NEWS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for four-laning of five sections of Shri Sant Dnyaneshawar Maharaj Palkhi Marg (NH-965) and three sections of Shri Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi Marg (NH-965G) via video conferencing on Monday. 

The development is designed to facilitate pilgrims' journey to Pandharpur, a town associated with Sant Tukaram and Sant Dnyaneshawar. 

Dedicated walkways for 'Palkhi' (palanquin) will be constructed on either side of these national highways, providing hassle free and safe passage to devotees, the Prime Minister's office said in a statement. 

After a year of mellow Diwali celebrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, revellers thronged markets for festival purchases this year, helping generate business worth Rs 1.25 trillion. According to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), this trade figure broke the past 10 year’s sale record on Diwali, media reported.

The trader’s body that represents nearly 70 million traders, said the incredible Diwali 2021 sale ended the economic slowdown that had persisted for the last two years.

Encouraged by the unprecedented Diwali business, traders are now bracing themselves for the wedding season that is set to start on November 14, CAIT added.

Reacting to the protests against namaz being offered in the open in Haryana's Gurugram, Asaduddin Owaisi took to Twitter on Friday and stated that it was a case of "plain hatred towards Muslims".

All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi said that the protests were a perfect example of "how radicalised these 'protesters' have become". He asked, "How's practising my faith or offering jumah namaz once a week for 15-20 minutes hurting anyone?"

For a few months now, various Hindu outfits and some locals have been protesting against the offering of namaz in open spaces in Gurugram. On many occasions, there have been attempts to disrupt the Friday prayers, leading to protesters being detained.

As COVID-19 cases continue to decline, the Karnataka government on Friday decided to lift the night restrictions between 10 PM to 5 AM. Notably, the night curfew was imposed in the state in July and was extended several times owing to the rising COVID-19 cases. However, as the situation improved, the BS Bommai-led Karnataka government lifted several restrictions that were enforced since July.

"Night curfew which is being imposed from 10 pm to 5 AM is herewith withdrawn", the government said in official order. Furthermore, the state permitted horse racing with strict adherence to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour. "Horse racing is permitted to resume strictly adhering to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and SOPs issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department. Number of racing patrons attending horse racing shall be strict as per the seating capacity of the venue and only fully vaccinated people with COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed entry into such premises", the order read.