Chandrayaan 3: Prayers from Earth for safe Moon landing

A ceremony was held at the Shree Dodda Ganapathi temple in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru, by members of the Chamarajpet Janapara Vedike.

Members of Chamarajpet Janapara Vedike and several volunteers performed pooja at Ganesha temple in Bengaluru on the eve of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission landing on the lunar surface

BENGALURU: As the 12-hour countdown for Chandrayaan 3 begins, several cultural committees and individuals in Karnataka and other states organised pujas and prayers for the safe landing of the lander module, Vikram, on the south pole of the lunar surface. The touchdown is expected at 6.04 pm, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

A ceremony was held at the Shree Dodda Ganapathi temple in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru, by members of the Chamarajpet Janapara Vedike. The idol was offered phala (various kinds of fruits), panchamrita, abhisheka (holy bath) and kadubu — considered the deity’s favourite sweet. The Indian flag along with Bharat Mata pictures and Chandrayaan-3 Mission posters had been placed all around the idol.

Temple ceremonies for safe landing

KV Ramachandra, a member of the organisation, said, “The group plans to do a similar puja on Wednesday as well during the landing to pray for the 100% success of India’s Moon mission.” In Mysuru, devotees performed ‘Sarvartha Sidhi Yaga’ at Anjaneya temple for the safe soft landing of India’s third mission to the Moon.

Politicians are also thronging temples to offer their prayers. BJP MLA TS Srivatsa along with 82 party workers will travel from Mysuru to Sri Raghavendra Swamy Matha, Mantralaya, wishing the mission a success. MP S Muniswamy along with BJP workers per formed puja i n Kolaramma temple, Kolar and said, “The entire world’s eyes are on India.” At Shree Srikanteshwara Swamy Temple in Nanjangud on Monday, a similar puja was organised and rangolis were made of Chandrayaan’s spacecraft. Kukke Subramanya temple in Dakshina Kannada also performed a special puja.

Similar ceremonies were witnessed around the country. Before the mission launch on July 14, a group of scientists visited Tirupati for its success and offered prayers. The group also carried with them a miniature model of Chandrayaan-3 to seek the Lord’s blessings. While India is united in prayer, the NASA stands among the hopeful. In case the mission is successful, it would mark humanity’s first touchdown on the Moon’s southern pole which will yield invaluable data for not just India but all countries.

Complaint against actor Prakash Raj for comment

Bagalkot: Sriram Sene members on Tuesday filed a complaint against actor Prakash Raj of making fun of India’s prestigious Chandrayaan 3 in his social media X account. The actor had posted a caricature showing Chandrayaan sending a photo of a man pouring tea.

Fourteen-day Moon mission

The lander and rover have a mission life of one lunar day, which is about 14 Earth days. Temperatures dip to as much as -1800C during lunar nights. However, there is an outside possibility of the lander and the rover coming back to life for another lunar day, claim scientists

Quick-fire experiments

“After powered descent on to the landing site, there will be deployment of ramp and rover coming out. After this all the experiments will take place one after the other — all of which have to be completed in just one day on the Moon, which is 14 (Earth) days,” ISRO chief Somanath said

Hundreds of patients evacuated from Los Angeles hospital building that lost power in storm’s wake

The power failure blacked out Adventist Health White Memorial’s main six-story building, disabling elevators.

Los Angeles Fire Department people gather by the emergency entrance to the hospital.

LOS ANGELES: A succession of power outages at a Los Angeles hospital prompted the evacuation of 28 patients in critical condition to other hospitals early Tuesday, while 213 other patients were moved to another building in the medical center, authorities said.

The power failure blacked out Adventist Health White Memorial’s main six-story building, disabling elevators, said Fire Chief Kristin M. Crowley. More than 100 firefighters and numerous ambulances were dispatched to the facility east of downtown.

The building includes OB-GYN and neonatal intensive care, Crowley said.

“All patients are safe,” John Raffoul, the hospital president, told a press conference.

The hospital originally lost power at 3 a.m. Monday after Tropical Storm Hilary dumped record rainfall on the city, and backup generators that were supposed to last three days kicked in, Raffoul said.

But a blackout was reported at 11:45 p.m. Monday and firefighters were dispatched to evacuate patients, assisting them down flights of stairs in many cases, the Fire Department said.

“We don’t know the cause of the double failure that we had here ... other than the fact that we had a major storm that hit us here in Southern California,” Raffoul said.

Raffoul said a new generator was on order.

My private parts swollen after Khakha uncle raped me; aunty blamed me: Delhi rape survivor in FIR

“From November 2020 to January 2021, Premoday uncle raped me 4-5 times. He used to touch my private parts, which I hated,” the FIR read.

Image used for representational purpose only.

NEW DELHI: The minor girl was allegedly raped at least four times by the now-suspended senior Delhi government official and her private parts were swollen, according to the FIR accessed by this newspaper.

The FIR was registered by Delhi Police on August 13 against 51-year-old Premoday Khakha and his wife Seema Rani, who are currently in judicial custody. Khakha was a deputy director in the Women and Child department of the Delhi government.

According to the FIR, the girl, who was 14 years old in 2020, had gone to stay with close family friend Khakha after the death of her father.

“From November 2020 to January 2021, Premoday uncle raped me 4-5 times. He used to touch my private parts, which I hated,” the FIR read.

The girl said when Khakha allegedly raped her for the first time, her private parts were swollen. “I informed Seema Aunty about it, but she accused me of doing something not right or making gestures towards her husband,” her complaint read.

The minor girl stated in her complaint that Seema used to punish her with sticks whenever she failed to score good marks in her subjects. “After he raped me the last time in January 2021, I became pregnant. I told Seema Aunty about it when I missed my periods. She replied that it is the first month so we can abort the child,” the FIR read.

According to the FIR, the girl had also informed Khakha’s children — a son and a daughter — but they, too, refused to believe her.

In February, the girl went back to her home along with her mother. “Whenever I visited the church, he (the accused) used to touch me inappropriately. After July 2021, I left going to the church,” the FIR read.