Controversy erupts as Ayodhya Development Authority denotifies Army training land
Ayodhya: A controversy has emerged following the Ayodhya Development Authority's (ADA) decision to denotify land previously used for Army training and practice in Majha Jamthara village. The land, which was reportedly purchased by several high-profile individuals, including the Adani Group, Baba Ramdev, and Sri Sri Ravishankar, is now earmarked for the development of a temple museum.
Advocate Praveen Dubey, who brought the issue of encroachment in 14 villages (5,419 hectares) around the Army cantonment to the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court, expressed shock over the denotification of Majha Jamthara while the case was still pending. Dubey emphasized that the encroachment posed significant security concerns, noting that some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders had constructed commercial establishments on this land.
Divisional Commissioner Ayodhya, Gaurav Dayal, clarified to The Hindu that the denotified land never belonged to the Army. He stated that the area, a mix of nazul and private ownership, had been regularly notified for Army firing practice every five years upon the recommendation of the District Magistrate. However, no firing has occurred in the location for decades. According to Dayal, the area is designated for parks and open spaces in the notified Master Plan of the ADA.
Dubey further mentioned that despite the denotification, private landowners would not be permitted to conduct commercial activities as the designated land use remains for parks and open spaces. The government's plans to build a massive temple museum on the site have also been confirmed.
Congress leader Pawan Khera criticized the BJP-led state and central governments, accusing them of using religion as a cover to benefit a select few. "Land notified as a buffer zone for Army Training is first bought by Adani, Ravi Shankar & Baba Ramdev and is then denotified by the Governor," Khera wrote on social media platform X, questioning the motivations behind the decision.
Do you want to know what they actually do while hiding behind religion and nationalism?
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) August 5, 2024
Land notified as buffer zone for Army Training is first bought by Adani, Ravi Shankar & Baba Ramdev and is then de notified by the Governor. https://t.co/eOr0BfTSN5
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
