Regional

Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh), April 18 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh will soon get its first-ever glass skywalk bridge, which will be set against the picturesque backdrop of Tulsi Waterfalls in the Markundi range of the Chitrakoot forest division.

Built from a fusion of glass and steel, this marvel of engineering takes the form of Lord Ram's revered bow and arrow, thereby symbolising strength and valour.

According to reports, this bridge promises to redefine the landscape of eco-tourism in the region. This ambitious project aims to elevate the allure of Chitrakoot.

Drawing inspiration from Bihar's renowned skywalk glass bridge in Rajgir, Uttar Pradesh's glass skywalk is poised to captivate visitors with its blend of aesthetic charm and structural brilliance.

The bridge, said sources, will be inaugurated after the Lok Sabha polls.

Complementing the breathtaking vistas of the waterfall, the surrounding area has been transformed into a verdant oasis known as 'Kodand Van', which will provide visitors with a tranquil retreat amidst nature's splendour.

Built by the esteemed Ghazipur-based Pawan Sut Construction Company, the bridge stands as a testament to collaborative effort and visionary planning.

Originally known as Shabri Waterfall, the cascading beauty that serves as the foundation for the glass skywalk was recently christened Tulsi Waterfalls by the state government.

Offering both aesthetic appeal and structural integrity, the bow-and-arrow-shaped bridge spans an impressive length of 25 m towards the abyss and boasts of a width of 35 m between its sturdy pillars. With a robust load capacity of 500 kg per square metre, the bridge ensures safety and comfort for visitors eager to embark on this thrilling adventure.

--IANS

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Mumbai, April 18 (IANS) Ace filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani's son Vir is set to make his acting debut with the play 'Letters from Suresh', an updated version of the iconic 'Tumhari Amrita', which had featured the late Farooq Sheikh and Shabana Azmi.

'Letters from Suresh', as in the case of the original, is being directed by theatre veteran Feroze Abbas Khan.

Vir Hirani is a recent graduate of the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, better known as RADA, in London. He has been making short films since his teens.

The epistolary production 'Tumhari Amrita' was an adaptation of A.R. Gurney's American play 'Love Letters'. The Hindi/Urdu version was written in 1992 by playwright Javed Siddiqui after Feroze Abbas Khan approached him following a meeting with Gurney.

The play premiered at the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai on February 27, 1992, during the Jennifer Kapoor Festival as a tribute to the late actress on her birth anniversary.

With the play set to return, albeit in a new avatar, Vir will be seen putting his skills to test in view of the legacy of 'Tumhari Amrita' and the shoes of Farooq Shaikh that he steps into.

In the original, Farooq Shaikh and Shabana Azmi were the two actors who drove the play, which was based on an exchange of letters between the two protagonists separated by Partition.

Vir Hirani, incidentally, has a film to his credit. He made his directorial debut with 'Return Gift', which premiered at the 18th edition of the International Children's Film Festival of India in Hyderabad.

The film, inspired by a true story narrated to Vir by his grandmother, and made along with his classmates, competed in the Little Directors category of the Festival.

--IANS

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New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) BJP President JP Nadda, on a campaign trail to Assam on Thursday, made a strong pitch for clean governance and said that only the BJP government can assure of the same as the ‘Ghamandiya alliance’ was a coalition of either ‘jailed or bailed’ leaders.

Underscoring the focus of the Modi government on putting the North-East region on a perennial growth trajectory, he said that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who described the eight states as ‘Ashta Lakshmi.’

On Thursday, Nadda addressed two poll rallies in Assam -- one in Udalguri and another in Kokrajhar.

He said that this election was a fight between NDA’s ‘Bhrashtachar hatao’ vs INDIA bloc’s ‘Bhrashtachari bachao’. He said that Congress regimes witnessed a series of scams including the VVIP chopper scam, 2G and Commonwealth scam and more but the Modi government brought an end to all.

He said that peace and development prevail in Assam today, under the BJP government.

“All the corrupt parties and leaders have ganged up under the Ghamandiya alliance while BJP is all for clean politics and transparent governance,” he said at a rally in Udalguri.

Nadda named many leaders of the INDIA bloc leaders, who are either in jail or on bail and said that this showed their approach to politics.

“Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal are in jail while top leaders of INDIA bloc including Rahul Gandhi, P Chidambaram, Lalu Yadav, Sanjay Singh are on bail,” he pointed out.

Earlier, addressing a rally in Kokrajhar district, the BJP President said that the North-East region is witnessing unprecedented attention and development under the Modi government.

He said that the Prime Minister described North-East as ‘Ashta Lakshmi’ and also went on to explain the ‘eight aadhar’ behind it.

“First aadhar is peace, the second is hydropower generation, the third is tourism, fourth is 5G connectivity, fifth is culture, sixth is natural farming, seventh is sports and eight is to nourish the potential of the region,” he told the public gathering.

Highlighting the government’s focus on N-E, he said that Prime Minister Modi alone has made 70 visits to the region in 10 years while Union Ministers have visited the region, 680 times.

He also cited various peace accords like the Bodo accord, and the Karbi Anglong accord signed by the Centre to bring peace and prosperity in the North-East. He also highlighted how a series of welfare schemes including Kisan Samman Nidhi, Ayushman Yojana, and the free ration scheme were bringing ‘welcome change’ and said that Asia’s biggest cancer institute being built in Assam will give the region new recognition.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, April 18 (IANS) Senior BJP leader and the Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka on Thursday alleged that under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's rule Hindus in Karnataka were living in fear.

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Ashoka said "The Congress government is encouraging terrorist activities in Karnataka. The government led by CM Siddaramaiah had brought down the Hanuman flag. Hindus are living in fear under the rule of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and gang."

He warned that if the Goonda Act is not enforced against those attacking individuals for chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' and if sedition charges are not filed, the BJP will take to the streets.

Following an incident where three youths were assaulted by a gang for chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans on Wednesday, the BJP leader said, "I am cautioning the police department regarding this matter. We will set a deadline and commence protests from tomorrow after consulting state party president B.Y. Vijayendra."

Ashoka accused the Congress government of supporting terrorist activities in Karnataka. He alleged that instead of curbing thuggery, the Congress was giving tacit approval. He said that in the Congress rule, chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' has become a criminal act, thereby disregarding the interests of the Hindu majority.

Ashoka said that the accused in the attack on the youths "are likely to be released after being fed biryani, without being charged under the Goonda Act and with no sedition charges".

He said that the statement made by Congress MP D.K. Suresh, brother of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, about dividing the country has emboldened fundamentalists in Karnataka.

Meanwhile, BJP workers protested outside the Vidyaranyapura police station demanding the imposition of the Goonda Act and sedition charges against the accused.

Ashoka also criticised the Congress government for hastily concluding that the Bengaluru cafe blast was due to business rivalry. He claimed that this government's tenure would be short-lived, as people have developed a strong aversion to it.

--IANS

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Itanagar, April 18 (IANS) Stage is set for simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and assembly in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday as the Election Commission has made elaborate security arrangements in the frontier state.

Officials on Thursday said that voting for the two Lok Sabha seats -- Arunachal West and Arunachal East -- along with 50 assembly constituencies will be held on Friday under a tight security cover.

Of the total 60 assembly constituencies in the state, elections will be held in 50 seats as BJP candidates including Chief Minister Pema Khandu (Mukto seat) and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein (Chowkham seat), have won unopposed in 10 seats.

Election officials said that the first batch of over 40 election officials accompanied by security personnel along with election-related materials including Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), were airlifted by an MI-172 chopper to four remote polling stations in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kra Daadi district on April 15 to conduct voting on Friday.

However, the majority of the polling and security personnel left for their destinations on Wednesday and Thursday.

In all, 11,130 polling officials have been deployed to conduct the elections while 6,874 Electronic Voting Machines will be used for the polls.

On the advice of the Election Commission, the Union Home Ministry has provided 80 companies (7500 personnel) of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) while thousands of state security force personnel have been deployed to maintain the law and order situation.

A total of 8.92,694 voters, including 4,54,256 women, will decide the fate of 133 candidates contesting for the 50 assembly seats, and 14 candidates vying for the two Lok Sabha seats.

Of the 133 candidates, 50 have been fielded by the ruling BJP, 19 by the opposition Congress, 14 by the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar), 20 by the National People’s Party (NPP), 11 by the People’s Party of Arunachal and the remaining by the other local parties and Independents.

Though 14 candidates are contesting in the two Lok Sabha seats, the main contest is expected to be between Union minister Kiren Rijiju and state Congress President and former chief minister Nabam Tuki for the Arunachal West seat. In the Arunachal East seat, the main fight would be between the BJP’s sitting MP Tapir Gao and the Congress’ Bosiram Siram, a former minister and state Congress Vice-President.

The NPP led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma put up 20 candidates in the Arunachal Pradesh assembly elections, and announced its support to the BJP Lok Sabha candidates in the state -- Kiren Rijiju and Tapir Gao.

Rijiju is seeking re-election for a fourth term.

In the Arunachal West Parliamentary seat, eight candidates are in the fray while six aspirants are vying for the Arunachal East Parliamentary seat.

The over-a-month-long hectic campaigning for the simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the northeastern state ended on Wednesday afternoon.

BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, NPP supremo and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma campaigned for their respective parties in Arunachal Pradesh.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi were scheduled to visit Arunachal Pradesh to campaign for the party candidates but they did not turn up.

Though the BJP has a solid base in the state and is ahead of the other parties in the electoral battle, two major issues -- the anti-incumbency factor and Christian organisations’ open support to the Congress candidates -- caused concern among the saffron party leaders.

The counting of votes for the Assembly elections will be taken up on June 2, while the results of the Lok Sabha elections will be announced on June 4.

--IANS

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Mumbai, April 18 (IANS) The Congress on Thursday lodged a complaint against the ruling MahaYuti ally Shiv Sena for allegedly violating the model code of conduct by using some 1,000 Maharashtra state transport buses for a poll campaign, here.

Congress Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe has written to the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) pointing out the unauthorised use of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC)'s buses for displaying publicity material of the ruling MahaYuti alliance.

"The banners have a huge picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the Bow and Arrow symbol of the Shiv Sena and photos of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. As per the Election Commission of India's letter no. 437/6/INST/2015-CCS dated 29.12.2015, the use of government and PSUs properties is banned for electoral campaigning. Despite this ban, the ST officials have allowed the illegal use of over 1,000 buses for the election campaign of Shiv Sena candidates," said Londhe's letter.

He called upon the CEO to take immediate and decisive action to address these violations, and cancel the candidature of all the LS candidates of Shiv Sena plus initiate appropriate disciplinary measures against the Shinde-led party.

Londhe also demanded action should also be taken against the senior officials of the Planning and Commercial Department of MSRTC for violation of Model Code of Conduct and ECI instructions in this regard to ensure the integrity of the election process.

--IANS

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Kottayam (Kerala), April 18 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday told his predecessor and the country’s longest-serving Defence Minister A.K. Antony that he can understand the predicament of the latter.

Singh said this while addressing an election rally for the BJP candidate and son of Antony, Anil Antony, at Kanjirapally which comes under the Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency, where Anil is fighting a poll battle against three-time sitting Congress MP Anto Antony and veteran CPI-M former finance minister Thomas Isaac.

“ All I have to tell Antony is even if he might not vote for him, he should bless him as a father. I was surprised by what Antony said, maybe he said like that due to the pressure from the Congress party,” said Singh.

Antony after almost six months broke his silence early this month when he said Anil should and will lose at Pathanamthitta and it was wrong for the children of Congress leaders to join the BJP.

“I have the highest regard for Antony and I see him as my elder brother. As Minister, Antony was a clean person, while other Congress leaders are not like that,” added Singh.

“ Anil has a bright future in the BJP,” said Singh and took a dig at Rahul Gandhi when he said the country’s Chandrayan Mission was a success, while the ‘Rahulyan’ mission, even after two decades, has not reached anywhere.

--IANS

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Bulandshahr (UP), April 18 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Thursday that while SP, BSP and Congress used to run their governments on riot policy, the BJP runs it on the policy of development.

“BJP is necessary for faith, security and prosperity. People of SP, BSP and Congress are under curfew. During their rule, a curfew was imposed for months but today there is no curfew in the state. These people used to create chaos in the state by instigating riots. They used to run riot policy, we run the policy of development. In our government, the path of 'Ram-Ram' journey will remain open for the common people of the state and 'Ram Naam Satya' for the mafia criminals,” he said while addressing an election meeting in Bulandshahr.

The chief minister said that before 2014, terrorism was on the rise.

“Today, we all are in new India. People who witnessed the 2014 elections know what kind of India was at that time. They should tell the present generation and new voters that before that there was resentment and distrust among the people. Terrorism, Naxalism and separatism were becoming rampant in the country. Corruption was at its peak in all the institutions of the country. The youths were disappointed and the farmers were committing suicide,” he stated.

He said that in the past 10 years, people have seen a changing India. Problems like Naxalism and terrorism etc. have been solved.

“Congress gave the problem and the entire country including Jammu, was brought under the grip of terrorism. There were explosions every day, and innocent people died. Families were devastated, but Congress remained a spectator. Even once these people were not ready to speak against terrorism but today Article 370 has been abolished,” he said.

The chief minister further said that Asia's largest airport being built in Jewar is an example of development. Secunderabad and Jewar will benefit the most from this. He said that the economy of the country and the state has strengthened.

“We are going to provide a rapid rail facility. Metro is coming. Rail connectivity, the junction of the dedicated freight corridor in Dadri, the country's largest logistics centre is also going to be built here, where lakhs of jobs will be created,” he said.

Yogi Adityanath also enumerated the development schemes and said that the Ayushman card has taken care of the health issues that people face.

By solving the problems of builder-buyers in Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Authority, the cases pending for years are being closed and the buyers are being given rights.

He further said, “This election is between the family of selfishness and the family of PM Modi (India of 140 crore people).

People of SP, BSP and Congress cannot even think outside their families. Now there is a better environment for security investment. After 500 years, Ram Lalla got the opportunity to celebrate His birthday at His birthplace. You must have seen the consecration of Suryavanshi Ram with the tilak applied by the rays of Lord Surya. The entire Sanatan was glowing after seeing that aura.”

The chief minister gave the credit for the prosperity that India got to PM Narendra Modi and said that a development-oriented government will be possible only with lotus flower (BJP symbol).

--IANS

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Hyderabad, April 18 (IANS) Union Tourism and Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy on Thursday exuded confidence that BJP will win 12 out of 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana.

The state BJP chief called upon party leaders and workers to ensure that the party wins the maximum number of seats in the state.

Kishan Reddy was speaking after accompanying party candidate Eatala Rajender to file nomination papers from the Malkajgiri seat.

He said that the Congress party came to power in Telangana by accident. He also remarked that as long as Rahul Gandhi is the leader of Congress, the BJP will have no problems.

He also claimed that the Centre allocated Rs 10 lakh crore to Telangana during the last 10 years. A day before filing the nomination, the state BJP chief released the report to the people.

He stated that Telangana received Rs 2.03 lakh crore towards its share in central taxes. The Centre also spent Rs 6.02 lakh crore on various development and welfare schemes in the state.

Union Minister Reddy, who is seeking re-election from Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency, also released a report, listing the development works undertaken in the constituency and the state during the last five years.

He also highlighted the development of national highways, railway projects, rail manufacturing unit in Kazipet, PM Mitra Textile Park in Warangal, new fertiliser plant set up in Ramagundam, funds given to Hyderabad Metro project under Viability Gap Funding, Sri Konda Laxman Bapuji Horticulture University set up in Siddipet district, Sammakka Sarakka National Tribal University coming up in Mulugu, Bibinagar AIMS, Hyderabad IIT, National Animal Resource Facility for Biomedical Research, distribution of free ration launched during Covid-19 pandemic and fertiliser subsidy for farmers.

The union minister also explained the works taken up for modernisation of railway stations in his constituency.

He said airport-like amenities will be provided at Secunderabad, Kachiguda, Nampally and Begumpet railway stations. A new railway terminal is being built at Cherlapally.

He said MMTS phase-II works were completed and services were launched. The services will be extended to Yadadri with the Centre bearing the entire cost of the project.

Kishan Reddy also mentioned the launch of four Vande Bharat trains from the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, the regional ring road around Hyderabad and proposed outer ring rail, road projects for traffic decongestion and other projects.

--IANS

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Kolkata, April 18 (IANS) Much before the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll schedule on March 16, the Diamond Harbour constituency in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district was the most talked about seat in the state. And it continues to remain so with polling scheduled on June 1, the last day of the seven-phase elections starting Friday.

The main reason for the public curiosity about this seat is its two-term sitting MP and Trinamool Congress General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who has been renominated this time as well.

Diamond Harbour was in the news since the beginning of the year after Nawsad Siddique, the lone All India Secular Front (AISF) representative in the West Bengal Assembly, expressed his desire to contest the seat, which has a substantial number of minority voters.

Given that Siddique is a popular face among the minority population in the state, a perception was formed that if he contests, Siddique could give a tough fight to Abhishek Banerjee. However, that possibility fizzled out after the AISF fielded Majnu Laskar from Diamond Harbour.

Interestingly, the BJP announced its candidate for the seat quite a few days after naming its nominees for the 41 other Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. On Tuesday, the party announced Abhijit Das, popular as Bobby, as the BJP candidate from Diamond Harbour. The delayed nomination seems to be part BJP's strategy considering Bobby’s long association with Diamond Harbour.

Besides contesting against Abhishek Banerjee from Diamond Harbour in 2014, Bobby was the BJP’s organisational district president for quite some time. He also has the experience of working as the co-convener of the party’s state election management team.

The CPI-M has fielded its young face and student leader Pratik Ur Rahaman, who has been associated with Diamond Harbour since his college days as a leader of the party's student wing, the SFI.

Rahaman is focussing more on door-to-door campaigns, raising issues of corruption, particularly the multi-crore cash-for-school jobs case in the state.

Going by recent electoral history, including the 2021 Assembly elections, Diamond Harbour has been a Trinamool stronghold since 2009, when veteran politician late Somen Mitra won from here on a TMC ticket, ending decades of CPI-M domination.

In 2019, Abhishek Banerjee was re-elected by a margin of over 3.20 lakh votes. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the Trinamool swept all seven seats under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency.

A booth-wise analysis shows that the consolidation of minority votes in favour of Trinamool in both 2019 and 2021 led to landslide victories for the ruling party.

However, with the AISF candidate in the race now and the CPI-M fielding a strong candidate, both representing the minority community, it needs to be seen how far the Trinamool gains from the consolidation of minority votes this time.

Diamond Harbour was traditionally a red bastion from 1967 to 2009, handing the CPI-M 13 victories in a row.

The constituency has given the Lok Sabha some of the most respected Parliamentarians such as Jyotirmoy Basu, Amal Dutta, and Samik Lahiri.

However, the equation changed in 2009 when Somen Mitra won, and the trend continued since then with Abhishek Banerjee scripting back-to-back victories in 2014 and 2019, and the Trinamool sweeping the Assembly polls.

--IANS

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