CHENNAI: VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan on Saturday extended his party’s support to actor-politician Vijay’s government, calling it “unconditional support” aimed at ensuring political stability and preventing President’s rule in Tamil Nadu.“We are supporting TVK for two reasons. VCK should not become an obstacle to Vijay becoming CM and TN should not come under President’s rule,” Thirumavalavan said after handing over a letter of support to TVK general secretary Aadhav Arjun at the VCK headquarters in Chennai.The VCK also said it would continue in the DMK-led secular progressive alliance, underscoring the delicate balancing act of Thirumavalavan, one of Vijay’s sharpest campaign critics.Thirumavalavan also revealed that he had informed DMK chief MK Stalin before extending his support. “He appreciated the decision. He had made it clear from the beginning that he would not become an obstacle to Vijay becoming CM,” he said.Formed in February 2024, the TVK made a dramatic electoral debut and emerged as a central force in TN’s fractured mandate, pushing the state’s politics into coalition arithmetic after decades of Dravidian bipolarity. The VCK decision comes as a significant relief to Vijay as the TVK is attempting to convert the electoral momentum into stable governance in a state that has entered unfamiliar alliance territory.VCK general secretary D Ravikumar said, “While the DMK worked for the victory of our candidates, the top leadership of the VCK has taken a considered, albeit difficult, decision to provide external support while strictly staying out of the cabinet.”Ravikumar rejected criticism over the delay in taking the decision. “There is a need to deliberate on an option that has such a long-term impact on the state’s political landscape,” he said.Party members said that strong voices within the VCK were in favor of joining the government, but Thirumavalavan opposed this, arguing that a cabinet berth should not be at the cost of political credibility. One member quoted him as saying, “We should not lose the credibility built over 30 years of hard work for the sake of a cabinet post.”Ravikumar also drew ideological red lines. “Our support to prevent a constitutional void is a functional necessity, not a validation of ideology,” he said.

The Donald Trump administration is planning to increase the base salary of foreign workers coming to the US on H-1B visas so that they cannot be easily hired instead of Americans. Bloomberg reported that an entry-level software engineer in Silicon Valley, San Francisco would have to pay $162,000 a year to qualify for an H-1B visa, while the salary would be $113,000 in Dallas and $132,000 in New York. Experts are cautious not to immediately call this good news for foreign workers, although their wages will increase, because it will cost companies more to hire them — and they may become demotivated. Additionally, there remains a $100K visa fee for hiring anyone on the H-1B visa program from outside the country.The report cites analysis from immigration data companies Lolly and Threshold and says it will cost the largest employers of white-collar foreign talent a loss of at least $18 billion in the first 12 months. Within three years – when most existing H-1B visas would have to be renewed at the higher level – the annual cost could reach $43 billion.The salary increase is awaiting final approval from the Labor Department.“There has to be a way to make sure you’re not distorting the labor market,” said Ronil Hira, an associate professor of political science at Harvard University. “The simplest way to do that is to make sure that the people being brought in really have specialized skills, and the way to signal that is through wages.”The Department of Labor issued an NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) in March proposing new pay levels. As part of the H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visa sponsorship processes, employers are required to receive a Certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) from the DOL. The LCA must contain the employer’s verification that it will pay the foreign worker a higher actual wage level than that paid to all other similarly situated employees, or the prevailing wage level for the occupational classification in the area of ​​intended employment.Similarly, an employer who sponsors a foreign worker in the second or third preference employment-based green card processes (EB-2 or EB-3) through the PERM labor certification application must generally obtain a prevailing wage determination (PWD) for the job opportunity from the National Prevailing Wage Center of the DOL’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC).

It’s Thursday morning, and three directors and several shareholders of a seafood company are gathered around a conference table, absorbed in a presentation on food packaging. An instructor at the Indian Institute of Packaging says in Marathi, “Good packaging adds value to a product; it can also fetch a higher price.”As the director nods, the screw-like gajra in his hair sparkles with silver and the gold nose ring in his nose shines. Koli women never participated in any workshop. Nor has he ever worked for a company – let alone run one. Yet he is also the director of Dariyavardi Producer Company Limited (DPCL), Mumbai’s first fish farmer producer organisation: a community-owned enterprise led entirely by Koli women, which aims to transform their fish-vending business from a cottage industry into a corporate enterprise. They already have 1,000 shareholders from the community. Apart from delivering fish, masala and snacks, they are also diversifying into running live food counters and online sales. A community kitchen is being prepared, work on a cloud kitchen is going on and export possibilities are being explored. In April, the company completed three years of establishment. “We didn’t realize that packaging affects the shelf life,” says Pratibha Patil, director, Juhu Koliwada; We always sold fish in polythene bags.” “Now we have discovered that packaging that is leakproof and attractive is not only more hygienic but can also help us sell more.”For 600 years, Koli women have plyed their trade the way they had learned it: moving in a straight line from landing centers and wholesale markets to independent sales counters. Even as markets evolved and competition reduced profits, his model remained largely unchanged. But now new currents are flowing in the community, which is changing the way women do business. And better packaging is just part of the change. The bigger picture includes streamlined operations, centralized logistics, product development, digital payments, soft-skills training, branding and marketing – all functions of modern business that are reshaping Koli commerce. “We decided to follow the Amul model, which brought together Koli women to collectively produce and market fish and fish-based products. And because we wanted complete autonomy, we decided to run the enterprise not as a cooperative, but as a company,” says community leader Ujjwala Patil, who in 2018 founded the fishermen’s rights organization Daryavardi Mahila Sangh — the company’s ideological precursor. “What Amul did for white revolution, DPCL will do for blue economy.“The company is a conglomerate of over 50 self-help groups in Koliwada across the city, each of which undertakes specialized work that supports big business.

मौके पर मौजूद स्वास्थ्य कर्मियों और यात्रा ड्यूटी पर तैनात कर्मचारियों ने उसे तुरंत प्राथमिक उपचार दिया और स्वास्थ्य केंद्र जानकीचट्टी ले गए, लेकिन डॉक्टरों ने जांच के बाद उसे मृत घोषित कर दिया। स्वास्थ्य केंद्र प्रभारी डॉ. अखिल राणा ने पुष्टि करते हुए बताया कि वृद्ध श्रद्धालु की मौत हार्ट अटैक से हुई है।

घटना की सूचना पुलिस को दे दी गई है और आवश्यक कार्रवाई की जा रही है. यमुनोत्री धाम यात्रा शुरू होने से अब तक तीन श्रद्धालुओं की मौत हो चुकी है. ज्यादातर मामलों में हार्ट अटैक और अचानक तबीयत बिगड़ने की वजह सामने आ रही है। लगातार बढ़ती भीड़, कठिन पैदल रास्ता और ऊंचाई वाले इलाके में ऑक्सीजन की कमी बुजुर्ग श्रद्धालुओं के लिए परेशानी का कारण बन रही है.

ये भी पढ़ें…चारधाम यात्रा 2026: दिन-ब-दिन बढ़ रही तीर्थयात्रियों की संख्या, 21 दिनों में 89,380 ने कराया पंजीकरण

प्रशासन और स्वास्थ्य विभाग ने यात्रियों, विशेषकर बुजुर्गों और अन्य बीमारियों से पीड़ित लोगों से अपने स्वास्थ्य की जांच कराने, पर्याप्त आराम करने और यात्रा के दौरान सावधानी बरतने को कहा है। आपात स्थिति में तत्काल सहायता प्रदान करने के लिए यात्रा मार्ग पर मेडिकल टीमें और स्वास्थ्य शिविर भी तैनात किए गए हैं।