No ration to 20 Odisha families for defecating in open
Berhampur (Odisha): Over 20 families in Ganjam district have not been given ration supply after a panchayat body decided to stop the benefits from reaching people who were found defecating in open.
According to a decision taken at a panchayat meeting on October 20, the distribution of ration under the public distribution system (PDS) was stopped to over 20 families in last 11 days, Sushant Swain, the sarpanch of Goutami panchayat in Sanakhemundi block, said.
However, Ganjam district collector Vijay Amruta Kunage said, the benefits under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and State Food Security Act (SFSA) to any person should not be curtailed.
If anyone was found defecating in open, particularly on roadside, the panchayat body will instruct the dealer concerned to stop giving ration to such people for a month, Swain said.
The move is aimed at making people aware of the need to use toilets, he said.
Around 300 women, all members of a self-help group (SHG), patrol the open spaces in the panchayat from 3 AM to 5 AM and 5 PM to 7 PM to keep vigil on the violators, the sarpanch said.
"If they find anyone defecating in the open, they inform the panchayat. The women do the work voluntarily," he said.
Initially several villagers had opposed the decision of the panchayat but the number of people defecating in the open was now gradually reducing, he claimed.
Those who do not have toilets in their houses have been asked to build toilets in the next two months under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Swain said.
Goutami panchayat has around 2,000 households with a population of 4,563. Of these, Of these, 180 families do not have toilets in their houses at present, the sarpanch said.
However, some of them have initiated steps for construction of toilets, he said. "We will discuss the matter with the block office and ensure that all beneficiaries get ration," said the collector.
Peasant leader Bhala Chandra Sarangi said, "Right to Food is the constitutional right of a person, a panchayat cant deny this right to people.
"There are other methods to create awareness among the people to stop open defecation." India was declared open defecation-free on October 2.
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Rupee hits record low of 96.14/USD, settles at fresh closing low of 95.86/USD
Mumbai (PTI): The Indian rupee crashed below the 96/USD mark on Friday before closing at an all-time low of 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar as elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns added to the downside pressure on the rupee.
Rupee has registered over 6 per cent losses so far this year, and in the past six trading sessions, it has depreciated nearly 2 per cent as Iran war risk escalation pushed crude oil prices higher. The dollar index moved northwards after strong US retail sales and stable labour market data reduced expectations of aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Forex traders said global uncertainties, relatively high valuations, and the lack of AI-led investment opportunities have weighed on capital flows.
Moreover, weak net FDI inflows are likely to exert pressure on the balance of payments, while rising crude oil prices stoke inflation worries.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.86, then slumped to a record low of 96.14 in intraday trade, registering a fall of 50 paise from its previous close.
The USD/INR pair finally settled at 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar, registering a fall of 22 paise from its previous close, helped by likely RBI intervention.
On Thursday, the rupee weakened to a fresh record low of 95.96 before closing with a marginal gain of 2 paise at 95.64 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.15, higher by 0.34 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading up 3.14 per cent at USD 109.04 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 160.73 points to settle at 75,237.99, while Nifty declined 46.10 points to 23,643.50.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 187.46 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the country's exports in April rose by 13.78 per cent to USD 43.56 billion despite global challenges, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Friday.
Imports grew 10 per cent year-on-year to USD 71.94 billion in April. The trade deficit during the month stood at USD 28.38 billion.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns. Strong dollar and FII outflows may also weigh on the rupee. However, any intervention by the RBI and hiking of import duty on gold and silver may support the rupee at lower levels. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 95.60 to 96.20," said Anuj Choudhary, Research analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump on Friday hailed their talks as "historic" and "landmark", as the American leader wrapped up his three-day visit on a high note, but no deals on any contentious issues were announced.
Both Presidents, who held several rounds of talks covering a range of global issues, including the Iran war and bilateral trade frictions, concluded their discussions with a private meeting at Zhongnanhai, the well-guarded compound in Beijing where top leaders reside.
