NEWS

“God is omnipresent. God does not need a specific place for his divine presence. It is the fanatic who is the root cause of all problems to divide people in the name of religion (sic),” Madras high court said on Friday, refusing to stall the removal of a temple standing on public land.

“The petitioner, in the garb of setting up a temple, cannot usurp highway property, which is meant for public use irrespective of creed, caste and religion,” a division bench comprising Justices S Vaidyanathan and D Bharatha Chakravarthy said.

Northern states are likely to reel under severe cold wave conditions due to the icy winds coming from the mountains.

According to the meteorological department (MeT), there is no hope of relief from the cold for the next four days. Even today [Friday], the cold day condition will continue to affect," the MeT said.

Severe winter is expected till January 31, 2022, and the cold is expected to be at its peak in the coming days. The temperature is expected to drop by about 5 degrees.

In a letter to Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai, BJP Member of Parliament PC Mohan asked to rename public spaces and institutions named after the British. The MP asked the Chief Minister to change the names to those of freedom fighters.

He gave the example of Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in Shivajinagar, Minto Hospital in Chamarajpet after then Viceroy Lord Minto, and Victoria Hospital after Queen Victoria. Avenue Road, Lavelle Road and Cunningham Road.

The letter said, "even after 75 years of independence, places in Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency have names of the British Empire."

The first bench of Madras High Court on Thursday passed an order directing officials not to register lands classified as waterbodies. The order is aimed at preventing encroachments.

"The registration department should never register land which was already classified as a water body. The authorities should check before initiating the registration procedure to protect the waterbodies from the illegal encroachments," the court order read.

The court has also made it mandatory for the applicant to give a self declaration that they are not applying for a waterbody to be registered as patta land. The court added that, "If such declaration is not provided, registration should be avoided. Also, the Tangedco and local administration shall not provide power and water connection to people who fail to provide such undertaking."