Lighting caused four deaths in UP till Monday while 15 persons died due to heavy rain. Two deaths due to drowning were also reported. Barabanki and Rampur recorded 320mm rainfall, the highest in the state in 24 hours from 8.30 a.m. on Sunday Times of India reports.
Roof collapses, cases of drowning, and deaths due to lightning were reported in parts of the state. Some localities in Lucknow faced waterlogging. In Barabanki, train movement was hit as rail tracks were flooded.
The relief commissioner’s office reported that 15 persons died due to heavy rain on Monday, including three in Hardoi, two each in Lucknow, Barabanki, and Kannauj, and one each in Amethi, Kanpur City, Unnao, Sambhal, Rampur, and Muzaffarnagar.
Lightning strikes killed two persons in Pratapgarh and one each in Barabanki and Jalaun. One person in the Deoria and Hardoi districts died due to drowning. Barabanki and Rampur recorded 320mm rainfall, the highest in the state in 24 hours from 8.30 am on Sunday, followed by Moradabad (270mm), Sambhal (210mm), Hardoi (170mm) and Hathras (160mm).
Kanpur and Kasganj recorded 150mm each, Kannauj 140mm, Budaun 130mm, Bahraich and Bijnor 120mm each, and Sitapur and Farrukhabad 110mm each.
The state Met headquarters located on the outskirts of Lucknow at Amausi recorded 93.9mm of rainfall till 8.30 a.m. on Monday. Relief commissioner GS Navin Kumar’s office added that flooding due to overflowing rivers had been reported from 173 villages in 19 tehsils across 10 districts. “Districts in central UP, including Lucknow, are expected to receive moderate rainfall on Tuesday as well. The intensity of the rainfall will decline on Tuesday, but districts in the central UP are expected to receive moderate thundershowers. The rainfall activity will decline in the entire state from Wednesday onwards,” said Mohammad Danish, senior scientist at the state Met department.
Chahal has been a regular member of the Indian T20 side but has not played ODI cricket since January this year. His last assignment with the Indian team was in their five-match T20I series against the West Indies.
Published Date – 03:39 PM, Tue – 12 September 23
Kent: India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has made an impressive start to his County Championship stint with Kent, claiming three wickets against Nottinghamshire in a Division One fixture.
Snubbed by the national selectors for the ongoing Asia Cup and the upcoming World Cup, the 33-year-old returned 20-6-52-3 on Day Two of the four-day contest, here on Monday.
Chahal dismissed Nottinghamshire batters Matthew Montgomery, Lyndon James and Calvin Harrison to help his side reduce their opponents to 219 for eight in reply to Kent’s total of 446.
For his first wicket, Chahal cleaned up James with a superb leg break delivery which knocked down the batter’s off-stump. Earlier this season, Kent had signed up India pacer Arshdeep Singh who played five matches and took 13 wickets.
Chahal has been a regular member of the Indian T20 side but has not played ODI cricket since January this year. His last assignment with the Indian team was in their five-match T20I series against the West Indies.
The leg-spinner signed up with Kent for three County matches, at home against Nottinghamshire and Lancashire and for an away fixture against Somerset.
Coal inventory at CIL’s pitheads stood at a comfortable 45.3 MT as of 31 August, higher by 46 per cent compared to 31 MT on the same date last year.
Published Date – 06:22 PM, Fri – 1 September 23
New Delhi:Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Friday posted a 13.2 per cent growth in its output at 52.3 million tonnes (MT) in August 2023 compared to 46.2 MT in the year-ago month.
The supplies rose to 59 MT in August 2023 from 51.2 MT in the same month last fiscal, registering a rise of 15.3 per cent, the company said in a statement. In FY2023-24 so far, the state-owned coal miner produced 281.5 MT, posting an 11.1 year-on-year growth. During April-August 2023, total coal off-take rose by 8 per cent to 305.5 MT compared to 283.1 MT in the same period of the last year. In August, the supplies to the power sector at nearly 47 MT increased by nearly 8 compared to 43.6 MT of the same month last year.
Against the commitment of 1.44 MT per day, the company supplied 1.515 MT per day to the power sector.
During April-August 2023, the coal-fired plants received 248.7 MT of coal from CIL, around 2 per cent higher from 243.5 MT a year ago.
Coal inventory at CIL’s pitheads stood at a comfortable 45.3 MT as of 31 August, higher by 46 per cent compared to 31 MT on the same date last year.
World demand for oil, gas and coal is forecast for the first time to peak this decade, the head of the International Energy Agency wrote in the Financial Times on Tuesday. The IEA’s annual World Energy Outlook, due out next month, will show that “the world is on the cusp of a historic turning point,” executive director Fatih Birol wrote in the FT.
The shift will have implications for the battle against climate change as it will bring forward the peak in greenhouse gas emissions, Birol said.
Based on government policies worldwide, demand for the three fossil fuels is “set to hit a peak in the coming years”, Birol said.
“This is the first time that a peak in demand is visible for each fuel this decade,” he wrote, adding that this was happening sooner than anticipated.
Oil demand is expected to peak before 2030 thanks to the growth of electric vehicles.
Gas demand will drop later this decade in advanced economies as heat pumps and renewable energy are increasingly used while Europe is shifting away from Russian supplies following the war in Ukraine.
Coal demand will peak in “the next few years”, he added, pointing to falling investments in the fossil fuel and the growth of renewable energy and nuclear power in top consumer China.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Errabelli Dayakar Rao has refuted allegations made by Congress leader Hanumandla Jhansi Reddy regarding the installation of idols at the Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple in Valmidi
Published Date – 08:03 PM, Sun – 10 September 23
Minister Dayakar Rao at Valmidi temple on Sunday.
Jangaon: Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao has refuted allegations made by Congress leader Hanumandla Jhansi Reddy regarding the installation of idols at the Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple in Valmidi. Minister Rao, accompanied by his wife Usha, participated in the ceremonial flagpole (Dwaja Stabham) installation at the temple on Sunday.
Speaking to the media after the ceremony, Rao firmly asserted that the re-installation of the idols strictly adhered to the Agama Shastras and emphasized that no errors had occurred in the process. He said Jhansi Reddy was exploiting the matter for political gains and misleading the public.
The Minister said the government had overseen the development of temples in the constituency. He urged the public not to be carried away by Jhansi Reddy’s baseless propaganda and urged them to continue supporting the government’s initiatives for development.
The Minister later laid the foundation stone for the Peddammathalli Temple at Valmidi.
Afghan Refugee Council official in Pakistan said that the Pakistani police have arbitrarily detained 100 refugees in Karachi
Published Date – 11:05 AM, Tue – 12 September 23
Representational Image
Kabul: Amid the ongoing tensions between Kabul and Islamabad, Afghan refugees in Pakistan complained about mistreatment by the country’s police, Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported.
Afghan Refugee Council official in Pakistan said that the Pakistani police have arbitrarily detained 100 refugees in Karachi, the report said.
Mir Ahmad Rauf, head of the Taliban-led Afghan refugee council in Pakistan, said, “They have imposed heavy fines. They have taken actions under the pretext of illegal migration. This is a major concern.” Faizullah Turk, an Afghan refugee, said, “We have witnessed that the police yesterday in Karachi detained more than 100 refugees.” Taliban-led Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation urged countries that are hosting Afghans to observe the international rights of the refugees.
Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, a spokesperson for the Taliban-led Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, said, “We call on all hosting countries to use humane behaviour with the Afghans and provide them with the rights determined for them based on international laws,” TOLO News reported.
Bahija Sadaat, a refugee rights activist, said that Pakistan was using the Afghan refugees as an “economic and political tool”. Sadaat said that the Taliban needs to hold talks with the hosting nations and the international community.
“Pakistan is using the Afghan refugees as an economic and political tool. To solve the problem of Afghan refugees, the Afghan government needs to talk with the hosting countries and international community,” TOLO News quoted Bahija Sadaat as saying.
Nearly three million Afghans reside in Pakistan, according to the Taliban-led Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti called for the need to return Afghan refugees to Afghanistan. Bugti said that Pakistan is working on a plan in this regard.
He said, “We have formed a plan which has been confirmed by the strategic forces of Pakistan as well. Based on the plan, every illegal refugee who is in Pakistan, from whichever country they are, they have received warnings and will be returned to their countries.” In response to a question in a press conference, Bugti said that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attack was launched from Afghanistan.
He further said that the Pakistani government has yet to ascertain whether only TTP members carried out the attack or if Afghan nationals were also involved in it.
He also called on the Taliban to follow the Doha agreement which ensures that Afghan soil will not be used against any country.
Earlier this month, Afghan refugees in Pakistan criticised the delay in immigration cases and accused the Pakistan military of mistreating them for the past two years, TOLO News reported.
Maryam Sadat, a citizen of Afghanistan, died by suicide on Wednesday in Islamabad.”Three of our young people have lost their lives in the last two months due to the lack of attention of the immigrant-receiving countries and their false promises,” TOLO News News quoted Mir Ahmad Rauf, the head of the Council of Afghan Immigrants in Pakistan, as saying.
Zahir Bahand, a journalist said, “Afghan immigrants are struggling with mental health issues. If the international community does not pay attention to their cases, a great humanitarian disaster will occur in Pakistan”.
Some Afghan immigrants complained about the mistreatment of the Pakistani military and said that the refugees without immigration cards are detained by the military.
Malik Awal Khan Miakhail, the head of migrants in the South Zone Council said, “The immigrants are facing many problems due to not having Immigration cards, and the military detains them.”
Shubhankar Sharma dropped a late bogey after a front nine to shoot six-under 66 as a follow up to his first round 65 and move to 13-under at the halfway stage of the Horizon Irish Open
Published Date – 01:00 PM, Sat – 9 September 23
Shubhankar Sharma dropped a late bogey after a front nine to shoot six-under 66 as a follow up to his first round 65 and move to 13-under at the halfway stage of the Horizon Irish Open
Kildare: Shubhankar Sharma dropped a late bogey after a front nine to shoot six-under 66 as a follow up to his first round 65 and move to 13-under at the halfway stage of the Horizon Irish Open.
Sharma shared the lead with Jordan Smith, who seemed to be moving into sole lead before he had a double bogey on the challenging 17th. Smith closed with a birdie for a seven-under 65 and he was also 13-under on the Palmer North Course at the K Club.
The star-studded field includes Rory McIlroy (69-70) in T-26th place and Shane Lowry (68-68) is T-9. Things did not go too well for the other Indian Manu Gandas (73-78) as he missed the cut by a big margin.
Sharma, seeking his first DP World Tour victory since 2018, raced through the front nine in 7-under 28 with seven birdies and two pars. At that stage Sharma after 27 holes was bogey-free and 14 under.
A bogey each on the Par-5 tenth and the Par-4 17th where he went into the water pushed him back as he had two bogeys and a birdie on 11th for a day’s work of 6-under after the first round 7-under.
At 13-under he was six shots ahead of the next player at one stage. But by the end of the day, Sharma was joined by Smith.
“It was a really quick start. Very early morning start for us, so I was a bit sleepy in the morning. I managed to make a lot of putts on the front nine,” Sharma said.
“I had nine single putts which was amazing. I don’t think I’ve done that before. Everything was just going nicely. I was hitting it in the right spots and I was really good inside ten feet. So it all came together.” “It was amazing. It was flowing nicely. I was hitting in the right spots, and I was really good inside 10 feet. It was still hot, unusual for Ireland. The greens were better. It is still gettable and scoreable.” “I am not much of a stats guy. Good you told me. I am a bit of a feel guy. I was sick last week but played good this week. I have been working on some things and it’s good to see things working out,” he aded.
Sharma, who opened the season with T-7 at his first event of 2023 in Abu Dhabi, has had just one more Top-10 since then and it came at the Open, where he became the first Indian to log a Top-10 at the Open.
Currently 65th, he is also looking at getting into the Top-50 to qualify for the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in November. Smith, who won his second DP World Tour title at last year’s Portugal Masters, carded nine birdies and a double bogey in his round of 65.
Sharma and Smith sit one stroke ahead of Englishman Ross Fisher, who went bogey-free after signing for a second consecutive round of 66, with Germany’s Hurly Long occupying fourth place on 11 under par.
In fifth is Scotsman Calum Hill, who carded three eagles and three birdies in his round of 65.
The gross GST revenue collected in August stood at Rs 1,59,069 crore, which was 3.6 per cent less than Rs 1,65,105 crore collected in July
Published Date – 06:45 PM, Fri – 1 September 23
New Delhi: The gross GST revenue collected in August stood at Rs 1,59,069 crore, which was 3.6 per cent less than Rs 1,65,105 crore collected in July.
The figure was, however, 11 per cent higher than the GST collections of August 2022, which were Rs 1,43,612 crore. Out of Rs 1,59,069 crore collected as GST revenue for August 2023, CGST was Rs 28,328 crore, SGST was Rs 35,794 crore, IGST was Rs 83,251 crore (including Rs 43,550 crore collected on import of goods), and cess was Rs 11,695 crore (including Rs 1,016 crore collected on import of goods).
The government has settled Rs 37,581 crore to CGST and Rs 31,408 crore to SGST from IGST. The total revenue of Centre and the states in August 2023 after regular settlement was Rs 65,909 crore for CGST and Rs 67,202 crore for SGST. The revenues for August 2023 are 11 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year.
During the month, revenue from import of goods was 3 per cent higher and from domestic transactions (including import of services) are 14 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year.
Earlier on Friday, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra had told reporters, on the sidelines of an event in Gurugram, that GST revenues for August 2023 have shown a growth of 11 per cent year on year due to increased compliance and less evasion. “Roughly numbers are in the range of 11 per cent year on year growth as in earlier months,” he said.
The gross GST revenue for July, 2023 had shown a meagre rise by 2 per cent to Rs 1,65,105 crore as against Rs 1,61,497 crore collected in June 2023. “GST revenues during June quarter grew by more than 11 per cent. This translates into a tax:GDP ratio of more than 1.3,” Malhotra said.
He had added that GST collections have grown by more than nominal GDP and this is despite no increase in tax rates.
Battle of Saragarhi: The battle inspired the 2019 Bollywood film Kesari.
Today marks the 126th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi, a heroic battle fought by 21 brave Sikh soldiers against over 10,000 Afridi and Orakzai tribals in 1897. The event has inspired films, books, and countless people.
Here are five facts about the Battle of Saragarhi:
The Battle of Saragarhi took place on September 12, 1897, when 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36 Sikh Regiment of the British Indian army laid their lives defending the Saragarhi outpost in Waziristan. Saragarhi served as a communication relay post between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan.
On the morning of September 12, the Saragarhi outpost was besieged by over 10,000 Pathans who took positions and opened fires. At that time, there were just 21 Sikhs inside the Saragarhi fort.
One of the Sikh soldiers, Sepoy Gurmukh Singh, sent a message to his commander, Colonel Naughten, who told them to return fire. Despite being outnumbered, the valiant soldiers did not abandon the post and vowed to defend it.
The Battle of Saragarhi witnessed a heavy exchange of fire between the Pathans and the soldiers and lasted for about seven hours. As the soldiers ran out of ammunition, they requested their commander for more supplies. However, the ammunition did not arrive and the Sikh soldiers continued fighting till their last breath.
The battle inspired the 2019 Bollywood film Kesari starring Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra.
Even as Telangana government has announced that it will observe September 17 as National Integration Day Opposition parties appear to be trying to score political mileage from the day
Published Date – 07:54 PM, Sun – 10 September 23
Hyderabad: Even as the State government has announced that it will observe September 17 as National Integration Day, marking the merger of Telangana with the Indian union and without any political connotations, Opposition parties appear to be trying to score political mileage from the day.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been in the forefront of such attempts, with the BJP-led Centre once again announcing an “official” programme titled Liberation Day at Parade Grounds here. The BJP’s decision to commemorate the day comes in the wake of a perceived direct contest between the ruling BRS and the Congress, pushing the saffron party almost into oblivion, and forcing it to make some noise to make its presence felt.
The BJP has been observing September 17 as Hyderabad Liberation Day and last year, the Centre had officially celebrated the event and organised a public meeting at Parade Grounds, which was addressed by Amit Shah. Sources said since the public meeting addressed by Shah in Khammam last month could not generate the desired results for the party, it now wants to turn the September 17 public meeting into a political focal point and intensify its election campaign in the State. This comes in the wake of the widening internal rifts among various factions in the party, followed by a change of guard in the State, which have completely weakened the party in the State.
On the other hand, the Congress is planning a series of events, including a rally and a public meeting to woo voters and derive political mileage from the day ahead of the Assembly elections. Beginning with the Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting on September 16, the Congress is planning to organize a public meeting on September 17 at Tukkuguda, with Sonia Gandhi expected to declare the party’s ‘five guarantees’ on the occasion, using the day just like the BJP to launch its election campaign.
Claiming that the Congress had played a significant role in the merger of Hyderabad State into the Indian Union, TPCC vice president G Niranjan said the BJP was considering itself the sole competent party to organize programmes on September 17. The people of Telangana were observing the BJP’s tactics of distorting history. The BJP did not even exist then and had no role in the merger but was now raising slogans to derive political mileage, he said in a statement here on Sunday.
