Archives for October 2021

Kevadia (Guj): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said his government, after hard work in the last six-seven years, has established faith among people that it is possible to fight corruption and that they will get benefits of various government schemes without the involvement of middlemen.

Virtually addressing a joint conference of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) virtually at Kevadia in Gujarat, Modi claimed the previous government did not have the will to fight corruption.

In the last six-seven years, we have been able to establish faith among people that it is possible to stop corruption in the country. People of the country have faith today that they will get benefits of government schemes without any middlemen, Modi said.

“Corruption, big or small, takes away the rights of common people. It is a hindrance in the progress of the country and effects our collective energy,” he said.

Modi also said that there should be no safe havens anywhere in the world for those committing crime against the country and its people.

New Delhi: Uttarakhand reported at least 42 rain-related deaths on Tuesday with many people still trapped under the rubble after landslides, while Uttar Pradesh witnessed four fatalities, even as heavy downpour in Kerala filled several dams to the brim and multiple districts were on alert.

In view of the incessant rains, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reiterated his appeal to Chardham yatris to stay where they are and not to resume their journeys before the weather improved.

“The number of casualties in Kumaon region alone has crossed 40,” DIG Nilesh Anand Bharne told PTI.

With 42 new fatalities in the Kumaon region, the death toll in the disaster has risen to 47 as five deaths were reported on Monday.

Of the 42 fresh deaths, 28 people were killed in Nainital district, six each in Almora and Champawat and one each in Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar districts, the official said.

The connectivity to Nainital was restored in the evening after hours of struggle amid inclement weather, officials said.

Chief Minister Dhami undertook an aerial survey of the rain-hit areas and later interacted with the affected people on ground zero to make an assessment of the damages caused.

He announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed in rain-related incidents across the state over the last two days.

Director General of Uttarakhand Police Ashok Kumar, who accompanied Chief Minister Dhami on a visit to the rain-hit areas of the Kumaon region, said roads, bridges and railway tracks have been damaged in Kathgodam and Lalkuan in Nainital and Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar.

It will take at least four-five days to repair the damaged tracks, Kumar told PTI.

Three Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters have arrived in the state and are assisting in relief and rescue operations. Two of them have been deployed in Nainital district, which has suffered extensive damage due to cloudbursts and landslides, Dhami said.

According to a rough estimate, around 100 pilgrims from different parts of Gujarat who had gone to Uttarakhand for the Chardham Yatra were stranded following heavy rains and landslides, Gujarat Revenue Minister Rajendra Trivedi said.

The National Disaster Response Force has rescued over 300 people from flood-affected areas of Uttarakhand, the federal force said on Tuesday.

The NDRF has deployed 15 teams in the state.

Rainfall was reported from other parts of the country as well including Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, according to the IMD, which forecast an intense spell of rain over east and northeast till Wednesday, and south peninsular region during the next four-five days.

Authorities in the national capital said Prof Joginder Singh Marg in the western part of the city had been closed after the road caved in.

A 35-year-old woman and her mother-in-law died in Uttar Pradesh’s Fathepur after a wall of their house collapsed following heavy rains.

In Bareilly, also in UP, two labourers died of electrocution in Bisalpur road after coming in contact with a solar panel following heavy rains, police said.

In West Bengal, the Met department said heavy rainfall is very likely to continue till Thursday morning even as the low-pressure system that developed over the Gangetic Basin in the southern part of the state moved to Bihar, parts of which received heavy rains during the day.

The weatherman warned of extremely heavy rainfall over Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Alipurduar till Wednesday morning and downpour till Thursday over all sub-Himalayan districts.

The IMD forecast more rain on Wednesday in Odisha, which has already been battered by low-pressure area-induced downpour for the last three days. Fishermen were advised not to venture into the Bay of Bengal for the next 48 hours.

Down south in Kerala, after a relative respite of two days, the IMD Tuesday issued an Orange Alert for 11 districts of Kerala indicating heavy rainfall. The weatherman has put 12 districts in the state on Orange alert on Thursday also.

The IMD sounded an Orange alert for Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur districts on October 20.

An Orange alert has been issued for all districts other than Kannur and Kasaragod on October 21.

Idukki, Idamalayar, Pamba and Kakki, four major dams among the total 78 dams in the state have been opened to release the excess water.

Shutters of Cheruthoni dam, part of the Idukki reservoir in Kerala, were opened on Tuesday to create more storage capacity in anticipation of the heavy rainfall predicted in its catchment area over the next two days.

Various district administrations have issued alerts to the people living downstream and shifted them to relief camps set up in the state.

The IMD said a low-pressure area lies over Bihar and neighbourhood. Also due to strong southerly/southeasterly winds from Bay of Bengal, a heavy spell of rainfall activity is very likely to continue over east and northeast India till October 20.

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy

Vijayapura: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said he has nothing to learn from RSS ‘Shakha’ as he alleged that people who were trained there have indulged in watching “blue film” at the legislative Assembly, when the session was on.

The former Chief Minister was responding to state BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel’s recent invitation to him to come to RSS Shakha and learn about the activities of the Sangh.

“…I don’t want their (RSS) companionship. Haven’t we seen what was taught in RSS Shakha? How to behave in the Vidhana Soudha….watching blue film while the assembly session is on. Isn’t such a thing taught to them (BJP) at RSS Shakha? Do I have to go there (to RSS shakha) to learn this?” Kumaraswamy asked.

Speaking to reporters here on the sidelines of the bypoll campaign, he said, “I don’t want their Shakha. Whatever I have learnt from the Shakha here, the Shakha of the poor is enough. I have nothing to learn from theirs (RSS Shakha).”

Kumaraswamy was referring to an incident in 2012, when the then three ministers were caught on camera allegedly watching porn clipping on mobile phones in the state assembly during its proceedings, causing an embarrassment to the then BJP government.

The three ministers had resigned following the incident.

Recently, referring to a book, Kumaraswamy had said that the RSS, as part of its ”hidden agenda”, has created a team of bureaucrats in this country, who are now placed at various institutions.

He had also said the BJP governments at both the Centre and in Karnataka were functioning on the directions of the RSS, and PM Narendra Modi was its “puppet”.

Following this, Kateel had invited him to come to RSS Shakha and learn about the Sangh’s activities.

Jammu: As the counter-insurgency operation in the forest belt of Jammu and Kashmir’s twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri entered the ninth day on Tuesday, public announcements were made in Mendhar asking local residents to stay indoors for their safety, officials said.

The people were alerted through the public address system in local mosques in Bhatta Durrian and adjoining areas as the security forces were preparing a final assault against the terrorists believed to be hiding in the forest area of Mendhar in Poonch district, the officials said.

They said the people were asked not to venture into the forest area and also keep their livestock at their homes in view of the ongoing operation.

Those who have gone outside were asked to return to their homes along with their animals, the officials said.

While a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and four other security personnel laid down their lives in a fierce gunfight during the start of the counter-insurgency operation in Surankote forest of Poonch on October 11, four other soldiers including another JCO lost their lives in another encounter in Nar Khas forest in Mendhar on Thursday evening after the security forces extended the cordon and search operation. An encounter was on in the adjoining Thanamandi forest in Rajouri district on October 11 when the security forces confronted the fleeing militants who, however, managed to escape.

The entire forest belt is still under tight security cordon to neutralise the terrorists, the officials said, adding the area is mountainous and the forest is dense, making the operation difficult and dangerous.

Eight suspected persons including a mother-son duo were detained for questioning from Bhatta Durrian in connection with providing logistic support to the terrorists. However, it is to be seen whether the support was given voluntarily or under duress, the officials said.

Earlier on Saturday, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Rajouri-Poonch range, Vivek Gupta said the presence of terrorists in the forest area connecting Poonch and Rajouri was observed two and a half months ago and accordingly tactical operations were launched to track them down.

The joint security grid was tracking different groups of terrorists but sometimes operations take time, depending on the topography of the area. The contact with the terrorists was established on three occasions during the start of the operation, based on the intelligence inputs, the officer had said, adding the terrorists are holed up and the joint forces are on the job to take the operation to the logical conclusion.

The army has already deployed para-commandos and a helicopter was also seen hovering over the forest area on Saturday for surveillance.

The traffic between Mendhar and Thanamandi along the Jammu-Rajouri highway remained suspended as a precautionary measure for the fifth day on Tuesday in the wake of the ongoing operation.

Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region have witnessed a rise in infiltration attempts since June this year, resulting in the killing of nine terrorists in separate encounters.

Tumkuru: Nearly a week after an online uproar against Prof. Ramchandraiah over insulting and derogatory remarks against Muslims and Islam in his book that is being taught in B.Ed course across universities, the author has now been arrested by Tumkuru Police.

According to the reports, Prof. Ramchandraiah has been arrested by New Extension Police Station personnel in Tumkuru.

A complaint was filed against his at New Extension Police Station by Campus Front of India State President Roshan Nawaz. Complaints were also filed against the professor in 25 police stations across the state.

Ramchandraiah has been booked under 153(A), 295 (A) and other sections.

New Delhi: Congress leader and former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh Tuesday said he would soon announce his own political party and is hopeful of a seat arrangement with the BJP if the farmers’ issue is resolved in their interest.

Singh resigned as chief minister of Punjab last month after a bitter feud with Navjot Singh Sidhu and infighting in the state Congress. The party replaced him with Charanjit Singh Channi.

“The battle for Punjab’s future is on. Will soon announce the launch of my own political party to serve the interests of Punjab & its people, including our farmers who’ve been fighting for their survival for over a year,” Singh said Tuesday.

He also said he will not rest until he secures the future of “my people and my state”.

“Punjab needs political stability and protection from internal and external threats. I promise my people I will do what it takes to ensure its peace and security, which is today at stake,” he was quoted as saying by his media adviser.

“Hopeful of a seat arrangement with BJP in 2022 Punjab Assembly polls if Farmers Protest is resolved in farmers’ interest. Also looking at alliance with like-minded parties such as breakaway Akali groups, particularly Dhindsa & Brahmpura factions,” Singh said.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday established a help desk for assisting stranded people like passengers, pilgrims, tourists and visitors from the state at various places in rain and flood ravaged Uttarakhand.

According to the Minister for Revenue R Ashoka, people, who are stranded or relatives of those stranded, can contact this help desk and give the information which will be flashed to Uttarakhand authorities for immediate action and quick response, an official release said.

The Karnataka State Emergency Operation Centre Numbers are: 080 – 1070 (Toll Free) and 080 – 2234 0676, it said, adding that these numbers are active to receive any distress call and will function all the time.