Page 554 - Disaster Accident
Mizoram to give Rs 2 crore for Kerala flood relief
Mizoram government would contribute Rs 2 crore to the Kerala Chief Minister's Relief Fund in the wake of the recent rain-fed floods in the southern state, an official said today. Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla today wrote to his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan expressing his solidarity with the people of Kerala and informed him that the Mizoram government would contribute Rs 2 crore towards disaster relief efforts, press secretary to the chief minister L R Sailo said. Lal Thanhawla in a separate letter also informed Vijayan that all the 34 legislators of the ruling Congress in the Mizoram have decided to contribute Rs 1 lakh each, totaling Rs 34 lakh for flood relief in Kerala, Sailo said. Earlier, Mizoram Govenor Kummanam Rajasekharan and Lal Thanhawla had sent condolence messages to the government of Kerala for immense sufferings of the people of the state due to the unprecedented flood.
Crocodile, snakes take over Kerala's flooded homes
People returning to their flood-battered homes in Kerala from relief camps were are being greeted by snakes and other reptiles and insects.
Will meet PM tomorrow to discuss Kodagu situation,Yeddyurappa
BJP's Karnataka chief B SYeddyurappa today said he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow and discuss with him the situation inrain-ravaged Kodagu district. Yeddyurappa said he had already spoken to Modi, who has assured chief minister H D Kumaraswamy all necessary help. "I will speak to the Prime Minister on the situation in Kodagu and request him for adequate financial assistance andcooperation. I will also request him to conduct an aerial survey of the region if possible," Yeddyurappa told reporters. Relief and rehabilitation operations are on in Kodagu after torrential rains left a huge trail of destruction which have claimed at least 12 lives and rendered thousands homeless. BJP MPs and legislators have decided to donate their one-month salary towards relief work in Kodagu district, Yeddyurappa said. The cheque would be sent to theChief Minister's Relief Fund, he said. About his recent visit to Kodagu, he said each person affected by the rains there had a .
Kerala floods: Star India increases donation to Rs 5 cr
Star India today said it will increase donation to CM's Distress Relief Fund to Rs 5 crore for flood relief and rehabilitation efforts in Kerala. The company had previously announced Rs 2 crore donation. "However, seeing the scale of the disaster, Star India and its employees stepped up to increase the donation along with its parent company 21st Century Fox," the company said in a statement. "We believe, we must do everything in our power to help along with leveraging the power of our platform to inform and inspire citizens to join the relief and rehabilitation process," 21st Century Fox - Asia President Uday Shankar said. Shankar, who is also the Chairman and CEO Star India, hoped that many other companies also will be able to provide assistance to families and communities in need of help. Star India has been running #AllForKerala campaign supported by over 60 stars and celebrities in eight languages across 50 channels and Hotstar asking citizens to join the relief efforts in ...
Life hit in some parts of rain-battered Odisha
Normal life was affected in several parts of Odisha, mainly in southern and northern parts of the state, due to heavy rains since Sunday that left many areas submerged. The meteorological (Met) department here has forecast more showers in some places with heavy rainfall likely at some areas in Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Jharsuguda and Bargarh districts by tomorrow. Rain and thundershower is likely to take place in several places in the state tomorrow, it said. The flood water has started receding in many low-lying areas of the worst-hit Malkangiri district, while the situation has improved considerably in neighbouring Koraput and Rayagada districts. Officials said vehicular movement on some roads in Malkangiri continued to be affected due to damage caused to bridges and culverts. The water level in the Pangam river in the district has receded considerably, but it would take more time for resumption of normal vehicular traffic between Malkangiri and Jeypore in Koraput district ..
Kerala floods: CM urges for Special Assembly Session on relief work
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday announced that his government has decided to convene a Special Assembly Session on August 30 to discuss relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction of Kerala after floods. Vijayan said a letter will be sent shortly to the Governor urging him to convene a Special Assembly Session next week.The Chief Minister also asserted that the Kerala cabinet has decided to submit a comprehensive plan to the Centre for rehabilitation and rebuilding of Kerala.While addressing the media here, Vijayan said that "Our aim is not merely a restoration of the state to pre-flood times but the creation of a new Kerala.""The reconstruction demands mobilisation of resources in a large way. The state will demand Centre to raise the ceiling on borrowing for the state to 4.5 per cent of the GDP, which is pegged at 3 per cent now. This will help to raise an additional Rs 10,500 crore from the market. The state will request NABARD for a special scheme to implement ...
Flash floods kill 11 hikers in Italy
At least 11 hikers were killed in flooding caused by heavy rain in the southern Italian region of Calabria, officials said on Tuesday.
Train develops technical snag on Delhi Metro's Blue Line, services hit
Services were affected for nearly 30 minutes on the Delhi Metro's Blue Line today due to technical snag in a train, which was later removed from service, officials said. The Blue Line or Line-3/4 connects Dwarka Sector-21 to Noida City Centre/Vaishali. "Train services on Line-3 up line (going towards Dwarka) were affected from 2:55 to 3:20 pm due to sudden applicability of emergency brakes in a train between Karol Bagh and Rajendra Place stations," a senior DMRC official said. After troubleshooting, the train was moved to Rajendra Place station where passengers were deboarded and the train was "removed from service" for further investigation, he said. "This resulted in bunching of trains on the up line during this period. Services are now running normal," the official said. The Blue Line has faced several snags in the past few months. Services were briefly affected on the Blue Line due to a technical snag near the Rajouri Garden station on July 23. Thousands of commuters had late ...
Flight ops from Kochi airport expected to begin from Aug 26
Flight operations from the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), which has suffered an estimated loss of over Rs 220 crore due to floods, are expected to resume from August 26, airport officials said here today. The airport, which is among the busiest in the country, had been rendered non-functional since August 14 due to flooding and torrential rains. "We have been striving hard to settle the issues pertaining to Kochi Airport due to floods. We hope that we can resume operations on August 26 as announced earlier," a CIAL spokesman said. He said the water on the runway, taxiway and parking bays has completely receded. The runway needs some milling work which would be completed within two days. "To ensure utmost safety, all runway lights (almost 800 of them) have to be removed, tested and refitted," he said. The CIAL management has launched rebuilding of the damaged infrastructure including 2.6 km long airport walls that collapsed after Periyar river overflowed. "We have lost ...
Kerala Police take over relief camps
The Kerala Police on Tuesday took over the security of all the relief camps in the flood-battered state, police chief Loknath Behra said.
PM could have been 'more generous' towards Kerala: CPI
The CPI today said and the Centre's assistance of Rs 500 crore to flood-battered Kerala was "too little", and Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have been "more generous" towards the state. The prime minister had last week announced a relief of Rs 500 crore to the state, in addition to Rs 100 crore announced by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. CPI General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy said, "We are not satisfied. We think it's too little considering the scale of destruction in Kerala. Initial estimates put the loss at Rs 20,000 crore." "This (Rs 500 crore) will not be enough," Reddy said. The Communist Party of India is the second biggest constituent of the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala. Reddy said the CPI expected the prime minister to be "more generous". The Centre should have at least extended an immediate financial assistance of Rs 2,000 crore as requested by the state, he said. "We demanded that it (Kerala floods) be declared a national calamity but the Centre declared .
Four deaths in T'gana due to recent heavy rains
Four persons were killed in Telangana due to incessant rains that damaged 83 houses, a senior official said here today. Two persons were killed in Suryapet district while one death each was reported from Mancherial and Khammam districts, in the last four to five days, he said. As many as 83 houses have been damaged and 1,100 partially damaged, he said. Telangana has been receiving incessant rains, in varying amounts, for the last one week. Several rivulets and other water bodies are in spate following the rains. The overflowing water has affected the road network and entered houses at some places. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its Daily Weather Report for Telangana for today (at 8.30 AM) said the Southwest monsoon has been vigorous over Telangana. "Extremely heavy rain occurred at isolated places and very heavy rain occurred at a few places in the district of Nizamabad and heavy rain occurred at isolated places in the districts of Adilabad, J Bhupalpally, Jagtial, ...
Ayyappa devotees asked not to go to Sabarimala shrine
Ayyappa devotees wishing to go to the hill shrine of Sabarimala for the Onam festival have been advised by authorities not to go there as flood waters in the Pampa river at the foothills has not receded. Besides, roads in nearby areas of Pampa have been damaged and several trees en route to the shrine uprooted under the impact of the heavy rains, the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the shrine, said. The path to the shrine was also filled with mud and this would make trekking to the shrine very dangerous, the TDB said in a release. The temple will open for Onam poojas on August 23 and close on August 28. The devastating deluge in Kerala has left 223 dead in a fortnight and forced over 10 lakh people out of their homes.
Kerala floods: Insurance claims likely to be upwards of Rs 1,000 cr
Insurance companies expect claims in flood ravaged Kerala to cross Rs 1,000 crore as the government declares the deluge as 'calamity of severe nature'. Assessment of claims will take place with situation moving to normal, a senior official of an insurance firm said, adding clear picture will emerge in the next 4-5 days when claims are received. Given the magnitude, preliminary assessment points that claims for car, home and industry will be upwards Rs 1,000 crore, the official said. Yesterday, the central government exempted customs duty and inter-state taxes on relief material for Kerala. Oriental Insurance Company Chairman and Managing Director A V Girijakumar said it is too pre-mature to guess any number on the expected claims. It will be clear in the next 4-5 days when the situation would improve, he added. Public sector general insurance companies -- National Insurance, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance -- under the aegis of GIPSA has geared up to
Sex workers donate Rs 21,000 for Kerala flood victims
Sex workers in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district have donated Rs 21,000 for Kerala flood victims and they will be raising another Rs 1 lakh by the end of this month. A group of sex workers presented a cheque of Rs 21,000 drawn in favour of the Prime Minister's Relief Fund for Kerala flood victims to Resident Deputy Collector Prashant Patil here yesterday, said a functionary of an NGO working for them. Dipak Buram of the city-based NGO Snehalaya said sex workers will raise another Rs 1 lakh by the month-end for Kerala flood victims. Buram is coordinator of Snehjyot, a project run by Snehalaya, which is working for the welfare of sex workers for the last 30 years. In the past too, sex workers have contributed for helping the victims of natural calamities in various parts of the country, he said. In December 2015, they had donated Rs 1 lakh for relief work in rain-ravaged Chennai, Buram said. Till date, they have contributed nearly Rs 27 lakh for various causes, including ..
Kashmir civil society group to send food packets to flood-hit Kerala
A civil society group from Kashmir, which faced widespread destruction in the 2014 floods, will dispatch food packets for the flood-affected people of Kerala. "We have collected donations from local people including businessmen and are dispatching food packets to Kerala for the flood victims," said Zubair Ahmad, the organiser of the effort. Ahmad said the volunteers have focussed their efforts on raising funds in Srinagar city but would expand their endeavour to other parts of the valley in the coming days. "These food packets will suffice for 2000 people. We will be doing more in the coming days," he said. Ahmad said the people of Kashmir can understand the situation of the people in Kerala as they themselves had suffered due to floods in September 2014. "This is our token of concern for the people affected by the floods in Kerala," he added.
J-K Guv expresses grief over Kishtwar accident
Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra today expressed grief over the loss of lives in an accident in the state's Kishtwar district. In the tragic accident, a van carrying pilgrims to the Mata Machail temple skidded off the road and fell into the Chenab river in Kishtwar, killing all 13 occupants of the vehicle. The deceased included 11 pilgrims and the driver and conductor of the van. The Governor conveyed his sympathy to the next of kin of the deceased passengers, a Raj Bhawan spokesperson said. Vohra, who has repeatedly expressed concern over the recurring road accidents, directed the Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir to ensure that the Deputy Commissioners convene immediate meetings of the District Road Safety Committees, the spokesperson said. The Governor will chair a meeting on Saturday to review the causes of the recurring fatal accidents, he said.
Tripura govt to donate Rs 1 cr for Kerala relief
The Tripura government will donate Rs 1 crore for flood relief in Kerala, a state minister said today. The decision was taken in the meeting of the council of ministers held at the civil secretariat here yesterday, the state's Law and Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said. "We are deeply shocked at the loss of life and immense suffering of the people of Kerala, due to the ongoing flood situation. We have decided to donate Rs 1 crore towards flood relief in Kerala," he told reporters. The Chief Justice, judges of the Tripura High Court and all its judicial officers and staff members will also contribute one day's salary to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund of Kerala. The entire contribution is likely to amount to Rs 16 lakh, the Registrar of the High Court, S G Chattopadhyay said in a release. Meanwhile, activists of the opposition Left Front have started collecting donations from different parts of the state from today to support the flood victims of Kerala, ...
Kurukshetra-Narwana elevated rail line gets nod
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has given in-principle approval for the construction of an elevated railway line in Kurukshetra city on the Kurukshetra-Narwana line to decongest the traffic in the city, it was announced on Tuesday.
J&K Bank staffers to donate Rs 11 cr to flood-hit Kerala
The staff of J&K Bank will contribute Rs 11 crore to help the flood-affected people of Kerala, a spokesperson for the bank said today. While most of the staffers are donating their six days' salary towards the relief fund in the southern state, the top executives helped enhance the scale of contribution with their salary of up to two months. The staff of the bank has decided to donate six days of their salary to the flood victims in Kerala, a spokesperson for the leading bank of the state said. The Chairman and CEO of the bank, Parvez Ahmed, shall be contributing two months' salary while the executive presidents will donate their one month salary towards the cause, he said. Expressing solidarity with the flood-affected people, Ahmed said "natural disasters of this proportion leave a trail of devastation. They destroy people's homes and crops, lives, bankrupt businesses, and shatter the sense of safety we enjoy as humans. "Having experienced devastating deluge only a few years ...