10:44 Male devotees begin trek as 24-hour window opens in Sabarimala: In Kerala, devotees begin the trek from the Nilakkal base camp to the Sabarimala temple. The temple will open this evening and will be closed after the ‘Athazha puja’ tomorrow evening.
A thick security cover is in place in and around Sabarimala, which had witnessed protests last month after the Supreme Court permitted women of menstrual age group to offer prayers at the shrine.
Devotees, who arrived at Erumeli since Sunday evening, protested this morning for not being allowed to leave for Pamba and Sannidhanam. They blocked traffic chanting ‘Ayyappa Sarnam’.
“We have been waiting since last evening. We were told that we would be allowed to leave at 6 am. Now, they are telling us that KSRTC buses will be allowed to leave only by 12 pm. We have come to offer prayers to Lord Ayyappa. Please allow us to go,” an angry devotee said.
If private vehicles are not being allowed, they should be taken in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation buses to Pamba, the devotee said.
Media personnel have also not been allowed to leave Nilackal for Pamba and ‘Sannidhanam’ (temple complex) from the base camp here till 9 am this morning. — PTI
10:22 ‘Vice Admiral Awati strode like a colossus on India’s maritime stage’: Adm. Arun Prakash’ @arunp2810 pays tribute to Vice Admiral (retd) Manohar Pralhad Awati who passed away on Sunday: “The passing of Adm. Awati is a huge loss to the navy and the nation. He strode like a colossus on India’s maritime stage and was an exemplar of everything that an officer, a gentleman and good human being should be. He is with Varuna. May his noble soul rest in peace.”
10:22 ‘Vice Admiral Awati strode like a colossus on India’s maritime stage’: Adm. Arun Prakash’ @arunp2810 pays tribute to Vice Admiral (retd) Manohar Pralhad Awati who passed away on Sunday: “The passing of Adm. Awati is a huge loss to the navy and the nation. He strode like a colossus on India’s maritime stage and was an exemplar of everything that an officer, a gentleman and good human being should be. He is with Varuna. May his noble soul rest in peace.”
10:18 Super 30 founder Anand Kumar to be honoured in Dubai: Mathematician and Super 30 founder Anand Kumar will be awarded in Dubai this week for his “pioneering” contributions to the field of education and illuminating the lives of many talented students.
Kumar, 45, will be honoured with the ‘Global Education Award’ on November 8 by ‘Malabar Gold & Diamonds’, flagship company of Malabar Group, a leading Indian business conglomerate.
“We take pride in honouring Mr Anand Kumar who has made a positive difference in the lives of many with his meaningful innovations. Anand Kumar’s life has involved a lot of struggle and his contributions to the field of education is indeed pioneering,” P A Ibrahim Haji, co-chairman Malabar Group, told PTI.
He said a 12-member jury shortlisted Kumar from a list of 100 names working in the field of education across the globe after a three-month research and consequent deliberations.
10:11 Sensex slips below 35,000 in early trade, drops 100 pts:
The benchmark Sensex slipped below the 35,000-mark by dropping over 100 points to 34,911.11 in early trade Monday after banking, metal and auto stocks declined following weak global cues and profit-booking.
The 30-share index fell 100.54 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 34,911.11. The gauge had rallied nearly 580 points Friday.
The NSE Nifty, too, was trading 39.80 points, or 0.38 per cent, lower at 10,513.20.
Sectoral indices, led by power, metal, banking and auto stocks, were trading in the negative terrain, falling by up to 1.44 per cent.
Brokers said sentiments were weak largely in tandem with a negative trend in other Asian markets, tracking losses at the Wall Street, and profit-booking by investors after Friday’s rally.
NTPC fell the most by 3.01 per cent among Sensex scrips, followed by IndusInd Bank shedding 2.17 per cent.
Other laggards were PowerGrid, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Vedanta, M&M, Asian Paint, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto, RIL, Tata Steel, HUL and HDFC, falling up to 1.95 per cent.
On the other hand, Axis Bank, ONGC, Sun Pharma, SBI and Yes Bank were trading positive, rising up to 1.98 per cent.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net of Rs 196.90 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares to the tune of Rs 852.99 crore. — PTI
09:54 Bihar govt sacks 175 constables for violence over death of colleague:
As many as 175 police constables, many of them women, have been dismissed from service for indulging in large-scale vandalism and violence in Patna on Friday, following the death of a female colleague, a top police official said.
Inspector General of Police, Patna Zone, Naiyar Hasnain Khan said Sunday the dismissed constables included 167 trainees.
Khan, who had been entrusted with the investigation and taking departmental action against those indulging in the indiscipline, said 23 others posted at the police line here were also suspended.
“Nearly half of the dismissed trainee constables are women. The suspended personnel include a head constable and two others who had the responsibility of assigning duties to trainees,” the IGP said.
The police personnel were dismissed and suspended after getting Khan’s approval, Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manu Maharaj said.
Policewoman Savita Pathak (22) died at a private hospital Friday morning, a day after she had to be taken off duty due to a serious stomach pain.
Blaming the seniors for putting Pathak on duty despite ill health, trainee constables went on a rampage, vandalising the entire police line and overturning vehicles of officials on the streets on Friday.
It had taken hours to bring the situation under control with top officials supervising the operations in full riot gear.
The police authorities had said the death appeared to have been caused by dengue. However, the hospital later clarified that the dengue test had not been conducted on her, but she was suffering from some form of viral infection.
Khan said, “During investigation, we found that Pathak was indeed ill and she had been on medical leave in October for three days. In such a situation, she should not have been asked to report to duty.”
The IGP added that he had also recommended action against the medical officer of the Police Hospital for his failure to take proper stock of the deceased constable’s health and give appropriate advice and treatment, which might have saved her life. — PTI
09:51 Amid tight security, Sabarimala reopens for special puja:
Amid a thick security cover, Sabarimala temple in Kerala to reopen today for two days for a special puja, weeks after violent protests against the entry of women of all ages into the shrine.
Orders banning assembly of four or more people have been imposed in Sabarimala and nearby areas, police said.
Around 2,300 personnel, including a 20-member commando team and 100 women, have been deployed to ensure smooth ‘darshan’ and security of devotees, a move that came in for criticism from the erstwhile royal family of Pandalam, the BJP and the Congress for such fortification.
If necessary, around 30 women police personnel in the rank of circle inspector and sub inspector and above the age of 50 would be deployed at ‘Sannidhanam’ (temple complex) for security, they said.
Pathnamthitta Superintendent of Police T Narayanan said that all arrangements have been made for devotees to have smooth ‘darshan.’
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPc, banning assembly of four or more people, is in force at Pamba, Nilackal, Elavungal, and Sannidhanam for 72 hours from midnight Saturday.
This is the second time the hill temple would open for ‘darshan’ after the Supreme Court allowed entry of women of all age groups into it.
The temple had witnessed high drama last month following frenzied protests leading to around a dozen women in the age group of 10-50 being prevented from reaching it and police and the agitators fighting a pitched battle over the LDF government’s decision to implement the court order.
The shrine would open at 5 pm for the “Sree Chitira Atta Thirunal” special puja slated for the next day, marking the birthday of last king of Travancore Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, and close at 10 pm on that day. — PTI
09:49 Pakistan trying to vitiate atmosphere: Army Chief Rawat:
Days after warning that attempts were being made to “revive insurgency” in Punjab, Army Chief General Bipan Rawat accused Pakistan of trying to vitiate the atmosphere in the country.
Rawat also stressed that people needed to be careful during the ongoing festival season to prevent anti-national forces from succeeding in their nefarious designs.
“See we have a neighbouring country which always tries to vitiate atmosphere here. Our country is progressing which is not liked by them,” Rawat told the media here.
Rawat had on Saturday said that “external linkages” were trying to “revive insurgency” in Punjab and Assam and if early action was not taken, it would be too late.
Noting that Punjab was progressing at a “very fast” pace, Rawat said attempts were being made to disrupt peace in the state.
“I have been reading what is coming out in the media. There is Referendum 2020 coming in the UK… Whatever we call it but there is an attempt being made to disrupt the peace again in Punjab,” he said.
“We have to be careful,” Rawat added. — PTI
09:43 BJP ally uses Modi’s ‘DNA’ jibe to taunt Nitish :
Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party chief Upendra Kushwaha borrowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2015 remark over Nitish Kumar’s DNA on Sunday to attack the Bihar chief minister who is also the Janata Dal-United president.
Kushwaha reminded Kumar that Modi had made the remark in some other context but he (Kumar) had taken it as an insult to him and Bihar and asked his partymen to collect samples of hair and nail to be sent to Delhi for verifying the DNA.
“We are still eagerly waiting for that DNA report. If the report is with you, please share its content. If the DNA remark had really hurt you, then what happened to the report my dear elder brother,” Kushwaha said at an RLSP rally.
The RLSP chief has been peeved after the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally, the JD-U, decided to contest an equal number of seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election in Bihar.
The state sends 40 members to Parliament and after the BJP-JDU deal, there is speculation that whether this would mean fewer seats for other allies like the RLSP and the Ramvilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party.
Kushwaha’s attack on Kumar followed a statement by the chief minister Saturday, in which he had said, “Itna neeche baat ko nahi le jaiye (do not take the debate to such a low level.”
Kumar had said this to a specific question on the issue of seat sharing and Kushwaha at a television news channel’s programme.
It appeared that Kushwaha picked up the word “neeche” from the statement and took it as an insult to himself as the RLSP chief was the topic of discussion.
“It (Kumar’s statement) has hurt me the way you replied to the reporters’ question referring to my name. As we both belonged to the same family of Luv-Kush, how could I become neech? And if it is so, then you must share your DNA report,” he said.
Both Kumar and Kushwaha are Other Backward Caste leaders, belonging to the Kurmi and Koery castes respectively.
In 2015, Kumar had invited Modi to a dinner only to cancel it. Later, at a rally, the prime minister had said, “There seems to be some problem in his (Kumar’s) DNA, because the DNA of democracy is not like that. In democracy, you respect even your political rivals.”
Kumar, in an open letter, had then said the DNA remark was deemed as “an insult by a large section of the people of the state and beyond”.
With the Bihar Assembly polls knocking on the door then, Kumar had conducted a drive to collect hair and nail, “DNA samples”, of Biharis to send to the prime minister.
Kushwaha said, “Whether or not you (Kumar) wanted that report, the people of Bihar and the country are eagerly waiting for it.”
A week ago, Kushwaha had maintained that the seat-sharing formula for the National Democratic Alliance constituents in Bihar was yet to be formalised and that an equal number of seats for the BJP and the JD-U had left scope for a respectable share for his party.
The Union minister had also said that he was firmly with the NDA and committed to working for another term for Modi as prime minister. — PTI
08:54 1971 war hero MP Awati passes away:
Vice Admiral (retd) Manohar Pralhad Awati, a Vir Chakra awardee and a veteran of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, died of old age Sunday at Vinchurni village in Maharashtra’s Satara district, his family members said.
He was 91.
Awati had joined the Royal Indian Navy in 1945 after completing his education.
He was an expert in signal communication and commanded Indian naval ships such as “Ranjit”, “Vendurthy”, “Betwa”, “Tir” and “Mysore”.
Awati was awarded the Vir Chakra for his exemplary valour as the commanding officer of “INS Kamorta” during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
Maritime history was his favourite subject and he was also the founder of the Maritime History Society.
Awati is survived by wife Sandhya, sons Kailas and Kedarnath.
His last rites were performed at his hometown.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman described Awati as an icon in the naval history.
“Vice Admiral M P Awati (Retd) #PVSM, #VirChakra passed away; was the commanding officer of a naval unit of the Eastern Fleet,Dec’71. Captured three enemy ships carrying contraband goods. His actions led to destruction of an enemy submarine. An icon in naval history. My homage,” she said in a tweet.
Navy Chief Sunil Lanba said Awati’s demise marked the end of an era.
“Deeply regret to inform the sad demise of Vice Admiral MP Awati (Retd) early this morning, at his hometown Vinchurni, Phaltan, near Satara. He was 91. A giant of a man, one of our tallest heroes and greatest icons. It’s truly the end of an era. May his soul RIP Adm S Lanba CNS,” he said on the Navy’s official Twitter handle. PTI
Source: Rediff