Archives for August 2024

Surendranagar: A bridge on the Bhogavo river in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district collapsed on Tuesday afternoon due to a sudden rise in water following discharge from an overflowing dam, officials said.

No casualties were reported in the incident.

The bridge, around 100-metre long, connected Habiyasar village with Chotila town, said Sub Divisional Magistrate of Chotila, KK Sharma.

Gujarat has been receiving heavy showers for the last three days. Surendranagar, Kheda, and Devbhumi Dwarka were also battered by rains in the morning hours.

The SDM said he did not know about the year when the bridge was built. Sarpanch of Habiyasar village, Tejabhai Bharwad who shot the video, claimed the bridge was constructed only five years ago.

“A large volume of water flowed into the river after a dam near Nani Morsal village overflowed, which caused the bridge crash. No one was injured in the incident,” said Sharma.

He said the administration never received any representation about structural issues of the bridge or whether it was weak.

Bharwad claimed that Habiyasar village is now cut off from the rest of the state in the absence of an alternative route.

“This bridge was built just five years ago. It collapsed at around 1:30 pm when I was at the spot.

When the bridge was being constructed, I protested because of faulty construction techniques. However, the contractor said it’s a new construction method. The bridge eventually fell apart today,” Bharwad claimed, adding that 800 villagers are cut off from the state.

This is the first time when the actual strength of the bridge was tested in five years as a large volume of water flowed into the river from the overflowing dam, he said

Asserting that her government has zero tolerance to incidents of rape, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said an amendment to existing laws will be passed in the state assembly next week to ensure capital punishment to convicted rapists.

Banerjee said that she would sit for dharna outside Raj Bhavan if the governor delays in giving assent to the amended bill or forwards it to the President for ratification.

The chief minister also said that the TMC will launch a movement from Saturday at the state’s grassroots to create pressure on the Centre to pass legislation for capital punishment of convicted rapists.

“We will pass the amended bill in a special session of the assembly next week. We will then send it to the governor for his nod. We will stage dharna outside Raj Bhavan if he sits on the bill,” she thundered from the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad foundation day rally here.

Banerjee also urged the agitating junior doctors of Bengal, who have struck work for 20 days now to urgently consider returning to duty.

“I have remained sympathetic towards the cause of the doctors from the very beginning since they were seeking justice for their colleague. We did not take any action against them although so many days have passed since the incident. We understand your pain. But please come back to work now since patients are suffering,” she appealed.

Coming down heavily on the BJP for calling a 12-hour bandh, Banerjee said, “They called a bandh since they wanted political dividends over a dead body. The BJP is trying to exploit the emotions of ordinary people in the wake of the death of a young woman. They want to malign Bengal and plotted a conspiracy to derail the probe into her death so that the victim and her family do not get justice.”

Siddharthanagar: A bulldozer demolished the boundary wall and gate of the Kotwali police station in Siddharthanagar on August 28, 2024. This action was part of a broader anti-encroachment initiative aimed at reclaiming government land for road expansion. The police station, listed among 55 illegal structures, was unexpectedly included in the demolition drive.

The bulldozer, deployed to clear encroachments and widen roads, arrived at the police station, leaving officers bewildered. The police had participated in the anti-encroachment drive earlier, unaware that their own station’s wall was targeted.

Station House Officer Santosh Tiwari questioned the legality of demolishing part of a police station without written orders. Additional District Magistrate Umashankar Singh and Sub Divisional Magistrate Lalit Kumar, leading the demolition team, defended their actions, emphasising that no exceptions would be made.

The drive also affected other local structures, including a segment of the Panchayat Bhawan. District Magistrate Raja Ganapathy R stated that efforts to clear Khajuria Road of encroachments began in 2017, noting that the road’s width had increased from 6 meters to 13 meters following the demolition.

Chamarajanagar: A KSRTC bus experienced a tire burst on Wednesday, but all 20 passengers aboard escaped unharmed due to the driver’s quick reaction. The incident occurred as the bus was traveling from Kollegala to Dantalli village via the Rampur Kaudalli route.

Reports indicate that issues with KSRTC bus tires have been a concern, with many passengers expressing dissatisfaction over the condition of the vehicles. Complaints include frequent breakdowns and poor maintenance, impacting passenger convenience.

Passengers have requested senior officials from Karnataka State Transport to consider changing old busses and to work on improvements to the current system to enhance passenger safety and comfort.

Union Minister Suresh Gopi

Thrissur (Kerala) : Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Tuesday lashed out at the media, accusing it of misleading the public’s perception about the film industry regarding the recent allegations of sexual harassment against actors and directors.

The actor-politician termed the allegations as “food” for the media and said they were welcome to make money out of it.

The Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism, however, said they should not try to destroy such a huge industry like cinema.

He was responding to reporters’ queries over the recent allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against various directors and actors, including CPI(M) MLA M Mukesh.

“This is all food for you, is what I understand. You can use it to make money. (There is) no problem with that. But these issues are before the court, and it has the intelligence and logic to arrive at a decision regarding them.

“You (media) are not only making people fight each other for your own gains, you are also misleading public perception. The complaints are in the form of allegations at the moment. What are you telling people? Are you the court? You are not. The court will decide. Let the court decide,” Gopi said.

His response came a day after the Yuva Morcha organised a march towards the residence of Mukesh in Kollam.

The publication of the Justice K Hema Committee report on harassment and abuse in the Malayalam film industry has opened a can of worms with several female actors stepping forward with disturbing accounts of the mistreatment they faced at the hands of their various male counterparts.

Amid these allegations, the government announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe the allegations made in the wake of the Hema Committee report being published.

Following that more complaints surfaced against various actors and directors.

The report by the Justice Hema Committee, constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case has revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry, prompting calls for action against the guilty.

New Delhi : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Monday that former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren will join the BJP.

Sarma said Soren will join the party on August 30 in Ranchi.

He posted a picture of Soren meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah here. Sarma, who is the BJP’s co-incharge for the Jharkhand assembly polls, was also part of the meeting.

“Former Chief Minister of Jharkhand and a distinguished Adivasi leader of our country, Champai Soren Ji met Hon’ble Union Home Minister Amit Shah Ji a short while ago. He will officially join the BJP on 30th August in Ranchi,” Sarma said on ‘X’.

A Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, Soren had accused its leadership of insulting him and announced that he would soon decide on his next political course.

It was widely speculated that he might join the BJP, with JMM leader and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren accusing the party of working to poach its leaders.

Bengaluru: A fresh controversy has emerged in Karnataka after BJP MP Lahar Singh Siroya accused the state government of misusing power in the allocation of land to a trust chaired by Rahul Kharge, son of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. The allegations center around the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board’s (KIADB) decision to allot five acres in the Hitech Defence and Aerospace Park near Bengaluru to the Siddhartha Vihara Education Trust, which is chaired by Rahul Kharge.

In a social media post on Sunday, Siroya questioned the allotment, describing it as “misuse of power, nepotism, and conflict of interest.” He further inquired how the state’s Industries Minister, MB Patil, consented to the allocation in March, suggesting potential favoritism in the decision.

Responding to these allegations, Minister Patil strongly denied any wrongdoing, asserting that the allotment was made in accordance with KIADB norms. He clarified that the land was intended for the establishment of a research and development (R&D) center, adding that the process was transparent and based on recommendations from the state-level single-window committee.

Patil also pointed out that similar land allocations were made during the previous BJP government, including a controversial decision to allot 116 acres of land to RSS-run Chanakya University for Rs 50 crore—a deal that Patil claims resulted in a loss of Rs 137 crore to the state exchequer. He argued that the current administration has introduced a more transparent system for such allocations, with approvals now requiring endorsement by a competent committee.

The Karnataka government has reiterated its stance, maintaining that the land allotment to Rahul Kharge’s trust was entirely lawful and in line with established procedures.

Karkala: The third accused in the Karkala rape case, identified as Abhay from Tellaru, has been revealed to be a BJP worker and a follower of MLA Sunil Kumar. Abhay is also reportedly associated with the Bajrang Dal.

Sources indicate that Abhay had been working at a spa in Bengaluru after his vehicle, a tipper purchased with a partner from Kapu, was confiscated by a finance company due to unpaid loan installments.

Abhay and another accused, Altaf, were frequently seen together near Karkala, where their friendship reportedly grew.