Navy evacuates 38 stranded Indians from Yemen
New Delhi, June 3 : The Indian Navy on Sunday evacuated 38 stranded Indians from Socotra island in Yemen where they got stuck after a cyclone hit the area 10 days ago, forcing India to launch an operation to rescue them. All are reported to be safe.
The Navy evacuated the Indians as part of operation 'NISTAR' carried out off the coast of Socotra early on Sunday and embarked them at Indian Naval ship INS Sunayna to bring them back to India, a Navy spokesperson said.
"INS Sunayna pressed into action to evacuate the 38 Indian nationals from Socotra. The evacuated Indians were ... immediately provided with medical care, food, water and telephone facilities to call and reassure their families. All have been reported to be safe. Post evacuation, the ship would be proceeding towards Porbandar," he said.
Severe cyclonic storm Mekenu crossed the Yemeni Island of Socotra on May 24, leaving 38 Indians stranded on the island with limited food and water.
The Navy deployed INS Sunayna in Western Arabian Sea for the humanitarian and disaster relief operation just after it received a distress call from the Directorate General of Shipping and the Indian Sailing Vessels Association.
"We got information that three Indian Dhows -- a lateen rigged ship with one or two masts -- at Socotra suffered damages and sank alongside in the harbour after the cyclone hit the area," said the official.
"As we got the inputs about another Dhow, MSV Safina Al Khijar, with 12 Indians on board missing, the Indian Navy undertook two aerial sorties on May 27 and 28 to search for the missing Indians," he added.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
