India

Panaji, Sep 14 (IANS) In yet another setback to Congress in Goa, a group of eight MLAs led by Michael Lobo, who was removed from post of leader of opposition, joined the ruling BJP on Wednesday.

With this, the number of BJP legislators has gone up to 28 and strength to 33 in the 40-member Assembly.

Congress had 11 MLAs among the 40 members of the House. While BJP had 20 MLAs, which now increased to 28. However, the BJP had support of two MGP legislators besides three independent MLAs. Hence, the strength of the saffron party has gone up to 33 and that of Congress reduced to three.

Former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Sankalp Amonkar, Rajesh Faldesai, Aleixo Sequeira and Rudolf Fernandes are the eight legislators which have switched parties.

After the formalities of merger, Lobo along with Digambar Kamat and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant addressed the media at the Assembly complex.

Michael Lobo, speaking to the media, said that eight Congress MLAs had called a CLP meeting in the morning and after discussion decided to merge with BJP.

"We took the resolution of the merging party and handed over a copy to the legislative secretary. We gave one copy to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and informed the Assembly speaker about it," Lobo said.

"We have joined BJP to strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and also for the development of Goa," Lobo said.

Former Chief Minister Digamabar Kamat said in politics, decisions are based on the circumstances. "I had said initially, that whatever was happening in Congress was not good. If you read the letter of Ghulam Nabi Azad, while leaving Congress, you can draw conclusions that instead of 'Bharat Jodo yatra' Congress should have launched 'Congress Jodo Yatra'," Kamat said.

"Citizens of our nation are treated with respect at international level under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nobody dares to disrespect Indians in any country. Because such an environment has been created by our Prime Minister in the world. India will become a super power. While this is happening, Goa should not stay behind. For this to strengthen the Chief Minister and overall development of Goa we have joined BJP," Kamat praising the PM and Goa CM said.

Chief Minister Sawant said that Congress eight MLAS have merged with BJP. "I welcome them all. We will take BJP and Goa ahead,"Sawant said.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Sep 14 (IANS) The Yogi Adityanath government, on Wednesday, thwarted the Samajwadi Party's dharna in protest against various issues concerning the people.

The SP had announced that its MLAs would hold a four-hour dharna from Wednesday to Sunday in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the Vidhan Bhawan.

As soon as the SP MLAs collected at the Samajwadi Party office on Wednesday morning, the police barricaded the entire area.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav was prevented from coming out of his house while other senior leaders were also confined to their homes.

SP MLAs, carrying red and black placards denouncing the government's failures, shouted slogans and indulged in scuffle with the police personnel.

They were later bundled into vans and taken to the Eco Garden.

"They will be allowed to go home later in the day," the police spokesman said.

--IANS
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Jammu, Sep 14 (IANS) Nine persons were killed and 27 others injured on Wednesday in a road accident in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

Police sources said that a minibus went out of the driver's control near Brari Ballah in the Sawjian area of Poonch district.

"The minibus rolled down into a gorge. Nine persons were killed in this accident while 27 others were injured.

"Army rescue teams assisted by police and civilians shifted the injured to sub-district hospital in Mandi town.

"Attending doctors said the condition of 11 injured passengers is critical," police sources said.

J&K Lt. Governor, Manoj Sinha has announced Rs 5 lakh ex gratia compensation to the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the accident.

Sinha said on his official Twitter page, "Saddened by loss of lives due to a road accident in Sawjian, Poonch. Condolences to bereaved families.

"May the injured recover soon. Rs. 5 lakh would be given to the next of kin of deceased. Directed Police and Civil authorities to provide best possible treatment to the injured".

--IANS
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Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 14 (IANS) The Congress on Wednesday was left red faced when it was found that its Trissur district Congress committee office, which is being decked up to receive Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, was painted in the 'BJP' colour saffron.

But, soon after realising the folly and trolls in social media, the top leaders of the Congress party hurriedly got to undo the wrong.

After being painted in the saffron colour, painters were hurriedly working on the building again and were now painting it in white.

The painters claimed that they have had no role in the faux pas and they used the colour that was given to them

The Congress leaders had given the work of giving a fresh coat of paint depicting the Indian Tricolour.

--IANS
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Srinagar, Sep 14 (IANS) On October 2, electric train will start moving on the 137 kms long Banihal-Baramulla corridor of Jammu and Kashmir rail link.

Indian Railway officials said that work on the project was going on since August 2019.

The mandatory principal chief electrical engineer (PCEE) inspection of the electric rail link will take place on September 26 and on Gandhi Jayanti, the project will be inaugurated, the railway officials said.

"Trials on Baramulla-Budgam part of the 137-Kms long electric train link have already been completed while the trial on the remaining Budgam-Banihal portion will be carried out on September 20", sources said, adding that the project cost of the electric train link from Banihal to Baramulla is Rs 324 crore.

The electrification of the Banihal-Baramulla rail link will reduce air pollution and is expected to bring down the operational cost by 60 per cent.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 14 (IANS) Climate science is clear. The world is heading in the wrong direction, a new multi-agency report coordinated by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), which highlights the huge gap between aspirations and reality, said.

Without much more ambitious action, the physical and socio-economic impact of climate change will be increasingly devastating, it warns.

The report, United in Science, shows that greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise to record highs. Fossil fuel emission rates are now above pre-pandemic levels after a temporary drop due to lockdowns. The ambition of emissions reduction pledges for 2030 needs to be seven times higher to be in line with the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal of the Paris Agreement.

The past seven years were the warmest on record. There is a 48 per cent chance that, during at least one year in the next five years, the annual mean temperature will temporarily be 1.5 degrees higher than 1850-1900 average.

As global warming increases, "tipping points" in the climate system cannot be ruled out.

Cities that host billions of people and are responsible for up to 70 per cent of human-caused emissions will face increasing socio-economic impact. The most vulnerable populations will suffer most, says the report which gives examples of extreme weather in different parts of the world this year.

"Floods, droughts, heatwaves, extreme storms and wildfires are going from bad to worse, breaking records with alarming frequency. Heatwaves in Europe. Colossal floods in Pakistan. Prolonged and severe droughts in China, the Horn of Africa and the US. There is nothing natural about the new scale of these disasters. They are the price of humanity's fossil fuel addiction," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"This year's United in Science report shows climate impacts heading into uncharted territory of destruction. Yet each year we double-down on this fossil fuel addiction, even as the symptoms get rapidly worse," Guterres added in a video message.

"Climate science is increasingly able to show that many of the extreme weather events that we are experiencing have become more likely and more intense due to human-induced climate change. We have seen this repeatedly this year, with tragic effect. It is more important than ever that we scale up action on early warning systems to build resilience to current and future climate risks in vulnerable communities. That is why WMO is spearheading a drive to ensure early warnings for all in the next five years," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

United in Science provides an overview of the most recent science related to climate change, its impacts and responses. The science is clear -- urgent action is needed to mitigate emissions and adapt to the changing climate, says the report.

It includes input from WMO (and its Global Atmosphere Watch and World Weather Research Programmes); the UN Environment Programme, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the World Climate Research Programme, Global Carbon Project; UK Met Office, and the Urban Climate Change Research Network.

It includes relevant headline statements from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's sixth assessment Report.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday recovered incriminating documents and digital evidence following raids at 36 locations across the country in connection with irregularities in the exams for Jammu and Kashmir Police Sub-Inspectors (JKPSI).

Raids were conducted at 36 locations in Jammu, Srinagar, Karnal, Mahendergarh and Rewari in Haryana, Gandhidham in Gujarat, Delhi, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh and Bengaluru.

Searches were conducted at the premises of Khalid Jehangir, former Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB); Ashok Kumar Mann, then controller and an examiner; as well as some officials of the J&K Police and CRPF, including a DSP.

The CBI had registered the case on August 3 on the request of J&K government against 33 accused persons over allegations of irregularities in the written examination for the post of sub-inspector in J&K Police conducted by the JKSSB in March.

The results were declared on June 4. There were allegations regarding malpractices in the examination. The J&K government had constituted an inquiry committee to look into the matter. It was alleged that a conspiracy was hatched between officials of JKSSB, a Bengaluru-based private company, beneficiary candidates and others, leading to gross irregularities in the conduct of the written examin for sub-inspectors' post.

There was abnormally high percentage of selected candidates from Jammu, Rajouri and Samba districts. Violation of rules by JKSSB was found in assigning the task of setting the question paper to the Bengaluru-based private company.

Searches were earlier conducted on August 5 at 30 locations, including in Jammu, Srinagar and Bengaluru at the premises of the accused persons.

Investigation has revealed alleged payment of Rs 20-30 lakh by the willing candidates to the accused for accessing the question paper before the commencement of the examination.

--IANS
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Patna, Sep 13 (IANS) Lalan Singh, the national president of JD-U, claimed on Tuesday that the country will become 'BJP-mukt Bharat' after the 2024 general elections.

His remarks came soon after BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi tweeted that Daman and Diu has become 'mukt' from JD-U, adding that a revolt is expected to take place in JD-U's Bihar unit as well.

Earlier on Monday, in a big blow to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, as many as 15 district panchayat members of JD(U)'s Daman and Diu unit joined the BJP, helping the saffron party storm to power in the Zila Panchayat.

Lalan Singh said: "Don't worry Sushil Ji, the country will become 'mukt' from BJP in 2024. The people of the country will get relief from communalism, price rise, unemployment, and an atmosphere of communal harmony will be established after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections."

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) Senior Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh and Jairam Ramesh will visit the states through which the party's ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' will not pass to mobilise the state units to participate in the yatra.

Party General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Me and Digvijaya Singh will visit Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha from September 16 onwards. Our effort would be to mobilise the state units to join the Bharat Jodo Yatra."

The Congress wants all the state units to participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, starting the exercise from the block level.

Ramesh had earlier said that the yatra will strengthen the party and spread its ideology, adding that "the elephant has woken up which has surprised BJP".

--IANS
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By Altaf Hussain Janjua
Srinagar, Sep 13 (IANS) The Indian Army launched 'Operation Rakshak and many other such operations to wipe out the enemies in Jammu and Kashmir in the year 1998.


But the army's 'Operation Sadbhavana' in Jammu and Kashmir is for the welfare of the people. It is especially to help people in rural areas and areas near the Line of Control (LoC) where lives and property have been destroyed due to insurgency and militancy.

Under Operation Sadbhavana, the areas covered near the Line of Control include Rajouri, Poonch, Karna, Uri, Tingdar, Kiran, Nowshera, Sunderbani, Akhnur etc. It has played an important role in healing people's wounds by providing them with employment opportunities, medical and educational facilities and infrastructure development. The army has reached areas where no politician or administration man has been able to reach till date.

According to locals near the LoC in Poonch district, Operation Sadbhavana is providing necessary equipment for children's education, medical facilities, conducting medical camps from time to time, running awareness programmes, sewing 'kadhai' programme for women, various vocational courses for youth including welding, computer diploma, plumbing, bakery, motor mechanics, etc., due to which people are getting a lot of relief.

Noor Alam, a resident of Karmara, said, "Everyone living near the LoC has immense respect for the Indian Army because the only hope and support of the border residents is the army. If someone gets sick in the evening, they go to the nearby army camp for medicine or ointment and if there is a need to transport the patient to the hospital, the army even arranges for the vehicle."

Siva Singh, a border resident of Sunderbani, said, "In our region, the army has played an important role in providing employment to the youth. The army is conducting professional courses for one to three months every day, after which the youth are getting employment easily. Free driving classes are also being conducted, which enables many young people to pass the driving test and get licence."

Not only this, the army is also working in providing information to the public about various schemes being run by the Central government. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the army spread awareness about Coronavirus and delivered the required medical equipment to the local residents.

The army also takes the lead in promoting sports, organising local and traditional fairs etc.

It is also normal to hold regular meetings with respected citizens to promote mutual brotherhood and establish peace in the region. The organisation of Iftar parties in the form of Eid Milan and Ramadan is also a part of the army's Operation Sadbhavana.

Jammu-based defence spokesman Lt. Col. Devendra Anand said, "The army is trying to protect the country's borders as well as help in improving the quality of life of the border residents under this Operation. In Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Reasi, Ramban, Kishtwar, Baramulla and Kupwara, some important activity is organised every day and it is a matter of satisfaction for us. We have been 100 per cent successful in winning the trust of the people."

--IANS
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