High nitrate levels have been found in groundwater of 440 districts across India, with 20 per cent of the samples collected exceeding the permissible nitrate concentration, the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has said in a report.
Ahead of the Basant Panchami Amrit Snan at the Maha Kumbh, top officials are emphasizing the implementation of "zero error" directives to prevent a repeat of the deadly stampede that occurred during a previous snan. The Uttar Pradesh government has deployed senior IAS officers with experience in crowd management and inter-agency coordination to oversee the event.
Bihar Home Secretary Amir Subhani on Tuesday began an inquiry into the stampede that caused the death of at least 18 people, mostly children and women, during the Chhath festival at the Adalatganj Ghat on the Ganga River in Patna on late Monday evening, officials said.
He also received the country's first container cargo transported on inland waterways from Kolkata.
Seers from various 'akharas' took the first 'Amrit Snan' at the Maha Kumbh on Makar Sankranti on Tuesday as an unbroken stream of people converged at the Triveni Sangam on the occasion with around 3.5 crore devotees taking a dip.
The project will be similar to Marine Drive in Mumbai.
At least 18 people including 8 children and 10 women, mostly devotees, died and several injured in a stampede during Chhath festival in Patna on Monday evening, the police said.
The Environment Ministry was hit by controversies in the year gone by which saw clearances for two big ticket projects -- POSCO and Lavasa -- and exit of Jairam Ramesh as the green minister.
"All the water related works will be merged under one ministry," Shekhawat said after taking the charge.
Hundreds of villages have been inundated and thousands of people stranded in Bihar after heavy rains lashed the state on Sunday. Water levels in Sone and Ganga rivers rose to alarming proportions, following the sudden release of 9.58 lakh cusecs of water from Bansagar dam in Madhya Pradesh, Rihand dam in Uttar Pradesh and Muhammadganj dam in Jharkhand.
At least 22 pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh were killed on Tuesday and 8 others injured when a bus in which they were travelling fell into Ganga river at Kodiyala in Tehri district of Uttarakhand, police said.
Noted environmentalist G D Agrawal, who is on "fast-unto-death" to press for cleaning up of river Ganga, was on Monday referred from BHU to AIIMS in New Delhi after his health deteriorated further.
A breach in an embankment along the Ganga caused by recent heavy rainfall which threatened to inundate a large area and affect Maha Kumbh pilgrims in Allahabad, has been plugged by a 60-member team of Army's Red Eagle Division who worked through the night averting a disaster.
Hindu leaders have approached the Indian embassy in Washington DC and urged it to approach the United States government to seek an apology from Fox News regarding its comments about river Ganges, which they found denigrating.Bhavna Shinde of the Forum for Hindu Awakening, in a communique to ambassador Meera Shankar, said, "Please take up this issue urgently with the appropriate authorities in the United States government, urging an apology from Fox News."
The project worth about Rs 5,000 crore is underway with assistance from the World Bank.
Nine more people have died as heavy rains lashed Uttar Pradesh for the third day, taking the death toll to 28, while a red alert has been sounded on Tuesday in six districts including the worst-hit Barabanki and Gonda.
Tourism ministry plans to float hotels on the river to boost tourism.
Amid allegations that Swami Nigamanand was poisoned, authorities on Thursday took fresh sample for a second viscera test of the seer who died after a four-month fast against quarrying in Ganga river bed. A panel of doctors took a second viscera sample of Nigamanand at Matri Sadan ashram where his body was kept following a direction by Haridwar District Magistrate R Meenakshisundaram. The founder head of the ashram and his guru Swami Shivanand had given a written request.
The family of Swami Nigamananda, who died on Monday after a 114-day fast in the Bharatiya Janata Party led-Uttarakhand, suspect foul play behind his death. The seer slipped into coma while he was agitating for saving the Ganga River and checking illegal mining on its banks.
The Siang is a dramatic river that flows through a beautiful land. Rafting on it is a rare pleasure the state offers tourists, says Ajai Shukla.
A boat, carrying about 60 passengers, capsized on Monday morning, killing 47 people, including 18 men, 15 children and 11 women. According to reports reaching Lucknow, 17 passengers managed to swim safely to the riverbanks. UP Additional Director General of Police Brj Lal attributed the tragedy to 'overloading'.
Actor Mamta Kulkarni has renounced the worldly life at the Maha Kumbh and will be consecrated as a Hindu nun under the Kinnar Akhara. She performed her own 'Pind Daan' and will be consecrated as 'mahamandaleshwar'.
A 13.2 MW small hydro project on the Rishiganga river was swept away in the glacier burst in Uttarakhand on Sunday, but there is no danger of floods in the downstream areas as the water level has been contained.
One infant and 22 others, including some foreigners, were injured in a blast that rocked the crowded Shitla Ghat bank of the Ganga river in Varanasi , about 300 km from Lucknow on Tuesday evening.
'One per cent of wealthy people have been handed over 99 per cent of our nation's resources. The rest are mute, helpless and very frightened spectators to this loot.'
Glimpses of the preparations in Odisha and West Bengal for Cyclone Dana which is expected to make landfall between October 24 and 25.
"We have reached a conclusion that river Saraswati existed, it flowed. It originated in the Himalayas and met gulf at the western sea," Professor K S Valdiya, who led the panel, said while handing over the report to the government.
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi may be well above 40 years of age, but his party activists on Friday insisted on disallowing anybody above 35 to enter the venue of a Youth Congress meet convened by him in Varanasi.
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur asked protesting wrestlers not to take any step that would undermine sports.
Given the tonnes of sewage and filth that have accumulated in the Ganga over the years, this may seem to be a drop in the ocean.
The Uttar Pradesh government is expecting over 35 crore pilgrims to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, a significant increase from the 24 crore who attended the 2019 Kumbh Mela. The event, which will take place over 45 days, will feature extensive security and sanitation measures, as well as a digital component. The state government has allocated Rs 7,000 crore for the event.
The Maha Kumbh 2025 at Prayagraj will feature a "Yuva Maha Kumbh", a gathering of youth and students celebrating Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary and his vision for India. The event, organized by the Vivekananda Kendra, will include workshops and discussions on Swami Vivekananda's teachings and their relevance to modern India. The gathering will take place from January 20th, coinciding with the Maha Kumbh, and is expected to draw a large number of young people.
More than 150 labourers working in a power project are missing, officials said.
Uttarakhand Director-General of Police Ashok Kumar informed that 168 people are still missing following the glacier burst.
After a comprehensive analysis is undertaken to find the reasons of this incident, "we will build an elaborate plan to avert any potential tragedy going forward", Rawat said.
A women offers prayers to the Sun God on the occasion of the Chhath Puja in Bhubaneswar.
Global tenders will be floated to build the road, while the government will take care of the administrative part
'I believe that the competent authorities are working on to resolve the issue.'
Warning that time was running out to preserve the Ganga, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday pulled up state governments for tardy performance on sewage treatment and asked them to take action against industries polluting the river.
The cruise which was scheduled to dock at the shore for the tourists to visit Chirand, an archaeological site, got stuck because of water deficiency in the Ganges near the Doriganj area of the district.
