The President of Afghanistan on Sunday officially announced that voting in the Afghan parliamentary elections had closed, with initial data from the election commission estimating that over four million eligible voters exercised their democratic rights over the weekend.

President Ashraf Ghani made the remarks in a televised speech broadcast nationwide, Efe reported.

“The great nation of Afghanistan, thank you! By casting your votes, you proved to the world that you don’t want violence. You proved your will for democracy,” the leader said, highlighting the large turnout despite the persistent threat of violence from the Taliban insurgent group.

“You proved to the Taliban that no one can bring this nation under their control by force,” Ghani added.

At least 27 civilians and 10 members of the security forces were killed and over 100 were injured during the two-day voting period as the Taliban launched over 250 separate attacks in a bid to stop people from voting.

Ghani described those killed during the election process as martyrs for democracy who sacrificed themselves for the democratic hopes of future generations.

He also highlighted the role of women, whether as candidates or as voters, as a success for Afghan democracy.

Abdulbadi Sayyad, chairman for the independent election commission in Afghanistan, told a press conference that around four million people – of which 33 percent were women – cast their votes across 32 provinces.

“Forty-five percent of eligible voters (of which there are 8.8 million) have taken part in this election,” he said, proclaiming it a success.

Around 401 polling stations that were kept closed Saturday due to security threats had been scheduled to reopen the following day.

However, only 76 of those were functioning throughout Sunday, Sayyad said.

IANS

The Delhi Police has imposed prohibitory orders for one week in east Delhi in the wake of proposed protest by thousands of farmers, who have announce to gather at Rajghat here on Tuesday to press the Centre to concede their demands.

The Bharatiya Kisan Union-led “Kisan Kranti Yatra”, which started from Haridwar in Uttarakhand on September 23, has reached Ghaziabad and farmer leader Naresh Tikait said they are determined to enter Delhi.

A memorandum to be submitted to the Centre comprises 21 demands, including implementation of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission report, waiver of farm loan, free electricity to farmers and allowing power connections to farmers to run tube wells.

The police said restrictions under Section 144 of CrPc, which prohibits a gathering of more than four persons, will remain in force till October 8.

“During the Kisan Kranti Yatra, a large number of protesters/ participants plan to enter the east Delhi areas through the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh borders. It is imperative to maintain peaceful and smooth day-to-day happenings…,” the Delhi Police said in a statement.

(IANS)

On a scorching summer day, the likes of which are plentiful in Delhi, what one needs most is a glass of water to quench one’s thirst, more so for those who toil in the unbearable heat to earn their livelihoods. The hundreds of civic workers, rickshaw pullers, street vendors and road sweepers cannot afford to buy water several times a day from vending kiosks. To their rescue come the “matkas”, or traditional earthen pitchers, installed at different parts of the city which seem to get magically filled up with water every single day.

Behind these matkas is a 69-year-old man who wakes up every morning before dawn and steps out in his van to fill up the 70 matkas — used to store water in homes before refrigerators and coolers arrived — he has installed in the city to ensure the poor don’t go thirsty. The man who overcame cancer and gave up his business in Britain, finally found happiness in this daily routine with which he gives back to what he says is an “interconnected” community that has lost its social purpose.

He says he wants to start a “revolution in human kindness”.

The story began in the summer of 2014 when Alagarathanam Natarajan — now known as Delhi’s Matka Man — realised that even something as basic as cold drinking water was not accessible to all even in the national capital. So he put a water-cooler outside his home.

“Once, I casually asked one of the guards who came to take water from the cooler why he was coming here and not taking water from where he worked. He said they did not provide him water,” said Natarajan, who earlier ran a corner store in upscale Oxford Street in London.

The answer shocked Natarajan and also motivated him to do something.

“It was always on my mind to do something for my community. I discussed it with my family. But installing water coolers was difficult as it required space, electricity and also needed a lot of maintenance. So, I thought of installing matkas to help people in the hot summers,” he said.

However, it became a throughout the year ritual to wake up in the morning and fill the pitchers. During the initial days, people used to consider him as someone appointed by the Delhi government.

“I am not backed by an NGO, nor am I a government-sponsored organisation. I am mostly self-funded through my pension and life savings. I do get a few donations and, most importantly, lots of help and support from my family,” he said.

Brought up in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), Natarajan moved to London as a young man and spent 40-years there as a businessman running a souvenir shop. There he was diagnosed with intestinal cancer and, after his treatment, he decided to return to India and do something for the less privileged.

“It was always on my mind to come back to the country. I saw cancer as nature’s reminder of my wish.”

After returning to India, he volunteered at an orphanage, a last-stage cancer hospice, served langar (free food) to the homeless in Chandni Chowk and even carried out the cremation of destitutes to give them a dignified end.

In 2014, he turned his attention to water which then expanded to encompass a much larger range of activities for the poor. Natarajan not only provides free drinking water to the poor but also distributes food and fresh fruits.

“I distribute seasonal fruits and vegetables like cucumber, watermelon, white radish twice a week to labourers and the poor when I go to distribute water in my van. It also include other items like ‘lassi’ (a curd-based summer drink) or ‘jalebi’ (a popular syrupy sweet snack) as well,” he said.

“Through this work, I have come to believe that we are all crucially linked together but that society today has abandoned this inter-connectedness,” he said.

For the water distribution, Natarajan has modified a van fitted with a 800 litre tank, a pump and a generator to run it. From the van, he fills the matkas daily and maintains the stands.

“In the summer, I do up to four rounds a day to ensure the matkas are always filled.”

“The matkas need around 2,000 litres of water a day in the summer months. The water is supplied by a school nearby and two kind souls. The rest I supplement from my own home. I maintain these stands daily with my van.”

“The stands have a sign with my personal telephone number, so people can notify me when a matka is empty. I have also installed a bench for people to sit,” he said.

He also urges people to place matkas outside their homes so that he can fill those up as well, an advice that many have taken seriously.

With each trip to fill water taking three to four hours, Natarajan now also has an assistant who helps him in doing this.

Apart from the matkas, he has also placed 100 cycle pumps around the neighbourhood to help those in need.

“Delhi roads are hard on cycles. These pumps give poor people the flexibility to fill air 24/7. Some are stand-alone units and some are part of the matka stands. I also distribute glow-in-the-dark stickers for safety purposes and spare nozzles for their wheels.”

He believes that people in a community must sincerely care for one another. “Every one of us has something to give and share with society.” Unfortunately, today we live in a culture where we, as a society, have become greedier and more self-indulgent, he said.

“As a consequence, the poor, who are watching this growing inequality from the periphery, have become angrier; and as a result of this injustice, crime is on a rise.

“I wish to help those in need around me and also to inspire people to help those around them. Perhaps then, I can start a quiet revolution of human kindness,” he adds.

(IANS)

A strike called by junior doctors of a hospital here entered the second day on Tuesday even as 12 patients died in the last 24 hours, officials said.

The doctors from the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) began their strike on Monday after one of their colleagues was assaulted by family members of a patient.

“Doctors are not attending patients in wards as they continued to stay off duty. Patients are now being looked after by nurses and para-medical staff,” an official said.

The protesting doctors have demanded a security cover during duty hours and action against misbehaving patients’ families.

The doctors have said that they would not end their strike on mere assurances by the state government.

The strike has left hundreds of patients, many of them in a serious condition, in trouble.

(IANS)

Essential drugs will not be available across the state in the medical stores as the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists has called for a 24 hours bandh in protest against the proposed E-pharmacy policy.

According to the organisation state unit vice president Devidas P Prabhu, the bandh will start on September 27 midnight and continue till 28 midnight.

“A total of 27,000 medical shops across the state will participate in the bandh,” he said.

According to Prabhu, the E-pharmacy policy is against the interest of the patients and may lead to a spur in the fake medicines which may affect the public health.

“The central government is trying to bring new policy without proper consultation and checks and balances,” he alleged.

Karnataka 203 MLAs, have the highest average annual income of Rs 111.4 lakh, followed by Maharashtra’s 256 MLAs (Rs 43.4 lakh), according to an analysis of the affidavits of 3,145 legislators.

The findings were released on Monday by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO that works for electoral and political reforms.

The affidavits of 941 MLAs did not declare their income, said the report, adding that the analysis primarily focused on the annual (self) income of the sitting MLAs only.

It said the average annual income of the 3,145 sitting MLAs is Rs 24.59 lakh.

At least 711 MLAs in the southern region have the highest average annual income of Rs 51.99 lakh, while 614 MLAs in the eastern region have the lowest Rs 8.53 lakh.

A total of 63 MLAs of Chhattisgarh Assembly have the lowest average annual income of Rs 5.4 lakh followed by Jharkhand’s 72 MLAs with Rs 7.4 lakh.

Out of 3,145 MLAs analysed, 55 (2 per cent) have not given their profession in their affidavit, 771 (25 per cent) declared business as their profession and 758 (24 per cent) said they are agriculturist or farmer.

The analysis said a number of 397 (13 per cent) MLAs, who have declared their profession as agriculture and business, have the highest average annual income of Rs 57.81 lakh.

“MLAs under real estate business and acting or filmmaking profession category comprise only 1 per cent of the total MLAs analysed,” revealed the analysis, adding “nevertheless, they are among the top four highest paid profession categories with an average annual income of Rs 39.69 lakh and Rs 28.48 lakh, respectively”.

“Housewife, teacher, pensioner and lawyer are among the least paid profession categories,” it said.

A number of 1,052 (33 per cent) MLAs, declaring their educational qualification to be between 5th to 12th pass, have an average annual income of Rs 31.03 lakh. “At least 1,997 (63 per cent) MLAs, graduate or above, have an average annual income of Rs 20.87 lakh.

A number of 139 8th pass MLAs have average annual self-income worth Rs 89.88 lakh, while those who have declared themselves to be illiterate have an average annual self-income of Rs 9.31 lakh.

A total of 1,402 MLAs, aged 25-50 years, have an average annual income of Rs 18.25 lakh and 1,727, aged 51-80 years, have Rs 29.32 lakh.

At least 11 MLAs, aged 81-90 years, have an average annual income of Rs 87.71 lakh whereas two MLAs, declaring their age above 90 years, have Rs 60.91 lakh.

Only 258 (8 per cent) MLAs are women, said the analysis. “On an average a male MLA’s annual self-income is Rs 25.85 lakh whereas for a female MLA, it is Rs 10.53 lakh.”

(PTI)

Actors Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma have been signed on to promote and endorse the Skill India Mission, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The actors through their film “Sui Dhaaga – Made in India” are saluting India’s entrepreneurs and skilled workforce, especially homegrown artisans, craftspeople and weavers.

The film highlights the untapped potential of India’s talented craftsmen and skilled workers at the grassroot level and the challenges and issues faced by them.

Varun and Anushka, the star cast of the film, have partnered with Skill India and will dedicate time to promote India’s skilled talent and their fine work by engaging with them in different parts of the country.

“Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma, through this unique film ‘Sui Dhaaga – Made in India’, are bringing to focus the incredible skills and talent of our homegrown artisan and craftsmen community,” Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a statement.

“I wish this endorsement by both actors encourages and influences the youth to take up skill training and earn a better livelihood for themselves and help us in creating the New India envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Pradhan added.

Led by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Skill India aims to standardise vocational training — both new-age and traditional skills, and helps in the creation of the latest infrastructure, ensures industry partnerships to extend technology support to make the youth more employable and assists in creating opportunities of employment for the youth of the country.

Varun, who plays a tailor named Mauji, also said: “Our Prime Minister Modi has displayed incredible vision and genuine foresight in aiming to organise, skill, train and give financial support and backing to our craftsmen, artisans and similar workmen. We are proud to be promoting this campaign that we feel extremely close to like our movie ‘Sui Dhaaga…’ that celebrates self-reliance and entrepreneurship.”

To this, Anushka, who plays his wife and embroiderer Mamta, added: “Skill India Campaign reflects the government’s determination to include and support the talented skilled force of the country. While making ‘Sui Dhaaga…’, we came across so many stories of talented, skilled crafts people and artisans who don’t get a fair chance to showcase their talents.”

The film, directed by Sharat Katariya, is set to release on September 28.

(IANS)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched “Swachhata Hi Seva” (cleanliness is service) movement by interacting with common people and personalities from diverse fields through video conferencing at 17 locations and said the country has achieved more in sanitation coverage in the last four years than that in the last 60-65 years.

The interaction, stretching about two hours, included with industrialist Ratan Tata, actor Amitabh Bachchan, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and spiritual leaders Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Maa Amritanandamayee, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Dadi Janki, besides devotees from Ajmer Sharif dargah and Patna Sahib Gurudwara.

Modi performed “shramdaan” (manual labour) at Babasaheb Ambedkar Higher Secondary School in Delhi after his video interaction. An official release said the Prime Minister drove to the school and back in normal traffic without customary protocol and no special traffic arrangements were made for his visit.

The Swachhata Hi Seva movement aims at boosting public participation in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and is being organised in the run-up to the fourth anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission on October 2 next month, which will also mark the commencement of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.

In his remarks during video conferencing, Modi said cleanliness coverage was 40 per cent in 2014 and it now has grown to over 90 per cent on account of people’s efforts.

“Who could have thought that we will progress so much in cleanliness coverage in the last four years that could not be achieved in the last 60-65 years. Could anybody have thought that nine crore toilets will be built in the country in four years? Had anybody imagined that about 4.5 lakh villages, over 450 districts and 20 states and Union Territories will become open-defecation-free (ODF) in four years?” he said.

Modi said the day marks a new resolve, new enthusiasm and a new dream. “Today 1.25 crore citizens are going to repeat the pledge of cleanliness is service. From today till October 2, we all will contribute with new energy and enthusiasm to make the country clean,” he said.

“We can say with pride that every section, every community, every caste, people of every age are taking this big campaign forward. Whether it is village, city, street or a corner, no part of the country is untouched by the campaign,” he added.

Modi said that toilets can be provided and efforts made for proper waste management, but cleanliness is a habit which has to be included in daily experience. “This a yagna for change in behaviour in which all of you are taking part.”

He said the name of “swachhagrahis” (cleanliness workers) will be written in golden letters when history of this movement is written.

“The way the freedom fighters and martyrs are viewed with respect, your contribution will also be remembered with the same respect as a true inheritor of revered Bapu’s legacy, because you have become a soldier in efforts to rebuild the country, save lives of the poor and restoring the country’s image in the world.

“There is immense power in 125 crore citizens, our enthusiasm is on the rise and our pledge is to achieve success,” he said.

The Prime Minister interacted with school children from Dibrugarh in Assam, members of milk and agriculture cooperatives assembled in Mehsana, personnel of ITBP from the high-altitude Pangong Lake in Ladakh, women swachhagrahis from Dantewada in Chhattisgarh and Salem in Tamil Nadu, citizens from Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, volunteers engaged in cleaning the Ganga from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh and railway employees from Rewari in Haryana.

Yogi Adityanath, who was in Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, said during the video interaction that the state would become ODF by October 2, 2019, and his government had constructed over 1.36 crore toilets in the last 17 months.

He said cleanliness was a distant dream for 99,000 villages of the state four years ago and only about 25 lakh toilets were built in the state by the previous Samajwadi Party government in about two-and-a-half years since the launch of the “Clean India” campaign on October 2, 2014.

Amitabh Bachchan said he found TV to be an “effective way to spread the message of cleanliness” and people should focus on ensuring their immediate surroundings are clean.

Ratan Tata said sanitation and cleanliness are important factors in ensuring good health of people.

“To be a strong India, the foundation has to be strong and that foundation is the health of our people. We can reduce and eliminate several diseases if we support the Swachh Bharat movement,” he said.

(IANS)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday described river Ganga as our “culture, heritage and identity” and urged people to contribute towards cleaning it.

“I want to thank the people of Bijnore for working towards cleaning the Ganga,” Modi said while interacting with the people of the Uttar Pradesh district during the launch of the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva Movement’ (cleanliness is true service) as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, through the NaMo app.

“And banks of river Ganga becoming open defecation free shall be an important stage towards maintaining the purity of the river,” Modi said.

“Devotion towards the Ganga and Gangotri should not only be shown but steps should be taken and for that. We also need to ensure that mentality to harm Ganga should also be removed from the mindsets of people,” Modi said.

Appealing to the people residing near the banks of the river, Modi asked: “Will you all participate in the cleanliness mission to Ganga clean? I know that like people of Bijnor many others would join the cleanliness movement.

Modi also said that his government was taking a lot of steps to clean Ganga and soon its results would be visible to everyone.

Modi also interacted with the railway personnel in Haryana’s Rewari and said that the Indian Railways has done commendable work in furthering cleanliness.

“In every train coach, it is written that Indian Railways is public property. It is written to give a sense to people to adopt it as their own and keep it clean.”

Hailing the railway personnel for keeping the coaches and stations clean, Modi said: “Today the kind of cleanliness seen in Indian Railways is due to the hard work of the railway personnels.”

(IANS)

Daily life was thrown out of gear across Karnataka after Congress, Janata Dal (Secular) and their allies called for a Bharat Bandh on Monday, to protest against the rise in fuel prices.

In Bangalore, schools, education institutes and several offices were shut. Many corporates asked their employees to work from home and avoid travelling. Local buses, taxis and autorickshaws stayed off the roads, giving a deserted look to the city. Business establishments, shops, malls, also remained closed.

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses kept off the road across the state.

Hundreds of workers from Congress, JD(S), Left parties and other outfits came on the streets, raising slogans,

Organisations such as Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, BMTC, Ola and Uber and taxi associations, uto Drivers’ Association have lent their support to the bandh.

In Mangaluru, incidents of stone pelting at hotels and shops, which remained open, were reported.

The shutdown was also reported from in many other parts of the state including Tumakuru, Ramanagar, Mandya, Channapatna, Hassan, Mangaluru, Chamarajnagar, Mysuru. Hubballi, Bidar and Kolar.

Condemning the attack, BJP Karnataka chief B S Yeddyurappa said, “It’s an ill-intended bandh to trouble the common man and mislead them. This bandh is benefiting only the extortionists. People know what’s happening. Nowhere in the country, it’s successful except for Karnataka because it’s a conspiracy of the Congress and JD(S),” Yeddyurappa said.

As a precautionary measure, state chief minister HD Kumaraswamy declared a public holiday for schools and colleges in Bengaluru on Monday.

A country-wide bandh has been called by the Opposition over the fuel price rise. Price of both – already having set records earlier this year – rose for almost all of last week and petrol even breached the Rs 80/litre mark in the national capital.

(PTI)