Archives for June 2021

MUMBAI: Actor Sonu Sood, who has been relentlessly trying to help people who have been affected by Covid-19, has announced that he will set up oxygen plants across the country in almost 16-18 states.

I have tried to cover all the states. The oxygen plants will be set up near the needy hospitals which will have almost 150-200 beds. All these hospitals will never have shortage. The patients have to sometimes travel far to reach the hospitals and in some cases, they lose their lives as well. With this, I hope, such situation will never arise.”

Is this his precautionary method to tackle the predicted third wave of Covid-19?

“This will solve the problem forever. Right now there are almost 700 concentrators which we are servicing pan India, but it’s a temporary arrangement. With an oxygen plant, no one will ever face a problem. Why wait for a third or fourth wave to happen? Even when the pandemic will be over, the villages and districts nearby will have oxygen supply forever,” says the actor.

The actor’s work has reached the masses and he often has visitors coming outside his house to meet and discuss their problems with him. He says that helping people only makes him feel more responsible.

“It doesn’t make me nervous, but gives me more sense of responsibility. It’s raining right now but people are still standing outside and I have requested them to go. I worry for them and there is so much pain across the country. So, the privileged people should come forward and help and do whatever best they can do,” says the actor, who will soon be seen in the Telugu film “Acharya” and Bollywood flick “Prithviraj”.

Kavaratti: Amidst widespread protests from the employees and the locals the Lakshadweep administration has withdrawn its order to deploy government officials on fishing boats.

Earlier, the administration had decided to deploy govt officials om fishing boats for intelligence gathering. 

An order to increase security on ships has also been withdrawn. Amid protests by islanders against the proposed “reforms” by Lakshadweep administrator Praful Khoda Patel, the island administration had taken a set of decisions.

Mumbai: At least eight children and three adults were killed and seven other people injured after a single-storey house collapsed on another structure in Malwani area of Mumbai, a civic official said on Thursday.

The incident took place around 11.15 pm on Wednesday at the New Collector Compound on Abdul Hamid Road in the Malwani area, he said.

Fire brigade and other agencies immediately rushed to the spot and started a search and rescue operation, the official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

Eight children and three adults died in the incident, he said.

Three of the deceased, aged 8, 9 and 13, were identified so far, while the eight other victims were yet to be identified, the BMC official said.

Seven others were injured and the condition of one of them was critical, he said. People rescued from under the debris were taken to nearby hospitals, he added.

According to civic and fire brigade officials, some people might still be trapped under the rubble and the search and rescue operations were on.

According to BMC officials, the house collapsed on another singole-storey structure.

An adjoining three-storey building was also unstable, they said.

New Delhi: Asian Games gold medal-winning former boxer Dingko Singh died on Thursday after a long battle with liver cancer. He was 42 and had been fighting the disease since 2017.

“I’m deeply saddened by the demise of Shri Dingko Singh. One of the finest boxers India has ever produced, Dinko’s gold medal at 1998 Bangkok Asian Games sparked the Boxing chain reaction in India. I extend my sincere condolences to the bereaved family. RIP Dinko,” Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted.

The Manipur-based former boxer endured a long battle with cancer and even fought COVID-19 last year.

“My sincerest condolences on this loss May his life’s journey & struggle forever remain a source inspiration for the upcoming generations. I pray that the bereaved family finds the strength to overcome this period of grief & mourning #dinkosingh,” tweeted India’s first Olympic-medallist in boxing Vijender Singh.

Dingko won the Asian Games gold in 1998 and was bestowed the Arjuna award the same year. In 2013, he was honoured with the Padma Shri for his contribution to the sport.

Dingko, who was employed with Navy, had taken to coaching after hanging up his gloves.

Kochi,: The 45-year-old Indian recently freed from death row in the UAE after an NRI businessman paid “blood money” arrived here on Wednesday and said his release was a “second life” for him.

Becks Krishnan,who was on death row in the United Arab Emirates for killing a young Sudanese boy in a road accident in 2012, was freed after prominent NRI businessman and philanthropist M A Yusuff Ali helped pay his “blood money” amounting to nearly Rs one crore.

The Thrissur resident arrived at the international airport here early on Wednesday morning from Abu Dhabi.

His wife Veena and son Advaith, along with other relatives and friends, received him at the airport.

“I was relieved when I heard that Yusuff Ali had intervened…This is my second life.

I am thankful to Yusuff Ali. He was holding discussions with the victim’s family for many months,” Krishnan told the media.

Meanwhile, Ali in a statement, said he had deposited 500,000 Dirhams in January at the Abu Dhabi court after convincing the Sudani boy’s family to pardon Krishnan.

“We had to convince both the parents and the negotiations went on for several months.

It was difficult initially because the boy’s mother wanted the law to take its own course.

Convincing them to pardon Krishnan was the difficult part,” Ali said in a statement.

Krishnan was sentenced to death by the UAE Supreme Court after he was found guilty of killing a young Sudanese boy when he recklessly drove and rammed his car into a group of children in September 2012.

Ever since, his family and friends had been trying hard for Krishnan’s release without any success, especially as the victim’s family had already gone back and settled in Sudan, putting an end to any discussion or pardon.

The Krishnan family then approached Yusuffali, Chairman of the Lulu Group, who went about getting the details of the case and got in touch with all stakeholders.

Ultimately in January 2021, the victim’s family in Sudan agreed to pardon Krishnan.

Subsequently, Yusuffali paid 500,000 Dirhams (Rs one crore approximately) as compensation in the court to secure the man’s release.

Abu Dhabi-based Lulu Group that owns Lulu Hypermarkets and shopping malls, is one of the top retailers in the Middle East and North African region (MENA).

Kolkata: Popular Tollywood heroine and Trinamool Congress MP Nusrat Jahan on Wednesday claimed her marriage with businessman Nikhil Jain was not a legal marriage but a live-in relationship as their wedding in Turkey did not have recognition in Indian law.

Jahan, who is reportedly dating actor-assembly poll candidate Yash Dasgupta in recent times, said in a statement that since her marriage ceremony with Jain had taken place in accordance with Turkish Marriage Regulation, the marriage is invalid here.

Commenting on Jahan’s statement, Jain told reporters: “I don’t want to say anything. Everything will be decided by the court. The matter is in court.”

Jahan, in her statement also claimed, “Since it was an interfaith marriage, it requires validation under Special Marriage Act in India, which did not happen. As per law, it is not a marriage, but a relationship or a live-in relationship.”

Referring to Jain’s recent statement to the media that he sought divorce from Jahan, the MP from Basirhat constituency said, “The question of divorce does not arise due to above-mentioned reasons.”

“Our separation happened long back, but I did not speak about it as I intended to keep my private life to myself. Thus, my actions must not be questioned based on ‘separation’, by the media or anybody I am not related to. The alleged marriage is not legal, valid and tenable; and thus, was not a marriage at all in the eye of law,” she alleged.

Jahan had tied the knot with Jain at a destination wedding ceremony in Turkey in 2019, attended by a select few.

After winning the Lok Sabha Elections in 2019 on a TMC ticket, Jahan hosted a grand wedding reception at a five-star hotel in Kolkata which was attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee among other dignitaries.

Nusrat issued the statement amid speculations of a rift in her marriage and reports that she is living separately and is pregnant.

“My visit to any place for business or for the purpose of leisure, should not concern anyone with whom I have separated. All my expenses have always been borne by me contrary to claims by ‘someone’,” she further said in the statement.

She added that she would never speak up about her personal life or anyone she is not related to.

“Thus, people who call themselves ‘normal people’ must not entertain anything which is not related to them.

“I would request the media to refrain from questioning the wrong person, who has not been a part of my life since long now…. I would earnestly request my friends from the media to not give unnecessary mileage to such people or situations,” the statement read.