The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Thursday released its fourth list of candidates for the upcoming Jharkhand assembly elections, announcing Ganesh Mahli as its nominee for Seraikela seat. Mahli defected from the BJP and joined the JMM on October 22. Additionally, the party replaced its candidate for Khunti, selecting Ramsurya Munda instead of the previously announced Snehlata Kandulana. With this, the JMM has now announced candidates for 42 out of the 81 seats, having released three lists earlier for 41 seats. Out of the 43 seats the JMM had contested in the 2019 elections, it won 30 and came second in five constituencies. Elections to the 81-member house will take place in two phases on November 13 and 20. Counting is scheduled on November 23. INDIA bloc partners will contest the upcoming assembly polls together, with the Congress and JMM competing for 70 of the 81 seats, while the remaining 11 will be contested by the RJD and Left parties. The RJD had announced candidates for six seats on Tuesday. In the opposition, the BJP will contest 68 seats, the AJSU Party will field candidates in 10 constituencies, the JD(U) in 2, and the LJP (Ram Vilas) in 1. In 2019, the JMM-led alliance won 47 seats, wresting power from the BJP. The BJP had secured 25 seats, JVM-P three, AJSU Party two, and the CPI (ML) and NCP one each, besides two Independents emerging victorious. Filing of nomination papers for 43 assembly constituencies, which are going to polls on November 13 in the first phase, began on Friday and will continue till October 25. Altogether 2.60 crore electors, including 11.84 lakh first-time voters and 1.13 lakh persons with disabilities (PwD), third gender and senior citizens over 85 years of age, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the upcoming elections. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 October,2024 09:44 AM IST | Ranchi | PTIThe landfall process of severe cyclonic storm 'Dana' began on Odisha coast on Thursday night and was expected to continue till Friday morning, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The coastal districts of Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore and nearby Jagatsinghpur district witnessed sudden increase in wind speed which reached 100 kmph to 110 kmph and extremely heavy rain. A revenue department official said reports of trees getting uprooted were also received at the office of the Special Relief Commissioner here. However, there was no report of any major damage or casualty so far even as the landfall process started more than an hour ago, the official said. The storm moved north-northwest at a speed of 15 kmph over the past six hours before making landfall between Bhitarkanika in the Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak, with wind speeds of around 110 kmph, a senior IMD official said. ¿The landfall process has commenced and the forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into the land. The process will continue till Friday morning," Umashankar Das, a senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar, told PTI. When the centre of the system reaches land, wind speeds are expected to reach 120 kmph, he said, adding that the landfall process will last for about four to five hours. "The system is under continuous surveillance of the Doppler weather radar at Paradip," he said. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had enquired about the Odisha government's preparedness to tackle the situation arising out of the cyclone. The chief minister said that the state has already evacuated around 5.84 lakh people from the high risk zones located in the low-lying areas of coastal districts. Meanwhile, IMD DG Mrutunjay Mohapatra said the region where the landfall commenced would witness high velocity wind at the speed of about 120 kmph till Friday morning. He said the landfall also accelerated the tidal surge, which could go up to two metres above the astronomical height, in Kendrapada, Balasore and Bhadrak districts. The landfall process of cyclone usually takes five to six hours, he said. Mohapatra said that the system will continue to remain as the severe cyclonic storm will gradually weaken on Friday and move deeper in the state, triggering heavy rains in most places. Gale with wind speed 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph is already prevailing along and off north Odisha and is likely to continue till Friday morning and decrease gradually thereafter. Gale of wind speed reaching 60-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph is likely along and off south Odisha till Friday morning and decrease gradually thereafter, the IMD said. The weather agency has also said that light-to-moderate rainfall in most places and heavy-to-very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall (above 21 cm) at isolated places in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsingpur Keonjhar, Jajpur, Cuttack and Dhenkanal, Khurda and Puri districts are expected till October 25. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 October,2024 09:43 AM IST | Bhubaneswar | PTIA prolonged dry spell caused the day temperature to rise by four to six degrees above normal at most places in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday. The post-monsoon rain deficit (October onwards) has been registered to be 97 per cent. Bilaspur was hottest in the state with the maximum temperature of 33.3 degrees, 4.7 degrees above normal. Dharamshala, Sundernagar, Keylong, and Shimla recorded a high of 30.8 degrees, 33.2 degrees, 16.5 degrees and 24.8 degrees, above normal by 6.4 degrees, 5.6 degrees, 5.5 degrees and 5.2 degrees, in that order. The state received 0.7 mm of rain on average from October 1 to October 24, against a normal rainfall of 22.9 mm, a deficit of 97 per cent, the Meteorological department said. Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kullu, Sirmaur, and Solan districts did not see any rain in the period. There was a deficit was 99 per cent in Lahaul and Spiti and Shimla districts, 98 per cent in Kinnaur, and 94 per cent in Kangra district. Mandi and Una districts recorded rain deficits at 82 and 52 per cent. The dry spell is set to continue till October 31, the Met said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 October,2024 09:43 AM IST | Shimla | PTIOdisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said more than 30 per cent of the targeted 10 lakh people have been evacuated to safe places in view of cyclone Dana that barrels toward the state's coastal region, threatening to impact nearly half of its population. He reviewed the state’s preparedness for the cyclone which is likely to cross the Odisha coast, close to Bhitarkanika and Dhamra, early on Friday. “Three districts are likely to be severely affected. Steps are being taken to evacuate people from danger zones...So far, 30 per cent of the targeted 10 lakh people have been evacuated...the remaining will be taken to safety by 11 am on Thursday,” the CM said. The government had on Tuesday set a target to evacuate 10,60,336 people from 14 districts. Kolkata suspends flight operations In view of cyclone Dana’s impact on the coastal region of West Bengal, including Kolkata, it has been decided to suspend the flight operations from 6 pm on October 24 to 9 am on October 25 due to predicted heavy winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall. As the time of suspending flight operations gradually approaches in the wake of cyclone Dana, the airport authorities started making arrangements to ensure safety of people and planes and infrastructure at the facility. All entry and exit doors of the terminal building will be sealed after the last flight departs while the aircraft parked on the bays will be tied up. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 October,2024 09:41 AM IST | Bhubaneswar | AgenciesCalling Canada’s behaviour “the pits”, India’s recalled high commissioner Sanjay Verma says India was back-stabbed and treated in a most unprofessional manner by a country that is supposed to be a friendly democracy. In an unexpected downturn of relations, Verma was declared a “person of interest” by Canada last week in its investigation into the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who has been declared a Khalistani terrorist by India. Before Canada could take further action, New Delhi recalled Verma and five other diplomats. who were also similarly named. “This is the pits. This is the most unprofessional approach to a bilateral relationship. There are diplomatic tools available in the hands of a diplomat. Those tools could have been used” instead of seeking to interrogate a country’s top envoy and other diplomats, Verma said in an interview to PTI Video recorded on Wednesday, his first after returning to India. Verma also spoke about the genesis of the Khalistani movement in Canada, the support it has been getting from local politicians for electoral gains, and the kind of criminal activities they carry out in order to increase their numbers. He said that extreme hard-line Khalistanis are only about 10,000 in number, and supporters amount to perhaps one lakh. “To get support they intimidate commons Sikhs there, including with threats such as ‘we know where your daughter is studying” Verma said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 October,2024 09:40 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesA broad consensus has been achieved by India and China on restoring the "ground situation" along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) pursuant to talks, including for patrolling and grazing cattle in the traditional areas, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday. Speaking at the Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2024, Singh described the agreement reached between the two countries as a "significant development" that underscores the importance of defence dialogue on the global stage. "India and China have been involved in talks both at military and diplomatic levels to resolve differences in certain areas along the LAC. Pursuant to the talks, a broad consensus has been achieved to restore the ground situation based on the principle of equal and mutual security," Singh said. "The consensus achieved includes patrolling and grazing (cattle) in the traditional areas. This is the power of engaging in continuous dialogue because sooner or later, solutions will emerge," the defence minister added. In a major breakthrough in ending the over four-year-long military standoff, India on Monday announced that it has reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 October,2024 09:39 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesTwo porters working with the armed forces were killed, while four others, including three soldiers, sustained injuries in a terrorist attack on an Army vehicle near the tourist hotspot of Gulmarg in north Kashmir on Thursday, officials reported. The incident occurred in the Bota Pathri area during the evening when the Army vehicle was en route to the Nagin post in the Afrawat range in Jammu-Kashmir, reported news agency PTI. According to initial reports, the attack involved armed terrorists who opened fire on the vehicle, resulting in the deaths of two porters. In addition, another porter and three soldiers were injured, with the condition of two of the injured soldiers reported as critical. As a precaution, additional troops were dispatched to the area to provide support and secure the vicinity. The officials said the soldiers who were in the vehicle opened retaliatory fire when they came under attack. The Army's Srinagar-based Chinar Corps confirmed the confrontation, on social media X, stating"A brief firefight took place between #IndianArmy and terrorists in general area Bota Pathri, #Baramulla. Details are being ascertained." The Bota Pathri area in Jammu-Kashmir is known to be heavily monitored by the Army, which has successfully maintained a strong presence in the region, reported PTI. However, there have been previous reports suggesting that a terrorist group infiltrated the area during summer and took refuge in the higher reaches of the Afrawat range. The Bota Pathri area was recently opened to tourists. Jammu-Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed his deep concern regarding the recent surge in attacks within the Valley. He also highlighted the increasing frequency of violence, stating, "This recent spate of attacks in Kashmir is a matter of serious concern. I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms and send my condolences to the loved ones of the people who lost their lives. I also pray that the injured make a complete and swift recovery," he said. Former chief minister and People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the attack. "Shocked and deeply saddened by the militant attack on an Army convoy in Baramulla in which a civilian porter was killed. Condemn it unequivocally and pray for the swift recovery of the injured soldiers," she posted on X. The attack on the Army vehicle comes amid a spike in terror incidents in the Valley. In a deadly attack on October 20, six non-local labourers and a local doctor were killed when terrorists fired indiscriminately upon them at the Z-Morh tunnel construction site in the Gagangir area of central Kashmir's Ganderbal district. Two days before that incident, a labourer from Bihar was shot dead by terrorists in Shopian district of Jammu-Kashmir. Earlier on Thursday, terrorists shot at and injured a labourer from Uttar Pradesh, Shubam Kumar, in the Tral area of Pulwama district. (With PTI inputs)
24 October,2024 10:44 PM IST | Srinagar | mid-day online correspondentJustice Sanjiv Khanna was on Thursday appointed the 51st Chief Justice of India. He will take oath on November 11, a day after incumbent Justice D Y Chandrachud demits office on attaining the age of 65. Justice Chandrachud took over as the CJI on November 8, 2022. Justice Khanna will have a tenure of a little over six months as CJI and would demit office on May 13, 2025. "In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, Hon'ble President, after consultation with Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India as Chief Justice of India with effect from 11th November, 2024," Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal posted on X. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 October,2024 09:07 PM IST | New Delhi | PTIThe Kolkata airport suspended flight operations for 15 hours from Thursday evening in the wake of Cyclone Dana, a senior Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said. Though the flight operations at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport were supposed to be suspended from 6 pm on Thursday, it got delayed a bit. "On Thursday evening, IndiGo's Amritsar-Kolkata flight was the last flight to arrive in the eastern metropolis and it landed at 6.11 pm. The last flight to depart was IndiGo's Kolkata-Guwahati flight at 7 pm," airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria told PTI. There was a bit delay in suspending flight operations due to a non-specific bomb threat directed towards Kolkata. The threat was posted on X, the AAI official said, adding it later turned out to be a hoax. A total of 309 flights will be affected during the suspension of flight operations at the airport. The airport was supposed to shut down operations at 6 pm on Thursday and resume operations from 9 am on Friday. Meanwhile, all entry and exit doors of the terminal building were sealed after the last flight departed from the Kolkata airport while the aircraft parked on the bays will be tied up, the airport director said. In addition, all aerobridges were retracted and ladders tied together to prevent those from moving and hitting the planes during the storm. Following the standard operating procedure, all vehicles used in the airside of the airport were removed from the operational area and parked at safe locations, he said. All ground handling equipment was chained together so that nothing moves due to the gusts. All ground handling units or agencies ensure that nothing -- no materials related to their work -- is left in the open. This is done to ensure that there is no flying debris during the storm. They could cause damage to aircraft parked on the tarmac, Beuria said. Sources said that airlines worked in sync with the authorities of the airport. Other standard safety-related procedures such as lowering of high mast lights and mooring of smaller aircraft were also done, the sources said. No light or moveable objects will be left in the open. Meanwhile, pumps are on standby at the operational area of the airport to drain out water from the premises in case there is inundation due to heavy rainfall induced by the cyclone, the airport director said. The state government employees have also been informed to make sure that the area around the airport premises, both city side and air side, are free from water-logging because it needs to be ensured that the approach roads to the airport are clear once operations at the airport resume at 9 am on Friday, he said. "I have also written a letter to the chief engineer of the PWD department in this regard," Beuria said. In view of cyclone Dana's impact on the coastal region of West Bengal, including Kolkata, it has been decided to suspend flight operations from 6 pm on October 24 to 9 am on October 25 due to predicted heavy winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall. The IMD said that the cyclone is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra port in neighbouring Odisha early Friday. The maximum speed during the landfall process is likely to be around 120 kmph. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 October,2024 08:56 PM IST | Kolkata | PTIThe government has asked social media platforms Meta and X to share data about hoax bomb threat messages to airlines and has started identifying those behind such activities, even as more than 80 flights received the threats on Thursday. Sources in the know said the government has also asked top multinational technology conglomerates to cooperate with it in helping identify those behind such hoax calls, saying this involves public good. In 11 days, more than 250 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats. Most of the threats were issued through social media. According to the top government sources, the government has traced some of the culprits and that action is being taken accordingly. However, they did not provide specific details like from where these hoax messages came from and who were behind them. "The government has told social media companies Meta and X to share data pertaining to such hoax calls and messages made on their platforms targeting several airlines and asked them to cooperate," one of the sources said. The source also said "they will have to cooperate and provide data since this involves public good at large". This was in response to a query on whether the social media companies are cooperating with the government or not on the issue. More than 80 domestic and international flights of various Indian airlines received bomb threats on Thursday, sources said. The sources said around 20 flights each of Air India, Vistara, and IndiGo got bomb threats while Akasa Air got the threats for 13 flights. Besides, around 5 flights each of Alliance Air and SpiceJet received the threats, they added. An IndiGo spokesperson in a statement on Thursday said it received security-related alerts for 20 flights. As many as 13 flights of Akasa Air operating on Thursday received security alerts and that after thorough inspections, all the aircraft concerned were released for operations, an airline spokesperson said. "The airport services teams at all impacted airports coordinated with local authorities to ensure efficient handling of the situation including safe deplaning of passengers, assistance and refreshments as required," the spokesperson said in a statement. In a statement, a Vistara spokesperson said that a few of its flights on Thursday received security threats on social media. At least six flights to and from Kochi airport received bomb threats on Thursday. It included one SpiceJet flight from Dubai to Kochi, airport sources said. On Wednesday, an unidentified caller threatened to blow up the Dumna airport at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, which turned out to be a hoax, a police officer said. Earlier this week, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the government plans to take legislative actions to deal with instances of bomb threats to airlines, including placing perpetrators of such threats in the no-fly list. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 October,2024 08:51 PM IST | New Delhi | PTIUnion Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar to iron out issues related to seat sharing for the November 20 poll, the PTI reported. The three leaders had rushed to Delhi for the second time within a week for consultations about seat sharing of the ruling Mahayuti alliance that were stalled due to differences over certain segments claimed by both the Shiv Sena and the BJP. Sources said that Amit Shah asked the alliance partners to work unitedly and strengthen the coalition to take on the rival Maha Vikas Aghadi of the Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), according to the PTI. They said discussions on seat sharing would now shift to Mumbai and the formula announced shortly. The Shinde-led Shiv Sena has announced 45 candidates while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP declared its nominees for 38 seats in the 288-member House. The BJP has declared its first list of 99 candidates for the November 20 elections. The saffron party is keen to contest more than 150 seats in a bid to emerge as the single largest party in the post poll scenario, as per the PTI. The last date for filing nominations is October 29. Meanwhile, some of the candidates fielded by the ruling as well as opposition parties, including former MP Rajan Vichare and ex-minister Jitendra Awhad, filed their nomination papers in their respective assembly constituencies in Mumbai and Thane district of Maharashtra on Thursday. Thane is the home turf of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The district comprises a total of 18 assembly constituencies, including the Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat that the CM represents. So far, all three ruling parties - Shiv Sena, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar - have announced the fist list of their candidates, while from the opposition side, only the Shiv Sena (UBT) has done so. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and state NCP (SP) chief Jayant Patil on Thursday filed their nominations. As many as 153 candidates have filed nominations across the state so far since the process began on October 22. The last date for filing nominations is October 29. (with PTI inputs)
24 October,2024 08:42 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
