Old Rajender Nagar Incident: 2 Students Die, 1 Missing After IAS Coaching Centre Flooded in Delhi

Delhi Police received a bomb threat call from the Narela area near Chanchal Park, Bakarwala Near CNG Pump Nangloi to Najafgarh road. 2 fire tenders rushed to the site. Information stated that a bomb was suspected in a cluster bus of route no 961 (Nagloi to Najafgad road) and the bomb squad was called by Delhi Police: Delhi Fire Department

A suspicious object looking like a wire has been recovered. The BDS teams will make it clear: Delhi Police

Old Rajender Nagar incident | Fire Officer Atul Garg says, "... A total of 5 fire vehicles reached the sport after we received the information at around 7.15 pm... We pumped the water out and recovered the dead bodies of two girls. Around three children were feared to be trapped. Two have been recovered. We will recover the third one also as soon as the water resides. Our operation will conclude in some time... There were 30 students in the basement, three were trapped while others escaped..."

Old Rajender Nagar incident | On Minister Atishi's order for a magisterial inquiry, State BJP President Virendraa Sachdeva says, "There should be an inquiry into the corruption of Arvind Kejriwal, Atishi and their government... Delhi Municipal Corporation's corruption should be inquired. There should be an inquiry as to why the drainage was not cleaned. Will they order an inquiry into this..."

On the Old Rajender Nagar incident, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi says, "As soon as we came to know about the incident, MLA Durgesh Pathak and I came here immediately. We have heard that a drainage or sewer blasted like a flash flood and the basement got filled with water. The investigation and rescue operations are underway. Everything will be clear in some time. Any person responsible, MCD or any other department, will not be spared. This is not the time to make allegations. We should rise above politics and take action..."

On the Old Rajender Nagar incident, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj says, "These children came here to create their future. However, the government of CM Arvind Kejriwal and MLA Durgesh Pathak did not listen to any requests of the local people. People had been asking Durgesh Pathak for the last week to get the drainage systems cleaned. There are still 2.5 feet of waterlogged on the street. Arvind Kejriwal and Durgesh Pathak are responsible for the deaths."

AAP MP Swati Maliwal tweeted, "A UPSC student died by drowning in Rajendra Nagar area due to water filling in the basement. This incident is very unfortunate and sad. Can't even imagine what this child's family must be going through. Just a few days ago, a student died due to an electric shock in Patel Nagar. Accountability should be fixed for this incident. Those guilty of negligence should be punished."

Old Rajender Nagar incident | Delhi Minister Atishi directs the Chief Secretary to initiate a magisterial inquiry and provide a report within 24 hours on the incident where students were trapped in the basement of a coaching institute due to heavy rain and flooding.

On the Old Rajender Nagar incident, DCP Central M Harshavardhan says, "At 7 pm, we received information that the basement of a USPC coaching institute in Rajender Nagar has been flooded with a possibility of some people trapped. There was waterlogging on the road due to heavy rains this evening. We are investigating the matter that how the entire basement got flooded. It appears that the basement got flooded very fast and some people got trapped inside the basement. Delhi Fire Service and NDRF resued teams are present here. Search and rescue operations are underway... Till now, the dead body of one girl student has been recovered."

Delhi Minister Atishi tweeted, "There is news of an accident due to heavy rain in Delhi in the evening. There is news of water filling in the basement of a coaching institute in Rajendra Nagar. Delhi Fire Department and NDRF are on the spot. Delhi Mayor and local MLA are also there. I am taking updates on the incident every minute. A magistrate has been ordered to investigate how this incident happened. Whoever is responsible for this incident will not be spared.

After the water was filled in its basement, a search and rescue operation was underway at the coaching institute in Old Rajender Nagar. Several students feared trapped: Delhi Fire Department

An IAS aspirant reportedly died and the other two were missing after the basement of an IAS coaching institute in Delhi’s Rajendra Nagar area flooded with rainwater on Saturday. The incident occurred on Saturday evening leading to major chaos at the spot. On information, the local Delhi police, the district administration, and the NDRF teams rushed to the spot and initiated a rescue operation.

According to the sources, during the rescue operation, the body of a missing student was retrieved, while efforts were underway to trace the other two missing students.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog earlier today. The Meeting was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, New Delhi. It was attended by Chief Ministers/Lt.Governors representing 20 States and 6 UTs. The PM said that the vision of Viksit Bharat can be realized through Viksit States; Each State and District should create a vision for 2047 to realise Viksit Bharat@2047. The PM directed NITI Aayog to prepare an ‘Investment-friendly Charter’ for attracting investments. PM encouraged the creation of River Grids at the State level for effective utilization of water resources. PM encouraged States to initiate Demographic Management Plans to address the issues of population ageing in future. The PM emphasised skilling and training of youth to make them employment-ready. The PM directed NITI Aayog to study the suggestions of States and UTs made during the meeting: NITI Aayog.

After the NITI Aayog meeting, CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam said, "We had 10 absentees and 26 participants. We had absentees from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Puducherry. The chief minister of West Bengal was present. The chief minister of West Bengal had requested to be given a turn before lunchtime. I'm just putting facts on the ground, no interpretations. It was a very clear request from their side because normally we would have gone alphabetically. So it begins with Andhra Pradesh, then Arunachal Pradesh. We adjusted and the Defence Minister called her in just before Gujarat. So she made her statement. Every chief minister is allotted seven minutes and there's just a clock on top of the screen which tells you the time that is remaining. So it goes from seven to six to five to four to three. At the end of that, it shows zero. Zero. Nothing else. Nothing else has happened other than that...Then she said look, I would have liked to speak for more time, but I'll not speak anymore. That was it. There was nothing more. We all heard. She made her points and we respectfully heard and noted points, which will be reflected in a minute. Just to mention the fact the chief secretary continued to attend and he was in the room even after she left because she had to catch a flight to Calcutta"
 

On West Bengal Mamata Banerjee's allegations, Piyush Goyal, Union Minister says, "I'm in Mumbai for the whole day. I believe Nirmala Sitharaman and Pralhad Joshi have already responded. The govt has said that everybody was given 5 minutes to speak and it was in auto mode, everybody and to speak in 5 minutes. No special dispensation was given to anybody".

At the NITI Aayog meeting, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said "...I was the only one from the Opposition ruled states who had gone there. They should have given me 30 minutes...At the beginning of the meeting, Rajnath Singh said that everyone should present their views in 5-7 minutes but I was not even given 7 minutes to speak. Their people were given 20 minutes, they got special packages and privileges but others got 0 minutes. I did the right thing by boycotting the meeting. I will not let them insult Bengal. I stand strongly with the Opposition parties running the government in other states."

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal says, "Prime Minister has set the target for every respected Indian citizen that we have to make India a self-reliant, developed nation in the next journey of 25 years. I believe this is practically possible because of whatever experiences we have gathered and the track record of performance- now India has jumped from the 11th to the fifth largest economy of the world."   

On West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's allegations, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, " The things that Mamata Banerjee is saying regarding NITI Aayog meeting, I feel like she is lying...it is very surprising if a state's CM wouldn't be allowed to speak. Mamata Banerjee knew what would be happening there...she had the script..."

Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary says, "In the National Education Policy 2020, which will guide our efforts in the education sector of the country for the next decade or so, there is a provision that from the sixth grade onwards, we will sensitize children in the school system itself. The Finance Minister has just told in the budget that the workers of the country who are registered in the labour portal also have to be skilled. If you add 30 crore more, then we have been given a massive target to reach more than half of the country's population through the programmes of our ministry..."

"Odisha is an inseparable part of India and in PM Modi's government, no state is treated step-motherly. Everyone will get what they deserve. I will visit NALCO (National Aluminium Company Limited) and will review the arrangements there. A lot of work has been done in the last 10 years," Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines told reporters.

The opposition BJP in West Bengal criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for walking out of the NITI Aayog meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, claiming that it was a "drama" aimed at reaping political dividends.

BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya said it was a "weak script" prepared by Banerjee.

"She was allowed due time at the NITI Aayog meeting. She did not go to the meeting for the economic benefit of the people of West Bengal but to reap political dividends and stage a drama by walking out," he claimed.

"She portrayed herself as an opposition leader and not an administrator," he added.

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya questioned why Banerjee attended the meeting in the first place when chief ministers of other INDIA bloc parties skipped it.

"She was aware of the consequences. And her action again gives rise to the theory that she went to Delhi to have some understanding with Narendra Modi. People will realise the pretentiousness of the entire issue," he claimed.

The state Congress said Banerjee went to the meeting without consulting other opposition parties.

Congress spokesperson Soumya Aich told PTI, "We have nothing to say on this issue. We had boycotted the meeting and she did not. She did not consult us and went on her own." Banerjee walked out of the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that she was unfairly stopped midway through her speech, despite being the sole representative of the opposition.

TMC spokesperson Santanu Sen said, "When the only female CM of the country started speaking about Bengal not getting its due, her mike was muted. This shows how the voice of the opposition is being gagged. We strongly condemn this."

Making India a developed nation by 2047 is an ambition of every Indian, and states can play an active role to achieve this aim as they are directly connected with the people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

Modi is chairing the 9th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog.

"Viksit Bharat @ 2047 is ambition of every Indian. States can play an active role to achieve this aim as they are directly connected with the people," NITI Aayog said in a post on X quoting Modi.

The meeting focuses on making India a developed nation by 2047. It aims to foster participative governance and collaboration between the Centre and state governments, enhancing the quality of life for both rural and urban populations by strengthening the delivery mechanisms of government interventions.

The council, the apex body of NITI Aayog, includes all state chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and several Union ministers. Prime Minister Modi is the chairman of NITI Aayog.

The meeting also focusses on recommendations of the 3rd National Conference of Chief Secretaries held in December last year.

India and Ukraine are looking at the possibility of a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kyiv next month amid renewed global efforts to bring peace to the eastern European nation, multiple diplomatic sources said on Saturday.

Modi might visit Kyiv around the Ukrainian National Day on August 24 and is expected to travel to Poland after concluding the trip to Ukraine, the sources said.

The prime minister held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy's Apulia.

If Modi travels to Poland, it would be the first by an Indian prime minister to that country in more than four decades.

India and Ukraine are looking at Modi's visit to Kyiv in the latter half of August, the sources said, adding that there is no finality on the trip yet as massive preparations would be required in terms of logistics and related issues.

The prime minister's two-nation visit might begin around August 23-24, the sources said.

There is no official word on the visit either from India or Ukraine.

At the meeting with Zelenskyy on June 14, Modi conveyed to the Ukrainian president that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and that the way to peace is through "dialogue and diplomacy".

Modi also told Zelenskyy that India believes in a "human-centric" approach to find a solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

At the meeting, the Ukrainian president invited the prime minister to visit Kyiv.

India has been maintaining that the conflict in Ukraine must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.

Modi visited Russia on July 8-9 and it drew criticism from the United States. Many western countries are also learnt to be unhappy over the prime minister's trip to Moscow.

India on Thursday rejected Washington's concerns over Modi's trip to Moscow and asserted that all countries have the "freedom of choice" in a multipolar world and everyone should be mindful of such realities.

In his summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the prime minister delivered an unambiguous message, saying a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace talks do not succeed amidst bombs, guns and bullets

Speaking to the media on leaving the NITI Aayog meeting midway West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said, "...I said you (central government) should not discriminate against state governments. I wanted to speak but I was allowed to speak only for 5 minutes. People before me spoke for 10-20 minutes. I was the only one from the opposition who was participating but still, I was not allowed to speak. This is insulting..."

She added "...I was speaking, my mic was stopped. I said why did you stop me, why are you discriminating. I am attending the meeting you should be happy instead of that you are giving more scope to your party your government. Only I am there from the opposition and you are stopping me from speaking...This is not only the insult of Bengal but also of all regional parties..."

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not be attending the Niti Aayog meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, officials said.

The state will be represented at the meeting by deputy chief ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, they said.

The exact cause for Kumar's absence from the crucial meeting could not be known immediately.

"This is not the first time that the CM is not attending the Nitish Ayog meeting. The CM did not attend the meeting earlier as well, and Bihar was represented by the then deputy CM. This time also both the Dy CMs went to attend the meeting," JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar told PTI.

"Besides, there are four Union ministers from Bihar who are members of the Aayog and they will be present in the meeting. There is nothing to say on this," he added.

The ninth governing council meeting of the Aayog will discuss the 'Vikshit Bharat@2047' document with an aim to make India a developed nation.

The council, the apex body of Niti Aayog, includes all CMs, Lt Governors of Union territories and several Union ministers. PM Modi is the chairman of Niti Aayog.

An Army personnel was killed and four others, including a captain, were injured as the Indian Army on Saturday foiled an attack by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) in Kamakari sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, military sources said.

A Pakistani intruder was also killed in the exchange of fire, they added.

Reports suggest the attacker is a Pakistan Army regular Soldier as Pakistan military weapons have been recovered. 

During the ongoing army operation in Kupwara where 5 Indian army officers are inured and 1 has succumbed to his injury.

Choppers have been pressed into service

The NITI Aayog Meeting scheduled to be held on 9th July, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is underway. 

Many opposition leaders boycott the meeting. 

Ahead of the NITI Aayog meeting, Bihar Minister Nitin Nabin remarked, "Congress has always had the mentality of politicizing development work... Today's meeting is for discussing development work; NITI Aayog is not a BJP structure... Whenever NITI Aayog holds a meeting, it is to decide the development model of the state... It is a federal structure... However, the problem is that Congress is only interested in appeasement politics... They have no issues left, which is why they are boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting."

MK Stalin's Party DMK stages a state-wide protest against the Union Budget presented on July 23, alleging that Tamil Nadu has been neglected in the budget.

The protest comes ahead of the 9th NITI Aayog Meeting scheduled today at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. 

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri is to hold a press conference and a meeting of intellectuals on the Union Budget in Ahmedabad, Gujarat today.

 The Union Budget was presented by the government on July 23.

Former West Bengal minister Biswanath Chowdhury died at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on Saturday morning, officials said.

Chowdhury, 82, was battling cancer, they said.

"He was admitted to the SSKM Hospital last week, and he breathed his last at 6.42 am today," an official said.

Chowdhury, a leader of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), was the MLA of Balurghat in Dakshin Dinajpur district for seven terms.

He was the minister for jails and social welfare from 1987 to 2011.

RSP's general secretary Manoj Bhattacharya said Chowdhury's mortal remains would be taken to Balurghat for final rites.

Telangana Minister Ponnam Prabhakar speaks on boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting to be held shortly, "The Union minister (G Kishan Reddy) representing Hyderabad has not given anything to Hyderabad. We demand the release of funds for Hyderabad development..." he adds, "We are not happy with the central government and to convey that we have boycotted the Niti Aayog meeting."

Home Minister Amit Shah arrives at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, New Delhi to attend the NITI Aayog meeting

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre in New Delhi to attend the NITI Aayog meeting.

Ahead of the NITI Aayog meeting, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav says, "Meeting of NITI Aayog is going to be held under the leadership of the Prime Minister today. I am going to attend it and as we have seen the way the entire country is being given attention under the leadership of the Prime Minister, India's respect has increased in the world, and Madhya Pradesh also wants to move ahead. For this reason, I am attending this meeting on behalf of the state... We hope that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, we will move forward towards success in all the works."

Gujarat Reports 23 confirmed cases of Chandipura Virus. 

According to reports, 10 people have died due to the Virus and 121 cases of the virus have been reported statewide. Six cases have been reported outside Gujarat. 

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee arrives at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, New Delhi where the meeting of NITI Aayog will be held shortly.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai leaves from Chhattisgarh Sadan, in Delhi.  

He will attend the NITI Aayog meeting today.

Ahead of the NITI Aayog Meeting Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde says, "In the meeting of NITI Aayog today, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there will be a discussion on the subject of ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’. There will also be a discussion on the development of Maharashtra. There will be a discussion on the cooperation of the Central Government...For farmers, women, youth, senior citizens, for people of all classes, for education, we have made many schemes in this budget..."

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar shares on X, "During my call with the Prime Minister of Lao PDR, took up the issue of the trafficking of Indian nationals through cyber scam centres. Appreciate the ongoing cooperation of the Lao PDR government in the rescue and relief of our citizens. Also discussed the matter with the Foreign Ministers of Cambodia and Thailand.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and leaders from South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Laos and others and discussed various aspects of bilateral collaboration, including education and agriculture technology at the ASEAN meet held in Laos on Friday. 

Jaishankar is in Vientiane, the capital of the Laos People’s Democratic Republic to take part in the meetings of ASEAN. He met Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on the sidelines of the conference.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister CM Mohan Yadav has arrived at Madhya Pradesh Bhawan, New Delhi. 

He is set to attend NITI Aayog meeting today.

Speaking on Congress and opposition CMs boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by PM Modi today, BJP leader CR Kesavan said, "The obstructive opposition, with its shameful boycott, is indulging in dangerous, divisive federalism. They are betraying the very spirit of cooperative federalism, wrecking the well-being and harming the interest of the respective states and people by trying to use them as political pawns. This is not just irresponsible or untenable, the opposition's behaviour is undemocratic. The fundamental difference between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the crooked Congress and the INDI alliance is this. For the prime minister, 'desh' comes first comes first. But for the INDI alliance, hatred comes first. While the prime minister is trying to set aside differences and forge a consensus to ensure that the well-being of our people is secure, the opposition is playing the aggressive and negative politics of disruption and division. This is very unfortunate...."

The Agnipath scheme will be cancelled "as soon as we come to power", Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday, a day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced reservation for retired Agniveers.

While campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections, Yadav had repeatedly promised to scrap the short-term military recruitment scheme if the INDIA bloc, of which the Samajwadi Party is a constituent, came to power

Here's a list of Chief Ministers abstaining from the meeting: 

• Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin
• Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu
• Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah
• Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy
• Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann
• Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
• Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has yet to confirm his presence. 

Here's the list of Chief Ministers attending the meeting:

• Maharashtra chief minister, Eknath Shinde
• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
• Arunachal chief minister Pema Khandu
• Arunachal deputy chief minister, Chowna Mein
• Tripura chief minister Manik Saha
• Assam chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma
• Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi
• Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai
• Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel
• Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhjajanlal Sharma
• Meghalaya Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma
• West Bengal Chief Minister , Mamata Banerjee

In a video released by the Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin released a video on X on boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting.

He said,"...The budget presented by the Union Finance Minister seems like a vengeful act against the states and people who boycotted the BJP. She has prepared a budget to take revenge against those who voted for the INDIA bloc. The union BJP govt is disregarding Tamil Nadu continuously..."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, July 27 will chair the 9th NITI Aayog Governing Council. The meeting will majorly focus on making India a developed nation by 2047.