667 pilgrims leave for Amarnath Yatra
Srinagar, July 26: A small batch of 667 pilgrims on Thursday left Jammu for the Kashmir Valley to perform the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, officials said.
The yatris left Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in an escorted convoy of 19 vehicles, a police officer said.
This is the smallest batch of pilgrims to leave Jammu since the yatra started on June 28. To date, over 2,46,000 pilgrims have performed the yatra.
There have been demands from the organisation of service providers for the pilgrims that since over 90 per cent of pilgrims perform the yatra during the first 30 days as reflected by records during the last three years, the yatra should be restricted to 30 days.
Officially, the yatra will end on August 26 coinciding with Shravan Purnima festival.
Except for the vagaries of weather in which four pilgrims were killed by a landslide, the yatra has been proceeding smoothly thanks to the extraordinary security arrangements made to secure the passage of the devotees.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
