In the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, four people have died in the past 24 hours, while 205 houses have been partially damaged in rain-related incidents. 

Akashvani correspondent reports, Belasangvi village in Latur was surrounded by the Tiru river, cutting off access, but residents were safely shifted. 

In Dharashiv, six villages lost contact; the situation has normalised in Mendha village.

In Paranda taluka, over three thousand six hundred people were relocated from twenty villages.

Meanwhile, ninety-four thousand three hundred and twenty cusecs of water is being released from Jayakwadi dam and eighty thousand one hundred and fifty cusecs from Sina Kolegaon dam.

Authorities have urged people along riverbanks to move to safer places.

The Meteorological Department has warned of heavy to very heavy rains in Marathwada and many districts of Maharashtra till the 30th of September.

Uttar Pradesh Police has issued detailed guidelines for setting up Mission Shakti centres across all police stations in the state. The initiative is part of the state government’s flagship Mission Shakti campaign, which aims to strengthen women’s safety, dignity, and self-reliance.

According to the directives issued by DGP Rajeev Krishna, Mission Shakti centres will function like mini police outposts, exclusively dedicated to handling cases related to crimes against women.

Each centre will be headed by an officer-in-charge at the level of a sub-inspector, preferably a woman. They will be supported by 1-4 additional sub-inspectors, 4-15 constables (with half of them being women), 1-2 female home guards, and counsellors as required. Policemen posted at these centres will serve a tenure of three to five years, with provisions for transfer after specialised training.

Punjab has launched first-of-its-kind Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled screening devices for early detection of breast cancer, cervical cancer and refractive errors. According to ICMR’s National Cancer Registry Programme, 42,288 new cancer cases have been reported in Punjab in 2024, which is a 7 per cent increase from the previous year of 2023. Whereas, as per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data, only 0.3 per cent of women aged 30 to 49 have ever been screened for breast cancer, and just 2.4 per cent for cervical cancer in the state.

Punjab Health Minister, Dr Balbir Singh, said that to reverse these trends, the AI-based devices have been launched, which will be used in primary health settings with an aim to conduct at least 600 eye check-ups and 300 breast and cervical cancer screenings per day for early detection.

Uttar Pradesh celebrated ‘Ayushman Bharat Diwas’ yesterday, marking seven years of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). Special camps were organised across the state, where Ayushman Cards were issued, making UP the top state in the country for card distribution. At least one member in 87 per cent  of eligible families now holds an Ayushman Card, highlighting the scheme’s effective implementation.

CEO of State Agency For Comprehensive Health and Integrated Services (SACHIS), Archana Verma said, out of 9 crore targeted beneficiaries in Uttar Pradesh, 5.38 crore Ayushman Cards have already been issued, marking a historic achievement for the state.

CM of state Yogi Adityanath recently announced that teachers in the state will also benefit. The scheme is now moving toward universal coverage to ensure that every eligible beneficiary in the state can access its benefits.

The CEO further stated that so far, 74.4 lakh beneficiaries in the state have received free treatment at listed hospitals under the scheme, with a total expenditure of 12,283 crore rupees. To ensure easy access to healthcare services, a total of 6,099 hospitals-2,921 government and 3,088 private-have been empanelled, the highest number in the country.

Expenditure on tertiary care services has reached Rs 4,200 crore, covering cancer, cardiology, orthopaedics, organ transplants, paediatric oncology, plastic surgery, and other specialised treatments. 

Nine people have died due to waterlogging-related electrocution and drowning in Kolkata and suburban areas. Overnight rain wreaked havoc in the southern part of the state. The local weather office of the IMD informed Akashvani that record rainfall has been registered in Kolkata since 1978. 

In many parts of Kolkata and adjoining districts are still under water with the forecast of more rainfall in the coming hours. Many express and mail trains have been cancelled today. Local train service also been affected, with a few buses are running on the roads. Truncated metro service is available in Kolkata. 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has declared a holiday in the government and government-aided and government-sponsored schools in West Bengal for nest two days except those in hilly areas. She also requested CBSE and ICSE school authorities to declare a holiday if the situation does not improve. 

On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party BJP criticised the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and other Municipalities governed Trinamool Congress for the catastrophic situation in Kolkata and suburban areas.   

In Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today transferred an amount of 2,920 crore rupees through DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) into the bank accounts of students under various welfare schemes of the Education Department. He also laid the foundation stones and inaugurated infrastructure-related projects worth around 959 crore rupees. On the occasion, an event was organized at Sankalp Bhavan in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. Mr. Kumar transferred this amount into the accounts of more than 49 lakh beneficiaries under different welfare schemes of the Education Department. Direct benefits were provided to students under several educational schemes, including the Mukhyamantri Balika Protsahan Yojana, Mukhyamantri Cycle Yojana (Bicycle Scheme), Mukhyamantri Balika Poshak Yojana (Girls’ Uniform Scheme), Mukhyamantri Balak Poshak Yojana (Boys’ Uniform Scheme), Scholarship Scheme, Kanya Utthan Yojana (Girls’ Upliftment Scheme), and many others.