Morning Digest: Maha Kumbh set to begin in Prayagraj with Shahi Snan; Ramesh Bidhuri refutes AAP’s claims on being BJP’s CM face, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on January 12, 2024.

Prayagraj is preparing for the 45-day Maha Kumbh, considered the biggest gathering of human beings in the world, starting on Monday with the ‘Shahi Snan’ on the occasion of Paush Purnima at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and mystical Saraswati rivers. Security measures have been strengthened at temples, at key sites in the Mahakumbh Nagar area, and across all the routes leading to Prayagraj. Intensive checking and frisking of vehicles is underway on seven major roadways connecting Prayagraj and districts along these routes. The event will conclude on February 26, with over 400 million people expected to visit the Maha Kumbh.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Kalkaji Assembly constituency, Ramesh Bidhuri, on Sunday (January 12, 2025) refuted Aam Aadmi Party’s claim that he is BJP’s chief ministerial face for the upcoming elections. Terming the AAP’s claims as “baseless” and “misleading propaganda,” Mr. Bidhuri, a former two-time MP, said that the people of Delhi want to bring BJP to power in the Assembly elections.” “Over the past 25 years, I have held key positions and served as a Member of Parliament twice and as an MLA three times. I have now been given the opportunity to go near you for the fourth time,” he said in a press statement in Hindi.

The interim government of Bangladesh on Sunday (January 12, 2025) expressed “deep concern” about the prevailing situation along the India-Bangladesh borders. Dhaka’s message was conveyed by Foreign Secretary Md. Jashim Uddin to the Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma during a meeting which was held soon after the Adviser on Home Affairs, Jehangir Alam Chowdhury, informed the media that India has been erecting fences in five locations on the Indo-Bangladesh borders and alleged that Bangladesh authorities were not consulted before starting the construction work. He announced that the Indian envoy was being “summoned” to discuss the situation. 

The Centre’s wildlife panel has approved a proposal to carry out oil and gas exploration in the eco-sensitive zone of the Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam’s Jorhat district. The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), chaired by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, approved the proposal by Vedanta Group’s Cairn Oil and Gas during its meeting on December 21, according to the minutes of the meeting. Assam’s principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden had recommended clearance for the project in August last year, citing “national interest”.

Croatia’s opposition-backed President Zoran Milanovic, a critic of the European Union and NATO, overwhelmingly won re-election for another five-year term on Sunday, defeating a candidate from the ruling conservative party in a runoff vote, official results showed. Mr. Milanovic won more than 74% of the vote compared to his challenger Dragan Primorac, who received nearly 26%, according to the results released by Croatia’s state election authorities after more than 99% of the ballots were counted.

The health condition of three women who fell ill at Midnapore Medical College and Hospital allegedly due to the administration of expired intravenous fluids remained critical and the officials of West Bengal Health Department have decided to shift the patients to a Kolkata facility on Sunday (January 12, 2025). The State administration ordered the creation of a ‘green corridor’ and all the toll plazas so that the woman can be brought to Kolkata without any inconvenience. One woman died after delivering a baby at the State-run health facility on Thursday (January 9, 2025) prompting allegations of medical negligence.

Kerala’s maternal mortality ratio, currently the lowest in the country at 19 per one lakh live births, is now climbing steadily, much to the consternation of the Health Department. And the reasons for the increase may be beyond the control of officials. Except during 2020-21, when Kerala lost many mothers to COVID, the State had consistently maintained a firm grip over maternal mortality. Ironically, the State’s MMR is showing a spike now, not because more mothers are dying in Kerala, but because there are fewer child births than ever in the State.