BJP red-faced as minister pees in open

Mumbai: The ruling BJP was left red-faced after a video of a minister peeing in public went viral. A clip showed Water Conservation Minister Ram Shinde urinating in public on the Solapur-Barshi Road while on an official tour. Shinde said he was unwell and had to relieve himself in the open as there was no toilet in the vicinity. The NCP said the Minister’s act showed that the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was a failure. IANS

Lucknow may see artificial rains  

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh capital might witness artificial rains through cloud-seeding by IIT, Kanpur, to combat air pollution which has reached crisis level. A few days ago, the Uttar Pradesh government had asked Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, to explore the option of artificial rains. “IIT, Kanpur, got the project on artificial rains from the Uttar Pradesh Council of Science and Technology a few months ago. For this, the institute has got a grant of Rs 15 lakh,” Officiating Director of IIT Kanpur, Manindra Agrawal said. PTI