Heavy rain in TN; cyclone alert in AP

May 19, 2016

Chennai/Hyderabad, May 19: The heavy rain, which sparked fear of December deluge, continued to batter Tamil Nadu, especially the northern coastal areas, since Monday night.

Heavyrain
The deep depression over Bay of Bengal is expected to turn into a cyclone and may move towards Andhra Pradesh for a landfall.

Though the downpour was not as heavy as the state witnessed during December, the non-stop flow has brought back the dreaded memories of the unprecedented floods, especially in Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Cuddalore districts.

Deputy Director General of Meteorology Dr S Balachandran said the system is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours. Thereafter it is likely to move northeastwards along and off north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts during the subsequent 48 hours. “Under its influence, heavy to very heavy rainfall was expected over north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the next 24 hours,” he said.

As the sea would be very rough, the fishermen from Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh have been advised not to venture in to sea during the next two days.

The state government on Wednesday directed the district administrations to take all precautionary measures.

The government also has set up a call centre with the telephone number 1070 to receive rainfall related grievances.

Meanwhile, two persons including a woman died due to rain-related incidents in Chennai alone.

Coastal Andhra

With heavy rains and squally winds lashing a few places across coastal Andhra Pradesh, the state government has alerted the district administrations to be prepared for any eventuality. While Nellore recorded a massive 18 cm of rain since Wednesday morning, Prakasam, Guntur, Tirumala, Visakhapatnam, Chittoor, Tada, Sullurpet, Kadapa, Anantapur and East Godavari districts witnessed moderate to heavy rains.

In Tirumala, devotees had a tough time as heavy rains pounded the precincts of the holy temple. Rain water entered the main entrance of the shrine. Fire tenders were summoned to pump out rain water.

With the impact of the cyclone running parallel to Andhra Pradesh coast, fishermen were warned not to venture in to the sea till further warning. Sea has advanced up to 20 metres in many places.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed the collectors to seek NDRF’s help to evacuate stranded people from low laying areas and to open control rooms by Wednesday night as IMD has warned the impact of the cyclone could last for 48 hours or even more.

Nature’s fury kills 12 in Northeast

Torrential rains accompanied by thunderstorms lashed parts of Northeast India in the past 48 hours, killing at least 12 people and injuring several others, DHNS reports from Guwahati.

At least 10 people were killed in landslides in Karimganj and Hailakandi districts in Barak Valley region of Southern Assam on Wednesday. This includes five members from a family at Sonachirra of Karimganj district. In neighbouring Hailakandi district, two incidents of landslides killed four persons at Bilaipur and a six-year-old boy at Ramchandi area. Across Assam, reports of flash floods and damage of critical infrastructure has been reported. In Guwahati, most of the busy roads have been inundated with rain waters.

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News Network
May 14,2024

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Comedian Shyam Rangeela on Tuesday that he was barred from filing his nomination papers for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. He intended to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Varanasi seat by contesting as an Independent candidate.

Despite attempts to file his papers since May 10, Rangeela alleged he was denied entry to the district magistrate's office on the day Prime Minister Modi filed his nomination. He also said that he is not taking any team from Sriganganagar to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi. 

Shyam Rangeela further claimed that he has received several phone calls from Varanasi and people are willing to join him. "Winning or losing is a different matter, but I will contest the elections against the Prime Minister at any cost. I am not contesting elections to become famous, I am already very famous among the public."

The Congress party also waded into the controversy. Congress leader Surendra Rajput told news agency PTI that everyone is free to file a nomination including Prime Minister Modi. Rajput claimed that Rangeela was not getting nomination papers from the administration. 

"Everyone is free to file a nomination including PM Modi. However, other people are not allowed to file their nominations from the constituency. A YouTuber named (Shyam) Rangeela, who wished to file a nomination from Varanasi, isn’t getting nomination papers from the administration. Why PM Modi is afraid of people? Let them contest against you," he said. 

PM Modi, contesting for a third term, previously won the Varanasi seat by 4.8 lakh votes in 2019 and by 3.72 lakh votes in 2014. So far, 14 individuals, including mainstream political party candidates and independents, have filed their nominations for the Varanasi constituency.

Congress candidate Ajai Rai and Bahujan Samajwadi Party's Athar Ali Lari are among them. Rangeela, a YouTuber and mimic from Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh, rose to fame in 2017 with his act impersonating PM Modi. He has been critical of the Prime Minister and his policies, as evident in his videos.
 

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News Network
May 8,2024

flightairindia.jpg

Nearly 80 Air India Express flights were canceled after the cabin crew members went on a "mass sick leave", official sources said on Wednesday.

As many as 79 international and domestic flights were canceled after about 300 senior cabin crew members reported sick at the last minute and switched off their mobile phones.

The Air India Express management is currently trying to reach out to the crew, who are protesting against the new employment term at the Tata Group-owned airline, sources said.

The cabin crew has also alleged that there was a lack of equality in the treatment of the staff after the merger with Tata Group. They claim that some staff members were offered lower job position despite clearing interviews, sources said.

"A section of our cabin crew has reported sick at the last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations. While we are engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind these occurrences, our teams are actively addressing this issue to minimise any inconvenience caused to our guests as a result," an Air India Express spokesperson said.

"We sincerely apologise to our guests for this unexpected disruption and emphasise that this situation does not reflect the standard of service we strive to provide," the spokesperson added.

Guests impacted by cancellations will be offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date, the airline said.

Several passengers took to their social media accounts and complained about the sudden cancellations of their flights. They said that they had "no information" about the cancellations.

Some "very disappointed" passengers on X said that they had reached the airport when they were informed that their flights were canceled.

"We apologise for any inconvenience. Please be informed that your flight has been canceled due to operational reasons," Air India Express said in response to one of the posts on X.

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News Network
May 8,2024

sampitroda.jpg

Congress leader Sam Pitroda has stepped down from the post of Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress and his resignation was accepted by the party. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to X and announced that Sam Pitroda had decided to resign from the key post "of his own accord".

Pitroda had been under fire over his controversial remark that Indians in the East resemble the Chinese while those in the South look like Africans.

"We could hold together a country as diverse as India -- where people on East look like Chinese, people on West look like Arab, people on North look like maybe White and people in South look like Africans. It doesn't matter. We are all brothers and sisters," Pitroda said during an interview with The Statesman.

The Congress immediately distanced itself from Pitroda's remarks, terming them "unacceptable".

"The analogies drawn by Mr Sam Pitroda in a podcast to illustrate India's diversity are most unfortunate and unacceptable. The Indian National Congress completely dissociates itself from these analogies," Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

The BJP also hit out at the Congress over Pitroda's remarks and termed them "racist and divisive".

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