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Floods ravage Orissa, thousands rendered homeless (Go To Top)

     Bhadrak (Orissa): Four people were killed and thousands fled to higher ground as a swollen river swept through their homes in Orissa today. Five villagers, including a child are believed to be missing from a hamlet in coastal Bhadrak district and rescue operations are on to save hundreds more trapped on rooftops or small islands. The water level in the river in Akhuapada, officials said, had reached up to 18.17 metres, as against the danger mark of 17.83 metres at last count and officials see no signs of the river abating. People waded through water to reach higher ground but few have been able to salvage their belongings and are without food and water. Angry villagers say they are yet to receive any help. "This year my house has been washed away by floods. We always face this problem. I am yet to get the plastic relief materials promised to me from the last floods. This year also we have been left uncared for," said Bandhi, an ageing villager. But state authorities say they have rushed relief to most areas and also called in paramilitary soldiers to help in rescue. Huge parts of the country are under the water in Maharashtra where more than 1,000 people have been killed in flooding and landslide triggered by a record downpour since the last two weeks.

Maharashtra rain deaths rise to 924, relief on in full swing (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: The death toll from heavy and incessant rains lashing various parts of Maharashtra has risen to 924, with the city of Mumbai alone accounting for 425 of them. Rains continued to lash Mumbai and other parts of the state on Monday and weather bureau officials predicted that this inclement weather would last for at least 48 hours. The state has received over 1200 mm of rainfall so far. Relief efforts are pouring in from all fronts, including from Bollywood stars. Rail, road and air traffic into and out of the state has been completely paralysed, and the state government has initiated steps to move thousands of people, particularly those living in the low-lying areas to safer havens. Apart from Mumbai, places like Navi Mumbai have officially recorded 60 deaths, Thane (city and rural) 204, Raigad 129, Ratnagiri 16, Sindhudurg 7, Kolhapur 10 and other districts 73. With the city receiving continuous rainfall since Sunday, normal life in Mumbai has come to complete standstill. Several low-lying areas were submerged affecting road traffic in these areas and on Eastern and Western Express highways. Suburban rail services on the Central and Harbour routes were also affected with trains running only between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Kurla.

      On the western route, trains are moving between Churchgate and Virar at slow speed as some of the tracks are still inundated with water, a Western Railway spokesman said. People had a harrowing time reaching places of work and offices reported thin attendance. Schools, colleges and educational institutions have been closed with the state government having already declared a holiday. Inbound and outbound flights have been delayed due to poor visibility at the airport. Meanwhile, a red alert has been sounded in Pune. Over 2000 people living in low lying areas along the banks of Mutha and Mula rivers have been shifted to safer places as precautionary measure due to controlled discharge of water from three dams around the city. In Maharashtra's eastern Bhandara district, an alert has been sounded following a rise in the water levels of the River Wainganga due to heavy rains in catchment areas. At least 5000 families in 35 villages along Krishna river in Sangli district have been evacuated. In flood-hit Satara district, more than 150 families living near Koyna dam were shifted to safer places while 100 families from Karad and 60 families from Patan tehsil were also evacuated. About 50 villages in Satara district were marooned since yesterday following heavy rains. Raigad district, which bore the brunt in the first spell of monsoon fury last week due to landslides, continued to be pounded by heavy rains, district administration said. In the country's commercial and financial hub, there was thin attendance in Reserve Bank of India and other banks. At the Bombay Stock Exchange, only 30 per cent of the staff reported for duty, but operations were reported to be going on normally. Mumbai's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said 90 per cent of electricity supply which was cut off in the last two days due to heavy rain, has been restored.

Bollywood petition against rain-hit Maharashtra  (Go To Top)
by Sushil Parikh

     Mumbai: An NGO linked to Bollywood personalities such as Mahesh Bhatt has planned to move a Public Interest Litigation( PIL) in the Bombay High Court against what they say is the failure of the government to protect their lives and property during the recent rains. With the heart of the Indian film industry, Mumbai, under water due to the heaviest rains in hundred years, Bollywood and television industry stalwarts are crying foul. Film maker and activist Mahesh Bhatt, director, scriptwriter and filmmaker Vinta Nanda and several TV, film and media personalities plan to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the Maharashtra Government. The PIL will urge the court to ask the State government why it should not be held accountable for collapse of its administrative system during the floods. Bhatt said Nanda has formed an organisation called Jaago India to take up civic issues. Bollywood producers are now counting their losses from the heavy rains, which have deluged film sets, disrupted schedules and hit box office takings. The downpour has caused chaos in the state. The area where the film studios are based is more or less completely under water. Shoots have been cancelled and there have been few cinema screenings.

CBI raids against Housing Society officials in Delhi (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today carried out raids at at least 70 places here, most of them against officials of group housing societies in connection with the alleged misappropriation of land in the name of creating cooperative group housing societies (CGHS). Raids were carried out on a retired IAS officer Narayan Diwaker, who had retired as Registrar of Cooperative Societies in Delhi last year. The apex investigating agency had registered four cases in this connection on Friday. According to the CBI, an FIR has been filed before a designated court. Some people used to form a fake executive body and claim land under CGHS scheme in which prices are one-tenth that of the market rate. Later, flats were constructed on the same land and sold at very high rates. According to the agency sources, there was an allegation that these 'so-called' cooperative societies after acquiring the land had sold them to land mafias, who later constructed flats and sold them at a much higher rate.

UK warns Iran not to restart uranium conversion facility (Go To Top)

     London: Britain has warned Iran not to unilateral restart operations of a uranium conversion facility in Isfahan. "We have received reports that the Iranians have decided to restart their Uranium Conversion facility at Isfahan, where activities have been suspended since November last year in accordance with successive IAEA board resolutions and the terms of the Paris Agreement between Iran and the E3 (Britain, France and Germany). "This would be an unnecessary and damaging step by Iran. The E3 Foreign Ministers and the EU High Representative have just written to Dr Rouhani - Iran's chief negotiator on nuclear activities - confirming that full and detailed proposals would be given to Iran in a week's time, in accordance with the decisions at the E3/Iran ministerial meeting in Geneva in May. "We are seeking clarification of Iran's intentions. We urge them not to take any unilateral step which would contravene the Paris agreement as that would make it very difficult to continue with the E3/Iran negotiations," the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a release. "Should the Iranians persist, we will as a first step consult urgently with our partners on the board of the IAEA," it added.

Saudi Arabia's King Fahd passes away at 82 (Go To Top)

     Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's King Fahd died early on Monday at a Riyadh hospital. An official release made on behalf of the Saudi Royal court said, Fahd's brother, Crown Prince Abdullah would be the country's new monarch. Born in Riyadh in 1923, Fadh was proclaimed the fifth king of Saudi Arabia on June 13, 1982. During his 23-year-long rule, he played a significant role in balancing Islamic tradition with the modern development of his country. According to a senior Saudi official in Washington, Fahd died at approximately 2:30 EDT (22:30 GMT). President Bush was informed within minutes of Fahd's death. During his rule, Fahd, inadvertently helped fuel the rise of Islamic extremism by extending multiple concessions to hardliners, hoping to boost his Islamic credentials. His move to allow American troops on Saudi soil during first Gulf War 1990-91 brought his country closer to the United States, but created disquiet among his countrymen. After suffering a stroke in 1995, Fadh was barely aware of what was going on around him and needed the support of close family members to avoid potential embarrassment.

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