J&K: PoK teenager repatriated after he crossed LoC inadvertently in Poonch

Chennai, Dec 23 (IANS) The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has issued a third-level cyclone alert for seven ports in Tamil Nadu: Chennai, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Ennore, Kattupalli, Puducherry and Karaikal.

The alert is due to a low-pressure system over the central western Bay of Bengal, which has weakened into a depression.

The weather department predicts rain accompanied by strong winds on December 24 and 25 as the system moves west-southwest toward the southwest Bay of Bengal, near the coasts of north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh.

Cyclone Fengal struck Tamil Nadu and Puducherry between November 29 and December 1, causing widespread destruction.

The cyclone claimed 12 lives and inundated 2,11,139 hectares of agricultural and horticultural land, resulting in significant losses for farmers.

Cyclone Fengal also caused extensive infrastructure damage, including 1,649 kilometres of electric conductors, 23,664 electric poles, 997 transformers, 9,576 kilometres of roads, 1,847 culverts, and 417 water tanks.

The Tamil Nadu government reported that 69 lakh families and 1.5 crore individuals were adversely affected.

Following the cyclone, Chief Minister M. K. Stalin requested Rs 2,000 crore as interim relief from the National Disaster Response Fund.

An initial damage assessment estimated losses at Rs 2,475 crore for relief and reconstruction efforts.

The Central government sanctioned Rs 944 crore as interim relief.

Heavy rains have been observed across Tamil Nadu due to the ongoing northeast monsoon, which has brought 14 per cent excess rainfall this season.

Tamil Nadu recorded 447 mm of rainfall against an average of 393 mm. Chennai saw 845 mm of rainfall (16 per cent above average), while Coimbatore registered a 47 per cent increase.

The Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department (WRD) reported that reservoirs across the state are near full capacity. 12 reservoirs (3 in Coimbatore, 7 in Madurai, and 2 in Chennai) are at 100 per cent capacity, 18 reservoirs have exceeded 90 per cent of their total capacity, 23 reservoirs have water levels between 70 per cent and 80 per cent.

The Stanley Reservoir at Mettur, Tamil Nadu’s largest, is at 97.51 per cent capacity, holding 91.146 TMC out of its total 93.470 TMC.

The dam recorded an inflow of 7,368 cusecs and discharged 1,300 cusecs downstream as of Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Sathanur Reservoir stands at 117 feet, just below its full reservoir level (FRL) of 119 feet.

The cumulative water storage across Tamil Nadu’s reservoirs is 195.455 TMC, leaving it 24.824 TMC short of full capacity.

–IANS

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Kolkata, Dec 13 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday raided the residence of the Trinamool Congress leader in East Midnapore in connection with the blast Bhupatinagar blast case of December 2022, which killed three persons.

The NIA also raided the residence of Manab Kumar Parua, the public works executive officer with East Midnapore Zilla Parishad, whose name has been already included in the chargesheet filed by NIA in the Bhupatinagar blast case in July this year.

Sources said that besides interrogating Paruya for hours, the NIA officials also seized a number of paper documents from his residence. However, the NIA officials refused to talk to the media persons waiting outside the Paruya’s residence.

However, Parua confirmed that the NIA officials raided his residence in connection with the agency’s investigation in the Bhupatinagar blast case.

“I am extending full cooperation with the central agency officials in the investigation process and have assured them of total cooperation in the matter in future as well,” he said.

The NIA sleuths and Central Armed Police Personnel (CAPF) were attacked by local Trinamool Congress activists in April this year while they were returning to Kolkata after arresting two local Trinamool Congress leaders namely Manobrata Jana and Balai Charan Maity.

The windscreen of the vehicle of NIA was also smashed by the aggressive ruling party activists. One NIA officer was also injured in the attack.

After the blast in December 2022, initially, the cops of West Bengal police started an investigation. Later the charge of the investigation was handed over to NIA following an order of the Calcutta High Court.

The central agency took over the investigation assignment on June 4, 2023.

–IANS

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Agartala, Dec 22 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday laid the foundation stone of the Central Detective Training Institute (CDTI) in Tripura to strengthen security in the northeastern region and neighbouring countries, and to establish high standards in policing.

The CDTI would be set up in Agartala at a cost of Rs 120 crore under the Bureau of Police Research and Development under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The Home Minister at a function at Kulai RF Village Ground in Dhalai District virtually inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 13 development projects worth Rs 668.39 crore. The CDTI is one of the 13 projects.

An official said that the main objective of this important initiative to set up the CDTI is to strengthen security in the eight northeastern states and neighbouring countries besides establishing high standards in policing in the region.

“During the 69th plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong, a recommendation was made to establish an academic research centre in collaboration with educational institutions to study the unique security challenges of the northeastern region,” the official said.

He said that the Tripura government has allocated 9.57 acres of land in the Jirania sub-division of West Tripura district to set up the proposed CDTI. The digital survey of the allocated land in Jirania has already been completed.

According to the official, the MHA has already approved Rs 120 crore for the construction of infrastructure of the CDTI.

The CDTI in Agartala would train over 6,000 personnel annually from the northeastern states and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), the official said, adding that the institute would be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as advanced classrooms, simulation labs, IT data centres, and practical training areas, which would provide police personnel with modern skills.

He said that the proposed institute would provide high-level training and research facilities on internal and national security issues in the northeast region comprising eight states – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

“The institute would also have a dedicated academic research centre, which, in collaboration with academic institutions, would study key security challenges such as counter-terrorism measures, border management, human trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal migration and arms smuggling.”

The official said that the CDTI being established in Agartala would not only enhance the capacity of police forces but also promote international cooperation to effectively address cross-border security challenges.

–IANS

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