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The Gujarat Regional Chapter of the Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI) on Saturday hosted a high-level workshop on &ldquo;Densification of Existing Cities: Opportunities &amp; Challenges&rdquo; in Ahmedabad.&nbsp;
Organised as part of Urban Development Year 2025, declared by the Gujarat government, the event drew urban planners, government officials, academics, and industry leaders from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Goa.
Compact Growth for a Crowded Future
Opening the session, ITPI National President N K Patel highlighted India&rsquo;s pressing land challenge. With less than one acre per citizen compared to China&rsquo;s 2.5 times more and more than 50 cities already above one million residents, Patel said unchecked sprawl inflates costs, strains infrastructure, and worsens civic problems.&nbsp;
Compact growth, he argued, can make land use efficient, strengthen public transport, cut carbon emissions, and build cohesive communities. He noted that both state and central governments have recognised the importance of planned densification and launched several initiatives in recent years.
CEPT University President Barjor Mehta stressed that cities are India&rsquo;s real engines of prosperity. To move from a $4 trillion economy to $10 trillion, he said, Indian cities must be dynamic, productive, and efficient.&nbsp;
Densification, he added, must mean more than taller buildings it should focus on economic density and job creation. &ldquo;Cities that stop renewing themselves suffer economic death,&rdquo; he warned.
Making Cities Inclusive and Smart
Urban planner Ritu Joshi said redevelopment within city limits must prioritise affordable housing, mixed-use neighbourhoods, and accessible public spaces to ensure inclusivity.&nbsp;
Arvind Menon, another planner, pointed to technology as a key enabler, with smart mapping of land use, transport, and housing demand helping cities take sharper, faster decisions.
Officials showcased Gujarat&rsquo;s track record of more than 1,000 town planning schemes, including the upcoming high-speed rail corridor prepared in just eight months. The day-long sessions featured global case studies, digital tools, and policy discussions, with experts agreeing that compact, mixed-use redevelopment can drive inclusive and sustainable growth.

Planners urge densification to cut costs, improve transit, and make cities productive

Densification Key to India’s $10 Trillion Goal

Pavagadh, Panchmahal: Six people were killed on Saturday when the goods ropeway at the revered Mahakali Shaktipeeth in Pavagadh collapsed after its cable snapped. The dead include two lift operators, two labourers, and two others present at the site.
Panchmahal District Police &nbsp;Superintendent Harish Dudhat confirmed: &ldquo;Six fatalities have been recorded in this incident. Further investigation is underway. The bodies have been shifted to the government hospital for post-mortem.&rdquo;
Officials said the mishap occurred when a cable of the goods ropeway&mdash;used exclusively to ferry construction materials from Manchi to the hilltop temple&mdash;gave way. Strong winds forced authorities to suspend the passenger ropeway, used by devotees, as a precaution.
Local fire brigade teams rushed to the spot and launched rescue operations. Several people were reported injured, though officials said the situation was being brought under control. MLA Jaydrathsinh Parmar of Halol also reached the site to oversee relief measures.
Residents recalled that the shrine had faced a near disaster earlier, on 25 August 2023, when a technical fault derailed the passenger ropeway from its track. Panic gripped hundreds of devotees left dangling mid-air for nearly half an hour. Then too, negligence was alleged against Usha Breco, the company managing the facility.
Saturday&rsquo;s tragedy has revived questions over safety lapses and repeated technical failures. &ldquo;This could have been avoided with stricter maintenance checks,&rdquo; said one local devotee at the site.
Authorities have shut down both passenger and goods ropeways until further notice.
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Rescue teams at Pavagadh ropeway collapse site

Goods ropeway cable snaps at Pavagadh shrine, leaving six dead and several injured

Pavagadh ropeway collapse kills six workers

Two people were lynched in West Bengal&rsquo;s Nadia district after being accused of murdering a minor boy. The incident took place in Nischintapur when locals discovered the body of Swarnabha Biswas, a Class 3 student, wrapped in tarpaulin and floating in a pond.
The enraged mob suspected neighbours Utpal Biswas (45) and his wife Soma Biswas (38) of involvement in the crime. Both were dragged out of their residence, beaten severely, and their house was set on fire. The couple was rushed to Tehatta Hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Another person injured in the violence is undergoing treatment.
Police reports said the child had gone missing on Friday evening, and after an overnight search, his body was found on Saturday morning. Locals alleged the boy&rsquo;s body bore cut marks, and suspicion fell immediately on the neighbours, who had earlier been accused of attempting to abduct children in the past.
All three bodies, the boy and the two lynching victims, have been sent for postmortem. Police have started an investigation but have not made any arrests yet. Officials stated they are awaiting autopsy results and working to identify those responsible for the mob attack.
[Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by the Benefit News editorial team and is published directly from the IANS news feed.]

Mob kills two in Nadia after recovery of child’s body; police launch investigation

Two Lynched in Nadia Over Child Murder Suspicion

As the heat over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls gathers pace after the controversial drive conducted in the poll-bound state of Bihar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is considering conducting SIR across the country.&nbsp;&nbsp;
According to the sources, the ECI has called a meeting of all the state Chief Electoral Officers (CEO) in Delhi on September 10 and will have a discussion at length on this matter.
The meeting will be attended by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, election commissioners and other senior poll body officers.
It is pertinent to note here that the SIR drive conducted in Bihar had become a political battle in Bihar, with opposition parties, including RJD, Congress, CPI, CPM, TMC, SP, among others, criticised the poll panel for working against the mandate of the commission by deleting a large number of voters, mainly from the downtrodden spectrum.
Similarly, as polls are due next year in the states- West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, the poll panel, according to the reports, is likely to conduct the SIR in the whole country, which is likely to reignite a political battle between the ruling and the opposition parties.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Tamil Nadu's CM Stalin have expressed their opposition to the SIR drive, while BJP-ruled states have supported the poll panel.
It may be noted here that CEC last month, in his maiden press conference, dismissed allegations of bias against the poll panel in the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, stressing that &ldquo;some are trying to fool the voters&rdquo; by spreading confusion and questioning the credibility of both the poll body and the electorate.
Without naming any party, the CEC indirectly responded to the Opposition's claims that the ECI was colluding with the ruling BJP.
&ldquo;When politics is being done by targeting the voters of India by keeping a gun on the shoulder of the Election Commission, today the Election Commission wants to make it clear that it fearlessly stands like a rock with all voters &ndash; poor, rich, elderly, women, youth, and of every religion &ndash; without any discrimination,&rdquo; Gyanesh Kumar had said at a press conference in Delhi.
&mdash;IANS

Election Commission officials discuss nationwide voter revision

ECI to discuss nationwide SIR rollout with state CEOs in Delhi meet on Sept 10

ECI May Expand SIR Nationwide, Key Meet Sept 10

Legendary rapper Snoop Dogg is joining forces with director Eli Roth for a horror film. The "Drop It Like It's Hot" hitmaker will write and produce an original soundtrack for "Don't Go in That House, B****".
The 71-year-old actor's marriage to the late Glenne Headly ended in 1988 after six years when he began an illicit romance with his "Dangerous Liaisons" co-star, and he doesn't think his behaviour was "fair" because not only did it ruin his relationship with his wife, he also lost a friend and collaborator as a result, reports "Female First UK".
Speaking on the Fashion Neurosis podcast, he said, "It's not something I've ever really talked about. Put it in this way, in the work I do, you make emotional bonds with people very quickly. That's part of the work. Very rarely, those bonds extend beyond the work. For me, she was someone I valued greatly as a colleague, was great fun and moving and with me, incredibly fair. And I certainly wasn't. I think I've learned over the course of my life that a great colleague is actually rarer than anything. And when that relationship becomes more than collegial or more than a friendship - even a profound friendship - then at least in my experience, and it might be my particular psychology or stupidity or ineptness or all of the above... you lose a great colleague&rdquo;.
As per "Female First UK", John contrasted his professional relationship with Michelle, who was married to Peter Horton at the time, with his decades-long partnership with Lithuanian actress Ingeborga Dapkunaite.
He said, "Ingeborga and I are still, 33 years now, working together and have remained great friends and colleagues because there is a line we never crossed&rsquo;, he said. That's what I've learned, that when a thing like that happens, it probably, might be, not retrievable&rdquo;.
John's marriage to Glenne , who died of complications from a pulmonary embolism aged 62 in 2017, ended the year "Dangerous Liaisons" came out and she went on to marry musician Byron McCulloch. 
The "Burn After Reading" actor went on to find love with Nicolette Peyran and is still in a relationship with the production designer now.
Meanwhile Michelle divorced Peter in 1990 and went on to marry and have two children with David E. Kelley. 
John has previously batted away questions about his affair with Michelle. He once said:,"It's hard to believe Michelle Pfeiffer ever said hello to me&rdquo;.
&mdash;IANS

Snoop Dogg and Eli Roth announce horror collaboration

Snoop Dogg joins Eli Roth to create horror film with original soundtrack contribution

Snoop Dogg, Eli Roth Team Up For Horror Film

Ex-Advantmed manager booked in ₹3.75 cr scam

Hadak Patel accused of forging 241 invoices; police probing money trail, bank accounts

Congress alleges voter fraud in Gujarat rolls

Navsari constituency under scrutiny as Congress claims thousands of fake or duplicate vote

Aniruddhsinh Jadeja convict in murder case

Apex court upholds Gujarat HC order, asks convict Jadeja to return to jail by 18 Sept

Supreme Court Orders Jadeja to Surrender

Karnataka Man Kills Daughter Over Inter-Caste Love

Kalaburagi man murders daughter, burns body after family opposes inter-caste affair

US Justice Department announces H-1B visa probe

US Justice Dept probes H-1B visa misuse, urges reports of unfair hiring practices

US DoJ Launches Probe Into H-1B Misuse

NIA Uncovers TRF’s Foreign Funding Network

Probe reveals Pakistan-backed TRF fund trail, tightening FATF scrutiny on Islamabad

CBI Brings Fugitive Harshit Jain Back from UAE

CBI, Gujarat Police, MEA & MHA coordinate to return wanted criminal Harshit Jain from UAE

Trump tariffs strain US-India trade and relations

Trump’s India tariff stance seen as flawed, risks US economic and strategic interests

Trump’s Tariff Stance On India May Backfire

Drone ban imposed ahead President Murmu Chennai visit

Chennai police ban drones ahead of President Murmu’s two-day visit for security reasons

Drone Ban In Chennai For Murmu’s Visit

Zakir Naik’s Influence Poses Threat to India

Authorities warn lone attackers inspired by Naik’s speeches highlight security concerns

For his song, he received the Golden Globes in 2023. Recently, MM Keeravaani, a prominent music composer, acknowledged that his best work was not the Oscar-winning song "Naatu Naatu" from the movie "RRR." Keeravaani&mdash;better known by his professional name, MM Kreem&mdash;discussed his "late recognition" in his professional life during a recent interview. The Best Original Song award was presented to "Naatu Naatu."
In an interview with the Indian Express, MM Kream reflected on his Oscar win. When asked if he felt that global recognition came late in his career, especially considering his work on films like 'Baahubali: The Beginning' and 'Baahubali: The Conclusion', he shared, "Whether it came late or early, the Oscar was awarded for a song that I don't consider my best.
That's something I can acknowledge. Recognition, however, finds its way to you when it's meant to, from unexpected places. The terms 'late' or 'early' are subjective; they're defined by our perception of time, which isn't always fixed."
Keeravaani discussed working with Bollywood director Neeraj Pandey in the same interview. Keeravani is the composer of the music for the upcoming Hindi film "Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha." The composer previously worked with Pandey on the movie "Baby" (2015).&nbsp;
Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, and Saiee Manjrekar are the actors in "Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha." It will open in theaters on August 2.

તેમના ગીત માટે, તેમને 2023 માં ગોલ્ડન ગ્લોબ્સ મળ્યો હતો. તાજેતરમાં, એક પ્રખ્યાત સંગીતકાર એમએમ કીરાવાનીએ સ્વીકાર્યું હતું કે તેમનું શ્રેષ્ઠ કાર્ય ફિલ્મ "RRR" નું ઓસ્કાર-વિજેતા ગીત "નાતુ નાતુ" નથી. કીરવાની-તેમના વ્યાવસાયિક નામ, એમએમ ક્રિમથી વધુ જાણીતા-એ તાજેતરના એક ઇન્ટરવ્યુ દરમિયાન તેમના વ્યાવસાયિક જીવનમાં તેમની "મોડી ઓળખાણ" વિશે ચર્ચા કરી હતી.
બેસ્ટ ઓરિજિનલ સોંગનો એવોર્ડ "નાટુ નાતુ"ને આપવામાં આવ્યો હતો. ઇન્ડિયન એક્સપ્રેસ સાથેની એક મુલાકાતમાં, એમએમ ક્રીમે તેની ઓસ્કાર જીત અંગે પ્રતિબિંબિત કર્યું.
જ્યારે તેમને પૂછવામાં આવ્યું કે શું તેમને લાગ્યું કે વૈશ્વિક ઓળખ તેમની કારકિર્દીમાં મોડી આવી છે, ખાસ કરીને 'બાહુબલી: ધ બિગનિંગ' અને 'બાહુબલી: ધ કન્ક્લુઝન' જેવી ફિલ્મો પરના તેમના કામને ધ્યાનમાં રાખીને, તેણે શેર કર્યું, "પછી ભલે તે મોડું આવે કે વહેલું, ઓસ્કાર એનાયત કરવામાં આવ્યો.
એક ગીત માટે કે જે હું સ્વીકારી શકું છું, જો કે, તે અણધાર્યા સ્થાનોથી થાય છે. સમયની અમારી ધારણા દ્વારા ફરીથી વ્યાખ્યાયિત કરવામાં આવે છે, જે હંમેશા નિશ્ચિત હોતું નથી." કીરાવાનીએ આ જ ઈન્ટરવ્યુમાં બોલિવૂડ ડિરેક્ટર નીરજ પાંડે સાથે કામ કરવાની ચર્ચા કરી હતી. કીરવાણી આગામી હિન્દી ફિલ્મ "ઓરોં મેં કહાં દમ થા" માટે સંગીતના રચયિતા છે.
સંગીતકારે અગાઉ પાંડે સાથે ફિલ્મ &lsquo;બેબી&rsquo; (2015)માં કામ કર્યું હતું. "ઓરોં મેં કહાં દમ થા" માં અજય દેવગણ, તબ્બુ, શાંતનુ મહેશ્વરી અને સઇ માંજરેકર કલાકારો છે. તે 2 ઓગસ્ટે સિનેમાઘરોમાં ખુલશે.

Naatu Naatu Oscar victory surprises MM Keeravani

RRR નું ગ્રેમી એવોર્ડ વિજેતા ગીત 'નાતુ નાતુ' સંગીત સર્જક એમએમ કીરવાણીનો શ્રેષ્ઠ પ્રયાસ ન હતો, તેણે તાજેતરમાં કબૂલ્યું હતું.

નાટુ નાટુ ઓસ્કાર જીતે એમએમ કીરાવાણીને આશ્ચર્યચકિત કર્યા

अपने गाने के लिए उन्हें 2023 में गोल्डन ग्लोब्स मिला। हाल ही में, एक प्रमुख संगीतकार एमएम कीरवानी ने स्वीकार किया कि उनका सबसे अच्छा काम फिल्म "आरआरआर" का ऑस्कर विजेता गाना "नाटू नाटू" नहीं था। कीरवानी- जिन्हें उनके पेशेवर नाम, एमएम क्रीम से बेहतर जाना जाता है- ने हाल ही में एक साक्षात्कार के दौरान अपने पेशेवर जीवन में अपनी "देर से पहचान" पर चर्चा की।
सर्वश्रेष्ठ मूल गीत का पुरस्कार "नाटू नाटू" को दिया गया। इंडियन एक्सप्रेस के साथ एक साक्षात्कार में, एमएम क्रीम ने अपनी ऑस्कर जीत पर विचार किया। जब उनसे पूछा गया कि क्या उन्हें लगता है
कि वैश्विक पहचान उनके करियर में देर से मिली, खासकर 'बाहुबली: द बिगिनिंग' और 'बाहुबली: द कन्क्लूजन' जैसी फिल्मों में उनके काम को देखते हुए, उन्होंने कहा, "चाहे यह देर से मिला हो या जल्दी, ऑस्कर एक ऐसे गाने के लिए दिया गया जिसे मैं अपना सर्वश्रेष्ठ नहीं मानता। यह कुछ ऐसा है जिसे मैं स्वीकार कर सकता हूँ।
हालाँकि, पहचान तब आपके पास आती है जब इसका मतलब होता है, अप्रत्याशित जगहों से। 'देर से' या 'जल्दी' शब्द व्यक्तिपरक हैं; वे समय की हमारी धारणा से परिभाषित होते हैं, जो हमेशा तय नहीं होती है।" कीरवानी ने उसी साक्षात्कार में बॉलीवुड निर्देशक नीरज पांडे के साथ काम करने पर चर्चा की।
कीरवानी आगामी हिंदी फिल्म "औरों में कहाँ दम था" के संगीत के संगीतकार हैं। संगीतकार ने पहले पांडे के साथ फिल्म "बेबी" (2015) में काम किया था। अजय देवगन, तब्बू, शांतनु माहेश्वरी और सई मांजरेकर "औरों में कहाँ दम था" में अभिनेता हैं। यह 2 अगस्त को सिनेमाघरों में रिलीज़ होगी।

आरआरआर का ग्रैमी पुरस्कार विजेता गीत 'नाटू नाटू' संगीत निर्माता एमएम कीरावनी का बेहतरीन प्रयास नहीं था, उन्होंने हाल ही में कबूल किया।

नातु नातु ऑस्कर जीत ने एमएम कीरावनी को चौंका दिया

The Grammy award winning song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from RRR was not the finest endeavour of music creator MM Keeravani, he recently confessed.