Over 150 two-wheelers gutted in fire at Varanasi's Cantt railway station

Over 150 two-wheelers gutted in fire at Varanasi's Cantt railway station

Saturday, 30 November 2024 | PTI | Varanasi (UP)

Over 150 two-wheelers were destroyed in a fire that broke out at a parking stand in Varanasi's Cantt railway station, officials said on Saturday.

There were no reports of any casualties.

The incident took place on Friday night when the fire erupted near the platform one parking stand, according to railway officials.

Upon receiving information about the incident, teams from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) along with the fire department rushed to the spot to douse the flames, they said.

The blaze was brought under control but over 150 vehicles were reduced to ashes, they added.

Additional Divisional Railway Manager Lalji Chaudhary expressed regret over the incident.

He said that the parking stand was set up for railway employees and because of the fire there has been a lot of damage.

There has been no loss of life of any kind in the fire, Chaudhary said, adding that a committee has been formed to investigate the matter.

(Source : PTI & The Pioneer)

Hindu American groups praised Trump for promising to protect rights of Hindus globally

Hindu American groups praised Trump for promising to protect rights of Hindus globally

Friday, 01 November 2024 | PTI | Washington

Hindu American groups have applauded Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump for promising to protect the human rights of Hindus across the world, including the US and Bangladesh and protect them from the "anti-religion agenda of the radical left."

In his Diwali greetings on Thursday, Trump strongly "condemned the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities in Bangladesh", which he said remains in a “total state of chaos.”

“It would have never happened on my watch. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the world and in America. They have been a disaster from Israel to Ukraine to our own Southern Border, but we will Make America Strong Again and bring back Peace through Strength,” he said.

“We will also protect Hindu Americans against the anti-religion agenda of the radical left. We will fight for your freedom. Under my administration, we will also strengthen our great partnership with India and my good friend, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi,” Trump had said.

Utsav Sanduja, founder and chairman of Hindus for America First told PTI in an interview that they are very grateful to President Trump.

"I'm very grateful to President Trump, eternally grateful and eternally appreciative. It sucks that Kamala Harris hasn't said anything about this issue. I think that there's going to be a big change in this election coming from this,” Sanduja said.

HinduAction also thanked Trump for his statement.

“As you rightly pointed out, the situation of the Hindus in Bangladesh is precarious. Below is a summary head with regularly updated data on the atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh,” it said.

“Thank you President Trump for showing moral clarity and unequivocally condemning anti-Hindu pogroms in Bangladesh,” said Indian-American Nathan Punwani.

“Trump is a great man and, a great leader, full credit goes to him for wishing all the Hindus, Buddhists, and Jain Sikhs a very blessed Diwali. I think Trump really, really cares about these communities. He really understands what's going on in Bangladesh. He sees the ongoing persecution of Hindus. He is concerned about religious minorities that are suffering right now in that country,” Sanduja said.

“He has done such a great favour to millions of Americans who are concerned about human rights issues. To deliver on Diwali, such an auspicious day, such a magnificent thing. I'd like to say that many of us in the Hindu community played a small part in persuading President Trump's team, talking about this, giving briefings, and putting papers together,” he said.

“We are seeing that 60 per cent of Indian Americans are supporting Kamala Harris. In the last election, I think 68 per cent supported Biden. There's a dip in support for the Democratic presidential candidate. Trump, last time around, had 22 per cent of the Indian American community. Now he's at 32 per cent. This is according to Carnegie Endowment's latest survey on Indian American attitudes,” he said.

“With this statement, it's going to open up the eyes of more Indian Americans, Hindu Americans, and so on. They're going to give President Trump the vote,” Sanduja said.

(Source: PTI & The Pioneer)

Ravindra Jadeja's three-wicket burst piles pressure on New Zealand at tea on Day One

Ravindra Jadeja's three-wicket burst piles pressure on New Zealand at tea on Day One of the Third Test match

Friday, 01 November 2024 | PTI | Mumbai

Ravindra Jadeja spearheaded India's charge back into the contest with three wickets as New Zealand stumbled to 192 for six at tea on the opening day of the third and final Test here on Friday.

Jadeja (3/53) broke a stubborn 87-run fourth wicket stand between Will Young (71) and Daryl Mitchell (53 not out), while also accounting for Tom Blundell (0) and Glenn Phillips (17) to help India keep the visitors in check.

Jadeja's effort was a reward for toil that the home team bowlers put in for a large part of the second session, with Young and Mitchell forging a sturdy stand.

At tea, the burly Mitchell was batting on 53 off 96 balls with three fours having thoroughly struggled in the heat and humidity to score his first fifty of the tour. He was accompanied by Ish Sodhi (1 not out).

If India had the momentum swinging their way with spinners Washington Sundar (2/50) and Jadeja coming to the fore towards the end of the morning session, it appeared lost due to the break as New Zealand resumed formidably.

Both Young and Mitchell blunted out the Indian spin threat with consummate ease, the sweep and reverse sweep being their go-to weapons as the two right-handers put the home team bowlers to a stern test once again.

Young continued his flourish as he brought up his fifty with a six off Washington to make steady progress, until Jadeja ended his steady march towards a possible triple figure score.

As both the teams reeled under the baking sun with humidity perhaps draining more out of the players than the heat, it was only a matter of time to see how long the visitors could maintain their resistance in such testing conditions.

Young, who hadn't kept a foot wrong since his arrival in the middle showing attractive range of strokes combined with resolute defence, saw his innings end when Jadeja got one to spin away from his forward defence with the ball settling into Rohit Sharma's hands at first slip.

With his tails up, Jadeja showed glimpses of finding his best as he cleaned up Blundell for a three-ball duck, hitting the timber by getting one to turn away from his defensive bat.

Phillips, who played for the turn with Jadeja's delivery angling in, was cleaned up too.

With his three-wicket burst, Jadeja moved up to the fifth spot in the list of highest wicket-takers for India in Tests, leapfrogging former pace bowling teammates Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, with 312 wickets.

Mitchell battled hard against both Indian bowlers and the weather since he appeared to be struggling the most with the conditions. In a session infused with frequent drink breaks for all players, Mitchell rarely missed an opportunity to consume fluids and even laid flat on his back.

(Source: PTI & The Pioneer)