NEWS

Kerala witnessed over 73 percent turnout amid sporadic incidents of violence in the Assembly election for 140 seats held in a highly polarised environment amidst restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tempers ran high at Kattayikonam in the Kazhakootam constituencies as CPM and BJP workers clashed.

Two voters including a woman standing in the queue in Aranmula in Pathanamthitta and Chavittuavary in Kottayam collapsed and died.

The election began at 7 am and involved over two lakh polling officers across 40,771 polling stations in the state. Tuesday's polls saw 957 candidates contesting for 140 seats in the southern state.

The city of Gulmarg in Kashmir Valley was covered by a huge blanket of snow as mercury in Jammu and Kashmir dipped to sub-zero degrees. Rain lashed in the plains of Kashmir Valley, while temperatures dropped below normal at higher regions resulting in snowfall. The weather department had forecasted a wet spell this week after night temperatures fell to sub-zero level at many areas.

Tourists were seen rejoicing at the famous picnic spot at the ski resort in Gulmarg. On average, Gulmarg city witnesses snowfall at least two or three days a week at the end of March with at least one rainy day.

Around 1000 migratory birds have been found dead in Pong Dam Lake in the last two weeks after the outbreak of a second wave of bird flu in Himachal Pradesh, wildlife officials said on Tuesday.

Bird flu had first been confirmed among migratory waterbirds at Pong Dam Lake Wildlife Sanctuary in early January that left around 5,000 birds dead in a month. It was contained in early February but has now resurfaced since late March beginning with the discovery of a dozen bird carcasses in the sanctuary on March 25, they added.

Chief Wildlife Warden Archana Sharma said the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal has confirmed the presence of H5N8 avian influenza among the samples of the dead birds. 

NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil has been named as the new home minister of Maharashtra after chief minister Uddhav Thackeray accepted NCP leader Anil Deshmukh's resignation.

Patil's Labour Department charge has been given to Hasan Mushrif as an additional charge and the state Excise Department will be looked after by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

Deshmukh, who is facing allegations of corruption levelled by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, had tendered his resignation to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday. 

The developments come after Bombay High Court on Monday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to start a preliminary inquiry within 15 days into corruption allegations against Deshmukh by the former Mumbai Police Commissioner.