Author: Indmedia

Mysuru: With just two weeks left for the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a group of voters rescued two decades ago by a women’s welfare NGO — Odanadi Seva Samsthe — has reached a dead end, as they are unable to furnish mandatory details about their parents despite possessing Aadhaar and voter ID cards.Around 15 individuals, including several young women, were rescued as children, and later, rehabilitated by Odanadi Seva Samsthe. Today, they are part of the society, working as auto drivers, employees in private firms, contractors and staff in other NGOs. However, they now face the risk…

During a visit to the Botanical Garden terminal on Wednesday, TOI found seven of the 26 buses assigned to the Yamuna Authority routes parked, waiting to get recharged Noida: Vishal Singh has been to Botanical Garden several times since the new e-bus service, to Noida airport among other routes, was launched. He has, like many others, been foxed by what he has seen. There is no designated area where the bus stops, no counter or signage to help passengers, no staff posted there to assist and no time table put up anywhere. “I am yet to see a single bus.…

Officials said the decision is expected to bring uniformity in development regulations across the PMRDA area and its adjoining municipal corporation limits Pune: State govt on Wednesday extended the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations to the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority area and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation’s 668sqkm Special Planning Authority zone, bringing the entire region under a uniform planning framework with immediate effect.The urban development department issued the order under Section 154(1) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966, replacing the 2018 Development Control Regulations that had governed development in the Pune Metropolitan…

Ancient Sanskrit manuscripts Panaji: Goa’s Sanskrit manuscripts are facing the threat of climate change, said former Goa state museum director Laxman Pitre, who was instrumental in setting up the museum at its previous location at Patto.Speaking at the daylong symposium on history of Sanskrit manuscripts in Goa, Pitre said that rising humidity and moisture pose a serious risk to palm-leaf manuscripts, paper records, paintings, and other historical documents, making conservation efforts increasingly urgent.“The great danger is that this climate is not suitable. It is very damp. Humidity is the main enemy of these documents and paintings. If they are not…

Chandigarh: When human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra was abducted outside his Amritsar home in Sept 1995, another prominent disappearance had already become one of Punjab’s most enduring mysteries. More than two-and-a-half years earlier, 43-year-old Bhai Gurdev Singh Kaunke, the then acting jathedar of the Akal Takht, had disappeared after coming into Punjab Police custody during the Beant Singh govt.While Kaunke’s family has maintained that he was illegally detained, tortured and killed in custody, the official version is that he escaped during a militant attack on a police party and was never traced. Three decades later, the presumed death of…

Panel to recommend 3 CEO candidates to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust Board Lucknow: The three-member committee constituted to identify the next chief executive officer (CEO) of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is likely to recommend a maximum of three candidates from among the hundreds of applicants, with the final appointment to be made by the Trust’s governing board.The application process for the coveted post remains open until 4 pm on Saturday, after which the committee will begin scrutinising applications. The Trust received more than 1,000 applications within 48 hours of issuing the notification for the CEO’s selection.According to…

Patna: A report tabled at a cancer review meeting has found oral cancer to be the most common cancer in Bihar. Of the total confirmed cancer cases, 43.5 % were oral cancer, while breast cancer accounted for 27.2 %, cervical cancer 15.2 % and other cancers 14.1 %. The study also revealed that more than around 50 % of patients with mouth, tongue and lip cancer reached hospitals at advanced stages (Stage III/IV), underscoring the need for timely screening.This report was presented during a high-level review meeting chaired by health minister Nishant Kumar on Wednesday to improve early identification and…

Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court Wednesday admonished the state govt over its persistent delay in holding panchayat and local body elections, holding that administrative challenges in conducting timely polls cannot come at the cost of undermining judicial directives.Expressing strong displeasure over the govt’s repeated failure to implement earlier orders in the matter, a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Sanjeet Purohit summoned the state election commissioner and the OBC Commission secretary-adviser, asking them to appear before it Thursday – either in person or virtually – to explain the delay.The bench noted its concerns about the operations…

Nagpur: A high-level delegation of the Federation of Maharashtra Muslims (FMM) last week met with the state’s chief electoral officer and submitted a detailed memorandum highlighting the challenges being faced by citizens during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The memorandum also proposed several measures to make the electoral process more transparent, fair, and citizen-friendly.The memorandum pointed out that the current duration of the enumeration phase is inadequate. In view of heavy rains, agricultural sowing season, displacement caused by redevelopment and demolition drives, and other practical difficulties, the delegation demanded the enumeration period be extended by at least two…

Palanpur: A 35-year-old woman died after allegedly being set on fire by a neighbour over the recovery of a Rs 5,000 loan she extended to her about a month ago in Patan town.The victim, Pinki Patni, a mother of two who earned her livelihood by selling fruits and vegetables, borrowed Rs 5,000 from her neighbour, Babu Rawal, to meet emergency expenses. According to police, Rawal was repeatedly demanding repayment of the loan along with interest. Patni, however, sought a few more days, saying she did not have the money.On Sunday, Patni went to another neighbour’s house to discuss the repayment.…