No respite from wild terror in Bahraich
A year after it grappled with terror unleashed by wild animals -- wolves, leopards, tigers -- Bahraich, the border district, 130 km from Lucknow, is again struggling with the same menace. During the past three months, 12 kids have been killed and as many of them injured, and nine wolves neutralised. The human-wild conflict has also taken a toll on a divisional forest officer (DFO) who was shifted for slackness. The newly-appointed DFO Sundaresha says his priority is not only to identify wolves targeting human habitations but also to scientifically examine the sudden spurt in wolf attacks in the district. “We are trying to rope in NGOs,” he said.
Budget utilisation slow in few departments
With three months remaining in the financial year, at least 20 departments of UP government have shown slow spending, hovering around just 50% utilisation. To address the issue, CM Yogi called a meeting of all these departments. The CM noted that budget utilisation was slow in a few departments and that ministers and officers concerned should hold monthly meetings to ensure that maximum fund utilisation takes place before the year-end. He also directed the finance department to release any pending allocations to these 20 departments and asked the officials to pursue any pending budget release from the Centre.
Annual Magh Mela off to a rocky start
Even before the annual Magh Mela could start on the Paush Purnima on Saturday, it was caught in a little controversy, when the Mela Administration denied permission to the Mulayam Singh Yadav Smriti Sewa Sansthan (MSYSSS) to install the statue of the SP founder at its camp as it did during the Maha Kumbh last year. The Prayagraj Police also slapped police case against the camp organiser former SP candidate from Prayagraj city (West), Sandeep Yadav. After the denial of permission, the MSYSSS members installed idols of Radha and Lord Krishna with full rituals in the presence of LoP Mata Prasad Pandey on January 1.
Namita Bajpai
Our correspondent in Uttar Pradesh
namita.bajpai@newindianexpress.com