday made it clear: India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and in the light of increased defence cooperation with Australia, “Exercise Malabar 2020” will see the participation of the Australian Navy. It also said that the mem- bers collectively support a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific and remain committed to a rules-based international order. The “non-contact — at sea” format-based exercise is expected to be held in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. Sources said it was likely to be held in two phases in the first week of November and then after a fortnight. The proposal for Australian participation was mooted three years back and since then talks were on at var- ious levels of the Government. The exercise will strengthen the coordination between the Navies of the participating countries, officials said. The exercises started in 1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy- US Navy exercise. Japan joined the exercise in 2015. The move to include Australia comes at a time when India and China are engaged in a military stand-off for the past more than five months at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. The two sides have held several rounds of talks to break the stalemate but no success so far. Moreover, the announce- ment comes days after Foreign Ministers of Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue or Quad met in Tokyo. The issue of Australia’s inclusion in the Malabar exer- cise had come up for discussion there between S Jaishankar, Mike Pompeo (US), Marise Payne (Australia) and Toshimitsu Motegi (Japan). Japan and the US had been pressing for Australia’s inclu- sion for the past few years. Also, the nod for Australian participation by India comes days before the annual 2+2 talks between the Foreign and Defence Ministers of India and US are likely to take place in New Delhi on October 26-27. In his opening remarks at the Quad meeting on October 6, Jaishankar had said New Delhi is committed to peaceful resolution of disputes, rules based world order and respect for territorial integrity. He also said the four democratic countries favour a free and open India-Pacific region. Jaishankar, however, refrained from naming China. This was the second Minister level meeting of the Quad countries in the last two years. Moreover, the two-day conclave was the first against the backdrop of ongoing ten- sion between India and China at the LAC in Ladakh and coro- navirus pandemic. Jaishankar had held a two- hour long bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on September 10 in Moscow to end the logjam at the border. Spelling out India’s stand, he said it was for advancing the security and economic interests of all countries having legiti- mate and vital interests in the region. “It is a matter of satis- faction that the Indo-Pacific concept has gained increasingly wider acceptance,” he said. Highlighting the growing importance of the Quad, he also said the fact that the four Foreign Ministers were meet- ing in person, despite the glob- al pandemic, is “testimony to the importance that these con- sultations have gained, partic- ularly in recent times”. He added, “Our world is signifi- cantly different today than what it was when we last met in New York in September 2019.” T he row over veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath referring to Imarti Devi, his former party colleague and now a Minister in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP Government, as an “item” esca- lated on Monday with his refusal to tender an apology for his statement, claiming he did not insult anyone. The National Women’s Commission “strongly con- demned the irresponsible and disparaging statement made by Nath, Leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly”. It sought an expla- nation from the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and forwarded the matter to the Election Commission for further action. Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani slammed Nath for trying to justify his utterance and the Gandhi family for remaining silent while Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Jyotiraditya Scindia sat on a “silent dharna” in Bhopal. Chouhan appealed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to immediately remove Nath from all party posts. Devi is the State’s Women and Child Development Minister and was one of the 22 MLAs loyal to Scindia and who resigned in March, bring- ing down the Nath-led Government in Madhya Pradesh. She subsequently joined the BJP and is now a party candidate for the bypoll in Dabra, a seat reserved for Scheduled Caste candidate. “I said something… it was- n’t to insult anyone... I just did- n’t remember the (person’s) name...this list (in his hand) says item no.1, item no.2, is this an insult? Shivraj is looking for excuses, Nath doesn’t insult anyone, he’ll only expose you with truth,” Nath brazened it out on Monday. Addressing a rally in Dabra on Sunday, the Congress leader had allegedly called Devi an “item” leading to a massive backlash ahead of the keenly- contested bypolls to be held on November 3. “Suresh Raje is our candi- date and is not like her... What’s her name? You know her bet- ter and should have warned me earlier... What an item!,” Nath had said in Hindi. While Devi said she was targeted for being a Dalit, Union Minister Irani said, “I can’t find any justification that Nath (former MP CM) can give for using such derogatory word against a woman political leader. I don’t think Gandhi family will take action against him. Be it Nath or Digvijaya Singh, these are the people who keep fire burning in Gandhi family’s kitchen.” For their part, while Chouhan held a two-hour protest in Bhopal, Scindia and other party members protest- ed in Indore. The BJP has also complained about Nath to the Election Commission. “With your cheap state- ment, Congress’ crooked and despicable mentality has come to the fore again. You have not just disrespected Devi, but each and every girl and sister of Gwalior-Chambal region,” Chouhan tweeted. He also slammed Nath for his “feudal” mindset. “Devi is the daughter of a farmer who began doing labour in her vil- lage and has since emerged as a public representative in build- ing the nation. First, Congress called me ‘hungry and ill-clad’ and now she has been called an ‘item’. This shows the feudal mindset of Nath,” the Chief Minister said. A t a time when the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remains tense, the Indian Army on Monday apprehend- ed a Chinese soldier in the Chumar-Demchok area of Eastern Ladakh and took him in custody. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldier will be returned to the Chinese Army “as per established pro- tocol after following due pro- cedure”, the Army said here. It also said in a statement that the soldier identified as Corporal Wang Ya was pro- vided medical assistance including oxygen, food and warm clothes “to protect him from the vagaries of extreme altitude and harsh climatic conditions.” Sources said the soldier inadvertently strayed into India, he was questioned thoroughly as to how he crossed over. The Army said it also received a request from the PLA about the whereabouts of the missing soldier. As per established protocols, he will be returned back to Chinese officials at the Chushul - Moldo meeting point after completion of formalities, the Army said. Continued on Page 11 F ormer Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister and sitting Parliamentarian from Srinagar Farooq Abdullah, who recent- ly began another “political” innings under the banner of “People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration” to fight for the restoration of Article 370, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Srinagar for about seven hours in con- nection with a money laun- dering case linked with a multi- crore scam in the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) on Monday. However, reacting to the summons issued by the ED, a day after the signatories of “Gupkar Declaration”, Farooq’s son and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti both termed it “political vendetta”. Angry Omar posted a tweet in which he said the ED action was “...nothing less than political vendetta” and came days after the formation of the Gupkar declaration. On the other hand, Farooq, who regretted skipping his lunch during the day, repeat- edly requested media with folded hands not to link the Gupkar declaration with the routine questioning by the offi- cials of the Enforcement Directorate. Farooq had appeared before the ED in the same mat- ter to respond to their list of questions in July last year. Official sources said Farooq’s statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED case is based on an FIR filed by the CBI, which booked former JKCA office-bearers, including gen- eral secretary Mohammed Saleem Khan and former trea- surer Ahsan Ahmad Mirza in the multi-crore scam. Continued on Page 11 I n a setback to the LDF Government in the State, the Kerala High Court here on Monday dismissed pleas chal- lenging the Centre’s decision to lease out the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to Adani Enterprises, holding that there was no valid ground to inter- fere with the policy decision. A division bench compris- ing Justices K Vinod Chandran and CS Dias rejected argu- ments by the State Government and other petitioners against the Centre’s move to lease out the airport to Adani Enterprises through public pri- vate partnership (PPP) for a period of 50 years. Continued on Page 11 A police inspector, returning home after offering prayers at a mosque, was gunned down in cold blood by terrorists in Kanelwan of Anantnag late on Monday evening. The officer was rushed to the district hospital where he was declared brought dead. The deceased was identi- fied as Inspector Mohd Ashraf Bhat. He was currently on leave and was posted in the Police training school, Lethpora in Pulwama. Meanwhile, in another operation the joint team of security forces neutralised one terrorist in Melhora of Shopian district on Monday. Till the time of filing the report the operation was still going on, official sources said. T he CBI has booked BSP MLA Vinay Shankar Tiwari and his wife Reeta Tiwari besides two private firms in connection with an alleged bank fraud to the tune of Rs 754.24 crore and conduct- ed searches at their premises on Monday. Besides the MLA and his wife, a private individual Ajeet Pandey as also two private entities arraigned as accused are Gangotri Enterprises Ltd and Royal Empire Marketing Pvt Ltd. The agency conducted searches at the residence of Chillupar (Gorakhpur) MLA Tiwari, who is son of former minister and a strongman from Gorakhpur, Hari Shankar Tiwari, and the office of the Lucknow- based company, Gangotri Enterprises Ltd. Officials said the searches were also spread out in Noida at the premises of another accused firm, Royal Empire Marketing Pvt. Ltd, and another accused director in Gangotri Enterprises, Ajeet Pandey. “The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case on a complaint from Bank of India against two private companies based at Lucknow/Noida (Uttar Pradesh), its Directors and unknown others on the allega- tions of committing misap- propriation, cheating and caus- ing loss of Rs 754.24 crore (approximately) to the consor- tium of banks,” the CBI said in a statement. “It was alleged that the pri- vate company having its cor- porate office at Mahanagar, Lucknow (Gangotri Enterprises Ltd) was engaged in the construction of roads, bridges and flyovers etc. It was further alleged that the company availed credit facili- ties from a consortium of banks led by Bank of India from time to time,” the agency said. It was also alleged that the company was supposed to route all its transactions through the Trust & Retention Account and the company was not doing the same. It was fur- ther alleged that there were irregularities in the financial statements of the company, it said. Searches were conducted on Monday at the premises of the accused/company at Noida and Lucknow which led to recovery of several incriminating documents. Investigation is continuing, it added. After scrutiny of the seized documents, the agency will soon summon the accused persons for ques- tioning in connection with the probe. Based on the recovery of the property documents of the accused and tallying them with their Income Tax returns, the agency may register a separate case for possession of dispro- portionate assets against them, officials added. The CBI had also booked unnamed bank officials in the FIR. “The bank officials who cleared the loan and allowed the fraud to take place will be called for questioning,” said a CBI official. In July 2019, the Debt Recovery Tribunal had sum- moned Tiwari and 33 others after a consortium of banks complained that loans pro- vided to Gangotri Enterprises had turned into Non- Performing Assets. The Reserve Bank of India was also informed about the loan turning into an NPA. D elivering an unprecedent- ed judgment for “unprece- dented times” the Calcutta High Court on Monday banned the entry of general public inside Durga Puja pan- dals throughout Bengal and directed the State administra- tion to convert all the Puja pan- dals into “no entry zones.” The decision came against a Public Interest Litigation filed by Advocate Sabyasachi Chatterjee and will be applic- able to about 37,000 Durga puja pandals, big and small all across the State. Out of these there are about 3,500 puja pan- dals in Kolkata alone. Delivering the order, Bench of Justices Sanjib Banerjee and Arijit Banerjee said the puja pandals should be treated as containment zones and direct- ed the State administration to mark 5 metre area around small pandals and the 10 metre area around bigger pandals as the limit till which the gener- al people can reach. Even the entry of the club members has been restricted. The court directed the admin- istration to collect the names of 25 persons each from puja committees beyond which no one would be allowed to enter the puja premises. These names and numbers of such persons have to be fixed and cannot change every day, the court said. The State DGP and Commissioner of Kolkata Police have to submit a report to the court within four days of Laxmi Puja which is on October 30. The order comes on the Tritiya or the third day of the Pujas and is likely to go a distance in controlling the pandal hoppers who descend in lakhs on the city streets 24x7 every year during the pujas converting the City of Joy arguably into the biggest car- nival on earth. The Monday’s decision comes two days after the same court delivered another judg- ment asking the State Government whether the grants of Rs 50,000 each to the puja committees was given for religious or secular purposes before directing the clubs to spend the amount only for secular purposes like distrib- uting sanitisers, masks etc and file a detailed account report on such expenditures. Delivering the order, the Court asked if the students could be stopped from Continued on Page 11

New ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛ · 2020. 10. 19. · ˘ˇ ˆ˙˝˛˚ ˘ ˇ ˜ˆ ˘!"#˘!"!" Lucknow (PNS): Health offi- cials and medical experts have a word of caution for Covid-19

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    Lucknow (PNS): Health offi-cials and medical experts havea word of caution for Covid-19patients who have recoveredthat ignoring guidelines maywell lead to reinfection. Inview of complacency whichhas set in amongst peopleowing to start of the festive sea-son, they said antibodies devel-oped in Covid-19 patients dis-appear in three months, leav-ing them vulnerable to infec-tion yet again.

    “With the wedding seasonalso approaching, people mustget it into their heads that it isnot a simple virus as it hasalready infected over 60,000 inthe district and millions acrossthe globe. It is still killingpeople and at least six monthsof discipline by people willdetermine the course of diseasein the district,” an official said.

    A senior official at theCMO office said they havebeen emphasising on socialdistancing and need to wearmasks from the very begin-ning. “Patients run the risk ofinfection within 4-6 months astheir immunity levels drop.Few cases of reinfection havealready been reported,” he said.

    People gearing up for thewedding season should vol-unteer for the screening ofguests through thermometers

    and pulse oximeters besidesensuring that people mask up,the official said. He addedthat inspections would be car-ried out at weddings and othergatherings. “We will be need-ing the support of police anddistrict administration,” hesaid. Spokesperson of RamManohar Lohia Institute ofMedical Sciences Dr ShrikeshSingh said people who havebecome complacent shouldknow that the ICU is still fullwith patients while 70 percent other beds are also occupied.

    “There are chances ofpatients getting infected afterrecovery. There may be per-sons who were mildly infect-ed and did not develop anti-bodies when they caught theinfection first. They have achance of reinfection. This isan RNA virus and how itreacts is still a matter of muchmore investigation. It’s notclear as to what the futureholds and therefore, followingCovid guidelines is a must,” DrSingh said. He said he alwaystells patients to not be com-placent about immunity asreinfection would definitelybe more serious. He said lessthan 300 cases per day in thedistrict does not mean thatprecautions are not needed.

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    VARANASI (PNS):Demanding the high-levelinquiry to probe the sensation-al killing in full public view inBallia, the Samajwadi Party(SP) on Monday staged aprotest against the poor lawand order situation in the state.The SP also extended its sup-port to the weavers who are onan indefinite strike demandingthe restoration of old flat rateelectricity bill on powerloom.

    The criminal incidentsand violence against girls haverisen and the law and ordersituation in fact has virtuallycollapsed in the state. Thekilling of one at Durjanpurvillage under the Rewatipolice station of Ballia is glar-ing example of worst law and

    order situation in the state, theagitated workers of the SP saidwhile staging a protest atShastri Ghat in protest againstthe worst law and order situ-ation in the state and demand-ed a high-level inquiry toprobe the Ballia sensationalmurder incident. The murder-er has support of the rulingparty as its MLA openly camein his favour, they blamed.

    The parliamentary con-stituency of the PrimeMinister has also been wit-nessing an increase in crimi-nal incidents such as murderand loot, they said andblamed, the district adminis-tration and police made anexcess on the workers of polit-ical parties and social organ-

    isations who raised voicesagainst their atrocity. Theadministration and policeshould stop exploitationimmediately, they demanded.

    Extending their support toindef inite strike of theweavers, the SP workersdemanded the government torestore the old flat rate elec-tricity bill on powerloom whatthe weavers are demanding.The SP workers also handedover a memorandum to thedistrict administration to for-ward it to the Governor.

    Meanwhile, the weaverscontinued their indefinitestrike and staged a protestagainst the government inAdampur area for introducinga new arrangement of electric-

    ity bill as per unit on power-loom .

    BOMB HOAX AT SSHBHU: The police along withthe security personnel ofBanaras Hindu University(BHU) on Monday conduct-ed an intense search at SirSunderlal Hospital (SSH) afterthe police control roomreceived information aboutbombs planted in the hospital.But it proved just a hoax andthe district police and varsityadministration heaved a sighof relief as no such explosiveobject was found in the hos-pital premises. The hospitalmanagement claimed that themedical services in the hospi-tal are being run properly asusual.

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    Scores of devotees offeredprayer at ChandraghantaDevi temple near Chowk onthe third day of ShardiyaNavratra here on Monday,maintaining COVID-19 guide-lines. Besides, rush was seen asusual at famous Durga Mandir(Durga Kund) where the devo-tees lined up in queues to offerprayers. Not only this, hun-dreds of devotees through var-ious vehicles also rushed toVindhyachal in Mirzapur dis-trict to offer prayer during theauspicious occasion of Navratriat Maa Vindyavasini Devi.

    Meanwhile, preparationsare going on for Durga Puja atsome places though at a few itwas already started as theyobserve nine-day long puja.The Vice-chancellor ofBanaras Hindu University(BHU) Prof Rakesh Bhatnagarhas constituted a Durga PujaCommittee under the leader-ship of Prof NC Karmakar. In

    a notification, V-C said thatthe BHU will organise onlyKalash puja in view ofCOVID-19 precautionarymeasures as directed by thedistrict administration. Thepuja wil l be held fromOctober 22 to 26 inMadhuban premises on thecampus. It is also clarified that

    the committee has been con-stituted only for the BHUDurga Puja-2020 and subse-quently it would be dissolved.

    Besides, VidyarathiSharadoutsav Samiti will cel-ebrate its 82nd festival atNana Fadnavis Bada (DurgaGhat) from October 21 to 27.On the first day, Kalash would

    be installed and then in theevening drawing contests willbe organised in junior andsenior categories which wouldbe followed by the Ved Ghoshprogramme at 8 pm. Next dayat 4 pm Rangoli contest will beheld followed by MahilaBhajan programme and at 8pm.

    Prashanmanch pro-gramme will be held througha projector. On the third day,Mahalaxmi programe will beheld as per tradition andwomen will perform Gagaridance.

    On October 24, Bank ofMaharashtra will organise amedical camp, while at 8 pmVeer Ras Geet contest will beorganised. On October 25 at4 pm general knowledge con-test will be organised forjunior and senior categoriesand later on, the children willpresent a music programme.Next day, magician Jitendrawill present his show and thefestival will conclude onOctober 27 at 8 am.

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    Schools and colleges for thestudents from IXth to XIIthstandard were reopened onMonday as per the guidelinesissued by the Government afterabout seven months closure.All the educational institu-tions had been closed onMarch 20, 2020 owing to coro-na lockdown.

    The District Inspector ofSchools took rounds to inspectarrangements at the institutionsin rural as well as urban areasof the district, and instructed tostick to the guidelines.

    On the very first day theattendance of students wasquite thin, and some hadarrived without the writtenpermission of the guardian. Allsuch students were sent back asthe guideline underlines theprovision of written consent ofthe guardian to attend theschool and college.

    The institutions hadarranged for thermal scanningof every student and staff

    besides hand sanitisation.Those who had arrived withoutmask, were provided with thesame by the school manage-ment.

    As per the guidelines the

    IXth and Xth standard studentswere called in the morning ses-sion, while XIth and XII stan-dard boys and girls had toattend the college in day hours.

    To maintain physical dis-

    tancing, special seatingarrangements had been made.

    The managers and princi-pals of the colleges were seenquite active to welcome the stu-dents under guidelines.

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    With increase in the num-ber of special trains,efforts against COVID-19 havebeen intensified by the NorthCentral Railway.

    In view of ensuing festiveseason operation of specialtrains are being increased in aphased and gradual manner.With announcement of 196additional special trains byRailways on last week total 288special trains and 130 festivalspecials including 20 pairs oforiginating specials shall becatering to different stations onNorth Central Railway.

    While providing increasedconvenience to passengers, spe-cial care is being taken to pro-tect them from COVID-19 forwhich existing efforts in sta-tions and trains are beingintensified. Jan Aandolan alow cost and high intensitycampaign on Covid appropri-ate behaviour is alreadylaunched all over NorthCentral Railway. Under this

    campaign being observed instations, trains, offices andcolonies; thrust is on use ofmask, maintaining minimumtwo yard physical distance andregular hand washing. So far106 stations and 12 pairs oforiginating special trains ofNCR have been provided withmore than 660 poster and ban-ners on Covid appropriatebehaviour, auto announcementon COVID-19 awareness isbeing made at 80 stations, dig-ital displays of awareness clipsat 9 stations and more than40000 passengers, Railwayemployees and other personshave taken pledge for followingCovid appropriate behaviour.Approximately 50 lakh SMShave been sent to passengersand railway employees relatedto Covid related precaution tobe observed in trains and sta-tions. In view of expectedincrease in footfall at stationsduring festivals a special aware-ness drive has also beenlaunched by RPF in stationsand trains wherein besides

    awareness campaign RPF isalso taking action for violationof COVID-19 related guide-lines under section 145, 153and 154 of Railway Act 1989.Under this intensive awarenesscampaign all major stationsincluding Prayagraj Jn.,Mirzapur, Kanpur Central,Tundla, Aligarh, Jhansi,Gwalior, Urai, Lalitpur, Banda,Agra Cant, Agra Fort, MathuraJn, and originating specialtrains and other importanttrains over NCR are being reg-ularly checked by RPF person-nel for compliance of COVID-19 related guidelines.

    COVID-19 related infra-structure has also been aug-mented to handle increasedpassengers. Besides arrange-ment for 100% screening ofpassengers at all stations 12automatic thermal scannershave been provide at 10 majorstations of NCR which includePrayagraj, Mirzapur, KanpurCentral, Etawah, Tundla,Aligarh, Jhansi, Gwalior, AgraCantt and Mathura .

    ADMISSION PROCESS:The process of admission toconstituent colleges will beonline this time on the lines ofthe Allahabad University. Thatis, the candidate will deposit thefees online from home and takeadmission. However, later theywill have to go to the collegeand verify their original acad-emic records, only then theiradmission will be consideredcomplete. If their marksheet orany other certificate is found tobe fake during record verifica-tion, the entry will be canceled.

    Thousands of studentsthrong the entrance hall of theuniversity every year for admis-sion. The constituent collegesissue syllabus-wise cut-offs forcollege admission four-fivedays after admission in the uni-versity and then there is acrowd of thousands of candi-dates for admission to col-leges. Due to COVID-19 pan-demic, the AU administrationhas decided to take admissionthrough online instead ofoffline this time.

    ��������3�����#�������H���=��A�

    After almost seven monthslong suspension of acade-mic activities in the secondaryschool due to worldwide coro-navirus pandemic, the activitieswere seen on Monday when asper the permission of the dis-trict administration, severalschools have started classesbetween IX and XII with sev-eral restrictions, following theCOVID-19 guidelines. To seethe condition of schools andtheir arrangements to fightagainst COVID-19, the officersof district administration andDIOS department inspectedsome schools.

    At most of the schools, thestudents were allowed onlyafter their thermal scanningand hand sanitising and for

    this, the students were linedup maintaining social dis-tancing to get entry into theschool premises. Even in theclassrooms, instead of sitting3-4 students on a desk, onlyone student was seen sittingthere in view to maintain dis-

    tance and due to this, theattendance in most of theschools was thin than theirnormal capacity.

    Long lines of studentswere seen at Arya MahilaInter College at Chetganj,Queen’s Government Inter

    College at Jagatganj, GopiRadha Balika Inter College atRavindrapuri, Udai PratapPublic School and dozens ofothers. Only those studentswere allowed to enter theschool premises at some insti-tutions who had alreadysought permissions for thesame. The students wereallowed only as per the guide-lines of the state government.

    The activities were notonly seen in governmentschools/ colleges but also insecondary schools of privategroups as at Sunbeam School,Lahartara, proper distancewas maintained at the class-rooms as well as even inlaboratories. The same wasthe scene of many otherschools of leading education-al groups. ��������3�����#��������--�+�@��

    Aman and his son werekilled and five others wereinjured when a clash broke outbetween two rival groups dur-ing a panchayat meeting toresolve a decades-old proper-ty dispute in Sheikhupur vil-lage, under the Raniganj policestation in Pratapgarh district onMonday morning.

    The deceased DayashankarMishra (60) and his son AnandMishra (24) were attending apanchayat in Sheikhupur vil-lage to resolve the property dis-pute on being attacked as aclash erupted between the twogroups. SP PratapgarhAbhishek Singh suspendedthree policemen — sub-inspector Rajesh Rai, headconstable Buddhan Prasad andconstable Rama Yadav — oncharges of dereliction of duty.The SP said that the two rival

    camps led by DayashankarMishra and ChandramaniMishra had been at loggerheadssince three decades over a landdispute.

    On Monday, the two wereattending a panchayat toresolve the dispute. Thingsturned ugly when the sup-porters of both the campsclashed and attacked each otherwith sticks and rods.

    Local villagers alerted thepolice after seven men wereinjured in the violent clash andwere rushed to the districthospital. Dayashankar Mishraand his son Anand succumbedto injuries during treatment,said Pratapgarh police. Thecondition of the five injuredpersons is stable, the SP added.“We constituted four policeteams to arrest the accused.Police have arrested two per-sons, including one RajeshMishra, for their involvementin the attack,’ said Singh.

    NARROW ESCAPE: Agroup of unidentified miscre-ants allegedly opened fire onthe joint secretary (administra-tion) of Allahabad High CourtBar Association near Jagraticrossing under theDhoomanganj police stationlate on Sunday night.

    Though both the joint sec-retary and his friend narrowlyescaped, the incident createdpanic in the area for hours.Following the incident, scoresof lawyers also assembleddemanding action against theculprits.

    Secretary (Allahabad HighCourt Bar Association) PrabhaShankar Mishra said that agroup of miscreants hadallegedly opened fire on jointsecretary (administration) ofAllahabad High Court BarAssociation, Abhishek Shuklaand his friend, but they bothnarrowly escaped. He, howev-er, said that an FIR under

    Section 307 and 392 of IPC hasbeen lodged withDhoomanganj police stationagainst one Babu and othersregarding the incident.

    Meanwhile, report said thatNeemsarai resident AbhishekShukla along with SanjeevSingh had gone to meet somepersons near Jagrati crossing bytheir bike. While returning,their bike collided with anoth-er bike and a group of uniden-tified miscreants standingaround the bike came at logger-heads with them and one ofthem allegedly opened fire onthem. However, they narrow-ly escaped.

    Dhoomanganj police,meanwhile, said that cops havebeen probing the incident andefforts are under to establishthe identities of the miscreants.Police also said that teamshave been formed to catchBabu and his accomplices.

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    After a long time, within the24 hours after the numberof corona infected came down,the figure again crossed 150.On Sunday night, the Covidreport of 151 people, includingan income tax officer, camepositive. At the same time, thenumber of those who beat thecorona more than the infectedhas increased. 194 peoplebecame infection free in 24hours. Two corona infectedpersons died during treatment.

    According to CMO Dr. GSBajpai, 3,602 samples werecollected in the district onSunday for corona testing.Covid infection was confirmedin 151 people. On the otherhand, out of 194 people whogot infection-free, 50 peoplewere discharged from variousCovid hospitals, Covid carecentres after getting infection-free. At the same time, 144people completed home isola-tion.

    The number of activepatients in the district onSunday was 1,619. The figurewas on the decline. So far22,359 people have been

    infected in the district. Ofthese, 5,152 people were dis-charged from various hospitalsand sent home. 15,254 peoplecompleted home isolation. Asof 9 pm on Sunday, 238 coro-na-infected patients wereadmitted to various hospitals.Maximum 90 patients are

    admitted to L3 SRN Hospital.According to Nodal

    Officer for Corona Dr RishiSahai, among those who gotinfected on Sunday includedan Income Tax Officer, twoSRN doctors, CDA pensionworkers. One of the doctors isfrom the Department of

    Surgery and the other ofMedicine. Account officer ofAG office, ARO of PHC, man-ager of SBI Life InsuranceCivil Lines branch, a primaryschool teacher, assistant audi-tor of AG office, a cashier ofIndian Bank has been infect-ed.

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    As many as 68 new COVID-19 patients have beendetected in the district here onMonday, increasing the totalnumber of cases to 15,887.There was great relief as aftera long gap, no death of a coro-na patient was reported duringthe day and the toll remainedat 254. During the day, the fol-low-up negative reports includ-ed 108 patients. Out of them,100 have been recovered fromhome isolation, while eightpatients discharged from thehospitals, increasing the num-ber to 11,898 and 2,781 respec-tively. The total number ofpatients who have been recov-ered so far is 14,679. Therecovery rate has improved to92.39 per cent and mortalityrate to 1.59 per cent.

    Meanwhile, in order toprovide better health facilitiesto the general public andpatients, another important

    initiative has been taken at theSir Sunderlal Hospital (SSH) atBanaras Hindu University(BHU), under which an ICUroom has been set up in theemergency ward of the hospi-tal. The facility of six beds isavailable in this room. DrBikram Gupta, who is inchargeof emergency services, saidthat this would benefit patients

    who come to the emergencyward and need a ventilatorimmediately.

    This intensive medicalroom is being investigated 24hours, as well as portable x-raymachines and ABG machinesare available here.

    Dr Gupta said that sincethe inception of this facilitymany patients were brought

    here and after treatment theywere admitted to the mainICU or discharged.

    Earlier, Chief MedicalOfficer (CMO) Dr VB Singhhas informed that in the firstreport of the day, 37 positivepatients were found out of3,306 reports received. Tillthen, the total test reportsreceived were 2,83,254 and theresults of 2,039 are awaited.

    Out of them, 2,67,398 werenegative, while 15,856 positive.The total number of samplescollected was 2,99,698. Earlier,a male aged 98 from Lahartara(Manduadih) succumbed toCOVID-19 at SSH BHU, whileanother male aged 70 fromSheel Nagar (Mahmoorganj)died at Apex Hospital.

    With the addition of fournew red zones, the total num-ber of hotspots has increased to2,241 including 265 red zones.Five green zones have beenconverted into red zones again.There are 1,976 green zoneswith eight new ones.

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    While reviewing theprogress of PradhanMantri Swanidhi Yojana at ameeting here on Monday,Divisional Commissioner (DC)Deepak Agrawal has informedthat Varanasi has ranked firstin the country in the applica-tions received, acceptance andloan dispersal under thescheme, instructing the officersto ensure maximum approval

    and disbursement of applica-tions and to complete the tar-get of loan disbursement to atleast 25,000 vendors in thedistrict before October 27.

    The DC was informedthat so far as many as 2,901vendors in Adampur area havefiled their applications while6,089 in Bhelupur, 6,469 inDashashwamedh, 3,055 inKotwali region, 12,187 intrans-Varuna, 2,568 in KashiVidyapeeth block, 1,835 in

    Harahuwa, 2,588 in Chiragaon,1,625 in Ramnagar and 184 inGangapur. So far, loans for theapplication of 24,115 vendorshave been approved. There area total of 45,228 registeredvendors and out of them, theapplications of 44,897 vendorshave been filled.

    DC said that to get theremaining vendors’ applica-tions filled, the bankers shouldcontact the vendors as thisscheme is a very ambitious one

    to give assistance to street ven-dors under the CentralGovernment’s financial pack-age. In this, there is a provisionof loan availability of � 10,000to the vendor without anyguarantee. The meeting wasalso attended by DistrictMagistrate Kaushal RajSharma, MunicipalCommissioner Gaurang Rathi,Chief Development OfficerMadhusudan Hulgi and seniorofficials of different banks.

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    Keeping the convenience ofpassengers in mind in viewof the forthcoming festivals thefollowing Puja special trains willbe run the railway administra-tion. All coaches in them will bereserved category and passengerswill have to follow the Covid-19norms, CPRO PK Singh said.

    PUNE-LUCKNOW JN.PUJA SPL: The 01407 Pune-Lucknow Jn weekly puja specialwill from October 20 toNovember 24 every Tuesdayleave from Pune at 22.00 hrs andreach Lucknow Jn the third dayat 02.40 hrs. While 01408Lucknow Jn- Pune weekly pujaspecial from October 22 toNovember 26 every Thursdayleave Lucknow Jn at 06:30 hrsand reach Pune at 11:05 hrs thenext day. This train will be runon the timing and stoppage ofthe regular train no11407/11408 Pune-Lucknow Jn-Pune Express. A total of 22coaches will be attached in it.

    LKO JN- PATLIPUTRA SFSPECIAL The 02530 LucknowJn- Patliputra superfast pujaspecial from October 20 toNovember 30 every Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday andSaturday will leave Badshahnagarat 05.30 hrs, Gonda at 07.25 hrs,Basti at 08.39 hrs, Gorakhpur at10.10 hrs, Deoria Sadar at 10.56hrs, Siwan at 11.55 hrs, Ekma at12.20 hrs, Chhapra at 13.15 hrsand Dighwara at 13.50 hrs andreach Patliputra at 14.50 hrs.During the return journey the02529 Patliputra- Lucknow Jnsuperfast puja special will fromOctober 20 to November 30every Monday, Tuesday,Wednesday, Friday and Saturdayleave Patliputra at 15.50 hrs,Dighwara at 16.27 hrs, Chhapraat 17:30 hrs, Ekma 17.51 hrs,Deoria Sadar 19.20 hrs,Gorakhpur at 20.55 hrs, Basti at22.03 hrs, Gonda at 23.35 hrs, onthe second day Badshahnagar at02.00 hrs, and reach Lucknow Jnarrive at 02.35 hrs. A total of 21coaches will be attached in it.

    M A N DUA DI H - N E WDELHI PUJA SPL: The 02581Manduadih-New Delhi super-fast puja special from October 20to November 30 will daily leaveManduadih at 22:30 hrs and afterstopping at Gyanpur Road, thesecond day Prayagraj Jn, KanpurCentral at 04.15 hrs Ghaziabadat 11.32 hrs. and reach NewDelhi at 12.15 hrs. During thereturn journey the 02582 NewDelhi-Manduwadih SF puja spe-cial will from October 20 toDecember 1 leave New Delhi at22.35 hrs daily and after stop-ping at Ghaziabad, on secondday from Kanpur Central,

    Prayagraj Jn and Gyanpur Roadreach Manduadih at 11.10 hrs.A total of 22 coaches will beattached in this train.

    PLATFORMS FIXED: Inview of upcoming festivals, plat-forms for puja special trains andother special trains have beenfixed at Gorakhpur Junction sta-tion, CPRO PK Singh said.Platform No. 01- The 02521Barauni-Ernakulam puja specialtrain, 05003 Kanpur Anwarganj-Gorakhpur special, 09038Gorakhpur-Bandra Terminusspecial, 09040 Muzaffarpur-Bandra Terminus special, 02569Darbhanga-New Delhi clone spe-cial, 05273 Raxaul-Delhi special,02553 Saharsa-New Delhi specialtrain, 02557 Muzaffarpur-Delhispecial train, 04653 NewJalpaiguri-Amritsar clone specialand 05007 Varanasi City-Lucknow Jn special. PlatformNo. 02- The 02566 New Delhi-Darbhanga special train, 04654Amritsar-New Jalpaiguri clonespecial train, 05008 Lucknow Jn-Varanasi City special, 05050Gorakhpur-Kolkata special,05052 Gorakhpur-Kolkata spe-cial, 05048 Gorakhpur-Kolkataspecial, 04010 Delhi-BapudhamMotihari special, 02522Ernakulam-Gorakhpur puja spe-cial, 05017 Lokmanya TilakTerminus-Gorakhpur puja spe-cial and 05004 Gorakhpur-Kanpur Anwarganj special.Platform No 03:- The 05101Chhapra-Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharaj Terminus (Mumbai)puja special, 02574 Anand ViharTerminus-Muzaffarpur clonespecial, 04009 BapudhamMotihari-Delhi special, 02408Amritsar-New Jalpaiguri special,02554 New Delhi-Saharsa spe-cial, 02530 Lucknow Jn-Pataliputra puja special, 03020Kathgodam-Howrah puja spe-cial, 05097 Bhagalpur-JammuTawi puja special, 02563 Saharsa-New Delhi clone special, 02565Darbhanga-New Delhi special,01016 Gorakhpur-LokmanyaTilak Terminus special, 05098Jammu-Bhagalpur puja specialand 05910 Lalgarh-Dibrugarhspecial. Platform No. 04:- The05102 Chhatrapati Shivaji MaharajTerminus (Mumbai) - Chhaprapuja special, 09601 Udaipur-NewJalpaiguri puja special, 01015Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Gorakhpur special, 04674Amritsar-Jaynagar special, 09037Bandra Terminus-Gorakhpur spe-cial, 09039 Bandra Terminus-Muzaffarpur special, 05029Gorakhpur-Pune puja special,03019 Howrah-Kathgodam pujaspecial, 02529 Pataliputra-Lucknow Jn puja special, 02407New Jalpaiguri Amritsar specialand 09602 New Jalpaiguri-Udaipur puja special. Platform

    No 05:- The 01056 Gorakhpur-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus spe-cial, 09452 Bhagalpur-Gandhidham puja special, 09089Ahmedabad-Gorakhpur special,09090 Gorakhpur-Ahmedabadspecial, 05022 Gorakhpur-Shalimar puja special, 01116Gorakhpur-Pune special, 02573Muzaffarpur-Anand ViharTerminus clone special, 09051Gandhidham-Bhagalpur puja spe-cial, 04673 Jaynagar-Amritsar spe-cial and 01055 Lokmanya TilakTerminus-Gorakhpur special.Platform No 06:- The 02570New Delhi-Darbhanga clonespecial, 02558 Delhi-Muzaffarpur special, 05066Panvel-Gorakhpur special, 05064Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Gorakhpur special, 02564 NewDelhi-Saharsa clone special, 05274Delhi-Raxaul special, 02598Chhatrapati Shivaji MaharajTerminus-Gorakhpur puja spe-cial, 04924 Chandigarh-Gorakhpur special, 04923Gorakhpur-Chandigarh spe-cial and 05909 Lalgarh-Dibrugarh special. PlatformNo. 07:- The 05063 LokmanyaTilak Terminus-Gorakhpur spe-cial, 05065 Gorakhpur-Panvel spe-cial, 05067 Gorakhpur-BandraTerminus special, 02572 AnandVihar Terminus-GorakhpurHumsafar special, 02596 AnandVihar Terminus-GorakhpurHumsafar special, 02571Gorakhpur-Anand Vihar TerminusHumsafar special, 02595Gorakhpur-Anand Vihar TerminusHumsafar special and 02588 JammuTawi-Gorakhpur puja special.Platform No. 08:- The 01115Pune-Gorakhpur puja special,05018 Gorakhpur-LokmanyaTilak Terminus-Gorakhpur Pujaspecial train, 05047 Kolkata-Gorakhpur puja special, 05051Kolkata-Gorakhpur puja spe-cial, 05049 Kolkata-Gorakhpurpuja special, 02587 Gorakhpur-Jammu Tawi puja special,02592 Yesvantpur-Gorakhpurspecial, 02590 Secunderabad-Gkp special , 02512T h i r u v a n a n t h a p u r a mCentral-Gkp puja special, 02542Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Gkpspecial and 05030 Pune-Gorakhpur puja special.Platform No 09:- The 05045Gkp-Okha special, 02591 Gkp-Yesvantpur special, 02511 Gkp-Thiruvananthapuram Central-Gkppuja special, 02589 Gkp-Secunderabad special, 02597 Gkp-Chhatrapati Shivaji MaharajTerminus (Mumbai) special,05068 Bandra-Gorakhpur spe-cial, 02556 Hisar-Gkp special,02555 Gorakhpur-Hisar special,05021 Shalimar-Gkp puja spe-cial, 05046 Okha-Ahmedabadpuja special & 02541 Gkp-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus special.

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    The railway administrationfor the convenience of pas-sengers during the forthcomingfestivals will ensure the move-ment of 84408/84407 NewDelhi-Barauni-New Delhibiweekly Suvidha superfast pujaspecial and 88410/84409 NewDelhi-Darbhanga-New Delhibi-weekly Suvidha superfastpuja special. All coaches inthem will be of reserved categoryand passengers travelling in themwill have to follow the Covid-19 norms, CPRO PK Singh said.

    NEW DELHI-BARAUNIPUJA SPL: The 84408 NewDelhi-Barauni biweeklySuvidha SF puja special willfrom October 20 to November27 every Tuesday and Fridayleave New Delhi at 19:25 hrs,Moradabad at 22:38 hrs, thesecond day Bareilly at 00:03 hrs,Lucknow at 04:15 hrs,Gorakhpur at 09:10 hrs, Siwanat 10:47 hrs, Chhapra at 12:05hrs, Hajipur at 13:12 hrs andreach Barauni at 15.00 hrs.During the return journey, the84407 Barauni-New Delhi bi-weekly Suvidha superfast puja

    special from October 21 toNovember 28 everyWednesday and Saturday willleave Barauni at 19:30 hrs,Hajipur at 21:17 hrs, Chhapraat 22.35 hrs, Siwan at 23.42 hrs,the second day Gorakhpur at01.30 hrs, Lucknow at 06.40hrs, Bareilly at 10.12 hrs,Moradabad at 11.50 hrs andreach New Delhi at 14.50 hrs.A total of 20 coaches, includ-ing two coaches of generator-cum-luggage van, six of generalsecond class, seven of sleeperclass, four of AC third and oneof AC second will be attached.

    NEW DELHI-DARBHANGAPUJA SPL: The 84410 NewDelhi-Darbhanga biweeklySuvidha superfast puja specialfrom October 22 to November26 every Monday and Thursdaywill leave New Delhi at 19.25 hrs,Moradabad at 22.38 hrs, the sec-ond day Bareilly at 00.03 hrs,Lucknow at 04.15 hrs,Gorakhpur at 09.10 hrs, Siwanat 10:47 hrs, Darbhanga at16.00 hrs, Chhapra at 12.00 hrs,Hajipur at 13.02 hrs,Muzaffarpur at 13.57 hrs andSamastipur at 15.10 hrs andreach Darbanga at 16:00 hrs.

    During the return journey the84409 Darbhanga-New Delhibiweekly Suvidha superfastpuja special from October 23 toNovember 27 every Tuesdayand Friday will leaveDarbhanga at 20.55 hrs,Samastipur at 22:10 hrs,Muzaffarpur at 23.02 hrs,Hajipur at 23.57 hrs, the secondday Chhapra at 01.10 hrs, Siwanat 02.15 hrs, Gorakhpur at 04.00hrs, Lucknow at 09.00 hrs,Bareilly at 12.50 hrs, Moradabadat 14.20 hrs and reach NewDelhi at 17:30 hrs. A total of 20coaches will be attached in it.

    STOPPAGE NOT GIVEN:The railway administrationdue to unavoidable reasonshas not provided stoppage to05018/05017 Gorakhpur-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Gorakhpur puja special train atDevlali, Igatpuri, Kasara,Nandgaon, Nepanagar, JasraDabhaura, Jaitwar, Barud andSurgaon Banjari stations.Similarly the 05045/05046Gorakhpur-Okha puja specialtrain will not stop at Shajapur,Maninagar, Wankaner, Hapa andKhambhalia stations, CPROPK Singh said.

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    A40-year-old man was murdered inDhaurahra village under Chilh police sta-tion on Sunday night. On getting informationon Monday morning police reached the templewhere his body was recovered. Prima facie inves-

    t i g a t i o nrevealed thatMunna, son ofTirri, was resid-ing in the tem-ple and histhroat wasfound slit under

    unknown circumstances. Police suspect that adispute with friends led to his murder. No arresthad been made yet, last reports received heresaid. Senior police officials, including the IG, vis-ited the spot. Police took the body into custodyfor completing the legal formalities.

    PRIZE DISTRIBUTION: Former principalof Adarsh Inter College, Visundarpur, BrajdeoPandey said that the youth should emulate for-mer PM Rajiv Gandhi and fulfill his dream ofmaking the nation most powerful. During the

    prize distribution ceremony organised under theaegis of district unit of Congress at Laldiggi onSunday, Brajdeo Pandey, who was the chief guest,praised the initiative of the state unit ofCongress which organised Rajiv Gandhi GKcompetition online throughout the state to incul-cate the spirit of healthy competition among thestudents. Extending his best wishes for their brightfuture, the chief guest advised the Congress work-ers to organise more programmes to make theyouth aware about great personalities like RajivGandhi. As per the result announced by judgesParul stood at the top position and was awardeda laptop, Shanu Tiwari came second and wasgiven a tablet, while Himanshi Singh who camethird given a mobile phone as prize. Consolationprizes were given to 30 participants and remain-ing were honoured with certificates. Proposing thevote of thanks district Congress president ShivkumarPatel said that GK competition was a way to spreadnationalism among the youth. The programmewas conducted by Congress district secretary ManishDubey. Among those present were former MLAs,Bhagawati Prasad Chaudhary and LaliteshpatiTripathi, Nazam Ali, Lavkush Bharti, Kedar NathDubey, Rajdhar Dubey and Bhartendu Yadav.

    3

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    Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday urgedstudents to use their knowledgeobtained through education atvarious stages of their real life.Modi termed real life as agreat university which teachesvarious ways for applicability ofknowledge. He also said hisGovernment is concentratingon the infrastructure creationand structural reforms in theeducation sector reforms andthe National Education Policywould give new direction andnew strength to the reforms inthe education sector.

    The Prime Minister wasspeaking at the centenary con-vocation ceremony of MysoreUniversity through video con-ference from New Delhi.

    The PM said the Universityof Mysore is the centre of thegreat education system ofancient India, the aspirationsand capabilities of future Indiaand has realised the vision of“Rajarshi” Nalvadi KrishnarajaWadiyar and M Visvesvaraya Ji.He referred to stalwarts likeBharat Ratna Dr SarvepalliRadhakrishnan, who taught atthe University. “Education

    throws light at difficult times inlife,” Modi said quoting thegreat Kannada writer andthinker Goruru RamaswamyIyengar.

    He said continuous effortsare being made so that India'sEducation system caters to theneeds of the 21st centurywherein infrastructure creationand structural reforms weregiven special focus. He said tomake India a Global Hub forHigher Education and to makeour youth competitive, effortswere made qualitatively as wellas quantitatively.

    He said even after so manyyears of independence, in 2014,there were only 16 IITs in the

    country. In the last 6 years, onan average, a new IIT has beenopened every year. One ofthem is also at Dharwad,Karnataka. He also said as of2014 there were only 9 IIITs, 13IIMs and 7 AIIMSs in thecountry whereas in the subse-quent 5 years, 16 IIITs, 7 IIMsand 8 AIIMSs were eitherestablished or in the process ofbeing created.

    Modi said efforts in high-er education over the last fiveto six years are not limited toonly opening new institutionsbut work has also been done ongovernance reforms in theseinstitutions to ensure genderequality and social inclusive-

    ness. He said the first IIM Act

    gave more rights to IIMs acrossthe country. The NationalMedical Commission has beencreated to bring more trans-parency in medical education.Two new laws are also beingenacted for bringing in reformsin Homeopathy and otherIndian medical practices. PMexpressed happiness that at alllevels of education in the coun-try, the Gross Enrolment ratioof girls is more than boys.

    Modi said the focus of theNational Education Policy ismultidimensional to make ouryouth competitive through aflexible and adaptable educa-

    tion system. He said Skilling,Reskilling and Upskilling arethe greatest need of the hour.Being one of the best educationinstitutes in the country, thePrime Minister urged theUniversity of Mysore to inno-vate according to the newemerging situation. He urgedthe institute to focus onIncubation Centres,Technology DevelopmentCentres, “Industry-academialinkage” and “Inter- discipli-nary research”. He requestedthe University to promoteresearch on Local Culture,Local Art and other socialissues along with related glob-al and contemporary issues.

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    Without giving a firm date-wise time-table for Haj2021, Union Minister ofMinority Affairs MukhtarAbbas Naqvi on Monday saidthe holy pilgrimage will dependon national-internationalProtocol Guidelines due toCovid-19 pandemic conditions.The Union Minister said awhole set of procedures for theHaj would change on account of

    the pandemic.While chairing Haj 2021

    review meeting here, Naqvisaid Haj is scheduled for June-July 2021, but the final decisionregarding Haj 2021 will betaken in due course keeping inview necessary guidelines to beissued by the Saudi ArabiaGovernment and theGovernment of India in view ofcorona pandemic to ensurehealth and well-being of thepeople.

    Naqvi added HajCommittee of India and otherIndian agencies will formallyannounce Haj 2021 applica-tion process and other relatedpreparations after a decision istaken by the Saudi ArabiaGovernment on Haj 2021.

    The Minister said the entireHaj process might witness a sig-nificant change in view of nec-essary guidelines.

    “These include accommo-dation, transport, health and

    other facilities both in India andSaudi Arabia”, he said.

    Naqvi said health and well-being of the pilgrims is of theutmost priority for theGovernment due to coronapandemic.

    The Indian agencies willensure necessary arrangementsin this regard. The IndianGovernment and HajCommittee have started neces-sary preparations to ensurehealth and well-being of the pil-

    grims. The Minister said due to100 per cent digital Haj processof India, Rs 2,100 crore havebeen returned through DBTmode, without any deduction,to 1,23,000 people after cancel-lation of Haj 2020 due to coro-navirus.

    The Saudi ArabiaGovernment has also returnedabout Rs 100 crore regardingtransportation.

    Secretary, Minority AffairsMinistry PK Das and other

    senior officials of the Ministry;Joint Secretary, External AffairsVipul; Joint Secretary CivilAviation Ministry SK Mishraattended the review meeting.Besides, Dr Ausaf Sayeed,Indian Ambassador to SaudiArabia; Y Sabir, Acting ConsulGeneral in Jeddah; MA Khan,CEO Haj Committee of Indiaand other officials from HealthDepartment, Air India etcattended the meeting throughvideo conferencing.

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    As part of the Atma NirbharBharat Package to revivethe rural and agriculture econ-omy, as many as 1.5 crorefarmers, including fishermenand dairy farmers, have been benefited with sanctionedcredit limit of Rs 1.35 lakhcrore under the Kisan CreditCards (KCC).

    In May this year, the UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman announced a con-cessional credit boost worth Rs2 lakh crore to 2.5 crore farm-ers through KCC issued by thegovernment.

    It is expected that the samewill help in reviving the ruraleconomy and accelerating agri-cultural growth. The schemeprovides an additional liquid-ity of Rs 5 lakh crore in thehands of farmers, who are suf-fering from the recent down-turn of economy.

    The KCC scheme waslaunched to prevent farmersfrom getting loans on highinterest rates charged viamoney lenders in the unor-ganised sector.

    Under the scheme, farmerscan avail a loan as and whenthey require. The scheme waslaunched in August 1998 andwas prepared by National Bankfor Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (NABARD).

    The Government providesinterest subvention of 2 percent and Prompt RepaymentIncentive of 3 per cent to thefarmers, thus making the cred-it available at a very subsidisedrate of 4 per cent per annum.

    The Government has takenmajor farmer friendly steps byextending the benefits of KCCwith interest subvention in2019 to Animal Husbandryincluding Dairy and Fisheriesfarmers for their working cap-ital requirement and raising theexisting limit of collateral freeagriculture loan from Rs 1lakh to Rs 1.60 lakh.

    “While ensuring conve-nient and cost-effective creditdelivery to farmers, the ongo-ing campaign will also beinstrumental in driving therural economy and furtheraccelerating agricultural pro-duction and allied activities,besides enhancing the incomelevel of farmers. This will alsogo a long way in fulfilling theobjective of food security forour country,” the Ministry saidin a statement.

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    With the Covid-19 pan-demic bringing intofocus the urgent need to boosthealthcare facilities in ruralareas, a unique scheme,“Ayushman Sahakar”, wasunveiled on Monday. It offerseasily-accessible low-interestloans to cooperatives and star-tups keen to venture into anarray of health related facilitiesthat would ensure last-miledelivery of healthcare servicesacross the country.

    The apex autonomousdevelopment finance institu-tion, National CooperativeDevelopment Corporation(NCDC), under the UnionAgriculture Ministry, hasalready created a loan kitty ofRs 10,000 crore for the purposeaiming to boost the provisionof healthcare services by coop-eratives which largely com-prise farmers in the country.

    Launching the schemeonline, Union Agriculture

    Minister of State ParashottamRupala said that AyushmanSahakar would revolutionise theway healthcare delivery takesplace in rural areas. He also gavea call to the existing cooperativesto take up healthcare services asan activity for farmers.

    Talking to media, SundeepNayak, Managing Director ofNCDC, said, “This schemealigns itself with the focus ofthe National Health Policy,2017, covering the health sys-tems in all their dimensions-investments in health, organi-zation of healthcare services,access to technologies, devel-opment of human resources,encouragement of medical plu-ralism, affordable health care tofarmers etc.”

    In fact, co-operatives arealready playing an increasing-ly important role in various sec-tors such as fisheries, sugar,dairy, textile and agri-process-ing among a few others. In thehealth sector, the NCDC has sofar financed a few hospitals run

    by cooperatives across thecountry.

    “The idea is to expand theumbrella particularly at a timewhen there is an imminentneed to strengthen healthcarefacilities in the rural area in thewake of Covid-19 outbreak.The scheme has comprehen-sive approach-hospitals, health-care, medical education, nurs-ing education, drug stores,paramedical education, healthinsurance and holistic healthsystems such as AYUSH.Ayushman Sahakar schemefund would also assist cooper-ative hospitals take up med-ical/Ayush education,” heexplained.

    “Even if doctors cometogether to form a cooperativeand start a hospital or a centrewith physiotherapy services,we would be able to supportthem,” he said.

    Talking about the eligibili-ty for availing the loan, Nayaksaid, “As our original guidelinesgo, a cooperative has to be

    three years old for gettingNCDC finance, for this start-upscheme. So, this is a greatscheme for start-ups. Besides, ifthese start-ups are founded bywomen or those with disabili-ties, they would get an interestsubvention of 2 per cent.”

    Any Cooperative Societywith suitable provision in itsbyelaws to undertake health-care related activities would beable to access the NCDC fund.The NCDC assistance will floweither through the StateGovernments/UT administra-tions or directly to the eligiblecooperatives. Subsidy/ grantfrom other sources can bedovetailed, the official added.

    Nayak pointed out that theco-operative is a complete busi-ness model that competes inthe market like any other andexisting cooperatives hospitalshave shown that they havebeen earning good profits whilereinvesting in improving ser-vice quality, so ensuring its sus-tainability.

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    Ahead of festivals and thewinter season, the WorldHealth Organization (WHO)on Monday cautioned againstany relaxation of responseactions following the recentslight decline in Covid-19 casesin the South-East Asia Region.It said the pandemic continuesunabated and our response onlyneeds to be strengthened furtherto curtail virus transmission.

    The co-circulation of sea-sonal influenza and Covid-19in the winters may presentchallenges for health systemsand health facilities, since bothdiseases present many similarsymptoms, according to thehealth experts. “There shouldbe no complacency in view ofthe declining numbers in recentweeks. The Region still reportslarge numbers of Covid-19cases. We need to continue todo our very best to curtail thepandemic,” said Dr PoonamKhetrapal Singh, RegionalDirector WHO South-East AsiaRegion in a statement here.

    The upcoming festival sea-son and the approaching win-ter/cold season threatens toaggravate the situation if we letour guards down, she said.

    Member countries havebeen making concerted effortsscaling up capacities for time-ly detection, testing, tracingcontacts, isolating the affectedand providing hospital care tothose who need it. “Our relent-less efforts need to continuewith more vigor,” the RegionalDirector said.

    This festive season we mustcontinue to take responsibility

    as individuals of the need tomaintain physical distance,hand hygiene, cough etiquetteand wear a mask when andwhere needed. People mustremember the three Cs —avoid crowded places, avoidclosed settings and avoid con-fined and enclosed spaces withpoor ventilation.

    Many of the same mea-sures that are effective in pre-venting Covid-19 are also effec-tive for preventing influenza,including physical distancing,hand hygiene, covering coughs,ventilation and masks.

    For the third week in a row,the WHO South-East AsiaRegion has registered 6 - 8 percent decline in the number ofCovid-19 cases, mainly due toa decrease in reported casesfrom India and Bangladesh.

    Home to one-fourth of theworlds' population, the Regionhas reported over 8 million ofthe nearly 40 million casesglobally, mostly from the mostpopulous countries which alsoface unique demographic andgeographic challenges.

    In India, the number ofnew coronavirus infectionsreported daily dropped below60,000 for the second timethis month, while the numberof fresh fatalities registeredacross the country dippedbelow 600 almost after threemonths, the Union HealthMinistry data said.

    The total cases mounted to75,50,273 with 55,722 infec-tions being reported in a day while death toll climbedto 1,14,610 with 579 fatalitiesbeing registered in a span of 24 hours.

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    Aplea has been filed in theSupreme Court seekingdirection to the Centre toframe model pacts for builderand agent buyers to protect cus-tomers and bring in trans-parency in the realty sector intune with the Real EstateRegulatory Authority (RERA)Act 2016.

    The plea filed by 62 homebuyers has also sought a direc-tion to all the states to enforce‘Model Builder BuyerAgreement’ and ‘Model AgentBuyer Agreement’ and to take steps to avoid “mental,physical and financial injury”to customers.

    The plea has madeMinistry of Housing and UrbanAffairs, DLF Southern Homes

    Pvt. Ltd.(Begur Omr Home PvtLtd) and Annabel Builders &Developers Pvt. Ltd as partiesin the case.

    “Promoters, Builders andAgents use manifestly arbi-trary one-sided agreementsthat do not place customers atan equal platform with them,which offends Articles 14, 15,21 of Constitution. There havebeen many cases of deliberateinordinate delays in handingover possession and customerslodge complaints but policedon’t register FIRs, citing arbi-trary clauses of the agreement.

    “Builders issue reviseddelivery schedule again andagain and adopt arbitraryunfair restrictive trade prac-tices. All this amounts to crim-inal conspiracy, fraud, cheating,criminal breach of trust, dis-

    honestly inducing delivery ofthe property, dishonest misap-propriation of property andviolation of corporate laws,” said the plea, filedthrough advocate AshwaniKumar Dubey.

    Due to deliberate excessivedelays in possession, real estatecustomers are not only suffer-ing from mental and financialinjury but also from brazen vio-lation of their right to life andlivelihood, the plea said.

    The PIL contended thatmany developers across thecountry still follow a common practice of pre-launching a project withoutsecuring requisite approvalsfor the project from the author-ities, and term it as ‘soft launch’or ‘pre-launch’ etc. thus, open-ly violating the law but no

    action has been taken againstany builder till date.

    “It is necessary to statethat registration of the projectwith the regulatory authorityhas been mandatory before it is launched for sale,and for registration, the basicpre-requisite is that the devel-oper must have all the requisiteapprovals.

    “Thus the buyer is pro-tected as the project is ring-fenced from the vagaries ofnon-approvals or delays inapprovals which are one of themajor causes of delay for theproject,” the plea said.

    The plea has also soughtdirections to compensate thebuyers for losses incurred dueto inordinate delays on the partof Promoters-Builders and torecover their money.

    New Delhi: A plea has beenmoved in the Supreme Courtseeking urgent hearing of thePIL seeking directions to gov-ernment authorities for imple-menting top court’s directionsregarding appointment ofInformation Commissionerswithin a stipulated time and ina transparent manner.

    An application has beenfiled by RTI activist AnjaliBhardwaj for urgent listing ofthe PIL filed by her on fillingup of vacancies in CentralInformation Commission(CIC) and the StateInformation Commissions(SICs), in view of top court’sDecember 16, 2019, order.

    On December 16, last year,the top court had directed theCentre and state governmentsto appoint information com-missioners within three monthsin the CIC and the SICs, andsaid there was a need to evolveguidelines to stop misuse of theRight to Information Act.

    The urgent hearing appli-cation of Bhardwaj said that theDecember 16, last year order hasnot been complied with and thenumber of vacancies at the CIChave now increased to six andeven the post of the ChiefInformation Commission hasbeen vacant since August 27,2020, “frustrating the order ofthis Court as well as citizens fun-damental right to information”.

    It said that as of October15, 2020, the number of pend-ing appeals/complaints beforethe CIC is more than 36,600.

    The application said, “It isfurther submitted that it appearsthe UOI is resorting to issuingfresh advertisements instead of

    filling all the advertised vacantposts in a bid to cause unduedelay in the appointments there-by frustrating peoples’ right toinformation”.

    It said that no reasons havebeen furnished by the Centreas to why four vacancies werenot filled pursuant to the adver-tisement dated December 12,2019 and the order of this courtdated December 16, 2019. Itclaimed that Centre after fillingone vacancy at the CIC hasnow put out a new advertise-ment dated July 12.

    The application claimedthat even the State governmentsfailed to comply with the direc-tions given by this court videJudgment dated February 15,2019. “The State InformationCommission (SIC) ofMaharashtra is functioning withonly five commissioners andthere is a backlog of nearly60,000 appeals/complaints asof July 31, 2020”, it said, addingthat these vacancies were notfilled despite direction from thetop court given in its February15, last year verdict. The apexcourt, in its February 15, last yearverdict, had said that selectionof information officers shouldinclude people of eminencefrom various other fields and notbe limited to bureaucrats and theexercise be conducted in a trans-parent manner.

    It had also directed theCentre and eight states -- WestBengal, Orissa, Maharashtra,Gujarat, Nagaland, AndhraPradesh, Kerala and Karanataka— to fill up the vacancies of ICsin the CIC and SICs without anydelay within a period of onemonth to six months. PTI

    ����� =6?��6-+A

    The Supreme Court onMonday asked theMaharashtra State DisasterManagement Authority(SDMA) to decide on the rep-resentation by Nanded gurud-wara management board seek-ing to hold Dusshera processionamid Covid-19 pandemic.

    A bench headed by JusticeL Nageswara Rao, whichassembled during the Dussheravacation of the apex court tohear the matter, said the deci-sion will have to be taken onthe basis of ground situation.

    The bench, also compris-ing Justices Hemant Gupta andAjay Rastogi, asked the gurud-wara management to file itsrepresentation with the SDMAby Tuesday.

    The gurdwara manage-ment board can move theBombay High Court if it is notsatisfied with the decision ofthe SDMA, it said.

    The top court was hearing aplea by ‘Nanded SikhGurudwara Sachkhand ShriHazur Abchalnagar Sahib Board’seeking permission to carry outthe customary procession onaccount of the 300-year oldevent — ‘Dusshera, Takht Isnan,Deepmala and Gurta Gaddi’ —with certain conditions. Theplea has said that “GurdwaraTakhat Shri Hazur Abchalnagaris a pious place of world fame forbeing the last place of tenth SikhGuru Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Maharaj, where he grantedholy seat of Guru to theGurugranth Sahiv ji before goingto Sachkhand”.

    The MaharashtraGovernment has told the apex

    court that allowing Nandedgurudwara to hold Dussheraprocession will not be a “prac-tically feasible option” amidCOVID-19 and the state hastaken a conscious decision ofnot allowing religious functionsto check the spread of virus.

    During the hearing onMonday, the advocate appear-ing for the petitioner said thatthe Centre has issued guide-lines on the issue and the statetoo has not raised objection tolimited gatherings. Referring tothe guidelines, he said for mar-riage 50 people are allowed andthe gurdwara managementboard is not asking for “publicparticipation” and there will beonly as many people and on alimited route.

    “Your contention that thestate government is not oppos-ing the procession is wrong,”the bench said, adding that 40-50 people in the procession isokay but who will control thecrowds if the gatheringbecomes bigger on the road.

    The petitioner’s counselsaid the management hasreduced the procession route to1.5 km and its timing can befixed in the evening to ensurea small congregation; more-over, the proceedings would betelecast. “State is saying there isa health risk,” the bench said.

    Senior advocate DevduttKamat, who appeared forMaharashtra along with state’sstanding counsel Sachin Patil,referred to the number ofCOVID-19 cases and deaths inthe state as well as in Nandedarea and said that authoritieshave not allowed any kind ofreligious gatherings amid thepandemic.

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  • The recent judgement ofthe Supreme Court onthe petitions pertainingto the three-monthprotests, held in ShaheenBagh in South Delhi earlier this year,should clear the air in respect of theprevailing debate on how far one cango while exercising the right to dis-sent. The key point is that the occu-pation of public thoroughfares whileregistering a protest is not acceptableindefinitely.

    This judgement will have long-term implications on how politicalbattles will henceforth be foughtwhen they spill out onto the streets,because if the right to protest is anuntrammelled right, the constitu-tional scheme could get disturbed.

    The judgement of the three-judge Bench, comprising JusticesSanjay Kishan Kaul, AniruddhaBose and Krishna Murari, said thatArticle 19 was one of the corner-stones of the Constitution whichconferred two treasured rights oncitizens — the right to freedom ofspeech and expression under Article19(1)(a) and the right to assemblepeacefully without arms underArticle 19(1)(b). “These rights, incohesion, enable every citizen toassemble peacefully and protestagainst the actions or inactions of theState. The same must be respectedand encouraged by the State, for thestrength of a democracy such as ourslies in the same.” However, it notedthat these rights were subject to rea-sonable restrictions. Referring to anearlier judgement of the court, itsaid, “each fundamental right, be itof an individual or of a class, doesnot exist in isolation and has to bebalanced with every other contrast-ing right. It was in this respect, thatin this case, an attempt was made byus to reach a solution where therights of protesters were to be bal-anced with that of commuters”.

    The court declared that democ-racy and dissent go hand in hand,but then the demonstrationsexpressing dissent have to be in des-ignated places alone. “The presentcase was not even one of proteststaking place in an undesignated area,but was a blockage of a public waywhich caused grave inconvenienceto commuters. We cannot accept theplea of the applicants that an inde-terminable number of people canassemble whenever they choose toprotest.” The blockade had resultedin the closure of the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, including theOkhla underpass, from December

    15, 2019, onwards.The central argument of those

    who objected to the ShaheenBagh protest, including Dr NandKishore Garg, who petitioned thecourt, was that the protesters hadblocked an important thorough-fare and caused enormous incon-venience to commuters. Theright to protest should not resultin the infringement of the rightto free movement of other citi-zens. Dwelling on this issue, thecourt said: “We have, thus, nohesitation in concluding thatsuch kind of occupation of pub-lic ways, whether at the site inquestion or anywhere else forprotests, is not acceptable and theadministration ought to takeaction to keep the areas clear ofencroachments or obstructions.”

    The court recalled the historyof protest during the freedommovement. It said: “What mustbe kept in mind, however, is thatthe erstwhile mode and mannerof dissent against colonial rulecannot be equated with dissent ina self-ruled democracy. Our con-stitutional scheme comes withthe right to protest and expressdissent but with an obligationtowards certain duties.” This is asignificant observation by theapex court. In fact, Dr BRAmbedkar, who headed theConstitution DraftingCommittee, dwelt on this veryissue in his concluding remarksin the Constituent Assembly onNovember 25, 1949, before theAssembly put its final stamp ofapproval on the Constitution.

    In that speech, Dr Ambedkarmade two observations, whichare very relevant to the presentdebate on democracy and dissentin the country. He said: “The con-

    demnation of the Constitutionlargely comes from two quarters,the Communist Party and theSocialist Party.” The commu-nists do not like it because theywant a Constitution based on theprinciple of dictatorship of theproletariat. “They (the commu-nists) condemn the Constitutionbecause it is based on parliamen-tary democracy.” The Socialistswant to nationalise all privateproperty without payment ofcompensation. Second, they wantfundamental rights in theConstitution to be absolute andwithout any limitations, “so thatif their party fails to come intopower, they would have theunfettered freedom not merely tocriticise, but also to overthrow theState”.

    Just substitute the Congressparty for the Socialist Party andit will appear as if Dr Ambedkaris talking about what is happen-ing in India in the year 2020where political parties, whichhave been rejected by the elec-torate, want to foment trouble onthe streets to disturb the demo-cratic process. Let us not forgetthat the Congress party’s voteshare has crashed to less than 20per cent and the vote share of thetwo communist parties has hitrock bottom and touched a lowof 2.50 per cent.

    The second aspect DrAmbedkar highlighted relatesto the modes of protest. He toldthe citizens what they must do ifthey wish to maintain democra-cy not merely in form but also infact. The first thing we must dois to hold fast to the constitution-al methods to achieve our socialand economic objectives. “Itmeans we must abandon bloody

    methods of revolution. It meansthat we must abandon themethod of civil disobedience,non-cooperation and satyagra-ha.” These methods were okaywhen there were no constitution-al methods of protest. “But whereconstitutional methods are open,there can be no justification forthese unconstitutional methods.These methods are nothing butthe grammar of anarchy and thesooner they are abandoned, thebetter for us.”

    The Shaheen Bagh mode ofprotest falls into the categorymentioned by Dr Ambedkar —organising a blockade to preventpeople from using an importantpublic thoroughfare and dis-rupting normal life. And letthere be no confusion about theprimary intent of those whopromoted this “grammar of anar-chy” — their dissatisfaction withthe peoples’ verdict of 2014 and2019 — more than anything else,and their desire to unsettle a dulyelected Government. The objec-tions to the CitizenshipAmendment Act were just afaçade.

    Instead of promoting suchchaos for several months, itwould have been better for theprotesters to move the SupremeCourt against the law made bythe Parliament. That would bethe appropriate constitutionalresponse that would have passedmuster with Dr Ambedkar.

    Hopefully, the apex court’sjudgement should put an end tothe Shaheen Bagh mode ofprotests and restore some orderin the way we express dissent.

    (The writer is an author special-ising in democracy studies. Viewsexpressed are personal)

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    �����Sir — Maharashtra GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari’s letter toChief Minister UddhavThackeray on re-opening tem-ples in the State was meant toserve two purposes — to drawthe Hindutva concept of religiousidentity back to the discussion,and the other, to bolster the corepitch of the BJP. In truth, hiswords give credence to the sus-picion that the values enshrinedin the Constitution of India areunder siege indeed. The Frenchadage, “the legislator becomes thetransgressor”, aptly describes theGovernor’s epistle, as he hadcome close to denouncing theConstitution.

    Koshyari’s letter unsettles eventhe ardent believers of Hinduism.He declares one is not a Hinduuntil and unless he or sheembraces the Hindutva doc-trine. Koshyari told Thackeraythat the latter had become a “sec-ular” Hindu, and thus, forsakenhis claim to be in the Hindutvastable. The country is now in direneed of a collective Oppositionforum and a stable, cogent leaderto save the very fabric of democ-racy.

    Haridasan RajanKozhikode

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    Sir — New Zealand’s PrimeMinister Jacinda Ardern deliv-ered the biggest election victoryfor her Labour party in half acentury. With all votes tallied,Ardern’s party won 49 per cent,bringing 64 seats and an outrightparliamentary majority. This isthe highest result that any partyhas achieved since the current

    political system was introducedin 1996. On the other hand, theopposition National Party wasable to secure only 26.8 per centand just 35 seats in the 120-seatAssembly. The resounding victo-ry is due to Ardern’s progressive,democratic governance, her lead-ership in successfully curbing thespread of COVID-19 in thecountry, as well as her handlingof the massacre of 51 worship-

    pers at two Christchurchmosques and a fatal volcanoeruption. Having a solid interna-tional following with her promo-tion of issues, including women’srights, social justice and multilat-eralism, Ardern has become arole model to many. However,there has been some criticism ofher economic policies. Also, asummer season with no interna-tional tourists will be a major test

    for her. For now, she is ready toform a Government within threeweeks but has declined to com-ment on whether she wouldrule alone or form a coalition.

    Khushboo VedUjjain

    ���������������Sir — With the onset of winterbegins the yearly theatrics of whois responsible for the rising pol-lution in Delhi. While the BJPclaims that there is more pollu-tion due to local factors, the StateGovernment blames the rulingparty at the Centre and Congressof forming an alliance to allowstubble burning. Amid all thispolitical gamble, the rising airpollution continues to affect thequality of life and subsistence ofthe city’s inhabitants. The Centreshould initiate a joint plan withthe support of the StateGovernments of Delhi, Haryana,Punjab and Uttar Pradesh tomake Delhi pollution-free. Theyshould also have a permanentban on firecrackers and not justfor the festive season.

    Amit Singh KushwahaSatna

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