Srinagar, (PTI) PDP president Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday said she, along with fruit-truck drivers, will block the Srinagar-Jammu national highway if their vehicles are not allowed a smooth passage.

“Lakhs of people depend on this (fruit trade), they have taken loans, they have taken money from Delhi’s mandis. Who will give them that money? Will you? So, I warn the government if you don’t open the road for trucks, then I along with others will block the national highway,” Mehbooba said in Shopian.

She visited the south Kashmir district to join the protesting apple growers who have been demanding a smooth transit for the fruit-laden trucks stuck on the national highway.

“You are not allowing us to bring our fruits, which are rotting in the mandis, but, we will not allow this. I appeal to you as well as warn you not to test the people of Kashmir,” she added.

Mehbooba said horticulture is the backbone of the union territory’s economy, but attempts are being made to “damage” it.

“It is not just about fruit growers, but transporters as well, who also have taken loans…This is economic terrorism. They say militancy has ended, but the Government of India is unleashing biggest terror against the people and horticulture here,” she said.

The former JK chief minister alleged that the government is trying to do what the Jews did to Palestine by shutting them economically.

“Trucks from Jammu to Kashmir reach here in a day, but trucks from here are stopped for four-five days. If this is not a part of some conspiracy, then why does it still happen even after the assurances of the LG? We will not allow this.

“I have requested the Lieutenant Governor and appeal to him again to take serious notice of the issue and see to it that our trucks are not stopped. If it continues despite that, then they will also have to face difficulties,” she said.

Fruit growers of Kashmir on Monday held a demonstration here against the alleged stopping of apple-laden trucks by authorities at various places along the national highway en route to terminal markets of the country.

The JK administration has dismissed the allegations, saying the trucks were halted due to natural causes.

In a statement issued on Monday, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, P K Pole, said the trucks were stopped due to natural causes, which were beyond anyone’s control.

“The claim made by certain fruit growers association on the halting of fruit trucks is half-truth and natural reasons are hindering traffic. We have difficulties in the movement of traffic on the highway due to rains and resultant shooting stones which is beyond human control,” Pole said.

He had said all stranded Jammu-bound trucks will be cleared by Monday night.

The official also asked the transporters to use alternate Mughal Road for at least empty trucks so as to lessen the traffic plying on the national highway.

Meanwhile, traffic police have said since September 1, 45,923 trucks (including 17,631 apple trucks) have moved from Srinagar to Jammu via tunnel as per the details provided by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

On Monday, trucks were again released from Srinagar to Jammu, even as there was a backlog of approximately 2,500 trucks at Qazigund. However, due to shooting stones at Cafeteria Morh, Ramban, traffic was stopped on Tuesday morning and the movement was possible only in the later afternoon after the road was cleared off.

The police said apple trucks are given priority for release at traffic at Qazigund and hence in no case, any apple truck can remain stranded there for more than two days “contrary to the false claims and propaganda that is being spread by vested interests”.

JK traffic police will initiate strict action against individuals who are spreading false and unverified information regarding the movement of apple trucks, they said.

It said it has taken several additional steps to increase the flow of apple trucks including giving extra time to down convoy to ensure their smooth clearance.

“In case of blockage of NH 44 due to shooting stones, down HMVS (heavy motor vehicles) were released on consecutive days to ensure speedy clearance of apple trucks and extra traffic personnel were deputed to Quazigund and Banihal-Ramban stretches to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic,” it said.

The Traffic Police said Ramban market has been notified as a “No Parking Zone” and the Department of Horticulture was asked to paste stickers on the windscreen of each fruit-laden truck mentioning apple or fresh produce as appropriate with an accompanying picture for ease of identification.

“One Whatsapp group was created at Traffic Hqrs level in which all stakeholders were added for timely redressal of grievance of fruit growers. The Traffic Department also undertook a number of steps to facilitate the flow of traffic through the Mughal Road to ease the pressure on the NH 44,” the police added. PTI 

New Delhi,(PTI) A critical element of any public health emergency programme is laboratory preparedness, President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday.

Murmu, who virtually laid the foundation stone of ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV) south zone campus in Bengaluru said the NIV-Pune is taking all possible steps to increase research and development in the field of virology.

"I am glad to know that ICMR has provided exemplary support for effective Covid management and is expanding its research infrastructure. National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune is also taking all possible steps to increase research and development in the field of virology.

"It is good to know that National Institute of Virology has been designated as one of the collaborating laboratories of World Health Organization. The expansion of National Institute of Virology through zonal campuses across the country catering to the demands in the different geographical regions is praiseworthy," the president stated.

Murmu applauded the country's "biggest vaccination drive in human history with vaccines manufactured in the country itself".

She added that in combating the pandemic, India's achievements have been better than those of many developed countries.

"For this feat, we are grateful to our scientists, doctors, nurses, paramedics and the staff associated with vaccination," she said.

Union Minister of State for Health Bharti Pravin Pawar termed it "a great honour that the President of India has unveiled the foundation stone of NIV-South Zone in Bengaluru".

"India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has leveraged technology in health sector so that any outbreak can be investigated at an early stage and necessary action is taken to contain it. This new NIV is a step further to strengthen our health defence system," she said.

She stated that under the Prime Minister Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), funds have been approved to set up multi-sector national institutions and platforms including four zonal National Institutes of Virology (NIVs) towards bio-security preparedness and strengthening pandemic research across the country.

The minister highlighted the role of NIV in tackling issues of public health crisis from time to time.  She said that from its inception, ICMR-NIV has led from the front in providing a rapid response to viral infections of public health importance.

“ICMR-NIV investigated potential antiviral drugs, undertook several kit validations, developed new diagnostics with large-scale training which contributed in making India's first indigenous vaccine, Covaxin. These efforts equipped the country against the initial spread of SARS CoV-2. As a result of which, today the whole world looks towards India in research and development in healthcare," she added.

Pawar said the pandemic exposed the frailties of health systems worldwide in recognising and responding to emerging threats to public health.  In this light, the South Zone ICMR-NIV laboratory in Bengaluru will be equipped with a state-of-the-art infrastructure and expertise in handling infectious agents of various risk groups.

"This would be crucial to continuously monitor the regional landscape of infectious diseases in the southern states of India, and thus contribute to bolstering the national surveillance of outbreak-prone infectious disease agents," she said. PTI 

New Delhi, (PTI) The BJP on Tuesday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party following the Delhi High Court's interim order restraining its leaders from levelling alleged defamatory allegations against Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, saying this shows how low Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-headed party can stoop to "cover up" its corruption.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said it was high time Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia answered questions raised by his party over the alleged corruption in the now-withdrawn excise policy brought by the AAP government in Delhi. Sisodia pocketed a huge amount of money, he alleged while talking to reporters.

The high court earlier restrained AAP leaders from levelling alleged defamatory allegations against Saxena and directed them to take down the alleged libelous posts, videos and tweets against him on social media.

Saxena had sought an injunction against AAP, its leaders Atishi Singh, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak and Sanjay Singh, and Jasmine Shah, vice chairperson of the Dialogue and Development Commission, to delete or take down the alleged false and libelous posts or tweets or videos circulated and issued on social media against him and his family.

Patra said Kejriwal has a history of levelling false allegations and referred to his apology to a number of leaders, including BJP's Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari, against whom he had levelled various allegations.

"As far as the AAP is concerned, they shout the allegations but whisper the apology," he added.

The AAP leaders had levelled allegations against Saxena related to channelising demonetised currency in November 2016 while acting as chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). He denied the charges and moved the court against the AAP leaders.

BJP IT Department in-charge Amit Malviya said, "Kejriwal’s shoot and scoot policy hits Delhi High Court's block, which has slammed AAP for running a campaign of calumny against Delhi LG, has passed an injunction order in his favour.

"Kejriwal's tryst with embarrassment is not new but this might be among one of this last." LG Saxena tweeted "Satyameva Jayate" (truth alone triumphs), soon after the High Court order.

Sources in the LG office said, "The order has vindicated the LG's stance and called out AAP’s mud-slinging campaign." PTI

Mau (UP),(PTI) Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) rebel leaders on Tuesday floated a new party here, with Mahendra Rajbhar becoming its first president.

Mahendra Rajbhar announced the formation of 'Suheldev Swabhiman Party' outside the Collectorate office amid sloganeering against SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar by Mahendra’s supporters after they were allegedly denied permission to organize a 'mahapanchayat' in a plaza located at Ghazipur trisection.

The supporters of Mahendra Rajbhar reached the venue of the mahapanchayat in the morning only to find it locked. They then reached the Collectorate office from where the police removed them and Mahendra Rajbhar announced the formation of the new party on the road itself.

Speaking on the occasion, Mahendra Rajbhar said the Mau administration did not allow him to hold a mahapanchayat, and blamed O P Rajbhar for it.

The district administration had made elaborate security arrangements deploying a large number of police and PAC personnel in view of the SBSP rebels’ programme.

Several other rebel leaders on Tuesday alleged that O P Rajbhar has deviated from the party's core principles and he listens to only his two sons, not the workers.

Chandrashekhar Rajbhar, one of the rebel leaders, accused O P Rajbhar of selling party tickets and said that “now we will strengthen 'Suheldev Swabhiman Party' under the leadership of Mahendra Rajbhar”.

Mahendra Rajbhar, who is founder member of SBSP, had resigned from the party, along with over two dozen members, earlier this month.

“Om Prakash Rajbhar is only engaged in collecting money. We founded the party in 2002 with a mission to work for the poor and Dalits. But now he is using the party for money. It is because of this that over two dozen party leaders, including state general secretary Arjun Chauhan and state vice-president Awadhesh Rajbhar, have resigned along with me," Mahendra Rajbhar had said at the time of quitting the party.

Mahendra Rajbhar had contested the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls from Mau as the BJP-SBSP alliance candidate against don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari and lost by a margin of 6,000 votes.

Mahendra Rajbhar is considered influential among the Rajbhar community in Mau, Azamgarh, Ballia, Deoria and Ghazipur districts.

O P Rajbhar, who was active with Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram, founded the SBSP in 2002 and fielded his candidates in subsequent elections but he got success for the first time in 2017.

O P Rajbhar contested the 2017 assembly elections in alliance with the BJP and four of its candidates, including Rajbhar, had won, and he was made a minister in the Yogi Adityanath-led government. But within two years, he left the ministerial post after differences with the BJP.

He is considered an effective leader of the Rajbhar community, having influence mainly in the districts of Varanasi, Devipatan, Azamgarh, Gorakhpur, and Ayodhya.

In the 2022 assembly elections, O P Rajbhar contested in alliance with the Samajwadi Party and won six seats. But during the presidential election held in July this year, he again warmed up with the BJP after adopting a path different from the SP.

Recently, O P Rajbhar and his son Arvind Rajbhar, who is party's chief general secretary, had met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. PTI 

Dehradun,(PTI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has sought the establishment of a fast-track court for speedy justice in the Ankita Bhandari murder case.

“Our government has requested the honourable court to set up a fast-track court for speedy justice in the case so that the guilty are punished as soon as possible,” the Chief Minister’s Office quoted Dhami in a tweet on Monday. Bhandari worked at a resort at Ganga Bhogpur in Pauri district owned by Pulkit Arya. She was killed by Arya and his two accomplices – resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta – for allegedly refusing to provide “special services” to guests. Her body was fished out from Chilla canal near Rishikesh.

Dhami said the safety of “daughters” was a responsibility of the state government and stern action had been taken over the past few days in connection with the incident.

“To ensure that daughter Ankita gets justice, the accused have been arrested and their illegal constructions demolished. We have also set up an Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the incident from all angles and have the guilty punished in the strictest possible way,” Dhami said.

Pulkit Arya, the main accused, is the son of former minister Vinod Arya. Arya was expelled from the party after his son’s name cropped up in connection with the case. The SIT, headed by Deputy Inspector General P Renuka Devi, has been camping in Lakshman Jhoola to collect evidence from the crime scene, the CMO said in the tweet.

The SIT has found the list of guests staying at the resort on the day of the crime. It also collected physical evidence. It is also examining the electronic evidence such as CCTV footage and mobile call records, it said.

Witnesses and employees of the resort are also being interrogated. The SIT is also trying to take the accused on police remand. PTI 

Indore,(PTI) A criminal case was registered against a Congress corporator from Indore in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly putting an objectionable WhatsApp status regarding the late RSS chief M S Golvalkar, police said on Tuesday.

The case was registered against Anwar Qadri, the corporator of ward no 58, on the complaint lodged by Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) worker Rajpal Joshi on Monday night.

Police have invoked sections 505 (2) (Statements conducing to public mischief and creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) and 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code against Qadri, Malharganj police station in-charge Rahul Sharma said.

Qadri is not arrested yet and charges against him are thoroughly investigated, he said.

According to the FIR, the objectionable status posted by Qadri on September 25 potentially threatened social harmony during the ongoing festive season, Sharma said.

Meanwhile, Joshi alleged that Qadri had posted a poster of "Guruji" (as M S Golvalkar is popularly known in RSS) which was highly objectionable.

A statement attributed to Golvalkar was printed on the poster which was fabricated and posted deliberately on the social media platform without verification, Joshi alleged. Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar, popularly known as Guruji, was the second Sarsanghchalak of the RSS.

New Delhi, (PTI) Authorities on Tuesday started evacuating people living in the low-lying areas near the Yamuna banks in Delhi with the water level in the river rising to 206.18 metres, much above the danger mark of 205.33 metres and the highest this year so far, following incessant rains in the upper catchment areas.

East Delhi District Magistrate Anil Banka said an evacuation alert was issued Tuesday morning after the water level crosses the 206-metre mark.

“People living in low-lying areas near the riverbanks are being evacuated and shifted to higher grounds. Arrangements have been made for their stay at government schools and night shelters in nearby areas,” he said.

Announcements are being made to caution people about a further increase in the water level, Banka said.

The low-lying areas near the river in Delhi are considered vulnerable to flooding. They are home to around 37,000 people.

This is the second time within two months that the authorities are evacuating the people living in the river floodplains due to flooding.

The Yamuna had breached the danger mark of 205.33 metres on August 12, following which around 7,000 people were evacuated from the low-lying areas near the riverbanks.

The water level had shot up to 205.99 metres on August 13 before the river started receding.

The Delhi flood control room said the water level at the Old Delhi Railway Bridge crossed the evacuation level of 206 metres at 5.45 am on Tuesday. The river swelled to 206.18 metres by 9 am. It predicted that the water level may increase to 206.5 metres between 3 pm and 5 pm.

The authorities reported a discharge rate of around 96,000 cusecs at 7 am from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana.

The discharge rate was 2,95,212 cusecs at 6 am on Monday, which is the highest so far this year. One cusec is equivalent to 28.32 litres per second.

Normally, the flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusecs, but the discharge increases after heavy rainfall in the catchment areas.

The water discharged from the barrage normally takes two to three days to reach the national capital.

Incessant rains have battered parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and north Uttar Pradesh over the last few days. Delhi also recorded a four-day long rain spell starting September 21.

The catchment of the Yamuna river system covers parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.

Last year, the Yamuna river breached the danger mark on July 30 and the water level at the Old Railway Bridge rose to 205.59 metres.

In 2019, the flow rate had peaked at 8.28 lakh cusec on August 18-19, and the water level in the river had hit the 206.60-metre mark.

In 1978, the river had swollen to the all-time record water level of 207.49 metres. In 2013, it had risen to 207.32 metres. PTI 

Itanagar,(PTI) Chief Minister Pema Khandu has said his government will hand over the probe into the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) exam paper leak case to the CBI.

The question paper of the exam for the Assistant Engineer (Civil), conducted on August 26 and August 27 by the APPSC, was leaked.

Police have so far arrested five people in the case.

Speaking to reporters in Ziro in Lower Subansiri district after inaugurating a slew of projects on Monday, Khandu said the state government has decided to hand over the investigation to the CBI.

“The APPSC is considered to be the highest recruitment institution of the state and such kind of corruption in the recruitment process will not be tolerated,” he said.

Unemployed youths of the state have a lot of expectations from the APPSC, he added.

Khandu said the paper leak has created a negative impression among job aspirants about the APPSC and the state government.

“The officers involved in the corruption will not be spared under any circumstances,” the CM said.

Khandu said his government has constituted a committee to examine the Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs) of the APPSC, and the report will be submitted within two weeks. PTI 

New Delhi/Jaipur, (PTI) The open rebellion by MLAs close to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has put a question mark on whether he would still run for the Congress president’s post or someone else will replace him as a candidate supported by the current leadership.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi had on Monday sought a written report on the revolt in Rajasthan from party observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken as the chances of Ashok Gehlot becoming the party chief receded and other names cropped up for the post.

Kharge and Maken, who were sent as observers to Jaipur for a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, briefed Gandhi after their return to Delhi and termed the parallel meet held by Gehlot loyalists as “indiscipline”.

They are expected to recommend disciplinary action against those behind the move, including minister Shanti Dhariwal and Rajasthan Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi.

Gehlot loyalists had submitted resignation letters to Assembly Speaker C P Joshi on Sunday evening, in an apparent bid to put pressure on the central leadership to pick someone from the Gehlot camp as CM if the veteran leader is elected the party president.

The loyalist MLAs indicated that they were against the appointment of Sachin Pilot, who led a rebellion against Gehlot in 2020, to the post.

On Monday, Gehlot loyalist Dhariwal accused Maken, AICC in-charge for Rajasthan, of being involved in a conspiracy to remove Gehlot as chief minister and alleged he was canvassing for Pilot.

Sonia Gandhi is reportedly “upset” over the Rajasthan developments as Gehlot was being considered as her successor for the top post. Sources said Gehlot told the two observers that he is not behind the Jaipur development and the MLAs involved in it were not listening to him.

Names of senior party leaders Kharge, Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Mukul Wasnik and Kumari Selja are now also doing the rounds for the post.

Congress leader Kamal Nath, who met Sonia Gandhi Monday, ruled himself out as a candidate.

Kharge and Maken are likely to submit their report to Gandhi about the crisis in the party’s state unit by Wednesday.

After a nearly one and half hour-long meeting with Gandhi, Maken told reporters on Monday that it was “unfortunate” that the CLP meet could not be held.

AICC General Secretary-Organisation K C Venugopal was also present during the meeting with Gandhi.

Accusing the MLAs in the Gehlot camp of “indiscipline”, Maken said their demand setting conditions for a resolution authorising the party president to pick the next chief minister was a “conflict of interest”.

“In the 75 years of Congress history, there has never been a conditional resolution. The resolution is one line only. Everything is told to the Congress president and then a decision is taken,” he told reporters in Jaipur.

“The resolution should not have any conflict of interest,” he said, elaborating that anyone contesting the election could become party president and then decide on the resolution.

He said there was a clear direction to them from Sonia Gandhi that “we speak to every MLA and submit a report, and then the Congress president would have taken a call after speaking to everyone”.

He said representatives of some MLAs came to them in Jaipur to put forward three conditions.

One of them was that the decision on the resolution would be taken after the organisational polls, and this should be part of the resolution.

In an indirect reference to Gehlot, he asked how is it possible that a person authorising the Congress president to take a call on the next CM, himself takes a decision on it after winning the party election.

“If this is not conflict of interest, then what is,” he said.

Maken said the MLAs loyal to Gehlot wanted to meet them in groups, and were told by him and Kharge that there was no precedent for this. One-on-one meetings are held during CLP meets so that MLAs can express themselves freely, he said.

Adding to the turmoil, Congress chief whip in Rajasthan Assembly Mahesh Joshi said the party MLAs have no objection to whoever is made the chief minister, but the final decision of the high command should be agreeable to them.

“The doubts of the MLAs should be cleared by the high command and then whatever decision is taken will be accepted. We do not have any objection if anyone is made the chief minister but the final decision should have consensus,” Joshi said.

Congress sources said 82 MLAs loyal to Gehlot are likely to hold another meeting to decide their next course of action. They say they want someone who stood with the Congress government during the political crisis in Rajasthan in 2020 to be the next CM.

In July 2020, Pilot and 18 other party MLAs had rebelled against Gehlot’s leadership.

The Congress has 108 MLAs in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly. PTI 

Mumbai,(PTI) A court here on Thursday remanded five activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in the custody of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad till September 26.

They are accused of indulging in `unlawful activities promoting enmity among communities’ and `waging a war against the country’.

The ATS arrested a total of 20 PFI activists from various places in the state on Thursday as part of the nation-wide multi-agency operation led by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Five of them were produced before a court here with the ATS seeking their custody for 14 days. The court, however, remanded them in the probe agency’s custody for five days.

A total of 106 PFI activists were arrested on Thursday in 11 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.

In Maharashtra, raids were conducted by ATS teams in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Aurangabad, Pune, Kolhapur, Beed, Parbhani, Nanded, Malegaon (in Nashik district) and Jalgaon, an official said.

The anti-terror agency registered offences in Mumbai, Nashik, Aurangabad and Nanded under Indian Penal Code sections including 153-A (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 121A (conspiring to commit certain offences against the State) and 120B (criminal conspiracy), and provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). PTI