Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, amid reports of growing discord with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has issued a warning, stating, "Don't take me lightly." Shinde's remarks come amidst a series of events suggesting tensions between the two leaders, including the appointment of guardian ministers for Raigad and Nashik, the establishment of separate project monitoring cells, and Shinde's absence from several meetings convened by Fadnavis. The recent downgrading of police security for 20 Shiv Sena MLAs further fuels speculation of a growing rift. While both leaders have denied any discord, the events suggest a power struggle within the ruling alliance.
Every 12 years comes a mystical, mind-boggling phenomenon. It is the Maha Kumbh Mela. Harvard experts map the exotic and the mundane at the spectacle. Arthur J Pais reports
With 100 million pilgrims expected to come in from all over the country for this bathing festival on Friday, the Uttar Pradesh government faces an uphill task to get the things moving smoothly after the tragedy during 'Mauni Amavasya' holy dip.
'I have no connection with the D (drug) world.'
The stampede on the banks of Godavari River in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh added to India's notoriety for deaths due to such accidents, when sudden, uncontrollable crowds surge out of control.
The Maha Kumbh, a massive religious gathering in Prayagraj, India, is preparing for the culmination of its events with the Mahashivratri 'snan' (sacred bath) on Wednesday. Authorities have declared the entire mela area a 'no vehicle zone' and are urging devotees to take a dip at the ghat nearest to them to avoid crowding at the Sangam. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is monitoring the arrangements and has issued an advisory for devotees, outlining specific ghats for different arrival routes. The Maha Kumbh has seen a record number of pilgrims, exceeding 64 crore. Security arrangements are robust with over 37,000 police personnel and 14,000 home guards deployed. The fair has also been hailed for its cleanliness and safety measures. The event is expected to conclude with the Mahashivratri puja.
The woman, Trikal Bhavanta, the Pari Akhara head, who entered into a samadhi on Tuesday for not getting facilities at par with male seers in the Mela, was arrested on Wednesday on charges of disrupting peace.
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Violators will have to pay a Rs 2,000 fine for the first offence and Rs 5,000 if they defy this order for the second time, Ujjain Mayor Mukesh Tatwal said on Saturday.
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The Prayagraj airport in India is experiencing a surge in air traffic due to the Maha Kumbh, a major religious festival. The airport is handling an average of 40 non-scheduled charters and private jets daily, with figures reaching 70 on weekends. This is in addition to the average 148 scheduled commercial passenger aircraft operating daily. The airport recently received a contingent of about 180 politicians from Rajasthan and has seen corporate bigwigs like the Ambani brothers, Gautam Adani, and Pawan Munjal pass through. The airport has also hosted four international flights since the beginning of the Maha Kumbh, including a flight carrying Laurene Powell Jobs, the wife of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The airport is currently undergoing an upgrade and expansion, and officials are looking forward to the government's plans to integrate Prayagraj with the airports at Kashi and Ayodhya to promote tourism in the region.
The stampede at Gandhi maidan in Patna added to India's notoriety for deaths due to such accidents, when sudden, uncontrollable crowds surge out of control Stampedes at temples and other religious places in India have claimed more than a thousand lives in the last 10 years in the country. Here is a look at some of the deadliest stampede to have happened in India.
From disagreement over guardian minister's post to taking separate review meetings to separate medical cells and 'war rooms' for monitoring projects, the unease between Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde seems to be growing.
He said Google failed before the epic Ramayana, which was written by sage Valmiki, and he asserted that the knowledge of the spiritual books was correct instead of what the search engine said.
'No other country other than India can do it on this scale.'
'Suddenly you become part of a very large humanity.' Bathing in the Ganga at the Maha Kumbh Mela left a lasting impression on Harvard investigators, finds Arthur J Pais.
Some speakers also blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government.
Masks were not worn by a large proportion and social distancing appeared impossible in an event in which, according to the mela administration, over 17 lakh people had taken a dip in the river in the first few hours up to 10 am.
'The government is of the view that distilleries around Hapur and Bijnor would pollute groundwater in the vicinity and its spill over into the sacred Ganga. Hence, we are looking to close these distilleries to prevent them from discharging water into the open area,' said a senior UP government official.
The VHP will focus on non-religious topics and give the Ram temple a miss at the three-day Vaicharik Kumbh, to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shashikant Trivedi reports.
Dips in the Kshipra river during Simhastha are said to wash away all sins!
In a move that has ruffled many feathers, the Mahanirvani Akhara of 'naga' sadhus has conferred the honorific title of 'Mahamandaleshwar' on controversial self-styled godman Swami Nithyananda.
"The death of two persons after falling in drain was run as breaking news by channels saying that deaths took place due to stampede in Kumbh. Due to this news, people started moving to the railway station following which pressure increased there," Khan told media persons on Monday night.
Yadav had recently visited Haridwar where the Kumbh Mela is underway and met various religious leaders, including Akhara Parishad chairman Mahant Narendra Giri who had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier.
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Warning that global warming and terrorism have become the world's biggest concerns, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said shedding the "holier-than-thou" attitude is the key to overcoming these issues and resolving conflicts.
After a gap of 65 years, the pious Makarsankranti dip at Gangasagar, the second largest after Kumbh Mela, will again take place during the evening hours on Tuesday, the Chief Priest of the Kapilmuni Temple said.
To build one's political and ideological arguments on the dead bodies piling up outside our crematoriums is despicable and breaches the basic tenet of human civility, argues Vivek Gumaste.
'For three months Raj Thackeray becomes a staunch Hindu and for the next three months he becomes anti-Hindu.'
Recently, Hindu religious seers had threatened to boycott the ceremonial Kumbh snan if the Ganga was not clean.
The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday slammed the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, asking whether it disputed the Central Pollution Control Board's finding on high levels of faecal coliform being found in the water at various locations in Prayagraj during the ongoing Mahakumbh.
India has, in the past, seen a number of stampedes in which hundreds have died. We take a look at the worst of the lot.
Opposition parties on Monday blamed the Railways and the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh for the "avoidable" stampede during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad that left 36 people dead and demanded a judicial probe into the incident.
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Indian origin Hindus living in Europe and US are mulling opening overseas chapters of Prayagraj-based 'Ram Naam Bank' in their countries. On the occasion of Ram Navami on Sunday, the idea of opening a Ram Naam Bank was discussed among the devotees in Sweden.
Miffed over opposition parties blaming Sunday's stampede in Allahabad, which claimed 36 lives on administrative laxity, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said there should be no politics over a tragedy.
'Today, both in the hills and valley there is radicalised militant activity which poses a direct national security threat.' 'This kind of militancy in Manipur is unprecedented, I have never seen such largescale militancy in my life.'
The Bharatiya Janta Party on Thursday demanded that a sitting high court judge should probe the stampede at Allahabad railway station which killed 37 people on Sunday night.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has directed two ministers in his cabinet as well senior officials in his administration to visit Allahabad in the wake of a stampede at the city's police station. The tragic stampede has claimed the lives of 36 pilgrims who were on their way back after attending the Maha Kumbh Mela at Allahabad on Sunday night.
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