After the catastrophic cloudbursts hit different areas of Himachal Pradesh, including Samej, state minister Vikramaditya Singh on Saturday said that around 50 people are feared dead in the affected areas and the official number can only be declared after official confirmation and completion of rescue operations.
Mr Singh also said that the topmost priority of the state government is to retrieve the bodies and restore connectivity in the affected areas of the state as soon as possible.
Speaking with ANI, Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh...
Saturday, August 3, 2024
Friday, August 2, 2024
How Missed Warnings, "Over-Tourism" Aggravated Landslides In Wayanad
With a steeply pitched tiled roof piercing misty green hills in southern India and a stream gushing through rocks nearby, the Stone House Bungalow was one of the most popular resorts in the Wayanad area of Kerala state.
It was empty when two landslides early on Tuesday washed away the 30-year-old stone building: staff and tourists had left after rain flooded its kitchen a few days earlier.
But neighbouring dwellings in Mundakkai village were occupied and 205 people, almost all locals, were killed and scores are missing. Tourists had been warned...
Kukis Protest Against Centre's Move To Send 2 Assam Rifles Battalions To J&K
The government faces fresh challenges in Manipur after the Centre decided to move out two Assam Rifles (AR) battalions from the state to Jammu and Kashmir. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will replace the two AR battalions.
Nearly two dozen tribes under the Kuki banner have started protesting against the Centre's move, which they alleged would be destabilising as they considered the Assam Rifles a "neutral" force amid the ethnic tensions.
The protesters held a candlelight vigil in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts. They tried to stop...
Auto Driver Killed In Road Rage Near Delhi, Was Family's Sole Breadwinner
A 32-year-old auto-rickshaw driver, who was the sole breadwinner in his family and father to three kids, was killed in an alleged road rage incident in Faridabad.
Police identified the victim as Bunty, a native of Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh who earned his livelihood by driving an auto-rickshaw in Faridabad.
They said Bunty got into a dispute with a car driver near Nagla Chowk on Thursday when his auto-rickshaw brushed past the four-wheeler.
The car driver allegedly beat him up brutally and fled the scene. Bunty was rushed to the civil hospital by...
Youtuber Puts Cycle, Bricks On Railway Tracks For Clicks, Arrested
In a major crackdown on reckless behaviour, the Railway Protection Force has arrested a YouTuber for endangering public safety by criminal tampering with railway tracks for publicity.
Viral videos on Twitter had shown a person placing various kinds of objects on railway tracks, prompting an urgent investigation. The culprit, Gulzar Sheikh has uploaded more than 250 videos on his YouTube channel and has over 2 lakhs subscribers. His on-camera activities posed a significant risk to both railway safety and operations.
Through a detailed analysis of...
Thursday, August 1, 2024
इजरायल के जिस दुश्मन को मोसाद ने दिया था जहर, नेतन्याहू ने उसे क्यों बचाया था? अब वह होगा हमास का चीफ
खालिद मेशाल (Khaled Mashaal) अस्पताल के बिस्तर पर पड़ा था और मर रहा था.. उसके खून में जहर बह रहा था.. इससे उसका श्वसन तंत्र आहिस्ता-आहिस्ता काम करना बंद करता जा रहा था. एक मशीन के जरिए उसके फेफड़ों को आक्सीजन दी जा रही थी. उसकी जिंदगी के चंद दिन ही बचे थे. फिलिस्तीनी आतंकी संगठन हमास (Hamas) के संस्थापकों में शामिल रहे मेशाल की जान एक एंटीडॉट, यानी जहर का असर खत्म करने वाली दवा ही बचा सकती थी. लेकिन यह दवा वही व्यक्ति दे सकता था जिसने जहर दिया था, यानी कि जिसने मेशाल की हत्या की कोशिश की थी... और वह व्यक्ति थे इजरायल (Israel) के प्रधानमंत्री बेंजामिन...
Meitei, Hmar Leaders Meet In Manipur's Jiribam, Agree To Bring Normalcy
Representatives of the Meitei community and the Hmar tribe held a peace meeting in Manipur's Jiribam today, and agreed to work for normalcy nearly two months after ethnic violence reached the district bordering Assam.
The district commissioner, and senior officers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Assam Rifles (AR) moderated the meeting at the CRPF group centre, the representatives said in a statement jointly signed by them.
Both sides will make full efforts to bring normalcy and prevent incidents of arson and firing, they said...
Adani Energy's Share Sale Subscribed 6 Times With Rs 50,000 Crore Demand
Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller's family office-led investment firms have made their maiden bet on Adani group, seeking shares of the conglomerate's power transmission unit in an institutional sale that was oversubscribed six times and fetching demand of over Rs 50,000 crore against an issue size of USD 1 billion.
Duquesne Family Office and two other US-based long-only funds - Driehaus Capital Management and Jennison Associates - invested in the qualified institutional placement (QIP) of Adani Energy Solutions, sources with direct knowledge of...
"Relationship Gone Sour": High Court Cancels Rape Case Against 73-Year-Old
The Bombay High Court has quashed a case lodged against a 73-year-old man for allegedly sexually abusing a woman since 1987, noting that the relationship was consensual.
A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Neela Gokhale on Wednesday said the contents of the FIR "clearly indicate a consensual relationship".
The bench also noted the FIR was lodged in 2018 and there has been no explanation for the delay.
"The parties were indulging in sexual relationship for as many as 31 years. The complainant has never breathed a word about her alleged...
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
New FASTag Rules To Come Into Effect On August 1: Check Details
Starting August 1, 2024, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will enforce new guidelines for FASTag users, focusing on updated Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. FASTag is a pre-paid tag facility for vehicles that allows non-stop movement of traffic without having to wait at the toll plazas. The FASTag KYC check has been introduced to enhance the efficiency of the electronic toll collection system and provide seamless movement at toll plazas.
Here are the key changes:
KYC Update: FASTag users must update their KYC details...
"Soft Stance On Rohingya": Himanta Sarma Rips Into Bengal, Jharkhand
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma named Jharkhand and Bengal governments as the weak spots in the wall to stop Rohingya infiltration from Bangladesh. Both states, he said, have taken a soft stand against the infiltration, that is posing threat to demography. In this context, he also mentioned Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's comment that Bengal will "keep its doors open" -- said in the context of the ongoing students' protest in Bangladesh. "The Central government should pick up the issue of Rohingya with the West Bengal government,"...
Mumbai Man Orders Mobile Phone Worth Rs 55,000 From Amazon, Gets Tea Cups
A city resident has filed a complaint against e-commerce giant Amazon after he ordered a high-end mobile phone online and allegedly received half a dozen tea cups.
Amar Chavan, a deputy engineer with civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, ordered a Techno Phantom V Fold mobile phone from Amazon and paid Rs 54,999 online on July 13, he told police.
Two days later, the parcel arrived. When he opened, he was shocked to find six tea cups, he claimed in the complaint.
He contacted Amazon as well as the seller firm,...
Jharkhand Railway Accident: Tracks Restoration Work On, 7 Trains Cancelled
Efforts were on to restore tracks with the movement of trains remaining affected for the second consecutive day on Wednesday following the derailment of the Howrah-Mumbai mail in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharsawan district, officials said.
All the coaches and wagons have been removed from the tracks, they said.
Two persons were killed and 22 others injured after 18 coaches of the Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailed at Potobeda village near Barabambo station in South Eastern Railways's Chakradharpur division on Tuesday morning.
"All the coaches and wagons...
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Lok Sabha Approves Rs 48.21 Lakh Crore Union Budget For 2024-25
The Lok Sabha approved the Rs 48.21-lakh crore Budget for 2024-25 of the Union Government.
The lower House also approved the budget of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with a voice vote.
The Union Budget and Budget for J&K was passed by a voice vote by the Lok Sabha. The relevant appropriation bills were also passed by the House.
Replying to the debate, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the fiscal deficit of the central government is proposed to be brought down to 4.9 per cent of the GDP during 2024-25 and further to below 4.5...
Woman, 2-Year-Old Son Killed In Manipur Landslide Triggered By Heavy Rain
A woman and her infant son were killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rain in Manipur's Tamenglong district, police sources said. The woman's husband, a cop, was also critically injured in the landslide.
The incident took place at Dimthanlong village, about 145 kilometers from Imphal. The police constable Ringsinlung Kahmei was injured after his house was swept away in the landslide, sources said.
Local sources said the neighbours rushed to Mr Kahmei's rescue when they heard a loud sound of his house collapsing. Locals then pulled out Mr Kahmei...
Civic Body Action A "Welcome Step": Drishti IAS Head On Basement Tragedy
Days after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sealed multiple coaching centres running from the basement, including one by Drishti IAS, the institute's chief Vikas Divyakirti said on Tuesday that the safety of students is paramount.
"Extensive action by the MCD in the last few days is a welcome step," Mr Divyakirti wrote on X.
Drishti IAS, one of the leading coaching centres for IAS exam preparations, has come under fire for violating safety norms. It is one of the centres sealed by the MCD recently.
The crackdown on coaching centres in Delhi...
Protesting Students Start Indefinite Strike Over Delhi Basement Deaths
The civil services aspirants, who are protesting outside Rau's coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar on Tuesday went on an indefinite hunger strike, demanding action in the case of the death of three students.
One of the protesting students said that ten aspirants have started an indefinite hunger strike till their main demands, including compensation of Rs five crore to the victims' families, are met.
"Somewhere we had a brief hope that the administration will listen to us, we will be heard, heard by the UPSC coaching lobby, heard by the authority,...
Monday, July 29, 2024
20 Coaching Centre Basements Sealed For Violating Norms After Delhi Tragedy
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has sealed the basements of six more coaching institutes in Central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar and one in North West Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar in a crackdown on illegally run establishments following the tragedy on Saturday in which three civil services aspirants died.
Several prominent coaching institutes like Dristi (The Vision) are among those facing action. The civic body also carried out an anti-encroachment drive in Old Rajindra Nagar to demolish structures that were covering the storm drains that led...
Sunday, July 28, 2024
"English Seekhen": Liquor Shop Owner's Move To Boost Sales Draws A Fine
A liquor shop owner in Madhya Pradesh tried to boost sales by highlighting the general tendency of people to become more expressive after drinking, but the plan failed and earned him a fine of Rs 10,000.
Officials said the owner had put up a banner with the message “Dindahade English bolna seekhen (learn to speak English during daytime)” near his shop at Nachankheda in Burhanpur district. An arrow below the message pointed to the alcohol vend.
Although it was not clear if the poster sent his sales to a new high, a photo of it went viral on social...