Browsing: India

Elephant proof trench in Ubrani forest Shivamogga: A growing human-wildlife conflict is unfolding around the unique circular landscape of the Channagiri Range in the Bhadravathi Forest Division. Comprising the interconnected forest patches of Kukwada, Bandigudda, Ubrani and Hanumagiri, this isolated hub of deciduous forest and dense shrub vegetation is facing a multi-pronged crisis.Environmentalists contend that shrinking forest resources, the absence of perennial water bodies, and poorly planned elephant-proof trenches (EPTs) have aggravated the situation. The lone tusker, believed to have strayed from the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, had taken shelter in the Channagiri forests and was finally captured on Thursday. The…

Praveen Goyal (L) claims his family faces unnecessary harassment after the FDA suspended their shop. PUNE: Praveen Goyal, father of murder accused Siya Goyal, on Thursday alleged that his family was being “harassed unnecessarily” after Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended operations at their spice and dry fruits shop over alleged food safety violations.Maintaining that he was fully cooperating with the investigation into the murder of Pune realtor Ketan Agarwal, Goyal said people should stop circulating “baseless stories” linking his family to the case, news agency PTI reported.“I stand with the judiciary and the law, and I will fully…

LUCKNOW: Siddharthnagar police on Wednesday exhumed the body of a 20-year-old woman from the mud floor of a room in her matrimonial home in Chak Majhari village of Dumariyaganj, after her husband was accused of killing her and attempting to pass the case off as a disappearance.The deceased was identified as Mufidan. Police said her husband, Shamsher, 22, allegedly murdered her, dug a pit nearly 6 feet deep inside the house, buried her body, plastered the floor with fresh mud and placed a cot over the spot. Investigators said he continued sleeping on the cot for several days before trying…

Bettiah: Janaki Devi, popularly known as the “Snake Lady”, was bitten by a king cobra while rescuing the reptile in Bisaha village of Valmikinagar along the India-Nepal border in West Champaran district on Wednesday evening. She was rushed to a military camp hospital in Triveni, Nepal, where doctors said she was out of danger.According to her son, Krishna Kumar, the incident occurred after a king cobra entered the house of a resident of Hathi Malkhanta Tola near Bisaha village. Following information from locals, Janaki reached the spot and rescued the snake.“After the rescue, Janaki took the king cobra to 6…

Nagpur: A financial crunch in Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) transport department threw the city’s public transport system into disarray on Wednesday after around 1,800 conductors attached to the Aapli Bus service went on a flash strike over delayed salaries, stranding thousands of commuters during peak morning hours.The strike brought to the fore the mounting financial stress within the city’s public transport network, with officials admitting that NMC has not released nearly Rs12 crore due to Chalo Mobility Private Limited (CMPL), the Integrated Bus Transport Management (IBTM) operator responsible for deploying conductors. The payment delay led to salary arrears, triggering the…

Jamshedpur: A 39-year-old man was arrested in Seraikela-Kharsawan district for allegedly murdering his wife and concealing her body in an under-construction septic tank, police said on Thursday.The accused, Somra Hembrom, a resident of Swarnpur village under the Sini outpost in Seraikela police station limits, killed Sambari, 30, after suspecting her character.Seraikela-Kharsawan SP Manoj Swargiary said, “Hembrom confessed during interrogation that he first strangled his wife with an electric wire and then assaulted her with an iron strip before disposing of the body in a septic tank located on the outskirts of his house.”Hembrom has been booked under relevant sections of…

khuti puja of Sreebhumi Sporting Club, Photo Mayukh Sengupta Kolkata: In a symbolic departure from earlier years, Sreebhumi Sporting Club in Lake Town on Thursday held a low-key Khuti Puja under a new organising committee, marking the end of the Sujit Bose era sans his faithful committee members and signalling a return to a resident-driven community puja.While unveiling Hawa Mahal as this year’s theme, the organisers said the festival would retain its trademark grandeur but without political interference, abandon the practice of inaugurating the pandal on Mahalaya, and instead open it only on Chaturthi or Panchami to restore traditional norms…

Srinagar, July 15: A Kashmiri-language theatrical production highlighting the sacrifices of India’s freedom fighters was staged to an appreciative audience at Tagore Hall, Srinagar, on Tuesday as part of the National Theatre Festival 2026.The play, “Kath Walveran Hinz,” was presented by Tulkul Arts and Media Collective in association with the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL). The production was directed by noted theatre artist Rayees Wathori, popularly known as Ravice Rashid.Organised under the National Theatre Festival 2026 by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, the event forms part…

Crowd rush and medical emergencies at Puri Rath Yatra One devotee died and more than 100 others fainted on Thursday following a massive crowd rush during the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra in Odisha’s Puri, officials said.An overwhelming surge of pilgrims at the Singhadwara of the Jagannath Temple prompted emergency rescue teams to evacuate multiple people on stretchers.One devotee declared deadAccording to initial reports, one devotee aged above 60 collapsed after reportedly feeling suffocated in the crowd and was rushed to the Puri District Headquarters Hospital, where he was declared dead. More than 100 others reportedly fainted amid the jostling and…

Net Effect: Work under way to install a 12-foot-high chain-link mesh atop the 23-foot laterite compound wall at Mangaluru district jail Mangaluru: Authorities at Mangaluru district jail have begun installing a 12-foot-high chain-link mesh atop the existing 23-foot laterite stone compound wall to prevent contraband, including ganja packets, from being thrown into the prison.With the proposed new jail in Bantwal taluk progressing slowly, officials decided to strengthen security at the existing facility, which is protected by Karnataka State Industrial Security Force (KSISF).Narcotics control has emerged as a major concern at Mangaluru jail, where habitual drug offenders form the majority of…