Vidit Varshney, a user on X, shared a picture of a dead cockroach found in the food served to passengers on the Vande Bharat Express. He mentioned that the incident involved his uncle and aunt, who were traveling from Bhopal to Agra on June 18. Varshney urged the authorities to take “strict action” against the vendor. The Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) responded to his post, “apologizing” for the inconvenience and stating that a “suitable” penalty had been imposed on the service providers.

“Today, on 18-06-24, my uncle and aunt were traveling from Bhopal to Agra on Vande Bharat. They got a ‘cockroach’ in their food from IRCTC. Please take strict action against the vendor and make sure this does not happen again,” wrote Vidit Varshney on X, sharing a picture of the food with a dead cockroach in it.

RailwaySeva, the official support handle on X for train passengers, requested Varshney to share his “PNR number and mobile number” and expressed regret for the experience his aunt and uncle endured.

Two days later, the official IRCTC handle responded. They wrote, “Sir, we apologize for your travel experience. The matter has been viewed seriously, and a suitable penalty has been imposed on the concerned service provider. We have also intensified the production and logistics monitoring.”

“If people just see the condition of the canteen where food is prepared, most would never order. I prefer to bring home-cooked meals whenever possible,” expressed Nitish Kumar, another X user.

Another user added, “Whenever a person raises a complaint, the railway asks for details only and after that, no action is taken. Not only is the food quality poor, but there is also overcharging in the pantry. Authorities are well aware of this but do not act due to some ‘other reason’.”

“I don’t eat railway food. Take your homemade food with you,” said yet another user, Feroz Ahmad.

“Thoughts are with those who ate the rest of the food from this batch,” wrote a fourth user.

French journalist Sebastien Farcis claimed on Thursday that he had to leave India because the Ministry of Home Affairs refused to renew his journalist permit, ending his 13-year tenure as a correspondent in the country.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Farcis wrote, “After 13 years working as a correspondent in India, the authorities have denied me a permit to work as a journalist. I have thus been forced to leave the country.”

“On 17th June, I was forced to leave India, a country where I had lived and worked as a journalist for 13 years, as a South Asia correspondent for Radio France Internationale, Radio France, Liberation and the Swiss and Belgian public radios,” he stated on the microblogging site.

Farcis mentioned that on March 7, the Ministry of Home Affairs denied renewing his journalist permit without providing a reason, despite his formal requests. He described this as “incomprehensible censorship.”

Having worked as a journalist in India since 2011, Farcis said he had always obtained the necessary visas and accreditations. “I have respected the regulations imposed in India for foreign journalists and never worked in restricted or protected areas without a permit. On several occasions, the MHA even granted me permits to report from border areas.”

“This work ban comes as a big shock: it was communicated to me on the eve of the Indian general elections, the largest democratic elections in the world, which I was hence forbidden to cover. This appeared to me as an incomprehensible censorship,” his statement read. Farcis further stated that his family was also pushed out of India “without explanation” and “uprooted overnight” for no apparent reason. “I am married to an Indian woman, and I have the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status. I am therefore deeply attached to India, which has become my second homeland,” he said.

He added that he is the second French journalist, after Vanessa Dougnac, forced to leave India under similar conditions in the past four months. Additionally, five OCI foreign correspondents have been banned from working as journalists in less than two years.

Amid a sweltering heatwave that has claimed five lives in Delhi and at least ten in Noida, Delhi Health Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj held a meeting with the heads of all major hospitals in the capital. He instructed them to increase the number of patient beds.

In Uttar Pradesh, state authorities reported that at least 44 people have died from heatstroke since May.

Northern India is enduring the longest heatwave in its history, with the southwest monsoon’s advancement stalling despite an early onset in Kerala.

Delhi, the national capital, is also facing a severe water crisis and power outages as the city experiences record-high electricity demand.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has indicated that conditions are now favorable for further monsoon advancement, which had stalled between June 12 and 18, prolonging the wait for rains in North India, which is suffering from the extreme heat.

The Delhi Police’s beat officers and patrol teams have been instructed to help move homeless people to shelter homes if they are found on footpaths under the open sky. The Delhi Police Commissioner has directed patrol teams to call ambulances for any sick homeless individuals they encounter.

Hospitals have been told to increase beds for patients suffering from heat-related illnesses. Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that the Delhi government has instructed all healthcare centers to ensure their emergency rooms remain operational 24/7.

A senior doctor must always be present in the emergency ward to handle patients affected by the prolonged heat. Additionally, all necessary medicines for treating such patients must be available in hospitals.

CDMOs are also instructed to ensure that if a patient arrives at a dispensary, they receive immediate treatment and are then transferred to the nearest hospital by ambulance. Healthcare workers must promptly respond to calls for patient admissions and ensure that patients are quickly transferred to the nearest hospitals.

All CATS Department ambulances must remain on high alert around the clock, with some stationed near the most affected areas and shelter homes.

On the second day of rescue operations, the Sikkim administration evacuated 1,225 tourists from Lachung and the surrounding areas in Mangan district. Multiple landslides and heavy rain struck the region last week, resulting in at least six fatalities according to an official statement.

The evacuation of over 1,200 tourists stranded in North Sikkim since June 12 and 13 began on June 17. The Trishakti Corps troops are significantly aiding the civil authorities in expediting relief operations. Due to numerous landslides, tourists are being transported on foot or by vehicle where roads are accessible, as reported by the PRO Defence.

On Tuesday, the Sikkim administration evacuated 1,225 tourists from Lachung and nearby areas of Mangan district. If weather conditions permit, the remaining tourists, a few hundred, will be evacuated on Wednesday. “We have evacuated 1,225 tourists from Lachung and surrounding regions and brought them to Mangan town by road today,” said Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Vishnu Lama, as reported by PTI.

In addition to the District Magistrate, Superintendent of Police (SP) Sonam Detchu Bhutia, other senior civil and police officials, BRO, NDRF, SDRF, local panchayats, and volunteers are coordinating the rescue of the stranded tourists.

The rescue operation commenced after the BRO restored connectivity between Chungthang and Mangan via the newly constructed bridge at Toong over the Teesta River.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has initiated measures to tackle waterlogging issues in the city.

Following visits to rain-affected areas after pre-monsoon showers, the drainage department provided recommendations for improvement. Areas impacted included Yerawada, Vimannagar, Sinhagad Road, Koregaon Park, Mhalunge, Timber Market, Lohegaon, Aundh, Market Yard, Dhanori, Baner Road, JM Road, Ganeshkhind Road, Karve Road, and NDA Road.

The PMC road department has elevated drainage chambers to road level on VR Shinde Road in Bibvewadi and constructed a drainage chamber in Pulachiwadi at Deccan Gymkhana. Additionally, work has begun on connecting a stormwater line to the culvert near Commerce Zone in Yerawada.

To facilitate water flow to nearby nullahs, the road department has broken part of the footpath at Shivaji Chowk on Satara Road.

Sahebrao Dandge, superintendent engineer of the road department, stated, “Rainwater accumulates at this spot as it is a low-lying area. On Saturday, the PMC commissioner and additional commissioner visited various waterlogging spots across the city.”