Pope Francis requested for simplified funeral rites

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 25 (IANS) Four-time Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor, who has been in the news – and his party’s radar – for the past week for praising PM Narendra Modi’s US visit and also Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s governance, on Tuesday ignited speculation after sharing a photo with Union Minister Piyush Goyal.

For his party in Kerala, both PM Modi and CM Vijayan are persona non grata and no sooner than his praise came, it was all a free-for-all from state leaders. Sensing trouble, senior party leader Rahul Gandhi called up Tharoor and the two had a rendezvous in Delhi, but even after that when an interview of Tharoor appeared in a national daily, it set off a new row.

As news surfaced that the party high command has summoned senior party leaders from Kerala, including Tharoor, for a meeting later this week, speculation began to swirl again. However, a top Congress leader pointed out the meeting has nothing to do with Tharoor, and is instead to do with getting ready to face the upcoming local body polls and the roadmap to it.

But on Tuesday when the media caught up with Tharoor to speak about the interview that appeared in the national daily, just the other day after his meeting with Rahul Gandhi, Tharoor, just remarked: “This interview was given before the meeting” and drove away.

And then, he shared a photo on X with a visiting British Minister and Union Commerce and Industry Minister Goyal.

“Good to exchange words with Jonathan Reynolds, Britain’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in the company of his Indian counterpart, Commerce & Industry Minister ⁦@PiyushGoyal⁩. The long-stalled FTA negotiations have been revived, which is most welcome,” he posted.

The post sparked off speculation not just among the party, but even among common people, if Tharoor will continue in the Congress.

There is some speculation that Tharoor has been upset with the state unit of the party, ever since he drew hushed comments when he unsuccessfully contested for the post of Congress President and the differences have only increased.

Ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, a colleague of Tharoor had quipped that even when many senior party members with several years of party work had to wait with their CVs for several days for a meeting with the party high command in 2009, “a well dressed ‘man’ flew down from the US, was given a red carpet welcome at 10 Janpath, and in a few minutes, he walked out after meeting the then party President Sonia Gandhi with the ticket to contest the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from Thiruvananthapuram”.

The well-dressed man was none other than Tharoor.

Incidentally, the present Congress state President K.Sudhakaran, who made his Lok Sabha debut along with Tharoor, when asked about Tharoor and his performance, had said: “We are not fluent either in English and know very little Hindi, but when Tharoor stands to speak in the Lok Sabha, the entire house sits in rapt attention to hear what he says.”.

After 16 years without a break, the popularity of Tharoor has only increased generally, but reportedly not among his fellow party leaders, be it in Kerala or Delhi and that’s why Tharoor is said to be unhappy.

A political observer said Tharoor is an asset for any party and it’s only natural all will want him but then the ball is in his court now and the Congress will be the biggest loser if he leaves.

“All along the Congress party high command doesn’t want any challengers to them… they see Tharoor as one and hence all the noise is heard now,” the observer said.

–IANS

sg/vd

Bhopal, Dec 27 (IANS) The Forest Department of Madhya Pradesh has stepped up to find a long-term solution for the growing human-elephant conflict in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR).

Senior forest officials, including Principal Chief Conservation of Forest (Wildlife) Subharanjan Sen and Additional Principal Chief Conservation of Forest (Wildlife), L. Krishnamoorthy attended a brainstorming session organised at BTR on Thursday.

During the meetings, field officials deployed to track the movement and activities of elephants and other wild animals shared their experiences and suggested necessary actions on the ground from the forest department and other concerned authorities.

The initiative came following the death of 10 elephants on the periphery of BTR a couple of months back, which raised many questions for the state’s forest and wildlife department regarding the safety and security of wild animals.

On Thursday, the Central bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) hearing a petition sought suggestions and remedial measures from the authorities on the growing human-elephant conflict in BTR.

In its report submitted before the NGT, the state forest department said that cyclopiazonic acid was found in autopsy samples following the death of elephants. This was due to the consumption of fungus-infected Kudo millet, which had resulted in the death of 10 elephants in the BTR periphery.

Following the tragic death of elephants, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, during a meeting with senior forest and wildlife officials expressed his anguish and directed to find a long-term solution to prevent human-elephant conflict.

Meanwhile, the forest department has also started counting wild animals, including tigers and leopards in the periphery of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. More than 1200 CCTV cameras have been installed to locate the movements of wild animals.

“This is regular exercise is carried once in a year. Around 650 areas have been spotted where CCTV cameras have been installed. This process will go on for the next 25 days. The final report will be sent to Wildlife Institute Dehradun,” a senior forest official in BTR told IANS.

–IANS

pd/kvd

Chennai, April 1 (IANS) Merchants, business owners, taxi drivers, and hotel and restaurant operators in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district have declared their support for a district-wide bandh on April 2, protesting the newly-implemented e-pass system that restricts the number of tourist vehicles allowed into the hills.

The protest has been called by the Nilgiris District Traders Association in response to a Madras High Court order that came into effect on April 1 and will remain in force until June 30.

The ruling limits the number of tourist vehicles permitted into the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal to 6,000 on weekdays and 8,000 on weekends.

While vehicles for medical and other emergencies, government buses, goods transport, and district-registered vehicles are exempt, the rest will require e-passes for entry.

The High Court also emphasised giving priority to vehicles using sustainable and non-polluting fuels during the e-pass allocation process.

According to Dindigul Collector S. Saravanan, the Chief Secretary recently chaired a meeting to finalise the implementation process.

He noted that last year, around 15 per cent of the issued e-passes were cancelled, depriving genuine tourists of the opportunity to visit the hill stations.

To address this, the administration plans to maintain a buffer of e-passes to account for possible cancellations.

Additional measures include close monitoring of bulk bookings and e-pass checks at the foothills to prevent traffic congestion, particularly at high-traffic areas such as Silver Cascade.

While some glitches are expected in the first 15 days, officials assured that these will be quickly resolved.

However, confusion remains over the composition of the 6,000–8,000 permitted vehicles. The district administration has not yet clarified how many passes will be allocated to private buses, mini-buses, vans, cars, or two-wheelers.

The High Court has also directed the Nilgiris administration to arrange parking areas at the foothills where private vehicles can be left, with Electric Vehicles ferrying tourists to popular spots.

However, it is still unclear whether these parking facilities are ready for operation. Hotel and Restaurant association leader Francis KM said that while hotels will remain open due to existing bookings, the association will support the bandh in principle.

He also raised concerns about the inclusion of local residents’ vehicles in the tourist vehicle count.

“Many families in the Nilgiris own cars registered in other districts. If these are also counted as tourist vehicles, it will reduce the number of e-passes available to actual visitors,” Francis said.

He added that the District Collector has promised to convey these concerns to the state government.

Meanwhile, similar discontent is brewing in Kodaikanal, where stakeholders argue that the vehicle cap — 4,000 on weekdays and 6,000 on weekends — may not be realistic.

Critics point out that while the cap appears to be based on the number of registered hotels, cottages, and homestays, which is around 7,000, there are numerous unlicensed accommodations that were not factored in.

As April 2 approaches, the hills are bracing for a tense standoff between local stakeholders and authorities over the implications of the new e-pass regime.

–IANS

aal/rad