Browsing: India

Nagpur: Bankers implementing the state govt’s Punyashlok Ahilyabai Farm Loan Waiver Scheme have expressed concern over facing the ire of farmers whose names are not there in the first list of beneficiaries.A branch manager of Central Bank was allegedly assaulted by a member of one of the farmers’ outfits in Buldhana’s Khamgaon recently. The incident led to a flash strike by the bankers. Police officials in Khamgaon said an offence was registered, following which bankers returned to work. The matter was also raised during the state-level bankers’ committee (SLBC) meeting held at Pune on Friday.A source who took part in…

Srinagar, Aug 1: The Food & Drugs Administration (FDA), Jammu & Kashmir, has issued a public health advisory advising consumers not to purchase or consume “Dust Tea (Premium Instant Mix Tea)” marketed under the brand “New Fast Tea”, Batch No. 10, packed by M/s INAAM Tea Agency, Thane, Maharashtra, after the product was declared Unsafe by the National Food Laboratory (NFL), Ghaziabad.The sample was lifted by the Food Safety Officer, Tral, on 27.06.2026 during routine enforcement activities and forwarded to the National Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad, for analysis. As per the Food Analyst’s Report, the sample was found to contain the prohibited…

Tanvi Sharma (Image credit: BAI) Indian badminton player Tanvi Sharma won the first BWF World Tour title of her career after beating Vietnam’s Thuy Linh Nguyen in the women’s singles final of the Taipei Open Super 300 on Sunday.The 17-year-old from Punjab defeated the sixth seed 21-16, 21-16 in just 36 minutes to lift her maiden Super 300 trophy. Tanvi, who is coached by Park Tae-sang, the former coach of PV Sindhu, also became the first Indian woman to win the Taipei Open singles title since Saina Nehwal in 2008.Dominant display in the finalTanvi made an excellent start and used…

The mother of a Noida teenager thanked Prime Minister Modi for forgiving her daughter’s protest remarks. NEW DELHI: The mother of the Noida teenager booked for allegedly using abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar has thanked the PM for forgiving her daughter, saying his gesture had given the girl a “jeevandaan” (new lease of life).Speaking to news agency PTI after PM Modi appealed against punitive action against the youngsters involved, the girl’s mother said she was grateful that he had chosen forgiveness despite the abusive remarks directed at him.”PM Modi is the…

Ahmedabad: A 15-year-old girl contacted the Abhayam 181 women’s helpline alleging mental and physical harassment by her stepbrother. According to a helpline counsellor, the girl said her 25-year-old stepbrother from her mother’s first marriage had recently moved in with the family after facing financial difficulties.The counsellor said the youth allegedly abused the girl’s parents when they refused to give him money and threatened to harm them. He also allegedly harassed the teenager and had made advances towards her in the past. Distressed by the repeated incidents, the girl often stayed away from home, the counsellor said.The helpline team took the…

Students in Pune district Pune: Despite spending Rs 24.9 crore on a programme to facilitate preparations of SC students in the state for JEE and NEET, only 176 out of 900 students qualified for the exams in the last two years (2023-2025).The poor outcome has put a scanner on the scheme, which was launched as a two-year course to uplift students from underprivileged backgrounds.Student organisations demanded accountability and independent evaluation of the programme, including a review of the student and selection process of the coaching institute under the scheme, the quality of coaching, monitoring mechanisms and the performance of these…

Keri: Erratic rain in Chorla Ghat has increased deaths of shield-tailed snakes, which leave flooded burrows to find dry ground and are often crushed by vehicles on tar roads.“Shield-tailed snakes are small, underground-adapted creatures. On smooth, paved surfaces they move slowly and become highly vulnerable to being run over,” said Ramesh Zarmekar, a wildlife worker in the Mhadei region.Zarmekar said he recorded nearly 150 shield-tailed snake deaths along a 7km stretch in Chorla Ghat and urged govt to impose speed limits on forested road sections within the snakes’ habitat.He said the snakes emerge to escape waterlogged burrows and often use…

Lucknow: A major fire broke out in a date packaging unit operating from the basement of a multi-storey building in Dubagga on Saturday afternoon, triggering a large-scale firefighting operation involving six fire tenders. The blaze was brought under control after nearly 90 minutes, with no casualties reported, officials said.Preliminary investigations suggest the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit in the power meter.The incident occurred around 1pm near the fish market opposite Unity College. Thick black smoke billowing from the basement triggered panic among residents and shopkeepers in the area.According to the fire department, three fire tenders…

Enforcement officials removing a Saras booth on Saturday. Jaipur: The enforcement wing of the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) removed 30 govt-run Saras Dairy booths Saturday after its Traffic Control Board (TCB) identified 130 such booths as encroachments across Jaipur.“Following a directive from the TCB chairperson, we initiated the drive to remove the earmarked Saras booths. On Saturday, we removed 30 booths across the city. The drive started on Friday, and we removed four booths on the first day. The drive would continue until we remove the 130 identified structures,” said Anand Sharma, the deputy inspector general of the enforcement wing…

Nagpur: After the state govt’s approval earlier this year, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has started the process for acquiring more than 6,700 acres of land in Saoner for the proposed defence, nuclear and aerospace (DNA) corridor.Notices inviting objections have been issued to the landholders, which is the first step towards the acquisition process. This would be followed by the offering of rates and other processes, said sources involved in the development.The DNA corridor is expected to emerge as the biggest industrial estate in the region. The land has been primarily earmarked for allotment to defence, nuclear and aerospace sectors.…