Archives for March 2025

Bengaluru: Pollution levels in Bengaluru have witnessed a significant increase following the fare hike for Namma Metro on February 9, with a noticeable shift in travel patterns as commuters turn to road transport options.

Data from the National Air Quality Monitoring Centre reveals a rise in air pollution, coinciding with a drop in metro ridership, a trend also highlighted in ongoing research at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), as reported by Deccan Herald on Wednesday.

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has confirmed about a 10.5 percent dip in daily ridership since the fare increase. Yashvanth Chavan, official spokesperson, acknowledged the decline, adding that the corporation is still evaluating the full impact.

Commuters like Sathyanarayan M, a content developer, have shifted away from the metro due to the rising cost of travel. “The fare from Yelachenahalli to MG Road has doubled to Rs 66, making it too expensive. I now prefer using my Bullet motorcycle which requires 1 litre of petrol but is still cheaper and convenient,” he told the news outlet.

Research from the IISc’s Sustainable Transportation Lab, led by Professor Ashish Verma, indicates that many former metro riders are now opting for city buses, two-wheelers, and cars. “We will be able to put a number on these changes within the next two days. Empirically, the AQI data suggests the hypothesis that it is correlated to people moving away from Namma Metro to road transport,” he said.

Air quality data recorded during peak hours (10:00 AM and 6:00 PM) before and after the fare hike shows a marked increase in pollutants, added DH. On February 10, the first Monday after the fare hike, the average PM 2.5 levels in the Jayanagar 5th Block area surged to 112-114 microgram/cubic metre compared to 43-54 microgram/cubic metre before the hike.

A senior official noted that traffic congestion and construction dust were major contributors to the rising pollution levels. He said that vehicle movement stirs up dust, exacerbating the pollution problem, adding that this highlights the need to reduce the number of vehicles on the road and shift to public transport.

Yati Narsinghanand

Moradabad: Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand has triggered widespread condemnation after a video surfaced of him calling for the formation of armed Hindu groups similar to ISIS. The footage, recorded at his Dasna temple in Uttar Pradesh, shows him urging Hindus to take up arms, claiming they face threats from Muslims.

Narsinghanand, known for his incendiary speeches, alleged that Hindus were attacked in Moradabad and insisted that self-defence was necessary. He also expressed his intention to seek support from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for arming Hindus.

The video has drawn sharp criticism, with many demanding legal action against him. Senior journalist Dr. Mukesh Kumar accused him of inciting violence and warned that his rhetoric could lead to civil unrest. Kumar also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were shielding figures like Narsinghanand.

AIMIM’s Uttar Pradesh state president Shaukat Ali questioned the police’s inaction, stating that Narsinghanand openly calls for violence yet faces no consequences. The incident has intensified concerns over rising communal tensions and the apparent impunity enjoyed by hate speech offenders.

Thiruvananthapuram: Cadaver dogs of Kerala Police will be joining Telangana tunnel collapse rescue operation, the state government said on Thursday.

The cadaver dogs (that are specially trained to locate missing humans, human bodies) and the officers handling them left for Hyderabad on Thursday morning, Kerala government said in a statement.

The dogs were sent for the rescue operation following a request by the State Disaster Management Authority whose help in the matter was sought by the National Disaster Management Authority, the statement said.

Eight persons — engineers and labourers — have been trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project tunnel in Telangana since February 22 and experts from the NDRF, Indian Army, Navy and other agencies are making relentless efforts to pull them out to safety.

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi

Lucknow: A court here on Wednesday imposed a cost of Rs 200 on Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for skipping appearance in a 2022 defamation case related to his alleged derogatory remarks on freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Alok Verma had in December 2024 asked Gandhi to appear in the court on Wednesday. However, he didn’t, and his legal team filed an application seeking exemption from personal appearance.

The court imposed a cost Rs 200 on him and said the amount would be paid to the complainant’s lawyer. The next hearing was fixed for April 14.

In the application filed during the day, Gandhi’s lawyer said the Leader of the Opposition has had official engagements, including meetings with foreign dignitaries and other scheduled programmes, which prevented him from attending the court in-person.

The defamation case stems from Gandhi’s comments on Savarkar made on November 17, 2022 during his Bharat Jodo Yatra at a rally in Maharashtra’s Akola district.

Advocate Nripendra Pandey filed a complaint, accusing Gandhi of intentionally insulting Savarkar during the rally.

The complainant alleged Gandhi’s remarks were part of a well-planned conspiracy to defame Savarkar, and the comments were broadcast widely across the media.

Kochi: An elephant brought for a temple festival here on Wednesday suddenly became agitated in the evening and damaged several vehicles, police said.

The incident occurred around 5 pm near the Edakochi Sreekrishna Temple, an officer from Palluruthy police station said.

The tusker had been brought for the festival at the Sreekrishna Temple, he added.

No one was injured in the incident, and the exact cause of the elephant’s agitation is yet to be determined, police said.

Visuals of the incident showed the elephant running around the temple premises, overturning and pushing aside parked cars, causing extensive damage.

The tusker was finally restrained more than two hours after it became agitated, police said.

Patna: The water of the Ganga river in Bihar is not fit for bathing at most places in the state due to the presence of a higher value of “bacteriological population”, according to the Bihar Economic Survey 2024-25.

The Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) monitors the water quality of the Ganga at 34 locations in the state on a fortnightly basis, officials said.

According to the Economic Survey recently tabled in the state assembly, “The water quality of Ganga indicates the presence of a higher value of bacteriological population (total coliform and faecal coliform). This is mainly due to the discharge of sewage/domestic waste water from cities located on the banks of Ganga and her tributaries.”

The survey cited the latest water quality test results of the BSPCB.

“The other parameters… pH (acidity or basicity), dissolved oxygen and bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD) have been observed within the prescribed limit in the river and her tributaries in Bihar, indicating that water is fit for aquatic life, wildlife propagation, fisheries and irrigation,” it said.

Important towns located on the banks of the river include Buxar, Chapra (Saran), Dighwara, Sonepur, Maner, Danapur, Patna, Fatuha, Bakhtiyarpur, Barh, Mokama, Begusarai, Khagaria, Lakhisarai, Manihari, Munger, Jamalpur, Sultanganj, Bhagalpur and Kahalgaon.

Reacting to the report, D K Shukla, Chairman of the BSPCB, told PTI that the presence of a higher value of bacteriological population in the Ganga river is a matter of concern.

“Faecal coliform bacteria are found in excreta that contaminates water through untreated sewage. The higher the level, the higher is the presence of disease-causing pathogens in water. According to the CPCB standards, the permissible limit of faecal coliform is 2,500 MPN/100 ml,” Shukla said.

At most places, the presence of total coliform and faecal coliform in the Ganga is much higher, indicating it is not fit for bathing, he said.

The BSPCB is taking measures to ensure that sewage treatment plants (STP) in the state function properly, the senior official said.

“We have directed the authorities concerned to ensure that construction work on certain STPs in the state is completed at the earliest,” Shukla said.

“The BSPCB is also monitoring the effluent/sewage quality generated from the industrial units as well as STP/sewerage drains. Presently, 2,561 water/effluent/sewage samples from different sources have been collected by the board,” the survey said.

As per the latest data of the BSPCB related to the quality of the Ganga accessed by PTI, the level of faecal coliform measured at Kachchi Dargah-Bidupur Bridge was 3,500 MPN/100 ml, Gulabi Ghat (5,400 MPN/100 ml), Triveni Ghat (5,400 MPN/100 ml), Gaighat (3,500 MPN/100 ml), Kewala Ghat (5,400 MPN/100 ml), Gandhi Ghat, NIT (3,500 MPN/100 ml) and Hathidah (5,400 MPN/100 ml).