Couple who faked Everest feat suspended

Pune: Six months after they claimed to have become the first married couple to scale Mt Everest, Dinesh, 30, and Tarakeshwari Rathod, 29, were suspended from the Maharashtra Police on Thursday for faking the achievement. Police Commissioner Rashmi Shukla also ordered a departmental inquiry against the couple, who had “spoiled India’s image”. The Nepal Tourism Board imposed a 10-year ban on expeditions by the Rathods and cancelled their merit certificate. PTI

Ban halts coop credit system, farmers hit

Chandigarh: The Union Government’s demonetisation move has virtually brought to standstill the operations of over 3,500 village cooperative societies that provide subsidised crop loans and farm inputs to farmers twice a year before the beginning of rabi and kharif crop seasons. Near absence of liquid money in the market has hit not only the cooperative societies, it has also affected over 10 lakh farmers registered with such societies, who can't avail fresh loans. TNS