CM Stalin makes surprise visit to Thanjavur dispensary, reviews CM’s Pharmacy scheme

New Delhi, Feb 5 (IANS) Voting in Delhi Assembly election picked up as the day progressed, with a higher turnout on seats in trans-Yamuna districts. VIP seats like Arvind Kejriwal’s New Delhi recorded 30.86 per cent voting and Chief Minister Atishi’s Kalkaji constituency recorded a 28.75 per cent turnout till 1 pm.

Till about half-time of voting hours, North East Delhi voters showed great enthusiasm as Mustafabad seat recorded a 43.25 per cent turnout till 1 pm – with another five hours of balloting remaining. Seelampur’s turnout was 40.25 per cent, Gokalpur 39.52 per cent and Karawal Nagar 39.18 per cent.

The voting exercise remained largely peaceful barring a brief commotion over alleged bogus voting in Seelampur and allegations of poll code violation made by some candidates, including the AAP’s Jangpura nominee and former Deputy Delhi Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

Sisodia alleged that rival parties were giving money to voters, a charge which was dismissed by police as “unsubstantiated”.

His party colleague and AAP MP Raghav Chadha alleged that at many polling booths in New Delhi constituency, the party’s polling agents and their relievers faced problems in entry.

Former Chief Minister and AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and his wife gave up their car and walked down to their polling booth. Both of them escorted their parents, both on wheelchairs, to the booth to a school close to their Ferozeshah Road residence.

Kejriwal’s BJP rival Parvesh Verma performed religious rituals on the Yamuna bank before proceeding to cast his vote with his wife and daughter at the Nirman Bhawan booth.

Congress candidate from New Delhi Sandeep Dikshit cast his vote at a booth on Rahim Khan Road and later accompanied other party leaders including members of the Gandhi family – Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka – to their respective polling booths.

Earlier, there was a commotion at a polling booth in Seelampur where a bogus voter was caught casting a vote on someone else’s identity. The incident occurred at Aryan Public School, Booth Level Officer, Seelampur, Gayatri, said.

In the North District, the flying squad of the election department reached Sainik Vihar polling station in Shalimar Bagh area on receiving a complaint that police personnel were forcing a voter to back a particular party. Later, the District Election Office, North, dismissed the complaint as false.

Till 1 pm, the North East district recorded the highest 39.51 per cent voting, Shahdara district recorded a 35.81 per cent turnout, South West 35.44 per cent, North West 33.17 per cent, South 32.67 per cent, North 32.44 per cent, South East 32.27 per cent, West 30.87 per cent, Central 29.74 per cent and New Delhi 29.89 per cent.

The turnout in the 2020 Delhi Assembly election stood at 62.82 per cent, 4.65 per cent lower than 67.47 per cent in 2015. In 2013, the turnout was 66.02 per cent, 8.42 per cent higher than 2008’s 57.6 per cent.

In 2020, the AAP won 62 out of 70 seats with a vote share of 53.57 per cent. The BJP won eight seats with a 38.51 per cent vote share. The Congress got 4.26 per cent of votes and others polled 3.66 per cent votes.

In 2015, the AAP won 67 seats with a 54.34 per cent vote share. The BJP won 3 seats with a 32.19 per cent vote share. The Congress bagged 9.65 per cent votes and others got 3.82 per cent votes.

–IANS

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Srinagar, April 22 (IANS) A tourist was killed and 12 other persons, including tourists & locals, were injured in a terror attack in Pahalgam hill station in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Tuesday, officials said.

The tourist was killed, and nine other tourists and three locals were injured, when terrorists attacked a group of tourists in the Baisran area of Pahalgam hill station.

As per reports, 2 to 3 terrorists wearing army fatigues came and fired at horse-riding tourists in the Baisran area around 2.30 p.m. Baisran is a small meadow 3 to 4 km from the Pahalgam market, and tourists take horses to reach the place as there is no motorable road to it.

“One tourist was killed in this attack, and 12 others, including tourists and locals, were injured. The injured have been shifted to Pahalgam hospital, from where three injured with critical injuries were shifted to Srinagar for specialised treatment,” an official said, adding that the area has been cordoned off by the security forces to trace the assailants.

“I’m shocked beyond belief. This attack on our visitors is an abomination. The perpetrators of this attack are animals, inhuman & worthy of contempt. No words of condemnation are enough. I send my sympathies to the families of the deceased. I’ve spoken to my colleague @sakinaitoo & she has moved to the hospital to oversee arrangements for the injured. I’ll be flying back to Srinagar immediately. #Pahalgam”, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in a post on X.

“I strongly condemn the cowardly attack on tourists in Pahalgam, which tragically killed five and injured several as being reported for now. Such violence is unacceptable and must be denounced. Historically, Kashmir has welcomed tourists warmly, making this rare incident deeply concerning. A thorough investigation is needed to bring the perpetrators to justice and examine potential security lapses. Ensuring visitor safety is paramount, and steps must be taken to prevent future attacks. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families”, PDP President and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said on X.

This is the first terrorist attack on tourists in the Kashmir Valley in 2025, even as a booming tourist season is presently going on in the Valley.

All hotels in Srinagar city, and the tourist resorts of Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonamarg are fully occupied.

An unprecedented number of tourists are expected in J&K this year and official projections forecast a number of around two crores tourists would visit the UT this year.

Tuesday’s attack comes at a time when registration for this year’s Amarnath Yatra is going on across the country.

This year, the Yatra will commence on July 3 and conclude on August 9, coinciding with the Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals, respectively.

During his visit to J&K last month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level security review meeting, where he gave orders for the complete eradication of terrorism with special focus on the Jammu division.

He also gave directions to ensure zero tolerance to infiltration. The Union Home Secretary, the IB Director, the Army chief, the GoCs of all corps in J&K, the chiefs of paramilitary forces, the J&K DGP and intelligence officers attended the meeting.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has been emphasising that the entire ecosystem of terrorism, including the terrorists, their overground workers (OGWs), and sympathisers, has to be tackled to completely rid J&K of the scourge of terrorism.

–IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 25 (IANS) India is projected to witness 6.5 per cent real GDP growth in the current and next fiscal (FY25 and FY26), according to a report on Wednesday, which is in line with the expectation amid a resilient economy and strong fundamentals.

The latest ‘EY Economy Watch December 2024’ projected that combining the real GDP growth of first two quarters of FY25 at 6.7 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively, with RBI’s revised growth estimates for 3Q and 4Q FY25 at 6.8 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively, “the annual FY25 real GDP growth may be estimated at 6.6 per cent”.

“However, if the turnaround in GoI’s investment expenditure remains subdued, Q3 growth may be 6.5 per cent or less,” the report mentioned.

The real GDP growth eased to 5.4 per cent in the July-September quarter (Q2 FY25), compared to 6.7 per cent in the preceding quarter.

The available high frequency data for October and November point to a mixed picture regarding the growth momentum of the Indian economy.

Headline manufacturing PMI witnessed a softer expansion of 56.5 in November compared to 57.5 in October. Services PMI, however, remained nearly stable at 58.4 in November 2024, close to its level of 58.5 in October 2024, on account of strong international demand and improving business confidence.

As per the data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association, retail sales of motor vehicles continued to show a double-digit growth of 11.2 per cent in November.

In particular, retail sales of two wheelers and tractors showed robust growth rates of 15.8 per cent and 29.9 per cent, respectively, in November 2024, according to the EY report.

“October 2024 witnessed an increase in IIP growth to 3.5 per cent, up from September’s 3.1 per cent, driven by stronger manufacturing and electricity production,” the report mentioned.

CPI inflation eased to 5.5 per cent in November from 6.2 per cent in October as vegetable prices eased, whereas core CPI inflation remained steady at 3.7 per cent for the second successive month.

WPI inflation also moderated to 1.9 per cent in November from 2.4 per cent in October.

According to DK Srivastava, Chief Policy Advisor, EY India, in the medium-term, India’s real GDP growth prospects can be kept at 6.5 per cent per year, provided the government accelerates its capital expenditure growth in the remaining part of the current fiscal year and comes up with a medium-term investment pipeline “with participation from the GoI and state governments and both their respective public sector entities, and the private corporate sector”.

–IANS

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