Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday reviewed relief and rescue operations with senior officials of the government after returning to Dehradun from on-site inspection of Joshimath landslide area gave directions for forming a coordination committee immediately at the government level under the chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary and at the local level under the chairmanship of the Commissioner Garhwal.
'The message is loud and clear: "If you're not falling in line, we will open a line of understanding with the MNS, and then the Shiv Sena will be in trouble".'
India needs another shot of difficult reform, of the kind only possible at gunpoint. Mr Trump holds that gun to our heads now. A drastic reduction in tariff protection, other elements of sarkari wet-nursing will force entrepreneurial India to become competitive again, argues Shekhar Gupta.
An old bridge across Kali river in Uttara Kannada district collapsed in the small hours of Wednesday, resulting in heavy traffic along National Highway 66, connecting Goa to Karnataka.
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.
More than 45 lakh people in 30 out of the total 38 districts of the state have been affected by the calamity in two phases since last month, according to the Disaster Management Department.
Rescue operations were underway on Friday to trace over 45 people missing following flash floods triggered by cloudbursts in three districts of Himachal Pradesh, officials said on Friday.
Union minister Jitendra Singh assured the members of the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that there is better nuclear safety in India as compared to many other countries and there are enough safeguards in the Indian nuclear plants.
'Imagine hanging from a thin steel cable under a helicopter with certain death staring at you below, being pulled up slowly in the din and downwash of the helicopter.' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe, a helicopter pilot himself, reports on how the air force rescued those trapped in the Deoghar cable cars disaster last fortnight.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala asked petitioner Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati to approach the Uttarakhand high court with his petition.
A packed beyond capacity bus carrying passengers returning to work after Diwali fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora district on Monday, killing at least 36 of the over 60 people on board.
Seven bodies have been recovered in the operation that continued through the night, Sachin GIDC police station inspector Jignesh Chaudhari said.
"You cannot have a lockdown of people, and a lockout of the economy. That is not the way to formulate policy. We are not criticising, we are only saying it is time to rethink, we will support the government in every possible way," said Kapil Sibal.
Kiren Rijiju said the coronavirus-forced nationwide lockdown, which has been extended till May 17, forced his ministry to delay the resumption of the training camps at Sports Authority of India (SAI) centres. The lockdown was earlier meant to end on May 3.
'These are people whom very few give importance and they were doing a mammoth job for the nation.'
Severe cyclonic storm Michaung crossed south Andhra Pradesh coast close to Bapatla district between 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm on Tuesday with maximum gales of up to 90-100 km per hour speed, said an Amaravati Meteorological Centre official.
The 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel for the last 11 days are likely to be rescued in the next few hours or by tomorrow, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said on Thursday evening.
Apart from 15 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 12 teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), personnel of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Indian Coast Guard and Border Security Force (BSF) are deployed for relief and rescue operations, officials said.
The prime minister wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Union Home Ministry officials and National Disaster Management Authority regarding the situation 'which is being monitored closely'.
Asra Hussain Raza, a 26-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants, was among the 67 people killed in a tragic midair collision between an Army helicopter and a jetliner at Ronald Reagan National Airport in the US. The collision, the deadliest aviation disaster in the US since 2001, happened when American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with the Army helicopter as it approached the airport on Wednesday night. Raza, a consultant, graduated with honors from Indiana University and married her college sweetheart in August 2023.
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.
Monitored by the National Disaster Management Authority, the mock drills were carried out simultaneously at Rajiv Chowk (terror attack), Chawri Bazar (toxic gas release), Rithala (bomb blast at parking area) and Shastri Park (call about planting of bomb at train depot) at around 6:15 am.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a 'Red Alert' and predicted 'very heavy' to 'extremely heavy' rainfall across several districts of Assam till Thursday.
As many as 21,080 villagers from Vasai, Palghar, Dahanu and Talasari talukas, which are likely to be affected by the cyclonic storm, have been shifted to safer places, district collector Dr Kailas Shinde said.
The cyclone ravaged adjacent coasts of the state and Bangladesh between Sagar Island and Khepupara, near the southwest of Mongla in the neighbouring country, after its landfall process began at 8.30 pm on Sunday.
The government declared Monday (Dec 4) a public holiday and urged private companies to encourage 'work from home' option for its employees in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts.
Dhubri is the worst-hit district, followed by Cachar and Darrang.
The very severe cyclonic storm 'Biparjoy' intensified into an 'extremely severe cyclonic storm' and is likely to cross Saurashtra-Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts around the afternoon of June 15 as a 'very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS)', the India Meteorological Department said on Sunday.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
The search operation was suspended around 6 pm on Friday due to heavy rains, an NDRF official said.
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.
Six people have died and around 10 people have been injured in heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh that triggered landslides and flash floods in several places in the state, according to official estimates.
Managing the senior generals has proven to be quite a headache for General Asim Munir, even as he and his team of loyal henchmen labour hard to dispel the sense of unhappiness among the public about the army's overbearing presence and interference in matters 'civilian', notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
In the months immediately following the 2024 tragedy, reporting on the landslide per se had been a straightforward affair. On one side was death and destruction. On the other side, survivors and the business of survival. It was black and white. What direction to take was clear. Rehabilitation in comparison, felt like a complex situation. One that is fraught with shades of grey. As grey as human life, explains Shyam G Menon.
Rescue operations were underway in three subdivisions of Darjeeling district where multiple landslides have claimed 38 lives besides washing away highways and damaging homes.
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.
The maximum damage has been reported from Mandi, Kangra and Chamba districts, he said, adding that so far 36 weather-related incidents have been reported from the state.
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.
The building, which housed godowns on the ground and first floors and four families on the top floor, collapsed at 1.45 pm on Saturday at Wardhaman Compound in Valpada of Mankoli area.
The auger machine was facing repeated obstructions in the rubble in the past few days.