‘Maha Kumbh Akhand Jyot’, a one-of-its-kind lamp having the longest wick of 3,617-km, the same as the distance from Kashmir to Kanykumari, was illuminated on the opening day of the Simhastha Kumbh and will continue to burn for all the 108 days.
According to the Kumbh organisers, the lotus-shape lamp, lit on July 14 by Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray during the flag hoisting (dharma dhwaja rohan) ceremony, is 8-ft high and will hold the Akhand Jyot up to October 10 as a symbol of India’s unity and diversity.
This unique bronze lamp, with a radius of 8 metres, is fed with hundreds of litres of Til (sesame) oil everyday and its 4-inch thick wick is driven by hand-held machines, former cabinet minister of Maharashtra and Sena leader Babanrao Gholap said.
The wick, prepared by cotton threads woven together has been bundled into a half-kilometre long ball kept nearby.
Describing the importance of this gigantic Diya, erected adjacent to the Sadhugram, Shri Ramanujacharya Himalay Baba, under whose guidance the lamp was set up said, “This is a unique way to unify devotees spiritually.”
“Our country is spread from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and this is why we have chosen to keep the wick of the lamp akin to the distance between them (two destinations) to unite the country forever culturally,” he said.
“Whosoever comes here and gets the Darshan of this Diya, is bestowed with all sorts of blessings of health, wealth and spirituality,” he added.
Many devotees visiting the Kumbh were seen overwhelmed by the size and structure of this lamp.
Vijay Kumar, an industrialist from Patna who visited the place and got a ‘darshan’ of the Diya said, “Of course, the Diya has been structured very well with a blend of science and spirituality, but the religious atmosphere here makes all the difference.”
Recently, there was news about a government school in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram Rural district where children as young as four crossing the road, which witnesses heavy traffic, just to use the toilet in a different building where senior classes run. These children are kindergarten students of LPBS Chuwara School. The situation highlights how states are far from implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swacch Vidyalaya mission which comes under his ambitious Swacch Bharat or Clean India campaign.
As the August 15 Independence Day deadline for the scheme nears, states are scrambling to meet the target of toilets in every single school. Kerala has spent Rs. 1.28 lakh for 172 toilets in 150 schools this year. In addition, 520 toilets were made usable mostly in rural schools. The state government claims that every school across 14 districts has separate toilets for boys and girls. Under Right to Education, every school should have one toilet for every 25 girls and 40 boys.
The situation is not different in rural Maharashtra and even toilets existing in suburban Mumbai are poorly maintained. Most of the schools have dirty toilets without doors, sanitation or hygiene. In India toilets are still a challenge. In Mumbai slums there is one toilet for more than 200 residents or the entire slum have just 3 to 4 toilets. I am not saying that its Modi’s responsibility to look at these toilets but it’s definitely the duty of his own ministers and administers to monitor such things. Merely announcing big projects will not solve nations root level problems.
This cleanliness drives and broom saga started with the Aam Aadmi Party. Gandhian cap and broom were their signatures. However, later on BJP hijacked their topi and changed the colour to saffron, and finally Modi held their broom to announce “Swachh Bharat”. I hope, they don’t remain just symbolic gestures or cosmetic efforts to pose for camera and grab the limelight for a day. If the politicians and IAS officers don’t eat up the money allotted for keeping the city clean, why will the cleaners not keep the city clean? Clean India is very good initiative however not only cleaning but proper disposal, decomposition and utilization of garbage, sewage must is necessary. A course on garbage management may also be implemented in academics to study the future challenges of garbage and sanitation. Government should provide land for building public toilets. Planning department should allocate sufficient funds, initiative should start from top. The town planning department should ensure that there is sufficient number of garbage bins and proper drainage system. Clean India is healthy and prosperous India. However, the cleanliness campaign must not be just a superficial exercise. Focus is also needed to raise the living standard of people who have been performing cleaning works. Contract based cleaning must be put to an end and action against municipal corporations must also be taken if they don’t work as per guidelines, demand and need. Corruption had been another issue in municipal corporations due to contracts which also need to be eyed by government. Then only a true clean India can be achieved.
Fortunately, even Mahatma Gandhi has suddenly come to limelight. Otherwise, he was always on hate list of Modi supporters. Even if it be for populist exposition, the beginning of at least one of the different things for which Gandhiji and other freedom fighters sacrificed their lives and brought freedom to India from the rules of the British, is a right step indeed. Gandhiji’s biggest concept has been Village Development – with India having over 638,000 villages and even after 67 years (since independence) nothing much has been done to create better living conditions in almost 100 per cent of them. Providing toilets to villagers is a laudable concept; but when they do not have enough water even to drink and cook food, what can they do to clean toilets? We are still talking and (acting) much more than actual deliverance at the ground level.
“Swachh Bharat Mission” is Prime Ministers vision and a pledge of every Indian. Thousands of people and hundreds of organizations are coming under one roof to make this vision a reality and make India completely clean by 2019. Making an appeal for a non-political movement driven by patriotism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat or Clean India, Mission on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The Mission will aim to make India ‘clean’ by October 2, 2019, Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary. This goal will include the elimination of open defecation, which he called a “blot on society”, especially for women and young girls. I hope such noble initiative becomes fruitful in the long run.
It is important for the people to realize that its success lies in their hands. Modi and his government can only encourage and support the people. This won’t work if we won’t actively participate in keeping our homes and local communities clean. And, it won’t work if we won’t commit to changing our old habits. No more careless litter, spitting in public, etc. This is more about a change in lifestyle than a movement. More than garbage, another issue that we are facing is spitting in public places which is the single cause for most of the health problems in our country. Ban should be imposed on spitting in public places. Spitting is done by both rich and poor. We see many educated and well groomed people spitting red blobs out of their posh cars literally painting the town red. It is worse than garbage. While doing such Mass Cleaning, all should be wearing Personal Protective Equipment like cotton nose mask, cotton hand gloves and wherever necessary even eye goggles. Trash bags/bins have to kept ready and a common place for dumping of waste has to be decided in advance from where it would be picked up later. Planning ahead always helps.
Cleanliness should not be the job of sanitation workers alone. This initiative of Modi’s is really worth applauding, provided if it won’t stop here itself as formality of the day.
In his sharpest attack yet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the Congress will not let the NDA government pass the Land Acquisition Bill in Parliament and that the PM’s “56-inch chest will be reduced to 5.6-inch chest in a matter of six months”.
“We will not let the Land Acquisition Bill pass in Parliament. We will not let the government snatch even one inch of land (from farmers). 56-inch chest will become 5.6-inch chest in six months, you all will see,” Rahul said.
In an immediate response, the BJP’s Sambit Patra said, “People who have a vision of 5.6 mm are obviously not able to look beyond that.”
Rahul Gandhi is on tour of Rajasthan timed just before Parliament convenes for the monsoon session. His Congress party has made clear that its agenda number one will be an attack on the BJP over its Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and senior Union Minister Sushma Swaraj having helped disgraced cricket boss Lalit Modi, who is in the UK.
“Raje broke the law of this country, helped a wanted fugitive,” Mr Gandhi alleged today, adding, “This is Lalit Modi’s government. The Rajasthan government’s remote control is in London. They press the button and she jumps.”
“Modi ji, bring Lalit Modi back… He is a fugitive, he violated financial laws,” Rahul Gandhi also said, repeatedly punning on the common surname.
Lalit Modi is wanted in corruption cases linked to the Indian Premier League. The Congress has demanded that Ms Raje and Ms Swaraj be sacked and has said it will allow no legislative business in the session till the PM speaks in Parliament on the issue.
Mr Gandhi’s attacking speech today came a little after PM Modi had taken a swipe at his brother-in-law and Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra, while speaking at a function in Jammu.
In a shocking incident of crime against women, a 19-year-old girl was allegedly stabbed to death by two youths in Delhi’s Anand Parbat area on Friday.
Meenakshi, a Class 11 student, was allegedly stabbed for resisting eve teasing by Jaiprakash and his brother when she went to market on Thursday, a police officer said.
The girl was being eve teased by two brothers. Both the suspects have been arrested and charged with murder.
On Thursday night, she stepped out to the local market when the brothers confronted her. After a fight, they allegedly stabbed the girl and she died on the spot.
“That girl ran from them and landed in my gallery. They entered and stabbed here too. She was unconscious by then. They used to irritate her a lot,” an eyewitness said.
“The neighbours there did not help her. She could’ve been saved if they helped her. She entered a neighbour’s house as she was getting beaten. The neighbours’ whose house she entered, threw her out of their house, saying that they did not want to get involved in the matter. That is why they (the accused) got to assault her and they ran away after that,” victim’s sister said.
In 2013, the victim had filed a molestation complaint against the brothers accusing them of harassing her.
The CBI team investigating the Madhya Pradesh Vyapam scam and the deaths related to it has registered three FIRs — including one related to the mysterious death of Namrata Damor which has now been considered as a murder, sources said on Friday.
Contrary to an earlier observation on Namrata’s death, the CBI on Friday opted to consider it as a murder case and filed a case under IPC Section 302 against unidentified people, CBI sources said after the case diary of Namrata was handed over to the CBI on Thursday night.
The number of First Information Reports (FIRs) in the Vyapam scam has now reached eight.
With regard to Pre-Medical Test 2010, two incidents have been registered and 12 people have been mentioned as accused, CBI sources added.
Namrata’s death was brought back into focus after a TV journalist, Akshay Singh, died minutes after interviewing her father on July 4.
On Thursday, the CBI, which was asked to investigate the scam by the Supreme Court last week, called for the medical reports of Namrata, Akshay Singh and two others.
Namrata was found dead on railway tracks in Ujjain in January, 2012. When the police filed a closure report in 2014, they called it a suicide, contradicting the autopsy report that said that Namrata died because of “violent asphyxia as a result of smothering” and that the findings suggested “homicidal” death.
A doctor who was a part of the autopsy team told recently that he was convinced Namrata was murdered. “There is not even one percent chance of a natural death,” said Dr. BB Purohit.
“There were bruises on the nose and mouth of the woman which indicated she was strangled. Also bruises on her body suggested she was dragged on the tracks after her death,” said Dr. Purohit.
Swiss giant Nestle on Friday urged the Bombay High Court to struck down its order on ban of Maggi noodles stating that the government labs are not equipped to conduct lead test.
States like Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Goa and Uttarakhand have banned Maggi noodles amid mounting food safety concerns and several laboratory tests reporting excessive lead in it.
Counsel for Maggi, presenting findal arguments in Bombay High Court said that West Bengal, Pune, Delhi labs are not competent to check lead content adding that Varodra, Rajkot and Uttarakhand labs are not accredited for lab test.
The counsel further stated that two different labs testing the same batch were showing contradictory results.
Central health watchdog Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned all variants of Maggi noodles terming them as “unsafe and hazardous” for human consumption.
FSSAI had directed Nestle India to withdraw nine variants of Maggi noodles found unsafe from the market and to stop the further production and sale of the same.
The order to Nestle states that the regulatory body has noted three ‘major violations’, namely the presence of lead detected in the product in excess of the maximum permissible levels; misleading labelling information on the package reading ‘No added MSG’; and thirdly the release of a non-standardised food product ‘Maggi Oats Masala Noodles with Tastemaker’ in the market, without risk assessment and grant of product approval.
Renowned spiritual guru and the Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is facing major threat from the Pakistan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP).
The TTP has issued two letters to the Art of Living centre in which the terrorist outfit has warned of a blast targeting Ravi Shankar and his followers.
The United States Department of State has informed the Art of Living Foundation, founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, of threats from extremist organizations like the Tehreek-e-Taliban.
The organisation’s spokesperson Nakul Dhawan had said the content of the letter read that if they go ahead with the programme there would be consequences.
An Art of Living centre located on the outskirts of the Pakistan’s capital Islamabad was set afire allegedly by the Taliban last year.
In view of the threat, the Home Ministry has directed the authorities to review security of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and asked the intelligence agencies to verify the letters purportedly sent by the TTP.
Sri Sri, as the spiritual guru is commonly known, had visited Pakistan in 2012 and inaugurated the centre for his Art of Living movement. He had also offered to hold talks with the Taliban to usher in peace in the region, saying it would help foster understanding among people with divergent views.
In March this year, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar received death threats from the terror group ISIS while he was touring in Malaysia.
Jennifer Lawrence is yet to celebrate her birthday on August 15, but the Oscar-winning actress has revealed she wanted the soap from the Greenwich (Hotel).
The 24-year-old actress initially joked she’d like a “stack of tabloids” before revealing her real dream birthday present, reported Ace Showbiz.
“I really love the soap at The Greenwich (Hotel). I would like a bouquet of the purple and blue soup from the Greenwich Hotel. That’s what I want,” she said.
Josh Hutcherson, Jennifer’s “The Hunger Games” co-star, said that he didn’t give her anything for her birthday last year, but promised he would give her a surprise treat for her upcoming birthday.
“I gotta make up for it. God, what do you get someone like Jen? Hugs and love and affection,” he said.
Reese Witherspoon is making a new thriller about the aftermath of a teenage girl’s rape in Connecticut.
The movie will be based on a novel due for release in 2017 and written by Wendy Walker, reported Deadline.
Witherspoon formed her production company Pacific Standard with Bruna Papandrea in 2012. They have produced films such as “Wild”, “Gone Girl” and “Hot Pursuit” in the past.
Meanwhile, Witherspoon is to play Tinker Bell in upcoming Disney film “Tink”. She will also appear alongside Nicole Kidman in HBO limited event series “Big Little Lies”.
It was also previously announced that Witherspoon will narrate Harper Lee’s long-awaited “To Kill a Mockingbird” sequel.
In his sharpest attack yet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the Congress will not let the NDA government pass the Land Acquisition Bill in Parliament and that the PM’s “56-inch chest will be reduced to 5.6-inch chest in a matter of six months”.
Jennifer Lawrence is yet to celebrate her birthday on August 15, but the Oscar-winning actress has revealed she wanted the soap from the Greenwich (Hotel).
Reese Witherspoon is making a new thriller about the aftermath of a teenage girl’s rape in Connecticut.