Death toll in Uttarakhand-UP hooch tragedy rises to 70
Haridwar/Saharanpur: The death toll in the hooch tragedy that hit two adjoining districts in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh has risen to 70 with more people dying of the spurious liquor they drank at a Haridwar village, officials said Saturday.
The viscera examination on 11 more bodies is yet to be conducted to find out if these too were alcohol-related deaths.
Twenty-four of the victims died in Balupur and its neighbouring villages in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district, state's Additional Director General (Law and Order) Ashok Kumar said.
At least 46 others, who had come home to the adjoining Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh after drinking the spurious liquor in Balupur on Thursday night, are also dead.
Uttar Pradesh officials said 35 of the Saharanpur deaths took place in the district itself. Eleven other victims, who were referred from Saharanpur for medical treatment in Meerut, died at a hospital there.
In Uttarakhand, about 20 more people are still under treatment.
Most of the victims had consumed the liquor Thursday evening after the `tehravin', the 13th day of mourning ritual, following a relative's death in Balupur, officials said.
Uttar Pradesh police, however, added that a Saharanpur district resident may have brought 30 pouches of the same liquor from Uttarakhand for sale back home.
This may have led to more casualties, official said, but the investigation into this is still on.
Both states have suspended administrative and police officials for alleged negligence and ordered probes.
They have also announced ex-gratia compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of those killed.
Earlier, Saharanpur district magistrate Alok Pandey said people from Nangal and adjoining villages in his district had started falling ill when they returned home from Balupur on Thursday night.
Many of the Saharanpur victims were not immediately admitted to hospital as the area was hit by rain and a hailstorm, he said.
Up to late Friday night, 16 people had died in Haridwar and 18 more in Saharanpur. By Saturday afternoon, the combined death too had risen to 70.
In an unrelated incident, nine people have died over the week in eastern Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district, allegedly after drinking spurious liquor.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered departmental action against district excise officers of Kushinagar and Saharanpur, the state government said.
In Uttarakhand, 13 excise department personnel and four policemen have been placed under suspension. Ten policemen were suspended Friday in Uttar Pradesh.
Both states announced drives to curb the sale spurious liquor.
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All high schools to have broadband internet connection in 2-3 years: Pradhan
New Delhi (PTI): Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said all high schools in India will have broadband internet connection within next 2-3 years.
Replying to supplementary queries during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, the minister also emphasised that all kinds of education should be embedded with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
He said the Centre and state governments are focusing on capacity building for teachers to impart AI knowledge.
Pradhan said around 60 per cent of high schools in the country are connected with broadband internet connections.
"By next 2-3 years all high schools in the country will be connected with broadband and internet connection," he added.
On the AI, the minister said the country is at the forefront in this technology.
"AI is a horizontal topic. As on today, when we are implementing National Education Policy's new curriculum..., primary knowledge of AI will be from class three," Pradhan said, adding that almost all mother tongues are embedded with AI.
In a written reply, the minister said education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of the schools come under the purview of states and UT governments.
"The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has emphasized the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its role in school curriculum," Pradhan said.
Under Curricular Integration of Essential Subjects, Skills, and Capacities, the policy mentions that concerted curricular and pedagogical initiatives, including the introduction of contemporary subjects such as AI, Design Thinking etc at relevant stages be undertaken to develop these various important skills in students at all levels.
The ministry has undertaken several initiatives to promote Artificial AI and Computational Thinking (CT) in school education over the years, he said.
"The initiatives aim to enhance the quality of education by integrating technology into teaching and learning processes," Pradhan said.
Elaborating, the minister informed that the existing NCERT textbooks of computer science class XI and informatics practices class XI talk about AI, Internet of Things (IoT) and other emerging technologies.
NCERT has also included a project on animation and games in the vocational education textbook for Grade 6.
AI is being embedded for awareness and foundational competencies among school students (Classes 6–12) and building AI literacy among educators.
The Department of School Education and Literacy has developed a curriculum on Computational Thinking and Artificial Intelligence (CT & AI) to inculcate AI-readiness in school students. This curriculum will be implemented from classes 3rd to 8th, in the session 2026-27.
States/UTs are also working on bringing emerging technologies including AI in their academic framework.
Additionally, CBSE offers a skill module on AI for classes VI–VIII and as an optional skill-based subject in classes IX–XII.
"Digital learning is further supported through national platforms such as DIKSHA, SWAYAM and PM eVidya, along with capacity-building programmes, teacher training and development of digital content and AI awareness modules to enhance innovation and problem-solving skills among students," Pradhan said.
