Month: November 2023

Uttarakhand Joshimath

Shah Approves Rs 1658-Cr Recovery, Reconstruction Plan For Joshimath

By LokMarg

A high-level Committee, under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah on Thursday approved the Recovery and Reconstruction (R&R) plan of Rs 1658.17 crore for Joshimath in Uttarakhand which has been affected by landslide and ground subsidence, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.

Under the plan, the MHA states, that Rs 1079.96 crore of central assistance will be provided from the Recovery and Reconstruction window of the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). The State Government will provide Rs 126.41 crore from its State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) towards relief assistance and will provide Rs 451.80 crore from its state budget, including land acquisition cost for resettlement of Rs 91.82 crore.

Joshimath has been affected by landslide and ground subsidence and the central government has extended all necessary technical and logistical support to the state government, said the MHA in a statement.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the MHA said, all technical agencies under the guidance of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) were put into action and they helped the state government in preparing the recovery plan for Joshimath expeditiously.

“The recovery plan for Joshimath would be implemented in three years, following the best practices, Build Back Better (BBB) principles, and sustainability initiatives. Thereafter, Joshimath will emerge as an excellent example of ecological sustainability,” it added.

Joshimath, situated at 6,000 feet in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand between Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, is in seismically active Zone V – a region with a high risk of earthquakes.

Residents of Joshimath, a sacred town in Uttarakhand, have become alarmed after noticing fissures in the town’s houses and roadways, which they described as the town “gradually sinking”.

Hundreds of houses have developed cracks in Joshimath, with more than 100 declared unsafe. (ANI)

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COP28 climate talks

UAE’s Sultan Al Jaber Takes Helm As COP28 Prez

By LokMarg

UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, Sultan Al Jaber, has officially opened the COP28 climate talks and assumed the role of COP28 President in the formal passing of the gavel from his predecessor, COP27 President Sameh Shoukry.

“As I today perform my very last duty as COP President, as Egypt hands over the baton of responsibility for global climate action to the UAE, I am confident that addressing these challenges will be the focus of incoming President Sultan Al Jaber and his able team,” said Sameh Shoukry, COP27 President, during the opening plenary of COP28.

After assuming the role, Sulatn Al Jaber called on the global leaders saying, “You have the power to do something unprecedented.” He also appealed them to “rise above” differences as they have “power to do something unprecedented.

Sultan Al Jaber said, “Let’s rise above our differences to make the difference for future generations. You have the power to do something unprecedented.”

“Let’s unite around the agenda and restore our faith in multilateralism,” the COP28 President further urged at the plenary ceremony.

As COP28 began on Thursday, Sultan Al Jaber met with Bhupender Yadav, India’s Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

“Together we are working to deliver the highest ambition to the Global Stocktake,” he said on in a social media post as the two met.

The UAE and 198 Parties prepare for two weeks of intensive climate negotiations at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties (COP28), which kick off in Dubai on Thursday, with host country hoping to land a deal on the tripling of renewable energy and double the energy efficiency improvement rate by 2030.

COP28 is the UN’s latest round of global climate talks. This year, it is being hosted by the UAE in Dubai and is due to be attended by 167 world leaders, including the Pope and King Charles III.

The energy transition will be the central theme around COP28 in Dubai on the occasion of the twenty-eighth United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP28).

This year’s summit is crucial as it comes against the background of climate urgency and the experts are making a clarion call of now or never.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the opening session of the World Climate Action Summit in the United Arab Emirates and participate in the three high-level side events, of which two will be co-hosted by India.

PM Modi will depart for the UAE today (Thursday) evening and attend the summit events on Friday. The Prime Minister visited the UAE in July this year.

The World Climate Action Summit is the high-level segment of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

COP28 is being held from November 28 to December 12 under the Presidency of the UAE. The Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC provides a unique opportunity to impart momentum for collective action towards combating the shared challenge of climate change.

During the COP26 in Glasgow, PM Modi announced five specific targets, titled “Panchamrit,” as India’s unprecedented contribution to climate action. (ANI)

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Telangana poll

Telangana Polls: 51.89% Voter Turnout Recorded Till 3 PM

By LokMarg

Telangana recorded a voter turnout of 51.89 per cent till 3 pm in the assembly polls that is currently underway for 119 seats, according to the Election Commission of India.

According to the Election commission, Medak recorded a voter turnout of 69.33 per cent, Mahabubabad at 65.05 per cent, Adilabad at 62.34 per cent, Hanumankonda at 49 per cent and Hyderabad at 31.17 per cent till 3 pm.

Jangaon recorded 62.24 percent of voter turnout, while Kamareddy recorded 59.06 per cent.

The voter turnout in Khammam was recorded 63.62 per cent, Nalgonda recorded 59.98 per cent, Nizamabad at 56.70 per cent, Sangareddy recorded 56.23 per cent and Rangareddy recorded 42.43 per cent.

Long queues were seen outside the polling stations in towns and rural parts of Telangana since early this morning as the polling for the State Assembly at 7 am.

Till 1 pm, a total of 36.68 per cent of voter turnout was recorded in the state.

This time, there are as many as 2,290 contestants in the fray which includes Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, his Minister-son K.T. Rama Rao, State Congress President A Revanth Reddy and BJP Lok Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar and D Arvind.

In 2018, BRS (then Telangana Rashtra Samithi) won 88 of the 119 seats and had 47.4 per cent of the vote share. The Congress came a distant second with just 19 seats.

Several big leaders including Chief Minister KCR, state minister KT Rama Rao, YSR Telangana Party president YS Sharmila, BJP’s Arvind Dharmapuri and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy exercised their franchise and urged voters to cast a vote.

The counting of the votes will take place on December 3. (ANI)

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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Ambulance

K’taka CM Dedicates 262 New Ambulances In Revamped ‘108’ Service

By LokMarg

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday dedicated new 262 ambulances in the revamped 108 ambulance service to the state, as announced by the Health Department in its review meeting which was held a day earlier.

Speaking at the event, the Karnataka Chief Minister called upon the doctors to treat the poor people with humanity.

He also said that the Congress government of the state is committed to providing quality healthcare to the people of the state.

“108 emergency ambulances have been provided to the health service so that no one should lose their life without getting treatment. More than 840 ambulances are required in the state,” he said.

He also said that a total of four ambulances are functioning in each taluk and are providing emergency health services to hundreds of people every day.

Explaining the significance of the primary emergency treatment, the CM said that it plays an important role in saving lives.

“Every district should have an MRI scanning facility. Due to the high cost of services in private diagnostic centres, the poor are facing a lot of hardships. Thousands of people are applying for the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for this reason alone. Therefore, an environment is being created in the state where quality treatment is available only in government hospitals. When good service is possible from Jayadeva Hospital, it is possible to provide the same quality service in other places,” the Karnataka CM added.

Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the new ambulances would strengthen the state health infrastructure.

“Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri. Siddaramaiah flagged off 262 new modern life-saving 108 ambulances today. 105 ambulances are equipped with advanced life support systems including ventilators and defibrillators. Rest of the 157 ambulances are equipped with basic life support. Together, these ambulances will help save precious lives in emergencies. The new 108 ambulance service will further strengthen our healthcare system, providing free service to the public” Dinesh Gundu Rao said in his post on X.

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said that Karnataka’s health infrastructure was a model for the entire country.

“Karnataka State is a model for the country in providing good healthcare system and producing doctors. Health and Family Welfare Department is working well in this regard. In this background, our aim is to make ambulance service available from village to city Today we have dedicated 262 new ambulances. Ambulance service will be available within 15 to 20 minutes of being called in urban and rural areas and our government is committed to building a healthy society” DK Shivakumar said in his post on X.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaih also appreciated that the work done by the Health department and suggested that additional focus need to be given to North Karnataka. (ANI)

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Chaudhary Charan Singh University

‘With Its Vast Heritage, India Legitimately Needs World’s Largest Museum’

By LokMarg

Dr Krishna Kant Sharma, who teaches history at Chaudhary Charan Singh University, shares his views on world’s largest museum in India

The world’s largest museum is all set to come up in New Delhi in the near future. To be called Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum, it will replace the present National Museum. It is indeed a huge step taken by the BJP government in the direction of preserving India’s vast, varied and rich culture for posterity. 

The National Museum in Delhi is able to display a limited cultural heritage of different periods in the Indian history; therefore, there is a need for a museum that displays all the chronologies together. The new museum is set to encompass our rich heritage right from the ancient times to the present. India is a huge cultural country with several traditional and folk customs that need to be showcased and preserved and displayed together on one platform.

Different states of India have their own culture and this culture is displayed in the state museums of each state. With this new museum, built in the capital of the country, the cultural heritage of every state can be displayed together and the whole of India can be shown to the people together. This, from the point of view of tourism shall be a great boost.

There are innumerable artefacts, paintings, sculptures, costumes etc to be displayed in this vast spread out museum. The Archaeological Survey of India time and again, is constantly excavating new places and more and more antiquities are being found there. This will only add to the immense treasure house of what we already possess by way of our rich history. All of these need to be displayed in one place. A large museum definitely is needed in India. With the museum showcasing the rich civilizational cultural of India spanning a period of 5000 years, it goes without saying that it will attract people from all over the world and we will open our doors for the world to see what Bharat actually is.

There are many aspects of Indian culture which can be understood as tangible and intangible. A large museum is needed to understand the entire Indian culture by showcasing all these aspects together. There will be immense knowledge shared here and that will further put India on the world map. I doubt if the 950 rooms that it is supposed to have, will be able to contain the infinite history and culture of such a vast nation that entirely stands on the pillars of these intriguing, mystical and magical norms, tenets, and value systems of our grandiose parampara.

As told to Deepa Gupta

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Kapil Sharma Indigo

Kapil Questions Indigo For Flight Delay

By LokMarg

Actor Kapil Sharma questioned IndiGo airline for making passengers wait inside the ferry bus and not informing them about the reason for the delay at Chennai airport on Wednesday.

Taking to X, Kapil Sharma wrote, “Dear @IndiGo6E first you made us wait in the bus for 50 minz, and now your team is saying pilot is stuck in traffic, what ? Really ? we supposed to take off by 8 pm n it’s 9:20, still there is no pilot in cockpit, do you think these 180 passengers will fly in indigo again?.”

Again, in another post, he wrote that airline had deboarded all the passengers saying they would be flown out in another aircraft, but subject to another security check at the airport terminal.

“Now they r de boarding all the passengers n saying we will send you in another aircraft but again we have to go back to terminal for security check,” he wrote on his X timeline, attaching a video where passengers could be seen deboarding the aircraft.

“People r suffering bcoz of you @IndiGo6E lying lying n lying, there r some old passengers on wheel chairs, not in a very good health condition. Shame on you,” he further wrote.

Meanwhile, Indigo put out a statement saying the flight between Chennai to Mumbai was delayed due to “operational reasons”.

“Flight 6E 5149 from Chennai to Mumbai on Nov 29 was delayed due to operational reasons. Passengers were kept informed about the delay. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused,” the airline said in a brief statement. (ANI)

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Stalin Tamil Naidu

Stalin Takes Stock Of Situation At Chennai Control Room After Heavy Rainfall

By LokMarg

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], November 30 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin visited Chennai Robbin Building – Corporation head office to review the arrangements at the Command Control Centre from where the rainfall situation in the state is being monitored.

According to the IMD, the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram, received the heaviest rainfall. The highest rainfall of 19 cm was recorded in Avadi in Tiruvallur district.

The heaviest rainfall was recorded in Avadi in Tiruvallur district, where 19 cm of rain fell. Other badly affected areas include Zone 06 D65 Kolathur (Chennai), Zone 06 T.V.K Nagar (Chennai), and Ponneri (Tiruvallur district), all of which received 15 cm of rain. Ambattur (Chennai), Zone 08 Malar Colony (Chennai), and Thalaignayer (Nagapattinam district) each received 14 cm of rain. Cholavaram (Tiruvallur district) and Zone 12 Alandhur (Chennai) recorded 13 cm of rain each.

Schools in Chennai remain closed due to continuous heavy downpour. Several areas of the city face waterlogging due to incessant rainfall.

IMD issues moderate rain and thunderstorm warnings for Chennai, Chengalpattu, Vellore, Pudukottai and 12 other districts in Tamil Nadu for the next three hours.

The Kanchipuram District administration has announced to increase in the discharge of water from Chembarambakkam Lake from 2500 cusecs to 6000 cusecs from 8 a.m. on Thursday.

Due to continuous rainfall at night in the North Chennai area, the Perambur Loco Railway Station tunnel has accumulated with rainwater and is not accessible to the public

Similarly, the railway tunnel on the Vyasarpadi Perambur highway has also been blocked due to waterlogging, which has caused severe difficulty for people to travel.

Water logging at Vyasarpadi Stephenson Road in the North Chennai area affected the daily routine of the people.

Heavy rainfall was reported in several parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, several parts of Tamil Nadu, including the capital city of Chennai, were drenched with incessant rainfall on Wednesday evening, leading to the inundation of several low-lying areas, heavy traffic jams, and disruption to normal life.

Chennai received heavy rains throughout the day on Wednesday, and the intensity of the showers increased in the evening, causing major traffic snarls across the city. (ANI)

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Silkyara tunnel Uttarkashi

J’khand To Airlift 15 Workers Of Silkyara Tunnel To Ranchi Tomorrow

By LokMarg

Fifteen labourers from Jharkhand who were rescued from Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi will be airlifted to Delhi on Thursday and from there to Ranchi on Friday morning.

They will fly to Ranchi from New Delhi as there is no direct flight between Dehradun with a sopover at Jharkhand Bhawan.

After medical screening of the labourers trapped in the tunnel accident in Uttarkashi is going on at AIIMS Rishikesh, all the labourers can be discharged very soon, after which all the labourers will be sent to their destination, a Jharkhand government official said while talking to ANI.

“15 labourers from Jharkhand would be sent to Delhi by 7.45 pm flight and then they would be made to stay at Jharkhand Bhawan for the night, after which they would be taken from Delhi to Ranchi by a morning flight the next day and will be dropped at their destination,” the Jharkhand official added.

The workers who were rescued from the Silkyara tunnel were brought to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, for further medical examination on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, after the 41 trapped workers were brought out safely from the under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, bringing to an end an ordeal that spanned over two weeks, their relieved kin on Wednesday celebrated ‘Igas Bagwal’ at the residence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in Dehradun.

‘Igas Bagwal’ is a popular festival in Uttarakhand, celebrated 11 days after Diwali.

While the festival was marked on Wednesday, the festivities for the loved ones of the trapped workers, who had been spending sleepless nights worrying over the fates, started on Tuesday itself following their safe rescue.

Family members and friends of the 41 workers, who were safely pulled out from a portion of the tunnel, that collapsed on November 12, burst into celebrations after word of their rescue reached them.

Many of them, who had been following the tense rescue operation on television over a couple of weeks, broke into unbridled joy and even burst crackers after their loved ones finally saw light at the end of the tunnel.

Significantly, the portion of the tunnel on the Silkyara side collapsed on the day of Diwali, November 12, confining them in the dark during the Festival of Lights. A part of the tunnel they were building gave way, blocking their only exit with more than 60 metres of broken rock, concrete and twisted metal. (ANI)

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Rajasthan elections

Telangana Assembly Elections: Voter Turnout Over 20%

By LokMarg

Telangana recorded a voter turnout of 20.64 per cent till 11 am in the assembly polls that is currently underway for 119 seats, according to the Election Commission of India.

According to the poll commission, Adilabad recorded a voter turnout of 30.65 per cent, Bhadradri at 22.05 per cent, Hanumankonda at 21.43 per cent and Jagtial at 22.50 per cent.

Kamareddy recorded 24.70 per cent of voter turnout while Khammam recorded 26.03 per cent.

A voter turnout in Mahabubabad was recorded at 28.05 per cent, in Medak at 30. 27, Mulugu at 25.36 per cent and Siddipet at 28.08 per cent.

Long queues were seen outside the polling stations in towns and rural parts of Telangana since early this morning as the polling for the State Assembly at 7 am.

Till 9 am, the state recorded an overall turnout of 8.52 per cent.

However, several polling booths across the state witnessed wafer-thin turnout.

This time, there are as many as 2,290 contestants in the fray which includes Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, his Minister-son KT Rama Rao, State Congress President A Revanth Reddy and BJP Lok Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar and D Arvind.

In 2018, BRS (then Telangana Rashtra Samithi) won 88 of the 119 seats and had 47.4 per cent of the vote share. The Congress came a distant second with just 19 seats. (ANI)

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Chandigarh Mayor elections

SC Adjourned For Jan 10 Hearing Of Umar Khalid’s Bail Plea

By LokMarg

The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned for January 10, 2024, the bail plea hearing of former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid in a UAPA case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the North-East Delhi riots in February 2020.

A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma adjourned the hearing as senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Khalid and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju were not available.

The bench also listed the pleas challenging the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on January 10.

Sibal had earlier said certain provisions of the UAPA, including provisions concerning terrorism, raising funds for terrorist acts, and conspiracy, did not apply in this case.

Khalid had approached the top court challenging an October 2022 Delhi High Court verdict that had denied bail to him.

Khalid, arrested by Delhi Police in September 2020, in the High Court had sought bail on grounds that he neither had any “criminal role” in the violence in the city’s North-East area nor any “conspiratorial connect” with any other accused in the case. The Delhi police had opposed Khalid’s bail plea.

He had approached the High Court, challenging the dismissal of his bail application by the trial court in March 2022.

He was charged with criminal conspiracy, rioting, and unlawful assembly, as well as several sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Besides Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, activist Khalid Saifi, JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and several others were booked under the stringent law in the case.

The violence that erupted during the protests against CAA and NRC left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. (ANI)

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