Digpu News

Political gimmicks by the Congress and the BJP fill the Uttarakhand poll scene Politicians are a funny lot – most of the time. Particularly, when it comes to election campaigns. The amount of lies and deceit that are dumped on the hapless voters whenever an election season is around makes for some serious thinking. Take for instance the current scenario in Uttarakhand. The ruling BJP and its NDA allies on one side and the Opposition Congress party on the other have been playing games that prompt a dozen smirks from the art of the voter. In Uttarakhand, a sizable number of voters belongs to families that have sent their men and women to the armed forces. Serving soldiers, ex- personnel of the armed forces and their families are the votes these parties target whenever a poll is announced. Campaigns are tailor-made in such a way that there is something for the military families in every act these political beings brandish. A trip down the lanes of Uttarakhand can push you to some seriou...

Global nations had joined a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter games alleging human rights abuses by China Even as a large chunk of nations worldwide have pledged themselves to be part of a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics scheduled to begin in Beijing, China has found a strategic ally in Russia who would stand by it. The relief for China came after Russian president Vladimir Putin made it clear that he would attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in the Chinese city. By doing so, Putin has become one of the first major world leaders to promise attendance for the prestigious games the Asian communist nation would host. The 2022 Winter Olympic Games are scheduled to get underway in February. Putin stance a relief for China’s Winter Olympics plans Putin, reportedly pledged his attendance for the Winter Olympics in a video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Stating that he looked forward to a "get-together", Putin pushed behind China’s worries of a global boycott ...

She started with Asma Ul Husna and then moved on to certain Ayah from the Holy Quran after mastering the basics of calligraphy In southern Kashmir’s Pulwama district, a young girl Aatifa Nisar Latoo has become a center of attraction for her skills in Calligraphy. From Drabgam village of the southern district of the valley, the 18-year-old 11th standard girl student developed interest in the art after watching the TV Series Alif. Pakistani TV series Alif sparks calligraphy interest in Aatifa In the  TV series , Aatifa told Digpu News, Turkish calligraphy is shown and it caught my attention. “I was so attracted to the art that I started giving few Arabic letter a try. With time, I began not only to improve but brought in some originality as well with some unique styles of calligraphy,” Aatifa Nisar added. It has been over a year now that she is into Calligraphy. Her parents and friends have been applauded her skill and keep encouraging her to continue with the art. She has quickly move...

Reena Ki Kahani, an animated film made by Shred Shreedhar, sheds light on different vulnerabilities that facilitate crimes such as human trafficking A nine-and-a-half-minute animated film released recently comes as an eye opener to all those who haven’t taken human rights seriously. Outed on the occasion of Human Rights Day, the film shines light into the horrors of human trafficking, the agents of which lurk amongst us, and are always on the prowl to trap their next victim. The film, titled Reena Ki Kahani, by producer-director Shred Shreedhar, narrates the real-life story of Reena, who was trapped and lured into flesh trade before being rescued. The film also sheds light on the different vulnerabilities that facilitate such crimes, like false promises and the lure of a better life to the clever targeting of girls from weaker sections of society who dream of a brighter future. Shred Shreedhar narrates a story of survival Through Reena Ki Kahani, Shreedhar shows his audience how traf...

According to scientists, rocks in the Chenab valley in Jammu and Kashmir have developed cracks as a result of periodic earthquakes and blasting, rendering it vulnerable to Uttarakhand-like disasters The catastrophe in Uttarakhand in February this year has sparked dread among the public, with experts fearing that dams in Jammu and Kashmir might overflow. Over 70 individuals died in  Uttarakhand ’s flash floods in February 2021. Jammu and Kashmir, like Uttarakhand, has a huge number of dams where power is generated and distributed throughout the country. Snow avalanches are widespread in the upper Himalayas, especially Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. Dam development in J-K making catastrophes likely Climate scientists, he noted, have traditionally opposed dam development on higher levels. Given the fact that when dams are built, huge amount of steel and iron is used. These materials absorb heat, causing a rise in temperature, disrupting the ecosystem, and ultimately leading to catas...

Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute’s efforts to rejuvenate clam-fishery in Vembanad Lake yield good results An effort aimed at providing a boost to clam-fishery and thereby enhancing the livelihood options of clam-fishers living around the vast Vembanad Lake in Kollam district of  Kerala  is reaping success. Led by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), efforts were on to rejuvenate the black clam (Villorita cyprinoides) resource in the Vembanad Lake has yielded results with fishermen starting to harvest good catch from the region. CMFRI’s initiative of relaying baby clams in various sites in Vembanad facilitated increasing the clam production, which in turn helped fishers harvest around 10 tonnes of clam per day from two areas of the lake. Kerala clam-fishery rejuvenation gets CMFRI technical guidance The Molluscan Fisheries Division of CMFRI re-laid baby clams after identifying suitable areas on the northern side of the Thanneermukkom barrage. The initiat...

Jimmy Lai, in a handwritten letter, said he is willing to suffer the punishment if the court thinks that remembering those who died because of injustice is a crime Participating in a vigil to mark the infamous Tiananmen massacre in China has brought to Hong Kong media mogul and activist Jimmy Lai 13 months of imprisonment. Lai, the founder of the now defunct ‘Apple Daily’, was found guilty of spurring others to take part in what the government termed an unlawful assembly. The media tycoon, who is 74 years old, along with thousands of others had in June last, converged at the Tianenmen square where Beijing had effected a crackdown on protestors in 1989. The Chinese government obviously took offence, and went ahead to declare the conclave as unlawful assembly. Arrests followed and around 25 activists and politicians were charged for breaking the law. Jimmy Lai and seven others sentenced to imprisonment The trial had been on, and of late, Lai and seven other activists were pronounced gu...

A group of men in Andhra Pradesh has called for a ban on the ‘Oo Antava..’ song performed by Samantha in the Allu Arjun film, 'Pushpa - The Rise' North, south, east, or west, audiences of popular cinema want all that would entertain them through the three full hours they sit in a dark room watching their favourite actors play in gay abandon for them on the silver screen in front of them. And makers of popular blockbusters have always made sure the masala elements are in place every time a film is released. That’s exactly what the makers of the Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Pushpa - The Rise’ also must have imagined when they set out on making a film with the reigning superstars of Telugu filmdom. Among the many elements they threw in was a hot dance number, performed by none other than the cute and lovely Samantha. Samantha item number creates a flutter The dance number, also called ‘item’ in cinema parlance, took the whole of South India by storm when it was released a day ago. The ‘i...

Tamil Nadu efforts to avert virus-spread suffer setback as temples not keen on restricting crowds When it comes to religion, it is very rare that administrative interventions stand a chance of getting implemented. Be it for public good or not, policy decisions taken are sabotaged by those who think they are custodians of religious codes. This is exactly what has happened in Tamil Nadu, of late. An administrative decision to allow only fully vaccinated people into the large shrines at Madurai and Rameswaram has seen itself being pulled. It was a while ago that the Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE), under the Tamil Nadu government, had brought to the fore its decision to allow entry to only those devotees who had taken two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The decision had come about owing to the crowds that throng these two temples. Tamil Nadu norm irks devotees However, devotees were not amused. They believed the restrictions were against their right to ...

By default, the messenger app will only notify your current saved contacts about your online status. WhatsApp is working to make it more difficult for strangers to snoop on its users’ online status. The messaging service began the process a few weeks ago when it enabled beta users to hide their "Last Seen" status from certain contacts, but it appears that the developers now aim to make it more difficult for outsiders to see when you were last online by default. According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is altering the default "Last Seen" visibility on  Android  and iOS from "Everyone" to "My Contacts." WhatsApp support has even verified the new default option on Twitter and it appears that the service is pushing it out to everyone automatically. Strangers will no longer have access to WhatsApp users’ status People and businesses, with whom a user hasn't previously communicated, will no longer be able to view his/her online status, and vice versa. W...