NEW DELHI:You can help clean up beaches in your city by participating in the environment ministry’s cleanliness cum awareness drive in 50 beaches under a campaign called “Swachh-Nirmal Tat Abhiyan” from November 11 to 17.

The beaches identified for the campaign are in Gujarat, Daman and Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. The beaches have been identified after consultation with the state governments according to a statement by the environment ministry.

The cleaning drives will be undertaken by involving school/college students of eco-clubs, district administration, institutions, volunteers, local communities and others. Beach cleaning activities will be taken up for two hours every day on a minimum of one kilometre stretch of the beach. Sand cleaning machines will also be deployed at 15 beaches. Waste collected will be processed as per Waste Management Rules, 2016.

“Environment Education Division of the Ministry and Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) will be responsible for the overall coordination for the drive in 50 beaches. The Ministry has also decided that on completion of the drive, the best three beaches will be suitably awarded along with a certificate of appreciation for all the participating eco-clubs,” the environment ministry said in a statement.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a complete phase-out of single use plastic items by 2022. The Centre had issued an advisory on the phase out which asked states to “curb” manufacturing all plastic carry bags, with or without handles, irrespective of thickness and size; plastic cutlery including plates, plastic cups, glass, straws, stirrers etc and styrofoam cutlery by October 2 and instead encourage manufacturers and consumers to shift to other environment-friendly materials.

A book on VD Savarkar will be released by vice-president Venkaiah Naidu this week, and the freedom fighter’s grandson, Ranjit Savarkar, will also be present at the event.

The book, written by Vikram Sampath, comes to the market close on the heels of a fresh debate over the leader.

In the recently concluded Maharashtra elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had promised Bharat Ratna for Veer Savarkar if it came to power in the state.

The poll promise had triggered new controversies as many opposition parties had slammed the BJP over its promise.

The book will be released at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library—the venue that has been closely associated with Jawaharlal Nehru’s memories and till recently was exclusively preserved in the memory of India’s first prime minister.

His Congress party has often been critical about Savarkar’s role in the freedom struggle.

Apart from Naidu and Ranjit Savarkar, parliamentarian Sonal Mansingh and finance ministry’s principal economic advisor Sanjeev Sanyal will also be present.

A meeting of top leaders of Congress is underway at party chief Sonia Gandhi’s residence in Delhi to decide on whether to extend support to Shiv Sena to form a government in Maharashtra. Sources said Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray phoned Congress chief Sonia Gandhi before the meeting. There have been hectic parleys in Maharashtra on Monday, a day after governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari asked Sena to form a government.

Key developments

1) Congress core committee leaders had met at 10 Janpath, Sonia Gandhi’s residence, in the morning but were unable to come to a conclusion. The party then summoned senior leaders in Maharashtra for a discussion in the evening.

2) Congress’s ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also had a meeting of its leadership in Mumbai. Addressing the media after the meet, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said they will wait for Congress to take a stand.

3) Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray met NCP chief Sharad Pawar at a hotel in south Mumbai. The leaders are believed to have discussed about government formation during the 40-minute meeting at Taj Lands End.

4) Shiv Sena had pulled out its lone minister in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre on Monday morning. The minister, Arvind Sawant, said it wouldn’t have been morally right for him to continue.

5) NCP had said it will support Sena if it quits the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and finalises a common minimum programme

6) Senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Monday blamed the BJP’s “arrogance” for the current political situation and said there was no point continuing the alliance if it doesn’t keep it’s promise of sharing the chief minister’s post.

7) Prepoll allies BJP and Sena have been bickering since the Maharashtra election results were announced on October 24. Sena has said they had agreed to sharing the chief minister’s post which BJP denies.

8) Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had on Saturday asked the BJP to indicate its “willingness and ability” to form a government as the single-largest party. On Sunday, BJP gave up on its plans to form the government and said Sena had “insulted the mandate” given by the people

9) The governor then invited Sena to form a government by 7.30 pm on Monday. The BJP wished its oldest ally “good luck” if it wanted to form a government with Congress and NCP.

10) The BJP emerged as the single largest party after the state polls winning 105 seats. The Sena won 56 seats, Congress got 44 seats and NCP 54. A party or an alliance requires 145 seats for a majority in the 288-member assembly.

Here are today’s top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

On convocation day, JNU students protest against fee hike, clash with police

Hundreds of Jawaharlal Nehru University students shouting slogans and raising banners clashed with police on Monday outside the campus as they protested against the administration’s “anti-student” policy.

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Sharad Pawar meets Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai hotel, not Matoshree

Shiv Sena boss Uddhav Thackeray on Monday drove out of Matoshree, his family home in Mumbai’s Bandra, to meet Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar at a luxury hotel 7 km away after the NCP veered in favour of supporting a Sena-led coalition government in Maharashtra.

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Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati hospital, family says he has been advised rest

Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut was on Monday admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati hospital in Bandra after he complained of chest pain.

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Manmohan Singh nominated to parliamentary standing committee on finance

Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu has nominated former prime minister and senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh to the parliamentary standing committee on finance in place of party colleague Digvijaya Singh.

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Happy birthday Boney Kapoor: 10 pictures with Janhvi, Arjun, Anil and Sridevi to prove family means everything to him

Film producer Boney Kapoor celebrates his 64th birthday on Monday. To kick start the day, we bring you the 10 warmest pictures of him and his family. Boney is father to two four kids–Arjun, Anhsula, Janhvi and Khushi. While Arjun and Anshula are his kids from first marriage to the late Mona Shourie Kapoor, Janhvi and Khushi are from his second marriage to late actor Sridevi.

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Kapil Dev has his say on Ranveer Singh’s Natraj shot for ‘83’

The ‘Natraj Shot’ has always been synonymous with former Indian cricket team skipper Kapil Dev and any depiction of the legend is incomplete without the brilliant skill. With Ranveer Singh essaying the role of the 1983 World Cup winning captain, the actor is working hard on incorporating the mannerisms of Dev and on Monday, he posted a picture of himself trying out the famous ‘Natraj shot’.

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Happy Guru Nanak Jayanti 2019: Best Wishes, messages, quotes, SMS, Facebook and Whatsapp status for Gurpurab

Guru Nanak Gurpurab celebrates the birth of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev ji who is considered to be the founder of Sikhism. It is one of the most prominent festivals for Sikhs and is celebrated all over the world. This year Gurpurab will take place on November 12. and will mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev ji.

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Deepak Chahar became the talk of the town after his heroics won the 3rd T20 international for India against Bangladesh. Team India were reeling when Mohammad Naim taking the bowling attack apart in Nagpur. But Chahar was stupendous in the match as he tightened the noose around the Bangladeshi batsmen and managed to pick up 6 wickets. India eventually won the match by 30 runs and sealed the series 2-1.

Chahar also claimed the best-ever figures by a bowler in T20 internationals after getting 6 wickets for just 7 runs. Chahar also became the first Indian to pick up a hat-trick in T20Is.

The World T20 is going to take place next year and fans have started putting Chahar as a firm favourite to be picked for the squad alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Chahar has admitted that he has the World Cup in mind but is not thinking about it much as it is still 11 months away.

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“World T20 is about 11 months away and that is a long time. Obviously I have that in the mind and we are looking to win the trophy, but as a sportsman you can’t think so far as there is a lot of international cricket before that as well as the IPL,’ Chahar told IANS.

‘I want to gain more trust from the management till then and there will be times where I will get hit and I want to still gain the trust of the team so that they support me. Performing in every match is the goal.’

“I take every game as the last as the competition is very high and the fast bowling unit is doing really well. Cementing your place in this team is very tough, so I look to perform every time I get an opportunity,” he signed off.

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Left-handed opener Mohammad Naim made 81 and put on 98 runs for the third wicket with Mohammad Mithun, who made 27, but the rest of the batting faltered in the chase. Chahar, who wiped out the tail with a wicket with the last ball of his third over and two at the start of his fourth, was ably supported by fellow paceman Shivam Dube who claimed three wickets.

“It were the bowlers who won us the game. I know how tough it was in the middle considering the dew factor,” stand-in-skipper Rohit Sharma said after the win.

“But this must be one of the best comebacks in this format for India. It was easy for them at one stage, with 70 needed in eight overs. But the boys showed characters, took up the responsibility.”