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By BY ANDREW E. KRAMER from NYT World https://ift.tt/uGsh0jD
THIS IS A DAILYNEWS WEBSITE.
THIS IS A DAILYNEWS WEBSITE.
THIS IS A DAILYNEWS WEBSITE.
Security forces on Saturday launched a search operation in parts of Jammu and Kashmir's border town of Rajouri, where two civilians were killed in a firing incident outside an Army camp early this month, officials said.
The search was being conducted by joint teams of the Army and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Phalyana and adjoining localities, including the Tourism Reception Center and fish pond, they said.
The officials said sniffer dogs were also pressed into service during the operation, which was still continuing when last reports were received.
Two local people of Phalyana village were killed and one person was injured in the firing outside the Army camp on December 16.
While the Army blamed unidentified terrorists for the firing, the locals staged a massive protest against the force and demanded an inquiry.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
A delicate pashmina yarn holds promise for hundreds of women in Kashmir valley. Powered by a modified charkha, over 200 women spinners have ended the year 2022 with doubling their output and income.
The modification in the age-old charkha has changed the life of Shaesta Bilal. Since the income is based on output of spinning, the foot pedal charkha has come to her aid.
In Srinagar's downtown area, women like Shaesta are spinning the finest yarn in the world and modified charkha has given them confidence and self-reliance.
"This (modified charka) has given us the means to make a living so that we are self-reliant. Thank God we are earning more and we are not dependent on anybody. Now I'm not financially dependent on my husband," said Shaesta Bilal.
Ms Shaesta was given a new charkha and training by a pashmina shawl trader in Srinagar a year ago. Since then she has graduated to a resource person for other women.
Over the last one year, more than 200 women have been trained and given modified charkhas. The initiative is part of an effort to protect and preserve the genuine age-old craft of pashmina shawls, which is facing a massive invasion of fake and machine-made shawls.
The government has also started GI (geographical indicator) tagging of Kashmiri shawls to preserve its unique character and value in the market.
Over the years, the number of women spinning pashmina has come down drastically in Kashmir valley, mainly due to low wages and less output on the traditional charkha.
According to Mujtaba Qadri, who owns the training centre for women spinners and equip them with the new charkha, the modifications in the tool were made by Shere-e-Kashmir Agricultural University a few years ago.
"I started training with a few women initially. Once we saw the results that we were able to double the produce, which in turns doubles the income of women, I decided to run this programme," said Mujaba, who runs a family shawl business.
Besides providing modified charkha for free, Mujtaba also give a-15 day training course to women spinners. "From our centre, over 200 women have been trained in the last one year and we have provided them modified charkha as well," he said.
At the centre, Nusrat Begum says life has become a bit easier for her after she was trained to use the new charkha. From squatting on the floor to sitting on a chair, her spinning production has doubled.
"It has helped me a great deal. I used to spin three gram of yarn on the old charkha. Now I can spin six grams," said Ms Begum.
For centuries, the secret behind Kashmir's elegant pashmina shawls is fine spinning by women. It further goes to master artisans for weaving. For making some shawls with intricate work, it takes months and even a year to weave.
While the new charkha helps women spin more and earn more, the wages are still less. For a knot, which is 10 threads of yarn, they are being paid Re 1.5. They want more.
"The charkha is very useful to us. We are thankful to Qadri sahib as he gave us this charkha for free and we are doing very well on it. We work at home and also train others. We requested him if could increase our wages," said Yasmeena.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will organise a coordination meeting of its office bearers, affiliated organisations and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Goa between January 5-6.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh will review the progress on issues that were discussed in the All India Executive meet held in Raipur (Chhattisgarh), in September this year.
The meeting will be attended by RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) secretary general Milind Parande, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (AVBP) national organising secretary Ashish Chauhan, B Surendran and All India office bearers of the Sangh.
BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh will also attend the meeting. Further, senior office bearers of organizations like Vidya Bharti, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and others will also attend the coordination meeting.
According to RSS, Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat will be in Goa between January 2-7.
In a statement, RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Sunil Ambekar said in September last a comprehensive all-India coordination meeting of the Sangh was held in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur in which various programmes were decided. Now, the meeting in Goa between January 5-6 is being held as a review of the Chhattisgarh meeting.
Ambekar said Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat will guide the local volunteer gathering on January 7.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Ahead of the Tripura assembly elections due early next year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to flag off BJP's 'Rath Yatra' in the state on January 5, a party leader said on Friday.
The eight-day yatra will be flagged off from North Tripura district's Dharmanagar, he said.
Mr Shah will also hold a rally in Sabroom of South Tripura district on the same day, BJP state president Rajib Bhattacharjee said.
BJP president JP Nadda will participate in the programme on the concluding day of the yatra on January 12.
The 'Rath Yatra', has been termed as 'Jana Viswas Yatra' by the ruling party.
"During the 'Jana Viswas Yatra', the party expects to connect around 10 lakh people as it will cover all the 60 assembly segments of the state. There will be 200 rallies and over 100 processions to highlight the central and state governments' welfare activities," Bhattacharjee said.
At least ten union ministers, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and central leaders are expected to join the 'Rath Yatra', he said.
State Information and Cultural Affairs (ICA) Minister Sushanta Chowdhury described the scheduled 'Rath Yatra' as one of the biggest political programmes of the ruling party ahead of the next year's assembly elections and said the saffron camp has "already geared up to make the event a big success".
"The 'Rath Yatra' will end in Agartala, where Nadda, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Verma and former CM Biplab Kumar Deb will address a rally. PTI PS BDC BDC
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Nineteen bureaucrats have been appointed to different central government departments as part of a senior-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre on Friday.
Padam Lal Negi has been appointed as joint secretary & financial advisor, of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Sanjeev Kumar Kassi will be joint secretary of, the Coal Ministry, and Gangadhar Panda, as additional director of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), according to an order issued by the Personnel Ministry.
Jitendra Srivastava, a 2000-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Bihar cadre, has been named joint secretary, the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, and K Manicka Raj as joint secretary, of the Department of Economic Affairs.
Preet Pal Singh has been appointed as joint secretary, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Rina Sonowal Kouli as joint secretary in the Department of Higher Education, Lokhande Prashant Sitaram will be a joint secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Chittaranjan Dash and Ravi Shankar have been appointed as principal commissioners, Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
Deepika Kachhal will be joint secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Manish Kumar Kanojia will be financial advisor, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Mumbai, Surender Mehra as an adviser, NITI Aayog and Sanjiv as joint secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, said the order.
Lucas Laiconsing Kamsuan has been appointed as joint secretary, the Department of Public Enterprises, Anshu Manish Khalkho will be the director (A&F), National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL), A Dhanalakshmi as joint secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Mebanshailang R Synrem will be joint secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Preetam B Yashvant as joint secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development, the order said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader and former Uttar Pradesh MLC Deepak Singh on Thursday said he has written to BJP MP from Amethi Smriti Irani, inviting her to join the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra in the state.
Mr Singh said he handed over the invitation to Irani's secretary Naresh Sharma at her camp office in Gauriganj on Wednesday.
The former Member of Legislative Council (MLC) said he was directed by the senior leaders of his party to invite everyone to join the Bharat Jodo Yatra. "I thought that Amethi MP Smriti Zubin Irani should be given an invitation letter before anybody else," he said.
Asked about the invite, district president of the BJP Durgesh Tripathi said there was no question of the Amethi MP or any other worker of the party joining the yatra.
"The BJP always works on the concept of a united India. India has never been broken, so where did this talk of uniting it come from," he asked.
Irani defeated former Congress president Rahul Gandhi from Amethi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The yatra will enter Uttar Pradesh via Ghaziabad on January 3.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale was arrested by Gujarat police from Delhi late Thursday evening in a case of alleged misuse of money he had collected through crowdfunding, said a senior official here.
Gokhale was arrested by the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch and was being brought here for further legal process, said the senior police official, adding that they would arrive by Friday afternoon.
This was for the third time Gokhale was arrested this month by Gujarat Police.
He was first arrested by the Cyber Crime Branch on December 6 for allegedly spreading fake news regarding the cost incurred on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Morbi town following a bridge collapse tragedy.
On December 1, Gokhale had shared a news clipping about information purportedly obtained through the Right to Information claiming that Modi's visit to Morbi after the bridge collapse cost Rs 30 crore.
Soon after he received bail from a court here, the TMC leader was again arrested on December 8 by the Morbi police for the same offence registered there. He was granted bail the next day.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said roads in India would be better than those in the United States of America by the end of 2024 under the Narendra Modi government.
He was speaking after inaugurating the first phase of a bridge on Zuari river, which is expected to improve connectivity between the North and South districts of Goa.
Asserting that road infrastructure was being created at a rapid pace in the country now, he said, "We have decided that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before the end of the year 2024, India's road infrastructure will be better than that of America."
The commissioning of the Manohar International Airport in Mopa earlier this month will pave the way for Goa to become the number one state in the country, he added.
Mr Gadkari also said his plans to start a water taxi system in Goa failed due to non-cooperation of the state's Captain of Ports office.
"The strength of Goa is in its ports and the plan was to connect ports with the airport by water taxi. Such a project would have saved Goa from pollution. The state, like water and air pollution, must also take care to curb sound pollution," he said.
Elaborating on his plans to reduce sound pollution, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways said he was contemplating the possibility of replacing the "blaring" sound of vehicle horns with soothing music.
Speaking about the new Zuari bridge, Mr Gadkari said it would have a revolving restaurant and viewers gallery on a tower.
"The state government had issued tenders for the project twice but could not get any response from bidders. I will help the state government on how to go ahead with this project," Mr Gadkari said.
Among those who were present for the bridge inauguration were Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Union Minister Shripad Naik.
Mr Gadkari also inaugurated the approach roads to the bridge from Bambolim to Verna villages.
As per the state government, this will be India's widest cable-stayed bridge when completed.
The bridge is part of a Rs 2,530 crore project covering a distance of 13.2 kilometres between Bambolim and Verna villages.
Constructor Dilip Buildcon Limited has said the entire the entire eight-lane project will be completed by April, 2023.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said that due to the RSS and BJP, Democracy in the country is in danger.
The Indian National Congress (INC), India's largest opposition party, marked its 138th foundation day on December 28. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge attend a Huge rally in Somaiya Ground, Mumbai. INC leaders like Kanhaiya Kumar, Nana Patole, KC Venugopal Ashok Chavan & Imran Pratapgarhi were also present at the occasion.
Mr Kharge while addressing the gathering said, "I want to aware youths, women, Dalits, Bhramans community that we should come together and make our Constitution and democracy safe. BJP and RSS destroying the Constitution, they are separating people on the bases of caste and religion. We want your support, if you won't support us then our democracy is in danger."
Mr Kharge added, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to give free rice now they extend it till December 2023 then to May till Election's after that they stop it and say we gave free rations for a long time now you pay for it".
Mr Kharge slammed BJP and said, "The Party has a huge washing machine that can clean even the biggest stains. When people are put into this machine they come out clean. We all have to fight together to save democracy. It is a govt of liars at the Centre."
Bharat Jodo Yatra is an attempt to fight against the atmosphere of hate being created by them (BJP) in the country. A notice was sent to Rahul Gandhi telling him that such events shouldn't be held due to Covid19 but the Prime Minister is attending many public events.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
A BTech final-year student of Rajasthan Technical University was arrested on Wednesday, days after an associate professor at the varsity was held for allegedly demanding sexual favours from students and failing them when rebuffed, police said.
The girl student, a native of Jaipur, has been made co-accused alongside the accused associate professor Girish Parmar and a male final-year student who allegedly mediated on his behalf.
The trio was sent to judicial custody till January 10 by a local court, they said.
The Special Investigations Team (SIT) probing into the incident found that Parmar allegedly used exams to trap women students, manipulated the examination papers and even assigned marks on blank answer copies, it said.
The SIT seized several answer copies from Parmar's home and has decided to investigate the sixth semester and mid-term exam results.
Deputy Superintendent of Police and SIT member Amar Singh said the co-accused female student allegedly worked with the professor, checked answer copies and gave marks according to her discretion. She even set the questions for semester exams in the department.
Parmar was arrested on December 21 for allegedly demanding sexual favours from a final-year student and failing her in his subject after he was rebuffed.
He also allegedly tried to mount pressure on the student through one of her classmates, who has also been arrested.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Wednesday alleged that the "people of the Sangh Parivaar" are breaking India into pieces on the basis of religion, caste and culture and the Bharat Jodo Yatra is a manifestation against such attempts.
Mr Aiyar, who has often courted controversies with his remarks, targeted the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and outfits related to it while speaking to reporters at the AICC headquarters during the Congress foundation day function.
The BJP slammed his remarks, saying the only time "India was broken was at the time of Partition" and blamed Congress for it.
Mr Aiyar said, "On the basis of religion, language, caste and culture, the people of Sangh Parivar have been breaking India into 'tukde tukde' (pieces). The Yatra is being undertaken against their wrong actions as there is a need for uniting India. We feel it."
Mr Aiyar was seated next to former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi at the 138th foundation day function at the AICC headquarters.
"I can see that happen. Can't you see... There is much effort to break it (country)..," Mr Aiyar said, when asked if India is "fragmented" (toota hua), and added that all have to "fight against it and the Yatra is a manifestation of this".
Hitting back, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Rahul Gandhi says that during his Yatra he could not see hatred or violence while, he claimed, Mani Shankar Aiyar says "Bharat toota hua hai".
"Who is correct?" he asked.
He said the Congress party which itself is broken is now trying once again to undermine the contribution of Sardar Patel by saying through Mani Shankar Aiyar that 'India is broken'.
"Bharat toota hua hai. Meaning, Sardar Patel could not unite India or it is broken and Rahul Gandhi will unite Bharat. Rahul Gandhi's own party is broken from Rajasthan to Delhi to Goa, to Karnataka to Telangana.
"Rahul Gandhi must fix his own party and unite his own party before he speaks and talks about uniting India, which apparently is broken in his views," the BJP leader said.
"The only time India was broken was at the time of Partition - thanks to the Congress Party and to those politicians who put their own interests above national interest.
"Therefore, Mani Shankar Aiyar, you must explain - Is Sardar Patel and his contribution being undermined by you and the Congress Party," he alleged.
Mr Poonawalla also said that time and again, the Congress Party has undermined Sardar Patel's contribution to uniting India.
"Today, this is not 'Bharat Jodo'. This is actually a Yatra of Bharat todo, nafrat jodo' (break India and spread hatred) by the kind of elements they have taken together right from George Ponniah to Medha Patkar to many others," he said.
The BJP has often accused the Congress of siding with the "tukde tukde gang", a term it has used for those it alleges want to break the country.
Veteran Congress leader and former union minister Mr Aiyar's remarks have stirred controversies earlier too. Mr Aiyar had in January 2014 made the famous "chaiwallah" remark against then BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, asking him to open a tea stall outside the Talkatora stadium where the Congress meeting was being held at the time.
He later made the "neech aadmi" remark against PM Modi in 2017, ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections which the BJP won.
The BJP then encashed on Mr Aiyar's controversial remark to gain public sympathy.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)