News Analysis India

Tag: Uttar Pradesh

  • Uttar Pradesh’s efforts in combating COVID ‘commendable’: PM Narendra Modi

    By PTI
    VARANASI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday described as “commendable” the efforts of the Uttar Pradesh government in combating the COVID-19 crisis. “The way in which UP has controlled the second Covid wave and stopped its spread is unprecedented,” the prime minister, who arrived at his parliamentary constituency earlier in the morning, said while addressing a gathering.

    Earlier, even minor problems assumed monstrous proportions due to the shortage of health facilities and the lack of willpower, he said. The prime minister inaugurated projects worth around Rs 744 crore and laid the foundation stones of several projects and public works worth about Rs 839 crore.

    These include the Centre for Skill and Technical Support of Central Institute of Petrochemical Engineering and Technology (CIPET), 143 rural projects under the Jal Jeevan Mission and mango and vegetable integrated pack house in Karkhiyanv.

    Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, the chief minister and state ministers were also present on the occasion. Modi will also inaugurate the International Cooperation and Convention Centre, Rudrakash which has been constructed with Japanese assistance.

    Thereafter, he will inspect the Maternal and Child Health Wing, BHU. He will also meet officials and medical professionals to review Covid preparedness.

  • Three more terrorists of Al-Qaeda outfit arrested: Uttar Pradesh Police

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday arrested three more alleged terrorists of the Al-Qaeda-linked Ansar Ghazwatul Hind, a senior official said.

    Those arrested have been identified as Shakeel, a resident of Lucknow’s Wazirganj; Mohammad Mustqueem of Muzaffarnagar and Mohammad Moid of New Haiderganj, Campwell Road, Lucknow.

    Earlier on July 11, the UP Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) had arrested Minhaz Ahmed and Musheeruddin.

    The ATS had claimed that they were planning explosions, including using “human bombs” at several places in Uttar Pradesh.

    “On their tip-offs, some persons were called for interrogation by the ATS. The three were arrested after they accepted their involvement with the two arrested earlier,” Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said.

    About the role of the three, the ADG said Mustqueem had the knowledge of the conspiracy and had helped Minhaaz and Musheeruddin.

    Moid had made a pistol available to Mustqueem through Minhaaz.

    Shakeel helped Minhaaz in arranging the arms, Kumar said, adding that the three will be produced in a court for further action.

    They were planning to “unleash terror activities before August 15 (Independence Day) in different cities of the state, including Lucknow, Kumar had said earlier.

    “They were planning explosions at important places, memorials and crowded places, and also to use human bombs. For this, they were collecting weapons and explosives,” Kumar had said.

    He said members of the module are not only from Lucknow but also from Kanpur in the state.

    The official had said that an improvised explosive device (IED) was found at Ahmed’s house along with explosives and a pistol.

    Explosives were also seized from Musheeruddin’s residence.

    He said the module for the Indian subcontinent was announced by the Al-Qaeda on September 3, 2014.

    Maulana Asim Umar, who headed the Al-Qaeda in the subcontinent, was killed on September 23, 2019 in an US-Afghan operation, Kumar had said.

    Umar Halmandi had started the work of recruiting men for the Al-Qaeda in India and radicalise them, he said.

    For this, he had identified some aggressive persons in Lucknow, appointed them and built the Al-Qaeda module, he said.

  • Four smugglers held with 110 kg beef after encounter in Uttar Pradesh

    By PTI
    BANDA: Four smugglers were arrested with 110 kg beef after an encounter in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district, police said on Wednesday.

    The accused have been identified as Shamshad, Mustafa, Sartaj and Kamaluddin, all residents of Hardauli village, they said.

    Additional Superintendent of Police Mahendra Pratap Singh Chauhan said the encounter took place near Hardauli village on Tuesday.

    As police tried to stop the smugglers, they opened fire at them.

    Police retaliated and arrested the four smugglers with 110 kg beef, he said.

    Three other smugglers fled the spot, the police said.

    A rifle, live cartridges and a sharp-edged weapon were recovered from the arrested smugglers.

    All of them were going to sell the beef, they said.

    Circle Officer of Baberu Siyaram said Shamshad has 16 cases, including those under the Gangsters Act and the Goonda Act, registered against him at Baberu and Bisanda police stations.

    Mustafa has also a case registered against him at Baberu police station.

  • Former UP CM Kalyan Singh’s health condition improving consistently: Hospital

    The 89-year-old Singh, who has also served as a governor of Rajasthan, was admitted to the hospital #39;s Intensive Care Unit on July 4.

  • Uttar Pradesh: Twelve killed in separate incidents of lightning in the last 24 hours

    By PTI
    FIROZABAD: At least 12 people were killed in separate incidents of lightning in Fatehpur, Kaushambi and Firozabad districts of the state in the last 24 hours, officials said on Monday.

    Five people including three women died in Fatehpur, three were killed in Firozabad and four in Kaushambi, they said.

    Those who died in Fatehpur on Sunday were identified as Sonia (54) from Kaundra village, Mathura (37), a resident of Sarkandi village, Shivkali (60) from Aalampur village, Kaushalya Devi (50), hailing from Bhikhnipur village, and Dinesh Kumar Pal (35), a resident of Barua village.

    Two brothers sustained injuries due to lightning in Gumdapur village in Kalyanpur area, police said, adding that they were rushed to a hospital, where their condition is stated to be stable.

    In Kaushambi district, Rukma (12), a resident of Mudia Doli village, Murat Dhwaj (50) in Akbarabad Guhauli village in Sarai Akil area, Ram Chandra (32) of Purkhas village in Sarai Akil area, and Mayank Singh (15) of Nagi village in Paschim Sharira area died on Sunday in separate lightning incidents, they said.

    In Firozabad, farmers Hemraj (50) and Ramsevak (40) of Nagal Umar in Shikohabad were struck by lightning on Sunday and died.

    In a separate incident in Nagla Chant village in the same area, farmer Amar Singh (60) died due to lightning.

    Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed all the district magistrates to provide due relief and compensation to those who have died.

  • ‘Have been slapped, BJP workers brought bombs’: Cop’s video during UP block panchayat polls goes viral

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: A video of an Uttar Pradesh Police officer telling his senior over phone that he had been slapped by BJP workers amid the violence during the elections for block panchayat heads has gone viral online.

    Polling for the 476 posts of block panchayat chiefs was held in UP on Saturday with scattered incidents of violence reported from 17 districts during the election process.

    Several purported videos of clashes between supporters of rival parties, and police and workers of political parties were also posted on social media.

    In one such video, which was also shown by news channels, Additional Superintendent of Police (city) of Etawah Prashant Kumar Prasad is heard telling a senior over phone, “Sir, I have been slapped. BJP workers have also brought bombs.”

    Etawah police spokesperson confirmed the incident on Sunday.

    The incident took place in Barhpura block of the district.

    A case has been registered against one identified and some unidentified people, he said.

    Incidents of stone-pelting and police resorting to baton-charge to disperse mobs were reported from different parts of the state during the election process.

    Police personnel were injured in some of these incidents.

    Orders have been issued to respective district heads to take strict action against those responsible for the violence, the police said.

    The BJP on Saturday claimed victory on 635 of the total 825 seats of block panchayat chiefs in the state.

    Though at most of the places, counting had been completed, it was still continuing in some areas as of Saturday night.

    The panchayat election results are an important morale-booster for the BJP ahead of assembly polls next year in the politically crucial state as it had drawn a lot of flak over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

  • Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath unveils new population policy for state

    By IANS
    LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday unveiled the new population policy 2021-30, on the occasion of World Population Day.

    Through the proposed policy, efforts will be made to increase the accessibility of contraceptive measures issued under the Family Planning Programme and provide a proper system for safe abortion and on the other hand, through improved health facilities, efforts will be made for population stabilization by providing accessible solutions to impotence/infertility and reducing the infant and maternal mortality rate.

    Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that bringing the bill is necessary to control and stabilize the population to promote sustainable development with more equitable distribution. He also underlined the need or creating awareness among the people on this issue.

    In the new Population Policy, a target has been set to bring the birth rate to 2.1 per thousand population by 2026 and to 1.9 by 2030.

    One of the key points in the new policy is to make comprehensive arrangements for the care of the elderly, apart from better management of education, health, and nutrition of adolescents between 11 to 19 years.

    The period of Population Policy 2000-16 of the state has ended and now a new policy is the need of the hour.

    The new policy has an innovative proposal to set up ‘Health Clubs’ in schools with the awareness efforts for population stabilization, as well as a system for digital tracking of infants, adolescents, and elderly people in line with the spirit of the Digital Health Mission.

    While preparing the new population policy, efforts have been made to maintain the – demographic balance in all the communities; easy availability of advanced health facilities, and to bring down the maternal and child mortality rate to the minimum level through proper nutrition.

    Meanwhile, the State Law Commission has also prepared the draft of the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization, and Welfare) Bill-2021, on which the public can give suggestions till July 19. In the draft of the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization, and Welfare) Bill-2021 issued by the State Law Commission, ‘Bacche Do He Acche’ has been highlighted.

    According to the proposal, parents who limit their family to only two children and are in government service and undergoing voluntary sterilization will be given facilities like two additional increments, promotion, exemption in government housing schemes, increasing employer contribution in PF.

    There are also provisions to provide exemptions in water, electricity, house tax, home loan, and other such facilities to couples with two children who are not in government jobs.

    If the law is implemented, then within a year, all government officials, employees, and elected representatives of local bodies will have to give an affidavit that they will not violate this policy. Ration cards would be limited to four units.

    It is proposed in the draft that the election can be cancelled if the rules are broken. The single child will get preference in admission in all educational institutions including but not limited to the Indian Institute of Management and All India Institute of Management Science.

    Free education up to graduation level, scholarship for higher studies in case of a girl child and preference to the single child in government jobs are other benefits which couples with a single child will receive.

    The draft bill further explains, “(a) The personal law governing A allows polygamy. A has three wives B, C and D. A and B, A and C, and A and D shall be counted as three distinct married couple so far as the status of B, C and D is concerned but as far as the status of A is concerned, it shall be counted as one married couple for the purpose of calculation of cumulative number of children. For example, A has one child from B, two children from C and one child from D, the total number of children of A shall be four. (b) The personal law governing B allows polyandry. B has two husbands A and C. B and A shall be counted as one married couple. B and C shall be counted as another married couple.”

    This Act shall be called the Uttar Pradesh population (Control, stabilization and Welfare) Act, 2021, and it will extend to the whole of the state. It will come into force after one year from the date of publication in the Gazette.

    A State Population Fund would be constituted, and it will be utilized to implement this Act.

  • Dalit youth in Uttar Pradesh thrashed by upper caste lover’s family, three people held

    By PTI
    KANPUR: A 19-year-old Dalit man was brutally beaten with bamboo sticks allegedly by family members of his upper caste girlfriend in a village in Kanpur Dehat district with three men arrested in connection with the case on Saturday, police said.

    The incident took place in Aghu Kamalpur village of Akbarpur area on Thursday, but came to light on Friday evening when a video clip of the incident went viral on social media prompting the police to lodge an FIR, said a senior police official.

    As they pummel the man, he is asked to name his caste.

    Upon learning that he is from a Scheduled Caste, the blows get brutal and more insistent, said the official.

    The victim identified as Sarvan Sankhwar, a painter, had gone to Aghu Kamalpur village to meet his girlfriend who belongs to an upper caste family, said Superintendent of Police (Kanpur Dehat) Keshav Kumar Chaudhary.

    When the girl’s family spotted Sankhwar, they pulled him by his hair, allegedly tied him to a pole and started beating him with sticks and even hit his private parts, the SP said.

    After coming to know about the video, the Akbarpur police called Sankhwar to the police station and filed an FIR based on his statement, said Additional SP Ghanshyam Chaurasia.

    The girl’s father, Sanjay Verma, and other family members have been booked under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

    Three persons, identified through the video, were arrested on Saturday, the ASP said, adding that they would be produced before the court on Sunday morning.

    The arrested persons were identified as Manish Vishkarma (28), Shiva Pal (50) and Survesh Pal (40), all residents of Akbarpur area.

    The identities of five more people, who can be seen beating the youth, were also established, said Circle Officer (Akbarpur) Arun Kumar Singh.

    “We are trying to find out their hideouts and three teams have been formed to arrest them,” Singh added.

  • UP population draft bill: Those with over two kids can’t contest local polls, apply for govt jobs

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: According to a draft of the proposed population control bill, anyone violating two-child policy in Uttar Pradesh will be debarred from contesting local bodies elections, from applying for or getting promotion in government jobs, and receiving any kind of government subsidy.

    The Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission (UPSLC) states that the provisions are part of the draft titled The Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021.

    The UPSLC website says, “The State Law Commission, UP is working on control, stabilisation and welfare of the population of the state and has prepared a draft bill.”

    Suggestions have been invited from the public to improve the draft bill and July 19 is the last date for it.

    Listing incentives for public servants who adopt the two-child norm, the draft bill says, “Public servants who adopt the two-child norm will get two additional increments during the entire service, maternity or as the case may be, paternity leave of 12 months, with full salary and allowances and three per cent increase in the employer’s contribution fund under national pension scheme.”

    ALSO READ: Assam CM, local Muslims discuss population control

    A State Population Fund will be constituted for the purpose of implementation of the act.

    Listing the government’s duties, the draft bill says that maternity centres will be established at all primary health centres.

    The centres and NGOs will distribute contraceptive pills, condoms, etc, spread awareness about family planning methods through community health workers and ensure mandatory registration of pregnancies, deliveries, births and deaths across the state.

    The draft bill also says that it shall be the duty of the government to introduce a compulsory subject relating to population control in all secondary schools.

    The bill seeks to revitalise efforts and provide for measures to control, stabilise and provide welfare to the population of the state by implementing and promoting two-child norm.

    The draft bill reads, “In Uttar Pradesh, there are the limited ecological and economic resources at hand.

    It is necessary and urgent that the provision of basic necessities of human life including affordable food, safe drinking water, decent housing, access to quality education, economic/livelihood opportunities, power/electricity for domestic consumption, and a secure living is accessible to all citizens.

    ” It is necessary to control, stabilise the population of the state for promotion of sustainable development with more equitable distribution, it says.

    It is necessary to ensure healthy birth spacing through measures related to augmenting the availability, accessibility and affordability of quality reproductive health services to achieve the goal of population control, stabilisation and its welfare in the state, the draft bill reads.

  • New Modi Cabinet in reality representation of entire India, says UP CM Yogi Adityanath

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW:  Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said the Cabinet reshuffle initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and induction of new ministers in his team is in reality the representation of entire India.

    In a series of tweets in Hindi, Adityanath said.

    “The kind of public representation and public partnership envisaged by our eminent personalities, especially thinkers like Babasaheb (B R Ambedkar) and (Ram Manohar) Lohia ji, is being fulfilled under the leadership of Modi ji.”

    “Lohia ji was of the view that a mature democracy is possible only by giving power to the backward class. The prime minister has given constitutional status to the OBC Commission, and has also given representation to the OBC leadership in the Council of Ministers. Had Lohia ji been alive, he would have felt happy by seeing the seeds of his thoughts bearing fruit,” he said.

    Hitting out at the opponents, Adityanath said some people were opposing the “positive change” that the country is witnessing.

    “For these people, Lohia ji had said that when the big work of social transformation begins, some people oppose it due to anger (‘aavesh’). These are the same set of people who had opposed the constitution of the OBC Commission, and had also insulted Babasaheb. These people had never followed even a single principle of Lohia ji in their behavior,” he said.

    In another tweet, Adityanath said, “Today, the believers of Babasaheb and Lohia ji will accept that Modi ji’s mantra of ‘Sabkaa Saath, Sabkaa Vikaas, Sabkaa Vishvaas’ has validated the soul of the Constitution in real sense. For this, we are grateful to the prime minister.”