Badminton couple delighted by Udaipur
Indian badminton couple Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap reached the ‘City of Lakes’ on Sunday. Saina posted pictures of both enjoying the scenery of Udaipur. Besides boating in the Pichhola Lake, the duo shared a romantic dinner at the famous Lake Palace. The couple who took break from training as they failed to qualify for the Olympics enjoyed an extended holiday visiting Agra and Jaipur before their Udaipur tour. Their pictures on social media show that they are having a fun time away from badminton.
Rajasthan ranks 2nd in Smart City projects
Amidst the pandemic gloom, Rajasthan saw a ray of hope as the state stood second among the 36 states and Union Territories in the implementation of the Smart City project. Significantly, as per the recent ratings released by the Union government, four Rajasthan cities feature in the smart city mission list, which are Udaipur, Kota, Ajmer and Jaipur securing the 6th, 11th, 29th, and 36th rank respectively among the 100 smart cities of the country. These rankings are based on aspects like the smart city plan implementation, tendering process besides the utilisation of funds and provision of the utility certificates to the Centre. Besides, improvement in waste disposal, roads, transport facilities and water arrangement are important criteria in ranking of smart cities.
Cell for protection of transgender people
In a major initiative to protect the rights of the transgender community, the Rajasthan government will constitute a Transgender Protection Cell in the state. This special cell will be created in the office of the Director General of Police in Rajasthan. This decision was cleared by Chief Minister Ashok Gahlot who said that the cell will work for the prevention and monitoring of crimes against transgender by ensuring timely registration of cases. They have a counsellor and a Psychological Advisor who will work to create a better environment of safety and justice for transgender persons.
Places of worship reopen in Rajasthan
Months after temples were closed due to Covid-19 second wave, religious places in Rajasthan reopened with restrictions for people from June 28. Movement of devotees is allowed from 5am-4pm but only after people get at least the first dose of vaccine. As per the new guidelines, devotees cannot carry flowers, garlands and other worship materials during their visit. Devotees arrived in large numbers at four major temples and Ajmer Sharif Dargah and on Day One itself over 25, 000 people turned up to offer prayers. With places of worship reopening after the lockdown, devotees are clearly having a major sigh of relief.
Rajesh Asnani
Our correspondent in Jaipur rajesh.asnani@ newindianexpress.com