Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday filed a complaint with West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Khokon Das for allegedly asking party workers to ensure that only those Bangladeshi immigrants who support the ruling party in the state find a place in the voters' list.

Nevada [US], October 7 (ANI): One person was killed while five others were injured in a stabbing attack on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday (local media), according to police.

Antananarivo [Madagascar], August 15 (ANI): As India is celebrating Independence Day on Monday, the Indian Embassy building in Madagascar's capital, Antananarivo was seen in the Indian tricolour lights.

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 12 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday laid foundation stone for RR Nagar Grade Separator and said that works which have been launched for development of Bengaluru would be completed in a time-bound manner.

New Delhi Apr 24 PTI Crumbled ceilings faded furniture damp chambers and moth-eaten souvenirs rotting in cabinets the old office space of the erstwhile Delhi mayor housed in the historic Town Hall building is in shambles The Town Hall a nearly 160-year-old mansion of the Victorian era in old Delhi was the seat of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi MCD from its inception in 1958 till 2009 and from April 2010 the headquarters was formally shifted to the swanky and towering Civic Centre complex in front of the New Delhi railway station A prominent board with Mahapaur Hindi for mayor labelled in white on it against a blue background still stands mounted above a wooden door that leads to the old office space whose stature and prestige earlier ranked among the higher echelons of the power structure in the city However the current condition of the old mayoral workspace belies the aura that a Delhi mayor once enjoyed through the high office Inside the office debris lay deposited on the floor with panels which have come off the wall The chamber is all dark and dingy now and souvenirs gifted by other cities in India and abroad rot behind faded glass cabinets covered in a thick layer of dust A replica of the 18th century monument Golghar gifted by the Patna Municipal Corporation a metallic replica of the Charminar of Hyderabad and a souvenir marking the flight of Rakesh Sharma along with two cosmonauts aboard the Soyuz T-11 on April 3 1984 are among the items decaying in the cabinets Sharma became the first Indian to fly into space with that mission However the office space and chambers of the municipal commissioner are in a fairly maintained condition The erstwhile unified MCD was trifurcated in 2011 into the North Delhi Municipal Corporation NDMC the South Delhi Municipal Corporation SDMC and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation EDMC and the old office of the mayor and the municipal commissioner at the Town Hall have been lying vacant since 2010 Former North Delhi mayor Jai Prakash said Some meetings used to be held earlier in a symbolic nod to the historical value of the building where the civic administration of the city had been housed for over a century starting with the Delhi Municipality and then the MCD in 1958 For about three years now no meeting has been held and rooms used as office spaces earlier are closed So the condition is bound to deteriorate But we will look into it he said The Town Hall the construction of which was completed in 1866 was earlier called the Delhi Institute or the Lawrence Institute and it is still considered one of the most iconic buildings of the city A heritage renewal project for the over 150-year-old building which has seen years of neglecthas been planned by the NDMC for the past several years but it has not started yet Just before demitting office in 2021 in the middle of the Covid pandemic Prakash had said that the NDMC had issued tenders for a private group to take up the Town Hall on a 33-year lease to run it as a heritage hotel This was done to ensure the maintenance of the structure as well as bring revenues to the corporation he said However not a single party came forward So the plan could not be taken forward Now anything concrete on the Town Hall can be planned only after the civic polls as the whole set up will change after reunification a civic official said Prakash a senior BJP leader who has also been the chairman of the standing committee of the NDMC hopes that the reunification of the three existing corporations into a single civic body will improve the financial situation and hopefully the Town Hall would also eventually get a new lease of life President Ram Nath Kovind on April 18 had given his assent to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Amendment Bill 2022 which seeks to unify the three civic bodies in the national capital The legislation was approved by Lok Sabha on March 30 and by Rajya Sabha on April 5 A civic staff member at the Town Hall lamented the poor upkeep of the grand building which also has sprawling gardens on both sides an old library and ancillary buildings which housed the old municipal press and dispensary A statue of Queen Victoria was earlier placed in the lawns facing the Chandni Chowk street which was later removed and after Independence a statue of freedom fighter Swami Shradhanand was erected in its place Sometimes film crew come here for shooting otherwise hardly anyone comes to the Town Hall except some reserarchers or heritage lovers when they come to see old Delhi MCD is going to become one again we hope the fate of the Town Hall would also change after that the staff member said on the condition of anonymity Delhi-based historian and author Swapna Liddle described the Town Hall as a valuable heritage of Delhi and of the country and suggested that it be used as a cultural hub with a small-scale hotel cafes library and a museum on the history of Shahjehanabad Even if a small cafe is opened in a portion of the Town Hall it will generate a great deal of excitement among people and the municipal corporation can earn revenues by making entry ticketed NDMC had earlier roped in INTACH as a consultant for the heritage hotel-cum-museum project but it didnt take off said Liddle the former Delhi Chapter convener of INTACH The author of Chandni Chowk The Mughal City of Old Delhi recalleda Gothic-design clock tower that existed in front of of the Town HallWhile the clock tower was demolished soon after Independence the area is still called Ghantaghar Town Hall can become a great place of storytelling while offering new cultural avenues to people and a mode of generating revenues for the corporation if only the policymakers had a holistic vision for heritage she saidPTI KND ANB RCJ

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 31 (ANI): A Traffic Police Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) in Bengaluru has been suspended after he was seen allegedly kicking a woman near the Town Hall in Bengaluru in a video that went viral, informed the traffic police in the statement.

Antananarivo [Madagascar], October 3 (ANI): Town Hall building in Madagascar's capital Antananarivo was lit up with a special projection of the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi on Saturday (local time) to mark the occasion of the 152nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Aurangabad Sep 28 PTI The roof of medieval era Town Hall was damaged in heavy rains here in Maharashtra on Tuesday officials said Several mud tiles from the roof of the Town Hall constructed in the early 17th Century fell due to the heavy downpour that lashed the city on Monday night an official said Water-logging was reported from many areas in Aurangabad the largest city in the Marathwada region a civic official said adding that many trees are uprooted due to high-speed winds Incidents of falling of trees are reported from Ulka Nagari municipal corporation area Kranti Chowk and other localities Heavy rains have been lashing the Marathwada region comprising eight districts since Monday evening causing floods in many areas and claiming ten lives in over the last 48 hours officials said on Tuesday Water-logging was reported from Noor Colony Kailash Nagar Mayur Park and Shreya Nagar a civic official said An autorickshaw and three four-wheelers were damaged after a wall and a tree collapsed on them in the municipal corporation area the official added Aurangabad Municipal Commissioner Astik Kumar Pandey visited the Town Hall to take stock of the situation Town Hall was originally constructed by Malik Ambar in the first quarter of the 17th Century It was later used as a guest house during the rule of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb In the Nizam period the Town Hall was converted into prison before it was finally got its current look Currently the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation has set up an art gallery in this Hall historian Dulari Qureshi told PTI This monument has rooms on the upper floor It was earlier was used by priests of different religions for debates she added PTI AW NSK NSK

Bengaluru Sep 27 PTI The Bharat Bandh called by farmer unions to protest the Centres three farm laws has not had any major impact on the normal life in the initial few hours since it began on Monday with all business and establishments functioning normally and transport services available However protest by farmers and attempts by them to organise a Rasta Roko on major national and state highways during the dawn-to-dusk bandh has led to disruption in vehicular movement in several parts of the state especially in Bengaluru and this is likely to intensify later in the day with more farmers gathering Farmers organisations have planned a protest march to Town Hall from K R Puram and other parts of Bengaluru city and will converge there at about 11 am for a rally farmer leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar said There are also reports about police detaining some protesters and farmer leaders Police have been instructed to take all the necessary precautionary measures to maintain peace and order in the wake of Bharat Bandh Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said in a statement on Sunday night Directions have been given to maintain a special vigil to see to it that no untoward incidents take place in Bengaluru city district centres and all sensitive areas in the state he said With several organisations only extending moral support for the bandh it is unlikely to have any major impact on the normal life in the city and other parts of the state police sources said Citing losses due to COVID pandemic and its induced lockdown public transport KSRTC and BMTC employees unions hotel owners association lorry auto rickshaw and taxi owners unions have said they support the protest but will continue to operate Metro services are also operating as usual The Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka KAMS association of private schools in the state had said that schools will remain open and they are extending only moral support for the bandhRestaurants and eateries were seen functioning as usual PTI KSU SS SS