A report in The Indian Express states that on 19 January DJB officials noticed an alarming rate of degradation in the quality of water coming from the Yamuna. A quick inspection pointed out that ammonia in the river was increasing at dangerous levels, and the situation remained as grave for the next two days.
A thorough look into the factors revealed that effluents were being illegally released into the river. But the biggest worry is that the pollutants could be carcinogenic, meaning that they could cause cancer.
Read the extensive report by The Indian Express here.
The BJP has not appreciated Mehbooba Mufti’s demand that it give written assurances to the PDP as a condition to continue with the alliance in the state, reports The Times of India.
Days after the death of her father and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, Mehbooba had spoken about her party’s plan for the state.
Read the full report here.
Also on The Quint: No Government Until BJP Assures on Mufti’s Vision: Mehbooba
In the backdrop of PhD scholar Rohith Vemula’s suicide, The Telegraph has dug out a report released by the government with damning statistics about the percentage of SC/ST professors in universities across the country.
According to the report,
Recently, questions have been raised over whether Rohith would have been alive had he found professors who could have understood the predicament he was in.
BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya even suggested that the scholar was not so weak as to kill himself, kicking up a storm.
Read the details here.
At a session conducted by The Indian Express, Sukhbir Singh Badal made some candid statements about the drug situation in India. In response to a question put to him, Punjab’s deputy Chief Minister said that the easiest access to drugs in India was from Goa but Punjab has to bear the burden of being the country’s drug capital.
The session also entailed discussions on pre-poll alliances in the state before the 2017 assembly elections, Shiromani Akali Dal’s development agenda and the couple’s entry into politics many years ago.
Read the full story here.
The Bihar Assembly election result gave the Congress party a much-needed boost. And it seems that the party is trying to recreate that scenario in Uttar Pradesh, which is headed for polls in 2017, according to The Times of India.
The AICC western UP in-charge Naseeb Singh is sending feelers that the party is open to a “grand secular alliance” like the RJD-JDU-Congress combine in Bihar. But of course, the combinations are still being worked on. The report says,
Read the full story here.
Recently President Pranab Mukherjee sent back the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Bill, asking for more clarifications. This Bill has been rejected thrice so far. In its segment Simply Put, The Indian Express explains what the Bill is all about, what has led the President to turn it down and what it means for Gujarat.
The report says,
Read all about it here.
The solar scam in Kerala and allegations of graft against ministers have made Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s situation a little more than mildly uncomfortable. He might have received temporary relief from the High Court, but the real challenge is in being able to debunk these allegations as myths.
And to do this, especially at a time when the opposition is demonstrating its resurgence in the state is quite the task.
Read the full opinion from today’s The Times of India here.
In an editorial in The Telegraph, Kanwal Sibal writes that with each terror attack from across the border, India exposes its vulnerability to Pakistan. He explains that Pakistan is convinced that whether India sticks to its “talks and terror do not go hand-in-hand” policy or not, the government will eventually want dialogue with its neighbour.
Read The Telegraph’s report here.
Also Read on The Quint: Pathankot Attack: Intelligence and the Keystone Syndrome
Last week the Centre announced the first batch of cities that have made the cut for the Smart Cities project. While that could be the project that would resonate in the long run, the success of the project actually depends on “governance will be the core of maintaining the existing infrastructure and development of new ones”.
An editorial in the Hindustan Times says,
Read the full report here.
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