Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath highlighted the successful execution of the Maha Kumbh 2025, emphasizing effective crisis management, economic benefits, and the event's role in national unity and infrastructure development. He cited the swift response to a stampede on January 29 and the extensive preparations that ensured a smooth experience for millions of pilgrims.
Amid heightened security measures, more than two crore devotees took a dip in the Sangam till 6 pm on Wednesday on the occasion of Maghi Purnima during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India hopes to evacuate its citizens from Kharkiv and Pisochyn in the next few hours.
The IAF is likely to deploy several C-17 aircraft as part of Operation Ganga from Tuesday, they said.
Elaborate arrangements including a special traffic plan have been chalked out for Maghi Purnima on Wednesday and health personnel have been put on alert for the occasion when the month-long 'kalpavas', an integral tradition of the Maha Kumbh, comes to an end.
The aircraft landed at Dushanbe in Tajikistan after evacuating the Indians, they said, adding the flight is expected to arrive at the Hindon airbase near Delhi in the evening.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday claimed that the state has achieved its 'Zero Casualty Mission' as there has been no report regarding any loss of human life or injury in the severe cyclonic storm Dana which made landfall in the coast on Thursday night.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his cabinet colleague Piyush Goyal were part of the meeting chaired by Modi, besides several top bureaucrats.
The DG said the maximum of four teams of the NDRF have been positioned in Kutch district and the Gujarat government has done an in-depth evacuation exercise as part of which fishing boats have been anchored, big ships have been sent to the high seas so that they are not affected by the tidal waves, more than 4,000 hoarding have been taken down so that they don't become deadly flying objects as strong winds blow.
Three crew members went missing after an Indian Coast Guard (ICG) helicopter on a rescue mission crashed into the Arabian Sea off Porbandar coast in Gujarat, officials said on Tuesday.
On May 28, following the bomb threat, which later turned out to be hoax, all the passengers were evacuated through emergency slides from the aircraft at the Delhi airport.
Forty-one Border Road Organisation labourers working to clear snow near the high altitude border village of Mana in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district were trapped under an avalanche on Friday.
A fire broke out at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Sunday, engulfing 18 tents in Sector 19. The blaze, which started around 4 pm, was caused by an LPG cylinder explosion. No casualties were reported, and the fire was brought under control within an hour. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was in Prayagraj to review preparations ahead of Mauni Amawasya, visited the site and instructed authorities to take measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
An Army vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a gorge near SK Payen in the north Kashmir district, they said.
Twenty priests have been booked by the police in Kochi, Kerala, for allegedly assaulting a police officer during a protest at the Bishop's House. The incident occurred on January 11, with the priests protesting against the unified Holy Mass. The police registered a case against the priests under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for unlawful assembly, rioting, and causing hurt to a public servant. The protest follows a controversy over the unified Holy Mass, which the Archbishop has defended, stating that altering decisions approved by Pope Francis is impossible.
The incident happened while the Kochi-bound Boeing 737-800 aircraft was taxiing and after the warning, the passengers were evacuated as a precautionary measure, the source said.
SpiceJet, Air India Express and IndiGo will operate special flights from Hungarian capital Budapest and Romania's Bucharest on Monday and Tuesday to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine due to the Russian military offensive.
India on Sunday brought back nearly 400 people, including 329 of its nationals and two Afghan lawmakers, in three different flights as part of its efforts to evacuate its citizens from Kabul in the backdrop of the deteriorating situation in the city after its takeover by the Taliban
A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justice Krishna Murari took note Attorney General K K Venugopal's submissions that the Centre, besides bringing back stranded students, is also looking into the representation on their studies being hit by the ongoing war.
The worst-hit districts include Kendrapara, Balasore and Bhadrak, while the human casualty 'still stands at zero,' he told reporters in Bhubaneswar.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
The four Indians from Punjab, Haryana, were on Thursday seen off at the Benina Airport by the embassy's local representative Tabassum Mansoor.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that one person died in the state in cyclone Dana, even as the administration evacuated around 2.16 lakh people from the low-lying areas.
Top external affairs ministry officials on Monday briefed a parliamentary panel about efforts to bring back Indians stranded in war-hit Ukraine, including plans for 13 evacuation flights in the next two-three days to its neighbouring countries and subsequent increase in the number of daily flights to nine, sources said.
The government is making efforts to evacuate Indian nationals from Ukraine through its land border crossings with its neighbouring countries and they would then be brought back home, official sources said on Friday.
Wing Commander Raveendran and flight steward Sargeant Iyer, though shaken and injured, managed to open the rear door of the aircraft and shouted for Prime Minister Morarji Desai and the passengers in the forward cabin to exit in haste since they suspected that fire would engulf the aircraft.
Shaboo, who is living with her husband, Nedal Toman, and youngest daughter, Karima, in Gaza, said the 'water supply was officially cut off' in addition to electricity.
The development comes following the third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Belarus on Monday, which apparently ended up in failure.
"Op Devi Shakti in action! @IAF_MC flight with 24 Indian and 11 Nepalese evacuees from Kabul is on its way to Delhi. #DeviShakti," external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted in the morning.
Local train services came to a halt between Badlapur and Ambarnath section in Maharashtra's Thane district adjoining Mumbai due to water-logging on railway tracks after heavy rains, officials said.
It was also decided at the meeting to further enhance cooperation with the neighbouring countries of Ukraine to expedite the evacuation of Indian students, they said.
India is primarily focusing on evacuating its nationals from conflict zones in eastern Ukraine including Kharkiv and Sumy, and that the total number of Indians still stuck in the battle-scarred nation is roughly in the range of 2,000 to 3,000.
Mizintsev said that places for temporary accommodation and rest have been set up at the checkpoints.
Wing Commander Pratap Marathe's story is one of dedication, bravery, and humour, a shining example of the spirit of the Indian Air Force. Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) salutes Wing Commander Marathe who passed into the ages last week.
The Hague mayor, Jan van Zanen, said that the search started as a rescue operation by Saturday afternoon.
India on Saturday 'strongly pressed' the Russian and Ukrainian governments through multiple channels for an immediate ceasefire in Sumy to ensure a safe passage for around 700 Indian students stuck there as it keeps focus on their evacuation from the war-hit city in eastern Ukraine.
People familiar with the development said the Indians were flown back to Delhi as part of India's mission to evacuate its citizens and Afghan partners from Kabul following its takeover by the Taliban over a week back.
In the latest attacks, at least 20 people lost their lives and over 450 were injured, authorities said, according to a report by Al Jazeera.
Indian nationals who have reached the Ukraine-Romania border by road will be taken to Bucharest by officials of the Indian government so that they can be evacuated in the two Air India flights, they added.
All passengers were evacuated at Kasu Begu railway station, they said.
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