The Indian government has defended the use of Amritsar as a deportation hub for US flights carrying Indian deportees, despite objections from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Government sources said Punjab has the highest number of deportees among Indian states, with 126 out of 333 people deported since February 5. The sources added that 23 flights carrying Indian deportees have arrived in the country since May 2020, all landing in Amritsar. The move has sparked controversy, with opposition parties protesting the treatment meted out to the deportees and demanding that the Indian government take up the issue with the US. Mann has accused the Centre of trying to defame Punjab and said a holy city like Amritsar should not be made a "deport centre".
Keeping up his tradition of celebrating the festival with soldiers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sir Creek near the Indo-Pak border in Gujarat's Kutch district and offered sweets to jawans.
Ramdev said one does not need to hide their name, but do one's work with truth and honesty.
For them it was a late Diwali, as the tunnel collapse happened on November 12, the day of the the festival.
The chances of survival for eight people trapped in a collapsed tunnel in Telangana are "very remote," according to a minister. Rescue efforts are ongoing but the minister says it could take three to four days to reach the trapped individuals due to the debris and muck. The minister also mentioned a team of rat miners, who had rescued construction workers in Uttarakhand in 2023, are now assisting with the rescue efforts.
Hours before the ceremony, Saini visited the Valmiki Bhawan and offered prayers at a gurdwara and the Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday questioned Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat in connection with its inquiry into a sting operation in which he is purportedly seen trying to influence some dissident Congress MLAs.
The task for RS Rawat to enter the assembly might not be easy, especially with the ongoing situation arising out of Covid-19, lack of vaccines and allegations of poor hospital facilities, reports Shishir Prashant.
Uttarakhand chief minister B C Khanduri has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to extend the industrial package given to the state till 2013. In a letter to the prime minister, Khanduri said since this package is coming to an end in 2010, it should be extended by another three years keeping in view the special geographical conditions of the state.
As people queued up across these states to cast their vote, there were some famous faces in the lines at different polling stations.
Dhami under whose leadership the BJP had contested the February 14 assembly polls was the frontrunner for the post.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
A delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from Uttarakhand on Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and demanded the imposition of President's Rule in the flood-ravaged state on the grounds that the Congress government there had failed to deliver. The delegation, led by former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and comprising Tehri Garhwal Member of Parliament Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah among others met, Dr Singh for 30 minutes.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday reviewed relief and rescue operations with senior officials of the government after returning to Dehradun from on-site inspection of Joshimath landslide area gave directions for forming a coordination committee immediately at the government level under the chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary and at the local level under the chairmanship of the Commissioner Garhwal.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday, November 29, 2023 celebrated the Igas Bagwal festival with the family members of the 41 rescued workers from the Uttarkashi tunnel at his residence in Dehradun.
For the first time Uttarakhand's Vidhan Sabha session will be held outside Dehradun in a tent at Gairsain in Chamoli district of the hill state.
A packed beyond capacity bus carrying passengers returning to work after Diwali fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora district on Monday, killing at least 36 of the over 60 people on board.
As he completed one year in office on Saturday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Major Gen (Redt) B C Khanduri has earned laurels as an able administrator. He is seen as a chief minister who has brought down the corruption level and infused a new life into the Himalayan state. Khanduri became the fourth chief minister of the 8-year-old Himalayan state (carved out of Uttar Pradesh) on March 8, 2007 after demolishing a Congress regime.
Already faced with an unprecedented turmoil in the party, the Bharatiya Janata Party now has to contend with yet another dissenter, as former Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C Khanduri has also raised questions about the recent actions of the party.In a letter to BJP chief Rajnath Singh, Khanduri reportedly sought to know why he was held responsible for the poor performance of the party in Uttarakhand and subsequently removed from the CM's post.
Though Uttarakhand has seen a flurry of industrial investments in the last couple of years, its people have for long depended on the government for jobs, healthcare and education. But the delivery mechanism is in tatters. Over the years, corruption in recruitment and absenteeism from schools and hospitals has become the norm in the state.
Recently, he put a spanner on the foreign jaunts of IAS officers and other government officials as part of his economy drive.
The drive begins just days ahead of the Char Dham Yatra in the state.
The minister for road transport and highways, who was accompanied by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, said the rescue operation is challenging as the soil strata in the Himalayan region is not uniform.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri speaks about containing dissidence in state BJP ranks, Sixth Pay Commission and his party's chances in the forthcoming general elections.
'Shankaracharyas look at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP through a political prism. This temple is not built on politics but on religion. Ram is our God'
'People want to do business in the name of the Kedarnath temple.'
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday visited the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel site for a review of the rescue operations being carried out there to evacuate 40 labourers trapped inside since Sunday morning following its partial collapse.
Boxing Federation of India (BFI) chief Ajay Singh will be up against secretary general Hemanta Kalita, vice-president Rajesh Bhandari, and Kerala State Amateur Boxing Association secretary D Chandralal when the BFI holds its long-awaited elections on March 28.
As rescuers in India on Tuesday successfully pulled out all 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in Uttarakhand after 16 days, the global media hailed the rescue operation and provided live coverage of the dramatic development.
Known as a simple and down-to-earth leader, Tirath Singh Rawat takes over the rein of power in Uttarakhand at a time when the BJP is preparing for the state assembly polls due early next year.
The accident occurred on a turning near the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) camp when the driver lost control of the vehicle, plunging the bus into a 70-metre-deep gorge, Mussoorie police station SHO D S Kohli said.
States like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh had on Friday announced similar incentives.
With just five metres left to achieve a breakthrough in digging through the rubble of the Silkyara tunnel, preparations got underway on Tuesday to rush the trapped workers to a hospital for immediate medical care following their rescue.
Congress leader Vaibhav Walia said Rawat's remarks were not just an insult to the father of the nation but also an insult to the country.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party governments in both states, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh on Thursday reached an agreement on the division of their assets and liabilities, pending since their partition 21 years ago.
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
The decision was taken in a high-level review meeting chaired by principal secretary to prime minister PK Mishra.
The three FIRs were registered on Friday, and police stressed that there was no fresh violence and that the situation was under control.
A US military aircraft carrying 112 Indian deportees landed at the Amritsar airport late on Sunday night, marking the third such flight in recent weeks. The deportees, who hail from various states across India, will be allowed to return home after completing necessary immigration procedures. The deportations are part of a crackdown by the Donald Trump administration against illegal immigrants.
Rescue workers pulled out all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair for 16 days.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances