Residents said damaged drains with broken lids and blocked channels at many places have made the situation worse

Residents said damaged drains with broken lids and blocked channels at many places have made the situation worse

Residents said damaged drains with broken lids and blocked channels at many places have made the situation worse

Residents said damaged drains with broken lids and blocked channels at many places have made the situation worse

Residents said damaged drains with broken lids and blocked channels at many places have made the situation worse

Gurgaon: with monsoon With less than a month to go, residents of Sector 31 fear another season of severe waterlogging and floods due to the lack of a functional drainage system in the area. He alleged that the area remains unsafe during heavy rains due to poor coordination among multiple agencies, clogged drains and delay in implementation of sanctioned projects.Residents said the situation is particularly serious in low-lying areas and areas along the highway, where rainwater accumulates due to blocked natural slopes and inadequate storm water drainage connectivity.“Most parts of Sector 31 either lack proper drainage network or the existing drains are in poor condition. Many drains are filled with silt and debris, while some stretches have been encroached upon. “Proper desilting has not been done for almost five years,” said BS Yadav, RWA president of Sector 31.Residents alleged that despite repeated complaints, civic agencies have failed to execute sanctioned projects aimed at mitigating floods. Sudhir Yadav, a resident, said, “Every monsoon, the same roads and houses get submerged. Plans were earlier approved to increase green belt absorption areas to reduce rain water runoff, but the work was never executed.”Residents said damaged drains with broken lids and blocked channels at many places have made the situation worse. Residents said immediate desilting and repair works are needed to prevent flooding during the upcoming monsoon.Residents also blamed overlapping jurisdictions between civic bodies for the delay in resolution. “There are a lot of agencies involved – mcgGMDA, NHAI and HSVP – but no one takes ownership of the problem. Meetings were held earlier also and a tender for a sump and lifting system to divert excess rainwater was also approved, but the project never took off,” said Arvind Chadha, general secretary of the RWA.Meanwhile, MCG chief engineer Vijay Dhaka could not be reached for comment.

Stephen Colbert (file photo)

TOI correspondent from Washington: American late-night television, that unique, bizarre institution where presidents are mocked, celebrities are fawned over and audiences applaud on cue, is preparing for a funeral. After 33 years, CBS is shutting down The Late Show stephen colbertIts eponymous host took his final bow this week — marking the end of not just a show, but perhaps an era when comedians doubled as political opposition.CBS emphasizes that the decision is “purely financial”, which, as one article stated, may be true in the same way that there was a “water management issue” with the Titanic. According to the network, late-night television is losing money in the streaming age, with young viewers migrating to social media memes, clips and podcasts hosted by hosts broadcasting from basements and bunkers. Advertising revenues for late night TV have declined dramatically in recent years, even as production costs have increased.Yet some people in America believe that money is the reason for the demise of the top-rated late-night franchise. Suspicion deepened after Colbert blamed Paramount Global – CBS’s parent company – for settling a lawsuit brought by President Trump, and called the payment a “big fat bribe.” A few days later, CBS announced the show’s cancellation as Paramount sought regulatory approval for its merger with Skydance Media, as the late-night show had become politically and commercially radioactive.At MAGA USA, comedians are now treated less like clowns and more like hostile political actors. Trump has long viewed late-night hosts as enemies, regularly attacking Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers on social media. The trio, along with Jon Stewart and John Oliver, have leaned into political satire since the rise of Trump, turning the monologue into a nightly prosecution summary. Critics called it liberal quacking, but for fans it was therapy.As the end of the week approached, late at night the fraternity closed ranks with surprising tenderness. Kimmel and Fallon reportedly opted for a rerun rather than compete with Colbert’s farewell episode, and they, along with Meyers and Oliver, appeared in a symbolic on-air group hug. He joked that Jon Stewart, who was not with him, was a “designated survivor”. Even David Letterman, the patron saint of sardonic late-night television and Colbert’s predecessor, recently joined him in throwing CBS office furniture off the roof in a mock revolt. Apparently American television executives can cancel the show – but not their beloved drama.Colbert himself alternated between gallows humor and visible bitterness, saying with some disbelief that his staff would be effectively laid off immediately after the final show. And what’s next for the 62-year-old host? Amid reports that he will co-write a Lord of the Rings film with his son Peter, he is also expected to shift towards streaming and podcasting.Interestingly, India has often featured in Colbert’s comic universe. During Trump-era outsourcing concerns, he once joked that American jobs were being sent to “a call center in Bangalore, which has better customer service even for scam calls.” He often chided Indian-Americans for their academic knowledge, joking that spelling-bee champions “sound less like kids and more like junior tax consultants.” When PM Modi visited the US, he quipped that Trump and their bonding at big rallies was the geopolitical version of two DJs comparing crowd sizes.“But the broader resonance may lie elsewhere, including India. As political polarization deepens globally, comedians on both sides of the globe are learning that satire now comes with legal notices, troll armies, and ideological surveillance. Indian stand-up comics know this pressure intimately from police complaints, canceled venues and legal cases. America’s late-night readers are now discovering only what they have long understood: Power laughs loudest at jokes aimed not upward, but downwards. Late night television once promised Americans catharsis before bed. After this it will be morning soon.

Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag (AP Photo)

Riyan Parag after this there was no turning back Rajasthan RoyalsA five-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals in a crucial IPL 2026 encounter at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, openly admitting that his team let the game slip away from a winnable position. RR were firmly in control at 160 for 2 in 14 overs, and looked set for a score of 220-230, but a dramatic collapse began Mitchell StarcWith the help of four wickets, their score became 193 runs for 8 wickets. After this, Delhi Capitals achieved the target in just 19.2 overs. Parag, who led the way and scored 51 runs, described the middle and death overs as the turning point. “Actually, almost everything. We were in a pretty good position after 14 overs. After I got out, we just couldn’t take advantage of it. It had to be 220-230, something like that,” he said. He also defended his tactical call of bringing Donovan Ferreira into the attack during the middle overs, a move that did not yield results. “Ferreira was not a gamble. I know it looks like a gamble on TV, but then you have two left-handers. I would rather bowl Donovan than have Shanaka bowl another over, take a chance. It didn’t really work out.” Parag was equally critical of RR’s overall performance, especially in the field. “Too bad. I think if you want to win trophies, if you want to be competitive every year, you have to be better than what we did today. Extremely disappointed.” He also pointed to a worrying drop in standards compared to recent games. “I think we are a much better team than what we have played or shown in the last 4-5 games. But today… energy-wise, skill-wise, execution-wise, it was definitely not up to the mark. And if we keep playing like this, we should not be in the race for the top 4.” With RR still in the race for the playoffs but under pressure, Parag made it clear that there can be no reliance on other results. “I don’t like leading like this… We had the opportunity, we didn’t take it. So if we don’t deserve, it’s our fault. Not anyone else’s.” First, KL Rahul (56), Abhishek Porel (51), Akshar Patel (34*) and Ashutosh Sharma gave DC the win after Starc’s match-turning magic broke RR’s strong start.