Bhopal, Jan 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) A post wedding celebration turned into a tragedy in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district when bridegroom's cousin collapsed while dancing and died.

When the relatives and family members were celebrating the function, the 32-year-old man suddenly collapsed while he was dancing and died.

A video of the incident which went viral on social media shows that the person who was dancing collapsed all of a sudden. Friends and family members present there thought that he was acting and will get up soon.

When the youth did not stand up for a while, his friends reached out to him and noticed that he was unconscious. He was rushed to a local hospital in Betul where the doctors declared him dead.

According to Dr Ashok Uike of Betul District Hospital, the youth was brought dead.

"The exact reason of his death will be known only if the post-mortem is conducted, but sudden cardiac arrest could have possibly caused the death," Dr Uike said.

The deceased has been identified as Antlal.

A police official in Betul district talking to IANS said: "No complaint has been filed in the matter. If family person files any complain about it, the police will investigate the matter."

A similar incident had occurred in November, 2021 in Bhopal where a senior doctor - C.S. Jain, who was dancing with his colleagues, had collapsed all of sudden. There were around 50 doctors in the party but before they could do something, the doctor died of cardiac arrest.

-- IANS
pd/svn/skp/

( 261 Words)

2022-01-23-17:08:03
Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Jan 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) With an aim to recognize and honour the invaluable contribution and selfless service rendered by individuals and organisations in India in the field of disaster management, the Ministry of Home Affairs has selected Professor Vinod Sharma in the Individual category and Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management in the Institutional category for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2022 for their excellent work in Disaster Management.

The MHA has instituted an annual award known as Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar which is announced every year on January 23 on the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 51 lakh and a certificate in case of an institution and Rs 5 lakh and a certificate in case of an individual.

For the award this year, nominations were solicited from July 1, 2021 onwards. The award scheme for the year 2022 was given wide publicity through print, electronic and social media. In response to the award scheme, 243 valid nominations were received from institutions and individuals.

They will be conferred with the Award, along with the awardees of the year 2019, 2020 and 2021, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the investiture ceremony which will be held on Sunday evening to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

Vinod Sharma, a senior professor at the Indian Institute of Public Administration and Vice-Chairman of the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority, was the founder co-ordinator of the National Centre of Disaster Management, now known as the National Institute of Disaster Management.

He is known for working tirelessly towards bringing disaster risk reduction (DRR) to the forefront of the national agenda. His pioneering work in DRR in India gave him international recognition and he is a resource person to Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) and all Administrative Training Institutes (ATIs) for disaster management. As Vice Chairman of the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority, he has made Sikkim a model State in implementing DRR, whilst initiating panchayat level preparedness plans, linking climate change and DRR.

The Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM), established in 2012, has been working to enhance the disaster risk reduction (DRR) capacity of Gujarat. Through a series of strategically designed capacity building programs, GIDM has trained more than 12,000 professionals on diverse issues concerning multi-hazard risk management and reduction during the pandemic. Some recent key initiatives include the development of a user-friendly Gujarat Fire Safety Compliance Portal, and development of a Mobile App Technology based Advanced COVID-19 Syndromic Surveillance (ACSyS) system to complement the COVID-19 surveillance efforts of Integrated Disease Surveillance Project.

Source: IANS

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Mumbai, Jan 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) At least 6 persons have been killed and 23 others injured when a major blaze engulfed the 18th floor of a building in Tardeo, South Mumbai at dawn on Saturday, the BMC Disaster Control said.

The fire was noticed at the top part of the 20-storied Kamla Building at around 7.30 a.m. with people in neighbouring buildings and morning walkers alerting the fire brigade.

The Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) rushed with 13 fire tenders as the flames quickly spread to the two upper floors sparking panic among the building residents.

The MFB managed to rescue at least 23 injured persons from the inferno that raged in the top three floors, and the firemen continued to battle the blaze in the afternoon.

The injured persons were rushed to various private and public hospitals and 7 were given first aid and allowed to go.

The remaining 16 with grievous burns of various degrees, have been admitted to different hospitals.

Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar and other top BMC officials rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue and relief operations, and the cause of the fire is being probed.

After the two fatalities earlier, another 4 critically injured persons succumbed to their burns in the next few hours, and another 5 are still critical, said the BMC Disaster Control.

The dead victims have been identified as Purushottam Chopdekar, Manju Kantharia, Hitesh Mistry and the identity of 3 including 2 women is yet to be ascertained.

A majority of the casualties have been taken to the nearby Bhatia Hospital, others to BMC's Nair Hospital and Kasturba Hospital, and the others to Masina Hospital, Reliance Hospital and Wockhardt Hospital.

The BMC has ordered a probe into the causes of the fire catching many in the building unawares, whether the society had adequate fire warning/fighting facilities, etc, said an official.

Bharatiya Janata Party Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis condoled the deaths and said he was shocked to learn that some nearby hospitals refused to admit the injured leading to a spike in the deaths.

"If this is true, then the state government and BMC must fix the responsibility for the deaths and take action against those responsible," demanded Fadnavis.

Source: IANS

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Aizawl/Itanagar, Jan 21 (SocialNews.XYZ) An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale hit the India-Myanmar border region and a few northeastern states, including Mizoram, on Friday afternoon.

Another quake measuring 4.2 on the Richter Scale hit the Dibang valley in northern Arunachal Pradesh and adjoining areas at 8.48 p.m. on Friday.

There was no report of loss of life or damage to property in any of the quake hit areas.

According to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) data and the disaster management officials, the 4.2 magnitude tremor in Arunachal Pradesh was recorded at a depth of 10 km from the surface of the ground.

Friday's first tremor was felt strongly in Champhai district in eastern Mizoram in the afternoon. It was also felt in some parts of Manipur, Assam and adjoining Bangladesh.

The quake struck at a depth of 60 km from the surface of the ground.

Earlier this week, three trembles were felt in the region. An earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter Scale hit Mizoram on Tuesday, while on Monday, two quakes of moderate intensity - 3.5 and 3.8 on the Richter Scale - had hit parts of Assam and Manipur, respectively.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Jan 21 (SocialNews.XYZ) The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has rescued over 7.13 lakh people trapped in disasters in 7,600 operations since its inception in 2006, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said on Friday.

In his address at 17th Raising Day of the Force here, he said due to the high level of efficiency, determination and hard work of NDRF personnel, it has been setting new records in the field of disaster management while continuously engaged in relief and rescue operations. Today, NDRF has made a mark in the field of disaster response and disaster mitigation across the globe in disaster management with its hard work and selfless humanitarian services, he added.

Noting that disaster management is a specialised field, Rai said that the NDRF is a unique force with the capability to provide relief in all kinds of disasters like building collapses, floods, tsunamis, cloudbursts, earthquake, landslides, cyclones, train accidents etc.

"Equipped with diverse capabilities, specialised training and modern equipment, NDRF is the world's largest force due to its ability to deal with natural disasters as well as man-made disasters," he added.

He also said that NDRF personnel have accomplished their goals effectively and their response to crises has been appreciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah as well as countrymen at every level. This is the reason that this force has become synonymous with trust and confidence among the common people at the time of disaster for the citizens, he added.

Inaugurating two new camp complexes of RRCs (Regional Response Centre), he said that these will provide better facility and environment to its personnel and they will also be able to improve their efficiency.

Referring to the NDRF's other activities, the Minister also said that it was a matter of pride that apart from effective disaster relief operations, it is also working beyond borders for mutual cooperation in the field of disaster risk reduction and has successfully organized many international programmes/events wherein exercises with SAARC member countries, SCO member countries and BIMSTEC member countries are prominent activities to gain experience from the other countries.

Source: IANS

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Chennai, Jan 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) Fishermen in Tamil Nadu who had rescued people stranded during the floods in October, November 2021, are yet to receive the compensation they were promised.

Fisheries department officials, while speaking to IANS said that the compensation was delayed due to some minor glitches in tallying according to the government norms.

Owners of fishing boats who had arranged men for rescue missions along with boats are waiting for the promised compensation. M. Karuppuswamy, a fishing boat owner who had arranged and sent 31 boats for rescue operations is one among them.

While speaking to IANS, he said: "I am waiting for the compensation as the fishermen who had gone for the rescue mission is expecting money and we thought that they will settle it before Pongal but it did not happen. However I am not disappointed, the government will definitely honour the commitment soon."

While the fishing season was hit due to heavy rains and warnings from the meteorological department, the fishermen were expecting the compensation promised by the government before the Pongal.

Around 250 fishermen were deployed for the rescue operation and fisheries department sources told IANS that they were yet to sanction the amount as Greater Chennai Corporation has to transfer the compensation money which they have not.

However, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) officials told IANS that they had paid advance money of Rs 2.5 lakh per village before the fishermen were engaged and that the rest of the amount would be paid after the final settlement bill is received from the fisheries department.

Fisheries department officials said that the bill amount is approximately around 1.25 crore and that the final payment would be dispatched to the respective district headquarters for distribution once they get a clearance from the Greater Chennai Corporation.

Source: IANS

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Guwahati, Jan 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) Two earthquakes of moderate intensity jolted parts of the northeastern states of Assam and Manipur on Monday, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said.

According to the disaster management officials, there was no report of loss of life and damage to property in any of the quakes that occurred within 28 minutes on Monday.

As per the data of the NCS, the first quake measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale hit southern Assam and occurred at a depth of 35 km from the surface.

The second tremor measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale was recorded at a depth of 20 km from the surface and jolted Manipur's Kangpokpi district and the adjoining areas.

Successive earthquakes in the northeastern states, especially Assam, Mizoram and Manipur, have the concerned authorities worried.

Seismologists consider the northeastern region as the sixth most earthquake-prone belt in the world.

Source: IANS

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Srinagar, Jan 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) A medium intensity earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale hit Jammu and Kashmir on Friday although there was no immediate report of casualty or damage to property.

Officials of the disaster management authority said, "A medium intensity earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale occurred in J&K at 9.43 p.m. on Friday.

"The epicentre of the earthquake was in Hindukush Afghanistan region and its depth was 81 km inside the earth's crust. The coordinates of the earthquake are latitude 36.3 degrees north and longitude 71.50 degrees east."

Kashmir is seismologically situated in an earthquake-prone region. Past earthquakes have wrought havoc here. As many as 80,000 people were killed on the two sides of the Line of Control (LoC) by an earthquake that occurred on October 8, 2005. The magnitude of that earthquake was 7.6 on the Richter scale.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Jan 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) In 2021, as many as 787 lives were lost due to lightning and thunderstorms (45 per cent), followed by 759 due to floods, heavy rains and landslides (43 per cent) in the multitude of extreme weather events that India faced last year.

The India Meteorological Department's (IMD) 'Statement of Climate on India during 2021' released on Friday also said that 172 lives were lost in cyclones (10 per cent) that hit the Indian coasts, while other extreme events, including cold wave, dust storm, gale, hailstorm and snowfall, took 32 lives (2 per cent) during the same time, taking the total to 1,750 lives lost.

The number of casualties caused by these extreme events mentioned in the statement are based on media and the government reports from disaster management authorities, the IMD said.

In 2021, five tropical cyclones formed over the north Indian Ocean: Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Tauktae (May 14 to 19), Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Yaas (May 23 to 28), Severe Cyclonic Storm Shaheen (September 29 to October 4), Cyclonic Storm Gulab (September 24 to 28) and Cyclonic Storm Jawad (December 2-6).

Of these, Yaas, Gulab and Jawad formed over the Bay of Bengal while the remaining two, Tauktae and Shaheen, formed over the Arabian Sea.

Among these five, the most devastating was Tauktae which claimed 144 lives in western India, stretching from Kerala to Gujarat; Yaas claimed nine lives in Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar; while Gulab claimed 19 lives in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and Maharashtra.

Shaheen formed over the Arabian Sea and moved away from the Indian region towards Oman coast while Jawad formed over Bay of Bengal and weakened close to the Odisha coast.

Apart from the cyclones, various parts of the country also experienced other extreme weather events such as extremely heavy rainfall leading to floods, landslides, lightning, thunderstorm etc.

Maharashtra was the most adversely affected state in 2021, reporting more than 340 deaths mainly due to extremely heavy rainfall, floods, landslide, lightning, cyclonic storms and cold-wave events.

Heavy rainfall and flood-related incidents claimed over 750 lives in various parts of the country. Of these, 215 lives were lost in Maharashtra, 143 in Uttarakhand, 55 in Himachal Pradesh, 53 in Kerala and 46 in Andhra Pradesh.

Thunderstorms and lightning claimed more than 780 lives in different parts of the country. Among these, the significant reported deaths were: 213 in Odisha, 156 in Madhya Pradesh, 89 in Bihar, 76 in Maharashtra, 58 in West Bengal, 54 in Jharkhand, 49 in Uttar Pradesh and 48 in Rajasthan.

Other events like snowfall, cold wave, dust storm, gale and hailstorm also affected different parts of the country, claiming 32 lives, the IMD statement said.

Source: IANS

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By Amjad Ayub Mirza

On January 5, Fawad Chaudhry, the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting in Pakistan, had tweeted in jubilation that more than 1,00,000 tourist vehicles have entered Murree (against a capacity to sustain just under 4,000 vehicles), which was a sign of prosperity in the country.

On the same day, the Met department in Pakistan issued a weather warning according to which Murree, Jhika Gali, Nathiya Gali and Galiyat would receive heavy snowfall leading to road blocks.

On January 6, the Aviation Division of the Cabinet Secretariat in Islamabad also issued a weather alert predicting heavy snowfall between January 6 and January 9 in the aforementioned tourist spots. However, no action was taken by any government department, local or national, to prepare for the approaching severe weather condition.

On January 7, Murree and suburbs received 16.5 inches of snowfall. During which time as many as 1,34,000 vehicles were cleared to enter Murree. Vehicles began to get stuck in the heavy snow, which turned into a blizzard causing several pine trees to fall on the cars.

A horrifying tweet by Sirmed, who was stuck in the traffic jam for 24 hours, read: "We are stuck right in front of the Military Academy and Pakistan Air Force reception in Lower Toppa and no one came to people's aid for at least 8-10 hours. At 7 AM, three Air Force officials came outside with packets of biscuits and handed them out to three cars just to take pictures and immediately disappeared. A tree from their compound fell outside on the road, crushing three cars beneath it and still no one came to the rescue."

In Murree, Pakistan Army has three large military camps but they are kept separated from the 'civilians' by high fences covered in barbed wire that surround their compound and with signs on display for the public that anyone trying to trespass will be shot.

Once it was realised that thousands of tourists were stranded in snow covered cars, locals responded by opening up their houses for shelter. They even began to push vehicles that were stuck in deep snow. The locals provided food, water and tea to those stuck in their vehicles for more than 24 hours. However, the fully stocked up Army messes kept their gates shut.

It is a well-known fact that Pakistani military officers and their families own most of the hotel business in Murree. No surprise then that as disaster struck, hotel rates suddenly soared up by up to 400 per cent.

A normal hotel room during peak season could be hired for Pakistani rupees 5,000 ($28). Now hotels were making demands from the disaster-stricken tourists to pay Rs 20,000 ($104) upwards. The maximum a tourist claimed he was asked for a room was Rs 70,000 ($ 397).

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan's remarks caused an outrage on social media. He blamed the deaths of holiday makers on the tourists themselves, saying "rush of people proceeding to (Murree) without checking weather conditions" is the cause for the debacle.

Blaming the victims themselves for the deaths stinks of government's insensitivity towards common people. I vividly remember that this was not Imran Khan's attitude when his own sister Aleema Khan was stranded in Pakistan occupied Gilgit-Baltistan after the glacial lake burst in Golen Gol area of Chitral in July 2009.

At that time, all efforts were put in place by the civil administration and Pakistan Army to rescue Imran Khan's sister using helicopter.

Hence, the opposition parties have rightfully sought judicial probe into Imran Khan government and Pakistan military's failure to avert the disaster.

The Interior Minister of Pakistan, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, has said that the situation can only be described as 'a natural calamity' and 'Allah Kay Kaam' (Allah's doings), caused due to 'extreme snowfall'.

This is a shameless attempt to divert the attention of people from a man-made tragedy.

The fact remains that neither the National Disaster Management Authority nor the nearby military units or the local administration took timely action to save innocent lives.

Forty-eight hours after the incident, the proper government agencies were able to evacuate people and vehicles, clear the roads and provide food and shelter to the needy. Pakistan Army was also pressed into action wherein photo-ops was undertaken to depict them as hero.

However, people who faced an icy night with their dear ones falling in distress now know how they were let down by 'their' Army which was only minutes away from them.

The question is why the GoC 12 Division of the Pakistan Army did not order his team into action and save lives. Well, business for the hotels in Murree owned by the Pakistan military generals was booming. But while the Pakistan military men were counting notes, people were breathing their last.

January 6, 2022 will be remembered as another day when Pakistan Army put profit before people and not for the first time.

(Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza is an author and human rights activist from Mirpur in PoJK. He currently lives in exile in the UK)

Source: IANS

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Chikkaballapur, (Karnataka) Jan 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) The people of Chikkaballapur district, located 70 kilometers away from Bengaluru, yet again experienced earthquake-like tremors in the wee hours of Thursday.

The jolts were experienced in Bullasandra, Kambalahalli and surrounding villages in Gudibande taluk of the district.

According to the villagers, the mild tremors continued for five minutes during which the people ran out in the open. The tremors, they said, led to cracks on walls of the houses.

The people are panicking as they have experienced tremors multiple times in the last one month. Gudibande Tehsildar Sibgath Ulla has visited the villages and taken stock of the situation.

Earlier, the tremors were felt in Shettigere, Addagal, Benniganahalli, Gollahalli, Bogaparti villages on January 5 forcing the people to run out of their houses.

In the recent past, the people of the region have experienced three such jolts wherein the ground shook and things kept in the shelves at houses fell down.

District-in-Charge Minister K. Sudhakar visited the villages on January 8 along with senior experts from the State Natural Disaster Management Center to Shettigere and Bandahalli villages. He had told people that they need not panic because of minor quakes in the district.

The region which has not received copious rainfall since many decades has received record rains during this year. The underground water is being recharged and during this process there will be sounds of explosions and experiences of mild earthquakes have been felt, Sudhakar had explained. "There is very less chances of an earthquake in the region as per the expert opinion," he maintained.

The people have suspected that illegal mining in the region is the reason behind frequent earth tremors. Sudhakar has also directed authorities to initiate action against illegal mining and monitor blasts at licensed mining sites.

Source: IANS

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Mumbai, Jan 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) In a freak accident, a pushback truck caught fire when it was preparing to tow out an aircraft at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), officials said here on Monday.

The incident occurred when the massive truck was getting engaged with the aircraft before readying to push back the Air India Mumbai-Jamnagar flight with 85 passengers on board.

However, as thick fumes were seen billowing out of the conflagration, an airport fire brigade team in the vicinity managed to extinguish the flames on the pushback truck within barely 10 minutes, said an official.

There was no damage to the AI's A320 aircraft or any human casualties, though a potentially major hazard was averted with the prompt response, and all operations at the CSMIA are continuing normally.

Source: IANS

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Mumbai, Jan 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) One person was killed and at least two injured in a gas leak incident from an industrial area in suburban Ghatkopar here on Monday morning, BMC Disaster Control said.

The incident occurred around 8 a.m. when methanol and cyanuric chloride gas leaked, in the premises of a factory in Kurla Industrial Estate, north-east Mumbai.

According to the Mumbai Fire Brigade which rushed there, one person Ramnivas Sarod, 36, died due to inhaling the toxic gas.

Two others - Rubin Solkar, 36, Sarvansh Sonavane, 25, have been admitted to BMC's Rajawadi Hospital where their condition is described as stable.

The cause of the gas leak, how many persons were present in the factory premises at that time and other aspects are being investigated, said an official.

Source: IANS

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Palghar, Jan 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) Heavy water leakage from a 3-metre big breach was detected in the 40-year-old Mahim-Kelve dam in Palghar district, causing danger to a few villages situated downstream, officials said here on Saturday.

As a precaution, the district administration has started evacuating the local villagers and deployed teams of NDRF and SDRF to tackle any eventuality in case the dam bursts.

The Disaster Management Unit under-secretary K. Suryakrishnamurty has requested for another NDRF team from Pune.

According to officials, the dam has a capacity of around 2,600 cubic million litres of monsoon water storage, but is now discharging rapidly at around 1,300 litres per minute, sparking major safety concerns for the villages downstream.

At least five villages -- Jhanzorli, Dondhaalpada, Bandade, Naveenpada and Patharipada -- which fall directly below the dam, are being evacuated.

A fully-equipped NDRF team with flood water rescue equipment, high rise gadgets, plus ropes and ladders has reached the spot to tackle any eventuality, Deputy Commandant Ashish Kumar told mediapersons.

"We were summoned by Palghar Collector Manik Gursal and if required, we can get motorboats and other rescue essentials to shift the locals to safer areas," Kumar said.

Deputy Irrigation Engineer Prabhakar Giri said that presently, teams are trying to control the leakage with sand-bags and other materials, but he ruled out the possibility of the dam bursting in view of the dry season.

He said that minor leaks were first noticed around May last year, which increased by July and the Irrigation Department's Dam Safety Organisation in Nashik was duly informed.

Expert divers carried out underwater videography but at that time the water was 9-metre deep and hence it was difficult to empty out such a huge quantity.

Plans were afoot to undertake major repairs soon, but the huge breach was noticed on Saturday following which the concerned departments swung into action.

The immediate plan is to seal the breach with around 300-400 truckloads of sand during the night and by Sunday, the officials expect the dam to become safe.

Besides the NDRF and SDRF, another posse of 100 police personnel and a squad of Riot Control Police have also been deployed and the villagers are being alerted of the potential hazards.

The Mahim-Kelve dam is located around 100 km from Mumbai at an elevation near the Jhanzorli village. Other villages below the dam have been put on high alert.

The Palghar Irrigation Department executive engineer has ordered round-the-clock monitoring of the dam condition and directed all necessary measures for the safety of the villagers falling in its path and move them to safer locations.

The small dam stores water from monsoon rains, and is a popular picnic spot for people from Mumbai, Pune and south Gujarat, with the surrounding forests a favourite with bird-watchers for the large number of species spotted there.

Source: IANS

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Palghar, Jan 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) Heavy water leakage has been detected from the Mahim-Kelve dam in Palghar district, causing danger to a few villages situated downstream, officials said here on Saturday.

As a precaution, the district administration has started evacuating the local villagers and deployed teams of NDRF and SDRF to tackle any eventuality in case the dam bursts.

The Disaster Management Unit under-secretary K. Suryakrishnamurty has requested for another NDRF team from Pune.

The Mahim-Kelve dam is located around 100 km from Mumbai, at an elevation near the Janjaroli village. Other villages below the dam have been put on high alert.

The Palghar Irrigation Department executive engineer has ordered round-the-clock monitoring of the dam condition and directed for all necessary measures for the safety of the villagers falling in its path and also shift them to safer locations.

The small dam stores water from monsoon rains, and is a popular picnic spot for people from Mumbai, Pune and south Gujarat, with the surrounding forests a favourite with bird-watchers for the large number of species seen here.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Jan 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) An earthquake of Magnitude 4.3 occurred just before midnight in mid-hills region, 36 kms west of Baglung in Nepal.

The earthquake occurred on Thursday at 11:59 IST at a depth of15 km, National Centre for Seismology has said.

There were no details available of damage to property immediately.

The place is 176 km NNE of Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) in India and about 300 kms WNW of Kathmandu, the Nepal capital.

Nestled in the mighty Himalayas, whole of Nepal is situated in an earthquake prone area, a high seismic zone.

Source: IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) A suspected spark from an electric post on Monday around noon in the heart of the Kerala capital completely burnt out a shed where condemned articles were kept.

The fire broke out near a leading private hospital, where the shed is located and Zulfi who owns it said it was around noon a spark from an electric post started the fire when it came down and lit up the shed that he owns.

For the past two days, it has become very hot and that was perhaps one reason for the fire to have spread very quickly.

Local legislator, State Education Minister V. Sivankutty who rushed to the place of the fire said so far things are all under control and there have been no injuries.

"All the people living in the vicinity of the fire have been safely moved out to other places. The Fire tenders are all working hard and things are under control," said Sivankutty.

Numerous fire tenders are working hard to douse the flame and after around 90 minutes things are under control, but the smoke still continues to come from the place of the fire.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Jan 2 (SocialNews.XYZ) Three officials from the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) and one from the Rural Development Department of the state government have been served a showcause notice, seeking to know if their scientific paper about the February 2021 Chamoli disaster was published with or without permission.

The showcause notice was issued on December 28 by the additional CEO (administration) of the Uttarakhand government's Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Department, an official said on Saturday.

Peeyush Rautela, Rahul Jugran and Girish Chandra Joshi from USDMA and Surabhi Kundliya, a consultant with the Rural Development Department had authored the research paper titled 'Sequential Damming Induced Winter Season Flash Flood in Uttarakhand Province of India' in the October issue of Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences.'

Writing about the Chamoli disaster of February 2021, wherein over 200 people had died in flash floods triggered by glacial burst incident in the Rishi Ganga valley, the authors had concluded: "Lacking warning system only enhanced the flood-induced devastation. Legally binding disaster risk assessment regime, together with robust warning generation, and dissemination infrastructure are therefore recommended for all major infrastructure projects."

Based on the published scientific paper, local media carried several reports showcasing the department's lacunae.

"Tracing the source of media reports, we find it is the research paper published in the journal. A reading of the article gives the impression that this is your department's view. (So), please clarify if you had taken prior permission from the competent authority or not and if yes, please provide a copy of the same," read the showcause notice.

The media advisor to the government, however, sought to downplay the whole matter by calling it a mere procedural issue. "A government servant is supposed to seek prior permission if he or she wants to publish something in her name. This notice is merely asking if they had sought prior permission or not and if yes, show the copy of it," he said.

Source: IANS

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Chennai, Jan 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) At least five people died in a blast at a firecracker unit in Pudupatti near Sivakasi on Saturday morning. Ten people are seriously injured in the blast.

The accident took place in Saturday morning and fire and rescue personnel are working to douse the flame.

The firecracker unit is owned by Murugan of Padupatti and the explosion took place at the chemical blending unit.

Sivakasi fire station officer, K.P. Balamurugan who is leading the rescue operations, said that the fire and rescue personnel have retrieved three bodies and are searching under the debris. Two people died in the hospital and the condition of ten others who are admitted with injuries is serious.

Fire force teams from Sivakasi and Vathirairuppu stations are leading the rescue operations and 20 units are at the premises. The Nathampatti police have registered a case and commenced investigation.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Jan 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday spoke to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha over the Vaishno Devi stampede which claimed at least 12 lives.

The LG reported that the administration is providing treatment and medical aid to the injured.

Sinha also informed that a high-level inquiry has been ordered into the incident. The inquiry committee will be headed by Principal Secretary(Home) with Additional Director General of Police, Jammu and Divisional Commissioner of Jammu as members.

At least 12 people were killed and around 20 others injured in the stampede.

Shah, expressing grief and anguish over the stampede, said that he was deeply pained by the tragic accident at Vaishno Devi temple. "I have spoken to the Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha. The Administration is working continuously to provide treatment to the injured. I also express my condolences to the families whose kin lost their life in this stampede", Shah tweeted.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh said that he is immediately rushing to Katra to take stock of the situation at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. "I look forward toA have a detail discussion with the administration and report it back to Hon'ble PM@NarendraModi," he tweeted.

Source: IANS

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Jammu, Jan 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) The authorities on Saturday announced helpline numbers for families and friends of devotees of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine where 12 people died and 14 injured in a stampede.

The helpline numbers are: Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Helpline nos:
01991-234804
01991-234053

Other Helpline nos:
PCR Katra 01991232010/ 9419145182
PCR Reasi 0199145076/ 9622856295
DC Office Reasi Control room
01991245763/ 9419839557.

The PMO announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh each for the best of kin who lost their lives during the stampede.

J&K Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha has announced Rs 10 lakh each for the next of kin of those killed in the stampede.

The stampede occurred around 2.45 a.m. Saturday when a large number of devotees entered the Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan without permission slips on new year.

Officials said the stampede took place outside the sanctum Santorum of the shrine.

Source: IANS

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Chennai, Dec 31 (SocialNews.XYZ) Heavy rains in Chennai led to three human deaths due to electrocution and four subways were shut down on Thursday. Nearly 100 streets in Chennai city were waterlogged and the officials and employees of the Greater Chennai Corporation are at work to clear the waterlogging in the city.

K.K.S.S.R Ramachandran, Tamil Nadu Revenue and Disaster Management Minister, told the media that 106 streets in the city are waterlogged and once the rain stops, the waterlogging would be cleared.

The Minister said the tanks and reservoirs around Chennai are being monitored for inflow and if necessary they would be opened for safety.

Ramachandran added that rains received were high in Nandanam, Vadapalani and M.R.C. Nagar in Chennai city.

The Indian Meterological Department (IMD) said Nungambakkam received 12 cm of rain and Nandanam 8 cm of rainfall during the day on December 30.

S. Balachandran, Deputy Director-General, IMD, while speaking to media said, "The interaction of easterly winds at lower levels and westerly winds at upper level has brought rain to the city. The rains in the city will continue till January 3."

IANS had reported earlier that there would be rains and winds in several coastal areas of Tamil Nadu.

N. Puviarasan, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, while speaking to media said, "The unexpected fast movement of the easterly trough over Chennai coast has led to intense rainfall in the city on Thursday. Prediction of such heavy rains is impossible."

Source: IANS

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Chennai, Dec 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advise the Ministry of Home Affairs to release the Central assistance towards rain-related losses suffered in the state.

Stalin, in a letter to Modi, said the northeast monsoon rains and floods damaged habitations, crop lands, and resulted in loss of human lives and cattle.

"The Central team for assessing the damages due to incessant rains visited Tamil Nadu on November 21, 2021. We have submitted so far, three memoranda seeking relief assistance from Government of India to the tune of Rs 1,510.83 crore for temporary restoration and Rs 4,719.62 crore for permanent restoration of damaged infrastructure like roads, bridges and public buildings etc.," he said.

The financial position of the state has been under severe stress due to Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent flood situation only accentuated it, Stalin added.

"The State Disaster Response funds have also been fully utilised. As you may agree, the affected people need to be compensated at the earliest to enable them to get over the present impact of the floods and also to reconstruct the damaged infrastructure so that transport, irrigation, education etc, are put back in track," he said.

Source: IANS

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By Aakanksha Khajuria

New Delhi, May 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) The National Centre of Seismology, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, on Monday sought to assuage the people's fear regarding frequent earthquakes in the national capital, asserting that tremors between two to three magnitude are usual and have hit the city 100 times in the last ten years.

The clarification came a day after a medium-intensity earthquake of magnitude 3.4 hit the city. Its epicentre was near Wazirpur in the northeast of the capital.

"Delhi has been witnessing earthquakes in the range of two to three magnitude frequently. There is nothing to worry about as they are a normal phenomenon. In the last ten years, the city has been hit by more than 100 earthquakes," an official from the seismology centre told IANS.

Clearing the air, the founder of Live Weather of India also asserted that Delhi and its surrounding regions have always remained home to small quakes. "We just keep on releasing pressure from time to time with minor quakes," Navdeep Dahiya assured.

On April 12, an earthquake of magnitude 3.5 had struck the city and tremors were felt in Noida and Ghaziabad as well.

According to data collated from the National Centre of Seismology's website by Dahiya, the NCR region has been hit by 11 earthquakes between March 23 to May 10. As all these came amidst a nation-wide lockdown, they added more to worries of the people.

Source: IANS

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Visakhapatnam, May 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) As residents of five villages affected by the gas leak from LG Polymers India factory near here began returning home after four days, at least four Andhra Pradesh Ministers will spend Monday night in these villages to create confidence among the villagers.

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had asked the Ministers to spend the night in the villages.

Agriculture Minister K. Kannababu, incharge for Visakhapatnam district, told reporters that they will have a night halt in the villages along with officials and supervise the arrangements to help restore normalcy.

He said as the emissions from the plant had reduced to zero, people were allowed to return to the villages from 4 pm on Monday.

He along with three ministers on Monday handed over documents relating to payment of Rs 1 crore each to the families of eight of the 12 people killed in the tragedy that occurred on May 7.

The compensation for others who had taken ill will be paid in the coming three days, the Ministers said after a videoconference with the Chief Minister.

They also monitored the clean-up operation of the areas surrounding the plant.

Meanwhile, a statement from the CMO said 13,000 tonnes of styrene gas is being sent back to South Korea.

The civic staff sanitised the entire area and is creating awareness among the locals about the safety measures after the gas leak and how to clean the residuals.

Those who are in hospital for serious ailments would get Rs 10 lakh each and others, who are hospitalised, would receive Rs 1 lakh each as compensation. Also all the families residing in the affected villages will be compensated with Rs 10,000 each. The entire cost of hospitalisation will be borne by the government.

Minister for Urban Development Botsa Satyanarayana said that all public spaces, including open drains, are being cleaned and sanitised in the area. Sanitation liquids will be provided to the villagers for indoor cleaning.

He claimed that the then TDP government led by Chandrababu Naidu gave permission for the expansion of LG Polymers in 2017, despite the fact that it is surrounded by residential areas.

The Minister alleged that in 2018, Naidu again gave permission to the company for expansion. The gas leak occurred post the lockdown relaxations. The plant was closed for about 40 days, during which the chemical reactions took place in the storage tank.

Botsa Satyanarayana said the YSRCP government has appointed a high-powered committee to probe the accident and take stringent action against the company.

The Chief Minister had directed the officials to shift the styrene tanks to the city outskirts and conduct inspections in all such industries.

Kannababu said a new policy on industrial safety will be evolved to ensure that such incidents don't recur in future. A statewide drive would be taken up to identify such hazardous units across the state.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, May 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) Mild tremors were felt in parts of the National Capital Region on Sunday, measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale, being third earthquake in the last one month having its epicentre in the region, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said.

According to the NCS -- the nodal agency of the Union government for monitoring of earthquake activity in the country -- the magnitude of the Sunday's earthquake was recorded at 3.5 on the Richter scale.

"The earthquake was reported at 1.45 p.m. having its epicentre at 20 km north of New Delhi at 5 km depth," the NCS said.

There were no immediate reports of any causality or loss of property.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted saying he is "praying for everyone's safety".

While the national capital is vulnerable to earthquakes, the region being the epicentre of a quake is rare. However, in the last 30 days, the city has witnessed three earthquakes having epicentre in the region.

On April 12 and 13, mild intensity earthquakes were felt in the region having epicentre in Delhi. In the two cases also, there were no reports of any damage.

Delhi, along with the country, is under a lockdown since March 25 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, May 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) Earthquake tremors were felt in parts of the national capital on Sunday, said the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).

According to the NCS, the magnitude of the earthquake was recorded 3.5 on the Richter scale. The time of the earthquake was 01:45 pm. The epicentre of the earthquake is 21-km North-Northeast (NNE) from Delhi, said the NCS.

Recently earthquake of 3.5 magnitude was felt in Delhi NCR on April 12 followed by another mild earthquake on April 13 with the magnitude of 2.7 on the Richter scale.

Source: IANS

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Amaravati, May 9 (SocialNews.XYZ) Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rope in the national and international experts for health assessment of the people affected by the leakage of styrene gas from LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief wrote a letter to Modi, making various suggestions to address the public concerns raised by gas leakage, which claimed 12 lives and landed over 400 others in hospitals.

He wrote that the long-lasting impact on the health of those undergoing treatment is of serious concern. It is apprehended that the toxins emitted may cause permanent damage to the victims, said Naidu.

He suggested close monitoring of the ambient air quality in and around Visakhapatnam city for understanding present and future impact.

Naidu, who is the leader of opposition in Andhra Pradesh Assembly, demanded a committee of scientific experts to probe the circumstances that led to the release of toxic vapours/gases.

"The company claims that the gas leaked out was Styrene, however, there were conflicting reports of other toxic gases being in, needs to be investigated to understand the enduring health impacts. "

Naidu also hailed the Prime Minister for his quick response after the incident saying it abrought us solace and confidence.

"The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has swung into action for neutralizing the toxic effects of the gas and further airlifting para-tertiary butyl catechol (PTBC) from Gujarat has happened in quick succession with your prompt directions. I am so grateful on behalf of the people of Andhra Pradesh for your empathy and prompt action."

Source: IANS

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Visakhapatnam, May 9 (SocialNews.XYZ) Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police Gautam Sawang on Saturday said that the gas leakage from LG Polymers has been plugged and the situation is absolutely under control.

Twelve people were killed and over 400 taken ill following leakage of toxic Styrene gas from one of the storage tanks of LG Polymers in the early hours of Thursday.

Sawang told reporters after a visit to the chemical plant that more technical teams from Delhi will be reaching here later in the day to have further look into the situation and decide the way forward.

"The situation is absolutely under control. All that reactions and leakages have been plugged. There is no matter of concern anymore," he said.

More technical teams from the areas of chemical and petroleum industry will be arriving to have further look into the situation.

DGP said he reviewed the situation and had discussions with the technical teams on the ground. The police chief said he had a meeting with technical experts, scientists and the special team from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), personally visited the site and found everything completely under control.

Stating that there is no need for panic, he said the experts on Friday asked people of the five villages near the plant to remain in the relief camps and wait for another 48 hours. "Experts yesterday sought 48 hours as per protocol to bring everything under control and to meet all parameters. Everything is under control but to be on the safer side they have sought the time,a he said.

Asked about the investigation, the DGP said it was still on. "The committee has been set up. It will come here and take all expert and technical inputs. We will wait as they are more technically competent to say how, why and under what circumstances this happened."

The police chief said it was not correct to say that only simple sections were invoked in the case against the company. "What sections had to be applied were all applied. The investigations are still on. We have to wait. There are a lot of technical elements in this. At this stage all must come together to overcome this challenge to bring normalcy. This is more important."

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Avanthi Srinivas said the situation had improved a lot in three days and was totally under control. He said the temperature in the leaked tank had come down to 90 degrees Centigrade from 150 degrees on Friday.

Stating that there was nothing to panic, the minister appealed to people not to believe the rumours. He said the government was committed to ensure public safety and public health and was taking care of the people of five villages currently living in relief camps and 400 people undergoing treatment in hospitals.

He said seven ministers, chief secretary and several other officials were working to restore normalcy while Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was regularly monitoring the situation.

Asked about the delay in bringing the normalcy, the minister said the experts had to move with caution to handle the situation. "Styrene is aggressive gas and any hasty step in dealing with could have resulted in another disaster," he said.

Source: IANS

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Visakhapatnam, May 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) Experts were still trying on Friday to neutralise styrene gas at LG Polymers India Pvt Ltd here, a day after the gas leaked from the plant and left 12 people dead and scores of others ill, officials said.

Chief Secretary Neelam Sawhney, who is camping in the coastal city to monitor the operation, exuded confidence that the operation to neutralize the remaining gas at the plant will be completed in 48 hours

The top bureaucrat, who held a review meeting at the office of the District Collector, was told that the temperature in the storage tank is very high at present.

The spraying of water on the tank was continuing while experts from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other agencies were trying to neutralize the gas using PTBC, the antidote chemical specially brought from Gujarat by a cargo flight.

The Chief Secretary said the gas leak resulted in 12 deaths, while 454 others had to be admitted to various hospitals.

She said 10,000 people from five villages were evacuated. She urged them to remain in relief camps till further advisory.

The official said there was gas leak late Thursday night but the rescue workers acted swiftly to bring the situation under control.

The officials were monitoring the level of styrene in the air around the factory. She, however, said there would be no long-term impact of the gas on the environment.

Earlier, Minister for Industries M Goutam Reddy visited the plant and said there was no need to panic as experts were doing their best to neutralise the gas in the tank.

He said stern action would be taken against those found guilty for the accident after submission of an inquiry report.

Meanwhile, the government on Friday released Rs 30 crore towards extending financial assistance to the bereaved families and those taken ill.

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, during his visit to Visakhapatnam on Thursday, had announced Rs 1 crore each to the families of the deceased.

As per the government Order, people who got primary medical aid will be paid Rs 25,000 each, Rs 1 lakh each to those hospitalised for 2 or 3 days, Rs 10 lakh each to those on ventilator support and Rs 10,000 each to all in the affected villages.

In the meantime, the Chief Minister on Friday said that the Pollution Control Board (PCB) should be strengthened and directed the officials to identify hazardous factories in densely populated areas in and around Visakhapatnam.

During a review meeting held through videoconference, he asked the officials to prepare a comprehensive road map to ensure a safe city free of hazardous industries which should be located away from habitations.

The chief minister instructed the PCB officials to play a proactive role in preventing industrial accidents. He directed for a fair and transparent investigation into the gas leak incident and a comprehensive report on the same.

In a related development, Leader of Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu demanded immediate closure of LG Polymers India. He said if necessary, the plant should be shifted to another location.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President found fault with the state government for registering a case against the company under what was termed as "less stringent provisions of law".

He urged the government to ensure sincere investigations by the experts. He noted that the High Court, National Human Rights Commission, and the National Green Tribunal have taken suo motu cognizance of the incident.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, May 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Andra Pradesh government on Friday said that all efforts are being made to prevent any further toxic emissions from the tanks of a plant in Vishakapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh.

On Thursday, a leak of chemical vapour from LG Polymers on the outskirts of the coastal city killed 11 people and over 350 people who inhaled the toxic gas are in the hospital.

Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh briefed the National Crisis Management Committee on the ground situation as well as the actions taken by them after the incident to evacuate people and to contain the leakage in the plant.

The Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh joined the meeting through video conferencing along with officials of the Vishakhapatnam district.

The committee, under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary, Rajiv Gauba met for the second successive day to review the situation arising out of the gas leak.

During the video conference, issues related to the long-term impact of the gas on health and on the quality of water and air were also discussed.

The Cabinet Secretary took stock of the current situation, preparedness, rescue and relief operations and directed that all assistance, as maybe required by the state, be provided to mitigate the situation.

Consultations between national and international experts on chemical safety and industrial processes and the officials on site would be carried out through video conferencing, and a team of such experts would also be flown in as per requirements.

Similar consultations between medical experts would also be arranged on the medical protocol to be followed. Requirement of assistance by way of dispatch of inhibitor chemicals is also to be ensured.

Secretaries of Ministries of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chemicals and Petrochemicals and Pharmaceuticals, DGs of NDRF and Health Services, Director of AIIMS and officers from MHA and Central Pollution Control Board were present in the meeting.

Source: IANS

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Visakhapatnam, May 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) The death toll in Thursday's gas leak tragedy in this port city rose to 12 on Friday as a man succumbed at a hospital in the early hours of the day, officials said.

A man identified as Gangadhara Chowdary, 32, died at a hospital at Kothavalasa in the early hours of Friday taking the death toll to 12 in the disaster that occurred early on Thursday with the leakage of Styrene from LG Polymers plant on the city outskirts.

Earlier, the Visakhapatnam police released the list of 11 people killed in the incident. They were identified as Meka Krishnamurthy (72), P Varalaxmi (38), Appala Narsamma (45), N Greeshma (9), AN Nani (40), Kundana Shriya (6), A Chandramouli (19), Ganga Raju (48), B Narayanamma (35), AV Nukaraju (60) and P Shankar Rao (40).

The victims belonged to RR Venkatapuram and other villages surrounding the chemical plant.

The autopsy on one body was conducted on Thursday. Officials said the autopsies on the bodies of the remaining victims would be conducted at King George Hospital (KGH) later on Friday.

Over 300 people including 48 children were also affected by the gas leak. They were admitted to various hospitals in the city and the condition of 20 of them stated to be critical.

Officials said 193 people were brought to KGH alone. The condition of some of them has improved and they are likely to be discharged later on Friday.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, May 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) The National Green Tribunal on Friday directed LG Polymers to deposit Rs 50 crore with the Vishakhapatnam administration for inflicting damage to life, public health and environment.

On Thursday, a leak of chemical vapour from the LG Polymers plant on the outskirts of the coastal city killed 11 people while over 350 people who inhaled the toxic gas are undergoing treatment at the hospital.

The next date of hearing is May 18.

The NGT took suo moto cognizance of the matter and stated, "Having regard to the prima facie material regarding the extent of damage to life, public health and environment, we direct LG Polymers India Pvt Ltd to forthwith deposit an initial amount of Rs 50 crore with the District Magistrate, Visakhapatnam."

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel also formed a five-member committee to visit and inspect the site and submit its report before the next date of hearing.

The team has been asked to specifically report on the sequence of events, causes of failure and authorities responsible, extent of damage to life, human and non-human, public health and environment.

They have also been directed to submit the steps to be taken for compensation of the victims and restitution of the damaged property and environment, and remedial measures to prevent recurrence.

The committee comprises Justice B. Seshasayana Reddy, former Judge of Andhra Pradesh High Court, V. Rama Chandra Murthy, former Vice Chancellor of Andhra University, and Pulipati King, Head of Chemical Engineering Department of Andhra University.

It also involves Member Secretary of CPCB, Director of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology and Head of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute.

The Member Secretary of Central Pollution Control Board will act as the nodal agency for their coordination.

The NGT bench, also comprising Judge Sheo Kumar Singh and Nagin Nanda, has sought response from the AP State Pollution Control Board, District Magistrate, Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and LG Polymers India on the incident.

The tribunal stated that the Styrene gas released from the plant is a hazardous chemical as defined under Rule 2(e) read with Entry 583 of Schedule I to the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules, 1989.

"The Rules require on-site and off-site emergency plans to ensure prevention of damage. Leakage of hazardous gas at such a scale adversely affecting public health and environment, clearly attracts the principle of 'strict liability against the enterprise engaged in hazardous or inherently dangerous industry'," it added.

Source: IANS

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Visakhapatnam, May 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) The gas leakage from a chemical plant in this coastal city on Thursday cut short the dream of a police constable's son to become a physician.

A.Chandramouli was one of the 12 people killed in the tragedy that struck RR Venkatapuram and other villages surrounding LG Polymers in the early hours of Thursday.

The 19-year-old was a first year student of MBBS at Andhra Medical College. Son of a police constable, Annepu Chandramouli had the childhood dream of becoming a doctor.

Family members said he worked hard and excelled in the studies to secure a medical seat this year with merit. The leakage of Styrene from the plant located close to his house in Venkatapuram snuffed out the young life, plunging his parents into gloom.

Chandramouli was the eldest son of the two sons of Annepu Easwar Rao, serving as a head constable at Gopalpatnam police station in Visakhapatnam.

Like many others, the tragedy came calling on Chandramouli's family when they were asleep. All four members of the family fell unconscious with the leakage of Styrene from the plant around 3.45 a.m.

Dense fumes of the gas enveloped the villages surrounding the plant, trapping many in their houses. The rescue workers shifted Easwar Rao's family to King George Hospital but Chandramouli succumbed on the way. Doctors said he died of asphyxiation after inhaling the gas.

Easwar Rao and his wife were inconsolable when the news of their son's death was conveyed to them late Thursday after their condition improved.

The police constable was consoled by his colleagues, who recalled how happy he was when his son had secured the medical seat.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, May 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) The National Green Tribunal on Friday sought response from the Centre, South Korean company LG Polymers, Central Pollution Control Board after 11 people died in the Vishakhapatnam gas leak tragedy.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar issued notices after taking cognizance of the incident in which hundreds more were admitted to the hospital, with several critical.

Apart from this, a petition has also been filed seeking constitution of a high-level committee to investigate the incident that took place at 2.30 a.m. on Thursday and reminded one of the decades old Bhopal tragedy.

The toxic Styrene gas leaked from a chemical plant on the outskirts of Visakhpatnam district in Andra Pradesh. It affected surrounding five villages -- Narava, B.C Colony, Bapuji Nagar, Kampalapalem and Krishna Nagar.

Styrene gas, which is toxic in nature, causes irritation to the skin, eyes and causes respiratory problems and other medical conditions.

Source: IANS

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