The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a PIL alleging that Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu awarded government contracts to his family members. The court has asked the state government to provide details of the beneficiaries and inform if due process was followed. The bench also sought responses from union ministries of home affairs, finance and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the issue within five weeks.
A total of 33 teams have been earmarked by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to undertake relief and rescue operations in Gujarat and Maharashtra ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone 'Biparjoy' near the Jakhau port in Kutch district, officials said on Wednesday.
During the four-month monsoon period, India recorded the highest rainfall since 1994, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Darryl D' Monte, the distinguished enviromental journalist, discusses how the media covers floods in Mumbai or Texas, but ignores Assam or Bangladesh.
Officials at the UAE embassy in New Delhi on Friday said the UAE had not officially announced any financial aid for Kerala flood relief. However, Vijayan claimed there was no lack of clarity on UAE aid for the flood-ravaged state.
China has defended its plan to build the world's largest dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, assuring that the project will not affect riparian states and safety issues have been addressed through decades of studies. The dam, estimated to cost USD 137 billion, has raised concerns in India and Bangladesh, but Chinese authorities maintain that the project has been thoroughly studied and safeguards are in place. The dam is part of China's efforts to develop clean energy and respond to climate change.
With the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and allies far ahead in all the 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state and 1 in neighbouring Puducherry, it appears the outcome, for the Stalin-led Dravidian party will be similar to the success of the popular flick Baahubali.
The meeting took place days after Pawar said that he would discuss with the chief minister the issues of soaring onion prices and flood relief package from the Centre.
An estimated 223 people have lost their lives since August 8 in Kerala's worst floods in decades that has caused damage worth more than Rs 20,000 crore.
The deluge, which had affected 2.5 lakh people in 11 districts on Wednesday, spread to six more districts on Thursday affecting 4.23 lakh people, it said.
In Punjab, more than 9,000 people were evacuated in Patiala, Rupnagar, Moga, Ludhiana, Mohali, SBS Nagar and Fatehgarh Sahib districts, officials said on Tuesday.
Residents in Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra continue to struggle as floods leave them in a watery hell.
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.
In Kerala's society, known for its high material standard of living, plunging into a state of having nothing overnight can be terrible for one's social standing and sense of self-esteem. Rehabilitation entails piecing a community back together after a disturbance and while its aim is noble, the act of reassembling will bring alive disparities and inequalities, explains Shyam G Menon.
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.
A team of navy, army, NDRF, and SDRF personnel are working to rescue nine workers trapped inside a coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district. The mine is suspected to be illegal, and one person has been arrested in connection with the incident. Rescue efforts have been underway since Monday, but no workers have been found yet.
The minister, who made an aerial survey of badly affected areas in Idukki and Ernakulam districts, said the rains and floods had caused 'massive damage' to the farm sector and infrastructure like roads and power.
Assam-based athlete Das shared a glimpse of her flood-stricken neighbourhood, and appealed big corporates and followers to contribute to the CM's Relief Fund.
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.
Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, was caught in a massive flood of unprecedented scale on Thursday, leaving hundreds of pilgrims stranded even as a heavy downpour under the influence of a depression in Bay of Bengal battered the temple-town Tirupati and many parts of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kangana Ranaut visited some cloudburst-affected areas in Rampur, in Shimla on Tuesday, taking stock of the situation.
Over 40 people are still missing after a series of cloudbursts occurred in Kullu's Nirmand, Sainj and Malana, Mandi's Padhar and Shimla's Rampur subdivision on the night of July 31 and wreaked havoc.
At least five people were killed in separate rain-related incidents on Tuesday in Bengaluru, which has been reeling under incessant rains for the past three days causing widespread flooding in several residential areas and turning roads into virtual rivers.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday held Jharkhand and DVC responsible for the current "man made" flood in the southern part of the state and contended that it was caused due to the unplanned and enhanced discharge of water from dams and barrages in the neighbouring state without information.
The "weaponisation" of economic activity - through tariffs and sanctions - is now a reality, with countries leveraging these tools strategically, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at the Raisina Dialogue recently.
More than 1,25,000 people have been rescued from the flood-ravaged parts of Jammu and Kashmir so far as the relief operations launched by the Armed forces entered the 11th day on Friday.
About 1.82 lakh people have been evacuated to safe places by the rescue teams in last 48 hours.
Incessant downpour battered several states, including Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka, on Friday, with landslips and floods throwing normal life out of gear.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that one person died in the state in cyclone Dana, even as the administration evacuated around 2.16 lakh people from the low-lying areas.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi defended himself saying several tasks can be done simultaneously.
Meanwhile, flight operations from the Kochi international airport will resume at 12 noon on Sunday, an airport official said.
With reports of eight fresh deaths on Thursday, the total toll in Bihar flood increased to 135, with Bhojpur district accounting for 12 deaths in the second round of floods due to the swollen Ganga.
Dhubri is the worst hit with over 8.72 lakh people affected, followed by Barpeta with more than 4.78 lakh people and Goalpara with around 4.28 lakh population.
The results for the polls will be announced on May 18, Election Commission sources said.
The district administration has instructed tourists to postpone their visit to Dharamshala in view of the heavy rains.
'We waded through the wet mud into the school, and what we saw were dead bodies strewn all over.' 'We could also see parts of human bodies buried under the wet mud.' 'It was a sight I will never forget in my life. Total devastation everywhere.'
The situation in Karimganj, Cachar, Morigaon, Nagaon and Dhubri remains grim with the rivers still flowing above the danger level, sources said in Guwahati.
A total of 1.79 lakh hectare agricultural land was submerged and around 90 per cent of rhino habitats -- the Kaziranga National Park and the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary -- are under water.
The latest rains since Saturday evening led to lakes and other water bodies overflowing and triggering flooding of several low-lying areas, including places affected last week, in Hyderabad and on the outskirts.
