PTI

Mangarh (Rajasthan), November 1

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked the governments of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to hold detailed discussions and prepare a roadmap to develop the Mangarh Dham.

The dham, a memorial to around 1,500 tribals massacred by the British army in 1913, is located in Rajasthan's Banswara district on the Gujarat and the desert state's border, a region with a large tribal population.

The four states together under the leadership of the Centre can develop the memorial more so that tribal leader Govind Guru's place, Mangarh Dham, can create an identity at the global level, Modi said addressing a gathering.

The tribals massacred in 1913 were being led by social reformer and tribal leader Govind Guru.

The four states together under the leadership of the Centre can develop the memorial more so that tribal leader Govind Guru's place, Mangarh Dham, can create an identity at the global level, Modi said addressing a gathering.

The tribals massacred in 1913 were being led by social reformer and tribal leader Govind Guru.

"These four states and the Centre has to take it (the dham) to a new height. In that direction, the government is fully committed," he said while addressing a gathering at the memorial.

He said it could be called a national monument or any other name can be given to it.

When the programme was going on, the Press Information Bureau tweeted, "PM@narendarmodi declares Mangadh Dham as National Monument,#Rajasthan."

At the event, the prime minister shared the dais with Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat chief ministers Ashok Gehlot, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Bhupendra Patel. 

 Hyderabad, Nov 1 (PTI) Over 2.41 lakh voters would give their verdict in the bypoll to Munugode Assembly constituency in Telangana on November 3, an election that is expected to influence the future course of state politics in the run-up to next year’s Legislative Assembly polls.

For, the by-election in this backward constituency in Nalgonda district is crucial for all the three major parties in the state – the ruling TRS, opposition BJP and the Congress.

The TRS, recently renamed as Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), aims to demonstrate its dominance in state politics and go national with a big win here.

The message the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led party would like to send at the national level – it can take on the BJP and win.

 

A loss in the bypoll would hamper not only its national plans but also embolden the opposition ahead of the Assembly polls.

The BJP, meanwhile, hopes to give a push to its plans to emerge as the alternative to BJP with a victory in Munugode.

The party is on a high following its victories in Dubbak and Huzurabad Assembly bypolls and also the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) election during the last two years.

Even if it ends up as the runner-up behind the TRS, it can still claim to be the main opposition, leaving the Congress to the third spot.

For the beleaguered grand old party, it is almost a do or die battle in view of its below par performances in the 2014 and 2018 Assembly elections and the subsequent bypolls.

If Congress loses, it would be a double whammy for the party as Munugode was its sitting seat.

There is a Left aspect to the contest as well, with the CPI and CPI (M) announcing support to the TRS and actively campaigning for the ruling party’s victory.

The total number of eligible voters in the predominantly-rural Munugode Assembly constituency in Nalgonda district, about 85 kms from Hyderabad, is over 2.41 lakh – 1,21,720 male and 1,20,128 female.

Over 60 per cent of the electorate reportedly belong to the backward classes.

A high-octane campaign, unprecedented in many ways, has been witnessed for the bypoll ever since Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy quit Congress and also as MLA in August and joined the BJP.

Though as many as 47 candidates are in the fray, the main contest is among Rajagopal Reddy, who is seeking re-election on BJP ticket, former MLA Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy of TRS and Congress’ Palvai Sravanthi.

While banking on the popularity of Raj Gopal Reddy, the BJP has deployed Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, state unit president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, party MLAs Eatala Rajender and M Raghunandan Rao among other leaders for campaign.

It was, however, the TRS that conducted an almost unheard of campaign with several state ministers, a number of MLAs and other leaders canvassing in support of their candidate covering every inch of Munugode.

This has prompted the BJP to allege that the TRS has shifted the state secretariat to Munugode.

The TRS has attacked Raj Gopal Reddy by alleging that he had switched over to BJP out of consideration of business favours.

TRS Working President K T Rama Rao had announced that he would “adopt” Munugode and personally focus on its development.

During the campaign, the TRS highlighted the various welfare schemes being implemented by the state government, including ‘Rythu Bandhu’ investment support scheme and ‘Rythu Beema’ life insurance scheme for farmers and free power to farm sector, while alleging that the NDA government at the Centre let down the country on all fronts.

TRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao addressed a public meeting on Sunday last when he referred to the recent ‘TRS MLAs poaching case’ and accused the BJP of ‘trying to buy’ 20 or 30 MLAs of his party and topple his government.

Munugode had been a Left stronghold with CPI winning the segment in 1985, 1989, 1994, 2004 and 2009.

Congress nominee Palvai Sravanthi is banking on the goodwill of her late father Palvai Govardhan Reddy who had served as Munugode MLA and as MP.

State Congress president and MP A Revanth Reddy and other party leaders have been campaigning for the victory of Sravanthi.

Nalgonda district has been a Congress stronghold and the party had won two Lok Sabha constituencies (Nalgonda and Bhongir) in the district in the 2019 general elections.

While Rs 6.80 crore of cash and 4,560 litres of liquor had been seized by authorities till Monday evening as part of implementation of Model Code of Conduct, media reports indicate distribution of money and other inducements on a massive scale.

The Election Commission has posted teams of Income Tax, GST, besides two expenditure observers to check violations of the model code.

Campaigning will end this evening. Counting of votes would be taken up on November 6. PTI

 The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday, issued a notification empowering the collectors of Mehsana and Anand districts in Gujarat to grant citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians from Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan under the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, reported The Indian Express.

Interestingly, the Centre has issued notification of giving citizenship certificates to the persecuted minorities from the neighbouring countries under the original Citizenship Act and not the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) in the Parliament.

The CAA allowed members from the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Jain and Sikh communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, to expedite their citizenship application under the process of naturalisation or registration.

The Home Ministry directed local authorities to maintain all conditions mentioned in the Constitution in granting citizenship to the religiously persecuted communities through the process of registration. In August, the Gujarat government had granted citizenship to 40 Pakistani Hindus at the Ahmedabad Collector’s office. Local authorities in the district have handed citizenship certificates to 1,032 Pakistanis since 2017.

 

 A  lioness has given birth to three healthy cubs at a zoo in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior city, an official said on Tuesday.

The eight-year-old Asiatic lioness named 'Pari' and her male partner 'Jai' (13) were brought to the civic-run Gandhi Prani Udyan here in 2012 from different zoos in Chhattisgarh, Gwalior Municipal Corporation's deputy commissioner Dr Pradeep Shrivastava said. 'Pari' gave birth to three cubs on the intervening night of Sunday-Monday, he said. The lioness and the cubs are healthy, but as a precautionary measure they will be kept in isolation for 30 days as per the protocol set by the Central Zoo Authority,'' the Gwalior zoo's veterinary officer Dr Gaurav Parihar said.

The information about the gender of the cubs will be collected after some days as going close to them may increase their risk of infection, he said.

The lioness had in 2020 given birth to three cubs including two males and a female, he added.

 

The Gir National Park in Gujarat is the only natural abode of Asiatic lions in the world.

 PTI

Bhopal, November 1

An earthquake of 4.3 magnitude hit Jabalpur and adjoining districts of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday morning, an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

There was no report so far of any loss of life or property.

The moderate earthquake was experienced at 8.43 am in parts of Jabalpur, Dindori, Mandla, Anuppur, Balaghat and Umaria districts, IMD scientist Ved Prakash said.

Its epicentre was near Dindori, at a depth of 10 km, he said. 

 

 PTI

Morbi, November 1

The government hospital at Morbi has got a makeover ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the facility to meet those injured in Sunday's suspension bridge collapse which claimed 134 lives.

Workers were seen cleaning and painting a portion of the 300-bed hospital, which is a ground plus two-storey structure of three wings, ahead of Modi's visit later on Tuesday.

Six of those injured in the collapse are undergoing treatment at the hospital, while four to five other injured are being treated at a private hospital, a doctor said. So far, 56 people have been discharged, he added.

Portions of the entry gate have been painted in yellow, while some areas inside the hospital have got a coat of white paint.

The Congress tweeted images that showed repair work going on inside the Morbi hospital, to launch a tirade against the BJP.

The photos posted by the Congress on Twitter showed overnight repair work going on inside the Morbi hospital, which included a fresh coat of paint, new tiles on the walls, and minor construction work to beautify the hospital.

The Congress claimed that these arrangements are being made for PM Modi's photo op in the hospital. “They are not ashamed. So many people died and they are preparing for an event,” it said.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which is contesting all the 182 Gujarat Assembly seats, posted a video of the hospital being painted.

“Morbi civil hospital is being painted overnight so that the poor condition of the building does not get exposed during PM Modi's photoshoot,” AAP claimed. 

 PTI

Pune, November 1

A fire broke out in a restaurant located on the top floor of a seven-storey building in Maharashtra's Pune city on Tuesday morning, a fire brigade official said.

There was no report of any casualty so far, he said.

The blaze erupted at around 8.45 am in the restaurant located on the top floor of the building in Lulla Nagar area of south Pune, the official said.

Three fire tenders and as many water tankers were rushed to the spot and the blaze was doused by 10am, he said.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, he added. 

   Chandigarh, Oct 31 (PTI) Farm fire incidents in Haryana are down by nearly 25 per cent compared to last year and much lesser than Punjab, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said here on Monday.
     He also said an expert committee has been formed to look into the proposition of buying paddy straw from farmers at minimum support price (MSP) in a bid to find a permanent solution to the stubble burning issue.
     Speaking at a press conference here, Khattar said while Punjab reported 13,873 farm fire incidents from September 15 to October 30, Haryana had seen only about 10 per cent of such cases.
     "If we compare with Punjab, it is 10 per cent. The farm fire incidents in Haryana have reduced this year. As against 2,561 incidents reported (in Haryana) last year, this year, there were 1,925, a drop of nearly 25 per cent. As against this, Punjab has reported 13,873 incidents," Khattar said.

   The National Green Tribunal has also been giving directions to Punjab from time to time on the stubble burning issue, he said.
     "Recently, I had spoken about MSP for stubble. For this, we have formed a committee which will give its recommendations. We will take further step once it committee gives its recommendations," Khattar said.
     The committee will not be limited to MSP, but will also look into the entire gamut of the stubble burning issue, he added.
     State director general for agriculture will be the committee's chairman while DG of Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency will be one of its members.

     The panel comprises three experts -- Mukesh Jain, director, Northern Region Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Baldev Dogra, dean, College of Agricultural Engineering, Haryana Agriculture University and Jagminder Nain, joint director, Agriculture.
     The Haryana chief minister said pollution was not limited to an area or a state and that its adverse impact were felt in "Haryana, Chandigarh and in Delhi, Gurugram".
     On the approximately 60 lakh MT crop residue generated from stubble burning, Khattar said a good part of it can be put to use in various industries and that 24 industries had expressed interest in buying the stubble.
     A tender is also being floated for manufacturing pellets from paddy stubble and these will be used in thermal plants, he added.
     Khattar said his government had taken several steps to bring down paddy stubble burning, which include incentives to farmers, running awareness campaigns, providing machinery for stubble management and even adopting strict measures such as lodging FIRs and imposing fines on violators.
     A framework to control stubble burning has also been implemented and this includes in-situ and ex-situ crop residue management, effective monitoring, enforcement and wide reach of information, he said. PTI 

 New Delhi, October 31

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel realised the dream of a strong and united India with his farsightedness, despite attempts by anti-India forces to keep the country divided.

He said that despite efforts over several years to erase the legacy of Sardar Patel, people of India remember him with gratitude for his huge contributions in making a united India.

Shah said this while flagging off a run to commemorate the 147th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first home minister, here.

The 'Run for Unity', which began from the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in the capital city, saw the participation of a large number of people, including sports personalities, sports enthusiasts and personnel of central police forces.

"Even during that time, anti-India forces left no stone unturned to keep the country divided. We have seen how Sardar Patel brought Junagarh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Hyderabad under the fold of the Union of India through his farsightedness and political acumen," Shah said.

Without Patel, a strong and united India would not have been possible, the home minister said.