Month: September 2024

At least 43 people, including 37 children, drowned and three others went missing while taking holy dips in rivers and ponds in separate incidents during the ‘Jivitputrika’ festival in Bihar, the state government said on Thursday.

The incidents occurred in 15 districts of the state during the festival held on Wednesday. During the ‘Jivitputrika’ festival, women fast for the well-being of their children and both take holy dips.

“A total of 43 bodies have been recovered so far. Further search operation is on,” a statement issued by the Disaster Management Department (DMD) said.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced an exgratia of Rs 4 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.

The process of providing the exgratia has begun and family members of eight deceased have already received it, the statement said.

“The incidents of drowning were reported from East and West Champaran, Nalanda, Aurangabad, Kaimur, Buxar, Siwan, Rohtas, Saran, Patna, Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Gopalganj and Arwal districts.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)

A Bengaluru user recently shared a Reddit post in which he had some valuable suggestions for people upset with food delivery services. The post, which found traction in a local subreddit, argued that using cash on delivery (COD) on platforms like Swiggy and Zomato may increase delivery speed and accuracy, providing a “premium experience” at no additional expense.

The Redditor claims if you choose COD when placing an order, it can be given priority over orders from other clients, even ones who have premium service subscriptions. According to the post, if there are delays or problems with the order, using COD could improve the chances of speaking with a live person via the customer care chat feature of the app.

“The user experience remains the same — once the order is delivered, you can pay via any UPI app, wallet, or saved card through the app,” the Redditor explained in his post. “But you never again have to worry about being Zomato’s starving hostage,” he added.

Check the post here:

Shared on September 21, the post has collected over 1,800 upvotes. The post also led to a debate among other Reddit members, with many sharing their own experiences with food delivery services. A few users supported the assertion, saying they experienced speedier deliveries after choosing COD, while others said the improvement was subjective.

A user said, “Idk about Zomato but on Swiggy they’ve always offered a full or partial refund if there’s a goof up on my order. Credit given where credit is deserved.”

Another commented, “I’m always able to connect with an agent. And I am always offered a refund when I complain, but only for genuine issues. Maybe because I don’t abuse their system?”

“Thank you OP. Will try this. Also, sshh, don’t let Deepinder Goyal know this. He is rolling out features and updates almost every week. He might have a walk around for this as well,” a user on Reddit joked.

“Legit issue. They end up clubbing orders and by the time you get it delivered – the hot soup is cold and the cold drink is hot. If this lets me reject stale food I’m all for giving it a try,” another user wrote.

In Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, an incident involving students from Kanya Shikshak Parisar has gained huge attention. A group of Class 12 students set out on foot to the IAS officer, located 8 km away, to attend a public hearing and lodge a complaint against their teacher.

Upon hearing this, the IAS officer Rajesh Batham, immediately dispatched the SDM and ADM with a car to pick them up. However, the students refused the ride, insisting they would walk the entire distance to meet him.

When informed of their decision, Collector Rajesh Batham personally went to meet the students halfway, but they remained firm, saying they would only present their complaint after reaching the collectorate on foot. Respecting their resolve, Rajesh Batham returned to the office to wait for their arrival.

Once arrived at the collectorate, the students voiced their problems with their education. They expressed that the physics and chemistry teachers at their school were not teaching properly, and despite multiple complaints, no action had been taken. Frustrated by the inaction, they decided to make the 8-kilometre walk to ensure their concerns were heard.

In response, Collector Rajesh Batham took swift action by suspending the school’s principal and issuing a notice. He also ordered the replacement of the two teachers. After hearing their complaint, Batham provided the students with refreshments and arranged for a government vehicle to transport them back to school.

Rajesh Batham, the current collector of Ratlam, hails from Bhopal and is a 2012 batch IAS officer with a BE in Civil Engineering. He assumed the role of Ratlam collector on March 11, 2024.

In another incident, IAS officer Keerthi Jalli became an internet sensation after her pictures of visiting the flood-hit areas in Assam’s Cachar district went viral on social media. In a series of pictures and videos, IAS Keerthi Jalli can be seen walking barefoot through the muddy water in the flood-hit area and talking to the residents affected by the natural disaster.

Awanish Sharan, a 2009 batch IAS officer, shared a picture of the Assam-based officer and praised her efforts. The picture showed IAS Jalli with her muddy feet smiling while standing in a boat next to another woman.

Domestic carrier SpiceJet has cleared all pending salary dues of its employees after securing a fresh capital infusion of Rs 3,000 crore, a source has said.

The salaries for July and August for all employees, as well as the remaining June salaries for those who were partially paid, were deposited into their accounts on Wednesday evening, according to the source.

A SpiceJet spokesperson confirmed the disbursement of employees’ pending salaries.

“Pending salaries of employees were disbursed on Wednesday evening,” the spokesperson said on Thursday without divulging further details.

SpiceJet had been delaying salaries to its staff for the last couple of months due to a liquidity crunch.

The airline hasn’t paid the provident fund for two and a half years while TDS, which is deducted from employees’ salaries every month, has also not been deposited with the government.

On September 23, the airline announced raising Rs 3,000 crore through QIP and an additional Rs 736 crore from the previous funding round, further boosting its financial stability and growth plans.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)