Lok Sabha Elections: Cash, Alcohol, Drugs, and Freebies Pour in Goa

It’s raining money, drugs, drinks, and freebies in Goa just three weeks before the election on May 7. In almost a period of six weeks, from March 1 to April 13, 2024, the Election Commission of India (ECI) recovered almost one lakh liters of alcohol, ₹15.64 crore in cash, ₹3.23 crore worth of narcotics, and freebies totaling ₹1.18 crore in Goa. Goa is the smallest state in the nation, with only two parliamentary seats (North Goa and South Goa). As a result, its cash seizures are proportionately higher than those of other states; in Gujarat, they totaled ₹6.5 crores, in National Capital Territory Delhi, ₹6.1 crore, in Uttarakhand, and ₹1.47 crore in Odisha over the same time period. On the other hand, in Ladakh, Nagaland, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry, not a single penny’s worth of cash has been taken.

According to the ECI’s Election Seizure Management System (ESMS), an in-house developed portal for real-time reporting of interceptions and seizures and first tested during the last round of Assembly elections, the total drug haul of ₹3.23 crore over the past six weeks in Goa has been much lower than ₹485 crore in Gujarat, ₹213 crore in Maharashtra, ₹280 crore in Punjab, and ₹293 crore in Tamil Nadu. It’s important to note that, despite Goa having caught 101,446 liters of alcohol, the dry states of Gujarat and Bihar have registered seizures of 760,062 and 845,758 liters of alcohol, respectively.

Goa has become a hub for the illicit movement of alcohol to neighboring states; therefore, reports of seizures, particularly involving alcohol, are flooding local newspapers. Reports have been made by officials from the Karnataka and Maharashtra administrations about multiple seizures of liquor in border areas that originated in Goa. In Goa, precious metals have also exchanged hands. A haul worth ₹3.8 crore has been seized in the last six weeks, despite ESMS not providing specifics regarding the sort of precious metal.

The release of funds seized during the Election Code of Conduct in Goa is being supervised by a special commission. The committee, which is made up of government representatives, is in charge of investigating every instance of cash seizure carried out by the police, flying squad, or static surveillance team. In cases where no formal complaint or Federal Investigation Report has been made regarding the seizure, or if the seizure has no connection to any political candidate, party, or election campaign, the committee will step in. The District Collector has additionally declared that anyone carrying more than ₹50,000 in cash must have legitimate identification.

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The country’s 75-year history of Lok Sabha elections indicates that, based on ESMS, this election’s ECI is expected to have the highest number of inducement seizures ever. Already, more money has been taken into custody than in all of the 2019 elections—Rs. 4,650 crores—before the votes had started. Drugs worth ₹2,068.85 crore were taken from around the nation between March 1 and April 13, 2024, with freebies worth ₹1,142.49 crore being seized. Thirty-six thousand liters of alcohol have been confiscated in India in the last six weeks.

Kajol Shares Heartwarming Photos of ‘Darling’ Daughter Nysa Devgan on Her 21st Birthday

Kajol celebrated her daughter Nysa Devgan’s 21st birthday on Instagram on Saturday. Actress Kajol and her husband, actor Ajay Devgn, are the parents of 13-year-old Yug Devgan. Their daughter, Nysa, is their other kid. The actor wrote a heartfelt message for the birthday girl, calling her “darling,” and shared three images of her. girl’s “darling” and shared three of her photos.

Kajol’s birthday post for Nysa

Happy 21st birthday, my love! May you always laugh and grin with the same joie de vivre throughout your life,” Kajol added. Recognize that you are loved forever and ever. Baby, to the moon and back! By the way, I stare at you most days like that last picture.”

Nysa may be seen giggling with her favorite puppy in the first photo. Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding celebrations in Jamnagar, Gujarat, in March, featured a throwback picture of Nysa dressed in a lehenga. The last picture shows the famous child cuddling up to her pet for a precious moment.

Pre-birthday post

Kajol shared a lengthy tribute to her daughter on Instagram the day before Nysa’s birthday. “Tomorrow is Nysa’s 21st birthday, but today is about me and how I became a mom,” the actor said, attaching a vintage photo of Nysa curled up on Kajol’s lap. How she fulfilled my deepest wish and how, just by being herself, she has brought me happiness every day since. How her love and unwavering support inspire gratitude and amazement in me. I may be mistaken, but I will never be at fault.

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‘Today is about me’

“How she makes me laugh so hard, and how I love to stand on my soapbox and brag about all my baby does and says,” she continued. The first time she called me “mama” and every time after, how I felt. It resembles a call to arms for a deeply held belief. To feel my heart return to its original body, sometimes I think I could just wrap her up and put her back in my stomach for a day. The word “love” is so commonplace when describing your feelings for your kids. It goes much beyond that. Indeed, it is about me today. Now I’m going to bow.”

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Rescheduling travel is advised by the Indian Embassy in Dubai following historic rains, and Air India cancels flights

Rescheduling non-essential travel until operations restart following the country’s record-breaking rainfall has been advised by the Indian embassy in the United Arab Emirates for inbound Indian passengers arriving at or passing through Dubai International Airport.

Air India
“As soon as operations resume, we will put impacted passengers back on planes in an effort to get them on their way. Customers who have tickets valid for travel through April 21, 2024, and are booked on our flights, will receive full reimbursements for cancellations and a one-time waiver on rescheduling, the airline announced.

According to the advisory, passengers may arrive at the airport “only after” receiving final confirmation from the individual airlines regarding the departure date and time of flights, even though UAE authorities were working nonstop to guarantee the return of operations. This was stated by the Indian mission. As to the alert, Dubai International Airport has temporarily restricted the number of inbound flights due to the inconvenience caused by the exceptional weather conditions in the UAE earlier this week.

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The world’s busiest airport for international travel, Dubai International Airport, aimed to resume regular operations in less than a day. The message read, “Inbound Indian passengers arriving at or passing through Dubai International Airport are advised to reschedule non-essential travel until operations normalize.” In order to provide support to Indian citizens arriving at Dubai International Airport, the Consulate General of India in Dubai has established emergency hotlines that are operational as of April 17.