Ockhi unleashes rain fury in south Tamil Nadu, Kerala; 8 dead

Agencies
December 1, 2017

Chennai, Dec 1: Heavy rainfalls and winds battered Kanyakumari and have killed four people on Thursday.

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has asked civic bodies to be ready for rescue operations.

Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy, who reviewed the preparations taken up in the wake of the cyclone alert at the state secretariat, dispatched senior IAS officials and state ministers to speed up the monsoon relief works in coastal districts of Tamil Nadu.

Madhavan Rajeevan, secretary in the Earth Sciences ministry, said in New Delhi that Lakswadeep in the southern part of the Arabian Sea will start experiencing heavy rainfall and strong winds from tomorrow.

Moving towards Lakshadweep, the intensity of the cyclone will slow down after the landfall, they said.

Two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were deployed in the affected areas of Tamil Nadu on Thursday to carry out relief and rescue operations.

In Lashadeep, damage to power and communication lines due to the breaking of tree branches and uprooting of trees.

Several districts, including Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Kollam in Kerala, reported heavy rainfall and damage, including falling of trees, causing disruption of traffic.

The Courtallam falls near Tirunelveli and several salt pans in Tuticorin region were flooded. "We had issued warning since yesterday to the fishermen not to venture into the sea and sought the coastal community to be cautious", KSDMA scientists said.

IMD has issued warnings about rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places very likely over south Tamil Nadu & south Kerala during next 24 hours and isolated heavy falls over interior Tamil Nadu and Kerala during subsequent 24 hours.

A couple of trains, originating and passing through this district, were cancelled partially or fully and some of them were rescheduled, Southern Railway officials said.

"Rainfall will occur at most places, heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places, and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places very likely over Lakshadweep area during next 48 hours", the IMD said.

Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (meteorology and climate change) of Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, said there was a possibility of flooding in the islands due to heavy rainfall.

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News Network
February 9,2020

Panaji, Feb 9: RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi on Saturday said that anybody who wants to work (in India) will have to do so with the Hindu community and for their empowerment.

Addressing a lecture on the topic "Vishwaguru Bharat, an RSS perspective" at Dona Paula in Panaji, Mr Joshi referred to his communication with an intellectual who had said that India should become a "supre-rashtra" in the year 2020.

"Anybody who wants to work (in India) will have to work with the Hindu commumnity by taking them along and for their empowerment. Hindus have witnessed the rise and fall of India since the time immemorial. India cannot be separated from (the) Hindu (community). Hindus have always been at the centre of this nation," Mr Joshi said in Marathi.

He also added that since Hindus are not communal or antagonist, "nobody should be reluctant to work for the Hindu community".

The RSS leader further said, "The world says India will become a superpower in 2020, but I remember my conversation with an intellectual who had said that India should become a super-rashtra (super nation) in 2020".

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant was among those who attended the lecture.

"To create awareness and unity amongst Hindus does not amount to (taking) an action against others (community). No one should feel it that way. We can say with utter self confidence before the entire world that Hindus becoming strong won't result in destructive activities, but (such proposition) will work for the society and humanity," he added.

Invoking history, Mr Joshi said Hindus never invaded other countries. "Whatever wars (they had fought) were for self defence. Everyone has the right to self defence," he said.

"It is India's duty to teach the world to walk on the path of ''samanvay'' (coordination). Nobody else other than India and Hindus can do this," Mr Joshi said.

He said some communities in the world keep preaching that only their path is "great".

"But we are from the (Hindu) community which says that we have our own path so as you. When the world will accept this ideology, then all the issues would get solved. It is the duty of India to take the world on that path," he added.

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News Network
June 17,2020

Jaipur, Jun 17: Police have registered an FIR against a television news anchor for allegedly making an objectionable comment on Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.

The FIR was lodged after a complaint against News 18 India anchor Amish Devgan by a "khadim" at the saint's dargah in Ajmer on Tuesday night.

"He is running a communal agenda against the Muslim community. The dargah of Sufi saint is visited not only by Muslims but by people of all religions and his comments have hurt the sentiments of all," Syed Sarwar Chishti said.

The anchor later apologised on Twitter. "In 1 of my debates, I inadvertently referred to 'Khilji' as Chishti. I sincerely apologise for this grave error and the anguish it may hv caused to followers of the Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, whom I revere. I have in the past sought blessings at his dargah. I regret this error," Devgan tweeted.

Dargah SHO Hem Raj said a case was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act for outraging religious feelings.

Another complaint was lodged by activist Muzaffar Bharti at the office of Ajmer's Superintendent of Police.

He accused Devgan and his team of trying to incite riots through "misleading and objectionable debates on communal issues".

He said Devgan made highly objectionable remarks on the revered saint, which shall not be tolerated.

"The dargah of Moinuddin Chishti is the symbol of brotherhood and harmony and crores of people of different religions all over the world have deep love and faith in the saint," he said.

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News Network
January 6,2020

Jan 6: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Sunday said the country's economy is not showing good signs though Prime Minister Narendra Modi has manifested tremendous leadership skills in fighting terror and in social welfare projects.

The fiscal decisions of the government have not yielded the desired results, the Rajya Sabha MP said here.

"Modi had shown tremendous leadership skill in fighting terror, in several social areas, micro areas like bringing toilets to every village home. But the economy is a complex system...," he said while taking part in a discussion.

While every minister is talking about a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024, but the current GDP growth has to be multiplied in four years to achieve that, the former Union minister said.

He said, if wages are slashed as a measure to cope with the situation, labor will become cheap but that will also cut down the people's purchasing power triggering dip in demand, closing down factories and rise in unemployment.

"This is one problem for which you really need an economist," he said.

Swamy said in jest, "I think Modi has one problem with me. Not only I am an economist but also a politician."

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