Terming the recent monsoon fury in Maharashtra as a national calamity, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said tsunami aid norms would be made applicable for relief and rehabilitation in the rain ravaged state.
BJP president LK Advani has termed the Centre's aid to Maharashtra as 'inadequate'.
TV, Bollywood personalities filed a PIL in Bombay HC seeking a direction to the centre and the Maharashtra government to list steps taken to provide relief to victims of the recent deluge in the state.
Gujarat continued to reel under the onslaught of torrential rains on Friday with the death toll mounting to 90.
The STF will handle hijacking, armed terrorism, illegal agitations, natural calamities, train accidents and havoc caused by floods.
Pilgrimage to Kedarnath shrine in Garhwal Himalayas, which was suspended in the wake of the June calamity in Uttarakhand, will be resumed on October one, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Thursday said.
J&K govt releases Rs 1 crore for quake-hit
A team of six trekkers from New Delhi and Shimla is missing in Kinnaur district, officials said. A rescue operation will be launched.
'If it works, something good can come out of this tragedy for the common public good,' say Dr Prasad Gadgil and Dr Kunal Basu.
There are about 100 million hungry children in the world.
India has handed over a cheque of $5 million to the United States for relief activities in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Maharashtra govt to clear up blockages in Mithi river course
'What would have happened if people had not thrown garbage and plastics everywhere? Well the answer is there would have been no waterlogging in the city.'
Around 6,500 families were evacuated to safer places with the help of army personnel after many areas in the city and rural parts were inundated by waters from rivers Mula and Mutha in Pune.
Nearly 5 lakh people in Jajpur district of Orissa were affected as the river Brahmani, its tributary the Kharashrota, and the river Baitarani inundated vast areas with the calamities claiming three lives in the state, official sources said on Sunday.
'Flights have now begun to operate and clearing of the huge backlog of flights of domestic and international airlines should pose no problems, if the visibility continues and there is no further rain,' an airport official said.
All long distance trains from Mumbai remain cancelled: CR
'When there is no middle ground possible between the government and the governor, the governor has to go.'
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to hold talks with the Afghan leadership
The government declared a state of disaster in the wake of the calamity as the casualty figures mounted and displaced people in the island's worst affected areas sought shelter in makeshift refugee camps.
Meanwhile, flight operations from the Kochi international airport will resume at 12 noon on Sunday, an airport official said.
The Centre will provide MI-17 cargo chopper to Uttarakhand to ferry heavy equipment to calamity-hit high altitude areas to expedite reconstruction work in the hill state.
The devastation caused by the current deluge has damaged hundreds and thousands of homes and vehicles.
Gandhi also met fishermen and party volunteers involved in relief work.
Actors Nana Patekar and Makrand Anaspure distributed cheques of financial aid to as many as 113 families of farmers from Latur and Osmanabad districts of Marathwada, who have committed suicides, owing to drought and indebtedness.
A cyclonic circulation over Haryana was the trigger for the deadly dust storm that swept parts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, weather experts said.
Over 7.24 lakh displaced people have been sheltered in 5,645 relief camps dotting the state, they said.
On till February 21, the 'Surya Kiran' series of exercises are aimed at enhancing inter-operability between the Indian and the Nepalese Army units in jungle warfare and counter terrorism operations in the mountainous terrain. The training also focuses on humanitarian aid and disaster relief, including medical and aviation support.
Over 90,000 people in Sangli and Kolhapur districts have been evacuated due to flooding, Maharashtra Cooperatives Minister Patangro Kadam said on Wednesday.\n
