RNI NO.

: DELENG/2005/15351
MILLENNIUMPOST.IN REGD. NO.: DL(S)-01/3420/2018-20

PUBLISHED FROM DELHI | KOLKATA VOL.17, ISSUE 62 | Thursday, 3 March, 2022 | New Delhi | Pages 12 | Rs 3.00
No Half Truths

City: Pg 2 Nation: Pg 6 Film: Pg 12

Ggm triple murder: No leads Media One TV set to move SC as Playing both Bruce Wayne and the
yet, Rs 1L reward announced Kerala HC upholds telecast ban Batman was easy for Robert Pattinson

PM Modi chairs
INDIA ASKS ITS CITIZENS TO LEAVE UKRAINE CITY OF KHARKIV IMMEDIATELY

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Indian student high-level meeting

dies, 22-yr-old from Punjab suffered stroke
MPOST BUREAU
CHANDIGARH/ NEW
DELHI: A 22-year-old student
from Punjab’s Barnala district
who had suffered an Ischemia
stroke and was undergoing
treatment for about a month
died on Wednesday in the war-
hit Ukraine.
Chandan Jindal was admit-
ted at the Emergency Hospital
Vinnytsia in Ukraine, official
sources here said. His fam-
ily has requested the govern-
ment to bring back his mortal
remains.
Jindal was studying at
Vinnytsia National Pirogov
Memorial Medical University,
Vinnytsia.
Jindal’s uncle Krishan
Gopal told reporters in Barnala
that they had received informa-
tion about his poor health on
February 3 and the authorities
in Ukraine had sought the fam-
ily’s approval for performing an
operation.
Gopal said he and Chan-
dan’s father Shishan Kumar
went to Ukraine on February
Chandan Jindal
Ukrainian soldiers cross a destroyed bridge, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday 
7. Krishan later returned while
Shishan remained in Ukraine
with his son.
Barnala Deputy Com-
missioner of Police wrote to
the state’s Principal Secretary,
Home, for providing assistance
to the distressed family.
According to the let-
ter, Chandan “fell ill and was
AP/PTI
admitted in Emergency Hos-
pital Vinnytsia (Kyivska street
68) ICU suffering from Isch-
emia stroke in brain (reduced
blood supply to brain). The
Highlights
»»Chandan Jindal was
admitted at the Emer-
gency Hospital Vinnytsia
in Ukraine, official sources
here said. His family has
requested the government
to bring back his mortal
remains
»»As fighting intensified in
Kharkiv, India on Wednes-
day asked its nationals to
leave the second-largest
Ukrainian city urgently
to three nearby places
“even on foot”, while
Russia promised to create
“humanitarian corridors”
for evacuation of Indians
from the conflict zones
youngster breathed his last
today.”
Chandan’s father has sought
the government’s help in bring-
ing his son’s body to India
through an air ambulance from
on Ukraine crisis
Zelenskyy says
Russia trying to
‘erase history’
KYIV: Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has
expressed concern that Rus-
sian attacks could threaten
holy religious sites and said
Russian troops are trying to
“erase our history.”
In a speech posted on PIC/NAVEEN SHARMA
Facebook, Zelenskyy on
Wednesday denounced Says India will not spare any
a Russian strike that hit
Holocaust memorial site effort to bring home its citizens
Babi Yar in Kyiv.
He said: “This is MPOST BUREAU
beyond humanity. Such
missile strike means that NEW DELHI: Prime Min-
PM Modi dials
for many Russians our Kyiv
is absolute foreign.
ister Narendra Modi chaired Vladimir Putin
another high-level meeting
 Continued on P4 on Wednesday on the crisis NEW DELHI: Prime
that had arisen due to Rus- Minister Narendra Modi
the Siret border, Romania. sia’s invasion of Ukraine, as spoke on the phone with
On Monday, an Indian India stepped up its efforts to Russian President Vladi-
student was killed in Russian evacuate its citizens, mostly mir Putin on Wednesday.
shelling in Ukraine’s second- students, from the country This is the second phone
largest city of Kharkiv. under attack. call between the two lead-
 Continued on P4 External Affairs min- ers within a week.
ister S Jaishankar and his “The leaders reviewed

Students from India, including Pune: 4 die of Cabinet colleague Piyush

Goyal besides senior offi-
the situation in Ukraine,
especially in the city of

suffocation
cials attended the meeting. Kharkiv where many
Spell out clear strategy on
K’taka, march in groups in Kharkiv Modi has held a series
of meetings since Sunday to
Indian students are stuck.
They discussed the safe
while cleaning
evacuating Indians from Ukraine spearhead India’s efforts to evacuation of the Indian
Rahul Gandhi safely bring back its nation- nationals from the con-

septic tank
MPOST BUREAU three students from Chalageri als, asserting that this is his flict areas,” a PMO state-

In today’s HAVERI (KARNATAKA):

in Ranebennur taluk of Haveri
district studying MBBS in
government’s top priority.
Earlier in the day, the
ment said.

paper Students and workers from

India, along with a large num-
Kharkiv Medical College.
Amit’s cousin Suman (24),
PUNE: Four persons died of suffoca-
Indian embassy in Ukraine
asked all Indian nationals
ans stranded there.
Addressing election

...
ber of people from other
countries, were marching on
City Wednesday in Kharkiv in war-
325 NEW CASES, 1 DEATH2 ravaged Ukraine towards the
nearest railway station, risk-
Nation ing their lives and holding the
BJP, SP ALLIES ON TEST  5 Indian national flag, the father
edit of one student said.
PEOPLE-CENTRIC SOLUTION 7 “About 1,000 people, includ-
ing 700 Indians, are marching
international towards the railway station
UK PILES SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA, BELARUS8 holding the Indian flag. They
business are going to the railway sta-
GOVT MAY DEFER LIC IPO 10 tion, which is seven kilometres
sport from their bunker, by walk as
ISL: KERALA INCH CLOSER TO SEMI-FINALS11 no vehicles are available,” Ven-
katesh Vaishyar said.
Relatives and friends gather near
a garlanded photo of Naveen
Shekharappa to mourn his demise,
outside his residence at Chalageri
village, in Haveri, on Wednesday PTI
Venkatesh’s son Amit V
Vaishyar (23) is a fifth-year
medical student in Kharkiv
Medical College. He is among
son of Sridhar Murthy Vaishyar,
is also a student there and both
of them are trying to return
from the strife-torn country.
On Tuesday, their junior
22-year-old Naveen Shekarappa
Gyanagouda was killed in shell-
ing when he moved out of the
bunker to fetch some food,
water and exchange currency.
“Students have no option
but to take the risk as they don’t
have food and water. They are
relying on God now and walk-
ing towards the railway station,”
Venkatesh said.
 Continued on P4
tion while cleaning a septic tank in Loni
Kalbhor area located on the outskirts of
Pune city on Wednesday, police said.
The incident took place at a resi-
dential building in Kadam Wak Wasti
area of Loni Kalbhor around 11.30 am,
a police official said.
“Four persons, who were roped in
for cleaning the septic tank, died due
to suffocation. When the first victim
was taken out of the tank, he was found
unconscious. He was rushed to a nearby
hospital, where doctors declared him
brought dead,” he said.
Three others were also brought out
of the tank immediately after that, but
they had already died, he said.  AGENCIES
to leave Kharkiv immedi-
ately to safe zones or further
westwards.
The External Affairs
ministry has assured that
every Indian citizen will be
brought back from Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, the
Prime Minister said India
has been able to evacuate
its citizens from war-hit
Ukraine because of its ris-
ing power and assured the
country that his government
will leave no stone unturned
for the safe return of all Indi-
rallies in Uttar Pradesh’s
Sonbhadra and Ghazipur
districts, Modi spoke of the
government’s rescue efforts
in the wake of the Russian
military offensive against
Ukraine and also underlined
the need for India to become
self-reliant.
“The dynasts question
our vaccine, they question
our armed forces and make
fun of ‘Make in India’. Such
people have shamed the
country and its people.
 Continued on P4

TMC decimates Oppn, bags
102 out of 108 civic bodies
OUR CORRESPONDENT
KOLKATA: With heavyweight
Opposition leaders failing to
make any impact against the
all-round development car-
ried out by the ruling party,
Trinamool Congress (TMC)
recorded a landslide victory
in the municipal polls in Ben-
gal. Results of 2,171 seats,
spreading over 107 munici-
palities, were announced on
Tuesday. Of these seats, TMC
got 1,707 while the BJP, Left
Front and Congress got 63, 51
and 58 seats respectively. TMC
established its control over 102
municipalities while Left Front
and Hamro Party got control
over one civic body each.
In three municipalities, no
party got a majority as they
remained hung. These munici-
palities are Beldanga, Egra in
East Midnapore and Champ-
dani in Hooghly.
Elections in 108 munici-
palities were held on Febru-
ary 27. There are about 2,274
seats in 108 municipalities.
TMC was elected uncontested
in Dinhata Municipality and
four wards in Suri Municipal-
ity in Birbhum.
 Continued on P4
‘Russia to investigate death of Indian student in Kharkiv’
Envoy adds Russia is working on ‘humanitarian corridor’ for safe passage of Indians
MPOST BUREAU
NEW DELHI: Russia will
investigate the death of the
21-year-old Indian medical
student in the Ukrainian city
of Kharkiv, Russian Ambas-
sador-designate Denis Alipov
said on Wednesday.
Naveen Shekarappa Gyan-
agoudar, a fourth-year med-
ical student at the Kharkiv
National Medical University,
was killed in intense shelling
in Kharkiv on Tuesday.
Following the incident,
India asked the envoys of
both Russia and Ukraine to
ensure “urgent safe passage”
to Indian nationals who are
still in Kharkiv and other con-
flict zones.
“I want to express our
sympathy to the family of
Naveen Shekarappa Gyan-
agoudar and to the entire
Indian nation over the trag-
edy,” Alipov said at a media
briefing.
“Russia will do everything
it possibly can to ensure the
safety of Indian citizens in the
areas of intense conflict... and
a proper investigation of this
Ukrainian soldiers check people’s
identity cards as they flee their
neighbourhoods, on the outskirts
of Kyiv, on Wednesday AP/PTI
unfortunate incident,” he said.
Naveen hailed from Cha-
lageri in the Haveri district of
Karnataka.
On Tuesday night, For-
eign Secretary Harsh Vardhan
Shringla said Naveen’s body
has been identified and taken
to a morgue in the university
and that Indian authorities are
in touch with the local admin-
istration in Kharkiv to bring
back the mortal remains.
In his first briefing on
Wednesday in the wake of
the crisis, the Russian envoy
also said Russia is launching
a “humanitarian corridor”
through Russian territory so
that Indians have a secure
passage and can be evacuated
from the conflict zone.
Alipov said Russia is in
touch with India on the issue
of the safety of Indians and
that the safe passage will be
put into place “as soon as
possible”.
“We are working intensely
on creating the corridor and
secure safe passage for Indians
stuck in various conflict zones
in Ukraine,” he said.
 Continued on P4
6th phase of
UP polls today
to decide fate
of big-wigs
MPOST BUREAU
LUCKNOW: The sixth
round of Uttar Pradesh
Assembly polls will see vot-
ing for 57 seats on Thursday
sealing the fate of political
heavyweights such as Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath,
the Congress’ Ajay Kumar
Lallu and Samajwadi Party’s
Swami Prasad Maurya.
With voting for 292 out
of 403 Assembly seats over,

Massive groundwater contamination in 31

the polling has now moved
INDIA REPORTS 7,554 NEW INFECTIONS to the Purvanchal region of
the state where 111 seats are

Covid cases, deaths continue

up for grabs.

of 38 districts in Bihar: Economic Survey

Says drinking water sources in 3,791 rural wards in 11 districts are affected by fluoride contamination
OUR CORRESPONDENT
PATNA: There is massive chemi-
cal contamination in groundwater
in large parts of rural Bihar, where
drinking water sources are unsafe
for consumption and pose a health
risk to the population, the state Eco-
nomic Survey 2021-22 has revealed.
The 16th Bihar Economic Survey
Report 2021-22, recently tabled in
the assembly by Deputy Chief Min-
ister Tarkishore Prasad, stated that
groundwater in rural areas in 31 of
the 38 districts is affected by arsenic,
fluoride and iron contamination.
“The high concentration of arse-
nic, fluoride, and iron in groundwa-
ter in rural areas in 31 of 38 districts
is posing a major health hazard.
There is chemical contamination in
groundwater in 30,272 rural wards.
A total of 4,742 rural wards in 14
districts situated along the Ganga
are particularly affected by arsenic
contamination,” the report added.
It said that drinking water sources
ney and other water-borne diseases.
The The affected districts include
consumption of Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Bhoj-
pur, Buxar, Darbhanga, Katihar,
contaminated Khagaria, Lakhisarai, Munger,
water causes Samastipur, Saran, Sitamarhi,
Patna, Vaishali, Aurangabad, Banka,
skin, liver, Bhagalpur, Gaya, Jamui, Kaimur,
kidney and Munger, Nalanda, Rohtas, Sheikh-
other water- pura, Nawada and Araria.
The report referred to the inter-
borne diseases nal assessment and findings pertain-
ing to the water quality mapping of
in 3,791 rural wards in 11 districts Bihar by the Public Health Engi-
are affected by fluoride contamina- neering Department (PHED).
tion. There is presence of excess iron The department, which is
in nine Kosi basin districts, and a few responsible for ensuring safe drink-
areas in other districts. ing water to people in these affected
The consumption of contami- districts, has started drilling deep-
nated water causes skin, liver, kid- water bore wells. Continued on P4
to fall globally, says WHO
GENEVA/NEW DELHI: The
number of new Coronavirus cases
reported globally dropped by
16% last week, marking a month-
long decline in Covid infections,
according to figures from the World
Health Organisation.
In its weekly report on the
pandemic issued late on
Tuesday, the UN health
agency also said that deaths
fell by 10%, continuing a
drop in fatalities first seen
last week. WHO said there
were more than 10 million new
cases and about 60,000 deaths
globally.
Meanwhile, India logged 7,554
new infections, taking the total tally
of Covid cases to 4,29,38,599, while
the active cases dipped to 85,680,
according to the Union Health min-
istry data updated on Wednesday.
The death toll climbed to
5,14,246 with 223 fresh fatalities,
the data updated at 8 am stated. The
daily Covid cases have remained
less than one lakh for 24 consecu-
tive days.
The active cases comprise 0.20
per cent of the total infections,
while the national COVID-
19 recovery rate has further
improved to 98.60 per cent,
the ministry said.
On the other hand, the
Western Pacific was the only
region where COVID-19 increased,
with about a third more infections
than the previous week. Deaths rose
by 22% in the Western Pacific and
about 4% in the Middle East, while
declining everywhere else.
WHO said the Omicron variant
remains overwhelmingly dominant
worldwide Continued on P4
Of the remaining con-
stituencies, 57 seats, spread
across 10 districts, will go to
the polls on Thursday and 54
in the final phase on March
10.
The districts where poll-
ing is to be held on Thurs-
day are Ambedkarnagar,
Balrampur, Siddharthnagar,
Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar,
Maharajganj, Gorakhpur,
Kushinagar, Deoria and
Ballia.
These 57 Assembly seg-
ments, of which 11 are
reserved, are crucial for the
BJP. In the 2017 Assembly
polls, it had won 46 of these
seats.
Chief Electoral Officer of
Uttar Pradesh Ajay Kumar
Shukla said the campaign for
the sixth phase ended at 6
pm on Tuesday and all prep-
arations for voting have been
completed.
 Continued on P4
2 mp City millenniumpost
THURSDAY, 3 MARCH, 2022 | NEW DELHI

WIRES TO THE CAMERAS WERE CUT-OFF

Christian pastor ‘assaulted by mob’ in South
Ggm triple murder: Delhi’s Maidan Garhi, cops yet to register FIR
No leads yet, Rs 1L NARESH BISWANI further information. She said,
“Whenever there is a need to
plaint that some women
resisted and asked the men

reward for any info

PIYUSH OHRIE
GURUGRAM: Two days after
the horrific triple murder of
a CNG-pump’s staffers in the
heart of Gurugram, the police
is struggling to get a lead in the
case, scouring as many CCTV
cameras around the scene of
the crime as possible, officials
here said.
On the night of the mur-
ders, which took place approx-
imately around 2:30 am, the
assailants had systematically
cut-off wires to the CCTV cam-
eras installed at the Sector-31
NEW DELHI: A 35-year-
old Christian pastor, was last
week assaulted by a mob in the
national Capital, with the mob
suddenly claiming he was pur-
portedly involved in religious
conversion. The incident took
place in South Delhi’s Maidan
Garhi area and while the pastor
had submitted a police com-
plaint outlining the attack on
him on February 27, the police
are yet to register an FIR in the
matter.
When contacted, Deputy
Commissioner of Police of
South District Benita Mary
Jaiker confirmed that an FIR
had not yet been filed in the
case, refusing to provide any
The Gurugram Police said that they are ‘Probe still at nascent stage’: HC refuses Delhi riots: Another
to quash summons in GST fraud case
inform the media, it will be
communicated.”
Despite repeated queries,
the Delhi Police have refused
to explain why an FIR has not
been registered in the case
more than two days after the
complaint was filed. Officials,
however, said that the local
police in South District are
“investigating claims”.
The complainant was
assaulted on February 25 and
a complaint containing these
allegations was filed at the
Maidan Garhi police station
in South Delhi on February 27.
The pastor, 35-year-old
Kelom Kalyan Tet, said that in
the morning he had gone to
PIC/SCROLL.IN
the Bhati Mines area to meet
a friend. When he was leaving,
some residents forced him to
chant “Jai Sri Ram.”
The confrontation then
became violent and the mob
started beating the Christian
priest and took away his phone
and bag, which had the Bible,
the papers of his vehicle and
other important papers.
Locals were also tak-
ing photos and videos of the
entire incident, the complain-
ant claimed. However, he
also mentioned in the com-
to take him to a police station
instead of assaulting him on
the street.
The Pastor, in his com-
plaint, also alleged that he
was kicked, punched and
slapped. In a video of the inci-
dent, which went viral, while
the mob’s attack on him is not
visible, the mob can be seen
surrounding a man and ques-
tioning him. According to
reports of the attack, the pas-
tor said he had to run and hide
to save his life.
In his complaint, the pastor
added that during the assault,
his vision became blurred
and he was not able to hear
properly.

pump, with the last of the foot-
age showing the three victims
eating dinner together around
11:30 pm, hours before they
were killed.
So far, sources in the Guru-
gram police have said that they
are yet to get a lead from nearby
CCTV cameras and that they
are now trying to retrieve
footage from GMDA’s (Guru-
gram Metropolitan Devel-
opment Authority) cameras
nearby.
However, with no leads
panning out yet, the Gurugram
Police have now announced
a reward of Rs 1 lakh to any-
one providing credible infor-
mation leading to the arrest of
the accused in the gas station
murders.
The police have said that
now trying to retrieve footage from
Gurugram Metropolitan Development
Authority cameras nearby
they will keep the identity of
the informant confidential.
Initial inquiries revealed
that the three men were repeat-
edly stabbed with a sharp
machete-like weapon, inflict-
ing as many as eight to ten deep
cuts to each of the victims.
The way cameras were dis-
connected and the brutality
of the attack has now led the
police to explore if it was moti-
vated by personal enmity with
possible former employees.
Records of all former and
present employees are being
checked by Gurugram Police.
The victims have been iden-
tified as Pushpendra (age),
Bhupender (age) and Naresh
(age). Police received informa-
tion about the brutal killings
when Naresh, stumbled into
a neighbouring petrol pump,
soaked in blood and staffers
there called the police.
Following this, the police
found the other two victims
in the Sector-31 CNG pump’s
manager’s room.
In CCTV camera footage,
Naresh can be seen running
into the neighbouring petrol
pump, collapsing before he
could say reveal anything about
his attackers.
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Observing
that there should be reason-
able apprehension of coer-
cion by the GST Department
for ‘summons proceedings’ to
be conducted through CCTV
cameras, the Delhi High Court
refused to quash the summons
against a person accused of cre-
ating numerous fake firms and
availing Input Tax Credit (ITC)
fraudulently.
According to legal news
website Live Law, the single
bench of Justice Rajnish Bhat-
nagar has refused to quash the
summons on the grounds that​​
the investigation is still at a
UAPA chargesheet
nascent stage and that the pres-
ent case involves fraud of Rs 350
crore approximately and around
200 firms are involved in plac-
ing fraudulent ITC.
Pursuant to some intelli-
gence received that a group of
unscrupulous persons in collu-
sion with some custom house
agents (CHAs) were actively
involved in evasion of GST by
making exports from some non-
existent firms, Senior Intelli-
gence Officer, Director General
of GST, Ghaziabad Regional
Unit commenced inquiry and
carried out certain searches at
the purported premises of one
M/s Heritage International at
Delhi. The search was carried
out at the office premises of peti-
tioner/accused, wherein docu-
ments related to the firms of
petitioner were seized. It was
alleged that the mastermind
involved in the creation of
numerous fake firms and a huge
amount of fraudulent Input Tax
Credit has been availed.
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Even as the
hearing in the bail pleas of
several students and activists
continues in the UAPA case
related to the February 2020
north-east Delhi riots, the Delhi
Police have now filed another
supplementary chargesheet in
the case.
The fresh supplementary
chargesheet was filed in the
court of Additional Sessions
Judge Amitabh Rawat of the
Karkardooma courthouse and
according to legal news website
Bar&Bench, it outlines details
of alleged meetings held by the
accused before the riots.
with several other accused
in the case like JNU students
Devangana Kalita and Nata-
sha Narwal, Safoora Zarga and
some others have already been
granted bail in the case by the
Delhi High Court.
The instant case is the one
being investigated by the Spe-
cial Cell of the Delhi Police,
which claims to be investigating
the “main conspiracy” behind
the riots in the Capital.
The Special Cell had filed the
first chargesheet in the case in
November of 2020 — a 17,000-
page document. Notably, the
court here had taken cogni-
zance of the entire chargesheet
in less than 24 hours.

‘MCDs closed all food counters opened under Atal Aahar Yojana’
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Accusing the
BJP-led MCDs of reaching
new lows by bringing disre-
pute to former Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s name for
political mileage, the Leaders
of Opposition from all three
MCDs — South, North and
East — held a press conference
stating that the BJP has shut
all food counters established
under the Atal Aahar Yojana.
The three AAP leaders
stated that the BJP has acted
like hypocrites by closing the
food counters after using them
to promote themselves. South
MCD LOP Prem Chauhan
said, “Today, the true face of
the BJP has emerged in front
of the public — how it mis-
treats those who nurtured its
rise has become clear today.
Ex-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s
name, the man who was hon-
oured with the Bharat Ratna,
has been brought into disre-
pute today.”
He said that the leaders of
BJP used the food counters
to promote themselves in the
2017 civic polls and the scheme
was highlighted by BJP leader
Manoj Tiwari. “Whether it is
about this scheme or regula-
rising DBC and safai karam-
charis, the BJP is only lying,”
Chauhan added.
East MCD LOP Manoj
Tyagi said, “The way the BJP
has always presented itself, its
policies, and working methods
remain the same. The BJP did
not hesitate to campaign in the
name of Vajpayee, whom the
entire country reveres.”
He added, “Today we saw
Gautam Gambhir chanting ‘Jan
Rasoi’ all across Delhi. Tyagi
called on BJP leaders to answer
under what proposal was this
sloping land provided to Gau-
tam Gambhir’s trust?
North MCD LOP Vikas
Goel said, “The BJP launched
the Atal Aahar Yojana while
claiming that it would provide
enough food for the poor for
just Rs 10. However, all the
food counters were quickly
closed. It is a pity that the BJP
has used politics to make fun of
the poor. It seems the party was
looking for applause by luring
the poor with bread.
“Today, there are no food
counters where they used to
be. Kitchens were only open
for public show before being
silently shut. In the name of
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, people’s
sentiments have been hurt by
the BJP. The public will never
forgive you, and the public will
avenge every lie in the upcom-
ing MCD elections.”
Special Public Prosecutor
Amit Prasad submitted before
the court that the forensic
reports on the acid attacks on
police personnel during the
riots have also come back and
so have the results on the voice
sample analysis of one of the
accused, Jamia Millia Islamia
student leader and activist Asif
Iqbal Tanha.
Notably, Tanha, along
While reports have high-
lighted some serious loopholes
in the argument presented by
the police there, it remains to
be tested at trial. Even a bare
perusal of the first few thou-
sand pages of the chargesheet
showed that more than 1,000
pages have been dedicated to
simply reproducing the con-
tents of all 750-plus FIRs reg-
istered in relation to the riots.

SIT formed to Delhi HC rejects bail plea of
probe Class Ambience Group promoter
10 student’s in money laundering case
suicide case NEW DELHI: The Delhi High
Court Monday dismissed bail
FARIDABAD: The Farid- plea by Ambience group pro-
abad police has set up a spe- moter Raj Singh Gehlot in a
cial investigation team to money laundering case linked
probe the alleged suicide by to an alleged bank loan fraud
The ED case against Gehlot,
a promoter of the Ambience
Mall in Gurugram, is based
on a 2019 FIR of the Anti-
Corruption Bureau of Jammu
against AHPL and its directors
Noida: Two held for abducting,
gang-raping minor girl in Agra
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NOIDA: Two people have been
arrested by Gautam Buddh
Nagar police for allegedly gang-
raping a minor girl from Noida
after abducting her and taking
her to Agra.
complained to the police accus-
ing her neighbour of gang-rap-
ing her along with his friend.
During questioning, the girl
told the police that the accused
made her sniff some suspicious
substance following which she
fell unconcious and he kid-
case under Section 323 (Pun-
ishment for voluntarily caus-
ing hurt), 363 (kidnapping),
IP University starts online admission process for the academic session
366 (kidnapping, abducting or
inducing woman to compel her 2022-23 with 6 new innovative programmes. IP Univesity Vice
marriage), 328 (causing hurt by Chancellor Padma Shri Prof. (Dr.) Mahesh Verma released the new
means of poison, 342 (wrong- admissions brochure for the upcoming Academic Session 2022-23 at
ful consignment), 376 D (gang India International Centre, Lodhi Road on Wednesday

a class 10 student of a private
school here, leading to the
arrest of the school’s head-
mistress. The headmistress
was arrested last Saturday
for allegedly abetting the
suicide by the student who
had taken the extreme step,
leaving behind a suicide note
in which he had said, This
school has killed me.
Faridabad Police Com-
missioner Vikas Kumar Arora
set up the SIT headed by
Central Faridabad’s Assistant
Commissioner of Police Saty-
apal Yadav, a police spokes-
person said, adding the probe
would be monitored by Cen-
tral Faridabad’s deputy com-
of Rs 800 crore. The order was
pronounced by Justice Manoj
Kumar Ohri who had reserved
the verdict on the bail applica-
tion on February 10.
Gehlot was arrested under
the provisions of the Preven-
tion of Money Laundering Act
(PMLA) in July last year. The
Enforcement Directorate had
earlier raided Gehlot, his com-
pany Aman Hospitality Private
Limited (AHPL), some other
firms of the Ambience group,
director in the company Day-
anand Singh, Mohan Singh
Gehlot, and their associates.
THE TEAMS HAVE 65 FOUR-WHEELERS AND 50 TWO-WHEELERS FOR PROMPT ACTION
for alleged money laundering
in the construction and devel-
opment of the five-star Leela
Ambience Convention Hotel
located near Yamuna Sports
Complex in Delhi.
The ED claimed its probe
found that a huge part of the
loan amount of more than Rs
800 crore, which was sanc-
tioned by a consortium of
banks for the hotel project,
was siphoned off by AHPL, Raj
Singh Gehlot, and his associ-
ates through a web of compa-
nies owned and controlled by
them.  PTI
The 17-year-old girl was
allegedly lured by one of the
accused on pretext of marry-
ing her but locked her inside a
room and gang-raped her for
days before she managed to flee.
According to the police, the
accused have been identified
as Parveen Singh and Vishnu
Tomar, both native of Agra. The
victim who lives in Noida came
in contact with Praveen as he
lived at a rented house in Gejha
village in Sector 93, Noida and
worked at a private company.
“The matter was reported
on February 20 when the girl
napped her and took her to
Agra. The accused lured her
on the pretext of marrying her
and made her live at his friend
Vishnu Tomar’s house,” a senior
police officer said.
The girl further told police
that the men raped her and kept
her locked inside the house.
“She somehow managed to
break open the lock and flee to
Noida. She narrated the ordeal
to her family who took her to
the nearby police station to
report the matter,” the officer
added.
Following the complaint, a
City Briefs
rape) of the Indian Penal Code
and Section 3/4 of the POCSO
Act was registered and police
teams were formed to nab the
accused.
However, on February 28,
police received a tip-off about
the movement of the two
DELHI POLICE ASI AMONG SIX
on the Yamuna Expressway. ARRESTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
“Acting on the information GURUGRAM: An assistant sub inspector of the Delhi
received, police teams arrested
them from the zero point on Police and his five associates were arrested for alleg-
the Yamuna Expressway. The edly peddling drugs, officials said on Wednesday.
two men were produced before According to Palwal police, around 1,370 kg of mari-
the court and sent to judicial juana worth over Rs 2 crore was seized and the five
custody on Wednesday,” police arrested included ASI Shoyeb, Asif, Mohammad, Aas
said. Mohammad, Lakhpat and Taufiq, all residents of Nuh
and Palwal districts. The contraband was packed in 44
sacks and hidden under coconuts in a truck that came

Noida police secures top spot in 112 response for Feb

missioner of police.
The other members of
the SIT are SHO Arjun Dev
of BPTP police station, Sub-
Inspector Geeta of Women
Police Station and Assistant
Sub Inspector Rakesh, police
spokesperson Sube Singh
said, adding the district Child
Welfare Committee officer
too would assist in the probe.
Singh said as part of the
investigation the student’s
handwritten diary and other
documents from home and
school have been sent to
the handwriting expert to
match their writings. The
16-year-old, class 10 student
had killed himself on Feb-
ruary 25 by jumping off the
top floor of his apartment
block here. MPOST
Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors,
publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for any damage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only
RAHUL SINGH
NOIDA: The Gautam Buddh
Nagar commissionerate has
secured first position across
Uttar Pradesh for the month of
February, in the response time
of UP Dial-112, with regard to
providing quick assistance to
the complaints received. Offi-
cials said that since July, 2021,
the Gautam Buddh Nagar com-
missionerate has been in the
first place among all the dis-
tricts of Uttar Pradesh.
At present, nearly 65 four-
wheeler PRV and 50 two
wheeler police response vehi-
cles (PRV) of Dial-112 are
providing quick assistance to
nearly 400-450 compliants
received daily.
“Keeping in view the safety
of women, six women PRVs
run in the commissioner-
ate, and for safety and speedy
response on the highway, four
PRVs are operated on the East-
ern Peripheral and two PRVs
are operated on the Yamuna
Expressway. They ensure
prompt action on receipt of
information about the event,”
said a police spokesperson.
In the month of Febru-
ary, UP-112 Gautam Buddh
Nagar commissionerate has
been awarded the title of “PRV
of the Day” six times. Also,
the lowest Dial-112 response
REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO
has been recorded even in the
month of February.
“Earlier in November
2021, the lowest response time
recorded by the district was
6.39 minutes. However, in Feb-
ruary, the Gautam Budh Nagar
police clocked the lowest Dial
112 response time ever, which
is providing assistance in just
6 minutes and 32 seconds,” the
officer added.
While detailing over a few
quick response actions taken
up by the police teams, the offi-
cial said on February 6, PRV
3037 acted on the informa-
tion of a 3-year-old girl being
picked up, under Sector-39
police station.
After making an announce-
ment in the surrounding area,
the girl’s family members were
handed over the child safely,
the accused was handed over
to the local police station for
action.
On February 17, taking
prompt action on the informa-
tion of a car theft under Sec-
tor-58 police station, PRV 4672
reached the address given by
the caller and saw that some
people were running away
with the caller’s car. On being
chased by the PRV, the accused
fled leaving the car in front of
Shivshakti Apartment. The car
was safely handed over to the
caller.
to Mewat from Odisha, they said. Our team nabbed
all six accused, including a Delhi cop, who revealed
that the marijuana was loaded from Raigadar district
of Odisha and being taken to Nuh and Palwal districts,
Rajesh Duggal, Superintendent of Police, Palwal said.
‘EX-MP’S GUESTS WERE NOT ABDUCTED,
THEY WERE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY’
NEW DELHI: Three guests of former MP AP Jithender
Reddy and his driver were not abducted but were
taken into custody by the Telangana Police in connec-
tion with an attempt to murder case, officials said on
Wednesday. According to the Delhi Police, a case of
kidnapping was filed after they received a complaint
that three people staying at Reddy’s flat in the South
Avenue area here and his driver were abducted
by some unidentified people. A senior police officer
said the four were not abducted but were taken into
custody by the Telangana Police in connection with an
attempt to murder case filed in the southern state.

Printed and Published by Jaiyendra Kumar Sharma on behalf of Front Row Media Pvt. Ltd. and printed at The Indian Express Pvt. Ltd., A-8, Sector-7, Noida-201 301 (U.P.) and published from First Floor, Pratap Bhawan, 5 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg,
New Delhi 110 002. Editor: Durbar Ganguly. Email: editor@millenniumpost.in, Tel. No. 011-47777500
millenniumpost
NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, 3 MARCH, 2022
900 FROM DELHI CAUGHT IN UKRAINE WAR — SOME ESCAPED, SOME YET TO
Teachers, dists mobilised to reach
out to students, kin & offer support
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The Delhi gov-
ernment has asked district
authorities to reach out to the
families of students evacu-
ated from war-hit Ukraine or
those who are still stuck there
to extend any help they need
and assure them that all neces-
sary steps are being taken for
their welfare, officials said on
Wednesday.
They also said district
authorities have engaged
teachers and other staff in
their respective jurisdiction to
effectively execute these orders.
According to the orders issued
by district authorities, the teams
concerned will meet the families
of stranded students and assure
them that adequate steps are
being taken to ensure the wel-
fare of their wards.
Delhi government officials
said that according to a list given
by the Centre, nearly 900 people
of Delhi were in Ukraine, add-
Minister opens
new projects to
augment water
supply in Delhi
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Delhi Water
Minister Satyendar Jain on
Wednesday inaugurated an
underground reservoir with
2.95 crore litres capacity in
Mundka to meet the demand
for drinking water in the region.
Another underground reser-
voir of 2.68 crore litres capacity
was inaugurated in Sonia Vihar.
It is expected to benefit around
6 lakh residents in East Delhi.
Jain also laid the founda-
tion for a sewage pumping sta-
tion in Harsh Vihar, which will
be able to treat 1.75 crore litres
of sewage per day. In order to
increase the availability of water
in the surrounding households,
Delhi government has come up
with the installation of booster
pumping stations.
The minister said these ini-
tiatives will benefit around 8.45
lakh residents in the unauthor-
ised colonies of Mundka, Sonia
Vihar and Harsh Vihar.
Water Minister Satyendar
Jain said, “This will be a signif-
icant step to increase the water
pressure in the area and will
help to solve the existing water
crisis in Delhi.”
Delhi government under
the leadership of Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal is working tire-
lessly day and night to achieve
its aim of cleaning the Yamuna
and providing 24x7 water sup-
ply to all the residents of Delhi.
TO MAKE TREE PLANTATION ‘MORE SCIENTIFIC’
Forest department plans
soil testing, internal audit
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The Delhi For-
est Department plans to con-
duct soil testing and an internal
audit in a bid to make the
plantation exercise this year
“more scientific”, according
to officials.
Like last year, the plantation
exercise will focus on native
varieties. This will help further
improve the survival rate of
saplings, a forest department
official said.
“Testing is being conducted
in all the forest divisions in
Delhi to ascertain the charac-
teristics of the soil in a partic-
ular area. It will give us an idea
whether the soil is alkaline or
acidic, has enough nutrients
and moisture and organic con-
tent to support the growth of
saplings,” the official said.
“For example, if the soil
is alkaline, it will have to be
treated to support sapling
growth,” he said, adding the
aim is to make the exercise
more scientific.
Family members greet the Indian nationals, who were evacuated from war-
torn Ukraine, at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, on Wednesday
ing that while many of them
had managed to flee to neigh-
bouring countries and were on
their way back home, the exact
number of students still stuck
there was unknown.
Several students who are in
touch with Millennium Post
since Russia began their inva-
Sentence Review Board defers decision on ’93
blast convict Bhullar’s release to next meeting
NEW DELHI: The Sentence
Review Board(SRB) headed by
Delhi Home Minister Satyendar
Jain on Wednesday deferred the
decision on the early release
of Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar,
a 1993 Delhi bomb blast case
convict who is currently lodged
in Amritsar jail. The matter has
been put off till the next SRB
meeting, said a Delhi govern-
ment official.
The demand by Sikh groups
for Bhullar’s release had gained
ground ahead of the assembly
elections in Punjab.
Water pollution: Rs 1 crore fine NDMC imposes full ban City Briefs
on Supertech proj in Gr Noida on polythene carry bags DISCOUNTS ROW: LIQUOR LICENCE
NOIDA: In its biggest pen-
alty yet for water pollution, the
Greater Noida Industrial Devel-
opment Authority on Wednes-
day imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore
on a group housing society for
dumping untreated sewerage
into a rainwater drain in viola-
tion of norms.
The action has been taken
against Supertech’s Eco Village
One project and the developer
has been directed to remit
the penalty amount within a
week, the Greater Noida Indus-
trial Development Authority
(GNIDA) officials said.
“The sewerage is diverted
into a rain drain without being
treated. It’s not only causing
water pollution but also in
violation of guidelines of the
Supreme Court and the National
Green Tribunal,” GNIDA CEO
Narendra Bhooshan said in a
statement.
“It’s our collective responsi-
bility to stop pollution. Treat-
REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE
The agencies which will
undertake plantation will also
be aware of the pros and cons
and accordingly, steps can be
taken to improve the sapling
survival rate, the official said.
An internal audit, which
will be recommendatory in
nature, will be conducted in
April to determine the spe-
cies best suited for a particular
region and the factors playing a
role in the tree mortality.
The department also plans
to have seed collection centres
in all the three forest divisions.
A seed bank was created in the
sion of Ukraine, said that they
know of many students from
the Capital still stuck in con-
flict zones like Kharkiv. Late
on Wednesday night, as Russia
intensified shelling in Kharkiv,
hundreds of Indian students ran
for cover and are still unable to
get out of the city.
The seven members of the
Board include the director-gen-
eral of Tihar prison, secretaries
of Home and Law departments
and director of social welfare
department of the Delhi gov-
ernment, a district judge and a
senior Delhi Police officer.
Bhullar was convicted in
connection with the killing of
nine people and injuring of
31 in a bomb blast in 1993 in
Delhi. Among those who sur-
vived the attack is former Youth
Congress chief M S Bitta. Bhul-
lar was sentenced to death by
IN OTHER NEWS
In a separate case, five
private agencies which had
put up hoardings, banners
and other publicity material
illegally in public spaces in
Noida were slapped with
a penalty of over Rs 1 lakh
each on Wednesday, of-
ficials said.
ment of waste coming out from
residential societies is man-
datory. Strict action will be
taken against those violating
the rules in the future also,”
Bhooshan said.
The GNIDA said it is man-
datory for all group housing
societies, institutions and com-
mercial establishments built on
an area of more than 20,000
square metres in Greater Noida
to set up and run their own STP
(Sewerage Treatment Plant).
“The sewerage coming out
Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary
in South Forest Division last
year. This will ensure round-
the-year seed availability with
the department, he said.
At present, the forest
department has seeds of 60
indigenous species. The tar-
get is to have seeds of 100 such
species, he said. The Delhi
government had set a target of
planting 33 saplings and shrubs
in the last financial year.
Various government agen-
cies planted 32 lakh saplings
in the financial year 2020-21.
Delhi’s green cover
increased from 21.88 per cent
to 23.06 per cent of its geo-
graphical area in the last two
years, according to the India
State of Forest Report (ISFR)
report released by the Union
Environment Ministry in Jan-
uary. The capital’s tree cover
increased from 129 square
km in 2019 to 147 square km.
The overall green cover (forest
cover and tree cover) increased
from 324.44 sq km to 342 sq
km, according to the report.
According to orders issued
by the districts in Delhi, the
special teams have also been
directed to visit the homes
of students evacuated from
Ukraine or still stuck there to
check about their wellbeing
and offer whatever help they
can, one Central district official
said. Similar orders have been
issued by all 11 districts of the
national capital.
Delhi Transport Minister
Kailash Gahlot tweeted, “Delhi
residents among Indian evacu-
ees coming from Ukraine will
be brought at Hindon airport
or Indira Gandhi International
airport. Delhi government will
ensure their travel from airport
to their homes. In the leadership
of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal,
the Delhi government is stand-
ing with all family members (of
evacuees) in every way”.
A senior administrative offi-
cial of the South Delhi district
said that these efforts are being
made to allay fears of family
a designated TADA court on
August 25, 2001.
He is undergoing life impris-
onment after the Supreme Court
commuted his death sentence.
He was shifted to Amritsar Cen-
tral Jail from Delhi’s Tihar Jail
on health grounds, in June 2015.
Former Punjab chief min-
ister and Shiromani Akali Dal
(SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh
Badal had recently sought the
immediate release of Bhullar in
the larger interest of consolidat-
ing peace and communal har-
mony in Punjab. He had accused
of the society after being treated
with STP should be used for
irrigation, construction etc. The
sewerage of Supertech Eco Vil-
lage One was being dumped
in the rainy drain of GNIDA
without being treated,” the
GNIDA said.
“In view of the water pol-
lution, the sewer department
of the authority had asked the
builder to start the treatment
of sewerage immediately, fail-
ing which the authority has
imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on
Supertech Eco Village,” it added.
The developer has also been
directed to ensure proper waste
management on its premises
and warned of action over
non-compliance of rules, the
GNIDA said. So far, penalties
worth about Rs 3 crore have
been imposed on developers
of 46 group housing societies in
Greater Noida over violation of
environment-related rules and
guidelines, it said.  AGENCIES
Delhi’s master plan 2041 to be
notified this year: L-G Baijal
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Lt Governor
Anil Baijal on Wednesday said
Delhi’s master plan 2041 will be
notified this year and asserted
that building a sustainable,
inclusive, resilient, green and
digital economy must take cen-
tre stage in the vision for the
city’s development.
Addressing the CII Delhi
State Annual Session 2021-
22, he also said for the first
time provisions for night-time
economy has been included in
Delhi’s masterplan, which is a
“critical intervention” that can
lead to several positive results.
“It can support economic
activities that can thrive at
night, such as cultural recre-
ational activities, logistics, cer-
tain industries. This would also
help in staggered work timings
and therefore reduce congestion
in streets,” he said. The Lt Gov-
ernor said the Master Plan for
Delhi 2041 is “comprehensive,
yet a comprehensible document”
that can be easily understood by
the common man.
It focuses on environmental
sustainability, quality livability
members of those stranded in
different cities of Ukraine by
offering them whatever help
they need.
These are tough times for
the families of students who
are still stuck in Ukraine. Offi-
cials will meet families of such
students and put them in touch
with other higher authorities
engaged in the evacuation pro-
cess, provide them with helpline
numbers and other help as well,
the official said.
Another official from Shah-
dara district said that teachers
and other staff who are engaged
in this exercise will also ask stu-
dents evacuated from Ukraine
under Operation Ganga about
their experiences and the diffi-
culties they faced. They will be
extended whatever help they
require, the official said.
He added that teams of
teachers and other staff of the
district have also been deployed
at the airport for immediate help
to evacuees.  WITH PTI INPUTS
the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in
Delhi of obstructing his release.
However, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal had hit back,
saying, “It is a sensitive issue and
the SAD is doing dirty politics
over it. We strongly condemn it.”
Significantly, after the
SRB deferred the decision on
Wednesday, a senior Delhi gov-
ernment official said that the
authorities need to “review some
more” aspects of the matter
and that is why the matter had
been deferred till the next meet-
ing of the board.  MPOST
thinner than 75 microns
NEW DELHI: The New Delhi
Municipal Council on Wednes-
day imposed a complete ban on
the use of polythene carry bags
thinner than 75 microns in its
area with a provision of a fine
of Rs 5,000 on its breach.
The NDMC also plans to
ban the use of virgin or recy-
cled carry bags and other plas-
tic commodities including
polystyrene materials thinner
than 100 microns from July
1 this year and those thinner
than 120 microns from Decem-
ber 31 this year, an official said.
Besides the use, the ban
would also apply to the man-
ufacturing, stocking, sale and
distribution of these non-
degradable polluting materi-
als, the official said.
“The NDMC, exercising its
power under subsection (z) of
section 12 of the NDMC Act,
1994, has imposed a complete
Building sustainable,
inclusive, digital
economy must take
centre stage: Baijal
and economic and cultural vital-
ity, Baijal said.
The Master Plan for Delhi
(MPD) 2041 looks at address-
ing concerns such as afford-
able housing, pollution-free
environment, inter-city
mobility and transportation,
water availability and supply,
spatial advancements and revit-
alisation of brownfield spaces
and economic vitality with
full involvement of the people,
he added.
Creating a ‘24-hour city’
with a night-time economy,
extensive transport infrastruc-
ture, affordable housing for all
and a healthy environment to
check unauthorised colonies
and pollution are part of the
guiding principles for the ‘Mas-
ter Plan of Delhi 2041’.
The draft of the master
plan has been put in the public
domain in June 2021.
North MCD teachers yet to
be relieved of Covid duties,
say being treated unequally
SATVIKA MAHAJAN
NEW DELHI: With schools
in the national Capital hav-
ing reopened for physical
classes and a shift to full offline
mode scheduled to start from
April 1, all teachers in the city
have already been relieved of
their Covid-19 duties — except
for those working in North
MCD schools.
Taking up this issue, the
Teachers Union of MCD (Shik-
sha Nyay Manch Municipal
Corporation) has written to the
North Delhi Municipal Corpo-
ration requesting them to issue
orders like the ones issued by the
Delhi government, the East and
the South civic bodies.
North MCD teachers are still
attending to their DDMA duties
despite schools reopening. In
their email to North MCD offi-
cials, the union said, “The non-
issuance of the order till now
shows that perhaps the corpora-
tion in the North MCD admin-
istration is not going to take care
of the teachers even though the
schools have opened.”
“This matter was raised in
the meeting held on 9 and 10
February with the Additional
Commissioner Education and
Director Education as well as the
Mayor, Leader House, Standing
Committee Chairman, officers
of the CD Department along
with the officers of the Labour
Department and since then this
Defaulters shall
be liable to pay
environmental
compensation of
Rs 5K per default
ban on the sale, use, stocking
and distribution of plastic carry
bags (virgin or recycled) less
than 75 microns henceforth,
a senior NDMC official said.
Drawing up a phase-wise
plan to make the NDMC areas
free of plastic, the civic body
has also decided to prohibit
plastic commodities including
polystyrene expanded polysty-
rene shall be prohibited from
July 1 while a complete ban will
be imposed on the plastic carry
bags (virgin or recycled) less
than 120 microns from Decem-
ber 31, 2022.  MPOST
Baijal said fostering a round-
the-clock city will not happen
overnight and will be achieved
through an incremental process.
“To begin with, certain cul-
turally active precincts and hubs
will be identified where such
nigh-time activities may be per-
mitted during certain events or
festivals. “City-wide festivals
that support nightlife would
also be promoted. Over time,
such activities will be scaled up
to cover large parts of the city,”
he said. In his address, the L-G
also said that Delhi, like the rest
of the country and the world
at large, was reemerging from
the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic.
‘Master Plan of Delhi 2041’
calls for affordable rental
housing and residential areas
with complete facilities and
small format housing in the
national capital over the next
20 years.
It also proposes that there
should not be further growth
of unauthorised colonies and
there should be the develop-
ment of urban villages within
two years of the notification of
the MPD 2041.
City mp 3
COVID-19 HC resumes
full-fledged
DELHI
physical
COUNT hearings
ACTIVE CASES
1,653 OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High
POSITIVITY RATE Court Wednesday resumed
0.81% full-fledged physical func-
tioning which was earlier
restricted due to the COVID-
matter has been but no action 19 pandemic.
has been taken.” They added
that teachers have been suf-
fering mentally while serving
All the judges started hold-
ing physical hearings while con-
tinuing the hybrid system which
during the pandemic and are
exhausted. The union said that
they consider this as an act of
gives an option to the parties
and the advocates to appear vir-
tually through the video confer-
hurting the honour and dig- encing platform.
nity of corporation teachers. Since March 2020, the high
Questioning North MCD offi-
cials, the union officials wrote
court has been holding proceed-
ings through video conferenc-
“Why only the teachers of North
MCD are being harassed like
ing following the outbreak of
COVID-19, and subsequently,
this when the rest of the Delhi
teachers have been relieved?”
few benches started holding
physical courts every day on
The union stated that they
will be forced to take serious
rotation basis.
The high court had resumed
steps if the civic body does not physical hearings from Novem-
take any action on this matter. ber 22 last year but they were
Meanwhile, Delhi on suspended on December
Wednesday reported 325 30 and a decision was taken
fresh COVID-19 cases and one to shift to the virtual mode
death, while the positivity rate on account of the third wave
stood at 0.81 per cent. of the virus.
HOLDERS MOVE DELHI HIGH COURT
NEW DELHI: A plea has been filed in the Delhi High
Court challenging the Delhi government’s decision
prohibiting any discount or rebate or concession given
by retailers on the sale of liquor. The petition, which has
been filed by several liquor licence holders, said the
liquor policy and the tender expressly permit the grant
of discounts by the retail licencees. However, without
giving them an opportunity to be heard, the Delhi
government passed an order on February 28, prohibit-
ing the grant of discounts or rebates and concessions.
Discounts were permitted and the licensees were in-
deed giving and adopting discounts. This was based on
such arrangements as licensees could enter into with L 1
licensees, and this was a free market and fair competi-
tion principles in operation, the petition said.
TWO ARRESTED FOR PROVIDING FAKE
RT-PCR REPORTS IN CAPITAL
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police nabbed two cheats who
were duping people in the name of providing manu-
factured RT-PCR reports after testing, the police in-
formed on Wednesday. The accused persons identified
as Amir Ansari (32) and Md. Anas (25), both of them
are residents of the Okhla area of Southeast Delhi.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) South Delhi Benita
Mary Jaiker said that the police received a complaint
against a diagnostic lab. Moreover, the complainant
alleged that they received an RT-PCR report and after
verification, it was found that the alleged RT-PCR report
was not generated from their lab. He also alleged that
false RT-PCR reports are being prepared by some
unknown persons in the name of their lab. The Cyber
police station of South Delhi started the investigation
after registering the case under sections of cheating.
FOR A BETTER TOMORROW
Noida Authority Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ritu Maheshwari
on Wednesday inspected the work of elevated road at Banghel in
Greater Noida. The six lane 4.5 kilometer elevated road will be built
over Dadri-Surajpur-Chhalera (DSC) road and will ease off traffic
between Aghapur and Sector 82 of Noida
4 mp Nation millenniumpost
THURSDAY, 3 MARCH, 2022 | NEW DELHI

Bengal CM watches ‘Ganga Aarti’ Eastern Ukraine remains

like a commoner at Varanasi ghat
Faces protests by Hindu Yuva Vahini and BJP workers who later clash with Samajwadi Party workers
SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE
VARANASI: Known for her
humility and pro-people ini-
tiatives, Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee on Wednes-
day exhibited her down-to-
earth nature as she sat among
commoners at Dashash-
wamedh Ghat here and
attended ‘Ganga Aarti’ during
her two-day visit to Varanasi.
Though a separate dais was
formed, she chose to sit with
commoners and interact with
them. But, Banerjee had to face
the fidgets of Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) workers and activ-
ists of Hindu Yuva Vahini pres-
ent near Godaulia intersection,
who shouted ‘go back, go back’
and ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans.
On the other hand, Baner-
jee raised the ‘Jai Hind’ slogan.
Banerjee got down from her
vehicle and stood on the road
for some time.
The police personnel
deployed in the area tried to
snatch the black flags and chase
Mamata Banerjee at Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi PIC/MPOST away the protesters.
Mamata Banerjee
will address a
gathering in
Varanasi on
Thursday along
with Akhilesh
Yadav, SBSP chief
Omprakash Rajbhar
Later, the altercation turned
into a massive clash between
BJP and SP workers outside the
lane of Kashi Vishwanath Tem-
ple’s main entrance. Report-
edly, the Bengal chief minister
was also shown black flags at
the airport.
Samajwadi Party lead-
ers, including its vice-pres-
ident Kiranmay Nanda went
to receive her at the airport.
Later, Nanda along with other
senior leaders of SP accom-
panied Banerjee to Dashash-
wamedh Ghat.
Politicians across different
political parties expressed dis-
may over this incident. Sama-
jwadi Party chief Akhilesh
Yadav strongly condemned the
act by BJP workers and activ-
ists of the Hindu fringe group.
Yadav said: “BJP can sense
its practical situation on the
ground. Both Didi and her
brother are fighting against BJP.
BJP could not get over its defeat
in Bengal and they are going to
face similar consequences in
UP as well.”
On Thursday, during the
second day of her visit, Mamata
Banerjee will address a gather-
ing here along with Akhilesh
Yadav, SBSP chief Omprakash
Rajbhar. His son, SBSP gen-
eral secretary Arvind Rajbhar,
is an SP-SBSP alliance candi-
date from the Shivpur Assem-
bly constituency.
Reportedly RLD chief
Jayant Chaudhary is likely
to join the programme.
Voting in 54 assembly constitu-
encies of nine districts is sched-
uled in the last and seventh
phase of UP polls on March 7.
area of concern, says MEA
MPOST BUREAU
NEW DELHI: As India steps
up efforts to evacuate its citizens
from war-hit Ukraine, the Min-
istry of External Affairs (MEA)
said on Wednesday that efforts
are on to reach cities in the east-
ern part of that country, though
it is not easy.
The eastern part of Ukraine
has been witnessing intense
fighting between Russian and
Ukrainian troops.
The comments by MEA
spokesperson Arindam Bag-
chi came hours after the Indian
embassy in Ukraine asked all
Indians in Kharkiv to leave the
city immediately for three safe
zones.
He said nearly 17,000 Indian
nationals have left Ukraine's
borders since advisories were
issued over a fortnight back.
Bagchi said 15 flights are
scheduled over the next 24
hours and some of them are
already operating.
"The cities in eastern remain
areas of concern for us. Some
students were able to board
trains out of Kharkiv yesterday
night and this morning and we
assisted in the process through
the student contractors and
Bachi said India is
exploring option
of reaching the
eastern part of
Ukraine to help in
the evacuation of
Indian nationals
stranded in areas
other partners," Bagchi said.
"We have been in com-
munication with the Russians
regarding the safe passage of
our nationals from Kharkiv and
other nearby cities," he said.
Bachi said India is also
exploring the option of reaching
the eastern part of Ukraine to
help in the evacuation of Indian
nationals stranded in the areas.
"It's not easy because
the route is not open at all
times," he said at a media
briefing.
Separately, he said an Indian
national, identified as Chandan
Jindal, died in Ukraine due to
natural causes. He was in the
hospital for the last few days.
Bagchi also said that there
has been a sharp increase in the
number of Indians who have left
Ukraine over the recent past.
"We now estimate that
nearly 17,000 Indian nationals
have left Ukraine's borders since
our advisories were issued. This
of course includes some Indians
who had not registered with the
embassy earlier," Bagchi said.
Earlier, the MEA had said
that 20,000 Indians were in
Ukraine when India had issued
the first advisory in mid-Febru-
ary when the tension between
Russia and Ukraine started
building up.
Bagchi said the Indian
embassy in Kyiv was asked to
set up a temporary office in Lviv
to facilitate border crossings by
Indian nationals, adding a large
segment of the team in the mis-
sion is now at Lviv.
The MEA spokesperson
also said that a mechanism has
been put in place for issuing
emergency certificates to those
Indian citizens who somehow
lost their passports.
About the evacuation
mission, Bagchi said flights
under 'Operation Ganga' have
increased sharply and that six
flights have landed in India in
the last 24 hours taking the total
to 15.

From Page 1 deployed to rescue Indians in distress faster.
Today, I also assure the people of the country
that the Government of India will leave no stone
unturned for the safe return of its citizens.”
TMC decimates Student dies of
UP village pradhan
The minister, who met the parents of some
students who are stuck in Ukraine here, was
speaking to the reporters on the sidelines of an
Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assem-
bly and Samajwadi Party leader Ram Govind
Chaudhary is contesting from Bansdih. studying medicine in
Ukraine in trouble after
event. Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Many incumbent ministers’ electoral fate will
Kiren Rijiju, Jyotiraditya Scindia and V K Singh
were in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Poland
also be decided in this phase.
They include Surya Pratap Shahi trying

Opposition
Be it BJP leaders Sukanta Majumdar, Dilip
Ghosh, Arjun Singh and Suvendu Adhikari or
Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the key
opposition leaders faced a major embarrassment
in the recently-concluded civic polls as Trin-
amool candidates recorded victory even in their
respective fiefdoms.
Interestingly, the Independent candidates got
116 seats and occupied the second position. Tri-
namool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee
tweeted: “Heart-felt gratitude to Ma-Mati-
Manush for according yet another overwhelming
mandate to us. Congratulations to the winning
candidates of All India Trinamool Congress in
the Municipal Elections.”
She further tweeted: “Let victory enhance
our responsibility and dedication. Let triumph
impart humility. Let us together work for peace,
prosperity and development of the state. Jai
Bangla!”
When asked about the fate of the Indepen-
dent candidates, Banerjee, who was leaving for
Varanasi, said: “It is a small matter and there are
a few cases. The state committee of Trinamool
Congress will decide,” she added.
For the first time, TMC got control over
stroke in Ukraine
Meanwhile, as fighting intensified in Kharkiv,
India on Wednesday asked its nationals to leave
the second-largest Ukrainian city urgently to
three nearby places “even on foot”, while
Russia promised to create “humanitarian
corridors” for evacuation of Indians from the
conflict zones.
In an urgent advisory, the Indian embassy in
Ukraine asked the Indians to reach the Ukrainian
towns of Pesochyn, 11 km away from Kharkiv,
Babai (12 km) and Bezlyudivka (16 km) by 6
PM local time (9:30 PM IST). The advisory came
amid Russia stepping up attacks on key Ukrai-
nian cities.
External Affairs ministry spokesperson
Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing that
the Indian embassy asked the nationals to leave
Kharkiv immediately on the basis of information
from the Russian side.
“The students who cannot find vehicles or
buses and are in Railway station can proceed
on foot to Pesochyn, Babai and Bezlydivka,” the
advisory, second of the day, said.
“Proceed immediately. Under all circum-
stances, Indians must reach these settlements by
1800 hours (Ukrainian time) today,” it said.
respectively to coordinate evacuation efforts.
Meanwhile, more than 600 Indian students
are currently stranded in a university located in
Sumy, a city in north-eastern Ukraine, hoping
that they will soon be evacuated as “continuous
firing and bombing” by the Russian forces has
left them completely terrified, one of the students
said.
Not a single Indian student from Sumy State
University, located close to the Russian border
has been evacuated so far, Viraj Walde, who hails
from Nagpur in Maharashtra and who is cur-
rently studying in the fourth year medical course
in that university, said over phone on Wednesday.
“More than 600 Indian students are stuck
here in Sumy university. The embassy has nei-
ther evacuated us nor given any assurance to that
effect. Since the last five days, there has been con-
tinuous firing, shelling and bombing in the city,”
he said.
Their final exams were about to start from
March 15, he said. “But now, the students are
terrified and their mental state is deteriorating.
Food and drinking water supplies are depleting.
Even the banks and ATMs are running out of
cash,” he said.
Students from India Groundwater
his luck from Pathardeva seat, Satish Chan-
dra Dwivedi from Itwa, Jai Pratap Singh from
Bansi, Shree Ram Chauhan from Khajani and Jai
Prakash Nishad from Rudrapur.
Surendra Singh, the incumbent MLA from
Bairia in Ballia, who joined the Vikassheel Insaan
Party (VIP), a new entrant in Uttar Pradesh elec-
toral politics, will face the electorate in this phase.
He had crossed over to the VIP after being
denied a ticket by the BJP.
The campaigning in this phase witnessed the
political parties go on an all-out attack on each
other.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attacked
the BJP’s rivals by tagging them as ‘ghor pari-
warvadi’ (staunch dynasts) who, he claimed,
can never make India capable or Uttar Pradesh
empowered.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi
rebutted by saying the BJP was only against her
family, which has not bowed down to the saffron
party.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had
accused the BJP of hatching a conspiracy of end-
ing reservation and “selling” government organ-
isations to the private sector. There are a total of
over 2.14 crore voters in this phase.
she posts video for help
HARDOI (UP): A video appeal from Ukraine by
an Indian student, who is also a village pradhan
here, has landed her in trouble with officials saying
it will be probed how the gram sabha bank account
is operated in her absence and if there has been any
financial irregularities.
Vaishali Yadav, the pradhan of Tera Pursaili vil-
lage, had put out a video on social media stating she
is stranded in Ukraine and needed help.
In the video, uploaded a couple of days ago, she
also states that she is an MBBS student in a medi-
cal college in Ukraine.
The case came to light, when a BJP MLA posted
a tweet a few days ago, alleging that Vaishali Yadav
had made the video to allegedly defame the BJP
government.
Taking note of the video which has gone viral,
the administration is examining the bank accounts
of the gram sabha, Hardoi's Chief Development
Officer (CDO) Akanksha Rana said on Wednesday.
She said the village pradhan did not require any
formal permission to go abroad for studies, and that
the administration's priority right now is to ensure
her safe return.
She said the administration will probe if there
has been any financial irregularities in the gram
sabha bank account, and after conducting a proper

Baharampur Municipality in Murshidabad. The
party also freed the Contai Municipality from the
clutches of the ‘Adhikaris.’ Suvendu Adhikari’s
candidate Sumita Singh, BJP MLA from North
Contai, was defeated by her nearest Trinamool
rival in ward 6. Tanushree Chakraborty Bhat-
tacharya won in ward 15, the area where the resi-
dence of the Adhikaris, namely Shantikunja is
located. Trinamool won the Kharagpur munici-
pality with an overwhelming majority.
In Barrackpore — the constituency of BJP
MP Arjun Singh — the BJP failed to open an
account in about 8 civic bodies starting from
Kanchrapara to Titagarh.
The election once again exposed the organisa-
tional weakness of the BJP, Left Front and Con-
gress. They have collectively got 172 seats against
Trinamool Congress’ victory in 1,707. Political
experts said the BJP’s organisation collapsed like
a pack of cards since the party lost to TMC in the
2021 Assembly election.
The national leaders of BJP, who had said
the party would get more than 200 seats, did
not return to the state after the poll debacle. The
party had managed to get only 77 seats. As the
national leaders did not turn up, the morale of
the party’s rank and file had reached a rock bot-
tom level. The infighting in the party had sur-
faced during the municipal elections and the lack
of coordination among the state leaders became
quite palpable.
The party leaders, instead of organising the
rank and file, were busy with making press state-
It is learnt that the Russian side informed
India about the possible increase in intensity in
fighting in Kharkiv and suggested that all Indians
should leave the city.
While the first advisory was put out on Twit-
ter at around 1:40 pm (5 PM IST) the second one
was issued at around 2:40 pm (6 PM IST).
Bagchi said India is also exploring the option
of reaching the eastern part of Ukraine to help in
the evacuation of Indian nationals but added that
it’s not easy as the route is not open at all times.
Separately, Russian Ambassador-desig-
nate Denis Alipov said Russia is in touch with
Indian authorities on the issue of Indians stuck
in Kharkiv, Sumy and in the areas northeast of
Ukraine which are witnessing intense conflict.
As India shored up efforts to evacuate its citi-
zens, four C-17 17 Globemaster aircraft of the
Indian Air Force with approximately 800 evacu-
ees from Ukraine are slated to land at the Hindon
airbase on Thursday, sources said.
On Wednesday morning, a C-17 aircraft
left for Romania carrying humanitarian aid to
Ukraine.
At the media briefing, Bagchi said the cit-
ies in eastern Ukraine remained areas of con-
cern and that some Indian students were able to
board trains out of Kharkiv on Tuesday night and
Wednesday morning.
He said that there has been a sharp increase
in the number of Indians who have left Ukraine
over the recent past.
“We now estimate that nearly 17,000 Indian
contamination
With tears in his eyes, he said Amit is his only
son and if something happens to him he will not
be able to live.
Meanwhile, Naveen’s father Shekarappa
Gyanagouda broke down as he saw the photo-
graph of his son’s body on WhatsApp, which is in
a morgue in Kharkiv.
Naveen is the second son of Gyanagouda. His
elder brother Harsha is an MSc in Agriculture
and is with his parents.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on
Wednesday told reporters in Bengaluru that he
will make sincere efforts to bring Naveen’s body
back to India.
“I will speak to External Affairs minister S
Jaishankar and the Indian Embassy in Ukraine
to get updates of the efforts to get Naveen’s body.
We will make a serious effort,” Bommai said.
According to him, the Indian officials have inten-
sified their efforts to evacuate people stranded in
Kharkiv, especially students.
Regarding compensation to Naveen’s family,
Bommai said the government can do anything
but the priority right now is to bring the body to
India.
“Whatever is in our hand we will do it. We
will certainly give compensation. The family is
in pain. We have to get the body first for which
we have intensified our efforts,” Bommai said.
Another unidentified student from Haveri dis-
trict sustained injuries due to the shelling in
Kharkiv, Bommai had said on Tuesday.
WITH AGENCY INPUTS
PHED Secretary Jitendra Srivastava said: “We
understand the gravity of the situation, because
of which the department has gone for a mix of
surface water and groundwater-based schemes.”
He added: “Besides commissioning a piped water
supply scheme, the department has also strength-
ened water quality monitoring and surveillance
through a state-level National Accreditation
Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratory
(NABL).”
The state government has also launched ‘Har-
Ghar-Jal-Nal-Yojna’ to provide safe drinking
water to people residing in rural areas, he added.
Russia to investigate
He added that Russia is working on ways and
means to provide safe passage to Indians for their
secure passage to Russian territory from the con-
flict zones in Ukraine.
To a question, Alipov said he does not “see
any hurdle” in the supply of the S-400 missile sys-
tems to India because of the Western sanctions
against Russia following the Ukraine crisis.
India has taken an “unbiased” position based
on assessment of the situation in Ukraine and
not because it is dependent on Russian arms, he
added.
“We do coordinate our positions at the UN
enquiry, the account may be seized.
Vaishali's father Mahendra Yadav, who is a Sama-
jwadi Party leader and a former block pramukh, said
his daughter has gone to Ukraine for her MBBS
studies and is presently in Romania.
He said that she had come here last year during
which she had contested and won the gram prad-
han election. He said Vaishali also took part in a
Gram Sabha meeting.
"The gram pradhan has to take part in at least
two meetings in a year and Vaishali will take part
in the second meeting of the gram sabha after she
returns," her father said.
A new twist came to the case when Bihar BJP
MLA Anil Kumar posted a tweet a few days ago,
alleging that Vaishali Yadav had made the video to
allegedly defame the BJP government. According
to his tweet, when the police "arrested" Vaishali she
said that she he had put out the video on the instruc-
tions of her father. However, when contacted Har-
doi Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi said
there has been no police action against Vaishali as
she is in Romania.  MPOST
Maharashtra: Cinema
halls and restaurants
allowed to function at full
capacity in 14 districts

ments and to staff the election. Trinamool Con-
gress’ USP was organisational strength and
initiatives like Duare Sarkar, Swasthya Sathi
among other pro-people schemes.
The national general-secretary of the party
Abhishek Banerjee had the names of party work-
ers up to the booth level and regular meet-
ings were held with them. As a result, the party
leadership got the updates. Political experts
maintained that the CPI(M) used to run their
organisation with the help of police and the party
collapsed when the cops crossed the floor and
started backing Mamata Banerjee. Trinamool
Congress organised its workers and this paid div-
idends to the party in every election, they added.
PM Modi chairs
They can’t make India strong,” he said.
Asserting that the country has made it a pri-
ority to rescue all Indians stuck in Ukraine, Modi
said: “It is due to India’s rising strength that we
are able to bring back stranded Indians from
Ukraine. Operation Ganga has been launched
and I have sent four ministers to oversee the
evacuation.
“Our Army and Air Force have also been
nationals have left Ukraine’s borders since our
advisories were issued. This of course includes
some Indians who had not registered with the
embassy earlier,” Bagchi said.
Earlier, the MEA had said that 20,000 Indi-
ans were in Ukraine when India had issued the
first advisory in mid-February when the tension
between Russia and Ukraine started building up.
About the evacuation mission, Bagchi said
flights under ‘Operation Ganga’ have increased
sharply and that six flights have landed in India
in the last 24 hours taking the total to 15.
He said the total number of Indians
who have returned on board these flights is
3,352. Out of these, 1,796 were evacuated
through Romania, 430 through Poland and 1126
through Hungary.
The Indian government had issued advisory
to Indian nationals before February 24, ask-
ing them to leave Ukraine if it wasn’t essential
for them to stay on, Union Minister of State for
External Affairs V Muraleedharan said here on
Wednesday.
Urging parents not to panic, he said of 20,000
Indians stranded in Ukraine following the Rus-
sian invasion, 6,000 have been brought back
safely, and the government is making all efforts to
ensure safe return of the rest.
Zelenskyy says
They know nothing about our capital, about
our history. They have orders to erase our history,
our country and all of us.” “What will be next if
even Babi Yar (is hit), what other military objects,
NATO bases are threatening Russia? St. Sophia’s
Cathedral, Lavra, Andrew’s Church?” he asked,
referring to sites in Kyiv held sacred by Ukrai-
nian and Russian Orthodox believers around the
world. AGENCIES
6th phase of UP polls
Among the 676 candidates in the fray this
time are Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur Urban
fighting his first Assembly polls, state Con-
gress president Lallu from Tamkuhi Raj seat and
Swami Prasad Maurya, who quit as BJP minister
to join the Samajwadi Party, from Fazilnagar.
The Samajwadi Party has pitted the wife of
late Upendra Dutt Shukla, a former BJP leader,
against Adityanath. Azad Samaj Party founder
Chandrashekhar Azad is also a contesting against
the chief minister.
and inform India about our approach,” he said.
Covid cases, deaths
among virus sequences shared with the
world’s largest publicly accessible database, more
than 99.5% were omicron while only 0.3% were
delta. In the last month, none of the other wor-
rying variants including beta, gamma, lambda
or mu have been reported, although WHO
said there were surveillance challenges in many
countries.
Numerous countries across Europe, includ-
ing Britain, Sweden and Denmark, have released
nearly all their COVID-19 restrictions as cases
have fallen dramatically while immunization
campaigns have progressed. In the US, scien-
tists have estimated about 73% of the population
is now immune to Omicron and that any future
spikes of disease will require far less disruptive
interventions to control epidemics.
Still, WHO has repeatedly said it is too
early to declare the pandemic over and warned
that if the Coronavirus is allowed to continue
spreading, it will have further chances to mutate
into a potentially more deadly or transmissible
version. MPOST
MUMBAI: Easing pandemic-related restrictions,
the Maharashtra government on Wednesday allowed
shopping complexes, restaurants, cinema halls and
theaters to operate at 100 per cent capacity in 14
out of 36 districts in the state, including Mumbai.
These 14 districts are: Mumbai city, Mumbai
suburban district, Pune, Bhandara, Sindhudurg,
Nagpur, Raigad, Wardha, Ratnagiri, Satara, Sangli,
Gondia, Chandrapur and Kolhapur.
A government notification said that in these dis-
tricts 90 per cent of the eligible population has taken
at least one dose of anti-coronavirus vaccines, and
over 70 per cent people are fully vaccinated. The
positivity rate in these areas is less than 10 per cent
and occupancy of oxygen-supported or ICU beds
is less than 40 per cent.
Social, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural,
religious, political and festival-linked events includ-
ing those related to marriages and funerals and other
gatherings and congregations are now permitted in
these districts with attendance at 50 per cent of the
capacity of the venue, the notification said.
But if a gathering is expected to be of more
than 1,000 persons, the District Disaster Man-
agement Authority (DDMA) will have to be
informed and it may impose reasonable restric-
tions. For other districts, attendance at such events
will be capped at 50 per cent of capacity or 200,
whichever is less.  MPOST
millenniumpost
NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, 3 MARCH, 2022
BJP, SP allies on test as UP
polls enter last two phases
57 seats spread across 10 districts, including Gorakhpur, and 54 seats in nine dis-
tricts, including Varanasi, going to polls on March 3 and March 7 respectively
OUR CORRESPONDENT
VARANASI: Strength of old
and new allies of the BJP and
the Samajwadi Party will be
on test more than any other
phase of the Uttar Pradesh
polls as the month-long state
elections enter their last two
laps with the focus shifting on
two regions most identified
with Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath.
With 57 seats spread across
10 districts, including Gorakh-
pur, and 54 seats in nine dis-
tricts, including Varanasi, going
to the polls on March 3 and
March 7 respectively, another
massive factor at play in this
entire Poorvanchal region will
be the fate of prominent BJP
defectors to the SP like Swami
Prasad Maurya and Dara Singh
Chauhan besides the regional
party led by Om Prakash Rajb-
har who also dumped the rul-
Chhattisgarh: 95,643 irrigation pumps Khattar meets Singapore High Commissioner
got electricity connections in 3 years
RAIPUR: As per the instruc-
tions of Chief Minister
Bhupesh Baghel, the work of
providing electricity connec-
tions to the farmers for irriga-
tion pumps is being done at
a rapid pace in Chhattisgarh.
In the last three years, elec-
tricity connections have been
given to 95 thousand 643 irri-
gation pumps. This includes
60 thousand 197 permanent
connections and 35 thou-
sand 446 temporary electric-
ity connections.
Under the ‘Krishi Pump
Urjakaran Yojana’, the state
SP President Akhilesh Yadav
addresses a public meeting for
the ongoing UP Assembly polls in
Jaunpur district  PIC/PTI
ing party for its rival.
It is also in this region
that the mettle of BJP's ally
Apna Dal and new partner
Nishad Party will be put to
test as most of the seats they
are contesting fall in these
two phases.
Union minister Anupriya
Patel-led Apna Dal and San-
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel
government is giving a grant of
Rs one lakh per pump for the
expansion of power lines. At
present, permanent and tem-
porary electricity connections
jay Nishad-led Nishad Party
are contesting on 17 and 16
seats respectively, underlin-
ing the importance the BJP
has attached to their perceived
roots in two major backward
castes Kurmi and Nishad
respectively. In the 2017 polls,
the BJP had conceded only 11
seats to Apna Dal.
Going all out to teach its
friends-turned-foes a political
lesson and to prove that its hold
among the castes they claim
to represent remain strong,
the BJP has fielded Kalich-
aran Rajbhar, who left the SP
to join, against its former ally
O P Rajbhar in Zahoorabad
and wooed over R P N Singh
to its fold from the Congress
to corner Maurya, prompting
him to leave his Padaurna seat
to contest from neighbouring
Fazilnagar.
That these two phases also
include the regions linked to
Modi, Lok Sabha MP from
have been given to more than
5 lakh 81 thousand agricul-
tural pumps, including those
given earlier.
Chief Minister Bhupesh
Baghel had directed the offi-
cials to provide electricity con-
nection to farmers. As on 1st
January 2021, 35 thousand 161
agricultural pumps pending
for electricity connections.
Out of these, 23 thousand 985
pumps have been given con-
nections by the power distri-
bution company till November
30, 2021.
A target has been set to
Varanasi, and Adityanath,
who is contesting the assem-
bly poll from Gorakhpur, after
have only added to their sig-
nificance. The prime minister
is expected to spend last three
days of the campaign in Vara-
nasi, something he had also
done in 2017, as the BJP gives
a final push to its campaign to
retain power in the state.
With the Akhilesh Yadav-
led Samajwadi Party having
emerged as the main chal-
lenger to the BJP, his party is
also hopeful of doing well in
the region it believes that a con-
solidation of its core Muslim
and Yadav votes combined with
increment votes, especially
from other backward castes,
will help it edge part the rul-
ing party. It is with this goal in
mind that Yadav effected defec-
tions of several OBC leaders,
including Maurya and Chau-
han who were ministers in the
state government, to its ranks.
provide electricity connec-
tions to the remaining pumps
by the end of the current
financial year.
‘Krishak Jeevan Jyoti
Yojana’ is being operated by
the state government to pro-
vide relief to the farmers in
their electricity bills. Under
this scheme, the eligible farm-
ers are getting 6,000 units of
power free per year for irri-
gation pumps up to 3 horse
power and 7500 units of
power free per year for irri-
gation pumps up to 3 to
5 horse power. MPOST
Key Benefits:
• Will benefit approx. 1,50,000 residents.
• Will augment water supply in Hari Nagar
and Delhi Cantt. Constituencies.
Urban Development Department, Government of NCT of Delhi
UP Polls: Over
1.5L security
personnel
deployed for
sixth phase
LUCKNOW: Gorakhpur City,
from where Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath is in
the fray, is among the nine sen-
sitive assembly constituencies
in the state going to polls in the
sixth phase on Thursday.
Over 1.5 lakh security per-
sonnel will be deployed in this
phase covering 57 assembly
seats in 10 districts, where 2.1
crore people are eligible to vote,
according to police. Voting will
be held at 13,930 polling sta-
tions and 25,319 polling booths
under 179 police station areas,
the UP police said in a state-
ment. Nine assembly constitu-
encies - Gorakhpur City, Bansi,
Etawah, Dumariaganj, Ballia
Nagar, Phephna Bairia, Sikan-
derpur and Bansdih - have been
kept in the sensitive category,
the police said. The Samajwadi
Party has pitted the wife of late
Upendra Dutt Shukla, a former
BJP leader, against Adityanath
in Gorakhpur City. Azad Samaj
Party founder Chandrashekhar
Azad is also a contesting against
the chief minister. AGENCIES
CHANDIGARH: Taking giant
steps towards transforming
Haryana through a ‘Go Global
Approach’, Haryana Chief Min-
ister Manohar Lal Khattar met
Singapore’s High Commissioner
to India Simon Wong here on
Wednesday.
The delegation from Sin-
gapore had an extensive dia-
logue with the Chief Minister
regarding the lucrative opportu-
nities in Haryana for Singapore
companies to invest in the State
and said that these companies
are keen on collaborating with
Haryana due to its industrial-
friendly policies. Wong who was
appointed High Commissioner
to India on June 30, 2020 had
detailed discussions on various
124 lakh litres capacity
Under Ground Reservoir/
Booster Pumping Station
at Mayapuri
on Thursday, 3rd March, 2022
Satyendar Jain
Water Minister and Chairman, Delhi Jal Board
Nation
Smriti Irani says Lancet study a
sophisticated trickery to create
panic, Covid orphaned 1.53L kids
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: A Lancet
report's claim that 19 lakh
children in India lost a pri-
mary caregiver to COVID-
19 is "sophisticated trickery"
to create panic among citi-
zens, Union Women and
Child Development Min-
ister Smriti Irani said on
Wednesday.
The ministry refuted the
study published in The Lancet
Child and Adolescent Health
Journal, saying the actual num-
ber of such children was 1.53
lakh.
"It is a sophisticated trick-
ery intended to create panic
among citizens. Divorced from
the truth and ground reali-
ties. Why are some agencies
hell bent on creating panic?"
Irani said in a press confer-
ence held shortly after she
attended a programme organ-
ised as part of the celebrations
of the International Women's
Day week.
WCD Ministry Secretary
Indevar Pandey said the study
was modelled and the actual
CM Manohar Lal Khattar while giving suggestions like setting up of Inter-Disciplinary Centre for research
purpose in Haryana
projects and collaborations in
upcoming sectors like the solar
energy and was impressed by the
Skill Training Institutes in the
State. The Chief Minister also
gave various suggestions like
Inauguration of
Chief Guest:
Union Minister for Women
& Child Development Smriti
Irani addresses a programme
organised as part of the
celebrations of International
Women’s Day week, in
New Delhi  PIC/PTI
number of children who lost
either a parent, a primary care-
giver or were abandoned and
orphaned is 1,53,827 till Feb-
ruary 15.
Asking how the Lancet
study arrived at the figure of
19 lakh, Pandey said the actual
figure is 1,53,827 from the
data that has been uploaded
setting up of Inter-Disciplinary
Centre for research purpose in
Haryana.
The High Commissioner
suggested that India has a rich
youth dividend and the Singa-
mp 5
on NCPCR's Bal Swaraj por-
tal by district magistrates and
affidavits filed by states in the
Supreme Court.
National Commission for
Protection of Child Rights
(NCPCR) was asked to set up
a portal where this data had
to be uploaded, the ministry
said, adding that accordingly,
NCPCR has been continu-
ously tracking all the children
who have lost their parents
(either one or both) due to
any reason and children who
have been abandoned since
April 1, 2020.
"So far, 1,53,827 children
have been registered on the
portal, including 1,42,949
children with a single par-
ent, 492 abandoned children
and 10,386 children who
have lost both their parents,"
Pandey said.
The Ministry of Women
and Child Development finds
the Lancet article dated Febru-
ary 24, 2022 giving estimates of
children affected by COVID-19
associated orphanhood very
surprising and contrary to field
data in this regard.
MPOST
pore companies can cash in on
it. Among the key points dis-
cussed during the meeting, Mr.
Wong gave various constructive
feedbacks which were appreci-
ated by the CM. MPOST
DIP/Shabdarth/D/0223/21-22
6 mp Nation millenniumpost
THURSDAY, 3 MARCH, 2022 | NEW DELHI

THERE ARE ASPECTS WHICH AFFECT PUBLIC ORDER, SAYS KERALA HC J’khand’s GDP projected to grow
Media One TV set to move SC as 6.15% in FY23: Economic Survey

Kerala HC upholds telecast ban

OUR CORRESPONDENT
KOCHI: The Kerala High
Court on Wednesday upheld
the Centre’s ban on Malayalam
news channel Media One by
denying it security clearance,
saying certain aspects men-
tioned in the intelligence
reports about the channel had
a bearing on public order on
national security.
Later, the editor of the
channel said that MediaOne
TV will be filing an appeal in
the Supreme Court to challenge
the HC verdict.
“We will be approaching the
Supreme Court on Thursday
after the order comes out later.
Our appeal will be based on the
order,” said Pramod Raman,
editor of MediaOne channel.
A bench of Chief Justice S
Manikumar and Justice Shaji P
Chaly said the single judge was
earlier “right” in declining to
interfere with the Centre’s Janu-
ary 31 decision to ban telecast
of Media One.
The court said it went
through the files, placed
before it by the Ministry of
Home Affairs, and found that
in relation to the application
for uplinking and downlink-
ing permissions for ‘Media One
Life’ and ‘Media One Global’,
“certain aspects relating to the
security of the state are men-
tioned to the effect that Mad-
hyamam Broadcasting Ltd has
some linkages with certain
undesirable forces, which is
stated to be a security threat”.
Likewise, in relation to the
application for the renewal
of the uplinking and down-
linking of Media One news
channel also the court found
that “there are certain serious
adverse reports by the Intelli-
gence Bureau against Madhya-
mam Broadcasting Ltd and its
Managing Director”.
“It is true that the nature,
impact, gravity and depth of
the issue is not discernible
from the files. But, at the same
time, there are clear and sig-
nificant indications impacting
the public order and security
of the state.
“Since it is a confidential
and sensitive file maintained
by the Ministry of Home
Affairs, Union of India, we are
not expressing anything fur-
ther in the interest of national
security, public order and other
aspects concerning the admin-
istration of the nation,” the
bench said.
It further said that even
though too many details are not
available in the files produced
before it, it was of the view
that there are certain aspects
affecting the public order or the
security of the State.
“Taking into account the
above vital aspects, including
the contents of the confidential
files produced before us, we are
of the view that the single judge
was right in declining inter-
ference with the order passed
by the Union Government
refusing renewal of uplinking
and downlinking permission
to Madhyamam Broadcasting
Limited for telecast operations
through ‘Media One TV’,” the
bench said.
With the above findings,
the court dismissed the appeals
by Madhyamam, some of its
employees -- including its Edi-
tor -- and the Kerala Union of
Working Journalists (KUWJ)
against the Centre’s decision
and the single judge’s order of
February 8.
Madhyamam Broadcast-
ing Ltd, which operates Media
One, had claimed in its appeal
that it has been “victimised”
for fair and genuine news
reporting. It had contended
that the reason -- of threat to
national security -- cited by
the Centre to justify the ban,
was only a “ruse” and “without
any basis”.
‘Economy well placed to meet challenges’
OUR CORRESPONDENT
RANCHI: Jharkhand's econ-
omy is expected to grow by 6.15
per cent in the fiscal beginning
April 1, 2022, and is well placed
to meet the future challenges
on the back of good monsoon,
reforms and schemes, said the
pre-Budget Economic Survey
on Wednesday.
The Economic Survey
2021-22, tabled by Finance
Minister Rameshwar Oraon
in the state Assembly, expects
the state's economy to grow by
8.8 in the current fiscal.
"In the year 2022-23, the
GSDP of Jharkhand is esti-
mated to grow by 6.15 per cent
at constant prices and 10.72 per
cent at current prices. This year
it is estimated to be Rs 2.62 lakh
crore at constant price and Rs
4.02 lakh crore at the present
price," Oraon said.
The survey that details the
state of the economy ahead of
the government's Budget for
the fiscal year beginning April
1, 2022, mentions that the state
‘The growth rate
has decelerated
during the last two
years - financial
years 2019-20 and
2020-21’
has shown adequate resilience
to recover promptly from every
shock including economic
recovery from the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
"It is estimated to record
8.8 per cent growth in its real
Gross State Domestic Prod-
uct (GSDP) the current finan-
cial year (2021-22). The GSDP
of the state grew at an average
annual rate of 8 per cent per
annum in the first five years of
its formation (between 1999-
2000 and 2004-05), then at the
rate of 6.6 per cent between
2004-05 and 2011-12 and at
6.2 per cent between 2011-12
and 2018-19," it said.
The growth rate has decel-
erated during the last two years
- financial years 2019-20 and
2020-21, the survey said.
These two years were not
normal, it said, adding the
Indian economy was hit by
an economic slowdown in
the year 2019-20 which did
not leave even the economy of
Jharkhand untouched.
Both, the Indian economy
and the economy of Jharkhand
recorded a growth of a mere 4
per cent, the survey said.
The survey said the per
capita income in Jharkhand is
expected to increase by 7.1 per
cent over the previous year to
Rs 57,180 for fiscal 2021-22.
It said agriculture has flour-
ished due to good monsoon
and Jharkhand is on the path
of recovery from the pandemic.
As regards inflation, the
survey said the inflation rate
in the state has been lower than
in the country and most of the
states.
"While India's inflation rate
was 4.91 per cent in Novem-
ber 2021, it was 2.6 per cent in
Jharkhand," it said.

Day 1 of Budget session: Guv Dattatraya lists DRUGS ON CRUISE CASE PRIVATE MED COLLEGES

Khattar govt’s works, achievements in speech
MPOST BUREAU
CHANDIGARH: Haryana
Governor Bandaru Datta-
traya while lauding the State
Government’s efforts made
for ensuring equitable devel-
opment of every region and
every section by rising above
regionalism and nepotism,
said that today a strong wind
of change can be felt from
Panchkula to Palwal and from
Sirsa to Faridabad, which
clearly indicates that Hary-
ana is rapidly moving ahead to
achieve the set goals and objec-
tives of development.
Dattatraya was delivering
his address on the first day of
the Budget Session of the 14th
Haryana Vidhan Sabha which
commenced here today.
The Governor said that
Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar (L) along with Governor Bandaru
Dattatraya (R)
during this period the entire
Country and the State is cele-
brating ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahot-
sav’ to commemorate 75 years
of Independence, therefore it
becomes our moral duty to
remember all those great free-
dom fighters whose supreme
sacrifices gave us an opportu-
MPOST
nity to celebrate this festival of
Independence.
He said that the present
State Government has brought
unprecedented changes in the
State to realize the dream of
‘Ram Rajya’, the epitome of
good Government.
Dattatraya said that
recently, 'Auto Appeal Software'
(AAS) was launched to fix the
accountability of the adminis-
tration towards the public and
to ensure timely delivery of
services. As many as 570 ser-
vices have been linked to this
software.
While describing Haryana
as predominantly an agrarian
state, the Governor said that
the State Government is of
the firm conviction that pros-
perity and happiness can pre-
vail in Haryana only if farmer
becomes prosperous.
Dattatraya said that the
State Government while reit-
erating its commitment
towards ensuring the wel-
fare of all the sections of the
society in the spirit of Antyo-
daya took several concerted
steps.
Sufficient evidence Norms on fees for 50%
to deny bail to drug seats to be effective from
peddler: NDPS court next academic session
OUR CORRESPONDENT able on Wednesday. NEW DELHI: The National the panel shall frame guide-
Actor Shah Rukh Khan's Medical Commission (NMC) lines for the determination of
MUMBAI: A special court son Aryan Khan, who is one of guidelines stating that the fees fees and all other charges for
here while denying bail to the prime accused in the case, for 50 per cent seats in private 50 per cent of the seats in pri-
alleged drug peddler Abdul is presently out on bail. medical colleges and deemed vate medical institutions and
Kadar Shaikh in the drugs In its order, the court universities should be on par deemed-to-be universities gov-
on cruise case, has observed noted that the Narcotics Con- with that of the government erned under the provisions of
that there was sufficient evi- trol Bureau (NCB) had seized medical colleges of a particu- this legislation. The Centre had
dence to show his complicity 2.5 gm of Ecstasy and 54.3 lar state will be effective from requested the erstwhile Board
in a serious offence pertain- gm of commercial quantity of the next academic session, offi- of Governors in supersession
ing to commercial quantity Mephedrone. cial sources said on Wednesday. of the erstwhile MCI to prepare
of drugs. "There is sufficient evidence The guidelines will have to the draft fee-fixation guidelines
Special Judge V V Patil, des- on record showing complic- be mandatorily implemented for the consideration of the
ignated to hear cases under the ity of the applicant/accused by the fee fixation committee NMC, as and when constituted.
Narcotic Drugs and Psycho- (Shaikh) in commission of of each state for their respective An expert committee was
tropic Substances (NDPS) Act, a serious and grave offence medical colleges, they added. constituted by the BoG-MCI
had rejected Shaikh's bail last pertaining to commercial The NMC issued an office on November 23, 2019 and
month, and the detailed order quantity of contraband," the memorandum on February 3, later, by the NMC.
with reasons was made avail- court said. stating that it has been decided The expert panel recom-

Nation Briefs
that the fees for 50 per cent mended 26 broad draft guide-

NCB to hire financial experts, forensic auditors

seats in private medical col- lines for the determination of
leges and deemed universities fees for the MBBS and post-
should be on par with that of graduation courses and other

to probe dark web, crypto-aided drugs crimes

the government medical col- charges for private medical col-
leges of a particular state or leges and deemed-to-be uni-
MUMBAI COPS SUMMON MIN RANE, HIS Union Territory.
According to the OM, the
versities. The guidelines were
uploaded on the NMC website
SON FOR ‘DEFAMING’ DISHA SALIAN OUR CORRESPONDENT involving complex investiga- son Aryan Khan. income and expenditure of the benefit of this fee structure on May 25 last year, inviting
MUMBAI: Mumbai police have summoned Union tion and high profile cartels The consultancy agen- interested party and related would first be made available public comments. Approxi-
minister Narayan Rane and his MLA son Nitesh Rane NEW DELHI: The Narcotics and syndicates. cies, for which the NCB has parties to unearth the ill-got- to those candidates who have mately 1,800 responses were
to record their statements in connection with a case Control Bureau has decided He asked his investigation issued a notice for empanel- ten money". availed the government quota received.
to hire experts and companies wings to follow up this action ment, will be required to help The experts are also seats but limited to the extent Another expert panel, con-
against them for allegedly defaming the family dealing with financial data by ensuring a proper fund it in "unearthing the chain of expected to assist NCB of 50 per cent of the total sanc- stituted on October 21, 2021
members of late Disha Salian, former manager of analysis and forensic audit to trail investigation and filing transactions for drug money teams in conducting foren- tioned strength of the institute. by the NMC, examined the
deceased Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, on help it probe complex drug of charge sheets before com- and provide effective guid- sic audits, scrutiny of reports However, if the government responses and submitted the
various media platforms, an official said on Wednes- crimes that involve use of the petent courts in time. ance in financial investigation and documents and analysing quota seats are less than 50 per revised draft guidelines. The
day. The police have issued notices against the BJP dark web, cryptocurrencies The directive had come at matters." bank statements, and prop- cent of the total sanctioned recommendations of this panel
minister and his son under section 41A of the Code of and deals concealed through a time the agency was trying They will also assist the erty transactions to unearth seats, the remaining candidates were accepted by the NMC at
multi-layered transactions. to come out of the shadow of NCB in analysing financial the illegal income of an would avail the benefit of hav- its meeting on December 29
Criminal Procedure (CrPC), asking them to appear for Last year, Narcotics Con- the controversy surrounding statements and data avail- accused, associates and fam- ing to pay a fee equivalent to last year. According to the prin-
recording their statements, he said. According to the trol Bureau (NCB) chief S N its probe into some cases at its able in various databases of ily members. that in government medical ciples that would be followed
notice, Nitesh Rane has been asked to appear before Pradhan had directed that Mumbai zonal office, includ- the bureau and other agen- The services of the experts colleges, based purely on merit, in fixing the fees and other
the police official, who is probing the case, on March the agency's sleuths should ing the drugs-on-cruise raids cies, according to the proposal will also be required to anal- the memo issued on February charges in private medical col-
3 and his father Narayan Rane on March 4, he said. only aim to probe cases with of October last year where 20 accessed by PTI. yse financial data and prepare 3 stated. leges and deemed universities,
inter-state and international people were arrested includ- It will also help investiga- company and sector-specific According to section 10(1) no institution should charge a
UNA EXPLOSION MAIN ACCUSED HELD ramifications, and those ing actor Shah Rukh Khan's tors "prepare statements of reports. (i) of the National Medical
Commission (NMC) Act, 2019,
capitation fee in any form or
manner. AGENCIES
IN MUMBAI, DEATH TOLL RISES TO 11
SHIMLA: The main accused in the illegal Una fire-
cracker factory blast in which 11 people have 148 IAF aircraft to World Birth Defects Day: WHO calls for
show capabilities at raising awareness about all birth defects
died so far was arrested on Wednesday, Himachal
Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur informed the
state assembly. Rohit Puri, the accused, was arrested
from Mumbai by the Special Investigation Team (SIT),
headed by DIG Sumedha Dwivedi, Thakur said. He ‘Exercise Vayu Shakti’
gave the information during a discussion on Governor ‘In 2019, birth defects accounted for more than 5.3L deaths globally, includ-
OUR CORESPONDENT
Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar’s address in the ongoing
budget session. In the explosion that had happened
ing more than 1,17,000 deaths in the region around 22% of the global total’
NEW DELHI: A total of 148
on February 22, six migrant workers had been killed. aircraft of the Indian Air Force OUR CORRESPONDENT rubella by 2023 another flag-
THREE CHILDREN ELECTROCUTED (IAF) will demonstrate their
capabilities at Exercise Vayu NEW DELHI: On the World
ship priority all countries of the
region have introduced rubella
IN UP’S MUZAFFARNAGAR Shakti that will take place at Birth Defects Day, the WHO vaccination of girls, reporting
MUZAFFARNAGAR (UP): Three children were Pokharan range in Jaisalmer and its member States in the an average 83 per cent cover-
injured after coming in contact with an electric pole in on March 7, a senior official South-East Asia Region and age, she said. For the region to
a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, said on Tuesday. globally have called for increas- achieve key targets and goals --
Rafale aircraft will partic- ing awareness about all birth including a 35 per cent reduc-
police said on Wednesday. The incident took place in ipate at this exercise for the defects and improve access to tion in folic acid-preventable
Mahalki village on Tuesday when the children were first time and Prime Min- FILE PIC quality care and treatment. neural tube defects, a 50 per
playing near the pole, they said. The injured children ister Narendra Modi will In 2019, birth defects cent reduction in thalassemia
-- Prempal, Yashvardhan and Tarun -- were taken to be the chief guest, the IAF accounted for more than births, and to eliminate con-
hospital, where one of them is serious, they said. official noted. Rafale aircraft will 5,30,000 deaths globally, includ- REPRESENTATIONAL PIC genital syphilis several priorities
The Indian Air Force (IAF) participate at this ing more than 1,17,000 deaths resources, Khetrapal Singh said. all member-States have in place must be addressed, Khetrapal
CRUISE DRUGS CASE: NCB TO QUESTION conducts Exercise Vayu Shakti
exercise for the in the region around 22 per cent In all countries of the South- national action plans to prevent Singh said.
at Pokharan range every three of the global total, said Dr Poo- East Asia Region, the WHO will and control birth defects, and "Our WBDD movement
WITNESSES, FILE CHARGE-SHEET years to demonstrate its readi- first time and Prime nam Khetrapal Singh, the WHO continue to intensify efforts to have initiated hospital-based must continue to build. Birth
NEW DELHI: The NCB will again question some ness to conduct full spectrum Regional Director for South- increase birth defect prevention, birth defects surveillance. defects are common, costly, and
“independent” witnesses and accused, apart from its operations. The last one took Minister Narendra East Asia said. surveillance, care and research, Six member states Bangla- critical. Across the Region, they
own officials involved in the October, 2021 Mumbai place in 2019. Modi will be the They were the third most accelerating the World Birth desh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, account for an increasingly large
Out of 148 aircraft partici- common cause of child mortal- Defects Day (WBDD) move- Myanmar and Nepal continue proportion of under-five mor-
drugs-on-cruise case before filing a chargesheet, of-
pating in the exercise this year,
chief guest ity in the region, and the fourth ment, she said. to provide high-quality data to tality as other causes continue
ficials said on Wednesday. The agency also described
109 will be fighter jets, the IAF most common cause of neona- She said amid the COVID- a WHO-supported online sur- to decline. Together, we must
the media reports of finding no evidence against official noted. Capabilities of Aakash mis- tal mortality, constituting 12 19 response, the WHO contin- veillance database, which by the continue to integrate interven-
accused Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, Jaguar fighter jet, Suk- sile system and Spyder missile per cent of all neonatal deaths, ues to support all countries of end of 2021, had registered more tions to increase birth defect
in the case as “just speculation”. The Delhi-based SIT hoi-30 fighter jet, MiG-29 system will also be shown at she said. In addition to mor- the region to protect, defend and than 4 million births, includ- prevention, surveillance, care
of the agency probing the case is expected to file a fighter jet, Tejas fighter aircraft the exercise, the official said. tality, birth defects can cause advance progress in all areas of ing around 45, 000 babies born and research across programme
chargesheet before a special court in Mumbai by the and various others will show Transport aircraft C17 long term morbidity and dis- health, including to accelerate with birth defects. Khetrapal areas, accelerating progress
end of this month if the investigation is completed, of- their capabilities at Exercise and C130J will also partici- ability, which in low and mid- reductions of maternal, neonatal Singh said. towards our Flagship Priori-
Vayu Shakti 2022, the official pate in the exercise, the official dle-income countries, can strain and under-five mortality since As part of region-wide ties and 'Sustain. Accelerate.
ficial sources said. mentioned. mentioned. health system, social and family 2014, a flagship priority. She said efforts to eliminate measles and Innovate' vision," she stated.
millenniumpost
NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, 3 MARCH, 2022
EDITORIAL An exemplary turnaround
People-centric Nexus of Good In meeting its objective of driving tribal development through market support for
solution tribal products, team TRIFED overcame daunting challenges through collective spirit
I T
ribal Cooperative
t is needless to say that human life and its evolution Marketing Develop-
are inseparably intertwined with the environment ment Federation of
which, alarmingly, stands at the cusp of irreversible India (TRIFED) was
downgrade. The latest IPCC assessment report paints created to drive tribal develop-
a dreadful picture of how humans are continuously drag- ment through marketing sup-
ging themselves into an existential crisis. In the process, port for tribal products. The
before humans, a large number of species are doomed to objective was noble and clear
face extinction. It is perhaps in this light that UN Secre- ANIL SWARUP but the strategy to realise that
tary General António Guterres described the abdication of objective remained unclear.
responsibility by world powers to be “criminal”. The assess- Consequently, the organisation
ment report is being seen as the most severe warning to kept groping for a right course.
the human race. The development that the world has made Three decades passed thus!
over countless centuries has come on account of interaction Every organisation has
with nature. And the dismal state of nature could well lead its own date with destiny!
to a downturn, and possibly a collapse, in the development TRIFED’s transformation
trajectory. The report calls out what humans are doing to began in 2017 when a new
prevent the planet Earth from being highly inadequate. To Managing Director, Pra-
be honest, human endeavor towards preserving the planet vir Krishna, who had earlier
is limited mostly to debates rather than actions. Further, the earned wide attention for his
global debate is limited to containing the global tempera- work as Collector in tribal
ture rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century — Bastar, took charge. When this
which in itself is not good enough. At this temperature, as officer of the Indian Adminis-
per the assessment report, 14 per cent of the species on the trative Service was posted as
planet may be heading towards extinction. Also, this tem- MD, he brought in ideas that
perature is not good enough to prevent the kind of horrify- perhaps sounded too revolu-
ing climatic disasters we have been witnessing over the past tionary in bureaucratic cham-
few years. Exceeding the 1.5 degrees threshold — which bers. He faced scepticism at
appears likely — could simply spell unprecedented disasters A change in every step. But his never-say-
over the coming decades. To find an appropriate escape, the strategy has die spirit prevailed over their
human race needs to (going by the simplistic target set by scepticism.
the United Nations) cut global greenhouse gas emissions resulted in Five years down the line,
by 45 per cent by 2030 and achieve global net-zero emis- an estimated the numbers and actions
sions by 2050. Sadly, countries are, in a way, quibbling over speak for themselves. Dur-
who contributed what to this catastrophic consequence and aggregate ing this period (2017-2021),
who should compensate in what amount. In the first place, benefit of more two of which were marred by
the pandemic, the organisa-
this flawed approach of perceiving climate preservation as
a burden needs to be changed. The magnitude that the cli- than Rs 3,841 tion pressed forward and suc-
mate change problem has acquired demands no less than crore — a cessfully organised 33 tribal
a collaborative global mission as a response. Despite the cultural festivals, with exhibi-
hype and hoopla around climate preservation, it won’t be figure that was tion-cum-sales of tribal handi-
an exaggeration to say that national leaderships are going unimaginable crafts, involving 5,930 artisans,
forward with a passive approach — at least when it comes to generate a cash-flow of Rs
to action. In fact, fat talk and little action is what makes it five years ago 208.79 million. During the
seem like much is being done whereas, in reality, very lit- same period, its showrooms
tle is being done. So, does one expect a sudden change of across the country tripled from
heart among the global leaders? If not, then does one sim- 43 (that had been set up over a
ply keep waiting for dreadful disasters? The fact is that the period of 30 years) to 120; sale-
world badly needs greater sensitization around the climate proceeds vaulted a whopping
issue — among political classes and general masses. A mass 227.11 per cent from Rs 123.2
mobilization of sorts could draw political attention. Masses million to Rs 403 million. Pro-
need to force their national leaders to act proactively in this curement of tribal handicrafts
regard as the external compulsions are falling far behind to rocketed 575.42 per cent from
serve the purpose. There have been snippets of public cam- Rs 76.5 million to Rs 516.7 mil-
paigns here and there but these mostly come in response lion. Artisan man-days boosted
to specific government projects and are not for the broader nearly seven-fold from 0.244
cause of saving the planet. People, in fact, do have a reason million to 1.654 million. The
to come up for the cause of climate preservation. While it is mantra for success was: qual-
hard to conceive people at a mass level taking pains for the
A crisis in the offing
greater global good, the climate change issue is related more
to their daily living conditions. Just imagine the amount
of damage done to people as the IPCC assessment report
states that droughts accounted for a loss of 454 million
hectares of cropland — three-quarters of the global har-
vested area — during 1983-2009. The report showed a clear
linkage between climatic deterioration and food one gets to
have on her plate; also, millions miss having the privilege
two times a day! Farmers have been committing suicide
in central and northern India in herds, where drought is a
Indian education system has already faced a colossal loss during pandemic
recurring disaster. Furthermore, we have been facing direct
consequences of climate change year after year in terms of years, further damage will have to be prevented through viable solutions
C
more intense and frequent disasters. The wounding disas-
ters we have had, particularly over the past few years, need OVID-19 has
no recounting. Around at least 2,000 people lost their lives affected many sec-
last year only. If this could not sensitize people, then what tors. School educa-
could? In case of India, a wide expanse of its topographi- tion has been one
cal expanse — comprising vast coastal landscape towards PRAVIN BHIKALE of the worst-affected among
the south, stretched Himalayan region along the north and them. The dropout rate is at
north-east and flood prone riverine plains in the center — its peak.
is at persistent risk of being jolted by the wrath of nature. Vaishnavi (name changed),
If landslides, tropical storms, flash floods and recurring a fifth-grader from a Pune gov-
droughts could cost people their lives, livelihood and land ernment school, had to leave
then why can’t these be political issues? Mass awareness and and shift to her native village.
mobilization will help the cause in two ways. In the first Her father could not bear the
place, educated action of people will significantly reduce the expenses of two children. He
risk of disasters and, second, it will force politicians to take had lost his job.
actions to save their chair. One may argue that these efforts Shivraj (name changed),
at the local level will just be a drop of water in the ocean but another student from Pune,
a start has to be made somewhere. Mobilization in one cor- could not attend a single
ner of the world will inspire the other corner, and action of online class. His father could
one political class will drive the other to do the same. It is not afford an android phone.
all about who takes the initiative and leads from the front. Nadeem, a sixth-grader, lost
Let young and energetic ones come forward and foundational literacy and
lead the cause because decades of global debate have Reopening numeracy.
yielded us nothing. There are many more such
schools at examples that warn us about
50 per cent an impending educational cri-
DearEditor capacity,
involving
sis. India’s education system
was always characterised by
persistent access issues, learn-
ing gaps, infrastructure and
A TIME TO ACT GOOD teachers rotten syllabus. The pandemic
only in school made it even worse.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent which is Right now, India is in the
a time for fasting and penance for Christians all over work and most challenging situation as
the world. It is noticed that all religions prescribe such collaboration far as the education sector is
a period for the purification of the soul. It is sad that concerned. School education is
with private facing four major issues:
while the externals are followed by most people quite
fastidiously, not enough attention is paid to works of players are 1) Access to virtual
education
charity in helping those in need. The pandemic has left some ways in As many as 43 per cent
many in dire straits. Christians would do well to help which India can of parents in rural areas said
such people in whatever way they can. Fasting is not no online material was sent
only confined to giving up meals. There should be a make up for by the school, while 36 per
sacrifice for spiritual gain. Pope Francis has appealed the loss of cent said their children did
to Christians to pray for peace in Ukraine during the two years not have smartphones. The
season of Lent. He has also asked the followers to Annual State of Education
stay away from the distraction of electronic devices. of education Report 2021 noted that 67.6
However, all these would have no meaning if it did not per cent of students’ families
had one android phone.
bring us closer to God. After all, the ultimate aim of all
Students are not regular in
religions is to bring us closer to God. The period of Lent online classes. It is tough for a
is a good time to do it. teacher to ensure 100 per cent
— ANTHONY HENRIQUES, MUMBAI via email engagement in class. The pan-
demic has created a clear digi-
tal divide. This divide can be
millenniumpost.in eliminated once schools start.
2) Huge learning gap
Log on to write letters to the editor or send them to A study by Azim Premji
letter2editor.mp@gmail.com. You can also send your comments to The Editor, University revealed shocking
Millennium Post, Pratap Bhawan, 5 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110 002 data about learning loss. Dur-
ing COVID-19, “90 per cent
TRIFED was meant to grow as a facilitator and promoter of trade in tribal products, and not as a trading unit
ity products in a wide range,
fair prices, outlet expansion
plus e-shopping, and targeted
publicity. In FY 2020-21 alone,
1,709 products were sourced
from tribal artisans.
Having seen first-hand the
subtle (but predatory) exploita-
tion of the tribes in Bastar, Pra-
vir Krishna had the benefit of
an insider’s perspective in the
matter. TRIFED, he believed,
was the right platform to make
a dent. The objective was clear.
Yet, to realise it on the ground,
the challenges were daunting.
Nonetheless, he chose to give
his best.
Tribal handicrafts are
loved by many. There is often
this talk about sustaining and
promoting this dying genre.
However, there is hardly any
discussion around why it is
dying and where lies the rem-
edy? Pravir Krishna and his
committed team chose to focus
on TRIFED’s principal objec-
tive of bringing home profits
to the artisans. He got TRIFED
to recalibrate its pricing struc-
ture to ensure that the artisan
received the lion’s share in the
sales revenue. This infused
fresh enthusiasm among arti-
Most students lost their fundamental literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills over the past two years
of students have lost at least
one language ability and 80 per
cent of students have lost at
least one mathematical abil-
ity”, it said. The State Council
of Educational Research and
Training has come up with
‘Bridge Courses’ but that has
not yielded any result.
If schools continue to be
closed, there will be colos-
sal learning poverty in India.
Recently, the World Bank’s
Education Director said:
“Learning poverty in India is
expected to increase from 55
per cent to 70 per cent”. In the
Indian context, if schools con-
tinue to be closed, it would be
an incalculable learning loss.
3) Negative impact on men-
tal health of students
Students during the pan-
demic have undergone unusual
social and emotional condi-
tions. In cities, students have
been locked down against their
instincts. An increase in screen
time, lack of physical activity,
lack of socialisation and addic-
tion to social media have had a
terrible impact on their physi-
cal and mental health.
4) Engaging teachers in non-
teaching jobs
In one of the government
schools in Pune, there is one
Editorial
sans. They began to receive
more work-orders and earned
better margins.
Team TRIFED was aware
that TRIFED was not meant to
grow into a trading house, but
as a facilitator and promoter of
trade in tribal products.
If TRIFED’s performance
in the last five years has been
spectacular in the field of
handicrafts, in the other field
of non-timber forest products
(NTFP), it has been nothing
short of being revolutionary.
Pravir persuaded the Min-
istry of Tribal Affairs to re-
build the Scheme of Minimum
Support Price for Minor Forest
Produce and development of
the value chain. The coverage
of the scheme was expanded
both in terms of NTFPs and
also the number of states
covered. An MOU between
TRIFED and states was intro-
duced to lend greater clarity
and discipline to the scheme.
Pravir and his officers travelled
to every state to sensitise lead-
ers and officers regarding the
importance of the scheme. The
results were there for everyone
to see. From just nine states
in 2013, today 28 states are
permanent teacher for 120
kids. How can a teacher han-
dle 120 students in the vir-
tual space? How would she/he
balance her/his non-teaching
work with teaching in a pan-
demic scenario?
Teachers are being engaged
in COVID-19 duties. This is
when school education is in
the doldrums. Can’t the gov-
ernment hire other people for
COVID-19 duties?
Suggestions
Here are some recommen-
dations to cope up with the
existing and upcoming edu-
cation crisis:
Reopen schools with 50 per
cent capacity or adopt a
hybrid model
Fear of COVID-19 spread
cannot justify keeping schools
closed for a long time. It’s
advisable to adopt a hybrid
model.
Schools can be reopened
at 50 per cent of their capac-
ity. Schools can broadcast
physical classrooms through
online apps for students whose
parents are unwilling to send
them to school.
Schools can reopen in vil-
lages at 100 per cent capacity if
such villages are not in the red
or yellow zone.
covered; from just 10 prod-
ucts in 2013, today nearly
87 products are included.
The tribal NTFP-gatherers
(almost entirely women) have
increased tenfold. The mecha-
nism to determine MSP has
been rationalised. Procure-
ment has shot up from Rs
30 crore (2013) to Rs 1,843
crore. The change in strategy
has resulted in an estimated
aggregate benefit (state pro-
curement + private sector
procurement at MSP) of more
than Rs 3,841 crore — a fig-
ure that was unimaginable five
years ago!
The true achievement of
TRIFED, however, goes far
beyond numbers. It concerns
a new perspective on MSP for
MFP, enough to make econo-
mists sit up and think anew.
Injecting new zeal in Team
TRIFED is another feather
in Pravir’s cap which speaks
eloquently of his leadership
qualities. He shared his vision
with his core team and saw
that every TRIFED employee
down the line felt inspired to
chip in. Rewarding high per-
formers and admonishing lag-
gards unequivocally, using tact,
Integrated SEL (social-emo-
tional learning) to keep stu-
dents happy
Students have not been able
to socialise for two years as
schools have been closed. SEL
can be included in day-to-day
teaching. The Delhi Govern-
ment’s happiness curriculum
is the best example.
Level-wise buckets
for students
This year, the Maharash-
tra government has launched
a bridge course of 45 days for
encountering learning gaps.
It’ll be tough to fill the gaps of
two years in 45 days.
Most students lost their
fundamental literacy and
numeracy (FLN) during these
two years. Expecting students
to perform in their respective
grades is meaningless and does
not produce a positive result. It
is advisable to bucket the stu-
dents according to their level.
The local administration
can start community schools.
These schools can be in any
community hall, temple or
any open space where 5-10
students can quickly gather by
keeping social distance.
Volunteers from villages
can be responsible for teaching
FLN. Pratham, a non-profit, had
7
keeping communication chan-
nels open, roping in consul-
tants and working tirelessly
alongside field workers at times
— all of this combined to bol-
ster team’s morale and target
orientation. The change is vis-
ible. You can feel the buzz in
the TRIFED teams pan India,
working relentlessly to realise
the true meaning of the word
team — ‘Together Everyone
Achieves More’.
TRIFED and the tribes
seem to be inspiring each other.
Seeing the tribes’ new-found
enthusiasm for processing of
NTFP, TRIFED has scaled up
the idea under a scheme called
Trifood. This relates to estab-
lishment of NTFP-based food
parks in tribal areas. Two such
parks are fast taking shape in
Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh) and
Raigad (Maharashtra). These
are being set up in collabora-
tion with the Ministry of Food
Processing.
The tribes of India are now
on a great springboard. Pravir
Krishna’s work in Bastar two
decades ago, had shown that
NTFP can be an amazing driver
of tribal development, not only
in terms of higher income but
also (maybe more so) in the
fields of education, healthcare
and holistic development. He
has set the ball rolling now at
the national level. The ball can-
not but roll on.
The story of his passion and
toil has been documented in
‘Tryst with the Tribes’. It gives
us an insight into the dynamics
of dreaming and implementing
tribal welfare schemes from
the heart.
Pravir Krishna and his
remarkable team have dem-
onstrated that despite a dif-
ficult set of circumstances, it
can be made to happen. They
present a wonderful example
of Nexus of Good that can be
replicated in other sectors and
scaled as well.
Views expressed are personal
done an excellent job in their
learning camp project through
volunteers and local staff.
In our school, we are focus-
ing on differentiated learn-
ing. We have three buckets of
students in the same grade,
namely high-middle-low
rigour kids. We are experienc-
ing improvement in engage-
ment FLN levels. We are doing
this by using community halls.
Collaboration with private
players or non-profits to
restore and improve literacy
Literacy and numeracy
have been ruined during the
last two years. Bridge courses
did not reach every pocket
of students. The Public Pri-
vate Partnership model can
be fruitful in restoring and
improving literacy levels. The
education department can col-
laborate with established non-
profits to develop a roadmap
and counter learning gaps.
Teach for India, a non-
profit, has developed a bridge
curriculum and implemented
it in different schools with the
help of their volunteers. Lead-
ership for Equity, another non-
profit, already works in a few
districts of Maharashtra to
address the issue of learning
gaps. Similarly, the government
can do this at a mass level.
Teachers should be involved
only in school work
I spoke to a few teach-
ers from schools run by the
Pune Municipal Corporation.
They said they were busy with
COVID-19 duties like surveys,
contact tracing, vaccination
drive, etc. How can teachers
perform their teaching roles in
such a situation? The admin-
istration can hire non-teach-
ing personnel to carry out
COVID-19 duties.
No one knows when this
pandemic will end, but schools
should not be shut down.
Schools have to reopen and
that too permanently to save
India from an impending edu-
cational crisis.  DTE
Views expressed are personal
8 mp
Russian forces escalate attacks
on Ukraine’s civilian areas
Nobody will forgive. Nobody will forget, Ukraine President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy vowed after the bloodshed on the square in Kharkiv
KYIV: Russian forces escalated
their attacks on crowded urban
areas Tuesday, bombarding the
central square in Ukraine's sec-
ond-biggest city and Kyiv's main
TV tower in what the country's
president called a blatant cam-
paign of terror.
Nobody will forgive.
Nobody will forget, President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed
after the bloodshed on the
square in Kharkiv.
Meanwhile, a 40-mile
convoy of hundreds of Rus-
sian tanks and other vehicles
advanced slowly on Kyiv, the
capital city of nearly 3 million
people, in what the West feared
was a bid by Russian President
Vladimir Putin to topple the
government and install a Krem-
lin-friendly regime.
The invading forces also
pressed their assault on other
World
towns and cities, including the
strategic ports of Odesa and
Mariupol in the south.
Day 6 of the biggest ground
war in Europe since World War
II found Russia increasingly
isolated, beset by the sanctions
that have thrown its economy
into turmoil and left the coun-
try practically friendless, apart
from a few nations like China,
Belarus and North Korea.
As the fighting in Ukraine
raged, the death toll remained
unclear. One senior Western
intelligence official estimated
that more than 5,000 Russian
soldiers had been captured or
killed. Ukraine gave no overall
estimate of troop losses.
The UN human rights office
said it has recorded 136 civilian
deaths. The real toll is believed
to be far higher.  AGENCIES
Third World War, should it
break out, will be 'nuclear
and devastating': Russia
MOSCOW: Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov on
Wednesday warned that a
third World War, should it
break out, will be "nuclear
and devastating", amid spi-
ralling tensions with the
West over Moscow's ongo-
ing massive military opera-
tion against Ukraine. "A third
World War would be a dev-
astating nuclear war, Rus-
sia's longtime top diplomat
said in an interview to the
Al Jazeera television chan-
nel, according to state-owned
TASS news agency. Also, Lav-
rov stressed US President Joe
Biden's remark that a third
World War would be an alter-
native to Washington's tough
sanctions against Moscow.
Lavrov said that Russia
was ready for sanctions that
were imposed against it but
was surprised that the penal-
ties affected athletes and jour-
nalists. "We were ready for
sanctions but did not expect
that they would affect ath-
letes, intellectuals, actors and
journalists, he said.  AGENCIES
‘Dictators’ would ‘pay a price’ for
‘invading’ a foreign country: Biden
WASHINGTON DC: Accus-
ing his Russian counterpart
of waging a "premeditated
and unprovoked" war against
Ukraine, President Joe Biden in
his maiden State of the Union
Address asserted that "dictators"
like Vladimir Putin would "pay
a price" for "invading" a foreign
country. Set upon a backdrop of
a conflict in Ukraine that grows
deadlier each day, Biden called
for a united resistance to Russia's
aggression and sought to reas-
sure pandemic-weary Ameri-
cans who are also feeling the
pinch of rising inflation.
"A Russian dictator, invad-
ing a foreign country, has costs
around the world," Biden said
in a prime-time speech, nearly
a week after President Putin
ordered a special military opera-
tion against Ukraine.
"Throughout our history
we've learned this lesson when
dictators do not pay a price for
their aggression, they cause
more chaos. They keep mov-
ing. And, the costs and threats to
America and the world keep ris-
ing," the 79-year-old Democrat,
the oldest serving US President,
said addressing the joint session
THURSDAY, 3 MARCH, 2022 | NEW DELHI
DURING SOTU ADDRESS
In a first, 2 powerful
women politicians seated
behind President Biden
WASHINGTON DC: For
the first time, two powerful
women politicians -- Kamala
Harris and Nancy Pelosi --
were seated on the platform
behind President Joe Biden
during a State of the Union
address at the US Capitol on
Tuesday.
Vice President Harris and
House Speaker Pelosi flanked
the president as is customary
during the annual State of the
Union. Pelosi, 81, is the first
and only woman to serve as
Speaker of the House and Har-
ris, 57, is the first woman to
of the US Congress. "That's why
the NATO Alliance was created
to secure peace and stability in
Europe after World War II. The
United States is a member along
(Formerly ‘IFM Impex Global Limited’) ,
Website:www.nmsresourcesglobal.com
NMS Resources Global Ltd, have lost a bag/
parcel on 02.03.2022 having documents as
per the details:
1. Miscellaneous documents / agreement with
2. Share certificate of subsidiaries of the company
3. Two Statutory Registers of the company.
Founder / informer will be rewarded and please
contact the above mentioned given number.
millenniumpost
serve as vice president.
Harris and Pelosi were sit-
ting behind Biden during the
State of the Union because
the two seats on the dais have
always been reserved for the
vice president and the House
Speaker, regardless of politi-
cal affiliation.
Both Harris and Pelosi also
sat behind the president dur-
ing his address to Congress
last year but that speech, deliv-
ered just weeks after Biden
took office, was not considered
a State of the Union address,
US media reported.  AGENCIES
with 29 other nations. It matters.
American diplomacy matters,
he said, launching a blistering
attack on the 69-year-old Rus-
sian president.  AGENCIES
Ukraine crisis:
UK piles
sanctions on
Russia, Belarus
LONDON: Britain has piled on
further sanctions against Russia
and also imposed a first wave
of punitive measures against
Belarus for its role in the inva-
sion of Ukraine.
Russian ships have been
banned from British ports in
a fresh raft of UK sanctions
against Moscow announced
on Tuesday. The ban includes
any vessels owned or operated
by anyone connected to Rus-
sia, with UK authorities given
new powers to detain Rus-
sian vessels. And, in what was
termed as the "first tranche"
of sanctions against Belarus,
four senior defence officials and
two military enterprises have
been sanctioned with immedi-
ate effect under the UK's Russia
sanctions regime.
"We are inflicting economic
pain on Putin and those closest
to him. We will not rest until
Ukraine's sovereignty and ter-
ritorial integrity is restored,"
said UK Foreign Secretary Liz
Truss.
"The Lukashenko regime
actively aids and abets Rus-
sia's illegal invasion and will
be made to feel the economic
consequences for its sup-
port for Putin. There will be
nowhere to hide. Nothing and
no one is off the table," she
said, with reference to Krem-
lin-supporting Belarus Presi-
dent Alexander Lukashenko.
Those sanctioned include the
Belarus Chief of the General
Staff and First Deputy Minis-
ter of Defence, Major General
Victor Gulevich.
The UK Foreign, Com-
monwealth and Development
Office (FCDO) said Gulevich
is responsible for directing the
actions of the Belarusian armed
forces, which have supported
and enabled the Russian inva-
sion of Ukraine.  AGENCIES
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millenniumpost
NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, 3 MARCH, 2022 Business mp 9
Petrol & diesel price hike to US will release of 30 mn barrels of
oil to maintain global prices: Biden
continue from coming week WASHINGTON: US Presi-
dent Joe Biden announced that
his administration has worked
with 30 other countries to
gic Petroleum Reserve. And we
stand ready to do more if nec-
essary, unified with our allies,
Biden said.

Petrol costs Rs 95.41 a litre in Delhi & diesel is priced at Rs 86.67. This
release millions of barrels of
oil from American strategic
reserves to maintain the global
price is after accounting for excise duty cut and a reduction in VAT rate oil prices in the midst of a Rus-
sian invasion of Ukraine.
In his maiden State of the
OUR CORRESPONDENT Union Address on Tuesday,
promised. A Russian dictator,
These steps will help blunt
gas prices here at home. And
I know the news about what’s
happening can seem alarming.
But I want you to know that we
are going to be okay, he said,
assuring his countrymen that

Oil prices surge $5

Biden said his administration invading a foreign country, has he would ensure that inflation
NEW DELHI: Petrol and diesel was taking robust action to costs around the world, Biden remains under control.
price hikes are likely to resume make sure the pain of the US said. Biden said his plan to fight

per barrel despite

after state elections get over next sanctions is targeted at Russia’s Tonight, I can announce inflation will lower the costs
week to bridge the Rs 9 a litre economy. that the United States has and lower the deficit. The US
gap created by international oil He vowed that his admin- worked with 30 other coun- president said 17 Nobel laure-

prices soaring past $100 a barrel.
International crude oil
prices shot above $110 a barrel
for the first time since mid-2014
on fears that oil and gas supplies
from energy giant Russia could
be disrupted, either by the con-
flict in Ukraine or retaliatory
western sanctions.
The basket of crude oil India
buys rose above $102 per bar-
rel on March 1, the highest
since August 2014, according
to information from the Petro-
leum Planning and Analysis
Cell (PPAC) of the oil minis-
try. This compares to an aver-
age of $81.5 per barrel price of
the Indian basket of crude oil
at the time of freezing of pet-
rol and diesel prices in early
November last year.
“With state elections getting
over next week, we expect daily
fuel price hikes to restart across
both gasoline and diesel,” JP
Morgan said in a report.
The seventh and final phase
of polling for the Uttar Pradesh
legislative assembly is on Febru-
ary 7 and the counting of votes
slated for March 10. State-owned
fuel retailers Indian Oil Corpo-
ration (IOC), Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and
Hindustan Petroleum Corpo-
ration Ltd (HPCL) are making
a loss of Rs 5.7 a litre on petrol
and diesel. This is without tak-
ing into account their normal
margin of Rs 2.5 per litre.
The brokerage said for
oil marketing companies to
revert to normalised market-
ing margins, retail prices need
to increase by Rs 9 a litre or 10
per cent. “We expect a combi-
nation of small excise duty cuts
(Rs 1-3 per litre) and retail price
hikes (Rs 5-8 a litre) to reflect
the pass-through of $100 per
barrel oil,” it said.
Russia makes up for a third
of Europe’s natural gas and
about 10 per cent of global oil
production. About a third of
Russian gas supplies to Europe
usually travel through pipelines
crossing Ukraine.
But for India, Russian
supplies account for a very
small percentage. While India
imported 43,400 barrels per day
of oil from Russia in 2021 (about
1 per cent of overall its imports),
coal imports from Russia at 1.8
million tonnes in 2021 made
up for 1.3 per cent of all coal
imports. India also buys 2.5 mil-
lion tonnes of LNG a year from
Gazprom of Russia.
While supplies at the
moment seem to be of little
worry for India, it is the prices
that are a cause of concern.
Domestic fuel prices - which
are directly linked to interna-
tional oil prices as India imports
85 per cent of its oil needs - have
not been revised for a record
118 days in a row. Rates are sup-
posed to be revised on a daily
basis but state-owned fuel retail-
ers IOC, BPCL and HPCL froze
rates on sooner did electioneer-
ing to elect a new government
in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and
release of supplies
BEIJING: Oil prices surged
another $5 per barrel on
Wednesday after an agree-
ment by the United States and
other major governments to
release supplies from strate-
gic stockpiles failed to calm
market anxiety over Russia’s
attack on Ukraine.
Benchmark US crude rose
$5.24 per barrel to $108.60 in
electronic trading on the New
York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the interna-
tional price standard, gained
$5.43 to $110.40 per barrel
in London.
The 31 members of the
International Energy Agency,
three other states started.
Petrol costs Rs 95.41 a litre
in Delhi and diesel is priced
at Rs 86.67. This price is after
accounting for the excise duty
cut and a reduction in the VAT
rate by the state government.
Before these tax reductions,
petrol price had touched an all-
the club of major oil consum-
ers, agreed Tuesday to release
60 million barrels of crude
from stockpiles in hopes of
calming markets.
That failed to calm con-
cern about disruption in
supplies from Russia, the sec-
ond-biggest exporter behind
Saudi Arabia.
Markets dismissed the
notion that 60 million barrels
of strategic reserves released
will be consequential to the
risks of Russian supply jeop-
ardized, Tan Boon Heng of
Mizuho Bank said in a report.
Russia pumps more than that
in just six days.  AGENCIES
time high of Rs 110.04 a litre
and diesel came for Rs 98.42.
These rates corresponded to
Brent soaring to a peak of $86.40
per barrel on October 26, 2021.
Brent was $82.74 on November
5, 2021, before it started to fall
and touched $68.87 a barrel in
December.
istration will use every tool at
its disposal to protect Ameri-
can businesses and consumers.
To all Americans, I will be
honest with you, as I’ve always
Exports jump 22.36% to $33.81 bn in
Feb; trade deficit widens to $21.19 bn
NEW DELHI: India’s exports
rose by 22.36 per cent to $33.81
billion in February on account
of healthy growth in sectors
like engineering, petroleum
and chemicals, even as the
trade deficit widened to $21.19
billion, according to prelimi-
nary data released by the com-
merce ministry on Wednesday.
Imports during the month
too jumped by about 35 per
cent to $55 billion, with
inbound shipments of petro-
leum and crude oil surging
66.56 per cent to $15 billion.
The trade deficit stood
at $13.12 billion in February
2021. “India’s merchandise
export in April 2021-Febru-
tries to release 60 million bar-
rels of oil from reserves around
the world. America will lead
that effort, releasing 30 million
barrels from our own Strate-
ary 2022 was $374.05 billion,
an increase of 45.80 per cent
over $256.55 billion in April
2020-February 2021,” it said.
Imports during the
11-month period rose by 59.21
per cent to $550.12 billion.
Trade deficit during this
period widened to $176.07 bil-
lion as against $88.99 billion
during April-February 2020-
21. According to the data, gold
imports in February dipped by
11.45 per cent to $4.68 billion.
Imports of electronic goods
rose by about 29 per cent to
$6.24 billion.
Exports of engineering
goods, petroleum and chem-
icals in February increased by
ates in economics say his plan
will ease long-term inflation-
ary pressures and top business
leaders and most Americans
support his plan.  AGENCIES
31.34 per cent, 66.29 per cent
and 24.74 per cent to $9.27
billion, $4.1 billion and $2.4
billion, respectively.
Pharmaceutical exports,
however, slipped by 3.13 per
cent to $1.9 billion in February.
Commenting on the fig-
ures, the Federation of Indian
Export Organisations said
though the government has
announced a slew of measures
to support exports, the need of
the hour is to soon announce
an extension of the interest
equalisation scheme and allow
transfer of MEIS (Merchandise
Export from India Scheme),
and increase the validity of
scrips to 24 months.  PTI

Madhabi Puri Buch GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL

takes over as Sebi chief
MUMBAI: Madhabi Puri Buch
took over as the Chairperson of
capital markets regulator Sebi
on Wednesday, succeeding Ajay
Tyagi who completed his five-
year term.
Buch, the first woman to
head the important financial
regulator and also the first non-
bureaucrat to lead it in many
years, was appointed by the
government for a three-year
term this week.
Thanking Tyagi for his lead-
ership and building the right
foundations, Buch said, “look-
ing forward to building on the
strong foundation that you have
given us”.
She was speaking at an
event organised by Sebi for her
taking over as the chief. Tyagi
was also felicitated at the event.
Buch, who has worked with
the ICICI Bank group for the
longest time, earlier served as
Exxon’s Russia
a Whole Time Member of the
regulator till October last year.
She handled important
functions like the Market Reg-
ulation Department, Market
Intermediaries Regulation and
Supervision Department, Inte-
grated Surveillance Depart-
ment, Investment Management
Department and Department of
Economic and Policy Analysis
in her earlier stint with Sebi. PTI
ICA-T3903(3) /2022
GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL
E TENDER NOTICE
e-Tender is being invited by the Secretary, Siliguri RMC for
GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL
WEST BENGAL HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE
the following works, details of which may be had from this NOTICE INVITING TENDER
office during the office hours or in the website, namely - http://
N.I.T No.44 of G.M. (Elect) of 2021-22
wbtenders.gov.in. Sealed Single Part tenders on Percentage basis are invited
1. Tender Ref. No: RMC/04-SEC/SLG/2021-22 Dated for the work of “Providing various Electronic Installation at
Newtown kolkata under WBHIDCO” etc.” from the agencies
02/03/2022 Vide Tender ID.No. 2022_WBSMB_368525_1
having ability in execution for similar nature of work. Last date
Last Date of submission of bid (Online): 18/03/2022 at
17.00hours. of receiving application 09-03-2022 upto 3.00 P.M. Detailed
may be seen in our website at www.wbhidcoltd.com.
2. Tender Ref. No: 01/ E-Quotation/Secretary/ SRMC/2021-
22 Vide Tender ID.No. 2022_WBSMB_368533_1
Last Date of submission of bid (Online): 18/03/2022 at ICA-T3875(3) /2022
17.00hours.
Sd/- Secretary,
Siliguri RMC
GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL
WEST BENGAL HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE
N.I.T No.156 of AGM(Engg)-IV of 2021-2022
Sealed tenders are invited from bonafied, resourceful, experienced outsiders hav-
ing experience in execution of similar nature of works from any Organization for
the work- “i)Painting of Road Kerb Wall along Service Road from Bondher More
to MWM in New Town, Kolkata. (ii)Painting and repairing of Bamboo Fencing of
Median in both directions from Jatragachi Bridge to Westin in New Town, Kolkata. ICA-T3867(3) /2022
(iii)Painting and repairing of Bamboo Fencing of Median in both directions from
Westin to Eco Park Gate No-1 in New Town, Kolkata. (iv)Painting and repairing of
Bamboo Fencing of Median in both directions from Eco Park Gate No-1 to Pechar
More in New Town, Kolkata. (v)Painting and repairing of Bamboo Fencing of Median
in both directions from Pechar More to Misti Hub in New Town, Kolkata.” Last date
of receiving application 09.03.2022 upto 12.00 P.M in the office of Additional ICA-T3865(3) /2022
General Manager (Engg)-IV, WB HIDCO
Additional General Manager (Engg)-IV WB HIDCO
ICA-T3916(2) /2022

exit puts OVL

Notice inviting Tender Notice Inviting E -Tender ICA-T3878(2) /2022
Tenders are invited from Bonafied EE, Kolkata South-II Division, H. Dte., 21,
resourceful and financially sound agencies

in a dilemma
NEW DELHI: Exxon Mobil
Corp’s decision to exit Russia
has put India’s flagship overseas
firm ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL)
in a fix as it is a partner in the
global energy giant-operated
Sakhalin-1 oil fields in Far East
Russia, sources said.
OVL and three other state-
owned Indian firms hold 49.9
per cent stake in a separate
Vankor oilfield in west Siberia
but that investment will not be
impacted as they repatriated
their dividend income from
last year in January 2022 and
would not immediately face
issues because of Russia being
cut off from the global payment
system SWIFT over its Ukraine
invasion.
ExxonMobil holds 30 per
cent stake in the Sakhalin-1 off-
shore oil assets, where ONGC
Videsh Ltd — the overseas
investment arm of state-owned
Oil and Natural Gas Corpora-
tion (ONGC) — has a 20 per
cent interest. The field, which
produced some 227,400 bar-
rels of oil a day (11.35 million
tonnes a year) and over 12 bil-
lion cubic metres of natural and
associated gas in 2021, is oper-
ated by ExxonMobil.
While it has not put a time-
frame for leaving the venture,
the exit of ExxonMobil would
mean technical manpower and
expertise would no longer be
available at the project, sources
said. In all likelihood, Russia’s
Rosneft, which holds 20 per
cent participating interest in
the fields, will take over Exxon’s
share, they said.  PTI
Bharat Sabha Path, Kolkata-12, invites e-
for with valid credential against NIT09 OF NIT (online) for the work vide Tender ref.
2021-22 of the undersigned .Details may no.WBHOUSING/EE/KSII_D/e-NIT_10 OF
be had from the Notice Board, O/o the 2021-22 (2nd call)& Tender ID No.
undersigned on all working days within 2022_HSD_368166_1. Bid submission end
ICA-T3859(3) /2022
office hours. Last date of application for date (Online) is 14.03.2022 at 11.00
permission: 05.04.2022 up to 13.30 hrs. AM.Detail inf./download/upload will be
Sd/- ARDHENDU SARKAR, Executive available from the website GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL
Engineer, Kolkata North-I Division, HD. http://www.wbtenders.gov.in
ICA-T3873(2) /2022 ICA-T3871(3) /2022
GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL ICA-T3844(3)/2022
WEST BENGAL HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE
e-N.IT. No. 26of G.M.(E) – I of 2021-22 ICA-T3906(2) /2022
Tender is invited for above NIT “Operational Maintenance of TU-
142Aircraft,and Housekeeping & Sanitationetc., along with the
services of TU-142technicians,Curator,at new Town, Kolkatafor the
period of six monthsfrom 1st April 2022to September 2022”hav-
ing experience in similar nature of works from any Govt. Orga-
nization. Last date of submitting application 10.03.2022 up to ICA-T3848(3)/2022
6.00 PM. Detailed may be seeninthewebsitesat wbtenders.gov. ICA-T3912(3) /2022
in/nicgep/app &www.wbhidcoltd.com.
Sd/- General Manager (Engg.) - I
GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL
WEST BENGAL HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE
e-Tender notice No. 157 of 2021-2022
e- tender is invited for “ENGAGEMENT OF HOUSE KEEPING
AGENCY FOR BISWA BANGLA CONVENTION CENTRE IN NEW
TOWN, KOLKATA” in the manner as described in the detailed
e-tender notice available on WBHIDCO website-www.wbhid-
coltd.com in e-tender portal. Last date of Bid submission closing ICA-T3863(3) /2022
(on line)- 19.03.2022 upto 2.00 P.M. Detailed may be seen in
our website at www.wbhidcoltd.com.
GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL
Sd/- Additional General Manager (Engg)-IV
OFFICE OF THE
ICA-T3900(3) /2022 SILIGURI REGULATED MARKET COMMITTEE
ICA-T3882(3) /2022 (A Statutory Body Constituted by the Government of West
Bengal Kishan Bhavan, P.O. Pradhannagar, Dist Darjeeling.
GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL NOTICE INVITING TENDER NO-01/02/03/- 2021-2022
WEST BENGAL HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE
e-Tender notice No.109 of 2021-2022
e- tender is invited for the work of “Collection of Parking fees Sealed Tender being invited by the Secretary, Siliguri
from Parking Area adjacent to Alipore Central Correctional RMC for the 3 Nos. of work under Siliguri RMC., details of
Home, Kolkata (for 12 months” in the manner as described in the which may be had from this office during the office hours.
detailed e-tender notice available on websites:-wbtenders.gov. Last Date of Application of Tender of within 2.00 P.M. of
in and wbhidcoltd.com & in e-tender portal. Last date of Bid
submission on 14.03.2022 upto 2.00 P.M. Details may be 11.03.2022.
Sd/- Secretary,
seen in website at www.wbhidcoltd.com.
Sd/- Addl. General Manager (Engg)-III Siliguri RMC
WB HIDCO Ltd ICA-T3885(3) /2022
ICA-T3897(2) /2022
10 mp
Markets plunge as Ukraine war Russia-Ukraine war: Govt
may defer mega LIC IPO
escalates, Sensex falls 778 pts
Rupee declines 47 paise to 75.80 against dollar as riskier assets take a hit
OUR CORRESPONDENT
MUMBAI: Reversing their
two-session rising streak,
equity benchmarks buck-
led under selling pressure
on Wednesday as the Rus-
sia-Ukraine war hammered
investor confidence and roiled
financial markets globally.
A sharp depreciation in the
rupee, unabated selling by for-
eign investors and lacklustre
macroeconomic data added to
the gloom, analysts said.
Investors’ wealth tumbled
Rs 86,741.74 crore on Wednes-
day, mirroring weakness in the
global equity markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex
opened weak and plunged
about 1,200 points in intra-day
trade, before recovering some
lost ground. It finally ended
778.38 points or 1.38 per cent
lower at 55,468.90.
On similar lines, the
broader NSE Nifty shed 187.95
points or 1.12 per cent to close
at 16,605.95.
Maruti Suzuki was the top
loser in the Sensex pack, tum-
I-T refunds of
over `1.83L cr
issued so far
in this fiscal
NEW DELHI: The income tax
department on Wednesday said
it has issued refunds worth over
Rs 1.83 lakh crore to more than
2.09 crore taxpayers so far this
fiscal. This includes 1.70 crore
refunds of the 2020-21 fiscal
ended March 31, 2021, amount-
ing to Rs 34,202.31 crore.
“CBDT issues refunds of
over Rs 1,83,579 crore to more
than 2.09 crore taxpayers from
1st Apr, 2021 to 28th Feb, 2022,”
the I-T department tweeted.
The refund includes per-
sonal income tax refunds of Rs
65,938 crore issued to over 2.07
crore individuals and corporate
tax refunds of over Rs 1.17 lakh
crore in 2.30 lakh cases.  PTI
Railways post record
rise of 176 MT loading
in FY22 till February
NEW DELHI: The Railways has
registered a record increase of
176 MT in loading during this
financial year till February 28 as
compared to last year, according
to official data. Railways has set
a target of achieving 1,400 MT of
loading by the end of this finan-
cial year, officials said.
The total loading this year
till February 28 was 1,278 MT.
In fiscal 2017-18, Indian Rail-
ways recorded 1,162.6 MT
freight loading and in fiscal
2018-19, it recorded 1,225.3
MT freight loading.
It has also recorded the high-
est freight loading of 129.11 MT
for January 2022. This month,
it has registered 119.76 mil-
lion MT of freight loading, up
Economic dangers from Russia-Ukraine war ripple across globe
Russia is an important supplier of oil, natural gas & metals, and higher prices will inflict economic damage across globe
WASHINGTON: Moscow’s
war on Ukraine and the fero-
cious financial backlash it’s
unleashed are not only inflict-
ing an economic catastrophe
on President Vladimir Putin’s
Russia.
The repercussions are also
menacing the global economy,
shaking financial markets and
making life more perilous for
everyone from Uzbek migrant
workers to European consum-
ers to hungry Yemeni families.
Even before Putin’s troops
invaded Ukraine, the global
economy was straining under a
range of burdens: Surging infla-
tion, tangled supply chains,
Business
NSE NIFTY
Intra-day on March 2, 2022
Previous
close:
16,793.90 -187.95
(-1.12%)
High:
16,678.50
Open:
Open:
16,593.10 Close: 55,629.30
Low:
16,478.65 16,605.95
9am 10 11 12 1pm 2 3 4 9am 10
Tata Steel, Titan, Reliance Industries,
Nestle India and Axis Bank climbed up
to 5.54%. Market heavyweight Reliance
Industries spurted 1.67% cent after crude
oil prices touched the $110 per barrel
bling 6 per cent, after the coun-
try’s largest carmaker reported
subdued sales and production
figures for February, hit by the
ongoing global semiconductor
India’s mfg activities expand in Feb: PMI
NEW DELHI: India’s man-
ufacturing sector activities
expanded in February as out-
put and new orders grew at
accelerated rates, supported
by favourable demand condi-
tions, a monthly survey said on
Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted IHS
Markit India Manufacturing
Purchasing Managers’ Index
(PMI) was at 54.9 in February,
up from 54.0 in January, signal-
ling a stronger improvement in
the sector’s health.
The February PMI data
pointed to an improvement in
overall operating conditions for
the eighth straight month. In
PMI parlance, a print above 50
means expansion, while a score
below 50 denotes contraction.
Sustained sales growth sup-
ported the upturn in manufac-
turing sector output in February.
Moreover, firms responded to
strong increases in new work
intakes by lifting production,
input buying and stocks of pur-
chases, the survey said.
“Latest PMI data for India’s
manufacturing sector revealed
from 112.39 MT for the same
month last year. “The highest-
ever annual incremental freight
loading by IR,” Railway Minis-
ter Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a
tweet on Wednesday.
The East Coast Railway zone
became the first zonal railway in
this financial year to achieve 200
MT freight loading, registering
a growth of 26.67 MT over the
corresponding period last year.
The zonal railway has
already loaded 200.50 MT
of freight during this year as
against 173.82 MT last year.
Officials said the major
freight being loaded continued
to be coal followed by cement
clinker, foodgrains, petroleum
and containers.  PTI
tumbling stock prices.
The Ukraine crisis both
magnified each threat and
complicated the potential
solutions.
We are actually in
uncharted territory,’’ said Clay
Lowery, executive vice presi-
dent at the Institute of Interna-
tional Finance, a trade group of
global banks. We know there
are consequences that we can-
not predict.’’
For now at least, the dam-
age to the overall global econ-
omy appears to be relatively
slight, if only because Russia
and Ukraine are not economic
powerhouses. Important as
BSE SENSEX
Intra-day on March 2, 2022
Previous
close:
56,247.28 -778.38
(-1.38%)
High:
55,755.09
Close
Low: 55,468.90
55,020.10
11 12 1pm 2 3
KBK Infographics
shortage. Other auto stocks too
bore the brunt of heavy selling.
Dr Reddy’s, Asian Paints,
ICICI Bank, HDFC twins and
UltraTech Cement were among
India Manufacturing PMI
50 = No change on previous month (Seasonally adjusted)
57.5
55.5
55.4
Increasing
rate of
50.8
growth
50
Increasing
48.1
rate of
contraction
PMI: Purchasing
Managers' Index
Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb
Sources: Nikkei, IHS Markit
an improvement in operating
conditions in February. Out-
put and new orders expanded
at stronger rates, while buy-
ing activity continued,” said
Shreeya Patel, an economist at
IHS Markit.
“There were, however, some
key concerns that continued to
CORPORATE KALEIDOSCOPE
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has launched it’s improvised “Contact
cum Call Centre” at Chennai on February 28, 2022. The Call
Centre will provide on IVRS around 36 facilities including Balance
Enquiry, Debit Card Block, Last Five Transactions etc. The facility
was inaugurated by Sanjay Malhotra, Secretary, Department
of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
Partha Pratim Sengupta, MD & CEO of IOB highlighted the services
provided through the contact cum call centre. General Managers of
IOB and Suresh V S, MD and CEO of M/s I Marque Solutions Private
Limited were present in the function.MPOST
they are as exporters of energy,
precious metals, wheat and
other commodities, the two
together account for less than
2 per cent of the world’s gross
domestic product.
Most major economies have
only limited trade exposure to
Russia: For the U.S., it’s 0.5 per
cent of total trade. For China,
around 2.4 per cent.
Barring a major escalation
of the war far from impossible
the effects on the U.S., China
and most of the emerging
world should be limited, said
Adam Slater, lead economist
at Oxford Economics. He fore-
sees only a 0.2 per cent drop in
the other prominent laggards,
slipping as much as 5.14 per
cent.
On the other hand, Tata
Steel, Titan, Reliance Indus-
tries, Nestle India and Axis
Bank climbed up to 5.54 per
cent.
Market heavyweight Reli-
ance Industries spurted 1.67
per cent after crude oil prices
touched the $110 per barrel
mark.
The market breadth was
negative, with 23 of the 30
4 Sensex constituents closing in
the red.
Sector-wise, BSE auto,
bankex, finance, consumer dis-
cretionary goods and telecom
slumped up to 2.87 per cent,
while metal, power, oil and gas
and utilities posted gains. In
the broader markets, the BSE
midcap and smallcap gauges
dipped up to 0.17 per cent.
Russia’s military offen-
sive against Ukraine entered
its seventh day on Wednes-
day, with fighting intensifying
in Ukrainian capital Kyiv and
other big cities, even as western
57.6
55.9
55.5
55.3
53.7
52.3
2021
KBK Infographics
threaten growth. Most promi-
nently, cost pressures remained
elevated as a result of shortages
while delivery times length-
ened once again. However, a key
threat to manufacturers comes
from only marginal increases
in selling prices.”
There were some signs of
global GDP this year.
Still, Russia is a vitally
important supplier of oil, nat-
ural gas and metals, and higher
prices for those commodities
are sure to inflict economic
damage around the world.
Europe relies on Russia for
nearly 40 per cent of its natu-
ral gas and 25 per cent of its oil.
For the European continent,
Russia’s war has significantly
heightened the likelihood of
runaway inflation, another eco-
nomic setback or both.
Infuriated by Putin’s aggres-
sion, the United States and
other Western nations have
targeted Russia with sanctions
nations tightened sanctions on
Moscow.
US President Joe Biden
announced that the United
States is closing its airspace to
Russian planes, asserting that
this along with other puni-
tive measures would weaken
Russia.
The US and EU have
imposed various sanctions on
Russia. These include curbs
on Russia’s biggest banks and
excluding its financial institu-
tions from the SWIFT global
payments system.
In other Asian markets,
bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo
and Shanghai ended with
losses, while Seoul closed in
the green. Stock exchanges in
Europe were trading mixed in
afternoon trade.
Tracking the Ukraine crisis,
Brent crude futures surged 5.09
per cent to $110.31 per barrel.
The rupee depreciated by 47
paise to close at 75.80 against
the US dollar on Wednes-
day as riskier assets took a hit
amid deepening geopolitical
tensions.
capacity pressures on Indian
manufacturers, with back-
logs rising marginally. Despite
this, and a pick-up in demand,
employment decreased. The
overall rate of job shedding was
54.9
only fractional.
Patel, however, noted that
54.0
sustained increases in backlogs
could lead to higher employ-
ment levels in the months
ahead, should capacity pres-
sures continue.
On the price front, strength-
ening demand for raw materi-
als led to another marked rate
of input price inflation. Input
price inflation softens to a six-
month low.
“For now, India’s manufac-
2022 turing sector has weathered the
storm of the Omicron variant,
undoubtedly supported by the
relatively high inoculation rate.
Moreover, demand conditions
showed notable signs of resil-
ience and price pressures some-
what receded,” Patel noted.
According to official data,
India’s GDP growth slowed to
5.4 per cent in October-Decem-
ber 2021.  PTI
BharatPe strips Ashneer Grover’s co-founder
tag, may claw back some of his shareholding
NEW DELHI: Payment startup
BharatPe has stripped its co-
founder Ashneer Grover of
all positions for his alleged
“misdeeds” and may take fur-
ther legal actions, including
clawing back of some of his
shareholding.
BharatPe, which allows shop
owners to make digital pay-
ments through QR codes, in a
statement said Grover resigned
after receiving the agenda for
an upcoming board meeting
that included submission of an
independent audit regarding
his conduct. The Board of the
company met last evening, and
the meeting went past midnight,
following which a statement
was issued.
The company said it reserves
the right to take action based on
the report’s findings.
of unprecedented breadth and
severity for a major economy.
They have thrown major Rus-
sian banks off the SWIFT
international payment system,
limited high tech exports to
Russia and severely restricted
Moscow’s use of its foreign cur-
rency reserves.
The rapid and unified inter-
national retaliation against
Russia appeared to catch Putin’s
regime by surprise.
The world or most of it any-
way is laying economic siege to
Russia,” wrote Carl Weinberg,
chief economist at High Fre-
quency Economics.
The sanctions quickly
NEW DELHI: With the Russia-
Ukraine war roiling financial
markets globally, the govern-
ment may defer the mega IPO
of LIC and wait for an oppor-
tune time to get the maximum
value of its holding in the state-
owned insurance behemoth,
sources said.
“It’s a full blown war now so
we will have to assess the situ-
ation for going ahead with the
LIC IPO,” a government source
said. Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman too had indicated
review of the IPO in view of the
evolving geopolitical situation.
“Ideally, I would like to
go ahead with it because we
had planned it for some time
based purely on Indian consid-
erations,” Sitharaman had said
in an interview with the Hindu
Business Line. “But if global
considerations warrant that I
need to look at it, I would not
mind looking at it again.”
The IPO was expected to hit
the market this month.
The Russia-Ukraine war
entered its seventh day on
LIC continues to dominate market
in new biz premium, says its MD
CHENNAI: Dignitaries pres-
ent today. As we all know the
corporation has filed for its Ini-
tial Public Offering on Febru-
ary 13, 2022. The LIC brand is
one of the key drivers in main-
taining our leadership position
in the life insurance industry
and our business model has
been very customer centric
in nature.
The sense of trust is still a
mainstay amongst individuals
and it is important to note that
even after 65 years of existence
and attending to the country
and its countrymen, we still
hold 2/3 market share when
it comes to gross written pre-
mium and new business poli-
cies in FY21.
In group New Business Pre-
mium LIC continues to domi-
nate the market accounting for
more than 75 per cent market
share in FY21
The Corporation stands
to be the 10th Largest in the
World and 5th Largest in
Asia. We had 286 mn poli-
cies in force under Individ-
ual business within India as at
March 31, 2021, greater than
the 4th largest country pop-
ulation wise as of CY2020.
Even though we are seeing an
“The Grover family and their
relatives engaged in extensive
misappropriation of company
funds, including, but not lim-
ited to, creating fake vendors
through which they siphoned
money away from the compa-
ny’s account and grossly abused
company expense accounts in
order to enrich themselves and
fund their lavish lifestyles,” it
alleged.
Minutes before midnight of
March 1, Grover got an email
inviting him for a board meet-
ing at 19:30 on March 2. At 12:05
on Tuesday, he resigned.
Sources said the Board of
BharatPe took note of the termi-
nation of employment of Grover
as a consequence of his resigna-
tion from the post of managing
director as well as a director on
the company board.
caused damage. The Russian
ruble plunged to a record low
Monday. Depositors lined up
at ATMs to try to withdraw
their money from the embat-
tled banking system. Cut off
from Google Pay and Apple
Pay, Russians were stuck at
ticket booths at Metro rail lines.
The Institute of Interna-
tional Finance foresees the
Russian economy enduring a
double-digit contraction this
year, worse even than its 7.8 per
cent drop in the Great Reces-
sion year of 2009.
Oxford Economics said evi-
dence from wars ranging from
the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war to
THURSDAY, 3 MARCH, 2022 | NEW DELHI
Nirmala Sitharaman
too had indicated
review of the IPO in
view of the evolving
geopolitical situation
Wednesday, with fighting
intensifying in Ukrainian cap-
ital Kyiv and other big cities.
The government was expect-
ing to garner Rs 63,000 crore
by selling 5 per cent stake in the
life insurance firm to meet the
curtailed disinvestment target
of Rs 78,000 crore in the cur-
rent fiscal.
If the initial public offering
(IPO) is deferred to the next fis-
cal, the government would miss
LIC Managing Director Mini Ipe
increase in competition from
private insurers our customer
first culture and approach has
held our fort well and we will
strive to constantly innovate
our product offerings and dis-
tribution methods as well as
the way we service our custom-
ers physically and now more so
digitally. Also it is important
to note that historically life
insurance policies have been
saving oriented.
Just to reiterate the details
of the Issue. The shares are at a
Face Value of Rs 10 each and it
is a complete offer for sale of up
to 31,62,48,885 shares by the
President of India through the
Ministry of Finance, Govern-
ment of India who is the pro-
moter of the company.
The offer includes not more
than 5 per cent reservation
for eligible employees and not
But, since he resigned with-
out the approval of the board
and majority investors, conse-
quences under the shareholder
agreement have now been trig-
gered, they said, adding this
could mean that the company
is within its right to claw back
shares up to 1.4 per cent.
Grover currently owns a
9.5 per cent stake in BharatPe,
while his co-founder Shash-
wat Nakrani owns 7.8 per cent.
Investor Sequoia Capital India
is the largest shareholder in
BharatPe with a 19.6 per cent
stake, followed by Coatue at
12.4 per cent and Ribbit Capi-
tal at 11 per cent.
When contacted, Grover
said he was appalled at the per-
sonal nature of the company’s
statement but not surprised.
“It comes from a position of
the 1999 NATO bombing cam-
paign against Serbia suggests
that a staggering collapse of the
Ukrainian economy of 50 per
cent to 60 per cent is possible.
With its dependence on
energy from Russia, Europe’s
economy is now especially at
risk.
Natural gas prices shot up
20 per cent after the war started,
on top of earlier increases, and
now are roughly six times what
they were at the start of 2021.
The gas price shock is feeding
higher inflation and swelling
utility bills. The result is that
households have less money to
spend, and hopes for a surge in
millenniumpost
the revised disinvestment target
by a huge margin.
So far, the government has
raised Rs 12,030 crore through
CPSE disinvestment and Air
India’s strategic sale this fiscal.
The government had ear-
lier projected to garner Rs 1.75
lakh from disinvestment dur-
ing 2021-22.
The IPO is offer for sale
(OFS) by the Government of
India and there is no fresh issue
of shares by LIC. The govern-
ment holds 100 per cent stake
or over 632.49 crore shares in
LIC. The face value of shares is
Rs 10 apiece.
The LIC public issue would
be the biggest IPO in the history
of Indian stock market. Once
listed, LIC’s market valuation
would be comparable to top
companies like RIL and TCS.
So far, the amount mobil-
ised from IPO of Paytm in 2021
was the largest ever at Rs 18,300
crore, followed by Coal India
(2010) at nearly Rs 15,500 crore
and Reliance Power (2008) at Rs
11,700 crore.  PTI
more than 10 per cent for Indi-
vidual Policyholders. Of the
entire size of the issue that will
be determined on the pricing
of shares, 50 per cent will be
allocated to Qualified Institu-
tional Buyers, 15 per cent to
Non Institutional Investors and
35 per cent to the Retail Public.
The Emerging Markets
have been driving the growth
in the global life insurance
industry. Between 2014-2019
while global markets grew at
1.7 per cent CAGR we saw
emerging markets grow at 8
per cent CAGR.
The prospects of the indus-
try is promising and India
stands to be one of the fast-
est growing major economies
when compared with US,
China, Russia, United King-
dom, South Africa, Japan, Bra-
zil and Malaysia. India is the
5th Largest market in Asia
and has exhibited consistent
growth. India’s insurance pen-
etration is not comparable to
that of the developed markets
where mandatory pension con-
tributions are not included in
the insurance pie. The Insur-
ance density in India remains
very low even when you look
at emerging countries.  MPOST
personal hatred and low think-
ing,” he said. “I would want to
learn who among Amarchand,
PwC and A&M has started
doing an audit on ‘lavishness’
of one’s lifestyle?”
BharatPe, which has
engaged a law firm and risk
advisory consultants to con-
duct a more detailed investiga-
tion after allegations of financial
irregularities, last month sacked
Madhuri Jain, head of controls
and wife of Grover, for alleged
financial irregularities, includ-
ing using the company funds for
personal visits abroad, beauty
treatments, buying electronics
and paying for helps employed
at her residence.
The company statement
alluding to the lavish lifestyle
may have referred to Jain’s mis-
use of funds. PTI
consumer spending resulting
from fewer pandemic restric-
tions and COVID-19 cases
have diminished.
Escalating gas prices have
caused what economists call
demand destruction among
industrial enterprises, like fer-
tilizer makers, that use a lot
of gas and have now slashed
production. Farmers are pay-
ing more to run machinery
and buy fertilizer. Germa-
ny’s economy, which sagged
by 0.7 per cent in the fourth
quarter of 2021, would face
a technical recession if it
shrank again in the first three
months of 2022.  AGENCIES
millenniumpost
NEW DELHI | THURSDAY, 3 MARCH, 2022
Kerala inch closer to semi-finals
with 3-1 win over Mumbai in ISL
Alvaro Vazquez (45th P, 60th) scored a brace either side of halftime
after Sahal Abdul Samad (19th) opened the floodgates for Kerala
VASCO: Kerala Blasters FC
brightened their semifinal pros-
pects with a 3-1 win over Mum-
bai City FC in the Indian Super
League here on Wednesday.
Alvaro Vazquez (45th P,
60th) scored a brace either side
of halftime after Sahal Abdul
Samad (19th) opened the flood-
gates for Kerala, who are now
in fourth spot having 33 points
from 19 games.
They take on FC Goa in their
final fixture while Mumbai -- in
fifth spot with 31 points from 19
matches -- play Hyderabad FC
in their last league game, hop-
ing Kerala lose to Goa and they
win against Hyderabad.
For Mumbai, Diego Mau-
ricio scored a consolation goal
from the spot in the 71st minute.
Both teams started cau-
tiously in the opening exchanges
before Sahal showed individual
brilliance to help Kerala nose
ahead.
A botched clearance from
Cassio Gabriel saw Sahal rob
the ball off him to then twist
and turn past the Brazilian and
IPL teams to start training
from March 14 or 15, five
practice venues identified
MUMBAI: All the IPL teams
will start training in the city
from March 14 or 15 onwards
and five practice venues have
been identified.
It is understood that the
MCA ground in suburban
Bandra Kurla Complex, MCA
ground in Thane, the Dr DY
Patil University ground and a
football pitch along with the
CCI (Cricket Club of India) and
the Reliance Corporate Park
ground in Ghansoli have been
identified by the authorities as
practice venues for the cash-
rich tournament, which begins
on March 26.
Players are likely to start
coming into the city from March
8. The Maharashtra govern-
ment on Wednesday conducted
ISL: Mumbai eye win against Odisha to stay in hunt for knockouts
AHMEDABAD: A buoyant
Mumbai are eyeing an out-
right win, which is needed for
the domestic heavyweights
to stay in contention for the
knockouts, as they square off
against Odisha in their last
Elite Group D Ranji Trophy
game here from Thursday.
Currently, Mumbai top
the group with nine points,
Inter and
Milan draw
0-0 in Italian
Cup SF 1st leg
MILAN: Inter Milan's miser-
able month continued when it
drew 0-0 against city rival AC
Milan in first leg of their Ital-
ian Cup semifinal.
Inter has won only one of
its past seven matches in all
competitions since the start
of February. That run has seen
the defending Serie A cham-
pion fall off the top spot in the
league and lose 2-0 at home
to Liverpool in the first leg
of their Champions League
matchup.
It was also the fourth
straight match in which Inter
failed to score. The Nerazzurri
have now gone more than 400
minutes without finding the
back of the net.
We've had lots of games
and we need to rediscover our
spark but we're working on
it," Inter coach Simone Inza-
ghi said.
"We still have the best
attack. Going four matches
without scoring obviously cre-
ates headlines but we'll soon be
scoring again.
I think it's only natural
for us to drop off a bit now.
We were going full throttle in
November, December and Jan-
uary. We're not playing as well
as we were ... We're trying to
recover our physical and men-
tal strength."  AGENCIES
Sahal Samad (C) of Kerala Blasters FC and Cassio Gabriel (L) of Mumbai City FC vie for ball, during match 62
of season 8 of Indian Super League football tournament between Kerala Blasters FC and Mumbai City FC, at
the Tilak Maidan Stadium, in Goa, Wednesday 
a couple of more Mumbai shirts
before drilling a low shot past
Mohamad Nawaz who was per-
haps blinded by the defenders in
front of him as the ball nestled
into the net.
a meeting with BCCI and Mum-
bai Cricket Association (MCA)
in South Mumbai for a smooth
conduct of the IPL, which is now
a 10-team affair.
Ministers of the state gov-
ernment -- Aaditya Thackeray
and Eknath Shinde -- along with
MCA chief Vijay Patil and apex
council members Ajinkya Naik
and Abhay Hadap, treasurer
Jagdish Achrekar, were present
at the meeting. Post the meet-
ing, in a series of tweets, Aad-
itya Thackeray said, "To ensure
the smooth flow of the @IPL,
Minister @mieknathshinde ji
and I conducted a joint meet-
ing of IPL, @BCCI with officers
of Police and Municipal Cor-
porations of Mumbai, Thane,
Navi Mumbai."  AGENCIES
having won their last match
against Goa and taken the
first-innings lead against
Saurashtra.
If Mumbai beat Odisha,
then they will get six points
to take their aggregate to 15. In
case they earn a bonus point,
they will have 16 points.
Saurashtra are placed sec-
ond in the group with eight
DELHI JAL BOARD GOVT OF NCT OF DELHI
OFFICE OF THE ADDL.CHIEF ENGINEER (C) -5 THROUGH DY.SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER(C] DR-III
Kanhiya Nagar Delhi -110035 Phone No 011-27394876 Email: eecdr3@gmail.com
STOP CORONA-WEAR MASK, FOLLOW PHYSICAL DISTANCING, MAINTAIN HAND HYGIENE
PRESS NIT NO. 24(2021-22)
S. Name of work
No
1 Providing & Laying 300 mm to 635
mm nominal dia (710 mm outer dia)
Intemal and Peripheral sewer line
in Pradhan Enclave falling under
Coronation Pillar WWTP catchment
area in Burari AC-2 in Delhi.
2 Providing & Laying 300 mm to 1400
mm dia intemal and peripheral
sewer line in Zindpur GOC falling
under Zindpur WWTP catchment
area in Narela (AC-l) & Burari
AC-2.
Further details in this regard can be seen at https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in
ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER) Sd/- K K Harit
Advt. No. J.S.V./2021-22/1194 Dy. Superintending Engineer(C) DR-III
It was Sahal's fifth goal of
the campaign, underlining his
upturn in form.
Mumbai tried to forge an
immediate comeback but it
was not to be as Kerala dou-
Shreyas Iyer jumps 27 places to 18th
DUBAI: Riding on his splen-
did run against Sri Lanka
recently, India batter Shreyas
Iyer has jumped a massive 27
spots in the latest ICC T20I
rankings, even as Virat Kohli
fell out of the top 10.
India's recent home series
win against Sri Lanka has had
major ramifications on the
player rankings aiding attack-
ing top-order batter Iyer to
make a massive jump to reach
the 18th position in the list for
batters.
Iyer scored three unbeaten
half-centuries during India's
3-0 win against Sri Lanka in
February, with the 27-year-old
amassing an impressive 204
runs at a strike rate of 174.
Iyer's teammate pacer Bhu-
vneshwar Kumar jumped three
spots to 17th on the bowler
points and if they defeat Goa,
they will have 14 points.
If Mumbai secure a first-
innings lead, and Saurashtra
win, then the latter go through.
So the Amol Muzumdar-
coached side would be des-
perate to go all guns blazing
for a win with a bonus point.
Skipper Prithvi Shaw
would be keen to get some
Amount Put to Earnest Money
Tender (EMD) (Rs.)
(in Rs.)
35,74,17,479/- Rs.45,75,000/-
316,36,00,344/- Rs.3,26,37,000/-
PTI
bled their lead, albeit a penalty
after Mourtada Fall brought him
down inside the area.
The Spaniard was ice-cool
from the spot, pausing in his
run-up to send Nawaz the
ICC T20 RANKINGS
Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer bats during a practice session ahead of
1st cricket test match between India and Sri Lanka, at IS Bindra PCA
Stadium, in Mohali, Wednesday 
rankings.
Sri Lanka's Pathum Nis-
sanka scored an impressive
75 in the second game of the
series, and he was rewarded
runs under his belt and ditto
for experienced campaigner
Ajinkya Rahane, who has been
dropped from the national
team for the two Tests against
Sri Lanka.
Young batter Sarfaraz
Khan is also in prime form,
and would be keen to continue
his good run against Odisha.
The role of other batters
Tender processing Date of Release of Last date/
Fee Non Tender/ Tender Id. time
Refundable (Rs.) receipt of
tender
1500/- 28.02.2022 / 22.03.2022
2022_DJB_217783_1 upto
3.00 P.M
1500/- 28.02.2022 / 22.03.2022
2022_DJB_217783_2 upto
3.00 P.M
wrong way with aplomb.
At halftime, Kerala were
cruising with a 2-0 verdict. Ker-
ala also scored another at the
start of the second period but
Luna's exceptional effort from
outside the box was well saved
by Nawaz.
The yellow shirts did not
have to wait long for the third
goal, Nawaz making a meal
of an easy clearance this time
after Fall back passed to him.
Vazquez needed no second invi-
tation as he slotted home into
an open goal.
Mumbai pulled one back
after Mauricio went down inside
the box from what looked like
a Ruivah Hormipam push but
as Kerala players appealed the
decision the referee pointed to
the spot.
Mauricio stepped up and
slammed home from the spot
to make it 3-1. Luna could have
had a goal moments later as his
free-kick was pushed as far as
the post by Nawaz as Kerala held
on to win 3-1 and sharpen their
semi final chances.  AGENCIES
PTI
with a six-spot rise to ninth
on the rankings, while former
India captain Kohli - who was
rested for the series - dropped
five places to 15th.
including stumper Aditya Tare
would be crucial if Mumbai
are to pile up a big score at
the Narendra Modi Stadium
Ground B.
Shams Mulani's all-round
show helped Mumbai beat
Goa and the left-arm spin-
ner would like to carry on
from where he left against the
coastal state.
of
Sport mp 11
ATKMB eye semi-final spot with
win over lacklustre Chennaiyin
MARGAO: ATK Mohun
Bagan will eye a second suc-
cessive semifinal berth and
also look to bridge the gap at
the top when they take on a
lowly Chennaiyin FC in the
Indian Super League here on
Thursday.
ATKMB have been on a
roll, remaining unbeaten for 14
games, the second-longest such
streak in the history of the tour-
nament. They sit in third place
with 34 points and two games
to play, and a point would be
enough for them to secure a the table with just 20 points
semifinal spot for the second
straight year.
ATKMB have been from 19 games. It will be their
final game of the season, and
The Mariners will then also on a roll, remaining coach Sabir Pasha would hope
be level on points with league unbeaten for 14 the former champions can end
leaders Jamshedpur FC who on a high.
dethroned Hyderabad FC on games, the second- The club made a solid start
Tuesday to go top of the tree. longest such streak to the Hero ISL 21-22, going
For Juan Ferrando's unbeaten in their first four
ATKMB, besides the likes in the history of the games but they have been on
of Hugo Boumous and Joni tournament a downward spiral ever since,
Kauko, the Indian forwards going winless in their last seven
have played a key role with engagements and losing five in
Liston Colaco being their top mark and also help his team that period.
scorer during the unbeaten qualify for the semis. For the Bozidar Bandovic, who was
run with six goals in the 14 record, Indian players have appointed as the head coach
matches. scored 19 goals this season, at the start of the season, was
Manvir Singh has been the accounting for 52.78% of the sacked after the club lost 5-0 to
second-highest goal scorer for team's goals. FC Goa, their heaviest defeat in
the club in this run with 5 goals. Meanwhile, for Chennai- ISL history.
Colaco will make his 50th yin it has been a season to for- It remains to be seen if they
Hero ISL appearance against get. They leaked three goals can upset ATKMB's apple cart
Chennaiyin, and the in-form against Kerala Blasters in their as they held them to a 1-1 draw
player would want to leave a last outing to remain eighth in in the first leg.  AGENCIES
Injured Chahar set to
miss half of IPL 2022
The other big mover with
the bat in T20I cricket this NEW DELHI: Chennai Super he will miss half of IPL 2022,"
week is Mohammad Waseem Kings pacer Deepak Chahar the BCCI source told PTI.
of the UAE. His unbeaten cen- is set to miss first half of the The IPL 2022 starts on
tury against Ireland in the final upcoming Indian Premier March 26 and CSK is still wait-
of ICC Men's T20 World Cup League due to a right quadri- ing for a final report from the
Qualifier A, helped him reach ceps injury which he sustained National Cricket Academy
the 12th position with the bat. during the third and final T20 (NCA) in Bengaluru where the
That is the highest T20I rank- match against West Indies in pacer is recuperating.
ing by any UAE batter, sur- Kolkata. Chahar was bought by CSK
passing Shaiman Anwar's 13th According to BCCI sources, for a whopping Rs 14 crore,
place achieved in 2017. Chahar is likely to be out for which is the second most
Sri Lanka's Lahiru Kuma- eight weeks. "Chahar is out for at expensive buy in this year's
ra's five wickets in the series least eight weeks, which means IPL auction.  AGENCIES
with India have lifted him into
the top 40 bowlers for the first
time.
Other bowlers who enjoyed
a successful time at the T20
World Cup Qualifier A include
Zahoor Khan of UAE (up 17
places to joint-42nd) and Ire-
land's Josh Little (up 27 places
to join-49th).  AGENCIES
Mumbai also possess a
lethal bowling attack led by
Dhawal Kulkarni.
Odisha, with just three
points are already out of
contention.
The other Elite Group D
game will be played at the
Motera between defend-
ing champions Saurashtra
and Goa.  AGENCIES
12 mp
SHEFALI SHAH ON EXPERIENCING
INGRAINED SEXISM FROM IN-LAWS
‘When Vipul goes to shoot,
nobody questions’
Shefali was asked if being an opinionated
person has ever gone against her
S
hefali Shah said in an
interview that she has
experienced ingrained
sexism at home, especially from
her in-laws. But she said that it
is understandable since they
are from a ‘different genera-
tion’. The Bollywood actor, who
is best known for films such as
‘Monsoon Wedding’, ‘Dil Dha-
dakne Do’, ‘The Last Lear’ and
the series ‘Delhi Crime’.
In a conversation with an
entertainment news portal,
she was asked if being an opin-
ionated person has ever gone
against her.
Shefali, who is married to
director Vipul Amrutlal Shah,
said that she comes across as
opinionated, but she is just
passionate when she is having
conversations.
“When I was growing up,
I just followed what my mom
said or what my parents said
and I did not even question
it,” she said, adding that she is
impressed by youngsters today,
who have so many opinions
about things.
She said, “I’m picked on a
lot by my family. The thing is,
I’m very passionate and that
will come across in the way I
have a conversation. On a cer-
tain level, maybe from your
MARK ON WORKING WITH JENNIFER GARNER AFTER 18 YEARS
‘We picked up where we left off’
IHC returns with plethora
of exciting cultural events
OUR CORRESPONDENT
I ndia Habitat Centre (IHC)
is back with its cultural
events amid the pandemic
for March.
IHC begins its film fes-
tivals with five compelling
documentaries, each one by
a woman filmmaker, curated
by its constant curatorial
friends, the ‘Kriti Film Club’.
Be it about dreams, desires
and selfhood, each film tack-
les the subject through an
intimate and astute feminist
lens. People can come for all
films, especially for Priya Thu-
vassery’s much talked about
film ‘City Girls’ (2021) and
Chambal Media’s ‘Unlocking
Desires’ (2021).
Films, which will get a
screen time on different days
at 7 pm, include ‘The Last
Rhododendron’ and ‘City
Girls’ on March 4; ‘Gay India
Matrimony’ on March 5
and ‘Unlocking Desires’ and
‘Mumu Shelley’ on March 6.
One of the biggest film
festivals in India, the ‘JIO
MAMI Film Festival’, in its
22nd edition, has turned
online. A scintillating selec-
tion of premiering films has
been handpicked from across
the country by the MAMI fes-
tival, which is known to set
the trend for cinema conver-
sations to follow. Registra-
Leisure
dishes. My mother-in-law was
standing behind him and none
of us wanted her to do it. And
I remember her saying, ‘Itna
bada director bartan ghas raha
hai (Such a big filmmaker is
washing dishes).’ I thought
it was so hilarious. And I’m
thinking in my mind, ‘Actress
bartan ghas rahi hai, yeh
khayal kabhi nahi aayega
(But you will never hear
them say this about an
actress)’. He is a big
in-laws, but they belong to a director, yes, but
different generation. Like, I what does that
remember, when Vipul goes to have to do with
shoot, obviously nobody ques- the house? He
tions, but when I’m shooting is a home-
continuously, it is like, ‘Again maker as
you have to shoot?’ And I’m much as I
like, ‘Are you serious? Did I just am.”
get asked that question?’ Or it Shefali
is like, ‘You are shooting for Shah had
so many hours?’ That is how it the busi-
works. How come that question est year
is never asked your son?” of her
The actor said that she is career last
great at taking care of her year and is
household - “Cooking, clean- looking forward
ing, washing dishes, jhaadu, to the release
pochha, bartan, kapda, dusting, of ‘Darlings’,
I’m fantastic,” - but it reminded starring
her of another example of how
she is treated differently.
She added, “I remember,
Alia
Bhatt
AGENCIES
once, Vipul was doing the
I
n Netflix’s new sci-fi action
film ‘The Adam Project’, Mark
Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner
reunite on the screen over two
decades after they featured as love
interests in 2004’s ‘13 Going on
30’. Ruffalo, 54, told ‘PEOPLE’ at
the global premiere of ‘The Adam
Project’ in New York City on Feb-
ruary 28 that working with Gar-
ner, 49, was ‘amazing’.
“It was like we picked up
where we left off,” he said.
Joking of his and Garner’s on
the screen son in ‘The Adam Proj-
ect’, he added as per ‘PEOPLE’, “It
was like Jenna and Matty went off
and had Ryan Reynolds as a kid
and no one can understand how
he got so tall.”
However, in ‘The Adam
Project’, Reynolds, 45, portrays
a futuristic time-traveling pilot
who crashes-lands in 2022 and
communicates with his 12-year-
old self, eventually joining up to
preserve the future and his wife,
Zoe Saldana.
Reynolds’ younger self is
tion is mandatory. Films will ‘Reflections on the Vedanta’
be available for audiences in will be spoken by Swami
India to watch from noon on Sarvapriyananda, Minis-
the day of release till 48 hours ter of ‘Vedanta Society of
from the time of release. New York’, established by
In the music department, Swami Vivekananda in 1894.
IHC has begun its music pro- It will be hosted by IHC in
grammes, starting this week, partnership with the ‘Foun-
with a Sitar recital by Prabhu dation for Universal Respon-
Lal Dhandra, son and disciple sibility of HH The Dalai
of Pandit Inder Lal Dhandra. Lama’.
IHC looks forward to recon- In the art department,
necting with its music com- IHC will organise three dif-
munity members and friends. ferent exhibitions.
IHC’s weekly curation of
‘Rang Smaran’ will continue
‘Soaring Spaces’ is a
solo painting exhibition
among other events, includ- by Sonia Khurana. All art-
ing ‘Baawra Aheri’. Directed works are an homage to
by Dinesh Khanna, it is based nature. Held at IHC’s Open
on the pioneering modernist Palm Court Gallery, it has
Hindi writer, Sachchidananda started today and will con-
Hirananda Vatsyayan’s poem, tinue till March 5.
‘Agyeya’. ‘Aamaar Aranya’ (My For-
‘Healing Our Minds’, a est), a solo painting exhibi-
new series of virtual talks that tion by Amrita Ghosh, is also
will focus on the challenges on view from today and will
of COVID-19, will begin on continue till March 7 at Visual
March 4 at 6 pm. The topic of Arts Gallery.
Ruffalo, 54, told
‘PEOPLE’ at the
global premiere of
‘The Adam Project’
in New York City on
February 28 that
working with Garner,
49, was ‘amazing’
played by newcomer Walker
Scobell, while Adam’s parents are
played by Garner and Ruffalo.
Meanwhile, even though ‘The
Adam Project’ deals with time
travel and other sci-fi topics, Ruf-
falo claims the film is an emo-
tional roller coaster. Interestingly,
now that Garner and Ruffalo are
back on screen together, they
guarantee that fans will not have
to wait long to see them again.
“We would not go another
18 years, for sure. I mean, I will
just haunt you,” Garner
laughed. AGENCIES
BTS wins ‘Artist of the Year’ for the third
time at ‘Korean Music Awards’
B TS’ ARMY has yet
another reason to cele-
brate. The septet, com-
prising RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope,
Jimin, V and Jungkook, won
‘Artist of the Year’ at the
‘Korean Music Awards’ for the
third time.
In 2018, they had made his-
tory by becoming the first idol
group ever to win ‘Artist of the
Year’. They won again in 2019.
ARMY took to ‘Twitter’ to
celebrate the honour.
One fan wrote, “BTS won
the ‘Musician of the Year’ Dae-
sang at the 2022 ‘Korean Music
Awards’! Congratulations kings
deserved! BTS have 65dae-
sangs now.” Another tweeted,
“I will always be congratulat-
ing BTS because they keep bag-
ging awards. No one does it
like BTS.”
BTS will perform in Seoul
for their concert, ‘Permis-
sion to Dance on Stage’ from
March 10 to March 14, which
will be their first offline con-
cert in almost two years. In
April, the group is expected to
attend the Grammys and later
host a concert for four days
in Las Vegas. ARMY had
Playing both Bruce Wayne
and the Batman was easy
for Robert Pattinson
millenniumpost
THURSDAY, 3 MARCH, 2022 | NEW DELHI
Farhan condoles the
death of an Indian
student in Ukraine
Apart from him, several celebrities took to
their social media handles and expressed grief
O n March 1, the External
Affairs Ministry spokes-
person Arindam Bagchi
informed that an Indian national
lost his life in shelling in the east-
ern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv
in the morning. The Ministry of
External Affairs (MEA) said they
were in touch with the student’s
family.
“With profound sorrow, we
confirm that an Indian student
lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv
this morning. The Ministry is in
touch with his family. We convey
our deepest condolences to the
family,” MEA spokesperson Arin-
dam Bagchi confirmed in a tweet. ‘An Indian student
Soon as the news surfaced, is now a casualty of
several celebrities took to their
social media handles and the Ukraine invasion.
expressed grief. I feel terrible for the
Farhan Akhtar also
offered condolences over the family. My deepest
demise of the Indian student, condolences. Hope
who lost his life in Kharkiv.
Naveen Shekharappa hailed from we can get all our
Haveri in Karnataka and was citizens home safe
studying medicine in Ukraine.
Taking to his ‘Twitter’ handle,
and soon,’ he wrote
Farhan condoled his demise and
wrote, “An Indian student is now My deepest condolences. Hope we
a casualty of the Ukraine inva- can get all our citizens home safe
sion. I feel terrible for the family. and soon.” AGENCIES
earlier expressed worry about their recent flood of photos on all music genres). They won
the boys, as five of them had ‘Instagram’. ‘Song of the Year’, ‘Rookie of the
contracted COVID-19 and At the ‘Korean Music Year’ and ‘Best K-Pop Song’ for
Jimin had undergone surgery Awards’, Aespa bagged a total their song ‘Next Level’. South
for appendicitis. Nevertheless, of three awards, including Korean singer and actor IU
the band has recovered and is two of the major ones (the won ‘Best Pop Song’ and ‘Best
back to rehearsals, going by four main awards that span Pop Album’. AGENCIES
‘The Batman’, directed by Matt Reeves, follows Bruce
Wayne in his second year as Gotham’s vigilante
R
obert Pattinson discussed how he was
able to portray both Bruce Wayne and
his caped alter ego in ‘The Batman’.
Due to unanticipated delays caused by
the Coronavirus outbreak, interest for ‘The
Batman’ has been slowly rising for years.
Finally, the ‘DC’ picture will be released in
cinemas this week and it seems that all of
the anticipations have paved the road for
success.
‘The Batman’, directed by Matt Reeves, Given that he is just in his
follows Bruce Wayne in his second year
as Gotham’s vigilante. This Bruce is tor- second year as Batman,
mented by his demons at the hands of it is understandable that
Pattinson and Reeves and things worsen
when a masked murderer (Paul Dano’s Pattinson’s Bruce would
Riddler) starts targeting members of the
city’s elite. The boundary between Bruce
struggle to separate himself
Wayne and Batman varies from represen- from his vigilante character
tation to depiction and it will be rather thin
in ‘The Batman’. begins at this point in our telling of the story.
However, Pattinson recently spoke And so sometimes (it is) Bruce seeping out
with ‘CinemaBlend’ about how his Bruce of Batman. And there are a couple of scenes
performance blended into Batman. where I’m doing a kind of little, subtle vocal
Though it may seem to be a challenging change. It is incredibly subtle a lot of times.”
balance, he confessed that one component Given that he is just in his second year
of it was relatively simple. as Batman, it is understandable that Pattin-
Robert said as per ‘Screenrant’, “What son’s Bruce would struggle to separate him-
made it easy is that he really has not figured self from his vigilante character. Bruce is still
out where Bruce ends and where Batman putting Batman together. AGENCIES