Intense rains lashed Kerala on Sunday, uprooting trees across the state, including one that fell on a moving train in Thrissur and another that caused a fatality in Kozhikode. Houses were damaged, rivers were in spate, and shutters of some dams were raised as the southwest monsoon gained strength. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) placed five northern districts - Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod - under a 'red alert' for the day, predicting extremely heavy rainfall there.
The aircraft, reported to be a Cessna 152 owned by flying school Alchemist Aviation, took off from the Sonari aerodrome in Jamshedpur around 11 am with a pilot and trainee on board, they said.
The Himachal Pradesh high court on Wednesday issued notice to Kangana Ranaut, the Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha member from Mandi, on a petition filed by a Kinnaur resident for setting aside her election on the grounds that his nomination papers to contest from the Lok Sabha constituency were allegedly wrongly rejected.
While two bodies were recovered on Wednesday, the death toll climbed to four on Thursday after the recovery of two more bodies from the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site in Kangra district.
More than two dozen officials of the Uttarakhand forest department have been transferred following allegations of large scale felling of trees and illegal constructions in Corbett Tiger Reserve's buffer zone.
The Gujarat forest department has advised tourists and locals against taking "selfie with lions" to discourage them from getting dangerously close to the wild animal and putting their lives at risk, an official said.
'I am not an aspiration-oriented politician.' 'This is the time to redefine politics.' 'Politics of power is not real politics.'
So far, carcasses of 32 flamingos have been recovered from Ghatkopar area, the police said.
One of the teams rescued two lion cubs that had fallen into an open well in Jasadhar Range of Gir East division during the cyclone's landfall on Thursday evening, the official said.
The body of a 22-year-old man was found in a river in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, sparking allegations that he was picked up by security forces for questioning after a terror attack. PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference Lok Sabha member Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, and Jammu and Kashmir Minister Sakina Ittoo have demanded a judicial probe into the death of Imtiyaz Ahmad Magray.
Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad's announcement of a 'reward' for anyone chopping off Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's tongue had set off a huge political row.
A total of 1,162 essential documents have been distributed among 872 persons at the camp, the district administration in Wayanad said.
'It concerns the sea and the security of the nation. What has happened is a big tragedy.'
Nitin Gadkari and Prakash Javdekar lobbied Jual Oram to change process, that may now open a Pandora's box.
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.
In a purported video which surfaced on social media, the accused man, reportedly a Tamil Nadu native, could be seen sitting on a platform atop the Ponnambalamedu Hills, located about four km from the Sabarimala temple, and chanting mantras and doing some rituals.
'Since there is no photo-op, or quick fix solutions, politicians do not want to address climate change. It is very unfashionable.'
Meet to devise strategy to minimise elephant deaths due to train-hits. K Anurag reports
The National Green Tribunal has been informed by the Uttar Pradesh government's environment department that over 1.12 lakh trees will be felled in the protected forest area in the state to make way for the upcoming Kanwar Yatra route.
In the tribal village of Edamalakkudy, nestled deep within this hill district's lush forests, lives 92-year-old Sivalingam. Despite his age and being bedridden, Sivalingam's determination to vote remains strong.
The 'Chennai Trekking Club' has blamed the local farmers for the fire that engulfed the area.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced that the state will provide 20 percent reservation for Agniveers in the recruitment of state police. The move aims to secure the future of Agniveers by providing them with jobs after their service period in the armed forces. This builds upon a previous announcement by the state government to provide a 10 percent reservation for Agniveers in various government positions. The state government is also offering various other benefits for Agniveers, including financial assistance, job training, and priority in obtaining gun licenses.
Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Monday said the state government will pay the hospitality bill of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had come to Mysuru in April last year to commemorate 50 years of Project Tiger, which runs up to Rs 80 lakh.
Two senior Assam Forest Department officials who were abducted by tribal militants on March 3 last in Karbi Anglong hill district of Assam were released by their abductors in the wee hours on Tuesday.
The Finance Ministry's annual report has revealed that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in India during the 2023-24 fiscal year. The projects, implemented in partnership with the Indian government, cover areas like agriculture and food security, water and sanitation, renewable energy, disaster management, health, sustainable forests, and climate adaptation. This disclosure comes amidst controversy over USAID's alleged role in influencing Indian elections, with claims that the agency allocated USD 21 million to India for 'voter turnout'. However, the report clarifies that no funds were dedicated to enhancing voter turnout.
The Madurai bench of the Madras high court has directed the secretary, environment and forest department, to ensure that there are no more acquisitions of elephants by private individuals or religious institutions in Tamil Nadu.
There have been no reports of casualties. Neither is the cause of the fire known.
A study published in the journal Environment and Planning F has revealed that cameras and drones originally intended for conservation activities in Corbett National Park are being misused by local government officials and men to surveil women without consent. The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Cambridge, found that forest rangers intentionally flew drones over local women to scare them and prevent them from collecting natural resources, despite their legal right to do so. The researchers argue that these technologies, deployed under the guise of wildlife monitoring, are being used to intimidate and exert power over women, invading their privacy and altering their behavior in the forest. This has had a negative impact on women's mental health, with one woman interviewed for the study being killed in a tiger attack.
Shocking videos of an ailing wild leopard being surrounded by a group of villagers, who are taking selfies with him and even trying to ride on him have emerged from Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh.
The latest report says the forest cover is around 20 per cent of the land in the country, 3 per cent less than the area under the forest departments. But the report does not make a distinction between tree cover, commercial plantations and natural forest cover. To qualify as "forest cover", the Forest Survey of India considers 10 per cent tree canopy area and one hectare. So, if a householder has, say, a hectare of coconut palm, his land would qualify as forest cover.
The newly-formed Delhi Cabinet in its first meeting approved the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme in the national capital. The cabinet also decided to present 14 pending CAG reports in the first session of the assembly. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that the previous AAP government did not allow the health scheme in the city, preventing the people from availing its benefits.
Yet another Asiatic lion has died unnaturally on the periphery of the Gir forest in Gujarat. The four-year-old lion, is reported to have been bitten to death by a snake near Pipardi village of Amreli district in eastern parts of Gir.
Her immovable assets are worth over Rs 7.74 crore, which includes two inherited half shares of agricultural land in Mehrauli area of New Delhi and a half share in a farmhouse building located therein, all of which together are now worth over Rs 2.10 crore.
A leopard entered the district court premises in Ghaziabad and injured several people.
A group of 91 retired bureaucrats has appealed to the Centre to withdraw the Green Credits programme, which they claimed may facilitate diversion of forest land to private entities. "Quick, smooth and easy diversion of our forest lands in favour of user agencies is apparently the sole intention of this set of Green Credits rules. "We urge the MOEFCC to recognise this danger and withdraw the Green Credits notification expeditiously," the group of former civil servants wrote in an open letter to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
'It is a clear dent on a lady's dignity and right of privacy guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.'
Jammu and Kashmir is facing a severe water crisis this year due to a massive rainfall deficit. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concern about the situation and called for a proactive approach towards water management and conservation. The state has witnessed an 80% deficit in rainfall this year, raising the possibility of drought in the valley this summer. Several water bodies are flowing below the zero level mark, and some springs in south Kashmir have dried up completely. The water level in Jhelum and other major streams is alarmingly low.
Dhubri is the worst-hit district, followed by Cachar and Darrang.
The Assam forest department is keen to arm forest guards in Kaziranga National Park with sophisticated weapons like AK series assault rifles to counter the new brand of rhino poachers who are using sophisticated weapons.
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