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where he raped her. The victim was sent for

medical examination.Meanwhile in another

shocking incident inMuzaffarnagar, a 19-year-oldrape survivor hanged herselffrom the ceiling of a room inher home in Chandpur vil-lage of Shahpur police stationarea on Monday night. Nosuicide note was found andinvestigations were on.

As per her family, the vic-tim was alone in the housewhen the incident took place.Her father Satish had gone tohis work while her motherwas in the fields. The girl wasgang-raped by four youths in2019.

Four accused were arrest-ed and the prime accusedwas still in jail.

In another case reportedfrom Muzaffarnagar, a manallegedly dashed his two-year-old daughter to theground during a fight withhis wife leading to the kid’sdeath on Monday.

Later, the family mem-bers initiated the last rites ofthe deceased but the policereached the village and sentthe body for autospy.

A close kin of the girltold the police that her par-ents used to have frequentfights and on Monday, dur-ing yet another f ight ,Shjahnawaz (the father)angrily thrashed the girl onthe f loor causing fata linjuries.

The police said that thegirl was already dead whenshe was taken to the hospital.

A case was registeredagainst Shahnawaz underS ect ion 304 (culpablehomicide not amounting tomurder) of Indian PenalCode.

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Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati,on Tuesday, said if her party formed

the government in Uttar Pradesh thenmafias and criminals would be lodgedback in jail.

She also said that those who hadmigrated from the state would be calledback and given jobs.

Mayawati lashed out at the BharatiyaJanata Party, the Samajwadi Party and theCongress, holding them responsible forthe lack of jobs and migration from thestate.

Mayawati also said that Muslimswere unhappy and upset with the BJPgovernment.

She said inflation had increasedbecause of the wrong economic policiesof the BJP government due to which thepublic was getting upset.

The BSP chief said Congress was outof power due to its wrong policies.

Mayawati said that on March 10, allopinion polls would be proved wrong.

She appealed to the public not to fallprey to anyone and vote for the BSP forgood governance.

At an election rally in Payagpur areaof Bahraich, Mayawati alleged the SP, BJPand Congress “never respected our greatmen nor did they do any good for thepeople of our society”.

“The Congress has been playingwith the interests of Dalits and Adivasisand due to its wrong policies it is out ofpower both at the Centre and in states,”she said.

Mayawati said the Congress govern-ments at the Centre and in most stateswere casteist, and against Dalits, tribalsand other backward classes.

“The Congress did not bestow BharatRatna on Baba Saheb (BR Ambedkar) andrefrained from declaring national mourn-ing after Kanshi Ram’s death. Congressdid not even implement the MandalCommission recommendations,” she said.

Attacking BJP and SP, Mayawati saidshe was fighting to form a majority gov-

ernment like in 2007. Sharpening herattack against the SP, she alleged that theAkhilesh Yadav government between2012 and 2017 was “dominated by riot-ers and goons”.

“Samajwadi Party works for a partic-

ular area and particular community.Due to riots during the Samajwadi Partyrule, the situation used to be always tense.They renamed educational institutionsand districts named after our great men,”she added.

Mayawati also termed the BJP acasteist party and alleged that it was runon the directions of the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh.

“It closed the schemes run for Dalits,Adivasis, backwards and Muslims.Reservation benefits are not being pro-vided in the BJP rule. The Muslims arescared and the Brahmins have suffered alot,” she claimed.

Mayawati said that her party ruledUttar Pradesh four times and gave jobsto people. “Now migration is taking placedue to lack of jobs. When our governmentcomes, we will make arrangements forpeople’s livelihood and call everyoneback again,” she promised.

She said goons and mafia would bein jail and cases registered against farm-ers during the anti-agricultural law agi-tation would be probed and withdrawnif the BSP emerged victorious in the 2022assembly polls.

Polling in Bahraich will be held onFebruary 27 in the fifth phase of theseven-phase elections.

Meanwhile, after brainstorming onthe elections held in the last three phas-es, the BSP is now exploring the formu-la for the remaining four phases.Mayawati has asked all the coordinatorsto assess the situation of the previousphases and has also sought suggestionsfrom them so that the party can do bet-ter in the remaining four phases.

The BSP, like in 2007, is banking onits social engineering formula of Dalit-Brahmin-Muslim combination. In thisregard, Mayawati has specifically soughtfeedback from all the coordinators. TheBSP is especially keeping a close eye onthose seats where it lost in close contestslast time. Besides, the BSP supremo her-self is monitoring the seats where theparty won with a narrow margin.

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Close kin of former MP andSamajwadi Party leader

Ramakant Yadav and primeaccused in the recent deaths dueto spurious liquor in Azamgarh,Rangesh Yadav, was arrested bythe police from his house onTuesday.

The outlet from where peoplebought the spurious liquor andlater died on Sunday, belonged toRangesh Yadav. Till date, 10 peo-ple have died and over a dozenwere hospitalised after consumingthe liquor. The police have namedseven accused in the case andcharged them with murder.Ramakant Yadav is alleged tohave given shelter to Rangesh afterthe incident. The police said thatthe involvement of RamakantYadav in this case was beinginvestigated.

Meanwhile, Ramakant Yadavtold media persons that a conspir-acy was hatched against him dur-ing the elections as he was aSamajwadi Party candidate fromPhulpur Powai assembly seat.

District Magistrate ofAzamgarh, Amrit Tripathi, saidthat action would be taken underNational Security Act and prop-erties of all the accused would beseized. Additional Chief Secretary(Excise) Sanjay Bhoosreddy saidlate on Monday night that ExciseInspector in Azamgarh, NeerajSingh and Excise departmentconstables Suman Kumar Pandeyand Rajendra Pratap Singh hadbeen suspended in this case anda departmental inquiry had alsobeen ordered into the incident.

Besides, the Azamgarh policehave suspended in-charge of thelocal police station.

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Awoman was allegedlyraped by a youth in a for-

est area near Purkazi area ofMuzaffarnagar on Sunday.Accused Dilshad Ahmadwas later rrested by the policeand a case was registered

against him under Section376 of the IPC (rape) andSC/ST Act.

According to the com-plaint lodged by the victim’shusband on Sunday, accusedDilshad Ahmad offered lift tothe victim and then tookher to a secluded forest area

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NOTICE

I Tripti Chodhuary W/o GopesChandra Choudhury 230/4 JK Colony Jajmau Kanpurhave changed my name aftermarriage from Tripti Rani totripti choudhuary for allpurposes

NOTICE

I have changed my namefrom Shahzadi Daniya toShahzadi Dania Fakhr for allfuture purpose, ShahzadiDania Fakhr D/O FakhreyAlam R/O 40/196 MakhaniyaBazar, Kanpur Nagar

NOTICE

In my educational documentsmy name Lal Man Yadav hasbeen registered which is cor-rect and same should be readand written. Lal Man YadavS/o Ram Milan Yadav, R/o-Bahorikpur, Hathigahan,T h a n a - P h a p h a m a u ,Prayagraj.

NOTICE

I have lost my original allotmentletter (Letter No - 1132507dated 04-12-2007) of plot No- A-1/8 HIG Jawaharpuramsector -3 Kanpur Nagar somewhere, Surendra Singh

NOTICE

I, Shravan Kumar s/o Late ShivRatan Vishnoi, has changedmy name to Shravan Kumarvishnoi henceforth I'll be knownas Shravan Kumar vishnoi infuture.

NOTICE

I, Kumari Nidhi Omar w/oShravan Kumar Vishnoi, haschanged my name to Nidhivishnoi henceforth I'll beknown as Nidhi vishnoi infuture.

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As the sun settles over the hori-zon on Wednesday, 232 of the403 Assembly constituencies

would have sealed the fate of aspi-rants in the highly-charged UPstate elections.

With over 50 per cent votingcompleted and the political caravanshaving traversed the western and thecow-belt regions of the state, thehigh-rhetoric battle now settlesaround Awadh and Purvanchalarea. Yet, so far, the proverbial‘wave’ seems missing in the turbu-lent elections even as Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath, in a candid dis-cussion late on Tuesday evening,stuck to his stance that 80 per centof the seats polled so far wereheaded the BJP way.

Turbulence, this time around, isnot because of an impendingupheaval. But, because the magni-tude of Bharatiya Janata Party’sreturn to power would shape thefuture of the most-populous stateand also consolidate the grip ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi inthe 2024 general elections. TheOpposition, therefore, is deter-mined to derail the ‘double-enginesarkar’ in the state. Though, by now,their efforts seem to be running outof steam.

No political party, since the turnof the millenium, has so far regainedpower in consecutive state elections.But with the BJP’s stellar perfor-mances in the 2017 state elections,where it won 312 of the 403 seats,and the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabhapolls where it stamped its domi-

nance by garnering 71 and 62 seatsrespectively out of 80 alone, the saf-fron brigade is determined to scripta unique political feat.

However, unlike previous multi-cornered hustings in the state, thistime the contest has been reducedto a, somewhat, bipolar confronta-tion between the BJP and SamajwadiParty (SP), with Bahujan SamajParty (BSP) and the grand oldparty Congress ostensibly runningout of contention.

On his part, a confident Yogireiterated, “Vikas, sushasan aursuraksha (development, good-gov-ernance and security) are a startlingchange brought about by this gov-ernment in UP. Five years ago,nobody dreamt of such a drasticchange in the state.”

Targeting Akhilesh’s SP of hav-ing pushed the state into lawlessnessand mafia-raj, Yogi said that thosereacting to his ‘garmi utar jayegi’remark are those who had pushed

UP into anarchy and disrepute.Realistically, the BJP narrative so farin these polls has pitched arounddevelopment and social security tocorner Akhilesh and his SamajwadiParty.

The SP, which reached it pin-nacle under Mulayam Singh Yadav,is now headed by a youngerAkhilesh Yadav, reflecting a gener-ation shift in UP’s realpolitik andattempting to wean away the youths.

Taking a cue from West Bengalto go alone, Akhilesh has a numberof smaller parties under the SPumbrella, most prominent beingChaudhary Ajit Singh’s RashtriyaLok Dal (RLD), now led by his sonJayant Chaudhary, to set up an effec-tive front against the BJP.

Riding on the farmers’ unrest,Akhilesh has hoped to wean away

some Jat-Gujjar-Muslim voters inwestern UP. Towards eastern UP,Akhilesh has worked around OBCleaders. But Yogi seemed unfazed.“In the last Lok Sabha elections,what difference did the ‘mahagath-bandhan’ make. After all, all theseparties were fighting against the BJP.There has been no dip in vote share,”he asserted.

It is here that Yogi Adityanath,who transcended power in 2017,holds a decisive personal appeal. Hisno-nonsense approach and, at times,belligerence, impresses youths asthat of an achiever. Also, his zeal tolead from the front has catalysed theonce casual approach of the statebabudom.

From the migrant crisis, accen-tuated by the state’s neighbours, to

Continued on Page 12

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Prime Minister NarendraModi said on Tuesday that

the Bharatiya Janata Partywould hit the ‘jeet ka chauka’(record fourth consecutive vic-tory) in 2022 after winning in2014, 2017 and 2019 parlia-mentary and assembly elec-tions.

Addressing a huge audi-ence during his election rally inBahraich, Modi said, “You didnot trust the opposition partieswhen they were spreadingrumours against the Covidvaccines and got vaccinated toprotect yourselves. Now, youshould not trust their falsepromises being made by themjust before elections.”

Thanking the people forreposing faith in him, Modisaid that the mafia and gang-sters who were given patronageby the previous governmentand who were breathing theirlast under BJP government ledby Chief Minister YogiAdityanath were looking for anopportunity to take revenge onthe state and its people and theymust not be allowed to succeedin their nefarious designs.

Modi remarked: “Theyconspired to get several ter-rorists released from jails in dif-ferent cases. Even after theaward of death sentence to ter-rorists in the 2008 serial blastcase that killed dozens of inno-cent people in the city, theopposition parties are shyingaway from hailing theAhmedabad court’s verdict.This is because they know thatpeople have understood theirplot. Those who can’t think in

the interest of the country, willonly damage the interests of UPas well.”

Modi said that UP neededa double-engine government sothat developmental work con-tinued unabated.

“I have observed the styleof operation of these dynastsvery closely. During their gov-ernments, Basti, Gonda,Bahraich and Balrampur faceddiscrimination. The SaryuCanal Project remained pend-ing for four decades as a resultof which its cost went up fromRs 100 crore to Rs 10,000crore. The recently openedproject will benefit 30 lakhfarmers of nine districtsbetween Bahraich andGorakhpur,” he pointed out.

Modi added: “The Yogigovernment is making everyeffort to make your life moreconvenient and comfortable.The government has restoredlaw and order in the state. Theland mafia and criminals are

under control. Daughters andtraders, who lived in fear ofcriminals during the previousgovernment, feel safe as neverbefore.”

The prime minister saidthat schools were beingimproved and medical col-leges were being built in everydistrict apart from engineeringcolleges and ITIs so that stu-dents do not have to travel tofar off places for higher edu-cation.

“Enterprising youths aregetting loans under MudraYojana and Start-up Yojana toset up ventures whereas poorpeople are getting health insur-ance cover of up to Rs 5 lakhunder Ayushman Bharat.Besides, health and wellnesscentres are being built inremote villages to safeguard thehealth of people. And all thesethings are being done withoutdiscrimination between peopleand without appeasing andsection,” Modi remarked.

The prime minister saidthat the BJP governmentensured that no one starvedduring the last two years of thenovel coronavirus pandemicwhile providing free vaccine foreveryone. “Eighty crore peoplehave been getting free ration forthe last two years in India,including 15 crore in UP,” hesaid.

Modi said that the opposi-tion parties never tried toempower people so that theycould fight poverty. “On theother hand, we launched sev-eral initiatives towards thisend. We did away with mid-dlemen so that the benefits ofthe welfare schemes reachedthe poor directly. We openedJandhan bank accounts ofcrores of people so that theirchildren could study. Welaunched PM Kisan SammanNidhi through which farmersreceive money in their accountsdirectly. We launched SwanidhiYojana for street vendors,” hesaid.

Recollecting a statement oflate former Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi, Modi said that hehad once admitted that of Re 1sent for people only 15 paisereached the poor, whichshowed how much money waslooted by middlemen.

On employment of GroupC & D staff, the prime minis-ter said that interviews hadbeen stopped and appoint-ment letters were sent to thedeserving candidates throughpost on the basis of merit.

Modi said that the opposi-tion parties shut down sugarmills and cane-charged people


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Uttar Pradesh assembly elec-tions will enter the fourth

phase of polling on Wednesdaywhen votes will be cast in 60constituencies across nine dis-tricts.

So far elections to 172 outof 403 seats of UP assemblyhave been completed in the firstthree phases. The high-decibelcampaigning for this phaseended on Monday as sparringamong political rivals intensi-fied during the last-minutecanvassing.

In the fourth phase, 624candidates are in the fray for 60assembly seats. A maximum of15 candidates are vying forSawayajpur assembly seat in

Mau, while the minimum of sixcandidates are contesting fromPallia Kalan and Sevata assem-bly c0nstituencies inLakhimpur.

The 60 seats are spread inPilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri,Sitapur, Hardoi, Unnao,Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Bandaand Fatehpur.

As per the Association forDemocratic Reforms (ADR), atotal of 27 per cent of candi-dates contesting in the fourthphase are facing criminal cases,while 37 per cent have declaredassets valued at more than Rs1 crore.

Among the major parties,31 out of 58 candidates fromCongress, 30 out of 57 candi-dates from Samajwadi Party, 26

out of 59 candidates fromBahujan Samaj Party, 23 out of57 candidates from BharatiyaJanata Party and 11 out of 45candidates from Aam AadmiParty have declared criminalcases against them. The aver-age of assets per candidatecontesting in the phase four isRs 2.46 crore.

Of the 60 seats going topolls in this phase, the BJP hadwon 51 in the 2017 assemblyelections; four had gone to SPand three to BSP. BJP’s allyApna Dal (Sonelal) had baggedone seat.

Lakhimpur, which hadhogged national news head-lines after eight people, includ-ing four farmers, were killed inviolence on October 3, will go

to the polls in the fourth phase.Among prominent candi-

dates in this phase are UP LawMinister Brajesh Pathak, whois facing SP candidate andtwo-time corporator SurendraSingh Gandhi in LucknowCantonment seat. Pathak hadwon the Lucknow Central seatin the 2017 poll.

Another minister,Ashutosh Tandon, is in the frayfrom Lucknow East seat and isbeing challenged by SP’snational spokesperson AnuragBhadauria. Meanwhile, SarojiniNagar assembly constituencywill witness a battle betweenformer EnforcementDirectorate officer RajeshwarSingh fielded by the BJP and


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Russian lawmakers gavePresident Vladimir Putin

permission to use militaryforce outside the country onTuesday — a move that couldpresage a broader attack onUkraine after the US said aninvasion was already underwaythere.

Several European leaderssaid earlier in the day thatRussian troops have movedinto rebel-held areas in eastern

Ukraine after Putin recognisedtheir independence. But it wasunclear how large the move-ments were, and Ukraine andits Western allies have saidRussian troops have been fight-ing in the region since the sep-aratist conflict erupted in 2014.Moscow denies the allegations.

Members of the upperhouse, the Federation Council,voted unanimously to allowPutin to use military forceoutside Russia — effectively


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As tension escalated afterRussia recognised two sep-

aratist regions in Ukraine anddecided to send troops there,the Indian Embassy on Tuesdayagain urged its citizens, includ-ing students to leave the coun-try immediately. The Embassywas also organising additionalflights to bring out its citizens.

“In view of the continuedhigh-level of tensions anduncertainties of the current

situation in Ukraine, addition-al flights are being organised,”the Indian Embassy said in anadvisory.

The advisory also gaveinformation about the availableflights from Kyiv to New Delhiand the booking procedure. Atotal of four flights are sched-uled to depart betweenFebruary 25 and March 6.

Scheduled flights of AirArabia, Fly Dubai and QatarAirways, besides others, are


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At least 254 passengers,mostly students stranded

in Ukraine were brought backon Tuesday by a special AirIndia Boeing 787 flight amidthe continued tensions there.

This was the first of threeevacuation flights to be oper-ated by Air India. It landed atTerminal 3, Indira Gandhi

International Airport onTuesday night.

Interestingly, Air India hasnever operated any commercialflights to Ukraine before this.The other two Air India flightsto bring back Indians arescheduled for Thursday andSaturday. Meanwhile, theGovernment has alsoannounced four additional


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Students of St Joseph termedthe day of polling a ‘no

excuse day’ in a voter awarenessprogramme which was organ-ised in Lucknow on Tuesday.Senior citizens of the localityjoined in to promote votingawareness. Thousands of stu-dents of St Joseph (ShardaNagar) took out a grand rallyto make voters aware carryingsmall tricolours and pamphlets

of voting pledge.The children appealed to

all the voters to exercise theirfranchise. The children of StJoseph have decided to moveon the streets and help increasethe voting percentage.

Flagging off the rally, man-aging director Anil Agarwalsaid the burden of healthydemocracy rests on the shoul-ders of these children and theyare the destiny builders offuture democracy.

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Atotal of 109 candidates rep-resenting various political

parties are in the fray asLucknow is going to poll onWednesday.

In Lucknow East, there are14 candidates, including SP’sAnurag Bhadouria, BSP’sAshish Kumar Sinha, BJP’sAshutosh Tandon andCongress’s Manoj Tewariamong others.

In Lucknow West, there are11 candidates, including SP’sArmaan Khan, BJP’s AnjaniKumar Srivastava, BSP’sQayam Raza Khan, Congress’sShahana Siddiqui and AAP’sRajiv Bakshi among others.

In Lucknow North, thereare 14 candidates, includingAjay Kumar Srivasatava fromCongress, Neeraj Bora fromBJP, Pooja Shukla from SP,Mohammed Sarvar Mallikfrom BSP, Amit Srivastava fromAAP party and KaushalKishore from Maulik AdhikarParty among others.

In Lucknow Central, thereare 13 candidates, includingRajnish Kumar Gupta fromBJP, Ravidas Mehrotra from SP,Ashish Chandra from BSP andSadaf Jafar from Congressamong others.

Lucknow Cantonment has11 candidates, including BrijashPathak from BJP, Anil Pandey

from BSP, Dilpreet Singh fromCongress, Ajay Kumar fromAAP and Surendra SinghGandhi from SP among others.

Malihabad has ten candi-dates, including Indal Kumarfrom Congress, SurendraKumar from SP, Jagdish Rawatfrom BSP and Jai Devi fromBJP among others.

In Sarojininagar, there are

14 candidates, includingRajeshwar Singh from BJP,Abhishek Mishra from SP,Rudra Daman Singh fromCongress, Mohammed JaleesKhan from BSP, RohitSrivastava from AAP and SatyaNarain from CPI among others.

Bakshi-Ka-Talaab has 12candidates, including GomtiYadav from SP, Yogesh Shukla

from BJP, Lallan Kumar fromCongress and Salahuddin fromBSP among others.

Mohanlalganj has 11 can-didates, including AmreshKumar from BJP, DevendraSaroj from BSP, MamtaChaudhary from Congress,Sushila Saroj from SP andBrijesh Kumar Vikram fromAAP among others.

BJP district presidentSrikrishna claimed they wouldwin all the seats in Lucknow.“There is no fight becausepeople will be voting for Yogiand Modi. There is nogoondaism and people are get-ting free ration, gas, free treat-ment which has helped us pen-etrate in rural areas wherelocals are vocal in their support

for PM Narendra Modi andCM Yogi Adityanth,” he said.

Congress district presidentVed Prakash Tripathi said themood of the party has beenstrong since the arrival ofPriyanka Gandhi who elicitedencouraging response.

“We will be giving a goodfight and we have a goodchance of winning inSarojininagar, BKT, Malihabad,Lucknow West, Mohanlalganjand Lucknow Central,” he said.He added that Lucknow wouldvote for development as thereis a strong anti-incumbencyfactor,” he claimed.

SP district chief Jai SinghJayant claimed that they arewinning Mohanlalganj,Sarojininagar, BKT, Malihabad,Lucknow Central, LucknowWest and Lucknow North seatswhile it would be a close fightin Lucknow East and LucknowCantt. “Lucknow will vote onthe issue of revival of the oldpension scheme, and AkhileshYadav does what he says.Lucknow has seen develop-ment only under AkhileshYadav,” he said.

BSP district presidentGanga Ram Gautam said theyhave strong candidates in everyconstituency. “One can see thefate of the BJP as the LucknowCentral candidate was shiftedto Cantt and Swati Singh wasnot given a ticket,” he said.

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Lucknow University hasdecided to set up ‘VC Care

Fund’ which is an approach ofinclusion of students in theuniversity and its affiliatingcolleges to provide financialassistance to the students inneed.

“Higher education, oftenviewed as an instrument foreconomic progress, is movingaway from its prime purposeof human development.Higher education is a mecha-nism focused on the uplift ofsocially and economicallychallenged people and itempowers people. For thisreason, the National Education

Policy, 2020 envisions ensur-ing equitable access to quali-ty education, especially amongthe socially and economicallydisadvantaged groups(SEDGs),” LU spokespersonsaid.

He said that sub-section14.3 of the policy cites certainfacets of exclusion of SEDGs,of which economic opportuni-ty cost of pursuing highereducation and financial con-straints will be addressed bythe new initiative taken by LUVice-Chancellor AK Rai.

He said the VC has consti-tuted a 3-member committeeto prepare its policy and guide-lines for implementation.“Allthe stakeholders of the univer-

sity like alumni, teachers, staff,community groups, industries,and professionals can con-tribute and donate to raisefund for the cause. The trackof fund generated and dis-bursed will be audited annu-ally. This endeavour will mit-igate opportunity costs and feepayment issues faced by stu-dents, and provide financialassistance to needy SEDG stu-dents. About 3 lakh studentsfrom the university campusand more than 500 affiliatedcolleges in five districts(Lucknow, Hardoi, LakhimpurKheri, Rae Bareli and Sitapur)will be under the cover andbenefited from the initiative,”the spokesperson said.

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Police have made amplesecurity arrangements to

ensure free and fair elections inLucknow on Wednesday. Asper an official communiqué,there are 1,103 polling centresand 3,438 polling booths acrossthe nine constituencies in thestate capital.

A total of 840inspectors/sub-inspectors and4,076 head constables/consta-bles have been deployed addi-tionally. Under the arrange-ments, 700 sub-inspectors,4,015 head constables/consta-bles, 1,380 women constables,42 women sub-inspectors,5,833 home guards and 80companies of paramilitaryforce will be deployed at thepolling centres and booths.

Besides, to maintain lawand order, the CP/DM mobileteam consisting of one subinspector, 11 headconstables/constables and asection of PAC, a joint CPmobile team consisting of twoSIs, 10 head constables/consta-bles, eight home guards, threesections of PAC, a DCP/ADMmobile team consisting of sixSIs, 30 head constables/consta-bles, 24 home guards and ninesections of PAC, ADCP mobileteams consisting of eight SIs, 40head constables/constables, 32home guards and 12 sections ofPAC, ACP/SDM mobile teamsconsisting of 80 head consta-bles/constables, 40 homeguards and 20 sections of PAC,zonal magistrate mobile teamsconsisting of 39 SIs, 39 headconstables/constables and 78home guards, zonal police offi-cer mobile teams consisting of39 inspectors, 156 head consta-bles/constables and 39 home

guards, sector magistratemobile teams comprising 177head constables/constables and177 home guards, sector policeofficer mobile teams consistingof 177 SIs, 708 head consta-bles/constables, police mobileteams consisting of 42 inspec-tors, 42 SIs and 168 head con-stables/constables, clustermobile teams consisting of 99SIs, 396 head constables/con-stables, 15 observers security,15 SIs, 76 head constables/con-stables, 67 barrier points, 134head constables/constables, 87pickets, 174 headconstables/constables, 84 stat-ic surveillance teams with 84SIs, 81 flying squad teams, adistrict strike team, 84 QRTsand additional force will bedeployed.

A spokesman said that atotal of 18,000 policemen andparamilitary personnel havebeen deployed to ensure peace-ful polling on Wednesday. Hesaid the policemen would beconducting checkings at thebarrier points while the QRTshave been asked to remainmobile round the clock.

All the eight fire stationsunder the Lucknow policecommissionerate will be onhigh alert mode. The localintelligence units have beensounded alert to remain watch-ful of any unlawful activitieslike intimidating the voters/offering them money/ liquor,”he said.

He added that cops incivvies would also remain alertand would be keeping a closewatch on anti-social elements.“All the shops selling liquor willremain closed on Wednesdayand will be allowed to remainopen under no condition,” headded.

Lucknow (PNS): Passengers travelling acrossDelhi, Lucknow, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Amritsar,Ajmer, Dehradun, Kanpur, Varanasi, Katra andKathgodam will be greeted by Shatabdi/VandeBharat radio music and connectivity in transit.

“Northern Railway has opened the biggestentertainment platform for travellers in trains —‘It’s new India with new thoughts’,” CPRODeepak Kumar said. The NR has awarded a con-tract to provide full entertainment to passengersin trains and give a feel about cities they are trav-elling through radio service in all Shatabdi andVande Bharat trains of Delhi division.

“Music and travelling is the best combinationand enhances the possibilities of good mood. NRwill introduce new kinds of entertainment andenjoyment with customised music experience and

RJ entertainment in trains through passengersaddress system,” he said. He added that the primefocus is to give an enjoyable journey to each trav-eller and with a ‘feel good’ factor in Vande Bharatand Shatabdi trains. “This innovative idea is foradvertising through radio in 10 Shatabdi Expressand two Vande Bharat Express trains. The ratioof entertainment/ railway information and com-mercial advertisement will be given on 50 min-utes and 10 minutes on per hour basis during thejourney time. Besides, the railway will fetch rev-enue amounting to Rs 43.20 lakh per annum,” hesaid. He added that entertainment in trainsthrough radio services work has been done underthe guidance of DRM, Delhi Division, DimpyGarg, and Senior DCM, Delhi division, PraveenKumar.

Lucknow (PNS): Two personsimpersonating policemenduped a woman of her orna-ments in GomtinagarExtension on Monday. As perreports, the woman was target-ed near the SSB Building. Herson Ajeet Kumar Upadhyay ofSulabh Awas locality in the areasaid his mother had gone therefor some work.

“Around 11:30 am, she wasstopped on the way by two per-sons and asked why she waswearing ornaments. They toldher that wearing ornamentswas not allowed these days andthat she would be challaned forviolation of rules,” Ajeet said.

He said the accused askedhis mother to put off the orna-ments and keep them in asachet, and she did as directed.

“The miscreants returnedthe sachet to my mother and

asking her to open it only afterreaching home. She opened thesachet on her return to homeand was shocked to see twoplastic bangles kept inside. Theconmen took away a goldchain, a mangalsutra, two ear-rings and two gold bangles,” hesaid. Police registered a case forforgery under Section 420 ofIPC and for cheating underSection 417 of IPC.

Meanwhile, Rs 30,000 incash and ornaments worthlakh of rupees were stolenfrom a house in Gudamba onFebruary 20. Manisha Baijal ofJankipuram (sector H) hadgone to her brother’s house inSushant Golf City area alongwith her family members andthe house was locked. “We leftaround 5 pm on February 20.When I returned, I found thehouse burgled,” she said.

Lucknow (PNS): Liquor sell-ers in the city did brisk busi-ness (around Rs 80 crore), inthe last two days of the elec-tion campaigning whichended on Monday.

Media incharge of LiquorSellers’ Welfare Association(LSWA) Devesh Jaiswal saidthe sale of desi liquor was thehighest (Rs 40 crore). “Thesale of beer was also at a all-time high in the last two days(Sunday and Monday) in thecity at Rs 6-7 crore while that

of IMFL nearly Rs 33 crore,” hesaid, adding that it’s only arough estimate.

“Customers made a bee-line at liquor shops on Mondayevening and the shop-ownerscould not estimate the totalsale even as the shops areclosed on Tuesday andWednesday,” he said. He addedthat such huge sale is wit-nessed usually during festivals.“We have not been doing goodbusiness due to closure ofshops in view of the pandem-

ic for the last two years,” hesaid.

However, he said thatliquor sellers were expectingmore sales this election season.

“The sale was around one-and-a-half times more thanwhat is recorded on regulardays,” he said. He added thatthe would open fromWednesday evening.

“People who were awareabout the closure of shops dueto elections purchased ade-quate stock,” he said.

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It’s time for the 38.4 lakh reg-istered voters to exercise

their franchise in Lucknow onWednesday. Out of the totalvoters, nearly 20.4 lakh aremales while 17.9 lakh females.The votes will be cast from 7am to 6:30 pm and those whoare Covid positive can exercisetheir franchise in the final one hour (from 5:30 pm to 6:30pm).

DM and District ElectionOfficer Abhishek Prakash saidthere are a total of 4,062 pollingbooths at 1,527 polling centresin Lucknow, including 100model booths and 47 pinkbooths. He said no publicitywould be allowed within 100metres from the polling boothon the day of polling.

People can produceAadhaar cards, NREGA jobcards, bank or PO passbooks,Bima smart cards, drivinglicences, PAN cards, passport,pension documents with pho-tos, IDs of government offices,public limited companies, IDcards of MLAs, MPs and cor-porators and UID cards asvoter IDs.

Regarding EPICs, the DMsaid minor anomalies shouldbe overlooked if the face of thevoter matches with the photoon the card.

He appealed to the voters,especially the 18 year olds, tovote in large numbers andincrease the voting percentage.

“Lucknow not only has toimprove the voting percentage

but also set a record in thisrespect,” he said. He added thatthis is the first time they arealso taking the initiative ofmaking the first voter plant asapling which will be called‘mat vriksh’. The LucknowWest constituency has 437polling booths, 104 pollingstations and an estimated pop-ulation of 6.12 lakh. There are2.3 lakh male and 2 lakh femalevoters while 38 are transgen-ders. Lucknow East has 429polling booths and 85 pollingstations with an estimatedpopulation of 6.3 lakh, Thereare 2.3 lakh male and 2.1 lakhfemale voters while 18 aretransgenders.

Lucknow Central has 361polling booths and 94 pollingstations with an estimatedpopulation of 6.8 lakh. There

are 1.9 lakh male and and 1.7lakh female voters while six aretransgenders.

Lucknow Cantt has 367polling booths and 90 pollingcentres with a projected pop-ulation of 6.32 lakh. There are1.9 lakh male and 1.6 lakhfemale voters while 21 aretransgenders.

Malihabad has 441 pollingbooths and 289 polling stationswhile the estimated populationis 5.9 lakh. The male voters are1.9 lakh and the female votersare 1.6 lakh while 32 are trans-genders. Lucknow North has418 polling booths and 76polling stations with an esti-mated population of 6.2 lakh.There are 2.4 lakh male voters,2.1 female voters and 26 trans-genders.

Sarojininagar has 610

polling booths and 227 pollingstations with an estimatedpopulation of 7.29 lakh. Thereare 2.99 male voters, 2.5 femalevoters and 24 transgenders.

Bakshi-Ka-Talaab has 510polling stations and 262 pollingbooths while the estimatedpopulation is 6 lakh. The con-stituency has 2.4 lakh male vot-ers, 2.1 lakh female voters and13 transgenders.

Mohanlalganj has 445polling booths and 299 centreswhile the estimated populationis 6.4 lakh. There are 1.8 lakhmale voters, 1.7 lakh femalevoters and 28 belonging to thethird gender category.

There is a model greenpolling booth which has beenset up at AP Sen MemorialGirls’ PG Collage nearCharbag. There is solar power

and the voters can use electriccarts to reach the booth to castvote. Drinking water is avail-able in traditional earthenpitchers and kulhads. Theapproach road is decked upwith vertical wall gardens tomake the area green, the divi-sional forest officer said. Thebooth was inspected by DFORavi Kumar Singh on Mondayevening.

��.$��$��/��.��)District Magistrate and

District Election OfficerAbhishek Prakash said a con-trol room has been set up at theVoters Registration Centre foreach constituency and also atthe Collectorate for exchangeof information. Lucknow: 1680521-2211038, 0522-2623024;Lucknow 169: 0522-27279190522-2625653; Lucknow 170:0522-4307142, 0522-2611117;Lucknow 171: 0522-2651100,0522-2611118; Lucknow 172:0522-2339875, 0522-2611119;Lucknow 173: 0522-2355617,0522-2622627; Lucknow 174:0522-2629876, 0522-2618403;Lucknow 175: 0522-2451036,0522-2629219; Lucknow 176:0522-2822955, 0522-2610170.

/.$��$�� Lucknow Metro will be

running as usual from 6 am to10 pm on the polling day(Wednesday). Managing direc-tor of Uttar Pradesh Metro RailCorporation Kumar Keshavappealed to people to step outand vote to fulfil their consti-tutional responsibility.

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Original registered lease deed dated26.10.1989 registered on 21.3.1991 inBahi No. I, Zild 4875 original number55952 page 1-18 Sub Registrar Kanpurregarding P.No. 3, Araji No. 832 partscheme No. 39, Village Daheli SujanpurKanpur Nagar area 867 sq. yards exe-cuted by Chankyapuri Co-operativeHousing Society Kanpur FavouringSurendra Kumar Agarwal S/o Amar NathAgarwal has been actually lost as report-ed by present owner Ajay Agarwal S/oLate Surendra Kumar Agarwal, any objec-tion/claim may be filed with in 30 days frompublication to the under signed towardsdisbursement of House loan by LICHousing finance Ltd Kanpur on mortgag-ing the said property, failing which houseloan shall be disbursed on the objector risk.

S.C. Kulshrestha Advocate

8/227 A Arya Nagar Kanpur Nagar

NOTICE

CITATION (BY ADVERTISEMENT) (Chapter XXX, Rule-21)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE ATALLAHABAD ORIGINAL JURISDICTIONTESTAMENTARY AND INTESTATE

JURISDICTIONTESTAMENTARY CASE NO. 06 OF 2022IN THE MATTER OF THE GOODS OF

Late Vakeel Ahmad Son of AbdulWaheed Khan Resident of Mohalla MirdahaMariahu District Jaunpur U.P....Deceased.

Shakeel Ahmad, Akeel Ahmad,Sarvar Ali, Anwar Ali, Tafzeel Ahmad Allsons of Late Vakeel Ahmad ....Petitioners.

WHEREAS an application has beenmade by Shakeel Ahmad, Akeel AhmadSarvar Ali, Anwar Ali and Tafzeel AhmadAll Sons of Late Vakeel Ahmad All residentof Mohalla Mirdaha, Tehsil Mariahu, DistrictJaunpur, for the probate of the will (orLetters of Administration to the estate) ofLate Vakeel Ahmad deceased, whodied at Mirdaha, Mariahu, Jaunpur,Uttar Pradesh, 222161, on 06.07.1998AND WHEREAS, the 05th day of April,2022 has been fixed for hearing of the saidapplication. THIS CITATION is issuedcalling upon all persons claiming to haveany interest to come and see the proceed-ings if they think fit before the grant of pro-bate (or Letters of Administration).

Given under my hand and the sealof the Court this 18th day of February, 2022.

Shri Pramod Kumar YadavAdvocates

Counsel for the Petitioner.DEPUTY REGISTRAR HIGH COURT, ALLAHABAD

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Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath,

on Tuesday, launched a frontalattack on the Samajwadi Party,the Bahujan Samaj Party andthe Congress for playing withthe faith of Hindus and crush-ing their religious sentiments.

Lashing out at the opposi-tion parties, the chief minister,while addressing public meet-ings in Ayodhya, said, “It wasBharatiya Janata Party’s double-engine government whichended the 500-year-long waitand fulfilled the wishes ofIndia’s 135 crore people bypaving the way for constructionof a grand Ram temple inAyodhya.”

Attacking the SP, BSP andCongress, he said, “CouldCongress construct Ayodhya’sRam temple? Could BSP do it?Could ‘babua’ do it? Will thosewho opened fire on Ram bhak-ts build it? Will those wholocked the Ram temple build it?Who is building it? The dou-ble-engine government of theBJP.”

He went on to say that thecases registered against “terror-ists” were withdrawn duringthe Samajwadi Party rule, whilefake cases were registeredagainst Hindus.

“Ram bhakts would befired upon. Aarti would be per-formed of terrorists (during theSP rule),” Yogi Adityanath saidand added, “The first decisiontaken by us in 2017 was towaive loans of crop growers. Incontrast, the SP government

had taken steps to withdrawcases registered against “terror-ists” who attacked the RamJanmabhoomi.”

Reiterating that the BJPgovernments were ensuringwelfare of the poor and wereestablishing Ram Rajya, Yogisaid, “Samajwadi Party is withterrorists. They don’t want thestate to develop. BJP’s double-engine government is workingto establish ‘Ram Rajya’.”

Yogi Adityanath said thatthe opposition, especially theCongress, did not want the500-year-old Ram mandir issueto be resolved, believing that itwould end their politics. “Theynot only deprived Indians andAyodhya of Ram temple butalso deprived the people ofAyodhya of electricity, food,houses and toilet facilities,” headded. Yogi said Ram Rajyawas the true example of goodgovernance. “It is a state wherethere is no discrimination.Connecting the poor with wel-fare schemes of the governmentand guaranteeing security isalso Ram Rajya. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi at the Centreand all BJP-ruled states aremaking sincere efforts in thisdirection,” he said.

Enumerating the welfareschemes, the chief ministersaid that the poor were beingprovided free houses, toilets,electricity and cooking gasconnections. He said the BJP’sattempt was to connect everycitizen with the mainstream.

Yogi said that the double-engine government of UPwaived loans of over 50,400

farmers from Ayodhya.Similarly, he said, 3,69,328farmers of Ayodhya were get-ting Rs 6,000 annually underthe PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.

Nearly 48,500 people had beengiven houses in the districtunder the PM/CM AwasYojanas, he pointed out.

Targeting the three major

opposition parties, the chiefminister asserted that theycould not look beyond theirfamilies and “worked for ter-rorists,” while the BJP strived

for all sections of society,including farmers, poor, youth,women and traders.

“Memories of the medievalperiod were refreshed when

terrorists attacked mandirs andmutts,” he said continuing hisattack on the SP regime. “Thesentiments of Hindu societywere crushed under the SPregime,” he added.

Stating that Uttar Pradeshneeded a strong, powerful anddetermined government likethat of the BJP, Yogi said, “Thestate no more needs a spinelessand a weak government likethat of SP. Ab SP, BSP aurCongress ka visarjan karne kiavashyakta hai.”

Terming Ayodhya as “ouridentity”, the chief ministersaid once people hesitated tovisit Ayodhya and doubted thevery existence of Lord Ram andquestioned the need of havinga Ram temple there.

“But have you seen how theUP government organised thegrand Deepotsava in Ayodhya.We attracted the country andthe world towards Deepawali inAyodhya by making the festi-val a mega event,” the chiefminister pointed out.

He went on to say that byestablishing Ayodhya’s identi-ty globally through the grandRam temple, not only thetourism potential of the regionhad increased but also theeconomy of poor craftsmenand artisans of Ayodhya whomad earthen diyas had got amajor boost.

Accusing the oppositionparties of isolating themselvesfrom people during the novelcoronavirus pandemic, YogiAdityanath said, “At the time ofCOVID-19, the Union andstate governments and BJP

public representatives venturedout to serve people but noth-ing was known about opposi-tion leaders. All of them werein home isolation and self-quarantine. When these peopledid not reach out to you at thetime of crisis, they should beasked to keep aloof in electionsas well. They were on Twitterduring the pandemic and theywill be given replies on Twitteritself.” Maintaining that theBJP government ensured bothwelfare of the farmers andprotection of the cows, YogiAdityanath said, “One of ourfirst decisions in 2017 was towaive loans of the farmers andto shut down illegal slaughter-houses. We will continue toprotect our gaumata, will pro-vide shelter to every cow ingaushalas and will make thegaushalas centres of energyand organic farming.”

“We are providing Rs 900monthly to every farmer fortaking care of a cow,” he added.

The chief minister went onto say that not only a grandRam temple was being built,but the entire Ayodhya wasbeing developed as the mostbeautiful city. “We named theregion Ayodhya linking it withLord Ram. Earlier this placehad no identity,” he said.

“They (opposition) are try-ing their best to stop BJP, butBJP has your (public’s) bless-ings. We will cross the 325-seatmark in UP again, but it canonly happen when BJP’s lotuswill bloom in the holy land ofAyodhya,” the chief ministersaid.

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An executive of a privatebank, who had joined his

assignment just a month back,was shot dead in Firozabad lateMonday night.

The victim’s family mem-bers named some suspects andefforts were underway to nabthem.

As per reports, an execu-tive of HDFC Bank at AgraGate, Shivam (25) of Ghazipurvillage of Basai Mohammadpur,was returning home on amotorcycle on Monday night.As he neared a brick kiln nearKhanjapur village of Rasulpurpolice station area, someassailants intercepted him andopened fire. The bullet hit theyouth in the shoulder, due towhich he fell on the spot.

On being informed, per-sonnel from Rasulpur andBasai Mohammadpur policestation rushed to the spot andshifted the injured toGovernment Trauma Centerfor treatment.

When his condition dete-riorated, the victim wasreferred to Agra but was pro-nounced dead upon arrival atthe hospital.

During preliminary probe,the kin suepcted the role ofsome people in the incidentand the police were makingefforts to arrest the miscreants.

Meanwhile in a tragic inci-dent in Mahoba, the car of afamily returning from a wed-ding collided with a tree inwhich the groom’s brother diedand 6 six, including the brideand groom were injured nearKali Pahari late on Mondaynight. The injured werereferred to Jhansi after first aid.

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath expressed grief overthe incident and expressedcondolences to the bereavedfamilies. The Chief Ministerhas instructed officials toensure proper treatment to theinjured and provide all possi-ble help and relief to the affect-ed.

Meanwhile, officials ofCentral Industrial SecurityForce (CISF) said on Tuesdaythat 18 of its troopers gotinjured when a bus in whichthey were travelling turnedturtle after an accident inLakhimpur Kheri on Mondaynight.

A total of 38 security per-sonnel were travelling in the

bus provided by the districtadministration and they wereheading to Lakhimpur Kherifrom Shikohabad for the nextround of poll on Wednesday.

In the mishap, 18 trooperssuffered serious injuries whilethe rest escaped with minorinjuries. They were admitted toa local hospital in LakhimpurKheri, while the two of themwere referred to KGMU inLucknow on Tuesday morning.

Officials in CISFHeadquarter, Lucknow saidthat they were in touch with thesupervisory officer of the pal-toon, Assistant CommandantRavi Raj. Meanwhile, addi-tional troopers are being sentto Lakhimpur Kheri to replacethe injured jawans.

The fourth phase polling inthe ongoing assembly pollswill be held on Wednesday andvotes will be cast in nine dis-tricts including LakhimpurKheri.

Proitests were witnessedagainst the BJP governmentand MoS Home Affairs AjayMishra Teni after four farmers,two BJP workers and a journal-ist were killed on October 3 lastyear during farmers’ protest inLakhimpur Kheri.

Lucknow (PNS): ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath tar-geted the Congress overPunjab Chief MinisterCharanjit Singh Channi’s ‘UP,Bihar ke Bhaiya’’ remark andtermed them as ‘BehroopiyaBrand’.

Addressing a public gath-ering in Gaura assembly seg-ment of Gonda, Yogi said, “Yesab log behroopiya brand hain’(They are all double-facedpeople). They seek votes in UPand then abuse the people ofthe state in other states.”

Without taking names, theChief Minister went on toadd, “One of their ChiefMinisters stated that he willnot allow the people of UP andBihar to work in Punjab. Theymust know that no youth ofUP has to go out of the statenow as they will get employ-ment here itself and contributeto making it the number oneeconomy.”

Launching a scathingattack on the previousSamajwadi Party government,Yogi remarked, “Before 2017,those people who got theopportunity to rule, did notrespect the sentiments ofGonda and its people. Thereused to be riots, anarchy in the

state. No daughter, farmer orbusinessman felt secure. Itwas under the BJP regimethat UP became riot-free, cur-few-free and free of any fear.”

Referring to the changedstatus of Vantangiya commu-nity in Gonda, the ChiefMinister said, “After 70 yearsof independence, these vil-lagers did not have votingrights and were also deprivedof basic amenities. But after2017, a new chapter in theirlives was initiated and now

everyone has a pucca house,toilet, power supply, LPG gasconnection and other facili-ties.”

Accusing the SamajwadiParty of doing politics ofappeasement, Yogi said thatduring their regime even thedistribution of electricity wasbased on equations of casteand religion. He added, “Powersupply was ensured duringEid aur Moharram but notduring Holi and Diwali. In theBJP government, we provided

24-hour power supply withoutany discrimination conform-ing to the mantra of SabkaSaath, Sabka Vikas.”

“The Samajwadi Party isresponsible for playing withnational security by protectingand harbouring the terror-ists,” he said.

Declaring that UttarPradesh’s COVID-19 manage-ment fared well in comparisonto many other states and coun-tries, the Chief Minister said,“Under PM Modi’s leadershipthe most populous state con-tained the pandemic efficient-ly. People are being providedfree vaccines, free testing facil-ities and free treatment alongwith free double-dose of food-grains.”

Speaking on free vaccineand its effectiveness, Yogi said“We gave free Covid vaccinesto all. Those who were spread-ing misconceptions about thevaccine saved numeorus liveswhich was dismissed by oppo-sition leaderfs as a Modi /Yogivaccine.”

Taking a dig at the SP andBSP in the context, he said,“Had there been the govern-ment of SP or BSP, the vaccinewould have been sold in theblack market.”

)�� (�)*+,

Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra targeted

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath overthe hooch tragedy in Azamgarh,alleging that the poor people werelosing their lives as the liquor mafiashad the patronage of the government.

In a tweet posted on twitter,Priyanka Vadra said, “In UttarPradesh, the business of spuriousliquor is flourishing under thepatronage of the government. Morethan 200 deaths in a year, includingthe Azamgarh incident, many homeswere razed but no strict action wastaken against the liquor mafia. Thisis the story of law and order in UP.”

The Uttar Pradesh Congress alsoblamed the poor law and order forthe rising number of cases of hoochtragedy.

Uttar Pradesh Congress ElectionCampaign Committee chairman PLPunia, while targeting the YogiAdityanath government, said that thedeaths due to spurious liquor inAzamgarh were yet another exampleof the deteriorating law and order sit-uation in Uttar Pradesh. He said thatthe government should take imme-

diate action against those responsi-ble for the tragedy.

Attacking the government, Puniasaid that this was not the first case ofdeaths due to consumption of spu-rious liquor in the state. “Therehave been many cases before this aswell. In May 2021, more than twodozen died in the same Azamgarhdistrict. But the government turned

a blind eye and failed to initiate anyproceedings against the liquormafias,” he said.

Punia said that if the state gov-ernment and officers had been sen-sitive about the deaths due to spuri-ous liquor and strict action hadbeen taken against the illegal liquortraders, hundreds of deaths couldhave been prevented.

He said that in the last fiveyears, hundreds of lives had been lostdue to spurious liquor in Mahoba,Chitrakoot, Ayodhya, Budaun,Hathras, Pratapgarh, Azamgarh,Aligarh, Bulandshahr andSaharanpur, but action had alwaysbeen taken at the local level.

“When the business of spuriousliquor is thriving on such a largescale, then everyone knows who isresponsible, but by suspending thelocal police and excise officials, thegovernment and administrationclaim to fulfill their duty.”

“The criminals remain silent forsome days after a liquor tragedy andthen they follow the same path whilethose officials suspended are alsoreinstated and are back on job with-out facing any legal proceedings,” headded.

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This edition of the Uttar Pradesh elec-tion promises to be unique as for the

first time in several decades none of theknown Mafiosi like Mukhtar Ansari, AtiqAhmad will be contesting the polls. This,political pundits say, is an opposition strat-egy to blunt the Bharatiya Janata Partybarbs on Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya LokDal alliance.

Despite getting bail recently in a 11-year-old case from MP/MLA Court ofMau, Mukhtar Ansari has decided not tocontest the election this time. Mukhtar waslodged in the Banda jail.

Instead of Mukhtar, his son AbbasAnsari would be in the fray from the MauSadar assembly constituency in easternUttar Pradesh as a candidate of SuheldevBhartiya Samaj Party, an ally of theSamajwadi Party.

Similarly, Mukhtar’s nephew ShoaibAnsari has filed his nomination fromMohammadabad assembly seat. Shoaib isthe son of Mukhtar’s elder brother

Sibgetullah Ansari. Mukhtar Ansari hasbeen representing the Mau Sadar seat since1996. Mukhtar retained the seat as anIndependent in 2002 and 2007 and as aQuami Ekta Dal candidate in 2012. In2017, he won the seat on Bahujan SamajParty ticket.

Similarly, Atiq Ahmad, a former five-time MLA from Allahabad West and for-mer Samajwadi Party MP, has decided notto contest the election this time.

Politically speaking, the SP-RLDalliance has denied tickets to these donsto blunt the BJP campaign that it is in thehabit of fielding criminals and dons. Intheir poll campaigns, BJP leaders have beentargeting SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for giv-ing tickets to anti-socials.

“In the last one year, the YogiAdityanath government has demolishedproperties of Mukhtar Ansari and AtiqAhmad, claiming that these were built ille-gally. If now these people were given tick-ets, this would have given BJP the ham-mer to beat the SP alliance again. So, strate-gically, the party distanced itself from these

dons and instead fielded their familymembers,” political analyst Manoj Bhadrasaid.

Speaking to ‘The Pioneer’, Mukhtar’sson Abbas Ansari said that he was forcedto join the poll fray because a conspiracywas being hatched so that his fathercould not file his nomination.

“My father is a five-time MLA fromMau Sadar. If he does not contest the elec-tion it is the son’s duty to carry forward hislegacy. From now on, Mau is my karmab-hoomi,” he said.

This will be Abbas Ansari’s secondelection as he had contested the 2017Assembly poll from Ghosi on BSP ticketand had finished second, losing out to BJP’sFagu Chauhan, who was later appointedthe governor of Bihar.

Mau will go to the polls in the seventhand last phase of election on March 7. TheBJP has fielded

Ashok Singh, while BSP state presidentBhim Rajbhar and Congress candidateMadhavendra Bahadur Singh are tryingtheir luck from Mau Sadar seat.

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The Election Commission of India hasordered repoll in the Jaswantpur polling

booth of Karhal assembly constituency wherepolling was held in the third phase on February20.

The repoll will be held from 7 am to 6 pm.The EC ordered the repoll due to the unau-

thorised entry of a person at voting compart-ment on the day of polling. This was detectedin the webcast.

The poll panel had sought for a report fromthe district returning officer and it confirmedthe irregularity after which the repoll wasordered.

The EC has also ordered action against thepresiding officer of Jaswantnagar polling boothand other members of the polling party.

Meanwhile, Chief Electoral Officer of UP,Ajay Kumar Shukla said in Lucknow onTuesday that the number of voters at eachpolling both would remain restricted to 1,250for the fourth phase of polling, as per directionsof the Election Commission of India.

The CEO said that the EC has deployed 57general observers, nine police observers, 18expenditure observers for keeping close watchon polling. Besides, 117 sector magistrates, 210zonal magistrates, 105 static magistrates and3,110 micro observers have been deputed.

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Gorakhpur (PTI): Unionminister Smriti Irani onTuesday claimed that theSamajwadi Party and theCongress governments in UttarPradesh deprived the poor ofthe rations meant for them.

Speaking in Maharajganj,Irani said that earlier, thosewho took the name of LordRam were ridiculed, but now,the BJP government has estab-lished 'Ram Rajya' in the state,where women are gettingrespect and the youth jobs.

"The BJP government hasgiven free rations to the poor,while the earlier governmentsof the SP and the Congressused to eat up the rationsmeant for them," she said.

Later, addressing a gather-ing in the Domariyaganj con-stituency of Siddharthnagardistrict, Irani said "(Goddess)Lakshmi ji never rides a cycleor an elephant, she rides alotus", and appealed to peopleto vote for the BJP by pressingthe button of lotus (electionsymbol of the BJP) on theEVM. She also took a jibe at theSamajwadi Party, saying thosewho had opened fire on 'karse-vaks' (in Ayodhya) are nowhaving dreams about LordKrishna, but Lord Krishnadoes not support hooligans.

"The cycle people warnedothers not to take vaccinesand named it Modi injection.The SP tried to keep the pooraway from vaccines, but no onelistened to them and rejectedtheir propaganda," Irani said,apparently referring to theSamajwadi Party.

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Whether it was representedby the Congress, the

Peace Party, an independent orsomeone aligned with the BJP,the Rae Bareli (Sadar) seat -- foralmost three decades now --has remained within one fam-ily: that of late Akhilesh Singh.

His electoral juggernautstarted in 1993, when he wonon the Congress ticket. Herepeated the performance in1996 and 2002 also but then hisrelations with the Congresssoured.

The party expelled him,and he fought the 2007 electionas an independent, defeating aCongress candidate by 76,603votes. By the next elections hehad joined the Peace Partyand won the 2012 polls with75,588 votes.

According to his 2012 elec-tion affidavit, Akhilesh Singhhad been accused in eightcriminal cases including onecase each of murder and extor-tion, and five of intimidation.

After Singh retired fromactive politics, his daughterAditi Singh was elected as theCongress MLA in 2017. Singhdied of cancer in August 2019and his daughter switched tothe BJP in November 2021. Shesent her resignation letter to theCongress and the AssemblySpeaker last month.

This signalled the finalsevering of ties between theSingh family and the Congress,which had for long been thedominant force in Rae Barelisince the days of Indira Gandhi.

Rae Bareli assembly seg-ment is part of the parliamen-tary seat held by Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi.

Local resident MayankAgarwal said people want thebasic sadak, bijli, paani issuesresolved they, whether it is justone family that has been inpower or several.

Unfortunately that has nothappened. Roads are still dam-aged and traffic increasing dueto encroachments and parkingissues. Power outages for fouror five hours, particularly dur-ing the summers, are stillprevalent despite promises byMLAs and MPs, the 30-year-old said.

Last week, Aditi Singh (34)made an emotional appeal tovoters, launching on socialmedia a short documentary ofher father, focusing on his"rich legacy", in a bid to win asecond term for herself and thefirst for the BJP from the seat.

During the past few weeks,while she had declared alle-giance to the BJP, technicallythe seat didn't shift to thatparty.

"His relation with peoplewas such that no equationcould cut him off from people.Whichever party had a wave inUP, Rae Bareli would chooseAkhilesh Singh only," the doc-umentary says.

The only party that RaeBareli (Sadar) has never sup-ported is the Samajwadi Party.This time, it has fielded R PYadav, a grassroot party work-er, against Aditi Singh, hopingto break the Singh family stran-

glehold on the constituency.The Samajwadi Party

dubbed Akhilesh Singh's timein power as a "legacy taintedand mired in crime" andclaimed the SP would take theseat out of the family clutchesin this election.

The Congress too haslaunched an all-out campaignagainst Aditi Singh, calling hera betrayer. It has fielded Manish Chauhan, an eminentdoctor with political lineage inthe city.

SP's Rae Bareli presidentVeerendra Yadav claimed thatRae Bareli (Sadar) has notdeveloped despite being thedistrict headquarters in allthese years. He said city roadsare broken, villages have roadconnectivity problems, poorlocalities do not get cleandrinking water and health careinfrastructure is not up to themark even today.

"Development is not possi-ble when right public represen-tatives are not elected," he toldPTI.

"The father of the currentMLA was also the MLA for 25years. They did not do devel-opment work. They only loot-ed Rae Bareli. They had a gangengaged in extortion. Theyonly developed themselves andsome of their supporters,"Yadav alleged.

He noted that having anMLA from a different partythan which has government inthe state impacts growthprospects of any constituencyand that has also happenedwith Rae Bareli.

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BJP president Jagat PrakashNadda on Tuesday alleged

that Samajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav has taken anoath to protect terrorists andwondered whether such a per-son can be entrusted the reinsof Uttar Pradesh.

He claimed that Yadav aschief minister of Uttar Pradeshhad freed terrorists and with-drew cases against them.

Nadda also hit out atCongress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra, sayingeven though her father, formerprime minister Rajiv Gandhi,"died in a terrorist attack, ter-

rorism is a 'fizul ka mudda' (apointless matter) for her".

At a poll meeting inDeoria's Rudrapur, the BJPchief said, "Last Friday, 38 peo-ple were sentenced to death inthe 2008 Ahmedabad bombblasts case. Shadab Ahmed,the father of Mohammad Saif,a convict in the case, is aSamajwadi Party worker work-ing closely with AkhileshYadav."

"Other people swear byGod to protect the Constitutionbut Akhilesh (Yadav) says heswears by God that he will pro-tect terrorists," the BharatiyaJanata Party president told therally.

Maintaining that UttarPradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath has ended 'mafiaraj' and 'goonda raj' in the state,Nadda said all anti-nationalshave been jailed.

"Five years ago, AzamKhan, Mukhtar Ansari andAtiq Ahmed used to spread ter-ror. But for the last five years,all the three have been playing'Gulli Danda' in jail," he said.

Nadda urged people tovote for the BJP saying underYogi Adityanath's rule festivalslike Holi and Diwali are cele-brated in the state with greaterfervour.

"Diwali used to be celebrat-ed in Uttar Pradesh earlier

also but why was there noDeepotsav in Ayodhya? Whywas Mathura not decorated?Why Varanasi was not decorat-ed on Dev Deepawali earlier?All this is now happeningunder the BJP's rule," he said.

Targeting PriyankaGandhi, the BJP chief allegedthat she had termed the issueof terrorism as a pointless mat-ter. "Her father Rajiv Gandhidied in a terrorist attack but ter-rorism is a 'fizual ka mudda' forher."

He claimed that neither theSamajwadi Party nor theCongress have the power tocount their developmentalworks for the state in public.

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More than 1.23 lakh femalevoters have increased in

the 2022 assembly election inVaranasi in the comparison tothe 2017 assembly election andthey will play a crucial role inthis election too like they hadplayed in the previous assem-bly election. This is the reasonwhy all the main political par-ties are trying their level best towoo them in favour oftheir respective candidates byraising the issues related tothem.

In the 2017 assembly elec-tion, there were a total of12,52,419 women voters but inthe 2022 election, their numberis 13,75,860, an increase of1,23,441 number than previouselection. This is approximate-ly 40 per cent of total 30,29,215electorates in the district whichcomprises eight assembly con-

stituencies. The number ofmen voters in the district is16,53,170.

The women voters hadplayed an important role inensuring the victory of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)and its allies Apna Das-S andSuheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party(SBSP) in the district in 2017assembly elections. The BJPhad won six seats- VaranasiSouth, Varanasi North,Varanasi Cantonment, Shivpur,Rohaniya and Piindra, whileAD-S and SBSP had wonSewapuri and Ajagara seatsrespectively.

In 2017, a total of 61.63 percent voters turnout was record-ed and out of them, a total of62.47 per cent female votershad used their franchises com-paratively to 60.95 per centmale voters. At that time, it wasunderstood that it was a majorturn out of the women voters

in favour of the BJP and itsallies behind the clean sweep inthe district. Even the BJP lead-ers had also accepted that thewomen voters voted for the saf-fron brigade and its alliesbecause of the policies of thecentral government alleviat-ing their miseries.

In the 2022 election too,the women voters will play acrucial role in deciding the fateof any candidate and that’swhy each and every politicalparty whether it is BJP, SP, BSPor Congress Party leaving nostone unturned to woo them.On the one hand, the BJP, theSP and the BSP have madepromises for making the life ofwomen much better during thefive years to come and on theother hand, the Congress Partyhas made the issues related towomen its main poll plank andeven fielded female candidateon four seats, half of total seats

of the district. As most of the women

voters maintained silence andare avoiding becoming vocalabout their choice in the elec-tion and so, the strategists ofpolitical parties particularlythe BJP, the Congress Party andthe SP are seeking the help oftheir women leaders to get thefavour of female voters.

The BJP and the CongressParty have constituted teams oftheir female workers particular-ly to apprise the women votersof their policies in a bid to gar-ner their support in favour oftheir candidates.

On the one hand, theopposition parties are raisingthe issues of skyrocketing pricesof edible oils and other fooditems and on the other, the rul-ing party is raising the issue ofsecurity and law & order situ-ation for nothing just to woothe female voters.

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Former state Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) chief and chair-

man of the State JoiningCommittee Laxmikant Bajpaisaid that Samajwadi Party (SP)was not winning even 100seats in the entire state as thebad condition of the SP wasclearly seen in the first threephases. However, he denied thelow impact of Bahujan SamajParty (BSP) in the election. ‘Nomatter how lean the elephantmay be,’ he said while talkingto the reporters where severalsenior SP and BSP leaders havejoined the membership of BJPat a function held at the region-al party office at Rohaniyahere on Monday.

‘Every person who joinsBJP is of clean image,’ Bajpaisaid, adding that the party hadrejected 137 such people withcriminal image and till now 421leaders of different parties andothers had taken membershipof BJP in the entire state. Inreply to a query over SPPresident Akhilesh Yadavmocking CM Yogi’s bulldozerstatement, Bajpai said, ‘SP hasalways provided protection toterrorists and mafia. In such asituation, if the bulldozer runson illegal occupation of themafia, then such reaction from

Akhilesh Yadav is natural.’In reply to a query, Bajpai

asked what the father of theperson sentenced to death inthe Ahmedabad serial blastscase was doing in the house oroffice of Akhilesh.

He also strongly criticisedthe SP for withdrawing thecases of criminals and askedhow such an act could createcommunal harmony. On theoccasion, senior SP leaderKanhaiya Lal Gupta, BSP’s SujitMaurya and Kirana Vyapar

Mandal (VisheshwarganjMandi) president AshokGupta, along with supportersjoined the BJP. Gupta wasDistrict Panchayat president in1994 while SP’s city chief from1997 to 2000, state secretaryfrom 2001 to 2004 and mayoralcandidate in 2007. SujitMaurya, who holds a goodpopularity among the people ofMaurya, Shakya and Kushwahasub-castes, was BSP corporatorfor five consecutive terms andalso contested assembly elec-

tions on BSP ticket twicefrom City North assemblyseat.

Earlier, president ofBahadur Aadmi Party (BAP)Rajendra Gandhi Kushwahatook a meeting with the region-al BJP chief Mahesh ChandraSrivastava and decided thatBAP would support the BJP. Healso handed over a letter to thiseffect. In this connection, onMonday all the three BAP can-didates had withdrawn theirnomination papers.

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Though the elections inVaranasi and its adjoining

districts are in the seventh andlast phase, the political fever hasalready started gainingmomentum and several topleaders have started arrivinghere en route to their cam-paigning in different areaswhere the polling will be heldin fifth and sixth phases. Manyleaders, without much speak-ing, have tried to send theirmessages to the voters throughtheir actions. As Varanasi is theparliamentary constituency ofPrime Minister NarendraModi, in all elections since2014, it has become the hotspotof political activities.

In this direction, UnionMinister Smriti Irani camehere on Tuesday and withoutspeaking much on politics, shetried to send a message to thevoters. After her return fromPrayagraj, where she directlyflew from Lal Bahadur ShastriInternational Airport,Babatpur, a day ago, she sparedsome time to offer prayers atKashi Vishwanath Corridorand Sankat Mochan temple,giving a message of party’spro-Hindutva card to the vot-ers.

Not only this, while return-ing to the airport from whereshe flew to Maharajganj foraddressing an election meetingshe stopped at the shop ofManoj Yadav in Lanka area

near Banaras Hindu University(BHU) and tasted famous lassiwhile boarding in her car.

The shop owner warmlywelcomed the Union Ministerwhose action, definitely,increased the heartbeats amongthe workers of BJP’s arch rivalSamajwadi Party (SP) becausethe Yadavs are considered astraditional vote-bank of SP.

Not only this, Union HomeMinister Amit Shah reachedVaranasi on Monday eveningand held a marathon meetingwith the party office-bearers atthe hotel located in Nadesarduring the night hours to chalkout the BJP's strategy for thenext phases of voting.

He also sought the detailsabout the party’s preparations

in all the eight assembly con-stituencies of the district, apartfrom some others where theparty is willing to surprisesome heavyweights of rivalparties.

It is expected that in the lastweek of this month, Modihimself will lead the electioncampaigning in both Varanasiand Gorakhpur belts ofPurvanchal (eastern UP) wherethe polling will be held insixth and seventh phases. In allthe districts except Ballia ofVaranasi, Vindhyachal andAzamgarh divisions, thepolling will be held in the sev-enth phase while in Ballia,along with other districts ofGorakhpur region, will be heldin the sixth phase.

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Union Home Minister AmitShah said three phases of

voting have been done. SP,BSP and Congress have beenwiped out from UP. BJP isgoing to form the governmentwith more than 300 seats.Akhilesh babu is not a goodbowler. If one gets a full tossball, then one should hit a four,he added.Shah's rally was heldat Babhnan in RaniganjAssembly constituency onTuesday. In the beginning ofthe address, Shah gave thepledge to the public that BJP isgoing to form the governmentover 300 seats. He also peppedup enthusiasm among theyouths. Amit Shah said that“Akhilesh Babu, today I havecome to give details and also toask for your details”. One crore67 lakh people got free LPGconnections. As soon as theBJP government is formed,the gas cylinder will reachhome for free in Holi. The BJPbuilt toilets in large numbers sothat women should not feelashamed.The Union HomeMinister said that toilets werenot built during the time of SP,BSP and Congress. They didnot even think about respect-ing women. Earlier there wasno electricity, now electricity isnot available only, but electric-ity connection is being givenfree of cost in the houses of thepoor. From the governmentonce again, farmers will not

have to pay electricity bills forfive years. Akhilesh Yadav, whocriticized the vaccine forCorona as a vaccine of Modi,had himself got the vaccinesecretly for a few days in thedark. 15 crore poor got freeration during the Corona peri-od.Amit Shah said that this isthe area of mafias, our MP col-league Sangam Lal often usedto talk about the dabangs. Yogiji has cracked down on themafia. Crimes have decreased.Land worth two thousand

crores was occupied by the landmafia, now it is being given tothe poor. BJP has endedcasteism, familism, appease-ment. Azam, Ateeq andMukhtar like ‘Turram Khan’are in jail today. If Akhileshcomes to the government, theywill come out of jail. In orderto keep Kashmir an integralpart of India, the PrimeMinister removed Article 370.SP, BSP and Congress startedopposing it. He said that this iswhat Akhilesh had said that if

370 is removed, rivers of bloodwill flow in the country.Akhilesh ji, whom were youscaring? Now tell me where therivers of blood flowed, noweven the stones have also beenstopped to be pelted with.Terrorists used to come fromPakistan and leave afterbeheading the soldiers.Manmohan Singh used to keepsilent like ‘Mouni Baba’. NowModi ji has given the answer bydoing a surgical strike. Modi jihas done the work of securingthe country. He gave a messageto the whole world that in frontof the country's border andarmy, no enemy can dare tocome here.Now there is noBahubali, but Bajrang Bali isseen in the state. He asked thepublic whether they will bringback the BJP in power? Afterthis, the Home Minister enu-merated the works done dur-ing the BJP rule. Engineeringcollege has been approved.Central School has been built.The development of industri-al areas is going on inSansarpur. Dr. Sonelal MedicalCollege has been built inPratapgarh. Four oxygenplants have been built in thedistrict. 813 Oxygen concentra-tors are active. He asked thepublic as to what the Akhileshgovernment did in his regime.SP BSP did not do any devel-opment. Development wasdone by BJP only. Only the BJPcan do the work of the poor.Only Yogi ji can improve lawand order, Shah added.

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Deputy Chief MinisterKeshav Prasad Maurya

held public meetings in Meja'sManda and Phulpur VidhanSabha for the UP assemblyelections. Along with showingthe picture of developmentunder BJP rule, he also showedthe mirror to the opposition byshowing the crowd. He saidthat your area had never devel-oped so much before. He saidthat the bulldozer will contin-ue on the mafia and illegaloccupation. It will run againafter 10th March. Don't comeunder anyone's pressure andinfluence. If you vote underpressure and influence, thenonly goons will be born, heasked the public.Keshav Prasad

said that no hooliganism willwork in the BJP government.Mafiagiri will not work. BJP hasdone the work of ending it in

five years. The double enginegovernment took full care ofthe farmers and the poor. BJPmeans development. You

brought this change.The Yogigovernment controlled thegoons and freed the state frommafia and criminals. Therewas no electricity in the SP gov-ernment and electricity doesnot go out in the BJP govern-ment. The Deputy CM saidthat development requiresLakshmi (money) and Lakshmiji does not come riding a cycle,elephant and hand claws, butcomes riding on a lotus flower.The Deputy Chief Ministerappealed to make SamajwadiParty an end party and said thatin public meetings, AkhileshYadav says that theConstitution is in danger. Ibelieve that the Constitution isnot in danger but the future ofMulayam Singh's son AkhileshYadav is in danger.

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SP Chief Akhilesh Yadavvehemently flayed the BJP

government during his publicmeeting held at Sirathu inKaushambi on Tuesday. Heretaliated fiercely on the blowsof big leaders of BJP. The for-mer Chief Minister said that heis a family member, he knowsthe pain and suffering of thefamily. This government (BJPgovernment) raised the infla-tion so much and snatched theemployment that the family'ssuffering increased. If a son issitting in the family, then youand I can understand the sor-row of that house.AkhileshYadav hit out at Deputy ChiefMinister Keshav PrasadMaurya the most. He calledhim stool minister withoutnaming him. First of all, he saidthat the public of Sirathu hasalso come to know about thestool. He said that nowadays asong is going on in Sirathu 'Terejaisa yaar kahan, kahan aisayaarana, yeh yaad rakhegaSirathu stool par baithana’.Akhilesh Yadav said that thestool is not made between theminister and the chief minis-ter.Without naming the Deputy

CM, Akhilesh Yadav said thatthe minister with the stoolcheated the people of Sirathu.He calls himself the son ofSirathu and betrays the youthhere. Injustice was done to thepeople of Sirathu, there wasexploitation. Realization wasmade. Pointing to the crowd,Akhilesh Yadav said, roadswere built here but they start-ed crumbling. Wide roads werenot built, whatever was builtwas built in a pit. Here in thecowshed, the cow mother isstarving, the helpless cattle areharvesting the crops in the

fields, the bulls are hitting theroads. This government didnothing. The people of Sirathugot cheated for five years. Thatis why here Kaushambi'sdaughter-in-law Pallavi Patelwas made a candidate, who willadvance this area.The formerChief Minister also took a jibeat the Home Minister's state-ment without naming him. Hesaid it is good that he did notsay that after passing Inter, ifyou pass 10th, you will get alaptop. He said the SP govern-ment is going to be formed inthe state. The SP alliance scored

a century in the first and sec-ond phase and double centuriesin the third and fourth. He said,Baba Chief Minister talks aboutremoving the heat, when thefirst phase of elections was held,the BJP leaders became cold.In the second and third phas-es, the people of BJP wentnumb.

Now if the votes ofBundelkhand and Kaushambiare cast, they will become zero.In the coming phases, ghostswill be seen at BJP booths. Babathe Chief Minister has come toknow that he is about to leave.That's why he is painting theblack spots of smoke on thewalls of his residence.

Akhilesh said, since thetime Baba Chief Minister hassaid about him that he gets upat 12 o'clock, then he too hasstarted keeping an eye on theChief Minister. Smoke is seenrising several times in theevening.

One day the potters weregoing, they stopped and askedwhere they were going, theysaid they were going to theChief Minister's residence,where they would clean theblack smoke spots and paintthem.

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$�� %�� 4�� 7;��8��ALLAHABAD (PNS): AIMIMnational president AsaduddinOwaisi said in a public meet-ing held at Rasulpur square inthe city's south assembly con-stituency on Tuesday that thereis no significant differencebetween the SP and the BJP. Inthe Samajwadi Party govern-ment, gundaraj dominatedeverywhere. SP did nothing forminorities. At the same time,the Yogi government has alsopersecuted minorities. Law andorder has collapsed under theBJP government. He said thatModi and Yogi try to take

votes by intimidating minori-ties but there is no need to fearbecause Owaisi is withyou.Owaisi said that the issueof hijab started from Karnatakais not heard by the SP. Till nowAkhilesh Yadav has not saidanything in this matter becausehe is not hearing this matter.Baburam Kushwaha, thenational president of JanAdhikar Party, who accompa-nied Owaisi, said that if ourgovernment is formed, every-one will be given the right.Everyone will get equal rights.He said that this front of ours

was formed to bring change inthe state. Earlier, as the chiefguest in the joint public meet-ing of AIMIM by Jan AdhikarParty, AIMIM NationalPresident Asaduddin Owaisiand Jan Adhikar Party NationalPresident Babulal Kushwahaaddressed the public meetingwhile appealing to vote forPhaphamau candidate GyanPrakash Maurya.Jan AdhikarParty's national presidentBabulal Kushwaha said that thework of suppressing the voiceof Dalit backwards has beendone in the governments of BJP

SP BSP. He attacked the oppo-sition parties fiercely. He saidinflation is at its peak. The waythe deaths occurred in thestate at the time of Corona, theyare in front of everyone, thehealth system is in bad shape,every rich poor will get equalrights when our governmentcomes.Asaduddin Owaisi saidin the public meeting that I talkabout uniting hearts whileBJP is sowing seeds of hatredamong simple people.Asaduddin Owaisi said that ifyou vote for SP and BSP, it willbe difficult to stop BJP.

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Under Systematic Voters’ Education andElectoral Participation (SVEEP) programme

for making the people aware about voting a torchprocession was taken out from the office of divi-sional commissioner on Monday. Kicking off theprocession Divisional Commissioner YogeshwarRam Mishra said voting was the best way to getgood government to strengthen the democra-cy. He said though torchlight procession was asymbolic light to make people aware about vot-ing but it was the need of the hour that we keepthe light of spirit of voting till voting day i.e.March 7. He appealed to people to vote withimpartial spirit and added for healthy democ-

racy heavy turnout of voters was a mustbecause only through voting we could get thereal people’s representative. The processionpassed through main markets of the city,including Ratanganj, Teliyaganj, Penhati KaChauraha, Ghantaghar, Vasliganj,Sankatmochan, Rambag, Divisional Hospitalroad and culminated at Collectorate. DistrictMagistrate Praveen Kumar Laxkar said underthe guidance of Chief Development Officer(CDO) Srilaxmi as SVEEP incharge a series ofdifferent programes for voter awareness wereorganised successfully. He said each vote is veryvaluable so we should cast our vote.

CONDOLED: A meeting to condole thesudden demise of Amitabh Singh (41), a lead-ing stone trader and son of Shiv Ram Singh life

member of Shree Gyananand Inter CollegeCollege management general body, Padari, washeld on Monday. Manager Ajay Ojha recalledthe contribution of Amitabh Singh, who wasan asset not only to the college but to the soci-ety too. The meeting concluded by observingtwo minutes silence as a mark of respect to thedeparted soul. Vidya Bhushan Dubey, Vijay Ojhaand others were present on the occasion.

RECOVERED: GRP Mirzapur handed overthe missing mobile phone to its owner onMonday. Mithilesh Chaurasia, a resident ofVelthi, Saaran, Chapara, Bihar, had lodged areport on February 20 at Chunar railway stationthat he had lost his mobile phone set. GRPsearched for the mobile phone and handed itover to its owner. Meanwhile ASP (City) SanjayKumar told the media at City Kotwali onMonday a case of theft was lodged on February16 by Anmol Agrahari, a resident of LaxmanPrasad Ki Gali, Vasliganj, about the theft of cash,valuables and jewellery worth about �8 lakhwhile his family was out of station. Police nabbedthe suspects on Monday and on their identifi-cation 366 gms jewellery of white metal, 141.98gms jewellery of yellow metal and �1,60,000 cashfrom sold jewellery was recovered. He said twoaccused Mumtaz Ansari, a resident of Rambaagand Pawan Soni, a resident of Basnai Bazarunder City Kotwali were being sent to court fororder to be sent to jail and two juvenile offend-ers were being sent to juvenile court. SHO CityKotwali Arvind Mishra was also present alongwith his team during the press conference.

MEETING: In a meeting with the DMMirzapur Petroleum Dealer Association saidduring checking of cash by flying squad formedby DEO cash being carried by staff of petrole-um dealers could be seized which could causehindrance in petroleum supply. The dealersrequested him to ensure that if cash was foundfrom any petrol pump worker it should beexempted from unnecessary checking. The del-egation comprised Durga Prasad Chaudhry,Rajeev Mehrotra, Archit Agrawal and others.

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Under the guidance of General Manager,Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), Anjali

Goyal, and leadership of Principal Chief MedicalOfficer (PCMO) Dr Devesh Kumar, on Mondayin the auditoriumroom of BLW CentralMedical Hospital‘User Depot Module(UDM) in Medicaldepartment’ train-ing was organiseds u c c e s s f u l l y .Forwarding the ideaof Digital India, theapplication of BLW User Depot Module – UDMis one more step forward in the direction of pro-gressive Digital India approach. UDM helps inonline purchase of goods, bill submission and

processing. In the said material managementtraining besides PCMO Dr Devesh Kumar, Dr.PR Thakur, Dr SK Sharma, Dr Madhulika Singh,Dr Minhaj Ahmed, Dr SK Maurya, Dr VishalMishra, Dr Amit Gupta, Dr Tanmay Anand,Geeta Kumari Choudhary and other paramed-

ical staff along withother paramedicalstaff, SomnathHembram, BabbanPrasad, ShivendraNaval, JitendraKumar Singh,Lokpati Shukla,Kamala Srinivasan,Flora Kispotta,

Anjana Todd, JC Chacko, Mukesh Kumar Sah,Raghuvar Dayal as well as office staff AshokKumar, Sanjay Kumar Banerjee, LK Biswal, DKBandil and DN Tiwari were present.

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In North Eastern Railway(NER) through innovative

experiments for increasing theincome of the railways andimproving passenger facilitiesmany meaningful efforts havebeen made. Under the New,Innovative Non-Fare RevenueIdeas Scheme (NINFRIS) aproposal prepared for improve-ment in passenger amenitiesand to increase non-fare rev-enue has been approved. Underit along with advertising rightsin trains, cleanliness and otherworks are included. At presentfor six trains of Lucknow divi-sion proposal under NINFRIShas been approved. In this ineach train in lieu of advertisingauthority at the rate of �10 lakhper train, in a total of six trainsin the form of licence fee total�60 lakh per annum railwayrevenue will be received. Underthe proposal in the outer andinner part of the coach on vinylwrapping the work of adver-tising rights is included.

Chief Public RelationsOfficer (CPRO) Pankaj KumarSingh said along with it thework of cleanliness in trainsand in air-conditioned (AC)coaches availability of ACmechanic’s assistant will beensured. With this experimentthe expenditure on on-boardhouse keeping will be saved as

a result of which in these sixtrains there will be a saving ofabout �1.51 crore per annum.In order to provide better andeconomical facilities to therailway passengers, the railwaysis constantly striving to increaserevenue from other sources.

#��In view of the development

of Aishbagh station ofLucknow Division of NorthEastern Railway (NER) as asatellite station due to the blockbeing given for carrying out thepre-non-interlock (PNI)andnon-interlock (NI) works revi-sion has been done in the can-cellation and diversion oftrains, CPRO PK Singh said.

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GKP-A1SHBAGH EXP:The 15069 Gorakhpur-Aishbagh Express to run fromGorakhpur from February 25to 28 will remain cancelled.

��$��■ The 02570 New Delhi-

Darbhanga special train to runfrom New Delhi on February24 and 25 will be run viadiverted route i.e Ghaziabad-Roja-Sitapur-Burhwal.

■ The 02563 Saharsa-NewDelhi special train to run fromSaharsa on February 25 and 26will be run via the diverted

route i.e. Burhwal-Sitapur-Roja-Moradabad-Ghaziabad.

■ The 02564 New Delhi-Saharsa special train to runfrom New Delhi from February24 to 26 will be run via divert-ed route i.e. Ghaziabad-Moradabad-Roja-Sitapur-Burhwal.

■ The 15010 Mailani-Gorakhpur Express to runfrom Mailani on February 25and 27 will be run via divert-ed route i.e. Mailani-Daliganj.

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between Gyanpur Road andHandia Khas stations inVaranasi division of NER the05173/05174 Banaras-Prayagraj Rambag-Banarasunreserved special train willremain cancelled on February24.

�.�)) *�.�/�*�For the convenience of the

passengers the stoppage time ofthe 12535 Lucknow Jn-RaipurGarib Rath Express at Bandaand Chitrakutdham Karvi sta-tions has been changed.Consequently, the 12535Lucknow Jn-Raipur Garib RathExpress will reach Banda at18.18 hrs and depart at 18.23hrs. It will reachChitrakutdham Karwi stationat 19.39 hrs and depart at19.41 hrs, CPRO said.

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On the occasion of 75th anniversary of inde-pendence under the aegis of DDMS

(Electrical) many programmes were organisedin the Krishnashila Areaof NCL recently. In aseminar organised underthe chairmanship ofDDMS (Electrical)Rupesh Mehta specialemphasis was laid onworking safely at theworkplace and by fol-lowing safe practices.There was also a detailed discussion on theadherence to the applicable standard practicesregarding protection from electrical hazards. In

Krishnashila project courtesy of DGMS, thejourney from the beginning of the effort madefor independence to the attainment of inde-pendence was also presented through a movie.A quiz competition related to freedom and free-

dom struggle was alsoorganised in which ques-tions were asked to thepeople and those whoanswered them correctlywere rewarded. During theprogramme GeneralManager (Safety andRescue) PD Rathi, GeneralManager, Bina Area, LP

Godse, Project Officer, Krishnashila Project,Inderjit Singh and all heads of departments ofKrishnashila Area and other officers were present.

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Director, Raids, Income TaxDepartment, (UP/UK)

Raghav Gupta, said publicspeaking was the most essen-tial channel for communicationwith all stakeholders in view ofthe growing reach of socialmedia.

He said it was througheffective communication thatone could be empathetic to theneeds of the people on onehand, and also to convey theaims and objectives of publicservice, on the other. He saidthis was a very important partof the service because wherev-er an officer was posted onewas likely to have some kind ofpublic dealing.

The Indian RevenueService (IRS) officer has justreturned after delivering ses-sions on managing financialinvestigations, organised byOECD International Tax CrimeAcademy. This oral communi-cation module at Lal BahadurShastri National Academy wasespecially meant for traineeofficers as part of the 96thfoundation course. Gupta wasthe only instructor from Indiato train global investigators,prosecutors and other govern-ment officials from across theworld.

He said the reasons whichconstrained effective perfor-mance of local administrationdetermined the kind of actionsneeded to launch the institu-tional development process.He said for that process to beeffective and efficient, oneneeded to conduct prior in-depth analysis of contextualbackground which helpedfocus on identifying systemicbarriers to development and onassessing competencies of localgovernment personnel and theresultant training needs.

The IRS officer said therewere two approaches in theplanning of training activities,first, dealing with the identifi-cation of training-relatedexpectations and, second,speaking of a prescriptive def-inition of needs related to thedevelopment of competencies.He said public servants had an

obligation to protect and pro-mote constitutional idealsenshrined in the preamble, touphold the rule of law, dispenseadministrative justice andensure administrative facilita-tion.

Expressing his views onpublic speaking, Gupta said itallowed one to form connec-tions, influence decisions andmotivate changes. He said with-out communication skills, theability to progress in the work-ing world and in life, itself,would be rather difficult andpublic speaking was one of themost important and mostdreaded forms of communica-tion.

He said public speakersmotivated their listeners tomake a change and it wasimportant because the speak-er could motivate others to goin the direction they wished,and the speaker could motivateothers to be their best.

Gupta said when one hadinformation to share, one didnot want it to be portrayed ina dull manner and thus onewanted people to listen and thiswas done with public speakingskills. He said firstly one needs

to inform people about some-thing that mattered by usinggreat public skills that theywould understand. He said if itwas within one’s company oron one’s team, public speakingwas a way to bring workerstogether and when people feltconfident in public speaking,workers would speak theirminds and collaborate bettertogether. He advised that oneshould be a thought leader whocould be consulted on prob-lems and being a good publicspeaker made one that personand get one ahead in job whenpeople knew they couldapproach.

He said public speakingrepeatedly was a great boost ofself-confidence and every timeone spoke one gained a bitmore confidence as one couldsee one’s ideas and oneselfwere being well-received by theaudience. He said when onepracticed public speaking, onewas practising both verbal andnon-verbal skills and thus bothwould improve. He said themore one spoke the better onebecame at communication. Hesaid public speaking was one ofthe most effective ways to get

one’s message across and onecould influence the worldaround. He advised the speak-ers to try to talk to the audienceas if one were inviting theminto one’s thoughts. He alsoadvised them to refrain fromreading from the paper.

Gupta said benefits of pub-lic speaking were many andbeing an excellent public speak-er was important for one’scareer, social life, personaldevelopment, and for makinga change in the world.

He said common peoplewere influencing the world inreal ways through the power ofspeech.

He said one of the amazingparts of being a citizen in ademocracy was the right tostand up and speak out. He saidevery single day people aroundthe world stood up in front ofsome audience and spoke andspeaking was integrated tomany different occupations.He said informative speakingwas a common part of numer-ous jobs and other everydayactivities and learning how tospeak effectively had becomean essential skill in today’sworld.

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Kanpur Nagar DistrictMagistrate Neha Sharma,

after visiting the strong roomat Naubasta Galla Mandi onTuesday, said the strong roomwhere the electronic votingmachines (EVMs) were keptafter the polling, was underheavy security with CentralIndustrial Security Forces per-sonnel manning round theclock vigil through CCTVsand watch towers.

She said 24-hour patrollingwas being done aroundNaubasta Galla Mandi andmonitoring was also beingdone at the control room andfour magistrates and 12 staticmonitoring teams were part ofthe security of the strong roomwhere the EVMs had beenkept.

She said entry was bannedand there was massive barri-cading around the NaubastaGalla Mandi and police weremonitoring the outer circle aswell. She said the strong roominternal security ring wasmanned by CISF.

She said district officialswere constantly visiting theGalla Mandi to take feedbackon the security arrangements.

She said in addition to this allthe authorised representativesof the political parties hadbeen included in the monitor-ing of the strong room andevery care had been taken toensure that the EVMs weresafe and were opened for

counting on the prescribeddate.

HAJJ TRAINING: Hajjtrainer Nasir Khan, in an offi-cial statement, said that a spe-cial training for people keen ongoing for Hajj had beenarranged and this training

would be held at DTS InterCollege at Jajmau.

He said in Kanpur, 311people had expressed theirdesire to go for Hajj.

He said forms were beingfilled. He said those whowished to go for Hajj must be

vaccinated fully and in case ofold people they must take thebooster dose as well.

He said the training wouldstart from February 27 andthose who were keen to takepart in the training couldattend the camp.

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Former dean of DBS College,Dr Sivakumar Dixit, while

addressing the concluding pro-gramme of InternationalMother Language Day organ-ised by the Deendayal ShodhKendra, on Tuesday, said affec-tion was the only grammar ofmother tongue and it did nothave errors of grammar.

He said when intellectcrossed the world it first start-ed working in mother tongueand went on to grasp theknowledge of the world.

He said that technologywas eroding the originality oflanguage and appealed toeveryone to adopt preferredmother tongue as the mode ofcommunication.

He said language mattered— spiritually, culturally andemotionally. He said writtenand spoken words were an artform, a way for values and tra-ditions to be passed down forgenerations. He said when alanguage was lost, part of thatculture was lost as well. He saidbut by the same measure, whenlanguage was preserved, thetraditions and customs con-tinued to live in the hearts andminds of those who under-stood it.

He said mother tonguewas more than the sum of itsparts and it was not just sen-tence-structure and grammar,language was history and dis-course, customs and heritage.

Dr Dixit said languageplanning research and practicehad been largely ignored, orconsidered

problematic as the diversi-ty within endangered lan-guages. He said as grassrootsapproach moved to the fore-front, so did concerns about themaintenance of distinct dialectsof endangered languages. Hesaid dialect preservation hademerged as a concurrent, com-plementary goal.

He said based on descrip-tions of dialect death and main-tenance in the literature, it wassuggested that micro approach-es to language planningfavoured the preservation ofdialectal diversity within thebroader pursuit of promotingendangered languages.

Director of DeendayalShodh Kendra, Prof SudhirKumar Awasthi, in his speechsaid that there was an imme-diate need to preserve localdialects so that the affection ofthat culture could survive thechange of times.

Assistant Director ofDeendayal Shodh Kendra, DrPankaj Dwivedi, explained theoutline of InternationalMother Language Day, sayingthat originality in content couldonly be obtained in mothertongue.

Shubha Singh was the con-vener of the event and the voteof thanks was proposed byRegistrar Dr Anil Kr Yadav.

Director CDC, Dr RKDwivedi, Dean of AcademicsProf Sudhanshu Pandiya, DrVishal Sharma, DrRashmi Gautam, heads ofdepartments and students werepresent.

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Director of the UniversityInstitute of Engineering

and Technology, Kanpur, DrBristi Mitra, while inaugurat-ing a week-long workshop on‘Introduction of CHEMCADSoftware’, organised in associ-ation with the Indian Instituteof Chemical Engineers (IIChE)on Tuesday, said the objectiveof the workshop was toenhance the understanding ofparticipants on the use of thesoftware in chemistry.

He said CHEMCAD wasa suite of chemical processsimulation software whichallowed users to simulateprocesses in chemical, petro-chemical, pharmaceutical,thermodynamic models and

contained a database of thou-sands of components forgases, liquids, solids and elec-trolytes.

She said CHEMCAD wasan integrated suite of intuitivechemical process simulationsoftware that fit into thechemical engineering work-flow and supercharged anengineer’s efficiency. She saidit continued to evolve to meetthe ever-expanding needs ofchemical engineers.

She said CHEMCAD washighly customisable, flexibleand affordable and all mod-ules worked within a singlegraphical user interface forseamless interaction andadapted to how oneapproached engineering chal-lenges. She said the graphics

and reports could be easilyexported to third-party soft-ware and easily integratedinto the chemical engineeringcomputing environment andpersonalised technical sup-port.

She said CHEMCAD notonly fitted neatly into one’sworkflows but also made pre-senting one’s work easier. Shesaid university chemical engi-neering departments andtechnical trade schools werewell placed to take advantageof CHEMCAD’s powerfulprocess simulation software.She said in intuitive, practicaland customisable, would helpteach, learn, and research theareas thermodynamics, plantdesign and project economics.

Dr Arun Kumar Gupta

provided a brief synopsis ofthe workshop while alsoexplaining the facilities andequipment that would be usedduring the workshop.

Thirty students partici-pated in the workshop andlearnt about the technologicaland thermotical aspects ofthe CHEMCAD software.

Vice-Chancellor ProfVinay Kumar Pathak was thechief patron of the workshop.The inaugural session wasattended by Dr Vinay KumarSachan, Dr AbhishekChandra, Dr Praveen BhaiPatel, Dr Umesh ChandraSharma, Dr Ramendra Singh,Dr Anju Dixit , DrVishal Awasthi Dr Baijnathand other faculties of the uni-versity.

reserves. Petrol prices arelikely to go up.

The economic pressurethe Government is facing iscreating different kinds ofconflict. Last week, Basil andCentral Bank of Sri Lanka(CBSL) Governor AjithNivard Cabraal contradictedeach other publicly as Basilclaimed a team from the IMFwould visit ‘soon’ to provide‘technical advice’ on econom-ic problems, hinting at aneventual loan, but Cabraal dis-missed the visit as merely a‘review’ of the past loans.That the Government is atwar with itself on whether totake the easy way out byapproaching the IMF or bitethe bullet and tap friendlyneighbors for cash to keepafloat till the next round ofbond repayments falls due isthe country’s worst keptsecret. For now, the Cabraalschool of thought has theupper hand and it believesthat with an ‘alternative finan-cial strategy’ Sri Lanka cankeep afloat till July when thenext round of InternationalSovereign Bonds (ISB)redemption is due, amountingto $1bn, and then review itsoptions.

No one in south Asia andbeyond wants to see Sri Lankafail as a State. And even

though no one is concedingthis, there is grudging admi-ration for the tiny nation’sresilience and determinationnot to fall into the clutches ofmultilateral lending agencieslike the IMF, unless it isforced to.

To be sure, going to theIMF would end Lanka’s prob-lems at one stroke. The moneywould come immediately, thecountry would regain its foot-ing and hopefully, withOmicron receding, touristswould start returning. Butthe IMF is not going to see itsmoney misused — so beforelending, it will insist on a lotof painful structural reform.Many in Lanka are cynicalabout the IMF’s prescriptionsfor their country’s economy,and with some justification.Lanka has taken many loansand done everything IMF hasasked. So, its elite ask, why isthe country still in the sameplace, living from hand tomouth? India is more thanhappy to help out its ‘friendand brother’ in its time of dif-ficulty. This is not just chequebook diplomacy. It is aboutputting things on an even keelin the subcontinent.

China, Sri Lanka’s other‘brother’, has been a bit mealy-mouthed in extending help.Chinese Foreign Minister

Wang Yi visited Sri Lanka onJanuary 9-10 to mark the65th anniversary of diplo-matic relations. During thetrip, he met PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa and hisbrother Prime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa. Bothrequested China to restruc-ture the debt repayments anda concessionary credit facili-ty for imports. This has cre-ated a dilemma for China: Itdoes not want to lose SriLanka’s friendship or com-mercial opportunities butequally is not keen to unilat-erally grant Sri Lanka mora-toria or debt restructuring thatother debt distressed develop-ing countries might cite.

For the moment, SriLanka is hanging in that per-ilous spot between a rock anda hard place. Whatever thepast mistakes, whatever thelegacy of its history withIndia, New Delhi must reachout to a country that is gasp-ing for survival. Helping thegritty little country is a nation-al duty in national interest.

(The writer, a retiredMajor General, wasCommander, IPKF South, SriLanka, and founder memberof the Defence Planning Staff,currently the IntegratedDefence Staff. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

�� Sir — Arguably, Sonia Gandhi is an exam-ple of sacrifice who saw with her own eyestwo members of her family, her mother-in-law Mrs Indira Gandhi and then herhusband Rajiv Gandhi, attain martyrdomeven as she abstained from enjoying themost prestigious honour of becoming thePrime Minister herself, notwithstandingthe Congress having had an absolutemajority in 2004. She would have succeed-ed in keeping the Congress flock togeth-er by her signature elan even now, but forhealth reasons. This political scenario atthe national level, however, has left roomfor the emergence of a couple of non-Congress and non-BJP alternatives (readThird Front) in the past.

That’s why these were at best short-lived owing to the constituent groups notbeing on the same page of a political ide-ology and, in turn, fell out with one anoth-er over the implementation of theirrespective political agendas. With the 2024parliamentary polls in view, national pol-itics is once again abuzz with the discus-sions on the formation of a yet anotherThird Front among the Chief Ministers ofnon-Congress and non-BJP States thatinclude West Bengal CM MamataBanerjee in the lead, MK Stalin (TamilNadu), KCR (Telangana), Arvind Kejriwal(Delhi) and Uddhav Thackeray(Maharashtra).

Azhar A Khan | Rampur

�� Sir — Amid the ongoing tension regard-ing the hijab controversy across Karnatakaalong with some other southern States, thelaw and order situation seems to be frag-ile leading to an environment of socio-political ruckus and vandalism, which hasopened the way for political goons andvandals. India is a secular and sovereigncountry where everybody has their ownset of rights regarding decision-making,choosing attire and the style related to theirliving standards. We are a country that wel-comes vivid aspects of life forms and theirpractices but we seem to be bent upon justdominating and threatening other sections’religious cultures.

This kind of dictatorship in theworld’s largest democracy has ruined thedisciplinary grounds and national harmo-ny. The Government in power is playingan unfair game towards a communitywhich earlier had won the nation’s heartswith reference to several amendments inmajoritarian laws like triple talaq, IndianMuslim women protection Bill and theeducation Act .Thus, this time, theGovernment in order to maintain peaceneeds to play fair game for both the sides,otherwise the situation will get out of handand turn into a serious issue that wouldengulf the entire naion.

Sarthak Sharma | Ujjain

��Sir — Controversies are part and parcelof Indian cricket. Even elite captains playdirty politics to remove certain players andWriddhiman Saha’s is one such case.India’s head coach Rahul Dravid is nothurt that the wicketkeeper has revealedclassified conversation on his future but,at the same time, wanted to give the

Bengal stumper clarity about his positionin the team. This is yet another exampleof dirty politics in the cricket board.Sourav Ganguly as the BCCI president isplaying the double game and making theissue more complicated.

He seems to lack a moral sense of hisrole as the BCCI chief, interfering with thematters of daily duties of the team, thuscreating a conflict of interest and chaosin cricket administration. This is notleader-like. He failed to create an environ-ment for women’s cricket despite being themaster of a huge cash cow. In men’s crick-et, the less said the better. Then there’s thequestion of honesty and clarity. Theleading players should be given a properfarewell. Saha also hit out at Ganguly who,he claimed, had assured him that heshouldn’t worry about his place in theteam. Better council needs to prevail inthe BCCI.

CK Subramaniam | Navi Mumbai

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In the new year, India hasseen more official engage-ment with Sri Lanka thanwith any other country. The

country, which is strugglingunder legacy debt, is now downto just $2.3bn in foreignexchange reserves. The yearopened with Finance MinisterBasil Rajapaksa having virtualmeetings with Foreign MinisterS Jaishankar and FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman(he was supposed to travel toGujarat but the visit was can-celled because of Omicron) andannouncing India had agreed toan extension of $400mn to SriLanka under the Saarc curren-cy swap arrangement and defer-ring a loan settlement of$515.2mn by two months.Extending Indian credit facilityof $1bn for importing food,essential items and medicine and$500mn for importing fuel fromIndia were reviewed. And mostimportant, a pact to jointlymodernise the Trincomalee OilTank Farms was signed that iscertain to boost confidence ofinvestors, apart from enhancingSri Lanka’s energy security.Retention of India’s footprint inTrincomalee harbour is strategi-cally vital and is sourced fromIndo-Sri Lanka Accord, 1987.

Days after, GL Peiris, SriLanka’s Foreign Minister, madeno secret of his relief when hereturned to Colombo earlierthis month bearing additionaltreasured gifts: $1bn in variouslines of credit. Basil Rajapaksawill return to New Delhi later inFebruary to invite India for theBIMSTEC summit meeting andhopefully secure a bit moremoney.

Lanka has never defaultedon a loan in the past. It has a lotof debt — $4bn is due in 2022alone. But COVID-19 has led toa drop in foreign remittancesand the virtual end of tourismindustry, the island’s economicmainstay, reducing the countryto penury never seen before.Import curbs, currency depreci-ation and dollar shortage are dri-ving prices high as the cash-strapped country grapples witha shortage of essentials due to thelack of dollars to finance importsand to shore up foreign exchange

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In Indian mythology, there is adivine tree called Kalpataruthatgrants every wish of anyone seek-ing its help. In election times, all

political parties become Kalpatarus andpromises of all kinds of freebies startraining copiously on gullible voters, witheach party trying to outcompete the oth-ers without any concern for resources.In the process, every election becomesa theatre of absurdity.

Just look at the promises made byparties for the upcoming elections in UPand Punjab. In UP, SP has promised 300units of free electricity to households,free power for irrigation, pension of�1500 to poor and elderly women,which will cost �25500 crore. The AAPhas promised waiver of farm loansamounting to �30000 crore, unemploy-ment allowance of �5000 a month for 25lakh youth, �1000 allowance per monthto every woman voter (18+ age), besides300 units of free domestic power - all ofwhich will cost the exchequer �55780crore. BJP, battered by the farmers’ agi-tation, has promised free electricity forirrigation,

two crore smartphones and tabletsfor students and two free cylinders toUjjwala beneficiaries for Holi and Diwalievery year. Only �26000 crore will beneeded for all these.

Congress has promised smartphonesand e-scooters to girls passing class 12,monthly pension to 25 lakh elderlywomen and increased honorarium toAsha workers, which will cost �817 crore,a miniscule amount compared to others,perhaps in keeping with its prospect forwinning. As per 2021-22 BE, UP had afiscal deficit of �90130 crore and out-standing liabilities of �6.53 lakh crore or34 percent of GSDP. It paid �41430 croreas interest during the last fiscal.The costof these promises will have to befinanced by borrowing, whose fiscal con-sequences would severely limit the state’sdevelopment and economic growth.

Punjab isone of the most heavilyindebted states of India with debt: GSDPratio exceeding 53 percent- its economyhad contracted by 1.85 percent in the lastfiscal. With fiscal deficit of over �24000crore in 2021-22 (BE) and outstandingliability of �2.83 lakh crore -its annualinterest burden alone is over �20000crore - it is fiscallysliding down a slip-pery slope. But AAP has still promised300 units of free electricity which willtake the state’s power subsidy bill,already at �10668 crore,past �25000crore, the ripple effect of which will befelt every where. The power tariff struc-ture already leaves a gap of uncoveredrevenue; with these freebies, Discomswillnotbe able to pay their dues to theGencos which in turn won’t pay to thebanks whose NPAs will continue to rise.

AAP has also promised �1000 permonth to every woman voter. BJP haspromised farmloan waivers, besides

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300 units free electricity. Not tobe outdone, Congress haspromised a �3 cut in power rates,free electricity for famers, �2000per month to every homemakerbesides 8 free gas cylinders, and�15000 to every girl child pass-ing Class 10. The Punjabi votersmust rejoice, their state is aboutto sink neck deep into debt. Thefreebies will hurt in other waystoo - like depleting groundwaterand messing up farm economies.

Unfortunately,Tamil Naduwhich has honed freebies to a fineart,is not having any election, oth-erwise some innovative ideasabout freebies would haveenlightened us. In 2011 election,AIDMK had promised and deliv-ered goats, gold as well as colourTV, blenders and fans - despitesome recipients not having elec-tricity connections. Disgustedwith the promises of freebiesworth �1 lakh crore, many timesmore than the state’stotal expen-diture on education and health, alawyer named S SubramaniamBalaji filed a PIL with theSupreme Court (SC), seekingcountermanding of elections viti-ated by announcement of freebiesthat amounted to “bribery” underthe Section 123 of theRepresentation of People’s Act(RPA). The political partiesargued that they, being commit-ted to the Constitutional goal ofa welfare state, were within theirrights to frame their electionmanifestos highlighting the waythey would serve the voters ifvoted to power, and hence thepromises were neither meant toact as bribes nor to influence the

voters unduly.In its 2013 verdict, the SC

while observing that “distributionof freebies of any kind undoubt-edly influences all people. It shakesthe root of free and fair electionsto a large degree” and that “thepromise of such freebies atGovernment cost disturbs thelevel playing field and vitiates theelectoral process”, disagreed that itwas a “corrupt practice” under theRPA. It directed the ElectionCommission (EC) to frame appro-priate guidelines. Since Article 324of the Constitution gives the ECunfettered powers to superin-tend, direct and control the elec-tion process, it was for the EC tobite the bullet, butapparently suc-cumbing to the pressure of polit-ical parties, it ratherlegitimized thepractice by stating in the guideline:“There can be no bar on the stateadopting welfare measures. Butpolitical parties must refrain frommaking promises that underminethe purity of the election processor aim to exert undue influenceon the voters”; and that “Theremust be transparency with respectto the promises and how theparties aim to implement theirpromises. The promises mustalso be credible.

Wherever freebies are offered,parties must broadly state howthey plan to gather the funds andfinances to fulfil such promises.”The wording of the guidelines thusleaves the field wide open forpolitical parties to make anypromises which goes against thespirit of the Court ruling. The ECforgot that in a mature democra-cy, a political party only owes good

and corruption-free governanceand nothing else to the voters.While delivering good gover-nance is difficult, fulfilling promis-es on freebies is simple. It alsoundermines the fact that reliefoffered by freebies is only tempo-rary and ignores larger problem ofscarcity, input costs and capacity,which need to be addressed overa longer time-period using thesame resources.

Now another PIL has beenfiled before the SC by advocateAshwini Kumar Upadhyay seek-ing direction to the Centre toenact a law in this regard, as thetrend of political parties to influ-ence voters by offering freebies isnot only “the greatest threat to thesurvival of democratic values butalso injures the spirit of theConstitution”, which undoubted-ly it does.

The petition sought a direc-tion to the EC to ensure that allo-cation of electoral symbol to aparty would be conditional uponits assurance of no promisesforirrational freebies from publicfund. A three-judge bench head-ed by Chief Justice Ramanaobserved in January, “This is nodoubt a serious issue. Budget forfreebies is going above the regu-lar budget. As the Supreme Courtsaid before, this disturbs the levelplaying field.”

The political class will stub-bornly resist any interferenceandthe EC seems to have acquiesced.Only the SC can put a stop this vicious practice and save theprecious national resources fromthe clutches of ouramoral politi-cal class.

(The author is formerDirector General of the

Office of the Comptroller& Auditor General of

India and a Professor atthe Arun Jaitley National

Institute of FinancialManagement. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

Will too many cooksspoil the Oppositionbroth? Many players

in the national oppositioncamp are trying to cometogether ahead of the 2024 pollsagainst the BJP. You haveCongress President SoniaGandhi attempting to form aunited opposition coalition.You have West Bengal chiefminister Mamata Banerjee try-ing to develop a non- Congress,non-BJP coalition with thehelp of Nationalist CongressParty leader Sharad Pawar.Then you have Telangana’s K.Chandrasekhar Rao and hisfederal front without Congress.Tamil Nadu chief ministerM.K. Stalin is the new entrantto this effort.

Talk of a federal front ofregional parties withoutCongress to take on the BJP in

2024 elections has gainedground in the last few weeks.

By leading a national party,Congress gets the prime placeto unite the Opposition.Without Congress, howeverweak it is today, any oppositionfront will not succeed. SoniaGandhi held a meeting lastAugust 19 of 19 political par-ties but did not take it further.She then appealed to theOpposition to come together,focusing on defeating the BJPin 2024. Congress party iswaiting for the current five stateAssembly election results onMarch 10 to take further steps.

Therefore, there is an inher-ent contradiction in the splin-tered opposition camp-region-al satraps, with a stronghold ontheir respective fiefdoms, dreamof succeeding Modi. The prece-dents of Deve Gowda, I. K.

Gujral, and Chandrasekhar givethem this hope.

If it retains Punjab, suc-ceeds in Goa, and snatchesUttarakhand in the currentAssembly polls, the Congressparty has a chance of unitingthe Opposition. In 2017,though Congress emerged asthe single largest party in Goaand Manipur, the BJP formedthe Government in both states,luring defections. Moreover,while opposition leaders likeSharad Pawar, MamataBanerjee, and others mightagree to work under SoniaGandhi, they do not accept

Rahul Gandhi as their leader.Mamata proposes calling a

non-BJP chief minister’s con-ference in Delhi, where KCR,Stalin, Maharashtra CMUddhav Thackeray, will partic-ipate in the emerging federalFront. Stalin’s recent statementthat a convention of non-NDACMs will be organized in Delhiconfirms it. Efforts are tomobilize as many non-BJPCMs as possible, includingBJD, YSR Congress, and CPI-M(Kerala).

The CPI-M mouthpiece‘People’s democracy’ said in itslatest editorial, “Talk of a fed-eral front by Telangana ChiefMinister K. ChandrashekarRao or Mamata Banerjee’sattempt to project herself asheading an alternative allianceare political matters, whichshould not be mixed up with

the task of bringing all chiefministers of non-BJP StateGovernments together.”

The second reason is thesouring of Centre-state rela-tions on various issues - fromexpanding role of investigativeagencies to GST, IAS cadrerules, and sharing of PDS data.CMs in West Bengal, TamilNadu, Maharashtra, Kerala,etc., have also been complain-ing that their respective gover-nors are infringing on therights of the elected govern-ment. Mamata Banerjee claimsthey try to “protect the coun-try’s federal structure fromgetting bulldozed”.

Thirdly, some regionalleaders like Mamata Banerjee,K. Chandrasekhar Rao andArvind Kejriwal have won thestate continuously in the pastdecade. These egoistic leaders

believe that the time for mov-ing to the Centre has comenow. In other words, regional-ism is raising its head.

India had seen such analternate Front before. Thiscoalition includes the JanataParty in 1977, the NationalFront in 1989, United front in1996 but all of them had abrief rule. National partieslike The National Front (sup-ported by BJP) and the UnitedFront (supported byCongress) came later.

There are two problemsfor these alternate fronts tosurvive. The first is that theylack programmatic coherence,and the second is who willlead this Front.

There are pros and cons ofsuch a ragtag coalition ofregional parties. As formerprime minister Vajpayee or

Manmohan Singh experi-enced, they keep the coalitionleader under check. LikeTelugu Desam chiefChandrababu Naidu, theycould bargain funds for theirrespective states or, likeJayalalithaa, demand cabinetberths of their choice. But allthese are at the cost of a stableGovernment. Except for UPAand NDA, other coalitionGovernments did not last long.

Indeed, the contours of thefederal Front are likely toemerge after March 10, whenthe results of five assembly elections are out. WhetherCongress has a role in thisFront will depend on how itperforms in these states. TheOpposition needs glue for various regional players to staytogether;merely anti-BJP isnot enough.

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(The writer is a senior journalist. The views

expressed are personal.)

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As China has adopted anaggressive stance in the

Indo-Pacific region posing athreat to all countries, India onTuesday said greater powerand stronger capabilities shouldlead to responsibility andrestraint and result in eco-nomics free of coercion andpolitics devoid of the threat ofuse of force.

Making this assertion with-out naming China, ExternalAffairs Minister S Jaishankarsaid the challenges being facedin the region could extend toEurope as "distance is no insu-lation".

He made these observa-tions in an address at theEuropean Union(EU)Ministerial Forum on Indo-Pacific in Paris and outlined thechallenges in the Indo-Pacificregion.

Jaishankar said the hostingof the forum at a time whenEurope is grappling with aserious crisis (in Ukraine)reflected the importance theEuropean Union attaches to itsengagement in the Indo-Pacificregion.

"The Indo-Pacific is at theheart of the multi-polarity andrebalancing that characterisescontemporary changes," he saidin the presence of top leader-ship of the European Union aswell as his counterparts fromseveral countries.

Delving into the impor-tance of the Indo-Pacific, theminister said it is essential that"greater power and strongercapabilities" lead to "responsi-bility and restraint.

"This means, above all,respect for international law,territorial integrity and sover-eignty. It means economicsfree of coercion and politicsfree from the threat of the useof force. It means observingglobal norms and practicesand refraining from makingclaims on the global com-mons," he said.

"Today, we see challengesfrom that score with the clari-ty that proximity brings. Andbelieve me, distance is no insu-lation. The issues we confrontin the Indo-Pacific will extendbeyond even to Europe. We,therefore, welcome the EU'scommitment to contribute tothe security of the region,"Jaishankar said. "This remains

a maritime century and thetides of the Indo-Pacific regionwill certainly help shape itsfuture," he added.

Jaishankar arrived in Parison Sunday on a three-day tripafter paying a two-day visit toGermany. The EU MinisterialForum on Indo-Pacific wasorganised by France in itscapacity as chair of the coun-cil of the European Union.

The evolving situation inthe Indo-Pacific region in thewake of China's increasingmilitary assertiveness hasbecome a major talking pointamong leading global powers.

In September last year, theEuropean Union unveiled anew strategy to step up itsstrategic engagement in theIndo-Pacific and contribute tothe region's stability, securityand prosperity.

The strategy focused on theEU stepping up the imple-mentation of its connectivitypartnerships with India andJapan, supporting partners inestablishing a regulatory envi-ronment and facilitating themobilisation of the necessaryfunding to improve connec-tivity between Europe and theIndo-Pacific.

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Constantly critical ofhis own party, BJP

MP Varun Gandhi in afresh attack on Tuesdaylashed-out at privatiza-tion that, he said wouldcut-down lakhs of gov-ernment jobs meant forthe country's youth.

The BJP parliamen-tarian from the poll-bound UP said “privati-sation of banks and rail-ways” would mean hugeloss of jobs.

“Just the privatisation ofbanks and railways will leave 5lakh people jobless. With everyjob that’s lost, the hope forlakhs of families diminishes.

"A Government that worksfor people’s welfare cannotencourage inequality by pro-moting capitalism,” Varuntweeted in Hindi.

The 41-year-old MP fromPilibhit Lok Sabha constituen-cy has been attacking the gov-ernment over various issuesthat the opposition has alsobeen latching on to and getting-

back at the Modi-Government.Previously, he tweeted one

one of the biggest financialfraud cases the country hasseen — the ABG shipyard casesaying while common man isunable to pay their small debtsand even committing suicide,scamesters are going scot-freeafter swindling banks of thou-sands crores of rupees.

In the middle of electionsin UP, the BJP has, thus far, notreacted officially to his criticismof the Government and itspolicies.

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India on Tuesday dispatchedthe first tranche of wheat as

a humanitarian gesture to strifetorn Afghanistan by land routethrough Pakistan. Nearly 50trucks carried more than10,000 metric tons of wheat tillAttari- Wagah border inPunjab. The consignment wasthen ferried by Afghan trucks.

Foreign Secretary HarshShringla flagged off the trucksin the presence of Afghanistan’sAmbassador to India, FaridMamundzay at the interna-tional border in Punjab.

He said this consignmentwill go from Attari to Jalalabadvia Pakistan. Many such con-

signments will be sent to fulfilhumanitarian assistance toAfghanistan in the next two tothree months, Shringla said.

Given its abiding interest inthat country, India had com-mitted to send more than50,000 tons of food grainthrough land route nearly fivemonths back. A proposal inthis regard was sent to Pakistanwhich agreed to do so afterdilly dallying for several weeks.

It signaled a markeddiplomatic development withIndia and Pakistan joininghands to help the people ofAfghanistan. The Taliban tookcontrol of the country in midAugust last year and India hasnot recognized the presentregime there.

India is sending wheat fol-lowing an agreement with theWorld Food Programme,signed earlier this month tosupply foodgrain toAfghanistan as a humanitariangesture.

India had sent a proposalto Pakistan on October 7 lastyear for transit facility to send50,000 metric tonnes of wheatand life-saving medicines toAfghanistan via Pakistani soil,and received a response fromIslamabad on November 24,

2021.Reports indicated more

than 1,200 trucks are requiredfor ferrying 50,000 metric tonsof wheat. Indian trucks willunload the consignment to beloaded again into Afghantrucks, at the Zero Point onWagah-Attari border.

Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan had told the vis-iting Taliban delegation inIslamabad in November lastyear it would “favourably con-sider” the request by “Afghanbrothers” for transportation ofwheat offered by India throughPakistan “on exceptional basis”for “humanitarian purposes,and as per modalities to beworked out”.

This was conveyed byImran Khan to Taliban Foreignminister Amir Khan Muttaqi,who was accompanied by theTaliban’s Finance andCommerce and Industry min-isters and senior members ofthe delegation. At present,Pakistan only permits export ofAfghan goods to India throughthe land route.

India has so far sent fivebatches of medical assistanceconsisting of about 9 tons ofessential life-saving medicinesto Afghanistan.

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The Supreme Court Tuesdaysaid it would hear tomor-

row a plea seeking cancellationof offline board examinationsfor classes 10 and 12 to be con-ducted by the CBSE and severalother boards this year.

“Without completing thecourse, how can examinationbe conducted,” a bench head-ed by Justice A M Khanwilkarorally observed after the coun-sel appearing for the petition-er said that although theCOVID-19 situation hasimproved, classes have notbeen completed.

The bench, also compris-ing Justices DineshMaheshwari and C TRavikumar, granted liberty tothe counsel appearing for thepetitioner to serve the advancecopy of the plea to the stand-ing counsel for concernedrespondents, including theCentral Board of SecondaryEducation (CBSE).

“We will list it tomorrow,”the bench said.

The plea, filed by activistAnubha Shrivastava Sahai and

others, was mentioned beforethe apex court for urgent list-ing.

The counsel, appearing forthe petitioners, told the benchthat the apex court had passedorders in 2020 and 2021regarding class 10 and 12 boardexams and this year also, thesame problem is there.

“Last year, there was ascheme after your lordshipsintervention.

This year also, we requiresome sort of solution otherwisethis is going to drag,” he said,adding that this will affect fur-ther admissions and future ofstudents will be in peril.

The bench asked the coun-sel whether the examinationshave commenced or are yet tocommence. The counsel saidthat examination of theMadhya Pradesh board hascommenced.

“Even though the coronasituation has improved, theclasses have not completed...Unless the course is complet-ed, you should not conduct theexamination. This is going todelay further. CBSE has notproposed any scheme,” he said.

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The Supreme Court Tuesdaydirected the Maharashtra

government to put “hands onhold” in the investigationagainst former police commis-sioner Param Bir Singh over theallegations of misconduct andcorruption.

A bench of Justices S KKaul and M M Sundresh saidthe "messy state of affairs" has"the propensity of unnecessar-ily shaking confidence of peo-ple in police system".

When the counsel forMaharashtra asked the apexcourt not to record its directionto put “hands on hold” the inorder, the bench recorded hisassurance in the matter.

“We have now put downthe matter for final hearing,investigation being completedcan pose problems. Mr DariusKhambata, senior advocate,has assured to put their handson hold. We take the assuranceon record,” the bench said.

The apex court asked theparties to file written synopsisand posted the matter for hear-ing on March 9.

The court expressed con-cern over the “messy state ofaffairs” in the state and said thisis an unfortunate scenario.

“We have had occasion tosay earlier that it is messy stateof affairs. This is an unfortunatesituation.

“It has the propensity ofunnecessarily shaking confi-dence of people in police sys-tem. Process of law must becarried in a manner,” the benchobserved.

Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for the CBI,submitted that it is in the inter-est of things that all cases here-in be investigated by the cen-tral probe agency.

“Once you proceed with an

investigation and record it thenits not fair to stop midway. Stateshould not do anything thatmakes the process difficult,”Mehta said.

The apex court had earli-er allowed Mumbai Police tocarry on the investigationagainst Singh but restrained itfrom filing charge sheets on theFIRs against him over the alle-gations of misconduct and cor-ruption. The state police hadearlier told the apex court thatSingh cannot be considered a"whistleblower" under the lawas he chose to speak out againstalleged corruption involvingformer home minister AnilDeshmukh only after his trans-fer.

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In a sign of improving Covid-19 situation in the paramili-

tary ranks, the total active caseload stood at just 200, includ-ing 21 security personnel whocontracted the disease in thelast 24 hours as against a peakof nearly 9,000 cases lastmonth.

As on Monday, 67 activecases were reported in theCentral Reserve Police Force(CRPF) followed by 46 cases inthe Border Security Force(BSF), 73 cases in the CentralIndustrial Security Force(CISF), seven in SashastraSeema Bal (SSB), six in Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)and one case in the National

Security Guard (NSG).While a total of 356 para-

military personnel have dieddue to the Covid-19 disease, asmany as 1,10,237 patients haverecovered from the coron-avirus infection out of the total1,10,793 personnel who con-tracted the deadly disease.

As on January 18, Covid-19 active cases had swelled over58 times in just three weeks inthe paramilitary ranks, from ameager 148 cases on December28 to 8,671 cases. During thatperiod, two deaths were record-ed, taking the toll due to Covid-19 to 350 in the forces’ ranks.

The combined tally ofCovid-19 cases in the para-military ranks has crossed the

one lakh mark with a tally of1,00,210 cases as on January 18.

The CISF topped the listwith 2,764 active Covid-19cases followed by 2,747 cases inthe CRPF and 1,330 cases inthe Border Security Force(BSF).

The SSB had 1,018 activecases followed by 586 cases inITBP, 149 cases in NDRF and77 cases in NSG.

The CRPF tops the list ofCovid-related casualties with136 deaths till now followed by91 fatalities in BSF and 83 lossof lives in CISF. While the SSBlost 24 personnel due to Covid-19, the ITBP suffered 19 casu-alties followed by two deaths inNDRF and one casualty inNSG.

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From infections to muscu-loskeletal disorders; from

injuries to workplace violence;from discrimination andharassment to burnout andallergies from the poor work-ing environment: the Covid-19pandemic has taken a heavy tollon health workers and demon-strated a dangerous neglect oftheir health, safety and wellbeing.

In a new report released onTuesday, the InternationalLabour Organisation (ILO)and the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) said thatthe Covid just exposed “sys-tematic lack of safeguard killingabout 1,15,500 health workersin the first 18 months of the

pandemic.It stated that even before

the pandemic more than one-in-three health facilities lackhygiene, while fewer than one-in-six countries had in place anational policy on a healthyand safe working environmentin the health sector.

Though the report did notspecifically point out the num-ber of health workers fatalitiesin India, the Indian MedicalAssociation put the figure at1,700 doctors alone who dieddue to infection from deadlyvirus.

Last November, BharatiPawar, Minister of State forHealth and Family Welfare,had told MPs that 1,509 healthworkers had received com-pensation. However, she didnot disclose how many health

workers had died during thepandemic or provide detailsabout their occupations.

The actual number ofdeceased health workers is esti-mated to be much higher, saidDr Manish Jhangra, Founder ofFederation of All India MedicalAssociation (FAIMA) DoctorsAssociation.

The WHO report on thestatus of the health workersduring pandemics like emer-gencies speaks volume of thepoor health infrastructure andhuman resources in most of thecountries.

"Even before the Covid-19pandemic, the health sectorwas among the most hazardoussectors to work in," said DrMaria Neira, Director,Department of Environment,Climate Change and Health,

WHO."Sickness, absence and

exhaustion exacerbated pre-existing shortages of healthworkers and undermined thecapacities of health systems torespond to the increaseddemand for care and preven-tion during the crisis," addedsaid James Campbell, Director,WHO Health WorkforceDepartment.

In the report, the UNhealth and labour agenciesmade a joint call for action andimplementing stronger occu-pational health and safety pro-grammes for health workers, asthe Covid-19 pandemic con-tinues to exert great pressure onthem.

Such programmes shouldcover all occupational hazards-- infectious, ergonomic, phys-

ical, chemical, and psycho-social. The new guidelines alsooutline the roles that govern-ments, employers, workers andoccupational health servicesshould play in promoting andprotecting the health, safety,and wellbeing of health work-ers. It emphasises that contin-uous investment, training,monitoring and collaborationare essential for sustainingprogress in implementing theprogrammes.

"Health workers, like allother workers, should enjoytheir right to decent work, safeand healthy working environ-ments and social protection forhealthcare, sickness absenceand occupational diseases andinjuries," said Alette van Leur,Director, ILO Sectoral PoliciesDepartment.

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The Centre on Tuesdayextended the term of the

Jammu & KashmirDelimitation Commission,headed by Justice (Retd)Ranjana Desai, by two monthsto complete its task. The termof the panel was coming to anend on March 5, 2022.

Formed in March, 2020,the panel was granted a oneyear extension last year. TheCommission has receivedobjections/suggestions fromits five associate members andis expected to put the draftworking paper on delimitationof Jammu and Kashmir in thecoming days.

“In exercise of powersconferred by section 3 of thedelimitation act 2002 (33 of2002) the central governmenthereby makes the furtheramendment of two months in

the notification of govern-ment of India in the ministryof Law and Justice (Legislativedepartment no So-1015(e)dated 6th March 2020. In thenotification in paragraph twofor the words ‘two years’ thewords ‘two years and twomonths’ shall be substituted”,said a notification issued bythe Ministry of Law andJustice on Tuesday.

The DelimitationCommission was set up in2020 to redraw the electoralconstituencies of Jammu andKashmir and four northeast-ern states — Assam, Manipur,Arunachal Pradesh andNagaland. However, the one-year extension has only beenordered for Jammu andKashmir and now two monthsfurther extension has beengiven by the Union ministry oflaw and justice.

In its draft report shared

with its five associated mem-bers — all Lok Sabha membersfrom Jammu and Kashmir —the delimitation panel hasproposed an overhaul ofassembly and Lok Sabha con-stituencies in the Union terri-tory.

In its 14-page reply to theCommission, the NC main-tained that there were questionmarks over the Constitutionalpropriety of the panel espe-cially when the party alongwith several others hadapproached the SupremeCourt challenging the Centre’sAugust 5, 2019 action ofrevoking the special statusand bifurcating the erstwhileState in two Union Territories– Ladakh and Jammu andKashmir. The NC was of theview that five Lok Sabha seatsas they existed earlier shouldbe restored.

Meanwhile, the BJP in its

suggestion to the Commissionhas demanded inclusion ofSouth Kashmir’s Shopian seg-ment also in this seat. The BJPis of the view that while trav-elling from Poonch to SouthKashmir via Mughal Road,Shopian comes first followedby Anantnag. Therefore, itdemanded that the seat will becomplete only after Shopian isincluded in the rechristenedAnantnag-Rajouri-PoonchParliamentary constituency.

According to sources, thecommission has divided 20districts of J&K into threecategories — ‘A’ with predom-inantly hill and difficult areas‘B’ with hill and flat areas, and‘C’ with predominantly flatareas — giving margin ofminus or plus-10% of averagepopulation per assembly con-stituency (1,36,304), whileproposing allocation of con-stituencies.

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Usually reported from ruralareas among poverty-

stricken people, bugs Myiasis(human botflies) and Filariasisfrom the category of neglectedtropical diseases have beenfound to afflict even thosefrom the urban settings.

Dr Neha Panda,Consultant Infectious Diseases,Fortis Memorial ResearchInstitute, Gurugram, said, “This29-year-old woman came to uswith a lump in one of herbreasts. After a detailed inves-tigation and ultrasound, wefound filariasis worms in thelump in her breast. This is oneof the rare cases I have inves-tigated recently as preliminaryreports have stated that she hadno history of visiting any ruralsetting where such parasitesusually exist.”

She has been given requi-

site medical treatment and is onfollowup, said Dr Panda. Mostcases of Lymphatic filariasishave no symptoms. However ifnot detected early can leave apatient with debilitating dis-ability.

In another case, a 32-year-old US woman was successful-ly diagnosed and treated for acase of Myiasis (human bot-flies) at Fortis Hospital, VasantKunj. The patient complainedof swelling in the right uppereyelid along with redness andtenderness. She had consulteddoctors in the United States butthe myiasis (botfly) could notbe removed and the doctorsdischarged her on a few symp-tomatic relief medications.

Had the Myiasis not beenremoved, it could have causedconsiderable destruction of tis-sues, resulting in complica-tions such as extensive erosionof nose, face, and orbit. This

could have led to rare menin-gitis and death, said DrMohammad Nadeem,Consultant and HeadEmergency Fortis Hospital, ERphysician Dr Dheeraj and Dr.Narola Yangar (surgery depart-ment) who treated her.

Myiasis burrows into del-icate membranes and feeds onunderlying structures. Suchcases have been reported ear-lier too from tropical and sub-tropical areas like Central andSouth America and Africa. InIndia, such cases have been

reported mostly from ruralareas particularly in childrenwhere the botflies have enteredthrough either nasal opening ormusculoskeletal skin lesions.

The US national had a his-tory of visiting the Amazonjungle two months back. Shemight have got infected with aBotfly there. Three live humanbotflies almost 2 cm in size—one from the right upper eye-lid, second one from the backof her neck and third from herright forearm were removedduring the surgery.

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Condemning the recent ter-rorist attack in UAE, Lok

Sabha Speaker Om Birla onTuesday addressed the coun-try's Federal National Council(FNC) and said all nationsshould unite to fight the chal-lenges of terrorism for globalsecurity and sustainable devel-opment.

Underlining that India andUAE have a long history offriendship and partnership, hesaid the similarity of views ofthe two countries on bilateraland multilateral issues hasdeepened this relationship.

Addressing the extraordi-nary session of the councilduring the 6th plenary sessionof the FNC, Birla said, "Istrongly and unequivocallycondemn the recent terroristattack in UAE. The sharedconcern of UAE and India onterrorism is reshaping ourcooperation in the currentregional and global scenario."

Emphasising on the needfor unity among nations in the

fight against terrorism, he saidthat for global security, stabil-ity and sustainable develop-ment, "it is necessary that all thenations of the world cometogether to fight the challengesof terrorism and violentextremism".

The Lok Sabha Secretariatquoted Birla in an official state-ment as saying economic coop-eration between the two coun-tries can become an effectivevehicle for regional and glob-al prosperity. He said the com-mon interests of India andUAE need to be furtherstrengthened on the pillars of

3Es — energy, economy andemigrant.

Appealing to investorsfrom UAE to invest in India,Birla said the country is todaythe world's leading investmentdestination.

UAE companies can takeadvantage of the new oppor-tunities arising in the fields ofdigital economy, humanresources and smart urbanisa-tion in India, he said.

Birla is the first speaker ofthe Lok Sabha who addressedmembers of Federal NationalCouncil (Parliament) of UnitedArab Emirates.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee has writ-

ten to Prime MinisterNarendraModi urgently asking for fundsto reinforce the banks of theGanga, particularly in threedistricts of Malda, Murshidabadand Nadiawhere about 400square kilometeres of land havebeen lost to “perpetual rivererosion.”

“As per the latest assess-ment, 37 locations along theriver Ganga-Padma for a lengthof 28.8 km are vulnerable andrequire immediate attention.The concomitant expenditurefor the river bank protectionwould be to the tune of �571crore,” the Chief Minister’s hassaid adding her Governmenthas spent �168.47 crore in thepastfour years as “part of itscommitment to protect thou-sands of flood victims in Malda,Murshidabad and Nadia dis-tricts.”

This is in addition to the�80.97 crore project, under-taken in 2021to fortify a 9.9 kmbank of Ganga-Padma duringthe rainy season, the letter says.

Asking the Prime Ministerto urgently look into the mat-ter so that “flood managementand restoration schemes can becarried out” at the earliest theChief Minister in her three-page letter has held the con-struction of Farakka barrage

and the 1996 Indo-Bangaldeshwater sharing treaty (withBangladesh) primarily respon-sible for the present problem.According to her the barragehas led to “siltation of the riverbed and frequent shifting ofriver course.”

The letter says “the severi-ty of the problem of erosionalong this river system in WestBengal can be appreciated fromthe fact that almost 2,800hectare of fertile land has beenengulfed by the river and therehas been damage to public andprivate properties to the tune-of �1,000 crore during last 15years.”

Accusing the FarakkaBarrage Project Authority(FBPA), she has said that theclumsy handling of the issue bythe said Authority has only

“aggravated the land loss due toriver erosion over 400 squarekilometre of 15 blocks of Malda,Murshidabad and Nadia dis-tricts inWest Bengal.” FBPAworks under the Jal ShaktiMinistry.

Banerjee has also request-ed Modi to "reconsider thedecision of withdrawal of theextended jurisdiction of FBPA,so as to fulfill the earlier com-mitment of the CentralGovernment and arrange fortaking upurgent bank protec-tion schemes in the entirestretch of the extended juris-diction by the FBPA in consul-tation with the StateGovernment,"as it had becomeextremely difficult for the StateGovernment to manage thefunds to stem river erosion andrehabilitation.

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The Left-backed students’movement protesting the

alleged murder of a students’leader Anis Khan saw parts ofKolkata erupting on Tuesday.The police and the StateGovernment however actedcautiously considering the“community-sensitive” natureof the case, sources in theadministration said adding thepolice scrupulously desistedfrom using coercive measuresto stop the students.

Thousands of studentsfrom Aliya University marcheddown the streets of NorthKolkata defying the policeorders in their bid to gheraothe Writers’ Buildings. Theywere however stopped in thefinal hour when a large posseof police force acted swiftlyarresting a dozen of the menchasing them away. The arrest-ed students were later released.Nota single blow of lathi washowever rained. Students ofJadavpur University too stagedprotests calling a bandh of theUniversity campus.

While students protested atthe campus and on the streetsof Kolkata often jostling withthe police the father of the

deceased leader refused to givestatements to the SpecialInvestigation Team ---consti-tuted by Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee --- led byADG CID Gyanwant Singhsaying he and his family hadno faith in the State police.

Khan a popular students’leader was reportedly mur-dered on Saturday night at hisresidence by some allegedpolice men who had venturedinto his house. He was thrownoff the second floor of hishouse, at Amta locality ofHowrah.

His family and villagerssaw a Trinamool Congress-Police hand in his murdered.Incidentally Khan had earlierwritten to the Police chief,State Government seekingsecurity cover which was how-ever denied.

While Anis Khan deaththreatened to produce farreaching political ramificationsfor the ruling TrinamoolCongress that primarily thriveson the minority votes the LeftFront leadership on Tuesdaysaid that the movement wouldget more steam in the comingdays if the police failed toarrest the culprits and orderjudicial inquiry.

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Shivamogga: Six people havebeen arrested in connectionwith Bajrang Dal activistHarsha murder case here whilesome are at large, a seniorpolice officer said on Tuesday,as stray incidents of arson andviolence were reported in thecity this morning.

The 28 year-old Harshawas stabbed to death onSunday night here leading toclamping of prohibitory ordereven as the city witnessedarson, violence and stone pelt-ing.

"We have arrestedMohammed Kashif, SyedNadeem, Ashifullah Khan,Rehan Khan, Nehal and AbdulAfnan in connection with thecase. All are aged between 20to 22 years, except Kashif whois 32. They are all residents ofShivamogga," Superintendentof Police B M Lakshmi Prasadtold reporters.

He said these people wereearlier staying together butwere now living separately.Kashif has some criminal casesagainst him.

According to Prasad, a fewmore are involved in the caseand a manhunt has beenlaunched to track them.

The police officer said 12more people were detainedand questioned but their roledid not come to light.

Following Harsha's killing,

the city witnessed violence,arson, stone-pelting and dam-age to the properties during thefuneral procession on Mondaythat left at least three persons,including a photo journalistand a policewoman, injured.Several two-wheelers wereeither damaged or torched.

Police personnel have beendeployed at every nook andcorner of the city. The districtauthorities have appealed to thepeople to maintain peace andcalm.

Additional DirectorGeneral of Police C PratapReddy said a few vehicles wereburnt in Tunganagar onTuesday morning, despite pro-hibitory orders which havebeen clamped under section144 of the CrPC.

"Following the murder ofHarsha, there was a very tensesituation in the city and certainsurrounding areas. Additionalforces were rushed toShivamogga and lot of arrange-ments were made by the deputycommissioner and the super-intendent of police to ensurethat the fallout of the murderdoes not spread further," Reddysaid.

The official said 14 differ-ent incidents of arson and vio-lence took place in the city(after the murder), whichwould require filing of FIRs.

In three cases FIRs have

been registered, he said, adding,the police were trying to tracethose who lost their motorbikesand properties in the arson andviolence

Earlier, a few BJP leadersincluding Karnataka MinisterK S Eshwarappa and UnionMinister of state ShobhaKarandlaje claimed a conspir-acy behind Harsha's murder,and demanded NIA probe intoit.

Eshwarappa, who is fromthe district, alleged "Musalmangoondas" were behind theactivist's murder.

BJP National GeneralSecretary (Organisation) B LSantosh alleged Harsha waskilled by jihadi fundamentalistsfor his opposition to Hijab ateducational institutions.

Karnataka RevenueMinister R Ashoka said themurder has a link with theongoing Hijab row in the State.

"This murder happenedwhen the Hijab controversystarted. It is evident that thereis a link between this murderand the Hijab row," Ashokasaid.

A few Muslim girls fromUdupi had approached theKarnataka High Court whenthey were allegedly deniedentry to the classes with theirHijabs or the Islamic head-scarves on. PTI

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The Union Territory admin-istration in Jammu &

Kashmir has decided to pro-vide ‘smart cards’ to transhu-mance tribal families to ensuretheir hassle free movementduring migration and access tovarious other services.

To begin with, a pilot pro-ject of 10,000 Smart Cards willbe rolled out in March 2022 tobe followed by steps for cover-age of nearly one lakh migra-tory families. Aadhar linkage isalso being enabled for benefitsof various schemes.

J&K has more than 18lakh tribal population. Out ofthis 6.12 lakh population isTranshumant as per the recentsurvey. The modalities tofinalise the design and contentsof the Smart Cards was chairedby Secretary to Government,Tribal Affairs Department DrShahid Iqbal Choudhary here

in Jammu on Tuesday.The Tribal Affairs

Department in coordinationwith J&K Police, ForestDepartment and CensusOperations Department havecome together to implementthis ambitious project.

The objective behinddesigning these Smart Cards isto replace the multiple per-missions regime and offer aunified central database to allthe organisations and agenciesfor smooth and hassle-freemovement of Transhumantfamilies during the biannualvertical migration.

According to a statementissued by the Department ofInformation and Public rela-tions, Smart cards will have anembedded chip containing thedemographic details, transitroutes, originating place, des-tination and other vital statis-tics. These cards will also beutilised for various govern-

ment services rolled out of themigratory population and willbe issued based on the surveyconducted by the departmentlast year.

Chief Conservator ofForests, Samuel Chankija dis-cussed that in view of imple-menting The Scheduled Tribesand OTFD (Recognition ofRights) Act the forest depart-ment is endeavouring for a has-sle free process and suggested

multiple card issuance points.Access will also be provided toforest deptt for monitoring theprocess and also surveys relat-ed to management of range-lands.

The suggestion made bythe Police department for map-ping of respective police sta-tions was also included in theprocess. Access will also be pro-vided to all the police stationsenabling real-time updation

of demographic details when-ever required by the family.Android devices and card read-ers will be provided to allnakas and posts of both policeand forest Department forsmooth movement of families.

Director, CensusOperations J&K, G PrasannaRamaswamy, discussed coor-dination with the Tribal AffairsDepartment for coverage of allthe Dhoks (highland pastures)in the Census to avoid missingany families or members. The1st Survey of TranshumantPopulation conducted by theTribal Affairs Department willalso be referred as a source forplanning the censusOperations.

The Tribal ResearchInstitute, established as anautonomous body in the TribalAffairs Department, has beenentrusted with the task ofcoordinating the preparednessof various plans in this regard.

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Amid efforts by theOpposition parties to cob-

ble a formidable front to takeon the ruling Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) in the 2024 LokSabha polls, the NationalistCongress Party (NCP) saidhere on Tuesday that theOpposition might considerBihar Chief Minister NitishKumar’s candidature for thePresidential poll, if he severedhis party’s links with the BJP.

Talking to media personshere, NCP’s nationalspokesperson and Maharashtraminister Nawab Malik said:“Nitish Kumar should firstsevere his links with the BJP,then we will decide what is tobe done next”.

Malik was responding to aquery by a journalist who said

that there were reports thatNitish Kumar’s name was beingconsidered for the Presidentialpolls as an Opposition candi-date and wanted to know if thereports were true.

The NCP spokespersonsaid that there could not be anydiscussion on the issue unlessand until “he (Nitish Kumar)breaks ties with the BJP”.“Once that happens, leaders ofall opposition parties will thensit together and think about it(Nitish Kumar’s candidaturefor the Presidential polls),”Malik said. Alluding to a pos-sible outcome in the Assemblypolls in five states, Malik saidthat the BJP would suffer asevere debacle in UttarPradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand,Manipur and Goa.

“After 30 years, history willbe repeated in Uttar Pradesh

where the BJP will win less than150 seats. In 1993, the peoplein UP had rejected BJP after ittriggered communal violencethere. People there are now fedup with the BJP’s policies,”Malik said.

Malik said that the processof launching a joint Oppositionfront to fight the ruling BJP inthe 2024 Lok Sabha had start-ed. “The anti-BJP front willtake a proper shape before the2024 polls,” he said

He hastened to add:“However, no such front can beformed without the Congress.The issue of leadership will betaken up later at an appropri-ate time”

Malik’s comment should beseen in the context of the factthat Andhra Pradesh chiefminister K C ChandrashekharRao had met NCP chief Sharad

Pawar’s at the latter’s southMumbai residence “Silver Oak”and discussed issues relating tothe formation of an Oppositionfront to take on the ruling BJPat the Centre in 2024 LokSabha polls.

Prior to his meeting withPawar, KCR, – as theTelangana chief minister isknown in political circles – hada luncheon meeting withMaharashtra chief ministerUddhav Thackeray of the ShivSena. After the meeting, bothUddhav and KCR had said“there is need for parivartan(change) in the country” andthat they had made a "new" and“good beginning” at their meet-ing. Both of them had indicat-ed that a joint Oppositionfront would be floated to fightthe BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabhapolls.

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Panaji: The Congress and the Goa Forward Party(GFP)on Tuesday demanded that the Election Commission haltthe police recruitment drive planned by the Pramod SawantGovernment in the coastal State, which had seen Assemblypolls on February 14.

Results are set to be declared on March 10 along withthat of polls in four others States, including UttarPradesh.

The demand was made by Goa Congress chief GirishChodankar, who wrote to the chief electoral officer (CEO),and GFP general secretary Durgadas Kamat, both of whomclaimed such a recruitment process would violate themodel code of conduct in place here.

"We are reasonably given to understand that the policedepartment is in the process of commencing the very con-troversial recruitment process by seeking permission fromthe Election Commission of India," Chodankar said in hisletter.

“It is a known fact the state police department is alwaysunder the pressure of and working under dictates of theHome Minister and the Chief Minister of Goa," he added.

He said the EC should not give permission for therecruitment process, which should ideally start only aftera new government is in place. PTI

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Srinagar: A 50-year-old carpetweaver from Srinagar city's FatehKadal area has made a silk wallhanging carpet of his idol andBollywood superstar Salman Khan,and wants to present his artworkto "Bhaijaan".

Mohammad Hussain took sixmonths to make the 900mm x750mm artwork, which compris-es 576 knots per square inch, inpure silk and carries the actor'sportrait on both sides.

"Since there was not muchwork during the lockdown, Ithought of paying my tributes toBhaijaan. With my savings, I cre-ated this piece of work and I wantto gift it to him," Hussain told PTI.

Asked about the cost incurredin making the wall hanging,

Hussain said one cannot put aprice to such things. "I made thisout of love for him. It cannot bemeasured in money," he said.

Hussain said he used 10 nat-ural dyes just to make the silk yarnfor the hair strands. "It commandsa lot of time....From the perfectcombination of dyes in order to getthe right tone and shade to gettingthe design right at the end of theweaving process."

"This piece has 576 knots persquare inch which gives the clari-ty of the design," Hussainexplained.

He wants to gift this wallhanging carpet to the actor andhopes that the Bollywood staraccepts it. PTI

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Bengaluru: The KarnatakaGovernment on Tuesday toldthe High Court that there is norestriction on wearing Hijab inIndia with reasonable restric-tions subject to institutionaldiscipline and dismissed thecharge that denial to wear theheadscarf was a violation ofArticle 15 of the Constitution,which prohibits discrimina-tion of every sort.

Countering the petitionerMuslim girls from Udupi dis-trict, who challenged therestriction on Hijab inside theeducational institutions,Karnataka Advocate GeneralPrabhuling Navadgi said theright to wear the headscarf fallsunder the category of 19(1)(A)and not Article 25 as has beenargued by the petitioners.

"The right to wear Hijabfalls under Article 19(1)(A) andnot Article 25. If one wishes towear Hijab, then there is norestriction 'subject to the insti-tutional discipline'. The rightsclaimed under Article 19(1)(A)is related to Article 19(2) wherethe government places a rea-sonable restriction subjected toinstitutional restriction,"Navadgi told the full bench ofthe Karnataka High Court.

The full bench of ChiefJustice Ritu Raj Awasthi, JusticeJ M Khazi and Justice KrishnaM Dixit is hearing a batch ofpetitions seeking permission towear Hijab inside the class-room.

Navadgi further said theinstitutional restriction in the

present case is only inside theeducational institutions andnot anywhere else.

Arguing further, he saidthe independent claim of19(1)(A) cannot go togetherwith Article 25.

"The consequence of thedemand to declare Hijab as anessential religious practice ishuge because there is an ele-ment of compulsion or else youwill be expelled from the com-munity," Navadgi told thecourt.

Article 19(1)(A) is relatedto the freedom of expression ofthe Indian constitution.

Article 19(2) says thatnothing in sub clause (a) ofclause ( 1 ) shall affect the oper-ation of any existing law, or pre-vent the State from making any

law, in so far as such lawimposes reasonable restrictionson the exercise of the right con-ferred by the said sub clause inthe interests of the sovereign-ty and integrity of India, thesecurity of the State, friendlyrelations with foreign States,public order, decency or moral-ity or in relation to contempt ofcourt, defamation or incite-ment to an offence.

Article 25 deals with free-dom of conscience and freeprofession, practice and prop-agation of religion and says thatsubject to public order, moral-ity and health and to the otherprovisions of this part, all per-sons are equally entitled to free-dom of conscience and theright freely to profess, practiseand propagate religion. PTI

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Agra: On the occasion of the367 'Urs' of the fifth Mughalemperor Shah Jahan, touristswill get free entry to Taj Mahalfrom February 27 to March 1.

This exemption is givenevery year to commemorate thedeath anniversary of theMughal emperor.

Raj Kumar Patel,Superintending Archeologistof ASI, Agra Circle, told PTI,"There will be free entry for thetourists at the Taj Mahal fromFebruary 27 to March 1 on theoccasion of the annual Urs."

On 27 and 28th February,the tourists will be allowedfrom 2 pm till sunset and onMarch 1, the free entry will befrom sunrise to sunset, Patelsaid.

"We will follow theCOVID-19 protocols on allthree days," he added. PTI

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Western leaders said onTuesday that Russian

troops have moved into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraineafter President Vladimir Putin'srecognised their independence,but some indicated it was notyet the long-feared full-fledgedinvasion as confusion reignedin the region.

For weeks, Western powershave been bracing for an inva-sion as Russia massed an esti-mated 150,000 troops on threesides of neighbouring Ukraine.They warned an attack wouldcause massive casualties, ener-gy shortages in Europe andeconomic chaos around theglobe - and promised swift andsevere sanctions if it material-ized.

They have also warnedMoscow would look for coverto invade - and just such a pre-text appeared to come Monday,when Putin recognised as inde-pendent two separatist regionsin eastern Ukraine, where gov-ernment troops have longfought Russia-backed rebels.The Kremlin then raised thestakes further Tuesday, by say-ing that recognition extendseven to parts held by Ukrainianforces. Kremlin spokesmanDmitry

Peskov said that Russiahas recognised the rebelregions' independence "in bor-ders that existed when theyproclaimed" their indepen-dence in 2014 - broad territo-ries that extend far beyond theareas now under the rebel con-trol and that include the majorBlack Sea port of Mariupol.Ukrainian forces laterreclaimed control of large partof both regions early in thenearly eight-year separatist

conflict that has killed over14,000 people. The recognitionmove opened the door forPutin to formalise his hold onthe regions and send forces in,though Ukraine and itsWestern allies have longcharged Russian troops havebeen fighting there for years.Moscow has denied those alle-gations. Condemnation ofRussia's moves from aroundthe world was quick.

Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy said hewould consider breaking diplo-matic ties with Russia and Kyivrecalled its ambassador inMoscow.

But confusion over whatexactly was happening on theborder threatened to hobble aWestern response. "Russiantroops have entered inDonbas," the name for thearea where the two separatistregions are located, EU foreignpolicy chief Josep Borrell saidin Paris on Tuesday. "We con-sider Donbas part of Ukraine."

But in a distinction that issure to complicate a Europeanand Western response, headded: "I wouldn't say that (itis) a fully fledged invasion, butRussian troops are onUkrainian soil."

He said the EuropeanUnion would make a decisionon sanctions on Tuesday.Poland's Defence Ministry andBritish Health Secretary SajidJavid also said Russian forceshad entered Ukraine's east.Javid went further, telling SkyNews that "the invasion ofUkraine has begun". He added:"We are waking up to a verydark day in Europe and it'sclear from what we havealready seen and found outtoday that the Russians,President Putin, has decided to

attack the sovereignty ofUkraine and its territorialintegrity." The Russian movesalready elicited a response fromGermany, which took steps tosuspend the Nord Stream 2pipeline that was to bring nat-ural gas from Russia. That's amove Berlin has long put off.The pipeline was built to helpGermany meet its energyneeds, particularly as it switch-es off its last three nuclearpower plants and phases outthe use of coal.

Russian officials haven'tyet acknowledged any troopdeployments to the rebel east,but Vladislav Brig, a memberof the separatist local council inDonetsk, told reporters that theRussian troops already hadmoved in, taking up positionsin the region's north and west.Late Monday, convoys ofarmoured vehicles were seenrolling across the separatist-controlled territories. It wasn'timmediately clear if they wereRussian.

As European leadersscrambled to decide on theirresponse, legislation that willlikely set the stage for a deep-er move into Ukrainian terri-tory moved through Russia'sparliament.

The bills, which sailedquickly through the Kremlin-controlled parliament, envisagemilitary ties between Moscowand the separatist regions,including possible deploymentof Russian military bases in theseparatist regions.

Even as alarm spreadacross the globe, Zelenskyy, theUkrainian president, soughtto project calm, telling thecountry in an addressovernight: "We are not afraid ofanyone or anything. We don'towe anyone anything. And we

won't give anything to anyone".His foreign minister, DmytroKuleba, will be in Washingtonon Tuesday to meet withSecretary of State AntonyBlinken, the State Departmentsaid.

"The Kremlin recognizedits own aggression againstUkraine," Ukrainian DefenseMinister Oleksii Reznikov saidon Twitter, describingMoscow's move as a "NewBerlin Wall" and urging theWest to quickly slap Russiawith sanctions.

The White House hasalready responded, issuing anexecutive order to prohibit USinvestment and trade in theseparatist regions, and addi-tional measures - likely sanc-tions - were to be announcedTuesday.

Those sanctions areindependent of whatWashington has prepared inthe event of a Russian invasion,according to a senior adminis-tration official who briefedreporters on the condition ofanonymity. Other Westernallies also said they were plan-ning to announce sanctions,including the EU.

British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson said the UK willintroduce "immediate" eco-nomic sanctions against Russia,and warned that Putin is benton "a full-scale invasion ofUkraine...That would beabsolutely catastrophic".

Johnson said Putin had"completely torn up interna-tional law" and British sanc-tions would target not just theregions of Donetsk andLuhansk but "Russian eco-nomic interests as hard as wecan." He later said in a tweetthat Russia has sent troops toUkraine.

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Surging energy prices andfears of a Russian invasion of

Ukraine are making Europeanleaders think hard about ener-gy security - particularly theirdecades-old reliance onMoscow for natural gas.

The crisis shows Europe'svulnerability after years of lim-ited progress in completing an"energy union" - a 2015 visionto allow affordable gas andelectricity to flow across borderswhile diversifying suppliers andreaching climate goals.

As renewables like solarand wind are slowly built up andcoal and other fossil fuels arephased out, Europe still needsnatural gas, and it's dependenton Russia to get it.

That came into sharp reliefas Europe's gas supply droppedand prices soared partly becauseRussia sold less gas than normal,squeezing households and busi-nesses with rising costs.

With gas reserves low andconcerns a war could interruptpipeline flows from Russia, theEuropean Union is focused ongetting liquefied natural gas orLNG, by ship from UnitedStates, Qatar, Algeria and else-where until renewables catch up.Environmentalists fear makingthat even a short-term prioritycould set back Europe's goals tomove away from fossil fuels.

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Opponents of military rulegathered on Tuesday for

protests in Myanmar's cities,defying threats by authorities toarrest anyone joining demon-strations against army's takeovera year ago.

The protests on Tuesdaymarked the anniversary of lastyear's "Five-Twos Revolution", amassive nationwide generalstrike against army rule justweeks after military seizedpower. Activists often call foractions - usually dubbed strikes- on significant occasions oranniversaries, and oppositionactivists had designatedTuesday's protest "222222" or"Six-Twos," derived from thedigits in the date.

Photos and video on socialmedia showed scattered smallgroups of people marching inYangon, the country's biggestcity, and elsewhere. Because ofrisks of arrest or injury, urbanstreet protests are usually carriedout by flash mobs, which candissolve before the securityforces crack down.

Protesters in Yangon heldbanners with written sloganssuch as "Gathering togetheragain for Six-Twos Revolution"and "Revolt in countryside,defiance in cities", referring toarmed resistance carried onagainst odds in rural areas, andmarches and other actions inurban areas. They also shoutedanti-military chants and raisedthree-finger salute of theirmovement, adopted from "TheHunger Games" movie series.

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An independent humanrights expert working with

the United Nations is criticis-ing China and Russia forallegedly supplying weaponsused by Myanmar's militaryagainst civilians since it seizedpower last year.

Tom Andrews, a specialrapporteur working with theUN human rights office, urgedcountries to halt such sales. Healso called on theUN SecurityCouncil, where China andRussia are permanent mem-bers, to hold an emergencymeeting to discuss a possibleban on sales of arms used byMyanmar's military againstcivilians.

"The people of Myanmarare imploring the UN to act,"Andrews said in a statementTuesday. "They deserve an up-or-down vote on a SecurityCouncil resolution that willstop the sale of weapons beingused to kill them." The findingscome in a new report fromAndrews on the types andamounts of weapons used bythe military as early as 2018,when it led a bloody crack-down on Muslim Rohingyaminority that caused hundredsof thousands to flee to neigh-bouring Bangladesh.

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Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan said on

Tuesday that he would like tohave a TV debate with hisIndian counterpart NarendraModi to resolve differencesbetween the two neighbouringcountries.

Khan made the remarksduring an interview withRussia's state-run televisionnetwork RT on the eve of hismaiden two-day visit toMoscow-the first by a Pakistanipremier in over two decades -during which he will hold talkswith President Vladimir Putinand review exchange views onmajor regional and interna-tional issues.

"I would love to debatewith Narendra Modi on TV,"Khan said in response to aquestion. He added that itwould be so good for over a bil-lion people of subcontinent ifdifferences between Pakistanand India could be resolvedthrough a debate. Respondingto a question, Khan said whenhis party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf came into power in 2018he immediately reached out toIndia and asked Indian leader-ship to sit down at table andresolve Kashmir issue.

He, however, regretted thatIndia did not respond posi-tively to his overtures. Tiesbetween India and Pakistannose-dived after a terror attackon the Pathankot Air Forcebase in 2016 by terror groupsbased in the neighbouringcountry. Subsequent attacks,including one on an IndianArmy camp in Uri, furtherdeteriorated relationship.

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��;��3��2+>�*+5+�;�3��.��+8��(�1�1�*2��4*�(�A ;+24the COVID-19 pandemic, Yogi exhibit-ed an hands-on approach to deliver.

Keeping the vast, caste-ridden statefree from riots in the last five years isanother feather in his cap. No wonder onthe hijab row singing Karnataka present-ly, his authoritative statement that “thecountry will be run by the Constitutionand not Shariah” is enough to consolidatefaith in people of the state.

Reacting to the Supreme Court orderfor refunding fine and releasing proper-ties of those booked for the anti-CAAprotests and subsequent vandalism, Yogiis determined not to let the guilty go scot-free. “The Supreme Court has said thatwe can proceed on the basis of an orderfrom tribunal set up under the new UttarPradesh Recovery of Damages to Publicand Private Act and not an administra-tive order. We will proceed accordingly,”he said, promptly clarifying that the statewould not bow down to trouble-makers.

The Yogi government’s direct actionagainst mafia also has high approval.From ‘Baba’ in state politics to ‘BulldozerBaba’, Yogi has succeeded in drawing newlines in clean governance. It is this hard-line approach, which now targets theSamajwadi Party and its appeasementpolicies.

On his part, Yogi clarified that for hisgovernment, there was no hard- or soft-line. “There is only one line, and that isto serve the citizens, to ensure they get thebenefits of governance and putting thoseon the other side of law, behind bars.”

In 2017, the BJP had contested the UPelections without naming its chief min-isterial candidate, and Yogi Adityanath’sselection overtly transformed state poli-tics. From earlier elections which reapedsuccess from caste alignments andMandir-Masjid rhetorics to today wheredevelopment is a poll plank, the state hasrisen from the times of Roti, Kapda aurMakaan and Bijli, Sadak, Paani to onewhere Metro rails, expressways, medicalcolleges, izzat ghars, Direct BankTransfers (DBT) and piped water supplyetc are being talked about.

Today, the state boasts of the highestCovid vaccination coverage in the coun-try. Free ration, a sequel to the migrantcrisis, and a national ration card havegone a long way in helping the rural poor.Though many political parties see it as apittance, the government initiative of sus-tenance, is laudable. From rotten food-grains through PDS to the finest grainsnow, the lives of many has changed. Somuch so, that even middle-class familiesno longer shy away from lifting theirquota from fair price shops.

On the law and order front, Yogi’sforte in these elections, I recall a meet-ing in 2017 after Yogi had just taken over.“In a state where people take pride inflouting traffic rules, I will need time toput things on track,” he had said.

Today, I must reveal, that helmets area thumb rule for two-wheelers while traf-fic signals are adhered to, something thatwas unimaginable five years back. Tradersand businessmen are willing to keep shopsopen late without fear while the fairer sexcan venture out freely even after sunset.Though subtle changes, these speak vol-umes of governance.

Ironically, these are the first electionsin the state after decades when the

Ayodhya temple issue is not a poll plank.Its foundation is nearly complete. TheKashi temple today is grander and a cen-tre of attraction, sans any bitternessamong communities. And, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s holy dip in theGanges recently was certainly more thana photo-op. It soaked the sentiments ofmasses and found a sync with the partyand its leadership.

This is one strength of the BJP in UP.And saffron-clad Yogi epitomises it.Admitting that two of the five years wereconsumed in fighting and micro manag-ing Covid pandemic across the state, Yogiadmitted that the double-engine sarkarwill reap double benefits in the comingelections.

“The top priority of the state gov-ernment was to work honestly and instillthe rule of law across the state, and pro-vide security to all without discrimina-tion. We have done that successfully,” hesaid.

What remains to be seen is if thedirect contest between the two parties cul-minates into a personality stand-off,which the saffron party excels in domi-nating. Even if that happens, Yogi isbound to dwarf his opponents and leadhis party to another historic win in thestate. As Prime Minister prophesised ear-lier in his rallies that “Ayenge to Yogi hee”,March 10 may well prove that the man-date for development and security hasovercome the caste barrier in the state, foronce.

8��+8�D O��*�4��+�5��+��;Abhishek Mishra who was a minister in

SP government.Deputy Speaker of UP Legislative

Assembly Nitin Agarwal, who had crossedover to the BJP from SP, will face the elec-toral test in this phase from Hardoi.Considered a Congress bastion, Rae Bareliwill also go to the polls in this phase.Formerly a Congress MLA from RaeBareli, Aditi Singh, switched allegiance andis contesting from the same seat on a BJPticket.

Polling will begin at 7 am onWednesday and continue till 6 pm.

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demanding urea and fertilisers, where-as under the double-engine government,in Bahraich, food grains of two lakh farm-ers had been purchased.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath saidthat with 700 riots during its tenure, theSamajwadi Party was fit to be called“Dangesh”.

He said: “The previous governmentwas ‘Majboor (helpless) and Dumdaar (onewith a wagging tail). That’s why the firstthing that they did after taking over wasto withdraw cases against terrorists.”

He added: “Five years ago, you elect-ed a strong government with 325 seats, agovernment which held the stick of devel-opment in one hand and the steering of abulldozer in another to demolish illegalproperties of gangsters and mafia who wereprotected by the previous government.Therefore, developmental work taken upby us during the last five years is clearlyvisible today in UP while benefits of wel-fare schemes are reaching the poor and the

needy.”Yogi said that nine of the 11 terrorists

who had been awarded death sentence bythe Ahmedabad court in the serial blastcase of 2008 recently came from UttarPradesh with one of them having clearlinks with SP.

“They withdrew cases against terror-ists and gave protection to mafia gangstersand rioters. When we took over in 2017,the first three things that we did was towaive loans worth Rs 36,000 crore of 86lakh farmers, form Anti-Romeo Squad forprotection of daughters and shut down ille-gal slaughterhouses to end killing ofcows,” Yogi said.

“During SP government, wheneverthere were government vacancies, theChacha-Bhatija duo started their ‘collec-tion’ drive whereas we have given gov-ernment jobs to five lakh youths in the lastfive years,” Yogi pointed out.

Yogi said that the BJP government haddone whatever it had promised to peopleand would do much more after formingthe government on March 10.

“We are building Ram temple inAyodhya, which was unimaginable duringCongress, Samajwadi Party and BahujanSamaj Party governments. We are build-ing expressways. We are celebrating DevDeepawali, Rangotsava and Deepotsavawhile they only had the Saifai festival. Weare providing free tests, treatment and vac-cines against COVID-19, in addition to adouble dose of ration to people,” he said.

“During every epidemic, people havedied of both disease and starvation. But thegovernment under the leadership of Modihas ensured that no starvation deaths takeplace in India. We are working for the safe-ty and honour of people and self-relianceof the state,” Yogi said.

The rally covered 13 assembly con-stituencies of Gonda, Bahraich andShravasti.

The prime minister also addressedpeople of six assembly constituencies ofGonda and Balrampur virtually. Besides,he addressed 31 organisational circles inBalrampur and Gonda districts virtually.

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formalising a Russian military deploy-ment to the rebel regions, where an eight-year conflict has killed nearly 14,000people.

The White House on Tuesday beganreferring to Russian troop deployments ineastern Ukraine as an “invasion” after ini-tially hesitating to use the term — a redline that President Joe Biden has saidwould result in the US levying severe sanc-tions against Moscow. “We think this is,yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’slatest invasion into Ukraine,” said Jon Finer,principal deputy national security advis-er, said in an interview on CNN. “An inva-sion is an invasion and that is what isunderway.”

The White House decided to beginreferring to Russia’s actions as an “invasion”because of the situation on the ground,according to a US official who spoke onthe condition of anonymity to discussinternal deliberations.

The administration resisted initiallycalling the deployment of troops becausethe White House wanted to see whatRussia was actually going to do. Afterassessing Russian troop movements, itbecame clear it was a new invasion, theofficial added.

White House press secretary Jen Psakialso alluded to the Russian action as beingan invasion in a twitter post commentingon Germany chancellor Olaf Scholz deci-sion to halt the Nord Stream 2 gas pipelinein response to Russia’s actions.

The US President “made clear that ifRussia invaded Ukraine, we would actionwould act with Germany to ensure NordStream 2 does not move forward,” Psakisaid.

For weeks, Western powers have beenbracing for an invasion as Russia massedan estimated 150,000 troops on three sidesof neighboring Ukraine. They warned anattack would cause massive casualties,energy shortages in Europe and econom-ic chaos around the globe — and promisedswift and severe sanctions if it materialised.The European Union and Britainannounced on Tuesday that some ofthose measures were coming.

Western leaders have long warnedMoscow would look for cover to invade —and just such a pretext appeared to comeMonday, when Putin recognised as inde-pendent two separatist regions in easternUkraine, where government troops havefought Russia-backed rebels in a conflictthat has killed over 14,000 people. TheKremlin then raised the stakes furtherTuesday, by saying that recognition extendseven to the large parts now held byUkrainian forces.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskovsaid that Russia has recognised the rebelregions’ independence “in borders thatexisted when they proclaimed” their inde-pendence in 2014 - broad territories thatextend far beyond the areas now under therebel control and that include the majorAzov Sea port of Mariupol.

Putin’s move to recognize the territo-ries’ independence opened the door forhim to formalize his hold on them andsend forces in, though Ukraine and itsWestern allies have charged Russian troopshave been fighting there for years. Moscowdenies those allegations.

Condemnation from around the worldwas quick. Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelenskyy said he would consider break-ing diplomatic ties with Russia and Kyivrecalled its ambassador in Moscow.

But confusion over what exactly washappening in eastern Ukraine threatenedto hobble a Western response. While theUS clearly called it an invasion, some otherallies hedged. “Russian troops have enteredin Donbas,” the name for the area wherethe two separatist regions are located, EUforeign policy chief Josep Borrell said inParis. “We consider Donbas part ofUkraine.” But in a distinction that couldcomplicate a European and Westernresponse, he added: “I wouldn’t say that (itis) a fully fledged invasion, but Russiantroops are on Ukrainian soil.”

Poland’s Defense Ministry and BritishHealth Secretary Sajid Javid also saidRussian forces had entered Ukraine’s east,with Javid telling Sky News that “the inva-sion of Ukraine has begun.”

Not all in Europe saw it that way.Spanish Foreign Minister José ManuelAlbares noted “if Russia uses forceagainst Ukraine, sanctions will be mas-sive.” The Kremlin hasn’t confirmedany troop deployments to the rebel east,saying it will depend on the security sit-uation. Vladislav Brig, a member of theseparatist local council in Donetsk, toldreporters that the Russian troops alreadyhad moved in, but more senior rebelleaders didn’t confirm that. Late Monday,convoys of armored vehicles were seen

rolling across the separatist-controlledterritories. It wasn’t immediately clear ifthey were Russian.

Shocked by Putin’s order to deploytroops to separatist regions of easternUkraine, world leaders moved quickly onTuesday to impose as forceful a responseas possible in hopes of averting a full-blown war in Europe. Germany made thefirst big move, taking steps to halt theprocess of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gaspipeline from Russia - a lucrative deal longsought by Moscow, but criticised by the USfor increasing Europe’s reliance on Russianenergy supplies.

The rest of the European Union alsoput some of its cards on the table, sayingits sanctions would take aim at severalRussian officials, banks financing theRussian armed forces and include limitingMoscow’s access to EU capital and finan-cial markets. British Prime Minister BorisJohnson went as far as naming fiveRussian banks and three wealthy individ-uals who were hit with sanctions onTuesday.

Top EU officials said the bloc was pre-pared to impose sanctions on severalRussian officials and banks financing theRussian armed forces and move to limitMoscow’s access to EU capital and finan-cial markets. They gave few details.

EU foreign ministers are meetinglater Tuesday to discuss the measures - butthey did not appear to include the massivepunishment repeatedly promised in caseof a full-fledged invasion. British PrimeMinister Boris Johnson also said the UKwould slap sanctions on five Russianbanks and three wealthy individuals.

While he said that Russian tankshave already rolled into eastern Ukraine,he warned a full-scale offensive wouldbring “further powerful sanctions.” TheWhite House has also moved to respond,issuing an executive order to prohibit USinvestment and trade in the separatistregions, and additional measures - likelysanctions — were to be announcedTuesday. Those sanctions are independentof what Washington has prepared in theevent of a Russian invasion, according toa senior administration official whobriefed reporters on the condition ofanonymity.

The Russian moves also pushedGermany to suspend the certificationprocess for Nord Stream 2 pipeline that wasto bring natural gas from Russia. Thepipeline was built to help Germany meetits energy needs, particularly as it switch-es off its last three nuclear power plants andphases out the use of coal, and it has resist-ed calls by the US and others to halt theproject.

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continuing to operate their routineflights from Ukraine to India.

Incidentally, the advisory on Tuesdayasking the Indian citizens to leave Ukrainewas the third one in the last one week.There are over 20,000 Indian studentsstudying in various universities in Ukraine.

A 24-hour help control room to helpthe Indians was set up last week.

The latest advisory also said theIndian Embassy was engaged with respec-tive authorities regarding online classes bymedical universities there.

“The Embassy of India is receiving alarge number of calls asking about the con-firmation of online classes by medical uni-

versities. In this regard, as informed ear-lier, the Embassy is engaged with respec-tive authorities for streamlining of the edu-cation process for Indian students,” it said.

“Students are advised, in the interestof their safety, to leave Ukraine temporarily,rather than wait for an official confirma-tion from universities,” the mission addedin a fresh advisory.

Indian citizens were also urged torefrain from visiting Ukraine for the timebeing in view of “high levels of tension anduncertainties”. On Sunday, families of allthe Indian Embassy staff were also askedto return to India in view of uncertaintyand tension. However, the Embassy con-tinues to function and monitor develop-ments closely, sources said here.

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flights from Kyiv to Delhi to operateon February 25, February 27, and March6. According to the Ministry of CivilAviation, the Air India flight which has 254seats, is expected to return at the IndiraGandhi International airport late onTuesday night.

The flight AI 1947 took off from theairport here at around 7.30 am and land-ed at Boryspil International Airport in Kyivat around 3 pm IST (Indian StandardTime).

Officials said of the 254 passengers,236 were in economy class and 18 were inbusiness class. There will be two moreflights of Air India on Thursday (February24) and Saturday (February 26). Avoidingthe Afghanistan airspace that remains outof bounds for non-defence aircraft, AirIndia Boeing 787 (VT-NAA) took justeight hours to reach Boryspil InternationalAirport in Kyiv.

“Air India has never operated any com-mercial flights to Ukraine before this. Butto rescue the Indian citizens in Ukraine,not only Air India has started the flights,but some other Indian operators areexpected to start their flight servicesdepending on the demand from Ukraine,”the Ministry said.

The Indian Embassy in Kyiv is organ-ising additional flights out of Ukraine inview of the continued tensions betweenUkraine and Russia, the Embassy informedon Tuesday. “In view of the continued highlevel of tensions and uncertainties of thecurrent situation in Ukraine, additionalflights are being organised,” the IndianEmbassy said in an advisory.

As per details shared by the Ministryof External Affairs, PS1395 Kyiv - Delhion Feb 25 at 7 am; PS393 Kyiv - Delhi Feb27, timing 7:35-07:50+1; PS1395 Kyiv -Delhi Feb 27, 07:00 am and PS393 Kyiv -Delhi March 06, timing 7:35 pm. Presently,airlines like Air Arabia, Fly Dubai, QatarAirways, etc. are also operating their rou-tine flights from Ukraine to India, thestatement read.

Before this, on February 17, the CivilAviation Ministry asked Indian carriers tolook at the possibility of operating flightsto Ukraine due to the increase in demand.Besides, the Ministry had removed thecurbs on the number of flights that can beoperated between India and the easternEuropean nation under the bilateral airbubble arrangement to facilitate the trav-el of Indians from that country. It had saidIndian airlines have been informed tomount the flights due to an increase indemand.

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Many questions have been put upby humans around life, how torelate to the world around them

and understand their inner selves.Various philosophers from Socrates toBertrand Russell have tried reasoning outthe way humans act and have come upwith inspiring, yet confusing theories.

Self-help books or motivationalbooks not only offer guidance on life butrather act as a gateway to theories thathelp one navigate the rocky paths of life.

These motivational books will enableyou to delve deeper into the ocean of self-introspection and get insight into mind-ful perceptions to make your presentmore constructive.

The Winning Edge —Unleash TheLeaders Within by Col. Tarun Kumar(Retd)

Authored by Col. Tarun Kumar(Retd), the book is an attempt to acquaintyou with the belief that leaders aremade, not necessarily born. Author takesyou through the thought process behindleaders and how to discover that withinourselves.

Leadership is all about having the dis-covery of a new belief system and what'sstopping you to unleash the leader with-in? Go ahead, immerse yourself in thejourney of self-discovery with this bookand let the world see a new leaderemerging — you!

Chanakya In You by RadhakrishnanPillai

In India spiritual heritage is as sig-nificant as its historical heritage. Thebook Chanakya in You is a delight forreaders as it introduces us to one of thegreatest thinkers of all time - Chanakya.

Written in a semi-autobiographicalaccount, the book brings us sheer posi-tivity and an insight to king-making abil-

ities. It’s about an aimless young man whosets off on a journey of self-realisationand spirituality and yet, becomes therichest man in the world. A quaintdescription of what youth today feels like- aimless, confused and directionless,while also guiding them through it.

Death An Inside Story by SadhGuru

The title itself is such an intriguingsubject which makes one curious aboutthe content within the book. Sadhguru inhis book adds perspective to the imper-manence of life and its significancewhile engaging in discussion around var-ious aspects of death.

You can win by Shiv KheraThe book is a road map for a jour-

ney to achieve more while dwelling onprerequisites for living a meaningfullife. A construction manual offeringfootprints to follow and build a tri-umphant and gratifying life. Overall, thisbook offers anecdotes, stories whichhelp people grow professionally as wellas on a personal level.

Think Like A Monk by Jay ShettyWritten by a millennial, this book by

Jay Shetty is a go-to option for today’syouth. Think like a monk is written inthree parts, where each part helps usunderstand our mind, purpose and mostimportantly, healing. Author at the endof each part gives a medication practicein the form of graphs and charts whichcan blow out the reader's minds.

These exercises not only help one findtheir personality rather find purpose anddirection in life.

The crisis our world has witnessed inthe past few years, be it in the financial,economic, social or health related sector,has taught us to keep our emotions at bayand live life in the present..

People dreaded the pandem-ic. It has resulted in eco-nomic inflation, layoffs, and

everything associated with a pre-sumed downfall of a robust econ-omy. There is so much effortmade at staging the flip-side, thatthe bright side is ambushed.

What seems to be workingagainst us, in retrospect, is a pos-itive digital transition that hasresulted from the ongoing tech-nological revolution.

Myth busted During times of insurgencies;

professionals don't only worryabout losing jobs, but also aboutthese profiles going extinct. Onthe plus side, digitisation only sim-plified the nuances of the job, pro-pelling these professionals to skill,upskill and reskill. Reskilling cangive professionals and learners theimpetus to kick-start a side-hus-tle, enhancing their financialstanding.

Most professionals fear get-ting into the IT space, as deemedthat it requires an education in themath and science streams. Thisfear has successfully paved its wayinto the urban pockets too.Thankfully, this isn’t true, as mostlearners are oblivious of the vastexpanses of the IT space.Information Technology doesn’trelegate itself only to the pro-gramming languages of Java,

Python, Ruby, and so on. But italso entails exciting courses inBusiness Intelligence, DataAnalytics, User Interface Designer,Web Analytics, Growth Hacker,Tech Support Specialist, and Tech-Recruiter. The above-mentionedroles require basic knowledge ofmath, research skills, design aes-thetics, and communication skills.All these are backed by the abili-ty to think creatively with a liberaldash of analytical and logical

insight to be able to solve a prob-lem. Learning the basics of cod-ing can be just as insightful.

However, with the digitaladvances, skilling, upskilling, andreskilling are being indoctrinatedas an intrinsic part of the workculture.

The impactA revolution of this sort pri-

marily impacts urban areas, wherethere is an urgent requirement ofskilled professionals on one hand,

and a dearth on the other. Thegrowing gap directly needs to bearrested in lieu of abstainingfrom a lay-off situation. And thisis exactly where an EdTech stepsin!

Devising a training pro-gramme at such a mammothscale is indeed a herculean task formost organisations. This is howand why EdTech plays a criticalrole in arming these profession-als with the required skill-set, toget things up and running!

Organisations collaboratewith EdTech companies and aidin creating a blueprint for cours-es that align themselves to thegrowing needs of the workforce.This in turn helps learners atacquiring a certified update on thecourse undertaken, and addi-tionally have the opportunity ofgetting re-recruited into the work-force, with better financial perks.

Co-Created courses allowemployees to interact with indus-try heads, which will enable themto conduct themselves in a moredefining manner in the profes-sional environment. In a nutshell,one simply needs to upskill toenhance their resume, and showcorporations that they can deliv-er a little more than they alreadyknow! After all, being multi-skilled is the new success mantra.

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Higher education is evolvingcontinuously with the newage of digital exploration.

Even though metaverse has been inexistence for decades, it is now gain-ing heavy traction. Along with that,data science and cybersecurity arein trends and have also captured theattention of the IT world.

Cybersecurity, data science andthe metaverse are exponential mar-kets, where the global market size ofcybersecurity is estimated to reacharound $370 billion by 2028 grow-ing at a CAGR of 12 per cent from$153.16 billion in 2020, while theglobal data science market is expect-ed to value a little over $80 billionby 2027 with a CAGR of 11.1 percent and the global metaverse mar-ket is predicted to expand at aCAGR of 41.7 per cent from 2021to 2030.

With these next big technologiesand fast-growing lucrative market,it is essential to reinvent the highereducation of tomorrow to shape andfuture proof it with the advancingtechnologies like data science, cyber-security and the metaverse.

CybersecurityCybersecurity is a practice that

aims to protect networks, systemsand programmes from harmful dig-ital attacks. These attacks usuallyaccess, change or destroy informa-tion that is sensitive and use it toextort money or use it to disrupt the

flow of business if any. Cybersecurityin higher education will play a cru-cial role as the data of the studentsas well as teachers are sensitive innature and need to be protectedwhen all the data is stored online.Since over the years attackers havedeveloped many innovative ideas, itcauses tension in the higher educa-tion system.

Data science Data Science is a field that uses

scientific methods and processesusing algorithms and systems. Itattracts the insights, knowledgefrom structured and unstructureddata. Data science applies the knowl-edge and insights acquired from thisdata to take action against a broadrange of application domains. Thetechniques used by data science varyfrom the field of statistics, comput-er science, domain knowledge, etc.The implementation of data sciencein higher education will benefit theeducation system greatly. The futureof data scientists, easy checking ofplagiarism, implementation inresearch work are some ways datascience will enhance the futureworld.

MetaverseMetaverse is a network of 3D

virtual worlds which focuses onsocial connection. In the previousyears, metaverse has been popularin the fiction world and now hasgained its popularity in various

virtual platforms. Metaverseincludes technologies of virtualreality and augmented reality whichaims to combine the physical anddigital world. Metaverse has creat-ed its own space that even highereducation has engaged in buildingtechnologies in the education sys-tem. Due to technological advance-ment and education classes being ina hybrid mode, metaverse will helpthe education system greatly byusing virtual and augmented reali-ty.

Emerging technologies andhigher education

The future of higher educationis more about hyper personalisation,with data science, metaverse andcybersecurity solutions. In the grow-ing ecosystem of digital spaces,networks, metaverse are even deep-er and would influence our dailyactivities and interactions in bothphysical and virtual worlds. Thisalready has implications for highereducation because of the ways inwhich it can be accessed by learn-ers, ways in which information iscreated and ways the learners willinteract and connect with oneanother.

Data Science add benefit semistructured and unstructured data: -

Data science on the other handadds to the benefit of making moreinformed decisions about everyindividual student and analysing the

data to improve outcomes. Itrequires skills of maths, computerscience and a lot more to understandwhat would drive a student's behav-iour. Higher education is most like-ly to benefit with continuous real-time recommendations with semistructured and unstructured data tolearn from the metaverse and aid inpredicting the future outcomes.

Cybersecurity is integral partof digital world: -

Cybersecurity will aid in secur-ing the metaverse to protect themetaverse and the data from vul-nerability. A decade from nowcybersecurity would become anintegral part in higher education. Ashackers will be lurking behind everywindow screen, technology giantswould take over higher education'scybersecurity. This would leveragecampus technologies, computingpower with the collaboration ofhigher education.

Technologies are under con-tinues upgradation: -

These technologies are stillbeing developed, still being trans-formed to enable cybersecurity,data science and the metaverse toachieve new heights. As these tech-nologies come with a huge learningcurve for higher education, thesetechnologies are the future andorganisations need to prepareenough to make sense of this newtechnological world.

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While the COVID-19 pan-demic has exposed the dire

need for the education sector toembrace the use of ArtificialIntelligence, the advent of the lat-est technology with the onlineplatforms has not only helped thestudents with a better educationmodule but also assisted the edu-cators in providing the bestopportunities for the studentslearning.

AI Testified, a startup incu-

bated at IIT Kanpur is a uniqueplatform that blends ArtificialIntelligence into the school edu-cation systems, UPSC and StatePSC, and other competitiveexaminations. Being India’s pio-neering AI-driven test platform,it is highly beneficial in under-standing and filling the “learningdeficit” among the school-goingstudents and aspirants of variouscompetitive examinations.

“AI Testified uses ArtificialIntelligence & Machine Learningto identify the conceptual

strength and weakness of eachstudent, with the belief that eachstudent is unique with a differentlearning curve. The tests are cus-tomized according to the needs ofindividual students. Video lec-tures and notes on different con-cepts are also provided to fill inthe identified knowledge gap.Also, students are given thechoice to use elimination and the50-50 technique to mark themost appropriate answers. Thishelps the students to know theaccuracy of their concepts and

develop their critical thinkingability,” says MK Yadav, CMD, AITestified (Incubated at IITKanpur).

This platform has assumedmore importance, as CBSE hasrecently announced the com-mencement of a term-basedexamination policy (MCQs dri-ven) in line with the NewEducation Policy 2020.

Earlier where students usedto be afraid of examinations, thisparadigm transition to AI learn-ing will make them enjoy exams.

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The Institute ofManagement Studies

(IMS), Ghaziabad is invitingapplications for Post GraduateDiploma in Management(PGDM) 33rd Batch 2022-24.

IMS Ghaziabad is one ofthe trusted Business Schools inIndia offering PGDM pro-gramme approved by AICTEand accredited by the NationalBoard of Accreditation (NBA)and equivalent to MBA byAssociation of IndianUniversities (AIU). The insti-tute is also accredited globallyby AACSB (USA) and ASIC(UK).

How to Apply: Onlineapplication form.

Link to apply :https://admission.ims-ghazi-abad.ac.in/

All eligible candidates willhave to undergo an EntranceExam at the institute, com-prising of a Written AptitudeTest, Group CaseDiscussion/Extempore andPersonal Interview.

Admission is based on themarks obtained in the qualify-ing examination and the per-formance in entrance exam.

A validCAT/MAT/CMAT/ATMA/GMAT/NMAT/XAT Test scoreis required.

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The University of Sheffield,UK is inviting

applications for MScBioengineering coursestarting in September 2022.The MSc is designed toprovide students with all ofthe necessary technicalknowledge, expertise andtransferable skills to succeedin one of the fastest growingengineering disciplines.Bioengineering is amultidisciplinary field thatcombines biology andengineering, and whichallows them to applyengineering principles tomedicine and healthcare.

Duration: 1 year full-time Fee: Overseas (2022annual fee) is £26, 200

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/courses/2022/bioengineering-msc

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Great Learning, one ofIndia’s edtech companies

for professional and highereducation has announced thatit will be hosting a webinar onCareers Post PGP-DSE:Placements, trends, and moreon February 23, 2022, 5 pm.The one-hour-long live sessionis free of cost and can beattended by those who want tounderstand the concept of

Data Science, its scope, andinf luence across diversedomains.

The live session will beconducted by MishthySablania (Senior Manager,Career Preparation at GreatLearning). The purpose of thewebinar is to throw light onvarious insights into the place-ment process — CareerAssistance, Mock Interviews,Resume Preparation, etc. Thesession will also include alum-

ni stories and their experiencesand a Q&A session with thespeaker for doubt clarificationand questions about the pro-gram. It will also deep diveinto hiring trends that wereobserved during the pandem-ic.

Great Learning offerscomprehensive, industry-rel-evant programmes across var-ious cutting-edge Technology,Data, and Business domains.Its programmes are developed

in collaboration with the aca-demic institutions likeStanford University, MIT, TheUniversity of Texas at Austin,National University Singapore,IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, IITRoorkee, IIIT-Delhi, ShivNadar University, and GreatLakes Institute of Managementand are constantly reimag-ined and revamped to addressthe dynamic needs of theindustry.Register: https://bit.ly/36ys9dB

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The Xebia Academy, the edu-cation arm of the US-head-

quartered IT consultancy firm,Xebia Global, recently hosted thehigher education summit, X-Grad2022. Many education veteransparticipated in the virtual summitwith Dr Anil Sahastrabudhe,Chirman AICTE being the chiefguest of the event.

The summit revolved aroundhybrid learning model, role ofassessment and evaluation inimproving the educational expe-rience and job-readiness of stu-dents and reimagining of theeducation system with the col-laboration of industries in acad-emia.

Blended learning aspectsinvolve a modern-day solutioncombining both face-to-face andvirtual activities, as well as thetype of education that allows stu-dents to include self-paced study,alongside classroom learning.

However the rate at whichpedagogy has evolved has result-ed in a progressive transitioningto experiential learning withhybrid education model, as evi-dent by its incorporation in edu-cation vocabulary.

The Summit hosted threepanels. Each panel includedChancellors and Vice chancellorsof eminent universities likeJagannath, North Cap, JainUniversity, Lovely professionaluniversity, Chandigarh University.

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The Indian women’s cricketteam’s horror tour of NewZealand continued as theWhite Ferns demolished

the visitors by 63 runs in a rain-cur-tailed fourth WODI on Tuesday toinch towards a clean sweep in thefive-match series here.

The game became a glorified‘T20’ due to rain as Amelia Kerrstole the show with a 33-ball-68which took New Zealand to 191 for5.

Amelia, one half of the famousKerr sisters, then mopped up the tailwith 3 for 30 as India managed only128 before being all-out in 17.5overs.

Teenager Richa Ghosh’scounter-attacking 52 off 29 balls wasthe only silver lining in an otherwisedisastrous performance which hasnow led to five defeats on this tourincluding the one-off T20.

The bowling performance of theIndians seemed to have nose-divedwith each passing game and it wasthe worst on Tuesday where onlyRajeshwari Gayakwad (4-0-26-1)looked the part.

Meghna Singh (1/45 in 4 overs)and Deepti Sharma (1/49 in 4overs) were two bowlers taken to thecleaners by Amelia who had 11 foursand a six in her kitty.

New Zealand started on a rous-ing note with a 53-run openingstand between Sophie Devine (32 of

24 balls) and Suzie Bates (41 off 26balls). Once the platform was laid,Amelia and Amy Satterthwaite (32off 16 balls) literally pummelled the

Indian bowling.A chase of 192 was always

going to be a tough ask even thoughthe out of form Harmanpreet Kaur

was dropped from the playingeleven.

Smriti Mandhana very under-standably was out of rhythm after a

long and hard quarantine andyoungsters Shafali Verma (0) andYastika Bhatia (0) were out in quicksuccession.

The maych was as good as overby the fifth over when India werereduced to 19 for 4.

Richa and Mithali Raj (30 off 28balls) added 67 runs but it was in alost cause as wickets fell at regularinterval. Amelia’s sister Jess also gottwo wickets upfront while FrancisMackay and Heley Jensen shared thespoils with two and three wickets

respectively.The only time India had some-

thing to cheer about was whenRicha clobbered the White Fernsbowlers for four huge sixes and fourboundaries while Mithali played thesecond fiddle.

Once Richa was gone, the stom-ach for fight wasn’t evident in oth-ers as six wickets fell for 32 runs.

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Australia’s star players,including David Warner,

Josh Hazelwood and PatCummins, will miss the start ofthe IPL despite skipping the lim-ited overs series againstPakistan, which is set to coincidewith the lucrative T20 league.

Though the BCCI hasn’tofficially announced the dates ofIPL-15, the league is expected tobegin in the last week of March.

Warner, Hazelwood andCummins are part of the Testsquad for the series in Pakistan,starting March 4-25, but will beskipping the limited oversassignment, beginning March29. However, they won’t be ableto link up with their IPL teamsbefore April 5 as Australia’sselection committee chiefGeorge Bailey made it clear onTuesday that centrally contract-ed players who are not part ofthe limited-overs matchesagainst Pakistan will not beavailable for the league until thebilateral series ends.

Hence, the trio will returnhome following the Tests inPakistan and prior to startingtheir IPL stints in India.

The likes of all-rounders

Mitchell Marsh and MarcusStoinis, pacers JasonBehrendorff, Sean Abbott andNathan Ellis will also miss thestart of the league as they arepart of the Australian squad forthe three ODIs and one T20Iagainst Pakistan.

“I fully respect the IPL as atournament. I think they’re atthe forefront of the T20 game,”Bailey was quoted a saying bycricket.Com.Au.

“I think it’s been a reallyimportant tournament for theskill development of some of ourplayers, so it’s important not tounderestimate that going for-ward,” he said.

Bailey added that “the pro-

tocols that would dictate no cen-trally contracted Australia play-er was available to join an IPLteam until April 6 were beingfinalised by CA’s ExecutiveGeneral Manager HighPerformance and NationalTeams, Ben Oliver.”

The likes of Daniel Sams,Riley Meredith, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Tim David, who arenot bound by CA contracts, willbe free to join the IPL from thestart.

While Warner was boughtby the Ricky Ponting-coachedDelhi Capitals, Hazlewood willjoin the Royal ChallengersBangalore, while Cummins willreturn to Kolkata Knight Riders.

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Continuing his good run, India’s teenprodigy R Praggnanandhaa registered

wins against fellow Grandmasters AndreyEsipenko and Alexandra Kosteniuk inrounds 10 and 12 of the AirthingsMasters, an online rapid chess tourna-ment. A day after a stunning victory overworld No.1 Magnus Carlsen, the 16-yearold scored two wins and drew againstNodirbek Abdusattorov early on Tuesday.

He, however, lost to Russian GM IanNepomniachtchi in the 11th round.

Despite the twin victories and a draw,Praggnanandhaa is in 12th place with 15points. He beat the highly rated RussianEsipenko in 42 moves after having start-ed the day with a draw againstAbdusattorov.

After going down toNepomniachtchi, he rallied to beat for-mer women’s world champion Kosteniukin a 63-move encounter.

Praggnanandhaa will be up againstVincent Keymer of Germany, USA’sHans Moke Niemann and RussianVladislav Artemiev respectively in round13, 14 and 15 later on Tuesday night.Nepomniachtchi, who lost the worldchampionship match a few months agoto Carlsen, is on top of the standings with27 points.

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The eighth season of the VIVO ProKabaddi League is approaching its

end, with the final scheduled to takeplace on February 25 at the SheratonGrand Bengaluru Whitefield Hoteland Convention Centre in Bengaluru.

This year’s Pro Kabaddi Leaguebegan on December 22 of last year,and after 134 games, four teams-PatnaPirates, Dabang Delhi, UP Yoddha,and Bengaluru Bulls-have made it tothe final four. Three-time championPatna Pirates finished at the top of theleague table with 16 wins and accu-mulated a total of 86 points, and theircaptain, Prashanth Kumar Rai, isconfident that his side will go on towin the trophy on Friday after asuperb show in the league roundmatches. Speaking during the pressconference with the captains of thequalified teams for the play-offs,

Prashanth said: “The first thing I wantto say is that we’re surely going to playin the final on the 25th.”

“If you look at our team, we fin-ished as the table toppers in the leaguestage. We are consistent with our per-

formance. Both the departments aredoing well for us, be it defence oroffence (raiders). And with the helpof guidance from our coach, we areplaying as a unit. We have done wellso far, but we are still two steps shortof achieving our goal, and we’ll do ourbest to achieve that, “Prashanth said.

“We have three stars (for threechampionship wins) on our jersey andwe are ready to add one more to it thistime,” the player added.

While UP Yoddha captain NiteshKumar, who became the first player tocomplete a century of tackle points ina single season during Season 6, is alsobullish about his team’s chances ofdoing well at the business end of thetournament. The UP team addedstar raider Pardeep Narwal to the sideduring the auctions, and despitestruggling initially during the tourna-ment because of an injury issue,Pardeep is back to his best and Nitesh

believes that Pardeep’s return to formis a big positive for this side.

“At the start, when PardeepNarwal was not able to do wellbecause of the injury he had, otherslike Surender Gill and Shrikant Jadhavstepped up and supported him. Theyboth won many crucial matches forus in the league stage. And now whenwe are in the playoffs, Pardeep hasalso kicked in. He has done remark-ably well in the last two or threegames, which is a good sign for us.And since he’s one of the best raidersin the world, his form will be a bigboost for our team going ahead andwill give us much needed confi-dence, “Nitesh said.

UP Yoddha will face last season’srunner-up, Dabang Delhi, in the sec-ond semifinal on Wednesday, whilePatna Pirates will take on season 6champions, Bengaluru Bulls, in thefirst semifinal on the same day.

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Ireland booked their spot at this year’sT20 World Cup with a comfortable

56-run victory over hosts Oman in qual-ifying on Tuesday, as the United ArabEmirates also secured a ticket toAustralia.

The Irish will be making their sev-enth straight appearance in the show-piece, having only missed the inaugur-al edition in 2007.

Andy Balbirnie’s side made a shakystart to the Global Qualifier A event, los-ing their first game last week to the UAE,but bounced back with successive winsto reach the semi-finals.

With the two finalists to qualify,Tuesday’s last-four game was a winner-takes-all affair, and Ireland made astrong start, posting a challenging totalof 165-7 after Oman won the toss andopted to field first.

Oman, who had qualified for thelast two T20 World Cups, never gotgoing with the bat and were bowled outfor 105, as Irish spinners Simi Singh (3-20) and McBrine (2-24) took five wick-ets between them.

It was a similarly one-sided game inthe other semi-final as the UAE beat pre-viously unbeaten Nepal by 68 runs toqualify for the main tournament for onlythe second time.

Wicket-keeper Vriitya Aravind,who smashed 97 not out against Irelandand an unbeaten 84 against Bahrain, hita quickfire 46 and Muhammad Waseem

made 70 as the UAE posted 175-7.Nepal slumped to 14-3 in reply and

never recovered, being dismissed for 107in 18.4 overs.

Ireland and the UAE will join the12 sides who reached the 2021 T20

World Cup ‘Super 12’ stage in the maintournament Down Under, which getsunderway on October 16.

The final two spots will be decidedat the Global Qualifier B event inZimbabwe in July.

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Luciano Spalletti is hopingto have a fit first-choice

team ready to face Barcelonaas Napoli turn their attentionsto their decisive EuropaLeague clash in Naples afterescaping Cagliari with anundeserved 1-1 draw onMonday.

Victor Osimhen saved apoint for Napoli in Sardiniawith an 87th-minute equalis-er but did not start the gameas Spalletti tried to save theplayers he could for the show-down with Barca at the StadioDiego Armando Maradona.

Captain Lorenzo Insigneand key midfielders Stanislav

Lobotka and Andre-FrankZambo Anguissa were amongthose unavailable on Monday,and Spalletti also started withFabian Ruiz and Adam Ounason the bench with an eye onThursday’s clash.

“We’re hoping to playthem with players who are fitand in a position to play,” saidSpalletti.

“We hope to have them allavailable. This is the kind ofgame that you dreamed aboutas a child... I’ve waited a life-time to play them.”

Napoli emerged with alot of credit from last week’s 1-1 draw at the Camp Nouwhich leaves the tie on aknife-edge.

They played with verveand confidence for the first

hour, deservedly going aheadthrough Piotr Zielinski before

succumbing to tiredness andBarcelona’s trademark pos-

session football.Ferran Torres levelled

from the penalty spot butmissed a number of chanceswhich could have easilypushed the tie in the Catalans’favour.

Barca come into thematch in high spirits afterrunning out 4-1 winners atValencia and moving into LaLiga’s top four thanks toPierre-Emerick Aubameyang’shat-trick.

Xavi’s team are unbeatenin five and with the Gabonstriker in their ranks after hequit Arsenal they have a seri-ous goal threat who couldpush Barca back into theChampions League.

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India skipper Mithali Raj is con-fident that youngsters like

Shafali Verma and Richa Ghoshwill rise to the occasion at theupcoming women’s World Cup inNew Zealand next month.

Mithali reckons the 18-year-old Verma, who was the team’sstandout performer during the2020 T20 World Cup, will contin-ue to play impressive knocks for thecountry in the marquee event.

“Shafali Verma is surely one ofthe players being watched withgreat enthusiasm back home,”Mithali wrote in her column for theICC. “She is one of the world’s ris-ing stars and I am backing her tohave more impressive perfor-mances for India throughout thetournament with guidance and

support from the stylish SmritiMandhana at the other end.”

The big-hitting Verma hashad a relatively lacklustre tour ofNew Zealand by her standards,having scored only one half-centu-ry. However, Richa Ghosh, who iscompeting with the Taniya Bhatiafor the wicketkeeper’s spot, hasmade most of her chances. The 18-year-old slammed back to backfifties in the second and fourthODIs. “Taniya Bhatia has been veryreliable behind the stumps andRicha Ghosh is hot on her heels,meaning we have two wicketkeep-ers we can trust.”

The veteran batter added thatthe India team is very “fortunate”to be heading into the marqueeevent having played top sides likeholders England, Australia andhosts New Zealand recently.

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