Food outlets in Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal will now have to furnish an undertaking that they will not indulge in the unhygienic practice of serving or wrapping eatables in newspapers.
Bhopal Collector Avinash Lavania on Monday launched the “eat right challenge” and said the aim of the campaign is to stop the serving or wrapping of eatables like samosas, poha in newspapers.
Pamphlets will be distributed to hotels and other outlets to create awareness about it, he said.
“An undertaking will be sought from food vendors that they will not indulge in the unhygienic practice of using newspapers for storing or serving food items,” he said.
A food department official said along with the campaign, a system is being set up for the redressal of food related complaints by carrying out the inspection of mess premises of government and non-government hostels.
A complaint box will be kept in hostels where students will be encouraged to give their feedback or bring to notice any complaint related to food, he said.
Workshops will be organised to improve the eating habits of students, the official said.
The rupee depreciated by 12 paise to 79.90 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday, weighed down by strength of the American currency in the overseas market.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 79.80 against the greenback, then fell further to 79.90, registering a decline of 12 paise over its last close.
On Monday, the rupee appreciated 9 paise to close at 79.78 against the dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.08 per cent to 109.62.
The rupee opened at 79.80 as the dollar index eased slightly from 110 level. Moreover, the euro and British pound moved up after a big fall due to Russian gas issues, said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors.
“The US dollar was well bid as the rupee fell to 79.90 before recovering to 79.85 levels,” Bhansali said, adding that the range is expected to be between 79.50 to 80.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.80 per cent to USD 94.97 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 12.49 points or 0.02 per cent higher at 59,258.47, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 7.80 points or 0.04 per cent to 17,673.60.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 811.75 crore, as per exchange data.
Karnataka govt releases Rs 300 crore to manage flood situation in Bangalore 4
As torrential downpour continues to create havoc in Bengaluru, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday night said the government has decided to release Rs 300 crore to manage the flood situation in the city.
The chief minister chaired a meeting with senior ministers and officials in the night to take stock of the rain and flood situation in the state, especially the capital city, and the damages caused.
The state government has decided to release Rs 600 crore to manage the rain and flood situation across the state. T0 restore damaged infrastructure like roads, electric poles, transformers, schools etc, Rs 300 crore has been kept for Bengaluru alone, Bommai said.
He also pointed out that Rs 664 is already available with deputy commissioners of various districts, while separate Rs 500 crore has already been sanctioned for building infrastructure.
A total of Rs 1,500 crore has been allocated for construction of storm water drains in Bengaluru, Bommai said, adding the work will begin once the water recedes.
The chief minister said it has been decided to have one more company of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) exclusively for Bengaluru and Rs 9.50 crore is being released for boats and other equipment for it.
At the state-level, two more companies of the SDRF will be set up in the days to come, he added.
Bommai said from September 1-5, some parts of the city have received 150 percent more than normal rainfall, while Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli and K R Puram zones received 307 per cent more than normal rains.
This is the highest rainfall in the last 32 years (1992-93), he said, adding 164 lakes in Bengaluru have filled up with water.
Palghar police in Maharashtra have obtained the CCTV footage of the Mercedes car in which former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was travelling to Mumbai, shortly before it crashed, killing him and his friend, an official said.
The footage shows the car passing through the Dapchari check post in Palghar district at 2.21 pm on Sunday, he said.
The car hit a road divider on a bridge over the Surya river on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway at around 3 pm, killing Mistry (54) and his friend Jahangir Pandole, who were on the back seats.
A police team probing the crash is examining the CCTV footage for further leads, the official said on Monday.
Another police officer said the person behind the wheel had covered a distance of 20 km in just nine minutes, meaning the luxury car was being driven at a speed of 180-190 km per hour.
The car was being driven by Mumbai-based gynaecologist Anahita Pandole (55), a family friend of Mistry, police have said.
She and her husband Darius Pandole (60) were seriously injured in the accident and are undergoing treatment in a Mumbai hospital.
The probe team will submit a detailed report which will be forwarded to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who has ordered an investigation into the road accident, the official said.
Mistry’s funeral will be held at the Worli crematorium in Mumbai at 11 am on Tuesday.
A total of 57,420 idols of Lord Ganesh were immersed in the sea and artificial lakes in Mumbai in two days, a civic official said on Monday.
On the sixth day of the Ganesh festival on Monday, 26,055 idols were immersed till 9 PM. No untoward incident was reported, he said.
While 22,164 were household idols, 85 Sarvajanik (public) idols and 3,806 idols of goddess Gauri and Lord Ganesh were immersed in the sea and artificial lakes. Among these idols, a maximum of 8,770 household idols were immersed in artificial lakes.
Police have tightened security at immersion points and sea fronts at Juhu, Dadar, and Girgaon, the official said.
On the fifth day of immersion on Sunday, 31,365 Ganesh idols were immersed in the sea and artificial ponds in Mumbai.
Till 6 am on Monday, 30,446 household idols, 27 Hartalika and 892 sarvajanik (public) idols were immersed, the official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
At least 12,030 household idols, 16 Hartalika and 377 public mandal idols were immersed in the artificial ponds built at different places in the city. The other idols were immersed in the sea at various beaches here, he said.
Modi govt prioritising division over development: Congress 8
The Narendra Modi government is prioritising “division” over development, alleged Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jitu Patwari on Monday.
He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has organised ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ to unify the country.
“The Narendra Modi government is prioritising division over development in the country. Issues like inflation and unemployment have worsened but the Centre is diverting attention (of people) towards other issues,” Patwari, the executive chairman of Madhya Pradesh Congress working committee, told reporters here.
The former MP minister claimed that 10 per cent of people have accumulated the wealth of 50 per cent population in the country
Six people were killed in two separate road accidents at Bhadarwah Doda road in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
The first accident took place on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday which claimed the lives of two people, while four people died in the second accident which took place early morning on Monday.
Earlier, the two injured persons were shifted to the Medical College Doda for treatment.
Initially, one person was reported to be missing, however, the search operation for the missing person has been completed, as per a police official.
“Two accidents took place at Bhadarwah Doda road. Two people died in the first accident that took place at midnight and four people died in the second that took place early morning yesterday. Search operation for missing person has been completed,” said Abdul Qayoom, SSP Doda on Monday.
The body of an 11-year-old student studying in a madrasa located near the Mazar of Pir Dada Shah Chaukha was found in Shah Chokha, a village of Punhana sub-division of Haryana’s Nuh on Monday.
According to the police, the Forensic Science Laboratory Division (FSL) team reached the location and investigated the incident.
The police have registered a case of murder in the incident after the family of the deceased suspected murder.
“We reached here after we got information about a dead body being found in the madrasa. We have called the FSL team here and are investigating the incident.
On the complaint of the family of the deceased, a case of murder has been registered and the body has been sent to Al-Afia Hospital in Mandikheda for post-mortem,” ASP Usha Kundu said on Monday. The deceased boy was reportedly studying in the madrasa for nearly one year.
Suspecting murder, the kin of the deceased student demanded action against the culprit. “He was 11 years old and was studying in this madrasa for one year. I was told that my nephew had left the madrasa but did not reach home. We searched for him but couldn’t find him anywhere.
This is murder. We demand that action should be taken in this,” said kin of the deceased. According to the director of the Islamic Madrasa Dargah Shah Chaukha, Maulana Zakir, the boy was present in the evening prayers but went missing during the attendance. He said that the boy was found buried under a crusher lying in a room of the mosque. Molana Zakir, the director of the Islamic Madrasa Dargah Shah Chaukha said, “The 11-year-old was studying here for nearly one year.
He studied Urdu and Arabic here. On Saturday evening, he was present during the prayers. But when the attendance was taken at 7 pm, he was missing. We all looked for him. When we did not find him, we informed the family members.
He was searched in the nearby villages and mosques.” “In the Jama Masjid of the madrasa, only Friday prayers are offered. He was searched there also. It was found on Saturday that he was buried under a crusher lying in a room of the mosque. We informed the family. He was earlier searched in that room also,” he added.
At least 30 killed after strong earthquake hits China's Sichuan 12
At least 30 people were killed after an earthquake rocked the Luding County in China’s Sichuan Province on Monday, according to state media.
Local authorities said seven people were killed in Luding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and the other 14 were killed in Shimian County, Ya’an City, Xinhua news agency reported.
Chinese President Xi Jinping requested for all-out relief efforts to prioritise saving lives and minimizing casualties after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Luding county, state media outlet Global Times reported.
China’s Red Cross Society has initiated a Level-III emergency response, with the first batch of relief materials consisting of 320 tents, 2,200 relief packages, 1,200 quilts and 300 folding beds dispatched to the affected area.
The Red Cross has also sent a working group there to help with the relief and rescue work. Sichuan province has activated the second-highest level of emergency response for the earthquake and more rescue forces are rushing to the epicentre area. The earthquake jolted Luding County at 12:52 p.m. Monday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).
The epicentre was monitored at 29.59 degrees north latitude and 102.08 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 16 km, the CENC said. The epicentre is 39 km away from the county seat of Luding and there are several villages within the 5-km range around the epicentre. The tremor was felt in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, which is 226 km away from the epicentre.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on the first day of her India tour, visited Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah, a prominent pilgrimage tourist attraction in Delhi, on Monday.
Nizamuddin Dargah is the dargah of the most famous Sufi saint Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya and is visited by thousands of pilgrims every week.
The saint has a major influence on the Muslims of Delhi and the world over therefore the dargah has become a binding force between India and Bangladesh.
Nizamuddin Auliya was born in 1238 AD in Baduan, Uttar Pradesh to Syed Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Hussaini Badayuni and Bibi Zulekha. ‘Hazrat Nizamuddin Aauliya Mehboob E Elahi Dargah’ was built in 1562 and is situated in the Nizamuddin West area of Delhi.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is on a four-day visit to India, kicked off her diplomatic meets in New Delhi on Monday by holding talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
PM Hasina was welcomed by Darshana Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles and Railways in New Delhi upon her arrival here on Monday. Shiekh Hasina’s visit is seen as a crucial one which will further strengthen the multifaceted relationship between India and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Prime Minister also got clicked with the dancers who welcomed her. Issues which are on top of the agenda are upgrading defence cooperation, expanding regional connectivity initiatives and establishing stability in South Asia.
During her visit, the Bangladesh Prime Minister will meet President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. She will also hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This visit is her first visit after both nations’ bilateral relations touched their 50th year in 2021.
Last year also marked the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence and the 100th birth anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the nation.
PM Modi visited Bangladesh in 2021. Maitri Diwas celebrations were held in 20 capitals around the world including Delhi and Dhaka. Prime Ministers of both countries have met 12 times since 2015. India and Bangladesh have sought to create a model for regional cooperation besides reviving several connectivity initiatives over the last few years.
The Akhaura-Agartala rail link will reopen soon, and it is anticipated that Agartala and Chittagong will be connected by air in a few weeks.
The two sides are expected to ink an agreement on interim sharing of water of the Kushiyara River during Hasina’s visit. The Bangladeshi PM is also likely to travel to Ajmer in Rajasthan to visit the Dargah of revered Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti.
Last month, India and Bangladesh finalised the text of the agreement on the interim sharing of river waters. The text of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was finalised at the 38th ministerial-level meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) held in Delhi on August 25.
The commission was constituted in 1972 as a bilateral mechanism to address issues of mutual interest on common rivers. Bangladesh is an important partner under India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy.
The cooperation extends to all fields including security, trade & commerce, power & energy, transport & connectivity, science & technology, defence, rivers, and maritime affairs among others. Bangladesh is now India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia.
Bilateral trade has grown from USD 9 billion to USD 18 billion in the last five years. Bangladesh has become the fourth largest export destination for India with a growth of over 66 per cent from USD 9.69 billion in FY 2020-21 to USD 16.15 billion in FY 2021-22.
Despite the COVID pandemic, both countries were able to achieve progress on important connectivity initiatives. Bangladesh is India’s largest development partner with nearly one-fourth of the Government of India (GoI) commitment under the GoI Line of Credit (LoC) has been made to Bangladesh.
Total contracts have crossed the milestone figure of USD 2 billion and total disbursements have crossed USD 1 billion.
Bilateral development assistance projects cover a wide variety of sectors such as railways, roads and transport, power generation and transmission, inland waterways, ports and shipping, economic zones, information and communication technology, petrochemicals, renewable energy, waste management and aviation with a bulk of the projects aimed at improving connectivity.
India has been a hub of medical treatment for Bangladesh nationals. Of the 2.8 lakh visas issued in 2021, 2.3 lakh were medical visas.
Bangladesh is currently India’s biggest visa operation globally. In 2019, 13.63 lakh visas were issued.
