Author: Indmedia

Imphal: The Red Shield Division of the Indian Army’s Spear Corps has successfully disarmed nine improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and two unexploded ordnances during a month-long area sanitisation and de-mining operation along the India-Myanmar border at Yangoubung in Manipur, a defence official said on Wednesday.The operation, conducted between Border Pillars 72 and 73 from Jan 16 to Feb 17, was carried out following a requisition from govt agencies. The clearance drive aimed to facilitate the resumption of stalled border fencing work amid intelligence inputs about the possible presence of IEDs and unexploded ordnance linked to former insurgent camps in the…

Kanpur: A vegetable vendor was crushed under a potato-laden pickup which fell onto him at Arra Bingawan vegetable market in the city’s Hanumant Vihar police station area in the wee hours of Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Anil Kushwaha (43), a resident of Ghatampur. His family includes wife Gudiya and son Abhay. Police sent the body for postmortem.His younger brother Prem Chandra said that on Wednesday Anil went to buy vegetables at the market. He was buying cauliflower when a potato-laden pickup being chased by traffic police overturned and fell on him. According to pickup driver Prem Chandra, in…

Ludhiana: A woman died whereas her husband suffered serious injuries after a car driver, allegedly under the influence of drugs, rammed his vehicle into their motorcycle near Kullewal village on the Khanna-Nawanshahr road.Sources said Nirmal Singh and his wife Balwinder Kaur of Gehlewal village were returning home after buying medicines from a hospital in Khanna. As they reached Kullewal village, a car coming from the Samrala side allegedly swerved to the wrong side of the road and hit their motorcycle.They added said 55-year-old Balwinder Kaur died on the spot, while her husband Nirmal Singh sustained serious injuries. They said Nirmal…

Noida: District magistrate Medha Roopam on Tuesday directed officials to install by Feb 25 speed breakers, signage, traffic signals and CCTV cameras at over 150 accident-prone spots as a part of short-term corrective measures.Chairing the road safety and zero-fatality district (ZFD) review meeting on Tuesday, Roopam said officials must adhere to the prescribed engineering norms. “There will be zero tolerance for delay or negligence, and accountability will be fixed department-wise,” she said.The directive is part of Noida’s plan to enforce Zero-Fatality District (ZFD) programme rolled out by UP in 20 high-risk districts, that aims to halve road crash deaths by…

Pune: A 21-year-old student of an engineering college in the city drowned on Tuesday at Lotus Point waterfall in Maval taluka’s Ekole village, about 70km from Pune. The victim, identified as Ayush Harinkhede, was a resident of Katraj and hailed from Gondia district. Harinkhede visited the scenic spot in the morning for an outing with his five friends. Rescue teams from Mulshi, Wadgaon Maval and Lonavla traced his body in the evening and handed it over to the police. The location is quite popular among trekkers and revellers. According to Harinkhede’s friends, after reaching the spot, the victim entered the…

Panaji: Former MGP functionary Ketan Bhatikar is likely to join Congress party in the coming days, said Congress insiders. State Congress president Amit Patkar admitted that Bhatikar met him on Tuesday to discuss his entry. Patkar said that Bhatikar’s entry into the Congress will be discussed with the Ponda block. “I will not deny that Ketan Bhatikar met me on Tuesday, and he is showing intentions of joining the Congress party. Congress has a practice of consultations right from the block level to the Pradesh Congress Committee level, and I will discuss this proposal with the block of Ponda,” said…

Chandigarh: At a time when govt hospitals across Punjab are grappling with an acute shortage of specialist doctors, the state govt’s plan to empanel retired and private specialists drew only a limited response so far. Against 300 specialist positions identified across district hospitals and sub-divisional hospitals, only 104 doctors joined.The empanelment drive was launched to plug critical gaps in civil and sub-divisional hospitals. Under the scheme, private and retired specialists can provide clinical services in govt facilities for a fixed fee per patient, without any change to the existing cadre structure. Punjab is currently facing a significant shortfall in specialist…

Lucknow: Transport minister Daya Shankar Singh on Wednesday accepted that the new norms for issuing fitness certificates to vehicles, as mandated by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in 2025, were not suitable. The transport minister also stated that he wrote a letter to union minister Nitin Gadkari, requesting for the implementation of the older system in districts where the new Automated Testing Stations (ATS) were not functional. Responding to a question by MLC Devendra Pratap Singh in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, the minister said that, as per orders issued by the union ministry on Dec 26, all…

Patna: Arsenic has been detected in groundwater sources in 14 districts, fluoride in 11 districts and iron in 12 districts of Bihar, PHED minister Sanjay Singh admitted while responding to a calling attention motion moved by JD(U) MLA Dulal Chandra Goswami during Question Hour in the legislative assembly on Wednesday.Goswami said dangerous diseases affecting the skin and bones, anaemia, blueberry syndrome and even cancer were spreading rapidly in Seemanchal and in areas along the banks of the Ganga due to polluted groundwater.Patna: RLM Seeks Liquor Ban Review, Rajya Sabha Battle, Maoist Surrender And MoreThe minister said the department conducts regular…

Jaipur: Health minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar Tuesday told the Assembly that recommendations by MLAs for transfers and amendments in posting lists are a key reason behind persistent vacancies in govt hospitals. Replying to the debate on health grant demands, Khimsar said, “We are culprits for it (for vacant posts in govt hospitals). Promise me that you won’t make any recommendations. I will arrange things in such a way that not a single position in your hospital will remain vacant.” He added that though 1,000 doctors were sent to constituencies, changes were later sought through recommendations. Jaipur: ACB Lookout, Police Probe…