The Catch Up: Ladakh protests and the crackdown (26 Sept)

The headlines of the week by The Indian Express.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
This is the catch upon three things by the Indian
Express and I am neharikan Nanda. Today's the twenty sixth
of September and here are the headlines of the week.
Protests demanding statehood and sixth scheduled status for Ladak escalated
on Wednesday as demonstrators torched a BGP office.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
And a police vehicle in Lay.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Police fired teargas to disperse the crowd after student and
youth groups called for a shutdown. The unrest followed two
elderly hunger strikers collapsing on Tuesday and being hospitalized. The
CBI has launched a preliminary inquiry into the alleged FCIRA
violations by climate activists Sonam Wangchuk and the Himalaian Institute
of Alternatives Ladak, which he founded. Officials said the probe

(00:51):
began two months ago following a Home Ministry complaint.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Wangchuk confirmed a.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
CBI team visited him ten days ago with an order
and this comes after four days took place in the
labor tests. At least seven people died in Kolkata after
relentless rains submerged streets, railway tracks and metro lines, bringing
life to a standstill in the city, cars broke down

(01:16):
on waterlogged roads, schools canceled classes and many officers declared
work from home. The West Bengal government advanced through Kapuja
holidays in state trans schools by two days.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Amid the chaos.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Several suburban train services were canceled or diverted due to
flooding on tracks, leaving the transport system crippled across Kolkata
and parts of South Bengal. Ahead of the GST two
point zero rollout from midnight on twenty second of September,
companies are layering buyers with discounts, freebies and reduced prices.

(01:51):
The GSD Council's third September decision to cut rates on
three seventy five items is expected to make essentials cheaper.
Amul and Motherday have slashed perneed prices by three percent,
with two hundred gram packs now available at ninety two rupees.
UHD milk cartons are also cheaper, with mother dairies now
available at seventy five rupees and Amuls at eighty rupees

(02:14):
per liter. More brands are set to follow, signaling sustainably
for consumers. Doctor Pradesh government has banned cast based political rallies,
citing risks to public order and national unity.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
The directive issued.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
On Sunday also prohibits cast based markings in police records.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
And public display of cast symbols.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Vehicles with cast stickers and slogans will be penalized under
the Motor Vehicles Act.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
Officials say the.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Move aims to curb cast based discrimination ahead of state
elections in two years. Exceptions will remain only for cases
under the SCSD Prevention of Atrocities Act, Officials clarified in
their ten point order. Ukrainian President Plodomir Zelenski told Fox
News that India is mostly supporting Kiev in its war

(03:07):
with Russia, despite the ongoing energy trade with Moscow. He
stressed the importance of building stronger ties with New Delhi
and said President Trump could help align India and Europe.
With Ukraine acknowledging challenges with Indian oil purchases, Zelenski expressed
confidence that New Delhi would eventually shift.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Away from Russian energy.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
He emphasized maintaining relations, stating we must do everything not
to withdraw Indians. That's all for today. This was the
catch up on three things by the Indian Express