Floods in northeast affect normal life
NEW DELHI: Floods and landslides continued to affect normal life in Mizoram and Assam while other states in the northeast were also pounded by rains even as people in north India bore the brunt of a hot sun on Wednesday. The swollen Khawthlangtuipui river in Mizoram has submerged over 350 houses in Tlabung sub-division in Lunglei district, where eight people died after flash floods caused by heavy rainfall wrecked havoc on Tuesday.
Disaster Management department officials estimated that over 2,000 families were affected by the floods.
The whole of south Mizoram –Serchhip, Lunglei, Lawngtlai and Siaha districts and eastern Champhai district bordering Myanmar remained cut off from the rest of the country for the third day on Wednesday due landslides at many places.
Landslides at several places in Aizawl city prompted the state government to evacuate over 50 buildings and shift around 100 families to safer places. Around 10 buildings have submerged in the swelling waters of the Tlawng river.
Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla has set up a high-level committee to assess the flood situation in the state.
Some other North-eastern states are also taking a stock of the situation following incessant rains since the last three days, which has triggered flash floods and landslides.
In Assam, Lakhimpur, Darrang and Hailakandi districts have been hit by floods affecting nearly 14,000 people in 39 villages there. More than 2,000 people were affected due to landslides and waterlogging in Guwahati and the SDRF has evacuated about 500 people. Incessant rains over the past few days in Arunachal Pradesh have thrown life out of gear with water level of all major rivers and their tributaries rising.
In Meghalaya, a Disaster Management Authority official said all districts have been alerted following a warning from the Met department about heavy rains in the state.
"The home ministry is constantly monitoring the heavy flood situations in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and other states for necessary help," Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju has said.
In the northern states of Punjab and Haryana maximum temperatures rose by a few notches in most parts, with Hisar being the hottest at 44.3 degrees Celsius, three notches above the normal limit.
Ambala recorded a high of 41.3 degrees Celsius while Karnal, too, had a hot day at 42 degrees Celsius. JAUNPUR (UP): At least eight persons, including a woman, were killed and 30 injured when an Uttar Pradesh roadways bus fell on the bank of Sai river from a bridge.
The incident took place at Bargudar Pul area under Sikrara police station at around 1.30 pm on the Jaunpur-rae Bareli national highway, District Magistrate of Jaunpur Sarvagyaram Mishra said.
The UPSRTC bus was going to Jaunpur from Allahabad. At around 1.30 pm, the driver lost control over the vehicle which hurtled down the bridge and fell on the bank of the river," he said. Mishra said eight passengers, including a woman, lost their lives and 30 were injured.
Two of the seriously injured passengers have been referred to Varanasi for treatment, he said, adding that other wounded persons were undergoing treatment at a local hospital. NEW DELHI: Several Kerala-based beer and wine parlour owners on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court seeking clarification of its order to shut down liquor vends within 500 metres of national and state highways from April 1. The matter was mentioned before a vacation bench of Justices R K Agrawal and Deepak Gupta which said the plea would be heard after the summer vacation in July.
The applicants told the court that they were granted FL-11 licence in different categories by the excise department of Kerala and their licences were renewed on March 31 for a period of one year.
The FL-11 licence pertains to the sale of beer and wine for consumption by public in a separate room in a beer and wine parlour. They have claimed that after the apex court's March 31 order, the excise department "started threatening" them not to operate their hotels, bars, restaurants and beer and wine parlours which are situated within a distance of 150 metres to 350 metres from national and state highways.
The applicants have sought a clarification from the court that its order does not apply to the service of beer and wine parlours as they serve material which contains alcohol below 6 and 12% respectively.