Man gets life imprisonment for ISI links
Bhubaneswar, Feb 11: A local court in Odisha’s Balasore on Thursday awarded life imprisonment to former contractual cameraman of Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) Ishwar Behera on charges of espionage. Balasore Additional District Judge (ADJ) court convicted and awarded life imprisonment to Behera, former cameraman at DRDO’s Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur for his links with Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI. Behera was arrested in January 2015 for passing confidential information to ISI regarding testing of missiles at the ITR. He was convicted under Sections 121, 121A and 120B of the IPC, and 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, informed Nalini Kumar Panda, public prosecutor. (PTI)
Persuade consumers pay power bills
Lucknow, Feb 11: With the UP power corporation running into losses to the tune of a whopping Rs 90,000 crore, state Power Minister Shrikant Sharma on Thursday asked officials to persuade consumers to pay their pending bills. Alarmed over the mounting losses, Sharma, however, maintained that the snapping of power connections is not a solution. “In such a situation, powermen should knock doors of consumers, whose bills are pending, and persuade them for payments. Snapping connection is not an alternative, this should be kept in mind,” the minister said according to a statement. At a meeting with officials, the minister directed them to ensure uninterrupted power supply to consumers in summer and make necessary preparations by March 31 in this regard. (PTI)
Sarojini Naidu’s birth anniversary
Lucknow, Feb 11: The Samajwadi Party has decided to celebrate the birth anniversary of Uttar Pradesh’s first governor and freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu on February 13 as the National Women’s Day. The direction was issued by SP president Akhilesh Yadav, the party’s chief spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhury said on Thursday. “On this day, SP will hold ‘Samajwadi Mahila Ghera’ programmes at all district headquarters in which issues faced by women will be discussed in conferences,” he said. “In the BJP regime, rape and crime against women have increased. (PTI)
CBSE issues guidelines
New Delhi, Feb 11: The Central Board of Secondary Education has directed schools under it to take steps to identify and resolve learning gaps, and then conduct examinations for Classes 9 and 11 by following COVID-19 safety protocols. The board has also recommended that the new academic session begin from April 1. “For Classes 9 and 11, schools should take steps to identify and remedy the learning gaps and thereafter, conduct examinations by strictly following COVID-19 safety protocols as per the Examination Bye-Laws,” the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Controller of Examination Sanyam Bhardwaj said in a letter to school principals. “This exam will also help in identifying learning gaps which could be addressed by schools in the new academic session, at the beginning of classes, by having a bridge course specially designed to address learning gaps,” he said. (PTI)