Tag: Uttar Pradesh

  • Sexual harassment of children at Uttar Pradesh ashram: Court examines child helpline incharge

    By PTI

    MUZAFFARNAGAR: A court here examined the incharge of a childcare helpline on Tuesday in connection with the 2020 case of sexual harassment of four children at an ashram in this district.

    In July last year, a team of the childcare helpline and police had rescued 10 children hailing from Tripura, Mizoram and Assam from the ashram in Shukartal here.

    Medical examination had confirmed that four of the children, aged between seven and 10 years, were sexually assaulted.

    Incharge of the helpline, Poonam Sharma, was examined by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court here on Tuesday.

    Special judge (POCSO Act) Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari adjourned the hearing in the case till October 12.

    The accused owner of the ashram, Swami Bhakti Bhushan Govind Maharaj and his disciple Krishan Mohan Das were also present in the court.

    Police had registered a case under Indian Penal Code sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 377 (unnatural offences), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and sections 5/6 of the POCSO Act.

    The ashram owner and his disciple were subsequently arrested.

  • Law on population control will be brought ‘at right time’ in UP, says CM Yogi Adityanath

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The state government will bring a law for population control “at the right time”, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday.

    The government had in July unveiled a policy aimed at stabilising the population in Uttar Pradesh and reducing maternal and infant deaths in a time-bound manner, with Adityanath terming rising population a “hurdle in development”.

    “Everything is done at an appropriate time. The media earlier used to question the BJP on when it would announce a date for the Ram temple’s construction, but the prime minister (Narendra Modi), despite the COVID-19 pandemic, laid the foundation stone of the temple in Ayodhya on August 5 last year, and all need to be happy now,” Adityanath said at a conclave.

    “Similarly, Article 370 was also scrapped by the prime minister and Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” he said.

    On August 5, 2019, the Centre had abrogated Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

    At the ‘News 24’ conclave, when asked about his recent ‘abba jaan’ remark, the chief minister said,”They (opposition) want the vote of Muslims but are getting irritated with ‘abba jaan’.”

    In Kushinagar, Adityanath, in an apparent attack against the Samajwadi Party had said people who say “abba jaan” used to digest all the ration earlier. On the population law for Uttar Pradesh, the chief minister said, “Everything has a right time and has to be done at the right place.”

    “When the population law is brought, it will be done with fanfare, in the knowledge of the media as we do not believe in doing anything silently,” Adityanath said.

    In July, a draft bill on population control was put up on the website of the Uttar Pradesh Law Commission, inviting suggestions from the public till the 19th of the month.

    It states that people having more than two children in Uttar Pradesh will be debarred from contesting local bodies polls, applying for government jobs or receiving any kind of subsidy.

    The draft bill also seeks to prohibit promotions in government jobs for such people, while offering incentives to those limiting their children to two.

    The law commission is said to have handed over the draft bill to the government.

    On Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav’s tweet claiming that a record number of riots have taken place in the state, Adityanath said, “The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) states that there have been zero communal riots in Uttar Pradesh.”

    They (opposition) are not depending on their intelligence, but depending on Twitter, he said.

    Asked about Yadav’s assertions that he is inaugurating works done during the SP government, the chief minister said, “The situation that had emerged in 2017 of the pair (Congress and SP alliance for the elections) coming together, it is their nature to humiliate the state.”

    “The BJP is forming the next government with over 350 seats in the coming assembly elections,” he said. To a question on whether he would be chief minister again, Adityanath said, “If you say so I accept it. Thanks for your good wishes.”

    Polls for 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly are due next year.

    The BJP had won 312 seats last time.

  • During BSP government tenure, rations meant for poor ‘gobbled’ by elephant: Yogi Adityanath

    By PTI

    JAUNPUR/GHAZIPUR: Taking a dig at the BSP and its election symbol, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday suggested that the rations meant for the common people were gobbled by the “elephant” when the party was in power in the state.

    The remark comes days after he said that during the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, rations meant for the people used to go to “people who say abba jaan”, an apparent attack against the Muslim community and the Samajwadi Party (SP).

    “Abba jaan” is an Urdu term for father.

    “Did you get rations during the SP government? Before the SP government, during the tenure of Mayawati, the elephant’s stomach was so big that it was difficult to understand where the public’s ration was going,” the chief minister said at a public meeting after inaugurating projects worth crores of rupees in the Mungra Badshahpur area of Jaunpur.

    “Earlier, neither Durga puja was held nor was Ramlila. Though there was no coronavirus earlier, the governments did not allow yagya or Durga puja. But this time, Durga puja will be allowed,” the chief minister said, as per the official Twitter account of the BJP.

    Earlier it was just “me and my family” for the chief minister.

    While the people of the state were in the grip of serious diseases, the Saifai family was organising dance and song programmes by inviting big personalities, he said, apparently referring to the Samajwadi Party.

    At an event in Ghazipur, Adityanath said his government knows how to deal with goons and mafia, and bulldozers were being used against them in the state, again a reference to the SP.

    Last week, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav had suggested that the BJP needed to change its election symbol to a bulldozer, referring to the government’s drive to pull down alleged unauthorised buildings.

  • UP: Certificate shows local BJP leader given five doses of COVID vaccine, sixth scheduled

    By PTI

    MEERUT: The vaccination certificate of a BJP booth level leader here wrongly shows he has been given five doses of the coronavirus vaccine and is scheduled for the sixth, with officials saying it appears to be a case of “mischief” and conspiracy.

    The case was reported from Sardhana area of the district after Rampal Singh (73), who says he is the BJP president of booth no 79 and is also a member of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, got his vaccination certificate downloaded.

    He said the certificate shows he has been given five doses of the coronavirus vaccine and the sixth is also scheduled.

    He accused the health department of negligence and filed a complaint following which, the officials said, a probe has been launched.

    Singh said he got his first dose of the vaccine on March 16 and the second on May 8.

    However, when he got his certificate downloaded from the official portal, it showed five jabs already administered and the sixth scheduled between December 2021 and January 2022.

    He said the certificate shows his first dose on March 16, the second on May 8, the third on May 15 and both fourth and fifth on September 15.

    When contacted, Chief Medical Officer Akhilesh Mohan said this maybe a first case of somebody being registered more than two times for the vaccine.

    “Prime facie, it is case of mischief and conspiracy,” he told PTI.

    “Some mischievous elements seem to have hacked into the portal and done this.”

    He said the district immunisation officer Praveen Gautam has been asked to probe the matter.

  • Seven people have succumbed to viral fever in Agra so far in September: Senior officer

    By PTI

    AGRA: Seven people have died due to viral fever in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra district so far in September, a senior officer said on Sunday.

    Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Arun Kumar Srivastav also dismissed reports stating that two people succumbed to dengue in Fatehpur Sikri.

    Talking to PTI, Srivastav said seven deaths due to viral fever have been confirmed in Agra so far this month.

    While a 14-year-old boy died in Chachiha village on Sunday morning, two siblings died in Fatehpur Sikri’s Rasoolpur village on Saturday evening, he said.

    Two deaths were reported from Giriraj Dham Colony under Itimad-ud-Daulah police station area and one death was reported from Nunhai locality on Thursday.

    One person died in Khadia village of Khandoli, he added.

    “The peculiar thing about this fever is that we are getting very little time for treatment and people are dying quickly,” the CMO claimed.

    Srivastav dismissed reports claiming that dengue was the cause of the two deaths reported from Rasoolpur and said that the children died due to viral fever.

    The CMO said Agra has reported 61 dengue cases so far this year.

    While 41 patients have recovered, 20 are undergoing treatment at government hospitals.

    He appealed to people to immediately visit a government hospital or a community health centre in case they experience symptoms like high fever, vomiting and dizziness.

    On steps being taken by the administration for the prevention of dengue, Srivastav said the health department is organising awareness and medical camps in villages and cities and fogging is being carried out.

    Stagnant water is being cleared in villages and other areas, he said.

    The officer also urged people to not allow water to collect inside or around their homes and suggested that they cover themselves fully when they step out.

  • UP’s unemployment rate was more than 17% in 2016, today it is just 4-5%: CM Yogi Adityanath

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday claimed that the unemployment rate in the state was more than 17 per cent in the year 2016 which has now come down to four to five per cent.

    He was addressing a function after distributing toolkits to trained beneficiaries under the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana and loans under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana here.

    “For the last one-and-a-half years, the whole world has been hit by COVID-19 pandemic.

    A lockdown had to be imposed and more than 40 lakh migrant workers and labourers returned to the state during the lockdown.

    “During this period, traditional artisans, craftsmen and entrepreneurs developed a system, which along with making them self-reliant, also gave impetus to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s concept of making a self-reliant India,” Adityanath said.

    He said the state’s population is 24 crore and the unemployment rate in UP is far lower as compared to other states of the country.

    In the year 2016, the unemployment rate in the state was more than 17 per cent, but today it has come down to only four to five per cent, the CM added.

    According to a statement released by the state government on Friday, 21,000 beneficiaries received toolkits and 11,000 beneficiaries were disbursed loans under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.

    Adityanath said this year, on the occasion of Deepotsav, the target is to light 7.5 lakh diyas in Ayodhya and these lamps are being manufactured in Ayodhya itself.

    He further added that on October 6, Modi will complete 20 years of public service as chief minister and prime minister.

    Modi has given a new direction to the country with his leadership ability.

    His public services are being commemorated by the Uttar Pradesh government from September 17 to October 7, in the form of Vikas Utsav, the priest-turned-politician announced.

  • Akhilesh promises to restore Vishwakarma Puja holiday, a temple for deity if voted to power

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: With the 2022 UP Assembly elections inching closer, political parties have started wooing the voters through various promises. The latest is the Samajwadi Party (SP) which promised a grand temple of Vishwakarma on the banks of the Gomti river if voted to power in 2022.

    Slamming the ruling BJP for insulting the entire Vishwakarma community by withdrawing the Vishwakarma Jayanti holiday, SP national president Akhilesh Yadav announced that his party would restore the holiday on Vishwakarma Puja if it came to power in UP.

    Akhilesh was speaking at a Vishwakarma Jayanti programme organised by the All India Vishwakarma Mahasabha at the SP office in Lucknow on Thursday.

    It may be recalled that after assuming charge in UP, Yogi Adityanath had shortened the list of state holidays including the Vishwakarma Jayanti. He had said that schools and offices should be opened on those days and programmes should be organised to make people aware of the contributions made by those personalities.

    “There is also a training institute for BJP people and it teaches them to spread lies. The chief minister did away with the Vishwakarma Jayanti holiday, he has insulted the entire Vishwakarma society. It was our SP government that announced a holiday on Vishwakarma Puja. Hanuman’s mace (gada) and Krishna’s wheel were made by Vishwakarma community…,” said Akhilesh.

    However, attacking the BJP on the incessant rains lashing the state for the last two days, the SP chief said: “There was heavy damage and loss of life due to rain in Uttar Pradesh. The government has not made any arrangements. This government is about to leave, it will be wiped out. Every section of society has been humiliated by this government. This government has made a record of lies.”

    Further attacking the BJP government, Akhilesh said, “The government is only busy changing the names. Where did the dream of a USD 5 trillion economy go? The chief minister had talked about the target of a USD 1 trillion economy, where is it? Big MoUs were signed in Lucknow.”

    He launched a broadside on BJP government over its Covid management saying countless had died of corona in Uttar Pradesh, there was no oxygen and no beds in the hospitals. “The ambulance started by the SP government came in handy during the corona period. Lockdown was imposed in such a way that many poor people lost their lives. The government did not impose lockdown at the right time. Corpses were flowing in Ganga,” said the SP chief

    The SP chief reiterated the alleged misuse of EVMs in Bihar assembly elections and accused the administrative machinery to have played to the diktats of the ruling dispensation.

    He cautioned his workers to be alert against the alleged misuse of EVMS in UP elections saying the BJP had its “e-Ravans” sitting on social media and people will have to be aware of dirty tricks ahead of the 2022 UP polls.

  • Vaccinating eligible people in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Punjab with at least one dose government’s priority: Sources

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Administering at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to the eligible population in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab where assembly elections are scheduled to be held next year is on the priority list of the government, according to official sources.

    Also, the target of a landmark 100 crore Covid vaccination doses is likely to be completed by the second week of October, Union health ministry sources said on Friday.

    “Inoculating eligible people in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab where assembly elections are to be held next year with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine is on the priority list of the government,” a source said.

    The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 78 crore on Friday.

    The government said 20 per cent of India’s adult population have received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine and 62 per cent have got at least one dose.

    Of all the vaccines used, around 87.8 per cent are Covishield manufactured by Serum Institute, around 12.11 per cent are Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and less than one per cent Sputnik V.

    At least 50 per cent of the beneficiaries have been administered the first dose in Uttar Pradesh.

    The target is to cover the 100 per cent eligible population with at least one shot before the polls, the sources said.

    Commenting about the delay of Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid vaccines in India, the sources said change in the demands of the manufacturers from time to time is leading to delay in making these vaccines available in the country and as to why they have not been given indemnity.

  • ‘Those who used to hold iftars, now visiting temples’: Uttar Pradesh dy CM targets Samajwadi Party

    By PTI

    HARDOI (UTTAR PRADESH): In a barb directed at the Samajwadi Party, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Thursday said those who used to hold iftar parties during their regime are visiting temples now.

    His statement comes days after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s controversial ‘abba jaan’ remarks, also apparently targeting the SP and the Muslim community.

    In the fresh BJP attack on Akhilesh Yadav and his Samajwadi Party, Maurya said Thursday, “When there was his government in the state, he used to hold Roza-Iftar parties. When there was Kumbh during his regime, he did not go there to take a bath. But after the formation of the BJP government, he is visiting temples. This is an ideological victory of the BJP.”

    Maurya was here to lay the foundation stone and inaugurate schemes worth over Rs 1,372 crores. He also announced schemes worth Rs 300 crores for the district. “The same Akhilesh who used to turn his face after seeing Hindus has to take a dip in Haridwar and touch the feet of saints. Now he is declaring himself to be a Ram bhakt and Krishna bhakt,” he added.

    In Kushinagar on Saturday, Adityanath had remarkedpeople who say “abba jaan” used to digest all the ration earlier.

    While SP chief Yadav had hit back at Adityanath, saying the statements betrayed the “sanskar (values)” of the chief minister, Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani defended the his constitutional right to put forward his views.

    The deputy chief minister Thursday also said that in the 2022 assembly polls, the BJP will get over 300 seats.

    On Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s promise of providing 300 units free electricity if his party wins the polls in Uttar Pradesh, Maurya said the AAP is running the Delhi government like a Nagar Nigam. “They (AAP) will not get candidates for all the seats and will not be able to win a single seat in UP. In such a scenario, he is making promises only,” he added.

    He said law and order situation under the BJP regime has improved and bulldozers are running on illegal properties earned through ill-gotten money.

  • Seven dead as incessant rains lash Uttar Pradesh

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: At least seven people were killed in parts of central and eastern Uttar Pradesh with incessant rains lashing the region since early Thursday. Some areas in the state have witnessed heavy downpours for the last 24 hours.

    Low-lying areas in Lucknow saw inundation with power lines snapped due to the uprooting of trees in several areas. 

    In some areas, railway tracks were submerged and underpasses were closed down due to waterlogged roads. 

    The Met department has predicted heavy rains in at least 30 districts of the state in the next 40 hours.

    CM Yogi Adityanath’s scheduled visit to Barabanki district was called off as water filled the event venue as well as the temporary helipad that was made for his chopper to land.

    In a number of districts including Rae Bareli and Amethi, the respective district administrations have closed all the schools up to class eight for the next two days due to heavy rains. In Sujanpura area of Jaunpur, three persons including a woman and a child, died after a wall collapsed following incessant rains. A similar incident took place in Barabanki’s Ramsanehi Ghat area, where two people died. Deaths were reported from Kaushambi, Ayodhya and Sitapur districts as well.

    The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for the eastern region of Uttar Pradesh predicting fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy showers on Thursday and Friday.

    However, for Western UP and Uttarakhand, an orange alert for September 16 has been issued with an advisory urging residents to “be prepared for rough weather”.

    The state capital Lucknow recorded 115 mm of rain during the last 24 hours. No immediate respite is predicted for now. Considering the grim situation, the Lucknow district administration has issued an advisory asking people not to venture out and avoid going in crowded places. 

    Helpline numbers – 6389300137, 6389300138, 6389300139, have also been released by the Lucknow District Administration to impart help to those caught in the vagary of inclement weather.

    The weather office has issued a heavy rain alert in 30 districts of UP for the next 48 hours, including Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Mathura, Sitapur, Ayodhya, Moradabad, Shamli, Varanasi, Sambhal, Bulandshahr, Bijnor, Amroha,Gorakhpur, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Prayagraj.

    Not only heavy rains but strong gusts of wind at a speed of 87 kilometers per hour have also been predicted by the weathermen. 

    Other districts where heavy rainfall is predicted are Amethi, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, Auraiya, Etawah, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Farrukhabad, Shahjahanpur, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Badaun, Kasganj, Etah, Mathura, Aligarh and Noida. 

    A weather official said that the shortfall in rain is likely to be compensated in September.