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  West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Aariz Aftab on Sunday said that 84.63 percent of 73.80 lakh voters in 30 constituencies exercised their franchise during the first phase of polling on March 27. After voting concluded at 6.30 pm on Saturday, the CEO's office had said that 79.79 percent turnout was recorded till 5 pm. "The poll percentage figure till 6.30 pm is 84.63 percent," Aftab said. Polling was "mostly peaceful", barring a few sporadic incidents of violence, an EC official said on Sunday. Of the 30 seats that went to the polls on Saturday, nine were in Purulia, four each in Bankura and Jhargram, six in Paschim Medinipur, and seven in Purba Medinipur district. The highest voter turnout of 87.17 percent was recorded in Paschim Medinipur district, followed by Purba Medinipur (86.32 percent), Jhargram (84.73 percent), Bankura (84.27 percent), and Purulia (81.77 percent), Aftab said. Voting had begun at 7 am and concluded at 6.30 pm, with the timing extended...

In a significant breakthrough in the alleged Mansukh Hiran murder case, Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday named arrested police officer Sachin Vaze as one of the suspected accused in the sensational case and said that it would seek his custody in the coming days. Talking to media persons here,  ATS Additional Director-General of Police Jai Jeet Singh said, “In our investigations, we have found evidence to suggest that Vaze was involved in the alleged murder of Mansukh Hiran. There are several suspects in the case. Vaze has denied his role in the murder. His statement does not hold water.” “As part of our ongoing technical investigations into the case, we have come to know that one of the arrested accused Naresh Gore had obtained a SIM card for another arrested accused Vinayak Shinde, a convicted police constable, from a person known to him from Gujarat. Vaze’s link to the case has been established on the basis of this SIM card. After we established this, we arres...

  Uttar Pradesh has turned the tide towards development in the last four years, emerging as the growth engine of the nation Completing four years of our solemn pledge to meet the aspirations of the 24 crore people of Uttar Pradesh (UP), I feel that our services for the well-being of the State and its people have encouraged us to continue doing good work. It’s my firm belief today that it is not difficult to achieve your goals by working with dedication, honesty and purity of intention. A year of intense struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic has passed. It has been a great learning experience. I remember the day of the “Janata curfew” when the President and the Vice-President spoke to me on the phone and collected information about the State’s preparedness in the midst of the deepening crisis. They were concerned about how UP would cope with the global pandemic with its weak health infrastructure, dense population and geographical diversity. Nevertheless, I assured them that UP would...

Tiny honey bees can play a big role in averting man-elephant conflict by keeping the pachyderm at bay. To keep wild elephants away from human habitations, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on Monday launched a unique project RE-HAB (Reducing Elephant-Human Attacks using Bees) in Karnataka’s Kodagu district. The largest animal on the land is so terrified of the tiny insect that it will flap its ears, stir up dust, make noises, and leave when it hears the buzz of bees. “Elephants are scared of bees and this has been proved in researches done across the world,” says KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena. The pilot project was launched at four locations around village Chelur in Kodagu district of Karnataka. These spots are located on the periphery of Nagarhole National Park and Tiger Reserve and are known to be human-elephant conflict zones. The total cost of the project is just `15 lakh. The project RE-HAB is a sub-mission of KVIC’s National Honey Mission. This will also help...

  But there is a sea change in the situation of the country then and now. The journey of India will now be defined by self-reliance and self-respect The historic Dandi march that began on March 12, 1930, played a significant role in India’s freedom struggle as it was the most influential and inspirational moment in the fight for independence. This is the reason why the day marking the beginning of the Dandi march was chosen to launch the celebrations surrounding 75 years of India’s Independence. The events after the Dandi Yatra certainly brought the colonial rulers under pressure. Through this movement, Mahatma Gandhi once again introduced the power of truth and non-violence to the world. The system of making salt in India had existed since ancient times and the tradition was carried forward by salt farmers. In Bihar and many other provinces, this work was left to a special community. Gradually, the technique of making salt started to improve, but over time, salt was also beginnin...

  Meghan Markle told Oprah Winfrey that she realized soon after marrying Prince Harry that the institution of the royal family would not protect her. In their pre-taped interview on Sunday night, Meghan told Winfrey that “not only was I not being protected, but they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family, but they weren't willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband.” She did not give specific examples. She said when she was first pregnant with son Archie, there were “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born.” The statement led Winfrey to ask “What,” incredulously and sit in silence for a moment. Meghan declined to say who had this conversation with Harry that he relayed to her, saying revealing their name would be “very damaging.” Meghan also said she was stunned when she was told he would not be a prince and would not receive security from the palace. Meghan said she did not worry about being a divorced, mixed-r...

The decision of V.K. Sasikala to keep away from politics has altered the electoral equations for the ruling AIADMK and the opposition DMK fronts in Tamil Nadu, said analysts. They also say that Sasikala's decision benefits AIADMK for the present. Sasikala, the close aide of Tamil Nadu's late Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa on Wednesday said she would keep herself away from politics and would pray to the God and also to late Jayalalithaa for the establishment of 'Amma' government in the state. In AIADMK and political circles the term Amma denotes Jayalalithaa. Political analysts told IANS that if Sasikala's decision to keep away from politics is temporary or permanent will be known on March 15 when her case for announcing her to be the General Secretary of AIADMK comes up for hearing in a local court. Analysts are of unanimous view that if she tells the court on March 15 that she would withdraw her case then her decision to keep away from politics is in a way permanen...

  Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan, the BJP Lok Sabha member from Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, died at a hospital in Gurugram, family sources said on Tuesday. He was 69. The six-term MP, who was suffering from COVID-19 and was airlifted to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram last month in a serious condition, breathed his last late Monday night, the sources said. He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters, a BJP spokesman said. His last rites will be performed at his ancestral place Shahpur in Burhanpur district on Wednesday, his son Harshvardhan Chauhan said. The leader started his political career in 1978 from the Shahpur Municipal Council and was later elected as member of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly. He was an MLA from 1985 to 1996. He was elected as the Lok Sabha member for the first time in 1996 and got re-elected in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2014 and 2019. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief over the BJP leader's death. In a tweet, the CM said, "Nandu B...