New Delhi : Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on Monday condoled the death of passengers in a train accident in Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Kharge said, “Extremely saddened to learn about the train derailment tragedy in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, where precious lives have been lost and several people have suffered injuries. Our deepest condolences to the families of the bereaved. We pray for the speedy recovery of the injured. I request Congress workers to provide every possible help.”
“It seems that all the claims of safety by the Union Government, post Balasore train tragedy have evaporated in thin air. The same enthusiasm of flagging trains with fanfare and propaganda should also be shown in action towards railway safety and the well-being of crores of daily passengers, ” Kharge said slamming the government.
In a post on Facebook, Rahul Gandhi said, “Anguished by the news of several deaths and injuries in the train accident in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, yesterday. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and hope for the speedy recovery of all those who are injured. I request Congress workers of the region to provide all possible assistance to the administration in relief and rescue work, ” the Congress leader said.
Three coaches of Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger train derailed after Palasa Express collided with it near the Kantakapalli junction in Kothavalasa ‘mandal’ (block).
The Visakhapatnam-Rayagada train was on its way from Visakhapatnam to Rayagada in Odisha, while the Palasa Express was heading to Vizianagaram from Palasa in Srikakulam district. Waltair Divisional Railway Manager Saurabh Prasad and other officials of East Coast Railway had rushed to the accident site.
New Delhi : The air quality in the national capital plunged to the ‘very poor’ category as the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 303 on Saturday morning, according to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
The AQI at Dhirpur with PM 2.5 was at 364, under a ‘very poor’ category.
Notably, the AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
However, in Pusa, the AQI recorded PM 2.5 at 215 ‘poor category’.
At Lodhi Road, the Air Quality Index with PM 2.5 concentration was at 239 under the ‘poor’ category and the PM 10 stood at 178 also under the ‘moderate’ category.
In IIT Delhi station the PM 2.5 was at 273, ‘poor’ category while the PM 10 reached 176, in ‘moderate’ category.
The AQI at the city’s Mathura Road was under ‘poor’ category with PM 2.5 at 225 and PM 10 concentration at 304 under ‘very poor’ category.
According to the forecast from the SAFAR, the air quality of the city will deteriorate further under ‘very poor’ category with PM 2.5 reaching at 303 and the PM 10 concentration at 228 under ‘poor category’ on Sunday.
The AQI of Delhi’s neighbouring cities of Noida stood at 313 and the PM 10 concentration at 361 both under ‘very poor’ category, while Gurugram’s AQI reported at 193 falling under ‘moderate’ category and the PM 10 concentration at 141.
Osaka (Japan): Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, PiyushGoyal will attend the Group of Seven (G7) Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Osaka, Japan from 28-29 October, 2023.
The Minister will also have bilateral meetings with a few G7 countries, invitee countries and a few International organisations such as WTO, on the sidelines of the outreach programs, as per the official statement.
Trade Ministers of G7 Member States hold an annual meeting with the aim to meet the current global challenges related to Trade and Investment and to set the course for a better future.
Under its Presidency this year for the G7 Trade Ministers meeting to be held during 28-29 October 2023, Japan has invited India along with a very few other invitee countries (Australia, Chile, Indonesia, and Kenya) to participate in the outreach program to be held on 28 October. Apart from them, International organisations such as WTO, ERIA and OECD have also been invited.
This year, Japan has selected contemporary topics for the outreach program namely, “How to enhance Supply Chain Resilience” and “Promote Trade and Sustainability- environment, Development and digital, including prospects for WTO MC13”.
The G7 is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, France, Canada and Germany. Additionally, the European Union (EU) is a “non-enumerated member”.
G7 meetings are organized around shared values of pluralism, liberal democracy, and representative governments. G7 Members constitute 10% of the world’s population but cater to around 40% of World GDP.
Chandigarh : Punjab Governor BanwarilalPurohit on Thursday asked the state government to initiate action against two upscale housing projects on the outskirts of the state capital Chandigarh owned by AAP legislator-cum-realtor Kulwant Singh for violating environmental laws.
Seeking an action taken report from the AAP government, Purohit in a letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said projects ‘Super Mega Mixed use integrated Industrial Park’ in Sectors 82-83 and 66-A in Mohali and Galaxy Heights by Janta Land Promoters Ltd are coming up in violation of environmental regulations.
The Governor said the observation of environment law violations has been made by Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
He shared the communication of the ministry that says, “The project was under violation from December 16, 2015 (date of grant of Environmental Clearance) to January 10, 2017 (Eco-Sensitive Zone boundary notification). Accordingly, cognisance of the offence is required to be taken under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.”
The governor advised that civic authorities and Punjab Pollution Control Board may be asked to take strict action against the wildlife norms’ violators who are involved in illegal construction.
The Union Ministry of Environment, in response to a clarification sought by the state regarding the construction by Janta Land Promoters Ltd, has observed that the proposed project site is located at a distance of 13.06 km from the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary and 8.4 km from the boundary of the Bird Sanctuary in Chandigarh.
With assets of Rs 250 crore, realtor and former mayor Kulwant Singh, who was the AAP candidate from Mohali Urban in 2022, was the richest among all those contesting the Punjab polls from the district.
In 2014, when Kulwant Singh contested the LokSabha elections on the Akali Dal ticket from Fatehgarh Sahib, his declared income was Rs 139 crore.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar recalling past scenarios said that when the BJP government started ruling in 2014, many questioned regarding his capability in running the government were raised by the political parties in opposition in the state. While presenting a report card on the completion of nine years of his government, CM Khattar highlighting several achievements as well as people-oriented and public welfare programmes carried by his government also released a booklet on party’s achievements in the state in this period of nine years he compared with the achievements of 27 years in-spite of the fact the BJP formed the government in Haryana for the first time on its own in 2014. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party, which fell short of majority in the 2019 Vidhan assembly polls had an alliance with Jannayak Janta Party to form the government a second time.
Addressing the media along with Minister Kanwar Pal and other senior officers of his government, Khattar said his government had announced to work on five S—‘Shiksha, Swasth, Suraksha, ‘Swambhiman’ and ‘Swavlamban’ with good governance. Khattar said, prior to this there were talks of discrimination, corruption and there was an atmosphere of despair and after being fed up with the atmosphere of despair, the people of Haryana welcomed BJP government with high hopes,Khattar said that questions were raised that he does not have any experience and without any experience, how many days will he be able to run the government when Congress have been ruling for years in the state. Khattar said that after becoming chief minister in 2014, though we were not having the kind of experience the previous government (Congress) had of indulging in loot and corruption, but I certainly had the experience of serving the people.
Manohar Lal Khattar spoke about several plans and programmes including his government’s flagship ‘Parivar Pehchan Patra’ (family ID scheme), and ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’, compensation to farmers, welfare schemes for the poor and other sections etc as he emphasized on using the technology for good governance for the welfare of the people.Khattar said the state’s sex ratio, such as the number of females per 1,000 of males has also been improved from 871 in 2014 to 932 at present, which is likely to improve further. Khattar said, in agriculture sector his government raised the compensation amount for crop loss because of natural calamity from Rs 6,000 per acre in 2013 to Rs 15,000 per acre.He added in the last nine years, his government disbursed a compensation of Rs 11,000 crore to farmers while the previous government had paid Rs 1,158 crore in 10 years.
As regards health, Khattar said the number of medical colleges in the state rose to 15 under BJP government in the state as against six in 2014 and eight more medical colleges will come up in the state shortly. The number of MBBS seats has risen to 2185 at present in the state as against 700 in 2014, he said that clean drinking water has been provided through pipelines in 31.41 lakh rural households, apart from 24-hour electricity is being supplied to 5,791 villages which is 86 per cent of the total villages. Khattar said the state government had started “Mission Merit” and based on transparency, 1.10 lakh youths have got government jobs and there are plans to provide 60,000 more jobs. He said the government has distributed 5.50 lakh tablets to students in government schools, paving the way for an educational revolution. E-learning is no longer a luxury but a reality for the youth of Haryana. CM said the state’s exports have surged from Rs 68,032 crore in 2014 to Rs 2,45,453 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23, demonstrating a remarkable upswing in economic prosperity.
New Delhi : In the wake of news that eight former Indian Navy personnel, who were in custody in Qatar since last year, have been awarded the death sentence, veteran leader Kapil Sibal on Thursday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the government must explore all options for their release.
In a post on X, Sibal, who is also an eminent lawyer, said, “Our Vishwa Guru (PM Modi) must intervene. Eight Indian ex-Navy officers given the death penalty by a Qatar court.
“Held accountable on charges which have not been even made public by Qatari authorities. Our government must explore all options for their release, ” the former Congress leader said.
The eight persons were arrested last year after being charged with spying for Israel by Qatar authorities.
The men also include decorated officers who once commanded major Indian warships, were working for Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private firm that provided training and related services to Qatar’s armed forces.
Their bail pleas were rejected numerous times and their detention extended by Qatari authorities. On Thursday, the Court of First Instance of Qatar passed a judgement.
Earlier in the day, the Indian government on Thursday expressed shock over the news and said it will contest it.
New Delhi : The Election Commission on Thursday issued notice to Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over alleged poll code violations. It has asked both the leaders to reply to the notices by Monday, October 30 evening.
The poll panel, in its notice, warned both leaders that “in the event of no response from your side within the stipulated time, it will be presumed that you have nothing to say in the matter and the Election Commission will take appropriate action or decision in the matter without making any further reference to you”.
Referring to the complaint against Sarma by the Congress, the poll panel said: “Whereas, the Commission has received a complaint dated 19 October, 2023 from Congress that you have, in a public meeting at ‘Kawardha’ in Chhattisgarh on 18 October, 2023 made a statement, wherein you have allegedly made communally charged statements and made unverified allegations and distortions against Mohammed Akbar of Congress.
“Whereas, the video of the said speech received along with the complaint was examined and found that you said, “Today, the tribals of Chhattisgarh, who are dear to us, are being encouraged to convert their religion on a daily basis. And when someone raises their voice against it, Bhupesh Baghel ji says ‘we are secular’. Is beating up Hindus your secularism? This country is a country of the Hindus and will belong to Hindus. Do not teach us secularism, we do not need to learn secularism from you.
“In light of the provisions of Model Code of Conduct and the above part of your speech has been found to be prima facie violative of the aforesaid provision of MCC and R P Act, 1951, ” the EC said.
In regard to complaint against Priyanka Gandhi, the poll panel said: “Whereas, the Commission has received a complaint dated 21 October, 2023 from Leader of Opposition, Rajasthan Legislature Assembly and by the BJP vide their representation dated October 25 wherein it has been alleged that in a public meeting of the Congress held at Dausa, Rajasthan on October 20, you in a public speech have made false statements in respect of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“It has been alleged that you have invoked the personal religious devotion of the Prime Minister. Further it is averred that relation between an individual and deity cannot be a matter of public scrutiny and your statement diminishes the devotee in the general estimation of public, ” it said.
The polling for the 90 member Chhattisgarh assembly will take place on November 7 and 17 while polling for 200 member Rajasthan assembly will take place on November 25. Counting of votes will take place on December 3.
New Delhi : Amid deteriorating air quality levels, there has been a 50 per cent increase in cases of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other chest problems in Delhi and around, city doctors said on Thursday.
The overall air quality in Delhi on Thursday morning continued to be in the “poor” category, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 256, as per SAFAR-India.
According to the daily bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the national capital’s AQI, as of 4 p.m. on October 25, was 243. Neighbouring Noida and Ghaziabad were also in the “poor” category, with AQIs of 212 and 203, respectively. Gurguram, however, fared better with an AQI of 190, falling in the “moderate” category.
“Amidst the rising levels of pollution in Delhi-NCR, we are witnessing a notable increase in patients with COPD and chest problems coming to us in our OPD these days. We are seeing roughly 30 to 35 patients each day in our OPD, from 7-10 patients a day earlier marking almost a 50 per cent increase, ” Dr. Kuldeep Kumar Grover, Head of Critical care and Pulmonology, C.K. Birla Hospital, Gurugram, told to media.
Dr. Vivek Nangia, Principal Director & Head Pulmonology, Max Hospital, Saket, added he is also seeing a “dramatic increase” in the number of patients visiting the OPD and the emergency room.
“The majority of patients that we treat nowadays present with cough, cold, sore throat, feeling of a foreign body in the throat, watering eyes, tightness in the chest, and shortness of breath. And in the majority of cases, we must administer medications such as nasal decongestants and anti-allergy medications, ” he said.
While Delhi’s air quality struggles every year due to stubble burning, there is a notable decrease in these incidents, with only 1,794 farm fires in Haryana and 714 in Punjab recorded till October 23. In addition, increasing temperatures in Delhi and decrease in the speed of the wind may result in an increase in pollution, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Monday. “The particulate matter is staying near the ground, ” he added.
Dr. Grover said patients who already had respiratory issues are now getting diagnosed with pneumonia and are being hospitalised. People are also getting newly “affected with upper respiratory issues and if not treated well in time they can also get affected with lower respiratory issues”, he said.
Dr. Arun Chowdary Kotaru, Consultant, Respiratory & Sleep Medicine at Artemis Hospital, Gurugram, told to media the effect of air pollution is profound in the lungs and heart. “We are also seeing one member of every family is suffering from a cough, sore throat and fever. Supportive therapy and a good diet with physical activity is a must for all the patients, ” he suggested.
The health experts also advised quitting smoking and staying away from secondhand smoke, avoiding dust and pollution as much as possible. They recommended people above 60 years of age or below 15 years to take flu and pneumonia vaccines.
A high-level security review meeting was convened in Srinagar in the backdrop of the ongoing Middle East crisis to discuss the potential impact on Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting took place at the headquarters of the 15 Corps in Srinagar and was chaired by R R Bhatnagar, Advisor to J&K, and Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, Army Commander, Northern Command, along with other top intelligence officers.
The meeting’s primary objective was to coordinate and strategize security measures in response to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Various senior officials from the military, administration, and security agencies, including DGP J&K police Dilbag Singh and the Chinar Corps Commander, were in attendance.
During the discussions, numerous aspects related to the prevailing security situation in the Union Territory were addressed. The ongoing situation in the Middle East was deliberated upon, and contingency scenarios were discussed to ensure preparedness for any potential developments.
While there have not been widespread protests in the region concerning the situation in Gaza, peaceful protests were observed in certain parts of the valley. The congregational prayers were prohibited at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar on two consecutive Fridays, reportedly due to concerns about pro-Palestine protests that could disrupt the peace in J&K. The Jamia Masjid has historically seen clashes and protests whenever Israel has initiated military actions in Gaza.
New Delhi : Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday shared the interview of former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik in which they discussed Pulwama terror attack, the statehood of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir among others.
Malik in his conversation with Rahul Gandhi, on October 14, said that the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir should be returned as the people are unhappy. He also said that the government’s lapses led to the February 14, 2019 Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF troopers were killed.
Rahul Gandhi while sharing the post on X, said, “Will this conversation create a stir amid ED-CBI?”
In his conversation with Malik, Rahul Gandhi asked him that during his tenure it was the most complicated time. He said while referring to the revocation of Article 370 and the state being bifurcated as union territory.
To this, Malik said, “In my opinion, you cannot keep Jammu and Kashmir by force and through armed forces. You can do anything by winning the trust of the people.”
To this Rahul Gandhi again asked him how Jammu and Kashmir will return to normalcy, to which Malik said that the government must restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Revocation of Article 370 and removal of the statehood of the state was most painful for the people. I felt that the government was thinking that the state police will revolt. They never shared it with me. But the fact was that the Jammu and Kashmir Police remained with the government and the police personnel did not even take leave on the occasion of Eid, ” the former governor said, who is at loggerheads with the BJP.
He also said that the statehood must be returned to Jammu and Kashmir and it is also a promise by Amit Shah to the people in Parliament and hold the election immediately.
Rahul Gandhi said that even the people of Jammu are not happy with the government’s decision of taking away the statehood of Kashmir.
Malik then said that I don’t know why they are not doing it. Now the insurgency has again returned and the terrorist activities have increased.
When Rahul Gandhi asked him about the Pulwama terror attack, Malik blamed the government’s lapses for the February 14, 2019 attack.
Speaking on Pulwama, the Congress leader said as soon as he learnt about the incident, he went to the airport to pay his respects to the martyrs. “I was locked inside a room. I felt like it was an event. PM Modi was there. I had to fight my way to get out of the room. It was quite distasteful, ” Rahul Gandhi said.
The former governor said that the Prime Minister should have reached Srinagar.
He further said that on the day of the incident he was shooting in Jim Corbett. Then he called me up in evening and he asked me to not to speak on the issue.
“I told two channels that it was our fault but I was asked to not say this anywhere…I thought my statements might impact the investigation, but there was no investigation. It was used for the purpose of election. On the third day, Prime Minister Modi gave his speech where he used it politically, ” Malik claimed.
Rahul Gandhi then asked why did the Pulwama incident happen. Malik replied that they (CRPF) had asked for five aircraft. Had he asked me, I would have given those right away as I provided aircraft to students stuck in the snow.
He also said that it is easy to get aircraft on rent in Delhi.
“But their application was lying for four months in the Home Ministry. And then it was rejected. The CRPF personnel then took the road which was known to be unsafe, ” the former governor said.
He also said that the explosive-laden truck that attacked the CRPF vehicle was roaming in the area for around 10-12 days and our system was not good.
“The explosives were sent from Pakistan. The driver and the owner of the vehicle had terrorist records. They were arrested and then released several times. But they were not on the radar of the intelligence and on the day of the incident all the link roads were not sanitised and I was in tears after hearing the news, ” Malik said.
Rahul Gandhi also talked about the caste-based census and mentioned about his speech in Parliament and asked for Malik’s opinion.
Malik said that we need to make it compulsory and make people aware to come into the system.
As the two leaders discussed the Manipur situation, Malik said the government has no control in Manipur. “But it is only for six months. I can give in writing. They will not come back to power, ” Malik added.
The Congress leader also said that how the GST and the demonetisation has hurt the businesses in the country.
