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Madhya Pradesh by-election: While Congress predicted a win for itself in all 28 seats, BJP is ahead in 21, set to retain power

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh by-election: While Congress predicted a win for itself in all 28 seats, BJP is ahead in 21, set to retain power

The counting of votes for the Madhya Pradesh by-elections, which was necessitated after 25 MLAs of the erstwhile Congress government led by its former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia switched over to the BJP in March 2020, leading to the fall of Kamal Nath’s 15-month-old government and the death of three sitting legislators, in currently underway.

Interestingly, even before Madhya Pradesh went to vote for the 28 seats on November 3, the Congress party in Madhya Pradesh was overconfident that it would grab all the 28 seats and bounce back to power in the state.

It had taken to Twitter on November 1, three days before the state went into the by-polls that Congress would bag all the 28 seats in Madhya Pradesh. The party had Tweeted that there’s a wave of Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh as people of the state have rejected BJP. Saying that BJP’s gimmick has been rejected by the masses, it wrote that the latest survey was giving BJP govt-led by Shivraj Singh Chauhan sleepless nights.

It had predicted that Congress would bag 28 out of 28 seats in Madhya Pradesh by-elections.

But as the saying goes don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched, Congress too spoke a bit too soon. The trends at 1:45 pm today showed BJP leading on 21 of the 28 seats. Congress is leading on 6 and BSP on one. 

Madhya Pradesh by-election trends according to ECI

The BJP at the moment has 107 members in the 230-member Assembly and needs nine more to have a full majority of its own. At the moment, it has the backing of two BSP, one SP and one independent MLA.

With 22 Congress MLAs ditching the party along with Scindia and three seats falling vacant after the death of sitting MLAs, Congress is now left with 88 MLAs and it would need to win all the 28 seats to reach the magic figure of 116 once again.

Update: As per final Election Commission figure, the BJP has won 19 out of 28 seats while Congress has won 9 seats. Shivraj Singh Chouhan has managed to retain power in the state.

BJP headed for a landslide victory in Gujarat by-polls, leads in all 8 seats: Details of seats and vote-share

OpIndia Staff
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BJP headed for a landslide victory in Gujarat by-polls, leads in all 8 seats: Details of seats and vote-share

In Gujarat, 8 seats are in play in the by-polls and BJP is leading in all 8 seats. In Gujarat, the bye-elections were necessitated on eight seats after the sitting Congress MLAs resigned ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls held in June this year. Five of them later joined the BJP and are contesting the bypolls on the saffron party ticket.

According to the Election Commission website, BJP is leading in all 8 seats that are in play during the by-elections.

Source: ECI website

Interestingly, the vote share of BJP is over 50%. According to the ECI website at 1:20 PM, the voteshare of BJP in the 8 seats was almost 54%.

Source: ECI

According to the ECI website, BJP has so far got 53.71% votes and Congress has got 34.51% votes. NOTA, on the other hand, has got a 2.09% vote which is not considered terribly high in any election.

In 7 out of 8 seats, BJP has zoomed ahead decisively.

In Abdasa, the difference between the BJP and Congress votes is over 20,000 with BJP getting 46.04% of the votes.

Voteshare in Abdasa

In Dang, the difference is even more massive with BJP getting over 68% of the votes.

Voteshare in Dangs

In Dhari, BJP for over 48% of the votes.

Voteshare in Dhari

In Gadhada, BJP got 58.51% votes with Congress getting 54.48%.

Voteshare in Gadhada

In Kaprada, BJP got almost 60% of the votes with an over 20,000 vote difference from Congress.

Voteshare in Kaprada

In Karjan too, BJP managed to get over 51% of the votes.

Voteshare in Karjan

In Limbdi too, BJP zoomed ahead with a massive lead, bagging over 58% votes.

Voteshare in Limbdi

The only seat in which the margin is rather low is Morbi where the difference in votes is less them 1,000.

Chief Minister of Gujarat as made a statement saying, “BJP has not just won, but won with huge victory. For an example, margin in tribal populated Dang is unprecedented and never before. In Abdasa, even independent candidate is ahead of Congress. This verdict is trailer of upcoming Civic polls in Gujarat”.

He further said that, “BJP’s strength in the assembly will be 111 with today’s victory on all 8 seats”.

Update: BJP has won all 8 seats in Gujarat.

10-member police team interrogates Arnab Goswami after CJM grants permission to grill him for 3 hours daily: Report

OpIndia Staff
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10-member police team interrogates Arnab Goswami after CJM grants permission to grill him for 3 hours daily: Report

The Mumbai Police have been trying its level best to break Republic TV’s Editor-in-chief, Arnab Goswami’s resilience. After physically assaulting and arresting him over unfounded allegations, the Mumbai police have now reportedly sent a team of 10 police officers to interrogate Arnab Goswami in the Taloja jail on Monday.

According to the Times Of India report, a 10 member squad of Raigad police interrogated Goswami and two others, who are now lodged in the Taloja jail, a prison which houses hardened criminals and underworld dons, for three hours on Monday. Inspector Jamil Shaikh of Raigad crime branch, who is investigating the case confirmed that three teams interrogated Arnab and the two others. he said that “Interrogating the accused Arnab Goswami lodged at Taloja jail will be a time-consuming affair as we will have to travel daily for two hours from Alibaug to reach Taloja jail and will have restrictions to interrogate him only for three hours as per the CJM order. Police custody would be convenient to carry out the interrogation.”

This move came after the Raigad CJM granted permission to the Mumbai police to interrogate the senior journalist for 3 hours daily in Taloja prison in connection with Anvay Naik abetment to suicide case, as otherwise under law, police do not have access to an accused who is in judicial custody without an order of the court.

The permission to interrogate Arnab was granted after Maharashtra police moved an application before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alibaug, yesterday, seeking permission for the same.

Arnab Goswami, Firoze Shaikh and Sarda were shifted to Taloja Central prison on Sunday after the Raigad police claimed that Arnab was active on social media over someone else’s phone while in judicial custody at the makeshift quarantine centre at the Alibaug civic school. It was evident that the Alibaug police had taken this step to simply harass the Republic TV Editor-in-chief, as it is well known that Arnab has no account on any social media platform.

Mumbai police’ solitary access to the Republic TV editor-in-chief in Taloja jail is concerning, as the journalist, while he was being hurriedly transferred from the quarantine centre to Taloja jail had revealed that he was yet again assaulted by the police and said that his life was under threat. Previously, Arnab Goswami had revealed that he was force-fed a liquid that made him choke, he was hit by a police officer’s boot, he suffered injuries to his spinal cord and veins and he was not even allowed access to drinking water.

Bail plea of Arnab Goswami to be heard today by the Alibaug Sessions Court

The Alibaug Sessions court had yesterday shifted Arnab Goswami’s bail plea hearing for today. After the Bombay High Court refused to grant interim relief to Arnab Goswami, he had moved the Alibaug Sessions Court for regular bail in the Anvay Naik abetment to suicide case, the plea for which the Alibaug sessions court will now hear on November 10.

The Sessions Court has also kept the petition of Raigad police, seeking revision of Magistrate’s order of granting judicial custody to Arnab Goswami, for today.

Arnab Goswami’s arrest

Arnab was arrested on Wednesday for a now-reopened 2018 abatement of the suicide case of an architect, Anvay Naik. In his suicide note, the architect has blamed a few people, including Arnab Goswami, for not paying dues. Later, the court had closed the case after the Raigad police filed a closure report, but it was reopened in May 2020 by the Maharashtra government.

Trends show Shiv Sena performing worse than NOTA in 21 out of 22 seats in Bihar: Read details of all seats

OpIndia Staff
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Trends show Shiv Sena performing worse than NOTA in 21 out of 22 seats in Bihar: Read details of all seats

The Bihar Assembly Election 2020 vote counting is underway and the result might be a massive upset from what the Exit polls predicted. The Exit Polls handed a victory to the RJD and Congress alliance, some, by a landslide. However, the trends till now prove that the Bihar election is a tough fight between the Mahagathbandhan and the NDA (BJP and JDU).

One clear loser in these elections, however, seems to be Shiv Sena. In several cases, according to the votes counted till now, Shiv Sena seems to be doing worse that NOTA (None of the above).

Here is a list of the constituencies in which Shiv Sena is contesting and the votes they have garnered so far. The numbers have been collated from the ECI website at 12:40 PM.

Constituency Candidate Votes for Shiv Sena Votes for NOTA
Paliganj Manish Kumar 44284
Gaya CityButi Sinha 49159
Wazirganj Mritunjay Kumar 32160
Chiraiya Sanjay Kumar 254202
Maner Ravindra Kumar 63217
Phulparesh Sanjay Kumar -774
Raghopur Jayamala Devi 44418
Benipur Sanjit Kumar Jha 5312808
Madhubani Shankar Mahaseth 114354
TaraiyaRanjay Kumar Singh 212279
Astva Vinita Kumar 92298
Auria Pradeep Kumar Singh 71279
Kalyanpur Shatrughan Paswan 369865
Banmankhi Subhash Chandra Paswam 61733
Thakurganj Naveen Kumar Malik 303529
Samastipur Nand Kumar 9108
Sarai Pushpankumari 104601
Morwa Ranjan Manish Kumar 88361
Kishanganj Shivnath Mallik 106156
Bahadurganj Chandan Kuu. Yadav 547849
NarpatganjGunja Devi 58103
Manihari Nagendra Chandra Mandal 2251076

From the data, it is evident that currently, out of the 22 seats, in 21 seats Shiv Sena is trailing NOTA in the Bihar elections.

We will update this table periodically.

Bihar Elections: Early trends show NDA crossing the majority mark, 23 seats have leading candidate ahead by less than 500 votes

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar Elections: Early trends show NDA crossing the majority mark, 23 seats have leading candidate ahead by less than 500 votes

After about three hours of counting, initial trends show that the NDA alliance has surged past the opposition Mahagathbandhan alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Congress and other affiliate parties, moving above the half-way mark in a closely-contested electoral battle.

With electoral trends firming up as counting advances, NDA alliance is so far leading on 127 seats of the 243-ASsembly seats in Bihar. On the other hand, the Mahagathbandhan alliance is leading on 101 seats.

The majority mark in the 243-seat Bihar assembly is 122 and with the current trends NDA alliance seems poised to retain power in the state.

Election result trend(Source: Election Commission)

It is also pertinent to note that Lok Janshakti Party(LJP) is leading 5 seats and Other parties have secured a lead on 9 seats.

Though LJP has fought the elections separately, they are more likely to extend their support to the NDA alliance than the Mahagathbandhan since they are a former alliance partner and are already in an alliance with the NDA at the centre.

The emerging electoral results are in sharp contrast to the several exit polls which suggested a close fight between the Mahagathbandhan and NDA alliance, with the balance tilting in the favour of the Mahagathbandhan alliance. Some of the exit polls also suggested a landslide victory to the Mahagathbandhan alliance and a complete rout of the BJP-JDU’s NDA alliance, which is clearly not the case here.

Close margins in dozens of seats

Several seats are showing leads by a very close margin. As per reports, there are 23 seats where the leading margin is less than 500. Tejashwi Yadav himself is leading in Raghopur by a mere 400 votes against BJP’s Satish Kumar. 27 more seats have a leading margin of fewer than 1000 votes. As the counting enters the 9th phase, NDA workers have already started celebrations.

Witch-hunt continues: After Arnab being dragged and jailed, Mumbai Police arrests Republic TV’s Assistant VP

OpIndia Staff
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Witch-hunt continues: After Arnab being dragged and jailed, Mumbai Police arrests Republic TV’s Assistant VP

The relentless attack on Republic Network continues as the Mumbai Police has now arrested Assistant Vice President of Republic Media Network Ghanshyam Singh today at 7:40 AM in connection with the TRP Scam. As of now, editor-in-Chief of Republic Network Arnab Goswami is on the 7th day of judicial custody in a reopened 2018 case of abatement of the suicide of an architect that was closed by the court.

As per a statement released by Republic TV, Ghanshyam Singh heads Republic Media Network’s Western Region Distribution. He had been questioned over 45 times to date in the TRP scam case. As per the reports, Singh has fully cooperated with the Mumbai police in the investigation, submitted all documents demanded by the police, and answered all questions to his best knowledge and ability. The statement says that the police had interrogated him for more than 40 hours over the period.

Statement by Republic TV

In a brazen misuse of power, Republic Media Network’s Assistant Vice President Mr. Ghanshyam Singh was arrested this morning at 7:40 am by the Mumbai Police. Republic Media Network is shocked at the unchecked malicious campaign of the Mumbai Police that is determined to falsely target and desperately implicate Republic and its members. It is clear this is part of the same vendetta-driven, vengeful and motivated campaign of the Maharashtra state machinery that assaulted and arrested Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami.

As Arnab Goswami spends his 7th day in judicial custody and Ghanshyam Singh is arrested on baseless grounds, there has never been a more terrifying state of affairs vis-a-vis the elected machinery exploiting its offices and violating due process to clamp down on an independent media organisation. History is witness to the state excesses being deployed in Maharashtra and shall not forgive or forget those who exercised it.

Mr Ghanshyam Singh who heads Republic Media Network’s Western Region Distribution has continuously cooperated with the Mumbai Police in the case. In fact, in the spirit of cooperation even in a fake and hollow case, he continually appeared before the Mumbai Police on numerous occasions. He has cooperated throughout and answered all questions of the police to the best of his knowledge and ability. Ghanshyam has personally been through over 40 hours of semi-custodial interrogation, and his current detention crafts a new low in the highhanded tactics of the law and order machinery in the state of Maharashtra which is functioning unchecked.

Ghanshyam has been booked under frivolous sections in a fake TRP manipulation case, which itself doesn’t stand vis-a-vis the evidence. It is significant to reiterate that despite Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh’s October 8th news conference on the TRP matter, neither he nor the Mumbai Police has been able to present a single piece of hard evidence linking Republic Media Network to the TRP scam. Therefore, Ghanshyam’s arrest, like Arnab’s illegal arrest, is born out of prescripted vendetta instead of evidence and facts.

The entire TRP case against Republic has been concocted on the basis of an FIR that names another channel. It is well known that a document by complainant Hansa Research Group Pvt Ltd names the same channel which is in the FIR and not Republic. Additionally, it is now in the public domain and before a court of law that Hansa has filed a case that alleges the Mumbai Police Commissioner, Sachin Vaze and the state of Maharashtra were harassing the top brass of the company to implicate Republic Media Network in the TRP case.

While there is no link between Republic TV or any of its affiliates with the TRP manipulation case, there is a mountain of evidence— from testimonies to witness coercion tapes— that indicates the vicious plot to embroil Republic in a fake TRP manipulation case that it has no connection or relation to.

Republic Media Network and the people recognise that all such acts of malice are aimed to throttle the network, its news coverage ability and thereby attempt to mow down any semblance of a free press in the state of Maharashtra. Coercive methods, illegal arrests, baseless detentions and overtly false cases will not stop Republic from doing its journalistic duty, or from fighting against this anarchy in the courts of law and courts of public opinion.

We appeal to right-thinking citizens to raise their voice and continue their campaign for justice.

Like the truth, we stand firmly with Ghanshyam Singh and Arnab Goswami and will continue to fight for justice to prevail.

The so-called TRP scam allegations against Republic TV

On 8th October, Param Bir Singh, Mumbai Police Commissioner, said in a press conference that several channels have indulged in malicious practices to increase their TRP ratings. He alleged that Republic TV is one of the main accused. The complaint was filed by the Hansa group that regulated the devices to record TRP for BARC.

However, the initial FIR did not name Republic TV but named India Today network as one of the main suspects. During the investigation, several evidence and witnesses came forward that alleged Mumbai Police have been intimidating them to speak against Republic TV, including Hansa officials. Hansa has also complained that they are being harassed by the Mumbai Police to give statements against Republic TV.

Republic TV has been facing the ire of the Mhaarashtra governmnet after they started questioning the political powers in the state for their inaction in Palghar lynching case and Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide case. In recent times, the Maharashtra Assembly even tried to bring a privilege motion against the channel and Goswami. Supreme Court had to intervene to put a stop to it.

The arrest of Arnab Goswami

Arnab Goswami was arrested on 4th November from his residence in a reopened case of abatement of suicide of an architect named Anvay Naik. The case was closed by the court after the police filed a closure report, but in May 2020, the Home Minister of Maharashtra announced that the case would be reopened. Since his arrest, Arnab Goswami has been lodged in jail under judicial custody. He was shifted recently to Taloja jail, where hardcore criminals are spending their sentences. Goswami has alleged that Mumbai police officials, including the jailer, have assaulted him on several occasions, and was forced to drink some unknown liquid after which he choked.

Punjab, ruled by Congress, becomes the eighth state to withdraw general consent from CBI: Read the notification

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab, ruled by Congress, becomes the eighth state to withdraw general consent from CBI: Read the notification

After several non-BJP-ruled states, the Congress Government in Punjab led by Amarinder Singh has also withdrawn the blanket consent accorded to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct investigations in the State. Which means now the agency would require the prior consent of the State government on a case-to-case basis for conducting CBI investigations in the State.

With this decision, Punjab becomes the 8th state to take up this step. States like West Bengal, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Kerala have, with an aim to demur against the Modi government at the centre, have already evoked the consent.

Congress Govt in Punjab joins the bandwagon, revokes general consent to CBI to conduct probe in the state

The notification for the withdrawal of consent was issued by Punjab on November 8 (Sunday), stated: “In exercise of the powers conferred by section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 (Central Act No. 25 of 1946) the Government of Punjab hereby withdraws the general consent accorded to the members of the Delhi Special Police Establishment, anytime herein before.”

Image source: Bar and Bench

It added: “In view of revocation of all previous general consents issued earlier, prior consent of the Government of Punjab shall be required, hereinafter, on a case-to-case basis for investigation of any offence or class of offences.”

Under Section 6 of the Act, all states except Delhi and the Union Territories have the discretion to give their consent to the CBI for a probe in the state,” it further read.

Other non-BJP States to withdraw consent to CBI

On November 5 (Thursday), Jharkhand joined the list of non-BJP ruled states to have withdrawn the blanket consent given to CBI, signifying the opposition parties rallying together against the central govt. In a similar move, Left Democratic Front (LDF) ruled Kerala had withdrawn the consent on Wednesday.

Earlier, other non-BJP ruled states West Bengal, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra had issued similar orders under the Delhi Police Establishment Act to require CBI obtain their consent to start any probe in the respective states. Andhra Pradesh had also withdrawn the consent in November 2018 by Chandrababu Naidu govt, but it was restored by the Jagan Mohan Reddy govt in June 2019.

West Bengal had also withdrawn the consent to CBI in 2018 immediately after Andhra Pradesh. Congress-led Chhattisgarh government had done the same in January 2019. Congress-ruled Rajasthan government had revoked the general consent in July 2020. More recently, the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP govt had followed suit in October this year, after the CBI had taken over the Sushant Singh Rajput case and UP govt had recommended transferring the TRP manipulation case to CBI.

CBI comes under the DSPE Act and it requires states to give the agency a consent to act against central government employees within a state as public order and police come under the state governments. To avoid issuing separate consents for each case, states generally issue a blanket consent to the CBI, which is routinely renewed. But after withdrawal of the general consent, the agency will have to seek permission for each cases it wants to probe in the states, and the states may refuse to grant such permission.

Mozambique: Islamist terrorists with links to ISIS burn village chanting Allahu Akbar, behead over 50 people

OpIndia Staff
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Mozambique: Islamist terrorists with links to ISIS burn village chanting Allahu Akbar, behead over 50 people

While the world has been condemning the dastardly terrorist attacks in France, Mozambique in East Africa has been bearing the brunt of radical Islamism. As per reports, Islamists had unleashed terror in several villages and beheaded more than 50 people in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique in the past few days.

On Friday night, terrorists affiliated with the ISIS yelled, ‘Allahu Akbar’ before going on a killing spree in the Nanjaba village. They burnt down houses and fired shots at innocent people in one of the worst attacks in the province. While several women were abducted, two people were beheaded by the terrorists. In a separate incident, more than 50 people were decapitated by another group of terrorists in the Muatide village.

In a press conference held on Monday, a police official informed, “They set the houses on fire and then hunted down people who had fled into the woods and began their macabre action. Eyewitnesses have testified that the terrorists had abducted several villagers, including women and children, to a football field and used it as an ‘execution ground’ to behead the victims. The government in Mozambique had meanwhile appealed for international help to train its security personnel and maintain peace in the conflict zone.

Radical Islamism is on the rise in Mozambique since 2017

The Muslim-dominated province of Cabo Delgado has witnessed the displacement of 4.3 lac people and the gruesome killings of more than 2000 people since 2017. Although the province is rich in ruby and gas industries, the locals have failed to benefit from it due to a drastic rise in the terror activities of ISIS. In a bid to establish a Caliphate (Islamic State), the terrorist group had been recruiting local youth reeling with poverty and unemployment. The situation in Cabo Delgado has aggravated due to the indifference of the Mozambique government towards the region. In April alone, the ISIS terrorists shot and beheaded more than 50 people for refusing to join them.

Four killed in France over the cartoon row

In the last month, four people have been killed in France over the Prophet Muhammad cartoon row. On 17th October, Samuel Paty, a teacher, was beheaded in France for showing a cartoon of Prophet Muhammad in his class. Later, on 29th October, three people, including a woman, were reportedly beheaded at a Church in Nice, France. Several were injured in several attacks that happened on the same day in different locations across the world. A priest was shot on 1st November while he was closing a church. While India has shown support to France against terrorism, Islamic nations like Turkey and Pakistan have categorically justified the terrorist attacks in France.

Husband of BJP leader shot dead just a day before Bihar Assembly Election result day: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Husband of BJP leader shot dead just a day before Bihar Assembly Election result day: Read details

On Monday evening, the husband of a prominent BJP leader was shot dead by criminals in the Sundernagar locality of Ara in Bhojpur district of Bihar, reported News 18. The incident took place just a day before the results of the Bihar Assembly elections were scheduled to be announced.

The victim has been identified as Pritam Narayan Singh aka Saheb Singh. According to his son, Singh was shot at by two unidentified bike-borne assailants in the Sundernagar locality when he was returning home from the civil court. He was then admitted to a private hospital in Ara. Although the victim was administered first aid, his condition began to deteriorate. Singh was referred to another hospital in the State capital but he died on the way on Monday, a day before Bihar elections result day.

On learning about the incident, Sadar SDPO Pankaj Kumar Rawat, Bhojpur SP Har Kishore Rai, Municipal Police Station Dharmendra Kumar, Nawada Police Station President Sanjeev Kumar Dalbal reached the crime spot.

The victim was a civil court advocate and the husband of the President of the ‘BJP Mahila Morcha.’ Reportedly, he too was an active member of the BJP and took part in several party events during the campaigning phase of the Bihar polls. A preliminary investigation has been initiated in the case.

Uttar Pradesh govt’s unique idea: Unnao district farmers exchange stubble for cow dung manure from Gaushalas

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh govt’s unique idea: Unnao district farmers exchange stubble for cow dung manure from Gaushalas

The district administration in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh has come up with an innovative idea to reduce the problem of stubble burning in the state. On 7th November, it has started procuring stubble from the farmers to be used in cow shelters as fodder. For two trolleys of stubble, the farmer will get one trolley of cow dung. So far, the district administration has procured 800 quintals of stubble. 

The initiative ‘Parali Do, Khaad Lo’ was inaugurated by the administration on 7th November by DD Agriculture Nand Kishore and Veterinary Officer PK Singh. Kishore called it a commendable initiative. It will save farmers from any legal action and help the administration impose the regulations set by National Green Tribunal.

Unnao DM Ravindra Kumar has stated to Aaj Tak that the district has 125 Gaushalas in total. Out of this, 28 are quite large and these Gaushalas produce ample amounts of cow dung manure. Farmers are offered to take 1 trolly of cow dung manure in exchange of 2 trollies of stubble. The stubble will be turned into fodder and the manure will help the farmers to enrich their soil. Kumar has stated that so far, over 100 farmers in the district have brought their stubble and taken manure in exchange.

Technical Institutions providing support to farmers

Acharya Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology is one of the institutions helping farmers in stubble management. They provide support to increase modern machinery use, including modern reversible moldboard plow, cutter less spread, arc less mulch, happy seeder, super seeder, etc. among farmers. The method university promotes does not require stubble to be removed from the farms, and sowing can be done without plowing for adding fertilizers. In this method, stubble gets decomposed in the farm itself and acts as a fertilizer.

Stubble burning causes severe damage to soil and the environment

As per the experts, stubble burning causes air pollution and reduces the fertility of the soil. It increases the ground’s temperature and kills friendly insects and microbes that are essential for good plant growth. As a result, the farmer has to use more chemical fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, etc. that further affects soil quality.

240% increase of stubble burning incidents in Punjab

Congress’s Amrinder Singh-led Punjab government has miserably failed in controlling stubble burning. As a result, the incidents of stubble burning have increased by 240% this year compared to last year. On the other hand, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have seen a decline of more than 30% this year.

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