Vizianagaram (Andhra Pradesh) [India], March 8 (ANI): A video of former union minister and senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Ashok Gajapathi Raju allegedly manhandling a woman at an election campaign in Vizianagaram went viral on Monday.
“I have tried to douse the flames of “Aarti thali” which was in the hands of a woman and did not manhandle any women,” Raju told ANI over the phone.
Meanwhile, Hemalata, the TDP woman cadre who was allegedly beaten by the former union minister denied any such incident. She said that the ‘Arti thali’ had caught fire and he was dousing off the flame. She alleged that YSR Congress workers are twisting the matter and spreading wrong information.
However, the local police have not confirmed the incident. “No such incident has come to our notice. However, we are probing into the matter,” an inspector from Two Town Circle told ANI over the phone.
Monday is the last day for the campaign for municipal elections in Andhra Pradesh. Raju was taking part in the campaign in Vizianagaram. According to people present at the spot, a woman who is a cadre of TDP threw flowers on Raju. Following this Raju allegedly beaten the woman. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 8 (ANI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday said that women have held the highest positions in the socio-political and economic fields and have made an outstanding contribution towards the development of society.
Birla, who met women parliamentarians and women journalists on the occasion of International Women’s Day in Parliament House Complex today in the first-of-its-kind initiative, said women have led from the forefront while holding important positions like President, Prime Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker.
The event was also attended by Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of Women and Child Development and Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani.
According to a Lok Sabha Secretariat release, Birla said that apart from holding positions of power, women are also playing the role of catalysts in social welfare.
He said women have the ability, patience, self-confidence, will power and equity and they are serving the nation from panchayat to Parliament.
Recalling the role of women freedom fighters and their role in post-Independence India, Birla said that the development and progress was possible because of the participation of women in every stage of nation-building.
He noted that the present Lok Sabha has the highest number of women parliamentarians.
Birla also appreciated the performance of women parliamentarians in the House.
Speaking about women journalists, Birla said that “journalism is a challenging and tough task” and women are becoming successful “because of their competence and courage on the one hand, and empathy and compassion towards public cause on the other”.
He said women, through their reporting, highlight the problems of deprived sections of society and of the last man at the periphery.
When the Lok Sabha met for the day on the first day of the second half of the budget session, Birla greeted the Members of Parliament on International Women’s Day.
“Today is the day to celebrate the achievements and contributions of women towards nation and society,” he said.
The Speaker also interacted with women employees of the Lok Sabha Secretariat and lauded their contribution towards the smooth working of the House. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 8 (ANI): To overcome the inconvenience over multiple helpline numbers for grievances and enquiry during railway travel, Indian Railway has integrated all railway helplines into a single number1–39 (Rail Madad Helpline) for quick grievance during the journey.
According to an official statement: “Various Railway grievances helplines were discontinued last year. Now, Helpline number 182 would also be discontinued from March 1 and merged into 139 which is available in twelve languages.
Passengers can opt for IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System), or directly connect to the call-centre executive by pressing (asterisk). There is no need for a smartphone to call on 139, thus, providing easy access to all mobile users.
On an average basis, the merged helpline number received 3,44,513 inquiries per day, the statement read.
The customer has to press 1 for security and medical assistance, 2 for PNR status enquiry, 4 for general complaints, 5 for vigilance related complaints, 6 for Parcel and goods related queries, 7 for IRCTC operated trains queries, 8 for the status of complaints, 9 for talking to call centre executive and press *( asterisk) for talking to call centre executive.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Railways has also launched the Social Media campaign #OneRailOneHelpline139 to inform and educate the passengers. (ANI)

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 8 (ANI): The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is all set to revamp and beautify 12 major junctions in the city, said an official statement on Monday.
In the statement, the BBMP Administrator Gaurav Gupta said that the architects have studied the city’s 12 major junctions and thought of a number of themes for the junctions to make them appealing to the public while incorporating modifications for smooth traffic.
The designs must be implemented with emphasis on the beautification of the junctions.
“Once the junctions are revamped, the vehicular movement must not be affected. The sidewalks must be designed in a pedestrian-friendly way. The designs must be considered only after consultation with the traffic police department,” he instructed.
The construction work should be taken up in coordination with the department, he said.
Chalukya Circle junction is designed on the theme of the erstwhile Chalukya dynasty. Anil Kumble Junction, which is near Chinnaswamy Stadium, is designed on a sports theme. Likewise, the Mysore Bank Circle junction design is based on the theme of the Karaga festival.
Special Commissioner (Planning) Manoj Jain, Chief Engineer Prahlad of Road Infrastructure Division, architects and other concerned officials were present in the meeting at BBMP head office today. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 8 (ANI): The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 2.26 crore on Monday, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
According to MoHFW, A total of 2,26,85,598 vaccine doses have been given till today. As many as 70,41,584 healthcare workers have received the first dose and 37,12,906 healthcare workers have taken the second dose.
When it comes to frontline workers, 67,73,081 have taken the first dose and 3,13,835 have received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, 41,85,274 beneficiaries are more than 60 years old and 6,58,918 beneficiaries aged 45 and above with specific co-morbidities.
The nationwide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 2021 and vaccination of the frontline workers started on February 2.
The second phase of COVID-19 vaccination has started from March 1 for those who are over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 8 (ANI): The Supreme Court will on Tuesday hear plea by BJP leader and former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh seeking directions to transfer all cases registered against her by the West Bengal police to an independent agency.
A two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Uday Umesh Lalit gave directions for the matter be listed tomorrow.
“Considering the urgency, let the matter be listed tomorrow before the appropriate bench of this Court”, Justice Lalit said.
The top court had earlier granted protection from arrest in all the cases registered against Ghosh, who had joined the BJP.
Ghosh claimed in her plea that she joined the BJP before the last Lok Sabha elections and 10 first information reports (FIRs) were registered against her “in false cases”. She said four more FIRs were filed against her after the elections.
The petitioner sought a stay on the arrest warrant issued against her on February 4, 2021, registered at Keshpur police station.
She sought a direction to the respondents, particularly the Union of India (UOI), to call for reports of the Central Industrialist Security Force (CISF) submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) regarding the alleged incident of May 12, 2019.
Ghosh also sought direction to the West Bengal government to furnish the complete list of cases/FIRs registered by them, directly or indirectly, against her.
The petitioner sought directions for the West Bengal government to give the petitioner prior notice, at least 10 clear days in advance, in the event of their registering a new/fresh case/FIR against her. (ANI)