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Rishikesh: A new chapter has been added to Uttarakhand's tourism history. For the second time, a seaplane successfully landed and took off from the Ganga Barrage in Rishikesh, proving that this technology is safe and suitable for the region's geographical conditions. The 19-seater Sky Hop aircraft performed two takeoffs and two landings, both in the main Ganga and upstream. Despite strong currents, the seaplane managed smooth operations, showing its technical strength. Officials said the trial was important to test the aircraft's ability to handle river conditions. Security arrangements in place The trial was conducted under tight security. Police, SDRF, fire brigade, and UJVNL teams were deployed at the site. The project began on April 6 from Jolly Grant Airport and is now moving forward with confidence. Boost for tourism and local economy Experts believe the seaplane service will be a game-changer for Uttarakhand tourism. Foreign and wealthy tourists will be able to reach Rishikesh directly, saving time and avoiding traffic congestion. The journey from Jolly Grant Airport to the barrage will take only minutes. Local taxi operators, guides, and markets are expected to benefit greatly. Faster connectivity will bring more visitors to Rishikesh, boosting business opportunities. Project Manager Manisha Jha confirmed that the trial was successful and said crew members will now undergo training. Next trial at Tehri Lake Authorities plan to conduct a similar trial at Tehri Dam soon. If successful, the service could be expanded to other water bodies in Uttarakhand, opening new avenues for tourism and connectivity. What is a seaplane? A seaplane is a special aircraft designed to take off and land on water surfaces such as rivers, lakes, or seas. Typically seating 12 to 19 passengers, it requires only 300-500 meters of water for takeoff. These aircraft can operate on both land and water, making them versatile for regions like Uttarakhand. Future prospects With successful trials, Uttarakhand is positioning itself as a pioneer in seaplane tourism. The project is expected to attract more visitors, reduce travel time, and enhance the state's image as a modern yet nature-friendly destination.
Patna: With water levels already fluctuating in key rivers and forecasts warning of heavy rain upstream in Nepal, Bihar is on alert for potential flood-like conditions in the Kosi and Gandak basins starting Friday. Officials have warned that the situation could worsen quickly, especially as the region heads into a wetter-than-average monsoon season.On Thursday afternoon, water discharge through the Birpur barrage on the Kosi stood at 78,660 cusecs, a drop from 87,140 cusecs on Wednesday and 1.04 lakh cusecs on Tuesday, indicating unstable flow patterns. The Gandak, too, has seen considerable v ...Read More >
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bihar and West Bengal on August 22. He will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate multiple development projects worth around Rs 13,000 crore at Gaya in Bihar at around 11 am. He will also flag off two trains and address the gathering. Thereafter, he will visit and inaugurate the Aunta-Simaria bridge project on the River Ganga. PM Modi will also flag off metro train services on the newly constructed sections in Kolkata at around 4:15 pm and undertake a metro ride from Jessore Road Metro Station to Jai Hind Bimanbandar and back. Further, he ...Read More >
LAHORE/SRINAGAR (Reuters) -Pakistan's eastern towns of Chiniot and Hafizabad face a risk of catastrophic floods if an irrigation barrage crumbles on a major river upstream after heavy rains swelled it beyond capacity, officials warned on Thursday. Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan are battling torrential monsoon rains that have unleashed flash floods, swelled rivers and filled dams, with 60 deaths this month in Indian Kashmir, and Pakistan's toll at 805 since late June. Any flooding blamed on India stands to inflame relations between the archfoes, embroiled in a tense stand-off sin ...Read More >
PRAYAGRAJ, India: Tens of thousands of Hindus seeking absolution of their sins immersed themselves on Monday in freezing waters at the confluence of sacred rivers, as India began a six-week festival expected to draw the world's largest gathering of humanity. Held every 12 years, the Maha Kumbh Mela or Great Pitcher Festival, as the religious event in the city of Prayagraj in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is called, attracts more than 400 million visitors, both Indians and tourists. As many as 40,000 police officers are on guard to provide security and help manage the crowds, while surv ...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 >
VISAKHAPATNAM: Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar inaugurated Andhra Pradesh's first Super ECBC (Energy Conservation Building Code) compliant building at Sagar Nagar in Visakhapatnam on Friday. Terming it a landmark in sustainable infrastructure, he emphasised the government's commitment to energy efficiency and green design in public facilities. The facility will serve as a national-level training hub for power sector staff. He urged power utilities to expedite 20 lakh rooftop solar connections, targeting 10,000 in each Assembly segment. He reaffirmed nine-hour uninterrupted power for agri ...Read More >
Jaipur: Police in Didwana have stepped up their probe into a cross-border smuggling case in which they arrested two arms and drug smugglers on June 27 for supplying Austrian Glock and Chinese Norinco pistols. It has emerged that the case has links to a massive Rs 300-crore heroin consignment seized by Punjab's Amritsar police near the India-Pakistan border in Barmer on June 30. Canada-based Joben Kaler was identified as the main overseas handler of the heroin consignment. Didwana-Kuchaman police had arrested Mohammad Ilyas from Khunkhuna and Amarjeet Singh Takhar, alias Prince, from Jalandhar ...Read More >
MUMBAI: The Indian equity indices opened lower on Friday as heavyweights like Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the top losers in the BSE benchmark. At 9.25 am, Sensex was down 171 points or 0.21 per cent at 82, 087 and Nifty was down 35 points or 0.14 per cent at 25, 075. In the Sensex pack, M&M, Tata Steel, Power Grid, L&T, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Tata Motors, BEL, NTPC, TCS, Trent and Maruti Suzuki were top gainers. Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra , HDFC Bank, Eternal (Zomato), HUL, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Titan and Bajaj Finserv ...Read More >
Srinagar: Imagine gliding effortlessly above the clouds atop the world's highest railway bridge, with panoramic views of snow-capped peaks, lush green valleys, and rivers carving their way through rugged mountains. This is the experience Kashmir's first high-speed train journey offers -- promising to transform travel and tourism in the region forever. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated two cutting-edge Vande Bharat trains running between Katra and Srinagar, slashing travel time by hours and providing year-round, reliable connectivity to the Kashmir valley. This train ride doe ...Read More >
Srinagar: Before towering cranes and cutting-edge engineering transformed the Himalayan landscape, the monumental dream of connecting "Kashmir to Kanyakumari" by rail began with the plodding footsteps of humble mules. This extraordinary backstory underpins the official realization of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 6, 2025, a project crowned by the awe-inspiring Chenab Bridge. According to Afcons Infrastructure Limited, the company behind the Chenab Bridge, the earliest and most formidable hurdle wasn't just the design of ...Read More >
Mumbai, July 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) Actor Harshvardhan Rane, who was last seen in 'The Miranda Brothers', is heaping praise on the recently released film 'Saiyaara', and its team. On Saturday, the actor took to the Stories section of his Instagram, and penned a special note for the film and its makers after it witnessed a stellar opening day. He wrote, "Another melodious example of a love story shattering all myths and formulas of the industry. Honest heart wrenching love story wins again in 2025! #Saiyaara". 'Saiyaara', which stars Aneet Padda, and marks the debut of Ahaan Panday, is helmed b ...Read More >
Patna: CM Nitish Kumar chaired a high-level meeting on Wednesday to review relief and rescue operations in 10 flood-affected districts. He directed officials concerned to remain fully alert and make all necessary arrangements for the affected people.At the review, conducted via videoconferencing at the Sankalp hall in CM residence, an official informed the CM that around 25 lakh people had been affected by the flood in 54 blocks of the 10 districts, as several rivers were in spate due to torrential rainfall in the past 24 hours. Seven NDRF and nine SDRF teams were engaged in relief and rescue ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 7 (ANI): Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, on Monday announced multiple initiatives by the Government to boost the waterways and maritime sector in the region. With an investment of 5,000 crores earmarked, the Union Government has drawn up major initiatives in this regard, a release from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said. As per the release, over the past 11 years, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways (MoPSW) has transformed India's maritime sector, achieving record growth in cargo handling, capacity, and co ...Read More >
PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Jul, 2025) In recent years, devastating floods have become an increasingly frequent threat across many regions of South Asia including Pakistan, wreaking havoc on homes, economy, livestock, agriculture, livelihoods, and infrastructure, affecting common man. While large-scale flood control projects often require extraordinary funding and time, water experts are now turning their attention to a more humble yet effective solution i.e small dams to a ...Read More >
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 4 (ANI): Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan made strong remarks on the necessity of education while addressing a gathering at the Agaram Foundation event in Chennai. Education is the only weapon that can break the chains of dictatorship and Sanatan, the Rajya Sabha MP said on Sunday. Kamal Haasan added, Dont take anything else in your hands, only education. We cannot win without it, because the majority can make you lose. Majority Fools (Moodargal) will make u lose; knowledge alone will seem defeated. That why we must hold on to it (Educat ...Read More >
New Delhi, Aug 22 (UNI) A staggering Rs 42.68 crore of taxpayers' money had to be spent on senior advocates, including Abhishek Manu Singhvi and others, to contest as many as 542 "frivolous and false" cases filed against him during the previous UPA regime, said union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Speaking at his residence with Women Journalist Welfare Trust (WJWT), the Minister stressed that such politically motivated litigations not only burden individual public representatives but also drain resources from the exchequer that could otherwise be channelled into de ...Read More >
New Delhi: In a joint operation, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) have eliminated As'ad Abu Sharaiya, a senior leader of the Mujahideen terrorist organization in Gaza, and another terrorist, Mahmoud Muhammad Hamid Kuhail. According to the IDF, Abu Sharaiya was directly involved in the October 7, 2023, massacre, infiltrating Kibbutz Nir Oz, and was responsible for the abduction and murder of several Israeli citizens, including Shiri, Ariel, Kfir Bibas, and Nattapong Pinta. He also played a role in recruiting operatives for terror attacks against Israel and I ...Read More >
Gurgaon: Two days after a law student died and his friend suffered critical injuries when a car knocked them down as they stood near railing on the service lane of Delhi-Jaipur highway in the early hours of Tuesday, a civil engineer was arrested on Thursday.Mohit (31), an employee of a private company in the city, told police that he got drowsy while driving. He is staying at a PG facility in Sector 14.The student who died, Harsh Singhal (25), was a resident of Om Nagar colony. His friend Abhishek Kumar (23), who is from Shanti Nagar in Sector 11, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital ...Read More >
12 Jaipur: Around 3,800 vehicles travelled through the Jaipur-Bandikui linkway in the first 12 hours of the inaugural day of the trial run Wednesday, reducing the travel time between Jaipur and Delhi by at least 30 to 45 minutes. Officials of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said the number of vehicles would increase in the coming days.Confirming the figures of vehicle movements on the first day, Bharat Singh Joiya, project director of NHAI (Dausa PIU), said now that the trial run had started, NHAI won't close this linkway unless they find any major safety concerns. "We cannot comme ...Read More >
New Delhi: Was it the pitch? Was it the conditions? Was it the bowling? The questions doing the rounds after yet another strange show in good batting conditions by India were many. But with the exception of Shubman Gill, who became just the second Indian captain, after Mohammad Azharuddin, to score hundreds in consecutive matches in England, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, few India batters managed to answer them in a satisfactory manner. After being put into bat by England, India looked like they were in control at various points during the day but then somehow contrived to gift away wickets and end t ...Read More >
Bareilly (UP), Jul 17 (PTI) A teacher from Bahedi district, who went viral recently after reciting a poem mentioning Kanwar Yatra, approached the police on Thursday stating a threat to his life from anti-social elements. A case has been registered at Bahedi police station based on a complaint from Dr Rajneesh Kumar Gangwar, a teacher at MGM Inter College in the district. According to Circle Officer Arun Kumar Singh, Gangwar's complaint says that ever since his recitation of the poem 'Tum Kanwad Lene Mat Jana, Gyaan Ka Deepak Jalaana' (You don't go get Kavad, light the lamp of knowledge inste ...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 >
Kolkata: The Kolkata Traffic Police is facing a new challenge in managing vehicle parking for the upcoming Shahid Diwas rally on Monday, as persistent rainfall threatens to render designated parking fields unusable. The fresh spell of rain on Friday, with more occasional rain predicted even on Saturday, has left cops worried as they believe the Maidan area can be filled with slush.The traffic department, which initially planned to utilise various fields across the city for parking buses and cars of parade attendees, is now frantically searching for alternative solutions on the main roads, stre ...Read More >
New Delhi: Traffic in central Delhi will be affected on Thursday as the traffic police has issued an advisory due to the Janmashtami and Tazia processions.According to police, the traffic movement in Paharganj is likely to be affected from 1.30pm in view of the shobha yatra for Janmashtami and the Tazia procession.The Janmashtami procession will start from Mandir Shri Banke Bihari Ji in Paharganj's Sangatrasan Bazar and pass through Desh Bandhu Gupta Road, Chuna Mandi, Main Bazar, Munja Chowk and Arakashan Road. The Tazia procession will start from Ajmeri Gate and proceed through Pul Paharganj ...Read More >
Mumbai: Senior BJP leader Ravindra Chavan is all set to become the next Maharashtra BJP chief as he filed his nomination for the post of party's state president on Monday. Mr. Chavan presented the nomination forms to Union Minister Kiran Rijiju, who has been appointed as a central observer for the elections by the BJP. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and outgoing party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule were present on this occasion. With no other nomination being filed for the post, Mr. Chavan is certain to become the next state president of Maharashtra BJP, said party leaders. The ...Read More >
Jammu, Jul 18 (PTI) Senior officials of the Jammu and Kashmir government reviewed the arrangements for the smooth conduct of the 13-day-long Budha Amarnath pilgrimage in Poonch district that will begin on July 28. Deputy Inspector General of Police Tejinder Singh reviewed security in Poonch and stressed ensuring the safety of the devotees. "The first batch will depart from the Bhagwati Nagar basecamp in Jammu on July 28, moving towards the Mandi tehsil in Poonch in a regulated convoy amid full security arrangements," a spokesperson said. Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar and Inspec ...Read More >
A new study from IIT Roorkee has just flipped the long-standing belief about what keeps the Ganga flowing during the harsh Indian summer. New fingings show that it is in fact not glacier melt but groundwater that keeps the mighty river alive, at least until Patna. Researchers from IIT Roorkee tracked the river right from its Himalayan beginnings to its delta end, using advanced isotopic analysis. Published in Hydrological Processes, the study is the first of its kind to cover such a full-scale s ...Read More >
Khandwa (MP), Jun 30 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday praised the 'Jal Ganga Samvardhan Abhiyan' in Madhya Pradesh and termed the works done under the water conservation campaign with people's participation as 'historic'. He emphasised on the need for water conservation, noting it will bring relief to farmers and also help in running industries. The three-month-long campaign has been an 'inspiring' effort towards creating awareness among people to make rivers clean, uninterrupted and perennial, he noted in a message sent to a programme organised in Khandwa district on the occasio ...Read More >
Lucknow, Jul 17 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh's capital city has secured the third position in the category of urban spaces with population exceeding 10 lakh, while Prayagraj was adjudged the Cleanest Ganga City in the ninth edition of the Swachh Survekshan. Lucknow also became the first city in the state to achieve a 7-star Garbage Free City rating in the 2024-25 survey. Gorakhpur achieved double success, ranking third in the Safai Mitra Surakshit Sheher category and fourth among cities with a population between 3 to 10 lakh. Agra has been recognised as the Emerging Clean City of Uttar Pradesh, securi ...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 >