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Tributes poured in for Dr
Chandan Mitra, 66, who
passed away late last night
after being ill for some time,
with the President , the Prime
Minister, Union Ministers and
senior party leaders recalling
his robust contribution to jour-
nalism as his teary-eyed col-
legemate and fellow journalists
remembered him as a good
friend, mentor and for his
“old-fashioned decency”.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi took to Twitter to con-
dole Mitra’s demise. “Shri
Chandan Mitra Ji will be
remembered for his intellect
and insights. He distinguished
himself in the world of media
as well as politics. Anguished
by his demise. Condolences to
his family and admirers. Om
Shanti,” the PM tweeted.
President Ram Nath
Moving said, “Chandan Mitra
was an outstanding journalist
and his stint as a parliamen-
tarian added to his reputation.
His understanding of Hindi
heartland and its history was
profound. His demise leaves a
void in Indian journalism. My
heartfelt condolences to his
family and friends.”
The distinguished Editor of
The Pioneer was penning his
biography. “I am on to it but
there is no time to complete it..”,
he once said in his
office while detailing his love
for dogs, here, there and
elsewhere.
West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee said she was
sad to hear about Mitra’s death.
“Mitra was a commentator on
life and society. His death is a
great loss for the world of
journalism,” Mamata said in a
message.
Expressing his anguish
over the untimely demise the
Pioneer Editor, BJP president J
P Nadda said Mitra would be
remembered for his distin-
guished career in the field of
media and service for people.
Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh described Mitra as an
“immensely respected editor.”
“Anguished by the passing
away Sh Chandan Mitra Ji. An
immensely respected Editor,
who led the @TheDailyPioneer
served as a Member of
Parliament. His vast experience
insightful understanding of
issues always gave readers a
new perspective. A huge loss
for journalism,” he said.
Senior BJP leader Ram
Madhav described Mitra as
his good friend and expressed
his condolences saying “Very
sorry to hear about the demise
of former MP and senior jour-
nalist Sh Chandan Mitra. He
was a good friend. Served on
the India Foundation Board for
many years until his health
forced him to withdraw from
public activism. Condolences
to @kushanmitra and other
near and dear. Om Shanti.”
Rajya Sabha MP Swapan
Dasgupta, and old college-time
friend of Mitra, also took to
Twitter to express his grief. “I
lost my closest friend- Editor of
The Pioneer former MP
Chandan Mitra-this morning.
We were together as students of
La Martiniere went on to St
Stephen’s Oxford. We joined
journalism at the same time
shared the excitement of
Ayodhya the saffron wave,”
he tweeted.
He posted a nostalgic pho-
tograph of Chandan Mitra and
himself together during a
school trip in 1972. “Be happy
my dear friend wherever you
are. Om Shanti,” he said in
another tweet.
Congress leader Shashi
Tharoor, a collegemate of Mitra
at St Stephens, said, “Deeply
saddened by this news.
Chandan was my campaign
manager in my successful race
to be President of the St
Stephen’s College Union
Society, served in my Cabinet
succeeded me. We remained
in touch over the years, ironi-
cally till I returned to Delhi
politics separated us. RIP.”
Another Congress leader
Jairam Ramesh said, “ Dr
Chandan Mitra had friends
across the political spectrum
and made very learned speech-
es in the Rajya Sabha. Apart
from his professional qualifi-
cations, his knowledge of
Hindi film music was awesome,
which he used with great
effect in his interventions and
writings.”
Union Minister Nitin
Gadkari said he was anguished
by Mitra’s death. He offered
condolences to his family and
followers.
Union Minister Bhupender
Yadav said Mitra contributed
immensely to the field of pol-
itics and journalism. “May his
family find the strength to
deal with the loss,” he added.
The Print Editor-in-Chief
Shekhar Gupta tweeted “too
soon to go dear Chandan
Mitra. You will be sharp, curi-
ous and large-hearted wherev-
er you are. Among the finest
reporter-editors of our gener-
ation. Never let political choic-
es come in the way of profes-
sionalism, friendship or old-
fashioned decency…”
Union Minister Piyush
Goyal tweeted, “Deeply sad-
dened at the passing away of
former Rajya Sabha MP and
senior journalist Shri Chandan
Mitra ji. His contributions to
the field of media and politics
will be long remembered. May
God give his family the
strength to overcome this loss.
Om Shanti!”.
Many of the journalists
who were mentored by Mitra at
different publications recalled
his approachable attitude
towards greenhorns.
Ashok Malik said,
“Crushing to hear of Chandan
Mitra’s passing. My first boss in
Delhi when I moved here in
‘94, learnt so much from him.
A very fine mind and trail-
blazer in Indian journalism,
with a passion for politics and
a lifetime of ishq with Hindi
film songs. God give him
peace. Om Shanti “.
“Very saddened to hear of
the passing of senior colleague
#ChandanMitra. Worked with
him when I first joined @time-
sofindia, Chandan was brilliant
and always encouraging, and
always up for a joust. His
knowledge of @INCIndia was
unparalleled. Farewell
Chandan. Travel well,” said
journalist Sagarika Ghose in
her tribute.
Senior journalist Kanchan
Gupta who for a long time
worked with the late Editor in
The Pioneer said, “My dear
friend Chandan Mitra, editor of
The Pioneer, is no more. May
happiness travel with him to
the other side. Till we meet
again, memories will remain”,
he added in his tweet.
Insolvency Resolution
Professional (IRP) of CMYK
Ranjeet Verma expressed his
condolence at the passing away
of Dr Mitra saying, “It was an
irreparable loss to
The Pioneer family.”
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Deeply saddened by the
untimely demise of my
mentor and editor of The
Pioneer, Dr Chandan Mitra. He
was two-time Rajya Sabha
Member of Parliament and a
gentleman journalist; not only
a fine Editor but an excellent
human being with an ability to
write on versatile subjects. I
enjoyed his columns and
speeches not just about politics
but also on Bollywood, sports,
music, cooking etc. He was a
voice of reason and quite an
erudite writer.
There were quite a few
things about Chandan (he pre-
ferred being addressed to by his
first name) that set him apart
from high-flying Editors of his
times. After our daily editori-
al meeting in office, he would
often drive to Bengali Market
to have Gol-gappas... In office
get-together parties you could
see him at dance shaking a leg
with other mates at one
moment, and the next he
would be seen invading the
gathering of junior-most
employees with platesful of
food and initiating the feast.
I still remember meeting
him first in June 1988, when I
was a student and struggling as
a freelance for various nation-
al dailies. He was the editorial
in-charge of Section 2 (Now
Delhi Times) of Times of India.
I was carrying a sketch of Raj
Kapoor, made for Navbharat
Times (TOI’s sister publica-
tion) in my hand when I intro-
duced myself to Chandan). He
welcomed me with a smile,
offered me a cup of coffee, and
noticed the sketch. He asked
me if he could use it for Times
of India. I readily, and happi-
ly, agreed. The next day it
appeared on the front page with
the news piece related to the
death of the great film legend.
I still have a frail copy of the
edition.
Later I also worked under
his editorship at the HT for a
few years and at The Pioneer for
more than two decades.
While most cartoonists
nurse a grouse against their edi-
tors for not giving them cre-
ative freedom or desired space,
I consider myself lucky enough
to work under an editor who
gave me complete freedom for
my work. I am grateful for the
opportunities I was given to
scale several heights in my
career due to his confidence in
me and his continued guid-
ance. RIP Sir, we shall greatly
miss you.
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?=BQ =4F34;78
For nearly two-and-half
decades, Dr Chandan
Mitra’s name was synonymous
with The Pioneer. On
Wednesday night, the organi-
sation’s helmsman left — left
forever — leaving behind his
devastated wife, Shobori
Ganguli, two sons — Kushan
Mitra and Shakya Mitra — and
an extended family of col-
leagues and loved ones.
Dr Mitra, 66, passed away
late on Wednesday. He has
been keeping unwell for the last
one year.
Dr Mitra was a man of
many seasons. A two-time
member of the Rajya Sabha, an
avid reader, a movie buff, a pas-
sionate traveller, and, above all,
an editor with a sharp political
mind and ear to the ground.
Dr Mitra was an alumnus
of La Martiniere Calcutta. From
there, he went to St. Stephen’s
College, Delhi, where he was
highly active in Left-wing stu-
dents’ politics. Mitra received an
MA and MPhil in History from
Delhi University and briefly
taught at Hansraj College.
In 1984, Mitra received a
doctorate at Oxford University,
where he was a member of
Magdalen College. The subject
of the thesis was “Political
mobilisation and the national-
ism movement in India - a
study of eastern Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar, 1936-1942”.
Mitra’s baptism in journal-
ism started as an Assistant
Editor with The Statesman in
Kolkata. Then he shifted to the
Times of India in Delhi and
then to Sunday Observer. He
was the Executive Editor of
Hindustan Times before he
joined The Pioneer in 1997.
Dr Mitra is one of the few
journalists who accepted the
challenges of running a news-
paper as owners, too. When
Thapars handed him over The
Pioneer in 1998, there was all-
around skepticism about Dr
Mitra’s ability to save the news-
paper from going bust. The
Thapars had sunk in a fortune
in the newspaper and left
behind a rudderless organisa-
tion. Dr Mitra understood the
enormity of his challenge and
convened a meeting of the
staff where he told them that
the future looked uncertain and
people were free to stay on if
they were ready to go without
salary for months. It was a
frank admission by a man who
had little knowledge of man-
aging a business enterprise.
In the years to come, Dr
Mitra presided over the turn-
around of The Pioneer and
transformed it into a newspa-
per which grew leaps and
bounds, from two editions in
1995 to eight editions now. He
also introduced the Hindi
Pioneer five years back despite
the emergence of new chal-
lenges for the print media.
Dr Mitra was gifted with a
sharp political mind. He had
his pulse on Indian politics. In
the 1995 Bihar Assembly polls,
when everyone was busy writ-
ing off Lalu Prasad, Dr Mitra
predicted a landslide for him.
The poll outcome and his pro-
jections matched nearly seat to
seat. Even now, journalists and
politicians in Bihar remember
Dr Mitra for that bold “against-
the-current swim.”
His passion for politics
and his affable ways won him
many friends and admirers
across party lines. In the BJP,
both former Prime minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee and vet-
eran LK Advani were very
fond of him. That proximity
saw him being drawn to active
politics. He was nominated as
a member of the Rajya Sabha
in August 2003 when Vajpayee
was the PM. He was elected to
another term in the Rajya
Sabha as a BJP MP from
Madhya Pradesh in June 2010.
He did join the Trinamool
Congress in 2018, but that
association never went beyond
a mere formality.
Despite the enormous chal-
lenges of running an organisa-
tion with falling revenue, and
keeping himself afloat in the
cut-throat world of politics,
Dr Mitra remained a “soft and
sensitive” gentleman, who
would never give the impres-
sion that he was “your boss.” In
fact, to many of us, who shared
with him a long association
going into the late 1990s, he was
a friend, a mentor, and some-
one you could sit down with
and share your most personal
thoughts and dilemma.
Dr Mitra loved driving.
Once in a while when after he
had enough of politics and the
newspaper, he would take to
driving. For him, it was not like
driving to Murthal and enjoy-
ing paratahs there before
returning to Delhi, but it would
be weeks of adventure for him.
From north to south, and east
to west, he would drive for
months together to discover
himself, and the soul of India
that always mesmerised him.
The Pioneer office was the
second home to Dr Mitra, who
would always be there if he was
in Delhi. Over cups of coffee
and cigarettes, he would have
engrossing discussions and
debates with colleagues during
the evening meetings. Even
when he went home, the news-
paper and day headlines occu-
pied his mind. Whether in
India or abroad, he would
inevitably call the News Editor
late at night and suggest or keep
track of the headlines for the
page one stories. When
his illness confined him to his
home, the office never
remained the same.
Someone with an enor-
mous lust for life, Dr Mitra will
be remembered as a man with
an incisive mind, a loving soul,
and someone who never gave
up dreaming.
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Stating that the departments
concerned are not interested
in working properly for suc-
cessful execution of
Mukhyamantri Vatsalya Yojana
(MVY) in the state, the Women
Empowerment and Child
Development (WECD) minis-
ter Rekha Arya has written a let-
ter to the chief secretary (CS)
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu about the
issue. She said that it is disap-
pointing that departments are
not taking interest in the exe-
cution of this scheme for chil-
dren. She stated that a meeting
was held with CS and secretaries
of other related departments like
education, higher education,
health, social welfare, food, civil
supplies and consumer affairs
among others last month in
which she had directed them to
issue orders for the proper exe-
cution of MVY in their respec-
tive departments. Despite this,
no orders have been issued by
any department yet, added
Arya. It is disheartening and
unfortunate that departments
are not taking any interest in the
execution of MVY which is
meant to benefit those children
who lost their parents or
guardians in the last two years
to Covid-19 or any other dis-
ease, stated Arya. She said that
secretaries of the departments
were also directed to submit the
report on the work being done
in their respective departments
to ensure proper implementa-
tion of MVY within one week
of the meeting but nothing has
been done so far. She said that
herdepartmenthasissuedmon-
etary help of Rs 3,000 each to
1,706 beneficiaries till now but
other departments are not con-
cerned about making this
scheme successful to provide
benefits to children. She has
written to the CS to ensure that
departments concerned prop-
erly work to benefit maximum
beneficiaries under the scheme
and issue orders for its proper
execution in the State.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
The Dehradun district mag-
istrate R Rajesh Kumar
has appointed sub-divisional
magistrate Gopal Ram Binwal
for the magisterial inquiry
against improper filling of
the excavated section in
Balbir Road due to which
many commuters got injured.
The officials informed
that RG Gurunaam and
Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan did
some excavation work on a
section of Balbir Road for
pipeline testing and leakage
repairing work under the
smart city project but since
the excavated area was not
filled properly after the work,
many got injured and have
complained to the authorities
too.
Considering this, the DM
has appointed Binwal for
magisterial inquiry to exam-
ine all the aspects and ensure
which departmental officers
or contractors are responsible
for this negligence.
He has directed the SDM
to know the side of local res-
idents on the matter too.
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The School Education,
Panchayati Raj and Sports
minister Arvind Pandey is
known for his no nonsense
approach and bold decisions
especially in the field of edu-
cation. In an interaction with
Gajendra Singh Negi of The
Pioneer, the minister talked
about different issues. Here
are the excerpts.
The pandemic triggered
by Covid-19 has taken a major
toll on the education and
learning process of children.
What measures has the edu-
cation department taken to
compensate for this loss?
Our first priority was to
protect children from the virus.
Our teachers took online class-
es to teach the students simi-
larly many of them even went
to the houses of the students
and taught them while follow-
ing the Covid protocols. We are
taking help from the Gyandeep
programme of Doordarshan
and YouTube channel to impart
education to the children. Now
with students of class VI and
above coming to the school we
have started a programme
under ‘Mission Koshish’ under
which the syllabus of the pre-
vious class would be revised.
The experts opine that
the probable third wave of
Covid would affect children.
The vaccination of children
has not started and the
schools are gradually opening.
What measures would be
taken to safeguard the chil-
dren?
I would again mention that
ensuring the safety of children
would be our priority and
when we would perceive the
threat, the decision of keeping
the children at home would be
taken. We are taking necessary
measures in the schools and are
emphasising on Covid appro-
priate behaviour. We have
taken a target to vaccinate all
our teachers till September 5.
When you took command
of the education department
you said that a fee regulation
act would be brought to con-
trol the private schools but
almost four and half years
later the act is nowhere to be
seen. Are you under pressure
from the lobby of private
schools?
I am not under any pres-
sure. Yes some fingers are
bound to get raised due to the
delay in the proposed act. My
intention is quite clear, the
schools should charge fees
according to the facilities and
they should increase the salary
of teachers and staff in pro-
portion to the increase in the
fees of the students. We ensured
that all the schools of the state
use only the books of National
Council of Education Research
and Training (NCERT). These
books are very cheap and par-
ents across the state have ben-
efited. The fees act would soon
be brought.
What achievements do
you list as the education min-
ister?
Our biggest achievement is
that we were able to bring back
the confidence of people in
government schools. This con-
fidence is reflected in the
increased enrolments in the
government schools. The facil-
ities in the schools have
increased and the teachers are
very confident. We have start-
ed 189 English medium CBSE
affiliated Atal Utkrisht
Vidhyalayas in all the blocks of
the state. In 200 schools the
vocational courses have start-
ed and virtual classroom facil-
ities in 500 schools have start-
ed. We have appointed 1412
lecturers and 1818 Licensed
Teachers (LT) in the schools
while the process of appoint-
ment in thousands of posts in
the education department is
underway. The pass percentage
is increasing continuously and
the stipend of guest teachers
has been increased to Rs 25,000
per month.
What steps are being
taken to empower the
Panchayati Raj bodies in the
state?
A big change in the system
has ushered in after Narendra
Modi became Prime Minister.
The Panchayats are now receiv-
ing money digitally in their
accounts removing the pilfer-
ages in the process. The
Panchayats are receiving a bud-
get in proportion to their pop-
ulation. In Uttarakhand we
made it mandatory that all the
village Pradhans should have
passed high school and dis-
qualified those who had more
than two children. This result-
ed in the arrival of a young and
educated leadership in
Panchayats. Now we have
increased the stipend of
Pradhans which will help in
reducing corruption.
What is the status of the
New Sports Policy?
It is ready and soon would
bebrought. To encourage the
youngsters to take sports we
should provide them financial
help. To increase the infra-
structure of sports we are plan-
ning to impose a cess of 50 paise
on every bottleof
liquor sold in the
state.
FTWPeTaTeXeTS_dQ[XRR^]UXST]RTX]6^ecbRW^^[b)?P]STh
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Chief Minister Pushkar
Singh Dhami paid homage
to the martyrs of the statehood
movement in Mussoorie on
Thursday. Offering floral trib-
utes, he said that Bemati
Chauhan, Hansa Dhanai,
Balbeer Singh Negi, Dhanpat
Singh, Madan Mohan
Mamgain and Rai Singh
Bangari laid down their lives in
the Mussoorie shooting inci-
dent for a separate state of
Uttarakhand.
He said that his govern-
ment would take forward the
state on the lines on the objec-
tives on which the statehood
activists had demanded a sep-
arate state.
The CM said that the
responsibilities of officers at
every level have been fixed for
fast disposal of public issues.
The government is focussing
on simplification, solution and
disposal for issues of the gen-
eral public, he said. The CM
said that a review petition
would be filed against the
order of the High Court (HC)
on removal of Statehood
activists from government ser-
vice. He assured that proper
arrangements would be made
for jobs to the statehood
activists in industrial units.
The Union Minister of
state for tourism and defence,
Ajay Bhatt said that
Uttarakhand owes its genesis to
the sacrifices of statehood
activists.
He said that Uttarakhand is
on the fast track of develop-
ment under the leadership of
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh
Dhami. Bhatt added that
Dhami is moving ahead on the
footprints of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to take the state
forward.
The Cabinet Minister
Ganesh Joshi also spoke on the
occasion. He said that efforts
for rehabilitation of Shifan
Court residents are being made
and soon a solution would be
worked out.
Former MLA Jot Singh
Gunsola, chairman of
Mussoorie municipality Anuj
Gupta and others were present
on the occasion.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Taking a dig at the spree of
announcementsbeingmade
by the Chief Minister Pushkar
Singh Dhami, the leader of
opposition(LoP)inUttarakhand
assembly Pritam Singh has said
that the CM should also tell
about the budget of these sops.
Talking to The Pioneer, Singh
said that CM has made
announcementslikedistribution
of free laptops, increase in
Dearness Allowance of State
governmentemployees,increase
in allowance of Asha workers
and others but he has not men-
tionedfromwherehewillgetthe
budget for these sops. He added
that the budget and supple-
mentary budgets have already
been passed and all these
announcements are only pre
electiondoles. Ontheproposed
Jan Ashirwad Yatra of BJP, the
LoP said that the state govern-
ment has proved to be a failure
onallfronts.Hesaidthatthelast
four and half years 19 famers
have committed suicide in the
state, the union government
has passed three black farm bills
in parliament and the income of
farmers has decreased. Singh
said that unemployment is at its
peak in Uttarakhand and the
Modi government is handing
over the government enterpris-
es to private players one by one.
The price of cooking gas is
increasing every day and has
becomeoutofrangeofthepoor.
The LoP said that the BJP in
order to hide its failures is
changing CM every three
months and in such a condition
the party is hoping to get bless-
ingsofpeopleinitsJanAshirwad
Yatra. He said that the Congress
party is starting the Parivartan
YatrafromSeptember3fromthe
martyrsmemorialinKhatimato
launch an awareness campaign
in the state against the anti peo-
ple policies of the State govern-
ment.
0VKRXOGDOVRWHOODERXW
%XGJHWRIVRSV3ULWDP
?=BQ 347A03D=
Mountain springs are the
primary source of water
for rural households in the
Himalayan region- the sole
source for many.
As per a rough estimate,
there are five million springs
across India, out of which
nearly three million are in the
Indian Himalayan Region
(IHR) alone. Despite the key
role that they play, springs
have not received their due
attention and many are drying
up.
Spring discharge is report-
ed to be declining due to
increased water demand, land
use change, and ecological
degradation. With climate
change and rising tempera-
tures, rise in rainfall intensity
and reduction in its temporal
spread and a marked decline in
winter rain, the problem of
dying springs is being increas-
ingly felt across the Indian
Himalayan Region. As part of
efforts to preserve and save
springs from drying up and
recharge them, People’s Science
Institute (PSI), organised a
state level stakeholders’ con-
sultation workshop on spring-
shed management for
Uttarakhand. The workshop
was co-hosted by the Forest
Department and the Central
Groundwater Board,
Uttarakhand. Speaking on the
occasion, principal chief con-
servator of forests (Van
Panchayat) Jyotsana Sitling
talked about strengthening of
the consortium that has been
formed by the Forest
Department for springshed
management.
Uttarakhand’s green
ambassador Jagat Singh ‘Jungli’,
highlighted the role of forest
management in springshed
development. Former chief gen-
eral manager of Uttarakhand Jal
Sansthan, HP Uniyal described
the status of springs and the
drinking water supply schemes.
He highlighted a gap in water
availability and demand for
water. Environmental activist
Sachidananda Bharti shared
the Ufrenkhal experience of
groundwater recharge. Officials
from the government depart-
ments concerned in Sikkim,
Nagaland and Meghalaya also
shared their experiences and
state level plans. Officials of var-
ious bodies also expressed
their views on the occasion.
BcPZTW^[STabSXbRdbbb_aX]VbWTSP]PVTT]c
?=BQ 347A03D=
The State Health
Department reported 33 new
cases of the novel Coronavirus
(Covid-19) and 15 recoveries
from the disease on Thursday.
No death from the disease was
reported on the day. The
cumulative count of Covid-19
patients in the State is now at
3,43,034 while a total of
3,29,212 patients have recov-
ered from the disease so far.
In the state, 7387 people
have lost their lives to Covid
-19 till date. The recovery
percentage from the disease is
at 95.97 while the sample pos-
itivity rate on Thursday was
0.17 per cent.
The State Health depart-
ment reported six new patients
of Covid -19 each from Pauri
and Uttarkashi, four each
Bageshwar, Dehradun and
Haridwar, three each from
Almora and Champawat and
one each from Chamoli,
Nainital and Udham Singh
Nagar on Thursday.
No new cases were report-
ed from Pithoragarh,
Rudraprayag and Tehri dis-
tricts on the day.
The State now has 383
active cases of Covid-19.
Dehradun with 141 cases is at
the top of the table of active
cases while Pauri has 64 active
cases.
Tehri district is at the bot-
tom of the table with only two
active cases of the disease.
In the ongoing vaccination
drive 88,077 people were vac-
cinated in 1132 sessions in the
state held on Thursday.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Dehradun district
administration has started
the service of mobile vacci-
nation centres on Thursday to
achieve a 100 per cent vacci-
nation target in the district.
The chief medical officer
(CMO) Dr Manoj Upreti
along with district immuni-
sation officer Dr Dinesh
Chauhan and district nodal
officer of Covid, Dr Aditya
Singh flagged off five mobile
Covid-19 vaccination centres
for the on the spot vaccina-
tion.
The officials said that
mobile vaccination teams have
been formed to maximise the
Covid vaccination in densely
populated areas of the district
by conducting on the spot
vaccination of unvaccinated
locals.
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- 1. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Tributes poured in for Dr Chandan Mitra, 66, who passed away late last night after being ill for some time, with the President , the Prime Minister, Union Ministers and senior party leaders recalling his robust contribution to jour- nalism as his teary-eyed col- legemate and fellow journalists remembered him as a good friend, mentor and for his “old-fashioned decency”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to con- dole Mitra’s demise. “Shri Chandan Mitra Ji will be remembered for his intellect and insights. He distinguished himself in the world of media as well as politics. Anguished by his demise. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti,” the PM tweeted. President Ram Nath Moving said, “Chandan Mitra was an outstanding journalist and his stint as a parliamen- tarian added to his reputation. His understanding of Hindi heartland and its history was profound. His demise leaves a void in Indian journalism. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.” The distinguished Editor of The Pioneer was penning his biography. “I am on to it but there is no time to complete it..”, he once said in his office while detailing his love for dogs, here, there and elsewhere. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was sad to hear about Mitra’s death. “Mitra was a commentator on life and society. His death is a great loss for the world of journalism,” Mamata said in a message. Expressing his anguish over the untimely demise the Pioneer Editor, BJP president J P Nadda said Mitra would be remembered for his distin- guished career in the field of media and service for people. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described Mitra as an “immensely respected editor.” “Anguished by the passing away Sh Chandan Mitra Ji. An immensely respected Editor, who led the @TheDailyPioneer served as a Member of Parliament. His vast experience insightful understanding of issues always gave readers a new perspective. A huge loss for journalism,” he said. Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav described Mitra as his good friend and expressed his condolences saying “Very sorry to hear about the demise of former MP and senior jour- nalist Sh Chandan Mitra. He was a good friend. Served on the India Foundation Board for many years until his health forced him to withdraw from public activism. Condolences to @kushanmitra and other near and dear. Om Shanti.” Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, and old college-time friend of Mitra, also took to Twitter to express his grief. “I lost my closest friend- Editor of The Pioneer former MP Chandan Mitra-this morning. We were together as students of La Martiniere went on to St Stephen’s Oxford. We joined journalism at the same time shared the excitement of Ayodhya the saffron wave,” he tweeted. He posted a nostalgic pho- tograph of Chandan Mitra and himself together during a school trip in 1972. “Be happy my dear friend wherever you are. Om Shanti,” he said in another tweet. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, a collegemate of Mitra at St Stephens, said, “Deeply saddened by this news. Chandan was my campaign manager in my successful race to be President of the St Stephen’s College Union Society, served in my Cabinet succeeded me. We remained in touch over the years, ironi- cally till I returned to Delhi politics separated us. RIP.” Another Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “ Dr Chandan Mitra had friends across the political spectrum and made very learned speech- es in the Rajya Sabha. Apart from his professional qualifi- cations, his knowledge of Hindi film music was awesome, which he used with great effect in his interventions and writings.” Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said he was anguished by Mitra’s death. He offered condolences to his family and followers. Union Minister Bhupender Yadav said Mitra contributed immensely to the field of pol- itics and journalism. “May his family find the strength to deal with the loss,” he added. The Print Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta tweeted “too soon to go dear Chandan Mitra. You will be sharp, curi- ous and large-hearted wherev- er you are. Among the finest reporter-editors of our gener- ation. Never let political choic- es come in the way of profes- sionalism, friendship or old- fashioned decency…” Union Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted, “Deeply sad- dened at the passing away of former Rajya Sabha MP and senior journalist Shri Chandan Mitra ji. His contributions to the field of media and politics will be long remembered. May God give his family the strength to overcome this loss. Om Shanti!”. Many of the journalists who were mentored by Mitra at different publications recalled his approachable attitude towards greenhorns. Ashok Malik said, “Crushing to hear of Chandan Mitra’s passing. My first boss in Delhi when I moved here in ‘94, learnt so much from him. A very fine mind and trail- blazer in Indian journalism, with a passion for politics and a lifetime of ishq with Hindi film songs. God give him peace. Om Shanti “. “Very saddened to hear of the passing of senior colleague #ChandanMitra. Worked with him when I first joined @time- sofindia, Chandan was brilliant and always encouraging, and always up for a joust. His knowledge of @INCIndia was unparalleled. Farewell Chandan. Travel well,” said journalist Sagarika Ghose in her tribute. Senior journalist Kanchan Gupta who for a long time worked with the late Editor in The Pioneer said, “My dear friend Chandan Mitra, editor of The Pioneer, is no more. May happiness travel with him to the other side. Till we meet again, memories will remain”, he added in his tweet. Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP) of CMYK Ranjeet Verma expressed his condolence at the passing away of Dr Mitra saying, “It was an irreparable loss to The Pioneer family.” ,QGLDPRXUQVGHDWK RIWUDLOEOD]HU(GLWRU B74:70A6DA4A0 Deeply saddened by the untimely demise of my mentor and editor of The Pioneer, Dr Chandan Mitra. He was two-time Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and a gentleman journalist; not only a fine Editor but an excellent human being with an ability to write on versatile subjects. I enjoyed his columns and speeches not just about politics but also on Bollywood, sports, music, cooking etc. He was a voice of reason and quite an erudite writer. There were quite a few things about Chandan (he pre- ferred being addressed to by his first name) that set him apart from high-flying Editors of his times. After our daily editori- al meeting in office, he would often drive to Bengali Market to have Gol-gappas... In office get-together parties you could see him at dance shaking a leg with other mates at one moment, and the next he would be seen invading the gathering of junior-most employees with platesful of food and initiating the feast. I still remember meeting him first in June 1988, when I was a student and struggling as a freelance for various nation- al dailies. He was the editorial in-charge of Section 2 (Now Delhi Times) of Times of India. I was carrying a sketch of Raj Kapoor, made for Navbharat Times (TOI’s sister publica- tion) in my hand when I intro- duced myself to Chandan). He welcomed me with a smile, offered me a cup of coffee, and noticed the sketch. He asked me if he could use it for Times of India. I readily, and happi- ly, agreed. The next day it appeared on the front page with the news piece related to the death of the great film legend. I still have a frail copy of the edition. Later I also worked under his editorship at the HT for a few years and at The Pioneer for more than two decades. While most cartoonists nurse a grouse against their edi- tors for not giving them cre- ative freedom or desired space, I consider myself lucky enough to work under an editor who gave me complete freedom for my work. I am grateful for the opportunities I was given to scale several heights in my career due to his confidence in me and his continued guid- ance. RIP Sir, we shall greatly miss you. A8? BXafTbWP[[VaTPc[hXbbh^d 270=30=8CA0 3TRTQTa ! ($$°BT_cTQTa!!! ?=BQ =4F34;78 For nearly two-and-half decades, Dr Chandan Mitra’s name was synonymous with The Pioneer. On Wednesday night, the organi- sation’s helmsman left — left forever — leaving behind his devastated wife, Shobori Ganguli, two sons — Kushan Mitra and Shakya Mitra — and an extended family of col- leagues and loved ones. Dr Mitra, 66, passed away late on Wednesday. He has been keeping unwell for the last one year. Dr Mitra was a man of many seasons. A two-time member of the Rajya Sabha, an avid reader, a movie buff, a pas- sionate traveller, and, above all, an editor with a sharp political mind and ear to the ground. Dr Mitra was an alumnus of La Martiniere Calcutta. From there, he went to St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, where he was highly active in Left-wing stu- dents’ politics. Mitra received an MA and MPhil in History from Delhi University and briefly taught at Hansraj College. In 1984, Mitra received a doctorate at Oxford University, where he was a member of Magdalen College. The subject of the thesis was “Political mobilisation and the national- ism movement in India - a study of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, 1936-1942”. Mitra’s baptism in journal- ism started as an Assistant Editor with The Statesman in Kolkata. Then he shifted to the Times of India in Delhi and then to Sunday Observer. He was the Executive Editor of Hindustan Times before he joined The Pioneer in 1997. Dr Mitra is one of the few journalists who accepted the challenges of running a news- paper as owners, too. When Thapars handed him over The Pioneer in 1998, there was all- around skepticism about Dr Mitra’s ability to save the news- paper from going bust. The Thapars had sunk in a fortune in the newspaper and left behind a rudderless organisa- tion. Dr Mitra understood the enormity of his challenge and convened a meeting of the staff where he told them that the future looked uncertain and people were free to stay on if they were ready to go without salary for months. It was a frank admission by a man who had little knowledge of man- aging a business enterprise. In the years to come, Dr Mitra presided over the turn- around of The Pioneer and transformed it into a newspa- per which grew leaps and bounds, from two editions in 1995 to eight editions now. He also introduced the Hindi Pioneer five years back despite the emergence of new chal- lenges for the print media. Dr Mitra was gifted with a sharp political mind. He had his pulse on Indian politics. In the 1995 Bihar Assembly polls, when everyone was busy writ- ing off Lalu Prasad, Dr Mitra predicted a landslide for him. The poll outcome and his pro- jections matched nearly seat to seat. Even now, journalists and politicians in Bihar remember Dr Mitra for that bold “against- the-current swim.” His passion for politics and his affable ways won him many friends and admirers across party lines. In the BJP, both former Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and vet- eran LK Advani were very fond of him. That proximity saw him being drawn to active politics. He was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha in August 2003 when Vajpayee was the PM. He was elected to another term in the Rajya Sabha as a BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh in June 2010. He did join the Trinamool Congress in 2018, but that association never went beyond a mere formality. Despite the enormous chal- lenges of running an organisa- tion with falling revenue, and keeping himself afloat in the cut-throat world of politics, Dr Mitra remained a “soft and sensitive” gentleman, who would never give the impres- sion that he was “your boss.” In fact, to many of us, who shared with him a long association going into the late 1990s, he was a friend, a mentor, and some- one you could sit down with and share your most personal thoughts and dilemma. Dr Mitra loved driving. Once in a while when after he had enough of politics and the newspaper, he would take to driving. For him, it was not like driving to Murthal and enjoy- ing paratahs there before returning to Delhi, but it would be weeks of adventure for him. From north to south, and east to west, he would drive for months together to discover himself, and the soul of India that always mesmerised him. The Pioneer office was the second home to Dr Mitra, who would always be there if he was in Delhi. Over cups of coffee and cigarettes, he would have engrossing discussions and debates with colleagues during the evening meetings. Even when he went home, the news- paper and day headlines occu- pied his mind. Whether in India or abroad, he would inevitably call the News Editor late at night and suggest or keep track of the headlines for the page one stories. When his illness confined him to his home, the office never remained the same. Someone with an enor- mous lust for life, Dr Mitra will be remembered as a man with an incisive mind, a loving soul, and someone who never gave up dreaming. 5PX[hP]SR[^bT^]Tb_PhcWTXa[PbcaTb_TRcbc^U^aTaAPYhPBPQWPTQTaP]S CWT?X^]TTa 4SXc^aX]2WXTU3a2WP]SP]XcaPPccWT;^SWXA^PSRaTPc^aXdX] =Tf3T[WX^]CWdabSPh ?X^]TTa_W^c^ AZ`_VVc`WWZTVhRd5cZecR¶dWZcdeY`^V BWaX2WP]SP]XcaPfPbP]^dcbcP]SX]VY^da]P[XbcP]SWXbbcX]c PbP_Pa[XPT]cPaXP]PSSTSc^WXbaT_dcPcX^]7Xb d]STabcP]SX]V^U7X]SXWTPac[P]SP]SXcbWXbc^ahfPb_a^U^d]S 7XbSTXbT[TPeTbPe^XSX]8]SXP]Y^da]P[XbhWTPacUT[c R^]S^[T]RTbc^WXbUPX[hP]SUaXT]Sb A0 =0C7 :E8=3?A4B834=C BWaX2WP]SP]XcaP9X fX[[QTaTTQTaTSU^a WXbX]cT[[TRcP]S X]bXVWcb7T SXbcX]VdXbWTSWXbT[UX] cWTf^a[S^UTSXPPbfT[[Pb _^[XcXRb0]VdXbWTSQhWXbSTXbT 2^]S^[T]RTbc^WXbUPX[hP]S PSXaTabBWP]cX =0A4=3A0 38 3a2WP]SP]XcaPfPb Z]^f]U^aWXbSTT_ Z]^f[TSVTbWPa_ faXcX]VbP]S R^]caXQdcX^]bc^fPaSb Y^da]P[XbP]S_^[XcXRb3TT_[h P]VdXbWTSQhWXb_PbbX]VPfPh hcW^dVWcbPaTfXcWWXbUPX[h P]SPSXaTabX]cWXbW^da^U bPS]TbbBWP]cX A09=0C7 B8=67 8[^bchR[^bTbcUaXT]S TSXc^a^U?X^]TTa U^aTa?2WP]SP] XcaPcWXb^a]X]VFT fTaTc^VTcWTaPb bcdST]cb^U;PPacX]XTaTfT]c ^]c^BcBcT_WT]³bgU^aSFT Y^X]TSY^da]P[XbPccWTbPTcXT bWPaTScWTTgRXcTT]c^U 0h^SWhPcWTbPUUa^]fPeT BF0?0= 30B6D?C0 3TT_[hbPSST]TSPccWT_PbbX]VPfPh^UU^aTaAPYhPBPQWP?P]S bT]X^aY^da]P[XbcBWaX2WP]SP]XcaPYX7XbR^]caXQdcX^]bc^cWTUXT[S^U TSXPP]S_^[XcXRbfX[[QT[^]VaTTQTaTSPh6^SVXeTWXbUPX[hcWT bcaT]VcWc^^eTaR^TcWXb[^bbBWP]cX ?8HDB7 6H0; BPSST]TSQhcWTSTXbT^UBWaX2WP]SP]XcaP7T fX[[QTaTTQTaTSU^aWXbR^]caXQdcX^]c^cWTf^a[S ^UY^da]P[XbP]S_^[XcXRb7TPacUT[cR^]S^[T]RTbc^ WXbUPX[hP]S[^eTS^]Tb 00C0 10=4A944 3TT_[hbPSST]TSQhcWT STXbT^UU^aTaAPYhP BPQWPTQTa eTcTaP]Y^da]P[XbcBWaX 2WP]SP]XcaP7TfPb P]TadSXcTWXVW[haTb_TRcTS Y^da]P[XbcP]S_Pa[XPT]cPaXP]7Xb STPcWXbP_Tab^]P[[^bbc^T BWP]cX E4=:0807 =083DE824?A4B834=C 3TT_[hbPSST]TSQh cWXb]Tfb2WP]SP] fPbhRP_PXV] P]PVTaX]h bdRRTbbUd[aPRTc^QT ?aTbXST]c^UcWTBc BcT_WT]³b2^[[TVTD]X^]B^RXTch bTaeTSX]h2PQX]TcbdRRTTSTS TFTaTPX]TSX]c^dRW^eTacWT hTPabXa^]XRP[[hcX[[8aTcda]TSc^ 3T[WX_^[XcXRbbT_PaPcTSdbA8? 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- 2. ]PcX^]! 347A03D=k5A830H k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·VZLOOQRWEHKHOGUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIFODLPPDGHEWKHDGYHUWLVHUVRIWKHSURGXFWV VHUYLFHVDQGVKDOOQRWEHPDGHUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIORVVFRQVHTXHQFHVDQGIXUWKHUSURGXFWUHODWHGGDPDJHVRQVXFKDGYHUWLVHPHQWV ?=BQ 347A03D= Stating that the departments concerned are not interested in working properly for suc- cessful execution of Mukhyamantri Vatsalya Yojana (MVY) in the state, the Women Empowerment and Child Development (WECD) minis- ter Rekha Arya has written a let- ter to the chief secretary (CS) Sukhbir Singh Sandhu about the issue. She said that it is disap- pointing that departments are not taking interest in the exe- cution of this scheme for chil- dren. She stated that a meeting was held with CS and secretaries of other related departments like education, higher education, health, social welfare, food, civil supplies and consumer affairs among others last month in which she had directed them to issue orders for the proper exe- cution of MVY in their respec- tive departments. Despite this, no orders have been issued by any department yet, added Arya. It is disheartening and unfortunate that departments are not taking any interest in the execution of MVY which is meant to benefit those children who lost their parents or guardians in the last two years to Covid-19 or any other dis- ease, stated Arya. She said that secretaries of the departments were also directed to submit the report on the work being done in their respective departments to ensure proper implementa- tion of MVY within one week of the meeting but nothing has been done so far. She said that herdepartmenthasissuedmon- etary help of Rs 3,000 each to 1,706 beneficiaries till now but other departments are not con- cerned about making this scheme successful to provide benefits to children. She has written to the CS to ensure that departments concerned prop- erly work to benefit maximum beneficiaries under the scheme and issue orders for its proper execution in the State. 3T_PacT]cbd]X]cTaTbcTSX]EHTgTRdcX^]bPhb0ahP ?=BQ 347A03D= The Dehradun district mag- istrate R Rajesh Kumar has appointed sub-divisional magistrate Gopal Ram Binwal for the magisterial inquiry against improper filling of the excavated section in Balbir Road due to which many commuters got injured. The officials informed that RG Gurunaam and Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan did some excavation work on a section of Balbir Road for pipeline testing and leakage repairing work under the smart city project but since the excavated area was not filled properly after the work, many got injured and have complained to the authorities too. Considering this, the DM has appointed Binwal for magisterial inquiry to exam- ine all the aspects and ensure which departmental officers or contractors are responsible for this negligence. He has directed the SDM to know the side of local res- idents on the matter too. 3P__^X]cbB3 U^aT]`dXahPVPX]bc ]TV[XVT]RTX] bPacRXchf^aZ ?=BQ 347A03D= The School Education, Panchayati Raj and Sports minister Arvind Pandey is known for his no nonsense approach and bold decisions especially in the field of edu- cation. In an interaction with Gajendra Singh Negi of The Pioneer, the minister talked about different issues. Here are the excerpts. The pandemic triggered by Covid-19 has taken a major toll on the education and learning process of children. What measures has the edu- cation department taken to compensate for this loss? Our first priority was to protect children from the virus. Our teachers took online class- es to teach the students simi- larly many of them even went to the houses of the students and taught them while follow- ing the Covid protocols. We are taking help from the Gyandeep programme of Doordarshan and YouTube channel to impart education to the children. Now with students of class VI and above coming to the school we have started a programme under ‘Mission Koshish’ under which the syllabus of the pre- vious class would be revised. The experts opine that the probable third wave of Covid would affect children. The vaccination of children has not started and the schools are gradually opening. What measures would be taken to safeguard the chil- dren? I would again mention that ensuring the safety of children would be our priority and when we would perceive the threat, the decision of keeping the children at home would be taken. We are taking necessary measures in the schools and are emphasising on Covid appro- priate behaviour. We have taken a target to vaccinate all our teachers till September 5. When you took command of the education department you said that a fee regulation act would be brought to con- trol the private schools but almost four and half years later the act is nowhere to be seen. Are you under pressure from the lobby of private schools? I am not under any pres- sure. Yes some fingers are bound to get raised due to the delay in the proposed act. My intention is quite clear, the schools should charge fees according to the facilities and they should increase the salary of teachers and staff in pro- portion to the increase in the fees of the students. We ensured that all the schools of the state use only the books of National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT). These books are very cheap and par- ents across the state have ben- efited. The fees act would soon be brought. What achievements do you list as the education min- ister? Our biggest achievement is that we were able to bring back the confidence of people in government schools. This con- fidence is reflected in the increased enrolments in the government schools. The facil- ities in the schools have increased and the teachers are very confident. We have start- ed 189 English medium CBSE affiliated Atal Utkrisht Vidhyalayas in all the blocks of the state. In 200 schools the vocational courses have start- ed and virtual classroom facil- ities in 500 schools have start- ed. We have appointed 1412 lecturers and 1818 Licensed Teachers (LT) in the schools while the process of appoint- ment in thousands of posts in the education department is underway. The pass percentage is increasing continuously and the stipend of guest teachers has been increased to Rs 25,000 per month. What steps are being taken to empower the Panchayati Raj bodies in the state? A big change in the system has ushered in after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister. The Panchayats are now receiv- ing money digitally in their accounts removing the pilfer- ages in the process. The Panchayats are receiving a bud- get in proportion to their pop- ulation. In Uttarakhand we made it mandatory that all the village Pradhans should have passed high school and dis- qualified those who had more than two children. This result- ed in the arrival of a young and educated leadership in Panchayats. Now we have increased the stipend of Pradhans which will help in reducing corruption. What is the status of the New Sports Policy? It is ready and soon would bebrought. To encourage the youngsters to take sports we should provide them financial help. To increase the infra- structure of sports we are plan- ning to impose a cess of 50 paise on every bottleof liquor sold in the state. FTWPeTaTeXeTS_dQ[XRR^]UXST]RTX]6^ecbRW^^[b)?P]STh ?=BQ 347A03D= The Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami paid homage to the martyrs of the statehood movement in Mussoorie on Thursday. Offering floral trib- utes, he said that Bemati Chauhan, Hansa Dhanai, Balbeer Singh Negi, Dhanpat Singh, Madan Mohan Mamgain and Rai Singh Bangari laid down their lives in the Mussoorie shooting inci- dent for a separate state of Uttarakhand. He said that his govern- ment would take forward the state on the lines on the objec- tives on which the statehood activists had demanded a sep- arate state. The CM said that the responsibilities of officers at every level have been fixed for fast disposal of public issues. The government is focussing on simplification, solution and disposal for issues of the gen- eral public, he said. The CM said that a review petition would be filed against the order of the High Court (HC) on removal of Statehood activists from government ser- vice. He assured that proper arrangements would be made for jobs to the statehood activists in industrial units. The Union Minister of state for tourism and defence, Ajay Bhatt said that Uttarakhand owes its genesis to the sacrifices of statehood activists. He said that Uttarakhand is on the fast track of develop- ment under the leadership of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Bhatt added that Dhami is moving ahead on the footprints of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take the state forward. The Cabinet Minister Ganesh Joshi also spoke on the occasion. He said that efforts for rehabilitation of Shifan Court residents are being made and soon a solution would be worked out. Former MLA Jot Singh Gunsola, chairman of Mussoorie municipality Anuj Gupta and others were present on the occasion. ?=BQ 347A03D= Taking a dig at the spree of announcementsbeingmade by the Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the leader of opposition(LoP)inUttarakhand assembly Pritam Singh has said that the CM should also tell about the budget of these sops. Talking to The Pioneer, Singh said that CM has made announcementslikedistribution of free laptops, increase in Dearness Allowance of State governmentemployees,increase in allowance of Asha workers and others but he has not men- tionedfromwherehewillgetthe budget for these sops. He added that the budget and supple- mentary budgets have already been passed and all these announcements are only pre electiondoles. Ontheproposed Jan Ashirwad Yatra of BJP, the LoP said that the state govern- ment has proved to be a failure onallfronts.Hesaidthatthelast four and half years 19 famers have committed suicide in the state, the union government has passed three black farm bills in parliament and the income of farmers has decreased. Singh said that unemployment is at its peak in Uttarakhand and the Modi government is handing over the government enterpris- es to private players one by one. The price of cooking gas is increasing every day and has becomeoutofrangeofthepoor. The LoP said that the BJP in order to hide its failures is changing CM every three months and in such a condition the party is hoping to get bless- ingsofpeopleinitsJanAshirwad Yatra. He said that the Congress party is starting the Parivartan YatrafromSeptember3fromthe martyrsmemorialinKhatimato launch an awareness campaign in the state against the anti peo- ple policies of the State govern- ment. 0VKRXOGDOVRWHOODERXW %XGJHWRIVRSV3ULWDP ?=BQ 347A03D= Mountain springs are the primary source of water for rural households in the Himalayan region- the sole source for many. As per a rough estimate, there are five million springs across India, out of which nearly three million are in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) alone. Despite the key role that they play, springs have not received their due attention and many are drying up. Spring discharge is report- ed to be declining due to increased water demand, land use change, and ecological degradation. With climate change and rising tempera- tures, rise in rainfall intensity and reduction in its temporal spread and a marked decline in winter rain, the problem of dying springs is being increas- ingly felt across the Indian Himalayan Region. As part of efforts to preserve and save springs from drying up and recharge them, People’s Science Institute (PSI), organised a state level stakeholders’ con- sultation workshop on spring- shed management for Uttarakhand. The workshop was co-hosted by the Forest Department and the Central Groundwater Board, Uttarakhand. Speaking on the occasion, principal chief con- servator of forests (Van Panchayat) Jyotsana Sitling talked about strengthening of the consortium that has been formed by the Forest Department for springshed management. Uttarakhand’s green ambassador Jagat Singh ‘Jungli’, highlighted the role of forest management in springshed development. Former chief gen- eral manager of Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan, HP Uniyal described the status of springs and the drinking water supply schemes. He highlighted a gap in water availability and demand for water. Environmental activist Sachidananda Bharti shared the Ufrenkhal experience of groundwater recharge. Officials from the government depart- ments concerned in Sikkim, Nagaland and Meghalaya also shared their experiences and state level plans. Officials of var- ious bodies also expressed their views on the occasion. BcPZTW^[STabSXbRdbbb_aX]VbWTSP]PVTT]c ?=BQ 347A03D= The State Health Department reported 33 new cases of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) and 15 recoveries from the disease on Thursday. No death from the disease was reported on the day. The cumulative count of Covid-19 patients in the State is now at 3,43,034 while a total of 3,29,212 patients have recov- ered from the disease so far. In the state, 7387 people have lost their lives to Covid -19 till date. The recovery percentage from the disease is at 95.97 while the sample pos- itivity rate on Thursday was 0.17 per cent. The State Health depart- ment reported six new patients of Covid -19 each from Pauri and Uttarkashi, four each Bageshwar, Dehradun and Haridwar, three each from Almora and Champawat and one each from Chamoli, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar on Thursday. No new cases were report- ed from Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag and Tehri dis- tricts on the day. The State now has 383 active cases of Covid-19. Dehradun with 141 cases is at the top of the table of active cases while Pauri has 64 active cases. Tehri district is at the bot- tom of the table with only two active cases of the disease. In the ongoing vaccination drive 88,077 people were vac- cinated in 1132 sessions in the state held on Thursday. ?=BQ 347A03D= The Dehradun district administration has started the service of mobile vacci- nation centres on Thursday to achieve a 100 per cent vacci- nation target in the district. The chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Manoj Upreti along with district immuni- sation officer Dr Dinesh Chauhan and district nodal officer of Covid, Dr Aditya Singh flagged off five mobile Covid-19 vaccination centres for the on the spot vaccina- tion. The officials said that mobile vaccination teams have been formed to maximise the Covid vaccination in densely populated areas of the district by conducting on the spot vaccination of unvaccinated locals. 3XbcaXRcPSX]bcPacb^QX[TePRRX]PcX^] RT]caTU^a^]b_^cePRRX]PcX^] 9`^RXVaRZUe`DeReVY``U^Rcejcd 2^eXS ()]TfRPbTb* $aTR^eTaXTbX]D´ZWP]S
- 3. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Two days after India had the first formal contact with the Taliban dispensation, the Government on Thursday said it was “still early days” to think about recognising the Taliban. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also said the talks were held to ensure that Afghanistan is not used for terrorist activities. Asked about further meet- ings with the Taliban that took control of Afghanistan about a fortnight back, Bagchi said he had no update on the same. “Do not want to speculate. It’s not a matter of yes and no. Our aim is that Afghanistan’s land should not be used for terror activity of any kind,” he said. To a volley of questions on whether India would recognise a Taliban regime in the back- drop of the meeting, Bagchi said, “It was just a meeting. I think these are very early days.” India was not aware of any details or nature of the Government that could be formed in Afghanistan by the Taliban, he added. Addressing a media brief- ing, the spokesperson said the evacuation operation that has remained halted since the past few days would resume once the Kabul airport became oper- ational. “Currently Kabul airport is not operational. We will resume our operation to evac- uate people from Kabul as soon the airport service will resume,” he said, adding India’s current priority was the safety of Indian people in Kabul. He said India used the first formal meeting in Doha to convey its concerns over the possible use of the Afghanistan territory for anti-India activi- ties and to bring back the remaining Indians from Afghanistan. “We received a positive response,” he said referring to the meeting between Mittal and Stanekzai. In a statement issued after the talks on Tuesday, the Government had said discus- sions focused on safety, secu- rity and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan. The travel of Afghan nationals, especially minorities, who wish to visit to India also came up. Mittal raised India’s con- cern that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used for anti- Indian activities and terrorism. The Taliban representative assured the Indian ambassador that these issues would be pos- itively addressed. These assertion by the Ministry of External Affairs came in the backdrop of polit- ical leaders like former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah asking the Government to spell out its stand regarding the Taliban and whether it viewed it as a ter- rorist organization or not. Asking the Central Government to make up its mind on the matter, he said on Wednesday, “Either the Taliban is a terror organisation or it is not. Please clarify how you (the Government of India) see the Taliban...If it is not a terrorist organisation, please move in the UN to remove it from the list of terror organisations. Let its bank accounts start func- tioning. Let us not treat them differently.” “If they are a terror organ- isation, why are you talking to them? If they are not a terror organisation, why are you ban- ning their bank accounts? Why are you not recognising their Government? Make up your mind,” he said. A0:4B7:B8=67Q =4F34;78 Amid apprehension of pro- liferation of American-ori- gin military equipment in Asia, a team of top aeronautical engineers of the Pakistan Air Force has reached Kabul to assess over 200 aircraft and copters left behind at Bagram airbase and Kabul airport by the American forces. The Pak engineers will assess those military aircraft which are operational, repara- ble, or saleable for further util- isation of these machines for their operational requirements or for passing on to their strategic partners or non-State actors with a price tag, sources said. The exact strength of the team of the aeronautical engi- neers could not be ascertained immediately, but the team has taken an inventory of spares required by it for equipping the grounded American aircraft it received for operations in the war on terror. “The Pak Air force is fac- ing shortage of spares for its US-origin military hardware due to a supply embargo put in place by Washington, and the engineers could identify and dismantle such parts required by the Pakistanis,” said an expert tracking the develop- ments in Kabul. Counter Terrorism experts said the military hardware left behind in Afghanistan by the US could potentially lead to arms proliferation in entire Asia and beyond. Reverse engineering of American military equipment and bringing out better and advanced versions could blunt the edge of the forces in the region. This could pose a chal- lenge to the Indian forces’ superiority also as the reverse engineered equipment could counter the strengths of the American military hardware in use here, they said. Tanks and special vehicles left behind by the Americans in Afghanistan are already being shipped to countries like Pakistan and Iran, the sources said. Afghan leader and former military commander of the Soviet-Afghan war vintage Abdul Rashid Dostum has fled with 50 aircraft and about 1,000 tanks along with his men to Tajikistan, the sources said. Meanwhile, infighting in the Taliban leadership has come to the fore due to Pakistan’s machinations in installing the new regime in Kabul. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Amidst a sharp surge in daily coronavirus cases — 47,092 new Covid-19 cases —the biggest single-day rise in two months — and 509 death in 24 hours, the Government on Thursday warned the pub- lic against lowering the guard against coronavirus disease ahead of festive season. Union Health Ministry officials at a presser said peo- ple should celebrate festivals at home, follow Covid-appropri- ate behaviour and get vacci- nated as and when their turn comes. A string of festivals like Navratra, Ganesh Chaturthi, Eid, Diwali has prompted the Government to keep its finger crossed amidst fear of an impending third wave in the same period. Dr VK Paul, Niti Aayog member, said mass gatherings have to be discouraged and full vaccination should be a pre- requisite if attending a gather- ing is essential. “Even as we accelerate vac- cination, there is a need to take precautions. If the virus mutates we will have no con- trol. So adopt covid appropri- ate behavior including vacci- nation and use of mask,” Dr Paul said. The Niti Aayog member’s advisory comes in the back- drop of reports of the emer- gence of a new variant of Covid from South Africa coupled with a large-scale study inves- tigating Covid-19breakthrough infections published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal which said people who tested positive for SARS-CoV- 2 (coronavirus) after one or two vaccine doses had significant- ly lower odds of severe disease or hospitalisation than unvac- cinated people. Researchers also found that the odds of experiencing long Covid (illness lasting 28 days or more after a positive test) were cut in half for people fully vac- cinated with two doses At the same time, as a pre- cautionary measure, the Union Health Ministry said, a negative RT-PCR result not older than 72 hours has been made mandatory for passengers trav- elling to India from seven more countries, including China and South Africa. The move comes after the discovery of a new Covid variant - C.1.2 - which could be more infec- tious and has shown signs of evading protection provided by vaccines. While earlier this rule was only applicable for arrivals from the UK, Europe and West Asia, seven more countries — South Africa, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe - have been added to the list today, according to a latest guideline, said Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary. ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Government on Thursday said at least 16 per cent of India’s adult popu- lation has received both doses of Covid-19 vaccine while 54 per cent have been adminis- tered at least the first dose. The total cumulative number of doses administered in the country has crossed 66 crore, said Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary, “We administered 18.38 crore of doses in August 2021 alone. The average dose per day administered in August is 59.29 lakh. In the last week of the month we administered more than 80 lakh doses per day,” he said at the routine press con- ference here. “That’s a huge achieve- ment and would not have been possible without very effective and optimal participation of all healthcare workers, State Governments and Union Territory administrations,” Bhushan said. In Sikkim, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Himachal Pradesh, 100 per cent of the adult population have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, said the official. According to data shared at the Press conference, the num- ber of vaccine doses adminis- tered daily has increased from 19.69 lakh in May to 39.89 lakh in June and further to 43.41 lakh in July. In Sikkim, 36 per cent of the eligible population have been administered the second dose, in Dadra and Nagar Haveli it is 18 per cent and in Himachal it’s 32 per cent. Besides, in Tripura, Ladakh, Daman and Diu, the Lakshwadeep and Mizoram, over 85 per cent of the popu- lation have been administered the first dose. Bhushan said that 99 per cent of the healthcare workers have received the first dose of vaccine while 84 per cent of the eligible healthcare workers have taken the second dose. He said 100 per cent of the frontline workers have been administered the first dose while 80 per cent of them have been given the second dose. More than 64.65 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses have been provided to States and Union Territories so far by the Centre for free and under the direct State procurement cate- gory,” the Ministry said in a statement here. BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78 Domestic and international passengers can now get their excess baggage delivered from Delhi airport’s Terminal 3 to any location in India, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said on Thursday. Passengers will have the option of getting their luggage delivered by air or by road. “For this, passengers have to visit the ‘Avaan Excess’ counter at T 3 of Delhi airport and book their excess bag- gage,” the DIAL said in a statement. Avan Excess is associated with GATI, logistics company, which will deliver the baggage within 72 hours by air; how- ever if a passenger chooses delivery by road then baggage would reach the destination within four to seven days. “The booked baggage would be insured insured by the concessionaire,” the DIAL spokesperson said. “Delhi Airport has been pioneer in providing world- class experience to the pas- sengers. In these pandemic times, travelling safe, conve- niently and stress-free, along with heavy luggage is a real challenge for flyers. “Our excess baggage deliv- ery service will not only help travelers in flying stress-free but also save them from stand- ing in baggage check-in and pick up queues at the airports. All they have to do is book their baggage at an affordable price and fly hassle-free,” CEO-DIAL Videh Kumar Jaipuriar said. E``VRc]je`cVT`X_ZdVER]ZSR_+8`ge µ7DONVDUHEHLQJ KHOGWRHQVXUH $IQRWXVHGIRU WHUURUDFWLYLWLHV¶ 3DNIRUDJHV$IDLUEDVHWR DVVHVV86 DLUFUDIWFRSWHUV 4`f]U]VRUe` ac`]ZWVcReZ`_`W Rc^dZ_2dZR hRc_ViaVced 2gVcRXVU`dV aVcURjZ_ 2fXfdecZdVd e`*#*]RY $#V^c S^bT % aTRTXeTSQ^cWePRRX]Tb *RYWZDUQV SXEOLFDJDLQVW ORZHULQJJXDUG GXULQJIHVWLYDOV 4`gZU* :?:?5:2 CC0;20B4B) !( # # ##%( 340C7B)#('(!( A42E4A43) !$#(# $! 02C8E4)( 070)%#%###! :4A0;0)# !! !( :´C0:0)!($ '## !# C=)!% (# $%! 34;78) #'(( 8]SXPbTTbQXVVTbcbX]V[TSPh aXbT^U#:RPbTbX]!^]cWb ,QGLDQLQVWLWXWHVLQWRSLQZRUOG ?=BQ =4F34;78 Three educational institutes from India have made it to the list of the best 400 univer- sities across the world in the lat- est Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022. As per the rankings, Indian tally is led by the IISc Bangalore — a consistent first among Indian institutes. Globally, the University of Oxford tops the ranking for the sixth consecu- tive year. A total of 71 universi- ties/institutes made it to this year’s THE ranking compared to 63 last year. Ten Indian universities, including Banaras Hindu University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi Technology University (DTU), Jamia Millia Islamia, and Punjab University, have been placed in the 601-800 ranks. The University of Delhi has been ranked on the 801-1,000 bracket. While the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, has found a place in the 301- 350 band, which is the highest position held by an Indian Institute in the world universi- ty rankings for this year. IIT Ropar has secured a place in the 351- 400 ranking. It is fol- lowed by the JSS Academic Higher Education and Research, and IIT Indore, Alagappa University, and Thapar University. The IITs, including Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Mumbai, Guwahati, and Madras, had boycotted the rankings last year over doubts on trans- parency. University of Oxford tops the chart followed by California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, MIT, Princeton University, University of California Berkley, Yale University and University of Chicago ranking 10th. Country-wise, the US is the most-represented country overall with 183 institutions, and also the most represented in the top 200 (57), although its share of universities in this elite group is falling. China has two institutions in the top 20 for the first time: Peking University and Tsinghua University share 16th place. Institut Polytechnique de Paris is the highest new entry at 95th place, following a merger of five insti- tutions. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022 include more than 1,600 universities across 99 countries and territories. China now has the joint fifth-highest number of insti- tutions in the top 200 (up from joint seventh last year), overtaking Canada and on a par with the Netherlands. Six new countries feature in the table compared with last year: Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Palestine and Tanzania. Harvard University tops the teaching pillar, while the University of Oxford tops the research pillar and Macau University of Science and Technology leads the interna- tional pillar. ::DT]VRUd:_UZR_eR]]jZ_E96 CR_Z_Xd#!##@iW`cUe`ad]Zde ?`hW]ZVcdTR_XVeSRXXRXVUV]ZgVcVU Wc`^5V]YZE$e`R_j]`TReZ`_Z_:_UZR ?C8Q D108 Popular television and film actor Sidharth Shukla, who became a household name with his role in the long-run- ning TV show “Balika Vadhu”, died on Thursday. He was 40. Shukla, who is survived by his mother and two sisters, was dead when he was taken to the Cooper Hospital in Juhu around 10.20 am, authorities at the hospital said. Though some reports sug- gested a heart attack, the cause of his sudden death, which sent shockwaves through the indus- try and TV fandom and ignit- ed fresh debate on the pulls and pressures of showbiz, is not immediately clear. “He was brought dead to the hospital. The cause of the death will be known after the post-mortem is conducted... It will take some time,” Cooper Hospital Dean Dr Shailesh Mohite told PTI. 2Te`cDZUYRceY DYf]RUZVd ;PcT2Xch E^[ $ 8bbdT !# 0XaBdaRWPaVT4gcaPXU0__[XRPQ[T ?dQ[XbWTS5a^ 34;78;D2:=F 17?0;17D10=4BF0A A0=278A08?DA 270=3860A7 347A03D= 7H34A0103E890HF030 4bcPQ[XbWTS '%# 51,1R5HJQ877(1*5(*'1R8$'2''1 /CWT3PX[h?X^]TTa UPRTQ^^ZR^SPX[h_X^]TTa 7`]]`hfd`_+ X]bcPVaPR^SPX[h_X^]TTa fffSPX[h_X^]TTaR^ 347A03D=5A830HB4?C414A !! *?064B !C! 0UVWP]ATbXbcP]RT^eTT]cca^^_b^]PB^eXTcTaPcP]ZPbcWTh_Pca^[P[^]VPa^PSX]?P]YbWXa_a^eX]RT 05? CP[XQP]UXVWcTabQdhCP[XQP]U[PVbX]:PQd[ 5X[T_W^c^ Peshawar: The Taliban are all set to announce the formation of a new Government in Kabul on the lines of the Iranian lead- ership, with the group’s top reli- gious leader Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada as Afghanistan’s supreme authority, a senior member of the group has said. “Consultations are almost finalised on the new govern- ment, and the necessary dis- cussions have also been held about the cabinet,” Mufti Inamullah Samangani, a senior official in the Taliban’s infor- mation and culture commission, said on Wednesday. 7DOLEDQWRFRS,UDQPRGHORI *RYWZLWK6XSUHPH/HDGHU f]]RY2Yf_UkRURe`SV _R^VUdfacV^VRfeY`cZej 0WTP[cWf^aZTaPSX]XbcTabcWTePRRX]T U^a2^eXS (X]dQPX^]CWdabSPh 0? New Delhi: The anti-Taliban Afghanistan Republican Salvation Front (ARSF) on Thursday outlined its policy position before the formation of the Government in Kabul and sought guarantee of civil liberties and ensure the achievements of the past two decades do not wither away. The ARSF was formed in Germany recently to put a resistance in a democratic way to counter the Taliban's hard- line stance on governance. Chairman of ARSF, Ajmal Sohail, said in a statement, “The Taliban movement must announce a Government in which all the people of Afghanistan see themselves, the achievements of the past two decades must be respect- ed, and the Government must include women, civil society, journalists and humanity.” Protection of the rights of political and civil society activists, minorities, political figures and political move- ments must be ensured, said Sohail. 2_eZER]ZSR_2CD7dVVd TZgZ]]ZSVceZVdXfRcR_eVVd
- 4. ]PcX^]# 347A03D=k5A830H kB4?C414A!! ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has attached partly paid Compulsorily Convertible Preference shares of Housing Development Infrastructures Ltd (HDIL) group of companies worth C233 crore under the provi- sions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the PMC Bank scam. On the strength of these shares, HDIL has right for allotment of under construc- tion flats measuring 90,250 square feet FSI in Ghatkopar, Mumbai-based Aryaman Developers P Ltd. The devel- oper has given an undertaking to ensure not to sell/trans- fer/alienate or create any third party rights thereon on com- pletion of the project. The ED had initiated investigation under PMLA on the basis of FIR dated September 30, 2019 registered by Economic Offences Wing, Mumbai Police under the pro- visions of Indian Penal Code against Joy Thomas (Managing Director) of PMC Bank, Waryam Singh (Chairman), Sarang Wadhawan, Rakesh Kumar Kuldip Singh Wadhawan of Housing Development Infrastructures Ltd and promoters and execu- tives of certain developers. The executives named in the EOW, Mumbai case are of Somerset Construction Pvt Ltd, Serveall Construction Pvt Ltd, Sapphire Land Development Pvt Ltd, Emerald Realtors Pvt Ltd, Awas Developers Construction Pvt Ltd, Prithvi Realtors and Hotels Pvt Ltd, Satyam Realtors Pvt Ltd and others for causing wrongful loss to the tune of C4,355 crore to PMC Bank and corresponding gain to themselves. “Investigation under PMLA revealed that in spite of default in payment, HDIL group companies availed loans from PMC from time to time. The mode and manner of operation of bank accounts of HDIL clearly indicate the con- nivance of PMC Bank officials with the promoters of HDIL. Instead of declaring them as NPA for initiating actions for recovery, the PMC bank offi- cials choose to accommodate the HDIL group. Due to such criminal act of promoters of HDIL Group companies, PMC bank suffered a huge wrongful loss to the tune of C6,117.93 crore,” the ED said in a state- ment. A43R_dTR^+65ReeRTYVdC#$$Tc95:=dYRcVd ?=BQ =4F34;78 The ED has filed a fresh money laundering case against conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar and others for allegedly duping Aditi Singh, spouse of former promoter of pharma major Ranbaxy, Shivinder Singh, of C200 crore. Chandrasekhar faces several cases by the Delhi Police and the ED. The ED took cognisance of the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing FIR for regis- tering the latest case against Chandrasekhar under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, sources said. The agency is also in the process of registering anoth- er money laundering case in connection with the conman duping Japna Singh, wife of another former Ranbaxy pro- moter Malvinder Singh, to the tune of nearly four crore. Besides Chandrasekhar, the agency has named his associates Deepak and Pradeep Ramdani who allegedly received the cash worth C150 crore from the spouse of the pharma major’s former promoter in the national Capital. The conman, according to the ED, has been running an extortion racket from the Rohini jail here where is undergoing judicial custody. The modus operandi of the conman entailed using an illegally procured mobile phone inside the jail and making spoofed calls posing himself as senior Government functionaries offering assis- tance in pending cases of high profile accused in lieu of a charge. ‘ In Aditi Singh’s case, the conman offered her help in getting bail to Singh brothers who were undergoing cus- tody in criminal cases. The sources said out of the C200 crore received from Aditi Singh, C150 crore were handed over to the conman’s associates in three equal tranches of C50 crore each and another C50 crore was transferred through banking channels to an offshore account. 43UX[TbUaTbW^]Th[Pd]STaX]V RPbTX]AP]QPghRWTPcX]VRPbT ?=BQ =4F34;78 The ED on Thursday filed a prosecution complaint (chargesheet in police par- lance) under Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Narada Sting Operation case against then Transport and Housing Minister Firhad Hakim and Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee of West Bengal Government, MLA Madan Mitra, former Mayor of Kolkata Sovan Chatterjee and IPS officer SMH. Meerza of WB cadre before the Special Judge (PMLA), Kolkata. The agency has prayed to the court for awarding pun- ishment to the accused for committing offence of money laundering and confiscation of the amount of illegal grat- ification. The ED had initiated investigation on the basis of FIR dated April 16, 2017 registered by ACB, CBI under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against 12 pub- lic persons which includes sitting MLAs and MPs of West Bengal and an IPS offi- cer of West Bengal cadre. As per the CBI FIR, Mathew Samuel had con- ducted a sting operation during 2014 and recorded visual footage of these persons, who either themselves took money or instructed someone else to take money on their behalf from him. In the sting operation, it was seen that the accused, in their capacity as public servants, accepted bribes to favour an individ- ual, who was posing as a rep- resentative of a company at the time of the transaction. “Money laundering investigation conducted by ED has revealed that accused persons not only received illegal gratifications but also possessed the pro- ceeds of crime and tried to conceal it by creating fictitious stories and mislead the investigation. Therefore today, ED has filed Prosecution Complaint, wherein it is highlighted that how the highly placed per- sons laundered the proceeds of crime/illegal gratification,” the agency said in a state- ment. KDUJHVKHHWILOHGLQ 1DUDGDVWLQJRSFDVH ?=BQ =4F34;78 With an aim to help enhance income of farm- ers and realise the dream of Green India, the Government on Thursday launched a national campaign to cover around 75,000 hectares of land in the next one year across the country with medicinal plants which have huge demand in the domestic and global herbal market. In this regard, the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) under the Union Ministry of Ayush kicked off a programme from Saharanpur in UP and Pune in Maharashtra. This program is second in the series of pro- grams being organized by the Ministry under the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. In Pune medicinal plants were distributed to the farmers while those who were already cultivating medicinal plants were felicitated. Nilesh Lanke, MLA from Partner in Ahmednagar district, Dr. Asim Ali Khan, DG, Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), and Dr. Chandra Shekhar Sanwal, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, NMPB, led the events from different locations. Dr. Sanwal said that “this effort will give more impetus to the supply of medicinal plants in the country”. A total of 7500 medicinal plants were distrib- uted to 75 farmers on this occa- sion. A target has been set to distribute 75 thousand saplings. Similarly, in Saharanpur, Minister of State for Ayush, Uttar Pradesh, Dharam Singh Saini along with Research Officer of National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Sunil Dutt, and officials of Ministry of Ayush also participated. The farmers cultivating medicinal plants were felicitated by Saini. Medicinal plants were distrib- uted free of cost to 150 farm- ers who came from many near- by districts. These included mainly 5 species of plants - Night-flowering Jasmine (Parijat), Golden Apple (Bel), Margosa Tree (Neem), Indian Ginseng (Ashwagandha) and Indian Blackberry (Jamun). 750 Jamun saplings were sep- arately distributed free of cost to the farmers. 6^ecU^aTSXRX]P[ _[P]cUPaX]Vc^aPXbT Va^fTab´X]R^T ?=BQ =4F34;78 Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia has written to Chief Ministers of Telangana and Meghalaya, requesting their personal intervention in expe- diting various matters for strengthening aviation infra- structure in these States. While writing to Telangana CM K. Chandrashekar Rao, Scindia has drawn his attention towards the issue of extension of peri- od of Concession Agreement for Hyderabad International Airport Limited (HIAL). The Minister mentioned that a Concession Agreement (CA) dated December 20, 2004 has been executed between Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India and HIAL for development, con- struction, operation and main- tenance of Hyderabad International Airport. In terms of clause 13.7.1 of CA, M/S HIAL has requested for exten- sion of its concession period for another 30 years beyond the initial 30 years, i.e beyond March 23, 2038 and till 23.03.2068. The State Government has been request- ed to re-examine the request of HIAL for extension of the peri- od of Concession Agreement and furnish its recommenda- tions to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Scindia also underscored the issue of operationalization of Warangal Airport and its inclusion under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)- UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik). He mentioned that Warangal Airport is within 150 km aerial distance of HIAL and can be developed with mutually agreeable solution, to be explored by State Government of Telangana with HIAL and Airports Authority of India (AAI). Similarly, Scindia has requested for personal inter- vention of Meghalaya CM Conrad K Sangma, in expedi- tious operationalization of Tura Airport. He mentioned that Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched RCS – UDAN to enhance regional air connec- tivity from unserved and underserved airports in the country by making air travel affordable to the masses. Tura airport figures in the tentative list of unserved airports. Bids for Helicopter operations have been received for two RCS routes i.e., Shillong to Tura vv and Guwahati to Tura vv in special round of bidding 4.1 and the same is likely to be finalised soon as per the pro- visions of Scheme document. BRX]SXPdaVTbCT[P]VP]P TVWP[PhP2bc^WT[_ bcaT]VcWT]PeXPcX^]bTRc^a New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday voiced seri- ous concern over running of fake news on social media platforms and web portals, and said even news shown in a sec- tion of channels bears com- munal tone, which may bring a bad name to the country. A Bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana was hear- ing a batch of petitions includ- ing the one filed by Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind seeking direc- tions to the Centre to stop dis- semination of “fake news” relat- ed to a religious gathering at the Markaz Nizamuddin and take strict action against those responsible for it. “Everything shown in a section of private news chan- nels bear a communal tone. Ultimately, this country is going to get a bad name. Did you ever attempt to regulate these private channels,” asked the bench. Social media only listens to “the powerful voices” and several things are written against judges, institutions without any accountability, said the bench which also com- prised justices Surya Kant and A S Bopanna. “There is no control over fake news and slandering in web portals and YouTube chan- nels. If you go to YouTube, you will find how fake news is freely circulated and anyone can start a channel on YouTube,” it said. The top court agreed to hear after six weeks the Centre’s plea seeking transfer of peti- tions from various high courts to itself on the issue of newly- enacted IT rules meant to reg- ulate online content including social media and web portals. PTI B2XaZTSQh UPZT]Tfb^] b^RXP[TSXP ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given nod to Hyderabad- based Biological E Limited to conduct phase 2/3 clinical tri- als of its ‘Made in India’ Covid- 19 vaccine on children aged between 5 and 18 years with certain conditions. Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila are already in the race to manu- facture vaccines for the kids. The phase 2 and 3 clinical trials have be conducted as per approved protocol titled ‘A Prospective, Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-con- trolled, Phase-2/3 Study to Evaluate Safety, Reactogenicity, Tolerability and Immunogenicity of Corbevax Vaccine in Children and Adolescents’, said sources in the Ministry. The trial will be conduct- ed across 10 sites in the coun- try. The DCGI’s permission was given based on the rec- ommendations by the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19. “Phase 3 trial work of Biological E going on. Stockpile being produced. We should wait for results, we hope it’ll be in next month or 2. They’ve made a broad commitment that they’ll supply a significant amount by year-end,” said Dr VK Paul,Member-Health,Niti Aayog on Biological E for adult vaccines. 7hSTaPQPSUXaVTcb]^SU^a caXP[^U2^eXSYPQb^]ZXSb ?=BQ =4F34;78 The CBI has registered a case against a private com- pany and others including its directors and three employees and private persons (conduits) on the allegations of irregu- larities being committed in the ongoing JEE (Mains) Exams 2021 and conducted searches at several locations across the country. The accused educational institution Affinity Education Pvt. Ltd., its directors Siddharth Krishna, Vishwambhar Mani Tripathi and Govind Varshney have been named as accused in the case. “It was further alleged that the accused company and its directors were manipulating the online examination of JEE (Mains) and facilitating aspir- ing students to get admission in top NITs in consideration of huge amount by solving the question paper of the applicant through remote access from a chosen examination centre in Sonepat (Haryana),” the CBI said in a statement. It was also alleged that the accused used to obtain Xth and XIIth mark sheets, the User IDs, Passwords, and post- dated cheques of aspiring stu- dents in different parts of the country as security and once admission was done, they used to collect heavy amount rang- ing from RS 12-15 Lakh per candidate. Searches were conducted on Thursday at 19 places including Delhi and NCR, Pune, Jamshedpur, Indore and Bangalore which led to recov- ery of 25 laptops, seven per- sonal computers, around 30 post-dated cheques along with voluminous incriminating documents/ devices includ- ing PDCs and mark sheet of different students. %,ILOHVFDVHDJDLQVWILUPIRU LUUHJXODULWLHVLQ-((0DLQV
- 6. 347A03D=k5A830H kB4?C414A!! CHANDAN MITRA E8?D;=0DC8H0;Q =4F34;78 Seldom did he lurk around, he strode with unmistakable authority in each step. Though equipped with a booming voice, which he used often to good effect, he would also be caring enough not to embarrass his staff — “colleagues”, as he referred to them — by not stealthily reaching them, a polite grunt preceded his steps. At the book-release func- tion for the iron-fisted KPS Gill’s Faultlines, when a young reporter shyly introduced him- self in the presence of the Editor, Dr Mitra warmly said, “He is my colleague from The Pioneer. You must have a drink with him.” Another time, when a particular article was praised by a gentleman of Mahatma Gandhi’s lineage, he called the writer inside his cabin and wryly remarked, “Yes, even I liked it. Now, do you need a let- ter of appreciation from me, too?” Upon being requested that he could express his appre- ciation in the annual increment assessment, he just threw a broad grin across his broad desk. As an aside, the raise did- n’t come about. He smoked, drank and sang with aplomb. Whenever a suitable situation presented itself, of course. Though, at one time, he did miss mentioning a Dev Anand song while writ- ing in the fortnightly glossy about the memorable songs picturised in train compart- ments. At the first allusion to the missing song, he was the first to perk up at his omission and sing it full-throated. A baritone, he hummed in the lift, the restroom and in the car, too. At the workplace, he was terrifying. The staff eagerly awaited the log book for com- ments as it came to the News Desk from the Editor’s cabin. This one time, he wrote with his red pen, “Ignoramuses.” Several feet scampered towards the dic- tionary, and several others flew to cover their gaping mouths. Many of us have been blessed with at least the ciga- rettes, sometimes a little other stuff, too, pinched off him in the ungodly hours. The smoke came with the aroma of love and affection. There have been hard times, differences, happy times, and sad times some- times, like it is now. We all hope that he is happy and peaceful in the place, fragrant with his Old Spice (Original), a cigarette between his fingers and a joy- ful Kishore Kumar number on his lips: Main zindagi ka saath nibhaata chala gaya… (This one is by Mohd Rafi, by the way!). B:4204 F8C70A05 ;E405542C8= D?00=HD70I0A8:0 B4=8A03E20C4 Chandan exemplified daring and courage, as a star reporter, editor, owner — edi- tor, in public life as a part time politician. My first interaction with him was in 1998 when he bought over The Pioneer, for one rupee from the Thapars who wanted to divest a loss making business and I had to look into the legalities on his behalf, in 1998. He made a promise to him- self and his employees that the paper would come out everyday without any break even though it was in dire financial straits and he not only made it good but actually expanded to mul- tiple editions. His ideological orientation towards the BJP lead a large numberofhiscontemporariesin the English language press to ostracise him, but he didn’t flinch and The Pioneer became the first mainstream English daily to take stance towards the Right and provided a platformforallthosewithasim- ilar stance. It requires courage to be the first person to do so and Chandan wasn’t left wanting. To keep a loss making ven- ture afloat without stopping publication for a single day required him to foray into the publications business which he did successfully, but always geared towards keeping The Pioneer afloat, his one and only priority. Even though a BJP ticket at that time wasn’t a winning proposition from West Bengal he nevertheless plunged into the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from Howrah which he fought with aplomb. He didn’t mince his words and set new standards for courageous reporting, one of the first editors to be hauled up for contempt by the Supreme Court and having done Pioneer work for well over 15 years I can say with certainty that he would have notched up the largest number of defamation cases as an editor and mind you when The Pioneer was func- tioning on a perpetual financial knife edge. Chandan can be summed up very well in Muhammad Ali’s words “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life”. µ+HGLGQ¶WPLQFHZRUGV VHWQHZ VWDQGDUGVIRUFRXUDJHRXVUHSRUWLQJ¶ =44A09:D0AQ =4F34;78 Sahab, Madam, Iwould have been in fifth standard when we first moved to the servant quarters in Humayun Road upon Sahab’s appointment as a Member of Parliament. It was a giant leap for my family. Shifting to a bigger house with a garden just around the cor- ner and a driveway so long, that was too much space for me to handle. I was overjoyed. I liked seeing you leave for office every morning. Dressed in semi-formal attire, often times donning a kurta, exuber- ating the epitome of a man as you reached out to your equal- ly lux and juggernaut of a vehicle the ‘Terracan’. I remem- ber how you played with ‘Loin and Bou’ before entering the SUV. Loin, who appeared a prodigal child in your presence, was also the first one to wel- come you at night. And amid this mid morning routine, Madam was always there accompanying you. We have grown up watch- ing you and Madam from the Humayun Road resident to the home in Feroz Shah road. My father, Mahesh Ram, used to tell us stories about your accomplishments in the media, about how the senior leaders and politicians were worried about being “penned down” by you and that is how I’ve tried to embibe whatever little I could learn from you. Today, when I look back, I realise how blessed my family and I have been. The point of saying all this today is to tell you how big and positive impact you have had upon us and how grateful I am to you and Madam, though I cannot be grateful enough, for what you’ve given to us in all these years. (The writer, a young son of Dr Chandan Mitra’s driver, had started to pen a letter to The Pioneer’s Editor, but before he could finish it, Dr Mitra left for heavenly abode) 1E699C854B5AE95= BPSST]TSc^Z]^fPQ^dccWT _PbbX]VPfPh^UbT]X^aY^da]P[Xbc U^aTaAPYhPBPQWP? 2WP]SP]XcaPYX8U^]S[h aTTQTah^[SPbb^RXPcX^]fXcW WXPh0[XVWchVaP]cbcaT]VcW c^cWTUPX[hc^QTPacWXb XaaT_PaPQ[T[^bbP]SVaP]cTcTa]P[ _TPRTc^cWTST_PacTSb^d[ 00A8=34A B8=67 hSTPaUaXT]S2WP]SP]XcaP TSXc^a^UCWT?X^]TTaXb]^^aT PhWP__X]TbbcaPeT[fXcWWXc^ cWT^cWTabXSTCX[[fTTTcPVPX] T^aXTbfX[[aTPX] :0=270= 6D?C0 BPSST]TSc^WTPaPQ^dccWT STXbT^U5^aTaAPYhPBPQWP? 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B8=67 ?DA8 BPSST]TSc^WTPaPQ^dccWT STXbT^U3a2WP]SP]XcaP0 bcP[fPacX]Y^da]P[XbU^aTa APYhPBPQWP? 0B7F8=8 E08B7=0F BPSc^WTPaPQ^dccWT_PbbX]V PfPh^U2WP]SP]XcaP5^aTa? APYhPBPQWPFT^__^bTSTPRW ^cWTa^]P]hXbbdTbQdcP[fPhb fXcWSXV]Xch BDB78C0 34E 2=3;4=24B DECEMBER 12, 1955 — SEPTEMBER 2, 2021
- 7. 1,500areputonrecordbecause many Nepalese are engaged in the informal sector jobs and missing documentation with the Government of Nepal. The 2020 Nepal Migration Report estimates that the most signifi- cantnumberoflabourmigrants fromNepaltoAfghanistanwas deployed in security services. In the last two decades, Nepal has become one of the largest exporters of human resources worldwide, with the majority working in India, Malaysia,theGulfcountriesand theUnitedStates.Outofatotal labour force of 7.5 million, an estimatedthreemillionlabour- ers were working abroad in 2017-18, constituting 41.5 per cent of the total. Nepal’s econ- omy has seen drastic changes duetoincreasingcontributions madebytheremittancesintothe GDP. In 2019-20 alone, Nepal receivedarecord961.05billion Nepali Rupee (NR) as remit- tances, accounting for 22.5 per cent of Nepal’s current gross domestic product of C4.26 tril- lion evaluated at the current market prices. Withextraordinarycontri- butions made by the Nepali migrantstothecountry’secon- omy, missing capable repatria- tion strength and aviation, coordination with the host countries and missing legal and strategic understanding acutelyrisksthelivesofmillions of migrants. In the last 11 years, 7,467 Nepalese workers havediedinthehostcountries, and in many cases, families of the deceased have failed to afford a coffin or bear trans- portationcosts.Between2008- 2019,anestimated21migrants havediedinAfghanistandueto terrorist attacks and other unknown reasons. There were 13Nepalesekilledintheterror- istattackonCanadianembassy in Kabul in 2016. The earthquake of 2015, COVID-19,theIsrael-Palestine ConflictandAfghanistaninthe current scenario are such reminders, demanding improvedcapabilitiesandemer- gency response from the Nepalese Government. For instance, as soon as the other countries began to close down their borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, there was a surge of requests from migrant labourers, stu- dents and others stuck on for- eignsoilstotheGovernmentof Nepal for repatriation. During the 2015 earthquake, Nepalese migrantworkershadpleadedto theirGovernmenttoarrangefor their repatriation after they could not return from the Gulf countriesduetoconfiscationof passports by their employers. On all these emergency occasions, Nepal’s constant reliance on the international community for rescue, repatri- ation and emergency respons- es exhibits the lack of political willindevelopingitsowncapa- bilities. The rising export of human resources requires a systematic post-departure response and emergency assis- tance.Politicalappointmentsin foreignmissionshavebecomea trendinNepalthatcreatesavac- uum and weakens diplomatic capabilitiesduetoalackofded- icated training in the field. Therefore,Nepalneedstodevel- op an ‘Emergency Response Team’trainedexplicitlyforsuch emergency missions evolving armypersonnel,diplomatsand Government officials. Nepal also needs to understand that diplomatic capabilities define one’s external outlook in glob- al affairs in the modern-day world. Nepal has time and again asserted its position in world politics, especially on international fora, but such weaknesses work against its aspirations. (This concludes the two- part series on the Afghanistan developments’impactonNepal.) (The author is a Research Assistant with the Vivekananda International Foundation. The views expressed are personal.) 5G:?9559D853?7B5CC/ Sir — After Prashant Kishor's contribu- tion to the TMC's win in West Bengal, the Congress party showed its inclination to hire the poll tactician. But the Congress is in a dilemma after Kishor asked for the party membership. The party high-com- mand, the Gandhis, apparently are in favour of inducting the poll analyst into the party. However, some 'senior' leaders are reluctant to see Kishor hog the lime- light in the party. Kishor has demanded a “free--hand” to plan his strategy for the Congress in future elections. Evidently, if a newcomer gets a major say in the all important elections, where will they go? If Kishor reports directly to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the importance of the ‘rebels’ in the party would further diminish. According to the seniors, Kishor had nothing kind to say about the Congress party a few years ago when he was working for another party. But all this is common in politics, and may not cut ice with the shrewd Sonia Gandhi. She knows that in the grand old party, that has been struggling lately, Kishor may be a stabilising factor. After all, politics is about winning elections and the Congress supreme leader knows this well. Ganapathi Bhat | Nagpur 14539C9?G?BD8149C3ECC9? Sir — Justice Shekhar Yadav of Allahabad High Court deserves all ‘compliments’ for recommending in his order that cows should be declared as national animal and cow protection to be kept as a fundamen- tal right of Hindus. He further observed that if the culture of a country and its faith gets hurt, the country becomes weak. The detailed court order highlighted that the right to life is above the right to kill and the right to eat beef can never be consid- ered a fundamental right and the cow is useful even when it is old and sick. The court order further observed that its dung and urine are very useful for agriculture, medicines, and most of all, for worship- ping as a mother. Taking cues from the court verdict, it is right time that the Central Government may legislate on lines of observations made by Justice Shekhar Yadav to declare cows as national animal and to ban cow- slaughter. Justice Yadav denied bail to the man, saying he had slaughtered cows ear- lier, too, causing social disharmony. The court concluded that if released, he would commit the same crime again. Subhash Chandra Agrawal | Delhi G81DµC9CD?B56?B167819CD1/ Sir — The Taliban are taking charge of Afghanistan in the aftermath of its take- over. It is all set to form and announce the Government in coming days, mark- ing the beginning of a new chapter in the country’s history. The new Taliban Government will be keenly watched for how it responds to the UNSC resolu- tion, calling on it to ensure that Afghanistan territory is not used by extremist groups to threaten or attack any country or give shelter or train mil- itants. Negotiations are said to be ongo- ing between the Taliban and many countries on safe passage for evacuation of foreign nationals. The new Government will have to decide on allowing those Afghans who wish to leave the country. The composition of the Government will reveal if the Taliban keeps its promise of an inclusive Government with representation for all ethnic minori- ties and tribal communities. The percep- tion of the new Government will large- ly hinge on how it dilutes religious fun- damentalism in general and treats women in particular. By giving amnesty to those who worked for the previous US-backed Government, the Taliban can demonstrate that it has mellowed over the last two decades. It will invite the charge of cultural crackdown if it takes decisions like banning certain forms of music as unIslamic. G David Milton | Tamil Nadu A 2 A 6 C H : E 9 A 2 D D : @ ? gggTQYi`Y_^UUbS_] UPRTQ^^ZR^SPX[h_X^]TTak /CWT3PX[h?X^]TTak X]bcPVaPR^SPX[h_X^]TTa 347A03D=k5A830H kB4?C414A!! % BT]Sh h^daU UTTSQPRZc c^) [TccTabc^_X^]TTa/VPX[R^ CWTf^a[SWPbQTT]TePRdPcX]VaTb_TRcXeTRXcXiT]bUa^0UVWP]XbcP] Qdc=T_P[]TTSbc^S^dRW^aTc^QaX]VbdRR^dac^Xcb]PcX^]P[b 8=C74;0BC CF342034B =4?0;70B 1424=45 C74;0A64BC 4G?AC4AB 57D0= A4BDA24B FA;3F834F8C7 C7409A8CH FA:8=68=8=380 0;0HB80C74 6D;52D=CA84B 0=3C74 D=8C43BC0C4B ;4CC4AB CC C74438CA B9C896D?C0 C WTSTXbT^UeTcTaP]Y^da]P[Xbc2WP]SP] XcaPXbbPSST]X]V7TfPbP]^dcbcP]S X]VY^da]P[XbcPfT[[aTb_TRcTS]PT P]SPc^fTaX]VUXVdaTX]cWT8]SXP]TSXP 7XbbcX]cX]?Pa[XPT]cPSSTSc^WXbaT_d cPcX^]2WP]SP]XcaP9XfX[[QTaTTQTaTS U^a WXb X]cT[[TRc P]S X]bXVWcb 7T SXbcX] VdXbWTSWXbT[UX]cWTf^a[S^UTSXPPbfT[[ PbX]_^[XcXRbP]SP[fPhbd_WT[ScWTUX]Tbc _a^UTbbX^]P[bcP]SPaSb7TWPSePbcTg_T aXT]RT P]S X]bXVWcUd[ d]STabcP]SX]V ^U XbbdTb^U]PcX^]P[X_^acP]RTP]SVPeTaTPS TabP]Tf_Tab_TRcXeT7TfPbcWTTSXc^a X]RWXTU^UcWTTbcTTTSSPX[hCWT?X^]TTa 7TfPbP]P__a^PRWPQ[TTSXc^aP]SP[fPhb T]R^daPVTS_T^_[T 7TWT[_TSP]hX]SXeXSdP[bcaP]bU^a X]c^UX]TY^da]P[Xbcb7XbbdSST]STXbT]^c ^][hbW^RZTScWTTSXPUaPcTa]XchQdcP[b^ [TUc cWT bPS BT]X^a Y^da]P[Xbc P]S ? BfP_P]3PbVd_cPbWPaTSP]^[S_XRcdaT^U WX P]S 2WP]SP] XcaP ^] CfXccTa P]S Tg_aTbbTSVaXTUPc[^bX]VWXbR[^bTbcUaXT]S P]hbT]X^a[TPSTabP]SWXbUT[[^fY^da]P[ Xbcb Tg_aTbbTS R^]S^[T]RTb ^] b^RXP[ TSXP2WP]SP]XcaPVPeTP]d]PUaPXSe^XRT c^Y^da]P[XbfWT]WTfPbX]WXb_aXT ;^bX]VP]d]PUaPXSe^XRT[XZTWXXbP[^bb c^cWTTSXPUaPcTa]Xch7TfX[[P[fPhbQT aTTQTaTS Pb P c^fTaX]V UXVdaT X] cWT f^a[S^UY^da]P[Xb;TPeX]VQTWX]SP[TVP Rh^UTgRT[[T]RTfXcWWXbSTXbTPRWP_ cTa^U8]SXP]Y^da]P[XbWPbR^Tc^P]T]S APTbW69TcWfP]X| 1T]VP[dad 1^UbQS_]Ucd_Q^U^T 1HSDOLPLJUDQWV¶ SOHDVLQ$IJKDQLVWDQ A midtheTaliban’stakeover ofpowerinAfghanistan, theleadingglobalpowers continue to repatriate their citizens from the strife-torn country. At the same time, geo- graphically smaller countries are juxtaposed to international coop- erationinrepatriatingtheircitizens. In South Asia, Nepal is one such country, trying to repatriate its 1,500 citizens from Afghanistan. OnAugust15,thecountry’sHome Minister Bal Krishna Khand con- venedaninter-ministerialmeeting chaired by the Chief Secretary of the Government of Nepal under the chairmanship of the Heads of CentralAsia,WestAsiaandAfrica divisions of the Ministry of Finance,MinistryofHomeAffairs, Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ministry of Health and Population, Nepal Police, and COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre and the Department of ConsularServices,tochalkoutan action plan to repatriate the Nepalese citizens. TheGovernmentofNepalhas created an online portal, WhatsApp group and emergency hotlines for its citizens to register their repatriation requests. Since Nepal does not have a diplomat- ic mission in Afghanistan, the Nepalese embassy in New Delhi is assigned with the Afghan desk. In this process, the Nepal Government has also sent formal requeststotheUnitedNations,the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, the European Union and Japan to immediately rescue and repatriate the Nepalis work- ing in Kabul. Notably, more than 100 Nepalese nationals were working at the United States embassy in Kabul, and 200 more with the CanadianandGermanembassies. The first batch of Nepalese repa- triation took place on August 17 with the help of the United States Air Force. As of August 29, a total of 778 Nepalese citizens have been res- cued and taken to Kathmandu. India is also helping Nepalese workers to board its repatriation flightsfromKabul.Meanwhile,the exactnumberofNepalesestuckin Nepal is estimated to be between 15,000 and 20,000. 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- 9. $SHUVSHFWLYHRQ ,QGLDQKHDOWKFDUH 5AC7419?6E4A=4=CC74A8B48= 63?BC0=3B5AC74A8B48=C74 ?A824B560B384B4;0=3?4CA; °2=6A4BB;4034A A07D;60=378 74A4´BF70CA07D;40=B6BC0=3B5AC7460=378 508;H35A78B?;8C820;6DAD386E890H0B8=670=3 ?40=B?2783010A0 °037H0?A034B7748=8BC4A =0ACC08B7A0 T he Indian healthcare sector has been grappling with various issues for quite a while now and needs an immediate address. Lack of infrastructure, shortage of efficient and trained manpower and high out-of-pock- et expenditure, among others, are the per- ils to the growth of India’s quality health infrastructure. Thoughproviding quality healthcare facilities to a population of 1.4 billion in itself remains a Herculean task, it can be made possible with the efficient working of the private sector with strong Government backing, by way of effective reforms in the health infrastructure domain. There has been a severe shortage of trained manpower in the medical stream and this includes doctors, nurses and para- medics. There is scope for raising the capacity of existing teaching and training institutes while adding new ones in the long run. Similarly, deficient infrastructure in the form of lack of a well-equipped medical institutesis glaring. It is hoped that things improve with the newly-constituted National Medical Commission (NMC), which has put forward the idea of doing away with the requirement of minimum of five acres of land for setting up a med- ical college. A diligent move like this could possibly change the equation when it comes to setting up more medical teach- ing facilities in the country to curtail the shortfall of experienced medical doctors and staff. On the other hand, high out-of-pock- et expenditure, even for basic health facil- ities, has been a cause of concern. Every citizen has the right to access to basic health facilities and a possible solution to address the issue could be to increase the adoption of health insurance, including imparting knowledge and spreading awareness on the benefits of having health insurance. Perhaps, the Government and private institutions both need to work together for this. AYUSH is the acronym of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy. Over the centuries, many medical systems have emerged in India. Ayurveda is the ancient and sacred system of health care, originated in India over 5,000 years ago. This was further enriched by saintswith siddha and yoga practices. Unani Tibb, which was known from the period of Hippocrates, came to India dur- ing the 8th century AD. Like Unani, Homeopathy, which is not of Indian ori- gin, got blended with the Indian tradition- al medical practice due to similarity in its holistic medical philosophy and principles. Regardless of why an individual uses it, AYUSH medicine provides important healthcareservicesintheprevention,diag- nosis and treatment of an extensive range of ailments. 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