In Uttar Pradesh, the electioneering process has started gaining momentum with every passing day, as for the first phase of election, for which polling is scheduled on 11 February, a total of 168 candidates filed nominations till 21st January.

In this phase 73 seats are at stake for which nominations can be filed till 24 January. Whereas for the 67 seats of second phase, the last date of nomination filing is 27 January and only 16 candidates filed their nomination so far.

Including 23 January and 24 January, only two working days are available for the filing ofnomination of 1st phase.

After the announcement of poll coalition between Samajwadi Party and Congress, a rush into nomination filing is expected in these two days.

Mayawati has said that she will initiate her poll campaigning from 1st of February whereas Akhilesh Yadav is slated to start his campaigning blitzkrieg from 24 January.

Cold wave conditions prevailed in north India, with dense fog affecting rail, road and air traffic at several places in the region while eastern and western parts of the country had some respite from the biting cold.

In Himachal Pradesh, intense cold wave conditions continued in most parts with high altitude areas receiving fresh snowfall on 22 January.

Weather department has issued a warning for heavy to very heavy rain or snow for 23 and 24 January.

All natural sources of water like lakes, springs, rivulets and tributaries of major rivers are frozen, drastically reducing the discharge of water in snow-fed Sutlej, Ravi and Beas rivers, affecting hydropower generation.

In a crackdown, police today started evicting scores of pro-jallikattu demonstrators from protest venues across the state, especially from the Marina Beach, epicentre of the stir for the past one week, amid reports of stone-pelting and lathicharge at a few places.

At the Marina, the police action began early in the morning with roads to the beach being cordoned off and police personnel being deployed in large numbers.

Some protesters lined up at the seashore forming a human chain and a group entered the water refusing to heed police requests to disperse.

Some others staged a sit-in on the sands while others regrouped in nearby areas, shouting slogans and allegedly throwing stones on policemen.

Police burst teargas shells and reportedly lathicharged to chase away a section of protesters who had regrouped at Triplicane near Marina beach and allegedly started throwing stones at police personnel.

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre over the rising concern of drug trafficking and peddling across the country.

The three judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar and comprising Justices N. V. Ramanna and D. Y. Chandrachud sought a detailed response from the Centre within three weeks on the same.

The petitioner in the case Vineet Dhanda sought directions from the Centre to control drug trafficking and peddling.

There has been a considerable rise in the number of drug trafficking cases in India over the past few years.

The rising issue is majorly due to weak drug regulatory laws.