A special audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed that Odisha's forest and environment department sidestepped central guidelines, procuring and customising Mahindra Thar SUVs worth 17 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for forest protection, despite the funds being earmarked for 'preparedness and capacity building'.
Schools in Delhi are taking precautionary measures to protect students from the ongoing heatwave, including suspending outdoor activities, shifting assemblies indoors, and considering early closure for junior classes.
State Disaster Management Department Principal Secretary Vyasji said in Patna that the boat, with more than 65 passengers on board, capsized near Ghoria Ghat while sailing to Bhagwanpur from Ranha village.
A cloudburst in the high altitude villages of Dharali in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand led to flash floods, causing damage to houses and sweeping away structures. Several people are feared buried under debris.
Swirling floodwaters have paralysed normal life and marooned over 1.20 crore people.
About 1.82 lakh people have been evacuated to safe places by the rescue teams in last 48 hours.
Purnea bore the brunt of the Nor'wester with a maximum of 38 deaths.
Even as Bihar continues its own rehabilitation after it was ravaged by floods, the state has offered Rs 10 crore for relief works for the flood-affected people in Jammu and Kashmir, besides supply of dry ration and boats.
Thousands of people in Darbhanga, West Champaran and Nalanda districts in Bihar have been affected by floods after rivers flowing through these districts breached their embankments. Floods occurred in Darbhanga and West Champaran districts after breaches developed in the embankments of Kamla Balan and Gandak rivers respectively, while in Nalanda it was due to the overflowing of Panchane river.
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.
The decision was taken in a high-level review meeting chaired by principal secretary to prime minister PK Mishra.
Drought hit Bihar plans to increase the number of days of work from 100 to 150 under the rural job scheme to check migration of the poorest of poor in search of livelihood by providing employment opportunity locally.
The toll in the killer nor'wester in Bihar rose to 54 as reports of 12 more deaths came from the 12 ravaged districts on Thursday.
An Air India aircraft with 242 passengers on board heading to London crashed in the Meghaninagar area near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon, the police said.
'While it is very easy to blame the chief minister, the bureaucracy should be held accountable. Chief ministers come every five years but bureaucracy is a permanent setup. The bureaucracy is trained for handling such situations with alacrity.'
An official statement said Modi chaired a meeting where he was briefed about the likelihood of above-normal maximum temperatures over most parts of the country during April-June, with high probability of such conditions in central western peninsular India.
Official figures say 1.8 lakh workers have returned home to Bihar. Unofficially, however, that figure is said to have crossed 3 lakhs. Can Bihar cope?
The flood situation in Bihar is showing signs of improvement after the swollen rivers started receding on Friday. For nearly a week major rivers like Ganga had wreaked havoc in the state.
Floods have forced people to eat rats to survive as there is nothing left to eat. M I Khan reports from Patna.
Citing evolving needs and aspirations of the citizens, he said that the civil service must adapt to contemporary challenges to remain relevant.
Even as three eastern districts in Assam are reeling under flood, 14 of the 27 districts in the state are facing an unprecedented dry spell, which compelled the state government to declare those drought affected, following a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
With the rise in level of the Ganga, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed apprehension of further rise in water level by Monday in view of release of water from Bansagar dam as flood-like situation prevailed in the state.
A total 4.16 lakh people have been evacuated so far from the 12 flood-affected districts of Buxar, Bhojpur, Patna, Vaishali, Saran, Begusarai, Samastipur, Lakhisarai, Khagaria, Munger, Bhagalpur and Katihar.
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.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar conducted aerial survey of 12 inundated districts to take stock of the situation arising out of flood which has claimed 190 lives so far in Bihar.
According to media reports, 56 people -- mostly farm labourers working in the fields -- died in Bihar while 44 people were killed across Uttar Pradesh, Jharkand and Madhya Pradesh.
Chandna took to Twitter to vent out his anger. He wrote, 'Honourable chief minister, I have a personal request to you. Free me from this cruel ministerial post and give the charge of all my departments to Kuldeep Ranka ji, because anyway, he is the minister of all the departments. Thank you.'
Four persons have died in Bihar since Monday in rain-related incidents due to the 'peripheral effect' of Cyclone Phailin, taking the death toll in the state to 14.
Araria accounted for 20 flood deaths, followed by Sitamarhi (11), West Champaran (9), Kisanganj (8), Madhubani and Purnea (5 each), Madhepura and Darbhanga (4 each), East Champaran (3), Sheohar (2) and Supual (1), said Anirudh Kumar, special secretary in the state disaster management department.
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.
Gujarat will host the next round of G20 meetings from March 27 to April 4, during which three conclaves will be held in the state on a range of issues, where delegates from different countries will converge for participation, an official said.
A day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar demanded central assistance of Rs 12,000 crore to tide over the drought in 33 of the 38 districts in the state, opposition leaders appeared keener to politicise the issue by portaying themselves as champions of millions of drought-hit farmers.
Choppers belonging to the Western Air Command carried out over 50 sorties over the last 48 hours, rescuing over 780 citizens in the flood-affected areas of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh, Indian Air Force officials said.
The three districts are among over a dozen in the state that were lashed by incessant rain for close to 48 hours bringing normal business to a grinding halt and disrupting rail and road traffic in most places.
'Villages are much better prepared than towns as far as COVID-19 is concerned.'
Himachal Pradesh on Monday became the fourth state to report cases of bird flu after Rajasthan, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, with officials confirming that migratory birds found dead at Pong Dam Lake in Kangra district have tested positive for the dreaded avian influenza.
Home Secretary L C Goyal said 72 deaths were reported from the four states of Bihar -- 56, Uttar Pradesh -- 12, West Bengal -- 3 and Rajasthan --1.
In a statement, the PMO said three vaccines are in advanced stages of development in India, out of which two are in Phase II and one is in Phase-III. It further said Indian Scientists and research teams are collaborating and strengthening the research capacities in neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
The fire incinerated the bus and nobody could be retrieved so far.
The Supreme Court Thursday appreciated the Centre's step to grant ex gratia assistance to the kin of those who died due to COVID-19 saying it has to take judicial notice of the fact that what India has done, no other country has been able to do.
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