Browsing: India

Taking to STOI, state project director at Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) Shashi Ranjan highlighted the state education department’s comprehensive and multi-pronged approach aiming to strengthen literacy and develop lifelong reading habits among children.Q : What initiatives has the state education department launched to promote book reading among students?A : The annual reading campaign held during Aug and Sept encourages reading beyond textbooks through activities like read-aloud, storytelling, role play and dramatics. A major highlight is the Read-a-Thon, which saw participation of nearly seven lakh students in 2025 and earned national record recognition. Additionally, 50 child-friendly libraries have been set…

Surat: Surat Municipal Corporation’s (SMC) Standing Committee chairman Rajan Patel on Saturday presented a revised civic budget of Rs 11,301 crore, increasing the proposed expenditure allocation by Rs 708 crore across capital and revenue heads.The revised budget is higher than the earlier draft estimate of Rs 10,593 crore, which was presented by municipal commissioner M Nagarajan, with additional funds now earmarked for multiple civic initiatives.”Widow women who are already registered with the government for other schemes may get the benefit of property tax exemption. To encourage senior citizens to take advantage of bus services, a free pass facility will be…

Vadodara: A leopard was killed in an accident with an unidentified vehicle on the Indore-Ahmedabad national highway near Dantiya village in Dahod district.The dead leopard was found on the road early on Saturday morning. It is believed that the leopard may have strayed onto the road in search of prey or water.The leopard was spotted by a patrolling team keeping an eye on the highway. The team informed forest officials, who got the carcass removed from the road. It was cremated as per protocol. Source link

Kolkata: The former postmaster of Regent Estate Post Office in south Kolkata, Dilip Kumar Jana (59), was arrested for allegedly being the mastermind of a fixed deposit (FD) scam worth Rs 8.5 crore. More than 25 senior citizens and investors were duped. Joint CP (crime & Traffic) Rupesh Kumar said Jana, a resident of Ghasiara Paschim Para in Sonarpur, was arrested on Thursday evening from Gopal Nagar in Alipore. He is currently in police custody. He was produced before the court on Friday.The arrest was made on the basis of a written complaint submitted by Avijit Majumdar of Netaji Nagar.Kolkata:…

Srinagar, Feb 07: Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Dr Moulvi Muhammad Umar Farooq on Saturday condemned the “heinous” suicide bombing attack that took place during Friday prayers at an Imambargah in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing more than thirty worshippers.In a post on X, Mirwaiz wrote, “The heinous suicide bombing attack that took place during Friday prayers at an Imambargah in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing more than thirty worshippers, is deeply painful and strongly condemnable. Bloodshed in such a manner, that too at a place of worship, is profoundly distressing and unsettling, a moment of deep pain and reflection for the Ummah.”“My heartfelt sympathies and prayers are…

Pune: Weekend gridlocks have almost become a norm on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, and this Saturday was no exception. A surge of traffic once again brought the corridor to a crawl, with lumbering trailers and heavy vehicles choking the ghat stretch and turning peak-hour movement into a sluggish and exhausting ordeal. Officials said the traffic surge was partly due to local body election-related travel.This bottleneck comes barely days after a 32-hour ordeal caused by the overturning of a propylene tanker near the Adoshi tunnel in the Khandala ghat on Tuesday. The incident had triggered a massive traffic snarl, leaving thousands of…

WATER IS GOLD: At Metropolis Gurukrupa, this bio chamber is used for treating black water. The human faecal matter will compost inside these bins, and release the water which can further be treated for flush or drinking requirements. Look at any large apartment complex in the city, and you’ll find a regular stream of tankers entering to fill up the water storage sumps. Many smaller ones depend on borewells, but often in combination with tankers. Water is typically one of the biggest sources of expenditure for complexes that depend on tankers. And those costs are rising as borewells dry up,…

Hyderabad: Seeking a sweeping mandate in the municipal elections, chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday promised large scale infrastructure and irrigation projects for the combined Rangareddy, Vikarabad, Mahbubnagar and surrounding districts, including bringing Godavari and Krishna waters for drinking and irrigation, completing key road works, developing underground drainage systems and transforming Vikarabad into a world class tourist destination.Addressing an election rally at Narayanpur village in Vikarabad district, Revanth accused former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao of deliberately denying Godavari water to the combined Rangareddy. He said the foundation stone for the Pranahita-Chevella project was laid by former CM YS Rajasekhara…

Chennai: At least 233 pieces of ivory weighing 206 kg were incinerated by the Tamil Nadu forest department on Saturday, in compliance of a Madras high court order passed in Dec 2025. The move was to prevent the theft of seized ivories kept in the custody of the forest department.The court order came in the wake of a series of TOI reports published in 2024 and 2025 on ivory theft from the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur. The court ordered the govt to destroy the ivory by recording the process through photos and videos, and retaining samples of each…

Ahmedabad: A jewellery firm’s employee was allegedly robbed of 5kg of silver worth Rs 12.48 lakh after being distracted by unidentified men on a busy city road, police said. An FIR was registered with Ellisbridge police on Thursday.According to the complaint filed by Alpesh Patel (48), an employee of Hallmark Jewellers on Science City Road, the incident occurred on Wednesday evening while he was transporting silver from a shop on CG Road to Manek Chowk.Ahmedabad: CTET Exam Over 2 Days, HC OKs Asaram Ashram Land Takeover, Weight Loss Trend And MorePatel told police that he had been instructed by his…