Daily Bulletin: Amarnath Yatra begins; Amit Shah to introduce J&K Reservation (Amendment) Act in Rajya Sabha today; day's top stories

Amarnath Yatra begins in Jammu and Kashmir The annual Amarnath Yatra was flagged off from both Baltal and Pahalgam routes in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday with authorities setting in place all arrangements, including security along the twin routes for the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage.[caption id=“attachment_4616641” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Amarnath Yatra. Representational image. PTI[/caption] “The first batch of around 1200 yatris were flagged off from Nunwan Pahalgam base camp by Deputy Commissioner Anantnag Khalid Jehangir,” according to an All India Radio report. The chairman of Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board and Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik is likely to attend traditional “Pratham Pooja” at the cave shrine on Monday the report said. The 40-day yatra to the cave shrine at an altitude of 3,880 metres in the south Kashmir Himalayas will continue on both the routes. Largely all arrangements have been put in place just some final touches are being given, they said. Advisor to the Governor in Jammu and Kashmir, KK Sharma flagged off the first batch of devotees for the Amarnath Yatra after conducting a puja at the Jammu base camp on Sunday. Amit Shah to introduce Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2019, in Rajya Sabha today Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to table the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill on Monday which allows people living near International Border to get the benefit of reservation in jobs & educational institutions, in Rajya Sabha. The amended draft law defines socially and educationally backward classes and states that it should include persons living in areas adjoining the Actual Line of Control. Further, the Act states that any person who has been appointed on the basis of residence in an area adjoining the Actual Line of Control must serve in such areas for at least seven years. The new bill extends this condition to persons living in areas adjoining the International Border as well. Tamil Nadu DMK to raise questions on water crisis during state Assembly session The current session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly which commenced on 28 June as the DMK is all set to raise issues like the water crisis the city is grappling with for the last few months, on Monday. The DMK that had earlier divided to move a notion against the speaker on Monday has decided not to do so as the political climate in the state changed. Since severe water scarcity has affected daily life in many parts of the state and more so in Chennai, the issue is likely to be the primary one to be taken up by the Opposition parties. Water from Cauvery, opposition to NEET for medical admissions, AIADMK’s stand on the three-language policy and the draft National Educational Policy of the Centre are likely to be issued on which the opposition parties are expected to question the government. Jagan Reddy sends notice to TDP Visakhapatnam office Days after demolishing Praja Vedhika, convention hall built by Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jagan Mohan Reddy serviced a notice to Chandrababu Naidu. Jagan-led Andhra Pradesh government has now sent a notice to the TDP office in Visakhapatnam city. The commissioner of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) on Sunday served a notice to TDP city wing president to submit documents regarding the party office land within a week. The municipal corporation has also warned the party that the Visakhapatnam office of the TDP will be demolished by the corporation if the party fails to present the legal documents. Centre’s mega ‘Jal Shakti’ pitch to launch today After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Save Water’ appeal, on Sunday, the centre is to launch ‘Jal Shakti’ Abhiyan on Monday. The campaign aims to speed up the process of rainwater harvesting across 250 crisis hit districts. The campaign would run from 1 July to 15 September in States receiving rainfall during the south-west monsoon, while States receiving rainfall in the retreating or north-east monsoon would be covered from 1 October to 30 November. Overall, 313 blocks with critical groundwater levels would be covered, along with 1,186 blocks with over-exploited groundwater and 94 blocks with low groundwater availability. Sri Lanka take on West Indies in ICC World Cup today Sri Lanka had an outside side chance of making it to the World Cup semi-finals till Sunday but India’s loss to England brought an end to the mathematical possibility. With semi-finals hopes coming to an end, Sri Lanka will play for pride against already-eliminated West Indies. Both teams have one more match to play after Monday’s encounter. DHFL lenders to meet on 1 July, seek solution for Rs 90,000 cr debt Lenders of troubled NBFC DHFL are scheduled to meet on Monday seeking a solution for the Rs 90,000 crore debt that is owed to them. The consortium of 30 lenders led by state-run Union Bank of India, which includes banks and other financial institutions, may also consider the conversion of debt into equity that can make them the largest shareholder in the mortgage lender, sources said over the weekend. The debt recast plan will be arrived at as per the RBI’s revised circular on resolving asset quality stress, they said. The circular gives lenders a 30-day period since default to arrive at a debt recast plan.​ DHFL’s promoter group, the Wadhawan family which owns over 39 percent of the firm, has been looking at various ways of coming out of the stress which first came to light late last year following the IL&FS crisis. These include selling stakes in group companies, while they are also reportedly fine with giving up half of their stake in the listed company.​ Google gets nod for Android on Huawei devices Donald Trump’s reprieve of the trade ban on Chinese technology giant Huawei has paved the way for Google to give its Android license back to the company. Huawei had been working on its own OS for some time now and it remains to be seen now that the Android license has been renewed, whether the company will still work on it. Article 15 screening disrupted in Kanpur A screening of Anubhav Sinha’s film Article 15 has been suspended in Kanpur following protests by a religious group. Said group entered Inox multiplex and Sapna Palace theatres on Friday and stopped the screening of the film. They shouted slogans against the filmmaker and tore posters as well. A cinema hall owner told IANS that after Friday’s trouble, all shows remained suspended on Saturday and the film will not be screened in Kanpur until further notice.