First India-Delhi Edition-5th October 2022

CONG NO LONGER HEADS PARLIAMENT PANELS ON HOME, IT

New Delhi: In a major rejig, the Congress has lost chairmanship of the Parliamentary panel on Home and IT while TMC has not been given chairmanship of any panel. Cong MP Jairam Ramesh is Chairman of Parl Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

BHARAT JODO YATRA ON 2-DAY REST FROM TUE

New Delhi: The Congress Party on Tuesday extended wishes on the occassion of Navami and said that Bharat Jodo Yatra, much like Dussehra, is a fight of good versus evil. #BharatJodoYatra too is a fight of good versus evil. And we will be back soon to fight & win, INC took to Twitter on Tuesday.

BOMBAY HIGH COURT GRANTS BAIL TO ANIL DESHMUKH

‘MEASURES PUT IN PLACE TO

WITH CHINESE ACTIVITIES’

‘UP Ke Mann Ki Baat with Agra’ organised by Bharat24 and First India

Shubham Dubey and Deepak Kaushik

Agra: Bharat24 and First India News chan nel held the grand event of UP Ke Mann Ki Baat at Agra on Tuesday. Union Minis ter of State for Law and Justice Professor SP Singh Baghel was the chief guest. CEO and Editor-in-Chief Bharat24 and CMD 1st India Channel Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, Na tional President of BJP Kisan Morcha and MP Fatehpur Sikri Rajku mar Chahar, Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Manish Asija and other renowned leaders and

individuals were pre sent. During the pro gramme, social work ers and eminent per sonalities spoke on ed

ucation, health and other issues in Agra. All the sponsors and all the intellectuals, social workers, litterateurs

10 DEAD AFTER AVALANCHE IN DANDA-2 PEAK

8 of the trapped mountaineering trainees rescued

First India Bureau

Dehradun: A total of 10 bodies have been recov ered from Draupadi’s Danda-2 mountain peak in Uttarakhand after an avalanche trapped over 20 people. They were all a part of a trekking group of 40 from Ut tarkashi’s Nehru Insti tute of Mountaineering, including 33 trainees and seven instructors. A total of 18 people are still missing.

The avalanche hit the team at 9 am at an alti tude of 16,000 feet. The state disaster response force and national dis aster response force were rushed to the spot to locate the group and rescue them.

Rapid relief and res cue operations are be ing carried out by the district administration, NDRF, SDRF, Army and ITBP personnel to res cue the mountaineers trapped in avalanche.

Rapid, relief and rescue opera tions underway by the district administration. I have requested the Army to speed up the rescue operation.

—Pushkar Singh Dhami, Uttarakhand CM

ANGUISHED BY THE LIVES LOST, SAYS DEFENCE MINISTER SINGH

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also expressed grief over incident and said “anguished by lives lost”. He also said that he spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister and took stock of situation.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also assured that rescue operations are underway to help mountaineers who are still trapped.

11 KILLED, 4 INJURED IN AUTO, TRUCK COLLISION

and officials of Agra city were present. Doc tors and other dignitar ies were felicitated in the event.

Big Media to get bigger with Sony-Zee merger

New Delhi: Setting the stage for creating one of the largest media groups in the country, the megamerger deal between Sony and Zee on Tues day received “condition al” approval from the Competition Commis sion of India (CCI).

The deal, announced in September last year, got the nod after the regulator accepted “vol untary remedies” pro posed by the parties. In a tweet, the CCI said it has cleared the deal

PM MODI SPEAKS TO ZELENSKYY

with certain modifica tions.

ZEE said CCI has granted the approval in phase-1 after evaluating the official legal and economic submissions made by the company.

Most of the deals get cleared by CCI in phase-1 and only if

MORE IN THE KITTY

The combined entity will own over 70 TV channels, 2 video streaming services (ZEE5 and Sony LIV) and two film studios (Zee Studios and Sony Pictures Films India), making it the largest enter tainment network in India.

there are serious con cerns then the deal con cerned is put up for public scrutiny under phase 2. In a separate statement, Sony Pic tures Networks India said it is delighted to receive CCI approval for the merger.

Cops arrest domestic help, say he is the main accused

Srinagar: Hours after J&K DGP (Prisons) He mant Kumar Lohia was

New Delhi: PM Naren dra Modi on Tuesday had telecon with Ukrain ian President Volody myr Zelenskyy. PM reit erated

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Tuesday granted bail to former home minister Anil Deshmukh in the moneylaundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), saying that the statement given by dismissed assistant inspector Sachin Waze could not be relied on.

RADIO RULES

New Delhi: The govt has approved amendments of certain provisions contained in the policy guidelines on expansion of FM radio broadcasting services through private agencies (Phase-III), referred to as private FM phase-III policy guidelines. A statement was issued in this regard on Tuesday.

murdered

at

in

of Jammu.

Three

share Nobel prize

Physics

AMIT SHAH’S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT IN J&K

Quota for Gujjars, Bakarwals, Paharis

Woman lawyer booked for hurling abuses at govt advocate

Alain As pect, John F Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger

Nobel

work

Rajouri/Jammu: Un ion Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday declared at Rajouri in J&K that Pahari com munity will soon get reservation in educa tion and jobs as ST — a pre-election promise aimed at widening BJP’s support base. If implemented, this quo ta will be the first in stance of a linguistic group earning reserva tion in India. The Cen tre will have to amend the Reservations Act in Parliament for it.

“The GD Sharma

commission set up by the government has sent the report and rec ommended reservation for Gujjar, Bakarwal and Pahari communi ties. It will be given soon,” Shah said at a rally that marked the start of the BJP’s campaign for elections likely next year.

He claimed such res ervation became possi ble only after the spe cial status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 was struck down by the Modi gov ernment. More on P5

Gurugram (PTI): A woman lawyer has been booked for abusing and assaulting an Assistant District Attorney (ADA) at a court here, police said on Tuesday.

An FIR was earlier filed against the same woman lawyer for alleg edly threatening to frame the ADA in a fake rape case and trying to extort from him Rs 10 lakh. The woman in her turn too had accused ADA Himanshu Yadav of raping her inside a hotel room.

First India Bureau

Amit Shah with Dr Jitendra Singh, Manoj Sinha and other dignitaries during a public rally in Rajouri. (Top) Amit Shah offers prayers at Mata Vaishno Devi Mandir in Katra on Tuesday.

Professor SP Singh Baghel lighting the lamp as Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, Manish Asija and Shishir Awasthi look on during the grand event ‘UP Ke Mann Ki Baat’ held in Agra on Tuesday.

SDRF teams leave from Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun during rescue of over 30 mountaineering trainees trapped in an avalanche in Draupadi’s Danda-2 mountain peak, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

MP Fatehpur Sikri Rajkumar Chahar addressing the audience.

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra addressing the conclave in Agra on Tuesday.

Union MoS of Law & Justice Prof SP Singh Baghel addressing event.

J&K

Hemant

Vehicle owners sans PUC certificate may face action

Transport dept warns owners of suspension of registration if they do not get certificates within a week

First India Bureau

New Delhi: In order to reduce vehicular pollu tion in the national cap ital, the transport de partment of Delhi gov ernment has asked the vehicle owners to carry valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) certificate to avoid punitive actions.

The department is issu ing notices to owners whose vehicles do not

Undertrial in murder case skips bail, arrested

have a valid PUCC, warning that if they do not get the PUC certifi cate in a week, their reg istration certificates may be suspended.

“There are around 19 lakh vehicles without valid PUCC but there is

no technology to know whether such vehicles are coming on the roads. So, the enforcement teams have been formed to carry out checks. SMSes are also being sent to owners warning them that their registra

tion certificates may be suspended if they do not get a valid PUCC within a week," said a top transport depart ment official.

Vehicles are periodi cally tested for their emission standards for

SAGAR DHANKAR CASE

CHECKING FEES

AIIMS bans cell phone use by OPD registration staff

New Delhi (PTI): AIIMS Delhi has issued an order prohibiting the use of mobile phones by outsourced employees at outpatient department (OPD) reg istration counters dur ing their duty hours from October 16, citing that such practices cause delay in service delivery and inconven ience to patients.

various pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon diox ide (CO2) after which they are given PUC certificates.

There are over 900 pollution checking cen tres in Delhi. These are set up at petrol pumps and workshops spread all over the city so mo torists can get it done easily.

DELHI POLICE GETS FSL REPORT

India Bureau

OLYMPIAN SUSHIL AMOND ACCUSED

New Delhi (PTI):

A 24-year-old man who allegedly jumped bail from Kanpur in a mur der case was ar rested from south Delhi's Mehrauli area, police said on Tuesday.

A non-bailable warrant was also issued against the accused, Sumit Nigam, a resident of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, they said.

Deputy Commis sioner of Police (South) Chandan Chowdhary said they received a tipoff regarding Nig am and traced his location to Meh rauli.

A police team laid a trap near the apartment where he was hiding and apprehended him, the officer said.

After the ac cused confessed that he had jumped bail and was hid ing in Mehrauli, Delhi police hand ed him over to offi cials of Uttar Pradesh police.

New Delhi: The Delhi Police informed the Ro hini District Court that the Forensic Science Lab (FSL) report in the Sagar Dhankar murder case has been received. The report was pending for more than a year.

The police will file the report in the form of a Supplementary charge sheet. The court has reserved the order on charge on Oc tober 1. Additional Ses sions Judge Shivaji Anand was informed by the Investigation Of ficer (IO) that the FSL result has been re ceived and sanction has also been obtained but he needs some time to scrutinize the same and file the same in the form of a supplemen tary charge sheet.

The court has direct

ed IO to file the same at the earliest, court order of September 30 read.

This case was pend ing at the stage of argu ment on charge since October 2021 as the FSL report was awaited.

The sanction under Arms Act had also not been filed. On Septem ber 8, the IO informed the court that the FSL report and sanction un

der Arms Act are pend ing for more than a year.

While allowing the early hearing applica tion the Court observed, “Almost one year has gone but neither the FSL nor Sanction u/s 39 Arms Act has been filed on record.”

The Court had also said that as there are 17 accused persons and ar guments on the charge

may take considerable time, it will be beneficial for all the parties if pri or to submission of sanction/FSL report at least arguments on charge are heard.

The Counsel for ac cused Ajay Kumar sub mitted that the case is pending at the stage of arguments on charge since October 2021.

The Non-filing of FSL and non-framing of charges in the case have been causing grave prej udice to the accused persons and the same is depriving the accused persons of their right to a speedy trial. Though, it was submitted by the Additional public pros ecutor (APP) that as FSL reports have not been received yet, there fore, arguments on charge should not be conducted.

According to a series of orders issued by the new AIIMS Director Dr M Srinivas on Monday, the administration has also decided to deploy 50 more additional bat tery-powered buses, be sides the existing fleet, via CSR contributions for transporting pa tients and attendants and other support staff within the institute.

According to the or der, outsourced employ ees at OPD registration counters will have to deposit their cell phones in a safe box provided by respective area in-charges before starting their shift duty.

It has been noticed that the outsourced staff working at the OPD registration counters are often using mobiles while patients are waiting in queue

CBI books former railways honcho in corruption case

New Delhi (PTI): The CBI has booked former CMD of Rail Vikas Nig am Ltd Satish Agni hotri on the orders of Lokpal for allegedly fa vouring a private com pany by illegally divert ing Rs 1,100 crore of government money to it, officials said Tuesday.

Agnihotri was last year appointed as man aging director, National High Speed Railway Corporation Ltd (NHSR CL), which is handling the government's pres tigious bullet train pro ject, post his retirement from Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL).

He was sacked in July this year after the Lok pal ordered a CBI probe

HC quashes stalking case as woman wants quietus

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court has agreed to quash a stalk ing case against a man after the complainant woman said she does not wish to pursue it and ordered him to pay `30,000 as cost.

The high court said since the parties have arrived at a settlement and no disputes are pending, it is convinced that quashing such pro

ceedings on account of compromise will bring about peace and secure ends of justice.

"This should not be treated as a legal prec edent and in this case the proceedings are quashed as the respond ent has decided to put a quietus to the matter.

"The court does not see any fruitful purpose if criminal proceedings are permitted to be

The HC said that it is convinced that quashing such proceedings on account of compromise will bring about peace and secure ends of justice

prosecuted any further. It is a fit case for quash ing. In this view of the matter, there is no rea son to continue the pro ceedings," Justice Jas meet Singh said in a recent order.

EC VIOLATION

However, the judge said he was of the view that considerable time of the police and judici ary has been wasted, as the FIR is of 2020 and charge sheet has al ready been filed.

"The police machin ery has been put in mo tion on account of the acts of commission and omission on behalf of the parties and useful time of the police which could have been utilised for important matters has been misdirected towards this case. Hence, the petitioner (man) must do some so cial good," the high court said.

NGT directs Noida builder to pay `15 crore

lll Green panel asks Express Builders and Promoters Private Limited to pay compensation for constructing extra floors in Sector

New Delhi (PTI): The National Green Tribu nal has directed a build er in Noida to pay a compensation of ` 15 crore for building extra floors in violation of the environmental clearance (EC) condi tions, saying it placed an extra pollution load on the environment.

The green panel was hearing a petition against the violation of EC conditions by Ex press Builders and Pro moters Private Limited

in constructing ‘Express Zenith’ at Sector 77.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Jus tice A K Goel said it was established while EC was granted for ground

plus 18 floors, the build er had constructed ground plus 19 floors in five towers.

The bench compris ing Justice Sudhir Agar wal and expert mem

bers A Senthil Vel and Afroz Ahmad, said the construction of extra floors placed an extra pollution load on the en vironment and the builder was accountable for paying deterrent compensation on the ‘Polluter Pays’ princi ple. “Having regard to the situation that the 19th Floors in five tow ers have been sold and occupied and the demo lition will affect third party rights, we consid er it appropriate to levy

compensation with de terrent element,” the bench said.

The bench further said: “We quantify the same at `15 crore, being 10% of the project cost as per estimate in the EC, though actual value may be more.” The pan el directed that the com pensation be deposited with DM, Gautam Budh Nagar, within one month, and after one month, recovery could be effected by permissi ble coercive measures.

against him, the offi cials said.

The CBI has also booked alleged benefi ciary private company Krishnapatnam Rail Co Ltd (KRCL) in the case registered under IPC section 120-B related to alleged criminal con spiracy and provisions of Prevention of Cor ruption Act, they said.

The CBI has registered the case on the orders of the Lokpal.

LCD TV bursts, kills boy in Ghaziabad

Ghaziabad: A 16-yearold boy was killed and two others were injured on Tuesday when a wallmounted LCD TV ex ploded, police said. The boy, Omendra, was watching a show on the TV at the house of his friend, Karan, in Harsh Vihar colony, when it exploded with a loud bang, SP City (second) Gyanendra Singh said. Karan's mother, Om vati, who was also work ing in the same room, was also injured in the blast. The three were rushed to GTB hospital in Delhi where the doc tors declared Omendra brought dead.

Woman hospitalised after being attacked by chain snatcher

New Delhi (PTI): A 35-year-woman was in jured after being attacked on her face and back with a knife allegedly by a man who robbed her gold chain and fled the spot on a motorcycle, the Delhi Police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Monday around 5.30 pm in northeast Delhi's Bhajanpura area, police said. The woman, a resident of west Ghonda in Delhi, was returning to her home from Faridabad with her five-year-old son in a rickshaw. After getting down from the rick shaw, while she was heading towards her home, she was attacked from behind by a man.

She alleged in her statement that the man attacked her in his bid to snatch her gold chain. But resisting his attempt, she held her chain tight. However, he took out a knife and attacked her on her face and back, a senior police officer said. The accused robbed the woman of her gold chain and ran away on the street and fled the spot with his accomplice who was waiting a few metres away on his motorcycle, he said.

Later, her brother took her to a hospital, he added. A case has been registered under sec tions 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in commit ting robbery) 326 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, police said, adding further investigation is underway to nab the accused.

CCTV cameras installed in and around the vicinity of the crime scene are being analysed to identify the suspects and ascertain the se quence of events that unfolded on the day of the incident, police said.

Vehicles are periodically tested for their emission standards for various pollutants.

by new

Dr M Srinivas

Saxena asks

jurists among complainants

New Delhi (ANI):

Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Tuesday asked the Chief Secre tary to inquire into the alleged "irregularities and discrepancies" in the power subsidy given by the Aam Aadmi Par ty (AAP) government to the BSES discoms.

LG Saxena has sought the report for the aforesaid matter in seven days. Delhi LG has taken the step after receiving a complaint raising several issues of alleged impropriety and discrepancies in the power subsidy mat ter by the Spokesperson of AAP and Vice Chair person of Dialog and Development Commis sion of Delhi (DDC) Jasmine Shah and AAP MP ND Gupta’s son Naveen Gupta.

The complainants-collective of eminent lawyers, jurists and law professionals-- have al leged that earlier Sen ior Government offic ers of the Delhi Gov ernment were nomi nated as Directors on the Board of Directors of BSES Rajdhani Pow er Ltd (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd (BYPL) to repre

‘ Irregularities’ in power subsidy: LG orders probe

THE COMPLAINT SAYS...

The complaint alleged the government has agreed to settle the dues against future pay ments to be made to the companies in the shape of subsidy reimbursements for supposedly free power they provided to consumers, which amounted to Rs 11,550 crore that is being settled as reimbursements.They said that the Delhi government also “unduly” allowed distribu tion companies (DISCOMS) to charge Late Pay ment Surcharge (LPSC) at a rate of 18 per cent from the people and paying the same at a rate of 12 per cent only to the Delhi Government owned Power Generation Companies, in the process providing a windfall gain of Rs 8,500 crore at the cost of the state exchequer.

Court sends four PFI members to police custody

sent the Delhi Govern ment (as it owns 49 per cent shares of BYPL and BRPL) so that in terests of the Delhi Government are pro tected, an official noti fication read.

The complainants further alleged that the AAP appointed active political functionaries of its party, viz. Jas mine Shah, Naveen ND Gupta, as nominee Di rectors on the Board of Directors of BRPL and BYPL, so that this exer cise of swindling pub lic money in collusion with these two Anil Ambani-owned compa nies (BRPL and BYPL) could be carried out

Guj in favour of power subsidy, BJP trying to stop it in Delhi: CM

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Attacking the BJP-led govenment at the Centre, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the people of Gujarat liked AAP's free electricity scheme, which was why the BJP was obstructing the same in the national capital.

Kejriwal tweeted this soon after Delhi Lieu tenant Governor VK Saxena directed the chief secretary to con duct an enquiry over the alleged non-imple mentation of power subsidy payment to con sumers through DBT as was ordered by the Del hi Electricity Regulato ry Commission (DERC) in 2018, sources said. Kejriwal in a tweet in Hindi said, "Gujarat is

...you are sucking peo ple's blood...if I give some relief to my people ... that too will not be tolerated by you?

—Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister, Delhi

liking AAP's guarantee of giving free electrici ty. That's why the BJP wants to stop it in Del hi."

The CM said he will "not allow this to hap pen under any circum stances".

He further said, "Peo ple of Delhi, have faith... People of Guja rat, I assure you that if the government is formed, your electricity will also be free from March 1."

without any interven tion of Government Servants.

The complainants have also alleged the AAP in a ‘classic case of corruption’ by men tioning in their com plaint that the Delhi government has got into a "cozy deal" with BRPL and BYPL in stead of recovering its outstanding dues of Rs 21,250 crore for default in payment for power purchased by the de faulting vendor DIS COMS (BRPL and BYPL) from Stateowned Power Genera tion Companies, and debarring it from fur ther business in Delhi.

PROBES UNCONSTITUTIONAL: SISODIA

New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday wrote to LG VK Sax ena, accusing him of bypassing the elected government in Delhi and ordering inquir ies into its works in a "politically motivated and unconstitutional" manner.

Sisodia's attack came hours after Saxena directed Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to con duct a probe into the alleged irregulari ties in in the AAP government's power subsidy

scheme, and submit a report within seven days.

The AAP leader said the LG has no power to issue orders on any matters concerning the Delhi government

except for land, police, and law and order.

Stating the LG has been regularly ordering probes into decisions taken by the elected government in Delhi, Sisodia alleged these inquiries were "illegal and unconstitutional".

Nothing has come out of the probe into the "so-called" bus procure ment scam, school scam, liquor scam, but it weakens the morale of officers, Sisodia said, and urged the LG to work "according to the Constitution".

New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court Tuesday sent four Popular Front of India (PFI) members, arrested under the stringent Unlawful Ac tivities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), to three days’ police custody for inter rogation.

Metropolitan Magis trate Bhavaya Karhail handed the custody of Md Shoaib, Habib As gar Jamali, Abdul Rabb and Waris to Delhi po lice till October 7.

The police produced the four before the court seeking their remand, claiming their custody was required to unearth the larger conspiracy.

The accused were ar rested by Delhi Police under UAPA and vari ous provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

UAPA CHARGES

on September 29. An FIR was lodged at Shaheen Bagh Police Station accusing them of indulging in anti-In dia activities at the PFI’s offices located within its jurisdiction.

The Centre imposed a five year nation-wide ban on the PFI last Tues day. Hundreds of PFI activists were arrested in a massive crackdown in several states before the ban was imposed.

The Delhi Police, too, had raided 50 locations and arrested 32 alleged PFI activists.

Winter is in: Heavy snowfall in higher reaches of U’khand

Pithoragarh (ANI):

The last outpost near the China border in the Darma Valley of Utta rakhand received the third snowfall of this season.

As there has been more than one foot of snow here, the cold has increased in 14 villages of Darma valley and seven villages of Vyas valley in the high Hima layan region.

The Darma Valley, the last outpost near the China border, has re ceived about 1 foot of snow in the low-lying area and more than four feet of snowfall in the mountains at an al titude of 17,500 feet. In extreme circumstances, security force person nel are engaged in pro tecting the border from the last checkpoints. When the weather cleared on Monday, the security forces pa trolled the border.

More than one foot of

than 10,000 feet in Dar ma Valley. Due to the snowfall of October 2, 14 villages in the high Himalayan Darma val ley and seven villages in the Beas valley have caused bitter cold.

HEMKUND SAHIB DOORS TO BE CLOSED OCT 10

Chamoli (ANI): Hemkund Sahib, situ ated at an altitude of 15225 feet, received up to two inches of snow, dropping the tempera ture here to minus.

Hemkund Sahib has been covered with a white sheet of snow as snowfall started in high-altitude areas due to changes in weather and rain. Af ter the bad weather in high-altitude places, it is continuously snowing. Sikh devo tees are taking a dip in this holy lake in the bitter cold as the por tals of Gurudwara would be closed on Oc tober 10.

will be closed on Octo ber 10, this year.

The doors will be closed at 1.00 pm on October 10.

snowfall has also oc curred in Dhaka and Bidang Chowki located at an altitude of more

In both the valleys, people have also started harvesting palti, paffar and other crops. People from both the valleys will start coming to the lower valley from the first week of November.

TOUGH ROAD TO RECOVERY

Shri Hemkunt Sa hib Trust Vice Presi dent Narendra Jeet Bindra earlier in formed us that the portals of Gurudwara

Ever since the open ing of its doors on May 22, the Gurud wara observed 2,15,000 devotees visit ing it so far. Hemkund Sahib is considered to be the fifth Dham of Uttarakhand.

The Gurudwara management trust has further urged the visitors and devotees

to plan their pilgrim age according to the schedule. This Gurud wara is one of the most revered Sikh pil grimage sites.

Hemkunt Sahib (also known as Hem kund Sahib) is visited by thousands of devo tees from all over the globe every summer. The Gurudwara is situated beside a lake and it is believed that the 10th Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh had meditated at the site.

Dussehra brings little cheer for effigy makers as demand slumps

New Delhi: The pave ment is lined with giant Ravana heads in pinks, yellows and blues, a cheerful shoutout to the first Dussehra celebra tion after more than two years of Covid. But all is not what it seems.

The road to recovery, say the artisans who craft the effigies that form the centrepiece of festivities, is potholed and difficult.

A day ahead of Dussehra, when effigies of the demon king, his brother Kumbhkaran

and son Meghnad go up in flames in a symbol of the triumph of good over evil, Delhi’s Titar pur village is distinctly festive with colourful effigies ready to be shipped across the country. Scratch the surface, however, and the despondency is evi dent. Things are better but a far cry from what they used to be.

“Some years ago, I would make as many as 100 effigies for the festi val. This year I am mak ing only 21. With nei ther margin nor de mand, there is no rea

MULTIPLE REASONS

creasing levels of pollu tion and the ban on crackers have meant that the demand for the effigies has steadily dipped. The street is qui eter and the crowds thin ner. The effigies, height ranging from three feet to 50 feet, take almost six to seven hours to com plete and cost around Rs 500-Rs 700 per foot.

Pal, a taxi driver in Panipat, takes satisfac tion in the fact that he’ll be able to make at least some money and get to paint his home, a task pending for the last cou ple of years.

son or motivation for me to increase the count,” 73-year-old Ma hendra Pal, who has been in the business of making effigies for the past 45 years, said.

The pandemic, in

There are just not as many takers as earlier.

The “effigy commu nity” has slashed pro duction from almost 60100 pieces per vendor in pre-Covid times to 20-30 pieces now.

“Yes, it is much better than the pandemic when I could barely sell any effigies other than the few I made to be sent to Ayodhya. But sales and demand are just not enough for me to be re ally happy,” he said.

“We aren’t sure about the demand this year,” Mahinder Kumar said arranging an effigy.

The tussle between LG VK Saxena (L) and Delhi CM Kejriwal is only worsening with time. —FILE PHOTO

Manik Gupta

A view of the snow-clad mountains of the Darma Valley as the higher reaches of Uttarakhand receive heavy snowfall, in Pithoragarh on Tuesday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

Members of PFI being produced to Patiala court in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

DURGA PUJA: NOT ONLY RELIGION, BUT REALISING IT’S ECONOMIC IMPACT

Rs 25,000 crore and esti mated that it was growing by around 35 per cent. If we consider this, the puja industry now should touch around Rs 70,000 crore. We need a proper study to as sess the value of the puja economy,” he said.

Armed with the UNESCO tag of the Indian Cultural Heritage, Durga Puja, to day is one of the epicen tres of the biggest (in terms of people involve ment and money matters) industries which spins around and produces a market worth thousands of crores of rupees and provides jobs directly and indirectly to thousands of skilled and unskilled la bour in West Bengal.

After the UNESCO rec ognition, it is time we co ordinated better and show cased this biggest festival as the biggest job opportu nity for thousands.

The industries which flourish due to Durga Puja include, idol-making, pan dal, illumination and lighting, food and bever ages, publishing, tourism industry and advertising revenue.

Also, the five-day festi val involves people from different sectors — the skilled and unskilled sec tors and they are electri cians, security guards, priests, dhakis, labourers associated with idol trans portation, and those linked with the arrangement of ‘bhog’ (food offered to the Goddess) and catering.

We commissioned research for the WB government that estimated the total value of creative industries around Durga Puja in the state in 2019 at around Rs 33,000 crore (USD 4.5 billion). It established 2 things — a baseline value for similar research in the future and a methodology for carrying out similar research for other festivals or indeed, the whole creative economy of WB, and in other states too.

—Debanjan Chakrabarti, Director, British Council, East and Northeast India

“Not only the core Durga puja activities, but also fashion, textiles, footwear, cosmetics and retail sectors get a boost by the buyingspree of people, while lit erature and publishing, tour, travel, hotel and res taurant and film and enter tainment businesses enjoy a sudden bump in sales dur ing the Durga Puja festivi ties,” said Forum For Dur gotsab (FFD), president, Kajal Sarkar to PTI. FFD is an umbrella organisation of 400 community pujas.

“Our guesstimation is that transactions around the festival could be up to Rs 50,000 crore this year,” he said.

“After two years of the pandemic, revellers, this time, have been taking to pandal hopping with re

SALES DURING DURGA PUJA FESTIVITIES BOOST TOUR, TRAVEL, HOTEL AND MORE...

“Compared to the length and breadth of Durga Pu jas, we are sure that its contribution to the state economy is either at par or bigger than the contribu tion of Rio de Janeiro car nival to the Brazilian city’s economy, and the cherry blossom festival in Japan,” Sarkar, a former professor at Presidency University.

“N

ot only the core Durga puja ac tivities, but also fashion, textiles, footwear, cosmetics and retail sectors get a boost by the buying-spree of peo ple, while literature and publishing, tour, travel, hotel and restaurant and film and entertainment businesses enjoy a sud den bump in sales during the Durga Puja festivities,” said Forum For Durgotsab (FFD), President, Kajal Sarkar to PTI. FFD is an umbrella organisation of 400 com munity pujas. “Our guesstimation is that transactions around the festival could be up to `50,000 crore this year,” he said.

ARMED WITH THE UNESCO TAG OF THE INDIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE, DURGA PUJA, TODAY IS ONE OF THE EPICENTRES OF THE BIGGEST (IN TERMS OF PEOPLE INVOLVEMENT AND MONEY MATTERS) INDUSTRIES WHICH SPINS AROUND AND PRODUCES A MARKET WORTH THOUSANDS OF CRORES OF RUPEES AND PROVIDES JOBS DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY TO THOUSANDS OF SKILLED AND UNSKILLED LABOUR IN WEST BENGAL

newed fervour, while the corporates are also liberal this time for sponsorship, and their spending is at least Rs 500 crore. The en thusiasm among people around the festival is the unique selling proposi tion,” said Sarkar.

Before Durga Puja be came a national symbol, it was a marker of pride and a class for the merchants of Bengal in the 18th century. Gradually, it became more widespread and, by the 20th century, it gained popular ity at the community and

national levels. This in volved the public organisa tion of Durga Puja in Pan dals or temporary sheds used for public meetings.

WHAT IS INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE?

According to Unesco, cul tural heritage does not end at monuments or cultural objects. It also goes on to include traditions that people inherit from their ancestors like oral tradi tions, performing arts, so cial practices, rituals, fes tive events or knowledge

and skills to produce tradi tional crafts.

In the wake of growing globalisation, Unesco says that intangible cultural heritage is an important factor to maintain cultural diversity. An ability to un derstand intangible cultur al heritage helps different communities to engage in intercultural dialogue and encourages mutual respect for different ways of life.

The intangible cultural heritage list tries to safe guard elements that re quire urgent measures to

THE WORRY THAT DELHI AIR CAUSES

Delhi’s air quali ty has been a constant cause of concern. De spite several ef forts there has been no im provement, especially dur ing winters. The only time the air quality showed sig nificant improvement was during the pandemic. As per a survey of 1650 coun tries by the World Health Organisation, Delhi’s air quality is among the worst.

An estimated 2 million people die in Delhi every year because of air pollu tion. Almost an equal num ber of people are left with damaged lungs.

The air quality worsens drastically between Octo

ber and February. The main cause for the deterio ration was identified as stubble burning, besides vehicle pollution and the winter cold. Once Covid-19 passed, it again slipped to

the severe category.

As October has started there is a worry about how bad the air pollution will be in these winter months.

The Delhi government has outlined a 15-point Winter

As October has started, there is a worry about how bad the air pollution will be in these winter months. The Delhi government has outlined a 15-point Winter Action Plan to ensure that the air remains breathable. The most important part of the plan is managing stubble

Action Plan to ensure that the air remains breatha ble. The most important part of the plan is manag ing stubble. Instead of be ing burnt, Pusa bio-decom poser will be sprayed on

stubble on about 5000 acres. If the government is able to achieve that target pollution level can be sig nificantly brought down.

The other plan to curb pollution includes install ing 233 anti-smog guns and 150 mobile anti-smog guns which spray atom ized water to lower pollu tion. A team of scientists will be in place to monitor the situation real time.

Burning of garbage, of which there’s an endless mound near Delhi, will also require close moni toring. These are strong measures and should low er air pollution, provided there is sincerity in imple mentation.

keep them alive. The list also helps to mobilise in ternational support and cooperation for stakehold ers to undertake safe guarding measures.

COMING BACK TO THE MONEY MATTERS Economist Debnarayan Sarkar feels that Durga Puja is a consumption-led activity and has a multi plier effect on the state’s gross domestic product.

“An Assocham study in 2013 showed the size of the Durga Puja industry was

“The grandeur around the festival involves trans actions of not less than Rs 40,000 crore and provides employment to at least twothree lakh people across the state as the activities for the festivities begin three-four months ahead,” said Partho Ghosh, the chairman of FFD.

The puja committees act as facilitators of micro-econ omy, said Ghosh, who has been associated with com munity puja for 52 years.

The British Council conducted a study, map ping the creative economy around Durga Puja 2019, which showed that Durga Puja accounts for 2.58 per cent of the state GDP.

“We commissioned re search for the West Bengal government that estimated the total value of creative industries around Durga Puja in the state in 2019 at around Rs 33,000 crore (USD 4.5 billion). It estab lished two things — a base line value for similar re search in the future and a methodology for carrying out similar research for other festivals or indeed, the whole creative econo my of West Bengal, and in other states too,” British Council, East and North east India, director Deban jan Chakrabarti said.

It is time we realize the magnanimity of Durga Puja and plan the whole operations more profes sionally to attract global tourists and make it more saleable to the world and a global event to attract global tourists to increase its economic impact.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. Buddha

Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda Big boost to our combat prowess! The Indian Air Force inducted the first batch of indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopters, named Prachand, that are capable of firing a range of missiles and other weapons. It’s an occasion reflecting our capability in defence production.

Narendra Modi @narendramodi Bringing back the ashes of Shyamji Krishna Varma is one of the most special moments of my life. The fervour and pride it generated across the nation was unimaginable, particularly among the youth.

TOP TWEETS

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

To

Cheers and slogans echo at Amit Shah’s rally in Rajouri

Rajouri (ANI): Union Home Minister and Minister of Coopera

tion Amit Shah ad dressed a public rally in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

He also took a jibe at the Opposition over their stance on the ab rogation of Article 370. He claimed such reser vation became possible only after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 was struck down.

“Today’s rally in Jam mu and Kashmir, slo gans of ‘Modi, Modi’, all of these are answers for those who used to say

COMPENSATION

that if Article 370 is re moved, there will be a fire in Jammu and Kashmir, rivers of blood will flow,” said Shah.

On the second day of his visit on Wednesday (October 5), Shah will re view the security situa tion in Jammu and

Kashmir at a meeting that is slated to be held at Raj Bhavan in Srinagar.

Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir

Manoj Sinha, top offi cials of the Army, para military forces, state police and civil admin istration will take part

HOME MINISTER SHAH OFFERS PRAYERS AT VAISHNO DEVI TEMPLE IN KATRA

Jammu (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah offered prayers at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Katra on Tuesday morning. He reached the Katra shrine via the Sanjhichatt Helipad. He was accompanied by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union Minister Jitendra Singh. Internet services have been temporarily suspended in Jammu and in specific areas of Rajouri.

MOBILE INTERNET SERVICES SUSPENDED AMIT SHAH’S POPULARITY!

in this high-level meet ing expected to begin at 10 am. Shah will later address a public meet ing at Baramulla.

All hands on deck for PM Modi’s visit to Himachal Pradesh today

New Delhi (ANI): The Supreme Court granted compensation of over Rs 2 crore to the dependents of a motor accident victim and set aside the Madras High Court order which ordered to grant Rs 57 lakh to the deceased’s family.

SC SAYS USE TECH TO IDENTIFY ENCROACHMENTS

New Delhi (ANI):

The Supreme Court has said that Satellite mapping and Geofencing are “extremely important” considering that unauthorised construction is a perennial problem and suggested using these modern technologies.

LIFE SENTENCE TO 8 STUDENTS FOR GANG-RAPE

Bilaspur (ANI): Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday reviewed ar rangements and prepa rations ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s pro gramme in Bilaspur to be held on Wednesday.

“Tomorrow will be a very historic day for all Himachalis. Prime Min ister Narendra Modi is visiting Himachal on Vijaya Dashami. Prime Minister will also inau gurate and lay the foun dation stone of various projects including AIIMS. On this occa sion, the Prime Minister will address a huge rally in Bilaspur and will also participate in Kullu Dussehra,” said Thakur.

On Wednesday the PM will inaugurate the AIIMS in Bilaspur as well as lay the founda tion stone of projects worth over Rs 3,650 crore.

The PM will also par ticipate in the Kullu Dussehra celebrations.

PRESIDENT MURMU, V-P DHANKHAR GREET PEOPLE ON DUSSEHRA EVE

New Delhi (FIB): President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tues day greeted people on the eve of Dussehra festival. Murmu said: “On the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami, I extend my warm greetings and best qw wishes to all the fellow citizens.” Dhankhar said: “May this festival bring peace, prosperity and harmony in the country.”

New Delhi (PTI): With PM Narendra Modi set to attend the famous Kullu Dussehra celebrations on Wednesday, officials said he has made it a point over the course of his tenure to participate in celebrating numerous Indian festivals. Modi will visit Dhal pur Ground Kullu in Himachal to participate in the International Kullu Dussehra Festival.

GOVT WITHDRAWS ‘CONDITION’ TO COVER PM EVENT

New Delhi: Circular on requirement of certificate to cover PM’s event has been withdrawn. The no tification that was issued mandating certification of antecedent for the journalists to cover PM’s event in Himachal on Oct 5 has been withdrawn, an official said on Tuesday.

PM PAYS TRIBUTE TO FREEDOM FIGHTER SHYAMJI

New Delhi: PM Modi on Tuesday paid tributes to freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Varma on his birth anniversary. He tweeted, “Tributes to the brave Shyamji Krishna Varma on his Jayanti. This fearless son of Maa Bharti devoted his life to freeing India and furthering a spirit of pride among our people.”

3-TIME MP SURESH CHANDEL REJOINS BJP IN HIMACHAL

Srinagar: Mobile Internet services were temporarily suspended on Tuesday in Jammu and Rajouri. An official notification said the internet services were temporarily suspended under fear that the ser vices will be “misused by anti-national elements.”

z Popularity of Shah was seen in terror-affected area z Shah held a huge pub lic meeting in Rajouri.

z The crowd was very excited to see Amit Shah.

z The crowd present on the occasion raised slogans in favor of Shah.

Punjab police bust two ISI terror modules operating from Canada

Chandigarh (PTI): Punjab police on Tues day claimed to have bust ed two terror modules, operated by foreignbased gangsters and ter rorists and backed by Pakistan’s ISI, as it ar rested two operatives and recovered arms and ammunition.

Jhansi: Eight students of a government polytechnic institute have been awarded life imprisonment by a local court here for raping a minor girl two years ago. The incident took place on October 11, 2020, when the girl was going for tuitions.

3 ACCUSED OF MURDER SENT TO JUDICIAL CUSTODY

New Delhi: A Delhi Court on Tuesday remanded to judicial custody Faizan, Bilal and Alam, the three youths accused of murdering a youth named Manish with multiple stabbings in Sunder Nagri area of Delhi. The court had earlier granted two days of police custody.

The International Kul lu Dussehra Festival will be celebrated from Octo ber 5 to 11 at the Dhalpur Ground of Kullu. The Festival is unique in the sense that it is the con gregation of more than 300 Deities of the Valley.

Effigies of Ravana on display for sale at the roadside ahead of Dussehra celebrations, in Patiala on Tuesday.

CBI cracks down on cybercriminals, raids 105 locations

New Delhi (PTI): The CBI launched Opera tion Chakra against cy ber criminals involved in financial crimes on Tuesday. The team car ried out searches at 105 locations across multi ple states, officials said. The searches were be

ing conducted in asso ciation with police forc es of the states and UTs.

They said 87 locations are being searched by the CBI and 18 locations are being searched by state and UT police in which over 300 suspects are under the scanner.

According to initial information, four loca tions in Andaman and Nicobar islands, five in Delhi, three in Chandi garh, and two each in Punjab, Karanataka and Assam among oth ers are being searched under the operation.

Dubai’s new Hindu temple all set to open

Dubai (ANI): A new Hindu temple construct ed in Jebel Ali in Dubai is set to open ahead of the Dussehra festival.

Local media reported that the temple is an ex tension of the Sindhi Guru Darbar Temple, one of the oldest Hindu temples in the UAE.

The temple’s founda tion was laid in Febru ary 2020 and the inaugu ration fulfils a decadeslong Indian dream of having a place of wor ship in the area.

The temple, which will be officially open to the public from October 5 — the day of the Dussehra festival, wel

comes people of all faiths and has allowed entry to worshippers and other visitors to view the 16 deities and

other interior works, reported Gulf News.

Welcoming people from all faiths, the tem ple has already had its soft opening on Septem ber 1, where thousands of visitors were allowed to get a glimpse of the interiors of the temple built with white marble.

It has ornate pillars, Ara bic and Hindu geometric designs on the facade, and bells on the ceiling.

The temple manage ment activated the QRcode-based appoint

ment booking system via its website on its soft opening. From day one, the temple has re ceived many visitors, especially over the weekends. The restrict ed entry has been regu lated through QR-coded appointments for crowd management and to en sure social distancing. Most of the deities are installed in the main prayer hall with a large 3D-printed pink lotus unfurling across the central dome.

Shimla: Three-time MP Suresh Chandel, who was once stuck in a sting operation in 2005 whilst representing Hamirpur within the Lok Sabha as a member of the BJP, rejoined the Saffron party on Tuesday, which he had left in 2019 and joined the Congress party.

In the first case, the arrested accused has been identified as Yo graj Singh alias Yog, a resident of Rajoke vil lage in Tarn Taran dis trict. The narco-terror ism module was being jointly operated by Can ada-based Lakhbir Sin gh alias Landa, Paki stan-based Harvinder Singh Rinda and Italybased Harpreet Singh alias Happy, police said.

Punjab Police, in a separate case, arrested one more operative of the ISI-backed Khal istan Tiger Force (KTF) terror module Harpreet Singh alias Hira.

HEROIN SEIZED FROM PAK TRUCK IN AMRITSAR

Amritsar (PTI): Border Security Force have seized 435 grams of heroin concealed in a Pakistani truck trans porting dry fruits from Afghanistan at Zero line or Trade gate of Integrated Check-Post at Attari here. The con traband was allegedly smuggled from Paki stan, the BSF said in a statement. BSF troops on Monday recovered the contraband during checking/frisking of the truck loaded with dry fruits from Afghanistan.

Rejig of Parl panels: BJP takes Home, Sena gets IT

Live chickens and liquor being distributed among Warangal locals. Hyderabad (Agen cies): A Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader distributed liquor and chicken among locals in Warangal a day ahead of K Chandrashekhar Rao’s proposed move to launch a national party.

The Telangana chief minister plans to an nounce his foray into national politics on the occasion of ‘Vijaya dasami’ on Wednesday.

To celebrate the same, TRS leader Ra

janala Srihari was seen giving away liquor bot tles and chicken to lo cals. Two life-size card board cutouts of the CM and his minister son KT Rama Rao flaunted the distribu tion ceremony.

Sources said the par ticulars of launch of the party are being worked out and TRS could be renamed. The rebrand ed outfit may not be de clared as a national party immediately.

New Delhi (ANI): In a major reshuffle in the Parliamentary panels on Tuesday Congress lost the Home and the crucial Information Technology and Communications panels. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi who headed the Home panel was replaced by BJP Rajya Sabha MP and former DGP of UP Brij Lal who has been named as the new chair. Another loss for the grand old party is losing the com mittee for IT which was chaired by Lok Sabha MP Dr Shashi Tharoor. The Eknath Shinde-led fac tion of Shiv Sena now has its chairmanship in three-time Lok Sabha MP Prataprao Jadhav.

The Standing Committee for Environment and Forests is currently with the Congress party. Jairam Ramesh remains its chairman.

leader distributes liquor and chicken

BJP chief JP Nadda with Himachal CM Jai Ram Thakur reviews the venue where PM Narendra Modi is scheduled to address public rally on Oct 05, in Bilaspur on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Punjab Police busted a ISI-backed Narco-Terrorism module and recovered arms and explosives, on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

PM’S PRESENCE AT KULLU MARKS HIS CELEBRATION OF FESTIVALS

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav briefing the media.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh, Jammu and Kashmir Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha and dignitaries at the inauguration of various development works, in Jammu on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah greets people at the inauguration and stone laying foundation ceremony for various projects related to health and education, in Rajouri on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

—PHOTO BY ANI

Not opposed to tri-services integration process: IAF

New Delhi (PTI): Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Tuesday made it clear that the Indian Air Force is not opposed to the tri-ser vices theaterisation plan but asserted that the doctrinal aspects of the force should not be compromised by the proposed structures.

At a press conference ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8, he said the IAF has recent ly updated and revised its doctrine to keep it relevant, noting that no single service can win wars on its own. Air Chief Marshal Chaud hari said the IAF has reservations about cer tain aspects of the pro posed structures under the tri-services integra tion process, but it sup ports the overall plan that aims to ensure triservices synergy. With Gen Anil Chauhan tak ing charge as the new Chief of Defence Staff

We are fully support ing the integration process; it is only the methodology and the kind of structures that need to be future ready is what we are insisting on.

—VR Chaudhari, Air Chief Marshal

DEFENCE SECRETARY CO-CHAIRS INDIA-UK DCG MEETING New Delhi (Agencies):

Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar co-chaired the India-UK Defence Consultative Group (DCG) meeting with his counterpart Mr David Williams, UK Perma nent Under Secretary of State for Defence in

last week, it is expected that the ambitious theat erisation process of the three services will see

London on 03 October, 2022. They reviewed the progress of various

forward movement. “We are not opposing any process of integra tion and any process of

Service level bilat eral groups and other defence cooperation mechanisms. Dr Ajay Kumar held discus sion on wide range of issues relating to the defence and industrial cooperation between India and UK.

theatre commands. We have certain reserva tions in respect to the structures,” he said.

Mob pelt stones at Guj Garba function, 6 hurt

Kheda (ANI): The Deputy Superinten dent of Police (DSP) in Gujarat’s Nadiad on Tuesday that a Muslim mob tried to disturb the Garba function in Khe da’s Undhela village by pelting stones which injured several people on the night of Ma haashtmi near the Tul ja Mata Mandir here.

“A Muslim mob tried to disturb the Garba func tion in Kheda’s Undhe la village last night and pelted stones, injuring 6-7 people,” said VR Ba jpai, DSP Nadiad.

ANKITA BHANDARI CASE

All guests being investigated: ADG of Uttarakhand police

Dehradun (Uttara khand) (ANI): The Ut tarakhand Police on Tuesday said that the investigation in the An kita Bhandari case is on the right track and fur ther action will be taken accordingly.

While speaking to ANI about the ongoing Ankita murder case in vestigation, ADG V Mu rugesan said that all the guests who were in the resort are being interro gated “The record of

ADG V Murugesan

guests coming to the re sort has been found, we are investigating all of them. All the guests who were there at the time of the incident are being interrogated,” the ADG

said. ADG V Murugesan said that one of Ankita’s friends who got her into this job is also under in vestigation.

“One of Ankita’s friends got her into this job through OLX. He is also under our investi gation and has been questioned,” The ADG further said that the in vestigations so far have made many things clear and necessary actions will be taken if the need arises.

Jio True 5G launch today in four cities

New Delhi (Agencies):

Reliance Jio on Tuesday announced the launch of the beta trial of its True5Gservices for Jio users in four cities Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Var anasi. The launch was made on the occasion of Dussehra. The users will get unlimited 5G data with up to 1 Gbps plus speed. Jio True 5G is ex pected to become the world’s most advanced

Many tried my withdrawal: Tharoor

Thiruvananthapuram

(PTI): Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was asked by some par ty leaders to seek with drawal of Shashi Tha roor’s candidature, the Thiruvananthapuram MP, who has made an ag gressive bid to its top post, claimed here on Tuesday.

Tharoor, who is in Kerala as part of the poll campaign, said that Gandhi said he will not ask the former to with draw as a contest would benefit. “He reminded me that he has been say ing so for the past 10 years that there should be a contest for the party chief’s post.

He told me that some persons have asked him to request me to with draw my candidature,” the MP said.

Will Shashi Tharoor withdraw his nomination?

Mahesh Sharma

New Delhi: The elec tion grounds for the post of Congress Pres ident have been deco rated. Mallikarjun Kharge has filed his nomination papers with the undeclared support of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, while Shashi Tharoor has filed his nomination appealing for change.

There was also a third candidate, Jharkhand’s KN Tripathi, who had filed his nomination claiming that he is the son of a farmer and son of Soniaji.

All three filed their papers on the last day

Govt approves amendments in FM Radio Phase-III Policy

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The gov ernment has approved amendments of certain provisions contained in the policy guidelines on expansion of FM radio broadcasting services through private agen

cies (Phase-III), re ferred to as private FM phase-III policy guide lines. A statement is sued in this regard on Tuesday said the deci sion was taken in the last Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Min ister Narendra Modi.

of filing nominations i.e. 30 September. But Tripathi’s nomination was rejected later. The nominations can now be withdrawn by Octo ber 8. If more than one candidate remains in the fray even after Oc tober 8, then voting will be held on Octo ber 17 and about nine

thousand delegates of Congress will vote for the post of President.

Now the question is whether the matter of Congress President will go till October 17 or will it be settled be fore October 8? That is, will there be an election or will Tha roor withdraw, after

which Mallikarjun Kharge will be de clared elected unani mously? This ques tion has come up be cause there is a large group of party leaders who are unanimously supporting the elec tion of the Congress President.

The leaders of the G23 group, who have demanded a change, are also wishing that elections should not come with a senior leader like Kharge contesting. Although he is sure to win by a huge margin, yet the leaders want that it would be more honor able that he wins the election unopposed.

5G service. The telecom giant’s mission with 5G is to speed up India’s transformation into a Digital Society.

Mulayam Singh remains critical, no improvement, says doctor

Lucknow (ANI): The former UP Chief Min ister and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav is still critical and currently admitted to the ICU and is being treated by a comprehensive team of specialists, said Me danta Hospital in a statement.

Samajwadi Party pa triarch Mulayam Singh Yadav has been under treatment since August 22 for his regular medi cal checkups and ex aminations. Still, on Sunday suddenly his health deteriorated af ter which he was shift ed to ICU in Medanta Hospital.The former Uttar Pradesh CM is 82-years-old.

Three-day Digital India Conference concludes

New Delhi (ANI): The three-day long “Digital India Conference of State IT Ministers” be gan on 1st October 2022 and concluded in the na tional capital on Mon day, said the Ministry of Electronics and Infor mation Technology.

On the first day, de tailed discussions on

key priority areas of Digital India initiatives were held with States and UT under the chair

MENACE ON CAMPUSES

manship of the Minister for Communications, Electronics and Infor mation Technology and

Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw. It was graced by the Minister of State for Electronics and In formation Technology and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Minister of State for Communications, De vusinh Chauhan and IT Ministers from 12 states.

UGC suggests measures to deal with ragging

lll Installation of CCTV cameras, updation of websites of institutions are suggestions along antiragging workshops

New Delhi (PTI): Con stitution of anti-rag ging committee, regu lar interaction and counselling with stu dents, and surprise in spection in hostels are among the guidelines issued by UGC for uni versities to deal with the menace on their campuses.

“Regular interaction and counselling with the students should be conducted to detect ear ly signs of ragging and

identification of trou ble-triggers. Surprise inspection at hostels,

toilets, bus stands and any other measures which would augur well in preventing/quelling ragging and any un called for behaviour or incident, are suggest ed,” UGC Secretary Ra jnish Jain said in a let ter to universities.

In a statement, Jio said, “Post the success ful demonstration of its True-5G services at the India Mobile Congress 2022, Jio is announcing the Beta trial of its True-5G services on the auspicious occasion of Dussehra, for Jio users in 4 cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Var anasi. Dussehra symbol izes the triumph over hurdles caused by lega

cy technologies such as 2G, with knowledge and wisdom that Jio True 5G will genuinely enable.” Ambani added, “In dia is leading the Digi tal revolution. Jio 5G will be True 5G, and we believe India deserves nothing less than TRUE-5G. Jio 5G will be the world’s most ad vanced 5G network, built for every Indian, by Indians.”

CRUCIAL READ

Basti, UP (Agencies): A doctor was arrested for allegedly raping a woman in UP’s Basti, police said. The woman filed a complaint with the police stating that the doctor, posted at a hospital in the Basti Sadar Kotwali area, befriended her on social media and asked her to visit him, they said. “When she visited the hospital, the doctor took her to his hostel room where he and his two colleagues, who are also doctors, raped her,” the police said.

Bhopal (ANI): Two women died and at least 14 people were seriously injured after a tractor trolley carrying them from Bhairav Baba temple in Madhya Pradesh lost its balance and overturned near the Manpur village. According to District Magistrate Abhishek Anand, the trolley lost its balance while returning from the temple in Chitrakoot and its overturning led to the mowing down of an elderly woman, who died on the spot.

students’ accommoda tion, canteens, restcum-recreation rooms,

Constitution of antiragging committee, an ti-ragging squad, set ting up of anti-ragging cell and adequate pub licity for these meas ures through various

media, a clear mention of anti-ragging warn ing in the institution’s prospectus and infor mation booklets and brochures shall be en sured, preparation of e-admission booklet or brochure, and e-leaflets of institutions giving detailed guidance to ad mitted students in case of ragging are among the measures listed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in its advisory.

10 MISSING IN GOMTI, GANGA RIVERS IN UP

Lucknow (Agencies): Ten persons were missing and feared drowned in two separate incidents in Lucknow and Kanpur, police said. While four youths went missing in the Gomti river in Lucknow during idol immersion, six persons, including four girls, are feared drowned in Bilhaur in Kanpur.The youths in Lucknow reportedly drowned during idol immersion when they lost their balance in the boat.

New Delhi (ANI): The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Monday said it has carried out a search operation and freezed account balance of Rs 5.59 crore of Aamir Khan and its accomplices in a fraud involving mobile gaming application E-nuggets. The ED has taken the action under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Guwahati (Agencies): Assam police seized drugs worth Rs 1 crore from a toll gate near Guwahati city on Tuesday, officials said. The drugs were recovered while checking the vehicles before they enter the city at a toll gate located in the Sonapur area on the AssamMeghalaya border. A police officer said that the narcotic substances were recovered from several soap cases kept in hidden chambers in an 18-wheel truck. The police have arrested the driver Hannan Ali.

“IAF has recently updated & revised its doctrine to keep it relevant”

Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari

MADHYA PRADESH: EAR OF HINDU PRIEST BITTEN OFF, 3 ARRESTED IN INDORE

ASSAM: DRUGS WORTH `1 CRORE SEIZED, 3 ARRESTED AT TOLL GATE IN GUWAHATI

Indore (ANI): In a bizarre incident, a priest from Rajasthan’s Kota was attacked and his ear was chewed off, following an altercation with members of a family who had invited to their house to perform a Puja. Three persons have been arrested in this connection, police said. A case has been registered against one Lakshminarayan Sharma and his two sons Vipul Sharma and Arun Sharma in the area of Chandan Nagar Police Station based on a complaint filed, Kunj Bihari Sharma.

DOC INVITES SOCIAL MEDIA FRIEND, RAPES HER WITH FELLOWS 2 DEAD, 14 INJURED AS ANOTHER TRACTOR OVERTURNS

APP FRAUD: FRESH RECOVERY OF `5.59 CRORE BY ED

Shashi Tharoor

Chennai: Electric twowheeler maker Ola Electric has set up its first experi ence centre in Chennai as part of a plan to set up 200 such facilities across the country by March 2023. People interested in EVs would be encouraged at the experience centre and they can also avail themselves of test-rides of S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters. “Ola experience centres allow us to better understand how best we can take our products to our customers and enable their transition to EV,” company CMO said.

ADANI GREEN SETS UP THREE NEW SUBSIDIARIES

ON FESTIVE FERVOUR, BETTER SUPPLIES

Automobile retail sales rise 11% in Sept

New Delhi (PTI): Automo bile retail sales in India rose 11% in September as better supplies from manu facturers enabled dealers to ramp up customer deliv eries amid the ongoing fes tive period, Federation Of Automobile Dealers Asso ciations said on Tuesday.

Last month, total retail sales stood at 14,64,001 units as compared to 13,19,647 units in September 2021.

FADA noted that October is expected to witness even better overall sales due to the festive season further gathering steam.

“Dealers anticipate this to be the best festive period in a decade for the passen ger vehicle segment as we anticipate even higher sales during the month,” it said.

Barring tractors and some three-wheeler trims, all other segments like pas senger and commercial ve hicles and two wheelers performed better in Sep tember as compared to the year-ago period.

Passenger vehicle retails increased 10% to 2,60,556 units last month as against 2,37,502 units in September 2021. “Better availability of

cars due to easing semicon ductor supply, new launch es and feature rich prod ucts kept customers glued to dealerships for getting their favourite vehicles

Poor rainfall in Gangetic plains may spike food inflation: Report

New Delhi: Adani Renew able Energy Holding Four Limited has incorporated three new subsidiary companies for renewable energy business. AGEL said Adani Renewable En ergy Holding Four Limited is its own subsidiary and the newly incorporated entities are its step-down subsidiaries. The names of three new subsidiary companies are Adani Re newable Energy Thirty Six, Adani Renewable En ergy Forty Limited & Ada ni Renewable Energy For ty Seven Limited.

TVS CREDIT EXPECTS

STRONG GROWTH

THIS FESTIVE SEASON

New Delhi (PTI): ficient rain in the North ern plains, especially in the Gangetic region, is likely to increase food inflation in the near term as overall paddy production will be hit in these areas due to poor mon soon, according to a report.

Major agricul tural states, such as Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, have had poor rains during the just concluded season, which may lead to an increase in the prices of rice due to lower paddy products in the near term.

The share of these states in overall rice sowing in the Kharif season (as of September 23) has declined to 24.1 per cent from 26 per cent in the previous year, according to an assessment

TOP TALKING POINTS

z Major agricultural states, such as Bihar, Jharkhand and UP, have had poor rains during the just concluded season, which may lead to an increase in the prices of rice due to lower paddy products in the near term

z The share of these states in overall rice sowing has declined to 24.1%

Lower Kharif produc tion, especially of rice and pulses, can aggravate infla tion in these commodities, the agency said.

Inflation in rice and rice products at the wholesale level has already firmed up by 6.6 per cent in August of this year to a 63-month high, while pulses and products inflation (at the wholesale level), although benign, rose to a six-month high of 2.6 per cent in the month.

during the auspicious pe riod,” FADA President Manish Raj Singhania said. While semiconductor supply continues to ease, FADA requests OEMs

Average housing prices up 3-10% in July-September

New Delhi (PTI): Average housing price across eight cities rose 3-10% year-onyear in July-September this year, while office rent grew up to 13% on higher demand for properties, acc to Knight Frank India.

Bengaluru property market saw highest growth in average housing price as well as average office rent during the third quar ter of the 2022 calendar year as compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.

As per the data of pri mary housing market, the average price in Bengaluru rose 10% to ` 5,428 per square feet in July-Septem ber quarter from Rs 4,928 per square feet in the yearago period.

The Delhi-NCR market saw 8% increase in average housing price to `4,489 per square feet. Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad witnessed an increase of 6% in average price.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

z Last month, total retail sales stood at 14,64,001 units as compared to 13,19,647 units in September 2021

z October is expected to witness even better overall sales due to festive season further gathering steam

(Original Equipment Man ufacturers) to match sup ply as per the demand so that PV sales can further receive a boost, he added.

Similarly, two-wheeler

OTHER STORIES

AIRTEL TO FINALISE 5G TARIFFS SOON, MAY NOT CHARGE PREMIUM

New Delhi: Bharti Airtel will come out with 5G tariff plans in the coming few days but the telco is not likely to charge a premium as 5G-enabled devices constitute just 8-9% on the network and doing so may impact upgradation. As per the senior executive of the company, pricing the 5G tariffs higher at this stage won’t push up average revenue per user (ARPU) due to the low subscriber base at present. He, however, said tariffs need to go up as the current rates are not sustainable.

registrations saw an in crease of 9% at 10,15,702 units last month as com pared with 9,31,654 units in September last year.

Singhania noted that en try level bike space was the most hit, thus dragging the entire two-wheeler seg ment sales.

FADA said commercial vehicle offtakes rose to 71,233 units as compared with 59,927 units last Sep tember, an increase of 19%.

Last month, tractor sales stood at 52,595 units compared to 53,392 units in September last year.

INDIA’S WEAKENING EXPORTS SLOW TRADE DEFICIT MODERATION

New Delhi: India’s large trade deficit is beginning to consolidate, but the weaker exports are prompting a more gradual adjustment than expected, Barclays Bank said in a note on Tuesday. India’s trade deficit fell to $26.7 billion in Sept from $28 billion in Aug and $30 billion in July. In that same period, merchandise exports have moderated from $33.9 billion in Aug, to $32.6 billion in Sept. The import bill, meanwhile, had dropped to $59.3 billion in Sept from $61.9 billion in August. —PTI

RELIANCE, SANMINA COMPLETE DEAL TO SET UP ELECTRONICS MANUFACTURING JOINT VENTURE

New Delhi: Reliance Industries’ subsidiary RSBVL and US-based Sanmina Corporation have completed the deal to set up an elec tronics manufacturing joint venture at a total enterprise valuation of about Rs 3,300 crore. Reli ance Strategic Business Ventures Limited (RSBVL) will hold 50.1% equity stake in the joint venture while Sanmina will have 49.9% shareholding. The joint venture will leverage Sanmina’s 40 years of ad vanced manufacturing experience and Reliance’s expertise and leadership in the Indian business ecosystem. The day-to-day business will continue to be managed by Sanmina’s management team in Chennai.

Chennai: Non-banking fi nance company TVS Credit Services Ltd was looking at building its channel partner relation ships as it expects strong growth momentum during the festive season on its loan offerings.”Our de mand outlook is promis ing as we are looking at building our channel part ner relationships and giv ing customers a better value for money through our innovative loan offer ings, “ CEO of TVS Credit Services said. There was a subdued consumer de mand due to the COV ID-19 during the last two years, the Co said. —PTI

PALM OIL IMPORTS JUMP TO 1-YR HIGH

1.2 MN TONNES

Sensex, Nifty rebound over 2% on Tuesday

Mumbai (PTI): Bench mark indices Sensex and Nifty bounced back on Tuesday to close over 2% higher amid positive trends in global equity markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex spurted 1,276.66 points or 2.25% to settle at 58,065.47. During the day, it zoomed 1,311.13 points to 58,099.94.

The broader NSE Nifty rallied 386.95 points or 2.29% to end at 17,274.30.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Tata

Consultancy Services, Ba jaj Finserv, HDFC, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Wipro, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were the major winners. Power Grid, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy’s were the only laggards.

UPI payment crosses `11 lakh cr milestone in Sept

New Delhi: India’s im ports of palm oil jumped in September to their highest in a year, boosted by strong demand for the tropical oil ahead of the festival season and a steep discount to rival oils, six dealers said on Tuesday. The September imports jumped 21% from a month ago to 1.2 million tonnes, the high est since September last year. Palm oil is nearly $300 cheaper than rival soyoil for September shipments.

New Delhi (PTI): Pay ment through Unified Pay ments Interface (UPI) has crossed a milestone of ` 11 lakh crore in September, as per the data released by Na tional Payments Corpora tion of India (NPCI).

During the month, 678 crore transactions in vol ume terms were done on the platform launched in 2016. Payment through UPI had crossed `10 lakh crore in May this year.

Last month, as many as 657.9 crore transactions worth `10.72 lakh crore had taken place.

UPI is an instant real-

time payment system which facilitates interbank P2P transactions.

The transaction is done through mobile in easy steps. Besides, there are no charges applicable for the UPI transaction so far.

Moreover, UPI has played a key role in India becoming almost cashless economy.

INVESTORS’ WEALTH

RISES `5.66 LAKH CR

New Delhi(PTI): Equity inves tors became richer by `5.66 lakh crore as markets bounced back sharply on Tuesday following a recovery in global equi ties. The mar ket capitalisation of BSE-listed firms climbed `5,66,318.84 crore to `2,73,92,739.78 crore. FIIs turned net buyers after remaining net sellers in the recent past and bought shares worth `590.58 crore on Monday, according to data available.

CESL SELECT AGENCIES TO SET UP 124 BATTERY SWAPPING STATIONS

GOVT APPROVES `26K

CR TO INSTALL 25,000 MOBILE TOWERS

`

RISES 29 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 81.53/$

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee ap preciated by 29 paise to end at 81.53 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday as heavy buying in domestic equities and weakness in the greenback strengthened investor sentiment. At the inter bank forex market, the local unit opened strong at 81.66 against the greenback. It witnessed an intra-day high of 81.36 and a low of 81.66. It ended at 81.53, up 29 paise from its previous close.

New Delhi: Convergence En ergy Services Limited (CESL) has selected agencies to set up 124 battery swapping stations and 352 standing chargers for electric two and three-wheel ers. The selected agencies will also set up 1,294 standing DC fast chargers for electric four-wheelers, CESL said.

“The business will be delivered under a build, own, and operate (BOO) model valid for eight years, with charging stations installed across Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Surat,” the company said.

BETTER GENDER BALANCE AT WORKPLACES

New Delhi: The government has approved `26,000 crore for installation of 25,000 mobile towers in 500 days, an official statement said on Tuesday.

According to a telecom min istry spokesperson, financial support for the project will be provided by Universal Services Obligation Fund and it will be implemented by Bharat Broad band Network. The project was announced by Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at three-day long ‘Digital India Conference of State IT Ministers’ that concluded on October 3. —PTI

Women taking driver’s seat in EV industry

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Indian wom en’s are emerging as the preferred choice in electric vehicle (EV) industry with legacy companies as well as startups seeking better gen der balance at workplaces.

According to several re cruiting agencies, for every 10 new hires in the EV sec tor, six tend to be women skilled in business model ling, design redevelopment, e-mobility and renewable energy management.

As women employees have a knack for design and safety, the green sector is

offering 35% higher com pensation to interested candidtaes than those of fered to women in other sectors, they said.

Tata Motors, which dom inates the electric vehicle market in the country with a share of over 80%, and British marque MG are among those driving this trend. And many of these women are in leadership positions.

Hiring of women profes sionals in the segment went up by 18% last quar ter, according to staffing firm Adecco.

“As women leaders are agile, and value safety and quality while leading with empathy, the Indian EV sector has seen massive success with women in the boardroom,” said Yeshab Giri, chief commercial of ficer (staffing and Rand stad technologies) at Rand stad India.

COURT SENDS RUSSIAN HACKER

TO CBI CUSTODY FOR TWO DAYS

The accused will be questioned about the case & about the data on his phone, laptop

New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court on Tuesday sent a Russian national, arrested for alleged ma nipulation of JEE (Mains) examination last year, to two days’ CBI custody. Duty Mag istrate Vaibhav Mehta sent the accused, Mikhail Shargin, to CBI custody till October 6 after he was produced before the court and the agency requested for his remand to unravel the conspiracy.

“This court is of the view that for the pur pose of carrying out investigation PC (po lice custody) remand of the accused is neces sary and so this court partly allows the appli cation moved by the IO and grants police cus tody remand of the ac cused for two days only,” the judge said.

In its application seeking a five-day re mand of the accused, the CBI told the court

he was to be quizzed about the data present in his phone, laptop and external hard disk.

The central agency had issued a ‘Look Out Circular’ against Shargin, suspected to be the main hacker, for alleged manipulation of the prestigious ex amination, as per CBI.

The CBI said it was alerted by the Bureau of Immigration when Shargin arrived at the airport from Almaty, Kazakhstan, adding he was immediately de tained by the agency on his arrival on Monday.

“During the investi gation, it came to light that some foreign na

tionals were involved in compromising many online examinations, including JEE (Mains), colluding with other ac cused in the instant case,” the CBI said.

The investigation in dicated Shargin tam pered with the iLeon

LIFT BAN ON GREEN CRACKERS: VHP

software, the platform on which the JEE (Main)-2021 examina tion was conducted, and also helped other ac cused in hacking the computer systems of suspect candidates dur ing the examination, it said. In September last

year, the agency had booked Affinity Educa tion Pvt Ltd and its three directors, Sid dharth Krishna, Vish wambhar Mani Trip athi and Govind Varsh ney, besides other touts and associates for al leged manipulation of examination.

It was alleged that the three directors, in con spiracy with other as sociates and touts, were manipulating the on line examination of JEE (Mains) and facili tating aspiring students to get admission to top National Institutes of Technology in ex change for huge amounts of money. They used to solve the questions through re mote access from a cho sen examination centre in Sonepat (Haryana).

“It was also alleged that the accused used to obtain class 10 & 12 mark sheets, user IDs, passwords, & post-dated cheques of aspiring stu dents in different parts of the country as secu rity and once admission was done, they used to collect heavy amount ranging from 12-15 lakh (approx) per candi date,” the CBI said.

Health min hosts dinner for medical students at his home

Shalini Bhardwaj

New Delhi: In an at tempt to break the bar rier with representa tives of the medical field, Union Health Min ister Mansukh Mandavi ya hosted a dinner for the medical students of AIIMS Delhi at his resi dence on the occasion of Ashtami on Monday.

He invited All India Institute of Medical Sci ences (AIIMS), Director Dr M Srinivas, AIIMS Dean, Professors and faculty members to his residence, thus becom ing the first health min ister to do so. He also

participated in a bicycle rally at Kartavya Path ahead of hosting the dinner with an aim to create awareness about Tuberculosis (TB).

“It was a gesture for the medical students to

remove a barrier and reach out to medical students without hesi tation. This was the first time when a Union Health Minister invited and interacted with medical students to mo tivate them for future accomplishments,” an attendee told ANI.

Earlier, the Union Health Minister con gratulated and interact ed with the top 25 scor ers in NEET PG 2022 for both medical and dental programmes. This was the first time that a un ion health minister fe licitated top NEET rank holders. — ANI

The ban on green crackers has hurt our religious sentiments, the VHP said

New Delhi: Vishwa Hin du Parishad’s Delhi unit on Tuesday asked the city government to lift the ban on green crack ers for Dussehra celebra tions. Due to the ban on firecrackers, there have been “difficulties” in holding Ravana effigy burning programmes, the organisation said.

“Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has imposed a ban on green crackers in Delhi as

well. Green crackers do not cause pollution, it only makes sound. Be cause of the ban on green crackers, it is get ting difficult to organ ise at least five effigy burning events,” it said.

The ban on green crackers has “hurt their religious sentiments”, it said. The Delhi govern ment has banned the production, sale and use of all types of firecrack ers till January 1, 2023.

Prez Murmu, CM Kejriwal, and actor Prabhas to attend Dussehra event as chief guests

Niranjan Mishra

New Delhi: After two years of low-key cele brations due to Cov id-19, Delhi’s famous Luv Kush Ramlila com mittee is ready again to celebrate Dussehra with all the customary pomp and glory this year but with a grand triple twist.

The Dussehra event will have not one but three chief guests: Pres ident Droupadi Mur mu, CM Arvind Kejri wal and ‘Bahubali’ star Prabhas, who are all set to be part of the mega event at the iconic Red Fort ground on Vijay Dashmi Day. If this was not enough, 3 different sets of Ravana, Kumb hkarna and Meghnath effigies will await their fate of being set ablaze by the three chief

Unlike in previous years, nine effigies have been raised un der three sets for the grand finale.

—Arjun Kumar, President, Ram Lila committee

guests. “We have made separate arrangements for all 3 of them (chief guests). We have 3 sepa rate sets of effigies of Ravana, Meghnath and Kumbhakarna. A total of 9 effigies have been made,” Arjun, presi dent of the Ram Lila committee said.

Glimpses of ‘UP’s Mann Ki Baat with Agra’

The Russian national in CBI custody on Tuesday.

—PHOTO BY ANI

R HACKER HELPED 820 CHEAT IN JEE-MAINS: CBI

Women perform the ‘dhunuchi’ dance on the occasion of ‘Maha Navami’ during ongoing Durga Puja festival celebrations, at Harsundari Puja pandal in Varanasi, on Tuesday.

PTI

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya at the bicycle rally with AIIMS Delhi students.

Effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad at Red Fort ground on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

CEO & Editor-in-Chief Bharat24 & CMD 1st India Channel Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, Union MoS for Law & Justice Professor SP Singh Baghel, Secretary of UP Legislative Assembly Manish Asija, Dr Naresh Sharma & Dr Sameer Bhati during the ‘UP’s Mann Ki Baat with Agra’ organised by Bharat24 & First India News in Agra on Tuesday. Ayushi Vijayvargiya was the anchor for the programme.

Union MoS For Law & Justice Prof SP Singh Baghel addresses the guests.

Anchor Ayushi Vijayvargiya compeers the mega event ‘UP’s Mann Ki Baat with Agra.’

Union MoS Prof SP Singh Baghel, MP Fatehpur Sikri Rajkumar Chahar, Secretary of UP Legislative Assembly Manish Asija felicitate Dr Sameer Bhati during the event.

Union MoS Prof SP Singh Baghel, MP Fatehpur Sikri Rajkumar Chahar, Secretary of UP Legislative Assembly Manish Asija felicitate Dr Naresh Sharma during the event. Also seen here is Shishir Awasthi.

Shishir Awasthi addresses the gathering during the programme.

CEO & Editor-in-Chief Bharat24 & CMD 1st India Channel Dr Jagdeesh Chandra being felicitated by Dr Naresh Sharma during ‘UP’s Mann Ki Baat with Agra.’

Dussehra, also known as Vijayadashami, is the festival which signifies the victory of good over evil, everyone has the same start but in the end, it is decided by karma, Rama and Ravana both were devotees of Lord Shiva, both were supremely strong and intelligent individuals but ended up creating their different identity through their karmas City First brings to you the in-depth roles of both kings a significance of this pious festival and wishes all its viewers a Happy Dusshera!

Dussehra signifies the vic tory of good over evil, dur ing this pious day, Lord Ram won the battle against Ravana and saved his be loved wife from the intel ligent ten-headed monster.

The divine extravaganza marks the triumph of pos itivity over negativity. This ten-day-long Hindu festi val t is celebrated at the end of Navratri, in the month of Ashvin which usually corresponds to September or October in the popular Gregorian cal endar every year. This year it falls on Wednesday, Oc tober 5, 2022.

On this festival, gigantic

puppets of Ravana are singed with fireworks which represent the quell ing of darkness by the light of purity. Dussehra is followed by the festival of lights, known as Diwali which is observed across India with magnificence and love. Diwali, the festi val everyone loves is cele brated twenty days after Dussehra and embodies the retrieval of Lord Rama, Goddess Sita and Prince Lakshman to Ayod hya, their kingdom after eradicating the evil, the demon Ravana. So, this was the story behind the triumph of good over bad.

Now let the know the sig nificance of this pious fes tival.

The word ‘Dussehra’ conveys the significance of the festival itself. The word is derived from two words – Dus and Ahara. ‘Dus’ means ten and ‘Ahara’ means day, so on the tenth day, this festival is also

known as Vijayadashami (Vijay means Victory and dashami means tenth day). Another meaning arrives from the legend of the fes tival where ‘Dus’ signifies the ten heads of Ravana or bad or evil and ‘Hara’ means to overthrow or re moval. In the northern and western states of In dia, Dussehra is marked by the glory of Lord Rama who was the seventh ava tar of Lord Vishnu. He was incarnated as Rama on earth to kill the demon Ra vana and to free the world from his sinful acts. Every year in the month of Octo ber and November people display plays based on Ramayana and Ram charitmanas called Ram leela at outdoor fairs by theatre troupes. Dussehra is also celebrated as Vijay adashami and also signi fies the killing of the de mon Mahishasura by God dess Durga on the tenth day of Navratri.

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

10 AMAZING DUSSEHRA RECIPES

To Savour This Festive Season

CITY FIRST

Festivities have begun and as we approach to wards the end of Sharad Navratri or Dur ga Puja, it is time to celebrate Dusseh ra. Dussehra marks the triumph of Lord Rama over Ravana in the Indi an epic The Ramayana. It is also known as Vijaya dashami, the tenth day of Durga Puja, celebrated as a victory of Goddess Durga over the invinci ble demon Mahisasura.

To commemorate this day, many Hindus across the country prepare scrumptious meals and get together with family and friends and feast af ter a nine-day long fast. Apart from this, they also burn Ravana idols in or der to celebrate the vic tory of good over evil.

If you are planning a get-together at home for Dussehra this year, we give you a list of delecta ble recipes that you would love to try prepar ing at home.

SOYA MURTABAK WITH TOMATOLEMON SAUCE

Recipe by Chef Ajay Chopra

Here’s a vegetarian twist to the traditional Murtabak recipe. It is essentially a pancake stuffed with soya that makes for a heavy and delectable choice for a small gettogether.

CHHOLIA PANEER RASEDAAR

PINDI CHANE

Recipe by Chef Niru Gupta

Paneer pieces blended with an aromatic mix of spices, chholia, khoya, turmeric and coriander.

This rich curry will leave your guests asking for more.

Recipe by Chef Niru Gupta

Spicy chickpea and potatoes mingled in varied masalas with a burst of flavours. A festival with out the quintessential combination of Pindi Chole and Bhature or Lachcha Paratha is incomplete.

RAW PAPAYA KEBABS WITH ALOO BHUKHARA CHUTNEY NACHNI BARFI

Recipe by Chef Kunal Kapoor

Raw papaya and pota toes are shredded and worked into delicate kebabs. These kebabs are teamed with delec table plum chutney laced with star anise and black pepper; why would anyone want to miss it?

PEACH AND PAAN KOFTAS IN KORMA SAUCE

Recipe by Chef Ajay Chopra

PHIRNI WITH FRESH BERRIES

Recipe by Chef Rahul Dhavale

Why should one not celebrate with something sweet? This Phir ni, a sweet rice pudding gar nished with seasonal berries is just perfect to end your Dussehra celebration on a sweet note.

If you are in for some unique preparation, Peach and Paan Koftas in Korma Sauce is the best bet. Beautiful betel leaves are wrapped around juicy peaches stuffed with a melange of spices and nuts to render a spell-binding aroma. Its ecstatic taste will lin ger on in your senses.

Recipe by Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi

Hey Chocolate lov ers, Chocolate barfis for Dussehra are just what you need to pre pare. This quick and simple recipe will definitely leave you asking for more than just one.

PANEER KUNDAN KALIYAN

Recipe by Chef Madhusudan

KHOYA TARTS

Recipe by Chef Kunal Kapoor Move over desi Indian mithais and opt for tiny dessert delights.

This sweet recipe makes for a hearty blend of condensed milk, khoya and ghee to arrive at beau tiful tarts. These are finished off with bananas and cinnamon pow der dusting atop. Mouthwatering much?

Succulent slices of cottage cheese cooked in a yoghurt-based gravy with onions, tomatoes and tradi tional whole spices. This delicacy is finished off with hints of gar am masala and dried rose petals that bring a subtle flavour to this dish. This Dussehra, give your guests a flavourful surprise with a different dish.

CHANA & SWEET POTATO CHAAT

Recipe by Chef Aditya Bal and Devanshi

A quick recipe to serve to your guests this Dusseh ra; just a tangy sweet potato and chana chaat that will be making the evening more special.

ANANYA’

‘An actor has to keep evolving’

The talented actress, who has been staying away from the film industry ever since the pandemic happened, is now set to make a grand comeback with some exciting projects in the pipeline. Meanwhile, in a recent interview, Shraddha Kapoor revealed the biggest learning from her career. The Aashiqui 2 actress informed that she learned change is the only constant, after spending 12 years in Bollywood. According to Shraddha Kapoor, an actor should always keep evolving, changing, learning, and unlearning. The actress added that she aims to keep growing as both an actress and a person. She wants to keep bettering herself from whom she was yesterday, thus making the world a little better. In the interview, Shraddha Kapoor also spoke about how things changed in cinema, for female artists. She observed that more and more films are now being made from the female perspective, compared to the time when she started her journey in cinema. According to the actress, women are not just headlining films, but those films are also writ ten and made better. Shraddha Kapoor added that it is a great time for women in the In dian film industry.

Sara’s new film ANNOUNCED

ed freedom fighter in a fictional tale set against the backdrop of the Quit India Movement in

A thriller drama, in spired by true events, is been written by Darab Farooqui and Kannan Iyer. A Dharma Enter tainment Production, the film is being pro duced by Karan Johar and Apoorva Mehta, with Somen Mishra serv ing as the co-producer and is being directed by Kan nan Iyer. The Amazon Orig inal Movie will be available to Prime members in over 240 countries and territo ries upon its release. Ae Watan Mere Watan will join thousands of TV shows and movies from Hollywood and Bollywood in the Prime Video catalogue.

Janhvi Kapoor is working day and night to make a mark in the Bolly wood industry. She is currently busy with her prep for her upcom ing film Mr and Mrs Mahi starring herself alongside Rajkummar Rao. Amidst her busy schedule, she con tinues to treat her social media fans with her daily happenings in life. Recently, the elder child of Sridevi and Boney Kapoor showed her dancing skills on her Instagram handle. She was learning how to dance to the tune of “Dil Cheez Kya Hai”, which featured well-known star, Rekha. Notably, Janhvi is a trained classical dancer and loves to share her skills regularly. In the lat est update, Janhvi shared how she felt while working on the film. She said, “My heart is full. #MrAndMrs Mahi” and shared a scenic photo along with it. The Sharan Sharma directorial starring Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor in lead roles is currently in its production phase. After wrapping up this film, Janhvi also has an action film Bawaal with Varun Dhawan in her kitty.

Rashmika recalls being trolled

Rashmika Mandanna, who was trolled for her bold scenes in Dear Comrade, said that she found it difficult to get through that phase. The actress added,

"There were so many painful moments hap pening and painful things I would read. I would have constant dreams where you know you feel like you are the only one and everyone has turned their back on you and you are call ing out for them. That was a constant dream, I don't know what it was and I don't know how it was. I would wake myself up with such dreams and cry myself to bed, or even wake up crying." Meanwhile, Rashmika Mandanna is busy promoting her Hindi film Goodbye with Amitabh Bachchan. The film will mark its debut in Bollywood and is set to open in theatres on October 7. She has also signed up to play the leading lady in Vamsi Paidipally's Varisu opposite Thalapathy Vijay.

Bipasha Basu is been in the news ever since she an nounced her pregnancy.

Keeping with the trend, Karan shared a picture of his wife and said that he just cannot stop himself from falling in love with her. In the picture shared by Karan, Bipasha is seen wear ing a yellow dress and relaxing on the couch. The same picture was shared by the actress her self on her social handle and she wrote, “#loveyourself #mamatobe Hubby.”

Shraddha Kapoor

Janhvi Kapoor

Rashmika Mandanna

Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover

LUV KUSH RAMLILA

CITY FIRST

Luv Kush Ramlila was staged by the Luv Kush Ramli la Committee where the audience was enthralled by the awakening scene of Kumbhakaran from his deep sleep on Tues day. Ravana was dis armed, the Leela was staged till the slaugh ter of Kumbhakarna and all the scenes of the battle were done in the skyway.

FLUID EMOTIONS: DISTILLED ECSTASY

fashion.

CCITY FIRST ontemporary artist Deveshi Goswami’s art works were displayed at her first solo exhibition in Delhi recently. Ti tled Fluid Emo tions: Distilled Ec stasy, the ongoing show comprises 60 works driven by her fas cination with the con cept of ‘now’ and dis plays abstract shapes and unrecognisable forms in a free-flowing

Deveshi Gos wami said, “My works are like a party on can vas. With so much going on in the world, it is diffi cult to find peace. Everyone’s “now is dif ferent. I’ve expressed the emo tions that

I feel in the pre sent, which push one to find mean ing in irregular lines and shapes.” Media entrepreneur Anurradha Prasad, art ist Jayasri Burman and Bharatan atyam expo nent Geeta Chandran graced the event as the chief guests. cityfirstdel @gmail.com

HINDUTVA MOVIE PROMOTIONS

CITY FIRST

CITY FIRST

The star cast of the Movie Hin dutva Ashiwsh Sharma, Sonarika Bhadoria, Ankit Raj and Mukesh Tyagi were spotted in the city for the promo tion of their upcoming movie Hindutva at The Lalit hotel, Delhi. The movie is all set to re

in theatres.

Hindutva is a story of today’s youth. The film explores the depths of Hinduism through its princi pal characters. It is a story of friendship, love and student politics. The film is produced by Sachin Chaudhary and directed by Karan Razdan.

While speaking to

the Media Sonarika Shared, “When I heard the title of the movie Hindutva I was a bit scared as When we hear this word we recall some groups and I was not aware of our so cial-political environ ment at that time. But as I heard the story I found it to be totally non-controversial.”

Maven Ms Plus Size India pag eant was or ganised on Tuesday at Vevanta By Taaj Hotel Dwarka. The pageant, a signature event of Maven Produc tion, was graced by the presence of renowned celebrity Fashion De signer Rohit Verma and Rita Gangwani, who trained Manushi Chillar, Miss World 2017 and is a renowned in ternational pageant coach & mentor. The other celebrity guests at the event in cluded Mrs India World wide 2014 Aman Grew al, Fizah Khan, a celeb rity plus size blogger & MTV actress, Cheena Marwaha, a celebrity make-up artist and Sim rat Kathuria, a re nowned dietician cum nutritionist. Mudita Shauk was crowned Ma ven Ms Plus Size India, while Dr Sondi (Transgender) bagged

karan, and Meghnath at Red Fort Ground to day, October 5. He also informed that the Lee la Committee received the acceptance letter of the President’s ar rival from the Presi dent’s office on Tuesday.

According to President Arjun Ku mar, Manoj Kagda, a veteran action director of the last 30 years in Bollywood and his 12-member team is di recting the extremely risky stunt action se quences to be staged in Leela.

cityfirstdel@gmail.com

IKRIS Pharma’s Breast Cancer awareness campaign

CITY FIRST

IKRIS Pharma con ducted its Final Run as part of the campaign to pro mote breast cancer awareness in the coun try on Monday at ITHUM IT Park at Sec tor 62 in Noida. More than 500 participants competed across the four separate events.

Every year, Breast Cancer Awareness month is observed in October. A post-run interaction with Dr Meenu Walia, Senior Director & HOD, Dept of Medi cal Oncology and He matology, Max Hospi tal, was also held mak ing the whole event meaningful.

“There is no doubt that the entire cam paign centred on pro moting breast cancer

awareness which we launched in August this year has been a magnificent success. While we rejoice in the successful con clusion of this event, we also feel humbled by the phe nomenal level of re sponse that has been received from all sec tions of society includ ing doctors, healthcare professionals, health workers and above all, ordinary people from all over the country.

And last but not the least, we feel honoured to have been associated with Dr Meenu Walia, a prominent cancer ex pert in her own right and who has been a guiding force right through the whole campaign and whose deep insights on breast cancer would have been a great wealth of information for wom en and others, said Praveen Sikri, CEO, IKRIS Pharma. cityfirstdel@gmail.com

Maven Ms Plus Size India

tall and skinny.”

the runner-up posi tion. This was the very first time that a transgender participat ed in this pageant and also won the relevant award breaking all the odds of society.

Hardeep Arora, Founder of Maven Pro duction and a renowned pageant organiser said, “This event was curated for all those ladies who want to become models but their extra weight

comes in the way of their dreams. This show helped break the stereo

type of social standards of being perfect and in a certain shape, which is

The finale was con ducted in three magnifi cently laid out rounds.

Rohit Verma said: “I am elated at the way the pageant was conducted. It was a professional show. I am happy that Plus Size pageants are coming into their own in India. In the West, the Plus Size clothing and products industry is booming. It is now India’s turn.”

Leela President Ar jun Kumar told that on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami President

Droupadi Murmu, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Bahubali

fame superstar Prab has will burn effigies of Ravana, Kumbha

Rohit Verma Simrat Kathuria

Hardeep Arora with the winners Fizah khan

Neeraj Goswami and Anurradha Prasad

Dr Pradeep Chowbey and Susmita Chowbey

Neeraj Goswami, Deveshi Goswami and Sanchit Joshan

Jayasri Burman and Geeta Chandran

Anurradha Prasad and Anu JoshanDeveshi Goswami

Glimpses from the final run

Ashiwsh Sharma, Sonarika Bhadoria, Ankit Raj and Mukesh Tyagi with others during the promotions

Neeraj Goswami, Deveshi Goswami, Anurradha Prasad, Anu Joshan and Renuka Goswami during the lamp lighting ceremony

—PHOTOS BY MANOJ KESHARWANI

—PHOTOS

BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

—PHOTO

BY SHAZID CHAUHAN