PM Modi holds historic talks with Cyprus Prez, aims to boost bilateral ties

Jammu, May 5 (IANS) Five improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and two wireless sets were recovered after a terrorist hideout was busted in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, said officials on Monday.

Officials said that five ready-to-use IEDs, weighing between half a kg and five kgs, were destroyed in a controlled explosion on the spot, thereby thwarting terrorist plans to set off explosions in the border district.

“The hideout was busted during a joint search operation by the Army and the special operations group (SoG) of J&K Police at Suranthal in Marhote area of Surankote late Sunday evening,” said officials.

Two IEDs were found planted inside steel buckets, and three others were packed in tiffin boxes. In addition, two wireless sets, five packets containing urea, one five-litre gas cylinder, one pair of binoculars, three woollen caps, three blankets and some trousers and utensils were recovered from the hideout, the officials further said.

After the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, in which 26 civilians, including 25 tourists and a local, were killed in Baisaran meadow, security forces have started massive crackdowns in the Valley and the Jammu division against terrorists, their overground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers.

The security has been beefed up across the state, and additional checkpoints have been set up on highways and sensitive areas, including key installations and tourist spots.

A fully tech-aided joint operation has been underway since April 22 in south Kashmir areas to hunt down the five terrorists believed to have carried out the cowardly attack against unarmed tourists in Baisran meadow.

The carnage has resulted in national outrage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given operational freedom to the armed forces to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack.

Deportation of all Pakistani nationals, closing of the Attari-Wagah border crossing point, putting the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, cancelling all trade and cultural exchanges with Pakistan and stopping mail and parcel services from Pakistan are some of the measures announced by the government in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

–IANS

sq/dpb

Raipur, March 19 (IANS) In a tragic road accident, three persons, including a one-year-old girl, died in the Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh in the early morning hours of Wednesday when a container and a car collided head-on.

The accident, which occurred on Temri road near Suarmal village under the Komakhan police station area, left six others injured who were admitted to different hospitals in Bagbahara, Raipur and Mahasamud.

The injured persons included two children of four years each. According to the police, both of them are critical and have been referred to a hospital in Raipur.

“The accident occurred at around 1 a.m. on Wednesday when the truck — a large container — collided with the car. The truck was coming from Maharashtra and heading towards Odisha.

The car occupants, all of them were family members, were returning from a marriage at nearby Khursipar village to their home at Khopali Padav,” Nitesh Singh Thakur, in-charge of the Komakhan police station and investigation officer told IANS over the phone.

The officer further informed that the one-year-old girl Khushi and Johan Sahu (60) died on the spot while Punam Sahu, who was driving the car, died later in Mahasamund district hospital.

Post-mortem examinations of the bodies have been performed and the injured persons are under intensive treatment. The truck driver fled the scene. A first information report (FIR) has been lodged while the police are on the hunt for the driver, the officer said.

The collision was so severe that the Eco car was shattered into pieces.

In another incident, a man died on the Dhamtari-Jagdalpur National Highway on Tuesday night. The bike rider collided with a truck parked in front of a dhaba near Purur. The collision was so severe that Jatin Netam (30) suffered severe head and chest fractures and succumbed to his injuries. The incident took place in Purur police station area.

–IANS

sktr/dpb

New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailing the RSS for social work, a document prepared to celebrate the organisation’s centenary has highlighted achievements in areas like housing for tribals, drug de-addiction, school admission, cow protection and campaign against single-use plastic.

The annual report 2024-25 of the RSS, released at the ongoing Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sahaba, Bengaluru, enlisted ‘Society Oriented Activities’ which included welfare activities in Haryana, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Central India.

In Andhra Pradesh, cataract surgeries were arranged and Swayamsevaks organised teaching classes for the children of labourers, the report said.

The Vyavasayi Shakha of Gondupalem, Anakapalle District in ‘Visakha Vibhag’ also conducted a medical check-up for 157 needy people and improved a crematorium and opened it for people from all castes, it said.

The report said that in Telangana, the Shri Neelkantheshwar Vyavasayi Shakha of Indur Nagar identified a Basti of a nomadic tribe and Vanvasi community and undertook steps like repair of the sewage system.

During the monsoon, alternative housing and food arrangements were made and efforts were made to provide electricity to homes. A temple for Sammakka Saralamma, the local forest deities who are their ideals, was also built, it said.

“This initiative strengthened their devotion to Hinduism. A house-to-house Hanuman Chalisa recitation programme was also organised in the settlement,” said the Report.

In Malva, the Birsa Munda Shakha of Amkhut village in Katthiwada block of Alirajpur district carried out the work of renovation of a very ancient Gotar Mata temple built in a stone cave on top of a mountain in Mandar village. Now people of the village have become faith-conscious and with the rising of reverence for Gotar Mata Rani, many are now re-embracing the Hindu faith, the report said.

In Madhya Bharat, the 56 selected ‘Vyavasayi Shakhas’ in all the 29 blocks of the ‘Vidisha Vibhag’ conducted a social survey of the shakha area and initiated meaningful efforts to address the identified problems, according to the report.

The ‘Jagran Toli’ of the shakhas selected the problems and made a plan to solve them with the help of people of a positive mindset of the society and the workers of the various organisations.

Karyakartas were assigned as guardians to the Shakhas. A total of 103 types of problems were identified by the Shakhas like drug addiction, low attendance of children in government school, cow protection, protection of the Narmada, work on single-use plastic and love jihad.

While talking about cattle rearing and cow protection works across the country, the report said 1,144 training sessions were conducted at Khand, Nagar, district, Vibhag and Prant levels, with 31,626 participants.

It said 74,468 households were involved in rearing 1,87,466 cows in their homes. As many as 11,640 cow shelters were in contact.

The RSS members also involved 21,469 farmers in practising cow-based agriculture on 67,932 acres of land. Almost 17,767 families are practising gardening on their rooftops, it said.

Last week, while talking to AI researcher and podcaster Lex Fridman in a podcast, PM Modi said that the RSS – the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP – has played a crucial role in shaping him.

“Through the RSS, I found a life of purpose. Then I was fortunate to spend some time among the saints, which gave me a strong spiritual foundation. I found discipline and a life of purpose,” he said.

PM Modi also showcased the social causes to which RSS, over the past 100 years, has devoted its energy, touching the lives of tribals, women, labourers and youth.

–IANS

rch/svn