18 fishermen from Bhatkal arrested in Iran released
Bhatkal, Jan 09: Fifteen fishermen from Uttara Kannada district have been released by Iranian authorities after they had illegally entered their country five months ago, according to a top district official.
"We are happy that fifteen fishermen from Uttara Kannada were released on Tuesday. Karnataka Chief Minister and the district administration had written to the Union government. Thereafter, a lot of effort has transpired," Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner S S Nakul told PTI over phone.
All the fishermen are enroute to UAE on their boats and later, based on their convenience, they would return to India, Nakul said.
Initially, the boat owners made efforts to get the fishermen released, but it was only after the intervention of the Indian Foreign Affairs Ministry that the Iranian government agreed to release them.
The fishermen were detained since July 27 by the Iranian government after they had illegally entered Kish island in Iran, he said.
They were working on three boats owned by a UAE businessman, he added.
Soon after fifteen Indian fishermen were detained along with three other fishermen from Dubai, they had posted a video through WhatsApp to Karwar district administration, Nakul said.
The district administration then wrote a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs and requested Sushma Swaraj to take up the matter, he said.
Nakul said the release of the fishermen was delayed because one of the three Dubai-based fishermen in the Iranian authorities detention escaped from the boat.
"As a punishment, the Iranian authorities, sent the other two Dubai-based fishermen to jail and Indian fishermen were detained in the boats," he said.
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Hemant Soren to take oath as 14th CM of Jharkhand on Thursday
Ranchi (PTI): Hemant Soren is set to take oath as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony here on Thursday, which will be attended by several top political leaders, including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Soren at 4 pm.
This will be the 49-year-old JMM leader's fourth stint as chief minister.
Soren retained the Barhait seat, defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls. The JMM-led alliance stormed to victory, securing 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, while the BJP-led NDA managed 24 seats.
Posters for the event can be seen across the city, while security has been strengthened and traffic regulations put in place.
Schools in Ranchi city are shut on Thursday in view of the swearing in of the Hemant Soren government.
Jharkhand in-charge and Congress general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir said Soren is likely to take oath alone, and expansion of the cabinet will be held after a vote of confidence in the assembly.
Other senior political leaders likely to be in attendance are NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, a JMM leader said.
CPI(ML)L general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav are also likely to attend the oath-taking ceremony.
"It’s heartening to have such esteemed leaders join us for this important occasion," said Soren, who along with senior officials paid a visit to the Morabadi ground on Wednesday evening to take stock of the arrangements.
