Daily Bulletin: DMK to launch statewide protests over Tamil Nadu water crisis; Modi to chair NITI Aayog meet; day's top stories

DMK to launch state-wide protests over water shortage in Tamil Nadu 

The DMK has said that it will hold protests across Tamil Nadu on 22 June to urge the government to tackle water crisis in the state. The party blamed the government for its "negligence," and "administrative failure and urged the party to address the water crisis.

In a press release, the party asked its district functionaries to stage protests in all districts with the support of the general public.

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With bore wells and wells going dry in parts of Tamil Nadu, people are forced to rely on private water tanker operators.

Several water resources have dried up in Chennai and neighbouring areas. Reuters

The DMK alleged that the impact of the severe water shortage is such that several restaurants have to shut down while schools are also forced to remain closed. Large multinational firms active in the city have asked their employees to work from home. The party accused the AIADMK government of closing its eyes to the situation and failing at its duty.

Modi to chair NITI Aayog meet today, will interact with economists and sectoral experts

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with leading economists and experts on Saturday to deliberate on economic policy ground plan for promoting growth and employment generation.

The meeting, being organised by government think tank NITI Aayog, will be attended by various ministers, NITI Aayog functionaries, leading economists, sectoral experts and industrialists.

BJP delegation to visit Bhatpara after alleged political violence 

The BJP will send a three-member delegation, led by former union minister and MP SS Ahluwalia, to visit to the trouble-torn Bhatpara district of West Bengal on Saturday after two BJP workers were killed.

"Tomorrow we would visit Bhatpara. The kind of violence that has been unleashed is unprecedented. We condemn such violence being perpetuated by the state government," Ahluwalia told PTI.

The panel will submit a report to party president and Union home minister Amit Shah.

Clashes have been reported between the members of the saffron party and the police Friday in Bhatpara in North 24 Parganas district after BJP MP Arjun Singh took out a procession with the bodies of two persons killed there Thursday. Stepping up protests over the incident, the saffron party organised marches in several parts of West Bengal on Friday.

On the BJP delegation's scheduled visit to the area, TMC district president and state minister Jyotipriyo Mullick said the purpose of the visit is to add fuel to the fire. "They are coming here to ensure violence continues in the area. But the people of the area will resist any such attempt. We would also appeal to police administration to be more careful as the main intention of BJP is to create violence," he said.

A TMC citadel for long, Bhatpara has been witnessing frequent post-poll violence between the rival parties. The fight has intensified ever since TMC MLA Arjun Singh crossed over to the BJP and was elected to Lok Sabha.

BJP hits at Rahul Gandhi for sarcasm-laced Yoga Day tweet showing army dog squad

Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday sparked controversy by tweeting pictures of the dog squad of the Indian Army doing yoga. Rahul sarcastically captioned the image 'New India', drawing a sharp retort from Home Minister Amit Shah who accused him of mocking International Yoga Day and insulting the forces.

The pictures in the tweet showed the army dog unit and their trainers prostrating while holding a yoga pose.

Shah hit out at Rahul in a tweet and said while the Congress supports the medieval practice of triple talaq, it insulted the armed forces yet again. He also accused the Congress of spreading negativity.

"Congress stands for negativity. Today, their negativity was seen in their clear support to the medieval practice of triple talaq. Now, they mock Yoga Day and insult our forces (yet again!) Hoping the spirit of positivity will prevail. It can help overcome toughest challenges," Shah tweeted.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said when someone keeps insulting the armed forces, then the almighty should give one some good sense. "With due respect to you, @RahulGandhi Ji, these are proud members of the Indian Army and they contribute to the safety of our nation," Rajnath tweeted.

Kolkata Class 10 student found dead in school washroom  

A Class 10 student of GD Birla School in Kolkata was found with her wrist slit and a plastic bag wrapped around her head inside a washroom on the school premises on Friday afternoon. The body has been sent for postmortem.

In a three-page suicide note, the student mentioned that she was suffering from depression and had been unable to sleep for the last three months.

Soon after the incident came to light, the Kolkata Police as well as Joint Commissioner of Police Muralidhar Sharma reached the school to examine the scene. They questioned the school authorities and parents as well.

In a statement, Sharma said the student left her classroom around 1.30 pm and entered the washroom. When the teacher, after an hour, noticed the student was missing, a search was started and the body discovered inside the bathroom. News18 quoted Sharma as saying, "She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead. We have seized a suicide note and blades. Her face was covered with a plastic sheet. It is too early to comment on the matter. All the seized items were sent for a postmortem examination. We are also examining the CCTV footage."

India aims to maintain winning streak against bottom-placed Afghanistan

India will be up against Afghanistan on Sunday's fixture at Hampshire Bowl in Southampton. Virat Kohli's men are unbeaten in the tournament so far, while the Afghans are on the other end of the spectrum having lost all of their five matches.

West Indies take on New Zealand in a do-or-die fixture

Failing to replicate their success from their opening game against Pakistan, Jason Holder-led West Indies need to win each of their remaining four matches to stay in fray for a place in the semi-finals as they face New Zealand on Sunday in Manchester.

The Black Caps are one of the two teams, along with India, who are yet to lose a match in the tournament.

Pushed for a female X-Men film before Wonder Woman, says producer Lauren Shuler Donner

Lauren Shuler Donner, who has been part of the X-Men franchise since the first film in 2000, recently revealed that she had pushed for a female fronted X-Men film. "I actually wanted very much to do a female X-Men movie five years before Wonder Woman, but the studio didn't want to do it. I'm unhappy we didn't get to do the solo films that I wanted to do," she said. Donner added that she is happy with the Fox and Disney acquisition and hopes Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige will "treat" the franchise well.

Intel CPU prices expected to fall 10-15 percent

Reports indicate that Intel will soon be dropping prices of its CPUs by $25 to $75 over the coming months. This price drop, it seems, is a result of increasing pressure from rival chipmaker AMD, which recently unveiled a new lineup of CPUs. These new CPUs, part of the Ryzen family of chips, are not only claimed to be at least as powerful as Intel’s current lineup, but also cheaper to boot.