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Assam: IGGL completes Asia’s largest underwater hydrocarbon pipeline across the Brahmaputra river to connect Majuli with Jorhat

OpIndia Staff
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Assam: IGGL completes Asia’s largest underwater hydrocarbon pipeline across the Brahmaputra river to connect Majuli with Jorhat

The Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL) has completed the largest underwater hydrocarbon pipeline in Asia (24-inch diameter and above), which is also the second longest in the world and connects the river island Majuli with Jorhat in Assam.

Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) was used to successfully carry out the difficult task of constructing the pipeline beneath the mighty Brahmaputra river, marking the achievement of a significant milestone in the building of the North East Gas Grid (NEGG), which connects North East India to the National Gas Grid.

The total length of the pipeline in this single HDD crossing is 4,080 meters across the main water channel of the Brahmaputra River. It was laid after overcoming several obstacles, many of which were caused by monsoon rains and flooding.

In order to complete this one-of-a-kind river crossing, two HDD rigs simultaneously began drilling from opposite sides of the Brahmaputra, with the junction of the two drilling heads taking place at 30 meters below the river bed.

The Brahmaputra River HDD crossing spans a total of 5,780 meters when all major and smaller water channels are taken into account. The pipeline was installed in three distinct portions that are 1000 M, 4080 M, and 700 M in length, with the first and third parts already finished.

“With the completion of the Brahmaputra HDD, the IGGL has achieved more than 71% physical progress of the North East Gas Grid (NEGG) project and we will be able to complete the Guwahati-Numaligarh section of the NEGG by February 2024. I’m extremely proud of my team, which has worked tirelessly to achieve this milestone overcoming challenges of monsoon rain and floods in Assam,” stated the company’s CEO Ajit Kumar Thakur. He also expressed his gratitude to the Assam government for their assistance in carrying out the project.

The engineers and workers were seen celebrating and congratulating one another on completing the herculean task.

Five significant oil PSUs: IOCL, ONGC, GAIL, OIL, and NRL came together to form Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited. It is executing the North East Gas Grid Project, which aims to connect the National Gas Grid with the principal urban centers and demand centers of North East India. The project cost for building the 1656 km long natural gas pipeline is Rs 9,265 crore.

Himanta Biswa Sarma pulls up Randeep Surjewala for casting aspersions over harassment complaint by Angkita Dutta on BV Srinivas

OpIndia Staff
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Himanta Biswa Sarma pulls up Randeep Surjewala for casting aspersions over harassment complaint by Angkita Dutta on BV Srinivas

On 23rd April 2023, Assam’s chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma pulled up Congress leader Randeep Surjewala for casting aspersions over a harassment complaint filed by former President of Assam Youth Congress Angkita Dutta on Congress leader and Indian Youth Congress president BV Srinivas. Randeep Surjewala had levelled allegations against Himanta Biswa Sarma while addressing a press conference. The Assam CM retweeted the video of Surjewala in which the latter made these allegations.

Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted, “The Assam police is acting in accordance with the law. They are currently investigating a case filed by a female Congress worker against the accused person under Section 354 of IPC. It is unfair to blame me for the lack of a safe environment within the Congress party for female workers. Please advise the accused to cooperate with the legal process.”

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has also shared the notice issued by the Assam Police to BV Srinivas. According to this notice, the police have directed the Congress leader to be present in the Dispur Police Station, in the Guwahati Police Commissionerate Kamrup (Metro) on 2nd May 2023 at 11 am. Following a complaint filed by Angkita Dutta against the IYC president citing mental abuse and physical torture, BVSrinivas has been summoned to appear before the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Guwahati).

The notice signed by Moitrayee Deka – the additional deputy commissioner of police in East Guwahati – says, “During the investigation of Dispur Police Station Case no. 692/2023 Under Sections 509, 294, 341, 352, 354 (A14), 506 of the IPC Read With Sec. 67 of Information Technology Act, 2000 dated 20/04/2023, it is revealed that there are reasonable grounds to question you to ascertain facts and circumstances from you. in relation to the present investigation. Hence, you are directed to appear before me at 11:00 AM on 02/05/2023 (Tuesday) at Dispur Police Station. Guwahati Police Commissionerate, Kamrup (Metro).”

The Assam Police has left for Karnataka after a case was filed on Saturday in this regard.

Earlier today, Randeep Surjewala had said in a media interaction, “The turncoat CM of Assam who is trying to outbid Amit Shah to his post has now become infamous for this antics to stay in news…We reject this propaganda completely. Sometimes he wants to arrest Pawan Khera, sometimes he wants to arrest BV Srinivas. Perhaps it is to save the ignominy that Mr Modi was trying to arrest him once for Saradha Scam and Louis Berger Scam. That is why he defected to BJP. Reject him, don’t pay any attention to him.”

Angkita Dutta accused Srinivas BV of being “sexist, chauvinistic, and outraging a woman’s modesty” in a complaint filed with Assam’s Dispur police station on April 19. She claimed that for the past six months, Srinivas BV has been harassing her physically and mentally by making sexist remarks and threatening her with consequences if she complains to important Congress leaders.

Angkita Dutta further said in her complaint, “He heckled me holding my arm, pushing and pulling and threatening me using slang words, saying he will ruin my career in the Congress if I complained against him to the high office bearers of the party.”

On Saturday, April 22, the Congress party expelled Assam Pradesh Youth Congress President, Angkita Dutta, from the primary membership of the Congress party for six years for ‘anti-party activities.’

Kenya: Police arrest Christian pastor who encouraged people to die of starvation, exhume 21 bodies

OpIndia Staff
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Kenya: Police arrest Christian pastor who encouraged people to die of starvation, exhume 21 bodies

A Kenyan Christian pastor by the name of Paul Mackenzie Nthenge was arrested on April 15 after he reportedly told his followers to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus.

As per reports, 7 people (including three children) have died of ‘starvation’ so far after following the advice of the pastor. The police have dug out 21 bodies from the Shakahola forest in Malindi town of Eastern Kenya, connected to the ongoing investigation.

“In total since yesterday, we have 21 bodies…We have not even scratched the surface which gives a clear indication that we are likely to get more bodies by the end of this exercise,” an anonymous source told AFP.

Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, who ran the Good News International Church, had a ‘cult following’ among the locals in the area. He is currently in police custody and awaiting a court appearance.

In his defence, the Christian pastor claimed that he had done nothing wrong and that his Church shut down in 2019. As per reports, Nthenge recited the names of three villages (Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Judea) before baptising people in ponds and asking them to starve to death.

Pathologists are now collecting DNA samples from the exhumed bodies to determine whether all of them died of starvation. The police had received information that ‘ignorant people’ were starving to death in the Shakahola forest and were able to rescue 7 men and 4 women.

The cops also arrested 6 associates of Paul Mackenzie Nthenge. Reportedly, the Christian pastor has now gone on a hunger strike while in police custody.

The killed people were identified as Allan Obiero, Wycliffe Waimoi, Mercy Aoko, Paul Karisa, Jane Nyambura, Alfred Shitemi, Felix Wandera, David Abuhaya, Collins Kabaye, Monica Masika and an unknown adult female.

Yogi Adityanath government builds houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana on land seized from mafia Atiq Ahmed, 76 flats to be allocated

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi Adityanath government builds houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana on land seized from mafia Atiq Ahmed, 76 flats to be allocated

The Yogi Adityanath government of Uttar Pradesh is building houses for the poor on the land seized from the mafia in the state. It has been started with the land in Prayagraj vacated from the possession of the deceased mafia Atiq Ahmed.

Verification of the applicants for 76 flats being built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana on land freed from the possession of mafia Atiq Ahmed in the Lukerganj area of Prayagraj has been completed by the district Urban Development Authorities (DUDA). As many as 6,030 people had applied online for the flats. Of these, 5127 people were found ineligible. 903 applicants are found eligible.

Prayagraj Development Authorities (PDA) secretary Ajit Kumar Singh said, “The District Urban Development Agency (DUDA), entrusted with the responsibility of completing the verification of those who had applied for the flats, found that 85% of applicants did not fit the criteria. DUDA has given us a list of 903 applications but we have asked them to give us the details pertaining to the criteria based on which the application was rejected.”

The PDA has developed two ground plus three-story structures on a plot of land measuring 1731 sqm. Block A has 36 flats, whereas Block B has 40. The state government purchased this land in September 2021, and the foundation stone for the project was laid by Chief Minister. The 76 flats will be allotted by a draw. Each flat will cost on Rs 3.5 lakh.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath laid the foundation stone of this project on December 26, 2021. Flats will be available to the poor here for only three and a half lakh rupees. The construction work on the 1731 square meters of land freed from the possession of mafia Atiq Ahmed in Lukarganj is going on at a fast pace and this building is being prepared with better quality and the best safety standards. It will also provide parking facilities for people, community halls and common areas.

Ashok – one of the applicants – said that he never expected that he will get a flat with all the amenities at such a cheaper rate. He also said that Atiq Ahmed had occupied the lands in Prayagraj and no one thought that these lands would ever be free from his clutches, but CM Yogi Adityanath has come as a saviour for them.

World War II ship, torpedoed by USA, found after 80 years

OpIndia Staff
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World War II ship, torpedoed by USA, found after 80 years

A Japanese transport ship that sank during World War II with over 1,000 people on board has finally been found, reported Voice of America.

The wreck of Montevideo Maru, the Japanese ship, was carrying 850 prisoners of war and about 200 civilians, who were captured by the Japanese in Papua New Guinea in 1942. Not knowing, who was there on the ship, the ship was torpedoed by the USS Sturgeon, an American submarine. Its sinking was initially heralded as a success by Allied forces before the identity of most of those onboard was finally revealed.

The wreck was found earlier this week in the South China Sea off the Philippines. The mission was a combined effort of the Australian Defense Department, marine archaeologists from Australia’s Silentworld Foundation, and experts from the Dutch deep-sea survey company Fugro.

The search operation started earlier this month off the coast of the Philippines. Within two weeks, the positive sighting of the Montevideo Maru was made before the identity of the vessel was officially verified. It was the culmination of years of research and preparation by the search team.

According to VoA, almost 1,000 Australians died in the disaster. The wreck was discovered on a mission put together by the Silentworld Foundation, which is dedicated to maritime archaeology and history and Fugro with support from Australia’s Department of Defense. The tragedy affected more than a dozen countries. There were victims from Denmark, New Zealand and the United States as well as Japan.

No items or human remains will be removed from the Montevideo Maru, reported VoA. Reacting to the new discovery, Richard Marles Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, tweeted, “For more than 80 years, hundreds of Australian families have waited for news of the Montevideo Maru. This week, thanks to an extraordinary search effort, the ship’s final resting place has been discovered.”

“The 850 Australian service members on board were never forgotten. We will remember them,” he added

Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan: The Salman Khan starrer shows a jump on Saturday after a sluggish opening on Friday

OpIndia Staff
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Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan: The Salman Khan starrer shows a jump on Saturday after a sluggish opening on Friday

Fans were waiting expectantly for Salman Khan’s first Eid release since the pandemic and they finally got that with ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’ (KKBKKJ). However, that wasn’t reflected in the film’s first-day box office collections.

KKBKKJ made Rs 15.81 crore at the domestic box office on its first day. When compared to Salman’s previous movies, including ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan,’ which debuted to an estimated 26 crore, KKBKKJ collections were quite disappointing.

However, the good news is that the movie significantly increased its collections on Saturday. The surge on Day 2 saw the collection rise to about 24-26 crores. With the latest numbers, the film’s total collection now stands at 39.81-41.81 crore with Sunday’s collections yet to come.

KKBKKJ had an impressive performance in mass venues on both days. Even some multiplexes, which were dull on Friday, have shown growth on Saturday. The single-screen cinemas were packed on Saturday, especially in Gujarat and Maharashtra. The increase in viewers is seen as a huge relief by the industry, which had been hoping to see some strong figures for an Eid release finally.

KKBKKJ has become Salman Khan’s second-lowest opener after Dabangg which was released in 2010 and opened at 14.50 crore. Bharat, which premiered in 2019 and earned 42.30 crores on day 1, is Salman Khan’s highest Eid opening to date.

The film will hope for a continued upwards trend on its third day, which is Sunday, in order to get closer to the 100 crore mark.

Directed by Farhad Samji, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan stars an ensemble cast of Pooja Hegde, Shehnaaz Gill, Raghav Juyal, Jassie Gill, Palak Tiwari, Siddharth Nigam, Jagapathi Babu, Venkatesh and Vijender Singh with Salman Khan as the lead.

‘Amritpal Singh knew he couldn’t escape from Gurdwara in Rode village,’ IGP Punjab Police on Amritpal’s arrest

OpIndia Staff
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‘Amritpal Singh knew he couldn’t escape from Gurdwara in Rode village,’ IGP Punjab Police on Amritpal’s arrest

‘Waris Punjab De’ chief and radical Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh was arrested by Punjab Police in Moga, Punjab at roughly 6:45 am on Sunday. Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sukhchain Singh Gill while addressing the media informed, “Relentless pressure by Punjab Police for last 35 days, and all the wings of Punjab Police have worked in coordination for this special operation. NSA (National Security Act) warrants were issued against Amritpal Singh and NSA warrants were executed today morning. The law will take its own course in this case.”

“Amritpal Singh has been arrested by Punjab Police at around 6:45 am today morning in village Rode. He was absconding for more than one month. A joint operation was conducted by Amritsar Police and the intelligence wing of Punjab Police. He was located in village Rode based on inputs from Punjab Police. He was surrounded from all sides. The village was surrounded by Punjab Police,” the official revealed.

He affirmed that the fugitive Khalistani only surrendered because he knew that he could not flee from there. “Since he was inside a Gurdwara Sahib. So to maintain the sanctity of the Gurdwara Sahib, the sanctity of Gurdwara Sahib is supreme to all, the police didn’t enter the Gurdwara Sahib. And since he knew that he had no way to escape he was arrested. He was taken to Dibrugarh (Assam) under NSA,” the IGP further disclosed. Eight of Amritpal Singh’s close associates are already imprisoned in Dibrugarh Central Jail under the National Security Act.

The senior officer also expressed gratitude to Punjabis for upholding peace. “People in Punjab have maintained peace and harmony. Punjab police and especially the Punjab government are thankful to the people of Punjab for maintaining communal peace and harmony during this period. Punjab police are committed to maintaining law and order in the state of Punjab,” he stated.

“Any mischievous element spreading any type of rumour they are warned to be careful and strict action will be taken against them. Any such rumour, any such mischief will not be tolerated by Punjab police,” he warned those who want to create trouble in sensitive times.

Amritpal Singh was on the run since March 18 until his arrest today from Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s village. He even addressed a congregation at the Khalsa Gurudwara from where he was apprehended and claimed his innocence.

Indian Express journalist Shahbaz Ansar attacked by Muslim social media users for taking alcohol shots while wishing for Eid

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Express journalist Shahbaz Ansar attacked by Muslim social media users for taking alcohol shots while wishing for Eid

On Saturday (April 23), Indian Express ‘journalist’ Shahbaz Ansar came under attack on social media for posting a video of him drinking alcohol on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.

In a video posted by Ansar, he and his wife Khyati Shree were seen taking alcohol shots while wishing ‘Eid Mubarak’ to the Muslim community. The archive of the tweet can be accessed here.

The Indian Express ‘journalist’, who identifies as ‘atheist’ on social media, was thereafter abused by Muslim users with the choicest of expletives.

“Shove your greetings in your a**. infidel,” wrote one Shafi.

“Don’t stop at this (alcohol). You can say Eid Mubarak while hogging sh*t,” tweeted one Faiz.

Another Muslim user wrote, “First, you are drinking alcohol on the day of Eid. On top of that, you are wearing full clothes but made your wife dress scantily. In that way, everyone can see her figure. This is strange.”

“One drunkard and his ‘prostitute’ wife,” wrote one Shahnawaaz.

“You are a Muslim and celebrating Eid in this manner (by drinking alcohol). Beware of Allah. One day, you will have to die,” one ‘Zaid Journalist’ warned.

“Do you have any shame?” inquired one Talib.

One Ejiaz Hasan went to the extent of using a casteist slur for Shahbaz Ansar’s wife. “Apni ch***r biwi ko Eid ke din to nahane ko bol data (Tell you ch***r wife to take shower at least on Eid).”

Screengrab of the tweet

Last month, Shahbaz Ansar posted a screenshot of a Direct Message (DM) sent by a Muslim user, reprimanding him for drinking alcohol during the Islamic Holy month of Ramzan.

In March 2022, the Indian Express journalist was abused by many Muslim users for playing Holi with his wife Khyatishree.

‘Mentally ill’ Muslim woman disrupts Eid prayer in Virginia, propagandists blame Hindus

OpIndia Staff
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‘Mentally ill’ Muslim woman disrupts Eid prayer in Virginia, propagandists blame Hindus

On April 21 (local time), a ‘mentally ill’ Muslim woman created a ruckus at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (Adams) Centre’s mosque in northern Virginia. Before her identity could be revealed, the fake news peddlers and propaganda social media handles claimed she was a Hindu and called her a “Hindu extremist”. However, their propaganda was busted by the ADAMS Centre itself.

In a statement, ADAMS Centre said, “We want to clarify that the recent incident at the mosque on Friday, April 21, during the ADAMS Sterling, Virginia, Eid prayer involved an individual from the Muslim community struggling with mental health issues.

ADAMS leadership and social services have met and are working with the family to provide additional resources and help. The family sincerely asks for forgiveness for the incident in the morning during Eid prayers. The family has requested that those who posted the video please remove it from social media to protect the family’s privacy since the video is causing additional stress to the family.

Mental health challenges can affect individuals from all walks of life, and it is important to approach such situations with empathy and understanding. We recognize that this was an isolated incident.

As a community, we are committed to promoting inclusivity, tolerance, and understanding amongst all individuals, regardless of their background or circumstances. We encourage everyone to avoid making assumptions or generalizations based on this incident and remember that mental health issues are complex and require proper care and attention.

We appreciate the ongoing support of our community during this time, and we will continue to work towards creating a safe and respectful environment for all members of our mosque.“

Fake news peddlers ran propaganda against Hindus

Twitter user MrKhanMAK said, “An #Indian #Hindu extremist woman went inside d mosque in d #US during #EidUlFitr prayer and started shouting and assaulting the worshippers. The worshippers remained calm & peaceful n let d police do their duty. The then dragged this extremist woman out of d Masjid.”

Twitter user Mohammed Al-Hawsawi said, “A Hindu woman stormed a mosque in America during the Eid prayer and started screaming and insulting Muslims at the top of her voice. The security men tried to silence her but she did not respond so they forcefully took her out.”

Twitter user DJ Ali said, “A Hindu woman came to mosque during Eid prayers in USA and start shouting on Islamic Laws/Sharia!”

The Sikh Empire said, “#Hindu #Terrorist attacks mosque again.. this time in Virgina, USA during their #EID prayers. #hindutva #terrorism is real and is grave matter of concern for western world.”

Alleged fact-news checker conveniently ignored Indian Muslims spreading fake news

Interestingly, in its alleged fact-check the propaganda portal Alt News conveniently skipped the handles of infamous Indian Muslims who were among the first to spread the fake news. Stop Hindu Hate Advocacy Network (SHHAN) pointed out how Alt News’s co-founder Mohammed Zubair did not name handles like YehLog and OpusofAli in the fact-check.

The same Indian Muslim Twitter handles have always at been at the forefront of spreading anti-India and anti-Hindu propaganda to further the ‘Muslims under attack’ narrative. Despite being called out multiple times, they continue to fearmonger without any backlash because they do not get called out by so-called fact-checkers.

It is pertinent to note that whenever aggressive, agitated and criminal-minded pupils of a particular community commit a crime that has the potential to tarnish the image of the community at the national and international platforms, they are deemed as mentally unstable. The same happened in the case of the attacker of Guru Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur last year. In the same year, Jammu and Kashmir DGP (Prisons) Hemant Kumar Lohia was killed by his domestic help. It was claimed he was mentally unstable though a terrorist organisation took responsibility of the murder.

‘Demographics is destiny’, says Elon Musk on India becoming world’s most populous country

OpIndia Staff
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‘Demographics is destiny’, says Elon Musk on India becoming world’s most populous country

Twitter CEO Elon Musk on reacted to the recent United Nations projections that India will overtake China as the world’s most populous country on July 1. Musk believed that the country’s demographics will instead determine how it evolves.

Responding to a tweet by ‘World of Statistics’ which gave projected country-wise population, Musk said, “Demographics is destiny.” 

Recently, the UN projected that India now has 1428.6 million people while China’s population stands at 1425.7 million. 

Earlier, in August, Musk said that the population collapsed due to low birth rates, which is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming. 

This is for the first time that India has topped the United Nations’ list of most populated countries, ever since the UN began collecting population data in 1950. 

In 2016, Beijing ended its strict “one-child policy,” imposed in the 1980s amid overpopulation fears, and began letting couples have three children in 2021. China faces an impending demographic decline, as its workforce ages and fertility rates decrease. China’s population shrank for the first time since 1960 not too long back.

Meanwhile, the United States is in the third position with an estimated population of 340 million. 

India has not performed a census since 2011, hence there are no fresh official statistics available on its population size. The once-in-a-decade census in India was scheduled to take place in 2021 but was postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak. 

The global population is expected to hit 8.045 billion by mid-2023, according to UN data. 

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