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Tuesday,19-August-2025
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Heads roll in Bengal Safari Park as 27 spotted deer die in 2 months

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 Heads have started rolling at Bengal Safari Park at Siliguri in Darjeeling district in West Bengal over frequent deaths of spotted deer there.

On Friday, IANS reported that as many as 27 spotted deer died within a period of just two months at the Bengal Safari Park reportedly due to gross negligence on part of the safari park authorities. Even before 24 hours have passed since then, the state forest department has issued a notification transferring both the director and assistant director of the safari park.

Confirming the transfers, state forest minister, Jyotipriyo Mullick said that he has taken the matter quite seriously and the director and the assistant directors of the Bengali Safari Park have been removed. A thorough probe has been ordered to find out the reason behind so many deer deaths and to suggest corrective measures to avoid such tragedies in future,” Mullick said.

It is learnt that the Bengal Safari Park director, Dawa Sangmu Sherpa has been transferred as the divisional forest officer of the Raiganj division and she has been replaced by Kamal Sarkar, who is presently DFO of Raiganj division.

Similarly, the assistant director of the Bengal Safari Park, Anuradha Rai has been transferred to the records section of the planning & working division at Darjeeling.

The allegation against the Bengal Safari Park authorities was that they ignored repeated warnings from wildlife activist groups about the broken fencing walls of the deer enclosure within the safari park premises. Because of the broken fencing walls, the deer reportedly used to come out of the enclosure and consume waste food near the staff canteen and mushrooms which resulted in food poisoning.

This week, an Australian Kangaroo Alex, which was rescued from the clutches of the wildlife smugglers in north Bengal and sheltered in Bengal Safari Park, died reportedly because of food-poisoning after consuming mushrooms.

IANS also reported on Friday that the number of spotted deer at the park, which was around 750 a year back, has come down to below 700 as on date with the maximum deaths occurring during the last two months.

National News

‘They Are Stealing Votes’: Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi Targets BJP, Election Commission In Bihar Rally

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Nawada (Bihar): Reiterating his “vote theft” allegations on Election Commission of India and Bharatiya Janata Party, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that the poll body and BJP are together running a “partnership”.

Rahul Gandhi was addressing the gathering during his Voter Adhikaar Yatra in Nawada and alleged that PM Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah and ECI of snatching the fundamental rights from the people.

Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi’s Statement

“There are lakhs of people in Bihar who voted and their names were deleted from the voter list. There is a partnership going on between the Election Commission and the BJP. They are together stealing votes. This is your right and the Constitution gives you this. You fight for this, work hard and Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and the Election Commission are snatching it from you. I, Tejashwi and the rest of the leaders here are standing up and telling them that we will not let you steal even a single vote of Bihar,” Rahul Gandhi said while addressing the gathering.

The Congress MP further targeted the ECI and BJP stating that they “magically” created 1 crore new voters in Maharashtra. He further said that new voters were added in Maharashtra after Lok Sabha 2024 elections which resulted in BJP’s win in the state assembly polls.

“Maharashtra, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, these are the places they have stolen from. In Maharashtra, they magically create 1 crore new voters after the Lok Sabha elections. We win the Lok Sabha and after the new voters come, BJP wins. We asked the Election Commission who these people are but they don’t answer. We asked them (ECI) to show the videography, they said we won’t show it. They changed the law and now a new way of voter theft is being done in Bihar, Sir, they are stealing in a new way in front of your and the country’s eyes. We won’t let them steal,” the Congress MP said.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday Rahul Gandhi continued his Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar against the Special Intensive Revision and his “vote theft” allegations on ECI.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and CPI-M leader Dipankar Bhattacharya are accompanying Rahul Gandhi.

The INDIA bloc on Tuesday intensified its protest against the “vote theft” allegations on Election Commision of India and Special Intensive Revision in Bihar outside the parliament building.

The protests saw the presence of prominent leaders including Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) addressed a press conference giving it’s clarification over the “vote theft” allegations and SIR in Bihar. It also asked Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to submit a signed affidavit with proof of his claims of election rigging.

The opposition parties have been protesting against the revision of voter lists since the commencement of the Parliament monsoon session on July 21, with the treasury benches accusing the Opposition of disrupting Parliament proceedings. Calling the ongoing exercise as ‘Silent Invisible Rigging’ of votes, INDIA bloc leaders held banners calling for the stop of ‘Vote chori.’ Notably, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju called on Congress and other opposition parties to refrain from creating disruptions in Parliament over issues related to the Election Commission. Rijiju, while speaking at a press conference, stated that any disputes between the Election Commission and political parties should be discussed directly with the EC, and not in the Parliament.

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Business

India To Clock 6.7% Growth Outpacing RBI Monetary Policy Committee’s 6.5% Recent Forecast

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New Delhi: India is expected to clock 6.7 per cent growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal (FY26), outpacing the RBI Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC’s) recent forecast of 6.5 per cent, credit rating agency ICRA said on Tuesday.The rating agency report projects the growth in the gross value added (GVA) to stand at 6.4 per cent in Q1 FY2026.

Improved transmission of monetary easing and the recent announcement of forthcoming GST rationalisation may help to shore up urban consumption sentiments ahead of the festive season, the report said.”ICRA estimates a double-digit growth in net indirect taxes (in nominal terms), aided by the sharp uptick in the government of India’s indirect taxes (+11.3 per cent in Q1 FY26 from -3.1 per cent in Q4 FY2025), despite the narrower contraction in its subsidy outgo,” said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, Head-Research and Outreach, ICRA.

“Benefitting from robust government capital as well as revenue spending, upfronted exports to some geographies and nascent signals of improved consumption, the pace of expansion in economic activity in Q1 FY2026 is estimated at 6.7 per cent,” Aditi Nayar said.The rating agency estimates the YoY growth in the services GVA to increase to an eight-quarter high of 8.3 per cent in Q1 FY26, from 7.3 per cent in Q4 FY25, supporting the overall GVA expansion in that quarter.

In particular, the combined non-interest revenue expenditure of 24 state governments reported a double-digit YoY growth of 10.7 per cent in Q1 FY26, up from 7.2 per cent in Q4 FY25.Likewise, the Central government’s non-interest revenue expenditure saw a turnaround, recording a YoY growth of 6.9 per cent against a contraction of 6.1 per cent in the previous quarter, said the report.

Rural sentiments, as reflected in the Current Situation Index (CSI) improved further in the July 2025 (100.6) round of the RBI’s Rural Consumer Confidence Survey, reflecting favourable trends in farm output in the last two cropping seasons, and the upbeat outlook for the ongoing kharif season, and a considerable cooling in the rural CPI inflation.

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National News

Monsoon Havoc In Himachal Pradesh Claims 257 Lives Since June, 37 Missing And Over 1,000 Houses Destroyed

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Shimla: The monsoon havoc in Himachal Pradesh has claimed 257 lives since June 20, according to the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HP SDMA).

District-wise data shows that Mandi (26 deaths), Kangra (28), and Kullu (11) were among the worst-affected in rain-triggered disasters.

Among the deaths, 133 were deaths reported in rain-related incidents such as landslides, flash floods, drowning, and electrocution, and another 124 fatalities in road accidents,.

The cumulative report released on Friday evening paints a grim picture of widespread destruction. The state has also recorded 331 people injured and 37 missing during the ongoing monsoon season.

Landslides and flash floods alone have caused 16 deaths, while 27 people drowned in swollen rivers and nullahs. Other casualties were reported due to lightning, fire, snake bites, electrocution, and accidental falls.

In addition to human loss, the state reported massive damage to property and infrastructure. Over 1,028 houses were fully damaged and another 2,157 partially damaged, besides 285 cow sheds and 699 shops and factories destroyed. Public property worth more than Rs 2,14,403 crore has been lost, including extensive damage to roads, power lines, water schemes, and government institutions.

Animal losses have also been severe, with 1,625 cattle heads and over 25,700 poultry birds perishing in the rains.

The HPSDMA noted that Mandi district alone accounted for the heaviest financial damage, exceeding Rs 1,180 crore, followed by Kangra and Kullu districts.

Meanwhile, Mandi district reported the highest disruption, with 203 roads blocked and 458 transformers out of service, followed by Kullu where 79 roads remain closed, including NH-305 at Jhed (Khanag) due to a major landslide. Water supply schemes were also severely affected in Chamba (24), Kangra (41), and Mandi (44).

In Kinnaur, six roads including NH-5 were blocked after heavy downpours, while Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti reported widespread outages due to flash floods and HT line faults.

Authorities cautioned that intermittent rainfall in the coming days may worsen the situation, and appealed to people to avoid travel through vulnerable stretches.

Officials warned that the situation remains critical with rains expected to continue, urging residents to avoid travel through vulnerable stretches and follow safety advisories.

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