Browsing: India

NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule Pune/Mumbai: NCP (SP) on Wednesday said that the party has ended any possibility of a merger with the other NCP group. State NCP (SP) chief Shashikant Shinde said that his party will not discuss it anymore.Senior NCP leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare called on NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar recently, reigniting talk of a merger between the parties. However, the party’s working president Supriya Sule made it clear that a merger was not on the cards. She told TOI, “All talks of a merger stopped on the day my brother (Ajit Pawar) died.”She…

Panaji: In an attempt to move away from mass-market tourism, the tourism department is toying with the idea of freezing registration of new budget hotels in Goa, said tourism minister Rohan Khaunte.Khaunte, who described the budget hotels as a challenge, said that existing C and D category hotels and guesthouses will simultaneously be nudged to upgrade themselves to offer better services and amenities at a higher price point.“The biggest challenge for govt today is in the C and D category,” said Khaunte.“Inventory of C and D category hotels has gone so high in the last couple of years that they…

Chandigarh administration observes a vehicle-free day on Wednesday, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for austerity and reduced fuel consumption Chandigarh: Swapping engines for pedals and pavements, the UT administration on Wednesday rolled out ‘no-vehicle Wednesday’, responding to an appeal by Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, and echoing the Prime Minister’s call to conserve fuel and cut reliance on fossil fuels.To facilitate participation, the administration arranged dedicated buses operated by the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) on 17 routes exclusively for UT employees. Officials said while the city already has a public transport network, these special…

Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya Lucknow: Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Wednesday said that the state govt has appointed ombudsmen in every district to ensure impartial investigation and timely disposal of complaints related to Mahatma Gandhi national rural employment guarantee scheme (MNREGS) works.Maurya said that any complaint regarding irregularities in the execution of works under the scheme would be taken seriously. He said the primary objective behind appointing district-level ombudsmen is to ensure independent and fair investigations into complaints raised by citizens, workers and public representatives, and to guarantee their resolution within a fixed timeframe.He said that…

Patna: Job aspirants demanding the release of BPSC TRE-4 vacancies staged protests in Patna on Wednesday. Police detained student leader Rinkal Yadav, who had contested the Patna University students’ union presidential election with Tej Pratap Yadav’s support. Student leader Khushboo Pathak was also taken into custody earlier.Heavy police deployment was seen around Patna College, with gates shut to prevent gatherings. Students attempting to join the protest were picked up and taken to nearby police stations. A water cannon vehicle was also brought in. An aspirant protesting with chains around his hands was removed by police. Women protesters were allegedly dragged…

Jodhpur: Individuals who enter a second marriage under customary ‘Nata Pratha’ without legally ending the first marriage cannot claim protection under the law, as the practice runs counter to provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the Rajasthan High Court has held.‘Nata Pratha’ is an ancient customary practice prevalent in parts of Rajasthan that allows men and women, usually from tribal and certain rural communities, to leave their spouses and cohabit with new partners without a legal divorce or formal second marriage.Holding that such practices must be “thrown completely out of the acceptable boundaries of society”, the court observed that…

Nagpur: A woman engaged in Census 2027 door-to-door survey, an NMC dog-catching van driver and a resident were bitten by a dog in Sadar on Wednesday, highlighting serious lapses in pet regulation, emergency response and safety of frontline field staff.The incident escalated into chaos when the civic team sent to capture the dog also came under attack. Further compounding the situation, anti-rabies injections were allegedly unavailable at Mayo Hospital, forcing authorities to shift the injured Census worker to a private hospital.”A teacher associated with a private school in Seminary Hills, Simmi Charlie, had visited Mount Road in Sadar Basti for…

2 Men held for running sex racket in Thane. Hazaribag: Four persons were arrested after police conducted a raid at a hotel in Sindoor under Korra police station area of Hazaribag city on charges of allegedly running a sex racket. The arrested persons were identified as hotel owner Rameshwar Prasad of Sindoor area, Dharmendra Choudhary of Basodih in Satgawan area of Koderma district, Sonu Kumar and Khurshid Alam, a resident of Pugmil in Hazaribag.Police said that they received a tip-off on Wednesday afternoon that the hotel owner and operators in connivance with middlemen were bringing women from different areas and…

Vadodara: The Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) on Wednesday arrested two men for allegedly robbing a senior citizen near Amitnagar Circle in the city.The incident took place two days ago when the victim was walking on the main road and was approached by the accused on a two-wheeler. One of the accused allegedly brandished a knife and robbed the victim of two gold rings before fleeing from the spot.Following a complaint lodged at Karelibaug police station, the DCB launched an investigation and received a tip-off about the suspects.The accused, identified as Vishal Bhati and Karan Bhati, were subsequently arrested. During…

Almost all the Chemists and medical stores remain closed in the city as they observed a strike on Wednesday. The store has organized protests against online sale of medicines and other issues. Surat/Ahmedabad: Most retail medical stores across Gujarat remained shut on Wednesday during a one-day bandh called to protest unregulated online pharmacies, chemists’ associations said.The strike was announced by the All-India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), which represents around 12.4 lakh chemists, pharmacists and distributors, and was supported in the state by the Federation of Gujarat State Chemists and Druggists Associations (FGSCDA).According to the FGSCDA, the shutdown saw…