Togadia ends 'indefinite fast' on health grounds
Gandhinagar, April 19: Citing health reasons, former VHP leader Pravin Togadia on Thursday called off his "indefinite fast" and said he will now travel across the country to build pressure vis-a-vis his demands, including building a grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya.
Togadia had begun his fast here on Tuesday in support of the Ram Temple and other issues.
Togadia, a diabetic, said there was deterioration in his health and hence he was calling off his hunger strike.
"I am calling off my fast at the insistence of 'sants' who called on me. They have also asked me to resolve to work for the welfare of Hindus."
The former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader lost three kg in weight. Doctors present at the fast venue feared that his kidneys could be affected due to fasting and require hospitalisation.
Togadia was demanding that Parliament pass a law to facilitate the construction of a grand Ram Temple at the site of the former Babri Masjid in Uttar Pradesh.
He said he will also campaign for an end to debt of farmers, employment for youths and women welfare.
"I will begin to travel across the country from this weekend," he said, adding he also wanted a ban on cow slaughter, revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution and resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits who displaced in the Valley.
Taking a jibe at the Modi government, Togadia said: "Those elected in 2014 have performed worst than those who ruled before 2014. I will work to build an alternative that works to meet the aspirations of the people."
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi "should, instead of travelling abroad, visit the homes of people" in the country.
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ISRO's PSLV-C62 lifts off with earth observation satellite, 14 other payloads
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): ISRO's trusted workhorse PSLV lifted off from the spaceport here on Monday, carrying an earth observation satellite along with 14 other commercial payloads for both domestic and overseas customers.
Marking the first launch of the year, the mission is part of the contract secured by NewSpace India Ltd, the commercial arm of ISRO.
The 44.4 metre tall four-stage PSLV-C62 rocket soared from the first launch pad at a prefixed time of 10.18 hours on Monday.
After a journey of 17 minutes, it is expected to place the satellites into Sun Synchronous Orbit at an altitude of about 511 km.
After the separation of all the satellites, scientists would restart the fourth stage (PS4) of the rocket to de-boost and enter a re-entry trajectory for the separation of the last satellite, the Kestrel Initial Technology Demonstrator (KID) capsule.
This process is expected to last over two hours after lift-off.
Both the PS4 stage and the KID capsule would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and make a splashdown in the South Pacific Ocean, ISRO said.
