Regional

Speaking at a programme in Ponda-South Goa on Thursday, Sawant added that there is a vast scope in the tourism and hospitality sector in Goa.

“You will not find such scope anywhere else in the country. In Goa there is wide scope in these areas,” he said.

“The way star hotels are established in Goa and increasing footfall of tourists, in future Goa will become tourism capital of India,” he added.

“We are targeting high-end tourists. To cater to their needs we need infrastructure and human resources. Private players are ready to prepare infrastructure in the state. Many people are approaching. But we don’t have that much human resource. If our youth are not skilled in these sectors then outsiders will come and grab the opportunity,” Sawant said.

Earlier in October last year, the Chief Minister had said that if youth from the state fail to grab job opportunities in hospitality and tourism sector, then job seekers from other states will grab them.

“There are many opportunities in the coastal belt. In the next five years more than two lakh jobs will be created in the hospitality and tourism sector. If we don’t grab these opportunities then youth from other states will grab them,” Sawant added, urging youth to skill themselves.

“Be it from Assam or other states, youth from these states come here and do white collar jobs (in the private sector). If we try to take it then we may also get it. Youth need to grab opportunities in these areas,” the Chief Minister said.

Sawant had said that if the youth from Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar can work here in the hospitality sector, then why not the people of Goa. He had said that all the people can’t get a government job.

--IANS

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Immediately after the Governor issued the order, Chief Minister MK Stalin had lashed out against the decision, saying that the Governor does not have any power to remove a minister from the Council of Ministers on his own.

The Governor, in the statement dismissing Balaji, has said that he was misusing his poweras a minister and influencing an ongoing case against him.

Sources told IANS that the Governor has hurriedly withdrawn his earlier order after Stalin has said that the DMK and Tamil Nadu government would fight the move legally and approach the Supreme Court against this.

Officials in Raj Bhavan told IANS that the Governor had withdrawn the decision following intervention from the Central government and that the Governor was advised to take a legal opinion.
Balaji, who was the Electricity and Excise and Prohibition Minister, was arrested earlier this month, amid high drama by the Enforcement Directorate in an old cash for job scam, and is now in judicial custody. While he was divested of the key portfolios, he continued to be a minister in the DMK government.--IANSaal/vd

In the first instance, the infant named Aryan Ravindra Pal was seriously hurt when a wooden loft in their home in Dahisar came crashing down. The child was rushed to the Shatabdi Hospital but declared dead on arrival.

In the second incident, Kisan Dhulla was grievously injured when the slab of a bathroom in his home collapsed.

The tragedy occurred at Telugu Samaj Society in Kandivali East and the victim was rushed to the Shatabdi Hospital but declared dead on admission.

After four days of downpour, the rains subsided on Thursday in the city. The rainfall recorded was: City: 14.36 mm, eastern suburbs: 10.37 mm, and 17.99 mm in the western suburbs, said the BMC.

With the latest fatalities, the death toll in Mumbai rain-related incidents has shot upto 5 in the past 24 hours.

--IANS

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A series of health camps were organised from the three-week-long festival peak starting June 26 and will continue till Friday at the pilgrimage which attracts over two million devotees from across the state.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his wife Lata, along with other family members, performed the traditional official maha-pooja at the Shri Vitthal Rukmini Temple at 2.30 a.m. and it concluded at 4 am.

Accompanied by Health Minister Dr Tanaji Sawant and Rural Development Minister Girish Mahajan, Shinde went around the Warkaris camps where over 550,000 got free medical services and the figure is likely to cross 600,000 by Friday.

For those needing extended treatment post-festival, the government has issued necessary instructions to all health-care facilities to do the needful across the state, Sawant said.

Just a day earlier, the government raised the insurance cover from Rs150,000 to Rs 500,000 and brought the entire state population under the ambit of the flagship scheme Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, and will extend the Hindu HridaySamrat Balasaheb Thackeray health care scheme all over the state with 700 clinics to come up soon.

During the past three weeks, healthcare and medical teams of a total of more than 10,000 workers, comprising doctors, nurses and paramedics, were stationed at every kilometre, with facilities like ambulances, vehicles and other requirements for the sick or fatigued Warkaris walking down from different places.

The government also set up three mega-camps and three minor 24x7 facilities in Pandharpur with treatment for ophthalmology, cardiology, nephrology, orthopaedics, diabetology, dermatology, etc., state-of-the-art equipment to diagnose and treat patients on the spot, ICU and surgical facilities.

--IANS

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He will replace C. Sylendra Babu who is retiring from service on June 30.

Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu issued the appointment orders on Thursday.

Jiwal is a 1990 batch IPS officer and would assume office on July 1.

Tamil Nadu Police Academy Director Sandeep Rai Rathore has been posted as the next Chennai City Police Commissioner.

--IANS

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Responding to the controversy, Karan Singh Bhilala, a senior official in the district education department, told the press that the order was withdrawn soon after receiving objection.

However, MPSC general secretary Ashutosh Pandey told reporters that the controversial order was withdrawn a day before the programme ended after the organisation lodged a protest.

"Teachers are considered second-grade citizens and treated in this manner at the expense of quality education," he said.

Talking to reporters here, Renukacharya said that Kateel spoke about his resignation recently, then he took back his statement.

"What is your (Kateel's) intention? You have toured the state four or five times, has the party benefited by any means? Were you able to convert votes for the BJP?

“I have never spoken about the BJP. The party is like a mother to me. But, inevitably, we need to speak about a few unfortunate things. I do not want to insult someone. I don’t fear anyone. Online meeting was conducted two days before the elections. Those who are not able to win a gram panchayat election guided us,” he claimed.

To a query from a media person on whether he is targeting national General Secretary, Organisation, B.L. Santhosh, Renukacharya maintained that he does not want to take names at this phase but will talk about it at an appropriate time.

He attacked his own party leadership over the treatment meted out to former CM B.S. Yediyurappa.

“If Yediyurappa was allowed to continue as the CM, the BJP would not have lost the elections. Was Yediyurappa so unfit to continue in his position?” he questioned.

"Yediyurappa brought BJP to power by moving around on bicycle and scooter. People were let loose to speak against him during his tenure as CM to bring him down. After all, why did you bring him down from the position? You need his face to seek votes, to enjoy the power you need him and once the party comes to power, you don’t need him," he said.

"You have finished former ministers K.S. Eshwarappa, former CM Jagadish Shettar. Basavaraj Bommai was the CM for name's sake. His hands were tied. The people who were not able to win gram panchayat elections were brought and Yediyurappa, Bommai, and Shettar were made to salute them," he maintained.

Asked whom he is talking about, Renukacharya asked if party's Tamil Nadu chief K. Annamalai, Tamil Nadu BJP Chief is a superhero?

"Who is this Annamalai? Bommai was made to obey his orders. Bommai got salutes from him when he was a police officer. The attitude of the party leaders was the reason for BJP’s defeat. The party and leaders must work together in cohesion. The party office was built for this reason. But, some have used the office for conspiracy and finish off leadership who are opposed to certain leaders, he said.

"After the defeat in the Assembly elections, Yediyurappa and his son (B.Y.) Vijayendra called and spoke to me. The state President did not bother to speak to me once. The party office was turned into a corporate office by a few persons,” Renukacharya said.

Sources claimed that Renukacharya's attacks were targeted towards Santhosh.

Party national General Secretary C.T. Ravi and Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha targeted Yediyurappa and Bommai over adjustment politics and subsequently Union Minister Pralhad Joshi had asked Simha not to issue public statements over internal party matters.

With Yediyurappa camp coming forward questioning the leadership, the party has a tough job now to contain the situation and bring the much needed momentum for itself.

--IANS

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She has told police that her husband, a drug addict along with his friends, made her private videos and sexually harassed her.

The complaint has been lodged in HSR Layout police station in Bengaluru.

Police said that the accused husband was identified as Akhilesh Dharmaraj, a native of Andhra Pradesh's Kakinada, and the couple met through a matrimonial site in 2019.

After their marriage, the woman from Vasanth Nagar locality shifted to HSR Layout with the accused husband. Initially, the accused was well behaved but later the victim came to know that he is a drug addict. The accused allegedly brought ganja to home and started smoking in front of her.

When questioned on this, he tortured her and also started bringing his friends home and held ganja parties at his residence. The victim had told police that the accused’s friends also sexually harassed her.

The victim had come back to her parent's residence not able to take sexual harassment by husband and his friends. The accused, with his friends, had then come to her parents place and threatened her to come back to him. They had also blackmailed her that if she revealed anything happened to her, she would be finished off.

The victim had also alleged that the accused husband had installed CCTVs in the bedroom and bathroom. When questioned on this, he had assaulted her.

He had threatened that he would make her private videos public.

The techie has lodged a complaint with Subramanyapura police station and alleged that the police have not initiated action against the accused persons. Police said that they have taken up the investigation.

--IANS

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A police official in Imphal said that armed militants carrying sophisticated weapons raided several villages in Kangpokpi district, opened fire and assaulted people.

A woman was killed on the spot at Leimakhong village and several others were injured in the militants' firing.

Para-military personnel accompanied by Manipur Police have rushed to the villages and launched combing operation to nab the extremists.

Sharing some details of the incident, the Army tweeted : “Unprovoked firing by armed rioters towards village Haraothel commenced at 5.30 a.m. Own troops deployed in the area immediately mobilised to prevent escalation of the situation.

While enroute to the site, Own columns drew effective fire from armed rioters. Own troops responded in a calibrated manner to prevent any collateral damage. Swift action by troops resulted in cessation of firing.”

“Additional columns moved to the area. Unconfirmed reports indicate some casualties. Build up of large crowds in the area also reported. Situation being closely monitored and further details will follow,” the Army tweet said.

An official statement from the Manipur police control room said that during the last 24 hours, 17 arms, 12 pieces of ammunition and 10 bombs have been recovered from different districts.

These recovered arms and ammunition were looted by the violent mobs, miscreants and the militants during the ethnic violence that broke on May 3.

Claiming the situation as tense in some places with sporadic incident of firing during the last 24 hours but normal in most districts, the police statement said that the state police and Central forces are continuously conducting patrolling, flag marches and cordon and search operations in vulnerable areas both in the hill and valley districts.

It said that about 124 Nakas/checkpoints are installed in different districts of Manipur, both in the hill and the valley and police have detained 408 persons in connection with violations of curfew rule and other government orders in different districts of the state.

Urging the people to extend all possible help in bringing normalcy in the state, the government statement also appealed to the people to return and deposit arms, ammunition and explosives to the police or security forces immediately.

--IANS

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