74% of northeast monsoon rains in 8 days sinks Chennai, kills 12

News Network
November 4, 2017

Chennai, Nov 4: Rain continued to come down in sheets till late Friday night in Chennai, taking the death toll from the northeast monsoon to 12 so far, and the city's total rainfall to close to three-fourths of the average for a season that has just got started.

The city had by 8.30am on Friday — mostly from a mere eight days since the northeast monsoon set in on October 27 — already recorded 554.2mm of rainfall this year, or 74% of the long-term average of 750mm it receives annually in the rainy season, which the IMD calculates between October 1 and December 15.

Chennai had till Friday recorded 441.3mm of rainfall (58.84% of the seasonal average) from the northeast monsoon, Met office data showed.

Thursday's rain was Chennai's third-highest in history in a single day for November, behind only 452.2mm in 1976 and 246.15mm in 2015. It continued on Friday evening after a brief break, leaving the city precariously placed.

Several localities reported flooding, especially of interior roads, and the showers hit traffic for a second straight day. The Chennai district collector declared Saturday, a school holiday. Most districts have recorded more than average rainfall for the season so far, the Met office said.

Water levels in temple tanks started rising after monsoon struck Chennai and its neighbouring districts. A poor monsoon last year had left several temple tanks parched, and water in them has been met with enthusiasm among residents, as it also helps recharge groundwater levels.

Meanwhile, facing public ire amidst heavy rains and inundation, the Edappadi K Palaniswami government went on the offensive on Friday, listing out various flood-prevention as well as rehabilitation measures undertaken by the government.

Leading the charge, CM Palaniswami, who visited Mudichur and Perungalathur along with his deputy O Panneerselvam, said: "We have seen Bengaluru and Mumbai getting inundated during rain. But due to the execution of the (disaster management) plan envisaged by Amma's government in 2015 on how to remove flood water from low-lying areas, there is not much water stagnation today. People are unaffected."

A stretch of 300km, out of 386km-long drain network project, has been completed at a cost of Rs 1,100 crore in Chennai, as announced by Jayalalithaa during her tenure, Palaniswami said.

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News Network
April 27,2020

New Delhi, Apr 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a video conference with chief ministers to discuss the situation arising due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country, which has been under a lockdown since March 25 to contain the spread of the virus, amid indications that the interaction would also focus on a graded exit from the ongoing lockdown.

This is Modi's fourth such interaction with state chief ministers since March 22 when he discussed coronavirus situation and steps taken both by the Centre and the states to contain the pandemic.

Two days later on March 24, Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown. He extended the lockdown by 19 days on April 14, the last day of the initial three week shutdown, till May 3.

Sources in the government had on Sunday indicated that besides discussing the way forward in dealing with the pandemic, the prime ministers and chief ministers could also focus on a "graded" exit from the lockdown.

In a tweet on Monday, the Prime Minister's Office said Modi and the chief ministers will be discussing aspects relating to the COVID-19 situation.

In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio address on Sunday, the prime minister said the country is in the middle of a 'yudh' (war) and asserted that people have to continue being careful and take precautions.

His note of caution came amidst gradual exemptions being granted by the Centre and states to revive economic activities.

"I urge you not to get overconfident. You should in your over-enthusiasm not think that if the coronavirus has not yet reached your city, village, street or office, it is not going to reach now. Never make such a mistake. The experience of the world tells us a lot in this regard," Modi said while referring to a popular Hindi idiom 'Sawdhani hati, durghatna ghati' (disaster strikes when you lower your concentration).

The Centre and the state governments have been giving gradual exemptions to boost economic activities as also to provide relief to people as some states want further relaxation in areas which have seen few or no coronavirus cases.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

Lucknow, Aug 4: Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday left for Ayodhya to attend foundation laying ceremony of Ram Temple tomorrow.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5. The construction of Ram temple will begin in Ayodhya after the said ceremony in which various dignitaries from political and religious fields are scheduled to participate.

Bhagwat, along with PM Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Governor Anandiben Patel and President of Ram Mandir Trust, Nitya Gopal Das will be present on stage for the event.

Supreme Court, on November 9 last year, had directed the Central government to hand over the site at Ayodhya for the construction of a Ram temple.

The formation of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust was announced on February 5 for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. The Trust has been mandated by the Central government to oversee the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

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Agencies
March 24,2020

New Delhi, Mar 24: Nearly 500 coronavirus cases have been reported in India so far, according to Health Ministry data on Tuesday.

According to the data updated Tuesday morning, the total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 492, including 446 active cases.

The figure includes 41 foreign nationals and the nine deaths reported so far, the Health Ministry said.

West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh reported a casualty each on Monday while seven deaths were earlier reported from Maharashtra (two), Bihar, Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat and Punjab.

Thirty-seven people have been cured/discharged/migrated, it added.

The number of active cases at 446 saw an increase of 22 from last night's figure.

As cases of the viral infection surged, authorities have put almost the entire country under lockdown, banning gathering of people and suspending road, rail and air traffic till March 31.

Kerala has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases so far at 95, including eight foreign nationals, followed by Maharashtra which recorded 87, including three foreigners, according to the ministry data.

Karnataka has reported 37 cases of coronavirus patients, while cases in Rajasthan increased to 33, including two foreigners.

Uttar Pradesh has 33 positive cases, including a foreign national.

Telangana has so far reported 32 cases, including 10 foreigners.

Cases in Delhi rose to 31, including one foreigner, while Gujarat has reported 29 cases.

In Haryana, there are 26 cases, including 14 foreigners, while Punjab has reported 21 cases.

Ladakh has 13 cases, while Tamil Nadu has reported 12 cases, including two foreigners.

West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have reported seven cases each so far.

Chandigarh has six cases, while Jammu and Kashmir has four cases.

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have reported three cases each, while there are two cases each in Bihar and Odisha.

Puducherry and Chhattisgarh have reported a case each.

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