Page 552 - Disaster Accident
IMA lends helping hand to flood victims in Kerala
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has extended financial and material assistance to Kerala which is struggling to find its feet after the devastating deluge that left 223 dead in a fortnight and forced over 10 lakh people out of their homes. More than Rs one crore has been handed over to the state, along with relief materials sent from regional branches, IMA president Dr Ravi Wankhedkar said. A national coordination committee, under the leadership former chief of IMA Dr Vinay Aggarwal, has been formed, while the rescue and relief operations were being monitored by Dr Wankhedkar. "The committee's focus is on providing immediate medical assistance to those rescued from the flooded areas. "Over 500 rescue camps with medical professionals have been deployed for this purpose and the IMA has instructed all private hospitals to provide free consultation services to flood affected people," the IMA president said. "To rescue them, we have also arranged for a free ambulance service ...
GST return filing dates extended for Kerala, parts of Karnataka
Government today extended the last date for filing of GST returns for taxpayers registered in flood hit Kerala, Mahe (Puducherry) and Kodagu district of Karnataka. The revenue department has also exempted basic customs duty and Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST) on import/supply of goods for flood relief in Kerala. The due date of filing of GST summary sales returns in Form GSTR 3B for July has been extended to October 5 from August 20 for the flood affected areas. However, for other taxpayers, the date has been extended only till August 24. Taxpayers in these flood affected areas will be given time till October 10 for filing GSTR-3B for the month of August. "In view of disruption caused due to severe floods in Kerala, Mahe (Puducherry) and Kodagu (Karnataka), the competent authority has extended the due dates for filing of (GSTR-3B and GSTR-1) by taxpayers" registered in these areas, an official statement said. As regards Form GSTR-1 (sales return), taxpayers having turnover of .
Damaged tracks in Kerala repaired, normal traffic from today: Rlys
The Indian Railways said it has repaired all tracks damaged by the devastating floods in Kerala and restored the traffic to normal from today. The Railway Ministry said three divisions of the Southern Railway were severely affected by flash floods, landslides and due to boulders falling on tracks. The Southwest Monsoon brought unprecedented rainfall to in the past one week, forcing authorities to open 36 dams in the state. The ministry said the water level in Thiruvananthapuram division rose above the danger mark across 11 bridges and tracks were submerged under flood water at three locations. Earth slips happened at seven locations over various sections. In Palakkad division, water level rose above the danger level across 10 bridges, while in Madurai division, earth slipped and boulders fell at six locations. "Railway team worked with dedication round the clock to clear hurdles in the flood-hit sections and all sections in the main route of Kerala were opened," the ministry said. HQ .
One person killed as truck hits stationary lorry
One person was killed when a truck hit a stationary lorry in West Bengal's Bankura district today, a senior police officer said. Superintendent of Police, Sukhendu Hira said the truck hit the stationary lorry on Durgapur-Bankura Road in which the helper of the truck was killed. Both the truck and the lorry were damaged in the accident, he added.
Rail traffic restored on most major Kerala routes: Goyal
Train traffic on all major routes earlier disrupted due to damage to tracks by floods in Kerala has been restored, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.
Goyal appeals railway staff to donate a day's salary for Kerala
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday appealed to railway employees to donate one day's salary each towards the Prime Minister's relief fund for Kerala relief work.
Sun finally shines over Kerala, UAE pledges $100 mn (Intro Roundup)
For the first time in many days, the sun shone brightly over Kerala on Tuesday even as hundreds of thousands remained in relief camps while many who returned home broke down after seeing the enormity of the destruction.
Take monsoon fury in Kerala as warning: BJP leader to TN govt
The BJP's Tamil Nadu unit today suggested that the state government take the disaster wrought by the rains and floods in Kerala as a warning and evolve a proper water management policy. The government should convene a meeting of domestic and international experts before framing such a policy, BJP state unit president Tamilisai Soundararajan told reporters here. She suggested that the government concentrate on desilting canals and ponds to conserve water for the benefit of the people. The BJP on its part was already consulting experts, she said, adding that the outcome of the talks would be forwarded to the government. She said though the NDA government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been extending all help to flood ravaged Kerala without any partiality, some people were trying to play politics over it. Tamilisai Soundararajan later left for Palakkad to distribute relief material to the flood-hit.
No outbreak of communicable disease reported from flood-hit Kerala so far: Nadda
Union Health Minister J P Nadda today said no outbreak of communicable disease has been reported from the flood-ravaged districts of Kerala so far. The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has issued health advisories to support the state in meeting with post-flood public health management challenges when the threat of water borne, vector borne and viral hepatitis diseases becomes potent. According to a health ministry statement, NCDC teams are ready for deployment to support the state in preventing outbreak of diseases. Though rains have eased in Kerala over the last two days, the state struggled to find its feet after the devastating deluge that left 223 dead in a fortnight and forced over 10 lakh people out of their homes. According to the health ministry statement, since the flood situation at Kodagu district in Karnataka is worsening, one medical team from Bengaluru has been dispatched there to provide necessary support. The Union health minister held a high-level meeting ..
UIDAI asks enrolment agencies in Kerala to provide free e-Aadhaar printouts
The UIDAI has directed the Aadhaar enrolment agencies in Kerala, including banks and post offices, to facilitate retrieval of the 12-digit number and provide free printouts to Aadhaar-holders who have lost their document in the flood-hit state. The e-Aadhaar printouts can be taken by people from the enrolment centres by giving their name and biometric authentication, UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey told PTI. Pandey said that the instructions are being issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in this regard to the enrolment centres in the state. He added that enrolment agencies can also help in the retrieval of Aadhaar numbers by visiting the relief camps. Similar instructions are also being issued for the flood affected districts of South Karnataka, he said. With Aadhaar enrolment at 100 per cent in Kerala, there are estimated 3.6 crore unique ID number holders in the state. Those who have misplaced their Aadhaar document or card in the flood-hit state can avail ...
Kerala floods: Putin writes to Prez, PM; says Russia shares grief
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences over the loss of lives and property in Kerala floods and said his country shares the grief with the "friendly people of India". In a letter dated August 20, addressed to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin said, "Kindly accept the deepest condolences over numerous human casualties caused by the devastating floods in Kerala. Russia shares grief with the friendly people of India and hopes for a speedy recovery to all those injured from this natural disaster." Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev praised the measures taken by the Centre and the state government in conducting rescue operations and countering the effects of this calamity. "I hope that with the rains stopped and floodwater started receding, the soonest recovery is expected. The (Russian) embassy (in India) conveys the words of sincere sympathy and support to the families and friends of all those suffered," Kudashev said in a
Sun finally shines over Kerala, UAE pledges $100 mn (Lead Roundup, Correcting headline)
For the first time in many days, the sun shone brightly over Kerala on Tuesday even as hundreds of thousands remained in relief camps while many who returned home broke down after seeing the enormity of the destruction.
Floods leave trail of destruction in Godavari distcts;1 killed
: Massive floods over the last four days has left a trail of destruction in East and West Godavari districts, while heavy rainfall has hit life in hundreds of villages in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. The State Disaster Management Authority announced that one person was killed in the flood in East Godavari district while another went missing in the last 24 hours. Hundreds of houses were damaged in the two districts, leaving scores of people homeless. In all, over 15,000 people were being provided shelter in relief camps opened by the administration. Agriculture and horticulture crops too suffered widespread damage in both the districts. Paddy crop in 13,395 hectares suffered extensive damage in Srikakulam district because of heavy rainfall, the SDMA said. However the flood flow in Godavari remained steady since morning today, but the discharge at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram crossed the 14 lakh cusecs mark around last midnight. Since morning, ...
New cyclone warning centre in Thiruvananthapuram soon
In view of uncertain weather conditions that have adversely affected Kerala, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences on Tuesday proposed to set up a Cyclone Warning Centre in the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram, by next month.At present, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has cyclone warning centres at Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.The new centre would cater to the needs of Kerala and Karnataka, and would be well-equipped with state of the art of infrastructure. It would have forecasting tools to issue weather warnings and coastal bulletins to strengthen present forecasting activity.The ministry has also planned to set up another C-Band Doppler Weather Radar at Mangalore by the end of 2019 to cover northern parts of Kerala. There are already two Doppler Weather Radars at Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram. "The three radars would cover the entire state and monitor rainfall and severe weather events, and inform the people well in advance," the ...
Friends killed during 'joyride'
An executive and his woman engineer friend were killed in a road accident during a 'joyride' on a Royal Enfield bike here, police said on Tuesday.
Increase central assistance for Kerala to Rs. 2,000 cr: Yechury to PM
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase the central assistance for flood-ravaged Kerala to Rs. 2,000 crore and to seek help from United Nations aid agencies to rebuild houses in the state. In a letter to Modi, he thanked the prime minister for announcing a flood relief of Rs. 500 crore to Kerala but said the amount was "inadequate" considering the scale of damage caused in the southern state. "I would request you to increase this amount to Rs. 2,000 crore. New homes will have to be built for lakhs of people. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, funds must be released for this purpose. I would also urge the central government to take up this matter with UN agencies, seeking assistance for building new homes," Yechury wrote in the letter. He said that help is pouring in from various quarters and Malayalee organisations abroad have been sending medical equipment to Kerala. "I request you to waive the duties on such materials, as they are being .
Over 24,000 people rescued in Kerala: NDRF
Over 24,000 people have been evacuated till now from the flood affected regions of Kerala till now even as 41 NDRF teams are still undertaking relief and rescue operations in the state, a force spokesperson said today. Flood waters were receding in most of the affected areas and there are no alerts for heavy rainfall for the next few days. "The force has rescued 535 people and evacuated 24,616 marooned people to safer places. 119 animals were also evacuated and pre-hospital treatment was provided to 4,908 people till now," he said. At least 41 teams of the federal disaster contingency force are still deployed in Kerala to assist the state administration in rescue, relief and rehabilitation work and to respond in case of any eventuality, the spokesperson said. A National Disaster Response Force team has about 35-40 personnel. An estimated 223 people have lost their lives since August 8 in Kerala's worst floods in nearly a century which also forced more than 10 lakh people out of their .
Centre releases Rs 600 crore to Kerala, waives off customs duty, GST on relief materials
The Centre today released Rs 600 crore to flood-hit Kerala and decided to waive customs duty and GST on the relief materials being imported for the affected people in the state. The announcement came following a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), which met for the sixth consecutive day. The central assistance of Rs 500 crore as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rs 100 crore announced by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for flood affected Kerala has been released to the government of Kerala today, an official spokesperson said. The central government has also decided to waive Customs Duty and the IGST on the relief materials being imported to aid the people in the flood-affected areas in Kerala. The IGST refers to the Integrated Goods and Services Tax which is a part of GST under the concept of one nation one tax. It is charged on the goods and services supplied from one state to another.
Sun finally shines over Kerala, UAE pledges $500 mn (Roundup)
For the first time in many days, the sun shone brightly over Kerala on Tuesday even as hundreds of thousands remained in relief camps while many who returned home broke down after seeing the enormity of the destruction.
Hry guv flags off trucks carrying relief material for Kerala flood victims
Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki flagged off trucks carrying relief material worth over Rs one crore for the flood victims of Kerala from here today. An estimated 223 people have lost their lives since August 8 in Kerala's worst floods in nearly a century which also forced more than 10 lakh people out of their homes. "The relief material worth over Rs 1 crore being sent for the relief and rehabilitation of flood victims of Kerala is donated by the Indian Red Cross Society, Haryana Branch. "The material includes blankets, bed sheets, clothes, washing powder, sugar, toothpaste etc. Along with this one ambulance, two officers of the Red Cross and five volunteers have also gone to help the flood victims in Kerala," an official spokesman said here. The spokesman said that the governor appreciated the efforts done by the District Red Cross Society Kurukshetra, Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Faridabad and Panipat for collecting the relief material. On the occasion, the governor said the people