Express News Service
Teaching music, arts and beyondBhatkhande Music University, known worldwide for teaching classical music and dance, is set to don a new avatar as Bhatkhande State Cultural University. As the name suggests, it will add a gamut of new courses ranging from visual and performing arts to philosophy and religion. Soon, the university will launch three new departments — visual arts, Indian history and culture, and Buddha and Jain studies, and expand all the existing ones. Altogether, 87 new courses would be launched. Admissions will begin in the first week of July. The university was elevated from a deemed university to a full-fledged state university in January this year.
UP to see ‘Flag Fest’ in AugustIn an initiative to mark the 75th year of Independence, the UP government will launch a drive to hoist the Tricolour atop 3.18 crore households and government establishments of the state. That makes two-third of the houses of UP. The Flag Fest would be celebrated between Aug. 11 and 17. The principal secretary of the urban development department has circulated an order to all the district magistrates and heads of civic bodies to launch awareness drives about the project. As per the urban development department, UP has about 4.68 crore residential units and nearly 50 lakh government and commercial establishments.
Former chiefs in dock over Gomti riverfrontThe Gomti Riverfront scam, said to be worth Rs 1,400 crore, is back to haunt two ex-chief secretaries — Alok Ranjan and Deepak Singhal. The CBI has sought the UP government’s nod for launching a probe into their role in the scam that allegedly took place during the SP rule. Ranjan was succeeded by Singhal as the chief secretary during the tenure of Akhilesh Yadav as the CM. The Gomti riverfront — Akhilesh’s dream project — was flagged by the Yogi government after it detected irregularities and handed over the probe to CBI, which lodged the first FIR in November 2017, naming 189 accused.
Namita bajpaiOur correspondent in Uttar Pradesh namita.bajpai@ newindianexpress.com