Saba Azad praises Hrithik Roshan's performance in 'Vikram Vedha', says 'you make me so so proud' | People News

New Delhi: Bollywood actor Saba Azad, on Saturday, praised her boyfriend Hrithik Roshan`s performance in the recently released action thriller film `Vikram Vedha`.

Taking to Instagram, Saba shared a picture on his story and wrote, “Congratulations on an excellent performance to the most hard-working human I know – you make me so so proud Ro!!.”

Here is the picture shared by the actress:

In another story, Saba shared a picture of `Vikram Vedha` and wrote, “Congratulations to team #vikramvedha for a super engaging film – iv seen is twice and Im gonna see it again…and again!!.”

Here is the post shared by the actress:

The rumours about Hrithik and Saba started when they were spotted out on a dinner date together in February. Later, Saba also joined Hrithik`s family for a get-together. However, Hrithik and Saba have been making the headlines since they first appeared together at producer Karan Johar`s 50th birthday party.

Helmed by Pushkar and Gayatri `Vikram Vedha` also starred Saif Ali Khan and Radhika Apte in the lead roles and is currently receiving positive responses from the audience.

The story of `Vikram Vedha` is full of twists and turns, as a tough cop Vikram (Saif Ali Khan) sets out to track and chase a dreaded gangster Vedha (Hrithik Roshan). What unfolds is a cat-and-mouse chase, where Vedha – a master storyteller helps Vikram peel back layers through a series of stories leading to thought-provoking moral ambiguities.

Meanwhile, Hrithik will be next seen in director Siddharth Anand`s next action thriller film `Fighter` alongside Deepika Padukone. Saba, on the other hand, Saba is a multi-talented actor and singer. She was a part of many noteworthy Bollywood films like `Detective Byomkesh Bakshi`, `Shaandaar`, and `Karwaan` and she will be next seen in the film `Songs of Paradise`

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Maharashtra Is India's Third Cleanest State. First Two Are...

Chhattisgarh secured the 2nd position, Maharashtra took the 3rd spot.

New Delhi:

Indore was adjudged India’s cleanest city for the sixth time in a row, while Surat and Navi Mumbai followed it on the next two spots in the Central government’s annual cleanliness survey, the results of which were announced Saturday.

In the category of best performing states in ‘Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022’, Madhya Pradesh has secured the first position, followed by Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.

Indore and Surat retained their top positions in the big cities category this year, while Vijaywada lost its third spot to Navi Mumbai.

Among the states having fewer than 100 urban local bodies, Tripura has bagged the top rank, according to the survey results.

President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday gave away the awards to the winners at an event here also attended by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and others.

In the category of cities having population fewer than one lakh, Maharashtra’s Panchgani was ranked number one, followed by Chhattisgarh’s Patan (NP) and Maharashtra’s Karhad.

Haridwar was adjudged the cleanest Ganga town in the category of more than 1 lakh population, followed by Varanasi and Rishikesh. PTI BUN Bijnor was ranked the first among Ganga towns with fewer than one lakh population. followed by Kannauj and Garhmukhteshwar respectively.

In to the survey, Maharashtra’s Deolali was adjudged the country’s cleanest Cantonment Board.

The 7th edition of Swachh Survekshan was conducted to study the progress of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) and rank the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) based on various cleanliness and sanitation parameters.

The Survekshan has evolved from being an assessment of 73 cities in 2016 to covering 4,354 cities this year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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કપાસના પાક પર રોગચાળાનું જોખમ વધતાં ખેડૂતો પરેશાન, ઉત્પાદનમાં ભારે ઘટાડો થવાની શક્યતા | Farmers are worried as the risk of disease on the cotton crop increases

મહારાષ્ટ્રના નંદુરબાર જિલ્લામાં કપાસની (Cotton) ખેતી મોટાપાયે થાય છે. પરંતુ, આ વર્ષે કપાસના પાક પર મોડા બ્લાઈટ રોગના હુમલાના કારણે પાકને નુકસાન થઈ રહ્યું છે. જેના કારણે ખેડૂત મુશ્કેલીમાં મુકાઈ ગયો છે. જેના કારણે ઉત્પાદનમાં ઘટાડો થઈ શકે છે.

કપાસના પાકમાં જીવાતોનો ઉપદ્રવ વધી રહ્યો છે

Image Credit source: TV9 Digital

મહારાષ્ટ્રમાં (Maharashtra)દર વર્ષે મોટા પ્રમાણમાં કપાસનું (Cotton) ઉત્પાદન થાય છે. આ વર્ષે પણ રાજ્યમાં મોટા વિસ્તારમાં કપાસનું વાવેતર થયું છે. પરંતુ, કપાસના ખેડૂતો (farmers) આ સમયે ચિંતિત છે. શરૂઆતમાં ભારે વરસાદ અને હવે કપાસ પર જીવાત અને રોગના પ્રકોપથી ખેડૂતો પરેશાન છે. તે જ સમયે, રાજ્યના નંદુરબાર જિલ્લામાં કપાસની ખેતી પણ મોટાપાયે થાય છે. પરંતુ, હવે કપાસમાં લેટ બ્લાઈટ રોગનો પ્રકોપ જોવા મળી રહ્યો છે. તેનાથી કપાસ ઉગાડતા ખેડૂતો ચિંતામાં મુકાયા છે.

જલગાંવ, ધુલે, ખાન દેશ, નંદુરબાર જિલ્લાઓમાં રાજ્યમાં સૌથી વધુ કપાસનું વાવેતર થાય છે. આ જિલ્લાઓ કપાસ તરીકે ઓળખાય છે. અહીં મોટા પ્રમાણમાં કપાસનું ઉત્પાદન થાય છે. જોકે, નંદુરબાર જિલ્લાના કપાસના ખેડૂતો હાલ મુશ્કેલીમાં છે. કારણ કે કપાસના પાકને આ રોગની અસર થાય છે. ગયા વર્ષે કપાસના વિક્રમી ભાવ બાદ નંદુરબાર જિલ્લામાં કપાસના વાવેતર વિસ્તારમાં જંગી વધારો જોવા મળ્યો હતો. ખેતીના સમાચાર અહીં વાંચો.

આ વર્ષે કપાસના વાવેતરમાં વધારો થયો છે

આ વર્ષે ખરીફ સિઝન દરમિયાન જિલ્લામાં એક લાખ 25 હજાર હેક્ટરથી વધુ વિસ્તારમાં કપાસનું વાવેતર થયું છે. ખેડૂતો આ વર્ષે પણ કપાસના સારા ભાવની અપેક્ષા રાખી રહ્યા છે. પરંતુ, કપાસ પર રોગના કારણે ખેડૂતોની મુશ્કેલી વધી રહી છે. જિલ્લામાં કપાસના ખુમારી અને ગુલાબી થડનો પ્રકોપ પણ મોટા પાયે જોવા મળી રહ્યો છે. આ જીવાતો અને રોગોને કારણે પાંદડા પીળા અને લાલ થઈ જાય છે, વૈકલ્પિક રીતે, છોડમાં પોષક તત્વોનો અભાવ હોય છે, જે છોડના વિકાસ અને ઉત્પાદનને અસર કરે છે. એકંદરે, સમયસર વરસાદ અને ફળદ્રુપ વાતાવરણને કારણે આ વર્ષે ખેડૂતોને કપાસના સારા ઉત્પાદનની અપેક્ષા હતી. પરંતુ આ રોગના વધતા જતા પ્રકોપથી ખેડૂતોનો મોહભંગ થયો હોય તેમ લાગી રહ્યું છે.

આ વર્ષે પણ કપાસને વિક્રમી ભાવ મળવાની શક્યતા છે

પ્રાથમિક માહિતી મુજબ જિલ્લામાં પંદરથી વીસ હજાર હેક્ટરથી વધુ વિસ્તારમાં આ રોગનો પ્રકોપ જોવા મળી રહ્યો છે. આ જ ખેડૂતોનું કહેવું છે કે રાજ્ય સરકારે અસરગ્રસ્ત વિસ્તારોના પંચનામા કરવાનો આદેશ કરવો જોઈએ. ત્યારે એકરમાં થયેલા નુકસાનને અનુલક્ષીને ખેડૂતોને તાત્કાલિક ધોરણે સહાયની રકમ જાહેર કરવી જોઈએ તેવી ખેડૂતોની માંગ છે. કૃષિ તજજ્ઞો કહે છે કે આ વર્ષે પણ કપાસના પાકના ભાવ દસ હજારની ઉપર જોવા મળી રહ્યા છે. પરંતુ પાક પર રોગચાળાને કારણે ઉત્પાદનમાં ઘટાડો થતાં ખેડૂતોની હાલત કફોડી બની છે.

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Wait, what? Man gets Rs. 22 lakh repair estimate for a car worth Rs. 11 lakh | Trending

The recent downpour in Bengaluru had wreaked havoc in the city. People were stuck in their homes after roads were flooded, and transportation was badly affected. Not only this, but several buildings’ basements experienced waterlogging too. As a result, numerous cars were left in the water, causing serious water damage to the vehicles. Following this, car owners sought out help from repair service centers. However, the repairing costs came in an estimated lakhs of rupees for some people. One such incident happened with LinkedIn user Anirudh Ganesh.

After Ganesh’s car faced damage due to the floods, he sent it for repair to Volkswagen Apple Auto in Whitefield. However, to his shock, he was handed an estimate of ₹22 lakh to repair his Volkswagen Polo that cost him ₹11 lakh.

Ganesh later took to LinkedIn and narrated the incident. He said, “My car got damaged due to the Bangalore floods. In the peak of the rain, I got the car out and sent it to the Apple Auto Whitefield showroom, where I had to push my car onto a towing truck in waist-deep water at 11 pm. No one to help but we middle-class people are tough. Karlete hai kisi tarah.”

He further explained that after he received the estimate for his car’s repair, he got in touch with his insurance provider, Acko, who informed him that the car would be written off as a total loss and that they would pick it up from the repair shop. But much to his astonishment, the servicing centre required him to pay them Rs. 44,840 before he could pick up his car. They infomed Ganesh that this cost was necessary to issue paperwork describing the harm the car had endured. Later, when he contacted Volkswagen India, he came to know that the charge is ₹5,000 which he eventually paid.

“Volkswagen India team (Mr.Sumanth and Ms.Poonam) have spoken and said that prices in such scenario will be set to the upper limit of Rs.5000 for estimation/storage for car owners in total loss cases. I hope this information helps everyone,” Ganesh added. He finally got his car back on 26th September.

Take a look at Anirudh Ganesh’s whole ordeal here:

The man was handed a bill of Rs. 22 lakhs(LinkedIn/@AnirudhGanesh)

The man was handed a bill of Rs. 22 lakhs(LinkedIn/@AnirudhGanesh)

The man was handed a bill of Rs. 22 lakhs(LinkedIn/@AnirudhGanesh)

After Anirudh Ganesh shared about this incident, many people viewed his LinkedIn post. The post has been shared more than 400 times and has 15,000 likes and thousands of comments. A LinkedIn user commented, “This is absolutely not acceptable. Speaks in volume about the company’s so-called customer-centric approach.” Another user said, “This is scary. Crony capitalism has no respect towards consumer protection?” Someone also added, “I have been a victim of such practices by VW ARBA and Sundaram Chennai in 2013… It is shocking to know these practices exist still.”

Many other users have also commented about their similar experiences with dealers.

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Indore Adjudged India's Cleanest City for 6th Time in a Row, Surat Retains 2nd Rank

Last Updated: October 01, 2022, 17:38 IST

Haridwar was adjudged the cleanest Ganga town in the category of more than 1 lakh population, followed by Varanasi and Rishikesh. (Photo: Twitter/@SwachSurvekshan)

Indore and Surat retained their top positions in the big cities category this year, while Vijaywada lost its third spot to Navi Mumbai. Among the states having fewer than 100 urban local bodies, Tripura has bagged the top rank, according to the survey results

Indore was adjudged India’s cleanest city for the sixth time in a row, while Surat and Navi Mumbai followed it on the next two spots in the Central government’s annual cleanliness survey, the results of which were announced Saturday.

In the category of best performing states in ‘Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022’, Madhya Pradesh has secured the first position, followed by Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.

Indore and Surat retained their top positions in the big cities category this year, while Vijaywada lost its third spot to Navi Mumbai. Among the states having fewer than 100 urban local bodies, Tripura has bagged the top rank, according to the survey results.

President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday gave away the awards to the winners at an event here also attended by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and others. In the category of cities having population fewer than one lakh, Maharashtra’s Panchgani was ranked number one, followed by Chhattisgarh’s Patan (NP) and Maharashtra’s Karhad.

Haridwar was adjudged the cleanest Ganga town in the category of more than 1 lakh population, followed by Varanasi and Rishikesh.

Read all the Latest News India and Breaking News here

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Priyanka Chopra Discusses Mansplaining, Abortion Laws With Kamala Harris At White House

Priyanka Chopra started the session with a jab at men patronising women.

Priyanka Chopra on Friday visited the White House and interacted with US Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Committee’s Women’s Leadership Forum. In the images surfacing online, Priyanka Chopra was seen seated on the stage wearing a yellow outfit and asking Kamala Harris some important questions about various topics. 

The two discussed issues such as abortion laws, pay parity and gun reform in the United States. According to Reuters, the 40-year-old star started the session with a jab at men patronising women. She pointed to the silence in the room and jokingly said, “Do you hear that sound? That is the sound of no mansplaining, ladies.” 

Take a look at the images and videos from the event below: 

OMG.

It’s happening.
💜💜💜@priyankachopra@VP@KamalaHarris#DNC#WLFpic.twitter.com/sQ5yDDjZD3

— Sheena Anne Kadi (@Sheena_Kadi) September 30, 2022

pic.twitter.com/NE32LFerMp

— PRIYANKA DAILY (@PDMedia_) September 30, 2022

During her interaction with the US Vice President, Ms Chopra also revealed that in her career of 22 years, she received equal pay as her male co-actor for the first time this year

Also Read | Instagram Introduces New Feature Called ‘Notes’, Triggers Meme Fest

Kamala Harris, on the other hand, reminded top female democrats of their duty to fight for reproductive rights and how electing two more Democratic senators in the upcoming midterm elections is critical to that fight. 

“If there were ever any reason for this group to exist in recent memory, the moment is now,” Ms Harris said. “We have got to do everything we can in the next 39 days to remind people what is at stake in these elections,” she added. 

Meanwhile, Priyanka Chopra also posted pictures from her visit to the White House on social media. Taking to Instagram stories, the actor shared images of the Washington Monument, a glimpse inside the White House and a beverage she had, which had the presidential seal on it. 

Also Read | Bureaucrat Shares Motivational Story Narrated By Amitabh Bacchan, Internet Reacts

On the work front, Priyanka Chopra was last seen in Matrix 4. Next, she will be seen in Russo Brothers’ Citadel and It’s All Coming Back To Me, co-starring Sam Heughan and others.

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"Stop And Smell The Roses"

Elon Musk made the remarks at Tesla’s ‘AI Day’ event. (File)

Tesla Inc’s famously focused chief executive, Elon Musk, faced one question at the company’s ‘AI Day’ event on Friday that momentarily stumped him.

In an evening devoted to robots and computer technology, a questioner asked what the 51-year old would tell his younger self.

The verbose executive, who is the world’s richest person, stood quietly and thought.

He began by suggesting the younger Elon gain exposure to smart people and read a lot of books, but noted that he had done just that as a young person. Then he said that there was merit to not being “too intense”.

“I would say to twenty- or twenty-something me, ‘just stop and smell the roses occasionally probably would be a good idea,'” he said.

Years ago when he was developing an early SpaceX rocket on a beautiful island, Musk said he remembered not stopping to enjoy the surroundings. “I should have had a drink on the beach! That would have been fine,” he said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Govt Slashes Base Import Price of Palm Oil, Gold

Last Updated: October 01, 2022, 16:47 IST

India is the world’s biggest importer of edible oils.

The government revises base import prices of edible oils, gold and silver every fortnight

India has slashed the base import prices of crude and refined palm oil, crude soya oil and gold, the government said in a statement late on Friday, as prices corrected in the world market. The government revises base import prices of edible oils, gold and silver every fortnight, and the prices are used to calculate the amount of tax an importer needs to pay.

India is the world’s biggest importer of edible oils and silver and the second-biggest consumer of gold.

Commodity New price in $ Old price in $:

Crude palm oil 937 996

RBD palm oil 982 1,019

RBD palmolein 998 1,035

Crude soya oil 1,257 1,362

Gold 533 549

Silver 608 635

Base prices for all commodities are in $ per tonne, except for gold and silver. The gold tariff is in $ per 10 grams and silver in $ per kg.

Read all the Latest News India and Breaking News here

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Year After Kabul Fell To Taliban, Afghan Students' Wait For Indian Visa Continues

New Delhi:

Around 2,500 students in Afghanistan continue to wait for any movement from the Indian side to grant them visas to pursue their education in the country. As the Taliban took over Afghanistan last year on August 15, India suspended all visas. Since then, India has issued only about 300 visas and those have largely been for Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, minorities that have faced persecution.

India restarted its Afghan embassy operations in June, but it’s not full-fledged and has made no difference to the visa waitlist.   

The Afghan ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay, told a group of journalists in Delhi that there was a “need for flexibility in visa regime”. He said the matter had been taken up with the Indian side but they have not received “any convincing answers on why visas are slow”. 

At present, there are about 14,000 Afghan students in India studying in 73 universities and other institutes. They were all in India before Kabul fell to the Taliban as the US withdrew and its supported government collapsed.

Those who were set to travel last year found their visas revoked in the midst of chaos in their country — at a time when Afghans were desperate to leave their country anyway. 

When Kabul fell

The Indian embassy personnel were evacuated on August 17 last year, two days after Kabul fell. A statement from the Indian side said, “As regards Afghan nationals, our visa services will continue through an e-Emergency visa facility, which has been extended to Afghan nationals. This can be accessed through our e-visa portal.”  

Eight days after that, a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs said that “previously issued visas to all Afghan nationals, who are presently not in India, stand invalidated with immediate effect”. 

It added that “owing to the prevailing security situation in Afghanistan and streamlining of the visa process by introduction of the e-Emergency X-Misc visa, it has been decided that all Afghan nationals henceforth must travel to India only on e-Visa”. 

Slow recovery

Meanwhile, the Afghans who used to come to India for medical treatment are now making their way to Pakistan and Iran. About 50,000 Afghans would visit India annually before last year for medical treatment. There were 15 weekly flights which are now down to two, which too have barely any passengers.  

In June this year, India restarted its embassy operations in Kabul when it deployed a technical team there. The press release from the Ministry of External Affairs said it was “to closely monitor and coordinate the efforts of various stakeholders for the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance and in continuation of our engagement with the Afghan people.” 

Largely blamed for the hurried withdrawal of troops that plunged Afghanistan in chaos, the US evacuated about 1.2 lakh people from Afghanistan within two weeks in August 2021. This number included 74,000 Afghans as per details shared by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree.

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BSP MLA Booked for 'Abusing, Threatening' Damoh Collector; Govt Employees' Bodies Seek Her Arrest

Last Updated: October 01, 2022, 16:42 IST

Based on the complaint lodged by collector S Krishna Chaitanya, the Kotwali police here have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the legislator. (Representational Image: PTI)

As per the complaint, the incident occurred on Friday, when the MLA along with some women from her constituency met the collector regarding grievances over some local issue. The complaint said that during the meeting, Parihar misbehaved with the collector and used indecent and obscene words against him

The collector of Damoh district in Madhya Pradesh has lodged a complaint against Bahujan Samaj Party’s woman MLA Rambai Parihar, accusing her of abusing and threatening him, a police official said.

Based on the complaint lodged by collector S Krishna Chaitanya, the Kotwali police here have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the legislator, he said. Rambai Parihar, who represents Patharia Assembly constituency in Damoh, has been charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty),186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 294 (obscene words) and 506 (criminal intimidation), Additional Superintendent of Police Shiv Kumar Singh said.

As per the complaint, the incident occurred on Friday, when the MLA along with some women from her constituency met the collector regarding grievances over some local issue. The complaint said that during the meeting, Parihar misbehaved with the collector and used indecent and obscene words against him.

Meanwhile, some organisations representing government officers and workers handed over a memorandum to the collector, stating that if the BSP MLA was not arrested within seven days, they would launch a massive protest here. When contacted, a police official said they will have to take permission from the Madhya Pradesh Assembly before taking action against Parihar.

Read all the Latest News India and Breaking News here

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Congress Appoints Brijlal Khabri As Chief Of Uttar Pradesh Unit

The Congress appointed Brijlal Khabri as the chief of its Uttar Pradesh unit

New Delhi:

The Congress on Saturday appointed Brijlal Khabri as the chief of its Uttar Pradesh unit, a party statement said.

Party president Sonia Gandhi also appointed six regional heads to the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee.

The regional heads are Nasimuddin Siddiqui, Ajai Rai, Virendra Chaudhary, Nakul Dubey, Anil Yadav, and Yogesh Dixit.

The appointments come months after Ajay Lallu resigned as the state unit chief after the party’s crushing defeat in the assembly polls.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Pankaj Sharma opens up on working in the series 'Dahan', says 'I was lucky enough to work with...' | People News

New Delhi: Actor Pankaj Sharma is currently receiving praises and accolades for playing the character of Sachet in Hotstar series Dahan. 

Pankaj feels elated and grateful working in the show and heaps praises for his co actors.

Sharing about his working experience with Tisca Chopra, Saurabh Shukla, Rajesh Tailang and Mukesh Tiwari he said,”I was lucky enough to work with such great and experienced actors. Tisca Chopra is a very strong actress. I admired her ever since I watched her performance in Taare zameen par and I finally got to work with her in Dahan. She makes it so easy for the co actor to react with the dialogues. Saurabh Shukla, we all know is one of the finest actors in industry. I’m overwhelmed to have learnt a lot from him on set. His experience can not be expressed in words.”

“And about Rajesh Tailang, his calmness over powers the uneasiness on set. He is so humble, helping and supportive. We have a major sequence and we had no idea about what we were going to do in the scene also he was not keeping very well that day but it didn’t show in his performance at all. I was spellbound after watching it. It’s one major challenging sequence and is done effortlessly. Mukesh Tiwari on the other hand has been the stress burster through out full of life and perfect when it comes to his craft. His energy never fades and I always felt light and like a child working with him,” added Sharma.

Giving insight about how he prepped for his role he stated,”I would like to thank my Director Vikranth Pawar, co-director Jai Sharma and associate director Shruti Sharma. The rehearsals that we did together and the way this character is crafted in the script is beautiful. I have been very fortunate to have worked with them. When I read the script for the very first time, I was under a pressure that I have to really do justice to this character since he has all the emotions and is transforming in each episode. I interacted with the villagers and observed the way they talk and behave to get into the skin of the character and understand the nuances of Sachet. Gradually, I picked up the language and it became easy for me.”

Here are some of the pictures of the actor from the series:

Previously, he was seen in the show ‘Beta Settle Kab Hoyega’, as Bhagwati Charan Vohra in a TV show on Star Bharat called ‘Chandrashekhar Azaad’ and was associated with a Broadway show called Zangoora The Gypsy Prince, in and as Zangoora.

‘Dahan’ was released on the 16th of September. Helmed by director Vikranth Pawar, it also stars Tisca Chopra, Saurabh Shukla, Rajesh Tailang among others.

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In Delhi, Pollution Check Certificate Must To Buy Fuel From October 25

Vehicles will not be given fuel at petrol pumps in Delhi without showing valid PUC certificate

New Delhi:

Vehicle owners will not be provided fuel at petrol pumps in Delhi without showing a valid pollution under control certificate from October 25, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said today.

The decision was taken at a meeting of officials from environment, transport and traffic departments on September 29 during which modalities and implementation of the plan were discussed, he said.

“Vehicular emission is one of the key contributors to rising pollution in Delhi. It is imperative to reduce it so it has been decided that from October 25 petrol, diesel will not be provided at petrol pumps without PUC certificate of the vehicle,” Mr Rai said in a press conference.

He said that a notification in this regard will also be issued soon and the modalities of the plan will become clear in a week’s time.

According to the Delhi Transport Department, over 17 lakh vehicles, including 13 lakh two-wheelers and three lakh cars, were being driven without valid PUC certificates till July 2022.

If caught without a valid PUC certificate, vehicle owners may face imprisonment up to six months or fine up to Rs 10,000 or both as per the Motor Vehicles Act.

The minister said that all government departments have also been advised to get PUC certificates of their vehicles checked.

“On March 3, 2022, we issued a public notice inviting suggestions on the implementation of the move ‘No PUC, No fuel’.

“On May 2, suggestions were received and many people were in favour of the implementation of this move. So, the government is preparing to implement it from October 25,” Mr Rai told reporters.

He also said that the Delhi government will launch its 24×7 war room on October 3 to combat pollution and ensure effective and serious implementation of the amended Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) – a set of anti-air pollution measures followed in the national capital and its vicinity according to the severity of the situation.

Under the revised GRAP, curbs can be imposed on polluting activities for up to three days in advance based on forecasts.

Earlier, the authorities would implement the measures only after the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 touched a particular threshold.

This time, restrictions will be based on Air Quality Index (AQI) values rather than PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations.

Mr Rai said an anti-dust campaign will also be launched in Delhi from October 6 and surprise inspections will be conducted at construction sites to check dust pollution.

He said construction sites bigger than 5,000 sqm will have to deploy one anti-smog gun, those bigger than 10,000 sqm should have two such guns and sites bigger than 20,000 sqm will have to engage four anti-smog guns to combat dust pollution.

“If these measures are not followed by companies at construction sites, then strict action will be taken against them under the anti-dust campaign,” Mr Rai said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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