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Showing posts from September 11, 2022

Coronavirus Update: India registers decrease in new Covid-19 cases

New Delhi: There is a piece of good news for India on Sunday in the battle against the global Covid-19 pandemic. There has been a slight decrease in the number of daily coronavirus cases in the country as compared to Saturday. However, even today, more than 5,000 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in the country. In the last 24 hours, 5,664 new cases of coronavirus have been reported, while 35 people died. Earlier on Saturday, 5,747 new cases of coronavirus were registered in the country while 29 people died. A decrease of 83 has been registered in the daily number of newly infected Covid-19 patients as compared to yesterday. According to the data released by the Union Ministry of Health this morning, in the last 24 hours, 5,664 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in the country while 35 people have died. During this 4,555 people managed to beat the Covid-19 pandemic. With this, the number of active cases of coronavirus in the country has increased to 47,922. An in

Goa’s glorious Hindu history and brutal Inquisition: A long forgotten and rarely discussed saga

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Recently, a news report that created quite a stir was the Goa government’s decision to undertake the restoration of temples destroyed during Portuguese rule. The chief minister while speaking to the press said that a survey of temples and temple ruins has been started by the State Archives and Archaeology department, which is a part of the temple restoration project. It is a welcome declaration by the state government, as it is a long forgotten and rarely discussed topic in Goa. The very name Goa conjures up scenes of sea, sand, and beaches; lush monsoon greenery; seasonal waterfalls; and the various churches built by the Portuguese. Archaeological findings from this small state, which include inscription plates, pottery fragments, sculptures, and remnants of ancient structures, provide valuable insights into the life of a common man and speak of thriving foreign trade and a vibrant trade-based economy in ancient and medieval Goa. These artifacts also speak of a Goa that was once fill

Weather Forecast: These states will have very heavy monsoon rains for next 3 days

New Delhi: This year’s monsoon is now at its last stage but many parts of the country have been experiencing continuous rainfall for the last few days. On Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a rain alert for several states. Meanwhile, the Badrinath hills in Uttarakhand have received the first snowfall of this season. This has increased the chill factor in the mountains of Uttarakhand. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the trend of the low pressure system formed in the Bay of Bengal has changed now. This low pressure system has now changed its direction and shifted in the northern direction towards Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Due to this, warnings of heavy rain have been issued in many districts of West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The IMD has predicted inclement weather at these places till September 20. According to the IMD, there is a possibility of cloudy sky and rain in many areas in Delhi-N

PM Narendra Modi Turns 72: A look at his journey from chaiwala to prime minister

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Narendra Modi’s life and career can serve as a great source of inspiration to the people of India. His journey dispelled the concept that one has to come from privilege to be successful in life. Narendra Modi was born on 17 September 1950 in the small town of Vadnagar in Gujarat. His father, Damodardas, earned his living from a tea stall set up on the platform of the town’s station. Modi helped out his father at the tea stall after school hours. He served tea to railway passengers, “but young Narendra wanted more than most others: to be involved in a larger, more grown-up world beyond the classroom,” writes Andy Marino in Narendra Modi: A Political Biography . Here’s looking back at his journey from chaiwala to India’s prime minister. Youth leader In 1958, when Modi was eight years old he began to attend the local shakha of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). An organisation where he honed his leadership and organisational skills to an extent that he was tasked with the organisa

PM Narendra Modi Turns 72: A look at flagship schemes rolled out by his government

Since coming to power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a number of social welfare programs and initiatives aimed at benefiting the people living in the society. From Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to the Make In India campaign, the PM Modi-led government has introduced a number of flagship schemes and initiatives to support the common man. On the occasion of PM Narendra Modi’s birthday today, let’s take a look at five such schemes launched by the central government: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan On the occasion of the 145th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2014, PM Modi rolled out the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to speed up the country’s move towards universal sanitation. Five years after the campaign’s announcement, villages, gram panchayats, districts, states, and union territories declared themselves open-defecation free as a result of the installation of more than 100 million toilets in rural India. In order to achieve the goal of safe sanitation in urban areas, PM Modi launch

Ending ‘VIP culture’ in India: Building confidence

For years, the common man was overwhelmed by the VIP culture practised by politicians and bureaucracy in the country. Whether it was accessing public facilities, trying to secure admission for the child, or even getting an appointment with a doctor, it seemed to be an impossible task! Often, the poor were denied their basic rights as there was always a VIP waiting in the wings to be served first. The ‘VIP first’ culture had created an atmosphere of disdain among the people and had slowly permeated into the psyche of the bureaucracy and politicians who started considering themselves to be above the system. It is no wonder that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi forayed into politics, he was very disturbed to see this misuse of power, particularly in the government. Inspiration from his humble background As the chief minister of Gujarat and then the prime minister, PM Modi and his family have never used his position to enjoy special treatment or take benefits. The prime minister has al

Congress workers beat up Kerala shopkeeper during 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'

Kollam (Kerala): The ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ of the Congress under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi has run into another controversy. The initiative was launched with the aim of finding lost political ground and to infuse new enthusiasm among Congress workers. However, the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ garnered negative publicity on Friday with shopkeepers in Kerala levelling allegations of extortion against Congress workers. A vegetable shopkeeper in Kollam district has accused Congress workers of threatening him. The vegetable shopkeeper alleged that Congress workers are collecting funds for the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Kollam. He has alleged that Congress workers demanded two thousand rupees and beat him up when he failed to pay. A video of this incident has gone viral. “A team of Congress workers came to my shop and started asking for donations for the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. I gave 500 rupees, but they started asking for 2 thousand rupees. They threw away my scales and vegetables for not paying t

Viral: Aviation Ministry's savage response to Twitter user complaining about 'unfair trade practices'

Social media has recently become a platform for everyone to present their views and opinions and communicate with each other. In addition to this, it has also become a means for people to raise their concerns and further reach out to concerned authorities seeking redressal for issues. Twitter is one such platform where social media users tweet on a regular basis and also use the platform to complain about various activities and seek solutions for the same. In a recent example, a man also complained about ‘unfair trade practices’. However, the tweet turned out hilarious and went viral. This happened after the social media user mistakenly tagged the Ministry of Civil Aviation for raising his concerns about Indian trade. Tagging the official Twitter handle of the Civil Aviation Ministry, the man pointed out the unfair pricing of an electronic device on an online shopping platform. While the tweet invited a plethora of responses along with similar complaints, the Ministry came back with a

'Bharat Jodo Yatra': Congress workers threaten vegetable shop owner for refusing to fund campaign, three suspended

New Delhi: The ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ of the Congress ran into a controversy on Friday after its party workers vandalised a vegetable shop and threatened the owner for not contributing a demanded amount of Rs 2,000 for the campaign in Kerala’s Kollam district. The incident was caught on mobile phone camera and circulated on social media. Kerala | Vegetable shop owner threatened by Congress workers for not contributing Rs 2000 in fund collection for ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Kollam (Photo source: Screenshot from viral video) pic.twitter.com/vzQaRWqwiB — ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2022 S Fawaz, owner of the vegetable shop, said that the Congress workers demanded Rs 2000 and when he gave them Rs 500, they vandalised the shop. “A group of Congress workers reached the shop and asked for donations for ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. I gave Rs 500 but they demanded Rs 2,000. They damaged weighing machines, and threw away vegetables,” said Fawaz. A group of Congress workers reached the shop

Lucknow: Nine killed, two injured as wall of Army enclave collapses amid heavy overnight rain

Lucknow: At least nine people were killed and two injured after the boundary wall of an Army enclave collapsed due to heavy overnight rains on Friday. “The incident took place in Dilkusha Cantt,” said a statement from UP home department. UP | Nine people dead and 2 injured after a wall collapsed due to heavy rain in Lucknow. The incident took place in Dilkusha under Cantt: Home Department pic.twitter.com/Kxmml42KBe — ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) September 16, 2022 One person was pulled out alive from the debris, police said. “Some labourers were living in huts outside an Army enclave in the Dilkusha area. Owing to heavy overnight rains, the boundary wall of the Army enclave collapsed,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Piyush Mordia said. “We reached the spot around 3 am. Nine bodies were pulled out from the debris and one person was rescued alive,” he said. An order calling for schools to be shut was issued at 4 am this morning after a night of incessant rain

From extinction to reintroduction: A brief history of India’s tryst with the cheetah

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In 1947, Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Koriya, Surguja, in what is today known as Chhattisgarh, shot dead the last three recorded Asiatic cheetahs in India. With that, the Asiatic Cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. However, on 17 September — 74 years later — eight cheetahs are scheduled to arrive from Namibia as part of the Centre’s elaborate plan to introduce the wild cats back into the country. We take a look at how this majestic creature, which roamed India years ago went extinct and how the country plans to reintroduce the species and what may be the problems it faces. Cheetahs in India The first cheetah in the world to be bred in captivity was in India during the rule of the Mughal emperor Jahangir in the 16th century. His father, Akbar, recorded there were 10,000 cheetahs during his time, including 1,000 of them in his court. A BBC report states that between 1799 and 1968, there were at least 230 cheetahs in the wild in India. There isn’t any definitiv

Kerala Lottery 2022: Karunya Plus KN 437 results to release at 3 PM, first prize Rs 80 lakh

The results of the Karunya Plus KN 437 lottery will be announced by the Kerala State Lottery Department today, 15 September. Those who are interested can check the KN 437 draw results on Kerala lottery department’s official website. The live results of Karunya Plus KN 437 will be declared at 3 PM, while the detailed results will be announced on the website at 4 PM. The Karunya Plus KN 437 lottery draw results will also be published in the Kerala Government Gazette. The first prize of the Karunya Plus KN 437 draw is Rs 80 lakh. The second prize winner will be receiving an amount of Rs 10 lakh and the third prize winner of the KN 437 lottery will be getting a sum of Rs 1 lakh. There is also a consolation prize of Rs 8,000 for certain lucky winners. People who have won a prize in the KN 437 will need to cross check their results released in the Kerala Government Gazette. Following this, they will be required to submit their lottery ticket at the lottery office in Thiruvananthapuram. Wha

India's most wanted terrorist, Masood Azhar not in Afghanistan, don’t make false claims’: Taliban to Pakistan

In an exclusive telephonic interview with CNN-News18, Taliban spokesperson and face of Taliban Suhail Shaheen denied the presence of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed’s chief Maulana Masood Azhar in Afghanistan, warning Pakistan “not to make claims without evidence”. Pakistan, in a move that is being called “hogwash” by India, has written a letter to Afghanistan to arrest Azhar, a UN-designated terrorist, is India’s most wanted. “We have a commitment not to allow anyone to use the soil of Afghanistan against any other country,” Shaheen said. “We warn Pakistan not to raise any claims without any evidence as it has a negative impact on bilateral relations. Claims without any evidence don’t serve any purpose…We don’t have any evidence of Azhar’s presence.” “We will definitely look for him. We will look him for our satisfaction, but he is not here. I clearly deny and say Afghanistan is not the place to be used against any other country,” he said. PAK’S ATTEMPTS Masood Azhar was freed fro

Kashmir: LeT terrorists threaten 'BJP agent' Ghulam Nabi Azad

Srinagar: Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who had left the ‘Grand Old Party’ recently, has received a threat from The Resistance Front (TRF) which is affiliated to Pakistan-backed terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The Resistance Front (TRF) took to social media platform to issue the threat. In an online poster, the TRF has claimed that the recent entry of Ghulam Nabi Azad in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir following his revolt against the Congress is part of a well thought out strategy by the BJP-run central government. The Pakistan-backed terrorist organization also said that before leaving the party, Azad had a closed-door meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval. The poster also stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJ) is using displaced Kashmiri Pandits for its political agenda. Referring to Rahul Bhatt, a Kashmiri Hindu killed as part of a target killing campaign by terrorists in Kashmir Valley, the TRF said t

UP Dalit sisters' rape-murder: Six arrested; panel of three doctors to conduct autopsy, say police

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday said that they have arrested six accused for the rape and murder of two Dalit sisters who were found hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur. Police said that one of the accused was nabbed in an encounter after he was shot in his leg. “We have arrested six accused involved in crime in different ways. The accused have been identified as Chotu, Junaid, Sohail, Hafizul, Karimuddin and Arif. Junaid was nabbed in an encounter after he was shot in his leg,” said SP Lakhimpur Kheri Sanjeev Suman at a press conference. Police said the accused were friends with the deceased girls. “The girls were lured to farms and raped by Sohail and Junaid yesterday. After the girls forced the accused to marry them, Sohail, Hafizul and Junaid strangulated them to death. They then called Karimuddin and Arif and hanged the girls to eliminate proof,” said the SP. UP | Total 6 accused involved in crime in different ways, arrested. Accused identified as C

J&K: Two terrorists of al-Qaeda affiliate AGuH killed in Srinagar encounter

New Delhi: Two terrorists of Ansar Gazwat-ul Hind (AGuH), an al-Qaeda affiliate, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Srinagar on Wednesday. The two terrorists have been identified as Shahid Ahmad alias Abu Hamza, a resident of Budgam and Aijaz Rasool Nazar, who hails from Karimabad in Pulwama. “A joint cordon and search operation was launched by Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police at Dangerpur in Srinagar. The operation resulted in neutralisation of two hard-core terrorists of proscribed terrorist outfit AGuH. An AK Rifle, two pistols and other material was recovered from them,” said Defence PRO Srinagar in a statement. J&K | A joint cordon & search operation was launched by Army & JKP at Dangerpur, Naugam, Srinagar. Op resulted in neutralisation of 2 hard-core terrorists of proscribed terrorist outfit AGuH. An AK Rifle, 2 pistols & other war-like stores recovered: Defence PRO Srinagar — ANI (@ANI) September 15, 2022 During the cordon and search

UP: Two Dalit sisters found hanging from tree in Lakhimpur Kheri; Akhilesh, Priyanka attack Yogi

Lakhimpur Kheri: Two Dalit teenage sisters were found hanging from a tree in a sugarcane field about a kilometre away from their house on Wednesday, police said. Their mother alleged that they were murdered and accused three youths from the neighbouring village in Nighasan police station limits of abducting and killing them. Police rushed to the spot and sent the bodies for post-mortem to ascertain their exact cause of death. “Four accused in the matter have been taken into custody. Interrogation is underway,” said Additional SP Arun Kumar Singh, Lakhimpur Kheri. UP ADG (law and order) Prashant Kumar said a case will be registered on the basis of a complaint from the family and every aspect will be examined. “Bodies of two sisters were found hanging from a tree at some distance from their house in Lakhimpur. SP is present on the spot. A case will be registered on the basis of the complaint from the family. Every aspect will be examined,” said Kumar. UP | Bodies of two sisters f

Jammu and Kashmir: 12 killed, several injured in Poonch accident

Poonch: Around 12 people were killed while several others were injured in a road accident in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday morning. The injured are being treated at District Poonch Hospital. According to reports, a mini bus rolled into a ditch this morning in the Sawjian area of Poonch district in Jammu division near the Line of Control (LoC). Soon after the accident, rescue operations were carried out with the help of the Indian Army, police and local people. According to local media reports, six of the victims were killed on the spot, while four seriously injured people died in the hospital or on the way. While expressing his deep sorrow over the Poonch road accident, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced Rs 5 lakh as relief amount to the kin of the deceased. He also directed the administration to provide better health facilities to the other passengers injured in this road accident. President Droupadi Murmu took to social media to condole the incide

NCPCR seeks action against Rahul Gandhi for misusing children during Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress hits back

New Delhi : The Congress accused the apex child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) of being an affiliate of the RSS after it asked the Election Commission of initiating action against Rahul Gandhi for allegedly “misusing children as political tools” in the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said these are efforts to derail the Bharat Jodo Yatra, in which Rahul Gandhi is participating. “The NCPCR started by Dr. Manmohan Singh’s Government has now become a RSS affiliate nothing less. Pathetic efforts to derail Bharat Jodo Yatra,” he said. Taking a swipe at NCPCR, Congress MP Jothimani shared a video of a child “waiting to welcome Rahul Gandhi with love and flower.” Jairam Ramesh retweeted the post and said, “Childish Commission is directed by Jhoot ki Rani.” Childish Commission is directed by Jhoot kiRani https://t.co/k79AsGbvtr — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 14, 2022 According to PTI , NCPCR had