Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan has taken up the anti-encroachment drive on a war footing and was in Munnar on Wednesday to monitor the taking over of 1,300 acres allegedly held by Tata Tea.
Elephants in Kerala will soon have the luxury of 'ambulance' service to transport sick and injured jumbos.
No fresh Nipah positive cases were reported in the state since September 16 with 218 samples of persons who were in the high-risk contact list turning up negative for the virus till date, the Kerala government said on Monday.
The Centre on Wednesday deployed multi-disciplinary teams in bird flu-affected areas of Kerala and Haryana, while Madhya Pradesh, where crows have died due to the influenza, banned the entry of chicken consignments from southern states for 10 days as a precautionary measure.
Rescue teams on Friday used GPS coordinates from aerial drone pictures and cell phones, including the last location of people who lived in the landslides-hit areas of Wayanad to help locate survivors, amidst accelerated search operations after the completion of the 190-foot-long Bailey bridge by the Army.
'I am not an aspiration-oriented politician.' 'This is the time to redefine politics.' 'Politics of power is not real politics.'
Several people are still feared trapped in the debris after a series of landslides that occurred in Chooralmala and Mundakkai of Wayanad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi went on a 'safari' at the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka on Sunday, as part of programmes to mark 50 years of 'Project Tiger'.
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The plea filed by an advocate has also sought issuance of guidelines for creation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to tackle such incidents and filling up of vacancies in forest forces across the country.
For years, elephants have gone through unspeakable torture and abuse at the hands of human beings -- from hunters and poachers targeting them for sport or their tusks, to people trying to tame them for entertainment purposes -- they have been beaten, shocked, and whipped into submission Since there's no concrete way to curb this violence, Kerala has come up with a unique initiative to help them - an elephant rehabilitation centre. Take a look at the home for the gentle giants situated at Kottoor, an ecotourism village situated nearly 35 km from Thiruvananthapuram.
'I don't believe there is an international conspiracy to swamp tribals in India or in Jharkhand.'
Mini cloud bursts are marked by intense short spells which may not exceed 10cm in one hour-a classical definition by India Meteorological Department, he noted.
The Maoist blast took place around 3 pm near Timmapuram village between Silger and Tekalgudem camps of security forces, over 400 km from the state capital Raipur.
'It was a war-like situation, but instead of enemy fire, we fought against the vagaries of nature,' says Major Seeta Shelke.
Poor dam management was considered as a major reason for the 2018 floods in the state that led to a loss of around Rs 50,000 crore and claimed as many as 483 lives, reports Shine Jacob.
A control room has also been set up and the Strategic Health Operations Centre (SHOC) of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has been activated, phone number for which is 011-23978046, a health ministry statement stated.
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.
'Heavy rains are not the primary reason for landslides in Wayanad.' 'There are all sorts of (human) intervention going on in that area.'
Sixteen deaths in rain and flood-related incidents have been reported from western Maharashtra in the last seven days, while the toll in Karnataka rose to five since Sunday.
Water level in the Mullaperiyar dam is threatening to cross the permissible limit of 142 feet, leading to fears about the safety of the people living downstream from it in Kerala even as six spillway shutters were opened on Monday night to release excess water.
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Drowning, followed by inhalation of water leading to lung failure was the immediate cause of death of the elephant, said the preliminary report prepared on May 28, a day after the elephant, estimated to be 15-year old, died in Velliyar River.
Primary investigation into the death of the pregnant elephant in Kerala has found that it may have accidentally consumed a cracker-stuffed fruit, the environment ministry said on Monday. The ministry also noted that many a time, locals resort to the illegal act of planting explosive-filled fruits to repel wild boars from entering plantation farms.
'A lot of unauthorised encroachments have taken place in our forest area.' 'The landslides are partly because of such encroachments.' 'The other factor is deforestation.' 'Protection of forest resources is not on the agenda of any government.' 'The damage caused by the rain in Kerala is a man-made factor.'
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The Centre on Wednesday said Avian Influenza, or the bird flu outbreak, has been reported at 12 epicentres in four states -- Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh -- and advisories have been issued to contain further spread of the infection in poultry ducks, crows and migratory birds.
Two persons, including an eight-year-old child, died after being swept away in a flash flood at Mankayam waterfalls in Palode near Thiruvananthapuram, police said on Monday.
Strict lockdown-like restrictions are already in place in the southern stateand the Pinarayi Vijayan government decided to clamp the complete shutdown in the wake of severe spike in the positive cases.
Personnel of NDRF, Fire, Forest and police departments have expanded their search operations to the downstream of a river in their efforts to trace 19 more people who were still missing in the August 7 tragedy near Rajamala.
The statement by the Communist Party of India man in the CPI(M)-led ministry has spurred widespread criticism against the V S Achuthanandan government.
Close on the heels of Kenya, which recently set on fire over a hundred ton of its ivory stockpile, experts in India are mulling a similar provision to destroy the "white gold" to send a strong message against poaching.
With mercury level soaring, Kerala is likely to face drought-like situation amid fears of drinking water scarcity and power crisis in the poll-bound state as water bodies are fast drying up.
Heavy rains pounded south and central Kerala on Saturday wreaking havoc in many parts with some people feared missing in the landslides that occurred in hilly areas bordering Kottayam and Idukki districts prompting the state government to seek the assistance of the Army and Air Force for rescue operations.
Nipah virus infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans.
Delhi, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra on Monday confirmed bird flu cases, adding to the list of seven states -- Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh -- which had already reported avian deaths due to the disease.
These plantations are not only eating into the land occupied by the region's native forests, they could also disturb the ground water reserve and soil quality
The presence of the virus is confirmed in the dead birds in Madhya Pradesh and Kerala while Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat, too, have a strong suspicion of avian influenza in dead birds.
