Malayalees celebrate Onam

September 16, 2013

OnamThiruvananthapuram, Sep 16: Traditional fervour and gaiety marked the celebration of Onam festival in Kerala today though soaring prices of essential commodities in the run-up to the grand event dampened people's spirit.

People in their new attires visited temples and offered prayers early in the morning. All major temples, including the famous hill shrine of Lord Ayappa at Sabarimala, Sree Krishna Temple at Guruvayour and Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple here witnessed heavy rush of devotees.

Onam is celebrated to honour King Mahabali, who according to legend ruled the state once, under whom the people were equal, prosperous and happy.

People believe that it was on this particular day of Thiruvonam in the Malayalam calender month of Chingam when Lord Mahavishnu took his fifth avatar as Vaamana, appeared in the kingdom of King Mahabali and sent him to nether world.

According to legend on Thiruvonam day, the spirit of King Mahabali visit the people of Kerala. Hence the day is marked by feast and festivities.

Flower mats (Pookalam) were laid in houses and family members enjoyed the grand feast (Onasadya). Cultural programmes organised by various institutions also marked Onam celebrations.

However, high price of food items cast a shadow on the festivities. The saying that 'Kannamvittum Onam Unnaanm' (One should have a good feast even by selling his land) seems to have come true during this Onam, with skyrocketing prices of food items dampening the festive spirit to a great extent.

Long queues of people were seen at the fair-price shops opened by State Civil Supplies Corporation, Horticorp and Consumerfed, as part of government efforts to control spiralling prices in the open market.

People also complained that various outlets opened by these agencies did not have enough stocks and 'many' had to return with empty bags.

High price of vegetables, the main ingredient of the various curries served during the feast, literally put the households in tight spot.

However, unmindful of everything, the tipplers in the state took to their own way of celebrating the festival, evident by the long queues in front of liquor shops and the rush in bars.

Similarly, in the last few days, unfazed by rising prices of goods, large number of people had made a beeline to shops selling electronics gadgets, washing machines, fridges and clothes, as most of them had offered festival discounts for their products.

The annual tourism week celebrations, being organised by the Kerala State Tourism Department as part of the Onam festival started on Saturday last.

Various dance, music and stage events as part of the tourism week would be held in different places in the city.

The festivities would come to a close on September 20. Events are also being organised in all district headquarters as part of the tourism week.

The day also saw protest in front of secretariat here with some tribal leaders staging a sit-in dharna to highlight the alleged government failure to check the death of infants in Attapaddy tribal belt of Palakkad district.

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News Network
January 22,2020

New Delhi, Jan 22: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has assets worth Rs 3.4 crore, an increase of Rs 1.3 crore from 2015, according to his election affidavit.

Kejriwal's total assets were worth Rs 2.1 crore in 2015.

The cash and fixed deposits of Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal increased from Rs 15 lakh in 2015 to Rs 57 lakh in 2020.

A party functionary said Rs 32 lakh worth cash and fixed deposits have been received by Sunita Kejriwal as voluntary retirement benefits while the rest are savings.

The cash and fixed deposits of the chief minister increased from Rs 2.26 lakh in 2015 to Rs 9.65 lakh in 2020.

There was no change in the value of immovable assets of his wife while Kejriwal's immovable assets' worth increased from Rs 92 lakh to Rs 177 lakh.

The party functionaries said increase in Kejriwal's immovable assets' worth is due to the increased valuation of the same asset as in 2015.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
June 9,2020

Bijnor: A 17-year-old Dalit youth was shot dead by four miscreants belonging to the upper caste of Hinduism after the former tried to enter a temple in Uttar Pradesh.

The deceased was identified as Vikas Jatav. The accused had tried to stop the deceased from entering into a temple. 

On being stopped from entering the temple located in Domkhera village, Jatav raised and objection and started arguing with the accused. 

The accused were identified as - Lala Chauhan, Horam Chauhan, Bhushan and Jasveer. The incident took place on May 31, according to the father of the deceased. 

How it happened 
On May 31, Jatav went to a temple in Domkhera to offer his prayers. The four accused, however, did not let him go inside. Following this, an argument broke out between the accused and the 17-year-old boy. 

On the same day, the victim approached the police and lodged a complaint in relation to the incident. The police, however, did not take any action against the accused men. 

Late night on Saturday, Jatav was sleeping inside his house when the four men barged in and opened fire at him. 

Hearing the gunshots, Jatav's family rushed to rescue him, following which, the accused escaped. Vikas was profusely bleeding after being shot and succumbed to the injuries before he could reach the hospital. 

Lala Chauhan and Horam were nabbed by the police while the other two are still at large. The four accused have been booked under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the SC/ST Act.

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News Network
May 29,2020

New Delhi, May 29: In a powerful display of inter community solidarity, a team of Sikh volunteers visited Delhi's Jama Masjid and sanitized the 17th century monument.

As the national capital battled coronavirus, the historic Jama Masjid is closed for congregational prayers. However, the team of Sikh volunteers effectively sanitized the monument to ensure it is safe for the caretakers and visitors.

The volunteers affiliated with United Sikhs organization also met Naib Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Shaban Bukhari during the visit. The latter thanked the team for the humanitarian gesture and underlined the need for all sections of humanity to unite in the face of this crisis.

"The Sikh community has always displayed exemplary commitment to humanity and we are thankful to the United Sikhs' team for their initiative. This enormous crisis facing the human race can be fought off only if all communities, nations and people unite and fight it together. In recent weeks we have seen heart wrenching images of misery in the country as thousands of migrant workers return to their villages. At the same time we have also seen positive stories of different people uniting to help and feed them. We hope that together we will overcome this crisis," said Syed Shaban Bukhari, Naib Shahi Imam, Jama Masjid, Delhi.

Shaban Bukhari has also advised Muslims across the country to strictly avoid congregational prayers this Eid and pray at homes. He is young leader, who really believes in secularism. For him, humanity and kindness come first.

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