Farmers block highways outside Delhi to mark 100th day of courageous protest

coastaldigest.com news network
March 6, 2021

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New Delhi Mar 6: Farmers began gathering on Saturday to block a six-lane expressway outside New Delhi to mark the 100th day of protests against the deregulation of agriculture markets, to add pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

Farmers young and old headed in cars, trucks and tractors to the highway for a five-hour roadblock to oppose three farm laws enacted in September 2020 they say hurt them by opening up the agriculture sector to private players.

Modi has called the laws much-needed reforms for the country's vast and antiquated agriculture sector and painted the protests as politically motivated.

"The Modi government has turned this protest movement into an ego issue. They are unable to see the pain of the farmers," said Amarjeet Singh, a 68-year-old farmer from Punjab state. "They have left us no option but to protest."

Tens of thousands of farmers from several states have been camped out on the outskirts of the capital in the bitter cold since December demanding that the laws be repealed.

Their movement has gained international attention and support, including from celebrities such as climate activist Greta Thunberg and US singer Rihanna, but several rounds of negotiations between farmer leaders and the government have failed.

Modi's government has lashed out at supporters of the protests and stands accused by rights activists of using heavy-handed tactics to curb the protests.

While the protests have been mostly peaceful, a brief spate of violence on Jan. 26 led to the death of a protestor, and the police have filed criminal charges against eight journalists over alleged misreporting of the events of the day.

"The Indian authorities' response to protests has focused on discrediting peaceful protesters, harassing critics of the government, and prosecuting those reporting on the events," Human Rights Watch said in a statement last month.

As the capital braces for harsh summers and the harvesting season begins, farmers gathering on Saturday said they had no plans to turn back until their demands were met.

"Bitter cold didn't affect our movement, and neither will deathly heat," said Raja Singh, a 58-year-old farmer from Punjab state.

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News Network
March 8,2024

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Amidst war, violence, chaos and new hopes, Muslims across the world are gearing up to welcome the fasting month of Ramadan. The pious month is likely to start on 11 or 12 March and is likely to end on 9 April.

During this month, Muslims fast from pre-dawn to sunset. The two main meals of the fasting period are Iftar, which is eaten after sundown, and Suhoor, which is eaten before dawn. Apart from fasting, donations and giving food to the needy are hallmarks of the month.

Every year, World Health Organisation states guidelines that we must abide by to maintain good health during the month of Ramadan:

WHO guidelines:

Balanced diet: it is advised to consume a balanced diet and avoid having too fried or oily food before or after breaking the fast. We should ensure that we consume a nutritious diet that can nourish the body. Having adequate amount of water post fasting is also mandatory.

Limit salt intake: We should be mindful of the salt intake we are doing with our food. We can instead add flavours to the food with various herbs. The goodness of natural herbs can further nourish the body.

Exercising: It is important to keep exercising throughout Ramadan – this will enable digestion and movement will keep the body fit and healthy.

Tobacco and vaping: We should refrain from tobacco consumption and vaping to keep ourselves healthy.

Baking or steaming: Consuming too much fried food can harm the health. Instead, we can choose other ways of cooking such as steaming and baking the food. This will retain the nutrition as well as make the diet healthy for consumption before or after fasting.

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News Network
March 19,2024

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Mangaluru: The Mangalore International Airport (MIA) will connect to a new domestic destination with the introduction of a non-stop flight to Tiruchirappalli International Airport in Tamil Nadu. 

The non-stop service, once-a-week, will operate on Wednesday (from TIA) and Thursday (from MIA), starting April 3. Air India Express will operate the flight.

The flight is expected to help those taking up a pilgrimage to Vailankani shrine.

Sources from the AIE said that the airline carrier decided to fly non-stop between the two southern Indian cities as a flight to Jeddah, which will start from April 3, arrives from Tiruchirappalli International Airport. 

“It is a ferry or positional flight from TIA to MIA. Instead of flying empty, the management has decided to run it as a commercial flight. This will help both passengers and the airline. The airline will deploy Boeing 737-800 aircraft with a 186-seater all-economy configuration on this route. 

The same flight, after landing in MIA, will further fly to Jeddah,” a source said. 

The flight IX 1498 will depart every Thursday at 5am from MIA to TIA. The TIA-MIA flight IX 1499 departs at 12.50pm. It is a one-hour nonstop flight. The same flights will also operate nonstop between Jeddah and MIA. 

The non-stop flight IX 499 will depart MIA at 2.50pm and reach King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah at 6.25pm. The IX498, will depart from Jeddah at 7.25pm and reach MIA early at 3.40am.

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News Network
March 12,2024

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The Congress on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Anantkumar Hegde's remark about amending the Constitution, asking whether he would take action against the BJP MP to demonstrate his commitment to the Constitution.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh hit out at the prime minister who is on a visit to Gujarat and Rajasthan and posed five questions to Modi.

"The prime minister is in Ahmedabad for the Sabarmati Ashram Memorial Project. While the prime minister is embracing the Mahatma for his political gains, will he commit to Mahatma Gandhi's ideals of non-violence, inclusivity, and equality?" he said in a post on X.

The Congress leader also asked whether PM Modi would take action against Anantkumar Hegde, the BJP MP from Karnataka, to demonstrate his personal commitment to the Constitution that he swore an oath to bear true faith and allegiance to.

Hegde, at a gathering at Karwar in Karnataka on Saturday, had said the BJP needed a two-third majority in both Houses of Parliament to amend the Constitution and 'set right the distortions and unnecessary additions made to it by the Congress'.

In his posers to the prime minister, Ramesh also asked whether PM Modi would explain the 14 paper leaks that have occurred in Gujarat over the last seven years.

'The Congress has announced a comprehensive plan, 'Paper Leak se Mukti' under its Yuva Nyay guarantees to tackle the issue. How does the Prime Minister plan to address it?' he said.

Ramesh said on crucial indicators of development, Gujarat fares poorly compared to other states.

'Gujarat does worse on retention of students in higher secondary education and spends less on public education than poorer states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Gujarat currently ranks 10th among 20 major states in terms of its population living Below Poverty Line,' he said.

'Despite the prime minister's public posturing on 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', Gujarat ranks 15th out of 20 states in sex ratio. How does PM Modi reconcile the reality of Gujarat's socio-economic backwardness with the 'Gujarat Model' that he publicised in 2014 or the 'Double Engine' Sarkar model that he espouses today? the Congress leader said.

Ramesh said Prime Minister Modi will also visit Pokhran in Rajasthan, made famous exactly 50 years ago by Indira Gandhi as the site of India's first 'peaceful nuclear explosion', to celebrate India's indigenous defence capabilities which have incidentally been developed despite his best efforts.

'The share of expenditure on defence has fallen from 17.43 per cent of the Union Budget in FY19 to 13 per cent for FY25. As percentage of GDP, it has fallen from 2.13 per cent to 1.9 per cent between 2014 and 2024 - below the global standard of at least 2 per cent,' he said.

How does the prime minister intend to safeguard India's border or show China his 'Lal aankh' (red eye) without adequate expenditure on the armed forces, Ramesh asked.

'In the same vein, the prime minister has set up two committees in the last three years to investigate ways in which he can privatise or shut down the DRDO. The K VijayRaghavan committee has reportedly suggested that the DRDO's role be limited to research and development without being involved in developing prototypes or technology demonstrations,' he said.

'Instead, any production and further development would be done by selected private players. What is the prime minister's motivation in privatising defence research and development? Is it an attempt to bring his favoured industrialist friends into the industry through the backdoor?' Ramesh asked.

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