Tharoor attacks media, calls it ‘self-appointed liars’
Thiruvananthapuram: Former union minister and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has again courted controversy, this time by accusing the media of being “self-appointed liars and scum”. However, as his comments Wednesday kicked up a furore, he sought to clarify that he had attacked “only those who put exploitation of tragedy above justice”. “I’ll speak to the police, not to self-appointed liars and scum,” he remarked while responding to a mediaperson’s querry here. The lawmaker was asked why his aides were allegedly not speaking the truth in the case relating to the mysterious death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, in the wake of a Delhi court allowing the police Wednesday to conduct a lie-detector test on three “suspects” in the case. “It suits gutter journalists 2 pretend I attacked their entire fraternity. I attacked only those who put exploitation of tragedy above justice,” the former Union minister tweeted Wednesday morning. In another tweet, Tharoor said: “Let’s be clear: only 1 channel ran a witch-hunt yesterday all evening, lied & distorted facts, aired innuendo, ran a survey on purported guilt.” (IANS)
Cong slams ministers for saying tourists come to Goa for drugs
Panaji: Goa Congress has threatened to “throw cow dung on the face of ministers” who claim that tourists arrive in the state due to availability of drugs. “If any minister says that tourists come because of drugs, we will throw cow dung on his face to purify him,” Goa Congress unit chief Luizinho Faleiro said. “We should tell tourists that don’t come to Goa for drugs. They can come to enjoy the vacation. We will provide them all the support,” he said. The scourge and menace of drugs is hitting Goa, he told media persons here. Faleiro’s statement comes a week after the Congress unit launched a campaign against drugs in the coastal state. “Drugs are not only in the coastal belt, but they have percolated to the hinterland,” he said pointing out the recent incident wherein two youths had died at Curtorim village after consuming narcotics during a birthday party. “Nigerians have become drug lord in Goa and they are being supervised by government. In the coast of Arambol, drugs are sold in open by Nigerians,” the former Chief Minister alleged. Arambol beach is popular among the foreigners and falls under the constituency of Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar. Faleiro said that his party will start statewide agitations to make Goa a drug-free state. Acknowledging that drug menace exits in the state, CM Parsekar had last year said, “Some tourists come here only to do drugs.” (PTI)
Water in Maha irrigation dams dip; Marathwada worst affected
Mumbai: Even as Maharashtra received unseasonal rains coupled with hailstorm in the last few months, depleting water storage in large, medium and small irrigation dams across the state has become a cause of concern with Marathwada region staring at intense scarcity. There are 2498 irrigation dams in Maharashtra and only 20 percent water is left in the state’s reservoirs as on May 16, an official in the water resources department said. The lowest is the water storage in Marathwada region which is 8 per cent, the official said. Even after the onset of monsoon in the state, Marathwada gets rains much later and hence the water situation in this region is a cause of concern, he added. Konkan has 33 per cent water, Nagpur division 22 per cent, Amravati 26 per cent, Nashik 25 per cent and Pune 23 per cent. The percentage of water storage in other dams is 32 percent. Last year till May 16, the state had 27 per cent water stored in irrigation dams. Marathwada had 23 per cent water, Konkan 32 per cent, Nagpur 40 per cent, Amravati 37 per cent, Nashik 25 per cent and Pune 21 per cent. Marathwada had faced similar situation in 2013 when the water in irrigation dams was 5 percent. (PTI)
US envoy visits ancestral home in Jalandhar
Jalandhar: US Ambassador to India Richard Rahul Verma on Thursday paid an emotional visit to his maternal grandmother’s house here and met the current owners residing in the building. On his second day of Punjab visit, the envoy was welcomed with drumbeats and celebrations in the village. The house is now owned by couple Rakesh Gupta and Priya Gupta. Verma also had a meeting with them which lasted 20 minutes and media persons were not allowed. “We were very excited about his visit. We never thought a big personality like him would ever visit us,” said Priya Gupta after the meeting. She said they had purchased the house from the envoy’s grandmother who used to be a teacher. The ambassador also met a local shopkeeper Ram who had helped him locate the house. Verma is also likely to visit the school where his grandmother used to teach. He is also slated to take part in convocation at local DAV college where his parents had met. Verma will also attend a CII meet in the evening. (PTI)