The weather office has forecast intense spells of rain at isolated places in Nainital, Champawat, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Dehradun, Tehri and Pauri districts on Sunday.
Seventy-five pilgrims were killed and an equal number injured when a truck carrying them fell into a deep gorge near Desuri Ki Naal village in Rajsamund district, about 150 km from Udaipur on Friday night, senior police officials said.
Some pilgrims also complained about the AI not opening a counter in Madinah to deal with queries relating to lost tickets and other problems, to which Kurian said the decision was taken as there were very few inquiries last year.
What should be made out of the Madras high court order involving non-Hindus' entry into Hindu temples, when many non-Hindus are among the hundreds of thousands that have been worshipping at these temples for generations, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
They were shot on Friday as they headed for Karbala in a bus, officials said.
The incident happened around 4.30 pm in Kumarghat area during the 'Ulta Rath Yatra' or return car festival of Lord Jagannath organised by ISKCON, they said.
In moving scenes at the spot, women were seen wailing, possibly over the loss of a dear one, while a child recalled the tense moments before fleeing to safety.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held three back-to-back meetings with top officials of the security establishment to assess the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, including the recent killings of civilians, as well as reviewed arrangements for the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra for which the UT administration will provide RFID tags to every pilgrim.
After returning from Nepal, a group of 12 pilgrims on Thursday narrated their "near-death" experience as they recalled the April 25 earthquake due to which colossal structures fell like "pack of cards".
A government school teacher-turned Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist was arrested for allegedly carrying out multiple blasts, including one in a bus carrying Vaishno Devi pilgrims, with the intention to damage communal harmony and revive terrorism in the Jammu region, J-K Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said on Thursday.
'Not only are Muslim homes and shops being bulldozed, but the cops are filing random FIRs even against people who died two-three years ago, against those who have moved to neighbouring states since almost two years to work there.'
However, the usual rush of the devotees was missing due to the recent targeted killings in the valley.
In recent years, the twin demands of both religion and defence have been added to the development argument to sweep aside environmental and terrain considerations while undertaking infrastructure development in the Himalayan zone, points out former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The Saturday stampede that killed 12 people occurred 'due to a scuffle between two groups of pilgrims', the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) said in a statement, emphasising only 35,000 pilgrims were allowed to proceed for the yatra against the normal capacity of 50,000 in view of the pandemic.
The first batch of Amarnath yatris from outside the state was welcomed on Wednesday by the police and civil administration amid tight security arrangements at Lakhanpur, the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir.
Tirumala-Tirupati, the most popular, and wealthiest, temple in India was cut off on Thursday following heavy rains that flooded the main shrine at Tirumala and led to the shutdown of the ghat roads that lead to it.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's private secretary V K Pandian played audio of the CM at a public meeting in Barpali in which Patnaik can be heard telling the people that he has sent the IAS officer so that they can tell their grievances to him.
The pilgrimage will be a big security challenge for the government as Jammu and Kashmir has been witnessing a number of targeted killings by terrorists in recent weeks.
At least 10 Hindu pilgrims killed and several others injured in a stampede during a holy bath in the Old Brahmaputra River outside Dhaka.
A group of 21 pilgrims, including six children, were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in fell off a bridge in Andhra Pradesh's Rajahmundry district early Saturday, while they were returning after visiting Tirupati Temple, police said.
The Amarnath pilgrimage resumed on Monday after remaining suspended for three days following flash floods that claimed 15 lives, while the Jammu and Kashmir administration said it would get a clear picture by Tuesday about the damage.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Prashant Kumar Mishra noted, in accordance with its May 9 order, notices have been published in local newspapers, including those in Gujarati and English, against the convicts who could not be served (the notice).
More than 40 food items have been banned at the upcoming Amarnath Yatra and the pilgrims have been advised to achieve physical fitness by walking at least 5 kilometres a day, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board said in its health advisory issued on Thursday.
The death toll in the Kanpur road accident in Uttar Pradesh, where a tractor-trolley carrying pilgrims overturned, rose to 26 on Saturday.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday said the rescue operations launched following a flash flood near the Amarnath cave shrine -- that left 15 people dead -- has been called off and there was no report of any person missing.
A tab was kept on visiting pilgrims through CCTV cameras to ensure there was no violation of COVID-19 protocol.
In a video that surfaced online, senior priest Santosh Trivedi alleged that the temple's sanctum sanctorum has been covered with brass plates in the name of gold plating, claiming it is a 'Rs 125 crore scam'.
Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a high-level meeting on June 3 to discuss the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the second such exercise in less than a fortnight which comes at a time when terrorists have been carrying out targeted killings in the Valley.
"The message of Islam is the message of peace and brotherhood. And each one of you is the ambassador of our country," he told a Haj Goodwill Delegation that called on him this morning.
The NRSC satellite imagery revealed that the lake covered approximately 162.7 hectares. Its area increased to 167.4 hectares on September 28 but drastically reduced to 60.3 hectares.
The incident happened two days after Christmas, for which all the necessary arrangements for the convenience of pilgrims were made.
India and Saudi Arabia on Monday called on states to reject the use of terrorism against other countries and prevent access to weapons, including missiles and drones, to commit acts of terror.
Glimpses of the Pratham Pooja at the Amarnath shrine in Kashmir's Anantnag district.
Mukeshbhai donated Rs 1.51 crore (Rs 15 million) to the temple's annadanam fund, the first devotee to donate such a large sum.
Incessant rains lashed Uttarakhand for the second consecutive day on Monday, prompting the authorities to advise Chardham pilgrims not to proceed to the Himalayan temples till the weather improves.
At least 10 persons were 'reported dead' in a fire that broke out inside a stationary train compartment in Madurai railway station in the wee hours of Saturday, the Southern Railway said, adding a 'gas cylinder illegally' taken in led to the blaze.
The residents informed the authorities and immediately rushed to the accident site to lend a helping hand in rescue efforts.
India signed the Kartarpur corridor agreement with Pakistan on October 24, 2019. Under the pact, Indian pilgrims of all faiths are allowed to undertake round-the-year visa-free travel through the Kartarpur corridor to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib, one of the most revered shrines of Sikhs, in Pakistan.
Minimum temperatures have plummeted below the freezing point across the Kashmir Valley, but pilgrims from all over India can be seen taking a dip at Shadipora located at the confluence of the Jhelum river and Sindh stream in the Ganderbal district of central Kashmir these days.
I suggest we build a Vigyan Mandir (Temple of Science) with the ambience of a place of worship, so that it becomes a destination for pilgrims. We should embed on its walls bronze plaques describing each scientist mentioned here along with about a dozen of our ancient mathematicians, recommends Professor Kalyan Singhal, historian of science and technology.
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