An attempt by some people to cut and steal sandalwood trees from the Vidhan Sabha premises has exposed the state of security at the assembly complex. Notably, it happened while the winter session was underway. While one tree was felled, two others bore deep saw marks.
Just two weeks earlier, thieves had cut down a sandalwood tree outside the DFO office in the VVIP 74 Bungalow area of Bhopal. In November last week, six sandalwood trees were felled and three of them stolen from the Gufa Mandir premises. Felling of sandalwood trees has happened a few days after the MP HC directed that no tree shall be cut, pruned or transplanted in Bhopal.
White horse rent for wedding reaches Rs 11L
Demand for white horses in Madhya Pradesh, particularly in state’s commercial capital Indore, is on the rise as the marriage season peaks. Most horse owners are getting demand for white horses from families preparing for weddings.
The bookings for white horses range from Rs 51,000 to Rs 11 lakh. Decorating the same horses in the best manner is additionally costing Rs 2.5 lakh. Some horse owners have recently brought white horses from Pushkar to meet the surge in demand in the ongoing wedding season. The priciest white horse in Indore is 5-ft-tall ‘Padmavati’ whose rent has reportedly reached Rs 11 lakh.
Woman mountaineer to get Vikram Award
Ace woman mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya will be awarded the state’s highest sporting honour Vikram Award. The decks were cleared for the mountaineer to get the award after the MP High Court junked a petition challenging her selection for the honour by the state government.
The petition was filed by another Everest climber Madhusudan Patidar who had scaled the highest peak in 2017, while Dehariya achieved the same feat in 2019. Dismissing Patidar’s petition, the HC stated that his Everest feat was outside the five-year eligibility period specified in the state’s 2021 award rules. The state had chosen Dehariya for the highest award under the Adventure Sports category in 2023.
Anuraag Singh
Our correspondent in Madhya Pradesh
singhanuraag.jaurno@gmail.com