NHAI holds back order hiking toll fares on new Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway
Bengaluru: The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has temporarily withdrawn its recent order to hike the toll fares on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway.
The NHAI had issued an order increasing the toll fares by 22 per cent, adding that the new fares would be applicable from April 1.
The Expressway was inaugurated on March 12 and the toll was being collected from March 14. The toll fares were increased in barely a fortnight’s time, which the people severely objected to.
The NHAI officials have said that the order for a revision of the rates has been temporarily withdrawn following the outcry by the public.
'It's only for the rich': Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway users see red over toll hike https://t.co/xAj3MhOKyp
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Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya case: Hope emerges as Iran may contact victim’s family in bid for pardon
New Delhi: There appears to be a glimmer of hope for Nimisha Priya, the nurse from Kerala on death row in Yemen, as report suggest Iranian officials may reach out to the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, her former business partner, to seek a pardon through blood money. Priya was sentenced to death for Mahdi's murder.
The 37-year-old nurse is currently imprisoned in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, which is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis.
A report by The New Indian Express published on Friday stated that discussions are underway to gain the victim's family’s support in seeking a pardon. “It’s a relief of sorts. Iran officials could use their good offices with Houthis for the reach-out with family of the victim. Some cash has been arranged for blood money and talks are on to get the family on board to seek pardon, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” a source told the publication.
It is learnt that using an appropriate intermediary equivalent of Rs 30 lakh has been kept ready, the report added.
Hailing from Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, the nurse was found guilty of murdering the Yemeni citizen in July 2017. She was handed capital punishment by a trial court in 2020 while Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council upheld the verdict in November 2023.
Mahdi, reportedly died from an overdose of sedatives allegedly injected by Priya to retrieve her passport from him.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government is extending all possible help in the matter. “We are closely following the developments around the sentencing of Nimisha Priya. The government is extending all possible help in the matter,” he said last week.
