LIVE! Noida schools to go online as air quality plummets

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Thu, 03 November 2022

Noida schools to go online as air quality plummets

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23:26 Noida schools to go online as air quality plummets

All schools in Noida and Greater Noida were Thursday asked to hold classes online for students up to Class 8 till November 8 in view of increasing pollution in the National Capital Region, according to an official order.

The schools have also been told to hold classes for students of Class 9 to 12 online as far as possible, said the order issued by Gautam Buddh Nagar's District Inspector of Schools (DIOS) Dharmveer Singh.

Outdoor activities like sports or meetings will stay completely banned in all schools, the order further stated.

"All schools have been asked to move to online medium for teaching students up to Class 8. They have been asked to switch to the online mode for students of Class 9 to 12 also to the extent possible," Singh said.

"However, no outdoor activities like sports in schools are allowed till November 8," the DIOS told PTI.

Gautam Buddh Nagar has around 1,800 schools including higher education centres, spread across Noida and Greater Noida, as on date, the officer said.

The air quality index on Thursday reached severe levels in Noida and Greater Noida, with thick smog engulfing parts of the district adjoining Delhi in western Uttar Pradesh. -- PTI

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday called opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and congratulated him on his election victory, as his coalition of right-wing parties secured a comfortable majority in the parliament.

With 99 per cent of the ballots counted, Netanyahu-led right-wing bloc has taken a comfortable lead with 64 seats in the 120-member Knesset, paving way for his triumphant return.

Lapid told Netanyahu he's instructed all departments of the Prime Minister's Office to prepare for an orderly transfer of power.

"The State of Israel is above any political consideration," Lapid said in a tweet. "I wish Netanyahu luck for the sake of the people of Israel and the State of Israel."

Israelis voted on Tuesday for an unprecedented fifth time in four years to break the political impasse that has paralysed the Jewish nation.

According to the latest updates from the Central Elections Committee, Netanyahu's Likud party will receive 31 seats, Prime Minister Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid 24, Religious Zionism 14, National Unity 12, Shas 11 and United Torah Judaism will have eight seats.

For many years, Netanyahu appeared to be politically invincible. But he met with a rude jolt after being ousted in 2021 by an unprecedented coalition of parties whose only common goal was to see his ouster.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1949, Netanyahu holds the record of being the longest-serving Prime Minister in the country's history. Having served in the position earlier between 1996 and 1999, Netanyahu in 2020 surpassed the record held by one of the Jewish state's founding leaders, David Ben-Gurion. -- PTI

The Gujarat government on Thursday called off the five-day-long search operation launched after the collapse of a British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi town of Gujarat and the death toll remained unchanged at 135.

State Commissioner of Relief Harshad Patel visited Morbi, located around 300 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, and announced the end of the ongoing search operation, launched on Sunday evening soon after the suspension bridge came crashing down, said an official release.

Patel chaired a meeting with heads of various agencies involved in the search and rescue operation and took a call to end the operation after reviewing the situation, it said.

However, as a precautionary measure, one team each of the local fire brigade, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will remain stationed at the accident site until further orders, said the release.

Notably, personnel from the Indian Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the NDRF, the SDRF, the local fire department as well as the police department were deployed to scan the entire river in the area since Sunday night to find survivors as well as bodies using sonar technology and under-water cameras.

Inspector General of Rajkot Range, Ashok Kumar Yadav, said no one is missing at present and the death toll remains at 135.

He said, "135 persons have lost their lives in the incident and there has been no increase in the toll since yesterday (Wednesday). No one is missing at present as per our records. People who have any information or doubt regarding missing persons can always contact us."

So far, police have arrested nine persons in connection with the tragic incident and booked them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). PTI

Central Railway's Mumbai suburban network has not got back pre-COVID ridership levels as yet, with work-from-home (WFH) being a possible cause, a top official said on Thursday.

Rajnish Kumar Goyal, divisional railway manager of CR's Mumbai division, in an informal discussion with mediapersons here, said the number of commuters using the network was less by 7-8 lakh per day.

"Presently, we are ferrying 37 lakh suburban commuters, while this figure was 45 lakh before the pandemic (that started in March 2020)," he said.

An official said work-from-home maybe a reason for the ridership falling short, while other causes could be increased short distance travel and permanent migration of the labour class from the metropolis and surrounding areas amid the pandemic.

Mumbai's suburban network, operated by CR and Western Railway, used to have a daily passenger count of 80 lakh, before large-scale restrictions, including travel only for essential and frontline staff during the peak of the pandemic, bringing down ridership drastically, officials said.

Central Railway operates 1810 services per day on its Main line (CSMT to Kasara / Khopoli), Harbour line (CSMT-Goregoan/Panvel), Trans-Harbour line (Vashi-Thane/Panvel) and Bamandongri-Belapur/ Seawood line. -- PTI

22:46 SC discharges Vijay Mallya's lawyer from case

The lawyer of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya on Thursday told the Supreme Court that he was not receiving any communication from him and sought to be discharged from the case as a counsel.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hima Kohli allowed the discharge of advocate E C Agrawala from the case and asked him to furnish the e-mail ID of the liquor baron along with his present residential address in the United Kingdom to the apex court registry.

"Counsel seeking discharge the case because in spite of communication from his end, no instruction is forthcoming," the bench said and asked the lawyer to follow the process of discharge.

Agrawala told the top court, "I want to be discharged from this matter as I am not receiving any instructions from my client. I am not able to establish contact with him. He is incommunicado for a long time."

The top court discharged the lawyer from the two petitions filed by Mallya against the October 5, 2018 and September 13, 2019 orders of the Karnataka High Court directing him to pay Rs 3,101 crore to a consortium of banks.

In a separate case, on July 11, the top court had sentenced Mallya to four months in jail for contempt of court, and directed the Centre to secure the presence of the fugitive businessman who has been in the UK since 2016 to undergo the imprisonment.

The top court had said Mallya, 66, never showed any remorse nor tendered any apology for his conduct and adequate punishment must be imposed to maintain the majesty of the law.

The top court had also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on Mallya, who was held guilty of committing contempt of court by the top court on May 9, 2017, for transferring USD 40 million to his children in violation of court orders.

According to the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, a person may be punished with simple imprisonment of up to six months, or with a fine up to Rs 2,000, or both for contempt of court.

The top court had directed that Mallya and the beneficiaries under the said transactions relating to USD 40 million shall be bound to deposit the amount received along with interest at the rate of eight per cent per annum with the recovery officer concerned within four weeks.

It had said in case the amount is not deposited, the recovery officer concerned shall be entitled to take appropriate proceedings for recovery of money and the Government of India and all agencies concerned shall extend assistance and complete cooperation.

The top court had said that the fine shall be deposited in the apex court registry within four weeks and upon such deposit the amount shall be handed over to the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee.

It said in case the fine amount of Rs 2,000 is not deposited within the stipulated time, Mallya shall undergo a further sentence of two months.

The apex court said in spite of repeated opportunities afforded to Mallya, no submissions were advanced on his behalf either on the purging of contempt or on the quantum of punishment.

The transactions referred to in the judgement and order dated May 9, 2017 in terms of which the amount of USD 40 million was disbursed to the beneficiaries are held to be "void and inoperative", the court had said.

Aurangabad West MLA Sanjay Shirsat on Thursday denied speculation about being disgruntled and wanting to move out of the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Sushma Andhare of Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray had earlier claimed Shirsat was in contact as he was unhappy.

"I am not disgruntled. I have no regret at the decision to ally with Eknath Shinde. Andhare's statement is wrong," he said.

On the possibility of landing a ministerial berth, he said his leaders Eknath Shinde and (deputy chief minister) Devendra Fadnavis will take "the right decision at the right time". -- PTI

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday said the persons arrested in connection with the "TRS MLAs poaching case" were planning to topple four state governments including his own and Congress-ruled Rajasthan and appealed to the judiciary to safeguard democracy.

At a press conference in Hyderabad, Rao referred to the recent 'TRS MLAs poaching case' and played a video allegedly concerning the episode in which three persons were arrested.

"They openly say in the video we already dethroned eight (state) governments. And how they conducted the operation. Now we (the men) are in the process of dethroning four governments, i.e Telangana, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan," he said.

The three men arrested in the case took the names of top leaders, Rao said. Condemning the claims of the three persons in strong words, he said the men spoke about dethroning non-BJP governments.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP heads the Delhi government while YSRCP is in the ruling saddle in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Rao said such video evidence has already been submitted to the high court in connection with the MLAs poaching case. He further said he will send all the evidence he got in the "TRS MLAs poaching case" to the Chief Justice of India, CJs of all high courts, media houses, the CBI and the ED for their knowledge.

He also requested the CJI and judges to "protect the country and safeguard democracy."

He said Home Minister Amit Shah himself speaking at a public meeting in Munugode in October had said within one month the TRS government will go away.

The Cyberabad Police on October 26 filed an FIR against three persons who allegedly tried to coax four TRS legislators into defecting, even as BJP leadership in Telangana vehemently denied having any knowledge of the alleged poaching of TRS MLAs by their party.

22:07 Imran believes Pak PM was behind attack on him

Pakistan's former premier Imran Khan on Thursday alleged that the current prime minister, interior minister and an army general plotted the failed "assassination attempt" on him, his close aide said in a video statement.

Khan, 70, sustained bullet injury on his leg when a gunman opened fire on the container-mounted-truck carrying him during his protest march, killing one person. The former prime minister was out of danger.

In a statement, the Punjab police said that seven people were injured and one person was killed during the attack. It added that a suspect has been arrested.

Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Asad Umar in a video statement said that party chairman Khan has named three suspects who could be behind today's attack.

"Imran Khan called us and told us to convey this message to the nation on his behalf...He said that he believes three people - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Major General Faisal (Naseer) - were involved in the attack on him," Umar said.

He said they should be immediately removed from their current positions.

Khan has warned that "a protest will be held across the country" if the individuals accused by him were not removed from their offices, Umar added.

Dr Faisal Sultan, the former assistant to the prime minister on health, has said that Khan's condition is stable.

"But according to X-rays and scans, there are fragments of bullets in his legs and there's a chip in his tibia shin bone," he told media persons outside the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore.

Sheikh Rashid, former interior minister and Khan's close aide, has blamed the Shehbaz administration for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to kill the former premier.

"The federal government hatched a conspiracy to kill Imran Khan. Hired assassin (federal Interior minister) Rana Sanaullah and the federal government has brought the country at the brink of civil war. It can't stand before the sea of people as it has to go home," Rashid said.

Instant messaging platform WhatsApp's users will be able to connect with up to 32 people simultaneously on voice and video calls, transfer up to 2 GB files and add as many as 5,000 members in a Community, the company said on Thursday.

The messaging platform will also be gradually enhancing group size to 1,024 users, from the limit of 236 currently.

"Today, we're launching Communities on WhatsApp. It makes groups better by enabling sub-groups, multiple threads, announcement channels, and more. We're also rolling out polls and 32-person video calling too. All secured by end-to-end encryption so your messages stay private," Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Facebook.

Under the community feature, messages that have already been forwarded can be forwarded only to one group at a time, rather than five, which is the forward limit at present.

The phone number of users who are part of a Community will be visible only to Community administrators and others in the same group.

"This will help prevent unwanted contact and will also reduce the risk of scraping people's phone numbers," WhatsApp said.

The group administrators will be able to delete inappropriate or abusive chats or media for all members of a group.

The company had announced the feature in April and has started rolling them now, which will be gradually available to all users in the next few weeks.

The Meta-owned platform is also rolling out in-chat polls and will allow file transfers of up to 2 GB, which was limited to 16 MB earlier.

"WhatsApp is also releasing three more features: the ability to create in-chat polls, 32-person video calling, and groups with up to 1,024 users. Just like emoji reactions, larger file sharing, and admin delete, these features can be used in any group but will be particularly helpful for Communities," the company said. -- PTI

Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal will announce on Friday the name of the party's chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Gujarat assembly elections on the basis of opinions given by the people of the state, party office-bearers said on Thursday.

On October 29, Kejriwal had urged people to contact the party through SMS, WhatsApp, voice mail and e-mail to give their views about who should be the CM candidate from the party in the state, which is currently being ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

He had said that people could submit their points of view till November 3 evening and on the basis of their opinions, the name of the party's chief ministerial face would be announced the next day.

Those in the race for the top post from the AAP include its state unit president Gopal Italia, national general secretary Isudan Gadhvi and general secretary Manoj Soratihya, party sources said.

Kejriwal is scheduled to hold a press conference in Ahmedabad on Friday to announce the results, the party said in a statement.

"We will announce the result on November 4," he had said last Saturday.

At that time, Kejriwal had also said, "During the Punjab elections, we had asked people as to who should be the next chief minister. People named Bhagwant Mann by a huge majority. And as per the wishes of the public, we made him chief minister."

Meanwhile, the AAP on Thursday announced its ninth list of 10 candidates for the Gujarat polls, taking the number of candidates whose names have been announced so far to 118.

Elections to the 182-member Gujarat assembly will be held in two phases next month -- on December 1 and 5, while votes will be counted on December 8.

The state will witness a three-cornered contest -- among the ruling BJP, opposition Congress and AAP. -- PTI

India has been ranked as the nation with the cheapest manufacturing cost ahead of China and Vietnam, according to a report.

According to the US News and World Report, out of 85 nations, India has bagged the 31st position in the overall Best Countries ranking.

India featured at the 37th spot in the 'Open for Business' category.

The report evaluates 85 countries across 73 attributes. Attributes are grouped into 10 sub-categories, including adventure, agility, entrepreneurship, open for business, social purpose and quality of life.

Under the open for business sub-category, India has scored 100 per cent when it comes to cheap manufacturing costs. But in 'favourable tax environment', it has scored 16.2 out of 100; 18.1 in the 'not corrupt' category and 3.5 in 'transparent government policies'.

Similarly, under the 'quality of life' segment, India has scored 1.9 in 'income equality'; 4.3 in 'safe'; 2.3 in 'well-developed public health system'; and 9.9 in 'economically stable' sub-parameter.

The government has taken steps such as rolling out production linked incentive schemes and reducing compliance burden with a view to make India a global manufacturing hub.

In the overall Best Countries ranking, Switzerland has topped the chart, followed by Germany, Canada, US and Sweden. -- PTI

Representative image

21:10 Over 20,000 schools shut down in India during 2020-21

More than 20,000 schools shut down across the country during 2020-21 while the number of teachers also declined by 1.95 pc in comparison to the previous year, according to a new report by the Ministry of Education.

The Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report on school education in India for 2021-22 also pointed out that only 44.85 per cent schools had computer facilities while nearly 34 per cent had internet connection.

"Total number of schools in 2021-22 stood at 14.89 lakhs as compared to 15.09 lakhs in 2020-21. The decline in total schools is mainly due to closure of schools under private and other management," said the report launched on Thursday.

While only 27 per cent schools have special toilets for children with special needs (CSWN), over 49 per cent of them have ramps with handrails, it said.

Detailing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on enrolment, the report said, "Although the impact of Covid is cross-cutting, this is particularly noticed in the enrolment of young and vulnerable kids like pre-primary classes.

"This decline may be attributed to postponement of admissions due to COVID-19".

In 2021-22, enrolment of students in school education from primary to higher secondary was around 25.57 crore. This is higher by 19.36 lakh as compared to the enrolment of students in 2020-21, the report said.

According to the report, the total number of teachers also declined by 1.95 per cent in 2021-22 compared to 2020-21. The total number of teachers in 2021-22 was 95.07 lakh, decreasing from 97.87 lakh in 2020-21, it said.

"The percentage of teachers teaching only primary (34.4 pc in 2021-22 from 35.4m pc in 2020-21) and only upper primary (18.9 pc in 2021-22 from 21.5 pc in 2020-21) has reduced.

The decrease in teachers during 2021-22 as against previous year was 0.9 pc in government schools, 1.45 pc in government aided schools, 2.94 pc in private schools and 8.3 pc in other schools, it said.

In UDISE+ 2021-22, additional data on important indicators such as digital library, peer learning, hard spot identification, number of books available in school library, etc have been collected for the first time to align with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 initiatives. -- PTI

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has sought three weeks time to appear before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state, official sources said on Thursday.

The federal probe agency may issue him a fresh date soon.

The sources said the agency received a communication from the Chief Minister's Office in which Soren has sought at least three weeks time to depose before it.

He expressed his inability to appear before the agency on Thursday citing official commitments, they said.

Addressing JMM supporters near his residence, Soren said, "The ED has summoned me following a conspiracy. Come and arrest me if I have committed a crime instead of sending summonses for questioning."

"I am neither afraid nor worried. Rather I am emerging stronger. If people of Jharkhand wish, opponents will not find a place to hide," he said. -- PTI

The army foiled an infiltration bid and gunned down three terrorist in an encounter along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Thursday, officials said.

While the body of one of the terrorists was recovered by soldiers, bodies of the other two, lying across the LoC, were taken back by villagers of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, they said.

"At about 1000 hours today, alert soldiers of the army observed suspicious movement of some individuals along the Line of Control in the Poonch sector, wherein they were trying to infiltrate across the Line of Control into the Indian side," a defence spokesman said.

The soldiers challenged the infiltrators who opened fire on them, he said.

In an ensuing fire fight, three terrorists was killed, the officials said.

Body of one of the terrorists has been recovered along with two AK-47 rifles, a pistol and war-like stores, the spokesman said.

The villagers in PoK carried back the bodies of the other two terrorists, the officials said.

The operation continues and a search of the area is underway, the defence spokesman said. -- PTI

With Delhi's air quality index a notch short of entering the "severe plus" category, a central panel on Thursday directed authorities to ban the plying of four-wheeled diesel light motor vehicles in Delhi and adjoining NCR districts and the entry of trucks into the capital as part of anti-pollution measures under the final stage of the Graded Response Action Plan.

However, BS-VI vehicles and those used for essential and emergency services are exempted, according to an order issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management. (CAQM)

The order stated that the state government may take a call on the closure of educational institutions, non-emergency commercial activities and plying of vehicles on odd-even basis.

Central and state governments may decide on permitting work from home.

"Ban on plying of 4-wheeler diesel LMVs in NCT of Delhi and Districts of NCR bordering Delhi, except BS-VI vehicles and vehicles used for essential/emergency services," the order read.

The CAQM also ordered a ban on Delhi-registered diesel-run medium and heavy goods vehicles in the capital. Those carrying essential commodities and providing essential services are exempted.

The entry of trucks other than electric and CNG ones in Delhi is banned too. Those carrying essential commodities are exempted.

The CAQM also directed closure of all industries running on non-clean flues in the region, "even in areas which do not have PNG infrastructure and supply".

Delhi's 24-hour average AQI stood at 450 on Wednesday.

An AQI of above 400 is considered "severe" and can affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing illnesses.

According to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago's (EPIC) Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) released in June, the residents of Delhi stand to lose 10 years of life expectancy due to poor air quality.

20:26 Meta India head Ajit Mohan quits

Social media giant Meta on Thursday said its India head Ajit Mohan has resigned from the company.

"Ajit has decided to step down from his role at Meta to pursue another opportunity outside of the company.

"Over the last four years, he has played an important role in shaping and scaling our India operations so they can serve many millions of Indian businesses, partners and people," Meta, Global Business Group Vice President, Nicola Mendelsohn said in a statement.

Sources said Mohan has resigned with immediate effect.

Mohan had joined Meta, which was earlier known as Facebook, in January 2019 from Hotstar.

"We remain deeply committed to India and have a strong leadership team in place to carry on all our work and partnerships. We are grateful for Ajit's leadership and contribution and wish him the very best for the future," Mendelsohn said. -- PTI

The man believed to have fired at Imran Khan at a rally in in Pakistan's Punjab province said he had come to kill the former Prime Minister because he believed that he was "misleading" people.

"He (Khan) was misleading the people and I could not bear watching it so I attempted to kill him," Dawn newspaper quoted the suspect as saying in a video statement.

Geo TV reported that the attacker was identified as Naved son of Bashir.

The attacker, in his early 20s and wearing salwar-kameez, had been walking along the container and fired from the left side, the channel said.

PTI leader Imran Ismail has said that he was standing with Khan when the former prime minister was attacked. "It was a straight fire () the bullet was meant to kill, not scare, he claimed.

ARY News, which is considered as a mouthpiece of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, reported that Khan was out of danger.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the central government has given a nod to projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore for Maharashtra.

His statement comes in the wake of the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government coming under the Opposition's fire after some proposed big-ticket projects moved out of Maharashtra to poll-bound Gujarat and some other states.

In a video message aired during the Maharashtra government's function held in Mumbai for distribution of appointment letters as part of recruitment of 75,000 people, Modi said the state government's initiative was fulfilling the objective of employment generation.

"The Centre has approved projects worth Rs two lakh crore for Maharashtra, which will create new opportunities for employment," he said.

The state government has been drawing flak from the opposition after a consortium of European aviation firm Airbus and the Tata group selected Vadodara in Gujarat for a Rs 22,000-crore project to manufacture military aircraft.

The opposition has also been lashing out at the Shinde government for Maharashtra losing out on Vedanta-Foxconn's Rs 1.54 lakh crore semiconductor plant, earlier proposed to come up in Pune district. The project was moved to Gujarat in September. -- PTI

India on Thursday rejected references to Jammu and Kashmir in a China-Pakistan joint statement during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's visit to Beijing.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the references were "unwarranted" and India consistently rejected such statements.

The Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh are and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India, he said.

On China-Pakistan-Economic Corridor (CPEC), Bagchi said India consistently conveyed "protests and concerns" to China and Pakistan as it includes projects in the "sovereign territory" of India.

We resolutely reject any attempts to utilise such projects to change the status quo in that area, Bagchi said.

The joint statement was issued after talks between Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping. -- PTI

Imran Khan being shifted to a car after firing

18:45 Keeping a close eye: India on attack on Imran

India on Thursday it is keeping a close eye on the firing on former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan during a rally in Wazirabad in Punjab province.

Khan suffered gun shot injuries in his leg in the incident.

Speaking at a media briefing, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "It's a development that just took place. We are closely keeping an eye on and we will continue to monitor ongoing developments. Don't have anything beyond that to say as it is just a developing story."

The incident occurred near Allahwala Chowk of Wazirabad town of Punjab when Khan was leading the protest march.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay a two-day visit to Russia beginning November 7 during which he will hold wide-ranging talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

The Ministry of External Affairs announced Jaishankar's visit on Thursday.

During visit to Moscow, Jaishankar will hold talks with Lavrov focusing on bilateral, regional and international issues, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing.

The visit is taking place amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

In the last few months, India has increased the import of discounted crude oil from Russia notwithstanding increasing disquiet over it by several Western powers.

Jaishankar and Lavrov have already met four times after the Ukraine conflict began in February.

The Russian foreign minister visited India in April during which he held extensive talks with Jaishankar and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India in December last year to attend the India-Russia annual summit. -- PTI

Hospitals in Delhi are teeming with people suffering from cough, nasal congestion, shortness of breath and even asthma attacks as an eye-stinging smog blankets the national capital.

With Delhi's air quality remaining 'severe', doctors advised a return to wearing masks to guard against pollution.

While forecasters on Wednesday predicted the air quality to improve due to stronger winds, Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 426 at 9.10 am.

An AQI of above 400 is considered 'severe' and can affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing illnesses.

At Holy Family Hospital in Okhla, there has been a 30 per cent increase in such patients coming to out-patient departments, said Dr Sumit Ray, head of department of critical care.

Last year, the hospital had started writing "pollution-related" in diagnosis in what was probably a first for a medical facility here.

"There were two ICU (intensive care unit) patients for whom we wrote that diagnosis. For writing that diagnosis, you have to rule out several probable factors that could have triggered the illness. For the patients who are currently admitted, we will need a few more days to arrive at that diagnosis," Ray said.

Shedding light on the problems faced by patients, Dr Ashish Kumar Prakash, consultant (respiratory and sleep medicine) at Medanta in Gurugram, said they had been attending to patients complaining of cough, nasal congestion and breathing difficulty since Diwali.

"Currently, I have 25 to 30 patients in my OPD with such conditions and the entire unit/department has approximately 50-75 cases in total. Patients suffering from respiratory illnesses such as COPD, asthma, and others are reporting acute exacerbations, an increase in symptoms such as coughing, dyspnea and acute nasal problems," he said.

Prakash said apart from worsening AQI, the change in weather was another factor behind a lot of the problems in patients with respiratory illnesses.

"As the weather transitions to cold and breezy, the cold, dry air and sudden shifts in the weather can irritate the airways, causing one to produce more mucus and leading to exacerbations if the patients are not taking their medications properly," he said.

Dr Suresh Singh Naruka, senior consultant (ENT) at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals in Delhi, said there has a been a "significant jump" in the number of patients visiting him in his OPD post Diwali due to rising pollution levels.

"ENT patients have been showing hyper response since Diwali and they are coming with increased coughing, runny nose, nasal symptoms, watery eyes. Among the patients I am seeing daily, 50 per cent of those are related to allergic symptoms induced by pollution, which earlier was about 10-15 per cent," Naruka told PTI.

Hospitals are also seeing patients with no previous history of respiratory ailments coming for treatment.

When the respiratory system is affected, it can lead to persistent cough, said Dr Ravi Shekhar Jha, director (pulmonology) at Fortis Escorts Hospital in Faridabad.

Nowadays, even patients with no previous history of respiratory illnesses are coming with severe intractable cough and breathing difficulty. -- PTI

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan has sustained bullet injury when unidentified assailants opened fire on the container-mounted-truck carrying him during his protest march in Pakistan's Punjab province, media reports said.

Geo TV footage showed that 70-year-old Khan was hit in the right leg.

A man who opened fire has been arrested, Geo TV has reported.

17:14 Former Pak PM Imran Khan shot at

Just in: Unidentified assailants open fire on container-mounted-truck carrying Imran Khan in Wazirabad, in Pakistan's Punjab province. Imran Khan, the chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-Insaaf party is safe and a person has been arrested, say reports.

Pakistan's Geo TV says Khan sustained bullet injuries on his leg during the firing on his container, but he is safe.

Actor Salman Khan is seeking restraining orders against his Panvel neighbour Ketan Kakkad for posting derogatory messages on social media against him.

Another bench of the Bombay HC will be hearing Salman Khan's plea against his neighbour after Justice CV Bhadang, who is due to retire in November and had heard the matter fully, today said that he's listing the matter as part-heard due to lack of time and other administrative work.

For the past many years, a tiff has ensued between Salman Khan and his neighbour. Ketan Kakkad had given several interviews to a blogger making several allegations against Salman. The video has been shared widely. Salman wanted the court to stop Ketan from defaming him further. He further requested that the viral videos shared on several social media platforms should be taken down.

Read more about the Salman-Ketan Kakkad tiff here.

16:13 Jharkhand CM skips ED summons

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday skipped summons issued by the Enforce Directorate to face questioning in connection with a case of alleged illegal mining, and is going to Chhattisgarh to attend a tribal programme instead.

The ED had asked Soren to appear for questioning at its regional office here at 11 am but he did not go there.

"The ED has summoned me following a conspiracy. Come and arrest me if I have committed a crime instead of sending a summons for questioning. I am neither afraid nor worried. Rather I am emerging stronger. If people of Jharkhand wish, opponents will not find a place to hide," Soren said while addressing JMM workers near his residence.

He said he will fly to Raipur to attend a Tribal Mahotsav' during the day, for which he had received an invitation. The JMM executive president alleged that the BJP is making attempts to destabilise his democratically elected government ever since it was voted to power. PTI

The Ohio Senate candidate's wife, an accomplished lawyer, remains ensconced in the milieu he now rails against. Read the report here.

Morbi bridge collapse: No person is missing in the Morbi Bridge collapse tragedy, says news agency ANI quoting official sources. According to the Morbi administration, information floating around that one person is still missing is misinformation given to Morbi district authorities. Police after due verification gave a report to the district administration stating there are no missing persons in the tragedy.

As many as 135 people have been killed in the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy and 170 others rescued.

14:47 Morbi among reasons why Guj polls late: EC

The Election Commission on Thursday said that there were "multiple factors" leading to the delay in the announcement of the Gujarat Assembly polls, adding that the recent Morbi bridge collapse tragedy was one of them.

The Gujarat Assembly elections are all set to take place in two phases on December 1 and 5, the results of which will be declared on December 8, which will coincide with that of the Himachal Pradesh polling outcome.

Addressing a press conference to make the announcement of the polling dates, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said, "There were multiple factors behind this.

Recently a very tragic incident occurred there (Morbi bridge collapse)- one of the reasons why we delayed. Also, there was state mourning in the state yesterday; so multiple factors.

"When asked about the recent tweet by the Congress party stating, "The Election Commission of India is an autonomous institution. It conducts fair elections", Kumar said that the people who are critical also got surprising results. -- PTI

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday criticised party colleague Karan Singh for "sidestepping" Union minister Kiren Rijuju's "hit job" on Jawaharlal Nehru's role in Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India.

The Congress general secretary's remarks come over an article by Karan Singh on Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India in an English daily in which Ramesh said he had defended his father and erstwhile ruler Hari Singh.

Reacting to the piece, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Ramesh said on Twitter, "There is not a single scholarly and serious work on J&K that portrays Maharaja Hari Singh in good light."

"Even this authoritative work by VP Menon doesn't make Hari Singh a wronged man. It is hence natural that his son Dr. Karan Singh defends him in the HT today," Ramesh said, sharing the screenshot of the cover of a book by Menon.

"What I find surprising though is that Dr.Karan Singh has sidestepped Rijuju's hit job on Nehru. This the same Nehru without whose support Dr. Karan Singh wouldn't have achieved much, as he acknowledges in his 2006 book with 216 letters exchanged between them during 1948-64," he said.

"This is the same Nehru to whom Singh dedicated his book on Aurobindo in May 1962, and for which the country's first PM wrote a wonderful foreword," he added.

Jammu and Kahmir's accession came into focus with Rijiju writing an article for a portal citing "five Nehruvian blunders", including floating the idea of a plebiscite and terming Jammu and Kashmir's accession provisional. The minister had said it was important to realise past mistakes to build a new future and added he has not tweaked history but stated facts to set the record straight.

Showing unflinching support to anti-corruption agencies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said they "need not be defensive" while tackling graft even when some people with "vested interests" keep hollering and maligning them.

Addressing the 'Vigilance Awareness Week' organised by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the prime minister exhorted the panel, other agencies and officers to ensure that no corrupt person is spared no matter how powerful the individual may be.

He said it is the responsibility of organisations like the CVC that no corrupt person gets "political or social refuge".

"Every corrupt person should be held accountable by the society. It is important to build such an atmosphere. We are seeing that paeans are being sung for people already proven corrupt. People calling themselves honest do not feel the shame to go and get photographed with such corrupt people. This situation is not good for the Indian society," he said.

Without taking any names, Modi said people are giving arguments in support of corrupt people and advocating for awards to them.

"Agencies like CVC working against corrupt and corruption need not be defensive. If you are working for the welfare of the country, there is no need to live in guilt. "We do not have work on a political agenda, but it is our duty to eradicate problems faced by the common man of the country. People with vested interests will holler, they will try to strangulate the institutions, they will try to defame dedicated people sitting in these institutions. It will all happen," he said.

Citing his own experience, the prime minister said during his long tenure as head of the government, he has gone through mud-slinging and abuses, but people stand with you when you walk on the path of honesty.

"I can tell you from my experience to walk on the path of honesty, to do duty incumbent on you, people will stand with you. Some will keep shouting because their own feet are in the muck. I keep on repeating that if we have followed the path of honesty and integrity, there is no need to be defensive. When you take action with conviction... society stands with you," he said.

Modi said all government agencies should work to change the system and tradition of corruption as India is celebrating 75 years of independence.

Suspect Rajwinder Singh is believed to back in India

14:09 Oz offers $1 mn bounty for Indian murder suspect

Police Queensland has announced a record one million dollar reward for the public to catch an Indian nurse who fled to India after allegedly murdering an Australian woman on a beach four years ago.

Toyah Cordingley, 24, was walking her dog on Wangetti Beach, 40km north of Cairns when she was killed in October 2018, 7news.com reported on Thursday.

Rajwinder Singh, 38, who worked as a nurse in Innisfail, is the key person of interest in the case but fled the country two days after Cordingley was killed, leaving behind his job, wife and three children in Australia, the report added.

Queensland Police is now offering 1 million Australian dollar, the largest ever offered by Queensland police, for information from the public in the ongoing search for Singh, with Detective Acting Superintendent Sonia Smith noting the reward is unique.

"We know that Singh departed Cairns on October 22, the day after Toyah was murdered, and then flew from Sydney to India on the 23rd. His arrival in India has been confirmed, she was quoted as saying by 7news.com. We have confirmed today that the last known location for Singh was India."

13:33 Gujarat is ready for change: Kejriwal

AAP chief convenor Arvind Kejriwal sends out a message to Gujarat after the poll dates are announced: "Gujarat ki janta iss baar bade badlav ke liye tayyir hain. Hum zaroor jeetenge. The people of Gujarat are ready for change this time. We will definitely win."

Long caught between two polarities, Gujarat's electoral field has expanded to include a third party with the Aam Aadmi Party challenging the ruling BJP as well as the opposition Congress that has lost ground but still has significant presence.

Elections to the 182-member state assembly will take place over two phases on December 1 and 5, the Election Commission announced on Thursday in the backdrop of the Morbi bridge collapse four days ago.

As campaign knives get sharpened, the October 30 tragedy in which 135 people lost their lives could find emotive resonance.

Besides, the freebie versus welfarism debate - over which challenger AAP and BJP have been sparring over the last several weeks -- and the ruling party's main poll planks of Hindutva, 'double engine' growth' and continuity in governance are likely to remain centrestage.

Though elections were announced today, the buzz for what will be a three-cornered contest has been getting steadily louder over the last few weeks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers have been making frequent visits to the state. Modi was in Morbi on November 1 to review the situation.

And all eyes are on AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal as well as his party leaders who have made a high decibel entry into the field, giving voters a third option in a state that has for decades been bipolar in its politics.

The elections are crucial for BJP, which has won six successive terms and aims at retaining power in Modi's home state, as well as for AAP, hoping desperately that a win in Gujarat will propel it to a pan-India political force, the third state in its bag after Delhi and a victory in Punjab in March this year.

The Congress, on its part, hopes to end its 27-year stint in the Opposition but has so far been quiet with its national leaders conspicuous by their absence.

The BJP has 111 seats and the Congress 62 in the current assembly. The NCP has one, BTP two, Independent one and five seats are vacant, including three after Congress MLAs resigned.

With leaders of various parties making a beeline for the state, much before the announcement of the elections, and parties firming up their strategies, cities and villages of Gujarat are dotted with advertisement banners and posters of political parties.

Modi, the BJP's star campaigner, has increased the frequency of his trips to Gujarat and addressed well-attended gatherings in different parts of the state in the last few weeks.

Several Union ministers and party leaders fanned out across the state during the nearly 10-day Gujarat Gaurav Yatras launched by BJP president J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Six yatras in different parts of the states were launched on October 12 and 13. Modi's events have been marked by announcements of development projects with a promise of more. During his visit on October 19 and 20 to Gandhinagar, Junagadh, Rajkot, Kevadia and Vyara. he inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of projects worth Rs 15,670 crore.

PM Modi inspects the site of the bridge collapse at Morbi

13:04 PM should hold Gujarat govt accountable: Cong

The Congress on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pull up the Gujarat government to come clean on what it said was a "sloppy investigation process" in the Morbi bridge collapse incident.

In a Twitter post, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge levelled a series of allegations.

"Rusted cable of the bridge was NOT repaired. Bridge opened on Oct 26 without fitness certificate and official consent. Contractor was not qualified for the job. Municipality Chief knew that the bridge was open a day before the tragedy," he said.

"Over 130 dead and no action been taken against the contractors and municipal officials? Is this negligence too an act of god," Kharge questioned in another tweet.

"The PM should pull up his Govt to come clean on this sloppy investigation process," he added. The bridge collapsed on Sunday evening, claiming 135 lives. PTI

Gujarat is PM Modi's home state

12:43 Gujarat polls on Dec 1, 5; Results Dec 8 with HP

The Election Commission announces that the Gujarat polls will be held on December 1 and 5 in two phases. The results will be announced on December 8 along with Himachal Pradesh.

182 Assembly seats to go to the polls in Gujarat.

The BJP, which has been ruling the state for nearly 25 years, is on the backfoot after the aftermath of the Morbi bridge collapse revealed glaring lapses, putting the Bhupendra Patel dispensation on a sticky wicket.

The BJP holds majority in Gujarat with 111 MLAs. The polls are a three way fight with the Congress and the AAP joining in.

"For enhanced voting experience, 1274 polling stations will be completely managed by women and security staff. There will be 182 polling stations where one will be welcomed by PWD. For the 1st time, 33 polling stations will be set up and managed by the youngest available polling staff," the EC says.

12:03 SC dismisses plea to rename Bombay High Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday turned down a plea seeking directions to change the name of Bombay High Court to Maharashtra High Court.

A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Vikram Nath dismissed the petition filed by a former judge.

"These are issues for law makers to decide. What fundamental right is prejudiced for you to bring it here?", the bench said.

The plea filed by Thane-based V P Patil, who had served as a judge for 26 years, has also sought a direction to the authorities to take effective steps for implementation of a clause of the Maharashtra Adaptation of Laws (State and Concurrent Subjects) Order, 1960 for conservation and preservation of distinct culture, heritage and traditions of the people of Maharashtra.

Patil said authorities concerned in other states should also be directed to change the names of their high courts as per the name of the states where they are located. It said that the assertion of the word 'Maharashtra' denotes special significance in the life of a Maharashtrian and its usage must also find expression in the name of the high court. -- PTI

11:57 The march and after

The battle lines have now been clearly drawn. Apparently undeterred by the security establishment's frontal attack, Imran Khan is marching on the citadel.

The much-awaited 'long march' has finally begun. It may take days for the crowds to reach the capital but there are already signs of panic in the corridors of power.

Former prime minister Imran Khan sees it as the final assault. The massive public response to the march call has certainly boosted his confidence.

Read the column here.

With the air quality in Delhi-NCT worsening, BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Thursday questioned lack of "concern and coordination" among multiple government agencies in tackling the crisis.

Neither government nor people are serious about this monstrous problem, he said in tweets, claiming that hospitals are full of patients with breathing, heart and lung problems.

"Eight out of 10 children in Delhi-NCR have respiratory problems. After years of discussions, why is there a continuing lack of concern/coordination between multiple government entities," he asked.

Gandhi wondered if the cost of solving the problem is higher than lifetime respiratory care for 46 million people. With the air quality deteriorating, the BJP and the AAP, which is in power in Delhi and Punjab where incidents of stubble burning have shot up, have blamed each other for the annual crisis. PTI

An average voter turnout of over 23 per cent has been recorded in the first two hours of polling in the Gola Gokarannath constituency of Uttar Pradesh where bypolls are underway on Thursday.

While a senior official said voting was going on peacefully, the Samajwadi Party (SP) alleged that some polling centres have been captured by workers of the ruling BJP.

"Polling centres in Lalahapur, Madanpur and Lakshmanjati in Gola Gokarannath assembly have been captured by BJP workers. SP voters, booth in-charges and agents have been driven away. The Election Commission should take cognisance of this and ensure fair polls," the SP tweeted in Hindi.

The senior official said, "Polling is going on peacefully. In the initial four hours, 23.56 per cent votes were polled."

Over 3.90 lakh voters are eligible to decide the fate of seven contestants in the fray. Polling started at 7 am and will end at 6 pm. The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of BJP MLA Arvind Giri on September 6. The BSP and the Congress are keeping away from the poll this time. The main contest is between the BJP's Aman Giri, the son of Arvind Giri, and Samajwadi Party candidate and former Gola Gokarannath MLA Vinay Tiwari.

Amruta with her husband Devendra Fadnavis and their daughter

11:26 Devendra Fadnavis's wife refuses security upgrade

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's wife Amruta Fadnavis on Wednesday requested Mumbai Police to not send a traffic clearance pilot vehicle as part of her security upgrade cleared by the state's Home Department, led by her husband.

Amruta Fadnavis, a banker by profession, said though the traffic condition in Mumbai is "frustrating", things are likely to change for the better because of infrastructure development projects of the state government.

"I'm & wish to live like common citizen of #Mumbai I humbly request @MumbaiPolice not to provide me traffic clearance pilot vehicle. Traffic condition in Mumbai is frustrating but I'm sure, with Infra & development projects by @mieknathshinde & @Dev_Fadnavis we will soon get relief," she tweeted, tagging a report which said the state government recently allotted a 'traffic clearance vehicle' along with a security upgrade from X to Y+ with escort to her.

11:10 Musk to sack 50% of Twitter staff

Elon Musk plans to eliminate about 3,700 jobs at Twitter Inc., or half of the social media company's workforce, in a bid to drive down costs following his $44 billion acquisition, say reports.

Twitter's new owner aims to inform affected staffers Friday, said the people, who requested anonymity discussing non-public plans. Musk also intends to reverse the company's existing work-from-anywhere policy, asking remaining employees to report to offices -- though some exceptions could be made, the people said.

10:39 India skips vote on Russian resolution at UN

India has abstained on yet another resolution involving Ukraine, this time a motion sponsored by Russia at the UNSC that sought to establish a commission to investigate claims by Moscow that the US and Ukraine are carrying out military biological activities in laboratories in Ukraine in violation of the biological weapons convention.

The resolution failed to get adopted Wednesday as only two Council members - Russia and China - voted in its favour, while the US, the UK and France voted against it and the other Council members, including India, abstained.

In the explanation of the vote, Counsellor A. Amarnath from India's Permanent Mission to the UN said India attaches high importance to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which is the first non-discriminatory disarmament treaty banning a complete category of weapons of mass destruction.

"We remain committed to enhancing the effectiveness of the BWC and strengthening its implementation in letter and spirit," he said.

Amarnath said that India also reiterates the need to negotiate a comprehensive legally binding protocol providing for an effective, universal and non-discriminatory verification mechanism to strengthen the implementation of the Convention.

This is necessary to strengthen the BWC and its implementation by the State Parties and we hope the current situation will provide an impetus for early consideration, negotiation and finalization of such a protocol by the State Parties.

Factoring in all these aspects, India has decided to abstain from the resolution, he said. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, in her statement on the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution proposed by Russia on alleged bioweapons in Ukraine, said Washington voted against this resolution because it is based on disinformation, dishonesty, bad faith, and a total lack of respect for this body. -- PTI

Former Navy Chief Admiral L Ramdas and his wife Lalita with Rahul Gandhi

10:12 Ex-Navy chief Admiral Ramdas joins Cong Yatra

Former Navy Chief Admiral L Ramdas joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Telangana on Thursday. The Yatra resumed from Patancheru on the city outskirts Thursday morning and it will halt at Sivampet in Sangareddy district for the night, Congress sources said.

"Admiral Ramdas, former Chief of Naval Staff, who at 89 continues to be an indefatigable campaigner for public causes, along with his wife Lalita Ramdas, herself the daughter of Admiral Katari, 1st Indian Chief of Naval Staff, walked with @RahulGandhi on Day 57 of #BharatJodoYatra," AICC General Secretary, in-charge, Communications, Jairam Ramesh, tweeted.

Congress president in Telangana and MP A Revanth Reddy, Lok Sabha member N Uttam Kumar Reddy and other party leaders walked with Gandhi in the morning session, the sources said.

The Yatra will take a break on Friday, they said. The mega foot march of Gandhi entered the state on October 23 and the Telangana leg would conclude on November 7, the sources said. The Yatra began on September 7 from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. PTI

Pic: Paul Kane/Getty Images

10:06 Today's match at T20 World Cup

South Africa are in pole position to take one of the two semi-final spots available from Group 2, but Pakistan, who lost to India and Zimbabwe, still have an outside shot of qualifying.
Pakistan vs South Africa, 01.30 pm IST

People queue up to cast their votes for the Andheri East Bypoll. These are visuals from polling booth no 205, Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj School. Voting is underway for assembly by-elections in seven vacant seats across six states.

Seven candidates, including the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction's Rutuja Latke, are in the fray.

The bypoll, which was necessitated after the sudden demise of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke in May this year, is significant for the Thackeray-led Sena as it is the first election after the split in the party following a rebellion spearheaded by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other MLAs.

This is also the first time that the Sena is contesting an election with the support of its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The bypoll is also a litmus test for the MVA as an alliance.

While the BJP had fielded Murji Patel as its candidate against Rutuja, the party withdrew his candidature after deciding not to contest the polls.

Voting began on Thursday in the by-election to seven assembly constituencies in six states - a contest symbolic of the fierce turf war between the BJP and regional parties.

The polling is being held in Mokama and Gopalganj assembly constituencies of Bihar, Andheri (East) of Maharashtra, Adampur of Haryana, Munugode of Telangana, Gola Gokarannath of Uttar Pradesh, and Dhamnagar of Odisha.

Authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the voting. Among the seven seats where bypolls are being held, the BJP held three seats, the Congress two while the Shiv Sena and the RJD had one each.

While a victory in the bypolls will be inconsequential to their position in the assemblies, the parties have not taken the contest lightly and carried out a high-pitched campaign.

The counting of votes will take place on November 6. The BJP is seeking to retain Gola Gokarannath seat in Uttar Pradesh and Dhamnagar in the BJD-ruled Odisha, banking on sympathy votes as it has fielded the sons of sitting MLAs whose death necessitated the bypolls.

The BJP and the ruling TRS had been campaigning aggressively in Munugode in Telangana, where the Congress MLA had resigned and is fighting on the saffron party's ticket.

The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for polling, including the deployment of 3,366 state police and 15 companies of central security personnel in Munugode. Webcasting would be done from all the polling stations, officials said. -- PTI

Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party president Bandi Sanjay staged a protest demanding that non-locals and Telangana Rashtra Samiti leaders should be sent out of the Munugodu constituency, where the bypolls are being conducted today.

Sanjay, who was on the way to Munugode as TRS leaders were not leaving the bypolls constituency in Munugodu, was stopped by the police on the Vijaywada Highway in Abdullapurmet on Wednesday night.

Initially, police stopped Bandi Sanjay's convoy at Malakpet then at Vanasthalipuram and finally, he was shifted to Abdullapurmet Police Station.

Additionally, the Munugodu assembly constituency BJP candidate K Rajgopal Reddy staged a protest on Wednesday night demanding the Returning Officer (RO) and Nalgonda Superintendent of Police (SP) to take immediate action on TRS leaders who have come from outside to Munugodu for campaigning.

Reddy along with his cadre marched to the RO office in Chundur of the Munugodu assembly constituency.

The BJP leader alleged and questioned why the police and EC officials are allowing TRS leaders who are not voters of Munugodu to stay back as they are influencing the voters in villages. -- ANI

08:22 EC to announce Gujarat poll schedule at noon

The Election Commission will announce the schedule for the Gujarat assembly polls at 12 noon on Thursday.

The poll panel has convened a press conference to announce the schedule.

The term of the 182-member Gujarat assembly ends on February 18 next year.

Citing the convention followed in 2017, the poll panel had not announced the Gujarat election schedule when it came out with Himachal Pradesh poll dates last month.

While elections in Himachal Pradesh will be held in a single phase on November 12, the counting of votes will take place on December 8.

By keeping the counting date for Himachal Pradesh nearly a month after the polling, the commission had given a clear hint that votes for Gujarat would also be counted on December 8.

In 2017, the polls in the two states were announced on different dates but the counting took place together on December 18.

Floods in Gujarat had led the EC to hold polls in the state after the Himachal Pradesh poll schedule was announced. -- PTI

In a joint operation, the Army and Jammu and Kashmir police neutralised three Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists in Awantipora.

According to the ministry of defence, Jammu and Kashmir police had specific inputs about the likely movement of three terrorists in a vehicle in the general area Khandipora, Awantipora.

Accordingly, the Army and JK police established a joint mobile vehicle check post on Tuesday evening.

At around 7:15 pm, a suspicious vehicle was observed approaching the check post.

On being intercepted, the terrorists opened indiscriminate fire and tried to escape, said the ministry of defence statement.

The joint team then retaliated with precise fire which resulted in the neutralisation of one terrorist, while the other two fled into the adjoining fields under cover of darkness.

Security forces continued to engage the fleeing terrorists and the area was cordoned off. In the ensuing firefight, both terrorists were neutralized by the security forces.

Two AK series rifles, one pistol and other warlike stores have been recovered from the encounter site.

According to JK police, all three terrorists belonged to LeT and have been identified as Ali alias Mubassir, a resident of Pakistan and Mukhtar Ahmed Bhat and Saqlain Mushtaq, both residents of Pulwama. -- PTI

00:34 No bindi, no byte: Maha leader to woman journo

Right-wing leader Sambhaji Bhide on Wednesday courted controversy after he refused to speak to a female television news reporter as she had not put a 'bindi' on her forehead.

The incident, caught on camera, took place after he met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at Mantralaya (state secretariat) in south Mumbai, and promoted the state women's commission to issue him a notice.

In a video, Bhide was heard telling the female reporter, who sought sound byte from him about his meeting with Shinde, that she should apply a 'bindi' (a decorative dot worn in the middle of the forehead by women) before coming to take his byte, and declined to speak to her.

He also told the journalist that a woman is akin to Bharat Mata and that she should not appear like a "widow" by not sporting a 'bindi.

Maharashtra State Women's Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar issued a notice to the right-wing leader seeking an explanation for his remarks. In 2018, Bhide had come under fire for his comments that couples were blessed with sons after eating mangoes from his orchard. -- PTI

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