First India-Mumbai Edition-3rd October 2022

Happy Durga Ashtami

A ‘ TRAGEDY BEYOND COMPREHENSION ’

125 killed, 323 injured in stampede at football match after riot in Indonesia

Moni Sharma

Jakarta: At least 125 people were killed and 323 people sustained in juries at a football sta dium in Indonesia after fans invaded the pitch, causing a stampede, forcing cops to respond with tear gas in East Java province. A clash broke out between sup porters of Javanese clubs Arema and Perse baya Surabaya after the former were defeated at the match in Malang Regency, East Java.

East Java Deputy Governor Emil Dardak said data cross-checked from 10 hospitals in the area showed there were 125 fatalities. Earlier of ficials had put figure as high as 174. The police had to resort to firing tear gas shells as they tried to persuade the fans to return to the stands in which two cops were killed. “The Indonesian top league BRI Liga 1 has suspend ed games for a week fol lowing the match that Persebaya won 3-2 and probe on,” the Football Assn of Indonesia said.

Crucial READ

Prez, Modi urge people to follow Bapu’s steps

First India Bureau

New Delhi: All across India, national leaders are paying tribute to the father of the nation on his 153rd birth an niversary. PM Modi also offered floral trib utes to Mahatma Gan dhi at Delhi’s Rajghat on Sunday. PM Modi also took to Twitter to wish everyone on Gan dhi Jayanti and said the celebrations this year is “even more spe cial because India is marking Azadi Ka Am rit Mahotsav”. He also urged everyone to buy Khadi and handicraft products as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. HM Amit Shah said he bows down to the “pio neer of truth, non-vio lence and peace”.

Congress, its leaders are also celebrating Gandhi Jayanti with the party’s interim president Sonia Gan dhi and Congress lead er Mallikarjun Kharge paying floral tributes at Delhi’s Rajghat.

Tharoor, Fadnavis pay tributes to Bapu at Sewagram

First India Bureau

Wardha: Congress MP

Shashi Tharoor, Maha

rashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fad navis and Union minis

ter Narayan Rane visit ed the Sewagram Ash ram in Maharashtra on Sunday to pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary.

Tharoor also tried his hand at Ambar Charkha at ‘Bapu Kuti’ in the

ashram, established by Mahatma Gandhi at Wardha. “The ‘Father of the Nation’ had shown a direction to the Congress for the free dom struggle,” he said.

Notably, Tharoor had on Saturday launched his campaign for the Congress president election by visiting the Deekshabhoomi monu ment in Nagpur where BR Ambedkar em braced Buddhism with

his followers on Octo ber 14, 1956.

Asked about his visit to the centres associat ed with two main ide

Sunday, police said. Meanwhile, LeT terrorist was killed in encounter in Shopian.

ologies in the country, Tharoor on Sunday said both the ideologies are in the Congress.

“Gandhiji, the ‘Father

of the Nation’, showed the way and direction for the Congress’s free dom struggle because of which we got independ ence,” he said.

Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar was not from the Congress, but the party fully support ed him and made him chairman of the draft ing committee of the Constituent Assembly, he noted.

Turn to P6

ABP NEWS-CVOTER OPINION POLL SAYS BJP’S VICTORY IN GUJARAT, HIMACHAL

New Delhi: As per ABP News-CVoter opinion poll, ruling BJP is predicted to win polls for record 7th time since 1995, in Gujarat. The BJP is anticipated to win 135-143 seats, which would represent a significant gain from its 2017 total tally of 99 seats. In HP, their opinion poll predicts easy victory for BJP in Assembly polls. Party’s vote share may decline from its 2017 levels of 48.8% to 45.2%, they are projected to win between 37–45 seats.

Intel dept steps up Shinde’s security amid threat

ligence Department (SID) on Saturday even ing received specific input about the threat to the life of CM Shinde, the official said. State Intelligence Commis sioner Ashutosh Dumbre confirmed the threat.

SUZLON ENERGY FOUNDER TULSI TANTI PASSES AWAY DUE TO CARDIAC ARREST

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The security of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shin de has been beefed up following a specific in put about a threat to his life, an official said on Sunday. The State Intel

“After specific infor mation, we have taken necessary action and have increased the se curity of the chief min ister,” Dumbre said.

Additional security has been provided to the CM, who enjoys a Z

Plus category security cover.

Security has also been stepped up at Shinde’s private resi dence in Thane and the official residence ‘Var sha’ in Mumbai, he

said.

Shinde is scheduled to address his first Dussehra rally at MMR DA grounds in Mumbai on October 05.

Meanwhile, a noncognizable offence was registered against a man for calling up the police control room claiming a “plot” to kill CM Shinde at a hotel in Lonavala in Pune dis trict.

The investigation re vealed the man, Avi nash Waghmare, was drunk and made the

‘HAD GOT SHIVAJI PARK FOR ANNUAL DUSSEHRA RALLY HAD I INTERVENED AS CM’ Mumbai (PTI): CM Shinde on Sunday said his faction of the Shiv Sena would have got the Shivaji Park ground in central Mumbai as the venue for its Dussehra rally had he intervened in the matter as CM. In a win for the Uddhav Thackerayled Sena faction, the Bombay High Court on September 23 granted it permission to hold its annual Dussehra rally at the iconic Shivaji Park ground in Dadar. The Shinde-led faction had also sought permission to hold the rally at the same venue on the same day (October 05), and opposed the Thackeray group's petition in the high court. When asked about it, Shinde told reporters, “Had I intervened as chief minister, we would have got Shivaji Park for the rally. But as CM, it is my duty to ensure peace and harmony. So we settled for the MMRDA ground at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC).”

call on Saturday to “teach a lesson” to the owner of the hotel for

allegedly overcharging him for a bottle of wa ter. Turn to P6

Tharoor trying his hand at charkha. —PTI PHOTO

Man arrested in Lonavala for calling up police control room claiming a plot to murder the CM

(T) The Indonesian police fired tear gas into crowds of fans that rushed onto the field after a soccer match in the city of Malang on late Saturday. (L) Security officers detain a fan during a clash at Kanjuruhan Stadium. (R) Officers with damaged police vehicle at stadium.

Many of the victims were trampled or choked to death, they were crushed and suffocated when they ran to one exit. Fight ing reportedly started when thousands of Arema fans rushed into the field after their team lost. —Police

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Sun day ordered a safety review of the country’s football matches after clashes between fans and police. HRC will now probe security at the ground, including the use of tear gas.

(L) Prez Droupadi Murmu paying floral tributes at Samadhi of ex-PM, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Vijay Path. (R) PM Narendra Modi paying homage at Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, Delhi on Sunday.

PM Narendra Modi, VP Jagdeep Dhankhar, Tara Gandhi, Grand daughter of Mahatma Gandhi, attend Gandhi Jayanti prayer meet.

PM Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal and Dr Jitendra Singh pay tributes to Bapu at the Parliament House.

PM TELLS MINS: TAKE INFO BY NSCS, NSA PM TO INAUGURATE UNWGIC ON TUESDAY PM Modi has told all mins and secretaries not to ignore background notes or other communication shared by NSCS and NSA, and to take them seriously, sources said on Sunday.

PM Modi will inaugurate UN World Geospatial Information Congress (UN WGIC) in Hyderabad on Tuesday, where India is set to showcase strides it has made over several years.

UN chief pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged people to shun violence and follow Gandhi’s principles of Ahimsa (non-violence).

MOOSE WALA MURDER: LAWRENCE BISHNOI’S CLOSE AIDE DEEPAK ESCAPES POLICE CUSTODY

SP FOUNDER MULAYAM SINGH YADAV IN ICU, COMPLAINS OF BREATHING TROUBLE

Mansa: Deepak Tinu, a close aide of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, held for his alleged involvement in the Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala’s killing, escaped from the custody of the Crime Investigations Agency (CIA), Mansa, official sources said on Sunday. Tinu was chargesheeted in the Sidhu Moose Wala murder case.

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav has been admitted to the ICU ward of Gurgram’s Medanta Hospital after a decline in his health. The 82-year-old former Uttar Pradesh chief minister was admitted for several days but has been shifted to the care unit after his condition deteriorated on Sunday.

New Delhi: Tulsi R Tanti, the founder, chairman and managing director and promoter of Suzlon Energy passed away due to cardiac arrest on Saturday. The company confirmed the development in an exchange filing, while adding that the list of promoters and the promoter group of company have been updated.

INDONESIAN PRESIDENT ORDERS PROBE

Say ‘Vande Mataram’ instead of ‘hello’

Maha Cong to say ‘Jai Baliraja’ and ‘Ram Ram’

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Maha rashtra government on Sunday launched a campaign appealing to people to say ‘Van de Mataram’ while receiving phone calls instead of ‘hello’.

“Vande Mataram means we are bowing before our mother. Hence, it is our appeal to the people to say ‘Vande Mataram’ in stead of ‘Hello’” said state Cultural Affairs Minister, Sudhir Mun gantiwar, at a rally held in Wardha district on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

A government resolu tion (GR) issued on Sat urday had appealed to Maharashtra govern ment employees and of ficers to greet people by saying ‘Vande Mata ram’ instead of ‘Hello’ during official or per sonal phone calls.

It is not mandatory, but the heads of depart ments should encour age their staff to do so, said the GR.

It said ‘hello’ depict ed western culture and the word did not have any specific meaning. “The word is just a for mality which does not arouse any emotion,” stated the GR.

Greeting people by saying ‘Vande Mata ram’ will create a feel ing of affection, it said, adding that an aware ness campaign should be conducted to pro mote it.

At the event in Ward ha on Sunday, Mungan tiwar said, “If people want to say ‘Jai Bhim’ or ‘Jai Shri Ram’, or even mention their par ents’ names while an swering a phone call, all forms are fine with us. Our appeal is to avoid saying ‘Hello’ while re ceiving a call.”

CRUCIAL READ

ADOPTING 5K PATIENTS UNDER PM TB MUKHT BHARAT SCHEME: UNION MIN PATIL

Thane: Union Minister Kapil Patil on Sunday said he had adopted 5,000 tuberculosis patients in his Bhiwandi Lok Sabha constituency in Thane district as part of the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan. The scheme, launched on September 09, allows individuals, elected representatives and institutions to adopt TB patients and care for them. “I found out from the health department that there are 5,000 TB patients in Kalyan West, Thane Rural, Bhiwandi and Badlapur limits. I have decided to adopt all of them. My intention is to make my Bhiwandi constituency TB-free,” he told reporters.

BJP WILL CONTEST POLLS ON ITS OWN IF NO ALLIANCE IS FORMED: RAOSAHEB DANVE

Jalna: Union Minister Raosaheb Danve on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has given power to the local leadership to decide on alliances for civic and rural polls in Maharashtra. Replying to a query on state minister Abdul Sat tar saying he was not in favour of an alliance with the BJP in his Sillod constituency of Aurangabad, Danve said if alliances don’t work out, then his party will contest on its own. Sattar had recently said gram panchayat, zilla parishad and munici pal council polls must have “friendly fights” with the BJP.

SENIOR MUMBAI CONGRESS LEADER ANNIE SHEKHAR PASSES AWAY AT AGE OF 84 YRS

Mumbai: Senior Mumbai Congress leader Annie Shekhar (84), who served the party for more than 45 years, passed away on Sunday after prolonged illness. She represented the Colaba area of south Mumbai as corporator and legislator for two terms each. She is survived by two sons, a daughter, their spouses, and grandchildren, a family member said. A major contribution associated with her were ‘study centres’ that are open all 24 hours of the day for poor children to assemble and study.

AUDIOBOOK TO BE RELEASED SOON

Mumbai (PTI): The Congress will greet people with ‘Jai Ba liraja’ and ‘Ram Ram’ to express its gratitude for farm ers, a day after the Maharashtra gov ernment issued a resolution asking its employees to greet people with ‘Vande Mataram’ instead of ‘hello’ during offi cial or personal phone calls.

State Congress President Nana Pa tole, however, added that the party was not opposed to the ‘Vande Mataram’ greeting.

Party does not oppose saying ‘Vande Mataram’ on calls, says Patole

New Delhi: In a major bureaucratic reshuffle, the Centre on Sunday cleared the appointment of Joint Secretary or Joint Secretary equivalent officers in various ministries and departments. The list of officers appointed goes as follows:

MUGDHA SINHA (IAS:1999:RJ) appointed as Joint Secretary, Culture Ministry for 5 years.

AJAY BHADOO (IAS:1999:GJ) appointed as Dy Election Commissioner, ECI, for 5 years.

AKASH TRIPATHI (IAS:1998:MP) appointed as CEO, MyGov, MeitY for 5 years vice Abhishek Singh (IAS:1995:NL).

RAHUL SHARMA (IAS:1998:JH) appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH for 5 years.

DEEPAK AGARWAL (IAS:2000:UP) appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for 5 years.

AJAY YADAV (IAS:2005:BH) appointed as Joint Secretary, New & Renewable Energy Ministry for 5 years.

PANKAJ YADAV (IAS:2001:HY) appointed as Joint Secy, Agri & Farmers Welfare for 5 years.

During the independ ence movement, a slo gan like ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ (long live the revolution) was banned by the British rulers, he said.

“But, it inspired many people to join the

(freedom) movement and eventually we gained independence.

Even Mahatma Gandhi had supported (chant ing of) ‘Vande Mataram’ and he had written so in a column published at that time,” he said.

“Our country is an agrarian economy where the agricul ture sector plays a major role. It is our stand that we will say ‘Jai Baliraja’ (hail the farmer) and ‘Ram Ram’ while

greeting people to ex press gratitude for farmers,” Patole told reporters.

Patole paid trib utes to Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on the occasion of their birth anniversaries.

Work during pandemic helped PFI increase its footprint in Maha: Police

Dnyanesh Chavan

Mumbai: The work done by its volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic such as per forming last rites of the deceased helped the Popular Front of India (PFI) widen its presence in Maha rashtra, said a senior police official.

The controversial or ganization had presence only in Nanded in Mar athwada region until eight years ago, but it had members in at least 22 of 35 districts of the state when it was banned last week, he said.

The organization, which originated in Kerala, was banned by the Union government under the Unlawful Ac tivities (Prevention) Act for five years. Sev eral of its members and functionaries have been arrested.

In Maharashtra, the

PFI became visible af ter 2014, particularly in the Nanded area, the of ficial said.

In the next few years, the organization re cruited active members in all eight districts of Marathwada region. By 2018 it had members in Mumbai and Pune too.

PFI members would volunteer their services during natural calami ties such as floods—for instance, they handed

GOING DIGITAL

out kitchen utensils in areas affected by Cy clone Tauktae in 2021.

The members of the organization in Person al Protective Equip ment (PPE) kits were seen helping with last rites in many places. They even helped with the cremation of the bodies of Hindu pa tients, the official said.

In Pune, the organi zation had received per mission from the mu

The controversial org had presence only in Nanded of Marathwada until 8 years ago, but it had members in 22 of 35 Maha dists when it was banned last week

nicipal authority to perform last rites of pandemic victims. How ever, in Mumbai, they were refused permis sion as Mumbai Police flagged the organiza tion’s links to radical outfits, the official said.

The organization’s flag-hoisting functions and ‘unity’ marches on February 17 last year got good response in 22 districts, he noted.

It was clear that its work during the pan demic had helped it ex pand its influence, said the official. —PTI

Revenue dept set for a facelift with blockchain tech

PROPERTY REGISTRATIONS MADE EASY

RAJAT KUMAR (IAS:2005:CG) appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training for 5 years.

PRIYANKA BASU INGTY (IAS:2004:HP) appointed (in-situ elevation) as Regional Director (JS level), SSC, Kolkata under DOPT for 7 years.

DEEPAK MISHRA (IFS:1996:KL) appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals for 5 years.

INDU C NAIR (IRAS:2001) appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce for 7 years.

GURMEET SINGH CHAWLA (IRAS:1998) appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture for 5 years.

AJAY KUMAR (IAS:2006:GJ) appointed as Joint Secretary, Defence Dept for 5 years.

MANOJ KUMAR SAHOO (IAS:2006:UT) appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation for 7 years.

AJAY YADAV (IAS:2006:TN) appointed as Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat for 7 years.

D SENTHIL PANDIYAN (IAS:2002:UD) appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences for 5 years.

HANISH CHHABRA (IAS:2006:TN) appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs for 7 years.

SATYAJIT MISHRA (CSS) appointed as Joint Secy, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change till his superannuation on 31.05.2027.

MUKESH KUMAR BANSAL (LAS:2005:CG) appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Financial Services for 5 years.

TJ KAVITHA (IFS:2000:RJ) appointed as Joint Secy, Dept of Food & Public Distribution for 5 years or vice Mukta Shekhar (IRAS:1994).

SACHIN MITTAL (IPOS:2000) appointed as Joint Secretary, Dept of Health & Family Welfare for 7 years vice Vikas Sheel (lAS:1994:CG).

MANASHVI KUMAR (IAS:2004:PB) appointed as Joint Secy, Dept of Health & Family Welfare for 5 years vice Padmaja Singh (CSS).

BASANT GARG (LAS:2005:PB) appointed as Additional CEO, National Health Authority under Health & Family Welfare Dept for 5 years.

HANIF QURESHI (IPS:1996:HY) appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries for 5 years vice Nidhi Chhibber (lAS:1994:CG).

SURBHI JAIN (IES:2001) appointed as Joint Secretary, Dept of Economic Affairs for 5 years.

RAVI KUMAR ARORA (IAS:2006:GJ) appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for 5 years.

RAHUL JAIN (IAS:2005:MP) appointed as Joint Secretary, DIPAM for 5 years.

RUPESH KUMAR THAKUR (IAS:2006:UT) appointed as Jointt Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment for 5 years.

Nikhil Deshmukh

Mumbai: The state Revenue Department is all set for a trans formation by adopt ing the blockchain technology.

This digital method of storing records in a business network will enable district collec torates to have a faster documentation process and also save cost.

At the Global Fintech Fest held in Mumbai last month, Maharash tra Deputy Chief Minis ter Devendra Fadnavis said the role of govern ance, especially in the

Revenue Department, is going to change forever in the next two-three years.

“The blockchain technology is going to save a lot of time of a district collector, who has to spend significant time in conducting hearings related to er rors in documents.

There will be no typical or conventional role left for a collector once we completely shift to the blockchain technologybased documentation,” he said.

The Revenue Depart ment deals with re cords of land, owner

ship/property lease, registration of sale and purchase, among others.

Citizens have been raising concerns for many years about er rors in the recording of names and exact details of a property.

Human intervention has at times also led to land grabbing and fake documentation to buy or sell properties.

An additional collec tor-rank official said the use of computers has increased the speed of documenta tion and land title re cords are now availa ble online, but if some changes are made (un lawfully), it is very dif ficult to find it and take action.

“The blockchain technology will keep the record of every

document accessed by an official and changes made into it. Thus, it will check malpractic es and also help to find out when changes were made and why,” he said.

The official said there are more than one crore land title documents in Maharashtra. Such doc uments are frequently used by farmers to get crop loan and for other

purposes. The marriage registration process also comes under the revenue department. The blockchain technol ogy will reduce the bur den on district collec torates significantly, he said.

“Economically, this is a win-win situation for the state,” said a senior official from the Reve nue Department said.

NANDITA GUPTA (LAS:2001:HP) appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment for 5 years.

FARIDA MAHMOOD NAIK (CSS) appointed (in-situ elevation) as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines for 5 years.

FRANKLIN L KHOBUNG (IFS:1998:GJ) appointed as Joint Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare for 5 years.

MOHD AFZAL (CPES:1995) appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power for 5 years.

AMIT SHUKLA (IFS:1999:TR) appointed as Joint Secy, Rural Development Dept for 5 years.

INDIRA MURTHY (CSS) appointed as Joint Secretary, Dept of Social Justice & Empowerment till her superannuation on 30.04.2023.

LOCHAN SEHRA (IAS:2002:GJ) appointed as Joint Secretary, IN-SPACe (Ahmedabad) for a tenure of five years.

Digital method of storing records in a business network will enable dist collectorates to have a much faster documentation process, save costs

Popular Front of India’s flag-hoisting functions and ‘unity’ marches last year got good response in 22 districts. —FILE PHOTO

Maha minister Sudhir Mungantiwar called on people to chant ‘Vande Mataram’ at an event in Wardha on Sunday.

Maha govt issues resolution as it launches campaign to urge people to use the greeting during phone calls

Cong Prez Nana Patole

‘7L+ registered vehicles in Maha plying without HSRP’

Woman burnt alive by husband dies in hospital

First India Bureau

Kailash Korde

Mumbai: In contempt of the High-Security Registration Plates (HSRP) rule, more than seven lakh new ly registered vehicles in Maharashtra are plying without HSRPs, according to Regional Transport Offices (RTO) offi cials. These include the ones used for VVI Ps like the chief min ister and deputy chief minister.

The HSRP rule has been in place for more than 3.5 years intending to curb theft of vehicles and for standardization.

When asked about the reason for non-com pliance, a senior official cited the absence of a specific rule to take ac tion against a vehicle plying sans HSRP. Hence, they slap a fine of Rs2,000 for spotting a fancy number plate.

Another official said that some dealers of ve hicles flout the HSRP rule and hand over new

vehicles to customers without fitting these plates on vehicles, which is mandatory.

Of the nearly 69 lakh new vehicles registered in Maharashtra since April 2019, only about 61 lakh vehicles are fit ted with HSRPs, popu larly called ‘IND’ or IN DIA number plates.

“As many as 7.68 lakh new vehicles registered in Maharashtra, includ ing the bulletproof cars used for VVIPs such as

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the chief minister and the deputy chief minis ter, interceptor and pilot vehicles of police, and leased buses in the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) un dertaking’s fleet, among others, are plying without HSRPs,” said RTO officials.

To curb the theft of vehicles and bring uni formity in their identi ty marks, the Union government made

HSRP mandatory for every newly registered vehicle from April 1, 2019, putting the onus on manufacturers to in stall these number plates in every new ve hicle, before handing them over to the cus tomers.

According to the lat est report of the Nation al Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), Maharashtra saw 27,740 cases of vehi cle theft, including 3,282 from Mumbai.

Two persons cheat shop owner of `1.31 crore

Navi

The

Dutt. It is yet to be known if any other person is still trapped under the rubble, he said adding that the work of clearing is underway.

SENIOR CITIZEN DIES AFTER BEING HIT BY TRUCK

TWO FLATS GUTTED IN FIRE IN KALYAN BUILDING

First India Bureau

Palghar: Two persons have been booked in Palghar district for cheating a man of Rs1.31 crore by showing him a pay ment slip of a govern ment transaction with a forged signature of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Accused Jatin Pawar and Shubham Verma, residents of Nalasopara, allegedly cheated sta tionery shop owner Jignesh Gopani (50), the Valiv police station offi cial said on Sunday.

him as fees. The duo ex tracted money on sever al occasions claiming the deal was coming through. They took Rs1,31,75,104 from Gopa ni in all,” he said.

“On August 25, the ac cused gave Gopani a pay ment slip for the amounts paid for licence, permit and other fees to get the e-portal franchise. They told him it was issued by the state excise depart ment. The payment slip, incidentally, had the name of Eknath Shinde typed on it with his sig nature,” he added.

Dealers of vehi cle manufac turers install HSRPs to new vehicles before handing them to customers. This is done once the vehicle number is generated after online registration at RTO. Dealers are responsible for procuring and installing HSRPs on vehicles after procuring from the suppliers. —RTO officials in Maha

A motor vehicle in spector said there is no specific rule for taking action against the vehi cle if caught without HSRPs.

He said the transport commissioner’s office has directed all RTOs to suspend the trade cer tificate of dealers for a specific period for the first, second and third offences for handing over new vehicles to customers without HSRPs.

Maharashtra Trans port Department Addi tional Commissioner JB Patil said RTO offi cials have been directed to take action in the matter. “We are con ducting a special drive against vehicles with out fitness documents. We will ask RTO offic ers to check vehicles without HSRPs as well,” he added. —PTI

Thane: A 35-year-old woman, who was al legedly burnt alive by her husband at their house in Dom bivili in Thane dis trict, died while un dergoing treatment at a hospital.

Preeti Shantaram Patil and her daugh ters, Sameera (14) and Samiksha (11), had suf fered severe burns in the fire at their house in Bopar area on Satur day morning. The girls, who suffered 90% burns, are currently undergoing treatment, senior inspector SR Bagde of Manpada po lice station said, add ing that the woman’s husband Prasad Shan taram Patil (40) is also being treated for burns he sustained during the incident.

According to fire of ficials, the blaze had erupted at 5.30am on Saturday, but they were informed about it around 8.30am, which was a delay of three hours.

The accused was having an affair with another woman and was harassing his wife and daughters. He hatched a conspiracy and attempted to burn his wife and daughters alive and sustained in juries in the process, the official said.

29-YEAR-OLD ARRESTED FOR RAPE, ABETMENT OF SUICIDE

Palghar: A 29-yearold man, who was accused of raping a woman and abetting her suicide nine years ago, has been arrested by police in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, an official said on Sunday.

Senior inspector Pramod Badakh of Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar police station said that the accused Sultan alias Noor mohammed Shaikh allegedly had raped the 19-year-old woman on various occasions in February 2013, after giving her drinks laced with sedatives.

It was after the victim became pregnant; the accused threatened her not to inform anyone about it or else he would pub licize her objectionable video clips, informed

the official.

The official added that the accused used to beat the deceased woman, who commit ted suicide by setting herself on fire on April 22, 2013.

A case regarding charges of rape, threat, and abetment to suicide has been registered at the Nal lasopara Police station in Palghar.

The police team had been working on various leads including intelligence inputs to nab the accused. He was traced to a locality in the Nallasopara area and was arrested on Saturday by the police, an official said.

The accused informed that he had traveled to places in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to evade arrest.

Thane: Two flats were gutted in a fire that erupted in a high-rise building in Kalyan town on Sunday. No casu alties, however, were reported in the incident, informed a fire official.

The incident took place at around 6am in a flat on the third floor of the 18-storey building in Vayle Nagar locality and soon the fire spread to nearby flats. Neighbours rescued the families living in those flats with the help of ladders.

Nagpur: Two houses were burgled by unidentified men in different areas of Nagpur district, where burglars decamped with as much as Rs6.20 lakhs, said a police official on Saturday. While valuables worth Rs5.12 lakh were stolen from a house situated in Ujjwal Layout under Anjani Police station area, jewellery and cash worth Rs1.08 lakh were stolen from another house situated in Bada Imambada area on Friday. Residents of both houses were away when the incident took place. Both the thefts were conducted by breaking latches of the main gates of respective houses.

“The accused claimed they wanted to start a franchise of the state government’s e-portal and offered Gopani a partnership deal and sought Rs1 lakh from

Gopani found the slip with the CM’s signature suspicious and ap proached police, after which a case was regis tered on Saturday night, the Valiv police station official said.

Old bridge in Pune razed through controlled blast

movement at 10 am,” said Rajesh Deshmukh, Pune Collector.

First India Bureau

Pune: An old bridge in Pune city was demol ished through a con trolled blast in the early hours of Sunday as part of a develop ment project to solve the problem of fre quent traffic jam in the area.

Around 600kg of ex plosives were used for the demolition of the bridge on Mumbai-Ben

galuru Highway (NH4) in Chandni Chowk area at 1am, said officials.

The planned demoli tion of the bridge gener ated a great deal of curi osity among locals. Peo ple living in nearby areas gathered at a safe dis tance from the spot to watch the demolition exercise.

After the demolition, a number of earthmover machines and trucks were pressed into action

to bring down the hang ing structures and re move the debris.

All vehicular move ment was stopped in the area and diverted in view of the demolition exercise. To restrict

mass gatherings around the bridge, police im posed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in the area.

“After the removal of the debris, the highway was opened for traffic

A multi-level flyover is set to come up at the junction and its work is underway.

“The bridge was de molished at 1am on Sun day through a controlled blast and everything was executed as per the plan. We pressed earthmover machines, forknails and trucks to clear the debris from the spot,” said Chi rag Chheda, co-owner of Edifice Engineering, whose team along with the NHAI authorities carried out the bridge demolition.

It is the same compa ny which demolished Noida’s Supertech Twin Towers in August this year.

When asked about a portion of the bridge structure that had not collapsed completely, one of the lead engineers said the concrete was re moved due to the blast and only steel bars were left there.

“Once the steel bars are removed, the remain ing structure will also come down. The quanti ty of steel used in the bridge construction was higher than we had ex pected,” he said.

THE HSRP RULE

Lack of specific rule for action against violators of rule has made it difficult for officials to enforce it

The rule states that every vehicle (barring two-wheelers) must have chromium-based hologram stickers with IND on its plates. —FILE PHOTO

CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN

REMEMBERING BAPU

A school student dressed as ‘Father of the Nation’—Mahatma Gandhi—participates in a programme to mark his 153rd birth anniversary, in Mumbai on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Around 600kg of explosives used in demolition of structure located on Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway

Screengrab of the demolition video by ANI.

FOUR-STOREY

BUILDING COLLAPSES IN NAVI MUMBAI, ONE KILLED

2 HOUSES BURGLED IN NAGPUR DISTRICT, VALUABLES WORTH

6.20 LAKH STOLEN

Palghar: A senior citizen died on the spot after being hit by a speeding pick-up truck at the Palghar-Manor Road in Palghar district, on Sat urday, informed a police official. The deceased, identified as Ramasalat Yadav, a resident of Nandora Naka, Palghar police spokesperson Sachin Navadkar said. “The senior citizen died on the spot. The driver fled from the spot and efforts are on to nab him,” he added.

THE DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF THE FOREST DWELLER

IN-DEPTH CELEBRATING DURGA PUJA AFTER UNESCO’S RECOGNITION

The recognition came in December last year, but the moment of celebra tion has arrived now. Kolkatans are celebrating Durga Puja with double the vigour and religious fervor as it was included in Unesco’s List of Intangible Cul tural Heritage, the only festival from Asia to be conferred that honour. The prestigious recogni tion has made Bengalis go euphor ic as the popular festival attracts thousands to the capital of West Bengal. It is a cultural and secular event which sees participation of all sections of the society.

in breach than in practise.

The Government of India Act of 1935 transferred the subject of Forestry to the state list. Not only was the recruitment to the IFS stopped, but it also meant that there was in effect, little central control over forest matters. Popular ministries too oath in the states, and increased the expenditure on welfare schemes, thereby putting pressure on the Finance department to seek additional sources of revenue. At that time, the main tax base of the states comprised land revenue followed by excise and commercial taxes.

The 1865 Indian Forest Act rep resented the first attempt of the colonial state to bring about a comprehensive legis lation on the subject. Its pri mary aim was to assert the monopoly of the British over the Indian forest land. It em powered the government to declare any land covered with trees, or brushwood or jungle as a government for est and make rules to man age it. As mentioned in the first article in the series, the task was to secure teak wood for railway sleepers by creat ing a government monopoly over teak. However, as the forest department had still not been organized, the de termination of whether the land in question was under forest or not, was determined by the Revenue officials.

Over the next two dec ades, the Forest depart ment became more or ganized, and forest offi cials pointed out the la cunae in the 1865 Act (from the point of view of the Forest depart ment). Thus, the Indian Forest Act was revised in 1878, and the principal fallout was that it trun cated the centuries-old traditional use by commu nities of their forests. The provision of this Act es tablished a virtual State monopoly over the for

IS CONG PREZ POLL A FIXED MATCH?

ests in a legal sense on one hand, and on the other, as serted that the customary use of the forests by the vil lagers was not a ‘right’, but a ‘privilege’ that could be with drawn at will. This was, in effect the disenfranchise ment of the forest dwellers over their traditional rights over access and livelihoods.

The 1878 Act divided for ests into three categories- re served, protected and village forests. The Reserved forests were called the ‘best forests and the villagers could not take anything from these for ests, even for their own use. For house building or fuel, they could take wood from protected or village forests, but in effect they were at the mercy of the forest officials.

By one stroke of the pen, the organic relationship between the forest dweller and the for est was extinguished.

This was followed by the first formal Forest Policy in 1894 in which the exception clauses took precedence over

The 1865 Indian Forest Act represented the first attempt of the colonial state to bring about a comprehensive legislation on the subject. Its primary aim was to assert the monopoly of the British over the Indian forest land. It empowered the government to declare any land covered with trees, or brushwood or jungle as a government forest and make rules to manage it

the stated objectives. There fore, we shall talk of the ex ceptions before the general policy. The three exceptions were that permanent cultiva tion should come before for estry and that the of satisfac tion of local needs at noncompetitive rates would take precedence over reve nue: but it was left to the Forest department to de fine what the local need was, and, and what exactly was ‘non- competitive’. Last but not the least was the realization of ‘maxi mum revenue’.

The general policy was the normative statement regarding the of adequate forest cover for preserva tion of physical and cli matic conditions and ful filment of the needs of the people – observed more

This was followed by the Indian Forest Act, 1927 which is still on the statute book, though it has been amended many times and supplement ed with state legislation as well. It created the fourth cat egory of Non-government Forest, besides introducing regulatory measures were in troduced to prohibit/control quarrying of stones, burning of lime or charcoal, the collec tion of any manufacturing process, or removal of any for est produce in any such forest and the breaking up or clear ing for cultivation, for build ing and for herding cattle.

The Government of India Act of 1935 transferred the subject of Forestry to the state list. Not only was the recruitment to the IFS stopped, but it also meant that there was in effect, little central control over forest matters. Popular ministries too oath in the states, and in creased the expenditure on welfare schemes, thereby put ting pressure on the Finance department to seek addition al sources of revenue. At that time, the main tax base of the states comprised land reve nue followed by excise and commercial taxes. Given the pro- famer orientation of the freedom movement, land rev enue could not be raised: in fact, many state governments announced remissions, and therefore the forest depart ment was under pressure to mobilise funds for the en hanced budgetary outlays.

(To be continued)

After including Durga Puja in its list of intangible cultural her itage the Unesco said, “…this inscription will offer encourage ment to the local communities that celebrate Durga Puja, in cluding all the craftspeople, de signers, artists and organizers of large-scale cultural events, as well as tourists and visitors who partake in the inclusive festivity that is Durga Puja”.

The Intangible Heritage List also includes, among others, Ve dic chants, Ramlila, Yoga, Chhau dance and Garhwal’s re ligious festival Ramman and Kalbelia of Rajasthan.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Bible

Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp

Congress presiden tial election may seem farcical but it gives the Gan dhi family a much-needed reprieve from dissidence. As per an assur ance Sonia and Rahul Gan dhi gave to the Congress Working Committee none from the family is contesting this poll despite demands from some of their loyalists that the scion should lead the party. That has not stopped people from calling this elec tion a fixed match.

Yet, the Gandhis’ control over the party will not weak en given that the two candi dates in fray so far- Mallikar jun Kharge and Shashi Tha roor - are old loyalists of the Gandhis besides being vet eran Congressmen. Tharoor,

As per an assurance Sonia and Rahul Gandhi gave to the Congress Working Committee none from the family is contesting this poll despite demands from some of their loyalists that the scion should lead the party

though, is also a member of the G23 and asserted that “he is a candidate for change”. Ashok Gehlot and Digvijay Singh, on the other hand, may have pursued a line independent of that pre ferred by Sonia or Rahul Gandhi. Manish Tiwari,

who is a member of the dis sident camp, who considered filing his nomination but did not, would have fallen in the latter category.

By giving up their claim on the party president’s post, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have technically addressed the dissidents’ main demand that no Gandhi should lead the party. That also frees the party from the charge of be ing run by members of the Gandhi family. At 80, Kharge has seen the party’s high and lows and survived several party presidents.

He is too old to be a rub ber stamp president for ei ther Sonia Gandhi or her son Rahul. Kharge has said that “there is no G23 camp now”. Perhaps, it is too ear ly to say that.

India has a lot to offer to the world. We have to create a global model. NEP 2020 will create global citizens of the 21st century who will be committed to humanity’s welfare in line with the Indian ethos of Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam.

l Vol 1 l Issue No. 147 l RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652

Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.

Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057. Phone 022-46031417.

Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

Amit Shah @AmitShah

Bharat Ratna Lal Bahadur Shastri, the inspiration of the nation, wrote a golden chapter in the history of independent India with his simplicity, strong leadership and selfless service to the nation. His slogan of Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan united the country and infused the spirit of nation first among the people. Tributes to him on his birth anniversary.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

SANJEEV CHOPRA The writer superannuated as the Director of the LBS National Academy of Administration, India’s apex training institution, and curates Valley of Words: An annual Literature and Arts festival at Dehradun, where he currently resides

Rahul pays tribute to Mahatma on his 153rd birth anniversary

Mysuru (ANI): Con gress leader and MP Ra hul Gandhi along with party leaders attended an event at Badanavalu, Mysuru to mark the 153rd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, on the 25th day of the par ty’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Rahul Gandhi offered a floral tribute to the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Khadi Gramodyog, Badanavalu Karnataka at 8 am followed by a prayer meeting. On the 25th day of Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi visited Khadi Village Indus tries at Badnavalu in memory of Bapu, said Congress.

“With Gandhi ‘topi’ on his head, Bapu’s val ues in his heart and in tention to unite India, Rahul Gandhi along with other participants of Bharat Jodo Yatra visited Khadi Village In dustries at Badnavalu in memory of Bapu on the occasion of Gandhi Jay anti,” tweeted the Con gress party.

Rahul Gandhi also met the women weavers and talked about their experiences and chal lenges at work. He un dertook a tree planta tion by the Bharat Yatris Khadi Garmodyog, Badanavalu.

Padyatra resumed at Sree Kaalibeeramma Temple Kadakola Indus trial Mysuru junction at 4.30 in the afternoon and halted at 7 pm at Bandi palya, near APMC. The participants of the 3,500km march from Kanya kumari to Kashmir were to stay near JSS Grounds, near Exhibi tion Grounds Mysuru.

SONIA GANDHI TO PARTICIPATE IN YATRA ON OCTOBER 6 IN KARNATAKA

New Delhi (PTI): Con gress president Sonia Gandhi will participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra on October 6 in Karnataka, sources said on Sun day. The Yatra will pass through Karnataka for 21 days covering 511 km in the state. It began on September 7 from Kan yakumari and entered Karnataka on Friday after passing through Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Sonia Gandhi will walk with the participants on October 6 during the Karnataka leg of the Yatra, a party source said. This would

be the first time that Sonia will participate in the Yatra which began when she was abroad for a medical check-up. Rahul Gandhi has been walking continuously in the Yatra and reached Gundlupet in Karnataka on September 30 from Gudalur in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Nagpur (ANI): Ahead of the Congress presi dential polls, Shashi Tharoor said that he represents change in the party which a leader like Mallikarjun Kharge can’t bring about. While

GEHLOT THROWS HIS WEIGHT BEHIND KHARGE

Jaipur: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said on Sunday that veteran party leader Mallikarjun Kharge has the experi ence to strengthen the Congress and would emerge as a clear winner in the party presidential poll, while his rival in the race Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor be longs to “elite class”.

‘TOLD THAROOR TO HAVE CONSENSUS CANDIDATE, BUT HE WANTED CONTEST’

New Delhi (PTI): Nomi nee for the AICC presi dent post Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said he told fellow contender Shashi Tharoor that it would be better to have a consensus candidate, but the Lok Sabha MP insisted on a contest for the “sake of democ racy”. Kharge said if he becomes the party chief, he will consult the Gandhi family and other senior leaders and implement the good things suggested by them, even as he rejected claims that

addressing party work ers at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in Nagpur on Sunday, he said that the Congress president’s polls are not a war, but only “he” can bring the required changes in the

he was the “official candidate” backed by the Gandhis. Launching his Congress presiden tial poll campaign with a press conference at his residence here, 80-yearold Kharge said there is no G-23 camp now and all those leaders want to fight unitedly against the RSS-BJP.

party. “Some people are saying that Kharge Ji is a senior leader, and why don’t I get out of the race for him? I respect Kharge Ji, but it’s a poll for our party’s future,” Shashi Tharoor said.

New Delhi (PTI): Two men allegedly killed a six-year-old boy as “hu man sacrifice” by slit ting his throat and at tacking him on the head in Delhi’s Lodhi Colony, police said on Sunday.

Accused Vijay Kumar and Amar Kumar are natives of Bihar and they have been arrested, police said, adding they were under the influ ence of drugs while committing the crime.

The accused and the boy’s parents were working as construction labourers. Vijay and Amar have confessed to the crime and said they killed the boy to gain “prosperity”. All of them were living in the same slum, police said.

On Saturday night the accused called him to their cooking space and killed him by first attacking on his head and then slitting his throat, the police said.

‘Congress reduced to brother-sister party’

Shimla (ANI): BJP chief JP Nadda on Sun day inaugurated the party’s district office in Una and was quick to take a jibe at the Con gress saying that it has been reduced to merely a ‘brother-sister party’.

“Congress today had become a party of broth er and sister with almost no base of its own and Congress fought on 380 seats in Uttar Pradesh and its candidates lost their security deposits in 370 seats, which vindi cates the fact that the people of the country have lost its faith in the party”, he said.

Addressing the peo ple, Nadda said it was the vision of PM Naren dra Modi that all the state BJP units have their own headquarter at the state level and also at the district level. “PM Modi in the year 2014 de cided that as many as 512 offices would be con structed throughout the country and out of these, 235 offices had been completed and work was going on for the remaining,” he said.

Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur and Union Minister An urag Thakur were also present on the occasion.

Dr Jitendra Singh launches Spl Swachhta Campaign 2.0

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Union Min ister of State Dr Jiten dra Singh on Sunday launched the Special Swachhta Campaign 2.0, with a focus on Swach hata including disposal of scrap and reducing Pendency in Govern ment at DARPG office, Sardar Patel Bhawan.

Dr Singh began the campaign by disposing off E-waste of DARPG, followed by inspection of office and Shredding of First File in ARC Di vision and presentation

Tharoor, Fadnavis...

“Ambedkar’s work and his vision have become a reality today,” said the Congress leader. Tha roor further said Ambedkar helped in the uplift of Dalits and on the issue of rights of individuals. “I feel it is my responsibility to pay tributes to both of them,” he said, adding that he released his new book ‘Ambedkar: A Life’ at the Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur on Saturday.

Intel dept...

A police official in Mum bai on Sunday night sug gested the threat input was linked to the NC case registered in Pune.

Waghmare, who was travelling from Ghat kopar in Mumbai to San gli in a private bus, alleg edly made the call on Saturday to the control room claiming a plan was being hatched in the Lonavala hotel to kill the chief minister, said the official. Earlier in the day, the CM had said the state police department was taking all precau tionary measures to en sure his safety. “Even when I was not the chief minister, I had received threats from Naxalites, anti-national elements. I am a man of masses and no one can stop me from being among people,” he had said.

Bihar agriculture minister Sudhakar Singh resigns

Patna (Agencies): Bi har agriculture minis ter Sudhakar Singh who often embarrassed the Nitish Kumar gov ernment by his outspo kenness, tendered his resignation, his father and state RJD president Jagadanand Singh said on Sunday.

Though the minister could not be reached for his comments after the drastic step, his father said Sudhakar Singh had lent his voice to the concerns of the farming community “but some times, this is not enough.

Sacrifices have to be made. Therefore, the ag riculture minister has sent his resignation let ter to the government”.

Jagadanand Singh cryptically added that the move was taken “be cause we did not want the rift to widen” (hum nahin chahte hain ki ye ladaai aage badhe).

VARANASI COMMISSIONER DEEPAK AGARWAL GETS CENTRE POSTING

Lucknow: The Centre has issued an order for the posting of 35 officers, which includes Joint Secretary rank bureaucrats from across the country. The most important among them is Varanasi Commis sioner Deepak Agarwal He has been made Joint Secretary, Housing & Urban Affairs Ministry at the Centre. Agarwal has been posted at the Centre for five years and has been a dear officer of both the Central and

State governments. He has contributed a lot in the development of Var anasi. Now, it remains to be seen which IAS officer would the state government pick as the new commissioner in PM Modi’s parliamen tary constituency.

of Bamboo Waste Paper Basket to two Under Secretaries in DARPG. The drive launched on “BapuJayanti” from Oct 2 to 31 is aimed at ensuring timely and ef

MUMBAI | MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2022 06INDIA www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia FROM PG 1

By Ahtesham Siddiqui...

IAS SAMADDAR IS NEW BAREILLY COMMISSIONER

Lucknow: A 1999 batch IAS Sanyukta Samaddar, has been made the new com missioner of Bareilly. The UP govt had earlier appointed 2006 batch IAS Dr Sarika Mohan as Bareilly commissioner, but due to family reasons she refused to take charge.

After this, Samaddar was appointed. In Lucknow, Moradabad and Bareilly divisions in UP.

fective disposal of Pub lic Grievances, Refer ences from MPs, State Govts, Inter-Ministerial Consultations and Par liamentary Assurances and disposal of scrap.

TWO SUSPENDED IPS OFFICERS REINSTATED IN UTTAR PRADESH

Lucknow: Two IPS officers DIG Anant Dev and former Ghaziabad SSP Pawan Kumar, who had been sus pended for a long time, were reinstated by the UP govt. IPS Anant Dev was suspended on the basis of the report

Rijiju, Anurag Thakur launch Fit India Freedom Run 3.0

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The launch of Fit India Freedom Run 3.0 took place at the Major Dhyanchand Na tional Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday morn ing on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. One of the biggest nationwide movements started by the Government of In dia during the peak of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the third edition was jointly launched with a Fit India Plog Run by Union Minister

of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju and Union Minister of Youth Af fairs and Sports Anurag Thakur. The third edi tion of the Fit India Freedom Run started off on October 2 and will go on until October 31.

Also in attendance on Sunday was former Un ion Health Minister Harshvardhan Goel, Secretary Sports Sujata Chaturvedi, Director General, Sports Author ity of India (SAI) Sand ip Pradhan, Fit India ambassador Ripu Da

man Bevli as well as other officials from the Sports Ministry and SAI along with a large

number of participants.

Reiterating the Prime Minister’s vision, Rijiju mentioned, “When Nar

endra Modi launched the Fit India movement in 2019, his vision was to make the entire na

tion fit. This movement over the years has now become such a massive success. Everyone is now interested to join the movement and the Fit India mobile app is also being downloaded with much enthusiasm every single day.”

Echoing his senti ments, Anurag Thakur mentioned, “From Aza di ka Amrit Mahotsav to Amrit Kaal, we have to keep working to wards Prime Minister’s vision of taking India to new heights.”

of Bikru case and Kumar was suspended for negligence in work. The two officers have been reinstated but the departmental inquiry would continue. Dev and Kumar have been put on the waiting list after being reinstated.

PK starts 3,500 km padayatra on Gandhi Jayanti

Bhitiharwa (PTI): Po litical strategist Prashant Kishor be gan a 3,500-kilometre long pa dayatra’ from the Gandhi Ashram in Bihar’s West Champaran dis trict on Sunday, the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, as part of his Jan Suraj’ campaign. The march is widely seen as a precur sor to Prashant Kishor’s entry into politics.

GANDHI JAYANTI SPECIAL

Union Minister Anurag Thakur (L) and Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju with former Union Minister Harshvardhan Goel at the launch of Fit India Freedom Run in New Delhi, on Sunday.

6-year-old boy killed in human sacrifice in Delhi, 2 held

JP Nadda inaugurates party office in presence of Himachal CM Jairam Thakur and Union Minister Anurag Thakur in Una on Sunday.

MoS Dr Jitendra Singh takes stock of the campaign on Sunday.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with children paints a panel on the wall of a school at Badanavalu village, during party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, in Mysuru, on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI

THAROOR SAYS HE REPRESENTS CHANGE IN CONG KHARGE CAN’T BRING ABOUT

UP BUREAUCRACY

IPS Pawan KumarIPS Anant Dev

FPIs WITHDRAW `7,600 CRORE FROM EQUITIES IN SEPT

INFLATION MAY COME DOWN TO 5.2% NEXT FISCAL: RBI

OTHER STORIES

CONCESSIONAL IMPORT DUTIES ON EDIBLE OILS IN PLACE TILL MARCH 2023: FOOD MINISTRY

New Delhi (PTI): After in fusing funds in the last two months, foreign in vestors turned sellers again in September and pulled out over `7,600 crore from the Indian eq uity markets amid hawk ish stance by the US Fed and sharp depreciation in rupee. With this, the total outflow by Foreign Port folio Investors (FPIs) from the Indian equity markets has reached `1.68 lakh crore so far in 2022, data with deposito ries showed. FPIs have sold equities worth a net `7,624 crore in Sept.

SEVEN OF TOP-10 FIRMS LOSE `1.16 LAKH CR IN MCAP

New Delhi (PTI): Persis tently high inflation re mains a key policy concern for the Reserve Bank, which has raised rates ag gressively so far this year, but the pressure might ease next fiscal assuming normal rains and further normalisation of global supply chains without any exogenous shocks, accord ing to an RBI report.

The Reserve Bank of In dia (RBI) expects retail in flation to come under con trol at 5.2% in the next fi nancial year beginning April, down from 6.7% it has forecast for the current year.

“For 2023-24, assuming a normal monsoon, a progres sive normalisation of sup ply chains, and no further exogenous or policy shocks, structural model estimates indicate that inflation will average 5.2%,” RBI said in its ‘Monetary Policy Report September 2022’.

The central bank is man dated to keep retail infla tion in a range of 2-6%.

TOP TALKING POINTS

z The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expects retail inflation to come under control at 5.2% in the next financial year beginning April, down from 6.7% it has forecast for the current year.

z The central bank is mandated to keep retail inflation in a range of 2-6%. However, it has been above upper tolerance level since Jan

z It is mainly due to adverse supply shocks amid geopolitical tensions arising out of the Russia-Ukraine war

remain above the upper tolerance level of 6% through the first three quarters of 2022-23 (till De cember) and expects it to come under control from January 2023 onwards.

New Delhi (PTI): Concessional import duties on specified edible oils are in place till March 2023, the food ministry said on Sunday. This decision was taken on August 31, 2022 by the CBIC in order to boost do mestic supply and keeping retail prices under control. The food ministry said that the CBIC’s decision of extending existing concessional import duties on specified edible oils is in place till March 2023. “The concessional customs duty on edible oil import has been extended by another 6 months, which means that the new deadline will now be March 2023.”

‘FTA WITH UK WOULD HELP RAISE GARMENT EXPORTS BY 10%’

Coimbatore (PTI): With an In dia-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the offing, exports from knitwear hub Tirupur could see 10% growth, India Knit Fair

Association president A Shak tivel has said. About 20% of knitwear and garments made in factories from Tirupur go to United Kingdom out of a total `33,000 crore annual exports with a growth rate of 20% year on year, Shaktivel said.

87 SME IPOs HIT PRIMARY MARKET TO RAISE `1,460 CRORE

New Delhi (PTI): Strong performance of past IPOs spurred investors’ interest, with 87 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) garnering Rs 1,460 crore through initial share-sales in the first nine months of the year. This was way higher than 56 companies that had raised `783 crore through initial public offering (IPO) in the entire 2021, the industry data showed.

New Delhi (PTI): The combined market valua tion of seven of the 10 most valued firms eroded by `1,16,053.13 crore last week amid an overall bearish trend in equities, with Reliance Industries taking the biggest hit.RIL, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Fi nance and HDFC were the laggards from the top-10 pack. The valuation of RIL fell by `41,706.05 crore to reach `16,08,601.05 crore but it remained the most valued Indian firm by market valuation.

TATA MOTORS MULLS

4X4 DRIVE TECH IN ELECTRIC SUVs

However, inflation has been above the RBI’s up per tolerance level since January 2022 mainly due to adverse supply shocks

amid geopolitical tensions arising out of the RussiaUkraine war since late February.

Both the countries are key suppliers of foodgrains, edible oil, fertilisers and energy resources such as

INDIA WOOS US COMPANIES FOR OIL & GAS INVESTMENT

crude oil and natural gas.

Even as inflation has eased from its April peak of 7.8%, it remains at unac ceptably high levels, the cen tral bank said in the report.

The Reserve Bank of In dia projects the inflation to

Global factors, macroeconomic data to drive mkt

New Delhi (PTI): Equity market will be guided by global trends, macroeco nomic data announce ment and foreign fund movement in a holidayshortened week ahead, analysts said.

Movement of the rupee and Brent crude oil will also remain in focus this week, they added.

Even as the forecast for the next fiscal looks sooth ing, upside risks remain on a host of factors such as further ratcheting up of geopolitical tensions, high er crude and commodity prices, longer than expect ed supply chain disrup tions and escalation in global financial market volatility due to aggressive monetary policy actions.

GOVT ISSUES DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR LISTING OF RRBs; MINIMUM NET WORTH OF `300 CR REQUIRED

New Delhi (PTI): In a bid to enable regional rural banks (RRBs) to raise resources by listing on stock exchanges, the government has issued draft guidelines that set certain basic criteria, including net worth of at least `300 crore during the previ ous three years. They should also have capital adequacy above the regulatory minimum level of 9% in each of the preceding three years. The RRBs should have a track record of profitability and earned operating profit of minimum `15 crore for at least three out of the previous five years, according to the draft guidelines.

Enough food grain stock available in country to meet requirements: Govt

Petrol & diesel sales up in Sept

New Delhi: September has seen a rise in sales of petrol and diesel sales in India as economic activity picked up with the festivals on the cusp and the ending of the mon soon raised the demand, in dustry data showed.

New Delhi (PTI): Tata Motors is actively looking at introducing four wheel drive technology in elec tric versions of its sports utility vehicles going ahead. The home-grown auto major currently does not offer four wheel drive trims in any of its existing product range which in cludes models like Nexon, Harrier and Safari. The company aims to have a portfolio of ten electric products, a mix of exist ing nameplates and all new models, by 2025.

Tata Motors is looking at models above the Nexon range as possible candi dates for the four by four (4X4) upgrade.

POWER USE GROWS

13.31% TO 127.39 BN UNITS IN SEPT

Houston (PTI): Favourable geology, open data access, supporting policy regime and ease of doing business were the major drivers to attract potential US players to invest in India’s energy & petroleum growth wave.

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) Secretary Pankaj Jain, in his address to potential in vestors from over 50 com panies; oil and gas majors, financial institutions, pri vate equity firms, service providers and academi cians, made a strong pitch to investors interested in doing business with India. He discussed India’s

strength and role in the global energy ecosystem and highlighted India as the destination of energy opportunities. “India is the world’s 4th largest oil im porter and the demand is expected to rise driven by an increase in India’s per capita consumption of en ergy which currently stands at one-third of the global average. India wants to be the new destination for global energy players. Oil producers worldwide are eager to gain a foothold in India, where fuel de mand is expected to keep rising as the country’s economy grows,” he said.

“The bulls need some support from global mar kets to continue Friday’s momentum. The geopoliti cal situation, macro num bers from the USA, direc tion of the US dollar index, and bond yields will be key factors to watch out for at the global level,” Santosh Meena, of Swastika Invest mart Ltd, said.

New Delhi: The central government on Sunday said that there is enough quan tity of food grain stock available in the country and the prices of wheat, atta and rice are under control.

The Ministry of Con sumer Affairs, Food & Pub lic Distribution said the government regularly monitors the prices of es sential commodities and takes corrective measures whenever required. The government has extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMG

Consumer spending expected to be high

New Delhi (PTI): India’s power consumption grew 13.31% on an annual ba sis to 127.39 billion units (BU) in September 2022 and 11.65% during the first six months of this fiscal, as per government data. The double-digit growth highlights recov ery in economic activities following the pandemicinduced lockdown, ex perts said. They are also of the view that demand as well as consumption of electricity will increase due to the festive season.

New Delhi (PTI): Coming out of the pandemic, con sumers in India have ex pressed a strong desire to buy more discretionary products during the festive season, according to De loitte’s Global State of Con sumer Tracker.

Deloitte’s latest analysis indicates that consumers are willing to increase spend on both travel and hotel stays. They also in tend to buy either a new or used vehicle within the next six months.

“Despite concerns over inflation, the planned spending over the next

four weeks will see spike across age groups in all categories,” Deloitte said.

Consumers’ intent to purchase clothing, elec tronic and home furnish ing, and recreation, enter

tainment and leisure, indi cates a positive spending pattern triggered by the upcoming festive season.

“The survey findings clearly indicate that con sumers plan to increase

CONSUMERS’ INTENT

z Consumers’ intent to purchase clothing, electronic & home furnishing, & recreation, entertainment & leisure, indicates a positive spending pattern triggered by the festive season

their discretionary spend by 30% (on items such as recreation and entertain ment, restaurants, and lei sure travel) in August 2022, compared with April 2022,” it said.

KAY) for three months till December 2022 last week.

According to the minis try wheat and rice reported a decrease in retail and wholesale prices and the prices of atta remained sta ble during last week.

The government said it had taken proactive steps to avoid any further price rise and export regulations were imposed in the case of wheat and rice.

It added that prices of wheat and rice had gone up more or less, correspond ing to the minimum sup port prices (MSP) increase during the past 2-3 years.

The sales in petrol rise by 13.2% to 2.65 million tonnes in September in comparison to 2.34 million tonnes of consumption in September 2021.

Diesel posted a handsome 22.6% rise in sales in Sep tember to 5.99 million tonnes when compared to Septem ber last year.

The fuel, which had seen a near 5% drop in sales in August when compared to the previous month of July, saw demand rise 1.3% month-on-month.

Top 20% of consumers driving demand: UBS

Mumbai (PTI): That the rich got richer during the pandemic has become more evident with research data showing just 20% of the population are leading the discretionary con sumption wagon as the rest are still recovering.

The pandemic has not im pacted affluent consumers’ income levels in the country is clear from the fact that the top 20% of the popula tion account for the bulk of discretionary consumption – 59% in rural areas and 66% in urban areas, Tanvee Gupta-Jain, chief econo

mist at UBS Securities In dia, said in a report.

Citing an in-house UBS survey results, she says that the rich will continue to drive consumption de mand, with more than 70% of respondents anticipat ing their income will in crease in 2023.

First India Bureau

First India Bureau

TALENT IN THE HOOD

KAVITA CHAUHAN cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Aglance of glitz and glamour was wit nessed in the fashion festival of Rajasthan ‘Kota city Audition of the ninth chapter of Elite Miss Ra jasthan’. The grand Utsav of fashion was held at Mahesh wari Resort, Bundi Road in the beauti ful city of Rajasthan on Sunday.

On the strength of confidence, style and talent, the girls tried to present a great image of themselves in front of the judges. Out of all these girls, Kota audition round win ners, Priya Agarwal and Sonam Rathore made their place in the top 30. EMR founder and direc tor Gaurav Gaur, Kota City director Ayush Vijay, Anu priya Vijay along with supermodels Rutwi Tiwari, Na vya Tiwari, Tanu Chaudhary, Shrish ti Khatri and Van shika Bajaj were also present to ex amine all the par

ticipants in the au dition.

Director Ayush Vijay, who was pre sent to judge the tal ent of Kota, shared that in the mean time, after Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaipur, a free audition round was organ ised on a grand level on Sunday at Ma heshwari Resort on Bundi Road in Kota. During this, along with Kota, girls from areas like San got, Banswara and Pratapgarh dis played their skills. During which around 140 girls au ditioned through registration and onspot registration. All the selected girls in the show will get a chance to directly participate in the final round.

Before Jaipur, au ditions for Jodhpur, Kota and Jaipur di visions have been conducted. The cur tain will be lifted on all these top 30 final ists on October 10, while the finale of the show will be held in a grand manner in Jaipur on October 16.

CITY FIRST BRINGS TO YOU GLIMPSES FROM THE FASHION FESTIVAL OF RAJASTHAN KOTA CITY AUDITION OF THE NINTH CHAPTER OF ELITE MISS RAJASTHAN HELD AT MAHESHWARI RESORT, BUNDI ROAD ON SUNDAY!

Participants of Kota Auditions of Elite Miss Rajasthan

Gaurav Gaur and Rutwi Tiwari

Shaiviya Gautam, Vanshika Bajaj, Tanu Chaudhary, Gaurav Gaur, Ayush Vijay, Anukriya Vijay, Navya Tiwari, Shrishti Khatri and Rutwi Tiwari

Shrishti Khatri and Tanu Chaudhary

VISHRUTA SURESH BIYANI cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

GAIN WEIGHT IN A HEALTHY WAY WITH SUPERFOODS

The key to healthy weight gain lies not only in how much you eat but also in the food choices you make. Eating un healthy foods such as fries, desserts and junk food would result in an increase in fat mass, not lean muscle. Addition ally, it is a sure-shot way to create future health problems like hyperten sion, elevated cholester ol levels and diabetes. In order to nourish the body as well as gain weight in a healthy man ner, incorporate super foods that are proteinrich, and high in fibre. Foods like nuts, nut but ters, whole grains, eggs and cheese pack in a punch of both calories and nutrients and aid in healthy weight gain.

However, since they are calorie dense, eating these superfoods in moderation is recom mended, or else it will result in obesity and obesity-related ail ments. For gaining weight, experts recom mend 50% calories from carbohydrates, 25-30% calories from protein and the remaining 20-25 % calories from fats.

Along with making the correct food

TOP 7 TO GAIN WEIGHT IN A HEALTHY WAY

Potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, whole grain bread, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta and brown rice are high-carbohydrate foods with a negligible amount of fats and proteins. They are abundant in vitamins, miner als, fibre and antioxidants which benefit other body functions. Along with proteins, carbohydrates are vital for muscle building since carbohydrates have a protein-sparing effect. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin, which pushes amino acids into muscle cells to begin the process of muscle repair. In order to build muscle and gain weight, the body needs both calories and nutrients from these starchy foods. A cup of boiled corn kernels provides 143 calories, 31 grams of carbohydrate and 4 grams of fibre.

PEANUT BUTTER

Peanut butter brims with the goodness of healthy fats, vitamin E, fibre and protein.

An excellent source of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and oleic acid, it boosts HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) or good cholesterol levels and lowers LDL (LowDensity Lipoprotein) or bad cholesterol levels. Being a good source of skinfriendly nutrients like vitamin E, zinc and magnesium, peanut butter helps maintain smooth and supple skin. Peanut butter also aids muscle mass build-up. A tablespoon of peanut butter provides 94 calories with 8 grams of fat and 4 grams of protein.

In addition to being delicious, cheese is host to a bevvy of nutrients – protein, calcium, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and phosphorus. Being a rich source of calcium, cheese maintains bone health and lowers the risk of osteoporosis. The B-complex vitamins, zinc and vitamin A content in cheese assist in maintaining strong hair and healthy and glowing skin.

Cheese contains casein and whey protein that help the body build muscle. A slice of cheddar cheese provides 113 calories along with 9 grams of fat and 7 grams of

EGGS

ggs are a powerhouse of protein, zinc, vitamins A, D, B 12, phos phorus and folate. The high biological value of egg protein makes them a perfect post-workout food. Egg yolk is a source of omega-3 fats and choline which boost brain health. Additionally, it contains antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin which promote eye health. One large scrambled egg provides 90 calories, 6.7 grams of fat and 6.1 grams of protein.

E

D

ark chocolate improves blood flow, prevents the formation of blood clots and maintains a good lipid profile thus boosting cardiovascular health. Dark chocolate contains phenylethyl amine which has a positive effect on mood and cognitive health. The epicatechin and resveratrol compounds in dark chocolate possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. With 100 grams providing 546 calories along with 31 grams of fat, dark chocolate can serve as an occasional treat.

HERE IS A SAMPLE MEAL PLAN FOR HEALTHY WEIGHT GAIN:

Breakfast – Paneer paratha / Egg bhurji with chappati

Mid-Morning – A glass of fresh fruit juice

Lunch – Salad, brown rice and sprouts khichdi with curd Evening Snack – Peanut butter sandwich

BREAKFAST CEREALS

T

he combination of cereals with milk or yoghurt is the perfect way to start the day on a power-packed note with the right blend of carbohydrates, proteins and calcium. It is better to opt for dense, fibre-rich breakfast cereals such as granola or muesli over flaky or puffed cereals. Adding dried fruits and nuts like raisins, apricots, walnuts and almonds enhances the nutritional profile and calorie content significantly.

Late Evening Snack – Lentil and spinach soup Dinner – Whole wheat pasta with vegetables and cheese

Health Tips

Some tips to gain weight the healthy way:

Drink up your calories – Incorpo rate fresh fruit juices, smoothies, fruit milkshakes, and sugarcane juice as in-between fillers.

Rather than eating plain vegeta ble salads, mix in cottage cheese, flaxseeds, green peas, corn or lean meats and fat-based salad dressings like mayonnaise, thousand island dressing, and tahini (in modera tion).

Opt for lentil, split pea, black bean or minestrone soup instead of vegetable broths. Steer clear of cream-based soups since they are high in fat content, particularly saturated fat.

SUPERFOODS FOR HEALTHY WEIGHT GAIN: ENLISTED BELOW ARE SOME OF THE SUPERFOODS THAT PROMOTE HEALTHY WEIGHT GAIN

STARCHY FOODS

CHEESE

NUTS

DARK CHOCOLATE (70% COCOA OR HIGHER)

Nuts like walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, brazil nuts, pistachios and peanuts are some of the most nutrient-dense foods providing nutrients like B complex vitamins, vitamin E, healthy fats and antioxidants. Being high in protein and fibre, they play a significant role in maintaining stable blood glucose and lipid levels and are one of the

‘Running away from ALL THE NEGATIVITY’

R

ashmika Mandana is one of the fittest celeb rities in the entertain ment business at the moment. However, as they say, there is no gain without pain.

The Pushpa actress also spends considerable time in the gym to maintain a picture-perfect body. She also keeps on moti vating fans by dropping glimps es of her intense workout ses sion on social media. This time as well, the stunner posted an inspiring video on her Insta gram handle.

In the video, Rashmika Man danna can be seen burning calories on treadmill. Her post was captioned, "More like run ning away from all the negative be like." The actress opted for a black T-shirt and shorts for her time at the gym. Up next, Rash mika Mandanna will be seen

playing a crucial role in Am itabh Bachchan's Goodbye. Continuing her B-town trajec tory, she will be a part of Sid harth Malhotra's Mission Majnu, and Ranbir Kapoor's Animal.

KRITI heads to Ayodhya R

The much-anticipated teaser of Adipurush is slated to be un veiled today. The film stars Kriti Sanon, Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan, and Sunny Singh in key roles. Ever since this Om Raut directorial has been an nounced, the excitement of fans has raised a notch higher. The film is scheduled to release on January 12, 2023, in Telugu and Hindi, along with dubbed versions in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and other multiple Indian and International lan guages. It is reportedly one of the most expensive Indian films ever

Now, ahead of Adipurush's teaser launch, Kriti Sa non, Om Raut, and producer Bhushan Ku mar were clicked at the Mumbai airport as they head to Ayod hya in Uttar Pradesh. Along with the teaser, the first official poster of the film was also released on Sunday, on the Sarayu Riv er Bank in Uttarakhand.

‘LOVE GAZE’

icha Chadha and Ali Fazal are just days away from tying the knot. More inside pictures have emerged from Richa and Ali's Mehendi ceremony held at Del hi's Gymkhana Club recently.

For the occasion, Richa Chadha decked up in a custom-made threepiece lehenga set by Rahul

by Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla. A few days ago, they confirmed their wed ding through a voice message on Ins tagram. “Two years ago we formalized our union and just then the pandemic hit us all. Like the rest of the nation, we too were struck by personal trage dies one after the other. And now, as we all enjoy this window of respite, we are finally celebrating with our fami lies and friends. We are so so very touched and blessed by the love and blessings coming our way,” they said.

‘One day, my daughter will’

Priyanka Chopra re cently moder ated a discus sion with US Vice President Kamala Harris at the Wom en’s Leadership Fo rum conference in Washington DC. Tak ing to Instagram, the actress shared pho tos with the VP and also wrote a lengthy note on their talk and spoke about the im portance of voting rights and the in volvement of women in civic activities.

Calling it an hon our to moderate a discussion with Har ris, Chopra wrote,

"Since the very be ginning, the world has undermined the power of women. We’ve been shunned and silenced, but thanks to the scari fies and tenacity of so many selfless women, we are in a place today where we can come together and work collectively to right the wrongs.

This was a key takea way from the conver sation I had the hon our to moderate with Vice President, Ka mala Harris at the Women’s Leadership Forum conference in Washington DC last night."

Love & Laughter

A nushka Shar ma, who is cur rently in the UK, has an nounced a second schedule wrap of her upcoming film Chakda Xpress. The film is a sports biopic based on former Indian woman cricketer Jhulan Gos wami. It will stream on Netflix. Well, the mak ers have not announced the release date of the film till now. However, amid this, the actress also went on a fun play date with her daughter Vamika. She shared the video on her social me dia handle.

Taking to her Insta gram handle, Anushka wrote, “I was on a play date with my little girl and I was clearly doing most of the playing.” In the video, we can see the Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

actor wearing jeans paired with a white tee and lavender colour jacket, running to hide behind the huge book, and then after a few sec onds, she is coming out of the tunnel. Well, Va mika is not seen but she must be behind her mommy. Com ing to her wrap an nouncement, the actress shared a picture on her story and cap tioned it, “Schedule wrap.”

Rashmika Mandana

Her post...

Kriti Sanon Richa Chadha

Her post...

Priyanka Chopra

OM RAUT’S HEARTFELT NOTE

It was indeed a special day for the team of the movie that made his tory, Tanhaji: The Unsung War rior. The box office-shattering film that was loved by the audience was a recipient of not one, but 3 na tional awards namely, Best Popular Film, Best Costume Design (Na chiket Barve) and Best Actor (Ajay Devgn).

Director Om Raut who is cur rently gearing up for the massive release of the magnum opus film, Adipurush shared a heartfelt note on a momentous day. Raut affirmed that "It is not only the most prestig ious award that one can aspire to receive but also the one that recog nises the very best in the field of arts and culture. I am truly blessed and humbled and will use this hon our that is bestowed upon me."

Arjun is my Biggest Cheerleader: Malaika

ASHISH TIWARI cityfirst.mumbai@firstindia.co.in

Isha’s new avatar

Isha Koppikar Na rang is a re nowned actor and is gearing up to be next seen in her movie, ‘Love You Loktantra’ whose trailer has been re leased, showcasing Isha in a new neverseen-before avatar. Isha plays the role of a politician who as pires to become the Chief Min ister. Her char acter is a strongheaded woman, in charge of her own life and decisions. It depicts power and courage and she is seen as fearless in this season of Navratri, which it

self is a celebration of womanhood and women’s strength. Devotees pray to the nine avatars of the goddess through col ours that signify dif ferent moods and energies. Each day of the Navratri festi val has a dedicated colour and signifi cance attached to it. The nine col ours Orange, White, Red, Roy al Blue, Yellow, Pink, Grey, Purple and Pink signify En ergy, Purity, Fear lessness, Prosperity, Happiness, Growth, Strength, Power of intellect and Com passion respectively.

Malaika Arora and Arjun Ka poor aren’t shy about express ing their love for each other and in a recent inter view, Malaika said that the secret behind their love is their strong friendship. She added that Arjun is her big gest ‘cheerleader’.

made their relationship official on Instagram a few years back, and ever since then, they have been in the lime light. The lovebirds seldom fail to grab fans’ attention with their undeniable chemistry

Malaika talked about the best thing about her bond with her boyfriend Ar jun and said: "He is that not only that I bond with him, but he is also my best friend. It’s very impor

tant to love your best friend and fall in love with him. Arjun gets me, he understands me, he says it the way things are. I think we both are each other’s biggest cheerleaders as well. I can talk to him about anything and every thing under the sun. That’s the most impor tant bit about being in a relationship – you should be able to just be your true self and I can just be myself around Arjun."

When asked about ty ing the knot with Ar jun, she said, “I think

the constitution of mar riage is beautiful. At the same time, I don’t think you should rush into getting married be cause it is a social re quirement or pressure. Do it for the right rea sons. There are times when parents force you and people say that your ‘biological clock is ticking'. It is a beautiful institution if you are with the right person. When it comes to my marriage, I think I am not ready to answer it

just yet.”

Malla was earlier married to actor Arbaaz Khan and the two have a son Arhaan together. The actress also shared that, since their split, both have a better equa tion now and that they are way more mature.

The actress also opened up about her de cision to end their mar riage. She said, that she made a choice to put herself first and by do ing that, she is a much better person today. She now has a better rela tionship with her son; “he sees that I am much happier”.

Zalak praises RadhaKrishn

Star Bharat’s show Rad haKrishn is go ing to complete 4 years on the 4th of October which will also air now on a new time slot of 7:30 PM.

The show stars Sumedh Mudgalkar and Mallika Singh in lead roles as Krishn and Radha.

Apart from these two Zalak Desai who is a well-known face of the television industry plays a prominent character in the show.

Speaking about her role Zalak shares how this show has been an opportunity for her

and helped her in her acting career.

She says, “The show is very close to my heart has it’s been a journey for me to re member, as I initially auditioned for some other character in the show but due to some circumstances then it was put on hold and later, I was ap proached for a more important part and re auditioned for it and got selected for that role. I’m very happy that I’ve got a chance to be part of such a won derful show and play some amazing charac ters.

I WANT TO DO CHARACTER

DRIVEN ROLES: MALISHKA

It has been a week since actor and radio jockey Malishka Mendonsa’s new short film titled Parde Mein Rehne Do has released and since then there has been immense love and appreciation that has been pour ing out for the character Kuhu, played by Malishka.

Proving her acting mettle, the actor Malishka said, “This is the first time I am doing a full-fledged role where I am playing the lead char acter in the film. I’ve always wanted to be an actor and I am glad that with this film I’ve got the opportunity to showcase this talent and prove to eve ryone to be a bankable actor. My jour ney towards acting has just begun and I want to do versatile genres with character-driven roles."

The plot of the film Parde Mein Rehne Do revolve around the problem of body shaming and the negative ef fects it has on people, particularly young girls.

Saif Ali Khan opened up on being ‘reces sion-proof' amid eco nomic crisis said, “I don’t charge too much any way."

In an interview, Saif said, “I don’t think anything has changed for me post-pandem ic, even the pandemic wasn’t like an eye-opener for me, but I came across two types of people, some people who are okay with themselves, their lives and homes and books and music and locking down and all, then there where peo ple who weren’t, maybe who lived a more exterior life. I don’t know, but it wasn’t an eye-opener in a sense that oh this is what life is all about, spending time with family and all, I don’t know it was all the same for me."

Malaika Arora

Poster of the film...

President Droupadi Murmu felicitates Om Raut. Also seen is Anurag Thakur.

Malishka Mendonsa

Her post...

Saif Ali Khan

Zalak Desai

Sumedh and Mallika