Goa govt plans to ban single-use plastics from Sept
Panaji: The Goa government is planning to bring in a legislation to ban single-use plastic items like straws, cutlery and bags in the state from September, an official said on Thursday. The government wants to make an amendment to the Goa Non-Biodegradable Garbage Control Act to ensure a complete ban on the single-use plastics, a senior officer from the state panchayat department told PTI. The amendment is currently being drafted and is likely to be introduced during the state Assembly’s monsoon session. “The legislation is aimed at banning manufacture, supply, storage and use such plastics in the state,” the official said. It is expected to come into force from September this year, the official said, adding that it will empower the government to impose fine on those who violate the law and also penalise those who litter in public places. Goa had earlier banned the use of plastic carry bags below 50 micron thickness. The coastal state has total 34 registered plastic manufacturing units. (PTI)
Frooti, samosa spoil Mathura monkeys: Hema Malini
Vrindavan: Actress and BJP’s Mathura MP Hema Malini has attributed the monkey menace in the Mathura-Vrindavan area to visitors “spoiling them by feeding them with samosas and Frooti”, and stressed they should only be given fruits. Interacting with local people at the Sudama Kuti here, Hema Malini, responding to a query on the “monkey problem”, said: “Where will the monkey go? It’s co-existence. The problem is the visitors give Frooti and samosa to them, which spoils them. Usko sirf phal dijiye (only give fruits to the monkey).” Hema Malini, who was previously seen in the fields with women farmers and driving a tractor, also said that monkeys are a problem in the Omaxe housing project, where she has built a “small home”. Elections to the Mathura Lok Sabha constituency, which Hema Malini wrested from sitting Rashtriya Lok Dal MP Jayant Chaudhary in the 2014 polls, are slated to be held in the second phase of the 2019 general elections on April 18. (IANS)
DMK always supported Puducherry’s statehood demand
Puducherry: DMK President M K Stalin on Thursday said his party always supported Puducherry’s demand for full statehood. The late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi had also been in total support ofstatehood for Puducherry, he said at a public meeting organised here by the Secular Progressive Alliance. Stalin was canvassing votes for former Puducherry Assembly Speaker and Congress nominee for the lone Lok Sabha seat in the union territory V Vaithilingam and DMK candidate K Venkatesan for the Thattanchavady Assembly by-poll. “The DMK has always supported Puducherry’s full statehood demand. We will never let down Puducherry at any cost,” he said. Stalin alleged that the AINRC had not taken steps to persuade the Centre to grant statehood to Puducherry though its candidate was the MP from the union territory. He recalled that protests had broken out when an attempt was made in 1979 by the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai and then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M G Ramachandran to dismantle the separate status of Puducherry and merge it with the neighbouring state. Stalin criticised the BJP manifesto released recently by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “letting down” students, unemployed youth and other sections without any specific schemes. (PTI)
Dumper kills man, injures three
Hoshangabad: A 25-year-old man was on Thursday killed after being hit by a dumper in Seoni Malwa tehsil in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh, police said. Three others were also injured in the incident. The dumper later crashed into a roadside shop, police said. The incident took place at Bhilatdev village, they added. The deceased was a resident of Surgi village, Seoni Malwa police station in-charge Ajay Tiwari said, adding that the injured were admitted to a community health centre. Following the incident, an angry mob of villagers held a protest at the site. However, police personnel pacified them. A probe is being carried out. (PTI)
Man hacks alcoholic son to death
Sagar: Police on Thursday arrested a man who had axed his alcoholic son to death in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh. According to the police, Santosh Gangele, a resident of Gopalganj area, was tired of his son Abhay’s habit of drinking. Abhay was posted as a police constable in Chhatarpur district of the state. Abhay was facing suspension and had been living with his family for the past several months. He would routinely beat up family members and create a nuisance in the locality after consuming alcohol. On Wednesday, after one such drunken brawl, Santosh attacked Abhay with an axe and killed him. Gopalganj police station in-charge Abhishek Verma said, “Gangele has been arrested.” (IANS)