The Kerala High Court, hearing a suo-moto case on the Wayanad landslide disaster, on Friday stressed the need for a holistic approach in pursuing developmental activities, so tragedies like that which took place in the hill district could be averted. It then appointed senior advocate Ranjith Thampan as amicus curiae and asked him to look into present policies and to suggest fresh ones on environmental issues.
The Himachal Pradesh government will procure up to 20 quintals of naturally grown grains per family at a rate of Rs 40 per kg for wheat and Rs 30 per kg for maize, officials said on Friday. This initiative is a part of the HIM-UNNATI scheme, which is aimed at promoting natural farming in the state.
The death toll in the landslide-affected Wayanad in Kerala reached 413 on Thursday as the search for 152 missing people continued on day 10. Over 1,000 people from the Defence and other agencies led by a team of officials began the search operations early morning.
Traffic on the Chandigarh-Manali national highway between Mandi and Kullu was blocked on Thursday following landslides in Himachal Pradesh owing to heavy rainfall, police said.
The national highway was badly damaged in the landslide that occurred near Pandoh in Mandi district. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on both sides of the affected area.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Thursday that the Indian financial system remains resilient and is gaining strength from broader macroeconomic stability. He pointed out that the banking sector’s well-capitalised and unclogged balance sheet is reflective of higher risk absorption capacity while the NBFC sector and the Urban Cooperative Banks also continue to show improvements.
Those arrested have been identified as Simran Kaur, alias Indu (38) and Gurjot Singh. Both the accused have a criminal background with accused Simran facing at least 15 criminal cases pertaining to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the Prisons Act, etc.
