Apart from that, as part of efforts to provide assurance to 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel and relieve their stress, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has stepped in to provide them with a landline through which they can talk to their families.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Friday said no progress has been made since Thursday in drilling through the debris at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand to rescue 41 trapped workers but assured that the drilling by auger machine will start soon.
A preliminary investigation into the Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad reveals that both fuel switches were cut off before the crash, followed by pilot confusion. The report also indicates that fuel samples were satisfactory and no immediate action is recommended for Boeing 787-8 operators.
"There are democratically elected institutions to look into it. Everything important should not come to us. We will list it on January 16," the CJI said.
Officials said 13 more families living in houses with huge cracks were moved by the administration to safe locations on Sunday.
In addition to that, 68 people still remain missing, with 100 more sustaining injuries in the disaster.
Chaired by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha and attended by chiefs of the three services, secretaries of home, defence and others, the National Crisis Management Committee took stock of the prevailing situation in Kerala and directed all concerned to ensure continued assistance to the state government to meet the crisis, a home ministry spokesperson said.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday visited the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel site for a review of the rescue operations being carried out there to evacuate 40 labourers trapped inside since Sunday morning following its partial collapse.
The Maharashtra government on Sunday extended the lockdown-like curbs till June 15 and also announced that relaxations will be granted depending upon the Covid-19 positivity rate and availability of oxygen beds.
The Election Commission has decided to set up a panel to identify the experiences and shortcomings during the recently-held five assembly polls.
The pictures and videos of the locals wading through waist deep water in Bawana JJ colony area, waterlogged houses, school and hospital went viral on social media even as teams of engineers from Haryana and Delhi worked on a war footing to plug the breach.
The ministry had sent the six previous teams to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal to review the implementation of the lockdown measures after the assessment of ground situation in identified select districts.
Massive preparedness, speedy evacuation plans and almost accurate prediction of cyclone time and path have saved the country from a natural disaster which could have taken thousands of live.
Indian rescue personnel are being lauded for their compassion and expertise in assisting with the recovery efforts in earthquake-stricken Mandalay, Myanmar. The story of a Muslim family resisting initial attempts to recover a deceased loved one from the rubble, ultimately accepting the help of Indian rescuers who preserved the dignity of the woman's final posture in prayer, highlights the sensitivity and skill of the Indian team. The NDRF has rescued around 30 bodies and is working tirelessly in different locations, including the historic U Hla Thein monastery and Ganga Ghat Hindu Temple, where many are still missing. The Indian Army has also set up a field hospital, treating over 200 patients, and providing food to earthquake victims.
The government offices have also been allowed to reopen with 50 per cent staff.
A large Indian Air Force helicopter on Tuesday crashed during rescue operations near Gaurikund in rain-ravaged Uttarakhand, killing eight persons onboard, including five crewmembers.
National Disaster Management Authority Vice Chairman M Shashidhar Reddy talks to Sheela Bhatt about the scale and magnitude of the disaster that struck Uttarakhand
An official of the fire and emergency services department said that 11 fire tenders including one each from Panchkula and Mohali were pressed into service to quickly control the blaze.
The flood situation in Assam deteriorated drastically on Thursday with one person losing his life and nearly five lakh people reeling under the deluge across 12 districts, an official bulletin said.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a 'Red Alert' and predicted 'very heavy' to 'extremely heavy' rainfall across several districts of Assam till Thursday.
A stampede at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night claimed 18 lives, including 11 women and 5 children. Thousands of passengers, mostly Maha Kumbh pilgrims, crowded the station to board trains to Prayagraj, leading to a surge of people that became impossible to manage. The chaos unfolded when a last-minute platform change announcement caused confusion and panic, resulting in a crush of people at an escalator. As dawn broke, railway staff began the grim task of cleaning up, while grieving families gathered at the hospital to identify their loved ones.
Widespread rains lashed parts of Tamil Nadu on Thursday, prompting authorities to declare a holiday for schools in Chennai and many other districts.
The displacements were a result of a combination of increasing hazard intensity, high population exposure and high levels of social and economic vulnerability, a report says.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a 'Red Alert' and predicted 'very heavy' to 'extremely heavy' rainfall across several districts of Assam over the next five days.
This comes as Supreme Court is hearing a petition filed by lawyer-cum-petitioner, Gaurav Kumar Bansal, seeking an ex gratia compensation for those family members, who died due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Twenty bravehearts, who died in Tuesday's chopper crash while rescuing stranded people in flood-ravaged areas of Uttarakhand, will be given a 'guard of honour'-- a ceremonial mark of respect-- by the government on Friday in Dehradun.
The administration started preparing for the demolition of two precariously standing hotels in subsidence-hit Joshimath in Uttarakhand on Tuesday, but faced protests from their owners and locals on the issue of compensation, while more families were evacuated from the danger zone as the number of affected houses rose to over 700.
There will be strict adherence to standard operating procedure and other guidelines of the government, and compliance of Covid appropriate behaviour while opening the stadia and sports complexes, the DDMA said.
As Odisha and West Bengal are bracing for a severe cyclonic storm, governments of both states started evacuating people and while deciding to close educational institutions in vulnerable areas.
Low-lying areas along the Yamuna remained submerged for the second consecutive day though the water level in the river started receding on Thursday.
The Maharashtra government's decision came two days after the Centre cancelled the Central Board of Secondary Education Class 12 board exams citing the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
Around 200 schools in Delhi-NCR on Wednesday morning received a hoax bomb threat via email which led to widespread panic among parents and students, prompting authorities to suspend classes and ask parents to pick their wards from the school.
The flash flood affected 25,065 people in four districts - Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong and Namchi, the report said.
Major rivers of the state, including the Brahmaputra, were flowing above the danger level at different places.
Delhi logged 23 COVID-19 fatalities on Tuesday, the highest since June 16, and the positivity rate rose to 25.65 per cent with the government directing closure of all private offices, except those in exempted categories.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who visited the Wazirabad water treatment plant, warned of rationalising water supply to deal with "acute shortage".
The 'yellow' alert restrictions stipulate that shops and establishments of non-essential goods and services and malls will open based on odd-even formula from 10 am to 8 pm.
A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R S Reddy and M R Shah said if any State/Union Territory in exercise of their jurisdiction under the Disaster Management Act (DMA) has taken a decision that it is not possible to conduct the final year/terminal semester examination by September 30, then they can make an application to the UGC for extending the deadline.
Local officials said no casualties have been reported due to Wednesday's quake that hit the Madoi County in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai province of northwest China at 3:44 pm (Beijing time), tremors for which were also felt in north-eastern Nepal.
Members of national panels have received calls from ministries to step down. Kavita Chowdhury reports
