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Archives for July 2023

16 states oppose Karnataka’s demand for rice at cheaper rate: Centre

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NEW DELHI:  Amid the din of Opposition unity talks, 16 states opposed the Congress-ruled Karnataka government’s demand to allow states to buy cheaper rice through the Open Market Sales Scheme (OMSS) of the Centre. The Union government has discontinued selling stocked grains (rice and wheat) to state governments under the OMSS on June 13.

In a recently concluded state food ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, 16 states opposed the demand of the Karnataka government to participate in OMSS, said Sanjiv Chopra, secretary of the Food and Public Distribution Department.

According to Chopra, states and Union Territories (UTs), including Tamil Nadu and Odisha, are of the view that the Centre’s surplus food stock should be used in the larger interest of 140 crore population and “not for a particular section and particular class of people”.Advertisementhttps://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/jul/11/16-states-oppose-karnatakas-demand-for-rice-at-cheaper-rate-centre-2593603.html

States supported the Union government’s move to sell grains to private traders to control food grain inflation. However, the Union government has failed to sell the grains to private traders. Under the first e-auction on July 5 across 19 states, traders showed a very lukewarm response to the OMSS of rice.  Only 12 buyers turned up. Out of it, only five traders registered bid 170 MT of rice out of a total of 3.86 LMT which the Food Corporation of India offered to sell.

Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh has criticised the Union government over the failed e-auction as the government has played petty and vindictive politics on poor food security in Karnataka. “Government’s e-auction has flopped miserably and more than 99.9% of the rice offered for e-auction remains unsold. In any case, it is clear that the Modi government has greater faith in private traders to control inflation than in state government than the public distribution system” states Ramesh.

Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh has criticised the Union government over the failed e-auction as the government has played petty and vindictive politics on poor food security in Karnataka

61 more people killed as rains continue to batter north India

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CHANDIGARH/LUCKNOW: At least 61 more people were reported dead across North India following incessant rains, flashfloods and lightning strikes on Monday, 34 of them in Uttar Pradesh and 17 in Himachal Pradesh, which is the worst affected state so far.

More than 300 tourists are stranded in Himachal’s Lahaul-Spiti district amid snowfall. Efforts are on to rescue them. Rains hampered the clearing of massive landslides that snapped road links. The tourists have been put up in hotels and government accommodations by the local administration. Besides, tourists and locals in two state roadways buses have been stuck following a flash flood in the Pagal nullah near Sissu village in the Lahaul Valley as it blocked the Manali-Leh highway.

The initial estimate of property loss in Himachal Pradesh is around Rs 3,000-4,000 crore. The overall toll in the North included six in Haryana and four in Punjab. In UP, 17 got electrocuted due to lightning while 12 drowned. Besides, there were five other rain-related deaths in the state.

Most rivers in the North were swollen, with the Yamuna in Delhi, too, crossing the danger mark following the release of water from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and assured all support. The Centre deployed 39 National Disaster Response Force teams — 14 in Punjab, 12 in Himachal, eight in Uttarakhand and five in Haryana — for the rescue and relief operations.

Sukhu said efforts were underway to evacuate the stranded tourists and residents in Lahaul-Spiti and Kullu districts using helicopters whenever the weather permits. In Himachal, five persons were killed in the Nirmand area of the Kullu district while five others died in the Shimla district in two different landslides. Also, the Shimla-Kalka highway was blocked near Shoghi due to a landslide.

Besides, rail operations on the Shimla-Kalka rail track were suspended as landslides blocked the track. 
In Punjab, floodwaters entered the Nabha Thermal Power Plant near Rajpura in Patiala forcing the shutdown of one of its 700 MW units.

Army rescues 910 university students in Punjab

The Army rescued 910 students and 50 others from the flooded Chitkara University near Rajpura in Punjab. The flood relief columns of its Western Command worked through the intervening night of Sunday and Monday to evacuate them and helped prevent the breaching of canals by the flood waters, the Army said.

AP CM Jagan lays stone for revival of Chittoor Dairy

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TIRUPATI: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday tore into Opposition Leader N Chandrababu Naidu on his home turf of Chittoor district by holding him responsible for the closure of Chittoor Dairy, which stood as the lifeline of dairy farmers of the region for decades together.

Jagan fulfilled the promise he made during his Praja Sankalpa Yatra for the revival of Chittoor Cooperative Dairy, and exchanged the copies of MoU with representatives of Amul, which will invest Rs 385 crore. He also laid the foundation stone for a medical college in Chittoor.   

Addressing a huge public meeting, Jagan came down heavily on Naidu stating that the former CM had orchestrated the destruction of Chittoor Dairy and closed it down in August 2002 to develop his family-owned Heritage. “Chittoor Dairy which was started as a chilling unit, had grown to process 2.5 to 3 lakh litres of milk a day by 1993. But, it was systematically pushed into losses by Naidu, who started Heritage in 1992, between 1992 and 2002,” Jagan alleged.

The conspiracy to rundown Chittoor Dairy was so visible that while it suffered losses during the 10 years, Heritage continued to grow with huge profits every year. “The dairy was closed abruptly leaving lakhs of farmers in the lurch as the management kept pending a huge amount as arrears. The YSRC government repaid the dues of Rs 182 crore and Amul will invest Rs 150 crore in the first phase of Chittoor Dairy revival,” he explained.

The revival of Chittoor Dairy will provide direct employment to 5,000 people and indirect employment to two lakh people, besides benefiting 20 lakh dairy farmers in Rayalaseema.“Not only Chittoor Dairy, but Naidu also sold several sugar factories and paper mills in the cooperative sector and public sector units like Allwyn and Republic Forge to TDP leaders like T Devender Goud and Nama Nageswara Rao for peanuts or closed them down taking kickbacks for encouraging private units,” he charged.

After closing down or selling 54 such units for peanuts through the Department of Implementation during his regime, Naidu unabashedly brought out a book ‘Privatisation, a success story in AP’ After the launch of the Jagananna Pala Velluva programme in December 2020, in partnership with Amul, the milk procurement prices had gone up manifold, benefiting lakhs of dairy farmers, he highlighted, adding that it forced the private dairies to increase the milk procurement prices due to competition.  

“For Naidu, there is no difference between father-in-law and farmer as he can backstab anyone,” he remarked and added that some people close to the TDP chief had even created obstacles to the construction of a medical college in Chittoor.

Terming Naidu and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan non-resident politicians, Jagan said they know nothing about social justice. “The two leaders do not reside in our State and if anyone wants to see them, a trip to the neighbouring State is a must, which shows how distant they are from the people,’’ he observed.
Naidu is now thinking of constructing a house in Kuppam 40 years after his public life and at a time when the people are preparing to bid adieu to him permanently, Jagan ridiculed.

Pawan Kalyan, who supported the TDP’s policy of ‘plunder, stash and devour’, has once again joined hands with Naidu and they are trying to cheat the people with false promises ahead of elections, hoping that people’s memory is short. The pack of wolves has come together and is spreading falsehood with the support of friendly media,’’ he observed.

Appealing to the people to think why the previous TDP regime failed to implement welfare schemes, when the present YSRC government has provided Rs 2.23 lakh crore to beneficiaries through DBT schemes in the last four years, Jagan exhorted them to support the YSRC in the next elections if they feel they are benefited.

Responding to the appeal of local MLA A Srinivasulu, the Chief Minister sanctioned Rs 75 crore for development works in the Chittoor Municipal Corporation, agreed to construct Kapu Bhavan and allocated funds for a road-over-bridge. District Collector S Shan Mohan, Energy Minister P Ramachandra Reddy and Amul Dairy MD Jayen Mehta participated in the programme.

Bangladesh: Dengue death toll increases to 73

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DHAKA [Bangladesh]: Six more deaths caused by dengue have been reported in 24 hours till Sunday morning, raising the number of fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease in Bangladesh to 73 this year, according to Dhaka Tribune.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 836 more patients were hospitalized with viral fever during the period, Dhaka Tribune reported.

A total of 2,750 dengue patients, including 1,968 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at different hospitals across the country, as per Dhaka Tribune.

So far, the DGHS has recorded 12,954 dengue cases, and 10,131 recoveries this year.

Moreover, in 2022, the country recorded 281 dengue deaths which mark the highest on record after 179 in 2019. It also recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year. 

England beat Australia by three wickets to win 3rd Ashes Test

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LEEDS: England beat Australia by three wickets in a nail-biting third Test at Headingley on Sunday to keep the five-match Ashes series alive.

Harry Brook and Chris Woakes shared a crucial partnership of 59 that took England to the brink of victory before Brook fell for 75 to Mitchell Starc (5-78).

The recalled duo of Woakes (32 not out) and Mark Wood (16 not out) then saw England home with more than a day to spare to cut Australia’s series lead to 2-1.

The series continues with the fourth Test at Old Trafford starting on July 19, with Australia now having two games in which to seal their first Ashes campaign triumph in England in 22 years.

England are bidding to become just the second team to win a Test series from 2-0 down after the 1936/37 Australia side, inspired by batting great Don Bradman, recovered from that deficit to win the Ashes 3-2.

Brief scores

Australia 1st Innings 263 (M Marsh 118; M Wood 5-34, C Woakes 3-73)

England 1st Innings 237 (B Stokes 80; P Cummins 6-91)

Australia 2nd Innings 224 (T Head 77; S Broad 3-45, C Woakes 3-68)

England 2nd Innings 254-7 (H Brook 75; M Starc 5-78)

Result: England won by three wickets

Series: Australia lead five-match series 2-1

Cash distribution for Anna Bhagya to commence in Karnataka

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BENGALURU:  Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is scheduled to launch the ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme by distributing cheques to a few beneficiaries at the Conference Hall of Vidhana Soudha at 5 pm on Monday.

Since the government cannot procure the required quantity of rice for the scheme, it is giving cash of Rs 170 per month per beneficiary against 5 kg of rice at Rs 34 per kg. Around 4.42 crore people from 1.28 crore families, including BPL and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) card holders, are expected to benefit. The CM, who is also the finance minister, allocated Rs 10,275 crore for the scheme for the 2023-24 fiscal year in the budget at Rs 856.25 crore per month.

The government had promised to launch the scheme on July 1. But it faced hurdles, as the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry and Department of Food and Public Distribution took a policy decision to discontinue the sale of rice and wheat to states under the Open Market Sale Scheme-Domestic (OMSS-D).
Caught in a bind, the state government decided to pay cash, instead of rice, to beneficiaries until the rice supplies were ensured. Now, the government has called for tenders to get the staple.

Of the five guarantees Congress had promised in the run-up to the Assembly polls, the government has launched the Gruha Shakti, allowing women to travel free in all non-premium KSRTC buses, while the process is on to start Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity, Gruha Laksmi to give Rs 2,000 per month for women heads of every family, and Yuva Nidhi, which gives Rs 3,000 for unemployed graduates and Rs 1,5000 for diploma. Siddaramaiah allocated Rs 35,410 crore in the budget for all the five guarantees for the 2023-24 financial year.

State of garbage units, Indira Canteens irks Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar

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BENGALURU:  Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who on Sunday morning carried out surprise inspection of waste processing plants at Kannahalli, Seegehalli and Doddabidarakallu, remained dissatisfied with their functioning, since these units were not processing waste to their full capacity.

At the Kannahalli plant, Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru Development Minister, found that the facility which was supposed to derive energy out of waste was not doing so. On checking the register at the entrance of the unit, he found discrepancies with the number of garbage trucks that have entered the premises. 

The Seegehalli plant, which has a capacity to process 120 metric tonnes of garbage, was non-functional and Shivakumar directed officials to get the unit started. He found garbage dumped by the roadside near Seegehalli, and turned towards the BBMP officials, questioning, “Such illegal dumping is happening in a city like Bengaluru. Who should be held responsible for this

He said that day-by-day, the garbage generated by Bengaluru is increasing and measures will be taken to handle it scientifically. He directed the BBMP officials to come up with solutions to put an end to the waste management woes in Bengaluru. He said he will soon be inspecting landfills too.

Shivakumar also inspected Indira Canteens in the city, where he found that the food that was supposed to be sold for Rs 5, was inflated to Rs 10. In one canteen, the food was over before 9 am and when Shivakumar inquired, the staff informed him that 208 plates had been sold.

At T Dasarahalli ward’s Indira Canteen, the DyCM ordered khara bath and kesari bath and had breakfast with other customers, and took their feedback. The Deputy CM also noted that the helpline number to lodge complaints against the canteen was non-functional. He assured that steps will be taken to fix the issues related to Indira Canteens.

BJP inducts 10 leaders into national executive panel

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NEW DELHI:  As part of the ongoing exercise to strengthen the party ahead of the 2024 general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party late on Saturday night inducted 10 senior leaders, including eight former presidents of the party’s state units, to the powerful national executive committee (NEC).

The eight former state chiefs include Bandi Sanjay Kumar (Telangana), Somu Veerraju (Andhra Pradesh), Deepak Prakash (Jharkhand), Satish Punia (Rajasthan), Sanjay Jaiswal (Bihar), Ashwani Sharma (Punjab), Suresh Kashyap (Himachal) and Vishnudeo Sai (Chhattisgarh).

Chhattisgarh BJP leader Dharamlal Kaushik and Rajasthan leader Kirodi Lal Meena are the other members of the NEC, a party statement said. The NEC in the BJP acts as the apex decision and policy-making body with a galaxy of experienced leaders as members including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national president J P Nadda. It has five presidents, five general secretaries, one general secretary (organisation) besides members.

At a meeting of BJP’s regional state presidents in Hyderabad chaired by the party’s national president J P Nadda, a majority of the attendees were of the opinion that PM Narendra Modi should contest the Lok Sabha election from Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu. Around 34 delegates attended the meeting including BJP state presidents from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka 

Panchayat elections: Repolling begins in 696 booths across 19 districts of West Bengal

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Kolkata: Repolling began at 7 am on Monday in 696 booths across 19 districts of West Bengal where voting for the panchayat elections was declared void amid allegations of tampering with ballot boxes and the violence that left 15 people dead, officials said.

The repolling will be held till 5 pm amid tight security with four central forces personnel deployed in each of those booths, besides state police, they said.

Among the districts where repolling was being held, violence-hit Murshidabad has the highest number of booths at 175, followed by Malda with 109, they added

Repolling was also being held at 89 booths in Nadia, followed by Cooch Behar (53), North 24 Parganas (46), Uttar Dinajpur (42), South 24 Parganas (36), Purba Medinipur (31) and Hooghly (29), officials said.

No repolling was ordered in Darjeeling, Jhargram and Kalimpong districts, they said.

The decision for repolling in these 696 booths was announced by the State Election Commission (SEC) on Sunday evening after reviewing reports of violence and tampering with ballot boxes and ballot papers, they said.

Polling was held on Saturday in over 61,000 booths for the three-tier panchayat elections.

In several places, ballot boxes were looted, set on fire and thrown in ponds, leading to violence.

A total 5.67 crore people living in the state’s rural areas were eligible to decide the fate of 2.06 lakh candidates in 73,887 seats of the panchayat system.

Excise scam: SC agrees to hear bail plea of Sisodia in cases filed by CBI, ED

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will hear on July 14, Former Delhi Minister Manish Sisodia’s plea seeking bail in the multi-crore scam of Delhi Liquor policy. 

Sisodia who has been in custody in the multi-crore scam of the now scrapped Delhi Liquor policy has approached Supreme Court against Delhi HCs orders of refusing to grant him bail in the cases registered by the CBI and ED. 

His plea was mentioned by Senior Advocate AM Singhvi before the bench of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha. Urging the court to consider his plea, Singhvi said, “His wife is not well. If it can be on July 14.” 

Sisodia was arrested on February 26 by CBI hours nearly eight hours after questioning pursuant to an FIR registered against him on August 17, 2022 under section 120B of IPC read with Section 477 IPC and section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Apart from the CBI case, he was also taken into custody by the ED on March 9 in a money laundering case. 

Seeking bail, he in his plea before the SC has said that charges in the chargesheet that has already been filed by the CBI are punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years. It has also been contended that the probe conducted so far has not traced any proceeds of crime to him and he thus deserves to be granted bail in the absence of evidence. 

The plea challenges Delhi HCs July 3 and May 30 order passed by Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma of rejecting him bail in the cases registered against him by ED and CBI respectively. 

While denying him bail in the CBI case, Justice Sharma had termed while terming allegations of misconduct against him “serious” had said that the excise policy was formed at the instance of the “South Group” with malafide intention to give undue advantage to them. HC in its order had said, “The gravity and the allegations do not entitle the accused to be admitted to bail. This court, as has discussed above, is clear of the fact that the excise policy has not been examined in the present proceedings nor the powers of the government regarding the framing of the economic policies. 

However, since there are serious allegations of misconduct against the petitioner, the petitioner being an influential person and having held the position of Deputy Chief Minister having 18 portfolios and the witnesses are mostly public servants, there is a possibility of the witnesses being influenced cannot be ruled out.” Additionally, Justice Sharma while denying him bail in the ED case had said that Sisodia didn’t meet the twin conditions for the grant of bail under PMLA as well as the triple test for the grant of bail. 

Justice Sharma also underlined that the special judge’s order was well reasoned and relieved on the basis of material on record and didn’t suffer from any illegality or infirmity. 

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