National News
Thackeray to PM Modi: Apologise for Amit Shah’s comments on Ambedkar
Nagpur, Dec 18: Taking strong umbrage over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comments on Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apologise for the utterances or quit, here on Wednesday.
Thackeray, a former Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Chief Minister, played the tapes of Shah’s comments that have sparked a massive political row in Maharashtra and other parts of the country, especially among the Dalit communities.
Shah said that rather than chanting ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, if you invoke the name of God, you will get heaven in seven births’ – that has kicked up a storm among Dalits and Ambedkar followers.
Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Thackeray said that Shah would “not dare to say such a thing unless prodded by the BJP-RSS”, and demanded to know whether Prime Minister Modi and Maharashtra Ministers in the Union Cabinet were in concurrence with it.
“Maharashtra has given two great sons to the world, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Dr Ambedkar who gave us the Constitution. After ranting ‘Nehru, Nehru’ for years, they are attacking Dr Ambedkar. We will not tolerate any kind of insults to them,” fumed Thackeray.
He said that Modi-Shah must apologise to the nation or quit for the slight to Ambedkar that has shaken the poor and downtrodden masses, warning that they will not forgive the BJP.
Countering Shah, SS (UBT) Deputy Leader Sushma Andhare declared that Ambedkar is indeed a divine personality for millions who worship him daily for his services to the downtrodden, the deprived and the poorest sections of society.
Other MVA leaders like Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) General Secretary Dr Jitendra Awhad, Congress’ state President Nana F. Patole and Dr. Nitin Raut, SS (UBT)’s Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut, and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi President Prakash Ambedkar, also attacked the BJP and Shah for displaying their “utter contempt for Dr. Ambedkar and the Constitution”.
Thackeray contended that the BJP — which secured a brute majority in the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls — has continued to denigrate the icons like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule.
“A former governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had made objectionable remarks against the legendary Phule couple… The statue of the Chhatrapati (in Sindhudurg) crashed just eight months after it was inaugurated by the PM… And now Shah’s statement in the Parliament,” said Thackeray.
Lashing out at Shah, Thackeray pointedly asked Shah, “whether you will get Heaven by chanting ‘Modi, Modi’ daily”, adding that now the BJP’s attitude against the respected and venerated personalities ‘has crossed all tolerable limits’ in the past few years.
disaster
12-year-old girl killed, 4 injured as mud house collapses in Bihar’s Aurangabad

Patna, Sep 4: A 12-year-old girl was killed, and four members of her family were injured after a mud house collapsed in Bihar’s Aurangabad district, police said on Friday.
The incident, which happened in Sinhudi village under the Obra police station area, triggered panic in the village after screams and cries for help alerted residents, who rushed to the spot and found the family trapped beneath the debris.
Villagers immediately launched a rescue operation and, after considerable effort, managed to pull all five family members out of the collapsed structure. However, the girl, identified as Babli Kumari, could not be saved.
Her mother, Poonam Devi, and three other children — Nandani Kumari, Rimi Kumari and Kundan Kumar — sustained serious injuries. They were rushed to Sadar Hospital in Aurangabad for treatment, where doctors declared Babli Kumari dead on arrival.
According to villagers, Poonam Devi had been sleeping in the old mud house with her four children, as they did every night, when the walls and roof suddenly collapsed, bringing down the entire room.
The incident plunged Sinhudi village into mourning, while the injured mother and children remain under treatment at the hospital.
Former MLA Rishi Yadav expressed grief over the tragedy and urged the district administration to provide the affected family with a permanent house and adequate compensation.
Obra SHO Nitish Kumar said police received information about the incident and reached the spot. He said a girl had died after being trapped under the debris, while the injured family members were admitted to Sadar Hospital for treatment.
“We have conducted the post-mortem of the dead body and handed it over to the family for the last rites,” the SHO said, adding that further investigation into the incident is underway.
He also said that the case was recommended to the district magistrate’s office for compensation.
The area has experienced heavy rainfall over the past few days, which may have weakened the structure of the mud house and possibly led to its collapse.
Business
Adani Ports to start dedicated empty container yard operations at Mundra to boost efficiency

Ahmedabad, Sep 4: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) on Friday said it is launching a dedicated Empty Container Yard (ECY) with integrated warehousing at Mundra, offering end-to-end services across the empty container lifecycle, including storage, maintenance, inspection, and seamless movement to exporters and CFSs (container freight stations).
As part of its ‘Ambition 2031’ roadmap, APSEZ is making significant investments to expand capacity across its network, with Mundra at the forefront of this growth.
India’s largest integrated transport operator plans to add more than 6 million TEUs of container handling capacity over the next five years, said the Adani Group company.
“The dedicated Empty Container Yard at Mundra, to be operated by APSEZ and/or partners (including CFS and shipping lines), will enhance efficiency across the container ecosystem by enabling faster turnaround times, reducing unnecessary container movements, and optimising logistics costs,” said Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and Chief Executive Officer, APSEZ.
Strengthening trade-enabling infrastructure remains central to APSEZ’s commitment towards supporting India’s growth and the vision of Viksit Bharat, Gupta added.
Adani Ports commands a 45.5 per cent share of India’s container market as of FY26. Within this, Mundra Port alone handles nearly 35 per cent of the country’s container trade, making it India’s largest container-handling port.
The volume of empty containers handled at Mundra is estimated at around 1.6 million TEUs annually, underscoring its critical role in supporting India’s import-export supply chains, said the company.
Moreover, the initiative aligns with the government’s focus on developing efficient, technology-enabled logistics systems and improving ease of doing business.
Adani Ports operates a comprehensive ecosystem of 16 strategically located ports and terminals with a diversified marine fleet of 136 vessels and integrated logistics capabilities.
With a current cargo handling capacity of 653 million tonnes per annum, APSEZ commands approximately 27 per cent of India’s total port volumes, targeting 1 billion tonnes throughput by 2030.
disaster
Bihar flood situation worsens as Ganga, other rivers rise; several areas inundated

Patna, Sep 4: The flood situation in Bihar deteriorated further on Friday as water levels of major rivers, including the Ganga, Gandak, Punpun and Dardha, continued to rise, inundating new areas across the state. According to the Water Resources Department, the Ganga is expected to cross its Highest Flood Level (HFL) at Patna’s Gandhi Ghat and Hathidah in Mokama by Friday night.
The state Disaster Management Department has issued an alert for residents living along riverbanks and in low-lying areas of Bhojpur, Patna, Saran, Vaishali, Nalanda, Begusarai, Lakhisarai and Jehanabad, urging them to remain vigilant and take precautionary measures.
In Patna, the Ganga was flowing 1.17 metres above the danger mark at Digha, 1.67 metres above the danger mark at Gandhi Ghat and 1.32 metres above the danger mark at Hathidah. The Punpun River was recorded at 2.29 metres above the danger mark at Shripalpur, while the Dardha River was flowing 3.07 metres above the danger mark at Kolhachak.
In Bhagalpur, the Ganga rose by 15 cm over the past 24 hours, leading to the re-entry of floodwaters into diara areas of Nathnagar, Naugachia and Pirpainti. Vast tracts of agricultural land, along with standing crops and fodder, have been submerged.
Khagaria remains among the worst-hit districts, with the Ganga flowing 1.01 metres above the danger mark. The Kosi, Bagmati and Burhi Gandak rivers were also flowing significantly above danger levels, heightening concerns of further flooding.
In Raghopur, severe erosion and land subsidence have been reported along a railway line after the near-complete erosion of a marginal embankment. The main channel of the Ganga has shifted dangerously close to the tracks, affecting areas within a two-to-three-kilometre radius.
The Ganga’s water level in Munger rose by 36 cm in the last 24 hours. In Madhepura district’s Alamnagar and Chausa blocks, nearly one lakh people have been affected by floods, prompting authorities to deploy 35 boats for rescue and relief operations.
In Banka district, a diversion road built for an under-construction bridge near Barsanda village was washed away by the strong current of the Mirchni River. Several villages in Saharsa have also been inundated.
Floodwaters have disrupted road connectivity in several districts. In West Champaran, traffic has come to a standstill on the Yogapatti-Chhota Chaumukha-Siswa Mangalpur road, where water is flowing two to three feet above the roadway. Around two dozen villages in Samastipur have been affected by flooding, while several rural roads are submerged. Traffic movement has also been disrupted on the Kachchi Dargah-Bidupur six-lane bridge in Patna.
All panchayats in Raghopur block of Vaishali district have been affected, with nearly 20 panchayats losing road connectivity to the main network, hampering relief operations and the movement of residents.
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