Indian Air Force Flight Lieutenant K Praveen, who perished in a rescue mission in Uttarakhand last week, was given a tearful farewell in his hometown Madurai. A Ganesh Nadar captures the sombre moments
The devastation in Uttarakhand is a classic example of the callous manner in which the Central Water Commission, the nodal agency tasked with flood forecast in the country, operates, says Himanshu Thakkar
Many in the specialised force feel they are not being treated on par with those in the armed forces. Sahil Makkar reports
The heat wave is likely to impact parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal, the Met office said.
Exercise Surya Kiran, the joint military exercise between the Indian and Nepalese armies, commenced on Friday, November 24, 2024, at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand.
The NDMA member further stated that the health conditions of the rescued workers will be monitored for the next 48 to 72 hours.
'The Climb for a Cause' expedition to Mt Rudugaira in Gangotri glacier by Summiting4Hope, an initiative started to rehabilitate the people of Uttarakhand who lost their property and livelihood during the June 2013 floods, was the first successful expedition, post the recent flood disaster in the state. Anusha Subramanian, who was part of the team, recalls the experience.
The situation in the district worsened on Friday with the flames reaching the high court colony in the Pines area.
IAF pilots and crew dodged low hanging clouds, mist covered hills, steep valleys and landed on broken landing grounds to rescue civilians in Wayanad. In one mission, they had to descend vertically to get close to the survivors. IAF flew over 80 missions, saving lives and giving hope. This is how they did it.
'Except that the population was much less.' 'I remember my uncle and family moving away from the base of a hill whenever it rained for more than a couple of days without a dry day in between.' 'Perhaps the older generations knew if it rained for more than a certain time, they must pack up to a camp or to a relative.' 'As some of the interviews of the survivors on the Malayalam television channels show, the elderly people had a premonition a tragedy would happen, and those who acted on those premonitions survived.'
Even as nature's fury is causing multitude of disasters in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the Centre is yet to appoint head of the specialised 10,000- personnel strong NDRF, the mainstay for disaster mitigation and rescue operations in the country.
'These kinds of tunnels are not meant for the Himalayas.' 'Development should be good for all people and not where you make a tunnel and 40 people get trapped.'
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.
In Chamoli district, a flood-like situation has developed along the banks of a dozen rivers, including Alaknanda and its tributaries Pindar, Nandakini and Birhi.
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to Uttarakhand and six other states for their alleged failure in implementing Disaster Management Act in order to handle natural catastrophe.
A six-inch pipe has been laid at the Silkyara tunnel through which nutritious food and medicines could be supplied to the 41 labourers, trapped for over a week after parts of the under-construction structure collapsed following a landslide.
The auger machine was facing repeated obstructions in the rubble in the past few days.
Many low-lying areas in West Bengal's sub-Himalayan region were reeling from a flood-like situation while major rivers in Bihar were flowing above the danger level at several places as unabated heavy rain lashed the country's eastern parts on Sunday.
Recollecting some stories that have taken our great country a step-forward in 2013:
Rescue workers on Tuesday were close to breaking through the 60-metre stretch of rubble of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand in which 41 workers are trapped for the last 16 days, officials said.
The decision was taken in a high-level review meeting chaired by principal secretary to prime minister PK Mishra.
According to officials, the Ganga was flowing at 463.20 metres following which water filled up in Sangam Ghat, Ramkund, Dhaneshwar Ghat and Fuladi Ghat. There was also a tremendous jump in the water level of the Ganga after 2,000-3,000 cusecs of water was released from the dam of the GVK hydroelectric project built on the Alaknanda river.
Activists strongly opposed to the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project have now turned to God. In their letter, they have urged the Almighty to save them from a 'nuclear disaster'.
Terming the recent calamity in Uttarakhand as a man-made disaster, activist Medha Patkar has said it is time to rethink the concept of development. "This disaster has been caused by unplanned development. It is the result of mindless misuse of the state's natural resources. The dams, barrages and tunnels built in the name of hydel projects have impacted the course of the rivers which led to the tragedy," Patkar said.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Friday said no progress has been made since Thursday in drilling through the debris at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand to rescue 41 trapped workers but assured that the drilling by auger machine will start soon.
Ministry wanted a halt to new dams, but AG now says matter to be decided by PMO
BJP leaders also say it will be a very difficult task before the new chief minister pleasing the 56 party MLAs, reports Shishir Prashant.
Politics came into play over the Uttarakhand floods as Narendra Modi ignored suggestions given by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde that chief ministers should not visit the flood-hit region as it hampers rescue operations.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has said that searching for tourists/pilgrims at various shrines in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand was one of the most complex jobs ever undertaken by his team.
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.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday advised VIPs not to visit rain-ravaged Uttarakhand saying such visits created difficulties in relief and rescue operations.
Meanwhile, the administration claimed it was fully prepared to deal with fresh fires in case they break out anywhere in the state due to a change in the weather.
A total of 86 metres have to be drilled vertically to prepare an escape passage. Pipes of 1.2 metres in diameter have to be laid vertically through the top of the tunnel on which work began on Sunday as a second option to reach the stranded labourers.
Rescue workers pulled out all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair for 16 days.
Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa reports how recommendations by the National Disaster Management Authority were ignored and how mining projects have contributed to the disaster.
Rat-hole mining may be illegal but the talent and experience of rat-hole miners were used in the rescue operation to save the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel, a National Disaster Management Authority member said on Tuesday.
Water level of the river Kali has been continuously rising and reached the danger level.
The death toll from the Uttarakhand glacier disaster rose to 31 with five more bodies being recovered, officials said on Tuesday as multiple agencies raced against time to reach about 30 workers trapped inside a tunnel in a power project site and 175 people remained missing.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday constituted a Cabinet committee to oversee reconstruction and rehabilitation in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.
They said the incident occurred around 4 am when a 150-metre-long portion of the four-and-a-half-kilometer-long tunnel collapsed.
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