India will host a three-day meeting of development ministers of the G20 member nations in Varanasi beginning Sunday that is expected to focus on disruptions in global supply chains, food and energy security challenges and impacts of climate change among other issues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver a special video address at the beginning of the meeting which will be chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Around 200 delegates are expected to attend the meeting, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). India is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the current chair of G20. The G20 development ministers' conclave follows the Voice of the Global South Summit that was hosted by India in January, and the decisions taken at the Varanasi meet will also contribute to the UN summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September, the MEA said. In a statement, it said the Varanasi meeting is taking place amid mounting developmental challenges that ha
Vishen said he took the decision due to lack of resources required for contesting the case and "harassment by anti-religious people"
The Allahabad High Court will further hear on July 14 a plea moved by the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board and the Gyanvapi mosque management committee that has challenged the maintainability of a suit filed before a Varanasi court, seeking the restoration of a temple at the site where the mosque exists. The petitioners have also challenged a Varanasi court order dated April 8, 2021, directing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex. After a brief hearing on Friday, Justice Prakash Padia directed that the matter be put up for further hearing on July 14. Justice Padia had reserved his judgment in the matter on November 28, 2022 after hearing both sides at length. The court had also directed that its earlier interim order that had stayed the aforesaid direction of the Varanasi court will continue till the delivery of the judgment. However, in its order dated May 24, Justice Padia said certain clarifications were required
The Allahabad High Court had previously reserved its judgment on the maintainability of the lawsuit pending in the Varanasi court. The court will now hear all related matters together
A court here on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea for a survey by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) of the entire Gyanvapi mosque premises located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Accepting the petition filed by lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who represents the Hindu side, District Court Judge A K Vishvesh asked the Gyanvapi mosque committee to file its reply to the plea by May 19, District Government Counsel Mahendra Nath Pandey said. The court fixed the next hearing in the matter on May 22. On Friday, the Allahabad High Court ordered determination of the age of the structure claimed to be a shivling in the Gyanvapi mosque using modern technology. It set aside an October 14 order of the Varanasi District Court that rejected a plea for scientific investigation, including carbon dating, of the structure found in May 2022 during a court-mandated survey of the Gyanvapi mosque. The high court directed the Varanasi district judge to proceed, in accordance with law, on the application
At present, the Purvanchal, Lucknow-Agra, and Yamuna Expressways make it possible for a traveller to cover the Delhi-Varanasi journey in just over 10 hours
The makeover of religious cities, including Ayodhya and Mathura, along with the push to religious tourism, has already reaped rich dividends for the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Varanasi district collector to hold a meeting for providing congenial working arrangements for 'wazu' (ritual ablution) for Muslim devotees at the Gyanvapi mosque complex. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala was apprised by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, that the meeting would be held on Tuesday and the decision will be implemented for providing facilities for wazu' on the premises. The court was hearing a plea by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee seeking permission for 'wazu' at the mosque complex in Varanasi during the month of Ramzan. The top court referred to its order of May 20 last year where it had directed that facilities for wazu' and washrooms be provided to devotees following the sealing of certain areas inside the premises. The solicitor general assures the court that a meeting shall be convened tomorrow by the district collec
A Varanasi-bound IndiGo flight made an emergency landing at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad airport in Telangana on Tuesday, due to a technical problem.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has confirmed that IndiGo Flight 6E897 had taken off from Bengaluru for Varanasi but made an emergency landing at 6:15 am after diverting to Shamshadabad airport.Officials have cited a "technical problem" for the diversion.There were 137 passengers on board and all are safe, DGCA said.The DGCA has ordered an inquiry into the incident, said a senior official.Further details are awaited.
The court of Additional District judge Anuradha Kushwaha has issued notices to defendants in the revision petition filed, that seeks filing of a case against Akhilesh Yadav, Asaduddin Owaisi
The Centre is developing 60 jetties on the banks of Ganga between Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Haldia in West Bengal, Union MoS for Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur said on Sunday. Inaugurating four such jetties on both sides of the river at Nadia's Kalyani and Tribeny in Hooghly district of West Bengal, he said the Centre was also developing 118 waterways in the country. "The 118 new waterways will reduce distance, lower transportation costs and benefit small traders, daily passengers and students. It will strengthen the economy," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focussing on the infrastructure development of the country which has been neglected for a long, he said. "We want the cooperation of the West Bengal government for infrastructure development as the state needs it," he said. Thakur said the four jetties he inaugurated were built at a cost of Rs 8 crore. He also initiated various development along the Ichamati river -- National Waterway 44, in the North 24
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday laid foundation stones and inaugurated 28 development projects worth over Rs 1,780 crore in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi. During a programme at the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University ground here, Modi laid the foundation stones in presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel. He laid the foundation stone of the passenger ropeway from Varanasi Cantonment station to Godowlia. The project is estimated to cost Rs 645 crore. The 3.75-kilometre ropeway system will have five stations and facilitate the ease of movement for tourists, pilgrims and residents. Modi also laid the foundation stone of a 55 MLD (million litres per day) sewage treatment plant at Bhagwanpur under the Namami Gange scheme. The project will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore. Under the Khelo India scheme, Modi laid the foundation stone of the Phase 2 and Phase 3 redevelopment work of Sigra Stadium. He also dedicate
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, arrived at Rudrakash Convention Centre in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, where he will be addressing the 'One World TB Summit'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Varanasi on Friday to dedicate and lay foundation stone of various projects worth more than Rs 1780 crores
One World TB Summit will provide an opportunity to further deliberate upon the targets as the country moves forward to meet its TB elimination objectives
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for India's first public transport ropeway in his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi, on March 24
After Lucknow and Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh is set to get its third international cricket stadium in Varanasi and the work on the same will commence by May-June this year. The state government has purchased a land measuring 31 acres in Rajatalab area of Varanasi for the international cricket stadium, and the land will be handed over to the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by the end of this month, according to officials. BCCI's honorary secretary Jay Shah and BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla had visited Varanasi earlier this week in this regard. "The Uttar Pradesh government has identified around 31 acres of land in Ganjari village in Rajatalab tehsil (of Varanasi) for the construction of the international cricket stadium. It will be the third such stadium in the state after Green Park in Kanpur and Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana stadium in Lucknow, where international matches will be played," UPCA director Yudhvir Singh told PTI
The National Green Tribunal has sought a factual report from a panel over allegations that the Tent City project in Varanasi was flouting environmental norms. The NGT was hearing a petition alleging the project on a 100-acre area on the riverbed of the Ganga, was detrimental to the flora and fauna and also resulted in untreated sewage going directly into the river. The Tent City, developed on the banks of the Ganga opposite the famed ghats of the holy city, aims to tap the tourism potential of the region and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January. A bench comprising chairperson Justice A K Goel said the allegations, if true, depicted serious violations of environmental norms. But before passing any order, it was necessary to seek a factual report from a seven-member joint committee of the national mission for clean Ganga (NMCG), Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Chief Wild Life Warden and Irrigation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the country's first public transport ropeway in his parliamentary constituency of Banaras on March 24