India's political landscape is ablaze with activity! From the ongoing debates surrounding the new farm bills and their impact on rural India, to the upcoming state elections shaping the national narrative, the stakes couldn't be higher. Key political figures are maneuvering strategically, with alliances shifting and power dynamics constantly in flux. The opposition's challenge to the ruling party is intensifying, sparking vigorous debates on crucial policy matters including economic reforms and social justice initiatives. Parliamentary proceedings are filled with heated exchanges, reflecting the deep divisions within the nation. This evolving political climate directly impacts the lives of every Indian citizen, influencing everything from economic opportunities to social welfare programs. Stay informed about the latest developments in Indian politics, from crucial legislative decisions to grassroots movements, by exploring Abtak.com for in-depth analysis and breaking news updates. Understanding the intricacies of our political system is crucial; stay engaged, stay informed, and stay ahead.
SALEM: The water level at Mettur Dam reached 120 feet on Monday. With an inflow of 20,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs), the dam has filled for the seventh time this year. Due to the excess water being released, officials from the Revenue Department have advised residents in low-lying areas to move to safer locations. Alerts were also broadcast through loudspeakers. The southwest monsoon has caused significant water inflow into Mettur Dam from the Kabini and Krishnaraja Sagar dams in Karnataka, as well as from the Cauvery River's catchment areas. Mettur Dam previously filled on June 29, July 5, July 20, July 25, August 20, and September 2. As the dam has reached its full capacity, excess water is being released through the 16-vent Ellis Saddle surplus sluices. "As a result, residents in low-lying areas along the canal banks are advised to relocate to safer areas, avoid bathing or washing clothes in floodwaters, and refrain from taking selfies or bathing livestock," said an official from the Water Resources Department. Currently, the water level of Mettur Dam is at 120 feet, with a water reserve of 93.47 TMC ft. The dam is receiving an inflow of 20,000 cusecs, with the same volume being discharged downstream. Additionally, water is being released at a rate of 800 cusecs through the upper sluice gates for drinking water purposes.
SOLAPUR, India (Reuters) - India is likely to produce a record amount of sugar in the next marketing year from October after millions of farmers expanded cane cultivation, encouraged by ample water supplies and declining prices of competing crops, farmers and industry officials told Reuters. The rebound in production would allow the world's second-largest sugar producer to resume exports in 2025/26, they said, after a lack of rain cut cane yields and led to two years of restrictions. Indian exports could cap global sugar prices, traders said, by increasing supplies in the world market at a t ...Read More >
Jaipur: Heat wave revived in the state Saturday when majority of places witnessed a rise of almost five degrees Celsius in their minimum and maximum temperatures. Jaisalmer remained hottest in the state where a maximum temperature of 45.3 degrees Celsius was recorded.The Met office said heat wave is likely to aggravate in the coming days.The Jaipur Met office said that pre-monsoon activity is likely to start in the state by June 15 and the monsoon is likely to enter Rajasthan by June 20.The heat wave also affected drinking water supply in many villages in districts, including Jaisalmer, Barmer ...Read More >
Heavy rains have triggered an orange alert in five Kerala districts, leading to rising river levels and flooding. Consequently, dam shutters are being opened across the state, including Banasura Sagar and Moozhiyar. Authorities are also preparing for the potential opening of the Mullaperiyar dam, managed by Tamil Nadu, prompting evacuations in vulnerable areas of Idukki district.Heavy rains lashed various parts of Kerala with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing an orange alert in fi ...Read More >
Ponda: With the cabinet approving augmentation of the water treatment plant situated on the hill at Gawaliwada, Panchawadi, state govt is mulling raising the height of Mhaisal reservoir. The existing height of the reservoir is 26m and govt wishes to raise it by another half metre or one metre to increase storage, said minister for water resources Subhash Shirodkar.The 230-m-long dam's full reservoir level is 26m, with a total live storage of 436.8 hectare metres. The water treatment plant at Gawaliwada fetches water of around 10-18 million litres per day (MLD).Considering the rising demand for ...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 >
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar has written a strongly worded letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, criticising General Education Minister V Sivankutty for walking out of a function held at Raj Bhavan on June 19. The Governor described the incident as a breach of protocol and an insult to the constitutional office. The letter, dated June 26, refers to an awards ceremony for the Bharat Scouts and Guides, where Sivankutty -- who also serves as President of the Association's Kerala chapter -- objected to the presence of a garlanded portrait of Bharat Mata on the stage, ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Acting on a public interest litigation (PIL) by farmer leader Sunanda Jayaram challenging the proposed Cauvery Aarti programme near Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) dam, the high court Friday ordered notice to the state govt, Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd, and others. A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice CM Joshi directed authorities to submit a detailed response, including measures to ensure safety of the dam, by the next hearing on July 23.Another PIL, challenging a tender to erect an amusement park at the dam, will also be heard the same day. K Bora ...Read More >
Chandigarh: Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday said the state govt was consistently working to provide better resources to the doctors and quality healthcare services to the citizens.He mentioned that medical colleges were being established in every district.While there were only six medical colleges in 2014, the number has now increased to 15, and nine new colleges are under construction. As a result, MBBS seats in the state increased from 700 in 2014 to 2,185, at present. The state govt aims to increase the MBBS seats to over 3,400 by 2029, said Saini.The CM was addressing a ...Read More >
Amritsar: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey from Jharkhand has claimed that Britain assisted India in executing the 1984 Operation Bluestar at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, stoking a new controversy.In a post on X on Monday, Dubey alleged that then PM Indira Gandhi "launched an attack on the Golden Temple in collaboration with Britain", with British Army officers present in Amritsar.He uploaded a classified British document, "Sikh Community", claiming that on Feb 23, 1984, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office mentioned in a letter that the Indian govt had sought British advice over a plan to remove Si ...Read More >
New Delhi: Chief minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday said authorities cannot go against demolition orders issued by courts and stressed that displaced residents have been provided accommodation.Her words came in the wake of the recent Madrasi Camp demolition for which the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has criticised her. AAP has targeted Gupta, and alleged that the displaced Madrasi Camp residents were provided homes in faraway Narela, and those lack basic amenities.Attending an event to mark the construction of a Jan Sewa camp at a slum cluster in the Haiderpur area, Gupta told reporters: "In t ...Read More >
Srinagar- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said foreign countries were told clearly during the post-Operation Sindoor diplomatic outreach that in case of a fresh provocation, India would repeat its action. Speaking at a discussion at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Tharoor said Indian delegations which visited foreign countries in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor managed to convey that India acted with restraint and responsibility. "In other places, we actually were able to get some very high-placed people to say not only that they respected and supported India's right of self- ...Read More >
New Delhi: At least 69 people have died, over 50 are missing as Himachal Pradesh battles cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides triggered by days of continuous monsoon rainfall, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told reporters on Friday. Meanwhile, a heavy rain alert is in place for all districts in the state till July 7. The Chief Minister said 14 separate cloudbursts had been reported since the onset of the monsoon, which has damaged roads and drinking water projects, as well as electricity supply to several areas. ...Read More >
Hyderabad: The state government on Monday urged the Union jal shakti ministry to direct Andhra Pradesh to take up the required repairs to the Srisailam dam to ensure safety, and that AP be asked to not open the dam gates until the reservoir reached its full reservoir level at 885 feet. The Telangana government said water was being released through the two hydel power stations on both banks of the dam. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is scheduled to perform special prayers and initiate the opening of some of the 12 crest gates on Tuesday morning at the dam, where the water l ...Read More >
JAMMU: Three persons, including two minors, drowned while four others were rescued as flash floods triggered by heavy rains occurred in different areas of Rajouri, Poonch, Doda and Kathua districts in J&K on Thursday. Meanwhile, a fresh landslide near Satya viewpoint along the Himkoti route blocked the new track to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta Hills in Reasi district.In Rajouri district, Shaqafat Ali (14) and his cousin Safeena Kousar (11) were out grazing cattle along with a 10-year-old ...Read More >
VIJAYAWADA: The State government on Friday accorded approvals to a slew of industries. Among those are Krishnapatnam Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), which is set to establish a 350 MW Solar and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Thamminapatnam and Mommidi villages of SPSR Nellore district with a Rs 1,225 crore investment, creating 575 jobs. Furthermore, the government also waived off a Rs 54 crore extension of time fee, contingent on project completion within two years as per the Andhra Pradesh Integrated Clean Energy Policy-2024. The government also allocated 22.80 acres at MPSEZ in N ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday attacked the Centre and Rajasthan governments over the reported plan to redraw the boundaries of the Sariska Tiger Reserve for the reactivation of over 50 mining operations, saying the move would be "ecologically devastating". The opposition party also said that with the Rajasthan and Union environment ministers both being from Alwar, this "double engine" cannot be supporting such a move. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a media report which claimed that a plan to redraw the boundaries of Rajasthan's ...Read More >
Inflow into the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur increased to 80,984 cusecs on Saturday. Following an increase in inflow, the Water Resources Department (WRD) issued a flood warning to people living in low-lying areas on the banks of the River Cauvery. On Saturday, the dam's water level stood at 117.93 feet against its full capacity of 120 feet. The storage level stood at 90.20 TMC against its full capacity of 93.47 TMC. At 8 a.m., inflow into the dam increased to 73,452 cusecs from Friday's inflow o ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Signalling the government's intent to move ahead with the impeachment motion of Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said that main opposition parties have given their in-principle approval to support the motion in the upcoming monsoon session scheduled for July21-August 21. Rijiju said that the government is yet to decide whether the motion would be brought in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. For the Lok Sabha, signatures of a minimum 100 MPs is required. The requirement is the support of at least 50 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. H ...Read More >
New Delhi: The southwest monsoon is expected to reach Kerala within the next four to five days, marking an early onset well ahead of the usual June 1 date, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday. The IMD had earlier predicted that the monsoon would make landfall in Kerala by May 27. If the current forecast holds, this would be the earliest onset over the Indian mainland since 2009, when the monsoon arrived on May 23. "Conditions are likely to become favourable for monsoon onset over Kerala during the next four to five days," the IMD said in its afternoon update. Typically, ...Read More >
New Delhi, June 30 (PTI) Most parts of India are likely to receive above-normal rainfall in July, the weather department said on Monday, asking authorities and people in central India, Uttarakhand and Haryana to stay alert due to the risk of flooding even as some parts of the country are facing the fury of the monsoons. In rain-induced damages in parts of Himachal Pradesh, while buildings collapsed, landslides and road blockades added worries to the woes of the people in the hill state on Monday. Also Read | Was Samruddhi Expressway Flooded After Heavy Rainfall in Maharashtra? Videos of Wate ...Read More >
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Jabalpur High Court has sought expert opinion on the viability of using a plastic-coated landfill to dispose of chemical waste from the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) at Pithampur. On Monday, the bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Dinesh Kumar Paliwal directed that representatives from the National Institute for Research in Environmental Health (NIREH), National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) be present for the next hearing scheduled for July 31. T ...Read More >
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 4 (ANI): Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday came down heavily on the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) over its pitch to reconsider the words 'secular and socialist' from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution while saying that it was 'all talk'. He dared and challenged RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale and top leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the centre to remove the words 'secular and socialist' from the Preamble. 'Days before, I heard that some RSS person said that we should remove Secular and Socialist words from ...Read More >
Kerala is experiencing intensified monsoon rains, leading to flooding in Ernakulam, Idukki, and Thrissur districts. The IMD has issued an orange alert for seven districts, indicating the possibility of very heavy rainfall. In Wayanad, continuous rains caused the Chooralmala River to swell, raising concerns due to the area's history of deadly landslides. Monsoon rains intensified in Kerala on Thursday with some parts of Ernakulam, Idukki and Thrissur districts getting flooded and the India Meteor ...Read More >
Gurgaon: MCG additional commissioner Yash Jaluka directed bulk waste generators (BWG) across the city to ensure proper disposal of waste by private agencies who are assisting them. Giving these instructions in a meeting held on Friday, he said it is often observed that BWGs hand over their waste to private agencies, which only sort valuable items and dump the remaining waste on roads, drains, vacant land or public places. This, he said, not only affects cleanliness of the city but also poses a threat to public health."Under the Solid Waste Management Rules-2016, it is the legal and moral respo ...Read More >
Shimla, Jun 29 (PTI) The meteorological centre in Shimla issued a "red" alert on Sunday for very heavy downpour in 10 districts of Himachal Pradesh, while services on the Shimla-Kalka rail line were suspended for hours till the debris and trees fallen on the tracks following overnight rains were removed. A landslide near Koti on the Shimla-Kalka national highway (NH-5), connecting Shimla and Chandigarh, damaged some stretches of the road, resulting in a two-to-three-km-long traffic jam for hours. Solan Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said two-way traffic has been restored near Chakki M ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar/Balasore: With the Subarnarekha and Jalaka rivers flowing above the danger level and the Budhabalanga in spate following incessant rain for the last two days, state govt has geared up to tackle the flood situation in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts. Over 7,000 people were evacuated to safer places while Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire services teams were deployed in vulnerable areas. Floodwaters from the Subarnarekha, Budhabalanga and Jalaka have inundated connecting roads across the region. Road links were severed, while electricity and telecommunication serv ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Several low-lying areas in Bhubaneswar remained waterlogged Friday, causing disruptions for residents as the city continued to reel under the impact of rainfall. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) faced challenges in clearing the water due to an overwhelmed drainage system that failed to discharge the accumulated runoff effectively. BMC Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil visited affected localities, including Laxmisagar and Badagada, where he directed civic staff to intensify dewatering operations and take immediate measures to restore normalcy. "The drain connecting ...Read More >
Lucknow, Jun 27 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh Urban Development Department (UDD) has launched a comprehensive plan to ensure cleanliness, lighting, and water arrangements for the upcoming Kanwar Yatra, Sawan Mela, and other festivals, the state government said in a statement on Friday. Principal Secretary of UDD, Amrit Abhijat, has directed urban bodies to carry out daily cleaning operations from 5:00 am to 8:00 am. Special emphasis will be placed on Kanwar Yatra routes and ghats, with dedicated sanitation workers deployed for thorough cleaning. Waste collected during the cleaning operations will b ...Read More >
Srinagar, Jul 3: Kashmir recorded its hottest June in nearly five decades as a prolonged dry spell and 50 percent rainfall deficit triggered an intense and sustained heatwave across the Valley, according to meteorological data. Srinagar registered an average maximum temperature of 33 degrees Celsius last month - at least three degrees above normal - making it the hottest June since 1978. The average minimum temperature also remained elevated at 18.2 degrees Celsius. "This June mimicked the extreme heat of 1978, although peak temperatures were slightly lower," said Mukhtar Ahmad, Director of ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday announced the provisional attachment of assets worth approximately ₹131.45 crore in Spain, including a luxury yacht and immovable properties, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). These assets belong to Pavel Prozorov, a Spanish national and the alleged mastermind behind the unauthorised forex trading platform OctaFX. The attached assets comprise a commercial Italian-model luxury yacht cruising in the Western Mediterranean, a minijet boat, a luxury car, and two residential properties in Spain. The ED's probe was launched ...Read More >