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Heavy rains lashing Andhra as cyclone nears coast

November 22, 2013

Hyderabad, Nov 22: Helen, the cyclonic storm in Bay of Bengal, is heading to hit Andhra Pradesh coast later in the day while several parts of the region started receiving heavy rains under its impact.rain_copy

An alert has been sounded in the coastal districts, while authorities are taking precautionary measures including evacuation of people from low-lying area to minimize the damage from the cyclone in the Bay of Bengal.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the severe cyclonic storm will cross the coast near Machillipatnam around Friday afternoon.

IMD has issued cyclone warning to Andhra Pradesh coast.

The IMD's bulletin early Friday said 'Helen' over west central Bay of Bengal moved slightly west-northwestwards and lay centred at about 120 km east of Machillipatnam, 250 km east-northeast of Ongole and 200 km south-southwest of Vishakhapatnam.

It would move west-northwestwards for some time, then westward and cross Andhra Pradesh coast near Machillipatnam.

Heavy rains accompanied by strong gales are lashing Krishna, Visakhapatnam, West Godavari and some other parts of the coastal region since early Friday. Authorities have declared holiday for educational institutions.

Under the influence of cyclone, rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places would occur over north coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Guntur, Krishna, West Godavari districts of south coastal Andhra Pradesh during next 48 hours. Isolated extremely heavy falls (25cm or more) are also likely.

Rainfall at most places with isolated heavy to very heavy falls would occur over remaining districts of south coastal Andhra Pradesh Rayalseema and Telangana Friday and Saturday.

Squally winds speed reaching 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph would prevail along and off south Andhra coast. The wind speed would gradually increase up to gale wind speed of 100-110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph at the time of landfall.

The IMD has warned that storm surge of about 1 to 1.5m height would inundate the low lying areas of west and east Godavari Krishna, Guntur and adjoining areas of Prakasham district at the time of landfall.

Sea condition will be rough to very rough along and off south Andhra coast. Extensive damage to thatched roofs and huts and minor damage to power and communication lines was expected due to uprooting of trees.

Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea. The authorities have hoisted warning signals at all ports along Andhra coast.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who reviewed the situation in coastal districts with top officials at a meeting in Hyderabad Thursday, directed the chief secretary to closely monitor the situation with all collectors of coastal districts to face any eventuality.

A control room to monitor the situation has been opened at the state secretariat in Hyderabad. The control room numbers are 040-23456005, 23451043.

Krishna district collector Raghunandan Rao said a holiday was declared for all educational institution in coastal areas.

He said 10 relief camps were opened for people evacuated from low-lying areas. Sixty personnel of National Disaster Response Force ( NDRF) personnel were deployed for rescue and relief operations.

A control room in Krishna district collector's office was opened. Its telephone numbers are 08672-252572  08672-251077.

Helen is threatening Andhra coast even as the state is yet to recover from the massive damages caused by 'Phailin' and heavy rains in October.

Andhra Pradesh has nearly 1,000 km long coastline and the nine district faces cyclone threats every year, especially between September and November.

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News Network
June 29,2020

Kolkata, Jun 29: Sweet-loving Bengalis have something to cheer about in COVID-19 time as the West Bengal government decided to come out with a "sandesh" which will contain honey from Sundarbans and increase immunity, an official said on Sunday.

Cotton cheese made from cow milk will be mixed with pure honey from the Sunderbans to prepare the "Arogya Sandesh" which will also have extracts of tulsi leaves, an official of the Animal Resources Development Department said.

No artificial flavours would be added to the sweetmeat which will be available in the department's outlets in the city and neighbouring districts, he said.

The sandesh will boost the immune system as a whole but it is not a COVID-19 antidote, the official said.

Sunderbans Affairs Minister Manturam Pakhira said the honey for making Arogya Sandesh will be collected from beehives in places such as Pirkhali, Jharkhali and other parts of the Sunderbans and it will be stored in a scientific manner.

The sandesh is expected to hit the shelves in another two months and the pricing will be within the reach of the common man, the animal resources development department official said.

Earlier this month, a reputed sweetmeat chain of Kolkata came out with an "Immunity Sandesh" claiming that it contains various herbs and spices such as haldi (turmeric), tulsi, saffron, and cardamom and Himalayan honey, which will boost immunity to fight novel coronavirus.

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News Network
June 23,2020

Jun 23: The U.S. government on Monday restricted charter flights from India, accusing the nation of "unfair and discriminatory practices" by violating a treaty governing aviation between the two countries.

Air India Ltd. has been making flights to repatriate its citizens during the travel disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, but also has been selling tickets to the public, the Transportation Department alleged.

At the same time, U.S. airlines have been prohibited from flying to India by aviation regulators there, the DOT said in its order. The situation "creates a competitive disadvantage for U.S. carriers," the agency said in a press release.

Air India is advertising a schedule that is more than half of pre-virus operations, the department said. "The charters go beyond true repatriations, and it appears that Air India may be using repatriation charters as a way of circumventing" that nation's flight restrictions, the U.S. agency said.

The order becomes effective in 30 days, the department said.

Indian airlines must apply to the DOT for authorization before conducting charter flights so that it can scrutinize them more closely, it said. The department will reconsider the restrictions once India lifts restrictions on U.S. carriers.

The action against India follows weeks of DOT restrictions against Chinese airlines after the U.S. agency accused that nation of unfairly banning American carriers in the wake of the virus. On June 15, the U.S. announced it would agree to allow four flights a week from China after it allowed the same number by U.S. carriers.

Attempts to reach Air India and the Indian embassy in Washington after business hours were unsuccessful.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Ghaziabad, Jul 28: Days ahead of Eid-ul-Adha, Nand Kishore Gurjar, a BJP MLA from Loni assembly constituency in Ghaziabad, has stoked controversy as he asked people celebrating the festival to "sacrifice their children instead of animals" on the occasion. He also claimed that "meat spreads coronavirus" so people should not be allowed to sacrifice innocent animals.

"People who want to sacrifice on Eid should sacrifice their children. I will not let people consume meat and alcohol in Loni. We will not let people sacrifice innocent animals because meat spreads coronavirus," the BJP legislator said while speaking to reporters.

"The way people have followed the guidelines of the government by not offering prayers and namaz at temples and mosques to contain COVID-19, in the same way, they must not give the sacrifice of animals on this Eid," he added.

"Earlier, sacrifices of animals used to be done in Sanatan Dharam as well. However, now coconut is offered instead. I request the Muslim brothers not to give 'qurbani' of animals. We will stop those who will perform the ritual animal sacrifice. We will not let this happen in Loni," he said.

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