Category: Uncategorized

9-Month Revenue of Statue Of Unity At ₹52.9 Cr, Footfall Above 19 Lakh: RTI Reply

This RTI reply to BOOM also shows that while the statue is making an average monthly surplus of ₹2.8 crore, it will take 42 years to breakeven at the current revenue pace.

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Fake News : The Statue of Unity has generated a revenue of ₹52.9 crores during a 9-month period from November 2018 to July 29, 2019 , the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd. (SSNNL) told BOOM in a response to an RTI query. BOOM sought the information from the Gujarat state government body, asking them to provide details of the revenue, the costs incurred and the footfall at the monument.

In the same period, the Statue of Unity has witnessed a footfall of 19,36,582 persons, counting sales from bus tickets, entry tickets, express entry sales and selling tickets to access the viewing gallery. Further, the Statue of Unity has been operational for 232 days, and has witnessed an average daily footfall of 8,347 people, the RTI reply stated.

The footfall figures seem to have missed the mark if earlier projections by the body are considered. According to a report in The Print from November last year during the launch, Rajendra Kanungo, superintendent engineer at the SSNNL said that they expected an average footfall of 15,000 people daily. But the RTI figures reveal that the actual footfall may have just crossed 50% of the original projection. In early December last year, Gujarat Chief Secretary JN Singh had put the number of daily visitors for a few days at 30,000.

Full Report → Revenue of Statue Of Unity

Did The Home Ministry Warn Against Buying Poisonous Chinese Firecrackers?

The message asks Indians to boycott the hazardous firecrackers as China will be flooding the Indian market with them on behalf of Pakistan in the run-up to the festive season.

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Fact Check: An old and fake message being circulated in the name of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) proposing an official ban on supposed hazardous Chinese firecrackers has resurfaced.

The message claims that China is going to flood the Indian market with it during the festive season at the behest of Pakistan.

The message comes as India braces itself to enter peak festive season that will go on till December.

The message is attributed to one Biswajeet Mukherjee, supposedly an officer at the MHA,

BOOM spoke to the media and communication department of the MHA who were unaware of such a notification. BOOM also looked up Mukherjee as a senior investigating officer, and found no mention of him in the directory of the MHA listing all their officers.

On using keywords such as ‘Biswajit Mukherjee fireworks’, BOOM came across many articles by one Biswajit Mukherjee, who has commented on fireworks and pollution caused by them in various publications, with articles going back to 2009. (Click here to view the directory)

Fire In The Amazon: All You Need To Know

As the world’s largest rainforest gets ravaged by massive wildfires, BOOM lists down 5 major points about the Amazon that everyone should be aware of.

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Fact Check: On August 19, 2019, a seemingly normal afternoon in the city of São Paulo in Brazil turned into a nightmarish scene, as the city was suddenly engulfed in darkness.

More then 2,500km away, large parts of the Amazon forest was ablaze with massive forest fires. According to a BBC report, the smoke it created, was carried by the wind all the way to Brazil’s most populous city.

The thick layer of smoke had settled above São Paulo, cutting out daylight, and turning it into night, leading to its residents posting surreal images of the city.

A record number of 72,843 instances of forest fires in the Amazon rainforest has been detected this year by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (abbreviated as INPE). This points to an 83% increase, compared to the same time period in 2018, and the highest since INPE started collecting data in 2013.

This led a massive outrage over social media, with hashtags like #PrayforAmazonas starting to trend on Twitter, worldwide.

Full Updates → Amazon RainForest Fire

Were students in Andhra forced by teachers to enact sex?

Several news channels and publications carried the news that the two teachers forced a Class IV male student and a Class I female student to pretend to be husband and wife and “do as their parents do”.

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Andhra Pradesh News: Last week two primary school teachers in Andhra’s West Godavari district, were accused of allegedly asking two minor students to enact sexual intercourse. The District Education Officer has since given a clean-chit after conducting an investigation.

Several news channels and publications carried the news that the two teachers forced a Class IV male student and a Class I female student to pretend to be husband and wife and “do as their parents do”. The reports claimed that in this incident, the girl was injured. They further reported that learning about the incident, the teachers were roughed up by the villagers, and later asked to pay Rs 80,000 each as penalty. Taking cognizance of the incident, the State Human Rights Commission asked for an inquiry into the incident.

However, an inquiry conducted by the District Education Officer, CV Renuka on Saturday found that the news was fake, and a ‘deliberate’ campaign to defame both the teachers.

Speaking to TNM, the DEO said, “There’s absolutely no truth to the claims that several news outlets have carried. Firstly, the male student is in class 3, not class 4 as reported. We have conducted a thorough inquiry into the incident. We spoke to the children without the teachers (being present) so that the students don’t feel intimidated. However, they said that nothing of that sort had happened. By explaining about good touch and bad touch, we asked them if the teachers did anything as being reported, but the…(Read Full Story)

19,000 still in relief camps in flood-hit Andhra districts as Godavari recedes

Though there was no loss of life, 16 villages were submerged and transportation to 109 villages was cut.

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Andhra Pradesh News: Nearly 19,000 people in Andhra Pradesh’s flood-hit districts of East and West Godavari remained in relief camps on Monday while authorities continued relief operations.Officials said the flood situation was under control though the first level warning in Godavari river continued in the upstream Telangana state.

The water level in the river at Kaleswaram in Telangana is already above the first level warning while it continued rising at Bhadrachalam, also in Telangana. Heavy downpour in the catchment area of Godavari basin and incessant rains in East and West Godavari districts from July 31 triggered the floods.

According to Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), 420 villages in the two districts were affected. Over 1.1 lakh people were hit by the floods and nearly 19,000 were evacuated.While 18,809 people shifted to 85 relief camps in East Godavari district, 133 people were given shelter in two relief camps in West Godavari district.

Authorities continued distribution of food and water packets in the relief camps. Essential commodities like rice, kerosene, red gram and palm oil are being distributed in flood-affected villages.

Though there was no loss of life, 16 villages were submerged and transportation to 109 villages was cut. Officials said 17 houses were damaged. Over 300 personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NRDF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were participating in the rescue and relief operations…(Read Full Story)

Heavy rains lash north, central and coastal Karnataka: Full list of trains affected

The Indian Meteorological Department had issued a 48-hour red warning in six districts of the state.

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Karnataka News: Amidst severe rain and flooding in parts of north, central and coastal Karnataka, train services have been badly affected with tracks getting submerged under water.

The South Western Railway issued a bulletin stating, ”Torrential rainfall over the last two days caused substantial water to inundate track between Londa and Tinaighat at 1 am on 6th Aug morning. Water was  flowing below the track and same was restored at 15:10 hrs. on  06.08.2019. Railway staff undertook massive restoration work in hostile weather conditions under the guidance of Shri A.K. Singh, GM/SWR and Shri Rajesh Mohan Divisional Railway Manager. Up line was made fit for train operations by 15:10 hrs, in record time of 14 hrs given the gravity of situation. The same was possible due to the untiring efforts of railway staff battling odds of weather conditions. The first passenger train to pass on this line will be Train No. 06948 Super Express that leaves Hubballi tonight.”

On Tuesday, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a 48-hour red warning in six districts of the state viz. Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Kodagu and Udupi; orange warning in Belagavi, Hassan and Haveri; and yellow alert in Dharwad and Kalaburgi. 

The statement, issued by the Divisional Railway Manager’s office in Hubballi, also goes on to list the affected routes: Full list of trains affected

 

IMA probe: Karnataka govt seizes 23 properties of Mansoor Khan worth Rs 300 crore

The Ponzi scam came to light on June 10 when the IMA showroom in the city centre did not open for business after a week-long closure for Eid at the end of Ramzan amid reports that Khan had fled to Dubai.

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Karnataka News: The Karnataka government has seized 23 properties of IMA Jewellers scam prime accused Mansoor Khan valued at Rs 300 crore in five districts across the southern state, an official said on Wednesday.

“We have seized 23 properties valued at Rs 300 crore of Khan in Bengaluru, Chikkamagaluru, Davangere, Hassan and Kolar in the state as part of the investigation in the multi-crore Ponzi scheme scam,” Bengaluru Urban District Deputy Commissioner K. Srinivas said here in a statement in Kannada.

The previous Congress-JD(S) coalition government had set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 11 to probe the scam in which about 40,000 people from across the state and outside were allegedly duped of their hard-earned money they invested in Khan’s Ponzi scheme in the form of deposits, gold and jewellery since a decade.

The Ponzi scam came to light on June 10 when the IMA showroom in the city centre did not open for business after a week-long closure for Eid at the end of Ramzan amid reports that Khan had fled to Dubai to escape the wrath of investors for causing huge losses to them.

Read More → Ponzi Scam

 

Kerala Floods: 28 people dead, 12 bodies recovered from landslides

Three dead bodies have been recovered from Bhoothathan-Muthappan mountain in Nilambur while nine from Meppadi in Wayanad.

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Kerala News: The number of causalities in the state of Kerala in the last three days in rain-related incidents has risen to 28. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that nine dead bodies were recovered on Friday from Malappuram and Wayanad as rains unleashed havoc in the northern parts of the state.

It is feared that around 40 people are trapped underneath the remains of the Bhoothathan-Muthappan mountain, that has collapsed in landslide in Nilambur of Malappuram district. Three dead bodies have been recovered from the spot. Rescue operations are in place and two people have been rescued, the CM said while addressing the media on Friday evening. National Disaster Response Force, Fire Force and police personnel and local people are taking part in rescue operations.

Travelling to the spot is tough and large rescue equipments cannot be carried as Payankara Bridge has also collapsed.

In Wayanad, nine bodies have been recovered from Meppadi. “It is not yet clear how many people have died in the landslide in Puthurmala in Meppadi. As many as 11 deaths have been reported from Wayanad. A total of 738 relief camps have been opened as of 3 pm on Friday; the number of people from 15748 families in the camps is 64,013,” the CM said.

Seven people have been missing in Meppadi and 27 people are injured. A total of 101 houses have been fully destroyed while 1383 houses have been partially destroyed.

Full Updates → Kerala Floods 2019

Kerala floods: Govt warns of strict action against those spreading fake news, old videos

Kerala government launched a website to better coordinate flood rescue operation and put a list of Facebook pages and phone numbers for the public.

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Kerala News: Kerala government has warned of strict action against individuals found spreading fake information about the ongoing floods in the state. Images and videos of flood and the devastation from last year’s floods were being circulated through social media and messaging platforms, causing panic among locals.

The state government has also launched a new website called Kerala Rescue to coordinate relief work. The website at the moment provides facilities such as a request for help, search for missing persons, to enrol as a volunteer, to send relief material based on needs of each district, the contact information of various department officials and announcements.

The need for a centralised source for giving out announcements arose after several fake WhatsApp forwards on water levels at dams started doing the rounds.

Thrissur District collector S Shanavas took to Facebook to issue a warning against those spreading fake news about flood situation on the ground. On Thursday evening, he wrote, “We are witnessing reports about the Peechi dam (in Thrissur) being opened being spread on WhatsApp. Spreading videos that cause panic among people over social media will face legal action under section 54 (Punishment for false warning) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.”

Full Updates → Kerala Floods 2019

Chennai’s MTC to introduce new fleet of buses that are disabled-friendly

The announcement was made at a three-day meeting held by the Transport Secretary with the state transport corporations.

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Tamil Nadu News: Chennai’s Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) will soon introduce new buses that enable persons with disabilities to travel comfortably. The buses will be designed in such a manner as to accommodate persons with disabilities along with their wheelchairs.

The announcement was made at the three-day meeting held by Transport Secretary J Radhakrishnan along with the state transport corporations (STC) in Tamil Nadu. The buses to be introduced will have foldable ramps which help persons with disabilities to board and deboard the bus without the help of another person.

The move comes after the Madras High Court constantly pulled up the transport corporations for not taking sufficient steps to make public buses disabled-friendly. The MTC had also readied a working model of the modification, which was done in a new red-coloured bus by a private firm.

In the meeting, the TNSTC officials were directed to draft an action plan to execute the announcements related to transport department made by the chief minister under Rule 110 in the state assembly. There were also discussions about increasing revenue to the transport corporations, reducing expenses, scrapping of old buses etc. The meeting also saw discussions to modernise 16 out of the 32 MTC bus depots under the Smart City Mission.

Read More → Chennai MTC New Buses