Author: Indmedia

Mumbai: Bombay high court recently held that 217 acres of land in Manpada, Thane, could not be dubbed a private forest and dismissed the state govt’s challenge to a Maharashtra revenue tribunal order of 2017 that set aside the acquisition of land by the govt.The HC held that no notice was served by the state on the actual landowner, D Dahyabhai and Co Pvt Ltd, before acquiring the land as private forest, as mandated, and hence the state’s plea failed. The dispute originated 50 years ago.Mumbai: Air Crash Probe, Terrorism Claims on Madrasas, ISIS Case Twist & MoreThe HC said…

New Delhi: The city is expected to experience warm weather over the next few days, with temperatures spiking four-five degrees above the normal level. The maximum temperature could reach as high as 34 degrees Celsius on March 4, the day of Holi.On Thursday, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 30.2 degrees Celsius, about 4 degrees above the seasonal average. According to India Meteorological Department, daytime temperatures are likely to remain between 30 and 32 degrees Celsius until March 2. The mercury may then rise further to around 33 degrees Celsius on March 3 before touching 34 on Holi.Delhi: Fatal Crash,…

Bengaluru: From Friday, Namma Metro’s Yellow Line will run trains at a frequency of 9 minutes during peak hours. This will replace the existing peak-hour frequency of 10 minutes as an eighth train will start plying between Bommasandra and RV Road stations.There’ll be only one-minute improvement in the line’s peak-hour frequency, but its non-peak-hour frequency will improve from the existing 18 minutes to 14. The eighth trainset was inducted by BMRCL a few days ago but was used as a standby train to deal with emergency requirements.With no trains expected next month, commuters and netizens had demanded BMRCL prioritise the…

Hyderabad: Buyers of non-transport vehicles in Telangana will soon have to pay a one-time road safety cess ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 at the time of vehicle registration. The levy, which comes into effect from March 1, will apply to two-wheelers, cars, other private vehicles, and passenger autorickshaws.As per the notification, the cess structure has been categorised based on vehicle type. Two-wheelers will attract 2,000, light motor vehicles, including cars, will be charged 5,000, while other vehicles, including passenger autos with seating capacity of four to seven persons, will have to pay 10,000. The amount will be collected during the…

Chennai: Raising doubts over the tender process adopted by DMK govt, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said all the tenders for projects issued “in haste” ahead of the assembly elections would be “thoroughly scrutinised when AIADMK returns to power”.”People are being deceived. With elections approaching, it is all about commission, collection and corruption,” EPS said at a public meeting in Chrompet on Thursday, accusing state govt of hurriedly issuing tenders for projects. EPS rejected chief minister M K Stalin’s claim that the assembly election was a contest between Tamil Nadu and Delhi. “This is a Tamil Nadu assembly election.…

Gandhinagar: Opposition Congress MLAs staged a walkout from the Gujarat assembly during question hour on Thursday, alleging that the state govt was making lower budgetary allocations for scheduled castes (SCs) and other backward castes (OBCs), and that funds allotted to these sections of society were underutilized. The opposition members returned to the House after a while.After question hour, state minister Jitu Vaghani raised a point of order, accusing Congress MLAs of speaking out of turn and interrupting social justice and empowerment (SJE) minister Manisha Vakil while she replied to questions. He was supported by ruling party MLAs Arjun Modhwadia and…

Kendrapada: The ministry of ports, shipping and waterways has approved the development of a dedicated jetty with allied facilities for handling green hydrogen, ammonia and other liquid cargo at Paradip port at an estimated cost of Rs 797.17 crore. The project will be executed by the Paradip Port Authority (PPA) on a build-operate-transfer basis, port authorities said on Thursday.PPA chairman P L Haranadh said the proposed facility will have a handling capacity of four million tonnes per annum and will play a key role in positioning Paradip as a green-energy cargo hub. The project includes a dedicated jetty, storage systems,…

Gurgaon: Illegal constructions were sealed in the city and three unauthorised colonies demolished in the Pataudi subdivision on Feb 25 during an enforcement drive carried out by the town and country planning department in presence of police personnel. Officials said the action targeted violations flagged through complaints and unauthorised plotting in peripheral urban areas. As part of the drive, an illegal floor at Enkay Town Plaza in Palam Vihar was sealed following a complaint received through the CM Window grievance portal. In a separate action, an unauthorised office operating from the club premises of Brisk Lumbini, a group housing society…

Dimapur: Nagaland forest department stressed the need for focused and intensive conservation of forests at the annual review-cum-planning workshop of the Forest and Biodiversity Management in the Himalaya (Nagaland) Project (FBMP) at the forest office complex in Kohima on Thursday.The two-day workshop, co-financed by the Federal Republic of Germany through KfW, is aimed at reviewing progress and charting the roadmap for the next phase of implementation.FBMP is part of the govt of Germany’s financial cooperation with India, signed in 2016, focusing on sustainable and effective management of forests and biodiversity in Nagaland.Addressing the inaugural programme of the workshop, Vedpal Singh,…

Ludhiana: In a harrowing incident driven by a suspected vendetta, a 35-year-old woman allegedly set a residence in Gurcharan Nagar ablaze after sprinkling it with petrol on Wednesday. The homeowner, Sukhdeep Kaur, and her two young sons, aged eight and 11, were forced to flee for their lives as flames engulfed part of the house. While the family and neighbours managed to douse the fire, one room was completely gutted before the accused fled the scene.The Daba police arrested the accused on Thursday, identifying her as Prabha Singh of JJ Enclave, Dugri. Investigations revealed that the arson was the latest…