Hassan Ganesha procession disaster: Case filed against truck driver; KSRP squad deployed to scene
Hassan: District In-charge Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has said that a case has been filed at the Gorur Police Station against truck driver Bhuvan, whose alleged rash driving caused the disaster during the Ganesha procession in Hassan on Friday night.
He said that an additional Karnataka State Reserve Police squad has been deployed to the accident scene.
The minister has also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the victims in the Ganesha procession on Friday night and Rs 50,000 each for the injured.
Gowda held a meeting with Hassan MP Shreyas Patel, Deputy Commissioner Latha Kumari and Superintendent of Police Muhammad Sujitha regarding the accident and the road safety measures to be taken to prevent such incidents in future.
A Ganesha idol immersion procession was being taken out in Mosale Hosahalli of the taluk on Friday night when a truck traveling from Hassan and Mysuru reportedly collided with a road divider and the driver, losing control over the vehicle, mowed down the nearby participants.
Nine people have died in the mishap and more than 23 people are reported to have sustained serious injuries.
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.
India intensifying engagement with global partners from position of strength: Jaishankar
Mumbai (PTI): India is engaging with international partners more intensively and from a "position of strength", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday, citing a string of recent trade agreements as evidence of the country's growing economic clout.
In an address at the Global Economic Cooperation conference, Jaishankar highlighted the successful negotiation of several high-profile deals, including a significant trade pact with the United States.
The Global Economic Cooperation is an event organised by the Future Economic Cooperation Council in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Government of Maharashtra.
Describing the current international landscape as perhaps the most turbulent in living memory, the minister warned that the world is witnessing the "weaponisation" of production and finance, alongside tightening export controls and volatile market shifts.
"The established global order is clearly changing. Replacements are hard to create, and we appear to be headed to a long twilight zone. This will be messy, risky, unpredictable, perhaps even dangerous," he said.
Long-standing assumptions and expectations have now become questionable, the minister pointed out.
Key dimensions are transforming simultaneously, be it strategic, political, economic or technological. Solutions lie in derisking and diversifying across multiple domains. This approach is increasingly visible in the policy of nations, the EAM said.
Jaishankar stressed that the "reform express" will continue to roll on.
"From a position of strength, India is engaging international partners more intensively. This is demonstrated in the recently concluded trade deals," he said.
Economic security is best served through stronger self-reliance and more trusted partners, the minister added.
Following a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, both sides recently announced a reduction of US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent.
However, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has alleged that the government "sold Bharat Mata" through the trade deal with the US, saying it was a "wholesale surrender", with India's energy security handed over to America and farmers' interests compromised.
Last month, India and the European Union (EU) concluded negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), which will help boost two-way commerce and strengthen economic ties between the two sides. Over the last year, India has also finalised trade deals with the UK, New Zealand and Oman.
Jaishankar said that the world has entered a volatile and uncertain era, possibly the most turbulent in living memory.
He emphasised that India will also be more salient in the global calculus of production, on services, technology, skills and knowledge.
Economics will give way to politics and security when it comes to making choices and technology in the age of AI (Artificial Intelligence), he noted.
The minister further said that the US is determined to reindustrialise at any cost, and this is central to its tech future.
China's manufacturing and export focus continues unabated and may even expand, he added.
Technology competition is intensifying and polarising. Energy trade flows are being significantly redefined. New mindsets are encouraging greater risk-taking, including through military means. Migration and even mobility are getting contentious, he pointed out.
"Each nation and each society will respond as per their interests and calculations," Jaishankar said.
