'There is a clear relationship between the Char Dham road widening and these landslides.' 'The situation has further worsened with the massive influx of tourists whose number are running into several lakhs per month.' 'No parameters have been laid down to control tourist inflow and the result is that the Char Dham yatra has seen a sharp escalation in accidents and loss of lives.'
ISRO's Cartosat-3 satellite captured images of the damage caused by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar on March 28. The images show significant damage in Mandalay and Sagaing cities, including the complete collapse of the historic Ava (InnWa) Bridge near Inn Wa City. The earthquake also caused cracks and ground ruptures in the flood plains of the Irrawaddy River.
When the landslide hit, Sruthi's house was washed away, along with its inhabitants. She lost her entire family and some relatives. All she had left for a close confidante was her fiance Jenson. Days after the landslide and the loss of her family, Jenson died in a road accident that also left Sruthi with serious injuries. News of the accident and Sruthi's backdrop as the lone surviving member of a family wiped out in the July landslide, was picked up by the media, and people rushed to help.
The standing committee on water resources, tabled in Lok Sabha, said only Manipur, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand and erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir had enacted legislation, though delineation and demarcation of flood plains are yet to be undertaken.
Workers engaged in removal of debris of the collapsed bridge found the body from the flood plain of Kauwakol block, the official said.
The release of water from the Chungthang dam led to a sudden increase in water levels up to 15-20 feet high downstream, defence spokesperson Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said.
Even as floods play havoc in Uttarakhand, several states have opposed the provisions of a 38-year-old Model Flood Bill aimed at minimising losses to life and property in the natural calamity.
The Green Panel also questioned the building up of pontoon bridge by the army on river Yamuna for the festival, and asked the Delhi Development Authority counsel as who gave the permission for setting it up.
He claimed that his foundation has already received invitation from Australia, Mexico and other nations for holding the next edition of the event.
The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday directed the principal committee, constituted for rejuvenation of Yamuna, to inspect the site on river floodplains where a three-day festival was organised by Art of Living under the patronage of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
Concerns have been raised about the likely damage to the environment caused by holding it on the flood plains of the already polluted river in east Delhi.
The Art of Living Foundation chose to hold the World Culture Festival on the Yamuna floodplains in spite of being aware of the environmental, legal consequences, letters exchanged between it and the Delhi Development Authority show.
India suffered a $3 billion loss to its economy from severe rainfall and flooding in November and early December.
The green tribunal noted that the Art of Living would have to pay a Rs 5 crore penalty and develop the entire area into a biodiversity zone.
The water resources ministry told the NGT panel it has not granted permission for 'World Cultural Festival' being organised by Art of Living foundation.
The transformative improvement promised in Jammu-Kashmir remains largely a mirage, observes David Devadas on the second anniversary of the Constitutional changes in the former state.
In the last five years, 37 bridges have collapsed in Uttarakhand. Another 27 bridges are on the brink of collapse. 'Our politicians don't view these bridge collapses as a setback.' 'Rather they see them as an opportunity to make more money.'
For the current woes of the state to end, in city after city, town after town, village after village, unauthorised constructions have to be removed, no questions asked, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The green panel said that innocent people drank and bathed in the river with reverence, without knowing that it may adversely affect their health.
'Tiger reserves were created to protect areas from developmental activities.' 'If we go ahead with these projects, then it is a complete mockery of our institutions and our laws, it is against everything we have stood for, our Forest Conservation Act, our Wildlife Biodiversity Act.'
'Why did they not raise their voice against the pollution in the Yamuna earlier?' 'Why were they quiet for so long against construction and encroachment on the flood plains.'
In an attempt to corner the Centre, the Opposition raised the issue of the Indian Army's involvement in the Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living event.
'There will always be hiccups given that the Namami Gange programme is spread over different sectors and involves several agencies.'
The NGT, however, refused to impose any further environment compensation on the AoL.
The green panel ordered a survey to seek views of the common people about what they feel on ground about the pollution in the Ganga.
Professor Mohammad Ismail Bhat warns of a strong quake waiting to happen in Jammu and Kashmir.
'Flooding forces the animals to disperse out of the park that, in turn, attracts the attention of poachers.'
The green tribunal has diminished itself in growling when it needed to bite at the Art of Living show
Through its programmes, Swechha tries to ensure Delhiites don't forget their dying river.
The stage is now set for the controversial three-day cultural event opening on Friday on the Yamuna flood plains even as Art of Living guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar struck a defiant note that he will not pay Rs 5 crore fine imposed by Green Tribunal and would rather go to jail.
However, the NGT expressed its displeasure over the spiritual guru's statement that he 'will go to prison but not pay the fine' and said such a statement was not expected from a person with such high stature.
To avert another Uttarakhand-type catastrophe, we must change course. We should stop pandering to the Indian elite's insatiable appetite for electricity, which is driving reckless dam construction, says Praful Bidwai
Two brothers are determined to preserve Delhi's struggling population of carnivorous birds
Year after year, floods cause mayhem in Bihar but the government is not paying adequate attention to water management.
Let Bihar be damned under its contradictions of having gone 'dry' and then having been submerged under flood, which is a recurrent phenomena? After all it is a godforsaken land, having lost its promises of overcoming its problems, says Mohammad Sajjad.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday reluctantly admitted before the National Green Tribunal that illegal sand mining was going on in the state and not even a single environmental clearance had been granted for it in Gautam Budh Nagar district.
'For lakhs of people in the flood-afflicted state, battling against the elements is taking a huge toll. This is the time of the year that apples ripen, rice starts being harvested and preparations start in full swing to put aside some of the food stocks for the long winter months ahead. At this moment, though, people there believe if they can succeed in coming out of this calamity in one piece they will have won the war,' says Rashme Sehgal.
For all the blame-game over the flood preparedness in Chennai and elsewhere in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, this is not the first of its kind. Nor would it be the last, given the nature of the north-east monsoon, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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