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

New Delhi : Based on the inputs from intelligence agencies, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has directed YouTube to block 45 YouTube videos from 10 YouTube channels. Orders to block the concerned videos were issued on 23.09.2022 under the provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021. The blocked videos had cumulative viewership of over 1 crore 30 lakh views.

The content included fake news and morphed videos spread with the intent to spread hatred among religious communities. Examples include false claims such as the Government to have taken away the religious rights of certain communities, violent threats against religious communities, declaration of civil war in India, etc. Such videos were found to have the potential to cause communal disharmony and disrupt public order in the country.

Some of the videos blocked by the Ministry were being used to spread disinformation on issues related to Agnipath scheme, Indian Armed Forces, India’s national security apparatus, Kashmir, etc. The content was observed to be false and sensitive from the perspective of national security and India’s friendly relations with foreign States.

Certain videos depicted erroneous external boundary of India with parts of J&K and Ladakh outside the Indian territory. Such cartographic misrepresentation was found to be detrimental to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.

The content blocked by the Ministry was found to be detrimental to sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, India’s friendly relations with foreign States, and public order in the country. Accordingly, the content was covered within the ambit of section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The Government of India remains committed to thwart any attempts at undermining India’s sovereignty and integrity, national security, foreign relations, and public order.

The famous 10-day long Dasara celebrations commenced in this palace city on Monday with religious and traditional fervour, with President of India Droupadi Murmu inaugurating the festivities.

Celebrated as ''Nada Habba'' (state festival), the festivities will be a grand affair this year depicting Karnataka's rich culture and traditions, coupled with reminiscence of royal pomp and glory, after muted celebrations for the last two years in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The President inaugurated the festivities during the auspicious ''Vrushchika Lagna'' by showering flowers on the idol of goddess Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of Mysuru royals, amid chanting of vadic hymns, at the premises of Chamundeshwari temple atop the Chamundi Hills here.

Murmu is the first President to take part in Mysuru Dasara. She was accompanied by Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Shobha Karandlaje and several Ministers in the state cabinet among others at the inaugural.

The President also visited the Chamundeshwari temple and offered prayers to the goddess, who is referred to as the ''Naada Devate'' (state deity), ahead of the inaugural.

This is also her first visit to any state as the President of India.

The 10-day event, like every year, is set to showcase Karnataka's cultural heritage resplendent with folk art forms, and attracts large crowds and tourists, after it was scaled down for the last two years due to COVID-19.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi extends birthday wishes to his senior and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on his 88th birthday today.

Taking it to twitter, Rahul Gandhi said, “India feels the absence of a PM with the depth of Dr Manmohan Singh. His honesty, decency and dedication are a source of inspiration for us all. Wishing him a very happy birthday and a lovely year ahead.”

The Congress party on the occasion of Singh’s birthday praised him as a dedicated leader who was always committed towards the overall well-being of each Indian.

“A dedicated leader’s primary aim is always to eradicate the worst evils that plague the society in the soonest & surest possible way. Today, we celebrate former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s commitment towards the overall well-being of each Indian,” it tweeted.

Manmohan Singh was born on September 26, 1932 in Gag, now in Pakistan.

Singh is a well-known economist who became a politician and later country’s prime minister from 2004 to 2014.

Manmohan Singh was also the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.

His political career began in 1991 when he was appointed as the country’s Finance Minister under the leadership of late prime minister PV Narasimha Rao.

He was praised and marked his name in golden letters in the Indian history during his tenure as Fin Min as he helped usher in “liberalisation and privatisation” to the Indian economy.

India's benchmark indices ended up on Monday with Sensex rising more than 300 points and Nifty ending over 90 points.

At close, Sensex ended 300.44 points, or 0.51 per cent, up at 59,141.23, and Nifty closed up 91.40 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 17,622.45.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, State Bank of India, and Nestle were major gainers on the Sensex.

Nifty FMCG ended 1.07 per cent up, BSE Auto up 0.78 per cent and BSE IT O.30 per cent up, respectively.

"Markets managed to gain over half a percent in a volatile trading session, taking a breather after the recent slide. The Nifty index witnessed a swift rebound in the first hour after the initial fall and remained range bound thereafter. Meanwhile, the sectoral trend was mixed wherein banking, FMCG and auto witnessed buying interest while realty, energy, and metal were on the back foot," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Asian stocks had a mixed day as traders remained cautious awaiting a slew of interest rate decisions in the days ahead and after global equities notched their worst week since hitting this year's low in June.

Going forward, as per Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, markets are likely to remain range-bound ahead of US Fed interest rate decision to be announced September 21 (Wednesday).

While it is widely expected that Fed will go for at least 75 basis points hike, however given the stubbornness of US inflation and robust numbers from US data points like retail sales and a strong labour market, there is a high chance that the aggressive stance towards rate hike is likely to continue for a prolonged time.

Even the Bank of England is likely to announce a 50bps rate hike to combat inflation and could keep global markets under pressure.

US 2-Year bond have spiked to 15-year high at 3.9 per cent while 10-year bond is hovering at 3.4 per cent, thus implying that the short term pain could continue in the global markets.

"Back home, Indian markets is better placed compare to the other global markets due to its strong macro factors, strong government policy implementation and oil price falling to 7-month. This well reflected in today's Nifty outperformance to global market as well," said Khemka.

Shimla, (PTI) Three students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Varanasi were among 10 tourists killed as a tempo traveller fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district, officials said on Monday.

Ten others were injured in the accident that took place at 8:30 pm on Sunday in Ghiyaghi in Banjar subdivision.

BJP MLA from Banjar Surender Shourie streamed a video on Facebook at 12.45 am on Monday, informing people about the accident.

The injured were first taken to Banjar hospital from where they have been referred to a Kullu hospital after being given first aid, he added. PTI 

Chhatarpur,(PTI) The family of a 30-year-old Dalit man has alleged that he was beaten up by a group of persons for sitting on a chair in a village panchayat office in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district.

But, Bijawar’s sub-divisional officer of police Raghu Kesri on Monday denied the claim that the man was thrashed for sitting on a chair and said the incident, which took place on Saturday, was a fallout of an enmity between the man and the accused.

A case has been registered and efforts are on to arrest the accused, he said.

The man’s wife and a panchayat official said the victim was seriously injured in the incident which took place in Chauka village under Matguan police station limits, around 10 km from the district headquarters.

Talking to reporters, the victim’s wife alleged that one Rohit Singh Thakur thrashed her husband after he sat on a chair in the village panchayat office on Saturday.

She said Thakur objected to it saying how a Dalit man dared to sit on a chair in front of him and asserted that only Thakurs will sit on the chair.

She said her husband was injured seriously after Thakur and his accomplices beat him up.

The woman said she feared for the safety of her family. She also said she had filed a complaint with police, but claimed no action was taken on it.

Chauka village panchayat secretary Arvind Kumar Ahirwar said the victim had come to his office to submit papers for the construction of a well under the Kapil Dhara Yojana on Saturday.

He also claimed that Thakur objected after the victim sat on a chair and beat him up.

On Sunday, Thakur along with two others reached the victim’s home and attacked him again for sitting on the chair despite being a Dalit, he further alleged.

The victim suffered serious head injuries, fractures on hands and injuries on other body parts, and was undergoing treatment at the district hospital, Ahirwar said.

Village sarpanch Krishna Gopal Ahirwar claimed the victim was beaten up for the reason that he came to the panchayat office in a car and sat on the chair.

He said after the dispute over sitting on the chair on Saturday, the accused along with others reached the victim’s home on Sunday evening and thrashed him. PTI