Kerala rain fury: Toll rises to 59; Rahul to tour state

Agencies
August 11, 2019

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 11: The death toll in the monsoon fury in Kerala rose to 59 on Sunday with two bodies being recovered while there was a slight let up in the rains in some regions in the state, officials said.

According to official sources, one body each was recovered this morning from Kozhikode and Alapuzha districts, which are among the badly hit by the torrential rains since last week.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held a meeting with senior officials on Sunday morning to review the flood situation.

They also discussed about the search operations at Kavalappara and Puthumala in Malappuram and Wayanad districts respectively, where several people are feared to have been buried alive four days ago in two major landslides.

Over 1.65 lakh people have taken shelter in 1,318 relief camps across the southern state where the rains have triggered numerous landslides or caused floods in most of its 14 districts.

There were reports of let up in rains some parts while the meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for three districts - Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod for Sunday.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will arrive on a two-day visit to Kerala this afternoon and would visit his Lok Sabha constituency Wayanad, which is among the worst affected.

He is expected to visit relief camps at Kottakal in Nilambur, Mambad, Edavannappara and attend a review meeting at the Malappuram collectorate, Congress sources said.

Gandhi will visit the affected areas in Wayanad on Monday.

The international airport at the state's commercial capital Kochi, which was closed for two days after inundation of the runway, will resume operations this noon.

The Southern Railway on Sunday fully cancelled 10 trains including the Mangaluru-Thiruvananthapuram Express, Maveli Express, Malabar Express, Kannur-Ernakulam Intercity Express, Ernakulam-Bengaluru Intercity express and four passengers.

Seven trains have been paritally cancelled and two trains diverted, it announced.

Various agencies, including the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, NDRF, police force, volunteers and fishermen are involved in the rescue operations at various places.

This is the second consecutive year that the floods and landslides have ravaged Kerala which is yet to recover from the devastating deluge that claimed over 400 lives last year and had rendered lakhs homeless.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 11,2020

Kochi, Jan 11: Two of the four illegal apartment complexes were brought down by controlled implosion here on Saturday.

However, the other two apartments-- Golden Kayaloram and Jain Coral-- will be demolished on Sunday.

The demolition of the first building Holy Faith H2O, slated to be carried out at 11 am, was delayed by 18 minutes while the twin towers of Alfa Serene, which is surrounded by 36 houses, were brought down at 11.43 am.

As per authorities, as many as 343 kgs of explosives were used for the demolition of twin towers of Alfa Serene, which had 80 apartments and 16 floors each.

Section 144 has been imposed within a 200-metre radius of the complexes on Saturday and Sunday. Moreover, traffic has been halted on land, water and air in the evacuation zone during the process.

There are concerns that some concrete pieces of the second tower of the building may have fallen into the lake nearby. It is yet to be estimated if the debris or concrete pieces have affected the buildings nearby.

The four apartment complexes in Maradu were ordered to be demolished by the Supreme Court for violating the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 20,2020

London, Apr 20 : Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is wanted in India on alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to an estimated ₹9,000 crore, today lost a High Court appeal in UK against his extradition order to India.

A consortium of Indian public sector banks led by the State Bank of India had sought a bankruptcy order against Mallya as part of efforts to recoup around GBP 1.145 billion of unpaid loans from Mallya.

The 64-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss had appealed to the High Court against his extradition to India at a hearing in February this year.

Lord Justice Stephen Irwin and Justice Elisabeth Laing, the two-member bench at the Royal Courts of Justice in London presiding over the appeal, dismissed the appeal in a judgment handed down remotely due to the current coronavirus lockdown.

"We consider that while the scope of the prima facie case found by the SDJ [Senior District Judge] is in some respects wider than that alleged by the Respondent in India [Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED)], there is a prima facie case which, in seven important respects, coincides with the allegations in India," the judges ruled.

Earlier this month, the High Court in London had deferred hearings on a plea by the SBI-led consortium of Indian banks, seeking the indebted tycoon to be declared bankrupt to enable them recover their loan from him.

Justice Michael Briggs of the insolvency division of the High Court granted relief to Mallya, ruling that he should be given time till his petitions to the Supreme Court of India and his settlement proposal before the Karnataka High Court be determined, allowing him time to repay his debts to the banks in full.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 25,2020

New Delhi, Feb 25: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday called a meeting to discuss the prevailing situation in the national capital after violence in Northeast Delhi over the amended citizenship law left four people dead.

Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and representatives of different political parties were invited for the meeting.

Follow live updates of clashes among CAA protesters in Delhi here

The home minister has convened a meeting to discuss the current situation in Delhi, a Home Ministry official said.

The move came after the home minister reviewed the law and order situation in the national capital on Monday night as violence rocked Northeast Delhi.

Frenzied protesters torched houses, shops, vehicles and a petrol pump, besides hurling stones.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.