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...2021/01/07  · case of infection, as many as 14 districts reported a single-digit-spike in Covid...

Date post: 25-Jan-2021
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F armers protesting against the three farm laws at Delhi borders for around 40 days are fully prepared to take out a tractor rally on Thursday. However, the inclement weath- er, because of which they had deferred their tractor rally by a day, has continued unabated. Even as their talks with the Government have failed to resolve the issues, the farmer unions on Wednesday said scores of farmers are gathering at borders for the tractor rallies on January 7. The farmers said the Thursday tractor rally is a rehearsal for the Republic day show. Meanwhile, All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) has urged farmers to take out trac- tors parade in all districts of the country on January 26. Several rural women in Haryana’s Jind district are receiving training to drive trac- tors for taking part in a “trac- tor parade” in the national Capital on January 26 against the three new farm laws. Women hailing from three villages — Safa Kheri, Khatkar, Pallwan — in Jind are learning to steer the tractor wheel. Sikim Nain Sheokant, pres- ident of Jind-based Kisan Ekta Mahila Manch, said though some of the women can drive tractors in the fields for farm operations, they do not have experience of road driving. “We want women to drive tractors on highway on January 26 without any help,” she said. Sheokant said several vil- lagers were also helping them out by offering their tractors and providing them required training. Women are undergoing training at a toll plaza on Jind- Patiala National Highway for handling tractor-trolleys on road. The protesting farmers have declared toll plazas “free”. “We are getting the train- ing for driving a tractor for par- ticipating in the tractor parade,” said a woman who has been receiving the lesson. She feels the new farm laws are not in the interest of the farming community. “Several other protests also have begun in support of the farmers’ demand. A sit-in has begun with more than 500 tractors marching into Baraut area of Baghpat district. In Chennai, a massive dharna was held and tribal protests are planned in Odisha,” AIKSCC stated. The body blamed the Central Government for not being serious about talks and solving farmers’ problems. “In the 7th round talks held till now, we have stated we want repeal and nothing else. The Government too has ‘under- stood that the demand is for repeal’ and said it will have to undertake ‘further consultation’. Yet, several Ministers and BJP leaders are putting a spanner in the wheels,” they said. “Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had announced he will be talking to other farmer unions who support the laws. Already this exercise to manufacture sup- port has been undertaken and has achieved very poor response. Taking cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP leaders from MP and Punjab have said demands are unjustified,” they said. “While Nitin Gadkari tar- geted the need to improve food production and feed India’s largely hungry popula- tion, he attacked MSP, saying it is higher than market rate, even when the Government says MSP will continue. Ministers should know that India is host to 33 per cent of the world’s hungry popula- tion,” said the AIKSCC. A fter lakhs of birds died in several States and thou- sands were culled, the Centre on Wednesday identified 12 epicentres of avian influenza, or the bird flu, outbreak in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and issued advisories to other States to contain spread of the infection in chickens, ducks, crows and migratory birds. Over 69,000 birds, includ- ing ducks and chicken, were culled in Kerala while the Madhya Pradesh Government banned chicken supply from Kerala and other southern States for next 10 days. The bird flu outbreak has been report- ed barely a few months after India in September 30, 2020 declared the country free from the disease. The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying on Wednesday alerted States to keep a vigil on any unusual mortality among birds and to report immediately to take necessary measures as there is a possibility of bird flu spread- ing to humans and domesti- cated animals. The Ministry has also set up a control room (011-23382354) in Krishi Bhawan to keep watch on the situation and to take stock on daily basis of preventive and control measures undertaken by State authorities. The avian influenza cases have been reported in many States like Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Gujarat, while Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are on high alert. “After confirmation of positive samples from ICAR- NIHSAD, avian influenza (AI) has been reported from the following States (at 12 epicen- tres): Rajasthan (crow) — Baran, Kota, Jhalawar; Madhya Pradesh (crow) — Mandsaur, Indore, Malwa; Himachal Pradesh (migratory birds) — Kangra; Kerala (poultry duck) — Kottayam, Allapuzha (4 epicentres),” said the Ministry. D emocrat Rev Raphael Warnock on Wednesday secured a crucial win in the senatorial race, becoming the first Black senator from Georgia and bringing his party within the reach of a majority in the US Senate ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Multiple news outlets on Wednesday morning project- ed 51-year-old Warnock, a senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, winner against Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler in the Georgia Senate runoff. He is the first African- American to represent Georgia in the US Senate. He is also the first Democrat to win the Senate race from Georgia in 20 years. The control of the Senate now boils down to the other Senate runoff from Georgia wherein Republican incum- bent Senator David Perdue is trailing against Democrat Jon Ossoff, when reports last came in. The special elections were held on Tuesday. Both President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden had campaigned for their respective candidates. The 100-member Senate now has 50 seats for the Republican Party and 49 to the Democrats. The result of the Perdue vs Ossoff is yet to be called in. In the event of both Republicans and the Democrats having 50 seats in the Senate, Vice-President- elect Kamala Harris is in her capacity as the Vice Chairman, who presides over the Senate meetings, would cast the crucial vote in favour of the A fter suggesting the Centre on December 17 to put on hold the three controversial farms laws and form a panel to go into the issues raised by protesting farmers, the Supreme Court on Monday noted that there has been no “improvement on ground” and posted the matter for hearing on January 11. A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said the inten- tion of the court is to encour- age and facilitate talks between farmers and the Government. To this, Attorney General KK Venugopal informed the Bench that “there are chances of the parties coming to some sort of an understanding”. “We understand the situ- ation and encourage consul- tation. We can adjourn the matters on Monday if you submit the same due to the ongoing consultation process,” the Bench said. The Bench was hearing a petition filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma challenging the validity of the three farm laws. The court also issued notice to the Government on a separate petition filed by advocate Sharma, challeng- ing the Third Constitutional Amendment of 1954 which included Entry 33, concerning food and essential commodi- ties, in the Concurrent List. “This is one of Sharma’s startling petitions... He says you [Government] have been com- mitting illegalities since 1954,” Bobde told Venugopal in a lighter vein. S hapoorji Pallonji and Company Limited has emerged as the lowest bidder for the Central Vista Avenue/Rajpath redevelop- ment project quoting 477.08 crore, which is 4.99 per cent less than the estimated cost. Tata Projects quoted the second-lowest bid amount of 488.78 crore. M ore than half of the peo- ple found infected by Covid-19 infection in Jharkhand on Wednesday were residents of Ranchi – a district that alone reported over 100 cases of infection on the day. As per government data, at least 104 of the State’s 194 fresh cases of infection were reported from Ranchi. The district also reported one of the two Covid deaths in Jharkhand on Wednesday, tak- ing the Covid-19 toll in Ranchi up at 221 and that in Jharkhand to 1040, revealed a bulletin released by the National Health Mission (NHM). Ranchi was the only district in Jharkhand to report a triple-digit-spike in cases on the day. Meanwhile, Dhanbad reported one more Covid-19 casualty on the day, taking the toll there to 106. While at least five districts did not report even a single case of infection, as many as 14 districts reported a single- digit-spike in Covid cases. As per government data, East Singhbhum and Bokaro report- ed 15 cases each, while 17 peo- ple were found infected in Dhanbad. Fresh cases outnumbered recoveries on the day, taking the number of active cases up at 1449, highlighted the NHM bulletin. Only 165 patients recovered on the day against the 194 fresh cases. The num- ber of active cases shot up in Ranchi too as the district reported 104 fresh cases against 82 recoveries, the NHM bulletin further stated. The government on Wednesday tested swab sam- ples of 17144 people and more than 1 per cent of them were found infected. So far, health workers have collected swab samples of 48.99 lakh people and tested 48.85 lakh of them. The Covid tally in the state, as per government data, was 116034. However, more than 97 per cent of the patients have recovered from the infection so far. As per government data, the Covid recovery rate in Jharkhand was 97.85 per cent against the national average of 96.40 per cent. The Covid mortality rate in the state was 0.89 per cent against the national average of 1.44 per cent, the NHM bulletin stated. As per the NHM bulletin, it would take at least 608 days for the Covid-19 cases to dou- ble in Jharkhand. The doubling rate in India was 462.86 days. The cases of infection grew at the rate of 0.11 per cent in Jharkhand in the past one week. The growth rate in India was 0.15 per cent during this period. T he Jharkhand Government on Wednesday decided to make an exit from ‘Tripartite Agreements’ between Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Central Government (through Union Power Ministry) and State Governments/UTs. The decision to make an exit from Tripartite Agreements’ was taken at the Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday. As per the Tripartite Agreement, to which these three bodies are signatories, the Central Bank (RBI) has the power to deduct amounts equal to Discoms’ overdues to the power generation company from the accounts of the State Government/UT to pay it directly to the power produc- er. The agreement makes it incumbent on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to deduct the default amount from the respective State government’s accounts with the central bank. Energy Department Principal Secretary Avinash Kumar said, “The Jharkhand Government has decided to make an exit from Tripartite Agreements in the larger inter- est of State, people of State and going by the financial position of State.” Meanwhile, Chief Minister Hemant Soren reacting to today's Cabinet decision said, “The Jharkhand Government decided to withdraw from the Tripartite Agreement as the agreement was one sided and lopsided. The fund which was meant for development and uplift of tribals and marginal- ized sections of societies was deducted from the Centre.” It may be recalled that last year, a sum of Rs 1417.50 Crore, was auto debited from Jharkhand’s account with the Reserve Bank of India without consulting the State. The amount was adjusted against dues the state owed to Damodar Valley Corporation. Chief Minister Hemant Soren had objected to the power company move express- ing “deep anguish and disap- pointment at the blatant and continuous attempt by the Centre to impose fiscal penal- ties on Jharkhand”. Power distribution com- pany, the Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL) owes Rs 5000 crore to DVC (a unit of Centre government), and the DVC on earlier occa- sion had written a letter to JBVNL to clear the dues. The DVC from last month (December) had already made power cuts in the seven districts Dhanbad, Ramgarh, Hazaribagh, Koderma, Bokaro, Giridih and Chatra — by as much as 30 per cent after JBVNL faulted on payment of monthly power bills. The DVC with non-payment of power dues had written a letter to JBVNL to make 50 per cent power cuts if the dues are not cleared. In another Cabinet deci- sion, the Jharkhand Cabinet today gave nod to the rules and regulation of Jharkhand Combined Civil Services exam- ination. The new rules and reg- ulations will replace the exist- ing Civil Service rules and regulations framed in 1951. A three member committee headed by Development Commissioner, Finance Secretary and Secretary Department of Personnel and Training made the rules and regulations. Cabinet Secretary in-charge, Ajoy Kumar Singh said, “The Cabinet decided to make new rules and regulations for Jharkhand Combined Civil Service Examination as due to existing rules and regulations there were a lot of controversies in examination and results with several cases pending at High Court.” As per new rules, fifteen times more candidates than total seats of JPSC will be called for Mains examination based on Preliminary Test (PT). The Cabinet also decided to lower the eight per cent marks from total cut off marks for SC, ST and OBC candidates in JPSC examination. The Cabinet also decided that Hindi and English test marks will be only qualifying marks and it will not be added in the merit list.
Transcript
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    Farmers protesting againstthe three farm laws at Delhiborders for around 40 days arefully prepared to take out atractor rally on Thursday.However, the inclement weath-er, because of which they haddeferred their tractor rally by aday, has continued unabated.

    Even as their talks with theGovernment have failed toresolve the issues, the farmerunions on Wednesday saidscores of farmers are gatheringat borders for the tractor rallieson January 7. The farmers saidthe Thursday tractor rally is arehearsal for the Republic dayshow.

    Meanwhile, All India KisanSangharsh CoordinationCommittee (AIKSCC) hasurged farmers to take out trac-tors parade in all districts of thecountry on January 26.

    Several rural women inHaryana’s Jind district arereceiving training to drive trac-tors for taking part in a “trac-tor parade” in the nationalCapital on January 26 againstthe three new farm laws.

    Women hailing from threevillages — Safa Kheri, Khatkar,Pallwan — in Jind are learningto steer the tractor wheel.

    Sikim Nain Sheokant, pres-ident of Jind-based Kisan EktaMahila Manch, said thoughsome of the women can drivetractors in the fields for farmoperations, they do not haveexperience of road driving.

    “We want women to drivetractors on highway on January26 without any help,” she said.

    Sheokant said several vil-lagers were also helping themout by offering their tractorsand providing them requiredtraining.

    Women are undergoingtraining at a toll plaza on Jind-Patiala National Highway forhandling tractor-trolleys onroad. The protesting farmershave declared toll plazas “free”.

    “We are getting the train-ing for driving a tractor for par-

    ticipating in the tractor parade,”said a woman who has beenreceiving the lesson.

    She feels the new farmlaws are not in the interest ofthe farming community.

    “Several other protests alsohave begun in support of thefarmers’ demand. A sit-in hasbegun with more than 500tractors marching into Barautarea of Baghpat district. InChennai, a massive dharnawas held and tribal protests areplanned in Odisha,” AIKSCCstated.

    The body blamed theCentral Government for notbeing serious about talks andsolving farmers’ problems. “Inthe 7th round talks held tillnow, we have stated we wantrepeal and nothing else. TheGovernment too has ‘under-stood that the demand is forrepeal’ and said it will have toundertake ‘further consultation’.Yet, several Ministers and BJPleaders are putting a spanner inthe wheels,” they said.

    “Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar hadannounced he will be talkingto other farmer unions whosupport the laws. Already thisexercise to manufacture sup-port has been undertaken andhas achieved very poorresponse. Taking cue fromPrime Minister NarendraModi, the BJP leaders fromMP and Punjab have saiddemands are unjustified,” theysaid.

    “While Nitin Gadkari tar-geted the need to improvefood production and feedIndia’s largely hungry popula-tion, he attacked MSP, saying itis higher than market rate,even when the Governmentsays MSP will continue.Ministers should know thatIndia is host to 33 per cent ofthe world’s hungry popula-tion,” said the AIKSCC.

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    After lakhs of birds died inseveral States and thou-sands were culled, the Centreon Wednesday identified 12epicentres of avian influenza, orthe bird flu, outbreak in Kerala,Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,Gujarat and Himachal Pradeshand issued advisories to otherStates to contain spread of theinfection in chickens, ducks,crows and migratory birds.

    Over 69,000 birds, includ-ing ducks and chicken, wereculled in Kerala while theMadhya Pradesh Governmentbanned chicken supply fromKerala and other southernStates for next 10 days. The birdflu outbreak has been report-ed barely a few months afterIndia in September 30, 2020declared the country free fromthe disease.

    The Ministry of Fisheries,Animal Husbandry & Dairyingon Wednesday alerted States tokeep a vigil on any unusualmortality among birds and toreport immediately to takenecessary measures as there is

    a possibility of bird flu spread-ing to humans and domesti-cated animals. The Ministryhas also set up a control room(011-23382354) in Krishi

    Bhawan to keep watch on thesituation and to take stock ondaily basis of preventive andcontrol measures undertakenby State authorities.

    The avian influenza caseshave been reported in manyStates like Kerala, MadhyaPradesh, Himachal Pradesh,Rajasthan, Haryana, andGujarat, while Jammu andKashmir, Punjab, Delhi,Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh andTamil Nadu are on high alert.

    “After confirmation ofpositive samples from ICAR-NIHSAD, avian influenza (AI)has been reported from thefollowing States (at 12 epicen-tres): Rajasthan (crow) —Baran, Kota, Jhalawar; MadhyaPradesh (crow) — Mandsaur,Indore, Malwa; HimachalPradesh (migratory birds) —Kangra; Kerala (poultry duck)— Kottayam, Allapuzha (4epicentres),” said the Ministry.

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    Democrat Rev RaphaelWarnock on Wednesdaysecured a crucial win in thesenatorial race, becoming thefirst Black senator fromGeorgia and bringing his partywithin the reach of a majorityin the US Senate ahead ofPresident-elect Joe Biden’sinauguration.

    Multiple news outlets onWednesday morning project-ed 51-year-old Warnock, asenior pastor of EbenezerBaptist Church in Atlanta,winner against RepublicanSenator Kelly Loeffler in the

    Georgia Senate runoff.He is the first African-

    American to representGeorgia in the US Senate.

    He is also the f irstDemocrat to win the Senaterace from Georgia in 20 years.

    The control of the Senatenow boils down to the otherSenate runoff from Georgiawherein Republican incum-bent Senator David Perdue istrailing against Democrat JonOssoff, when reports last camein.

    The special elections wereheld on Tuesday.

    Both President Donald

    Trump and President-elect JoeBiden had campaigned fortheir respective candidates.

    The 100-member Senatenow has 50 seats for theRepublican Party and 49 to theDemocrats.

    The result of the Perdue vsOssoff is yet to be called in.

    In the event of bothRepublicans and theDemocrats having 50 seats inthe Senate, Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris is in hercapacity as the ViceChairman, who presides overthe Senate meetings, wouldcast the crucial vote in favour of the

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    After suggesting the Centreon December 17 to put onhold the three controversialfarms laws and form a panel togo into the issues raised byprotesting farmers, theSupreme Court on Mondaynoted that there has been no“improvement on ground” andposted the matter for hearingon January 11.

    A three-judge Benchheaded by Chief Justice ofIndia SA Bobde said the inten-tion of the court is to encour-

    age and faci l itate talksbetween farmers and theGovernment. To this,Attorney General KKVenugopal informed theBench that “there are chancesof the parties coming to somesort of an understanding”.

    “We understand the situ-ation and encourage consul-tation. We can adjourn thematters on Monday if yousubmit the same due to theongoing consultation process,”the Bench said. The Bench washearing a petition filed byadvocate Manohar Lal Sharma

    challenging the validity of thethree farm laws.

    The court also issuednotice to the Government ona separate petition filed byadvocate Sharma, challeng-ing the Third ConstitutionalAmendment of 1954 whichincluded Entry 33, concerningfood and essential commodi-ties, in the Concurrent List.

    “This is one of Sharma’sstartling petitions... He says you[Government] have been com-mitting illegalities since 1954,”Bobde told Venugopal in alighter vein.

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    Hundreds of BJP activists,led by Dhanbad MP PNSingh, on Wednesday staged adharna at Randhir VermaSquare to protest rising crimeagainst women in the State .

    Dhanbad MLA Raj Sinhaand party district committeemembers too were present dur-ing the dharna.

    The main focus wasbeheading of a minor girl afteralleged rape in State capital.

    Addressing the meeting,Singh expressed deep concernover day by day falling law andorder condition in the State .

    No one appears to be safein the State especially womenand girls as there has been aspike in crime against womenin the State since the Hemant

    Soren led IPS Governmenttook over. The Chief ministerhas lost grip on administra-tion,said Singh.

    MLA Raj Sinha said , over1600 cases of crime againstwomen has been reported instate in last.one year and.in.katof the incidents accused still areat large.At same time he also lev-elled allegation that the BJPworkers are being trapped bypolice if they start protestagainst crime against women onthe behest of the UPA govern-ment.This vendetta would notbe tolerated and party workerswould continue protests in suchcases, added Sinha.

    District president CS Singhbesides Nitin Bhatta, Sanjay Jha, Milton besides others alsowere present during the dhar-na.

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    6��������As many as 10 cybercriminals were arrested by ateam of Giridih’s police'scyber cell on Tuesday. Thecriminals were arrested with-in limits of Pachamba,Chakai and Bengabad policestation areas in the district.

    Police seized 16 mobilephones, 9 bank passbooks, 31

    SIM cards, 9 ATM cards, andcash worth Rs 3,79,500 fromthem, said Dy SP SandeepSuman.

    The arrested persons havebeen identified as ZavedHussain, Pujwal Saw, BharatMandal, Sarju Mandal, HublalMandal, Lutan Mandal, VilashMandal and Laxam

    Mandal.While two were iden-tified as juveniles.The arrestedcyber criminals made serialvishing calls by impersonatinga doctor and they used todownload anganwadi worker'sdatafrom the ministry ofwomen and child developmentwebsite.

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    Sudden deaths of crows nearJubilee Park on Wednesdayhas spread panic in the city.With cases of bird flu beingreported in five States in thepast one week, the district ani-mal husbandry departmentconvened an urgent meetingand issued an alert.

    According to reports, aboutfive crows were found dead nearJubilee Park. The departmentseized the dead carcases andhave sent them to the Forensic

    Lab further which samples willbe sent to the National Instituteof Virology, Pune, to test foravian influenza.

    An official of the animal

    husbandry department saidthat the Centre has issued anadvisory to all States askingthem to test the droppings ofmigratory and poultry birds to

    prevent the spread. Close to24,500 birds have died andthousands others are infected.

    District animal husbandryofficer SK Sinha said that theanimal husbandry departmenthas sent five carcasses to the lab-oratory to know the cause ofthese deaths. The report is await-ed.“We have sounded a gener-al alert in the city. The idea isto ensure humans could protectthemselves from the flu.Second, maximum attentionshould be on maintaining cleanenvironments at the poultry

    farm, it is more susceptible tothe H5N1,” he said.

    According to information,the demand for poultry productsin the city has reportedly fallen10 per cent to 15 per cent. As perthe trend, the sale of poultryproducts is always high duringthe winter season however, butthe fear factor has forced thepeople to shun the consumption.

    Sunil Kumar, a wholesaledealer of poultry products in thecity said there has been a 10 percent decline in the sale of chick-en.

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    A17 years old girl, who traf-ficked at the age of 8 yearsreturned home after 9 years. Inlieu of working as a childlabourer for nine years, she hasgot only Rs 5000. The teenag-er had lost all hope of meetinghis family. Trafficked toHaridwar at the age of 8, shewas forced to live like a bond-ed labourer by her employer foraround 9 years. After the arrestof her trafficker Dilip Kachhapand efforts of the Child WelfareCommittee, Garhwa, heremployer left her recently aftergiving Rs 5,000. She knew thename of his village and districtonly. Somehow she reached herhome after asking people.

    Geeta Kumari (namechanged), now17 a resident of avillage in Bhandariya police sta-tion was trafficked by co-villagerPradeep Kachhap with apromise that he would give hergood education at a MissionSchool in Ranchi. But afterbeing taken from the house, shewas taken to Haridhar inUttarakhand and was sold thereas a domestic servant. She wasnot even allowed to go out of thehouse.When the girl's mother

    came to know about her thatshe was not studying but wasworking as a house maid atHaridwar, she kept her land asmortgage and Rs. 1300 gave toPradeep Kachhap for bringingher daughter back, but Pradeepdid not do so.

    Mother of the victim fileda complaint. After the initiativeof CWC chairmanUpendranath Dubey, Garhwa,the trafficker Pradeep wasarrested and sent to judicial cus-tody and the employer freed thegirl. During counseling at CWC,the victim could not even tellthe name of the employer.

    She said that in the housewhere she was sold, there werea total of six members andthere were two small childrenin it, she has not got anythingto study further. She said thatshe learned about her salewhen the Sardar (the buyer)told her that she cannot leavefrom there until her money isrepaid. She said that duringthese nine years, a personnamed Pradeep Kachhap camefive times to the house and tookmoney from his employer. Sheinformed that two other girlsfrom Jharkhand, Pooja andTara were also taken with her.Both of them have alsoreturned with her.

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    Concerned over the resig-nation of lateral entrybureaucrats, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi conducted a‘rare’ direct interaction withseven Joint Secretaries (JS)who joined the Government ofIndia after quitting private sec-tors 14 months ago.

    Modi interacted with theofficers after The Pioneerreported on December 16,2020 about one of the nineJoint Secretaries resigning fromthe service and choosing to getback to an MNC abroad. Hewas a JS in the CommerceMinistry

    Sources in Department ofPersonnel and Training(DoPT) said the PM urged theofficers to continue working forthe country with a lot of zeal asthe nation looks towards theirexpertise in diversified fieldsand which can contribute in theshaping of an ‘AtmanirbharBharat’.

    One of the Joint Secretarieswho participated in the inter-action with Modi on December20, however, termed the inter-action as “routine”. “It was aroutine first interaction afterthe first batch completed ayear in various offices of theCentral Government,” hestressed.

    While Modi was inquisitiveabout the feeling, work cultureand acclimatisation of the pri-vate-professionals-turned-

    bureaucrats, one of the JS post-ed on his social media profilethat “the PM’s energy leveleven after a long day in officeis inspiring and infectious”.

    Those who interacted withModi on that day were AmberDubey, who left KPMG andjoined Civil Aviation Ministry,Sujit Bajpayee, who left NHPSto join the EnvironmentMinistry, Dinesh Jagdale, theerstwhile CEO of PanamaRenewable Energy Group whowas posted in the NewRenewable Energy Ministry,Kakoli Ghosh, who joined theagriculture ministry, SaurabhMishra in Financial Services,Rajeev Saksena in the eco-nomic affairs department,Suman Prasad Singh in theRoad Transport Ministry andBhuhan Kumar in the ShippingMinistry.

    Launched with much fan-fare by the Narendra ModiGovernment in 2018, the lat-eral entry scheme for senior-level officers drawn from var-ious professions and expertise

    suffered a setback when ArunGoel resigned.

    Sources close to Goel saidafter having served for about ayear at a very powerful post hecalled it a day due to toomuch of “bureaucratic grind”in the system. Modi had him-self announced senior-levelbureaucratic posts in severaldepartments for people whoare “talented and motivated”and willing to contribute tonation building.

    Sources said the decisionof Goel to leave theGovernment sector could alsobe because of his insubordi-nation in the Ministry as hehad a background of headinga global company. “He hadcome to join the Governmentafter leaving a handsome pack-age earlier also,” sources said.The JS report to the secre-tary/additional secretary inthe Ministry or Departmentand are normally appointedfrom all-India services likethe IAS, IPS, IFS and otherallied services.

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    The Congress on Wednesdayappointed its senior leadersincluding Chief MinistersAshok Gehlot and BhupeshBaghel as observers to overseethe party’s election campaignmanagement for the upcomingAssembly polls in several Statesand a Union Territory.Assembly elections are due tobe held in the States of Assam,West Bengal, Kerala, TamilNadu and the UT ofPuducherry by the middle ofthis year.

    An official communica-tion from the party saidCongress president SoniaGandhi has appointed theleaders as senior observersfor overseeing the electioncampaign management andcoordination in states whereassembly elections are going tobe held in 2021. Their appoint-ment is with immediate effect.They will discharge theirduties in close coordinationwith AICC general secretariesand in-charges in the respec-tive states, the party said.

    Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot, former Goachief minister Luizinho Faleiroand Karnataka’s former deputychief minister G Parameswarahave been appointed as seniorobservers for the Keralaassembly polls.

    Chhattisgarh ChiefMinister Bhupesh Baghel, theparty’s general secretary

    Mukul Wasnik and seniorleader Shakeel Ahmad Khanhave been appointed as seniorovservers for the Assamassembly polls. For the elec-tions in Tamil Nadu andPuducherry, senior party lead-ers and former union minis-ters M Veerappa Moily and MM Pallam Raju, besides sittingcabinet minister inMaharashtra Nitin Raut havebeen appointed as seniorobservers.

    For the West Bengalassembly elections, seniorparty leader B K Hariprasadand Alamgir Alam, besidesPunjab minister Vijay InderSingla have been appointed asobservers. The party is keen toretain power in Puducherryand is seeking to wrest powerback in Assam, Kerala andTamil Nadu. The Congress isin the process of finalisingseat-sharing with its allies inthese states, the statementsaid.

    The Congress is also con-testing the West Bengal assem-bly polls in alliance with theleft parties and final seat-sharing arrangements arebeing worked out in the state,it said. The party’s electoralfortunes were on the declinelast year when it lost power inMadhya Pradesh after itsleader Jyotiraditya Scindia andhis supporting MLAs switchedover to the BJP. The Congressalso lost the assembly electionsin Delhi and Bihar last year.

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    Showcasing their “success” inthe Gram Panchayat pollsin Karnataka, the BJP onWednesday claimed that thepeople have rejected theOpposition’s politics of “liesand hypocrisy” in the ongoingfarmers’ agitation and assert-ed that voters had put theirfaith in Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s “develop-ment politics”.

    Addressing a press con-ference here, BJP spokesper-son and Rajya Sabha memberRajeev Chandrasekhar allegedthat opposition parties havebeen trying to instigate groupsof citizens as he referred tofarmers’ protest against threefarm laws and also the earlieragitation against the

    Citizenship (Amendment)Act.

    Noting that he is speakingin the context of a string ofelections in Karnataka, he saidthe BJP has been winningthem, be it assembly bypolls orMLC elections or the recentrural body polls.

    This “overwhelming”mandate in favour of the BJPagainst some opposition par-ties’ politics of “lies andhypocrisy” shows people’s trustin the leadership of Modi andChief Minister B SYediyurappa, he said.

    People have backed themeasures taken by the centralgovernment for the agriculturesector, he claimed.

    The BJP leader said theGovernment is sincere in itstalks with farmer unions to

    end their protests and saidcommitment to farmers is an“article of faith” for the party.

    Over 55.4 per cent grampanchayats in the state areBJP-supported and 53 per centmembers are BJP supporters,he claimed.

    This result has comeagainst the backdrop of oppo-sition parties’ “falsehoods” tomislead farmers, he said.

    Since the BJP came topower at the Centre, the partyhas won 14 of 17 Assemblybypolls and emerged victori-ous in all four MLC seat elec-tions, he said.

    Over a month, the BJP hascited results in a number ofelections across the country toassert that the farm laws enjoysupport from a vast majorityof farmers.

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    The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) onWednesday forecast densefoggy weather and poor visi-bility from January 7 to 10 innorthwest India. The mini-mum temperatures are likely tofall by 4 to 6 degree Celsius innorthwest India during thenext 4-5 days. The western dis-turbance that was affectingnorthwest India has currentlymoved eastward, for whichthe effect will be mostly overwestern Uttar Pradesh.

    “Due to abundant mois-ture available in lower tropos-pheric levels and otherfavourable meteorological fea-

    tures, dense to very dense fogis very likely in some to manypockets over plains ofNorthwest India in the morn-ing hours of 07th to 10thJanuary,” the IMD said. “Theminimum temperatures arelikely to fall by 4-6 degreeCelsius over plains ofNorthwest India during thenext 4-5 days. Cold wave con-ditions are likely over theplains of Northwest India dur-ing 11th-13th January,” it said.

    Under the influence ofwestern disturbance fromJanuary 2 till January 6 (today),significant rainfall occurredin plains of northwest India,due to which, there is a signif-icant amount of moisture

    across the region. The ongoingspell of rainfall over southernparts of India is expected tocontinue at least until Saturday.Therefore, the states of TamilNadu, Kerala, and Karnatakaare expected to keep receivingscattered to fairly widespreadshowers and thunderstorms.

    According to IMD, atrough in low-level easterliesruns from the east-centralArabian Sea off Karnatakacoast to south MadhyaMaharashtra. This active east-erly wave spell is set to causescattered to fairly widespreadrains, thunderstorms, andlightning over southern penin-sular India during the next 4-5 days.

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    The Central paramilitaryjawans will now use Khadidurries procured from KVIC aspart of the vocal for local cam-paign. The Indo-TibetanBorder Police (ITBP) has signeda memorandum of under-standing (MoU) with the Khadi& Village IndustriesCommission (KVIC) for sup-plying 1,71,520 numbers ofKhadi Durries for CentralArmed Police Forces (CAPFs).

    The cotton khadi durriesfor CAPF jawans will be pro-cured in a purchase order worthRs 8. 73 crore. The ITBP hasbecome the first paramilitaryforce among the Central ArmedPolice Forces (CAPFs) to havesupplies from the KVIC.

    The MoU was inked byVinay Kumar Saxena,Chairman, KVIC and AnandSwaroop, Inspector General ofITBP. Vivek Bharadwaj,Additional Secretary, PoliceModernisation, Union Home Ministry also attendedthe event.

    The ITBP had signed anagreement with the KVIC inJuly last year for procurementof 1,200 quintal of mustard oilwith a total financial implica-tion of �1.73 crore. It wasdecided during a meeting held

    at the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) of the DirectorsGeneral of the CAPFs inOctober, 2019 that use ofTerry Khadi uniform andother items of swadeshi originshould be made available tothe CAPFs. The governmentwas celebrating the 150th birthanniversary of MahatmaGandhi in 2019.

    During the visit of HomeMinister Amit Shah inDecember, 2019 to the ITBPForce headquarters here, anexhibition stall was preparedto exhibit the KVIC products.

    “The ITBP had suggestedthat durries, blankets, towels,mustard oil, yoga kit, hospitalbed sheets, pickles and similaritems can be purchased forjawans of the Force throughKVIC,” ITBP SpokespersonVivek Pandey said in a statement.

    “The process of procuringkhadi bed sheets and pillowcovers from KVIC for allCAPF hospitals is also underway and it is expectedthat it will be procured in this financial year itself. Manysuch items will be procuredfrom the KVIC for promoting the local productsin the CAPFs,” it added.

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    Union Home MInistry onWednesday asked TamilNadu Government not to allowopening of cinema theatreswith full capacity and asked tokeep only 50% of the seatingcapacity. In a direction Ministryof Home Affairs (MHA) direct-ed the state to reverse their ear-lier order and “immediatelyissue necessary order” to bringtheir guidelines in line with theMHA guidelines. “Governmentof Tamil Nadu order of per-mitting increase the seatingcapacity of Cinema/theaters/multiplexes from existing 50%to 100% is dilution of MHAorder. States and UT shall notdilute guidelines issued underDM act in any manner,” MHAsaid in a statement.

    “Govt of Tamil Nadu isrequested to immediately issuenecessary order to bring theirGuidelines in line with theMHA guidelines dated 28December 2020 and informcompliance to this Ministry,”the ministry further said. HomeSecretary wrote to Tamil NaduChief secretary to issue ordersaligned to MHA guidelines,allowing multiplexes to operateoutside containment zones withup to 50% occupancy.

    On Monday, Tamil NaduGovernment had permitted toincrease the seating capacity ofcinemas, theatres, multiplexesfrom existing 50% to 100% fol-lowing COVID19 protocols.The order comes days afteractors and theatre ownersrequested Chief MinisterEdappadi K. Palaniswami toallow theatres to function attheir full capacity. As per theCOVID-19 safety protocol,since last October, the theatresin the state were allowed to fillup only 50 per cent of their seatsto ensure social distancing.

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    The Supreme Court hasexpressed its exasperationat the inability of the virtualcourt system to work satis-factorily in the apex court,saying it is becoming very dif-ficult to continue with theproceedings in an appropriatemanner.

    The court also noted thatthere were no such problemsbeing faced in the virtualcourt system in the DelhiHigh Court next door.

    The apex court is hearingmatters through video-con-ferencing since March lastyear amid the COVID-19pandemic.

    “We at the inception mustnote our exasperation at theinability of the virtual courtsystem to work satisfactorilyin the Supreme Court whilethere is no such problems inthe Delhi High Court nextdoor!,” a bench headed byJustice Sanjay Kishan Kaulsaid in its January 5 order.

    “We have been since yes-terday trying to cope with theproblem of disconnections,resonance of voices, evenwhen there is single personarguing. It is difficult tounderstand this despite morelicences stated to have been

    taken. The only voice we hearis the resonance of our ownvoices!,” said the bench, alsocomprising justices DineshMaheshwari and HrishikeshRoy.

    The bench directed thesecretary general of the apexcourt to look into the issue.

    “We thus direct the secre-tary general to look into thisissue as it is becoming verydifficult to continue with pro-ceedings in the virtual courtsin an appropriate manner,” thebench said.

    The top court made theseobservations while hearing aplea against the Decemberlast year order passed by theChhattisgarh High Court.

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    Aday after Congress MPShashi Tharoor sought acancellation of the RepublicDay parade in the light of theCoronavirus pandemic andBritish Prime Minister’s deci-sion not to visit India, BJP’snational spokesperson SambitPatra on Wednesday slammedhim for making the demand.

    In a sharp riposte to theCongress leader, Patra asked asto why Rahul Gandhi’s foreigntrips are not cancelled insteadand also lambasted him forreferring to Republic Day as amere ‘festivity’ in his tweet.

    “Mr Tharoor, Republic DayParade is not just any“Festivity” that it ought to becancelled! Further Rahulcouldn’t cancel his festivities &continues to travel to “farther”

    destinations often but theCongress wants Republic Dayto be cancelled?”, tweeted theBJP leader.

    Issuing a statement on call-ing off the visit, the UK gov-ernment had said , “The PrimeMinister spoke to PrimeMinister Modi this morning, toexpress his regret that he will

    be unable to visit India later thismonth as planned.In light ofthe national lockdownannounced last night, and thespeed at which the new coro-navirus variant is spreading, thePrime Minister said that it wasimportant for him to remain inthe UK so he can focus on thedomestic response to the virus.”

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    Polls to 12 legislative coun-cil seats in Uttar Pradeshgetting vacant later this monthand bypolls to two legislativecouncil seats in Bihar and onein Andhra Pradesh will beheld on January 28. Accordingto the Election Commission, allthe elections and by-electionswould be held on January 28and counting of votes will beheld one hour after the com-pletion of polls as per estab-lished practice.

    Polls to 12 seats in the UPlegislative council are gettingvacant on January 30 as theterm of the members is com-ing to an end. One of the 12members is NasimuddinSiddiqui, who already standsdisqualified. The 12 members

    would be elected by membersof the legislative assembly(MLAs) in the biennial elec-tions.

    The MLCs who are retiringinclude Swatantra Dev Singh,Dinesh Sharma and LaxmanAcharya (BJP), NaseemuddinSiddiqui (disqualified),Dharmavir Ashok and PradipJatav (BSP), and Ahmed Hasan,Ashu Malik, Ramesh Yadav,Ram Jatan Rajbhar, VirendraSingh and Sahib Singh Saini(SP).

    Bypolls to two Bihar leg-islative council seats werenecessitated following the elec-tion of BJP leader Sushil Modito Rajya Sabha recently andelection of Vinod Narain Jha tothe State legislative Assembly inthe recently-held Bihar elec-tions.

    In Andhra Pradesh, thelegislative council bypoll wasnecessitated following the res-ignation of Pothula Sunitha inNovember last year.

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    Apetition has been filed in theSupreme Court seeking reg-ulation of Twitter and othersocial media platforms throughguidelines making them culpa-ble under criminal and civil lawsuntil a specific law is passed byParliament.

    The petition, likely to comeup for hearing in the comingdays, claimed that due to the lackof government control and inter-vention Twitter acts as it deemsfit.

    Advocate Mahek

    Maheshwari, who filed the pleain personal capacity, has soughta direction to the Centre to for-mulate a framework or guide-lines to appeal against any kindof grievances against Twitter andall such social media platformswithin designated time frame tilla proper law comes into force.

    The plea has also soughtdirections to frame guidelines toentrust responsibility on theofficers of ministries of elec-tronics and IT and Information& Broadcasting to deal withgrievance/complaint againstsocial media platforms.

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    Prime Minister NarendraModi held a video-tele-conference with GermanChancellor Angela Merkel onWednesday and briefed her onCOVID-19 vaccine develop-ment in India, while alsoassuring her of the country’scommitment to deploy itscapacities for the benefit of theworld.

    A Prime Minister’s Officestatement said Modi appreci-ated the long-standing role ofChancellor Merkel in provid-ing stable and strong leader-

    ship at the European and glob-al stage, and thanked her forguiding the growth of theIndia-Germany StrategicPartnership.

    The two leaders discussedkey issues of mutual impor-tance including the responseto the COVID-19 pandemic,bilateral ties, regional andglobal issues, particularlyIndia-EU relations.

    The prime ministerbriefed Chancellor Merkel onthe developments in Indiawith regard to vaccine devel-opment and assured the chan-cellor of India’s commitment

    to deploy its capacities for thebenefit of the world, the state-ment said.

    “He conveyed his bestwishes for early containmentof the new wave of infectionsin Germany and otherEuropean countries,” it said.

    Prime Minister Modi alsowelcomed Germany’s decisionto join the International SolarAlliance (ISA), and expressedhis desire to further strength-en cooperation with Germanyunder the platform ofCoalition for Disaster ResilientInfrastructure (CDRI).

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    AMuslim body moved theSupreme CourtWednesday seeking it bemade a party in the batch ofpleas challenging the consti-tutional validity of contro-versial new laws of UttarPradesh and Uttarakhand reg-ulating religious conversionsin inter-faith marriages.

    The top court earlier inthe day, issued notice to thetwo states, while agreeing to

    examine the validity of theirlaws.

    Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind inits application said that sim-ilar legislations are also beingenacted or planned by variousother states which also needto be declared unconstitu-tional.

    It has said that the ordi-nance passed by the UttarPradesh government waspromulgated in the backdropof statements issued by theChief

    Minister claiming that his

    government was working tobring a strict law to curb inci-dents of “love jihad”.

    “That as is evident by thestatements made by the ChiefMinister of Uttar Pradesh,the impugned ordinance waspromulgated to curb inci-dents of “love jihad” which isa terminolog y used todescribe inter-religious mar-riages, which they allegeinvolves the conversion

    of the woman - either byforce or guile - to marry aMuslim man”, it said.

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    Muzaffarnagar (UP): A 26-year-oldlabourer was allegedly stabbed todeath by a mason in Uttar Pradesh'sMuzaffarnagar district on Wednesdayafter he asked him to clear his duesof Rs 2,500, police said.

    The labourer was identified asSalman and the incident took placeat Mandwarin Budhana police stationarea, they said. Circle Officer (CO)Girija Shankar Tripathi said themason, Shoeb Rana, allegedlyattacked Salman with a knife when anargument broke out between themover the dues the labourer had askedhim to pay. Salman died on the wayto hospital, the CO said.

    The body has been sent for post-mortem and the matter is beingprobed. Efforts are under way to nabRana, who has gone abscondingafter the incident, the official said.

    Tripathi said security has beentightened in the village in view of theincident. PTI

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    Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh reported289 Fresh cases of COVID-19, 428recoveries and three deaths in the 24hours ending 9 am on Wednesday.

    The overall infection positivityrate slid to 7.30 per cent after 1.21 croresample tests for the virus so far turnedout a total of 8,83,876 confirmed cases,the latest bulletin said. The total recov-eries climbed to 8,73,855 and deaths to7,125, leaving 2,896 active cases in thestate, it said.

    Guntur reported 42, Chittoor andVisakhapatnam 40 each, East Godavari39, West Godavari 33 and Krishna 27new cases in 24 hours, the bulletinadded. The remaining seven districtsadded less than 20 cases each.

    All districts now have less than 500active cases each, with Krishna the top-per seeing 59 recoveries in a day anddropping its caseload to 470.

    Krishna, incidentally, crossed 48,000total positive cases on Wednesday. PTI

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    Thiruvananthapuram: A total of 10,000state Government offices and public sec-tor undertakings in Kerala will bedeclared “green” on January 26, theRepublic Day. Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan would make the officialannouncement in this regard at a virtu-al function, which would be chaired byLSGD minister A C Moideen on the day.

    After the declaration, functionswould be held in various offices across thestate in which the certificate for the com-pliance of the green protocol would be

    submitted to its heads by the chairpersonsof the local self-government institutionsor jointly by the ward member/council-lor and a member of the green actionforce, an official statement said here.

    Those offices, which avoid using plas-tic and disposable items in day-to-dayactivities and encourage the use of arti-cles that can be reused and recycled,would get the green tag. The institu-tions are going green by meeting criteriaof the Green Protocol Verification Index,it said. PTI

    Gadchiroli: A 25-year-old manhas been Killed by Naxals onsuspicion of being a policeinformer in Gadchiroli dis-trict of Maharashtra, an officialsaid on Wednesday.

    Some ultras forcibly tookaway the victim, Vinod Madavi,to a forested area on Tuesdaynight from his house in Kothi(Tola) village in Bhamragadtehsil of the district.

    The body of Madavi bear-ing injuries inflicted with sharpweapons and his headsmashed, was found near thevillage on Wednesday morning,he said. PTI

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    After remaining grounded forfour days during a fresh spellof snowfall between January 3-6,Srinagar Airport authorities onWednesday announced the flightoperations would begin fromJanuary 7 to clear the rush ofstranded passengers.

    The information was sharedby the Srinagar AirportAuthorities along with images ofongoing snow clearing opera-tions.

    Large number of tourists werestranded in different parts ofKashmir valley after a fresh spellof snowfall grounded all theincoming and outgoing flightssince January 3. As the weatherconditions improved partially onWednesday the snow clearing

    operations were launched on warfooting to clear the runway forflight operations. The Twitterhandle of Srinagar Airport post-ed a tweet which stated, “TheAirport Authority of India exec-utives at Srinagar Airport havebeen working very hard in coor-dination with Beacon staff andcontinuously monitoring the areato avoid snow accumulation inapron area keeping in view thatstranded passengers may reach totheir destination “

    Ironically, travelers hoping tovisit the cold desert region ofLadakh may have to wait a littlelonger.

    The snow clearing operationsin the newly created UnionTerritory of Ladakh were beingdone manually at an altitude of9800 ft above sea level.

    This interesting piece of infor-mation was shared by the AirportDirector, Leh Airport himself.

    In a series of tweets, the

    Airport Director said,”At 9,800 ftabove sea level, Leh Airport wokeup to a snow covered valley. Withtemperatures as low as -12°C, the

    snow removal process from theapron of KBR Airport is donemanually in extreme tempera-tures”. Posting a picture of anongoing inspection visit, theAirport Director in his secondtweet said, “AAI Leh officers in theprocess of inspecting snowremoval from Leh Airport apronso that flights can be operated.Snow removal at Leh Airport isdone manually presently. Talks forprocurement of snow removalmachines at headquarter level”.

    According to the MeTdepartment the temperature inLeh hovered around -10 degreescelsius on Wednesday. “Day'smaximum temperature wouldhover at -7°c, while minimumtemperature is predicted to be -14°c”, the MeT department reportsaid.

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  • Pakistan’s overall criminaljustice system on terrorismis a creaking sham, not justowing to the complicity ofthe politico-military-clergy triad butalso due to the compromised natureof the two essentials of any crimi-nal justice system, i.e. prosecutionand the judiciary. Despite variousAnti-Terrorism Acts (ATAs), Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs) and evenmore grandiloquent NationalAction Plan (NAP) — the convic-tion rates in terror cases in Pakistanremain abysmally low, if at all theconvictions take place. The judicia-ry has historically been an integralpart of the Pakistani establish-ment’s machinations as exemplifiedin the mid-50s when Chief JusticeMuhammad Munir had propound-ed the “doctrine of necessity” tolegalise General Ayub Khan’s extra-legal takeover of the country by sug-gesting that “which is otherwise notlawful is made lawful by necessity”.But the fickle nature of intrigues andinter-institutional one-upmanshipcan result in the judiciary taking onthe politicians and Generals also —not necessarily to uphold the law butpursuant to their own institution-al turf wars. A special court tryingthe former Pakistan Army chief andPresident, Pervez Musharraf, hadstunningly announced for him thedeath penalty by majority votes(which was later overturned); and,more recently, the Pakistani ChiefJustice had rejected a petitioner’slast-minute withdrawal plea thathad initially challenged the exten-sion of the Pakistan Army chief ’stenure. It was followed by a tensethree-day drama which kept thepoliticos and the Generals on thetenterhooks. The wheels-within-wheels of manipulation and vestedinterests by all the competing armsof governance have ensured the per-petuation of the rot that facilitates“terror nurseries”.

    Pakistan is precariously poisedto potentially get “blacklisted” forsupporting and financing terror andis under constant review by thewatchdog agency, the FinancialAction Task Force (FATF). But a fewweeks ago, the Sindh High Courthad set aside the provincialGovernment’s detention orders per-taining to the four terrorists held forthe abduction and gruesome mur-der of US journalist Daniel Pearl.The horrifying case of the journal-ist’s decapitation had shocked theconscience of the internationalcommunity but the provincial courtdeclared it “null and void” and notwarranting “any sort of detention”.The acting Attorney-General of theUS, Jeffrey Rosen, indignantly

    remarked that the “separate judi-cial rulings reversing convictionand ordering release are anaffront to terrorism victimseverywhere”, and the family of thejournalist called it a “travesty ofjustice”. For its part, India is wellversed with the Pakistani judicialsystem as a similar fate wasbestowed upon the likes of HafizSaeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhviand the other masterminds of theMumbai 26/11 carnage who areoften “detained”, “kept underhouse arrest” and even “sen-tenced” to appease the interna-tional community and keep theFATF proceedings from reachingharsh and punitive action, but areable to indulge in their nefariousactivities nonetheless.

    Intelligence sources hadnamed the terror and Sunni-supremacist organisation,Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, as being oneof the key participants in theDaniel Pearl murder case. Thedilly-dallying, obsequiousnessand the long rope afforded by thecourts to such organisationsensure that they continue tothrive irrespective of their crimes.The complicated history of thePakistani military and its intelli-gence agency, the Inter-ServicesIntelligence (ISI), in nurturingand supporting such outfits fromtime to time has always ensuredthat there are crucial “contacts”and “sympathisers” within themilitary and the additional pusil-lanimity by other levers like thejudiciary, completely enfeeblingthe anti-terror commitmentsthat exist only in name.Unsurprisingly, last week, the

    same Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and ISIL(ISIS) cadres were said to havekilled 11 Hazara Shia coal min-ers after abducting them, tying uptheir hands and shooting them incold blood — another statisticwas added to Pakistan’s bloodysocietal violence that isunmatched in its brutality, andapparent acquiescence andleniency from the Government’sside, at the same time.

    To add insult to injury in thelamentable circus that besetsPakistan, Minister for HumanRights Shireen Mazari inconceiv-ably said: “India-funded terror-ists in Balochistan are gettingmore desperate as developmentcomes to the province!” The real-ity of the supposed “develop-ment” in the region barely masksthe fact that the persecuted ShiaHazara community, from whichthese miners had come, is hud-dled in two heavily guardedghettos in Quetta and surround-ed by high walls and barbed wire,after hundreds of them werekilled in sectarian violence overthe past couple of decades. Forthe religious minorities and the“deemed minorities” like Shias,Ahmediyas and several others,justice is a far cry.

    Even if the odd individualwishes to stand up for justice andfor upholding the constitutionalprovisions, the societal regressionthat envelops the Pakistani judi-cial system is all-pervasive andpowerful, as was seen when theproud murderer Mumtaz Qadri(who had killed Punjab GovernorSalman Taseer in broad daylight)was showered with rose petals bythe resident lawyers when heattended court. The judge whofinally gave Qadri the death sen-tence had to face an impromptustrike by the District BarAssociation, had his office van-dalised and was forced into exileout of the country, fearing for hislife. Further, the witness protec-tion programmes in Pakistan arecompletely ineffective as “influ-ential” bodies routinely and

    brazenly ensure intimidationand retractions, and people aresimply too scared to testify.

    The patent sophistry ofascribing the booming terrornetwork in Pakistan onto the so-called “non-State actors” is abogey that has lost all credibili-ty. No such apparatus or ecosys-tem can survive for so long withsuch impunity despite so manyActs, laws and military exercis-es aimed at “uprooting terror” —unless the elements of the law-makers (politicos), law enforcers(police/paramilitary), military,religio-social leaders and thejudiciary themselves are hand inglove with the perpetrators.Indeed, many a time these terrorelements also turn onto their one-time benefactors to settle scoresand, therefore, the disentangle-ment of the murky terror wiringsis not very obvious, linear or sim-ple, given the multiplicity of theindividual and institutional cross-support afforded to them fromtime to time. Therefore, PakistanPrime Minister Imran Khan’sunconvincing posturing as the“victim of terror” is akin to cry-ing wolf as the Frankensteinianreality convinces nobody. Thequartet of Pakistan’s military-politicians-clergy-judiciary cannever come clean or abort theirinter-linkages with such ele-ments. But they will do well toremember that the slippery slopeof terror spares absolutely no one.

    (The writer, a military veteran, is a former Lt Governorof Andaman & Nicobar Islandsand Puducherry. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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    All of us are aware from the days of our child-hood that the highest mountain peak in theworld is Mount Everest and it was namedafter George Everest. It was only much later thatone came to know that Sir George Everest was theSurveyor-General of India and the peak was sonamed as he had “discovered” it to be the highestin the world. As the Surveyor-General he had hisoffices at Dehradun and used to stay in Mussoorie.He left India in 1843, almost 200 years ago, but hishouse in Mussoorie is still being preserved and isnow a place of tourist interest.

    The truth, however, is somewhat different. Itis indeed a fact that Sir George Everest was theSurveyor-General of India from 1830 to 1843, butit is also a fact that during his tenure, MountEverest, as we know it today, was known only aspeak XV. Everest had neither initiated the processof measuring the height of this peak, nor was heinstrumental in its naming, which was done muchlater, long after he had proceeded to England, toenjoy his retirement after 1843.

    Located on the border of Nepal and Tibet,peak XV was worshipped as a holy place byTibetans, who called it Chomolungma, the moth-er goddess of the world. In Nepal this peak isknown as Sagarmatha, meaning the peak of theheavens. Even these days this peak is addressed byits traditional names both in Tibet and Nepal, whilewe have followed what was given to us by the Britishi.e. Mount Everest. In fact the name Everest wasgiven by Colonel Sir Andrew Waugh of BengalEngineers, who succeeded Everest as the Surveyor-General of India from 1844 to 1861. The circum-stances under which peak XV was named as MountEverest are rather peculiar and reveal a very biasedhandling of the matter so that the entire credit wentto the British officers of the East India Company.

    Going through the historical records of theSurvey of India Volume IV, 1830 to 1843, pertain-ing to the tenure of Everest, one can at a glanceobserve that he had shown no interest in peak XVduring this time in office. It was his successorAndrew Waugh, who made the official announce-ment of peak XV being the highest-known peakof the world in 1856. The measurements had ofcourse been initiated much earlier and finalised byour own Radhanath Sikdar.

    Recognising the work of the brilliant mathe-matician Radhanath Sikdar, the Government ofIndia issued a postage stamp in his honour in 2004.However, his work is of such great importance thatissuing a postage stamp and then forgetting abouthim does not do justice to him or his contribution.Ironically, it was Everest, who recruited Sikdar inthe Great Trigonometrical Survey and becameextremely fond of him. Volume IV of the HistoricalRecords of the Survey of India, pertaining to histenure, has the following mention about Sikdar.

    “Radhanath is high in favour with everybody,and universally beloved in the GT Survey. You willnot know him for the same person when you seehim again, for he is no longer a puny stripling, buta hardy, energetic young man, ready to undergoany fatigue and acquire a practical knowledge ofall parts of his profession...

    “There are few of my instruments which hecannot manage; and none of my computations ofwhich he is not thoroughly master… Eventuallyhe will furnish a convincing proof that the apti-tude of your countrymen for the practical, as wellas the theoretical, parts of mathematics is in no wise

    inferior to that of Europeans.”“Of the qualifications of the young

    man himself I cannot speak too highly.In his mathematical attainments there arefew in India, whether European orNative, who can at all compete with him,and…even in Europe those attainmentswould rank very high.”

    Later, on account of a special tech-nique developed by Sikdar for accuratecomputation of heights and distancesthrough spherical trigonometry, he vir-tually became indispensable to theorganisation and rose to become theChief Computer in the office of theSurveyor-General of India. In that posi-tion he moved from Dehradun toKolkata in 1849. As to why AndrewWaugh gave the name Everest, eventhough he had left the scene long ago, isan interesting piece of history.

    Had Sidney Gerald Burrard, a laterSurveyor-General of India, not acknowl-edged the good work of Sikdar througha research paper published in 1904 in thescientific journal Nature, these factswould not have come to light. He pub-lished in detail various steps taken for themeasurement of peak XV.

    This, in a way, also exposed themachinations of Waugh, who had triedhis level best to take credit away fromSikdar. It is human nature that, in casesomething important is achieved, onetries to take or give credit to someone butin this case Waugh specifically men-tioned that Sikdar had nothing to do withthis work, indicating his bias.

    Later, he could be seen placatingSikdar by telling him that he should behappy that the peak had been namedafter his mentor. Waugh also gave theadditional charge of the IndianMeteorological Department to Sikdar,raising his salary to �600 per month,

    which was unheard for an Indian in thosedays. Clearly all these efforts were to keephim happy but away from the core of thesurvey work.

    Burrard’s publication in Naturespecifically mentions that the ChiefComputer (who was Sikdar) fromKolkata (then Calcutta) had informedWaugh in 1852 that the peak designat-ed XV had been found to be higher thanany other highest measured peak in theworld at that time.

    The raw data from theodolites takenfrom seven observation stations at Jirol,Mirzapur, Janjpati, Ladiva, Haripur,Minai and Doom Dongi was collected atthe trigonometrical survey at Kolkata.This was processed by Sikdar who thenconveyed to Waugh that peak XV hadbeen measured at 29,002 feet taking themean value of all the observations.Considering that the scientific instr


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