Prayagraj is transforming into a massive temporary city to host the Maha Kumbh, the world's largest religious gathering, expected to draw over 40 crore pilgrims. The preparations include extensive infrastructure development, including 160,000 tents, 150,000 toilets, and a 1,250-km pipeline network. The event, starting on January 13, will culminate on February 26, bringing together millions of devotees for the holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers.
Naqvi said the culprits have been arrested on the basis of the crime committed by them and not on the basis of their creed.
The condition of Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Virendra Kumar Khatik, who was beaten up allegedly by Railway Protection Force personnel, is stable and he is out of danger, doctors said on Saturday. The MP from Sagar was beaten up on Friday during an anti-encroachment drive near Bina railway station. He was hit by RPF personnel while protesting against the removal of encroachments from Chhoti Bajaria area, police had said.
The public protest had erupted over the demand for rehabilitation of nearly 800 families evicted from the land they were living on for decades.
Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan has taken up the anti-encroachment drive on a war footing and was in Munnar on Wednesday to monitor the taking over of 1,300 acres allegedly held by Tata Tea.
Dhami said several acres of land were freed from encroachment during the demolition drive in the 'Malik Ka Bagicha' area of Banbhoolpura.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has initiated action against coaching centres flouting norms and it will set up a high-level committee to probe the incident that claimed three lives due to flooding in a coaching centre's basement, MCD officials said on Sunday.
Addressing the concluding session of the two-day meeting of the Vishva Hindu Parishad's (VHP) Kendriya Margadarshak Mandal in Haridwar, Dhami said, "Uttarakhand shares its borders with two countries (China and Nepal). A particular community had illegally encroached land and raised structures in the border areas of the state which are being removed as part of a drive."
In the wake of the devastating flash floods triggered by heavy downpour in Guwahati last week, the administration has resorted to a massive eviction drive to clear water ways and natural water bodies in and around the city of encroachers.
Coaching institutions across the national capital, some lined up in cramped lanes while others housed in lofty buildings in busy commercial areas, are risking the lives of students, with lack of fire safety measures, single entry and exit points, faulty wiring and overloaded electrical circuits among the most common problems.
After a controversy arose over some civic bodies' plans to act against handcarts selling non-veg foods on main thoroughfares, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday had said the state government has no problem with people's food choices.
The Spaniards, looking for a record fourth Euro crown, struck twice in three minutes, with Fabian Ruiz setting up Alvaro Morata in the 29th and firing in himself a little later.
Status quo to be maintained till further order..., the court said.
A pillar had encroached on a storm water drain at Doddabommassandra near Vidyaranyapura and officials had marked the portion for demolition.
Criticising the police for arresting an SUV driver and blaming him for the incident, the high court said, "Mercifully, you have not challaned the rainwater for entering into the basement."
A baby died in Shakur Basti area in West Delhi where a demolition drive was carried out by railways, triggering an angry reaction from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who slammed the railways and suspended three officials for "failing to arrange" food for those evicted.
The government decided to call off the operation as the slum dwellers put up a strong resistance, with women and children in the forefront of the agitation.
Amid concerns over minorities being targeted in India, former Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan on Thursday cautioned that an 'anti-minority' image for the country can lead to loss of market for Indian products and may also result in foreign governments perceiving the nation as an unreliable partner. India enters the perception battle from a position of strength, the professor at Chicago's Booth School of Business said, alluding to credentials like democracy and secularism, but warned that this battle is "ours to lose". The comments came a day after bulldozers tore down several concrete and temporary structures close to a mosque in Jahangirpuri as part of an anti-encroachment drive, days after the northwest Delhi neighbourhood was rocked by communal violence.
'Every year, the marble industry is shrinking due to tiles. It has already decreased by 20-25 per cent in recent years.'
It also said that certain debates on television channels on the incidents in northwest Delhi had unparliamentary, provocative and socially unacceptable language.
The central university issued a statement saying it is putting 'facts on record' and requests Sen to do what is required to be done to protect his self-esteem and Visva-Bharati's reputation.
His visit to India followed a few cancelled plans since he took office in July 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic crisis, with the two leaders holding several virtual talks and eventually meeting in person on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow last November.
Authorities in Nuh district Sunday razed some illegal structures including a hotel from where stones were allegedly pelted on a religious procession last week, even as a mahapanchayat was held in support of four men arrested over arson at a mosque and the death of its junior imam.
'There is something in our desh ki mitti that has held us together.'
'So many conquerors, colonisers, cultures came and went, but we withstood them and rose up again.'
The apex court said it cannot pass an omnibus order preventing authorities from taking action.
The evicted families of Dhalpur villages in Gorukuti will not, however, be paid any compensation as they are "encroachers", the government said in an affidavit to Gauhati High Court in response to a PIL filed by the Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia.
Terming the incident unfortunate, he said, "I think there was mishandling from both the sides. Kachhe khiladi hain - Akash ji bhi aur nagar nigam commissioner (both Akash ji and municipal corporation commissioner are novice players). It was not a big issue but it was made huge."
Aam Aadmi Party Member of Legislative Assembly Alka Lamba was on Sunday attacked during an anti-drugs campaign in north Delhi's Kashmere Gate area and sustained head injuries.
The Congress said the foot march, being led by party leader Rahul Gandhi, will proceed according to its schedule and reach Jammu on Monday afternoon.
'I am a human and humans tend to commit mistakes. To ensure that the party does not suffer due to my mistakes, I resign from the party, whose forgiveness I seek'
A house constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) on government land was demolished in Khargone city of Madhya Pradesh following violence on Ram Navami.
However, the affected family has rejected the offer as of now citing security concern and the administration said no formal order has been issued with regards to their relocation.
Year by year, our cities remain defeated in the face of weather conditions, costing us time, money, resources and often lives, observe Amit Kapoor and Bibek Debroy.
The spark for the raging violence was lit by demonstrations by tribal groups against a move to grant the majority Meiteis the Scheduled Tribe status, which the residents of the hills had been enjoying for decades since Independence.
If only you had thought ahead, you would have stocked snacks and biscuits, bread and cake, and vegetables suited for Amma or pondatti to make your favourite bajji and pakoda, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The former IAS officer was sworn-in as Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Tourism; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The UP government transferred the district magistrate and the senior superintendent of police of Mathura following the violence in the district that left 29 dead.
Days after a number of families were evicted from 'encroached land' in three districts of Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday urged the minority community to adopt a 'decent family planning policy' for population control to reduce poverty.
Sarma said his government had prepared a dossier on PFI and would be taking action against the outfit in the state.
Thousands of agitators took part in the rally, during which violence between tribals and non-tribals was reported in Torbung area, a senior police officer said.
