Page 13 - Varanasi

Now home to six governors, Purvanchal continues to hold sway in BJP

Purvanchal continues to play a key role in the ruling BJP's scheme of things as the region is now home to six governors, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and is also represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha. The Centre recently appointed former Union minister and Gorakhpur Cantonment ex-MLA Shiv Pratap Shukla and Laxman Acharya, a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, as governors of Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim, respectively. Acharya hails from Varanasi, the Prime Minister's Lok Sabha constituency. Among the other governors from this Bhojpuri-speaking region in eastern Uttar Pradesh are Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, a former Union minister who represented Ghazipur as an MP. Former Union minister Kalraj Mishra, who represented the Deoria Lok Sabha seat in Parliament, is now the governor of Rajasthan. Meghalaya Governor Phagu Chauhan also hails from the region. Chauhan has represented the Ghosi seat six times in the Uttar Pradesh

Rahul's plane 'deliberately' denied landing permission in Varanasi: Cong

The Congress Party have alleged that Rahul Gandhi's plane was denied permission to land at Varanasi's Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport on Monday.Congress leader Ajay Rai said that the airport authorities did not grant permission as they were under pressure, and that they used President Droupadi Murmu's visit as an 'excuse'.He said Rahul Gandhi's flight was scheduled to land at Varanasi airport on Monday night, but was "deliberately" not given permission."Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to arrive here and then go to Prayagraj, but the airport authority did not allow his plane to land due to pressure from the government. They said there is a heavy aircraft movement and traffic congestion and did not give permission," Rai alleged.The Congress leader also said that the BJP government is 'scared' of Rahul Gandhi and hence they did not allow the plane to land at the airport in Varanasi."Prime minister of the country has been anxious since Rahul Gandhi led the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Now, they are ...

Smart Cities mission: 22 cities including Agra to be ready by next month

Agra, Varanasi, Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad are among the 22 cities that will complete all projects under the government's ambitious Smart Cities Mission by next month, giving their citizens better quality of life and a clean and sustainable environment, officials said on Sunday. In the remaining 78 cities selected under the mission, the ongoing projects will be completed in the next three-four months, a senior official of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said. The Narendra Modi government launched its flagship Smart Cities Mission on June 25, 2015 and 100 cities were selected for redevelopment through four rounds of competition from January 2016 to June 2018. According to the ministry, the mission's objective is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give its citizens a decent quality of life and a clean and sustainable environment, besides adopting "smart solutions" to various issues. The 22 smart cities where all projects will be completed by March ar

Over 125,000 passengers availed Digi Yatra at 3 airports since Dec 2022

More than 1.25 lakh passengers have availed Digi Yatra at three airports since its launch. Digi Yatra was launched at three airports, including Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi on December 1, 2022

Allahabad HC grants bail to man who threatened to demolish Gyanvapi

Besides approving the bail plea, the court also invoked a ban on his arrest

Environment-friendly CNG replaces diesel as fuel on boats in Varanasi

Noisy and polluting boats on the Ganga river are now plying on environment-friendly CNG as part of a plan to cut noise and air pollution on the holy river. As many as 583 boats already have CNG engines and plans are afoot to replace the entire fleet of boats operating on banks of the holy city of Varanasi with environment-friendly fuel, Oil Minister Hardeep Puri said on Sunday. These boats are being supplied CNG from India's first floating CNG station built by GAIL at Namo Ghat. "In July last year Prime Minister had desired that boats on holy Ganga should be run on CNG. Against the target of 500 boats, 583 have already switched to CNG and we are working to get 2,000 boats to convert," he said. To promote the fuel, a race of CNG-run boats was organised on banks of this holy city. Compared to diesel-fuelled boat engines, CNG engines produce less pollution and do not emit harmful gases like sulphur dioxide. CNG engines are also much quieter, thereby minimising the adverse effects the

Varanasi facelift to be completed by March 31, just in time for G20 events

The work of Varanasi's facelift will be completed by March 31, in time for the five G20 events to be held here between April and August

LIVE: Whirlpool India's MD Vishal Bhola resigns, CEO Eswar to take charge

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Cruise tourism will unlock river economy: Modi launches 'MV Ganga Vilas'

Government planning initiatives to develop inland waterways across country, he says

32 foreign tourists to be part of MV Ganga Vilas cruise in Varanasi

Thirty-two foreign tourists who will go on the world's longest river cruise, MV Ganga Vilas, on its maiden journey were accorded a warm welcome in Varanasi on Tuesday

Ganga Vilas cruise opportunity to connect with our cultural roots: PM Modi

Set to sail from Varanasi, Modi's parliamentary constituency, the cruise will cover 3,200 km over 51 days while navigating through several states before ending its journey at Dibrugarh in Assam

PM Modi to flag off luxury cruise 'MV Ganga Vilas' from Varanasi on Jan 13

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the world's longest river cruise 'MV Ganga Vilas' from Varanasi on Friday, according to an official statement. The statement said the luxury cruise will cover a distance of more than 3,200 kilometre across 27 river systems in 5 states in India and Bangladesh. MV Ganga Vilas will put India on the river cruise map of the world, the statement said quoting Union Port, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

PM Modi to flag off Ganga Vilas Cruise from Varanasi on January 13

Excitement is high among the people of Varanasi over the Ganga Vilas Cruise which is scheduled to be virtually flagged off by PM Modi from Varanasi on January 13

Allahabad High Court reserves verdict in Gyanvapi mosque case

The Allahabad High Court on Friday reserved its judgement on a civil revision petition filed by the Gyanvapi mosque committee challenging a Varanasi court order turning down its objections to the maintainability of a plea seeking permission to offer regular prayers to idols of deities in the mosque compound. Justice J J Munir reserved its order after hearing the counsel of both sides at length. On Friday, the counsel for the petitioner, Senior Advocate SFA Naqvi, contended before the court that the claim of the Hindu side that the devotees were restrained from worshipping Shringar Gauri and other deities on the outer wall of Gyanvapi in the year 1993 is an artificial claim and an example of clever drafting. According to him, no order was passed by the then state government in writing in 1993. According to him, the aforesaid claim has been made only to avoid the application of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which bars filing of a suit for conversion of any religious place as exist

2,000 km in 30 days: NBT's 'bookshop on wheels' is at Kashi Tamil Sangamam

Thirty days, more than 2,000 km, 600 book titles and two people managing a bus-turned-bookshop -- the display and sale of "books on wheels" are grabbing eyeballs at the month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam at the BHU campus here. The bus left for a month-long journey from Delhi on November 15, a day before the mega conclave began. Navigating the lanes of Varanasi to reach hotspots, visiting various schools and multiple places at the Banaras Hindu University campus, the bus was stationed at a different location everyday to help visitors enjoy the collection of books inside. The unique library-cum-bookshop is an initiative by the National Book Trust, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education. "We have travelled over 2000 km so far and today is the last day post which the bus will return to Delhi. We had overwhelming response from students and public. Books worth over Rs 4 lakh have been sold during the journey and we have also received orders for certain books which were availabl

Era of neglect of temples is behind us, says EAM Jaishankar in Varanasi

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that temples are "keepers of our culture and history" and the Modi government is focused on creating, rebuilding and restoring India's rich traditions for the benefit of the entire world. Stressing that the era of "neglect of temples is behind us", he said that the "wheel of history is turning, it is coming back. It is the rise of India". "It is not enough just to hold our own, we have to promote, present, we have to take our culture to the rest of the world," Jaishankar said, stressing that the Modi government is committed to ensuring Indian culture and heritage gets the right place. He was addressing the Kashi Tamil Sangamam on the subject 'contribution of temples in society and nation building' being held here. Global rebalancing is being expressed in culture as much as in politics and economics. A truly democratic and pluralistic world order must see a full expression of India's heritage, abroad as much as at home, Jaishanka

Gyanvapi case: Court to hear plea seeking survey of tahkhanas on Jan 23

A Varanasi court on Monday fixed January 23, 2023 as the next date of hearing in a Gyanvapi mosque-Shringar Gauri case pertaining to the Hindu side's demand for a survey of two underground places (tahkhanas) on the mosque premises. District government advocate Mahendra Pandey said that District Judge A K Vishwesh fixed January 23 for the next hearing in the matter in view of an Allahabad High Court order passed on November 30 in a related case. The high court had fixed January 18, 2023, for hearing a revision petition filed by Laxmi Devi and others challenging the Varanasi district judge's order by which the lower court had refused the demand of carbon dating of a 'Shivling' claimed to have been found in the Gyanvapi mosque complex. In the case of Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri, the counsel of Hindu side had demanded to get the locks of closed cellars on the Gyanvapi premises opened and conduct a survey. On November 2, the Gyanvapi mosque management committee filed its objection to the ..

Varanasi court to hear plea seeking worship of Shivling at Gyanvapi mosque

A court here is likely to hear on Friday a plea seeking worship of 'Shivling' in the Gyanvapi mosque complex, Assistant District Government Counsel Sulabh Prakash said. On November 17, the fast-track court had rejected the Gyanvapi Masjid committee's objection to a petition seeking right to worship the 'Shivling' claimed to have been found in the mosque complex and fixed December 2 for hearing the case. Fast-track court Judge Mahendra Kumar Pandey found the petition filed by Kiran Singh worth hearing and fixed December 2 for taking up the matter, The court rejected the objection filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee questioning the maintainability of Singh's plea. The mosque committee had objected to the plea citing the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The Act states that the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947, must be maintained. Prakash said lawyers of the Hindu side argued that the Waqf Act is not applicable t

Explained: How 'Digi Yatra' reads one's face as the boarding pass

At the launch, Scindia said Digi Yatra will be one of the most efficient systems in the world

HC fixes Dec 5 for hearing on Gyanvapi mosque committee's plea

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday fixed December 5 for further hearing on a Gyanvapi masjid management's revision petition challenging a Varanasi court order on the maintainability of a plea seeking permission to offer regular prayers to idols of deities in the mosque complex. On Tuesday, the high court, after a brief hearing, had adjourned the hearing in the case till Wednesday. During the hearing on Wednesday, the counsel for the Hindu side argued that the case before the lower court was drafted honestly. He was arguing with the counsel for the Anjuman Intejamia Masjid, the Gyanvapi mosque management committee, who alleged that the case was cleverly drafted. The Hindu side counsel further submitted that the provisions of the Places of Worship Act would not apply in the present case. However, after a brief hearing, Justice J J Munir directed the matter to be heard next on December 5. The Gyanvapi mosque management committee had challenged the Varanasi court order rejecting its