Summary of the main developments on day two of the UN climate summit in Glasgow
World leaders agree deal to end deforestation, as we reported this morning. Xi Jinping, Jair Bolsonaro and Joe Biden are among the leaders signing the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use.
Biden has announced a pledge to cut global methane emissions 30% by 2030. Reducing these emissions was touted as one of the most immediate opportunities to slow global heating before the summit, and almost 100 nations have now set a target to cut methane emissions 30% by 2030.
Continue reading...Downing Street fear hospitalisations and deaths among double-vaccinated could rise due to waning immunity
No 10 is increasingly worried that hospitalisations and deaths among double-vaccinated people could rise due to waning immunity as an estimated 4.5 million people have failed to get their booster shots despite being eligible.
Downing Street sources told the Guardian that the gap between those eligible and those jabbed was too wide, ranking it as their major concern ahead of the winter months.
Continue reading...Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): A 15-year-old-boy addicted to free fire games recharged a top up of Rs 1500 from his mother’s account without informing her.
Later, the boy made a false story of kidnapping in fear of being caught and he had also hurt himself to convince.
The boy who studied in class 10th was taken to the Sarafa police station when people found him crying in Rajwada, Indore, on October 28. He told the police that while going to coaching, two miscreants made him unconscious and took him into the car. They also beat up him.
The boy further told police that he somehow managed and escaped from their clutches. After that the police called the relatives and handed over the child.
The police took the whole matter seriously and started interrogating the child. The boy kept repeating the kidnapping story, but later on Monday, he confessed that he played the free fire game on mobile. He recharged a top-up from his mother's account. He ran away because of the fear of a debit message that may have reached her mother.
Also Read: Madhya Pradesh: Congress scripts saga regains Raigaon after three decades
Mumbai: Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister and chief spokesperson of the NCP Nawab Malik further sharpened his attack against Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director (Mumbai) Sameer Wankhede alleging extortion and exhibition of money power with a wardrobe beyond the means of an ‘honest and upright’ officer. Malik also slammed the leader of the opposition in the state assembly Devendra Fadnavis’s threat to expose his (Malik’s) links with the underworld and drug mafia, saying that nobody had the guts to point fingers at him and say that he had underworld connections.
“I have spent 62 years of my life in Mumbai but no one has had the guts to say I have such connections. Yesterday, Devendraji said, ‘Main Diwali ke baad bomb phodunga’. You don’t need to wait. It was suggested that Nawab Malik has underworld connections,” declared Malik. “If such were the case, why was no probe initiated against me when you (Fadnavis) were the CM?” Malik demanded.
Malik alleged that during Fadnavis’s tenure, parties took place at a five-star hotel, with each table costing Rs 15 lakh. “Drug business was transacted there. Why was it not probed,” he asked.
He also criticised Fadnavis for saying that he (Malik) had been levelling allegations against the NCB to weaken the chargesheet of his son-in-law Sameer Khan who was released in a drug case. “Will Fadnavis tender an apology, as the NCB’s panchnama clearly states that during the search, no contraband/suspicious substance was recovered,” he said. Malik’s daughter Nilofer released the panchnama on Twitter late on Tuesday evening.
Training his guns at Wankhede, Malik claimed the officer wore trousers worth a lakh of rupees, a shirt costing over Rs 70,000 and watches worth Rs 25-50 lakh. “How can an honest and upright officer claim to afford such expensive clothes?” he wondered.
“He (Wankhede) extorted crores by wrongly framing people,” Malik said, adding the NCB official had a private army to do the job. Malik claimed that Wankhede implicated people in fake cases. “Wankhede, through his private army, was involved in arresting innocent people and defaming them but let loose the big drug peddlers,” he noted.
Further, Malik claimed, for the last 15 days, there were three containers with drugs lying at the JNPT. He questioned why no action had been taken by the department of revenue intelligence in this matter.
Once again, Malik said that Wankhede had extorted money during his visits to the Maldives and Dubai. He said it cost more than Rs 30 lakh to visit the Maldives and questioned how an honest officer could afford such an expensive trip.
He also released a purported WhatsApp chat between Wankhede’s sister, advocate Yasmeen Wankhede and a drug accused for striking an alleged deal. However, Wankhede has denied Malik’s charges, saying that a peddler had approached his sister (a lawyer) but was sent back as she didn’t take NDPS cases.
Wankhede also dismissed allegations about his ‘expensive’ clothes, saying that Malik was spreading rumours. “As far as my expensive clothes are concerned, it is just a rumour. He does not have much knowledge about these things,” he said.
Malik also said that Wankhede had submitted his caste certificate to NCSC Chairman Vijay Sampla, who said he would forward it to the Maharashtra government. “It will be verified by the caste verification committee,” he added.
Malik has alleged that Wankhede had forged his caste certificate and other documents to secure a job as an IRS officer under the SC quota after clearing the UPSC examination. He also said that Wankhede was a Muslim by birth, a claim the officer has denied.
Speaking of former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh’s arrest, Nawab Malik said that the arrest was politically motivated and aimed at maligning the image of the state’s Maha Vikas Aghadi government leaders.
“The entire action (of arresting Deshmukh) is politically motivated. It is aimed at scaring the leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi,” said Malik.
Deshmukh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) late on Monday night, after being questioned for more than 12 hours in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged extortion racket in the state police establishment.
Meanwhile, Malik hit back at state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil and the leader of opposition in the legislative council, Pravin Darekar, for their statements that if he would continue to target their party and leaders, it would prove costly for him. “Information is being collected about my family members, including my grandchildren. If anything happens to them, then Patil and Darekar will be responsible,” he warned.
New Delhi: The CBI on Tuesday filed two charge sheets related to the alleged leak of confidential information about two different naval projects, officials said.
This is one of the quickest probes in defence corruption cases as the agency filed charge sheet within 60 days of the first arrests made on September 3 to ensure that the arrested accused do not get easy bail.
In one of the charge sheets, the CBI named retired naval officers --Commodore Randeep Singh and Commander SJ Singh -- while in the second case, besides these two, serving Commander Ajeet Kumar Pandey, and three executives of Hyderabad-based Allen Reinforced Plastics Ltd -- executive director TP Shastri and directors NB Rao and K Chandrasekhar -- have been listed.
The CBI has arrested six persons including the two accused retired officers, Pandey, another serving officer under him and two private individuals in an operation which started on September 3.
One of the naval officers under custody has not been named in the charge sheet and may be listed in the supplementary charge sheet to be filed soon.
The CBI has to file a charge sheet within 60 days of arrest of accused in corruption cases, else they become eligible for bail. The limit for special crime cases is 90 days.
"We have filed two separate charge sheets as we are probing the role of the accused in the two different naval projects," an official said.
In its charge sheets filed before a special CBI court at Rouse Avenue, the CBI has slapped section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case began when the agency received the input that some serving officers in the Western Headquarters of Navy working on retrofitting of Russian Kilo class submarines were allegedly being influenced by retired naval officers and were receiving pecuniary benefits, the officials said.
After registering a case on September 2, the CBI carried out searches the next day during which two retired officers Commodore Randeep Singh and Commander SJ Singh, who works for a Korean submarine company, were arrested, they said.
During the searches Rs 2.40 crore were recovered which included the trap money, the officials said.
Later during the probe, the CBI took into custody two navy commanders, they said.
An alleged hawala dealer and director of a private company were also taken into custody during the probe, the officials said.
It is alleged that the serving officers of Commander rank in Navy were allegedly leaking confidential information to their retired officers in return for pecuniary gains.
The sources said further probe is continuing and the role of some foreign nationals is also under scanner.
The Anti Corruption unit of the agency, which handles sensitive and high profile corruption cases, was tasked to unearth the leakage of information following which the operation was started, they said.
The unit has questioned several other officers and ex-servicemen who were in regular touch with the arrested officer and retired personnel, they said.
The CBI is conducting a forensic analysis of digital products used by the officer to understand if the information had fallen into the hands of people with vested interests, they said.
"Investigation related to alleged information leak of administrative and commercial nature being with some unauthorised personnel has come to light and is being investigated by appropriate government agency," the Navy had said in a statement.
The investigation by the agency with complete support of the Indian Navy is in progress, it had said.
An internal inquiry by the Navy is also being progressed, it had said.
Pakistan on Tuesday became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup with a victory over Namibia by 45 runs at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Pakistan racked up 189 in their allotted 20 overs and then restricted Namibia's reply to 144/5 as Men in Green registered their fourth win in four games in the World Cup. Chasing 190, Namibia struggled against the Pakistan pace attack, with opener Michael van Lingen cleaned up by Hasan Ali in the powerplay. The African side's score read 34/1 after the first six overs.
With runs in scarcity, Stephan Baard after a composed 29 off 29 balls walked back to the dressing room in the 9th over after getting run out. Imad Wasim removed Gerhard Erasmus in the 13th over. Craig Williams followed his countryman in the next over.
JJ Smit was dismissed in the 17th over as Namibia slumped to 110/5. In the end, Namibia fell short 46 runs short of the target.
Earlier, opting to bat first, Pakistan made 189-2. Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 79* off 50 balls, with his opening partner and captain Babar Azam continuing their brilliant partnership with a 70 off his own.
Mohammad Hafeez added polish to the innings with a sparkling 32 off just 16 late on, with Pakistan scoring an eye-watering 130 runs in the last ten overs.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 189-2 (Mohammad Rizwan 79*, Babar Azam 70; David Wiese 1-30, Jan Frylinck 1-31) vs Namibia 144/5 (David Wiese 43*, Craig Williams 40; Hasan Ali 1-22, Imad Wasim 1-13)
Bhopal: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday reviewed the ongoing preparations for tribals’ convention to be organised at Jamboori Maidan where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is schedule to visit on November 15.
He visited newly constructed Habibganj railway station to be dedicated to people by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will address the tribals’ convention to be held on Birsa Munda Jayanti. The day will be celebrated as Tribal Pride Day. The chief minister has asked officials to showcase traditions, culture, life values of tribals residing in the state.
During his visit, the chief minister was told about the products made by tribal self-help groups. Tribal dance will also be presented. Chouhan directed that special care should be taken of people coming for the convention so that they do not face any problem during transportation.
Also Read: Bhopal: If water not conserved, future generations will face threat to life, says Governor
Glasgow: India on Tuesday launched ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid' at the global climate conference with an aim to harness solar energy wherever the sun is shining, thereby ensuring that generated electricity flows to areas that need it most.
As part of this, it unveiled plans for the first international network of global interconnected solar power grids, known as the Green Grids Initiative. The project is being spearheaded by the governments of India and the UK and will bring together a global coalition of national governments, international financial and technical organisations, legislators, power system operators and knowledge leaders.
In doing so, the project aims to reduce reliance on non-renewable energy such as coal by enabling consumers to purchase affordable solar power from other countries.
The announcement was accompanied by the One Sun declaration, which has been endorsed by 83 countries.
The declaration by the member countries said that to help deliver the vision of One Sun One World One Grid, they have resolved to combine our efforts and create a more interconnected global grid.
They will also focus on developing innovative financial instruments, market structures, and facilitate financial and technical assistance to attract low-cost capital, including climate finance, for global solar grid infrastructure, the declaration said.
The global grid concept was first announced by Prime Minister Modi in October 2018.
West Indies Women Team is all set for their Pakistan tour where they will play 3-game ODI series. However, before the series, the Security and Emergency Services Department DIG claimed that the Karachi Police Department of Security and Emergency Services had put together a security plan for the next match. All games in the series will be played at the National Stadium in Karachi.
Reportedly, At least 368 Police Special Security Unit (SSU) commandos along with 500 police and law enforcement agencies personnel will provide security to the West Indies Women Cricket Team tour in the port city.
The security plan was finalized in a meeting that was attended by the senior officers of police, Army, Rangers, PCB, and all stakeholders.
In addition, a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team including women commandos will be on standby at the SSU headquarters to deal with any emergent situation.
The matches will be held from November 8 to 14. The Cricket West Indies CEO had earlier stated that this tour will act as great preparation for the side ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers that are set to begin on November 21.
(with inputs from sources)
Congress candidate Jitesh Raosaheb Antapurkar is leading by 21,082 votes against his nearest BJP rival Subhash Pirajirao Sabne in Deglur (SC) Assembly seat as per the trends of counting of votes for the bypoll available so far on Tuesday.
Counting of votes for the bypoll held on October 30, necessitated due to the death of sitting Congress MLA Raosaheb Antapurkar due to coronavirus, began at 8 am.
#AnilDeshmukh remanded in Enforcement Directorate's custody till Saturday, Nov 6.@fpjindia @NCPspeaks @AnilDeshmukhNCP
— Bhavna Uchil (@UchilBhavna) November 2, 2021
A Mumbai court on Tuesday remanded former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh to the Enforcement Directorate's custody till November 6 in a multi-crore money laundering case, hours after his arrest following marathon questioning.
Deshmukh (71) was arrested by the ED on late Monday night after over 12 hours of questioning here in the money laundering case linked to an alleged extortion racket in the state police establishment, an action termed as politically motivated by his party NCP, an ally in Maharashtra's ruling coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
He was produced for remand before additional sessions judge P B Jadhav, who presided over the special holiday court, a little after noon.
Taking forward the battle with Narcotics Control Bureau's Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik in Tuesday shared purported WhatsApp chats between a drug peddler and the officer's sister, Yasmeen Wankhede.
Malik also questioned the lavish parties with crores of rupees thrown at a five-star hotel with each table costing Rs 15 lakh during the tenure of Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis.
In a setback for Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the BJP lost the bypoll in Hangal -- the home district of the CM. The Congress managed to secure the seat in a closely-contested election. Bommai had campaigned hard as his prestige was at stake. This was also the first major electoral test for Bommai after he took over as CM late July.
Mane Shrinivas of the Congress, who had lost the 2018 elections by a slim margin, won by a margin of 7,225 votes. The BJP had denied a ticket to the powerful family of late Minister CM Udasi, who represented the constituency. Hangal was represented by the late Udasi of the BJP, a close confidant of former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa.
However, Ramesh Bhoosanur of the BJP emerged victorious in Sindagi by a whopping 93,380 votes to emerge as a clear winner. Already losing relevance in Karnataka politics, the loss of Sindagi has come as a major setback for the JD(S) and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda as his party had to concede a sitting seat to the BJP. Sindagi was represented by former minister MC Managuli of the JD(S).
Also Read: Farmers from Karnataka, Andhra oppose govt's plan to introduce contract farming in tobacco sector
US-led alliance includes 90 countries but China, India and Russia have not joined the methane pact
US president Joe Biden has unveiled a multinational plan to control methane, regarded by the administration as the single most potent way to combat the climate crisis in the short term.
Leading an alliance of 90 countries, including for the first time Brazil, on Tuesday Biden set out new regulatory measures to limit global methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by the end of the decade.
Continue reading...To speed up vaccination across remote areas and villages in Thane, a special week-long vaccination drive will be organised by the collector from November 11-18. Collector Rajesh Narvekar held a meeting on Monday to discuss the details. It was discussed that even though the number of coronavirus cases are going down, the vaccination target is yet to be met.
An official from the collector’s office said the pace of vaccination has slackened owing to the festive season and the ongoing farming work.
Narvekar said to strengthen the drive in rural and remote villages of Thane, an official in the Taluka task force has been appointed. “We will see that citizens also take the second dose on time, even if Covid cases have declined. Only vaccination can arm us against the next wave,” he said.
Narvekar has set the December target for officials to vaccinate as many citizens as possible. He said that vehicles have been arranged by his office to reach around 111 remote villages in Thane, with the responsibility of raising awareness lying with the taluka committee, panchayat, sarpanch and talati.
Mumbai: As the king of romance Shah Rukh Khan turned 56 on Tuesday, his fans and followers have been gathering outside his house Mannat to get a glimpse of their idol, who every year comes out on his balcony to thank them. However, this year seems to be a tad different. According to reports, King Khan's birthday will be a quiet affair as police officers have been posted outside his residence.
Police officials have reportedly said that they have a message from Shah Rukh's manager Pooja Dadlani, informing them that the superstar, his son Aryan Khan and other family members are at his farmhouse in Alibaug. The news comes just after reports said Shah Rukh is planning to spend time at his Alibaug home after Aryan's release from jail, according to reports. It was on October 30, when Aryan finally walked out of the Arthur Road Central Jail (ARCJ).
The Narcotics Control Bureau had claimed that Aryan along with others, was prima facie involved in "illicit drug trafficking, procuring and distribution of contraband" banned under the NDPS Act.
The 50 per cent firecracker emissions scenario and the prevailing weather conditions will aggravate the high smoke level and push the air quality to very poor range a day after Diwali (November 5), predicted System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). As per the forecast for the Diwali-2021 released by SAFAR, the air quality is likely to improve from November 6.
According to the forecast, the temperature is likely to be warmer with high humidity. High temperature and humidity levels lower the level of pollution in the city.
SAFAR, run by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences with the support of the Indian Meteorological Department, predicts the quality of air. The air quality forecast for the Diwali-2021 period was issued based on the high-resolution atmospheric chemistry transport model known as the SAFAR-Air Quality Forecasting Model.
The AQ forecast released by SAFAR further stated that the concentration of fine particles, PM 2.5, on November 4 is expected to be 111 ug/m3 without firecracker emissions. But with 50 per cent cracker emissions, the PM 2.5 is expected to reach 129 ug/m3 and further increase to 182 ug/m3 on November 5. The 24-hour permissible level is 60 micrograms per cubic meter.
The day after Diwali, the PM2.5 concentration is expected to be 102 ug/m3 without firecracker emissions and on November 6, it will come down to 87 ug/m3.
"During the past 1 week, calm wind with relatively colder conditions prevailed in Mumbai which favours trapping of pollutants. However, now the temperature is warmer with high humidity," the forecast stated.
The highest level of PM 10 and 2.5 are forecast for early morning hours between 1 am and 4 am on the night of November 4 and 5, but it will start to improve from the next day.
As per SAFAR's AQ forecast, the most polluted areas are expected to be Navi Mumbai, BKC and Chembur on both November 4 and November 5.
Following Covid-19 restrictions, higher temperatures and wind speed faster than usual kept pollution levels in control post-Diwali in November 2020. The day after had the second-cleanest post-Diwali day air since monitoring began in 2015, SAFAR said.
The Santacruz weather observatory recorded day temperature at 36 degrees Celsius in the city on Tuesday, 2 degrees Celsius above normal. 36 degrees Celsius was the highest day temperature recorded last year. The mean maximum temperature for November is 33.7 degrees Celsius. The all-time record for the highest maximum temperature in November is 37.6 degrees Celsius on November 4, 2018.
Mumbai recorded ‘poor to very poor air quality on Tuesday
On Sunday the overall AQI recorded by Mumbai was poor at 266. With 259 and 252 Malad and Chembur stations too recorded poor AQI. However, the AQI recorded at Colaba, Mazgaon and BKC stations was very poor with 346, 356 and 313 AQI respectively.
According to data of System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India initiative which provide location-specific information on air quality in near real-time and which monitors AQI at 10 stations an AQI between 301-400 is categorised as ‘very poor’.
SAFAR categorises AQI levels from 0-50 as good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 as moderate, 201-300 as poor, 301-400 as very poor, and above 401 as severe.
Also Read: Increase in fire emission may cause Delhi's 'moderate' AQI to degrade to 'poor' over next 3 days
To boost indigenous defence production and facilitate interaction with the industry, Indian Army’s Southern Command on Tuesday formally launched the first Regional Technology Node (RTN) at Pune.
The event was organised by Headquarters Southern Command in conjunction with the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM). The programme also included a launch of a start-up forum by SIDM and was live streamed and attended by heads and representatives of more than 100 industries, start-ups and army establishments from across the country.
Delivering the keynote address, Lt Gen JS Nain, General Officer Commanding-in Chief, Southern Command, emphasised upon the timely absorption of cutting edge technologies for military modernisation, achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing and the role of Indian industry in the same. He exhorted the industry to come forward with their proposals and become a partner in the process.
Jayant D Patil, President of the Society, Maj Gen Kirti Jauhar, Additional Director General of the Army Design Bureau, S P Shukla, vice-president of SIDM, Abhishek Jain, chairman, SIDM Start-up Forum and Col Rajinder Singh Bhatia (Retd), president and CEO Defence, Bharat Forge Limited were among the dignitaries.
In line with the Atmanir Bharat and Make in India push of the government, the Defence Ministry and the Army have taken major strides in indigenisation of defence equipment with the aim of reducing dependency on foreign suppliers and eventually emerge as an export hub for defence goods.
It was a great relief from four years of pain for the 52-year-old woman. The woman from Versova, Mumbai, met with a road accident in 2017 while in the USA. She underwent multiple surgeries and had to be on the ventilator for two weeks.
Due to the severity of the accident, her abdomen could not be closed, and it took over six months to heal with regular dressings while she was in the ICU. For the years after the car accident, it was a task for her to live the routine life, she developed extreme trauma owing to multiple complexities.
According to the doctors, the woman started showing an increasing abdomen bulge, which worsened over four years, and the pain increased significantly. Following which she consulted multiple medical experts and was recommended a few Tera which revealed that she had a sizable incisional hernia with a wide defect of 21cms, which means that 21cm of her abdomen was without any muscles, and 60% of her intestines were outside the abdomen in the Hernia sac which is termed as loss of domain (LOD) in medical terms.
Dr Ramesh Punjani, consultant–general, laparoscopic & robotic surgeon, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, and an expert in abdominal wall reconstruction, conducted the surgery. He was assisted by Dr Hemant Patil, consultant–general surgery, Fortis Hospital and Dr Eham Arora.
“Our team has a considerable amount of experience in treating this type of hernia. Hence we decided to go ahead. At first, we injected Botox into her lateral muscles six weeks before the scheduled surgery. Botox creates temporary paralysis of muscles which can be stretched during surgery. Post that period, we did an abdominal wall reconstruction with bilateral transverse abdominis release. In this, we put a large piece of mesh (50 cm x 50 cm) to bring back the widely separated muscles and recreate the midline. We had anticipated a total of seven hours for the entire procedure, and that’s the duration it took us,” explained Dr Ramesh Punjani, the lead surgeon, Consultant–General, Laparoscopic & Robotic Surgeon.
“This type of operation needs a very competent and reliable team of surgeons, anaesthetists, ICU team, physiotherapists, etc. The woman expressed immense gratitude for the kind of hospitality and treatment Dr Ramesh Punjani and Fortis hospitals provided to her during the 9-day stay and recovery. The patient was successfully discharged on the fifth day after the surgery, with no side effects. Now, she is living every day, counting her blessings for getting a second chance at survival,” Dr Pujani concluded.
Also Read: Mumbai: Fire breaks out in shop at Bori compound in Goregaon; no one injured
BHOPAL: Counting for by-elections to three state assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha constituency will start at 8 AM on Tuesday. Winning candidates have been instructed not to take out any procession. They will be given certificate in presence of only two persons, said deputy CEO, Pramod Kumar Shukla. Counting will begin in the presence of central observers and returning officers in each constituency. As many as 340 officials have been pressed for counting in all constituencies. Reserve police force and paramilitary forces have been deployed at all places of counting.
According to officials, counting will be done in 22 rounds in Prithvipur Assembly, 23 in Raigaon and 30 rounds in Jobat Assembly. Counting for Prithvipur will be held in Govt Shaheed Chandrashekhar Azad PG College in Niwari whereas that of Raigaon assembly will be held at Govt Excellence Higher Secondary School in Satna. Counting for Jobat assembly will be held in Govt College in Alirajpur. As far as Khandwa LS is concerned, counting will be done in government schools and colleges situated in its 8 Assembly constituencies. Separate halls have been allotted for counting of postal ballots. Overall 16 tables have been placed for counting of postal ballots in all constituencies including 2 each in Niwari and Satna, 4 in Alirajpur and 8 tables in Khandwa Lok Sabha. Additional police force and paramilitary forces have been deployed at all counting centres. In Niwari and Satna 1 team of central police force and 250 police personnel from district police have been deployed at the counting centre.
In Alirajpur 2.5 teams of central police force and 164 personnel from district police force have been deputed. For Khandwa lok sabha, more than 9 teams of central police force and 1811 police personnel from district police have been deployed at all 8 counting centers.
New Delhi: After the crushing eight-wicket defeat against New Zealand, former India opener Gautam Gambhir has slammed the Virat-Kohli-led side, saying that they have the skills but lack the much-needed mental toughness to win big knockout games in ICC tournaments.
India have succumbed to pressure and lost two successive matches, against Pakistan and New Zealand, in the ongoing 2021 Men's T20 World Cup.
According to Gambhir, the Indian team has the skills but they lack the mental strength to win important games in ICC events.
"Yes talent is one thing; you've got all the skills and do really well in bilaterals and stuff. But when it comes to these kinds of games and tournaments, this is when you have got to stand up and perform," said Gambhir on ESPNCricinfo.
''This game was literally like a quarterfinal. The problem is with the mental toughness of the side. Suddenly when you know you have got to win the game and can't make mistakes, in bilaterals it's different because you can make mistakes there. But in these kinds of games, I don't think India has got that mental strength," he added.
The former opener, who is often remembered for his two match-winning knocks for India in the finals of the 2007 T20 World Cup and 50-over mega-event in 2011, felt that someone should have put his hand up when it mattered most for the team.
"They have the skill and are a very dangerous side. But, unfortunately, we can keep talking about it that we need to stand by our team when it's not doing well but it's been a trend and it's been happening for a very long time in most of these ICC tournaments, whether it's the semifinals or the game (against New Zealand on October 31) as well. When it mattered the most for someone to put his hand up, they just couldn't," said Gambhir.
Meanwhile, Gambhir's opening partner Virender Sehwag mentioned that India's body language wasn't great in the game against New Zealand and they need some serious introspection.
''Very disappointing from India. NZ were amazing. India's body language wasn't great, poor shot selection and like few times in the past, New Zealand have virtually ensured we won't make it to the next stage. This one will hurt India and time for some serious introspection #IndvsNZ, '' Sehwag said in a tweet.
India have three matches remaining in the tournament and another loss will confirm their early exit from the competition. The Men in Blue will have to win their remaining matches by big margins to ensure their net run rate can be improved and they stand a chance at qualifying.
They will next face Afghanistan in their third match on November 3 in Abu Dhabi in the hope of turning their campaign around in the mega event.
BHOPAL: Notwithstanding the state government's claims that its flagship scheme - Ladli Laxmi Yojna - has improved the status of girl children, figures tell a different story. According to SRS (Sample Registration System) data published last month, the female infant mortality (IMR) rate in the state is 43, the highest in the country.
A high female IMR is the outcome of bias against the girl child in society. In MP, data shows, 43 of every 1,000 girls do not survive till their first birthday. This is the highest among all states and Union Territories. In comparison, female IMR is 33, 42 and 38 in Bihar, UP and Odisha respectively. All the above three are considered backward states.The Ladli Laxmi Yojana was launched by the state government in April 2007. According to the official website of the scheme, it has three main objectives: Developing a positive mindset with regard to birth of a girl child, improving sex ratio and bettering health and educational status of the girls.So far, around 39 lakh girls have been registered under the scheme. Earlier this month, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan launched version 2.0 of the scheme under which an additional Rs 25,000 would be given to the Ladli Laxmis on taking admission in colleges.
The sex ratio at birth (which is the best measure of preference for male child) in the state, instead of improving, has fallen over the years. It fell from 927 in 2012 to 925 in 2018 (SRS 2018). In this period, several states, including Punjab, Odisha, Maharashtra and UP have managed to improve their sex ratio at birth. A low sex ratio at birth clearly points at sex-specific abortions, say experts. The dropout rate for girls in MP at the secondary (classes 9-10) level is 21.8, which is way above the national average of 15.1. Among major states, only Bihar and Odisha are worse off than Madhya Pradesh in this respect.
The Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo, also known as the Byculla zoo opened its gates to the public on Monday after remaining closed for seven months due to the Covid-19 induced pandemic. The zoo drew over 1,600 visitors and garnered revenue of Rs 68,725 on Monday, authorities said.
According to zoo authorities, the two biggest attractions for visitors were the two Royal Bengal tigers named Shakti and Karishma followed by the Humboldt penguins.
After remaining shut for 11 months, the zoo reopened on February 15, 2021, but had to shut down again in April due to the second wave of Covid. The November 1 reopening has come after a gap of nearly seven months.
The zoo has lost a significant amount of revenue during the pandemic. Between March and June 2019, it had collected nearly Rs 1.87 crore through the sale of tickets. Before the lockdown, during peak season, its revenue collection touched Rs 4.5 - Rs 5 lakh per month. However, revenue collected up to March 15, 2020, was just Rs 1.92 lakh.
Director of Byculla zoo, Dr. Sanjay Tripathi said, "We handled a total of 1,621 people on Monday, this is excluding children below three years of age and senior citizens. During pre-Covid times the daily weekly average visitor count was to 4,000 to 5,000, which went down to 3,000 during weekdays between the first and second wave. The number of visitors is expected to increase during the weekend."
The Byculla Zoo also gets many visitors in the form of morning and evening walkers. However, currently due to Covid-19, only a morning walk is allowed in the zoo between 6 am to 8.30 am followed by the operational timings of the zoo which is 9.30 am to 6 pm. The entry fee for the zoo is Rs 50, however, the BMC last week appealed to children and senior citizens to avoid visiting the zoo owing to Covid-19.
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