Pulwama widows removed from protest site in Jaipur, shifted to hospitals
Jaipur (PTI): Rajasthan police early Friday removed the widows of the three CRPF jawans killed in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack from the protest site outside Congress leader Sachin Pilot's house here and shifted them to hospitals near their respective residential areas.
Jaipur Commissioner Anand Srivastava said their supporters were taken to SEZ police station.
The police action happened around 3 am when BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena, who was supporting the protest by the widows, had gone to his residence, one of his close aides said.
The widows have been protesting since February 28 and launched an indefinite hunger strike six days ago, demanding a change in rules so that their relatives and not just children can get government jobs on compassionate grounds. Their other demands include construction of roads and installation of statues of the martyrs in their villages.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot responded to the demands, asking on Twitter whether it would be "appropriate" to give jobs to other relatives of the martyred jawans instead of their children.
"What will happen to the children of the martyr when they grow up? Is it appropriate to trample upon their rights?" he asked.
On Friday morning, Meena went to SEZ police station and said the government will not be able to suppress voice of the widows.
"Why is the government so afraid of 3 women warriors that the police picked them up overnight. Don't know where they have been taken? The women are only pleading to meet the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot ji. Why is the chief minister so nervous to hear them?" Meena told reporters.
He added in a tweet, "Sitting on a dharna outside the SEZ police station. The government will not be able to suppress the voice of the martyrs wives on the strength of the police. An autocratic and dictatorial government will be resisted with more force."
Later, Meena left to meet the wives of the martyrs, but was stopped by Samod police falling under Chomu town in Jaipur district.
"I was going to visit Samod Balaji with my supporters, but Samod police stopped me and abused and manhandled me. Is standing with the wives of martyrs such a big crime that the @ashokgehlot51 government is behaving like this with a people's representative?" Meena tweeted.
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No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
