19,000 still in relief camps in flood-hit Andhra districts as Godavari recedes

Though there was no loss of life, 16 villages were submerged and transportation to 109 villages was cut.

Dowleswaram

Andhra Pradesh News: Nearly 19,000 people in Andhra Pradesh’s flood-hit districts of East and West Godavari remained in relief camps on Monday while authorities continued relief operations.Officials said the flood situation was under control though the first level warning in Godavari river continued in the upstream Telangana state.

The water level in the river at Kaleswaram in Telangana is already above the first level warning while it continued rising at Bhadrachalam, also in Telangana. Heavy downpour in the catchment area of Godavari basin and incessant rains in East and West Godavari districts from July 31 triggered the floods.

According to Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), 420 villages in the two districts were affected. Over 1.1 lakh people were hit by the floods and nearly 19,000 were evacuated.While 18,809 people shifted to 85 relief camps in East Godavari district, 133 people were given shelter in two relief camps in West Godavari district.

Authorities continued distribution of food and water packets in the relief camps. Essential commodities like rice, kerosene, red gram and palm oil are being distributed in flood-affected villages.

Though there was no loss of life, 16 villages were submerged and transportation to 109 villages was cut. Officials said 17 houses were damaged. Over 300 personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NRDF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were participating in the rescue and relief operations…(Read Full Story)

Heavy rains lash north, central and coastal Karnataka: Full list of trains affected

The Indian Meteorological Department had issued a 48-hour red warning in six districts of the state.

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Karnataka News: Amidst severe rain and flooding in parts of north, central and coastal Karnataka, train services have been badly affected with tracks getting submerged under water.

The South Western Railway issued a bulletin stating, ”Torrential rainfall over the last two days caused substantial water to inundate track between Londa and Tinaighat at 1 am on 6th Aug morning. Water was  flowing below the track and same was restored at 15:10 hrs. on  06.08.2019. Railway staff undertook massive restoration work in hostile weather conditions under the guidance of Shri A.K. Singh, GM/SWR and Shri Rajesh Mohan Divisional Railway Manager. Up line was made fit for train operations by 15:10 hrs, in record time of 14 hrs given the gravity of situation. The same was possible due to the untiring efforts of railway staff battling odds of weather conditions. The first passenger train to pass on this line will be Train No. 06948 Super Express that leaves Hubballi tonight.”

On Tuesday, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a 48-hour red warning in six districts of the state viz. Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Kodagu and Udupi; orange warning in Belagavi, Hassan and Haveri; and yellow alert in Dharwad and Kalaburgi. 

The statement, issued by the Divisional Railway Manager’s office in Hubballi, also goes on to list the affected routes: Full list of trains affected

 

IMA probe: Karnataka govt seizes 23 properties of Mansoor Khan worth Rs 300 crore

The Ponzi scam came to light on June 10 when the IMA showroom in the city centre did not open for business after a week-long closure for Eid at the end of Ramzan amid reports that Khan had fled to Dubai.

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Karnataka News: The Karnataka government has seized 23 properties of IMA Jewellers scam prime accused Mansoor Khan valued at Rs 300 crore in five districts across the southern state, an official said on Wednesday.

“We have seized 23 properties valued at Rs 300 crore of Khan in Bengaluru, Chikkamagaluru, Davangere, Hassan and Kolar in the state as part of the investigation in the multi-crore Ponzi scheme scam,” Bengaluru Urban District Deputy Commissioner K. Srinivas said here in a statement in Kannada.

The previous Congress-JD(S) coalition government had set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 11 to probe the scam in which about 40,000 people from across the state and outside were allegedly duped of their hard-earned money they invested in Khan’s Ponzi scheme in the form of deposits, gold and jewellery since a decade.

The Ponzi scam came to light on June 10 when the IMA showroom in the city centre did not open for business after a week-long closure for Eid at the end of Ramzan amid reports that Khan had fled to Dubai to escape the wrath of investors for causing huge losses to them.

Read More → Ponzi Scam

 

Kerala Floods: 28 people dead, 12 bodies recovered from landslides

Three dead bodies have been recovered from Bhoothathan-Muthappan mountain in Nilambur while nine from Meppadi in Wayanad.

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Kerala News: The number of causalities in the state of Kerala in the last three days in rain-related incidents has risen to 28. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that nine dead bodies were recovered on Friday from Malappuram and Wayanad as rains unleashed havoc in the northern parts of the state.

It is feared that around 40 people are trapped underneath the remains of the Bhoothathan-Muthappan mountain, that has collapsed in landslide in Nilambur of Malappuram district. Three dead bodies have been recovered from the spot. Rescue operations are in place and two people have been rescued, the CM said while addressing the media on Friday evening. National Disaster Response Force, Fire Force and police personnel and local people are taking part in rescue operations.

Travelling to the spot is tough and large rescue equipments cannot be carried as Payankara Bridge has also collapsed.

In Wayanad, nine bodies have been recovered from Meppadi. “It is not yet clear how many people have died in the landslide in Puthurmala in Meppadi. As many as 11 deaths have been reported from Wayanad. A total of 738 relief camps have been opened as of 3 pm on Friday; the number of people from 15748 families in the camps is 64,013,” the CM said.

Seven people have been missing in Meppadi and 27 people are injured. A total of 101 houses have been fully destroyed while 1383 houses have been partially destroyed.

Full Updates → Kerala Floods 2019

Kerala floods: Govt warns of strict action against those spreading fake news, old videos

Kerala government launched a website to better coordinate flood rescue operation and put a list of Facebook pages and phone numbers for the public.

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Kerala News: Kerala government has warned of strict action against individuals found spreading fake information about the ongoing floods in the state. Images and videos of flood and the devastation from last year’s floods were being circulated through social media and messaging platforms, causing panic among locals.

The state government has also launched a new website called Kerala Rescue to coordinate relief work. The website at the moment provides facilities such as a request for help, search for missing persons, to enrol as a volunteer, to send relief material based on needs of each district, the contact information of various department officials and announcements.

The need for a centralised source for giving out announcements arose after several fake WhatsApp forwards on water levels at dams started doing the rounds.

Thrissur District collector S Shanavas took to Facebook to issue a warning against those spreading fake news about flood situation on the ground. On Thursday evening, he wrote, “We are witnessing reports about the Peechi dam (in Thrissur) being opened being spread on WhatsApp. Spreading videos that cause panic among people over social media will face legal action under section 54 (Punishment for false warning) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.”

Full Updates → Kerala Floods 2019

Chennai’s MTC to introduce new fleet of buses that are disabled-friendly

The announcement was made at a three-day meeting held by the Transport Secretary with the state transport corporations.

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Tamil Nadu News: Chennai’s Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) will soon introduce new buses that enable persons with disabilities to travel comfortably. The buses will be designed in such a manner as to accommodate persons with disabilities along with their wheelchairs.

The announcement was made at the three-day meeting held by Transport Secretary J Radhakrishnan along with the state transport corporations (STC) in Tamil Nadu. The buses to be introduced will have foldable ramps which help persons with disabilities to board and deboard the bus without the help of another person.

The move comes after the Madras High Court constantly pulled up the transport corporations for not taking sufficient steps to make public buses disabled-friendly. The MTC had also readied a working model of the modification, which was done in a new red-coloured bus by a private firm.

In the meeting, the TNSTC officials were directed to draft an action plan to execute the announcements related to transport department made by the chief minister under Rule 110 in the state assembly. There were also discussions about increasing revenue to the transport corporations, reducing expenses, scrapping of old buses etc. The meeting also saw discussions to modernise 16 out of the 32 MTC bus depots under the Smart City Mission.

Read More → Chennai MTC New Buses

 

Tamil Nadu govt makes Aadhaar enrollment compulsory for school students, sparks row

This circular has been issued for students under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and will apply to around 1 crore students in Tamil Nadu.

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Tamil Nadu News: The School Education Department of Tamil Nadu has issued a circular pushing for Aadhaar enrolment for school students under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. This despite the fact that the Supreme Court has ruled that Aadhaar enrolment cannot be made compulsory.

According to data on the Tamil Nadu government website, in 2017-2018, there were 58,474 schools and over 1.23 crore students under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan scheme in the state.

The circular, issued on August 2, states that the schools must collect Aadhaar details of the students and the details must be linked to the Educational Management Information System (EMIS). It also mentions that students whose Aadhaar details have not yet been collected by the schools must be brought to Aadhaar enrolment centres and be issued an Aadhaar number. It is not clear yet whether it is applicable to only government schools or to government-aided and private schools as well.

The directions have sparked a row, with some sections of the stakeholders batting for the move and others vehemently opposing it and questioning its legality.

Read More → Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan

 

After 77 days with no chief, Sonia Gandhi named interim Congress President

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) finally accepted Rahul Gandhi’s resignation.

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South India News: When the names of Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Mukul Wasnik and Jyotiraditya Scindia were proposed at the sub-group discussions, very few hands came up in agreement. Worried at the prospect of a split in the party ranks, the Congress fell back on Sonia Gandhi to lead the party, and she was chosen as the party’s interim Congress President.

After day-long deliberations, the Congress on Saturday failed to name a party leader from outside the Gandhi family. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) finally accepted Rahul’s resignation. He resigned on May 25, and the Congress remained without a head for 77 days.

With all the five party sub-groups unitedly proposing Rahul Gandhi’s name as party chief, and Rahul refusing to go back on his decision, the mantle fell on Sonia Gandhi again to shepherd the party as an interim measure.

Sonia Gandhi was requested to lead the party out of its troubled times and help it make a comeback. According to party sources, Sonia will “recast the current committee of party general secretaries” in the coming days… (Read Full Story)

Congrats on Mission Kashmir: Rajinikanth lauds Amit Shah on govt’s Article 370 move

Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth also praised Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s speech in Parliament.

rajinikanth

South India News: Actor-politician Rajinikanth has come out in support of the government’s move last week to nullify Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. At a speech in Chennai on Sunday, Rajinikanth congratulated Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the move.

Last Monday, Amit Shah proposed the abrogation of Article 370 and announced the government’s decision to designate Jammu and Kashmir a Union Territory along with Ladakh. The government announced its decision, which was later passed by the Parliament, even as the Valley continues to be under lockdown with no internet and phone connectivity.

Amit Shah arrived in Chennai on Saturday evening to take part in a meeting with Tamil Nadu BJP leaders. Speaking at the launch of a book by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu where Shah was present, Rajinikanth said, “Really my heartfelt congratulations for your Mission Kashmir operations, sir. The way you conducted it, hats off, especially the speech you delivered in Parliament, fantastic sir, fantastic.”

Rajini also referenced the central figures in the Bhagavad Gita. “Now people will come to know who is Amit Shah. Am happy about that. So Amit Shah ji and Modi ji is like Krishna-Arjuna combination. We don’t know who is Krishna, who is Arjuna. They only know who is Krishna, who is Arjuna,” (sic) laughed the actor… (Read Full Story) 

TNM Fact Check: Can these Telangana kids really generate electricity?

Viral videos have been claiming that an Adilabad family can light up LED bulbs with their bare fingers. Is this a miracle, or basic science?

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Telangana News: A few local media outlets recently reported that a 5-year-old boy from Telangana had electricity passing through his fingers. Videos showing the boy, his sister and some of his family members lighting up a bulb with their bare fingers had gone viral, calling it a miraculous phenomenon. News channels reported the news with a sense of awe, suggesting that the children had superpowers. But none of these claims are true.

One day in July, Chand Pasha, who lives in Sirisanna Ramnagar village in Adilabad district, brought home an LED bulb. When his two children began to play with it, the bulb lit up without an electric connection. Their family members were awestruck, and began to take turns to try it out for themselves.

As the news started to spread by word of mouth, people from neighbouring villages and television reporters began to crowd to their home to witness this ‘miracle’. News channels termed the siblings as ‘wonder kids’. News reports show how the bulb lights up at the touch of Chand Pasha himself, his son, daughter and brother, but it doesn’t work for his wife and father, or any of the visitors.Visitors have even been bringing their own bulbs to test the children’s ‘superpowers’ for themselves.

All the bulbs used to depict this phenomenon were Inverter LED bulbs, commonly used as emergency lights. These bulbs usually light up when they come in contact with moisture. Many videos available online show how the bulb can be powered with just water, especially salted water, if it has been charged beforehand.

Watch the Video here → Electricity passing through 5-year-old boy