The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering instructor was leading the team of climbers, many of whom are still missing after being hit by a massive avalanche while returning from Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak in Uttarkashi. Kumar said 33 climbers took shelter in a crevasse during the avalanche.

Nayab Subedar Anil Kumar breaks down as he recalls the events of Tuesday. The Nehru Institute of Mountaineering instructor was leading the team of climbers, many of whom are still missing after being hit by a massive avalanche while returning from Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak in Uttarkashi. ''Within seconds, everything was enveloped by a thick cloud of snow,'' he tells PTI. Kumar was among the 14 injured mountaineers brought down by rescuers from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) basecamp and admitted to the district hospital on Wednesday. Sixteen bodies have been recovered from the site, according to NIM, with the toll likely to increase as search and rescue operations continue for the missing mountaineers.

''There were 42 climbers in the team, including 34 trainees. I was leading them. Instructors Savita Kanswal and Naumi Rawat were behind me while the rest followed them. Just then, the avalanche hit and buried everything under thick snow within seconds,'' he said. Kumar said 33 climbers took shelter in a crevasse during the avalanche. ''As I was ahead of the rest, I hung on to the left of the crevasse. When the snow began to settle, I undid the ropes and started to rescue my teammates. The other instructors also joined in,'' he added. In the absence of proper tools, it took them two hours to remove the snow. Those who could be spotted were pulled out. Despite their efforts, 29 team members were stuck inside the crevasse, the instructor said. This was, however, Kumar's second close shave in the past 12 years. In 2010, when he was posted at the Gulmarg branch of Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering & Winter Sports, he was part of a 250-member team caught in an avalanche. While he escaped unscathed, 18 trainee climbers died in that incident. ''But the avalanche near Draupadi Ka Danda-II was much bigger,'' he said. NIM has been conducting training expeditions at the peak since 1975. The peak is named after Draupadi, a character from the Hindu epic 'Mahabharat', as it is believed that the Pandavas ascended to heaven from the site, former Char Dham Development Council vice-president Surat Ram Nautiyal said. Villagers of Bhatwari still worship the peak by conducting pujas on the banks of Kheda tal, a lake in the foothills.

 India’s services sector activity slumped in September to a six-month low, majorly by a substantial easing in demand amid high inflation, according to a private survey.

The S&P Global India services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 54.3 in September from August's 57.2.

Despite staying above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for the fourteenth straight month - the longest stretch of expansion since October 2016 - the index fell to its lowest since March.

"The Indian service sector has overcome many adversities in recent months, with the latest PMI data continuing to show a strong performance despite some loss of growth momentum in September," noted Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Although the new business sub-index, a measure of demand, cooled significantly to its lowest since March it was above 50 for the fourteenth month in a row.

International demand, which has not revived since the onset of the pandemic, remained sub-50 amid global woes although the drop in September was the weakest since January.

Demand slowed as firms raised their prices for a nineteenth month as they faced higher energy, food, labour and material costs.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised interest rates by 190 basis points since May to stem inflation and offset some of the effects of aggressive U.S. Federal Reserve hikes that have weakened many currencies, including the rupee.

Foreign reserves in India have declined by nearly $100 billion to $545 billion after the RBI tried to shore up the rupee. They were expected to fall to $523 billion by year-end, a Reuters poll found.

"Currency instability poses renewed inflation worries as imported items become more costly, and undoubtedly means that the RBI will continue hiking interest rates to protect the rupee and contain price pressures," added De Lima.

"An upturn in inflation could damage consumer spending, dampen business confidence and test the resilience of the Indian service sector in the coming months."

Hiring in the sector continued for the fourth month but fewer jobs were created compared to August.

The silver lining was the future activity sub-index, which measures optimism, that rose to its highest in almost eight years, giving hopes of brighter growth.

The overall S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index slowed to 55.1 from 58.2 in August as both manufacturing and services sectors cooled on falling demand.

Jalpaiguri (WB), Oct 6 (PTI) Search and rescue operations are being carried out in full swing on Thursday for people swept away in flash floods in the Mal river in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district.

Eight bodies have so far been recovered, an official said.

Jalpaiguri police superintendent Debarshi Dutta said that during idol immersion in the river on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami as is the practice every year, flash floods occurred at around 8.30 pm on Wednesday, sweeping away some people.

“Search and rescue operations are on for the missing people,” he told reporters.

The deceased persons included an eight-year-old boy and a girl, aged 13, the official said, adding that among the other six were three women.

Despite light rain occurring in the area, search and rescue operations have begun in the early morning after remaining halted for some hours during the night owing to low visibility, he said.

Idol immersion of several community Durga pujas at Malbazar in Dooars area was being held in Mal river when the tragic incident happened.

Fifteen people, who received injuries, were admitted to a nearby hospital, the official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident.

“Anguished by the mishap during Durga Puja festivities in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Twitter.

State Backward Class Welfare Minister Bulu Chik Baraik, who is the MLA from the Mal Assembly constituency, feared that the death toll may increase.

Though there has been little rain in the area for the last few days, downpour has been reported in the higher reaches and in the Bhutan hills.

Mal river originates in the hills, and the water accumulated in the higher reaches owing to the heavy rain there caused the flash floods, sources said. It merges with the Teesta river in the region. PTI 

 United Nations, 

The United Nations peacekeeping chief is undertaking a visit to India, among the largest troop contributing countries for its operations.

Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix will visit India, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Japan. The multi-nation trip starts on Thursday and will continue until October 15.

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters on Wednesday that in New Delhi, Lacroix will participate in a two-day meeting organised by the Challenges Forum, which brings together leading policymakers, practitioners and academics on key issues linked to peace operations.

The head of the UN peacekeeping will then travel to Abu Dhabi, Islamabad and Tokyo.

Dujarric said the purpose of Lacroix’s visit is to thank the countries for their contributions and support to UN peacekeeping as well as to update on progress enhancing the effectiveness of peacekeeping.

During his trip, Lacroix will meet senior government officials.

According to information on the website of Challenges Forum, the event CAF22 will “gather partners and key stakeholders” on October 6-7 to “discuss how future peace operations can remain relevant in a world of growing geopolitical friction”.

The CAF22 will be co-hosted by the organisation’s Indian partner the United Service Institution of India (USI).

Under the overarching theme “Future of Peace Operations”, the three sub-themes for the forum are “Place for Preventive Deployment in Diplomacy”, “Protection of Civilians in Peace Operation” and “Protecting the Protectors”.

India is one of the largest troop and police contributing countries to UN peacekeeping missions and more than 5,700 Indian peacekeepers are deployed in nine out of 12 UN peacekeeping missions at present.

Since 1950s, India has cumulatively deployed more than 260,000 troops to the missions. Through the years, 177 Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice, the highest from any troop-contributing country.

Muzaffarnagar, October 6

A 13-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted by a teenager here last week has been rescued from Rajasthan, police said on Thursday.

On Sunday, the 17-year-old boy allegedly kidnapped the girl on the pretext of marriage, Station House Officer (New Mandi) Sushil Kumar Saini said.

The teenager's father is a manager of a private school where the girl studied in Class 7, he said, adding the boy used to teach in the same school.         

A case has been filed against the boy on the complaint of the minor's parents, police said, adding he has been detained and sent to a juvenile home.

MANDYA (KARNATAKA): Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday morning joined the party's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Mandya in Karnataka.
Sonia, who had reached in Mysuru on Monday afternoon, arrived at the starting point of the padyatra, which resumed on Thursday after a two-day break for Dussehra. The Yatra entered its Karnataka leg on September 30.
The Congress supremo was seen walking in the company of her son and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders.
She had earlier visited the Bheemanakolli Temple in Begur village and offered prayers on Wednesday.
Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar today said that it was a matter of pride for veteran Sonia Gandhi to walk on the streets.
"After Vijayadashami, there will be Vijaya in Karnataka. We are proud that Sonia Gandhi has come to walk on the streets of Karnataka. We are coming to power in the state, and BJP is on the way to shutting its shop," said DK Shivakumar.
Day 29 of the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' began with flag hoisting at 5.30am at Exhibition Grounds, Mysuru, where Bharat Yatris joined in Dasara celebrations.
"The march resumed after an hour's bus ride to padayatra start point near Mandya. Congress President will join around 800 am," tweeted senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday morning.
The Padyatra (march) is covering a distance of 25 km every day. The march was aimed to cover as many as 12 states in five months. It will be in Karnataka for 21 days before moving north.
According to Congress, the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' is being held to combat the divisive politics of the BJP-led Centre and to awaken the people of the country to the dangers of economic inequalities, social polarisation and political centralisation.
Notably, all the party MPs, leaders and workers along with Rahul Gandhi are staying in containers. Sleeping beds, toilets and ACs are also installed in some of the containers.
The Congress suffered a debacle in the assembly polls held earlier this year and the Yatra is seen as an attempt to rally the party rank and file for the upcoming electoral battles. 

New Delhi: Manohar Lal Khattar is doing good work in Haryana but it’s still early to say whether he will be Bharatiya Janta Party’s (BJP) chief ministerial face for a third time, said BJP parliamentary board member Dr Sudha Yadav. In an interview with ThePrint, she also spoke about the future of the BJP’s alliance with Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), adding that it will depend on “samay aur samikaran” (time and equation).

“M.L. Khattar is our current CM, he has delivered transparent governance and cut down on corruption in government jobs, but it is too soon to talk about him being the face of the government in the next assembly elections,” said the former Member of Parliament from Mahendragarh. 

Yadav, who hails from Haryana’s Rewari, was inducted into the BJP’s top decision-making body in August — the only woman in the 11-member parliamentary board, as was the case with former Union minister late Sushma Swaraj.

“Nobody knows which member of the party will get what responsibility but many party workers get various responsibilities while working, so I am grateful to the senior leadership for showing faith in me,” she said.

Yadav added that the BJP has always given priority to women leaders and that while the appointment is made by the President, more women governors have assumed office during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure. The PM is sensitive about the issue, she said.

On the BJP-JJP alliance in Haryana, she said her party does not leave its allies behind but will strive for a majority on its own in the 2024 assembly polls. “We need to strengthen the party, expand its reach and do better in constituencies where we could not do well last time,” Yadav said.

Falling short of the halfway mark in the 90-member assembly, the BJP (with 40 seats) had entered into a post-poll alliance with the JJP (with 10 seats) to form a government in Haryana in 2019.

 Shimla, October 4

The official communication by Bilaspur district police asking for character verification of mediapersons for coverage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bilaspur on October 5 has been withdrawn on the pretext that the letter was inadvertently issued.

Realising that it could boomerang, the Bilaspur police turned a volte face and clarified that the letter stood withdrawn and said that passes would be issued to all those recommended by the DPR and the DPRO.

“All journalists are most welcome to cover Prime Minister’s visit to Himachal Pradesh on October 5. Himachal Pradesh Police will facilitate their coverage. Any inconvenience is regretted,” tweeted DGP Sanjay Kundu.

The letter seeking character verification from mediapersons of print, digital and television besides state-run media, including the All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan on September 29, had sparked a controversy and there were spate of queries from the mediapersons.

The notification asked the District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) to supply a list of all press correspondents, photographers, videographers, and teams of Doordarshan and AIR along with “a certificate of their character verification” following which the DPRO, Bilapsur, had reportedly refused to accept the official identify cards of journalists.

"The certificate of character verification may be supplied to the office of Deputy Superintendent of Police, CID, Bilaspur by October 1, 2022, positively. Their access within the rally or meeting will be decided by this office," the notification said.

The normal practice in vogue was that passes are issued by the police on the recommendation of the DPR and DPRO for covering VVIP programmes and it was for the first time that character certificates were asked. PM Narendra Modi will visit Bilaspur and Kullu tomorrow.

 New Delhi, October 4

Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Tuesday said the Indian Air Force had taken appropriate "non-escalatory" measures to deal with Chinese activities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Addressing a press conference ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8, he said the recent developments at the global stage showed the need for a strong military to ward off any challenge.

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said the IAF had been preparing for all kinds of security challenges, including "worst-case scenario", and asserted that it is fully ready to face any situation.

"We continue to be operationally deployed and ever vigilant," he said, adding that the IAF continued to monitor all Chinese activities along the LAC.

When asked about the recent incidents of Chinese fighter jets flying close to the LAC, he said appropriate non-escalatory measures had been taken and a message was sent to the neighbouring country.

Our overall preparation is a continuous process irrespective of Chinese belligerence, he said.

To a question, he said the benchmark for the situation to return to normal in eastern Ladakh would be to return to status quo ante and completion of disengagement in all friction points.

Referring to the ambitious theaterisation plan, the Air Chief Marshal said the IAF understands imperatives of joint planning and execution with sister forces for future wars.

“We are not opposed to tri-services integration; our reservations relate to only certain structures, he said.

The Chief of Air Staff also said that the IAF is in sync with the government on self-reliance in defence production.