News Analysis India

Tag: Uttar Pradesh

  • Over a dozen cities in Uttar Pradesh set for makeover, fresh master plans to be drawn

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: Over a dozen cities of Uttar Pradesh have been identified to be transformed in accordance with the growing urban requirements. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency, Varanasi, also figures among the 14 cities selected by the state government, which has decided to draw fresh master plans for them.

    According to official sources, besides Varanasi, state capital Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) in the National Captial Region (NCR) are also on the list. The other cities are Kanpur, Chitrakoot, Prayagraj, Agra, Moradabad, Jhansi, Mathura, Bareilly, Meerut and Saharanpur. Meanwhile, the Awas Vikas Parishad, the department of housing, has been entrusted with the onerous task of drawing fresh development plans for these cities.

    According to officials, the department has started the process of selecting a consultant for the project. While the master plans will be based on the Geographic Information System (GIS), the government also plans to initiate changes in land use to identify proper places for all the amenities to be provided as part of the new plan which will include work to preserve historical sites and the general beautification and makeover of the cities.

    The sources said the consultant preparing the master plans would be expected to determine land use as per the current and future needs of the cities including waterworks, sewage treatment plants, and garbage disposal centres along with rivers, airports, bus stands and military areas. It will also have the provision of the conservation of historical and religious sites, ponds, reservoirs, lakes, wildlife sanctuaries, if any, reserved forest areas and other protected areas. Army firing ranges will be declared “sensitive” areas.

  • UP govt allows foreign countries to construct guest houses for pilgrims visiting Ayodhya

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: Responding to the applications from over a dozen foreign countries to construct their guest houses in Ayodhya, the Yogi Adityanath government has allowed nations with large Hindu populations to build their properties in the temple town to give a push to international religious tourism and put Ayodhya on the global tourism map.

    About a dozen foreign countries have approached the state government showing their willingness to construct their guest houses in Ayodhya – the birthplace of Lord Rama and his abode. The countries which have applied with the proposal include Sri Lanka, Canada, Nepal, Suriname, Fiji, Kenya, Indonesia, Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritius, Thailand and Korea.

    Notably, this concept is already there in Kushinagar which is a major destination of pilgrimage for the followers of Gautam Buddha. Most of the countries having their guest houses in Kushinagar are from the East Asian region. China, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand are the prominent ones. In Kushinagar, Gautam Buddha had accomplished complete salvation (mahaparinirvaan).

    According to Ayodhya Municipal Commissioner Vishal Singh, 12 acres of land have already been earmarked for the purpose of building guest houses for visitors from foreign countries. “Any country can apply. We will make land available to them,” said the officer.

    With almost all the states of the country wanting to build their guest houses also to facilitate the stay of pilgrims, about 1200 acres of land is being acquired in Barheta, Shahnawaz Pur Maza, and Tihura Majha villages adjoining Ayodhya to develop a grand New Ayodhya city.

    The UP Awas Vikas Nigam has already issued notification for the acquisition of land in these three villages. Besides residential colonies, the New Ayodhya City will have five-star hotels, dharamshalas, muths, ashrams, Hindu temples of different states and guest houses and temples of foreign countries ensuring the holistic development of the temple town as one of the most prominent global destinations of religious tourism.

    The New Ayodhya is being developed by the Yogi Adityanath government on the lines of Kushinagar to boost international religious tourism by building a Lord Rama Circuit and connecting it with Chitrakoot and other places visited by Lord Rama.

  • More women empowerment programs to be launched in UP: Yogi Adityanath

    By ANI
    GORAKHPUR: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that women empowerment programs will be held across the state along with the launch of more safety measures for females.

    At a program launch during his two-day visit to the city, Adityanath said, “This International Women’s Day, women empowerment programs will be held across the state besides the launch of more women safety measures. Value of ‘Gaon ki beti sabki beti, Gaon ki behen sabki behen,’ should be inculcated.”

    He further mentioned that the Rajghat cremation ground has been renovated and many new facilities have been made available there.

    “Rajghat (cremation ground) has been renovated, unlike how it was used to be, it is clean and has many facilities. We have also requested the Centre to approve a six-lane path to Gorakhpur,” Adityanath said.

    “Soon, there will be a ‘Plastic Park’ too, which will employ over 25,000 youths,” he added.

    Speaking about Gorakhpur tourism, the UP Chief Minister said, “There are several opportunities in the area of tourism as people from across the world visit Gorakhpur. Connecting Nepal and Bihar, Gorakhpur also becomes the central point of ‘Bodh Tourism’.”

    Earlier in the day, he held the ‘Janata Darbar’ at the Gorakhnath Temple, where he heard the problems of people and also assured them of solutions. 

  • UP woman seeks divorce after discovering husband’s baldness

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: Remember the character of Balmukund Shukla alias Bala in Ayushman Khurana-starrer Bala? A redux of the plot was seen in Meerut on Wednesday when a woman came to the family court seeking a divorce from her husband for hiding his baldness from her.

    The incident came up in the western UP district adjoining Delhi. A woman made her husband’s baldness a reason to seek a divorce from him.

    She said in her plea that she wanted a divorce as her husband concealed his baldness by wearing a wig prior to their marriage.

    The couple had tied the nuptial knot in January 2020 in Ghaziabad. But a year, she came to know about his baldness. In fact, the issue came to light during the process of counselling of the couple at the marriage counselling centre set up at Meerut police lines on Wednesday. 

    The reconciliation efforts are mandatory in cases of divorce.

    The woman allegedly told the counsellor that before their marriage, the man had thick hair but a year after their marriage, she came to know that he was bald and that he actually used to wear a wig.

    The woman also claimed that the man kept her in darkness about his baldness. She told the counsellor on Wednesday that she wanted the divorce as she felt betrayed.

    She alleged that he kept it a closely guarded secret for over a year but a few days ago, she saw him without the wig only to discover that he was completely bald. “I feel embarrassed in front of my friends and relatives many times. It is difficult for me to live with him anymore,” she said.

    However, the officials at the marriage counselling centre tried to placate her and dissuaded her from taking divorce for such a trivial issue but the woman remained adamant.

    The couple was given another date for the second round of counselling with the hope that the woman will get a change of heart and mind by then.

  • ‘Only formals allowed’: DM of UP’s Sambhal district bans jeans, T-shirt in offices

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: The District Magistrate of Sambhal district in western UP has passed a unique order asking all the employees at district headquarters to come to the office only in formals. 

    He made it clear to the state government employees in Sambhal district that they would not be allowed to wear jeans and T-shirts in offices. The DM claimed that the step was taken to maintain office decorum in the district.

    Moreover, DM Sanjeev Ranjan cautioned the employees that action would be initiated against them if found violating the order. “Wearing formal clothes in offices will ensure office decorum and bring seriousness among government staff towards their duties,” said the DM.

    The DM was irked after finding the majority of government staff wearing jeans and T-shirts. “Coming to office in casuals amounts to gross violation of the government employees’ code of conduct and office ethics. Only a few come to the office in formals. Henceforth, it is mandatory for all employees in government offices across the district to come in formals or face action,” said Ranjan.

    The punishment may range from marking half day present to absent and sending them back home to return in formals. However, he has not specified formal attire. The order said that only pants and a shirt were allowed.

    “Attending office in formals ensures seriousness at work,” he stressed.

    Earlier, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had also issued an order in 2017 after assuming office saying that the staff should come in proper pants and shirt instead of jeans and t-shirt in government offices. He had also issued another order banning smoking and chewing paan masala (Gutkha) in government offices.

    But after compliance of a few months, things came back to square one.

  • SC reserves order on UP govt’s plea seeking transfer of Mukhtar Ansari from Punjab jail

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on the petition filed by the Uttar Pradesh government seeking its direction to transfer the alleged gangster and don-turned controversial politician Mukhtar Ansari from Ropar jail in Punjab to a jail in Uttar Pradesh.

    A two-judge bench of the Apex Court, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan and also comprising Justice R Subhash Reddy, was hearing the petition filed by the Uttar Pradesh government.

    “We reserve the order,” in the case, the bench said, after hearing detailed arguments and submissions from all the respective parties, petitioner and respondents in the case.

    Dushyant Dave, senior lawyer and former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) appearing for the Punjab government, said that there is sufficient medical evidence to show that the decisions taken by the jail authority are based on judicial authorities orders and is based on cogent evidence.

    “We are nothing for (to protect) Ansari. He is just a criminal like any other. There are no allegations of conspiracy in the case,” Dave said.

    “It is the Uttar Pradesh government that gave a telephone to a serious criminal, who is lodged in jail, we have nothing to do with this,” Dave said.

    “This matter is of serious significance and nature, that it may open up Pandora’s box later,” Dave said.

    He said that article 32 is not maintainable in this case, and he pleaded to the Apex Court to dismiss the petition filed by the Uttar Pradesh government which is seeking its direction to transfer the alleged UP gangster and don-turned politician, Mukhtar Ansari from Ropar Jail in Punjab to a jail in Uttar Pradesh.

    Dave further told the Apex Court that the Punjab government has mentioned in its affidavit and stated that the report on the health condition of the accused, Ansari has been prepared by a team of specialist doctors of the hospital PGI, Chandigarh, under the central government.

    Mukul Rohatgi, senior lawyer and former Attorney General (AG) appearing for Ansari, submitted to the Apex Court that the accused is appearing in all courts and even, in some cases, he had been acquitted.

    “I am a 5 times MLA,” Rohatgi said.

    “There is animosity by the state against my family. My house was destroyed and my son was arrested,” Rohatgi stated.

    Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, senior lawyer appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, said that the state assumes the position of the accused.

    “An accused cannot be given the right to jettison the case, on the names of a fair trial,” Mehta said.

    “This present case warrants that the accused shall be shifted to another state for a fair trial,” Mehta said.

    “The respondent (Ansari) had flouted the law when in jail and outside the jail,” Mehta said.

    “He is facing more than 50 FIRs. Look at his apprehensions. I am answerable and I have a responsibility in the society,” Mehta said.

    Dave, however, intervened, and said that the accused can face the trials through video conferencing, physical hearing is not required.  

  • Falsely accused of rape, UP man freed after spending 20 years in jail

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: After serving a life sentence for 20 years in jail over rape charges, a man was pronounced innocent by the Allahabad High Court in January this year. He walked out of Agra Central Jail on Wednesday evening.

    Ironically, Vishnu Tiwari, now 43, was jailed when he was 23 for a crime he never committed. He will now go home to his village home in the Lalitpur district of the Bundelkhand region in UP.

    Tiwari was arrested on September 16, 2000, and booked for rape and atrocities under the SC/ST Act. After three years of trial, a Lalitpur court sentenced him to 10-year rigorous imprisonment followed by his conviction under the SC/ST Act. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

    All sentences had to run concurrently, as per the directions of the trial court. After spending three years in Lalitpur jail, Tiwari was shifted to Agra Central Jail and had since been serving his sentence there.

    While talking to media persons, Tiwari said he had no expectation from life after serving a jail term of 20 years. He said he had no family at home except a younger brother. “I am not married. My body is broken and so is my family,” said Tiwari.

    “Today, before leaving, I got Rs 600 from the jail administration. That is all I have,” he added.

    Tiwari was charged with rape by a woman from his village. She had claimed that he had assaulted her sexually when she was going to work in the fields.

    Tiwari, after his conviction by Lalitpur court, did not have the means to hire a better lawyer who could appeal in the higher court. He claimed that he even lost the will to fight the legal battle further.

    In January, this year, Tiwari was absolved of all the charges by the Allahabad High Court. While exonerating him the court observed: “The medical evidence should show some semblance of forcible intercourse, even if we go as per the version of the prosecutrix – that the accused had gagged the woman’s mouth for 10 minutes and had thrashed her on the ground. There would have been some injuries to a fully-grown lady…”

    “In our finding, the medical evidence goes to show that the doctor did not find any sperm. The doctor categorically opined that no signs of forcible sexual intercourse were found. This was also based on the finding that there were no internal injuries on the lady…” the court added.

    The court maintained: “Factual data also goes to show that there are several contradictions in the cross-examination of all three witnesses”.

    “In view of the facts and evidence on record, we are convinced that the accused has been wrongly convicted. Hence, the judgment and order impugned are reversed and the accused is acquitted,” the court declared.

    The court had also made strong observations on Tiwari remaining in prison for an extended period pending appeal, and referred to sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to stress that the centre and state had “a duty to commute the sentences as mentioned”.

    “We are pained to mention that even after 14 years of incarceration, the State did not think of exercising its power for commutation of the sentence of life imprisonment of the present accused. His case should have been considered but has not been considered,” the court said.

    Meanwhile, as per the local sources, in prison, Tiwari had a reputation as a well-mannered person with a penchant for cooking.

    In fact, after coming to know of his release, many traders and philanthropists of Agra have offered him work. Even some human rights activists have reportedly approached National Human Rights Commission  (NHRC) seeking compensation for his sufferings.

  • Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hits out at Yogi govt over crime in Uttar Pradesh

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday lashed out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government over crime in the state.

    “The father of a girl who did not withdraw her case against molestation in Hathras was murdered. The body of a girl, who had been missing for several days in Bulandshahr, was found buried in a house. Every day some family is screaming for justice on the ground, contrary to the false propaganda of the UP BJP government regarding crime,” read Priyanka’s tweet roughly translated from Hindi.

    Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday arrested a man from Himachal Pradesh in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl in Bulandshahr.

    “On February 28, a man had filed a missing complaint of his 13-year-old daughter. He alleged that a man named Harendra had kidnapped her. On Tuesday, the victim’s body was recovered from the accused’s house in Bulandshahr and around 7:30 today, we arrested him from Himachal Pradesh,” said Santosh Kumar Singh, SSP, Bulandshahr.

    The police said the accused attempted to rape the girl when she went to her house to drink water in Bulandshahr.

    Amrish Sharma, a resident of Hathras, was shot dead by another man against whom he had filed a case in July 2018 for allegedly molesting his daughter, at a village in Sasni police station area on Monday, Uttar Pradesh police said.  

  • Man arrested for attempt to rape teenage girl in Uttar Pradesh

    By PTI
    BANDA: A man has been arrested for allegedly trying to rape a 14-year-old girl in Banda district in Uttar Pradesh, police said on Tuesday.

    The 22-year-old man dragged the girl and tried to rape her on Monday when she was grazing goat in a forest area, Dehat police station SHO Pradeep Kumar Yadav said.

    He said that the accused has been arrested and booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other relevant sections of IPC.

    The girl has been sent for medical examination.

  • Farmer protests: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait to hold Kisan Mahapanchayat in UP’s Saharanpur

    By ANI
    SAHARANPUR: Amid the ongoing framers’ protest at Delhi borders against the three Central agricultural laws, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait will hold a Kisan Mahapanchayat at Lakhnaur in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

    According to sources, all preparations for the Kisan Mahapanchayat have been completed. Reportedly, in order to mobilise the historical crowd in Panchayat, BKU leaders were visiting villages and talking to farmers for the last several days.

    A company of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and personnel from at least four police stations have been deployed to maintain law and order in the state, said sources.

    Police will also monitor the speeches of Kisan Mahapanchayat, they added.

    Tikait would be attending farmers’ meetings planned across Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to garner support for the ongoing stir against the new farm laws.

    Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 against the three newly enacted farm laws – Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.