Page 109 - Disaster Accident
2,014 bunkers constructed along LoC, IB in Jammu region: JK govt
The Jammu and Kashmir government Tuesday said 2,041 bunkers have been constructed along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu region. This was revealed at a meeting chaired by Governor Satya Pal Malik, who reviewed the progress of construction of bunkers, payment of relief and ex-gratia to the victims of cross-border shelling Tuesday. The governor was informed that 10,260 number of bunkers are to be constructed in the border districts -- Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Rajouri and Poonch. These are being executed by the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Rural Development Department (RDD) and till date, 2,041 bunkers have been completed and work plan has also been prepared to accomplish the remaining assignment in a time-bound manner, spokesman said. Malik expressed satisfaction over the progress in execution observing that in the past the construction of bunkers had remained sluggish which has gained traction during the recent months. However, the executing ...
WB govt takes all precautionary measures for Cyclone Fani
With the IMD issuing a formal alert that Cyclone Fani is likely to hit the coastal areas of West Bengal, the state government has taken all precautionary measures to avert any untoward incident, officials said Tuesday. The India Meteorological Department(IMD) has extended cyclone alert to north Andhra Pradesh coast and West Bengal coast, apart from Odisha, which it is expected to cross by Friday. The state disaster management department in a message issued a warning to the fishermen asking them not to venture into the deep sea and urged those already there to return to the coast by Wednesday evening. The MHA has released in advance fund for financial assistance to the state disaster management department for undertaking preventive and relief measures in response to Cyclonic storm Fani, officials said. Of the total financial assistance of Rs 1,086 crore, Odisha will get Rs 340.87 crore, Tamil Nadu Rs 309.37 crore, West Bengal Rs 235.50 crore and Andhra Pradesh will get ..
CPWD constitutes 10-member committee to bring 'Safety Manual' of dept
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has constituted a 10-member committee to bring out 'Safety Manual' of the department. According to a CPWD official, the committee, headed by Additional Director General (ADG) K M Soni, has been asked to submit its report within two months. The move is aimed at ensuring safety of engineers and workers working in various projects of the agency which comes under the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry. The official said several senior CPWD officers, including Chief Project Manager J S Sharma, Deputy Director General Harish Kumar and DMRC member Daljeet Singh have been included in the panel. "Till now, there was no such safety manual and in view of this, the committee has been formed. It will submit its report within two months," official also said. It comes a few days after it constituted an expert committee to formulate a design policy for building construction and infrastructure development. The CPWD is the largest construction agency of .
Fire breaks out in Navi Mumbai high-rise, dousing ops on
A fire broke out in a high-rise residential building in neighbouring Navi Mumbai Tuesday evening at 6.45 pm, a Fire Brigade official said. Fire engines, ambulances and personnel have been rushed to douse the blaze which erupted on the 15th floor of Mahavir Plaza building in Sector 19 in Navi Mumbai's Airoli area, he added. "We have not got reports of casualties as of now. The fire dousing operation is continuing. All residents of the building have been evacuated," he informed.
Assam CM reviews flood preparedness ahead of monsoon
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday reviewed the flood preparedness in the state and directed the officials to keep an adequate buffer stock of food items ready in each district to face any kind of exigency.
IIT audit of 280 overbridges not yet submitted to CR: RTI
A Right to Information query has revealed safety audit reports of 191 foot overbridges (FOBs) and 89 road overbridges (ROBs) conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay has not been submitted to Central Railway yet. The RTI reply by CR's Divisional Engineer of Bridges has also found that CR has so far paid 50 per cent advance amount of Rs 1.68 crore, out of Rs 3.37 crore, of safety audit charges. The CR reply informed that, generally, safety audits of FOBs and road overbridges are not assigned to outside agencies and they are inspected annually before and after the monsoon by railway engineers. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had asked the railways, in collaboration with IIT Bombay, to inspect 445 such structures in the suburban network after a part of an ROB collapsed at Andheri station on July 3 last year. Replying to an RTI query filed by activist Anil Galgali, CR said IIT Bombay had carried out safety audit of 191 FOBs and 89 ROBS between August last and ...
Killer road: 36 dead, 222 injured in 3 months
Built with an aim to shorten the travel time, the 302-km-long Agra-Lucknow Expressway is actually cutting short people's lives. In just 90 days, 36 people of lost their lives, 222 others were injured in over 400 accidents on the Expressway, an RTI query revealed.
JMSDF warship 'Samidare' docks at Visakhapatnam port
A warship 'Samidare' of the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force has docked at Visakhapatnam port as part of an interaction between the two maritime nations of India and Japan. The ship, commanded by Commander Gen Kawai, arrived here on Monday on a three-day visit. A delegation from the Japan Coast Guard,headed by Captain Takahiro Nishiyama, Commander Escort Division Four and Coast Guard Superintendent Yasushi Kusatake, Commanding Officer Somalia Dispatch Investigation Teamof Japan Coast Guard, visited the Indian Coast Guard district headquarters here. The delegation called on Deputy Inspector General B Ranjan, Commander,Indian Coast Guard District Headquarters No. 6 (AP) and interacted with other officers from the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), an official release said here Tuesday. "The JCG and ICG both share converging views on freedom of navigation, anti-piracy, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The ICG and JCG maintain a cordial relationship and there has been ...
Navy, Coast Guard ships and copters, NDRF teams deployed along east coast to deal with cyclone Fani
Navy and Coast Guard ships and helicopters, relief teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in strategic locations while Army and Air Force units have been put on standby as severe cyclonic storm 'Fani' is approaching towards India's eastern coast, officials said. The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), the country's top body to deal with emergency situations, met here Tuesday for the second time in as many days and reviewed the preparedness with the states and departments concerned of the central government to deal with the situation arising out of the cyclonic storm. "The Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy have deployed ships and helicopters for relief and rescue operations. The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force units in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal have also been put on standby," a home ministry official said. The NDRF is deploying 41 teams in Andhra Pradesh (eight teams), Odisha (28) and West Bengal (five teams) for ...
Cyclone Fani: Patnaik writes to EC, requests removal of model code of conduct
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday sent a letter to the Election Commission requesting removal of the Model Code of Conduct from all coastal districts, to make it easier for the government to handle the impending cyclonic storm FANI in the state."Odisha has had simultaneous polls that ended on April 29. In this backdrop, the model code of conduct be completely removed for all coastal districts of the state so that the government can handle the situation keeping the safety of people in mind," said CM Patnaik.Terming the threat of storm "extremely severe", the CM said, "As per the latest predictions the cyclone is expected to make landfall in Kendrapara district with a wind speed of 200 Kms per hour and with a very high storm surge. The response to a cyclone of this magnitude has to be immediate, effective and sharp in order to prevent loss of life."He further suggested that the assembly polls in Patkura constituency scheduled to be held on May 19 be postponed to a later ...
Burning files won't save you, Rahul tells Modi
Following reports of fire at Shastri Bhawan, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "burning" files and said that such acts will not be able save him.
Cyclone Fani: Naveen urges EC to put off Patkura Assembly poll
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday requested the Election Commission to postpone the Patkura assembly election in view of cyclone Fani, which is likely to hit the Odisha coast on May 3.
Six killed in separate accidents in Maha
Two women and a teenage girl were among six persons who were killed in separate accidents in Yavatmal and Ahmednagar districts in Maharashtra, police said Tuesday, adding that six others were injured. The mishap in Yavatmal took place late Monday night at Maregaon town, located around 670 km from here, when the victims, all hailing from Balegaon in Hingoli district, were returning from a trip to Chandrapur, an official said. As the tempo reached Maregaon, a speeding truck going from Yavatmal to Chandrapur hit the three-wheeler, killing two persons, Lakshmi Upare (50) and Sanika Bhopale (14), on the spot, he said. One of the other seven injured, Sakshi Upare (19), who got married recently, died at the Chandrapur civil hospital during treatment, he said. Lakshmi was Sakshi's mother in law, he said. A case was registered against the truck driver, he added. In the accident that occurred in Ahmednagar district, around 240 kms from here, three friends riding a motorcycle on ...
Maha CM asks EC for poll code relaxation to tackle drought
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Tuesday wrote to the Election Commission demanding relaxation in the model code of conduct, in force since March 10 for the Lok Sabha polls, to undertake drought relief measures. In his communication to the EC, Fadnavis has cited similar relaxation given in 2009. The state government has declared drought in 151 tehsils and has allocated financial assistance worth Rs 4,714 crore for mitigation measures, said an official in the chief minister's office (CMO). "To assess the severity of the situation, there is a need to hold a cabinet meeting of the state government," Fadnavis wrote in his letter. The Maharashtra CM sought permission for inviting tenders, assessment and finalisation of work orders, including for renovation and supply of medical equipment to rural hospitals and village level works, the official said. The chief minister has also sought permission from the EC for state ministers to hold meetings in drought affected .
Modi ji burning files is not going to save you: Rahul on Shastri Bhawan fire
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a fire broke out at Shastri Bhawan that houses offices of several ministries, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said burning files will not save the PM as his day of judgement is near. A fire broke out on the sixth floor of Shastri Bhawan here this afternoon and was brought under control later. Shastri Bhawan houses the ministries of Law, Information and Broadcasting, Corporate Affairs, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, and Human Resources Development. "Modi ji burning files is not going to save you. Your day of judgement is coming," Gandhi tweeted. The cause of fire is yet to be ascertained, fire officials said.
Fire breaks out at Shastri Bhawan, over 5 fire tenders rushed to spot
A fire broke out at Delhi's Shastri Bhawan on Tuesday afternoon. The fire was immediately doused.There were no casualties reported.The fire fighting department immediately swung into the action and more than five tenders were deployed at the spot to put the blaze out."The fire broke out at the top floor in the waste material of cooler and electrical wires. At least 5-6 fire tenders were at the spot", Fire official R Meena told reporters here.Meanwhile, Congress President Rahul Gandhi did not miss the opportunity to take a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the fire was reported."Modi ji burning files is not going to save you. Your day of judgement is coming," Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.The reason behind the fire has not been ascertained.Further details are awaited.
Ensure proper training of drivers for safely transporting children to school
Efforts should be made to provide proper training as well as carry out assessment of drivers to ensure safe transportation of children to school, according to a research group. The suggestion from the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) also comes at a time when there are rising incidents of road accidents. Seeking better coordination between Centre and States, IRTE said inter-ministerial collaboration needs to be there to ensure a safe travel of children to school. "It is important to ensure that drivers of school transport are properly trained and assessed, and they receive post licence training to keep them updated with changing legislation," it said in a statement. IRTE said safe, secure and inclusive school transportation was a joint responsibility of the state, school and parents. "Identify all stakeholders and clearly define their role and responsibility and seek their collaboration to work in close coordination to develop the policy and implementation plan across Centre
Minor fire at Delhi's Shastri Bhawan
A minor fire broke out on the sixth floor of Shastri Bhawan here on Tuesday, and it was put out within minutes, a fire officer said. No casualty was reported.
North coastal Andhra braces for 'Fani' impact
With the severe cyclonic storm 'Fani' in the Bay of Bengal likely to have an impact on north coastal Andhra Pradesh, the state administration was gearing up to prevent loss of life and minimise property damages.
Fire breaks out on the sixth floor of Shastri Bhawan
A fire broke out on the sixth floor of the Shastri Bhawan on Tuesday afternoon, a Delhi Fire Service official said. The fire department said they received a call about the blaze at 2.15 PM after which seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The fire was later brought under control by 2.55 PM. No injury or casualty has been reported, the senior fire officer said. The cause of fire is yet to be ascertained, they added. Shastri Bhawan houses Ministries of Law, Information and Broadcasting, Corporate Affairs, Chemicals and Petrochemicals and Human Resources Development.