After Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, who was set to hold ‘Gau Dhwaj Sthapana Bharat Yatra’ in Shillong on October 2, cancelled his trip here on Saturday after the Meghalaya government requested Airport Authority of India (AAI) to refuse landing facility of his chartered flight, officials said.

Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati had earlier announced to hold the ‘Gau Dhwaj Sthapana Bharat Yatra’ in different northeastern states, demanding to declare the cow as the mother of the nation and to enact a Central law to stop cow slaughter.

An AAI official of Shillong airport said that they have informed the seer about the Meghalaya government’s decision not to allow his chartered flight to land in Shillong airport at Umroi.

“The chartered flight of Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati landed at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala on Saturday morning and after few hours, it went to Guwahati airport,” 

Now, his chartered flight is stationed at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati.

A day after two people were killed in the wall collapse in Ujjain, family members on Saturday staged a protest placing the victims' bodies on the road and demanded Rs 50 lakh compensation.

They shouted slogans against the district administration and alleged that the tragedy occurred due to the negligence of the authorities.

The protesters said the renovation work of Maharajwada School could have been done before or after the rainy season. The building was already in dilapidated condition for several years.

A video that surfaced on social media showed the family members along with several residents blocking the road by placing the bodies.

Naib Subedar Hokato Sema, who created history by winning Bronze in the Men’s Shot Put F57 Category at the Paris Paralympics, was felicitated by Lt Gen Abhijit S Pendharkar, General Officer Commanding (GOC), at the Rangapahar Military Station in Nagaland on Friday.

An official said that a large number of school students were present at the occasion and interacted with Sema to learn more about his inspirational life.

Hokato Hotozhe Sema was born to a family of farmers in Dimapur on December 24, 1983. His ambition in life had been to become a soldier and he joined the Assam Regiment at the age of 17.

In 2001, he was deployed along the Line of Control (LOC) in J&K. Sema’s dreams of joining the Special Forces were shattered a year later after he lost his left leg below the knee in a landmine blast during a counter-infiltration operation.

The flood situation in North Bihar has worsened due to continuous rainfall over the past few days.

Ganga Rivers along with its tributaries are flowing above the danger level at several locations were exacerbated by heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of Nepal, leading to rising water levels in Bihar's rivers.

Since September 26, heavy rains have hit most of the river catchment areas in Bihar and forecasts suggest rains will continue for the coming days.

The government has put all 38 districts in Bihar on alert, with varying intensities of rain expected across the region.

A huge fire broke out at the Tata Electronics factory in Hosur in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district on Saturday, leaving at least four workers injured, officials said.

No fatality has been reported so far. The four workers, who were affected by the smoke which spread across the skies above the facility, were admitted to a private hospital in Hosur.

Tata Electronics Private Ltd, in a statement, said: "There has been an unfortunate incident of fire at our plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Our emergency protocols at the plant ensured that all our employees are safe. The cause of the fire is under investigation and we will take necessary actions to safeguard the interest of our employees and other stakeholders."

Following fresh and massive landslides in Darjeeling and Kalimpong after continuous and heavy showers in the northern Bengal region, the traffic movements on National High 10 have been thrown out of gear.

The entire road from Teesta Bazar to Kalimpong is blocked. Continuous and heavy showers in the neighbouring hill state of Sikkim have made the situation extremely crucial for the entire north Bengal, which includes both the hills and the plains.

At the same time, fresh release of flood water from the Teesta barrage has made the situation further worse for the plans in north Bengal. The people residing in the low-lying areas are being constantly alerted by the local administration.

Two terrorists were killed and five security personnel, including a J&K Police official, injured in an encounter between security forces and the terrorists in J&K's Kulgam district on Saturday.

Officials said the encounter between the security forces and the terrorists was taking place in the Adigam area of Kulgam.

"The identity of the slain terrorists is being ascertained as the firing exchanges are still continuing in the area," an official said.

Four soldiers and a senior police officer were injured in the encounter.

The Taj West End hotel in Bengaluru received a bomb threat through email on Saturday, triggering panic.

According to police, the email said that the bombs had been planted in the hotel and they would explode soon.

The jurisdictional High Grounds police rushed to the spot to launch searches.

The personnel attached to the bomb detection squad and personnel from the fire force and emergency services rushed to the spot to carry out the search operation throughout the premises of the hotel. The dog squad was also pressed into service.

Four soldiers and a senior J&K Police officer were injured on Saturday in an encounter between terrorists and the security forces in Kulgam district.

Officials said that four soldiers and a senior police officer were injured during the gunfight in the Adigam area of the district.

“After receiving specific intelligence inputs about the presence of a group of terrorists in Adigam village of Kulgam district, security forces including the Army, police and the CRPF started a CASO (Cordon and Search Operation) in the area. After carefully approaching the hiding terrorists to ensure that no damage was caused to civilian life and property, the security forces came under heavy firing from the terrorists. Four Army soldiers and a senior officer of J&K Police were injured," said officials here.

The Assam administration issued guidelines for the government recruitment examination, scheduled on Sunday.

"The candidates were advised to reach the exam hall at least one-and-half-hour before the examination. To quickly finish frisking, candidates should wear half-sleeved shirts and sandals instead of shoes. The water bottles can be carried in the examination hall, however, there should not be any stickers on the body of the bottle and the bottles must be transparent ones," an official said on Saturday.

To recall, the state government held another similar examination on September 15 where more than 11 lakh candidates appeared across 2,360 test centres across the state.