Nation news in brief

Modi to visit Sri Lanka, pray at temples

New Delhi, May 10 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Sri Lanka on Thursday and Friday on a visit which a senior official has said will boost bilateral relations. Modi will be the Chief Guest at the UN-recognised 14th International Vesak Day meant to mark the birth, enlightenment and passing away of Lord Buddha. The visit follows the invitation of Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. It will be Modi’s second trip to Sri Lanka as Prime Minister after March 2015.

Delhi Police Inspector commits suicide

New Delhi, May 10 (IANS): A police Inspector shot himself dead with his service revolver at the Chittaranjan Park police station here on Wednesday, police said. Kaushal Ganguly, posted with the District Investigation Unit, got the revolver issued in his name at around 5.50 p.m. and shot himself in the head inside the washroom 10 minutes later. No suicide note was found.

Doctors remove 750 gm tumour from Afghan toddler’s chest

New Delhi, May 10 (IANS): A three-year-old Afghan boy got a new lease of life as doctors at a hospital here removed a 750-gram tumour from his chest in a six-hour surgery on Tuesday. According to the doctors, the tumour had covered the entire right lung of Muzamil and started affecting other vital organs such as heart and blood vessels. Several private hospitals in the national capital quoted upto Rs 5.5 lakh for removing the tumour without any assurance of his survival. Later, Jeewan Hospital came to his rescue as the doctors not only took up the case but also helped in meeting the cost of the treatment. Muzamil continues to recover at the hospital ICU.

85 children fall ill after eating midday meal in Bihar

Patna, May 10 (IANS): At least 85 children fell ill on Wednesday after eating midday meal in a government school in Samastipur district of Bihar, officials said. All the children were admitted to Sadar Hospital and later discharged, the officials said. The doctors who examined the children did not find any sign of poisoning in their bodies. However, parents of some children told the district officials that two girl students found a dead lizard in the midday meal served to them.

India may receive higher than predicted rainfall this year: IMD

New Delhi, May 10 (IANS): India may receive a higher rainfall this year than previously predicted, a top IMD official said on Wednesday citing the weakening of the El Nino phenomenon. According to the IMD official, the actual status of the overall rainfall in India depends on the future status of El Nino and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) activities. El Nino is a climatic phenomenon which is the warm phase of the cycle in the Pacific Ocean and IOD is a climate event occurring over the equatorial Indian Ocean. Both impact the monsoon.

Haryana minister gets kids of UP labourers admitted to school

Rohtak, May 10 (PTI): Taking note of a social media post, Haryana minister OP Dhankar today got 11 children of migrant labourers admitted to a school here. He also promised that the state government will bear the educational expenses of the children. On March 12, one Sombir wrote on Facebook about how a few migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh were insisting that their children assisted them in the fields as they could not afford to pay for their education. The labourers belong to Lakhimpur and Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh and have been working in Chuliyana village in the district for a long time. The minister urged the migrant labourers working in the state to get their children admitted to schools, instead of forcing them to do farm work.

Maharashtra releases water to Karnataka to ease water woes

Bengaluru, May 10 (PTI): For the second time in nearly one month, the Maharashtra government has released 2.65 TMC water from Koyna Dam to drought-hit Karnataka to ease the state’s water woes, Water Resources Minister M B Patil said today. Patil said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had agreed to release the water following an appeal by Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Ananth Kumar. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had appealed to Ananth Kumar to make a request to the Maharashtra chief minister on the issue. “Only 20 per cent water is left in nine of the 12 dams in Karnataka. The available live storage of water in the reservoirs has touched an all-time low,” Patil said.