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Operation Sindhu: 20 from AP evacuated as Israel-Iran tensions escalate

Operation Sindhu: 20 from AP evacuated as Israel-Iran tensions escalate

VIJAYAWADA: Twenty individuals from AP have been safely evacuated under Operation Sindhu, the Centre's mission to repatriate citizens stranded amid escalating tensions in Israel and Iran.
As of June 23, a total of 1,713 Indians have returned, overcoming complex diplomatic and logistical hurdles, including Iranian airspace restrictions.
While two Telugu-speaking citizens have already reached their hometowns, 18 more are expected to arrive today in New Delhi on three flights: 291 passengers at 4.30 pm (none from AP), 165 at 11.30 pm (three from AP via Jordan), and 291 at midnight (15 from AP).
AP Bhavan, under Resident Commissioner Lav Agarwal, is coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs to provide full aid at the airport, including accommodation, meals, medical care, and transport to native places. The Non-Resident Telugu Society and volunteer groups are offering support.
Despite initial obstacles, alternate routes through Armenia and Turkmenistan were used, and citizens were shifted from Tehran to safer zones.
Nearly 800 Indians still await evacuation.
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I'd quit acting if I had steady income: Pawan Kalyan on balancing films, politics
I'd quit acting if I had steady income: Pawan Kalyan on balancing films, politics

India Today

time21 minutes ago

  • India Today

I'd quit acting if I had steady income: Pawan Kalyan on balancing films, politics

Telugu superstar and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan spoke about the tough balance between his film career and political life. He said that even before joining films, his true passion was always public service and bringing social about the balancing act in an exclusive conversation with Rajdeep Sardesai, consulting editor, India Today TV and anchor Akshita Nandgopal, Kalyan said, "For me, my priority and my heart will always lie with social transformational politics, even before I entered cinema. I've been a socially conscious person since childhood. Films came to me later. It's quite a tough job (managing both films and politics). The tough part is - you fight against your rivals, talk about public policy, and then suddenly go back to cinema and try to shake a leg or deliver dramatic lines. That's where I really struggle."advertisementHe admitted that while action sequences come naturally to him thanks to his martial arts background, other aspects of acting, like dance or melodrama, often feel awkward. "Sometimes I wonder whether I should have quit acting long ago. But my only financial source is cinema, so I think I have keep doing this," he explained. "For me, politics is a way of national service to me. It's not otherwise, it's a service to society. If I had enough money, if I had a continuous stream of income, I don't think I would do films. Because more than films, my passion is for the public and politics," he added. Pawan Kalyan will next be seen in the period action film 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu'. The movie was first directed by Krish Jagarlamudi, but due to some changes, Jyothi Krisna, son of producer AM Rathnam, has now taken over as by A Dayakar Rao and presented by AM Rathnam under the Mega Surya Production banner, the film stars Pawan Kalyan, Nidhhi Agerwal, Bobby Deol, Sathyaraj, and Nargis Fakhri. The music is by MM Keeravani, and the cinematography is handled by Gnana Sekhar and Manoj Paramahamsa.'Hari Hara Veera Mallu' is scheduled for release on July 24.- EndsMust Watch

TIPRA Motha meets EC officials, seeks special intensive revision; Pradyot says Tripura will otherwise ‘become Assam before long'
TIPRA Motha meets EC officials, seeks special intensive revision; Pradyot says Tripura will otherwise ‘become Assam before long'

Indian Express

time21 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

TIPRA Motha meets EC officials, seeks special intensive revision; Pradyot says Tripura will otherwise ‘become Assam before long'

Amid calls to detect, identify and deport illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Rohingya people, the TIPRA Motha on Wednesday met officials of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in New Delhi to push for a Bihar-style special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in Tripura. TIPRA Motha founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarma wrote on X, 'Today the TIPRA Motha delegation met the ECI officials at Delhi to press for an implementation of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Tripura. Illegal migration is affecting our state and northeast and today if we don't identify illegal voters there will be no tomorrow for our next generation. The good news is that the ECI has assured the delegation that SIR will be conducted across the country including Tripura'. Pradyot went live on social media later in the evening and said, 'I am not against citizens of any religion. My single thought is that if illegal people from Bangladesh or Myanmar keep on coming to Tripura and become legal Indians, get Aadhar card, become MLAs even, get government facilities, whose loss is it? When we became a part of India, we didn't become a part of Bangladesh. I went to ECI and asked them not to disturb genuine people but identify those who changed names and entered India. They will take the jobs of the children of all of us, create a national security issue, and if it doesn't stop, Tripura will become Assam before long.' In a letter addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the TIPRA Motha delegation, headed by Pradyot, said Tripura's demographic composition had undergone significant shifts over the past several decades, raising apprehensions among the indigenous population and other vulnerable communities about the erosion of their political and cultural rights. The move comes a week after the BJP-led government formed special task forces in districts to identify and deport illegal immigrants. Chief Minister Manik Saha has said the drive will apply only to those who entered India after December 2014, since those who came before that would be recognised as per the Citizenship Amendment Act. The TIPRA Motha, an ally of the BJP, has not mentioned any cut-off date for its demand. Sources within the tribal party say they are most likely pushing for 1971, which was the cut-off year as per the Indira Mujib Pact for Indian citizenship for people who came from the erstwhile East Pakistan. Drawing the commission's attention to Tripura's 856-km-long border with Bangladesh, much of which remains porous and inadequately fenced, the TIPRA Motha delegation said that the state was faced with a 'serious challenge' in monitoring and preventing illegal immigration. 'The unchecked influx of undocumented immigrants has not only disrupted the socio-economic balance of the region but has also led to the dilution of electoral rolls, threatening the democratic rights of the indigenous tribal communities and undermining electoral fairness. In particular, it is now an open secret that many illegal immigrants have obtained EPIC, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, driving licenses, and even passports, often by fraudulent means and with the assistance of corrupt officials, local brokers, and political strongmen. In some cases, they have even managed to shift their Register of Residence (RoR) records from one place to another for electoral advantage. This is no longer just a Tripura-specific issue, it is a matter of national security, with serious implications for the democratic fabric of the country,' the party wrote to the ECI. The Motha delegation also cited an incident from September 2012 where around 1,48,000 illegal voters were identified in Tripura. Although the then Election Commissioner Vinod Saxena directed authorities to rectify the electoral rolls, the directives were never acted upon, and the anomalies have continued unchecked, according to the delegation. The delegation also cited Census data from 1971 to 1991 to argue that Tripura had experienced a rate of population growth far above the national average during that period. 'The pattern continues to this day and is visible in various demographic and electoral indicators,' its letter read. Stating that their concerns were not 'statistical or bureaucratic', the TIPRA Motha said integrity of electoral rolls in Tripura is directly tied to the fairness of representation in Scheduled Tribe-reserved constituencies. The tribal party also claimed the very purpose of reservation for tribal communities was being undermined and that the indigenous population was being further marginalised in both governance and policy-making. Expressing concerns about the 'risk of political misuse' of 'flawed' electoral rolls, the delegation urged the ECI to conduct a Bihar-style special intensive revision by using trained personnel independent of local political and administrative influence. Pradyot further said that 52 lakh people had been excluded as per Bihar's special intensive revision and that Tripura should not become the next West Bengal, where the BJP accuses the ruling Trinamool Congress of being soft on illegal immigration from Bangladesh in order to appease its Muslim voters. The Trinamool Congress has alleged that while the special intensive revision is being conducted in Bihar, the 'real target' is West Bengal, where the saffron party has not been able to come to power. The Trinamool Congress had also criticised the National Register of Citizens exercise in Assam.

Forest encroachment in Karnataka sparks demand to halt working plan approvals
Forest encroachment in Karnataka sparks demand to halt working plan approvals

The Hindu

time21 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Forest encroachment in Karnataka sparks demand to halt working plan approvals

In view of rampant forest encroachment in Hassan, Shivamogga, and other circles in Karnataka, and the failure of the State machinery to clear the evictions, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has been urged to withhold approval of draft working plans for all forest divisions in the State. The demand is based on the Centre's own circular issued more than 23 years ago (May 3, 2002), which categorically states that approval of forest working plans and diversion proposals must be linked to the eviction of illegal encroachments. The Centre's directive, based on a Supreme Court order dated November 23, 2001 (W.P. No. 202/95), warned that failure to act would jeopardise not only forest clearances, but also funding under Centrally Sponsored Schemes. Based on the above circular, an enraged activist Raghavendra, has written to the MoEF&CC, dated July 21, 2025, that working plans should not be approved until substantial eviction drives are undertaken, and erring officials face disciplinary action. Mr. Raghavendra has flagged the alarming rise in fresh encroachments over the past two years, and pointed out that Karnataka recorded 1,385 new forest encroachment cases in 2023–24, and 992 cases in 2022–23, with a significant number reported from Bengaluru, Belagavi, Kanara, Hassan, and Shivamogga circles, as per the annual report of the Karnataka Forest Department. He cited the 2002 circular which described forest encroachments — then totalling over 12.5 lakh hectares nationally — as a growing menace, often driven by powerful local lobbies. The Ministry, said Mr. Raghavendra, had mandated the formation of multi-tiered committees at State, circle, and district levels to monitor, report, and assist in evictions. However, he has complained and alleged that these committees are non-functional in Karnataka. Citing the example of Dharwad and Belagavi circles, the complainant alleged that not a single district-level encroachment monitoring meeting was convened from 2020 to 2024, flouting both Central and State directives. In subsequent circulars, the Ministry reiterated that senior officials including Deputy Commissioners, Superintendants of Police, and forest officials would be held personally accountable for any fresh encroachments, and liable for disciplinary action. 'But despite these directives and fresh encroachments being reported, the MoEF&CC continues to approve working plans and diversion proposals in Karnataka,' remarked Mr. Raghavendra. He said that this was a violation not only of Supreme Court orders, but also of the Ministry's own binding circulars. 'While funds are being disbursed under Centrally Sponsored Schemes, the forests are disappearing at an alarming rate,' he added. The complainant has called for a moratorium on working plan approvals for all forest divisions in Karnataka until a credible eviction drive is carried out and accountability is fixed.

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