Browsing: India

Bhubaneswar: Fuel prices in the state have surged for the fourth straight time in the past 10 days, triggering concerns of further possible jumps in cost of vegetables, groceries and other essential commodities.Wholesale traders and market associations said the staggered hike in fuel prices would gradually trigger a ripple effect across the supply chain, but there is no immediate threat of a price rise of essential items, as the state currently holds adequate stocks.Over the past 10 days, petrol and diesel prices have witnessed a steady upward trend, leading to a gradual rise in transportation costs. In fact, per litre…

Guwahati: State assembly on Tuesday passed a govt resolution with an appeal for immediate one-third reservation for women in the Parliament and state assemblies, following the completion of delimitation.CM Himanta Biswa Sarma criticised Congress, claiming that they did not bring such a bill due to pressure from “anti-women” policies of allies like the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) when they had majority in the Parliament in the past. He alleged that they maintained this obstructive stance during BJP’s tenure.When CM started speaking on the resolution, Congress MLAs staged a brief walkout in the House. However, their walkout…

PCMC’s pay-and-park scheme Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) is preparing to introduce a third revised version of its citywide parking policy after two failed attempts at implementation. Civic officials said they are hopeful that better planning and stronger political support will help ensure its success this time.Senior civic officials said a fresh survey is underway, and the new framework is being drafted after studying parking models implemented in cities such as Chennai and Bengaluru. Zonal offices and local corporators have been asked to identify potential parking locations in their respective areas.“The draft policy will be placed before the…

Amritsar: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has raised objections over the functioning of the special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the Punjab govt to probe the case of 328 missing saroops of the Granth Sahib.In a statement issued here on Tuesday, the SGPC president, Harjinder Singh Dhami, alleged that the SIT was going beyond its jurisdiction and unnecessarily interfering in the internal and administrative affairs of the SGPC.”Under the guise of investigation, attempts are being made to undermine the constitutional status of the Sikh community’s premier religious institution, which cannot be accepted under any circumstances,” said Dhami.He claimed that…

Lucknow: Lucknow Development Authority vice-chairperson Prathamesh Kumar on Tuesday signed an MoU with a private university for setting up the city’s first-ever plant gene bank at the upcoming Gomti Biodiversity Park, which is being developed at a cost of Rs 14 crore.The project will be spread over two acres of land inside the 25-acre biodiversity park, and will be developed and operated by the private university in collaboration with LDA.Officials said the facility is called a “gene bank” because it stores and preserves the genetic material, or genes, of rare and endangered plant species for future use. They further informed…

Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary Patna: CM Samrat Choudhary on Tuesday asked the road construction department to complete the upcoming six-lane Kachchi Dargah-Bidupur mega bridge across the Ganga between Patna and Vaishali districts by the first week of July.Reviewing projects at Lok Sewak Bhavan, Samrat also asked the department to ensure all district headquarters in Bihar are connected with four-lane roads. Road construction department secretary Pankaj Kumar Pal gave a presentation on ongoing projects and future plans.The chief minister laid special emphasis on the completion of the Kachchi Dargah-Bidupur bridge project, which connects NH-30 near Sabalpur on the outskirts of Patna…

Jaipur: Motorists troubled by traffic jams, poor traffic management and illegal hoardings at busy intersections in the city may soon get some relief, with the traffic police launching a special drive to improve conditions at key junctions.Under the campaign, traffic inspectors and senior police officers have been assigned specific intersections to monitor traffic movement and supervise improvement work. The initiative aims to make major junctions safer, more organised and commuter-friendly.DCP (Traffic) Yogesh Goyal directed officials to conduct regular inspections and submit progress reports. Traffic conditions, civic issues and ongoing improvement work at major intersections will be reviewed continuously, while officials…

Nagpur: Maharashtra is set to become the first state in the country to introduce a comprehensive ‘Water 7/12′ system, an ambitious initiative designed to scientifically record, audit and regulate water usage on the lines of traditional land record document – Saatbara (7/12) land extracts.The proposal, positioned as a major shift in India’s water governance framework, was reviewed at a high-level meeting chaired by revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule at Mantralaya on Monday. The meeting was convened following directions from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and involved senior officials from the revenue, rural development, water conservation and water supply departments.The proposed system seeks…

Howrah: A parking-zone contractor and his staffers were attacked with choppers at Shalimar station on Sunday night after allegedly refusing an extortion demand of Rs 50,000. The assault, which took place at the parking area, was captured on CCTV cameras.According to police and other workers in the parking zone, the prime accused, Vicky Pandey, and his associate Sankar Pandey had allegedly been demanding Rs 50,000 from contractor Joginder Shaw as ‘Rangila Tax’ for a long time but the latter had refused to pay. On Sunday night, an argument reportedly broke out over the demand, after which, on Vicky’s instructions, Sankar…

TimesofIndia.com in Dharamsala: MS Dhoni played hide-and-seek with the fans in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL). He didn’t play a single game. Virat Kohli stamped his class yet again. Rohit Sharma, throughout the season, struggled with his fitness and looked like a pale shadow of himself.As the sun starts to set on the careers of the IPL’s biggest crowd-pullers, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a prodigy from the hinterlands of Bihar, has taken the baton. Sooryavanshi has not only lit up the season with his jaw-dropping strokeplay but is also emerging as someone who brings the fans to the stadiums. Former…