BHATKAL: Four people from a single family were buried alive in a landslide in Bhatkal town on Tuesday morning. The landslide happened following heavy rain which lashed the district after a gap of two weeks causing damage to hundreds of houses. The deceased have been identified as Lakshminarayana Naik (60), Lakshmi Naik (45), their son Narayan Naik (38) and Praveen Ramakrishna Naik, nephew of Lakshminarayana Naik. The hillock that caved in slowed down relief and rescue operations.

Residents of Bhatkal and surrounding villages spent the night in fear as the taluk recorded 533 mm rainfall. “The impact of the rainfall was such that many of us spent the night worrying about our safety,” said Inayath, a local resident. The landslide occurred at 3 am in the morning, but it took 11 hours to dig out the bodies. Bhatkal MLA Sunil Naik had to walk for miles to reach the affected place as the roads were blocked.  

Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner, Mullai Muhilan said the incident was unfortunate as Bhatkal has not been affected by floods before. “The waterlogging is due to heavy rainfall and those affected by floods have been shifted to relief centres. At present, over 300 people have taken shelter in relief centres,” he said. “There is no loss of life due to floods. The deaths were due to the landslide. NDRF, SDRF and a few naval experts have been deployed at some vulnerable places. The next three days are crucial as a red alert has been issued for Uttara Kannada district,” he added.

Narayan Naik, brother of Lakshmi Naik, said, “There was a loud noise. We came out and saw a heap of mud and realised that it was a landslide. Since it was massive, we could not do much. We had to wait for rescue operations.”

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brother Prahlad Modi, who is also the vice president of All India Fair Price Shop Dealers’ Federation, on Tuesday staged a dharna here with various demands of the organisation.

Prahlad along with several other members of the All India Fair Price Shop Dealers’ Federation (AIFPSDF) gathered at Jantar Mantar, holding banners and raising slogans.

“A delegation of AIFPSDF will submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, listing our long-standing demands for the sake of our survival. With the current situation of hike in the cost of living and overhead expenditures for running shops, a raise of mere 20 paise per kg in our margin is a cruel joke. We request the Union government to grant us relief and end our financial miseries,” Prahlad said.

He further stated that AIFPSDF will hold a national executive meeting on Wednesday and based on that, their next course of action will be decided.

AIFPSDF national general secretary Biswambhar Basu told PTI that they also plan to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday.

The AIFPSDF has been demanding compensation for loss on rice, wheat and sugar, and also for edible oil and pulses to be supplied through fair price shops.

It has also demanded that the ‘West Bengal Ration Model’ of free distribution be implemented across the country.

Further, the members said all due margins for all the states, including Jammu and Kashmir, should be reimbursed immediately.

“We also demand that edible oil, pulses and LPG gas cylinders be supplied through fair price shops. Rural areas’ fair price shop dealers should be allowed to function as direct procurement agents for rice and wheat. Our demands were also raised by TMC MP Sougata Roy in Parliament,”” Basu said, adding that their protests will continue until their demands are met.

India has been investing heavily in infrastructure projects in Maldives. “Till now India has extended $2.8 billion worth of financial aid to Maldives, which includes Letters of Credit (LOC) and currency exchange. Despite the pandemic, there was 31 per cent increase in trade between India and Maldives in 2021 ($330 million) compared to 2020,” said Munu Munawar, Indian High Commissioner to Male.

Modi and Solih jointly launched the Greater Male Connectivity Project — the largest infrastructure project in Maldives. A 6.74-km-long bridge, connecting Male to Villingli, Gulhifahlu and Thilahfushi, will be built at a cost of $500. India is funding the project.

Besides announcing an LOC worth $100 to ensure that all ongoing projects complete on time, Modi reviewed construction of 4,000 social housing units in Greater Male. The units are funded under Exim Bank of India’s buyers credit finance of $227 million.

“India-Maldives partnership is not only working in the interest of the citizens of both countries but is also becoming a source of peace, stability and prosperity for the region. India has been and will continue to be the first responder in any need or crisis in Maldives,” the PM said.

AHMEDABAD: As political parties gear up to fight the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, alcohol and drugs consumption is snowballing into a major issue. The Gujarat Congress staged a ‘dharna’ on Tuesday on the issue of liquor ban.

The recent hooch tragedy in the BJP-ruled state, wherein 50 people died and many fell ill after consuming spurious liquor, has brought embarrassment to the state leadership. Arvind Kejriwal latched on to the issue in his last two public addresses in the state.

“People of Gujarat have two options — they will get spurious liquor if they vote for them (BJP) or they will get employment if they vote for us,” he said on Monday. He also visited the kin of the victims of the hooch tragedy and sought compensation for them. 

Congress leaders have also started targeting the BJP on the illicit trade. Rahul Gandhi recently posted on social media figures of three drug recoveries allegedly worth around Rs 22,000 crore at Mundra port since September 2021 and questioned the law and order situation.

The Opposition’s attacks, and public anger over the menace, have prompted BJP to get into a damage control mode. Its state spokesperson Yamal Vyas said, “Gujarat ATS is doing a good job. Along with the Coast Guard, they have filed over 400 cases under the NDPS Act in six months. When Gujarat Police is doing such good work, what is the problem of Congress?”

AAP releases first list of 10 candidates

The AAP on Tuesday announced its first list of 10 candidates for Gujarat Assembly poll to be held in December. While Sagar Rabari has got Bechraji ticket, Arjun Rathwa will contest from Chhota Udaipur and Vashram Sagathia has got Rajkot Rural seat. Ram Dhaduk, Rajendra Solanki and Bhema Chaudhary will fight from Kamrej (Surat), Bardoli and Deodar, respectively.

BEIJING: China rolled out curbs Wednesday on the import of fruit and fish from Taiwan while halting shipments of sand to the island.

The trip by Pelosi, who is second in line to the presidency and the highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, has ignited a diplomatic firestorm. She landed late Tuesday in the wake of increasingly stark warnings from China, which considers the island a part of its territory to one day be reclaimed, by force if necessary.

China’s Customs Administration said Wednesday it would suspend some citrus fruit imports from Taiwan over alleged “repeated” detection of excessive pesticide residue, and the import of fish owing to positive coronavirus tests on packages.

In a separate notice, the Commerce Ministry added it would also “suspend the export of natural sand to Taiwan” from Wednesday, without providing details.

Natural sand is generally used for producing concrete and asphalt, and most of Taiwan’s imported sand and gravel comes from China.

The moves are part of a “common pattern for Beijing”, said Even Pay, an agriculture analyst at consultancy Trivium China. More disruptions of the agricultural and food trade can be expected in the coming days, she added.

“When diplomatic or trade tensions are running high, Chinese regulators typically take an extremely strict approach to compliance… looking for any issues that can be used to justify a trade ban,” she told AFP.

China is Taiwan’s biggest trading partner and export market, with bilateral trade growing 26 percent on year to $328 billion in 2021, official data shows. It is not the first time Beijing has taken aim at the island’s exports.

China banned pineapple imports in March 2021, citing the discovery of pests, in a move that was widely seen as politically driven. Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, as she views the island as a de facto sovereign nation and not part of “one China”.

On top of the latest bans, Taipei’s Council of Agriculture said Tuesday that China had cited regulatory breaches in suspending the import of other Taiwanese goods, including fishery products, tea and honey.

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities also announced planned live-fire military drills encircling Taiwan, in a move Taipei’s defence ministry said threatened key ports and urban areas.

At some points, the zone of Chinese operations will come within 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) of Taiwan’s shoreline, according to coordinates shared by the People’s Liberation Army. Taiwan’s 23 million people have long lived with the possibility of an invasion, but that threat has intensified under President Xi Jinping, China’s most assertive leader in a generation.