Heat wave: over 100 deaths on Saturday alone across A.P.

May 24, 2015

Vijayawada, May 24: The death toll due to heat mounted alarmingly in Andhra Pradesh with officials confirming 95 deaths while unconfirmed reports said more than 100 succumbed on Saturday alone. Prakasam district is the worst-hit with 40 casualties and Guntur followed with 20 deaths on a single day.

Heat waveNearly 200 people lost their lives owing to intense heat wave prevailing in the State for the last three days. Daily wage labourers, homeless people and the elderly were the worst hit. The mounting death toll has put the administration on tenterhooks and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the situation with district collectors in Hyderabad.

Mr. Naidu announced an ex gratia of Rs. 1 lakh to the families of heat wave victims. Incidentally, the officials concerned paid Rs. 50,000 each to victims till Friday. The situation, according to Mr. Naidu, was alarming, as day temperatures were five to six degrees above normal and will continue to remain so for more than a week.

According to the Disaster Management department, 95 deaths were reported on Saturday alone. According to official figures, Prakasam registered highest deaths with 40 succumbing to the intense heat wave followed by Srikakulam (12), Visakhapatnam (15), Vizianagaram (8), Krishna (7), Nellore (6), East Godavari 4, Anantapur and West Godavari (2 each) and Guntur (1).

In Prakasam district, the toll rose to 77 with the 40 fatalities on Saturday. The district has been in the throes of its worst drought in 45 years, District Revenue Officer Noor Basha Qasim said. Most deaths were reported from Addanki, Erraguntlapalem, Markapur and V.V. Palem mandals in the district.

Prakasam Collector Sujatha Sharma said the deaths were due to sudden surge in day temperature and that drinking water camps would be set up across the district from Sunday. Arrangements were being made to distribute ORS sachets at public places free of cost.

Meanwhile, the administration in the districts stepped up relief measures and Krishna District Collector Babu A cancelled the weekly Mee Kosam grievance redressal programme scheduled on Monday due to heat wave conditions in the district. Interestingly, coastal districts registered high temperatures as compared to Rayalaseema districts, usually known for registering high temperatures during the season.

The heat wave continued unabated in Krishna with Nandigama and Vijayawada registering the highest maximum temperature of 47 degrees Celsius each. Bapatla in Guntur recorded 45.9 degrees Celsius followed by Ongole (44.3 degree Celsius). In Rayalaseema region, Anantapur and Kurnool districts recorded 41.2 degree Celsius.

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News Network
July 25,2020

New Delhi, Jul 25: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the government of benefitting by making profits during the coronavirus-induced lockdown when people were in trouble.

He tagged a news report that claimed the Indian Railways was making profit by running 'Shramik trains' for transporting migrants during the pandemic.

"There are clouds of disease and people are in trouble, but one seeks to benefit -- this anti-people government is converting a disaster into profits and is earning," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

The news report claimed that the railways made a profit of Rs 428 crore by running Shramik special trains during the lockdown that transported migrants to their native places.

In another tweet, he lauded the efforts of the Himachal government in conducting a survey to select 'one district, one product', saying he had suggested this sometime back.

"This is a good idea. I had suggested it some time back. Its implementation will need a complete change of mindset," he said on Twitter.

He also tagged a report that stated the state Industries Department is conducting a baseline survey in all districts to select one district, one product for centrally-sponsored Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP). 

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News Network
June 19,2020

Jun 19: Ten Indian Army soldiers including four officers were released by the China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Friday capping three days of hard negotiations that followed the bloody battle at the eastern Ladakh’s Galwan valley on Monday.

The 10 jawans returned around 5.30 PM on Friday to Patrol Point 14 (PP-14) after Indian team leader Major Gen. Abhijit Bapat, the commanding officer of the Third Div made it clear to the Chinese that there couldn’t be any progress in the disengagement talks unless the soldiers were returned safely.

Asked to comment on the release of Indian soldiers, the Indian Army maintained silence. The force released a brief statement on Thursday stating that all its men were accounted for.

However, the extent of the brutal clash can be gauged from the fact that 76 Indian Army soldiers are still in the hospital out of which 58 soldiers have “minor injuries” and “should be back on duty within a week”, according to Army sources.

Return of the Indian soldiers has been the main point of negotiations for the last two days. The situation is now calmer at areas near PP-14 in the Galwan valley after the return of Indian soldiers even though large numbers of troops from both sides are still present in the area.

Meanwhile analysis of satellite images has revealed a large presence of Chinese troops in the northern banks of Pangong Tso, a disputed territory for years.

“In the past month, Chinese forces have become an overwhelming majority in the disputed areas (on the north bank of the 135 km long lake). Significant positions have been constructed between Fingers 4 and 5, including around 500 structures, fortified trenches and a new boat shed over 20 km further forward than previously. More structures appear to be under construction,” says a report published in the Strategist, the journal of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

“The scale and provocative nature of these new Chinese outposts is hard to overstate: 53 different forward positions have been built, including 19 that sit exactly on the ridge line separating Indian and Chinese patrols,” says the report, accompanied by satellite images showing overwhelming PLA presence.

The June 6 Corps Commander level meeting between the Indian and PLA armies did not result in a solution to the contentious muscle flexing by the Chinese on the shores of the Pangong lake. The meeting ended with the conclusion that more Lt Gen level talks between the two armies were needed to resolve such issues.

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News Network
May 13,2020

Lucknow , May 13: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over announcing Rs 20 lakh crore special economic package to boost the economy saying that the Centre is again making "false promises to 133 crore Indians".

"Earlier, you promised Rs 15 lakh and now Rs 20 lakh crore. You have made false promises 133 times with 133 crore Indians. How can someone trust you this time? People now are not asking how many zeroes there are but how many false promises have been made," he tweeted (translated from Hindi).

Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package for the country fighting COVID-19, stating that it will give a new impetus and a new direction to the self-reliant India campaign.

The Prime Minister had also announced that the fourth phase of lockdown will be completely redesigned with new rules and will commence from May 18.

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