News Analysis India

Category: Nation

  • UP Heatwave Deaths: 2 Election Officials Die, 9 Admitted Due To Heatstroke In Sonbhadra |

    Heatwave Crisis: Two people on election duty died and nine taken ill of suspected heat stroke as they were being dispatched to their assignment locations in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra district, a senior official said on Friday. The nine poll personnel are undergoing treatment at the district hospital where their condition is said to be serious, said District Magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh.

    While the exact cause of death is yet to be ascertained, the district magistrate said the symptoms appeared to be that of heat stroke. Singh said the personnel were being dispatched for poll duty from the Polytechnic College in Robertsganj — Sonbhadra’s administrative headquarters — in the afternoon when 11 people suddenly fell ill. They were immediately sent to the district hospital where Nityanand Pandey (50) and a 35-year-old poll duty personnel died.

    #WATCH | Two on-duty polling personnel have died allegedly due to heatstroke in UP’s Sonbhadra district.

    Sonbhadra DM Chandra Vijay Singh says, “A polling party was supposed to leave from the dispatch centre in Robertsganj today. Three polling officials including a police… pic.twitter.com/41oXsMaTCP
    — ANI (@ANI) May 31, 2024

    Thirteen seats in Uttar Pradesh go to the polls in the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday. Singh said of the nine patients, two have been referred to a private hospital. He added that the exact cause of the deaths will be known after post-mortem.

  • Bihar Heatwave: 10 Election Officials Die On Duty Due To Heatstroke Ahead Of Phase 7 Polling |

    Heatwave: Fourteen people, including 10 polling personnel, have died due to heatstroke in Bihar in the last 24 hours, officials said on Friday afternoon. In a statement issued by the Disaster Management Department, most of the fatalities were reported from Bhojpur, where five officials on election duty died of heatstroke. Three election officials died in Rohtas, and one each died in Kaimur and Aurangabad districts, it said.

    Four other people died in different parts of the state, it added. The process of granting ex-gratia to the families of the deceased has been initiated, said the statement. The state is reeling under sizzling heat as the mercury crossed 44 degrees Celsius at several places. On Thursday, Buxar was the hottest at 47.1 degrees Celsius. Due to the heatwave conditions, all schools, coaching institutes and anganwadi centres were shut till June 8.

    In a post on X, leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav said, “When government-run schools have already been closed because of pressure from the opposition, why are teachers being asked to come to schools in this intense heat wave conditions? What will teachers do when students themselves are not in school? Teachers must be given leave in this scorching heat.” Elections to the 40 Lok Sabha seats were being held over seven phases, with polling in eight seats scheduled on Saturday.

  • Weather Update: IMD Predicts Heatwave For Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Check Out |

    New Delhi: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted a severe heatwave condition over the region of  Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha on Friday. The humid weather can prevail over Gangetic West Bengal and Goa on May 31 as the temperature is rising high over the region. 


    IMD Alerts For Haryana’s Districts 

    IMD issues an alert for Haryana due to the rising temperature in the state.  On Thursday, Haryana’s Hissar reported the maximum temperature of 47 degrees Celsius, while, Narnaul reported 47.5 degrees Celsius and Rohtak 47.5 degrees Celsius. As the temperature is rising high in different parts of the state,  the department raised orange alert for Bhiwani, Rohtak, Hissar, Charki Dadri, Jhajjar, Jind, Fatehabad and Panipat, while, the yellow alert was raised for Karnal and Kaithal. 

    Prediction For Rainfall In India


    IMD predicted heavy rainfall on Friday over the region of Assam, West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Kerala, and Tripura. States like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, coastal Arunachal Pradesh, and coastal Karnataka are likely to witness thunderstorms, lightning and gusty wind on May 30.


    Check Today’s Temperature In Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata

    IMD predicted a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius in Delhi and 35 degrees Celsius for Kolkata, while, Bengaluru is likely to witness rainfall with thunderstorms on May 31.

  • 108 Public Meetings, Roadshows, Over 100 Media Bytes: Priyanka Gandhi’s Campaign In 2024 Lok Sabha Polls |

    New Delhi: As the election campaign of the Lok Sabha polls ended on Thursday, Congress’ star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi’s marathon election campaign in this poll season clocked 108 public meetings and roadshows, more than 100 media bytes, one television interview, and five print interviews spread over the last 55 days, the party said.

    Priyanka Gandhi, who campaigned in 16 states and one union territory, hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attack on the Congress party and his allegations in a measured manner. Her speeches garnered adequate attention in this election as she shattered the Prime Minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s efforts to misdirect the narrative, the Congress said.

    Gandhi’s dialogue, conversation style, gentleness, simplicity, and humility received much praise from the public.

    Gandhi concluded her Lok Sabha election campaign with a huge road show in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan. After offering prayers to Hanuman at Jakhu temple, Gandhi held her last road show of this poll campaign at Solan, in which thousands participated.

    In her 55-day strong election campaign, Priyanka Gandhi also addressed two conferences of thousands of workers in Amethi and Rae Bareli.

    Sharpening the Congress’ election campaign, Gandhi held two to three public meetings and road shows every day. The most vigorous campaign was conducted in Rae Bareli and Amethi, where she participated in an average of 8-10 meetings, welcome ceremonies, or road shows every day.

    Gandhi also camped in Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh during this election season and brought life to the election campaign in Karnataka and Kerala. She also camped in prominent constituencies in Assam and Tripura.

    In the course of her campaign, Gandhi covered the seats of Garhwal and Kumaon in Uttarakhand, Marathwada and the north of Maharashtra, Mysore in Karnataka, Kalyana-Karnataka, the Kittur region in Karnataka, and the Malwa region of Punjab, the Congress said.

    Priyanka Gandhi covered seats of tribal majority areas in Jharkhand, Marwar in Rajasthan, Eastern Rajasthan, Jaipur, Matsya region (Alwar) of Rajasthan, Durg division, Bastar division, Raigarh division of Chhattisgarh, and Chambal seats of Madhya Pradesh.

    The crowd that came to Priyanka Gandhi’s public meetings or road show in Saharanpur, Dhubri, Fatehpur Sikri, Sirsa, Nandurbar, Kullu, Wayanad, Zahirabad, and Varanasi broke all records, the party said. 

  • Police Complaint Filed Against PM Modi In Assam Over Mahatma Gandhi Remarks |

    A police complaint has been lodged by National Award-winning filmmaker Luit Kumar Barman against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his controversial remarks against Mahatma Gandhi, news agency PTI reported. Barman claimed that Modi had made a “highly derogatory statement” about the Father of the Nation in his complaint, which was submitted on Wednesday night to the Hatigaon police station in Guwahati. According to the police, no formal complaint has yet been filed in this regard, and a preliminary investigation is ongoing.

    In a recent interview, Prime Minister Modi said, “that Mahatma Gandhi was a great person all over the world. Wasn’t it our responsibility over the last 75 years to make sure the entire world knew about Mahatma Gandhi? I’m sorry to say that no one knows about him. When the film ‘Gandhi’ was first released, there was widespread interest in who this person was. We have not done this…”

    “This is a highly derogatory statement and cannot be accepted by a citizen of India,” Barman said in his complaint. “We cannot tolerate insults to Mahatma Gandhi as citizens. No movie is required to introduce him to the world,” said Barman, the producer of the Rajat Kamal-winning Assamese film “Boomba Ride” from 2021.

    “By comparing Mahatma Gandhi to a film, Narendra Modi has defamed both Gandhi and the people of India. I request that you take action against Narendra Modi under the relevant sections of the law,” Barman added.

    “No FIR had been filed and a preliminary investigation is underway,” PTI quoted Hatigaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge Bijay Duwara as saying.

  • Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Responds To PM Modi’s Health Concerns, Says ‘I’m Perfectly Fine’ |

    A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to form a panel to probe the “sudden” deterioration of Naveen Patnaik’s health, the Odisha Chief Minister on Thursday said that he is “perfectly fine”. Biju Janta Dal (BJD) supremo dismissed the “concerns” expressed by PM Modi and said that he has been actively campaigning in the State for the last month. The Prime Minister on Wednesday claimed a “conspiracy” behind Patnaik’s failing health. PM Modi also said that a full majority government would be formed at the Centre for the third time in a row after a five-decade gap.

    In an interview with news agency ANI aired on Thursday, Patnaik said that if the PM was so concerned about his health, he would have called him and inquired about his health instead of stating it loudly at a public meeting.

    “If the Prime Minister was so concerned about my health, even recently, he said that I’m a good friend of his; all he needed was to pick up the telephone and inquire about my health instead of stating it loudly at a public meeting three times yesterday. My health is perfectly fine. As you can see, I’ve been campaigning for the last month all over the state,” the Odisha CM said.

    #WATCH | On PM Modi’s statement ‘if BJP comes to power in Odisha, a special committee will be formed to investigate Naveen Babu’s deteriorating health’, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik says “All I have to say is that if PM Modi is so concerned about my health, all he needed was to pick… pic.twitter.com/OkmHdZ1Lrq
    — ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2024

    “And instead of the Prime Minister just picking up the telephone and asking me about my health, he has stated it loudly at a public meeting. This means that all he’s trying to do is garner votes during election time,” he said.

    Addressing a poll rally in Baripada for the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha segment, which goes to vote on June 1, PM Modi said there is a “conspiracy” behind Naveen Patnaik’s sudden deterioration of health and that he would form a committee to look into the Chief Minister’s medical history.
     
    Patnaik claimed that rumours about his health have been spread by BJP leaders for the past decade, and that he has no health issues.
     
    “This rumour has been spread by BJP members in Delhi for the past ten years, with little effect on me. And that is basically all I have to say about it. I have no health problems at all. I am in excellent health. I repeat: I’ve been campaigning for the last month in a very hot season, and I’m fine,” the BJD leader said.
     
    When asked about a viral video showing visible tremors in Patanik’s hand during an election rally, the Odisha chief minister responded, “It’s not a medical condition at all. A visiting BJP chief minister exaggerated the situation for no apparent reason.

  • Several Bats Die In Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Due To Heatwave |

    The rising temperatures are not just taking a toll on human life across India but also affecting wildlife including birds and animals. In Madhya Pradesh’s Panna, the increasing heat has led to the deaths of numerous bats, as they fell from the banyan trees around the Dahlen pond.

    The temperature in Panna has been hovering around 42 degrees Celsius over the past few days. This excessive heat has proven fatal for many bats, which have been found dead and fallen to the ground beneath the trees.

    The death of multiple bats aroused curiosity among the local residents as they gathered to witness the distressing scene. In response, the municipal authorities have taken precautionary measures by collecting the dead bats and disposing of them in garbage trucks.

    The Meteorological Department has issued a red alert warning of severe heatwave conditions in parts of Madhya Pradesh. “There is a possibility of severe heatwave in Gwalior, Bhind, Datia, Morena and Niwari districts in the state. A red alert has been issued in these areas and the temperature here today will be around 46/47 degrees celsius,” said the IMD. 

    The state capital Bhopal and Vidisha can also experience the heatwave and the temperature is likely to hit 44 to 45 degrees celsius. Other regions in the state that may experience heatwave are Vidisha, Raisen, Sehore, Rajgarh, Bhopal, Khandwa, Khargone, Shajapur, Agar Malwa, Guna, Ashoknagar, Shivpuri, Sheopur, Singrauli, Sidhi, Rewa, Mauganj, Satna, Maihar, Anuppur, Shahdol, Umaria, Katni, Panna, Damoh, Sagar, Chhatarpur and Tikamgarh. 

  • In Pune Porsche Accident Case, Another Big Allegation Against Maharashtra Minister, MLA |

    New Delhi: Amidst the investigation in the Pune Porsche accident case, another allegation has been made against Maharashtra’s MLA after Sassoon Hospital’s dean Vinayak Kale claimed to have received a letter from a minister and an MLA earlier asking for the elevation of Dr Ajay Tawade as the head of the Hospital’s Forensic Medicine Department. After the dean made serious allegations, he was sent on leave. The dean alleged that one of the two doctors, accused of replacing the blood samples of the teenager responsible for the Porsche accident case, was made head of the Forensic department on the endorsement of a state minister and the local MLA.

    MLA Sunil Tingre also faced allegations of visiting the Yerwada police station and asking officials to go easy in an accident case in which two people were killed.

    The hospital’s dean, Vinayak Kale, addressed the press conference on Wednesday and said that Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif and Mr Tingre had asked that Dr Ajay Tawade be made the head of Sassoon Hospital’s Forensic Medicine Department. Both Mr Mushrif and the MLA are from the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, which is in power in Maharashtra in an alliance with the BJP and the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena. 

    Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, the hospital’s dean, Vinayak Kale, said Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif and Mr Tingre asked in their letter that Dr Ajay Tawade be made the head of Sassoon Hospital’s Forensic Medicine Department, as per NDTV. Both MLAs are part of Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party which is currently ruling the state in alliance with BJP.

    Dr Kale was sent on compulsory leave by the Maharashtra government for failing to make proper decisions. This conclusion comes after a few hours of press conference.

    On Monday, Mr Tawade and Dr Shrihari Harnor, the Chief Medical Officer of Sassoon Hospital were arrested for replacing the blood sample of the minor accused with someone who did not consume alcohol.

    Dr Kale also said that Dr Tawade and Mr Ghatkamble have been suspended, while Dr Harnor’s contract has been terminated. 

  • Myanmar Earthquake: 5.6 Magnitude Quake Shakes Assam’s Guwahati, Meghalaya’s Shillong |

    An earthquake reportedly measuring 5.6 magnitude on the Richter Scale struck Myanmar at 6:43 p.m. on Wednesday, with tremors felt in Assam’s Guwahati and Meghalaya’s Shillong. The earthquake’s epicentre was Myanmar. The tremors originated 110 kilometres beneath the surface at 23.46 North latitude and 94.54 East longitude, according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS). “EQ of M: 5.6, On: 29/05/2024 18:43:26 IST, Lat: 23.46 N, Long: 94.54 E, Depth: 110 Km, Location: Myanmar,” NCS posted on its official X handle.

     

    EQ of M: 5.6, On: 29/05/2024 18:43:26 IST, Lat: 23.46 N, Long: 94.54 E, Depth: 110 Km, Location: Myanmar.
    For more information Download the BhooKamp App https://t.co/5gCOtjdtw0 @KirenRijiju @Ravi_MoES @Dr_Mishra1966 @ndmaindia @Indiametdept pic.twitter.com/CZLEeuA9pa
    — National Center for Seismology (@NCS_Earthquake) May 29, 2024

    This is a developing story.

  • Delhi Records 52.3 Degrees Temperature, Highest Ever So Far; Check Weather Update |

    Delhi Weather Update: Delhi today registered a temperature of 52.3 degrees celsius, the highest ever in the history of the national capital. The record temperature was registered at Delhi’s Mungeshpur. Amid the red alert and heatwave warning, Delhi’s power load has also surged to a record high. 

    Delhi’s peak power demand clocked 8302 MW, the highest ever in the history of the city. Delhi’s peak power demand had clocked 8000 MW on May 22. According to DISCOM officials, Delhi’s power demand has breached 7000 MW in the last 12 days.

    The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted heat wave to severe heat wave conditions at most places over Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, and at many places over Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

    Amid the heatwave, the Delhi Government issued an advisory regarding the usage of water. The Aam Aadmi Party government said that it has issued instructions to the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board to stop the wastage of water and ordered the formation of 200 teams to prevent the wastage of water across the city. “Car washing, overflowing of water tanks and use of domestic water connections for commercial purposes or at construction sites will be considered as a waste of water. Instructions were issued to impose a fine of Rs 2,000 on those wasting water,” said AAP.

    On the other hand, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi VK Saxena issued an advisory ordering people to allow labourers to get 3 hours off between 12 noon and 3pm.