Rain slows down Amarnath Yatra
Jammu, June 29 : Heavy rains slowed down the progress of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims as authorities allowed only a small batch of 856 yatris from here to move towards the valley on Friday to avoid overcrowding at the base camps.
Reports from the two base camps in Baltal and Pahalgam indicate that it has been raining all along the two treks leading to the Cave Shrine since early on Friday.
"No pilgrim was allowed to move towards the Cave Shrine because of rain and slippery conditions along the two treks," an official said.
"A third batch of 856 yatris left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas at 6.25 a.m. in an escorted convoy of 29 vehicles," police said.
The Jammu-Srinagar highway in the Ramban district that pilgrim convoys use to reach the valley was blocked on Thursday for several hours. Heavy rains on Friday again slowed down the traffic.
This year's Amarnath Yatra started on Thursday as 1,007 pilgrims prayed inside the cave shrine. Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N.Vohra also joined the 'Pratham Puja' at the holy cave.
The 60-day long Yatra will end on August 26 coinciding with Shravan Purnima festival.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
MediaOne TV Facebook page restored after block linked to ‘government request’
Kochi: The official Facebook page of Malayalam news channel MediaOne TV has been restored after being blocked without prior notice, the broadcaster said on Wednesday.
The channel was quoted by Maktoob as saying that the restriction was lifted automatically, with Meta Platforms informing it that the action had been taken following a “government request” which has now expired or been reversed.
The development came shortly after the channel approached the Kerala High Court challenging the blocking of its page, terming it arbitrary and in violation of legal provisions and judicial precedents. The High Court had issued notice to Meta via email hours before the restriction was withdrawn.
In its petition, the channel said access to its Facebook page had been restricted for users in India without citing any specific content or alleged violation. It contended that while individual posts may be taken down under applicable a rule, blocking an entire page goes beyond the scope of such measures.
The incident followed an earlier action taken against the channel in 2022, when the Ministry of Information and transmitting prohibited it from transmitting. It cited national security concerns regarding the Ministry of Home Affairs' refusal of security clearance.
The Supreme Court of India in April 2023 set aside the ban, observing that national security claims cannot be made without substantive basis and that criticism of government policies does not render a media outlet anti-national.
