In a tragic incident, a 9-year-old girl in Tamil Nadu, took her own life after her father scolded her for poor grades in school. According to reports, the girl’s father had scolded her for not performing well in her studies and asked her to study harder. The incident took place in the Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu.

The girl’s mother reportedly found her hanging from the ceiling of their house on Tuesday evening. She immediately alerted the police, who have registered a case and are investigating the matter. The girl’s body has been sent for post-mortem.

How did it happen?

On Monday, the girl’s father, Krishnamurthy, saw his daughter playing near his in-law’s house and asked her to go home and study. He then left to refill his bike and returned home at around 8:15 p.m. However, he noticed that the house was locked from the inside and asked his daughter to open the door.

When the girl did not respond, Krishnamurthy became worried and broke a window to enter the house. Inside, he found his daughter hanging from a cotton towel around her neck and struggling to breathe. She was immediately rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

The incident has sent shockwaves throughout the community and highlights the pressure that children in India face to perform well in academics. The tragic incident underscores the need for parents and educators to prioritize the mental health and well-being of children, rather than solely focusing on academic performance.

Former Chief Minister and BJP’s Central Parliamentary Board member B.S. Yediyurappa stated on Thursday that the party will come back to power with absolute majority in Karnataka, and the Congress will get only 60 to 70 seats.

Addressing a press conference at BJP headquarters in Bengaluru, Yediyurappa said that he had observed the predictions of media houses. “I have been in politics for 50 years. I worked at the grassroots levels and know the pulse of the people. Three surveys have been conducted in Karnataka and the results predicted 130 to 140 seats for the BJP,” he explained.

“The BJP leaders have toured across the state during the ‘Vijay Sankalp Yatra’ in four teams. After seeing the huge masses, the Congress party is shell-shocked. The wave is for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP. We will form the government with majority,” Yediyurappa stated.

“I have spoken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to conduct a meeting with all Lok Sabha MPs and the Rajya Sabha members of the state. All MPs have already started working in their respective districts,” he stated.

“In order to give justice to all sections of the society, CM Bommai, has given reservation of 7 per cent to Linagayats, 6 per cent to Vokkaligas, 6 per cent for SC (left), 5.5 per cent for SC (right), 1 per cent for Bhovi, Banjara and others. This has happened for the first time in the history of the state or perhaps the country,” Yediyurappa maintained.

The elections have been declared and candidates will be finalised by the high command soon. “I will take up the state-tour along with MPs. PM Modi, Amit Shah and BJP National President J.P. Nadda are going to visit the state for two to three rounds. The respect commanded by PM Modi at the international levels will also benefit us. The way people elected 25 MP seats in last Lok Sabha elections, the same kind of support BJP party will get in the upcoming elections,” Yediyurappa stated.

“I want to ask the Congress leaders who is their leader? Is it possible for Rahul Gandhi to match PM Modi? The leaders of Congress are seeing a beggar’s dream of becoming CM,” he said.

Chided as a concrete jungle, India’s commercial capital Mumbai has been included in the World Tree City 2022 list, for the second consecutive year, a BMC official said here on Thursday.

The Arbor Day Foundation Chief Executive Dan Lambe has awarded the TCW certificate signed by Hiroto Mitsugi to the BMC authorities, according to an official Spokesperson.

The United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and ADF conduct the TCW programme and in the past 50 years, the ADF has planted more than 35 crore trees worldwide, with a target of 50 crore more trees by 2027.

Since 2019, the TCW was implemented to recognise efforts of cities globally that strive to balance the trees and environment and are included in the TCW list.

Mumbai fulfilled the five ADF criteria for the award like determining responsibilities for tree care, setting rules to govern urban forests and tree management, maintaining an up-to-date inventory or assessment of local tree assets, allocating resources for a tree management plan, and organizing an annual tree festival to educate citizens.

With this accolade, Mumbai is once again part of cities worldwide promoting best practices in urban forestry for the second time – in 2021, it shared the honour with Hyderabad.

BMC Commissioner I. S. Chahal said that “due to efforts like proper maintenance of trees in Mumbai, continuity for planting new trees, extensive implementation of urban forests, the fact that Mumbai city is rich in trees has once again been highlighted in the eyes of the world”.

Mumbai’s Park Superintendent Jitendra Pardeshi termed it a “matter of pride” for all people of Mumbai that the city has bagged the award with the BMC’s efforts and public support to maintain the environmental balance through tree wealth.