Maharashtra: Congress MP Vasant Chavan passes away
Nanded (PTI): Congress MP Vasant Chavan passed away on Monday at a private hospital in Hyderabad after prolonged illness, party sources said.
Chavan (69) breathed his last at the hospital around 4 am, the sources said. He was undergoing treatment for renal issues there since last week.
The Congress veteran had won the Nanded Lok Sabha seat this year despite ill health and big desertions, including that of former CM Ashok Chavan, who joined BJP ahead of the polls.
Soon after the Lok Sabha election results were out, Vasant Chavan had thanked Ashok Chavan for defecting to BJP.
In the Lok Sabha election, Vasant Chavan defeated sitting BJP MP Pratap Patil Chikhalikar by 59,442 votes, overcoming issues like a weakened party after Ashok Chavan defected to BJP just before the elections and his own personal health problems.
Born in Naigaon in Nanded district, Vasant Chavan was a gram panchayat member for a long time and later became a zilla parishad member in 1990 and 2002.
He was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council in 2002 and became a member of the state legislative assembly from Naigaon assembly seat. He was an MLA from 2009 to 2014.
He was also the chairman of Nanded District Central Cooperative Bank from 2021 to 2023.
His last rites will be performed in Naigaon at 11 am, the sources said.
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Heavy rain, hailstorms lash parts of Uttarakhand; all districts put on high alert
Dehradun (PTI): Heavy rain and hailstorms accompanied by strong winds lashed several districts of Uttarakhand on Sunday morning, prompting the state administration to put all district authorities on high alert.
The sudden change in weather caused uprooted trees to block roads and disrupted power supply at various locations.
Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman chaired a review meeting with district officials to assess the situation.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate rain and thunderstorms at most places across all districts for Monday and Tuesday. Snowfall is expected in regions situated at altitudes of 4,000 metres and above.
An 'orange alert' remains in place for Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar. These districts are likely to witness isolated heavy rain, hailstorms, and intense to very intense spells of rain accompanied by gusty winds reaching speeds of 40-50 kmph, the IMD said.
The weather office predicted that maximum temperatures across the state are likely to fall by 3-5 degrees Celsius over the next three to four days. During the past 24 hours, maximum temperatures remained "markedly below normal" in the plains and ranged from "markedly" to "appreciably" below normal in the hilly regions.
Dehradun experienced dark, overcast skies early Sunday, creating night-like conditions during morning hours. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 34.7 degrees Celsius, 5.3 degrees Celsius below the seasonal average.
For the state capital, the forecast predicts a partly to generally cloudy sky with a high of 31 degrees Celsius and a low of 19 degrees Celsius.
Significant rainfall was recorded across the state after 8.30 am on Sunday, with Jollygrant receiving 21.6 mm and Mohakampur recording 19.8 mm. Other areas, including Mukteshwar (15.0 mm), Mussoorie (13.4 mm), and Pithoragarh (8.5 mm), also saw measurable precipitation.
Secretary Suman directed officials to clear blocked roads on priority to ensure public convenience. Specific instructions were issued regarding the Char Dham Yatra, ordering that helicopter services must operate strictly according to weather conditions to ensure pilgrims' safety.
Isolated places in the remaining hilly districts are also expected to experience thunderstorms with lightning and intense rain spells.
