'यूरोपीय देश इसकी निंदा क्यों नहीं करते' : पाकिस्तान के आतंकवाद पर विदेशमंत्री एस जयशंकर

सीमापार आतंकवाद को बढ़ावा देने में भूमिका के मद्देनजर पाकिस्तान को ‘आतंक का केंद्र' करार देने संबंधी अपनी टिप्पणी पर विदेश मंत्री एस जयशंकर ने कहा कि वह इससे भी कड़े शब्दों का इस्तेमाल कर सकते थे. उन्होंने साथ ही कहा कि दुनिया को आतंकवाद को लेकर चिंतित होने की जरूरत है. पाकिस्तान को अक्सर ‘आतंकवाद का केंद्र' बताने वाले जयशंकर ने आस्ट्रिया के राष्ट्रीय प्रसारक ‘ओआरएफ' को साक्षात्कार के दौरान इसकी (आतंकवाद) निंदा नहीं करने को लेकर यूरोपीय देशों की आलोचना की जो दशकों से जारी है.

जयशंकर ने कहा कि आप एक राजनयिक हैं, इसका अर्थ यह नहीं है कि आप बातों को घुमा फिरा कर कहें. उन्होंने कहा,‘‘ मैं ‘केंद्र' से अधिक कड़े शब्दों का उपयोग कर सकता था. इसलिये विश्वास करें कि जो कुछ हमारे साथ घट रहा है, उसको देखते हुए केंद्र अधिक राजनयिक शब्द है. '' विदेश मंत्री ने पाकिस्तान के लिये ‘आतंकवाद का केंद्र' शब्द के उपयोग पर पूछे गए सवाल के जवाब में यह बात कही.

उन्होंने पाकिस्तान के संदर्भ में कहा, ‘‘ यह एक ऐसा देश है जिसने कुछ वर्ष पहले भारत की संसद पर हमला किया, जिसने मुम्बई शहर पर हमला किया, जो होटलों और विदेशी पर्यटकों तक गया और जो प्रतिदिन सीमापार से आतंकवादियों को भेजता है.''

ये भी पढ़ें- चीन ने अपने नागरिकों के लिए दूसरे देशों में COVID नियमों की आलोचना की, दी जवाबी कार्रवाई की चेतावनी 

जयशंकर ने कहा, ‘‘ अगर दिन दहाड़े शहरों में आतंकी अड्डे चल रहे हों, भर्तियां एवं वित्त पोषण हो रहा हो...तब वास्तव में आप बतायें कि क्या पाकिस्तान की सरकार को इसकी जानकारी नहीं होगी कि क्या हो रहा है ? खासतौर पर तब जब सैन्य स्तर का प्रशिक्षण दिया जा रहा हो. ''

उन्होंने कहा, ‘‘ इसलिये जब हम फैसले और सिद्धांतों की बात करते हैं, तो यूरोप इसकी कड़ी आलोचना क्यों नहीं करता, जो दशकों से चल रहा है. ''

यह पूछे जाने पर कि क्या दुनिया को भारत और पाकिस्तान के बीच युद्ध की आशंका से चिंतित होना चाहिए, इस पर विदेश मंत्री ने कहा, ‘‘ मैं समझता हूं कि दुनिया को आतंकवाद के बारे में चिंतित होना चाहिए. मैं समझता हूं कि दुनिया को इस बात से चिंतित होना चाहिए कि आतंकवाद जारी है और अक्सर दुनिया कहीं और देख रही है. दुनिया अक्सर यह सोचती है कि यह उसकी समस्या नहीं है क्योंकि यह किसी दूसरे देश में घट रही है/''

जयशंकर ने कहा, ‘‘ मैं सोचता हूं कि दुनिया को इस बात की चिंता करनी चाहिए कि वह कितनी गंभीरता एवं कितनी मजबूती के साथ आतंकवादियों की चुनौती को लेती है.''

गौरतलब है कि विदेश मंत्री एस जयशंकर ने सोमवार को ऑस्ट्रिया के अपने समकक्ष अलेक्जेंडर शालेनबर्ग के साथ कई क्षेत्रीय और वैश्विक स्थितियों पर ‘‘खुली और सार्थक'' चर्चा की थी. दोनों पक्षों ने भारतीय छात्रों और पेशेवरों के लिए प्रवासन एवं यात्रा सुगमता सहित कई समझौतों पर हस्ताक्षर किए.

दो देशों के अपने दौरे के दूसरे चरण में साइप्रस से यहां पहुंचे जयशंकर ने यह भी कहा था कि ऑस्ट्रिया के राष्ट्रपति अलेक्जेंडर वान डेर बेलेन और चांसलर कार्ल नेहमर सहित इस देश के नेताओं के साथ उनकी व्यापक बातचीत ‘‘हमारे संबंधों के साथ मौजूदा वैश्विक मुद्दों पर'' ऑस्ट्रिया के दृष्टिकोण को समझने में बहुत मूल्यवान है.

पाकिस्तान का संदर्भ देते हुए विदेश मंत्री एस जयशंकर ने कहा था कि सीमा पार से होने वाले आतंकवाद को किसी एक क्षेत्र के अंदर सीमित नहीं किया सकता, खासतौर पर जब वह मादक पदार्थों और हथियारों की तस्करी तथा अंतरराष्ट्रीय अपराधों के अन्य स्वरूपों से गहराई से जुड़ा हुआ है.

उन्होंने किसी देश का नाम लिये बिना कहा था, ‘‘ चूंकि इसका केंद्र (आतंकवाद) भारत के काफी करीब स्थित है तो स्वाभाविक तौर पर हमारा अनुभव दूसरों के लिये उपयोगी हो सकता है.''

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No-Honking Days And Noise Barriers Aim To Quell Mumbai's Cacophony

Living in Mumbai requires an inexhaustible tolerance for noise. There's the ceaseless revving of autorickshaw engines and the clamor of car horns as drivers edge through impenetrable traffic. There's pounding and buzzing from the construction of office towers, apartment buildings and a new metro line. Drumbeats and trumpet melodies spill out from wedding celebrations and countless festivals. And it's all topped off by bellowing street vendors and garbage trucks blasting songs.

So when Sumaira Abdulali began campaigning against noise pollution in India's financial capital two decades ago, friends, acquaintances and even her attorneys insisted it was a fool's errand. "People told me it's ridiculous to even try, because Indians love noise," she says. "We're a noisy country."

But in 2003, Ms Abdulali won a public-interest lawsuit seeking to roll back changes to environmental regulations that had allowed blaring music late into the night during the Navratri festival each year. The ruling led to a blanket ban on loudspeakers within 100 meters (328 feet) of schools, hospitals, courts and places of worship. And she has since won more than a dozen other actions both on her own and via the Awaaz Foundation (awaaz means "noise" in Hindi), which she launched in 2006.

Ms Abdulali holds up a decibel meter at her home in Mumbai.

The World Health Organization warns that noise pollution is a top environmental threat to human wellness, affecting not only hearing but also sleep, brain development and cardiovascular health. With increasing urbanization, ever more people around the world are exposed to unrelenting noise. And Mumbai may be the epicenter of this emerging global crisis.

Ms Abdulali claims the city is the world's loudest, though that's a tough statistic to nail down. A study by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute in 2020 did find that noise levels in Mumbai and surrounding areas dramatically exceed legal limits. "Air pollution we can see, water pollution we can see, but noise pollution we can only feel and sense," says Ritesh Vijay, the lead author of the report. "It is a slow poison."

The battle against noise has become increasingly fraught in recent years, with Ms Abdulali often confronting powerful interests who consider it an inevitable byproduct of economic growth. In a rapidly expanding city such as Mumbai, with a population topping 12 million, demand for new housing puts noise legislation in direct conflict with development plans.

A sound barrier on a busy road in Mumbai.

Penelope Tong knows that firsthand. She awoke one morning two years ago to ceaseless thrumming from a construction project next to her apartment at the city's crowded southern tip. "It was extremely disturbing," says the Mumbai native, who works as a teacher. "Every time that noise started, I would feel so agitated."

Ms Tong had heard about Awaaz from her mother, so she rang Ms Abdulali for advice. Ms Abdulali helped her contact police, file legal complaints and document noise of almost 100 decibels-which can harm human hearing over a prolonged period. Although sound barriers are required for construction projects, they're expensive, so developers resist installing them. But after four months, the contractor on the project near Ms Tong's flat reluctantly installed a temporary fence to absorb noise.

Traffic is a more difficult problem. The loudest place Awaaz has found in the city is the JJ Flyover, an elevated highway leading to the main railway station. Noise on the road reached 110 decibels-a level that can lead to permanent hearing damage after just 15 minutes of exposure, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2011, the city installed a 2-mile-long fence along a similar stretch of highway, and Awaaz found that it cut noise in a nearby residential area by 16 decibels. That spurred the city to require barriers for new overpasses, though the rules don't affect older ones such as the JJ Flyover.

Technology can also help in the fight, Mr Vijay says. "The worst part-it's the honking," he says. He suggests devices in vehicles that measure horn use, which would let officials offer quieter drivers incentives such as deductions on car insurance. Dynamic signaling, where sensors linked to stop lights detect traffic density, would improve the flow of vehicles and reduce the urge for drivers to resort to their horns, he says.

Public Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in Mumbai.

Ms Abdulali has recruited local officials in her fight, and Mumbai decreed India's first "No-Honking" day in 2008, with cops handing out pamphlets to raise awareness about traffic noise and imposing fines up to Rs 1,000 on offending motorists. Mumbai's police now restrict honking every Wednesday, and many traffic constables now carrying decibel meters.

But powerful officials ignore the rules when it suits them. Rival factions use festivals to win supporters, Ms Abdulali says, so their leaders often endorse raucous celebrations. As a result, decibel levels during last year's Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations were the highest on record.

Mr Vijay says the festivals are only a temporary problem. Far more important is the longer-term impact of the day-to-day cacophony, so that's where he believes activists should focus their energy. "In India we celebrate festivals with lots of noise," he says. "But our background noise itself is beyond the permissible limit."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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दिल्ली दंगे के 2 आरोपियों को अदालत ने आरोप से किया बरी

उत्तर पूर्वी दिल्ली में 2020 में हुए दंगे के दो आरोपियों को बरी करते हुए अदालत ने कहा कि एकमात्र गवाह के ‘संदिग्ध व्यक्ति' होने की संभावना से इनकार नहीं किया जा सकता है. अदालत ने कहा कि प्राथमिकी दर्ज की गई और आरोपी को गिरफ्तार कर और कुछ गवाहों की व्यवस्था कर ‘जांच का दिखावा' किया गया. ऐसे में सबूत कैसे अदालत की कसौटी पर खरे उतरेंगे.

 अदालत ने कहा कि यह ‘‘पीड़ितों की पीड़ा के प्रति पूरी तरह से उदासीनता है.'' अदालत अजय और गौरव पांचाल के खिलाफ दर्ज मामले की सुनवाई कर रही थी, जिनपर दंगाइयों के गैर कानूनी जन समूह का सदस्य होने, अवैध हथियारों से लैस होने और संशोधित नागरिकता कानून के खिलाफ प्रदर्शन की आड़ लेकर तोड़-फोड़, हिंसा, आपराधिक घुसपैठ और संपत्ति को नुकसान पहुंचाने के आरोप थे.

अभियोजन पक्ष के मुताबिक, दोनों आरोपी उस भीड़ का हिस्सा थे, जिसने 25 फरवरी 2020 को उत्तर पूर्वी दिल्ली के मीत नगर में कपड़ों की दुकान में तोड़-फोड़ और लूटपाट की थी. मेट्रोपॉलिटन मजिस्ट्रेट अभिनव पांडेय ने 16 दिसंबर को सुनाए गए आदेश में कहा, ‘‘मेरी राय है कि अभियोजन संदेह से परे अपने मामले को स्थापित करने में विफल रहा. इसलिए आरोपियों को बरी किया जाता है.''

ये भी पढ़ें:- 
कंझावला केस: लड़की को घसीटने के आरोपियों ने कुछ घंटे पहले ही दोस्‍त से मांगी थी कार- पुलिस
नोटबंदी पर केंद्र सरकार का फैसला सही, सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने 6 अहम सवालों के दिए जवाब

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Class 10 Student Raped, Killed At Home On New Year's Eve In Bengal: Cops

Protests erupted in Jalpaiguri's Bala Para in West Bengal on Sunday after a minor girl was allegedly "raped and killed" on new year's eve, police said on Monday.

The matter came to light when the victim's father lodged an FIR against five youths, following which the locals went on a rampage and ransacked the houses of the accused youths.

According to the police, the victim is a Class 10 student who was allegedly raped at her house on Saturday night when her parents were away.

Superintendent of Police, Biswajit Mahato said that one of the accused was arrested and produced before the court.

Jalpaiguri SP, Biswajit Mahato said, "We received a specific complaint from the family and have started a case against the accused persons. Police are doing a thorough investigation into the incident."

"We have arrested one of the accused, produced before the Jalpaiguri court today. We requested the Magistrate for custody for further inquiry. police forces have been deployed at the incidental spot to avoid any unwanted incident," he added.

The victim's father claimed that one of the culprits called him up informing about the death of his daughter. On reaching home, the father found that the girl's body was lying on the floor and had injury marks.

"These boys would often harass my daughter and taunt her. They were after my daughter for a long time. I have lodged an FIR against them and want to see them punished," the father said.

As the news spread, locals, in hundreds, raided the houses of the five accused persons and vandalized their houses. A large police force went to the spot headed by IC of Kotwali PS and the situation was contained.

A large section of the locals went to stage a demonstration inside the Kotwali PS premises demanding the arrest and punishment of the alleged culprits.

"We have started an inquiry based upon the FIR lodged. We can ascertain the cause of the death only after we get the postmortem report," Jalpaiguri SP, Biswajit Mahato said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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नकली दूध के कारोबार पर NHRC सख्त, झारखंड सरकार और अन्य को जारी किया नोटिस

राष्ट्रीय मानवाधिकार आयोग (एनएचआरसी) ने धनबाद में मिलावटी दूध बेचे जाने की खबरों को लेकर सोमवार को झारखंड सरकार, राज्य के पुलिस प्रमुख और स्वास्थ्य मंत्रालय में स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं के महानिदेशक को नोटिस जारी किया. एक वरिष्ठ अधिकारी ने यह जानकारी दी.

आयोग ने एक बयान में कहा कि उसने मीडिया में 30 दिसंबर को आई उस खबर का स्वत: संज्ञान लिया है कि ‘‘धनबाद में लाभ कमाने के लिए एक लीटर दूध में रिफाइंड और कास्टिक सोडा मिलाकर उसे 15 लीटर मिलावटी दूध बनाया जा रहा है. बयान में कहा गया कि इस मामले में नोटिस जारी कर छह सप्ताह में रिपोर्ट मांगी गई है.''

बयान में कहा गया कि बताया जाता है कि पहले दूध में सिर्फ पानी मिलाया जाता था, लेकिन अब लोगों की सेहत की कीमत पर मुनाफा कमाने के लिए मिलावटी दूध बनाने के लिए यूरिया और स्टार्च का इस्तेमाल किया जा रहा है जबकि ‘लैक्टोमीटर' द्वारा भी ऐसे दूध में मिलावट का पता नहीं लग पाता.

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Delhi Woman Dragged Under Car For 13 km Was Only Earning Member In Family

The 20-year-old woman who was dragged under a car for kilometres was the sole bread-earner of her family and supported an ailing mother and six siblings.

After her father died last year, she supported her family and paid for her mother's dialysis by working part-time at an event management company, which also meant that she had to work late nights.

One of her sisters is married. She was the only support to her two other sisters and two brothers who lived with her.

Like every day, on Sunday too, she left her home for work in the evening telling her mother she would be back by 2-3 am. But what happened in the meantime scarred her family forever.

The young woman's work involved attending weddings and other events and she had been out for one such event on Sunday.

"She used to work at an event management company and told me she was going to an event and would return late. I was waiting for her," her mother said.

The last conversation she had with her daughter was at 9 pm, she recalled. "My daughter had promised she would be home soon." "I even called her at 10.30 am but her number was unreachable and after that it was unreachable.

"In the morning, we got a call from the police saying that my daughter's two-wheeler had met with an accident. They asked me to come over but I told them that I am unwell and won't be able to come," she said.

A vehicle was sent to her house in the morning which brought her to Sultanpuri Police Station, where she kept asking for her daughter but got no satisfactory response.

"I kept asking for my daughter, and saying, 'At least let me see her. How she was hurt, how much was hurt.' But my pleas fell on deaf ears," she said.

On Monday as the news hit the headlines, local residents protested outside the Sultanpuri Police Station demanding justice for the victim.

The woman's mother accused the police of not doing enough, who, she said, were "just trying to make it look like an accident." Five men travelling in the Maruti Baleno were arrested in the wake of the incident, with Delhi Police commissioner Sanjay Arora saying that the force is with the family in its grief.

As the day progressed, a video, reportedly of the woman, without clothes and her legs broken, did rounds on social media.

Her uncle said they were not allowed to even see her body.

An aunt of hers said, "Police called us and informed us that our girl had met with an accident. We want death for all who are responsible for her death. They did enormous damage to her family and must be punished." Sources said that Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has asked officers to see if any member of the victim's family could be provided with a government job in way of compensation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Delhi Did Not Record Any "Severe Plus" Air Quality Day Last year

Delhi in 2022 saw the lowest recorded daily average PM10 and PM2.5 concentration in five years, barring 2020 with lowest anthropogenic activities due to the pandemic-related restrictions, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said on Monday.    

PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in 2022, with all activities in full throttle in the Delhi-NCR region, were even lower than those recorded in 2021, it said in a statement.  

The city logged average PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations of 211 microgram per cubic metre and 98 microgram per cubic metre.

The values were the lowest after 2020 which saw average PM 10 and PM2.5 concentrations of 181 microgram per cubic metre and 95 microgram per cubic metre, respectively.

Delhi's PM2.5 levels remained in the severe category for 204 hours in 2022 compared to 628 hours in 2021.

The average air quality index (AQI) was recorded below the 200-mark for 1,096 hours in 2022 as against 827 hours in 2021, the Centre's air quality panel said.

In 2022, Delhi also saw the lowest average AQI for the months of January (279), February (225) and December (319) and the second lowest for the months of July (87), October (210) and November (320).  

The national capital also did not record any "severe plus" air quality day (AQI above 450) last year, unlike the previous three years.  

Delhi records an increase in pollution levels in the post-monsoon and winter months (October to February) due to a cocktail of emissions from stubble burning, firecrackers bursting and local sources of pollution and unfavourable meteorological conditions -- low temperatures and slow winds. 

Delhi in 2022 in particular witnessed the best air quality during post-monsoon and winter months owing to continual efforts round the year and concerted drives to prevent and abate air polluting activities particularly during these months, the CAQM said.  

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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