CHANDIGARH: Rains battered parts of Punjab and Haryana for the third consecutive day on Monday with authorities working round the clock to reach out to people in the worst-hit places in hours of crisis.

According to the meteorological department, it has been raining in many parts of Punjab and Haryana since morning.

In view of the prevailing situation caused due to incessant rains, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar cancelled all his pre-scheduled programmes for the day and summoned an emergency meeting of senior officials of various departments, including Home, Disaster Management and Urban Local Bodies, officials said.

Khattar will also be holding a meeting with deputy commissioners later in the day through video-conferencing, they said.

Authorities have already ordered the closure of schools in some affected areas in Punjab and Haryana.

As torrential rains battered several parts of Punjab, Army assistance was sought by the Patiala district administration after water overflowed from the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal in Rajpura town following a breach.

The Army has been put on alert in some other parts of Punjab, officials said.

In Rajpura, water entered a private hospital and the patients were shifted to two other hospitals, they said. In some places in Punjab, there were breaches in distributaries and minor canals.

Fields were inundated at many places in Punjab and parts of Haryana causing crop damage. Tracts of land near Sutlej and Ghaggar river were inundated.

In some places in Punjab, water gushed into houses and in a few places, people were evacuated to safer places.

The heavy monsoon downpour continued to lead to traffic snarls on key road stretches in the two states, the officials said.

Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav had earlier said extensive arrangements have been made to deal with any kind of exigency arising out of potential floods.

Several teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have also been deployed in the flood-ravaged districts, including Mohali, Rupnagar and Fatehgarh Sahib.

Schools have also been ordered to remain shut on Monday in some worst-affected districts of Punjab and Haryana, including Rupnagar, Mohali, Patiala, Ambala and Panchkula.

In the wake of a flood-like situation due to incessant rains in several parts of the state, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had on Sunday directed all the cabinet ministers, MLAs and officials to stay alert and reach out to people in need.

Flood control rooms have been set up in all the districts of Punjab to help the people in hours of crisis.

Helpline numbers have been publicised and officials have been appointed round the clock in these control rooms to serve the people, an official statement said.

Owing to the heavy rains, the water level of the Yamuna river at Hathini Kund Barrage is constantly increasing, due to which people of low-lying areas adjacent to Yamuna have been asked to stay away from the riverbank, the officials said.

On Monday at 8 am, 2.79 lakh cusecs of water were discharged from the barrage, they said.

In Punjab’s Rupnagar, Siswan Nadi breached near Kamalpur, the officials said.

Rains lashed Chandigarh, Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Karnal, Kurukshetra, among other places in Haryana while Fatehgarh Sahib, Mohali, Rupnagar and Patiala in Punjab also received showers.

Due to incessant rains in the catchment areas of the Sukhna Lake here, two of the floodgates were opened on Sunday, the officials said.

Pune: In a distressing incident targeting Christians, the principal of a school in Pune was subjected to a physical assault allegedly by members of the Bajrang Dal after students recited a Christian prayer during the assembly on Tuesday.

Disturbing videos of the incident surfaced online, displaying members of the Hindutva group chasing Alexander Coates Reid, the principal of DY Patil High School, while chanting slogans like “Har Har Mahadev.”

An official of the school, speaking to Scroll, disclosed that approximately 100 men forcefully entered the school premises and physically harassed the principal. They tore his clothes and leveled false allegations against him. The official further stated that teachers and all students are standing in support of the principal during this distressing episode.

According to an official from the Talegaon Police, no case has been filed thus far in connection with the incident.

This incident has raised concerns over the escalating attacks and blatant discrimination faced by Christians in recent years, highlighting the pressing need to address and curb such incidents of violence and intolerance.

Bantwal: In a tragic incident reported near Thumbay on Thursday evening, a car crashed into a hillock near Ramalkatte killing a young girl and injuring two. The car driver reportedly lost control due to heavy rains and rammed into the hillock.

The deceased has been identified as Khadeejath Hana (19) the daughter of Abdul Majeed, a resident of Puttur Karnad. Hana was a BBM student at St. Aloysius College in Mangalore. As a result of the impact of the collision, Hana was thrown out of the car, and the car involved in the accident suffered severe damages. Hana, who was seriously injured, was rushed to hospital but succumbed to her injuries on the way.

According to reports, the accident occurred while they were en route from Puttur to a private hospital in Mangaluru. As they approached Ramal Katte, heavy rainfall caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle, resulting in it colliding with a hill by the roadside and flipping onto the road.

Bantwal Traffic Station Officer S.I Sutesh and staff reached the spot.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot

New Delhi: Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday expressed happiness that the AICC has taken cognisance of the issues raised by him about welfare of youth and corruption under the previous Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan, and asserted the party will contest assembly polls unitedly to secure a massive victory.

Satisfied by the party’s actions and assurances over the issues raised by him, Pilot also said he would abide by the decision of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi and the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on what role he would play going forward.

The Congress government in Rajasthan is “serious” and will take action against all the corruption that has taken place under the BJP rule, Pilot said.

His remarks came after Kharge, Gandhi, Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, AICC in-charge of Rajasthan Sukhjinder Randhawa, state unit chief Govind Singh Dotasra and other senior leaders from Rajasthan held crucial deliberations on the party’s poll preparedness in Rajasthan. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is recovering from fractures in both his toes, attended the meeting via video conferencing.

Talking to reporters after the brainstorming session that lasted for about four hours, Pilot said a “meaningful and comprehensive” meeting was held for the strategy for the upcoming Rajasthan assembly elections and how to buck the trend of incumbent government being voted out of power.

“All issues were discussed with an open mind and I am happy to inform you that everyone expressed confidence that we will work hard over the next few months and repeat our government,” he said.

“The issues that are there in Rajasthan, our government has worked on them, we will take those policies and programmes to the ground. Our organisation, leaders, MLAs and ministers will work unitedly and our objective is to repeat our government in Rajasthan,” the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister said.

Noting that in 2018, the Congress had won in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, Pilot said this would be repeated this year and the Congress will form governments with a massive mandate. This will also have an impact on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he added.

Asked about the issues he has been raising and urging the Gehlot government in Rajasthan to act, Pilot said, “I have been raising the issues of corruption of the previous BJP government, paper leaks, Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) reform, as to how to make it more transparent and accountable, and I am happy that the AICC has taken cognisance of them and also prepared an outline for action on that.”

Pressed further on the issue, Pilot said, “I am happy that the Congress has taken note of issues of the youth, how to make our constitutional body of RPSC more accountable, and corruption of the previous BJP government, and the party has also given appropriate directions over them.”

Pilot asserted that the BJP will have to answer for the alleged corruption under its rule. “There has been corruption and those who accuse us must look within. The government is serious and will take action against all the corruption that has taken place under the BJP rule,” he said.

The Congress leader said that he believes that corruption affects all, and the Congress will make this an election issue.

Asked about what would be his role going forward, Pilot said all such answers have been given by the general secretary organisation Venugopal.

“Whatever responsibility, be it at the Centre or state, has been given to me in the last over two decades, I have discharged my duties with dedication. Whatever decision Kharge ji, Rahul ji, AICC take on my role, will work accordingly,” he told reporters at the AICC headquarters here.

Addressing a press conference on the meeting, Venugopal said, “Sachin (Pilot) raised some issues, that are the general issues of the people of Rajasthan. We have take two major decisions, for RPSC nomination we are going to fix a good criteria, new legislation is coming for that. The CM has tweeted on that.”

“Ten question paper leaks was a big issue, not only in Rajasthan it is happening everywhere, but we have to control it. There will be a big punishment for question paper leaks that legislation will also come in the upcoming assembly session,” he said.

These issues will be addressed, Venugopal said and added that Pilot spoke “very well” at the meeting and told those present that the party is going to win and will fight unitedly in Rajasthan.

All eyes are on Rajasthan as the Congress is looking to buck the revolving door trend of the incumbent party being voted out of power and the Gehlot-Pilot tussle making matters more complicated for the party for the upcoming assembly polls.

At an event marking the death anniversary of his father Rajesh Pilot last month, Sachin Pilot had said people’s trust is the “biggest asset” for him and asserted that he will keep fighting to get them justice and not back down on his demands.

Pilot had been attacking the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan over alleged inaction on charges of corruption levelled by him against the previous Vasundhara Raje-led BJP dispensation.

The state’s former deputy chief minister had also demanded disbanding of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission and its reconstitution, as well as definitive action by the government as well as compensation for the victims of job exam paper leaks.

Interestingly, two days before the strategy meeting, Gehlot on Tuesday said that the Rajasthan government will bring a bill in the next assembly session to increase the quantum of punishment for those involved in recruitment exam paper leaks from 10 years to life imprisonment.

In a bid to defuse the tensions, Congress chief Kharge and Gandhi had held marathon discussions with Gehlot and Pilot separately in May. They had later posed for photographs at Kharge’s 10 Rajaji Marg residence here.

After the meetings, the party had said Gehlot and Pilot have agreed to fight the upcoming assembly elections unitedly and have left all issues to be resolved by the party high command.

Gehlot and Pilot have been engaged in a power tussle since the Congress formed government in the state in 2018. In 2020, Pilot led a revolt against the Gehlot government after which he was removed from the posts of the party’s state unit president and deputy chief minister.

Last year, an attempt by the high command to effect a leadership change in Rajasthan had failed after Gehlot loyalists dug their heels in and did not allow a legislature party meeting to take place.

Pilot had last month defied a warning from the party and went ahead with a day-long fast targeting Gehlot over his “inaction” on alleged corruption during the previous Raje government. 

Konaje: A young woman who was residing with her mother and elder brother in a rented house in Phajir committed suicide by hanging herself on Thursday afternoon.

The deceased has been identified as Preetika Pujari (21).

Preetika, who worked at a call center in Mangaluru, committed suicide after returning home from work in the afternoon.

Konaje police have registered a case in this regard and are further investigating the matter.

Hassan (K’taka)/Hyderabad (Telangana): The skyrocketing prices of tomato have made the culinary staple so valuable that it has lured thieves into stealing them. In one such incident, thieves made away with tomatoes worth Rs 2.7 lakh right from a farm in Belur in this district.

This is not the only theft of tomatoes that has been reported. In a theft of a smaller scale, 20 kg of tomatoes was allegedly stolen from a shop in Mahabubabad district in Telangana, police said on Thursday.

Tomatoes are presently sold at Rs 150 a kg in Bengaluru.

According to the tomato farmer in Belur, who was in tears, the thieves decamped with the tomatoes on Tuesday night.

Parvathamma said her family had been guarding their tomato farm cautiously. “We had sown tomatoes in two acres but we got nothing. Tomatoes used to grow but they never ripened. This time they grew but day-before-yesterday, someone stole them,” Parvathamma told PTI with tears in her eyes.

“We toiled so much on the farm but we got nothing. My husband can’t speak. We only work here from morning 7 till 9 in the night. We poured all our labour and money but everything was looted,” the farmer said.

Giving details of the incident, Hassan Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar said on Wednesday a tomato cultivator Dharani lodged a complaint with the Halebid police.

On the previous night, she had watered the crop and gone home. When she returned on Wednesday morning, she realised that someone had illegally entered her farm and stolen all the tomatoes.

“According to the farmer, tomatoes that would fit in 90 boxes, which would cost around Rs 2.7 lakh, have been stolen from her farm. We have registered a case and are investigating the matter,” Shankar told PTI.

In the theft in Telangana, the incident took place in Dornakal mandal on Wednesday night, police said.

The vegetable vendor said tomato weighing 20 kgs and four other vegetables weighing about 35 kg kept in two boxes in his shop were taken away by unidentified persons.

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court will on Friday deliver its verdict on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark.

As per the causelist issued by the HC on Thursday, the court of Justice Hemant Prachchhak will deliver the verdict at 11:00 am.

A stay on conviction would pave the way for Gandhi’s reinstatement as a Member of Parliament.

In May, Justice Prachchhak, while hearing Gandhi’s plea, had refused to grant any interim relief saying it will pass a final order after the summer vacation, which ended three weeks back.

During a hearing on April 29, Gandhi’s lawyer had argued that a maximum punishment of two years for a bailable, non-cognisable offence meant his client could lose his Lok Sabha seat “permanently and irreversibly”, which was a “very serious additional irreversible consequence to the person and the constituency he represents”.

A metropolitan magistrate’s court in Surat sentenced the former Congress president to two years in jail on March 23 after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a 2019 case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Purnesh Modi.

Following the verdict, Gandhi, elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala, was disqualified as MP under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

Gandhi challenged the order in a sessions court in Surat along with an application seeking a stay on the conviction. While granting him bail, the court, on April 20, refused to stay the conviction, after which he approached the HC.

Surat West MLA Purnesh Modi filed a criminal defamation case against Gandhi over his “how come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remark made during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.

New Delhi, Jul 6: “I am the president of NCP,” veteran Sharad Pawar asserted on Thursday after a meeting of the party’s Working Committee which approved the decision to expel Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and nine others who joined hands with NDA recently.

Briefing the media here, party leader P C Chacko said eight resolutions were passed in the meeting.

Pawar also said the “truth will come out” on Ajit Pawar’ claim of having majority.

Chacko said the organisation was behind Pawar.

“NCP Working Committee approves decision to expel Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and nine who joined hands with NDA. Sharad Pawar was elected national president. We don’t take seriously claims of someone being national president.

“Our organisation still intact and we are with Sharad Pawar,” Chacko asserted.

He also said every three years, NCP holds elections and people are elected regularly.

The resolutions passed by the working committee include a stand against the undemocratic and unconstitutional actions of the BJP government and the misuse of government agencies against the Opposition.

It also condemned the central government policies resulting in spiralling inflation, unemployment and women’s plight.

Ajit Pawar and eight of his colleagues joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2. While Pawar was made deputy chief minister, the others were sworn in as ministers.

Several of them have been accused of corruption and are being investigated by central probe agencies.