First India-Delhi Edition-1st November 2022

SONIA, KHARGE

TRIBUTES

ACT OF GOD OR ACT OF FRAUD?

Moni Sharma

Ahmedabad: The death toll in Morbi bridge col lapse rose to 141 on Mon day, a senior Gujarat police official said, add ing that the rescue op eration was still under way. Police have regis tered an FIR on charges of culpable homicide against agencies given the task of maintenance and operation of the bridge. So far, 9 people have been arrested by Gujarat Police after in terrogation in connec tion with the tragedy.

The more than a cen tury-old bridge on the Machchhu river in Mor bi, located around 300 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, had reo pened 5 days ago after extensive repairs and renovation. It was crammed with people when it collapsed around 6.30 pm on Sunday.

The bridge was reo pened after a private inaugural event and was yet to receive the municipality’s “fitness certificate,” a civic of ficial said. More on P6

‘TWO FINGER TEST’ IN RAPE CASES BANNED

FIRST PILOT OF DIGITAL RUPEE TO COMMENCE TODAY: RBI New Delhi: The Reserve Bank said the first pilot of Central Bank Digital Currency—Digital Rupee (Wholesale segment) will be launched on Tuesday for

SHARAD PAWAR ADMITTED TO HOSP AFTER FEELING UNEASY

New Delhi: Twitter is abuzz

MoS

Chandrasekhar,

EX-PAK

Islamabad: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday targeted chief of the

Commission

Pakistan and

he

New Delhi: SC on Monday imposed a ban on ‘two-finger test’ in rape cases. Court said that any person conducting such test will be considered guilty of misconduct & added, “Evidence of a victim’s sexual history not material to case. It is regrettable that it continues to be conducted even today.” SC also ordered removal of 2-finger test from study materials and books of medical colleges.

SC TO HEAR PLEAS OVER CAA ON DEC 6

New Delhi: Top Court on Monday posted for hearing on December 6 a batch of over 200 petitions challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019. A bench of CJI UU Lalit and Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi granted 2 weeks to Assam and Tripura govts to file their responses on the pleas.

LUMPY: SC SEEKS REPLIES FROM CENTRE, 6 STATES

New Delhi: The Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre and 6 states on Monday on a plea that has sought the formulation of a national health plan on lumpy skin disease in cattle. Bench sought responses from Centre, states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

FIR STATES...

The FIR, lodged by ‘B’ division police inspector Prakash Dekivadia, stated that the bridge over the Machchhu river in Morbi town was not in use for nearly 8 months as the local administration had roped in a “private agency” for its maintenance. The bridge was opened for tourists by the agency despite knowing that their “callous approach” in the maintenance and management of the bridge may lead to human deaths, the FIR stated.

HIGHLIGHTS

l Russian President Vladimir Putin expresses condolences to families of bridge collapse victims

l Dalai Lama, Nepal Prime Minister Deuba express con dolences about the incident

l Polish Foreign Minister condoles loss of lives in Gu jarat’s Morbi bridge collapse

l 12 members of Rajkot BJP MP’s family dead in the tragedy

l PM Modi cancels road his show, chairs high-level meet to review Morbi situation

l Congress chief Mallikar jun Kharge seeks probe by retired SC or HC judge

l Congress postpones its “Parivartan Sankalp Yatra” in poll-bound State Gujarat

India’s ‘ekta’ causing pain to our enemies, says Modi

First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: PM Nar endra Modi on Monday remembered Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the latter’s birth anni versary, expressed con dolences to families of aggrieved families who lost their loves ones in Morbi bridge collapse incident on Sunday.

India’s ‘ekta’ causing pain to our enemies, they tried to break it in the past whenever they ruled over us, PM said while observing Sardar Patel’s birth anniv as Ekta Diwas. Remember ing Patel, PM Modi said Rashtriya Ekta Diwas is a tribute to invalua ble role of India’s first home minister in unify ing our nation.

I am in Ekta Nagar but my mind is with the victims of Morbi. Rarely in my life, would I have experienced such pain. On one hand, there is a pain-riddled heart and on the other hand, there is the path to duty.

—Narendra Modi, PM Full Report on P5

Banaskantha: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a three-day visit to Gujarat laid the foundation stones of several water supply projects worth `8,034 crore including the Kasara to Dantiwada pipeline from the main Narmada canal, costing over `1,560 crore. During the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also dedicated to the nation two railway pro jects worth `2,900 crore at Asarva in Kevadia, Gujarat.

REMEMBERING

Sardar Patel realised the dream of a strong India: Shah

a

New Delhi: Twitter, which was acquired last week by billionaire Elon Musk, plans to let go of a quarter of its workforce as part of what is expected to be a first round of layoffs, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with matter. Celebrity lawyer Alex Spiro told about job cuts.

New Delhi (PTI): Un ion Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said Sardar Vallabhbhai Pa tel realised the dream of a strong and united In dia with his farsighted ness, despite attempts by anti-India forces to keep the country divided. He said that despite ef forts over several years to erase the legacy of Sardar Patel, people of India remember him with gratitude for his huge contributions in making a united India. Shah said this while flagging off a run to

commemorate the 147th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Pa tel, India’s first home minister, here.

The ‘Run for Unity’, which began from the Major Dhyan Chand Na tional Stadium in the capital city, saw the par ticipation of a large number of people, in cluding sports person alities, sports enthusi asts and personnel of central police forces.

“Even during that time, anti-India forces left no stone unturned to keep the country divid

ed. We have seen how Sardar Patel brought Ju nagarh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Hy

derabad under the fold of the Union of India through his farsighted ness and political acu

men,” Shah said.

Without Patel, a strong and united India would not have been pos sible, the home minister said.

Sardar Patel was in strumental in making the present-day India, and his contribution to realise the dream of In dia was immense, he said.Shah further said whenever people take Patel’s name, India’s map comes to their minds, and without Pa tel, the huge and strong India would not have come into existence.

“The challenge at the time of Independence was to bring all princely states under the Union of India. Sardar Patel brought all of them un der the fold of the Union of India,” he said.

The Union home min ister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India was march ing ahead to become strong, self-reliant and prosperous. The country has achieved several milestones in the last eight years in this re gard, he added.

Govt re-submits

‘Red Light On’ campaign file to LG

New Delhi (PTI): Envi ronment Minister Gopal Rai Monday said the Del hi government has resub mitted the file on ‘Red Light On Gaadi Off’ cam paign to Lt Guv VK Sax ena seeking his approval. He said the file contains evidence that such drives have reduced pollution in India, US and UK.On Sat urday, Saxena had re turned the file asking Kejriwal to reconsider the campaign. He ques tioned the effectiveness of such an ‘ad-hoc’ meas ure as Delhi reels under high pollution.

on P3

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena pays homage to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his birth anniversary, at Patel Chowk in New Delhi, Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI

PAYING HOMAGE TO ‘THE ARCHITECT OF INDIA’S ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM’

“SUPREME” COURT ORDERS OF THE DAY

“EMOTIONAL” PM MODI LAYS FOUNDATION OF PROJECTS WORTH OVER `8,000 CRORE

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot at the incident site at Morbi on Monday to take the stock of situation. Gehlot alongwith Congress Gujarat in-charge Dr Raghu Sharma also visited the hospital to enquire about the health and prayed for the well being of the survivors.

FOR THE MOST RELEVANT & CREDIBLE NEWS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, at Kevadia in Narmada district on Monday.

PHOTO BY ANI

People gather at the site during a rescue operation after the collapse of a suspension bridge over the Machchhu river, in Morbi district on Monday.

RAJ CM GEHLOT VISITS

Union Home Minister Amit Shah flags off the Run for Unity on the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi, Monday. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar

BY PTI

‘DU should bring Sardar Patel's work in research’

New Delhi (Agencies):

On the occasion of Rash triya Ekta Diwas, Minis ter of Education Dhar mendra Pradhan called upon the University of Delhi to bring the work done in the unity cam paign of Sardar Patel in research. Pradhan was the chief guest at the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas programme organised by the university to com memorate the birth an niversary of India’s first Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Addressing the gath ering, the minister said, "a lot of work would have been done on Patel in the 100-year history of the University, but in the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence, it should be brought into the dis cussion by bringing it

into research in a more relevant form." The

minister also talked about Patel's contribu tion in creating the po litical and cultural iden tity of the country. "It was not only Patel's re sponsibility to get po litical independence for

AIIMS dashboard to display CT Scan and MRI investigations

the country, he also took it upon himself to tie the country in the thread of unity," he said.

The minister also said that the main chal lenges of the 21st cen tury are- promoting employment, planning and entrepreneurship.

Prez Murmu, VP Dhankhar, HM Shah pay tributes to Sardar

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and a host of dignitar ies Monday offered flo ral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his birth anniversary.

At a special function held at capital's Patel Chowk, the President and others paid floral tributes at the statue of India's first Home Min ister on his birthday, which is observed as Rashtriya Ekta Divas.

Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena and Minis ter of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Le khi were also present.

PTI

Haryana CM administers ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ pledge

Chandigarh (PTI): Haryana Chief Minis ter Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday administered the 'Rashtriya Ekta Di was' pledge to a gath ering of officials and others at the Haryana Civil Secretariat at a special function or ganised on the occa sion of birth anniver sary of Sardar Vallab hbhai Patel.

Sardar Patel's birth anniversary is ob served as the Rash triya Ekta Diwas or National Unity Day.

Paying rich trib utes to Patel, India's first home minister and also known as the

Chhath Puja: Thousands gather at Delhi ghats on last day

New Delhi: The twoday Chhath Puja cele brations concluded to day with devotees offer ing prayers to the rising Sun at several ghats in the national capital.

The women, holding a 36-hour-long fast, per formed the rituals in knee-deep waters and gave "arghya" of cow milk and water to the rising Sun.

New Delhi: The All In dia Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has decided to create a dashboard to display statistics pertaining to CT scans and MRI in vestigations being con ducted at the institute in Delhi, officials said.

In an office memoran dum, AIIMS director Dr M Srinivas said the move has been taken as part of efforts to boost transparency. “As a part of good governance and to increase transparen cy, it has been decided to create a web-based dash board to display the sta tistics of CT scans and MRI investigations be ing conducted at AIlMS, ,” the memorandum said.The move will smoothen the process of MRIs & CT scans at the institute as there has been a long waiting list for such diagnostic services as a result of which patients often have to visit private centres and sometimes

even have to go for an other test due to incom plete MRI reports from outside.

All CT scan and MRI stations will update data related to patient check-in and check-out on the portal that has been specifically de signed to enable display of live utilization statis tics to the public. “Com puter Facility is accord ingly requested to op erationalise the said portal and dashboard at mrictinfo.aiims.edu by 15 November, 2022,” the memorandum added.

Thousands of devo tees thronged ghats and makeshift ponds in Del

hi to worship the Sun God on the final day of the festival.

After two years of Covid-induced restric

tions, Chhath Puja saw a lot of enthusiasm among the devotees, more so among people from Purvanchal where the

CONTINUING THE LEGACY

festival takes its root.

Chhath puja is cele brated on the sixth day after Diwali and is also known as Surya Sashthi as it is dedicated to the Sun God. It is one of the most popular festivals in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The Delhi govern ment made 1,100 ghats for Chhath Puja across the city and a budget of Rs 25 crore was ear marked for the prepara tions for the festival.

“At the time of Independence, the country was divided into more than 550 princely states,” chief minister Khattar said

"Iron Man of India", Khattar said his con tribution to integrate more than 560 prince ly states into the In dian Union was im mense. He also said that the leader did great work for the unity and integrity of the country.

"At the time of In dependence, the coun try was divided into more than 550 prince ly states," the chief minister said.

Khattar said Patel integrated 562 states, but three states were left, adding that with Patel's efforts, Hy derabad and Junagad were also integrated.

He said while the task for persuading Hyderabad and Juna garh to join the Indi an Union was entrust ed to Patel, the re sponsibility to in clude Jammu and Kashmir was given to Jawaharlal Nehru.

Utterance of words like ‘ghotala’ not defamation: BJP on suit filed by Sisodia

New Delhi (Agencies): Senior BJP MPs Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, Manoj Tiwari and Hans Raj Hans have told a Delhi court that utterance of words like ‘scam/ghotala’ does not by itself constitute def amation while praying for discharge in a defa mation case filed by Delhi Deputy CM Man ish Sisodia.

Sisodia filed the case in 2019 against Tiwari, Hans Raj Hans, Verma, former MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa, and spokes person Harish Khurana for alleging corruption of nearly Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classrooms in Delhi’s government schools.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magis trate Harjeet Singh Jas pal heard arguments from Tiwari, Hans and Sirsa’s lawyers as well Saturday.

Their lawyers sought

to argue that a recent Supreme Court order passed on October 17, 2022, observed that “mere utterance of words like ‘scam/gho tala’ do not by itself constitute defamation”. Verma’s lawyer, Shi vam Chaudhary argued that “there is no defa mation and the press conference was merely a reiteration of the re ply received in the RTI”. This RTI, dated May 23, 2018, contained the reply by the office of the chief engineer (project) of the Delhi govern ment. “There was the sanction of 12,748 rooms against a sanctioned cost of (Rs) 2,892.65 crores [sic]…if the total sanctioned amount is divided by the sanc tioned rooms, then the per room cost is about Rs 25,00,000/ & the same was also stated in the press conference,” Ver ma’s lawyer submitted.

POLL STRATEGY

BJP’s NaMo cyber warriors to take on AAP in MCD polls

lll

According to BJP, NCY will be a platform for those who are not necessarily into politics but want to raise their voice on important issues

New Delhi (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be introduc ing NaMo Cyber Yod dha (NCY), an online volunteer campaigncum-initiative ahead of the civic polls in Delhi. According to BJP, NCY will be a platform for those who are not necessarily into politics but want to raise their voice on important is sues. It will be volunteerdriven. Around 50,000 NaMo cyber warriors will be galvanized over a

period of one month.

The party said thou sands of people are in fluenced by the ideology of Prime Minister Nar endra Modi and his mis sion of service, develop ment and ‘sabka saath’.

Though BJP is pre paring to launch NaMo Cyber Yoddha cam paign, the most impor tant question is whether NCY helps the party to garner votes in its fa vour in MCD elections.

BJP national spokes person and in-charge of

Delhi’s social media and digital campaign Shehzad Poonawalla

said, “NaMo Cyber Yod dha is an army of moti vated volunteers that

NaMo Cyber Yoddha is an army of moti vated volunteers that will help to expose the lies and wrongdoings of AAP government in Delhi and counter their campaign with facts and truth.

Delhi and counter their campaign with facts and truth.”

will help to expose the lies and wrongdoings of AAP government in

Poonawalla further said NCY will be launched soon. Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta, Leader of Oppo sition in Delhi Legisla tive Assembly Rambir Bidhuri, Chief of Elec tion Management Cam paign Ashish Sood, Shahzad Poonawalla and BJP MPs from Del hi will be present at the launch event.

In the run of munici

pal elections in Delhi, BJP and AAP have come face to face. BJP has been accus ing the Arvind Kejriwal government of being corrupt. BJP alleged that in the last 8 years, the AAP government has completely failed on every front and has been the most corrupt government in the his tory of Delhi. The BJP leader said AAP claims a world-class education model but cannot name 10 new colleges.

—Shehzad Poonawalla BJP national spokesperson

BJP will be introducing NaMo Cyber Yoddha (NCY), an online volunteer campaign-cum-initiative ahead of the civic polls in Delhi.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge pays homage to former prime minister Indira Gandhi on her 38th death anniversary, at AICC headquarters in New Delhi, Monday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and BJP leader Manoj Tiwari

Devotees perform rituals of Chhath Puja, at Sonia Vihar in New Delhi, Monday.  —PHOTO BY PTI

This will smoothen the process of MRIs & CT scans which often sees a long waiting list for such diagnostic services

min Dharmendra Pradhan’s

during Vallabhbhai’s birth anniv

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal pose for a group photograph with students, at the Central Hall of the Parliament, in New Delhi.

Prez Droupadi Murmu & Union Home Minister Amit Shah, pose for photos after paying homage to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his birth anniversary, at Patel Chowk in New Delhi, Monday.

New Delhi (PTI): A layer of eye-stinging smog lingered over Del hi on Monday as its air quality neared the ‘se vere’ zone with stubble burning accounting for 22 per cent of the city’s PM 2.5 pollution.

The city’s 24-hour av erage air quality index (AQI) stood at 392 (very poor), worsening from 352 on Sunday. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tues day and 312 on Monday (Diwali).

Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) reported 2,131 farm fires in Punjab on Monday, the highest so far this season.

“Low wind speed al lowed pollutants to ac cumulate in the air and the air quality index situation might deterio rate to “severe” Tues day morning,” Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and cli mate change), Skymet Weather said.

According to SAFAR, a forecasting agency un der the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the share of farm fires in Delhi PM2.5 pollution stood at 22 per cent on Monday.

It was 26 per cent on Sunday, the highest this year so far, Palwat said the trans port-level wind direc tion and speed is favour able for transport of smoke from stubble burning.

NEARS

File back on LG’s table after Delhi govt re-sends it for nod

From P1 New Delhi: Addressing a press conference here, Minister Gopal Rai said 40 cities across India have conducted such drives to reduce vehicu lar pollution levels.

“We also found that similar campaigns were conducted in UK, and US,” he said.

Under the campaign, first launched on Octo ber 16, 2020, drivers are encouraged to switch off their vehicles while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Cit

ing a study by Central Road Research Institute, a source said only 20 per cent commuters turn off ignition at the traffic signal but the number had surged to 80 per cent during the campaign.

Earlier, Rai had cited data from the Petroleum Conservation Research Association to say that if people switch off en gines at traffic signals, pollution can be cut down by 15-20 per cent.

On Saturday, he had said Delhi government was ready to answer all questions raised by LG.

FARM FIRE INCIDENTS DOWN 25 PC COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, ONE-TENTH OF PUNJAB: HARYANA CM KHATTAR

Chandigarh (PTI):

Farm fire incidents in Haryana are down by nearly 25 per cent com pared to last year and much lesser than Pun jab, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said here on Monday.

He also said an expert committee has been formed to look into the proposition of buying paddy straw from farm ers at minimum support price (MSP) in a bid to find a permanent solu tion to the stubble burn ing issue.

Khattar said while Punjab reported 13,873 farm fire incidents from

September 15 to October 30, Haryana had seen only about 10 per cent of such cases.

"If we compare with Punjab, it is 10 per cent.

The farm fire incidents in Haryana have re duced this year. As against 2,561 incidents reported (in Haryana) last year, this year, there were 1,925, a drop of nearly 25 per cent. As against this, Punjab has reported 13,873 inci dents," Khattar said.

The National Green Tribunal has also been giving directions to Pun jab from time to time on the stubble burning is

sue, he said.

"Recently, I had spo ken about MSP for stub ble. For this, we have formed a committee which will give its rec ommendations. We will

take further step once it committee gives its rec ommendations," Khat tar said.

The committee will not be limited to MSP, but will also look into

the entire gamut of the stubble burning issue, he added.

State DG for agricul ture will be the commit tee's chairman while DG of Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency will be one of its members.

The panel comprises -- Mukesh Jain, direc tor, Northern Region Farm Machinery Train ing and Testing Insti tute, Baldev Dogra, dean, College of Agri cultural Engineering, Haryana Agriculture University and Jag minder Nain, joint di rector, Agriculture.

TRANSPORT DEPT ISSUES

IN

New Delhi: The transport department issued around 3.29 lakh pollution under control (PUC) certificates from October 14 to 26 after the Delhi government, considering the deteriorating air qual ity in the national capital, made these mandatory for vehicles to fuel their vehicles at petrol pumps. According to data shared by the transport depart ment, the highest number of challans (32,474) were issued on the first day of the drive and the lowest on Diwali day (October 24). Officials said the drive is still going on and PUC certificates are being checked by enforcement teams. The PUC certificates are issued across 954 centres in Delhi. “People still have time to get the PUC certificate which is mandatory. If not, challans will be issued to vehicles without it,” said officials. In cases where the PUC certificate has expired, a challan will be issued under section 190(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. And if vehicle owners fail to possess PUC certificates, they may face impris onment of up to six months or fine of up to Rs 10,000 or both, according to the transport depart ment. The offenders will also be disqualified from holding their licence for three months.

DIFFICULTY IN BREATHING IN 7 OUT OF 10 FAMILIES: SURVEY

New Delhi: According to a survey, 7 out of 10 families in Delhi-NCR have indicated that someone in their families have reported difficulties in breath ing. The survey has found that the most affected are the elderly along with those with medical conditions. Due to the air pollution, about 27 per cent of people are planning to travel out of DelhiNCR during the next three weeks. Most families are also relying on masks to cope with the pollu tion that has only worsened post-Diwali and due to stubble burning in the neighbouring countries. LocalCircles conducted a survey that received over 26,000 responses from residents of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad. 65 per cent respondents were men while 35 per cent respondents were women. According to the people surveyed, 70 per cent of the respondents or their family members are already facing difficulties due to poor air quality in Delhi-NCR. When asked who all in their families were currently struggling due to bad air quality in Delhi-NCR, 70 per cent respond ents said they have one or more family members or they themselves are feeling the impact.

Man held for duping woman by posing as IPS officer on matrimonial site

New Delhi (PTI): A 38-year-old man was ar rested for allegedly dup ing a woman by intro ducing himself as an IPS officer on a matri monial portal, police said on Monday.

The accused has been identified Mayank Ka poor, a resident of Roh ini Sector-19.

On Friday, a woman complained at a local police station that she met Kapoor on a matri monial site in May. Dur ing their interaction, he introduced himself as the joint director of the Central Bureau of In vestigation and that he was also given the addi tional charges of AntiTerror Squad, National

Investigating Agency and Research and Anal ysis Wing.

According to the woman, Kapoor told her that he was earning Rs 50-70 lakh per annum and that he produced an identity card which showed him as a special

officer of the CBI.

According to the po lice, Kapoor had down loaded picture of a CBI police officer’s identity card from the internet and morphed it to dupe the woman.

The complainant also told the police that Ka

poor borrowed Rs 1.5 lakh from her saying his bank account had been frozen due to a vigilance inquiry and that he was in need of money.

When the woman learnt about Kapoor’s reality, she blocked his phone number. This en raged him and he alleg edly shared their pri vate pictures with her neighbours and gave her threats, police said.

Kapoor was arrested from a park in Rohini Sector-15, Deputy Com missioner of Police Pra nav Tayal said.

The DCP said Kapoor had eloped with a wom an and got married to her in 2013 post which they lived in Wazirabad.

HC seeks Centre’s comprehensive stand on Swamy plea on security

Court questioned the Centre over the absence of infra facilities at the private residence as well as when the arrangements would be put in place

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Monday sought a com prehensive affidavit from the Centre assur ing it would address se curity concerns at the private residence of for mer BJP MP Subrama nian Swamy, a ‘Z catego ry’ protectee.

The court was in formed by the central government that a secu rity review of Swamy’s private house, where he would be residing after vacating the govern

ment-allotted bunga low, has been undertak en.

The senior politician -- a former Rajya Sabha member -- would get whatever he is entitled to as a ‘Z category’ pro tectee residing in a pri vate space, the govern ment said.

The Centre’s lawyer said “skeletal security” has been provided at Swamy’s private resi dence and the “main guard would move along with him” from

the government bunga low. If there is no place to set up adequate infra

structure such as a guard room six security personnel would be

placed on rotation basis at Swamy’s private house, the lawyer said.

“The day he inti mates us, the entire set up will move to his new house,” the lawyer said.

The government’s re sponse was to Swamy’s claim that in spite of an earlier assurance, the Centre is yet to make adequate security ar rangements at his pri vate accommodation.

“Whatever his entitle ment is, he will get it. Whatever the standard procedure is for private spaces,” the Centre’s lawyer told the court as

he claimed that a “com pliance affidavit” has been filed in the matter.

Justice Yashwant Varma, however, ques tioned the Centre over the absence of infra structure facilities at the private residence as well as when the ar rangements would be put in place and how it would “rotate six guards”. The lawyer said that he would put Centre’s stand in rela tion to court’s queries on an affidavit.

Centre had said the senior politician would get whatever he is entitled to as a ‘Z category’ protectee residing in private space..

A house of gangster Kaushal Chaudhary that was built illegally being demolished by the district administration, in Gurugram, Monday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

Matrimonial site fraudsterr in police custody.

Vehicles ply on Gurugram-Delhi E’way amid low visibility due to smog, in Gurugram, Monday.

Stubble burning is a major cause for Delhi-NCR’s high pollution.

Thrillers, Upsets Dominate T20 WC as Race for Top 4 remains Wide Open

ended far too quickly for them. Surya single-handedly pushed India’s total to a re spectable 133 but it meant that the bowlers had to pull up their socks in helpful condi tions for swing bowling.

NAIL BITING LAST OVER

The fact tat India could push the match till the last over is a testimony to the discipline their bowlers exhibited on the night; had the fielding been better, it could have been three wins in three games for Team India. Ultimately, the batting brilliance of David Miller and Markram helped the Proteas get the much needed 2 points to climb to the top of the points table. Now, the equa tion is clear for the Indian team - they need to win their games against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe to enter the semis. A blip in either game will make them depend on others or even see them catch an early flight back home!

SIDDHAARTH MAHAN

An essential part of T20 crick et’s mass appeal lies in its ability to spring surprises. Many experts believe that T20 is a format tailor-made for upsets as the shorter the duration of a match, the greater are the chances of less-fancied teams toppling the favourites. The T20 World Cup so far has lived up to this view of cricket’s shortest but most popular format and has produced a range of thrillers and upsets that have kept players, fans and even ex perts hugely entertained but often on tenterhooks.

EXCITING NAIL-BITER

The fact tat India could push the match till the last over is a testimony to the discipline their bowlers exhibited on the night; had the fielding been better, it could have been three wins in three games for Team India. Ultimately, the batting brilliance of David Miller and Markram helped the Proteas get the much needed 2 points to climb to the top of the points table

There have been close fin ishes in Group 1 too. Australia being the defending champi ons were expected to start their campaign on a winning note. But the Kiwis have a knack of turning up at the World Cup super-charged and causing many upsets. The re sult was that the Aussies were pummelled by 89 runs in their first match of the tournament.

RAIN SPOILS THE SPORT

HUMILIATION OF RAPE VICTIMS HAS GONE ON FAR TOO LONG

In both the groups, the tussle to be among the Top 2 is a tough and tricky one. An important factor for the close clashes and last-ball thrillers are the conditions on most Aussie grounds that favor fast bowling in a big way. As the World Championships heads towards its climax over the next week, fans can look forward to a sumptuous feast of exciting cricket and nail biting finishes!!

The most exciting nail-biter was between arch rivals India and Pakistan. It was expected to be a close contest but the 90 thousand plus crowd who added to the thrill of the match were left spellbound by the skill level exhibited in the game. Pakistan is one of the strongest bowling sides of the championship and chas ing a target against them un der lights, when the bowl swings more, is an even more difficult task. Despite major hiccups, a Kohli masterclass saved India the blushes a day before Diwali. His innings was unanimously praised and picked as one of the all-

PROFOUND TRAGEDY STRIKES GUJARAT

time greatest T20 knocks. The victory brought India 2 cru cial points and set their cam paign off to a wonderful start.

PAK SUFFERS A SHOCK

In their next match too, Paki stan suffered a shock defeat to Zimbabwe in a game that they were expected to win easily. The match went down to the wire and batting second, Pa kistan needed just 130 runs. But their middle order wob ble meant that they required 11 runs of the last over with just 4 wickets remaining. A fine over by Brad Evans and a run out on the last ball saw Pakistan fall short by just 1 run. The result put more pres sure on Pakistan as they now depend on other teams to see them through to the semi-fi

nals. Though they have now won against Netherlands, In dia’s loss against South Afri ca on Sunday has jeopardized Pakistan’s hopes of going deep in the championship.

INDIA’S OWN JITTERS

India’s own jitters in the field against South Africa halted the winning momentum they had gained after beating Paki stan and Netherlands. While India won the recent T20 se ries against the Proteas, the World Cup clash was expected to be a tough contest on Perth’s bouncy pitch against tall South African pacers. In dia struggled against the short pitched bowling and ca pitulated meekly. But for Surya Kumar Yadav’s bellig erence, the match would have

Several matches have also been affected by rain and that has made the situation in Group 1 more complex. Eng land lost to Ireland on Duck worth Lewis and then shared points against Australia due to relentless rain in Melbourne. Now, New Zealand and Aus tralia sit pretty at the top of the points table and all fans now expect a real heart-stop per of a contest between Eng land and the Kiwis. The match will virtually seal the semi-fi nal spots from the group.

Ultimately, given the high voltage thrillers and numer ous upsets so far, this is pos sibly the most open T20 World Cup ever. At the half-way stage of the tournament, no team is looking like a clear favourite to lift the trophy. In both the groups, the tussle to be among the Top 2 is a tough and tricky one. An important factor for the close clashes and last-ball thrillers are the conditions on most Aussie grounds that fa vor fast bowling in a big way. As the World Championships heads towards its climax over the next week, fans can look forward to a sumptuous feast of exciting cricket and nail biting finishes!!

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Gujarat has just witnessed a heartwrenching trage dy. The suspen sion bridge col lapse in Morbi due to obvious human negligence has snuffed out 141 lives and the irony is that those who died paid Rs 17 per ticket for a fun stroll. The bridge on the Machchhu River, reportedly, had a load-bearing capacity of 100 persons but there were around 400 on it when the tragedy happened. The per son at the ticket counter must have been callously thinking of money and not the limited capacity of the bridge which was allegedly reopened after repair without a fitness cer tificate. The 100-year-old bridge withstood the test of time until after it was opened

The suspension bridge collapse in Morbi due to obvious human negligence has snuffed out 141 lives and the irony is that those who died paid Rs 17 per ticket for a fun stroll. The bridge on the Machchhu River, reportedly, had a load-bearing capacity of 100 persons but there were around 400 on it when the tragedy happened

to the public after repair. Who is responsible for this calamity which has struck when campaigning for As sembly elections is on will be the responsibility of a com mittee formed by the Gujarat government. The Opposition is using the tragedy to ask

questions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was vis ibly moved by the loss of lives in his home state. The attack was led by the Congress which held the state govern ment directly responsible for the tragedy. Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh alluded to the phrase allegedly used by the prime minister to lam poon Mamata Banerjee after a flyover collapsed in Kolkata and asked if the Morbi inci dent was an “act of God or an act of fraud”.

Twenty-seven people died when an under-construction flyover collapsed in Kolkata on March 31, 2016 and the BJP blamed it on corruption in the Mamata-led West Bengal government. Whether Bengal or Gujarat, the corruption angle must be looked at.

The Supreme Court has come to the pro tection of the dignity of rape victims by banning the humili ating two-finger test also known as the virginity test, an “inva sive technique to examine rape survivors”. The Supreme Court held that “it is based on an in correct assumption that a sexu ally active woman cannot be raped. Nothing can be farther from truth” and supports the belief that a woman alleging rape cannot be believed because she is sexually active.

Justice DY Chandrchud, who headed the Bench comprising Justice Hima Kohli, said, “It in stead re-victimises and re-trau matises women. The two-finger test must not be conducted.”

The obnoxious test has gener ally been used to deny women justice and letting rape accused go scot-free. It wrongly presumes that a married or a sexually ac tive woman cannot be raped. The test is common to India, Paki stan and Bangladesh where pa triarchy is prevalent. After to day’s verdict the onus will lie on trial courts and medical officers to ensure compliance.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Kiren Rijiju

@KirenRijiju

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.

Buddha

Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda

Tribute to the great architect of modern India, Iron Man Bharat Ratna Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel ji on his birth anniversary. And best wishes on National Unity Day. Your contribution in the making of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ and your resolve to protect the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country will always inspire us.

Special thanks to the administrations of Sonitpur and Nagaon Districts and all the Central Armed Forces, Indian Army, Students and BJP team for the massive #RunForUnity at the iconic Kalia Bhomora Setu on #SardarPatel Jayanti.

The writer is a specialist on Sports and Cinema who works as an actor in the Hindi film industry

and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Impressions Printing and Packaging Limited, C-21, 22 Sector-59, Noida-201301. Published at G-20, 3rd

309, Preet Vihar, New Delhi-110092.

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra

Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

PM rues attempts to create lingual enmity

MP

Narmada (ANI): PM Narendra Modi on the occasion of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas on Monday said like, in the past, forc es that were perturbed due to India’s progress still exist and campaigns are being run to make one Indian language an enemy of another.

PM’s statement came in the backdrop of con troversy over the recom mendation of a parlia mentary panel to make Hindi the medium of instruction in central educational institu tions. Kerala Chief Min ister Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin had written to PM Modi over the matter.

Modi said, “What would have happened if India did not have lead ership like Sardar Pa tel? What would have happened if more than 550 princely states had not been united? If most of our kings had not shown the culmination of renunciation, then we would not have been able to imagine the In dia we are seeing today.”

The Congress on Monday paid tributes to India’s first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his birth anniversary, with former party chief Rahul Gandhi saying the most fitting trib ute to him would be to keep the flame of unity he ignited shining brighter than ever. Patel is considered the chief architect of the integration of the erstwhile princely states with the Union of India. “Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s ironclad will united India. The most fitting tribute to him would be to keep the flame of unity he ignited shining brighter than ever,” Gandhi said in a tweet.

‘UNION HOME MINISTER’S SPECIAL OPERATION MEDAL-2022’

New Delhi (ANI): The Ministry of Home Af fairs (MHA) on Monday declared ‘Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal-2022’ for four special opera tions conducted by the security forces in areas of terrorism, border action, arms control, prevention of narcotics smuggling and rescue operations. A

IN THE COURTYARD

SC TO HEAR PLEA ON LINKING UID & ELECTORAL ROLL

New Delhi (Agencies): The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine a petition against the Central government’s decision to enable linking of electoral roll data with the Aadhaar ecosystem.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing the petitioner, contended that the right to vote cannot be denied on the ground of not having an Aadhaar card. A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S. Oka queried Divan that his argument seems that for one who does not have Aadhaar, voting should not be denied to that person, or even on having Aadhaar, it should not be compul sory.

NOTICE TO GOI, EC ON PIL FOR PRISONERS’ RIGHT TO VOTE

New Delhi (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre on a plea challenging Section 62(5) of the Rep resentation of People Act which deprives prisoners their right to vote. A bench sought response from the government and Election Commission of India. The PIL filed by one Aditya Prasanna Bhattacharya, pointed out that the wording of Section 62(5) uses ‘confinement’ as the yardstick, thereby, creating several anomalies. Bhat tacharya filing the plea in 2019 challenged 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act 1951 which deprives any person confined to a prison of the right to vote at any election.

RLY EMPLOYEES UNDER DIFFERENT BOARD ZONES TO BE TREATED EQUALLY, RULES SC

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday said that employees working under the Railway Board in different zones or divisions are required to be treated equally and there cannot be any discrim ination. The apex court dismissed the appeals filed by the Centre, through the Northern Railways, and others against the November 2019 verdict of the Delhi High Court that directed it to count 50 per cent of service rendered by commission vendors, prior to their absorption, as “qualifying service” for grant of pensionary benefits.The top court noted that as far as commission vendors working in the western, eastern, southern and south-eastern railway are concerned, pursuant to different orders passed by the Central Administrative Tribunals (CAT) and the high courts, which have been confirmed by the apex court, the issue is held against the Railways.

LAWYERS BOYCOTT WORK TO PROTEST FIR AGAINST FELLOW

Kochi (PTI): Lawyers practising at the Kerala High Court on Monday boycotted work in protest against the registration of a criminal case against the advocates representing Perumbavoor MLA Eldhose Kunnappilly, an accused in a rape case. Vanchiyoor po lice had recently registered a case against Kunnappilly and three of his lawyers for allegedly threatening the survivor in the rape case against the suspended Con gress leader. Police said that the case was registered upon the direction of the court which recorded the statement of the survivor saying that they threat ened her. Kunnappilly was suspended by the Congress saying his explanation with regard to the allegations was not satisfactory.

TREAT CHILDREN WITHOUT BIAS, WITH SENSITIVITY: HC

Bengaluru (Agencies):

The Karnataka High Court has asked the school teachers and staff to treat children without bias and with sensitivity, taking into cognizance the case of two missing girls. The court has also asked the parents to behave in a civilized man ner when kids are around.

The High Court bench on Monday issued a stern warning in this regard. The bench has also taken an undertaking in this connec tion from the headmistress and other staff members of the school and closed the case. The bench had taken up the habeas corpus petition submitted by head mistress PV Sister Clara of Saint Joseph’s Convent in Bengaluru before the court regarding the missing of two girl students.

UNVEILS SARDAR

PATEL PORTRAIT IN RAJ BHAVAN’S BANQUET HALL

1984 riots: BJP leader seeks Truth Commission

total of 63 police officers having different ranks from Constable to Addi tional Director General of Police have been awarded the ‘Union Home Minis ter’s Special Operation Medal-2022’ on Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary. Those awarded belonged to three states (Telangana, Punjab and Maharashtra) and UTs of J&K and Delhi.

Bhopal (PTI): Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangu Bhai Patel on Monday unveiled a portrait of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the banquet hall of the Raj Bhavan here to mark the National Unity Day. The governor garlanded the statue of India’s first Home Minister in the Sandipani auditorium at the Raj Bhavan on the occasion of his birth an niversary, official sources said. He also adminis tered the oath of national integration to Raj Bhawan staff. Rich tributes were paid to the “Iron Man of India” in the state headquarters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bhopal. Terming the first Deputy PM as the man who united the entire country, Madhya Pradesh BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma said, “The work done by Sardar Patel for the country’s unity and integrity is being carried forward by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” In a programme at the state Congress headquarters here, office-bearers of the

KCR is welcome to think he is running an int’l party: RaGa

BHARAT JODO YATRA

Kothur (PTI): In a swipe at the TRS’ bid to emerge as a national player, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Mon day said any leader has the right to imagine his party in whatever way he wants and Telanga na Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is even welcome to think that he is running an international party that is fighting elections in the US or China.

Addressing a press conference here during the ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ passing through Telangana, Gandhi also ruled out any alliance with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), asserting that the Congress is dia metrically opposed to everything the Raoheaded party is doing.

“There is absolutely no question of the Con gress having any rela tionship with the TRS.

The Congress party has made this very clear.

WILL WIN GUJ POLLS; AAP ONLY IN AIR, NOT ON GROUND: RAHUL Kothur (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday exuded confi dence that his party will win the Gujarat elections, contending that the AAP has only created a buzz in the state purely on the basis of advertisements.

Addressing a press conference here, Gandhi said there was a massive anti-incumbency against the BJP-led government in the state (Gujarat).

RAHUL GANDHI PAYS TRIBUTE TO HIS GRANDMOTHER FORMER PM INDIRA GANDHI ON HER 38TH DEATH ANNIVERSARY

New Delhi (ANI): Congress MP Rahul Gandhi paid tribute to his grandmother and former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi on her death anniver sary. He took to Twitter

This confusion is creat ed by the TRS them selves. I will repeat it clearly there is absolute ly no question of any relationship between

and said he would not let her “sacrifice for the country go in vain”. “I carry your love and teachings in my heart. I won’t let your sacrifices for India go in vain,” he tweeted in Hindi

the TRS and the Con gress,” Gandhi said.

Asked about KCR changing the party’s name from TRS to Bharat Rashtra Samithi

captioning the video he posted to pay homage.

The video had a number of video clips combined which showed Indira Gandhi delivering her speech and one from her funeral.

(BRS) and the party considering itself a na tional one, Gandhi said any leader has the right to imagine his party in whatever way he wants.

FIGHT AGAINST FAKE NEWS

Madhya Pradesh Con gress Committee (MPCC) led by vice-president and organization in-charge Chandra Prabhash Shek har remembered former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her death an niversary and Sardar Patel on his birth anniversary on Monday. Shekhar said Congresspersons gar landed the portraits of the two great personalities and paid tributes to them. The state Congress vicepresident said Gandhi as PM took revolutionary decisions like nationalisa tion of banks and launch of poverty eradication programme.

New Delhi (ANI): BJP national spokesperson RP Singh has written to Home Minister Amit Shah requesting the es tablishment of a “Truth Commission” to expose the conspiracy behind the 1984 Sikh pogrom and take cognizance against “real culprits”. RP Singh has also re quested Shah to declas sify all the documents pertaining to the period leading up to Operation Blue Star and the Sikh pogrom later that year. In his letter to the Home Minister, RP Singh ex pressed gratitude to him and PM Narendra Modi for providing jus tice to the Sikhs by sen tencing one of the key conspirators, Sajjan Ku mar behind the bars.

Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar has been lodged in jail after con viction in 2018 in an other riots-related case. The High Court award ed him a life jail sen tence. Earlier he was acquitted by Karkar dooma Court.

Nadda begins whirlwind tour of Himachal for pro-incumbency votes

Shimla (Agencies):

Aiming to strengthen his bond with the hill state from where he started his political ca reer and grew in the na tional politics, Bharati ya Janata Party (BJP) national President Jag at Prakash Nadda is on a whirlwind tour in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh for pro-incum bency votes.

Setting aside the antiincumbency wave against the party’s gov ernment, his aides say Nadda will be holding 21 election meetings and doorstep canvass ing across the state un der the Vijay Sankalp Abhiyaan till Novem ber 9. He will be holding a major party’s show of strength in the state capital on November 7.

On an average Nadda will be addressing three rallies in a day, he said.

In the previous BJP government (2007-12) in Himachal Pradesh, Na dda resigned as Forest Minister in 2010 when he was picked by the then BJP national pres

ident Nitin Gadkari to join his new team. He was then made the par ty’s national General Secretary.

Nadda started his po litical rally on October 30 from mountainous Kaza in Lahaul-Spiti district. Later, he ad dressed two rallies in Manali and Kullu towns.

This time, the saffron party, with anti-incum bency weighing heavy on its governance amidst dropping of 11 sitting MLAs and many party leaders in the fray as Independents, seems to be banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma, in stead of flashing its own achievement card.

Social media platforms can play key role: Experts

New Delhi (PTI): A proactive approach by social media platforms to counter fake news will facilitate credible electoral outcomes that will help preserve “free doms”, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Monday.

Addressing an inter national conference of election management bodies here, Kumar said social media plat

forms do proclaim that they have content dis play policies, but they also have the “algo rithm power” in play, according to a state ment issued by the Elec tion Commission (EC).

“More early or deeper red flagging of fake news based on known modus operandi and genres is not an unfair expectation from the election management

bodies,” he underscored. Kumar said “such a proactive approach to counter fake news will facilitate credible elec

toral outcomes that will help preserve the ‘free doms’ which the social media platforms re quire to thrive”.

The CEC said free, fair, inclusive, accessi ble and inducementfree elections being a cornerstone of demo cratic polity are also a pre-condition to the peace and developmen tal dividends.

“These threshold concepts embody the understanding that sov ereignty belongs to and flows from the people of a country,” the state ment said quoting him.

Speaking on this oc casion, US Charge d’Affaires Elizabeth Jones said the India-US

relationship is most consequential.

According to the statement, she said the partnership is growing stronger to address glob al challenges and coop erate to bring peace, se curity and prosperity across the world.

She emphasised that both India and the US have significantly con tributed in building up democratic institutions.

The EC has made crit ical achievements in fos tering democratic prin ciples while delving on challenges, Jones said.

Campaigns are being run to make one Indian language enemy of another, says Modi

PM Narendra Modi at the culmination of Aarambh 4.0 during the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas celebrations, in Kevadia on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan addresses on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, in Bhopal, Monday

SARDAR VALLABHBHAI PATEL’S IRONCLAD WILL UNITED INDIA: RAHUL

CEC Rajiv Kumar with EC Anup Chandra Pandey and Elizabeth Jones at the inauguration of a two-day international conference.

EMBs expects social media platforms to use their ‘algorithm power, to proactively redflag fake news: CEC Rajiv Kumar

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with padyatris resumes party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra from Shadnagar on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI

JP Nadda at a BJP rally in Lahaul and Spiti, on Sunday.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan and other dignitaries after paying tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on Monday.

GUJARAT CM BHUPENDRA PATEL TAKES NOTE OF MORBI MISHAP

Morbi (ANI): Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupen dra Patel on Monday took note of the Morbi bridge collapse mishap in Gujarat situation again and visited the city collector’s office on Monday after over 132 casualties were report ed in the incident.

“By reaching the col lector’s office in Morbi early this morning, took stock of the cur rent situation of all matters including search operation, reliefrescue operation, treat ment of the injured and gave necessary instruc tions to the system,” tweeted CM Patel. Ac cording to the latest re ports, the death toll in the mishap had gone up to 132 on Monday morn ing. Gujarat Home Min ister Harsh Sanghavi said that a criminal case has been regis tered in connection with the incident.

PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI TO VISIT MORBI ACCIDENT SITE TODAY

Gandhinagar (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Morbi in Gujarat on November 1, the state chief minister’s office announced on Monday. Prime Minister Modi, who is in Kevadia said that rescue opera tions were underway and

4 held in Mizoram with huge haul of explosives

there would be no laxity in rescue and relief efforts. “The Gujarat Government has been carrying out relief and rescue operations since yesterday. Centre too is extending all help to the State Government,” PM Modi said.

CPI(M) SEEKS ACCOUNTABILITY OF GUJARAT GOVT

New Delhi (PTI): Alleging administrative failure, the CPI(M) blamed the Gujarat government on Monday for the Morbi bridge col lapse, which has resulted in the death of at least 134 people so far. Rescue op erations are in full swing at Morbi, 300 km from state capital Gandhinagar.

Suspension bridge in Odisha closed for one day for repair

Bhubaneswar: Follow ing bridge mishap in Gujarat’s Morbi, Odis ha government woke up and closed down sus pension bridge over Mahanadi river in Dhabaleswar in Cut tack district for one day (Tuesday) to carry out repair works, an offi cial said on Monday. Speaking to media per sons, Cuttack district collector, Bhabani Shankar Chayani, said a technical team had visited the suspension bridge on Sunday and submitted its report. Now, another team led by an additional dis trict magistrate (ADM) has been rushed to the bridge for further ex amination, he said.

‘Pak using drones to smuggle arms, drugs’

Srinagar (ANI): Jam mu and Kashmir Direc tor General of Police Dilbagh Singh has as serted that Pakistan has now started a “new game” of smuggling weapons and narcotics through drones.

Addressing media here on Monday, DGP Singh said that the “ne farious designs” of Pa kistan are not hidden from anybody. “Paki stan’s nefarious designs are not hidden from an ybody. In the past few years, they have started playing a new game of using drones to smuggle weapons, narcotics and improvised explosive devices (IED),” DGP Dil bagh Singh said, adding that these are attempts of the LeT terror outfit in collaboration with Pakistani agencies.

He said that the force always counters the drones that neighbour ing Pakistan tries to send to Indian territory.

He said, “Pakistan is now trying to send am munition and narcotics through drones but we always counter them

Adani Transmission wins Climate Action Programme Oriented Award

J&K COPS BUST DRONE DROP IN RS PURA; 2 ARRESTED

Srinagar (ANI): The Jam mu and Kashmir Police arrested two persons for their alleged involvement in dropping ammunition through drones in the general area of the Baspur Bangla RS Pura in the union territory, said po lice. The drone was seen making suspicious move ments in the said area on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, an official statement issued by the police authorities said on Monday.

and last night one more drone was shot down in the Jammu area. Paki stan is continuously

“ARMY GOT HUGE IMPETUS IN ITS PREPAREDNESS”

Srinagar (PTI): The overall preparedness of the Indian Army has received a “huge impetus” in the 20 months since the ceasefire understanding between India and Paki stan, said Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen ADS Aujla. However, whenever the opportunity comes, “attempts are being made to infiltrate” from the “other side” but the army is capable to foil such bids or give a befitting reply, said Lt Gen ADS Aujla.

trying to disturb the peace in J-K but our mechanism to counter Pakistan is strong.”

The nabbed accused with seized explosives.

Aizawl (Agencies): In the second significant operation in less than a week, Assam Rifles has seized a large cache of Myanmar-bound tactical and war-like stores, in cluding explosive materi als, from Mizorams Sia ha district and appre hended four persons in connection with the case, officials said on Monday.

A defence spokesman said acting on a tip-off, a joint team of Assam Ri fles and Mizoram Police launched the operation at Tuipang village in Si aha district on Sunday night and seized Myan mar-bound arms, ammu nition and explosives.

“Team had specific in formation about move ment of tactical and warlike stores for insurgents

HUGE CACHE OF ARMS RECOVERED IN JHARKHAND Latehar (PTI): A huge cache of arms and am munitions was recovered from Budha Pahad area in Jharkhand’s Latehar district, police said on Monday. A light machine gun, an INSAS and a self loading rifle and 18 weapons that had been looted from police, besides more than 200 improvised explosive devices were recov ered from the left wing extremists’ bunkers.

based in Myanmar. The security intercepted and searched one Kenbo bike (Chinese made) and one Yodha pickup vehicle and recovered arms and ammunition from them,” he said.

First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL), India’s largest private power distribution com pany and the transmis sion arm of the diversi fied Adani Group, has won the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Climate Action Pro gramme (CAP) 2.0° Ori ented Award in the En ergy, Mining and Heavy Manufacturing category.

This recognition is a significant achievement, given that CAP 2.0° aims to help industries in con tracting climate risk and explore market opportu nities to become climate resilient. The CAP 2.0° Awards are framed on the Climate Maturity model and the European Foundation for Quality Management Model

The CAP 2.0° award is an encour aging and responsible recognition of our continuous efforts towards climate change mitigation and improving the productivity and efficiency through a clear focus on sustainability.

(EFQM).

Adani Transmission received this award un der the ‘Oriented’ cate gory. This confirms that the company’s strategy is synchronised with

climate change issues and impacts, climate risk is factored in the company’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), competent per sons is handling the

climate-linked portfo lio, and the organisa tion has adopted futur istic GHG emission re duction targets to com bat climate change. ATL received the CAP 2.0° award from Mr Avinash Mishra, Advisor, Natu ral Resources & Climate Change NITI Aayog at the forum in New Delhi.

“The CAP 2.0° award is an encouraging and responsible recognition of our continuous ef forts towards climate change mitigation and improving the produc tivity and efficiency through a clear focus on sustainability”, said Anil Sardana, MD & CEO, ATL. “The organi zational initiatives to become Net Zero, Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWL) and Single Use Plastic Free (SUP) along with focused efforts to achieve them, com bined with the CII-CAP 2.0° award, demon strates our commit ment to climate change mitigation for a sus tainable future.”

IAS Sarneet Kaur Broca is new UP ICDS director

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has appointed IAS Sarneet Kaur Broca as the new Director of Ut tar Pradesh ICDS. The 2016 batch female IAS officer has joined back after a long maternity leave and has thus been given this responsibil ity. Earlier she served in UPSRTC and has also been the CDO of Basti and Unnao, while her husbandPrathamesh Kumar, an IAS of 2016 batch - is posted as Special Sec retary to the Chief Minister. She also has the responsibility of

ACEO Invest UP. Nota bly, it is said for the duo that they are one of the most harworking and dedicated officers. UP bureaucracy has a total of 18 IAS offic ers of 2016 batch,

which were later paired up with another IAS cadre, due to which 6 IAS officers got entry in 2016 batch UP and their total number has increased from 18 to 24.

The additional charge of UP Women and Child Develop ment (ICDS) was with IAS Kapil Singh, Direc tor, Nutrition Mission, who today handed over his responsibility to the new director IAS Sarneet Kaur Broca.

Officers in the bu reaucracy say that re cently, the government had handed over the additional charge of

Director ICDS from IAS Kapil Singh to IAS Anamika Singh, Secre tary of ICDS. But since she is a senior IAS, she refused stating the post is for junior officers.

Notably, Kapil Singh was given the addition al charge after IAS Dr Sarika Mohan went on foreign trip. Kapil Sin gh is known to be an honest and hardwork ing officer, but with continuous handing and taking back of the charge of ICDS Direc tor time and again has got the tongues wag ging in the bureaucrat ic realm of the state.

ADGP PRASHANK KUMAR GETS AAJ KA KARMAVEER EXCELLENCE AWARD

Lucknow: UP ADGP Prashant Kumar was presented with Aaj Ka Karmaveer Excellence Award for his out standing service in the field of administrative service through a jury in Mumbai recently. Chief Guest on the stage was Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde (Virtual), special Guest was former Union Minister of State, present MP Baghpat Dr Satyapal Singh (IPS), Padma Shri Dr Vidya Vindu Singh, Senior IAS Dr Rashmi

Singh in the presence of IPS Prashant Kumar.

On Monday in Lucknow, Aaj Ka Karmaveer representative, Kun war Pradeep Singh on behalf of Chairman RP Singh and organisation presented the memento and certificate to ADGP Prashant Kumar.

TRYING TO REMOVE IDOL, 5 COPS HURT IN STONE-PELTING

Chennai (PTI): The Tamil Nadu DGP has issued a circular to all the police Commissioners and dis trict police chiefs to grant permission to the RSS to hold its ‘Route Marches’ and public meetings in 51 places across the state on November 6 after taking into account the law and order situation individually.

A circular to this effect, issued on October 29, was produced before Madras High Court judge, Justice G K Ilanthiraiyan by State Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohammed Jinnah, when the contempt applications from the RSS came up for further hearing on Monday. The circular directed the police commissioners and the SPs in the state to grant permission to hold the rally on November 6.

CONSIDER SITUATION, GRANT PERMISSION FOR RSS RALLY: DGP Ballia (Agencies): Five policemen were injured while trying to remove an idol of Lord Hanuman installed on govt land in Ballia on Monday as the locals pelted stones at them. Seven persons have been arrested. A case has been registered against 76 people. The police said the idol was installed on gov ernment land in Bahadur pur Kari village on Sunday night.Police, district administration and the rev enue department reached the spot on Monday after receiving the information. When the officials tried to remove the idol saying that it had been done without government permission, the villagers became furious and started pelting stones at the officials and attacked them with sticks.

Kochi (PTI): Veteran Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy turned 79 on Monday. The senior Congress leader, who is currently staying away from public life owing to ill health, however, celebrated his birthday at Aluva guest house here with his family and senior party leaders. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan visited the Congress veteran at the guest house in the evening and conveyed his birthday wishes. Vijayan spent around 10 minutes with Chandy and draped a ceremonial shawl on him. Earlier in the day, prominent actor Mammootty visited Chandy at the guest house to wish him on his birthday. Other senior leaders, including Speaker AN Shamseer, visited Chandy at the guest house where Chandy is staying for his treatment.

MOM OF 2 ELOPES WITH PARAMOUR, HUBBY ENDS LIFE

Mysuru (Agencies): A man died by suicide after his wife eloped with her paramour in Hunsur town of Karnataka’s Mysuru district, police said on Monday. An FIR has been filed against the woman on a complaint filed by the de ceased man’s father. As per police, Krishne Gowda has demanded action against daughter-in-law Nethra for compelling his son to end life. Sureshkumar and Nethra lived at Koyampattur colony in Hunsur town with two daughters. While Suresh worked as a labour er, Nethra worked at a facto ry. A month ago, Nethra did not return from work. After all his efforts to locate her failed, Sureshkumar lodged a missing complaint with Hunsur Rural police.

GIRLFRIEND CONFESSES SHE POISONED YOUTH

Thiruvananthapuram (ANI): The girlfriend of a youth who died at Thiruvanan thapuram Medical College Hospital recently con fessed to police that she had poisoned him as her marriage was fixed with another man, police said. Greeshma, the girlfriend of Sharon Raj, confessed that she had given him a poisoned Ayurvedic decoc tion and juice, said ADGP Ajith Kumar. She first gave him what she said was an Ayurvedic medicine and when he said it was bitter, she gave him some juice. After consuming it, Sharon started vomiting and his friend took him back from her house. Sharon was admitted to Thiruvanantha puram Medical College and died on October 25.

A criminal case has been registered in connection with incident: Guj Home Minister

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel along with State MoS for Home Harsh Sanghavi at Morbi accident site.

J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh at a function. —FILE PHOTO

IAS Sarneet

Kaur Broca

VETERAN CONG LEADER CHANDY TURNS 79, KERALA CM VIJAYAN EXTENDS GREETINGS

ATL wins this award in Energy, Mining & Heavy Manufacturing category

—Anil Sardana, MD & CEO, ATL

INVESTMENT VIA P-NOTES RISES TO `87,813 CR IN SEPT

New Delhi (PTI): Invest ment in the Indian capital markets through partici patory notes rose to `87,813 crore at the end of September, making it the second consecutive monthly increase, as the country witnesses the best growth and earnings among emerging mar kets. According to Sebi data, the value of P-note investments in Indian markets -- equity, debt, and hybrid securities -stood at `87,813 crore in September. Of the total, `79,418 crore was invest ed in equities.

ACTIVE CREDIT CARD NUMBERS CONTINUE TO SLIP IN INDIA

India to better IMF growth forecast: CEA

New Delhi (PTI): Chief Economic Adviser V Anan tha Nageswaran on Mon day said India is expected to clock better growth than IMF’s projections next year aided by enhanced capital formation. Recent ly, the International Mon etary Fund (IMF) projected 6.8% real growth for this year and 6.1% for next year for India.

“I think in fact, the growth rates for the com ing years may be slightly more, slightly better than what these numbers are, because I think there is a possibility that India’s capital formation cycle will do better after one dec ade of retrenchment,” he said.

India’s public digital in frastructure has probably crossed an inflection point and that will also be con tributing to both formali

New Delhi (FIB): The RBI order on discontinuing in active credit cards contin ued to negatively impact the industry size, with HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank seeing a decline in the number of active credit cards. HDFC Bank continued to be the worst affected, with total cards in force down by 1.6 million. Bankers say while the total credit card numbers will normalise soon, they are also look ing to change the strategy with regard to onboarding customers.

BIKAJI FOODS SETS

PRICE BAND AT `285-300/SHARE

New Delhi (PTI): Manu facturer of snacks and sweets Bikaji Foods Inter national Ltd on Monday said it has fixed a price band of `285-300 a share for its `881-crore initial public offering (IPO). The initial share-sale will open for public subscription on November 3 and conclude on November 7, the com pany announced. The IPO will be a pure offer-forsale (OFS) of around 2.94 crore equity shares by its promoters and existing shareholders. Both the promoters -- Shiv Ratan Agarwal and Deepak Agarwal-- are looking to offload up to 25 lakh com pany shares each.

EIGHT CORE SECTOR INDUSTRIES’ OUTPUT GROWS 7.9% IN SEPT

sation of the economy and therefore higher growth, he said. So, he said, maybe there could be 0.5-0.8% ad dition to the 6% baseline numbers. He also said that fiscal policy and monetary

PLI scheme: DoT okays 42 firms for telecom products

First India Bureau

New Delhi: 42 companies including 28 MSMEs have been given ap proval by The Ministry of Com munications un der the PLI scheme for tele com and network ing products.

Of the selected firms, 17 companies have applied for additional incentive of 1% under design-led manufac

First pilot of Digital Rupee to commence today: Reserve Bank

Mumbai (PTI): The Re serve Bank said the first pilot of the Central Bank Digital Currency -- Digital Rupee (Wholesale seg ment) will be launched on Tuesday for transactions in government securities.

The use case for the pilot is settlement of secondary market transactions in gov ernment securities, the RBI said in a statement on Monday.

Nine banks -- State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of In dia, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank and HSBC -- have been identified for partici pation in the pilot.

AMID FESTIVE

turing criteria.

As per the govt, addition al sales of `2.45 lakh crore is expected to be generated while additional employment of more than 44,000 is likely to be cre ated over the scheme period.

The selected companies include Sam sung, Nokia, Jabil, Rising Star, Flextronics as well as local one’s like HFCL, ITI, VVDN, Tejas Networks etc.

`

policy are usually syn chronised and counterbal ance each other.

On high debt-to-GDP ra tio, he said, sustainability is not a concern and it may reduce with asset moneti

DoT to begin R&D funding by January

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The DoT is likely to approve the first batch of applications by domestic companies seek ing funds for localised R&D activities by January next year, a top official said. “We have started receiving ap plications. So maybe in a month’s time, we’ll start processing them,” DoT sec retary K Rajaraman said. “I would say by January the first batch of applica tions would be approved.”

sation. India can use asset monetisation proceeds to whittle down it’s debt and that will help improve the credit rating, that can be the best fiscal stimulus we can provide, he added.

RBI’S CENTRAL BOARD DISCUSSES PREVAILING ECONOMIC SITUATION

Mumbai (PTI): The Central Board of Direc tors of Reserve Bank of India on Monday re viewed the current eco nomic situation and challenges being faced by the country due to global geopolitical cri ses.

The 598th meeting of the central board was held under the chair manship of Governor Shaktikanta Das, the RBI said in a statement.

“The Board in its meeting reviewed the current economic situa tion, global and domes tic challenges including the overall impact of current global geopoliti cal crises,” it said.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

z The 598th meeting of the central board was held under the chairmanship of Governor Shaktikanta Das

z The board also discussed the functioning of various sub-committees of the central board, ombudsman scheme

H1 fiscal gap at 37.3% of FY aim

First India Bureau

New Delhi: According to government data released on Monday, India’s fiscal deficit for the first six months of this fiscal year through September stood at 6.20 lakh crore rupees, or 37.3% of annual estimates.

The fiscal deficit wid ened from 35% reported in the comparable year-earli er period.

Total receipts stood at 12.04 lakh crore rupees, while overall expenditure

falls 31 paise to close at 82.78/$

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee pared its initial gains and settled 31 paise lower at 82.78 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, tracking the strength of the American currency in the overseas market.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.35 and witnessed a high of 82.32 and a low of 82.80.

It finally settled at 82.78 against the American cur rency, registering a fall of 31 paise over its last close of 82.47.

The Indian rupee depre ciated on Monday amid strength in the US dollar. However, positive domestic equities and weak crude oil prices cushioned the down side, said Anuj Choudhary

- Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Parib as. Moreover, inflows by foreign investors support ed the rupee at lower levels.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias amid strong US dollar amid increasing odds of an ag gressive rate hike by the Fed on Wednesday. Some recovery in crude oil prices may also weigh on Rupee,” Choudhary added.

SENSEX RECLAIMS 60K, NIFTY TOPS 18K-MARK Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended over 1 per cent higher on Monday, logging their third day of gains amid firm global market trends and fresh foreign fund inflows.The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 786.74 points or 1.31% to settle at 60,746.59. On simi lar lines, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 225.40 points or 1.27% to end at 18,012.20.From the Sensex pack, UltraTech Ce ment, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance were the major winners. Dr Reddy’s, NTPC closed lower.

PV sales may have hit new record in Oct

First India Bureau

New Delhi (PTI): Produc tion of eight infrastructure sectors expanded by 7.9% in September on better show by coal, ferti liser, cement and electric ity segments. In August, the core sectors’ output growth stood at 4.1%.

The production growth of eight infrastructure sec tors -- coal, crude oil, nat ural gas, refinery prod ucts, fertiliser, steel, ce ment and electricity -was 9.6% during AprilSept this fiscal, compared to 16.9% a year ago.

EXPECTED NUMBERS

z According to senior executives as many as 375,000-385,000 cars, sedans and utility vehicles were sold to customers, which brought down inventory in the channel by 25% this month.

z Automakers saw robust demand for new models, especially SUVs

in April to September was at 18.24 lakh crore rupees.

They were 52.7% and 46.2% of this fiscal year’s budget target.

Revenue receipts stood at 11.70 lakh crore rupees, of which tax revenue was 10.12 lakh crore rupees and

OTHER STORIES

AIRTEL 2ND QUARTER

NET PROFIT JUMPS

89% TO `2,145 CRORE

New Delhi (PTI): India’s sec ond largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Monday posted an 89% year-onyear rise in consolidated net profit for sec ond quarter ended September 2022 to `2,145 crore, amid improved average realisa tion per subscriber. The total revenue rose 22% year on year to `34,527 crore during the just-ended quarter, accord ing to a statement. Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal said the company is now rolling out 5G.

non-tax revenue was 1.58 lakh crore rupees.

In May, the government had cut taxes on petrol and diesel to cushion the im pact of a spike in global energy prices. Some econo mists however said wind fall gain tax and additional tax revenue owing to GST over and above the budget will likely provide relief to the fiscal situation.

Revenue deficit was at 3.11 lakh crore rupees or 31.4% of the fiscal year’s budget target, data showed.

AEROFLOT TO LAUNCH FLIGHT SERVICES TO GOA FROM MOSCOW

Mumbai (PTI): Russian flag carrier Aeroflot on Monday said it is set to launch its flight services to Goa from Moscow, starting November 2. The air line currently operates its air services on the Moscow-Del hi-Moscow route twice-a-week with an Airbus A330 aircraft. Aeroflot will fly its Airbus A330 aircraft every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from Moscow to Goa, offering 28 seats in the business class and 268 in the economy class.

NEW SUPPLY OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES

TO RISE 44 PER CENT TO 3.4 LAKH

IN 2022

New Delhi (PTI): Fresh supply of residential properties is ex pected to rise 44% this year across seven cities to 3.4 lakh units as developers look to tap increase in demand. Anarock data showed that new launches stood at 2.65 lakh units during Jan-Sept this year across primary markets of seven cities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Met ropolitan Region, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.The current trends indicate that launches in these cities will exceed 3.4 lakh units in the entire 2022 calendar year, consultant added.

SEBI BANS MEHUL CHOKSI FROM CAPITAL MARKET FOR 10 YRS

LIC PICKS UP OVER 2% ADDITIONAL STAKE IN CAPRI GLOBAL

especially

New Delhi (PTI): Sebi on Monday barred fugitive busi nessman Mehul Choksi from the securities markets for 10 years and imposed a fine of `5 crore on him for indulging in fraudulent trading in the shares of Gitanjali Gems Ltd. He has been directed to pay the penalty within 45 days, as per the Sebi order. Choksi, who was the chairman and managing director as well as part of the promoter group of Gitanjali Gems.

New Delhi (PTI): Life Insur ance Corporation of India (LIC) has raised its stake in Capri Global Capital by 2% over the last few months at an investment of `257.37 crore. Its shareholding in Capri Global has increased from 1,24,00,000 to 1,59,51,171 equity shares, increasing its stake from 7.052% to 9.072%.

Capri Global caters to different segments like MSME, con struction, finance, affordable housing and indirect retail.

LG FORMS PANEL TO HELP EXPEDITE LICENSING PROCESS OF EATERIES

India Bureau

New Delhi: Delhi Lt. Governor (LG) VK Sax ena has constituted a high-power panel to ease and facilitate license re quirements for restau rants and eateries in the city to boost the nightlife in the national capital and to rejuvenate the Covid-impacted hospi tality sector, a notifica tion from the LG Secre tariat said on Monday.

The committee, con stituting senior officials of the concerned de partments/agencies, will examine the exist ing regulations and sug gest ways of speeding up the licensing pro cesses of restaurants,

Eating Houses, and Ho tels. Headed by Princi pal Secretary (Home), the committee will com prise senior representa tives of the IT Depart ment, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Municpal Cor poration of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Police,

Fire Services, & NDMC.

The focus will be on reducing the number of licenses, tweaking and doing away with archaic regulations rooted in subordinate legislation, minimum documenta tion, fixed timelines for grant of licenses, com pleting online processes

embedded in a Single Window portal, and pro moting self-regulation among other things, the notification said. Apart from providing an over all push to Delhi’s hospi tality Sector, the move will also pave the way for late-night dining, alfres co (open-air) eateries,

Cop expresses concern over attempts to revive terrorism in J&K

Jammu (PTI): A senior Jammu & Kashmir Po lice officer on Monday expressed concern over attempts to revive mili tancy in Reasi district.

Deputy Inspector Gen eral (DIG) UdhampurReasi Range Mohd Sule man Choudhary held a crime and security re view meeting at district police lines in Reasi. Choudhary stressed that we should use technolo gy to counter new trends in terrorism & also mon itor social media plat forms which are used to radicalise local youth.

and outdoor dining on terraces. The panel will be able to co-opt mem bers and will take com prehensive input from stakeholder hotel and restaurant associations, etc. The LG has directed the committee to submit its report/recommenda tions within 15 days.

Gujarat bridge collapse: Kejriwal cancels roadshow in Haryana

Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s road show in Haryana’s Adampur on Monday for the up coming by polls has been cancelled in view of the Morbi bridge col lapse in Gujarat, a sen ior party leader said.

Mr Kejriwal was to take out a roadshow in Adampur, a day before the campaigning ends for the November 3 by polls there.

“Arvind ji’s roadshow on Monday stands can celled in view of the Gujarat bridge collapse tragedy,” party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gup ta, who is party’s Hary ana affairs incharge, told PTI.

‘The Wire’ Editors’ homes searched after complaint by BJP’s Amit Malviya

New Delhi: The homes of two editors of news portal ‘The Wire’ were searched by the Delhi Police this evening af ter a complaint by the BJP’s Amit Malviya, sources say. The police searched the homes of the founding editors of the media company, Siddharth Varadarajan and MK Venu, and checked their devices, sources said.

The Delhi Police act ed on a cheating and forgery complaint by Amit Malviya, who heads the BJP’s IT Cell.

The complaint alleged that The Wire “forged documents with a view to malign and tarnish” his reputation. The

Wire retracted a series of investigative reports that claimed that Meta, the parent company of social media giants WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, had giv en certain privileges to Mr Malviya, which he could use to take down posts that he thought were critical of the BJP.

No deficiency in ensuring delivery of justice in Sidhu Moosewala murder case: CM Mann

Chandigarh (PTI): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Mon day asserted there was no deficiency on his gov ernment’s part in ensur ing the delivery of jus tice in the Sidhu Moose wala murder case, a day after the slain singer’s father threatened to withdraw the FIR.

Mann was responding to a question on a state ment by Moosewala’s father, who on Sunday said he would withdraw the FIR in his son’s mur der case if the slain sing er was linked with gang sters. “From our side, there is no such deficien

cy that we are making any delay in delivery of justice. Every day, some one or the other is being arrested. From wherev er we get any clue, we make arrests (in the case),” the chief minis ter said in Pathankot.

J-K: 13 Kashmiri Pandit families urge admin to register them as ‘migrants’

Jammu (PTI): Thir teen Kashmiri Pandit families, who migrated from a village in south Kashmir amid ‘target ed’ killings of members of their community, de manded on Monday that the administration register them as “mi grants”.

New Delhi: The Uni versity of Delhi (DU) has released the UG second allocation list today, October 31.

The candidates can check the round two merit list on the of ficial websites- ad mission.uod.ac.in, du.ac.in. The stu dents who have ap plied for an upgrade in round 1 can also check the list on the official websites.

Meanwhile, many students have com plained of not getting an upgraded seats. The students took mi croblogging site Twit ter sharing their expe riences, however some seems excited of getting their seats up graded. The candi dates who got their seats in round two have to accept the al

located seat till No vember 1 (4:59 PM)

The Candidates need to proceed to pay the fee to confirm admis sion upon receiving approval from the col lege principal. Candi dates must necessari ly take the printout of the acknowledgement receipt. The college will review the appli cations & approve them between Octo ber 31 and November 2. Candidates need to pay their application fees by Nov 3.

The DU CSAS sec ond list is prepared by taking into consid eration the combina tion of programmes, colleges selected by the candidates, caste category, programmegroup merit list & availability of seats in courses & colleges.

Of the 13 families comprising 43 members, 10 had left Choudhary gund village in Shopian district and reached Jammu on October 26.

The remaining three

had reached the city ear lier. “We have submitted a joint application to the office of relief and reha bilitation commissioner at Jammu for registra

tion of the 13 families as migrants in the wake of migration from the val ley to Jammu,” said V J Kaul, a representative of the families. He said

they have left their vil lage out of insecurity and it is up to the gov ernment to provide them registration.

Puran Krishan Bhat was gunned down by terrorists outside his ancestral house in Choudharygund village on October 15.

Monish Kumar and Ram Sagar were killed in a grenade attack by terrorists while they were asleep in their rented accommodation in Shopian on Oct 18.

Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh has also threatened to leave the country and given an ultimatum to the state machinery till Novem ber 25 to hear him out.

Mann to take stock of paddy procurement ar

rangements, dubbed the Moosewala murder incident as a very seri ous matter. He said the police have arrested those who attacked the singer and planned the murder, and added that a charge sheet has been submitted in the case.

Gurugram: 2 die while cleaning septic tank

Gurugram (PTI): A sanitation worker and one more person died of suffocation while cleaning the septic tank of a house in a village here, police said on Monday.

“The two had entered the tank without any safety equipment to clean it. They suffocat ed after inhaling poi sonous gas and lost con sciousness. They were taken out and rushed to a hospital, where doc tors declared both

dead,” a senior officer said. The incident took place in Mohammad pur Jharsa village.

The victims were identified as Dilip (45) of Agra and Shahbud din (29), a local tailor, the police said.

J&K as UT huge disappointment, security situation worsened: NC

Srinagar (PTI): The National Conference on Monday said the three years of Jammu and Kashmir as a union ter ritory have come as a “huge disappointment” to the people and claimed the security situation has deterio rated. On August 5, 2019, the Centre had abrogat ed Article 370, which ac

corded special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, which came into existence on October 31 that year.

“Last three years have seen huge disappoint ments and discontent ment amongst the peo

ple. Jammu and Kash mir has hardly seen any improvement in any major sectors and in stead conditions have worsened,” National Conference chief

anymore. “They (the government) have failed to provide a sense of security to not only the common people but to minorities as well,” he said. No recruitment has taken place since the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was repealed and the state was turned into two union territories, the NC spokesperson said. “There has been no fresh recruitment and instead the ones, which were in the pipe line during the time of

an elected government, were shelved for frivo lous reasons,” he said.

The power sector has seen no improvement and no new projects have been started, Sadiq claimed. “Roads are in dilapidated condition. The economic condition of an average citizen has worsened and the most unfortunate is the absence of a democratic setup in J&K where peo ple cannot get their grievance redressed. So its been a saga of sad stories,” he said.

spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq told PTI. Sadiq alleged that the security situation has deteriorated to such a point that common peo ple are not feeling safe

‘LAST 3 YEARS SAGA OF SAD STORIES’

‘J&K has hardly seen improvements in any major sectors and instead conditions have deteriorated’

DU’s UG 2nd allotment list out; many students not get upgraded seats

—FILE PHOTO

Lt. Governor VK Saxena

—FILE

RED CORNER NOTICES

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath plays cricket after inaugurating Sardar Patel National Divyang T20 Cup tournament, on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, Monday.  — PHOTO BY PTI

Gangster Deepak Tinu, one of the accused in singer Sidhu Moosewalas murder case being handed to Punjab Police by Delhi Police Special Cell, in New Delhi, Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Amit Malviya Rescue teams at site.

Belle Paradise

ith 30 final ists from across the country bat tling it out for the cov eted title, the jury had a tough time choos ing the top five.

With Jagdeesh Chandra gracing the evening as the chief guest, the show became more magical!

The scintillating evening in the mesmer ising land of pictur esque beaches and the City of Dreams, began with a lamp-lighting ceremony, followed by various rounds of the grand finale.

Jagdeesh Chandra made it possible for eve ry young girl to dream big with confidence so that she may reach great er heights. While con gratulating all the final ists, he welcomed the audience and said, “We strongly wish to open the gates of opportunity in the fashion and enter tainment industry for many deserving girls. First India and youth are natural allies and we pro mote talent for one and

Famous anchor Sim ran Ahuja set the mood swinging by introducing the finalists of the First

India Queen.

Special Guest for the evening, Deepak Agarw al, MD, Bikaji Group, also congratulated the winners. Many celebri ties and dignitaries graced the mega event.

Before announcing the winners, a special felici tation ceremony under 10 categories was also an nounced. The subtitles bagged were

Miss Beautiful Hair by Kulsum, Miss Beautiful Body by Apoorva, Miss Beautiful Smile by An chal, Miss Photogenic by Suhani, Miss Ira women by Chahat, Miss Talented by Avani, Miss Beautiful Skin by Yoshita, Miss Trending by Neha, Miss Congeniality by Anshika and Miss Best Runway Walk by Marishca.

MITALI

Jagdeesh Chandra with the winners of First India Queen Bhakti Jani (winner), Victoria Fernandez (1st Runner Up), Svara Mandlik (2nd Runner Up), Sanya Hissaria (3rd Runner Up) and Divya Mamnani (4th Runner Up)

Parimal Mehhta greeted by Kavita Chauhan

CLOCKWISE: Simaran Ahuja, Poonam Pandey, Riya Soni, Archana Kochhar and Rehaa Khann

A STAR-STUDDED NIGHT TO REMEMBER

FROM PG 09

Parimal Mehhta, Founder Blancka nvas Pvt Ltd while congratulating the participants also thanked Jagdeesh Chandra and the First India team for giving them the op portunity to showcase this extrava gant event.

First India Queen is a platform of inspiration, learning and stardom for a common girl – coming from different parts of the country. The pageant celebrates inner beauty and talent as much as the physi cal appearance of any contestant, and hence it is in strumental in setting stand ards for evaluat ing and express ing the inner beauty of an Indian woman.

Jayanthi Ballal and Chahak Bhandula felicitating Sanya Hissaria

Runner

Bhalla

City First

The two-day Chhath Puja celebrations concluded on Monday with devo tees offering prayers to the rising Sun at several ghats in the national capital. The women, holding a 36-hour-long fast, performed the ritu als in knee-deep wa ters and gave "ar ghya" of cow milk and water to the ris ing Sun. Thousands of devotees thronged ghats and makeshift ponds in Delhi to worship the Sun God on the final day of the festival. After two years of Covid-in duced restrictions,

Chhath Puja saw a lot of enthusiasm among the devotees, more so among peo ple from Purvanchal where the festival takes its root. Chhath puja is celebrated on the sixth day after Di wali and is also known as Surya Sashthi as it is dedi cated to the Sun God. It is one of the most popular festivals in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Delhi govern ment made 1,100 ghats for Chhath Puja across the city this year and a budg et of Rs 25 crore was earmarked for the preparations for the festival.

HAVANA CAVALRY GOLD CUP 2022

CITY FIRST

Daily matches of the Polo tournament are starting on Tuesday, Octo ber 25 and end ed with the Fi nals on Sunday, October 30. A grand and exclu sive equestrian event will follow after the fi nals along with a dis play by the Army Bands, before the prize distribution.

Season. There will be more than 2,000 Digni taries, Cigar and Polo enthusiasts, Industrial ists and Socialites as well as the officers of the Armed forces in at tendance for the finals starting with the Jahan vi vs. Habanos Exhibi tion Match. People can enjoy the match start ing at 14:30 and the fi nals which will com mence with an exhibi tion match at 15:30 pm.

MAGIC OF MILI!

The 61st Cavalry is the only Horse Cavalry ex isting in the world. The pomp and splendour of the 61st Cavalry, its traditions as the Forces of the Maharajas and their role in cere monial and equestrian events are wellknown. They also form the backbone of the sport of Polo in India. Without them, there would have been no Polo. The handicap level of this tourna ment is 10 goals which will en sure maximum participation of teams as well as a superior stand ard of Polo.

This Gold Cup has always been the most impor tant fixture in the Delhi Fall Polo

This year General Manoj Pande the Chief of Defence Staff and will be attending the event for the first

Pottery Barn at Ambience Mall!

As the festive season takes course, your home will be the setting for many a gathering. Naturally, the desire to spruce up one’s living space is more pronounced than ever before. Right on schedule to cater to all your décor needs, Pottery Barn—a glob al home design lead er—is ready to wel come shoppers at its new address in the capital city’s ever-pop ular Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj. Located on the mall’s upper ground floor, the plush Pottery Barn store makes visitors feel at home and promises one an experiential time within its sprawl ing interiors. From furniture & lighting to dinnerware and arti sanal décor, from lush fabrics for bedding to handcrafted textiles for rugs— the home furnishing brand is ready to meet all your festive home shopping needs. Founded in 1948, Pottery Barn was built on the idea that home furnishings

should be exceptional in comfort, quality, style and value. Years later, in 1986, the brand was acquired by Williams- Sonoma, Inc., When it expand ed its scope to include furniture, accessories, and decorating advice for every room in the home. Featuring ex clusive products— many designed by inhouse artists and crafted in the USA— Pottery Barn inspires great style for spaces small and large, effort less entertaining for every occasion, and thoughtful gifting year-round. Today, the brand’s product cate gories include furni ture, bedding, rugs, window treatments, tabletop, lighting and decorative accesso ries, to name a few.

City First

Actress and For mer Mrs Uni verse East Asia 2017 Him ani Deshwal recently hosted her glamorous birthday Bash at My Secret Place New Del hi. Himani Deshwal who is one of the prominent names of Delhi Social Circle also revealed her up coming projects which will be launched in the coming months.

Many prominent names like Ruhi Gan guly, Ashish and Shelly Dhondiyal, Kavita Keshwani, Kit ty Arora, Dr Shilpi Singh and Sujay Ghosh were present at the celebrations of Himani’s birthday party.

FUN ZONES

DELHI!

CITY FIRST

Even the most persistent prob lems can be washed away by the exhilaration of sliding down a water slide or riding a roller coaster to that huge drop. So be ready to get revitalised by some simple fun and frolic at the top water and amusement parks in and around Delhi.

FUN N FOOD VILLAGE

This adorable amusement park is one of the oldest in Delhi and is constantly reinventing itself.

If you're searching for some classic rides for the whole family, this is the place to go. The park is divided into two parts: the water park and the amusement park.

Man Turned Home into a Farm

Ramveer Sin gh quit his job and turned his home into a hydro ponics farm that now earns lakhs per year. He stum bled upon the hy droponics method of farming while attending an agri culture-related event in Dubai. At the farm, Singh mainly uses PVC pipes to carry nu trient-rich water to the plants.

healthy thoughts your way”

City First

Chhavi Malhotra and Raakesh Malhotra launched a new beverage brand 'be-OJuices', an organic way to refresh your body with these juices in times of hectic and busy schedules. They also stressed the fact that how this product will make you shift from unhealthy drinks to a better alternative. The juices are not just healthy they pack a real freshness and delicious taste that refreshes your mind and taste buds. Available in six different juice flavours plain coconut water and Malai coconut water.

SPLASH –

ADVENTURE ISLAND

The park is exactly what its name implies: a venue dedicated to adventure activities sprawled across 62 acres of land. At Adventure Island, you may select from a variety of dry and water rides. There are also family rides, kiddie rides, and paid attractions to keep you and your family occupied for the whole day.

The superstar singer Mika Singh was also present at the brand launch and he present ed his views on the juic es. The founder of the brand, Chhavi Mal hotra, also presented her views on the brand and its strategy and al luded to the benefits of be-O-Juices.

SHAZID CHAUHAN

Be-O-juices is a fruitbased juice drink. Chhavi Malhotra, the owner of the brand has launched many nutra ceutical products and brands before this par ticular brand, which shows her passion and activeness to provide a healthy and prosperous life.

a

adventure park in Delhi, provides a delectable array of leisure

rides and

such as

The tidy and organised family-friendly

WORLDS OF WONDER

Consider resting in the wave pool while a live band performs your favourite music! That is the main draw at Worlds of Wonder, also known as WOW, a Noida amusement park. WOW, fans like the expansive expanses split between dry and waterthemed sections.

Janhvi Kapoor was spotted at a multiplex in New Delhi for the promotion on Monday for her upcoming film Mili. Sunny Kaushal and Manoj Pahwa are also in the main roles in the film. Janhvi is playing the role of the nurse in the movie.

City First

City First

WATER PARK

on 5 acres makes this an ideal setting for individuals of all ages. On a hot sunny day, a variety of water slides, including straight drops and curving rotating ones, provide the ultimate reprieve.

Manoj Pande with his wife Archana Pande Rajat Sharma

Sunayana Chibba and Shalini Vig Vasuki Sunkavalli

Jugal Malhotra, Mika Singh, Raakesh Malhotra and Chhavi Malhotra

Himani Deshwal Neha Dahiya

Ashish Dhoundiyal and Shelly Dhoundiyal Hina and Azam Khan

Kitty Arora and Kavita Keswani Ruhi Ganguly and Sujay Ghosh

Gulafsha Qureshi & Dr Shilpi Singh

Jeash Bhati & Anil Katoch

Ameeta Seth

Glimpses from the match

—PHOTOS

BY MANOJ KESHARWANI

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN