LIVE: 18 rescued, 2 missing after boat capsizes in Maha’s Vaitarna river

The Election Commission on Monday said over Rs 1,760 crore worth of freebies, drugs, cash, liquor and precious metals aimed at inducing voters in the five poll-going states have been seized so far. The poll panel said the seizures made since polls were announced on October 9 are more than seven times (Rs 239.15 crore) those made in the previous assembly elections in these states in 2018. While assembly polls have already been held in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram, voting will take place in Rajasthan and Telangana on November 25 and November 30 respectively.

At least two persons were missing after a tug boat carrying 20 workers capsized in the Vaitarna river in Maharashtra’s Palghar district on Monday morning, police said. Eighteen workers have been rescued so far, an official said. The incident took place at around 6 am when the workers were travelling in the tug boat of a company which is engaged in the construction of the JNPT-Vadodara Expressway, he said. The Uttarakhand government will bear the travel, food and lodging expenses of relatives of the 41 workers trapped at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district for over a week. Assuring the families of the trapped workers that they will be rescued soon, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday said officials have been asked to stay in touch with the relatives of the trapped workers so that they do not face any inconvenience. The state government will bear the expenses of people who want to visit Silkyara to enquire about their well being, he said.