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Kashmir snowfall: Valley cut off, five soldiers missing, including three hit by an avalanche

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Avalanche

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Five soldiers are missing in north Kashmir’s Gurez and Naugam sectors after heavy snowfall triggered avalanches in the area. Rescue operations were on, with little success reported hours later.

Multiple avalanches hit forward posts in north Kashmir’s Kupwara and Bandipora districts in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, one Army porter died in another avalanche.

“Two soldiers slipped down the slope in Naugam sector and three soldiers went missing from a forward post in Kanzalwan sub-sector (Gurez Sector) of Kupwara district during heavy snowfall in last 24 hours,’’ Defense spokesman, Col Rajesh Kalia said.

Officials said a major avalanche swept through the installation of the Army’s 20-Dogra regiment in Kupwara. In Bandipora, a security installation of the Army’s 36 Rashtriya Rifles came under avalanches, reported The Hindu.

Heavy snowfall was reported from the upper reaches of Kashmir Valley since Monday and the meteorological department forecast there was more to come. Flight operations at the Srinagar airport were suspended and the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway and Mughal road were closed for traffic due to snowfall and rain.

On Sunday evening, both MET department and Army’s – Snow Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) had warned about avalanches in the upper regions of the Valley, especially on the Line of Control (LoC) where army is deployed, said media reports.

The Army has a full-fledged unit of the SASE in Kashmir with 40 observatories in various locations. The SASE regularly issues warnings and alerts to Army formations and units deployed in high-altitude areas and along the LoC.

Gurez, around 150 km from Srinagar, is a valley nestled among high mountains in Bandipore district. A road link passing over 11,000 feet connects it to rest of Kashmir and it is cut off for the most part of the winter due to heavy snowfall. Gurez also falls on the LoC and is a preferred infiltration route for militants.

The Naugam Sector is close to the LoC and receives heavy snowfall during winters; however, army has to remain alert in the sector as this is mostly used by infiltrators to sneak into the Valley.

The present weather conditions in Jammu and Kashmir are likely to continue till Thursday due to a western disturbance over the state, according to the meteorological department.

The 300-km long highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was closed following heavy rains and snowfall at several places, including the Jawahar Tunnel, and incidents of shooting stones near Panthal, media reports said.

In Jammu, the Mughal road, connecting Poonch and Rajouri with south Kashmir’s Shopian district, was also closed after heavy snowfall in Pir Ki Gali.

“The highway was closed due to heavy snowfall at the Jawahar Tunnel, the Patnitop and Ramban areas and landslides at Pathiyal. There has been heavy snowfall in Pir Ki Gali and other areas en route Mughal road,” said media reports quoting police officials.

The Srinagar-Kargil, Bandipora-Gurez, Kupwara-Macchil, Kupwara-Keran and Kupwara-Karnah roads were also closed, police officials said.

However, the snowfall brought cheer in Gulmarg, the coldest in Jammu and Kashmir at minus 6.5 degrees Celsius, where winter sports are a thriving business. Nearly four feet of snow were reported to have accumulated at the ski resort.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Rahul Gandhi is right, Gautam Adani should be arrested: RJD president Lalu Yadav

“Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested,” said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.

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RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday spoke in support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s demand for immediate arrest of Gautam Adani, after the Industrialist was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud.

Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said on Thursday that Gautam Adani should be arrested immediately, and his protector Madhabi Puri Buch should be investigated

The former Congress chief claimed that the recent developments vindicate his long-standing allegations against Gautam Adani. He took a sharp dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that Modi is protecting Adani, and is also involved in corruption. 

Yadav, the former chief minister of Bihar, was responding to queries from journalists here about Gandhi’s statement on the previous day, in the backdrop of charges of bribery and fraud against the Adani group in the US.

“Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested,” said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.

The RJD supremo, who incidentally has been convicted in several fodder scam cases and is on bail, was also asked about prospects of the INDIA bloc, of which his party is a part, in Jharkhand, where the counting of votes for assembly polls is scheduled on Saturday.

Speaking to PTI, the ailing septuagenarian replied, “I would like to remain focused on my statement that Adani must be arrested. I am not worried much about a new government (in Jharkhand) where we are already in power.” Jharkhand witnessed a straight battle between the INDIA bloc and the BJP-led NDA, which included the JD(U) headed by Nitish Kumar, Prasad’s arch-rival and the current Chief Minister of Bihar.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Gandhi further said that Chief Ministers have been jailed for scams of Rs 10-15 crore, but Adani, who has committed a scam of Rs 2000 crore is walking free.

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Cash for votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde sends legal notice to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, asks them to apologise or face defamation

The BJP leader said the allegations against him were false, baseless and made with malafide intentions.

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Cash for votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde sends legal notice to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, asks them to apologise or face defamation

BJP leader Vinod Tawde, accused of distributing cash to influence voters, has sent a legal notice to Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Supriya Shrinate and Rahul Gandhi over the controversy. The BJP leader has demanded their apologies or face a Rs 100-crore defamation case.

Vinod Tawde’s legal notice came after regional party Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) leader Hitendra Thakur on Tuesday accused him of distributing Rs 5 crore at a hotel in Virar in Palghar district, 60 km from Mumbai, to woo voters.

In the legal notice, the BJP leader said the allegations against him were false, baseless and made with malafide intentions. He claimed that he demanded an apology from the three Congress leaders for their remarks against him in the cash-for-votes row or he would be forced to initiate criminal proceedings against them.

Just a few hours before the Assembly Elections, a video went viral on Tuesday showing BVA workers storming into the hotel in Palghar during a meeting between Vinod Tawde and Rajan Naik, the BJP candidate from the Nalasopara seat. The BVA workers alleged that Tawde was caught red-handed with Rs 5 crore cash.

In the viral video, the BVA workers were seen taking out bundles of cash from a bag, while Tawde was sitting at a distance. The BVA workers also took pictures and videos of him on their phones. Amid these allegations, BVA leaders said that Rs 5 crore cash was distributed, an election official on Tuesday said Rs 9.93 lakh cash was recovered from the hotel rooms.

However, Vinod Tawde denied the allegation, saying he was only providing guidance to party workers on poll procedures and said he was not stupid enough to distribute money at his opponent’s hotel. Speaking to the media, he said that the Vivanta Hotel is owned by the Thakurs, and he is not stupid to go to their hotel and distribute money there.

The Police registered two FIRs against Tawde, BJP candidate Naik and others in connection with the controversy. Additionally, the Election Commission filed three FIRs against Tawde.

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3 dead, 9 hospitalised after gas leak at fertiliser plant in Maharashtra

According to police, the explosion released toxic chemical fumes.

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Three individuals, including two women, lost their lives and nine others were hospitalised following a gas leak caused by an explosion in a reactor at a fertiliser plant in Maharashtra’s Sangli district, an official said on Friday.

The incident occurred at approximately 6:30 PM on Thursday at the Myanmar Chemical Company, located in Shalgaon MIDC within Kadegaon tehsil.

Sangli Superintendent of Police Sandip Ghuge stated that the gas is suspected to be ammonia.

According to police, the explosion released toxic chemical fumes. “Approximately 12 people in the facility were affected and subsequently taken to the hospital. Tragically, two female workers and a security guard have died, while nine others are currently receiving treatment,” stated Sangram Shewale, Senior Inspector at Kadegaon police station.

Seven of the injured individuals have been admitted to Sahyadri Hospital in Karad, with five of them in critical condition in the ICU.

The deceased women have been identified as Suchita Uthale (50) from Yetgaon in Sangli district and Neelam Rethrekar (26) from Masur in Satara district, PTI reported.

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