Drilling at the collapsed portion of the tunnel to rescue the trapped men was halted again on Friday night, in yet another setback to the multi-agency effort.
'Had they agreed to our demands that we raised two years ago, we would have never started our agitation again.'
India and China made progress in five-six friction points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh through talks in the last three years and efforts are underway to resolve the remaining issues, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday.
'These are people whom very few give importance and they were doing a mammoth job for the nation.'
President Droupadi Murmu addressed both Houses of Parliament, highlighting the government's achievements in various sectors, including economic growth, social welfare, and infrastructure development. She emphasized the government's efforts to lift the economy out of "policy paralysis" and create a more inclusive society. Murmu also acknowledged the challenges posed by digital fraud and cybercrime and stressed the need for a social infrastructure revolution. The President's speech is considered a policy statement, outlining the government's vision and roadmap for the future.
The defence budget was increased to Rs 5.94 lakh crore for 2023-24, up from last year's allocation of Rs 5.25 lakh crore.
Rajnath Singh asserted that India has every capability to thwart challenges along the border to protect the country's territory.
The headquarters of Sikkim's North district on Monday remained cut off from rest of the state as rescue teams struggled to access remote areas as the toll in floods rose to nine in Assam and four in Arunachal Pradesh.
At least 50 major landslides occurred in just four road stretches in calamity-torn Uttarakhand, where hundreds of pilgrims are feared to have perished in flash floods, an official said.
Road and air traffic was suspended yet again as Kashmir Valley was lashed by fresh snowfall on Monday morning.
A total of 430 BRO workers were at the road-construction site when the avalanche occurred on Friday, Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar said.
Some organisational changes are likely in some of the key army formations.
A mob led by Kuki-Zo women clashed with security forces in Manipur's Kangpokpi district on Tuesday, triggering fresh tensions in the ethnic strife-hit state.
The defence minister said "last year in Galwan Valley, our soldiers displayed exemplary courage and valour in line of duty. I salute all brave soldiers who laid down their lives fighting for the nation."
The incident took place between Delaram and Zaranch when the suicide bomber along with others carried out an attack on Border Roads Organisation personnel working in the area
It has been a week since 41 labourers got trapped inside an under-construction tunnel at Silkyara in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district after parts of the structure collapsed following a landslide last Sunday.
The rain ebbed in some places in north India and pelted down in others on Tuesday, with at least seven more people dead and hundreds stranded as raging waters gushed through villages, towns and fields -- from the desert state of Rajasthan to the hills of Himachal Pradesh.
The 300-km Srinagar Jammu national highway, the lone road linking Kashmir valley to rest of the country was thrown open for one way traffic on Wednesday evening, thanks to the round-the-clock efforts put in by the border roads organisation to make the road traffic worthy.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday visited the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel site for a review of the rescue operations being carried out there to evacuate 40 labourers trapped inside since Sunday morning following its partial collapse.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) intensified its campaign in Lebanon with targeted airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut, hitting key weapons depots and terror infrastructure overnight, according to a report by Times of Israel.
Due to a 'Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat' convened by farmers at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Thursday, the Delhi Police has beefed up security and deployed heavy force for checking vehicles, which might lead to traffic snarls in the central parts of the city, officials said.
At least twenty one bodies, including those of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Border Roads Organisation personnel, have so far been found while eight persons are still missing due to flash flood and landslides in remote areas of North Sikkim, official sources said on Sunday.
The shutdown was called by Kuki-Zo groups, including the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) and Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), in protest against Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh's statement about militants entering the state from outside.
Delivering a thinly veiled message to Pakistan from its soil, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said activities across borders characterised by the 'three evils' of terrorism, extremism and separatism are unlikely to encourage trade, energy flows and connectivity.
Three thousand security personnel were on Tuesday searching the inhospitable altitudes of Sela Pass to trace the missing chopper carrying Arunachal Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others as inclement weather coupled with overnight rains led authorities to cancel aerial operations.
Shopkeepers in Bahraich scrambled to salvage their goods on Saturday, apprehending a demolition drive by the authorities. According to a local lawmaker, the Public Works Department has served demolition notices to 23 establishments -- 20 of them belonging to Muslims.
Six people -- three women and three children -- belonging to the Meitei community had gone missing from a relief camp in Jiribam after a gunfight between security forces and suspected Kuki-Zo militants that resulted in the deaths of 10 insurgents on November 11.
Driving over the highest passes across the Himalayas can be one of the most exhilarating experiences in the world. The landscape and the sights have nothing to compare in this world.
As part of the mega plan, around 20 bridges, a number of tunnels, airbases and several key roads are being developed in strategically key areas in Arunachal Pradesh to bolster the overall military preparedness, officials said on Monday.
We need to have patience as it is a dangerous operation,NDMA member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said.
The auger machine was facing repeated obstructions in the rubble in the past few days.
A spokesman for Taliban, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, rang an international news agency to confirm that the Taliban had kidnapped the four men.
Five personnel of the Border Roads Organisation, including a lieutenant colonel and an engineer, were gunned down by militants at Symbham top, the highest point on the Srinagar-Kishtwar Highway, in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday evening.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to utilise the services of the Air Force to lift hundreds of stranded passengers as the Jammu-Srinagar national highway continued to remain closed for the passenger traffic for past nearly 10 days.
Six Border Roads Organisation personnel, involved in road clearance operation, had a narrow escape on Friday when two avalanches hit an arterial road near the highway, a defence spokesman said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah directed the Border Roads Organisation to clear the Manali-Leh highway within next three days and asked the officials engaged in relief work to ensure that procedural formalities do not delay the operation. The highway which got swept away by flash floods triggered by a cloudburst on Friday is one of the two road links between the 'cold desert' and other parts of the country.
The Border Roads Organisation have been asked to move out of the National Highway-16 project in Naxal-infested Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh on 'as is where is basis' by March next year.
The Kashmir Valley received fresh snow Sunday that blocked the Jammu-Srinagar national highway yet again. The blockade of the highway stranded hundreds of vehicles at various points on the highway.
The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, which remained closed for the third day today due to heavy snowfall, is likely to be open by Wednesday, an official spokesman said.
India has allocated Rs 1.72 trillion, or 27.67 per cent of the total defence budget to cater to modernisation of the country's arsenal. Modern militaries spend up to 50 to 60 per cent of their total defence budget so that they go into combat with superior weaponry and equipment.
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