Ajit Pawar’s NCP & Sharad Pawar’s fraction to contest together in Pimpri Chinchwad

PUNE: Deputy chief minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar on Sunday announced that NCP and NCP (SP) will contest the upcoming Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections in an alliance.Addressing a campaign rally in Talawade for party candidates, Pawar said, “In Pimpri Chinchwad, NCP, the party with the clock symbol and NCP, the party with the trumpet symbol, will contest the civic election in an alliance. A parivar [family] is coming together as many people wanted this to happen.”Pawar said the seat-sharing arrangement between NCP and NCP (SP) has been finalised and will be announced within the next two days. “We come from a farming family; farming is our caste. Some decisions must be taken in the larger interest of Maharashtra,” he said.This marks the first official announcement of an alliance between the two parties, even as discussions continue for alliances in other municipal corporations, including Pune.During the rally, Pawar announced the party’s candidates for Ward 12, where the undivided NCP had won all four seats in the 2017 elections. The candidates are Pankaj Bhalekar, Sharad Bhalekar, Seema Bhalekar, and Charulata Sonawane. Later, at a public meeting in Chikhali for Ward 1, he announced Yash Sane, Vikas Sane, Sadhna Netaji Kashid, and Sangita Tamhane as party candidates.In his address, Pawar also credited NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar for bringing the IT park to Hinjewadi, saying the decision played a key role in the development of the twin city. It may be noted that under Ajit Pawar’s leadership, first Congress between 1992 and 1999 and then the undivided NCP ruled Pimpri Chinchwad between 1999 and 2017. The BJP wrested control of the civic body in 2017, winning 77 of the 128 seats, while the NCP finished second.He said that despite his party being in power for 25 years, PCMC never took loans for development works.“PCMC was considered one of the richest municipal corporations in Asia. Today, it is burdened with debt and allegations of corruption, which were never part of its earlier history,” he said.Pawar said the NCP would ensure representation for candidates from all communities, drawing inspiration from the ideologies of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shahu Maharaj, Jyotiba Phule, and BR Ambedkar. The candidate list, he said, would include a balance of youth and experienced leaders.Without naming individuals, Pawar also alleged that political opponents in Pimpri Chinchwad were threatening aspirants by warning that their construction projects would be stalled. “Women are being threatened, and such poaching politics has been never seen before.People have told me they were warned that their construction works would be stopped. Residents should not tolerate this, and justice must be ensured,” he said.

Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge during 140th foundation day celebrations of Indian National Congress at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi

NEW DELHI: Party president Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that “Congress is an ideology and ideologies never die”, as Indian National Congress marked its 140th foundation day on Sunday.The event at Indira Bhawan headquarters of Congress in New Delhi to mark the occasion was attended by Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, K C Venugopal, Ajay Maken and other party functionaries and members.On X, Rahul said that Congress is not just a political party, but the voice of India’s soul that has stood with every weak, deprived and hardworking person. “The resolve is to fight even more strongly the battle for truth, courage, and to protect the Constitution against hatred, injustice and dictatorship,” he said.Addressing the gathering, Kharge said that “to those who say ‘Congress is finished’, I want to tell them that our power may be less, but our spine is still straight”. “We have not compromised – not with the Constitution, not with secularism, and not with the rights of the poor. We may not be in office, but we will not bargain,” he said.He took the opportunity to urge Congress workers across country to unite and reach out to people at grassroots level to build a mass movement for restoration of MGNREGA, calling it a “vital lifeline for the poor and vulnerable”.Calling for a united fight to ‘save the democracy’, Kharge said the Constitution and democracy are under grave threat. “This fight is not merely electoral. It is a battle for the soul of India. If Congress does not fight, who will protect the Constitution and democracy?” he asked.Kharge alleged that in past 11 years, BJP-led govt has systematically weakened institutions built by Congress.

Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur(DLJ), DRDO handed over Camouflage Pattern Generation Software Sigma 4.0 (CPGSS4.0) and a full-scale Multispectral Signature Tank Mock-up to CME, Pune (Picture credit: DRDO)

NEW DELHI: According to Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’, “all warfare is based on deception.”In the wake of the Pakistan conflict in May when the enemy forces attempted to target Indian military assets like air defence systems, including Russia-imported S400 Triumf missile system, with their missiles and drones, India’s elite R&D wing Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has transferred two key indigenous technologies to the Army that will help its soldiers and their military equipment evade enemy detection.Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur (DLJ), DRDO, handed over Camouflage Pattern Generation Software Sigma 4.0 (CPGSS4.0) and a full-scale Multispectral Signature Tank Mock-up to the Indian Army’s Corps of Military Engineering (CME) in Pune in the first week of December. “CPGSS4.0 was launched today (Dec 3) by Lt Gen A K Ramesh, SM, Comdt CME in the presence of V S Shenoi, Director, DLJ and will be available for use by tri-services,” DRDO recently posted on X. “A full scale multispectral signature tank mock-up will be use (sic) for training the service personnel in camouflaging and deception technology,” it stated.CPGS 4.0 is an advanced software developed to create highly effective, multi-spectral camouflage patterns for military equipment, helping soldiers blend into diverse terrains by countering detection across visible light, infrared (IR), and radar sensors, thereby significantly boosting battlefield deception and survival training for the Indian Army. Whereas a multispectral signature tank mock-up is a full-scale, realistic decoy of a battle tank, designed not just to look like a tank in visible light, but to mimic its physical and electromagnetic properties (heat, radar reflection) across various sensor spectrums, allowing soldiers to test and train with advanced camouflage materials to hide tanks from modern threats like thermal, infrared and radar detection.Developing multispectral deception capabilities is the need of the hour as traditional camouflage measures have become less effective in modern warfare. These advanced systems are designed to enhance the Army’s capabilities in camouflage and deception, which are key for survival on modern battlefields where surveillance and sensor technologies are fast advancing.The integration of sophisticated software with a realistic mock-up helps tackle challenges posed by modern detection systems, including thermal imaging, UAV reconnaissance and radar technologies. With the introduction of these technologies, the Army now has the capacity to indulge in concealment methods more effectively, thereby enhancing operational survivability.

SRINAGAR: Authorities placed Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi of National Conference, opposition PDP legislator Waheed Parra, party functionary Iltija Mufti and others under house detention Sunday, stopping a student-backed protest against J&K’s current reservation policy and exposing sharp political fault lines within NC.The confrontation follows months of debate over changes to J&K reservation rules. Originally framed in 2004, the rules were amended by Union government in 2024 to grant Pahari-speaking population a 10% quota under scheduled tribe category, changes implemented the same year by LG administration. More than 15 new castes were also added to reservation list.Several political parties, including Peoples Conference, Mehdi and student activists, said the revised policy has sharply reduced open merit share in jobs and professional college admissions to below 40%.After a protest on Dec 23 last year outside CM Omar Abdullah’s home, Mehdi, Parra, Iltija and students were invited for talks. Omar assured a review of the framework, leading to formation of a cabinet sub-committee. After months of deliberations, its recommendations were sent to LG’s office early this month and remain pending.Mehdi had warned last month that if the issue was not resolved, he would sit with students in protest. Sunday’s detentions halted that plan but intensified pressure on the NC-led government navigating authority split with the LG amid renewed calls for statehood.NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah defended the detentions, accusing functionaries behind the protest of seeking disorder. “They do not want to see J&K move on the path of development. They want chaos, and we will not allow that,” he said. NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar claimed “many of them, I am told, requested for house arrest”.At the same time, NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said the party remains committed to rationalising reservation quotas. The cabinet sub-committee’s report has been finalised and sent to the LG, he said. “At this point, the matter is no longer in the hands of elected government but we will pursue it.”Mehdi said police informed him Sunday morning he could not step out of his home before a planned demonstration with students in Srinagar. “We also received reports late last night that students have been arrested and their families intimidated by police,” he said.Law and order is under LG Manoj Sinha, but Mehdi demanded NC-led government clarify whether it played any role in the detentions. He asked government to specify a date by which a reservation file pending approval with the LG would be cleared, or join him in protest. Mehdi also urged government to lead a push for a discussion in Parliament on restoring special status for J&K, citing a resolution passed by the assembly in its first session last year.Police placed Parra under house arrest late Saturday. Iltija, daughter of PDP chief and former CM Mehbooba Mufti, said she too was confined. “The insecurity and paranoia of the security agencies knows no bounds. This is the ‘normalcy’ in Naya Kashmir. An entire contingent of female police personnel is deputed at the gate to physically stop me,” she said. J&K police and LG’s office issued no statements.

Lean, feral dogs move with predatory intensity across a snow-dusted desert, Ladakh’s stark peaks looming behind.

SRINAGAR: It’s bloody murder on the roof of the world.A new predator has quietly grown to dangerous numbers. Feral dogs roam the cold desert of Ladakh, preying, often in packs, on endangered wildlife and attacking people. Conservationists warn that they outnumber native predators in the region.What began as a byproduct of increased tourism, military deployment, and unmanaged waste in the cold desert moonscape of Ladakh has grown into a full-blown crisis. And it’s manmade.Scientists and wildlife officials warn that these free-ranging canines — estimated by the WCBCL at nearly 45,000, far in excess of what the region’s ecology can sustain — are preying on some of Ladakh’s rarest high-altitude species. They threaten snow leopards, wolves and foxes, and prey on rare species like Pallas’s cat, the Eurasian lynx, Tibetan gazelle, blue sheep, ibex, and Himalayan marmots, said Lobzang Visuddha, chairman of the Wildlife Conservation and Birds Club of Ladakh (WCBCL), a community-based voluntary initiative by young people.The killing of a Pallas’s cat, one of the rarest and least-studied species, by feral dogs in Anley last year has alarmed conservationists like Visuddha. “In fact, there are records of killing two Pallas’s cats and Eurasian lynxes by feral dogs,” he saidThe dogs also threaten ground-nesting birds, with packs frequently chasing black-necked cranes, the UT’s state bird, and attacking ruddy shelduck chicks when they move from rocky nesting sites to nearby water bodies, Visuddha said.Advocate Tashi Gyalson, who headed the local government in Leh as chairman of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council from Nov 2020 to Nov 2025, said the issue hasn’t been arisen all of a sudden. “We have to admit that this situation has actually been created by humans over a long period of time,” he said.Gyalson said these dogs have been part of the ecosystem and community but rapid urbanisation meant they lost their use as hunting dogs, shepherd dogs, watchdogs and companion animals. “This, multiplied by the abundant carrying capacity of the environment, caused their rapid multiplication, and eventually caused the current situation,” he said.Experts say the worst hit is eastern Ladakh, the region with the highest concentration of wildlife, where poor waste management are subsidising the dog population.“The main concern is the availability of excess kitchen waste in areas occupied by the Army and areas where there is tourism,” Gyalson said.The stretch from Kargyan Chibra to Tsokar, in eastern Ladakh, has become a hotspot for feral dog activity due to unsustainable waste “Feral dogs are by far the most serious threat as far as the wildlife of Ladakh is concerned. I have myself seen how stray dogs in Hanle and Tso Moriri actually raided the nests of the black-necked crane, and preyed upon the eggs and young ones,” said Intesar Suhail, who was wildlife warden of Ladakh in 2013-14.“I have even seen them chasing animals as big as the Tibetan wild ass. The active ground nests of waterbirds, particularly the black-necked crane and bar-headed goose, are more vulnerable as they are located in marshy areas, surrounded by shallow waters easily accessible to dogs,” he said.A strong sense of smell and pack behaviour give feral dogs a lethal advantage over wildlife that evolved without such human-introduced predators, Visuddha said.“Though these species face natural threats in the wild, feral dogs are not one of them, they are a problem introduced by humans,” said the WCBCL founder.Ladakh has also reported at least five fatal attacks on humans, mostly on women and children, by feral dogs, which was unheard of in the region until recently, he said.Phuntsog Wangail, president of the Chamba Animal Welfare Society, which runs Ladakh’s largest animal care facility, said Ladakh was facing growing fears of long-term ecological imbalance due to feral dogs.They survive largely on food waste from tourist camps, hotels, roadside dhabas and temporary settlements. When these facilities close or relocate, particularly during winter, the canines are left without reliable food sources and begin roaming over long distances.“This seasonal movement pushes dogs into wildlife habitats, increases territorial conflicts, and accelerates breeding, placing Ladakh’s fragile ecosystem under severe pressure,” Wangail said.Visuddha said the feral dog threat to wildlife of Ladakh was next only to human activity.The rapid infrastructure expansion, including road building, power lines and mobile towers, has already fragmented habitats, while the expansion of camps, resorts, guest houses and hotels has intensified pressure on wildlife, he said.In winter, when tourism grinds to a halt and food becomes scarce, the dogs roam extensively, leading to a rise in dog-bite cases, road accidents and formation of aggressive packs. “At the same time, winter offers the best window for sterilisation, as dogs tend to remain closer to human settlements.”Data from the Animal Husbandry Department in Leh shows that 32,887 dogs were sterilised between 2015 and 2024, yet officials and conservationists say the population remains dangerously high.Wangial said Ladakh should carry out mass sterilisation over the next two years, with a special focus on female dogs and puppies, while calling for strict enforcement of animal welfare laws, including heavy penalties for dog dislocation, abandonment and cruelty.He called for the replication of successful models from the Netherlands and Bhutan, where mass sterilisation, strict enforcement of animal welfare laws and strong community participation have led to significant reductions in stray populations.While Visuddha said govt appears unconcerned about the issue, Gyalson offered a contrasting view. He said that after Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019, a mission-mode campaign was launched to control the dog population. “The impact of the programme is visible as there are far fewer street puppies, especially in Leh city,” he said.However, Gyalson said several challenges continue to hinder effective population control, including Ladakh’s vast and rugged terrain, extreme climate, dispersed dog population, difficulties in capturing animals, and the absence of an accurate census.

The civil aviation ministry has operationalised a round-the-clock Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR) to address air travellers’ grievances more promptly, amid recent flight disruptions caused by operational issues and weather-related delays, PTI reported. The control room, which became functional on December 10, brings together officials from the ministry, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), airlines and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to monitor flight operations, attend to passenger complaints and coordinate real-time assistance. The PACR was set up in the aftermath of large-scale operational disruptions faced by IndiGo earlier this month and continuing challenges such as fog-related delays at several airports. Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said the initiative has led to a marked improvement in grievance redressal and has received a positive response from passengers and other stakeholders. “Over 13,000 passenger grievances, received through AirSewa, social media and call channels, have been resolved, with cases expedited and prioritised through close monitoring at the Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR),” Sinha said in a statement. According to the ministry, grievances raised across multiple platforms are now being channelled through the PACR in New Delhi, enabling quicker resolution through close coordination with airline representatives. Explaining the rationale for the initiative, Sinha said persistent issues such as frequent flight delays, inadequate or delayed refunds, long queues, poor passenger facilities at airports and incidents of lost baggage had continued to affect passenger experience across the aviation ecosystem. “These concerns highlighted the need for a structured, systematic and coordinated response rather than ad-hoc interventions,” he said. During a visit to the control room, officials and airline representatives said complaints handled at the centre range from flight cancellations and delays to lost baggage and onboard service issues. IndiGo’s Director of Customer Experience Pratik Arjun Sen said the airline receives a mixed set of passenger queries at the PACR and efforts are made to resolve grievances at the earliest. Since the disruptions earlier this month, Sen said IndiGo’s customer experience team has been working to address issues such as ticket refunds, with noticeable improvement. Ajeet Tiwari, Assistant Manager of Operations at SpiceJet, said flight delays are among the most common grievances flagged by passengers, adding that workflow at the control room has been smooth. Lisa Agarwal from Air India Express’s Customer Happiness Team said complaints often relate to lost or damaged baggage and meals not being served onboard, with most issues targeted for resolution within 72 hours. Akasa Air’s Senior Customer Service Agent Shahbaj Alam said the airline receives around 15–16 passenger queries daily at the centre, largely related to service issues, flight cancellations and refunds. Ministry official Ravneet Kaur said enquiries primarily concern ticket refunds and baggage-related issues, and are being addressed promptly through the PACR, which operates on a 24×7 basis.