Page 841 - Disaster Accident
Odisha takes steps for early sanction of disaster compensation
The Odisha government has decided to prepare a standard operating procedure (SoP) for enquiry and early sanction of ex-gratia amount in case of natural disasters, an official source said here today. The decision was taken yesterday at a State Executive Committee (SEC) meeting, which was chaired by Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi, he said. Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi, who was a part the meeting along with Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan and revenue and disaster management officials, said the ex-gratia assistance for death due to natural disasters often get delayed because of non-availability of the autopsy report. "As per the present practice, the medical institutions conducting post-mortem often do not share a copy of the report with the revenue authorities," Sethi, who is also the managing director of Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), explained. In most cases, the family members of the deceased collect the autopsy report from the .
Ahluwalia stresses on behaviourial change in paying user fee for water supply
Union Minister S S Ahluwalia today emphasised on the importance of behaviourial change among the people of the country towards payment of user fee for clean water supply. In his inaugural address at the national consultation meet on Swajal Community Approach here, the Union Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation highlighted the importance of water conservation and said the main objective behind the re-launch of the Swajal initiative was to deliver tapped water to every household. "Behavioural change among the people of the country towards payment of user fee for clean water supply is very important as it ensures that not only are the cost of water collection, purification and distribution are met, but also that the people value and conserve the water supplied to them," Ahluwalia said. Swajal is a model for self-ownership and self-management of water resources in a community by its members itself. The technical sessions at the national consultation meet included ...
Ten killed in UP road accident
Ten people were killed and eight others injured when a speeding truck hit a vehicle in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh district on Friday, police said.
13 killed, 14 injured in Vietnam apartment fire
At least 13 people were killed and 14 others injured after a fire broke out at an apartment in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, the Vietnam News reported.Ho Chi Minh City's Fire Prevention and Fighting Department said, at around midnight on March 23, an apartment block at Carina Plaza on Vo Van Ki?t Street suddenly burst into flames, trapping hundreds of people inside.The residents reportedly went to the higher floor and some even tried to escape by jumping outside.Many survivors informed that the building's fire system was not working at the time of the incident.The injured were rushed to the hospital for medical assistance.
Thirteen dead in Vietnam highrise apartment fire
Thirteen people were killed and several injured when a fire broke out at an apartment complex in Vietnam's southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City early today, authorities said. The fire in the Carina Plaza highrise building started around midnight on the lower floors of the building and soon spread to the upper floors. An official told AFP that many of the victims died of suffocation as they tried to flee the fire by running to higher floors. "Thirteen people were pulled out dead and more than a dozen others injured. They died from suffocation," the official from the neighbourhood's government office told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. She said officials had not yet determined the cause of the fire. Photos on social media showed residents being rescued from balconies and plumes of black smoke rising from the tall building. The fire was extinguished by dawn Friday, though the area was shrouded in thick smoke for several hours, according to images on state-run media. The .
Bihar: 5 die in blast at illegal firecracker factory
At least five people were killed and 25 were injured in a blast at an illegal firecracker factory in Bihar's Nalanda district on Thursday, according to reports.The injured have been admitted to a local hospital for treatment.Out of those injured, half a dozen people who were in a critical condition were referred to Patna.The shockwaves from the blast were reportedly strong enough to damaged houses near the factory.Fire tenders immediately reached the spot to douse the flames. Relief and rescue work is underway.An investigation in this regard has been initiated.
Fire at condominium in southern Vietnam kills at least 13
A city official says a fire at a condominium complex in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City has killed at least 13 people and injured another 27. The city fire and police department official says it's unclear whether anyone is missing in the blaze early today morning and declined to give more details. More than 700 apartments in the three buildings were built six years ago. The official Vietnam News Agency reported that most people died of suffocation or jumping from high floors. It said the blaze started in the basement parking area and took more than 200 firefighters more than an hour to put under control. In 2002, a fire at a trade centre in the southern commercial hub's downtown killed 60 people in one of Vietnam's worst fires.
U.S. airline traffic rose 3.4 percent in 2017 to all-time high: government
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department said on Thursday that airlines carried 3.4 percent more passengers on U.S. domestic and international flights in 2017 for an all-time high of 965 million passengers.
Automatic challan system to become operational in 10 distts of Haryana
An automatic challan system will become operational by April this year in which traffic rule violators would be identified through CCTV cameras in ten districts of Haryana including Gurgaon, Ambala, Karnal, Panipat, Sonipat, Rohtak, Hisar, Kurukshetra, Rewari and Jhajjar. This was informed by Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Rakesh Gupta, while presiding over a review meeting with Deputy Commissioners and other officers of all districts through video conferencing, at Gurgaon today, said an official release. He also reviewed one such project being implemented at Yamunanagar. He said that 29 chowks were identified in district Gurgaon where CCTV cameras would be installed under this project, out of which cameras have been installed at eight places. All these cameras would be connected with traffic control room and the expenditure of their installation would be borne through District Road Safety Fund. Under this project, 30 chowks each have been identified in district ...
Metro tunneling in Kolkata's busiest part over
A critical phase of tunneling under the busiest part of the city, which houses a number of heritage buildings, was completed today by the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, a Metro official said. Starting from Howrah Maidan on the other side of the Hooghly, the west-bound line tunnel boring machine 'Prerna' reached Esplanade metro station covering a distance of 3.8 km after passing under the river, the official said. The tunneling had begun at Howrah Maidan on April 21, 2016 and took 23 months to pass under the Hooghly river, wholesale business hub Burrabazar and several heritage buildings in Benoy Badal Dinesh Bagh also called the Dalhousie area to reach Esplanade in the heart of the city. "Engineers and technicians from different countries joined hands with Indian experts to complete this task meticulously," the official said. The tunnel crossing below the Hooghly is the first transportation tunnel in the country under any river, he said. Beth El and Magen David synagogues, St Andrews .
Alert driver averts derailment, say officials
Presence of mind shown by the driver of Amrapali Express helped avoiding a possible derailment of the train here, officials said. According to IG, Railway, Vijay Prakash, an attempt was made by anti-social elements late last night to derail the train by placing iron blocks on railway tracks in Unnao (near Rishinagar cabin). "It was during this time the Amrapali Express was moving at a slower speed and the driver applied emergency brakes in time, and averted a major accident," the IG said today. Senior railway and police officials from Lucknow reached the spot. "Prima facie, it seems that anti-social elements had wanted to loot the passengers. Very soon, the case will be worked out. A case has been registered against unknown persons in this regard," he said.
63-year-old dies enroute to Vaishnodevi shrine in J&K
An 63-year-old pilgrim, on his way to the cave shrine of Mata Vaishnodevi in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district, died today after suddenly falling unconscious, police said. Jai Krishen, from Uttar Pradesh, suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed at the pony stand in the Bhawan area, an official said, adding that he was travelling with his family. He was immediately rushed to a dispensary at Bhawan, where doctors declared him "brought dead", he said.
Self-driving car industry confronts trust issues after Uber crash
(Reuters) - The fatal accident involving an Uber self-driving car cranks up pressure on the self-driving vehicle industry to prove its software and sensors are safe in the absence of strong government standards, experts in the field said.
India issues another Note Verbale to Pak; asks it to ensure safety of staff at Islamabad mission
In yet another diplomatic note, India today asked Pakistan to ensure safety and security of its officials working at the Indian mission in Islamabad, saying they continue to face "harassment" and "intimidation", official sources said. In its 16th 'Note Verbale' to the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, the Indian High Commission specifically mentioned three incidents of harassment of senior officials, they said. India has conveyed to Islamabad that safety and security of the Indian High Commission, its officers, staff members and their families is the responsibility of the Pakistan government, the sources said. On the incidents mentioned in the 'Note Verbale', they said the vehicle of the deputy high commissioner, while going to an embassy within the diplomatic enclave for a meeting, was aggressively followed by two people in a car. They said the Naval Attache of the Mission was also "aggressively followed" by a person on a motorbike while going to Serena Hotel for a meeting. The second ...
30 poisoned after volcano emits toxic gas in Indonesia
At least 30 people have been poisoned and 178 were evacuated after sulphur gas was released following several minor eruptions from the Ijen volcano in eastern Java, Indonesian officials said on Thursday.
Ankit Metal & Power intimates of fire incident at power plant
On 20 March 2018
UAE, Saudi Arabia eye civil aviation cooperation
Dubai, March 22 (IANS/WAM) The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and a high-level delegation from Saudi Arabia on Thursday discussed ways of strengthening cooperation in the air transport sector.
6 dead, 2 hurt in Czech chemical factory explosion
An explosion rocked a chemical factory today in the Czech Republic, killing six people and injuring two others, officials said. Unipetrol, a Czech oil processor and plastics producer, said the blast took place inside one of the storage tank for fuels and additives in its refinery in the town of Kralupy nad Vltavou, 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of the capital Prague. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast. A Kralupy town crisis manager, Lukas Hodik, said the explosion seemed to occur when workers were cleaning an empty tank. Regional firefighters confirmed that six people were killed and that the two injured were sent to the hospital. Spokesman Petr Svoboda said there was no danger of further explosions at the site. No dangerous substances have leaked out, according to police spokeswoman Marketa Jonova. Acting Prime Minister Andrej Babis expressed his condolences to the relatives.
Mishaps at Guj power plants killed 19 in last two years: Govt
A total of 19 persons lost their lives in 113 accidents at various private, semi-government, and state-run power generation plants across Gujarat in the last two years, the Legislative Assembly was told today. "While 12 persons died in 44 mishaps in year 2016, seven persons were killed in 69 accidents that occurred in 2017," Energy Minister Saurabh Patel told the House during Question Hour. He said apart from these 19 deaths, a total of 102 persons- 40 in 2016 and 62 in 2017- were grievously injured in all the 113 accidents. Congress MLA Amit Chavda had raised a written query seeking the details of the compensation paid to the family members of the deceased as well as the steps taken by the government to prevent recurrence of such accidents. In his written reply, Patel said a compensation of Rs 2.66 crore was paid in year 2016 to all the victims while that of Rs 46.54 lakh in the next year. He said the government was taking various measures like organising mock drills, ..
Dislodging ash build up a reason for NTPC's Unchahar plant accident
The power ministry is examining the report of an official panel on NTPC's Unchahar plant accident which has listed high ash build up and consequent tube failure in the boiler, as one of the causes of the incident, Parliament was informed today. The report also concluded that as many as 45 people succumbed to injuries in the accident at state-run power giant's plant at Raebareli on November 1, 2017. "A report has been submitted by the Committee, which has inter-alia mentioned high ash build up and consequent tube failure due to dislodging of this build up ash in the boiler, as one of the causes of the accident. The report is under examination in the Ministry of Power," Union Minister R K Singh said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. The power minister further informed the House that 45 people had died in the accident. The ministry had constituted a Committee chaired by Member (Thermal), Central Electricity Authority, to investigate the causes of the accident. In another reply to the ...