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Archives for August 2018

Rahul concerned over Kerala flood, urges Congress workers to help

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday expressed grief over the loss of life in the Kerala floods and landslides, and urged his party workers to provide all the help needed.

“Unprecedented rainfall has created havoc in Kerala, destroying property and forcing thousands to abandon their homes.

“I urge each and every Congress worker in Kerala to step up and help those in need. My prayers and thoughts are with the people of Kerala in this difficult time,” he tweeted.

At least 27 people have died in the state since Wednesday due to incessant rain and landslides.

Kerala rains subside, Idukki waters recede

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Thousands living around the Idukki dam and in Ernakulam and Thrissur heaved a sigh of relief on Saturday as the heavy rains predicted in Kerala did not happen and as a result the Idukki dam waters ravaging the area over the last few days subsided.

“The rains have slowed down in and around the Idukki dam since last night and hence the water level in the dam has also come down,” State Power Minister M.M. Mani said.

“So far things are fine and everything is going as planned. The water that came down the five floodgates, barring at Cheruthoni, has not caused any major crisis,” added Mani, who is monitoring the situation from here.

Cheruthoni is the nearest town to the Idamalayar dam and with water gushing down the spillway for the first time in 26 years, there was heavy flooding in the area.

The Cheruthoni bridge continued to be submerged. It had come under severe stress with huge trees that have been uprooted coming and hitting the bridge.

The water level at the Idukki dam was now at 2,401 feet after it came down on Friday night as the intensity of the rains decreased.

On Saturday, the inflow into the dam stood at 6,00,000 litres of water per second, while the outflow through the floodgates is 7.50 lakh litres per second.

Authorities on Friday expected that parts of Ernakulam and Thrissur districts would be submerged following the opening of all five floodgates.

However, this did not happen as the dam water entered the tributaries of the Periyar river in a systematic manner.

According to informed sources, if the water level in the dam comes down to 2,400 feet, it was likely to bring down the outflow through the five shutters as well — to around 5,00,000 litres per second.

On Saturday morning, a team led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accompanied by Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, State Forest Minister P. Raju, Chief Secretary Tom Jose and Kerala Police Chief Loknath Behra took off in a helicopter from Thiruvananthapuram to survey the worst affected districts.

Even though their first stop was planned at Idukki, Vijayan wrote in his Facebook post that due to bad weather conditions at the landing area in Kattapana, they have been forced to travel to Wayanad.

The floods have claimed 27 lives so far.

Amit Shah faces black-flag protest in Kolkata

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West Bengal Youth Congress workers on Saturday showed BJP President Amit Shah black flags as he stepped outside the airport here ahead of his high-voltage rally in the city.

A group of bike-borne Youth Congress workers waved the black flags before Shah’s convoy outside the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport and shouted slogans against him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before the police could remove them from the spot.

Some Congress activists also claimed that there was a nexus between the BJP and West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress and raised slogans like “Modi-Didi bhai bhai”.

Ahead of Shah’s rally in central Kolkata’s Mayo Road, Trinamool Congress supporters observed Condemnation Day in parts of the state to raise its pitch against the publication of the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.

Reacting to the TMC protest, BJP leader and Union Minister Babul Supriyo accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party of destroying the state’s culture and the future of Bengal’s youth.

“Politics is fine but they (Trinamool Congress) are turning it into an ugly spat. Trinamool has further worsened the situation in Bengal in the name of ‘Poriborton’ (change) from the 34 years of Left rule.

“This should not continue. The massive turnout in today’s rally shows that the youth of Bengal are eagerly waiting for the message of Amit Shahji,” said Supriyo, who came to the city to attend Saturday’s rally.

Over 31 lakh women benefited under maternity scheme: Minister

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More than 31 lakh pregnant women and lactating mothers have benefited under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi told the Rajya Sabha in reply to a question on Thursday.

“More than 21 lakh beneficiaries were enrolled under PMMVY – Common Application Software (PMMVY-CAS) for receiving maternity benefits under the scheme during the financial year 2017-18,” she said.

Under the scheme, pregnant woman and lactating mother apart from regular government employees are entitled to receive Rs 5,000 and the remaining cash incentive of Rs 1,000 for maternity benefit is given under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) after institutional delivery.

The scheme aims at providing partial compensation for wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first living child.

Karnataka rushes relief materials to flood-hit Kerala

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Karnataka is rushing Rs 10 crore worth relief materials to the neighbouring flood-hit Kerala following heavy monsoon rains, said an official statement on Thursday.

“Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy directed state Chief Secretary T.M. Vijaya Bhaskar to rush relief materials and a team of doctors to Kerala, reeling under heavy rains and flash floods,” said the statement.

On Kerala’s request, the state government has also agreed to release 75,000 cusecs of water from Kabini reservoir in Mysuru districts to tackle the flash floods caused by excessive backwaters across the border in Kerala.

As one of the tributaries, Kabini originates in the Waynad district and flows eastward to join the Cauvery river at T. Narasipura in Karnataka.

“Kumaraswamy also called on his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan and discussed the flood situation in that state. He also offered more relief material and aid to the affected people across the state,” added the statement.

Toll in the rain-related incidents rose to 24, with large-scale damage reported from various parts of the southern state.

Idukki, Malappuram, Palghat, Kozhikode, Wayanad and parts of Kannur are the worst-affected districts in coastal and north-eastern areas of Kerala.

Illegal liquor valued at Rs 168 crore destroyed in Assam

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The Assam government on Friday destroyed over six lakh bottles of illegal liquor and beer valued at Rs 168.55 crore with Excise Minister Parimal Shuklabaidya crushing these under a roadroller. The Excise Department had seized the liquor in the state in 2016.

The destroyed contraband includes over six lakh bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor and 17,410 cases of beer.

A joint team of excise and police officials seized the consignment at four locations in Khatkhati in Karbi Anglong district while efforts to transport these to Guwahati by 14 trucks were on. Police had arrested 13 persons, all of whom have been charge-sheeted.

“After a green signal from the court, we destroyed the illegal consignment in public in Gorchuk area to send a strong message to those involved in the supply and transportation of illegal liquor,” the Minister said.

According to state records, 39,085 litres of foreign liquor is sold daily on an average in Assam. There are 1,448 licensed wine shops that sell IMFL across the state.

India, Switzerland discuss bilateral ties, black money

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India and Switzerland discussed on Friday various aspects of bilateral ties, including the issue of curbing black money, as well as regional and multilateral issues during a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.

According to a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry, the two ministers took stock of the progress made in key areas of interest such as trade and investment, education, information technology and tourism.

Bilateral trade between India and Switzerland stood at $20 billion in the last financial year.

“Closer cooperation in the areas of skill development, renewable energy, traditional Indian medicine and climate change has the potential of mutual benefit and positive contribution at the global level,” the statement said.

Following on the Indian government’s drive to curb black money, the ministers discussed the activation of automatic exchange of information.

India’s negotiations with the EU for a free trade agreement also came up in the discussion.

“A review was undertaken on the progress of the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, which India and the European Free Trade Area countries are currently negotiating,” according to the statement.

“The two ministers reiterated their strong commitment to early finalization of the agreement while showing flexibility on each other’s concerns.”

Both sides also had detailed talks on Ayurveda, which Switzerland recognizes as a system of medicine.

“The aspect of enhanced people to people interactions through facilitation of tourist and business visas was also discussed at length,” the statement said.

PM Modi govt failed to solve farmers’ problems

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has failed to give a permanent solution to the woes of distressed farmers, said Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) Dr. G Parameshwara at Circuit House on Friday, August 10th.

Addressing media persons he said, “Farmer suicides are a major concern for the government. Hence, we decided to waive off farmers’ loans. It is our responsibility to stop farmers from taking the extreme step. It is sad that PM Modi has failed to solve farmers’ problems. He could not take a decision to waive off loans of farmers in nationalized banks. The state government is planning to waive off loans in nationalized banks too.”

“The schemes launched by the previous Siddaramaiah-led government will continue to function. Karnataka is called as a progressive state and we want to give good governance. From 2008 to 2013 BJP ruled the state and was a corrupt government and no development took place. If they come back to power, we will go back to that same old situation,” he pointed out.

“We have our own analysis as to why we won less number of seats,” replied the DCM regarding MLC Bhoje Gowda’s statement that it was his personal opinion that the Congress lost because of anti-Hindutva policies.

To a question on Congress alliance with JD(S) for the local body polls, he said that there will not be any alliance in the local body polls. The state government will deport Bangladeshis and Africans who are staying illegally in the state, he added.

The state government is contemplating on introducing pant and shirt uniform for policewomen instead of saree, informed the DCM.

Bangladeshi Jamat-e-Islami member arrested in Meghalaya

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A Bangladeshi national, working with Jamat-e-Islami foundation of Bangladesh, was arrested by troopers of the Border Security Forces (BSF) in Meghalaya, officials said on Thursday.

Md Jaharul Islam, 26, was arrested on Wednesday from the Zero Line of the India-Bangladesh border at Baghmara in South Garo Hills district.

During questioning, a BSF statement said, Islam revealed that he worked for Jamat-e-Islami foundation and wanted to become a Jihadi. He works for an international forum called SEBDA Children Denmark.

“Islam was not satisfied with the policy of Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League government. He revealed that he wanted to become Jihadi due to torture inflicted upon him by some Awami League members. He is a supporter of Bangladesh Nationalist Party,” the statement said.

Islam confessed that he knew that he would die but “will kill all ‘kafir’ (Non-believers) who do not respect Islam and the Holy Quran”.

DMK seeks Bharat Ratna for Karunanidhi

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 The DMK on Friday demanded the nation’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, for party patriarch M. Karunanidhi who passed away in Chennai on August 7.

The party said the award will be a real tribute to the late Tamil Nadu leader’s outstanding and exemplary work which had left an indelible mark in history.

Karunanidhi, who led the DMK for five decades, was the Chief Minister for 19 years spread over five terms.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, DMK’s Tiruchi Shiva dubbed Karunanidhi the “tallest leader of the country and a Dravidian stalwart”.

“He lived five years short of a century, out of which he contributed 80 years to the public life, fighting for the cause of the downtrodden, backward and the suppressed people.

“He was an outstanding orator, a prolific writer, a novelist, a short-story writer, a philosopher, a philanthropist and also a dramatist. He was an actor and also wrote scripts for 80 movies,” Shiva said enumerating the achievements of Karunanidhi.

He said that Karunanidhi was “unparalleled” and made a mark in all walks of life.

“His life cannot be described in words. He was a staunch and untiring soldier. He was fighting till his last breath, for social justice, secularism, state autonomy and self-respect.

“I would urge the government to confer upon him posthumously the Bharat Ratna, which will be a real tribute to his outstanding and exemplary work which had left an indelible mark in the annals of history,” the DMK lawmaker said.

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