Noida, Aug 23 (IANS) In a significant step towards road safety, the Gautam Buddh Nagar Transport Department has launched a crackdown on the sale and use of fake and substandard reflective tapes on vehicles. On Saturday, ARTO (Enforcement) Siyaram Verma conducted inspection drives in various city markets. During the inspection, a large quantity of counterfeit reflective tapes was seized.According to regulations, commercial vehicles must use reflective tapes that meet specific standards. As per no…

New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS) Adani Agri Fresh Limited (AAFL) has started the procurement of apple with Rs 85 per kilogram in Himachal Pradesh, which is Rs 5 more that the opening rate of last year.AAFL procures apple in Himachal Pradesh from Rohru, Rampur, Tutu-Pani, Sainj, Jarol-Tikkar and Reckong-Peo sites, according to the company.Last month, in a landmark initiative for the horticulture sector, Adani Agri Fresh launched the country’s first digital apple market platform in Bithal near Rampur, a…

Chandigarh, Aug 23 (IANS) With ‘Swachhata Pakhwada’ to be celebrated across the state from September 17 to October 2, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday urged the officers to work together as ‘team Haryana’ to build a new and better Haryana. He said with the goal of making the state cleaner, greener, and more beautiful, a Swachta Ranking of all cities will soon be launched on the lines of the Centre’s Swachh Survekshan. Cities that perform best in cleanliness will be …

New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS) A major political row has erupted after the Jammu and Kashmir government moved to formally take control of 215 schools which were being run by the Falah-e-Alam Trust (FAT), an educational body created by the Jamaat-e-Islami, a banned entity in India.Following the ban, the Intelligence agencies are now investigating whether more schools are connected to the FAT, a creation of the Jamaat in 1972. The idea was to spread education in J&K, and in a short span of time, the…

Kolkata, Aug 23 (IANS) A son has been accused of brutally beating his mother, resulting in the death of the elderly woman in West Bengal’s Beliaghata area of Kolkata, police said on Saturday. The incident took place on Saturday afternoon.The deceased woman has been identified as 65-year-old Nandita Basu. Her son Mainak Basu has been detained on charges of murder.A case has been registered against the accused.According to the police, around 1:50 p.m. on Saturday, they received information that a …

Lucknow, Aug 23 (IANS) The Samajwadi Party on Saturday dismissed “expelled” party MLA Pooja Pal’s claims of a threat to her life and justified the party’s disciplinary action against her for allegedly cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections. Samajwadi Party MLA Ravidas Mehrotra told IANS, “There is no threat to her life. After her husband’s murder, we stood by her, gave her a ticket, and she won the election on an SP ticket. But later, she started criticising Akhilesh Yadav.”He said,…

Patna, Aug 23 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dedicated the newly constructed Aunta-Simaria bridge over the Ganga River in Begusarai to the public. Following the inauguration, Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, took a jibe at the project. In response, Bihar Minister Mangal Pandey said those who are angered by the state’s development will naturally make such statements.Speaking to the media, Mangal Pandey said, “Today, the people of Begusarai, Khagaria, …

Kolkata, Aug 23 (IANS) Kolkata Police have filed a charge sheet after 58 days in the Kasba Law College gang rape case. The 170-page main chargesheet, along with a total of 650 pages of documents, contains allegations against a total of four people, including the main accused Manojit Mishra. The charge sheet has been submitted to the Alipore Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court.Sources said the police have filed the charge sheet against the main accused under nine sections, the remaining …

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 23 (IANS) As Kerala prepares for the Onam festivities, Leonardo da Vinci’s celebrated Mona Lisa has appeared in an all-new avatar on Kerala Tourism’s social media accounts, dressed in a traditional Malayali outfit. The ‘new’ image shows the woman of the Renaissance masterpiece draped in Kerala’s iconic off-white kasavu saree, her hair adorned with jasmine flowers.Apart from the cultural makeover, the figure retains the familiar features of the original, most notably the m…

Jaipur, Aug 23 (IANS) Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma said that the Rajasthan government is working with top priority towards girl education, women safety, women empowerment, and women upliftment. He said that “the smile of daughters is our strength, and the state government is fully committed to uplifting women power”.The Chief Minister emphasized that a strong society and nation can only be built when women and daughters are educated and empowered. Sharma was addressing the E-cycle Distribu…