150 missing, toll could rise in Assam boat accident

May 1, 2012

boattragedy


Guwahati, May 1: Rescue operations continued in the Brahmaputra in Assam Tuesday, a day after a ferry capsized in the river killing nearly 70 people, but with at least 150 still missing the death toll was expected to rise, officials said.

On Tuesday, the district administration pressed into service a helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to step up the rescue operations in Monday's incident, in which a storm hit the ferry, causing it to drown in Lower Assam's Dhubri district.

Abdul Aziz, a survivor, said there were over 300 passengers on the ferry. “The storm was so strong that it broke the ferry into pieces,” he said.

A district administration official said: “The casualty might go up as we are yet to ascertain the exact number of passengers on the ferry. As per our information, about 240 passengers bought tickets but there were passengers without tickets too.”

“We have taken all possible measures to search and rescue victims.”

At least 68 people died and over 150 are still missing after the ferry, which was on its way to Madattari under Fakirganj police station from Dhubri town, capsized in heavy storm in Brahmaputra river Monday evening.

The Border Security Force (BSF) and the National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF), which started rescue operations immediately after the incident along with local people, could bring ashore 80 people till Monday night. Some passengers managed to swim to the river bank.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP from the state, Monday expressed shock about the loss of lives in the boat tragedy and conveyed his deepest condolences to the near and dear ones of those who lost their lives, said an official release.

He has also instructed officials for all possible assistance to the state government in relief operations and also for assistance from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to families of the deceased.

The prime minister spoke to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to convey his condolences and express solidarity with the people of Assam.

An official communiqué from the chief minister's office said Gogoi has directed the chief secretary and principal secretary, revenue and disaster management department, to expedite rescue and relief operations.

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News Network
January 1,2020

New Delhi, Jan 1: The new Army chief Lieutenant General MM Naravane on Wednesday said that India needs to pay more attention to its border along China and asserted that the force is capable of dealing with any security challenge.

"We have been giving attention to our western front in the past. The northern front now also requires an equal amount of attention... The Army is capable of tackling any dangers to the country," General Naravane told reporters after receiving the first Guard of Honour as the Army chief.

"In that context, we are now going in for capability development and enhancement of our capacities even in our northern borders which includes the northeastern part of our country," he said.

On the border dispute with China, the Army chief said that continuing peace along the border will pave the way for a solution.

He said: "We have been able to maintain peace and tranquility along borders and I'm sure that situation will prevail. By maintaining this, we will be able to set the stage for the eventual solution."

General Naravane said that operational readiness and modernisation will be among the top priorities of the Army under his leadership.

"Our priority will be to be ready to meet any challenge and to be operationally prepared at all times. This will happen as a result of modernisation. We will continue to build our capability especially in the North and Northeast region of our country," he said.

He said that the Indian Army will pay special attention to respect human rights. "We will also pay special emphasis on raising security awareness among ranks and file and pay special attention to respect human rights," the Army chief said.

Assuring the country on security, he said, "All three services — the Army, the Navy and the Air Force — are ready to defend the country."

He extended wishes to people in the new year and hoped that the country will make huge progress in this decade.

General Naravane took over as the 28th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) on Tuesday, succeeding General Bipin Rawat who has become India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

General Naravane was previously the Vice Chief of Army Staff.

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News Network
April 6,2020

New Delhi, Apr 6: With an increase of 490 cases in the last 12 hours, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in India climbed to 4067, said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.

As many as 109 deaths have been reported across the country due to the deadly disease.
There are 3666 active cases in the country while 292 people have been cured/discharged/migrated.

Maharashtra has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases so far, standing at 690, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi with 571 and 503 cases respectively. 

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Agencies
May 17,2020

New Delhi, May 17: With the highest-ever spike of close to 5,000 cases in the past 24 hours, the COVID-19 count in India has crossed 90,000 on Sunday.

With an increase of 4,987 COVID-19 cases being reported in the last 24 hours, the count has reached 90,927, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of active cases in the country stands at 53,946 today, while 2,872 deaths have been recorded due to the infection so far, with one patient having migrated. 120 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

However, on the positive side, close to 4,000 patients have also been cured and discharged in the past 24 hours, taking the tally of cured patients to 34,108.

With 30,706 confirmed cases, Maharashtra remains the worst-affected by the infection in the country.

It is followed by Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, with 10,988 and 10,585 cases, respectively.
The national capital, with 9,333 cases, is also one of the regions which is badly affected by the infection.

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