By Sanu George (12:08) 

Thiruvananthapuram (IANS) At a time when politicians are seen to increase their personal wealth when in public life, a Congressman in Kerala, currently on a sabbatical from politics, is seeking to build a self-sustainable housing facility for the homeless in his home town in Kollam district, about 70 km from the state capital.

What’s more, he is doing this on his ancestral property of about one acre and 10 cents (4,451 sq m) that he has divided between 20 beneficiaries, with each getting four cents. The market value of the land is about Rs 8 crore ($1.1 million).

Speaking to IANS, 42-year-old Niyaz Chithara said he is an advocate by training and has taken a break from active politics to ensure his “Gandhigram” project materialises.

“I was shocked to see a mentally challenged four-year-old boy waiting at the Mudackal panchayat with an old lady. When I spoke to the old lady, she said she was the boy’s grandmother and she had come to see if the village council has any scheme for the poor and homeless. I came to know that the boy’s mother had deserted the child and his father was bedridden due to an accident,” Chithara said.

Returning home, Chithara said that he was too pained and remembered the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

“I did not take much time to decide that I will play my role for the upliftment of the downtrodden. I decided that the ancestral share of mine, which was 110 cents of land in the Chithara village council, would be gifted to the landless and I started work to accomplish this,” Chithara said.

A former chairman of the Government Law College and an office bearer of the Youth Congress, he soon send out postcards to all the landless families in two nearby village councils.

“I got a response from 300 people and I called all of them to an auditorium. I then spoke to each of them and made my own assessment of who should get the four cents. I selected 19 beneficiaries (the 20th was the mentally-challenged child) across caste, creed, community and religion. I registered the land in the names of the women in the respective families,” said Chithara.

The only condition that he has put up is that these beneficiaries should build a home through any of the government schemes and if they do not do it in three years, the land will be taken back. And once the home is built, it should not be sold or transferred for 15 years.

“I decided to take on the responsibility of building a home for the young mentally challenged boy and will approach people to give a helping hand. We plan to build a 500 sq ft home at a cost of Rs 5 lakh. Next week, the official handing over of the land to the 20 beneficiaries will be done by (Leader of Opposition) Ramesh Chennithala, while (state Congress president) Mulapally Ramachandran will hand over the first instalment of assistance to build the home for the boy,” said Chithara.

Chithara has already spent Rs 5 lakh to level the entire plot and dig a pond.

“In the Gandhigram village, I am planning a library, a place for the women to start their own vocation and an anganwadi, so that the small community gets an inbuilt facility for all their basic needs,” said Chithara.

[Nasheman news] LucknowA cold wave intensified across Uttar Pradesh on Monday, forcing the closure of schools in the state capital and some other places, weather officials said.

According to the officials, rains on Sunday added to the winter chill.

While it was expected to be sunny on Monday, the weatherman said the winter chill would continue for the next few days. 

More than four dozen trains were running behind their schedules and two others were cancelled. 

Fog has been reported from most highways and outskirts of cities and towns.

The maximum temperature recorded in the last 24-hours was 21 degrees Celsius while the minimum on Monday as 5.4 degrees celsius. 

State Met Director J.P. Gupta informed that the sudden chill was due to a western disturbance over the Himalayas.

The Regional Met Office has predicted scanty rains with thundershowers at some places in the state. 

By Subhash K Jha 

[Nasheman news] MumbaiActor Alok Nath, who has been accused of rape by writer-director Vinta Nanda and has been granted anticipatory bail, has surfaced from hiding to speak, albiet conditionally.

“The honourable court and my lawyers have advised me to keep completely silent for now. In fact I’ve been quiet throughout. Maybe, some words escaped my mouth in my state of angst. But otherwise I’ve been lying absolutely low for the last three months,” Alok said. 

“It is not right for me to make any comment at the moment. But yes, we (Alok and his team of lawyers) got anticipatory bail, and we’re very grateful for that. Now, when I am in a position to speak I will have a heart-to-heart with you.”

Alok did however expressed gratitude to his wife Ashu. 

“She has been a pillar of strength for me. I am grateful to God that in my journey she has been my co-traveller throughout. She has been with me always. And my truth is her truth, and that’s God’s truth. So I am grateful to God for that.”

Alok says his next legal move would depend on the court order.

“I cannot preempt anything right now. But one thing I can tell you. This battle will reach its logical conclusion, and the truth, whatever it is, will be revealed.”

[Nasheman news] Lucknow  Fog continued to wreak havoc in most parts of Uttar Pradesh for the second consecutive day on Saturday, officials said.

According to the regional Met Office, a layer of fog has engulfed most parts of eastern, western and central Uttar Pradesh, leading to disruption of rail, vehicular and air traffic.

More than a dozen trains, including Poorva Express, Purushottam Express and the Farakka Exress, were running behind schedule due to fog and intense cold wave. 

An official of the Northern Railway (NR) however claimed that due to installation of ‘fog pass’ devices, the situation was much better than previous years.

As many as 6,940 such devices have been fitted in trains all over India, of which NR has 2,648, an official said.

Vehicular traffic has been adversely impacted due to the fog and inclement weather across the state, especially on the national highways, the Yamuna Expressway and the Agra-Lucknow Expressway.

There is report of a car pile up on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway at Khekhda in Baghpat district, leaving a dozen injured. 

Snowfall in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir has also contributed to the sharp fall of mercury in Uttar Pradesh.

People were left shivering on Saturday and morning walkers gave their routine a brief adieu due to drop in temperature.

According to sources, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also cancelled his two-day trip to Amethi, his parliamentary constituency, due to poor visibility and bad weather late on Friday.

The weatherman said the cold wave is here to stay and foggy conditions will prevail for the next few days.

Bengaluru, Jan 5 (IANS) A staffer of Karnataka Congress Minister C. Puttaranga Shetty was caught with unaccounted Rs 14 lakh in cash at the entrance of the state secretariat in the city centre, police said on Friday.

“We have detained the Minister’s staffer Mohan and seized the cash (Rs 14 lakh) from him at the secretariat, as he could not explain its source or account for it,” city central Deputy Commissioner of Police Devaraj told reporters here.

Shetty, a legislator from Chamarajanagar Assembly segment in the southwest old Mysuru region, is the Social Welfare Minister in the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in the southern state.

Vidhana Soudha Police Station Inspector Shankarachar registered a case against the accused and detained him for questioning on the cash he was carrying in a bag and had come to the secretariat on a two-wheeler.

“We are interrogating Mohan to explain why he was carrying so much of cash and its source as he didn’t have documentary support for it,” a police officer told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

According to unconfirmed reports, an additional Rs 11.76 lakh was also found with Mohan when the police carried a search on him and his bike.

[Nasheman news] New DelhiTop BJP leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Amit Shah on Friday hailed Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for her reply in the Lok Sabha, saying she demolished Congress’ lies and misinformation campaign on Rafale fighter jets deal.

Soon after Sitharaman’s speech, Modi tweeted: “Defence Minister @nsitharaman’s speech in the Parliament demolishes the campaign of calumny on Rafale.”

He also posted the video of her reply after a debate in the lower House on the Rafale deal.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah said: “A LIE goes only so far and no further. Defence Minister Smt @nsitharaman ji has completely demolished Congress party’s lies and misinformation campaign on Rafale with her excellent speech loaded with facts.”

Shah tweeted and congratulated Sitharaman for “bringing the truth to the nation”.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tweeted: “Well done! Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman ji, for an outstanding performance. You demolished the fake campaign. We are all proud of your performance.”

[Nasheman news] Panaji Goa’s iconic Raj Bhavan, a 16th century colonial structure, is now on Goa’s tourism map.

The structure houses the official residence of Goa’s governor, as well as a sea-facing view overlooking the Dona Paula bay and a stunning historic chapel. 

It was formally opened on Friday for the ‘Raj Bhavan Darshan’ tour in association with the Goa Tourism Development Corporation, which functions under the aegis of the state Tourism Ministry.

“The tour will enable tourists to gain a historic view of Raj Bhavan as well as enjoy the beauty of the place,” said corporation chairperson Dayanand Sopte.

“We will also be adding more elements, such as short programmes depicting the cultural aspects of Goa, to these tours so that visitors learn more about the true Goa,” Governor Mridula Sinha said at the inauguration ceremony.

The tours will be open to the general public and tourists only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

[Nasheman news] Bengaluru Searches by the Income-Tax sleuths of four top Kannada film actors and three producers continued on the second day in their premises across the city for alleged tax evasion, an official said on Friday.

“The searches are on in all the premises of the actors and producers. We cannot say if they conclude by Friday, as the officials are going through voluminous files, documents and other materials related to source of income, investments and collections,” the official told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

The four Kannada or sandalwood super stars are Shivaraj Kumar, his younger brother Puneeth Kumar, Sudeep and Yash. The three film producers are Rockline Venkatesh, C.R. Manohar and B. Vijay Kiragandhur.

“A press note can be issued only after the searches are completed,” added the official.

About 30 teams consisting of 5-6 officers in each team from the Income Tax (Investigations) cell began the search and seize operation on Thursday at 8:00 a.m. in 27 locations across the city where the actors and producers have their offices and residences.

The searches are being conducted under Section 132 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961, after warrants were issued to the actors and producers in advance.

Super stars Shivaraj and Puneeth are the sons of Kannada matinee idol and thespian Rajkumar.

According to sources in the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), the searches were in connection with a couple of recent films with which the actors and producers concerned were associated.

“The films were produced with mega budgets and sold to distributors and exhibitors at a high premium. As they were a superhit at the box office, the collections were also huge. The tax sleuths are verifying accounts and transactions incurred in the films,” a KFCC source told IANS on Thursday.

Some of the blockbusters are Manohar’s ‘Villain’, starring Shivaraj and Sudeep and Vijaykumar’s ‘KGF’ by Yash. Venkatesh’s ‘Nata Parahumana’ with Puneeth as its hero is yet to be released.

New Delhi (IANS) Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the narrative for upcoming Lok Sabha elections will not revolve around the Ram temple but issues such as jobs, farmers problems and “corruption in the Rafale deal”.

“The narrative is very simple for 2019 elections. Jobs for India’s youth. What will set the narrative is destruction of economy by (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi,” Gandhi said. 

“The third narrative is education and healthcare for India’s people. And the last is immense corruption done by Mr. Narendra Modi where he stole Rs 30,000 crore from the nation in the Rafale deal and gave it to his friend,” he added. 

The Congress President’s remarks came in response to a media query outside Parliament as to whether the Ram Mandir issue at Ayodhya would affect the upcoming general elections. 

Gandhi said that the Ayodhya issue is being heard by the Supreme Court. “Let’s see what Supreme Court will do on Ram temple,” he said. 

Union Minister Smriti Irani, who was on Friday visiting Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, the parliamentary constituency of Rahul Gandhi, attacked the Congress President over his remarks.

“Rahul Gandhi has made it clear today that he has no connection with Ram lalla, he has nothing to do with Mandir,” Irani said.

Nasheman News : Around 150 hutments in Noida were gutted in a massive fire that broke out on Friday morning, police said.

The incident took place at Sarfabad village in Sector 49 of Noida. 

Fourteen fire tenders were pressed into service which took nearly three hours to douse the flames.

Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Arun Kumar Singh said that one person, identified as Amzad Dafadar, had been injured in the incident. Dafadar was admitted to the Noida district hospital.

While the reason of the blaze has not yet been established, prima facie it appears that a gas cylinder burst led to the fire, an official told IANS.