News Analysis India

Tag: Uttar Pradesh government

  • COVID-19: Allahabad HC orders week-long lockdown in five cities, Uttar Pradesh government ‘refuses’

    By PTI
    ALLAHABAD: Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, the Allahabad High Court on Monday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to impose a week-long lockdown in Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur Nagar, Varanasi and Gorakhpur.

    However, reacting to the order, the Uttar Pradesh government said that there will be no “complete lockdown” in the cities for now.

    A two-judge bench comprising justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar passed the lockdown order on a Public Interest Litigation on the condition of quarantine centres in the state and treatment of coronavirus patients.

    ALSO READ| Voting underway for second phase of UP panchayat polls amidst COVID surge

    “We are of the considered view that in given scenario of present time if people are restrained from going outside their homes for a week in the first instance, the current chain of spread of COVID infection can be broken and this will also give some respite to the frontline medical and health workers,” the bench observed.

    “Accordingly, we are passing the directions in respect of cities of Prayagraj (Allahabad), Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur Nagar and Gorakhpur and we direct the government to strictly enforce them forthwith,” it said.

    “All establishments be it government or private, except financial institutions and financial departments, medical and health services, industrial and scientific establishments, essential services including municipal functions, and public transport, shall remain closed till 26th April, 2021. The judiciary will, however, function on its own discretion,” the bench said.

    The state has witnessed a spurt in coronavirus cases over the past few weeks. Responding to the order, Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary, Information, Navneet Sehgal said strict curbs are necessary to control the spread of the virus and that the government has taken several steps in that direction.

    However, he said, alongside saving lives, protecting livelihoods is also important. “Therefore, there will be no complete lockdown in the cities for now. People are automatically closing many places,” he said. He did not say whether the government intends to move the Supreme Court against the HC order.

  • UP schools closed till April 11 for students of classes 1-8 amid spike in COVID-19 cases

    By ANI
    LUCKNOW: With the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday extended the closure of all schools for the student of class one to eight to April 11. Others are directed to follow the COVID-19 norms strictly.

    Earlier, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered the closure of schools for students up to Class 8 till April 8. The new instructions are being issued by CM Yogi in his meeting with top officials.

    Apart from this, CM Yogi also ordered officials to raise the number of COVID-19 testings in UP.

    At present, there are 11,918 active coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh, as per the Union Health Ministry. 8,820 people have lost their lives due to the virus in the state, while 59,90,45 have recovered from the disease. 

  • Yogi government to seek Centre’s nod for vaccinating entire adult population

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: Amid the second corona wave scare, the Uttar Pradesh government is approaching Union Health Ministry with a proposal for opening the vaccination to people in the 18-45 years bracket and also to withdraw the mandatory co-morbidity provision for 45-60 age group.

    The state health ministry proposal, prepared in consultation with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, practically seeks central nod for opening vaccination for everyone above 18 years of age. Health department officials said the proposal for expanding the vaccination to the entire adult population was aimed at taking the state towards ‘herd immunity’ in next three-four months. To achieve this, India’s most populated state needs to vaccinate around 30 per cent of its 24 crore population.

    So far, only 34 lakh people have taken Covid-19 jabs. To achieve the target for developing herd immunity, around 7 crore people need to be vaccinated in order to minimise the impact of the fresh surge in cases.The chief minister on Thursday, meanwhile, directed officials to increase the number of the RT-PCR tests to 50 per cent of the daily count.

    Addressing a high-level meeting in Lucknow, Adityanath said antigen tests must be made mandatory at railway stations, airports and bus terminals in view of the upcoming panchayat elections and Holi.Chief Secretary RK Tewari has already issued directives to initiate action against those not wearing masks in public places and maintain mandatory social distancing. The state government has also decided to step up drive for contact tracing and testing. 

    Night curfew timings in Ahmedabad extendedFollowing a sudden surge in cases, the authorities in Ahmedabad city have decided to increase the night curfew timings by an hour. The Gujarat government had earlier increased the night curfew timings in four major cities, including Ahmedabad, by two hours. On Thursday, the timings of night curfew were revised to 9 pm – 6 am. 

  • Criminals having field day, CM Adityanath busy in poll campaign: Akhilesh Yadav’s attacks BJP govt

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav mocked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his visits to the poll-bound states, alleging that criminals were having a field day in Uttar Pradesh.

    Yadav claimed that criminals were freely attacking the police under the BJP rule and the morale of the security forces was down.

    “Criminals who are enjoying patronage are fearless, while police personnel taking action against them are being suspended,” the former chief minister said.

    The SP leader added that the Adityanath government’s tall claims of controlling crime against women have “failed” completely.

    Unaware of the actual situation in the state, Adityanath is busy in improving the situation in West Bengal and Assam, Yadav alleged.

    Adityanath has addressed three rallies in West Bengal’s Purulia, Bankura and Paschim Medinipur districts on Tuesday, while he visited Assam for public meetings on Wednesday.

    Yadav said there was not a single day when incidents of loot, kidnapping, murder and rape were not reported, claiming that Lucknow tops the charts as far as crimes against women are concerned.

    Accusing the BJP govt of raising “magical ‘jumlas’ (rhetoric)” in order to divert people’s attention from basic issues, Yadav said they might try every trick to confuse the people, but would not succeed anymore.

    “People have come to know the reality behind BJP’s tall claims and they will teach a lesson to the liars in 2022 (assembly) election,” Yadav added.

  • UP govt presents budget of Rs 5,50,270 crore to make state ‘Aatmanirbhar’

    By Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday presented the last budget of its current tenure with an outlay of Rs 5,50,270.78 crore. It was the largest budget so far in the history of the state. 

    Presented by Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, UP Budget-2021-22 intended to make the state ‘Atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant) as the minister claimed. The budget included new schemes worth Rs 27,598.40 crore, Khanna said while presenting the state’s first paperless budget.

    Interacting with the media persons later, CM Yogi Adityanath termed it as an all-inclusive budget representing sentiments of 24 crore people of the state. “The budget is a true representation of the idea of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas’ and would bring about new hope, new energy and new possibilities of development in the state especially in the aftermath of Covid-19,” the CM said.

    Yogi claimed that the budget reaffirmed his government’s resolve to provide tap water and electricity to every house, water to every farm and work to every hand. “Not only this, efforts such as connecting rural areas with banking facilities through village secretariat, common service centre, BC Sakhi in every village, employing women in community toilets will give new dimension to women empowerment and self-reliance and making villages a digital village,” said the CM.

    Referring to the Kisan Accident Insurance Scheme, the CM lauded the inclusion of farmers’ families and ‘Bataidar’ in the scheme. He also mentioned the social security for almost one crore labourers in the unorganised sector, Mukhyamantri Saksham Suposhan Yojana for anaemic children, the establishment of Sainik Schools and State Universities in each division, constructing Medical Colleges under PPP Model, setting up of Law University in Prayagraj, the extension of Jal Jeevan Mission to all districts, development of road connectivity in rural areas, new policies in the aviation sector including International Airport in Ayodhya and Kushinagar, development of destitute “Gauvansh” in collaboration with NGOs at panchayat level and proposals for the establishment of a tribal museum in Lucknow, were the most thoughtful schemes which promised to take the state forward on the path of all-round development.

    The CM also talked about the newly launchedChief Minister Abhyudaya Yojana’ for the youth aspiring to appear in competitive examinations such as the Civil Services exams, NEET, JEE. The CM termed the proposal to provide tablets to youths under the scheme as ‘very useful’ and said that a large number of youth would draw its benefit.

    While presenting the budget, finance minister Suresh Khanna claimed that it had addressed every section of the society amidst the challenges of adverse impact on the economy due to the Covid pandemic. In the budget, along with farmers, women and youth, religious places such as Ayodhya, Varanasi and Chitrakoot had also been taken care of, said the minister.

    While the state budget has the provision of Rs 300 crore for the construction of Shri Ram Temple and the access road to Ayodhya Dham, Rs 200 crore has been allocated for the development and beautification for Ayodhya and Varanasi. 

    Moreover, a provision of Rs 200 crore has been proposed for the Chief Minister’s Tourism Development Scheme. A provision of Rs 20 crore has been proposed for various schemes of tourism development in Chitrakoot. Apart from this, there is a provision of Rs 30 crore for site development in Vindhyachal and Naimisharanya.

    Khanna also announced the constitution of “Uttar Pradesh Gaurav Samman” to be conferred on eminent writers and artists who have not been awarded any other award in the State. Under this scheme, a maximum of five persons will be honoured every year and each awardee would be given prize money of Rs 11 lakh.

    However, the state budget 2021-22 failed to impress the opposition including SP, BSP and the Congress. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav dubbed it as a deception for all the sections of society except the capitalists. He said that the farmers were deceived yet again by the government as the budget did not have anything to double their income as promised. He claimed that all the sections of society were suffering under the present BJP dispensation.

    BSP chief Mayawati said the state budget was extremely disappointing like that of the central government’s, especially in terms of ending the cruelty of unemployment and creating jobs. The BSP president said it just made promises to the people but nothing to address their issues.

    UP Congress chief Ajai Kumar Lallu said that the state budget had nothing for the youth. He claimed that the Yogi government wanted to keep the youth jobless in UP. “No industry was set up, The state is being run only through branding and PR,” said the Congress leader.

  • ‘Free hand’ to police responsible for poor law & order in UP: Akhilesh Yadav

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government over the alleged poor law and order situation, claiming that a “free hand” given to police is responsible for it.Charging the government with humiliating all sections of society, including the youth, unemployed and political leaders, he said thousands of SP workers have been framed in fake cases.

    In an apparent reference to the two girls who were found dead in a field in Unnao, Yadav asked, “Who is responsible for it.”

    “When the government gives free hand to police, this is bound to happen. In the state where daughters are not safe, mothers are not safe who will invest there. Cases are being reported continuously from Badaun, Hathras and Unnao. A victim woman was cremated in the night in Hathras,” he said.

    He also claimed that a large number of custodial deaths and fake encounters have taken place in the state. “Ever since this government came to power, fake encounters have started taking place,” he said.

    The SP chief said that the UP government has been continuously making claims on investments but these are not visible on the ground.

    “This is the first government which is inaugurating the already inaugurated projects, laying the foundation stones of projects where it was already done and signing MoUs which had already been signed. The government is not telling what new works have been done by them,” Akhilesh said.

    Alleging that farming is being ruined, he said, “Though the BJP has been continuously saying that the new farm laws will benefit farmers but farmers of the entire country want them repealed as they are not beneficial for them.”

    “The BJP has been continuously saying that they will give MSP to farmers and double their income. And now when it is time to do so, they have brought the laws which have posed problems for agriculture and farmers,” he said, adding that the youth too is facing unemployment.

    “They (BJP) have their government at the Centre and also in Uttar Pradesh. Where are they taking the economy? They are showing dreams of investments, if it is coming where it is. No investment is seen in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

    Referring to the rise in petrol and diesel prices, he said its profits are going into the government”s coffers but not being shared with farmers.

    To a question, the SP chief said his party will perform well in the upcoming panchayat elections and will have a good show in Assembly polls next year.

  • BSP president Mayawati hits out at Uttar Pradesh government over law and order

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: BSP president Mayawati lashed out at the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday for the spate of murders in the recent past, demanding that the ruling dispensation pay attention to law and order.

    Mayawati said the BSP legislators had been directed to try and make the government accountable to the public for the “gross negligence and malicious actions” on the issue of crime and law and order, along with important issues of farmers and public interest.

    “It’s alarming that a phase of murders of leaders, lawyers, and traders has started before the Assembly and panchayat elections,” Mayawati tweeted.

    “And, it is very unfortunate and condemnable that these incidents are not being taken seriously and being termed cases of old rivalry. The government should pay attention.”

  • Uttar Pradesh government announces reservation policy for three-tier rural civic body elections

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW:  With  three-tier rural body elections iround the corner, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced the reservation policy for the posts of District Panchayat President, Block Chief, and Village Heads.

    The Panchayati Raj Department released the list related to number of posts reserved in each tier of the rural local bodies. As per the list, 48 of the 75 posts of district panchayat chiefs will be reserved leaving out just 27 unreserved seats for general category candidates.

    Further, out of 826 block head posts in the state, 512 posts have been reserved for different categories, while 314 posts will be unreserved. This is for the first time that the Scheduled Tribes have got a chunk of seats reserved for them.

    Director of Panchayati Raj Department Kinjal Singh said elections will be held for 58,194 posts of village heads. Out of which, 37,826 seats have been reserved for various sections. After the announcement of reservation policy, path has been cleared for the election commission to notify the rural body polls in the state. As per the directives of the Allahabad High Court, the election for village heads have to be completed by April 30.

  • Yogi Adityanath should return to his temple: Rajbhar targets UP govt over crime

    By PTI
    BALLIA: Taking a dig at the Uttar Pradesh government over the law and order situation, SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should resign and “return to his temple”.

    Addressing a party programme in Pipra Kala village under Phephna area here on Thursday, he alleged that the law and order situation in the state was deteriorating because of the “patronage given to criminal elements by the ruling BJP”.

    Rajbhar’s comments come close on the heels of the recent attack on policemen in Kasganj district wherein a constable was killed and a sub-inspector was injured.

    ALSO READ | Honour killing: Man killed, woman thrown out of moving car over love affair in Uttar Pradesh

    The Yogi Adityanath government is proving to be a failure in checking crime.

    The police personnel who ensure safety of people are themselves not safe under the present government, he alleged.

    “Under such circumstances, the chief minister does not have the moral right to remain in power.

    He should resign and return to his temple,” he added.

  • Why is police protection not being provided for Wave City project, Allahabad HC asks UP government

    By PTI
    ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad High Court has sought a reply from the Uttar Pradesh government on why police protection is not being provided by the Ghaziabad administration to a builder who is facing harassment by land mafia and is unable to complete the remaining development work of the Wave city project in the district.

    A division bench comprising Justice NA Moonis and Justice Dinesh Pathak passed the order on Tuesday on a petition filed by Uppal-Chadha Hi-Tech Developer (P) Limited.

    Uppal-Chadha Hi-Tech Developer has to complete the remaining development work in Wave city project acquired under Hi-Tech City Township policy of the state government but has claimed that it is facing harassment by miscreants and land mafia.

    During the course of the hearing, the state government’s counsel placed before the court instructions received from the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad and Senior Superintendent of Police, Ghaziabad.

    After going through the instructions, the bench observed, “We are not satisfied with the explanations submitted by the authorities as no cogent and convincing reason has been given for redressal of the grievance of the petitioner for providing security to carry out the development work which is nearer to its completion.”

    The petitioner had moved court seeking directions to the concerned authorities to take action in accordance with the law against all miscreants and land mafias who are not allowing the petitioner company to carry out development work on the land acquired under the Hi-Tech Policy of the Uttar Pradesh government.

    According to the petitioner, the company on September 16, 2020 and November 24, 2020 had moved representations before the concerned authorities to take action and remove encroachment from the land but till date no action was taken on its representations.

    The petitioner had requested for directions to state authorities to ensure and provide necessary assistance to the petitioner as well as the Ghaziabad Development Authority to enable development on the land acquired for the Wave city project.

    Earlier on January 13, the High Court had asked the state government to appraise it of the action taken to remove encroachment from part of the land on which the Wave city project is being developed.

    The court fixed February 18 as the next date of hearing in the case.