National News
Modi slams previous govts for creating water crisis in Bundelkhand
Nov 19 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lashed out at ‘previous governments in Lucknow and Delhi’ for creating water crisis in the Bundelkhand region.
At a rally that marked the inauguration of the Arjun Sahayak project, the Prime Minister said: “The wait for water is over now. Over four lakh people will get clean drinking water. The people of Mahoba, Banda, Hamirpur and Lalitpur will benefit from this scheme.”
He said that Bundelkhand at one time, was a model for water conservation and management. Rivers like Ken, Betwa, Dhasan made the region famous and prosperous.
“The land of Bundelkhand blessed Lord Ram when he was in exile. However, those who ruled Delhi and UP never worked towards its development. Earlier governments mistreated the region,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that water problem in the region became so acute that people refused to marry their daughters in this area and this led to migration.
“The previous family-oriented government destroyed natural resources and allowed the mafia to prosper. After Yogi Adityanath came to power, the mafia was bulldozed but you should not forget what the previous governments did to you. In their regime, scams and commissions were the order of the day,” he stated.
He said that the previous government showed no interest in the Arjun Sahayak Yojana because they worked to loot and we work to serve. “Some do the politics of problem while we do the politics of solution,” he said.
Modi said that the scheme will give a new lease of life to the Bundelkhand region.
“Over 30 lakh families have benefitted from the ‘nal se jal’ scheme,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Arjuna Sahayak irrigation project worth Rs 2,655 crore, is a significant initiative to alleviate water distress in the districts like Mahoba, Hamirpur and Banda and to bring relief to the farmers of the state.
The mega project on the river Dhasan will not only provide irrigation facilities to over 1.5 lakh farmers of about 168 villages of Mahoba, Banda and Hamirpur but will also facilitate the provision of clean drinking water (potable water) to over 4 lakh families residing in water-scarce regions.
The project will play an important role in benefitting the crop growers along with other projects.
The project, which started nearly a decade ago (2009-10), will not only make Bundelkhand green but its operationalisation will also help in irrigation of around 44,382 hectares of land in the districts of Mahoba, Hamirpur and Banda.
Along with this, 15,104-hectare irrigation capacity will also be restored. In addition, 20 MCM drinking water will also be available to Mahoba from the Kabrai Dam.
Nearly 1,49,755 farmers of 168 villages will be benefitted.
According to the government spokesman, the Arjun Sahayak Project, which was started in the year 2009-10 at a cost of Rs 850 crore, was to be completed in the year 2015.
However, due to the neglect of the previous governments, not only the completion of the project was delayed but also its cost was increased to Rs 2655.36 crore.
The Bundelkhand region, for long, has been facing acute water shortage where most wells and hand-pumps have dried up due to decreasing groundwater levels. The residents in the drought-prone regions were forced to buy basic necessities such as drinking water.
In view of solving the water crisis in such regions, the government completed the Rasin Dam Project (Chitrakoot) Bandai Dam Project (Lalitpur) between March 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.
In the coming days, projects like Kulpahar and Shahzad of Bundelkhand will serve as a model for the state. These are being connected to the sprinkler system. With this, more irrigation will be done in less water and the yield will also increase.
Crime
Thane School Bus Driver Held For Threatening To Kidnap Student, Demanding ₹4 Lakh

Thane: Police have arrested a school bus driver here for allegedly threatening to kidnap a 15-year-old student, who used to travel in his vehicle, and demanding Rs 4 lakh from the boy’s parents, officials said on Monday.
The bus driver, who also operated a mobile phone and SIM card shop at Kashimira in Maharashtra’s Thane district, had planned the extortion in an attempt to make quick money, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone I, Rahul Chavan told reporters.
The boy’s mother, a resident of Kashimira, received a text message from an unknown mobile number on Saturday, threatening to kidnap the teenager if she failed to pay Rs 4 lakh. She immediately approached the local police.
The investigators traced the message to a number linked with a local mobile phone shop.
The school bus driver also owned a mobile and SIM card shop. He took the SIM card of one of his less-educated customers and replaced it with an inactive one, the official said.
The driver then used the active SIM card to send threats to the boy’s family via WhatsApp. He also used a photo of the boy in his possession to send ransom messages to his mother, the official said.
The police questioned the bus driver, Hariram Soma (37), who confessed to the crime, he said. The accused, also a resident of the Kashimira area, was arrested on Sunday, he added.
“Police ensured the child was not harmed. Within hours of receiving the complaint, our technical team traced the digital trail, identified the suspect and took him into custody,” Chavan said.
The accused has been booked on charges of criminal intimidation and extortion under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.
The police have information that the accused targeted four parents of the children whom he ferried to school in his bus, and are investigating it, the official said.
Business
Relief for Vodafone Idea as SC allows Centre to reconsider AGR dues issue

New Delhi, Oct 27: In a relief for Vodafone Idea, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Centre to reconsider the issue of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues worth Rs 9,450 crore to ease the burden of the loss-making telecom company. The court reasoned that this matter falls in the Union’s policy domain.
The Supreme Court noted that the decision was made keeping in mind the interest of 20 crore consumers of the telecom company.
In a landmark 2019 verdict, the Supreme Court endorsed the Centre’s definition of AGR and allowed the Centre to collect dues worth Rs 92,000 crore which came as a huge setback for telecom majors such as Vodafone and Bharti Airtel.
Vodafone’s latest petition flagged a fresh AGR demand of Rs 9,450 crore raised by the Department of Telecommunications. The petition contended that a substantial portion of the demand pertained to the pre-2017 period, which had already been settled by the Supreme Court.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta told the court that “there is a huge change in circumstances” of the case because the government has infused equity in Vodafone.
“The government’s interest is public interest. There are 20 crore consumers. If this company is to suffer, it would lead to issues for consumers,” he said.
The Supreme Court noted in its order that the Centre is willing to examine the issue. “The government is also willing to reconsider and take an appropriate decision if the court permits. In the peculiar facts, we see no impediment in government reconsidering the issue. We clarify that this is a matter of policy, there is no reason as to why the Union should be prevented from doing so,” the apex court said.
AGR refers to a fee-sharing mechanism under which telecom operators must share a part of their revenue with the Centre as licensing fees and spectrum usage charges. There was a longstanding dispute between telecom companies and the Centre over the definition of AGR. While the telecom giants stressed that AGR should be based just on core services, the Centre argued it should also factor in non-telecom services provided by the telecom giants.
National News
Sanjay Raut Alleges ‘Major Scam’ In Land Transfer For BJP’s New Mumbai Office, Writes To Amit Shah

Mumbai: Hours before Union Home Minister Amit Shah was set to lay the foundation stone for the new Maharashtra state headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Mumbai’s Churchgate area, Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut launched a scathing attack on the party, alleging large-scale irregularities in the land transfer process for the upcoming BJP office.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Raut directly addressed Shah, writing, “Dear Mr Amit Shahji, Jai Maharashtra. Today, I am presenting information about what secret lies beneath the land of the BJP office, whose groundbreaking ceremony you are about to perform.” The Sena UBT leader also released a detailed letter addressed to Shah, claiming a ‘major scam’ in the allocation of the plot and alleging that administrative procedures were bypassed to facilitate the transfer in favour of the BJP.
According to Raut, the BJP took possession of the plot near Marine Lines Exide, previously owned by Eknath Realtors, within just 11 days of starting the process. He alleged that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), currently under administrative rule, acted with unusual haste on the matter, even though several other civic development files have been pending for months.
Raut stated that the land was originally owned by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Finance Corporation (MSCFC), which had leased 46 percent of it to Eknath Realtors. The realtor later applied for the remaining 54 percent and reportedly received rapid approval. Raut further alleged that Eknath Realtors paid a transfer premium of over Rs 21 crore, while the Mumbai Suburban (Reform) Committee approved the deal on May 22, 2025.
The BJP is said to have completed the property transfer in just 11 days, paying around Rs 3 crore in stamp duty. Raut also claimed that certain administrative officials colluded with Eknath Realtors to expedite the handover ‘under political pressure,’ with some transactions allegedly taking place at midnight.
Urging Amit Shah to take cognisance of the alleged irregularities, Raut said the episode raises serious questions about transparency and fairness. Meanwhile, the foundation stone-laying ceremony is set to proceed as planned, with Shah, CM Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP chief Ravindra Chavan in attendance.
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