PM Modi to Launch ₹35,000 Crore Projects in Vadodara, Address Youth

A controversy over food and faith has erupted in West Bengal ahead of the Durga Puja festive season following remarks by Bageshwar Dham chief Dhirendra Shastri during his Hanuman Katha in Howrah's Liluah. The preacher questioned the practice of eating non-vegetarian food near Durga idols and pandals during Navratri, calling on devotees to boycott such practices. West Bengal BJP leaders pushed back against the remarks, asserting that the state's traditional food habits cannot be dictated and noting that non-vegetarian offerings and mutton consumption remain part of traditional rituals like Navami and Ma Kali worship. Meanwhile, fresh directives for this year's Durga Puja celebrations have been announced in the state, which include a ban on liquor sales on Maha Ashtami, prohibiting DJ music during idol immersion processions, and scrapping the Durga Puja carnival on Kolkata's Red Road. Eligible Durga Puja committees are also set to receive a financial grant of one lakh rupees alongside free electricity.

A building collapse in Delhi's Satya Niketan claimed the lives of seven students, prompting Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to order structural audits of paying guest accommodations across key student hubs. The areas under scrutiny include Mukherjee Nagar, Rajendra Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Satya Niketan, and Saket. Citywide inspections will assess structural stability, and unsafe properties will face sealing. The deceased students from Delhi University colleges include Arpit George, Akshat Yadav, Yuvraj Soni, Abhishek Kumar, and Pawan Kumar. An India Today ground check near the disaster site revealed severe hazards, including an adjacent tilted building supported merely by iron pillars, narrow lanes, webbed overhead wiring, lack of emergency exits, and multi-storey hostels constructed illegally on compact plots.

A building collapse in South Delhi's Satya Niketan has exposed the unchecked operation of unregulated paying guest accommodations across Delhi University's South Campus belt. The structure, operating under the name Hostel Days, housed nearly 50 students despite being a five-decade-old building undergoing unauthorized renovation. Two students, Arpit George of Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College and Akshat of PGDAV College, lost their lives in the tragedy. Students and residents highlighted severe issues in Satya Niketan, including decrepit buildings, unauthorized multi-storey constructions, severe safety violations, arbitrary pricing, hidden fees, and lack of civic oversight. Despite paying high rents of up to 15,000 rupees per bed, tenants faced overcrowded and unsafe living conditions. A classmate revealed that visible structural cracks were merely masked with putty and paint instead of genuine repairs.

Following the collapse of a paying guest accommodation in Satya Niketan, Delhi authorities arrested the building owner Hariram Gupta, his wife Urmila Gupta, and their son Mahesh Gupta. During interrogation, officials learned the building collapsed while renovation work was being carried out in the basement. A 24-hour rescue operation rescued twelve individuals, including nine students and three labourers, while seven people were declared brought dead at the hospital. In response, five Municipal Corporation of Delhi officials, including a Deputy Commissioner and a Superintending Engineer, have been suspended. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced structural audits of existing PG buildings, a review of PG regulations, and plans to explore student accommodation options, including vacant Delhi Development Authority housing.