Cyclone Nilam aftermath: 22 dead in AP, more rain likely in 24 hours

November 5, 2012

nilam_5

Hyderabad, November 5: Twenty-two people have died in coastal Andhra Pradesh as heavy rains continued to lash the region in the after effect of the Cyclone Nilam. Coastal Andhra Pradesh has been witnessing heavy rainfall over the past 48 hours.

Vishakapatnam, Prakasam, East Godavari and Viziana-garam have received close to 25 cm of rainfall since Saturday. People from low lying areas have been evacuated to relief camps. More rainfall is expected in next 24 hours.

District officials are on alert. "We forecast more rains in the next 48 hours and if the forecast is true more losses and casualties can be expected," T Radha, Commissioner, Disaster Management, said.

The rainfall on Sunday was such that Narasapur in West Godavari district received a record 31 cms of rainfall in the last 24 hours, followed by 27 cms in Amalapuram, 25 cms in Rajahmundry (both in East Godavari district), 25 cms in Yelamanchili (Visakhapatnam dist), 23 cms in Koderu (West Godavari district).

Standing crops, including paddy, were affected in 2,43,634 hectares. The government has set up 86 relief camps in which about 68,000 people were provided shelter, he said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy directed chief secretary Minnie Mathew to put all concerned departments on high alert and closely monitor the flood and heavy rains situation. He reviewed the situation with the chief secretary and other senior officials from New Delhi over phone and asked them to make all efforts for relief and rescue measures. He also spoke to collectors of rain-hit districts, a release from the chief minister's office said.


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Agencies
March 16,2020

New Delhi, Mar 16: Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde on Monday said that rules for preventing overcrowding in the courts to avoid the spread of coronavirus cannot be relaxed for journalists alone on the basis of profession.

"Can't make an exception on the basis of profession," CJI Bobde said while asking journalists to share information and notes and suggesting that a system can be put in place to facilitate daily media briefing by Secretary-General.

Video conferencing facility being contemplated may be brought into place but not sooner than one week from now and reporters may take turns to attend hearings, CJI Bobde said.

He said that the court does not wish to prevent any reportage.

Attorney General KK Venugopal and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Chief Justice of India about the crowded corridors on account of restricted entry inside courtrooms.

CJI Bobde said that he himself wishes to assess and take stock of the situation and may do so tomorrow at 10.30 am.

This comes after the top court introduced several precautionary measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus and allowed only restricted entry of lawyers, litigants, and journalists in the courtroom.

Thermal-screening of the lawyers, litigants, and media persons were also conducted in the Supreme Court on Monday amid coronavirus fears.

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News Network
February 27,2020

New Delhi, Feb 27: The death toll in the communal violence in northeast Delhi over the amended citizenship law reached 32 on Thursday, senior officials said.

It was at 27 till Wednesday night.

"Five more deaths recorded at GTB Hospital, so death toll at that hospital has gone up to 30, taking total toll to 32," a senior Delhi Health Department official told news agency.

The Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital had reported two fatalities on Wednesday.

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News Network
July 11,2020

Kochi, Jul 11: Johnny Paul Pierce's five-month stay in Kerala has been a soul-soothing experience for 74-year-old US citizen. He now wants to spend the rest of his life here.

"Kerala is a beautiful place to live in. This is my fifth trip here. I usually stay here for six months. It is such a magical place to be and I want to share that with people from the US," Pierce told ANI.

He came to India on February 26 on a tourist visa and is staying at Kandanadu in Kochi.

According to Pierce's Advocate, his tourist visa is valid up to January 26, 2025. But on this visa, he can only stay consecutively for 180 days.

The guidelines of the Indian government permit continuous stay for only 180 days for foreigners on tourist visas. His 180 days were set to expire on August 24, which the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) extended to August 30.

The US citizen has approached the Kerala High Court seeking to convert his tourist visa into a business visa. The petition will be considered next week.

Pierce has sought a directive to the government to permit him to apply for the conversion of his tourist visa into a business visa and also to extend his stay, without having to leave the country.

"I am making a petition for an extra 180 days to stay. And I would also like to get a business visa in order to begin a tour company to bring people from the US to Kerala after the coronavirus. I wish my family could also come here. I am very impressed with what's is happening here. People in the US don't care about COVID-19," he said.

He talked about the risk of going back to his home country saying, "There are only 27 deaths in Kerala and in the US there over 1.3 lakh deaths. I do not want to go back to the US. I am 74 years old and I am at risk. This is a very safe place for me. I hope India embraces and allows me to stay."

"There's chaos in the US due to COVID-19 and government is not taking care like India. I want to stay here," he added.

Pierce further talked about his future plans, saying that if he is allowed to stay, he would like to lease a small resort and make a retirement community, which will be a COVID free zone.

Lastly, he made an appeal to the Indian government to let him stay in India saying that "all the immigration rules were made before COVID-19."

"There should be special consideration for people like me," he added.

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