Archives for October 2022

Morbi: The suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi that collapsed on Sunday evening killing at least 60 people was reopened for the public just four days back after seven months of repair work by a private firm, but had not received the municipality’s “fitness certificate”, an official said.

The more than a century-old bridge in Morbi city caved in around 6.30 pm when it was crammed with people.

“The bridge was given to Oreva company for operation and maintenance for 15 years. In March this year, it was closed for the public for renovation. It reopened after renovation on the Gujarati New Year day celebrated on October 26,” said Chief Officer of Morbi Municipality Sandeepsinh Zala.

“It was opened to the public after the completion of the renovation work. But the local municipality had not yet issued any fitness certificate (after the renovation work),” he said.

An “engineering marvel” built at the turn of the 19th century, the suspension bridge was said to reflect “the progressive and scientific nature of the rulers of Morbi,” as per its description on the district collectorate website.

Sir Waghji Thakor, who ruled Morbi till 1922, was inspired by the Colonial influence and decided to construct the bridge, an “artistic and technological marvel” of that period, to connect Darbargadh Palace with Nazarbag Palace (the residences of the then royalty).

The bridge was 1.25 metres wide and spanned 233 metres, and was meant to give a unique identity to Morbi using the latest technology available in those days in Europe, as per the collectorate website.

Bhopal: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday asked if the collapse of the suspension bridge on Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi district, in which at least 60 persons have died, was an “act of God or an act of fraud”.

Singh, who issued several tweets on the incident, was playing on the phrase that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reportedly used at a rally while lampooning the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal after the Vivekananda Road flyover collapsed in Kolkata on March 31, 2016, killing many.

“Modi ji, is the Morbi bridge accident an Act of God or Act of Fraud?” Singh tweeted while quoting a 2016 news report.

He said the bridge was under repair for six months but collapsed five days after it was reopened.

In Gujarat, where the Bharatiya Janata Party has been in power for 27 years, the Narmada canal broke during the first day’s testing at village Bidra in Kutch district in July this year, while an overbridge in Bhuj, which took 8-9 years to build, had to be repaired within a year of commissioning, Singh claimed.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state BJP president VD Sharma and State Congress Chief Kamal Nath expressed grief over the incident.

Sidhu Moose Wala’s father Balkaur Singh speaks at an event.

Chandigarh: Sidhu Moosewala’s father on Sunday threatened to withdraw the FIR in his son’s murder case and leave the country if the slain singer was linked with gangsters.

Giving an ultimatum to the state machinery till November 25 to hear him out, an emotional Balkaur Singh claimed that his son was killed under a well-planned conspiracy and said he was not ready to accept the allegations that the singer was killed as part of a gang rivalry.

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29.

Singh said the family had been cooperating very well with the administration in probing the case, but this was perhaps considered as their “weakness”.

“It has been five months (since the death of Sidhu Moosewala). We are counting days and time is passing by,” he said addressing a gathering at Moosa village in Mansa.

Singh said he was against holding any dharna but wanted the officers concerned to hear his appeal. “My son was killed under a well-planned conspiracy,” he claimed.

“I want to tell the government through the media that if you make my son part of gangsters, I will make things easy for you and will take back the FIR on November 25.

“I promise that I will wait for a month. I have sought time from the (Punjab) DGP to hear me out. After that, if you say, I will take back the FIR. I will leave the country even if that means I get to settle in Bangladesh,” Singh said.

He said he had stopped expecting justice and sought to know why investigating agencies had not summoned the “B-team of (jailed gangster) Lawrence Bishnoi” gang yet.

The Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the murder.

Moosewala’s father also slammed police officer Pritpal Singh for allegedly providing support to the gangsters. He has been dismissed from service.

Deepak Tinu, one of the accused in the Moosewala murder case, had escaped the Mansa police’s Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) custody.

Pritpal Singh was the CIA incharge in Mansa. He was arrested on charges of helping Tinu escape the custody. But the Delhi Police arrested the gangster later.

Moosewala was killed on May 29 when he along with his friend and cousin was travelling in a jeep to Jawahar Ke village in Mansa. Six shooters waylaid his vehicle and pumped bullets into him.

Canada-based Goldy Brar, who is a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, said he was behind the murder.

The Punjab Police had filed a first 1850-page chargesheet against 24 accused in a Mansa court in August.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

Shadnagar (Telangana): Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “price rise and unemployment” in the country, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked as to why the Prime Minister is not addressing the issues.

Speaking at a meeting as a part of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra,’ Gandhi alleged that government schools, colleges and universities in Telangana are being privatised by the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS government.

“Narendra Modiji, say something. Gas cylinder’s cost is now Rs 1,000. Petrol price used to be Rs 70 (per litre). Narendra Modi used to mention in every speech that petrol cost has gone up to Rs 70. Now, it has crossed Rs 100. Diesel used to be Rs 56 (per litre). Now, it has become Rs 100, but Narendra Modi does not say anything on that,” Gandhi charged.

Alleging that BJP and TRS are trying to suppress people’s voices, the Congress leader said his ongoing march replicates true India wherein public concerns are heard.

Gandhi alleged that BJP toppled governments in Goa and other States by using money power.

Describing BJP and TRS are the same and create drama during elections, he claimed that both spend hundreds of crores during polls.
He alleged that Modi ensures that his three or four industrialist-friends get all the business.

The Gandhi scion said no force can stop his yatra from reaching Kashmir.

He said Telangana students have informed him that schools, colleges and universities in the State are being privatised and assured that if Congress comes to power here, it would stop the privatisation and more funds would be pumped into government educational institutions.

According to him, demonetisation in 2016 and goods and services tax (GST) negatively impacted small and medium-scale businesses.

Alleging that Dharani, Telangana’s integrated land records management system, is faulty, Gandhi said when his party comes into power the problems would be solved.

Health and education are neglected in the State and all the money spent on Dharani and irrigation projects so that KCR family gets good commission, he further alleged.

He said both BJP and TRS work in tandem.

Morbi: At least 60 people died after a century-old suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi city collapsed on Sunday evening, officials said.

The bridge, which reopened four days ago after extensive repairs and renovation, was crammed with people when it collapsed around 6.30 pm, officials said.

“At least 60 persons have died in the tragedy,” Gujarat minister Brijesh Merja said.

Eyewitnesses said there were several women and children on the British era “hanging bridge” when it snapped, plunging them into the water below.

Some people were seen jumping on the bridge and pulling its big wires, an eyewitness said. The bridge may have collapsed due to the “huge crowd” on it, he added.

People fell over each other when the bridge collapsed, he said.

Due to the Diwali vacation and being a Sunday, there was a rush of tourists on the bridge, a major tourist attraction.

A private operator had carried out the repair work of the bridge for nearly six months before it was reopened to the public on the Gujarati New Year day on October 26.

A fire department official said that boats were being used to rescue people from the river.

“We are carrying out rescue work using boats. There are around 40-50 people in the river,” the official said.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said he was saddened by the tragedy.

“Relief and rescue operations by the administration are going on. The administration has been instructed to arrange immediate treatment for the injured. I am in constant contact with the district administration in this regard,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a tweet that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in Gujarat, spoke to Patel and officials.

Modi sought urgent mobilisation of teams for rescue ops, the PMO said, adding the PM has asked that the situation be closely and continuously monitored, and all possible help be extended to those affected.

Bhanu (Panchkula): The ITBP that guards the LAC with China is training its personnel in a new unarmed “offensive” combat technique to gain better skills in taking on the adversary in situations like the Galwan clash of 2020 where crude weapons were used to inflict fatal injuries on Indian troops by the Chinese PLA.

The training module comprises 15-20 different fight manoeuvres taken from various martial arts techniques like judo, karate and krav maga that involve moves like punching, kicking, throwing, joint lock and pinning down.

The about three-month long training is being imparted by seasoned Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) trainers who hone new recruits at the basic training centre (BTC) here for battle inoculation just before getting commissioned into the border force.

“The new unarmed combat technique involves both defensive and offensive moves. We brought in this module for our troops last year on the directions of our former director general Sanjay Arora. The combat skills will render the opponent immobile and can also incapacitate them,” ITBP Inspector General Ishwar Singh Duhan told PTI.

Duhan heads the BTC located in the Bhanu area here, about 25 km from Chandigarh.

The Chinese soldiers used stones, nail-studded sticks, iron rods and clubs in carrying out brutal attacks on Indian soldiers after they protested the erection of a surveillance post by China on the Indian side of the LAC at Galwan (Ladakh) in June, 2020 resulting in 20 casualties on the Indian side while China belatedly claimed only four of its troops were killed.

The Russian official news agency TASS had reported that 45 Chinese servicemen were killed in the Galwan Valley clash. According to an American intelligence report, the number of casualties on the Chinese side was 35.

The unarmed combat technique trains the troops to channelise their power in such a manner that can land a deadly punch to the opponent, a senior officer supervising the training here said.

Duhan said the force has also introduced special training capsules aimed at enhancing the “physical capacity” of the troops deployed in some of the most arduous posts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that continuously face vagaries of nature like snow blizzards, avalanches and thin oxygen levels.

“We have now put in place a plan where a troop deployed on the border and higher altitudes will not be deployed for more than 90 days at a stretch. Logistics have been put in place that will ensure timely replacement of troops from the border posts,” the IG said.

It is not that these measures and instructions were not there earlier but we are implementing these things seriously as the border is very active now, Duhan said.

Officials said the ITBP studied a number of scientific parameters and got inputs from the DRDO’s Defence Institute of Physiology Allied Sciences (DIPAS) that showed how prolonged deployment of personnel can bring about “irreparable damage” to the human body.

It was then decided that troops deployed at high-altitude need to be rotated within a three-month duration.

Given the standoff, the ITBP has implemented the directive in letter and spirit now, the senior officer quoted above said.

India and China are locked in a lingering border standoff in eastern Ladakh for over 29 months. The bilateral relationship came under severe strain following the deadly clash in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh in June, 2020.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.

Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry.

As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.

Last month, the Indian and Chinese militaries carried out disengagement from the Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area.

However, there has been no progress yet on resolving the standoff in the Demchok and Depsang regions.

The about 98,000 personnel strong ITBP is mandated to guard the 3,488 km long LAC running across from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh and is currently deployed along with the Army at these locations since the standoff started.

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday alleged that the BJP was trying to ‘buy’ 20 or 30 MLAs of the ruling TRS and topple his government.

Addressing a poll rally at bypoll-bound Munugode Rao segment, Rao referred to the TRS MLAs case and said “brokers” from Delhi came and attempted to bribe the MLAs by offering Rs 100 crore each. However, the legislators, who are real sons of the soil, rebuffed the offer.

“You have seen yesterday. (BJP thinks) KCR is talking loudly. Let’s see his (political) end. They have sent brokers to buy each MLA for Rs 100 crore. They wanted to buy 20 or 30 MLAs and topple KCR’s government and encroach Telangana so that they can implement privatisation as per their will,” Rao alleged.

His statement comes a day after three people who tried to “poach” four TRS legislators were arrested and remanded to judicial custody.
Rao paraded all the four legislators in the public meeting.

Based on a complaint by P Rohith Reddy, one of the TRS legislators, cases under relevant sections – criminal conspiracy, offering bribe and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 – were filed against Ramachandra Bharati alias Satish Sharma, Nanda Kumar and Simhayaji Swamy — on October 26 night.

According to the FIR copy, Rohith Reddy alleged that the accused offered him Rs 100 crore and in return the legislator had to leave the TRS and contest as a BJP candidate in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Patna: Political strategist turned activist Prashant Kishor on Sunday compared the BJP-RSS combine to a cup of coffee in which the party was like the frothy top and the parent body was the real thing underneath.

Kishor, who is on a 3,500 kilometres long “pada-yatra” in Bihar, came up with the colourful analogy at Lauria in West Champaran district which he has been covering on foot since October 2.

Kishor lamented that it took him long to realise that “the ideology of (Nathuram) Godse can be defeated only by reviving Gandhi’s Congress” and “it would have been better had I worked in that direction instead of helping people like Nitish Kumar and Jagan Mohan Reddy realise their ambitions”.

The IPAC founder, who has been sceptical of a united opposition’s efficacy in halting the Narendra Modi juggernaut, emphasised that one cannot defeat the BJP unless one understands what it is.

“Have you ever looked at a cup of coffee? There is froth at the top. BJP is like that. Below that there is the deep structure of the RSS. The Sangh has wormed its way into the social fabric. It cannot now be beaten with shortcuts,” said Kishor.

The political strategist’s first claim to fame was his handling of Modi’s poll campaign in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, a spectacular success that helped the BJP get a majority on its own.

Kishor also continued to hurl barbs at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose JD(U) has been calling him a “BJP agent”.

“I was the JD(U) national vice president when the nation was on the boil against CAA-NPR-NRC. I was appalled to learn that MPs of my party had voted in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in Parliament,” recalled the 45-year-old, often perceived to be as ideologically agnostic.

“I confronted Nitish Kumar, who was then our national president. He claimed he was away on a tour and not aware of the development but glibly assured me that he will not allow NRC in Bihar. The duplicity made me realise I cannot work with this man,” said Kishor who was expelled from JD(U) over the spat with Kumar.

Kishor, whose much-anticipated entry into the Congress could not fructify last year despite meetings with its top leaders, hinted that he still admired the organisation but in its old avatar under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.

“Godse’s ideology can be defeated only by reviving the Congress of Gandhi,” said Kishor, in an oblique reference to alleged RSS links of the Mahatma’s assassin.