Drawing a parallel between the United States and Madhya Pradesh once again, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that his government would make cities in the state, going to polls this year, better than those in the US.

Addressing a function in Sagar yesterday, the chief minister, who is helming the state since 2005, also said that the cities in the central state would emerge as the 'cleanest, prettiest and developed cities', in the country in the next five years.

Madhya Pradesh is going to polls later this year.

"We are going make Madhya Pradesh cities better than the US. Our government has been continuously trying to make the cities modern and we will continue to do so," Chouhan said while inaugurating urban development projects worth more than Rs 14,000 crore.

He said, "Cities in Madhya Pradesh would become the cleanest, prettiest and developed in the country in the next five years."

This is not the first time that Chouhan had compared the infrastructure in Madhya Pradesh with the US.

Addressing a business round-table organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in Washington on October 24 last year, Chouhan had said that condition of roads in Madhya Pradesh was better than those in the US.  -- PTI

Incessant rain during the last few days has caused landslides along the stretch of National Highway-2 affecting traffic along the Kohima-Dimapur road, police said today.

PRO Kohima Police and Additional SP Talisunep Imchen said that due to the rain, the stretch of NH-29 below Avile Petrol Pump has been completely cut-off while another landslide has occurred in Hospital colony.

The PRO said traffic regulation will be enforced for heavy, medium and light vehicles with immediate effect till further orders.

He said that light and medium vehicles going down from Kohima to Dimapur would take Jotsoma village to by-pass road while heavy ones would take Forest Colony to by-pass Road.

Light and medium vehicles coming from Dimapur andheading to Kohima will be routed through Peducha to Chesemawhile plying of all heavy vehicles on NH-29 from Dimapur to Kohima would be restricted till the affected stretch of the highway is restored, the PRO said.

NH-2 is also the lifeline for public carriers to neighbouring Manipur as trucks pass the highway.

Landslides have also occurred near PWD junction and Merhulietsa Colony of Kohima town.

However there are no reports of loss of lives and damage to properties.  -- PTI

The Thai cave rescue op has been concluded for the day and will resume again in another 10-20 hours, reports say.

The official heading the rescue says they've used 'all the oxygen'.

Six boys were rescued today. The condition of one of them is being closely monitored.   -- Agencies

Pakistan's Supreme Court today banned former president and Pakistan Peoples Party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur from travelling abroad in the wake of the recent revelations in a fake bank accounts case, a media report said.

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar ordered the names of 20 people, including Zardari and Talpur, be placed on the Exit Control List, Geo TV reported.

Those persons on the list are prohibited from leaving Pakistan.

The order came as Chief Justice Nisar took notice of the slow pace of inquiry into a fake bank accounts case.

The apex court has summoned the seven fake bank account holders and 13 beneficiaries on July 12.

Zardari, Talpur, Tariq Sultan, Erum Aqeel, Muhammad Ashraf and Muhammad Iqbal Arain are among those who have been issued notices to appear before the top court on the given date.

The top court also directed the Sindh inspector general of police to ensure that all persons that have been summoned appear before the court.

Nasir Abdullah, Ansari Sugar Mills, Omani Polymer Packages, Pak Ethanol Private Limited, Chambar Sugar Mills, Agro Farm Thatta, Zardari Group, Parthenon Private Limited, AOne International, Lucky International, Logistic Trading, Royal International and Ameer Associate are among the beneficiaries name in the fake bank accounts case.

On Friday, the Federal Investigation Agency detained Central Depository Company (CDC) chairman and Summit Bank vice chairman Hussain Lawai, a close aide of Zardari, in Karachi.

Lawai and his associates are accused of opening 29 fake accounts in the Summit Bank and United Bank of Pakistan Limited.

According to the FIA sources, 29 accounts were opened in the name of seven people, including a woman. They said that 18 to 19 of the 'fake' accounts were opened in the Summit Bank alone.

FIA sources said that these accounts were used for money laundering with the accounts mainly being operated by a businessman, Anwar Majeed who is said to be very close to Zardari and his business partner.

According to the FIR registered against Lawai, billions of rupees were deposited into the said fake accounts and subsequently transferred to different accounts, including that of Zardari and his sister Talpur's company -- Zardari Group -- which is shown to have received Rs 15 million.

As per the contents of the report, the biggest transfer made out of the alleged fake accounts was to an Arab national, Nasser Abdulla Hussain Lootah, who is the chairman of the Summit Bank's board of directors.

Furthermore, it alleged that a sum of Rs 4.5 billion was credited and routed through the accounts during a span of 10 months.

The FIA identified Bahria Town Karachi and Omni Pvt Ltd among the 15 parties that had made deposits totaling Rs 2.855 billion into the aforesaid accounts.

The FIR said that the beneficiaries into whose accounts the monies were routed have been issued summons.

Lawai, however, maintained his innocence after the court turned down an appeal from his lawyer to not allow his physical remand on account of his frail medical condition.

"I have nothing to do with this case. Nothing has been recovered from me. This case is about money laundering; those who did this [money laundering] are abroad, and I have been accused," Lawai said.

The senior banker has served as Chairman of the Central Depository Company (CDC) besides holding positions of President and CEO of MCB bank.

When asked if he had been arrested due to his rumoured friendship with Zardari, Lawai said: "I do not know if I have been arrested because of Asif Ali Zardari or something else. Only time will tell why I am being targeted."

Zardari, 62, is contesting for a National Assembly seat from his native town Nawabshah in the upcoming general elections.

He was elected as Member of National Assembly from Karachi's area of Lyari in 1990, and from Nawabshah in 1993.

Zardari served as the 11th President of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013. He rose to prominence after his marriage to Benazir Bhutto in 1987.

After Bhutto's assassination in December 2007, Zardari led PPP to victory in the 2008 general elections.  -- PTI

Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel today announced that he will sit on an indefinite fast from August 25 to press for reservation to the community members in government jobs and education.

The 24-year-old activist, who shot to prominence in 2015 with his agitation over the quota issue, vowed to continue his fast till his demand for reservation was met.

In a video message posted on his official Facebook page, Patel said getting reservation for the members of his community was his primary concern.

He added that the fast would be his 'last fight'.

"This is our last fight. Either I will give my life or we will get reservation. I need your support for this. The fight has come to the last phase.

"Reservation is our primary issue and we will continue to fight for it. From August 25, which is observed as the 'Patidar Kranti Divas', I am going to sit on an indefinite fast and will not eat anything until we get reservation," Patel said, interacting with his supporters via a video-streaming feature on Facebook.

On the same day three years ago, the Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) had organised a mega rally in Ahmedabad to put forth the demand for reservation to the community members.

The rally had turned violent, leading to a police crackdown on the participants and the eventual detention and incarceration of Patel on sedition and other charges.

Around 14 Patidar community members were killed in the violence.

Making an emotional appeal to his supporters and the Patidar community members, a section of whom had criticised him recently for 'diverting' from the core issue of reservation, Patel sought their united support.

"We will get reservation, but only when we come together to fight for it. If we are fighting among ourselves, then this is not going to happen. We are lagging behind due to unnecessary debates and opposition (from within the community)," he said.

Patel also defended his decision to support Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor on the issue of prohibition, saying it was his responsibility to fight against the menace of liquor.

The Congress MLA, who represents the Kshatriya-Thakor community in Gujarat, has been a vocal critic of the way prohibition has been implemented in the state.

Thakor, Independent legislator Jignesh Mevani and Patel were yesterday booked by the police on trespass and other charges after they allegedly led a 'raid' of a house, where they claimed liquor was kept stored illegally.

Patel said fighting for reservation was his top priority, but he will also continue to raise issues related to farmers, prohibition and unemployment.

PAAS convener Alpesh Kathiriya said the venue for Patel's fast next month was yet to be decided.

"We will soon inform about the venue, where the indefinite fast will be organised. Patel's supporters will also join him," he added.

From August 25, every day one of Patel's supporters would get his head tonsured to highlight the issue of reservation and make the government take note of their demand, Kathiriya said.  -- PTI

Thai cave rescue op update:

Six boys have been rescued from the flooded cave, reports say.

"Six of them came out," agencies quote a defence official as saying.

Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump tweets, 'The US is working very closely with the Government of Thailand to help get all of the children out of the cave and to safety. Very brave and talented people!'.

The condition of former Uttarakhand chief minister N D Tiwari, who was shifted yesterday to the ICU of a private hospital in New Delhi, is 'extremely serious', his son Rohit Shekhar Tiwari said today.

According to Rohit Shekhar, his father has been put on dialysis 'due to failure of his kidneys' and he is also being given antibiotics and antifungal medicines to fight infection in his stomach.

The 92-year-old politician, who has been in the hospital since September last year after suffering a brain stroke, is also undergoing blood transfusion as his haemoglobin level has dropped significantly, Shekhar said in a statement.

'The condition of N D Tiwari is extremely serious. He was shifted to the ICU yesterday evening. His doctor said that he is suffering from acute bacterial infection in stomach region and his kidneys stopped functioning last night,' he said.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat, in a tweet, said yesterday that he had called up Tiwari's son to enquire about the health of the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and the hill state.

'Enquired about the condition of former chief minister N D Tiwari ji through his son Rohit on phone. On behalf of all people of Uttarakhand, pray for well-being and long life of Tiwari ji,' he had tweeted in Hindi.  -- PTI

Four boys among a group of 13 trapped in a flooded Thai cave reached the rescue base camp inside the complex today and will walk out soon, the country's defence ministry spokesmanwas quoted as saying by agencies.

"Four boys have reached chamber three and will walk out of the cave shortly," Lieutenant-General Kongcheep Tantrawanit said, referring to the area where rescue workers had set up a base.   -- Agencies

Update on Thai cave rescue:

At least two of the boys have been been successfully brought out, BBC says quoting local reports.

The BBC has also posted a video on Twitter of an ambulance leaving the cave site.

"Two kids are out. They are currently at the field hospital near the cave," The Guardian quoted the chief of Chiang Rai's health department, who's also a part of the rescue team, as saying.  -- Agencies

Over Rs 29.41 crore was spent on using the Indian Air Force's ultra-modern transport aircraft -- the C-17 and the C-130J Super Hercules -- to ferry the newly-issued Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 currency notes post-demonetisation, according to a Right to Information reply.

The move to scrap the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016, and saw 86 per cent of currency being sucked out of the system, needing an urgent operation to replenish it with the new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes issued after demonetisation.

According to the response provided by the IAF, its frontline transport aircraft, the C-17 and the C-130J Super Hercules, undertook 91 sorties to transport bundles of currency from security printing presses and mints to various destinations across the country after the Rs 1,000 and the Rs 500 notes were demonetised by the government in a sudden move on November 8, 2016.

In its RTI response to Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd), the IAF said it has billed the government-owned Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India and the Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Ltd to the tune of Rs 29.41 crore for its services.

"I am of the opinion that the government should have avoided using defence assets and instead could have easily requisitioned the services of civil transport aircraft," Batra told PTI.

This situation could have been avoided, had the government fully prepared itself before making the announcement to demonetise currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 on November 8, 2016, he said.

Post-demonetisation, the Reserve Bank of India had spent Rs 7,965 crore in 2016-17 on printing the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes, and those of other denomination, more than double the Rs 3,421 crore it had spent in the previous year.

The demonetisation was hailed as a step that would curb black money, corruption and check counterfeit currency, but the RBI, in its annual report for 2017, had said just 7.1 pieces of Rs 500 note per million in circulation and 19.1 pieces of Rs 1,000 notes per million in circulation were found to be fake in its sample survey.

The Bankers' Bank had said that as much as 99 per cent of the junked Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes had returned to the banking system, which had prompted the opposition to question the efficacy of the government's unprecedented note ban decision to curb black money and corruption.

Following the note ban, old notes were allowed to be deposited in banks, with unusual deposits coming under the Income Tax department's scrutiny.

A collateral damage as a result of rise in printing and other cost was dividend RBI pays to the government. The RBI had said its income for 2016-17 decreased by 23.56 per cent.  -- PTI

Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's son-in-law Captain (retired) Muhammad Safdar Awan, convicted in the Avenfield case, appeared at a rally of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in Rawalpindi on Sunday.

Safdar said he is here to court arrest among his supporters, Geo TV reported.Safdar was sentenced to one year of imprisonment on July 6 in the Avenfield case.

According to the report, Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) teams were heading to the venue to arrest Safdar.

The Punjab Police has also been instructed to assist the NAB team.Earlier in the day, Safdar had reportedly vowed to surrender from an undisclosed location.

"I had earlier decided to court arrest in Tarnol, but as per the party's decision I will now surrender from another city. Surrendering is an honourable act," Geo TV had quoted Safdar's audio message.

Safdar's name has been added to the blacklist; he now cannot leave the country.

Safdar's last known location, since the verdict was announced, was his home constituency of Mansehra from where he intended to contest the general elections in Pakistan scheduled on July 25.

Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam on Saturday said she and her father will return to Pakistan on July 13.

Sharif has been sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of eight million pounds has been slapped on him in the Avenfield reference case while his daughter was sentenced to seven years of jail and fined two million pounds by the accountability court.   -- ANI

The Guardian reports that the first group of boys should be on their way back now. Helicopters await to ferry them to the region's largest hospital almost 97 km away from the cave site.

The boys will be divided into four groups, with the first group haing four people, and the second, third and fourth containing three people. The coach will be in the final group, the Bangkok Post said quoting officials.

The Thai government has released a graphic about the rescue op according to which, two divers will accompany one boy, guided by rope.   -- Agencies

Cash and jewels valued over Rs 2 lakh have been reported stolen from senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram's house in Chennai, police said today.

A senior police official told PTI that Rs 1.5 lakh in cash and gold jewels worth Rs 1 lakh had gone missing some days ago, with the theft coming to light recently.

The finger of suspicion pointed at some persons working in the residence of the former finance minister, who has police security for his house, the official added.

He said a first information report has been filed based on a complaint and that a probe was on.  -- PTI

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today condoled the death of an Indian student during an attempted robbery in Kansas City in the United States and assured all required assistance to the family of the deceased.

According to authorities in Kansas, Sharath Koppu, who hails from Telangana, was fatally shot during a suspected incident of robbery at a restaurant where he worked.

He died shortly after being taken to a hospital on Friday.

'Kansas incident -- My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. We will follow this up with the Police and provide all assistance to the family,' Swaraj tweeted.

Koppu from Telangana was a software engineer who came to the US in January to pursue his master's degree.

'An Indian student became victim of shooting in Kansas City, Missouri. We r in contact with his family & police. We will provide all assistance. Our officers are also on the way to Kansas City (sic),' the Consulate General of India in Chicago tweeted yesterday.

The Kansas City Police announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the suspect and released a brief video of the suspect inside the restaurant moments before the shooting.  -- PTI

Update on Thailand cave rescue operation:

Agencies quote an official saying that the rescue will take 2-3 days to complete.

The Guardian said, 'It has been five hours since the team of divers went in to the cave complex and they are now expected to be preparing the first and strongest of the team for the perilous underwater extraction'.

Thai media says that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will visit the rescue site tomorrow to oversee the rescue effort and meet with the families of the trapped boys.   -- Agencies

Senior Congress leader and former Meghalaya Governor M M Jacob passed away today at a private hospital in Pala near in Kottayam due to age-related ailments, his family said.

He was 90.

Jacob, a former Union minister, had also served as deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha in the 80s.

Jacob, hailing from Ramapuram in the district, had served as general secretary and treasurer of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and Chairman, Kerala State Seva Dal Board and an elected member of All India Congress Committee for many years.

The funeral will be held tomorrow. Senior Congress leaders including Kerala unit president M M Hassan condoled Jacob's death.  -- PTI

With an aim of eliminating human entry into septic tanks and drains for cleaning, the ministry of housing and urban affairs has launched a 'technology challenge' seeking suitable solutions from individuals and NGOs.

According to the ministry, the initiative is in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who recently expressed desire for a challenge to promote latest technologies to avoid human intervention in cleaning of sewers and septic tanks in the country.

Thereafter, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri asked ministry officials to work out modalities of the challenge, an official said.

Ministry spokesman Rajeev Kumar Jain said, 'Technology Challenge: Identifying solutions for cleaning of sewerage systems and septic tanks', which will be a part of the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention to be held on October 2, will remain open till August 14.

"Elimination of human entry into sewer drains and cleaning of the septic tank is the ultimate goal of this challenge.

"Proposals have been invited by the ministry from interested innovators, individuals, consortium partners, companies, academic institutions, research and development centers, NGOs, and municipal bodies, to provide innovative technical solutions which eliminate the need for human entry into septic tanks and sewers," Jain said.

The ministry said that identification of technological as well as business innovations are among the objectives that have been flagged.

An official said that for evaluation and scrutiny of the technological solutions submitted by the participants, a jury will be constituted with experts from the MoHUA, faculty from IITs/IIMs and representatives of leading civil society groups.

"The proposals will be adopted for evaluation by the jury following broad criteria like the operational effectiveness of the technology, life of machinery, ease of use, Made in India, environmentally sustainable among others," the official said.

Official said the 'technology challenge' will be conducted for two separate categories -- 'Technological solutions for cleaning and maintenance of sewerage systems that eliminate need for human entry' and 'Technological solutions for cleaning and maintenance of septic tanks that eliminate need for human entry'.

According to the ministry, officials are currently in process to decide the prize for winners of the challenge.  -- PTI

Thai authorities on Sunday announced that the operation to rescue the 12 boys and their coach, stranded inside a cave in Chiang Rai, has begun.

The football team will be medically evaluated when they are out of the cave.

Several media reports stated that 13 foreigner and five Thai divers are particiapting in the rescue operation.

This comes barely a few days after attempts to rescue the footballers from the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system were put on hold due to a rain forecast.

With heavy rains forecast for the weekend, Governor Osottanakorn had then dismissed the idea of an immediate rescue, saying that efforts will be initiated only if the risk to the rescuers' lives were minimal.

The international rescue operation team included the Thai Navy SEALs and experts from the US, China, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Medical teams will continue to monitor the boys' health even as they remain trapped inside the cave.It is estimated that it would take five hours for even experienced divers to cross the four-kilometre stretch, with the UK divers who had first reached the stranded group stating that the dive was 'gnarly' and full of tight passages submerged in low-visibility water.

On Friday, a Thai diver had died while attempting to rescue the trapped group.

The footballers who were found by British divers on late Monday night, with footage showing them visibly weak and huddled on a mud mound deep inside the cave.

They were trapped in the flooded cave for nine days before being found. Aged between 11 and 16 years, the boys were members of the Wild Boar soccer team.    -- ANI

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat today said the Sangh considers affection for all an ideal, and that is why it felt no hesitation in inviting former President Pranab Mukherjee to its programme.

"When he (Mukherjee) was with a party, he belonged to them (Congress), but when he became the President of the country, he belonged to the whole country.

"We did not have any hesitation in inviting him, and he did not have any hesitation in coming. We all belong to one country, and we all should have `Aatmiyata' for each other," Bhagwat said.

The RSS's decision to invite the former president to address its volunteers last month, and the latter's decision to accept the invitation, had raised many eyebrows, with some Congress leaders criticising Mukherjee.

Bhagwat was speaking at `Prerna Vidyarthi Sammellan' organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

A book on the life of late Dattaji Didolkar, the founder of ABVP, was unveiled on the occasion.

Bhagwat extolled Didolkar as a selfless man who was accessible to everyone, and who had 'aatmiyata' (affection) towards everybody.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari was also present at the event.

Gadkari too spoke about his interactions with Didolkar in his student days. Sunil Ambekar, the national organising secretary of the ABVP, announced on this occasion that the organisation will be starting 'Selfie With Campus', an outreach program, this month, aiming to cover one lakh college campuses.  -- PTI

Government's decision to hike MSP for kharif crops is expected to impact GDP by 0.1-0.2 per cent besides adding to inflationary pressures, says a DBS report. 

According to the global financial services major, higher MSPs carry inflation as well as fiscal costs.

"For the fiscal math, impact is likely to be in the tune of 0.1-0.2 per cent of GDP, which might necessitate higher revenue support or lower capex spending to limit any risk to the 2018-19 deficit targets," DBS said in a research report.

Seeking to address farm distress ahead of general elections, the Centre on July 4 hiked price paid to farmers for paddy by a record Rs 200 per quintal and by up to 52 per cent for other summer-sown crops.

The move is expected to lead to higher inflation and widen fiscal deficit because of increase in food subsidy bill to over Rs 2 lakh crore from Rs 1.70 lakh crore provided in the Budget for 2018-19, experts said.

As per the report, for the rest of this financial year, the impact on inflation will be in the range of around 25-30 bps.

 

Regarding RBI's policy stance, the report said higher MSPs will add to inflationary pressures, fiscal slippage and this might prompt the central bank to go for another rate hike.

 

"For RBI, MSP increase poses an additional risk to their inflation view, besides fiscal slippage worries and higher oil prices," the report said adding "August rate hike risks remain on the table".

 

In June, the Reserve Bank had upped its retail inflation projection by 0.30 per cent and kept the policy stance in the neutral zone, even as it hiked the key rate by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent. -- PTI

The K Kasturirangan Committee tasked with drafting a new education policy has got third extension from the HRD ministry to give final shape to the draft.

 

The panel headed by the former ISRO chief, which was supposed to submit the report by June 30, now has time till August 31.

"The panel had sought another extension to give final shape to the policy and the minister has approved it," a senior HRD ministry official said.

This is the third extension granted to the panel. Initially it was supposed to submit its report by December, 2017.

The existing National Education Policy was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992. A new National Education Policy was part of the BJP manifesto.

Apart from Kasturirangan, the committee has eight members, including mathematician Manjul Bhargava. 

The panel will also take into account the report of a panel headed by former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian, formed by the HRD ministry during the tenure of Smriti Irani.

The TSR Subramanian panel submitted its report to the government in May 2016, suggesting measures to strengthen the education sector that caters to over 300 million students.

However, the government decided to have more consultations and use it as an "input" for the future draft and not as a final draft report, and set up the panel headed by Kasturirangan.

Kasturirangan headed ISRO between 1994 and 2003 and was awarded the country's second highest civilian honour -- Padma Vibhushan -- in 2000. -- PTI

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Uttar Pradesh, Surendra Singh, on Saturday said "even Lord Ram won't be able to prevent incidents of rape."

"Main daawe ke sath kah sakta hun ki Bhagwan Ram bhi aa jayenge to yeh ghatna (rape) par niyantran kar pana sambhav nahi hai. Yeh samaj ka swabhavik pradushan hai, (I can say with surety that even Lord Ram will not be able to prevent such incidents. This is natural pollution of the society),"  Singh told reporters when asked to comment on the recent incident of molestation in Unnao, the video of which went viral on social media.

"It is people's responsibility to treat others as their family, as their sisters. We can only control it through values, not the constitution," Singh added.

The motormouth BJP lawmaker had earlier made statements like "prostitutes are better than government officers" and had blamed parents and teenagers using smart-phones for rape cases.

In the recent past, Singh had come out in support of another BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is in Sitapur jail as an accused in the Unnao rape case. He had said no one can rape a mother of three children. 

Singh had earlier blamed parents and mobile phones for rising rape cases in the country.

A 36-year-old woman, who was severely injured when the pathway of a bridge collapsed over the railway tracks at Andheri station, died on Saturday at RN Cooper

Hospital, a civic official said.

A section of the bridge, in the southern end of Andheri railway station, collapsed on July 3, and Asmita Katkar had suffered severe injuries to her head and limbs, an

official said.

She was on ventilator support since being admitted to the hospital, situated in Mumbai's Juhu area, immediately after the bridge collapse, the official added. -- PTI

Aam Aadmi Party supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has asserted that the apex court has given his government "reasonable independence" to work and vowed it will work day and night for the welfare of people.

 

Saying that the Centre and Lt governor should go to Supreme Court to clear any "confusion" over its July 4 order, Kejriwal announced that his government will sanction funds for construction of roads and drains in unauthorised colonies in the next 10 days.

"SC judgement has given reasonable independence to our govt to work. We will work day and nite for the welfare of the people (sic)," he tweeted.

Amid the ongoing tussle over transfer and postings of officers, Kejriwal suggested that the Centre and the lieutenant governor should go to the Supreme Court to clear any "confusion" over its July 4 verdict.

The Centre and L-G are interpreting the court's judgment in a "queer" manner, he told reporters.

"My suggestion is that they should go to the court. They have confusion, we do not have any confusion," he said when asked if the government will take the 'services' issue to the apex court.

The AAP dispensation, following the Supreme Court verdict that empowered it to take executive decisions on subjects other than land, police and public order, has been sparring with the Centre and the L-G over the issue of control on the services department.

The Centre had asserted that it will be against the law to take a final view on the matter related to services as it is still pending before the Supreme Court.

"This advice is based on the Ministry of Law's opinion that the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court has clearly ordered that the matter be placed before the appropriate regular bench.

"In fact, it would be against the law to take a final view on the matter related to services which is still pending before a regular bench," Home Ministry said in a statement. -- PTI