Two low-intensity blasts took place inside the technical area of the Air Force Station in Jammu within a five-minute gap on Sunday.
According to the reports, the terrorists used two drones to attack the Air Force base in Jammu on Sunday. The bomb blasts occurred in the premises of the technical area of the Jammu airbase. The two blasts were heard within a gap of five minutes, the first blast sound is captured in the CCTV at 1.37 am while the second at 1.43 am.
A team of Jammu and Kashmir police, security agencies and forensic experts have rushed to the spot to probe the drone attacks.
#Exclusive This is the first drone attack on a defence establishment in the country. An IAF patrol team saw the ammunition being dropped. The location of one blast close to Helicopter hanger: Sources.#JammuAirportpic.twitter.com/MkjlFniAXd
“There is no damage to any aircraft in the blasts. Two personnel suffered minor injuries,” the Indian Air Force sources said to ANI. The India-Pakistan border is about 14 kms from the Air Force station and as per reports, previously weapons have been dropped as far as 12 kms within Indian territory with the help of drones.
As per CNN News18, this is the first time such a drone attack has been carried out against the country’s defence establishment. The IAF patrol team saw the ammunition being dropped.
This is the first drone attack on a defence establishment in the country. An IAF patrol team saw the ammunition being dropped. The location of one blast close to Helicopter hanger: Sources.@shreyadhoundial and @Arunima24 share more details with @RitangshuB. pic.twitter.com/CJxNo30XSh
The drone dropped the bombs at a location close to the Helicopter hangar. The IAF suspect that these attacks were intended to target the strategic assets of the Indian Air Force located inside the airbase. However, the forces managed to intercept and thwart the second attack minimizing the damage successfully.
The other blast caused minor damage to the roof of a building while the other exploded in an open area. There was no damage to any equipment, the IAF said.
The Indian Air Force has begun an investigation into the matter is in progress along with civil agencies. The technical area has been sealed.
Two Sikh girls from Kashmir have been reportedly abducted and converted to Islam. Of these, one girl who was married off to the Muslim boy is still missing.
Details about Sikh girls from Kashmir
On June 26, a case of forced conversion came to light from Jammu & Kashmir. As per reports, an 18-year-old Sikh Girl from Badgam district was lured and forcefully converted to Islam. Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) have also raised the issue on social media platforms urging the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to intervene.
Another case is of a girl from Mehjoor Nagar in Srinagar who attended function of her Muslim friend. As per Bali, she was married off to a boy who attended the function. While the girl was not a minor, she is still missing.
The case of handing over girl to a Muslim family
According to Sardar Santpal Singh, President Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee-Budgam, who narrated the whole incident, the girl was mentally unstable. A Muslim man lured her on the pretext of love and marriage to convert her. He said, “A girl from Sikh community has been forcefully converted to Islam. She is not mentally stable. The man lured her on the pretext of love. It is not a love affair but a clear case of Love Jihad. The government is acting negatively against us.”
He further added that despite written assurance by the SP who was handling the case that she would be handed over back to the Sikh family, the court orders came against them. He said, “The police inspector had assured in writing that the girl would be handed over to them after presenting her in the Court. However, the judge gave the judgement in favour of the Muslim man and handed over the girl to him.”
The family of the girl was not allowed in the Court
Santpal Singh further said that the parents and relatives of the girl were sitting outside the Court as they were not allowed inside due to Covid regulations. He said, “The Police asked the family members of the girl to sit outside to avoid the crowd in the Court. However, all the relatives of the Muslim man were allowed in the Court. The judge recorded the statement of the girl in the absence of her family members and took note of the statements of the relatives of the Muslim man. No one from the family of the girl was called in the Court during the proceedings.”
He further added that the judge should have handed over the girl to the Sikh family at least for a week. If the girl still wanted to go to the Muslim man, no one would have stopped her. “But at least for a week, the girl should have been given to the Sikh family,” he added. Santpal urged the majority community (Muslims) to come in support of them. He reminded them how the Sikh community helped them in bringing girls back from cities like Pune and Mumbai and supported them in their time of need. “Can’t you help us now? Come forward and support us. The brotherhood should remain intact in the Kashmir valley,” he asked.
He urged the government and LG to hand over the girl for at least a week. They will not interfere if the girl decides to go back to the Muslim family after one week. Someone in the background could be heard saying that the Muslim man has already married 2-3 times.
‘What kind of system does not allow girls family to enter the court?’
Another Sikh man who was present at the scene said, “What kind of system is functioning in the Court that passes the judgement without hearing the girl’s family? Why was the judgement passed in a day? Why girl’s family was not allowed in the Court?” He urged the central government to intervene. He added that the girl was kidnapped around four days ago. She was recovered by the Police from Chandoosa. “She was kept in remand for two days and presented in the court on Saturday,” he said.
Those aware of the case said that the judge did not even ask about the girl’s parents. “What kind of judge was he who did not even care to inquire about girl’s parents?” A Sikh man asked.
‘Pass a law against Love Jihad like UP’
Another Sikh man present outside the Court said that Jammu and Kashmir needs a law against forceful conversions just like Uttar Pradesh. The girl should not be handed over to the man without the signatures of the girl’s parents. The Sikh community urged the government to initiate an investigation in the case.
The incident attracted criticism from all sections
Akali Dal’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, “Urging J&K LG to address this issue of Srinagar. A Sikh girl (mentally disturbed) has been given to the family of a Muslim guy by the Court. The family of the girl wasn’t even allowed to attend the Court’s proceedings while the boy’s whole family was inside the Court.”
This is biased action towards minority Sikhs & this is not the first case of conversion of Sikh girls in the name of love The girl’s family seeks her custody for a week & after that she can choose to take the decision as she wants. It is important that the girl is given freedom pic.twitter.com/koARSyLW0C
He further called it a biased action towards the minority. Claiming it was not the first case of conversion in the valley on the pretext of love, he said, “The girl’s family seeks her custody for a week & after that, she can choose to make the decision as she wants. It is important that the girl is given freedom.”
Tejinder Singh Sodhi, Reporter CNN News 18, said, “Sikh community in Kashmir is treated as second class citizens, nothing has changed for the community in the past 70 years. Why not a single person from the majority community is standing with Sikhs right now when the same Sikhs have always stood to protect their daughters.”
Sikh community in Kashmir is treated as second class citizens, nothing has changed for the community in the past 70 years. Why not a single person from the majority community is standing with Sikhs right now when the same Sikhs have always stood to protect their daughters. https://t.co/8LkszEQAd2
— Tejinder Singh Sodhi ?? (@TejinderSsodhi) June 26, 2021
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) also raised the issue. They said, “It is reported #Sikh Sangat is protesting at Srinagar Judicial Complex allegedly for ‘biased’ decision related to a case of ‘forced conversion’ of a Sikh girl who is reported to be mentally unstable.” They urged LG and J&K Police to ensure the safety of Sikhs in J&K.
Sikhs in Kashmir alleges that family of boy given custody of girl by Court, was present inside the Court, while the girl’s family was not taken into confidence. This is a clear case of biased action towards minority #Sikhs and this is not the first such case. Kindly take action. pic.twitter.com/wQrKb3TLt9
— Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) (@SGPCAmritsar) June 26, 2021
They further added, “Sikhs in Kashmir alleges that family of a boy given custody of girl by Court, was present inside the Court, while the girl’s family was not taken into confidence. This is a clear case of biased action towards minority #Sikhs, and this is not the first such case,” and urged the authorities to take action. The man who lured the girl is reportedly 60-years-old.
Police promised to hand over the girl to the family
United Sikh Forum, Jammu And Kashmir, posted several videos in which Sikh community members were seen protesting outside the court premises.
In one of the videos, SP was heard saying that they would hand over the girl to the Sikh family. He said that the girl caused a drama in the Court and told the judge that Police was harassing and torturing her.
He further assured the protesting Sikhs that the girl would be soon handed over to the Sikh family and urged the protesters to leave the premises outside the Court.
On Saturday (June 26), a group of Korean drama enthusiasts sparked a controversy after they accused Former NDTV Editor Puja Talwar of plagiarism.
‘Crash Landed on Kdramas’, a group of 4 women who conduct podcasts on Korean drama, was miffed with the former NDTV journalist for allegedly lifting content from the 6th episode of their podcast without due credits.
— CrashLandedonKdramas (@CrashLandedonKD) June 26, 2021
In a tweet, they informed, “Daebak (That’s awesome)! Puja Talwar has given a visual representation of what we 4 gals discussed in the 6th episode ‘Dash of Kimchi’ of our podcast.” Talwar is currently Executive Editor Entertainment and Lifestyle with My Good Times.
The background of the controversy
The podcasters had uploaded the episode ‘Dash of Kimchi’ on their Spotify channel on March 24. During the episode, the four women discussed about the significance of food in K-dramas and how it provided an insight into the Korean culture. They talked about Kimchi (a traditional Korean side dish of fermented vegetables), the peculiarity of a Kimchi slap (slapping someone with Kimchi) and Soju (Korean alcoholic beverage). For every Korean dish, the podcasters had recommended dramas and food shows.
Spotify podcast of ‘Crash Landed on Kdramas’
The 43-minute long podcast talked about food shows such as ‘Oh my Ghost’, and ‘My name is Kim Sam Soon’, dramas such as ‘What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim’, ‘Crash Landing on You’ and talked about the cuisine that is featured.
About three months after the podcasters had released their episode, ex-NDTV journalist Puja Talwar uploaded a YouTube video on Korean cuisine and dramas on Friday (June 25). The theme of the video was similar to that of the podcast of ‘Crash Landed on Kdramas’. Talwar, too, had cited several examples, that matched the ones of the podcasters. It included ‘Oh my Ghost’, ‘My name is Kim Sam Soon’, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim’, and ‘Crash Landing on You.’
(Video Courtesy: Youtube/ Puja Talwar)
Clarification by the NDTV journalist on plagiarism charges
As such, the podcasters accused the journalist of plagiarising their original content without giving them credits. After the controversy erupted, Puja Talwar responded to the accusations and claimed to be unaware of any such podcast. She wrote, “Oh really. Was unaware that there was a podcast like, will give it a listen.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Puja Talwar
‘Crash Landed on Kdramas’ was quick to point out that Puja Talwar was ‘well-aware’ of their podcast as early as May 7. The group had posted a screenshot, where the Talwar was seen responding to a tweet on a different episode of the podcast. Talwar had then appreciated the group.
Screengrab of the tweet
Talwar fired back, “So what are you implying here that my concept and scrpit has been influenced by your podcast? Pl understand k dramas and food have documented by all. Also i have been watching these dramas for years and also have u seen the video what’s the similarity.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Puja Talwar
Puja Talwar further claimed that she did not listen to any of the episodes of the podcast and that her comment was just a ‘courteous’ response. She added that her comment did not imply anything more than a polite gesture. “And let’s not make incorrect allegations and demanding credits,” the journalist tweeted.
Calling it a sad state of affairs, Talwar further said, “Sure it may have been but if you read articles and watch other shows these are the iconic moments ..and i don’t know why do i need to justify myself to you all..but fine you made an observation but the trolling you are promoting alongside.. is just uncalled for.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Puja Talwar
Response of the podcasters
‘Crash Landed on Kdramas’ emphasised, “We did see the video & the content was strikingly similar. A lot of content is available on KDramas and food – absolutely agree, but not once has there been so much similarity in the concept order & scenes.”
Screengrab of the tweet by the podcasters
Reiterating that the episode was aired on March 21, the podcasters said that the striking similarity between their content was the only observation that they made. Many listeners of the podcast also noticed striking similarities and expressed disappointment that due credit could have been given to the content creators.
Maulana Hafiz Faizan Raza, who had recently announced a reward of Rs 1 crore for beheading Hindu activist Swami Darshan Bharti, has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police, reports Aaj Tak.
A viral video had gone viral recently in which Maulana Hafiz Faizan Raza was seen declaring a bounty of Rs. 1 crore to anyone who can behead Swami Darshan Bharti and bring his head to him. Maulana Hafiz Faizan Raza released two videos on social media, in which he could be heard making objectionable statements.
Maulana Hafiz Faizan Raza, who hails from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, brazenly issued a death threat to the Hindu Sadhu Swami Darshan Bharti. The Islamist cleric did not stop there. He went ahead to issue threats saying anyone who speaks against Islam will face the same fate.
Maulana Raza claimed Swami Darshan Bharti of Uttarakhand has been spreading hate against Islam and Muslims.
Hafiz Faizan Raza is the head of a local madarsa in Bareilly and is also the national president of an organisation called “Sarva Samaj Sangathan”. He has been politically active in Uttar Pradesh and has developed close connections with various opposition leaders in Uttar Pradesh.
As his death threat video went viral on the internet, Uttar Pradesh Police took cognisance of the video and arrested the controversial Maulana from his madarsa on Saturday. While Maulana released another video in his defence and claimed that his mental condition is not proper, the UP Police has continued with the investigation.
Who is Swami Darshan Bharti?
Swami Darshan Bharti is a Hindu activist who has been quite vocal about the issues of Hindus in Uttarakhand for a very long time. Swami Bharti is known for starting a campaign to save lands belonging to Hindu temples. He had recently opposed purchasing of land by people from Muslim community near the holy town of Badrinath and constructing any mosque or madarsa there, reports Hindu Post.
In fact, Swami Bharti has been at the receiving end of hatred and death threats for a while now after he started speaking against illegal land encroachment by Muslims. Following that, several clerics from Deoband had stoked a controversy by claiming that Badrinath is originally Badruddin Shah, a holy place of Muslims encroached by Hindus and should be given back to Muslims.
Protesting this, Swami Bharti and his organisation had organised several protests to save the encroachment of lands belonging to Hindu temples.
In recent times, Swami Darshan Bharti has also been quite active in sensitising Hindus about the increasing migration of Muslims to Uttarakhand. He reportedly demanded a stricter law to check “Love Jihad” against Hindu girls by Muslims in Uttarakhand. He had also sat on a hunger strike in April to demand a stronger law against “Love Jihad”. Swami Bharti is also extremely vocal about Christian conversions in the state.
Averting a major terrorist attack, the Jammu Police on Saturday nabbed two terrorists with arms, ammunition and explosive materials from near the Wave Mall situated on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
As per a report, the Jammu Police had received specific inputs about the presence of two terrorists on the outskirts of the city. Reportedly, the two had been carrying out a recce of prominent locations before carrying out a terror strike.
Out of the two, one 20-year-old terrorist in possession of 5kgs of IED was arrested by the police. An investigation is underway to ascertain whether their other accomplices have managed to enter the city. Search raids were later conducted across the city.
Blast heard from Jammu Air Base’s technical area
Indian Air Force on Sunday tweeted that two low intensity explosions took place in the technical area of Jammu Air Force Station. The blasts took place at around 1:42 AM on Sunday and were so powerful they could be heard till 1 km distance.
There was no damage to any equipment. Investigation is in progress along with civil agencies.
One explosion caused minor damage to the roof of a building while other took place in an open area. A team of forensic experts and Bomb Disposal Squad have reached the explosion site to determine the cause of the blast.
No injuries or casualties have been reported due to the blast. The area, however, has been cordoned off and a probe is on. News agency ANI citing sources said that two drones were used to carrying out the explosions at Jammu air base.
As per reports, two people have been arrested from near the area.
This comes just ahead of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Ladakh to carry out an extensive review of India’s operational readiness amid a prolonged standoff with China.
Rajnath Singh’s office took to Twitter to announce, “Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh will be visiting Ladakh tomorrow for three days. During his Ladakh visit he will inaugurate infra projects constructed by BRO and also interact with troops deployed in the region.”
Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh will be visiting Ladakh tomorrow for three days. During his Ladakh visit he will inaugurate infra projects constructed by BRO and also interact with troops deployed in the region.
— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) June 26, 2021
The Defence Minister spoke to Vice Air Chief, Air Marshal HS Arora regarding today’s incident at and Air Marshal Vikram Singh is reaching Jammu to take stock of the situation, informed the Defence Minister’s office.
Post Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with the Jammu & Kashmir political parties last week, several coercive actions to strike terror have been reported from the Union Territory. On June 24, PM Modi met Kashmiri leaders and reiterated central government’s commitment to restoration of full statehood of Jammu & Kashmir.
Grenade attack on CRPF in Srinagar
Terrorists on Saturday attacked a CRPF post in Srinagar’s Barbarshah falling under Kralkhud police station. The attack missed the target with the grenade exploding on the roadside and leaving four civilians injured.
“The grenade missed the intended target and exploded on road. In this incident, four civilians got injured and were evacuated to a nearby hospital for the treatment of their injuries,” informed the police.
Columbia University student and founder of the non-profit organisation “Youth to End Sexual Violence”, Joel Davis, was awarded 13 years of imprisonment after pleading guilty to child pornography and having sex with a 15-year-old boy.
Davis was found to be in possession of over 3,700 images and 330 videos of child pornography, with some of the victims as young as 12. David was also accused of using a dating app to lure a 15-year-old minor to visit him at his Manhattan apartment in June 2018, where he had a sexual encounter with him. He is also accused of recording some of his abuse and sharing it with two people, one of them being an undercover FBI agent.
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Joel Davis has been sentenced to jail for indulging in child pornography and having sexual acts with minors.
“As he previously admitted, Joel Davis, founder of a non-profit called ‘Youth to End Sexual Violence,’ admitted to engaging in the very abhorrent behaviour he had publicly pledged to fight. Davis, who also claims to be a Nobel Prize nominee for his work with his organization, engaged in sex acts with a minor, recording them, and distributing that recording to others – including an undercover FBI agent. Sex with minors is obviously never permissible, acceptable, or justifiable, and by virtue of his non-profit work, Joel Davis was acutely aware of the irreparable harm these crimes inflict on victims. Davis will now serve a long time in federal prison, where he can no longer victimize minors,” Strauss said.
Joel had pleaded guilty on 16 January 2020. The court has sent him to prison for 156 months for luring a child to engage in illicit sexual activity, 60 months for possession of child pornography, and 60 months for distribution and receipt of child pornography, all of which will run simultaneously, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York. After his release from prison after 13 years, he will spend the next five years on ‘supervised release.’
Davis was caught by the FBI during an operation to trap child sexual abusers. Earlier he had claimed that he was a victim of sexual abuse himself, and had launched the non-profit “Youth to End Sexual Violence” to fight the issue. In 2017, he had written an op-ed on Columbia Spectator describing the psychological damage the abuse had inflicted on him. He had written that for his non-profit, he had taken a break from the Columbia University School of General Studies, where he majored in Ancient Studies. Months before his arrest, he was a featured speaker at a Columbia University Ted Talk. In 2014, he had written in Huffington Post calling for an end to sexual violence against children in conflict zones.
But he came under the FBI radar after he responded to an advertisement the officials had posted on a fetish website. He then began talking to an undercover FBI agent. He sent the officer explicit images of infants and toddlers engaged in sexual acts with adults, and told him that he was interested in children ‘0+’.
Reportedly he had told investigators that he had once tried to have sex with a 7-year-old boy but ultimately didn’t, and had once sexually assaulted a 3-year-old girl. After his arrest in 2018, Davis told the officials that he had used the Grindr app to meet a 15-year-old boy, and he had “engaged in oral sex and digital penetration”.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has summoned the DCP of Delhi Police Cyber Cell on the 29th of June in connection with the availability of child pornography on Twitter. The DCP has been asked to appear before NCPCR through video conferencing and a request has also been made to register an FIR against the platform for the same.
NCPCR summons DCP of Delhi Police Cyber Cell asking him to appear before it via video conferencing on 29th June with action taken report in connection with availability of pornographic material to children on Twitter, with a request to register an FIR against Twitter & TCIPL.
NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo told ANI, “NCPCR has issued summons to DCP Cyber Crime, Delhi seeking personal appearance along with a copy of FIR which is to be filed on Twitter.” He added, “Twitter was found to have given false and misleading responses during the enquiry conducted by NCPCR for the presence of pornographic and child sexual abuse matter, a grievous offence under the POCSO ACT.”
NCPCR had asked Delhi Police to register an FIR against the platform last month as well in connection with the same matter. Last year, the Commission had issued notices to companies like Google, Twitter, WhatsApp, Apple India etc to know about steps taken by them to remove and prevent CSAM on their platforms. The rights body had also has requested the IT ministry to ensure that access to the microblogging platform is suspended for children till it becomes safe for children.
The official Twitter account of the citizen engagement platform of the Government of India on Saturday committed a faux pas after it was found promoting one of the books written by anti-India propagandist Arundhati Roy.
The Twitter account, which goes by the handle @MyGovIndia, posted a picture of the book ‘The God of Small Things’ written by Arundhati Roy, as a part of its 20 words book summary challenge. Along with the picture of the book, the tweet included a quote by Edmund Wilson that said: “No two persons ever read the same book”.
Source: Twitter
Post deleted after government draws flak from online users for promoting a controversial author
However, the government endorsement of a book written by an inveterate anti-India propagandist did not sit well with the social media users, who expressed their outrage and promptly called out the government for promoting an author who has a history of peddling propaganda against India.
Arundhati Roy’s book being promoted by @mygovindia
Seemingly after taking cognisance of the online outrage, the Twitter account @MyGovIndia quickly deleted the post where it was seen recommending a book written by an author with contentious antecedents.
Arundhati Roy, a career propagandist for whom lying and being deceitful is second nature
Arundhati Roy is a controversial figure in Indian politics. For years now, Roy has been accused of advancing the anti-India narrative and purveying falsehoods and misinformation under the garb of “freedom of speech”. Just recently, Roy had penned an article in The Guardian, using the cover of the pandemic to push her propaganda against the Modi government.
While being deceitful is second nature to Arundhati Roy and lying her favourite hobby, the extent of lies she peddled in The Guardian at a time when India was grappling with a ferocious second wave of COVID-19 is particularly egregious. Roy not only lied about the PM Cares Fund in her article but also spread misinformation about India’s vaccination drive and COVID-19 vaccines developed by SII and Bharat Biotech. If this did not suffice, she also peddled propaganda about the West Bengal elections in her article for the British daily.
Earlier last year, career propagandist Arundhati Roy, in her bid to continue spreading lies about India, alleged that the Modi government was using coronavirus outbreak to commit a Muslim genocide.
Not just the government, but Roy has vilified the Indian Armed Forces as well. She had been consistently referring to the anti-terror ops in Kashmir as “state-sponsored” terrorism. In her infamous speech that she made in 2002, Roy said, “In India, not hundreds, but millions of us would be ashamed and offended if we were in any way implicated with the present Indian government’s fascist policies which, apart from the perpetration of State terrorism in the valley of Kashmir (in the name of fighting terrorism), have also turned a blind eye to the recent state-supervised pogrom against Muslims in Gujarat. It would be absurd to think that those who criticize the Indian government are “anti-Indian”—although the government itself never hesitates to take that line.”
On June 11, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published an independent appraisal report, wherein it praised the success of local area development in India via the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP). The ADP programme was launched by PM Modi in January 2018 to uplift the quality of life in districts that were lagging behind in Human Development Index (HDI) parameters.
The Aspirational District Programme focuses on development across 5 sectors of Healthcare and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Basic Infrastructure, and Skill Development and Financial Inclusion.
The report says that the programme has served as a catalyst for expediting development among Aspirational districts, and certain sectors such as Healthcare and Nutrition, Education, and to an extent Agriculture and Water Resources have seen some major changes. Other sectors of Basic Infrastructure, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development also achieved improvement in indicators since the inception of the programme and offer scope for further strengthening, the UNDP report states.
The UNDP used two components to calculate the growth achieved by the districts, Net Resilience Index and Difference in Difference Analysis. Findings from the Net Resilience Index indicate that the Aspirational Districts, on average, have been on an upward trajectory since the inception of the programme.
According to the report, the five districts that achieved the highest growth were Ranchi, Chandauli, Simdega, Sonbhadra and Rajgarh. On the other hane, the 5 worst performing districts were Sitamarhi, Gumla, Dantewada, Bijapur and Nawada.
The Indian government has allocated a budget of ₹50,011 crores for 2021-2022 and has kept a target to cover all rural households under the Jal Shakti Mission by 2024. In addition to states’ own resources and ₹26,940 crore grant for water by the 15th Finance Commission, a total of ₹1 lakh crore has been invested in providing a safe drinking water supply. It has helped in boosting the rural economy and generating employment opportunities.
In a tweet on Friday (June 25), Press Information Bureau informed, “Tap water supply increases four-fold from 7% to 31% In 117 Aspirational Districts with 84 lakh households getting tap connections in just 22 months. UNDP lauds India’s Aspirational Districts programme ‘as a very successful model of local area development”
Tap water supply increases four-fold from 7% to 31% In 117 Aspirational Districts with 84 lakh households getting tap connections in just 22 months@UNDP lauds India’s Aspirational Districts programme ‘as a very successful model of local area developmenthttps://t.co/zs5wDS6GScpic.twitter.com/A18E83AcUV
PIB informed that a total of 117 districts, across the country, with a low Human Development Index (HDI), has witnessed fast development under the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP). One of the key factors behind its success has been Jal Jeevan Mission, which came into force on August 15, 2019. At that point in time, only 7% of households (24.58 lac) in these districts had access to tap water. In less than 2 years’ time, tap water connections were provided to more than 84 lac households. As such, about 31.37% of households now have access to tap water supply.
The increase of tap water coverage by 24% in the 117 districts was higher than the 22.72% increase in water supply across India in the past 22 months. Under the vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,’ the Indian government is ensuring that every household in rural areas has access to tap water. In 2019, about 3.23 crore rural households (17%) had access to tap water supply. Despite the Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, about 4.36 crore additional rural households were provided with tap water supply. This increased the total coverage by 39.58%.
Increase in access to tap water supply in ADP districts (Image Courtesy: PIB)
As of 2021, two States namely Goa, Telangana, and two Union Territories of Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands have 100% rural tap water supply coverage. In all, about 63 districts in 94000 villages have access to tap water connections. Reportedly, all Aspirational districts in the State of Telangana have access to tap water. Similarly, it is predicted that all Aspirational districts in Bihar will be covered by the end of this year. States such as Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Punjab will have 100% access to tap water by 2022.
Moreover, 72% of households in Aspirational Districts in Bihar have access to tap water. A similar phenomenon was observed in Narmada (77% households) in Gujarat and Kadapa (82% households) in Andhra Pradesh. Jal Shakti Mission Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, had written to all Chief Ministers to provide safe, potable drinking water in all schools, ashramshalas, and Anganwadi centres. The Modi government had initially led the campaign in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Gujarat.
The Maoist belt in India, also called the Red Corridor, is witnessing a drastic surge in the number of Wuhan Coronavirus cases and several Maoists have died, reportedThe Times of India. The terrorist stronghold is spread across the States of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhatisgarh, and Telangana.
Maoists, who carry out their terror activities from dense jungles, have always been susceptible to vector-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria, and chikungunya. Citing sources in the Special Intelligence Branch, TOI reported that the second wave of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic had badly hit the top leaders and foot soldiers of the domestic terror group. Superintendent of Police (Bhadradri Kothagudem district) Sunil Dutt informed, “At least eight Maoist leaders and cadres have died of Covid-19 in the second wave.”
At the same time, the police informed that about 15-20 Maoists had succumbed to Coronavirus infections. Reportedly, several domestic terrorists had deserted their group out of fear of contracting the deadly virus. A senior official of Special Intelligence Branch informed, “A senior officer of anti-Naxalite intelligence told TOI, “Couriers or militia members may have met Maoists in the jungles due to which the virus has transmitted.” The vulnerability of Maoists to the Coronavirus infection had been exacerbated due to snake bites, consumption of expired food, and negligible medical treatment.
Maoists die due to Coronavirus
The devastating effect of the pandemic on the Maoists came to light after top leaders Yapa Narayana and Siddabonia Sarakka died of Covid-19. They were known by their respective aliases of Haribhushan and Bharatakka. While Haribhushan was the Telangana State Committee secretary, Bharatakka was the Indravati Area Committee member. Their deaths were confirmed by the Communist Party of India (Maoist) on Thursday (June 24). Haribhushan died on June 21 and Bharatakka succumbed to the deadly disease on the following day. Their last rites were conducted on June 22.
