Imphal, July 6 (IANS) Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi will visit Manipur on July 8.

This would be LoP’s third visit to the northeastern state after the ethnic violence broke out in the state in May last year.

Manipur state Congress President Keisham Meghachandra Singh said that LoP Rahul Gandhi would travel from Delhi to Silchar (Assam) on a flight and from there he would visit the adjoining Manipur’s Jiribam district, where fresh violence occurred after the killing of 59-year-old Soibam Saratkumar Singh, a farmer, on June 6.

Singh said that the LoP Rahul Gandhi would visit some relief camps in Jiribam district and then again go to Silchar airport and from there take a flight to Imphal.

From Imphal, LoP Rahul Gandhi would visit the tribal-dominated district of Churachandpur where he would interact with people living in relief camps.

Singh said that from Churachandpur, the LoP Rahul Gandhi would go to Moirang in Bishnupur district by road and visit some relief camps and then he would return to Imphal to hold a meeting with Governor Anusuiya Uikey before leaving the state for Lucknow.

He would also hold a meeting with the Manipur Congress leaders in Imphal.

LoP Rahul Gandhi visited Manipur in June 2023 and also for the start of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on January 14.

Initiating the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks for the President’s address in the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha on July 1, LoP Rahul Gandhi had accused the BJP-led government at the Center of pushing Manipur into a civil war due to its wrong policies and politics.

The Congress leader had also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting the state since ethnic violence broke out there over a year ago.

–IANS

sc/dan

Guwahati, July 6 (IANS) Amid marginal improvement in the flood situation in Assam, six more people have died in five districts while over 23.96 lakh people have been affected across the state, officials said on Saturday.

According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials, two people drowned in Charaideo district while one each died in Goalpara, Morigaon, Sonitpur, and Tinsukia districts.

With Saturday’s deaths, the toll has mounted to 58 with many people dying due to landslides and other calamities in different districts.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah dialled Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday and assured the Centre’s full assistance to the state.

“On account of the heavy rains, a flood-like situation has occurred in Assam. Spoke with Assam CM Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma Ji about the ongoing situation.

“The NDRF and the SDRF are working on a war footing, providing relief and rescuing the victims. PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji stands firmly with the people of Assam and is committed to providing all possible assistance to the state in these challenging times,” the Home Minister said in a post on X.

ASDMA officials said that the flood water also inundated over 68,768 hectares of crop area in 3,535 villages under 29 districts while over 15.49 lakh domestic animals have also been badly affected.

Out of the 29 flood-affected districts, Dhubri, Morigaon, Cachar, Darrang, Dibrugarh, and Barpeta are the worst hit.

The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger level at Neamatighat, Goalpara, Tezpur, and Dhubri, while Burhidihing, Dikhou, Disang, Dhansiri, Jia-Bharali, Kopili, Barak, Katakhal, and Kushiyara rivers are flowing near danger level in many places.

The district administrations have set up 577 relief camps to provide shelter to over 53.429 people, while 284 more relief distribution centres are functioning in different districts.

Along with various NGOs, teams of the National and State Disaster Response Forces have also been deployed for the rescue and relief operations.

Like in previous years, a large area of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) has been inundated and park authorities have intensified vigil to rescue the animals and to prevent poaching of the wildlife.

KNPTR Director Sonali Ghosh said that so far, 95 wild animals have been rescued while 114 animals, including deer, rhino, and hog-deer, have drowned in flood waters.

–IANS

sc/arm

Surat, July 6 (IANS) At least one person died while several others have been injured after a six-storey building collapsed in Sachin Pali village of Surat on Saturday, an official said.

“One person has died while several others remained trapped under the debris. We have rescued a woman. At least 15 persons have also sustained injuries,” an official said.

He said that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) along with emergency responders, including Police and Fire Department personnel, have been deployed for the rescue efforts.

An official of the Fire Department said that they cannot confirm the exact number of people trapped as many labourers working night shifts were sleeping in their rooms when the building collapsed.

–IANS

janvi/dan

Gurugram, July 6 (IANS) A cyber crime team of the Gurugram Police busted a fake call centre involved in duping people on the pretext of providing job loans and arrested 17 people including 15 women in connection with the case.

Police received information that an illegal call centre was being run at Spaze IT Park, Sector-49 in Gurugram on Saturday.

During the investigation, police found that Faizal was the team leader of the alleged call centre and Fuzial was his accomplice.

The accused told the police that the call centre was being run for providing job loans in the name of Aditya Finance.

It was revealed that all 15 girls were working as customer support agents who used to call people and offer loans.

During the investigation, it was found that the call centre had been operating for the past six months and committed fraud of Rs 12-14 lakh per month.

–IANS

str/dan

Hyderabad, July 6 (IANS) Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments on Saturday decided to constitute a high-level committee to resolve post-bifurcation issues.

The decision was taken at a meeting between Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N. Chandrababu Naidu.

A nearly two-hour-long meeting at Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Praja Bhavan between the delegations of the two states led by the chief ministers and comprising ministers and senior officials discussed the issues pending for the last 10 years.

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka told the media after the meeting that it was decided to constitute a high-level committee comprising senior officials. The panel will be constituted in two weeks.

The issues which can’t be resolved by the committee of officials will be referred to a committee of ministers. He said if the committee of ministers also fails to find a solution, another meeting of the chief ministers will be held to resolve them.

Vikramarka said the two states discussed the issues which remained unresolved even 10 years after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. They decided to discuss and resolve the pending issues.

Both the state governments agreed to work together to check drugs and cybercrimes.

Andhra Pradesh minister A. Satyaprasad said that it was a day hailed by all Telugu-speaking people. He said Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had sent a letter to his Telangana counterpart to resolve issues arising out of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014.

The minister said both the chief ministers thoroughly discussed the issue after taking suggestions from all.

Asserting that Telangana state was formed after a massive movement, he said decisions were taken for the good of all. Both the chief ministers agreed to meet again to discuss the issues.

He mentioned that Andhra Pradesh has already formed a Cabinet Sub-Committee on drug control. He said additional directors general of both states will monitor the activities to check the menace of drugs.

Telangana CM, Deputy CM, some ministers, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari and senior officials were also attending the meeting on behalf of Telangana.

The Andhra Pradesh delegation led by Naidu includes ministers Kandula Durgesh, A. Satyaprasad, BC Janardhan Reddy, Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Pradesh and senior officials.

This is the first meeting between the chief ministers of the Telugu states in four years. Naidu, who assumed the office of the chief minister last month, had proposed the meeting on July 1 to amicably resolve the pending issues and the next day Revanth Reddy accepted the proposal and invited him to Hyderabad.

–IANS

ms/dan