Top 5 news of the hour: PM Modi ‘angry’ at cow vigilantes, India takes on Ireland at Rio and more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today addressed the people from across the country in first-ever ‘Townhall’ today. In the meeting Modi lashed out at cow vigilantes, accusing them of misusing the term to make profit through hooliganism. Indian men’s hockey team today tok on Ireland in their first match in Rio Olympics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government plans to develop 300 villages across the country as growth centers for the area by creating city like infrastructure, from education and healthcare to digital connectivity. And more. 

1. PM Modi in Townhall: Lashes out against Gau rakshaks, calls them black-marketers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today lashed out at ‘Gau Rakshaks’ or cow vigilantes, accusing them of misusing the term to make profit through hooliganism. PM Modi, speaking at his first-ever Townhall in Indira Gandhi Indoor Statidum in New Delhi, said that 80 per cent of such rakshaks are fake and they make him angry.

2. Rio Olympics 2016: Indian men hockey team lead 3-1, in fourth quarter against Ireland

Indian Men’s Hockey Team today goes up against Ireland in Rio Olympics 2016. The first match in Group B started at 7:30 pm India’s time.  India have sent their largest ever contingent – 118 athletes – to an Olympic event. India’s search for Gold has begun right after the opening ceremony at the Marcana Stadium today.

3. 21 children injured as school vehicle overturns in Madhya Pradesh

Twenty-one primary school students were today injured - eight of them seriously - when the vehicle they were travelling in overturned after being hit by a jeep near here, police said. The mishap took place at Harpalpur, 55 km from the district headquarters here, when 21 children in a tempo were on their way to RR Public School.

4. Govt to develop 300 villages as growth centres: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government plans to develop 300 villages across the country as growth centers for the area by creating city like infrastructure, from education and healthcare to digital connectivity. The National Rurban Mission aims to provide better quality of life and employment in villages, he said at the townhall organised to mark the second anniversary of myGov app.

5. Flood situation improves in Assam, 68,000 people are still affected

Flood situation in Assam today improved considerably even as nearly 68,000 people are still affected across eight districts in the state, Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said today. These people are from 84 inundated villages in Jorhat, Golaghat, Barpeta, Dhubri, Morigaon, Kokrajhar, Nagaon and Goalpara districts. Till yesterday, nearly 1.3 lakh people were affected by flood across 175 villages in 10 districts and the death toll stood at 34.