Srinagar, June 24: Hundreds of Shia Muslim mourners on Wednesday joined the Muharram procession in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar city as authorities made elaborate security arrangements for the smooth and peaceful conduct of the procession.

Black flags dotted the roads as volunteers opened stalls to provide refreshments to people joining the Muharram procession, which began at Guru Bazar and culminated in the Dalgate area.

A huge number of people wearing black dresses beat their chests to remember the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet of Islam.

While the volunteers at the refreshment stalls provided water and cold drinks to the mourners, the medical department had set up makeshift camps along the procession route to provide healthcare facilities.

Mourners murmured elegies in remembrance of the Martys of Karbala.

The procession moved with absolute discipline through Budshah Chowk, the Maulana Azad Road and finally to the Dalgate area.

To streamline the movement of mourners, traffic department officials had made special route regulation arrangements providing traffic-free passage to the procession and an alternative route to those coming from outside the city.

Special parking arrangements were made for people joining the procession in Batmaloo and other places beyond the route designated for the procession.

No untoward incident occurred during the procession as senior civil and police officials remained present.

Muharram processions were disallowed by the authorities after terrorism started in Kashmir in the 1990s. With the improvement in the overall situation, authorities have been allowing this traditional procession during the last three years.

As per the Shias, Imam Hussain went on the invitation of the people in Kufa along with his family and supporters to make peace, while the army of Yezid surrounded them at Karbala near the banks of the Euphrates River. Denying water even to the minor children during the siege. Imam Hussain refused to surrender to evil and chose martyrdom to write the history of the triumph of truth over evil with his blood.

The Battle of Karbala was a tragic historical event fought on October 10, 680 CE (10th of Muharram, 61 AH) on the plains near the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq. It resulted in the massacre of Husayn ibn Ali — the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad — and his small caravan by the massive army of the Umayyad Caliph, Yazid. Although Shia Muslims carry out mourning processions during the month of Muharram, the mourning to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain is common to both Shia and Sunni Muslims alike.

Ahmedabad, June 24: Gautam Adani, the Adani Group Chairman, on Wednesday said that FY2025-26 was another year of disciplined growth and strong execution for the Group, and its consolidated portfolio revenue stood at Rs 2.92 lakh crore, thereby reflecting a year-on-year growth of 7.4 per cent.

Addressing shareholders at the Adani Group’s 34th Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2026, Gautam Adani said they are now one of the very few global companies that are not reacting to the future but are prepared for it.

“At Adani Energy Solutions, our transmission order book rose to Rs 72,000 crore. We secured several major projects, including the Khavda South Olpad HVDC line, reinforcing our position as India’s only private sector player with proven HVDC capability,” the billionaire industrialist told the gathering.

“At Adani Power, we are implementing India’s largest ever private sector power capex programme of over Rs 2 lakh crore, with a target of reaching 45 GW of capacity over the next five years. We are also honoured to be partnering with the Government of Bhutan’s Druk Green Power Corporation. As part of this partnership, the Adani Group and the DGPC will jointly develop 5,000 megawatts of hydropower projects in Bhutan,” the Adani Group Chairman explained.

The Group’s entry into nuclear energy through Adani Atomic Energy is another confident step towards securing India’s long-term energy future.

“With land identified and a 10 GW targeted capacity by 2035, we are positioning ourselves early to serve the growing national demand for clean, round-the-clock power,” Gautam Adani noted.

“At Adani Total Gas, we accelerated and crossed the significant milestone of over 1.1 million Piped Natural Gas home connections. Given the current geopolitical situation, we are further ramping up our PNG projects to meet India’s rising demand for more accessible gas. Coming to connectivity and logistics, Adani Ports handled over 500 million tonnes of cargo in FY 2025-26, setting an unmatched benchmark for the nation and creating a clear pathway to one billion tonnes by 2030,” Gautam Adani highlighted.

The integrated network of ports, SEZs, logistics assets and expanding maritime services “places us in a unique position to keep gaining market share while lowering the cost and complexity of India’s trade”, the Adani Group Chairman noted.

“I am proud to specifically say that Vizhinjam, one of the most strategic ports on the global maritime route, delivered a record first year by crossing one million TEUs. This is the fastest pace ever achieved by any Indian port and a strong signal of India’s arrival on the global transshipment map,” said Gautam Adani during his speech.

In airports, the Group achieved two defining milestones with the opening of Navi Mumbai International Airport and the new integrated terminal building at Guwahati Airport, both inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Earlier this year, both these airports made it to the list of the World’s Seven Most Beautiful Airports. The commencement of operations at Navi Mumbai in December 2025 also marked a proud moment in India’s aviation landscape, with a 90-million-passenger-capacity-airport built in a world-record time of just over four years,” said Gautam Adani.

In digital and industrial infrastructure, the Group’s Data Centre business is firmly on the path to building a 3 GW platform by 2030.

“The binding MoU for a gigawatt-scale data centre with Google in Visakhapatnam reflects both the scale of the digital demand ahead, and the confidence that global technology leaders such as Google, Microsoft, Uber and Flipkart are placing on us,” the Adani Group Chairman noted.

“At Adani Cement, we contributed to iconic national projects ranging from the Chenab Railway Bridge to Navi Mumbai International Airport and the Umiya Dham foundation in Ahmedabad. Over the past year, our cement platform expanded significantly, with total capacity increasing to 110 MMTPA,” Gautam Adani added.

The Adani Group Chairman further added that in defence and aerospace, “our ambition became even bolder”.

“Our partnerships with Leonardo and Embraer are helping lay the foundation for integrated helicopter and regional aircraft manufacturing ecosystems in India. We are building a national aerospace platform that spans manufacturing, MRO, services and pilot training,” Gautam Adani said.

Amaravati, June 24: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, along with his Karnataka counterpart D. K. Shivakumar, Telangana counterpart A. Revanth Reddy and Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil, will inaugurate the newly installed crest gates of the Tungabhadra Project on June 25.

They will participate in the inauguration ceremony and attend a public meeting at Hosapete in Karnataka.

The project, considered a lifeline for the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, has undergone a major transformation with the installation of new gates.

According to an official release here on Tuesday, work on installing all 33 gates, costing Rs 51 crore, has been completed.

Built 73 years ago, the Tungabhadra Project serves as a vital water source for lakhs of acres of agricultural land across Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Gate No. 19 was washed away during the floods in August 2024. To immediately prevent water wastage, a ‘stop-log’ gate was installed following the Andhra Pradesh government’s initiative and Chief Minister Chandrababu’s directives.

Acting on a report from the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) recommending the replacement of all spillway gates, the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka successfully completed the installation of new gates within six months, effectively revitalising the project.

The Tungabhadra Project plays a crucial role for Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana, providing irrigation water to lakhs of acres and drinking water to hundreds of villages.

In Andhra Pradesh alone, the Tungabhadra Project provides irrigation water to 1.46 lakh hectares. Water is supplied to the Kurnool, Kadapa, and Anantapur districts via the right canal.

Against this backdrop, the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka treated the project’s safety as a matter of high priority and rapidly completed the installation of the gates.

A delegation from Karnataka had met Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Monday and invited him to attend the inauguration of the newly installed crest gates.

The delegation, comprising former Karnataka Minister N.S. Bosuraju, MLA Basavaraju, and MLC Basavanna Gowda, handed over the invitation to the Chief Minister.

Ahead of the inauguration ceremony, Telangana’s Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday directed officials to take steps to assert Telangana’s rights on using its share of the Tungabhadra river waters, and to prepare a comprehensive report on legal, technical, and administrative aspects of the state’s share of water from the river.

Uttam Kumar Reddy made it clear that there will be no compromise on using Telangana’s share of water from the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) on the Tungabhadra.