I am aware of their ‘master strategy’: Karnataka deputy CM

However, JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister HD Devegowda clarified that they had no plans to form an alliance with the BJP or join NDA.

Karnataka deputy CM and state Congress boss DK Shivakumar said that there is a ‘master strategy’ happening in Singapore against the Congress government in Karnataka. Shivakumar made the comments when he was asked about Former CM HD Kumaraswamy’s recent Singapore trip, after he jointly conducted a press meet with BJP’s Basavaraj Bommai last week.

Speaking with the reporters, DK Shivakumar said, “I have information about his (HD Kumaraswamy) visit to Singapore. Instead of rounding off a ‘game plan’ here in Bengaluru, they went to Singapore to work on a strategy. We know everything.” On Friday, former chief ministers Basavaraj Bommai and HD kumaraswamy held a joint press conference in Bengaluru and announced that they will work together against the Congress-led government in the state on various issues. On Sunday, HD Kumaraswamy reportedly flew to Singapore for unknown reasons.

However, JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister HD Devegowda clarified that they had no plans to form an alliance with the BJP or join NDA. He said that the party will fight independently and there is no question of joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

Kumaraswamy had strongly opposed the deployment of IAS officers for the opposition meet in Bengaluru. Even when ten BJP MLAs were suspended from Karnataka assembly, he condemned the act and protested along with BJP leaders outside the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.lso

Earthquake Of Magnitude 3.2 Hits Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh

According to the NCS, the earthquake occurred at 6.34 pm at a depth of 5 kilometres.

“Earthquake of Magnitude:3.2, Occurred on 23-07-2023, 18:34:39 IST, Lat: 30.58 & Long: 80.18, Depth: 5 Km, Region: Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, India,” the NCS tweeted.

Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand: An earthquake of magnitude 3.2 on the Richter scale hit Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh on Sunday evening, according to the National Center for Seismology (NCS).

According to the NCS, the earthquake occurred at 6.34 pm at a depth of 5 kilometres.

“Earthquake of Magnitude:3.2, Occurred on 23-07-2023, 18:34:39 IST, Lat: 30.58 & Long: 80.18, Depth: 5 Km, Region: Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, India,” the NCS tweeted.

Earlier in the day, the National Centre for Seismology reported that an earthquake of magnitude 3.3 on the Richter scale hit Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang on Sunday morning.

The earthquake occurred at 6.56 am. According to the NCS, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 5 kilometres.

“Earthquake of Magnitude:3.3, Occurred on 22-07-2023, 06:56:08 IST, Lat: 27.44 & Long: 92.51, Depth: 5 Km, Location: Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, India,” the NCS tweeted.

Anti-Encroachment Drive Near Metro Stations As Delhi Preps For G20 Summit

On Monday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) started a comprehensive week-long drive in areas abutting Lal Quila and Chandni Chowk metro stations, officials said.

New Delhi: Authorities have begun a special anti-encroachment near various metro stations here as the national capital prepares to host the G20 summit in September.

On Monday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) started a comprehensive week-long drive in areas abutting Lal Quila and Chandni Chowk metro stations, officials said.

The multi-agency drive in the densely populated areas involves the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, NDMC, Delhi Development Authority and Delhi Police, and will be staggered over next few days to ensure commuters do not face any hassle in accessing metro stations, they said.

The drive near gate no. 1 and 2 of the Lal Quila metro station and gate no 5 of Chandni Chowk metro stations began on Monday and will be conducted daily till June 17, 2023.

It has been observed that encroachments by parking of selling carts (‘rehris’), vending objects, rickshaws, and other unauthorised establishments outside metro stations cause inconvenience to passengers at these locations. This drive is being taken up to mitigate these inconveniences, the DMRC said.

It said it also keeps writing to agencies concerned about these issues from time to time.

Such special drives will also be undertaken for passenger convenience at other Delhi Metro stations in the days ahead, the officials said.

In May also, the DMRC had undertaken a special drive at 11 metro stations to clear pedestrian pathways of vendors, encroachers, and unauthorised hindrance caused by movement of e-rickshaws, auto-rickshaws and others.

The DMRC has accorded a lot of focus on maintaining cleanliness, hygiene and disciplined commuter behaviour inside the Delhi Metro premises, the official said.

These drives are now being organised to ensure that the areas outside the stations are also free from any form of encroachments, he said.

Several other agencies in Delhi have also been undertaking anti-encroachment drives as part of a larger plan to spruce up the city for the mega G20 event in September.

A state-of-the-art convention centre is coming up as part of the Pragati Maidan redevelopment project. This will be the venue for the G20 Leaders’ Summit set to take place in Delhi on September 9-10.

“I welcome his suggestion, but I don’t know what his beef is with Modi,” MK Stalin

“I welcome his suggestion, but I don’t know what his beef is with Modi,” MK Stalin quipped in response to the comments today.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu MK Stalin, taking a swipe at Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comment on a “person from Tamil Nadu as prime minister”, wondered why the BJP leader “is angry with Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

“I welcome his suggestion, but I don’t know what his anger is with Modi,” Mr Stalin quipped in response to the comments today in Salem.

Amit Shah had, on Sunday, reportedly urged his party workers in Tamil Nadu to work hard in order to ensure that someone from Tamil Nadu becomes prime minister in the future.

Seizing on that remark, Mr Stalin responded: “If the BJP has the idea that a Tamilian should be the Prime Minister, there are Tamilisai Soundararajan (Telangana Governor) and L Murugan (Union Minister). I think they may get a chance to be Prime Minister candidates”.

According to some senior BJP leaders, Amit Shah also claimed that the DMK had prevented two senior state leaders from becoming prime ministers in the past. During a closed-door meeting with party workers, Mr Shah reportedly alleged that K Kamaraj and GK Moopanar had been prevented by the DMK from becoming prime minister.

Refuting the claim, MK Stalin challenged Mr Shah to make his statement public, so that the DMK could give a detailed explanation.

The DMK also questioned Mr Shah’s assertions about the Centre’s initiatives for Tamil Nadu and said the allocation of funds, as stated by him, was part of the government’s “constitutional duty”.

DMK Parliamentary Party leader TR Baalu claimed Mr Shah could not point out any “special schemes” as sought by Mr Stalin.

Bengaluru Trader Arrested For Manhandling Dutch YouTuber

YouTuber Pedro Mota, a Dutch citizen who has been traveling across India, was yesterday manhandled by a local trader near Chickpet in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru Police today arrested a trader at the capital city’s weekly ‘thief market’ (Chor Bazaar) for misbehaving with a foreign national two months back.

YouTuber Pedro Mota, a Dutch citizen who has been traveling across India, was manhandled by a local trader near Chickpet in Bengaluru while shooting a video blog.

A video, which surfaced yesterday and was released by the Bengaluru police, which was shot on Pedro Mota’s recording device, shows the YouTuber smiling while shooting a selfie video in the market when a man objects to his recording and grabs his hand. The Dutch man can be seen repeatedly requesting him to let go. He frees himself within a few seconds and rushes away from the spot.

According to Karnataka police sources, the incident took place two months ago and the vlogger has left the country since then.

Police have arrested the trader, identified as Navab Hayath Sharif, and filed a case against him under Section 92 of the Karnataka Police Act, which prescribes punishment for “certain street offences and nuisance.”

“Pertaining to this, action has been taken, and the concerned person rounded up. Strict action will be taken against him. No such misbehavior with foreign tourists will be tolerated,” the Bengaluru Police said in a tweet in response to a post with videos that purportedly showed the blogger being harassed.

Earlier, in December 2022, a YouTuber from South Korea was allegedly harassed by two men on a street in Mumbai while she was live-streaming. The video of the incident went viral, and Mumbai Police arrested two men in this connection.

Pedro Mota uploaded the video on his YouTube channel with the title “Attacked At The Thieves Market In India”. “Foreigner traveling in India experiences the thieves market in Bangalore, also known as the sunday market or chor bazaar. But exploring the area started out on the wrong foot as an angry man attacked me by grabbing and twisting my hand and arm, lunging after me as I tried to escape. After I had some street food, met great local Indian people and haggled for a new buttoned shirt,” he wrote in the description.

Nearly 3 Lakh E-Challan Generated By Smart Cameras In Noida

A majority of the 2,96,265 e-challans generated between May 2022 and April 2023 from the ISTMS pertain to most common violations like driving without a helmet, triple riding on two-wheelers and red light jumping, said the officials operating the system.

Noida, Uttar Pradesh: Nearly 3 lakh e-challans have been issued so far through the Integrated Security and Traffic Management System (ISTMS), a facility of hi-tech smart cameras which were installed in Noida last year, according to official data.

A majority of the 2,96,265 e-challans generated between May 2022 and April 2023 from the ISTMS pertain to most common violations like driving without a helmet, triple riding on two-wheelers and red light jumping, said the officials operating the system.

The ISTMS is located at the Command and Control Centre in Sector 94 and works in close coordination with the Noida Authority as well as the Traffic Police. It was launched on May 21 last year and is managed by Efkon India Private Limited, they said.

The scope of the project includes CCTV Surveillance at 82 key locations in Noida, an adaptive traffic control system at 40 locations that allows remote-controlling of red and green lights at traffic signals, public announcement systems and emergency calling boxes (SOS) at 82 locations, among other features.

The tech team of Efkon, which works in sync with traffic personnel, said that two types of cameras — Fixed Bullet Cameras and Pan Tilt Zoom Cameras (PTZ) — are used for surveillance purposes.

“Live feed of these cameras can directly be viewed in the control room 24X7 and their recording is also done. In case, one wants to view older data they can play from a video management system,” a tech team member said, preferring not to be named.

Although the e-challans generated by the ISTMS count for less than half of the total penalties, the traffic police said that the system has come in handy not only for traffic management but also for surveillance purposes and in some cases even to track criminals.

“The ISTMS has been quite helpful in various roles, primarily for traffic management and generation of e-challans. Additionally, it has also been helpful in crime detection in which the video footage from the ISTMS often comes handy,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Kumar Yadav told PTI.

However, Yadav noted that a lot of e-challans generated through this facility do not materialise in cases where the number plates are broken, tampered or dirty, making it unable to penalise the correct vehicle.

Another issue comes with the e-challan of a vehicle at multiple locations at times, the IPS officer said.

“These shortcomings need to be fixed and the system is to be made more streamlined in future to leverage its advantage,” Yadav told PTI.

According to official figures, footage from the ISTMS has been used by the police in 182 cases including those of accident, theft, snatching, loot, missing person, missing vehicle, and missing objects.

“There have been at least half a dozen murder cases also in which the footage from the smart cameras have helped the police track and trace suspected criminals,” an ISTMS official said.

“In order to enforce people to follow traffic rules, the police team is penalising people who are doing violations. With the Traffic Violation Detection System (TVDS), different types of violations are captured automatically and after a one-step auditing process challans are being generated,” the official added.

TN BJP chief releases ‘DMK Files’

The ruling DMK dismissed the allegation as “laughable, baseless and unfounded” and said legal action would be initiated against Annamalai.

Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Friday alleged that “kickbacks of ₹200 crore” had been channelled by a multinational company through two shell firms to “Chief Minister M K Stalin for DMK’s 2011 election fund”. He said he would lodge a complaint with the CBI, seeking a probe.

The ruling DMK dismissed the allegation as “laughable, baseless and unfounded” and said legal action would be initiated against Annamalai. Top DMK leader Duraimurugan dismissed the allegations as a mere political stunt.

Annamalai, referring to the DMK rule between 2006 and 2011, alleged that payments were received by the party as kickbacks from a company that won a bid related to the execution of Chennai Metro Rail Phase I project.

The BJP leader told reporters at the state party headquarters here that the Central government had notified a policy on May 5, 2010 stipulating norms for evaluation of bids submitted by foreign companies.

Days before the closure of bids for the project, an addendum was brought in and a “second firm” came up to the “first position”, which won the bid, Annamalai alleged. The specific change made was withdrawn later.

The TN BJP leader alleged that the company which won that bid paid ” ₹200 crore” to Stalin for “DMK’s 2011 election fund” through two shell companies, one Singapore-based and another based in Hong Kong. Though late M Karunanidhi was the chief minister at that time, the subject related to the Metro project came under Stalin’s purview, he claimed.

“I am going to lodge a complaint today to the CBI Director to probe the receipt of ₹200 crore bribe through two shell companies. This is a direct allegation against the Chief Minister by us,” he said. CBI had the authority to probe into it, he added.

In a note of warning, Annamalai said that the mobility provider Alstom had been sentenced to pay USD 772 million as criminal fine to resolve foreign bribery charges by the United States government.

A press release of the US Department of Justice dated November 13, 2015 said: “Alstom S.A., a French power and transportation company, was sentenced today to pay a $772,290,000 fine to resolve criminal charges related to a widespread corruption scheme involving at least $75 million in secret bribes paid to government officials in countries around the world, including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Bahamas and Taiwan.”

DMK Organising Secretary R S Bharathi told reporters that Annamalai would now have to spend more time in courts than touring for the BJP.

Bharathi said his party was not afraid of the CBI and it had faced and disproved allegations in its long history. “No single allegation against DMK could be proved even by AIADMK leaders M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa. The DMK is an open book.”

Releasing a nearly 15-minute video clip “DMK Files (Part-I)” showcasing what he claimed were assets of ruling party personalities and its valuation, Annamalai said three other parts of the ‘expose’ would also be released later which would include details about other political parties as well.

The video clip, which makes corruption allegations, is also perceived to make an oblique reference to the AIADMK vis-a-vis graft. Tamil Nadu’s main opposition AIADMK is an ally of the BJP.

The video features DMK ministers, leaders and others related to ruling party leaders.

Bharathi said those featured in the video clip would take legal action against Annamalai individually, apart from the DMK itself moving court. He set a 15-day deadline for Annamalai to produce documentary evidence related to claims.

Responding to a taunt by Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji, who months ago had asked Annamalai to answer how he had bought an expensive watch, and demanded to see its purchase bill, Annamalai displayed the bill related to the purchase of a Bell and Ross limited edition Rafale watch for ₹3 lakh from a person who was its first owner.

The BJP leader also announced a State-wide padayatra against corruption, “En Mann En Makkal,” (My soil, my people) and said it would commence in June.

IAF’s MI-17 Helicopter mobilized to combat raging forest fire in Coimbatore

On Saturday a recce was conducted at the affected areas by a chopper from the Sular Air Force station.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Sunday deployed one Mi-17 helicopter to fight raging forest filres in the Madukkarai forest range of the Coimbatore Forest Division.

“Information was received at HQ Southern Air Command about a forest fire in the Madukkarai Range of Coimbatore Forest Division. At first light on April 16, the Mi-17 V5 helicopter of AF Stn Sulur was pressed into ‘Bambi Bucket’ operations for dousing the fire,” IAF said.

Meanwhile, the IAF chopper lifted the water in a bucket to douse fire in Nande Gounden Padur forest in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore. “The operation is underway,” IAF said.

On Saturday a recce was conducted at the affected areas by a chopper from the Sular Air Force station and frontline staff were deployed at the reserve forest to put out the fire, a district forest officer said.

On April 11, the fire was detected in the Madukkarai forest range of the Coimbatore Forest Division after which several efforts are made to douse the fire.

PM Modi lauds MP govt as state releases appointment letters to 22,400 teachers

PM Modi had joined the programme virtually where the state government had released appointment letters to the school teachers in Bhopal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded the efforts of the Madhya Pradesh state government for their improvement in the national achievement survey rankings.

PM Modi had joined the programme virtually where the state government had released appointment letters to as many as 22,400 school teachers in Bhopal.

PM Modi said, “In this ranking, the position of MP has reached from number 17 to number 5, i.e., a jump of 12 numbers and that too without creating noise, without spending money on advertisements and silently. This kind of work is not possible without dedication. I congratulate the students of Madhya Pradesh, all the teachers of Madhya Pradesh, MP government for this important achievement in the field of education and for this silent practice.”

“I want to say one thing to the thousands of teachers who were appointed in Madhya Pradesh – look at your life of the past 10-15 years. You will find that the people who have had the greatest influence in your life are your mother and your teachers”, he added.

“The way you have a special place in your hearts for your teacher, you should also give a similar place in your heart to your students. Only the student within you will take you to the heights of life,” said the PM.

The PM also asked the teachers to implement the national education policy (NEP) effectively.

PM Modi also praised the Madhya Pradesh government for their recruitment drive.

“The campaign to provide government jobs to the youth in Madhya Pradesh is happening at a fast pace. More than 22,400 youths were recruited for the post of teachers. Half of the total new teachers have been recruited in tribal areas. I am happy that MP government has set a target of holding recruitment for more than 1 lakh government posts this year.”

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that in the first year, the teachers will get 70% salary and from the second year, the teachers will get 100% salary.

“We don’t want to create trouble like the previous government, who used to provide 100% salary after four years of service,” he added.

The CM also said when the National Achievement Survey was conducted in 2017, the state was ranked 17th, but in 2021, when we participated in this survey, we are number 5.

Asked whether the visit is an indication that the MNM will join hands with the DMK for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Haasan said, “We should move the story only scene by scene and not jump to the climax directly.”

Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) leader Kamal Haasan Tuesday inaugurated a photo exhibition on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin who will be celebrating his 70th birthday on Wednesday, March 1.

Addressing reporters after inaugurating the exhibition titled ‘Engal Mudhalvar Engal Perumai (Our Chief Minister Our Pride)’ in Chennai, Haasan said his friendship with Stalin is beyond politics and he has known the latter since the time he met him as former chief minister M Karunanidhi’s son.

Asked whether the visit is an indication that the MNM will join hands with the DMK for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Haasan said the event was not the space to comment on it. “We should move the story only scene by scene and not jump to the climax directly,” he quipped.

Haasan said initiatives like this photo exhibition are important to make the current generation understand Stalin who made a significant mark in the history of Tamil Nadu politics. “It is one’s duty to keep recalling history as there are others waiting in the wings to distort it, especially if it is related to the history of Tamils,” he added.

The actor added that the shooting of his upcoming movie ‘Indian 2’ is taking place round-the-clock, but he had set all that aside and arrived for the event considering its importance and due to his friendship with Stalin.

“We may not be very close friends, but we have also maintained a good friendship. On several occasions, we have been showing that our friendship is beyond politics. I have written this even in the note at the exhibition; being a son of a great leader may provide great happiness but it has its own set of challenges. The growth of Stalin from being a cadre to becoming the chief minister of a state shows not just his patience, but talent,” Haasan said.

The event organised by state Nadu Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments

Department P K Sekar Babu also saw the participation of DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, Chennai Mayor R Priya, DMK functionaries and office-bearers of MNM.