Author: Indmedia

Gurgaon: The city authorities have decided to introduce a structured monitoring system aimed at “fixing accountability” for civic issues on the ground. The monitoring mechanism includes setting up a committee to be headed by the MCG commissioner. The committee — comprising officials from HSVP, GMDA, the corporation and other concerned departments — will be responsible for fixing clear accountability at the level of junior engineers (JEs).Repeated complaints of sewer overflows, leaking pipelines, sanitation gaps and unchecked encroachments have triggered the administrative action. The dedicated monitoring mechanism was mooted at a district coordination committee meeting, chaired by Haryana’s principal advisor for…

Dibrugarh: Hundreds of Anganwadi workers and helpers took part in a protest at Makum in Tinsukia district on Thursday, demanding recognition as regular govt employees with proper wages instead of honorarium.The protest was part of a statewide demonstration by the Assam State Anganwadi Workers and Helpers’ Association (ASAWHA), expressing strong dissatisfaction over what they termed as neglect in the Union Budget 2026–27.The demonstration highlighted the alleged deprivation of frontline workers operating under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), now redesignated as PM Poshan-2.The protesters alleged that the budget proposals remain silent on the rights and challenges faced by Anganwadi workers…

Jhansi: A 40-year-old woman, along with two men, including her paramour, was arrested in Jhansi for allegedly murdering her 44-year-old husband. The body of Jaghbhan Kushwaha, a railway vendor from Lalitpur’s Talbehat area, was found near Jhansi railway station on Feb 1. He had left home for work the night before. According to SP City Priti Singh, a case was lodged against an unknown person under Section 103(1), 61(2)a of BNS and Section 3/25/27 Arms Act at Nawabad police station. During the investigation, it emerged that Jaghbhan’s wife, Kiran, befriended Shiv Kumar Lodhi of Umrikala village through a social media…

Ludhiana: A consumer watchdog has slapped a Rs 10,000 penalty on a Reliance Smart Point store for selling a packet of expired instant poha worth just Rs 10.The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Ludhiana has ruled that the retail giant, a subsidiary of a large group, engaged in “unfair trade practices” and “deficient service” by selling food past its use-by date. The complainant, Naveneet Singh, purchased the 50-g packet of Masti Oye Instant Poha from the Atam Park outlet on Aug 23, 2025. Upon returning home, he discovered the product’s expiry date was listed as Aug 10 — nearly…

Pune: An allegedly unauthorised RCC (reinforced cement concrete) structure on Baner Hills continues to stand more than five years after Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) issued a demolition notice, prompting renewed concerns from residents and environmental groups about delayed enforcement and potential safety risks.A PMC notice, dated Dec 2020, had ordered the demolition of the structure after officials found an RCC construction on land in survey number 49 — an area reserved as a biodiversity park (BDP). The notice stated that the work had been carried out without civic approval and directed the occupants to remove the structure within 30 days,…

Panaji: Beef prices across Goa rose sharply, as boned beef retailed at Rs 400 per kg, while boneless beef climbed to Rs 500 per kg. Last month, it was being sold for Rs 350 and Rs 400 respectively.Traders say the rise is due to large-scale exports of Indian beef to foreign markets, which has made it very difficult for local businesses to procure animals at competitive rates.Bharat Bandh On Feb 12, Union Budget Impact On Infra, US Bill To End H1-B And More“Exporters are purchasing animals at very high prices for overseas markets. We cannot compete with that,” said Quraishi…

Chandigarh: In a rare show of unanimity, councillors of the BJP, Congress and AAP on Wednesday shot down the municipal corporation’s proposal to convert 213 free parking lots across Chandigarh into paid sites. The moment the agenda came up, members refused to even hear out the officials, insisting they would not impose any additional financial burden on residents.The MC had argued that the parking lots — spread across V-4 sector roads and market areas — were used by thousands of vehicles daily and could generate significant revenue if converted to paid parking. But councillors dismissed the plan outright.Municipal commissioner Amit…

Lucknow: Standup comedy, poster-making, cartooning, collage making, group dance, face painting and nukkad natak (street play) were the highlight of daylong activities in which students showcased their creative prowess on second day of 18th Dastak Youth Festival at the International Buddhist Research Centre on Wednesday. The festival is being organised with the support of the UP Tourism department, Yuva Club and Eco Tourism initiatives. More than 200 students from over 55 colleges are participating. The campus transformed into an open gallery as students holding posters and collages clicked pictures with each other. Many students set up stalls selling calligraphy artworks…

Bhagalpur: Scientists at Bihar Agricultural University (BAU), Bhagalpur, have secured a design registration patent from the Indian Patent Office for their ‘Dynamic GI (Geographical Indication) Flavour Profiling Traceability Device’.The innovation was developed by BAU’s Geographical Indication (GI) Facilitation Centre to align scientific advancement with GI protection, traceability systems and intellectual property generation. The team was headed by BAU vice chancellor D R Singh.Explaining the device, Singh said it combines advanced sensor technology, such as electronic noses, with machine learning to analyse the unique volatile organic compounds (aroma and flavour) of region-specific products. This process creates a chemical “fingerprint” of a…

Jaipur: Even as municipal elections are fast approaching, Jaipur received lower-than-expected Budget allocations Wednesday, with the number of projects announced for the state capital being the lowest across the three Budgets presented so far by the current BJP govt.Deputy chief minister and finance minister Diya Kumari, while presenting the state Budget 2026-27, announced a limited set of projects for Jaipur. These include a new IPD tower at JK Lon Hospital on JLN Marg, a bio-gas plant, two treatment centres—one for avian diseases and another for wild animals—and an oxyzone. Officials said the biggest budget takeaway for Jaipur is a plan…