An activist claims to have alerted officials about the dangerous condition of a bridge in Gujarat's Vadodara district three years before it collapsed, resulting in 15 deaths. The activist alleges that despite warnings, no timely action was taken.
The death toll in the Mahisagar river bridge collapse in Gujarat's Vadodara district climbed to 19 on Friday after one of the injured persons succumbed to injuries at a hospital, officials said.
The court issued notices to the state government and local authorities and also sought a status report in the matter by November 14.
The Oreva group, which is under the scanner following the collapse of the suspension bridge at Morbi in Gujarat that killed at least 130 people, specialises in CFL bulbs, wall clocks and e-bikes, and it is not known how it managed to get the contract to maintain an over 100-year-old bridge.
Several Indian states bordering Pakistan have implemented stringent security measures, including school closures, blackouts, and cancellation of leave for police and administrative personnel, in response to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. These measures were taken after India conducted airstrikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam massacre. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and West Bengal have all implemented these precautionary measures.
Mock drills were conducted on Saturday in states and Union territories adjoining the western border -- from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat -- to enhance wartime emergency preparedness and response capabilities, officials said.
'Every year, the marble industry is shrinking due to tiles. It has already decreased by 20-25 per cent in recent years.'
In his condolence message, Israeli Prime Minister Lapid said that the thoughts and prayers of all Israelis are with the people of India following yesterday's devastating bridge collapse in Gujarat.
Gujarat assembly Speaker Nimaben Acharya, who won from Bhuj seat of Kutch district in 2012 and 2017, has also been denied ticket this time by the party.
The administration is geared up for more showers as the India meteorological department has warned of heavy to very heavy rains with isolated extremely heavy rains in several districts of the state till Thursday morning.
Principal district and sessions judge P C Joshi said he will pass order on the bail plea of the ninth accused, Devang Parmar, on Thursday.
Rusty cables, broken anchor pins, and loose bolts were among the lapses that were not addressed while renovating the suspension bridge in Morbi which collapsed last month into the Machchhu river killing 135 people, as per a preliminary probe by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).
The Opposition party also sought financial and medical assistance from the government to all those affected.
The rains were being caused due to a cyclonic circulation lying over north east Arabian sea and adjoining Saurashtra and Kutch regions, the IMD said in its bulletin.
The India Meteorological Department has said that the landfall process of Cyclone 'Biparjoy' has started in Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat. The landfall process will carry on till midnight with wind speeds reaching a maximum of 140 kilometres per hour, the IMD said.
'Modi and BJP have fooled us enough by creating a Hindu-Muslim divide. Our anger is about jobs and farmers getting a good price, but Shah needs to be taught a lesson for betraying us.'
The very severe cyclonic storm 'Biparjoy' intensified into an 'extremely severe cyclonic storm' and is likely to cross Saurashtra-Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts around the afternoon of June 15 as a 'very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS)', the India Meteorological Department said on Sunday.
Campaigning for the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elections to be held on December 1 ended at 5 pm on Tuesday.
Apart from 15 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 12 teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), personnel of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Indian Coast Guard and Border Security Force (BSF) are deployed for relief and rescue operations, officials said.
India recorded around 16 per cent more rainfall than normal in August, with rainfall over Northwest India recorded at 253.9 mm, the second highest in August since 2001, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.
The more than a century-old bridge in Morbi caved on Sunday when it was crammed with people.
'I saw people hanging on to the bridge and later falling into the water as their grip loosened and they slipped into the water.'
The cyclone will make a landfall at around 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Thursday
According to a 2020 study Analysis of bridge failures in India from 1977 to 2017, as many as "2,130 bridges" -- excluding culverts and pedestrian bridges -- have collapsed during various phases of construction in the last four decades.
Earlier, in September, authorities seized around 3,000 kg of the drug at the Mundra port in Gujarat's Kutch district.
Pruthviraj Jadeja, the policeman, braved fierce current floodwaters and strong winds to save the children. The cop also earned the praise of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani who shared the video and lauded the officer on Twitter.
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad has seized drugs valued at over Rs 1,900 crore since 2016, and out of these, narcotics worth Rs 900 crore were recovered this year alone, officials said on Monday.
There was a rush of people on the bridge, which was reopened for the public just four days ago following the renovation work, when it snapped around 6.30 pm, officials said.
It will also be the third cyclone to hit the western state in June since 1965, the meteorological office said.
The prime minister further alleged that the work of Congress while in power was mere pretentiousness.
Gujarat has registered a voter turnout of 64.33 per cent for the recently-concluded elections to 182 assembly seats, a drop of more than 4 per cent as compared to the turnout registered in the 2017 polls.
Heavy waterlogging was witnessed in several towns and cities, while roads were closed in rural areas on Friday morning due a heavy spell.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening as a 'very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
When the Bharatiya Janata Party's Mukesh Dalal was declared elected unopposed to the Lok Sabha from Surat on Monday, he became the first candidate to achieve the feat from Gujarat since its formation 64 years ago though the erstwhile state of Saurashtra saw a similar instance in 1951.
The state government has begun preparations to deal with the fallout of the cyclone as it will bring very strong wind and heavy rainfall in the region, officials 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.
Officials in coastal Devbhumi Dwarka said around 1,300 people have been shifted to safer places so far.
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.
The boat was brought to the Jakhau coast in Kutch district of Gujarat for further investigation.
