Month: November 2020

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday slammed the Delhi government for banning Chhath Puja at various banks of River Yamuna in the national capital, saying that the Aam Aadmi Party-led administration is making up for not having made arrangements for the celebrations.

“The Delhi government has opened all markets and DTC busses are plying with no social distancing. The same government is banning the puja in the name of Covid-19. This is clearly a failure of this government. Rather than banning celebrations, arrangements should have been made to ensure “do gaz ki doori” (social distancing),” Adesh Gupta, President of Delhi BJP unit, told reporters here.

Chhath, which is celebrated six days after Diwali, starts on November 20 this year. It is dedicated to the Sun god and is one of the most popular festivals for the people of Bihar and parts of Uttar Pradesh or Purvanchal. Devotees gather and take holy dip in rivers, ponds and other water bodies during the four-day festivities. The Puja is celebrated in the national capital with great fervour by the natives of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Last week, Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government decided to ban community Chhath Puja celebrations at Ghats to curb the spread of Covid-19.

“To avoid crowd gathering amid the pandemic, we have decided to ban community Chhath Puja celebrations near the ghats this year. Officials have been directed to take strict action against people not following COVID-19 protocols,” Satyendar Jain, Delhi Health Minister, had told reporters.

Covid-19 cases see a new spike everyday. Thursday recorded the maximum number of fatalities since the pandemic began in March.

Nearly 7,053 new COVID-19 cases were reported with 104 deaths in the 24 hours, taking the total cases to 4,67,028.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday stated that the Covid-19 situation in Delhi is expected to come under control in the next seven to 10 days.

“Covid-19 cases have been increasing for the last few days. I am also concerned about it. We have been taking all the appropriate measures to control it. We are considering taking more steps next week. I think the situation is expected to come under control in seven to 10 days and the cases will start decreasing,” Kejriwal said in a press conference. (ANI)

Speaking at grand ‘Deepotsav’ (festival of lamps) ceremony organised by the Uttar Pradesh government at Ram ki Paidi ghats in Ayodhya, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled the desire of devotees from across the world by initiating the construction of Ram Temple.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made the construction of Ram Temple possible even during the pandemic. We are thankful to him for fulfilling Ayodhya’s dream,” he added.

For many generations, everyone had the same desire in mind that, if we could see the construction work of Lord Sri Rama’s grand temple, then their birth and life would be blessed. That dream has become a reality because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said the Chief Minister.

He thanked the Prime Minister on behalf of the people of the state and all devotees and said the world is seeing the fulfillment of the five-century resolve through Prime Minister’s inspiration, guidance, and strategy.

“The year is important because the world is in upheaval because of COVID-19. India is also dealing with it, but despite that the strength with which the country is working under the leadership of Modi ji is commendable…Following all COVID-19 protocols, He gave his time and came to Ayodhya during the pandemic to initiate the construction of Ram Temple, and gave a clear message about his vision of ‘Ram Rajya’,” the Adityanath added.

He added that whenever he came to Ayodhya earlier for development works, people always asked him to not talk about work, but construct the Ram Temple.

“In past whenever I came to Ayodhya, people said ‘kaam ki baat mat karo, Ayodhya main Ram mandir ka nirman karo. Today, Modi ji has fulfilled that dreams of the people,” he stated.

Adityanath along with Governor Anandiben Patel inaugurated the Deepotsav by lighting adiya at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple and offering prayers on Friday afternoon.

The ‘Deepotsav’ celebrations in Ayodhya has set the Guinness World records for ‘the largest display of oil lamps’ after 5,84,572 earthen lamps were lit on the banks of river Saryu. (ANI)

The number of Pakistan soldiers killed in retaliatory firing by Indian Army troops on Friday has gone up to 11 and 16 of its soldiers have been injured.

Indian Army retaliated strongly to Pakistan’s unprovoked ceasefire violations at multiple locations today, Army sources said.

“The list of Pakistan Army soldiers killed includes 2-3 Pakistan Army Special Service Group (SSG) commandos. Sixteen Pakistan Army soldiers were injured in the Indian Army firing in which a large number of Pakistan Army bunkers, fuel dumps, and launch pads have also been destroyed,” a source said.

Earlier three Indian soldiers were killed at two separate locations in Jammu and Kashmir while foiling infiltration bids by Pakistan-backed terrorists and ceasefire violations by the troops of the neighbouring country.

Two soldiers were killed in the Uri sector while one was killed in the Gurez sector, Army sources said.

Three civilians were also killed and several other sustained injuries as Pakistan Army carried out unprovoked ceasefire violations in multiple sectors from Uri to Gurez along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army said.

The injured have been admitted to hospitals.

Pakistan resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation along the LoC across multiple sectors to including Dawar, Keran, Uri and Naugam.

The Indian Army retaliated strongly to ceasefire violations.

Pakistan has resorted to 4,052 ceasefire violations this year of which 128 took place in November and 394 in October. It had resorted to 3,233 ceasefire violations last year, Army sources said. (ANI)

The Union Finance Ministry has decided to launch a micro-site on MyGov platform to receive ideas for the annual budget 2021-22 from various stakeholders.

The app will go live on November 15, 2020, and will remain open till November 30, 2020 to receive ideas for the budget, the Ministry of Finance said in an official release.

Over the years, the Finance Ministry has been holding pre-budget consultations in North Block with industry/commerce associations, trade bodies and experts to seek ideas for the annual budget.

Owing to the pandemic situation, the Ministry has received suggestions from various quarters for holding pre-budget consultations in a different format. “It has accordingly been decided to create a dedicated email to receive suggestions from various Institutions/Experts. A specific communication to this effect will be sent shortly.”

The Ministry of Finance further said that the general public needs to register on MyGov to submit their ideas for Budget 2021-22.

It has also been decided to make the annual budget 2021-22 consultations more participatory and democratic by taking it closer to the people of India. The general public in their individual capacity needs to register on MyGov to submit their ideas for budget 2021-22, the Ministry said.

“The submissions will be further examined by the concerned ministries/departments of Government of India. If required, individuals may be contacted on the email/mobile no. provided at the time of registration to seek clarification on their submissions. The portal will remain open until November 30, 2020,” it added. (ANI)

Actor Sonakshi Sinha on Friday reminisced playing the role of a ‘Sardaarni’ Sukhmeet in ‘Son of Sardaar,’ as the film completed eight years.

The ‘Dabangg’ actor took to Instagram to share a video reel featuring several clips from the making of the film.

She complimented the video reel with a short note about how much “laughter” she enjoyed and the “memories” that she made while working on the film.

“8 years since one of the funnest films ive ever done!!! Loved playing the role of Sukhmeet,” the 33-year-old actor wrote.

“It never felt like work at all because of all the laughter and memories thank you team #8YearsOfSonOfSardaar,” she added.

Sinha was paired opposite Ajay Devgn for the romantic comedy based in Punjab. (ANI)

Thousands of staff employed at the European Unions institutions have rejected the use of Chinese video surveillance provider Hikvision technologies in light of the company’s association with China’s human rights abuses and specifically the oppression of millions of Uyghurs.

President Cristiano Sebastiani of the leading European Institution Trade Union, Renouveau & Democratie, representing thousands of staff employed in the European offices, wrote a letter to Johannes Hahn, Commissioner in charge of Budget and Human Resources for the EU Institutions on Wednesday regarding the thermal imaging systems used by the European Commission and the European Parliament, produced by the Chinese technology giant Hikvision, according to a press statement.

The Hikvision cameras have been placed at entrances throughout the European Parliament and installed in the European Commission’s main offices, the Berlaymont and Charlemagne buildings, the statement noted.

The Chinese company Hikvision has been accused of being linked to the oppression of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in East Turkistan, China’s Xinjiang province, including providing surveillance equipment used in the brutal “re-education camps”.

The Chinese government holds a 40 per cent controlling stake in Hikvision via the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation.

A leaked German Foreign Ministry report estimates that 1 million Uyghur in China are being detained without trial. Ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and members of other Muslim minority groups are also being imprisoned, the report said.

Sebastiani’ letter comes after German Member of European Parliament (MEP) Reinhard Butikofer, head of the European Parliament delegation to China, denounced that the use of Hikvision technology by the European institutions as “extremely worrying” since “Hikvision is a technology company which is deeply complicit in the terrible oppression of the Uighur people in Xinjiang which borders on genocide” and that the European institutions should “immediately create transparency and draw the adequate consequences: i.e. sever any direct or indirect business relationship with Hikvision.”

Also, Charlie Weimers, Swedish MEP from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, said that: “The EU should have no dealings whatsoever with a Chinese firm that is alleged to be involved in some of the most abhorrent human rights abuses in the world” and that “Nobel Prize winners should adhere to a higher standard.”

Svenja Hahn, German MEP from the Renew Europe group, addressed a letter to President European Parliament David Sassoli, saying that she found “it outrageous that European taxpayers’ money has been used to purchase monitoring equipment from a company that with their products enables mass surveillance, oppression of minorities and massive breaches of human rights”.

The use of Hikvision technology by the European institutions has provoked strong reactions from EU institutions staff as well and they have expressed their discontent at having to come face to face with a company accused of contributing to human rights violations in China.

Concerning the management of personal data, the spokesperson of the European Parliament confirmed that “the equipment is neither connected to the Parliament’s computer network nor records any data”. (ANI)

China finally congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Friday for their victory in the presidential elections, ending whispers over Beijing’s silence.

“We respect the American people’s choice…We congratulate Biden and Harris,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a regular news conference, reported Washington Post.

“We understand the US election results will be confirmed based on US law and procedure,” added Wang.

China’s Foreign Ministry had previously held off issuing congratulations, saying only that it “noted” Biden’s claim of victory. Chinese foreign policy analysts had explained the stance as a precautionary one, given that President Trump had not conceded, reported Washington Post.

Biden, in his third attempt at the White House, defeated Trump in a closely contested election to become the 46th president of the United States.

The former vice president was declared the President-elect after victory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, which took him past the electoral college threshold of 270 votes.

However, Trump refused to concede defeat, saying that the election was “far from over”, and promised legal challenges by his re-election campaign. (ANI)

Situated in the Himalayas at an altitude of over 10,000 feet, Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport in Leh connects Ladakh with the rest of the country. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to scale up the passenger handling capacity of the airport amid rising tourist footfall in the territory.

“The current terminal building which is in an area of 4,500 square meters will be expanded to 19,000 square meters. It will have three aerobridges. It will be equipped with all modern facilities and will be able to handle 2.5 million (25 lakh) passengers annually against the current capacity of 0.8 million (8 lakh) passengers,” Sonam Nurboo, Director of Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, Leh said.

A modern terminal building and an apron will be added to the current airport infrastructure at a cost of Rs 480 crores. It will be equipped with world-class facilities and the new terminal of Leh airport is expected to be ready by the end of 2022.

Leh airport has been handling flight operations efficiently amid the fight against COVID-19.

The airport ensured that no infected passenger hops on the flight or goes unchecked in the city and thermal screening was conducted for all the passengers. Passengers were also appreciative of the efforts made by the airport authorities to keep Coronavirus at bay.

“According to safety protocol, they did their best. They gave sanitisers and face shields to all. They also followed social distancing and other rules. It is quite good,” Nihal, a tourist said. (ANI)

As the Rajkummar Rao starrer film ‘Chhalaang’ premieres Friday on Amazon Prime Video, the actor and film’s producer Ajay Devgn divulged what makes this film special and how a movie such as this is imperative in today’s time.

Talking about of the film, Devgn said, the ‘Singham’ said, “Chhalaang is an inspirational script. We have seen good films on sports, coaches and players, but a film on a PT teacher and school kids is new. We hope to inspire kids and their parents to promote physical activity through sports. The earlier generation was more involved in outdoor activities and sports because we didn’t have access to gadgets and gizmos. Today, children miss out on this aspect.”

Adding further to this, the ‘Golmaal’ star also laid emphasis on the film’s social commentary not only being relevant to children but also every parent just like him.

“In fact, I encourage my son to go outdoors as much as possible. We as parents also have to contribute to it. The messaging in Chhalaang is the need of the hour. It’s a reminder of the school days when physical training (PT) and outdoor sports were a big draw. Chhalaang is a wholesome film that will entertain and motivate us,” he added.

With the double, the delight of Children’s Day and Diwali, the Rajkummar Rao and Nushrratt Bharucha starrer family entertainer has released in a sensational way amidst immense love and appreciation from fans and audiences at large.

The film also stars Saurabh Shukla, Satish Kaushik, Zeeshan Ayyub, Ila Arun and Jatin Sarna in pivotal roles.

Directed by Hansal Mehta, produced by Ajay Devgn, Luv Ranjan & Ankur Garg and is streaming globally on Amazon Prime Video. (ANI)