Author: Indmedia

Tasmac to directly pay EB bills of liquor shops to curb MRP violation Chennai: In yet another major step to curb MRP violations at liquor outlets, the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) will pay electricity bills for all its retail shops from Sept 1 through the Electronic National Automated Clearing House digital payment service (e-Nach) provided by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).Now, shop supervisors and salesmen pay the bills. Although they can claim reimbursement for the electricity bills they pay, shop personnel said they do not receive the money back and use it as an excuse to collect…

A loom submerged in floodwaterA loom submerged in floodwaterA loom submerged in floodwaterA loom submerged in floodwaterA loom submerged in floodwater Kendrapada: The rhythmic clicking of looms echoing through the weavers’ villages in Rasulpur block of Jajpur district has fallen silent after the recent spell of floods in river Brahmani damaged looms and houses.Around 200 weaver families in Rasulpur, Barachana, Bari, Jajpur and Dasarathpur blocks are now facing a severe livelihood crisis as the devastating deluge has damaged their houses, looms and other weaving equipment.Sunakar Gui, 48, of Chakagopalapur village in Rasulpur block, whose loom was damaged in the floodwater,…

COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Micro Enterprises (TACT) has urged electricity minister R Nirmalkumar to immediately put on hold TNPDCL’s ongoing drive to collect additional security deposits from micro and small enterprises, citing severe financial stress on the sector.In a petition, TACT Coimbatore district president James said Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) is issuing notices demanding that consumers pay a security deposit for 2026-27 amounting to two-thirds of the electricity charges paid in 2025-26, warning that power connections would be disconnected for non-compliance.He alleged that despite calculations based on the past 12 months’ consumption and existing…

Mangaluru: An altercation at a digital service centre in Darbe, Puttur, over a document damaged due to a technical error during lamination, led to the registration of three cases by Puttur Town police on Friday.According to police, Fatimath Miswana,32, a resident of Jalsoor in Sullia, had come to Puttur along with her brother and sister and submitted some documents for printing and lamination at a Janaseva Kendra in Darbe. When she returned to collect the documents, she found that one of them had been damaged during the lamination process.Fatimath reportedly objected to the damage and asked the centre either to…

Jalandhar: Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira addresses a press conference, alleging corruption, examination paper leaks, and illegal mining against the Punjab government in Jalandhar, Punjab, on Friday, July 31, 2026. (Photo: IANS) Chandigarh: Punjab Congress functionary Sukhpal Singh Khaira has urged world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi and the Indian govt, to intervene for the “life and liberty” of jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan.In a post on X, Khaira said, “I beseech the leaders of the world to save the life and liberty of Imran Khan, ex-prime minister of Pakistan, from the…

Deputy chief minister and water resources minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary Patna: External affairs minister S Jaishankar has assured Bihar that the state’s concerns over the Farakka barrage and the India-Bangladesh water-sharing treaty will be taken up during the treaty’s renewal process, scheduled for the end of this year, deputy chief minister and water resources minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said on Saturday.Choudhary, who accompanied chief minister Samrat Choudhary and JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha to a meeting with Jaishankar in New Delhi on Friday, said the Centre had responded positively to Bihar’s long-pending concerns.The meeting, convened at the chief minister’s initiative,…

Jaipur: Bajaj Nagar police and the Commissionerate’s Crime Branch Special Team (CST) have arrested four members of an interstate counterfeit currency syndicate and recovered fake notes with a face value of Rs 4.3 lakh, police said Saturday.Police also seized a Scorpio and a Fortuner, which were allegedly being used to transport the counterfeit currency. A case has been registered at Bajaj Nagar police station under Sections 178, 179 and 180 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.Special commissioner Om Prakash said the accused told investigators that they had procured the counterfeit notes from alleged syndicate kingpin Aman Rana, a resident…

Police said the suspects opened fire in an attempt to flee when asked to surrender, resulting in a retaliatory firing Hazaribag: Two alleged members of the notorious Rahul Dubey-led gang were arrested after a gunfight in Giddi area of Hazaribag district in the early hours of Saturday, police said. The accused, identified as Badal Kumar and Mohit Kumar, both in their thirties, sustained bullet injuries in their legs in the exchange of fire.While Badal is a resident of CCL Colony in Hanumangarhi under Patratu police station in Ramgarh district, Mohit is a resident Baral police station area in Ramgarh.Saturday’s gunfight…

Kolkata: The room crisis in central Kolkata’s Free School Street-Marquis Street belt, which is a hub for Bangladeshi tourists, that had begun on Tcontinued to fester on Sunday as an administrative crackdown following the deadly fire at Shikha Inn forced dozens of budget hotels and guest houses to shut down or stop taking guests.The Wednesday fire at the Mirza Ghalib Street property, which claimed nine lives, has prompted authorities to inspect hotels and guest houses across Marquis Street, Lindsay Street, Sudder Street and Collin Lane. Closure notices have been served and several properties sealed for allegedly failing to meet fire-safety…

Indian-American investor Vivek Wadhwa says US should replace H-1B visa with a startup visa now. Indian-American investor Vivek Wadhwa said the US should absolutely end the H-1B visa program as it is doing more harm than good to both the US and India. Wadhwa said the visa program once played an important role in making America the world leader in technology and innovation but now the system is badly corrupted. Wadhwa put out a lengthy post on X explaining why he turned against the visa program that once brought him to the US.”Unethical body shops learned to game it. Green-card…