Making Maharashtra Drought Free Will Give Me More Satisfaction: Aamir Khan

January 4, 2017

Mumbai, Jan 4: Actor Aamir Khan, whose latest release Dangal is shattering box office records, said that success of his endeavour to make Maharashtra drought free will give him more satisfaction.

Aamir

"Just like I am nervous and tense before the release of my films, I am anxious about the second edition of Satyamev Jayate Water Cup organised by our Paani foundation," Aamir told reporters here at the launch of the second edition of the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup.

"We are reaching out to 30 talukas in 13 districts. If the project works well and we contribute to make Maharashtra drought free, that will give me more satisfaction than the success of my films," said the 51-year-old star. He said last year the competition was among 116 villages in three talukas and now 30 talukas in 13 districts are being covered.

"It gives me satisfaction that we have been able to inspire confidence among the villagers that they can overcome water crisis. The idea of Paani Foundation came during my interaction with (Maharashtra) chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was passionate about Jalyukt Shivar, his flagship water conservation programme.

"Water security needs to be a people's movement. I was discussing with him about my plans for doing something for water conservation and I was impressed with the Chief Minister's passion," said the actor.

The selected talukas are Purandar, Indapur in Pune district, Karanja in Washim, Koregaon, Maan, Khatav in Satara, Fulambri, Khultabad in Aurangabad, Bharni, Paranda, Kalamb in Osmanabad, Ausa and Nilanga in Latur, Arvi in Wardha, Ralegaon, Kalamb and Umerkhed in Yavatmal among others. Fadnavis described Aamir as a 'Jal-Sevak'. "Aamir is like Hanuman. He has to be reminded of his strengths. He was unsure of whether he would be able to handle the project perfectly. He organises everything so perfectly whenever he takes a responsibility."

He said the Paani Foundation has given a new dimension to people's movement on water security. "One can't rely only on government support. 'Paani adva, paani jirva' (the water conservation slogan of the state government for 40 years) was just a slogan and not a people's movement. Communication is important. Aamir is a good communicator and he has converted struggle for water conservation into a celebration," said the CM.

Fadnavis said, "Swach Bharat Mission has created awareness about open defecation free villages." "People's movement on water security will create a water army to make the state drought free," he added. The CM said he is planning to organise a review meeting of all stake holders in water conservation regarding work done in the last two years.

"We will discuss experiences and the transformation needed", he added. The Chief Minister said 4,000 villages are now tanker free. He said there was no room for complacency because there have been good rains. Aamir, 51, said the state needs to work continuously on water conservation irrespective on the rains. The water cup is a competition between different villages to see who can do maximum work for watershed management and water conservation.

The competition period is from April 8 to May 22. The top three villages will get Rs 50 lakh, Rs 30 lakh and Rs 20 lakh respectively. The top village from each taluka will get Rs 10 lakh. The last date for villages to apply for the competition in 30 selected talukas is January 31. Satyajit Bhatkal, CEO of Paani Foundation said 1360 crore litre water was stored in the first edition.

"As many as 116 villages in three talukas had participated. Now we have received applications from 200 villagers from the first round to be trainers for the villages participating in the second round where 55 lakh population is being covered," he added.

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News Network
April 4,2020

New Delhi, April 4: Extending a helping hand to curb the spread of coronavirus, superstar Shah Rukh Khan and wife Gauri Khan have offered their personal office space in Mumbai for quarantine purpose for children, elderly and women.

The information was tweeted by the official Twitter handle of BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) on Saturday that thanked the couple for the gesture.

"Stronger together. We thank Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan for offering their 4-storey personal office space to help expand our quarantine capacity equipped with essentials for quarantined children, women and elderly, Indeed a thoughtful and timely gesture!" the tweet read.

Earlier the 54-year-old superstar and his group companies had pledged to donate to a number of relief funds, including the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) fund and the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund to combat the coronavirus.

The 'Devdas' actor had taken to Twitter on Thursday and shared that his companies -- Kolkata Knight Riders, Red Chillies Entertainment, Meer Foundation, and Red Chillies VFX -- are taking several initiatives to support the relief efforts.

The Padma Shri awardee also announced that his initial efforts will be focused on three cities -- Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi, "with the realisation that this is a start and we stand ready to contribute in whichever way possible going forward".

Meanwhile, India's tally of coronavirus positive cases rose to 2,902, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.

Out of 2,902 cases, 2,650 are active cases and 184 have been cured or discharged or have migrated. The total number of deaths reported due to the disease rose to 68 on Saturday.

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News Network
July 26,2020

Washington, Jul 26: Regis Philbin, the iconic television personality best-known for his hosting duties on 'Live!' with co-hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Kelly Ripa, and 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,' has died. The beloved star was 88.

According to People Magazine, the longtime television host died on July 24. His family shared a statement on Saturday, "We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Regis Philbin passed away last night of natural causes, one month shy of his 89th birthday,"
"His family and friends are forever grateful for the time we got to spend with him - for his warmth, his legendary sense of humour, and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about. 

We thank his fans and admirers for their incredible support over his 60-year career and ask for privacy as we mourn his loss," the Philbin family says.

Philbin began his iconic career in 1988, as the host of 'Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee' alongside TV presenter Kathie Lee Gifford. After 15 years, Gifford left the ABC show but the pair remained close after her departure.

In 2001, the franchise became 'Live! with Regis and Kelly', co-starring Kelly Ripa before he left in 2011 after 23 years on-air.

From 1999 to 2002, Philbin also served as the original host of the widely popular game show 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.' In addition, the New York City native's hosting credits include 'Million Dollar Password', the first season of 'America's Got Talent', as well as a reoccurring co-host seat on 'Rachael Ray'.

Born on August 25, 1931, Philbin was raised in the Bronx and graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School in 1949 before attending the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a sociology degree in 1953.

After serving in the Navy, Philbin began his career in show business as a writer and made his way in front of the camera in 1961 with a local talk show in San Diego called 'The Regis Philbin Show'. Then in 1967, he became widely known as Joey Bishop's sidekick on 'The Joey Bishop Show'.

After a string of local talk shows, including 'A.M. Los Angeles' and 'Regis Philbin's Saturday Night in St. Louis', the star moved to New York in 1983 to host 'The Morning Show', which was renamed three years later as 'Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee'.

His accolades include Daytime Emmy Awards for outstanding talk show host for 'Live!' in 2001 and 2011 as well as an outstanding game show host for 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'. He also received a Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2008.

Throughout his career, Philbin had various health issues. He underwent an angioplasty in 1993, followed by triple bypass surgery due to plaque in his arteries in March 2007. In December 2009, the television personality had his hip replaced.

Married twice, Philbin is survived by daughters J.J. Philbin and Joanna Philbin, whom he shared with his wife of 50 years, Joy Philbin. He was also father to daughter Amy Philbin, whom he shared with his first wife Catherine Faylen. Philbin and Faylen had another child, son Daniel Philbin, who died in 2014.

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News Network
July 14,2020

Los Angeles, Jul 14: US officials on Monday found the body of "Glee" actress Naya Rivera in the Californian lake where she drowned last week during a boat trip with her four-year-old son.

Rivera's body was retrieved and an initial examination found no evidence of foul play or suicide, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub told a press conference.

"We are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera," said Ayub, pointing to the location, appearance, clothing and condition of the body.

Her body was being taken to a medical examiner's office for a full autopsy and confirmation of her identity from dental records, though no other missing persons have been reported at Lake Piru, he added.

Rivera, 33, is believed to have accidentally drowned after renting the boat with her young son at the camping and recreational hotspot around an hour's drive northwest of Los Angeles.

She vanished on Wednesday afternoon, and a massive search involving divers, patrol boats and helicopters was launched after her sleeping son was spotted drifting alone in a boat on the lake.

The son later told investigators that Rivera had helped him into the boat before "he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water," said the sheriff.

Ayub pointed to the lake's strong currents as a possible cause of a fatal accident.

"The idea perhaps being that the boat started drifting -- it was unanchored -- and that she mustered enough energy to get her son back onto the boat, but not enough to save herself," he said.

The lake has been closed to the public since Wednesday, with around 100 personnel, including the US Coast Guard and rescuers from neighboring counties, joining the search.

Search teams used footage from video messaging calls Rivera made from the boat before her disappearance, as well as interviews with her son, to scour portions of the lake bed for her remains over six days, with no success.

"We believe she was concealed within some of the shrubbery on the floor bed of the lake" before eventually floating to the surface due to natural decomposition, said Ayyub.

With less than one foot (30 centimeters) of visibility underwater in daylight, the recovery operation was a "complex search effort" even with use of sonar equipment, he said.

Rivera was best known for her role as high school cheerleader Santana Lopez in "Glee."

She starred for six seasons in the wildly popular musical television series set in a US high school that ended in 2015.

The "Glee" cast has been struck by tragedy before.

Actor Mark Salling took his own life in 2018, weeks before being sentenced for possession of child pornography.

Canadian castmate Cory Monteith died in July 2013 of an overdose of drugs and alcohol.

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