First India-Delhi Edition-10th October 2022

BUILDING FALLS

AMID INCESSANT RAINS, GIRL KILLED

Crucial ‘GUJ BLESSED WITHOUT LOOKING AT MY CASTE’

New Delhi: A four-year-old girl died and nine others were injured after the roof of a two-storeyed building collapsed here on Sunday evening, police said. The incident took place in Farash Khana in central Delhi’s Lahori Gate area. Efforts were on to rescue those who could be trapped under the debris, officials said, adding that incessant rains hampered rescue operation.

SIX DIE DUE TO ELECTROCUTION IN UP’S BAHRAICH

Bahraich: Six people, including five minors, were killed and four sustained burn injuries after they came in contact with a high-tension wire here on Sunday. The incident occurred around 4 am in Masupur village in the Nanpara area when the villagers were taking out a procession.

NCPCR TO SEEK NIA PROBE INTO DUMKA GIRL’S KILLING

Ranchi: Apex child rights body NCPCR will recommend an investigation by the NIA into the murder of the class 12 girl in Jharkhand’s Dumka who was set ablaze as she spurned advances by accused, its chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said. Kanoongo said that social media campaigns funded by Bangladesh organisations were on to prove that the girl was not a minor.

STALIN ELECTED UNOPPOSED AS DMK CHIEF Chennai: DMK stalwart and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin was elected as party president at the party’s general council meeting here on Sunday.

In the newly constituted general council, which held its meeting here, the DMK declared Stalin as elected unopposed to the top party post.

HEAVY RAINS: ALL NOIDA SCHOOLS

CLOSED TODAY

Noida: All schools across Noida and Greater Noida will stay closed on Monday on account of excessive rainfall, according to an official order. The closure will be applicable for all classes up to 12th and to all schools across boards, the order stated. “All principals and headmasters ensure compliance of the order,” District School Inspector Dharamveer Singh said.

Modhera (Agencies):

In the run-up to the As sembly elections in his home state Gujarat, Prime Minister Naren dra Modi on Sunday said the people of the state have blessed him for the last two decades and voted for him irre spective of his caste.

Addressing a rally here, Modi said, “Peo ple of Gujarat have blessed me for the last two decades without looking at my caste, without looking at my political background.”

Before becoming the prime minister, Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat between 2001 and 2014.

Assembly elections in Gujarat are slated to be held soon. The elec tions are crucial for the ruling Bharatiya Jana ta Party (BJP), which aims to retain power in PM Modi’s home state, while the Congress hopes for a win after re maining out of power for 27 years in the state.

PM DECLARES MODHERA AS INDIA’S FIRST 24X7 SOLAR-POWERED VILLAGE

Modhera (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday declared Modhera in Gujarat’s Mehsana district as India’s first 24x7 solarpowered village. Addressing a rally here after that, Modi said Modhera was known for the Sun temple, now it will also be known as solar-pow ered village. Making Modhera the country’s first round-the-clock solar-powered village involved developing a ground-mounted solar power plant and more than 1,300 rooftop solar systems on residential and government buildings, a government release said. Assembly elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Gujarat are scheduled to be held by the end of this year.

PM GREETS THE NATION ON VALMIKI JAYANTI

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi on Sunday greeted the nation on Val miki Jayanti. The Prime Minister also shared a video of his thoughts on Maharshi Valmiki.

PM MODI GREETS PEOPLE ON MILAD-UN-NABI

On Milad-un-Nabi, PM tweeted: “Best wishes on Milad-un-Nabi. May this occasion further the spirit of peace, togetherness and compas sion in our society. Eid Mubarak.”

At public event, BJP MP calls for ‘total boycott’ of community

New Delhi (PTI): Delhi BJP MP Parvesh Verma courted controversy on Sunday after he alleg edly made inflammato ry remarks against a community at an event to protest the killing of a Hindu youth in north east Delhi.

Manish (19) was stabbed to death in Sundar Nagri earlier this month. Police have arrested all the accused in the case -- Aalam, Bi lal and Faizan -- and have said they killed him over an old rivalry.

In a purported video of the event, which was organised by various

Hindu outfits against the killing, Verma could be heard saying, “Wher ever you find them, there is only one way to straighten them - total boycott. Do you agree with me?”

“We will not buy any

thing from their shops or pay them any wages. This is the only treat ment for them,” he can be heard in the video.

The Delhi Police said it is obtaining the de tails of the event held at Dilshad Garden.

Mulayam Singh Yadav quite critical

Gurugram (ANI): For mer Uttar Pradesh CM and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mulayam Singh Yadav is quite critical to day and is on life-sav ing drugs, informed Gurugram hospital on Sunday.

Dr Sanjeev Gupta, Medical Director at the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram said that the founder of the Sa majwadi Party is be ing treated in the in tensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital by a comprehensive team of specialists.

NEED FOR GROWTH IN TRADE WITH INDIA: SL

TUSSLE OVER ‘REAL’ SHIV SENA

Uddhav-led Sena gives 3 choices for poll symbol

Mumbai (PTI): The Ud dhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction has submit ted to the Election Com mission three options of a trident, rising sun or mashaal (burning torch) for its poll symbol, sourc es said on Sunday.

The poll panel had on Saturday barred the Shiv Sena factions led by for mer CM Thackeray and present Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde from using the party name and its election symbol ‘bow & arrow’ in the Andheri East Assembly bypoll on November 3.

In an interim order

over claims by the rival factions for control of the organisation, the ECI asked them to sug gest by Monday three different name choices and also as many free symbols for allocation to their respective groups.

‘SHINDE CAMP WILL SUCCEED WHEN ECI TAKES FINAL DECISION’

Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the Shiv Sena fac tion led by CM Eknath Shinde will “succeed” when the Elec tion Commis sion of India (ECI) takes a final decision on proprietary over the party name and elec tion symbol. Fadnavis said he was not surprised at the ECI’s interim decision on Saturday barring the Shiv Sena factions led by Thackeray and Shinde from using the party name and its election symbol ‘bow and arrow’ in the to Andheri East Assembly bypoll.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (R) and Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla (L) offers prayers during a visit to the Kamkhya temple, in Guwahati, on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Rahul resumes Karnataka leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra from Tiptpur

Tiptur (ANI): Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday resumed the Karnataka leg of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Tiptur in Tumkur dis trict which marked the 32nd day of the Yatra.

The march started at 6:45 am, informed Con gress leader Jairam Ramesh. “Day 32 of #BharatJodoYatra started at 6.45 am. The entire day will be spent in the Tumkuru district which contributes more than 1/3rd of total coco nut production in Kar nataka. An interaction with coconut farmers is planned in the after noon”, Ramesh tweeted.

Rajendra Gautam resigns as outrage grows over affront to Hindu gods

Says BJP doing ‘dirty politics’, but he apologises to anyone hurt

First

New Delhi: Minister for Social Welfare, SC and ST, Registrar of Cooperative Societies and Gurudwara Elections, and MLA from Seema puri constituency, Ra jendra Pal Gautam re signed on Sunday as his presence at a Buddhist religious conversion event on Oct 5 put the Aam Aadmi Party in a

severe spot. Sources in the chief minister’s of fice said Gautam’s res ignation letter has been

BOTH SORRY AND THANKS TO KEJRIWAL

“I do not want my leader Shri Arvind Kejriwal or the party to be in any trouble because of me. I am a true solider of the party and I will follow the ideals shown by Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Gautam Buddh throughout my entire life,” Gautam said. He also thanked Kejriwal for giving him respect and support and praised his party for the work it has done. He said violence and discrimination against Dalits “impales his heart”.

with his party or the ministry. He lashed out at the BJP, alleging the saffron party was doing “dirty politics”.

Gautam said he par ticipated in the October 5 event “as a member of a society in personal ca pacity” and it had noth ing to do with his party.

BJP, VHP step up ‘anti-Hindu’ attack, call Arvind Kejriwal ‘mastermind’

received by CM Arvind Kejriwal and a decision on it is pending.

In a letter shared on

Twitter, Gautam said he attended the event in his personal capacity and it had nothing to do

He said Rajratana Ambedkar, the greatgrandson of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, reiter ated the 22 pledges (peo ple take while embrac ing Buddhism) at the event and he had also repeated them along with 10,000 people.

New Delhi (Agencies): Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, BJP’s Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said that Gautam had resigned due to pres sure from the BJP. He added that resigna tion was not enough and Gautam should be expelled. “Apart from this, resignations should also be taken from the Deputy Chief Minister Manish Siso dia and Satyendra Jain

involved in corruption,” he said.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) dubbed Gautam’s resignation as a “sham” and said Hindu society has un derstood that the AAP is not a political party but a “big deception”.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari called for Arvind Kejriwal’s resigna tion, calling him the ‘mastermind’ behind

the episode. Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said that the anti-Hindu face of Kejriwal had been exposed in front of the people of Gujarat.

Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra demanded that Gautam be ousted from the party. “It is clear that Lord Ram and Lord Krishna were abused with the ap proval of Kejriwal,” he said in a tweet.

In this Feb 17, 2020 file photo, Rajendra Pal Gautam takes charge of his office as a Delhi cabinet minister at Delhi Secretariat.

BJP MP Parvesh Verma.

said the city was struck by rockets overnight, and that at least five private houses were destroyed and around 40 were damaged.

Earlier, we were unable to make even cycles in Gujarat; now we are making cars and days are not far when we will make aircraft in the state, says PM Narendra Modi

PM Narendra Modi lays the foundation stone & dedicates development works at Modhera village in Mehsana, on Sunday. Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel and Gujarat BJP President CR Patil are also seen.

‘CONTEST IS FOR CONG’S BETTERMENT’ ‘RaGa WILL BE IN NEW AVATAR POST YATRA’

Srinagar: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sun day said his contest with Shashi Tharoor for the post of party president was aimed at putting forth their view points for the betterment of the country and the party.

Turuvukere: Rahul Gandhi has become a symbol of “Bharat jodo” (unite India) and will be seen in a new avatar post the Congress’ pan-India march, senior party leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with party leaders during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Tumakuru, Karnataka, on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI

SHAH AT KAMKHYA TEMPLE!

—PHOTO BY PTI

Uddhav Thackeray

CAPITOL

Day-night temperatures almost same!

New Delhi (PTI): The national capital re ceived the second high est rainfall since 2007 in the last 24 hours till 8.30 am, according to the In dia Meteorological data on Sunday.

The city weathered near ceaseless rains measuring 74mm till 8.30 am Sunday that brought the maximum temperature on Satur day down by 10 notches, closing in the day-night temperature gap to a re cord low.

Incessant rains for the second consecutive day in the national cap ital improved the air quality on Sunday to "satisfactory" level.

The air quality index recorded at 9 am was 54 which falls in the "good" category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board data.

The minimum tem perature in the national capital settled at 23.4 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's aver age, the official said.

The difference be tween minimum tem perature (20.8 degrees Celsius) on Friday and maximum temperature (23.4 degrees Celsius) on Saturday was 2.6 de grees Celsius -- the low est since 1969, the offi cial said.

Earlier, the lowest such margin was re corded on October 19, 1998 at 3.1 degree Celsi us, the IMD added.

The current rains in Delhi are not monsoon showers, which had receded from the city on September 29 after giving 516.9 mm of rainfall against a normal of 653.6 mm, it said.

According to IMD, post-monsoon rain in the area is due to the in teractions of a western disturbance which lies as a trough in mid and upper air with a deep trough of easterly wind at a lower level.

A weather official said that the easterly wind phenomenon is responsible for the very high moisture incur sions - that cause rains - from Arabian Sea across Gujarat and east Rajasthan, spreading up to Uttarakhand crossing Delhi region.

‘Not Monsoon Rain’

RAINWATER WASHES AWAY 3-YEAR-OLD GIRL INTO YAMUNA

88 scholars to report on Indian civilisation, history of 12,000 yrs

New Delhi (PTI):

Eighty-eight national and international schol ars have come together to bring out a report on the civilisation and his tory of India in the last 12,000 years.

The launch of the re port by the group, led by cultural activist and lit erary critic Ganesh Devy, was announced at the India International Centre here on Sunday.

With 100 sections on a vast spectrum of sub jects, including genet ics, archeology, anthro pology, linguistics and philosophy, the report aims to present a “sci entific view of history” as opposed to the Cen tre’s similar project started in 2020.

The official explained that the moisture is al ways available at lower levels, at or near the Earth’s surface.

Western disturbance, being the upper air system, always moves west, and helps exacer bate such interactions and ultimately make all rain and clouds move

eastwards to northeast Uttar Pradesh or Bihar.

“But for sustaining a rain spell for up to two days, those winds have linked from Arabian Sea, and that is exactly happening. In October to March normally, we get 3 to 5 such intense interactions,” the IMD official said.

Mathura: A three-year-old girl went missing after she was washed away by rainwater into river Yamuna near Dwarkadhish temple, police said on Sunday. The girl named Shirin along with her two cousins was out to celebrate her birthday with their uncle Pawan Chaturvedi late Saturday night. According to police, the incident took place at 11 pm when they all were returning from a restau rant on a scooty which fell after Chaturvedi lost his balance on a slightly inclined road, which had turned slippery due to the ongoing downpour. The two other children, aged 11 and 13 years, managed to get up immediately, but Shirin was washed away into the nearby river by a swift current of rainwater. "Despite efforts of several hours by the fire brigade team during midnight on Saturday and afterwards in the morning on Sunday, her body could not be traced," NK Singh, fire station officer in Mathura said. A search operation by divers is underway, he added.

LG gives Delhi’s night life a 24x7 boost

New Delhi (Agencies):

In a move that will boost Delhi's night life, LG VK Saxena has ap proved more than 300 establishments, includ ing online shopping and delivery shops, hotels, restaurants, and trans port facilities, to oper ate round-the-clock, of ficials at LG office said on Sunday.

The Lt Governor has approved a proposal to exempt 314 applica tions, some of them pending since 2016.

He has directed that notification to this ef fect be issued within seven days, they said.

Approving the pro posal, Saxena took a “very serious view” of “inordinate delay, ad hocism, randomness and unjustified discre

tion” on part of the la bour department in dis posing of applications made by the firms for these exemptions, offi cials said.

NGO frees woman kept in chains by family for 35 years

Firozabad (ANI): A non-government organ isation has freed a men tally ill woman who was kept in chains by her family members for the past 35 years in Firo zabad's Tundla. The woman has been admit ted to the mental hospi tal in Agra.

The NGO Seva Bhara ti, under the leadership of BJP MLA Anjula Ma hour, helped the wom an. According to locals, she was fed by the fam ily through a crack in the door and provided with water for bathing through the window.

MAN BURIED LOVER’S BODY IN HIS ROOM

Firozabad (PTI): A woman's skeleton was exhumed here in the district's Kithaut village after almost two years, leading to the arrest of two men, including her lover who had alleg edly buried her body in his room after killing her, police said on Sunday. Khushbu, 20, had gone missing on Nov 20, 2020.

The LG has ordered that such applications are disposed of within a strict timeline to foster a business-friendly en vironment in Delhi.

Mobile fire tenders at 50 sites, more fire stns

Anjali Pillay

New Delhi: The Delhi Fire Service has formed an internal committee headed by the Chief Fire Officer to identify 50 mishap-prone spots in the national capital where mobile fire ten ders can be deployed. It will also come up with locations where new fire stations could be set up, an official said.

Atul Garg, Director of Delhi Fire Service, said that the LG has di rected to increase the number of fire tenders. Presently, the number is 220, and the target is to have at least

The LG has also di rected the opening of more fire stations.

Right now, the fire de partment has 64 fire sta tions and the target is to take it to 80.

"Based on the LG's di rections, we have al ready started our work.

In September 2020, the government had set up a committee to study “the origin and evolu tion of Indian culture dating back to around 12,000 years ago”.

The government committee had come under fire at the time for not having any south Indian, Northeast Indian, members of re ligious minorities, Dal its and women.

The genesis of the collective report, Devy said, lies in “the contes tation between the sci entific view of history and the ideologically charged attempts to dis

It is de signed to provide a comprehensive pic ture of population movements, social and political or ganisations, devel opment of philoso phies, languages and expression.

—Ganesh Devy, Cultural activist and critic

tort and twist history of South Asia unfolding before us in recent years”.

“It is designed to pro vide a comprehensive picture of the popula tion movements, emer gence of social and po litical organisations, development of philos ophies and metaphys ics, the diversity of lan guages and expres sion,” Devy said.

Sewer deaths: Supervisor, owner of firm arrested

Six children drown in pond in Gurugram

Gurugram (Agencies):

Faridabad (PTI): The Faridabad police ar rested the owner and a supervisor of a Delhibased private company after four sanitation workers engaged by it died while cleaning the underground sewer of a private hospital here, an officer said.

sponse Force and fire brigade personnel were rushed to the spot and the bodies were fished out of the pond. The op eration lasted four hours, they said.

According to the po lice, the arrested were identified as Munesh, the owner of Santushti Allied Services, and Satish, a supervisor of the company.

internal committee headed by the Chief Fire Officers has been formed. Other senior of ficers

Six children drowned while taking a bath in a rainwater-filled pond in Haryana's Gurugram on Sunday, police said. The bodies of the children, all boys aged between 8 and 13, have been recov ered, they said.

also part of

Teams of police, State Disaster Response Force, Civil Defence, National Disaster Re

Deputy Commission er, Gurugram, Nishant Kumar Yadav said Chief Minister Mano har Lal Khattar has an nounced a compensa tion of Rs 2 lakh each.

The duo, residents of Delhi’s Ambedkar Na gar, were arrested Sat urday night and pro duced before a duty magistrate who on Sun day remanded them in 3 -day police custody.

Devdutt Pattanaik explores Ravana's story

New Delhi (PTI): Au thor and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik ap proaches Ravana from a 360-degree angle in his new audiobook and says seeing the demon king as a father, son, brother, husband will enable people to appre ciate the Ramayana, Lord Rama and the Ve dic thought better.

"All characters in Hindu mythology help us understand human ity better. Ravana is no exception. Being larger than life, I always won der why would the great epic Ramayana choose an educated and a rich powerful man as its villain," he says.

"And of course, your Ravana is not a deity but an idea, and every idea is divine, when you start approaching it from all angles and see how a particular idea reveals something

about Hinduism in par ticular and humanity in general. Ravana is no exception," Pattan aik told PTI.

"In order to under stand Rama you must understand how differ

ent he is from Laksh mana, from Sita, from Hanuman, from Ra vana. And this kind of analysis enables us to get a refined idea of the great epic," he says.

Pattanaik believes a

story needs many char acters to bring an idea alive and Ramayana is no exception.

"Ramayana has the added burden of pre senting the thought to the common man and this means it has to be far more refined in composition," he says.

Ravana, according to the author, embodies an educated, powerful, privileged elite. There are important lessons to be learnt from Ra vana's story, Pattanaik suggests. "The most im portant of them is that education, knowledge and power do not nec essarily make you a wise man."

Even to day, we find such bullies every where who genu inely believe that stalking a wom an is an expres sion of love. Such ideas are ampli fied in many

stories

Darkened skies in Delhi on Sunday. (R) A man covers himself with a plastic sheet as he rides bicycle in New Delhi on Sunday.

—PHOTOS BY PTI

Rescue operation underway at the pond on Sunday evening.

Many BJP cadres secretly support AAP, says Kejriwal

Asks BJP workers to secretly work for AAP to beat ruling party

Dharampur (PTI): Del

hi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday claimed that many leaders and work ers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat secret ly support his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and want to see the defeat of their own party in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Targeting BJP over posters that surfaced in several Gujarat cities on Saturday in which he was termed as "antiHindu", Kejriwal said those behind the post ers were "demons and descendants of Kansa".

‘‘Many BJP leaders and workers secretly ask me to do something to defeat the ruling par ty. I would like to tell all BJP workers and lead ers who want to defeat their party to work se cretly for AAP," he said at a rally in tribal-dom

Seeks mandate to break 27 years of BJP’s ‘arrogance’

‘Descendants of Kansa’ remark draws BJP OBC Morcha’s ire

BJP’s journey will reverse from 303 seats to 2: RJD

AAP will usher in a new storm, new pol itics, new party, new faces, new ideas, and new dawn.

—Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM

Patna: BJP OBC Morcha on Sunday said Arvind Ke jriwal had insulted the Yadav community in Gujarat where his Aam Aadmi Party is going full throttle for the upcoming assembly polls. Morcha's national general secretary Nikhil Anand also demanded that the AAP head withdraw the "racist comment". Anand issued a statement here condemning Kejriwal's re ported utterances wherein he had spoken of having been "born on Janmashtami" and vowed to "van quish the descendants of Kansa" as Lord Krishna did. "It seems that just because he was born on Janmashtami, Kejriwal thinks he can equate himself with Lord Krishna. But he should realise that Lord Krishna had punished Kansa for his sins but never sought to wipe out the clan of the king of Mathura," said Anand, who is also a Bihar BJP spokesman. "Kansa was Lord Krishna's maternal uncle and all Yadavs consider themselves as descendants of the Lord Vishnu incarnate. They feel offended by Kejri wal's racist comment. The AAP chief must retract his statement and apologise", demanded Anand.

New Delhi (PTI): The RJD on Sunday said the Opposition has started to come together in sev eral parts of the country and the BJP's journey from two to 303 seats will start reversing from 2024 as a collective alter native would trump the "self-centred" politics of Prime Minister Naren dra Modi's rule.

UPSET MEMBERS

inated Valsad district.

“We have to break 27 years of BJP's arro gance. I know you have your businesses, if you join us they will dam age your business. You stay there, but secretly work to defeat it. Con gress workers need not

fear, you can leave your party and join AAP.

Forget your party,” Ke jriwal said. He called upon the voters to sup port AAP to "wipe out the demons’’.

Everyone should get united for a new Guja rat. Do not care about

Kin of those booked in Delhi riots cases demand justice

the party, work for Gu jarat, work for the coun try, he said, and claimed AAP will usher in a "new storm, new poli tics, new party, new faces, new ideas, and new dawn". The CM also slammed the BJP workers, saying, "They

Two killed in fall from scaffolding at IGI airport site

New Delhi (PTI): Two labourers were killed and six others were in jured after they fell from a scaffolding at a construction site near IGI airport's Termi nal-1 here, police said on Sunday.

The deceased have been identified as Vi kash (30) and Manoj (19), they said.

go around and whisper that 'While Kejriwal is good, he will not win in Gujarat this time, but next time'. If anyone tells you so, then know that he is from the BJP. Tell him that not next time, but (Kejriwal will win this time)."

The assertion was made by the party after a meeting of its national executive that was at tended by the top brass including RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav.

The meeting, which was addressed by Lalu Prasad, Tejashwi Yadav

PERFECT LANDING

and senior party leader Sharad Yadav, saw three resolutions being moved and discussed.

"Three important res olutions were put for ward -- a political resolu tion which is crucial as it comes at a time when the country is being taken in an abyss of

darkness, on foreign policy, and on the eco nomic situation of the country," Jha said.

In the context of Op position unity, Lalu Prasad, Tejashvi Yadav and Sharad Yadav said that all will sit together and issues will be dis cussed.

Man opens fire at police team; nabbed

New Delhi (PTI): A 28-year-old man alleged ly fired at a police team which had arrived to ar rest him in a bailable of fence case, officials said.

Accused Shoukat Ali alias Parvez was booked under Section 336 (act endangering life or per sonal safety of others) of IPC at Ranhola PS.

New Delhi (PTI): The families of those booked in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots and oth er cases gathered here to demand justice, alleging that charges have been "strategically" framed to "scare" those raising their voice for people.

Nargis Saifi, wife of Khalid Saifi, an accused in the 2020 riots case, al leged that several others like her husband have been labelled as "antinationals" and arrested.

"Khalid used to hit the streets to raise the voice of citizens. Several oth ers like Khalid have been labelled as antinationals and arrested.

“I barely accompa nied him to the protests

but now the situation is such that I am bound to speak up,” Nargis claimed at a press con ference. She alleged that the "government has framed these charg es very strategically to scare those who raise their voice." She further said their fight for jus tice has been "long and difficult" as Khalid has been booked under the stringent UAPA.

"Every parent wants to give their children the best possible life but I don't think it is possi ble for us anymore. Eve ry time I step out of the house, my kids ask if I'm going to see their fa ther and if he will re turn,” she added.

The incident took place on October 6, po lice said. Deputy Com missioner of Police (IGI Airport) Tanu Sharma said that police received information that Vikash and Manoj had been brought to the Safdarjung Hospital af ter they fell from the scaffolding.

Vikash was declared brought dead while Manoj died during treatment at the hospi tal, she said.

The six injured la bourers are presently under treatment at the hospital, she added.

The scaffolding work was being done under contractor Mintu Yadav at Terminal-1's Node building at the construction site of L&T, the senior officer said.

Cops raided his resi dence in West Delhi's Mohan Garden. In a bid to flee, he shot at the po lice party, DCP (Dwarka) Harsha Vardhan said.

City’s first slum festival today: Delhi govt

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi government will host the city's first "slum festival" on World Home less Day on October 10, according to a statement issued by the Delhi Ur ban Shelter Improve ment Board (DUSIB).

The festival will wit ness week-long celebra tions by DUSIB towards "sensitising the public about homelessness", they said.

DyCM Manish Siso dia will be chief guest at the event. Medical

THRIVING ECOSYSTEM

DyCM Manish Sisodia

camps, yoga, meditation classes, a special drive on cleanliness, tidiness and tree plantation will be conducted across all DUSIB shelters and bas ti vikas kendras for a week. Camps in collabo ration with the depart ments concerned for is

World Homeless Day has been providing an opportunity for educating people about the issues of the homeless.

suing Aadhaar cards and voter identity cards will also be organised.

Clothes, blankets, medicines and nfood will be distributed among homeless people.

‘‘World Homeless Day has been providing an opportunity for educat

—DUSIB, organising body

ing people about the is sues of the homeless, identifying alternatives for policy-makers and measures which could be taken by individuals as well as at non-govern mental levels in a col laborative manner,’’ DUSIB said.

Year-long study confirms presence of 8 leopards in Asola Sanctuary

lll

The Eco Task Force has reduced human activity in the sanctuary. The forest dept has begun restoration and plantation activities to rewild it

New Delhi (PTI): A year-long study has confirmed the pres ence of eight leopards in the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, an indicator of its thriv ing ecosystem.

The sanctuary did not record any leopard sighting for many dec ades after 1940, as per the Gazetteer of Delhi. In 2019, the Delhi forest department reported fresh sightings of leop ard pug marks and scats in the sanctuary.

The study conducted by the Delhi forest and wildlife department and the Bombay Natu ral History Society from June 2021 to June

THANKS TO SARISKA

It authenticates the presence of eight leop ards which is an indica tor of the thriving eco system of the sanctu ary. The belief that leopards can coexist alongside human settle ments holds its ground in this study.

2022 used 42 infra-red stealth camera traps. It has provided an esti mation of the popula tion size, density and spatial distribution of

the leopards.

The study has also shed light on the pres ence and spatial distri bution of other mam mals such as striped

hyena, jungle cat, gold en jackal, Indian hare, Indian boar, black buck, sambar deer, spotted deer, and hog deer among others.

“Of these eight leop ards, four males and one female have ap peared on a regular ba sis in front of camera traps. They have been found roaming the same tracks once and

even twice in the same week multiple times. This suggests that they have made this urban forest their permanent home,” the report said. Abutting the sanctu ary, Sanjay Colony is a highly human-dominat ed area. Despite this, leopards were seen vis iting the area time to time. The area of the sanctuary bordering the Chhatarpur region and the Neeli Jheel wit nessed maximum sight ings of leopards.

Arvind Kejriwal with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann speaks to the media at Surat airport on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI

RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Tejashwi Yadav, Sharad Yadav and other leaders at the party’s national executive meeting in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Pigeons perch on a tree amid rains in New Delhi on Sunday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

RJD MP Manoj Jha speaks during the press conference 'India Behind Bars: The Cost of Free Speech', at Press Club of India in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY PTI

SPEECH

FOUR INTERVENTIONS THAT CAN MAKE EDUCATION IN INDIA MORE INCLUSIVE

The potential of digital in terventions in the field of education in India is im mense: the market for on line education has grown four times since 2019 to $3 billion. A KPMG assess ment showed that India is the second largest market for online education after the US. With conducive policies and initiatives of the Government of India, such as the National Edu cation Policy (NEP) 2020 and over 5000 EdTech startups , the current education environment is potent for digital transformation.

Alongside this, learning outcomes among school children show significant scope for improvement.

The global Corona pandemic has not only made digital learning central to teaching worldwide, but it has also widened the digital divide, leaving those without devices and internet connections further behind.

According to the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2020-2021 survey, only around 41.3% of schools have access to computers, and 24.5% had access to the internet in 2020-2021.

The National Achieve ment Survey (NAS) of 2021 reported an average learn ing level of 59% in grade 3, 49% in grade 5, 42% in grade 8 and 36% in grade 10. This indicates a decline in learning levels with an increase in grade level and has far-reaching implica tions for young Indians’ readiness for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Furthermore, the COV ID-19 pandemic has high lighted the digital divide caused by disparate access and affordability of tech and devices varying across demographics.

ENHANCING LEARNING AND REDUCING INEQUITIES

While recognizing the huge potential of technol ogy for enhancing learn ing, as well as the need to reduce inequities in edu cational access for all girls and boys, the Education 4.0 India initiative utilizes digital and other technolo gies to address learning gaps and make education accessible to all.

A joint effort between the World Economic Fo rum, UNICEF and Yu Waah (Generation Unlim ited in India) proposes so lutions that align with, and augment and amplify, India’s NEP 2020 and the National Digital Educa tion Architecture of 2021. India’s NEP 2020 aims to improve the delivery of quality education for all learners, including through digital means. From revamping the edu cational structure to creat ing a robust digital learn ing system, the NEP 2020 is aligned with the goals of 21st-century education.

KEYS AREAS THAT REQUIRE INTERVENTION

The report identifies four focus areas for interven tions: foundational litera cy and numeracy (FLN), teachers’ capacity build ing, school-to-work transi tion and connecting the unconnected. The inter ventions are categorised under five building blocks, namely: curriculum, con tent, capacity, community

If we recognize the huge potential of technology for enhancing learning, as well as the need to reduce inequities in educational access for all girls and boys, the Education 4.0 India initiative will utilize the digital and other technologies to address learning gaps. India’s NEP 2020 aims to improve the delivery of quality education for all learners, including through digital means. From revamping the educational structure to creating a robust digital learning system, the NEP 2020 is aligned with the goals of 21st-century education. It emphasizes the development of the creative potential of each child. The most important part of the plan is managing shortcomings.

and digital.

1. Foundational literacy and numeracy

In FLN, a major gap identi fied is the lack of “bytesized” content in early learning that can ignite a child’s interest, as well as engage parents who may not be educated. Storytell ing, read-aloud and inter active content, flip books, and the use of digital tools can address these chal lenges. FLN solutions are centred around the capa bility of the solution to engage the home environ ment and the relevant fac

tors viz parents, caregiv ers and community.

2. Teachers’ capacity building

Enhancing teachers’ ca pacity to deliver education in newer formats is essen tial, as is their buy-in and involvement in creating and providing tech-ena bled curricula. To this end, the report suggests ways to strengthen teach ers’ capacity building – for instance, by improving the quality of teachers’ train ing, linking training with career progression, and involving teachers in de

AFGHAN COMMUNITY RALLIES TO PROTEST

Carrying signs saying ‘Stop Hazara Geno cide’ and ‘Let us live,’ more than a hundred protesters gathered on Parliament Hill Saturday to demand action after several attacks on the ethnic Hazara mi nority group in Afghani stan. The protest was or ganized after a recent sui cide bombing at a Shia ed ucational centre in a Haz ara neighbourhood in the capital city of Kabul on Sept 30. The United Na tions said at least 100 peo ple were wounded and more than 50 people, most ly teenage girls, were killed. The Hazara people are an ethnic minority in

Afghanistan who are pre dominantly Shia Muslims.

They have been a frequent target of violence.

“We want to raise our voice to make people aware that a crime is going on in Afghanistan,” said Ahmad

Seyar Lalee, one of the or ganizers of Saturday’s pro test. Lalee said similar pro tests are also taking place in the United States, the United Kingdom and across Canada in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.

Suicide bombing in Hazara neighbourhood killed more than 50. The protest was organized with placards saying ‘Stop Hazara Genocide’ and ‘Let us live,’ more than a hundred protesters gathered on Parliament Hill to demand action after the attacks on the ethnic minority

The protests are also a way to urge officials with the Canadian government to recognize a “Hazara geno cide,” Lalee said, and take preventative steps.

“We are asking them, as Afghan-Canadian citizens,

to stand with us and stand for justice in Afghanistan and support us,” he added.

‘IT’S UNACCEPTABLE’

Goli Akbari, a member of the Hazara community, said she was heartbroken to hear of the suicide bombing. “It’s so hard as a mother to see somebody’s young kids go to school and get killed. It’s unaccep table,” she said.

Akbari said she’s proud to be both Afghan-Canadi an and Hazara. By attend ing the protest, she hoped to spread awareness about the situation in Afghani stan. “Please stop this,” she urged. “Stop killing our future generation.”

signing a holistic teach ers’ capacity building pro gramme.

3. School-to-work transition

The third priority area, school-to-work transition, focuses on making stu dents job-ready in a rapid ly evolving employment landscape. Nearly 85% of Indian schools have yet to implement vocational courses as part of their curriculum. This report suggests interventions us ing digital and hybrid models to upskill students to find a good fit with avail able and emerging jobs.

4. Connecting the unconnected

The global pandemic has not only made digital learning central to teach ing worldwide, but it has also widened the digital divide, leaving those with out devices and internet connections further be hind. According to the Unified District Informa tion System for Education (UDISE) 2020-2021 survey, only around 41.3% of

schools have access to computers, and 24.5% had access to the internet in 2020-2021. For the fourth focus area, connecting the unconnected, this report categorizes schools based on their access to digital infrastructure.

TRANSFORMING THE EDUCATION SECTOR

The Education 4.0 India initiative builds on efforts by the central and state governments and leverag es their interventions. The interventions recom mended by the initiative can create tremendous im pact – from making educa tion more accessible and inclusive to reducing drop out rates and improving learning outcomes by us ing more adaptive learn ing systems and commu nity engagement.

The report presents a roadmap to enhance In dia’s school education eco system and gives out a call to action to all stakehold ers in the edtech space to come together to trans form the sector.

There was a time, when the existence itself of the State of Assam was in danger. And we, the BJP leaders and Karyakartas resisted the situation with a slogan - ‘Delhi Ho ya Guwahati, Apna Desh Apni Maati’.

Happiness will only come to those who appreciate the little things in life. Finding the root of the problem and being satisfied with what you have, will take you to the path of happiness. Buddha

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Jagat Prakash Nadda @JPNadda

Narendra Modi @narendramodi

Big day for Modhera as it takes a giant leap towards harnessing solar power. Modhera, which is associated with the Sun Temple will also be known for its strides in solar energy.

TOP TWEETS

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

To

More girls should be enrolled in technical educational institutions: Prez

New Delhi (Agen cies): President Drou padi Murmu on Sunday said the number of girl students should be in creased in technical educational institu tions to give more impe tus to the progress of the country.

Speaking at the 52nd convocation and clos ing ceremony of cente nary year celebrations of Punjab Engineering College (PEC) in Chan

digarh, she said Kalpa na Chawla, alumna of PEC's Aeronautical En gineering Department, became the first woman astronaut of Indian ori gin who created an in spiring history of selfsacrifice for science.

She was happy to note that the Kalpana Chaw la Chair of Geospatial Technology is estab lished in PEC.

The President said she was happy to note

that PEC has provided many luminaries to the country in the fields of technology, industry, civil services, educa tion and research, which include former Chairman of ISRO and father of experimental fluid dynamics re search in India, Prof Satish Dhawan; emi nent educationist and founder-Director of IIT, Delhi, Prof R.N. Dogra; an expert in Missiles

Technology and Strate gic Systems, Dr Satish Kumar. Address

possibilities, she has no doubt that they are ca pable of converting

OWAISI REACTS TO RSS CHIEF SAYS

MUSLIM FERTILITY RATE IS DIPING

Owaisi asked Bhagwat to “not fret” as the Muslim population was “rather declining”

Hyderabad (ANI): AIMIM chief Asadud din Owaisi has asked RSS chief Mohan Bhag wat to "not fret" as the Muslim population was "rather declining" in the country, asserting that Indian Muslims were the ones using contra ceptives the most.

His remarks came days after Bhagwat had called for a comprehen sive population policy to ensure that the rising population do not be come a burden but can be used as a resource. "Don't fret. The Muslim population is not in creasing. It's rather fall ing... Who's using con

doms the most? We are. Mohan Bhagwat won't speak on this," Owaisi said. Addressing the an nual RSS Vijayadashmi festival, Bhagwat called for a "comprehensive policy on population"

and said that it should be applied equally to all.

"Population control and religion-based popula tion balance is an im portant subject that can no longer be ignored," he had said.

Shahnawaz slams Owaisi over his population remark

Patna (ANI): BJP lead er Syed Shahnawaz Hussain on Sunday slammed the AIMIM chief Asa duddin Owaisi over the latter's re marks on popula tion and said that the Telangana leader wanted to create a controversy.

"Asaduddin Owaisi has become 'Bayan Pu rush', he wants to create a controversy. A low population is beneficial for society," said Hus

N-E’s financial discipline vital for India economy: Amit Shah

New Delhi (PTI): BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad hit out at Nitish Kumar on Sunday for defending his new ally, RJD chief Lalu Pras ad, after the CBI filed a chargesheet against them, saying it is “shameful” and “unfor tunate” how the Bihar chief minister has turned a blind eye to the issue of corruption.

Addressing a press conference, the former Union minister said Ku mar is “compromising the core of his life’s sav ings” by defending Lalu Prasad in the corrup tion case. The Bihar CM on Saturday voiced his disapproval of the CBI chargesheet against Lalu Prasad in a case pertaining to RJD chief’s tenure as the railway minister.

HM asks the chief ministers to ensure financial discipline of their states

Guwahati (PTI): Finan cial discipline of North eastern states is essential to make the Indian econ omy the second largest in the world, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday.

Addressing the 70th plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) here, Amit Shah said insurgency, lack of connectivity and failure of previous governments to focus on Northeast hampered the region’s development for decades.

“Prime Minister Nar endra Modi’s govern ment tried to under stand the core problems and evolved ways to per manently solve the is sues to take the region to the path of develop ment,” he said.

During the last eight years of the PM Modi government, many ef forts have been made to

bring peace to the region, enhance connectivity and give priority to devel opment, he added.

NEW DAWN BLOOMS

sain. His remarks came after AIMIM chief Owaisi asked RSS chief to "not fret" as the Muslim population was "rather declin ing" in the country, asserting that In dian Muslims were the ones using con traceptives the most. The BJP leader also cleared his take on the popula tion and said, "The more the population grows the bigger the problem it creates. That should be kept in mind."

whatever they choose to become in their life.

She said they are the builders of India of to morrow. It is expected from them that they will use the knowledge acquired in this pres tigious institution in the service of human ity too. She urged them to keep Mahatma Gan dhi's message of 'Sar vodaya' in their indi vidual priorities. She said it is the moral

duty of every citizen, especially the youth, to put into practice the values of the a Father of the Nation'. Presi dent inaugurated the newly constructed building of UT Chandi garh Secretariat. The President said estab lished in Lahore in 1921, PEC has emerged as a leading institute for research and con tributed to the global technological change.

It is a premier insti tute of the country as well as a harbinger of technical education in this region.

The National Educa tion Policy -- 2020 states that a good educational institution is one in which every student is welcomed and cared for and where an in spiring environment with good infrastruc ture and appropriate resources exists.

Nitish has turned delusional: Kishor

New Delhi (ANI): Con gress' Pawan Khera on Sunday reacted to the alleged attack on the party's tribal leader Anant Patel and said that anyone who does not get ma nipulated by the Bharatiya Janata Party gets attacked.

"Yesterday our MLA was attacked as he brought the Central and State government to its knees. Anyone who is not influenced by this government gets at tacked," said Congress leader Pawan Khera.

Congress MLA and Tribal leader Anant Pa tel was allegedly thrashed by goons.

West Champaran, Bihar (ANI): Hitting back at Nitish Kumar, political strategist Prashant Kishor to day said that the Bi har chief minister has become "delusional" and "politically isolat ed" and speaks things other than what he actually means.

He also said that Kumar's age is affect ing him and it reflects in his "nervousness". Kishor was re sponding to the chief minister's comment that the political strategist, who has recently launched a state-

Prashant Kishor

wide 'padayatra' to bring 'Jan Suraj' in Bihar, was "working for the BJP" after he claimed that Mr Ku mar had asked him to join his Janata Dal (United) party.

"He (Kumar) said I am working on BJP's agenda and asked him to merge with Congress. How is it even possible? If I were supporting BJP, why would I ask him to strength en Congress? If the second claim is correct, the first one gets wrong," Kishor told ANI.

‘BJP has come to change HP’s destiny’

Kangra (HP) (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda on Sunday said they have come to the state to change the image and destiny of Himachal Pradesh.

"Elected representa tives are sitting here... We have not come here to sit on our seats, we have come to change the

image and destiny of Himachal Pradesh," said BJP chief JP Nadda

3 top officials arrested in UKSSSC recruitment case

Dehradun (ANI): In a major breakthrough in the UKSSSC scam, three senior government offi cials were arrested by the Uttarakhand STF in connection with the case, said the officials on Saturday.

The arrested accused have been identified as RBS Rawat (former chairman), secretary Manohar Kanyal, for mer controller of ex amination RS Pokharia were arrested on Satur

at the conference of rep resentatives of Pan chayat Raj institutions.

He further said that the "chair" (power) is es sential but not their goal, it is necessary for development. Terming the BJP as the world's largest political party, Nadda said, "Political parties are unable to conduct meeting with

the number as we have in our conference.

Earlier, Nadda was on a tour to Assam with Amit Shah and while ad dressing the inaugural function of BJP's big gest party headquarters

Atal Buhari Vajpayee Bhawan in Guwahati he said that BJP is the only ideology-based and na tional party in India.

day in the investigation of rigging in the VPDO recruitment examina tion conducted by Utta rakhand Subordinate Service Selection Com mission in 2016.

KCR’s bets on national aspiration to win state assembly elections!

outside Telangana.

Mahesh Sharma

New Delhi: Telangana

Chief Minister K Chan

drasekhar Rao has an nounced to change the name of his party Telan gana Rashtra Samithi to Bharat Rashtra Samithi.

He had fixed an auspi cious time for this and on October 5, on the day of Dussehra, at 1.19 o’clock, he announced to change the name of TRS to BRS. Earlier, he met leaders of Tamil Nadu’s party VCK

and Karnataka’s JDS. Before that, he has been meeting leaders of oppo sition parties across the country. Now he has an nounced that he will do national level politics by forming Bharat Rashtra Samiti and will try to make Bharat Rashtra Samiti a na tional party. However, the reality is that his party is one of the few renowned regional par ties who have no influ ence outside Telangana.

All parties like NCP, Trinamool, Shiv Sena, JDU, RJD, AAP have or ganizations in more than

one state. DMK is also in Tamil Nadu and Puduch erry. But TRS does not have any organization

So how will the change from regional to national party become a possibility? That’s why it seems that he has done this work to create a message of Telangana pride for the party work ers and the people of the state before the assem bly elections to be held next year. He wants to send the message that he can be the face at the all India level and can also be the prime minis

terial candidate from the opposition side.

Through this, he will ap peal to the people of the state to win them the as sembly elections and then he will take the Telugu identity to the whole country in the Lok Sabha elections. In fact, all his worries are about winning the next year’s election. For this, elections were held be fore time last time and this time the narrative is of national politics.

New Delhi (ANI): The All India Muslim Personal Law Board filed an application for impleadment in the matter dealing with the Places of Worship Act 1991 and defended it saying that the object of the Places of Worship Act, 1991 is to prevent such disturbance of public order and to maintain peace and strengthen basic feature of secularism. AIM PLB has filed an application for impleadment in the matter dealing with the places of worship act and urged the Supreme Court to allow it to be impleaded as the party in the mat ter. AIMPLB said that the object of the Places of Worship Act, of 1991 is to prevent such disturbance of public order and maintain public peace and strengthen basic features of secularism.

Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka High Court has said that non-matching DNA samples would not absolve a crime accused since it is only corrobo rative evidence. The court rejected the petition of a 43-year-old bus conductor who is accused of raping and impregnating a 12-year-old relative.

He rushed to the High Court, seeking quashing of the case after a DNA test showed that his blood sample and that of the foetus did not match.

The accused is a resident of Mysuru. He has been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Penal Code (IPC). The complaint was filed by the mother of the victim on February 19, 2021. The bus conductor is alleged to have sexually abused the girl due to which she became pregnant. The police filed a charge-sheet in the case while the report of the DNA test was still pending.

DNA MISMATCH WON'T ABSOLVE ACCUSED: KARNATAKA HC

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi addressing a press over Muslim fertility rate is diping, in Hyderabad on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Khera reacts to attack on Cong tribal leader Anant Patel

‘Shameful’: Prasad on Nitish's disapproval of CBI chargesheet

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurates the newly-built Convention Centre at Assam Police Training College, in Golaghat on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao with JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy as they announce that JDS and BRS parties to work together.

Accused in STF custody.

SHAH OFFERS PRAYERS AT KAMAKHYA TEMPLE

AIMPLB FILES APPLICATION FOR IMPLEADMENT IN SUPREME COURT

JP Nadda

President Droupadi Murmu

Day 6 of searches: Ten more bodies brought to Uttarkashi

27 BODIES RETRIEVED NOW, 2 STILL MISSING HEAVY SNOWFALL IN PITHORAGARH

Uttarkashi (PTI): Ten more bodies of moun taineering trainees were brought to Ut tarkashi on Sunday as search and rescue op erations continued for the sixth consecutive day at the avalanche site near Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak.

A total of 27 bodies have been retrieved so far out of which 21 have been brought to Uttarkashi to be hand ed over to their fami lies, the Nehru Insti tute of Mountaineer ing (NIM) said.

Four bodies were brought to Uttarkashi on Friday, seven on Sat urday and 10 more on Sunday, it said.

All 21 bodies brought to Uttarkashi have been identified while two mountaineers are still missing, the insti tute said. A group of 29 mountaineers went missing when the ava lanche struck at a height of 17,000 feet on October 4.

Route to Hemkunt Sahib shut by snow

Chamoli (ANI): The pilgrimage to the Hem kunt Sahib shrine, situ ated at an altitude of 15,225 feet, has stopped just a day before the closing of its doors due to heavy snowfall here on Sunday.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Shweta Choubey informed that the region has received fresh snowfall of more than 2 ft.

Time has come to become ‘ruling community’: Maya

Pithoragarh (ANI):

Heavy snowfall lashed several areas in Dhar chula town in Pithora garh district, leaving up to two feet of snow in the upper areas and blocking key roads near the Nepal border on Sunday, officials said. Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) officials said that some roads have been blocked following the continuous snowfall, including the Lipulekh road near Malla Ghat.

AMARAVATI: IMD’S WEATHER WARNING

Amaravati (ANI): The India Metrological De partment (IMD) station at Amaravati released weather warnings on Sunday, forecasting light to moderateintensity rain in the region for the next five days. According to IMD, heavy rain is likely at isolated places in the Rayalaseema region and thunderstorms accom panied by lightning are likely at isolated places for the next three days.

Lucknow (PTI): BSP chief Mayawati on Sun day said the “Bahujan Samaj” is tired of de manding its constitu tional and legal rights and now it has to cam paign to become the “ruling community”.

In a series of tweets on the death anniver sary of party founder Kanshiram, Mayawati called on her followers to seek power.

“Bahujan Samaj has got tired of demanding its constitutional and legal rights in the 75 years after Independ ence. Now they will have to join the cam paign to become 'Hukm ran Samaj' (ruling com

France wants to be India’s defence partner

Jammu: J&K Police on Saturday foiled an attempt by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists as they recovered three IEDs and sticky bombs from the Billawer area of Kathua district. According to the police, the recovery was made on the disclosure of a JeM terrorist arrested from Kathua on October 2. SSP) Kathua, RC Kotwal said, “On interrogation and disclosure of arrested former terrorist Zakir Hussain Bhat, a resident of Malad Billawer.”

New Delhi: France wants to be India’s “best partner” in boosting its defence manufacturing and has decided to share the best technologies and equipment in sync with the growing “trust” between the two sides, French Ambassador Em manuel Lenain has said. Without divulging spe cific details, the envoy said French and Indian companies are working together on “equipment of the future”, platforms and engines.

“I do not think any country provides India with the same level of technology. The pro gress is also due to the fact that we recognise that India wants to boost its strategic au

MAJOR UPSWING

Bahujan Samaj has got tired of de manding its constitutional and legal rights. Now they will have to join the campaign to become ‘Hukmran Samaj’ .

munity) with full force.

“Next election in UP would be your test, in which success could prove to be a new ray of hope,” Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi.

She went on to call “power” a “master key” which can open all doors of progress.

"That is why this campaign must contin ue at all costs. This is today's message and this work has to be done with determination,"

dia inked an inter-gov ernmental agreement with France in Sept 2016 for the procure ment of 36 Rafale jets at a cost of around Rs 59,000 crore.

tonomy, wants to build its industrial base and we want to be India’s best partner in this move,” he told PTI.

Indo-French strate gic ties have been on a major upswing after In

KCR governing with tantrik’s advice: Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi: Family members of deceased actor and BJP leader Sonali Phogat have re ceived two letters from an anonymous sender. Sonali’s brother-in-law Aman Poonia has stated that both letters should be investigated as they hold important informa tion regarding the case. In the first letter, it was stated that a deal of Rs 10 crore was made in the murder case.

Amethi: A 15-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by a man in a village in Jamo area here, police said on Sunday. The incident took place on October 3 when the man looking after music arrange ments in a Durga puja pandal raped her in the field when she went to attend nature’s call, they said. The accused identified as Monu has been arrested, he said.

New Delhi: Union Fi nance Minister Nirma la Sitharaman on Satur day alleged that Telan gana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao stopped going to the state Secretariat and did not induct women in his Cabinet for a long time on the advice of “tantriks” and numer ologists.

Sitharaman also claimed that Rao, popu larly known as KCR,

NEW ZEALAND VISIT

changed the name of his party — Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) — on the advice of “tantriks” (oc cultists).

Interacting with par ty workers in Hy derabad, Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar also made simi lar allegations.

The Chief Minister’s Office did not immedi ately react to the com ments.

Rao renamed his par ty to BRS earlier this week as part of his na tional expansion plans ahead of 2024 Lok Sab ha polls.

EAM raises problems faced by Indian students

lll

Jaishankar also touched upon the topic of direct air connectivity between India and New Zealand and said that it will be taken care of

Wellington (PTI): Ex ternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that he has urged New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Minister Nanaia Ma huta to take a sympa thetic view on the diffi culties faced by Indian students, who were im pacted during the COV ID-19 pandemic.

Jaishankar, who is here on his first visit to New Zealand as the Ex ternal Affairs Minister,

said this while interact ing with the Indian community during the inauguration of the

students, he said that they have had tough times during COVID.

“Defence has always been a very strong com ponent of our coopera tion because there is a lot of trust between our two countries. When you want to work on these issues, you need trust because you com mit yourself for 10, 20, 30 years,” Lenain said.

Iran state TV hacked by digital activists: Report

Paris: Digital activists supporting Iran’s wave of women-led protests have hacked a state tel evision live news broad cast, superimposing crosshairs and flames on the face of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“The blood of our youths is on your hands,” read a message on screen in the broad cast that started 9pm local time Saturday.

new Indian High Com mission Chancery in Wellington.

In respect of Indian

“None of us had an easy time during COV ID. But students per haps took a bigger hit than most of us. So, I urged the Prime Minis ter and the Foreign Min ister to take a sympa thetic view and under standing of students who enter and I was glad to be assured that they would approach the issue sympatheti cally,” Jaishankar said.

—Mayawati, BSP chief

she said.

Mayawati paid her tributes to Kanshiram for making “Bahujan Samaj a political pow er” and a “ruling com munity” in UP.

“I pay respect and homage to founder of Bahujan Samaj Party Manyavar Shri Kanshi Ram ji, on his death an niversary. Heartfelt thanks to all his follow ers who are paying re spect to him,” she said in another tweet.

UP BUREAUCRACY

By Ahtesham Siddiqui

Kaushal Raj Sharma is Varanasi Commissioner

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has appointed Varanasi DM Kaushal Raj Shar ma as the new commis sioner of Varanasi.

Moreover, till the time a suitable officer is found, Sharma will also hold the additional charge of DM of Banaras.

Being the parliamen tary constituency of Prime Minister Naren dra Modi, the search for a qualified District Mag istrate has intensified in Varanasi. On January 1, 2022, Sharma was pro moted to the rank of Secretary, but even after this, he had been carry ing out the responsibil ity of Varanasi DM.

After relieving Vara nasi Commissioner IAS Deepak Agrawal, who has gone on central dep utation, the government has made Varanasi DM the new commissioner of Banaras.

With the transfer of IAS Kaushal Raj Shar ma, IAS Shambhu Ku

2006 batch IAS officer Kaushal Raj Sharma has made a new record of serving as DM for the longest time as he re mained DM even after being promoted to secre tary rank. Kaushal Raj Sharma, a resident of Bhiwani in Haryana, has been serving as DM since 2008.

Responsible nations should call out international terrorism, says India

New Delhi: Respond ing to Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto`s comments on alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, during a joint press conference with German counter part Annalena Baer bock, India has said that all “serious and consci entious members of global community have a role and responsibility to call out international terrorism, especially of a cross cultural nature”.

External Affairs Min

istry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Sat urday said in a state ment said that Jammu and Kashmir witnesses a similar and sustained terrorist campaign for decades.

“This continues. For

eign nationals have been victims there as also in other parts of India. The UN Security Council and FATF are still pursuing Pakistanbased terrorists in volved in 26/11 at tacks,” Bagchi said in the statement.

He further said that when “states don`t rec ognise such dangers be cause of self-interest or indifference, they un dermine the cause of peace, not promote it and do grave injustice to victims of terrorism”.

Shri Hemkunt Sahib Trust on September 7 had informed that the

portals of the Gurud wara will be closed at 1 pm on October 10.

Fresh snowfall at Hemkund Sahib on Sunday.

Search and rescue operation near Draupadi’s Danda-2 mountain peak on Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Mayawati pays tributes to Kanshi Ram on his death anniversary at the party office in Lucknow.

COPS RECOVER EXPLOSIVES, STICKY BOMBS IN JAMMU & KASHMIR’S KATHUA

PHOGAT DEATH:

MINOR DALIT GIRL RAPED IN AMETHI, ACCUSED HELD

S Jaishankar speaks during inauguration of the new Indian High Commission Chancery, in Wellington, Sunday. —PHOTO BY PTI

mar 2010 batch Special Secretary Secondary Education has been made the new MD of Purvanchal Vidyut Vit ran Nigam, whereas IAS Rupesh Kumar serving as Special Secretary, Sugar and Sugarcane has been made Special Secretary, Secondary Education.

Kaushal Raj Sharma

Nirmala Sitharaman

Emmanuel Lenain

Arindam Bagchi

business

STEEL OUTPUT

2.5% AT 30 MT

New Delhi: India’s crude steel output rose by 2.56% to 30.06 million tonne (MT) during the Ju ly-September period of the ongoing financial year.

As per research firm SteelMint, the top six steel makers — SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, JSPL, AMNS India and RINL — produced 18.29 MT steel, the rest 11.77 MT came in from the secondary sec tor. During same period last fiscal, large producers had jointly manufactured 18.39 MT steel, while the secondary industry pro duced 10.92 MT.

SEVEN OF TOP-10

FIRMS ADD `1 LAKH CRORE IN M-CAP

Direct tax kitty up 24% to ` 8.98 L cr

New Delhi (PTI): The gross collection of tax on corporate and individual earnings jumped nearly 24% so far in the current fiscal year to ` 8.98 lakh crore, the tax department said on Sunday.

This includes a 32% growth in personal income tax (including Securities Transaction Tax) mop up and 16.73% increase in cor porate tax revenues over the same period last year.

After adjusting for re funds, the net direct tax col lections between April 1October 8 stood at ` 7.45 lakh crore, which is 52.46% of the Budget estimates

(BE) for the full year tax collection target, the de partment said.

The Budget had estimat ed direct tax collection at `14.20 lakh crore this fiscal, higher than ` 14.10 lakh crore collected last fiscal (2021-22). Tax on corporate and individual income makes up for direct taxes.

“Direct Tax collections up to 8th October, 2022 show that gross collections are at ` 8.98 lakh crore which is 23.8% higher than the gross collections for the corresponding period of last year,” the tax depart ment said in a statement.

Refunds amounting to

`

1.53 lakh crore have been issued between April 1-oc tober 8, an increase of 81% over the corresponding pe riod last year.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS

z After adjusting for refunds, the net direct tax collections between April 1 - Oct 8 stood at `7.45 lakh crore, which is 52.46% of the Budget estimates (BE) for the full year tax collection target

z The Budget had estimated direct tax collection at `14.20 lakh crore this fiscal

in any country. But in In dia, the robust tax collec tion was despite a slow down in industrial produc tion and exports.

Some analysts believe that the economic growth has lost momentum but corporate profits are keep ing the engine running.

Merchandise exports have lost on the momen tum of last year’s surge and shrunk by 3.5% in Sep tember. Trade deficit has nearly doubled in the first six months.

After adjusting refunds, net direct tax collection stood at ` 7.45 lakh crore, 16.3% higher over the yearago period. This includes a

16.25% increase in PIT (in cluding STT) and 16.29% in corporate tax.

Tax collection is an indi cator of economic activity

IIP growth was subdued at 2.4% in July while ‘core sector’ hit a nine-month low of 3.3% in August.

New Delhi: The combined market valuation of seven of the 10 most valued firms climbed `101043.69 crore last week, with Reli ance Industries and TCS emerging as the biggest gainers.The market valua tion of RIL climbed `37581.61 crore to reach `1646182.66 crore. Tata Consultancy Services added `22,082.37 crore, taking its valuation to `1121480.95 crore. In the ranking of top-10 compa nies, RIL remained the most valued Indian firm, followed by TCS.

SBI LINES UP NPAs

OVER `746 CR FOR SALE IN OCT-NOV

New Delhi: The State Bank of India (SBI) has lined up various non-per forming assets up for sale this month and the next, including the fraud ac count of Sintex BAPL, to recover over `746 crore.

In an auction scheduled for November 4, SBI will put up NPAs for sale to asset reconstruction com panies/ FIs, banks or NBF Cs. The auction of NPAs will include accounts of Sintex BAPL with an out standing of `197.74 crore; Surat Hazira NH6 Tollway Pvt Ltd of expo sure of `335.54 crore and Shreebhav Polyweaves Pvt Ltd (`20.20 cr).

FPIs INVEST `2,400 CRORE IN INDIAN EQUITIES IN OCTOBER

New Delhi: After with drawing over `7,600 crore last month, foreign investors have resumed buying Indian stocks and have invested more than `2,400 crore in the do mestic equity markets in the first week of October. FPI flow is expected to re main volatile in the com ing months, experts said.

to data with the depositories, FPIs invest ed a net `2,440 crore in equities during October 3-7, after pulling out over `7,600 crore in

Lo ndon:

Data locali sation and UK compa nies being allowed to bid for Indian government con tracts are among the issues causing a possible dead lock in the final stages of the India-UK FTA negotia tions towards a Diwali draft completion deadline, according to a UK media.

‘The Daily Telegraph’ quoted a source close to the talks to say that data locali sation rules that prevent foreign companies taking data out of India and allow ing UK firms to bid for pub lic sector contracts are two key “sticking points” to a comprehensive deal. The likelihood of a so-called “thin” trade deal within the symbolic Diwali or October

24 dead line and further “it erative” deals at a later stage is now looking like a likely outcome.

“The stumbling blocks are absolutely to do with digital. How ambitious and comprehensive this deal is is in some way a function of time,” the newspaper quoted an “insider” as say ing. It follows UK Trade Secretary indicating that just because there may be an FTA struck with India, it did not mean “we can’t do even more later”.

The DIT also reiterated the government stance that any FTA would be agreed only if it meets the UK’s interests.

India will stand out with 7% growth rate in FY23: Sanyal

New Delhi (PTI): Amid fears of the world slipping into recession, India will perhaps emerge as the strongest major economy with 7% growth rate in FY23, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Min ister (EAC-PM) member Sanjeev Sanyal said on Sunday.

India-UK FTA talks face deadlock over data: Report TOP TALKING POINTS

Sanyal observed that In dia can grow at 9% in an external conducive envi ronment like in early 2000s.

“We are clearly entering an environment where many countries around the world will be facing much slower growth or even slip ping into recession.

“This is due to a combi nation of factors ranging from tighter monetary pol icy to higher energy costs, as well as disruptions caused by the Ukraine war,” he said.

TCS, Infosys results, macro data to drive markets this week: Analysts

New Delhi (PTI): Trading in the domestic equity market this week will be influenced by quarterly re sults from TCS and Info sys, besides inflation and industrial production data as well as global trends, analysts said.

Movement of the rupee, which has slumped to re cord lows against the US dollar, will also be tracked by investors, they added.

“This week, participants will be eyeing important macroeconomic data viz

their numbers along with two other heavyweights Bajaj Auto and HDFC Bank,” said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Performance of the US markets, FIIs’ trend, and movement in currency and crude will also remain on their radar, Mishra added.

z The World Bank on Oct 6 projected 6.5% growth rate for the Indian economy for 202223, a drop of one percentage point from its June 2022 projections, citing deteriorating international environment

He emphasised that the cumulative impact of sup ply side reforms over many years by the Modi gover

CAR PRICES TO RISE NEXT YR

z Sanyal observed that India can grow at 9% in an external conducive environment like in early 2000s when the global economy was growing

z He however cautioned against pushing growth unnecessarily “when the highway has so many bumps”

ment has meant that In dia’s economy is currently much more flexible and resilient than it used to be.

OTHER STORIES

IOC, HPCL, BPCL may post 2nd consecutive quarterly loss

New Delhi (PTI): Stateowned oil marketing com panies IOC, BPCL and HPCL may for the first time ever post the second consecutive quarterly loss with a combined loss of ` 21,270 crore in July-Sep tember, on holding petrol and diesel prices below the cost of production.

The three state-owned firms -- Indian Oil Corpora tion, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hin dustan Petroleum Corpora tion Ltd, had in the first quarter of the current fis cal year (April-June) post ed a combined loss of `18,480 crore due to erosion in the marketing margin on petrol, diesel and do mestic LPG.

The three firms are to announce second quarter earnings later this month or in early November.

GOVERNMENT TO KICK OFF ITS ANNUAL BUDGET MAKING EXERCISE FOR FY 2023-24 TODAY

IIP, CPI and WPI... Besides, the week also marks the be ginning of the earnings season with IT majors like TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech and Wipro announcing

NO MATERIAL IMPACT OF RATE HIKE

Last week, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 764.37 points or 1.33%. The domestic equity markets were closed on Wednesday for Dussehra.

New Delhi (PTI): Passen ger and commercial vehi cle prices are expected to rise as automobile compa nies invest in upgrading vehicles to meet stricter emission norms that kick in from April next year.The Indian automobile indus try is currently working to make their products meet the second phase of Bharat Stage VI, in real time driv ing conditions. Four-wheel er passenger and CVs will need more sophisticated equipment to be added to meet the next level of emis sion standards.

Home loan outstanding of banks doubles

New Delhi (PTI): Interest rates do not seem to have a material bearing on people who buy their dream resi dential properties on bor rowed funds as the home loan outstanding of banks almost doubled to ` 16.85 lakh cr in the last five yrs, shows Reserve Bank data.

Even in the first five months of the current fis cal, home loan outstanding of banks has clocked dou ble-digit growth, despite the Reserve Bank raising the key interest rate thrice during this period by a whopping 140 basis points (bps), which led to a hike in

the home loan rate.

As per the RBI data, the housing loan outstanding of the banks was at Rs 8,60,086 crore at the end of fiscal 2016-17, and the same has increased to Rs 16,84,424 crore at the end of 2021-22.

Experts from banking and real estate industry are

of the opinion that though interest rates are impor tant, they do not deter a home buyer as the decision is based on current income and future prospects.

Also people are becom ing increasingly aware that interest rates would move up and down during the life

DESPITE RATE HIKES THRICE

z Even in the first five months of the current fiscal, home loan outstanding of banks has clocked double-digit growth

cycle of a loan, which is typically for around 15 years.

The RBI data revealed that banks’ housing loan outstanding increased in the range of 13.7 to 16.4 per cent year-on-year in each of the first five month of the current financial year.

New Delhi: The government on Monday will kick off its annual Budget making exercise for financial year 2023-24, that is expect ed to look at measures to revive growth amid a gloomy global out look. The meeting would start with consultations with various ministries and departments on the revised estimates (RE) of expenditure for ongoing financial year and the fund requirement for 2023-24. On the first day on Monday, RE meetings with Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Labour And Employment, Ministry of Information and Broadcast ing, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports would take place. —PTI

HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA

POSTS HIGHEST PAT IN

YEARS

New Delhi: Hyundai Motor

highest

company, which

PE

New Delhi: Private equity (PE) investment in real estate in creased 40% during the AprilSeptember period of this fiscal to $2.8 billion,

a huge inflow coming from foreign funds especially in office

says a report.

to the Anarock report, investments by foreign

contributed around

to the total

previous highest

of HMIL was at `2,581.73 crore in 2018-19.

in the first half of this

reflect ing their strong

Indian real estate.

ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS SECTOR HAS MAX NUMBER OF DELAYED PROJECTS AT 248

New Delhi: The road transport and highways sector has the maximum number of delayed projects at 248, followed by railways at 116 and petroleum sector at 88, showed a government report. In the road transport and highways sector, 248 projects are delayed with respect to their original schedule out of the 831 monitored, as per the latest flash report on infrastructure projects for August 2022. Similarly in railways, out of 173 moni tored projects, 116 are delayed, while for petroleum, 88 out of 139 projects are delayed.

Read Valmiki Ramayan to become human: Bhagwat

Kanpur (ANI): Rash triya Swayamsevak

Sangh (RSS) chief Mo han Bhagwat on Sun day extended greetings on Valmiki Jayanti and said that the occasion is important for anybody who wishes to become a “human being”.

“If you want to learn affinity, read Valmiki Ramayan which men tions the character of Lord Ram. It is a vital and pride moment for any person who wants to become a better hu man being,” RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said addressing a public gathering in Uttar

Pradesh’s Kanpur. “Any body who has this feel ing of affinity and wants to stay united could even sit over a leaf of tama rind,” he added quoting a Bengali proverb. Val miki Jayanti is observed on October 9 every year.

The day marks the birth anniversary of Maharishi Valmiki who is credited with writing the original Ramayana during the lifetime of Lord Ram. Prime Minis ter Narendra Modi also extended greetings on the occasion by tweet ing, “Happy Valmiki Jayanti to the country men.” The celebrations

marked the streets of the nation today. The Uttar Pradesh government will cele

brate the birth anniver sary of Sage Valmiki in a ‘grand’ manner across the state. Earlier on Oc

Many facets of ‘Mahakal Lok’

Ujjain (PTI): Two grand gateways, a ma jestic colonnade of 108 ornate pillars made of intricately carved sand stones, gushing foun tains and a running panel of over 50 murals depicting stories from Shiv Puran are among the major highlights of the soon-to-open ‘Ma hakal Lok’ in Ujjain.

Prime Minister Nar endra Modi will on Oc tober 11 inaugurate the first phase of the Rs 856-crore Mahakalesh war Temple corridor development project here, located around 200 km from the state capi tal Bhopal.

The over 900-metrelong corridor -- ‘Ma hakal Lok’ -- billed as one of the largest such corridors in India skirts around the old Rudrasa gar Lake which has also been revived as part of the redevelopment pro ject around the ancient Mahakaleshwar Tem ple, one of the 12 ‘jyotir lings’ in the country that gets devotees throughout the year.

Two majestic gate ways -- Nandi Dwar and Pinaki Dwar -- separat ed by a short distance, have been erected near the starting point of the corridor, which winds its way to the entrance of the ancient temple and offers aesthetic views along the way.

Sandstones sourced from Bansi Paharpur area in Rajasthan have been used for building structures that populate the corridor. Artists and craftsmen mainly from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Orissa worked on chisel ling and embellishing raw stones into aesthet

ic pillars and panels, a senior official, associat ed with the project since its beginning, told PTI.

Sources in the Madhya Pradesh government said the ambitious pro ject that began in 2017 seeks to “emphasise and re-evoke the ancient glory of the historic city of Ujjain” through use of ancient temple archi tecture while providing all amenities to visitors

‘Spl incentives will continue for central govt staff in J&K’

India

New Delhi: Minister of State for Personnel Ji tendra Singh has said that special incentives and concessions to Cen tral Government em ployees posted in Kash mir valley will continue.

He said the Department of Personnel and Train ing has already issued orders for the extension of the benefits for a fur

ther period of 3 years. He also said that the package of incentives is uniformly applicable to all the ministries, De partments and PSUs under the Government of India.

and using latest technol ogy to enhance its phys ical and cultural value. So, while 108 pillars with ornamental ele ments on top bearing trishul-style design dot the corridor at regular intervals, CCTV camer as and public address system have been har moniously incorporated in them, they said.

The PA system will be used for making an

nouncements for crowd management and for playing devotional songs once the corridor is opened to the public.

Besides, an integrat ed control and com mand centre has been set up to monitor secu rity arrangements in the temple corridor complex.

Chief Executive Of ficer, Ujjain Smart City, Ashish Kumar Pathak, said Ujjain is an ancient and holy city and old Hindu texts describe the presence of a ‘Ma hakal Van’ around the Mahakaleshwar Tem ple aeons ago.

tober 7, the officials in formed that various events have been planned for celebrations

Rama and Hanuman as well as at all places as sociated with the epic along with the lighting of lamps or ‘deepdan’.

miki Jayanti is cele brated on a grand scale throughout the state.

in Uttar Pradesh, in cluding the continuous recital of the Ramayana at all temples of Lord

In pursuance of the objective of the govern ment, the District Mag istrate in Gorakhpur has issued detailed guidelines to the CDO, all SDMs, Deputy Direc tor Buddhist Museum and Regional Tourism Officer. Principal Secre tary, Mukesh Kumar Meshram issued direc tions in this regard to all divisional commis sioners and the district magistrates asking them to ensure that Val

Earlier during prepa ration for the occasion, officials were asked to arrange for the lighting of lamps or ‘deepdan’ as well as the continuous recital of the Ramayan for 8, 12 or 24 hours and organise similar other events at all places and temples related to Maha rishi Valmiki on his Jay anti. The preparations for the events to be held on Valmiki Jayanti were reviewed by the nodal officer nominated by the government on the even ing of October 8.

EAM Jaishankar inaugurates new Indian High Commission Chancery in Wellington

Wellington: India’s Ex ternal Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sun day inaugurated the new Indian High Com mission Chancery in Wellington. During this, Jaishankar said that coordinating each other’s capabilities is a more prudent way to further deepen the vital ties between India and New Zealand.

Jaishankar, who is on his first visit to New Zealand as External Af fairs Minister, also said that there is a need to take the ties between the 2 countries afresh.

Jaishankar on Sun day tweeted, “Inaugu rated the new Indian High Commission Chancery in Wellington today. The three ministe rial-level visits in a short span of time re flect our shared desire to deepen India-New Zealand ties. The rela

RAISE HIGH THE TRICOLOUR

tionship between India and New Zealand “draws strength from the vision and commit ment of our Prime Min isters @narendramodi & @jacindaardern,” he tweeted. While address ing members of the In dian community, he ad dressed the possibilities for increased coopera tion in various sectors like business, digital and agriculture sectors.

“The more sensible way of growing our re lationship is really to play with each other’s strengths. We must find ways for doing more business because, at the end of the day, business is good for any relation ship. For once if there is a strong business foun dation to a business re lationship, that rela tionship is truly strong and steady,” he said.

New Delhi: Senior Con gress leader Mohsina Kidwai said it was her mistake to be part of the "Tiwari Congress" fac tion that broke away from the party in revolt against the then prime minister & party presi dent PV Narasimha Rao.

She said so in her au tobiography titled My Life in Indian Politics', 27 years after the rebellion in the national party.

The veteran leader’s disclosure comes at a time when the Indian National Congress is try ing to recover from its worst phase with the election of its new presi dent in the next few days.

Rahul means Bharat, Bharat means Rahul: New UP Cong chief

Arunav Sinha

Lucknow: Buoyed by the response to the Con gress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra, newly appointed Uttar Pradesh party chief Bri jlal Khabri has hailed Rahul Gandhi by saying “Rahul means Bharat, and Bharat means Ra hul”, and asserted his aim is to “save” the coun try and the Constitution.

His remarks in an in terview with the PTI on

Friday was a reminis cent of former Con gress president Dev Kant Barooah’s famous “India is Indira, Indira is India” utterance, which the party’s rivals have often used to criti cise the Congress and the Gandhi family.

Khabri parried que ries on why the Bharat Jodo Yatra is scheduled to pass through just one district (Bulandshahr) in the politically crucial

He is covering 13 states, and has set a big aim.”

He lambasted the BJP government for “trying to sell the coun try and abolish the Con stitution”.

state of Uttar Pradesh, saying, “Bharat is not a district nor it is a state.

It is an union of states.

He also said the Con gress was “targeting to win all the 80 Lok Sab ha seats in UP in the 2024 general elections”, and warned the BJP it would lose deposits in Rae Bareli, which is currently represented

ON GANDHIS

CONTESTING

However, when he was asked if Sonia & Rahul Gandhi will contest from UP, Khabri said, “They are senior leaders, they will contest from the seats they want to.”On whether he would like Priyanka Gandhi to contest from Rae Bareli, in case Sonia opts out, Khabri said, “I will say that Priyanka ji should come forward (and con test), and if she does, she will definitely win.”

by Sonia Gandhi, & Amethi, which Rahul Gandhi lost to Smriti Irani of the BJP in 2019.Khabri, who was earlier with the BSP, was recently appointed the state Congress chief & he assumed charge on Saturday.

“The present govern ment is trying to sell the country and abolish the Constitution. De mocracy is being mur dered.” he said. —PTI

Mohan Bhagwat being felicitated during the Valmiki Jayanti programme in Kanpur on Sunday.

Views of the newly developed Shri Mahakal Lok ahead of its inauguration by PM Narendra Modi, in Ujjain on Sunday. The PM will dedicate to the nation the newly built corridor on October 11.

Mahakal temple is not just a religious centre of Ujjain, but it is linked to social, cultural and economic spheres of the city too. —Ashish Kumar Pathak, CEO, Ujjain Smart City

Brijlal Khabri, new UPCC chief

Muslims take part in a Barawafat procession in Varanasi on Eid-ul-Milad on Sunday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

First India Bureau

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during inauguration of the new Indian High Commission Chancery in Wellington on Sunday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

Wellington: Jaishankar also lauded cricketing ties with New Zealand, saying India will always be indebted to ex-coach John Wright and Stephen Fleming for their contributions to the game’s development in the country.

Jaishankar said the cooperation between the 2 nations on the cricket field is an example for other countries to follow.

“We have a fine example of cooperation in cricket as well,” he said. “Nobody in India will ever forget John Wright or anybody who watches IPL would ignore Stephen Fleming. With cricket, we always exchange our good wishes to everybody even if we want our own team to win.”

‘INDIA WILL NEVER FORGET WRIGHT, FLEMING’

‘I regret being part of Tiwari Congress faction’

POWER OF PINK!

The colour pink is a statement. Anything is possible with sunshine and a little pink. City First brings to you the meaning and significance of the colour pink in the fashion world!

SHUBHANSHI PATHAK cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Pink is a colour that at tracts people, particu larly girls. Pink is ac tually the new black, too. Pink is a soft red colour that is fre quently linked to ro mance and love. The colour pink is regarded to be relax ing. The connotations and meanings of a particular pink colour might vary. While hot pink may be perceived as strong, adventurous and terrify ing, light pink is frequently as sociated with softness, heal ing, and calm. It is a colour that can inspire senti ments of happiness and joy or inspire creativity and the arts. It is a tender, thoughtful love that is focused on the closeness of the other. Fashion in pink displays tender ness, friendliness, un derstanding and sensi tivity. It is intuitive and perceptive. Pink is a symbol of hope ac cording to colour psychology. It is a cheerful colour that evokes sentiments of warmth and comfort and confidence that everything will work out. The colour pink awakens people’s most loving side, including their desire for both receiving and giv ing love, care and attention. In terms of fashion, pink is a non-

threatening colour that aims to win admiration, respect and appreciation. In its most powerful forms, pink denotes wealth, power, glamour, and stunning beauty. It has an energising quality and is playful and bold but fa miliar at the same time. Unlike other colourful shades, it is not intimidat ing or difficult to wear. Pink has a wide range, which adds to its beau ty and it will surely keep playing a part in fashion. Because of its ability to defy expectations, it serves as a hyper-saturated reminder of the thrill of fashion. Anybody can wear the colour, as long as the fabric and cut complement their body type and skin tone. Pink represents softness and disruption and has the quality of being strong without consciously choosing to be such.

FIRST INDIA QUEEN

UNVEILING THE BEAUTIES!

FIRST

irst India Queen, where beauties from pan India will compete for the privileged ti tles and crowns, at Hotel Sahara Star in Mumbai on Octo ber 21, revealed its top 30 finalists on Sunday! City

First brings to you stun ning faces and the part ners behind the magnifi cent beauty pageant!

Global standards of beauty have undergone a sea of change over the years, and beauty pag eants are no exception.

The criteria to win is not just looks, but a fit body, an all-round personality, spoken skills and inner depth.

Right from when they are shortlisted dur ing the auditions, con

testants are encouraged to eat healthy, exercise, and adopt healthy habits.

More than a hundred talented and ravishing women from across the country walked the ramp and showcased their tal ent during various audi tions rounds held across multiple cities. The event focuses on improv ing the overall personal ity and confidence of the participants. Grooming and training sessions were held where contest ants prepared in various aspects to enhance selfconfidence while walk

ing the ramp, personali ty enhancement, nutri tion, fitness and other areas of development that are needed to be come a professional model.

First India Queen is curated by Blanckanvas Media and the finale will be choreographed

Apart

Anchal Yadav, Delhi

Yoshita Arora, Jaipur

Apoorva Sharma, Gwalior

Victoria Fernandes, Mumbai

Bhanushree HK, Banglore

Sowmya Kharatmal, Bangalore

Divya Mamnani, Jaipur

Sanya Hissaria, Jaipur

Kajol Saraswat, Agra

Kulsum Khatoon, Kolkata

Anisha Bhati, Delhi Khushboo Kungwani, Jaipur

Avani Kakekochhi, Banglore

Vaishnavi TN, Bangalore

Chahat Singh, Mumbai

Suhani Chauhan, Noida

Garima Ahuja, Kanpur

Samruddi Shetty, Bangalore

Kalpana Yadav, Gurugram

Marishca Rodrigues, Mumbai

Anshika Choudhary, Jaipur Khushi Vijayvargiya, Jaipur

Bhakti Jani, Mumbai

Swati Yadav, Delhi

Dr. Chandana Ambati, Hyderabad

Svara Mandlik, Mumbai

Jasmine Mahindroo, Gurugram

Rukaiya Kalyanwala, Mumbai

Kanupriya Brella, New Delhi

Neha Varma, Mumbai

Rich and Rare Weaving TRADITIONS

CITY FIRST

Vishal and Namrata launched their new collection Chinaya under Rudarshi Her itage Tree re cently in the city. The collection con sists of several ensembles including Hot Pink Handwoven Banarasi Silk Le henga, Mustard Yellow

Organza Suit Set, Violet Virgule Navy Blue Hand woven Banarasi Silk Saree, Mulberry Vine Purple Chanderi Silk Suit Set and Purple Patola Punch Chi naya Silk Co-Ord Set.

The collection fos ters elegance and radi ance and has an intri cate stitching pattern that is inspired by vintage art motifs which give uberclassy and chic vibes.

Sneha Chauhan of Jaipur got selected for Kaun Banega Crorepati. She is a content writer and has been writing for Smart Sign of America for the last 10 years. After getting qualifying telephonic auditions, she was invited to the ground-level live audition in Amritsar city of Punjab, where she cleared 2 difficult rounds and then got selected. Now she got selected for Fastest Finger in Mumbai.

Bridges of Sports

Delhi based Nit ish M Chini war had set his sights on a ca reer in motorsports.

Finding his path unex pectedly blocked prompted Chiniwar to think deeply about op portunities, specifical

ly who gets them and who doesn’t. So, in 2016 he founded Bridges of Sports (BoS), a not-forprofit organisation that is dedicated to developing the next generation of Indian athletes while also creating opportu nities for neglected tribal communities to

become part of main stream society. Chini war said, “Our focus has always been to build a hyperlocal sports ecosystem which will not only produce sustainable talent but also support the social and econom ic development of the community.”

Stress management training for Delhi Police

CITY FIRST

To cater to the changing needs of police person nel and ensure their better mental health, Gaurav Bhagat Academy (GBA), in as sociation with Saras wati Education Society, conducted a training session for the Delhi Po lice on Sunday.

The inspiring session focused on stress man agement and encourag ing trainees to adopt new habits essential to bring desirable changes in life. “Stress manage ment is one of the key issues that need to be addressed among the police personnel, who work tirelessly and need to remain active 24x7. Training sessions

like this will signifi cantly help the Delhi Police’s Dark Knights to handle day-to-day stress and develop habits which help them lead their profes sional and personal lives with positivity and confidence,” said Busi ness Coach and Found er of the Gaurav Bhagat Academy. Gaurav’s ses sion on mental well-be ing shared that more than 15 per cent of the

world’s working popula tion is afflicted with mental health issues.

Anxiety and depres sion are the most common problems that have become worse after the COV ID-19 pandemic. Aware ness and management of mental well-being have hence become even more crucial for police personnel who have to work in all types of situ ations.

CITY FIRST

S agar Chando la, a re nowned Brand Cross over Expert leverag ing Metaverse and Neuromarketing launched his new book, 1008+ The Re venge Of The Sun recently in the city.

The book is a mytho logical thriller, a fic tion which traces the origin of human races and tries to connect the missing links. It is said that History repeats itself. This book seeks to take a socio-cultural an thropological view of how the various lineages of mankind came into existence.

“In 2022, while COV ID-19 variants grew into Nuclear simula tions, watching re runs of so-called

mythological serials of Mahabharata and Ramayana, made me ponder. As a mar keting and brand ing professional, mixing fiction and nonfiction and peppering it with prose and praise is a daily rou tine. Similar om nichannel mindset could well be behind the writers of many great epics?”, said Sagar aka SIGAR.

The official Twitter handle of Police Families Welfare Society shared glimpses from the booster dose camp organised by PFWS in collaboration with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi at Wellness Center Narela on Friday. The camp was organised for the

Police

against the

of Team India Uniform for International Liberty Cup - which is happening between the Consulate of India & Consulate of Australia on October

in Bronx, NY, USA took place on Saturday.

Muraleedharan Minister

General

Randhir Jaiswal,

presence

Deputy

Jayaswal

Vaidya, President FIA Kenny Desai, Former President

BR foundation chairman Alok Kumar President, AIA Harish Thakkar and Grand Sponsor

of Jaipur foot,

Prem Bhandari.

A folk and Sufi

Nitish M Chiniwar with the students of the academy

(L-R) Sudhir Sharma, Kailash Kukreti, Gaurav Bhagat, Ramesh Kumar and Prakash Roy

During the training session

Divas showcasing the mesmerising collection Chinaya

Sagar Chandola