India

Less than a week after Kedarnath shrine opened for Char Dham yatra, police de- ployed for crowd management are grappling with a different set of challenges — visitors lighting crackers for birthday events in the temple zone, devotees waving political party flags in front of the shrine, and vloggers enter- ing risky glacier stretches for…

Birbhum: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee speaks during the inauguration of various development projects, in Birbhum. (PTI Photo) The second phase of vote to elect who will govern Bengal for the next five years has now got one extra unlikely parameter after the first phase’s stupendous voting percentage of more than 93%: how many…

Court-mandated appellate tribunals cleared 55 nuns of Missionaries of Charity for inclusion in Bengal’s electoral rolls, reversing earlier deletions after appeals to EC. “They will vote Wednesday. We had help from RS MP Derek O’Brien… We are also grateful to EC,” a sister at Mother House said Tuesday.More than 120 sisters, all voters in Chowringhee,…

An S-400 air defence system New Delhi: Russia has shipped the fourth batch of S-400 Triumf defence system that “will reach India by mid-May” soon after the May 7 anniversary of Operation Sindoor, a defence source told TOI. The fifth S-400 system is expected to arrive in India in November. The Russian S-400 system proved…

People’s Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti leads a protest over the protection of the Urdu language outside the PDP headquarters, in Srinagar on Tuesday. (ANI Photo) Srinagar: PDP leader Iltija Mufti Tuesday took to the streets to protest govt’s proposed move to remove knowledge of Urdu as an eligibility criterion under Jammu and Kashmir Revenue…

NEW DELHI: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has directed all its contractors and concessionaires to ensure staggered working hours so that workers can avoid exposure in peak heat hours, typically between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m., in view of the ongoing heatwave conditions.Issuing comprehensive guidelines for precautionary measures to safeguard health of the workforce,…

NEW DELHI: As West Bengal heads to vote in phase 2 on Wednesday, the Matua community might emerge as a kingmaker in this big-stakes election.In phase 2, the Motua-dominated belt of North 24 Parganas and Nadia could be the decisive factor in the big TMC vs BJP fight. Ahead of polling, a large section of…

It is about karma and dharma. Subrata Thakur is far more at ease when asked about the principles of the Matua community and how its history evolved from the days of Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur.Subrata, grandson of P R Thakur and Matua matriarch Baroma Binapani Devi, explains how his family prioritised not only social…

CCTV footage of Mira Road attacker NEW DELHI: “I’m going to die! I’m going to die! Please save me!” Caught between life and death, Rajesh Mishra cried out over the phone, his voice strained, as an attacker kept flailing a knife at him.Rajesh Mishra, a supervisor, was trying to reach out to Subroto Sen, a…

Militants on the streets in Kidal, northern, Mali NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs on Tuesday issued a statement condemning the “terrorist attacks” in Mali across multiple locations. “India strongly condemns the terrorist attacks in Mali targeting multiple locations. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and express our solidarity…