New Delhi, Aug 5: As sudden cloudburst triggered massive mudslides and landslides in Harshil, Uttarakhand on Tuesday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is on high alert and ready to join the ongoing rescue operations being carried out by the Indian Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

IAF sources confirmed to IANS that helicopters from three major airbases – Chandigarh, Sarsawa, and Bareilly – have been placed on standby for aerial rescue and supply missions. The assets include two Chinooks, two Mi-17V5s, two Cheetahs, and one Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), said an IAF official on the condition of anonymity.

However, adverse weather conditions over the higher reaches of Uttarakhand hampered air operations on Tuesday. “Helicopters were ready to take off today itself, but due to poor visibility and heavy rains, it was unsafe to operate,” the official said.

The helicopters will proceed to the Harshil sector once the weather permits and join the multi-agency relief effort. “Once deployed, they will assist in casualty evacuation, delivery of relief materials, and support to ground rescue teams,” the official added.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army has already deployed 150 personnel who reached the mudslide-hit area near Dharali village within minutes of the disaster. The NDRF and ITBP teams are also on the ground, conducting search-and-rescue operations amid extremely challenging terrain and continuous rainfall.

The situation in Harshil remains tense as multiple families have been reported stranded or missing due to the flash floods and debris flow. With communication lines snapped in some areas and roads washed away, air support is expected to play a crucial role once the weather improves.

Rescue agencies are coordinating closely to minimise casualties and deliver timely relief in the affected regions. Continuous rainfall remains the biggest hurdle in the response effort. IANS

New Delhi, Aug 5: Income tax returns must be verified within 30 days of being uploaded online and the process of filing return does not stop when the return is submitted on the official e-filing website (www.incometax.gov.in), according to experts.

ITRs filed without e-verification will be treated as invalid. With less than two months remaining before the extended deadline for filing income tax returns for the assessment year 2025-26 on September 15, many individual taxpayers have completed the process, said experts.

If you have not verified your ITR, here are the steps. Taxpayers can verify their returns electronically, or they can download the ITR-V acknowledgement form, sign it, and send a physical copy to the ITR-T department’s central processing centre in Bengaluru within 30 days of filing.

E-verification, however, is simpler and instantaneous. Your return is verified in minutes, and you get an instant acknowledgement. In contrast, physical verification can take several days to process. Users can opt for several options to complete the process online. If your mobile number is linked to Aadhaar, using Aadhaar-based OTP is one of the simplest ways to complete the process.

To e-verify your returns, go to the e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in). After logging in to your e-filing portal, click on the ‘e-File’ menu. Select ‘Income Tax Returns’ and choose ‘e-Verify Return’. Select the option to generate an OTP to e-verify your returns.

Select ‘Aadhaar OTP’, and enter the OTP received on your mobile. Another simple way to e-verify returns is to log in to your net banking account and use the option offered by your bank for e-verification. Within your net banking portal, find the option for ‘e-Verify Income Tax Return’ or something similar (usually under the ‘Tax’ section).

You can generate an electronic verification code (EVC) by logging into your pre-validated bank account, pre-validated demat account, or even through ATMs. If you have a digital signature certificate (DSC), you can also complete the process with it.

Once you have completed the exercise, the portal will display a message confirming your successful completion, along with a transaction ID. The income tax department will also send you an email to your registered email address.

If you fail to finish the e-verification process within 30 days, you must file a request for ‘condonation of delay’ on the official portal, explaining the delay before your return is processed. If the I-T department confirms your request, your return will be treated as verified.

IANS

Srinagar, Aug 5: Satyapal Malik, who served as the 10th Governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir state passed away on Tuesday after a protracted illness at the age of 79. The veteran leader died around 1 p.m. at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, where he was undergoing treatment.

Born on July 24, 1946, in Hisawada village in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, Malik passed his B.Sc. and LL.B degrees from Meerut University. He began his political career with Bharatiya Kranti Dal, followed by Janata Dal, Indian National Congress, Lok Dal, Samajwadi Party, and finally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Malik first came to prominence as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 1974 to 1977. He represented Uttar Pradesh in Rajya Sabha from 1980 to 1986 and from 1986 to 1989.

He was a member of the 9th Lok Sabha from Aligarh from 1989 to 1991 as a member of the Janata Dal. Malik became the Governor of Bihar in October 2017 and remained at that position till August 2018. On March 21, 2018, he was also given additional charge to serve as Governor of Odisha up to May 28, 2018.

In August 2018, he was appointed as the Governor of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. He remained the J&K Governor from August 2018 to October 2019. It was during his tenure that the historic revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir took place on August 5, 2019.

He was later made the Governor of Goa, becoming the 18th governor there, and also served as the 21st Governor of Meghalaya until October 2022. Towards the end of his life, Malik landed himself in the middle of a political controversy for statements and interviews in which he criticised the Centre.

He remained completely tight-lipped about what was in the offing on August 5, 2019, pretending complete lack of knowledge, while it came to light later that two days before the events of August 5, 2019, unfolded, he had signed a letter as the constitutional head of Jammu and Kashmir approving the abrogation of Article 370.

IANS

New Delhi, Aug 5: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on August 8 a plea seeking restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir in a time-bound manner. Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai agreed to retain the matter for hearing on August 8 after it was mentioned by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan.

The plea said that even after several months of the Supreme Court verdict, the statehood of J&K has not yet been restored, “which is gravely affecting the rights of the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and also violating the idea of federalism”.

“In re: Article 370 of the Constitution” verdict, a 5-judge Constitution Bench, headed by then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, had left open the question of whether the Parliament can extinguish the character of statehood by converting a state into one or more Union Territories, relying on the statement made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that statehood would be restored to Jammu and Kashmir.

However, it had ordered the Election Commission of India to take steps to conduct elections to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, constituted under Section 14 of the Reorganisation Act, by September 30, 2024, and said that “restoration of statehood shall take place at the earliest and as soon as possible”.

The Constitution Bench, also comprising Justices S.K. Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant, had upheld the status of Ladakh as a Union Territory under Article 3(a) read with Explanation I of the Constitution, which permits the formation of a Union Territory by separating a territory from any state.

In the course of the oral hearing, SG Mehta, the second highest law officer of the Centre, had submitted that the Union Home Ministry cannot give any exact timeframe and it would take “some time” for the restoration of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir.

In May last year, the apex court refused to review the Constitution Bench verdict and dismissed a batch of review pleas filed against the decision upholding the revocation of Article 370 as valid.

Rejecting the applications seeking listing of the review petition in open court, a five-judge bench headed by then CJI Chandrachud had said that there was no error apparent on the face of the record and no case for review was made under the Supreme Court Rules, 2013. IANS

Ranchi, Aug 5: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will appear before the MP-MLA Special Court in Chaibasa, Jharkhand, on Wednesday, August 6, in connection with a defamation case filed against him.

The case pertains to his alleged derogatory remarks against the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President, Amit Shah. The complaint was lodged by Pratap Katiyar, a resident of Chaibasa, on July 9, 2018.

According to the petition, during a Congress plenary session held earlier that year, Rahul Gandhi had reportedly said, “No murderer can become the National President in the Congress party. Congressmen cannot accept a murderer as their leader. This is possible only in the BJP.”

The complainant alleged that this remark was a direct reference to Amit Shah and constituted defamation. Acting on the complaint, the Chaibasa court initially issued a bailable warrant against Rahul Gandhi in April 2022. However, the Congress leader did not respond to the summons.

Subsequently, the court issued a non-bailable warrant in February 2024, citing his continued non-appearance. Rahul Gandhi’s legal team had sought an exemption from his personal appearance, but the Chaibasa court rejected the plea.

Following this, Gandhi approached the Jharkhand High Court, which granted him temporary relief and stayed the warrant for several months. In March 2024, the High Court disposed of the petition, paving the way for the case to resume in the lower court.

After the matter returned to the Chaibasa court, Gandhi’s lawyers once again filed for exemption from personal appearance, which the court denied. With the court insisting on his presence, Rahul Gandhi is now expected to appear in person on August 6 as per the latest directive of the MP-MLA Special Court.

IANS

New Delhi, Aug 5: Diabetes continually weakens the immune system, leading to poor health and a high risk of death among patients with tuberculosis (TB), said experts on Tuesday.

The link between TB and diabetes — two critical challenges to global health — has long been established. TB and diabetes, both separately and combined, significantly affect individuals, communities, and healthcare systems worldwide.

India’s TB burden remains a major public health challenge, with 28 lakh TB cases — accounting for 26 per cent, the highest globally in 2024. The country also reported an estimated 3.15 lakh TB-related deaths, accounting for 29 per cent of the deaths globally.

The burden of diabetes is also consistently increasing in the country, with over 100 million people currently living with the disease. “Diabetes weakens the immune system, increasing the risk of TB. Diabetes further compromises the already weakened immune system of people who have TB, leading to poor blood sugar control, a higher likelihood of treatment failure, and an increased risk of death during TB treatment (when compared to those without diabetes),” Hemant D Shewade, senior medical scientist, at ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, told IANS.

A recent paper, published in the journal PLOS One, led by Shewade and team, noted that people with TB and diabetes are two to three times more likely to remain culture-positive, four times more likely to experience a relapse after completing treatment, and five times more likely to die compared to those without diabetes.

The TB treatment also complicates the management of glucose levels, thus diminishing the effectiveness of the disease management. Shewade highlighted the need to improve documentation of monitoring glycemic status among people with TB and diabetes, especially those notified by the national TB programme.

Currently, under the programme guidelines, the management of diabetes is the same for those with TB and those without TB. But, “more evidence is needed on whether one should target strict glycemic control (HbA1C below 7 per cent) or glycemic control that is not strict (HbA1C below 8 per cent) is sufficient.

More evidence is needed on whether insulin should be added for all people with TB-diabetes irrespective of the glycemic control status,” the senior scientist told IANS. In addition, the paper also suggested the capillary fasting blood glucose (cFBG) test to assess the glycemic status of a person with TB-DM.

Further, studies have shown a 3.5-5.0-fold higher risk of TB in diabetes patients, which is especially high in those with type 1 diabetes. These patients also have high relapse rates after antitubercular drugs and high mortality in case of delayed diagnosis.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that patients with diabetes and a cough of more than two weeks need further evaluation for the possibility of TB. “There is limited information on the prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in patients with Type-1-diabetes,” Dr. Urvashi Singh, Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, told IANS.

Recent research published in the journal Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine, led by Singh, along with Dr R. Goswami, and Dr. Randeep Guleria and Dr Abhilash Nair, assessed the prevalence of PTB in 151 patients with type-1-diabetes attending the outpatient clinic in a tertiary-care hospital.

About 10.6 per cent of them showed sputum culture positivity; especially in those with a past history of PTB. “Thus, there is a high prevalence of PTB in patients with type 1 diabetes in India. They need to be actively screened for PTB by sputum Mycobacterium tuberculosis to initiate early treatment and to prevent transmission in the community,” Singh said.

IANS

New Delhi, Aug 5:  Six years ago, when the Modi government abrogated Article 370 and 35A, it completed the Constitutional process that had been deliberately left incomplete decades ago.

And six years later, the government took another step that has proven to the world that terror violence can no longer go unpunished. Operation Sindoor, which happened a few months ahead of the sixth anniversary of the 370 abrogation, stands as the fitting response to Pakistan and its terrorist-supporting deep state.

Since August 5, 2019, the security landscape in Kashmir has undergone a dramatic transformation. Stone-pelting incidents, street protests, bomb blasts, and targeted firings have stopped. The number of attacks on security forces has also reduced.

The improved security was the reason that, since the 370 abrogation, the number of tourists every year has been on the rise. Each year, crores of tourists from the country and outside visit the union territory.

This steady inflow has boosted local industries such as handicrafts and horticulture, contributing significantly to the region’s economic revival. The enhanced sense of security has also resulted in a manifold increase in youth participation in education, sports, competitive exams, and entrepreneurship.

Although sporadic terror attacks still occur, the overall environment — especially in the Kashmir Valley — has become far more welcoming for visitors. Much of the population is now focused on rebuilding and moving forward from the fear and trauma of the pre-2019 era.

However, Pakistan, after failing to re-instil fear in the people through concentrated terror attacks, unleashed the brutal April 22 terror attack on innocent tourists, killing 25 after identifying them as Hindus. One local ponywalla was also murdered.

The ploy was sinister, meant to break the back of the Kashmiris who had started believing in the peace efforts. It was also dangerous as it was meant to stop the people visiting the valley and create communal strife all over the country. But Kashmiris proved Pakistan wrong, and after initial shock, the tourists have returned to the valley.

A significant moment came with the celebration of Zaeth-Ashtami by Kashmiri Hindus at the Kheer Bhawani Temple in Ganderbal. This was soon followed by the Amarnath Yatra, which has seen participation from over four lakh pilgrims.

This resilience and unity have sent the strongest message yet to Pakistan and its proxies. Gone are the days when terrorists roamed freely in the valley, even in Srinagar city. Earlier, they found shelter not only near the Line of Control but also deep within civilian areas. There were hundreds of instances where locals harboured militants or helped them escape. That landscape has changed significantly post-2019.

Today, most encounters take place in remote forests, where militants hide in foliage or caves. After 2019, the Modi government banned dozens of organisations that nurtured terrorists in Kashmir.

This has helped in curbing the local recruitment into terror ranks. A majority of the terror operatives are being sent from across the border in Pakistan. That said, security challenges still exist.

Elements vulnerable to religious propaganda can still be swayed by Pakistan-backed terror groups, which continue to equate terrorism with jihad. Recently, National Conference president and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said that militancy in Jammu and Kashmir has not ended and never will.

Such statements highlight where the real challenge lies — the doublespeak of certain political leaders who prefer to keep tensions alive for personal or political gain. But the people of Kashmir have spoken.

They want peace. They want progress. And they want more tourists to visit the valley — to build on the momentum set in motion after August 5, 2019.

IANS