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Nagpur youngsters extend their support to citys LGBT community at Pride Carnival

Nandini Trivedi, Madhura Sonegaonkar and Hussain Rasheed during the Pride Carnival organised at Vishnuji Ki Rasoi in Nagpur


Anand Chandrani during the Pride Carnival organised at Vishnuji Ki Rasoi in Nagpur


Youngsters and members of Nagpur's LGBT community during the Pride Carnival organised at Vishnuji Ki Rasoi in Nagpur


Max and Raunak during the Pride Carnival organised at Vishnuji Ki Rasoi in Nagpur


Youngsters and members of Nagpur's LGBT community during the Pride Carnival organised at Vishnuji Ki Rasoi in Nagpur


Vidya Kamble and Pratiksha Kolhatkar during the Pride Carnival organised at Vishnuji Ki Rasoi in Nagpur


Youngsters and members of Nagpur's LGBT community during the Pride Carnival organised at Vishnuji Ki Rasoi in Nagpur


Nikunj Joshi during the Pride Carnival organised at Vishnuji Ki Rasoi in Nagpur


Youngsters and members of Nagpur's LGBT community witness a performance during the Pride Carnival organised at Vishnuji Ki Rasoi in Nagpur

Around 300 Nagpur youngsters extended their wholehearted support to citys LGBT community at the Pride Carnival organised by city NGO Sarathi Trust on June 30, the last day of Pride Month, at Vishnuji Ki Rasoi, Bajaj Nagar. Sarathi was supported by Dark Room Poets and several other groups in organising the event, which was all about different stalls, musical performances, poetry recitations, life stories and confessions.
Interestingly, the Pride Carnival in Nagpur, was the brain child of city youngster Madhura Sonegaonkar, who in spite of not being a part of the LGBT community, put her heart and soul in organising the event. Speaking to Nation Next, Madhura said, The month of June is celebrated worldwide as the Pride Month. This year, a lot of countries, celebrated pride month with the theme of straight people standing up for the LGBT rights. Even I really wanted to do my bit for the LGBT community in Nagpur as I know a lot of people who are either closeted or confused about their sexuality. Plus, the atmosphere in Nagpur is not really good for the community. With Pride Carnival, I wanted to celebrate the community for its existence and glory. Madhura, as expected, faced some bizarre questions herself while promoting the event. A lot of people asked me whether I was from the community and I told them that I don’t have to be part of the community to do something for the community, said Madhura.
Among those who came to support the community, two girls and three boys opened up about their sexuality and acknowledged being gay. It was really sweet to see a young girl taking to the stage, playing her guitar, singing her favourite song and dedicating her performance to her girlfriend present in the audience. The poetry recitations by Dark Room Poets, were mostly about the issues faced by the LGBT community.
Speaking about the support, which the community received from city youngsters, an overwhelmed Anand Chandrani, from Sarathi Trust, said, We always organise pride marches for the community but during the Pride Month, we wanted to organise an event comprising the community and straight youngsters. The idea was to have a fun time and spread awareness in the process. Also, we wanted to know what youngsters think about the community. It’s great to see that while only 35 people from the community are present here, more than 300 youngsters who are straight have joined us and extended their support. We have been fighting for the rights of the community for over a decade now. Today, we are happy to realize that the young generation is with us in our fight!
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He added, The number of Covid tests should be increased to stay one step ahead of the disease. As a result, the number of patients is likely to increase due to increased testing. However, as per the ‘test, isolate, treat’ protocol for Covid, it becomes necessary to isolate and treat more and more patients. The testing centres will not remain closed even for a single day. At the same time, more arrangements for testing will be made immediately in public places, markets, railway stations, malls.”
India recorded 3,095 new COVID cases and five deaths in last 24 hours.
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Rahul Gandhi
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Rahul Gandhi K E S/o Valsamma stood disqualified to contest polls from September 13, 2021 till September 13, 2024. According to Section 10A, the Election Commission can disqualify a contestant for a period of three years from the date of the order if he/she has failed to lodge an account of election expenses within the time and in the manner required by law and has no good reason or justification for the failure.
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At present, there are 72 active patients in the city. Three new cases of the new XBB.1.16 variant of COVID-19 were detected that took the total tally to five in the district.
India recorded 3,095 new COVID cases and five deaths in last 24 hours.
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