Stay updated with the latest Other news, articles, and insights from trusted sources. Explore in-depth coverage and expert analysis on Other topics.
Puri: The pilgrim town of Puri in Odisha is all set to witness the Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra 2025, which commences today (June 27) with thousands of devotees set to participate in this important religious event. During the festival, devotees pull grand chariots of three deities: Lord Jagannath, his brother Lord Balabhadra, and Sister Devi Subhadra. The three deities spend a week at the Gundicha Temple, after which they return to the Jagannath temple here. The Yatra attracts a massive crowd, given the importance of this event, as lakhs of devotees arrive in Puri from every nook and cranny of the country and abroad to get a glimpse of the trinity. The deities come out of the 12th-century temple to mingle with devotees, cutting across caste, creed and religion once a year. The Rath Yatra ends on July 8 with deities returning to the main shrine. Security Arrangements Authorities have deployed around 10,000 security personnel for the annual Rath Yatra celebrations, with police taking help from over 250 Artificial Intelligence-enabled cameras installed in various places in the town for surveillance. The 10,000 security personnel deployed for the festival comprise the Odisha Police and eight companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF). As this year's Rath Yatra celebration will be held post-Pahalgam terror attack, security arrangements have been made keeping different aspects in view, a senior police officer said. "An Integrated Command and Control Room has been set up in Puri for the first time. Around 275 AI-enabled CCTV cameras have been installed along the route between Uttara Chhak and Puri town and between Puri and Konark. The live visuals from these cameras will be monitored round the clock," Odisha DGP Y B Khurania said after giving the final touch to the security arrangements made for the mega festival on Thursday. Khurania said the AI-powered surveillance system will keep watch on traffic movements, crowd surge and help security personnel make a prompt decision and face emergencies. Sub-control rooms have also been set up at key locations, the DGP said. NSG Deployed On Rooftops For the first time, NSG (National Security Guard) snipers have also been deployed on the rooftops of buildings, given the threat assessment, while anti-drone technology and police-operated drones will also be in use for aerial surveillance, the DGP said, adding that anti-sabotage teams, bomb squads, and dog squads are also in place. To ensure full proof security on the sea front, arrangements have been made with the deployment of Odisha's Marine Police, Coast Guard, and Indian Navy, he said. A real-time chatbot application has also been launched to assist visitors with information on parking availability, route maps, and directions to vacant parking spaces, Khurania said. 15 Lakh Devotees Expected To Participate On Day 1 & 2 Expecting a congregation of around 15 lakh people on day one and two of the festival, DGP Khurania emphasised that priority will be given to proper service and security of the devotees. "Extensive arrangements have been made for the orderly darshan of the devotees. Experienced police officers have been deployed for Rath Yatra duty," he said. The Director of Intelligence R P Koche, said that since the Shri Jagannath Temple is located in a high-security zone, its importance increases significantly during the Rath Yatra. Besides, special security arrangements have been made for Sri Gundicha Temple and the three chariots, Koche said. The Additional Director General (ADG) of Police (Modernisation), Soumendra Priyadarshi, said appropriate arrangements have been made to control the crowd. ADG (Law and Order) Sanjay Kumar said that the cooperation of the officers/staff of the police administration is essential for the orderly completion of the Rath Yatra.
Hyderabad, Dec 5 (Maxim News): Chief Minister Revanth Reddy launched the Indiramma House Survey mobile application on Thursday morning. The selection of the beneficiaries of the housing scheme will be done from tomorrow (Friday) through this app. Click Here To Join Us On WhatsApp Speaking on this occasion, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said that the Indiramma house scheme was started with Rs. 10 thousand. Today it has reached Rs. 5 lakh. He said that they are providing financial assistance at the rate of Rs. 5 lakh to each poor person for the construction of a house. It is everyone's dream t ...Read More >
Sambhal (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 2 (ANI): The court commissioner submitted his survey report in Chandausi Court in the Sambhal Jama Masjid-Harihar case on Thursday. Tensions in Sambhal have been high since November 19, when a local court ordered a survey of the mosque. Clashes between protestors and police over the court-ordered survey of the Jama Masjid resulted in four deaths. Also Read | Karnataka Contractor Suicide Row: BJP Sends Sachin Panchal's Death Note to Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi; Congress Leader Priyank Kharge Says 'Party Set for Humiliation'. On December 30, a delegatio ...Read More >
Lucknow, Jan 8 (UNI) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that the belief system of Sanatan Dharma represents the world's oldest culture, standing above comparison with any religion or sect. The CM said, "I inherit a legacy that spans thousands of years, with its cultural and spiritual events equally ancient. The tradition of Sanatan is higher than the sky and beyond comparison." Speaking at the 'Mahakumbh Mahasammelan, he emphasised the profound significance of the Maha Kumbh. He explained that after the Devasura Sangram (the battle between gods and demons), drops of nectar fell ...Read More >
Raipur: Five of 31 Maoists slain in Sunday's encounter with security forces in a forest falling under Indravati National Park in Bijapur district in south Bastar of Chhattisgarh have been identified, police said on Monday. West Bastar Division secretary Hunga Karma, who was in the rank of divisional committee (DVCM) member carrying a bounty of Rs eight lakh, was among the five slain Naxals who have been identified so far, police said. The other three deceased Naxals, who have been identified, were in the rank of commander in the Maoist cadre and carried a reward of Rs five lakh each. They a ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly on Tuesday witnessed a noisy scene as Opposition BJD and Congress members held protests inside the House over alleged non-payment of salaries to around 60,000 women supporting staffers under the 'Mission Shakti' scheme. Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik accused the BJP government of "conspiring to stop" salaries of the 'Mission Shakti' staff. As soon as the Question Hour began, the BJD and Congress members trooped to the well of the House and demanded immediate release of salaries of around 60,000 women supporting staff working under the 'Mission Shakti' sch ...Read More >
Kanpur, January 27: Due to the massive influx of devotees for the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, Varanasi's District Magistrate in Uttar Pradesh has announced that all schools in the district will be closed from Monday, January 27, 2025, to Wednesday, February 5, 2025. The decision is aimed at ensuring the safety of students and managing traffic congestion caused by the large number of pilgrims arriving in Varanasi for the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025. Despite the school closures, online classes will continue as usual to maintain the academic schedule, News18 reported. This directive applies to all CBSE, ICSE ...Read More >
Hyderabad, Feb 10 (VOICE) Telangana's Minister for Industry and Information Technology D. Sridhar Babu has strongly condemned the attack on Chilkur Balaji Temple head priest C. S. Rangarajan and made it clear that the government will not tolerate anarchic elements hijacking Hinduism to spread hate and terror.Terming the attack on the chief priest and administrator of the temple as a heinous act, he said that the government would deal with such evil acts with an iron fist. "Although the main accused is in police custody, this isn't just a crime -- it's an attack on our values and faith! Using ...Read More >
Uttarakhand (Dehradun) [India], May 19 (ANI): The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for heavy rain in the hilly districts of Uttarakhand, effective today and tomorrow. In light of this warning, the Uttarakhand Police have issued a safety advisory for pilgrims undertaking the Chardham Yatra. Pilgrims are advised to exercise caution while travelling, consider the weather conditions, and call 112 in case of any emergency." Authorities are working to ensure public safety and minimise disruptions," said the police authorities. In light of the forecast, the Uttarakh ...Read More >
Guwahati, Jun 5 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that the caste census will greatly benefit the indigenous Muslim community living in both the Brahmaputra and Barak Valley in the state. The Centre on Wednesday announced that India's 16th Census with caste enumeration will be carried out in 2027. The indigenous Muslim communities of Assam have been demanding for a long time, a caste-based census to assert their distinct socio-cultural identities, the chief minister said on the sidelines of the World Environment Day programme here. ''The proposed caste enumerati ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], November 26 (ANI): Responding on the arrest and denial of bail of Chinmoy Krishna Das the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday urged Bangladeshi government to ensure the safety and security of Hindus. "We have noted with deep concern the arrest and denial of bail to Shri Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is also the spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote", the statement said. "This incident follows the multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities by extremist elements in Bangladesh. There are several documented cases of arson and looting of minorities' ho ...Read More >
New Delhi: In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has directed that no new lawsuits related to places of worship (temples, mosques, or shrines) can be filed until further notice. This decision was made during the ongoing hearing of petitions challenging the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The ruling prohibits the lower courts from issuing any survey orders or interim orders that might alter the status or nature of any religious site. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar, and Justice K.V. Vishwanathan, issued this order while hearing sev ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) The Pakistan high commission on Wednesday said it issued 84 visas to Indian pilgrims to visit the Shree Katas Raj temples in Punjab province's Chakwal district. The group has been given visas to visit the Katas Raj temples from December 19 to 25. The temples are also known as Qila Katas. It is a complex of several Hindu temples connected to one another by walkways. Under the provision of a bilateral protocol on visits to religious shrines, Sikh and Hindu pilgrims from India visit Pakistan every year.Pakistani pilgrims also visit India every year under the protocol. ...Read More >
Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the naval dockyard for the commissioning ceremony of three naval vessels -- two warships INS Surat and INS Nilgiri, and the submarine INS Vaghsheer -- on Wednesday. The event will take place between 9.30 am and 12.30 pm. According to a defence spokesperson, thies commissioning represents a crucial advancement towards fulfilling the national ambition to emerge as a global force in defence production and maritime security. Later, Modi will be at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai at 3.30 pm. Officials said that as part of his initiative to streng ...Read More >
Ladwa (Haryana) [India], May 22 (ANI): Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday carried out the Tiranga Yatra to honour armed forces for Operation Sindoor. The CM, in his address to the people, stated that the rallies were occasions to pay true homage to the sense of patriotism and sacrifice. "Tiranga Yatra is being organised in Ladwa today. Tiranga Yatras are being organised across the country...These Yatras are not just events but occasions to pay true homage to the sense of patriotism and sacrifice...This Yatra is not just of the tricolour, this is a Yatra of our pledge, brave ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], November 28 (ANI): India has expressed its concern over the escalating incidents of violence against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and desecration, and damage to their places of worship, and has also called on the interim government there to ensure the safety of minorities. In a response to question asked by RJD MP AD Singh, Minister of State for Ministry of External Affairs, Kirit Vardhan Singh in a written reply to Rajya Sabha, stated that the "primary responsibility" for the protection of life and liberty of all citizens of Bangladesh, including minorities, "rests with ...Read More >
Kottayam (Kerala), Dec 12 (PTI) The historic struggle for equality that took place in Vaikom a century ago, popularly known as the Vaikom Satyagraha, was not a movement confined to Kerala but marked the starting point for various other struggles for social justice, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Thursday. In his address at Vaikom in this district after inaugurating the renovated Thanthai Periyar Memorial and Periyar Library, Stalin said that while impressive strides have been made in areas of social justice and economy in 100 years, a lot more has to be achieved. Stalin inaugur ...Read More >
Hyderabad, Feb 4 (UNI) BRS Working President and MLA K T Rama Rao (KTR) criticised the Congress government, stating that the people of Telangana have lost faith in its administration. Speaking during the debate on the caste survey report in the Telangana Legislative Assembly, KTR expressed disappointment, saying that many had expected historic announcements following the special Assembly session and Cabinet meeting. However, he claimed that the report lacked new insights and merely reiterated information previously shared by Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy. Referring to the Kamareddy declaration ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], February 5 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya on Wednesday slammed Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his 'Make in India' criticism and blamed Congress for 'doing nothing' to prepare India's economy for future even after a decade in power during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from 2004-2014. Malviya said said that the Congress-led UPA continued the "legacy of policy paralysis, rampant cronyism, and complete neglect of industrial growth." "It is good that Rahul Gandhi has finally acknowledged a fact the entire nation already knew--that e ...Read More >
Patna, Dec 13 (VOICE) The Bihar Public Service Commission 70th Preliminary Combined Examination will be conducted at 912 centres in the state on Friday.With these examinations, 2,031 posts in various government departments will be filled. A total of 4.80 lakh candidates have applied for the examinations, scheduled to start at noon and end at 2.00 p.m. The commission has issued guidelines for the candidates appearing for the examinations. The guidelines are: "Candidates are asked to bring two printed copies of their admit card, of which, the invigilator will keep one, proof of original ID is ...Read More >
Census 2027: India's largest data exercise returns with digital tools and caste focus | Illustration: Binay Sinha After a nearly six-year delay, India's decennial census is finally back on the agenda. It would be conducted in two phases along with the enumeration of castes. India's population census is expected to be released on March 1, 2027. Here is everything known so far. What is the census and why it matters India's census is the largest population count in the world, conducted every 10 years by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, under the Ministry of Home Aff ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Odisha for three days, from November 29 to December 1, to attend the annual Director General of Police (DGP) conference in Bhubaneswar. Union home minister Amit Shah will accompany him at the event, which will be held at the convention hall of Odisha Lok Seva Bhawan (State Secretariat). PM Modi and Shah are expected to arrive in Bhubaneswar on Friday afternoon. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the high-profile visit, with the city placed on high alert. Areas surrounding the event venues have been declared 'no-f ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha BJP government has renamed 21 schemes launched by the previous BJD regime, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi told the assembly Thursday. The BJP government took oath June 12 after defeating the 24-year-old Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government in the assembly elections. In a written reply to a query by BJD legislator Tusharkanti Behera, the Chief Minister said the state government has renamed 21 existing schemes and launched seven new ones. According to a statement, the BJP government has rebranded eight schemes that were named after the late Biju Patnaik, father of form ...Read More >
Bengaluru, Dec 12 (VOICE) The Panchamasali quota row has added to the woes of the Congress-led Karnataka government facing a series of charges of alleged cases. Even as the state government is putting a brave face by defending the police action against protestors demanding quota for the Panchamasali Lingayat sect, sources confirmed that the grand old party is deeply worried about the polarisation of the influential Lingayat community. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had managed to guide the Congress to achieve a simple majority in 2008, as the Lingayat vote bank was divided between the BJP and t ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Outgoing Governor Raghubar Das said Odisha's success in advancing on the path of development while preserving its traditions is truly inspiring. "Odisha has achieved recognition for its rich culture and glorious tradition. The enthusiasm and unparalleled hospitality of the people of Odisha has left a deep impression on my heart. Odisha's success in moving ahead on the path of development while adhering to its tradition is truly inspiring," said Das. He further stated that after spending more than 13 months in Odisha, he is leaving with a deep sense of gratitude and respect for t ...Read More >
Ayodhya: A youth has been arrested from the Ram Janmabhoomi area in Ayodhya. The youth had installed a hidden camera in the glasses he was wearing, through which he used to click photos in the Ram temple premises. The accused youth is a resident of Vadodara. The police are arresting him and interrogating him. The youth had installed a camera in his glasses. Through this, he clicked photos in the Ram temple premises. A security guard present at the scene became suspicious and checked the glasses. During the check, a hidden camera was found in the glasses. The arrested youth is being interroga ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) Markets regulator Sebi on Friday barred two individuals from the securities market for one year and impounded illegal gains of over Rs 2.60 crore made by them from indulging in insider trading in the scrip of Infosys. Those restrained by Sebi are, Keyur Maniar, who was the alleged insider trader, and Ramit Chaudhri, a former employee of Infosys, according to an order passed by capital markets regulator Sebi. Apart from securities market ban, the regulator also slapped a fine of Rs 30 lakh each on Keyur Maniar and Chaudhri and directed them to pay the fine within 45 da ...Read More >
Tirumala: As a mark of devotion and royal legacy, Mysore Rajmata Pramoda Devi Wadiyar donated two large silver Akhandas (eternal lamps) to Lord Venkateswara at the Tirumala temple. The offering was received by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Chairman B.R. Naidu on behalf of the temple administration at an official handover ceremony held at Ranganayakula Mandapam. Weighing approximately 50 kilograms each, the akhandas make for a total silver usage of 100 kilograms. The akhanda lamps being lit in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple through day and night, are considered a symbol of eternal ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Ayodhya Ram Mandir was open to the public in January last year. The first floor of the temple will have Raja Ram installed in his grand, kingly form. This step also involves performing Pran Pratishtha for several deities throughout the complex, including those in seven nearby shrines and seven additional mandapams. As the second phase of the consecration ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir has started, let us tell you about the beautiful golden top (Shikhar) and the new first floor of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir. About the First Floor of Ayodhya Ram Mandir The Ram Mandir T ...Read More >
The damaged Hanuman statue lying on the ground in the Birbhum temple.Source : X@SuvenduWB Amid the purported violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, a Hanuman Temple in Bengal's Birbhum district was allegedly vandalised on Thursday night. Sharing a video of the vandalism, West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari slammed the Mamata Banerjee government for alleged "inaction" against "anti-Hindu" miscreants. The video showed the idol of Lord Hanuman on the ground with pieces of it scattered around. "Last night miscreants vandalised the Lord Hanuman Temple at Indragachha More, Purandarp ...Read More >
Puri: Many travelers passing through Odisha wish to have a darshan of Lord Jagannath but are often unable to do so due to time constraints and other commitments. Hence, if 'Abadha' the holy offering of Srimandira would be made available at the major Railway Stations in Odisha, these devotees can still partake in the spiritual experience and take the holy offerings to their homes. Keeping this idea in mind Puri MP Sambit Patra put a proposal in the Parliament recently. He wanted the Union Railway Minister to check feasibility of the proposal by talking to the temple authorities and priests. A ...Read More >