Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami plants tree in Pant Park; participates in Swachhata Abhiyan
The Chief Minister also participated in cleaning activities under the Swachhata Abhiyan.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday reached Nainital on his two-day visit. On the first day of his stay, he inspected the beautification and redevelopment works going on at Mallital at a cost of Rs 1,101 crore under the Manaskhand Mandir Mala Yojana. Under this scheme, 12 new shops are being developed, which were also inaugurated.
On this occasion Chief Minister Dhami announced: work will be done to improve the Dhunighat and Ratighat footpath; Shahid Sanjay Bisht Motor Road (Kainchi-Hartapa-Hailimotor Road to Titoli) will be upgraded and improve; sections of State Highway No. 71 (Ramnagar-Bhandarpani-Amgari-Bhaurakot-Betalghat-Bhujan Richi-Billekh) will be strengthened; DSA ground will be developed as a model sports center for national level sports competitions and training; alternative parking will be constructed in Nainital; hockey turf and boxing ring will be built in the flats ground; flats ground will be used only for sports and cultural events, other commercial activities will be prohibited; Nainital bus stand complex will be redeveloped through lightweight structure to increase public transport facility and reduce traffic jam.
The CM also announced that water lakes will be reduced by conducting a road safety survey of main sites, and a vending zone will be constructed for local vendors. Desilting of Naini Lake will also be done, and the railing will be replaced.
The Chief Minister inaugurated the basketball court at DSA ground, distributed sports kits to the players, met the district's medal-winning players, and honoured them.
During this, in the felicitation ceremony organised, the Chief Minister honoured the medal winners of Nainital district in the 38th National Games 2025 Uttarakhand and international level medal winning players - Latika Bhandari, Bhumika Jantwal, Nitesh Bisht, Nirmal Bisht, Ansh Bisht, Kanishka Joshi, Surya Patel, Bhagravi Rawat, Shraddha Joshi, Komal, Nvya Pandey, Vaibhav Singh Padiyar, SDM Nawazish Khaliq and other players. Apart from this, the participants of the late N.K. Arya Smriti Cricket Tournament were honoured with prizes.
In his address, the Chief Minister said that the work on sewer lines and STP is in progress in Nainital. Given the increasing number of tourists, automatic parking has been approved to overcome the parking problem. Soon, the expansion of Ashok Parking and the construction of Metro Parking will also start, for which permission has been received from the Central Government.
He said that the beautification of Maa Naina Devi Temple is going on under the Manaskhand Corridor. Improvement of DSA ground and landslide protection work on Valia Nala and Thandi Road is also being done at a fast pace. Volleyball track has been inaugurated here at the demand of children. An amount of Rs 12 crore is being given for the beautification of Maa Naina Devi Temple, and if required, this work will also be taken forward.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that with these development works, the local people and tourists will get better facilities and smooth traffic, due to which the development of Nainital will gain more momentum.
The Chief Minister said that the state government will soon implement the Sports Legacy Plan, under which 23 sports academies will be established in eight major cities. These academies will provide high-level training for hundreds of players every year.He informed us that the state's first sports university is being established in Haldwani, and a women's sports college is being established in Lohaghat. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Centre's ban on real-money gaming apps: Why enforcing it won't be easy
A nationwide blanket ban on real-money gaming (RMG) platforms in India is now all but certain after The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, August 21, by means of a voice vote. The passage of the Bill took a little over an hour. The Lok Sabha had cleared the Bill on Wednesday. It will become law once it receives the President's assent. The Bill seeks 'to prohibit the offering, operation, facilitation, advertisement, promotion and participation in online money games,' targeting companies behind fantasy sports and card games that allow users to stake money for rewards with the risk of losses. The sweeping ban not only potentially puts an end to the legal cover secured by RMG firms through multiple court rulings but also marks a clear break from the past for the Indian government in terms of policy. The IT Ministry's earlier pro-industry rules had proposed a self-regulatory framework for online gaming in India, but implementation proved difficult amid concerns over the gaming industry policing itself. On the other hand, the provisions of the Bill pave the way for the promotion of e-sports as a legitimate competitive sport, alongside 'online social games' that may charge subscription or access fees, provided they do not involve stakes or wagers. However enforcing the ban on RMG platforms may prove challenging, as illegal betting sites and gambling apps have previously evaded restrictions by switching domains, using mirror websites, changing bank providers, using mule bank accounts, and relying on untraceable cryptocurrency wallets. As per the legislation, 'No person shall offer, aid, abet, induce or otherwise indulge or engage in the offering of online money game and online money gaming service,' failing which they could be imprisoned for up to three years and penalised Rs 1 crore. This would make it illegal for internet service providers (ISPs) and web-hosting services to support RMG platforms such as Dream11, Mobile Premier League (MPL), Winzo, etc. It would also force Apple and Google to remove such apps from their respective app stores. The legislation also prohibits banks and financial institutions from facilitating financial transactions on such promoting RMG platforms, such as social media influencers and celebrities, also face jail time of two years and a penalty of Rs 50 lakh. Social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and X as well as communication apps, search engines, and any other form of media platform could also be held liable for failing to curb ads from RMG firms. To investigate offences under the legislation, the online gaming law empowers authorised officials to carry out search operations at physical and virtual places, even without a warrant. One of the main concerns is that banning all RMG platforms would drive players deeper into the dark web. 'The illegal market, currently estimated at over USD 100 billion annually, poses significant risks to tax collections and national security, exploiting payment channels like UPI mule accounts, hawala networks, and cryptocurrencies,' Kazim Rizvi, founding director, The Dialogue, told The Indian Express. 'Cutting off the legitimate RMG industry through prohibitive regulation will not curb such illicit activity, rather, it would drive players further into these shadow markets, amplifying fiscal losses and regulatory challenges,' he added. The cumulative size of illegal betting firms was estimated at Rs 8.2 lakh crore, according to a 2024 report by Think Change Forum, an independent think tank. Another report published by Digital India Foundation (DIF) in March 2025 found that four online gambling platforms – Parimatch, Stake, 1xBet, and Batery Bet – saw over 1.6 billion visits from Indian users in a span of three months. Online casinos, gambling and betting apps were deemed illegal as they were considered to be games of chance. Rummy games and fantasy sports apps were permissible as the courts had held that they were games of skill. However, the new law moves past this distinction as its provisions apply to all online money gaming platforms, irrespective of whether they are games of skill or chance. 'It wipes out domestic companies that the government could regulate, and opens the door for illegal offshore betting and gambling entities to exploit and defraud users further,' Meghna Bal, director of Esya Centre, opined. The new online gaming law suggests that RMG platforms will be blocked through orders issued under Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000, similar to the blocking of illegal betting and gambling sites. Last month, the IT Ministry informed Parliament that it has blocked 1,524 gambling and betting websites and mobile apps since 2022, using powers under the IT Act, 2000 and the IGST Act, 2017. However, prohibiting access to these platforms has been difficult as they use tactics such as: Domain switching: Offshore gambling websites frequently evade restrictions by switching domains to stay online. For instance, three different mirror websites of online betting platform Parimatch (such as and saw 266 million visits from Indian users over three months, as per the DIF report. 'Moreover, during account creation, we discovered that the same login credentials worked across multiple mirror sites,' it added. Mule bank accounts: These are bank accounts that are often rented from small vendors and may belong to unsuspecting individuals. Gambling platforms use such mule bank accounts to covertly move money and route it outside India. These accounts threaten to weaken the legislation's payment blocking provisions and risk penalising innocent account holders rather than the outlawed platforms themselves. Advanced digital marketing strategies: While popular influencers with more than a million or so followers may be easily identified and penalised under the new online gaming law, betting companies such as Stake reportedly promote their platform by relying on a network of micro and nano influencers who may be harder to trace. The law also does not make an exception for influencers or celebrities whose likeness has been used to promote RMG platforms without their consent. Direct communication: Direct calls or messages guiding users to specific URLs may also keep their services visible and accessible to Indian users despite the official ban. The government is expected to issue supplemental rules in order to operationalise the new online gaming law. A key area requiring clarity, according to Vikram Jeet Singh, Partner, BTG Advaya, is how websites and apps offering online money games will be identified. 'A game developer will always strongly argue that their game is not subject to the prohibition, for any number of reasons. If there is a dispute on whether an online game is an online money game, the government should clarify what authority (or court) will settle the dispute. There are 'in game purchases' available in most games, and it is not clear if these or other 'micro-transactions' in games are now prohibited,' he told The Indian Express.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Amid outpour of sympathy for Shreyas Iyer, former India World Cup winner says team can win Asia Cup
The announcement of India's squad for the upcoming Asia Cup has led to some polarised reactions, as is usually the case whenever any team is announced for the country leading up to a tournament or series. Most of the criticism is centered around the fact that Shreyas Iyer hasn't been included despite scoring 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07 in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). However, there has also been a sense that the squad India have picked is briming with talent anyhow and former World Cup-winner Madan Lal has said that he feels they will win the Asia Cup. The former all-rounder, who was part of the team that won the 1983 World Cup, admitted that he is surprised by the ommission of Yashasvi Jaiswal but is happy that Shubman Gill has been selected. 'Sometimes you feel surprised that a player like Yashasvi Jaiswal is not in the team,' Lal told ANI. 'Gill is a good choice as he is performing well. In the coming time, it is possible that Gill will play in all three formats… The players who make the team win a match must not be left out. We have such a good team that we may win the Asia Cup.' Chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that Iyer is not at fault at all for missing the bus. 'It's unfortunate that Shreyas Iyer misses out. It's no fault of his, neither ours. He has to wait for his chance,' chief selector Ajit Agarkar said. 'We have got some serious options in T20 squad…sometimes not the easiest squad to pick but good headache to have,' he added. Along with the main squad of 15, the selectors also named 5 players as standbys but Iyer's name wasn't in that list as well. However, Agarkar said that this was not the final team for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026. Iyer walloped over 600 runs for the first time in an IPL season in 2025, with his 175.07 strike rate ranking the best among all batters. He also clobbered 39 sixes as Punjab finished runners-up under his leadership. For India in 51 T20Is, the Mumbaikar has recorded 1104 runs, averaging 30.66.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
F1, Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning, Jurassic World Rebirth OTT releases: When and where to watch blockbuster Hollywood films in India
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning now streaming in India F1: The Movie coming to OTT this week You Might Also Like: F1 The Movie OTT release update: When and where to watch Brad Pitt's blockbuster sports film online Jurassic World Rebirth now available on multiple platforms Hollywood is lighting up Indian screens once again, this time through via digital platforms. Three of the biggest international releases of 2025, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, F1: The Movie , and Jurassic World Rebirth, are making their way to Indian OTT services, offering fans a front-row seat to action, adrenaline, and adventure. With staggered release dates and flexible rental options, Indian viewers now have multiple ways to enjoy these Hollywood films from the comfort of Cruise returns in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, the highly anticipated installment of the beloved spy franchise. While the film debuted on digital platforms in the US and New Zealand on August 19, 2025, Indian fans can now catch the action from August 20, 2025, on BookMyShow have two options to access the film: rent it for Rs 119 or buy it for Rs 799. The rental plan offers a 30-day window to start the film, and once playback begins, viewers have 48 hours to finish it. For those who prefer repeat viewings, purchasing the movie offers unlimited the movie is available in four languages, English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, each with accompanying subtitles. This ensures a broader reach across different regions of the its high-octane debut in international theaters and scripting history at the box office, F1: The Movie, starring Brad Pitt, is finally racing its way onto Indian OTT platforms. The film is set to be available for rental on Amazon Prime Video starting August 22, an Apple Original, the movie will also be heading to Apple TV+, though the exact date for its streaming debut on the platform remains under wraps. Current reports suggest a window between late September and early October, but fans will have to wait for an official film, revolves around the world of Formula 1 racing, promises a gripping narrative and breathtaking visuals, making it a must-watch for motorsport enthusiasts and Brad Pitt fansDinosaurs have stomped their way back onto screens in Jurassic World Rebirth, the latest chapter in the iconic franchise. Featuring Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey, the movie is already available for digital rental in can choose between two major platforms for access. On Amazon Prime Video, the rental price is set at Rs 399. Alternatively, BookMyShow Stream is offering the film for the same rental price, while also providing an option to purchase the movie for Rs 999. The film delivers a nostalgic mix of old-school Jurassic thrills with modern-day storytelling,With three major releases now available or soon arriving on OTT platforms, Indian audiences have an exciting lineup of Hollywood content to watch. Whether it's Tom Cruise's death-defying stunts, Brad Pitt behind the wheel, or the roar of dinosaurs returning to life, these films are going to be a treat to watch in the upcoming weeks.
