Daily bulletin: Mamata to visit Kolkata bridge collapse in Majerhat, Farmers rally in Delhi, Mike Pompeo in Pakistan; day's top stories

Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh rally in Delhi today: Lakhs of workers, farmers and agricultural workers from across the country are gearing up to make the Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Rally in Delhi on Wednesday a historic success. It is being held under the joint leadership of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU). Last week, the organisers said they were expecting more than three lakh people from across the country at the rally. Mamata Banerjee to visit Majerhat bridge collapse in Kolkata: At least, one person died and 25 others were injured as a 40-year-old bridge collapsed in Kolkata’s Majerhat area. A section of the 50-year-old bridge on the arterial Diamond Harbour Road in south Kolkata collapsed Tuesday evening. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in Darjeeling, told the media that thousands of people pass through the area and the government has to probe the accident. Mamata said she will visit the site on Wednesday cutting short her tour. [caption id=“attachment_5114861” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rescue operations on after the Majerhat bridge collapse in Kolkata’s Alipore area. PTI[/caption] Alagiri rally in Chennai today: Former DMK leader MK Alagiri is expected to hold a rally in Chennai as a show of strength. Alagiri had refused to respond to a query on the party’s silence to his request to readmit him. Alagiri, who has been claiming since Karunanidhi’s death that loyal party workers were with him, had earlier said the DMK would face threat after his rally. The rally is supposed to begin at 10 am from Anna Salai and end at the samadhi of Karunanidhi. Upper caste groups rally against SC/ST act in Madhya Pradesh: Madhya Pradesh will be on high alert in the run-up to the day-long bandh on 6 September by upper caste groups against the new SC/ST Act. The administration has imposed prohibitive orders under CrPC in four districts — Morena, Shivpuri and Bhind, all three in Gwalior-Chambal region, as well as in Ashok Nagar district in view of the proposed bandh. Gwalior-Chambal region, one of the sensitive areas, had witnessed a large-scale violence on 2 April this year during the ‘bharat bandh’ called by Dalit groups. One year since Gauri Lankesh killing: It’s exactly a year since journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru. In a major breakthrough in the probe, the forensic lab confirmed to SIT on Tuesday that Parshuram Waghmare had pulled the trigger. SIT sources said the entire sequence of events was reconstructed and a video of it along with CCTV footage on the day of incident sent to the Directorate of Forensic Science, which confirmed that the man in both the visuals was the same. Lankesh’s tabloid also returns to business after a year with a new name — Nyaya Patha. Mike Pompeo in Pakistan today: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to press Pakistan to target all terror groups on its soil and play a positive role in war-torn Afghanistan when he meets the country’s new leadership in Ismalabad on Wednesday in a bid to reset the strained bilateral ties. Pompeo is arriving in Islamabad along with General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, days after the Trump administration cancelled $300 million in military aid to Pakistan as it was not doing enough against terrorist groups inside its borders, the latest controversy to hit Islamabad’s troubled relationship with Washington. US Open: In Wednesday’s quarter-final fixtures of the ongoing event at Flushing Meadows, two-time US Open winner Novak Djokovic is up against Australian John Millman, who earlier pulled off a stunning upset by knocking Roger Federer out in the Round of 16. The other men’s singles quarter-final will witness Marin Cilic take on Kei Nishikori. In the women’s quarters, Naomi Osaka is up against Lesia Tsurenko, while Carla Suarez Navarro, who earlier knocked Maria Sharapova out of the event, faces local favourite Madison Keys. Fuel prices continue to soar: Surging crude oil prices with Brent crude touching $79 per barrel and the tumbling rupee which plunged to a record low of Rs 71.54 on Tuesday is likely to maintain the trend of rising fuel rates. Fuel prices have been on fire since the middle of August, rising almost every day due to a combination of a drop in the value of the rupee and rise in crude oil rates. The government has ruled out cutting excise duty on petrol and diesel to cushion spiralling prices. Almost half of fuel price is made up of taxes. The centre currently levies an excise duty of Rs 19.48 per litre on petrol and Rs 15.33 on diesel. Redmi 6 series announcement: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi will be unveiling a series of devices on Wednesday as part of the new Redmi 6 line. As usual, these budget devices are expected to offer incredible value and start at rock-bottom prices. The cheapest of the lot is expected to go on sale at Rs 6,000. PAX West highlights: PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is an umbrella term used for a series of gaming culture festivals that involve, tabletop gaming, arcade gaming and video gaming. PAX events happen across the United States and also in Melbourne, Australia. PAX West, which was held in Seattle, ended yesterday and saw the reveal of a lot of new games. Shah Rukh Khan was initial choice for Bigg Boss host: Salman Khan, who entered the world of Bigg Boss with its fourth season as a host, says the show was first offered to Shah Rukh Khan. “The one who was considered to sign ‘Bigg Boss’ was Shah Rukh Khan. I didn’t know about this. Shah Rukh was the original choice for Bigg Boss,” Salman said at the press conference of Bigg Boss 12 in Goa. “Earlier he had shoulder injury and he was shooting somewhere in Prague so he couldn’t make it. That’s how I got Bigg Boss,” he added.