LEAD

Cyclone Mandous has weakened into a deep depression over Tamil Nadu following landfall. The cyclone made landfall around 10.30 pm on Friday and crossed the coast near Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) in Tamil Nadu, between Puducherry and Sriharikota, around 1.30 am with a wind speed of 75 km an hour. It then weakened into a deep depression with Chennai receiving up to 115.1 mm of rain till 5.30 am.

Around 200 trees have been uprooted in Chennai. However, major damage was averted due to proactive measures by the authorities, officials said. Trees were uprooted on East Coast Road and GST Road in Chengalpattu district as well.

Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said the government proposes to set up more nuclear power plants for augmenting production of clean energy.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, the minister, who also handles PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space portfolio, said in addition to the 11 reactors - with a capacity of 8700 MW - under construction, the government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for construction of 10 indigenous 700 MW pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode.

The government has also accorded in-principle approval for five new sites for setting up nuclear power plants in the future, according to a statement from the department of atomic energy.

Counting of votes for the Gujarat Assembly polls will begin shortly, giving us a result by the end of the day to the months of preparations, hundreds of rallies, tons of election campaigns and endless attempts to woo the voters by parties like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress on a turf where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a stronghold. The result for the Gujarat Assembly election 2022 will be out today, with the incumbent and confident BJP, its oldest rival Congress and the new-entrant AAP the main parties in the fray.

The counting of votes will begin at 8 am for the Gujarat Assembly election 2022, the first phase polling of which took place on December 1, while the second phase was on December 5. Elections for the Himachal Pradesh assembly took place on November 12 and counting of votes for that, too, is taking place today.

The BJP is set to sweep Gujarat and hold on to Himachal Pradesh, a poll of exit polls predicted this evening. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is likely to tighten its grip on Delhi by winning the civic polls.

But in Gujarat, AAP is likely to finish third and manage only single digits despite its aggressive campaign, the polls said.

A health warning - exit polls often get it wrong.

After the high-voltage campaigning, the countdown has begun for the high-stakes political battle to conclude in Gujarat, with the final phase of polling for the ongoing Assembly elections to be held on Monday.

Gujarat Vidhan Sabha Chunav 2022: The stage is set for Gujarat assembly election as the polling for the first phase will be held today on 89 seats spread across 19 districts in Saurashtra-Kutch and southern parts of the state. As many as 788 candidates are in the fray and Gujarat will witness a three-way contest between BJP, AAP and Congress.  Voting will be held between 8 am and 5 pm on Thursday across 14,382 polling stations. Prominent candidates include Gujarat chief minster Bhupendra Patel is contesting from Ghatlodia, AAP chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi from Khambhaliya, former Congress leader and BJP candidate Hardik Patel from Viramgam and Rivaba Jadeja, the wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, who is contesting from Jamnagar (North).