Chennai, July 31 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday said that the state is fully prepared to give more assistance to Kerala in the wake of the devastation caused by the landslide in Wayanad.

“I again spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and assured him of more assistance to tackle the situation arising out of the Wayanad landslide, which has led to the loss of several lives,” the Chief Minister said.

He said that the Kerala Chief Minister has informed him that due to the enormity of the devastation, the government is unable to assess the extent of the damage.

“Tamil Nadu government has already deployed a team led by two IAS officers and provided an assistance of Rs 5 crore,” the Chief Minister told media persons in Kolathur.

Stalin was in Kolathur to distribute assistance to the people of his constituency.

When asked about the casteist remarks made against Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, Stalin said this is not the ‘time to talk about such issues’.

On Tuesday, massive landslides occurred at Churalpara in Kerala’s Wayanad at around 2 a.m.

The area was cut off, but the local people and a team of rescuers were engaged in locating the missing people in the area, which had been ripped into two.

The death toll has touched 184 while 225 people are reported missing while around 7,000 people have been housed in around 50 relief camps.

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 31 (IANS) In a major development, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has cancelled the provisional candidature of IAS Probationary Officer Puja Khedkar and has permanently barred her from all future examinations/selections, as per an official announcement on Wednesday.

The move came after the UPSC scrutinised available records of Puja Khedkar and found her guilty of violating the Civil Services Examinations-2022 (CSE-2022), and showcause notice issued to her on July 18.

She was directed to submit her reply to the showcause notice by July 25, which was extended till July 30, 3.30 p.m., but she again sought time till August 4, “to gather the necessary documents” for her response.

Among other things, the showcause notice had sought her response for fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limits provided for the CSE by faking her identity, and has also lodged an FIR against her with the Delhi Police.

The UPSC made it categorically clear to Puja Khedkar that July 30 would be her last and final opportunity with no further time extensions allowed, but she failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed deadline.

“It was also conveyed to her in unequivocal terms that if no response was received by the aforesaid date/time, the UPSC would take further action without entertaining any further reference from her,” said the UPSC.

After examining all the available records, the UPSC has held her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE-2022 rules, her provisional candidature as IAS has been cancelled, and she has been debarred permanently from all the future UPSC exams/selections.

Earlier on July 19, the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie, had ordered cancellation of Puja Khedkar’s field training in Pune and later in Washim districts of Maharashtra.

She was also directed to report back to the LBSNAA by July 23, but till that date, failed to go there. She faces multiple inquiries and investigations both in Maharashtra and at the Centre for various actions.

–IANS

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Jaipur, 31 July (IANS) Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde took oath as Governor of Rajasthan at Raj Bhawan on Wednesday.

Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava administered the oath to Governor Bagde.

After taking the oath, Governor Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde was presented with a guard of honour at Raj Bhawan.

Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani, Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari, Premchand Bairwa, union ministers, state ministers, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tika Ram Jully and other public representatives, judges, senior officers of administration and police, along with many dignitaries were present.

Bagde was Maharashtra BJP president in 2004 and a six-time MLA from the same state.

He has a deep interest in rural development and has also contributed to women’s empowerment.

–IANS

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Kolkata, July 31 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday issued notices to three Trinamool Congress leaders, whose residences and offices were raided by the central agency in connection with the multi-crore ration distribution case in West Bengal.

All three have been asked to be present for questioning at ED’s office in the Central Government Office (CGO) Complex on the northern outskirts of Kolkata by Friday.

The two of them who have been summoned are Trinamool Congress’ block president at Deganga in North 24 Parganas district Anisur Rahaman a.k.a. Bidesh and his brother and party associate Alif Nur a.k.a. Mukul.

On Tuesday, a team of ED officials accompanied by Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel conducted marathon raid and search operations at the office PG High Tech Rice Mill at Berachampa under Deganga community development block in North 24 Parganas district, an entity owned by Bidesh and Mukul.

The two brothers, as revealed through investigation, are also the cousins of businessman Bakibur Rahman, the first to be arrested by the ED officials in the case.

The third person to whom ED has issued notice for interrogation is businessman Abdul Barik Biswas, who is alleged to have close links with Trinamool Congress through his brother and sister-in-law, who are former and existing Trinamool Congress zilla parishad members from North 24 Parganas district respectively.

On Tuesday, the ED official conducted a massive raid and search operation at the three residences of Biswas at Rajarhat, Basirhat and Barasat, all in North 24 Parganas, in connection with the case.

The ED officials also seized Rs 290 lakh from Biswas’ Rajarhat residence.

Biswas has past criminal records and he was arrested and jailed for alleged association with gold smuggling.

After being released on bail he started multiple businesses like rice mill, cola trading, brick kiln and transport.

–IANS

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Chennai, July 31 (IANS) The AIADMK General Secretary and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami has hit out at the ruling DMK government’s decision to increase the building plan permit charges.

The AIADMK leader has demanded the restoration of the old permit charges across the state and added that the people of the state were suffering from the spike in charges.

In a statement on Wednesday, Palaniswami said that for building a house of 1,000 square feet in Chennai, the charges of Rs 46,000 had been hiked to Rs 1 lakh.

He added that in Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruppur, the charges have been increased from Rs 42,000 to Rs 88,000, and in Tiruchi, Salem and Tambaram from Rs 30,000 to Rs 84,000.

He said that in other urban municipal bodies and village panchayats, the charges were revised even further.

AMMK leader, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, has lashed out against the purpose of holding a round of the Indian Racing Festival Chennai from August 30 till September 1.

Dhinakaran has asked why the State Sports and Youth Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin was keen on holding the event and what benefit the racing festival would have for the people.

–IANS

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