Two siblings, aged eight and six, drowned in the Tawi river in Jammu, officials said on Tuesday.

The siblings — eight-year-old Nadiya and six-year-old Ismael — were grazing cattle on the riverbank Monday evening when they slipped and fell in the river in the Har Ki Pauri area of Jammu city.

Their bodies were recovered Tuesday evening during a rescue operation jointly launched by the police and the State Disaster Response Force.

The bodies were handed over to their family after legal formalities, the officials said. 

Assam minister Atul Bora has received a threat to his life on social media and the CID has been asked to register a case and launch an investigation, Director General of Police GP Singh said on Tuesday.

Atul Bora, the Agriculture and Assam Accord Implementation Minister, is also the chief of Asom Gana Parishad, an ally of the ruling BJP-led coalition government in the state.

“Reference threat to Hon Minister Sri Atul Bora on a Facebook post, Assam CID has been directed to register a criminal case and take lawful action,” the DGP wrote on X.

The purported threat of a bomb in his quarter was made in the comment section of the Facebook page of a local news portal.

One person named Pranash Sandhilya made the comment, claiming he is part of the ULFA. The police are trying to confirm his identity.

“No such threat would be acceptable against elected representatives as it threatens the democratic polity,” the DGP said.

Hitting out at “developed nations” who press on imposing regulations on the usage of fossil fuels, Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy RK Singh said that these nations are responsible for the poor state of the environment at present and India will not compromise on its energy needs.

“Those developed nations who lecture us on imposing regulatory norms on the usage of fossil fuels today are responsible for the poor state of the environment. Around 85 per cent of the carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere is because of industrialisation which was started by these developed countries,” Singh said while speaking to reporters while inaugurating the Power Ministry Pavilion at the 42nd India International Trade Fair on Tuesday.

The Power Minister said that India’s per capita emissions are one-third of the world average while those of the developed countries are three times the world average.

“India contributes to 17 per cent of the world population, while our contribution to carbon dioxide load is only 3.5 per cent. Our per capita emissions are one-third of the world average, whereas the developed countries are three times the world average,” Singh said.

The Power Minister said that the developed countries need to cut down their emissions first.

“It is the developed countries that need to cut down their emissions first before talking about anything else,” he said.

The Union Minister said that India will not be compromising on its energy needs since the developed nations have prospered by burning fossil fuels.

“Yes, we are using coal and will continue to do so because we need electricity. We won’t compromise on the availability of electricity. You have developed by using fossil fuels. We need to develop now,” Singh said.

The Power Minister said that India needs cement and steel to construct crores of square meters. However, he said that India will develop with responsibility.

“We have to construct crores of square meters. We need cement and steel to construct residential places, commercial places and industries. However, we will develop with responsibility,” he said.

Singh said that India has achieved its Nationally Determined Contributions pledge ahead of its time limit and has further revised its targets.

“We have pledged in the NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) that by 2030, 40 per cent of our total electricity generation will be from renewable sources. We have achieved that in 2021 itself,” the Power Minister said.

“We had said that we will be decreasing our emissions intensity by one-third by 2030. We achieved that in 2019. In Glasgow, we said that by 2030 we will decrease our emissions intensity by 45 per cent and by 2030 our total electricity generation capacity will be from renewable energy. We will achieve that,” Singh added.