VRGR '%&((!1#VCEB R BP A"'!#$#1!$"#0$"T utqBVQWBuxy( P R elhi is experiencing the Dcoldest winter in over a century. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared Monday as a coldest day in the national Capital in 119 years with max- imum temperature dipping to 9.4 degrees Celsius at P Safdarjung (official) observa- tory. The Regional Weather Forecast Centre (RWFC) has predicted no relief from cold wave on Tuesday. O Sixteen flights were divert- ed and four cancelled at the Delhi airport on Monday due to heavy fog, an official said. Many trains were running late. Citing 24 hours tempera- ture trend, the IMD said the P Aya Nagar observatory record- ed day temperature at 7.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Ridge 8.4 degrees Celsius, Palam 9 and Lodi Road 9.2 around 11.30 pm on Sunday. degrees Celsius. The deceased have been Forecasting weekly weath- s the fog engulfed Delhi- identified as Mahesh (35), er for the national Capital, the ANCR on Sunday night Kishan Lal (50), Neeresh (17), RWFC has predicted rain on dropping the visibility to zero, Ram Khiladi (75), Mallu (12) January 1, 2 and 3 while degrees Celsius January 1 mal for this day of the year. was recorded 9.4 degrees ing 9.4 degrees Celsius and six people, including two and Netrapal (40), all residents December 31 is still tagged as onwards. “Today was the coldest day Celsius. “Delhi is likely to Palam 9.0 degrees Celsius,” minors, were killed when their of Sambhal district in Uttar “cold wave” day. There will be Low visibility in Delhi and recorded for the December,” record the coldest day today in IMD tweeted. Maruti Etriga car skidded off Pradesh. Police said there was O no respite before January 3 as National Capital Region (NCR) Kuldeep said. last 119 years for December On Monday, a thick blan- the road and fell into a canal one more car accompanying minimum temperature will delayed thirty trains. Kuldeep Around 3.30 pm, the IMD month as day temperature till ket of fog engulfed Delhi and in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater them and they all were going fluctuate around 3-4 degrees Srivastava, head RWFC, said announced that Delhi is likely 14.30 IST of today has been the minimum temperature set- Noida. Five other occupants of to Delhi when the unfortunate Celsius, while maximum tem- the day temperature was almost to break previous records of unusually following a coldest tled at 2.6 degrees Celsius. the car suffered injuries in the incident occurred. perature will be around 16 half of what is considered nor- cold as maximum temperature trend with Safdarjung record- Continued on Page 4 accident that took place Continued on Page 4 R R lose on the heels of an espi- Conage racket busted with- in its ranks and the arrest of s expected Army Chief seven sailors, the Indian Navy AGeneral Bipin Rawat was has banned the use of smart- on Monday night appointed the phones and Facebook by its first ever Chief of Defence personnel within naval estab- Staff (CDS). He will assume lishments and on warships. charge on December 31 when The arrested sailors were he retires as the Army Chief. honey-trapped and allegedly Vice Chief of Army Manoj blackmailed through social Mukund Naravane will take aharashtra Chief Minister media to pass on sensitive over as the next Army Chief. MUddhav Thackeray on information. The CDS will have a tenure Monday sprang a surprise by “Directive on use of smart of three years or will serve till including his son Aditya phones and social media for the age of 65. Rawat will com- Thackeray in his team and naval personnel were always plete 62 years when he retires carried out his first full-fledged there. The new instructions on as the Army Chief. The Union expansion of his Ministry by smartphones are that these Cabinet on Tuesday last week inducting Ajit Pawar as Deputy cannot be used within naval comfort, however, the decision the Eastern Naval command submarines after they fell into had approved the creation of Chief Minister and 35 new establishments and naval plat- is in the larger national inter- headquarters besides the sen- a honey-trap through social the CDS. He will function as Ministers in his Cabinet. forms. Social media, use of est, they added. sitive submarine building cen- media in 2018. the Principal Military Adviser With the expansion, the Facebook, is banned for all The latest order comes tre where the nuclear sub- Incidentally, a similar case to the Defence Minister and Cabinet size has gone up to 43, naval personnel,” Navy sources days after the Andhra Pradesh marines Arihant are under involving at least two soldiers head the new department of the maximum for 288-member said here on Monday. For mes- Police along with the Navy construction, the Western leaking information through military affairs in the Defence Maharashtra Assembly. saging apps, instructions are intelligence unit and Central Naval command is based in social media came to light two Ministry. Ajit Pawar, who returned as expected to be issued shortly, intelligence agencies arrested Mumbai. The lone aircraft car- months back in Rajasthan Since Rawat is the senior the Deputy Chief Minister of they added. seven sailors, besides a hawala rier INS Vikramaditya’s base is despite the armed forces regu- most Service Chief, as the CDS the State for a record fourth The latest orders are in line operator. The sailors were in Karwar, Karnataka. larly cautioning its personnel to he will first among equals time, and 35 other Ministers, Mumbai. number of Ministers in the with ensuring the security of arrested from Visakhapatnam, The spy racket was busted be careful on social media. among service chiefs. The including Aditya Thackeray Of the Ministers who were Uddhav Thackeray Cabinet information, officials said stat- Mumbai and Karwar naval on December 19 by the Andhra The Army recently warned CDS, who will draw salary and former Chief Minister administered oath by the has risen to 43, including that ing the recent incident involv- establishments. They report- Pradesh Intelligence its personnel against 150 fake equivalent to the Services Ashok Chavan, were sworn Governor, 25 are of the Cabinet of the Chief Minister. ing the seven sailors in edly passed on unauthorised Department in a joint opera- social media profiles, including Chiefs, will be responsible for into office by Maharashtra rank, while the remaining 10 Sena spokesperson Sanjay Visakhapatnam has also been information about movement tion with the Navy code named of phoney spiritual gurus and rationalising weapons pro- Governor Bhagat Singh are Ministers of State. Raut’s MLA-brother Sunil Raut taken into consideration while of warships and other opera- “Dolphin’s Nose.” The police babas, being used by Pakistan’s curement procedures, besides Koshyari at an oath-taking cer- With the induction of 36 couldn’t find a place in the arriving at this decision. “We tional details through social claimed the sailors, recruited in Intelligence officers to honey- integrating the operation of the emony held on the Vidhan new Ministers, including the Cabinet expansion. do understand that this may media to a Pakistan handler. 2017, passed information like trap officials for extracting armed forces. Bhavan premises in south Deputy Chief Minister, the Continued on Page 4 come at the cost of some dis- While Visakhapatnam has locations of naval ships and sensitive military information. Continued on Page 4 R the anti-CAA demonstrators. A ingenious style of protest to day in the life of an ordinary express their resentment. gitations by political parties Hindu family begins in Tamil Women activists belonging Ausually bring anxious Nadu with the lady of the house to the DMK and the CPI(M) area (1,483 sq km), the report moments in the minds of ordi- cleaning the courtyard or the assembled at Besant Nagar, a said. nary people for fear of violence. entrance and decorating the high-end residential area and he forest-and-tree cover in The tree cover, which refers The opposition against the area with Kolams made of white started drawing Kolams with Tthe country has increased to small patches of less than 1 Citizenship Amendment Act rice powder. anti-CAA messages and slo- by 5,188 square kilometres in hectare outside forests, is esti- 2019 drawing thousands of They draw Kolams in dif- gans inscribed in them. Taken the last two years, but in the mated at 95,027 sqkm, which is people to rallies across Tamil ferent sizes, shapes and mod- aback by the intruders who North-East it is on the decline. 2.89 percent of the geographi- Nadu is no exception as there els. “It is a way to welcome drew a kind of “surrealistic” India is also on track to achieve cal area. is apprehension that the law gods, prosperity and happiness. Kolams in front of their hous- its goal of creating an additional The top five States in terms and order may go haywire. The expertise with which the es, the residents opposed the art carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion of increase in forest cover are But the last two days saw Kolams are drawn is a measure work because the contents were tonnes under the Paris Karnataka (1,025 sqkm), the anti-CAA demonstrations in of the devotion and dedication not in tune with tradition. Agreement, Environment Andhra Pradesh (990 sqkm), Tamil Nadu taking a new turn. the lady has for gods as well as Following objections raised Minister Prakash Javadekar Kerala (823 sqkm), Jammu & There are no rallies holding up her house,” said Vijayashree by the residents, the activists said while releasing the biennial Kashmir (371 sqkm) and traffic or throwing normal life Ramesh, advocate and social moved over to the public road India State Forest Report 2019.