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THESUNDAYEXPRESS,FEBRUARY14,2021 3 EXPRESS NETWORK

Builders’ lobby FormerDUprofSaibabatests asks for govt intervention CovidpositiveinNagpurjail after cement, steel price rise the letter,the twohaveclaimed leading to inflammationand Recent newspaper reportsindi- VIVEKDESHPANDE that the test wasperformedat blockage. The familywas worried catethat there is ashortageof Pune: CREDAI Pune Metro–the NAGPUR,FEBRUARY13 their request“as Saibabain- about this situationand thus re- medicalkitsinthe hospital as it consortium of realtors of the re- formedusovertelephone that he questedfor parole in order to re- is overcrowded,” the letter fur- gion–hassoughtgovernmentin- FORMER DELHI Universitypro- wasfacing severe symptoms of move him from the Prison, which ther read. tervention in the rising prices of fessor GNSaibaba, who wascon- the virus infection”. had asevereoutbreak lastyear. Vasantha Kumari and G constructionraw materialand victedforhaving Naxal linksby a Saibaba's wifehas been ex- All the parole requests were re- Ramadevulu have also said,“We what they claim as the cartelisa- Gadchiroli court in 2017,has pressing apprehension that her jected.Currently, he hasasevere requestyour highnesstoshift tionby cementandsteelmanufac- tested positive forCovid-19 in husband is likelytocontractthe headache, constant breathless- him to agoodprivate hospital in turers. The body has submitted a Nagpur CentralPrison. virus, saying it might provedetri- ness, afrequent bout of hiccups, Nagpur thathas all necessaryfa- memorandum to the district col- Confirming thenews, Jail mental to his lifesince he has sev- blockednose and throat with se- cilities forCovid-19treatment.” lector,Rajesh Deshmukh, seeking Superintendent Anup Kumre eral comorbidities. Severalear- vere joint and muscle pains," the Twodays ago, underworld his intervention in the matter. told The IndianExpress, “He had lier attemptsbySaibaba's letter stated. donArun Gawli, who is also Apress statement issuedby little bit of cold, cough and fever. lawyerstoget bailfor him on “Out of the 25 prisoners lodgedin Nagpur prison, had also the body stated that it hasap- So, we got himtestedon health grounds were rejected by tested along withSaibaba, 10 tested positive forCovid-19. pealedto thegovernmentauthor- Thursday. His reportcameon the Nagpur benchofBombay tested positive, whichindicates Gawliwas granted parole ResidentsofKoregaon Park,alongwith members of the city Congress unit, paytributeto ities fortheir intervention. Fridayand he wasfoundtobeco- High Court. that an outbreak in Nagpur severaltimes, including forhis victims of the German BakeryBlast, on the 11th anniversaryofthe terror attack. Ashish Kale “Construction rawmaterial in- rona positive. We have sent him “This is aserious attackon CentralJail is morethanlikely. In son'sand daughter's wedding. cluding steel and cement arevital to Government Medical College Saibaba, who suffers from 19 circumstances likethis, Saibaba On one occasion he wasalso forthe revivaland survivalofreal and Hospital (GMCH) foracheck- health ailmentsand has serious mustimmediatelyberemoved granted paroletoattend his estate,whichisfacingchallenging up and once back, we will treat comorbidities, including heart from theunhygienic jail prem- mother's funeral. times...,” the release read. him hereinthe jail itself likewe and kidneyissues thatcan lead ises.Saibaba wasassigned two Saibaba, however, wasdenied Left parties oppose bid to privatise Manydevelopers,thepressre- have treatedother inmates.” to further complications under helpers, both of whom tested parole even to attend his lease stated,would be forced to Asked if he will be kept iso- Covid-19. Currently,hehas avery negativefor Covid-19. Currently, mother's funeral. halt their constructionworkifthe lated from others, Kumresaid, high fever with lowoxygenlev- he has no helpers to take careof Kumresaid that currently10 rural water works management pricesof thekeyraw materialcon- “He is already lodged in asepa- els, whichmight drop further if dailyneeds. Thefamily is ex- inmates were Covid-19positive tinues to rise. “With the thin mar- rate Anda cell.Hewill be treated he does notreceivetreatment or tremely concernedabout this as and undertreatment in the Ayush Prasad said this move worksare non-functional. At gins, manydevelopers maybe in his cell by the jail doctor.” is in stressful environments.His thereisnoone to take careof prison. PARTHASARATHIBISWAS will bring in transparency and leastgiving them on private pub- forced to halt construction work, Saibaba's wifeASVasantha heartcondition (Hypertrophic him. Being apatient with active Saibaba's parole plea,which PUNE,FEBRUARY13 accountability in watersupply lic partnershipmodel will ensure therebyimpactingthe delivery of Kumari andhis brotherG Cardiomyopathywith leftven- comorbidities that can be trig- he had filedtomeethis ailing management, whichhas long theyare maintainedproperly theprojects,leadingto penaltyun- Ramadevuluhavewritten to tricular dysfunction) along with gereddue to Covid-19,heneeds mother at Hyderabad latelast ADECISION by the Pune Zilla been plagued by various grey and areworking,”hesaid. der RERA and other authorities. Maharashtra Chief Minister hypertension canbeaggravated active treatmentand care. The year,was also rejected. The ad- Parishad, to issue tenders invit- areas. Citing the example of village Due to this, thehomebuyers,too, UddhavThackeray to shifthim to due to Covid-19asithas been re- GMCHisnot an optimal place to ministration had citedthe reason ing private partiestomanage “The Zilla Parishadlacks the Dhamani, Patil said awater work will have to bear the conse- some private hospital withgood ported to causestrainonthe shifthim as it is highlyinfected of Hyderabad being acontain- and maintaineightrural water manpowertomaintainwater scheme wascompletedinthe vil- quences,” it said.. Covid-19treatment facilities. In heart to pumpout moreblood, and overflowing with patients. ment zone. works, has been opposedby worksroundthe clock.Also, lagealmost14monthsago at the As per the memorandum,the Leftparties. manyparts of watersupplyre- costofRs2.86 crore. “But the price of cement (50 kg) in thelast Speaking to The Indian quirefrequentattention in case schemedid notworkfor asingle twoyearsfromJanuary2019to Fire in engine room of Express, CPI-MleaderAjit of failure, whichistime consum- day. If givenunder PPP,itwill December 2020 has increased CM says 22-year-old Abhyankar said thiswas the ing. Ruralwater workswerede- work at least,”hesaid. from Rs 360 to Rs 430, whereas firststeptowards privatisation signedtoenable supplyoftap However, Abhyankar op- steel price (per tonne) has in- woman’s death in Pune offshore vessel;one officer of watersupplyand suchastep watertothe lasthousehold, but posedthis idea and saidhis party creasedfromRs40,000 to Rs has notworkedanywherein because of manyoperational would soon be taking astudied 58,000in thesame period. suffers 95% burns, 3missing the country. constraints,thathas nothap- stand on this matter.“Thisisthe Suhas Merchant,president, to be probed properly Earlier this week,the Pune pened,” he said. firststeptowards privatisation of CREDAI-Pune Metro, said, “The Mumbai. ZillaParishadhad floatedtenders Therehavebeen complaints waterworks.Across the nation, increasein thepricesof construc- hours of February7.Nosuicide SAGARRAJPUT The injured officer has been to invite bids formaintaining and of illegal waterconnectionsand the experience of people who tion rawmaterials, including steel EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE note wasfound afterthe inci- MUMBAI,FEBRUARY13 identifiedasGurbeender Singh, collecting waterbillsfromvil- waterthefts from the main lines had optedfor such aschemehas and cement, is highlyunethical MUMBAI,PUNE,FEBRUARY13 dent. Acase of accidental death while the three missing crew lagesserved by the eight rural which, due to lackofadequate notbeengood.Thereisnoneed and amountstounfairand re- wasregisteredatthe Wanavdi AFIRE wasreportedinside the members areAneeth Anthony, waterworks in the district. The manpower, have notbeenpossi- forPune to go forsuchascheme,” strictive trade practices. We ap- CHIEF MINISTER Uddhav police station andaprobe was engine room of an offshoresup- AkshayNikam and Ranjit waterworks in question arelo- bletodetect on time. he said. peal the government at the state Thackeray on Saturday said a launchedtoascertain the cause plyvessel, Greatship Rohini, Sawant, working as 4thengineer, cated in the talukas of Former ShivSenaMP The matterwould be dis- andcentralleveltotakethis issue properinquiry will be con- of her death. early on Saturday.According to fitter and oiler. Ambegaon, Purandhar,Maval, ShivajiraoAdhalrao Patilalso cussedatvarious levels and a as it is essential to control the ducted into the death of a22- Following arequest received CoastGuardofficials, 18 mem- "Theyare believedtobe Baramati andMulshi. supportedthe idea of tenders. studieddecision would betaken, price rise... forconstruction to be year-old woman in Pune and through aTwitter post,the bers were on boardthe vessel, trappedinthe engine room," an Pune ZillaParishad CEO “Mostofthe time, rural water he said. started in full swing...”. —ENS the truth of the matter will pre- NCWhas takencognizance of and 15 were rescued. One crew official said. AfterCoastGuard of- vail. Thackeray's statement the matter. member,who worked as an ficials receivedinformation comes in wake of allegations “Chairperson Rekha Sharma electricalofficer,sustained95 about the incident,theydiverted UP MLA,ex-MP motherbooked in Gangsters Act linking aShivSena ministerto has written to theDGP, per cent burn injuriesand is un- OffshorePatrol Vessel Samarth the woman's death. Maharashtra, seeking appropri- dergoing treatment at Masina to the scene. leader in the FIR, whichwas reg- stations in Shamli. Kairana policestation in-charge "A proper inquirywill be ateaction. The Commission has hospital,officials said. Three per- Officials said initiallyMV EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE isteredonFebruary6bythe “Wehaveslapped the Premveer Singh Rana told The conducted andthe truth will also sought adetailedaction sons, however, were still missing Albatross-5, whichwas operat- MEERUT,FEBRUARY13 Kairana Kotwali police station in- GangsterAct against40persons Sunday Express. come out. Action will be taken takenreportinthe matter at the and asearch operationwas still ingaround the place of the inci- charge himselfafter arecom- including the MLAand his “This is notthe firsttime that againstthose responsible. But earliest. Acopyofthe letter has underway, they added. dent, tiedahawser from the SAMAJWADI PARTYlegislator mendationbyShamli District mother.Noaction has yetbeen Ihavebeen bookedunder ficti- thereshould notbeany attempt also been sent to the additional Officials further said the forecastle of Greatship Rohini from Kairana Nahid Hasan, his MagistrateJasjit Kaur. takenagainstanyone so farbe- tious chargesbythe police at be- to destroy someone's life. At the commissioner of police, East three missing crew members and pulleditout to asafeloca- two-time Lok Sabha MP mother, Hasan, 33,already faces cause we arestill investigating hestofthe stategovernment. same time, thereshould be no Region, Pune,” statedaNCW were believedtobetrappedin tion from the NQO platform rig. and 38 of their supporters have around adozen cases including the charges. Suchisthe clout of The cases againstmeare slapped attempt to hide the truth,"said press release. the engine room. The incident The patrol vessel,withits ad- been booked under the Uttar attempt to murder,forgery and the Hasan familyinthe area that due to political vendetta,” said Thackeray while speaking to the DGP Nagrale has sought are- took place around 8.57am, vancedexternal firefightingsys- Pradesh Gangsters Act. attempt to fancommunal ten- no one can daretostand in wit- Hasan, who defeated Mriganka media when askedabout the port from thePune City Police re- when the vessel wasnear NQO tem, is working in coordination The MLA, whose familyis sion. He wasjailedlastyear in ness and none can daretoregis- Singh, the daughter of influen- Sena minister's link to the garding the investigation into Platform of Mumbai High, which withOSV Priya27for controlling known forits clout in Kairana, connection with apending case teranFIR againstany member of tial BJP leaderHukum Singh,in woman's death. Chavan's death. is 92 nautical miles northwestof the fire. has been namedasthe gang in Kairana and Jhinjhana police thefamilyand theirsupporters,” the 2017 Assemblyelection. The National Commission for Earlier,citing Chavan's al- Women also sought areport leged association with aminis- from MaharashtraDirector ter, theBJP had demandeda General of Police, Hemant thorough investigation intothe Nagrale, regarding the deathof death. Former chief minister the woman, who is suspected to Devendra Fadnavis has alsowrit- have diedbysuicide in theearly tentoNagrale in thisregard. Rescue ops focus on drilling through slush-choked tunnel

LALMANIVERMA DEHRADUN,FEBRUARY13

HAVINGFAILED in reachingclose to labourerstrappedinthetunnel of NTPC’s hydropower projectin TapovanareaofUttarakhand's Chamoli districtevensix days af- tersludgechoked thetunnel fol- lowingaflashflood,rescueteams Rescue and restoration work continuedremovalofslush in at Raini village. PTI IntakeAdit tunnel and drilling in- side silt filtration tunnel passing 12 metres belowthe tunnel on cm. District MagistrateSwati S Saturday. More than30peopleare Bhadauriyasaid that drilling for feared trappedinthe tunnel. rescue operation inside the tun- No body wasrecoveredon nelwascontinuingandNDRFper- Saturday, andconfirmedcausali- sonnel on Saturdaystarted look- ties in theflash food so farare 38. ing forpeople who went missing Morethan166 people arestill near the barrage of Tapovan missing,officialssaid.OnSaturday, powerproject site. Garhwal Commissioner Ravinath DIG (Lawand Order) Neelesh Raman held ameeting with offi- Anand Bharneysaid 14 FIRs have cials of the NTPC,the Army, ITBP been lodgedinconnectionwith andNDRFto discusschallengesin the missingpeople. the rescue operation and the Ateam of StateDisaster progress on the ongoing work. Response Forceinspected the Accordingto areleasefromthe temporarylakeformedataheight stategovernment,NTPC authori- of 3,600m–about6kmupstream tieshave statedthattheyare likely of Raini village. With villagers to getsomeinformationaboutthe downstreamfearinganotherflash situationinsidethetunnelin10to flooddueto formationof thelake, 12 hours.AnNTPCofficialsaidthat the SDRF team has developeda drilling up to the depth of 12 me- manual early warning system by trewas completedbut there was deploying teams of personnel in notenoughspaceto loweracam- Pang, Tapovanand Raini villages. erathrough that. Hence,another These teams will alertvillagesby heavymachine hasbeen pressed satellitephones and public ad- intoservice todaytoincrease the dresssystemif anyemergencysit- diameterofdrilledareaupto30 uation arises, officialssaid.

Pune