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Rahul Gandhi: Farm loans waiver soon in MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgrah
Six devotees die of suspected food poisoning
At least six persons, including a girl and a woman, died of suspected food poisoning in Sulvadi village in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district, police said on Friday.
The victims, including four men in mid-30s, died of suspected food poisoning after they consumed tomato rice offered as 'prasad' at a Hindu temple in the village, Chamarajanagar Superintendent of Police D.S. Meena told IANS from Hanur, 180 km from here.
Around 65 others, all devotees of goddess Maramma were admitted to three state-run hospitals at Hanur, Kollagal and Mysuru for treatment as they took ill after consuming the same food in the temple.
"The six victims were declared dead by the doctors at the Hanur hospital after they did not respond to the treatment while others are being treated for food poisoning in the three hospitals," said Meena.
A case has been registered against a private trust managing the temple, belonging to the Lingayat community.
Maramma is considered an incarnation of Hindu goddess Durga, w..
Raghuram Rajan: Don't make farm loan waivers part of poll promises
Eschew loan waivers that divert resources from much-needed investment in India, says a report prepared by 13 noted economists, including former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, which was released here on Friday.
Releasing the report titled "An Economic Strategy for India", Rajan said that farm loan waivers should not form part of election promises and that he has written to the Election Commission to put a bar on such a practice, which inhibits investment in the farm sector, as well as putting pressure on the finances of the concerned states.
"I have said forever, even written a letter to the Election Commissioner saying they should be taken off the table. I mean, certainly, there is a reason to think about farm distress. But, the question of whether the flows to farmers is best affected by waiving loans, after all, there is only a subset of farmers who get those loans," he said.
"It's no surprise to you that there is fair amount of agricultural distress which we have seen being highlig..
Mumbai: Seven years after man loses Rs 20 lakh for flats, cops file FIR
The desire to have a bigger house and an offer from a childhood friend of two 225sq ft MHADA flats at low rates in Andheri East, tempted a Colaba-based businessman to shell out Rs 20 lakh (between September 2010 and February 2011). Sadly, the flats were non-existent.
After seven years of running around, pursuing his friend and others to return the money, in 2016, the complainant filed a private complaint before the Esplanade Court. The court last month directed the Colaba police to register an FIR (a copy is with this paper) in the case.
Five of the seven accused in the case – Nenshi Shah, Shantilal Shah, Lalji Shah, Subhash Shah, Pinank Shah, all residents of Vile Parle – applied for anticipatory bail. Two other accused had identified themselves as Shinde and Pawar. The Colaba police have registered an offence against the seven under vaious sections of the IPC.
Interestingly, before the accused were even arrested, five of them managed to move the Sessions Court, which g..
Domino's pizza outlet staff rob Rs 1,50,800 at gunpoint
Four youth arrested for allegedly robbing a staff of Domino's Pizza outlet at gunpoint in outer Delhi's Nangloi area, said police on Thursday. The accused have been identified as Sachin (22), Sonu (20), Banty (18) and Sumit (23), they added.
According to the police, Domino's Pizza staff informed them that three unknown persons entered into their food outlet in Ratan Park and looted Rs 1,50,800 at gunpoint on the night of Sunday.
During an investigation, after analysing the call details of its employees, the activities of one Sonu, a sweeper at Domino's Pizza, was noticed to be suspicious. He was detained and the accused revealed his role in the robbery, said Seju Kuruvilla, deputy commissioner of police.
Later, it was revealed that Sonu and Banty, along with Sachin and Sumit, committed the robbery in the outlet, he added. The police laid a trap and apprehended Banty. Sachin and Sumit were also arrested when they were planning to go to Manali, the DCP said.
During interrogation, i..
Amarinder Singh flays Akali Dal for politicising Kamal Nath issue
Manohar Parrikar tweets 'Satyamev Jayate' after Rafale verdict
Ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday tweeted "Satyamev Jayate" after a Supreme Court bench ruled there was no wrongdoing in the Rafale fighter jet purchase deal.
"Satyamev Jayate! #RafaleVerdict," the Chief Minister tweeted. Parrikar was the Defence Minister when Prime Minister Narendra Modi clinched the deal during an official visit to France.
Satyamev Jayate! #RafaleVerdict
— Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) December 14, 2018
On Friday, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi gave a clean chit to the Rs 58,000-crore deal, ruling there was no wrongdoing in the purchase of the French aircraft as alleged by the petitioners while dismissing the clutch of petitions.
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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Except for the change in the headline, the stor..
Kamal Nath to take oath as CM of Madhya Pradesh on December 17
Mumbai: Tulsi, Vihar, Powai lakes to get heritage tags
Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier
Supreme Court seeks CM Fadnavis's response in case filed against him
Operation to rescue Tigress T1's cubs to begin next week
Regret not acting on J&K interlocutors' report: P Chidambaram
Editors Guild of India suspends ex-minister MJ Akbar, Tarun Tejpal
TMC gives green signal for pet park project; strays to get a home
Here is some good news for the city's animal lovers! The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has come up with a unique idea of setting up a pet park, which will have a hospital, a crematorium and recreational facilities for street dogs.
According to TMC's health department, work on the project, which was approved by the standing committee last week, would start in a couple of months after the authorities concerned decide on all the aspects involved. However, the main aim of the project, according to the civic officials, was to give street dogs a healthy environment to stay and better medical facilities.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a TMC official said, "At present, street dogs undergo vaccination and surgeries at the TMC dog control centre in Wagle Estate. But there isn't enough space there to keep the animals for a couple of days. Doctors discharge them within two days of an operation. Hence, the civic body wants to build a proper home for them, where they will get all possible..
Lonavla's Maganlal chikki gets picked by FDA for violating safety norm
There will be no more snacking on the famous Maganlal chikki while passing through Lonavla for a while. Maganlal, one of the most famous manufacturers and distributors of the nutty treat, has been pulled off the shelves by the Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for violating food safety norms.
There's no need to panic yet, this doesn't necessarily mean that the chikki you've been munching on all these years was harmful. However, the company has been found guilty of violations such as not having food quality experts on board, and not sending samples for testing at the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
IrregularitiesOn December 11, the FDA conducted a surprise test at the factory in Lonavla and found the factory in violation of the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, as well as guidelines set by the NABL. Speaking to mid-day, Suresh Deshmukh, joint commissioner of the FDA, Pune, said, "We were surprised to find so many violations..
PM Narendra Modi hands over tricolour to divyang mountaineer
Asaduddin Owaisi: Regional parties will take Indian politics by storm
Delhi government to construct bridges on Najafgarh drain
New Delhi: Delhi government's Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) on Wednesday gave a nod to a number of projects related to the development of streets and roads including construction of two four-lane bridges on west Delhi's Najafgarh drain.
"The construction of the four-lane reinforced cement concrete (RCC) bridges on the Najafgarh drain will provide hassle-free and easy access to the areas of Najafgarh with that of other side villages," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who chaired the 5th EFC meeting, said.
At an estimated cost of Rs 40.52 crore, the four-lane bridges will be built on the existing single-lane Dhoolsiras Bridge and the Badusarai Bridge on the Najafgarh drain.
"Areas such as Najafgarh's Badusarai, Shikarpur, Gummanhera, Daurala, Dhansa, Jhuljhuli, Bahadurgarh and Nirmal Dham, and villages adjacent to Dwarka and other villages of Haryana...will benefit the most with the construction of these bridges," a Delhi government statement said.
Meanwhile, Public W..
Mounting debt forces man to kill wife, self
Lucknow: Mounting debt and his inability to repay it forced a man to kill his wife and then hang himself in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Thursday.
Babu Lal first smashed the head of his wife, Babita, after midnight and then strangulated his daughter.
After he felt certain that they were dead, he made a noose out of a bed sheet and hung himself in his house in Kunwarnagar.
However, the daughter did not die, she had only lost consciousness.
The incident came to light early on Thursday when a neighbour went to call on the family.
The daughter narrated the entire incident to the police and neighbours, a police officer said.
The neighbours told the police that the deceased was distressed due to mounting loan amounts.
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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Except for the c..
Meghalaya High Court judgement unacceptable: Asaduddin Owaisi
United Nation honours start-up recycling floral waste
Madhya Pradesh Governor calls Congress leaders for talks
Robert Vadra on ED raids: I'm not running away from country
Refusing to speak on a sub-judice matter, Robert Vadra, Congress President Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law, on Wednesday asserted that he is not scared and is not running away from the country because he knows that he's not wrong.
Talking to the media on Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on people linked to him, Vadra said he will "handle all the pressure". "This is not something new, this is seven to eight years old. But the issue has intensified in the past five years. We responded to all ED notices in the correct way. I am here in the country, not running away. Whenever we were asked questions, I and my team gave correct responses. When I have not done anything wrong, why should I be scared?" he questioned.
He also said he will respond to questions which are asked in a legal way, adding that "why should I talk on a sub judice matter?" "We are not above the law, we are very much with the law. I am an Indian citizen and I am not running away anywhere," Vadra added.
Demanding that th..
Indian Navy inducts deep submergence rescue vehicle
Assembly elections: Victory of democracy, says C'garh Congress prez
'Smartphone users in India install around 50 apps on average'
Shimla witnesses season's first snowfall
Narendra Modi: We accept people's verdict with humility
Isha Ambani-Anand Piramal wedding: Guest list, security, other details
The 27-storey Antilla, one of the world's most expensive private residences, is all decked up to host the wedding of the year, as its owner Mukesh Ambani's only daughter Isha marries Anand Piramal Wednesday.
The wedding festivities, which also include a two-day pre-wedding extravaganza in Udaipur, are expected to cost upward of USD 10 million, say Reliance insiders, though some reports pegged the tab at USD 100 million for India Inc's most expensive wedding. The Ambanis will do an encore as Isha's twin brother Akash is also walking down the aisle some time next year.
Unlike the Udaipur affair, which saw a wide an array of guests, including former US first-lady Hillary Clinton, global bankers and Bollywood stars, the nuptials are expected to be a smaller affair with much a pruned list of guests who may number around 600. A few senior politicians, including Pranab Mukherjee, Rajnath Singh, Prakash Javadekar, Mamta Banerjee, Vijay Rupani, Chandrababu Naidu and Devendra Fadnavis among ot..
Fisherfolk fight to keep BMC's Central Park at bay
1,000 to lose their driving licences in Navi Mumbai
The Navi Mumbai police, cracking down hard on traffic violators, have recommended suspension of licence for three months for 1,085 of them in the past 11 months alone. One-time violations, too, are penalised.
The Regional Traffic Office, Navi Mumbai, have suspended 108 licences so far. The Navi Mumbai traffic cops have urged motorists to stop violating traffic rules as 400 cops are keeping an eye on every single biker and motorist.
To reduce fatal accidents, Navi Mumbai cops had started a drive recommending traffic violators for suspension of licence. In 2018, of the 1,085 traffic violators recommended for licence suspension to the RTO, 90 have been suspended. The majority of suspended licences are for those jumping red lights. "We have intensified our drive against violations that can cause fatal accidents. These include jumping red lights (548), talking on the mobile phone while driving (325), drink driving (199), riding without helmet and so on," an officer from the traffic depart..
Shaktikanta Das appointed as the new RBI Governor
Shaktikanta Das, a member of the 15th Finance Commission and former Economic Affairs Secretary, was on Tuesday appointed as RBI Governor, a day after Urjit Patel quit abruptly. Das, an IAS officer of Tamil Nadu, will have a tenure of three years, according to a decision taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). He retired as Economic Affairs secretary last year and was subsequently made a member of the 15th Finance Commission.
At the recent G-20 meet in Argentina, Das was India's Sherpa. The post of RBI Governor fell vacant on Monday when Patel resigned, weeks after differences between the central bank and the government regarding its independence became public. Patel, 54, quit the post about nine months before his three-year term was to come to an end in September 2019.
Patel, who cited personal reasons for quitting the prestigious post, is the first RBI governor to resign since 1990. He stepped down just ahead of the scheduled meeting of the RBI Board meeting on Dec..
Election results will have bearing on Goa politics
The Assembly results in five states, in which the BJP could not garner adequate votes, will have a "far reaching impact" on Goa's politics, which is currently plagued by turmoil, state Congress President Girish Chodankar said on Tuesday.
"This result will have far reaching impact on Goa's politics and pose a lesson to BJP allies, specially Goa Forward, whose leaders who had criticised Rahul Gandhi's leadership in Goa Assembly and outside time and again," Chodankar said in a statement.
"The impact will be seen in both by-elections (in Goa). The Goa fiasco, where the BJP grabbed and overturned a popular mandate won by the Congress and subsequent non-governance for last nine months, have also contributed to BJP's defeat in the five states," Chodankar said.
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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-da..
Sachin Pilot: We are in touch with parties which contested against BJP
Policeman commits suicide by shooting self with service revolver
Kamal Nath confident of Congress' victory in Madhya Pradesh
Celebrations in Congress camp as party leads in three states
With early trends in three of the five state assembly elections showing a tilt towards the Congress, its workers and supporters burst into celebrations at various party offices as well as its headquarters in New Delhi.
The workers distributed sweets and raised slogans as the trends reflected that the party may make a comeback in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. In Chhattisgarh, Congress is ahead of the BJP on 21 seats while the BJP is leading on five. Congress' Karuna Shukla, niece of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, is giving a tough fight to the incumbent Chief Minister Raman Singh Rajnandgaon constituency.
In Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP has been in power since 2003, the Congress as per early trends, showed an improvement by leading with a substantial margin. "These are trends, but I am fully confident that we will get full majority," said Kamal Nath, the party's Madhya Pradesh Chief.
In Rajasthan the Congress is leading on 91 seats while the BJP is at 71. Meanwhile, in Te..
Assembly polls: 5 Chhattisgarh BJP ministers trailing
Five ministers in the Raman Singh-led BJP government in Chhattisgarh were trailing in the Assembly polls as per latest trends, a poll official said Tuesday.
The five Brijmohan Agrawal (Raipur City South), Kedar Kashyap (Narayanpur constituency), Mahesh Gagda (Bijapur), Dayaldas Baghel (Nawagarh) and Amar Agrawal (Bilaspur) - are trailing, as per trends in the state Assembly polls.
However, state presidents of the BJP and the Congress - Dharamlal Kaushik and Bhupesh Baghel -were leading from Bilha and Patan seats respectively.
Leader of Opposition T S Singhdeo and Congress MP from Durg Lok Sabha seat Tamradhwaj Sau were leading in Ambikapur and Durg Rural seats, respectively.
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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness..
Urjit Patel's resignation signals dangerous trend: AIBEA
Senior Congress leader C.N. Balakrishnan passes away
Mumbai: Arthur Road Jail creates gym on campus for some inmates
The only exercise that Arthur Road Jail inmates get is twiddling their thumbs before court appearances. Now, however, they can get much more than that at the new gymnasium on the premises. While prison officials provided the space, a private trust has donated the equipment.
Prison officials told mid-day that it is for the first time in Maharashtra that a gymnasium has been opened for inmates in a jail, so they can better their mental and physical health. But the space is out of bounds for habitual offenders or hardened criminals, said a prison official. "The gym facility is given to inmates who are not accused of serious crimes or whose sentence is for less than five years. We don't allow inmates who have been imprisoned for murder, attempt to murder, cheating, MCOCA, etc," he said.
The exercise equipment has been provided by Kerkar Charitable Trust. "We have installed fitness machines which are non-detachable. We will maintain them annually and provide accessories free of cost for 1..
PM Narendra Modi condoles demise of Jagdish Thakkar, meets family
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condoled the demise of Jagdish Thakkar, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) at the Prime Minister's office (PMO). Seventy-year-old Thakkar breathed his last in the national capital on Monday.
Hours after his death, the Prime Minister met the deceased¿s family and expressed his condolences.
"Extremely saddened by the demise of Shri Jagdish Thakkar, the PRO in the PMO. Jagdishbhai was a veteran journalist and I had the pleasure of working with him for years, both in Gujarat and in Delhi," the Prime Minister tweeted.
Remembering Thakkar for his simplicity and warm-hearted nature, PM Modi posted another tweet, "Several journalists would have regularly interacted with Jagdishbhai over the years. We have lost a wonderful person, who loved his work and did it with utmost diligence."
Thakkar, an Information Department Officer from Gujarat, was appointed as the Prime Minister¿s PRO in 2014, soon after PM Modi took office.
He began his car..
Upendra Kushwaha blasts Modi as he quits NDA, government
Supreme Court: Won't interfere with razing of Muzaffarpur horror home
Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi visit indisposed Amarinder Singh
Urjit Patel resigns as RBI Governor
RBI Governor Urjit Patel, who had a run-in with the government over the autonomy of the central bank, Monday resigned from his post.
In a brief statement, Patel said he has decided to step down with immediate effect.
"On account of personal reasons, I have decided to step down from my current position effective immediately," he said in a statement released by the RBI.
"It has been my privilege and honour to serve in the RBI in various capacities over the years. The support and hard work of RBI staff, officers and management have been the proximate driver of the Bank's considerable accomplishments in recent years.
"I take this opportunity to express gratitude to my colleagues and Directors of the RBI Central Board and wish them all the best for the future," Patel said.
He, however, did not specify the reason for the decision.
Patel was appointed the 24th Governor of the RBI on September 2016 for a three-year term.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a statement to ANI...
Mumbai: Soon, travel straight to CSMT from Borivli
PM Narendra Modi asks MPs to utilize winter session well
Mumbai: Bandra dividers, fixed three days back, crumbling again
Shoddy work continues to deface the city's roads. One such example is Bandra's Hill Road, where despite the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) repairing dividers just three days ago, on Saturday locals alleged they were in worse condition. Locals allege there was no supervision of work carried out despite BMC making it mandatory.
'Repaired' dividers brokenThe BMC had started taking action against illegal hawking at Hill Road as a traffic decongestion plan. The BMC then also started road widening, and dividers, too, were to be developed. But, just before St Stanislaus School, the medians that were repaired only a few days ago, are again in bad shape, allege locals.
A local said they have now become immune to BMC's inaction. A senior citizen, Abbas Abdul Hussain, said, "This matter needs to be looked at closely because the dividers are broken and could be fatal for motorists."
Another local, Kamraj said, "Just three days back the civic body completed the work and today the div..
Vijay Mallya's extradition case edges towards ruling
Demolition drive leads to rail roko in Titwala
A Demolition drive by the Forest Department from Friday in Panvali village near Titwala, led to a rail roko on the Central Railway's mainline on Sunday. Sources said the Forest Department had been removing illegal settlements in the area, and the affected locals walked up to Titwala station on Sunday afternoon, and gathered on the tracks in large numbers, refusing to budge.
The Forest Department allegedly took action against over 2,000 illegal settlements leading to the mass protest. This led to detention of mail and express trains, before RPF and local police could reach the spot in large numbers, to remove the protesters. The rail roko further disturbed the railway's Sunday timetable that had already been affected by a mega block on the line, leading to crowds and chaos.
Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps..
Rahul Gandhi urges Cong CMs for passage of Women's Reservation Bill
Poonam Mahajan invites IIT-B BETiC to conduct low cost medical device
BETiC’s 13 innovation centres, across the country, starting with the one at IIT-Bombay, have now created 40 different novel and affordable medical devices.
16 such stories are chronicled in Prof B Ravi’s book ‘The Essence of Medical Device Innovation’, published by The Write Place', a division of Crossword Bookstores.
The book became the subject of a discussion between Prof B Ravi- Head of BETiC, IIT-B and Mynoo Maryel- Convenor of World Dignity Forum. BETiC is supported by the Government of Maharashtra and Central Govt of India.
Hon. Lok Sabha MP Poonam Mahajan- National President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha presided over the same.The session revolved around the theme of ‘Low-cost medical devices for a billion Indians’ and was moderated by Vithal Nadkarni, Senior Consultant of Times of India.
“At BETiC, we make the journey form idea, to innovation to testing to impact”, said Prof Ravi. “Our experience at BETiC shows that th..
Assam tea body slam 'chaiwala' PM Narendra Modi
Not part of any coalition or in alliance with any political party: AAP
Watch: Man detained for trying to slap Union minister Ramdas Athawale
A 30-year-old man was detained for allegedly attempting to slap Union minister Ramdas Athawale at a public event in Maharashtra's Thane district on Saturday night, police said. The Republican Party of India (Athawale) chief was in Ambernath town to address a rally. Athawale had just got off the dais after delivering a speech on the Constitution when the incident happened at around 10.15 pm, a police officer said Sunday.
Pravin Gosavi, on the pretext of garlanding Athawale, allegedly tried to slap him, following which people overpowered him, beat him up and handed him over to the police. The minister of state for social justice and empowerment was not harmed as the bystanders and police managed to foil Gosavi's attempt to assault him, the officer said.
Gosavi, who was first admitted to a hospital in Ulhasnagar town following the public beating, has been shifted to a state-run hospital in Mumbai, police said.
#WATCH Maha: People thrash Pravin Gosavi, a worker of the youth wing of Re..
Hey Mumbaikars! Now, a mobile app to sell your dry waste
Mumbaikars will soon be able to sell any kind of dry waste with the click of a button. In order to reduce the quantity of waste that is taken to the city's dumping grounds, the BMC is going to appoint three agencies in the next couple of months that will be responsible for purchasing and collecting dry waste and sell to recycling companies.
Vijay Singhal, additional municipal commissioner, said they had floated a global tender in November, which attracted seven bidders. They will present the proposals to the BMC before three are selected. "Currently, the city collects 300 tonnes of [segregated] dry waste. We are hoping that, in the coming months, the collection of [segregated] dry waste will increase to 700-800 tonnes, and a lesser quantity of waste will be sent to the dumping grounds," he said.
Based on the conditions mentioned in the tender, Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of the Solid Waste Management department, said the plots will be handed over to three agenci..
Mumbai: Crash deaths fall 20% in a year of road safety design overhaul
At 12.30 PM on a weekday, the main intersection outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) is not as chaotic as it will be five hours later, when rush hour traffic transforms the pocket into a mind-numbing bedlam. Yet, a family with three children, which is attempting to cross over, appears to be walking on eggshells.
That this crossing is split into four junctions makes negotiating it tricky. Add to this, pedestrians always take the shortest route, when crossing. Abhimanyu Prakash, urban designer and architect, describes it as the "goats' trail".
Bandra's chaotic HP Junction is now pedestrian-friendly after an experiment with barricades
He explains the analogy thus: "When you go to the mountains, you see tiny tracks created on the ground by goats walking them. It's usually the shortest path they take to reach their destination. Humans are no different. You can paint a zebra crossing wherever you want, but we will take the shortest route. Always."
The fact that this s..
Farooq Abdullah: Centre fooling people by ignoring real issues
National Conference (NC) chairman Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said that the Central government is allegedly fooling the people of the country by ignoring real issues of farmers, unemployment, and Dalits, and is fighting for the Ram temple.
Speaking at an event here, Abdullah said, "Today, India is not fighting for the matters that matter to India, farmers, unemployed, the downtrodden, Dalits. They (the government) are fighting for Ram! They are fooling the people, and are destroying Kashmir."
"The intentions of Delhi were not a plebiscite, but to occupy the territory slowly. So they got puppets. They thought this movement will die. So how would they divide? By saying that Jammu is deprived, Ladakh is deprived and Kashmir has taken everything. Get Jammu and Ladakh together and to this day, the propaganda continues," the former J-K chief minister said.
The NC chief further stated that the core problem for the issues between Kashmir and the rest of India was the fact that there was a l..
Hillary Clinton in Udaipur for Isha Ambani's wedding celebrations
US former First Lady Hillary Clinton and a slew of Bollywood celebrities including newlywed Priyanka Chopra and her American singer husband Nick Jonas arrived here on Saturday for the pre-wedding celebrations of Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal.
The Maharana Pratap Airport buzzed with activity as the guests like cricket star Sachin Tendulkar with wife Anjali, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with wife, Aamir Khan with wife Kiran Rao, Abhishek Bachchan with mother Jaya, wife Aishwarya and daughter Aaradhya, Karan Johar, Salman Khan, Parineeti Chopra, Anil Kapoor and wife Sunita, Boney Kapoor with daughters Janhvi and Khushi, Siddharth Roy Kapur with wife Vidya Balan, John Abraham with wife Priya Runchal, Ronnie Screwvala with wife Zarine, Karisma Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Karan Tacker and designer Tamara Ralph from Ralph and Russo, arrived.
Isha and Anand, scions of the Ambani and Piramal business families respectively, will wed as per Indian traditions, customs and culture at th..
MMRCL to hold off on construction till next SC hearing
The Parsi community's efforts to save the Anjuman and Wadiaji Atash Behrams continued on Friday, at the first hearing of the special leave petition they filed at the Supreme Court. The arguments are set to continue at the next hearing Monday, December 10. Until then, the MMRCL's legal counsel said they would hold off on the tunnelling work.
After failing to get any relief from the Bombay High Court, which allowed MMRCL to continue construction of the tunnel under the two Atash Behrams, the Parsi community's legal team approached SC. The team, which includes lawyers Mukul Rohatgi and Zerick Dastur, continued to seek realignment of the tunnel.
While the thrust of the arguments made in the HC were on the spiritual beliefs of Zoroastrianism, on Friday, the Parsi community's legal counsel focused more on the structural argument. Jamshed Sukhadwalla, chief petitioner in the case said the argument focused on the eight alternative station configurations given by the international expert repr..
PM Narendra Modi's LPG scheme reduced household air pollution: Study
The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that aims to provide every household Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) replacing wood or coal fuel, has been found useful in tackling household air pollution, a new report said.
The study, "The India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative", released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and The Lancet, stated that in 2017 in India 12.4 lakh deaths were caused due to air pollution, of which 4.8 lakh were due to household air pollution.
"There is increasing political momentum in India to address air pollution. Household air pollution is reducing in India faciliated by the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. The findings systematically document the variations among states, which would serve as a useful guide for making further progress in reducing the adverse impact of air pollution in the country," Proffesor Balram Bharga..
Mumbai police felicitated by criminals invite senior officers' wrath
Goa: Mining dependents seek Prabhu's help to meet Narendra Modi
Surgical strike was overhyped, says retired Lt General DS Hooda
WCD to push for more power to NCW for sexual harassment cases
The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has decided to pitch for more strength to the National Commission for Women (NCW) in the first meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to look into laws against sexual harassment at the workplace, said an official on Friday.
"We will concentrate on one thing, that is strengthening of NCW. We took it to the Cabinet also but it could not be passed. It has been pending for three years now. So, this time we are going to resurrect it...," said the official.
The first meeting is scheduled to be held on December 10, according to a top government source. According to the Ministry, the proposed provisions were part of the National Commission for Women bill that was drafted in April 2015 on the basis of suggestions of another GoM, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Following the #MeToo movement, the government in October formed the new GoM, which was headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, along with three other Cabinet Minist..
Noida airport to be built on PPP mode
The construction of the Noida International Airport at Jewar will be done on a public-private-partnership (PPP) mode, Uttar Pradesh authorities said on Saturday. A government order has been issued by the Civil Aviation Department after a nod from the state cabinet.
At a cabinet meeting held earlier this week, it was decided that acquired land will be given on a 90-year lease to the Noida International Airport Limited (NAIL) and that it be vested the powers of selecting the developer.
Six villages -- Bajauta Rajawaha, Rajwaha, Dayanatpur Rajawah, Kishrepur Alpika and Pathvaya Nala -- are likely to be shifted for the purpose. The irrigation department will oversee and facilitate the shifting process, an official told IANS.
The state government has also ratified the financial and administrative clearance of Rs 4,500 crore required for acquisition of 1,239.14 hectares of land at a price of Rs 2,300 per square metres.
The government land that comes in the ambit of the airport will, howe..
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Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier
A tribute to his mentor"In a world obsessed with exhibiting, collecting and celebrating creativity, one glaring omission is the life and works of India's Rennaisance Man — Dashrath Patel," reads the curator's note for an exhibition, spanning the late designer, photographer, artist and sculptor's oeuvre, which opens in the city today. As part of his quest to make amends for this omission, architect-designer Pinakin Patel founded the Dashrath Patel Museum in Alibaug. A recent visit by the Goethe-Institut's Mumbai team to the museum resulted in the idea of the exhibition, which Pinakin was invited to curate.
Pinakin Patel and Dashrath Patel
"He had all the makings to be ranked prominently among [India's celebrated] painters," said Pinakin, adding that his contemporaries included MF Husain, Tyeb Mehta and SH Raza. Talking to this diarist about why he feels Patel's name was lost in the narrative on India's contemporary art history, he said, "It's just that later on in his life, he w..
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Aarey tribal faced with nearly 1,500% increase in electricity bill
After years of paying electricity bills of R50-80 for his spartan tribal home in Aarey Colony, Chandu Jadhav, 66, received a rude shock this week: Adani slapped him with a bill for R1,250, which is nearly 1,500% higher than any of his past bills. Now the physically challenged senior citizen has no idea how to manage his monthly expenses, as Adani's bill will gobble up more than a fifth of his modest monthly pension.
Chandu is among some 30 lakh suburban consumers who have experienced an abnormal hike in power bills ever since their power supplier changed from Reliance Energy to Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited (AEML) in September. The tribal resident of Vanicha Pada in Aarey Colony, Goregaon East, is a retired Class IV employee of the state water supply department, and earns a monthly pension of R5,500. This is the only source of income on which he supports his wife and three children. But since the family received the electricity bill from Adani on December 3, they have been worried ..
Ananya Birla: Mental illness is surrounded by shame, stigma
Ananya Birla feels there is a stigma and fear surrounding mental illness which often isolates people. The singer says people in India are scared to reach out for help because they don't want to be judged.
The singer, daughter of businessman Kumar Mangalam Birla, has in the past opened up about her own struggle with mental health, and asserts that it is very important for public figures to talk about it.
"The first step in addressing the issues around mental health around the world is to try to stamp out the stigma and normalise discussions about it by talking openly and shamelessly," Ananya, 24, told IANS over an email.
"People, especially in India, are scared to reach out for help because they don't want to be judged. The taboo that exists is our biggest challenge at the moment. Mental health is a topic that is rarely discussed and when it is, it is often trivialised. It's important that people like me, and those in the media, speak out to challenge this," she added.
"We need ment..
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A year on, Mumbai still waiting for fire-fighting bikes
Tired of battling the city's narrow lanes and bylanes, the Mumbai Fire Brigade had, last year, planned to procure motorcycles that could carry 40 litres of water and other fire-fighting equipment.
But, the process was stalled then as it is at loggerheads with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which had rejected the idea, as only one bidder had come forward. The Fire Brigade now wants to reopen the tenders.
The Royal Enfield Himalayan bikes were to have fitted on them a 40- litre water tank along with an integrated fire- fighting pump, a 30- metre hose reel, GPS, light and other basic fire- fighting equipment.
Need for the bikes In the past decade, over 600 people have died in fires in Mumbai. Many of these lives could have been saved if the Fire Department had procured fire- fighting bikes like Kerala and Karnataka. Many of these fires occur in places with limited accessibility that hinders the rescue process.
'Same bidders will apply' This month, the Fire Department wi..
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Woman poisoned to death over dowry demands
A woman was allegedly poisoned to death by her husband and in-laws over demands for dowry in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, police said on Friday. The woman, Rashim, was found dead at her residence in Khedki village under Garhi Pukhta police station on Thursday evening, they said. According to a complaint lodged by her father, Rajender, Rashim's in-laws called her parents on Thursday and asked them to visit their daughter as she was unwell.When Rashim's parents reached her residence, they found her dead and that her in-laws had fled, it said.The complaint alleged that Rashim was being harassed for dowry by her husband, Tinku, who she married three years ago, and his family. The woman's family held a protest and demanded the immediate arrest of the accused.Police said five persons including Tinku have been booked. A manhunt has been launched to nab the accused, they said.
Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Andr..
Jiah Khan case: Sessions court rejects CBI's plea of transferring trial
In a major setback to the CBI's role in the probe of the Jiah Khan death case, the sessions court on Thursday refused to transfer the matter to a special CBI court. On July 25, 2018, the CBI had moved a plea before Pushpa Ganediwala, principal judge, city civil and sessions court, requesting transfer of the trial to a special CBI court, and had even submitted a notification issued by the Law and Judiciary Department to support it.
The CBI in their plea (copy with this paper) stated that the Juhu police conducted the initial investigation in the case and filed a charge sheet before the 10th additional chief metropolitan magistrate court, Andheri, on June 10, 2014. Thereafter, the sessions court started hearing the case.The investigating agency stated, "Following a Bombay High Court order dated July 3, 2014 in a criminal writ petition filed by Jiah's mother Rabiya Khan, the state government handed over further investigation of the case to CBI. She was not satisfied with the probe carrie..
Mumbai: Balbharati gets perfect score with SSC videos
Within hours of Balbharati launching its YouTube channel to explain the new SSC exam pattern, it had thousands of hits. The state's textbook bureau has received 8,000 subscribers for it. The channel that can be accessed free of cost, has teachers simplifying the new curriculum and examination pattern.
This is the first year of the new curriculum for SSC, and the examination pattern too has changed, leading to major confusion and stress among students. Considering the situation, Balbharati, for the first time, recently held a practice SSC examination — wherein it uploaded question papers for students to download — which received tremendous response from across the state. Soon after this, Balbharati announced a YouTube channel where videos with explanations of model answer papers for the practice test question papers would be uploaded. On the first day yesterday, as per the detailed schedule, model answer papers of all first language subjects were uploaded.
A screen grab of..
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Here's what Narendra Modi gifted Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas
