Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was today heckled by activists from BJP, its ally Akali Dal and Congress, who staged protests at railway stations over allegations of misconduct against AAP leaders, as he started his four-day visit to Punjab to give a push to the party’s poll campaign in the state.

Activists led by Delhi BJP women’s wing president Kamaljeet Sehrawat and party spokesman Praveen Kapoor raised slogans and waved bangles towards Kejriwal, who arrived at platform number 1 at New Delhi railway station to board a train for Punjab at around 7 AM.

Some protesters jostled with the policemen and Kejriwal was caught in the melee. They demanded that Kejriwal speak on the alleged “misconduct” of his MLAs and expel Ashutosh for his controversial blog defending Sandeep Kumar, who was sacked as minister over an alleged sex scandal.

Blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Delhi Police for the alleged manhandling of the Chief Minister at the hands of women protesters of the BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party said the law enforcement agency was a “mute spectator” during the “pre-planned” episode.

BJP, however, denied any manhandling and said party activists resorted to political protest.

“It is sad and shameful that the those who once talked of daily dialogue with people today term political protest as an attack,” Kapoor said.

As Kejriwal got down from the Delhi-Ludhiana-Amritsar Shatabdi express at Ludhiana railway station, he was again greeted by protesters from the ruling SAD’s youth wing and opposition Congress’ women’s wing

Youth Akali Dal leader Gurpreet Singh Gosha led by other party activists tried to give bangles to Kejriwal, claiming his government had failed on all fronts.

Congress women wing’s Ludhiana district president Leena Tapria, who also led a group of party activists, raised slogans like “Kejriwal Go Back”.

As Kejriwal stepped out of the railway station, he faced another group of protesters, who claimed to be from a Hindu outfit. However, the Punjab police did not allow any protester to come near the Delhi Chief Minister.

Police here said that they had deputed two Additional Deputy Commissioners of Police rank officers at the railway station besides deputing police personnel in strength to ensure there was no untoward incident.

Kejriwal’s visit today also coincides with the launch of a fourth front in the state by cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu ahead of 2017 assembly polls.

Sidhu is set to launch ‘Awaaz-e-Punjab’ front along with MLA Pargat Singh and two Ludhiana MLA brothers Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Bains. The AAP has been taken aback by the development as there was speculation that Sidhu could join the party after he parted ways with BJP and resigned from his Rajya Sabha membership.

The AAP, which has been projecting itself as a viable alternative to Congress and SAD-BJP in the state, has faced setbacks in the state including sacking of Sucha Singh Chhotepur as Punjab Convenor and Kejriwal’s visit is aimed at hearing the grievances of partymen and bringing the campaign back on track.PTI

With a year left before her term expires, Textile Minister Smriti Irani has curiously made some tweets expressing gratitude to the people of Gujarat, the state she represents in Rajya Sabha.

Irani, who was recently shifted from the high-profile HRD portfolio, said that in the last five years as an MP, she has been “fortunate” to have got immense support from BJP leaders and people across the country.

The minister, who was elected five years ago, started a series of tweets but gave no indication what prompted her to take to the micro-blogging site on her tenure in the Rajya Sabha.

“On August 19, 2011 I got the opportunity to serve the nation in my capacity as Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from the Gujarat state.

“It has been my privilege to have been able to reach out to the people of Anand & resolve their problems in whatever capacity I could,” Irani wrote.

“I specially express my gratitude to people of Gujarat, particularly Anand which is my nodal district as Rajya Sabha MP from the state,” she said.

In the tweets, Irani shared snapshots of the welfare and civic work undertaken by her in Anand district during her tenure.

“Providing water and conserving the same along with ensuring clean surroundings has been the top priority in Anand,” she tweeted.

Irani had unsuccessfully fought against Rahul Gandhi from Amethi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Flooding following heavy rain has killed 60 people and left over 44,000 homeless in North Korea, the United Nations said today, after the country reported that a northeastern river suffered its worst-ever flood.

Pyongyang said the Tumen river, which partially marks the border with China and Russia, experienced the biggest flood ever recorded due to a rainstorm that began four days earlier.

Nearby areas including Musan and Hoeryong were hard hit, with 60 dead and five percent of the population homeless, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

It cited data from the North’s government.

“Communication with and access to affected areas remains a challenge… immediate needs have been identified as emergency shelter, food, medication, water and sanitary items,” it said.

Nearly 9,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged with 10,000 hectares (24,711 acres) of farmland flooded, it said, adding joint relief efforts involving the UN and the North were underway.

The North’s state media said Friday that 15 people were missing after over 17,000 houses were destroyed or damaged.

The impoverished nation is vulnerable to natural disasters, especially floods. At least 169 were killed by a massive rainstorm in the summer of 2012.

Its territory is largely composed of mountains and hills that have long been deforested for fuel or turned into terraced rice fields. This allows rainwater to flow downhill unchecked.

A series of floods and droughts was partially responsible for a famine that killed hundreds of thousands between 1994-98, with economic mismanagement and the loss of Soviet support exacerbating the situation.

A Delhi court has refused to return a man his cattle, caught loaded in a truck, while observing that the animals were being transported for being slaughtered in “a very cruel and inhumane manner”.

The court, while dismissing Rajasthan native Jagdish Banjara’s plea for release of 25 buffaloes and calves of which eight had died, directed that the animals be kept in care and protection of Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre.

“Taking into consideration entire facts and circumstances wherein it has come up that the animals were transported for being slaughtered in a very cruel and inhumane manner, the previous involvement of the same vehicle, it is possible that the animals might be subjected to more cruelty and suffering in contravention of the provisions of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960…the revision is dismissed.

“The animals, however, be kept in the care and protection of Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre which is a recognised animal care centre cum pinjrapole working as an animal welfare and rescue facility for sick, injured and rescued animals so long as the matter is under trial,” Additional Sessions Judge Sudesh Kumar said. Pinjrapoles are home to frail and abandoned cattle.

According to the police, Banjara was caught with a truck loaded with 25 buffaloes and calves on June 22 on the complaint of an officer from Wildlife Crime and Cruelty Cell.

He was booked for offences under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 and provisions of the IPC and the case is under investigation, the police said.

On July 1, the application of Banjara for the release of the animals was dismissed by a magisterial court and a revision plea was filed by him before sessions court.PTI

Terrorists and insurgents are getting “public support” in some parts of the country and unless this is stopped, India will continue to get hit by acts of terrorism, a report prepared by the elite counter-terror force NSG has said.

The analytical report on recent bombing incidents in the country, compiled with data from all states for the period between April and June this year, also raised concern over the possible leakage and use of ordnance factory-made explosives by terror outfits.

“Analysis of the data by the NBDC shows public was the prime target of the terrorists/militants/insurgents. Public support to terrorists/insurgents continues in some parts of the nation.

“Until and unless the public support to anti-national elements stops, the acts of terrorism will continue. Sincere efforts are required to mitigate the IED menace. A ‘Whole of Nation’ effort is the way ahead to keep the citizens of the country safe,” the report, accessed by PTI, said.

While the report did not elaborate as to how public support was rendered to ultras, it is understood that police forces and other agencies who report these incidents to the National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC) also share inputs with regard to links detected between the locals and perpetrators of such blasts.

The NBDC of the National Security Guard (NSG) is based at its garrison in Manesar near here and acts as the national repository for collection and analyses of all types of bombing incidents and attacks in the country.

Analyses of the incidents of IED recovery/blasts for the second quarter of this year, it added, reveal “in most of the incidents, explosive ordnance like grenades and other forms of explosives which are made in ordnance factories were used by terrorists, militants and insurgents of Jammu and Kashmir and North East.”

“In some incidents, Chinese made grenades were also used by militants of Jammu and Kashmir,” the report said.

It said a total of 93 blast incidents were reported in the second quarter of this year as compared to 92 last year, while 39 people were killed as compared to 60 people last year and 185 injured in comparison to 206 last year.

“There was 1 per cent increase in number of blast incidents during the second quarter of 2016 vis-a-vis second quarter of 2015. There was 16 per cent decrease in the number of casualties which took place in blast incidents in the second quarter of 2016 vis-a-vis same period last year,” it said.

Agitated farmers and activists belonging to pro-Kannada outfits today blocked Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway as protests intensified in the wake of the Supreme Court directive to the state to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Mandya district, the nucleus of Cauvery politics, saw a bandh with protesters holding road blockades and dharnas at several places, as hundreds of security personnel, including Central forces, were deployed in the Cauvery belt to maintain law and order.

Prohibitory orders have been clamped around Krishnarajasagar Dam and entry of visitors to it prohibited till September nine, as the Cauvery row hotted up after the Supreme Court direction to Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for the next 10 days to address the plight of the farmers there.

Protesters also mobbed and ransacked several government offices in Mandya forcing their shut down, while attendance at government offices remained thin, police said.

The Supreme Court’s direction yesterday triggered an immediate backlash with the farmers’ body spearheading the stir, calling for a bandh today in Mandya district.

Shops, hotels and other commercial establishments and theatres and hotels remained shut and schools and colleges declared a holiday in the district where state run and private buses are also not plying.

Protests are also being held in Mysuru and Hassan districts, fed by the Cauvery, demanding that Karnataka should not release water.

Venting their anger, protesters burnt effigy of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at several places.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is holding a meeting of senior Ministers, legal experts and officials, has also invited legislature floor leaders and MPs later today to discuss the further course of action. .

Thousands of Kashmiri Hindu employees who migrated to Jammu following mob attacks on their transit colonies in Kashmir, today held a protest rally against the state and the Central governments for “not reaching out” to the community.

As their protest entered the 54th day, they wore black bands and took out a march demanding registration of FIR and compensation to affected employees besides a high-level dialogue with both the Central and the state governments.

“Both the governments are begging the separatists to hold talks with all-party delegation but they have failed to reach out to these Kashmiri pandit employees of Valley and not even a single minister or top officer has reached out to them,” chairman of All Party Migrant Coordination Coommittee(APMCC), Vinood Pandita said.

“Kashmiri pandits cannot be made sacrificial goat by the Central government. We will not tolerate any talks with separatists,” he added.

The Kashmiri pandit employees, who were working in various government departments under the Prime Minister’s rehabilitation package in the Valley, returned to Jammu after their transit camps were attacked by stone-pelting mobs in the wake of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

The protesters demanded disbursement of their pending salaries, and forming of a comprehensive return and rehabilitation programme for entire Kashmiri Pandit community in the valley before their return resume duty.

“These employees have been sitting on protest for over 50 days. The governments are unmoved as if the Kashmiri pandit community does not exist,” said All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference President, Ravinder Raina.

“The Central and state governments failed to protect these Kashmiri pandit employees from mob attacks. They were forced to migrate from there. Instead of reaching out to them and give them confidence, they are left feeling unwanted,” he added.PTI.

Solar power generation capacity of 4.8 GW is likely to be added this year in the country as installations are picking up, says a report.

The report by Mercom Capital Group also said that power distribution companies continue to be a “drag” since they are showing reluctance to buy solar energy amid low electricity prices.

“India has reached 2.8 GW in solar installations year-to-date and cumulative installations have reached 8.1 GW as of August 2016,” it said in a release.

As per its forecast, about 4.8 GW of solar energy capacity is expected to be installed in 2016.

According to the global clean energy communications and research firm, the solar project pipeline in India is now approximately 21 GW, with 14 GW under development and 7 GW scheduled to be auctioned.

One GW (Giga Watt) is equal to 1,000 MW (Mega Watt).

“Solar installations and its share of energy generation has picked up speed but distribution companies continue to be a drag on the sector and are showing reluctance to purchase solar in light of low power demand and cheap power availability on the exchanges,” Mercom Capital Group CEO and Co-Founder Raj Prabhu said.

This is an alarming development that the central government should address immediately to restore confidence among developers and investors, he added.PTI

Cracking the whip, the Delhi government today invoked the stringent ESMA declaring as illegal the nurses’ stir which has severely affected functioning of state-run hospitals at a time when the city was grappling with rising cases of dengue and chikungunya.

“The LG has approved the government’s proposal to invoke ESMA against agitating nurses,” a top official said.

The Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) allows the government to declare a strike illegal in public interest.

Around 20,000 nurses of various hospitals run by the Delhi and central governments went on an indefinite strike over issues relating to their salary and allowances.

All major hospitals in Delhi, swamped by patients suffering from vector-borne diseases, tried to reach a common ground with their respective nurse associations, but in vain.

All India Government Nurses Federation spokesperson Liladhar Ramchandani had yesterday said, “We are not happy with the response of the government. So we will go ahead with our proposed strike. But, we will attend to emergency and critical cases.”

Safdarjung Hospital which employs 1,100 nurses, including 160 on contract, has reported three dengue deaths in July. It has reported 263 dengue cases and nearly 250 chikungunya till August 29.

The total number of fatalities in Delhi due to dengue now stands at eight, even though the municipal authorities have acknowledged only two such deaths.

At least 487 cases of dengue have so far been reported in the national capital this season, with 368 of them being recorded last month.PTI