World Junior chess | Karthikeyan, Aravindh and Priyanka win.

Source – thehindu.com

Decisive battles proved to be the flavour of the day as medal aspirants fought relentlessly on the leading boards as the World junior chess championship inched towards the business end here on Tuesday.

Second seed M. Karthikeyan was the last to emerge triumphant after 82 moves in the eighth round that witnessed second to eight boards producing worthy winners. On the top board, seventh seed Evgeny Shtembuliak who drew before was joined at 6.5 points by Spain’s Miguel Ruiz Santos, who surprisingly outplayed R. Praggnanandhaa in just 28 moves.

For Praggnanandhaa’s sister, girls’ fifth seed R. Vaishali, too, it was time to learn a thing or two. After cracking the whip against N. Priyanka, Vaishali did not reckon with the fighting abilities of her lesser-rated rival. Priyanka displayed all her grit and came up with a desperate rook-sacrifice. Later, she cashed in on Vaishali’s misreading of the position to win in 46 moves.

On the second board, Divya Deshmukh escaped with a draw against Iran’s Mobina Alinasab and shared the third spot at six points. Fourth seed Russian Polina Shuvalova led with seven points.

Among the boys, the best show came from Karthikeyan. He came up with a patient display to defeat Russian prodigy Volobar Murzin, the lad who almost nailed Aravindh Chithambaram on Monday. Karthikeyan and three others share the third spot at six points, half a point behind the leaders.

Aravindh, playing black, scored over Rithvik Raja to be joint seventh with four others at 5.5 points.

The struggling girls’ top seed Zhu Jiner (4.5) agreed to a nine-move draw against USA’s Thaila Cervantes Landeiro, while an indisposed Vantika Agarwal (4) gave a walkover to teammate C. Lakshmi (5).

Important results (eighth round):

Open: Shant Sargsyan (Arm, 5.5) drew with Evgeny Shtembuliak (Ukr, 6.5); Miguel Santos Ruiz (Esp, 6.5) bt R. Praggnanandhaa (5); M. Karthikeyan (6) bt Volodar Murzin (Rus, 5); Aram Hakobyan (Arm, 6) bt Semen Khanin (Rus, 5); Viktor Gazik (Svk, 5) lost to Mihnia Costachi (Rou, 6); N.R. Visakh (5) lost to Or Bronstein (Isr, 6); Rithvik Raja (4.5) lost to Aravindh Chithambaram (5.5); P. Iniyan (5) drew with Stefan Pogosyan (Rus, 5).

Girls: Polina Shuvalova (7) bt Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz, 5.5); Divya Deshmukh (6) drew with Mobina Alinasab (6.5); Dinara Dordzhieva (Rus, 5.5) drew with Srishti Pandey (5.5); N. Priyanka (5.5) bt R. Vaishali (4.5); Rakshitta Ravi (4.5) lost to Aakanksha Hagawane (5.5); Li Yunshan (Chn, 5.5) bt Mrudul Dehankar (4.5); Arpita Mukherjee (5) drew with P. Supreetha (5).

Property Dispute: Man tries to kill Brother in Mankapur

Source: nagpuroranges.com

A dispute over property in Mankapur took ugly shape when a brother tried to kill his own brother by pushing him from the first floor in Mankapur. The accussed was also seen thrashing his 70 year old mother over the same issue. He was seen standing over the first floor of their home in Mankapur on Monday evening when the issue turned violent allowing him to push the man on the first floor.

As per reports, the lady Vaishali Anand seemed to have some issues with her brother in law Sandeep. Both Sandeep and Anil are real brothers and it was sharp at 9.30 when this man called Sandeep came to the home of Vaishali and had a cold war with the two. He also thrashed his 70 year old mother on the property dispute Vaishali then called Anil her husband calling him at home for the quarrel. When Anil returned home, he also had a quarrel with his elder brother.

He then went up to call the police reaching the first floor and soon Sandeep also followed him. Soon Sandeep pushed him so hard that he came crashing down on the floor getting serious injuries. He was then rushed to the Kunal Hospital and is currently in the critical condition. On the complain of Vaishali, the Police has booked Sandeep on the charges of 307, however, they are yet to arrest him as yet. Stay tuned to know more about it and others only with us.You can comment on it if you have anything to share.

‘Happy and proud’: R Praggnanandhaa’s sister Vaishali says he deserved to win gold in Chess Championship

source: dnaindia.com

After the 14-year-old R Praggnanandhaa won gold in the under-18 open category in the World Youth Chess Championship, his sister Vaishali said the whole family is ‘happy and proud’ of her brother’s achievement.

“We are very happy and proud. I saw the video. It was very emotional, we felt very happy. It was all his hard work. He deserves it,” Vaishali told ANI.

Praggnanandhaa achieved the feat in Mumbai on Saturday. He scored an impressive and unbeaten 9/11 and he ended with a performance rating over 2700.

Praggnanandhaa also got praised by Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand.

“Congrats!! Very proud of you!! In our next session in Chennai, you have some nice games to show me !!” Viswanathan Anand tweeted.

Vaishali said it was a ‘really nice’ gesture of Anand as she said: “It was really nice of him. He tweeted about his achievement and it was very nice.”

Vaishali further stated that she is lucky to have a brother like Praggnanandhaa.

“He is 14-year-old and has won the U-18 world championship, it is really great. I am really lucky to have him as a brother,” she said.

Delhi Metro grey line: Dwarka-Najafgarh stretch inspection on Wednesday, services expected to begin soon

Source: dnaindia.com

The Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), Janak Kumar Garg will inspect the 4.2 km-long Dwarka-Najafgarh section of Delhi Metro (Grey Line) on September 25 (Wednesday).

Currently, trial runs are being conducted by the DMRC on 4.2 km-long Dwarka and Najafgarh stretch while its services are expected to begin soon.

Part of Delhi Metro’s Phase-3, the trials had begun in August.

The latest route of Delhi Metro (grey line) between Dwarka-Najafgarh will have three stations – Dwarka, Nangli and Najafgarh — out of which Dwarka and Nangli are elevated stations while Najafgarh is underground. 

The initial target to complete the line is by the end of this (September) month, however, this route is further being stretched by another 1.18 km till Dhansa Stand, which is expected to be completed by December 2020.

As the trial runs are being conducted, it is being ensured that the Metro train is not making interactions with any physical infringements (civil structure) and also to ensure that there are no physical blockages during the movement of the train on the track.

Meanwhile, the signaling trials are expected to begin in the days to come.

The new 4.2 km stretch between Dwarka and Najafgarh (Grey Line) will be linked to Blue-Line which connects Dwarka Sector 21 to Noida Electronic City and Vaishali in Ghaziabad.

According to DMRC, it is estimated that around 2 lakh commuters will be benefitted from Delhi Metro’s Dwarka-Najafgarh line.

Bihar government reshuffle: 22 IAS and IPS officers transferred

Source: egov.eletsonline.com

The Bihar government has transferred four IPS and 18 IAS officers. The officers are of District Magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police ranks. One IPS officer who was awaiting posting has been given charge while an IAS officer has been given additional charge.

Arshad Aziz, 2006-Batch, currently Collector and DM, Sheohar, has been appointed as the new Gopalganj DM replacing Animesh Kumar Parashar, 2010-batch, who will now be managing director of state food corporation along with an additional charge of additional secretary of food and consumer protection department.

General administration department (GAD) additional secretary Avaneesh Kumar, 2010-batch is the new Sheohar DM along with an additional charge of settlement officer of Sheohar.

Vaishali SP Manavjeet Singh Dhillon is now posted as SP of Special Task Force (STF). Dhillon got replaced by J Jalaraddy who earlier was posted as Jamui SP.

Gopalganj SP Rashid Jaman will be posted as commandant of home guards in Patna along with an additional charge of assistant state fire officer in Bihar fire services. He will be replacing Manoj Kumar Tiwary who was Gopalganj SP. Also, Inamul Haq Mengnu, who was awaiting posting, is the new Jamui SP.

Health Department Special Secretary Radheshayam Sah, 2005-Batch will now be the Special Secretary in Revenue and Land reforms Department.

General administration department (GAD) Special Secretary Dayanidhan Pandey, 2006-Batch will be working in the same capacity along with the additional charge of director of social security in the Social Welfare Department.

Tourism Department Additional Secretary Uday Kumar, 2007-Batch will work in the same capacity in the General Administration Department (GAD) along with the additional charge of cane commission in sugarcane industries department.

Raj Kumar, 2010-Batch who was the Director of Social Security in the Social Welfare Department, has been designated as director of social welfare in the Social welfare department. Kumar will continue to hold the additional charge of the Director (disability) in the same department.

Planning and Development Department Joint Secretary Sunil Kumar Yadav is now the finance department joint secretary. While GAD additional secretary Himanshu Kumar Rai, 2010-Batch will continue to work in the same capacity in cabinet secretariat department.

Planning and Development Department Joint Secretary Anand Sharma, 2011-Batch has been moved to the Cooperative Department in the same capacity. Meanwhile, Rural Development department additional secretary Kanwal Tanuj, 2010-Batch will take up Additional charge of managing director of Bihar state tourism development corporation.

Jhanjharpur SDO (Madhubani) Anshul Agarwal, 2016-Batch is now deputy development commissioner (DDC) cum chief executive officer (CEO) of district board in Bhojpur and Mahua SDO (Vaishali) Richi Pandey, 2016-Batch is now DDC cum CEO of district board in Begusarai.

Sadar SDO (Gopalganj) Varsha Singh, 2016-Batch is now DDC-cum-CEO of district board at Katihar while Sadar SDO (Sitamarhi) Mukul Kumar Gupta, 2016-Batch is now DDC-cum-CEO of district board Jehanabad. Forbesganj SDO Ravi Prakash is now DDC-cum-CEO of District board of Banka.

Hilsa SDO (Nalanda) Vaibhav Kumar is now DDC-cum-CEO of district board at Nawada. Danapur SDO (Patna) Anshul Kumar, 2016-batch is now DDC-cum-CEO of district board in Aurangabad while Bagha SDO (West Champaran) Vijay Prakash Meena, 2016-Batch is now DDC-cum-CEO of district board at Vaishali.

Lightning strike in Bihar kills 18 in 24 hours

Source: indiatvnews.com

At least 18 people were killed, while nearly half a dozen were injured in incidents of lightning strikes across Bihar in last 24 hours, an official said on Wednesday. The deceased also included women and children. 

According to an official of the Bihar State Disaster Department, the casualties were reported from Kaimur, East Champaran, Jehanabad, Gaya, Patna, Vaishali and Muzaffarpur.

Five deaths were reported from Kaimur, three from East Champaran and one each in the remaining districts, he said. 

“The state government has ordered ex-gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of those who lost their lives,” an official of the Disaster Management Department said.

According to the weather office, lightning strikes are usually reported during the June-September monsoon season.

Patrolling ordered on the Ganga in Bihar to conserve its dolphins

Source: downtoearth.org.in

Patrolling of the Ganga has been ordered in Bihar after reports surfaced of local fishermen netting smaller fish that are the food supply of the endangered Gangetic Dolphin.

“We have ordered the divisional forest officers in Vaishali and Saran to conduct regular patrolling on the Ganga and initiate tough action against those involved in these acts,” Bihar’s additional principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Rakesh Kumar said on September 12.

Officials have also been asked to register cases and seize small nets being used for fishing by fisherfolk or others.

Some fishermen claim many of their peers caught small fish out of ignorance. There was a need to launch extensive awareness campaigns in the areas where patrolling has been ordered.

“My family has been surviving on the river and it pains me to see the fishing of small fish which has registered a rise in recent years,” said Mahendra Sahni, 58, who runs a fish shop in Patna.

“They do not know that if they net small fish, the bigger ones would die too. But they are just not ready to listen to sane voices,” said Sahni, who sells 50 to 60 kg of fish every day.

He is also aware that small fish are the main food of the Ganga’s dolphins but added that the officials concerned were not bothered. “There must be regular river patrolling and awareness drives must be launched among the fisher community to make them aware about how killing small fishes is not good for the environment,” he said.

A recent comprehensive census conducted along nearly a 1,000 kilometre (km)-stretch of the Ganga and its two tributaries, the Gandak and Ghaghara, in Bihar counted 1,150 dolphins in what environmentalist said was a sign of a healthy river ecosystem. That is because Gangetic river dolphins can survive only in clean and fresh water. 

The census was conducted by three separate teams involving experts from the Zoological Survey of India, Wildlife Trust of India and Tilka Manjhi University, Bhagalapur, in different stretches of the three rivers in between November 18 to December 10 last year.

During the extensive survey lasting for 23 days, 700 dolphins were counted in the 300 km stretch of Ganga from Mokama to Manihari, 300 in another 300 km stretch of the Ganga from Buxar to Mokama, 100 in the Gandak river and 50 in the Ghaghara river.

The researchers used the visual survey method to conduct their study through boats, Coordinator of Vikramshila Biodiversity Research and Education centre, Bhagalpur, Sunil Kumar Choudhary, said.

The campaign to save freshwater mammals took a sudden leap after the Centre declared river dolphins as India’s “national aquatic animal” in 2009. This happened while the Manmohan Singh government was at the Centre.

The government had acted on the proposal moved by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Bihar: Nilgai buried alive during culling drive in Vaishali district, one person booked

Source: scroll.in

The police in Bihar’s Vaishali district have filed a first information report against the driver of an earth mover used to bury an injured nilgai, The Indian Express reported. However, no arrests have been made yet.

The video has been circulating locally since August 30. It drew widespread outrage on Thursday. The earth mover is seen pushing the injured animal into a pit and burying it with mud.

The video was shot in a village under the jusrisdiction of the Bhagwanpur police station. The officer in charge of the station, Chandrabhushan Shukla, said: “We have booked a JCB driver on complaint of Lalganj ranger.”

The animal was shot by a Hyderabad-based shooter hired by the state environment, forests and climate change department, unidentified police officials told The Times of India.

“A drive was being carried out in the district to kill nilgais, but they were to be buried after proper culling,” Shukla told the newspaper. “This animal was, however, buried alive. The farmers were facing crop loss due to increasing population of nilgais in the district. Accordingly, a committee under the chairmanship of district magistrate had ordered culling of nilgais by hiring a shooter.”

Vaishali Divisional Forests Officer Bharat Bushan Pal told The Times of India that 495 nilgais were culled by the department between August 27 and August 31. “A forest guard has been suspended in the matter,” he added.

District Superintendent of Police Manavjit Dhillon ordered an inquiry on August 30. Several reports had suggested that Lalganj MLA Rajkumar Shah witnessed the incident. However, Shah told The Indian Express that it was a rumour. “I am not the Vaishali MLA,” he added. “I represent Lalganj and had no business to go there. Let the district police look into the matter.”

Nilgai shot, buried alive in Vaishali dist of Bihar

Source: dnaindia.com

Many nilgai (antelope) were shot by hired shooters of forest department in Vaishali district of Bihar. Most nilgais died on the spot. The forest department of Vaishali district has claimed to have killed over 300 nilgai in the last four days. However, an injured nilgai met a tragic end, when it was buried alive after being pushed into the pit by a JCB machine. The video of the incident went viral and drew widespread condemnation.

On the initiative of Vaishali MLA Rajkishore Singh, with the cooperation of the state government and local administration, a shooter was called to carry out the gruesome killings, just to solve the problem of farmers who complain of their crops being destroyed by the nilgais. When the video went viral, Singh questioned the veracity of the video circulating on WhatsApp groups and termed it a “fabricated video”. However, the MLA wasn’t asked to respond to or questioned over the video, which suggests he had anticipated possible backlash and to avoid slander, tried to clear his hands.

As soon as the information of this whole matter came in, Vaishali SP Manavjit Singh Dhillon instructed the local Bhagwanpur police station to investigate the veracity of the viral video and when its authenticity came to light, sought clarification from forest department officials to take action on the people responsible for the live burial.

Meanwhile, Singh said, “This incident didn’t happen under my watch. I would not have allowed it to happen if I knew it. I had requested the DM to call the shooter and kill the Nilgais to reduce their numbers, after which forest department shooter came and shot Nilgais in many villages. The live burial is inhumane and I condemn it. Authorities will take the necessary actions.”

VBJ launches two new jewellery collections

Source: newindianexpress.com

CHENNAI: Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers launched two stunning nature-inspired, handcrafted platinum collections called The Ginkgo Leaf and Buddha Pod on Wednesday. This marks the brand’s foray into the designer platinum jewellery segment. 

The collections from the VBJ Creative Centre were unveiled by Jithendra Vummidi, managing partner at Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers, and Vaishali Banerjee, MD of the Platinum Guild International – India.
“The simplistic, light-weight and contemporary style is suitable for office and daily wear,” said Jithendra. “Our focus has always been to deliver exclusive collections to ensure that our customers get unparalleled styles.”

The Ginkgo Leaf collection is inspired by the Ginkgo tree, a symbol of resilience and beauty. “It holds within it an untold story of a women’s strength and courage,” he said. “In addition to symbolising longevity, life and endurance, the collection is a tribute to all women who have displayed inner strength in trying times.”

The Buddha Pod collection is handcrafted with diamonds encrusted delicately upon platinum. The collection is inspired by the unique ‘heart-shaped’ Buddha pod seed. The Buddha Pod is meant to metaphorically represent a woman’s heart as she spreads infinite love to one and all.

“Both collections have a unique design story through contemporary designing,” said Vaishali. “Each piece of jewellery has the finesse and elegance that is synonymous with the language of platinum jewellery. I am sure that these designs will talk to the discerning young consumers in India.”

The collections comprise neckpieces, earrings, rings and bracelets crafted in a metal that is 30 times rarer than gold.