NEWS

New Delhi: The mother of accused in Gujarat rape case appealed to people in the state to punish her son if found guilty, but not drive out everyone from Bihar from the state. There was a backlash against migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in Gujarat after a youth from Bihar allegedly raped a 14-month-old,

“Hang him if he is found guilty for the crime but do not harass and drive out the Biharis because of my son’s sin,” Ramawati Devi said in an emotional appeal before a group of media personnel.

A resident of village Natwar-Kangoi falling under Manjhi block in Saran district, she is from an extremely poor Scheduled Caste family while the youth’s father SawaliaSah works as labourer.

New Delhi: Exodus of migrants from Gujarat to their respective places is proving to be a big loss in terms of festive season approaching. Industry associations in Gujarat say that exodus of migrant labourers, mainly from north Gujarat’s industrial belt, may affect 15% to 20% of the production in the crucial pre-Diwali period.

Armed state reserve police force are, meanwhile, patrolling manufacturing hubs such as Sanand Industrial Estate, Gujarat’s automobile and pharma hub, the worst affected by attacks on migrant workers and their subsequent exodus triggered by the rape of a 14-month-old in Sabarkantha last week.

New Delhi: Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) said that maintaining massive vehicles was a challenge as it costs them more compared to the normal buses so by October 2023, Mumbai’s iconic double-decker buses, will go off the roads due to high operating costs and shrinking space on city roads.

Introduced in 1937, the buses gained popularity, both among commuters and tourists. With an initial fleet of 141 in 1947-1948 it grew to 882 in 1993. At present, there are only 120 double-decker buses in a fleet of 3,337, operating on just seven routes in the city.

“These buses require twice the time for maintenance than normal BEST buses, making it difficult for the staff,” said a senior BEST official who did not want to be named. “Further, one of our main concerns is the extra man power required to operate them,” the official said,adding that plying the bulky buses on congested roads was becoming unviable.

New Delhi: As the Election Commission of India faces questions over the need for the exercise when general elections are due early next year, the poll body said that its decision to hold by-polls to three Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka is in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The Commission issued the clarification in the wake of media reports questioning why it had not announced the by-elections to fill five Lok Sabha vacancies from the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, as had been done for Karnataka.

It said vacancies from Bellary (ST), Shimoga and Mandya constituencies of Karnataka occurred on May 18 and May 21, 2018 respectively, whereas vacancies from the five parliamentary constituencies from Andhra Pradesh occurred on June 20. The Commission said Section 151 A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 mandates it to fill the casual vacancies in the Houses of Parliament and state legislatures through bye elections within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is one year or more. The term of the sixteenth Lok Sabha is upto June 3, 2019.