Amid a spike in coronavirus infections in some states, the Delhi government is likely to ask travellers from five states, including Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab, to show negative COVID-19 test report before entering the national capital, officials said on Wednesday.
Rescuers at the under-construction tunnel collapse site in Uttarkashi on Tuesday initiated the process of inserting large-diameter mild steel pipes through the rubble using an auger machine to rescue the 40 workers trapped for two days now, officials said.
"The new food supply pipeline has also made it easier to supply better food in larger quantities to them, which is a good thing. Otherwise the situation remains the same," said Negi, who spoke to his brother.
Over 300 people from Maharashtra have been rescued from the earthquake-hit Nepal in the last four days, while the state government is unable to establish contact with 40 others.
A court in Mumbai on Wednesday issued summons to then Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, former Maharashtra chief secretary Sitaram Kunte and then additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani for alleged "discriminatory" orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. A complaint was filed against the three in December 2021 by Ambar Koiri, claiming that their orders imposing various restrictions during the pandemic discriminated between vaccinated and unvaccinated citizens. On Wednesday, a magistrate's court here issued 'process' (summons) to Kunte, Chahal and Kakani and posted the matter for further hearing on January 11, 2023.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has named Ravneet Kaur, a Punjab cadre IAS officer of 1988 batch, as chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Kaur will hold the post for five years or until attaining the age of 65. She is the second woman to serve in an 'economic regulator' role after Madhabi Puri Buch, who was appointed chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India last year and the first woman to head the country's chief national competition regulator.
The government has announced an interim relief of Rs 1 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.
The minister, who made an aerial survey of badly affected areas in Idukki and Ernakulam districts, said the rains and floods had caused 'massive damage' to the farm sector and infrastructure like roads and power.
The National Disaster Response Force on Friday intensified its relief and rescue operations in the rain and flood-battered Chennai and its adjoining areas as it added 20 more teams for the job and rescued over 10,000 people till now.
The number of subsidence-affected homes rose to 678 while 27 more families were evacuated to safety, a bulletin from the Disaster Management Authority in Chamoli said, adding so far 82 families have been shifted to safe locations in the town.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday constituted a Cabinet committee to oversee reconstruction and rehabilitation in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.
"The death toll has gone up to 24. The search operations are still going on. However, rains have started. "Despite that, our officials, and the NDRF are engaged in search and rescue operations," Idukki District Collector H Dineshan said.
The Yamuna surged to a record 208.48 metres at 8 am, the Central Water Commission said on Thursday, adding that it is likely to rise to 208.75 metres by 4 pm.
The Centre said that there was no legal provision to declare a disaster as a national calamity, amid demands for declaring the floods as a national disaster.
The operation went on for 66 hours after a giant 120 feet x 120 feet hoarding collapsed on a petrol pump in the Chheda Nagar area during gusty winds on Monday evening, the official said.
A DDMA meeting, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, also discussed ways to strictly enforce existing restrictions to check the rising cases of the coronavirus and its Omicron variant.
As many as 135 people have been killed in the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy and 170 others rescued, Gujarat minister Rajendra Trivedi said on Tuesday.
The fresh batch of evacuees arrived in Bengaluru, a day after 365 people returned from the African country to Delhi.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Centre and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board on implementation of safety guidelines issued by it for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu.
Congress on Monday appeared to claim credit for effective handling of cyclone 'Phailin', saying all steps are being taken under its rule to make the country "disaster-resilient" which was evident from the Indian Meteorological Department's accurate prediction and "record" evacuation of over one million people in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Family members of people who committed suicide within 30 days of being diagnosed with COVID-19 will be entitled to Rs 50,000 ex-gratia assistance as per the guidelines, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Local train services came to a halt between Badlapur and Ambarnath section in Maharashtra's Thane district adjoining Mumbai due to water-logging on railway tracks after heavy rains, officials said.
The Election Commission Wednesday decided to defer proposed by-polls to three Lok Sabha and eight assembly seats in view of the prevailing coronavirus situation in the country.
The injured -- 130 -- cannot go back to work nor do they have homes to return to. Many of them refuse to leave the hospital while some of their relatives sleep in the hospital corridors. Apart from their physical injuries, the trauma of seeing their family members swept away haunts them as does the loss of all their possessions. But the BJP-Sena government remains indifferent to this human crisis.
Floods triggered by the torrential rain since June 14 have wreaked havoc, inundating a vast swathe of flat land in the south and southwest of the country.
At least 312 people have died and over two million affected due to rains and devastating floods in Pakistan, even as swelling waters continued to ravage the country's southern Punjab province, officials said on Monday.
The administration is geared up for more showers as the India meteorological department has warned of heavy to very heavy rains with isolated extremely heavy rains in several districts of the state till Thursday morning.
The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a warning about havoc rainfall or a cloud burst hitting Bihar's flood-affected districts in the next 24 to 48 hours, officials said on Sunday.
With the fresh fatalities, the total number of people losing their lives in this year's flood and landslides across the state has gone up to 42.
"Six bodies have been retrieved from the accident site so far. The rescue teams are still on job," an NDRF spokesperson said.
Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has warned about the possibilities of landslides in the hilly areas already hit by extremely heavy rainfall in the past few days and directed people living in the region and government authorities to be vigilant.
While incessant rain in the past 24 hours has wreaked havoc in parts of the northeast, triggering flash floods, the national capital experienced one of its hottest days.
Taking note of large-scale deaths because of the heat wave in various parts of country, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked a Group of Ministers to discuss and decide on its inclusion as natural calamity.
The home ministry on Wednesday dropped domestic air travel from the list of prohibited activities during the ongoing lockdown, paving the way for operations of regular commercial flights. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla issued the order in this effect in his capacity as chairperson of the national executive committee under the National Disaster Management Act.
They said the incident occurred around 4 am when a 150-metre-long portion of the four-and-a-half-kilometer-long tunnel collapsed.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck about 44 km (27 miles) from the city of Khost in southeastern Afghanistan and was at a depth of 51 km.
The number of school students testing positive rose on Friday raising concerns among parents with the Delhi government telling school authorities to close specific wings or classrooms wherever needed.
The Centre on Friday opposed before the Delhi high court fully re-opening the Nizamuddin Markaz, where the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was held in March 2020 amid COVID-19 pandemic and has remained shut since then, stating that a few people may be allowed to offer prayers on the upcoming religious occasions.
The move may trigger a confrontation between the AAP dispensation and the LG office.
The quake hit at 12:37 pm near Afghanistan's northern border with Tajikistan in the Hindu Kush mountains at a depth of 191 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
