A Pawan Hans helicopter with seven people on board crashed into the sea near Mayabunder in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. All passengers and crew members were rescued and admitted to a hospital. A technical snag is suspected to be the cause of the crash.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has announced that conditions are becoming favourable for the onset of the southwest monsoon over parts of the south Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands towards the end of this week.
In a significant move, state-run oil producer Oil India Limited (OIL) has finished drilling its first well in the Andaman sea while Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has just started drilling operations in the area, said officials.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted an early onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala, expected around May 26. This marks the beginning of the crucial rainy season for India.
An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hit the Andaman Sea on Thursday but the Met department ruled out tsunami.
'This system will be of immense help in agricultural planning, disaster management and water resources management.'
The quakes were of moderate intensity.
One of the refugees managed to contact the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative and give the coordinates which showed the ship drifting southeast of the Andaman Islands towards Aceh in Indonesia.
Oil India has discovered natural gas reserves off the Andaman Islands, the state-owned firm said without putting an estimate of the size of the find. In a statement, OIL said "occurrence of natural gas" was reported in the second exploratory well Vijayapuram-2 drilled in the Offshore Andaman Block AN-OSHP-2018/1, which the company had won under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).
India's only mud volcano at Baratang in Andaman and Nicobar Islands has erupted after being dormant for over two decades. The eruption, which occurred on October 2, has led to the formation of an earth mound and the spread of muddy soil over a large area. Tourist movement to the site has been suspended as a safety precaution.
We cannot simply have a 60-65 per cent import dependency in LPG, the bulk of which comes from just one volatile region -- West Asia, points out R Jagannathan.
A probe into the biggest drug haul of 6,000 kg methamphetamine in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has shown that the Myanmarese smugglers were using the Starlink satellite internet services for navigation through the mid-sea, a top police officer said on Thursday. Authorities suspect that the drug consignments may be linked to notorious international cartels, such as Tse Chi Lop's (the Chinese El Chapo) or Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes' (El Mencho) operations.
'This is the first case in which we saw use of Starlink by smugglers.'
'Sometimes I wonder whether the meeting really happened. Everything seems like a dream from which I do not want to wake up.'
As the Northeast monsoon intensified across Tamil Nadu, the regional weather office issued heavy rainfall alert to a number of districts. Chief Minister M K Stalin reviewed the situation and directed precautionary measures.
The Supreme Court of India has questioned the legal status of Rohingya refugees living in the country, raising concerns about providing resources to illegal entrants while Indian citizens face poverty.
'We have not even used 0.1% of the available resources.'
If as critics point out, the environmental impact assessment study was commissioned only after the auction process got underway with not all the stakeholders getting to know of it, then the government has already compromised the trust it could have enjoyed with Kerala's public including its coastal communities, points out Shyam G Menon.
The south-west monsoon, the lifeline of many farmers of the country, has set in the south Andaman Sea and the south-east Bay of Bengal a good five days in advance. Weather forecasters have predicted widespread rains over Andaman and Nicobar islands during the next three to four days and further strengthening of westerly winds in the region. India's 235 million farmers rely on the timing of the June-September monsoon season to decide which crops to grow.
The Southwest Monsoon is set to arrive early with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands expected to receive first seasonal showers on May 15, the weather office said on Thursday.
The Supreme Court of India is set to determine whether Rohingya individuals in the country are to be considered refugees or illegal entrants, a crucial decision that will impact their rights and potential deportation.
The petitioner's counsel said his client was facing threats of arrest and torture in his country as he was a former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam member, and that his wife and children had settled in India.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh also questioned the authenticity of materials placed before it by petitioner Mohd Ismail and others and refused to stay any further deportation of Rohingyas saying similar relief was denied by the court.
In May, 40 Rohingyas were blindfolded and flown to the Andaman and Nicobar islands and then thrown into the sea and made to swim to an island in Myanmar. And after the Pahalgam attack, at least 300 Muslims were 'pushed back' to Bangladesh from Assam.
Over 70 scientists, environmentalists, and former bureaucrats are urging the Indian government to reconsider the Great Nicobar Island project, citing environmental and social concerns.
The much-awaited south-west monsoon on Monday brought first showers to the Andaman and Nicobar islands, setting the stage for its early progression towards Kerala.The onset of monsoon has now set the stage for the four-month rainfall season that has been eagerly awaited by the agricultural community who had to bear the brunt of a severe drought last year.The weather office said conditions were favourable for further advancement of the monsoon over more parts of Bay of Bengal
After the west coast, another cyclone is likely to hit the east coast by May 26-27, the India meteorological department said on Wednesday.
A moderate intensity earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale shook the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Friday evening but there were no reports of casualty or damage.
At least 21 persons died on Sunday when the tourist boat carrying them capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, official sources said. The boat carrying 45 people -- tourists from Kanchi Puram district of Tamil Nadu and Mumbai, and crewmembers -- sank on its way from Ross Island to North Bay.
'The Andamans are strategic territory for India.' 'We need at least three full-length, 10,000-feet airfields here.'
Weather scientists attribute the early onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala to the influence of the remnants of cyclone Asani that triggered the cross-equatorial flow, a key factor for the seasonal rains.
According to weather officials, wind speeds along and off the Odisha-West Bengal coasts are anticipated to reach 60 km/h from October 23, increasing to 120 km/h from October 24 night to October 25 morning.
The first Naval Commanders Conference of 2024 commenced on March 5, 2024 in Goa. Held against the backdrop of evolving geopolitical dynamics, regional challenges and the current volatile maritime security situation in the region, the conference plays a pivotal role in shaping the future course of the Indian Navy.
The southwest monsoon is likely to arrive over Kerala on May 31, a day earlier than its normal onset date, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Search operations for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight with 239 people on board was on Wednesday extended to the Andaman Sea and India's help sought as international efforts to trace the aircraft that went missing five days ago yielded no breakthrough.
Besides heavy traffic congestion, the intermittent heavy rains led to inundation in several parts of the city and neighbouring districts of Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengelpet.
With the tribes together accounting for less than 1,000 people, largely disconnected from the rest of the world and having very low immunity levels, anthropologists fear they could get extinct should the pandemic spreads its tentacles across the islands.
Conditions are becoming favourable for advance of southwest monsoon over the southern part of Andaman Sea, Nicobar Islands and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal during May 18-19, the IMD said.
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