Nuh (Haryana) (PTI): Heavy security arrangements are in place here and in adjoining areas with anti-riot vehicles and drones deployed in view of the Sarv Jatiya Hindu Mahapanchayat's call for a 'shobha yatra' on Monday, officials said.

Authorities have denied permission for the yatra.

As a precautionary measure, the Nuh district administration has already ordered the closure of educational institutions and banks on Monday, suspended mobile Internet and bulk SMS services, and imposed prohibitory orders in the communally-sensitive district.

Outsiders have been barred from entering Nuh with security personnel being deployed at all the entry points of the district.

Haryana Police personnel and paramilitary forces have been deployed to keep a strict vigil.

Security has been tightened at inter-state and inter-district borders, they said.

Multiple layers of barricades have been erected by police at various points and all vehicles entering Nuh were thoroughly checked by security personnel. Anti-riot vehicles and drones have also been deployed.

Communal clashes had erupted in Nuh and its adjoining areas after a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession was attacked by a mob on July 31, leading to the death of six people, including two home guards and a cleric.

On August 13, the Sarv Jatiya Hindu Mahapanchayat gave a call to resume the Brij Mandal Shobha Yatra in Nuh on August 28 which was disrupted by the communal clashes in July.

The VHP has said the procession will be taken out and asserted that there is no need to obtain permission for such religious events. However, the authorities have denied permission for the yatra.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday had asked devotees to offer prayers at temples in their neighbourhood instead of holding any 'yatra'. Permission has not been granted for the 'yatra', he had also said.

August 28 is the last Monday of the holy month of Shravan.

According to police, 1,900 Haryana Police personnel and 24 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed.

All entry points to Nuh have been sealed and the road leading to the Nalhar temple has also been closed.

Deputy Commissioner of Nuh, Dhirendra Khadgata, has deputed 57 duty magistrates at designated places in the wake of the call for the 'shobha yatra'.

He also appealed to the locals to cooperate with the district administration in maintaining law and order.

Haryana Police chief Shatrujeet Kapur on Saturday had said the administration has denied permission for the yatra due to a meeting of the G20 Sherpa Group, scheduled to be held in Nuh from September 3 to 7, and to maintain law and order in the aftermath of the July 31 violence.

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Batumi (Georgia), Jul 26 (PTI): Young Indian International Master Divya Deshmukh held her nerves to hold stalwart Koneru Humpy to a draw in game 1 of the FIDE Women's World Cup final, with both players having their share of opportunities to take the lead here on Saturday.

The draw with black means Humpy, the two-time World Rapid champion, holds a slight edge going in the second and final game under the classical chess rules in the two-game mini-match, and should the deadlock continue, games of shorter duration will be played to determine the winner.

Humpy employed the Queen's gambit accepted as black and it turned out to be a pretty fascinating game right out of the opening as Divya, 19, came up with a piece sacrifice early to deny the black king the right to castle.

Humpy was the first to err and, according to computers, Divya had things under control on the 14th move. However in her bid to recover the extra material, the Nagpur girl, who has secured a place in the Candidates tournament with her sterling performance here, missed a promising continuation.

What followed the exchange of all minor pieces and the ensuing queen and rook endgame gave enough counter play to both players. The game was eventually drawn after Humpy sacrificed her rook to force perpetual checks.

"The game saw an extremely sharp battle with the game ending in a draw in 41 moves. On move 7, Divya made her aggressive intentions clear by offering another pawn,

which looked like home preparation. Humpy made a practical decision of refraining from taking the pawn and a balanced position was reached by move 10 by white," said Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay, an Arjuna awardee and the first Indian to get a chess Grandmaster norm.

"However, instead of developing the undeveloped Knight, Humpy retreated the centralised Knight on move 10, giving huge positional advantage to Divya. Divya could have gained huge positional advantage on the 12th move by moving a rook. However, she chose to play for King side attack by sacrificing a piece instead.

"Humpy, too, erred at this stage and instead of moving the King to Queen side, moved it to the King side. Divya, on move 14, could have obtained a crushing attack by threatening a mate by developing her Queen. Instead she chose to exchange a pair of Bishops first, which enabled Humpy to defend her King by returning the piece," said Thipsay.

"Players thus reached a balanced Queen and two Rooks ending. Divya continued to play ambitiously and tried to attack Humpy’s King but the latter defended accurately and the game was drawn in 41 moves by perpetual check," he added.

In the play-off for the third place, Chinese players Zhongyi Tan, the former women's world champion and top seed Lei Tingjie also decided to split points out of a Queen’s gambit declined game.

The opening raised visions of a close contest between the two but having been knocked out of title race in the previous round, none of them wanted to take any huge risk. It was still a middle game when the players shook hands.

With the top two positions sealed for the Indians, the berth to the next Candidates is also assigned, while the player finishing third will also get an entry to the premier event scheduled for 2026.

Results: Divya Deshmukh (Ind) drew with Koneru Humpy (Ind); Zhongyi Tan (Chn) drew with Tingjie Lei (Chn).