Vigilance cases against 6,817 govt officers in Odisha
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday said 6,817 corruption cases against government officials are under various stages of trial in courts. In a written reply to Biju Janata Dal (BJD) legislator Sudhir Kumar Samal, the Chief Minister said a total of 6,817 officials have been booked by Vigilance for alleged corrupt practices till September 30 this year. Vigilance cases have been registered against 895 Group-A officers, 798 Group-B officers, 3,535 Group-C officials, 193 Group-D officials and 1,396 other public servants, he added. The state government has appointed prosecution liaison officers at vigilance courts to expedite the cases. Besides, the superintendents of police of various vigilance divisions are holding regular meetings with special judges of vigilance courts for speedy trials of the cases, said Patnaik. (IANS)
Taj Mahal will now be in Agravan, instead of Agra?
Lucknow: After changing the names of Allahabad to Prayagraj and Mughalsarai to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is planning to change the name of Agra to Agravan. The state government has asked the Ambedkar University in Agra to look into the historical aspect of the name. The history department of the university is now looking at the proposal. Prof Sugam Anand, head of the department of history in Dr B R Ambedkar University of Agra, confirmed this to IANS. He said, “we have received a letter from the state government to look for historical evidence if Agra city was known by any other name. We have begun the research and will reply to the letter.” According to sources, the Yogi government is planning to change the name from Agra to Agravan since some historians believe that this was the original name of the city that is home to the Taj Mahal. Historians and experts have been asked to look into the circumstances and time when Agravan’s name was changed to Agra. (IANS)
Bill Gates meets Modi
New Delhi: Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Monday. Gates is also a co-chair and trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Earlier today, Gates addressed a function organised by NITI Aayog for the release of its report on ‘Health Systems for a New India: Building Blocks – Potential Pathways to Reforms’ wherein he lauded the country for its healthcare system and talked about how digital tools can help improve it further. The philanthropist commended the Central government for stepping up and eradicating Polio. “India is in a very hopeful situation and is set to be an example for other countries,” he said. In September, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had honoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Global Goalkeeper Award for his contributions to the cleanliness drive and efforts to improve access to sanitation in India through Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. The Award ceremony took place on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. (ANI)
11 dead, 15 injured in accident
Jaipur: Eleven people were killed while over 15 others were injured when a bus collided with a truck on Monday morning in Bikaner near Lakhasar village in Rajasthan, police officials said. The collision was so intense that both vehicles caught fire. The police and fire brigade rushed to the site after being informed by locals, said SHO Ghulam Nabi, Sheruna station. He told IANS that the bus was on its way from Bikaner to Jaipur when it collided with the truck. The bus and truck both were gutted in the fire which broke out soon after the crash. Of the 15 injured, three are critical and have been rushed to Bikaner district hospital. Prime facie reports said that fog diminished the visibility and hence the accident occurred, however a detailed investigation will be done once the injured recover, he said. The deceased are yet to be identified he added. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed his condolences.”Extremely pained to know of the terrible accident on NH 11, Bikaner-Jaipur highway in which eleven people have lost lives. (IANS)
