Month: January 2022

Soon after the two militant outfits namely TLA and UGPO formally surrendered and laid down arms, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that “the era of tribal militancy is finally over in the state.”

Speaking to the media, the chief minister said “two militant outfits namely TLA and UGPO formally surrendered and laid down arms. With this, each and every tribal group has joined the mainstream. These were the last troops in the jungle. The era of tribal militancy is finally over in Assam.”

Meanwhile, Sarma said, “The travel of Assam CM with 22 vehicles created a lot of problems for people so, the number of vehicles in the convoy has reduced to six.”

Earlier, militants belonging to TLA and UGPO formally surrendered before Chief Minister on Thursday, the police said.

“The cadres of two militant outfits namely TLA and UGPO formally surrendered and laid down arms before the Chief Minister of Assam at a ceremonial function held at International Auditorium, Srimanta Sankardev Kalashetra in Guwahati,” Assam Police Headquarters said.

According to the police, as many as 277 various types of arms, grenades, and 720 rounds of ammunition were deposited by both the outfits before the authority.

Financial assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh was distributed to the former members of RNLF, UPRF, NLFB, NSLA and ADF for their rehabilitation, the police informed. (ANI)

Amid military standoff with India, China is building a bridge across Ladakh’s Pangong Lake. Security experts said that the construction of the bridge by China is a matter of “great concern” for India.

Bilal Kuchay, writing in Al Jazeera, said that the 400-metre-long and 8-metre-wide bridge being constructed near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the two nuclear powers, was spotted through high-resolution satellite images, Indian media reported last week.

Pravin Sawhney, a defence expert and editor of Force magazine, said that the building of the bridge by China is a “part of their grey-zone operation which is done below the war threshold level”.

“While presenting the threat of war, they will continue with their grey-zone operations which is what they are doing by building up the bridge. The overall military threat will keep increasing, it will not decrease,” Sawhney told Al Jazeera.

India’s foreign ministry said the bridge is being constructed in areas that have been “under the illegal occupation by China for around 60 years now”, adding that the Indian government was “monitoring” the construction activity “closely”.

India and China are locked in a military standoff along the LAC in the Ladakh region since April 2020, when the two sides accused each other of trespassing.

The tensions also led to a spike in the construction of military infrastructure on both sides of the disputed border, said Kuchay.

According to Indian media reports, more than 100 projects were completed by India’s Border Roads Organisation in 2021, most of which are closer to the border with China, reported Al Jazeera.

New Delhi-based security expert Ajai Shukla told Al Jazeera said the bridge is a part of Chinese infrastructure along the LAC “so that they can move well, move quickly and deploy their forces quickly”.

“That is the standard Chinese way of border management,” he said.

According to Shukla, the Chinese are “able to deploy quickly” while India “takes too much time to do it”.

However, a former Indian army officer who had served for years in Ladakh, told Al Jazeera the area where the bridge is being constructed has been under Chinese control even before the 1962 war with India.

India and China fought a war over disputed border areas in 1962. Since then, the two nations have not been able to agree on their 3,488-km-long (2,167-mile) border.

“They (Chinese) secured this area in 1959. The LAC is further 25 km (15 miles) away from the bridge. It is very much in the vicinity of the old international border,” the retired official, who did not want to reveal his identity, told Al Jazeera.

“In modern militaries, such bridges or anything that is fixed can be destroyed by surface-to-surface missiles or air-to-ground missiles. There are countermeasures and I don’t think it’s going to make a huge difference but certainly, better connectivity helps everybody.”

India and China have been engaged in a standoff since April-May 2020 over the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including the Finger area, Galwan Valley, Hot springs, and Kongrung Nala. The situation worsened after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in June 2020.

New Delhi and Beijing have been engaged in holding talks on the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Ladakh area to resolve the standoff. So far, 14 rounds of talks have been held.

The talks led to some disengagement of troops from several friction points along the LAC, but not all of them. The talks have also failed to reach any agreement over the frontier. (ANI)

Maharashtra reported 25,425 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, said the state health department on Thursday.

72 cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 were also reported in the state during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of patients infected with this variant to 2,930.
With this, the total case count of the disease in the state has gone up to 76,30,606.

During the last 24 hours, 36,708 patients recovered from the infection, taking the total recoveries in the state to 71,97,001.

42 deaths were reported in the state during the last 24 hours. The death toll in the state due to the virus currently stands at 1,42,358. Additionally, 3,850 patients died due to causes other than COVID-19.

There are currently 2,87,397 active COVID-19 cases in the state. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the National Cadet Corps (NCC) PM Rally at Cariappa Ground in the national capital on Friday at 12 noon.

According to Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the rally is the culmination of NCC Republic Day Camp and is held on 28 January every year.
At the event, the Prime Minister will inspect the Guard of Honour, review March Past by NCC contingents and also witness the NCC cadets displaying their skills in army action, slithering, microlight flying, parasailing as well as cultural programmes.

The best cadets will receive a medal and baton from the Prime Minister. (ANI)

The Central Government on Thursday extended the existing COVID-related restrictions in the country till February 28 in view of the rising cases of COVID-19 and Omicron variants.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued the order directing all the states and the Union Territories (UTs) to instruct their local and district administrations to promptly take containment measures against the threat of the Omicron variant based on their own assessment of the situation.
Taking evidence-based COVID-19 containment measures at the district and local level, as conveyed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the MHA order mentioned that COVID restrictions “will remain in force till February 28, 2022.”

“In exercise of the powers, conferred under Section 10(2)(1) of the Disaster Management Act 2005, the undersigned hereby directs that the Order of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ of even number dated December 27, 2021, to ensure compliance to the normative framework for taking evidence-based COVID-19 containment measures at district and local level, as conveyed vide Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) dated December 21, 2021, will remain in force upto February 28, 2022,” the order mentioned.

The order was issued when India logged 2,86,384 new coronavirus infections, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 40,371,500 according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

As per the order, containment measures have been extended up to February 28.

“Due to the current COVID wave, led by the new variant, Omicron, there has been a steady increase in the number of COVID cases in the country and the active cases have increased to over 22 lakhs. Though a majority of active cases are recovering fast and a low percentage of cases are in hospitals, it is still a matter of concern that 407 districts in 34 States and UTs are reporting a positivity rate of more than 10 per cent,” the order said.

Therefore, looking at the current trends of the COVID virus, the order said, there is a need to exercise caution and vigilance.

Against this background, the order issued by Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said “I would like to reiterate that all the states/UTs must observe all precautions and not let the guard down”.

“Based on the normative framework, mentioned in the MoHFW dated December 21, 2021, and assessment of the situation, local/district administration should continue to take prompt and appropriate containment measures.”

The order directs “imposition and lifting of local curbs or restrictions dynamic and based on the case positivity and hospitalisation status at the local level”.

It also asked to emphasise that there should be a continued focus on the five-fold strategy– Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to COVID Appropriate Behaviour.

“The state enforcement machinery should strictly enforce the norms of COVID Appropriate Behaviour– wearing of face masks and maintaining safe social distancing in all public areas/gatherings,” the order further reads.

Further, states and UTs are advised to continue to hold regular media briefings to disseminate the right information and to discourage any misinformation on new variants of concern.

It is also urged to issue necessary directions to the districts and all other local authorities concerned to take necessary measures for prompt and effective management of COVID-19, strict compliance with various advisories issued by the MoHFW on the new VOC and strict enforcement of COVID Appropriate Behaviour. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed condolences over the demise of hockey legend Padma Shri and Arjuna Awardee Charanjit Singh who passed away in Una district, Himachal Pradesh due to age-related complications.

The two-time Olympian was 92. He was part of India’s glorious days in hockey.
“Saddened by the passing away of noted Hockey player, Shri Charanjit Singh. He played a key role in the successes of the Indian Hockey Team, most notably in the Rome and Tokyo Olympics in the 1960’s. Condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti,” PM Modi tweeted.

A charismatic halfback, Charanjit Singh had led the Indian team to a historic Gold Medal in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, beating Pakistan in the final, and was also part of the Indian team that won silver in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

Born on 20 November 1929, Charanjit Singh was an alumnus of Col. Brown Cambridge School, Dehradun, and Punjab University.

After his illustrious career in international hockey, he worked as Director of the Physical Education department at Himachal Pradesh University, in Shimla. (ANI)

Valuables worth Rs 82.62 crores in violation of the Model Code of Conduct have been seized by various enforcement teams in Punjab till January 26, after the code came into force in the state ahead of assembly polls, scheduled for February this year.

Giving more details in this regard, Punjab Chief Election Officer (CEO) Dr S Karuna Raju on Friday said that the surveillance teams have seized 16.10 lakh litres of liquor worth Rs 7.02 crore. Similarly, the enforcement wings have also recovered psychotropic substances amounting to Rs 58.89 crores besides confiscating unaccounted cash of Rs 15.51 crore, he added.
“As many as 1,164 vulnerable hamlets have been identified. 2,713 persons have been identified as probable sources of trouble. Out of this, preventive action has been initiated against 1,702 persons and the remaining ones would also be brought to book,” he added.

Raju also informed that from a security point of view 570 persons have been bound down under preventive sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) act.

As many as 2,470 cases of non-bailable warrants have been executed, while execution in 145 cases is under process, said Raju.

“As many as 12054 nakas are operational across the state,” he added.

As per the directions of the Election Commission, Dr Raju said that of total 3,90,275 licensed weapons in the state, 3,74,299 weapons have been deposited to date. 56 without licenses weapons were seized in the state, he added.

The Model Code of Conduct has come into force in Punjab from the date of the announcement of elections (January 8, 2022) by the Election Commission of India.

Punjab will go to the Assembly polls on February 20. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)

The third phase of the construction of the Ram temple began at Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya on January 24 with the laying of the granite stones for the plinth.

With a view to achieving strength, other physical and chemical features and
consequent longevity, the work of plinth with granite stone has begun.

Keeping in mind the Temple life of thousand years and beyond, it was decided to use the strongest natural granite of southern India.

About 17,000 stones of size 5 feet x 2.5 feet x 3 feet are being used in the construction of the Plinth of the Temple. The weight of each stone is approximately 2.50 tons. The activity of laying of granite stone is likely to be completed by May 2022.

Digital instrumentation is being used to monitor the safety parameters of the temple. Data of these instruments will be used to study the behaviour of the structure in respect of loading, earthquake, etc.

The master plan for the entire campus outside Parkota has been finalized and approved by statutory authorities.

It includes Pilgrimage Facilitation Centre, Museum, Archives, Research Centre, Auditorium, Gaushala, Yagya Shala, Administrative Building, etc. Detailing of design and utility services are under progress and the construction work of buildings other than Temple will also be started by April 2022.

The superstructure of the Temple will have carved Bansi Paharpur stone from Rajasthan. The skilled persons have especially undertaken the carving which is being supervised by architect M/s CB Sompura.

The construction work of the Temple is progressing according to the plan and by December 2023 devotees will be able to get the opportunity of Lord Shri Ram darshan.

Based on the judgment of the Supreme Court dated November 9, 2019, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust was entrusted in February 2020 to undertake the work of Shri Ram Temple construction at Ayodhya.

The Trust constituted a construction committee with Shri Nripendra Misra as its chairman.

The Temple construction has been entrusted to M/s Larsen and Toubro with project monitoring being closely performed by M/s Tata Consulting Engineers.

A three-storey Temple with Garbh Griha and five Mandapas is being built.

The area of Temple construction is approximately 10 acres with development of complex measuring 57 acres for various amenities to pilgrims. A museum-cumresearch centre is being planned to ensure the historical, monumental and architectural significance of Ayodhya. The Temple will be constructed by using the stones of Rajasthan and Karnataka.

After necessary soil testing of the area, it was decided that the entire area will be dug and excavation work up to 12 meters depth will be undertaken. The soil has been replaced by a solid engineered rock in 48 layers with mechanical roller compaction. The total excavation involved was 70 lakh cft (cubic feet). The laying of concrete of approximately 44.5 lakh cft. has been closely monitored in terms of strength and other civil parameters.

After filling the excavated area which is the foundation, a five feet thick cement concrete raft has been laid.

A team of experts from various IITs along with Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, closely observed the behaviour of the concrete in terms of thermal and other engineering indices. This was completed before the onset of the monsoon.

The drawings and design have been supervised by IIT Chennai, IIT Kanpur, NIT Surat, CBRI Roorkee, M/s Tata Consulting Engineers and the implementing company M/s Larsen and Toubro. (ANI)

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Thursday granted conditional regular market approval for COVID-19 vaccines Covaxin and Covishield for restricted use in emergency situations in the adult population.

According to Union Health Ministry, the vaccines will not be available in medical stores. The hospitals and clinics can now purchase the vaccines. Vaccination data has to be submitted to DCGI every six months. The data has to be updated on CoWIN app also.
According to Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), the proposals for regular market approval were reviewed by it in consultation with the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) for COVID-19. After a detailed deliberation, the committee recommended updating the status of approval of COVID vaccines — Covishied and Covaxin from Restricted use in Emergency situation to the New Drug permission as per rules in the adult population with conditions.

The vaccines are for sale or for distribution under New Drugs and Clinical Trials (NDCT) Rules, 2019 in adult population with the conditions that the Firm shall submit data of overseas ongoing clinical trials of the product with due analysis on six monthly basis or as and when available, whichever is earlier.

Secondly, the vaccine shall be supplied for programmatic setting and all vaccinations done within the country to be recorded on CoWIN platform and AEFI, AESI shall continue to be monitored. The firm shall submit the safety data including Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) and Adverse Events of Special Interest (AESI) with due analysis on six-monthly basis or as and when available. whichever is earlier as per NDCT Rules. 2019.

Covishield is manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India while Covaxin is manufactured by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech. (ANI)

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army handed over the 19-year old Miran Taron to the Indian Army at Wacha-Damai interaction point in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday, a week after the teenager went missing.

Taking to Twitter, Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju said, “The Chinese PLA handed over the young boy from Arunachal Pradesh Shri Miram Taron to Indian Army at WACHA-DAMAI interaction point in Arunachal Pradesh today. I thank our proud Indian Army for pursuing the case meticulously with PLA and safely securing our young boy back home.”
The Union Minister also said that due procedures are being followed including the medical examination.

Earlier he said, “The Chinese PLA has handed over the young boy from Arunachal Pradesh Shri Miram Taron to Indian Army. Due procedures are being followed including the medical examination.” (ANI)