A look at the top news today, February 25, 2021. Good morning,
Big Story
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh says extending the stay on the implementation of farm laws from 18 to 24 months might end the protracted standoff between the farmers and Centre. He also warned of serious security implications given the inflow of weapons from Pakistan into Punjab since the agitation began. Read his full interview here.
Only in the Express
Milk prices have recorded an unseasonal rise this year. The prices generally rise during summers, when buffaloes and cows produce less, and ease during winter and spring when they calve and reach peak lactation. This natural cycle has, however, reversed in 2020-21.
A two-kilometre stretch connecting Padalput and Majhiguda villages in Odisha is filled with potholes. When two students who were on their way to school on their cycles met with a minor accident, the remaining students decided to take matters into their hands and repair the road.
P Chidambaram writes on the 2021 Union Budget: “Budget numbers are indeed estimates; estimates can go wrong despite well-founded assumptions. I must nevertheless point out that an ill-advised attempt to fudge the numbers and present a so-called ‘budget for growth’ is unpardonable. It is the people that will pay a heavy price.”
From the Front Page
A Delhi court hearing the bail plea of activist Disha Ravi questioned the police on whether it had any evidence against Ravi or “are we required to draw inferences and conjectures”. It reserved its order for February 23.
Following the restoration of status quo ante on the north and south banks of Pangong Tso, Indian and Chinese commanders met on Saturday to discuss pullback of troops from the friction points at Hot Springs, Gogra Post and Depsang Plains in Ladakh. Disengagement of troops in Hot Springs and Gogra Post areas was attempted last July but Chinese reluctance to complete the process led to a stalemate.
Must Read
From setting up Twitter accounts to participating in trending topics online — a group of students, affiliated with the All India Students’ Federation (AISF), have been teaching agitating farmers at the Ghazipur border how to use social media to amplify their protest. For almost a month now, the group has also been running a library at the site.
An ambitious Rs 12,721 crore project to link South and North Mumbai with a toll-free freeway promises to change the face of the Mumbai coast at its southern tip. The road, a 10.58-km stretch starting from the Marine Drive promenade to the Worli-end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, is part of the larger Mumbai Coastal Road Project. With construction well underway, it’s the segment from Marine Drive to Girgaon Chowpatty that is attracting the most attention. Here, the road will run a kilometre or so under the sea, through a set of twin tunnels.
The new Ayodhya will be an experiential city, blending the old with the new, say those involved in preparing a blueprint for the masterplan. Delhi-based CP Kukreja Architects, who were selected for the job along with two other firms, proposed wider roads, a blue and green colour scheme to represent the supporting role of nature in the city, and enhanced transport infrastructure.
ICYMI
A group of former judges and top police officers has written to President Ram Nath Kovind on the Disha Ravi arrest, saying it was surprising that her age was being highlighted to prove innocence.
Stating that the second suspect in the Unnao double-murder case is not a minor as per his Aadhaar card, the UP police said it has several pieces of evidence that link both the accused persons to the alleged poisoning of the three Dalit girls.
While 18 states have not reported any new deaths in the last 24 hours, five states — Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra, MP, and Chhattisgarh — have been reporting an upsurge in daily cases.
Two anti-coup protesters were shot dead by riot police who fired live rounds Saturday in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, local media reported.
And Finally
On June 14, 1802, three-year-old Anna Dusthall became the first child in India to successfully receive the smallpox vaccine. From the pus formed on her skin upon vaccination, five more children were vaccinated in the city of Bombay. Thereon, enough vaccine material was collected using her lymph and sent to more places along the coast and the Deccan. As the COVID-19 inoculation gets underway in the country, we take a look back at the chequered history of smallpox vaccination in colonial India.
Until tomorrow,
Leela Prasad G and Rahel Philipose
