Coimbatore Feb 23 PTI Citing irregularities during the counting of votes in Ward 32 of Coimbatore City Corporation which was won by the DMK the losing candidates on Wednesday submitted a joint petition requesting the district collector to order re-polling immediately Alleging that an EVM was changed and missing during counting day on Tuesday 13 candidates including from the AIADMK and BJP walked out from the room and staged a dharna on the premises seeking action A day after the results were announced all the candidates arrived at the collectorate on Wednesday morning and submitted a petition seeking re-election to the ward They said a rope tied around the EVM handle was found loose and the seal was removed The election officials present there remained silent when the issue was brought to their notice at the counting centre the petition said Without providing the code number to the candidates the officials had started counting the votes and there were changes in the signatures of booth agents the petition said The counting centre experienced power cuts from midnight to 3 am on Tuesday in the rooms where the EVMs were kept In this background it becomes clear that there were irregularities in the process and the administration should order a re-election to the ward the petitioners contended PTI NVM HDA HDA

New Delhi Nov 23 PTI Citing reported excerpts of senior Congress leader Manish Tewaris new book the BJP on Tuesday alleged that the grand old party-led UPA government put the national security at stake by not responding strongly after the 2611 Mumbai terror attacksAddressing a press conference at the party headquarters BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said this confirms that the UPA government was uselessAccording to reports Tewari who was a Union minister in the UPA government has criticised the erstwhile dispensation for not actioning a kinetic response in the days following Indias 911 in his book -- 10 Flash Points 20 Years - National Security Situations that Impacted IndiaBhatia said Tewaris book confirms that the Congress-led UPA government was insensitive useless and was even not concerned about national securityThe UPA government had put the national security at stake he allegedIn a tweet on Tuesday Tewari MP from Anandpur Sahib said that his book will be available in the market very soonAs many as 166 people were killed in the Mumbai terror attacks carried out by 10 Pakistani terrorists at different places in the city The attacks began on November 26 2008 and went on till November 29Ajmal Kasab the only terrorist who was captured alive was hanged four years later on November 21 2012 PTI JTR DIV DIV

Mumbai Oct 18 PTI Citing the success that the BMC achieved recently in reducing municipal waste Maharashtra Environment and Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray on Monday urged publicly traded companies to come together and make small changes in everyday lives so that people live in harmony with environment Each of the listed companies is aware of the responsibilities and we all -- governments individuals non-profits -- need to come together to save future generations from negative impact of the climate change and this can be achieved by inculcating small but significant changes in our every day Thackeray said He added that there is no denying that climate around has changed and pointed to the multiple storms the megapolis has in the recent past and the deadly floods the state has suffered this year All these incidents are only serving us a warning that we all need to come together and follow small environment-friendly habits and live life more in harmony with the environment he said Thackeray added that when people start changing their habits that is where an impact can be made So in terms of the corporates I am not saying take big steps spend a lot or invest half of your capital to change emergencies If you an make small changes in your corporate houses manufacturing industries commercial complexes it will bring the needed changes Ensure that the waste generated in your complex or housing complexes are segregated and treated properly he said The minister said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC has managed to reduce daily waste by one-third to 6500 tonne in the past 18 months from 10000 tonne in 2016-17 They achieved it by urging corporates housing societies hotels and restaurants to segregate manage and dispose their own waste All these entities contributed about 30 per cent of the overall daily waste collections He also offered all help from the state government to encourage innovation that will help sustainably dispose waste create value from waste and help in mitigating climate change PTI BEN HRS hrs