Centre approves Rs 1,658 crore recovery plan for Joshimath | India News

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday approved a Rs 1,658-crore recovery and reconstruction plan for Joshimath in Uttarakhand, which had been in the news earlier this year following ground subsidence and evacuation of hundreds of residents from affected areas to shelter homes.
“The recovery plan for Joshimath will be implemented in three years, following the best practices, building back better (BBB) principles, and sustainability initiatives, to make the hill town emerge as an excellent example of ecological sustainability,” said a home ministry spokesperson.
Several houses were demolished following incidents of landslides and cracks appearing in houses in Joshimath. The home ministry had set up a high-level committee and initiated seismic monitoring to evaluate geological and developmental tremors in the region. Simultaneously, efforts were made to map drainage, springs, local water table, source identification and sub-surface flow of water.
“The high-level committee, under the chairmanship of union home minister Amit Shah, approved the recovery and reconstruction plan of Rs 1,658 crore for Joshimath, which includes Rs 1,080 crore of central assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and Rs 126 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF),” the government said. The cost of land acquisition and resettlement Rs 452 crore will come from the state budget.
The Centre has extended necessary technical and logistical support to the state and multiple agencies led by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) were part of the high-level committee to help the state in preparing a recovery plan for Joshimath.

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All workers 'physically fit and clinically stable': Doctors | India News

DEHRADUN: After undergoing a 48-hour medical observationall 41 workers who had been trapped in the Silkyara tunnel for 17 days were discharged from AIIMSRishikesh. The hospital administration confirmed on Thursday that they had cleared all the workers as “physically fit and clinically stable“. However, one worker is undergoing an additional checkup before being discharged.
The 41 trapped workers hailed from 8 states – 15 from Jharkhand, 8 from UP, 5 each from Odisha and Bihar, 3 from Bengal, 2 each from Uttarakhand and Assam, and 1 from Himachal Pradesh. Most of the workers’ family members or guardians had gathered at Silkyara, praying and hoping for the trapped workers’ safe evacuation. Meanwhile, to bring them home some state governments have sponsored the workers’ home-bound journey.

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Allegations against India official serious: White house

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Will take 4-6 months to put tunnel project back on track: Official | India News

DEHRADUN: The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), the executing agency for the Silkyara tunnel project, indicated it will take at least 4-6 months to put the project back on track.
A portion of the tunnel on the Silkyara side collapsed on November 12, trapping 41 workers until they were rescued after 17 days on Tuesday.Subsequently, a cavity emerged on both right and left sides of the tunnel’s crown.
Anshu Manish Khalkho, director (admin & finance), NHIDCL, told TOI on Thursday, “The project is operational, and our goal is to restore it within the next 4-6 months.”
Khalkho said that the immediate focus will be to use mechanical methods to remove debris from the 60m area. Following this, repair of the cavity on the tunnel’s crown, guided by expert recommendations, will take place. Reprofiling of the inner lining will be undertaken, specifically addressing the section where the collapse occurred.
He added that the tunnel construction and investigation into the partial collapse will proceed concurrently. “Not only will the company responsible for constructing the tunnel be scrutinised, but we’ll assess the entire system responsible for executing such significant projects. The ministry of road transport and highways will take measures to prevent such incidents in the future,” he said.
Regarding the impact of vertical drilling conducted by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd to establish a 1.2m diameter escape passage, he said they would fill the borehole.

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NMC forms panel on surgery broadcast | India News

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has constituted a committee to assess the implications of live broadcast of surgical procedures on the patients, the issue of consent and advertisement by corporate hospitals. The various aspects of the live surgeries will be debated upon and assessed, Dr Yogendra Malik, Member Ethics and Medical Registration Board of NMC said.The decision was taken during the 12th meeting of the NMC held on Thursday. Further, the NMC has approved formation of a committee to draft regulations as per NMC Act 2019, Dr Malik said.

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Woman booked for sex assault on 16-year-old boy | India News

MUMBAI: A 40-year-old woman has been booked for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy at their house in Tardeo. The teen is a relative of the woman’s husband who had come from UP months ago and used to stay at their house.
Last month, the woman had lodged a criminal offence against the relative, claiming that it was he who had sexually assaulted her at her house.

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Must balance ecology and growth: Pushkar Singh Dhami | India News

DEHRADUN: After the successful rescue operation at Silkayara, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh All said “there is a need for striking a balance between ecology and economy,”.
He told TOI, “We are going to carry out a review of all ongoing tunnel projects in the state. It is our duty to ensure the safety of the people and also those involved in making these tunnels.” He said the Centre has ordered safety of all tunnel projects in the country.”We will follow a similar line in the state.”
Dhami said, “I salute the teams involved in the rescue operation. Despite the challenges, they never gave up.”
Meanwhile, the CM celebrated the festival of Igas Bagwal (local Diwali celebrations) with family members of the 41 rescued labourers at his residence on Wednesday.

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Kerala: Governor as chancellor can independently appoint VCs, state can't interfere: Supreme court | India News

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that governors as chancellors of universities are to act independent of state governments for appointment of vice-chancellors and quashed Kannur University VC‘s reappointment, terming it as ‘unwarranted interference” by the Kerala government – a verdict which also underscored the autonomous powers conferred on the governor to conduct the affairs of a university as the chancellor.

A bench of CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra quashed the reappointment of G Ravindran as VC of Kannur University in 2021 after it found that the state had overreached its powers to reappoint its nominee even when the governor had set in motion the selection process for filling the VC post.
Justice Pardiwala said, “We have reached the conclusion that though the notification reappointing Ravindran to the post of VC was issued by the chancellor, yet the decision stood vitiated by the influence of extraneous considerations or to put it in other words by the unwarranted intervention of the state.”

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Schoolgirl falls 80 ft from Gwalior Fort, survives

Schoolgirl falls 80 ft from Gwalior Fort, survives

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31 yrs on, man gets life term for killing 6-year-old | India News

MEERUT: A court in Saharanpur has awarded life imprisonment to a 56-year-old man convicted of kidnapping and killing a six-year-old boy in 1992 after failing to secure a ransom. Additional district judge Sushri Nidhi also imposed a fine of Rs 55,000 on the accused.
Additional district government counsel (ADGC) Devi Dayal Sharma told TOI, “The incident occurred within the jurisdiction of the Deoband police stationon October 31, 1992.Jamshed Teli, along with his accomplice Palendra, both neighbours of the victim’s family, abducted the boy while he was on his way to a confectionery.”
Sharma added: “Subsequently, they took the boy to an isolated forest area where they killed him. A day later, the victim’s father, who was working as LIC’s field agent at the time, received a ransom demand of Rs 1.5 lakh via Indian Post for the release of his son. He then immediately approached police and an FIR under Section 364 of IPC was filed based on his complaint.”

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NMC changes logo, adds image of ayurveda god | India News

New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has modified its logo, dropping the national emblem and including the photo of Dhanvantri – an avatar of Lord Vishnu who is referred to as the god of Ayurveda in the Puranas.
The NMC said the Dhanvantri logo was in use for almost a year. “Earlier, it was in black and white and, therefore, not visible in printouts.We have simply used a colour photo in the centre of the logo,” an official said.
Another official, who did not want to be identified, said even the WHO’s emblem consisted of the United Nations’ symbol overlain by a staff with a snake coiling around it. The staff and snake has long been a symbol of medicine and the medical profession. WHO says it originates from the story of Asclepius, who was revered by the ancient Greeks as a god of healing and whose cult involved the use of snakes.
The NMC logo has no mention of ‘India’ but has used the term ‘Bharat’. Notably, there was no official announcement on the logo change.
The change in logo was criticised by the Indian Medical Association’s Kerala chapter. “The recent change in the NMC logo is not acceptable to the modern medical fraternity. The new logo gives a wrong message and will harm the scientific and secular nature of the commission,” it said in a statement, adding that the move should be rescinded.
Dr Sharad Kumar Aggarwal, national president of IMA, said they would discuss the matter in a meeting scheduled on Sunday and then issue a statement.
Last week, the health ministry had issued directives that Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres will now be known as Ayushman Arogya Mandir. The ministry said it had sent a letter to states and Union Territories to implement the rebranding exercise.
States have also been asked to upload photographs of rebranded primary health facilities on the Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) portal. The rebranded AB-HWCs will also have a new tagline – ‘Arogyam Parmam Dhanam’, the ministry said.

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Kerala: SC verdict an indictment of brazen interference by LDF government | India News

KOZHIKODE: The Supreme Court order quashing the reappointment of Kannur University vice-chancellor Gopinath Ravindranciting “unwarranted interference made by the state government”, has come as a huge blow to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala.
The verdict has come as a stinging indictment of the brazen interferences made by the Pinarayi Vijayan government to get Ravindran reappointed as VCespecially since governor Arif Mohammed Khan himself had laid bare before the public and before the apex court the details of backstage manoeuvrings involving even the state’s top political leadership in the controversial first reappointment of a vice-chancellor in the history of Kerala.

It’s the second time the state government faced a setback from SC over the appointment of VCs. The SC had in October 2022 declared void ab initio the selection of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University former VC MS Rajasree. The apex court cancelled her appointment for flaws in her selection process.

Significantly, the apex court has in its judgement cited the press release issued by the Raj Bhavan dated October 3, 2022, refuting news reports that it was on the directions of governor Khan that the name of Ravindran was suggested for reappointment as VC.
In the release, the governor had said “the truth is that the same was initiated by the chief minister and the higher education minister”.
Khan had earlier revealed that CM Vijayan had come to the Raj Bhavan to speak on the appointment of the VC in his (CM’s) home district Kannur and that higher education minister R Bindu had written to him twice recommending the reappointment of Ravindran.
The stand taken by the governor in the court that “as the reappointment of the VC was contrary to UGC guidelines, the same deserves to be set at naught by issue of writ of quo warranto”, played a key role in the quashing of the reappointment.
Though successive state governments have mostly managed to get their nominees appointed as VCs in state universities in the past, the audacious manner in which the LDF government tried to push through the reappointment of Ravindran even after the commencement of the process for selection of a new VC, took matters to the head and led to a full-blown confrontation between chancellor Khan and the government.
Now, in a clear sign that the verdict would further intensify the row between the LDF government and the governor, and would also put the state government in the dock over attempts to politicise the higher education sector, the SC order has given rise to a mutual blame game, with LDF saying that the governor has no right to continue in the post, in view of the criticisms against him in the court order, and the UDF demanding resignation of Bindu.

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Murder Plot: 'Matter of concern': India on US indicting Indian for plot to kill Pannun | India News

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday again dismissed Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s charge of involvement in the killing of pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep S Nijjar even as it reiterated that the alleged link between an Indian nationalwho has been indicted by US authorities for a foiled plot to kill G S Pannun, and an unnamed Indian official was a matter of concern.
“As regards the case against an individual filed in a US court, allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a matter of concern. We have said, and let me reiterate, this is contrary to government policy,” THING spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

Organised crime-extremists nexus a serious issue: MEA

The rejection of Justin Trudeau’s charge appeared significant because the US indictment also linked the unnamed Indian official who ordered the hit on Pannun with Nijjar and helped highlight New Delhi’s divergent responses to Washington DC, on the one hand, and Ottawa, on the other. In stark contrast to its position on Canada’s claims, the government has formed a high-level committee to probe US allegations of India’s role in the Pannun case. Indian officials have defended this incongruity by drawing a distinction, according to which the US, unlike Canada, has provided actionable information about the alleged plot to eliminate Pannun.
“The nexus between organised crime, trafficking, gun-running and extremists at an international level is also a serious issue for law enforcement agencies to consider. It is precisely for this reason that a high-level enquiry committee has been constituted. We will obviously be guided by its results,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi added.
The indictment of an Indian and charges by US federal prosecutors that an Indian official ordered the hit on Pannun seemed to have come as a shot in the arm for Canada with Trudeau saying the news coming out of the US further underscored “what we’ve been talking about from the very beginning: which is India needs to take this seriously”.
“The Indian government needs to work with us to ensure that we’re getting to the bottom of this. This is not something that anyone can take lightly,” he said.

“Matter of concern…” MEA after US alleges Indian official directed assassination plot of Sikh leader

India responded by saying Canada had consistently given space to anti-India extremists and violence. “That is at the heart of the issue. Our diplomatic representatives have borne the brunt of this. So we expect the government of Canada to live up to their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. We have also seen interference in our internal affairs. This is obviously unacceptable,” Bagchi said.
He recalled that the US had shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organised criminals, gun-runners, terrorists and others with India. “We take such inputs seriously, and a high-level enquiry committee has been constituted to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter and necessary follow-up action will be taken based on the findings of the enquiry committee. We cannot share any further information on such security matters,” he said.

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