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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Forest officer G S Roshni, known for rescuing over 800 venomous and non-venomous snakes during her nearly eight-year tenure with the Kerala Forest Department, made her first king cobra rescue on Sunday -- a massive 14-15 feet specimen -- from a stream near Peppara.The daring operation, which took her only a few minutes, was captured on video and quickly went viral, drawing both praise and criticism online.One person commented in the video that women who get scared by lizards and cockroaches should learn from her.Another person said -- "Big salute ma'am. I don't see anyone standing with her, offering to hold the bag or help her. Everyone is sitting in the gallery and commenting", referring to others present at the scene whose voices of advise could be heard in the background in the video.While forest officer G S Roshni's bold king cobra rescue won widespread admiration, it also drew some criticism. One commenter claimed she made "several mistakes" during the operation and urged her to be more cautious. Another remarked that she appeared "inexperienced" and should handle such dangerous rescues with greater care.Roshni was part of a five-member Rapid Response Team (RRT) that rushed to the forest-fringe area of Anchumaruthumoodu after locals spotted the massive snake near a stream commonly used for bathing.Television footage of the rescue showed Roshni working alone with just a snake hook and a long bag. She grabbed the cobra by its tail and repeatedly attempted to coax it into the bag -- even politely saying "please" as she held the opening in front of the reluctant reptile. After a few tense moments, she successfully bagged the 20-kilogram, 14-15 feet-long snake -- completing the operation in just six minutes."It was a mature snake. It was about 14-15 feet long and weighed approximately 20 kgs," she told PTI, adding that king cobras are rarely seen in the southern Kerala district -- probably why it is her first rescue of that species.Roshni said that the snake was caught around 12.30 pm and then released into the deep forest. (With inputs from PTI) The TOI City Desk is an indefatigable team of journalists dedicated to bringing you the pulse of cities from across the nation, all day and all night. Our mission is to curate, report, and deliver city news that matters to readers of The Times of India. With a keen focus on urban life, governance, culture, and local issues, we provide a comprehensive view of the ever-evolving cityscapes. Our team works tirelessly to keep readers informed about the latest developments, ensuring that they are connected to the heartbeat of cities across India, right when it happens. The TOI City Desk is a trusted source for staying in touch with the local stories that shape your world.
Port Blair: Namita Roy was just 26 years old when she gave birth to her son, 'Tsunami', in a snake-infested jungle where she and her family took shelter after deadly waves triggered by a massive earthquake devoured her home in Hut Bay Island in Andaman and Nicobar on this day in 2004. Twenty years later, she remembers the day with a shudder. "I don't want to recall that dark day. I was pregnant and busy with daily chores. Suddenly, I noticed an eerie silence and was shocked to witness the sea receding miles from our shore. We also noticed zugunruhe in birds," she told PTI. "Seconds later, th ...Read More >
Chennai: Hours before Union home minister Amit Shah was to arrive in Madurai, Thuglak editor and an associate of Shah, S Gurumurthy on Saturday met PMK founder S Ramadoss. The PMK leader, however, ruled out the possibility of meeting Amit Shah during his two-day visit to Tamil Nadu.Gurumurthy met Ramadoss for the second time amid reported tension within PMK regarding alliance strategies and insistence by Anbumani Ramadoss to remain party president. The hour-long meeting took place at the T Nagar residence of A K Vijay Mahesh, son of former Union minister and PMK leader A K Moorthy, sources sai ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Axiom-4 crew members, including Shubhanshu Shukla, were welcomed with hugs and drinks as they stepped into the International Space Station on Thursday. The newly launched spacecraft -- the fifth in the Dragon series and named Grace -- successfully completed a soft docking with the International Space Station at 4.01pm while orbiting above the North Atlantic Ocean."At 6:31 am EDT (4:01 IST) on Thursday, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station for the fourth private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 4," the National Aeronautics ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Nature lovers have a fresh reason to visit Nandankanan Zoological Park in Odisha's Bhubaneswar, as the famed wildlife sanctuary welcomed seven baby yellow anacondas into its reptilian fold on Sunday -- a rare and exciting addition that underscores the zoo's growing reputation as a haven for exotic species. The tiny hatchlings were born to a breeding pair of yellow anacondas brought to Nandankanan from the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust in Chennai in October 2019. With these new arrivals, the zoo now proudly houses a thriving family of 14 yellow anacondas -- two adult males, two adul ...Read More >
Kochi: Edison Babu's neighbours in Muvattupuzha knew him as the quiet engineer who had returned home during the pandemic. The 35-year-old former auto industry professional seemed to lead an unremarkable life in this sleepy Kerala suburb, occasionally visiting the local post office with packages: nothing unusual for someone running what appeared to be a small online business. What they didn't know was that their mild-mannered neighbour had built India's most sophisticated darknet drug empire, one that relied heavily on the very government postal service that was meant to serve the community. ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Days after Russian woman Nina Kutina was taken into custody for living in a cave inside the forest near Gokarna with her two daughters, her ex-husband, an Israeli citizen, is demanding shared custody of their daughters."I just want to be able to see my daughters a few times a week and take care of them. My concern is that if they go to Russia now, it will be tougher to keep in touch with them. I wish they could stay in India," Goldstein said on Wednesday.Dror Goldstein, 38, who lives f ...Read More >
Mumbai: A three-storey chawl in Mumbai's Bandra East collapsed early Friday morning, leaving at least 10 people feared trapped under the debris, civic officials confirmed. The incident occurred around 5:56 am in the Bharat Nagar area near the Namaj Committee Masjid, close to the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). The structure, identified as Chawl No. 37, was a ground-plus-three-storey residential building, PTI reported. The collapse triggered an immediate response from multiple agencies. A large-scale rescue operation is currently underway, with eight fire engines, rescue vans and ambulances deploy ...Read More >
RANCHI: One person died and another is feared trapped after a portion of the roof of a government school building collapsed in Ranchi's Piska More area, officials said on Friday.The incident occurred amid continuous rainfall in the Jharkhand capital. Rescue operations are underway to locate and save the individual believed to be trapped under the debris, a police officer confirmed."A person was killed when a portion of the roof of a government school building collapsed. We have sent our team for a rescue operation as we received information that another person is trapped inside," Sudkhdeo Naga ...Read More >
Ahmedabad, July 14 (PTI) The Gujarat High Court on Monday directed a man, facing contempt of court for attending a virtual court hearing while relieving himself on a toilet seat, to deposit Rs 1 lakh with the court's registry after observing that he was ready to tender an unconditional apology. The incident occurred on June 20 when Justice Nirzar S Desai was hearing a case. A video of the man soon went viral, prompting the high court to initiate suo motu contempt proceedings. On Monday, the division bench of Justices AS Supehia and RT Vachhani directed the man, identified as Samad Abdul Rehm ...Read More >
PATNA: The Nitish Kumar-led government on Tuesday approved 35% reservation for women candidates across all government services and posts, and also announced the formation of the Bihar Youth Commission.The proposals were cleared during a Cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister, just months ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.The move comes amid mounting criticism from the opposition over the state's employment situation."I am happy to inform you that with an aim of providing more and more employment opportunities to the youths of Bihar, training them, and making them empowered and ca ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: "Friends, men took part in the war while eunuchs went to the Sangh," Congress MLA Sahab Singh Gurjar said during a protest in Ashoknagar on Tuesday, news agency PTI reported.A video of the remark surfaced online and was widely circulated, leading to accusations of 'sexism and insult to the third gender. Gurjar, who represents the Gwalior Rural assembly seat, made the statement while addressing a 'Nyaya Satyagraha' protest staged by senior Congress leaders, including Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari, former chief minister Digvijaya Singh and Leader of Opposition Umang Singh ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Fresh off slapping a canteen worker over "stale food," Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad on Friday upped the ante by publicly threatening AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel. "I will beat Imtiaz Jaleel so badly that he will not be in a position to run a hotel," Gaikwad told news agency PTI, reacting to Jaleel's criticism of the assault.The original incident began when Gaikwad, a two-time MLA from Buldhana, ordered dinner on Tuesday night and claimed the dal and rice were stale and foul-smelling. Enraged, he stormed into the canteen, forced a worker to smell the food, and slapped and punched him. ...Read More >
SRINAGAR: A defiant Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday scaled the gates of the Naqshband Sahib graveyard to pay tributes to the 22 people killed by the Dogra army on July 13, 1931. The dramatic scene unfolded a day after Abdullah and several leaders of the National Conference and opposition parties were put under house arrest to prevent them from going to the graveyard to mark Martyrs' Day. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah took an autorickshaw from the Khanyar crossing to the martyrs memorial while Minister for Education Sakina Ittoo surprised everyone by r ...Read More >
Screengrab of the incident that took place last week. ShowQuick Read Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed * A vehicle driven by a Congress MLA's son hit a police constable in Madhya Pradesh * The accused is Pushpraj Singh, son of Congress MLA Sena Patel from Jobat * The vehicle had no number plate and was driven at high speed Did our AI summary help? Let us know. A high speeding vehicle driven by a Congress MLA's son rammed into a police constable before crashing into an electric po ...Read More >
BENGALURU -- Police in India are trying to piece together the story of a Russian woman who was found living in a cave in the southern state of Karnataka with her two young daughters. Nina Kutina was rescued on 9 July by policemen who were on a routine patrol near Ramteertha hills in the Gokarna forest, which borders the tourist paradise of Goa. Authorities say the 40-year-old and her daughters - six and five years old - do not have valid documents to stay in India. They have been lodged in a detention centre for foreigners near Bengaluru, the state capital, and will be deported soon. Kutina ...Read More >
Supreme Court NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is all set to examine a petition on July 15 that contests the Uttar Pradesh administration's order requiring QR code displays at establishments along the 'kanwar' path, which disclose proprietors' identities.Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh will consider the public interest litigation submitted by academic Apoorvanand Jha and fellow petitioners, PTI repoorted.Previously, the highest court had suspended comparable orders from BJP-governed states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh that required eateries on Kanwar Yatra routes to ...Read More >
New Delhi: The death sentence of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who was sentenced to death in Yemen, has been postponed for the time being. She was to be executed by shooting today, July 16. According to media reports, activist groups and influential religious leaders intervened in the matter, after which the death sentence of Nimisha Priya was postponed. Earlier, many efforts were also made at the diplomatic level to save Nimisha from the death penalty. There is also news that the victim's family has not yet agreed to clemency or blood money. As a last-ditch effort to save her, Kanthapuram A. ...Read More >
NEW DELHI - Indian customs officers in Mumbai said they have stopped a plane passenger arriving from Thailand with a wriggling cargo of live snakes, the third such seizure in June. "Customs officers... foiled yet another wildlife smuggling attempt, 16 live snakes... seized from a passenger returning from Thailand," said a customs officer at Mumbai's airport The passenger, who arrived on June 29, has been arrested, the customs agency said in a statement, with "further investigation underway". The live snakes included reptiles often sold in the pet trade, and were largely non-venomous, or wit ...Read More >
Shillong: An activist has complained to police against a YouTuber and an astrologer who reportedly claimed in a post that tribals in Meghalaya still practise human sacrifice. A police officer said a case has been registered.The activist, Enlang, also petitioned the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), seeking action against the two. Enlang, in his complaint, said the video posted on June 13 with defamatory remarks has maligned the tribal communities of Meghalaya.The YouTube channel, hosted by content creator Raghav Sharma, featured astrologer Sushil Guru. In the broadcast, the guru ...Read More >
Jammu- Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday reviewed the ongoing restoration work of the historic Mubarak Mandi complex, which was the power centre of the Dogra kings in Jammu, and stressed on enhancing its heritage appeal. The Mubarak Mandi Complex is one of Jammu's most significant architectural heritage sites and is envisioned as a comprehensive cultural centre, housing museums, conference venues and heritage hospitality services. Accompanied by Advisor Nasir Aslam Wani and MLA Yudhvir Sethi during the visit, the chief minister was briefed in detail on the multi-phas ...Read More >
The TOI Lifestyle Desk is a dynamic team of dedicated journalists who, with unwavering passion and commitment, sift through the pulse of the nation to curate a vibrant tapestry of lifestyle news for The Times of India readers. At the TOI Lifestyle Desk, we go beyond the obvious, delving into the extraordinary. Consider us your lifestyle companion, providing a daily dose of inspiration and information. Whether you're seeking the latest fashion trends, travel escapades, culinary delights, or wellness tips, the TOI Lifestyle Desk is your one-stop destination for an enriching lifestyle experience. ...Read More >
Indian customs officers in Mumbai said they have stopped a plane passenger arriving from Thailand with a wriggling cargo of live snakes, the third such seizure this month. "Customs officers... foiled yet another wildlife smuggling attempt, 16 live snakes... seized from passenger returning from Thailand," said customs officers in the airport in the Indian financial hub. The passenger, who arrived on Sunday, has been arrested, the customs agency said in a statement, with "further investigation un ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The Uttar Pradesh administration has strengthened security arrangements across several districts including Lucknow, Sambhal, and Moradabad to ensure peace and avoid any disruption, as Muharram processions and the Kanwar Yatra are being held at the same time.Large crowds gathered for Muharram processions across different regions, while preparations for the Kanwar Yatra are also underway. Police personnel have been deployed in all sensitive areas, and surveillance is being carried out using drones and CCTV cameras.In SambhalDistrict Magistrate Dr Rajender Pensiya while speaking to ANI ...Read More >
Mumbai: Drugs, gold and other expensive or illegal items are often seized from passengers during inspection at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, the country's financial capital. However, this time, customs officials seized as many as 48 poisonous snakes and 5 turtles from a passenger. Even the security guards were alarmed when it came to light that the passenger had been found with poisonous snakes. The passenger concerned had been to Thailand and had taken a flight from Bangkok on his way to India. At Mumbai's airport, customs found 48 poisonous snakes and five tur ...Read More >
Hyderabad: Thousands of people who gathered at ashoorkhana in Dabeerpura on the 10th day of Muharram (Youm-e-Ashura) took part in the Bibi-ka-Alam procession. The procession commenced from Dabeerpura on an elephant and concluded at Chaderghat. The Shia mourners took out the procession to mark the martyrdom anniversary of Prophet Mohammad's grandson, Imam Hussain, on the 10th day of Muharram. Members of the Shia sect performed matam and participated in processions. The 10th Muharram is the day on which Imam Hussain was martyred in the battle of Karbala by Yazid and his army. The relic made of ...Read More >
Shimla, Jul 17 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to remove encroachments on forest lands, including the fruit-bearing trees, all across the state and not limit it to some areas. The order was passed by a division bench consisting of Justices Vivek Thakur and Bipin C Negi on Wednesday after the Advocate General placed on record fresh instructions issued by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, informing that 2,456 apple and other fruit trees have been felled from forest lands in Chaithla village, and 713 and 490 trees in Rohru and Kotgarh forest divisions, r ...Read More >
Nagpur: Warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj belonged to the entire country, but British history tried to confine him as a regional icon, said BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi, who was in Nagpur on Friday to attend an event marking the 351st anniversary of Shivaji Maharaj's coronation. Trivedi told TOI at the event organized by Shivaji Maharaj Kruti Samiti that Shivaji Maharaj's contribution in 'safeguarding' the southern part of India from Mughal invasion must not be forgotten.Trivedi said, "Shivaji Maharaj belonged to all of us, entire country. Unfortunately, the British p ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Saturday supported the abrogation of Article 370 and said that in order to keep the country united, "we need only one Constitution". He recalled when the case was brought before the Supreme Court, the five-judge bench unanimously upheld the Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370 citing it against BR Ambedkar's ideology."When Article 370 was challenged, it came before us, and when the hearing was underway, I recalled Dr Babasaheb's words that one Constitution is suited for a country... If we want to keep the country united, we need only one C ...Read More >
SHIMLA: The cumulative death toll from rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh has climbed to 80, according to the latest report from the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). Of these, 52 deaths were directly caused by natural disasters such as landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts, while the remaining 28 fatalities were due to road accidents, electrocution, snake bites, and falls from steep slopes. Additionally, 35 people are still missing.The SDMA data, covering the period from June 20 to July 7, highlights Mandi as the worst-affected district with 17 deaths, followed by Kangra ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday delivered a blunt message at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting saying the bloc must adopt an "uncompromising" position on terrorism if it wants to stay true to its founding principles.Addressing his counterparts from China, Pakistan and other SCO nations, Jaishankar said the April 22 Pahalgam attack was a "deliberate act to hurt Jammu and Kashmir's tourism economy and deepen religious divides." He stressed that India's response has been resolute and in line with international expectations, citing ...Read More >