Express News Service
Cold winds bring in chill factor, fog blanket to stayThe winter chill is at peak in the city of nawabs which is now gripped in dense layer of fog along with cold winds increasing the impact of sweeping cold wave in this part of the country. Even a few showers here and a few moderate ones there are adding to the charm of the winter chill. Relief is not expected anytime soon with predictions of cloudy skies and a few spells of light rainfall till the weekend. However, the same sheet of fog did not allow sunshine during the day, resulting in a drop in maximum temperature to 18. 5 degrees Celsius, 2.4 units below normal. Weathermen call it western disturbance over the Himalayas and a cyclonic circulation over neighbouring Rajasthan.
AIMPLB objects to ‘Surya Namaskar’The apex Muslim organisation, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), has one again objected to Centre’s directive to organise ‘Surya Namaskar’ event in schools across the country to mark the 75-year Amrut Mahotsav country’s Independence calling a form of worshiping the Sun whereas Islam only permits worshiping the Almighty. The board said students should be asked to sing the national anthem instead to mark the occasion. In an official statement, board’s general secretary Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, said Muslim students at government schools must not be compelled to participate in the event and advised the Muslims not to take part in the ‘Surya Namaskar’ drill. The government should instead focus on issues such as unemployment and price rise, the AIMPLB said.
Railway station to be named after warrior queenJhansi Railway Station will soon be known as Veerangana Lakshmibai Railway Station, after its most famous warrior queen. The notification for name changing, coming in a year when the country is celebrating the 75th year of independence under Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsava, was issued recently. Jhansi would be fifth railway station in UP to undergo name change. Earlier, Mughalsarai railway station has been renamed after BJP ideologue Pundit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Railway Station, Similarly, Faizabad Raiway station has become Ayodhya, Allahabad had become Prayagraj railway station and Maduadih railway station of Varanasi is now known as Benaras station.
Govt website back with poet’s original name After clamour over alleged mischief by some cyber savvy miscreants who changed the pen name of well-known poet Akbar ‘Allahabadi’ to ‘Prayagraji’ on a website, officials rushed to restore the original name of the legendary poet and other literary figures belonging to the Sangam city. Besides Akbar ‘Allahabadi’, the names of two other literary figures – Tegh ‘Allahabadi’ and Rashid ‘Allahabadi’ – were also corrected. The website, whilereferring to poets and writers from Prayagraj, had said, “Besides Hindi literature, Persian and Urdu literature are also studied in the city. Akbar ‘Prayagraji’ is a noted modern Urdu poet…”
Namita bajpaiOur correspondent in Uttar Pradesh namita.bajpai@newindianexpress.com