Tamil Nadu rains: 17 killed in Coimbatore house collapse

News Network
December 2, 2019

Coimbatore, Dec 2: At least 17 people, including seven women and two children, were killed when a wall collapsed on four houses amid heavy downpour in Tamil Nadu's Mettupalayam area on Monday. More peope are feared trapped under the debris and rescue operations are on.

The houses were completely destroyed when a private compound wall, soaked in heavy rains, fell on them.

The total death toll from rain-related accidents have reached 18 across Tamil Nadu with Monday's tragedy in Mettupalayam, north of Coimbatore city.

More showers predicted

Rains lashed many parts of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Puducherry as the North-East monsoon intensified in the last 24 hours claiming one life in the state capital, Chennai, even as the Met office predicted more showers till Tuesday.

Various parts of the state have been receiving good rainfall since the onset of the monsoon on October 16.

The presence of an upper-air circulation caused heavy to very heavy rains, explained N Puviarasan, the Director of Area Cyclone-warning Centre, Regional Meteorological Centre.

He said light to heavy rainfall may occur over the next 24-48 hours.

"Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Vellore, Tiruvallur, Thiruvannamalai districts may receive very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours," he added.

To a query, he said the rainfall recorded since October 1 was 39 per cent which was three per cent higher than the rain received during the setting of the monsoon.

A flood alert has been issued to people living on the banks of river Bhavani in this western district of Tamil Nadu as a dam built across it has surplussed in the wake of copious rains in catchment areas, officials said on Monday.

The water level in the Lower Bhavani Project reservoir reached its maximum of 105 feet and the storage crossed 32 tmc feet against maximum of 32.8 tmc ft, prompting the Public Works Department authorities to more than triple discharge from 3,500 cusecs to 11,950 cusecs on Monday morning.

Consequently, Revenue officials released a flood alert and advised people living on the banks of River Bhavani to move to safer places, officials said.

The dam has filled up for the sixth time this year following heavy rains in the catchment areas in hilly Nilgiris district and Mettupalayam in neighbouring Coimbatore district.

Meanwhile, various formers associations appealed for release of water for irrigation of second turn crops in the Lower Bhavani Project ayacut areas.

Forecast for Chennai

For Chennai and its surrounding areas, light to moderate rainfall may occur over the next two days.

"The city received 51 cm this season which is 9 per cent less compared to the normal 60 cm received during monsoon season," Puviarasan said.

City Police Commissioner A K Viswanathan took stock of situation in the state capital and reviewed the measures taken following the heavy rainfall.

Talking to reporters, Viswanathan said all the departments have been alerted to take stock of situation in a coordinated manner.

He said a WhatsApp group of officers has been formed to ensure that immediate steps would be taken.

"Five teams from the State Disaster Relief Force have been kept on standby and teams from the National Disaster Relief Force, if required, may also join in," he said.

Several low-lying areas in the city were inundated.

A 49-year-old man died at Ambattur on Saturday night after he accidentally fell into a stormwater drain.

Alert for fishers

The Met advised fishermen not to venture into sea at Cape Comorin and Lakshadweep area as gusty winds were likely to occur due to the presence of depression in the Arabian Sea.

To another query, Puviarasan said Nagapattinam district received the maximum rainfall registering 81 cm as against 67 cm normally during the monsoon season.

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News Network
June 29,2020

New Delhi, Jun 29: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday paid tribute to the senior doctor of city government-run LNJP Hospital who died battling COVID-19, saying the society has "lost a very valuable fighter".

The 52-year-old doctor served in the front line of the war against the pandemic at the government facility, and died of novel coronavirus infection in an ICU of a private hospital on Sunday.

"Dr Aseem Gupta, a senior doctor of LNJP Hospital succumbed to Covid yday. He was known for going out of his way to serve his patients. We have lost a very valuable fighter. Delhi salutes his spirit and sacrifice...," Kejriwal tweeted.

The chief minister also said in his tweet that he has spoken to Dr Gupta''s wife and "offered my condolences and support".

LNJP Hospital is a dedicated COVID-19 facility under the Delhi government. It recently completed 100 days of being declared a coronavirus facility.

"LNJP Hospital has displayed great fortitude in the face of acute challenges. It''s recovery rate is going up, death rate is reducing, ICU capacity is being ramped up - the hospital is saving so many lives," the chief minister said.

A condolence meeting to pay respect to Dr Gupta has been scheduled at 1 pm in the office of the Medical Director of the hospital, a senior official said.

The doctor, a consultant anaesthesiologist died at the Max hospital, Saket in south Delhi, a private dedicated COVID-19 facility.

"He was a front line anaesthesia specialist who contracted COVID-19 infection while on duty. He tested positive on June 6, when he had mild symptoms and was shifted to a quarantine facility. His symptoms aggravated on June 7 and he was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of the LNJP Hospital," the LNJP Hospital said in a statement on Sunday.

He was shifted to Max Hospital, Saket on June 8 on his request, it said.

The doctor was battling the disease for the last two weeks at Max Hospital, where he succumbed to the illness on Sunday, the statement said.

He was Specialist, Grade I, in the Department of Anaesthesia at the LNJP Hospital, the statement said.

Several hundreds of healthcare workers have been infected with COVID-19 till date in Delhi.

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Agencies
March 14,2020

New Delhi, Mar 14: A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to three alleged members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) -- Parvez (Delhi President), Iliyas (Delhi Secretary) and Danish -- in connection with the organization's role in the northeast Delhi violence last month.

Metropolitan Magistrate Prabhdeep Kaur granted bail to all three accused on furnishing personal bail bonds of Rs 30,000 each.

The court said that "Investigating Officer (IO) has nowhere mentioned that any of the non-bailable offences has been disclosed or has come out during investigation till now, therefore, accused be enlarged on bail."

According to police, the three men were arrested for allegedly spreading fake propaganda during the anti-CAA protests.

Delhi police, while opposing bail and seeking remand, stated that police custody is required because accused were involved in a conspiracy of communal riots which resulted in the death of 50 innocent people and injuries to approximately 300 persons and huge loss of government and public properties.

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News Network
April 8,2020

Jamnagar, Apr 7: A 14-month-old baby boy, who had tested positive for coronavirus in Gujarat's Jamnagar district on April 5, died of multiple organ failure on Tuesday, said officials.

The toddler, son of a migrant labourer-couple having no recent travel history, died in the evening at a government hospital in Jamnagar, said an official release.

He was in a critical condition ever since he was admitted to the hospital, it said.

The boy, who tested positive for coronavirus two days ago, was as on ventilator support and eventually died due to multiple organ failure, said the release.

He becomes the youngest patient to succumb to COVID-19 in Gujarat, where the death toll has now gone up to 16.

The baby was the first and the only case of coronavirus infection so far in entire Jamnagar district and the youngest to be diagnosed with the disease in Gujarat.

Ever since he tested coronavirus positive, the authorities had been tracing the source of his infection.

His parents are from Uttar Pradesh and work as casual labourers in factories in the port city.

His parents, who have no travel history in the recent past, are asymptomatic (not showing symptoms) and kept under quarantine, officials said.

The locality where the couple resides in Dared village near Jamnagar city has been put under complete lockdown to check the spread of the virus, they said.

Gujarat has so far recorded 175 coronavirus positive cases and 16 fatalities.

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