Rescuers continued on Monday to hunt for survivors in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that killed 844 people in Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, leading to large-scale destruction and prompting food and fuel shortage.

Palu, a city of 350,000, was the worst affected and reduced to ruins. Dead bodies covered by tarps lay in the city’s streets, exposed to Indonesia’s blistering heat, as rescuers searched rubble for survivors buried in crumpled buildings.

Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said the final death toll could be in the thousands. Authorities started burying some of the confirmed dead in mass graves as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of disease, the BBC reported.

An estimated 2.4 million people were affected by the disaster, Indonesian Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. At least 600 people were hospitalized and over 48,000 were displaced.

People were sleeping in the open, wary of returning to their homes. Reports say that aid started to reach Palu, but rescuers were still trying to reach Donggala regency, home to over 300,000 people.

Hundreds of people, screaming for food, jostled outside the Itudulaka military command, in the city. Officials said that they required more volunteers, more supplies of water and rice that could be distributed at different points in the town, instead of in one place.

Fuel shortage was affecting power generators, which were currently the only source of electricity in the city and were also being used for emergency communication.

According to authorities, aid has been slow to trickle in, delayed by severe damage to Mutiara Sis Al Jufri Airport in Palu, which was closed for 24 hours after the tsunami but has since reopened to limited flights.

Priority will be given to evacuating survivors and allowing aid workers to bring in food and fresh water, said Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who visited the disaster site on Sunday.

Widodo also agreed to accept international help for disaster response and relief, officials said. The EU and South Korea offered $1.7 million and $1 million respectively, while the Australian government said it was working with Indonesia to identify options for assistance.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Justice Ministry reported that 1,200 convicts escaped from three different detention facilities in the Sulawesi region following the earthquake and tsunami.

Blocked roads, a damaged airport and broken telecommunications made it difficult to bring help into the affected area and impossible to contact more remote regions. “We don’t know for sure what is the impact,” said the disaster management agency spokesperson.

Reports said that mobile phone signals were detected in the rubble of the shopping mall in Palu and shouts were heard under the debris of the Roa Roa Hotel. Workers were scrambling to rescue 50 people trapped beneath its debris.

The current and former mayor of Palu were among the dead.

An early tsunami warning had been issued by the Indonesian meteorological agency, but was later lifted after the agency ascertained that the water had receded.

IANS

Over 380 people were confirmed dead on Saturday after earthquakes, including a powerful 7.5 magnitude tremor, and tsunami struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Rescue workers were struggling to reach certain affected areas amid fears that the toll can still rise.

Three hundred-eighty four people died in the city of Palu, where preparations for a beach festival had been underway when the tsunami hit on Friday, following the strong earthquake. National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that 540 people were injured and 29 were still missing.

Video on social media showed people screaming and fleeing in panic for safety. Thousands of homes collapsed, along with hospitals, hotels and shopping centres. Strong aftershocks continued to rock Palu on Saturday.

Sutopo said houses were swept away and families were reported missing. “We have found corpses from the earthquake as well as bodies swept up by the tsunami.”

He said the government was set to declare a state of emergency and stressed that the most important task was to restore power and communications to the region.

There were other vulnerable coastal areas where communications were down. Officials had been unable to make contact with Donggala, a fishing community near Palu that was also reported to have been hit by the tsunami, the BBC reported.

The BNPB spokesperson said telecommunications and air-transport experts arrived at the airport in Palu, the city most affected by the earthquake along with Donggala, and work to repair some of the damaged electrical equipment had started.

The airports in Poso, Tolitoli, Luwuk and Mamuju were open.

Komang Adi Sujendra, the Director of Undata Hospital in Palu, said in a video message posted online said that the area had no electricity, that phone and Internet service had been disrupted and that road access was limited. He sought help from the public.

Authorities estimated the tsunami’s waves to be about 10 feet high, but a video reported to have been taken in Palu showed a wave that seemed even higher crashing over the roofs of one-storey buildings. TV footage showed dozens of injured people being treated outside in makeshift medical tents.

Palu and Donggala are home to more than 600,000 people. The country’s military had started sending cargo planes of relief aid from the capital.

The earthquake hit just off central Sulawesi at a depth of 10 km on Friday, the US Geological Survey said. A tsunami warning was issued, but lifted within the hour.

A magnitude-6.1 quake earlier on Friday in the same region killed at least one person and led to the collapse of a number of buildings.

The disaster followed on from the earthquakes and aftershocks on Lombok island where 557 people died and nearly 400,000 were displaced between July 29 and August 19.

The country’s deadliest earthquake with a magnitude of around 9.1 struck off the tip of Sumatra island in 2014, triggering a tsunami that killed nearly 280,000 people in Indonesia and other Indian Ocean nations.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity, where some 7,000 earthquakes, mostly moderate, are recorded each year.

(IANS)

Heavy rains continued to lash Bengaluru and surrounding districts in Karnataka, inundating several localities and disrupting normal life, authorities said on Thursday.

Over the last 24 hours, the city received rainfall of up to 6.6 cm, which flooded several arterial roads in the city disrupting vehicular movement, the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) said.

Heavy rains on Wednesday night flooded several city roads, in certain areas up to two feet, leading to massive traffic jams.

The southern suburbs of the city have been receiving intense rainfall since Sunday.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has directed the civic authority officials to be on high alert to avert any mishaps.

“Rain and winds could get stronger in the next two days. So people residing in the low-lying areas should be cautious,” a statement from Kumaraswamy’s office said.

Civic officials have been pumping out water from homes and clogged storm water drains.

“We have been receiving distress calls from people complaining about rain water entering homes,” an official from the civic body Helpline said.

Rains have also been lashing south interior districts of Mandya, Kodagu, Tumakuru and Ramanagara and the northern districts of Vijayapura, Raichur, Koppal and Yadgir.

Moderate to heavy rains are likely to continue over the next two days in Bengaluru and surrounding districts, according to the India Meteorological Department.

IANS

With the weather clearing up on Thursday search and rescue operation for over 1,000 people, mostly tourists, began early in the Himachal Pradesh hills for the third day.
Two Chetak helicopters additionally deployed along with three the Indian Air Force’s sped up the rescue in the Lahaul Valley in the Middle Himalayas. The rescue operation started at 7 a.m., an official said.

Nearly 500 people were still reported to be stuck in Suraj Tal lake and Zingzing Bar areas along Keylong-Leh road.

Over 300 labourers of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), a wing of the Ministry of Defence, involved in construction of roads in forward areas have also been stranded since September 22 following incessant rains that lead to a number of landslides severing road links.

The BRO is making every effort to provide food items and medicines to those still stuck but have somehow been reached.

So far a total of 898 persons have been rescued to safety till Wednesday and they included 12 foreigners, Additional Chief Secretary Manisha Nanda said here.

“Over 700 people have been rescued by road via the Rohtang tunnel in the past two days. We expect to rescue another 200 by road on Thursday,” a senior government functionary monitoring the rescue operation told IANS.

Nanda said packets of eatables have been air dropped at Kunzam Pass.

Most people who got stuck at the Baralacha Pass were travelling to and from Manali to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the state suffered losses totalling approximately Rs 1,250 crore due to the heavy rains.

Modi has assured the state of all possible central assistance.

Early snowfall in the higher reaches, cloud burst and heavy rains devastated large parts of the state from September 22 to 24. Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti were the worst affected.

Heavy snowfall on the Rohtang Pass (13,050 ft) has cut off the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys affecting a large number of tourists and hampering water and electricity supply. They have been stranded at number of isolated locations.

The BRO has been clearing the snow from various roads on a war footing. Some stretches had over eight feet of snow.

(IANS)

At the UN where often aging politicians and diplomats hold forth on global issues, for a change young YouTube sensation Lilly Singh took the stage to remind them that the future belonged to the youth and they have the key to solving the world’s problem.

When investments are made in educating the youth, “they become the beacon of light the world needs”, Singh, who is also the Unicef Goodwill Ambassador, told the audience of world leaders and youth at the high-level Youth2030 event on Monday.

Singh, who is a Canadian of Indian descent, has over 11 million followers on YouTube, has authored the bestseller, “How To Be A Bawse”, has a role in HBO’s film adaptation of “Fahrenheit 451” and tops the Forbes Magazine Top Influencers List in the entertainment category.

The event saw the launch of the UN Youth Strategy of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Singh said that the world was moving so fast that the platform that brought her fame, YouTube, did not exist 30 years ago.

As someone who did not face poverty, conflict or displacement and found success, she said that when she compared herself to other young people, “I practically feel I won the lottery.”

All young people should have access to education and technology, she said.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim recalled that the watchwords of the rebellious youth of the 1960s and 1970s were “Don’t trust anyone over 30”.

“Don’t trust us,” he said, on education spending or climate change. “Make the decision for the world you want to live in.”

Guterres said that through Youth2030 — the UN’s strategy is to engage with and empower young people — “I want the UN to become a leader in working with young people: in understanding their needs, in helping to put their ideas into action, in ensuring their views inform our processes.”

He said: “Too often, young people are excluded by development programmes; ignored in peace negotiations; denied a voice and a seat at the table. At the same time, young people are a vast source of innovation, ideas and solutions.”

It will “open new routes to engage and involve young people, and amplify their voices,” he added.

IANS

Bollywood Celebs Attended “Lit O Fest” London Chapter.

The Lit O Fest Mumbai made its creative presence internationally with the successful accomplishment of its London Chapter during the weekend. It witnessed quite an encouraging response from the audiences of the Indian diaspora.

The fest committed to the young potential in the field of Literature, Art, Music & Culture took place in Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, London was presented by Maharshtra Tourism Development Corporation.

The Day 1 of the fest was inaugurated in the presence of Lord Diljit Rana, (Member House of Lords), Amrita Fadnavis (1st Lady of Maharashtra), Smita GLK Parikh, Founder Director of Lit O Fest, Anup Jalota, Mahendra Singh Jadeja et al.

The focus of Lit O Fest this year was to spread awareness around the “Village Adoption Campaign” in India to shelter the underprivileged children below poverty line and take care of their health, education & develop skills for their livelihood.

The chief sponsor of the London Chapter of Lit O Fest was MTDC, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation which was gracefully represented by the versatile Minister of Tourism Jay Kumar Rawal & the Secretary Vijay Kumar Gautam who invited the eminent members of the Indian Diaspora to visit the cultural heritage of Maharashtra.

Smita Parikh, the Founder – Director described the modest journey of the fest along with its clear vision she intends to actualize in the years to come. The fest had sessions that widely covered a wide range of subjects including literature for Indian diaspora, Indian culture, impact of social media, diminishing physical divide and around also the trending pattern of literature and so on and so forth.

Besides, Lit O Fest London Chapter also organized its 1st ever “Global Innoventure Award” in the House of Lords, British Parliament, London, UK that was chaired by Lord Diljit Rana, Member of the House of Lord (Britain’s Upper House) & Baroness Sandip Rana, Member.

“Global Innoventure Award” has been conferred to the eminent personalities from India & UK who have not only made a mark in their respective fields like literature, entrepreneurship, tourism, business, skill development & socio- cultural activism but also to those who have shown distinct potential to bring about positive social changes in the times to come.

The “Global Innoventue Award” was given to Amrita Fadnavis for her exemplary contribution in the field of Social Work, Anup Jalota for Music, Zara Adams (Actor Hollywood) for Performing Art, Pankaj Dubey for Literature & Storytelling, Ekta Sodha Gajendra Singh Ragasudha Vinjamuri Divya Mathur, Dr. Radha Krishnan Pillai and many eminent personalities.

Lit O Fest plans to take its cultural expedition to all the continents across the world in the years to come informed Smita Parikh, the heart behind the wonderful initiative.

In his speech during inauguration principal secretary Vijay Kumar Gautam mentioned, “It is my privilege to associate with Lit-O-Fest 2018 London edition. This is a perfect platform to celebrate our rich literature, art, music & culture. Lit-O Fest, is a prestigious festival which draws writers, artists, academics, scholars, publishers all across the nation and showcase vibrancy of rich culture & heritage

At the British Parliament Jaykumar Rawal elaborated about the legacy of Marathi literature & culture and how Fests like Lit O Fest are the right platform to promote literature & culture to attract international tourist to our state. While Amruta Fadnavis highlighted on why she has so much faith in Lit O Fest because of the great cause they are associated with, she also highlighted how Mumbai is the safest city for the solo women traveler and invited global tourists to ever vibrant Maharashtra.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan on Saturday while interacting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that he found TV to be an “effective way to spread the message of cleanliness”.

“Four years ago, you (Modi) introduced the nation to the Swachh Bharat Mission. I too decided to get involved as a citizen of India. I have been associated with various cleanliness campaigns including the campaign to clean the Versova beach in Mumbai,” Bachchan said to Modi during the launch of the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva Movement’ via his NaMo App.

“Whatever garbage people threw in the sea, the sea gave it back to people and it was visible on the beach. When I went to participate in the cleanliness drive, I found that we have to dig the sand to bring out the garbage. People there then demanded for a machine to bring out the garbage from the sand and a tractor to dump the waste away from the beach, which I provided to them.

“I found television to be an effective way to spread the message of cleanliness,” the Bollywood superstar said.

Bachchan also said that “he realised that what people should do is focus on ensuring their immediate surroundings are clean”.

“We were involved with a ‘Cleanathon’ with a television news channel. Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis and I went to hospitals with the message of Swachhata (cleaniness),” Bachchan said.

The Prime Minister was also joined by industry titan Ratan Tata in the interaction streamed live on theapp.

Interacting with the Prime Minister, Tata said: “Its a great honour and privilege to help launch a movement which should be the dream of every citizen of India.

“To be a strong India, the foundation has to be strong and that foundation is the health of our people.”

He also said that the Tata Trusts are actively supporting the Swachh Bharat Mission and it has spent over Rs 100 crore in the last four years to support the Clean India mission.

“Our support will continue in the years to come especially in bringing more technology in ensuring a clean India. And I congratulate you for a courageous move in the form of Swachh Bharat Mission. We are no longer taking the health of our people for granted. We are devoting manpower for a strong India and focussing on healthcare,” he said.

Tata also emphasised that health of our people cannot be there without sanitation and cleanliness.

“We can reduce and eliminate several diseases if we support the Swachh Bharat Movement.”

Modi then said that he firmly believe that the private sector has a big role to play in creating a Clean India.

“Together, we shall all achieve the Swachh Bharat of Bapu’s dreams,” Modi said.

(IANS)

Toronto Premiere Of ‘Bulbul Can Sing’ Held

National Award -winning filmmaker Rima Das’ next feature, Bulbul Can Sing
which premiered recently at Toronto International Film Fest 2018 (TIFF) screened to a packed house of audiences.

Rima Das’ 3rd independent feature in Assamese language made its World Premiere at Toronto International Film Fest (TIFF) 2018 in competition segment, “Contemporary World Cinema.”

Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of Toronto International Film Fest (TIFF) says, “Last year Rima Das came to the Fest with Village Rockstars, her delightful drama about a girl with a dream. After its premiere here, it went on to sweep India’s National Film Awards & played in dozens of festivals around the world.

Rima Das is now back with another breath of fresh air, once again shot amidst the timeless beauty of her home village in India’s Assam state. As in the earlier film, Rima Das imbues every frame with insight & respect, and this time there’s a growing exploration of adolescence. Bulbul Can Sing is no simple rural idyll.

Bulbul Can Sing is an exuberant young woman, most happy when she’s hanging out in the fields with her friends Bonny & Sumu. As these 3 teenagers, 2 girls & a boy, begin to define their own identities, they find themselves increasingly clashing with the age – old rules set down by village. Bulbul is attracted to a boy for 1st time ever, but her mother advises that “Girls should be modest. Girls should behave well.” Sumu is bullied for not conforming to what his peers expect of a young man. For Bonny, the pressures of community become unbearable.

Rima Das recounts her story in the pure language of cinema. The camera finds moments, in a music class, by a lake, or on landscape of Bulbul’s face, that suddenly illuminate this girl’s coming to womanhood & self – awareness. A villager’s stray remark compresses centuries of tradition & offers guidance to Bulbul, but also a constraint. And as she learns to walk with both love & death in her life, countless variations of natural light give her whole world an immersive glow.”

The writer – director – producer made the film independently, in the same way as her earlier film, Village Rockstars. Sharing her joy, Rima says, “It’s a huge honor to present Bulbul Can Sing to such a lovely audiences at Toronto International Film Fest (TIFF), I am completely thrilled & overwhelmed by their response. Thank you, Toronto International Film Fest (TIFF) & my team back home. I missed my team a lot.“

Bulbul Can Sing is a visceral coming – of – age drama about a teenage girl, Bulbul, living in a village in Assam, fighting her way through love & loss as she figures out who she really is.

Rima Das’s debut film as a writer –director – producer, Man with Binoculars (Antardrishti) premiered at Tallinn Black Nights Film Fest in the year 2016. Village Rockstars, her 2nd feature film, premiered at Toronto International Film Fest (TIFF) in the year last 2017 under Discovery Section. The film has screened at more than 70 renowned film fest’s and has won 44 awards including 4 National Awards (“Best Feature”, “Best Editing”, Best Audiography” & “Best Child Artiste respecrively).

After the High Rated Gabru Tour with Bollyboom across seven cities in India, singer Guru Randhawa will front Percept Live’s Bollywood dance music property’s international debut in Kuala Lumpur later this month.

Bollyboom will make its foreign foray in the Malaysian capital on September 21 at the KL Live, Life Centre.

Along with foot-tapping popular numbers from the Punjabi singer-composer, Bollywood music fans in Malaysia can expect Bollyboom to deliver a completely new twist to this genre of popular music to create a unique live entertainment experience.

The show will enthrall fans with live percussionists, exotic performers and a jaw-dropping on-stage performance combined with special effects and state of the art technology, read a statement.

Guru said in a statement: “It has been a great year for me with multiple number one hits. I love performing live and engaging with my fans on-ground. The 7-city Bollyboom tour is one of the most extensive tours that I have done in recent times and I’m glad that it all turned out to be a great success.

“I am extremely happy that we are extending the High Rated Gabru Tour to international markets, and I am looking forward for my show in Kuala Lumpur.”

He is expecting a “high level of energy and love” from fans.

“I hope to receive a warm-hearted welcome as this is my debut show in Malaysia and I wish to make it a memorable one,” added the singer, known for tracks like “High rated gabru”, “Ban ja rani”, “Yaar mod do”, “Patola”, “Fashion” and “Lahore”.

Manuj Aggarwal, CEO, Percept Live, said that with over 7 per cent of the Malaysian population being Indians, it was a huge opportunity for them to tap by giving them a home grown brand experience through their popular IP Bollyboom”.

“Guru Randhawa enjoys massive popularity and the audiences will simply love grooving to his songs at the live Bollyboom show in Kuala Lumpur,” Aggarwal said.

Bollyboom also has shows planned in Dubai, Singapore, New Zealand and four cities in Australia in the coming months.

(Ians)

Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better for Asians in Hollywood after the fluke, tempestuous (and not-entirely-deserved, I might add) success of the seasons’s big blockbuster, “Crazy Rich Asians” — a film that features only actors of Asian origin — yet another Asian filmmaker has taken the global boxoffice by storm.

And this time, we Indians have a lot to be proud of. While “Crazy Rich Asians” doesn’t even have a token Indian representation in its cast or crew (though I did catch a Sardarji valet in a hotel driveway shot), the new thriller, released just a week after “Crazy…”, is directed by the Indo-American filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty, whose roots are in Hyderabad. Chaganty worked for a couple of years at Google before gravitating to full-time filmmaking.

His stunning directorial debut, “Searching”, is set in the cyber universe where a distraught father attempts to locate his missing daughter.

Interestingly, Chaganty, who grew up on a staple diet of Bollywood and Hollywood films, pitched “Searching” to the studios as an eight-minute short film. The producers suggested Chaganty turn it into a full-length feature film. The director initially declined the offer, arguing that he didn’t want to stretch a good idea beyond a point.

However, Chaganty did finally make “Searching” as a feature film. Released on August 24, the film, made on a shoestring budget with Korean star John Cho in the lead, has already established Chaganty as a filmmaker to reckon with. The ultimate compliment for this small-budgeted blockbuster came from the “Crazy Rich Asians” crew when they booked an entire theatre to watch the film.

The young filmmaker names Manoj Night Shyamalan as his main influence. No doubt Chaganty’s thriller-noire approach to cinema makes him the new “Night” among Indo-American filmmakers. I fervently hope Chaganty’s career doesn’t follow Shyamalan’s trajectory.

There was a time after “The Sixth Sense” when Shayamalan, who likes to be called “Night”, was seen as the brightest filmmaker from India in Hollywood. And then it all fell apart, film by film.

“Unbreakable”, which followed “The Sixth Sense”, was received fairly. But soon after, Shayamalan rapidly declined into the night with “Signs” (2002), “The Village” (2004), “The Lady In Water” (2006), “The Happening” (2008) and, worst of all, the 3D abomination “The Air Bender”, which, apart from other atrocities, also revealed Dev “Slumdog” Patel to be an extremely inept actor. To be honest, one thought “The Air Bender” to be a kind of closure on Shyamalam’s career as a spook merchant. We thought it couldn’t get any worse.

But it did.

In how many more ways could Shyamalan tell the same “Sixth Sense” story over and over again? The eerie has become progressively dreary in his oeuvre.

I remember just before the release of “The Happening” (not happening at all), I asked Shyamalan why his career lost momentum after “Sixth Sense”.

Protesting loudly, the filmmaker said: “I hear this a lot in India. It feels like everyone is five years behind. You can’t judge my career by the box office alone.”

Agreed, but I do hope Aneesh Chaganty remembers that being the new Shyamalan doesn’t mean that you turn blind to reality. Night can never be described as day.

(IANS)