Demanding strict action against a teacher accused of killing a Dalit student of a private school in Rajasthan, National General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Tarun Chugh, on Sunday, wrote a letter to National Commission for Scheduled Castes Chairman Vijay Sapanla.

Tarun Chugh wrote in the letter that a Dalit student of a private school in the Jalore police station area of Rajasthan was beaten up because he drank water from a teacher’s pot. The BJP leader asked for justice for the child and demanded a commission team to probe this case.

“I request to the SC commission that strict action should be taken against the accused teacher and strict punishment should be given so that such misdeeds should not happen again,” he said.

The incident took place on 20 July at a private school in Surana village of Rajasthan’s Jalore district, where the teacher allegedly beat up the minor for touching the pot of water in the school.

Condemning the incident, he further said, “I ask for a team of commission to get justice at the earliest to the family. The accused teacher should be punished under the sections of Scheduled Caste Act so that such incident would not take place again in society.”

Meanwhile, the state government announced Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia for the kin of the deceased.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condemned the incident and said in a tweet, “The accused teacher has been arrested and a case has been registered against him for murder and under sections of the SC/ST Act.”

“The matter has been taken under the case officer scheme for speedy investigation and punishment for the accused. It will be ensured that the victim’s family gets justice at the earliest. The family members of the deceased will be given a relief amount of Rs 5 lakh from the Chief Minister’s relief fund,” he added.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Sunday conducted a projection mapping at its headquarters in the national capital as part of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign ahead of the celebration of Independence Day.

As part of Har Ghar Tiranga initiative in the 75th year of Independence, projection mapping was done at the DRDO headquarters.

The ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign commenced on Saturday and will run till 15 August. The campaign under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is to encourage people to bring the tiranga home and to hoist it to mark the 75th year of India’s independence.

This year, the country is observing great enthusiasm to celebrate the 75 years of India’s Independence with the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign launched by PM Modi, wherein he appealed to the country persons to bring home the national flag and hoist it.

Earlier, Indian citizens were not allowed to hoist the national flag except on selected occasions. This changed after a decade-long legal battle by industrialist Naveen Jindal culminated in the landmark SC judgement of 23 January 2004 that declared that the right to fly the national flag freely with respect and dignity is a fundamental right of an Indian citizen within the meaning of Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India.

A 6,600 feet long tricolour yatra was taken out in Jhajjar as part of celebrations ahead of Independence Day.

Lauding the Centre and the Prime Minister for the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, Naveen Jindal has appealed to every Indian to make ‘Har Din Tiranga’ their motto.

The programme envisages inspiring Indians everywhere to hoist the national flag at their homes. The aim of the programme is to make the relationship with the national flag a more personal one rather than just keeping it formal or institutional. The campaign is launched under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

As the Yamuna River flowed just below the danger mark on Sunday morning, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the people to avoid going towards the banks. The Yamuna was flowing at 204.91 meters, just below the danger mark of 205.33 meters. People are living on the roadside as overflowing water from the Yamuna inundated low-lying areas.

Low-lying areas near Mayur Vihar Phase I and Akshardham Temple were flooded due to the overflowing Yamuna river.

“The water came gushing in, and I immediately rushed to evacuate my family members and our goats. Some of my belongings got left behind in my house,” said a woman.

Expressing concerns over the development, Kejriwal asked the people to cooperate with the government and the administration. He also said that the government is ready to deal with any situation.

“The water level of the Yamuna has increased in Delhi. My appeal to all is to avoid going towards the banks of the river. We have made adequate arrangements for the people living near the Yamuna. Cooperate with the government and administration. We are monitoring the situation and are ready to deal with any situation,” the Chief Minister tweeted.

Breaching the danger mark of 205.33 meters, the river overflowed at around 4 pm on Friday.

It flowed over the danger mark for over a day.  

Indian Naval Warship INS Satpura arrived at San Diego Harbour North American Continent on Saturday as part of a commemorative deployment undertaken by the Indian Navy’s ships across six continents, three oceans, and six different time zones, as per a press release. The visit of INS Satpura to San Diego is historic as this is the first time an Indian Naval Warship has reached the west coast of North America.

The ship will hoist the Indian Tricolour in the presence of the Indian diaspora and distinguished local dignitaries in North American Continent on the historic 75th Independence Day at about 10,000 nautical miles away from her base port, added the press release. The ship will also conduct a 75-lap “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Run” at San Diego US Navy Base on August 15, 2022.

As the water was released from the Hirakud dam after heavy rain, about a hundred houses in the vicinity in Odisha’s Sambalpur were submerged. The District Magistrate of Sambalpur said that several relief centres were also started amid the flood-like situation.

“Incessant downpour and opening of 34 gates of Hirakud dam have led to a flood-like situation in Sambalpur. Over 100 houses were submerged. Relief centres opened,” said DM Ananya Das, Sambalpur. The authorities had released excess floodwater from the reservoir as it rose due to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas.

The authorities had opened the 34 sluice gates by 9 am on Sunday as the water level of the dam stood at 616.60 ft against the full reservoir level of 630 ft. The inflow of the water into the dam was 5,79,680 cusecs while the outflow was 5,60,614 cusecs.

The India Meteorological Department has predicted heavy rainfall at a few places over Chhattisgarh and Odisha during the next 24 hours.

“Isolated very heavy rainfall likely over …Odisha on 18th August,” it said in another tweet.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh launched India’s first saline water lantern, which uses seawater to power LED lamps.

According to the Ministry of Earth Science, Singh unveiled the first-of-its-kind lantern named “Roshni” during a visit to SAGAR ANVESHIKA, a Coastal Research Vessel, operated and used by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai for coastal research.

The Minister said that saline water lantern will bring “Ease of Living” to the poor and needy, particularly the fishing community living along the 7500 Kilometres long coastal line of India.

Singh said that saline water lantern will also boost and supplement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s UJALA scheme launched in 2015 for the distribution of LED bulbs across the country.

He said that Roshini lamps along with Power Ministry’s schemes like Solar Study lamps will be driving a vibrant renewable energy programme aimed at achieving energy security, energy access, and reducing the carbon footprints of the national economy. Singh also pointed out that this technology can also be used in hinterlands, where seawater is not available, as any saline water or normal water mixed with the common salt can be used to power the lantern, which is not only cost-effective but very easy to operate.