India

Amritsar, May 19 (PTI) A special flight carrying 167 Indians, who were deported for illegally trying to enter the USA, landed here on Tuesday, officials said.

Sixty-seven of them were from Punjab and rest belonged to Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Goa, they said.

Jaipur, May 20 (PTI) An assistant sub-inspector of the Rajasthan Police was arrested for allegedly molesting a 23-year-old woman in Alwar district of the state, officials said on Wednesday.

The woman, who works in a company in Neemrana in Bhiwadi, had gone to file a complaint at the Neemrana police station after being referred there by a police chowki, they said.

After registering the complaint, chowki in-charge Surendra Singh, an ASI aged around 45 years, took the woman in his vehicle on the pretext of dropping her to her place, the officials said.

Gadchiroli, May 20 (PTI) Naxals set ablaze four trucks in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district ahead of the bandh called by them to protest the killing of an associate, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place on Savargaon-Murumgaon road around Tuesday midnight, a release from the office of Gadchrioli superintendent of police said.

The rebels blocked the road in Dhanora taluka and torched the four heavy vehicles, an official said.

Mumbai, May 20 (PTI) Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar says he is happy that his consignment of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits were sent to city-based Cama Hospital.

The actor had recently announced that he will be donating 1000 PPE kits for the healthcare professionals leading the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

He has also partnered with celebrity shout-out platform Tring to raise money for additional 1000 PPE kits.

Chandigarh, May 20 (PTI) Public bus services resumed in Punjab on Wednesday almost two months after their suspension in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Buses of the state-owned Punjab Roadways and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) plied on select routes in non-containment zones within the state, officials said.

Punjab Transport Minister Razia Sultana had on May 18 announced resumption of point-to-point bus services between major cities and district headquarters from May 20 with 50 per cent occupancy.

New Delhi, May 20 (PTI) The Congress on Wednesday condemned what it termed was "shameless" politics of the BJP and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the issue of providing buses for ferrying migrants to the state.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi alleged the "Ajay Bisht government" is creating hurdles in the Congress help reaching migrants in terms of buses for ferrying them home as they walk on the roads without food and water in the summer heat of May.

Bhubaneswar, May 20 (PTI) Cyclone "Amphan" left a trail of destruction in Odisha as it triggered heavy downpour coupled with high-velocity winds while hurtling towards the West Bengal coast on Wednesday, uprooting trees and flattening fragile structures, officials said.

More than 1.41 lakh people living in low-lying areas and thatched and mud houses in the vulnerable coastal regions were evacuated and shifted to cyclone shelters, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), P K Jena said.

New Delhi, May 20 (PTI) Security forces on Wednesday nabbed a naxal commander in Jharkhand's Chatra district along with an AK series assault rifle and over 100 rounds of ammunition, officials said.

Nauku Gaulu, a sub-zonal commander of the Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC), was nabbed during a search operation in the Tikulia-Lawalong area of the district, they said.

The operation was led by the 190th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force along with the state police.

Kolkata, May 20 (PTI) The landfall process of cyclone 'Amphan' commenced at 2.30 pm on Wednesday between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya island in Bangladesh, the Met department said.

The landfall process will continue for about four hours, it said.

"The forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal," the Met said.

The intensity of the cyclone near its centre as the landfall process started was recorded at 160-170 kmph, gusting to 190 kmph, it said.

KANPUR: Filth and dirty spots prevent one to move on the wider VIP Road even in the morning in Jajmau. The spacious road was so unclean as one cannot tolerate the worse sight. When important places are bereft of cleanliness, the condition of the city areas could be easily fathomed.

Lately, the city failed to secure a better place in ratings conducted under Swwacch Bharat Abhiyan. What to say of five-star rating it could not get a single star mark.