Jammu, July 31 (IANS) Over 4.71 lakh devotees had ‘darshan’ during the ongoing Amarnath Yatra so far breaking last year’s entire Yatra record of 4.45 lakh pilgrims as another batch of 1,654 pilgrims left Jammu for the Valley on Wednesday, said officials.

“This number is more than last year’s total pilgrim number of 4.45 lakh who went to Amarnath cave shrine during the entire Yatra period. Yesterday, 5,000 devotees performed the Yatra while a new batch of 1,654 left Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu for the Valley in two escorted convoys. Both convoys left for the Valley at 3.20 a.m.,” the officials said.

“First escorted convoy of 17 vehicles carrying 456 pilgrims left for the North Kashmir Baltal base camp. The second escorted convoy of 34 vehicles carrying 1,198 Yatris left for the South Kashmir Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camp”, officials said.

Arrangements of security, community kitchens (Langars), transit and base camps and the ubiquitous presence of security forces all along the highway from Jammu to Kashmir have ensured a safe, smooth and hassle-free Yatra this year.

The most important helping hand to the Yatris is provided by the locals. These locals employ ponies and work as porters for the pilgrims often carrying the weak and infirm devotees on their back up and down the treacherous mountain route on both sides of approach.

The cave shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that wanes and waxes with the phases of the moon. Devotees believe that this ice stalagmite structure symbolises the mythical powers of Lord Shiva.

The cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 metres above sea level in the Kashmir Himalayas. Devotees approach the cave shrine either from the traditional South Kashmir Pahalgam route or the North Kashmir Baltal route.

The Pahalgam-Cave shrine axis is 48 Km long and takes Yatris 4-5 days to reach the shrine. The Baltal-Cave shrine axis is 14 Km long and takes one day for the pilgrims to have ‘darshan’ and return to the base camp.

Helicopter services are also available for the pilgrims both at Baltal on the North Kashmir route and at Chandanwari on the South Kashmir route.

This year’s Yatra will conclude after 52 days on August 19 coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals.

–IANS

sq/dpb

Kozhikode, July 31 (IANS) Kerala Health Minister Veena George, who was on her way to the landslide-affected areas in Wayanad, met with an accident and is presently being treated at the state-run Medical College, Manjeri.

According to official sources, the car rammed into a two-wheeler and then came to a stop after hitting an electric post near Manjeri.

Journalist-turned-CPI-M legislator George has suffered minor injuries in her hand and head and is expected to resume her journey to the landslide areas, later in the day.

The person who was driving the two-wheeler is also being treated for injuries.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the massive Wayanad landslides, that occurred on Tuesday, has reached 153 and 98 are still missing, while the search operations for the missing people continued on Wednesday.

The worst-affected areas include Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil and Pothukalu and the locals from these areas who managed to escape are deeply shattered as hundreds of homes have been destroyed.

–IANS

sg/uk

New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) Bridging the gap between job seekers and employment opportunities across diverse sectors, the Central government’s National Career Service (NCS) portal has surpassed 20 lakh active vacancies.

The current job opportunities available on the NCS Portal span several sectors, including finance and insurance (14.7 lakh), operations and support (1.08 lakh) and other service activities (0.75 lakh), informed the government

The jobs available also include manufacturing (0.71 lakh), transport and storage (0.59 lakh), IT and communication (0.58 lakh), education (0.43 lakh), wholesale and retail (0.25 lakh) and health (0.2 lakh), etc.

“This diverse range of vacancies reflects the broad spectrum of employment needs and industry demands across the country,” said the Ministry.

The current jobs suit candidates with educational backgrounds up to Class 12, ITI, and diploma holders.

The Ministry informed that specialised positions are also available for individuals with higher education or other expert qualifications.

The NCS portal of the Ministry of Labour and Employment has become a key resource for job seekers, with vacancies mobilised through various channels including direct reporting by employers, job fairs, and API integration with several private job portals.

The Ministry said it is working towards upgrading the NCS portal to NCS 2.0 with advanced technology, including AI, to provide more benefits and features to job seekers and employers.

According to data tabled in Parliament this week, the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 29 years in India has been declining steadily over the last five years.

It has come down from 17.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 10 per cent in 2023-24.

In the Budget 2024-25, the government announced a package of five schemes and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a 5-year period with a central outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore.

–IANS

na/dpb

Kozhikode, July 31 (IANS) A day after the massive landslides struck Kerala’s Wayanad, desperate scenes were witnessed with the rescue teams reaching the destroyed houses and frantically searching for missing people, even as the death toll on Wednesday reached 153, with 98 still missing.

The worst affected areas include Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil and Pothukalu. The locals from these areas, who managed to escape, are deeply shattered by the extent of the devastation.

The rescue teams from the Army, Air Force, Navy, NDRF, police, Fire Force and locals were engaged in the operations till late into Tuesday night and were back early on Wednesday.

The rescue teams are now trying to search the destroyed homes to look for survivors.

Anxious relatives are waiting in Mundakayil in front of some destroyed homes hoping that the rescue team will find some alive.

Rain continues to play spoilsport at the affected spots as the whole area is filled with a slurry, big and small boulders.

Meanwhile, the police have stopped people from travelling to Wayanad without a reason as most of the roads to the affected places are getting crowded hampering the movement of the rescue vehicles.

On Wednesday, the rescue teams are being reinforced with more trained people joining to speed up the rescue operations.

The NDRF and defence rescue teams had been able to transport more than 500 people holed up in certain areas of the affected spots by late Tuesday night

Bailey bridges and ropeways have been set up by the forces thereby speeding up the rescue efforts.

A team of five Kerala Ministers are staying put in Wayanad and coordinating the rescue operations.

–IANS

sg/dpb

New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu will introduce the Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak 2024, which aims to replace the Aircraft Act of 1934, in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

According to the list of business, the Lok Sabha will see the continuation of discussion on the Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Railways for 2024-25.

Discussion on Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Education for 2024-25 will also be taken up in the Lower House of Parliament.

The second report of the Business Advisory Committee will be presented in the Lok Sabha.

Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Nimuben Bambhaniya will make a statement regarding the status of implementation of the recommendations contained in the 28th Report of the Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)’.

She will also make a statement regarding the status of implementation of the recommendations contained in the 31st Report of the Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on ‘Coarse Grains Production and Distribution’.

In the Rajya Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah will move a motion for election to the Committee on Official Language.

General discussion on the Union Budget and Budget of Jammu and Kashmir will continue in the Rajya Sabha.

MoS Road Transport and Highways Harsh Malhotra will make a statement in the Upper House regarding the status of implementation of recommendations contained in the 342nd Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture on Demands for Grants.

–IANS

sha/