Latest news with #Agra-based
Time of India
5 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
6 girls of a family drownwhile bathing in Yamuna
Agra: Six girls -- aged between 10 and 18 years -- died after drowning while bathing in the at Nagla Nathu village in Agra district around 10am on Tuesday. Police said all of them were cousins from an extended Agra-based family. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The incident took place under Sikandra police limits when one of them went deep into the river and began to drown. Soon, the other girls tried to save her, but they too were swept away by the river current. Local divers from PAC and SDRF were pressed to rescue them. Four girls were fished out dead, while two others passed away in hospital. CM Yogi Adityanath has directed that "financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each be provided to the families of the victims' from the CM's Disaster Relief Fund". Yogi also took to social media to extend his condolences to the bereaved families. Those dead were Sandhya (12), Divya (13), Naina (14), Muskan (18), Shivani (17), and Sonam (12). Muskan, Divya and Sandhya were siblings, while Naina was their uncle's daughter and Sonam and Shivani were their aunt's. Deepesh, one of the brothers who was present, said, "I went to the Yamuna, which is close to our house, for a bath. My sisters also came with me. While bathing, Sandhya unknowingly entered deep water. Seeing this, Muskan and Divya tried to save her. I also tried to save them..." Ram Dayal, who witnessed the incident, said, "I along with a dozen others reached the spot after hearing their screams. The water was at least 15 ft deep. It is unclear whether they knew how to swim. Two of them were rushed to hospital on motorcycles as there were no roads on that stretch." Agra DM Aravind Mallapa Bangari said, "I and additional CP Ram Badan Singh went to the site along with other officials. The place is not a bathing ghat. We're making all the necessary arrangements and are in touch with the families."
Time of India
24-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Soor Sarovar to expand to 800 hectares, UP govt tells NGT
Agra: The State govt has accelerated the expansion of the Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary in Agra, advancing the completion date to May 2026—more than a year ahead of its initial 2027 target. This follows pressure from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to expedite compliance with a 2022 Supreme Court order mandating the sanctuary's enlargement to 800 hectares. In an affidavit submitted to the NGT on Thursday, chief conservator of forest N Ravindra confirmed that 380.5 hectares from the Surdas Reserve Forest Block have already been integrated into the sanctuary. An additional 14.5 hectares, currently under the irrigation department, will be added by May 1, 2026. Following the expansion, the government will designate the entire area as an eco-sensitive zone. The NGT bench, comprising Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad, was hearing a petition filed by Agra-based environmentalist Dr Sharad Gupta. He approached the tribunal after authorities failed to act on the Supreme Court's directive. The tribunal has instructed the district magistrate of Agra, Arvind Malappa Bhangari, and the chief conservator of forest to file a progress report by affidavit at least one week before the next hearing, scheduled for Sept 25. Declared a bird sanctuary in 1991 and named after the Braj Bhasha poet Soordas, Soor Sarovar encompasses the 2.52-square-kilometre Keetham Lake and supports diverse wildlife, including hundreds of bird species, aquatic plants, reptiles, and over 300 pythons. It also houses a sloth bear shelter and an elephant hospital. Located along the Agra-Delhi highway just outside Taj city, the sanctuary gained international recognition as a Ramsar site in Nov 2020. Dr Gupta said he hopes the NGT's directive will ensure the official declaration of the full 800 hectares as both sanctuary and eco-sensitive zone. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Time of India
HC grants bail to Agra techie'smother-in-law & sister-in-law
Prayagraj: Allahabad high court has granted bail to mother-in-law and sister-in-law of Manav Sharma, an Agra-based IT executive who committed suicide in February this year. Justice Sameer Jain allowed the bail application of Punam Sharma (mother-in-law) and one of the sister-in-law after hearing applicant's counsel and state government counsel. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "There is no cogent evidence of abetment against the applicants and it appears that Manav ended his life due to with his wife and thereafter the applicants, who are her close family members, have been made accused in the present matter," argued applicant counsel. The court while allowing the bail application observed, "As per the allegation, applicants, who are mother-in-law and sister-in-law of the deceased used to torture him, therefore, he committed suicide but only general allegations have been leveled against them and this court finds merit in the argument advanced by the counsel for the applicants that there is no cogent evidence of abetment against the applicants on record." "Further, applicants are ladies and they are not having any criminal history and in the present matter they are in jail since March 15, 2025. Therefore, considering the facts and circumstances of the case discussed above, in my view, applicants are entitled to be released on bail," added the court in its order passed on Monday. The FIR in the present matter was lodged alleging that Manav's wife Nikita, her parents and siblings abetted his suicide. The FIR was registered under section 108 (abetment of suicide)of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act this year. Before taking the drastic step, Sharma recorded a video, in which he was seen crying and urging society to acknowledge the challenges faced by men. He repeatedly appealed to people to "think and talk about men".
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
SC slaps up to ₹25k fine per tree for illegal felling in TTZ
Agra: The Supreme Court (SC) has imposed penalties of up to Rs 25,000 per tree for illegal felling inside the eco-sensitive Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), utilising its authority under Article 142 of the Constitution. The SC also directed Dehradun-based Forest Research Institute (FRI) to submit a presentation to govts of UP and Rajasthan for funds for a tree census in TTZ in a phase-wise manner. The FRI then submitted to court that nearly Rs 7 crore would be required for the census, which is "expected to take 66 months". A two-judge SC bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan issued the directive on May 13 after noting that the UP govt was yet to act on an earlier instruction to consider raising penalties under the UP Protection of Trees Act, 1976. In Nov last year, the court had asked the state to consider amending the 1976 Act, highlighting Sections 10 (Rs 1,000 fine) and 15 of the Act that "provided inadequate deterrence" and suggested steeper penalties. Notably, Article 142 grants SC the power to pass any order necessary to secure complete justice. The court, while hearing a petition filed by Agra-based activist Sharad Gupta, stated: "There has to be a deterrent on illegal tree felling. The reason is that illegal felling of trees has a direct correlation with preservation of the Taj Mahal and other ancient monuments in TTZ." The directions -- aligning with Central Empowered Committee (CEC) recommendations in its 'Report 17' submitted in Sept 2024 -- follow the CEC's detailing of 7,020 trees illegally felled in the TTZ from 2015 to Sept 2024 as a "cause of concern", proposing substantial fines. As per the apex court's 10-page order, three types of penalties have been set out. Elaborating on the penalties, the court stated: "For illegal felling of private trees of exempted species by farmers, a penalty of Rs 5,000 per tree may be recovered by the DFO as compounding fees, with timber returned to the farmer. For felling of private trees of restricted species by any person and exempted species by any person other than a farmer, a penalty of Rs 10,000 per tree is to be imposed by the DFO as compounding fees, timber may be seized by forest department and an amount for block plantation of trees 10 times the number illegally felled with five years' maintenance must be deposited with the forest department. For illegal felling as covered in the Indian Forest Act 1927, a Rs 25,000 penalty per tree is to be imposed by DFO as compounding fees, timber seized by the department, and an amount for tree-guard protected plantation of trees 10 times the number illegally felled with five years' maintenance to be deposited with the forest department." The court further directed lok adalats and district courts to apply the same penalty formula in disposing of cases related to chopping of trees in the TTZ. The order has to be forwarded to the registrar general of Allahabad high court and Rajasthan high court, which will distribute it to their respective district courts. Welcoming the apex court's directions, Gupta said, "After streamlining of penalties, now people across the TTZ will think twice before chopping down a tree illegally. We need to protect the environment across TTZ not only for conservation of three UNESCO sites, but also for our future generation so that they can breathe in a clean environment." The TTZ covers 10,400 sq km around Taj Mahal, including Agra, Mathura, Firozabad, Hathras, and Etah in UP, as well as Bharatpur in Rajasthan and certain parts of Aligarh and Dholpur.
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Physically mark 1k km of Yamuna floodplains across 17 dists: NGT to UP govt
Agra: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the UP govt to physically demarcate the Yamuna floodplains by installing markers every 200 metres along a 1,056km stretch across 17 districts by July 30, emphasising that visible physical markers — not just geo-coordinates — are necessary to make floodplain boundaries understandable to the public. The directions were issued on Friday in response to a petition filed by Agra-based environmentalist Dr Sharad Gupta, who raised concerns about the destruction of the eco-sensitive Yamuna ravines, including areas as close as 800 metres from the Taj Mahal. Gupta told TOI, "The previous Central Water Commission report had relied solely on geo-coordinates, which common people found difficult to comprehend. This move will help prevent encroachments by making floodplain boundaries clearly visible. In Agra, where the Yamuna flows for 167km, the floodplain extends up to 5.09km on the right bank and 2.5km on the left. The July 30 deadline is crucial for ensuring clarity on where construction is permissible."The 17 districts included in NGT's directive are: Gautam Buddh Nagar, Aligarh, Mathura, Hathras, Agra, Firozabad, Etawah, Jalaun, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Hamirpur, Kanpur, Fatehpur, Banda, Chitrakoot, Kaushambi, and Feb, the Central Water Commission demarcated the Yamuna floodplains using satellite imagery provided by a Hyderabad-based remote sensing agency. The result was a 521-page report with geospatial data submitted to NGT for review.
