It isn't that a person occupying high office has no right to do what he/she likes. For sure, they do; after all, they are human. But there are also things like priority, timing and sense of larger country. Sadly, we live in a world awash in tunnel vision, asserts Shyam G Menon.
Rejecting criticism of tardy relief operations in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said government was making all efforts and complimented armed forces personnel for their untiring efforts in rescuing the stranded people.
Bharadwaj said it has not rained in Delhi in the last 3-4 days, yet still the water level in Yamuna reached 208.66 metres.
General Pande said, "25-28 buildings (of the Army) have developed minor cracks and the soldiers have been temporarily relocated. If needed they will be permanently relocated to Auli."
The 94-year-old environmentalist known for his pioneering role in the Chipko movement was under treatment for COVID-19 at the hospital for over a week.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who is in Delhi, expressed grief at the loss of lives and announced a compensation of Rs two lakh each to the families of the victims.
The accused were later granted bail by the sub-divisional magistrate's (SDM) court, police said.
The accident took place at Vishnuprayag when the driver of the bus carrying 45 passengers lost control of the wheel on being hit by a boulder which rolled down a hillside due to a landslide in area, police said, adding that 41 bodies had been retrieved.
Incessant rains unleashed more death and destruction on Monday in parts of north India, with 37 people killed in landslides and other rain-related incidents in the last two days even as the Army and NDRF teams stepped in to intensify the relief and rescue operations.
What happened in Uttarakhand is a national tragedy. Why couldn't Dr Manmohan Singh announce that he was forming an Uttarakhand Relief and Rehabilitation Committee, with himself as chairman but inviting Narendra Modi to become the deputy chairman, asks T V R Shenoy.
The death toll in the Uttarkashi bus accident rose to 26 with the recovery of one more body after which the search and rescue operation was concluded, officials said on Monday.
A bench of Justices K M Joseph and J B Pardiwala was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared in the matter on behalf of the Maharashtra government, that the state undertakes that if the event is allowed to be held, it will be subject to the condition that 'nobody will make any hate speech and act in defiance of law or disturb the public order'.
The Northern Railways said it has cancelled around 17 trains and diverted around 12 others, while traffic has been suspended at four locations due to waterlogging.
Former Uttarakhand DGP Aloke B Lal on Tuesday said the hurry shown in the demolition of the resort in question in the Ankita Bhandari murder case must have destroyed crucial evidence.
"Yeh kaam hamare ghar ka hai, duty ka nahin (The rescue work we are doing is personal work for us and not just a part of official duty)," an Indo-Tibetan Border Police jawan, who hails from Kumaon region, said.
The water level at the Old Railway Bridge crossed the 208-metre mark Wednesday night and rose to 208.48 metres by 8 am on Thursday. It is expected to rise further, according to the Central Water Commission, which has termed it an "extreme situation".
A Mumbai court on Monday extended till January 14 the police custody of Shweta Singh and Mayank Rawal, arrested from Uttarakhand in connection with the case pertaining to the 'Bulli Bai' app, which targeted Muslim women by putting up their images online for 'auction.'
Following backlash on social media over 'Shaktiman' being given more importance than the cops who lost their lives, the government has removed the statue of the police horse installed.
A Delhi Police team probing the killing of Shradha Walkar visited the office of a private firm in Gurugram where the accused Aaftab Amin Poonawala used to work, officials said.
Local residents and even security personnel are using Nepalese SIM cards in border areas of Uttarakhand as no state-owned or private telecom company from India is providing services in the area, raising security issues.
The terrorists wanted to target Fateh, a Canadian national who often visits India, to create a sensation across the world.
The police staged a flag march in the main market area of the town and appealed to people to maintain peace.
Forty bodies of flood victims were recovered from Haridwar on Friday, taking the toll in the rain fury to 190 as operations to rescue over 9,000 stranded in Kedarnath and Badrinath were stepped up with the deployment of 40 helicopters.
Police forces of several states were on the look out for him.
Holding placards and banners that read "INDIA for Manipur" and "INDIA demands PM's statement on Manipur", the opposition parties raised slogans against the government in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament complex.
Eleven of the 18 Uttarakhand police personnel, accused in the 2009 fake encounter case of MBA student Ranbir Singh in Dehradun, on Tuesday surrendered before a Delhi court which sent them to jail.
Incense materials comprising ghee and aromatic woods have been despatched to Kedarnath
The sacred portals of Badrinath shrine in Garhwal Himalayas were reopened on Monday after a gap of six months amid chants of vedic hymns and elaborate rituals.
The Indian Air Force is probing the incident, an IAF source said.
Police horse 'Shaktiman', who suffered multiple fractures on its hind leg during a Bharatiya Janata Party protest in Dehradun last month triggering widespread outrage, died on Wednesday.
The local, district and police administration are reaching out to meat traders to ensure this, officials said.
A major fire broke out in Britannia Industries' Pantnagar manufacturing plant on Sunday destroying thousands of tons of biscuits. However, no one was killed or injured in the fire which broke out around 1230 hours in the biscuit division of the factory, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Udhamsingh Nagar (district) Manjunath T C told Business Standard after the firefighters put the fire out. "With the help of 15-20 fire tenders, we were able to control the fire which was very major," Manjunath said.
Using drones and remote-sensing equipment, rescue teams intensified efforts on Wednesday to reach the 25-35 men trapped in a sludge-choked tunnel since the Uttarakhand glacier disaster three days ago and more than 170 remained missing, hopes of finding them alive fading with every passing hour.
Fresh snowfall disrupted normal life in Jammu and Kashmir, where an avalanche warning was issued in five districts, higher reaches and tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh and the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand on Monday.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed all states and union territories(UTs) to register cases against those making hate speeches even without any complaint, terming these speeches as a 'serious offence' capable of affecting the secular fabric of the country.
A helicopter carrying pilgrims from Guptkashi to Kedarnath crashed on Tuesday amid poor visibility and seven people on board are feared dead.
The team consisted of trainee mountaineers from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering and their trainers.
Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel patrol a snow-bound area at 15,000 feet in sub-zero temperatures in the Uttarakhand Himalayas, February 17, 2022.
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.
District nagistrate Ashish Chauhan said the curfew in the 25 villages will be in force from 7 pm to 6 am.
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