Former actor Sana Khan, who stepped away from the entertainment industry in 2020 and married cleric-businessman Mufti Anas the same year, is preparing for Haj later this year. It will be her fourth pilgrimage, but this one comes with a different experience.For the first time, Khan will not be staying in Mina’s famed tent city. Instead, she and her husband will spend five days in a multi-storey tower in the Mina valley, close to Mecca. The shift that reflects a transformation in how some pilgrims now experience Haj.Sana is among the first wave of Indians opting to stay at a tower in Mina during the Haj. Staying for five days at Mina, traditionally known as the ‘tent city’, is a mandatory ritual of Haj. For centuries, pilgrims from across the world who visited Mecca for the annual pilgrimage stayed in these temporary ‘khemas’ or tents.However, in the last couple of years, Saudi authorities built several towers in the Mina valley and offered pilgrims accommodation in these multi-storey towers with enhanced amenities like air-conditioned, spacious rooms, clean toilets, bigger kitchens and wider prayer areas.The Haj division of the ministry of minority affairs in India asked private Haj pilgrims to book their seats by January 15.“Timely booking will help avoid lastminute difficulties and ensure smooth, well-organised arrangements for this sacred journey,” said minority affairs minister Kiran Rijiju in an X post. Out of 1,75,000 Indian Haj quota, 52,000 will travel through Haj group organisations and private tour operators, while the rest will use services of the Haj Committee of India.Several organisers and tour operators are reaching out to affluent pilgrims with packages for an ‘upgraded Haj experience’ and the lure of ‘classic and premium packages that now include a shift from tents to Mina Towers’, reads an online ad of Al Khalid Tours and Travels. “Shift from tents to towers is being done in phases. Stay at the towers is hassle-free and suited to change in weather,” says Khalid Kherada of Al Khalid Tours and Travels.The orthodox do not approve of the transition from tents to towers at Mina.“Tents have a primitive feel, even though they’re also air-conditioned. However, Shariat, or Islamic laws, do not prescribe that the stay at Mina mandatorily be in tents,” says a senior cleric requesting anonymity.

Baytoo Shifted To Barmer; Gudamalani, Dhorimana To Balotra

JAISALMER/JAIPUR: In a controversial move, the Rajasthan govt has overnight redrawn the boundaries of the Barmer and Balotra districts, prompting significant administrative shifts and igniting political row over the timing and intent. A revenue department notification dated December 31, which surfaced publicly on the night of January 2, has altered sub-divisions and shifted thousands of voters in a region bordering Pakistan. Under the revised boundaries, the Baytoo sub-division has been transferred from Balotra back to Barmer, while Barmer’s Gudamalani and Dhorimana sub-divisions have been reassigned to Balotra. Following this reorganization, Balotra district now consists of five sub-divisions-Balotra, Sindhari, Siwana, Dhorimana, and Gudamalani-along with nine tehsils and five sub-tehsils. In contrast, Barmer will now include seven sub-divisions-Barmer, Gadra Road, Chohtan, Ramsar, Baytoo, Sedwa, and Sheo-along with eleven tehsils and seven sub-tehsils. The move has drawn attention because it comes just as administrative boundaries have been frozen from Jan 1 due to the Census process, with restrictions continuing until May 2027. Critics allege the govt acted just before the freeze to make the order harder to reverse and to shield it under census-related rules, also linking the reorganisation to future delimitation and electoral calculations. Balotra was carved out of Barmer as a separate district on August 7, 2023, by the previous Congress-led govt. The current BJP-led govt says the latest changes follow fresh recommendations of the Panwar committee, a high-level panel set up to review the 17 new districts and three new divisions created earlier. A revenue department official denied political pressure behind the decision. The notification went viral Friday night, with some initially claiming it appeared edited, before political reactions poured in from both sides. BJP workers celebrated the decision, while Congress members protested and called it anti-people and politically motivated. The boundary shift is expected to affect around 2.5 lakh voters across the impacted tehsils and could reshape local political equations. In Baytoo assembly constituency-Baytoo, Patodi and Gida tehsils-earlier all three were in Balotra; now Baytoo has moved to Barmer while Patodi and Gida remain in Balotra. In Gudamalani assembly-Gudamalani, Dhorimana and Nokhda tehsils-Gudamalani and Dhorimana have moved to Balotra while Nokhda remains with Barmer. Congress MLA Harish Chaudhary, who contests from Baytoo, alleged the tehsils were broken for political purposes and posted a poetic comment on X: “Send me here or send me there. Playing with maps, send me wherever you want. I won’t fear or bow to the changing borders. I stand with my people, send me wherever you want.” Barmer MP Ummeda Ram Beniwal termed the decision a “Tughlaq-like decree,” while former minister Hemaram Chaudhary questioned the practicality of shifting Dhorimana and parts of Gudamalani, saying the changes do not match ground realities or public convenience. He said a peaceful protest is underway in Dhorimana against the state govt’s decision on the Dhorimana and Gudamalani sub-divisions.

INDORE: Angry residents of Bhagirathpura area, where 10 deaths have been reported because of contaminated drinking water – although MP govt has confirmed a toll of five so far – want those guilty of negligence to be held to account.Hours after reports of deaths and hospitalisations surfaced on December 29, Indore municipal corporation (IMC) officials found a toilet connected to Bhagirathpura police outpost was constructed without a proper septic tank. The waste line reportedly opened into a pit located directly above the pipeline for drinking water, allowing the contaminated water to enter the drinking water supply network in the area.“So many people lost their lives because there was negligence while constructing a police toilet? This is shocking. A case should be registered and someone should be held accountable,” said Ashok Pathi, a local.Residents demanded that a case of culpable homicide be registered against the contractor who constructed the toilet. However, officials said locating the original builder might be difficult. “A lot of the families are living in fear because what we trusted as safe drinking water turned fatal for so many. Someone’s negligence cost lives, and people responsible must be punished,” said Ramesh Verma, a resident.Authorities are now examining how the construction work was allowed without safeguards, and whether oversight lapses occurred. Lab findings are awaited, while residents continue to demand accountability and long-term measures to secure the drinking water system.“We are apprehensive every time we turn on the tap. Authorities should ensure this never happens again, and those at fault should not be allowed to walk away,” said Meena Jain, another local.Indore police collected soil samples from the suspected contamination site as part of the investigation. DCP Rajesh Vyas said, “Soil and water samples were collected for examination. Strict action will be taken against those responsible.”

NEW DELHI: The road transport ministry has told states that no bus should be registered unless full compliance with mandatory safety requirements is established. It asked states to ensure that RTOs register buses only after “compliance with all mandatory safety standards”.The ministry has written to all chief secretaries in the light of recent instances of bus fires that have claimed lives. It has been said that the safety compliance must be verified when vehicles come for a fitness test at the Automated Testing Station (ATS). States have also been asked to take action against non-compliance.“Appropriate action, as per the law, for instances of non-compliance by bus body builders, transport operators, or the concerned inspecting/ approving authorities, to prevent incidents due to safety violations, may please be taken,” it has told states, seeking effective and immediate implementation.Specifying the requirement of mandatory compliance at the registration stage, the ministry said RTOs must ensure that each bus has been manufactured strictly as per the Central Motor Vehicle Rules and notified Automotive Indian Standards (AIS). It said that the validity of the bus body builder accreditation certificate must be verified, and a detailed bus body layout drawing showing emergency exits, door locations, gangways and sleeper arrangement has to be examined and must be retained on record.On the compliance of norms at the time of fitness test, the ministry has said that during inspection, fire safety equipment, emergency exits, structural condition and electrical system of the buses must be checked thoroughly.As per law, fitness certificates of buses are valid for two years till they attain eight years, and afterwards the fitness certificates must be renewed annually.The AIS norms specify that every bus must have two units of fire extinguishers (total capacity 10 kg), four exits (one exit for the emergency door, two for hatches and one for a window or glass) for buses of 12 m length. One additional hatch has to be provided for buses above 12 metres in length.Moreover, other mandatory provisions include the mandatory installation of fire detection and suppression systems in the engine compartment and other fire-prone areas; no separation between the passenger and driver compartments for all types of buses.