Delhi court extends judicial custody of six accused in Satya Niketan building collapse case

Kolkata, July 12 (IANS) West Bengal Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department has constituted an 18-member committee to review the ongoing survey to identify illegally run unrecognised madrasas, often termed as ‘Khariji Madrasahs’, in 12 districts of the state.

The review committee will start visiting the districts from July 15 and thereafter submit a detailed report to the state Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education department by July 21.

Based on the review committee’s recommendation, the department will take further action, said an official from the state secretariat of Nabanna. The 12 districts where such review exercises will be conducted are Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum, West Midnapore, East Midnapore, Nadia, Hooghly, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas.

To recall, in the first week of June, a notification was issued on this count, directing the District Magistrates (DMs) to send comprehensive reports on madrasas in their respective districts to the state secretariat of Nabanna by July 5.

Now, with the preliminary report from the DMs already available, state government insiders said that 12 districts have been identified which need a second round of survey in view of the high number of such unrecognised madrasas.

Hence, the decision to conduct another round of review of the state of affairs in the madrasa education system in these 12 districts has been taken before the state government takes the final administrative decision on them.

In the earlier notification issued last month, the DMs were asked to provide relevant details of the madrasas in their respective districts, like the day of foundation of the madrasa concerned; whether they are registered with the state Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department or not; details of their registration; details of the students studying there and the teaching and non-teaching staff attached to them, whether these madrasas were residential or not and finally on the curriculum offered there.

Before that, in May this year, immediately after taking charge as the new Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education minister in the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled West Bengal government, Khudiram Tudu announced that the state administration would crack down on madrasas operating illegally.

He also said that once identified, such illegally run madrasas will be closed down, and those involved in such illegal activities in the name of madrasas will also be punished.

“In future too, the state administration will remain cautious to ensure that illegal madrasas do not surface anywhere,” Tudu said then.

–IANS

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New Delhi, Nov 24 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned to December 8 the hearing on a plea filed by Gitanjali J. Angmo, wife of jailed Ladakh-based climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, challenging his detention under the National Security Act (NSA).

A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria was hearing Angmo’s habeas corpus petition, which termed Wangchuk’s incarceration “illegal” and an “arbitrary exercise violating his fundamental rights.”

When the matter was taken up, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government and the Union Territory of Ladakh, sought additional time to respond to the rejoinder recently filed by the petitioner side. Acceding to the request, the Justice Kumar-led Bench deferred further proceedings, posting the matter for December 8.

The top court had earlier permitted Angmo to amend her petition and directed the Centre, the UT administration, and jail authorities to file their additional replies. “The petitioner is permitted to amend the petition and file an amended copy within a week. The amended counter shall be filed within ten days thereafter. Rejoinder, if any, within a week thereafter. List on November 24,” stated the court order passed on October 29.

In her amended petition, Angmo has contended that the detention order was passed mechanically, without application of mind, and that mandatory procedural safeguards under the NSA were not followed. She has also argued that the authorities acted in haste and failed to furnish adequate grounds of detention in a timely and meaningful manner, depriving Wangchuk of the opportunity to make an effective representation.

The Ladakh administration, in its earlier affidavit, has maintained that the detention was warranted in view of Wangchuk’s alleged role in inciting unrest in Leh. It has further stated that the grounds of detention were duly communicated within the statutorily prescribed period and that the detention advisory board subsequently affirmed the decision.

Wangchuk, a prominent environmentalist and education reformer, was detained in September and later shifted to Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan.

–IANS

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Hyderabad, Feb 26 (IANS) With the operation to rescue eight persons trapped in the partially-collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district intensified, state Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said a breakthrough in reaching the trapped men could happen “very soon”.

The minister, who reviewed the situation with officials of agencies involved in the rescue operation, declared that the rescue mission is final stages.

“With the intensified rescue efforts, deployment of elite forces, and new high-tech interventions, a breakthrough in reaching the trapped workers could happen very soon,” said Uttam Kumar Reddy who along with Roads and Buildings Ministers Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and MP Mallu Ravi reviewed the situation.

The Irrigation Minister said after a high-level review meeting at the incident site, it was assessed that the rescue would be completed within two days and that new strategies were being implemented to mitigate challenges inside the tunnel.

As part of the intensified rescue operations, the government has also introduced reinforced support structures to stabilise the pathway leading to the TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine), ensuring that rescuers can navigate safely through the tunnel, the minister posted on X.

“Officials have been instructed to accelerate debris removal and reinforce weakened tunnel sections to prevent any secondary collapses. For the past five days, the state government has been working relentlessly, mobilising all available resources to rescue the trapped workers,” said Uttam Kumar Reddy.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is personally monitoring the situation, directing that all critical agencies remain stationed at the site until the workers are rescued.

Uttam Kumar Reddy earlier told media at the site office at the tunnel entrance that the rescue efforts would be speeded up. Rescue teams will now be moving forward with a concrete plan of action to reach the accident site through the silt.

In the review meeting, it was decided to go for full-fledged dewatering and desilting and to completely remove the silt. The Army, the Navy, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other rescue teams will execute the plan without risking the lives of the workers. The help of rat miners will also be taken.

The minister said that experts in the construction of tunnels in border areas and those who participated in rescue operations after similar tunnel accidents in other parts of the country are being taken for the rescue operation.

“Best experts in the country and serving and retired Army officers were invited. They went into the tunnel and came out after assessing the situation,” said the minister.

The rescue teams are also taking the suggestions of tunnel experts from other countries to move forward.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that gas cutters will be used to remove parts of the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) which was damaged after a portion of the roof collapsed on February 22.

Earlier, a team of rescue workers from different agencies finally succeeded in crossing the last 40 metre stretch and returned but there was no word about the fate of the eight persons.

Tunnel experts from the Border Security Force (BSF) were roped in as part of the efforts to reach the head portion of the TBM.

Rescue teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Army, Navy and other agencies have not been able to advance further due to 7-9 metre high mud while the continuous seepage of water has made the entire operation risky for the rescue workers.

On a request from Telangana, the National Disaster Management Authority has requested the National Remote Sensing Centre and the Geological Survey of India to conduct surface and sub-surface assessment of the incident site. This assessment is needed for the safety of the teams carrying out rescue operations.

The accident occurred 14 km inside the tunnel. While the rescue teams had already reached 13.5 km, they could not advance further for the last two days due to mud, debris from the TBM, and seepage of water. The divers of the Navy’s special forces unit Marcos were also unable to wade through the slush.

With more than 100 hours after the accident, the chances of survival of the trapped men are stated to be remote.

Meanwhile, Jaypee Group founder Jaiprakash Gaur visited the tunnel on Wednesday and said they were making their best efforts to rescue to trapped men. Jaypee is the contracting firm for the SLBC project.

Jaiprakash Gaur said after completing the rescue operation, the company would resume the work to execute the project. He told media persons that they encountered such incidents during tunnel works in the past.

–IANS

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