Meghalaya mine tragedy: No change in water level after 28 Lakh litres drained out

Agencies
January 11, 2019

Shillong, Jan 11: Multi-agencies personnel used high-powered pumps to drain out 28 lakh litres of water from the main shaft, where 15 miners got trapped, but Navy divers Thursday found no change in the water level in the rat-hole mine to resume search operation, officials said. 

Rescuers using pumps from Coal India Ltd, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd and the Odisha Fire Service have managed to pump out 2.1 crore litres of water from the mines, including the main shaft and the abandoned ones in the nearby which might be interconnected to it, till Thursday, they said.

But, still, there has been no significant drop in the water level in these mines, leaving rescuers clueless where and how to look for the diggers, they said.

Kirloskar Brothers Ltd pumps, which was operational from 7 pm Wednesday evening and continued to run for 11 hours, have pumped out 28 lakh litres from the main shaft, the official said.

Operation spokesperson R Susngi said the Navy has conducted searches in at least six mines, including in the main shaft, for the trapped diggers, but there has been no success.

According to the Navy, the water level in the entire area was totally raptured and a search will continue in the adjacent mines, Susngi said.

At least 15 miners are trapped in a 370 foot-deep illegal coal mine at Khloo Ryngksan area of Nongkhlieh elaka under East Jaintia Hills district since December 13 last year.

At the vertical shaft of the mine, the water level is about 160 feet deep rendering the rescue divers from the Indian Navy and the National Disaster Response Force unable to perform safe diving as it is beyond their 100 feet diving capacity, Susngi said.

At least 200 rescuers from the Navy, NDRF, the Odisha Fire Service, State Disaster Response Fund, state Fire service and others from CIL and KBL are involved in the multi-agency rescue operations.

The accident at the mine, about 140 km away from the state capital, has thrown lights on the presence of illegal coal mining using unsafe and unscientific rat-hole methods despite the National Green Tribunal ban since 2014.

Another mine accident was reported last week in which two miners were dead when the mine collapsed.

The mine disaster had earlier drawn the attention of the Supreme Court which had come hard on the state government for not been able to trace the miners.

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Agencies
February 23,2020

New Delhi, Feb 23: Dreaded underworld don Ravi Pujari, operating from overseas, has been reportedly arrested in South Africa and efforts are on for his deportation to India.

Pujari, who parted ways with underworld don Chhota Rajan, had jumped bail from Senegal, last year and had escaped to South Africa, where he was involved in big-time drug trafficking and extortion racket.

Sources in Indian Intelligence said that Ravi Pujari, who was hiding with a false identity of Anthony Fernandes, a Burkina Faso passport holder, was located in a remote village in South Africa.

On a tip-off from Indian external intelligence agency, the Senegal police air dashed South Africa last week. Pujari, 52, wanted in over 200 cases of heinous crimes, including murder and extortion, was detained with the help of South African agencies.

Sources in Mumbai Police said that Pujari's arrest has not yet been confirmed officially but Ministry of External Affairs is in touch with its mission in South Africa. An official in MEA refused to speak on the issue. Embassy of Senegal in Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, also did not respond to IANS' queries in connection with Pujari's arrest.

The mafioso first came into news in early 2000 when he started extorting huge amounts from famous Bollywood personalties and builders. He was involved in an attempt to murder case, aimed at killing a prominent lawyer of Mumbai.tip-off

Pujari's wife Padma and three children also fled India and some of them hold Burkina Faso passport. His son who was recently married in Australia reportedly holds an Australian passport.

Earlier last year Ravi Pujari, living under the identity of Anthony had jumped bailed from a Senegal court through fraudulent means. IANS had accessed the don's new passport. Pujari now goes under the name of Anthony Fernandes and is a citizen of Burkina Faso, a West African country, his date of birth is shown as 25.1.1961.

Pujari, a movie junkie influenced by Amitabh Bachchan's portrayal as Anthony Gonsalves in 'Amar Akbar Anthony' was using the name, Anthony Fernandes. This passport was issued on 10.7.2013 and is valid till 8.7.2023. The passport showed his profession as Agent Commercial which means that he is designated as a businessman running a chain of restaurants Namaste India in Senegal, Burkina Faso and neighbouring countries.

Pujari's lawyers in Senegal had argued in the court citing that he is Anthony Fernandes, a businessman from Burkina Faso as mentioned in his passport and not a fugitive as claimed by the Indian Government.

Clearly indicating a collision between top government functionaries of Burkina Faso and Pujari in which an influential Indian businessman, who is his partner in a restaurant chain, may have played the role of a conduit.

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News Network
April 26,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 26: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday urged media houses not to resort to layoffs and pay cuts while the whole community is facing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chief Minister said the state government will also take necessary steps to test the media personnel in the state to ensure they have not contracted the deadly virus.

He also pointed out that the pandemic has severely impacted the media sector with many newspapers even reducing the number of pages.

"Journalists are among those who have been affected the most. Journalists on the field are also in danger. We have come to know about the reporters affected with coronavirus in other states. The government will take necessary precautions including testing to ensure that journalists don't contract the disease," Vijayan said.

He said the newspapers were not receiving advertisements these days because there are no social or public events resulting in less commercial activities in the society.

"I would like to urge the media houses not to engage in layoffs or salary cuts during this pandemic. Journalists are working shoulder to shoulder with health workers. During this pandemic, scribes are out in the field collecting news, despite the threat of disease and it was admirable," Vijayan said.

The chief minister said the government has asked the PRD to release the dues to various media houses.

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Agencies
May 3,2020

Lucknow, May 3:Holding the Tablighi Jamaat responsible for the spread of COVID-19, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that being infected with a virus is not a crime but to hide it is definitely a crime.

Speaking at a programme of a news channel, Adityanath said, "The role of Tablighi Jamaat was most condemnable. To get a disease is not a crime but to hide a disease which is infectious is definitely a crime. And this crime has been done by those associated with the Tablighi Jamaat."

"In Uttar Pradesh and other places where the spread of the coronavirus has been seen, Tablighi Jamaat is behind it. Had they not hidden the disease and went about like its carriers, then perhaps we would have controlled the coronavirus outbreak to a large extend," he said.

The chief minister said action would be taken against them for the "crime that they have committed".

A Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi in March turned out to be a major source of COVID-19 cases, with those who attended the meet returned home in different parts of the country after being infected with the deadly virus.

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