The Uttar Pradesh government is set to increase the monthly honorarium of around 60,000 village watchmen, or ‘gram praharis’, by Rs 1,000, starting October 13.

The proposed increase will raise their monthly honorarium from Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,500, marking a 40 per cent hike. Each village watchman will receive an additional Rs 12,000 annually following the increase.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is expected to announce the decision during an event in Bareilly on October 13.

The Chief Minister is also scheduled to felicitate village watchmen at the Bareilly Police Lines during the programme.

The move comes after the state government raised the honorarium of cooks, Anganwadi workers and panchayat assistants in recent months. The government is now preparing to provide financial relief to village watchmen, who form an important link in the rural policing and information network.

Attached to local police stations, village watchmen relay information about suspicious activities, local disputes, and law-and-order issues to the police. They also help maintain communication between villages and police stations. They have been demanding an increase in their honorarium, and the proposed announcement is expected to address that demand.

With an estimated 60,000 village watchmen across the state, the proposed hike is expected to impose an additional financial burden of around Rs 7 crore per month and Rs 84 crore annually on the state exchequer.

Funds for the increase are likely to be provided for in a supplementary budget.

The government has taken similar decisions to increase the earnings of other categories of workers receiving an honorarium or allowance.

The monthly honorarium of around 3.53 lakh cooks preparing midday meals in government-run basic education schools has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000.

The honorarium of Anganwadi workers has been raised by Rs 4,000 per month, while that of Anganwadi helpers has been increased by Rs 2,000 per month.

Similarly, the monthly honorarium of more than 57,000 panchayat assistants has been raised from Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000. The daily allowance of Provincial Guards (Prantiya Rakshak Dal) volunteers has also been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 600.

Separately, the government is considering increasing monthly pensions for senior citizens, destitute women and persons with disabilities from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500. The proposal, which has received in-principle approval from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is likely to be placed before the state Cabinet in the second half of November.

The schemes currently cover more than 67 lakh senior citizens, 42 lakh destitute women and 12 lakh persons with disabilities. If approved, beneficiaries would receive an additional Rs 6,000 annually.

Two men, including a microfinance branch manager and a colliery employee, were killed after their motorcycle collided head-on with a Scorpio SUV on the Tamas River bridge on National Highway-30 in Madhya Pradesh’s Maihar district, police said on Monday.

According to police, the tragic accident occurred around 11.30 p.m. on Sunday on the Maihar-Rewa route. The motorcycle was heading towards Rewa, while the SUV was travelling in the opposite direction towards Maihar.

The collision was so severe that the front portion of the SUV was completely damaged. The occupants of the SUV allegedly abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene, police said.

Both motorcycle riders sustained critical injuries and were taken to the Civil Hospital in Maihar with police assistance. Doctors declared them dead on arrival, following which their bodies were shifted to the hospital mortuary.

The deceased were identified as Shivam Bathre (28), a resident of Shahpura Bhitauni in Jabalpur district, and Sujit Kol (32), a resident of Mauhari village in Satna district.

“Both men sustained critical injuries in the head-on collision. They were rushed to the Civil Hospital in Maihar, where doctors declared them dead,” a police official said.

Bathre worked as a branch manager at Swatantra Micro Finance in Amarpatan and lived in rented accommodation there. He was the only son in his family and had married in 2024. His wife gave birth to a son just 15 days before the accident.

Kol was employed as a supervisor at a colliery in Ambikapur. He had been married for five years and is survived by his wife and daughter.

According to preliminary information, Bathre had visited his home in Jabalpur on leave and parked his motorcycle at Maihar railway station. While returning to Maihar by train, he met Kol. The two then set out for Amarpatan on Bathre’s motorcycle, where the accident occurred.

“The occupants of the Scorpio fled after abandoning the vehicle. We are investigating the accident, and efforts are being made to trace those involved,” a police officer said.

The vehicles involved in the accident were a motorcycle bearing registration number MP 20 X 2815 and a Scorpio SUV with registration number UP 37 F 9818.

Lucknow, Oct 11: The Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday asserted that a change of power was certain in 2027 Assembly elections and criticized the Election Commission (EC) over alleged police action on the protesters in the national capital.

Speaking to the press, after paying respects to Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan at the Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow on latter’s birth anniversary, the SP supremo said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be shown the door by people in 2027 Uttar Pradesh polls and the ‘partisan’ Election Commission won’t be able to save its ‘sinking’ fortunes.

Swearing by the Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan (JP)’s ‘Total Revolution’ (Sampoorna Kranti) slogans, Akhilesh Yadav said that the movement remains relevant even today for challenging the regime and his party will bring out the ‘desired’ result by walking down that path.

“The process of change has begun. The anguish among the public will accelerate the process of change,” he added, after garlanding the statue of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan at the memorial.

The SP supremo also took a swipe over Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the Ayodhya seat, days after he challenged the latter to contest the elections from the holy city.

Responding to the Chief Minister’s questions regarding Ayodhya, Akhilesh Yadav said that “arrogant individuals” would not be able to withstand the strength of his ‘PDA’ (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak—Backward, Dalit, and Minority) alliance.

The SP Chief said that the public is now familiar with the BJP’s politics and the party will have to give befitting reply to its actions.

He claimed that a change would occur in 2027 and that the process has already begun.

He said that the BJP is rattled by political strength of the PDA and questioned the role of Election Commission.

He said that EC’s duty is to encourage maximum voter participation and ensure a smooth voting process.

Raising the issue of the alleged assault on residents of Uttar Pradesh in Delhi, Akhilesh Yadav questioned the Election Commission’s accountability and demanded its resignation.