Prez Murmu inaugurates ‘Udyan Utsav’; ‘Amrit Udyan’ to open for public on Jan

NEW DELHI, JAN 29 (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday inaugurated Udyan Utsav-2023 -the opening of the Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens, including the rechristened ‘Amrit Udyan’, for the public.

The iconic Mughal Gardens at the Rashtrapati Bhavan was renamed Amrit Udyan on Saturday. The resplendent gardens are open to the public once a year and people can visit from January 31 this time.

Amrit Udyan will remain open for visitors from January 31 to March 26 between 10 am and 4 pm, a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday said.

From March 28 to 31, the gardens will be open for special categories. For farmers on March 28, for differently-abled persons on March 29, for defence, paramilitary forces and police personnel on March 30 and for women, including tribal women’s self-help groups, on March 31.

Originally, the garden at Rashtrapati Bhavan included East Lawn, Central Lawn, Long Garden and Circular Garden.

During the term of former presidents Dr A P J Abdul Kalam and Ram Nath Kovind, more gardens

31

Garden, Bonsai Garden, Central Lawn, Long Garden and Circular Garden -- will be open to the public for about two months.

People can book their slots well in advance online. Booking can be made at https://rashtrapatisachivalaya.gov.in or https://rb.nic. in/rbvisit/visit_plan.aspx.

Walk-in visitors can also get entry into the gardens. However, they will have to register themselves at the facilitation counters as well as at the self-service kiosk near gate no 12 of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

ASI who shot dead Odisha minister was being treated by psychiatrist

JHARSUGUDA (ODISHA), JAN 29 (PTI): Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police (ASI) Gopalkrushna Das, who allegedly shot dead Odisha’s health Minister Naba Kishore Das here, was being treated for bipolar disorder by a psychiatrist.

Despite the history of mental disorder, somehow Das was issued a service revolver and appointed incharge of a police post at Brajrajnagar where he shot dead Das.

were developed, namely, Herbal-I, Herbal-II, Tactile Garden, Bonsai Garden and Arogya Vanam. In this year’s Udyan Utsav, among several other attractions, visitors will be able to see specially cultivated tulips of 12 unique varieties which are expected to bloom in phases. This time, the gardens -- Herbal

Wing Commander Sarathi cremated with military honours in Belagavi

bat aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed during a training mission in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district on Saturday, resulting in the death of Wing Commander Sarathi while two other pilots ejected safely. Wrapped in tricolour, the coffin carrying the body of the pilot was brought from Morena to Belagavi for the last rites by a special IAF plane. It was then taken to Sarathi’s home in Ganeshpur.

It is advisable to book a slot online in advance to avoid the rush and save time, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement on Saturday.

Entry and exit for all visitors will be from gate number 35 of the President’s Estate, close to where North Avenue meets Rashtrapati Bhavan.

MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur, Psychiatry department head Dr Chandra Sekhar Tripathy told reporters that Das was suffering from bipolar disorder.

“Das had first visited my clinic about eight to ten years ago. He used to get angry very easily and was undergoing treatment for this,” Tripathy said. “I am not sure whether he was taking medicines regularly. If medicine are not taken regularly, the disease reappears. It has been a year since he visited me last,” th doctor said.

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that ranged from hyper-mania to depression, according to experts. However, the disease can be controlled by treatment including counselling.

Das was a resident of Jaleswarkhandi village of Ganjam district. He started his career in police as a constable in Berhampur and was later transferred to Jhar- suguda district 12 years ago.

Jharsugda SDPO Gupteswar Bhoi said the ASI was issued a licensed pistol after he was made incharge of a police outpost at Gandhi Chhak of Brajrajnagar area.

Das’s wife Jayanti also confirmed that her husband used to take medicine for the psychological disorder. “As he stays about 400 km from us, I cannot say whether he was regularly taking medicine,” she said.

Official sources said that Das was Sunday deployed for law and order arrangement for minister Naba Das’s visit. Before opening fire at the minister, Das had kept his motorcycle nearly 50 metres away from the spot were he attacked Das. He allegedly opened fire while the minister alighted from a car to attend a local programme and his supporters were garlanding him.

Jet crash: black box, flight data recorder found

MORENA, JAN 29 (PTI): The black box of Mirage 2000 and a part of the flight data recorder of Sukhoi-30MKI jet, which had crashed in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district, have been found in the wreckage, an official said on Sunday.

Teams of the Indian Air Force (IAF) studied and inspected a forested area of Pahargarh where the debris of the two fighter jets fell on Saturday.

Pahargarh area of Morena.

Gour said the forested area where the wreckage fell has been cordoned off.

“Even police are not being allowed in the (cordoned off) area. Officials of IAF are present there,” he said.

Media personnel are also not allowed in the area.

Relatives and Air Force personnel during the last rites of Wing Commander Hanumanth Rao Sarathi at Belagavi. (PTI)

BELAGAVI (K’TAKA), JAN 29 (PTI): Wing Commander Hanumanth Rao Sarathi, who was killed in a plane crash between Sukhoi-

30MKI and Mirage-2000 aircraft in Madhya Pradesh, was cremated with full military honours.

The two frontline com-

Various people, including former chief minister B S Yediyurappa and Congress MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar, paid homage to the departed soul by garlanding the body.

The two frontline combat aircraft of the IAF crashed during a training mission in Morena, resulting in the death of a wing commander while two other pilots ejected safely.

“The black box of the Mirage aircraft has been found from the wreckage in

Right-wing rally against ‘love jihad’, conversion in Mumbai

amsevak Sangh (RSS), Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) marched in the rally.

Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha, organised by Sakal Hindu Samaj, began from Shivaji Park in Dadar and culminated at Kamgar Maidan in Parel, covering a distance of more than 4 km.

Activists shouted slogans against “love jihad”, and demanded anti-conversion laws and a crackdown on land grabbing in the name of religion.

Several leaders and MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and those of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction also participated in the rally.

MUMBAI, JAN 29 (PTI): Activists of right-wing organisations took out a massive rally in central Mum- bai on Sunday against ‘love jihad’ and demanded anti-conversion laws and a crackdown on land grab- bing in the name of religion. Leaders and workers of right-wing outfits such as the Rashtriya Sway -

NEW DELHI, JAN 29

(ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that democracy is in the veins of the countrymen and mentioned about the recently released book India: The Mother of Democracy.

Union Education and Skill Development Minister

Dharmendra Pradhan on November 24, 2022 released the book titled ‘India: The Mother of Democracy’ prepared and published by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). The book is an attempt to showcase the democratic ethos ingrained in India since the dawn of civilisation.

Addressing the 97th edition of the Mann Ki Baat programme, PM Modi termed the book “very interesting” and said that it comprises a number of excellent essays. “A very interesting sub- ject has been discussed in this book which I received a few weeks ago. The name of this book is India: The Mother of Democracy and it has many excellent essays. India is the largest democracy in the world and we Indians are also proud of the fact that our country is also the Mother of Democracy,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister had received the book on December 23, 2022.

“Democracy is in our veins, it is in our culture. It has been an integral part of our work for centuries.

By nature, we are a Democratic Society. Dr Ambedkar had compared the Buddhist monks union to the Indian Parliament.

He described it as an institution where there were many rules for Motions, Resolutions, Quorum, Voting and counting of votes,” he said adding that Babasaheb believed that Lord Buddha must have got inspiration from the political systems of that time.

Later in his address, PM Modi talked about Utirmerur, a famous village of Tamil Nadu and said how the book explains the correct way to hold Gram Sabha.

“There is a small but famous village in Tamil Nadu - Utirmerur. Here an inscription of 1100-1200 years ago surprises the whole world. This rock-edict is like a mini-constitution. It has been explained in detail how the Gram Sabha should be conducted and what the procedure for selection of its members shall be,” he said.

Police personnel were deployed along the route of the march to prevent any untoward incident.

He also said that the Anubhav Mandapam of Lord Basaveshwara of the 12th century shows how free debate and discussion were encouraged during that period.

“The republican traditions of the Kakatiya dynasty kings of Warangal were also very famous. The Bhakti movement furthered the culture of democracy in western India. An article has also been included in the book on the democratic spirit of the Sikh Panth which throws light on the decisions taken by the consensus of Guru Nanak Dev Ji,” the Prime Minister said. Modi continued that the book has a good amount

A part of the Sukhoi aircraft’s black box has also been found and the remaining part of the recorder might have fallen in Bharatpur,” Morena Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Bagri told PTI over the phone. “The IAF, police and other departments are searching for the remaining part of the Sukhoi aircraft recorder,” he said.

A black box, or the flight data recorder, is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft and helps in the investigation of flight accidents.

Pahargarh area police inspector Dharmendra

Gour said he was not aware when asked whether the wife of the deceased pilot might come to Pahargarh and visit the wreckage site. “The IAF is handling the matter and the area,” he added.

Defence experts have said the Russian-designed Sukhoi-30MKI jet and the French Mirage-2000 possibly had a mid-air collision, but there was no official comment on the cause of the crash from the IAF.

MP CM Chouhan announces scheme to provide Rs 1,000 per month to poor women

BHOPAL, JAN 29 (PTI):

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh

Chouhan has said his government will launch a new scheme to provide Rs 1,000 per month to women from financially poor background in the state, where the Assembly polls are due this year-end.

A sum of Rs 60,000 crore will be spent on this scheme in five years, Chouhan said addressing a programme on the banks of the Narmada river in Narmadapuram city on Saturday evening.

“We will start the Ladli Bahina Scheme for poor women from lower and middle classes of all sections on the lines of the Ladli Lakshmi Scheme. An amount of Rs 1,000 of information on the community-driven and consensus-driven decision-making - in Oraon and Munda tribes of central India.

“After reading this book, you will feel how the spirit of democracy has been flowing in every part of the country for centuries. As the Mother of Democracy, we should constantly think deeply about this topic, discuss it and also inform the world. This will further strengthen the spirit of democracy in the country,” he asserted.

Notably, in 1947, when India achieved independence, a commitment was made to providing a democratic model of governance to its citizens.

The country’s Constitution, which was implemented on January 26, 1950, laid the foundation for a democratic republic.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan

per month which means Rs 12,000 per year will be given to our sisters,” he said.

Chouhan said poor women from all sections can benefit from this scheme even if they have been receiving benefits of other welfare programmes.