Three unidentified militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Monday, police said.
The security forces launched a cordon and search operation at Khul Chohar in the south Kashmir district following information about the presence of militants in the area, a police official said.

The operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired upon a search party of the forces, who retaliated, the official said.

Three militants have been killed in the encounter so far, he said, adding that the identity and group affiliation were being ascertained.PTI

Cyclone Nisarga made landfall near Mumbai on Wednesday but spared the city already reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic, even as it uprooted trees in nearby Raigad and Palghar districts.

A 58-year-old man died after a power transformer fell on him while he was rushing home to escape the cyclone fury at Umate village in Raigad district, police said.

Two people died and three were injured in two separate cyclone-related incidents in Pune district, an official said.

The cyclone slammed Maharashtra coast with wind speeds of up to 120 kmph, making landfall at 12.30 PM at Alibaug in Raigad district near Mumbai. The process was completed by 2.30 PM, a senior IMD official said.

Cyclone Nisarga is expected to weaken into a deep depression within the next six hours and currently it lays centered over Pune in Maharashtra, the official said.

Mumbaikars and people in neighbouring areas, including those in coastal Gujarat districts had braced for the cyclone but heaved a sigh of relief as Nisarga’s damage appeared limited to uprooting of trees in affected areas.

Ahead of Nisarga’s landfall, thousands of people in its path were evacuated, trains rescheduled, flights cancelled, fishermen ordered out of the seas and rescue workers were put on standby.

Already down on its knees from the raging COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first major cyclone Mumbai would have faced in 72 years, according to Adam Sobel, a professor of atmospheric science at Columbia University in New York.

Nisarga blew in from the Arabian Sea, making landfall at the coastal town Alibaug.

Steeped in colonial history, Alibaug is a quaint little town located about 110 km from Mumbai, and is dotted with sandy beaches, several forts and temples. A speedboat from Mumbai to Mandwa jetty near Alibaug takes 20 minutes.

Nisarga came a week after Cyclone Amphan wreaked havoc in West Bengal.

The IMD had said kuccha houses, trees, electric poles may fall as they may not be able to withstand the speed of the storm. However, as the cyclone weakened into a depression, it was clear that the extent of damage was far lesser than anticipated.

Pune-based Sucheta Nadkarny, 81, who lived in suburban Vile Parle during the last major cyclone to hit Mumbai in 1948 said, “I remember huge trees in our area were uprooted and plants in our garden destroyed.

“I was 10 years old then and remember this because my mother was heartbroken as the plants she had lovingly nurtured were destroyed,” Nadkarny told PTI.

Ahead of Nisarga’s landfall, the state government authorities had asked people in vulnerable areas to shift to safer places.

The Central Railway (CR) rescheduled special trains and many airlines also cancelled their Mumbai operations.

Flight operations at the Mumbai airport, suspended at 2.30 pm, resumed in the evening, a spokesperson of GVK said.

Maharashtra and Gujarat had activated their disaster response mechanism, deploying NDRF teams and evacuating people from areas in the cyclone’s path.

Authorities in Gujarat had shifted over 63,700 people living close to the coast in eight districts to safer places as a precautionary measure, an official said.

All fishing boats which were out in the sea off Palghar coast in Maharashtra returned before the landfall, an official said.

As many as 577 fishing boats from Palghar had gone out in the sea and till Monday evening, 564 came back. Later, help was sought from the Coast Guard, Navy and the fisheries department and the remaining 13 boats also returned to the shore late Tuesday evening.

The threat posed by Nisarga to Mumbai has lessened, but the next few hours will be crucial, Maharashtra Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said.

Authorities in Pune, Nashik and Ahmednagar are on alert considering the trajectory of the cyclone, he said.

“Though the threat posed to Mumbai by the cyclone has reduced, the next few hours will be quite crucial. The cyclone can have influence over an average of 200 km from its eye,” the minister tweeted.

Ahead of the cyclone landfall, carnivorous animals in Mumbai zoo were shifted to holding areas in their enclosures to keep them safe from rain and strong winds, an official said.

Since the city has been experiencing rain, authorities at the Veermata Jijabai Udyan, also popularly known as Byculla Zoo which is spread over an area of 50 acres, took all steps to protect the animals against the rough weather, he said.

Tigers, leopards and hyenas were shifted to holding areas, an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in New York to demonstrate against the killing of African-American George Floyd by a white police officer, setting police vehicles on fire in some areas and several people being arrested through the day.

Videos and photos posted on social media on Saturday showed huge crowds gathering in parts of Manhattan, some even outside the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, in Times Square, Columbus Circle, Queens and areas in Brooklyn and Bronx to protest the killing of Floyd, who died this week after a white police officer kneeled on his neck while he was handcuffed and pinned to the ground.

In his last moments, Floyd can be heard saying “I can’t breathe”, which the demonstrators used as a clarion call demanding action against brutality by the police.

Social media posts showed a couple of police vehicles being set on fire. A report in NBC News said the protesters shouted the slogans “No justice, no peace” and “Hands up, don’t shoot” as they walked the streets. A large vehicle was also set ablaze near the Union Square.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, referring to the protest in Brooklyn, said there were people who came to peacefully protest but there were others “who came there obviously to try and incite acts of violence”.

“There were elected officials at this protest, some of whom were pepper sprayed. What a horrible, horrible situation that the people who represent us, who are there on behalf of their community peacefully observing, trying to help keep the peace, that they ended up being victims of pepper spraying. That’s unacceptable and we need to understand exactly why that happened. There needs to be accountability,” he said.

The Mayor added that he has seen some protest videos that do not reflect the philosophy of this city, the values of this city, the values of this administration, do not reflect the values of the NYPD (New York Police Department)”.

“We’ve seen some videos where protestors were handled very violently and very roughly, and that is not neighbourhood policing and we will not accept that kind of behaviour from any police officer,” he said.

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said the protest in Brooklyn had about 3,000 people, who splintered into several smaller protests. He said over 200 people were arrested and multiple officers injured.

Shea said the police recovered firearm, brass knuckles and a person was arrested for attempted murder of four police officers by throwing a Molotov cocktail into an occupied marked police van.

He said countless bricks and other items were thrown at police officers. “Again, this was a volatile…dangerous situation and any and all violence we denounce. We can do better than this and we must.”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said there is an injustice in the criminal justice system that is abhorrent.

“And it is not just George Floyd – you look back even in modern history in my life time…We suffered in this city through Abner Louima and Amadou Diallo and Sean Bell and Eric Garner. How many times have we seen the same situation? Yes, the names change, but the color doesn’t. And that is the painful reality of this situation,” he said.

The Governor said America’s history of discrimination and racism dates back hundreds of years.

“That is the honest truth and that’s what is behind this anger and frustration and I share the outrage at this fundamental injustice. I do. And that’s why I say I figuratively stand with the protestors, but violence is not the answer. It never is the answer.

“As a matter of fact, it is counterproductive because the violence then obscures the righteousness of the message and the mission. And you lose the point by the violence in response…Yes, outrage. Yes, anger. Yes, frustration. But not violence.” he said.

Cuomo said he has asked New York Attorney General Letitia James to conduct an independent review of police procedures and crowd actions during the protests.

“Peaceful protest is a basic civil right. That right should be protected and guarded. We take the designation to investigate last night’s actions very seriously. We will act independently to seek answers, ensure that the truth is laid bare, and that there is accountability for any wrongdoing. We will be transparent in our findings as we seek accountability for those who did wrong,” James said.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has appealed to all states to permit the operation of migrant special trains so that the stranded can reach home in the next three to four days.

The appeal comes a day after Home Minister Amit Shah wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to allow such trains to run.

“As per the directions of Hon’ble PM @NarendraModi ji, Railways is fully geared up to run 300 Shramik Special trains everyday at short notice since the last six days.

“I appeal to all the states to give permission to evacuate and bring back their stranded migrants so that we can get all of them back to their homes in the next 3-4 days itself,” Goyal tweeted on Sunday.

On Saturday the WB government claimed it had given clearance to eight trains to be run carrying its migrant home. Four of these trains, it said, were to depart on Saturday, which did not.

Senior railway officials say the national transporter has a capacity to run around 300 trains per day ferrying around 20 lakh migrants in a maximum of five days.

However, they said, clearances from states are not forthcoming, especially from states like West Bengal and Rajasthan, which till now have accepted the least number of such trains despite being a significant source of migrant population.

As on May 10, a total of 366 Shramik Special trains have been operationalised across the country, of which 287 had reached their destinations and 79 trains are in transit.

These 287 trains were terminated in various states like Andhra Pradesh (1 train), Bihar (87), Himachal Pradesh (1), Jharkhand (16), Madhya Pradesh (24), Maharashtra (3), Odisha (20), Rajasthan (4), Telangana (2), Uttar Pradesh (127), West Bengal (2).
PTI

COVID 19 Pandemic has created a Global chaos. The entire World is facing
an unprecedented crisis. In the State of Maharashtra, the Pandemic has
severely affected Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur and some other
Cities. Our valiant Doctors, Nurses, Paramedical Staff and Police have all
selflessly plunged whole-heartedly into this battle against COVID 19, not
even caring for their own and their family’s health. Every member of the
Society is assisting in this epic War, in his or her own way. We are also
trying to contribute our very best efforts towards this cause, under the
aegis of Voice of Indian Tax Payers (VIT) and its wing Citizen’s Task Force
formed under the able leadership of Senior Social Activist Anjali Damania.

While being engaged in the treatment of COVID 19 Positive patients, our
Health Warriors come in direct contact with them, which requires special
care to be taken of our dear Health Warriors. With this view in mind, our
Organization is providing PPE Kits and N 95 Masks to those Hospitals
engaged in the treatment of COVID 19 Patients.

As of date, we have provided PPE Kits to KEM Hospital Mumbai, JJ
Hospital, JJ Blood Bank, Sion Hospital, Bandra Babha Hospital, Thane Civil
Hospital, Palghar Civil Hospital. In the coming few days, we shall be
dispatching PPE Kits to Pune’s Sassoon Hospital, Dr. Naidu Hospital and 6
Hospitals of Pune’s PMCK. In addition to these, with the support of the
contributions received from the people, we shall be sending PPE Kits to
Hospitals in Aurangabad and Solapur in the next four days. We are trying
to reach PPE Kits to whichever City of our State requires it and wherever
transport facilities are available.

Like our Health Warriors, the personnel of our Police Force have also put
their own health at risk and offering their services in critically affected
areas. In those areas that have been sealed due to spread of COVID
Positive cases, there is a risk of the Police force contracting the infection.
Keeping this in mind, we are providing N 95 Masks and 3 Ply Masks to
other Police.

In Mumbai’s Worli, Dharavi, Vakola, Kalina, Andheri, South Mumbai, we
have given out 500 N 95 Masks in each place. Likewise for Police Personnel
stationed in Pune we shall be giving out 2000 N 95 Masks and 10,000 3 ply
Masks by tomorrow.

All these have been possible only due to generous small and big
contributions that we received during the last 15 days, from people in
response to Appeals we made through the Social Media like Twitter Face
book.

We have only one objective behind our Mission. It is our solemn duty and
primary responsibility to help and protect our Health Warriors and Police
Force, who are struggling day & night to save us from COVID 19 putting
their own health at risk.

We have set our Mission target as providing a minimum of 1 lakh PPE Kits
and 2 lakhs N95 Masks to these valiant Health Warriors and Police Force.
We can defeat this deadly pandemic just by sitting at home. But it has
been the endeavor of Citizen’s Task Force, as to even by sitting at Home
how we the people can assist our Valiant Health Warriors and Police Force.
It is this single motivation that has driven our initiatives at Citizen’s Task
Force. It is our keen desire that the public at large should also become a
part of this Mission and initiative, and come forward to donate whatever is
possible by them, which will enable all of us to reach the Targeted help for
our valiant Health Warriors and Police Force.

Every Paisa donated will be spent only towards this cause. All donations
will also be acknowledged on our face book page.