Suspected encephalitis toll in Bengal climbs to 45
Siliguri: One more person died of suspected encephalitis here, taking the toll due to the suspected vector-borne disease in West Bengal to 45 in the last 17 days, officials said on Saturday. The latest death took place at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) in Darjeeling district Friday night. A delegation, including two experts from the School of Tropical Medicine (STM), Kolkata, visited NBMCH Friday to ascertain the facts about the deaths purportedly caused by encephalitis and Japanese encephalitis syndromes. The team is scheduled to visit affected areas like Dhupguri, Maynaguri and Malbazar in neighbouring Jalpaiguri district on Saturday. NBMCH superintendent Amarendranath Sarkar said in the last 17 days, 45 people have died at the hospital because of acute encephalitis syndrome. Five more patients have been admitted with high fever and encephalitis syndrome, while at least 36 people are undergoing treatment. (IANS)
7 Cong corporators join Shiv Sena
Thane/Mumbai: In a jolt to the ruling Congress in Maharashtra, seven party corporators from Thane city joined the Shiv Sena on Saturday. The corporators were led by Ravindra Phatak, the party strongman in the city and a staunch supporter of Industry Minister Narayan Rane. Welcoming them to the party fold, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said: “We have not tried to break the (Congress) party in Thane, they have come on their own.” “Now, he needs to exercise restraint and join a party where he can get some peace,” Thackeray said referring to Rane. Thackeray, however, added that he did not want to “spoil” his mouth by uttering his (Rane’s) name. Unfazed by the development, Rane said: “Anybody is free to go to any party”. Thane legislator and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde criticised Rane, alleging that the minister has “lost his mental balance”. Besides Phatak and his wife, others who joined the Shiv Sena Saturday are Deepak Vatkar, Raja Gawari, Kanchan Chindkar, Manpreet Kaur and Minal Sankhe. Rane has already announced that he would quit as minister on Monday. (IANS)
Goa Assembly first to provide fully online system to MLAs and staff
Panaji: Goa Legislative Assembly is the first in India to provide a fully online system to its MLAs and staff from this Monsoon session. The Assembly which will begin from July 22 at the Goa Assembly Complex, Porvorim, north Goa is launching the online system with an aim to achieve 100 percent paperless operation as soon as possible. Goa Assembly speaker Rajendra Arlekar speaking to mediapersons here today said, ‘to ensure a flawless transition from paper to digital, the 21 day Monsoon session of the assembly will be reduced to 95 percent paperless operation, but will continue to use some paper as a back up to the assembly workflow. However, the same will soon be phased out.’ Arlekar further said that the project consists of four modules. The first module allows MLAs to submit question online using a two step authentication process to ensure security. The second manages the workflow of the legislative assembly so that the staff can efficiently process the questions. The third is an answer module where government departments can uphold the answers. (PTI)
SRK, Hrithik salute ‘real hero’ Nitin Yewalekar
Mumbai: Bollywood heros Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan have paid tribute to fireman Nitin Yewalekar, who lost his life when the top two floors of a 22-storeyed building here went up in flames. The deceased fireman was trapped along with 10 other colleagues in the thick smoke billowing on the top of the Lotus Business park building in suburban Andheri West Friday and succumbed. The building also houses Hrithik’s office. Shah Rukh and Hrithik took to micro-blogging site Twitter to share their condolences and salute the brave men who came to everyone’s rescue. SRK posted: “Non nobis solum nati sumus. (Not for ourselves alone are we born.) Cicero. Fireman Nitin Yewalekar, u proved that…You r a real Hero. R.I.P.” Hrithik tweeted: “Respect for the brave firemen who risked their lives today to extinguish d flames. True courage.” (IANS)
Maoist camp destroyed in Odisha
Sambalpur: A lady Maoist identified as Sumitra Kuanr and stated to be a senior cadre of the outlawed CPI-Maoist was arrested from Badabahal area in the district today. Police said the lady ultra was the ‘assistant commander’ of Sambalpur-Deogarh-Sundargarh Zone and at least five cases were pending against her in various police stations. In another incident, Deogarh police destroyed a Maoist camp yesterday inside the Prabhasuni reserve forest area. Police raided the camp during a combing operation. Both police and Maoists were engaged in a brief exchange of fire, in which the insurgents fled from the scene. Police said some arms and ammunition were seized from the camp deserted by the Maoists after the gun battle. (UNI)
Under-construction building raided for power theft
Ghaziabad: A vigilance team of the Uttar Pradesh Hydel Department on Saturday raided an under-construction eleven-storey building in Sector 16 of Vasundhara here for alleged electricity theft by the builder. According to Assistant Engineer of the Hydel Department Shiv Chandra Yadav, the department had received information about electricity theft at this under-construction building. A temporary connection of 73 KVA was sanctioned for the construction site, but that expired on January 17. However, instead of getting the connection regularised further, the builder started using electricity through hidden cables. On the basis of the load assessment, the department imposed a penalty of RS 7.5 lakh on the builder. Also, the construction work was going on without permission from the authorities, Yadav said. (PTI)
Downpour triggers landslides in Uttarakhand
Dehradun: Over 150 vehicles were Saturday stranded in Uttarakhand due to landslides following a downpour in Champawat district, an officials said. Actor Hemant Pandey, who has worked in Office Office teleseries, is among those stuck. The vehicles are stuck amid a rockfall near Dhan on Tanakpur Road, Pandey told IANS. He said machines have been deployed to clear the road. Pandey hails from Uttarakhand and was in Lucknow for a flim shooting. He was visiting relatives in the state when he got stuck on the road. District Official Deependra Kumar told that downpour triggered the landslides near Dhan. (IANS)