Breaking News, March 9

The Jayakwadi dam in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district will undergo a revamp and repairs worth Rs 85 crore, an official said on Wednesday. The dam has received an administrative sanction for funds to the tune of Rs 85 crore under the dam rehabilitation and improvement project, he said.

The rupee appreciated 44 paise to 76.56 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday following a retreat in crude oil prices and rebound in domestic equities. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 76.90 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 76.55 and a low of 76.92.

Tension continued on Wednesday in a college in Karnataka's Shivamogga district, which witnessed protests the previous day seeking action against a girl student for posting the picture of the Pakistan flag in a study group on WhatsApp during a heated debate over hijab row. The students have been demanding the slapping of sedition charges against the girl student and are also seeking her dismissal from the college. The students had staged a protest over the issue in the premises of Sahyadri Science College in Shivamogga on Tuesday. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) also pitched in and demanded action against the girl student. The protesters alleged that though they have been demanding action in the matter, the college management has not initiated any step.

Over 75 per cent people in 15 to 18 age bracket have received the first dose of Covid vaccine, tweeted Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday. India has administered a total of 5,55,80,872 first dose of Covid vaccines and 3,20,34,392 second doses among this age group as on Wednesday morning, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement. Congratulating youngsters, Mandaviya posted, "Proud of our young warriors! Over 75 per cent of youngsters in the 15-18 age group have received 1st dose of COVID19 vaccine". "Massive participation from Young India has significantly strengthened the world's largest vaccination drive", he said.

It was a while back in 2021 that Sarifa Bibi in her late 50s had last managed to purchase substantial groceries for her family, pay the electricity bill, and buy a sari for herself and a shawl for her 17-year-old daughter, Aliknoor. This was when she had managed to secure 29 days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). With the financial year now drawing to a close, Sarifa now realises she is far from completing 100 days of work - the minimum number of days of paid labour that the scheme guarantees per household. The desperation is clear in Sarifa's voice, as she speaks to 101Reporters from her home in Habaspur village. Their family had been forced to seek a loan of Rs 9,000, at a steep interest of Rs 3,500, to buy a smartphone for Aliknoor's online classes and to get ultrasonography for Aliknoor, who ultimately had to give up attending tuitions due to pending fees. "We are starving. There is no work," lamented Sarifa, who supports her husband, three of her four children and a grandchild.

A 32-year-old man, accused in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case and absconding from past three years, was arrested by Delhi Police, an official said on Wednesday. The accused was identified as Sandeep Kumar, a resident of Nangloi, Delhi. Sharing details, DCP Sameer Sharma said a case under the POCSO Act was registered at Nangloi police station in which the accused was arrested in 2013. At that time the accused disclosed himself as a minor, aged about 16 years, so he was produced before Juvenile Justice Board from where he was sent to Juvenile Home. However, the age of the accused was verified by Forensic experts which revealed that his age was around 22 years at the time of the commission of crime. "The accused Sandeep was then shifted to Tihar Jail and next year in 2014, he was released from the jail on court bail," the DCP said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized Rs 46.85 lakh from the residence of Managing Director of Patliputra builders Ltd, Anil Singh. The action was taken on Tuesday night. Singh is currently in jail after the ED had seized Rs 2.62 crore on October 29, 2021. And as part of the ongoing probe, ED again searched his house. According to an ED official, Singh had taken money from home buyers, but had failed to deliver the properties on time. He is also booked under IPC section of attempt to murder and the Arms Act. The ED acted against him on the charges of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002.

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The Delhi Police have filed detailed chargesheets in the "Bulli Bai" and "Sulli Deals" cases in which women belonging to a minority community were allegedly targeted and defamed. The cases were being probed by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police's Special Cell. The derogatory Sulli Deals mobile app had surfaced in July 2021, where photos of Muslim women, without their consent, were put up "for auction" on the app. Six months later, another similar incident of harassing and targeting women from the community came to light after a Delhi-based woman journalist lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police stating that she was being targeted by some unidentified group of people on a mobile application. This time, the app was named as Bulli Bai, yet again created on US-based GitHub platform.

The worldwide death toll inflicted by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has surpassed six million, reaching 6,004,421 as of Tuesday, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Globally, there have been 446,511,318 confirmed cases of Covid-19, including 6,004,421 deaths, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the data released by the WHO. The US has the highest cumulative numbers of both confirmed cases and deaths, with more than 78 million confirmed cases and 951,348 deaths, accounting for 17.6 per cent and 15.8 per cent of the world's totals respectively. The US is followed by India and Brazil, which have recorded confirmed cases exceeding 42 million and 29 million respectively, as well as 515,210 and 652,143 deaths.

Anganwadi workers in the national capital on Tuesday took out a rally demanding a hike in their honorarium and respectable working hours on International Women's Day. Hundreds of women participated in the protest march from Rajghat to Delhi Secretariat organised by the Delhi State Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union (DSAWHU) which has been on strike since January 31 to press for their demands. On Tuesday, their strike entered its 37th day. The Delhi government had raised the honorarium to Rs 12,720 besides increasing conveyance and communication allowance to Rs 1,500 in case of Anganwadi workers last month.

A class 12 student along with his four friends allegedly abducted and beat up another student in Gurugram district for refusing them free entry to a party, police said on Tuesday. The accused and his friends took him to a deserted place near Ghata village after abducting him in their Honda City car and then beat him up. The victim somehow managed to flee the spot and narrated his ordeal to his family who moved to police. An FIR has been registered against the five students at Sector 56 police station.

Six people, including a woman, were arrested here on charges of drug peddling and over 10 kg of ganja and heroin was seized from them, police said on Tuesday. During patrolling, a police team noticed the suspicious movement of a woman identified as Ladoo alias Lakshmi and stopped her following which over six kg of ganja was seized from her, they said. The woman was arrested and a case was registered at Bahu Fort Police Station, they said. In another incident, a police team arrested Sachin Chouhan in Akhnoor after over two kg of ganja was seized from him.