The Uttar Pradesh government has said that over 65 crore people visited the sacred site in Prayagraj since the Maha Kumbh began on January 13.
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, billed as the world's largest gathering, concluded on Wednesday after 45 days, with lakhs of devotees taking a dip in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers. Despite a stampede that killed at least 30 people, millions continued to visit the Kumbh, seeking salvation through the ritual bath. The event saw a mix of faith, tradition, and technology, drawing pilgrims and tourists from across the globe.
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.
Long denied the right to vote, members of the Valmiki community exercised their franchise for the first time in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections on Tuesday and termed it as a "historic moment".
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has distributed portfolios among the new ministers, keeping key departments such as Home, Personnel, and several others to himself. The Congress' Radhakrishna Kishore was given Finance, Commercial Tax, Planning and Development Department, and Parliamentary Affairs departments. JMM's Deepak Biruwa was allotted the departments of Revenue, Registration and Land Reforms (non-registration), and Transport. Chamra Linda, another JMM leader, was allotted the departments of Schedule Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes (except Minority Welfare). RJD's Sanjay Prasad Yadav was given the departments of Industries, and Labour, Planning, Training and Skill Development. The Congress' Irfan Ansari got Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, besides Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, and Disaster Management departments. The chief minister also kept to himself the departments of Cabinet Secretariat, Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Official Language, Road Construction, Building Construction, and those departments yet to be distributed to anyone. Among the other ministers, JMM's Ramdas Soren was given the School Education and Literacy, and Registration departments. Party colleague Hafizul Hasan was allotted the departments of Water Resources, and Minority Welfare Department. Panchayati Raj, Rural Works, and Rural Development departments were given to Congress MLA Deepika Pandey Singh. The CM gave Drinking Water and Sanitation, and Excise and Prohibition departments to JMM's Yogendra Prasad. JMM legislator Sudhivya Kumar became the minister for Urban Development and Housing, Higher and Technical Education, and Tourism, Art Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs departments. Shilpi Neha Tirkey of the Congress was allotted Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department. A total of 11 MLAs took oath as ministers in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand on Thursday.
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
Standing at the edge of Dholavira is witnessing history textbooks crammed in school coming to life. One is suddenly standing face to face with a 4,000-year-old civilisational site that is now but a ruin.
The monthly Rs 2500 payment for poor women is expected to cost Rs 11,000 crore while the pension scheme of Rs 2000 for every senior citizen will cost around Rs 4100 crore. The Yamuna clean up will cost over Rs 10,000 crore while a similar amount is required to upgrade Delhi's hospitals. Ultimately, the new BJP government will have no choice but to ask the centre for financial support, notes Rashme Sehgal.
Brazilian authorities have rescued 163 workers from conditions similar to 'slavery' at a construction site for a factory of Chinese electric vehicle company Build Your Dreams (BYD) in Camacari, Bahia.
The government allowed sugar companies and distilleries to make hand sanitizers using ethanol. Sugar companies supply ethanol to oil marketing companies for blending with petrol.
The Delhi government has ordered half of its staff to work from home, urging private organizations to follow suit as the national capital faces an alarmingly high level of air pollution. The move comes as Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 426 in the "severe" category, with residents reporting health issues. Essential services will continue to operate at full capacity. The government has also advised companies to provide shuttle bus services for employees and suggested that private entities consider shifting office hours to reduce traffic congestion.
Bill Gates' remark, intended to underscore India's role in global development efforts, faced swift backlash on social media, where many criticised the choice of words as inappropriate and patronising.
For Yogi Adityanath the successful management of the fair is a crucial part of building 'Brand UP' and making the state a $1 trillion economy.
The Kumbh Mela is what it is because of the devotion of millions who make it an experience like no other. It is experiencing the heart and soul of India and the brotherhood of mankind.
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.
'It's our duty, and we are not going to step back from it. The entire country, including our prime minister, has been supporting us'
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Sunday released its manifesto for the Maharashtra assembly polls, promising free cervical cancer vaccines for girls aged 9 to 16 and and two optional leave days for women employees during menstruation.
The purpose for which AI should be used cannot be left to AI developers, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Iyer, popularly called Param, is keen to return to the US where he had spent several years working with the World Bank at its Washington office -- a job he later quit to become road manager for his daughter, a professional tennis player.
In the wake of guidelines to check the spread of coronavirus, only a few family members of the victims are being allowed to attend their last rites. At such a difficult time, the sanitation workers are helping these families by performing the last rites of the deceased.
Goa has the highest number of people who could 'search the Internet for information and can send or receive e-mails and can perform online banking transactions'.
The police said the woman has a postgraduate degree in social work from Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar, has been a research fellow, and has over eight years of experience in the social sector.
Not all listed companies above a threshold have spent on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the way they were required to do. The aggregate unspent amount in 2022-23 (FY23) stood at a five-year high of Rs 1,475 crore. In FY23 listed companies spent Rs 15,602 crore while the amount to be expended was Rs 15,787 crore, according to the data from corporate tracker primeinfobase.com.
A 21-year-old woman was allegedly raped by three persons on the outskirts of Pune, while her male was assaulted, police said on Friday.
As Odisha and West Bengal are bracing for a severe cyclonic storm, governments of both states started evacuating people and while deciding to close educational institutions in vulnerable areas.
For the past few days, Tata had been admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital in south Mumbai.
Sanitation is always clubbed with other departments, which lead to its neglect, says Devanik Saha.
Gates stressed on promoting quality and user friendly toilets to ensure their proper use.
He also washed the feet of sanitation workers at the 'Swachh Kumbh, Swachh Aabhaar' programme in Prayagraj.
Hundreds of people are facing a shortage of food, safe drinking water and sanitation in Kathmandu following the natural disaster, according to eyewitnesses.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma issued notices to the Kerala government and the victim in the case and sought their replies within two weeks.
Anoop Jain was named recipient of the 2014 Waislitz Global Citizen Award for his 'exemplified values of a Global Citizen' through his work in founding Humanure Power in Bihar in 2011 that builds community sanitation facilities in rural India.
On the one had are sanitation oriented social enterprises and on the other are awareness raising campaigns by government.
Garbage continued to pile up in parts of Delhi amid ongoing strike by municipal sanitation workers in New Delhi, even as a section of them protested in front of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence ahead of his meeting with them at the Ramlila Maidan on Monday evening.
'All of these guys who are opposing the Supreme Court judgment are from dominant scheduled caste communities and none of them come from the scavenging community.' 'Not a single scavenging leader will oppose this Supreme Court judgment.'
President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday emphasised the need to strengthen affirmative action as a tool for inclusion while urging the rejection of divisive tendencies rooted in perceived social hierarchies.
This is the full text of the address to the nation by President Droupadi Murmu on the eve of India's 78th Independence Day.
Over eight million deaths in 2021 were attributed to air pollution, affecting both children and adults alike.
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