Heavy rain to persist in Kerala; IMD issues yellow alert for multiple districts

Hyderabad, Feb 23 (IANS) National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams on Sunday intensified rescue efforts to save eight persons trapped in an under-construction tunnel after a portion of its roof collapsed in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district on February 22.

Four teams comprising 150 personnel were engaged in the rescue operation, which continued throughout the night.

The rescue teams have reached closer to the point where the tunnel roof collapsed during the digging work on Saturday.

At least two workers were injured and eight others were trapped when a portion of the tunnel being dug as part of Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) collapsed near Domalapenta.

A total of 50 persons were working on the left-side tunnel when the roof collapsed for three meters. The accident occurred at the 14th km point.

While 42 workers came out of the tunnel, the remaining eight were trapped. Those trapped include two engineers and two machine operators.

The NDRF team, which reached up to 11th km in a loco train, found water and mud beyond this point. About three feet of water was accumulated in the tunnel. The NDRF personnel moved ahead on foot and reached closer to the point where the roof of the tunnel had caved in.

The tunnel boring machine was badly damaged in the accident. The water which gushed out from the tunnel roof and the soil pushed back the machine up to 80 meters.

Water and mud accumulated on both sides of the machine hampering the rescue effort. According to officials, water has to be pumped out and mud has to be cleared for the rescue work to progress further.

Earlier, three teams of NDRF reached the accident site from Vijayawada while four teams arrived from Hyderabad. Teams from the Indian Army and Singareni Collieries Company Limited and personnel of the State Disasters Response Force (SDRF) were participating in the rescue operation.

The trapped men are from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.

State Ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy and Jupally Krishna Reddy were monitoring the rescue operations along with the district Collector, Superintendent of Police and other top officials.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy expressed shock over the incident and assured that the government would extend all possible help to the families of the victims.

The state government had recently resumed the construction work on the tunnel to complete the long-pending project. The construction firm had started work four days ago and on Saturday morning 50 workers entered the tunnel for the work.

Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said the work was started on the tunnel after a survey by the Geological Survey of India. He told the media that the company that was hired for the work has a good record in digging tunnels.

He said soon after the work began on Saturday morning, water started entering the tunnel and soil caved in. “The workers who came out said they heard an explosion, which could be a geological disturbance,” he said, adding that those who were in front of the boring machine were trapped in the tunnel.

“The government is making all possible efforts to rescue the trapped persons. We are getting the best tunnel experts in the country to oversee the rescue effort,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy over the phone and enquired about the incident.

The Prime Minister informed him that the NDRF team would be deployed immediately for rescue operations and assured all support from the Central government.

–IANS

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New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS) As the first phase of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 began Thursday, Union Minister JP Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, appealed to voters to participate enthusiastically in what they described as a “festival of democracy.”

“I appeal to all voters and our young companions who are voting today in the first phase of the assembly elections in Bihar, the sacred land of knowledge, tradition, and cultural heritage. That they ensure their participation in this festival of democracy by voting in the maximum possible numbers.

This election is to bring stability in Bihar and to swiftly advance Bihar on the path of development. Maintaining the fast pace of development continuously is the important responsibility of every resident of the state. Do vote!”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh posted: “Today is the first phase of voting in the Bihar Assembly elections. I urge all voters to participate enthusiastically in this festival of democracy. On this occasion, hearty congratulations to the young voters who are going to vote for the first time!”

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta tweeted: “An appeal to all esteemed voters in the first phase of the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections to participate with full enthusiasm in this grand festival of democracy. Each of your votes will make an invaluable contribution towards realizing the dream of a developed Bihar.

Step out of your homes, cast your vote, and inspire your family and friends as well to fulfill this democratic duty. Vote first, then refreshment.”

Polling is underway for 121 constituencies across 18 districts, with more than 3.75 crore voters eligible to decide the fate of 1,314 candidates, including 122 women candidates. Voting began at 7 a.m. and will continue until 6 p.m., except in select sensitive areas where polling concludes an hour earlier.

The Election Commission of India has deployed 121 general observers, 18 police observers, and 33 expenditure observers to ensure free and fair elections. Central and state security forces have been stationed at all polling booths, with special provisions for all-women-managed booths and Divyang (differently-abled) booths to encourage inclusive participation.

According to the Election Commission, a total of 3,75,13,302 electors, including 1,98,35,325 males, 1,76,77,219 females, and 758 third gender voters, will decide the fate of 1314 candidates in this election.

The total number of polling stations is 45341, including 36733 in the rural areas and 8608 in the urban areas.

–IANS

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Kolkata, June 6 (IANS) A special court at Jangipur in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Friday sentenced a man, convicted of raping his minor daughter, to seven years of rigorous imprisonment (RI).

The court also imposed a financial penalty of Rs 1,00,000 on the convict. In the event of non-payment of the penalty amount, his imprisonment term will be extended by one more year.

At the same time, the judge of the special court directed the West Bengal government to pay a compensation of Rs 2,00,000 to the victim.

The convict is Bablu Sheikh, who was arrested in 2017 following complaints filed against him by his wife Sajera Biwi accusing him of raping their own daughter, who was 15 years old then.

Sajera Biwi, in her complaint, said that her husband raped their minor not once, but several times, following which the daughter became sick. The complaint was filed on June 14, 2017, and on the same day, Bablu Sheikh was arrested.

A prolonged trial process continued for the next few years, and the statements of 12 witnesses were recorded. The public prosecutors sought life imprisonment for the convict. However, on Friday, the judge of the special court remanded him to seven years of imprisonment.

During the trial process in the matter, Sajera Biwi turned into a hostile witness and even attempted to change the statement that she recorded with the police while filing the complaint to save her husband.

However, the victim stuck to her statement till the end and continued accusing her father of the heinous crime.

West Bengal had been in the national headlines frequently during the last few months over cases of rape and rape and murder in different pockets of the state, with the victims being minors in many such cases.

The most talked-about case in the matter was that of the brutal rape and murder of a junior doctor of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital within the hospital premises in August last year.

–IANS

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