I didn't bring the rain, nor can I stop it: Omar on J-K floods

September 10, 2014

Omar on J-K floods

Srinagar, Sep 10: Chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday termed the situation in flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir "serious" but hit out at critics who said his government was not doing enough.

"What can I do. I didn't bring the rain, nor can I stop it. If I could, I would have done that," an angry Omar said.

"If the opposition can do anything better about the situation then I am ready to listen to them. This is not the time for politics. I wish they understand this," he added.

Meanwhile, an NDRF jawan was attacked by angry locals in Srinagar while few other personnel of the force were heckled while they were rendering relief and rescue operations in the flood-hit areas.

Officials said a National Disaster Response Force trooper received severe injuries on his hand when the locals attacked him.

The locals apparently wanted the NDRF men to concentrate on a particular area and when the force personnel decided to go to a different marooned area, the locals attacked them.

"A few incidents of our men being heckled are being witnessed since yesterday in the state," a senior officer said.

Worried by the development, the NDRF and senior home ministry officials have asked the cabinet secretary to devise some mechanism so that troops are kept safe while they render their duty.

Water levels started receding in Srinagar and some other parts of the state, but tens of thousands are still stranded on rooftops without food or clean water .

In Srinagar town there is a decrease in water level by 3 to 4 feet since the beginning of the floods, where as there is a rise of 6 inches in Wuller Lake.

Manasbal Lake saw a reduction by 3 inches bringing the water level to 18.3 feet, which is still 4.3 feet above danger mark.

Areas downstream of Jhelum River are experiencing increase in water levels.

Over 76,500 people have been rescued in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 215 people have died in the inundation.

Defence ministry statement said the army has deployed 329 columns of its personnel for rescue and relief operations, of which 244 columns were deployed in the Srinagar region and 85 in the Jammu region.

Foreign tourists were among those rescued. An army spokesperson said additional columns and helicopters have been pressed into use and people were being moved relief camps established by the army as well as civil administration.

"Unless the flood waters recede completely, and we are able to reach all the submerged areas, we cannot be sure about the exact toll in these floods," a top state official said in Srinagar.

The stranded people are guiding rescue teams to the worst-affected areas. The army has airlifted some tourists including foreign tourists.

The army in coordination with the Air Force handed over 10 tons of supplies to the civil administration for distribution. 15 tons of pre-cooked food and 15000 litres of water were also distributed among the affected people, an army spokes person said.

In South Kashmir and Srinagar army camps are also flooded and over 1000 army personnel and families are stranded without food and water.

While supplies are being made available to them, army said it is giving priority to civilians.

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Agencies
March 6,2020

New Delhi, Mar 6: After Yes Bank was placed under moratorium, digital payments were impacted as PhonePe, which depends on the cash-strapped lender for its transactions, could not operate.

It can be noted that the bank's own net banking facilities have not been operational since last evening. Other fintech operators who rely on Yes Bank to settle their transactions are also down.  “We sincerely regret the long outage. Our partner bank (Yes Bank) was placed under moratorium by RBI. Entire team's been working all night to get services back up asap (as soon as possible),” the app's chief executive Sameer Nigam tweeted early in the morning.

PhonePe, one of the country's largest digital payment platforms, is dependent on Yes Bank to process its transactions.

He added that the app hopes to be live in a “few hours”.

Yes Bank placed under a moratorium Thursday evening, with the RBI capping deposit withdrawals at Rs 50,000 per account for a month and superseding its board.

Yes Bank will not be able to grant or renew any loan or advance, make any investment, incur any liability or agree to disburse any payment.

For the next month, Yes Bank will led by the RBI-appointed administrator Prashant Kumar, an ex-chief financial officer of SBI.

He added that the app - one of the most popular interfaces for UPI transactions - hopes to be live in a “few hours”.

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News Network
January 30,2020

Mumbai, Jan 30: The Shiv Sena on Thursday endorsed Union home minister Amit Shah's view that alleged inflammatory statements made by Sharjeel Imam, an anti- Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) activist, were dangerous.

No politics should be done on the issue, and such "pest" afflicting the country should be finished off, it said.

Imam was arrested on Tuesday in connection with his speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi and in Aligarh during anti-CAA protests.

He has been booked for sedition, among other offences.

In an editorial published in its mouthpiece `Saamana', the Sena, a former ally of the BJP, said, "We agree with union home minister's comments that Sharjeel Imam's alleged words of separation are more dangerous than that of Kanhaiya Kumar."

Kumar, former student leader from Jawaharlal Nehru University, had been arrested over alleged separatist slogans shouted during a protest on varsity campus.

The Sena, which has formed alliance with the Congress and NCP to come to power in Maharashtra, is often seen walking a tightrope to preserve its credentials as a pro-Hindutva party.

"The union home ministry, while initiating action against Imam, should not indulge in politics and try to finish off this pest that is afflicting our country," the editorial said.

"One must find out why such language of breaking up this country into pieces is being used by the educated youth of this country more and more frequently. Who is spewing such venom into the mind of Sharjeel who did his graduation from IIT-B and now pursuing PhD from JNU?" the Sena asked.

"Even people involved in Elgar Parishad at Pune are facing sedition charges and these people have been known as intellectuals and are well-known personalities," said the party.

"A conspiracy to bring about a conflict between Hindus and Muslims and ensure continuance of anarchy and civil war as in Iraq and Afghanistan exists. The boost for such activities is coming from a 'political laboratory'," the editorial said.

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News Network
April 9,2020

New Delhi, Apr 9: Kerala opposition coalition United Democratic Front on Thursday submitted a roadmap to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for staggered lifting of ongoing lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The coalition led by leader of opposition Ramesh Chennithala has given a set of recommendations to Modi in this regard, which include those made by an expert committee headed by deputy leader of opposition M K Muneer.

The committee was set up to suggest measures to be taken by the government for smooth transition from lockdown to normalcy.

It listed an eight-point exit strategy for removing lockdown in a staggered approach at a district level, with emphasis on hotspots to avoid further spread of virus and ensure smooth restart of economy.

This approach is tuned to the unique needs of each district and all the districts should also be categorised as per their risk levels, the report said.

The report has also been submitted to chief ministers of all states, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi among others.

The committee recommended that COVID-19 rapid testing must be enhanced across the country and the testing target be widened to 500 tests per one lakh population.

"A step-by-step approach is necessary for each sector along with conditions that need to be considered for each sector," the report said.

"There is a need for a comprehensive economic stimulus package in addition to the ones already announced after considering all the industries," it added.

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