Author: Pariarora

Legendary Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar passed away

Legendary Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar passed away today. He was one of India’s earliest and most famous film actor. His age was 98 years and died in Mumbai. Dilip Kumar acted in more than 65 films over nearly five decades and is known for his iconic roles in movies like ‘Ganga Jamuna’ (1961), ‘Kranti'(1981), ‘Karma'(1981), ‘Naya Daur'(1957), ‘Mughal-e-Azam'(1960). He was last seen in ‘Quila’ in 1998. The actor had been recuperating from age-related health issues for the last few days and had been admitted to the hospital multiple times. He was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Mumbai’s Hinduja Hospital on June 30 after he complained of breathlessness. He had been frequently ill for months. Kumar’s wife Saira Banu had been with throughout. His family friend Faisal Farooqui tweeted through the actor’s handle “With a heavy heart and profound grief, I announce the passing away of our beloved Dilip saab, few minutes ago. We are from God and to Him we return”

Many Bollywood celebrities including filmmaker Vidya Balan, Sidharth Roy Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, arrived at Dilip Kumar’s house to pay their last respects to the legendary actor Dilip Kumar.

Tributes have been pouring in on social media for the actor- Politicians, Bollywood stars and even historians have tweeted.

Australia To Host The Olympics in 2032 After Brisbane Wins Its Bid

The international Olympic Committee announced that Australia will host the Summer Olympic games for the third time It was announced on  Wednesday in Tokyo during the 138th IOC Session at Hotel Okura.

Brisbane, Australia the world’s largest sporting event will host the Olympic Games.

Adrian Schrinner, the lord mayor of Brisbane, said that the effort to make Brisbane a host city began six years ago under his predecessor.

“Our purpose was to seek an amazing, once in a lifetime opportunity for our region and for our city,” Schrinner said in a message shared on Twitter celebrating the announcement.

The IOC member nations had an easy choice to make Wednesday. Brisbane was the only option still in the running to be a host city.

Whether Olympic host cities actually gain economically from holding the event is unclear, according to some reports.

The Associated Press reports the IOC essentially gave Brisbane exclusive negotiating rights in February, leaving officials from Qatar, Hungary and Germany who has also attempted a run at the 2032 hosting effort, out in the cold.

Australia previously hosted the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2020. Paris is all set to host the 2024 Olympics; Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy will host in 2028. Beijing is hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Haryana and Punjab have 4% of India’s population

Haryana and Punjab are the two states that are once again leading the way for the country at the Olympics.

The two states, with just 4.4% share of India’s population, have together sent 50 athletes to the Tokyo Games, accounting for 40% of the Indian contingent. Haryana has 31 athletes in the contingent, nearly 25% of the total, while Punjab has 19.

Tamil Nadu had sent 11 athletes to Tokyo, 8.7% of the contingent. Other states are Kerala and UP each had sent 8 athletes.

For Haryana, nine of 19 women Hockey players, seven wrestlers(four women, three men), four boxers(three men, one women) and four shooters(two women, two men) make up most of the numbers. While for Punjab 11 out of India’s 19 member men’s hockey swell the tally. Two shooters(a man and a women), three from athletics(two men, one women), two women’s hockey team members, and one boxer make up the total.

India is sending its largest ever contingent to the Olympic Games with the total of 127 athletes and will take part in 18 disciplines: athletics, archery, badminton, boxing, fencing, equestrian, gymnastics, golf, hockey, rowing, shooting, sailing, swimming, table tennis, tennis, wrestling and weightlifting.

Kerala, known for its legacy in athletics, has six in track and field events out of the eight it is sending to Tokyo. One each is in swimming and the men’s hockey team.

No new fatalities were found in Delhi for the first time

The national capital had reached a milestone on new fatalities were recorded for the first time since March 2 this year. State government records show that single day fatalities peaked on May 3 as the fourth wave of coronavirus in the city.

The positivity rate in the national capital now stands at 0.06 percent after 59,410 tests were conducted. This marks a slight decrease from the 0.07 percent recorded on Sunday, after 51cases were reported.

As Covid-19 cases in the national capital witness a sharp decline since the past few weeks, Delhi on Sunday reported no new virus related deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the daily health bulletin, keeping the death toll since the pandemic outbreak at 25,027. Recoveries reached 14,09,910 with 80 more patients recovering in the 24 hour period.

Active cases in Delhi are at 592

Earlier this week, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that governments should take every step to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

3 Athletes Test Positive, 2 staying at Olympic Village

Three athletes have tested positive for COVID-19, two of them South African football players staying at the Olympic Village. Organising Committee announced on Sunday adding to the scepticism that surrounds the troubled event slated to open on July 23. It is the first case of athletes staying at the village catching the infection. Their identities were not yet revealed by the organizers but the South African Football Association issued a statement to make that information clear.

“Three members from Team SA’s men’s under 23 football team have produced positive tests for Covid-19 and are in isolation in the Tokyo 2020 isolation facility,” the South African Football Association (SAFA) stated.

“The three members are players Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi and video analyst Mario Masha, who produced a positive result in the latest round of daily sputum (saliva) testing,” South African Football Association (SAFA) stated.

The third infected athlete is staying at a designated Games hotel and his/her identity is not yet known.

“A fourth Team SA member, Sevens rugby coach Neil Powell, has also produced a positive result and has been admitted to an isolation facility in Kagashimo where the Sevens squad are currently in at a pre-

Games training camp,” SAFA stated.

The total number of Games-related COVID cases have now risen to 55 as per the OC records. “When there is a positive COVID-19 case- it means action. There is a clear procedure to identify close contacts. A case is not just data in a spread sheet but leads to action, including follow-up testing,” International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Games Executive Director Christrophe Dubi stated.

A total of 10 cases were detected on the day, including five “Games concerned personnel”, one contractor and a journalist according to the COVID-19 positive list uploaded by the OC.

The Olympic Village on Tokyo Bay will house 11,000 athletes and thousands of support staff.

Positive and Negative impact of COVID-19 on environment

As Work from Home becomes the new norm, 23% of carbon emissions have dropped globally just because of a decrease in transportation.

Here are few positive as well as negative impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the environment.

  • Positive impact of the pandemic on the environment
  • There is more freshwater available

As the majority of industries have reduced activities, the water consumption of the industrial sector has decreased to about 20-30%. The hotels and health clubs are not functioning to full capacity either, hence a decrease in water consumption has been observed. It has also been noted that people tend to be more efficient with water at home than hotels and resorts.

  • The vegetation is growing better

Due to less human interference, plants are exposed to better air quality and clean water. The amount of oxygen and other nutrients required for their growth are not polluted and hence allow plants to grow.

  • Reduction of air pollution

A drop of 25% in carbon dioxide emissions along with 40% in nitrogen oxide emissions was

observed in Italy during the self-isolation period. Energy-related CO2 emissions in India is on track with value 1.8 as per SDG report 2020. Air quality improved because of a reduction in road traffic, air traffic, and factory emissions of carbon dioxide, Nitrogen oxide and particular matter formation.

  • Decreasing demand for oil

Due to the decrease in fuel demands for factories and travel, there has been a sharp decline by 435,000 barrels a day in the first quarter of 2020, due to the pandemic. Oil pollution also harms animals and insects, disrupts the food chain, and prevents photosynthesis in plants. Oil contamination can make water unsuitable for irrigation and damage irrigation plants.

  • Negative impacts of the pandemic on the environment
  • Increasing organic waste

Due to a sharp decline in the cargo transportation services, the export and import of various essential commodities have come to a standstill.

  • Waste management is getting difficult

Garbage contaminated with Medical waste has increased. There has been no evidence related to human contact of waste leading to the transmission of the virus. Many local waste recycling centers have suspended their activities

over the fear of virus circulation in the recycling centres.

Increasing non-recyclable waste

With increasing home deliveries during the lockdown, meals and online shopping surged which requires a lot of plastic packaging. Production and disposal of surgical masks, gloves, protective equipment and body bags have increased due to the COVID-19 crisis but all the waste generated ends up adding on the landfills and the environment.

Ecosystem at risk – Illegal deforestation, fishing and wildlife

Environment protection workers at national parks, land, marine conservation zones were required to stay at home during lockdown resulting in leaving these areas unmonitored. The decline in ecotourism activity has led to an increase in unemployment in the regions frequented by tourists.

Surekha Sikri Passes Away

Veteran actor Surekha Sikri passed away today at the age of 75 due to cardiac arrest.

Surekha first appeared on the silver screen in the 1978 film Kissa Kursi Ka. From there on, she went on to gain acclaim for her roles in films like Govind Nihalani’s Tamas, Shyam Benegal’s Mammo and Sardari Begum. In the 90s, she prominently featured in television shows like Banegi Apni Baat and Just Mohabbat.

It was her time at TV show Balika Vadhu that made her a household name amongst the masses. She played the role named Kalyani Devi who rules with an iron fist but gradually softens up towards the protagonist Anandi.

The 2018 film Badhaai Ho, for which she also won a National Award, had fans applauding her time on the screen. The Amit Sharma film had her playing the role of a women who comes from an orthodox background but is ready to embrace the new world.

She was last seen in the Netflix anthology Ghost Stories where she starred alongside Janhvi Kapoor in the Zoya Akhtar directorial. Sikri played a bed-ridden patient who is lost in her world.

Many Bollywood celebrities paid tribute to the late actor. Many TV actor including Sidharth Shukla, Sushant Singh, Avika Gor, remembered Surekha on social media. Her manager said that “Three-time national award winning actress, Surekha Sikri has passed away following a cardiac arrest earlier this morning at the age of 75. She had been suffering from complications arising from a second brain stroke. She was surrounded by family and her caregivers. The family asks for privacy at this time. Om Sai Ram.”

Gender equality

Gender equality can often be achieved just by holding everyone to the same standard. The problem, as highlighted by the evidence reviewed above, is the irrational gender bias that women and girls are routinely subjected to.

Objective of gender equality is a society in which women and men enjoy the same opportunities, rights and obligations in all spheres of life.

Here are some of the steps to achieve gender equality in our life:

1.Stop child marriage: If we want girls to complete education we have to end child marriage.

2.Empower mothers: When mothers are educated and empowered to make choices in their lives, they enable their daughters to go to school.

3.Work together: Between 1999 and 2010, the ratio of girls in secondary school fell from 83 to 82 girls for every 100 boys at the secondary level from 67 to 63 girls for every 100 boys at the tertiary level.

4.Encourage women into non-traditional vocations: To make the long-lasting change in women’s life, support women in non-traditional jobs.

5.Raise aspirations of girls and their parents: We need to give girls images and role models that expand their

dreams.

6.Give proper value to women’s work: The unpaid work women and girls do provide the foundation for the global economy.

7.Get women into power: A proven way to overcome many systematic barriers to a women’s success has been increased participation by women in local, regional and national legislation as empowered change agents.

8.Let girls use mobile phones: The majority of girls do not have access to using basic technology such as mobile phones and computers because of infrastructure related challenges and economic reasons.

9.Talk to women and girls: Gender equality in every realm is that women and girls voices are too often excluded from global and national decision making.

In this way we can help women and girls to achieve gender equality.

India’s first Covid patient again tested positive

She was a student from Kerala’s Thrissur enrolled at a medical college in China, who was the first Indian to test positive for Covid-19 in January 2020 after returning to India following the outbreak of the pandemic, has been infected again, a health official said on Tuesday.

Thrissur district medical officer K J Reena said” she has been she tested positive and under quarantine at her home. None of the family members have tested positive so far”.

The student was found to have been reinfected after she was retested as she planned to travel to Delhi. Her family said she is showing no visible symptoms and that she has also been administered the first Covid-19 vaccine dose.

The student, who has been unable to return to China as Beijing is yet to allow Indian students back into the country because of the pandemic, spent almost a month in hospital while undergoing treatment for Covid-19 in 2020. Her friends also tested positive who was travelled with her from Wuhan.

She spent 24 days at an isolated ward from January 27 to February 20, wearing personal protective equipment. She said her medical background helped her overcome the trauma.

Petrol, diesel prices hiked again

The petrol price has been increased by 35 paise in Delhi, while diesel saw an increase of 26 paise. This was the seventh hike of this month, according to price notification by the oil retailers.

Bhopal became the first city where petrol prices touched Rs. 100, thereafter cities like Jaipur, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru also sold petrol for Rs.100. In the country’s national capital, petrol prices scaled to Rs. 100 on July 7,2021.

Petrol now costs over Rs.100 in 18 states and UT’s – Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, Ladakh, Punjab, Sikkim, Delhi, West Bengal, Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir and Telangana.

The central and taxes make up for 60% of the retail selling price of petrol and over 54% of diesel. Centre levies Rs. 32.90 per litre of excise duty on petrol and Rs. 31.80 a litre on diesel. The difference in prices in states occurs on account of local taxes like VAT or freight charges.

Rajasthan levies the highest VAT on petrol and diesel in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

Here are the list of petrol and diesel prices in the states of India:

Delhi: Petrol prices – Rs. 100.91 per litre; diesel prices – Rs. 89.88 per litre

Kolkata: Petrol prices – Rs. 101.01 per litre; diesel prices – Rs.92.97 per litre

Mumbai: Petrol prices – Rs. 106.93 per litre; diesel prices – Rs. 97.46 per litre

Bengaluru: Petrol prices – Rs. 104.29 per litre; diesel prices – Rs. 95.26 per litre

Chennai: Petrol prices – Rs. 101.67 per litre; diesel prices – Rs. 94.39 per litre

Hyderabad: Petrol prices – Rs. 104.86 per litre; diesel prices – Rs. 97.96 per litre

Jaipur: Petrol prices – Rs. 107.74 per litre; diesel prices – Rs. 99.02 per litre

Thiruvananthapuram: Petrol prices – Rs. 102.89 per litre; diesel prices – Rs. 96.47 per litre

Patna: Petrol prices – Rs. 103.18 per litre; diesel prices – Rs. 95.46 per litre

Bhopal: Petrol prices – Rs. 109.24 per litre; diesel prices – Rs. 98.67 per litre

Chandigarh: Petrol prices – Rs. 97.04 per litre; diesel prices – Rs. 89.51 per litre

Bhubaneswar: Petrol prices – Rs. 101.37 per litre,

diesel prices – Rs. 97.67 per litre

Srinagar: Petrol prices – Rs. 103.77 per litre, diesel prices – Rs. 93.49 per litre

This was the 39th hike in fuel prices since 4th May. The price of petrol has risen by Rs. 10.51 per litre and diesel by Rs. 9.09 per litre.

Two markets shut in karol bagh due to violation of coronavirus protocol

Due to violation of coronavirus protocols Gaffar Market and Naiwala Market of Karol Bagh will remain closed from 10pm today till 10pm on 11 july.

“market shopkeepers, thiyawallahs/vendors, and general public in Gaffar market and Naiwala, Karol Bagh are not following the Covid-appropriate behavior. Due to large footfall, market association and shopkeepers are not able to ensure Covid protocols in the markets in last three days.

“The guidelines/directions of Covid Protocol are being contravened in the Gaffar Market and Naiwala market which may cause super spreading of the coronavirus,” the order said.

The order also stated that the market welfare association of Gaffar Market and Naiwala Market have “failed to ensure the strict compliance of the guidelines of COVID-19”.

The order for closure of markets in Karol Bagh also noted that it is “necessary to take an immediate and stringent action to curtail the spread of the virus and not to let develop any such place as super spreader in larger interest of public”.

Due to flouting Covid norms, Lajpat Nagar, Laxmi Nagar market, Kamla Nagar, Sarojini Nagar and parts of Sadar Bazar were among those shut in recent weeks by the

Delhi Disaster Management Authority(DDMA).

The infection rate, which had reached to 36 percent in the last week of April, has come down to below 0.15 percent now.

Despite fall in daily cases in the last several days, Kejriwal had recently cautioned that the chances of the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic were quite real, while he asserted that his government was preparing on a “war-footing” to combat it.

However, the number of cases have shown a downward trend and the positivity rate too has been shrinking in the last several days. The number of deaths per day, has also been showing a decline in the last couple of days.

Kejriwal earlier said “that the virus is reducing in Delhi slowly and steadily, and I hope it diminishes completely and does not rise again. However, we are not going to become negligent in anyway”, while sounding a tone of caution.

Naseerudin Shah Discharged From The Hospital

Actor Naseeruddin Shah was admitted to the hospital for the treatment of pneumonia and was discharged on Wednesday morning, his son Vivaan said. He was admitted to the same medical facility as his co-star Dilip Kumar, who passed away on Wednesday due to illness.

The 70 year-old actor was admitted to the P D Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre, a non-COVID-19 facility, last Tuesday.

His son captioned ‘Back home’, with the picture of his father and mother, actor Ratna Pathak Shah on his Instagram Story. Naseerudin Shah can be seen sporting an orange tee and white pyjamas while Ratna Pathak Shah looks cute in a green traditional outfit. Last week, Ratna Pathak told that the actor had a small patch of pneumonia in his lungs and was undergoing treatment at the hospital. On 3rd July source said that the actor was responding well to the treatment.

Naseeruddin Shah has given mind-blowing performances in films such as Sarfarosh, Iqbal, Mohra, The Dirty Picture, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Masoom and Monsoon Wedding. He has also worked in international films such as Such A Long journey, The Great New Wonderful and Mango Dreams.

The actor was last seen in the 2020 drama Mee Raqsam and before that in the acclaimed Amazon Prime Video’s web series Bandish Bandits.

He was also won three national film awards in his film career.

Legendary Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar passed away

Legendary Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar passed away today. He was one of India’s earliest and most famous film actor. His age was 98 years and died in Mumbai. Dilip Kumar acted in more than 65 films over nearly five decades and is known for his iconic roles in movies like ‘Ganga Jamuna’ (1961), ‘Kranti’ (1981), ‘Karma'(1986), ‘Naya Daur'(1957), Mughal-e-Azam'(1960). He was last seen in ‘Quila’ in 1998.The actor had been recuperating from age-related health issues for the last few days and had been admitted to the hospital multiple times. He was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Mumbai’s Hinduja Hospital on June 30 after he complained of breathlessness. He had been frequently ill for months. Kumar’s wife Saira Banu had been with throughout. His family friend Faisal Farooqui tweeted through the actor’s handle “With a heavy heart and profound grief, I announce the passing away of our beloved actor Dilip Saab, few minutes ago. We are from God and to Him we return”

Many Bollywood celebrities including filmmaker Vidya Balan, Sidharth Roy Kapoor, Shabana Azmi arrived at Dilip Kumar’s house to pay their last respects to the legendary actor Dilip Kumar.

Tributes have been pouring in on social media for the actor- politicians, Bollywood stars and even historians have tweeted.

Movies with social causes

All kinds of movies impact our society and popular culture. Let’s look at movies in the last decade that have woven a social message in the fabric storytelling.

3 idiots (Rajkumar Hirani, 2009)

The movie has a social message in different scenes. It shows how parental pressure can sometimes be extreme, and lead a child ending his/her life. The most important message in the movie is that any child if he/she is poor/rich needs an opportunity for good education. This is emulated by the protagonist, Rancho, who is the son of a house help and given the opportunity to study. Rancho, who comes out from top of his class, takes the path less travelled, and shows that there are more ways to give back to society and can become successful in life. He earn a respectable living also.

Taare Zameen Par ( Aamir Khan, Amole Gupte, Ram Madhvani, 2007)

The movie uses all its characters to depict different kinds of people that make our society. The movie explores the needs of special children and what society do to help them. This movie shows that how a special child can overcome his obstacles and can become successful in life. Every individual is gifted and how pursuing their inherent interest will only result in excellence.

P.K (Rajkumar Hirani, 2014)

Aamir Khan plays PK, an alien, who comes to earth and loses the device that is necessary to take him back to his world. In search of the device, Aamir Khan comes across many problems. The movie delivers the social message that there are many elements in the society who have managed to make man forget that, be it any religion – values are not convoluted, and were never meant to be.

Mardaani ( Pradeep Sarkar, 2014)

In this movie, protagonist Rani Mukherjee is an educated and empowered women who makes no bones about being in a male dominated field of work, and feels absolutely comfortable. The movie represent the very important issues such as child trafficking and child sex rackets. It also has a social message about just how vulnerable the kids, the kids are innocent especially the kids who are on the streets that is why they are quickly get robbed.

OMG! Oh My God (Umesh Shukla, 2012)

No one expected Akshay Kumar to come out with a movie that would disrupt religious sects. The movie exposes the people who have commercialized God and

faith, and play with emotions of simple, many times poor Indians.

So, these are some of the movies with social causes.

Aamir Khan after divorce announcement with Kiran Rao

Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, recently seperated after 15 years of marriage. They shared a video on the YouTube page of Paani Foundation and spoke to their fans. Paani Foundation is a nonprofit foundation founded by Aamir khan, Kiran Rao and the team behind the Satyamev Jayate show.

Aamir began by saying that the news must have come as a shock and dismay for many. “We just want to say that we both are extremely happy and are still one family. Our relationship has changed but we are still together in way. And Paani Foundations like Azad, our kid. So we will always stay together as a family. Pray for our happiness. That’s all we wanted to say, ” he said.

“In these 15 beautiful years together we shared a lifetime of experiences, joy and laughter, and our relationship has only grown in trust, respect and love.Now we would like to begin a new chapter in our lives- no longer as husband and wife, but as co-parents and family for each other, ” Aamir and Kiran had said in a joint statement.

“We began a planned separation some time ago, and now feel comfortable to formalise this arrangement, of living separately yet sharing our lives the way an extended family doesn’t. We remain devoted parents to our son Azad, who we will nurture and raise together. We will also continue to work as collaborators on films, Paani Foundation and other projects that we feel passionate about, ” the statement further read.

Aamir was previously married to Reena Dutta, whom he divorced in 2002. Kiran and Aamir got hitched on December 28, 2005. They have together produced acclaimed and commercially successful films like Jaane Tu…. Ya Jaane Na, Peepli Live, Dhobi Ghat, Delhi Belly, Talaash, Dangal, among others. This was Aamir Khan’s second marriage which last for 15 years. With Kiran Rao he had one child and from first marriage he had two children. The name of Aamir Khan’s three children is Junaid Khan, Ira Khan and Azad Rao Khan.