The Indian Navy on Monday unveiled a 15-year plan to boost maritime infrastructure even as Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said the force is working with the Army and the IAF to ensure tri-services jointness and integration to meet future challenges.
Orissa learnt its lessons from previous cyclones, particularly the 1999 super cyclone, whereas Uttarakhand has failed to do so from any of the previous natural calamities that hit the state, says Dinesh C Sharma.
'This pandemic has given him a new platform to perform,' says a member of the government. 'He should feel lucky that he has got an opportunity now to demonstrate to the world his original talent.' 'He needs a visionary script to perform.' Sheela Bhatt reports on the politics of the pandemic.
Heavy rains continued to pound Chennai and nearby districts on Monday under the impact of a cyclonic storm, which is likely to cross the coast in Andhra Pradesh on December 5.
Mumbai and its adjoining areas were lashed by heavy showers on Tuesday, causing water-logging at a number of places, including railway tracks, which slowed the movement of trains and vehicles on roads.
Incessant rains have claimed as many as 29 lives in Andhra Pradesh during the past four days while more than 72,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas.
'When we talk of disaster, it is a combination of hazard and vulnerability.' 'If we reduce vulnerability, it will remain a hazard.'
The ongoing lockdown in force in other parts of the state will continue during which essential supplies like groceries, vegetables, fruits and milk will be available to the people.
Chief Minister M K Stalin inspected several inundated areas here along with top officials including Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu and directed authorities to take swift action to drain flood water.
The earthquake took place at 03:41:01 (UTC+05:30) at a depth of 18.5 km. The magnitude of the earthquake caused pulses to travel from Sidi Ifni in the south to Rabat in the north and beyond.
Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha 'the government is absolutely sensitive and seized of the matter'.
The staff and security personnel are performing their duties using mechanised and country boats to deal with any kind of eventualities, they said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said future decisions on COVID-19 SOPs will be taken in consultation with the Union Health Ministry and the state Task Force, amid a difference between the Centre and the state over guidelines for international travellers in the wake of the new variant of SARS-CoV2.
Tracing the remaining persons was proving a daunting task as the river remained in spate with over two lakh cusecs of floodwater gushing, sources said.
India suffered one of its most embarrassing defeat in recent years despite Sunil Chhetri's 94th international goal in his 150th match.
Security has been tightened in the hill shrine of Sabarimala in view of the anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition. Contingents of police, CRPF, National Disaster Response Force and armed commandos had been deployed in vital spots at the uphill 'Sannidhanam', where the temple complex is located, and downhill Pampa, senior police officials said.
Prohibition of all types of gatherings, reduced size of weddings and funerals, running of public transport at half seating capacity and scaled down presence in government offices were some of the restrictions imposed by the Delhi government on Saturday amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The national capital, parts of which reeled under heatwave conditions for the past few days, had some relief on Wednesday with strong winds and partly cloudy skies witnessed during the day.
Modi called for ensuring maintenance of all essential services such as power, telecommunications, health and drinking and their immediate restoration in the event of damages caused to them.
Anxious relatives of several Indians stuck in Sudan following the fighting between the Army and paramilitary forces are eagerly waiting for information about their relatives and appealed to the government to evacuate them from the strife-torn African country as soon as possible.
The death toll in the two high intensity quakes that rattled Bihar on Tuesday rose to 19 on Wednesday, with two more deaths reported from Vaishali and Siwan districts.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray through video conference and took stock of the state's preparedness to tackle any eventuality, the latter's office said. 10 units of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in vulnerable districts, while six others have been kept on a stand-by, officials said.
The death toll is Jammu and Kashmir mounts to nearly 200 and thousands still wait to be evacuated.
Nearly 6,000 passengers were stranded as train services on the Konkan Railway route in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district were suspended on Thursday after a river overflowed following heavy rains, while incessant downpour badly hit road and rail traffic in several parts of the state, including around Mumbai, as authorities called in NDRF to help the administration in rescue efforts.
People in coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh heaved a sigh of relief on Thursday as the third cyclonic storm in over a month, which was expected to cause extensive damage, weakened before it hit the state.
The visuals on social media also showed huge traffic on the National Highway-24 and Sarai Kale Khan where vehicles were crawling. Water from the overflowing Yamuna river reached ITO, a key route to commute from east Delhi to central Delhi and Connaught Place.
India is no longer shying away from playing a role on the regional and international stages and is willing to don a bigger role in regional politics. It is showing traits of a responsible stakeholder in the regional security dynamics, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
West Bengal and Odisha have evacuated lakhs of people from vulnerable areas to safety as severe cyclonic storm 'Yaas' is nearing the coast and is expected to make landfall near Dhamra Port in Bhadrak district early on Wednesday morning.
People lost their lives in the affected districts due to incidents of drowning, electrocution, house collapse and falling of trees, a disaster management department release said.
Modi joined the conference virtually and reviewed the action points of the previous conference, an official statement said, adding discussions were held to improve the overall security scenario with more people-friendly initiatives, it said.
Taking strong exception to former West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay skipping a meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, government sources on Wednesday said his conduct has made a severe dent to Indian Administrative Service and it could lead to anarchy.
'Now they're talking about changing the Constitution; they feel they have no reason now to hide their intentions.'
Incessant showers lashed Mumbai and its neighbouring areas on Wednesday morning, leading to flooding in many low-lying areas and traffic snarls on roads.
Emphasising the effect of the potential COVID third wave on children, the report said the Indian Academy of Paediatrics found that there is no biological evidence that the current and the new Delta Plus variant will affect children more than adults.
Nearly 200 people were feared to have been buried alive in Sri Lanka after a devastating landslide triggered by rains destroyed the homes of mostly Indian-origin plantation workers, as heavy machinery was deployed on Thursday in rescue operations involving the army.
Sujith Wilson had fallen into the disused farm borewell while playing near his house in Nadukattupatti on Friday evening, and various central and state agencies were called in to rescue him.
The fire department said they received a call around 4.23 am about a fire in the factory at Udoh Nagar area after which seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot, the official said.
The Sikkim Government has confirmed that 14 people have died so far in the flash floods that occurred in Sikkim in the early hours of Wednesday.
An unspecified number of people were evacuated from coastal areas of Odisha where Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore were likely to experience heavy rainfall accompanied by high-velocity winds, particularly on May 19 and 20, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.
Under its impact, rains will start on Sunday night and gradually increase on Monday in the northern districts of Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram, S Balachandran, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, said.
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