India Archives | Page 50 of 68

Can’t take back chocolate from kid immediately: Sumitra Mahajan on SC/ST Act

September 7, 2018 Editor

Amid widespread anger, including calls of ‘Bharat bandh’, against the amendment to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Thursday said all political parties should get together to discuss the issue. A Bharat bandh was called Thursday by some anti-reservation bodies against the amendment to the Act last month. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had, on August 6 and August 9 respectively, passed the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill to overturn a Supreme Court order concerning certain…

‘Rat fever’ kills 9 in flood battered Kerala, 37 more suspected

September 4, 2018September 4, 2018 Editor

Following severe flooding, 196 leptospirosis (rat fever) cases and nine deaths have been confirmed in Kerala since August 15. Another 37 suspected deaths are awaiting laboratory confirmation, said the state health minister, KK Shailaja, on Monday. Among the dead are five relief workers. “There is no need of panic but we have to be extra vigilant for at least three weeks. I have instructed health officials to engage with relief workers only after taking doxycyline tablets,” the minister said. Antibiotics are used to treat leptospirosis, which is a bacterial disease…

Rupee opens at 70.68 lifetime low, falls 18 paise against US dollar

August 30, 2018 Editor

The rupee continued its downward slide against the US dollar on Thursday, falling to a new record low in opening trade at 70.68 per US dollar. At 9.29 am, the partially convertible rupee was trading 18 paise or 0.27% lower than Wednesday’s close at 70.77 against the US dollar. Intra-day, however, the rupee fell as low as 70.80 against the US dollar at 9.18 am. On Wednesday, the rupee witnessed its second biggest single-day crash since August 13, when the unit crumbled 110 paise or 1.6%. The rupee previously had…

Kerala floods damage 45000 ha of farm fields; Paddy, Banana, Spices among worst hit; Floods due to slaughtering of cows in open: BJP MLA

August 27, 2018 Editor

Floods in Kerala have damaged paddy, banana, spices and other crops in 45,000 hectare of farmland, agriculture secretary Shobhana K Pattanayak said on Monday. The state government has been asked to submit a detailed proposal seeking central funds to provide relief to the growers, he said. “The state has estimated damage to 45,000 hectare of farm fields. We have also got the same report. More than crops, the damage to houses and other infrastructure is more in Kerala,” Pattanayak told PTI. Paddy has been affected in 20,000 hectare and even…

Kerala floods trigger fuel, medicine shortage; more rain forecast

August 17, 2018 Editor

The Indian Air Force and Army relief and rescue teams on Friday started food packet distribution among marooned people in different places in Kerala as the situation triggered by the state’s worst floods in a century remained grave. Rescue teams are carrying out round-the-clock operation but many people in the state are still marooned. Continuous rain, landslides and floods have claimed more than 100 lives so far and have brought the public transport system to a virtual halt. With roads cut off, many areas are now facing fuel shortage and…

Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s condition critical, on life support: Delhi AIIMS

August 16, 2018August 16, 2018 Editor

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Wednesday evening after the health of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, admitted at the hospital since June, worsened. “Former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been admitted for the last nine weeks at AIIMS. Unfortunately, his condition has worsened over the last 24 hours. His condition is critical and he is on life support,” AIIMS said in a statement at 10.08 pm. The former prime minister’s overall health had deteriorated after he suffered a stroke…

IMD predicts heavy rain in Karnataka, Kerala, TN, Himachal over next 48 hours

August 14, 2018 Editor

A fresh surge of the westerly winds will intensify the monsoons in Kerala, Karnataka and the ghat areas of Tamil Nadu over 48 hours , while a dip in pressure in the Bay of Bengal will bring extremely heavy rain to Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh over 24 hours , the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast said on Monday. Despite heavy rains in many part of India that has led to flooding and landslides, India’s monsoon deficit has gone up from 7% on August 1 to 10% on August 13. Kerala,…

Umar Khalid JNU student leader shot at in New Delhi, escapes unhurt

August 13, 2018 Editor

JNU student leader Umar Khalid escaped unhurt after an unidentified man shot at him in central Delhi on Monday. The incident took place outside the Constitution Club in the heart of the city where he had come for an event titled ‘Khauff Se Azaadi’, organised by an organisation named ‘United Against Hate’. The assailant fled as Khalid’s associates tried to apprehend him. According to an eyewitness, Khalid and some others were standing at a nearby tea stall when the man approached him, pushed him and opened fire with a pistol.…

Eight muslim villages renamed in Rajasthan by Vasundhara Raje govt

August 10, 2018August 10, 2018 Editor

In a surprising move ahead of the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje led Rajasthan government has decided to rename eight villages, which had Muslim names. For instance, the name of a village known as ‘Miyan ka Bara’ in Barmer district has now been changed to ‘Mahesh Nagar’. To justify the move, the state government has explained that the change in the names of villages is done due to Hindu population residing in those villages and hence should have Hindu names. Another reason is that renaming the villages will boost…