Two stranded Indian nationals apprehended for trying to enter US illegally
New York: Two Indian nationals have been apprehended by the patrol agents at the US-Mexico border in Arizona after they got stranded while trying to enter America illegally, authorities said.
The duo, including a Sikh man, called for help using technology installed in remote locations to help people in distress.
Agents assigned to the Ajo Border Patrol Station rescued the two migrants following the activation of a US Border Patrol rescue beacon Wednesday evening.
They responded to the rescue beacon located approximately 14 miles northwest of the Lukeville Port of Entry in Arizona and found the two men alone in the beacon.
The two men were in good health, and did not request further medical assistance, the US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.
The duo was transported back to the station for processing, where records checks revealed the men were Indian nationals who were trying to enter US illegally.
The US agency said criminal organizations often abandon migrants in the desert. As a result, many perish along the border every year. US Border Patrol has encouraged anyone in distress to call 911 or activate a rescue beacon before they become a casualty.
Rescue beacons are self-contained solar powered units placed in remote locations considered to be high risk for people in distress. Their metal trussing, approximately 35 feet in height, is equipped with a high visibility strobe light on top of the structure.
Many of the towers utilize a camera system that is used to determine an appropriate response and aid in the rescue event.
Eye-level at the rescue beacon is a panel with a large red button, instructions in multiple languages, and a pictogram of an individual activating the rescue beacon by hitting the button and then waiting for Border Patrol first responders to arrive.
In fiscal year 2018, the United States Border Patrol apprehended people from 113 countries along the southwest border.
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Voting begins for high-stakes civic polls in Maharashtra; all eyes on big battle for Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Voting in 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra began on Thursday morning with spotlight on Mumbai, where the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is locked in an intense battle with the reunited Thackeray cousins for control of India's largest and richest civic body.
Polling for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in these municipal corporations began amid tight security at 7.30 am and will conclude at 5.30 pm. A total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates.
In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), whose annual budget is over Rs 74, 400 crore, 1,700 candidates are vying for 227 seats in elections being held after nine years, after a four-year delay. More than 25,000 police personnel have been deployed across Mumbai to oversee elections.
Except for Mumbai, the other urban bodies have multi-member wards. Vote count will take place on January 16.
These are the first BMC polls since the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena when Eknath Shinde, now Deputy Chief Minister, broke away with a majority of the party’s MLAs and allied with the BJP to become the chief minister.
The undivided Shiv Sena held sway over India's richest civic body for 25 years (1997-2022).
In a significant political turn of events ahead of the elections, estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, who head Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS, respectively, reunited last month after two decades in their bid to consolidate Marathi votes even as rival NCP factions forged a local alliance in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
The Congress, once a formidable political force in Maharashtra, has asserted its presence in Mumbai by stepping out of the shadow of its Maha Vikas Aghadi allies - Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP).
The grand old party has joined hands with Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh in the state capital.
Elections to the 29 municipal corporations are being held after a gap of several years, with terms of most of them having ended between 2020 and 2023. Of these, nine fall in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the most urbanised belt in India.
Voting is underway in the following municipal corporations: Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Latur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Dhule, Jalna and Ichalkaranji.
