CMYK Morning India UDAIPUR MURDER OF A TAILOR IS A HORRIFIC CRIME NEEDING ACTION VAANI CHUFFED TO COLLABORATE WITH RANBIR FOR 'SHAMSHERA' OPINION SCREEN & CINEMA Shinde sworn in as Maha CM, Fadnavis is deputy 6 killed, dozens missing in Manipur landslides Rs. 3 PATNA FRIDAY, 01 JULY, 2022 PG-12, YEAR—8, ISSUE—217 (RNI NO: BIHENG / 2014 / 59124) AGENCIES MUMBAI: Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde was on Thursday sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister, while the BJP's Devendra Fadnavis took oath as deputy chief minister. Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath of office to them at Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai shortly after 7.30 pm. Shinde began by paying tributes to late Shiv Sena leaders Bal Thackeray and Anand Dighe. His supporters shouted slogans hailing Thackeray and Dighe as he finished taking the oath. Earlier on Thursday, BJP president J P Nadda said Fadnavis would be part of the new Maharashtra cabinet led by Shinde, minutes after India's active Covid cases cross 1L mark AGENCIES NEW DELHI: India logged 18,000 new coronavirus infections in a single day after a gap of 130 days, taking the COVID-19 tally to 4,34,52,164, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Thursday. The active cases crossed the one lakh mark again after 122 days. A total 18,819 new Covid cases were reported in a span of 24 hours while the death toll climbed to 5,25,116 with 39 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases increased to 1,04,555 comprising 0.24 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.55 per cent, the ministry said. An increase of 4,953 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.16 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 3.72 per cent, according to the ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,28,22,493, while the case fatality rate was 1.21 per cent. According to the ministry, 197.61 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered. Shinde began by paying tributes to late Shiv Sena leaders Bal Thackeray and Anand Dighe Fadnavis announced he will not be in the government. Fadnavis had sprang a surprise when he announced that Shinde will be the next chief minister. His announcement defied expectations that he would return to the post with the support of the Shinde faction. "Development of the state is my priority. I will take all sections of society along with me," Shinde told the media after the ceremony. ISRO launches PSLV-C53 with 3 Singapore satellites Earlier, Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde, who arrived in Mumbai from Goa on Thursday afternoon, met senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis at the latter's official residence in south Mumbai to discuss formation of the next government in Maharashtra following the collapse of the Mharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) dispensation a day ago. Shinde and Fadnavis held a brief meeting at the latter's residence before both of them headed to the Raj Bhavan along with several BJP leaders. The BJP has said that it has the support of a total of 170 MLAs, including those from Shinde's rebel faction. The Mumbai police had made heavy security arrangements in view of Shinde's arrival in the city. Amarnath yatra kicks off after 3 years AGENCIES SRIHARIKOTA: In its second successful mission within a week, Indian Space Research Organisation launched three foreign satellites in precise orbit from the spaceport Sriharikota on Thursday. PSLV-C53 is the second dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited, the commercial arm of ISRO. It had on June 23 launched GSAT-24 in its first "demand-driven" communication satellite mission post space sector reforms, leasing the entire capacity on board to Direct-to-Home service provider Tata Play. On Thursday, the fourstage, 44.4 metre tall PSLVC53 that blasted off from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre and placed the three Singapore satellites--DS-EO, NeuSAR and SCOOB-1 in intended orbit. ISRO Chairman S Somanath confirmed that the mission achieved its intended objective, saying the rocket placed the three customer satellites "in the precise orbit of 570 km with a 10 degree inclination" and congratulat- ed NSIL for accomplishing "yet another major mission this month itself," the earlier one being the GSAT launch last week. "With today's mission, all these three satellites are placed in the right orbit," he said. Mission director SR Biju described the launch as "wonderful." Earlier, the launch vehicle lifted off at 6.02 pm at the end of the 25-hour countdown. This is the 55th mission of PSLV, often described as ISRO's trusted workhorse and the 15th one using the PSLVCore Alone variant. It also marks the 16th PSLV launch from the second launch pad. The mission, which is designed to orbit DSEO satellite along with two other co-passenger satellites from ST Electronics, Singapore, proposes to demonstrate the utilisation of the spent upper stage of the launch vehicle as a stabilised platform for scientific payloads subsequent to the separation of the satellites, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. DS-EO is a 365 kg satellite while NeuSAR weighs 155 kg. Both belong to Singapore and are built by Starec Initiative of the Republic of Korea. JAMMU: The annual Amarnath Yatra began on Thursday as a batch of about 2,750 pilgrims left the base camp in Nunwan, JammuKashmir, for the cave shrine housing the naturally formed ice-lingam in the south Kashmir Himalayas. The pilgrimage was flagged off by Deputy Commissioner Piyush Singla at the Nunwan base camp in the Anantnag district's Pahalgam. The journey -most of it on foot -- takes about three days with night halts at Sheeshnag and Panchtarni along the route. All arrangements have been made to ensure smooth conduct of the 43-day pilgrimage, Singla said, adding, "The endeavour is to make sure that the pilgrims feel secure and visit the shrine peacefully." Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday flagged off the first batch of 4,890 pilgrims from the Jammu base camp. Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has also made a provision for online 'darshan' of the naturally formed ice lingam, officials said. They said this year, the pilgrimage is expected to see higher-than-usual attendance. Union home minister. Vehemently opposing Agnipath, Mann said this scheme was against the country's youth. Leader of Opposition and Congress legislator Partap Singh Bajwa demanded that the Agnipath scheme should be withdrawn. Akali MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali supported the resolution and demanded the scheme's roll back. According to the resolution, the House recommends to the state government to take up the matter with the Union government in order to roll back the Agnipath scheme immediately. "The unilateral announce- ment of the Agnipath scheme by the Government of India has witnessed widespread reactions in all states, including Punjab, " said Mann while reading the resolution. The Punjab Vidhan Sabha strongly feels that the scheme where youth will be employed only for a period of four years and only up to 25 per cent will be retained, is neither in the best interests of national security nor of the youth of this country. "This policy is likely to create dissatisfaction among the youth who wish to serve the armed forces of the nation for a lifetime," said Mann. It must be highlighted that more than one lakh soldiers from Punjab serve in the Armed Forces of the nation and many of them give the supreme sacrifice of their life on the borders of the country every year, he said. "The youth of Punjab consider serving in the Indian Armed Forces as a matter of pride and honour and are renowned for their valour and courage. "This scheme has crushed the dreams of many youths of Punjab who have been aspiring to join the Armed Forces as regular soldiers," said Mann. AGENCIES Punjab House passes resolution against Agnipath scheme AGENCIES CHANDIGARH: The Punjab assembly on Thursday passed a resolution against the Centre's Agnipath defence recruitment scheme.. Two Bharatiya Janata Party legislators Ashwani Sharma and Jangi Lal Mahajan, however, opposed the resolution. The resolution was moved in the House by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Participating in the discussion on the resolution, Mann said he will soon raise the issue of Agnipath scheme with the prime minister and the Roads were emptied so that Shinde's cavalcade faces no hindrance while going to 'Sagar', the official bungalow of Fadnavis located at Malabar Hill in south Mumbai. Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order) Vishwas Nangre Patil led the cavalcade himself while other police officials stood guard throughout the route for quick movement and also to ensure that there were no protests by Shiv Sena supporters, an official said. "Shinde, who landed at Mumbai airport by chartered flight this afternoon, was escorted by the senior police officials from the airport to South Mumbai. Traffic on the route was stopped to facilitate the passage Shinde's convoy," officials said. Shinde was seen waving to supporters throughout the route. AGENCIES IMPHAL: At least six people were killed and dozens were missing after a massive landslide occurred at a railway construction site in Manipur's Noney district, officials said on Thursday. The incident took place at Tupul yard railway construction camp on Wednesday night. Six bodies have been retrieved so far and dozens are feared trapped under the debris, they said, adding rescue operations are underway. The massive debris has blocked the Ijei River, creating a reservoir that may inundate low-lying areas. An advisory issued by Noney deputy commissioner said, 'Due to the unfortunate landslide which occurred at Tupul yard railway construction camp, where casualties are being reported and dozens buried alive, the flow of the Ijei River has also been obstructed by the debris, creating a dam-like storage condition which if breached will wreak havoc to the low-lying areas of Noney district headquarters...' '...as the condition is still developing and the future is unknown, the general public is hereby advised to take their own precautions, and especially ensure children do not come out near the river. Whoever can evacuate are also advised to evacuate. 'Public are further advised to stay alert and be prepared for any assistance in case of rain condition deteriorate further,' it added. Protest rally in Udaipur against tailor's murder AGENCIES UDAIPUR: Thousands of people on Thursday took part in a protest rally in Udaipur against the gruesome murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal. The 'Sarv Hindu Samaj' rally was called by Hindu organisations and was held peacefully from the Town Hall to the collectorate with permission of the district administration. Additional DG Dinesh M N, who is camping in Udaipur, said permission was given for the rally and curfew was relaxed on the route of the march. Though it was called a silent march, slogans in support of Hindu religion were raised by some members. Some people were also seen carrying saffron flags.