THE horrifying incident at R G Kar Medical College Hospital on August 9 was a global first. Never before has a doctor been raped and murdered on duty at a top government hospital. This wasn't a random act; it was the inevitable outcome of a crime wave fuelled by the ruling party's corruption in the state's health sector. Rampant corruption, nepotism, and embezzlement have crippled the health department in the last thirteen years, worsening after the 2021 elections. After the 2021 elections, corruption ran rampant, and crime spiralled out of control.

HEAVY rains in the catchment area caused the Krishna river and the Budameru rivulet to flood into Vijayawada city on the midnight of August 31. Heavy rainfall of about 30 cm locally, along with breaches to the banks of Budameru, led to the inundation of many low-lying areas such as Ajit Singh Nagar, Bhavanipuram, and others in Vijayawada city. Landslides occurred, resulting in the loss of four lives.

THE state of school education in Chhattisgarh reveals a troubling situation with numerous vacancies and shortages. Over 3,000 schools are without principals, and there are 8,194 post of teachers, more than 22,000 assistant teacher posts, and 2,524 lecturer posts are vacant.

Amra Ram submitted a memorandum to the prime minister on the huge devastation caused by floods and landslides in Tripura. The memorandum recounted the huge devastation of houses, shops, crops, mainly paddy and vegetables, domestic animals, fisheries, roads, bridges, vehicles, and other infrastructure and the resultant miseries to the people, especially the farmers and rural workers due to the unprecedented floods and landslides in Tripura during August 19-24, 2024. The death toll was 32, mainly due to landslides at the above places.

THE red flags have returned with renewed enthusiasm following the much-awaited announcement of elections in J&K, as people anticipate the restoration of democracy, especially after the events of 2019. MY Tarigami, CPI(M) leader and four-time MLA from Kulgam, filed his nomination papers on August 27.Before filing his nomination papers, he addressed several rallies in the Kulgam constituency. One such rally, dedicated to the ‘Youth of Kulgam,’ saw a large turnout at the CPI(M) office.