Cyclone 'Montha' intensifies into severe cyclonic storm: Met dept
Amaravati (PTI): Cyclonic storm 'Montha' over the westcentral Bay of Bengal moved north to northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph during the past six hours and intensified into a severe cyclonic storm by 5:30 am on Tuesday, said the Meteorological Department.
The weather system lay centred 190 km south to southeast of Machilipatnam, 270 km south to southeast of Kakinada and 340 km south to southeast of Vizag at 5:30 am.
"The cyclonic storm Montha over westcentral Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph during the past six hours (and) intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and lay centred at 5:30 am about 190 km south to south east of Machilipatnam," said the Met Department in an official release.
It is likely to continue to move north-northwestwards and cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam around Kakinada during the evening and night of Tuesday as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph and gusting to 110 kmph.
The Met Department forecast heavy rains across several places of the southern state under the influence of Montha.
Montha means a fragrant flower in Thai language.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
