A severe cold wave has gripped North India, with temperatures plummeting to near-freezing levels in several areas. The cold wave has disrupted daily life, with dense fog affecting visibility and forcing people to stay indoors.
Delhi recorded its coldest January morning in three years with the minimum temperature dropping to 3 degrees Celsius. Cold wave conditions are expected to persist, and air quality has deteriorated to the 'very poor' category.
The national capital was in the grip of a cold wave, with the sun largely obscured by clouds and pollutants lingering in the atmosphere, leading to reduced visibility. At least 129 flights were cancelled at the Delhi airport on Saturday due to dense fog, according to an official.
A series of deaths and health-related incidents involving staff deployed for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in multiple states has triggered alarm, even as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission, calling the ongoing exercise 'chaotic, coercive and dangerous'.
In Rajasthan's Karauli district, a decade ago, rampant drought and dwindling water sources forced many men into a life of dacoity, leaving their families in fear. However, the women of Karauli, tired of the despair, took matters into their own hands. They persuaded their husbands to give up their lives of crime and together they began reviving old water bodies and constructing new ones with the help of a local NGO. This community-led effort, which included building pokhars (water bodies) and reviving the Serni River, resulted in a remarkable transformation, bringing stability and hope to the region, and turning former dacoits into thriving farmers.
Incidents of arson and vandalism were reported on Saturday after stones were pelted at the rally when it was passing through a Muslim-dominated locality, according to police.
The RSS-affiliated ABVP has won the post of joint secretary in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) election, ending a nine-year period out of office. The ABVP's victory marks a significant shift in the political landscape of JNU, breaking the Left's long-standing dominance. Left candidates won the remaining three central panel posts, but the ABVP's victory is seen as a major gain for the right-wing group.
The murder of a young couple in the Karauli district of Rajasthan was allegedly planned by the husband's mother and maternal uncle as both the husband and wife had extra marital affairs, police said.
Kirodi Lal Meena has resigned as a minister in the Rajasthan government following the Bharatiya Janata Party's underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls in the state.
At least 28 people died in rain-related incidents Sunday as heavy downpours lashed north and northwest India, causing landslides, traffic chaos and house collapses, as well as a dam breach which inundated several villages in Haryana.
A cold wave has gripped many parts of north and east India, with Srinagar recording a minimum temperature of minus 5.3 degrees Celsius. Other areas experiencing below-freezing temperatures include Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Konibal, Qazigund, Kupwara, and Kokernag in Kashmir. Himachal Pradesh has issued an orange warning for severe cold wave conditions in several districts. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 5.9 degrees Celsius, while Faridkot in Punjab was the coldest in the region at 0 degrees Celsius. Extreme cold conditions also continued in parts of Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The Met office has forecast mainly dry weather until December 26, with the possibility of light snowfall in the higher reaches of Kashmir on the intervening night of December 21-22.
Many low-lying areas in West Bengal's sub-Himalayan region were reeling from a flood-like situation while major rivers in Bihar were flowing above the danger level at several places as unabated heavy rain lashed the country's eastern parts on Sunday.
The BJP's nationwide vote share saw its steepest decline in Rajasthan, falling by 9.23% from 2019, resulting in the loss of 11 seats.
'Modi and his guarantees stand alone when it comes to national trust'
'I gave enough evidence and proof to punish corrupt officials.' 'But my own government has not filed any FIR against such officials.'
If Meena resigns, it is likely to put pressure on other ministers whose areas also saw poor performance in the general elections.
Intense monsoon rains brought normal life to a standstill in several parts of eastern and central Rajasthan, flooding out roads, rail tracks, low-lying residential areas and hospitals and claiming seven lives since Sunday night.
In eight districts of Alwar, Bharatpur, Bundi, Dausa, Dholpur, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur and Tonk, the Congress in the 2018 assembly elections had won 29 out of 42 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party got only six.
Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday called the Congress the "modern-day Muslim League" and accused it of committing atrocities against Hindus after he and his party leaders were stopped from visiting violence-hit Karauli in Rajasthan.
The suspense over whether Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest the polls from Amethi and Raebareli respectively continued.
He said the then prime minister Manmohan Singh had given a speech in which he had said Muslims have the first right to the country's resources.
In a major reshuffle in Rajasthan, 32 Indian Police Service officers including Inspector General (IG) and Superintendent of Police (SP) of Udaipur, where a tailor was brutally killed, have been transferred, according to the state department of personnel.
Amid opposition charges that the Bharatiya Janata Party was out to destroy the Constitution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that his government revered it and even Babasaheb Ambedkar would not be able to abolish it now.
Of the 34 SC reserved seats that went to the polls, the BJP won 22 and the Congress 11.
Here are the main factors that impact the November 23 elections in the state.
He said that the Congress government has fulfilled 98 per cent of the promises made in its manifesto and the next manifesto will be prepared on the basis of the 'Vision 2030' document.
'The water crisis is so obvious that people see no point begging for it from politicians.'
Delhi saw seven cold wave days in January 2020, while it did not record any such day last year.
Gandhi is out to "connect" Bharat but he needs to study Indian history first, Shah said.
The family, which had refused to conduct his last rites, was assured that they would be provided Rs 10 lakh compensation, a contractual job for a dependent and a house under Indira Awas Yojna besides removal of a local revenue officer and a station house officer, police said.
He also targeted the Congress government in Rajasthan, saying that had it set up a special court in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case, which happened in Udaipur last year, the accused would have been hanged by now.
Mercury hovered around 40 degrees Celsius in large parts of the country on Monday as the Indian meteorological department predicted heat wave conditions in parts of east India over the next four days and the northwest region over the next two days.
Shah said that it is "a 3-D government in Rajasthan and three Ds stands for 'dange' (riots), 'durvyavhar' (ill-treatment) with women and 'Dalit' atrocities.
Incessant rains unleashed more death and destruction on Monday in parts of north India, with 37 people killed in landslides and other rain-related incidents in the last two days even as the Army and NDRF teams stepped in to intensify the relief and rescue operations.
The five accused allegedly poured petrol on Babu Lal Vaishnav and set him on fire in Bukna village on Wednesday. He was referred to the SMS hospital in Jaipur in a critical condition. Vaishnav succumbed to injuries on Thursday night.
The Jodhpur district administration temporarily suspended internet services in the district as a precautionary measure after the clashes on Monday night.
On Monday, the agitators blocked NH-11 and continued their blockade from previous days at other places. Since the agitation began on Friday, it has affected the movement of more than 250 trains.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated to safer places in eastern Rajasthan after heavy rainfall over the past two days led to a flood-like situation in the region and severed road connectivity to many areas.
The Rajasthan government on Sunday announced the closure of schools in urban areas, Sunday curfews, time limits on markets and a cap on occupancy at restaurants and movie theatres in view of a surge in COVID-19 cases.
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