NEWS

The state of Odisha is gripped with the fear of yet another possible cyclone after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday predicted that a low pressure is likely to brew in north Andaman Sea.

The IMD in its bulletin said that a low pressure area is very likely to form around October 10. It can become more marked and move west northwestwards towards south Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh during the next four to five days.

Since October is considered the ''cyclone month'' for the state, different weather models have created fear among people. Most of the major cyclones that hit the Odisha coast took place in October.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy claimed that the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state were functioning on the directions of the RSS, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was its puppet.

Kumaraswamy said, "I am observing the developments in national politics. Whether it is the central government or the government in our state, they are not the governments of elected representatives. These governments are functioning on the directions of the RSS."

He said that PM Modi is functioning as an RSS puppet and not independently. "This is not the BJP government; this is the RSS government. It is not even Narendra Modi's government," he added.

Announcing the opening up of the country to international tourists almost 19 months after tourist visas were suspended due to outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the home ministry on Thursday said it will begin issuing fresh tourist visas in a phased manner, starting with foreigners arriving on chartered flights, from October 15 onwards.

The facility will be extended to foreigners coming in flights other than chartered ones from November 15. An officer explained that ‘other than chartered flights’ meant that fresh tourist visas may initially be granted to foreigners coming in from countries with which India has an ‘air bubble arrangement’. As and when demands builds up and commercial flights also start operating, tourist visas will be issued for those entering India by commercial flights.

A day after the Congress announced her candidature from the Mandi parliamentary constituency, former MP Pratibha Singh said her poll planks will be the developmental work carried out by her late husband, six-time Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, and the BJP government’s anti-people policies.

“Though he (Virbhadra Singh) is not among the people anymore, the developmental projects undertaken under his tenure have not been forgotten,” said Pratibha, adding that though Mandi was the home turf of chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, no major development works had been undertaken in the district over the last four years,